Shadowrun 1st Edition To Be Reprinted

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1988's 1st Edition of the near-future urban fantasy game Shadowrun is being reprinted, according to publisher Catalyst Game Lab who tweeted the announcement this weekend.

Shadowrun is currently on its 6th Edition, which came out in 2019. The game features a dystopian fantasy cyberpunk future with elves, trolls, dragons, cybernetics, megacorporations, and automatic weapons. Characters include technomancers, mages, and street samurai.

Coming soon, Shadowrun 1st edition reprints!Relive the classic fantasy of the Sixth World with all of the dystopian action that entails!

You can currently buy the game via print-on-demand at DriveThruRPG for $11.99.

 

[schneeland]

Catalyst Games announced on Friday that Shadowrun 1e will get a reprint. I guess more details will follow, but I thought some people here might share the nostalgic attachment to the 2050s in the Sixth World (I personally found 2e notably more playable, but maybe/hopefully that book will get its reprint later).

 

[Jaeger]

What a backhanded commentary on their new edition.

6 editions and they are still figuring out the rules...

There is a happy medium between the overdone rules mess they have been chasing for six editions, and Shadowrun anarchy.

It is clear now that the current IP holder will never pursue that design space.

 

[Staffan]

There is a happy medium between the overdone rules mess they have been chasing for six editions, and Shadowrun anarchy.

I mean, they seem to have an audience for it. And would drastic changes to the game scare away more players than they'd attract (see also: D&D 4th edition)?

That said, I think it's the same thing as with Exalted. If you want mechanical depth, you need complexity – complexity is the coin which buys said depth. So do you want a game that has ten different SMGs and good reasons to choose either one over any of the others? Then you're going to need enough complexity to differentiate between them. Alternately, you're happy with differentiating SMGs from assault rifles, and then you don't need as much complexity.

 

[jdrakeh]

Eh. It has been available as a POD on DriveThruRPG for quite awhile, so this isn't exactly big news.

 

[schneeland]

Eh. It has been available as a POD on DriveThruRPG for quite awhile, so this isn't exactly big news.

The quality of the PDF isn't that great and there's even hand-writing in it. So I would assume the quality of the new print run will be better than what's available now.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Bu..it's SR1. I mean....it was a glorious dumpster fire of elves, dragons, cyberware and SMGs but it was still a proper dumpster fire. I don't know anyone who played SR1 that didn't wind up making flow charts or guides on how to play the game.

SR2 and later were playable games with comprehensible rules. SR1 was a set of rules ideas full of promise and potential alongside awesome flavor text and quality art (sometimes with low polygon counts).

I mean....is this like wanting to buy an NFT? Because I don't get that either.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I've gone on before about how SR 1e is one of my heart breakers. But I can't see me buying this even for the nostalgia.

 

[aramis erak]

I've gone on before about how SR 1e is one of my heart breakers. But I can't see me buying this even for the nostalgia.

I love the netrunning - especially since systems may require physical access... but man, the time delay...
Party breaks in; deckers and GM run the hacking while others go out and bring back pizza... getting back in time for the escape...

 

[eyeheartawk]

Bu..it's SR1. I mean....it was a glorious dumpster fire of elves, dragons, cyberware and SMGs but it was still a proper dumpster fire. I don't know anyone who played SR1 that didn't wind up making flow charts or guides on how to play the game.

SR2 and later were playable games with comprehensible rules. SR1 was a set of rules ideas full of promise and potential alongside awesome flavor text and quality art (sometimes with low polygon counts).

I mean....is this like wanting to buy an NFT? Because I don't get that either.

Yeah, agreed.

This will go about as well as FFG's reprint of the 1st edition of WEG Star Wars. That is still in clearance sales today. Nobody wanted that edition. Same thing here. If this were a reprint of 2e? I think people would be all over it.