Shadowrun 5th Edition presents a reputation system that, while intriguing, often feels somewhat undefined in its mechanical application. It appears intentionally designed to be flexible, yet this can leave players and Game Masters wanting a more concrete sense of how their actions shape their standing in the shadows. This article aims to explore ways to bring the reputation attributes – particularly Street Cred, Notoriety, and Public Awareness – into sharper focus within your Shadowrun games. We’ll delve into how these attributes might be earned and, more importantly, propose house rules to give them tangible effects, enhancing both the gameplay experience and the narrative impact of runner reputations. We’re also keen to hear how you handle reputation at your table and welcome your thoughts on the proposed mechanics.
Earning Your Stripes: Defining Reputation Categories
To begin, let’s establish a clearer framework for how runners gain Street Cred, Notoriety, and Public Awareness. Drawing inspiration from published Shadowrun missions, here are some guidelines to consider. We encourage you to share your own criteria for these categories as well.
Street Cred: The Mark of a Professional
Street Cred embodies accomplishments, noteworthy deeds, and a general sense of being a capable and perhaps even honorable runner. It’s about building a positive reputation within the shadows. Actions that might boost Street Cred include:
- Executing a job with professionalism and skill: Completing contracts efficiently and effectively reflects well on a runner team.
- Going the extra mile: Exceeding client expectations, taking initiative, and demonstrating exceptional competence enhances Street Cred.
- Minimizing collateral damage: Showing restraint and avoiding unnecessary harm to innocents contributes to a more positive image.
- Loyalty to employers (usually): Upholding agreements and avoiding betrayal, unless faced with extreme moral conflict (like a genocidal employer), builds trust.
- Tackling challenging objectives: Successfully handling difficult tasks, such as protecting a VIP, neutralizing a dangerous threat, or resolving high-stakes situations, earns respect.
- Maintaining composure under pressure: Avoiding getting caught in lies when dealing with Johnsons or other shadow figures suggests professionalism.
Notoriety: The Shadow of Untrustworthiness
Notoriety, conversely, reflects negative character traits, untrustworthiness, and a willingness to engage in ruthless or unethical behavior. It’s the kind of reputation that precedes you in less desirable ways. Actions increasing Notoriety might include:
- Civilian casualties: Causing harm or death to non-combatants severely damages reputation.
- Breaching contracts: Backing out of accepted jobs without justifiable cause signals unreliability.
- Betraying clients (usually): Double-crossing employers, except in extreme cases of moral imperative, erodes trust.
- Villainous acts: Committing acts of extreme violence, wanton destruction, or cruelty, like large-scale sabotage or excessive force, generates negative attention.
- Job failures: Failing to achieve mission objectives, especially when resulting in significant negative consequences (like the death of a principal), reflects poorly.
- Deception exposed: Being caught in lies when interacting with Johnsons or other shadow contacts indicates dishonesty.
Public Awareness: The Spotlight of the Media
Public Awareness tracks media exposure and general visibility to the wider world. It’s about how much attention, wanted or unwanted, runners attract. Actions that raise Public Awareness include:
- Public disturbances: Creating noticeable scenes or causing disruptions in public places draws attention.
- Surveillance captures: Being recorded by security systems while engaged in illegal activities increases visibility.
- Law enforcement encounters: Arrests or significant interactions with law enforcement put runners on the public radar.
Mechanical Muscle: Effects of Reputation
While defining how reputation is earned is crucial, giving it mechanical weight enhances its in-game significance. The Shadowrun 5th Edition core rulebook offers limited mechanical effects for reputation. Let’s explore proposed house rules to make Street Cred, Notoriety, and Public Awareness more impactful.
Street Cred: Opening Doors and Earning Respect
The core rules state that every 10 Karma earned grants +1 Street Cred, which adds a positive modifier to Social Limits when reputation is a factor and can reduce Notoriety at a 2:1 ratio.
Houserule Proposal 1: Amplified Social Prowess
Instead of +1 Social Limit per 10 Street Cred, consider granting +1 modifier to both Social Limit and Social skill dice pools for every 5 Street Cred.
- Reasoning: This adjustment prevents excessively high Social Limits for characters with vast Karma pools while still offering a substantial and noticeable “wow” factor to characters renowned for their Street Cred. It makes high Street Cred feel truly impactful in social encounters.
