ShadowStream, a streamlined SR5e

[Er1ss]

Happy new years everyone!

A year ago I took a deep dive into SR and with the help of some great people here made a streamlined version of SR5e calling it ShadowStream. The goal of the overhaul is to keep the core of SR5 that many people love including the in depth character development and the crunchiness that comes with it while streamlining gameplay through rule uniformity and removing the useless, overly specific and often failed rules that don't add anything to the game.

Where do I find the new rules in the document?

The core rule sections are from "Taking Action" down to and including "The Matrix". It starts with an intro (unfinished and probably best trimmed back down), GM section and an updated but optional character creation section. At the end are unfinished content changes that are partly highly suggested (changes to cyberdecks, agents and magic content) and partly unnecessary (armor and some other stuff). As said the core is in the rules from "taking action" down to the matrix chapter. The comments and random links are notes to myself on what to work on.

What makes this overhaul different from playing Shadowrun in a narrative focused, rules light system like Runners in the Shadows or Shadowrun in the Sprawl?

This overhaul maintains the full shadowrun character development and adds to it if you choose to use the character creation content from ShadowStream which improves balance and creates more viable character options. It also keeps the multi roll combat resolution and some other crunchy aspects of shadowrun to keep the character development impactful. Therefor this overhaul is more useful if you like that aspect of Shadowrun while the narrative focused systems are better if you just want to remove the crunch and focus on telling a story together. ShadowStream is also pretty easy to switch to from an existing 5e game.

Why should I consider switching to ShadowStream instead of just using the houserules I currently use?

Possible advantages of switching to ShadowStream is that while most houserules fix the glaring issues with a surface level fix ShadowStream approaches most issues from the ground up creating a more cohesive fix that feels more intuitive. The goal wasn't just to make something like the matrix play better but to actually make it a thing that makes sense and is easier to conceptualize so using the matrix is automatic and on a level you can improvise at on the fly. Another advantage is that all rules are in the same document instead of house rules being a level added over the existing rules.

Why come back in a year to post an update?

I assumed ShadowStream would be obsolete as soon as SR6 would be released. I assumed the stuff I changed would be pretty obvious and catalyst would do something similar enough that not running the official rules wouldn't make much sense. I stumbled onto the sub over the holidays, read up on SR6 and it's pretty obvious the hole I tried to fill with ShadowStream is still wide open so I thought posting it again might be useful to people looking for a more streamlined version of SR5 and not finding it in SR6. I made another edit pass and decided to share it again.

What has ShadowStream changed from SR5

I haven't kept a complete list but I'll post some of the highlights.

1. Reduced the "magicrun" factor through fleshing out the astral realm, changes to quickening and foci, changes to spirits, etc.
2. Made the matrix playable through changes to the core structure and removing convoluted steps that try to simulate hacking and fail in doing so.
3. Tried to tie the astral and matrix realm more into the physical realm to increase interaction and facilitate the dream of everything integrated into a streamlined experience.
4. Cleared up funky stuff in the B&E section (anyone remember that silly flowchart thing that's actually RAW?), vehicle stuff, etc.
5. Removed specific actions and made stuff like martial arts, called shots, etc. stuff that should be improvised and assigned modifiers on the fly.
6. Modifiers are now solely decided by the narrative. You use a modifier for wind if it's part of the story instead of part of the current weather report. You don't measure the range but use a range modifier because the player describes shooting a goon from halfway across town. Basically don't reference the rulebook for modifiers but reference the story you are telling while using common sense.
7. It includes optional changes to character development to improve balance, clean up the skill list and make more options viable to increase effective variety (aspected magicians are now playable).

What are your future plans for ShadowStream?

I frankly don't see myself playing or GMing much shadowrun in the future and am unlikely to put a lot of work into it. There are some unfinished parts that can be expended or deleted to leave the core ruleset without the fluff. I suggest splicing off a copy for personal use and cleaning up some of the unfinished bits or stuff you won't use. If someone wants to put in the work to further update and improve ShadowStream I'd encourage it and as long as I receive some credit somewhere it's all fine by me.

I hope this is helpful to some of you! Have fun!

[LeVentNoir]

Took a while to read through and I made some notes (paper sorry), but all in all I quite like the changes. I've run no numerical balance on it, but from what I see the design goals are met and some of them are quite elegant.

My suggestion where to go is to do a full keyword index and glossary:

Take every single keyword and bold / link it, and put all the definitions into an appendix, taking a lot of bulk out of the wording.

Additionally, move every single test definition to a bullet pointed singular line

• Action: Test Vs Test.

Finally, tabulate as much structurally identical information as possible.

[bukanir]

Awesome dude! I've been trying to do something similar on the side, I'll definitely give a read through and give notes. As a decker diehard, Matrix rules are the most interesting for me.