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Shadowrun: Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
This updated version of Shadowrun, Sixth World provides fast-moving Shadowrun role-playing action with bonus Seattle content. The rules have been streamlined, but they still offer the depth of play Shadowrun fans expect--with less rules to flip through and memorize. The game rewards quick, tactical thinking and daring moves, while making sure the action keeps flowing. New Seattle-centric content, including character qualities, contacts, and plot hooks, make it easy to start a game in Shadowrun's most iconic setting. Kevin Czarnecki, Jason M. Hardy, Jeff Halket, Michael Messmer, Scott Schletz, RJ Thomas, Malik Toms, Robert Volbrecht, CZ Wright, Brooke Chang, Alexander Kadar, Michael Messmer, O.C. Presley, Dylan Stangel
342 pages, Paperback
Published March 9, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 3, 2024
Finally, a playable version of Shadowrun!
I read this right after Cyberpunk Red, and intentionally so I would have them both in my head at the same time. I honestly kind of suggest it really - similar but very different games.
OK, but this book - great book. Shadowrun (especially 3E and 4E that I am familiar with) is a big bloated beast with a rulebook that is unusable during a session and desperately wanting for player aids. This version is not that. So much has been streamlined and cleaned up, the rules are JUST BETTER and presented in a much better way. The fact that casting a spell is now 3 steps instead of 16 is pretty much the perfect summary. The tables and summaries are better done, even the order of the book is better. It is still crunchy with tons of options, too many maybe, but it works. Namely, the book works as a tool at a table for checking things rather than having to make (or buy) a stack of note cards.
The story is cleaned up as well. I think Shadowrun knows what it is and why it is - it distances itself from its daddy Cyberpunk and leans into those aspects, a story heavily dripping with magic and fantasy, but still has -ware and guns, distinct and different from both D&D and Cyberpunk but also bring them together very nicely. The plot has moved forward to 2080, Chicago is cleaned up a little, Berlin is sprawling, Dragons are more present in the fluff but removed from gameplay by virtue of power, magic is everywhere, and technomancy - which is my least favorite part - is core presented and viable.
I cannot say enough about how cleaned up the rules are.
I did get the Seattle version instead of the Berlin version because it was what my FLGS had on the shelf, that is a minor regret, could have been cool to focus on Berlin. A minor thing.
I read this right after Cyberpunk Red, and intentionally so I would have them both in my head at the same time. I honestly kind of suggest it really - similar but very different games.
OK, but this book - great book. Shadowrun (especially 3E and 4E that I am familiar with) is a big bloated beast with a rulebook that is unusable during a session and desperately wanting for player aids. This version is not that. So much has been streamlined and cleaned up, the rules are JUST BETTER and presented in a much better way. The fact that casting a spell is now 3 steps instead of 16 is pretty much the perfect summary. The tables and summaries are better done, even the order of the book is better. It is still crunchy with tons of options, too many maybe, but it works. Namely, the book works as a tool at a table for checking things rather than having to make (or buy) a stack of note cards.
The story is cleaned up as well. I think Shadowrun knows what it is and why it is - it distances itself from its daddy Cyberpunk and leans into those aspects, a story heavily dripping with magic and fantasy, but still has -ware and guns, distinct and different from both D&D and Cyberpunk but also bring them together very nicely. The plot has moved forward to 2080, Chicago is cleaned up a little, Berlin is sprawling, Dragons are more present in the fluff but removed from gameplay by virtue of power, magic is everywhere, and technomancy - which is my least favorite part - is core presented and viable.
I cannot say enough about how cleaned up the rules are.
I did get the Seattle version instead of the Berlin version because it was what my FLGS had on the shelf, that is a minor regret, could have been cool to focus on Berlin. A minor thing.
January 23, 2023
I wanted to give this a 3.5, but rounded up because it's not half as bad as people make out, and I want Shadowrun to success.
Honestly, there was so much good in Anarchy, and I can see they've learned from some of it. But they made a lot of the same mistakes as the last two editions in terms of rushing the book out and not giving it a proper playtest or editing pass.
