GM's: Advice On Campaign Idea, Lengthy campaign planned, advice wanted. Options

[doublethink]

Hello all. A long time ago I used to play SR2 with my mates. We played a lot of our own stories mainly, and a few from the books, like Double Exposure. We stopped right before starting Super Tuesday.

I recently bought a bunch of SR3 books from a 2nd hand bookstore, so I've decided to try my hand at running a long SR campaign that would bring us up to the 2070's and SR4, but I'm in no hurry. I was going to follow the SR timeline, and inject news + events that match the timeline into the campaign. The goal here is to make the players feel like they're part of a living, breathing, changing world.

I want to take the runners from street level noobs to living legends by the mid-late 60's. I've been using the DS timeline as my main reference:

http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/Timeline (should use mod_rewrite for nicer urls?)

I was thinking about starting a new campaign using the SR3 rules, and kicking off in late 2057, just as the corp war begins. I was then going to run a series of adventures from Blood in the Boardroom, finishing that campaign up with the closure of the Renraku Arcology in late 2059. Perhaps sneak in some mob related activity also (but I don't have that book).

During that time I was going to use Bug City and design a one-off adventure in Chicago, 'cause it's creepy and I figure you gotta go there at least once. Maybe someone can have a "good merge" while they're there :) Perhaps the runners are vital in finding research/data regarding the construction of FAB Strain III.

I have Renraku Arcology: Shutdown + Brainscan, so I was going to then start using adventures + events from there.

After that, I'm not sure what year it would be, but I was going to use the material in System Failure in order to finish up the campaign with a bang (crash) around 2064/2065. The runners should be very experienced now, and I was going to "retire" them at this point, moving them to be NPC's behind the scenes in SR4, and getting my friends to create new runners for the 70's (and jump forward a few years). Bumping into your former character during a run would be interesting - especially when you have to then run away :)

So, what do you guys think? Any advice? Tips? Other books I'll need?

// dt

[SincereAgape]

Hey DoubleThink. I like your idea. But I believe that in terms of story, the jump from SR3 and SR4 was uneventful when compared to what happened between the jump from SRII to SRIII. You have two major events. Halley's Comet and the Matrix Crash. Halley's Comet brought forth a new mutations into the world and the well the Matrix Crash pretty much did away with fiber optics and decking as SR knows it from SR1-SR3.

Here is my recommendation. Start off playing SR4. I say this because it is an opportune time to jump on as a Shadowrun fan. I believe within a few weeks, Catalyst will be releasing Ghost Cartels, which is supposed to be an Excellent adventure sourcebook, and then from there I think the publishers plan were to come out with a series of three adventures which would detail and depict the major events going on in the 6th World entitled Ancients. So essentially, players whom play these adventure series will be experiencing the events which are happening in the Shadowrun main storyline, thus playing through history (Which is pretty much what you are trying to do with your campaign.)

If you remember Legend of the Five Rings, it will be like buying the Otosan Uchi city sourcebook and playing through the Scorpion Clan Coup supplement.

Think about starting up a 4th edition campaign and when Ghost Cartels, and Ancients come onto the market, run those supplements for your runners...it will be just like re-living Dunkelzahn's assassination.

[AllTheNothing]

Hello all. A long time ago I used to play SR2 with my mates. We played a lot of our own stories mainly, and a few from the books, like Double Exposure. We stopped right before starting Super Tuesday.

I recently bought a bunch of SR3 books from a 2nd hand bookstore, so I've decided to try my hand at running a long SR campaign that would bring us up to the 2070's and SR4, but I'm in no hurry. I was going to follow the SR timeline, and inject news + events that match the timeline into the campaign. The goal here is to make the players feel like they're part of a living, breathing, changing world.

I want to take the runners from street level noobs to living legends by the mid-late 60's. I've been using the DS timeline as my main reference:

http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/Timeline (should use mod_rewrite for nicer urls?)

I was thinking about starting a new campaign using the SR3 rules, and kicking off in late 2057, just as the corp war begins. I was then going to run a series of adventures from Blood in the Boardroom, finishing that campaign up with the closure of the Renraku Arcology in late 2059. Perhaps sneak in some mob related activity also (but I don't have that book).

During that time I was going to use Bug City and design a one-off adventure in Chicago, 'cause it's creepy and I figure you gotta go there at least once. Maybe someone can have a "good merge" while they're there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Perhaps the runners are vital in finding research/data regarding the construction of FAB Strain III.

I have Renraku Arcology: Shutdown + Brainscan, so I was going to then start using adventures + events from there.

After that, I'm not sure what year it would be, but I was going to use the material in System Failure in order to finish up the campaign with a bang (crash) around 2064/2065. The runners should be very experienced now, and I was going to "retire" them at this point, moving them to be players behind the scenes in SR4. Bumping into your former character during a run would be interesting - especially when you have to then run away (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

So, what do you guys think? Any advice? Tips? Other books I'll need?

