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Any interest in intro light SR5 house rules?

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SITZKRIEG

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« on: <01-20-18/2303:37> »
I was curious if Anarchy scratched the potential itch others had of a less crunchy SR system over here on the full SR5 side of the forums.  I took a look at the rules and the playstyle just doesn't do it for me (along with the various technical issues the ruleset had when I looked at it a while back).   I appreciate the granularity that Shadowrun has traditionally offered (been playing on and off since 2nd edition) but I've found it difficult to ease new players into the game because of the steep learning curve.  I do alot of house rules on my blog and was curious if a rules lite compatible introductory version of SR5 would be of interest to folks here.  It would mainly be of interest to starting groups to ease them into the full ruleset.  Or is that not different enough from Anarchy to warrant doing?  I'm curious to see what the thoughts are on that subject.

cyclopean

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« Reply #1 on: <01-20-18/2307:17> »
I've personally found "Anarchy" really easy and fun to run (especially for players new to the system), though my main group still uses SR5 (I also love the granularity). But Anarchy does a simplified version really well, and requires very little prep from a GM-ing standpoint, so long as you have a story in mind. Plus it's still attribute + skill + bonuses in dice pool form, so it gets people comfortable with the core mechanic, if they do later get into one of the more complex editions.

SITZKRIEG

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« Reply #2 on: <01-20-18/2342:04> »
I fully admit that this may be a case of a solution looking for a problem but Anarchy just isn't close enough for me personally.  It has terms in common as well as a version of the core mechanic but the rest IMO feels like the different ruleset it is (mechanically let alone the feel of a narrative game vs a traditional SR ruleset  That's not a dig on either the narrative style nor the mechanics but I'm not sure they a good stepping stone directly into a traditional SR game which is what I'm interested in; they feel more like a permanent replacement for groups looking for less crunch.  I'm looking for something more akin to the similarities between for instead D&D3e and the old D&D Miniatures ruleset whereas I feel like Anarchy are as similar as D&D1e and 4e instead.  Please not that I'm *NOT* saying that the rules will be 3e based nor that minis will be required but rather using the example for a gauge of the differences.  YMMV.

Mr Johnson

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« Reply #3 on: <01-21-18/0217:35> »
I like Anarchy.  It allows things to happen much faster, I think, but I just got back into Shadowrun this year.  I just ran a oneshot with new players and 6 on 5 combat took less than 30 minutes, miniatures and everything.  I think the combat rules section in Shadowrun 2nd edition might be longer than the entire Anarchy mechanical ruleset (apart from the list and pregens and such).

On the other hand I'm in the process of recrunchifying parts of it. I'm converting 2nd edition cyberware and spells (I like the 2050s) and making master lists of stuff .  Also going to liberalize all the amp limitations, and am working on a karma based build system which I need to play balance better (195 karma point Physical adept is starting off with 18 dice in unarmed combats and has killing hands that start off at 7P damage when most people have like 12P total health- one shot, one kill, maybe even through armor)  with the goal of not having any attribute, skill or amp limits, just take the chunk of karma and build what you want.   We'll be adding back rudimentary drain as well.
« Last Edit: <01-21-18/0219:53> by Mr Johnson »

SITZKRIEG

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« Reply #4 on: <01-21-18/1554:10> »
Lol, we're working at this from completely opposite angles.  I'm proposing taking the very crunchy SR5 rules and making them lighter whereas you're taking the very freeform Anarchy ruleset and adding crunchy bits to it. 

Mr Johnson

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« Reply #5 on: <01-22-18/1410:01> »
Well, we're coming at it from the opposite direction.  I played Shadowrun 2nd decades ago now.  From what I've learned of Shadowrun Fifth and the physical heft of that book I have little desire to go through it and figure out what I want to keep and strip out and then teach it to people. It's not like there are a lot of Shadowrun 5th edition people wanting to play here.  There aren't any other Shadowrun games running that I know of face to face.  It's been much easier for my players new to Shadowrun to read Anarchy and grasp the basic mechanics, and from there we're grafting on worthwhile things from 2nd edition rules. 

If you already know 5th edition, you can just do exactly the same thing with Anarchy.  In fact I would maintain that Anarchy NEEDS an edition standing behind it as reference because I don't think the authors put in enough background and concept explanation to allow someone who just reads Anarchy to understand how various aspects of the game are supposed to work.  I think Anarchy is incomplete as written but is good for GMs who already have a background in Shadowrun overall.
« Last Edit: <01-22-18/1413:05> by Mr Johnson »

cyclopean

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« Reply #6 on: <01-23-18/2052:31> »
Also, for what it's worth, it plays quite well without all the narrative aspects of the mechanic- my group mostly ignores cues and dispositions so it really is just SR ultra-lite. Agreed that you need other material to really build out any sense of the world, etc, and I personally appreciate that they kept Anarchy so slim (as there's plenty of world building available between all the various other editions)

Mr Johnson

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« Reply #7 on: <01-23-18/2358:36> »
Yeah, we haven't explored the narration or cue system.  It's just Shadowrun lite as far as I am concerned.  Shadowrun lite that allows you to run old published material with extremely quick conversions.