http://www.teilzeithelden.de/2015/07/20/rezension-kreuzfeuerrungun-der-weg-des-kriegers-shadowrun-5/

Vorweg sei erstmal kurz festgestellt, was Kreuzfeuer nicht ist: ein Ausrüstungsbuch. Das möchte man vielleicht glauben, wenn man an den Namensvetter aus der zweiten Edition denkt (wir erinnern uns an das Titelbild von Luis Royo, das so gar nichts von seinem eigentlichen Können zeigte).

Kreuzfeuer oder auch Run & Gun (auf englisch - das Werk aus der zweiten Edition hieß Fields of Fire im Original) ist das ergänzende Regelbuch rund um den Kampf bei Shadowrun 5. Während ich diese Zeilen schreibe, liegen mir die englische Fassung als PDF und die deutsche Fassung als gedrucktes Werk vor.

Inhalt

Es ist ja nicht so, als würde der von „Gun-“ oder „Equipment-Porn“ verwöhnte Spieler ganz ohne neue Ausrüstung auskommen. Von den insgesamt 216 Seiten gehört gut ein Drittel dem Spielzeug. Den Rest teilen sich vier umfangreiche Regelabschnitte und die Prosa drum herum.

Kampf in den Schatten / Combat in the shadows

Den Anfang macht eine kurze Einführung über Sinn und Unsinn des Kampfes. Dabei versucht der Text aus der Sicht eines Runners ein paar Grundregeln zu definieren, die von Spielern als Anleitungen aufgefasst werden können, aber nicht müssen. Generell mag ich die Ideen hinter den Tipps, weil es für die ganze Runde hilfreich ist, sich auf ein Ideal zu einigen. Andererseits habe ich auch immer wieder Spieler erlebt, die sehr dogmatisch an solche Sachen gehen und die menschliche Seite ihrer Figur vermissen lassen. Was auch dieser Text nicht kann, ist darauf hinzuweisen, dass der typische Runner im Eifer des Gefechtes eben nicht das Einmaleins des Kampfes runterbeten kann.

Arsenal

Hier geht es in die Einkaufsabteilung des Buches. Dabei werden nicht nur bekannte Waffen aus vorherigen Editionen mit neuen Regeln vorgestellt, sondern auch Zubehör (z.B. Vordergriff), Munition (EX-Explosiv ist wieder da!) und modische Kleidung Panzerungen für jede Gelegenheit. Es gibt insgesamt wenig Überraschungen und auch keinen Spielverderber, wie die Überwaffe oder ähnliches.

Das besondere an diesem Kapitel ist nicht nur die reichhaltige Bebilderung, sondern die schicke und vollfarbige Bebilderung. Im Vergleich zum Arsenal-Quellenbuch aus der vierten Edition schneidet dieses Kapitel bestens ab.

Meine Favoriten aus dem Abschnitt sind auf jeden Fall der Täuschungspanzer (er blutet, auch wenn Du es nicht tust), das Gürtelschwert (erinnert an die Flatspace-Technologie aus dem gar nicht mal so guten Film Ultraviolet) und die Unterlauf-Kettensäge (sic!).

Taktik und Handwerkszeug / Tactics & Tools

Hier geht es ans Eingemachte. Spieler werden hier an die Hand genommen, um ihren Platz in einem Kampf zu finden und zu behaupten. Es geht um die Befehlskette, Rollen und Redundanz. Die Beschreibungen wirken militärisch und idealisiert und nicht alles davon lässt sich in einem plötzlichen, kurzen und dreckigen Gefecht nutzen. Aber es bietet eine gute Basis, vor allem für den Kämpfer in der Runde. Gleichzeitig hat der Spielleiter etwas, um ohne große taktische Kenntnis Antagonisten professionell auftreten lassen zu können.

Die Krönung bietet die angewandte Taktik kleiner Einheiten in Form der Beschreibung eines knappen Dutzend an Kampfmanövern. Zur Durchführung wird eine spezielle Teamworkprobe fällig, bei deren Gelingen sich eine Wirkung in Form von Boni bei Initiative, Angriffsproben oder ähnlichem entfaltet. Dazu werden ein paar Gadgets vorgestellt, die zu den verschiedenen Manövern passen beziehungsweise die Erfolgswahrscheinlichkeit erhöhen können. Mit dabei sind Teleskopspiegel, Industriegleitmittel oder auch das taktische Netzwerk. Wie auch in vorherigen Editionen ist das PI-Tac (früher auch als Tacnet bekannt) ein ordentlicher Schub für jedes Team, das eine derartige Software trotz schwerer Verfügbarkeit und exorbitanter Preise in die Hände bekommt. Hier lohnt sich ein Blick ins Errata, da die Preise des PI-Tac in beiden vorliegenden Werken überholt sind (aus giga-teuer wird „nur“ mega-teuer).

Spätestens mit diesem Kapitel wird klar, dass die starke Vertiefung des Schwerpunktes rund um den Kampf nicht für jeden Spieler oder gar für jede Runde eine sinnvolle Erweiterung ist. Es bedarf mindestens eines Charakters mit einem entsprechenden Schwerpunkt und Hintergrund, um diese Optionen sinnvoll in die Runde zu integrieren. Und damit das Ganze funktioniert, müssen alle Teammitglieder mitziehen und Entsprechendes trainieren. Das passt vermutlich nicht zum Verständnis jeder Runde von Shadowrunnern, bietet dann aber auf jeden Fall eine sinnvolle Erweiterung für die Gegenseite.

Kampftechniken & Spezial Treffer / Killshots and more

Dieses Kapitel will die Optionen im Kampf durch neue oder alternative Regeln erweitern und beginnt - für meinen Geschmack genau richtig - mit einem Essay darüber, wie man das richtige Maß für seine Spielrunde findet. Allzu häufig findet man auch heute noch Spielleiter, die sehr dogmatisch mit Regeln oder ihren Wünschen umgehen und da ist diese eingebaute Sensibilisierung überaus sinnvoll.

