I started really getting into shadowrun at 3rd edition, with only a little dabbling in 2nd ed. I was wondering how I would change gear availability and other factors if we decided to start a campaign set in 2052.

I have a copy of Fields of Fire, so that'd help with some gun knowledge, but among magic, cyber, and general tech what wouldn't be available? I'd also probably have to read up on Dunky's election and all that jazz.

Got any tips for playing in a different time setting?

People don't know about the Universal Brotherhood (get's blown in 2055). Cybermancy, delta cyberware, and some magical techniques aren't know (basically almost everything in SOTA 2063 with the exception of genetech). Leave out nanotech, edit rigger tech as you see fit. Probably the best thing is for you to take a look at the big table in the back of FoF. If that gear is listed in any book, then it's probably avialable. The books would be RBB, SSC, Shadowtech, VR 1.0, Basic book, and Shadowbeat. Just go based of the table in the back of FoF.

Magic: Divination, cleansing, and reflection aren't available. Most Matrix tech is still 2nd ed (go ahead and play with 3rd ed rules, 2nd ed wasn't all that great aside from VR 2.0).

Don

Keep in mind that some things that are introduced in "new" books, like the military gear in SOTA:2063, probably really aren't all that SOTA. I doubt that mortars were invented in 2063 in the Shadowrun timeline.

One key point, as previously mentioned, is that UB=good.

~J

Trust your players.

Tell them that you want to set the game in 2052 and that you don't want them selecting equipment or using rules (like certain metamagic techniques) that weren't available at that time. Then tell them that if they're not sure if something was available then, assume it wasn't. Once they finish, look it over and talk with them if you find something that doesn't look right. Be sure not to just say "no, you can't have that." Instead say something like, "I don't think that was available then... why don't you consider taking so-and-so instead?"

But trusting your players is the most important thing a GM should do unless they have proven themselves untrustworthy. At that point, I just wouldn't play with them any longer. Roleplaying games are meant to be fun and entertaining, not confrontational me-against-them scenarios.

I'd really have to dig out my books (hard when they're in GA) but basically:

1) Some of the cool adept powers only appear in 2057: Distance strike, delay damage, traceless walk, great leap, smashing blow, magician adepts (probably still possible) which are in Awakenings.

2) Use the gear list in FoF as I mentioned before.

3) Divination, channelling, sensing, the magic in SOTA 2063, plus what I mentioned before,

4) Dunkelzahn is more or less the dragon version of Oprah. He probably has an ebook club too.

5) UB = Good. They are 100% above board. No secrets there.

6) SURGE hasn't happened.

7) Berlin is still an anarchist city.

Restrict player access to the history lowdown in the basic book.

Don

You're forgetting the most important: Fuchi is still the second largest megacorp in the world. ; Wuxing is just a second-tier extraterritorial megacorp ; Cross isn't even extraterritorial ; Novatech simply does not exist.

Well, the a group of corps brought it under control during the Corp War (when your attention was on the American theatre) in German material. A section of town remains an anarch stronghold but most of it is back under control. The post clean up situation was developed in DidS2 and is now available to the english audience in SoE.

That sucks. Time to go out and start all sorts of threads on how "Shadowrun is dying!"

~J

Berlin may be gone but now you've got GeMiTo to have fun with.

You can find a list of when the different sourcebooks are set here on Gurth's page, courtesy of the Wayback Machine though since his site seems to be on the fritz. Gives you everything you need to know.

Gurth's pages are still online, he just has an extra shadowrun in the URL now: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/shadowrun/ (but they are still not updated).

Lars

The manky fucker! Funny, 'cause Google still takes you to the old none workee site.

It does if you put in the right terms. Type in prime runners. It leads to the reveiw of the book, which can then take you to the site.

Don