Shadowrun Goes to 6th Eddition

[tekwych 1752xp 1]

Catalyst Game Labs has announced the 6th addition of Shadowrun will be released in June at GenCon (https://www.shadowrunsixthworld.com). 6 updates too the rule set in 30 years is a pretty good average for the only RPG (to my knowledge) except D&D that has been in continuous publication for 30 years (at least 2 products for the RPG have been published every year for all 30 years). OTT has had some great coverage so far (Return To The Sixth World and Catalyst Present The Full Line Up For Shadowrun, Sixth Edition) but for those who haven’t heard of Shadowrun it is an RPG set in a dystopian near future where computers, augmented reality, Virtual reality, and drones are a part of everyday life (I did say near future) but magic has returned to the world (The sixth time our world has gone through the ebb and flow of magical power). Corporations run the world and the magical races (Elves, Dwarfs, Orks, Trolls) have returned. Aborigines and Native Americans have used the magic to take back mush of their ancestral lands, War has savaged much Europe and the Middle East and the United Canadian and American States elected a Great Western Dragon as their President (and then assassinated him).

What could be better than playing a Dwarf that remotely pilots flying gun drones with his mind, a Human that throws fireballs and animates street trash as a community elemental, a troll that uses pintle mount heavy machine guns as his sidearm, or an Elf that sends his consciousness into computers in order to hack into information.

If this interests you the take a look at And So It Came To Pass, a timeline for the Shadowrun universe. The 6th addition will be advancing the world into the 2080s and streamlining many of the mechanics to work better with modern expectations for RPG gamers. A community page bring together all the known information for the new addition can be found in this Google Document.

Is this a RPG setting that would interest you? Have you been playing Shadowrun and for how long? What do you think of these new 6th edition rules?

[sundancer 42976xp 1]

can’t remember when it was the last time I played the RPG… the last Shadowrun I played was on PC.

[tekwych 1752xp 0]

Well you have 7 choices for video games: Shadowrun (1993), Shadowrun (1994), and Shadowrun (1996) were all console only. Shadowrun (2007) Was Windows and Xbox (and BAD) while Shadowrun Chronicles Boston Lockdown (2014-2018) was online only and plagued with code and server issues. All the online servers have been shut down at the time. Shadowrun Returns (2013) and its sequels, Shadowrun Dragonfall Directors cut (2014), and Shadowrun Hong Kong (2015) are still going, let you move character between them and were produced my the man who helped create the Shadowrun universe all the way back in 1989

[sundancer 42976xp 1]

The later three from Harebrained Schemes. I backed the first one on Kickstarter. Very good invested money. (Also loving their Battletech game)

 

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Designed and produced by Jordan Weisman, the man who help create the Shadowrun Universe (and Batteltech) He is also behind Turso of the Sea, Golem Arcana, Mage Knight (and creator of the HeroClix dial). I have hundreds of hours into those games on Steam.

Personally I think you can’t go  wrong  with Jordans stuff. if I see his name on a game I will spend money sight unseen.

[sundancer 42976xp 0]

Personally I think you can’t go wrong with Jordans stuff. if I see his name on a game I will spend money sight unseen.

Well, Golem Arcana didn’t go that well if I recall correctly 😉 Still very much excited for the next Mechwarrior game.

[tekwych 1752xp 0]

Golem Arcana was a good game design but pushed technology to its limit and cost more than most people would pay. Yes it crashed and burned but, IMO, it was marketing and manufacturing that killed it, not game design.

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It feels as though I just bought the 5th edition collector’s book on release at Gen Con, but I haven’t had a chance to actually play it. I’m going to be tempted to jump on this one, but I should probably hold off, as I have enough RPGs on my plate right now.

[lordsanes 6512xp 1]

Same, I’m eyeballing this because I enjoyed shadowrun games so much but I’m still not sure.

[tekwych 1752xp 0]

I also thought 5th was not that old but it was 2012 that it released. 6 editions in 30 years averages to 5 years per edition so not that bad really.

[nteger 538xp 0]

Yeah, I guess it has been that long. *Sigh*

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Today we got some more insight into what 6th edition will look like with the article  Shadowrun, Sixth World Developer Overview. A primary goal is to make the game move faster both in the game world and the real world and how sliming down the game might work. The new Edge system, a new combat system and a third of the options for skills is just the starting point.

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For those in the USA, Alliance Distribution has pre-orders up for the first 4 items:

Shadowrun Beginner Box, $24.99 (June) – Core Rules
Shadowrun Sixth World Core Rulebook, $49.99 (August) – Core Rules
Neo-Anarchist Streetpedia, $34.99 (June) – Setting Sourcebooks
No Future, $49.99 (July) – Setting Sourcebooks

The other items are still to far out to be confirmed. Any FLGS should be able to order these for you. In the EU Pegasus Spiele, I believe, will retain the German rights for the Shadowrun IP.

[onlyonepinman 18060xp 0]

Have they changed the mechanics in any way?  I know there was a rumour of a major overhaul, curious to know whether it bears any resemblance to the previous editions or whether they have gone for something new.  I’m interested either way, I’m not really in love with the mechanics of the game, it’s the setting I like.

[limburger 21705xp 0]

@onlyonepinman : the google doc mentions that they still use dice pools which is the one thing I never like in any game because the effect of extra or fewer dice requires an advanced math/statistics skill check to verify 🙁
 

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