1 comments about Shadowrun.

1. Anyone purchasing Shadowrunner 4th Edition with intentions to GM some games with your friends shall get this GM Shield.

1 comments about The Grimoire: Manual of Practical Thaumaturgy : 2053 (Shadowrun).

1. Considering Shadowrun has hit many updates since it was first made some may look at this book as tired and old. To be honest that would be short sighted. Considering how much it costs these days and how most of the information is still pretty valid, or at the very least useful, I would say this is a good book to get for any Shadowrun player.
   
   You get an expansion on the rules and spells that were presented in the core rules book. That includes more spells, more totems (for shamans) and most of all more ideas to better round out your character or for gamemasters to fill out their adventures. If you want the full magic picture this book is essential, even if you have the newer books.

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5 comments about Shadowrun (3rd Edition).

1. I liked the idea of shadowrun very much, and once I learned how to play I enjoyed the simple runs that we had; however, the advanced aspects of shadowrun (e.g. magic, decking, rigging and vehicles, etc.) had very complicated and convoluted rules. First off, the magic section makes very little sense with regards to the drain and mana system, and the aspected magician isn't explained at all. Secondly, the Matrix uses overcomplicated rules for even simple tasks. The technical jargon used was quite confusing. Another nuisance was the shotty binding (mine plus two other books are falling apart). I reccomend waiting for the next edition to come out because of these reasons. The game is fun, just not very clear.



2. Like lots of game books, this one includes two main elements, an introduction the Shadowrun setting and the rules. The setting is a creative mix of "cyberpunk" technology and fantasy, in a grim dystopic world. The rules are an awful mess.

   What I like about the setting is that it offers a detailed future history that explains how all the technology and fantasy elements ended up in the same setting. It feels reasonably self-consistent. The only serious hole is the idea that a mishap with a computer plugged into a character's brain could injure the character. Who would build a computer-brain interface without the firewalls and surge protection necessary to prevent a software-domain mishap from causing physical harm? Who would use such a product? Temporary disorientation makes sense, but physical harm doesn't. That's a common cyberpunk convention, however; even _The Matrix_ follow it.

   Along with the technology and fantasy ideas of the setting, there is the social system. The world of Shadowrun is an amoral dystopia where corporate power eclipses all governments. Money can buy anything, even military might, without meaningful restraint of laws or governments; the police are corporate employees who protect corporate interests, but protect ordinary citizens only incidentally. In short, it is pure Libertarianism.

   In the typical campaign style, player characters start as ordinary low-lifes, with just enough extra power to allow them to take jobs as deniable corporate covert forces. They take jobs that their corporate backers prefer to keep clear of their acknowledged employees -- in other words, thuggery that would be illegal in a setting where law meant anything -- in hopes of gaining greater powers with their corporate payola. There are alternatives to that campaign style -- one could even be a noble "street doctor" out to elevate the quality of life of the masses -- but the setting material doesn't offer much support for such alternatives. In short, player characters are likely to be hoods, not Robin Hoods.

   A player's liking for the setting will depend on a few things. Some people will like the fantasy-cyberpunk hybrid; others will not. The gloomy dystopia of the social setting will appeal to some players, and be depressing to others. The opportunity to be a small-time villain struggling to become a big-time villain will appeal to some, but put off those who want to be heroes. A game-master with the creativity to offer heroic opportunities to players can avert the villain issue, but removing the fantasy-cyberpunk and social dystyopia elements would make something that is no longer Shadowrun.

   While the setting is a question of taste, the game mechanics are a wreck of cumbersome rules. Anyone who likes the setting should ignore the rules, substitute something playable. GURPS, FUDGE, Hero, and even d20 are all improvements on the native Shadowrun rule set.

   The rules are extremely elaborate -- more complicated than GURPS or Hero -- but also very abstract, along the lines of d20. Normally, elaborate rules are meant to provide a feeling of detailed simulation. For example, GURPS tries hard to give every rule a justification that improves the feeling of realism, and does a pretty good job of it. In contrast, abstract rules are meant to favor quick, simple play, at the cost of leaving a lot of details to the imagination, or even reducing them to statistics without a clear connection to the world of the characters. The d20 rules do a good job of this, offering fairly simple game mechanics, but offering no quantitative connection between game-mechanic statistics and measurements in the world of the characters.

   The standard Shadowrun rules provide the worst of each rule design style. They are even more complicated and detailed than GURPS or Hero. It's difficult to reduce the complexity of the rules by dropping optional rules, because cutting rules is likely to break the rules that remain. But beyond comparative differences, the game statistics lack any perceptible connection to the characters. (For example, in GURPS one inch of steel armor equals 20 Damage Resistance, and in Hero each 5 Strength doubles the weight a character can lift.) The sole exception is money, which means the same thing to the characters as to their players.

