Just asking cause I was over at their official site and checking it out. Looked pretty cool, but I wanted to know a few things. First is it d20? I couldn't tell. Second, how is it played, whats it like and is it any fun? (ok so that was 2,3,and 4) To me it sounds like Arcanum (or arcana?), the PC, RPG game where machine and magic mix. Thats just my thoughts though.
has anyone played/dm'd shadow run?
- Thread starter Cake Mage
- Start date
Long, long time ago...
I have first edition, which I love and still have, and GMed it for a short time.
I'm pretty sure it uses it's own ruleset, but I can't imagine it would be that hard to translate. You have the standard fantasy races, plus most of the classes (Fighter, Thief, Cleric, Mage), plus a few like Hacker and the like. Doable, for sure.
I have first edition, which I love and still have, and GMed it for a short time.
I'm pretty sure it uses it's own ruleset, but I can't imagine it would be that hard to translate. You have the standard fantasy races, plus most of the classes (Fighter, Thief, Cleric, Mage), plus a few like Hacker and the like. Doable, for sure.
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
I played Shadowrun years ago; I believe it first appeared in 1989, so it pre-dates most computer games. It isn't d20. It's a fun concept, but I never liked the game mechanics much, and some of the rules were just silly, to me (why do characters lose essence for cyberware, and eventually go insane? Does that mean Grandma with her false teeth and hip and knee replacements is on the way to cyborg psychosis?)
Wild Karrde
First Post
I haven't played it in quite a few years but we alwyas had a good time playing it. However in my oppinion it's not the most intuituve of systems.
It's not d20 unless it recently changed hands or something. And it is a mix of magic and technology. The appeal to my group was the fact that we had a few gritty futuristic gamers and we had some hardcore fantasy gamers. So it was a great middle ground to meet at.
It's not d20 unless it recently changed hands or something. And it is a mix of magic and technology. The appeal to my group was the fact that we had a few gritty futuristic gamers and we had some hardcore fantasy gamers. So it was a great middle ground to meet at.
Tsyr
Explorer
Long live Shadowrun!
No, it's not d20 system... no biggie though.
It's played more or less like any other game...
Played in the style I consider proper, it's alot like playing out the Matrix (Sorta), or Mission Impossible(sorta), or Demolition Man(sorta), or Judge Dread(sorta), or Virtuosity(sorta), or... Yeah, it's sorta hard to explain. It's got a very nice feel to it, though... if you wanted to see one movie to get a feel for it, I'd suggest maybe Demoliton Man, but edit out the cheese and cornieness.
Yes, it's a lot of fun.
It's not exactly like Arcanum... first of all, the technology is a lot more advanced
But it also doesn't have the same... mood, I guess, of Arcanum. Technology is a bit more domiant in Shadowrun, not like Arcanum where it was just one possible path.
If you have played Rifts before, imagine that, but without all the stupid, ubermunchkin, crazy, out of place, etc stuff that Palladium throws in with every new supplement.
No, it's not d20 system... no biggie though.
It's played more or less like any other game...
Played in the style I consider proper, it's alot like playing out the Matrix (Sorta), or Mission Impossible(sorta), or Demolition Man(sorta), or Judge Dread(sorta), or Virtuosity(sorta), or... Yeah, it's sorta hard to explain. It's got a very nice feel to it, though... if you wanted to see one movie to get a feel for it, I'd suggest maybe Demoliton Man, but edit out the cheese and cornieness.
Yes, it's a lot of fun.
It's not exactly like Arcanum... first of all, the technology is a lot more advanced
But it also doesn't have the same... mood, I guess, of Arcanum. Technology is a bit more domiant in Shadowrun, not like Arcanum where it was just one possible path.If you have played Rifts before, imagine that, but without all the stupid, ubermunchkin, crazy, out of place, etc stuff that Palladium throws in with every new supplement.
Victim
First Post
I'm playing in a 2e Shadowrun game.
It is not d20, nor is the newest edition. It uses a "Buckets of d6s" system. You compare the results of Xd6s to a target number and see how many successes you need. Often, multiple successes are needed, or you compare your success to someone else making an opposed roll.
There are no real classes, the game is skill based. However, there are a bunch of archetypes and roles.
It is somewhat like Arcanum, in that Magic and Cyberware are opposed to each other. A mage with cyberware is worse at magic than one without. However, there's not the same broad interference and social conflict between the 2. Also, cyber characters are only harder to affect with beneficial magic, unlike arcanum where techies resist all magic.
It is not d20, nor is the newest edition. It uses a "Buckets of d6s" system. You compare the results of Xd6s to a target number and see how many successes you need. Often, multiple successes are needed, or you compare your success to someone else making an opposed roll.
There are no real classes, the game is skill based. However, there are a bunch of archetypes and roles.
It is somewhat like Arcanum, in that Magic and Cyberware are opposed to each other. A mage with cyberware is worse at magic than one without. However, there's not the same broad interference and social conflict between the 2. Also, cyber characters are only harder to affect with beneficial magic, unlike arcanum where techies resist all magic.
