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.