What is Shadowrun?

Shadowrun is a tabletop RPG that fuses cyberpunk and high fantasy into one of the most unique settings in gaming. First published in 1989, Shadowrun imagines a future where magic has returned to the world — dragons walk among us, elves and orks are common, and the Matrix (the internet’s successor) is a virtual reality landscape you jack into with cyberdecks.

Players are runners — deniable assets hired by corporations, crime lords, and other powers to do the dirty work that can’t be traced back. You’re a shadowrunner. You don’t exist. And tonight, you’ve got a job.

The Sixth World

Shadowrun’s setting, the Sixth World, is our Earth transformed. In 2011, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ended, and magic returned. Dragons — ancient, intelligent, immensely powerful beings — revealed themselves. Some became heads of state. Others took over megacorporations. Humanity split into new metahuman races: elves, orks, trolls, and dwarves.

Technology advanced alongside magic. Cybernetic implants, drones, and the Matrix coexist with spirits, spells, and enchanted items. The result is a world where a street samurai with a cybernetic arm might fight alongside a shaman summoning nature spirits — and both are taking orders from a dragon CEO.

Why Play Shadowrun?

• Unmatched setting: No other RPG blends cyberpunk and fantasy this seamlessly. The Sixth World is rich, detailed, and endlessly creative.
• Heist gameplay: Shadowrun is the king of the heist RPG. Planning and executing shadowruns — infiltrating facilities, stealing data, extracting targets — is the core gameplay loop.
• Diverse roles: Street Samurai, Decker (hacker), Rigger (drone operator), Mage, Shaman, Face (social specialist), and more. Every team needs a mix.
• Deep lore: Decades of sourcebooks have built an incredibly detailed world with politics, history, and culture across the globe.

Core Mechanics

Shadowrun uses a dice pool system with d6s. You roll a number of six-sided dice equal to your Attribute + Skill. Every die showing 5 or 6 is a success. The more successes, the better. Glitches (rolling more 1s than successes) add complications — because in the shadows, things always go sideways.

The Matrix (hacking), rigging (drone control), and magic each have their own subsystems, making Shadowrun one of the more complex RPGs. 6th Edition (2019) streamlined things considerably while keeping the depth.

What You Need to Play

• Shadowrun 6th Edition Core Rulebook ($40-50)
• d6s — Lots of them. 15-20 six-sided dice per player is ideal.
• Character sheet — Included in the book; Chummer (free app) helps with character creation
• A Game Master — Called a “GM” in Shadowrun
• Adventure: “Bullets & Bandages” or “Ready… Set… Run!” are good starting scenarios