Sell Me on Shadowrun 5E

[Shades of Green]

I've played Shadowrun 2E (the Hebrew version of it), 3E and 4E; I've eventually sold most of the books but I want to get back to Shadowrun eventually.

The question is: is Shadowrun 5E worth my money? How good is its system? How much has it improved oner 4E?

Also, how does the 5E version of the Sixth World feel? I LOVED the 2E version of it, the 3E world was OK, but the 4E world felt a bit bland to me, especially since most of the cool plots (bug spirits, DEUS, Japanese occupation of California etc) were resolved and the cool Earthdawn crossover was more or less removed.

And how is the flavour? I loved the over-the-top pink-Mohawk retro-1980's feel of 2E...

 

[Tinner]

We did a full review of Shadowrun 5e on the Critical Glitch podcast.
You can find it at www.criticalglitch.com
Listen to episodes 8 through 11 to get a detailed overview of the system.
If you still have questions then, feel free to contact us through the criticalglitch.com website.
Hope this helps.

 

[GMMichael]

I picked up a new Shadowrun book off the shelf, and was surprised to learn the "the Matrix" is actually owned by the Shadowrun people. I thought it would be a movie property!? Pretty surprising to me, since when I think of Shadowrun, I think of the Super Nintendo game with orcs and deckers - not 90s hipsters with high amounts of kung-fu and firepower.

Fill me in if Shades of Green doesn't mind me piggybacking his thread...

 

[fireinthedust]

Mmm, I want to play it. I've got the 5e PDF, it looks great, and there is a great deal of fluff/flavour text in terms of stories.

I haven't tried it with a group, though, so I'm not sure if I can give a good impression of the game itself.

I don't know how the game plays, either in a one-shot or a campaign.

 

[biotech66]

If you're in MI, Ill run a game for you.


If you played before, then the game runs smoother. Same kinds of checks for basically everything. 5e fixes a bunch of little bugs that were problems before like one player basically being able to solo adventures while the others twiddled their thumbs.

The biggest problem in Shadowrun remains and that's the introduction curve. Its not steep, but the game is a lot to take in if you've never played an RPG before. SR5 is much better, but it does take someone who's played before to help you hop in quickly.

 

[Shades of Green]

We did a full review of Shadowrun 5e on the Critical Glitch podcast.
You can find it at www.criticalglitch.com
Listen to episodes 8 through 11 to get a detailed overview of the system.
If you still have questions then, feel free to contact us through the criticalglitch.com website.
Hope this helps.

I'll listen to these, thanks!

 

[Shades of Green]

If you're in MI, Ill run a game for you.

On the other side of the ocean, unfortunately

If you played before, then the game runs smoother. Same kinds of checks for basically everything. 5e fixes a bunch of little bugs that were problems before like one player basically being able to solo adventures while the others twiddled their thumbs.

Smoother is better in Shadowrun, which tends to be extra-crunchy at times.

The biggest problem in Shadowrun remains and that's the introduction curve. Its not steep, but the game is a lot to take in if you've never played an RPG before. SR5 is much better, but it does take someone who's played before to help you hop in quickly.

Actually the SR world is a great place to introduce new players to, though the rules are more problematic, with multiple rolls per hit at a target etc.

 

[deinol]

I picked up a new Shadowrun book off the shelf, and was surprised to learn the "the Matrix" is actually owned by the Shadowrun people. I thought it would be a movie property!? Pretty surprising to me, since when I think of Shadowrun, I think of the Super Nintendo game with orcs and deckers - not 90s hipsters with high amounts of kung-fu and firepower.

I can't tell if you are joking or not. The Matrix was Shadowrun's term for the future of the internet a decade before the Matrix movies came out. In fact, the Matrix movie is surprisingly similar to a short story in the 1991 Shadowrun supplement Virtual Worlds. Of course, its mostly just because both of them were riffing on Descarte + Computers, but I digress... Also, I feel old.

 

[GMMichael]

I can't tell if you are joking or not. The Matrix was Shadowrun's term for the future of the internet a decade before the Matrix movies came out. In fact, the Matrix movie is surprisingly similar to a short story in the 1991 Shadowrun supplement Virtual Worlds. Of course, its mostly just because both of them were riffing on Descarte + Computers, but I digress... Also, I feel old.

Not joking. It was so long between playing the Shadowrun video game, and watching the Matrix movie, that I totally failed to make the connection.

You know what's even more surprisingly similar to the Matrix? Both western culture and the NSA.