[lazlo]

It was written for 4th edition, and the current is 5th, but for getting the feel of a "typical" shadowrun and how it relates to rules I highly recommend Anatomy of a Shadowrun.  It follows a team as they go through all the typical stages of a run both from a narrative and a rules perspective (split page).  Just realize that some of the rules used are not up to date.

[WNxTyr4el]

It was written for 4th edition, and the current is 5th, but for getting the feel of a "typical" shadowrun and how it relates to rules I highly recommend Anatomy of a Shadowrun.  It follows a team as they go through all the typical stages of a run both from a narrative and a rules perspective (split page).  Just realize that some of the rules used are not up to date.

Okay cool so the current edition is 5th then. I'll take a look at that anatomy of a shadowrun podcast then. The game sounds interesting I just don't understand how the combat works if maps or flip mats aren't used. It's all role played out then?  I don't understand how that would work then lol. How can you see the enemy or know where they are or if they're hidden or something?  And if there's no map used then what's the point of a speed ability (assuming it dictates how far you can move during combat). Just one thing I'm confused about. Otherwise the game sounds awesome. Doesn't sound like there's too many spell options for mages who want to just blast stuff but I could get used to that. 

Also, where can I find this Anatomy of a Shadowrun?

[Michael Chandra]

It's in your head, mostly. But like I said, you'd use maps for some crucial areas where the environment and distances really matter. A normal fight in an alley, on the other hand, happens at non-critical distances so you don't need to draw it out. Keep in mind most gunfights happen at 5 meters, 10 if you're lucky. Even a shootout where both sides are in cover doesn't really need a map unless there's some kind of important dimension you need to portray.

Still, it all depends. There's no rules stating you're not allowed to use maps, and there's no rules stating you must always use maps. So you just find the flavor the players and gm like.

[WNxTyr4el]

That makes sense to me!  I'll probably give an online game a shot probably. Question for you though. Is fifth edition material new-ish?  Should I wait until it's more readily available or is it already out there?  I mean as a new player should I just get the 5e book?

[Michael Chandra]

As new player you should be fine with just the SR5 corebook. It's already been in stores for a while now.

[SnackerBob]

As new player you should be fine with just the SR5 corebook. It's already been in stores for a while now.

Well... Not IN stores again until 2nd Printing. But He(?) Would be able to find it at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/

[WNxTyr4el]

As new player you should be fine with just the SR5 corebook. It's already been in stores for a while now.

Well... Not IN stores again until 2nd Printing. But He(?) Would be able to find it at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/

Yeah, I'm a he lol.  It's only in PDF format on that site I think.  Is there anywhere else I could get it somewhat cheap?

[Michael Chandra]

You can order a book through battleshop, and some stores do still have it in supply I think. Not every store solely ordered for preorders. Getting cheap isn't an option, though, not after a 15.000 copies printing run wasn't enough.

[WNxTyr4el]

You can order a book through battleshop, and some stores do still have it in supply I think. Not every store solely ordered for preorders. Getting cheap isn't an option, though, not after a 15.000 copies printing run wasn't enough.

I'm not seeing it under the Shadowrun products on Battleshop.  Not 5e anyway.

EDIT: Found it.  Why is it under pre-orders?  Hasn't 5e been out for a while now?  That's what's confusing me lol.

[Michael Chandra]

Ah, that's right, they sold out on Battleshop as well. So either you find a store with a book in stock, or preorder at a shop or at battleshop and wait for the second printing to come out.

[WNxTyr4el]

I will find a store with it in stock (hopefully). Though maybe I should play a game first lol. See how I like this roleplaying combat thing . I downloaded the trial of herolab and tried to make a character. I failed miserably. It was hard to do lol. I didn't understand what I was doing. And I think I was limited since it's only the trial.

What's a typical starting BP for new players?  400BP?

[witchdoctor]

I will find a store with it in stock (hopefully). Though maybe I should play a game first lol. See how I like this roleplaying combat thing . I downloaded the trial of herolab and tried to make a character. I failed miserably. It was hard to do lol. I didn't understand what I was doing. And I think I was limited since it's only the trial.

What's a typical starting BP for new players?  400BP?

It used to be BP but one of the changes that came with 5E was a return to an earlier system where you choose piorities. For example, you can choose gear as your first priority you get the most nuyen on starting gear, and then you choose skills for your second priority you get a reduced number of points to spend on skills from what you would get if you had chosen that as your first priority and so on.

[DeathStrobe]

I will find a store with it in stock (hopefully). Though maybe I should play a game first lol. See how I like this roleplaying combat thing . I downloaded the trial of herolab and tried to make a character. I failed miserably. It was hard to do lol. I didn't understand what I was doing. And I think I was limited since it's only the trial.

What's a typical starting BP for new players?  400BP?

I'd recommend spending the $20 to get the pdf. It's cheaper, and you can search it.

Also that's the SR4 character generator. Its stupid complex. Some people like that, but I'm not a big fan.

I'm actually working on making an SR5 character generator. But its not done yet, and its also not very easy to understand without the rule book. And there are lots of bugs... But if you download the PDF this will do most of the heavy lifting, but you'll have to finish it by hand for the parts I haven't included yet.

[WNxTyr4el]

I'll spend the $20 on the PDF for now then. Then I guess HeroLab is out of date then huh?

When I read through the quick start rules I didn't really understand the priority system. Is there a better way to explain it?

[Michael Chandra]

See it like a Sudoku but then different. You need a single value in each column and each row. So you got 5 options for your A, then the remaining 4 for your B, and so on. Basically you get an A, B, C, D and E token and for each category you spend one of them.

For example, say you want to play a non-Magical Street Samurai who has a LOT of cyberware&bioware in him.
- You want non-Magic, so you spend your E token on the Magic column which makes you a Mundane.
- You want full cash so you spend your A token on Resources which gives you 450.000 nuyen.
- You decide you want a lot of Skills, so you go B on Skills, this gives you 36 skill points and 5 skillgroup points.
- You decide you want to be physically decent but not too weak mentally so go C in Attributes for 16 Attribute Points (on top of your minimum values.)
- You can now got your D left for Metatype. You can either go Human(3) or Elf(0). Since you're Mundane, your Special attribute points (the (3) or the (0)) would all go into Edge. So either you play a Human with 5 Edge and all attributes on 1 before raising, or you play an Elf with 1 Edge (so not very lucky) who starts at 2 Agility and 3 Charisma before spending your 16 attribute points. Let's say you pick Elf for a bit more solid attributes, at the cost of being less lucky.

So now you're an Elf with 1 Edge, 2 Agility, 3 Charisma, all other attributes on 1, 16 attribute points to spend on attributes, 36 skillpoints and 5 skillgroup points, 450.000 nuyen to spend and no magical ability.

After spending all that you can also spend 25 karma to buy positive qualities (and score bonus-karma for negative qualities), raise a few skills or attributes, or buy a bit more nuyen for chargen. The restrictions and rules for that you can look at when finetuning.

(With this build I'd keep 2 attributes on 1, then buy both those two attributes and Edge to rating 2 with karma. That costs 3x(1+1)x5=30 karma. I'd probably grab Catlike (7 karma), get 25 karma in negative qualities and have 25-30-7+25=13 karma left to spend. Buy 4 skills at rating 1 each for 8 karma, spend the remaining 5 karma on extra contact points and start with 2 7-point contacts.)