Since folks were warned off the Catalyst thread with talks about how long they've been around, I thought they might want to continue the conversation. Codgers love to reminisce.

I'll say that I picked up the first blue book in '89. I was 19, and when I saw a mage casting spells in an alley while a firefight was happening, I had to pick up the book. Sold! Got 'em all since then, including full sets of KaGe and Shadowland magazines.

Joined the Shadowrn mailing list in '94 (when my work got email), but collected stuff from BBSs before that. (A primer on Shadowrun television springs to mind.) Saw Bull join the list with a bang.

Shadowrun Archive, Dumpshock, Jury's Bench, CLUE files, etc. Lurked on 'em all.

Some of us may not post much, but we're here, we love Shadowrun, and we'll keep playing 'til the Awakening.

Robert (aka Spanner)

I intend to keep playing after the Awakening.

As I said before I got started when I was a Freshman in High School (1991). Back then I didn't have internet access, so I didn't know about the online stuff. Heck I didn't really know alot about computers. I just played Oregon Trail on them. hehe

Either way I love the game, the setting, et al.

Graywulfe

Here, here!!!

I first Dabbled around 91 when I was just getting into RPGs. The setting was incredible, but there was only 1 guy I knew that played and he didn't play that much. In 95 I inherited a hardcover 2nd edition and library (both 1st and 2nd edition). Been a big SR fan ever since, with life causing some gaming breaks in there. Starting in 98 or so I was ghosting Dumpshock and such. I think I still have copies of Adam's old TSS issues on a disk somewhere.

ich started playing around '96, when I was 14, and my first SB was Shadowtech. I joined the rpg-internet-communities pretty late, only around 2006/7 or so.

I started in highschool when it first came out (1989-IIRC). Did alot of my SR games early in college (2 year long campaign once a week). Had a break from 2001 to 2008 (because of the game that causes cancer) as the group I was ith was not interested in SR.


In any event, kept up with the books, though never posted much until I found dumpshock.

I started playing last summer ('09).

...

We can still be friends, right guys?

Depends on how much you have in your wallet.

Bought my first BBB (SR2.01D+SSC 2.01D) in '94, joined ShadowRN in the fall of '97. After NCO school and especially after getting married, I manage to play a maximum of twice a year. Life takes it's toll, I guess

Started reading SR in 94 or 95 - sometime in middle school, anyway - when I found the book in my Uncles room. That was the 2e BBB. From there I just started reading whatever I could pick up. If I remember correctly, I tried exactly one game of SR with my group around '98 or '99, discovered that it was about as understandable as calculus to us at the time, and promptly put the book down. Despite owning 3e, I never played until 4e came out.

I've been on Dumpshock since about 2006, but for some reason my account wouldn't register until I tried again Dec of 2007. Now, I just don't post that often, because I like to be a mysterious raven.

(or not)

There was this kid in school, one of the unpopular ones that liked to steal shit, and we were in the library and he pulled out a copy of Sprawl Sites. I was hooked.

I didn't get around to Dumpshock until...uh...I guess it was the second incarnation? Not sure of the timeframe there. Went from there to Bulldrek. Precipitated the death of the 2nd Lounge.

Started playing in grade 9... so 95 I guess. I started futzing around DS in 96 or 97.

Picked up SR1 2 days after Gencon in 1989. I am from Milwaukee so probably saw before a lot of people. I saw that poster and told my friends that was a game I wanted to try. Went to a game store and was just kinda of looking around and saw the book by accident. Got it right away and played the first game 3 nights later. Own everything since and don't plan on stopping any time soon. Should have the tree version of Midnight today.


Trevor

Ye gads... I was in middle school. My introduction was... unique.

I had just re-watched this low budget film you probably have not heard of by this no name director. It was called E.T. I was 12ish. I bought the book (I worked in the school cafiteria). I finally learned what all the older cooler kids were doing at the kitchen table the night E.T. showed up. So, off I went to Toys R Us, bought my first D&D box set and have not left the RPG community since.

