Shadowrun 6 QSR thoughts

Posted on Edited on

Thoughts on the QSR rules that CGL have released.

Notes

  • Hosts are nearly the same; OS doesn't increase while in hosts now
  • ASDF are the same
  • Attack rating = Attack + Sleaze
  • Defense Rating = Data Processing + Firewall
  • AR and VR are the same
  • PANs are the same, with a clarification that in order to access an icon on a PAN, the PAN itself must be first accessed
  • Commlinks are the same
  • Decks are different - now they're "sleak modern versions of medieval gauntlets"
  • Icons ar the same
  • Personas are the same
  • The "bricked" status is the same
  • Legal tests all use Electronics + Logic
  • Illegal tests all uses Cracking + Logic
  • Defending against Matrix actions is (usually) Firewall + Willpower
  • OS is still present
    • Instead of increasing by 2d6 every 15 minutes, a hacker's OS increases by 1 every round, which is dramatically faster than in SR5
    • This increase by time is only "when you have illegal User access". Does that mean it doesn't increase if the hacker has illegal Root access? How does a hacker "dispose of" access without rebooting (or jacking out, as it's now known)?
  • Programs seem the same, but it's hard to tell as there are only 3 so far
  • There doesn't seem to be a distinction between "loud" hacking and "stealthy" hacking yet - all hacking is "loud"
  • Actions
    • Control Device is simpler than the SR5 version
      • Why is this illegal? In SR5 it was legal.
    • Crack File is the same
    • Data Spike is the same
    • Edit File is nearly the same - there aren't any rules for databombs (yet?)
    • Enter/Exit Host seems to be the same
    • Format Device is the same
    • Hack is basically SR5 "Hack on the Fly" minus the free Perception
    • Jack Out is a combination of SR5 "Jack Out" and "Reboot"
    • Matrix Perception is SR5 "Matrix Perception" + "Matrix Search", but simpler
    • Snoop is the same
    • Spoof Command is pretty different - in SR5, a MARK was required on the persona that the hacke wanted to send the command from; in SR6, the hacker only requires access on the device itself
    • Trace Icon is nearly the same; now it can be used to go from physical location to icon location

My thoughts

Obviously, since these are QSR, there is a lot missing. Since this is Shadowrun by CGL, the editing is awful and the rules are generally incomplete and uninspired.

Questions I still have:

  • What's required to access a host?
  • What's required to access files in a host?
  • No more grids?
  • How does a hacker hide?
  • Why does the OS increase so fast?
  • How does a hacker revoke their access to something?
  • What's the difference between user access and root access, mechanically?
  • Is there a way to invite access to another persona?
  • Which actions require hacking the icon beforehand, and which don't?
  • Technomancers?

A lot of the matrix rules seem more hand-wavey, which does make some sense, as we only have access to some very abridged (I hope) Matrix rules.

More resources

These Reddit threads are interesting reads: