A little overwhelmed... A GM's first take on Shadowrun 4e

Disclaimer: This is not an advertisement for a Shadowrun 4e game, this is a cry for help. So I went and spent some money. A dear friend of mine has been crying about playing some Shadowrun. I've heard of it, I've seen tidbits here and there... but I was NOT prepared for what I got myself into... I read the Core Rulebook cover to cover (That story is freaking amazing by the way), then I went fishing through the support modules for extended information. Background info: Been a GM long time, lots of other games, etc etc. I have a few question for those that have been a GM for a Shadowrun campaign, but again a disclaimer: There are NO wrong answers to be had here. I value any and all opinions and greatly appreciate any input given. I'm not inclined to use other people's ideas exactly, but I will take bits and pieces from each that I think I can wrap my brain around and see how I can make the puzzle pieces fit: - How, on Earth, does one wrap their head around the scope of something like this. The idea of 3 planes of existence all in action at once for a group, with separate skill checks based on which plane their on, with separate damage charts to be kept track of... just how? - AR and VR, with Tags on everything, even foodstuffs... tags that can be sprayed by the aerosol in the public restrooms, constant camera feeds, audio feeds, surveillance drones... How do you begin to describe this? I thought of Google Glass for AR, but even then, the concept videos are limited, compared to how this reads. - How do you limit the broadcasting of nodes to make it manageable? I understand that the fridge will order you food when you're getting low, but does it broadcast as a node, or just connect like one? Do you represent nodes as though they were Cell Phone towers, spaced apart? How does it work in your experience? - Technomancer: Am I supposed to be seeing Neo here, because I don't. I see a virtual spider, with a web that stretches and manipulates many places and things at one time. - The combat I understand (Thank you GM screen), and the dice concept wasn't too rough either, it's actually a pretty clever system. - Any tips/tricks/tidbits would be appreciated... because right now, my brain hurts. Final disclaimer: Please keep it civil, as differing opinions are appreciated here... even Home rules that make the game run smoother. There will be no branding of Heretics in this thread, nor will there be the visiting of the Emperor's divine mercy. Thank you for taking the time to indulge my ranting. P.S. Exterminatus isn't allowed either. Good day.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I have is to keep it simple and introduce things slowly. If you have a good handle on combat, then let people make characters who focus on combat and then introduce either hacking or magic. My personal preference is magic, as it fits into combat easier than hacking, but just personal preference. Spellcasting is different from magic, so make sure you read up on both and are comfortable with both before you start getting too into it. Don't be afraid to tell people "look, this is intense, some of you can play magic users, but we're taking baby steps so you either use spells or spirits, not both, least not yet" and have everyone who goes the magic user route have the same limitation. All caster, or all summoners, until the you're all comfortable. It might not be what your friend wants to hear, if he's familiar with SR, but I would recommend playing just out of the core book for a while. The add on books add some really neat things in, but all those neat things add extra complexity to your plate as GM. It' very easy to get overwhelmed with this game. As for the AR/VR nodes...I'm not exactly sure what your asking here. It might be that my weakest area in the rules is hacking. My understanding is just about everything electronic counts as a node, and can be networked. Those networks can be as complicated or as simple as you like. When I GM I normally try to keep things simple, as I think there's better things to worry about to enrich the game than if you can hack into someone's banking records through their toaster. If I want that to be an option, it becomes an option, if I don't, it doesn't, and I normally go with the idea that if someone has something they want kept safe they make some basic effort to keep it so.

Fraust T. said: When I GM I normally try to keep things simple, as I think there's better things to worry about to enrich the game than if you can hack into someone's banking records through their toaster. Thank you Fraust. It seems a little less a burden when you know other people are seeing this game as convoluted as you... also, this quote here, I think I'll make this a requirement of the campaign at some point, when I do get it started. Was a great laugh, and a confidence booster too. Much appreciated.