Hey folks

Now I have taken part in SR before and have a fairly basic knowledge of the world. My knowledge however is not wide spread, in fact it is basically seattle based at best. Im currently reading up on more but the game begins this thursday. I have the first three runs planned, they are warm ups in a way, to get the group bonded and allow me to gauge strengths and weakness for later runs.

Any tips for my first foray into running an SR campaign? My first run is a simple snatch and grab. You feel this will be ok?

Yup.

Keeping it as simple as possible is best, as you will be spending a decent amount of time looking up rules and the like. Even as an experienced GM, the first 2 or 3 sessions went really slow because we were all getting familiar with the rules.

So, keep the run simple and let your players know that it is going to be slow the first few sessions...but if they get past that, then all will be good!

A very important thing to remember as a GM : always cover the 3 component : physical, magical, matrix.

Make sure that your adventure can't be broken by using a spirit to do the task, or by using some spell somewhere or that the runners can't just hack a drone to get the item for them...

I'm glad you have the first few runs planned out since keeping everyone engaged and on task is so imporant (and hard for new gms), but don't necessarily get married to the idea of running all three of them in order. If your players set modest, reasonable goals for themselves then it really does pay to accomodate them with opportunities. Heck, something as simple as stealing and refurbishing a beat up ol' GMC Bulldog from a scrapyard deep in gang territory could end up making for a fairly fun session. Which, incidentally is why it's important to keep rough timelines sketched out during and between runs; players have ways of making games take detours but as long as you keep the big picture organized it can result in runs practically writing themselves. Cheatsheets are vitally important as well; making decisions that leverage your dice is fun, but rerolling repeatedly because people don't have their crap together is another matter entirely.

There's a bunch of stuff on my Shadowrun Resources site. A lot of it is geared toward new players and GMs, especially the cheat sheets.

No-one in the Sixth World is innocent or "good" by 2007 standards, that sweet little girl on the corner is very likely going to either try to blow your brains out or offer to rent her body to you in order to afford her next BTL fix. And don't think that things are any better in the shiny corp enclaves, the only difference is the form that the violence and sex present themselves in.

WageSlaves aren't just selling their souls to the corp, the "soft and easy life" that every Barren Scum would kill for is just an illusion, yes they really are slaves in a real sense and if the Corp wanted to kill them there is nothing anybody could do about it.

Shadowrunners are not the good guys, there are no good guys left in the Sixth World.

Never deal with a Dragon? Frag, as if a Dragon would ever give you a choice in the matter.

Trust no-one, everyone has a price where they would willing turn on their own mother, yes, that includes your team-mates and even your mother for fragging sake.

By no-one I also mean don't trust yourself, how do you really know that your memories are real and that someone hasn't mindraped you through either magic or tech and your entire life is a lie?

If a Mage or Sammy comes to the meet sporting a metalink or some other piece of crap commlink do yourself a favor and blow their fragging brains out before they get everyone killed, wiz tech isn't just for Deckers now.

The same applies for anyone who leaves the wireless connection turned on for their cyberware, all cyberware should be routed through a Datajack (Beta-grade + is best.) with internal hardwiring and the Datajack should be turned into the nastiest glacier chokepoint known to man. Then as added security the Datajack should run in skinlink mode as default, only using wireless if necessary.

Mages should always have at least alittle cyber, 1-2 points of Magic will not save your ass nearly as much as the right implants will.

Remember that magic is scary, but nothing replaces a good firearm and the skill to use it. A GOOD Mage has an assortment of ways to kill you with her mind, a GREAT Mage has the wisdom to use her trusty Predator instead.

Remember that the average Dicepool in the Sixth World is 4-8 before equipment comes into play, so yes that means twinking out your characters to be world-class best of the best is overkill, it's much better to spread yourself out alittle then to be a hyper-specialist.

Never allow the team's Decker do all the work on your gear, always get his work double checked for hidden trapdoors and kill switches, and for Spirit's Sake, learn how to do some of the work yourself.

>>> Good point Riley37, you always have to be on the lookout for the ever popular decoy link, but if I had a cred for everytime some wiz freak or sammie wannabe tried telling me that it was my job to interface with their cheap little toys then I'd be lounging on some island beach with a couple of elven hotties. By the way do you still want that paydata we discussed eariler? <<< -Glitches

Cheers guys, useful info.

I already understood the dystopian angle however. Briggan, my dwarf rigger, found that out all too quickly. Damn corporations and their slaves.