Denn dann geht es darum, den Schwierigkeitsgrad in allen möglichen Bereichen anzupassen. Mehr Handlungen pro Phase? Initiative wie in den ersten Editionen? An Panzerung vorbeischießen? Tödlicher geht immer. Und ergänzend bietet dieses Kapitel eine Kurzübersicht über die ohnehin nicht wenigen Einflussfaktoren aus dem Grundregelwerk, die eine Spielrunde ohne neue Regeloptionen als Stellschrauben im Kampf nutzen kann.

Es werden neue Optionen bei „Angesagten Zielen“ vorgestellt wie auch spezielle Angriffsarten, die sich zum Teil auf Spezialmunition bezieht (z.B. mit Leuchtspurmuni etwas brennbares anzünden oder jemanden durch eine Wunde Blut in die Augen laufen lassen, um ihn zu blenden). Neu sind Trefferzonen mit speziellen Effekten bei Schaden. Neben den 16 (sic!) bei Menschen, wird dieses Konzept auch auf Fahrzeuge erweitert. Und dann folgen neue Handlungsoptionen im Kampf wie „Präventives Parieren“ oder sich „In Deckung werfen“.

Das sind eine Menge neuer Möglichkeiten, die aber im Grunde nicht neu sind. Jede Spielrunde wird früher oder später auf entsprechende Aktionen gestoßen sein und oft wird man sich schnell auf eine Probe und eine Schwelle geeinigte haben und fertig. Neue Regeln mögen inspirieren oder auch einem Disput vorbeugen, bedeuten aber zuerst einmal, dass es mehr zu lernen gibt. Ob das eine sinnvolle Ergänzung für ein sowieso schon als äußerst regelumfassend verschrienes Rollenspiel ist?

In diesem Kapitel gibt es allerdings auch ein paar Bereiche, die mich gleich mitnehmen. Das wären zum einen weitere Optionen für die Verwendung von Edge wie zum Beispiel zu Gunsten eines Teammitgliedes (ich vermisse den Team-Karmapool aus früheren Editionen). Und dann kommt noch eine Seite von neuen Vor- und Nachteilen, die einem allerdings natürlich erst dann helfen, wenn es um die Erschaffung eines neuen Charakters geht - wobei es sicherlich auch Spielrunden gibt, die ein neues Regelwerk oder Quellenbuch hin und wieder für ein Refurbishing der Spielrunde nutzen (ich, zum Beispiel).

Der vorletzte Teil in diesem Kapitel befasst sich mit Kampfkünsten. Auch diese kennt der Fan früherer Editionen schon, aber das neue Gewandt ist runder denn je - und deutlich umfassender. Über 40 Stile werden präsentiert, die sich als etwas Eigenständiges (keine Fertigkeit) erlernen lassen und einem dann das Erlernen von Techniken gewähren, die zu dem Stil passen. Dabei geht es nicht nur um den bewaffneten oder waffenlosen Nahkampf. Es geht auch um den Einsatz von Pistolen, Akrobatik oder Bögen. Unter dem Strich geht es dennoch komplett um im Kampf verwendbare Manöver, aber ich mag die Idee, einen Shadowrunner oder NSC mit dem Stil „Parcours“, „Gun Kata“ (Equilibrium lässt grüßen) oder „Cowboykampf“ (immer ein Lasso am Mann!) auszustatten. Die verfügbaren Techniken beziehen sich dabei allerdings häufig auf im Abschnitt davor vorgestellte Optionen, die man dann zumindest mit der Verwendung der Technik einführen muss, will man Kampfkünste überhaupt in seiner Runde haben.

Als Ergänzung zu den „Angesagten Zielen“ gibt es zum Schluss noch einen etwa einseitigen Abschnitt über das Reparieren spezieller Schäden, der die Regeln aus dem Grundregelwerk der vorgestellten Schadensoptionen wegen erweitert.

Am Leben bleiben / Staying alive

Hierbei handelt es sich um ein klassisches Spielleiter-Kapitel, das sich um die Beschreibung von nicht-alltäglichen Umgebungen dreht. Hitze, Kälte, verseuchte Orte, Orte unter Wasser oder im All. Dabei wird dies nicht nur von der weltlichen Seite beleuchtet, die allerlei Probleme und Gefahren birgt (inklusive Langzeitfolgen), sondern immer auch von der astralen. Als Bonus werden in roten Boxen verschiedene interessante Beispielorte in den benannten Gefahrengebieten vorgestellt, die als Inspiration oder Schauplatz für Abenteuer dienen können.

Die abschließend beschriebenen Vor- und Nachteile sind speziell auf diese besonderen Umgebungen abgestimmt und deshalb nur für entsprechend spezielle Kampagnen brauchbar. Vermutlich hat man diese deshalb nicht mit den wenige Seiten davor aufgeführten Vor- und Nachteilen zusammengeworfen.

Sprengstoffe für Fortgeschrittene / Blow up good

Wie der Titel schon sagt, geht es um erweiterte Regeln zu Sprengstoffen. Dabei werden zu Beginn die Schwierigkeiten beschrieben, die alleine schon der Erwerb mit sich bringen kann und anschließend werden die verschiedenen Anwendungsmöglichkeiten kurz geschildert und Möglichkeiten beschrieben, eigenen Sprengstoff herzustellen.

Die eigentlichen Regelerweiterungen beginnen damit, was für Auswirkungen eine Sprengung für die Hintergrundstrahlung haben kann. Vermutlich werden Spieler aufgrund der dafür notwendigen Schadenshöhe nur selten zu den Verursachern gehören, der Spielleiter hat hier aber ein grobes Maß dafür, wie Katastrophen den erwachten Spielfiguren das Leben schwer machen.

