Why you should be playing Shadowrun | Alternatives to D&D
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2022
- #shadowrun #catalystgamelabs #roleplaying
I love Shadowrun, give it a shot. Have someone opposed to trying Shadowrun? This video can help. For more reference on Seattle, watch Frasier. It's a great alternative to Dungeons and Dragons, especially in light of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) changing the OGL - Навчання та стиль
One of my best rpg campaigns was a Shadowrun campaign with me and some college buddies. We took a missiom to sabotage a space station/hotel/transit hub. We spent 3 entire 10-12 hour game sessions just prepping and planning the run, thst was such a blast. My character was a stealth/martial arts combat expert. While on the run at the space station hub, my character and another got picked up by security and taken to an enterigation room. While handcuffed to the chair, i told the gm I wanted to do a forward flip to flip the chair infront of me to free my arms and get into a standing position. I pooled all my dice and a hit the ludicrously high target number and succeeded! That whole campaign was so fun. Who would have thought uou could spend over 30 hours just planning, no action on a game, austensibly action oriented, and have a blast!
I've been playing Shadowrun since the first edition in 1989. This, by far, was the best summation of the game and the setting I've ever seen. Liked and subscribed! Thank you!
And thank you. I'm glad you liked it
Pillaging D6's out of family board games since 92 over here.
This was my favorite TTRPG back in the day. OGL drama has me DnD weary. Enjoyed this post and will be sharing this with my players to try to get them on board with running Shadowrun once we finish a Strahd campaign.
Glad you like it. Yeah, I think the OGL controversy will get more exposure to other game systems as people look for alternatives. I think shadowrun is a fun pick.
Fourth Edition is my favorite edition
I really want to learn to play shadowrun. I've only heard about it like a week ago and now I am fully intrigued by this game.
The memories... we had a mage whos player didn't understand how the system worked at all. He should have blown up from the drain on multiple occasions. But somehow managed to survive.
That and it took 3 ork strength tranq patches to shut him down once. He was an elf...
I just ended a 2-year SR5 campaign. I love love love the universe. I hate the system though. I don't think we ever got through a sessions without someone (and these are experienced gamers) saying "oops, I've been doing that wrong".
Honestly, I think the FASA editions are actually easier to understand rules-wise.
@@lolusuck386 Yeah. I've been playing since 2nd - and 3rd ed is my favourite. I have no interest in 5th.
My boyfriend is running our first Shadowrun campaign, and it's amazing. The lore, the tech, the landscape. Plus, there's a ton of great cyberpunk ambience to utilize. I'm glad I found this channel, look forward to catching up on everything. :)
This is the best summary of what Shadowrun is that I have ever seen!
I will always come back to Shadowrun. It is the first system I cut my teeth on and still my favorite system
This is a surprisingly accurate - and entertaining - summary of my favourite setting. Kudos for that.
That said, I very much prefer 4th edition - not so much in spite of, but rather because of the intricate character creation and the basically unlimited creative freedom you have there (unlike the priority-method used in SR5) Which is why I quite frankly haven't bothered switching over to 5th edition. Instead I run 4th to this day - and currently with a group mostly comprised of newcomers to the setting. And in order to not overwhelm my new players, I have recommended them to start with mundane characters (which about half of them did. The other two play adepts). So i complemented the party by giving them a pet spellcaster/summoner - quite literally. A Naga to be exact. And by its nature (as a sentient animal) I can keep it in the background as to not draw the spotlight from the player characters but still give them a means to overcome certain challenges.
A GM with a legit sense of humor- huge breath of fresh air in a community dominated by OCD incel types - this is the best sales pitch for the SR universe ever.
I used to have an awesome Shadowrun 1st edition collection. Unfortunately I couldn't get anyone to ever try it so I ended up selling it. I really wanted to run Renraku Arcology it seemed so cool. Anyway I hope others out there are enjoying playing Shadowrun at.least I have some of the video games on steam.
I hope more people give it a shot in as they look for other stuff everytime WotC does something dumb
So the thing with Shadowrun is I love the lore. But the later editions especially really dropped the ball on the rules side of things. I actually played a version of Savage Worlds with Shadowrun lore and had a really good time. And apparently I'm not alone in wanting to take Shadowrun and apply it to different rule sets.
The original FASA Shadowrun 1st edition is the first TTRPG game I ever played! One hell of a start!
"Tactical renovation"
I'm going to remember that term.
