[Djinnocide]

Hi guys. I'm a new DM and I'm hoping to start a campaign with some friends who are familiar with table-top roleplaying, but who know very little about the world of Shadowrun. Can you recommend a pre-built module that would be a nice starting point for the uninitiated? I'm hoping to find something that will give them the gist of what it means to run the shadows as well as something that has enough plot points to where they'll really get a feel for the world around them. Is there a definitive beginners module or would I be better off making one from scratch (I'd kind of like to avoid this as my first DM encounter unless it's unanimous that making your own is the best way to start).

[Walks Through Walls]

I have always been partial to making my own adventures so my opinion may be a bit towards that, but there aren't a lot of premade shadowrun adventures right now. If you would really like something to get a feel go to drivethrurpg and look at getting one of the missions adventures for NYC. Either that or download one of the free Denver missions off of the Shadowrun website. These can also give you some good plot ideas for making your own for future runs.

Hope this helps

[Djinnocide]

Thanks for the recommendation, WTW. I'll check those out.

[Crossbow]

Just want to expand on the other post, the Denver Missions are a great starting point, I would also throw the Food Fight adventure on the main SR4 page as well, carried thru beyond just the shoot out in the stuffer shack.  Between the two it should give you a good place to start from until your team gets a feel for the game and you get a handle on what they are geared to accomplish

[Bradd]

The Dawn of the Artifacts series is nice for exploring the magic and social aspects of the game, but it's weaker for tech, and it uses a lot of unconventional settings. I like it, but avoid it if you want to operate out of a single city.

On the Run has a nice balance of the various Shadowrun elements, but the mechanics are a bit shaky. It's good about telling you which dice to roll for what, the trouble is that their guidelines often depart from the rules of the game, so you'll be learning things "wrong." I recommend reading it thoroughly in advance and double-checking things.

[Usda Beph]

I think "Stuffer Shack is a good starter adventure. You will have fond memories of this one for years to come.

[Crossbow]

I think "Stuffer Shack is a good starter adventure. You will have fond memories of this one for years to come.

I can still remember the neon samurai from ver 1 glitching on an attack roll with that monowhip.

"Clean-up on aisles 3 thru 8, and bring a dustpan for the chunky bits, 'kay?"

[Chaotic Insane]

FOOD FIGHT!

[Angelone]

To this day Food Fight is still my favorite starting scenario. I second the denver missions. I disagree with the Dawn of the Artifacts arc as starting characters would get mauled by most of the opposition and it's fairly epic in scope.

Edit- On the Run is good for starting characters.

[Frankie the Fomori]

There is some great starting runs here on this site, http://forums.shadowrun4.com/index.php?topic=122.0
Casazil does a great job with these...I find the interview runs the best....every PC i make i run them through it at home to see if they can offer something the whole way through...if not then he is not ready to play and I go back to the drawing board.

Also there is Ping time found at http://pavao.org/shadowrun/

This one is done by Aaron...you can also find the link to his site at dumpshock, shadowrun, important links, who's who, then click on the link that follows his name.

[raggedhalo]

Thirding the Denver Missions.  Really great starting point.

[Kot]

I think On The Run is quite good too. And it was even designed as a starting adventure.

[Darkeus]

Food Fight!!

Then lead it right into On The Run....

Food Fight is invaluable as a tool to teach the Shadowrun combat system. 

[Kot]

I'm going to offtop a bit with my question:

What advice would you give to someone who's going to GM a SR4 campaign for the first time? I have experience, with SR too, but that will be my first campaign on this game mechanics, so any tips will be usefull.

[Bradd]

Two things I do that are a bit uncommon:

I don't like being sole arbiter of rules as GM. When a rules question comes up in play, I like to look things up and walk through them with the whole group. That way, all of the group's rules experts can weigh in on matters of interpretation, and everyone learns how it's supposed to be done. We don't always get things exactly right the first time, but after a couple of walkthroughs, everyone is solid on how to do stuff, and things go smoother in the future.

I don't worry about trying to beat the players. A lot of folks believe strongly that a lack of challenge will bore players, which is true to some extent. However, constantly undermining their strengths, or poking at their weaknesses, will also cause frustration and boredom. It's important to threaten or challenge them sometimes, but it's equally important to let them do cool things. And when you do aim for challenge, don't just try to kill off PCs. There are lots of ways to fail in a mission, and there are Pyrrhic victories too.