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| 2 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. |
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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowrun_returns_logo_5256.jpg]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->''"Welcome to the sprawl."'' |
| 7 | |
| 8 | ''Shadowrun Returns'' is a {{CRPG}} based on the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' franchise. It is the [[VideoGame/{{Shadowrun}} fifth video game in that setting]]. The main campaign is called "Dead Man's Switch", and a DLC campaign, "Dragonfall", was later re-released as a standalone game with additional content. ''Shadowrun: Hong Kong'' was then released as the seventh game in the series, followed by a short sequel DLC called ''Shadows of Hong Kong''. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ''Returns'' was developed by Harebrained Schemes, designed by Jordan Weisman[[note]]founder of Creator/{{FASA}} and co-creator of the original ''Shadowrun'' (and, on a side note, also the co-creator of ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'')[[/note]] and Mitch Gitelman[[note]](producer for most of the Microsoft FASA-licensed games including the Xbox 360/Windows Vista ''Shadowrun'' game [[OldShame about which he apologizes]])[[/note]], it was crowd-funded through Website/{{Kickstarter}} in March of 2012. The Kickstarter was a huge success, hitting several stretch goals, with lots of {{Feelies}} for backers and the first DownloadableContent pack included for free. The game was released on July 25, 2013 for PC and Mac, September 26, 2013 for iOS and Android and October 30, 2013 for Linux. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ''Dead Man's Switch'', the first campaign, is included with the first HBS game. It takes place in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} in 2054. In it, [[PlayerCharacter you play]] a down-on-their-luck Shadowrunner investigating the death of their old buddy Sam Watts in exchange for a substantial payday and/or personal vengeance. It also has a number of plot links to the [[VideoGame/{{Shadowrun}} SNES Shadowrun game]], although it is not a "sequel" as such. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | ''Dragonfall'', released on February 27, 2014, sees [[PlayerCharacter you]] end up in Berlin, a.k.a. the Flux State, a utopia of anarchy where power shifts like the tides of the ocean. When what appears to be a milk run (slang for a quick and easy job) goes south, you and your new crew find yourselves drawn into a conspiracy surrounding the Great Dragon Feuerschwinge, who rumors suggest survived her supposed death. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | An UpdatedRerelease of ''Dragonfall'' entitled ''[[http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/08/17/shadowrun-dragonfall-directors-cut-coming-next-month/ Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut]]'' was released on September 18, 2014 for PC, Mac, and Linux. The update includes, among other things, new art assets as well as entire new missions, which really ended up taking ''Dragonfall'' outside the scope of "DLC" and made it more a full-blown sequel running on the same engine. Citing developers like [[VideoGame/TheWitcher CD Projekt RED]] as inspiration, the team behind ''Shadowrun Returns'' decided to release this update free for original backers and owners of the original ''Dragonfall''. The update is also sold as a standalone product on Platform/{{Steam}} and [[Website/GOGDotcom GOG]]. A version for iOS and Android was released on December 4 2014. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Harebrained Schemes announced ''[[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613260297/shadowrun-returns/posts/1095934 Shadowrun: Hong Kong]]'', in December 31, 2014. It was the setting of the third campaign. It [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/shadowrun-hong-kong was funded through Kickstarter]] and released on August 20th, 2015. The campaign has you travel to Hong Kong in the year 2056 to reunite with your estranged foster family, only to be forced underground and into the dangerous world of shadowrunning. And of course get involved in a conspiracy involving your missing foster father and an infamous slum whose preternatural decay seems to be literally infecting the surrounding city. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Changes from the previous two campaigns include enhanced player controls and sound, animatic scene transitions, revamps to the Matrix and more options for cyberware and magic, making this, once again, a full-blown sequel. A PlayableEpilogue, ''Shadows of Hong Kong'', was released on February 5, 2016 through the free ''Extended Edition'' update. ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' is set a few weeks after the end of the original campaign. In it, you and your team now have the opportunity to turn the tables on the corporate police force that once hunted you. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | The entire series was re-released as ''The Shadowrun Trilogy'' for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, [=PlayStation=] 4, and [=PlayStation=] 5 on June [=21st=], 2022. |
| 23 | ---- |
| 24 | !!This game contains examples of: |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[folder:General]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | * AirVentPassageway: Unlike the tabletop game, they're ''all'' too small for Shadowrunners. Not too small for [[AttackDrone drones]], though... |
| 31 | * AntiMagic: Adepts can learn Magic Resistance, which gives increasing levels of Cover against spells. |
| 32 | * ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: You can usually only bring three other runners with you at a time, sometimes less. While it makes sense for the teams to stay small, it's especially noticeable in ''Dragonfall'', where the total crew size (counting the PlayerCharacter) is five, meaning someone has to sit out every run. This gets even worse in ''Hong Kong'', as you can have up to five teammates, meaning two members would sit out each mission. Asking those that didn't go on the last run about their opinions on it has them pointing out that they didn't go along, and possibly mentioning what they did in the meantime. |
| 33 | * ArmorPiercingAttack: In addition to the changes to armour in ''Director's Cut'', there are now attacks that can degrade or ignore armor. |
| 34 | * TheArtifact: Mercenaries. In ''Dead Man's Switch'', hiring other runners was the only way to have any sort of backup on missions. They're still around in ''Dragonfall'' and ''Hong Kong'', but those campaigns also have allies with actual personalities and no price tag, which diminishes mercenaries' importance. |
| 35 | * ArtificialBrilliance: Improving on the below stupidity was a design goal for ''Dragonfall - Director's Cut'' that gets pushed back to the main game as well. Harebrained implemented a custom AI scripting scheme they call [=GumboScript=] that allows for AI agents to be adjusted by the designer for combat behavior, with the stated goal that they "not look dumb". For the curious, [[http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/SheridanThirsk/20141105/229495/Cooking_Up_Gumbo_The_Evolution_of_TurnBased_AI_in_Shadowrun.php Harebrained has written a piece on Gamasutra about it.]] |
| 36 | * ArtificialLimbs: As in the source material, if you have the Nuyen and don't care about the magic penalties, there is nothing stopping you from getting chromed up. |
| 37 | * ArtificialLimbsAreStronger: Certain pieces of cyberware and bioware will boost your base attributes and/or offer you new abilities like spitting acid, reloading guns without spending AP, a guaranteed dodge, self-healing, or a special blinding attack, and with enough ranks in Cyberware Affinity (''Hong Kong'' only), can boost them above what would normally be possible for your race, which can do things like give a chromed-up troll to have as much as 18 strength or an chromed-up elf to have 16 quickness and bonuses to their ranged combat and dodge skills. |
| 38 | * ArtificialStupidity: |
| 39 | ** The enemy is reasonably smart in certain areas; they'll throw grenades at clustered player groups, know to use cover (most of the time), and tend to go for their special abilities when they can. However, much of this behavior depends on playing by their rules. The AI can be drawn into a turkey shoot through a simple strategy: hide all your people behind a corner, have one runner aggro the enemy, then run back to your corner and set everyone to overwatch. One by one, the enemy will file in to their almost certain deaths, and you'll get away with barely a scratch to show for it. It's not always a viable strategy, but it works for a lot of encounters. |
| 40 | ** The enemy has no concept of friendly fire and will gladly grenade their fellows if it means hitting your runners. |
| 41 | ** In ''Hong Kong'', the enemy is incapable of recognizing when a character has the [[GrenadeHotPotato Magnet Arm]], and will fall for it several times in one round if conditions allow. |
| 42 | ** The AI is consistently terrible at dealing with pincer attacks. In responding to one side the enemies will make no consideration about how they are exposing their backs to attack. It is not uncommon to see enemies try to put distance and cover between themselves and your characters on one side, and in doing so run right next to your other characters on the opposite side. The AI never does maneuvers like retreating in a group towards a third direction so it can put up a unified front. |
| 43 | * AttackDrone: Riggers can control various attack drones. The Rigger loses one Action Point per drone as long as they're active, but the drones have their own Action Points. Drones can use their smaller size to do things like navigate {{Air Vent Passageway}}s to flank enemies. They are a formidable force in the hands of a competent Rigger. |
| 44 | * {{Autosave}}: The game was criticized for only having autosaves (which are done whenever a new area is loaded), as the engine didn't originally support manual saves. Manual saves were added with the v1.2 patch. |
| 45 | * AwesomeButImpractical: |
| 46 | ** The Adept's Chi Onslaught grants you three attacks on a target with increased CriticalHit chance, but requires a whopping 3 AP to use. 2 AP is the default at the start of the game and you only get three after passing a certain point in the storyline. It also has a lowered hit chance. It's almost always preferable to just use Chi Focus or normal attack instead. Having a shaman in your party can negate the 'impractical' part though. |
| 47 | ** Trolls and Orks can potentially be the most durable and hardest-hitting melee attackers due to the abnormally high Body and Strength scores they can achieve. However, there's no point in actually reaching those values because the karma costs are simply too expensive to be worth the trouble. |
| 48 | * BavarianFireDrill: When undercover, oftentimes, the most effective way to avoid "going loud" is to pretend as hard as you can that you belong there, often with the help of a few skill checks, such as high intelligence, charisma, or knowledge of a relevant etiquette. |
| 49 | * {{BFG}}[=/=]{{BFS}}: The easy qualification of the enormous minigun aside, all weapon models scale to the character using them, and as such, any gun or melee weapon in the hands of an 8 foot tall troll will look suitably massive, though this has no direct impact on their performance (though a troll can reach heights of damage with a sword or axe that no other race could hope to). |
| 50 | * BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Available to those who specialize in Pistols, and the S-Rank ''Ares Guardian'' AttackDrone. Success is not guaranteed, but it still deals damage... potentially a lot even ''if'' it fails. |
| 51 | * BottomlessMagazines: Characters who specialize in Pistols can gain the ability to reload without spending any AP, giving them the next best thing. The A- and S-Rank drones can do the same. ''Hong Kong'' introduces an auto-loader cyberarm that does this for any weapon. |
| 52 | * {{Cap}}: The base stats have a cap of 9 with variations based on race, though it can be somewhat impractical to get that high. This cap extends to the skills they govern. Dodge can only goes as high as your Quickness stat, for example. Skills in turn may have specializations, which also cannot have a higher value than the stat that governs them. For example, your Rifle specialization cannot exceed your Ranged Combat skill, which cannot exceed your Quickness stat. ''Hong Kong'' adds a Cyberware Affinity skill which allows you to raise your maximum essence and thus use more cyberware, or up to two essence worth of cyberware without incurring any magical penalties, as well as enhance stats past racial maximums. Unlike other skills which share a cap with their governing stat, Cyberware Affinity has a cap of 7 for all races with the same stipulation that it cannot exceed the current Body stat as with other skills. |
| 53 | * CastFromHitPoints: Spells which are currently on cool-down can still be cast, but doing so drains your health. |
| 54 | * CharacterClassSystem: Averted, in that there are archetypes available to choose from, but there is no formal divide between specializations which prevents one character from having any combination of abilities that they see fit to work toward. A player can even skip the archetype selection if they wish and just build a character from scratch. |
| 55 | * CharacterSelectForcing: If you want to have a steady cash inflow, you pretty much ''need'' at least some degree of Decking. |
| 56 | * {{Chiaroscuro}}: The environment art style Harebrained went with surprised players expecting a visually "darker" game by including a variety of bright colors. This is partially because bright colors read well seen from a distance on a moving screen, but they also fulfill a stylistic function. Since much of the environment still is dark, the bright colors call attention to specific elements and create an important thematic contrast between areas of light and areas of dark, reflecting the social penumbra that shadowrunners operate in. |
