Thinking of running a Shadowrun game... any advice for me?

[Rubik_the_Cube]

I don't pass on them because the rules are opaque. I pass on them in earlier editions because the work almost exclusively in the Matrix. Running with a PC decker was basica)y running two games in parallel - one for the decker, and one for everyone else.

They fixed this in 5th edition, so my current game has a decker.

Saelorn corrected me on that as well. My assumption was not accurate. We are playing 4th edition so my GM's reasoning is probably in line with what you experienced. Thanks for the correction sir!

 

[The Crimson Binome]

For example, there is a spell in the game called "Burst". The book will tell you that burst costs x number of power points, has y range, and does n damage. The player will determine, when they select the power, that this burst, their burst, is a fireball that ignites the air around it. Or maybe their burst is a noxious cloud of gas, or a piercing shriek emanating from the origin point. Regardless of the trappings, the mechanics of the spell are the same.

If your Burst is a Fireball, does it set things on fire? Can it be a Sound Burst, that leaves no lingering evidence but can be heard from far away? or a crushing silence, which leaves no evidence and makes no sound?

If the mechanics are the same, regardless, then the trappings don't matter. Literally and definitionally, it doesn't matter. It's not even a choice, let alone an interesting one. You can't use trappings to differentiate a Ruger Super Warhawk from an Ares Predator, because there is no difference between them.

And that's kind of my point. You can't fake that level of detail. You can certainly streamline it, to remove the choices that you think are un-interesting, but you are removing those choices. The player no longer has those options. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, per se, but the level of detail is something that goes into making Shadowrun what it is, and you lose that if you try to port it into something like Savage Worlds.

 

[Rubik_the_Cube]

Yes the Fireball could set things on fire, unless you wanted to specify that it didn't when you made it.

Your Sound Burst could act in whatever way you describe. It could be heard from far away or only within the burst, or could be the crushing silence that you describe.

The trappings matter because they describe what the mechanics translate to in the game. Mechanics matter to the players at the table, the trappings matter in the characters in the game. Dealing damage to an enemy is something that the players do at the table. Shooting a fireball at an enemy is something that the characters do in the game.

I submit to you that there is no meaningful difference between a Ruger Super Warhawk and an Ares Predator in SR. Full stop. Therefore, you don't lose anything meaningful by porting it over to a system like Savage Worlds.

If you disagree with the above, then we are probably just too far apart on the issue to come an agreement. Which is where I am with my current SR GM. And which is why he chooses to run SR and loves the setting and the rules, while I would choose to port the setting into a rule set that is more in line with what I value.

Great discussion though, I hope the OP got something out of it!

-RtC

Edit: Changed "like to play" to "value", because I really am having a good time playing SR and am grateful to my GM for running it!

 

[Nimblegrund]

Great discussion though, I hope the OP got something out of it!

-RtC

I have to admit I am a bit on the fence here. I like the comments about how SR might be adapted to SW because that's pretty useful to me. I will probably have to consult my players on how much they care about the rule set, and what they all like.

 

[Eminence_Grise]

Let us know how it goes and what your group decides.