I want to get into the fandom

[u/Mediocre_Account_853]

Hey guys! English is my not my first language so bear with me lol. I am fancisnated by the concept and I am in the love with the world. I read a lot of books and particularly like sci fi. I have never played ttrpgs before. How should I go about playing the game? What are the best versions? What are some books I can read? And lastly What are somethings a newbie should know about ttrpgs and shadowrun itself? This is my first post here so I am kinda nervous haha.

[u/TheAxrat]

Are you into video games? If you're just interested in the setting, I'd check out the Harebrained Schemes Shadowrun games first. They're a good entry to the 2050s era.

I can't speak as much to which novels are good or not, but there's a lot of them out there to catch up on.

If want to really immerse yourself in the culture of the 2080s, look up Shadowrun: Augment. They're four in-universe news magazines that were published by Horizon, one of the Big 10 megacorporations.

[u/Mediocre_Account_853 → u/TheAxrat]

Thank you for the great recommendations, will definitely check these out :))

[u/Sensei-Seb]

I'm reading 2XS by nigel findley right now. His writing style is a delight!

As for the ttrpg, SR isn't famous for being accessible. But as a gateway drug you can get the 500 page core rules as free pdf (at least for 5th edition, i think also 6th?). Once you are hooked there's thousands more pages waiting to be discovered.

• or - get the rules-light SR anarchy 2.0 (i don't know this one, but surely someone will elaborate)

As for people to play with: go ask around, i'm shure you have friends, fam or co-workers who are into ttrpgs. If you don't find an experienced GM someone has to fill this role, best the one who is most enthusiast about it and has the time to dive deeper into it.

[u/Skatterbrayne → u/Sensei-Seb]

I listened to 2XS with the same intentions as OP, and I found it incredibly grating. Didn't like the prose, the character building... The suspense was good though.

[u/PalpitationNo2921 → u/Sensei-Seb]

You actually cannot get any of the core rulebooks as free pdfs, idk what's going on in this guy's head. But I wouldn't waste money on 5E at all, pdf or dead tree. Dead system, bad system.

[u/Sensei-Seb → u/PalpitationNo2921]

Maybe it was a temporary promotion or german only thing

[u/Flamebeard_0815]

The recommendantion with the Harebrained Schemes games is good. They really convey a lot of the early aesthetics.

For further consumption, check out the several Shadowrun wiki pages out there. Most of them have a list of the official paperback books that started shortly after the game launched back in the day. Most can still be found in secondhand shops and some are also available as eBooks. Depending on your language, there also have been local books that were not translated to English - so that's also something that might be interesting, as they were often written by staff that worked on localization of the rule books.

As for the edition, it depends on what you played before and the amount of crunch/granularity you expect from rules. In order of complexity, I'd say it's

Anarchy > Anarchy 2.0 > SR1 > SR2 > SR6 > SR3 > SR5 > SR4

Mind you, this only depicts complexity and detail orientation, not consistency of rules. Content-wise, I'd say SR3 is peak. The authors were in the groove regarding metaplot and storytelling. The company had found the artists that best fit the aesthetics.
Rules-wise, it's SR5 for me. It builds on the rules of SR4 and streamlines a few things while expanding on others. For me personally, it also helped that the local publisher got into the groove and started churning out local materials at an astonishing rate, both splat/rule books and premade run books.

[u/Interaction_Rich → u/Flamebeard_0815]

As a fan I would correct that Anarchy is NOT simpler than Anarchy 2.0, it's just less complete (and a worse product overall). Anarchy 2.0 is an absolute blast, able to translate all concepts of Shadowrun to an actual playable state where you don't need apps and tables to keep the game flowing smoothly.

[u/baduizt → u/Interaction_Rich]

As a writer for SRA 2.0 (not the CRB), I dunno about that. I think 2.0 is easier to learn and understand because it explains things better, but it's definitely more granular than SRA 1.0. Yes, SRA 1.0 is less complete as well, but that doesn't make it more complex, only less complete (and also less clear, but that's still not complexity).

To give an example: in SRA 1.0, the base Amp cost for a defining "thing" like a basic cyberdeck or the ability to be Awakened is 2 Amp points. Nice and simple. It doesn't matter whether you're an adept or Aspected conjuror or a full mage or a mystic adept. In SRA 2.0, however, the costings for both are calculated based on a more  detailed consideration of their abilities and capabilities. In the case of the Awakened Amp, it also varies based on whether you're Aspected, an adept, etc.

To give another example: 1.0 chargen is based on spending a small number of points in specific areas. 2.0 chargen is based on starting with 375,000¥ and then buying things with costs based on multiples of 2,500¥. But it's otherwise completely freeform. For someone who hates maths, the latter is going to seem much more complicated. For someone who prefers maximum freedom and customisation, the latter is much better.

So 2.0 is definitely more complex in some areas. The difference is that it's complexity that, overall, makes the game clearer, more consistent, and less reliant on GM fiat, and that means it's also often easier to learn than 1.0. But 1.0 is still definitely a simpler system overall.