Greifbarer ist der folgende Abschnitt über Anbringung und Timing von Sprengladungen, damit Gebäude, Fahrzeuge oder Gegenstände beschädigt oder zerstört werden. Im Grundbuch gab es bisher nur Struktur und Panzerungswerte nach Materialart, was es trotz aller Rechenregeln einer Spielrunde schwer machte, sich vorzustellen, wie etwas komplexeres als eine Tür oder Wand angegangen werden sollte. Hier wird auf gut zwölf Seiten vom Gebäudeabbruch über die Autobombe bis zur Schneidladung alles Wissenswerte vorgestellt. Gleich darauf wird Material und Zubehör mit Beschreibungen und Preisen aufgeführt.

Anhang

Den Abschluss bilden Tabellen für die Ausrüstung, die nicht nur das in diesem Buch vorgestellte Material beinhalten, sondern auch die Dinge aus dem Grundregelwerk (Waffen, Panzerung und Zubehör). Dann folgt noch ein Cheat-Sheet zu einigen Optionen, dessen Umfang aus dem entsprechenden Kapitel von anderthalb Seiten auf eine Seite komprimiert wurde - meiner Meinung nach ziemlich unsinnig.

Vor dem eigentlichen Ende des Buches folgen in der deutschen gedruckten Ausgabe, wie auch im englischen PDF, noch zwei Seiten Werbung. Dann hat man es geschafft.

Preis- /Leistungsverhältnis

Mehr als 200 Seiten Ergänzungen und Optionen für 19,95 EUR ist absolut marktüblich. Bedenkt man die aufwändige Aufmachung der deutschen Ausgabe, ist der Preis unter dem, was hätte erwartet werden können. Mit dem deutschen Grundregelwerk, das für den gleichen Preis fast 500 Seiten liefert, darf man das natürlich nicht vergleichen.

Das englischsprachige PDF erhält man aktuell bei DriveThruRPG für 24,99 USD. Der Preis ist ebenfalls angemessen, vor allem, wenn man die Preispolitik von Pegasus Spiele für die deutschen Versionen nicht damit vergleicht. 49,99 USD für die gedruckte englische Version beim von CGL bevorzugten BattleShop würde ich allerdings nicht ausgeben, eher vielleicht 36,95 EUR, die der Sphärenmeister dafür verlangt.

Erscheinungsbild

Wie schon angedeutet, kann man über die Optik des Buches nicht klagen. Es ist komplett vollfarbig im bekannten Design von Shadowrun 5 gehalten und hat zahllose Bilder zu Ausrüstung und Szenen, die durchweg von guter Qualität sind.

Bei der gedruckten deutschen Version kommt noch hinzu, dass auf dem Buchdeckel vorne und hinten sowie auf dem Buchrücken Logo, Titel und Umrandung als Relief ins Buch gedruckt wurden, was die Wertigkeit zusätzlich erhöht. Anderswo bekommt man so etwas nur im Rahmen einer teuren Sonderedition.

Bonus/Downloadcontent

Es gibt zur englischen Version bereits ein herunterladbares Errata, das größtenteils aber nicht vollständig in das deutsche Kreuzfeuer eingearbeitet wurde. Für dieses gibt es aktuell noch kein offizielles Errata, aber natürlich einen entsprechenden Sammelthread im Pegasus-SR5-Forum.

Fazit

Kreuzfeuer wie auch Run & Gun sind in vielerlei Hinsicht schwere Kost. Zum einen, weil fast jede Seite interessante Möglichkeiten bietet, das Grundregelwerk aufzubohren. Zum anderen aber natürlich auch, weil das Buch den Anspruch hat, die komplexen Regeln noch ein wenig komplexer zu machen.

Der Schwerpunkt liegt hier natürlich bei dem Kämpfer, den vermutlich jede Runde mindestens ein Mal im Team vertreten hat und der kann, darf und muss das Buch verschlingen. Ob er allerdings mit dessen Hilfe aus der Bande von Individuen, die ein Team aus Shadowrunnern ja nun mal meist ist, eine schlagkräftige Kampfeinheit macht, wie es das Buch offeriert, bleibt der Konstitution der Spielrunden oder des Teams überlassen.

Aber selbst wenn die Gruppe nur wenige Teile des Buches für sich vereinnahmt, hat der Spielleiter hiermit die Möglichkeit, bei der Opposition noch mal eine Schippe drauf zu legen, indem er sie nach allen Regeln der Kunst des Buches effektiver und tödlicher macht und so vielleicht die Spielercharaktere dazu zwingt, nachzuziehen.

Allerdings gibt es etwas, was mir in dem Buch gefehlt hat. Und das sind die Optionen, die es der Spielrunde ermöglichen, genau die andere Richtung zu wählen und die im Grundregelwerk vorgestellten Kampfabläufe zu vereinfachen oder zu abstrahieren. Meiner Meinung nach sollte das ein Standardwerk des Kampfes, das dieses Buch ja sein will, leisten können. Andererseits ist dieser Wunsch vielleicht auch mehr meinem Alter und der schwindenden Kapazität für komplexe Regelsysteme geschuldet.

Dennoch ist klar: Wer sich Shadowrun in seiner aktuellen fünften Edition mit Haut und Haaren ergibt oder für seine Runde nach neuen Herausforderungen sucht, wird auf jeden Fall nicht an dem Core Combat Rulebook herumkommen.