By 8th grade I was introduced to computers and my coolest computer science teacher ever. He used to play D&D, but having become ultra Christian he got away from it because of its magic. He introduced me to Battle-tech. I loved the lore and setting of Battletech. So naturually I got Mechwarrior. I even liked the way the companies name sounded. FASA. And I got all those little FASA mini catalogs and finally I noticed Shadowrun. I was like OMG! Its D&D meets Battletech!

So here I am, 20 years after buying that first D&D boxed set. All my favorite games have gone through ups and downs. But that doesnt matter overly much. Its the other people around the table that keep me coming back year after year and will continue to do so regardless of the company lable on the boods or the ever growing number before the Edition lable.

I've been playing Shadowrun for weeks!

I don't have a big, droopy, epeen to show off, sorry. I started playing SR back in middleschool, so '95-'96 or thereabouts. Started with SR2 (and D6 Star Wars at the same time) and was hooked on table top games from then on. I have since gone back and purchased hard copies in good condition of the SR1 materials and some of the SR2 and 3 I missed out on due to not having a job (and blowing my allowance and saved up lunch money on video games).

I was introduced to Shadowrun right after a Traveller campaign ended (94-95) to my surprise I already owned one of the books. I had picked up the street samurai catalog (1st edition) years before not even knowing what it was, just cus I thought it looked cool. I was quickly hooked and started collecting any 1st edition stuff I could find, Then in 96 we switched to 2e and I played that until 2000, this is also during the time I found out Nigel Findley had died, and joined the ranks of the online shadowrun community as some variation on "razor" and in 1997 as "tete" after the pizza incident. In 2000 I moved and started running my own 3e game. In 2002 I moved again and gave up shadowrun until this year.

I still have the first flyer promoting SR1 way back in 1989. I picked up SR1 as a change from AD&D, and I've been hooked ever since. I still have my "Harlequin's Back" offcial t-shirt, the 'goats-skull' logo pin, a bandana from the old Ka*Ge magazine (I also contributed to the mag), and still have ALL the books. I'm fairly caught up to Seattlle 2072, which I hope to pick up this weekend.
I still have all the novels. I'd have to rifle through my files for which articles I have, but I have those too.

People can gripe about SR not being cyberpunk all they want. I'm enjoying the game. And that's all that matters. And not that anyone cares, I was well out of high school when SR1 came out.

Started playing with the 1st edition back in 1991 when some guys at my LGS needed someone to fill in for a missing player. Loved it and even though I've only been in sporadic campaigns since I make sure to pick up all the material as it comes out (money permitting).

As to the online community I've been lurking about for a couple years, but I missed out on all those early incarnation. My loss.

Bought SR1 in '89, was thirteen at the time. The dude (Scouting 'hopman') who introduced me to D&D two years before showed me his new toy, the SR1 bluebook hardcover, I browsed through it and was quickly hooked. Can't remember if I ever played SR1, it was rather cumbersome, especially when compared to AD&D 2nd Edition. I bought one as soon as I could afford (no new D&D books and G.I. Joe toys for me), which at the time took a lot longer then it does now It took a couple of years (after SR2 hit the streets) before I GMed my first SR game...

I haven't been around all that long i am afraid <.<
feels probably longer for the other people here though ^^

Been around awhile I guess. Picked up the 3rd edition book about 10 years ago, really loved the setting and the game... But unfortunately I've not gotten to play all that much through the years, but in a 4th edition game now that seems very promising. Very new to dumpshock however, I never heard of the forum until a few months ago and just registered.

My first run was in the spring of 1993. Living in Germany, we got SR2 (2.01D as FanPro called it) some time later. I started to hang around at the FanPro (Germany) board in the late 90s. About '98 or '99. I've been visiting about six to ten conventions per year for a decade now. Since autumn 2008 I'm a member of the Pegasus Support Team running promo runs for Pegasus Spiele at conventions.

