Shadowrun is one of my favorite games, although I've always found the system...well, a tad bit on the clunky side. Dream Pod 9's SilCORE system I've found to be my favorite; it's the best combination of simplicity and flexibility from any publisher I've read, and is made to be generic. It has an integrated tactical combat system and vehicle design system, which helps considerably.
These rules are an effort to combine the Shadowrun setting and feel with the SilCORE rules. Many of the underlying mechanics in Shadowrun are duplicated in SilCORE already (conventional combat, for instance), but SilCORE does not have a magic system that is easily compatible with Shadowrun, nor does it have much in the way of cybernetics rules. In addition, the character creation system does not take into account those or the advantages and disadvantages of non-human races. So, I've begun the process of going through the Shadowrun rules and converting them to a SilCORE analogue.
Below, I've arranged things into three categories. Feature complete means that the section is finished, and will only be tweaked due to playtesting or by rewording to make the section more clear. In addition, collections, such as cyberware, spell, or vehicle catalogs, may have new entries added after being marked as "feature complete". In progress indicates that I'm working on the section and while it has passed my initial writing, I haven't finished hammering things out and they are subject to change. Planned indicates that I plan to work on the section, but it is on the back burner for the moment. I'll update the changes page each time I update the various sections.
This page outlines the basic guidelines I tried to follow when converting Shadowrun rules to SilCORE rules. For the most part, these are fairly straightforward and I present them so that readers can get a good idea of where I was coming from when I wrote these (and also anticipate how to modify rules I haven't touched on yet).
The character creation pages have basic stats for the Shadowrun races, CP and SP allocations, rules for buying magical aptitudes, spells, and gear, using sample characters as examples.
While SilCORE already has a pretty significant Perks and Flaws list, some aren't really appropriate for a Shadowrun game and there's some Perks and Flaws from the Shadowrun Companion and other sourcebooks which have no SilCORE equivalent. This is a list of suggested alterations to the SilCORE list.
These are the basic magic rules, essentially taken from the Shadowrun main rulebook. Many sections survived completely untouched (mostly those that require no rolls and are purely descriptive).
This section is a converted list of spells from Shadowrun, with new information to make it consistent with the Magic rules given above. Changes to the effects of spells are noted, but for many, the basic information on the spell is very similar to that given in the Shadowrun sourcebooks. Each converted spell includes a cite for the Shadowrun text it originally appeared in.
These are the rules for physical adepts, including a list of available physical adept powers taken from various Shadowrun sourcebooks. Each power includes a cite for the text it originally appeared in.
The rules for cyberware and bioware had to be really reworked; SilCORE has no real "humanity" or Essence attribute, so how cyberware and bioware work is considerably different. Minor cyberware or bioware can be added without penalty, but more invasive implants are a bit more harsh. I also had to rebalance the costs for some items due to the larger affect most bonuses have in SilCORE. Even when feature complete, this may get updates from time to time with new cyber/bioware.
This section contains two parts; the first consists of guidelines on the conversion of Shadowrun's rules on Availability, Street Index, and Legality Codes to SilCORE rules. The second is a list of Shadowrun equipment converted to SilCORE stats and simplified somewhat, with some notes on the process.
Similar to the Critters section of SR2, this section will contain both conversions of the paranormal animal powers and the paranormal creatures themselves, including spirits and other magical entities. Each critter entry is cited with the original location of the information I based it on.
This is a repository for rules that don't really fall under anything else that I needed to address. If you're wondering how to handle something and you can't find it anywhere else, look in here.
What I'll try to do here is convert the advanced magic rules from Magic in the Shadows to the SilCORE system. I anticipate some rather large changes here, especially with regard to Initiation and metamagic, which will probably be considerably different.
I'm going to try and rebuild the most common, signature Shadowrun vehicles with the SilCORE vehicle rules; I may throw in some brand new ones too (such as mecha).
To be honest, this is fairly low on my list of priorities, but I will probably end up doing it at some time. Decking is one of those things that always seems to slow the game down, so I will probably see if I can't simplify things somewhat when I convert the rules for SilCORE.
I plan to make some stock NPCs, much like in the Heavy Gear or Gear Krieg setting books, with basic stats and sample equipment loadouts.