This mammoth tome is billed as the 'core combat rulebook' for Shadowrun 5e, and provides a wealth of detail to supplement and expand on what the core rulebook has to say on the matter. A lot of it is gear - weapons, armour and suchlike - but that in many ways is the least important part, however much your characters like shopping. There are loads of new rules too, but again whilst they will enhance combat by giving you more options, these too are ancillary. The best bits are the more thoughtful ones. Advice on tactics, working as a team, and how to use all the new weapons and combat actions to best effect. In essence, it's a graduate school for shadowrunners, how to develop from being mere street scum to a force to be reckoned with.

But as always, we begin with some fiction. A compelling tale of a 'run going wrong fast, how familiar does that sound? Then the first chapter, Fight for your Life, presented as an online discussion of various aspects of combat along the general lines of what you don't know is the thing that kills you. It looks at fighting itself, weapons, armour, hand-to-hand brawling, tactics, teamwork and the creative use of explosives. Some of this you may have considered already, some may be new to you, but study it well. Someday it may save your 'runner's butt. It's the sort of advice that any beginning character would love to have before he steps out into the underbelly of whatever city he's in.

Next comes Arsenal, a massive listing of just about any weapon you can imagine. It's not just firearms either, perhaps you'd fancy a Highland Claymore (it's a sword, not an explosive...) or want to go all Indiana Jones with a bullwhip, and there are plenty others that are even more exotic. The firearms range from tiny holdout guns to heavy artillery. One novel one is the Shiawase Arms Puzzler, which breaks down into component parts that are disguised as items you might legitimately be carrying, everything from jewellry to commlink accessories, so you can take it someplace you are not supposed to be carrying a weapon. Each is illustrated and comes with description, commentary and a stat block.

Then Armour and Protection does the same for all the stuff you need to keep you safe - as it's pointed out earlier in Fight for your Life, it's really rather silly to spend loads on fancy weapons then skimp on protection. That nice shiny weapon is of no use to you if you are no longer alive to wield it. Neat items include several lines of designer combat wear, so you can look smart and stay safe at the same time. Of course, depending on what you are doing and where you are doing it, a full suit of heavy-duty armour may be more appropriate. That's here as well. Then it all gets exotic. People ignore you if you're dead, right? So why not have some armour specially-rigged so that any damage looks like a kill-shot and fall over when you're hit. Let the brawl move away, then get up again... On a more practical note, you'll also find all that you need for environmental protection - be it too hot, too cold or underwater or even out in space that you want to go!

The next chapter is Tactics and Tools, and here we get back to the discussions that make this book particularly fascinating. It's all about taking small-unit tactics beyond that Shadowrun standby, 'geek the mage first'. Building a team, defining roles, communications, and then holding it all together when the lead and spells start to fly, again this is well worth study if you want your team to be truly effective rather than relying on strength through superior firepower. Veterans will recognise a lot of what is here, but it is no great leap to apply basic military small-unit skills to a group of shadowrunners even if they are less disciplined than a squad of soldiers. The rule mechanics to enable you to model these techniques are included to make this section even more potent... and there are more 'tools of the trade' to empower your group to operate at peak efficiency.

This is followed by Killshots and More, which looks at effective combat, the actual delivery of force part. Options to make combat even more deadly, and ways to pursue non-lethal yet effective methods of putting your point across on the battlefield. Again every suggestion comes with the game mechanics to put it into action. Perhaps you'd like to call shots with precision accuracy, or produce devastating effects based on what ammunition your are using. You'll find plenty of ideas here, along with novel combat moves and much, much more.

Next, Staying Alive addresses other dangers that you may face. Environmental hazards, extreme weather conditions and the ills that come with them - dehydration, sunburn or frostbite... you name it, you'll find it here along with the rules to implement it in your game. Man-made problems like pollution and radiation are included as well. Or perhaps you'd rather venture into the air, under the sea or into the blackness of space?

Then there's Blow Up Good, everything you might want to know about the combat applications of explosives. You may think that blowing stuff up looks like fun, but it's dangerous - and not just in the obvious way, for example you might like to consider the legal implications of being caught with a load-out of illicit explosives. It doesn't matter if you want to purchase or make your charges, or if you want to drop a building or a troll, just about everything you need to know is here.

Finally, there's a another piece of fiction, Hostile Extraction; and an accummulation in one place of a whole stack of useful tables.

Overall, this takes combat to an art form, with plenty of ideas to enhance the use of violence in your game, coupled with the equipment and rules additions to make it happen. Even if combat is not your favourite part of role-playing, this will make you reconsider joining in the next brawl with enthusiasm!

Shadowrun: Run and Gun provides tools and tricks for the working shadowrunner. Do you need this book? Unless you are running a very combat oriented game, probably not, but it sure has a lot of fun toys and options in it. The rule options can be extremely detailed and are not going to be needed for most games and styles of play, but they are an interesting reference and provide interesting ideas and adventure seeds. As a GM, I would definitely put this book on the list of things to have to scare players with.

Shadowrun: Run and Gun, is the first major sourcebook for the 5th edition of Shadowrun providing more toys for the players (and GMs), not just guns but armor, explosives, tactics, martial arts and hazardous environments all get explored in this book. There should be something for just about everyone (but especially the GM).

The book begins with one of the ubiquitous fiction sections, then a (in game world) discussion on weapons followed by the weapons themselves, this section is call Arsenal naturally, everything from chainsaws to flamethrowers, crossbows to lasers, something for everyone. Additionally there are rules for customization of weapon and new things to customize them with. Overall, a good expansion of the available options for weaponry including more nonlethal choices.

Followed by a section on Armor & Protection, to keep you from being killed by all the new weapons . . . Much of it is armored fashion which provides some interesting insight into the Shadowrun world with some in game world discussion on how best to use armor and style to your best advantage. Also included are various forms of unusual environment protection (including space suits) and new options for armor. Again, a nice broadening of options.

