Plot Twist
Kill, extract, deck, blahblahblah. Let's try something new.
It seems that in all my years (all three of them) of playing Shadowrun, there are some things that
some GMs would never even think about. In this article, I have collected little bits of info that
can drastically change a shadowrun character, giving the player something to role play, instead of
the normal I will walk into the door and shoot the guard routine. These are suggested for experianced
players and after they've played their character for a bit.
1) Magical Abilities
This should only be used on players that have no or little cyberware (less then 1 essence point),
that discover they have magically powers of a heremetic tradition or that a certain totem is calling
for them. The player can then have either these powers but only as powerful as an adept shamen or
mage. This isn't recommended for a group that already has a mage or shamen, for the player will
hate having to spend the priorities on magic. This isn't recommended to happen to the decker either
for the mix of magic and machine won't work well.
2) Goblinization
Another life changing experiance, goblinization will drastically change the player's role playing.
The character should recieve all of the benifits of a troll or ork as well as the penalties. This also
works if a player is not acting well in the group and a good punishment (not that there's anything
WRONG with being a metahuman, it's just something the player won't account for). It should only be
used as a punishment when the player is acting really bad, for it might kill his character. Make a
body test (original, not with cyber or magical enhancement) against a target of 6. The base time for
recovery is 30 days. Divide the base time by the number of successes. Each day in the hospital is
about 1,000¥ per day for intensive care. If he fails this roll, he may (GM option) make a second
roll each week for the next 3 weeks, only the base time doubles each week. Cyberware has a 1 out of
6 chance of failing to adapt to the new body, and a 2 out of 6 chance for cyberware that takes up
over 1 point of essence.
3) Cyberware Malfunction
Something goes horribly wrong with the character's cyberware, the wired reflexes makes him hyper, the cybereyes
make him see things, the cyber spurs will keep retracting at bad times, etc. The malfunction shouldn't directly harm
the character, just if it happens at the wrong time it could prove disasterous. With all the used
cyberware and cheap pieces of junk out there, the runners are bound to find one.
4) HMHVV
The character suddenly gets Human Metahuman Vampric Virus, turning him into a vampire that must
suck the essence of others. The virus should just last for a while, otherwise the character may get out
of control (by either correctly role playing as a blood hungry vampire or a player that exploits the
regeneration of a vamp).
5) Body Exchange
While crusing the astral plane, the mage's body is destroyed and mangled. The player and his runner
friends must find the killer and lure him out of his body where the mage can take his body. All of
the physical attributes are that of the body's, but the mental attributes stay the same. Especially helpful
if the murderer was a troll. If the murderer's body is killed, the mage cannot posses it, otherwise
he would die instantly.
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