   The standard Shadowrun rules also suffer in comparison to d20. The absence of a strong link between game statistics and the statistics a character could perceive makes both rule sets abstract. But in d20 the abstraction does a good job of speeding game play. One rolls to hit, then rolls damage, with addition-only arithmetic and a linear probabilities that are comprehensible to a math-shy child; all non-combat tests are resolved with the same one-roll mechanism. With Shadowrun, one assigns dice pools, rolls initiative to calculate the number and order of actions in a round, assigns dice pools to actions, rolls damage if an attack hits, rolls dice to avoid damage if one is hit, etc. Several different systems apply to different types of non-combat actions. The pools of "exploding" dice defy anyone short of an actuarial hobbyist with a spreadsheet. And still the statistics don't correspond to anything perceptible to the characters.

   Summary: If you like the idea of blending cyberpunk and fantasy in a gloomy, corporation-dominated dystopia, and being a small-time villain struggling to join the big-time, the Shadowrun setting is excellent. If you have a creative enough game-master, you could even play a heroic character in the same dystopia. But throw don't touch the rules.




3. Despite complaints from other reviewers this game plays very well for both new and old players alike. Adjusting the rules to fit any groups taste is easy and smooth, as the rules share little dependance on one another. The setting is varied enough to allow for play as heros, villians, neutral factions, or any thing imaginable. Play from the grimy urban, to the slick corps, to the lightly associated tribes of the north west.



4. I love the Shadowrun setting, and like the rules, and can say that if you are a fan this is a great book to own, with rules changes and flavor/background text that make it worth having. However, if you want to start playing Shadowrun this is not the book to get. Produced during the final disintegration of FASA as a functioning company it is riddled with major errors and inconsistancies. It is painfully obvious that the editors were the first people layed off, and they couldn't even be bothered to offer a copy of the book to a dedicated fan to look it over before the print run. There are many small errors and huge, glaring ones, like half the text on one page being repeated, suddely and exactly, on another page. If you want to start playing the game, I recommend either the Fourth edition, for a preference, which is a new, well edited, book with a sturdy binding, produced by FanPro, along with a set of improvements and innovations that does make it better than previous editions. Alternately get the old second edition, a much more usable book than third, although with a classic FASA disintigrating binding.



5. One of a series of cyberpunk role-playing games that is also crossed with elemental summoning and magic. This Third Edition bring more clarity and speed to the players who enjoy this game, and to the referees who need quick resolution of tasks and combat.
   
   While speeding up the character creation and combat systems, Jordan Weisman and his cohorts put together an awesome resource for the proliferation of this gaming series: "Shadowrun".
   
   Bringing the Second Edition into the Third, there are tables for use to convert some of the basics from the 2nd edition to the 3rd. Magics and summoning have been refined and added to, to make this new 3rd edition a much more fluid and viscous gaming system.
   
   This is also one of many games in my RPG collection, and a MUST HAVE if your are planning to purchase 4th Edition "Shadowrun." And grab some of the supplemental material for any of the previous iterations, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This additional information is invaluable for extended play in the "barrens of Seattle" and the twisted convolution of the world that we so knew. Science fiction at its finest!
   
   I play. I have friends who play. I am looking forward to playing the "Shadowrun" game for the XBOX 360, based in part on the 3rd Edition and grounded sharply on the 4th.

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5 comments about Shadowrun, Fourth Edition.

1. This is the 4th incarnation of the Shadowrun game. I have played Shadowrun since the original release. This book is a continuation of the timeline. The "history" is updated and new items are added.
   A new rules system has been used and from my initial read through, seems to work better than the old.
   
   If you are fan of Shadowrun or are interested in getting started, I highly recommend this book.



2. Let's talk about Shadowrun. An old FASA game, Shadowrun for years languished in that terrible state that can consume a game when a fantastic world is saddled with a horrid rule system. An amazing and vibrant setting, Shadowrun had a rule's system so pathetic that after two or more years of playing it, I had never even learned how to handle damage. This is not the first game that I didn't try to learn while playing. The is the first game where I succeeded in remaining ignorant. I had my rules lawyer friend to give me character development ideas and I knew how to spend karma. The Game was so obfuscated under its own byzantine system of exceptions that no amount of time playing was able to batter its way through my rules-ambivalence. That was version one or two. I never played three.
   
