[Icarus]

(I've looked around the forum and haven't really found much relevant on the subject so... browse glitch? )

I've wanted to do Shadowrun for awhile, more intended as a player than a GM but... someone has to do it. I have no experience running this or any game, the players in the group have played 1-2 before (except one who's got a fair amount of experience). Overall it's 5 people and me, and will meet monthly due to time constraints (it's not our only monthly thing luckily).

I just want to know if anyone has any advice for a new GM; anything I should expect, what preparation needs to be done / what I need to be prepared for, and things of that nature. I have at least read the rule book, though I didn't retain most of the information. I figure we'll learn best as we go. Additionally, I do have copies of several 'cheat sheets' that simplify combat, which should help everyone.

I was also thinking of doing Dawn of the Artifacts for the first run. It is pretty interesting, but I'm not sure if thrusting new players (and myself) into such a different environment is a good idea. Would I be better off starting with something else?

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

(As a matter of interest, I started planning this in March. Put it off til May due to college, and have been mostly procrastinating since. The whole thing makes me nervous so I sort of passively ignore it. I set a definite date to start so that I will be forced to take care of it. )

[Charybdis]

Heyo

Dawn of the Artifacts is a good series, but I recommend you start your first run with that Shadowrun initiation that is:

Food Fight.
http://www.shadowrun4.com/wp-content/uploads/Downloads/Shadowrun%20Quick-Start%20Rules.pdf
(The actual adventure starts on p.15)

It's a great adventure for building on the basics of the game (for both GM's and Players), and this is what worked best for us in the past:

A) Read the core rulebook yourself (Check, done).
B) Let the Players make characters, with yourself, and take an entire session to do it.
 - You'll learn more about different rules in that one PC-building session than by any advice anyone can give on this forum.
 - During the session get the players to read the key sections in regards to what they want their PC's to do (Hacking, Combat, Magic etc).
 - Get them to just roll some dice on imaginary obstacles to see what they need to do. (OK, if the bad guy rolled 3 successes to hit you, you need 3 successes to dodge... erk... OK that would be *flip*flip*flip* 6 damage....let's roll for Armour/Body to soak that bullet' etc etc)
C) Start the next (2nd) session with the Food Fight adventure (Link above).
D) Then, if all goes well, move into the Dawn of the Artifacts series.... it's a super-huge set of advantures that are very well laid out for a new GM.

Now, as for GM-specific advice:
 - Make stuff up.
 - Be as silly, or as harsh as you think the group will enjoy
 - Be fair and consistent.
 - And above all, have fun.

[Walks Through Walls]

One thing that I would recommend for a new GM now that it is out is get the Runner's Toolkit. It has some amazing resources for a starting GM.

1) It has "cheat sheets" that go through most of the magic and combat tests that are laminated.
2) It has a booklet that I think is called "Anatomy of a run", but it is a run summarized like a story in the left column and the game mechanics of how the results happened in the right collumn.
3) It has a starting adventure to help you get your feet wet. (Don't know much about it since I haven't had a chance to read it yet)
4) A GM screen that actually has the stuff you need listed on it.
5) Has a bunch of other useful stuff including a simplified character creation system.

As far as a starting adventure I'd do food fight as a first run to get a hang of things for both you and your players then go to the one in the toolkit if you get it.

As far as the toolkit is concerned I feel it is money well spent. I've been running games for years and bought it at Gencon and felt like a kid in a candy store when I opened it up and looked through everything.

[JoeNapalm]

Wow...big question. 

I would, due to the complexity of character generation, probably run through a few short mock battles before actually starting the game...and/or allow period where players can make GM approved changes to their characters.

Our group are all veteran gamers with experience with earlier editions of SR, and we spent a fair bit of time getting comfortable with the rules and hammering out a few glaringly bad decisions in our builds. (For example, our Face started with BOD 2, not realizing the combined effects of low damage resistance, low maximum armor, and short damage tracks.)

Have each player run through the Character Quiz in Runner's Companion, or at least come up with a character concept and backstory. This, to me, is every bit as important as filling out a character sheet.

Oh, and most important, remember that the goal is to have fun. Doesn't mean you can't be an Evil GM, just always try to remember that the dice don't dictate what happens...you do. My very first GM experience was as a wee lad, we had no books or dice. We had a blast...rules and random numbers are just smoke and mirrors, it is telling a good story that really matters.

