Rules Primer

Shadowrun is designed around a single type of die: The d6. But you don't roll one of them, but multiple. Characters have both Attributes and Skills, and nearly all tests are either two Attributes or an Attribute plus a Skill added together. Add in other bonuses and penalties, and you end up with a pool of dice to roll. 5s and 6s are hits, but if you roll too many 1s, you'll face a side-effect.
Sometimes, you roll against a specific threshold: If you roll less hits, you fail. Other times, you roll against another pool, and the defender has to beat the attacker. In a fight you can do one major action, and several smaller ones with tactical benefits and whatnot. When you fail to avoid an attack, you face a fixed amount of damage that you reduce with a soak roll. Be careful, even a knife can kill you in just a few good stabs.
Lastly, there is a special attribute called Edge. A combination of luck and tactical advantage, Edge lets you alter dicerolls and unlock special actions. Players that use tricks to get the upper hand, will build this up and use it when they really need it. But be careful, the groups of grunts you're facing can do the same.

Die-type

Six-sided dice (d6s)

Hit

5-6

Typical Dicepool

6d6~15d6

Glitch

Rolling 1 on over half your dicepool

Critical Glitch

A Glitched roll without any Hit

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Rule details

Augmented Values & Modifiers

Various types of boosts will give you a bonus on specific skills, attributes, and more. An augmented attribute value is the base value plus the bonus.

Rolling a Test

Add either 2 (augmented) Attributes, or an (augmented) Skill and Attribute. Add/subtract remaining modifiers. Roll, count the 5s and 6s as hits. If more than half the dice roll a 1, that's a glitch. A glitch without hits is a critical glitch, with severe consequences. For example, explosive ammo explodes in your gun.

Extended Tests

While a normal test simply happens, usually near-instantly, an extended test keeps going. You can roll again, while adding up all the hits, but you lose 1 die every new roll. Furthermore, every roll takes the interval in time. So if you have 8 dice on a 10-minutes extended test, you roll 8 dice for the first ten minutes, 7 for the second ten, 6 for the third ten, until you stop or run out of dice.

Relevant combat tests

A combat starts with rolling Initiative, which is special: Add your initiative value to the rolled numbers of your dice. Everyone goes in order, and keeps their Initiative Score.
When you attack, you roll your weapon skill versus a defensive Reaction+Intuition test. If you win, the difference in hits is added to your weapon's damage. Lastly, the opponent rolls Body to reduce the damage a bit. Most people go down at 9 or 10 damage.*

Forms of buffs

Boosts can come from many sources: Implants, spells, magical self-buffs, drugs, tactics, equipment, and more. In the end they all are dice, though.

Grunts

Usually, you face groups of enemies that are called grunts. Grunts only have 1 Condition Monitor, and tend to attack in small groups. This gives them a bit of a bonus, but means they can only damage once per group. They also tend to run away if things become too dangerous.

Penalties

Asides from bonuses, there's also a few ways to receive penalties on your actions. First of all, for every 3 damage on a Condition Monitor, you take a -1. Getting hit by an electrical shock, or actively sustaining spells cast on yourself or others, also cost you dice. And aiming for the knees also is a harder shot.

Common Edge Usage

You will gain and spend Edge frequently, gained by tactical advantages and spent on small benefits. You can only spend Edge 1 way per Action. There's quite a few ways to use Edge in-game, below are the primary ones to remember:

+3 Initiative per 1 Edge spent

Reroll 1 die of opponent per 1 Edge spent

Raise 1 die's value with 1 per 1 Edge spent

Reroll all your non-hits for 4 Edge total

Add your Edge* to your now-exploding dicepool* for 4 Edge total

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Rule Examples

Attacking, Defending, Damage

Rude, a Street Samurai, has pissed off a group of streetgangers, that is coming at him with brass knuckles. Not wanting to alert the police with gunfire, but not caring about lethality, he opts to use his katana.

Rude rolls 15 dice total, while his opponents are idiots with a dicepool of 4. Rude scores 6 hits, and the ganger he targets rolls 1 hit and 3 ones, meaning a glitch. Since the ganger failed to roll more hits than Rude, he is hit and gets a nice slice across the chest.