Next, there is Tactics & Tools, which discussion the place of combat tactics with a basic overview of small unit tactics, how various groups apply them and some rules to give mechanical advantages to those groups that follow trained tactics. Additionally some gear to enhance tactical options, including tactical communications networks is provided. Killshots & More provides options to adjust the combat rules for greater or lesser lethality, expanding rules for called shots and combat actions and new qualities. Rule for martial art styles are provided which in turn allow access to additional types of combat actions and other coolness.

Staying Alive is all about environmental hazards and how to survive them (or not) from extreme heat to bone chilling cold, radiation to vacuum with appropriate new qualities to help runners do one or the other. Then, Blow Up Good provides advanced demolition rules for blowing up everything from people to building as well as rules for making your own explosives (don’t glitch!).

It ends as it began with another fiction piece and then tables, lots of them, covering everything from the earlier chapters and the core book as well. All of the weapons! And a handy cheat sheet for the new combat options.

Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.

Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/

Run and Gun contains many of the same ideas that Augmentation provided in the previous edition. Players always appreciate new gear to use, and the rules for explosives seem appropriate given the setting. I feel, however, that too much space is used on rare scenarios like extreme pollution or radiation poisoning. The book even expresses that these scenarios are rare, so why is it taking the time to explore them? Of course, more material is always better than less, but I think more time spent detailing the particulars of how small-unit tactics function and less on the damage of inhaling toxic smoke would be more appropriate.

Combat chainsaws, laser weapons, armoured ball gowns, and military grade heavy armour; what more could you want to expand your runners armoury?

Run and Gun provides players and GM's with a great variety of weapons and armour, along with expanded rules covering martial arts, explosives, hazardous environments and enough called shots to make you cringe. Well worth the investment.

I have always loved Shadowrun from the day I got my hands on first edition through the disappointment of fourth edition (deckers are hackers, but so are riggers??!!??). Through it all I have stuck with the game. Gave the rule changes a try. Some I loved (initiation) some not so much (still miss my combat pool). I have to say I think Shadowrun 5th edition is a great progression of the title. When SR5 was released I was thrilled, deckers were back, the matrix made more sense, limits are good things, but I missed some of my favorite weapons. I couldn't wait for this expansion to be released. I wanted my form fitting body armor and my concealable quick draw holster back. Run and Gun does not disappoint.

More than expanded combat gear (which is expansive) it is also rules that I felt the core were missing (the burst fire damage options for instance). It also expanded many of the skills with maneuvers and advanced rules. The martial arts section is exhaustive. The maneuvers make the game more cinematic and seem well balanced without destroying balance.

This is a MASSIVE book and I feel that my money was well spent. I am enjoying the fiction as well as the setting information. (Space combat... hmm-mm think I might have to get my poor players into orbit). At this point I am very excited to see what comes next, and if it is on par with what we have gotten so far in the core rules and this expansion, then I know it will be great.

Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Run & Gun

Originally posted on www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Run & Gun System-Shadowrun 5e Producer- Catalyst Price- PDF $25 TL;DR- What fans have been dying for! 93%

Basics- Time for the first hardcover expansion for Shadowrun 5e. This book focuses on physical combat. It starts off covering several new weapons ranging from swords to laser guns. Next, the book presents new armor and clothing options. From here, Run & Gun begins to focus on combat heavily starting with small squad tactics and new teamwork combat maneuvers. After team combat, the book spotlights called shot locations, special attacks with different ammo types, and more combat options. Following general combat, the book introduces martial arts with new combat maneuvers specific to each art. The last two sections of the book focus on environment hazards and demolition.

Fluff or Story- This book is full of stories. Catalyst takes great care to build story in across all the levels of the book. Each section of the book is introduced with a story building the world of Shadowrun. Every weapon is treated with some banter between different characters as they review the items as if they were talking about items in an internet forum. Even major rule sections get snark like summoning fire elementals underwater (spoiler-it's a bad idea!). Every inch of the book builds 2075 America into a living, breathing world. 5/5

Crunch or Mechanics- This book is also full of mechanics. The book introduces armor pieces, new armor/weapon types, martial arts forms, rules for all sorts of things from casting spells in a space suit to explosive decompression underwater. Even better, the book emphasizes and re-presents small rule sections that players and GMs may have forgotten. I really enjoyed quick rule summaries of these important, minor rules in sidebars. Building on this, the book provides examples of how to do the math that makes the game work. And as I said before, the book has lots of fun with its own rules and seriousness. A perfect example is explosive decompression. You fail a little, and it's bad. You fail a lot, and it's really bad. You completely screw-up, and you summon a kraken and die (most likely). It's an excellent way to meld rules, the world, and theme. 5/5

Execution- I'm reviewing a digital copy. What I saw, I liked. The text is nicely divided so you don't have solid pages of block text. The whitespace, side bars, tables, and pictures makes this a pleasure to read. The book has lots of pictures, but could use a bit more. In Gun H(e)aven 3, each gun got its own picture. This book doesn't have the space for that, but I think more pictures of the items would have helped me with my mental pictures of the game. Also, this is the first printing/release of the book, so there are a few errors that are being compiled to help with future releases of the book. Honestly, it's a fun read, but I felt like I wanted more to see and a bit fewer errors. The faults are by no grind them to a halt, but they are noticeable as you dig deeper into the book and system. 4/5

Summary- This isn't the book I thought it would be. That is not a bad thing, but I don't know if this was what I thought I was going to get. But, I am happy with the end product. I feel like I've learned a bit more about the world of Shadowrun. I love the new abilities that were carried over from forth edition or created for fifth. The last two section of the book are not as useful if you just play in the urban sprawls and want to gun down any go-gangers you see, but if you ever need to blow up a space station, there are well-done rules that will help you and your GM carry out whatever pyromaniac dreams you may have. Yes, plan B can be twice as much explosive as plan A. The Shadowrun community has been dying for some new Shadowrun 5e content, and this product delivers. While this product has a few flaws, if this is the quality of the next books, then I will happily buy each and every one. 93%

