I want to run a shadowrun game, but alas, I don't think my players or I have the time or the commitment to have an on-going campaign.
So, a one-shot it is. Or a series of one-shots interspersed throughout the year. But Shadowrun isn't a good system for one-shots. So much of the established flow of the game is getting jobs, dickering over price, investigating both the target and the client, and working above the mission. There's an expected style of play. One-shots plant you in a predefined role squarely in the box that Shadowrun expects you to shoot your way out of.
So, for any generic one-shot:
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Starting level and skills to match the session, rather than a session to match the player's level.
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Pre-made characters help a lot. Most people aren't going to spend hours making a character that will live less than hours. And then there's that one guy who looks up a build or can powergame in his sleep and comes in with a death-god.
- Goals need to be stated. Since they're really not going to be in it for character growth, you have to explicitly tell them why they're here and what constitutes a "win".
- There has to be a very definitive END. There is no wrapping up next week, no cliffhangers, nothing. The universe effectively ends when people go home. So plan for conflict resolution and some post-action wrap-up eplilog at the end of the night to let the players know how well they did.
- And it has to be brutally short. No epics. No twisting plot curveballs (which I'm probably too fond of in Shadowrun). Indeed the plot can be all of "someone pulls a gun on you while you're picking up pizza".
All that's basic one-shot requirements. I'm having some trouble with how to stuff the Shadowrun experience into one night.
Best Answer
I run one-shot Shadowrun missions at conventions. A couple of things I can offer: