Just got back from class. I won't be on long (I don't think), but it's a good time for me to reply.

[quote]Shadowrun looks very interesting. I'd be happy to give that a run, if you don't mind my being a complete newbie. I'd never even heard of the game, but it looks very interesting. And honestly, I generally do much better when there is already a setting established. Helps with the my-brain-hates-world-building thing.[/quote]

Yeah, you being new to the setting is TOTALLY fine. I can give you a brief explanation of the "what-to-know" of the setting - or, even better, we could start the roleplay off with your main character not even being a Shadowrunner at first. We could use that as an in-character introduction and let you learn particulars as we go.

The most world-building we'd have to do is A) picking a city and B) maybe fleshing it out a bit more. There's a huge variety in where we can be and what's happening in each part of the world, so feel free to make a list of suggestions or thoughts on what you want to be prominent in whatever city gets chosen.

[quote]I also find it is easier to find our footing when we incorporate some sort of disaster or survival element into the story straight-away. We could work that into the setting - post-apocalyptic, maybe. But even if it doesn't last long, and is just a quick emergency that we have to respond to, it skips the typical "lets just have our characters accidentally bump into each other and strike up a conversation." I'm a lot like you - if the thread feels forced, I don't enjoy it as much. If we place our characters in a tavern and have them start talking just because we need to get a story started, I think that's a bit too convenient. But I'm sure you've already thought of that! Your Shadowrun idea seems to have a fair element of danger.[/quote]

Shadowrun has frequent city-sized apocalypses, actually. Techno-zombies in Boston, dragons waking up and going crazy, bug spirits doing BAD stuff in Chicago, wars between corporations turning cities into hellscapes, blood magic from Aztechnology gone even worse than usual, anything concerning the Renraku Arcology, sentient AI trying to take over the world, elven nations starting genocidal wars... The list goes on.

If you want an apocalypse, I'm pretty sure we can devise one. Limiting our scope to a single city would make that WAY easier, since cities are frequently put on total lockdown when something goes wrong. Thanks, Megacorps.

Another situation that could force our characters together? Well, everyone starts off as a SINner (someone who has a System Identification Number) - something which makes them count as a person in the eyes of governments. Without a SIN, that character ceases to be a person, ceases to be part of the system, and can become a deniable asset (like a Shadowrunner). We could easily roleplay the transition of your character from a SINner to a SINless, perhaps with some sort of goal to pursue where your character NEEDS help? Again, this would help serve as an intro to the setting.