Hoi chummer! - The Online Shadowrun TTRPG Thread Returns!

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Youkoso! Or welcome, if you prefer!

So, this is the thread for GWJ's second attempt at putting together a online Shadowrun RPG game. If you're anything like me, you've been enraptured by Harebrained Scheme's recent output with SR, and want to head back to that world for more double-crosses, drek and datasteals, and hopefully, that's what we're gonna put together here.

This would be a game using the just released Shadowrun: Sixth World ruleset.

I should note, this is a thread for people interested in getting together to play the actual Shadowrun tabletop RPG game, not a thread to talk about Harebrained Schemes' awesome games. Just FYI.

I'd be the GM, as I've got a soul-consuming hankering to do that gig again. Prior to this, I'd gotten to run a absolutely wonderful 5th Edition SR game with me, gains, IHateDRM, EvilSkillit and a real-life bud of mine that lasted over an entire year, so I'm hoping maybe to strike lucky twice.

Our Current PCs:

None

Scheduling:

Games would have to happen on Mondays or Tuesdays, as those are my only days off currently. Based on previous experience, they'd last 4-5 hours apiece.

Tools:

Roll20! Had a lot of fun messing around in this.

Communication:

Discord

In-game developments, GM notes, and other game-related material will be handled via e-mail once we get running. This thread is used primarily for post-session wrap-up notes, where players and observers can follow the plot so far!

Other Notes/Supplements:

Not a lot! Shadowrun: Sixth World is still in its infancy, so there's basically only the core rulebook available, along with two world-building supplements.

Anything Else:

Null.

So if you're interested, let me know! Seeya later Chummer!

:O

Edit: I want to do this so bad, but know I can't logistically swing it. Green with envy over here.

1.) I have no problem, once we get settled, with a drop-in person or two every now and then.

2.) Schedule might change down the road. Live in hope!

Omg keep me posted.

Sunday and Saturday are really the only times I can play as I work nights so if the time changes out of that I'm afraid I will have to back out. Which is totally fine but just a heads up.

Pencil me in.

Is it going to be more story or more dice rolling? Thanks!

IHateDRM wrote:

Sunday and Saturday are really the only times I can play as I work nights so if the time changes out of that I'm afraid I will have to back out. Which is totally fine but just a heads up.

No worries! Like I said, I'm sure Mondays are nigh-impossible for most people, so Sundays are the days that work best for me.

karmajay wrote:

Is it going to be more story or more dice rolling? Thanks!

Well, that's not just up to me, but up to the people who will be playing as well. I personally like a game that leans more towards the story/RPG side, but I certainly wouldn't eschew the dice-rolling, especially since that can be an important and thrilling part of the story experience!

But before we even start in earnest, once we get a set number of players, I'd like to have a "Session Zero" where we'll sit down, work through character creation together and we can discuss what we're looking for from the game and (ideally) find a happy medium.

Sundays are...tricky for me because thats when I usually get together with my IRL group to play Star Wars but I can be off on that group for this! The trick will be me travelling for work. I think I'll be in Mexico that weekend so depending on times and Internet, I may be unavailable.

ITS. HAPPENING!
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/7drHiqr.gif)

Hey, if this all shakes out, maybe we'll run session zero on November 27th (maybe the 20th, if we get a set group of people and we're all feeling especially daring). Failing that, maybe December 11th or 18th (the 25th is out, for obvious reasons).

I realize I didn't mention up top, this is a 5th Edition Shadowrun game. I'll add that above.

I'd be cool with either the 20 or 27 but my finances are a bit tied up in medical bills so I won't have read the core rule book by then.

If you need another person I'll be willing to give it a try. However, I might be rather gross at times and every now and then I might have to bail. Medical problems but I only had to write off stuff twice in the last couple of months because of my issues.

Never played the game and haven't read the books. I have played D&D and I was a DM for a time. Any interested parties should be given more priority over me.

If you need another person I'll be willing to give it a try. However, I might be rather gross at times and every now and then I might have to bail. Medical problems but I only had to write off stuff twice in the last couple of months because of my issues.

Never played the game and haven't read the books. I have played D&D and I was a DM for a time. Any interested parties should be given more priority over me.

Ain't nothing wrong with having an alternate or two on hand!

