The higher level of abstractation seem to alienate players that prefer a bit more bookkeeping and detailed rules in order to get that added sense of realism when it also comes to various edge cases, but the reduced focus on detailed rules and increased focus on the narrative and actually playing the game and moving the story forward might appeal to a broader audience (it was almost a year before 4th edition with its fixed TN finally got accepted so I think it might be a bit early to judge 6th edition here - but already now ee can probably argue that this might also be a good thing if you for example are new to the genre and wonder what edition to start with). Simplicity and playability also seem to be one of the design goals for the 6th edition.
For example, matrix rules in 4th edition was more complex and realistic (which might appeal to computer engineers) while matrix rules of 6th edition focus on simplicity and playability (which seem to appeal a broader audience). One vector you also might want to focus on is complexity and realism vs simplicity and playability. Unless you personally, intentionally or unintentionally, perhaps favor 5th in front of other editions.? and not sure why you choose to zoom in on for example cyberdecks in particular (this was bad only in 4th edition, and later corrected in 5th) if you also don't zoom in on for example Limits (this was only bad in 5th, and later corrected in 6th). I am surprised that there is no mentioning about the skill web (the most realistic skill defaulting mechanism to date).Īlso surprised that there is no mentioning about matrix finally being playable. I will try and trim some length in future edits. Any other feedback for me? Ideas to make it better? Message me, or post below.Īlso: yes, it's a bit too long right now. If that's you, message me and I'll hook you up. I'm stillseeking volunteers to write about 2e and 3e. So far I have posts for 1e (from u/AstroMacGuffin), 3e (from u/JessickaRose), 4e (from u/tonydiethelm), 5e ( u/Deals_With_Dragons and u/adzling), and 6e ( u/D4rvill).
There isn't a version of Shadowrun that doesn't have multiple annoying issues, and there isn't one that's easy to learn either (well, maybe Anarchy, but that's broken in different ways.) To get around this issue, I've structured the doc as a series of guest posts from advocates for each version, and edited them to keep the flamewar stuff to a minimum ) Hopefully this can at least give our new players something to go on to make an informed decision. It's also a really difficult question to answer! Because honestly I don't feel like there is a correct answer here. so I am attempting to do something about it. But it's also a really logical question for new players to ask, and it kinda sucks we don't have a stock answer in place for them. Now, I'm uncomfortably aware that this is Flame War Ground Zero, and even posting this post could explode my Reddit mentions.
I've written an attempt at answering this.