History Awesome / ShadowrunReturns

* Meta example. Harebrained Schemes put up a Kickstarter for the Hong Kong campaign, in order to add more to it. They asked for 100,000 dollars, with 35 days for it to be raised. It was raised within ''two hours''. Two weeks later? 700,000 dollars and they still had three weeks to go. Their last stretch goal? 1 million dollars for an additional 4-5 hour epilogue campaign, which they also made.

* One mission has you storming the research center of one of the major corporations, killing their researchers, freeing some prisoners, and setting the entire building to explode. It's a hard as hell mission that required a lot of prep work but you will be on top of the world when that building goes up in smoke. The fat paycheck that comes with it is a nice touch too. Double points if you manage to get to the lab without tripping the alarm. That involves passing an interrogation while BloodMagic is hurting you. The cherry on top was that this was a [[GoodFeelsGood morally good act]] (said corporation is Aztechnology, known for their BlackMagic and an attitude [[EvenEvilHasStandards most other megacorps are repulsed by]]; the place you blew up was researching ways to create test-tube clones with pain empathy, so when they were used as HumanSacrifices their brothers would feel every stab), and in the life of a Shadowrunner, that comfort is a VERY rare luxury. Taking the moral high road can result in a Shadowrunner's reputation suffering and angering clients. To be paid to do the right thing just feels wonderful. You can also save three of the clones from their fate.

* One mission has you storming the research center of one of the major corporations, killing their researchers, freeing some prisoners, and setting the entire building to explode. It's a hard as hell mission that required a lot of prep work but you will be on top of the world when that building goes up in smoke. The fat paycheck that comes with it is a nice touch too. Double points if you manage to get to the lab without tripping the alarm. That involves passing an interrogation while BloodMagic is hurting you. The cherry on top was that this was a [[GoodFeelsGood morally good act]] (said corporation is Aztechnology, known for their BlackMagic and an attitude [[EvenEvilHasStandards most other megacorps are repulsed by]]; the place you blew up was researching ways to create test-tube clones with pain empathy, so when they were used as {{HumanSacrifice|s}} their brothers would feel every stab), and in the life of a Shadowrunner, that comfort is a VERY rare luxury. Taking the moral high road can result in a Shadowrunner's reputation suffering and angering clients. To be paid to do the right thing just feels wonderful. You can also save three of the clones from their fate.

* At the beginning of the game, you're a one-bit Shadowrunner living in a dingy apartment without any hint of a job and barely enough nuyen to finish the week, and that's before learning about the death of Sam. At the end, you've done several high-profile runs that lined up your pockets, [[spoiler:are known as being the one crazy enough to storm a AA-MegaCorp headquarters and survive, have [[HonestCorporateExecutive Telestrian]], [[BigGood Harlequin]] and [[GodInHumanForm Herr Brackhaus]] in your contact list ''and'' brought the true agenda of the United Brotherhood to light, ensuring that even if the public doesn't know the full picture, megacorps do and will act to stop the Bug Spirits.]]
* [[spoiler:After dealing with the Bug Spirits]], Telestrian offers you a favor as a reward. You can simply ask for a fat paycheck, ask him to have [=McKlusky=] fired from Lone Star as payback for being an asshole towards you (something Telestrian not only does, but claims does not count as a favor because he also hates [=McKlusky=])... Or ask (not "apply") to become his new VP of Security considering [[spoiler:the run on his corp]] cost the former one his job. ''He accepts'', with his only condition is that you check in wearing nice clothes.

* The end of the Dragonfall campaign. Finally ending it all after days of sweat, blood, and tears.
** Depending on your choices, in the epilogue, you can [[spoiler:become an agent of Lofwyr, and it is implied that you go on assassinate friggin' ''Dunkelzahn''. So that's potentially ''TWO'' dragons under your belt.]]