IMO, it would have been far better to shoot for an alpha playtest for their 30th anniversary GenCon, rather than a full release, and then they could've taken the time to file off the rough edges. Look at how Pathfinder, WotC (bleurgh -- OGL 1.1 was an awful idea) and even Onyx Path handle things. They take their time, sound the community out, and mostly deliver books that feel polished, well playtested and well thought out. Community reactions are nearly always much better, as well.
Whereas, companies like CGL (and White Wolf, when it was briefly resurrected as a game studio and not just a brand label) who rush books out tend to produce poorly finished and sometimes equally poorly received books as a result. I'd much rather the biggest controversy be whether signature character x's haircut looks good or not in the artwork, rather than whether a game is a dumpster fire or not. (And for the record, these games usually aren't dumpster fires, and were created with a lot of love, but love alone doesn't fix mistakes made by rushing and lack of resources.)
That said, there's a lot they get right in this edition. It *feels* breezier, and less intimidating, even if it actually ends up being almost as complex as prior editions in some ways (overcomplicated mechanics and, basically, the same crappy referencing and editing that we've got used to). The idea of just tossing out all modifiers and just using Edge would have been great, had they actually stuck to that. As it is, you have Edge, and then a bunch of modifiers that get used as well. Not to mention the extra step of comparing everyone's stats in combat to see who gets Edge in the first place...
6e is good for getting newbies in. I think, if you're an experienced (or even just confident) GM, you can hide the flaws and people will have a good time. If you're at all nervous and want to make sure you get things right, the holes will start to show, because as soon as you start looking for rule a on page XX, you're going to get lost.
If you want my advice, I'd probably just work out the average AR and DR based on those listed in the core rulebook. If your AR exceeds the average DR, gain +1 Edge. For every 4 or more over that average, gain another. Both sides can gain Edge this way, which evens things out, and doesn't require anyone to compare anything.
Next, remove the cap on Edge. Let characters accumulate as much as they possibly can on their turn, but only let them bank 2 points. That means if PC1 hypothetically generates 6 Edge in a social interaction, she can't drop it all to deliver a killer punch on her next go -- she has to spend the bulk of the Edge she generated on the action at hand. Carrying forward 2 Edge per turn allows your Edge pool to slowly increase, if you really want to save up and drop a big whammy, but most of the Edge you spend is going to go on the actions where you actually have an advantage.
I would probably also massively reduce the number of Edge expenditures. You only really need to re-roll dice, add dice and have some narrative editing. For the last, I'd have three categories: minor (gain a clue, coincidentally have brought along the right tool, etc), moderate (maybe an ally turns up at the right time) and major (you do the thing where Michael Myers looks like he's dead, but he actually gets up behind Laurie Strode/magically gets away before Loomis can look out of the window again). That should cover most things. Edge Actions are cool, but I think gating them behind Edge isn't the best, and most of those options should just be things you can attempt to do if you want to.
Honestly, there was so much good in Anarchy, and I can see they've learned from some of it. But they made a lot of the same mistakes as the last two editions in terms of rushing the book out and not giving it a proper playtest or editing pass.
IMO, it would have been far better to shoot for an alpha playtest for their 30th anniversary GenCon, rather than a full release, and then they could've taken the time to file off the rough edges. Look at how Pathfinder, WotC (bleurgh -- OGL 1.1 was an awful idea) and even Onyx Path handle things. They take their time, sound the community out, and mostly deliver books that feel polished, well playtested and well thought out. Community reactions are nearly always much better, as well.
Whereas, companies like CGL (and White Wolf, when it was briefly resurrected as a game studio and not just a brand label) who rush books out tend to produce poorly finished and sometimes equally poorly received books as a result. I'd much rather the biggest controversy be whether signature character x's haircut looks good or not in the artwork, rather than whether a game is a dumpster fire or not. (And for the record, these games usually aren't dumpster fires, and were created with a lot of love, but love alone doesn't fix mistakes made by rushing and lack of resources.)
That said, there's a lot they get right in this edition. It *feels* breezier, and less intimidating, even if it actually ends up being almost as complex as prior editions in some ways (overcomplicated mechanics and, basically, the same crappy referencing and editing that we've got used to). The idea of just tossing out all modifiers and just using Edge would have been great, had they actually stuck to that. As it is, you have Edge, and then a bunch of modifiers that get used as well. Not to mention the extra step of comparing everyone's stats in combat to see who gets Edge in the first place...