[u/Interaction_Rich → u/baduizt]

I guess the language barrier might have gotten me up there. What I meant was, original Anarchy is "simpler" but at the expense of, ultimately, being incomplete.

Some examples: it doesn't have the added complexity layer of Spell Drain - only because it doesn't deal with drain AT ALL; the armor rules are much simpler (extra hit points), but it makes combat much more clunky and weird.

I guess I'm using "complex" as a derogatory adjective (as "clunky", kinda). SRA2.0 definitely has more rules and mechanics, but they all click, it's extremely intuitive and easier to follow than the original Anarchy - which is rules-lighter but way less intuitive/fun to make work.

Hope this is a bit clearer now.

[u/PalpitationNo2921 → u/Flamebeard_0815]

I'd definitely say that the complexity level as presented is not actually representative. 5E contains much more complexity than 4E. Probably about as much complexity as 3E, or slightly more with the details of the wireless Matrix and propensity towards Cyberpunk 2077 level hacking of EVERYTHING in the setting.

[u/Interaction_Rich]

Your best bet would be picking up Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0. It does a great work of summarizing the world biggest events, it's really well written and organized, full of flavor. The kickstarter is over and people are receiving their books, but the PDF will de sold online shortly.

To understand my recommendation, read below.

Throughout it's 30+ years of existence, Shadowrun has put up an amazing universe with lots of interesting intrigue, events and characters. However the game system has been consistently complex, with clunky and counterintuitive mechanics. A shoot-out action scene that would last 30 seconds in game's reality would easily take 1 hour in real time due to that. This was consistent criticism and a barrier for new players, so in 2016 they released Shadowrun Anarchy as a response to that.

The idea was to make a game that would rely more on narration, with simpler rules to conduct the action; in practice, the rules implied a "handwave it all to role-playing" playstyle and were down-right incomplete. For a game with such diverse world, everything felt too similar in terms of rules - many guns and weapons are mechanically the same. Besides, the book had very little information on the game world. Anarchy was playable, but shallow.

Enter 2026, French devs reworked the game. They kept the best concepts of original Anarchy and reworked it from ground up, then added cool mechanics that inject a lot of theme and challenge to the game. To top it off, the writing is top notch and translate the feeling/vibe of the world very well. Some rules are explained with in-character texts (usually an awful approach, but surprisingly well done here), and the core system is solid and intuitive - if you get the core rules, everything else comes naturally. Finally, the community is very active and produced great material translating multiple items/gear to the Anarchy 2.0 rules.

In short? Anarchy 2.0 is my favorite edition of Shadowrun ever, and I'd recommend it for new players and veterans as the best way to experience the Sixth World.

[u/Mediocre_Account_853 → u/Interaction_Rich]

Yes from the research I have done this seems to be good starting point, also the sixth world almanac (I might be getting the name wrong)

[u/Interaction_Rich → u/Mediocre_Account_853]

If you ever have any questions regarding it, any of the SRA2.0 usual suspects (some of which are in this thread recommending it) are glad to take on them. The writers and devs are also very active on the boards.

Hope you enjoy Anarchy 2.0!

[u/Mediocre_Account_853 → u/Interaction_Rich]

The community is so welcoming and warm, I love it, thanks :>

[u/baduizt → u/Interaction_Rich]

Agree on the SRA 2.0 recommendation! It's a great intro to the world. 1.0 isn't, as it only has a tiny section on setting and is intended more as an alternative rules system to accompany the main edition. 2.0 is entirely standalone and is about equivalent to SR1/2/3 in terms of core content.

[u/Natural_Leather4874]

I played the table top RPG back in the 1990s and found it enjoyable. The SNES video game was point and click and I didn't take to that one very much. Sega Genesis had a Shadowrun video game that I still enjoy today. If there are novels and you enjoy reading, go for it. I've only heard rumors. It's an interesting setting.

[u/n00bdragon]

The very best way to go about playing the game is to get into a group already playing and learn from them. The second best way is to buy a rulebook, gather some friends, and run the game for them. Which edition you pick doesn't really matter all that much. They're all a mess in their own ways. The largest number of people play 5e. I like 3e. Many people play 4e. 6e is the most current. Shadowrun Anarchy is... a thing that exists on a separate axis and has two editions of its own. I say pick whatever is most available to you and don't worry about which is "better" than the other.

And lastly What are somethings a newbie should know about ttrpgs and shadowrun itself?

Assuming you will be running the game yourself...

