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I am confused... How do you guys have this?... According to Catalyst Game Labs it will not be released until August 11th
Chief Technical Officer
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I am confused... How do you guys have this?... According to Catalyst Game Labs it will not be released until August 11th
It has arrived in our distributor's warehouse. Thus, it should be in our warehouse on or about the 11th. Note that we're currently saying "Usually ships from our warehouse in 9 to 16 business days."
(That said, we really ought to still be showing it as a preorder.... something to add to Gary's to-do list.)
One of my friends did some of the artwork for this. It looks really nice. To bad I'm not really into Shadowrun.
When I went to the ENnies to watch Paizo win some awards I participated in the silent auction and won the whole Shadowrun set for $100.00. Moral of this story? Go to Gen Con!
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I have really enjoyed the book, but I would really really like a PDF copy. Will this be available at any point? The main reason I ask here is becuase you guys do such an excellent job with PDFs including artwork and full color everything. The competition tends to drop a lot of artwork and it is often in black and white.
I realize this is easier when it is your own product, but after downloading the 700+ page Pathfinder Core Rulebook onto my iPad, I really like being able to carry the book around in a light weight package that I will read all the way through (not to mention my wife likes it that the lights are off if I read late into the night).
Even if I have to buy the hardcover book again to get the PDF, I would do it. Just sayin'... and here's hoping that you could broker a deal like this. There are a lot more games that I want like this and it is definitely the wave of the future with more tablet formats being bought all the time. I for one like being able to have room at the table for other things besides my stack of books. For build-out, I'm always going to like the book better (I think), but for pure reading and searchable text, PDF every time.
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I have really enjoyed the book, but I would really really like a PDF copy. Will this be available at any point?
As far as I know, the PDF version is only available through BattleCorps or Drivethru.
The PDF is full-color and of high quality.
Couple questions for anyone who has this. What are the differences between this and the original 4th ed book? Were rules actually changed, or were they just better explained? Any new (or better writen) archetypes?
I got the book last year. The following is a review that I read and convinced me to pick the bad boy up. It is also supported by Hero Lab now, which in my opinion is an amazing aid. Character creation is time consuming on paper, but you can create just about any type of Runner you want. Read this review and it should answer your questions.
This review was done by a fella over on another book selling site that is well known.
If you're new to Shadowrun or to the 4th edition, be sure to look at the reviews of the old 4th edition book here: Shadowrun 4th Edition or visit Shadowrun's official website.
I picked up the 4th edition core book (BBB) shortly after it came out and it made me want to finally put all of my 1st and 2nd edition stuff on the shelf (we'd been using them since 1994- duct-tape keeping them alive- [3rd edition didn't offer enough incentive for me to buy a whole new edition]). At first glance the system seemed to have made a quantum leap forward allowing it to compete with other high order RPG rules sets like White Wolf's Storyteller System.
We began playing 4th e- but with some difficulty. We would regularly run into problems in the rules and have to come up with a work around, house rule or snap GM decision to keep things moving, but we still had a great time with it. I found that I had a particularly hard time reaching a working understanding of the matrix rules (let's face it- the Matrix is a notoriously tricky thing to get your mind around). I realized, after some time, that I couldn't find ANYONE who understood it well. There were holes in that chapter so big that you could drive an Ares Citymaster through them.
Then came Catalyst (bless their little hearts) who began doling out our regular fix of source books and really bringing the game to life.
With the 20th Anniversary Edition, I feel that Catalyst has reached the pinnacle of Shadowrun's evolution. It's packed with great new fiction, the rules have been tweeked here and they've entirely rewritten the chapter on the matrix. This release also sports the benefit of being published AFTER the source books which has 2 major benefits:
1.) all of the revisions to the core rules to tie neatly into the appropriate source material, galvanizing 4th edition into the most integrated and comprehensive Shadowrun system ever with this book at its core
AND
2.) it includes a complete, color coded index that covers ALL of the core source books. This really helps when your characters try to derail your game with stunts that they see in the movies and you've got to figure out what to roll- and then what happens... `what book did I see that in again?'