| 57 | * CloseRangeCombatant: |
| 58 | ** Most of the Physical Adept's Chi Casting spells are meant to either do damage at melee range or help them close with an opponent. It's not impossible to give an Adept a gun and some ranged combat skills, but given the shortage of Karma you're far better off specializing. |
| 59 | ** With ''Hong Kong'', the Street Samurai now has its own version of this with implanted cyber-weapons. Other implants like Wired Reflexes and Cyberlegs make up for the other Chi powers. |
| 60 | * CombatDiplomacyStealth: There are multiple ways to complete runs, with or without fighting. The game tends to reward karma if you can talk your way out. |
| 61 | * ConcealmentEqualsCover: {{Averted|Trope}}. Things that wouldn't reasonably be bulletproof or fully conceal you (eg. a wooden bench) only count as light cover, which protects you from critical hits, but offers no other protection. Things that wouldn't reasonably be bulletproof, but you could reasonably completely hide behind (eg. a desk) count as medium cover, which prevents critical hits and reduces enemy accuracy. Only things that would both reasonably be bulletproof AND could be completely be hidden behind (eg. a large ceramic flowerpot or a concrete divider) count as heavy cover, which prevents critical hits, reduces enemy accuracy, ''and'' halves incoming ranged damage. |
| 62 | * CounterAttack: |
| 63 | ** Overwatch is a preemptive version of this. By selecting a weapon skill then using Overwatch to define a cone of vision, the user will automatically retaliate with that skill against the first enemy that crosses their line of sight, within the effective range of the weapon it is used with. The player must have enough AP to use the skill in question before triggering Overwatch. The idea is to position the character in such a way that they cannot be attacked without triggering Overwatch and damaging the assailant. It's an excellent ambush skill, though not so good in open areas. Using it automatically ends the user's turn, even if the skill uses less AP than the player has available. |
| 64 | ** The Adept Counterstrike skill plays this straight. In exchange for ending the user's turn, the user will retaliate against anyone that attacks them from any direction [[RuleOfThree up to three times]]. It's somewhat impractical for a pure melee Adept, as it requires [[AwesomeButImpractical the attacker to be in melee range when they hit]], but a Gun Adept can be deadly with it. |
| 65 | * CripplingOverspecialisation: Playing a summoner shaman pretty much forces you into this. Summoning requires two skills instead of one, meaning twice the Karma cost, plus a one-time use summoning fetish which costs ten times the nuyen of a grenade or about half a drone (which is multi-use). The end result is a character who spends all his karma and nuyen to summon an actually ''useful'' character for three to four rounds of combat, albeit a rather powerful and versatile one, when any given mission has at least two or three combat encounters, many of which last far longer than the few rounds the spirit lasts. This is especially bad in ''Hong Kong'', where money is extremely tight compared to the previous two campaigns. The same can be said for deckers that specialize in [=ESPs=], but this isn't quite as bad since those cost less, are reusable, and multiple decking sequences in a run are rare. |
| 66 | * CriticalHit: This is based on how much Karma points you spend on your combat skills. The higher the number, the greater the critical hit chance and the easier the battles. ''Director's Cut'' adds an additional wrinkle by preventing them against enemies in medium or heavy cover, thus emphasizing the need for flanking. |
| 67 | * CuteMonsterGirl: Orcs and trolls of either gender are just as likely to look like normal or even attractive people with fangs, tusks, and horns as they are to look ugly and monstrous, and moreso in their sprites after the graphical update in ''Hong Kong''. Gobbet, Eiger and (in her youth) Ermine Kai Fei are described as being quite easy on the eyes and Duncan's street name is [[{{Hunk}} Gun Show]]. |
| 68 | * CyberneticsEatYourSoul: |
| 69 | ** In line with the source material, characters have a finite amount of essence, and installing cyberware reduces that essence, with characters unable to socket any more cyberware if it would drop their essence to zero or lower. Again like the source material, this also has a negative effect on magic use, and every full point of essence lost increases the CoolDown time on casting magic spells by one turn. A magic user might be able to get away with a very small amount of cyberware that uses up less than one full point of essence (like a simple datajack) and still be at peak casting ability, but any more than that will degrade them. |
| 70 | ** Somewhat mitigated in ''Dragonfall: Director's Cut'', which introduces a more essence cost-effective alternative to cyberware, bioware. Further mitigated in ''Hong Kong'', where the new "Cyberware Affinity" trait provides players with additional essence points. It's still not advisable for casters to chrome themselves up from head to toe, but with these changes, they can afford several minor modifications or one or two big ones without weakening their casting. |
| 71 | * CyberPunk: Comes with [[TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} the setting]], in [[{{Cyberpunk}} both]] [[{{Dungeonpunk}} flavors]]. |
| 72 | * {{Cyberspace}}: Deckers are able to enter the Matrix in certain areas. This plays out similar to combat in the rest of the game, but everything is abstract and made out of TronLines, and the Decker can use various programs as though they were attack abilities or SummonMagic in meatspace. ''Hong Kong'' revamps the system, allowing the player to move about in real time so long as nothing is actively attacking them, while adding camera drones on rails that increase the alert meter if they see the player, and which continue to do so every turn until destroyed. |
| 73 | * CyborgWizard: You can build a Mage/Shaman character this way, though it's advised to keep the cybernetics to a minimum since Essence loss also means longer cooldowns for spells. To a lesser extent, ''any'' character built with both spells and cyberware in their loadout technically qualifies for this trope. |
| 74 | * DispelMagic: An available spell for Mages, though one of limited usefulness due to its situational nature. |
| 75 | * DressingAsTheEnemy: A common tactic among runners, with dressing as a guard, [[DeliveryGuyInfiltration delivery guy]], or [[JanitorImpersonationInfiltration janitor]] as an option for tackling a number of missions throughout all three games. |
| 76 | * DroneDeployer: A Rigger, or anyone with enough points in Drone Control, can control one or two drones, each of which is basically a character of its own in battle. |
| 77 | * DumbMuscle: Played with. Orks and Trolls get bonuses to physical stats and a lowered cap on Intelligence. That said, since it's only a cap, the smartest trolls are still smarter than the average human, just not as smart as the smartest humans. Troll dialogue is never in HulkSpeak (Mister Kluwe is actually rather eloquent and politically savvy), and they make a capable PlayerCharacter in any role outside of Decker or Rigger, which are Intelligence-intensive archetypes. They ''do'' make dandy mages, though. |
| 78 | * EasyLogistics: Everyone has infinite ammo and only needs to stop to reload every once in a while. This makes it a little jarring when the game's loading screens flash the Shadowrun tagline advising you to "shoot straight and conserve ammo." |
| 79 | * ForegoneConclusion: The games take place within 2050 decade of Shadowrun universe but adheres to the tabletop canon, which is currently in the 2070s. That means certain things are going to happen regardless of your choices in the game campaigns. |
| 80 | ** In ''Dragonfall'', [[spoiler: the megas, spearheaded by Saeder-Krupp and with the backing of the German government, are going to dismantle the Flux State a few months after the events of the campaign and, years later, Winternight will destroy the Matrix]]. |
| 81 | ** In ''Hong Kong'', [[spoiler: the Yellow Lotus will inevitably get into all-out war with the Red Dragons and are going to lose badly a few years later. Also, Ares is going to seize control of the Hong Kong Police Force in spite of your actions in the bonus campaign]]. |
| 82 | * FutureFoodIsArtificial: It seems like every food item in the game has the prefix "soy-". |
| 83 | * FutureSlang: In the vein of the tabletop game it is based on; drek (shit) and geeked (killed) being the most noticeable. This appears to be a case of AccidentallyCorrectWriting, since in the Slovenian language the word "drek" pretty much means exactly the same as it does in the ''Shadowrun'' setting. Veers into TruthInTelevision territory in 'Dragonfall' as 'dreck' is a popular German expletive, and its use by German characters is only too natural. |
| 84 | * GameMod: The game was released with mod tools readily available. It's no secret that the main draw will be seeing what other players create. |
| 85 | * GameplayAndStorySegregation: The description of trolls says that contrary to the stereotype, there is no evidence that trolls are less intelligent than other races. Right below this, it lists the Troll's stat caps, and the intelligence one is the worst of any race in the game. |
| 86 | * GeoEffects: Maps may contain leylines (dragon lines in ''Hong Kong''), which reduce spell cooldown, heal casters, boost spell damage, boost spell accuracy and increase spell "bounces" if applicable, depending the strength of the ley/dragon line. |
| 87 | * GlassCannon: |
| 88 | ** Turrets can do a lot of damage and their health is fairly decent, but since they're stationary, you're practically guaranteed to hit them. Two or three good hits will usually put one down. |
| 89 | ** Rigger PC also qualifies. Given that a proficient rigger needs to invest heavily in several skills and PC is the only character who can use Charisma and Etiquette, which forces them to be the team face, it usually leaves little Karma to develop substantial constitution. On the financial front, the cost of the drones can make it impossible to afford good armour and augmentation to compensate. |
| 90 | ** In the Matrix, the Assassin Expert System Program is capable of massive damage with its "Assassinate" special attack, but compared to a more mundane Attacker ESP or Shielder ESP, the Assassin has very few IP. |
| 91 | ** Encouraged by ley/dragon lines, which boost the offensive capabilities of spellcasters, but are almost never in cover, therefore, to maximize the damage output of your mage/shaman, they need to be outside of the primary defensive mechanic of the game. However, this can also be offset by barrier spells, which can create cover. |
| 92 | * TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: Present in all the campaigns. The Shadowrunners and their immediate allies serve as the closest thing to the good, being the antiheroes ultimately responsible for saving the day. The {{Megacorp}}orations that get involved with the plot, like Telestrian Industries and Saeder-Krupp, are the bad as they're run by utterly amoral {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s who are only concerned about making a profit, but are [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]] enough to work with the Shadowrunners to combat the more dangerous threats. And the greater supernatural forces like the insect spirits in ''Dead Man's Switch'' or the Yama Kings in ''Hong Kong'' are the evil, vast forces whose very presence in the Sixth World represent a threat to all metahumanity. |
| 93 | * GuileHero: In additions to reinforcing their summoning abilities, a high Charisma character has a silver tongue and can learn several Etiquettes (how to speak and what to say to members of various social classes such as gangers, corporate enployees and other shadowrunners). Those can open doors and solve issues that would normally end up in gunfights or require bribes or decking. |
| 94 | * GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: The Vindicator Minigun from ''Dragonfall'' has an ammunition capacity that holds up to 30 rounds (''Hong Kong'' has it slightly upgraded to 42 rounds). This is way too small for a gun its size, as Real Life miniguns have firing rates so fast that they deplete their ammo reserves ''very'' quickly in one go and so their ammo capacity has to be correspondingly huge to compensate for the extremely fast rounds per minute levels (the M134 minigun for example can carry up to ''5,000'' rounds at maximum in its feed system with the minimum capacity level at 500 while its firing rate ranges from 2,000 to 6,000 [=rpm=]). This is most likely done for balancing purposes by the developers to prevent players from abusing the use of the minigun in a game-breaking way and the mechanics of the games allow only 5 rounds for burst mode and 10 rounds for full auto mode (the minigun is put under the 'rifle' category of weapons despite it technically not a rifle). |
| 95 | * InterfaceSpoiler: Once you unlock the ability to see ley/dragon lines, they make for a pretty decent indication of where combat is likely to occur, as they aren't normally placed in areas where combat isn't expected to occur. |
| 96 | * IsometricProjection: The game is viewed from a fixed isometric perspective. |
| 97 | * JackOfAllStats: Humans have even caps of 9 in every category, whereas other races have a two or three point bonus in one or another. Humans instead start with three extra karma, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things but still worth about one more skill than other races could get. |
