Shadowrun: Anarchy and The Sprawl Comparisons

by ThomasNo Comments

“Can I play Shadowrun in it,” is the question I see asked when a new roleplaying game comes out. Now there are two that are vying for my attention to be my next Shadowrun game: The Sprawl and Shadowrun: Anarchy. I wrote 1300 words on Shadowrun: Anarchy on Thursday and a few more than that on The Sprawl on Friday.

While I tried to keep each post focused on each game system, a bit about Shadowrun: Anarchy seeped into the last post, comparing gear and how one gets it during the game. Here, I’m going to directly compare how the two systems handle certain tropes and note where I’m having difficulties.

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The Sprawl

by Thomas3 Comments

I’m thinking about playing Shadowrun again, but as I mentioned in the first post in the series, I really don’t care for the actual Shadowrun game system. Doing anything in Shadowrun seems to take two steps too many. But I love the setting. I love rolling handfuls of dice. I just wish the game system would stop getting in the way of telling a good story.

A few years ago, Apocalypse World came out and it just blew me away. The game moved quickly: combat scenes were satisfying yet fast-paced. It didn’t seem like we were waiting around for our turn when something exciting would happen. Action sequences in Apocalypse World felt more like watching a movie than sitting around a table, playing a game.

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Shadowrun: Anarchy

by Thomas1 Comment

I first heard about Shadowrun: Anarchy a month before Gen Con 2016 when I joked about a rules-light Shadowrun on Twitter. I was shocked to discover there as such a thing nearly ready for publication. Shadowrun: Anarchy is a roleplaying game that is based on the system Catalyst Game Labs used in their Valiant Universe (Comic Book) and Cosmic Patrol roleplaying games. A 48-page “prototype” version was available for purchase at Gen Con and the full 218-page pdf went on sale just recently.

I’m debating running Shadowrun: Anarchy or The Sprawl next time I run a Shadowrun-like game. This post, I’m laying out my take on Shadowrun: Anarchy.

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