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Any runners out there have an opinion on SR4? I have the core book, looking for some insight to which sourcebooks to add. I will be the GM. Any advice and/or help would be appreciated.

Note: I'm an experienced GM, but only played SR2.

Well... having played a bit of 4th edition I recomend Arsenal and Runners Companion.
Arsenal has a ton of weapons, armor, gear, etc.
The Runner's Companion has a lot more qualites and disadvantages.

The other books also have some good stuff, but it's pretty situational depending what your playing.

Arsenal and Runners companion are recommended - I also don't have either yet.

Then again, with around 80% of both the 1st and 2nd ed stuff I do have, kludging up something suitable for 4th isn't too hard.

(GM experience from 1st through 3rd).

Thanks for the info. This helps a bunch.

Runner's Companion and Arsenal are probably the first two sourcebooks you should pick up. Street Magic and Unwired are also great pickups for mages/shamans and hackers. Augmentation is a severe dissappointment,though,and should be the last of the core books you pick up,if you even pick it up at all.

Overall,SR4 is a great system. It's much less clunky and confusing than it's predecessors. It's core system plays a lot like WoD except with d6's instead of d10's. Character creation still takes a long time,but the system seems less lethal than SR2 and SR3.

I would highly recommend using the optional rule for increased drain as it relates to Direct Combat Spells. I forget which page it's on it but it makes mages/shamans take an extra point of drain for each success rolled when using DCS's. Without that optional rule,you can have munchkined out shamans/mages running around one-shotting groups of security guards with area of effect Direct Combat Spells and taking little to no drain at all.