| 98 | * KatanasAreJustBetter: Katanas are considered to be some of the better melee weapons for two reasons. One is that they do a solid amount of physical damage. Two is that they can also drain enemy AP on critical hits. |
| 99 | * KingIncognito: In the ''Dead Man's Switch'' and ''Dragonfall'' campaigns, towards the end, you run into a high ranking Saeder-Krupp employee named Hans Brackhaus. [[spoiler:The game hints at his true nature, but those familiar with the setting will know he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, head of Saeder-Krupp and one of the most powerful beings in the world]]. |
| 100 | * LeyLine: Mages can see these in combat and standing on one increases their power. Unfortunately, ley lines are rarely behind cover, so the power comes at the cost of being an easier target. |
| 101 | * MageMarksman: Both mages and shamans are just as likely to be packing an AK-97 as they are to be slinging fireballs or summoning spirits. It helps that both get spells that buff and compliment gunplay. |
| 102 | * MagicKnight: Physical Adepts are like this since they specialize in using chi abilities to empower them in melee combat and since you need high willpower to unlock high level chi abilities and spell-casting also uses willpower, diverting a few points into spell-casting isn't that bad of an idea. [[spoiler: For an in-game example, see Harlequin]]. |
| 103 | * MasterOfNone: A real danger. Since the amount of karma you need to spend on a skill is equal to the next level of that skill, it becomes increasingly difficult to level up specific skills, making it tempting to branch out and grab the low-hanging fruit instead. This spreading out of skills, however, can make things difficult in the late game, which often require either high-level checks or significant combat investment. This is further compounded by the fact that spellbook and item slots are shared among all the possible archetypes' needs. It's almost always better to specialize, and the ingame hints themselves suggest as much. |
| 104 | * MegaCorp: They dominate the setting and you end up doing jobs for several in each campaign. |
| 105 | * MoreDakka: A high level rifle skill allows you to hit five times for 2 AP. It suffers in accuracy, but is so absurdly powerful that a solid string of hits can wipe out nearly any mook in the game unless they have a lot of HP or armor. Other skills have similar abilities, such as the shotgun's double shot, but the rifle skill stands out for the sheer number of hits. |
| 106 | * OncePerEpisode: All three games have started with a run gone bad, teammates dying and a frantic escape which helps set up the main plot of the game. |
| 107 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: Dialogue choices allow you to roleplay this way, and the game encourages it by having some times when the only way to get payment for services awarded is to directly ask for it. |
| 108 | * PinPullingTeeth: Characters appear to do this before throwing their grenades. |
| 109 | * PointBuildSystem: Every character stat is raised using Karma points, with Karma required raising it being equal to the level of that stat. For example, buying level one shotguns only costs one Karma point but buying level five spell-casting costs five Karma points. Spend them wisely. |
| 110 | * PostModernMagik: Mages are just as likely to being wearing Kevlar body armor and carrying assault rifles as they are to be wearing robes and slinging fireballs in this setting. |
| 111 | * PragmaticAdaptation: Per WordOfGod, ''Shadowrun'' has always been more about the setting, theme, and atmosphere than it has been about specific mechanics, and so long as it stays true to the spirit of the TabletopGames it can weather a few mechanical changes. Some examples: |
| 112 | ** There is no Stun damage, you just get stunned from having negative AP. This makes the game more similar to other computer [=RPGs=]. |
| 113 | ** There are no initiative passes, so turns are simply done team-by-team, with each combatant having action points. This makes the game easier to understand, especially for veteran ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}'' and ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'' players. |
| 114 | ** [=DocWagon=] works as a {{Nanotech}} instant-revive trauma kit in the manner of the [[Franchise/FinalFantasy Phoenix Down]], rather than having to wait for them to show up, secure the area, and try to heal you on the spot.[[note]]The [[AuthorAvatar Ghost of Grizzled Veteran]] [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this, saying it was a concession to being a single player game.[[/note]] ''Dragonfall'' maintains this, but also credits a [=DocWagon=] contract for saving any fallen runners in your crew if they don't make it through a run.[[note]]Losing any runners on the Bloodlines mission is an exception.[[/note]] |
| 115 | ** Matrix combat is ''much'' simpler than in the pen & paper game. |
| 116 | ** Spells have cooldown timers, and you don't take Drain damage unless you try to cast the spell while it's still on cooldown. You don't pay karma for every single spell, either, but instead unlock higher forces of spells and spell slots, then buy formulae for each spell & force level combination. This way, there is less work to managing your spells. |
| 117 | ** Spirits require either consumable magic fetishes or special points on the map, so that you cannot just conjure spirits all the time. Some special locations may summon special or unique spirits as an added bonus. |
| 118 | ** In tabletop, the difference between Hermetic Mages and Shamans is in the stats they use to resist drain and which spirits can be used for combat. This was simplified so that there is no difference between mages and shamans in ''Shadowrun Returns'', and all spirits are usable as combat spirits. |
| 119 | ** And in a collision of the above two points, characters who can conjure spirits can conjure Toxic Spirits, which in Tabletop are not conjurable by ''either'' Hermetic Mages or Shamans, but only by the separate traditions of Toxic Shamans and Toxic Mages... because with the system it uses for spirit conjuring and the decaying urban environments that dominate the game, sometimes the only plausible spirit conjuring point on a map is a pile of garbage or pool of toxic waste. ''Hong Kong'' dealt with this point by removing such instances. Any free summon is now a normal spirit. |
| 120 | ** Instead of having constantly on powers that are bought with Karma, Physical Adepts buy 'chi powers' for money that [[HourOfPower function like spells with a limited duration that only target the adept]]. In order to streamline the archetype, practically all powers that do not involve melee combat were removed and gun/social adepts aren't viable. |
| 121 | ** You can use some (albeit low-level) BloodMagic in ''Hong Kong''. This is impossible in tabletop, with the rules stating that any PlayerCharacter who dabbles in the stuff will automatically be converted to an NPC.[[note]] Fifth Edition ''Shadowrun'' actually did make limited use of blood magic a player option fairly late into it's run, but this was a somewhat controversial break from tradition.[[/note]] |
| 122 | * RevolversAreJustBetter: ZigZagged, in that revolvers tend to do a little more damage than other types of pistols. However, they need more frequent reloading and cannot use some of the more advanced pistol techniques that require a semi-automatic (such as Double Tap and Chain Shot). Albeit the former problem can be remedied by learning a pistol skill that requires no [=AP=] to reload (see BottomlessMagazines above). |
| 123 | * ShaggyDogStory: To a certain extent, all three campaigns are DoomedByCanon; |
| 124 | ** In ''Dead Man's Switch'', [[spoiler:stopping the Universal Brotherhood in Seattle does nothing to prevent the insect spirit outbreak in Chicago]]. |
| 125 | ** In ''Dragonfall'', [[spoiler:your efforts to keep the Kreuzbasar going are futile, because Saeder-Krupp is going to invade Berlin and put an end to the Flux State]]. However, [[spoiler:you ''can'' preserve the Flux State by fusing the dragon Feuerschwinge with a (somewhat) BenevolentAI]]. |
| 126 | ** In ''Hong Kong'', [[spoiler: Ares' takeover of the HKPF will succeed even if you take down Krait, and the Yellow Lotus in Heoi are going to be destroyed by the Red Dragon]]. However, [[spoiler:most of the Yellow Lotus ''will'' survive and re-locate to Seattle if you destroy the HKPF's stockpile of military weapons]]. |
| 127 | * ShootTheMageFirst: True to ''Shadowrun'' tradition, the AI ''hates'' mages, to the point that killing the player (assuming they're not a mage) is only marginally more important to them. You should, too, for that matter, since conjurers and mages are among the most annoying enemies. |
| 128 | * ShortRangeShotgun: Downplayed. Shotguns can be used at any range, and while they ''do'' have the worst accuracy at longer ranges, it's only marginally worse than that of pistols and [=SMGs=] (rifles, naturally, have the best accuracy at longer ranges). |
| 129 | * ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Shotguns do a lot of damage, have spread to hit multiple targets, and at later levels can be made to fire two shots at once (at a cost of five bullets). Low ammo is a problem at early levels, but you get a respectable ten-round clip with the second-best one. |
| 130 | * SlobsVersusSnobs: '''The CentralTheme.''' ''[[Quotes/ShadowrunReturns Every]]'' SRR story to date has been about the struggle between those who rule the Sixth World, those who are just trying to survive in it... and those who [[TakeAThirdOption refuse]] to be masters ''or'' slaves AKA Shadowrunners. |
| 131 | * SmallGirlBigGun: The player character can easily become one of these if they're a Street Samurai - a dwarf (short) or elf (tall and very skinny) can lug around the massive [[GatlingGood Vindicator Minigun]], [=ArmTech=] MGL-6 grenade launcher, or a long-barreled sniper rifle with no more difficulty than orks or humans, though trolls do have a slight advantage using the minigun due to getting a bonus point of strength at the start of the game. |
| 132 | * SpritePolygonMix: Characters and effects are rendered 'on the fly' (as opposed to pre-rendered sprites like in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'') whilst most backgrounds are standard two-dimensional artwork. This means less space used; no need to store animation frames for all the possible armor/weapon combinations in all their actions and poses. It also allows things like retexturing parts of models to reflect cybernetic augmentations. |
| 133 | * SquareRaceRoundClass: Nothing prevents you from making a troll decker or an ork shaman. They won't be able to get as good in it the late game as a human, dwarf, or elf will be due to lower stat caps, but in the beginning they'll be just as good. All races also make for (almost) equally good mages, since all of them cap willpower at 9 (except dwarves, who can go to 11 and unlock a very situational Adept spell from it). In general, the caps are high enough that the only race/class combos that seriously suffer beyond not being the most optimal possibility are troll deckers, riggers, and shamans due to their reduced intelligence and charisma caps of 6 (humans, dwarves, and elves cap at 9 and orcs at 8 for intelligence and the same goes for charisma except elves can reach 12). Cyberware and bioware can mitigate this as orcs can match the intelligence and charisma caps of unaugmented humans, elves, and dwarves (save for the elven charisma cap), push trolls just high enough to use the best decks and drones, though not to their full potential, and push any race to match elven quickness, humans and elves to match dwarven and orcish strength, and dwarves and orcs to match troll strength. |
| 134 | * SquishyWizard: ZigZagged. Unlike many Western [=RPGs=], there is nothing stopping a Mage or Shaman from strapping on a full suit of riot armor. They'll favor the armor type that boosts their casting stat, but it offers just as much protection as any of the stat-boosting armors. Since the game uses archetypes instead of classes, there's nothing preventing a Mage or Shaman from having as many hit points as a Samurai character. The only real disadvantage that casters have is that installing cyberware will force them to cast spells less frequently, making defensive upgrades like Dermal Plating of dubious value (and ''Hong Kong'' makes it possible to gain up to two extra points of essence to chrome up a mage or shaman without hurting magic, albeit at high karma cost). That said, there's nothing specifically stopping a player from playing a caster with basic armor and 10 HitPoints, but the game gives players a wealth of options to avoid it. |
| 135 | * StandardFantasyRaces: When creating a new character the racial choices are: |
| 136 | ** [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarfs]]: +1 to Willpower, higher caps on Body, Strength and Willpower. |
| 137 | ** [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elves]]: +1 to Charisma, higher caps on Quickness and Charisma. |
| 138 | ** Humans: 3 extra Karma at the start of the game and all stats caped at 9. |
| 139 | ** [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]]: +1 to Body, slightly higher caps on Body and Strength, slightly lower caps on Charisma and Intelligence. |
| 140 | ** [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Trolls]]: +1 to Body and +1 to Strength, much higher caps on Body and Strength, much lower caps on Charisma and Intelligence, and slightly lower caps and Quickness. |
| 141 | * SummonMagic: |
| 142 | ** The domain of Shaman characters is the ability to summon spirits of various types to aid them in combat. Doing so does expend fetishes, though, [[ResourcesManagementGameplay so they can only be summoned a limited number of times between resupplies]]. They can also summon out the latent emotions in certain objects, such as skulls or trophies into spectral form, but those are much harder to control. |
