Criminal specialists take corporate jobs in a future of magic, cyberware, and hacking, rolling large pools of d6s.
From 20 firsthand play reports in 5 r/rpg threads. The threads alone average 5.4.
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467 r/rpg posts named it, October 2023 to October 2026.
Very heavy. Hype 3.9 for its age.
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Most of these threads are people shopping for other games, so firsthand Shadowrun play is thin: about 20 reports across five threads. The setting pulls people in at every edition. Rules weight, the Matrix and edition choice decide whether a table stays.
Each thread is rated for the play it describes, from the firsthand reports in it. Load one here or read it on Reddit.
Long-time Shadowrun players say the setting and character creation are great and that 2e, 3e, 4e Anniversary and late 6e run well. Across editions they also report heavy house-ruling, a Matrix that is broken as written (4e/20A), magic that outclasses mundanes (5e), and one 5e switch that caused a player revolt. Much of the thread is about other games (Blades in the Dark, Sprawlrunners, Anarchy, Savagerun), which I ignored. 9 firsthand · 188 comments
The thread is mostly edition advice and recommendations for other systems, such as Anarchy 2.0, Shadowrun X, Cities Without Number and Neon City Overdrive, which don't count here. The few firsthand reports on Shadowrun itself are mixed: the setting is loved, but 5e and earlier-edition rules were called hard to grok or too heavy, one GM's players bounced off, and one person found 1e surprisingly simple. 4 firsthand · 62 comments
The thread is mostly a request for games similar to Shadowrun, so firsthand Shadowrun play is thin. The original poster's group tried 4th and 5th edition and found the rules clunky, one other group drifted away to Starfinder, and one commenter remembers the first three editions fondly. 3 firsthand · 139 comments
Few people in this thread actually played Shadowrun. The OP's 6e and 5e sessions were frustrating because the street samurai sat out while the technomancer, decker and adept did the work, while two older-edition veterans (2e, 3e) describe long, enjoyable play with some Matrix friction. The thread is mostly recommendations for other cyberpunk systems, which are not rated here. 3 firsthand · 101 comments
The thread is mostly people telling the OP to read the book they already bought, and almost no one describes actually playing 6e. The one firsthand report, from a GM who ran a few low-power games, calls it a good intro level for new players. 1 firsthand · 73 comments