[Sharzak]

I'm picking up the core Rulebook and want to start a game of shadow run with a group of friends. I'll be the GM. We are all inexperienced when it comes to tabletop gaming ( I sat in on a session of old world of darkness and made a character but that's it) but want to try to make a go of it.

What the easiest way to get people familiar with the derails of the setting? They know it's cyberpunk fantasy, but they don't know that money is handed out on credsticks, for example. What do I need to know as a GM to ensure fun is had by all? What im worried about is one particular player ruining the experience for everyone by not taking it seriously. Any other general advice would be great.

[NinthSphere]

The SR4 core rulebook does a great job at laying out the setting, so having everyone read just that is probably enough. Runner's Companion also makes a great *duh* companion book and lays down some good  stuff for people not sure what to make of a team.

[All4BigGuns]

Wait to run it until you have at minimum Arsenal, Augmentation, Street Magic, Runner's Companion, Unwired and the Runner's Toolkit. Until then just read and familiarize yourself with rules and setting. Always keep in mind that characters are no fun to play when they have source book restrictions, and avoid restricting availability to less than the 12 base maximum in the core book (go above if you want, but less destroys fun).

[NinthSphere]

Yeah, the Runner's Toolkit is definitely something to pick up. The Sixth World Almanac might also be something to grab.

[Crossbow]

Hey, welcome to tabletop gaming, and enjoy it.  You are diving into the deep end taking on the GMing, but it is good to see that you are really taking it seriously, even so far as to realize that you might have a problem player that might take the whole group down.

While everyone here is suggesting more rulebooks, I am going to take a different approach.  The game can be run with just the core rulebook, and I would strongly suggest is that you ask your players to take on one of the character templates from that book rather than try and build their own characters, this will keep things on a relatively even keel, at least for the first few sessions until everyone (including you) are confident with the rules and the setting.

As far as the setting goes, what I would do is just have the players read some of the background material in the book, maybe photocopy a few pages like the history and some of the stories.  I would also suggest that you go ahead and use some of the free materials available on the main page like Food Fight and the Missions to get you feet wet before diving in.

I wouldn't worry to much about details like credsticks, you can tweak that with gentle nudges in game.  ("Okay, so we go and look for a job....uhhh"  "So are you going to call one of your fixer contacts, or try one of the 'runner bars' and see if someone is looking for a team?")

The bigger thing is to remember that everyone is new and you will make some mistakes, do your best to be fair and fix things when this happens but don't let a session get bogged down with you searching a rulebook for a particular point, do that between sessions, and let your players know the next time. ("Hey guys, I looked it up, and I am pretty sure this concealabilty rating thing means Joe's troll can't walk into the Lone Star's HQ with an assault cannon hidden under his trenchcoat, so we are gonna have to say he left it in the car, we will assume that cop just got really unlucky when Joe shot him with his pistol.")

If someone is not taking the game as seriously as the rest, and seems to be actively trying to ruin it for the group, call him/her out and find out what the deal is.  If they won't fix it, don't invite them next time.

[All4BigGuns]

Hey, welcome to tabletop gaming, and enjoy it.  You are diving into the deep end taking on the GMing, but it is good to see that you are really taking it seriously, even so far as to realize that you might have a problem player that might take the whole group down.

While everyone here is suggesting more rulebooks, I am going to take a different approach.  The game can be run with just the core rulebook, and I would strongly suggest is that you ask your players to take on one of the character templates from that book rather than try and build their own characters, this will keep things on a relatively even keel, at least for the first few sessions until everyone (including you) are confident with the rules and the setting.

As far as the setting goes, what I would do is just have the players read some of the background material in the book, maybe photocopy a few pages like the history and some of the stories.  I would also suggest that you go ahead and use some of the free materials available on the main page like Food Fight and the Missions to get you feet wet before diving in.

I wouldn't worry to much about details like credsticks, you can tweak that with gentle nudges in game.  ("Okay, so we go and look for a job....uhhh"  "So are you going to call one of your fixer contacts, or try one of the 'runner bars' and see if someone is looking for a team?")

The bigger thing is to remember that everyone is new and you will make some mistakes, do your best to be fair and fix things when this happens but don't let a session get bogged down with you searching a rulebook for a particular point, do that between sessions, and let your players know the next time. ("Hey guys, I looked it up, and I am pretty sure this concealabilty rating thing means Joe's troll can't walk into the Lone Star's HQ with an assault cannon hidden under his trenchcoat, so we are gonna have to say he left it in the car, we will assume that cop just got really unlucky when Joe shot him with his pistol.")

If someone is not taking the game as seriously as the rest, and seems to be actively trying to ruin it for the group, call him/her out and find out what the deal is.  If they won't fix it, don't invite them next time.

Sure, the game can be run with just the core book, but the fewer limitations there are, the more fun the game will be. Conversely, the more you limit availability, BP and source books, the more tedious and boring the game becomes.

[Crash_00]

Being very new, I second starting slow. SR is very complex and for a newer group, limiting what everyone has to study helps keep things easy. Try downloading the Quick Start rules, hand out the templates, and run the module for everyone to get down the basics (including you).