| 143 | ** Deckers can use [=ESPs=] (Expert System Programs) in the Matrix, essentially a cyberized version of Shamanistic summoning. |
| 144 | * SupernaturalMartialArts: The Adept class is based around channeling magic inwards to increase one's own physical prowess in melee combat. |
| 145 | * SupportPartyMember: Pure shamans carry no directly offensive spells whatsoever, barring [[BarrierWarrior their magic walls]] and [[{{Mons}} summoned spirits]], and didn't even have a basic attack spell like the mage did until ''Dragonfall''. [[note]]That said, shaman party characters and [=NPCs=] carried some kind of more conventional weapon and had a few points in the relevant skills to compensate.[[/note]] Every single other spell is a buff or debuff spell and their library has increased through the game's editions, until the logical conclusion in ''Hong Kong'', where every single buff spell except Heal is a shaman spell. |
| 146 | * TakeCover: Cover comes in three levels, light, medium and heavy. ''Director's Cut'' clarified their use and made them more important by preventing {{Critical Hit}}s against those in medium or heavy cover, with heavy cover also cutting all damage by half. |
| 147 | * TopHeavyGuy: The sprites for the male trolls sport incredibly wide shoulders and massive arms on top of a pair of comparatively tiny legs. The graphics update for ''Hong Kong'' made them more realistic. |
| 148 | * TranslationConvention: Used in ''Dragonfall'' and ''Hong Kong'': |
| 149 | ** In ''Dragonfall'', there are a few scattered hints throughout the game that most of the characters are speaking German most of the time despite all but a few words of the written dialogue being in English. There is even one part of an optional sidequest that implies that your character may ''not'' know English. |
| 150 | ** In ''Hong Kong'', you play an American who knows Cantonese as a second language. The very beginning of the game has you speaking in English, until Duncan switches to Cantonese and points out that you should practice it so that you can talk to the natives. This dialogue, and all later dialogue is still written in English (but the game tells you that it has started translating). |
| 151 | * TurnBasedTactics: The bulk of the combat gameplay, similar to other titles like ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}''. It involves careful consideration about movement, positioning, cover, ability use, [[ResourcesManagementGameplay resource management]], and target selection. |
| 152 | * TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: Summoned creatures obey the summoner, but need to be periodically given AP instead of regenerating it per turn. Each time they are given AP, they have a chance to break free of the summoner's control, dependent on the amount of AP given on that turn (up to four) and how much AP they've been given previously. If they do break free, they are no longer bound to the summoner, so they won't die when the summoner does, and are hostile to everything on the field. Players can exploit this by making sure their summons are right in the middle of the enemy formation at all times. If the summon goes rogue, at least it's harassing them instead of you. In ''Hong Kong'', Gobbet can unlock a spell which steals control of a summoned spirit for a few turns. It also alters the behavior of spirits which are summoned from points on the map; they now disappear after two turns. |
| 153 | * UrbanFantasy: The ''Shadowrun'' setting is a mix of cyberpunk and Tolkienesque fantasy. The bulk of the stories take place in urban locales, and this game is no different. |
| 154 | * UtilityPartyMember: Deckers typically have limited skill with weapons, and can't carry as many, due to needing a inventory slot for their cyberdecks. They're also mandatory if you want to break into a computer system, which are omnipresent in the game's {{Cyberpunk}} setting. It's downplayed a bit in ''Hong Kong'', but not by much. |
| 155 | * VideoGameCaringPotential: There are plenty of opportunities in both games to do nice things for [=NPCs=], both recruitable and otherwise. For example, you can donate over a thousand nuyen to Samuel Beckenbauer's charity for disadvantaged orks and trolls. This results in him upgrading the shelter to a proper community centre, named after the player character. |
| 156 | * WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: Prior to a patch, the death of the PlayerCharacter was an instant game over. Apparently they could not get a [=DocWagon=] contract. Especially annoying because the player character is a higher priority target for enemies than even mages, so long as they have a clear shot. After the patch, this was adjusted to make it so Player Characters who are reduced to zero hit points are "[[OnlyMostlyDead down but not out]]", just like other characters, and can recover if provided a healing item designed to wrest them back from death's door if used within the next few turns. However, if the PC doesn't get a revive during the three-turn period, it's still game over, even though your other (non-[[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star]]) party members will still survive in-plot and be good to go next mission even if you let them "bleed out". |
| 157 | * YearInsideHourOutside: As a gameplay mechanic. Every three turns in the Matrix equals one turn outside. |
| 158 | |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:''The Dead Man's Switch'']] |
| 162 | |
| 163 | * AbnormalAmmo: [[spoiler:Project Aegis]], modified shotgun shells loaded with what is effectively magical [[spoiler:insecticide]], the only weapon you have to kill [[spoiler:the bug spirits]]. |
| 164 | * AuthorAvatar: The "Ghost of Grizzled Veteran" in the Seamstress Union is one for Jordan Weisman, sharing his appearance and BreakingTheFourthWall by talking about how after he died he ended up in a ghost in a story he created, how you gave him support while he was alive, and sharing stories about his inspiration and the process of creating the ''Shadowrun'' universe. He shows up to deliver bonus content for Kickstarter backers. |
| 165 | * BeautyEqualsGoodness: Boy, who would have thought that [[spoiler:the exceptionally-ugly elf (so much so that you can ''comment'' on his ugliness) would turn out to be a bad guy? Subverted with Jessica Watts, who is notably described as attractive... but then played straight after TheReveal when she gets a brand new "crazy bug lady" portrait]]. |
| 166 | * BedlamHouse: The Snohomish Mercy Hospital [[note]](Snohomish is a small town located north-east of Seattle,and also the county north of it.)[[/note]] is a mental treatment clinic. However, the place is run-down, the grounds unkempt, the paint peeling, and the patients are poorly cared for and rarely leave. [[spoiler: To say nothing of what happens in the basement...]] |
| 167 | * BeenThereShapedHistory: Your runner ends up leading the team that [[spoiler:stopped Seattle from ending up the same way as Chicago]] in the backstory of the main ''Shadowrun'' universe, [[spoiler:using prototype technology that would later be used by Ares to battle other Universal Brotherhood chapters and purge Chicago.]] |
| 168 | * BodyHorror: [[spoiler: The people who end up as hosts for the bug spirits, and who look like someone literally fused an insect with a person. Special mention to the Workers with the front half of an ant but with human hind legs and the face and arms of a person protruding from its back.]] |
| 169 | * BrainwashedAndCrazy: The junkies in the [[LotusEaterMachine Better Than Life]] dens are usually placid, lazily lost in their own little world... unless someone overrides the settings. By removing the BTL chip's motor inhibitor function and feeding them horrifying visions and messing with their neurotransmitter levels, they can be sent into an unwilling aggressive rage as they fight demons that only they can see who happen to be in the same place as actual people. |
| 170 | * BrokeEpisode: The game begins with one, with the PlayerCharacter a down-on-their-luck Shadowrunner living in a dingy safehouse after a run against Renraku went bad three years ago. Their savings exhausted, their equipment sold, their contacts either missing or dead, and only another week's worth of living expenses left in the account. [[CallToAdventure An unexpected video call from an old friend gives an opportunity to change all that]], though it means going back to the city they once fled... |
| 171 | * BugWar: [[spoiler:The two raids on the Universal Brotherhood headquarters involve fighting extra-dimensional bugs.]] |
| 172 | * TheCakeIsALie: The titular dead man's switch is a message from Sam, an old contact, promising a hefty insurance payout in exchange for solving his murder. [[spoiler:Calling back reveals there was never any payout. Sam was just tricking you into avenging him.]] |
| 173 | ** Also played with. In completing Sam's request you run into people who [[spoiler:''actually'' pay you for taking care of the bug problem. You get your cake, but not from the person who promised it.]] |
| 174 | * CallBack: The game begins with the PlayerCharacter coming to Seattle to investigate a murder (as in the Genesis game), and the first area is a morgue (as in the SNES game). [[spoiler:Polite runners will find Jake Armitage ([[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo hero of the SNES game]]) sleeping in a morgue drawer (it's cheaper than a motel).]] |
| 175 | * CallForward: |
| 176 | ** There are campaign posters for [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dunkelzahn's]] [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent 2056 presidential run]] found in some of the locales visited during the campaign. |
| 177 | ** [[spoiler: Project Aegis, what you try to steal from Telestrian, is a prototype version of [=FABS=] III used by Ares Macrotechnology in their BugWar in Chicago]]. |
| 178 | * CityOfAdventure: UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}, a familiar setting to most veteran ''Shadowrun'' players, is an excellent place for a Shadowrunner to ply their trade, given the presence of several megacorporations and the sizable criminal element in the city. |
| 179 | * CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: Always overcast, often drizzling. But then, that is nothing new in UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}}. The CyberPunk just makes it all the more acidic. |
| 180 | * DeadMansSwitch: This trope is in fact the given name for the device that allows the player to be contacted by the third Emerald City Ripper victim at the start of the game, which gives [[TitleDrop the campaign its name]]. |
| 181 | * DepletedPhlebotinumShells: [[spoiler:The prototype Aegis launchers are shotgun-like weapons which launch canisters that rupture on impact and disperse a fluid that carries a genetically-engineered and magically-infused bacteria tailored for killing astral spirits. This technology would later be licensed to Ares Macrotechnology, who would mass-produce it and use it to contain insect spirits in Chicago.]] |
| 182 | * DisposableVagrant: Specifically mentioned to be the favorite targets of the Universal Brotherhood. |
| 183 | * DirtyCop: Two examples with Detective [=McKlusky=] and Officer Aguirre. [=McKlusky=] is portrayed negatively, more concerned with being promoted than catching the bad guys. Aguirre, on the other hand, is just willing to take bribes in exchange for inside information on the cases he's working, and is nothing but helpful. |
| 184 | * DonutMessWithACop: Early on, you can convince a Lone Star officer to let you look around the crime scene where Sam was murdered by giving him a doughnut and soykaf. [[note]]Not a soy latte, but a soy-based coffee substitute.[[/note]] |
| 185 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Additions made in the later campaigns induced this trope on ''Dead Man's Switch''. It's a much more on-rails game with very few sidequests, and with a few temporary exceptions, the only teammates you can have are mercenaries with [[BitCharacter no personalities]] or significance to the plot. |
| 186 | * ExactWords: One of the questions you can ask Harlequin is if Hans Brackhaus ''really'' works for Lofwyr. Harlequin winks and replies "No". [[spoiler:Hans doesn't "work" for Lofwyr, he ''is'' Lofwyr]]. |
| 187 | * FanDisservice: Orks and female feral ghouls are shown in skimpy lingerie. Neither are pretty. |
| 188 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 189 | ** Anyone that familiar with the ''Shadowrun'' timeline can tell that the Universal Brotherhood building means bad news. This is also complemented by Jake mentioning Chicago and several posters of the city. [[spoiler:It is even where the character Coyote was born.]] They should also be aware that you can't [[spoiler:kill insect spirits through regular means. This becomes a plot point later on when your team has no idea what exactly it is they were just witnesses to.]] |
| 190 | ** Your character will note that Telestrian must have quite the connections to have [[EliteMooks Tir Tairngire Ghosts]] guarding his house. Turns out his "Council" of friends involves [[BigGood Harlequin]] and Hans Brackhaus, a.k.a. [[spoiler:Lofwyr, a Great Dragon and the CEO of Saeder-Krupp]]. |
| 191 | ** When you ask Johnny Clean about his janitor uniform, he tells you that he was able to pull off many of his most infamous hacks by [[JanitorImpersonationInfiltration disguising himself as a janitor and infiltrating the target building]]. [[spoiler:You yourself can use this tactic to infiltrate the Universal Brotherhood, and later in the last part of the Telestrian Building run]]. |
| 192 | ** The first time you talk to Jessica Watts and ask about her and Sam's mother, she will mention she was a devout Catholic. [[spoiler:The Catholic church is very strictly opposed to suicide, and that Jessica doesn't even mention their mother apparently committed suicide is an early clue she is not to be trusted.]] |
