Hi,

Trying to cut down my Shadowrun collection to something like 1 rule book and 3-5 supps (fewer the better).  If you were going to buy 1 Shadowrun rulebook and 3-5 supps what would you get?  Another caveat, I have the 2nd and 3rd ed rulebooks and mostly 2nd with some 3rd ed suppliments.

Any ideas?


P.S. You can make a case for me buying the 4th ed rulebook, but it better be good...

4e iz gud. i lik 4e. it gav me a pupy. i lik pupys.

Best I could muster on short notice.

You know, the best Shadowrun I've ever played was with the core book and the CalFree splat.  We were running an NWA-style Oakland game and not having to deal with Rigger stupidity, Zurich Orbital, President Dunkindonuts and elf conspiracies was incredibly freeing.

Bare bones "Say-hey-Mr. Johnson, howsabout some work?" Shadowrun, and it was a blast.

Here's how you cull your Shadowrun collection.

You get all the Shadowrun books and divide them into Core, Tech and Setting piles.

Then you set fire to all of them and scatter the ashes into the surf of a mighty ocean.  Smoke a cigarette, have a nice evening out with some friends, make love to your woman if you have one.

Then go and buy a proper game.

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalHere's how you cull your Shadowrun collection.

You get all the Shadowrun books and divide them into Core, Tech and Setting piles.

Then you set fire to all of them and scatter the ashes into the surf of a mighty ocean.  Smoke a cigarette, have a nice evening out with some friends, make love to your woman if you have one.

Can I just sell them on eBay instead?  I really need more money to spend on more RPG books I'll never use...

Quote from: Mr. AnalyticalThen go and buy a proper game.

Such as?

I fear the answer.

Quote from: rcsampleHi,

Trying to cut down my Shadowrun collection to something like 1 rule book and 3-5 supps (fewer the better).  If you were going to buy 1 Shadowrun rulebook and 3-5 supps what would you get?  Another caveat, I have the 2nd and 3rd ed rulebooks and mostly 2nd with some 3rd ed suppliments.

Any ideas?

It'd be nice if you could provide a list of titles first.

EDIT: Depending on what you have, I might be interested.

QuoteP.S. You can make a case for me buying the 4th ed rulebook, but it better be good...

How about these reviews? :cool:

RPGnet review #1

RPGnet review #2

Gaming Report review

Quote from: JongWKIt'd be nice if you could provide a list of titles first.

I have quite a few, here are most (if not all):

Rulebook 3rd Ed.
Quick Start Rules
Gamemaster's Screen
Sprawl Sites
Lone Star
Bug City
Threats
Underworld Sourcebook
Cyberpirates
Corpoate Download
Man & Machine: Cyberware
Native American Nations Vol. 1
London Sourcebook
Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America
Native American Nations Vol. 2
Neo-Anarchists The Guide to Real Life
Tir Tairngire
Tir Na Nog
Denver: The City of Shadows
Aztlan
New Seattle
DNA/DOA
Mercurial in Concert
Dreamchipper
Queen Euphoria
Bottled Demon
Harlequin
Dragon Hunt
Total Eclipse
Imago
Elven Fire
A Killing Glare
Celtic Double-Cross
Divided Assets
Double Exposure
Harlequin's Back
Missions
Renraku Arcology Shutdown
First Run
Corporate Punishment
Rulebook 2nd Ed.
Virtual Realities 2.0
Companion
Magic in the Shadows
Cannon Companion
Matrix
Rigger 3
Year of the Comet
Gamemaster's Screen 3rd Ed.

Actually... I don't really rate any cyberpunk game.  Cyberpunk itself increasingly loses the plot over time and is a really untidy, poorly thought out little game that gets more and more unhinged as the editions go past.

Ex Machina's a good try but the system's awkward so flexible it's practically generic.

I don't know what the D20 cyberpunk games are like.

Actually, don't burn your Shadowrun books... just run it without the magic and the elves.  The system's as good as any other even if it is massively over-powered.

That's a good point actually... are there ANY unimpeachable cyberpunk games out there?

That's a pretty collection.

