Just read some bits of the book.
A friend wants to start a nem campaign and I am really curious about what folks here in Dumpshock think about Shadowrun: Anarchy.
What are your impressions?
Anyone here played it and would share the experience?

I haven't played, or even finished reading it, but I find it very interesting.

It dramatically reduces the surface area of the game, and even if I never play it, I think that alone is a worthwhile exercise that can hopefully influence future editions of the main game.

That something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Recent editions have worked to unify the various mechanics, but at the same time have expanded the number of core elements, like attributes and skills. This has made the subsystems easier to use, but the core harder. Anarchy, in many ways, represents the kind of work the game needs now. I hope to see more discussions and comparisons along these lines in the future.

Yeah, I also think of it as a much appreciated breath of fresh air to the game.

In the other hand, I felt like some more detail to how dispositions and cues works wold be nice.

Because this is a game that blurs the mechanics to focus on the story, Tags, Dispositions, and Cues work exactly how you think they do. Because in your game, they work exactly how you want them to. They can be as important as you want them to; they can be tied to karma rewards; they can be tied to Plot Points; they can be tied to nothing in particular and just a guide for how each character would react. Here is the breakdown:

Narrative Tools

Tags are what your character is: aspects of their being. She is human, she is a mage, she is a biker, she is angry, she is from the Barrens. You can think of this as a story version of your character's race/class/specialty.

Dispositions are how you act or how you think. Credos, mottos, schools of thought, ideals, bonds, flaws. These tell you (and the GM) how you would act in certain situations, like "She never passes a bar." If you follow them, and stay in character you may get rewarded. These will likely change as your character develops.

Cues are just that: they are hints and clues, starters or fall-backs for your Narrations. Like cue cards, they kick start you into action during your narratives. In Anarchy, they are mostly in the form of quotes or lines from your movie/book. Don't know where to lead your Narrative? Look at your Cues and see if they give you a hint. They will be closely tied to your Tags and Dispositions because they come from the same well-rounded character. If you follow them, and stay in character you may get rewarded.

Narrative Rewards

There are 3 rewards that your GM can provide:

Plot Points are rewards that allow a player to alter the plot in a way they see fit. The idea is that the GM gives plot points to good role-players, good narrators. And those that are good at pushing the story along get more access to how the plot unfolds, through the use of more Plot Points. Some players are going to want more danger and excitement, so they spend a Plot Point and add bad guys. Some players are going to spend them on more mechanical things like going first or getting revenge. Some will spend them in the hopes of taking the game in an unexpected direction with Glitches and Exploits. And obviously the GM uses them for the same.

Karma can be rewarded for particularly good play, heroics, humor, etc. When you play your character, this can help them develop and expand as the campaign progresses. And because different characters develop in different ways, Karma is a universal reward: it represents experience, power, practice, money, influence, or whatever else your character needs in order to develop.

Great Story If all the players are collaborating, playing to character, slinging quotes and cues, adding suspense and excitement, building off of the other player's Narratives, and generally looking to the character they have in their head before they look at the dice on the table, some great stories are going to come out of this.

Of course, that is just how I see it...

That was the better explanation I read. Thank you, Gengivitis.

My group will playtest the system this week. I'll keep you guys updated.

Had our first SR: Anarchy game last night. We converted an SR5 to Anarchy mid-contract and played out the second to last scene with the Anarchy rules. It was amazing.

Here's what happened.

I have 5 players who were using my thoroughly simplified house rules of SR5 because they are not into crunch. I had to do it to get them all to play my favorite setting/system but I could tell they were suffering from rule-lockout. Anarchy was a god-send for this group despite never playing a narrative system.

We had a lot of fun using the narrative system. It was jarring/eye opening to them when one said, "What do I see?" and I replied, "I don't know what DO you see?"

We had more fun because there was literally no book-diving, and we got a lot more done in 4 hours than we could ever do with SR5. Interruptions did not derail the game or knock us out of play, they just steered the story in a different way.

GMing with only 2 fixed points in the plot (I am calling those Hard Points) was so much easier. I just had a list of names ready and some funny accents. Because what is GMing other than alternating funny accents and attempted murder?

The only thing I might adjust is the rule where GMs may only spend one Plot Point per turn. I accumulated a lot of them by the end of the night that I could not use.

The other thing, is I am not certain Anarchy-only players will grasp the lore/depth as much as players who played in full SR. But that has almost always been the case with this system. Luckily two of us are SR1-2-3-4-5 veterans.

You sir (or ma'am), just won the fucking internet...

Gingivitis, thank you for the review and the recap. I laughed out loud several times at, "They try to patch him up with cocktail napkins but it is obvious he needs a hospital."

I'm only 40 pages into Anarchy but I'm excited. I've been looking forward to it for a few months now. I have a combat-heavy mission that's been swirling around in my head for quite some time but would be entirely too laborious using traditional combat turns and initiative passes. I'm hoping Anarchy can help streamline it, as well as lead an open-ended story in interesting directions.

I hope to post more as I get further into the book.

Just a heads up, but the updated (errataed) PDF should be available now (and these changes will be in the print version). We hurried in what changes we could.

Stellar news Critias!

We just got though with our first game and we had a good time. My group is going to need some time to get used to the 'So what happens next?' part of the game as I looked at the player who was used to heavy Rail-Road Games like deer in headlights, but I think in a few sessions we will all be getting the hang of it.

I think my only issue is there needed just a bit more information hear and there. Maybe a Paragraph for each skill and sometimes you have to hunt up Shadow Amps to find out how Fear works...I am still not sure what it is apposed by.

It would have also done better if my goons could hit the broad side of a ocean liner.

Great to hear! I'm glad others are enjoying it as much as I am. Did you use a Contract Brief from the book or did you make your own?

One of the nice things about how scant the skill descriptions/shadow amp descriptions are is that you get to create or discover them as you (and your table) go. For things like Fear, you might oppose by some kind of Willpower (WIL + WIL or WIL + LOG or WIL + CHA) and as for the effects, those are up to you too. Make them run, cower, or hide, or give them negatives modifiers. Make the story realistic and you can't go wrong.

As for your goons and connecting hits (because an important part of the immersion is a sense of risk), remember that goons have Edge (2 if they are human). Don't be afraid to use Edge to get the danger flowing. Miss by one hit, Edge that shit. You could probably Edge one attack and one defense per goon before they go down. If things get hairy, back off the Edge. Or don't. Make 'em feel the danger; there are a lot of ways to stay alive.

Stuffer Shack Review

Here is my review on Stuffershack.com after about 10 sessions of Anarchy.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Gingivitis. I'm glad y'all are having fun with it.

I suggest getting a copy of FATE or Fate AE to ste... ahem, borrow some ideas if you're not already familiar with FATE, since they have this concept called self-compels that even the GM can invoke in NPC / environment aspects.
Pay-what-you-want (e.g. free if you prefer): http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core-downloads/