   For those that don't know, Shadowrun is a magical cyberpunk game set in a future where magic has returned to earth and Japanese corporations threaten to consume American life (which is on the ropes anyway because the country has fractured). Most games take place in the line's signature city of Seattle and it hinges around the Shadowrun. In a typical Shadowrun, a nameless corporate suit, called Mr. Johnson as a matter of tradition and convenience, hires the Shadowrunners to do some deed. A Shadowrun is any illegal or quasi-legal activity, most typically some for of corporate espionage, theft, sabotage or kidnapping. Come on, Chummer. You know you want play.
   
   So how's version four?
   
   Well, let's start by saying that from what I understand, Fanpro, the holder of the current license, took a wise approach to releasing this product. They released the eBook version of the game on August 31st, and by the 1st of September, their first errata list was available online. They revised the game and released it nine days later after getting initial feedback from their fanbase. Only then did they release the print version. While this isn't enough to get a full playtest out of their customers, it is enough to make sure that the print book had been throughly combed for inconsistencies and unclear test. So, did this trick give them the product they wanted?
   
   Well, let's take a walk through the book, shall we?
   
   After a piece of opening fic and your standard "What is a Roleplaying Game" fare, the book moves on to immediately play to its strength: the Setting. It starts with a history chapter, which advances the Shadowrun timeline to the year 2070. In this section they manage to incorporate modern real world tech into the world that the game previously missed (wireless, anyone?) and advance the world to a slightly newer age. Forgive me if I don't know how far this leapt beyond third edition, but it's a fine an necessary section. Next comes the obligatory section on the world in general, after which a new player should have some idea what's going on in this awakened setting.
   
   Next you'll see the game concepts. Here is where the system take a leap beyond what I've played in the past. All fives and sixes are "hits" now instead of basing all target numbers on enemy stats. You roll a skill check by adding your stat and skill together and rolling that many d6. The more "hits" the better the result. For instance, if you have a three reaction and a three dodge and you try to dodge an attack, you roll six dice and you will probably score two "hits." These would be subtracted from the enemy attack to determine if they landed their. "Hits" also add to damage, and once the damage is figured out, the character rolls his dice to soak. It's very simple, isn't burdened with the exceptions of previous version. Most of all, it's intuitive. If you've read half the rules of the game, you could fake the other half. Elegant.
   Next the game walks you through creating a Shadowrunner. This is a straightforward process and it has decent safeties installed to make certain that character's aren't too min-maxed. Still, most every character will be min-maxed, because it is foolish not to. A linear system is used to create characters, where raising a stat from four to five typically costs as much as raising from one to two. Since during play one has to deal with diminishing returns, the game begs you to min-max. Of course, many games do.
   
   After character creation, the game presents some sample characters and skills. The is a handy section, especially for players of previous versions thinking in an "old mode." Deckers are gone and now are just called hackers. There are technomages, who build personas as agents in the net, but a hacker is all a team needs. Better yet, the hacking system is now a straightforward skill system, which means that every time you plan a run, you don't have to run a solo adventure of the decker, alone in the net, running a massive scenario. Since this fragmented every game I've ever played with a decker, I applaud the change. Give me a few rolls and move on.
   
   Next the game explores combat. Combat in the new system is simple, fast and easy. Unlike other versions, it's actually possible to kill anyone with any weapon (you might have to spend an edge, sort of a luck stat, to get the exploding dice necessary is you don't have the base damage or skill). Damage is easy and straightforward (I've played in two combats now and, alas, I already understand it. The game has a few innovations, as well. It uses a pass system to deal with multiple attacks, where everyone goes once, then everyone with actions left go again, and then again, and so on until no one has actions left. This isn't the first game to use such a system, but it is the first game I've personally seen that had one that didn't completely break the movement system. If you are going to attack an enemy and you have three attacks and they have only one, you still move in step together through the initiative phases despite the discrepancy in number of action. Initiative is easy. Attacks and damage are easy. None of it makes me stare and shake my head at poor design. In other words, a world above previous versions.
   Next is the Awakened World section, where you can play a mage or a shaman or an adept (a sort of magically-enhanced warrior) or a mystic adept (which is a mage/adept). I have no complaints about the magic system, other than to say many people are going to wait for future supplements for Fanpro to reintroduce new version of the magical specialties they want. I suppose that is unavoidable.
   
