[Kirklins]

First, if this is the wrong location on the forum please move appropriately.

tl;dr I'm a GM with some SR experience who's been asked to run Learn to Play sessions of SR6we at my FLGS. I'm open to support and recommendations.

The long.
My Friendly Local Game Store in Greater Houston will be opening a section of shelves to sell Shadowrun when 6we's core rulebook is available. With the exception of a few selected sourcebooks there will be nothing but 6we.

The owner has asked me to run a once-a-month intro/learn to play session. I'll have a four hour block one Saturday a month through December -- two if there is enough interest from customers. The goal is to make the game understandable, fun, and interesting enough that a number of people buy the materials and become regular players/customers.

So you can target the comments better, I've been a GM of various games since 1974 (experience does not mean expertise or greatness but at least I've learned the basics). In that time I've run at least a few sessions of every edition of SR - though my 3 months of 5e was almost 5 years ago. So I've got opinions and I have a small idea what I'm letting myself in for.

Fixed: SR6we. Darkness level PG13 occasionally brushing R.

Rough plan points, comments not only welcome but requested.

• Setting Greater Houston because that's where the store is. I've got a roughed Greater Houston 2081 for a later campaign. On the other hand the 'things to buy' are set elsewhere. On the gripping hand using Houston simultaneously demonstrates the flexibility and reduces spoilers for the potential GMs wanting to take those locations.
• First session: 15-30 minute session zero/sales talk. What is shadowrun, and what kind of fun are you looking for? 2 hours of character building - goal is familiarity, not optimization. 1 hour of food fight just to learn the mechanics (and because ending with combat and soy-covered characters will help make up for the boredom of character creation). Down - it's boring. Up - every edition it seemed playing required at least basic understanding of the creation rules so this will probably start that process.
• Sessions 2-4. Experience doing this with other systems means I plan to have three runs prepped for each session. One for 1-3 players, one for 4-8, and one for 9-12. I will have a range of pregens for the players who haven't made one (because learn to play, not short campaign.)

What I'd love to get from any of you:

• a source of moderately optimized pregen archetypes. They're beginners, they're probably not going to come with the things we see here.
• a source of one-shot scenarios. Not necessarily fully developed but more than hooks.
• recommendations of things I've obviously forgotten or need to remember to bring.

[markelphoenix]

Actually running this one for a group of my friends right now.
One Shot Scenario:
Mr. Johnson (having played shadowrun for so long, I was confused by the giggles, until I remember how weird that sounded to me the first time) is providing transport via an armored GMC Bulldog of a package. He wants your team to ride a long due to concerns about potential interception. You'll leave from Garage at location A, drop off first package at location B (Low Security ganger territory, I used Redmond Barrens), then pickup another package at Location B and see it safely to the outskirts of the city. Bonus paid if suspected threat is handled (i.e. killed) by name of Sweet Face (Mr. J has intelligence that she has been hired to steal package. Once out of High Sec, basically had Anika (Sanskrit for Sweet Face) set up a road block.

Side note, the job is a decoy. If anyone actually opened the package, they would find it filled with meaningless junk. Mr. Johnson does not disclose this to the runner team and all he is willing to say is the package must arrive unopened and is extremely valuable. The real package is being transported elsewhere with this 'Run being leaked to interested parties.

[Kirklins]

ok.

So legwork hits are routes, info that Sweet Face is planning intercept, info that Anika is coordinating intercept, info that Anika is Sweet Face, info about resources of Anika, info about what the package is supposed to be, and if rolls are solid enough info this is a decoy run.

Player planning can include route choices and whether they ride in or in escort to the van, plus all the things players can do.

Need to develop "why is Anika doing this" in case a face player decides to run with negotiation - let the dice and the players decide how that turns out.

I can run this as 1-3 and 4-8 straight, modifying just how nasty the roadblock is if fought through. With 9-12 I drop the coyness about the decoy and have two or three decoys. Obvious shell game, one of the packages is legit (not they aren't, the corp won't trust this with people who just might steal it for themselves).

Yes, I can run this. Thank you.

[markelphoenix]

My pleasure :-)

[ZeroSum]

Just out of curiosity, where in Houston? I'm looking to get into 6th

Things to bring: reference sheets. Simple stuff, at least for the first session, like sample actions and related dice pools for combat, social, magic, and matrix. An intro session could cover all or even just one of these, but a quick reference for possible options (just a couple, not exhaustive) can really help players unfamiliar with the game make quick decisions.

One-shot suggestion for a black trenchcoat run:
Players are hired as a red-team to test the physical/matrix/magical security of one of their facilities. They have 7 days to case and prep, and payment depends on how many objectives are carried out and whether they are discovered or not.

Sample objectives:
1. Retrieve an object from a certain location, such as a document from a safe in the managers office or a prototype commlink from the research lab; requires physical access, so could be performed through stealth infiltration, covert incapacitation (stun only!), or social infiltration
2. Obtain documents containing falsified research data; could be matrix run, or physical/social infiltration
3. Plant a dual-natured object in an obviously warded area; would require magical support

All of these could be used to introduce concepts common to the setting. Sneaking, hacking, social interactions, stealth combat, legwork, you name it. There is also enough diversity that almost any character would have time to shine.

If the party is combat heavy, make the run itself a short one and have Mr Johnson betray the team in classic fashion. Let the runners Duke it out with personal security.

Pink mohawk one-shot:
TBD

[Kirklins]

Tomball area. I'll pm you more on that unless there is more interest.

We're delaying the sessions till the print is out because again sell games as well as build new players. After a lot of discussion I'm going to do a separate character builder session and have several prebuilds for the actual run. Yes people who make their own will be allowed to use that.

I like the ideas and will work with them. Thank you.

[ZeroSum]

Appreciate it, thanks. I only know of a couple stores in Houston (like Dragon's Lair, Goldmine, and Ettin), figured I would see if there's a Shadowrun community in town.

Separate character building session is a great idea, that can be pretty involved in and of itself.

For Pink Mohawk idea, how about this.
Johnson needs a rival corp's research facility trashed, and proper. This isn't a subtle job, the runners need to cause as much destruction of property as possible. Casualties may or may not be acceptable, depending on your table level.

Some ideas for objectives (tie compensation to a tier of destruction, so half pay if they only achieve 1 or 2, full pay from 3 to 5, and a bonus if they get all 6 for example):
1. Research data is permanently destroyed
2. Research lab is substantially damaged (X nuyen worth of equipment destroyed, for example, or the whole lab is burned down)
3. Operational facilities damaged or destroyed (includes meeting rooms, break rooms, office cubicles, canteen, etc)
4. Security office damaged or destroyed, including armaments and security personnel (the latter could be kill or stun)
5. Transportation options disabled or destroyed (or stolen; this could be a good opportunity to give the runners a shiny new vehicle, as the Johnson will have a mechanic contact who can also furnish them with high-explosives, if needed)
6. Background count; if the runners manage to destroy enough of the above, they will temporarily have influenced the magical background of the area, aspecting it towards destruction and making peaceful magical research more difficult. Handy way to introduce the concept of background magic levels.