I played a little bit of a campaign in high school! been hooked on the game ever since. Loved the Harebrained Schemes trilogy when it dropped on steam, a tactical turn-based RPG set in that universe was a lot of fun to play through the story, I beat all three games with over 150 hours between the three! my dream game was always an open-world game set in that universe, and honestly CP2077 filled that void quite nicely! (it was missing the magic element, but literally everything else I could've dreamt of wound up in that game) so it's safe to say that I've definitely fallen in love with the cyberpunk rpg genre.
I love this video so much for many reasons, but every time I rewatch it, I'm sad about the missed opportunity to say "Shadowrun has no class" at 4:58.
That would have been a good line.
Very good video.
Very informative...
You got me excited to try it out...
I play Savage Rifts...
Maybe review that one 😁
I just realized this wasnt about Shadowrun trilogy. haha great video bruv.
Catalyst games is possibly one of the few companies people could claim as being “worse” than wizards of the coast. I love the lore and the crunch and the avalanche of dice and even the bypassing a lock 25 part flowchart. But I wish the company behind the game wasn’t quite so committed to trying to make cyberpunk exploitation a reality for their freelance writers.
The company behind shadowrun was fasa same as battletech before it went under
@@markchapman3457FASA hasn't existed for decades. Catalyst took over after SR3, and they are trash.
I’m was talking about who originally made shadowrun the way @Redo13164 made it sound like they thought that shadowrun was made by Catalyst games that is what I was trying to clear up sorry for any confusion
Not to make excuses for Catalyst's treatment of freelancers, but the entire industry operates on such tight margins that its frankly a never-ending race to the bottom. Its easier to list companies who don't fuck freelancers than to call out the ones who do.
@@EmperorPylades no, they’re really awful. The drama with the errata team in particular was appalling.
Damn. I honestly never realized how hopeless the Shadowrun universe is until you laid out that Seattle really IS "one of the last bastions of civilization." That's a new low.
I also have to appreciate the addition of "tactical renovation" to my repertoire of phrases for breaching a wall.
Your editing and meme collection/creation is outstanding, man. Shadowrun is a system that I am very passionate about and would love to see more people play, perhaps even getting a 7th edition that is actually pretty good. Alas, a man can dream.
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I might do a video about the Shadowrun world in the future. It's definitely deeper than I could reasonably cover in this video.
You misspelled Soyattle
Well, it's really not. In fact, the PCC is arguably the best place to live the Sixth World. I actually rate Seattle pretty far down the list. If you can't live in the PCC, live in the CAS. UCAS largely sucks.
How does everybody feel about SR Anarchy? Some chummers and I are going to give it a try.
I think the reason they added limits is because it was routinely possible to get 20+ dice pool rolls where you could destroy cars with a single pistol gun shot. It brought certain things down to plausible maximum limits.
Pinpointed! Omg u just got the essence ❤️
I would love to get back into Shadowrun. I haven't really played since 2nd edition, but Shadowrun is my favorite TTRPG of all time. If I could find a group near Denver, that would amazing.
thanks. very interesting. will try that out
Glad to hear it
I'm a simple man. I see an obscure manga reference like Ariadne, I suscribe.
Then you'll like my next video.
Loved 2E. Great recap about what makes Shadowrun Shadowrun. I buy the new stuff to read but never play anything newer than 2E. When they went to Matrix 2.0 I was out. I’m a constructionist and I play the way the game was originally intended. Love Virtual Realites…
And all you need to do is "borrow" every D6 from every boardgame your family has ever purchased. All of them.
Even the Shadowrun games on Steam are good. :)
I started role playing with shadow run it was a big jump to learn d&d
This video cracked me up and made me want to play this game
Glad you liked it. I hope you do give it a shot.
Used to play several text based shadowrun games back in the day, a few of the servers are still up and working. 3rd edition is my favorite but they all have a unique vibe to them.
In my own opinion, the best roleplaying system out there is Rolemaster 2nd/3rd edition. Nothing tops it.
But for Shadowrun, nothing beats the intense feeling of focus and commadery when you are five minutes from finishing your "milk run" of reuniting some celebrity with their baby brother who ran off to find religion...on the bottom sub-floor underneath the Church, waiting for the freight elevator, and quickly running out of hollow point bug spray.
Greetings from Germany. Was first irritated by the German title, but Sr is always good and nearly my first love of ttrpg.
Watch your back! 😎
Glad you like Shadowrun, is there something wrong with the title's translation?
@@OptionalRules no, but when I read a German title I don't expect an English video 😅
Do you know that Sr is in Germany under the top 3, most played ttrpg systems?
@@rage4play78 I didn't know that, that's cool.
Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis.. Frikken BADASS! 🦾🦾
Funny how this popped up in my feed, after watching all the OGL videos lately 😁
Maybe the makers of Shadowrun should consider making a 'Pure Fantasy' supplement, they are already halfway there with 'Fantasy' races and Magic rules?