   Then the Wireless World, a section on the net. I've already expressed my opinions on what they've done with hacking, so I'll move on.
   Running the Shadows, the section on GMing. Let me take a moment to point out the one thing that is still pretty broken about this game . . . spending karma. In former versions of Shadowrun, stats did not help skills and I think they haven't fully shaken that mentality. A trait costs 3x its target to raise, an active skill 2x and a knowledge skill 1x. Now, in a system when one trait can give you a bonus to a dozen different skills, charging only 50% more than a skill just doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone every raise a skill before their stats top out? The other big problem here is that the cost is based on the end total, not the number of times you've raise the trait. For instance, if you make a troll character and only put one in strength, you will have a five due to the race's bonuses. If you have a human with the same stat, you've put five points into strength and your maximum is six. But it costs the same amount of points to raise both characters, despite the fact that this is the simplest effort for a troll and the supreme culmination of human ability for his counterpart. You might have to make house rules for both of these sections. Otherwise, all trolls with be completely min-maxed and all other characters will spend all their karma on traits.
   
   Then there is a friends and foes section dealing with NPCs and monsters and the like. Finally, the section on street gear. Tech is a little more advanced in this version (due to the advancing of the timeline and therefore the state of the art) and the rules are different enough that all the old books are now likely useless where rules are concerned. The main problem I have here is a certain incompletelness. For instance, if you want to buy drugs, you won't find prices in the new book. On the forums, people say they are using their third edition books for the missing prices, but for new players, it's on-the-fly pricing or nothing.
   The main problems with this game are spending karma and a lack of compatibility with the massive tonnage of books that some players already have. The first they could have avoided, but the second was probably a lost cause. Old versions of the game labored under ridiculously badly-designed rule systems and I think it's unlikely they could fix this without losing that backward compatibility.
   
   So, in conclusion, this new edition is what people like me have been waiting for for years. My most anti-Shadowrun friend is playing the new version with glee. Finally, Shadowrun advocates don't have to be Shadowrun apologists. If the rules have held you back from buying the game in the past, get it. If you're a longstanding player, I'd still recommend it, but know it will render most of the rules in your existing Shadowrun library obsolete.



3. I absolutely love what they've done to Shadowrun in 4th Edition. I haven't read a Shadowrun book since 2nd Edition and I welcome all of the improvments. The book is very well organized too. I find it very easy to use.
   
   I'm still learning the new rules. Tonight I sat down and figured out how to calculate odds to clear any confusion. Please forgive my lack of expertise in writing mathematical equasions, but hopefully you can follow this.
   
   First, calculate the number of possible ways that 6 sided dice can land when rolled. Do this by multiplying 6 to the power of the number of dice rolled. If four dice are being rolled, it's 6 x 6 x 6 x 6, which equals 1296.
   
   Now, figure out the possible chances that a five or six could not be rolled on a single die. This is 4/6, or simply 4. Now, you will multiply 4 to the power of the number of dice you will be rolling. So, if you're rolling four dice, it's 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 which equals 256.
   
   Now, to figure out how many chances of rolling a 5 or 6 one time there are, subtract 256 from 1296. This gives you 1040.
   
   When you divide 1040/1296 you get 80%.
   
   Enjoy.



4. Shadowrun has been around for ages. And that's a good thing. Far too many games have gone into the D20 slump. Far too many good games, over the years, have been lost to the sands of time. Yet to see that some names, like RuneQuest and Earthdawn, are still around brings a cheer to this old gamer's heart. And it is even better to see that games like Shadowrun, instead of falling into a spiral, can actually grow better and better. Shadowrun is kicking and alive in all its intricate glory. Still has the wonderful fantasy appearance, still has the grand cyberpunk grime. A lot of games have problems if they try to throw too many concepts and genres together. Shadowrun has never had that problem. The character creation is easy to learn, easy to work with. The dice system is reasonable and also easy to grasp. I think though that what really draws people to this game, as people have been drawn to it since it first opened its eyes with FASA, was the setting. The setting works. It is just that simple. You can dive into the setting and find new things to develop, new points to discover, and new avenues to explore. The campaign world is one of the best. If you are tired, and I really am myself tired of D20, then you really need to take a second look at this game. Buy it. It is worth it. You as the GM will love it, your players will love it.



5. the 4th edition of shadow run is great. It simplifies and streams lines alot of what 3rd tried to do. For vet's of 3rd edition They'll see alot of the old stuff they knew and loved but it's gone above and beyond what their used to be, now everything is wireless and the new AR (augmented Reality) means your hacker can be right there with you and the new system works to integrate combat and hacking/magic better to eliminate the "i'm gonna get a soda while the hacker hacks" scenario. For the New players, as i said earlier, it's been stream lined and much of the rules of old still there but better explained and esier to pick up and learn, even if you've never done any RP games before. If you're a fan of Cyber-punk meets magic and fantasy then this is a must play/have item.

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