6e is good for getting newbies in. I think, if you're an experienced (or even just confident) GM, you can hide the flaws and people will have a good time. If you're at all nervous and want to make sure you get things right, the holes will start to show, because as soon as you start looking for rule a on page XX, you're going to get lost.
If you want my advice, I'd probably just work out the average AR and DR based on those listed in the core rulebook. If your AR exceeds the average DR, gain +1 Edge. For every 4 or more over that average, gain another. Both sides can gain Edge this way, which evens things out, and doesn't require anyone to compare anything.
Next, remove the cap on Edge. Let characters accumulate as much as they possibly can on their turn, but only let them bank 2 points. That means if PC1 hypothetically generates 6 Edge in a social interaction, she can't drop it all to deliver a killer punch on her next go -- she has to spend the bulk of the Edge she generated on the action at hand. Carrying forward 2 Edge per turn allows your Edge pool to slowly increase, if you really want to save up and drop a big whammy, but most of the Edge you spend is going to go on the actions where you actually have an advantage.
I would probably also massively reduce the number of Edge expenditures. You only really need to re-roll dice, add dice and have some narrative editing. For the last, I'd have three categories: minor (gain a clue, coincidentally have brought along the right tool, etc), moderate (maybe an ally turns up at the right time) and major (you do the thing where Michael Myers looks like he's dead, but he actually gets up behind Laurie Strode/magically gets away before Loomis can look out of the window again). That should cover most things. Edge Actions are cool, but I think gating them behind Edge isn't the best, and most of those options should just be things you can attempt to do if you want to.
April 30, 2020
Ring Side Report-RPG Review of Shadowrun 6th ed.
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!
Product- Shadowrun 6th Ed.
System-Shadowrun 6th Ed.
Producer- Catalyst Game Lab
Price- $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/286850/Shadowrun-Sixth-World-Core-Rulebook?manufacturers_id=2216?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- New but similar. 93%
Basics- Shadowrun is 30 years old! In honor of this, here is the 6th edition. What changed? What's new? What's old? Let's dive in together!
Basics- Shadowrun 6th ed. uses the solid base of 5th edition. Almost all rolls are: take an attribute (the stats of your character that range mostly between 1 to 6), add your skill ranks, and roll that many dice. You then count the number of 1s and the 5s and 6s. 5 and 6 are successes and used to determine if you succeed, while if you have over half 1s, that's a glitch and something bad happens. Pretty simple.
What's new with the basics-the BIGGEST change between editions is edge. Edge is the magic cheaty story currency. You buy pizza? Get a point of edge. You roleplay well? Edge. You're the only player paying attention and you catch the plot hook? EDGE! What changed is now before every roll we check who has an advantage in a situation. That side gains edge now. You see in the dark and the opponent doesn't? Edge for you! What's also changed is edge isn't just rerolls now. It's much more an a la carte menu where you choose abilities, to change dice faces, and other crazy options. Edge even powers new abilities.
Combat-combat got more of a face lift with two sizable, but manageable changes. 1st, armor...is gone. In 5th ed, I would roll to hit you. You would roll to dodge. If I got more successes (5s and 6s on the dice) than you then the difference would be added to the weapon damage. You would then roll a soak roll. Soak is reducing damage, and it was found by adding your body attribute to your armor value. You would roll that many d6s praying for 5s and 6s so you would not die! In 6th ed, armor doesn't provide damage reduction but instead provides a score to compare to guns to gain edge. It means you roll much fewer dice and weapon damage is also down to compensate. The second biggest change is actions in combat. Before, in 5th, you would roll initiative and all characters would act from high to low. After actions, you would subtract 10 from all scores, and characters with scores above 0 would act again. This would result in multiple passes for fast characters moving at super human speeds. Now all characters roll initiative as before, but depending on the number of d6s you roll you may gain additional actions. Every character gets 1 minor action (things like run ) and 1 major action (thinks like attack and cast spells). You can spend several minor actions to make a second major action. This means you get fewer passes at the top of the round, but you also have a more stable initiative action order and action amounts.
