So, as you have probably figured out by now I don't play Shadowrun. My friends and I however have recently decided to start with this game so here I am.
My question is two-fold:
1) What are the core rulebooks I will need to play the game (I don't know who will be the DM/GM yet, so let us assume it's going to be me). “Core rulebooks” is in reference to Dungeons and Dragons where you basically need 3 books to start as a DM/GM (players handbook, monster manual and dungeon masters handbook). For those of you who wonder... Yes, I do play D&D but where looking for another set of rules for a less "pure fantasy" campaign and Shadowrun was the winner. I especially like the fact that the campaign setting is so interwoven into the game concept so Shadowrun beat Wizard's d20 modern.
2) Since I live in Belgium (Europe) I'm heaving a hard time finding any Shadowrun related books. Al the shops I've visited so far have a lot of D&D but no Shadowrun.
Can anyone help me with that problem (e.g. does anyone know where to get the books in Belgium). (I'm not a big fan of buying stuff online)


Mr Johnson

Can't help with where to buy books (I live in Australia), but visit www.shadowrunrpg.com for a comprehensive list of books. My recomendation is buy the main source book, decide what you like and then buy the expansions once you have a feel for it...
ie -
you like magic so buy Magic in the shadows, or
you like playing cyberfreaks (no insult) buy Man and Machine, or
you wanna play a Rigger (vehicle expert) buy Rigger 3
bleh bleh blah.

Oh yeh, Shadowrun Companion is also a recomended buy...straight up.

Hope that helped.

All this is my opinion only, so just listen to my advice and make your own decisions. It's your pocketbook, not mine or anyone else's.

Since you're just trying out the game for the first time, I'd recommend ONLY buying the core rulebook and nothing else. You don't need any other books to play and it'll be cheaper if you find out it's not for you. If you don't believe me and have the urge to buy more than one book, I'd say get First Run as it has a set of three adventures which are pretty easy for new players/GMs to run (FOOD FIGHT!!!!).

If you decide Shadowrun's for you, the very first book you should get IMO is Magic in the Shadows. It opens up the magic system greatly by adding in different types of magical characters than Adept/Mage/Shaman, lets you advance your characters through Initiation and metamagics, and throws a whole bunch of little magical nasties for the GM to use against the players.

Your second buy (or if you don't have any magically-active PCs and aren't interested in exploring advanced magic rules) is Man and Machine. It's a big pretty catalog for the cyberware lover in you, plus bioware, nanoware, and other nice toys. Canon Companion's another good buy for a group of mundanes as it has loads of new guns, ammo, gear, and other toys for everyone to play with. Shadowrun Companion's pretty good as well for alternate character generation through the points system, fleshing out your characters with Edges and Flaws, and loads of info on different mechanics you can use.

Finally, as far as rulebooks go, the other two books of Matrix and Rigger 3: Revised....ONLY get these if someone's playing a decker or a rigger. Otherwise, it's a waste of money to buy right off the bat and a waste of time to read rules you'll never use.

For flavor, make sure to get Spawl Survival Guide. It basically takes the setting and makes it come alive. It should also be your first "game world" book. One major difference between Shadowrun and D&D you'll notice fast is that outside the rulebooks (Core, Magic in the Shadows, Canon Companion, Matrix, Rigger, Shadowrun Companion) and adventure books, ALL the Shadowrun sourcebooks are written by characters within the game world. For a D&D equivilent, it would be as though Drizzt wrote all the books telling you the background of Forgotten Realms with all sorts of people living in the Realms chiming in with their two cents. This is, to me, what makes Shadowrun the best roleplaying game in existance. I spend MUCH more time reading the sourcebooks for enjoyment rather than reading them for gaming information.

State of the Art: 2063 (and the soon-to-be-release State of the Art: 2064) are great books that showcase the Shadowrun style of sourcebooks. SotA: 2063 has info on new metamagic techniques, new military-spec gear, new security measures, and a section on sports and entertainment in the Shadowrun world that will help flesh out your game world even more.

Other sourcebooks you might want to get are some location books (New Seattle, Shadows of North America, Shadows of Europe) to give more depth to your game world as well as a few of the "metaplot" books like Renraku Arcology: Shutdown, Dragons of the Sixth World, and Year of the Comet. Honestly, though, by the time you get to the point where you're picking up those books, you'll know exactly what you're looking for.