I remember back in the day my group used to play the Supers RPG called 'Champions'. A couple of the group loved the rules so much they actually ran some short 'campaigns' using using the Champions 'engine', but set in a Fantasy setting.
There was a pure fantasy version of Shadowrun... Earthdawn is the 4th world to Shadowruns 6th.. Many of the immortal characters exist in both settings or at least did in the old editions (Dunkelzahn and Harlequin both were mentioned in both settins but under different names, the SR Wiki has the details) and major themes like the horrors and insect spirits are also found in both.
But With all the Licensing Issues when FASA died and Fanpro bought some of the licenses and the Microsoft got involved,... Long story short he worlds aren't connected any more but used to be.
I haven't read any of the newer (i.e younger than 2008 or so) material to either system SO I don't know exactly if there are still links.
There would basically be no point. The idea a world full of slums, megacorporations and heists. Trying to run it as a fantasy romp would be a complete waste
@@revlarmilion9574 My suggestion was to ditch the setting, but keep the 'rules engine', and add to it to make a Fantasy Setting, and thus an alternative to Dungeons and Dragons rules (like in the example I mentioned how Champions Super-Hero RPG 'engine' was adapted for Fantasy)
Okay, let's play then.
Man, Sseth is strong in this one.
Bone-chilling gemerald of a TTRPG showcase
I actually think Sixth World is genuinely nice but also I am of the opinion that has long as the people playing at the table enjoy the game, it's succeeding and my experience with 6th is mostly positive
Well aCtuALly, you need more then a half 1's to have a glitch, half is not enough.
As per core rulebook: "Along with fives and sixes, you need to pay attention to how many ones show up when you roll the dice. If more than half the dice you rolled show a one, then you’ve got problems. This is called a glitch."
"except nothing goes well"
Yeah, every Shadowrun play ahahah
ShadowRun is my jam, has been for decades
It's great. Hopefully it can get the recognition it deserves in light of recent OGL related events.
Subscribed.
Solid advice
*opens Shadowrun rule book for the first time*
…….no0o0o0o0o0o thank you
*closes the book forever*
What the hell? This sounds amazing. Why haven't I played this yet?
It's just not as popular for some reason
I love Shadowrun
I'll keep my first gen thank you 🙂
8:02 😂 Every GTAV Online heist gone wrong or desperate player trying with randoms.
Good video chummer
Thanks
I like the 2050s
"Tactical renovation" 😂
Sixth edition is the best.
at least between 5th and 6th (which are the ones I played lmao)
i'm interested
To enjoy SR you need good players. I would say this as a game where the players need to know the lore, but also need to be good /smart gamers. I've played in sessions where the group is dim whitted and planning takes waaaay too long, and it just turns into a waste of time.
I will be running a 4e game soon. It will be my first time running and playing, the rest of the table are going to be first-timers as well. My only real gripe is that the character creation and mechanics are over-explained. It's dead simple, but trying to read it in full nearly gave me a migraine.
I also didn't like the way the 4ed creation rules were presented. 4th ed is great but there is that issue for sure
@@OptionalRules What character generation method did you use? The vanilla build point or the karma and priority methods out of the runner's companion?
@@puddel9079 If I'm remembering correctly, it was the normal build points. I like the freedom it gives but the way it's presented is poorly structured (what isn't in Shadowrun?) so the first time you make a character, you won't have enough build points to finish them because it keeps surprising you with additional steps. Across all Shadowrun games, and most other RPGs my group allows free character remakes for the first two or so sessions in adventure games like Shadowrun and DnD. for the sake of learning the system.
@@OptionalRules Free rerolls is one way to curb the learning pains. I will be opting to hand out sample characters for the first few sessions, any karma and nuyen earned will carry over to the characters the players want to play once we have the system down.
@@OptionalRules I am going to use this video as a condensed primer for the game. It works too well to not use it for newbies.
Shadowrun 4 Ever!!!!!!
Which shadowrun is better when it comes to the pc games,hong kong or dragonfall
Back in the day I loved the concept. But I thought the rules were too hard for me to understand. I hope the newer versions are easier to grasp the rules
We just started playing shadowrun because one of our dnd players stopped showing up mid campaign.
Merchant approved.
I had the Shadowrun 1e, but I got away from the game. I think I might try the new edition.
It's gonna be a wild jump from 1st to 6th
Shadowrun is very different from most D&D as far as setting and flavor goes. If you want medieval fantasy play Pathfinder instead. (Though I'd wait for the new system unless you could get it cheap.) Pathfinder 1.0 is basically 3.5 D&D with the rough edges filed off. 2.0 is similar but different and 3.0 is going to be its own thing. (It's not out yet so I can't comment on how it plays though_
Wait. Some are better than others??? What, why is only the latest cut out I - what edition should I play???
