Digital Tools for a Better Game

As time continued forward and with the horrid times that was the panic following the COVID, we as tabletop gamers ran into some serious problems. The games that we wanted to play with our friends suddenly had to move online. Separated from our friends and unable to share a table, we turned to the tools that were made for online play. The real problem here is, most things were made for DnD. Shadowrun DOES have its own tactical movements, but they are a tad clunky (in my opinion of course).

After looking most people just turned to Discord and simple dice roller bots.

Discord

This has changed the game honestly for all tabletop gamers. This has allowed us to join people across the world and even better, dedicated servers to Shadowrun in any edition. I belong to three different Discord Servers for Shadowrun. I think if this is something you are into it, it might be worthwhile for you to check out!

• Shadowrun Community - This is a Shadowrun community mostly looking at the newer editions. However, it has the biggest community by far (Around 1k+ members)

• Pink Fohawk - This is a server for the Pink Fohawk Podcast. The owner however is heavily invested in maintaining 2nd Edition sources (So much so that he has given up personal copies of books to ensure they can be digitized for future generations to play). He’s truly a chummer to us all! A lot of 2nd Edition folks gathered here. (You’re a legend, Ben);

• Classic Shadowrun Community - Another generic community. This one focus’ on 1st through 4th Editions. This is where I share most of my tools, links, etc.

Along with allowing us to gather in larger groups, it also allows up to spin up servers for specific games. Whenever I start a new game, I usually begin by creating a new server. I normally then create at least 3 channels. Announcements (For when we gather and awards of Karma and the likes.), Downtime (For spinning threads for each person who wants to perform an action, more on that below) and a Link channel, where I post important links (like blank character sheets, links to the wiki for, etc). If you use a lot of house rules, this is another great spot for house rules.

Downtime Actions in threads

One of the most compelling thing I’ve discovered about using Discord for running games (even if its in person games), is the use of threads for downtime actions. Often sessions will end with some amount of time before the next run. This is a perfect opportunity to allow characters to buy equipment, perform rituals, build gear, maintain contacts, etc. With a single channel dedicated to this, you can keep everything right where people need it. As well, it allows for a more “living game” feel. Where people can make small adjustments, movements, actions with their characters all week/month long before the next game. It really drives up engagement and allows for fun outside the general meeting time. Just be prepared for some of your players to jump on this. It feels incredible to be able to keep up with a game you love in this way.

Dice Rollers

If you decide you want to game on Discord or just run your downtimes on it. You will need a dice rolling bot. I highly recommend Dice Maiden. All you need to do to install it is follow this link and tell it what server you want it to join Dice Maiden Install Link. It’s worth your time to learn how to use it properly (And honestly, its one of the easiest you will find.)

Most of the time you just need to type something like this: text /roll 3d6 ie6.

This will roll 3 dice with 6 exploding indefinitely. For 1st - 3rd edition, this is your best bet.

For all other editions text /roll 6d6 t5

This would roll 6 dice at TN of 5, returning successes.

Just as an aside, I added Earthdawn 4th Edition support for Dice Maiden, so it’s got a special place in my heart because of that.

Shadowrun Returns Map Editor

When it comes to making playable maps, one of the coolest thing I’ve seen was from a fellow Shadowrun Discord member, The_Noll. He often posts some maps he made on the Pink Fohawk discord, and they were incredible. So one day I asked him if he would mind showing me how he does it. He explained it all to me, but it came shockingly easy to turn out some smaller maps for combats. Even BETTER a lot of cool maps already existed. This was one of the many perks of owning “Shadowrun Returns”. I backed this game when it first came out and loved it to death, I had no idea you could just spin up the editor as easy as it was. There are some hot keys you will want to learn and some practice before you can become speedy at it, but with time and practice, it’s worthwhile!

Even better as I mentioned before. It has a lot of pre-made maps you can splice to your heart content. Pre-made for some of the more interesting encounters. If this becomes something people are actively interested in. I may even try my hand at creating some maps for published scenarios. Shoot me an email if this interests you, and I’ll take a crack at it.

Saving the Image

Something that you will need to know however, is when you save the image, you need to do it a kind of special way. Part of having a large image to be zoomed in on, means you need to save it a very high quality. He recommended this link for saving the maps, so they wouldn’t be distorted when you use them on roll20 or the likes. Saving 4k Images.

Roll20, OwlBear Rodeo, Tabletop Simulator, etc

Once you decide you are going to go full online (either because people are sick, or at distance), you need to decide how you are going to represent your game. Often, Discord and theater of the mind is good enough for most Shadowrun games. Having mentioned Maps above however, it does really add to the ambiance or tactical feel of your game if you can show people exactly where things are. This also cuts down on the “Okay, where is the guard in reference to the door.” kinds of questions that can really slow down a game. For me, Roll20 is a bit overkill. That being said, there is a lot of support for the system on the platform. Shadowrun 3rd.

OwlBear Rodeo is another platform that is coming in to take up some of the virtual tabletop space. It definitely has fantasy games in mind, but it would be worthwhile to investigate as well. It does allow you to import maps, so anything you make from the Shadowrun Returns Map Editor as well.

Finally, one of the more popular ways people play online has been Tabletop Simulator. This is pretty nifty in that it really does try to replicate the feeling of sitting around the table with your friends. They have a great amount of support for Shadowrun of every edition. You should be able to import your maps here as well.

If you have any tips for running online games I’d love to hear them! Please send me an email or reach out to me from my Contact Page

Play on friends, I hope you have a wonderful year of new games in 2024!

• GM Help