Shadowrun is a conundrum. I really love the idea of it. I find it hard to get to the table, and I find it quite a bit crunchier than I would like. That said, it’s kept my interest for a long time.
Something I appreciate about Shadowrun is the long, rich history of the series. Originally published by FASA for its first three editions, Shadowrun launched in 1989. The game is clearly influenced by the works of William Gibson, most notable by his novel, Neuromancer. It’s funny, actually, because Gibson ended up expressing some distaste for Shadowrun’s take on the Cyberpunk genre he pioneered.
But I actually quite like the mix of retro-futurism, technology, hard-boiled detective fiction, and… uh… elves and dwarfs and shit that Shadowrun presents. I like a bit of fantasy mixed in with my sci-fi, y’know?
Bundle of Holding is currently pushing a set of Shadowrun books. These aren’t any of the recent editions, but rather the original edition and the second one. The second edition is actually quite similar to the first. It’s a refinement, and FASA also found their feet a lot more with the tone and content of the game, so that also improved between editions.
The bundle is, as usual, split into two tiers. Usually, I’d break the bundles down item by item. I’m not going to do that today. This is because I don’t really know a huge amount about these early editions, and I don’t really intend to sort through dozens of titles. Here is a short summary of the two tiers:
The first tier, priced at $19/95 contains all of your first edition material. The second tier, with all of the second edition stuff, is priced on the threshold. At the time of writing, this threshold is sitting at $42.11. As usual, if you buy the second tier, pricier though it may be, you also get all of the content from the first tier. With the second edition being the better edition, this means you are likely to want to pick up the second tier, rather than the first. At least, you will if you want to actually play the game.
Myself, I’d probably look to give this bundle a wide berth. It’s not really for me. I know that I find the books listed here interesting, but would I actually play these older, crunchier games? Probably not. If I were a much bigger fan of the series? If I wanted to give my games a bit of a retro vibe? If I felt that the material from these older editions had a bearing on the newer versions of the game? Well, that might be more tempting for me.
At the very least, this is worth a second glance. It’s a curio if nothing else.
You can click here to visit the bundle page at Bundle of Holding.
No Rerolls 
I remember when Shadowrun first came out. The art was great, but the mixing of Elves, Dwarves, etc. into Cyberpunk was a big turnoff for me. Nowadays though, I’d probably be way more interested in playing Shadowrun than a straight Cyberpunk game with only humans. Tastes change over time!
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You sound like William Gibson! He had the same reservations about the game. I think the mixing of sci-fi and fantasy is more common now, too.
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Except he is a much better writer and far more famous than myself, haha! I think if Shadowrun had made their own inhuman races, it would have appealed to me more back then. Even if it was along the lines of GW making ‘Space Elves, Space Orcs, etc.’. But again, I think I’d be more comfortable with it now, and it’s also a bit less to learn as most gamers will know what an Elf can do.
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