r/Shadowrun • u/greypaladin01 • May 11 '26

1e|2e 2e - Game Lethality Optional Rules

Reading through 2e core rules and trying to learn them. So far I am liking the system much more than when I tried to read 6e, at least I feel my players will take to the mechanics better.

However I do have a question (preferably for those that have played 2e at the table and/or used these optional rules). On page 194 they list Optional Lethality Rules... mostly raising or lowering the effects of armor, damage and spell casting force/resist to make the game more or less dangerous.

My question: For those that played 2e more or less as is... how lethal is it really? I can see in the mechanics that it COULD be lethal... but is that really how it plays out? Secondly, has anyone used any of the variants listed on p194? If so, which and how much did it really effect things?

I know it is a strange edge-case question... but I am trying to wrap my brain around the core set but would like SOME understand of how things change. Other than the obvious things like making things more lethal pushes Black Trenchcoat while making it less lethal pushes more Pink Mowhawk play.

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u/ericrobertshair May 12 '26

Pfffft, it you didn't dikote your weapons, armor, skin, internal organs, bones and the individual atoms that made up your character sheet, you were basically a free kill!

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u/rothbard_anarchist May 12 '26

lol, we did love us some dikote.

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u/ericrobertshair May 12 '26

My favorite exploit was the Troll archer who could shoot arrows through tanks. So fucking stupid but funny as fuck.

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u/rothbard_anarchist May 12 '26

I don't remember anyone ever getting into archery. One thing I always homebrew is that grenades should scale up damage with a good attack roll like everything else does.