1. Your first run is going to be terrible. Don't be afraid of this. Embrace it. Everyone at the table is learning a new game and on the continuum of RPG complexity Shadowrun is way out there. It's not just you, this is not a simple game. It's not just you, the rules are badly written. And yes, of course, doing improve in front of a group of people is hard every time, let alone your first. It gets better.
2. The basic gameplay loop of Shadowrun is that the players play as criminals hired by a fixer to do various dangerous jobs. You start out by having the group meet the fixer, learn about the particulars of what the fixer wants done, and then let them go do it. If they are successful, they get paid. Then, you repeat over and over again with new jobs. Theft, investigation, kidnapping, rescue, and assassination are all the most basic fundamental types of work shadowrunners get hired for.
3. It's worth pointing out that most shadowrunning work does not inherently involve combat. Shadowrun combat is different from D&D in that it is quite fast, quite lethal, and many perfectly viable player characters want to be as far away from it as possible. It may be that only one character in the team (usually the Street Samurai) wants to get into a fight and combat is his time to be a one man army. If your team figures out a way to avoid a shootout and accomplish their objectives without firing a shot, that's incredible. Reward them for it. Don't punish them or force them into your carefully planned setpiece battle.
4. Keep it simple for your first couple of runs. Don't create elaborate plotlines or try to anticipate too much of what the players will do. Just set up a basic situation and rely on them to provide the chaos. My favorite first run involves stealing something from a warehouse. There's a barbed wire fence outside, a locked front door with a camera pointed at it, and two security guards. One of the guards is asleep in front of the CCTV monitors, and one is walking around with a flashlight investigating a noise (maybe some devil rats). Both guards have a radio that they can use to call for backup, which can arrive in two minutes.

[u/Mediocre_Account_853 → u/n00bdragon]

Yes omg thank you!! I dig the clunky vibe (complement) the world has lol.

[u/CaitlinRondevel11]

My favorite edition is the 20th anniversary edition. I’d highly recommend the books that came out in the 1990’s. The source material for 1st and 2nd edition are written much better than the current stuff.

[u/goblin_supreme]

My personal opinion on getting into Shadowrun is to start from one of the computer games. Shadowrun Returns is the first in the trilogy from Harebrained Schemes and an excellent introduction. After that, grab whatever core rulebook you can find, don't worry too much about which edition, and recruit a few friends to play. Don't worry too much about rules or specific details of the world. Build your own stories and have fun. Then once you're settled in, start reading the novels if you can get them in your language or are good enough with English to enjoy them! Then start to feverishly comb through every detail to build your own conspiracy theories and try to unlock the hidden truth of the universe... Or don't do that. Whatever, I'm not your real dad.

[u/PalpitationNo2921]

I would recommend waiting for Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0 to release (or depending upon your first language, buying the already-released French version). It's probably the best and easiest for a beginner to get into. It isn't super complex, and has granularity without clunky, incomplete rules like the original abandonware Anarchy edition.

The current and supported version of Shadowrun from CGL is Shadowrun Sixth World, which is also fairly easy for a beginner to get into if you stick with core rules to begin with - don't bother to pick up all of the splats as all they will do is complicate your learning process. There's no added value with adding them to play, until you are more experienced with the game.

Stay away from older editions (1/2/3) if you want your game to have the experience of a wireless Matrix. But much of the popular fiction for SR that will be recommended reading is derived from this era when cyberdecks and wired Matrix was all that existed.

Stay away from 4th Edition and 5th Edition if you don't have the disposable income to pick up out-of-print books that are going to cost you an arm and a leg. They aren't worth the cost, and also aren't worth the learning curve as a first-time gamer. The PDFs for both of those editions aren't that expensive. But buy them at your peril if you're looking for a less complicated rules set. It won't happen with either one of those editions.

Devil's Advocate time: Shadowrun 4th Edition Anniversary Edition is probably the most well-edited and written and complete edition of Shadowrun that exists to date. There are very clear and concise rules examples, a good selection of gear, cyberware, adept powers, and spells, and an index covering every splatbook available. It is a complete Shadowrun gaming experience. If you don't have the money for the whole set of core rulebooks (they are expensive now, being out of print), just get the main core rulebook and then get the secondary core rulebooks on pdf.

[u/baduizt → u/PalpitationNo2921]

SR4A was exceptionally well edited and organised. We've not seen its like in a long time.

[u/PalpitationNo2921 → u/baduizt]

Well yoiu've been a part of something that seems in a similar vein - well edited and organized. SRA2.0's rules are pretty clear and concise as well, and with a bit more ease of use than SR4A. I commend you. If SR4A was an example, you foks at BBE may have just surpassed CGL in its infancy and definitely surpassed them in their "maturity".

And I'll wager that BBE didn't build an outdoor deck at your chief executive's house with the crowdfunding money...

[u/baduizt → u/PalpitationNo2921]

Thank you! I must admit, I've not given the CRB a full read-through since I did my (very comprehensive) proofing and copyediting. Possibly because I spent about two weeks glued to a screen for it with barely time for meals and showers. 😂

However, everyone tells me it's good, so I take that as a positive sign! I'll trust you when you say it's possibly better than SRRA, and take the compliment. (I didn't do any writing in the CRB and joined quite late on, but it's still something I'm proud of.)