Category Archives: Uncategorized

Shadowrun Setting Sales Records; Deluxe Mayan Edition Returns

By randall | Published: August 11, 2013

In less than a month, Shadowrun, Fifth Edition has become the best-selling PDF of all time in the more than ten years of DriveThruRPG operations, while setting the same standard for Catalyst Game Labs online store.

Additionally, the online allotment of the Shadowrun 5 Deluxe “Mayan” Limited Edition sold out in less than a week. Taking that fantastic excitement from the exploding Shadowrun community into account, Catalyst has worked with the printer to make additional Deluxe “Mayan” Editions available. We’ll have a good stock available at Gen Con, and the online bundles that include this book are available once more…while supplies last.

For people who have already bought the Mayan edition and want to make sure it keeps its cachet as a very limited book, here are a few things we considered when making this change.

1. Selling out as fast as we did meant that some hadn’t even heard of it yet before it was all gone. Providing an expanded number gives those fans a small window to grab one.

2. It’s still less than 3% of the first print run, which by any definition is a “Limited Edition.”

3. If current pre-orders are any indication, within the first year it’ll be less than 1% of available books…again, extremely Limited by any definition.

Retailers, while the Deluxe “Mayan” Limited Edition will not be available in stores, the Shadowrun 5 Limited Edition is available for ordering, while supplies last. Additionally, don’t forget our Case Pack Deal of ordering 6 copies of any hardcover edition and receive a free in-store softcover book!

The Street Date for the print version of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition has not yet been announced, but keep watching this space for news in the near future!

Check out shadowruntabletop.com and www.shadowrun.com to learn more about all that’s happening in the Year of Shadowrun!

Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high-quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes, all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games, while helping fiction readers enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com.

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CATALYST AT GEN CON 2013

By randall | Published: August 1, 2013

As always, Catalyst Game Labs will be at Gen Con 2013 in force. In fact, this year we’re taking things to a whole new level!

THE SHADOWRUN RPG EXPERIENCE

SHADOWRUN-DANTES INFERNO_FINAL
Dive into gaming in the Sixth World like never before as players step into the infamous Dante’s Inferno club in Seattle’s Sprawl. An 8-foot tall, 30-foot long banner creates an immersive 11 foot diameter room were you can learn Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and run the mean streets in the shadows of the megacorps.

Runs must be made by appointment only with our exclusive Dante’s Inferno concierge, and each player of the Shadowrun Experience will not only have memories of a run like no other, but will walk away with a free copy of the hard-back, full-color Sixth World Almanac sourcebook!

Read Full Article.

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Crossfire Demo Box

By randall | Published: August 1, 2013

CrossfireDemoBox_Cover_400wide
If you attended Origins you might have run into Rob Watkins, a member of the Crossfire design team, giving nonstop demos of the game. Rob was using a prototype of the Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo Box.

The Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo Box is a trial version of the game that’s perfect for learning the rules. We carefully picked out a subset of the full game that shows off Crossfire’s feel and mechanics in a small, elegant package. The demo box takes you through a shorter, tighter version of the “Caught in the Crossfire” mission included in the full game—it’s the quickest way for new players to learn how to play.

We’ll have more people demoing Shadowrun: Crossfire at Gen Con and PAX Prime, but that’s not all! In addition, we’ll be making demo boxes available to retail game stores across the country once Shadowrun: Crossfire launches.

Retailers: Once you see new soliciations for Shadowrun: Crossfire, don’t forget to indicate whether you’d like a copy of the demo box

Gamers: Once you see details on our site letting you know Shadowrun: Crossfire is nearing a Street Date, let your favorite local game store owner know that you’d like them to order a demo copy!

And one final note. The demo boxes are only the beginning. We will be sending out materials and encouraging game stores to hold Shadowrun: Crossfire game nights—the demo box is the jumping-off point for the Crossfire fun to come. Stay tuned!

—Sean McCarthy
Shadowrun: Crossfire Design Team
Shadowrun: Crossfire Demo Kit Lead Designer

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Sprawl Gangers Designer Diary 6

By randall | Published: July 30, 2013

Shadowrun 5 Sprawl Gangers Logo

Wow…it’s been awhile since a Sprawl Gangers Designer Diary. An apology for that. The launch of the Year of Shadowrun has proven…well…significantly more time intensive than we gave it credit for, so I’ve not been able to keep up on these as I would’ve liked.

With the so far wildly successful launch of Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, and with “most” of the insanity of Gen Con just about behind us, I’ve got a little bit of breather in here to provide an update (and hopefully send out a new playtest cycle) before the next insanity of actually working Gen Con begins.

In my previous diary, I mentioned starting to get into the specifics of what a model will be able to do during a game.

Well, since I’ve already done the work in laying out what occurs in a turn in the rules, thought I’d just crib directly from the Playing The Game section to give you a thorough slice of a turn:

>>>>>
The following rules cover exactly how play unfolds on the gaming table.

When playing Sprawl Gangers, follow the same basic format each turn to move and attack with your models. Players should not consider the list below a hard-and-fast set of rules for how to play the game, but instead a way to lay the framework, from which to build a fuller understanding of how the game works by incorporating specific rules from the rest of the rulebook.

The rough order of game play is as follows:

  • Before play begins, players select their gang models they’ll play with, along with their corresponding cards (these track model abilities throughout the game).
  • Next players determine which Mission they’ll be playing and build the terrain on their game table. Then, based upon the specifics of the Mission, they place their models. The game is now ready to begin.
  • Players roll Initiative at the start of every turn.
  • The player that won the Initiative Actives a single model. In any order the player chooses (provided the model can), the model takes 1 Move Action, 1 Attack Test and 1 Non-Attack Test.
    • Move Action: If moving, the player chooses how many inches the model will move, measures on the playing area, and then moves the model accordingly to the new location.
    • Attack Test: If making an Attack Test, the player determines range to the target by measuring between the two models, determines what cover may be in between the model and then uses that information to determine how many dice to roll. The target model then makes a Defense Test. Comparing the dice rolled from both Tests will ultimately determine if damage is applied to the target model, or not.
    • Non-Attack Test: If making a Non-Attack Test, the player determines the difficulty of the action to find a Threshold value, then determines how many dice to roll based upon the action. If the number of Hits on the dice equals or exceeds the Threshold value, the action is a success; if not, the action doesn’t succeed.
  • The player that won the Initiative Activates the next model, each time, in any order, choosing whether to take a move Action, make an Attack Test or Non-Attack Test. And so on until all the player’s models have moved.
  • The player that lost the Initiative now Actives his first model, following all of the exact same actions noted above.
  • Once both players have Activated all models, they enter the Upkeep Phase of the turn, determining if any gangers run away, applying any on going effects, as well as determining if any objectives were achieved.
  • Once the Upkeep Phase is over, the turn is done and both players roll Initiative again to start a new turn.
  • This basic procedure repeats until one side or the other wins, based upon the objectives of the Mission.

    • >>>>>

    Now if you’ve played really any miniatures games, most of that seems really straight forward. And if you haven’t but love the idea from trying Shadowrun in a miniatures style of game, the game will cover the details of what you might not be grogging.

    Regardless of your frame of reference, though, in my next blog post I’ll start to carve a little more thoroughly into that minutia of a game turn, as well as starting to talk about Interrupts, which is turning out to be one of the best parts of the game.

    Randall N. Bills

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