-Jn-
Ifriti Sophist

[FastJack]

+1 to all of the above. As for character creation, I can also recommend Hero Labs' Shadowrun package.

Also, don't go overboard and let them use all available resources. Have the players stick to just the Core rulebook at first, then you can bring in stuff from Street Magic, Unwired and other books as you get more comfortable.

[The Big Peat]

Speaking as a fellow new GM...

Do your best to know the rules, but accept you won't get it absolutely right first time. Read them, first simulated situations, run a few with the players before the game (or throw in some early easy fights, negotiations and the like). If you get something wrong, don't sweat it, just fix it next time it comes up. Get cheat sheets for as much as possible - then, get a file and put them in it, and make up an index if needs be. Don't do what I did. I had all my cheat sheets, but they were so lost in a welter of paper I might as well have scrawled notes on the moon for all the good they did.

If you're running a pregenerated adventure, read it first and get to know it. Then, once you know what characters you will be dealing with, read it again and think of what options they might take. They will undoubtedly surprise you, but hopefully not as much as they would otherwise.

The really big one I think though is speak to your players. Tell them what sort of game you want. Find out what sort of game they want. I have run two games. One was with a different system and broke down incredibly messily due to miscommunication. The other, we talked, I knew what we all wanted and what they'd appreciate, and it is going like a house on fire. Expectations include how much combat, how much legwork, what sort of jobs, how evil they're expecting you to be, power level and so on.

For all of these reasons, I back up the character creation session. I didn't do one as my game running slot is hampered by the incipient rugby season that is about to steal my saturdays back so I get to run around punching people, so I didn't have a session to use. This is a shame. Not only would I have spotted the blatant rules discrepencies that none of us spotted until it had completely bust one of my combat encounters (for the record, the Steel Lynx can't have 29 points of armour), not only would I have been able to roll a few scenarios so people can see how they'd go, not only could I have made sure we were all on the same page, but we'd have got to explore the back stories, talk about their contacts more and so on. It would have been a hell of a lot of fun. I strongly urge you to get backstories and info on their contacts - even in pre-genned adventures you can slip in plenty of hooks, while if you go with making your own like an overconfident sob, they are massively useful.

So... to sum up and possibly add some more stuff;
- Read the ruels
- Read the adventure
- Know the characters (get copies of their sheet)
- Talk to the players and encourage them to talk to you
- Aim at what you all enjoy
- Be ready to make up stuff on the fly
- Be fair and consistent and talk to the players if you're not sure where that lies
- Ask more questions here if you come unstuck.

[baronspam]

I would plan one or more sessions to build characters and then do some basic things for everyone, including you, to learn the rules.  The "food fight" encounter is a classic going back to first edition.  Or just design a very simple adventure  and tell the players that it is a teaching tool, and be blunt about it.  Say things like "in this scene, we will learn how skills work, and social skills in particular work." and "ok, this is going to be the combat tutorial scene".  Keep it dirt simple and go slow for a session or two so everyone can get a grip on mechanics.

Also, Shadowrun can be played alot of different ways.  Some campaigns are about big guns and explosions and and fire elements eating cars.  Other campaigns feature lots of legwork, complex plots, and large amounts of planning.  Make sure everyone is on the same page about what kind of game you are going to run.

[Walks Through Walls]

Another thing I did this time around since no one but me really had any experience with Shadowrun was I have let the players tweak their characters for a couple of adventures as they got their feet wet. This way no one felt they had a character that they "had to play" but weren't really happy with.

[Icarus]

These are good suggestions, I think they will help a lot.

I've been talking to the person in my group with the most Shadowrun / GMing (and D&D DMing) experience, and he gave me a run down of certain things. One thing he suggested was to have a simple run before going into Dawn of the Artifacts, but to try to make it relate to DotA, which would provide a reason for why we would be contacted for the job over others. I'm looking over the campaign, and haven't found much to go on. Anyone have any thoughts on a simple plot for that?

[BSOD]

These are good suggestions, I think they will help a lot.

I've been talking to the person in my group with the most Shadowrun / GMing (and D&D DMing) experience, and he gave me a run down of certain things. One thing he suggested was to have a simple run before going into Dawn of the Artifacts, but to try to make it relate to DotA, which would provide a reason for why we would be contacted for the job over others. I'm looking over the campaign, and haven't found much to go on. Anyone have any thoughts on a simple plot for that?

