[Ympulse]

Quite simply, how does one begin the process of getting into Shadowrun? I've read what is available through Wikipedia and half-understanding the forums, but is there any specific place one can come to grips on this wonderful setting?

I've gone to every retailer in a 20m radius of where I live, and only two had Shadowrun merchandise, but those were third party splatbook-looking pieces. I would love very much to get into this setting, but the sheer density of the language you veterans use is a bit... hard to translate.

Any help?

[Critias]

Your best bet is to find yourself a copy of Shadowrun: 20th Anniversary Edition.  It's the core rulebook for fourth edition, and the basic building block of most every conversation you're going to see around here.  It's got the absolute essentials of a timeline in it, it's got the core mechanics, it's got some slang terms, it's got the big players, etc, etc.

For the rest?  The nitty gritty details that often come up in forum conversations between die-hard fans?  That gets harder.  Because the game's been around since 1989, been through a handful of editions, had lines of novels published alongside it, and is hundreds of books deep in continuity and detail.  To try and flesh out anything you can try and flesh out, in as little time as possible?  I'd check eBay or Craigslist or what-have-you, and do searches for things like "shadowrun lot" or "shadowrun collection." 

Cast a wide net, hit up your local used book stores, and see what you can find for a decent price.  Sometimes you can really get lucky and pick up a dozen paperbacks for $5 or something.  Sometimes you can score a big stack of previous edition sourcebooks (chock full of setting details and memorable characters) for next to nothing.  Sometimes.

For more current edition stuff -- if it's genuinely running a campaign that you're more interested in, as opposed to understanding every little thing the grognard veterans are talking about -- Shadowrun: 20th Anniversary Edition (often referred to around here as SR4A) is still the way to go, of course.  But then, instead of looking back in time twenty years and trying to snag some of the old sourcebooks we fawn over, you'll want to pick up some of the much more recent rules expansions.  Depending on what aspects of Shadowrun you take a liking to, you'll pick up things like Street Magic, or Unwired, or Arsenal, or Augmentation -- each of them dealing with more magic, more electronics/tech, more guns, more cyberware -- in order to fill out your library.  From there, we've got whole slews of more specific sourcebooks also available, dealing with espionage, or full-on warfare, or the seedy underbelly of life, or mass media and pop culture.  You've got lots of options, here, and which ones are "must have" books will likely vary based on what sort of characters you and your players are interested in.

One product that's absolutely handy for running a game is the Origins-Award-Winning Runner's Toolkit.  It's a boxed set that comes with a swanky GM screen, some very nice handouts that list modifiers and die pools and rules, it's got some compiled gear tables, it's got an adventures all ready to go, it's got some alternate character creation rules (that are pretty quick and easy)...it's a great product for anyone just getting started with the game, trying to kick-start a campaign.

I've gone to every retailer in a 20m radius of where I live, and only two had Shadowrun merchandise, but those were third party splatbook-looking pieces.

I'm very curious about what these would be.  There are no third party texts for Shadowrun, and I'm really wondering what couple of books you might be talking about, here.  Any chance you remember the names?

[_Pax_]

Any help?

Do you live near where Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts all meet? 

[Ympulse]

Thank you very much for the replies, I appreciate it.

And no, I sadly live in Austin, TX.

I've gone to every retailer in a 20m radius of where I live, and only two had Shadowrun merchandise, but those were third party splatbook-looking pieces.

I'm very curious about what these would be.  There are no third party texts for Shadowrun, and I'm really wondering what couple of books you might be talking about, here.  Any chance you remember the names?

They had the Shadowrun label (as seen on the header of the website) and were titled "Weapons of the Shadows", "Dirty Deals", and "The Grid". They all looked to be 100-150 pages, at best.

[Teknodragon]

I've found that local retailers don't carry the Shadowrun 4th edition, 20th anniversary book (SR4A) where I'm at either. Nearly all my Shadowrun books are in pdf form, which can be found at http://www.battlecorps.com or drivethrough rpg. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or an order through your Friendly Local Game Store will get you your hardcopy if electronic files aren't your thing.

The next step is getting into a group, or putting one together. I'll leave that advice for the folks more social than I.

Happy gaming, and welcome to the shadows!

[_Pax_]

And no, I sadly live in Austin, TX.

  Hmm, that would be a bit far to drive for a monthly game. 

They had the Shadowrun label (as seen on the header of the website) and were titled "Weapons of the Shadows", "Dirty Deals", and "The Grid". They all looked to be 100-150 pages, at best.

... never heard of any such books, for any edition of Shadowrun.  How certain are you that you're remembering the titles accurately?

[Ympulse]

... never heard of any such books, for any edition of Shadowrun.  How certain are you that you're remembering the titles accurately?

Pen and paper on a 3x5 notepad certain.

[Critias]

Thank you very much for the replies, I appreciate it.

And no, I sadly live in Austin, TX.