Furn_Darkside
First Post
Salutations,
It has not been d20, though I have heard people are working on conversions.
Is it fun? err.. well, let me explain how it is played and why I think it isn't-
The intent in shadowrun is to be "runners"- mercenaries who are hired to commit crimes against corporations. This can range from "noble" Robin Hood like missions to just outright greed.
Persoally, I don't find this kind of game fun at all. The concept of corporations as "evil" is false to me, and I am too tired of seeing it to enjoy gaming it.
I have also found making characters with motivations in the game is difficult- since the rewards for these missions are hardly ever worth the eventual betrayel that will screw the characters over.
On top of the story issues- I never like the gaming system and thought it was klunky.
It is a bit like Arcanum- just further in the future.
FD
It has not been d20, though I have heard people are working on conversions.
Is it fun? err.. well, let me explain how it is played and why I think it isn't-
The intent in shadowrun is to be "runners"- mercenaries who are hired to commit crimes against corporations. This can range from "noble" Robin Hood like missions to just outright greed.
Persoally, I don't find this kind of game fun at all. The concept of corporations as "evil" is false to me, and I am too tired of seeing it to enjoy gaming it.
I have also found making characters with motivations in the game is difficult- since the rewards for these missions are hardly ever worth the eventual betrayel that will screw the characters over.
On top of the story issues- I never like the gaming system and thought it was klunky.
It is a bit like Arcanum- just further in the future.
FD
Harker Wade
First Post
shadowrun fun
Cake Mage,
I've both run and played the 2nd and 3rd, the current, editions of shadowrun. It's a lot of fun. I'd recommed checking out the novels, there are several, for flavor. According to a sign the publishers of Shadowrun had over their booth at GenCon last year there will "never be a D20 version". I'm paraphrasing a little.
I haven't looked anything since FASA closed and sold the license and my last game ended about 2 years ago. A bug hunt I designed for 2 sessions ended up taking 7 and killed all but one of the characters. They spent over 2 hours one night deciding wheather or not to "break the glass" to a lab that might have had a airborn pathogen.
There's usually more planning and combat then role-playing. The system is a d6 system. Not my favorite. But the concept is too cool. I would recommend it. With this warning combat can really bog down if the group isn't careful.
Cake Mage,
I've both run and played the 2nd and 3rd, the current, editions of shadowrun. It's a lot of fun. I'd recommed checking out the novels, there are several, for flavor. According to a sign the publishers of Shadowrun had over their booth at GenCon last year there will "never be a D20 version". I'm paraphrasing a little.
I haven't looked anything since FASA closed and sold the license and my last game ended about 2 years ago. A bug hunt I designed for 2 sessions ended up taking 7 and killed all but one of the characters. They spent over 2 hours one night deciding wheather or not to "break the glass" to a lab that might have had a airborn pathogen.
There's usually more planning and combat then role-playing. The system is a d6 system. Not my favorite. But the concept is too cool. I would recommend it. With this warning combat can really bog down if the group isn't careful.
Tsyr
Explorer
Furn_Darkside said:
I can understand being tired of anything, my post isn't meant towards that... but the "evil" of the corporations in Shadowrun is completely up the the DM... I don't see anything "false" about it.
I'd also like to point out that the game can be played on other fashions. We have hardly ever done a "raid the corporation" game. One and a while that was part of the overall storyline, but rarely a focus.
Enforcer
Explorer
I think Shadowrun has one of the most interesting and detailed settings of any RPG out there, with only the World of Darkness in competition.
The problem is, despite the really cool setting, the mix of magic and technology, and the awesome free-form, classless character creation system, the game really does require a "bucket of d6s" as someone mentioned earlier. The dice-rolling, like in World of Darkness games, is what made me abandon it for 3e.
If they did make a d20 version, however, I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.
One last thing: the reason cyberware costs essence while a hip replacement doesn't is because cyberware is actually hooked up to your brain, and your brain doesn't like to send or receive electrical signals from a machine; whether that's artificial muscle tissue or a move-by-wire system. And as I recall, you only go insane from it if you have 0 or less Essence, which means you have to be kept alive by cybermancy anyways--not a good thing.
I always prefered Physical Adepts myself (characters with access to magic, but use it to improve their physical abilities, rather than hurl spells).
The problem is, despite the really cool setting, the mix of magic and technology, and the awesome free-form, classless character creation system, the game really does require a "bucket of d6s" as someone mentioned earlier. The dice-rolling, like in World of Darkness games, is what made me abandon it for 3e.
If they did make a d20 version, however, I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.
One last thing: the reason cyberware costs essence while a hip replacement doesn't is because cyberware is actually hooked up to your brain, and your brain doesn't like to send or receive electrical signals from a machine; whether that's artificial muscle tissue or a move-by-wire system. And as I recall, you only go insane from it if you have 0 or less Essence, which means you have to be kept alive by cybermancy anyways--not a good thing.
I always prefered Physical Adepts myself (characters with access to magic, but use it to improve their physical abilities, rather than hurl spells).
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