One of the nice things about SR is that the mission-by-mission, job-by-job structure a lot of campaigns take can basically be broken up where each session takes on a particular mission. So a player falling out for a session or two wouldn't necessarily be a killer.

Think of it kinda like watching a serialized TV show. Ideally, yes, you'd want to see every episode, but the way most TV shows these days go, you can miss a chunk of episodes without getting TOTALLY lost. I'm not gonna be making Breaking Bad here, where missing one episode would just about cripple your ability to follow the story.

Plus (and I know I'm going on a bit here, so please bear with me), I fully intend to stay in touch with everyone between sessions via e-mail for more information, stuff your characters might do during their downtime, maybe a little plot development, so on and so forth.

So like I said, it's entirely reasonable, even within the game's world, that perhaps the team's Rigger is available for the 1st job, but not the 2nd or 3rd, but is there for the 4th. Basically, I as the GM need to ensure that, whatever mission you're doing, the Decker not being there for a session (for instance) won't utterly destroy things.

IHateDRM wrote:

I'd be cool with either the 20 or 27...

Well, let's get down to brass tacks then.

As I said, I'd like us to start with a "Session Zero", where we all discuss what we're looking to get out of the game, create characters, et cetera.

Now, as of this moment, I am beginning a long-deserved and much-needed period of time off from work, meaning that I won't be back in the office again until the 22nd. Given that I also have no concrete plans for anything, that means I'm free for... well, anything this week. I oughtta be finished with the core book by Wednesday, and I know explaining a lot of the concepts would help me understand them better as well.

Anyway, so if people want and their schedules work, we can do our SZ on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday... get the drift?

The only, only reticence I have is that I don't want there to be so much time between SZ and the first ACTUAL game that we lose any momentum, but I'm sure we can make it work.

And if any point in the next 8 days doesn't work for everyone, again, the 27th, the 4th, the 11th and the 18th are all other possible dates.

but my finances are a bit tied up in medical bills so I won't have read the core rule book by then.

Absolutely no worries. The sources I mentioned in the original are really helpful for getting the most important basics down. We're all learning here.

Hey Pred,

How do you feel about Decking in a full group online? Is that a no-go in general or something you plan to incorporate. Last time I played SR (3rd Edition I believe) we found Decking to be a bit...unwieldy at the table: It put the focus on one person for far too long. I think if you interspersed the decking rounds into rounds of other characters doing stuff, that might help (as opposed to the decking being resolved by itself then the decker being kind of out of it) but I'm not sure how 5th plays with it.

Either way I look forward to all of it and am a sucker for communication and email outside of the game.

I'm available basically anytime before 4PM MT if everyone wants to do sezzion zer0 (I'm trying to get into the cyberpunk mood ;)) But I work nights so any other time weekdays doesn't really work for me.

I too remember Decking in 3rd Edition, and yeah, it could drag games down into a slog pretty easily.

That said, they do appear have to addressed that a bit by 5th Ed., and most advice I've seen goes along what you described, namely interspersing the Matrix action with the real-life stuff if, say, your decker is trying to hack open that locked door while the security team closes in. Like I said, I'm not all the way through the 5E book (might finish tonight!) so we'll see if the people at Catalyst Game Labs address this issue themselves.

IHateDRM wrote:

I'm available basically anytime before 4PM MT if everyone wants to do sezzion zer0 (I'm trying to get into the cyberpunk mood ;)) But I work nights so any other time weekdays doesn't really work for me.

Well, what'd work best for people? Thursday? Friday? Saturday? Sunday? Or shall we wait until a different time?

*thread noodge*

5E book's done! and I genuinely do feel that, as opposed to prior editions, you can fold in magic, the matrix and rigging without it being TOO MUCH hassle, assuming you know what you're doing.

Now, at this point, I feel pretty secure that I have the gameplay basics down, and very secure that I can guide anyone through building a character.

So again, Session Zero. How does Saturday sound for everybody? Maybe at 5 PM EST? 7?

Well, I am technically free this Saturday, though I'd be ducking out of my birthday party to log on. I'm cool with doing that, since the mandate for my party is for everyone to just hang out and relax. I just can't stay on for too long. I expect they'll want to have the cake around that time.

