Post by plusx2a on Oct 26, 2016 15:15:29 GMT -8
If you follow Catalyst you may already know that they released a new version of their Shadowrun RPG called "Shadowrun Anarchy." This is not a new edition per se, but more of a companion system for those who prefer a more rules light and narrative heavy game system. It uses the Cue system which revolves around players narrating scenes during their turn instead of simply taking an action. It also provides tools for creating character personalities with traits that are similar to Aspects, but don't tie in systemically as heavily as Aspects do in Fate.
The game has an economy similar to Savage Worlds where you get Plot Points (Bennies) that can be used in a variety of interesting ways and promote heroic action with cooperative narration. I have read through it and if you like a more "hippie" style of game it is absolutely fantastic. I can see players that like the SR supercrunch absolutely hating it though since much of the minutia that makes SR work are abstracted to the extreme.
Magic, Cyberware, Bioware and what have you are all lumped into a category called "Shadow Amps" or Shadow Amplifications which give the characters edges over others in certain fields. For example, a Reflex booster which would give you extra actions during your turn give you an extra "Attack Action" for the first level and provides a free Plot Point for the scene for every level above the first. Mind you, you can use these Plot Points for further Attack Actions, but you are not forced to use them in that way. Or, if you have an invisibility spell it gives bonus dice to Stealth checks. It also provides guidelines for creating your own "Shadow Amps" if you want to create a specific spell, adept ability or piece of gear/cyberware.
I have been playing SR since first edition and it was my favorite game all the way through 3rd edition. The games 4th and 5th editions were and are very in depth and complex to the point where it began to seriously turn me off. Not so much in its complexity, but in the raw number or rolls that need to be made in combat. I found the game dragged badly during combat, especially if you had AR and magical elements on top of regular combat elements. Because of this, I had pretty much abandoned a game that for all intents and purposes shaped my love of the hobby.
I am pleased that Catalyst recognizes the different play styles that are currently prevalent within the RPG community and are taking steps to provide options for players that my love the setting but can be turned off by the near 500 pages of the current SR5 big black book, while still retaining the rules heavy system for players who thrive on it. The systems are completely convertible into and out of each other. That is to say you can take a character from one version and easily convert it over to the other. This makes it so players can transfer old characters from an ongoing campaign and try out Anarchy to see if it's more their cup of tea or take Anarchy characters and use SR5 when you want things to be a bit more granular.
The system is also extremely flexible and can be used for just about any setting. Since there are technical and magical aspects to the game it can easily be used for a fantasy, modern or sci-fi setting. If you like Savage Worlds or even Fate Core and like the cyber orc idea then it's worth a flip through. It's currently on DTRPG for under $15.