Shadowrun - Cybernetics, Magic, Allergies, and Side Effects

I don't think any of this post will make sense to even Shadowrun fans; if you do not know the Hero System, this post is probably just gibberish. But I needed to make it to organize my own thoughts, and hopefully get some input.

 

So far, literally everything has the Limitation: Side Effects - at least almost all Magic and Cybernetics, which is more than half of the game! This is consistent throughout Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, CyberHERO, and Fantasy Hero (and its Companions), but I don't like it:

 

1. This is one of the first things that designers and users would seek to hammer-out. So, by this point (many decades after they were introduced), there should be a lot fewer side effects than there were with earlier versions, whether it be of a spell or article of cybertech.

 

2. Some of this comes off as hystrionic attempts at game balance where it really wasn't needed.

 

3. In Hero, specifically, it seems like they included it to lower Real Cost more than anything. It fits sometimes, and it is exactly right other times, but it's mostly just included with everything even when it doesn't fit.

 

4. Side Effects leads to a lot more math between Phases, which adds to the complexity of keeping up with everything. I want something more elegant and easier to follow, even if this is as simple (though also time-consuming) as Increased END, which doesn't necessarily make sense for a lot of cybernetics but could work for netrunning.

5. Since even the lowest version involves 30 Active Points, I'd really rather avoid Side Effects whenever possible! I can't imagine why anyone would choose a version, make, or model with Side Effects if they could afford the difference and had the choice.

 

One of the issues I'm thinking through is that it is consistent throughout all of these somewhat disparate sources, but all are from the same era (1989-1992 or so). "Side Effects" were one of the first things that were smoothed-out of modern technology, and today's Internet is (despite its problems) faster and more stable, relying far less on the end-user's knowledge of computers or computing (or electrical or fiber-optic) capacity. So I feel justified in making such a sweeping change, I just don't know the best, and most direct, way of going about it yet.

 

Here's my "creative" solution to Side Effects, Cyberpsychosis, and Cybernetics (better known as a rough draft):

Berserk on Burnout - Common, 11, 14- (-15)
Psych. Lim. Cyberpsychosis - Common, Strong (-15)

Magic and Cybernetics are handled separately, but there are going to be a lot of similarities - especially in the Wireless Age. At this point, Side Effects is one of those and I wanted to eliminate it but I am going with this write-up for cybernetics.

© The Weirding, 2025