Welcome to loony bin, chummer

As I said in the other thread... A buddy had the 1st ed book, and I made my first character in high school (10th grade, in 1990. I graduated in '92. So if anyone's wondering, I'll be 36 in August). My first SR books that I bought weren't till second edition though, probably '93/'94ish, after we'd started the campaign where Bull the Ork Decker was first born.

Bull

I didn't hang around online much (well, for shadowrun anyway, was busy with other BBs), so honestly, never ran into the crowd you guys are discussing, but I got involved in '91, after getting bored with D&D and GURPs and looking for something new. We had a huge crowd by the time I left high school and played some through college (up until, 'eh, '95ish?) before studies took over my gaming nights... well, beer and work, too.

As someone said, life takes its toll. I got back into again 6 months ago other then the occassional one off, once a year game for nostalgia's sake. Glad to see I'm not the only old guy (physically, I realize I'm new otherwise. )

I bought the 1st edition from FASA at Gencon when it was released. Didn't play it it much. I remember being shouted won at the big shadowrun talk the next year when I asked who on the development team understood basic statistics.... Skipped 2nd edition, played 3rd & 4th edition a lot.

I'm definitely one of those "old guys" you kids keep talking about. I was never active in SR communities, but I first played Shadowrun in '89 - the year I graduated from High School! I played a lot of other games over the years as well, but I've come back to Shadowrun again and again and I've played every edition. I'm also a game hoarder, so my game room is full of goodies, from early Shadowrun posters snagged at (now-closed) game stores to my "Dunkelzahn for President" tag from Gencon!

The thing I love is that Bug City, Dunkelzahn's Assassination, and all the other great story arcs aren't history to guys like me - they were current events! Our campaigns were smack dab in the middle of stuff that is all back story for younger players! I love that about the Shadowrun setting!

I spend my fair share of time missing the old days (Oh, I do so miss my slang!) but that's the downside of the evolution that makes Shadowrun so dang cool.

Oh - and I was a hard core Earthdawn player for many years - we all LOVED the interconnected storyline. Fantastic stuff!

Started playing with 1st Edition. Played through 2nd. Skipped third. Picked it up again with the release of 4th.

Started in HS around '97 or '98, playing very pink mohawk. At first I thought it was linked to those crazy DnD murders, then I thought it was goofy, then I couldn't stop

Now I run games online, trying to bring in new blood. I work with SR3R, when it's running. My wife keeps pushing me to get into freelancing, but I don't want to learn SR4 in order to do it. Aside from that, I'm pretty crazy about it. I'm working on a diceless primer for my two kids, Damien and Lucien.

My first RPG was AD&D (albeit poorly played) back when the orange-spined editions first came out.

First got online through Prodigy back in the mid 80s.

I first played Shadowrun–as a college freshman–in the spring of 1989 (my GM was a player in a play-test group and had photocopies of enough material to make it work) I bought the original hardcover that fall, and everything published in English since then. Throughout college the group I hung out with gamed twice a week rotating through Shadowrun, Star Wars d6, and AD&D 2nd Ed.

Since college I've averaged one game session a week, and one of the group members has been gaming on-and-off with me since 1980. We met as Cub Scouts and he was the one who introduced me to Shadowrun in college.

This is actually my second account on Dumpshock, started back in 2007 when I could not remember a working combination of username and password, and wanted to comment on something. My average posting rate online since I first found Shadowrun websites online in the late 90s defines lurker, probably because I was spoiled in my access to live games. I live in Vermont, just outside Burlington, which as a college town has never lacked for gamers, and on top of that I worked off-and-on at the local game store in addition to my regular jobs.

My increasing activity online, actually correlates well to my friends becoming parents, and deciding that going to their kids activities was at least as important as gaming.

I am a second generation gamer. I started with D&D 1E when I was nine. There were other editions out but that was what my Dad had. I have been gaming ever since. I was first introduced to SR in 90 when I was watching my Dad and his friends play. Later I looked through the book and decided I was going to play an Ork Merc. The first time I actually played SR was in 95 I think. We were still using that old 1E book. After awhile we got ahold of 3E SR and we played that until 4E came out. In all I have been gaming for 17 years and playing SR for 15. I cannot remember when I first became aware of DS, but is wasn't long until I joined. Gaming is my passion, has been ever since I can remember. And of all the games I have played I love Shadowrun the most.