I've gone to every retailer in a 20m radius of where I live, and only two had Shadowrun merchandise, but those were third party splatbook-looking pieces.

I'm very curious about what these would be.  There are no third party texts for Shadowrun, and I'm really wondering what couple of books you might be talking about, here.  Any chance you remember the names?

They had the Shadowrun label (as seen on the header of the website) and were titled "Weapons of the Shadows", "Dirty Deals", and "The Grid". They all looked to be 100-150 pages, at best.

Huh.  Those...aren't real Shadowrun books.  At all.

So, yeah.  Some third party -- and by "third party" I mean "obsessive fan" -- apparently printed some stuff up and convinced an Austin gaming store to keep them stocked on shelves, or something.  That's the first time I've heard of that sort of thing happening.

[Mirikon]

Welcome to the madhouse, Ympulse.

As for understanding the setting, the two books I would start off with is the 20th Anniversary Edition, as well as Augmentation, Unwired, Street Magic, and Arsenal. If you can't find them on DriveThruRPG or Amazon, just do a search through the internet, and you'll find copies. Two other books that really help in knowing the setting are Seattle 2072 and Sixth World Almanac.

Also, you might not be able to find them in print any more, but if you hunt the internet long enough, you'll be able to find some kind soul who will allow you to indefinitely borrow a PDF of their 3rd and earlier edition stuff. Going back and reading through some of the classic books like Universal Brotherhood - Missing Blood, Bug City, Renraku Arcology - Shutdown, Brainscan, System Failure, and more will give you a good handle on the world.

Now, as for where to play? If you've had no luck finding a group in real life, your best bet is to do online gaming. And now I'm going to throw some acronyms at you.

PBC - Play by Chat. Get on Google Talk, Skype, AIM, IRC or whatever messaging service you all have and go to town. The problem with this method is that things move very quickly, and you can get lost in the sea of information. Also, you have to manage schedules of people who may be in vastly different time zones. Still, it feels almost like being at the table with the group.

VT - Virtual Tabletop. Take PBC, and add pictures. Really, that's the only difference, though most virtual tabletops have other features like their own chatspace, an internal dice roller, map support, and so on.

PBEM - Play by E-Mail. The digital version of those old play by mail games, where you would get an actual letter from the DM, write out what you were going to do, send it in, and wait until the reply came back.

PBP - Play by Post. If you look at the roleplay section here, that is a fine example of play by post gaming. In general, I've found it to be a good middle ground between PBEM and PBC. Things move slower, but they don't depend on your schedules meshing like play by chat does.


If you're looking to get into a PBP group, throw up a request in the Looking For Game section. You can also hit places like Roleplay Online (rpol.net) which offers free roleplaying options. If you do go over there, be sure to check in on the beginners forum, and people will be glad to help you get your bearings.

[Ympulse]

I'd just like to thank everyone for their input and information, it is much appreciated. I'll also be sure to pay a visit to those retailers to let them know what's up about those 'splatbooks'



Gentlemen, I am in your debt

[CanRay]

Hey, we're always happy to welcome a new person. 

I'd suggest Drive Thru RPG for electronic versions of out-of-print and current books.  Shadowrun 4th Anniversary Edition (Mentioned above) is the main rulebook and gives a good rundown of what the world is like in the 2070s.  Or, if you want to start at the beginning, wait until the announced Shadowrun 2050 rulebook comes out (Don't take this as official, but my money's on a GenCon release for that.  Just makes good sense to release it then.).

For an in-game history rundown, Sixth World Almanac has a full history of the world and why it's the way it is.  It's also a good book to see what the nations of the world are like.

If you want to get the books straight from CGL, then there's the Battleshop.

Another option is just asking folks here, which is cheaper but you'll get a lot of different replies and some confusion, as well as the occasional argument and misinformation.  Because, well, Shadowrun is like that, even in-game. 

[Xarin]

In addition to all the great advice, I'll just tack on this little tidbit:  After you get the core book (20th anniversary edition rules) I'd actually pick up the Runner's Companion book first.  Physical or PDF is up to you.  It's got a lot of great ideas and info for getting started with the game.  Breakdowns of typical roles within a shadowrunner crew and ways to go about implementing them.  Background questions to kick-start the creative process.  And a slew of additional Qualities and more exotic character options (AI, Free Spirits, meta-sapient critters, changelings, shapeshifters, metatype variants...)  It has options that are useful for any character really.

[_Pax_]

Attitude is great for getting a grip on the world itself - the social and entertainment side of things, as opposed to the pure criminals-for-hire angle of most other books. 

[Xarin]

Attitude is great for getting a grip on the world itself - the social and entertainment side of things, as opposed to the pure criminals-for-hire angle of most other books. 

I'll second that.  Helps a lot with picking out favorite past-times, sports, music, type of cloths to wear...  Little details like that go a long way in turning a statblock into a character to me.

[All4BigGuns]

The Runner's Toolkit is an awesome product too.