As to where to purchase books, almost and bookstore can special order the books that are still in print for you (though not nearly as reliably as your local gaming store) and sometimes their distributors will have out of print books left in stock. Check around comic book/gaming stores first, though, as you might find used copies cheaper (just make sure to get the 3rd Edition of the Core Rules). I would suggest eBay, but a large bulk of the auctions for Shadowrun stuff there is from the US and many of the sellers don't ship overseas (make sure to check the auction BEFORE you bid if you go this route). I don't know if hopping national borders is as common in Europe as it is to hop state borders in the US, but Germany has a large Shadowrun following and you may have better luck looking there for books if you can't find any near you.

I want to stress this again though...the ONLY book you need to buy in order to play Shadowrun is the Shadowrun 3rd Edition book (the one with the big troll with a huge gun on the cover that looks like he's hanging onto a water tank or something in an industrial plant). The other books can come later.

If you want some advice on how to start out playing, the first thing you should do is read the book as much as you can, esp. the "How It Came To Pass" section. The game world of Shadowrun is its strongest selling point, and this will help give you a feel for it. Also, IGNORE the vehical/drone combat and decking rules altogether until you've gotten the rest of the rules down. It's not that they're complex per se, it's just that it's a bit much to learn an entirely new character generation system, skill system, combat system, magic system, etc. and then throw in the rules on decking and rigging. I say wait until you've got the rest figured out before you bother with those two aspects of the game. (Don't get me wrong, rigging is cool and most of my characters I play are deckers, but neither type of character is totally essential to playing the game when you first start out).

Hope my long-winded essay helps you out some, and feel free to post any questions you may have. We're always ready to help out a new player here.

The Abstruse One

Hi there, welcome to our little corner in the web.

Start with the very basic: Shadowrun Third Edition (aka the Big Black Book or BBB, some people here call it that way).

If and only if you decide to expand your Shadowrun library, I seriously suggest getting both the Gamemaster Screen (which includes the Critters book) and Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book (to be released in early September).

Why the latter? Whoever's going to run the game will certainly appreciate this GM companion, as SR can be a bit complex to tame at first. Check its introduction to learn more about its content.

Once you're done with those two, you might like to expand the rules on magic, Matrix, riggers, cyberware and combat gear. Each of them has a book (Magic in the Shadows and Matrix being my personal favorites as first picks, though you might want to wait to learn the basics before tryind decking and rigging). Both players and gamemasters will certainly appreciate the Shadowrun Companion, as it has plenty for both of them.

If you want more setting information, you can start with New Seattle, which gives you the "default setting" circa 2060.

Before getting the continental books, buy Corporate Download to learn all the dirt about the Powers That Be in SR. Sprawl Survival Guide has information on everyday life in the Sixth World (plus a very good story for you to read).

Once you want to do some runs or campaigns in other countries, you can try Shadows of North America, or Shadows of Europe, which has just been released.

If you're ever puzzled about something, ask here or go to The Ancient Files. The latter is a bit of a spoiler for new players, though GMs will love it. As a side bonus, it has all the short stories published by FASA--players can read them with no great harm.

As for getting said books, there are several online retailers that ship to Europe (Stiggybaby.com, Leisure Games, etc), though I think the Eurogamers here will be of more help than me.

Hope that helps.

JongWK

EDIT: Dammit, Abstruse's beat me to it.

I prefer quality to quantity.

As has been stated, Shadowrun's main BBB is all that's required to play. Magic in the Shadows and Man & The Machine are probably the second and third books you'd want to buy, as they expand your options greatly without making the game much more complex.

From there, it depends on what you want to do. Other rulebooks to consider are Matrix and Rigger 3, although those add complexity to the rules, and their focus is narrower than the aforementioned books. Cannon Companion is handy for the materialistic, since it appends the list of equipment available to players, but it's not really required. Shadowrun Companion is mostly an optional rules expansion, so it's only recommended after you're pretty comfortable with the setting and want to try new things. The Gamemaster's Screen is helpful, but overpriced; the main appeal is that it includes Critters, the only up-to-date booklet of shadowrun's beasts and monsters. They're not really necessary to run the game, however, as (meta)human adversaries will usually be much more challenging and useful anyway.

New Seattle and Corporate Download are the best setting sourcebooks out right now. Seattle is the default Shadowrun setting; even if you don't want to run there forever, New Seattle is helpful for understanding how a mostly urban game like Shadowrun fits together. Corporate Download is very useful in outlining a team's employers and enemies. Beyond those two, SOTA 2063 and Sprawl Survival Guide are decent expansions, with new rules and information on life in Shadowrun. SOTA also includes some new gear, and new magical and technological techniques.

By the time you've gotten as far as buying most of the stuff recommended, you'll probably know what you're looking for.

