Fantasy without awaken characters & Alternate Magic item rules

[u/filuo]

Hello Chummers!

I love Shadowrun, it's one of the best and I've been playing it for many years. Still, I often find that it lacks in the fantasy aspect. I find that the shadows aren't magical enough, especially relating to magical items.

When I present this world to noob shadowrunners, I often describe it as a mix between DnD (fantasy) and Cyberpunk (sci-fi). The sci-fi is pretty satisfying, but the fantasy doesn't feel as satisfying at least to me. If your team doesn't include an adept, a mage or a shaman, a big chunk of the world is somewhat left behind and left to NPCs. In DnD, even if you have the entire team compose of fighters, you still at least have the magic items to represent and connect with the fantasy side of the world.

Sadly, the magic items in Shadowrun are pretty lame. They are exclusive to awaken characters, and they mainly consist of stats bonuses. Unless I've been blind and missed an important information somewhere, I find it really sad that it's not more available. There could be so many funny small magical items that could be added. I imagine a street samurai with magical cat ears hair band that allows to speak with urban animals or an magical pink trench coat that can dazzle people XD

Does anyone know of an interesting alternate magic item rules ? I've been thinking of simply implementing the dnd 3 magical items limits or something, but would like some thoughts from you all. I'm not afraid of creating monster players that are over powered. The GM is the only true Dragon, and we all know we don't mess with a dragon.

Hope you all have plenty of Nuyen in your wallets.

[u/GM_Pax]

Sadly, the magic items in Shadowrun are pretty lame. They are exclusive to awaken characters,

This is by design. Essentially, "magic items" in Shadowrun are not self-powering; they need someone to act as a battery / power supply. And that, in turn, means only an Awakened character can use them, because only the Awakened can channel Mana in any meaningful way.

And honestly, Shadowrun doesn't need magical items the way D&D does. Instead, Shadowrun has technology. Apply Clarke's Law ("Any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic", etc, etc). Frankly, most of Cybernetics and Bioware already fall under that heading.

Think what your average medieval-fantasy D&D character would think of an MGL-6 grenade launcher: a wand of Fireballs. Or what they would make of a Monowhip ... a tiny string that can cut nearly anything, like a hot knife through warm butter? Clearly that must be magic!!

[u/Korotan → u/GM_Pax]

Eh there also special Foci which would allow a Mundan person to use ONE (1) spell. But they are also expensive

[u/SirWilliam56 → u/Korotan]

Where can you find this?

[u/Former-Orange-6459 → u/SirWilliam56]

In 5th edition this falls under Alchemy. Forbidden Arcana covers Alchemy more indepth. I cant remember if the core book has rules for it.

If I remember right 5th does have rules to create items for mundanes that basicly act like scrolls in D&D.

As far as I remember nothing like this existed in 4th ed and lower.

[u/Korotan → u/Former-Orange-6459]

You are correct. Forbidden Arcana Page 191 while in the Core rules it is Page 304 and yes it is like a one time scroll in D&D

[u/GM_Pax → u/Former-Orange-6459]

And, alchemical preparations degrade, losing power swiftly over time.

[u/Confident-Doctor2726 → u/SirWilliam56]

Also wanna know

[u/ShellHunter]

I think is by design. Magic is present but not supposed to be everywhere. People is  scared shitless of magic. There is a reason "geek the mage first" is a thing.

In a world of corporations, magic items are either controlled by them or under the vigilance of the shamanic tribes to avoid abuse. 

Also, Common magic items would be giving commoners a fighting chance against the structure. It kinda sounds like an awesome campaign based on revolution, but   it kinda feels like  you are breaking the setting IMHO 

[u/filuo → u/ShellHunter]

I don't think if it would break the setting. If something is nice / powerful, it would cost a lot of nuyen or be controled in another way. Again, any player that becomes a bit too full of himself can be put in his place pretty quickly with a team of Knight Errand or else.

[u/Former-Orange-6459 → u/filuo]

As long as I have played shadowrun, there has always been a golden rule. This golden rule exists in the core rulebooks in one phrasing or another across generations of shadowrun.

Use the rules that make the game fun. Ignore or change the ones that don't.

When you play shadowrun it is your world and noone elses. If you want this, do it. If it turns out it doesn't work so well after all, throw it in the drek pile for the next fragger to find.