You could have the teams fixer be an ex-runner/veteran type, who Frosty tried to recruit first. However he recommended a group of up-and-comers, who he thinks have a lot of potential.

[Crash_00]

I haven't read or run the Dawn of Artifacts adventures, but I can give advice on the other points.

On character creation.
I've seen two ways of doing it that works well for new players.
A: Restrict them to the core book for initial characters. While this helps learn the basics before expanding outward, I personally find it too restrictive as some things in the core book (negative qualities for example) are severely lacking.

If you do this, I recommend allowing the players a chance to "rebuild" or "re-roll" their characters when you decide to allow the other rules to be used. (By rebuild I mean build the same character with access to all the rules. By re-roll I mean make a new character, but keep the earned karma (and possibly nuyen).)

B: Read all the books with CC rules in them cover to cover. When players are making characters, make suggestions to them that are as efficient as possible. This works even better if you have a veteran player willing to help out as well.

Also, make sure to devote an entire session to character creation and place emphasis on things often ignored by first time players: backstory, negative qualities, edge, and contacts.

In general, I have a three session rule. I'll allow you to tweak your character for the first three sessions of the campaign.

I can't stress enough how valuable the Runner's Toolkit is for a new group of players. I haven't personally picked one up yet, but it will be my next purchase.

As a new GM that also has new players, you're at a bigger disadvantage than most. If you have a player that grasps the rules faster and better than most (most groups have one), appoint him rules assistant. If you're unsure of something have him look it up for you real fast.

Also follow Big Peat's advice especially:

- Read the adventure
- Know the characters (get copies of their sheet)
- Talk to the players and encourage them to talk to you
- Aim at what you all enjoy
- Be fair and consistent and talk to the players if you're not sure where that lies
- Ask more questions here if you come unstuck.

Copies of their sheets help you balance encounters against them. Reading the adventure lets you help things run fast and helps you tweak any overpowering encounters in it. Being consistent keeps all you players happy and feel that there are no favorites. And last, but in my opinion most important, talking to your players and making sure they have fun is what the game is about. If people aren't having fun in a game there is no reason to play.

As for the first run, a lot of people suggest Food Fight, I'm not a fan but it will help your characters learn the rules. I usually use a self updated version of Silver Angel.

Brief Summary:
A group of runners is hired to break into a research center and steal a file named "Silver Angel". There are many ways to get in, from the flashy lets bust through the front door, to hijacking the shipping companies truck that makes deliveries that night. However the run must go down at a very specific time and if the group lingers, an alarm will go off even if they haven't done anything wrong. Of course the group doesn't know the last tidbit, so it can make things interesting  .

[nakano]

I have to add my voice of support for the Runners Toolkit as a fantastic resource.  The Anatomy of a Shadowrun booklet is fantastic.  Beyond that the P.A.C.K.s while not totally optimized, are fantastic for quick and easy character generation.  These two aspects make the product chalk full of win for a new GM IMO.

Plus, the cheat sheets, OMG the cheat sheets.  All the core sort of actions broken down in a clear concise fashion.  Plus some useful maps, and a booklet that includes a variety of different mission types.

With a bunch of other stuff I have not flipped through yet as I just got my copy on Friday.  As someone who has run the game for 20 years, I love it.  Gotta say that a product like this would have made my life alot easier when I was learning to run the game.

As to the concept of running Dawn of the Artifacts to kick off your campaign, honestly I would hold off.  The series does look interesting, but I learned a long time ago that running an andventure series without all of the modules in my hand can become a huge pain.  Not knowing ultimately where plot is headed etc, plus the break in rythmn while you wait for the last adventure can really suck the life out of a series. 

Beyond that, I would let your group settle into their roles and characters a bit before diving into that material, as it will take the characters, and possibly the players outside of their comfort zones.  A ton of globetrotting means fewer familar contacts, less cool gear, less home field advantage.  I would start them off with a series of "cookie cutter" runs and then start Dawn of the Artifacts.  The Shadowrun Missions line provide the sort of runs I am talking about.  Quick and dirty, nothing too fancy.  They are meant for convention play, so typically can be completed in four hours or so, but could also be fleshed out to take several sessions.

Hope that helps.

[Icarus]

Well, I think I ought to get the Runner's Toolkit... seeing as everyone suggested it.