In addition to the content, this book looks fantastic. Shadowrun has always featured a grab bag of art in its pages: some phenomenal and some really shameful. In the 20th Anniversary Edition, Adam Jury and Matt Vaillancourt have really outdone themselves. I would say the ALL of the art in this book is really fantastic. Visualizing the setting is a big part of a roleplaying game and it's important to have great art to inspire you and your players. This printing won't let you down with inconsistent quality like the old 4th Edition book did (turn to page 334 in the old 4th e for example- you'll see what I mean).
In a sentence: Buy this book.
Do it and your team will thank you.
Watch your back.
Shoot straight.
Conserve ammo.
And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.
--Street proverb
Thanks, Bilbo, that cleared up the differences for me.
In addition to being an all together great setting that allows you to enjoy familiar races from your favorite fantasy settngs, it is an amazing concept on its own. The fiction at the beginning of each chapter gives a good idea of what running at the end of this century is like and references each of the sourcebooks in an easy to follow manner. Crunch is very present with the series and the 20th ann. ed. works with all the 4th ed stuff that was already published. I had played the 1st edition and was happy to see that the 20th Anniversary ed. did not let me down. I haven't picked up the Hero Lab add-on yet, but am likely to do that this weekend as it has made playing Pathfinder so easy.
From a collector stand point the book is beautiful. Great art and finishing. An integrated bookmark ups the class. I highly suggest picking it up,especially if you need want to get away from fantasy for a minute. They have a ton of support materials and adventures,called seasons. Drive Thru RPG has a ton of them on PDF. Look into it and you won't be disappointed.
Thanks, Bilbo, that cleared up the differences for me.
No problem,Chuck. I really like this setting. It is too bad that is hard to find a game online. Not many players over here in Japan. Maybe I'll have more luck once I get back to the States. Having been stationed on on Okinawa for the last 3 years has given me an appreciation for PbP. Haha.
Just be aware that back on Dec. 7th, Catalyst posted that the current printing was sold out in their warehouse and the book was going off for more another reprint. Go here for the article and a link for the latest errata for the book.
Fantastic flavor material. I still remember reading one of the early adventures (The Universal Brotherhood) and getting actually scared.
Some the tech from the first ed. isn't all that far off or is already available. Just look at smartphones. I bet they had no idea that these things would be a reality as soon as they were 1989. haha.
I was actually just telling my dad about comlinks in SR, in reference to how cell phones have evolved.
Second edition is where I started with the shadows, and been playing it in spurts and stutters sense. Some friends of mine have been talking Shadowrun lately, and I might...might....be running a PbP at some point in the near future. If your around and still interested Bilbo, you get priority as a thanks for the review.
Thanks, Bilbo, that cleared up the differences for me.No problem,Chuck. I really like this setting. It is too bad that is hard to find a game online. Not many players over here in Japan. Maybe I'll have more luck once I get back to the States. Having been stationed on on Okinawa for the last 3 years has given me an appreciation for PbP. Haha.
Shadowrun has been on of my favorite gaming systems and settings for years.
Hey thanks, Fraust. I am sure I will be around for some time. I, on occassion, have stop posting due to military obligations, but I always come back when things quiet down. I'll keep an eye out for you. Chuck, I am right there with you. Do you remember DMZ, The battle version of Shadowrun? I remember the rules on that game not being very clear, but it was cool none the less.
Oh yeah, I remember that!
Shadowrun books are also the most fun to read with the character comments and so forth. I really miss the use of that style. (The Dresden Files uses the commenting side-bars by characters as well, very effective.)
My favorite book was the Neo-Anarchist's Guide to North America and my two favorite adventures were Harlequin and Harlequin's Back. I believe that we played through most of them from 1st edition.