*Edited for spelling.

I started playing SR with the old blue book 1st Ed in 89. A friend in school picked it up and asked me to GM. As I was the local DnD GM I was always given the core rule books for anything my players wanted to try out. They were really pro active back in the day. I didn't think much of SR when I first heard about it as it was described as just DnD in the future. How fun could that be? I was hooked once I read the history. Brilliant.
Played SR through its various incarnations until FASA imploded and then quit for awhile (burned out and figured the game was dead once FASA died). Just started up with 4th ed last summer and after a few hick ups got into it again (wish there was a way to purge those old half remembered rules from old editions that keep biting me on the ass). I think I had an old account on here long ago but I couldn't remember my password or use name. I actually thought this site was completely new until I saw Bull on here. Then the horror all came flooding back . So yea I'm also one of those old timers who lurk and rarely post or who are too senile to remember what their password are. But now I'm taking NURPs so everything is good!
Good god, I've been playing this game for 21 years!

Ok, this has been bugging me for a while.

What are NERPS?

Sincerely,
-A Guy Who Is Pretty New To The Sixth World.

Non Essential Role Playing Stuff. / NET ENHANCEMENTS FOR ROLE-PLAYING SHADOWRUN / Nothing Ever Really Pleases Steve
Or something equally silly.
It's nothing too important.
It's one of the few memes shadowrun/dumpshock has generated.
It's what's for dinner.

I remember buying the 1st Edition softcover sometime when I was a sophomore in high school so...around 1990, I guess. Played it pretty hardcore all the way through high school (when I wasn't playing Battletech or Robotech), and we converted all of our characters over to 2nd edition when it came out.

I remember searching around on various BBSs for the Neo-Anarchist Guide to Everything Else files (then printing them out and carrying them around in my backpack full of SR books).

Played SR3 for a bit, then moved on to other RPGs (and got pretty heavy into Warhammer 40k IIRC). Came back when SR4 came out, but mostly played D&D at the time. (We ran the occasional SR session or two for a change every now and then). When D&D4E came out, my gaming group basically went full-time back to D&D, but decided to switch back to SR a few months back (in November, I think) because our DM was going on an extended trip. We've been playing SR every week since then.

Haven't been much of a regular poster anywhere, though.

NERPS for dinner!
NERPS reduces carbon build-up by 90%!
NERPS lasts longer!

NERPS NERPS NERPS!

(DOUBLE NERPS!)

Purple NERPS?

It was used in-game as a "Brand that could be anything," basically. Then, in the mid 90s, a few net.books (fan sourcebooks) were published under the name Net Enhancements for Roleplaying Shadowrun.

I think I was first introduced to Shadowrun by that old SNES game sometime in the 90's.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6...run_box_art.jpg
http://www.tpsreport.co.uk/news/uploads/shadowrun3l.jpg
I enjoyed the game but the thing about it I fell in love with was the style of the setting. I had no clue about cyberpunk back then and it just seemed like such a better version of the sci-fi genre at the time.

Anyhow, I learned that it was a tabletop shortly thereafter but couldn't find anyone interested in playing, so I didn't purchase the books.

Years down the road, I'm in my first apartment and my roommate walks in with SR4, fresh off the presses.

Bout a year ago I moved away though, but I decided that I WOULD continue playing here. So I went ahead and bought the book myself, found a group to game with, and became the GM. I joined Dumpshock about the third session I had to run from all the questions I had.

Now I've got a fair handle on the game and all the other rule books, and mostly stick around to play semantics and debate on fun rule topics. Also to help out any other newcomers if I can.

Oh, and try the Grape NERPS. Tastes great and will take care of that overbite in no time.

Started playing in late '89 with some Army buddies over in Belgium. Because I couldn't afford a computer at the time, I didn't really get online until I moved back to the States in '95, when I started hitting bulletin boards, and when the internet cames to Ft. Ritchie, found the Archive and a few other sites. Been lurking on the mailing list, and all incarnations of Deep Resonance, Dumpshock (and Bulldrek!) ever since.

