The "Let's Read" was going along well enough but I eventually hit a snag. I realized somewhere during the writing of Part 3 that I was diving into a regular review on the book. This wasn't something I intended to do but couldn't help myself. I could no longer discuss each part on it's own because there just wasn't a whole lot of material to comment on.
So I decided to scrap Part 3 and shoot straight with a complete rundown. So let's power down the rose-tinted cyber eyes and take a look at Shadowrun 2050 for what it is.
The Seattle skyline. A familiar sight to every Shadowrun fan. It is that same familiarity that Shadowrun 2050 is built upon. This is a book that so desperately wants to be part of the healthy nostalgia kick that is going on in the RPG industry. With countless Retro-clones of D&D sitting alongside a 20th Anniversary revisions of Vampire and soon Werewolf, it seems like a great time to tap into the energy that got a whole generation into the hobby in the first place.
Shadowrun has a special place in plenty of gamer's hearts. In fact it is the most common thread I have found between myself and any other gamers I meet beyond D&D. Shadowrun is a game everyone has at least tried over the years.
So with Shadowrun 2050 we get a reintroduction to early years of the setting. With rules updates to adapt the world of 2050 to the Twentieth Anniversary ruleset, it seems like a great combination of old school cyberpunk nostalgia and the newer gamer mechanics. By now your asking, "Does it work?"
Yes and No. This is a book that I was ready to love. I was in love with it when I read the press release about it's announcement. I was in love with the idea of putting the cyberPUNK back into Shadowrun. The gritty, grimy cyberpunk that really drew me to Shadowrun in the first place. I wanted a book that was a showcase of the differences between the Shadowrun of then and the one we know now. Did I get it?
No.
Let me first state that I do like this book. I'm glad some attention was brought back to an old school version of the Shadowrun setting. It just falls short of what I wanted it to be. Maybe I had too high of expectations? Maybe Not. Either way, Shadowrun 2050 reads more like a reminder about the things I love about the setting instead of new information or a fresh introduction to the shadows of 2050.
The book doesn't spend nearly enough time discussing the world and really making it come alive. Most of the information feels like a refresher course for old fans. I know a product like this will retread some familiar ground. I'm OK with that. I feel like this somehow missed the mark though. Nothing is given enough time in the spotlight. We have lots of great ideas written up in very short summary sections. Most of major details are nothing more than a pair of sentences on any given topic. For example the Life in 2050 chapter is only six pages long. This includes two and a half pages of nothing but Shadowrun slang.
I would think a section about life in 2050 should be the largest chapter in the book. It should really highlight what makes this different from running in the current game's timeline of the 2070's. Instead we are treated to a barebones explanation of differences in the way an average citizen uses the Matrix, some other loose details and then a two and a half page chart of slang. Hmmmm. Not really selling the difference to me.
Needless to say I thought the fluff sections of the book didn't really do the "alternate setting" justice. It is just more of the same. The chapter Hiring Board is a great example. It is filled with some good Shadowtalk but the meat of the text is an explanation of every kind of Shadowrun the team could possibly go on. Is this really necessary in a book about the 2050's? The kinds of runs haven't really changed at all. Shadowrunners run the shadows. They steal paydata, extract VIPs, do dead drops, the works. None of this is specific to running in the 2050's.
What did I like? The character archetypes section is well done. It does a good job making them different from their 2070's counterparts. I also think the rules updates for the old systems to work in the Twentieth Anniversary rules are well done. The slight changes to Magic are welcome and reinforce the themes of 2050. Shamans get a totem again, Mages & Shamans both interact with the Summoning skill package in different ways. It works. The Matrix also does a good job of merging the old way of Decking with the new rules. The limited Gear section is welcome for a game in the 2050's and a great change of pace from the massive amounts of gear currently in Fourth Edition.
So in the end Shadowrun 2050 wasn't the book I wanted it to be. I do think it is a book worth reading, especially for the rules tweaks. But I feel like maybe a small PDF product of the rules conversions would have better served the target audience. The other two thirds of the book doesn't really do much to inspire me to run the Shadows of 2050 beyond reminding me that more detailed information already exists on my bookshelf. The book has some new art but a lot of it is recycled from other products, so it doesn't really grab me as something a collector would want either.
I feel the book should have gone one of two routes: a small rules conversion document that old grognards could use to run in 2050's or a fully fledged, stand-alone rulebook with heaps of setting info. Throw in some new art and make it something the collector market would eat up and a one stop shop for anyone new to the setting that is interested in the Shadows of the past.
Instead we got something in the middle and that something doesn't quite capture me like I was ready for. I am still glad this was made. Between this and the Shadowrun Returns video game, we have some definite love for the old school coming our way. I do plan on using the rules conversions to run or play a game too. I just wish book went the extra mile to get me there.
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