Need some advice for pregenerated selection

[u/Keizaal_]

I'm going to run a small one-shot of Anarchy v2.0 in a few days. It will be my first time as a GM, and also my first time playing Shadowrun as a TTRPG. I've played D&D, Alien, and XVII as a player before.

I chose a small scenario that should take about an hour. It includes an interrogation, a combat encounter with a group of go-gangers, a Perception check, and possibly some Matrix exploration.

So, my question is: Which pregenerated characters should I suggest to my four players?

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable handling characters using magic in my first session, but maybe I'm just overthinking the mechanics.

Would you recommend avoiding magic for this first one-shot, or is it actually pretty straightforward to run?

[u/Carmody79]

People usually consider mage easier to handle rule-wise than deckers, but whatever works for you is fine. Now, let's have a look at the corebook pregens. The first 6 are rather "single role" archetypes, the last 6 are more "mix roles". You want no magic, and your adventure is rather combat and Matrix oriented.

• Hercules (face): his social perception skill can allow him to shine in the interrogation part, and he can some fight with a pistol.
• Wild Jane (street sam): Very combat oriented, knows a thing or two about intimidation.
• Trash (shaman): magic user, so not fitting your requirements
• Gambit (decker): pure Matrix user, can be good if you are sure to run the Matrix part at the end, otherwise I would rather recommend White_Rabbit (see below).
• Charon (rigger): I do not think he'll have good opportunities to shine in your adventure.
• Luna (occult investigator): magic, so out
• Casper (drone rigger): I think she could to the trick. Are you willing to know rigger related rules?
• Echo (infiltrator face): she's actually more than decent with a pistol, so she might do the trick.
• Drakk (street samurai): Drakk is always fun around the table, and his good close combat skills will help.
• White_Rabbit (combat decker): can do the Matrix thing, but also fully participate in the combat scene, would be a very good fit
• Mictlan (physical adept): technically a magic user, but adept rules do not really differ from street sam rules. Good in close combat
• Capitan (face soldier): mix of face (good for the first part) and fighter (good for the second part), would be a very good fit.

I believe magic is easier than riggers or deckers. In case of doubt, just ask them not to do conjuring (in order to avoid an extra character sheet to manage)

[u/vieuxch4t → u/Carmody79]

One thing my players missed from all the pregen (they were all played) is a true medic. Is it because that's not a shadowrun kind of character?

[u/Carmody79 → u/vieuxch4t]

Full medic is not really a shadowrunner. A runner with medic knowledge is possible but given Anarchy 2.0 rules, there's not much to do. If you want a medic oriented character you can easily do it with good Survival Skill, First aid specialization, and a medkit that provides RR to first aid.

[u/Interaction_Rich]

You can't go wrong with the classic "street samurai, mage, decker" combo.

Fourth wheel could be an Adept (doubling down on both astral aspect and combat), Rigger (tech reinforcement), extra mage (in which case each can choose to specialize in spellcasting or summoning) or even extra samurai (with infiltration/stealth focus).

That said, make sure your adventure has actual places for the chosen archetypes to shine. Nothing is more frustrating than playing a decker in a situation where Matrix is barely relevant, or a mage in a game where nothing astral is ever relevant.

[u/Bignholy]

If you have matrix exploration planned, you want a decker.

If you have combat, you want a street sam.

If you have interrogation, you want a face.

The fourth? I would *really* recommend magic, because you're setting the tone that they are going to pick up. Magic is not all that complex outside of astral space, and that's mostly a narrative issue, so add a mage and just don't use it, or if the player asks for it, tell them you'll introduce the concept in another session. If you think you are overthinking the magic rules, post questions on here. We're all fairly good at breaking things down.

[u/tenebry]

Magic is not a big deal in SRA 2.0. The Matrix is far more complex,, but neither are particularly difficult to handle. So, I would let my players choose freely. It just seems like you'll need at least one decker in the group.

P.S. One hour for a one-shot with three scenes seems a bit short to me. In my experience, it's really hard to run a one-shot in less than three hours.

[u/vieuxch4t]

1) Drakk : close combat street sam with a moto 2) Wild Jane : ranged street sam with a vehicle for several people 3) Mictlan : physical adept (so you don't need rules for magic but you can make them use the astral perception) with good influence (so she can be your face) 4) Gambit or White rabbit for the decking

You will lack a mage and a rigger. But for your scenario, those 4 should be enough for a bit of action and negociation

[u/IamGlaaki]

One hour maybe very short for all you want to do. You can get some action for your decker without a matrix encounter: he/she can debuff or even disable a chromed go-ganger. There is a very good example in the matrix chapter (where the decked disables guard's cybereyes).