For reference, I've been playing that other games (and several, several others) since 1980. I have spawned a pair of gamer girls, and have introduced many of their friends (and one husband) to the love of role-playing. Yes, I'm old.

Started with Original D&D in 76, bought the boxed set with the blue book (among other bits). Went to AD&D pretty quickly and started gathering AD&Dr2 gear, incorporating it into my home brew game world. I like the idea of cities so bought lots of city settings for ideas along with books and such for equipment list ideas. I got into computers in 79 and started writing utilities for my D&D games, then for Car Wars and Traveller. Got a job as a programmer then a LAN admin. First hit BBS's in 1984 with a $110 long distance bill

I'd occasionally play something different as time went on, like Car Wars, Talisman, Paranoia when it came out (looked cool), and Shadowrun 1st when it came out. I'd spotted it in my FLGS and had recently been reading William Gibson's Sprawl books. I really liked the ideas and being a computer professional, ran a few games but my players were D&D and not interested in other games other than briefly. I did keep up on the sourcebooks and modules. Even started picking up 2nd Edition gear when it started coming out.

In 96 or 97, I was buying the Encyclopedia Magica's and had the fourth one in my hand at Borders when I realized... I didn't have any players any more and hadn't for months. I'd been playing computer games and LAN parties and was going through a divorce so had moved away from where my players were. I bought the fourth one and remember reading about a 3rd Edition (possibly in Dragon) and just stopped.

I had boxed up the games in the move and simply didn't unpack them when I got to where I was going. I tried to play my favorite board games with neighbors and coworkers but they were way too complicated for them (Cosmic Encounters and Talisman mainly) so sadly got ready to sell most of the gear to a used gaming place (Titan Games). The offer was far too low in my mind so I just kept the reboxed gear in the closet of my library.

Ten years later, my second wife was complaining about the unopened book boxes (there were 6 or 8 of them) and wanted me to do something with them. She's of the opinion that if it's boxed from before we were married, I should get rid of them She's also a "travel light" type of person where I'm a "out of sight, and I'll just ignore it" type of person

So I unpacked. D&D, yea I can get rid of that. Keep my original stuff but ditch all the unnecessary papers, maps drawn by characters, and dead characters. Various misc gaming gear that I'd bought to help with city ideas. Paranoia. Nah, I liked that. I keep what I have. Wargames. Lots of good memories there but they can go.

Shadowrun. Awesome cover, can't get rid of that. Rigger Black Book. The first time I went wow over a game product. Denver Boxed Set. Shadowrun 2 core. DNA/DOA. Mercurial. Seattle Sourcebook. Excellent, Universal Brotherhood. I got chills when I read that. Aztlan, awesome book. I still want to run a team into Aztlan. Man, I can't get rid of any of this gear.

My wife had dragged me to a fabric store of some sort. Over the previous few years going into a hobby store meant craft stuff mainly. Wooden bird feeders. Plastic flowers. Etc. Well, next door to the fabric shop was a Hobby Town. Ok, I can browse over there a bit. But Hobby Town isn't a craft store, it's a hobby store with RC gear, rockets, trains, darts, pool tables, and game books. Crap, four shelves of game books. Shadowrun books I hadn't heard of. D&D 3.5? Spycraft. All Flesh Must Be Eaten??? Paranoia-XP? I bought Paranoia XP and Fist Full 'o Zombies (I'm a big fan of Westerns as well).

Got to rpg.net and started cataloging my gear in the Game-Index. I added a hefty majority of the Shadowrun books including covers as I searched and filled out my collection. I still have all the different games I bought way back on my shelves and have picked up several other new and some not-so-new games because they're interesting. I've even run a few; Paranoia and Deadlands most recently with Eclipse Phase coming up. But I'm running Shadowrun. I like Shadowrun. The old books still give me thrills when I see them and open them up. Many of the new books are excellent as well.

