We’ve received a number of questions about which of the sourcebooks and rulebooks from Shadowrun First, Second, and Third editions are compatible with the new Fourth Edition. The simplest way to answer this is to say that it depends on how much rules material a given book has. We completely revamped the rules system in SR4, so rules from previous editions are no longer compatible. Source material, on the other hand—meaning plot, setting, and background material—is largely compatible with SR4, as we have not made any significant changes to Shadowrun’s past history. We did, however, jump the timeline ahead 5 years to 2070, primarily to introduce new Matrix technology, so some things may have changed in the meantime.
BOOKS THAT ARE COMPATIBLE WITH SR4
These books are primarily source material, and are largely unaffected by the SR4 changes.
25015 Shadows of North America (Reprint of 10655)
25014 System Failure
25007 Shadows of Asia
25006 Loose Alliances
25002 Shadows of Europe
10667 Sprawl Survival Guide
10666 Dragons of the Sixth World
10657 New Seattle
10655 Shadows of North America
10653 Target: Wastelands
10652 Threats 2
10651 Target: Awakened Lands
10650 Year of the Comet
7219 Target: Matrix
7216 New Seattle
7215 Target: Smugglers Havens
7214 Target: UCAS
7213 Aztlan
7212 Denver: The City of Shadows
7211 Tir na nOg
7210 Tir Tairngire
7209 California Free State
7208 The Neo-Anarchists Guide to Real Life
7207 Native American Nations Volume Two
7206 Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America
7204 Germany Sourcebook
7203 London
7202 Native American Nations Volume One
7201 Seattle Sourcebook
7125 Corporate Download
7124 Cyberpirates
7123 Underworld Sourcebook
7122 Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunkelzahn’s Secrets
7121 Threats
7117 Bug City
7115 Lone Star
7113 Corporate Shadowfiles
7109 Shadowbeat
7103 Sprawl Sites
BOOKS THAT ARE PARTLY-COMPATIBLE WITH SR4
These books have some rules material that is no longer relevant, but the source material still is. Many of these are adventures—the plot is still usable, but any game mechanics and NPCs will need to be adjusted by the GM.
25004 State of the Art: 2064
25003 Mr. Johnson’s Little Black Book
10665 Survival of the Fittest
10664 State of the Art: 2063
10654 Wake of the Comet
7331 Brainscan
7330 Corporate Punishment
7329 First Run
7328 Renraku Arcology: Shutdown
7327 Blood in the Boardroom
7326 Mob War
7325 Missions
7324 Predator and Prey
7323 Shadows of the Underworld
7322 Super Tuesday
7320 Harlequins Back
7319 Double Exposure
7318 Divided Assets
7317 Paradise Lost
7316 Eye Witness
7315 Celtic Double Cross
7314 A Killing Glare
7313 Dark Angel
7312 One Stage Before
7311 Ivy & Chrome
7310 Elven Fire
7309 Imago
7308 Total Eclipse
7307 Dragon Hunt
7306 Harlequin
7305 Bottled Demon
7304 Queen Euphoria
7303 Dreamchipper
7302 Mercurial
7301 DNA/DOA
7205 Universal Brotherhood
7120 Awakenings
7118 Corporate Security Handbook
7112 Paranormal Animals of Europe
7105 Paranormal Animals of North America
BOOKS THAT ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SR4
These books are primarily (90%+) rules, so most of the material will not work with SR4. A new set of core rulebooks—Street Magic, Arsenal, Augmentation, and Unwired, among others—replace these books.
25001 Man & Machine (Reprint of FASA 7126)
25000 Shadowrun, Third Edition (Reprint of 10660)
10673 The Shadowrun Character Dossier
10662 Rigger 3 Revised (Reprint + Revisions of FASA 7910)
10660 Shadowrun, Third Edition (Reprint of FASA 7901)
10659 Cannon Companion
10658 Magic in the Shadows
10656 Shadowrun Companion
7910 Rigger 3
7909 Matrix
7908 Cannon Companion
7907 Magic in the Shadows
7906 Rigger 2
7905 Shadowrun Companion
7904 Virtual Realities 2.0
7903 Grimoire Second Edition
7902 SR2 GM Screen
7901 Shadowrun Second Edition (soft cover)
7900 Shadowrun Second Edition (hard cover)
7126 Man & Machine
7119 Cybertechnology
7116 Prime Runners
7114 Fields of Fire
7110 Shadowtech
7108 Rigger Black Book
7107 Virtual Realities
7106 The Grimoire
7104 Street Samurai Catalog
7102 SR1 GM Screen
7101 Shadowrun (First Edition hard cover)
7100 Shadowrun (First Edition soft cover)
7003 Shadowrun Quick Start Rules
7002 Shadowrun Gamemaster Screen
7001 Shadowrun Third Edition
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