Shadowrun: 3 games in 1?
 

Am I the only person that feels that Shadowrun is like three seperate games packed into one? After spending the last year trying to wrap my head around 4th edition mechanics, I am constantly getting muddled trying to keep tabs on all the ins and outs of combat.

There's standard combat, than magic, than techno-combat. Magic I can actually grasp and I've been fairly successful at getting a feel for it. Techno-combat still has me breathless to understand. the 4th edition book seems fairly sloppily put together, having you bounce back and forth fifteen times minimum from the back of the book to the front just to create a character is a nightmare.

One thing I will say, I love their new skill techniques. rather than a d20, you have opposing d6es. No longer can a rookie have a chance at criticaling a pro. If you have 1 skill point in gunz0rs and I have 6, I roll 6 dice and you roll 1. That makes it far more worthwhile imho compared to a d20 system.

Anywho. Any thoughts on Shadowrun? Can anyone out there possibly break techno-combat down for me into something not involving calculus?

*nods* Duly noted sir. :)

I didn't make myself clear in the description of the forum, so I added in an addendum to the rules.

Thanks. :) Now. Someone help me please. I love the universe, and I love the ruleset, I just need to give my group's technomancer a feeling of usefulness....

Tech characters are designed to fight in their own world, Ty. They fight over the internets in life and death combat with little cords jacked into their heads. They face Black Ice on every dangerous run they do.

Techies are incredibly powerful, if you give them situations to use their techiness- They aren't much good outside of the matrix.

Aye, but it's that whole techie combat that eludes me, it's like a whole new set of factors and information.

Exactly- Techie combat is ENTIRELY different, because it's fought in an entirely different world. Let whoever is playing the Techie read about it and explain it with you and the two of you work out what you feel would do best. ((Techie didn't translate well into 4th addition, I agree.))

*nods* Yeah... I should probably do that... anything to shirk learnign a whole new ruleset while trying to master the main one is aces in my book. I still wish I found others nearby who liked 4th ed and weren't omfgorgasm for 3rd... I have a broken pistol ninja. Using the standard 300 points I made a human that had .15 essence, but had max agi, cha, and rea. Sadly he's lactose intolerant, magic susceptible up the yazzoo, and susceptible as hell to drug addictions, of which he has a couple...

If any of yous in WA state, specifically in the greater seattle area, would be up for a Weekend Shadowrun game (Saturdays most likely as Sundays is God's day), hit me up and we can get an NPF group togetha.

Hey, Sundays are for rest, we're still allowed to play. If I could get there I'd play.