| 193 | * FromBadToWorse: The plot seems simple enough. Track down a killer, get a big life-insurance payout from one of the killer's victims. However, every time the player seemingly lays one problem in their path to rest, another bigger and uglier thread is revealed running just underneath it. The plot keeps ever thickening and the stakes keep getting higher... |
| 194 | * GambitPileUp: [[spoiler:Harlequin]] credits the current state of the world to this. Rejecting the notion that there is a single all-powerful group or conspiracy causing all the world's problems, but rather it being the result of countless smaller intrigues and schemes colliding. |
| 195 | * GodzillaThreshold: Late in the game you end up [[spoiler: launching a run on a major corp because they have the things you need to kill the insect spirits]]. In other words, you're incurring the wrath of [[spoiler: a major corporation]] just because the things you're fighting are ''even worse''. |
| 196 | * GrandTheftPrototype: [[spoiler: You end up attacking Telestrian to acquire a prototype magically augmented biological weapon that can kill the insect spirits in the Universal Brotherhood]]. |
| 197 | * GrenadeHotPotato: The gun vendor in the Seamstress Union strongly advises against this, as he lost his right arm from trying. And in his defense, it was the ''one'' live grenade, rather than the smoke bombs the enemy had been tossing up to that point. |
| 198 | -->'''Gruberman''': So take a word of advice from an old soldier. Make sure you're never holding a grenade in one hand unless you just pulled the pin with the other. |
| 199 | * HatePlague: Some Yakuza thugs use the BTL control computer to make a bunch of BTL junkies attack your team. |
| 200 | * HopelessBossFight: It's impossible to kill the [[spoiler: insect spirits inside the Universal Brotherhood]]. Your only hope is to hold out until a decker can hack a nearby door to let you run. Finding a way to [[spoiler: kill the insect spirits]] is a major plot point. |
| 201 | * LocalHangout: The Seamstress Union[[note]](named according to some old UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} trivia)[[/note]] is the local watering hole for the Redmond Barrens, a place where information, company, and all kinds of legal and illegal distractions can be had. It functions as the PlayerCharacter's "home base" for their stay in Seattle. [[spoiler: It is also secretly a front for an underground safehouse and Runner black market, for those who are trusted enough and can afford the fees...]] |
| 202 | * LotusEaterMachine: Several small ones in the form of Better Than Life chips, specially enhanced simsense chips which allow users to explore stored memories with a greater intensity than legal chips, which are intentionally capped in how strong of a feedback they can give. The player has the opportunity to raid some BTL dens during the campaign, which are presented like a crackhouse would be in the present day, full of junkies lost in their own little world or begging to get their next fix, and dealers with recording equipment to make their often cruel product. |
| 203 | * MacGuffin: Most of the loot you sell to the Fixers is this. The various stuff is not usually of use to ''you'', but to the right group, it's invaluable. |
| 204 | * MacGuffinMelee: You accidentally cause this when you break into a warehouse to perform a spirit summoning ritual. The problem is that another Shadowrunner team in there to steal a MacGuffin and think you are trying to take it from them. For bonus points you can decide to take it from their corpses and sell it as an afterthought. |
| 205 | * MadonnaWhoreComplex: The description of a bunraku "puppet" you find says it all. "Face of a schoolgirl, body of a stripper". |
| 206 | * {{Magitek}}: As expected from a setting in which FunctionalMagic and technology are both the subjects of intensive corporate research, there are some examples of things which combine both disciplines. [[spoiler: The Aegis formula MacGuffin is one such thing, a genetically engineered and magically-infused bacteriological weapon designed to kill astral spirits who are otherwise immune to more conventional physical and magical dangers.]] |
| 207 | * MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: Well, Major Crime Reveals ''Colossal'' Plot. [[spoiler:The Universal Brotherhood's plan to summon an Insect Queen and infest Seattle would have gone off completely without your involvement if their head shaman hadn't killed every person who got an organ donation from her mother out of sheer spite.]] |
| 208 | * MockGuffin: [[spoiler:The 100,000 nuyen Sam promised you for capturing his killer. As if a drunken loser like him could or would pay for life insurance.]] |
| 209 | * MythologyGag: |
| 210 | ** The ram's skull which formed the banner image on the covers of the 1st and 2nd edition ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' rulebooks can be seen hanging behind the bar at the Seamstress Union. |
| 211 | ** You can find adverts for NERPS everywhere. In the tabletop fluff, NERPS was an acronym for New Exciting Retail [=ProductS=], and was used for whatever non-plot relevant consumer-goods-du-jour were being foisted onto an unsuspecting populace by the {{MegaCorp}}s that week. |
| 212 | * NewbieImmunity: You can't actually lose in your first battle since a soon as neither you nor Sam can be reduced to 0 HP, and once you both hit 1 HP, ''everyone'' starts missing you when they attack. Your other PC Sangoma doesn't get this treatment, though. |
| 213 | * ObliviouslyEvil: [[spoiler:The Emerald City Ripper's troll assistant]] is implied to be mentally challenged and unaware of [[spoiler:what the Ripper is really doing.]] |
| 214 | * OrganTheft: Modus operandi of the Emerald City Ripper. [[spoiler: Turns out it's a job and he is getting paid quite a bit to do it]]. |
| 215 | * PathOfInspiration: The Universal Brotherhood has a chapterhouse in Seattle, near the Pike Place Market. Of course, [[LateArrivalSpoiler anyone familiar with the timeline from the tabletop game knows]] [[spoiler: that they are a {{Cult}}-like organization which seeks to allow insect spirits into the material world by [[AssimilationPlot possessing human hosts]].]] |
| 216 | * PhoneCallFromTheDead: The game starts this way thanks to the DeadMansSwitch implanted in the victim. |
| 217 | * PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: Jake Armitage, the PlayerCharacter from the SNES ''VideoGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' game, is a GuestStarPartyMember in ''Shadowrun Returns''. |
| 218 | * PunnyName: One of the hirelings is named Justin Case. |
| 219 | * RecycledSoundtrack: |
| 220 | ** An updated, fast-tempo remix of "Walking the Shadows" from the SNES game is played during [[spoiler:the FinalBoss battle.]] |
| 221 | ** That's not the only musical nod to the SNES game: "Walking in the Shadows" is also remixed in the action part of "Shoot Straight" and a slowed-down remix of the default battle theme is used in "Null Sheen". Both songs feature prominently during various shoot-outs. And "Otherworldly Canines" gets a slightly more chilled-out remix in "Blood Hounds". |
| 222 | * ReligionOfEvil: You should have known this was coming the minute you saw the words [[spoiler:Universal Brotherhood]]. |
| 223 | * RightForTheWrongReasons: Mr. Kluwe will express his doubts at a theory he heard that the Emerald City Ripper killings are anti-human hate crimes (since all of the victims were humans). He says it's almost certainly just a coincidence since humans are still the majority and the most likely to be the race of any random target. He's right that the attacks aren't hate crimes, but his reasoning is suspect (humans are only around 2/3s of the population, so while this might stand to reason for one or two, after five consecutive killings without a single one of them not being human, it's at least a ''little'' suspicious), and in the end it turns out there actually ''was'' a significance to the fact that all of the victims were human. [[spoiler: As it turns out, they were all humans because they were all the beneficiaries of human organ donors. Specifically, ''one particular'' human organ donor. Whose daughter wanted her mother put back together]]. |
| 224 | * SaveTheVillain: Able to be done with [[spoiler: Jessica Watts, so that she can face the FBI rather than be gunned down or devoured]]. |
| 225 | * SexSlave: [[spoiler: The Emerald City Ripper turns out to have been making them to "custom order", by [[HumanResources harvesting fresh components]] that match requested descriptions [[GraveRobbing from chop shops]], then [[FrankensteinsMonster grafting them to patients of a mental hospital]], and [[MindControlDevice inserting a chip into their brain to make them completely obedient]] with the [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul requested personalities]]. These are then sold to discrete but high payers with loose ethics. As evidenced by his killings, he is not adverse to ''making'' more select material available when he needs it.]] |
| 226 | * ShoutOut: |
| 227 | ** Dowd, the never-seen shadowrunner who [[DeathByOriginStory died in the prologue]], is a nod to Tom Dowd, another FASA game designer. |
| 228 | ** Stevie J ''is'' Steve Jackson. (He, along with many others who backed the Kickstarter, were rewarded by having their likeness turned into [=NPC=]s.) |
| 229 | ** The Grizzled Veteran is Jordan Weismann. |
| 230 | ** Jake Armitage is two {{Shout Out}}s at the same time. The character himself is [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo from the SNES game]]. The name "Armitage" is a ShoutOut to the character Armitage from William Gibson's ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'', the book that is credited with creating the cyberpunk sub-genre. |
| 231 | ** Jake makes a rather cringe-worthy crack about liking library windows if you ask him for a rifle, referencing the Kennedy Assassination. |
| 232 | ** [[spoiler:Harlequin]] is a major background character from the pen-and-paper game. And if you try to ask him who he is he answers [[Music/TheBeatles "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together"]].[[note]]If your character has an intelligence rating of at least five, you can reply "[[LampshadeHanging You're the walrus]]?" He quips back "Goo goo g'joob!" and bows with a flourish.[[/note]] |
| 233 | ** Scribbled on [[http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/884115325883394880/2B6B160105271F5540E847153B459451ECE683B5/ this couch]] is [[Series/DoctorWho "Bad Wolf,"]] [[VideoGame/BioShock "Rapture" as well as Jack,]] the [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Vault logo,]] the [[VideoGame/HalfLife resistance's Lambda symbol,]] and possibly a stylized [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Chell]] running out of a portal. |
| 234 | ** You need to know musical notation to get it, but the notes you play to [[spoiler:open the safehouse under the Seamstress Union]] are [[Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind G-A-F-F-C]]. |
| 235 | ** When you meet the coroner at the Pike Place murder scene, he [[Film/TheBoondockSaints wipes his hand on his scalp in probable sanitary violation, showing the beginnings of burnout about this case.]] |
| 236 | ** When you exit the morgue, you'll find [[Manga/{{Akira}} Kaneda's bike]] parked next to the door. |
| 237 | ** There's a coroner named [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Dresden]] and a cop named [[Theatre/WestSideStory Officer Kuprik]]. A DirtyCop is named [[Film/TheGodfather [=McCluskey=]]] |
| 238 | ** The password to Coyote's computer is "trustno1", the computer password of choice for [[Series/TheXFiles Fox Mulder]]. |
| 239 | ** A computer in the Universal Brotherhood chapter offices has a list of chapter members. This list is the names of the Kickstarter backers who contributed over a certain threshold (along with a few named [=NPC=]s from the game). A different computer in the same facility lists several high level members of the chapter as the names of producers from the game. |
| 240 | ** Johnny gives his opinion that though Baron Samedi is a fresh face in the Matrix, he's no "wilson". This is a slang term from ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'' used to refer to beginner/poser hackers. |
| 241 | * ShownTheirWork: |
| 242 | ** The development team working on the game is located in the greater Seattle metropolitan area, and their familiarity shows by peppering small RealLife landmarks around the game's environments. For example, the Pike Place Market sign is still present, though the neighborhood around it has changed. Sometimes this is reflected in the concept art, like a piece which shows the Smith Tower against the background of the Renraku Arcology.[[note]]Ironically, the Renraku Arcology described in the books occupies the place where the Smith Tower should stand. Either ''Shadowrun Returns'' {{Retcon}}s the exact location of the arcology, or the Smith Tower was somehow moved.[[/note]] |
| 243 | ** The story Mrs. Kubota tells of Seattle's many prostitutes being officially recorded as "seamstresses" on census back in the 19th century is real history. |
| 244 | * SummoningRitual: [[spoiler:Something the [[PathOfInspiration Universal Brotherhood]] engages in to bring insect spirits into this realm by [[DemonicPossession anchoring them in human hosts]]. Their EvilPlan is ultimately to find a suitable host for an [[MotherOfAThousandYoung insect spirit queen]], and bring her into the material realm to infest the entire city and, eventually, the entire world. Stopping this ritual proves to be the player's final objective.]] |
| 245 | * ThemeMusicPowerUp: During the FinalBattle, an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lBcwIkMbFk up-tempo remix]] of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9kC0F_EjIQ "Walking the Shadows"]] from the SNES ''Shadowrun'' game plays. |
| 246 | * UnintentionallyUnwinnable: During your first big fight with the [[spoiler:Insect Spirits]], they will automatically resurrect themselves and take up a combat space. Your only option is to run. If one blocks the single-square exit... |
