We’re constantly asked by the community whether they can use X or Y illustrations/graphics on their website or in their materials for running a game…not to mention retailers as well.
We’ve put together an SR5 Media Kit zips file of a variety of graphics/images that anyone can grab and use to enhance their Shadowrun games!
We just started to send this material off to distributors/retailers and I immediately wanted to share the details with all of you!
Here’s the letter we’re sending to distributors/retailers:
To All Retailers,
As part of the Year of Shadowrun, Catalyst announced a Shadowrun Introductory Box Set, which would be the first ever “starter” box for Shadowrun. Unfortunately, as happens to us sometimes, our passion got the better of us, and right as we were ready to send it to print we realized it was trying too hard to do too many things.
Ultimately we came to the conclusion that regardless of how well put together the overall box was, the following elements would damage its ability to achieve its goals of bringing in new players while providing a plethora of useful tools for existing players:
After numerous discussions that included talks with retailers and distributor in our industry, we’ve thus determined that the best way to solve the issues above was to create two new items:
Shadowrun Beginner Box Set ($19.99)
Shadowrun Runner’s Toolkit: Alphaware ($59.99)
This split allows both boxes to focus on a single primary objective, as opposed to the jack-of-all-trades syndrome plaguing the initial box.
The Beginner Box is 100% about new players, providing an easy-on-the-wallet quick taste of Shadowrun, making the barrier of entry into the game lower than it’s ever been (see the sellsheet for additional details on contents).
Meanwhile the Runner’s Toolkit: Alphaware can focus on helping existing players obtain a variety of useful tools for easing into multiple adventures of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, while also acting as the perfect bridge product for new players between the Beginner Box and Shadowrun, Fifth Edition (see the sellsheet for additional details on contents).
Note that because we previously conducted a solicitation of the Introductory Box Set, we felt the only way to eliminate as much confusion as possible was to completely discontinue that name. And the use of the Runner’s Toolkit title with the Alphaware suffix sets up the eventual publication of Runner’s Toolkit: Betaware, the Shadowrun, Fifth Edition version of the spectacularly selling Shadowrun, Fourth Edition Runner’s Toolkit.
Finally, to help maximize retailer (and ultimately the community’s) understanding of this change, we’ve pushed both items back to spring releases to ensure a full 4-month solicitation cycle.
Thanks for your understanding and we hope you’re enjoying the return of Shadowrun as much as we are!
Catalyst Team
I’ll continue to share additional details on those box sets in the coming weeks. Additionally, we’ll be releasing a “Shadowrun Tools Digital Box” that combines both of these print boxes into a single great set of electronic tools for players, for sale in the near future.
Randall
Don’t blink . . . I must not blink! I’ve heard that as long as you are looking at a Mage, they can’t do anything to you. And one just walked into the room with me.
Sure, it’s probably all just superstition, but then I’ve seen what a Mage can do. How can they have so much power? Where does that power come from? I just don’t get it.
In Shadowrun: Crossfire, the Mage is the master of deck manipulation and dealing damage. The Face is all about people skills, the Street Samurai is about smashing things in a fight, and the Decker is about hacking (which is what I do), so let’s tap the net for specs on the Mage.
The Mage’s role color is Blue, which are spells that manipulate your deck, allow you to draw cards, and do a ton of damage. Two of these mechanics are combined in one card: Deathtouch.
First, Deathtouch lets you look at the top 3 cards of your deck and then put them back in any order. And second, it does an additional point of colorless damage for each spell card revealed this way. With its base damage of two Blue to begin with, you can crank out 5 damage with this spell! And if you want to know why rearranging your deck can be so helpful, take a look at Stunbolt.
You reveal the top card of your deck and do one Blue damage plus colorless damage equal to that revealed card’s cost. Then you put the revealed card back on top of your deck. So you use Deathtouch first and stack the top of your deck with your biggest card, then reveal that card for maximum damage when you cast Stunbolt.
Next are a pair of cards that allow you to draw more cards to help you get through your deck faster. The first is Clairvoyance, which allows you to draw one card and then discard a card along with doing one Blue damage.
Clairvoyance also has an assist ability, which can be played only during another runner’s turn. The assist is exactly the same as the main ability, except that it will affect the runner you play it on instead of yourself.
The second card of the pair is Guiding Spirit.
This card allows you to discard your entire hand and then draw that many cards. It also does one Blue damage and one colorless damage. Remember that if you run out of cards in your deck to draw, draw as many as you can, reshuffle your discard into a new deck, and then finish drawing the cards you need. Don’t forget, however, that you have to play a Spell card in order to buy Guiding Spirit from the Black Market, making it much harder for anyone other than the Mage to purchase it.
Next are the pure damage spells starting with the powerful Lightning Bolt.
This Spell card clears two entire levels of an obstacle’s damage track. It doesn’t care what the color of those levels are or how many colorless damage is needed; it just clears them. This spell also has a purchase restriction of requiring you to play a Spell card in order to purchase it from the Black Market, meaning that you’d better focus on magic if you want to use a Lightning Bolt.
And finally there’s the Fireball.
It does two colorless damage plus two Blue damage. It also does splash damage of one level to up to three different obstacles, which can really be helpful when the team has already beat down the obstacles facing them. It doesn’t matter who those obstacles are facing, so spread the damage around.
Well, I now understand a bit more about Mages, but they still make me nervous. Maybe after this run they won’t creep me out so much. Who knows?
— Conan E. Chamberlain
The following product has a Street Date of DECEMBER 18TH, 2013:
Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen ($19.99)
Every shadowrunner knows the value of good information. The right fact, the perfect piece of data, can be the difference between success and failure on a run, between life and death. And in the right hands, information can be more than valuable—it can be powerful.
The Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen provides a collection of useful tables from Shadowrun, Fifth Edition for ease of reference in game play. With range tables, action lists, combat modifiers, social modifiers, and more, this is a critical game aid to make your Shadowrun games faster and more fun. And to provide that all-important secrecy so that the players don’t know what you’re up to.
This screen is for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.
© 2001-2013 The Topps Company, Inc. Shadowrun is a registered trademark of The Topps Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Permission given to reproduce contents for personal use only. More Legal Information.
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