Magic- magic changes, but it still follows the basics above. Before you would choose how hard a spell would hit, now you just roll and if you get more hits, you increase magic effectiveness after the roll doing more damage or being more hidden based on your result. Magic's overall power did go down, but it also gained some significant ease of use, especially in regard to healing!
Technology-All the basics you loved before are here except streamlined. You no longer need to MARC (put a tag on in game) computers or computer programs to take them over. It's also streamlined, with all matrix (think futuristic internet) actions being reduced to two basic skill pools. It’s a lot quicker, and also means that you can do so during a fight rather than having to do all the hard work before a fight. Also, all the naughty things you do online make the tracking score on your dirty deeds go up MUCH faster. This means that a whole section of the game tracking how long until the matrix overwatch simply called GOD comes to smack you down now matters a whole lot more!
Mechanics or Crunch- Sixth edition is different, and that’s not bad! Overall, the mechanics are still the same. I liked 5th ed’s base mechanics, so 6th ed starts strong. The changes that have been made are all made in the name of speed. You don’t reroll init (speed), it's easier to do hacking (speed), magic is a smaller number of steps (speed), and a whole host of other things. These I really like. All the choices here seem to have been really well thought out. The things you won’t like are the loss of full crunch. Numbers are smaller and there are fewer fiddly bits. You can run a whole game of “Lasers and Love” where you do all the things in a Shadowrun game with just 1d6, but there isn’t a whole lot of crunch to that system. You most definitely don’t hurl a dumpster of d6s at a problem any more. That feels a bit wrong. And there is the armor thing…. It's small. The logic has been explained to me by both the creator of the system. It's mathematically sound. And it's wrong. It bugs me to high heaven that I can’t strap on a tank and take no damage from a pistol. I gain a point of edge (of the maximum 2 I can earn each turn) for the tank I’ve strapped to my face but still take a crap ton of damage if I can’t roll a dodge worth a crap! 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff- Shadowrun always has good fluff, and this book is no exception. That’s it. I’m in Michigan, and despite all the horrors of the 6th World, this is the one future where Michigan has an economy! 5/5
Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? YES! This book is done pretty well. My main issues are some of the tables and the writing with them. A key example of this is the table for racial maximums. As you build a character, you are given extra points that you can put into special attributes like magic, edge, or some racial attributes like orcs are strong etc. You have to manually find that. It’s not hard when you jump onto the writer's logic, but why? Don’t make me five second logic puzzle out where my extra points can do. Just put that in the chart! There are a few times where those small puzzles come out. Now this is a MASSIVE BOOK, so editing issues will pop up, but those things hurt teaching new players this game. I live and breathe RPG, so that took me five seconds. A few of my friends though? It took multiple passes to make them understand if your score can go above six, then you can put the extra point there. But, for the majority of the book, this is how you want to make a RPG book. 4.5/5
Summary-The sixth sixth world is here, and I like it! This might not be a complete love affair as some minor things like tables and armor values murky my joy, but the changes together make a game that runs a WHOLE lot faster than before. The one thing Catalyst can do extremely well is tell a crazy story about orcs with shotguns in downtown Detroit, so the story and fluff of this game is amazing. The layout is good, with some minor issues that once you get past will work easily. Is this a perfect system? No, that can’t exist. The changes that happened all happened to make the game run on a non geological time scale. Will this make all fans happy? No. It’s got some differences that older fans just won’t grok. Does it make me happy? Honestly yes. I look forward to playing in the sixth world as my decker hacks Elf eyeballs in the middle of combat in Jersey fully as a member of a team even if my armor doesn’t matter much! 93%
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!
Product- Shadowrun 6th Ed.
System-Shadowrun 6th Ed.
Producer- Catalyst Game Lab
Price- $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/286850/Shadowrun-Sixth-World-Core-Rulebook?manufacturers_id=2216?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- New but similar. 93%
Basics- Shadowrun is 30 years old! In honor of this, here is the 6th edition. What changed? What's new? What's old? Let's dive in together!
