Just curious:

I'm a player, not a GM, but I was wondering if any of you might have any suggestions regarding possible future SR3 Sourcebook purchases, just to familiarize myself with the game and its setting.

At present, I have the following titles:

THREATS (FASA Corporation #7121);

CANNON COMPANION (FASA Corporation #7908);

THREATS 2 (FANPRO #10652);

SHADOWRUN COMPANION (FANPRO #10656);

MAGIC IN THE SHADOWS (FANPRO #10658);

RIGGER 3: REVISED (FANPRO #10662);

STATE OF THE ART: 2063 (FANPRO #10664);

SHADOWRUN THIRD EDITION MAIN RULEBOOK (FANPRO #10668);
and

STATE OF THE ART: 2064 (FANPRO #25004).

My GM says that I should also have MAN & MACHINE, at a minimum.

I was wondering if any of you might have suggestions. As my character is supposed to be a native of England, does anyone think that SHADOWS OF EUROPE, or possibly the LONDON SOURCEBOOK, would be a worthwhile investment? As our campaign primarily takes place in Seattle, I'm thinking about buying a copy of the SEATTLE SOURCEBOOK as well.

As always, thanks for any help.

--Foreigner

The "Sprawl" and "shadow of" books are good for setting.

go with Shadows of Europe. the London SB is less than swell. the Sprawl Survival Guide is absolutely invaluable. if you do stuff with deckers or otaku, pick up Matrix. the old Seattle SB is a good one to pick up, but New Seattle has more up-to-date info; personally, i use both. Shadows of North America might be worth picking up.

What year does your campaign take place in?

Adam:

Sorry, I forgot to mention that.

My bad.

As I've said, I play in Sahandrian's Play-By-America Online-Instant-Messenger campaign.

The original campaign, which has been abandoned because a number of players dropped out, was set in 2059.

The current campaign which, AFAIK, hasn't begun yet, is set in 2064.

Hope this helps.


--Foreigner

Yeah -- simply due to having more timely setting information, I'd lean towards Shadows of Europe instead of London Sourcebook, and New Seattle over Seattle Sourcebook.

As mfb mention, Sprawl Surivival Guide is also a good choice.

I'm not sure why your GM is recommending Man and Machine -- are you playing a moderately to heavily augmented character? If so, you should probably pick it up, but it's almost all crunchy bits, with very little in the way of background material.

Adam:

My character is a Magician's Way Adept, following the Hermetic tradition.

My GM suggested that I purchase MAN & MACHINE because there are a few pieces available (Smartglasses, for instance) that are covered in a bit more detail in that Sourcebook than in the Main Rulebook.

Also: Thanks for the suggestions re the other Sourcebooks.

--Foreigner

if you're interested in maxing out your character's potential, you should pick up M&M; bioware makes awakened characters awesome.

Target: Awakened Lands has some metamagics your character might be interested in picking up.

Oh, you definately want M&M. Even an adept shouldn't pass up on a chance to grab some of the delicious 'ware in there. and let's not forget new and interesting chemicals to throw in your capsule rounds. Of course, if you don't plan to initiate much (or if you're one of those holier-than-thou people who object to have a little chrome grafted into you ) you might not find your mileages worth in here. The Sprawl survival guide is nice too, but when it boils down to it, it's mostly flavour text. (And a very nice new way of designing lifestyles).

A "Shadows of" book for wherever the campaign takes place and/or your character originates from may also help you get a few good ideas as to his background. But it's not strictly necessary. Beyond tha,t you seem to be pretty much set. Any books beyond those are mostly good for thinking up new run ideas. Matrix is ok(ish) too, but not really important until the day your GM in a stroke of temporary insanity tries to incorporate a decker into the group.

mfb, Aes:

Thanks. You both make excellent points.

Incidentally, in the 2059 campaign, our group's Decker was "Sahandrian"--the very same one that posts here at Dumpshock. The part was played by the GM.

However, in the 2064 campaign, I'm not certain that we even have a Decker. Only three players from the original group, including me, will be playing with the new one--two with all-new characters.

As I'd only completed one 'run with the original group, the GM allowed me to transfer my character to the new campaign intact (but with his backstory suitably revised, of course --that way, I don't have to fill in the missing five years)--with the proviso that, in doing so, he give up the Nuyen and Karma Points that he'd earned in that 'run. Fortunately for me (or perhaps for both of us ), "The Foreigner" had only earned 5 KPs and 4,000 during that little business endeavor, so it wasn't like I was losing a lot.

--Foreigner

This is primarily addressed to Adam, but anyone else may feel free to jump in.

If I have this straight, you're saying that I need the following titles: MAN & MACHINE, NEW SEATTLE, and SHADOWS OF EUROPE.

I was thinking about purchasing a copy of MR. JOHNSON'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK as well. Would that be a good idea?

--Foreigner

I'm not saying you _need_ anything.

In general, I think if you're playing a campaign set in the present, it makes more sense to buy the books with the most up to date info, unless your GM is using the older books for some reason -- really, I'd suggest checking with him.

Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book is largely aimed at GMs. About the only section that would be useful for players is the contact list.

Pardon me, Adam.

I meant to say, "You're suggesting that it might be a good idea for me to buy the following...".

--Foreigner

As much as I'd love to tell you to buy the MJLBB (Little Black Book), as I player I don't expect you'll find it that useful. If you ever foray into GMing, I *would* recommend it, especially if you are new to GMing Shadowrun.

However, if, after you're done familiarizing yourself with the setting and would like some more, I'd like to recommend Corperate Download, Year of the Comet, and Dragons of the Sixth World. And if you're feeling a bit whimsical, you can pick up the oft maligned Cyberpirates! Above all, remember, if you love the game, support the industry and your friendly local game store.

Large Mike:

Thanks for the advice.

I'll take it under consideration.

P.S.--There AREN'T any local game stores in Gordonsville. The closest ones are in Charlottesville, about 25 miles away--and they deal mostly in comic books or other RPGs, such as RIFTS, the various GURPS titles, or DUNGEONS & DRAGONS.

That can be a bit of a problem when you don't drive due to a preexisting medical condition.

Most of the SR stuff I've purchased from stores with Internet links.

--Foreigner