* The whole crew kicks all sorts of ass during the attack on the Kreuzbasar. They've been caught flat-footed and they're all divided across town, separated between large groups of heavily-armed mercenaries. They ''still'' manage to band together, kill every hostile down to the last man, and defuse all the bombs set to blow up in the sewers. It's a rare moment of genuine heroism from the shadowrunners where they save hundreds of innocent lives, and you get to control all of the original crew at the same time [[spoiler:(including Dante, who just TookALevelInBadass)]].
* Wiping out the Humanis camp [[spoiler: and preventing them from carrying out their FalseFlagOperation. During the quest, with Dietrich in tow, you tell his nephew Alexander that you respect his choice, be it leaving Humanis or remaining in it. Alexander then mans up and joins his uncle (and you) in killing the hostiles.]]
* One mission has you storming the research center of one of the major corporations, killing their researchers, freeing some prisoners, and setting the entire building to explode. It's a hard as hell mission that required a lot of prep work but you will be on top of the world when that building goes up in smoke. The fat paycheck that comes with it is a nice touch too. Double points if you manage to get to the lab without tripping the alarm. That involves [[spoiler:passing an interrogation while BloodMagic is hurting you.]]
** The cherry on top was that this was a [[GoodFeelsGood morally good act]] (said corporation is Aztechnology, known for their BlackMagic and an attitude [[EvenEvilHasStandards most other megacorps are repulsed by]]; the place you blew up was researching ways to create test-tube clones with pain empathy, so when they were used as {{HumanSacrifice|s}} their brothers would feel every stab), and in the life of a Shadowrunner, that comfort is a VERY rare luxury. Taking the moral high road can result in a Shadowrunner's reputation suffering and angering clients. To be paid to do the right thing just feels wonderful. You can also save three of the clones from their fate.
* If the player lets [[spoiler:APEX take over Feuerschwinge's body, the AI manages to repel the government and MegaCorp attack on the F-State during the ending, astounding even Lofwyr himself.]]

* In ''Hong Kong,'' one way to defeat the BigBad is to outwit it by [[RulesLawyer using its own rules against it.]] [[spoiler: Specifically, you force Qian Ya to retreat to its home dimension by threatening to use the machine that summoned her to summon all of its siblings. When she/it incredulously asks you what makes you think you'll survive an encounter with the other Yama Kings when even one is beyond your ability to kill, you can reply that you won't, but that won't stop [[TakingYouWithMe the others from killing her for stealing all their food.]] Defeated, Qian Ya tries to bargain with you by taking the souls of her followers with her, but as Yama King law states that any concession in an argument forfeits ''all'' rights, you can order the god-queen home empty-handed. Even better is responding to her asking [[ThisCannotBe how you know the Yama Kings' laws]], and you can either tell her that [[LaserGuidedKarma she drove the wrong genius insane]]... or leave her with a cryptic [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu "You'll spend the rest of eternity wondering."]]]]
** There is also another line: [[spoiler:[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech "You are entitled to *nothing*"]]]]. Basically, this game just let you do the whole [[spoiler: ComicBook/JohnConstantine]] thing, and it is AWESOME.
* Helping [[spoiler: Ku Feng]] to unleash her true potential will unlock her [[spoiler:for a segment in Kowloon Walled City.]]
* TakingAThirdOption in the Whistleblower run. Rather than side with either your original Mr. Johnson (who lied to you and is planning to betray you) or the Seoulpa Rings (who threaten you and are planning to betray you) you can decide to fight ''both'' sides in a glorious three-way fight. This not only gets you the greatest possible reward for the run, it also gets your character a ''lot'' of respect from both their teammates and Kindly Cheng, who strongly approves of the message you have just sent: ''nobody'' fucks with Cheng's runners.

** ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' continues the "screw both sides" tradition, but this time, the battle is the toughest bar ''none'' in the ''Shadowrun Returns'' games. [[spoiler:Your client is a former Mitsuhama executive who's been exposed to an experimental treatment that's given her MerlinSickness and currently looks like a twelve-year old. You extract her from Mitsuhama in order to hand her over to Yamaterasu, another Mega who claims to be able to help her... Only for Mitsuhama to show up at the extraction site with a High-Treat Response team and claim Yamaterasu was lying and won't help her either. Caught between two Megas who both want your client as a lab rat, you have the option to ask your client what ''she'' wants and then interpret her anger at both sides as a "screw all y'all" and pick a fight with ''two'' HTR teams from AAA-ranked Megacorps at the same time. The fight (which can be described as 'hellish' at best) is winnable and ends with your client paying you out of pocket. She later sends you a "thank you" mail for sticking up for her, explaining that she'll try and find a private cure, or if that fails at least be allowed to die with dignity without being imprisoned and biopsied by a Megacorp.]]
** Another reason why the Whistleblower run is awesome is that [[spoiler: it threatens to reveal the secrets behind the elves' longevity. The elves had schemed long and hard to stop any relevant research from surfacing; with this run, you (through Kindly Cheng) will sell these secrets to the highest bidder.]] The Schockwellenreiter would be proud.
* At the end of the Prosperity Tower run, you have to face one last group of mooks, whose captain says that they're the last line of defense. You can then have your character point out that they're the last line of defense because ''you killed all the other lines yourself''. They wisely back down.
** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words (and maintenance uniforms), a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting (be it nuyen or an armoury), you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president who smugly thinks that he can do a deal with you ([[spoiler:He's a mage btw]]). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above. The run is one of ''the'' DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster moments in ''Hong Kong''.
* The sheer RefugeInAudacity that is [[spoiler:the visit to the Tiger's Den]]. Like Prosperity Towers above, you can turn it into a lucrative heist.[[spoiler: You can charm your way through the 1st floor, securing and then destroying evidence in front of a prisoner for nuyen. Hell, the main reason you are even inside the detention area is that you bribed a police officer to get in! You can also use drones to sneak into an interrogation room and dispose of a police officer ''without raising the alarm''. The suspect who is being beaten then gives you the code to his briefcase of drugs, and then proceed to loot the dead officer's electronic identification so that he may escape.]] The fun continues on the second floor, [[spoiler: where the HKPF springs their trap on you, only for Qiu to turn the tables with her own surprise, burning the traitor to death with a slow-cooking fireball. You then escape, but not before clearing out the medical station and the armoury, while laying waste to the SDU.]] ButWaitTheresMore If you choose to [[spoiler:escape via the parking lots, you can (via rigging or a password obtained from a previous Matrix run) [[StuffBlowingUp set the vehicles to explode on demand]]. See the pursuers taking cover near a vehicle? BOOM. There is an achievement if you blew up ''all'' the vehicles.]]

