WARNING: Long story. If TL;DR, skip to bottom.
Me and my players are simple folk. Since 2007, we have lived off of the fat of D&D 3.5, occasionally feeling the need to access the Complete book set and reluctant to learn new systems. We’ve been the same community of 4 players for a long time. Very simply, it's difficult and time consuming to learn new systems, and it's rare that we see another system that actually looks interesting to us.
We have always played online, usually using Fantasy Grounds, which is a fairly expensive, but very useful tabletop sim. It came preloaded with our system of preference, which was just bubbles for us. As I moved to college, Fantasy Grounds' unique form of networking was not pleased that I was no longer in control of my ports, so I couldn’t use it anymore.
I've never been quite pleased with how D&D structured things and never went to their pre-made worlds. I always wanted to make my own.
Then, I found Shadowrun. A beautiful blue jewel in the sky had appeared, and I had ventured to it. I explored its valleys and mountains with eagerness. Finally, a stomping ground I enjoyed. There was corporate intrigue--which I actually understood, being a Biz major--there were mysterious magic, there were ubiquitous and often frightening technological developments. The idea of someone hacking into my fridge and ordering brussel sprouts instead of hot wings sent a chill down my spine. I had to learn more.
My players were originally preparing for an epic level campaign, but we found that balance in D&D seems to become more of a joke than anything else by level 21--there is literally no reason to play a Fighter over a Wizard. Some classes aren't even as good at their specialization as other generalists. After getting fed up with close to 60% of the flashy, intimidating looking classes we found being unusable or useless in the face of a regular old wizard or cleric, and finding that playing a dragon at level 21 is only slightly better than playing an NPC class (yes, *dragons* are the most underpowered player option we found. In a game called Dungeons and Dragons.)
It's been a fairly frustrating experience to start with, but the depth that the game promises is just too tantalizing to overlook. The idea of players acting on multiple planes appealed to me: this way, no one class be able to do everything that everyone else could, but better. (In theory anyway.)
I had to abort our first attempt at a mission, which went horribly because we were suddenly faced with our own, doe-eyed ignorance as I was simultaneously attacked by a military-grade migraine. We managed to get the meeting with Mr. Johnson done and do the Legwork for our next mission (improperly), but after looking at the screen caused banshee screams to activate in my temples, I had to surrender and go to bed.
So it's another week until everyone's schedules will align and we'll be able to meet again, and I want our next session to go smoother. I'm looking for some wise old GMs (or trees, if available) to share their wisdom on Shadowrun 4e. First, I'm not going to switch to a new edition. One of my players (Codename "Glaze") is on the edge of his patience for learning systems and I'd rather not slap any more on him.
Here's my players, with names changed to protect the innocent. We also found some better-built (supposedly) pre-made characters that we're using for the moment. They're linked next to the players that use them. Josh, however, is just using the standard hacker from the optimized SR4 rulebook.
Glaze: Magical RockerGlaze is a fantasy fan, and a furry. He's happiest when there's four damn elements, they're in crystals, and he's a talking wolf-man with simultaneous animal power and control of his faculties. He's
extremely picky about playing wolf characters though, and when he wants to play them, the whole value of the system hinges on that desire. He said he didn't think he liked Shadowrun because his specific brand of werewolf was not available in the three different ways you could be wolf-esque or, y’know, an actual werewolf, we found in a cursory glance.
He thinks magic is more interesting than technology 100% of the time and is immune to any arguments to sway him otherwise. (Believe me, we've tried for close to 8 years.)
Getting Glaze to play Shadowrun was possible, but difficult. He's pretty much always going to play a mage/adept/etc. with no cyber-implants of any kind. He'll play it, but only in a very specific way. Luckily, the game seems to be alright with that. So far, anyways.
Kab: Customized Technomancer (he’s the only guy who decided to make his character. It’s on Chummer so if you want a copy make sure you have that program.)
Kab has thus far been the most enthusiastic and cooperative. He understands the rules better than anyone else (even me; I know, shame shame, but he's a goddamn sponge) and actively tries to prevent cheesing. If he thinks he has too much money, he'll throw it away. If he thinks his stats are too high, he'll lower them himself.
He's big on both sci-fi and fantasy, so he's made a technomancer who does everything via drones. He's loving the system and works pretty hard to be the glue that keeps players together.
Josh: Hacker (SR4 Sample)Josh is pretty psyched for the game and plans to make a hacker. He's still very fuzzy on rules as he hasn't had much time to go over the rulebook. He's hoping to learn more from the pre-set mission we'll run. He's short on time and a bit slow to pick up the rules, but he's patient and enthusiastic.
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Here’s my main troubles & questions:
1. I’m out of my element several times over. New system, new medium (roll20.net, which we’re using minimalistically), we’re using voice instead of typing IC; it’s a lot of stuff put together. One thing I could really use would be a GM "Cheat sheet" which would give how-tos on very common rolls, things I have to set up (forgot to give Contacts stats), and so on. I might make it myself if I can't find anything better online.
2. Moderately afraid Glaze might leave in a huff. The other two may not play without him.
3. Worried players will find ambushes/traps “unfair” because I forgot to provide certain information. I’m not used to intrigue style games and so it’s easy for me to give too little or too much information. This is my big fear with this game; I have to control information very carefully and I’m not used to that. (They already know that the music on the disc was JetBlack; I thought a certain part of the book was a “read out loud” bit, but it was actually GM notes.) I’m hoping my players will react positively but that’s just hope atm. How do you get the right amount of info to your players?
4. In the long term I plan to make my own adventures. All this talk of “seasons” makes me wonder if I’d be missing out on something big and blocking my player’s access to it. We don’t plan to go to cons or anything like that, so is there any reason to pay attention to that stuff?
5. Would a campaign set entirely in space utterly fail? Are there pre-sets that are mostly or entirely in space?
