The Quick Start Rules is a 24 page booklet with important information to learn how to play Shadowrun in the dystopian future where you are criminals running heists. This manual introduces the basic play of the game, talking about characters and a break down of the characters (attributes and skills), a basic how do dice and thresholds work, a walk through of combat/"Getting Into the Action" and the special rules with Shadowrun (using edge). Page 11 starts going over the Matrix followed by a section on rigging and vehicles. The world of Shadowrun also has magic where mana is something that blesses some of the "Awakened" players. The explanation of magic, mixing magic an tech, casting spells can be found from pages 17-20. The last four pages of the Quick Start Rules is Game Master Reference Tables.

The Very Basics of Play

1. The GM describes everything from what you are seeing and hearing, to what is going on around you and what the scene looks like.

2. The players decide what they want to do by describing their actions to the gm and rolling their dice for an outcome

3. The Gamemaster describes the outcome based on your dice rolls

Players use six sided dice to see if their actions are successful or not. Basic routine things (walking, talking, breathing) don't require tests.

A test is a roll of dice to try to get enough hits to meet or exceeded the actions threshold.

A hit is a 5 or a 6 on the die.

The number of dice you roll is is determined by your skills and attributes that can be found on your character sheets.

Combat, spellcasting, an other complex or difficult actions will require dice rolls to determine outcomes.

As someone who loves learning about and exploring new ttrpgs it can be a little stressful trying to figure out what all the information above truly means. If you are familiar with the terms above you can go ahead and skip down to the next section; otherwise here is a bit more about the things on the character sheet. Taking some time with the quick-start rule book next to your player dossier with your GM is another great way to get to know the game.

When it is time to roll the dice in the game there is either an attribute (in labeled box 3) or skill (in labeled box 7) that it goes with. If you are rolling to see where you are in the lineup for combat, you roll initiative which is labeled 4 on the character sheets. Depending on how hard a task is will determine what number of dice you need to roll for specialization and expertise. There are 10 attributes for Shadowrun; 8 that are classified as normal and 2-3 special. Of the four normal they are split 4 by 4 for physical and mental attributes.

When you roll your dice you make note of any 5’s and 6’s that you roll for these are called hits and need to be equal or greater than the threshold to be a successful attempt for your character. Less than the threshold is a fail. The quirkiness and rules about tests can be found on page 5 of the quick start guide.

Glitches happen when more than half the results are 1’s on the dice. The GM will describe what happens when there is a glitch. A glitch means that something unexpected (and most likely a failure) happens.

Edge is a special attribute that Shadowrun has that “measures the undefinable combination of luck, risk, fate, and ignorance of danger” (quick start rules pg 3). A player can get up to 7 edge points and can only use one edge point per action if they choose. Edge is gained in combat or when your character gets an attack or defense rating 4 higher than an opponent. It can be given when a player has a clear advantage in a social situation or awarded by the GM if they think it is right. Page 6 of the quick start rules talks about edge boosts.

Combat is a big piece with Shadowrun as you go through heists and fight rival gangs and companies. All about combat will be pages 6-10. What I love about this beginner box is there are tool cards that can be handed out to players to tell them about the weapon characteristics that are on their character sheet. Each player gets one major action and one minor action per turn. A basic combat round in Shadowrun is 3 seconds.

On the character sheets the box labeled 12 is your condition monitor that allows you to see what dice pool penalty you get when your character loses health. When you make it all the way to the bottom your character goes unconscious.

In Shadowrun lore in 2080 the world became connected through the matrix. The step by step matrix can be found on pg 11 of the quick start guide. Every matrix user has four matrix attributes: attack, sleaze, data processing and firewall.