// dt

I think you should absolutely get a hold on a copy of "Portfolio of a Dragon - Dunkelzahn's Secrets" and "Year of the Comet", they cover two major shake-ups, than there is "Survival of the Fittest" sourcebook (and for more info on wizworms "Dragons of the 6th world") which is a quite over the top adventure; as for the major adventure that paved the way for "System Failure" check the FAQ on the SR4 Official Website, there's a list of previous editions material that is compatible with 4th ed, adventures fall mainly under the "mostly compatible" category.
Good luck with your campain (2057-2064, seven years are alot in the shadow, and are a true tour de force for a GM (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ).

[Tiger Eyes]

Here is my recommendation. Start off playing SR4. I say this because it is an opportune time to jump on as a Shadowrun fan. I believe within a few weeks, Catalyst will be releasing Ghost Cartels, which is supposed to be an Excellent adventure sourcebook, and then from there I think the publishers plan were to come out with a series of three adventures which would detail and depict the major events going on in the 6th World entitled Ancients.

FYI: Ghost Cartels is available by PDF and has a street date for Nov 25th. The other series of adventures are titled Dawn of the Artifacts (and there will be 4).

[doublethink]

Thanks for the responses guys - I'm pretty keen to stick with my timeline and get involved with SR4 later - I think the events of the late 50's/60's are superb.

While I do like the concept of AR (Ghost in the Shell, anyone?) - the nostalgia in me likes "jacking in" just fine.

AllTheNothing: Will see if I can find those books you mentioned.

I'll have to read more about the comet, but since that happens in 2061, i have some time yet! Though I can get by with this wiki entry:

http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/Year_of_the_Comet

// dt

[MaxMahem]

My advice for planning out a long term campaign?

Don't.

Seriously. Overcommiting yourself to any one plot-line is an easy trap to fall into as a GM. Shadowrun is very much a player and story driven game, and so you should keep your plotlines open as much as possible. Don't presume to determine in advance where the game will go. It is almost certain that the players will drive it in a different direction and bending the rules to prevent this is in general a bad idea.

Instead focus on developing characters, settings, and diverse plotlines. Then, based upon your players reactions to these things, determine where the story should go. If your players develope a hatred of a certain NPC build him into a main antagonist. If the players fall in love with an NPC then play up that relationship as well. Make your stories revolve around the successes and failures the players have had in the other runs, and you will find you game is much more immersive.

[Whipstitch]

Well, that doesn't mean he can't plan quite a bit though. It's often a good idea to have the answer to the question "No, really, what are the NPCs trying to accomplish?" in the back of your head when playing them, after all, and the Shadowrun timeline can be as good a way of getting inspiration for that answer as any.

[sinthalix]

I actually did this and it went very well. A little over 3 years ago I started my group in 2050 and started working them through the SR timeline.

I have all the modules and began running them through those using the SR3 training rules to advance the timeline in between sessions. I had to convert a lot of the older modules for use with SR3 before running them, but it worked.

After 2.5 years, we had made it to 2056 (maybe 57, I can't remember exactly now) and I finished the campaign with Harlequin's Back. My original plan was to get the players to 2064 and then switch over to SR4. I adapted aging rules from another system to simulate the effects so much time would have on the PCs and give a valid reason for most of them to retire and create new characters (as long as survived that long).

When we finally switched over to SR4, the entire group voted to create new characters (which was my plan anyway). They really enjoyed the "News Cast" I would post on our group website and saw that there was so much going on in the world.

It can and does work, as long as you put forth the effort and the players enjoy it.

[overchord]

I'm doing something similar with an online SR3 campaign just started. The characters are at the very beginning of their careers in 2055, and I have been studying the timelines to ensure newsfeed and major events fit in.
Having said that - I'm not necessarily expecting the team to be at the centre of everyone of thise events, but they will create a very rich backdrop to make spin-off runs that are linked with some of those events - either periferally or simply someone trying to make a few bucks on the misery and craziness of the world :-)We've scraped in a few house rules that are partly inspired by SR4 (e.g. you can "jack in" wirelessly most places, but still zonk out), but otherwise I'll adapt things to SR3 rules as we go along.
I think the most important thing by setting up to run a long campaign like that is to have character development and some degree of familiarity in the campaign. E.g. a central cast of NPC's/contacts that experience the changes of time and develop in their own way rather than remaining "static" background material.

I have first created a timeline of the events i want to involve over the first year of the campaign. Those are "major event markers" that will reach the awareness of the players wether they are going to be involved in them or not. Thne i created a loose timeline for the first 6 runs i see them taking on, ranging from simple milk runs to some potentially "in over my head" jobs. All depending on how the team dynamics and development of play goes, the runs can be shuffled in order. Some of them are tied together with a deeper story line, but the character will not necessarily know any of this until much later in the campaign.

So i think the key thing is to have a plan, but not ot make it too strict. You don't wnat to end railroading the runners straight from run to run with no room for deviation.

