It's 2017 so...., Curiously 'retro' Options

[Moirdryd]

There's been a lot of Retro style game stuff happening it seems over the last couple of years...

World of Darkness did and are doing the 20th anniversary edition stuff
Classic SR and Battletech novels seem to be spilling out in ebook form and look popular
The Shadowrun Returns series of games looked mostly well received and did cool stuff with the 2050s
WotC have been releasing ebooks of classic D&D stuff from all editions and the 5E D&D game is also hardening back to its roots whilst moving forwards
GW are making a bigger push with specialist games once more and seem to be slowly stumbling back towards the style of things that made them big in the first place
Traveller has been rereleased in a new yet classically familiar form
Small presses seem to be producing things in a flavour of the game styles of the 80s 90s and early 00s...

All this has led to me (plus moving across the country) opening up my Sr3 (and 2) collection again (or the parts that moved with me anyway).

Recently before the move I had been running SR5 (and with a few tweaks I really do like SR5) but while we had fun with the campaign something felt missing still. Time moved on and other games happened and then move happened and I've just concluded a Mage story for my flat mates. With all the 90s esq stuff that's lurking out there I opened up the BBB and a rush of experiences flowed back in. The subsystems. The quirky interactions. The unique way different parts of the game worked in different ways from other parts if the game. The tinkering you could do with the game using the rules as written because they were designed to express the Sixth World in the game and not tied to any set in stone mechanic system. Sure it's knotty, it's really not perfect, but that lack of perfection (and it wasn't trying to be perfect) and all of the wierd little bits gt be geared up again like the first time I picked up the book...

So how about you all out there DumpShockers?
What happened to those private and public SR3r projects?
Any of you been dusting off older editions and playing around wih them? Modding them? Running them?
How about old adventures? Have you ported any into your current system or taken your group back through time and editions to give them a try in their native form?
Is there cool stuff from the past or current game that really got your Sixth World vibe burning hot again from any edition?
Or is there just something from the other stuff that has always made you go WTF? But in a good "only in the Sixth World" way?

Not looking for edition bashing but instead positive experiences, thoughts and ideas. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Adhoc]

I haven't really dusted of old campaigns and such, per se, but I'm running a Shadowrun 5e-campaign, set in Denmark from the Shadowrun 3rd sourcebook "Shadows of Europe".

It's not that hard, since I wrote the chapter on Denmark in the book and we all live in Copenhagen.

Compared to 3rd edition, running a game in 5e is massively more complex and challenging. The amount of rules/classes/organisations etc is multiplied and this is a blessing in disguise - I have so much more to work with. And so much more experience in making interactive plots. And I know so much more about where the world is heading, so I can implement those changes. AND with all the online ressources available now, making scenarios are a dream (thank you, Google Maps).

I still love the setting, but it's a complicated relationship - I feel that I need to work a lot to get anywhere in the relationship.

As for 3rd edition: well, I have all the editions on the shelf (even to first edition hardcover books). So I might look into it when I get home.

A.

[Trillinon]

I'm running an SR5 campaign, but I've spent a fair amount of time studying older editions. In part because SR5 is immensely difficult to reference, and it keeps me interested in how the game has been presented in the past.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

I was happy to put SR1-3 on the shelf and never look back.
SR4 and SR5 are similar enough; and though I prefer SR4, we have been playing SR5 since it came out.

[FriendoftheDork]

I am experimenting with both. I love the SR1-3 setting, but the system is comparatively bad. SR4A was pretty good, but had the whole issue with wireless galore.

My current fix is a mix between SR1 setting and SR5 rules - which means magic and combat is almost all SR5. We don't have a decker so we don't really need detailed matrix rules, but I'm noticing the general SR1-3 computer/broadcast (non-matrix) rules are lacking important details, which makes my job as a GM harder. I could possibly use some SR5 rules (hosts, marks etc) while keeping the SR1 fluff, but it's too much work atm. Well, Matrix was always the most broken part of Shadowrun rules anyway. Even SR4A, which was arguably the best, was difficult to use and hard to understand.

I love the feeling of old SR modules though. Just reading them is a blast, but it also harkens back to a simpler time, with black and white morality, pink mohawk style with few consequences, and good old fashioned action.

[Mantis]

There were a bunch of 1-3 ed adventures we never got around to playing so we've ported them to our 4th ed game (heavily modified with the best bits we liked from 5th) and taking them on.

[binarywraith]

My next campaign is going to be good old 2050's SR. Haven't decided if I'm using 3e or a reworked 5e for the mechanical base yet, but going to pull out some of the old adventures and update them a bit.

[sk8bcn]

It's been now 4 years I run a campaign through Shadowrun's history. I'm using SR 3 but I'll switch to 4th after System Failure.

That beeing said, my next arc is Harlequin's back so I'm far from it. And I nearly bought all books existing on Shadowrun. Well I plan too. I'm currently buying all what I don't yet have of SR4.

[mister__joshua]

I didn't get into Shadowrun until 4e and was always a bit gutted that I missed the 3e adventures like the Arcology and Bug City. Would've loved to play through those when they were new and I didn't know the ending (which is all covered in the 4e fluff pretty much).

Speaking of retro gaming, me and my group have kicked off 2017 by playing Classic Deadlands. It's ace (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[FriendoftheDork]

I didn't get into Shadowrun until 4e and was always a bit gutted that I missed the 3e adventures like the Arcology and Bug City. Would've loved to play through those when they were new and I didn't know the ending (which is all covered in the 4e fluff pretty much).

Speaking of retro gaming, me and my group have kicked off 2017 by playing Classic Deadlands. It's ace (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

If your players are not that much into the lore already, I found that I can reuse most of the storylines (Insect Spirits, arcology etc.) with them being none the wiser. Sometimes they recognize stuff from the history sections, but not enough to spoil it and it often adds to the excitement instead. But it depends on how much your players have read into the old timelines. Knowing that an AI took over the Renraku Arcology and actually playing it are two different things altogether!

[nezumi]

Still playing SR3R. The project went poof, but the rules we did pull I love. In fact the game I just posted to has been running for around 10 years?

[binarywraith]

Still playing SR3R. The project went poof, but the rules we did pull I love. In fact the game I just posted to has been running for around 10 years?

Out of curiosity, are those rules collected anywhere? I'm always in the market for sensible house rules.

[Moirdryd]

What binary wraith said

[nezumi]

I keep them posted on the game that I run. Because it includes a lot of actual book material, I don't post it publicly, but if you have an account at rpol.net or you PM me, I can share.

[Steelphoenix]

Long time lurker, first time poster!

My group has been playing 3E for the past few years now, and one thing we had always struggled with was the time it took for me to run my Deckers through the Matrix. We had a fairly solid grasp of the rules, it was simply time consuming. I mention this because at the start of this year, I taught myself Java and programmed essentially an automated program ("MatrixRun", for those of you on Facebook) that allows a Decker to load their character into the program, and then enter the various System Operation commands and cybercombat commands as they see fit. I still have a few bugs to work out, but it is practically done for all intents and purposes otherwise.

We've used it at the table a couple times, and what had previously taken 45 minutes now takes about 5, with the program handling all of the host interactions with the Decker, while still allowing the Decker full use of their character (except Karma Pool - I would have no idea how to implement that at this time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

[nezumi]

That's pretty swanky. Have you posted it anywhere?

[Steelphoenix]

I'm part of a couple Shadowrun groups on Facebook, and I've sent it to a few people there who were interested in testing it. I'm always looking for more testers, but my ultimate intent is to post it for free distribution.