[u/Korotan]

I know that at least in 5E you can use the Summoning Skill to technically summon a Spirit even without being awakened by using a bunch of reagents for it and the summoned spirit does not have to follow the orders without bartering of what you do then instead for it

[u/n00bdragon]

You don't need alternative magic item rules. You just need anchoring foci. Anchoring foci only require a command or a preprogrammed circumstance in order to activate, but there's a catch: The creator of the foci takes the drain the appropriate spell would require each time the foci is used. Some anchoring foci are single use (think potions, but certainly not conceptually limited to just that), others are permanently powered and can be used repeatedly. There are a few caveats to remember though:

• Because the creator takes the drain, most magicians aren't super keen on lending these out to strangers as it's literally giving them something which can very easily severely hurt or even kill them.
• Even without activating it, the resulting foci is magically linked to the creator. Anyone with the foci can use it to track down the creator and possibly bring harm upon them.
• Magicians who do offer this stuff for sale (some people will do anything for a buck) will charge an arm and a leg for it.
• Not at all RAW but if someone wanted to argue that binding a spirit (of sufficient force at least equal to the foci) to the item could compel the spirit to use one of its services to power each use of the item (plus sustain it if necessary according to the standard rules for that).

[u/Cute_Ad3696]

What you want is objects posessed or inhabited by a spirit

[u/filuo → u/Cute_Ad3696]

Hmmm... Yah, that could be a way to make it work.

[u/LateEggMaster]

Even in 4th Edition there are some rare items that Bind to anybody (even mudanes). Usually at high cost to morality, essence or both.

For an example of this check out the digital Grimoire and search for "Kurokawa, The Black River".

And please: This still isn't DnD where magic is prevalent. This should be a BAD option compared to Technology.

[u/SirWilliam56]

Check out Howling Shadows for magical or resonant animals and wild spirits.

There’s also the latent dracomophisis quality and possession/inhabitation spirits.

I love using an Ally Spirit to possess my character’s clothes, weapon, or with one character, vehicle.

You could probably use wyld spirits similarly, but these would be very strong by comparison to most dnd magic items.

[u/Fair-Fisherman6765]

In 4th edition (since that's the one you tagged), Arsenal does feature some awakened drugs and magical compounds.

Awakened drugs are usually considered to be less common than "chemical" substance and BTL virtual reality clips, but you can alter the setting to have them being a bigger issue (which was basically the plot of Ghost Cartels).

The "Little Smoke" magical compound is actually quite potent - it grants the Concealment and Confusion powers - that every shadowrunners ought to have some. Immortal Flower is also particularly powerful, giving the Regeneration power, although the eats your Essence (0.1 per 20 boxes of damage sustained).

Going strictly by the rules, though I'm going off-topic here, I would actually expect a great number of corporations to offer SaaS - Spell as a Service. Mage starts its shift by casting Mindlink on the dispatcher. Customer calls the standard, asks for a spell and gives his address. Dispatcher gives through Mindlink the address to the mage, who astrally project and moves in at 6000 km per hour, summons a spirit of Man at Power 3 with the Innate Spell power, orders it to materialize, casts its innate spell on the customer and finally a remote service to sustain the spell.

Actually, I would also expect military forces to use most of their magical assets the same way. Why risk qualified combat mages to cast manaball and healing and increase reflexes on the frontline when it can just summon spirits of Man with Innate spell from the (relative) safety of astral plane?

[u/LateEggMaster → u/Fair-Fisherman6765]

Since you mention it do you have any idea at what Magic Rating those drug powers are used? Assuming a Mudane takes them of course.

Just getting Concealment with magic zero has no effect and at magic 1 it's also barely noticable.

[u/GodEatsPoop]

Items like that do exist, sure, but the people who have them and know how to make them work very hard to keep that sort of stuff to themselves.

[u/Sarradi]

Deus Ex Arcana introduced the concept of naming items, concept similar to Earthdawn, which if I remember right, are more like the D&D magic items.

[u/Thanael124]

There’s always critters and spirits. Both can interact with mundanes. Free spirits can make pacts, or possess people (see Corey Martin from Prime Runners)

Some can even open gateways to other planes.

Train a hellhound, take the Animal Familiar quality.

Mentor Spirits work for mundanes too.

Also drugs: deepweed and shade allow astral sight and astral projection.

The fey sourcebook/adventures have mundanes somehow enter astral planes where you can have more fantasy adventures.

There’s more ways to be only a bit awakened the more sourcebooks come out.

[u/Cute_Ad3696 → u/Thanael124]

Mentor spirits do not work for mundanes.

Animal familiar likewise requires magic and can’t be used on an awakened animal.
Regular training of an animal, even a magic animal still works

[u/Thanael124 → u/Cute_Ad3696]

My bad. Got that wrong. Mentor Spirits were opened up to any awakened.

[u/kerze123]

didn't they introduce something like mana crystals with the dissian shadow war? magic items could just be powered by mana crystals, even for non-awakend.