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View Full Version : Starting Shadowrun 4th edition, what books should I get?



Sipex
2011-01-13, 01:24 PM
Alright, for my current party I want to start a Shadowrun 4th edition game (4th edition simply because it's readily available at my favoured hobby shop and I like supporting them). I'm used to the usual D&D construct with books (MM, PHB, DMG) but from what I understand Shadowrun is structured differently.

We'd be starting off with just the basics, enough to learn the rules, create characters, play and effectively GM.

What books would I need?

As a bonus question: What books should I prevent my party from buying off the bat as they'll make the game too convoluted for a new group and difficult to arbritrate as a GM?

Zuljita
2011-01-13, 01:39 PM
i think you can run things with just basic set. 1 book to rule them all so to speak. Dont know what your local game shop has on the shelf but i really like the look of the anniversary edition better but the page numbers are all off, so other books references back to the core book wont work.

DeltaEmil
2011-01-13, 01:54 PM
The matrix supplemental rule-book for 4th edition is appearently bad and should be avoided.

And "War" is considered to be the most worthless book ever, so that's one other book you can safely ban.

Kaulesh
2011-01-13, 02:57 PM
If there's going to be a rigger (or someone who likes weapons... or someone who likes armor... or someone who likes...), Arsenal is a good choice as well. It contains stuff that just about everybody can use. Augmentation and Arsenal are probably my favorite books.

Being a hacker, I like Unwired as well. I've acquired quite a bit of equipment from it so far.

Asheram
2011-01-13, 03:05 PM
I second Zuljita, see if you can get the anniversary edition and then slowly work yourself out from there. There are enough rules to memorize as there is.

Sipex
2011-01-13, 03:14 PM
Oh, so there's only one book you need to play? Bonus.

Thanks!

Also, I'll look into the others for future purchases once we've gotten more into the game.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-13, 03:14 PM
You may also want to pick up Food Fight off the Internet. It both serves as a free adventure to ease the players into the world of Shadowrun and a free guide to ease the players and GM into the rules of Shadowrun.

Anyway, yeah, Arsenal is full of love for riggers. In fact, with just the core book, the rigger gets gimped on his biggest role, unlike most of the other archetypes.

avr
2011-01-13, 03:19 PM
The core book is enough to get started IMO.

Unwired makes the Matrix even more incomprehensible. There's nice tricks in it, but you may want to pick and choose if you use it at all.

I'd consider Street Magic really useful, Augmentation and Arsenal generally useful, Unwired and Runners Companion are resources where the GM should pick and choose bits carefully and so not in any sensible way core.

Sipex
2011-01-13, 03:26 PM
That sounds great guys, thanks a lot! :)

Hzurr
2011-01-13, 04:36 PM
I also recommend getting the 20th anniversary edition over the regular 4th ed book, mainly because the 4th ed book is has horrible organizational issues, and it's very difficult to use. The 20th anniversary is the exact same rule edition, but much easier to navigate.

Sipex
2011-01-13, 04:40 PM
Awesome, I will. I'll have to order it from the store probably but they're very good about that.

a_humble_lich
2011-01-13, 05:32 PM
Also, the 20th Anniversary book includes all the errata. I agree that is all that is needed. Most of the other supplements have some fun things in them, but the core book has all of the important things.

LibraryOgre
2011-01-13, 05:39 PM
20th anniversary book will cover most of your needs. You can run a good campaign out of that, without going too nuts. I found one fairly cheap on eBay.

Other than that, Street Magic and Arsenal are supposed to be good, and fill things out a bit more.

Sarakos
2011-01-13, 08:41 PM
Another vote for 20th anniversary edition. It contains everything you really need.

I would also highly recommend starting off with Arsenal (contains a ton of stuff everyone can use) and Runners Companion (doubles the number of qualities someone has to pick from and there are really nice ones there). One thing with Runners companion is it also contains a number of alternate races and such, If you got it, it would be best to restrict players to just using the qualities.

Other than the above three books, depending on what the players want to play, you might point them to getting a copy of some of the supplements. If they want it bad enough they may buy it themselves.