Where are the rest of my new videos you promised?!
I prefer Shadowrun anytime over anything from DnD after AD&D2e ♥
Funko Pops...LMFAO!!!!
Which edition would you recommend for new players?
as much as it pains me to say, 6th is the easiest and most supported, because it's the current. I just prefer 4th.
If you as a GM are willing to do the work, I have found that GURPS works fantastically for my group and we run almost nothing but Shadowrun and some Cyberpunk Red and some Fallout.
But, unfortunately if you choose GURPS as your system then YOU as the GM are in for the most work out of any other gaming system out there. The entirety of GURPS is modular and so you will be spending a lot of time reading through 600+ page sourcebooks for what amounts to a paragraph of rules.
But once you have your rules chooses, just plug in a setting and you're good to go. If you are planning on doing a SR game though using GURPS, I still highly suggest not just the corebooks for SR (to get the feel so you can translate) but so you can also get the setting correct. SR has the best sourcebooks in the genre. Period.
What edition should I play?
I like 4th or 5th, personally.
@@OptionalRules Ok thank you, is the lore mostly the same? cause I like to play with the most recent lore, But is guess that if its based on 208X it doesnt matter much
@@mynameisd2849 Yeah the lore is mostly the same. I can't think of mush that's different off the top of my head.
Second Edition is my favourite, so much so that I used the Shadowrun 2E ruleset as a basis for my homebrew Wheel of Time game :)
Bruh that intro
I think why they limited your successes in 5th edition was because in 4th edition, shit would get out of hands. You could very easily minmax in 4th edition, leading to situations where you could easily get like 30 dice on a check and then get like 20 successes off of that, which the game was just not balanced for. I ran into an issue where threatening enemies listed in the core book, like a squad of red samurai, was like a minor obstacle for these guys. When your ragtag group of shadowrunners can just take out trained soldiers with little problem, the breaks.
They balanced it a bit better in 5th, although I will admit that limits didn't feel particularly good and feel more like a bandaid on a larger issue with the game. It also has its own issues.
I feel like it's still the best edition, especially if you play the german version, which is formated and errata'd a lot better than the english version... but you do need to speak german for that, of course.
I tryed ones we spend 6 hours for character creation for 4 people and tryed to finish the rest next day played 1 sesion and people leave the game because of 'their lifes'. I like that universe but there are no people who wanna play shadowrun anymore because it is kind of hard and people want easy and more shallow and streamline system.
That's true but the good news is that D&D is the easiest and most streamlined system and people don't want to play that based on current events so they'll have to sick it up for a time.
Never trust an elf. Don't deal with a dragon.
6thisgood
I... Actually really like 6th edition lol
Money. This was my issue with playing games like this. I have never been able to play a character who cares about money, so there is very little actual motivation for someone who likes to play a hero who helps people.
I love the lore of Shadowrun. I love everything about Shadowrun except for the System itself is garbage hope you enjoy doing square roots to figure out grenades. Also it's book layout is horrendous.
Shadowrun's main strength is it's lore.
System is... the best way to play in that lore. While it's crunch and character customization is satisfying, It's objectively bad as a system - it's so broken that it makes dnd5e look even remotely balanced or stable in comparison, just to drive in how broken it is (i only played shadowrun's 5th edition, but i hear that every edition is very broken).
Worst part is that you see how the system might've evaded a ton of breaking, but for some reason the devs didn't do stuff to make it non-broken, so you sit there, a mystic adept who has 5-6 initiative passes out of character creation using only the core rulebook and are like "why did the system break so easily?"
Shadowrun 6e didn't fix the problem either - it's main grace is good use of purple. Other than that, it's been a huge fuck-up.
Sr4e is even less balanced and stable than sr5e, but it's anniversary edition at least has acceptable layour from what i know, rather than sr5e's layout, which requires you to make irl skills checks to navigate it.
Sr5e's problems only grow worse when you add supplements. An example of this are two spells: barrage and comet.
Barrage has ridiculous spellcasting cost, yet it's special effect actually reduces it's damage, as if the person who designed it has no idea how armor and damage work in the system.
Comet on the other hand, is about as expensive to cast as a regular cover-affected fireball, yet it:
1. Breaks some of the setting's magic laws and, as a result, seems to be capable of ignoring regular cover.
2. Has two elemental effects rather than one.
So, one spell is outrageously trash, while other spell is outrageously op.
