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The Tech Deck

Running the Shadows

Shadowrun 4th Edition cover (Andrew Smith)
Shadowrun 4th Edition cover (Andrew Smith)

 

Shadowrun holds a special place in my heart as it was the first tabletop RPG I ever played. In a very brief summary of the game, the year is 2070-ish magic has returned to the world. Cybernetics, augmented reality and the Matrix are everyday tools accessible to everyone. Corporations own what is left of civilization. On top of that the Sixth World has awoken and magic has flooded back into our world, changing people into elves, orcs and more. You are a Shadowrunner, you walk this dystopian future, taking shady jobs that put your life in danger, just in an attempt to earn money to pay rent in your overpriced rundown apartment. Just like in real life.

If you’re looking for an awesome game set in a sci-fi universe, this is by far my favorite. It puts the players close enough to modern times that you can pull all sorts of inspiration from the world around you. Additionally, since the main setting is in Seattle I can use real world locations to help the story along or just make up what I want, whichever suites the plot. Speaking of plot, what better incentive to agree to a perilous mission, then being threatened with homelessness?

Gunslinger Adept
Gunslinger Adept

In D&D rarely does a player have a home (unless that’s the point), player characters (PCs) are wonderers looking for adventure, fame and fortune. You don’t typically have a family to support, unless that’s the PC’s back story. However, in Shadowrun where and how you live are part of character creation. It determines your starting money (as you lose most unspent money after you make your character), the size and type of the apartment, what kind of food you have, etc… You can also take negatives such as having a family to support and contacts to spend time with. Overall, Shadowrun hits a lot closer to home then D&D does as far as plot and characters are concerned.

Shadowrun is however; a bit more complicated than D&D. Character creation can actually take quite a while if you aren’t familiar with the game. Each character has a lot of points to distribute across their skills, attributes, contacts and gear and it’s easy to overlook things. Tip: always put some points perception and gymnastics. If this is your very first game, I would suggest trying to find someone who has played it before. Either that or use the premade characters in the book, there are a lot. Those premades can also be used for inspiration for characters or enemies.

As with D&D I would suggest you pick up the latest 5th edition of Shadowrun as well. Character creation is long, but streamline. The system puts a lot of balancing to help limit power gaming and making something overly broken. It does also have a nice starter box, however I have not looked into it as much as the 5th edition D&D box. You will want lots of six sided dice, Shadowrun only uses d6’s and you can buy those in bulk cheap. You will also want the Core Rulebook for about $50 in hardcover or PDF version.

Shadowrun Box
Shadowrun Box

While a little more complicated then D&D, the setting and awesome levels easily make up for it. If putting a shotgun or grenade launcher in your robotic arm doesn’t get you excited I don’t know what will. Next week, I will go over an even crazier game called “Everybody is John.” Where will John go? Only your players will know that.

Good evening chummers, you find yourselves enjoying a soy-burger and fries at the crack of dusk. Your commlink buzzes to life. Your party’s fixer is on the other end when you answer. He sounds a bit frantic, shouting something about the building he’s in is on fire. Odd, It's usually the other way around, probably a trap you think. Though the $50,000 he’s offering, is one hell of a sell.



Andrew Smith is one of The Spokesman-Review's IT gurus and resident dungeon master.