Basics- Shadowrun 6th ed. uses the solid base of 5th edition. Almost all rolls are: take an attribute (the stats of your character that range mostly between 1 to 6), add your skill ranks, and roll that many dice. You then count the number of 1s and the 5s and 6s. 5 and 6 are successes and used to determine if you succeed, while if you have over half 1s, that's a glitch and something bad happens. Pretty simple.
What's new with the basics-the BIGGEST change between editions is edge. Edge is the magic cheaty story currency. You buy pizza? Get a point of edge. You roleplay well? Edge. You're the only player paying attention and you catch the plot hook? EDGE! What changed is now before every roll we check who has an advantage in a situation. That side gains edge now. You see in the dark and the opponent doesn't? Edge for you! What's also changed is edge isn't just rerolls now. It's much more an a la carte menu where you choose abilities, to change dice faces, and other crazy options. Edge even powers new abilities.
Combat-combat got more of a face lift with two sizable, but manageable changes. 1st, armor...is gone. In 5th ed, I would roll to hit you. You would roll to dodge. If I got more successes (5s and 6s on the dice) than you then the difference would be added to the weapon damage. You would then roll a soak roll. Soak is reducing damage, and it was found by adding your body attribute to your armor value. You would roll that many d6s praying for 5s and 6s so you would not die! In 6th ed, armor doesn't provide damage reduction but instead provides a score to compare to guns to gain edge. It means you roll much fewer dice and weapon damage is also down to compensate. The second biggest change is actions in combat. Before, in 5th, you would roll initiative and all characters would act from high to low. After actions, you would subtract 10 from all scores, and characters with scores above 0 would act again. This would result in multiple passes for fast characters moving at super human speeds. Now all characters roll initiative as before, but depending on the number of d6s you roll you may gain additional actions. Every character gets 1 minor action (things like run ) and 1 major action (thinks like attack and cast spells). You can spend several minor actions to make a second major action. This means you get fewer passes at the top of the round, but you also have a more stable initiative action order and action amounts.
Magic- magic changes, but it still follows the basics above. Before you would choose how hard a spell would hit, now you just roll and if you get more hits, you increase magic effectiveness after the roll doing more damage or being more hidden based on your result. Magic's overall power did go down, but it also gained some significant ease of use, especially in regard to healing!
Technology-All the basics you loved before are here except streamlined. You no longer need to MARC (put a tag on in game) computers or computer programs to take them over. It's also streamlined, with all matrix (think futuristic internet) actions being reduced to two basic skill pools. It’s a lot quicker, and also means that you can do so during a fight rather than having to do all the hard work before a fight. Also, all the naughty things you do online make the tracking score on your dirty deeds go up MUCH faster. This means that a whole section of the game tracking how long until the matrix overwatch simply called GOD comes to smack you down now matters a whole lot more!
Mechanics or Crunch- Sixth edition is different, and that’s not bad! Overall, the mechanics are still the same. I liked 5th ed’s base mechanics, so 6th ed starts strong. The changes that have been made are all made in the name of speed. You don’t reroll init (speed), it's easier to do hacking (speed), magic is a smaller number of steps (speed), and a whole host of other things. These I really like. All the choices here seem to have been really well thought out. The things you won’t like are the loss of full crunch. Numbers are smaller and there are fewer fiddly bits. You can run a whole game of “Lasers and Love” where you do all the things in a Shadowrun game with just 1d6, but there isn’t a whole lot of crunch to that system. You most definitely don’t hurl a dumpster of d6s at a problem any more. That feels a bit wrong. And there is the armor thing…. It's small. The logic has been explained to me by both the creator of the system. It's mathematically sound. And it's wrong. It bugs me to high heaven that I can’t strap on a tank and take no damage from a pistol. I gain a point of edge (of the maximum 2 I can earn each turn) for the tank I’ve strapped to my face but still take a crap ton of damage if I can’t roll a dodge worth a crap! 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff- Shadowrun always has good fluff, and this book is no exception. That’s it. I’m in Michigan, and despite all the horrors of the 6th World, this is the one future where Michigan has an economy! 5/5
