Unlike Dungeons & Dragons and other systems which use a plethora of dice types to resolve challenges, Shadowrun is famous for only using six-sided dice…many, many six-sided dice.

When a test is called for, the involved character(s) will roll a number of six-sided dice (d6) and count the number of fives and sixes showing; these are hits and generally, the more hits one gets, the better the result. Sometimes a player is trying to roll more than an opponent, while other tests are against a static difficulty called a threshold. More hits generally signify a better outcome.

Challenges are an exciting—if somewhat laborious—part of any Shadowrun session. Tools such as FoundryVTT help automate the process as much as possible, keeping things exciting while minimizing having to look up rules and flowcharts each time. The example tests at the end of this page can be resolved with just a few mouse-clicks, which greatly speeds up sessions, particularly scenes involving combat.

#Unique Mechanics

The world of Shadowrun takes place on three different planes, simultaneously: characters are all present in the physical world, magicians and spirits may be active on the astral plane, and those skilled at hacking may interact with the technological. This three-in-one layering of reality can seem complex at first, but everything operates along (roughly) the same rules, which makes it easier for everyone.

Characters’ dice pools are modified by the situation surrounding a test; heavy fog will make observing long distances difficult, while equipping a laser sight might improve one’s pistol aim. Attacking from a moving vehicle is more difficult than from an entrenched position, et cetera. Modifiers are a core mechanic in Shadowrun, far moreso than in other role-playing games, and their smooth application is a key ability for a Gamemaster to have and for players to understand.

Another concept unique to this system is that of Limits. No matter how well a test is rolled, some degrees of success are just beyond a character, whether based on their biology, the situation at hand, or the equipment being used. For most tests there are a maximum number of hits that can be counted toward success. As dice pools get larger and larger over time, a smart player will start investing in ways to increase these limits to take advantage of the greater capacity for hits.

Sometimes things go disastrously wrong, and in Shadowrun these are called Glitches. A glitch occurs when half or more of the rolled dice show a one, and means something unfavorable happens. If the player also rolled hits the glitch may be inconvenient but not deadly, such as a bag with loot getting ripped open as they hop a fence. If however they glitch without rolling even a single success, things go from bad to worse. This is called a Critical Glitch and is very bad news indeed. Instead of diving through a plate glass window for a dramatic escape, they bounce off and suffer a mild concussion, or their gun misfires and shoots a teammate. Glitches can enhance the story by representing that not everything goes to plan.

Each character has a special attribute called Edge which represents how lucky they are. A player may temporarily spend a point of Edge to influence a die roll, either helping their characters succeed in “impossible” situations or preventing the worst of calamity. Edge recovers after a solid night’s sleep or it can be rewarded by the gamemaster for exceptional role-play and other story-driving choices. Here are several examples of what spending Edge can accomplish:

• Add your Edge rating to the dice rolled for a test, and ignore any limits on the maximum hits. What’s more, all sixes rolled “explode” and grant you an additional die to roll
• Re-roll any dice that weren’t hits
• Ignore the effects of a glitch or downgrade a critical glitch to a regular one
• Move to the top of the combat order and go first

Characters in Shadowrun do not have classes and do not “level up” as is common in other game systems. Each character earns Karma after every adventure which they can use to increase their attributes, skills, or buy magical powers and the like during downtime. Most improvements take time, days or weeks, to take effect; this represents the very real effort a character is making toward that goal. A very freeform system with a lot of flexibility, no two runners are ever identical, even if they ostensibly fit into the same team role (see Building a Team).

#Types of Tests

If two (or more) characters come into conflict—be it physically, socially, mentally, magically, or technologically—they will engage in an opposed test, where each will roll one or more sets of dice to determine who comes out on top. Determining the victor is usually a simple process: they who achieved more hits wins.

Some tests however are not against other characters, but against the environment, such as quiely climbing a fence or searching online databases for information. For these challenges the Gamemaster will set a threshold—a difficulty rating—the player will have to beat in order to succeed. Some such tests represent effort over a period of time and may require multiple rolls to accomplish the goal; these are called “extended tests.”

Tests in combat are usually multi-step processes, involving the offensive character rolling to see how well they aimed at the defender and the defender rolling to see whether or not they got out of the way, either partially or totally. Then, if struck, the defender rolls to resist the horrible incoming damage, based on how well (or poorly) they avoided being hit in the first place. Shadowrun is a system that leans more toward making combat realistic or representative of real life over making it streamlined. Luckily our use of FoundryVTT automates and smooths out many of the back-and-forth workflows.

#Example Tests

Slipping Past a Guard

• The hider rolls [Sneaking] + [Agility] ± [Modifiers] to try and remain unnoticed
• The guard rolls [Perception] + [Intuition] ± [Modifiers]
• If the hider rolled more hits than the guard, they made it through undetected. Otherwise, the guard spots them and the idea of stealth goes out the window
• [In Foundry the above is two mouse clicks]

Slashing with a Knife

• The attacker rolls [Blades] + [Agility] ± [Modifiers] to see if they strike the target at all
• If the slasher got any hits, the defender rolls [Reaction] + [Intuition] ± [Modifiers] to try and dodge
• If the attacker rolled more hits than the defender, these “net hits” are added to the knife’s damage value
• If the knife’s (new) damage value is greater than the defender’s armour (± armour penetration), the attack will deal physical damage. Otherwise it will deal stun
• The defender rolls [Body] plus their modified armour value, subtracting any hits from the incoming damage
• Any remaining damage gets applied to the proper damage track
• [In Foundry the above is three mouse clicks]

Casting a Spell

• The caster chooses at what Force to cast the spell, up to twice their [Magic] attribute
• They roll [Magic] + [Spellcasting] ± [Modifiers] and note the hits, with a limit of the spell’s force
• If the spell must be resisted by a target, the GM will roll appropriately
• Whether or not the spell succeeds, the caster rolls [Willpower] + [Resistance attribute] to soak the spell’s drain. Hits reduce the amount of damage they take
• If the spell’s force was greater than their [Magic] attribute, the damage is physical. Otherwise, stun
• [In Foundry the above is two mouse clicks]