Okay, the last time that I played/GM'd Shadowrun was back in the days of SR2 (and ED1 for Earthdawn). As with many people I've got a lot on my plate at the moment but I want to get back into the game setting and, perhaps as more of an anecdote, the shared setting information between Earthdawn and Shadowrun. So, partially as a result of nostalgia, partially because I've been inspired by films and other game materials recently, I've come back to the fold (as it were).

So, the point of the thread. Beyond reading through SR4 core, what books and in which order would you recommend for someone coming back to Shadowrun and Earthdawn after several editions? I'm particularly interested in the overarching meta-story of Earthdawn/Shadowrun, so feel free to throw in novels as well as sourcebooks.

Please forgive any thread repetition. A quick search didn't reveal anything that matched what I was trying to get at but, well, familiarity with search terms and all that. Thanks for your input.

I am not aware of any ED crossover supported with SR4. The crossover stuff really reached its peak with SR2, and SR3 had a few more things which you could consider related. SR4 seems to be more eager to cut the strings.

If you're trying to get into the SR4 metaplot, I believe there are some location books and a set of missions which had some details. Plus System Failure, which marks the official transfer from SR3.

If you're looking for that metaplot stuff, you'll want to check out Harlequin's Back, Dunkelzhan's will and Year of the Comet (they still apply to SR4, although mostly as background.

Yeah, the current developers don't seem very interested in pursuing any SR/ED connections in 4th Edition.

Though, wasn't there a hint of ED in one of the Dawn of the Artifacts series?



-k

Thank you for your replies. Forget the ED metaplot stuff (though I do have the Dawn of Artifacts series) for the moment then, and let's focus on the Shadowrun updates. After some searching on the forum and the Sixth World Wiki, I had sat down and started to read through Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunkelzhan's Secrets. Will add Harlequin's Back to the list, since surprisingly I haven't read it despite the Harlequin campaign being perhaps one of my favourite published campaigns out there.

Year of the Comet... check. And, hmmn, System Failure. Hadn't caught that one, so will go by DTRPG to see if I can pick it up for a reasonable amount.

Okay, anything else that will catch me up on the changed world of SR4? I was going to take a gander through Unwired (and SR4 core, of course) to get to grips on the "new" AR matrix, or at least the background bits if not necessarily the rules at the moment. Street Magic will get some love to update me on the developments over the years with that side of the Shadowrun setting... So, well, anything else that is a "must read" to catch me up on the major shifts in the setting?

Oh, wait, Augmentation seems like it would be useful for the overall pulse of non-Matrix technology as well, but anything else?

Warning about Unwired, the story and setting info are priceless, the technomancer stuff is necessary for them to function, but many of the other rules make the matrix too complicated to fit into one session. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I've found that a lot of Advanced Matrix Rules are just a huge headache. For setting information I'd suggest Emergence and Vice. Emergence has a heavy focus on AIs and Technos, especially dealing with the societal implications there of. Vice is a who's who of the underworld, which is always nice if your runners turn to crime. Some of the Corp books are pretty good for getting to know the big players. Arsenal is almost useless for story, but I think necessary for gaming. Everything else I either haven't read or don't think that necessary.

Thanks for the heads-up. My primary interest in the books are the setting information and to see the rough shape the rules abstract that information. I've got a sneaking suspicion that I might take things in a slightly different direction, so ensuring that the "feel" is right is important to me.


It is my recollection that this has always been the case for the Matrix, and is often mentioned with reference to "cyberpunk" games in general, so ocne again thanks for the heads-up.


Emergence I picked up a while ago, so check. Not sure that I'm entirely a fan of some of this since it sounds very Cybergeneration, but I'm sure that it is likely going to grow on me. With that said, before I check it out how far does this supplement--and perhaps Shadowrun in general in its latest incarnation--go down transhumanist routes ala, for example, Trahsuman Space? (No agenda there. I'm just interested in how some of my ideas might gel with the setting-as-is, and as thoroughly inspiring as that happens to be. )

Vice I might have to wait for.


I shall try and check them out on DTRPG. Thanks for the recommendation.

Mostly Emergence handles the scares of people hacking your brain with mind powers! It digs a bit into the corp experiments into the causes of technomancy and any relation to the Otaku of SR3. I like it because Technos are wierd on a level beyond the base setting's wierd, and it's comforting that the rest of the Sixth World thinks so too. The big thing is that many corps have bounties for Technos, so if you're going to include them, know that they should be held in suspicion by anyone who knows their powers, and worth a decent amount of nuyen to anyone who can catch them.

I'm not a big fan of how public AIs have become simply because there appears to be little consistency in the descriptions of public awareness of them. In my universe AIs are rare, and the Arcology Incident is a terrible tragedy brought on by terrorists, as far as the public is concerned. Those 'in the know' may realize that Deus was involved and all the AI metaplot, but to average Joe, it was Winternight practicing, or maybe them Technocrats trying their New World Order. That's just me. I have no idea the canon awareness level of AIs, though techno paranoia seems to be pretty common. Not the panic in the streets like it is during Emergence, but more like the varying levels of racism in past editions, with everyone being wary of the unknown power.

I wasn't too hot on Vice. Part of that is because so much of the data is rehashed from SR3 or other sources, and the remainder is SR4 which I don't play (I was actually reading for information on actually commiting vice, which the book has very little of). There isn't too much SR4 stuff. You can probably get it all from the Sixth World Wiki. Of course, if you haven't been playing since SR1 or 2, then by all means, pick it up.

There's a more thorough review of Vice here:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...409&hl=vice
and here:
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...312&hl=vice

Actually, that could be remarkably useful for one part of the setting that I'm trying to evoke, so thanks for the pointer.


I would imagine that there is a reason to pick up most of the books, to be fair, but what if you're just trying to play catch up in terms of the general "feel" of the setting? Does Vice help more there, or in the specifics of dealing with organised crime?

I liked Vice. If only because if gave me the idea of buying Day Job as a positive quality with the Hacker setting up fake employment records for Stuffer Shack and collecting free money.

I loved that idea too, but I'm the GM, so I can't mention that to my players.

I don't know. I was disappointed with Vice because it's 200 pages, of which 100 pages are basically truncated wikipedia entries or rehashing old data. The 100 pages in the middle are useful if you're doing a syndicates game, and they have some neat gang ideas, but packed on either side is just fluff. The stuff on the syndicates includes a lot of new material about syndicate politics, and it includes a good chunk on the Vory which haven't been covered previously. The gang stuff I could go either way on. Gangs never play a real forceful role in the Shadowrun universe. it's enough you know that they exist and mess with punks. But if you want some more gang names, they're there. The stuff on law enforcement at the end has been done before in SR1/2, so you don't get much more.

Once again, thanks for the replies thus far.

What about developments in technology? This is certainly something that is going to have an impact upon my interpretation of the setting. Now, I know that nanotechnology has made an appearance in SR3 (?) but what is the best sourcebook that covers the broad changes that the introduction of this technology has, well, introduced?

Augmentation and Arsonal.

Arsonal: tools for setting things on fire.

The SR book is Arsenal.

Heh...