| 247 | * UnusualEuphemism: At one point, Officer Aguirre asks if you want to contribute to Lone Star's orphan fund. You know, just in case he finds any interesting... orphans... to pass along.[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke He's offering you a chance to buy an inside line on the case.]][[/note]] |
| 248 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: While investigating Sam's murder, you can find a photo of him and his twin sister Jessica as children. In the present, he was a drunken loser (who, in his own words, probably deserved whatever killed him) and his sister has become a cold, CorruptCorporateExecutive [[spoiler: who had Sam and several other innocents murdered because she wanted to bury their mother with the organs they'd had transplanted from her. And that's not even getting into her [[PathOfInspiration new]] [[AssimilationPlot friends...]]]] |
| 249 | * VideoGameCaringPotential: The Player Character is given several opportunities to PetTheDog, like recovering a homeless man's belongings from a cordoned-off crime scene and returning them to him. |
| 250 | * VideoWill: Sam leaves you one, which sets the plot in motion. |
| 251 | * VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: The Universal Brotherhood. They manage to run a major damage control story through the media in the aftermath of your attack]]. |
| 252 | * WhatTheHellHero: One of your side missions involves 'liberating' a scientist from a Renraku research facility for a rival corporation at gunpoint. When you finally get to him he tears you a new one saying that he isn't property, he shouldn't be a slave and he should have some say in who he works for. |
| 253 | * WorldHalfFull: [[spoiler:Harlequin]] gives a small speech at the end of the game on while the world is run by corrupt [[{{Megacorp}} megacorporations]] and that the average person is powerless to change how crappy the world is, he says that there will always be Shadowrunners that refuse to play the loaded game. |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[/folder]] |
| 256 | |
| 257 | [[folder:''Dragonfall'']] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | * AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:APEX, the AI built to safeguard the complex where Feuerschwinge is held, will attempt to manipulate the player to free it. Should the player at any point go against its wishes, it will quickly drop the façade of benevolence it is projecting.]] |
| 260 | * AlasPoorVillain: Most of the major antagonists are treated sympathetically in death, including [[spoiler:Vauclair, APEX, and Feuerschwinge.]] |
| 261 | * AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler:When you finally meet APEX face to face, it takes on the form of Monika, and claims that there was something special about the decker that caused her to not so much die at the AI's hands, but to fuse with it, changing it from a simple program to a fully self-aware digital lifeform. However, it's never made clear how true this is, or if APEX is just lying to earn the crew's sympathies. The AI seems to know things that only Monika would know, but it's just as likely it can now simply read her memories that it took from her digital ghost. APEX also expresses a desire to preserve the Flux State, which is very in-character for Monika, but it also acts extremely vindictive towards you when it doesn't get its way. No matter what, you'll never get a dependable answer as to who or what APEX really is.]] |
| 262 | * AnarchyIsChaos: |
| 263 | ** Played with. Some districts like the Kreuzbasar have managed to find stability, providing themselves with necessities, security, infrastructure, and a social contract without a central authority to look after these things. Other districts are little better than lawless, crumbling shitholes with gangs permanently at war with one another for control. |
| 264 | ** That said, from a meta perspective the game definitely seeks to illustrate anarchy as not chaos as discussions with [=NPCs=] get into the actual philosophy of anarchy and how to maintain an anarcho-state like the Kreuzbasar. |
| 265 | ** Played with again with the Schockwellenreiter, the anarchist organization dedicated to the freedom and free flow of information. As it turns out, sharing information such as [[spoiler: Project Atlas]] and [[spoiler: the Bloodline project]] is akin to giving nukes to everyone. At best, there's a stalemate if people wants to avoid MutuallyAssuredDestruction. At worst? BOOM. |
| 266 | * AndIMustScream: The [[spoiler:cyberzombie]] is fully aware but incapable of controlling its own body. [[spoiler:If you set it free, it crushes its own skull to end the pain.]] Also mentioned is the permanent separation of a individual's spirit and mortal form. Spirits are ''supposed'' to die when this happens. When they don't, they usually go crazy. |
| 267 | * AndTheAdventureContinues: |
| 268 | ** At the end of it all, you're approached by [[spoiler:Hans Brackhaus, a.k.a. the Great Dragon Lofwyr, with a job offer that's going to take a while to get through]]. And so you step out, into the shadows... |
| 269 | ** Also [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as far as the Kreuzbasar and the German Flux State are concerned; the ending text makes it abundantly clear that the Flux State has about a year to go before Saeder-Krupp comes in and has their run of the joint, turning Berlin into another corporate fiefdom that is once again divided by a wall. [[spoiler:Unless you let APEX enslave Feuerschwinge, in which case it negotiates a truce which maintains it behind that wall]]. |
| 270 | * AntiEscapismAesop: You can regularly talk to a woman who is addicted to virtual reality. She will eventually tell you that this virtual reality makes her feel brave, to which you can reply that 'it is better to be brave in real life'. Yes, have fun with your real life, alone in dirty, dark cyberpunk Berlin. That said, the ideal solution is [[spoiler:to continue talking to her (similar to interactions with Dante). Eventually, the player realises that Dr. Ezkibel is helping her (something which he wants to keep hush-hush); the player can then suggest that Simmy become a surrogate mother or daughter to the denizens of the Kreuzbasar who lost their loved ones during the attack which killed lots of people. There's more than one way of being brave, it seems.]] |
| 271 | * ApocalypseHow: If the player character chooses [[spoiler: to let Dr. Vauclair to go through with his plan to kill all the dragons]]. The epilogue shows that a year later [[spoiler:the global mana background count is rising and major events of the Shadowrun timeline are occurring with progressively worsening outcomes without the dragons there to keep a lid on things. Sydney is engulfed by a mana rift, the Chicago Containment Zone is overwhelmed and eventually nuked and it still wasn't enough to contain the insect spirits, magic is becoming more unstable and will become unusable within a few generations, a wave of violence and insanity is starting to work its way throughout metahumanity, and increasingly dangerous and bizarre creatures are popping up with increasing regularity. Dr. Vauclair, realizing that he did this and has no way of fixing it, blows his own brains out. The surface of the Earth becomes infested with dangerous and alien entities from the metaplanes, and metahumanity is consigned to a subterranean existence, warring over dwindling food and water supplies as they go extinct]]. And ''that'' is the bad ending. |
| 272 | * ArmorIsUseless: Completely averted with the ''Director's Cut'' changes to the combat system. A character with a high armor rating behind good cover is extremely difficult to kill unless flanked. Characters in the open with low or no armor will fall very quickly to even basic weapons. |
| 273 | * AssholeVictim: |
| 274 | ** One optional run's objective has the player sent to assassinate someone who was captured by a rival corp before he can spill company secrets. [[spoiler: He turns out to be a fellow Shadowrunner, causing the teammates to balk.]] Players might reconsider any moral objections that they have after they see what their target did. |
| 275 | ** Surprisingly, [[spoiler: Feuerschwinge]] was this as well. [[spoiler: While she was a terror for Germany shortly after the Awakening, she had been driven mad with grief over the state of the world, so this one's a bit more subjective.]] |
| 276 | * AteHisGun: [[spoiler: The BigBad does this when years of planning that inadvertently killed his younger brother goes up in smoke.]] |
| 277 | * AwesomeButImpractical: |
| 278 | ** Blitz has a unique drone named Max which is equipped with a taser that can easily stun an enemy for one turn. Unfortunately, his low rigging skills mean Max's accuracy will always be low, making it a waste of AP to ever take direct control over it. |
| 279 | ** ''Dragonfall'' introduces the [[GatlingGood Vindicator Minigun]], which has the power of the highest-end sniper rifles, solid accuracy and critical hit rate governed by both the ranged combat and rifles skills, and can do area-of-effect damage like a shotgun at range. It also chews through its ammo very quickly, especially on full auto, and costs 2 AP to reload, unlike almost every other weapon, and weighs so much that you need to have at least 7 strength to use it, unlike every other ranged weapon, which is an investment of either up to 27 of your limited karma points or a much smaller amount of karma and some very expensive cyberware. ''Hong Kong'' increases the practicality in several ways. First, it both increases the Vindicator's ammo reserves and introduces the Auto-Loader Cyber-Arm which eliminates the biggest impractical aspect in use - its hefty reload cost. Additionally, with the expanded selection of cyberware slots, new low-Essence cost upgrades, and the ability to gain additional Essence, buying the chrome to lift it much less painful on your other cyberware options if not your wallet, and further alleviates the karma cost by reducing the strength requirement to 5. |
| 280 | * BadassBureaucrat: Hasenkamp (see below). It comes with the territory of being the accountant of a crime boss. He is able to pick apart financial statements at a glance, and is a skilled assassin on top of that. |
| 281 | * TheBattleDidntCount: During the opening mission, the big ork with the minigun can be reduced to zero HP if you try really hard to do it, but he'll just fall on his knees, ignore all subsequent attacks, and escape on his next turn. |
| 282 | * BeingGoodSucks: The 'moral' options on runs almost inevitably end up ruining your reputation or pay less than doing the less-shiny options, though it occasionally pays off with additional karma. One interesting example is the handling of [[spoiler: the ghouls in the sewer. The "good" solution is to pay Dr. Ezkibel for the ghouls' food. What makes it interesting is that if you screw over the doc by threatening him, he'll screw ''you'' over later on, where he withholds the nuyen payment after the "Lockdown" run.]] |
| 283 | * BetterTheDevilYouKnow: One of the arguments you can use to rebuke [[spoiler:Vauclair's reasons for why the dragons should be killed off]] is that it will just create a power vacuum for possibly even more insidious forces. You can repeat this to [[spoiler:Hans Brackhaus]], who will express approval of your logic. [[spoiler:If you ''do'' go through with the plan, you'll see just how correct this trope really is.]] |
| 284 | * BigBad: Feuerschwinge. [[spoiler:Or at least that's what you're led to believe. It turns out that Dr. Adrian Vauclair is behind everything bad that's happened to you in the entire game. Feuerschwinge herself is just another victim to his machinations.]] |
| 285 | * BigGood: Monika serves this role for the Kreuzbasar. She involves herself with the lives of all the people within, holds the community together, and makes sure everything remains safe and secure. [[spoiler: After she dies, the position pretty much falls onto the PlayerCharacter's shoulders.]] |
| 286 | * BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:You can stop the destruction of Berlin, but the Flux State is all but doomed to be dismantled and Berlin will be [[UsefulNotes/BerlinWall separated by a wall again]]. Even worse, you can go to work for the guy that helps cause it. OTOH, you ''could'' turn the whole shebang over to APEX, who is capable of fighting even ''Lofwyr'' to a standstill, and the Flux State will persevere. All you have to do is let it mind-jack Feuerschwinge]]. |
| 287 | * BloodKnight: Dietrich, whose shamanic totem, the Dragonslayer, compels him to constantly be fighting something bigger and more powerful than himself. He's fully aware and accepting of the fact that the Dragonslayer will eventually compel him into fighting a battle he can't survive. [[spoiler:The PC can suggest shifting his focus to more nebulous but still unbeatable targets, like a megacorp or the enemies of the Flux State]]. |
| 288 | * BloodMagic: One mission involves Aztechnology experimenting with this. |
| 289 | * BodyHorror: [[spoiler:During the assassination mission, you'll pass by a particularly nasty piece of the target's handiwork -- a harmless lab technician who was eviscerated by an automated surgical machine.]] |
| 290 | * BrainUploading: [[spoiler:The APEX AI copies the brain contents of the Deckers that it kills; it can later emulate their personalities at will. A later in-game message suggests that the emulation is imperfect, though.]] |
| 291 | * BrickJoke: Remember the bottle of cheap booze you got from MKVI run? [[spoiler:You can actually use it in the alternate 'bad ending' epilogue when toasting to the end of the world]] |
| 292 | * BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Glory uses first-generation cyberware, which is so old no reputable dealer will install it. It's still pretty effective, though. [[spoiler:This was the point -- Glory needed her Essence to be as low as possible to shield herself from [[{{Satan}} the Adversary.]]]] |