Houserule Proposal 2: Burning Cred for Favors
Introduce the option to burn Street Cred, similar to Edge, to secure crucial favors in social situations. Need those building schematics, a fast transport to a distant location, or a legal loophole? Spending Street Cred could make it happen when negotiation or contacts fall short.
- Reasoning: Sometimes, even the most skilled negotiator or well-connected runner faces insurmountable obstacles. Allowing runners to sacrifice Street Cred for otherwise unattainable assistance provides additional options and creates interesting choices. The amount of Street Cred burned should be tied to the Connection rating of the individual or contact being asked for the favor, reflecting the cost to one’s reputation when seeking help from powerful figures.
Notoriety: Facing the Consequences of a Dark Reputation
The core rules primarily describe Notoriety as making contacts and others less helpful.
Houserule Proposal 3: Threat Response Escalation
Notoriety should directly influence how security forces respond to runners, especially when combined with Public Awareness. Public Awareness can act as a recognition threshold.
- Reasoning: A runner known for brutality and untrustworthiness should elicit a different response from security than a relatively unknown operative. Reputation should precede actions.
Houserule 3a: Public Awareness as Recognition Threshold
When runners encounter opposition, use Public Awareness to determine if their Notoriety is recognized. The opposition makes a Memory test (Logic + Willpower) against a threshold determined by the runners’ Public Awareness:
| Public Awareness | Recognition Threshold |
|---|---|
| 0-3 | 4 |
| 4-6 | 3 |
| 7-9 | 2 |
| 10+ | 1 |
If recognized, and Notoriety exceeds 5, security forces will prioritize containing the threat and waiting for High Threat Response (HTR) teams. If Notoriety exceeds 10, HTR teams will default to lethal force. Beyond 20 Notoriety, expect extreme responses, potentially involving military-grade security and overwhelming force.
Houserule Proposal 4: Social Skill Penalties
Each point of Notoriety imposes a -1 dice pool modifier on Social skills when reputation is a known factor in the interaction.
- Reasoning: Negotiations and social interactions should become demonstrably more difficult when a runner is known for being unreliable, dangerous, or prone to failure. This creates a tangible in-game consequence for negative reputations. While teams embracing Notoriety might find this challenging, it is balanced by the fact that Street Cred, which offers social bonuses, is generally easier to accumulate through professional and ethical actions.
Public Awareness: The Double-Edged Sword of Fame
The core rulebook includes a table describing the level of public recognition based on Public Awareness. However, the scale might seem compressed, with even moderate Public Awareness leading to widespread recognition, which could be overly detrimental for runners.
Houserule Proposal 3a (Continued): Recognition Threshold (already detailed above under Notoriety)
Using Public Awareness as a threshold for recognition, as described in Houserule 3a, provides a more nuanced approach than the book’s table. It ties Public Awareness directly to the effectiveness of Notoriety in influencing security responses.
General Reputation: Tailoring Reputation to Game Style
Houserule Proposal 5: Reputation-Based Job Payment
A team’s overall reputation should influence job payments. Consider using the group’s average reputation to adjust mission payouts, perhaps with a 1% to 5% markup per point of total reputation.
Furthermore, the type of reputation valued by Johnsons might depend on the game’s tone:
- Mirrorshades: Johnsons might value professionalism and discretion:
Street Cred - (Notoriety + Public Awareness) - Pink Mohawk: Johnsons might seek notoriety and attention-grabbing runners:
(Street Cred + Public Awareness) - Notoriety - Heartless Bastards: Johnsons might prioritize ruthlessness and effectiveness, even if it means collateral damage:
(Street Cred + Notoriety) - Public Awareness
Your Reputation Precedes You
These proposed house rules aim to make reputation in Shadowrun 5th Edition a more dynamic and mechanically relevant aspect of gameplay. By giving Street Cred, Notoriety, and Public Awareness tangible effects, we can enhance the narrative impact of runner actions and create richer, more responsive game worlds. We are eager to hear your thoughts and experiences. How do you incorporate reputation into your Shadowrun games, and what mechanical effects, if any, do you use? Your feedback and insights are invaluable in refining these ideas and further exploring the nuances of reputation in the shadows.
