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Askani'son
Hey Folks,

How're we all doing?

So, veteran 3rd Edition GM here - I consistently ran a pretty intensive campaign set in the early 2050's using SR3 for a few years and was advancing through the timeline with a mixture of homebrew material and classic 2nd Edition modules. 3rd Edition has it's problems, sure, such as a lack of consistency between core, decking & rigging rulesets but it's a great system IMHO.

I'm looking at kicking off a fresh campaign with a new set of players - no previous SR experience - and considering how I want to do things. I'm quite sure that I want to set the campaign in the same time period, initially at least - of the early 2050's and to continue to make use of some of those classic modules - Dreamchipper, Mercurial, Harlequin, Missing Blood, etc. My question is, which edition of the rules should I go with given my players lack of experience. I'm aware that if I plug the campaign into SR4 or SR5 the main change I'll have to make is ripping out the wireless matrix stuff, and converting any older modules I use (which I'm happy to do). I also have the Shadowrun 2050 book for SR4 to take some tips from. Part of me is also curious to try out omething different, but I don't want to short change the game as a result.

What do you reckon, chummers?

Cheers.
Stahlseele
For absolute Newbies, SR4 is the best entrance point sadly.
SR3 just is a bit too complex to be beginner friendly really.

On the other hand, if you think you can deal with that and you are comfortable with SR3 and know your way around SR3 better, then stay with SR3.

SR4 2050 could work . . not sure though, because you are still combining different systems with each other after all . .
Askani'son
Thanks for the input, Stahlseele.

As I understand it, the SR4 is a bit more streamlined - I have the books but have little practical experience running it, so I could be wrong - but I'm led to believe that combat/decking/rigging, etc have much more in common with one another, system-wise, than they did in SR3.

How complicated would it be to use those systems (decking/rigging or hacking as they called it) without the wireless capabaility? Could I use the same system with a plugged in decker easily enough?

Are there any other discrepancies in the SR4 system that couldn't just be ported into a 2050 setting, short of disallowing certain gear and such?

Is there such a difference between SR4 and SR5 that I wouldn't consider using the latter, more up to date system?
Stahlseele
Yeah, SR4 made theings more like each other in many aspects.

You'd only lose the AR Part. Which is basically what the whole SR4 Fluff/Society hinges upon.
So nothing too important for an SR3 timeline, where that stuff isn't around everywhere.

The Initiative System is completely different. The Damage/Combat-System is completely different.
The whole magic system and matrix system are completely different as well.
The whole game mechanics have been changed since they went from variable TN to fixed TN.
There are more attributes than in SR3. You now use Attributes+Skill+Bonus-Dice to figure out what to roll.
The skills corresponding to certain attributes have been changed around as well. It is simply completely incompatible.

SR5 basically FORCES you to have stuff online that has no reason to be online at all to get the most out of the stuff and as such will simply not work in a setting where everything is not online 100% of the time.
See for example a chamelion suit that needs to be online at all times to give you the maximum bonus to stealth.
Yes, you need to emit a wifi signal for hackers(now deckers again) to be able to disable your stealth suit if you want to be more stealthy.
The people who wrote these rules have said that they intended for this to only be true for the PAN(personal area network, basically blutooth LAN), but RAW says matrix online.

I never made the jump to 4th edition from 3rd, but i would still take that over the bullshit that SR5 has become.
Mantis
I'd say give 4th a try as well. Every new player I've run it with has picked it up within a session or two, at least the basics. The matrix and rigging are very much aligned in SR4 with a hacker easily being able to take on rigging roles and vice versa. The only aspect of the matrix, rules wise, that you will need to be wary of is Signal, since it does apply to things other than commlinks (Radar Sensors, drone sensors) to determine range or whether something works. For example, a radar sensor has signal of 2 so if it gets jammed or enters somewhere with interference it won't be able to see anything beyond a few meters (signal 0). Otherwise the matrix is much streamlined compared to 3rd.
For character creation I'd go with the karma build option in Runners Companion. While only a little more complex than the build point system it is less open to exploitation and creates more rounded characters.
Sengir
QUOTE (Stahlseele @ Nov 3 2015, 02:55 PM) *
SR5 basically FORCES you to have stuff online that has no reason to be online at all to get the most out of the stuff and as such will simply not work in a setting where everything is not online 100% of the time.
See for example a chamelion suit that needs to be online at all times to give you the maximum bonus to stealth.
Yes, you need to emit a wifi signal for hackers(now deckers again) to be able to disable your stealth suit if you want to be more stealthy.

It's massively stupid, but equally easy to ignore if you are willing to tweak the rules, which the OP obviously is wink.gif

SR4 has the advantages of being more mature and having all the books out, including several dedicated to throwback stuff (Like Shadowrun 2050) which make conversions easier

SR5 is reviled by the old guard but not really bad if you start anew. It also goes back to the old initiative dice and calling the matrix guys "deckers".

Bottom line, neither is the perfect fit, pick your poison (or whichever you can get cheaper)
Bearclaw
We played a 2 year campaign in the 2050's using SR4 + the 2050 book.
Aside from the fact that not having wireless 40 years in the future is stupid, it worked well.
There was a lot of "you can't do that, because it's the 80's" at the table.
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