By the by, there is supposed to be a SR 5E compatible character sheet available in Roll20. As you set up your campaign you should be able to select that character sheet and all players will have it on their character tab. (I haven't tested it yet myself but might be able to do that later.)

So I discovered that I may not know what I owe on the aforementioned medical bills for up to two months and I'm not waiting that long to spend $20 on a PDF. And man that PDF is a friggen tome. So far I'm thinking Face Shaman with a focus on buff and debuff spells and a minor in revolvers. It's hard to say if that's spread too thin though.

EDIT: Oh and anytime Saturday is fine by me.

Any night this week should be fine. Saturday 5PM would be a bit early for me.

gains wrote:

Well, I am technically free this Saturday, though I'd be ducking out of my birthday party to log on. I'm cool with doing that, since the mandate for my party is for everyone to just hang out and relax. I just can't stay on for too long. I expect they'll want to have the cake around that time.

LOL, well, I wouldn't want to keep you from that! Hm...

IHateDRM wrote:

And man that PDF is a friggen tome. So far I'm thinking Face Shaman with a focus on buff and debuff spells and a minor in revolvers. It's hard to say if that's spread too thin though.

EDIT: Oh and anytime Saturday is fine by me.

The core rulebook is large indeed, yes. I doubt that's gonna be spreading you too thin though.

karmajay wrote:

Any night this week should be fine. Saturday 5PM would be a bit early for me.

Hrm... okay. Here's four times:

Friday at 7 or 8 PM.
Saturday at 7 or 8 PM.
Sunday at 7 or 8 PM.

Which one would work best for people?

Well, Friday does work best, though I can swing Saturday. This Sunday's a no-go.

As far as character concepts, I'm thinking an Elf ninja type, with an emphasis on bows and putting enchantments on the arrows. No cybertech, all carried and worn gear. Maybe based on the gunslinger adept? Kind of Legolas but with more Hawkeye.

If you all want to do Friday that's fine I can just meet up with Prederick for character creation stuff if I need to. I would like to have everyone in on it but as long as the games are on a weekend I'm good.

Sat or Sun evening is fine for me also

Since Deckers won't be allowed I may want to be a rigger.

Pssssst.....Shadowrun is the best universe out there.

karmajay wrote:

Since Deckers won't be allowed I may want to be a rigger.

Did I give that impression? I absolutely did not mean to give that impression. Deckers are 10,000% A-OK. You wanna be a Decker, be a decker!

BoogtehWoog wrote:

Pssssst.....Shadowrun is the best universe out there. :)

Well DUH.

In the meantime, I've been digging around in Roll20 and I CLEARLY haven't been paying attention to RPGs these days, because that, as a tool, is goddamn amazing. It doesn't solve EVERY issue, but holy hell, it does so much heavy lifting and momentum-sapping math for players. I have been DEEPLY impressed. Every character type is on the table because of how shockingly robust this is.

Also, the world-building begins apace! The amount of tools available to me... I'm TRYING not to let my eyes get bigger than my stomach (a problem I have encountered before while GMing).

Alright, anyway, early voting says Saturday at 8 PM. Sound good to everyone?

I am extremely interested. Just tagging here because timezones may preclude and I'll have to, you know, read the thread.

8pm is 2amish here so that's not going to work for me at all. Please keep me on teh interested roster though for different times. My available window would be from 9pm CET which is 3pm EST.

Y'know, at this point, I'd have assumed that members of the Scandinavian Union would have adjusted their lives if they want to do business with us here in the UCAS.

Anyway, Maq, I'm absolutely thrilled you're interested, but I won't lie, obviously, the U.S.-to-Sweden time difference is... a thing. But the good news is, we're only up to Session Zero at the moment, and we still have not created a set schedule for when the game will be played, so as I told Ameobic, live in hope!

In other news, I've chosen a location for our game. I think it'll be fun, even if it's not a HUGE surprise pop-culture-wise.

Okay I definitely want in and was thinking Rigger or Decker but now Im not sure. As a I'm pretty Noob to Shadowrun I'd hate to take a character slot from somewhat who already has an idea of what they want to play...

You can always just make a new character later on if you go with something other then decker but decide you want to play a decker after all. Plus so long as we have the basics of Shooty person, Hacky person, and Magicky person I think having a forth who doubles up on one of those is probably fine.

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