Originally published at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2014/04/16/tabletop-review-shadowrun-run-gun/

Run & Gun is our second major Shadowrun release of 2014, with the first being the awesome Digital Tools Box. Usually Shadowrun has several small PDF releases a month, but Catalyst Game Labs has really cut back on that with the release of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition. For those that miss all those little one to two dozen page PDF stat block collections like Gun H(e)aven 3, Parazoology 2, Used Car Lot and others like them, you’ll be happy to know that a huge chunk of Run & Gun reads and feels like an omnibus of those pieces. There are roughly seventy pages of new armor and weapons in this this sourcebook! That should keep you busy well… until Sixth Edition rears its ugly head. Seriously, this book is a one stop shop for things to murder (or be murdered) with. Best of all those thirty page stat blocks tend to cost $7.95 EACH. So for Run & Gun, you’re getting the equivalent of a little more than two of those supplements (which would run you $16), but you’re also getting another 148 pages of content as well. Hopefully this knowledge upfront helps ease the sticker price of this sourcebook. I know my first instinct was, “THIRTY DOLLARS FOR THIS? WHAT THE HECK???” Once the shock wears off however, you can see that you’re getting a much better deal cost-wise with Run & Gun than with all those little (overpriced?) PDF supplements. So for some of you, the lack of prolific releases for Shadowrun 5e will be made up by the sheer value of this weighty tome.

Of course, there is so much more to Run & Gun than exotic items like space armor, harpoon guns and monofilament garrotes. The format of Run & Gun follows the usual Shadowrun motif we have come to expect from CGL. You get short pieces of fiction interspersed with metaplot told from the point of view of JackPoint (a Shadowrun Matrix group for those of you who are new to the game with 5e) and a bunch of mechanics. It’s worth noting that unlike a lot of Shadowrun books, Run & Gun breaks from the Jackpoint POV to straight rules and back with little or no warning. That might make the book seem like a chaotic mess at first as you’ll wonder why the speaker du jour suddenly started talking in mechanics, but you’ll get used to it. Perhaps my biggest complaint about the book is this constant narrative style shift. It could have been a lot more seamless. While long time Sixth World fans are going to find the constant flipping back and forth weird but navigable, newcomers will be confused more often than not. Considering this is the first sourcebook for a new edition, Run & Gun should have been more newcomer friendly than this. Still, the book is very easy to navigate, ESPECIALLY if you get the PDF version so you can quickly turn to bookmarks and the like. Due to the twenty dollar difference and the power of CTRL+F, I’d definitely say the electronic version of Run & Gun will be a lot easier to use in your Shadowrun, Fifth Edition games. It’ll be easier on your wallet and take up less space/weight to boot!

The first third of Run & Gun are the weapons and armor stats blocks mentioned earlier. This is probably the section that will get the most use by players and GMs alike. After all, if you want to make an arctic saboteur, you’ll want the Ares Polar Sneak or Coldsuit. (Actually the art for Ares Arctic Survival Suit is a direct rip-off/homage to the Snow Serpents from G.I. Joe. I’m not sure if that is intentional or not, but it is awesome). If you want to relieve Games Workshop’s Chainsaw Warrior board game, you can do it in style with an Ash Arms Combat Chainsaw. So on and so forth. There is something for everyone in these two areas. Now that doesn’t mean ANYONE should buy a full sourcebook if all they want is a single weapon or piece of armor from it. A GM however, can really get use out of Run & Gun if only by throwing new weapons and armor at the PCs. Tired of the same old mooks and grunts? >Spiffy them up with a new machine pistol or give that gang some bike racing armor. This is especially good if you have players that have all the items in the core rulebook memorized and love to rules-laywer.

The other two thirds of Run & Gun are all new tactics and options that can be done during combat. It’s always great to see some new options in combat, but Run & Gun gives you an incredible amount. So many that there is no way even the most anal retentive player is going to memorize all, or even HALF of the options in this book. As such, even veteran players may be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options and eventually a group is going to be split on what they want to allow and what they won’t. In a worst case scenario a bad group will want to use all of these and pressure a player into feeling like they MUST purchase Run & Gun. A good group will realize this is not a mandatory Player’s Handbook 2 set of canon rules ala what you see in D&D 3.0 or Pathfinder. If you think forty+ different Martial Arts (Yet the options are still missing Savate, Sumo, Sambo, and a ton of others) is too much for everyone, trim it back to what is workable for your group. The key thing to remember with Run & Gun is that the book is more New World of Darkness where you have a buffet you can pick and choose from than Classic World of Darkness where the books are written in a way where everything is canon and woe to you that can’t afford the latest release or who lack a set on index cards cross referencing everything. Yes the sheer amount of options are INSANE, but remember the focus should never be rules and mechanics first. It’s fun first, so if any of these optional rules don’t work for you or some players don’t have access to them, DON’T USE THEM! It’s that simple.

Our first section in this area is entitled “Sixth World Combat Tactics.” You get an overview of the basic tactics players and their characters know after spending a little bit of time in the Sixth World. “Geek the Mage First” and “kill the Decker second” sort of things. It also talks about the importance of team tactics similar to what you would see in a video game ala X-Com or Shining Force. There’s some really good commentary about how to work as a team and make sure everyone has a specific function or role when drek hits the fan. I’m actually surprised this piece wasn’t in the core rulebook because it’s advice Shadowrun players of all experience levels should read. This section also gives you eleven combat maneuvers which allow two or more characters to tactical options which will give them slight bonuses in specific situations. Case in point, you have a four player team that wants to attempt the “diamond maneuver.” This characters in the shape of a diamond moving in the same direction, thus giving them 360 degrees of sight. If you get four successes on this team attempt, all members doing the diamond maneuver get a +1 bonus to surprise/ambush checks and +2 to their Initiative rolls. This is nice. You get a small, non-game breaking reward for actually performing and moving as a team. Although there are only eleven of these options, an enterprising or creative GM can easily think of more. This section then ends with odd little tools like pain grenades (suck it invisibility spells!) and battering rams.

