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| Wizards of the Coast wasn't the only publisher at Gen Con this year, of course. FanPro, in association with Wizkids, put out the latest version of the magic/cyberpunk RPG Shadowrun. Now in its Fourth Edition, the setting has received its most serious overhaul to date. The basic mechanic has been reworked, major advancements have been made to the state of in-game technology, and the political boundaries of the North American Nations have been redrawn. Though the plot elements are compelling, the new simplicity of the core game mechanic will be the most widely felt change. Previous editions of Shadowrun required a player or GM to roll a number of six-sided dice equal to a skill or attribute, with the intent of hitting a target number determined by the situation. The lowest a target number could get was 2, but the sky was the limit for difficulty. The fluidity of combat often meant there would be high target numbers, which required a participant to roll a six on a die, so that the six could be rerolled and a higher number achieved. Fourth Edition does away with this clumsiness, with all dice rolled in the game now seeking either a five or a six to be determined a hit. All rolls are made with a number of dice equal to the requisite attribute + skill combination. Penalties result in fewer dices being rolled at the outset, and the GM is encouraged to assess penalties on the fly rather than being confined by arcane tables. The simplicity of this mechanic allows for the GM to gain a better grip on the fast and loose nature of combat in the real world, the astral plane, and the virtual reality of the Matrix. Speaking of the Matrix, the most important plot change is probably the advent of a wireless Matrix. The old "decks" have been removed in favour of an Artificial Reality overlay to normal vision. This requires computer criminals to come on-site with the rest of the Shadowrun team in order to participate, and opens up the role of the hacker in the game to a previously unknown degree. I've been playing Shadowrun for 15 years now, and I'm very excited about the changes this latest edition have brought around. Here's hoping FanPro follows up the new edition with some material that allows us to better come to grips with the setting changes. |
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| The simplicity of this mechanic allows for the GM to gain a better grip on the fast and loose nature of combat in the real world, the astral plane, and the virtual reality of the Matrix. |
What horseshit.
Interesting. Certainly not the only GenCon reviewer I've seen with similar sentiments.
Not the only person (reviewer or otherwise) I've seen with that sentiment, as well. Excellent.
Keep in mind, they're going to share the same news FanPro is sharing rather than get a whole comparative analysis like us DSF geeks demand.
I don't like the "DM is encouraged to assess penalties on-the-fly" bit. In the hands of a good DM it's okay, but in the hands of a mediore DM, it's gonna be rough. And in the hands of a DM who has a sadistic streak....
| QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685) |
| And in the hands of a DM who has a sadistic streak.... |
It'll be grim and gritty.
| QUOTE (the_dunner) | ||
It'll be grim and gritty. |
More like "grim and uninteresting". There's nothing gritty about being jerked around by an asshole GM.
| QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685) |
| I don't like the "DM is encouraged to assess penalties on-the-fly" bit. |
When I started playing Shadowrun, I would have never expected it to turn into Calvinball. Silly me, but they managed to do just that, and it makes the game overall just so much worse. God forbid the game has any sense of consistency.
| QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685) |
| I don't like the "DM is encouraged to assess penalties on-the-fly" bit. In the hands of a good DM it's okay, but in the hands of a mediore DM, it's gonna be rough. And in the hands of a DM who has a sadistic streak.... |
You know, I've found that no matter how good the system is, if the DM/GM is shitty and/or sadistic, the game will suck. And I will pack my bags.
Conversely, with a good GM, a poor system will still make for a good game. A great system will make for an even better game.
And if you have a system that encourages GM's to keep the game moving and make things up instead of getting bogged down, a good GM will shine and the game will be that much better.
From what I have seen of SR4, the system does encourage that kind of thinking. Although there are some other things I dislike about it, I think this is a good change.
Derek
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