This kinda encapsulates the situation.
Like, there is a ton of banned spells, which are so op that you might wonder - did anyone playtest this or at least read through it?
AND !
If you don't like the fifth world because you don't like the modern pew pew ? Try the 3rd world, and try to unterstand why there is no T'skrang in Shadowrun !
Same shit than Shadowrun, same "universe" with magic cycle (without corporation tho), but medieval, and with a even harder dice system ! It's more like a real remplacement for D&D. Really, a well constructed universe where the system is really in adequation with it's lore !
Earthdawn is quite a ride ! Try it !
it's sad that so many people are adraid to try it. The game is not really difficult to learn
If you try Shadowrun. Play 2e or in a pinch 3e. They are better versions of the game than anything Catalyst has put out.
Either play 5th edition (or before) or hack Cyberpunk RED. The 6e system is fucking busted
I don't like the technomancer thing. Kind of leaves Deckers useless. Also, wifi decking is too much. You're projecting a consciousness into a mega computer. That should need a hardwire. It also makes for better game play.
"I hack the main system."
"You're still across the street in the hotel."
"I make a signal booster with a coffee can and the power cord from the lamp. I saw it on Pintrest."
"You get the data, and no one else got to have fun. Good job."
It's true, the more I play, the lamer normal deckers are compared to technomancers, which is a shame and an issue. Also yeah the game lost a lot of flare and nuance switching to wireless. But it's a lose-lose. If they didn't have wireless, people would complain and wonder why not.
@Optional Rules Just need a gaming group who agree, and cut those two things out.
Fun fact: technomancers take direct damage from hacking attacks, hackers/deckers have a cushion to their health.
@@puddel9079 It's true, it's not like there isn't a trade off
@@OptionalRules wireless should be preventable just as it is with modern networking, at the very least as soon as a new device connects it should trigger a backtrack countdown as it would have to perfectly replace an existing device to not trigger an IDS/IPS response.
Seattle, being one of the last bastions of civilization. I think that might be the most unbelievable part of the entire setting.
Catalyst Gaming Labs is a worse company than Wizards of the Coast. They embezzle, don't pay their freelancers, and disrespect their fans during live feeds.
Catalyst Games is just as bad as WotC is, they just get less advertisement about it. Play Ryuutama or Traveller instead.
Not trying to start shit, but I'm planning a Three Portlands campaign and Shadowrun was a good runner up as a system. What TTRPG system would you recommend?
I'd also like to remind you that you can play a TTRPG without supporting that company. You just need to yarr harr.
Miniature skirmish game is such a terrible way to describe dnd.
And yet that's how it feels every time combat starts. And every time I've seen a DM feel like they didn't need to use miniatures and a grid, and argument about relative distance breaks out. It's almost like you are supposed to use the miniatures so simulate some kind of skirmish, or something...
Dragons can't be defeated? *Several* dragons have died in canon. Where the hell did you get that idea?
As someone who played Shadowrun since 2nd edition: Don't play Shadowrun. Just take the setting and slap it into literally any other game. Shadowrun is a fucking awful system through and through. Especially the most modern versions of it. 5th was bad, and 6th is the hardcover version of an unfinished AAA game.
I'm still on the fence about running a Shadowrun campaign. I loved it back in the days but the current rules are way too much for me. Maybe I have a look at Shadowrun: Anarchy.
You could also use the older system if you have access to it or a universal system if you like.
@@OptionalRules I just looked at Anarchy and I'm gonna take your advice ... I'd use 2e because I like the dice pool but the combat just took forever. I'll try Savage Worlds + Sprawlrunners and hope my players like it. Otherwise it's gonna be FATE.
@@ratatatuff I do like fate for a lot of things.
@@ratatatuff - Interface 2.0 was a cyberpunk setting made for Savage Worlds and there is also a Fate edition. I'd recommend checking that one out if you want a similar cyberpunk setting that's well filled out. IF 3.0 is in PDF form for SWADE, but no print version just yet. Oh, and there's also Shadowrun Anarchy which is a mix of simpler SR and Fate-style system.
Too bad the rules system is absolute dogsh*t. The setting is one of my favourite RPG settings, but the game is horrible. I tried it in two campaigns in two different editions and hated both. Ive been running the Shadowrun campaign setting for the past year now using the Cities Without Number rules and been finally enjoying it to its fullest.
My biggest hangup with Shadowrun is that all the fantasy races and magic and junk are all super recent.
Kinda takes the mythic weight out of being a timeless elven blithe spirit when the oldest ones are, like, a hundred/a hundred and fifty years old, tops.
I'd be more into it if the setting was literally the future of an already high fantasy world.