“KIllshots and More” is where things really start to get intense. You get six different OPTIONS for combat. These range from no action phase limits for simple actions to armor piercing options. My personal favorite is the alternative initiative where characters get rewarded for extremely high rolls and their quickness. Instead of getting one action per round, each player rolls their initiative and then goes in the usual highest to lowest order. Then everyone subtracts 10 from their roll. If they have a roll above 0, they get to go again. Repeat until everyone is down to 0 initiative and start again. I know I already made a World of Darkness comparison to this already, but in many ways this initiative option, gives extremely quick players something akin to Vampire: The Masquerade‘s celerity and I like that. Previously a high initiative “just” let you go first. Now you might be able to go first and get a couple extra attacks in to boot. This option also really lets mages get more out of slow and haste style spells. Of course, just because I like it doesn’t mean you have to. These are all optional rules; I can’t stress that enough. More options are always welcome while more forced canon rules appearing outside the core rulebook are rarely welcome.

This section continues with even more new combat options a character can take when his or her turn comes up. “More Called Shots” gives you twelve attacks that are more about style or positioning instead of damage. “Location, Location, Location” lets you take aim at sixteen different body parts (Yes, including genitals). “Ammo Whammy” gives you special actions to take with uncommon round types. For example, you can try to aim your Toxic round into a part of the body that will absorb the poison faster. You can’t obviously use an EX-Explosive round for an action designed only for a tracker however.

From there we get to one of the low points in the book. “More Actions” gives you over forty NON-optional actions. These are canon and are now part of the permanent action options so no doubt you’ll see them pop up in adventure with only a reference to Run & Gun, meaning you will have light pressure to buy this book to properly understand the published piece. That’s not cool, and although 4e was REALLY guilty of this, I was hoping 5e wouldn’t start off with it right away. Why these half dozen pages weren’t in the core rulebook for 5e is beyond me. They either should have made this a separate addendum, put them in the core rulebook or not done them. Most of these are common bits to begin with, so it’s more than a little inexcusable to have them in Run & Gun.

After that you have five new ways to spend Edge, seven new positive Qualities and one negative one. Then it’s the plethora of martial arts options I mentioned previously in the review. Besides all the martial art styles I mentioned, you also have techniques, which are the equivalent of called shots for martial artists. All of this is great if you are a physical adept, but these fifteen pages might have been better off as their own separate PDF so that more detail could have been added. As it stands, it’s a lot of options, but none of them have enough depth or detail. Basically this was a great idea on paper, but not enough follow through.

Can you believe there is STILL MORE CONTENT to talk about? At this point we’re only 145 pages into the 218 page PDF. The last third of the book is pretty much two chapters, “Staying Alive” and “Blow Up Good.” “Staying Alive” talks about real world hazards characters can face. After all, it’s not just bullets, dragons and magic that will kill you in the Sixth World. Here you are given mechanics for dealing with extreme heat, cold, radiation, pollution and more. Each of these topics only gets between one and three pages of content, but Space Combat gets about seven. How does magic work in space? How do laser or bullets? What happens if your character specialized in flame magic and he’s out in a vacuum? What happens when your suit starts to leak or the hull of your craft is breached? All of these are covered here. This is great stuff, especially with the earlier space suit bits in the armor section towards the front of the book. There are also two positive and three negative qualities in this section for characters to take as well.

The last real chapter in the book is “Blow up Good.” After that, it’s some short fiction and metric ton of tables. “Blow Up Good,” as you might have surmised, is all about explosives and/or things that explode. This is a pretty detailed chapter covering various types of explosives, different detonators, accessories, rules for cutting charges and even how to blow things up via your rigger’s drone. This is really well done for people that are interesting in sabotage or whose characters go around saying, “And so he says to me, he says, ‘You want to be a baaaaad guy?!’ and I say, ‘Yeah, baby! I want to be bad!’ I says, ‘Surf’s up, Space Ponies! I’m making gravy without the lumps!’ Ah ha ha ha ha haaaaa! ” Oh god. Now I want to make THE EVIL MIDNIGHT TROLL STREET SAM WHAT BOMBS AT MIDNIGHT. If however this isn’t your cup of tea, that’s thirty pages you can just skip over. “Bad is good, baby! Down with government!”

Overall, Run & Gun is well done, but it feels like a hodge podge of small PDFS supplements thrown together until they had enough of a page count to sell it as a physical release. This means that most gamers will only use a portion of the book and excise the rest from their Shadowrun, Fifth Edition campaign. Although it’s a lot cheaper to get the weapons, armor, tactics, actions, martial arts, explosives and environmental hazards as one big bundle rather than as seven or eight supplemental PDFs, the pieces in the book aren’t for everyone. A Physical Adept fan will enjoy the martial arts and action bits but not have a lot of use for the rest. Street Samurari’s will make great use out of the weapons and armor. Mages and Decker players don’t have a lot of use for this book at all. So the amount of use you’ll get out of Run & Gun really depends on what type of character you play and how much of a Shadowrun completionist you are. Remember, those supplemental PDFs tend to run eight bucks a pop, so purchased separately, the wildly divergent sections of this book would cost you between $56-$64 bucks. Instead you’re getting them bundled for $29.99. That’s a great deal price wise. However, if all you wanted were the weapons and armor, you’re stuck paying twice as much as you would have if you could buy each section separately. So the value for Run & Gun will vary greatly depending on your play style and how much of a Sixth World junkie you are.

