Latest update: Our campaign has completed the 6 adventures of the Shadowrun Season 5 (as listed below).
We'll do one last adventure at 7PM on WEDNESDAY, Dec 18, at MOX in Bellevue and then take
a break for a while. Plan to resume in April or May.
Dec 18: CMP 2010-01 "Manhunt"
Shadowrun Missions ("SRM") has story arcs where you play your own Shadowrun character at conventions, in game stores, and at home. Karma & money (nuyen) you earn lets you improve your character. Here's a brief video showing the world your Shadowrun character lives in: youtube.com/watch?v=H4hhijKuVW4.
The Chicago story arc (SRM Seasons 5 to 8) are 24 runs set in Chicago some two decades after a third of the city was walled off "to protect the nation". This left everyone inside the wall at risk of being possessed by a bug spirit. With the bug problem now declared "solved", corporations vie to reclaim ownership of rundown city blocks or get lucrative rebuilding contracts. Shadowrunners risk their lives just crossing town, as threats abound and law enforcement only shows up when and where it wants. We use 5th Edition rules, as 6E Missions aren't available till next year. Your character in Chicago may also play in compatible 'CMP' runs, where you travel to strange and dangerous places like Seattle.
The schedule below only lists the first 6 runs in the Chicago story arc. Extending the schedule depends on player interest and GM availability.
Come and play even if you've not yet made your character, as I have sample characters to choose from and the Karma/nuyen you earn from the first run with a sample character may be applied to your character.
Most players create a new character for the Chicago story arc. If you already have a character that played in SRM Seasons 5-8 please bring it, along with your signed Log Sheets. Character creation rules are in the latest 'SRM Combined FAQ', found in a post near the top of the online Shadowrun Missions Forum. Your character should play well with others (for the most part, no character may start with a Quality that generates Notoriety). The minimum lifestyle for runners in Chicago is Squatter (500¥/month). The Priority-system (A,B,C,D,E) is used for character creation, Sum-to-Ten is not allowed. Many more creation rules are in the FAQ. Also check the FAQ for a list of 'NERP' items (like a physical SR rule book or T-Shirt) that you can bring to the table and use once per mission for a 3-dice bonus.
Depending on whether your character's growth relies more on nuyen or on Karma, there are opportunities after play starts to swap 2000 nuyen for 1 Karma, or vice versa, as described in the FAQ (see 'working for the man' and 'working for the people').
Your character advancement is recorded on log sheets signed by each GM, and time is marked off on a 52-week calendar showing time in the hospital, learning new skills or initiating. The calendar lets you know when to make your next lifestyle payment. Log sheets and Calendars are provided by the GM.
Character design is usually measured in hours. Software that helps with your layout, thinking, or calculations can be quite helpful. You may search the web for fillable 5th edition PDFs (here's one source) or use the free or paid software listed below. (I use the free one.) If you create an electronic copy of your character sheet (PDF or HTML) I'd enjoy getting a copy at the Email address listed at the bottom of this page.
Chummer5a is community-developed windows software to help you create and advance your character. It takes some getting used to, but after you've learned it it's faster to keep track of your character than with pencil and calculator. I use 'stable release' 207 but I know they've come out with a 208 and a 209. This link redirects you to the latest 'stable release' on GitHub: http://stable.chummer.net. Installation: Locate the Chummer5.xxx.0.zip link near the bottom of the page. Download that .zip file somewhere onto your Windows computer. Extract the files within the zip file (on my computer I right-click the Zip file to start extraction) into a new folder (like C:\MyChummer). On your desktop place a link to the Executable file you just installed (like C:\MyChummer\Chummer5.exe). Double click on the new link on your desktop.
Chummer5a has options to help with the restrictions of Shadowrun Missions. Go to the Tools-Options-Optional Rules page and check [x] SR Missions 1.4 rules, [x] Rainforest Carbine Missions Errata, and [x] SR Missions Animal Prices. (Let me know if you see another I should have listed.)
Hero Lab Classic software ($35 base, more for extra book expansions) from Lone Wolf Development has a collection of data files for Shadowrun 5th Edition. Most of the GMs and several of the players I encounter at the national conventions use Hero Lab. Catalyst Game Labs has interacted with Lone Wolf developers to help ensure that their software meets the latest errata and more.
I GM each run at two different places in the same week. You can attend one or the other based on your schedule or desired playing style. The following week I'll move on to the next run.
Thursday evenings, 7 to 11 PM, we play at MOX Boarding House in Bellevue 13310 Bel-Red Rd. Bellevue WA 98005. Parking becomes available just East and West of the MOX building, at HERC and at BIRCH TREE, each evening at 6:30 PM. On Thursday's we play like SRM is played at national conventions, where miniatures and playing mats are rarely used. This style is sometimes called 'theater of the mind'.
Saturday afternoons, noon to 6 PM, we play at the Uptown Espresso Delridge, 385 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, 98106. Saturdays we play with more 'crunch' using figures, maps, and opportunities for tactical combat. Plan on it taking 6 hours. Karma and nuyen award limits are exactly the same for Thursday and Saturday.
| run | Thursday MOX 7 PM |
Saturday Uptown Noon |
|---|---|---|
| SRM 05-01 Chasin' the Wind | Nov 7 (2 players) |
Nov 9 (4 players) |
| SRM 05-02 Critics Choice | Nov 14 (3 players) |
Nov 16 (2 players) |
| SRM 05-04 Liberation | Nov 21 (2 players) |
Nov 23 (4 players) |
| SRM 05-03 Gone Long Gone | Nov 27 (4 players) |
Nov 30 (3 players) |
| SRM 05-05 While the City Sleeps | Dec 5 (6 players) |
Dec 7 (2 players) |
| SRM 05-06 Take A Chance | Dec 12 (7 players) |
Dec 14 (2 players) |
The schedule for subsequent SRM seasons and CMP adventures is tbd.
If you just want announcements of these runs, you can join a Yahoo Groups Email distribution list at https://groups.yahoo.com/ShadowrunSeattle.
Players in the Seattle area are invited to join the Puget Sound Shadowrun Group on Facebook. Other Facebook groups include SRMissions, Shadowrunner's Union, Shadowrun LFG, Shadowrun 6th Edition Chummers, Shadowrun: Jackpoint, Shadowrun After Dark.
Catalyst Game Labs sponsors an active Shadowrun Forum for online discussion, including a section just for Shadowrun Missions. They host their official Shadowrun info on www.shadowruntabletop.com but several sections of that site are now outdated.
There is also an active reddit community, reddit.com/r/Shadowrun
I'm Larry White. I've GM'd Shadowrun at Gencon and several other conventions. By 2004 I was coordinating weekly Shadowrun Missions games (similar to this) as well as local convention play but later took a decade away for other interests. I'm back now. You may Email me at larry dot a dot white at comcast dot net.
Conserve Ammo and never deal with a Dragon. See you around, chummer.
(last edit 12/11/19)