| 293 | * ButThouMust: |
| 294 | ** The opening mission has a display case which gives you the option of either smashing it for the loot or leaving it for later. Doing the former causes a member of your team to stop you, since the run is supposed to be quick and quiet. |
| 295 | ** Similarly on the same mission, if you have at least two ranks of Decking, you can offer to open the door for the team instead of Monika when Eiger protests Monika leaving you in charge. Monika will simply overrule your suggestion. |
| 296 | * ButtMonkey: In the majority of the runs done to gather the 50k nuyen, the crew will encounter Knight Errant Security personnel. The only question is how humiliating the crew wants to be in defeating them. |
| 297 | * CameBackWrong: Invoked in Green Winter's [=DVDs=] regarding the fate of inquisitive deckers. |
| 298 | * CashGate: It takes most of the game to earn Alice's fee for the information you need. Each mission has a portion of the payout devoted to the fund, which will reach the limit with one mission to spare. You can also donate your own money, though this is ill-advised since you also need it for equipment. |
| 299 | * CityOfAdventure: The campaign is set in the anarchist city-state of UsefulNotes/{{Berlin}}. It is known as the Flux State (F-State for short) due to its constantly shifting power structure, and finding work as a Shadowrunner there is easy as everyone wants a piece of it. |
| 300 | * CoDragons: The BigBad effectively has two [[TheDragon Dragons]] that you have to deal with before the final confrontation: Audran in meatspace, and APEX in the Matrix. |
| 301 | * CombatDiplomacyStealth: The Aztechnology mission offers multiple methods of entering and moving around the building, though you will very likely be forced into combat eventually. As noted in ViolationOfCommonSense below, invoking combat before you need to is actually better than talking your way past it--unless you have the [[GuideDangIt extremely specific]] stats and skills necessary to complete it without bloodshed. |
| 302 | ** In the ''Director's Cut'', the party will eventually be thrown into combat no matter what you do, [[spoiler: as the guards will respond when you overload the generators, which is the main reason why the team's down there in the first place.]] |
| 303 | * ComicallySmallDemand: In order to [[spoiler:buy out the ghouls' debt to Dr. Ezkobel]], he demands...1000 nuyen! Of course, that's only really comically small to a Shadowrunner, in this part of Berlin. |
| 304 | * ComicBookFantasyCasting: Several of the [=NPC=]s' facial portraits are modeled after Harebrained Schemes employees. For example, Green Winters is modeled after Mitch Gittleman. |
| 305 | * TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: In the final boss fight, at least two of the mooks can stealth [[note]]As they appear out of thin air, it does look as if they are teleporting. But once they reveal themselves, they do not return to stealth.[[/note]], which, aside from being impossible in the ''Shadowrun'' universe normally, is not possible for a player character to do. The final boss himself gets two turns instead of one, effectively giving him 6 AP. It takes some serious drugs and/or magic for player-controlled characters to equal this feat. |
| 306 | * TheConspiracy: The story is focused on a vast conspiracy involving the Great Dragon Feuerschwinge, who was shot down over forty years prior to the beginning of the story, and has been presumed dead since. |
| 307 | * ContinuityNod: One of the early Shadowlands threads you can read regard the "Emerald City Ripper" loose in Seattle. The Ripper is a major antagonist of ''Dead Man's Switch''. |
| 308 | ** One of Green Winters' messages refers to there being trouble in London for Transys Neuronet Corporation due to the 'BTL Killer' scandal. This refers to the plot of the Shadowrun tie-in novel ''Streets of Blood'' (book 8). |
| 309 | * CosmicHorrorStory: The Horrors are alluded to a few times, though they really don't play any part in the plot. [[spoiler:Unless you allow the BigBad to proceed with his plan, in which case, they descend upon the world and drive meta-humanity to extinction, playing this trope very straight.]] |
| 310 | * CyberneticsEatYourSoul: |
| 311 | ** Glory is using so much first gen cyberware it's nearly completely destroyed her Essence; whether they are responsible for her cold demeanor or she is deliberately withdrawn is ambiguous, as the player can coax emotion out of her in the right circumstances. Worthy of note is that at the end of her personal mission, [[spoiler: the purified spirit chose to bind to her when it required a target which is "more dead than alive"]]. |
| 312 | ** During the MKVI mission, the player gets to see first-hand what happens when cybernetics are abused. [[spoiler:The MKVI is a cyberzombie - it has negative Essence and its mind has been replaced by hardware. Its soul can do little but beg for release.]] |
| 313 | * DarkIsNotEvil: In the ''Directors Cut'' you can discuss the Idol of [[{{Satan}} the Adversary]] with Aljernon Half-Dream, who takes essentially this position. The Adversary is treasonous, tricky and rebellious, but it also encompasses freedom, innovation and the positive aspects of Anarchy; when you're the one being oppressed by an authority the Adversary will be your staunchest ally. [[spoiler:The problem with Glory isn't that her mentor followed the totem of the Adversary, but that he was a Toxic Shaman with a corrupted mentor spirit he used to brainwash his followers into a cult.]] |
| 314 | * DevelopersForesight: |
| 315 | ** During the Aztechnology mission, there's an option to disguise yourself as security personnel by raiding a closet for some uniforms, thereby allowing you to avoid summoning the [[EliteMooks High Threat Response team]] that comes with triggering the alarm. If you trigger the alarm ''then'' try for the uniforms, your squad will point out how useless it is, to which your character responds "couldn't hurt". |
| 316 | ** If you raise the money for the Alice fund by the usual way of completing all the main missions, [[spoiler:you'll find her virtual space empty save for your requested info and a warning from her to run far away from whatever it is you got yourself into.]] If you spend enough of your own money to top out the fund with one mission remaining [[spoiler:you'll actually meet Alice again but she's clearly terrified, ready to flee and gives you the same warning.]] |
| 317 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:The campaign ends with the option of killing Feuerschwinge. Granted, she's been weakened considerably from her previous defeat and nearly 50 years of torture and experimentation, to the point where she is no longer the proud beast she once was...but a Great Dragon has nevertheless been KilledOffForReal by your hand. And of course, if you opt to side with Vauclair, then you'll end up killing ''every'' dragon on Earth! Though this leads to something even worse.]] |
| 318 | * DirtyCoward: The Humanis leader will bolt for the back exit when you confront him, though you can cap him if you're quick enough. It pays better not to, though, since his survival is part of an optional objective for another client. |
| 319 | * DisasterDominoes: Offscreen in the ''Director's Cut'', a side-mission to a medical lab that's been on lockdown for 18 months "began with a spilled cup of soykaf, and ended in terror and blood"[[note]]Namely, that spilled soykaf landed on the control panel for the animal testing cages, letting all of them loose[[/note]]. |
| 320 | * DoomedByCanon: |
| 321 | ** History-wise, it doesn't really matter what you do in regards to your little piece of the Free State, as the German government (with the backing of several megas, especially Saeder-Krupp) moved in and dissolved the anarchist communes in 2055. In the Director's Cut, it outright tells you this in the ending. |
| 322 | ** Except in the Director's Cut ending if you [[spoiler:fuse APEX with Feuerschwinge. Somehow, this leads to Flux State beating back the attack in the epilogue. "The Golden Wyrm is said to be surprised by the speed and ferocity with which the F-State assembles to repel the attack." You and us both, buddy]]. ''Hong Kong'' reveals this to be non-canonical, however. |
| 323 | * DopplegangerSpin: In the ''Director's Cut'', the final boss of Glory's mission has the ability to create two duplicates of itself. The duplicates die in one hit, but they read as identical. Fortunately, the dopplegangers are significantly weaker than the original. Unfortunately, the boss teleports around the arena and summons them both back each turn. And the boss's support respawns every two turns, and can buff them up if he isn't made a priority target. |
| 324 | * DragonHoard: Discussed. In contrast with metahumanity which expands and multiplies, Dragons are driven to acquire, accumulate, and yes, hoard things. Only now in the 21st century, rather than a typical hoard of precious metals and stones, they hoard nuyen, lives, and other liquid assets as the heads of major corporations. |
| 325 | * DyingAsYourself: In the MKVI mission, [[spoiler:you have the opportunity to disable the RestrainingBolt on the eponymous MKVI, allowing him to have full control of his body once again. He uses it to bring an end to his tortured existence by his own hand.]] |
| 326 | * ElaborateUndergroundBase: That mansion with the data vault you raid in the first mission? It's actually a front for this and its owner [[spoiler: Dr. Adrian Vauclair]] isn't exactly pleased that you found it and survived to tell other people about its existence. |
| 327 | * EleventhHourRanger: |
| 328 | ** [[spoiler: If you comforted Dante after Monika's death, he becomes a full-fledged party member near the end of the game, once it becomes clear that he's half Hellhound.]] |
| 329 | ** [[spoiler:If you freed APEX, then you'll get a Panzerdrone which you can then use to raid TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.]] |
| 330 | * EliteMooks: Knight Errant security. They tend to show up during corp runs. They come in greater numbers, are harder to kill, are armed with better guns and explosives, and almost always employ mages or summoners (if not both). |
| 331 | * ExactWords: If you choose to [[spoiler:MercyKill the MKVI (or allow him to do it himself), your client protests and vows to never work with you again but still pays you since the terms of the contract only required you to ''acquire'' the MKVI. They never specified that he had to be ''alive'' (they reasonably assumed it went without saying). The Lodge is [[GenreSavvy far more clever about this]] since Luca specifically asks for the MKVI to be brought to him "undamaged" and in "full working order".]] |
| 332 | * {{Expy}}: Humanis is shown to be nothing more than an updated version of the KKK, which is true in the source material. However, to write their propaganda, the dev team pretty much copy pasted KKK propaganda, with Jew replaced with Elf and Blacks with Orks and Trolls. |
| 333 | * EyelessFace: [[spoiler:The MKVI's entire face from the upper jaw up was carved out to make way for an extensive chunk of cyberware.]] |
| 334 | * FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:You can potentially do this. You can agree with Vauclair and allow him to carry out his plan, which won't sit well with the rest of your crew. They'll turn on you, and you'll have to kill them all.]] |
| 335 | * FamilyMan: Grandpa Hasenkamp from Blitz's personal mission. Granted, he's not very old (daughter married young, by his admission), so he's hurrying up to complete the mission so that he would be in time to read his grandkids bed-time stories. It's implied he managed to do so, [[spoiler:even though [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the mission developed complications]] and he then got rid of his boss within the same night]]. |
| 336 | * FantasticRacism: A major underlying theme in the story. You have the Humanis sub-plot and you have [[spoiler: Dr. Vauclair's fear and hatred of dragons motivating his actions]]. Samuel Beckenbauer half-admits that his charity partakes in this due to the large majority of trolls and orks working for and benefiting from it. |
| 337 | * FalseFlagOperation: Humanis plans to use a chemical weapon to trigger a HatePlague in the meta-human population and send them on a rampage towards the part of town where ordinary humans live, where their followers will be waiting armed and ready. If successful it would have succeeded in making them look good while at the same time demonizing the meta-human population. The name of this plan even references the trope. |
| 338 | * TheFellowshipHasEnded: Depending on what choices the player makes, it's possible for the members of the crew [[spoiler:(or at least, those that are still alive)]] to split up and go their separate ways at the end of the campaign. |
| 339 | * FinalBossPreview: Audran is the FinalBoss of ''Dragonfall'', and you face him in the second fight of the game. |
| 340 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: In the ''Director's Cut'', completing Eiger's personal mission and getting all the clues leads you on the trail of [[spoiler:something called 'Winternight', a Norse doomsday cult that seeks to call down Ragnarok and are implied to be planning something ''big''. Players [[AllThereInTheManual familiar with the setting]] know exactly how bad they'll get ten years later...]] |
| 341 | * GaiasVengeance: [[spoiler:The reason why Feuerschwinge attacked humankind when she first awoke is because her purpose is to act as a caretaker of nature. Seeing the environmental damage wrought by metahumanity -- whom she regards as her children -- enraged her and caused her to lash out.]] |
| 342 | * GambitPileup: The whole plot of ''Dragonfall'' is one of these between [[spoiler: [[StatusQuoIsGod Lofwyr]], [[AIIsACrapshoot APEX]], and [[FinalSolution Vauclair]].]] The player's choices during the final quests will determine who gets what they want and how much of it they get. |