Can I recommend Run & Gun? Most definitely! It’s not for everyone and the very different topics at hand make the sourcebook feel like more like a Frankenstein’s Monster type of deal rather than a cohesive collection, but the content is all quality stuff. In the end, no one gamer is going to make use of every aspect of this book, but there will be at least one section you’ll really enjoy – if not more. I’d definitely suggest going electronic over physical and remind gamers that if you look at Run & Gun as a bundle instead of sourcebook, the price tag on this thing looks a lot better. Whether or not it’s worth the full thirty dollars is really going to be up to each of you reading this and if you like the wide range of content we’ve looked at today.

Run & Gun is the first 5th edition Shadowrun book in almost a year, and in many ways, it is a disappointment. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt that it is trying to be more like the classic 'State of the Art' and 'Gun Heaven' books with it's gear presentation, with sales blurb and commentary, but you end up feeling like this is done to fill space. There are far fewer weapons, armors and cool toys than Arsenal but it must be noted that many of them are new or significantly updated. There is also a good deal of artwork, all full color and large, giving it points over Arsenal. However, the lack of quantity really needs to be emphasized. As a point of comparison, Arsenal featured 17 different new melee weapons, while Run & Gun features 5, including the Monofilament Sword that was left out of the core book.

Most categories have 2 to 4 entries, and while I can understand wanting to offer viable, balanced choices instead of one or two good choices and a bunch of mediocre fillers, I feel like this does not take advantage of the games new accuracy system and expanded damage ratings. This is really driven home by the armor section, which has just as many options as Arsenal, many of which have great flavor and neat bonuses that help make them feel unique. There are some runner tools and goodies buried in the tactics section, but they're mostly for combat situations. It should also be noted here that this book /DOES NOT/ contain any rules for vehicles, drones or (most jarringly) gear customization, which was present in the 'combat' books for 3rd and 4th (Cannon Companion and Arsenal).

The rest of the book is taken up, instead, by complex combat systems for tactics, called and trick shots, martial arts, demolitions, hostile environment rules and optional rules hacks for reducing the deadliness of combat. The tactics section outlines the rules for performing things like room sweeps, formations, and other tactics, which now require tactics rolls from team members to perform. The called shots and trick shots sections are walls of numbers and status effects, but do not have rules for headshots. It's a decent system, but the layout makes it look confusing. The other sections are pretty much what we've seen before.

Overall, I'm mixed on the book. There's lots of interesting systems, but the problem I keep coming back to is they feel too complex. For example, combat manuevers that were explained in two sentences in 4th ed, now have two paragraphs explaining how the work and interact with other actions. The gear sections are very uneven and downright weird in some places, such as the choice to have a single new holdout pistol but 4 different types of battering rams. The lack of a gear customization section really makes this book feel like it's missing something. Overall, it just feels very uneven and disappointing for a book that's the first offering in over half a year.

Summing it up:

Pros: New tactical options and systems, good artwork, especially of new gear, Cons: Layout varies from too much white space to walls of text, new positive and negative qualities are scattered throughout book, poor selection of gear aside from armor, lack of customization rules, new rules are difficult to understand at first.

Bought this PDF since I'm playing a CQC focused adept. For anyone who wants to roll a martial arts character, this is an excellent book to expand your repertoire of called shots and techniques, plus new ways to spend your edge in combat. There's also an expansion of things to do with Leadership. And that's not even touching all the new gear, which might not all be practical but it definitely is flavourful. The huge number of called shots with specific crippling effects is also wiz.

If you're rolling an adept, street sam, covert ops, or any of their ilk, this book is aces.

If you rolled a decker, techno, rigger, or mage, this book is probably not for you aside from some fancy new duds.

I had eagerly anticipated Run & Gun. I bought it as soon as it was available. I was surprised upon reading the book. Somehow, we have been delivered a book with half the content of Arsenal for 4th edition, with no new chems, drugs, or toxins and a modifications list lacking basic modifications. Extended magazines are missing. Electronic firing is missing. Foregrips are missing. Barrel mods are missing. A simple copy-and-paste job would have sufficed-- these modifications can in many cases be used directly from 4E Arsenal with no rebalancing, but we didn't even get that. There are no new drugs or chems or toxins at all. Tacnets, while present, did not undergo the redesign many had hoped for, with the lowest level tacnet being 18F, even though it's marketed for civilian use according to the fluff. The fluff says that tacnets are available for civilian purchase once they have passed a BG check and been issued a permit. Fifth Edition core states that you can never be issued a license for a forbidden item. I didn't mention the price, did I? That's because it costs half a million nuyen for a modest boost to perception tests. Martial arts are similarly useless, with an Ares Firewatch style that costs 37 Karma and 2 1/2 months of training to learn fully, and provides benefits that are marginally useful at best, even in their intended use.

One of the high points of the book is the fashion section, and the weapons arsenal. While modification is limited, the stock guns are interesting and useful. Each gun has its own role, which I can easily identify, and they'll be a fixture in my weekly games. Similarly, fashions are realistic and have immediate utility. The book is full color as well, which is a nice change from 4E Arsenal. There's a lot more art, which I definitely appreciate. Demolitions have been given their own chapter, and it is one of the better decisions made in this production. The demolitions chapter almost makes up for the rest of the book's failings.

On the whole, I'm disappointed. I thought I was getting the personal combat parts of Arsenal, updated and rebalanced for 5th Edition, with a smattering of new equipment and rules. Instead, I got two thirds of the personal combat parts from Arsenal, with a side dish of 5E. I wouldn't buy it again knowing what I know now, but the good parts are good enough that I'm not going to ask for a refund. I'm definitely going to be waiting for the hivemind's opinion on all future supplements.