From Catalyst:
As you hopefully have noticed, we have some ambitious goals for the Year of Shadowrun. One of these goals is to get as many people playing in the Sixth World as possible. With computer games, a deck-building game, a miniatures game, a board game, and the Fifth Edition of the tabletop role-playing game, we’re set to provide a range of gaming experiences for Shadowrun. But we’re missing one link.
As we have been planning the various games, we’ve worked to maintain continuity between all the different pieces. We want them all to feel like Shadowrun, and that means they should not only have the flavor text and terminology that conveys the texture of the universe, but when possible they should share certain mechanics and ways of doing things. The goal would be for players to be able to have a sense of familiarity each time they sit down to one of these games, though the games should also provide unique experiences suited to their various natures. This means that if you play Shadowrun: Crossfire, the deck-building game, then move to the role-playing game, you should recognize different elements, pieces of gear, and rules that feel familiar to you.
We hope this will help people move easily from game to game, but we also know that role-playing games do not have the gentlest learning curve in the world. So to help players of the other games get involved in role-playing, as well as bringing entirely new players to the world of Shadowrun, we are announcing a new product: the Shadowrun Introductory Box Set.
The goal of the set is simple: It should have everything you need to quickly and easily launch an adventure in Shadowrun’s Sixth World setting. It should be approachable, fun to use, eye-catching, and entertaining.
With those larger goals in mind, we set about planning the contents for the box. Here’s what’s going in:
- The Edge of Now: A world book introducing players to the madness, magic, and mean streets of the Sixth World, providing what they need to know to hit the streets at top speed.
- Rules of the Street: A simplified rulebook that includes the critical elements of Shadowrun—Matrix, magic, machines, and so on—in an easy-to-use fashion.
- Plots and Paydays: An adventure book with complete information on missions for the players; they can be played alone, or as a longer, inter-connected campaign.
- Character Booklets: Four pre-generated character sheets, with stats, background, favored tactics, and advancement possibilities—everything you need to pick a character and start earning some nuyen.
- Character sheets: Custom sheets for each character, with complete stats for easy reference, along with full-color character art.
- Maps: Modular maps of common areas shadowrunners may run into that can be arranged in different ways to suit a variety of missions.
- Spell and Gear Cards: Cards that list the stats spells and gear included in the game, so that players have an easy reference in front of them.
We’re looking for ways to include more, including counters that can help you track the position of your runners and their opponents as they go about their business. We’re also hoping to include customized dice instead of just standard D6s; we love seeing the Shadowrun logo come up when we roll dice.
Also, the cover illustration is being worked on by the wonderful Echo Chernik…once we’ve got in a final, just like the Fifth Edition cover, we’ll share!
We believe this set will make it easier than ever to launch into Shadowrun role-playing, and we hope it will introduce a growing audience of gamers to the joy of shooting people in the face for money.
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