Next, let them make some characters with the main book and run a mini-campaign of some kind. If you aren't comfortable making you own runs up yet, you can always use Shadowrun Missions from Season Two which are available for free.

As you're running the mini-campaign, get a feel for what the characters are wanting to play and start picking up books for those roles. (Arsenal helps everyone a bit, Unwired helps Hackers/Technomancers, Street Magic helps Adepts/Mages, Augmentation helps everyone with a possible exception of mages).

This will help you get comfortable with the setting and won't cause there to be a huge waste if you don't end up liking the game that much (not every group likes the complexity/simplicity of it).

As for the setting. Work you players in slowly to it. The more interested they are, the easier it will be, but the more you try to force it, the more it will feel like work.

Sure, the game can be run with just the core book, but the fewer limitations there are, the more fun the game will be. Conversely, the more you limit availability, BP and source books, the more tedious and boring the game becomes.

For some players maybe. Many players, especially one new to the system, doubly so for those new to RPGs in general, have a much easier time (and therefore more fun) with less choices. It lets them take in things easier. Of course you can say that's just silly talk, but you're not exactly a new player from what I've seen and I've run the game for several recently that actually asked for restrictions in a new game to make things easier to learn.

[AngryCow]

I am going to back up Crossbow and Crash here. Its questionable to buy a bunch more books now when it may turn out your group doesn't like it (Shadowrun is great, but its not for everyone). In addition, you do not want to overwhelm yourself and your players with new rules and choices you don't understand.  The core book is a sufficient purchase to get into the game.  If you are all fresh to tabletop gaming, that will already have a massive amount of material to digest.

Take Crash's advice and also pick up some of the free materials designed to help you get started. As a new GM, prepared content will make your job much simpler since you are easing into the system as well. They should also do a good job of introducing the setting for your players.

Oh, and have fun. Never let rules get in the way of good fun.

[Sharzak]

I'm not convinced it will be in my best interest or the best interest of the group for me to go out and buy a bunch of book--it's a lot of stuff to learn for all of us.  I don't think the players will necessarily feel limited because they won't know what they're missing.

A couple people are excited and have ideas for characters already, so I'm worried about limiting the campaign.  Would it be a bad idea for the first couple of sessions to say, look guys, we're all new to this so pick a character template for now and we'll focus on making characters after an adventure so we all have the hang of it? That season 2 mission link is going to be hugely helpful I can tell already, so thanks very much. 

[Crash_00]

The earlier runs in that season are pretty much designed for your archetype power characters, so they work really well for new and inexperienced players.

The Quick Start Rules have some archetypes in it (only 4) and the archetypes in the core book should provide enough variety for a brief exposure. I recommend letting players make minor tweaks (if they want to use an SMG instead of an AR or an Axe instead of a katana for instance) just for style without sweating the details too much if you hand out archetypes though.

[Walks Through Walls]

I agree also that the core rule book is a good starting point, but I would recommend getting the runners toolkit also. There are a couple of reasons for this.

1) the help sheets will facilitate everyone learning the steps to combat, spell casting the matrix etc.
2) the anatomy of a run is a great tool for learning rules since it gives what happened in character and the rules/rolls that caused it side by side.
3) a good basic run to use to help everyone learn the rules (and not make the GM make up an adventure)
4) it has a set of compiled tables that are good for looking up things
5) some good basic maps, contacts, adventure seeds, and sprawl sites.

Just my two nuyen worth hope it helps

[Zilfer]

I'd recomend letting them play the base in the book, AND on top of that keep the karma they earn with those characters for when they do actually make their real characters, so it doens't feel like they "wasted" any of that time.

Welcome to table top gaming, i hope you enjoy your stay!

[Walks Through Walls]

Zilfer makes a good point. In the campaign I am running I let the players adjust their characters for the first several runs also so if they missed something or didn't use something they had bought they didn't feel cheated. Allowing the karma to be moved over to a new character is a good thing too.

Also the runners toolkit has a great GM screen which I forgot to mention in my earlier post (the irony is it is the part of the toolkit I use the most as an experienced GM)

[Zilfer]

^I second about that GM screen if you will be playing more than once. I ordered the Runner's toolkit JUST for that fact and i'll be able to give the other's a handout from it called the Anatomy of Shadowrun which lays out an advanture and all the dice rolls behind it.

Infact i'm waiting impatiently to go home, i only have 3 hours and i got a text that it's already been deleivered to my house.... oh how work doth make me wait... xD

[All4BigGuns]

I'm not convinced it will be in my best interest or the best interest of the group for me to go out and buy a bunch of book--it's a lot of stuff to learn for all of us.  I don't think the players will necessarily feel limited because they won't know what they're missing.

A couple people are excited and have ideas for characters already, so I'm worried about limiting the campaign.  Would it be a bad idea for the first couple of sessions to say, look guys, we're all new to this so pick a character template for now and we'll focus on making characters after an adventure so we all have the hang of it? That season 2 mission link is going to be hugely helpful I can tell already, so thanks very much.

The reason is, that with the limits of only what's in the core book, the chances of being able to actually build a character you can enjoy is slim and none (that goes for any game).