* Antumbra: You go from a scummy Shadowrunner planting bombs in nightclubs to the hero who saved the California Free State from mass dehydration, [[spoiler:to Commander-General of the California Free State's Sacramento Forces, fighting against an invasion from Tir Tangire, to mayor of Sacramento.]]
** At the end of the saga, you're cornered and defending a shaman from endless waves of elite Tir Tangire commandos. [[spoiler:Then she turns into the Great Dragon Hestaby, gives Lofwyr a massive TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and orders the entire Tir Tangire army to go home and never come back. It works.]]

* [[spoiler:After dealing with the Bug Spirits]], Telestrian offers you a favor as a reward. You can simply ask for a fat paycheck, ask him to have [=McKlusky=] fired from Lone Star as payback for being an asshole towards you... Or ask (not "apply") to become his new VP of Security considering [[spoiler:the run on his corp]] cost the former one his job. ''He accepts''.

* [[spoiler:After dealing with the Bug Spirits]], Telestrian offers you a favor as a reward. You can simply ask for a fat paycheck, ask him to have McKlusky fired from Lone Star as payback for being an asshole... Or ask (not "apply") to become his new VP of Security considering [[spoiler:the run on his corp]] cost the former one his job. ''He accepts''.

** Depending on your choices, in the epilogue, you can [[spoiler: become an agent of Lofwyr, and it is implied that you go on assassinate friggin' ''Dunkelzahn''. So that's potentially ''TWO'' dragons under your belt.]]

* One mission has you storming the research center of one of the major corporations, killing their researchers, freeing some prisoners, and setting the entire building to explode. It's a hard as hell mission that required a lot of prep work but you will be on top of the world when that building goes up in smoke. The fat paycheck that comes with it is a nice touch too. Double points if you manage to get to the lab without tripping the alarm. That involves [[spoiler: passing an interrogation while BloodMagic is hurting you.]]
** The cherry on top was that this was a [[GoodFeelsGood morally good act]] (said corporation is Aztechnology, known for their BlackMagic and an attitude [[EvenEvilHasStandards most other megacorps are repulsed by]]; the place you blew up was researching ways to clone a HumanSacrifice), and in the life of a Shadowrunner, that comfort is a VERY rare luxury. Taking the more moral road can result in a Shadowrunner's reputation suffering and angering clients. To be paid to do the right thing just feels wonderful.

* In ''Hong Kong,'' one way to defeat the BigBad is to outwit it by [[RulesLawyer using its own rules against it.]] [[spoiler: Specifically, you force Qian Ya to retreat to its home dimension by threatening to use the machine that summoned her to summon all of its siblings. When she/it incredulously asks you what makes you think you'll survive an encounter with the other Yama Kings when even one is beyond your ability to kill, you can reply that you won't, but that won't stop [[TakingYouWithMe the others from killing her for stealing all their food.]] Defeated, Qian Ya tries to bargain with you by taking the souls of her followers with her, but as Yama King law states that any concession in an argument forfeits ''all'' rights, you can order the god-queen home empty-handed. Even better is responding to her asking [[ThisCannotBe how you know the Yama Kings' laws]], and you can either tell her... or tell her that, [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu "You'll spend the rest of eternity wondering."]]]]
** There is also another line: [[spoiler: "You are entitled to *nothing*"]]
** Basically, this game just let you do the whole [[spoiler: ComicBook/JohnConstantine]] thing, and it is AWESOME.
* Helping [[spoiler: Ku Feng]] to unleash her true potential will unlock her [[spoiler: for a segment in Kowloon Walled City.]]

