I have almost played Shadowrun four or five times. Like most of my initial exposure to RPGs, I was introduced to Shadowrun through its video game adaptation “Shadowrun Returns.” As I played the game and explored the weird fusion of cyberpunk future with mysticism and fantasy magic (with some good ol’ 90’s Native American fascination thrown in) I discovered that it was based on a pen and paper RPG which had in fact just released a new edition.
Being a college student at the time and therefore poor, I picked up a secondhand copy at a used book store near where I live and began to plan the game I would run. I collected my game group and suggested we try it. It was then that we all collectively choked on the morass of rules standing between us and the rich and fertile soil of narrative novelty the game’s setting promised.
For those that have never played Shadowrun, this is a game where there are literally rules for everything. Want to fire a burst from your machine gun? Here’s the rules for the first bullet and some math to calculate what you’ll roll for each subsequent bullet you fire. Hacking a computer? Ok, well, just let me pull out the table of possible hacking actions, and oh, how far do you want to jack into this computer? Just so I can get the right rulebook out, you know?
In the end, the 3+ hour process of creating a character burned us out on the game and we never actually started playing. Since then, I’ve repeated that process multiple times. I forget how complicated the rules are and become enamored with the setting. I sit down to actually plan a game, get confused by the millions of rules (seriously this game has rules for treading water versus actually swimming versus swimming competently in a game about cyber hackers and spirit channelers in Seattle) and give up.
Ultimately, the problem I run into here is that the game’s setting is intriguing, but the system doesn’t support fluid storytelling. When trying to create unique and interesting stories as either a player or GM, the narrative is lost in the rules. Unlike previous articles, today’s topic applies equally to GMs and players. When looking to create story, the system you choose can make or break your story’s pacing.
The vast majority of RPGs fall somewhere along a spectrum of rules density. Games like Shadowrun fall at the far end of the spectrum under games that resemble tactical simulations somewhat more than role-playing vehicles. At the other end of the spectrum are games like Fiasco, where there’s next to no rules beyond basic framing for what is in essence improvisational acting. Games like Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, most incarnations of Star Wars, and Deadlands tend to fall somewhere in between those two extremes. Knowing the kind of story you want to tell and matching it to the system will either make your life really easy or bowel-twistingly annoying.
If you’re looking to tell an interesting story and don’t mind slowing down for combat encounters, then what I call “Gold Standard” systems may be for you. Dungeons and Dragons falls just a hair past the middle of the spectrum toward the tactical end, but makes for an excellent balance between the two. The rules provide just enough depth and options to keep things moving while still allowing combat and other encounters to have some meat to them. It’s a balanced meal and it will satisfy most gaming groups. If story is most important to you or you really want to accurately simulate a club striking an Orc, you may need to look elsewhere, however.
Hardcore tactical gamers may find Gold Standard games too watered down. If you liked 4th edition D&D, or routinely play Axis and Allies, you may just be a fan of “Nuts and Bolts” games. These games lend themselves toward simpler stories, because inevitably most of your playtime will be spent in combat or simulating encounters and honestly your players probably won’t be able to remember overly complex plots when plot points are coming multiple hours apart due to complex rules. That’s definitely not to say these games don’t tell good stories, they just require a different approach. In fact, I may end up devoting a whole article in the future to telling good stories in complex games.
Lastly, and probably where I personally fall, is the “Fast and Loose” end of the spectrum. These games put telling a story ahead of simulating scenarios. Rules may be present and may be detailed, but always take a back seat to telling the story. My favorite system (FFG’s Star Wars) encourages a fluid story with room for surprises and twists necessitated by the dice used in the game. Fiasco tells a story without a GM by building on character relationships. If your group wants to tell a story but doesn’t like crunching numbers, you may find Fast and Loose to be your sort of game.
Ultimately it all comes down to what kind of story you want to tell. Complex, high concept, or twist-filled stories work better on the Fast and Loose end of the spectrum because more of the groups energy can be devoted to following and remembering the plot and keeping the pace moving rather than rolling dice and memorizing rules. Conversely, a simple “bad guys have your [insert MacGuffin here]” plot works well in a meatier, Nuts and Bolts system because the simplicity of the plot may become stale to players in other systems without something to do between simple plot points. A more complex game gives the group something to devote brainpower to between story jumps.
One final note for players: collaborate with your GM when picking a system. For all its complexity, Shadowrun actually has a very detailed character creation system, but if the sort of story your GM has in mind isn’t going to warrant digging deep into your character’s background then you shouldn’t feel you need to invest the time. Conversely, if you bring a stereotype to a narrative game you might find yourself having to make things up on the fly, which while fun if you’re creative can be frustrating if you don’t enjoy making it up as you go along.
I believe I have found a solution to my on-again off-again relationship with Shadowrun. Should the urge to explore the strange mystic future strike me again I’ll probably just run Shadowrun’s setting with Edge of the Empire’s rules. Because at my core I’m not a Nuts and Bolts gamer, and that’s ok. Somewhere I’m sure a hardcore Star Wars fan has home brewed a Nuts and Bolts version of Edge because it’s just too Fast and Loose for them. Gaming’s a varied hobby and there are RPG flavors for everyone. The important thing is to make sure your choice matches your group and the story you plan to create. Just please don’t make your players do calculus to decide whether they are able to successfully walk without tripping.