Mages and Adepts - Street Magic (really cool book and useful)

Hackers and Technomancers - Unwired (Matrix was confusing in the core book and becomes even more convoluted in this book, may want to discourage people from playing hacker the first game. If you do allow them and they are set on hacker it has some useful equipment in it)

Mundanes, Street Samurai in particular - Augmentation (never gave this book a hard look as i never played a heavy cyberware character but I've heard good things about it)

Trekkin
2011-01-13, 10:44 PM
The only thing you need to run a game of Shadowrun 4e is the core book. That said, there will be problems that are fixable with books:

1. Riggers will be in pain at the paucity of good drones. Arsenal is to them as a buffet is to a starvation victim.
2. Hackers and Technomancers might get rather bland and repetitive to play after a while, and depending on how much you enjoy the Matrix that can be a real shame. Unwired, for all its faults, will make the Matrix more interesting and involving, although it is not an easy book to pick up and use.
3. Mages are going to want more spells after a while, and just more magical content in general; for this, Street Magic is an excellent way of fleshing out the astral plane and related phenomena in addition to just giving them a host of new spells from which to choose.
4. Street samurai will appreciate Augmentation, and there are some interesting options within to give the game a more dystopian feel.
5. You, the GM, have a wealth of options present in Running Wild and Contacts and Adventures for a plethora of NPCs both sentient and non.
6. Setting books like Runner Havens are good for making sure your world is consistent with the metaplot, if that's particularly important to you.
7. There's always that one guy who wants to play a sentient toaster, Sasquatch, or Tinkerbell's combat-drug-addicted cousin. Throwing Runner's Companion at him will make you feel better until he successfully builds one from it and wants the other two as contacts.

So the only thing that's needed at the start is Core, Runner Havens or Contacts and Adventures will help with crafting runs, and the others can be added as needed.

Earthwalker
2011-01-14, 08:07 AM
I have to agree with getting the 20th anniversary edition.

I would add one word of caution for the runners companion. It all depends on the type of game you are running but the additional races from the campanion do have one addition drawback that I don't think is mentioned.

The general style of the game if for covert ops, trying not to get caught. If a sasquach does rob an Ares research center and you are one of only 3 Sasquaches in seattle it might not be long before Ares is knocking at your door, or at least asking on the streets about a Sasquach runner.

Sipex
2011-01-14, 09:37 AM
Yeah, the reason I chose shadowrun is because it's very different from what we're used to playing and I have a player who's wanted to go back to it since she played it 10 years ago (whatever edition that may be).

See, we usually play D&D (4th edition to be precise) and as you know, it is more focused on 'Quest, Battle, Loot, Save the world' in a medi-evil setting by default. I wanted something where the default scenario would be more futuristic and the focus of the game would be less around battles and more around other features of play, hence shadowrun.

Arsenal sounds like a good option though, it's the Adventurer's Vault of the shadowrun universe.

Lost Demiurge
2011-01-14, 11:35 AM
Start with the 20th anniversary edition. That book's got all you need to get by, as everyone above me has told you.

If you have the money, Arsenal is the 2nd best book, mainly because the stuff in it is universally applicable. EVERYONE can use gear! This has a ton of neat stuff to buy, and really expands the drone and vehicle choices available.

After you've played a few games, or after you've read through the main book and think it suits your needs, the next two books on the priority list are Street Magic and Augmentation. All magical characters can use Street Magic, and for non-magic types, the cyber options there include some mighty tempting things. And for GMs, there's some awesome antagonist options to scare the crap outta new players...

Last on the priority list are Running Wild and Runner's Companion. Running Wild is a monster manual of paracritters. Honestly, it's best used sparingly... I find that most of the meat of shadowrun comes when the antagonists or challenges of the week revolve around other people, rather than freaky monsters. But every now and then, an encounter with weird beasts can spice up a run. Or sometimes they're a good idea for a run in themselves... "You want us to capture a live PIASMA, mr. Johnson? And transport it across three borders to the dropsite without significantly harming it? Hoo boy.."

Runner's Companion is a good book, but it's kind of advanced. You don't want first-time players getting their hands on some of this stuff, especially if you've never GMd this system before. It's got lots of nifty options, but they're best explored after you've got a few games under your belt, and after your players have tried a regular character or two.

Unwired... Meh. I tend to handwave some of the matrix stuff anyway, so it's not hugely useful to me. Wait and see if you've got anyone who wants to play a technomancer or go REALLY deep into hacking. If not, then feel free to ignore it.

Last but not least, I'll put in a plug for a third edition book. If you can find it for a good price (under $20), go for Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book. Some of the information there is dated, but it's got a lot of ideas and useful tricks for a starting GM. It's kind of an informal DMG... Especially useful because it's got minimal rules (Which aren't compatible with 4th without some work), and plenty of fluff and advice.