Execution- PDF? Yep! Hyperlinked? YES! This book is done pretty well. My main issues are some of the tables and the writing with them. A key example of this is the table for racial maximums. As you build a character, you are given extra points that you can put into special attributes like magic, edge, or some racial attributes like orcs are strong etc. You have to manually find that. It’s not hard when you jump onto the writer's logic, but why? Don’t make me five second logic puzzle out where my extra points can do. Just put that in the chart! There are a few times where those small puzzles come out. Now this is a MASSIVE BOOK, so editing issues will pop up, but those things hurt teaching new players this game. I live and breathe RPG, so that took me five seconds. A few of my friends though? It took multiple passes to make them understand if your score can go above six, then you can put the extra point there. But, for the majority of the book, this is how you want to make a RPG book. 4.5/5
Summary-The sixth sixth world is here, and I like it! This might not be a complete love affair as some minor things like tables and armor values murky my joy, but the changes together make a game that runs a WHOLE lot faster than before. The one thing Catalyst can do extremely well is tell a crazy story about orcs with shotguns in downtown Detroit, so the story and fluff of this game is amazing. The layout is good, with some minor issues that once you get past will work easily. Is this a perfect system? No, that can’t exist. The changes that happened all happened to make the game run on a non geological time scale. Will this make all fans happy? No. It’s got some differences that older fans just won’t grok. Does it make me happy? Honestly yes. I look forward to playing in the sixth world as my decker hacks Elf eyeballs in the middle of combat in Jersey fully as a member of a team even if my armor doesn’t matter much! 93%
Read
April 5, 2024How? Library had it, I took it out.
What? OK, what? Shadowrun was a game first published in 1989 (a year after Cyberpunk) that started from the premise: what if we got a cyberpunk dystopia AND a fantasy world at the same time? So, there's all the cyberpunk adventure things (hackers and street samurai and megacorporations with shadow contractors doing dirty work) and all the fantasy things (magicians, elves, dwarves) -- and some blends (technomancy).
(Actually the premise is that the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar was counting down to a new age, so our history was the same and magic only returned in 2012.)
This is the sixth edition core book. I will not be playing this any time soon.
Yeah, so? So TSR put out a series of handbooks for different player classes and races to help deepen -- well, to help deepen their pockets, but also to deepen some character options (and some roleplaying stuff and worldbuilding stuff too). I bought every single one, starting with the 1989 Fighter's Handbook all the way up to the 1994 Barbarian's Handbook -- but I skipped the 1995 Ninja's Handbook. Why? Well, maybe I was growing out of D&D (no, that can't be it) or maybe... I was kinda sick of the Japan/Ninja fetishization going on in certain circles of nerddom? (Is that just post-rationalization to make me seem more enlightened? Maybe!)
I bring that up to point out one potential reason why cyberpunk -- despite my love for several of the novels in the genre, like 1984's Neuromancer -- has never been my RPG jam. (The other and equally obvious reason is also why so many cyberpunk works fail for me: all chrome aesthetics, no punk ethics.)
Because even when I was being dropped off at the Barnes and Noble to read RPG books for hours, I sometimes looked through Shadowrun, but I was never tempted to buy it. (Though I always liked that they explicitly connect hoard-collecting dragons with inhumanly rich CEOs and immoral corporations.)
And this sixth edition is more of that, to my eyes: lots of whizbang -- in fact, too much whizbang -- but a little shallow. Maybe that's because I'm not entrenched in a more personal, zine sort of RPG aesthetic -- but that doesn't explain why I didn't get into Shadowrun 30 years ago. And there's a lot here that could be fun, like... well, OK, I don't actually know what could be fun because there's a lot here that they've kept from 30 years ago which was sort of in the air. Like: like Deadlands and Torg, there's a lot of stuff about resurgent Native American nations, buoyed by some ancestral magic or shamanism. On one hand, that totally fits the Balkanization narrative of cyberpunk, and yet, seems a little shallow. Or like: why would I play that when I can go to Coyote and Crow, an RPG actually developed by game designers with personal and familial experience?
But even apart from any of that (and you could play a game entirely in the remnants of the US or just in Seattle if you wanted), this game doesn't work for me because there's too much whizbang: there's too much technology (you can be a hacker or a driver or a drone operator), too much magic (you want to be a magician or a shaman or an adept who channels magic into fighting).