* Another reason why the Whistleblower run is awesome is that [[spoiler: it threatens to reveal the secrets behind the elves' longevity. The elves had schemed long and hard to stop any relevant research from surfacing; with this run, you (through Kindly Cheng) will sell these secrets to the highest bidder.]] The Schockwellenreiter would be proud.
* At the end of the Prosperity Tower run, you have to face one last group of mooks, whose captain says that they're the last line of defense. You can then have your character point out that they're the last line of defense because ''you killed the other lines''. They wisely back down.
** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words (and maintenance uniforms), a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting (be it nuyen or an armoury), you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president who smugly thinks that he can do a deal with you ([[spoiler: He's a mage btw]]). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above. The run is one of ''the'' DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster moments in ''Hong Kong''.
* The sheer RefugeInAudacity that is [[spoiler: the visit to the Tiger's Den]]. Like Prosperity Towers above, you can turn it into a lucrative heist.[[spoiler: You can charm your way through the 1st floor, securing and then destroying evidence in front of a prisoner for nuyen. Hell, the main reason you are even inside the detention area is that you bribed a police officer to get in! You can also use drones to sneak into an interrogation room and dispose of a police officer ''without raising the alarm''. The suspect who is being beaten then gives you the code to his briefcase of drugs, and then proceed to loot the dead officer's electronic identification so that he may escape.]] The fun continues on the second floor, [[spoiler: where the HKPF springs their trap on you, only for Qiu to turn the tables with her own surprise. You then escape, but not before clearing out the medical station and the armoury, while laying waste to the SDU.]] ButWaitTheresMore If you choose to [[spoiler:escape via the parking lots, you can (via rigging or a password obtained from a previous Matrix run) [[StuffBlowingUp set the vehicles to explode on demand]]. See the pursuers taking cover near a vehicle? BOOM. There is an achievement if you blew up ''all'' the vehicles.]]

** ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' continues the "screw both sides" tradition, but this time, the battle is the toughest bar ''none'' in the ''Shadowrun Returns'' games.

** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words, a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting (be it nuyen or an armoury), you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president who smugly thinks that he can do a deal with you ([[spoiler: He's a mage btw]]). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above. The run is one of ''the'' DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster moments in ''Hong Kong''.

* The sheer RefugeInAudacity that is [[spoiler: the visit to the Tiger's Den]]. Like Prosperity Towers above, you can turn it into a lucrative heist.[[spoiler: You can charm your way through the 1st floor, securing and then destroying evidence in front of a prisoner for nuyen. Hell, the main reason you are even inside the detention area is that you bribed a police officer to get in! You can also use drones to sneak into an interrogation room and dispose of a police officer ''without raising the alarm''. The suspect who is being beaten then gives you the code to his briefcase of drugs, and then proceed to loot the dead officer's electronic identification so that he may escape.]] The fun continues on the second floor, [[spoiler where the HKPF springs their trap on you, only for Qiu to turn the tables with her own surprise. You then escape, but not before clearing out the medical station and the armoury, while laying waste to the SDU.]] ButWaitTheresMore! If you choose to escape [[spoiler: via the parking lots, you can (via rigging or a password obtained from a previous Matrix run) [[StuffBlowingUp set the vehicles to explode on demand]]. See the pursuers taking cover near a vehicle? BOOM. There is an achievement if you blew up ''all'' the vehicles.]]

** ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' continues the "screw both sides" tradition, but this time, it is the toughest battle bar ''none'' in the ''Shadowrun Returns'' games.

** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words, a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting, you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president who smugly thinks that he can do a deal with you ([[spoiler: He's a mage btw]]). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above. The run is one of ''the'' DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster moments in ''Hong Kong''.

** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words, a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting, you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president (who's a mage btw). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above. The run is one of ''the'' DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster moments in ''Hong Kong''.

* Helping [[spoiler: Ku Feng]] to unleash her true potential will unlock her [[spoiler: for the final battle in Kowloon Walled City.]]

* At the end of the Prosperity run, you have to face one last group of mooks, whose captain says that they're the last line of defense. You can then have your character point out that they're the last line of defense because ''you killed the other lines''. They wisely back down.
** The run itself is the epitome of your showdown with Josephine Tsang's men. With charismatic words, a sabotage, some hacks and academic (or magical) knowledge, you negotiate your way to the security systems on 3 floors and shut down the alarms (while releasing a creature which rather defies description). If you are in a mood for looting, you clear out 2 floors of Tsang guards AND kill a vice-president (who's a mage btw). And that's before the havoc you raise in Lab Twelve, leading to the moment mentioned above.