[AllTheNothing]

Thanks for the responses guys - I'm pretty keen to stick with my timeline and get involved with SR4 later - I think the events of the late 50's/60's are superb.

While I do like the concept of AR (Ghost in the Shell, anyone?) - the nostalgia in me likes "jacking in" just fine.

AllTheNothing: Will see if I can find those books you mentioned.

I'll have to read more about the comet, but since that happens in 2061, i have some time yet! Though I can get by with this wiki entry:

http://wiki.dumpshock.com/index.php/Year_of_the_Comet

// dt

The list I was refering to is THIS, it's pretty much the same with the added benefit of being divided by compatibility with the 4th ed.
As for other suggestions about adventures, betwen "Super Tuesday" and "Wake of the Comet" (which happens to take place immidiatly after the events in Year of the Comet), there are "Shadows of the Underworld", "Predator and Prey", "Missions", "Mob War", "Blood in the Boardroom", "Renraku Arcology: Shutdown", "First Run" (shame that to be the first you should miss alot of stuff), "Corporate Punishment" and "Brainscan".
For sourcebooks some that I could suggest (at least that I think you could find interesting stuff in) are "Cyberpirates" (I've found particulary interesting the part on the Philippines, it will also tie in with the events of "Survival of the Fittest"), the "TARGET: ..." serie (a must have, it covers many aspects of the SR-verse), "Corporate Download" (if the Corps War is your bread this is your butter, well maybe not but gives a nice overview on the bastards that run the world), "Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America" (an overview of the North America around 2050), "The Neo-Anarchists Guide to Real Life" (this IS a must have, at least I think it's wonderfull), "California Free State" (alot of corps, besieged metas, racism, unfriendly neighbors, later a quite shake up in "Year of the Comet") and "Denver: The City of Shadows" (historicaly relevant and messed up place, has many opportunity, nice info on Shadowland and the Nexus, it sees some relevant action during "Year of the Comet" and "Survival of the Fittest"). This books should give a good idea of whats going on around the world; I have put my hands on "Underworld Sourcebook" so I don't know about it, and I've left out of the list two Tir books, the London, and the Germany sourcebooks 'cause I felt they have a bit a narrow scope (althought they are good books that should be aquired if possible) and because europe is mostly Lowfyr personal domain (not as much action as elsewhere), while the two on the NAN (aside being strange half-adventure/half-sourcebooks) don't provide much that "Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America" doesn't do (aside some adventure so that your player's PC can sharpen their teeth/cyberspurs/whatever).
As a note for the futur you should aquire the complete "Shadow of ..." serie as soon as you hit the "Year of the Comet", as there are MANY things that have changed in the world (it can be said that the comet letteraly shook the world) and the serie covers them (very important and very referenced here on DS).
As very last tip (for now) is to check the wiki-link on the DS homepage (Ancient Files wouldn't hurt too).

Just my (sack of) 0.02 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif)

[doublethink]

thanks all,

I'll see what other books I can get my hands on - so much reading to be done! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'll also see about working on a cast of NPC's to grow + change with the characters - perhaps a few nemeses as well!

I've already tied one character's past to the campaign via a "benefactor", I'll make sure I do similar things with the other characters too.

// dt

[Dr Funfrock]

Whilst I disagree with SincereAgape on the whole Ghost Cartels thing... not because I have anything against Ghost Cartels, but just because the Shadowrun universe has to so many great historical events to play around with that I see no reason not go ahead with your original idea... I do however agree with Agape's point on the SR4 rules. There's pretty much nothing in SR3 that you can't still run in SR4 if you play around with it a little (especially since the SR4 rules are actually a lot more flexible, allowing you to design your own spells and traditions as needed), and the SR4 rules are a fair bit faster and smoother to play with. We actually did this in the last game I was in; the GM set it in 2059, but we used the SR4 ruleset and encountered no problems whatsoever. Plugged in hacking, if anything, just makes the rules simpler, since you don't have to worry about singal range or wireless inhibition and jamming. Just have the decker plug in, run the node, and break the ice as normal.

[doublethink]

and the SR4 rules are a fair bit faster and smoother to play with. We actually did this in the last game I was in; the GM set it in 2059, but we used the SR4 ruleset and encountered no problems whatsoever. Plugged in hacking, if anything, just makes the rules simpler, since you don't have to worry about singal range or wireless inhibition and jamming. Just have the decker plug in, run the node, and break the ice as normal.

Well there's little holding me back from using the actual SR4 rules I guess - I'm not too worried about stats for the NPC's - I can make those up before each run just fine.

I mainly chose SR3 because :

a) I have the book and
b) Most of the sourcebooks I have are for SR3, so I figured it'd be easier.

If I wanted to play using SR4 rules I'd have to buy more books!

I don't think the players would be fussed about the actual rules - most of them come from SR2 and don't mind that system. Does SR3 improve things over SR2?

// dt