It is -- and to me, always was -- a nerd-bait bit of genre mixing in search of a reason to be.
What? OK, what? Shadowrun was a game first published in 1989 (a year after Cyberpunk) that started from the premise: what if we got a cyberpunk dystopia AND a fantasy world at the same time? So, there's all the cyberpunk adventure things (hackers and street samurai and megacorporations with shadow contractors doing dirty work) and all the fantasy things (magicians, elves, dwarves) -- and some blends (technomancy).
(Actually the premise is that the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar was counting down to a new age, so our history was the same and magic only returned in 2012.)
This is the sixth edition core book. I will not be playing this any time soon.
Yeah, so? So TSR put out a series of handbooks for different player classes and races to help deepen -- well, to help deepen their pockets, but also to deepen some character options (and some roleplaying stuff and worldbuilding stuff too). I bought every single one, starting with the 1989 Fighter's Handbook all the way up to the 1994 Barbarian's Handbook -- but I skipped the 1995 Ninja's Handbook. Why? Well, maybe I was growing out of D&D (no, that can't be it) or maybe... I was kinda sick of the Japan/Ninja fetishization going on in certain circles of nerddom? (Is that just post-rationalization to make me seem more enlightened? Maybe!)
I bring that up to point out one potential reason why cyberpunk -- despite my love for several of the novels in the genre, like 1984's Neuromancer -- has never been my RPG jam. (The other and equally obvious reason is also why so many cyberpunk works fail for me: all chrome aesthetics, no punk ethics.)
Because even when I was being dropped off at the Barnes and Noble to read RPG books for hours, I sometimes looked through Shadowrun, but I was never tempted to buy it. (Though I always liked that they explicitly connect hoard-collecting dragons with inhumanly rich CEOs and immoral corporations.)
And this sixth edition is more of that, to my eyes: lots of whizbang -- in fact, too much whizbang -- but a little shallow. Maybe that's because I'm not entrenched in a more personal, zine sort of RPG aesthetic -- but that doesn't explain why I didn't get into Shadowrun 30 years ago. And there's a lot here that could be fun, like... well, OK, I don't actually know what could be fun because there's a lot here that they've kept from 30 years ago which was sort of in the air. Like: like Deadlands and Torg, there's a lot of stuff about resurgent Native American nations, buoyed by some ancestral magic or shamanism. On one hand, that totally fits the Balkanization narrative of cyberpunk, and yet, seems a little shallow. Or like: why would I play that when I can go to Coyote and Crow, an RPG actually developed by game designers with personal and familial experience?
But even apart from any of that (and you could play a game entirely in the remnants of the US or just in Seattle if you wanted), this game doesn't work for me because there's too much whizbang: there's too much technology (you can be a hacker or a driver or a drone operator), too much magic (you want to be a magician or a shaman or an adept who channels magic into fighting).
It is -- and to me, always was -- a nerd-bait bit of genre mixing in search of a reason to be.
July 13, 2021
chaotic
November 27, 2021
The rules are really confusing overall but the world setting is interesting. Maybe if the rules can be trimmed down by a competent game design team, it’ll rock.
June 24, 2023
Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!
Product- Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
System- Shadowrun 6th Ed
Producer- Catalyst Game Labs
Price- $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/286850/Shadowrun-Sixth-World-Core-Rulebook-City-Edition-Seattle&affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- Solid new package on the 6th Ed rules 90%
Basics- Ready to hit the Shadows Chummer? City Edition Seattle is a revamp of the new 6th edition rules for Shadowrun. It’s full of errata and new layout for the same 6th edition you know.
