[X] My Assistant

[Ditaki]

*ahem* I'm sorry, Shadowrun is dying?

Most Shadowrun books are in fourth+ printings. I don't know how many books are made in each printing, but still, to even reach 1) a third edition and 2) subsequent printings of those editions is pretty drekking good. I play Hackmaster as well as this and Hackmaster has had two books have a second printing each. That's all. And if Hackmaster is doing well, then Shadowrun is doing excellent.

And I just bought and have in my hand two books.

:D

But honestly, yeah, tell people about the setting for Shadowrun. It's the shining point of the game (the system is kinda bulky, but the setting...gold). When you're on the bus or the train, read one of the sourcebooks. If you've got a desk job that you can read at (security gaurd, receptionist) read it there. Post gaming stories about it on other boards (usually other boards (at least the one's I go to) have a section for just general gaming stories).

But above all, don't give up on it. Period.

(And what's this drek about Dumpshock being elite? I just joined a few days ago and I haven't felt elite-d against.)

[Kagetenshi]

Ditaki: :noob: *Flameflameflame*

~J, handing out your required elitism.

Postscript: This is, of course, a joke. I feel silly saying that it is, but you can't be too careful :)

[Panzergeist]

Stand outside your local games hobby store, firing a shotgun into the air to get people's attention, and shout to them that they should play Shadowrun.

[Ditaki]

Don't forget that gunshots and people running attact the freaks and less socially-concerned people of the world, who'll take Shadowrun easier than the uninformed masses...

:spin:

[Kagetenshi]

The best way to promote Shadowrun is to break into Lockheed-Martin and steal plans for new prototype planes, then publicize them.
I was going to say break into Microsoft and steal the written portions of Longhorn, but I refuse to give a straight line that straight.

~J

[GoldenAri]

In the circles I play in Shadowrun is frequently looked at as "that game". Everyone knows it's there, they know what it's about, and they always say "it might be interesting to play a little". But when you boil it down it ends up being too cyberpunk for the fantasy people, too fantasy for the cyberpunk/action people, too complex(both the system and the world) for the new people, and too foreign a system for the old people.

Really I find it's easiest to get WoD players into it.

Running it at conventions is a great idea. Maybe I'll sign myself up as a master this next GenCon.

[nezumi]

The funny thing is, GoldenAri, I haven't seen ANYONE start a non-SR cyberpunk game. It seems to go from modern (WW settings) straight off into Sci-fi, totally skipping that in between bit. I'm sure there are some GURPS games around that contradict me, but as far as I am aware, there are only two rulesets dedicated exclusively to the CP genre (CP2020 and SR) and CP is pretty much dead.

Also, as I've said before, I'd encourage people to look at Cyberpunk or remove magic and decking (for newbies). The only reason I got into shadowrun is because I loved the genre so much I was willing to read through the entire core book, cover to cover, in a couple of days. It's complex, honestly, and my wife got all of 10 pages into the core book before she dropped it. Cyberpunk is d10. As an SR GM, it's easy for us to take that ruleset, throw out the stupid stuff that makes no sense and bring in the SR world. Alternatively, just ignore all the magic and decking rules for a while. If you stick with just the core street sam rules, the game is a LOT less intimidating and its easier to add more aspects as you go on.

I think it would also be nice if someone wrote up a 4-8 page intro adventure. Only allow premade characters, make a straightforward run (Food Fight!) and explain each action step by step, so I, as someone who's never played an RPG in my life, can GM for my n00b friends. Because we made it, we could distribute it for free, which means they only need a handful of standard dice to get a sampler. Advertise it as a FREE RPG first, Shadowrun last, then put it online and on kazaa.

[Reverendo]

[Pistons]

One of the easiest and most realistic ways to promote Shadowrun -- and you wouldn't need to join the Commandos to do so, although you'd get perks for doing so -- is to simply go to your local game store and offer to run demos in whatever space they've got set aside for that. (And if they don't have space for gaming, whether in the store, in the back or upstairs, put up a flyer. And if they don't have space for flyers... well, I question if it's a good game store. But anyway, find a different game store that does have one of those.)

The more people you pull in to the store with good demos, the more people you get interested in the game who may then turn around and buy it while in the store. And if the store runs out of copies, they can order more. Meanwhile, folks can check out other stores or go online.

From what I understand about the Commandos, you can get intro scenarios from them. It can also help give you guidelines on creating your own scenarios. Also, if you don't want to run Food Fight (which is, even with the combat, one of the most fun scenarios if you play it up to the hilt), there's also a very simple, sample adventure in the back of the Shadowrun Quickstart Rules. (Something else you could sell your potential players on, as it's cheaper than the core book and still gives you an idea of how the game is played.)

Conventions are a good idea, but not always feasible unless they're local ones. Going to Gen Con can represent a huge outlay of money that some gamers really can't afford, whereas they might be able to buy the SR core rulebook and perhaps one or two supplements while at LocalAreaCon. With that in mind: running games and demos at the local cons is always a good thing if you want to raise interest at least in your area alone. You get to attract interest that you may not otherwise be able to just from your local game store alone. While there, giving the URL for the Shadowrun website, as well as Dumpshock "in case you have questions that you need an immediate answer to," isn't a bad idea. Show them there's lots of fan support, and not just life support. :)

[Knae]

I'm planning on getting interest in SR re-kindled in my area by running Shadowrun:Missions games at local stores and home games. I'm still waiting to hear when the first module will be ready though.... Grrr...

You can read more about it here:

http://invision.dumpshock.com/index.php?showforum=20

[Mr. Man]

[Adam]

Anything relating to mass-media of Shadowrun: novels, movies, comic books, anime series is the domain of WizKids, not FanPro. FanPro has the RPG license - nothing else.

[Reverendo]

Some posts ago y spoke about some SR dice...well, after some researching (and speaking with one of the 4 companies (yep, only 4) in the world that make dices, thats the result...

1000 dices, with the logo you like in one of the sides(of course remember that is a dice!!) cost 80 euros, and as they must make a mold especially for them...so that are 180 euros more (but you must pay that ONLY the first time, if you order more dice you dont need to pay the mold again, only the dice price) ...so, you have 1000 dice with a SR logo for 360 euros (480$)...after 2 months you order another 1000 dice...it only cost 80 euros(101$)...

[Herald of Verjig...]

180+80=260, not 360.

dice=plural; die=singular

[Reverendo]

[Kagetenshi]

How interesting. What's the contact information for this company? We might be able to, if we got FanPro's approval (or would it be WizKids to use the image?), pool together and get the mould made and then order a few batches to distribute as desired...

~J

[Reverendo]

[Solstice]

[Reverendo]