I'm not too concerned about the last module of the DotA series not being out yet, seeing as we can only meet once a month it'll be well over a year before we'd get there, although knowing what "there" is ahead of time is probably valuable. I am, however, very concerned (like you said) with throwing new players into such a different and unforgiving environment, so I'll probably go with another adventure instead to start off with; start off with a couple short and simple ones, then move into something more complex, but not as crazy as DotA. --- edit: Right now I'm reading through On The Run. So far I'm liking it a lot, it feels like something interesting while still being simple enough to get us all used to it.

Before starting whatever it is we start, I will be sure to go over each player's character closely to make sure we all understand how it works and such. That will probably help everyone in the long run.

--

I really like On The Run, actually. It feels a bit easier to run, and doesn't thrust my group into very harsh territory right away. It also includes several things I like, such as moral decisions and making huge enemies, plus I've always wanted to make a team break into a concert . (I want to make them go on a game show too sometime.. I'll have to work on a plot for that).

I've also been thinking about a revenge scheme for whichever group the team ends up pissing off during On The Run, which wouldn't happen until a few missions later, but would happen eventually. The idea basically being that they're hired to investigate a kidnapping, and they are instead captured (the whole thing is a setup). In order to make up for lost profit on the disk, the employer plans to use the team members as subjects for snuff BTL chips, and they'll have to escape before they're killed.

[John Shull]

I haven't read or run the Dawn of Artifacts adventures, but I can give advice on the other points.

On character creation.
I've seen two ways of doing it that works well for new players.
A: Restrict them to the core book for initial characters. While this helps learn the basics before expanding outward, I personally find it too restrictive as some things in the core book (negative qualities for example) are severely lacking.

If you do this, I recommend allowing the players a chance to "rebuild" or "re-roll" their characters when you decide to allow the other rules to be used. (By rebuild I mean build the same character with access to all the rules. By re-roll I mean make a new character, but keep the earned karma (and possibly nuyen).)

B: Read all the books with CC rules in them cover to cover. When players are making characters, make suggestions to them that are as efficient as possible. This works even better if you have a veteran player willing to help out as well.

Also, make sure to devote an entire session to character creation and place emphasis on things often ignored by first time players: backstory, negative qualities, edge, and contacts.

In general, I have a three session rule. I'll allow you to tweak your character for the first three sessions of the campaign.

I can't stress enough how valuable the Runner's Toolkit is for a new group of players. I haven't personally picked one up yet, but it will be my next purchase.

As a new GM that also has new players, you're at a bigger disadvantage than most. If you have a player that grasps the rules faster and better than most (most groups have one), appoint him rules assistant. If you're unsure of something have him look it up for you real fast.

Also follow Big Peat's advice especially:

- Read the adventure
- Know the characters (get copies of their sheet)
- Talk to the players and encourage them to talk to you
- Aim at what you all enjoy
- Be fair and consistent and talk to the players if you're not sure where that lies
- Ask more questions here if you come unstuck.

Copies of their sheets help you balance encounters against them. Reading the adventure lets you help things run fast and helps you tweak any overpowering encounters in it. Being consistent keeps all you players happy and feel that there are no favorites. And last, but in my opinion most important, talking to your players and making sure they have fun is what the game is about. If people aren't having fun in a game there is no reason to play.

As for the first run, a lot of people suggest Food Fight, I'm not a fan but it will help your characters learn the rules. I usually use a self updated version of Silver Angel.

Brief Summary:
A group of runners is hired to break into a research center and steal a file named "Silver Angel". There are many ways to get in, from the flashy lets bust through the front door, to hijacking the shipping companies truck that makes deliveries that night. However the run must go down at a very specific time and if the group lingers, an alarm will go off even if they haven't done anything wrong. Of course the group doesn't know the last tidbit, so it can make things interesting  .

That's funny you ran Silver Angel.  I ran a variant out of Cavilard Research Center but did not use the Silver Angel file but another target.  Its nice to dust off some old runs and fire them up. 

I say the same thing pretty much every time when this comes up.  When you GM make sure you play the players.  Run the game and see what starts winding them up.  Some problem solve, roleplay, or shoot em up.  Some like the drama, fighting a archenemy, or making the man look stupid.  The more clearly you understand their wants, the better you can frame up your run andwith the help of some colorful opposition give them a game they will remember. 

Nothing sets the stage for a game as well as getting the players characters they really like playing.  Get them characters they like and make sure they understand how the characters are strong and weak.  Any good character knows how it wants to kick some A and it also knows what its boogie man is.  Personalize it and have a good run.