Mechanics or Crunch- If you were hoping for a completely new edition, this is not what you want. Sixth edition has been slightly controversial, but this book clears some of the issues with included errata. It's still fundamentally 6th edition however. It works decently despite some misgivings that I have with some minor choices like only gaining a maximum of two edge per turn or deemphasizing strength for melee damage. 4/5
Theme or Fluff- While Shadowrun players may not like all the mechanical choices from the system, almost everyone loves the fluff the world provides. It’s deep and engaging with lots of short stories. Mechanics do match fluff and the arts and stories tie all of that together as well. This will make you want some cyberpunk tabletop in your life. 5/5
Execution- PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Slight missteps. Catalyst did a good job putting a lot of errata into one package, but some things are still buried into the text. It’s much cleaner from what was before, but some things are still buried and its easy to miss small things with huge implications like how strength might not play the major role in damage but how almost all physical contests have Strength as a major factor in a contest of ability. 4.5/5
Summary- This book is a repackage of the rules that you may or may not love. It makes them more approachable and easier to read, but it will not fundamentally change them. The quality of life changes to the rules are fantastic, and the usual art and story are great as well. It's now just if you like the basic rules or not. I have some issues, but overall it's still Shadowrun to me, so I am having a blast. 90%
Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!
Product- Shadowrun, Sixth World Core Rulebook: City Edition: Seattle
System- Shadowrun 6th Ed
Producer- Catalyst Game Labs
Price- $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/286850/Shadowrun-Sixth-World-Core-Rulebook-City-Edition-Seattle&affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR- Solid new package on the 6th Ed rules 90%
Basics- Ready to hit the Shadows Chummer? City Edition Seattle is a revamp of the new 6th edition rules for Shadowrun. It’s full of errata and new layout for the same 6th edition you know.
Mechanics or Crunch- If you were hoping for a completely new edition, this is not what you want. Sixth edition has been slightly controversial, but this book clears some of the issues with included errata. It's still fundamentally 6th edition however. It works decently despite some misgivings that I have with some minor choices like only gaining a maximum of two edge per turn or deemphasizing strength for melee damage. 4/5
Theme or Fluff- While Shadowrun players may not like all the mechanical choices from the system, almost everyone loves the fluff the world provides. It’s deep and engaging with lots of short stories. Mechanics do match fluff and the arts and stories tie all of that together as well. This will make you want some cyberpunk tabletop in your life. 5/5
Execution- PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Slight missteps. Catalyst did a good job putting a lot of errata into one package, but some things are still buried into the text. It’s much cleaner from what was before, but some things are still buried and its easy to miss small things with huge implications like how strength might not play the major role in damage but how almost all physical contests have Strength as a major factor in a contest of ability. 4.5/5
Summary- This book is a repackage of the rules that you may or may not love. It makes them more approachable and easier to read, but it will not fundamentally change them. The quality of life changes to the rules are fantastic, and the usual art and story are great as well. It's now just if you like the basic rules or not. I have some issues, but overall it's still Shadowrun to me, so I am having a blast. 90%
January 10, 2020
Shadowrun Sixth World is not a bad RPG but I do believe it pushed a franchise I love since very long ago, in the wrong direction. Shadowrun has always been a down-and-gritty, rules heavy RPG, where careful planning took place before the run, and players had to use their characters to the maximum possible to win. This new edition strides a bit away from that, focusing on a more "cinematic" approach where planning is less necessary and players can rely more on the frequent use of Edge (which is no longer a resource to be carefully managed). Enemies now belong to simplified goon squads unless they are important NPCs, and other such tweaks transform the feel of the game in the wrong direction. So, as far as I go, I'm sticking to fifth edition.
September 21, 2023
I'm really surprised at how poor this version is after having very high hopes to get back into Shadowrun. I haven't played any of the versions in the decades since 1E back in 1989 which I played with friends in high school. this version has a lot of filler fiction that really gets in the way of getting to the rules and I found that really damned annoying. I purchased the physical hardcover edition for nearly $60 and that was a waste of money.
I highly recommend buying only the $20 PDF version rather than the physical one especially if you're not sure if you're going to run this game or not.
I switched to the new Cyberpunk RED which I should have started with in the first place since I'm a fan of the 2077 video game. Red is well written, unlike Shadowrun 6E, and it has a good team behind it.
I highly recommend buying only the $20 PDF version rather than the physical one especially if you're not sure if you're going to run this game or not.
I switched to the new Cyberpunk RED which I should have started with in the first place since I'm a fan of the 2077 video game. Red is well written, unlike Shadowrun 6E, and it has a good team behind it.
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