Shadowrun: Which Edition to use?

[DM-Frost]

I was recently recommended Shadowrun by a friend. I'm looking into it right now, but I'm wondering (before I make a decision), which edition should I use? In all likelihood, it will be third or fourth. However, I would like the input of the EN world community. What are the differences and which is more efficient as a system? I'm not looking for simplicity so much as effectiveness and flavor.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[Ghostwind]

I'd recommend picking up the 4th ed. Anniversary Edition because it contains all the errata and is in full color.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Fourth Edition fixed Shadowrun's problems with an uneven probability curve. From a game mechanical perspective, I recommend it. (From a personal perspective, I recommend using Third Edition and buying all my Third Edition rulebooks, which are otherwise going to Goodwill.)

On the other hand, it skipped the timeline ahead again (to 2073, I think). While that's not inherently bad, it's sorta created power creep. For example, alpha-ware used to be a big deal ... now it's de rigeur. Bioware was rare and cool. Now it's just another option.

What I'd love to see is a timeline stretching from 2050 onward, with the various tech advances all mapped to it, in quite a bit of detail. Pick your era and go.

 

[D'karr]

Though mechanically 4th edition is much better, I think that the world campaign of 2nd edition has the best mix for the Shadowrun World.

I'd use 4th edition rules for the mechanics because the really did fix the system, but I'd go to the tech level of 2nd edition (2050), and I'd run the Universal Brotherhood adventure. That would totally rock.

 

[Wik]

Dkarr is absolutely right. The rules for 4e do seem to work the best, but they can get a bit confusing. If you set the game in 2050 or so, you can cut out a lot of the super confusing stuff.

In my experience, the real confusing part of Shadowrun isn't in the rules - it's in the setting (in that there is a lot of stuff that can instantly kill you, and the Players are expected to know the ins and outs of the setting to an insane degree).

 

[Achan hiArusa]

It's already been said, but again:

System: 4th Edition
Storyline: 2nd Edition

 

[darjr]

I've been in a few missions games with 4e and I like it quite a bit. The 20th anniversary book is freaking gorgeous.

 

[GlassJaw]

It's already been said, but again:

System: 4th Edition
Storyline: 2nd Edition

Another +1 on this. The 2ed timeline was great and produced some of the best sourcebooks.

The Seattle Sourcebook from the era was AMAZING - one of my favorite fluff sourcebooks of all time from any game.

 

[Janx]

I still have all my 1E books...


Seems like since 5E is coming out, that's where new folks should be looking.

 

[God]

2E or 3E, hands down. From a mechanical standpoint, 4E is boring and just as easily abused, and I hate what they did to the setting in terms of emphasizing wireless and augmented reality and muddying the waters of the arcane traditions. I always saw the 2/3E task resolution system (try to roll lots of dice and keep your target number down) as a feature, not a flaw, and 4Es "roll buckets of dice and try to get 5-6" loses a lot of the tactical appeal. 5Es "solution" appears to be just limiting how big the bucket can be. Bleh. YMMV.