If you happen to be interested in SR4, perhaps we might be able to arrange an exchange?

Unimpeachable is an impossible standard for RPGs.

rcsample, that book list made my blood run cold.  I forgot how completely out of control that game line got.

I found most Shadowrun setting books rather disappointing. Even the basic setting with its rather strange dissection of the USA looks a wee bit unrealistic.
And the technical stuff was basically done for power creep. If one character had something from a newer book, he was often better than the old characters (and don't get me going about the poor physical adepts).

So what's left to run a decent Shadowrun campaign? I'd pitch in for the 4E core rules. I've never liked the SR system, but the fourth edition has come a long way. No more useless weapons and invincible trolls, no more starting characters able to out-shoot John Wayne, and even a better outlet for the netrunners/deckers/hackers and riggers. That's probably a better package than all the collected tech-books of previous editions.

For the setting, much depends on how you like the SR treatment. If you like them and they've got something close to your homeplace, that saves you a lot of work. Or if you don't find it as perfect as you'd like, you could get something _far_ away, where most players don't notice some stupid stuff and the suspension of disbelief isn't going to wreck itself.
Or you'll get a city map and get creative yourself...

I'm not all too familiar with the new 4E books, so I can't make any more specific recommendations. If _I_ want to play SR again, I'd use the fourth edition core book, some Cyberpunk Chromebooks and background supplements from ICE's Cyberspace. YMMV

Quote from: JongWKThat's a pretty collection.

If you happen to be interested in SR4, perhaps we might be able to arrange an exchange?

See PM.

You still haven't answered my question though, what would you keep, either as "the 3rd ed. rulebook + these supps would be all you need" or "get SR4 and use the following 2nd/3rd ed suppliments from your list."?

There are few SR4 books so far:

-SR4 core

-Runner Havens (Hong Kong and Seattle, plus four setting in lesser detail: Caracas, Istanbul, Cape Town and Hamburg).

-Street Magic (advanced magic rules)

- On the Run (intro adventure)

- GM Screen w/contacts and adventures booklet

Quote from: fonkaygarryrcsample, that book list made my blood run cold.  I forgot how completely out of control that game line got.

Yeah, it's taking up a whole shelf in one of my RPG bookcases.

Definitely had supplementitis, supplimentiasis, eh, whatever...

Quote from: rcsampleSee PM.

You still haven't answered my question though, what would you keep, either as "the 3rd ed. rulebook + these supps would be all you need" or "get SR4 and use the following 2nd/3rd ed suppliments from your list."?

Definitely sell:
Rulebook 3rd Ed.
Quick Start Rules
Gamemaster's Screen
Rulebook 2nd Ed.
Virtual Realities 2.0
Companion
Magic in the Shadows
Cannon Companion
Matrix
Rigger 3
Man & Machine: Cyberware
Native American Nations Vol. 1
Native American Nations Vol. 2
Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America
Neo-Anarchists The Guide to Real Life
Gamemaster's Screen 3rd Ed.
London Sourcebook
DNA/DOA
First Run
Total Eclipse

Keep or sell:
Threats
Mercurial in Concert
Dreamchipper
Queen Euphoria
Bottled Demon
Harlequin
Dragon Hunt
Elven Fire
Imago
A Killing Glare
Celtic Double-Cross
Divided Assets
Double Exposure
Harlequin's Back
Missions (good for one shots, though)
Corporate Punishment
Year of the Comet
Tir Tairngire
Tir Na Nog

Some books in this second list are very good adventures or settings, but you might want to sell them anyway.


Get SR4 and keep the following:
Sprawl Sites (locations and plot hooks)
Aztlan (excellent setting book)
Bug City (self-contained setting)
Underworld Sourcebook (great book on crime)
Corpoate Download (good info on corps)
Renraku Arcology Shutdown (self-contained setting)
New Seattle (if you don't want to buy Runner Havens)
Denver: The City of Shadows (self-contained setting)
Cyberpirates (arr!)
Lone Star (usually sells for a pretty penny, though)


Note that most of these books will be, to some extent, outdated by the ongoing metaplot. Still, they're worth keeping.