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MidgetMarine
2012-07-05, 07:07 PM
I know I already posted this in the AD&D and other systems subforum but I'm posting it here as well, just in case.

So I'm beginning to assemble a group of interested players who will, if everything goes according to plan, be the players in my first ever Shadowrun 4e campaign. Now, I haven't played much Shadowrun, much less GMed any and as the campaign gets closer and closer, it's starting to seem like much to daunting of a task. And I'm starting to get worried. So I come to you GiTP forums for aid. What tips can you give me to make this campaign as fun, vibrant, interesting and least stressful as possible? This could be anything from taking notes to adding certain House Rules, I don't know, whatever you think might help. Anything to keep me from buckling under pressure and making the gameplay and campaign as smooth and engaging as possible.

Thanks
Midget

graymagiker
2012-07-05, 09:14 PM
I would look at some of the premade "runs" for ideas and thoughts on how to set up a campaign.

Shadowrun Missions (http://www.shadowrun4.com/missions/downloads-season-2/) is a good resource, as is the rest of that site.

Also check out Dumpshock (http://forums.dumpshock.com/) if you haven't already.

CET
2012-07-06, 10:32 AM
What tips can you give me to make this campaign as fun, vibrant, interesting and least stressful as possible?

3 things:

1) Watch a couple of movies a day or two before the game to get you 'in the mood.' The best movies will be ones that you want to emulate the style of - this could be anything from the first Matrix to Bladerunner to Kung-Fu Hustle, depending on what kind of Shadowrun game you want to run.

2) Make this a pilot episode. (http://strangepassages.blogspot.com/2012/06/pilot-episodes-great-for-testing.html) Be upfront with your players about the fact that it is a first run and don't feel like everything has to work out perfectly for the sake of some epic campaign. Once the session is done, alter things (PCs, backstory, etc) as needed to fix any problems that came up.

3) Until you feel comfortable with the system, err on the side of making things too easy rather than too hard. I've seen GMs back themselves into ugly situations when something they thought would be 'challenging but fun' turns out to be an instant TPK. Once that happens . . . hard to recover from. Too easy can be problematic as well, but IMO it's easier to slowly ramp up difficulty (which players kind of expect anyway) than to ramp it down (which looks like plot armor).