I may be wrong, but didn't they release an updated version of Halequin for 4th Ed.? I may need to double check that. I am going to re-read the The Anniversary book today. Now that we have been talking about it I realized that I haven't looked over in some time. I almost re-enlisted to be a drone operator in the Army because that book and "This Old Drone", lol.
I don't know that they updated it, but I did see the PDFs for Harlequin (maybe the second one too) available on the main site.
If you like the commentary you should check out Emergence. It's kinda like a campaign outline rather than a published adventure, but I would say about three quarters of the book is writen in Jackpoint commentary. The book honestly reads like a novel more than any game suppliment (and some novels...) I've read. I think it's the same format for Vice, Ghost Cartels, and War...but I'm not possitive.
I heard WAR! was a dreadful piece of Sahdowrun history. SOmeone said it completely changed the history of things and really put stuff out of context.Have you checked out Attitude? I have read some good things about that supplement. It, too, is supposed to be almost all fluff, which I like. Goes into what the sports and music scenes are like. I may pick that up this month.
If you have Hero Lab for Pathfinder already, I suggest you download the trial of Shadowrun. I am going to purchase the full program today. It simplifies a somewhat difficult character creation process a great deal. I like most of Hero Lab's stuff though. It has dice pool management, program,and modifier trackers that automatically include bonus/deduction to your pools. Very convenient.
Still not sure how I feel about herolab to be completely honest.
Haven't gotten a chance to look at Attitude yet, though it's on my priority list. I've got older books that covered similar topics, and loved having the insight into the world they provided. I haven't heard much about War in that the fluff is bad, but I've heard the mechanics are perhaps not what I'm looking for. I don't like the BANG BANG aspect of SR, and generally when I run a game if you end up firing something on full auto, things went terribly wrong (not the funny wrong that always happens, but the "$%&#! We're going to get TPKed!" kinda wrong), and I guess War has rules for satellite lasers, nuclear bombs, ect. Not my idea of a good SR game.
Vice and Ghost Cartels look interesting though. I think it's Ghost Cartels that has the info on a new drug (name escapes me) that either increases magic, or can make a mundane into a magician (not sure on the actual specifics). Sounds very intriguing.
A lot of people seem to have a problem with paying for Hero Lab. I, for one, love it. Less than the price of a decent video game and I have used for sooooo many different things. Character creation is a breeze and simple. Some combat management in there and editable. Not for everyone, but, in my opinion, very good software with few bugsand strong community support. I love it for Pathfinder and even more so for SR. Character creation is so much more involved in Shadowrun at first level compared to a d20 game.
No love of the Autos? How come? I mean they more than have their drawbacks, but they have their place. In any case to each their own right.
I heard Vice and Ghost Cartels are both decent books. I like that SR is a little more do what works don't allow what doesn't. One thing that sold SR4 20th for me was that it makes the GM a GM, not the rules ref while everyone does what they feel. You have no idea what your threshold (DC) is in almost every case and it says in black and white that you shouldn't. Roll the dice and you will find out if you made it or not. A lot more intriquing than you gotta roll a 20. I trust my GMs so that is not an issue. Cheaters find that they don't have people to play with.
My issues with Herolab do stem from price, but it's not the basic package that's the problem. It's the fact that I need to spend something like 80 dollars to use all the books (that I already bought from Paizo) to get full use of the program. I don't buy a lot of video games, but that's a frustrating level to me. I'll probably get the expansions eventually, I'm just not happy about it, and don't like the business model.
Nothing really against autos, I just prefer a more stealth oriented game. From time to time I like going a little over the top and having a good scary firefight...but for standard SR games, I'd rather things go quiet.
I grew up with a couple old timers, so I take it for granted that it's assumed the rules are guidlines (generally guidelines I stick by), but the more I look around the more I find not everyone shares my sentiment. It's nice having the books point out the GM is the final word. One of these days I'm going to have to pick up that 20th book. ..