I hooked up with the brand new Shadowrun Meetup group here in Denver and started going to 3rd edition games. I picked up 3rd ed books with an eye towards running it again. The folks were not interested in 4th edition. I picked up a few 4th Ed books but really wanted the 3rd Ed books. When I stopped the 3rd ed gaming (heavy smoking really drove me away), I put up a flyer at my FLGS and found a new group. But they were open and I started running 4th Ed with their help.

I'm not a real convention goer. I ran a few back in the early 80's as president of our club but have only been to a few. Last year I went to GenCon specifically to meet Jennifer and Adam as well as picking up con only gear. I left with an overburdened trunk on my motorcycle and had to mail most of the books I bought back home

I'm sure my wife regrets having me open those Pandora's Boxes. Especially since I've easily doubled my gaming collection (1,200 unique English RPG items at last check). But she knows I enjoy it and it keeps me home safe nights which riding motorcycles probably don't do

Carl

An FLGS near me runs a different game with multiple GMs every summer, and the year 4e came out, in 05, I was 17 and tried it for the first time. It didn't leap out at me during that campaign, honestly, but the GM I had really wasn't grabbing onto the best thematic parts of the setting. Over the next couple years I read the books and got really hooked. Started running my own game about a year and a half ago and have never looked back. I love it so much now.

I realize this makes me "the kid" on this forum. I guess I can live with that.

Started playing around '95. Signed up on ShadowRN shortly after. Came to the forums a bit later. The site wasn't called Dumpshock at the time (I remember Jackpoint, but thought there was a third name in there somewhere)... and I vaguely remember a very brown theme.

I started in '89 at the tender age of 12. I was playing FASA's Star Trek RPG (which my grandmother bought me, oddly enough) and saw some promo stuff for their new "cyberpunk meets fantasy" game. I've been a compulsive collector ever since, and own every book published in English, all the Shadowlands and most of the Kages. Did the bulk of my hardcore playing in SR3. Started lurking/posting to the SR Archive and chatting on the old Undernet #shadowrun mirc channel (as SL|CK) around '95. That was also my first DR/DS handle, which was a causality of the Great DS Crash and my bad memory for passwords.

Ah memories....

I always like Non Essential Role Playing Shit personally.
I been rockin the Shadows since about 1992. Started in running 1st edition, been running ever since every edition. My first exposure though was a poorly ran (the GM really didn't understand the rules too well) 1st edition game and a pretty wierd game ran using the Mechwarrior 2 system a buddy converted. Ever since I saw the cattle skull symbol with the circuitry running all through it I knew the game was for me. I've actually been around though since 1975, as that's when I was spawned from my mothers loins.

Really Really new to the boards. Never really been into forums and what not but Bull finally convinced me to join. Been gaming since '95. Started Shadowrun with SR3. My first game was actually a tourney. Won that tourney and and shut down an arcology. Oops! Sorry about that.

Played many different systems but SR just feels right to me.

"If you're not paranoid you're not paying attention." ??

I think Freejack is the first person to make me feel young in a very long time....

I started gaming oD&D when I was seven or eight. I played through a lot of games over the years, but it wasn't until 1989 that I first found a game that really took me places. At Ralph's Toys at Northgate Mall in Seattle, while looking at stuff for the MSH RPG, I found a game set in my home town. I immediately bought it, and made a (horrifyingly bad) attempt to be a GM. It wasn't until Harlequin was released that I actually would learn to be a decent GM, but that's another story.

I had been online since 1987 on Compuserve, and somewhere around the mid-90's I discovered the Deep Resonance Forums and Shadowrun Archive. I even remember the transition into Dumpshock, and I was the first person to donate in the first donation drive. That's how I earned a custom title (they're handing 'em out to anybody these days! ) and became part of the Dumpshocked! group. I never went to the cons, and I ended up selling off much of my collection a few times, but I still remember the old days with fondness. Nowadays, I found a few gamers who are contemplating starting a SR2 game. I'm currently booked on games, but it's tempting to go for the nostalgia trip.