The Katana has a base damage of 4, and Rude's 5 net hits (his 6 hits - 1 ganger hit) add another 5 for a total of 9 Physical damage. The ganger has 2 Body and only rolls 1 hit, reducing the damage to 8. Another hit like that would not only knock him out, but is likely to kill him.

Due to the glitch, the GM has ruled that the ganger got knocked over by the attack. While he lays there bleeding, his fellow gangmembers realise they picked on the wrong target.

Katana (Agility + Close Combat):

Cyberarm Agility* ⇒ 5

Close Combat Skill ⇒ 7

Reflex Recorder (Close Combat) ⇒ +1

Specialization (Blades)* ⇒ +2

Dicepool: 5+(7+1)+2 = 15 dice

vs

Defense (Reaction + Intuition):

Reaction ⇒ 2

Intuition ⇒ 2

Dicepool: 2+2 = 4 dice

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Knowledge Skills

Memory (Logic + Intuition):

Logic ⇒ 2

Intuition ⇒ 4

Dicepool: 2+4 = 6 dice
Threshold 2: A common task

As the gangmembers run away while swearing and shouting idle threats, Rude scratches his head, pondering for a second. He has the "Seattle Gangs" Knowledge Skill, so the GM allows a memory test to recall specific details. Rude only rolls one hit, vs a threshold of 2, so fails to recall anything. Had he rolled two hits, he would have recalled this specific gang is mafia-connected.

Knowledge Skills - Details

A Knowledge Skill has no ranking of its own. Instead, it enables tests that may reveal more. For example, a normal Perception Test might make you realise some people are wearing similar outfits. If you have the <Area> Gangs skill, you could instead realise they're aspiring members of a local gang of weaklings. It won't help you if you're in another city, though.

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Initiative & Combat Actions

Having failed his knowledge test to realise what's coming, Rude stays at the bar. When half an hour later some Mafia Soldato show up, he sees them coming and realises drek has hit the fan.
Initiative is a base value plus the sum on the dice. Rude has 8+2d6 Iniative, thanks to his Wired Reflexes that he kept on for party tricks. He rolls a mere 3 on his 2 dice, for a total of 11 Initiative. The Mafia Soldato are doped up on Cram, giving them 5+2d6. They roll 10 so have 15 Initiative.
Not wanting to start on the backfoot, Rude spends 2 Edge on the 1-Edge-for-3-Initiative boost, gaining 6 Initiative. This puts him at 17, allowing him to go first. Since he has 2 Initiative Dice, he has 3 Minor and 1 Major Action available. He uses 1 Minor to Quick Draw his katana, his Major to attack the nearest Soldato, another Minor to move up to 10m, and his last Minor to Take Cover behind the bar.
Had Rude not taken cover, he could have taken a form of defensive action once with the remaining Minor. However, the cover grants a bonus against multiple attacks, while the defensive action would only apply once.

Rude's Initiative:

Augmented Reaction* ⇒ 3(4)

Intuition ⇒ 4

Augmented Dice* ⇒ +1(2)d6

Initiative*: (3+1)+4+ (1+1)d6 = 8+2d6
Actions* = 1 Major, 3 Minor

vs

Mafia Soldato Initiative:

Augmented Reaction* ⇒ 2(3)

Intuition ⇒ 2

Augmented Dice* ⇒ +1(2)d6

Initiative*: (2+1)+2+ (1+1)d6 = 5+2d6
Actions* = 1 Major, 3 Minor

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Legwork

There are 3 ways to dig up information:

• A Memory Test supported by a Knowledge Skill (Logic + Intuition)

• Asking a Contact to check for you (Connection + Connection)

• Running a Matrix Search (Electronics + Intuition, Extended)

After a defensive fight against the Soldato, eventually they too run away. Rude gets out as well, before the cops show up. On his way home, he wonders how much trouble he's in. The GM allows him to make another Memory Test, at a -2 Try Again penalty. This time he rolls 2 hits, letting him realise he just picked a fight with the mob.
Not knowing what to do next, Rude calls an Urban Brawler contact of his, he knows she is mob-sponsored. He asks his contact if she knows what mob he pissed off and what superior he should talk to for making amends. She's poorly connected, but mob-sponsored, so the GM decreases the threshold. She rolls 2 hits on 4 dice and gives Rude a number that can help him further.