10-09-2011, 07:58 PM
The first part of the DnD campaign will end in one to three sessions. I have plenty of plans for the next adventurers for your beloved characters. That said, however, there's been talk about playing another system at some point. Namely Shadowrun. Click me for link to wiki!.
At first I thought that we'd play the second part of the DnD 'Stranded' campaign before trying another system. Some people have been quite excited about the Shadowrun system and world though. So I pose the question: Do you want to continue on with Eberron campaign or play something bit different for a change (again, once we've finished the first part of 'Stranded' campaign)?
One should note that what ever the answer is now, we will be returning to Eberron campaign at later point or playing Shadworun at later point.
Now how does Shadowrun differ from DnD? Well it would be easier to note how it doesn't. Shadowrun is set into future on Earth at year 2070. Besides the obvious technological advancement (augmentations ala Deus Ex, Matrix and so on), magic has returned to world. There are mages, mystical races and so on. The wiki I linked should give a good picture.
Shadowrun is about playing people called shadowrunners. They are people outside the normal society who work as shadow operatives, mercenaries, thieves and so on for various organisations (mostly corporations who are the superpowers of this future). I believe the term that is often used of shadowrunners is 'deniable asset'. Everyone uses them but if they are ever caught they are on their own. You'd be playing a shadowrunner team.
The large part of RP in Shadowrun campaign I'd run is naturally centered around these jobs you'd be doing for various different organizations. Now this isn't same as getting a 'quest' to clear the next dungeon in DnD. A large part of the game (and for many the most fun part) is gathering intel, making plans, getting the right equipment, bribing the right security guard, hacking the right matrix sites, getting the getaway vehicle and so on, before the hit itself is done.
As for the RP in Shadowrun, it should be dialed a notch into more realistic and grittier direction than in DnD. Depending on how many people will end up playing, there's going to be more social RP as well than in DnD. The game is by its nature such that there are plenty of 'time jumps' of couple of weeks or month. I am going to allow solo or smaller group sessions for more social RP during these times if people are interested in such. I can do these pretty much on one day warning, since they don't require that much planning and I can just wing it
The rules, while different that in DnD, are simple and basically every roll is made using similar mechanics. You only use six sided dice in Shadowrun. Character creation and advancement is not level-based. Instead you can freely shape your character by using point build system. Later on in the game you'll be receiving experience points (called Karma) that you can yourself choose where to use to enhance the character. This makes it so that characters can be tough and useful right off the character creation. But it also means that the characters won't the greatest heroes in the world who could basically massacre armies as in DnD.
Few personal notes on Shadowrun. Shadowrun 3rd edition was the RP I played most back in the day. It has the best thought out world that I've seen in any RP. The rules have few tougher parts but the good part of the system is that most of the rule stress can be placed on the GM. I really like the system and setting of the game. It offers plenty of fast-paced fighting but is also deep in other parts of the game.
At first I thought that we'd play the second part of the DnD 'Stranded' campaign before trying another system. Some people have been quite excited about the Shadowrun system and world though. So I pose the question: Do you want to continue on with Eberron campaign or play something bit different for a change (again, once we've finished the first part of 'Stranded' campaign)?
One should note that what ever the answer is now, we will be returning to Eberron campaign at later point or playing Shadworun at later point.
Now how does Shadowrun differ from DnD? Well it would be easier to note how it doesn't. Shadowrun is set into future on Earth at year 2070. Besides the obvious technological advancement (augmentations ala Deus Ex, Matrix and so on), magic has returned to world. There are mages, mystical races and so on. The wiki I linked should give a good picture.
Shadowrun is about playing people called shadowrunners. They are people outside the normal society who work as shadow operatives, mercenaries, thieves and so on for various organisations (mostly corporations who are the superpowers of this future). I believe the term that is often used of shadowrunners is 'deniable asset'. Everyone uses them but if they are ever caught they are on their own. You'd be playing a shadowrunner team.
The large part of RP in Shadowrun campaign I'd run is naturally centered around these jobs you'd be doing for various different organizations. Now this isn't same as getting a 'quest' to clear the next dungeon in DnD. A large part of the game (and for many the most fun part) is gathering intel, making plans, getting the right equipment, bribing the right security guard, hacking the right matrix sites, getting the getaway vehicle and so on, before the hit itself is done.
As for the RP in Shadowrun, it should be dialed a notch into more realistic and grittier direction than in DnD. Depending on how many people will end up playing, there's going to be more social RP as well than in DnD. The game is by its nature such that there are plenty of 'time jumps' of couple of weeks or month. I am going to allow solo or smaller group sessions for more social RP during these times if people are interested in such. I can do these pretty much on one day warning, since they don't require that much planning and I can just wing it
The rules, while different that in DnD, are simple and basically every roll is made using similar mechanics. You only use six sided dice in Shadowrun. Character creation and advancement is not level-based. Instead you can freely shape your character by using point build system. Later on in the game you'll be receiving experience points (called Karma) that you can yourself choose where to use to enhance the character. This makes it so that characters can be tough and useful right off the character creation. But it also means that the characters won't the greatest heroes in the world who could basically massacre armies as in DnD.
Few personal notes on Shadowrun. Shadowrun 3rd edition was the RP I played most back in the day. It has the best thought out world that I've seen in any RP. The rules have few tougher parts but the good part of the system is that most of the rule stress can be placed on the GM. I really like the system and setting of the game. It offers plenty of fast-paced fighting but is also deep in other parts of the game.