Thank you all for taking the time to wright you're clear and instructive posts. I'll start of with the "Shadowrun Third Edition" book and if (when) I like it I'll move on to the rest.
Thx

Mr Johnson



"It's all getting clear to me", Mr Johnson said as he walked into the darkened room.

As for where to get the books in Belgium, I have heard that Leisure Games in the UK may be your best bet, as they will ship to you fairly quickly. I'm sure someone can provide the link if you can't find it.

Welcome to 2064 chummer!

We're all hopeless addicts hope it brings you as much enjoyment as it does many of us!

Well chummers,
I'm currently calling around like crazy to find a shop that can order the third edition core book for me. I'm halfway through the list of possible shops (without finding any) but I'm not giving up...
And there is of course still the Internet (although I hate the conscept of buying online).

Why the hatred of the concept?

~J

Well I know my personal problem with on-line buying is with reliability of the local postal service. Where I live now is notorious for losing, delaying and utterly mangling my stuff.
I signed up to for a con and didn't get my con packet until 7 months after the con was over. I got a birthday present mailed to me in September at christmas. I've gotten birthday and christmas cards month or two late, just bought a couple of art portfolios and some rare comic back issues only to find them both folded bent and crammed in the miniscule mailbox.
I've had previous landlords give me shit and attitude cause I purchased D&D books on-line and by catalogue. (they didn't like 'devil worshipers' living in their building.)
Or else like one poor guy I knew, his parents didn't like the fact he played RPG's and checked his mail for stuff and burned his first Players Handbook. I had to order his stuff for him and give it to him.
Then there's the usual big hinderance, no credit card. (I suffer from this myself.)

There's lots of reasons to avoid buying on-line.

Sounds like you need a PO. Box.

People still burn D&D stuff? That's like, so 1980s.

they're not much better in parts of PA either.

Aires, do you speak French ? If so, try www.shadowforums.com, people from Belgium lurk there, and as France is not far, many people could help you find ways of buying SR stuff.

About the books:
- if you want to start a game real fast without learning too much, and without spending too much money, try Quick Start Rules. 70 pages roughly, containing basic and simplified rules and a "sit and play" adventure. Something like 7$. Try it, and if you enjoy it, you can invest more, while passing Quick Start Rules to someone else that will become a new SR addict
- when you're sure you're willign to invest in Shadowrun, then the rulebook is a first buy. About Sixth world knowledge, Sprawl Survival Guide will introduce you with everyday life in 2061, and Johnson Little Black Book will I think be of great help for the GM. Corporate Download will describe the big players of the Sixth World: the corpporations. Plenty of game ideas. About location books, choose where you want to play your campaign. If it's in Europe, then Shadows of Europe is a must, if it's in Seattle, Shadows of North America and New Seattle are your next buys. The Gamemaster's screen will finally hide the GM dice rolls and remind him some tables, and is accompanied wit ha small guide about "monsters & spirits" (spirits are already described enough in the rulebook to start playing, as they are quite used by magicians). If you want more rules, you'll find magic rules (Magic in the Shadows), Matrix rules (Matrix, and Target: Matrix for more background/game material), Rigger rules (Rigger 3 Revised), Cyberware/bioware/wound-healing rules (Man & Machine, plenty of "cybergear"), more rules about guns (Cannon Companion, plenty of weapon/armor gear, rules about martial arts...). But really, you ca nstart with the rulebook, a guide book and a location book.

I also lived in Belgium from 89-95, while I was in the US Army. I started playing SR right after it was released in 89.

Because there was no 'on-line' ordering back then, I got most of my books from a small gaming/comic shop outside the front gate of Ramstein Air Base in K-town - it might still be open. Sorry, but I can't remember the name (yeah, I know, big help), but if you're also US military, or have connections to some who are, you may be able to ask around a bit.

Well,
I've found a little shop in Brussels that will have the book (Shadowrun 3rd edition) in about two weeks time so the wait is almost over.
Only another 1209600 seconds to go...
1209599... 1209598... 1209597...
I would like to than you all for your input.

And as to why I don't like to order online:
First of all I don't like the notion of giving out a credit card number over something as unsecure as the internet.
Secondly, the Belgian postal services are not exactly know for their speed and I've also recieved postal pieces in damaged condition (resulting in a lot of bureaucratic nonsence and still leaving me with the damaged stuff).
But now I have a store that can get me the books so everything is pefect.

Ah, ok, those both qualify as practical concerns (the first may not be as much of a concern as some believe, but it's still practical). I thought you meant you quite literally had a problem with the concept of ordering goods online rather than the actual implementation

~J