| 343 | * GangOfHats: Many of the "anarchist" ''kiez'' (self-contained neighborhoods) are actually run by these, including one that attaches electromagnetic suction cups to their body so they can ride the U-Bahn exteriors, and the Rabengeister who present themselves as a PhantomThief society. |
| 344 | * GatlingGood: Miniguns are introduced in this expansion pack. You can buy one after you've passed the Alice payment section of the plot, and both the MKVI and TheDragon wield them. It counts as a rifle for gameplay purposes, but requires a rank of 7 in Strength (27 karma for a human, but this can be alleviated if you have gear that gives bonuses to strength) plus the requisite Quickness, Ranged Combat, and Rifle investments (which aren't as high, but necessary for accuracy). If you can manage it, though, it's one of the deadliest weapons in the game. Its biggest weaknesses compared to standard assault rifles are that it can't shoot in semi-automatic mode and that its full-auto burst doesn't flush targets out from cover. However, its attacks are considered Area of Effects so it can hit multiple enemies in a single burst. |
| 345 | * GodzillaThreshold: Aztechnology is one of the biggest {{Mega Corp}}s in the world, and by far one of the most feared due to their zero-tolerance policy towards runners and rampant experimentation with BloodMagic. A popular saying among runners is "you don't mess with the Azzies." However, your crew will be more than willing to blow up one of their facilities because they ''really'' need the cash to take down Feuerschwinge. Your client herself hires you for this run because the discoveries Aztechnology has made are so horrific that it warrants complete destruction of the base, crossing the GodzillaThreshold for her. |
| 346 | * GoMadFromTheIsolation: Philip Rez in the "Lockdown" side mission. Living alone in a quarantined lab that you can't escape from for almost two years would make most people go batty, but the fact that his only source of entertainment during that time was the [[StylisticSuck horribly made]] "Knight-Kings of Lightinghold" show drove him completely bonkers and left him convinced that ''he'' was a knight-king ruling over a feudal domain as well! |
| 347 | * GoneHorriblyRight: It is possible to switch sides and join up with the antagonist if he convinces you that [[VillainHasAPoint what he's doing is a good idea.]] [[spoiler: This results in you helping him kill off all the dragons, and humanity rejoices as their hoarded wealth returns to the economy...until it turns out they were what kept the balance between the world and its magic, the latter starting to flood the world, causing freak mana storms all over the place and finally opening the gate for the invasion of extraplanar horrors that drive humanity to the brink of extinction.]] |
| 348 | * GoneHorriblyWrong: The bad end to the campaign would be considered this from [[spoiler:the Great Dragon Lofwyr]]'s point of view. [[spoiler:It's implied he knew what Vauclair was up to and leaked the information of the Harfield Manor to Green Winters to put a stop to it. However, if the player decides to let Vauclair carry it out, then all Lofwyr did was force him to move it ahead of schedule, resulting in the death of the Great Dragon and his species.]] |
| 349 | * GrenadeLauncher: Two of these can be found on missions- one with base damage of 12 that holds six shots on Blitz's personal mission, and a single-shot launcher with a base damage of 14 in the armory when you go up against [[spoiler: [=APEX=] ]]. They both use the Rifle skill and while their base damage is lower than the assault and sniper rifles you can get by then, they're still extremely powerful thanks to giving you an AOE attack that can be used multiple times per round. |
| 350 | * GuideDangIt: |
| 351 | ** Resolving the Aztechnology mission peacefully requires a particular set of skills players likely won't have. However, even if you don't have the full skill set, just having two easy to gain parts [[spoiler: namely: stealing the uniforms and having Etiquette: Security]] will let you penetrate deep enough into the facility that you should be able to deal with all the remaining security in front of you, complete the mission, and escape before the [[NamesToRunAwayFrom High Threat Response Team]] can catch you. |
| 352 | ** The Director's Cut allows the player to decide how their teammates will upgrade their equipment and abilities. This means Blitz can be made to focus on combat instead of decking, assuming the player has that covered. This becomes problematic in Blitz's character-specific mission, [[spoiler: as he spends the entire mission inside the Matrix, making it a lot more difficult if the player doesn't upgrade him appropriately and being beaten forces you to restart the mission.]] |
| 353 | ** In ''Loose Ends'', [[spoiler: even hearing the target out will result in you losing out on some Karma]]. |
| 354 | * HatePlague: The human supremacist group "Humanis" aims to be seen as heroes for stopping violent metahuman riots. Since the metahumans weren't actually rioting, Humanis decided to cause one with a mind-altering biological warfare agent. The player has the option to point out exactly how hypocritically insane this is. |
| 355 | * HealingFactor: ''Dragonfall'' introduces the Platelet Factory body bioware, which allows you to heal your most recent wound when you activate it. |
| 356 | * HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler: The reason the Vauclair's troops come gunning for you, the reason [=APEX=] kills Green Winters and the reason several other deckers met their untimely ends]]. |
| 357 | * {{Hellhound}}: A dangerous enemy you'll occasionally encounter in the campaign. [[spoiler:And what your own dog, Dante, really is.]] |
| 358 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: You can point this out to [[spoiler: the BigBad, pointing out that he is just as bad as how he views Dragons.]] He [[KnightTemplar ignores it]] unless you've been very diligent with gathering information and can talk to him on what he considers an equal level. |
| 359 | ** In Glory's personal mission, [[spoiler:if she kills the toxic spirit that is behind Harrow's power and influence, then she will end up corrupted by it and start becoming toxic herself.]] |
| 360 | * HoldTheLine: |
| 361 | ** The first mission makes you wait ten turns before the escape route opens. |
| 362 | ** The [[spoiler:APEX mission]] becomes a three-way defense against a server and two external nodes from a horde of defense mechs and cultists [[spoiler:while APEX is either freed or formatted]]. And every time you take out a group, more come to replace them. |
| 363 | ** The final fight is half this and half TimeLimitBoss. [[spoiler:You get ten turns to plow through the mooks and TheDragon, and this is not enough time to manage that. To make the time, you need to keep sabotaging the injection sequence to buy more time, all the while trying to kill TheDragon to get the keycard needed to end the process permanently.]] |
| 364 | * HopelessBossFight: If you decide to stick around after the hold the line sequence in the first mission, you'll regret it. All the enemies have extremely high health and you only have three weak party members. Subverted with Audran; he's highly resistant to damage and carries a minigun, but getting him to 0 is doable in the time limit. [[TheBattleDidntCount He just retreats.]] |
| 365 | * InformationWantsToBeFree: The Shockwellenreiter's bread and butter. Too bad they don't differentiate between useful info (Humanis' donors list), dangerous info (a mind-altering drug formula used to create cyberzombies) and ''incredibly dangerous'' info that nobody should know ([[spoiler:a blood magic ritual that would allow the invoker to remotely kill ''anyone anywhere'' at ''anytime'')]]. |
| 366 | * InterfaceSpoiler: In ''Loose Ends'', it is possible to just shoot your target without hearing his side of the story. The synopsis on the loading screen after the mission ends hints that [[spoiler: your character knows (or guesses correctly) that the target was largely responsible for the carnage in the building.]] |
| 367 | * {{Irony}}: As Lucky Strike points out, the Kreuzbasar, which is supposed to be an "anarchist commune", is in practice Monika Schäfer's([[spoiler:and later the ''player's'']]) kingdom - she just chose to let her subjects roam freely. She isn't particularly pleased with this. |
| 368 | * ItsPersonal: After Monika gets killed and [[spoiler: Paul Amsel gets shot by Audran]] your team views stopping the BigBad as their number one priority regardless of them getting paid or not. |
| 369 | ** Dietrich begs you to take him on the Humanis mission as his nephew, Alexander, was in the organization thanks to his brother (and he's trying to save the boy from those who would either blindly strike Humanis, or from Humanis itself). |
| 370 | ** Eiger and Glory have their own missions in the "Director's Cut" that they feel are personal to them; you can insist you come along to help them both out. You get in their better graces if you do and both party members will gain upgrades after the missions. |
| 371 | ** Green Winters [[spoiler: aka Herman Vauclair]] made it his mission to bring back Adrian. |
| 372 | * JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Eiger is quick to start beating a confession out of the Engineer once she catches him in her personal mission. [[spoiler:It doesn't work, it just makes him cough up names at random, to the point where she admits that even if he gives her a straight answer, it'll impossible to sift through the lies. Getting him to talk requires getting some actual leverage over him.]] |
| 373 | * KarmicDeath: In the ''Director's Cut'' there are a few. |
| 374 | ** [[spoiler: In Blitz's mission, the PC can find out that Meat Grinder, who set up the run to settle Blitz's debt, is "in bed" with the one you're running against and is looking to take the "accountant" (who's really TheDragon in Grinder's organization but also handles the books as well) out as well as you and Blitz. It's implied Grinder died at the accountant's hands.]] |
| 375 | ** [[spoiler: Eiger's mission has you face the Engineer, who ends up dying when a bomb goes off in his chest.]] |
| 376 | ** [[spoiler: Marta, Glory's former lover, dies when she becomes TheDragon to Harrow, and you and Glory decides to kill her. Harrow could also die if you convince Glory that he must instead of saving the kids. However, this turns her toxic.]] |
| 377 | * LethalJokeItem: The Slapdash Pistol, an obvious piece of junk (some parts are ''hot-glued on'') that's sold for 1999 nuyen. Its damage value is 6, which is utterly terrible. But its critical hit chance and damage multipliers, which ''aren't'' shown anywhere, are the highest in the game. Most enemies won't even ''feel'' a regular hit. But one of the frequent crits? Often a one-hit kill. |
| 378 | * MassOhCrap: Your team has this reaction, with good reason, to learning [[spoiler: Green Winters sent you after a Great Dragon]]. |
| 379 | * MercyKill: |
| 380 | ** Available as an option for [[spoiler:the MKVI, a "cyberzombie" troll who has been turned into a remote-controlled slave [[AndIMustScream while still fully conscious]]]]. Alternatively, the player may [[spoiler:restore the troll's free will, allowing him to do the job himself.]] |
| 381 | ** At the end of the campaign you have [[spoiler:the option of killing Feuerschwinge. The way the Industrial Revolution ravaged and reshaped the world, getting shot down by the Luftwaffe, and Dr. Vauclair's imprisonment and experimentation on her for the last couple of decades have pretty much made her lose the will to live. You can talk her out of this attitude and convince her that her life is still worth living. Or you can just push the button on Dr. Vauclair's console and make her go boom]]. |
| 382 | * MythologyGag: Late in the game, Zaak Flash claims that he used his "[[MushroomSamba magic]]" to turn someone who attacked him into goo. This is a reference to the GameBreaking "Turn to Goo" spell from the tabletop game. |
| 383 | * MoneyForNothing: Cash is tight in the first few missions. After you've moved on to the endgame, however, you'll end up with a lot of extra that you will not need. However, this is more true for magic users as they cannot spend the money on cyberware without compromising on their magic, not to mention that cyberware is usually very expensive. |
| 384 | * MultipleChoicePast: After the first mission, you can talk to Dietrich and set up your past with Monika through dialogue choices. |
| 385 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: |
| 386 | ** Dr. Vauclair can get one of these, either played straight [[spoiler: when he finds out Hermie, his brother, had died thanks to APEX]], or downplayed to "My God, what was I about to do?" |
| 387 | ** Feuerschwinge gets this [[spoiler: when the PlayerCharacter brings up her initial awakening led to the deaths of thousands of innocent people.]] |
| 388 | ** If, during Glory's personal quest, you have her [[spoiler:purify the Heart of Feuerstelle, the spirit will have this reaction once it learns the harm it had caused as a toxic spirit]]. |
| 389 | * NebulousEvilOrganisation: The Black Lodge, especially in the ''Director's Cut''. You never get to learn exactly what they're working towards but given all the "more morally grey" things they ask of you it probably doesn't involve sunshine and kittens, doubly so when even ''Dietrich'' says this isn't a foe the Dragonslayer could convince him to take on. |
| 390 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: A few choices you make will have negative repercussions on you and the rest of the world. |
| 391 | ** [[spoiler:Releasing APEX means that you've now unleashed a manipulative, predatory, and completely amoral AI upon the Matrix. And if you don't do what it wants, it will come after you too.]] This is somewhat mitigated when you realised that [[spoiler: no matter what you do with APEX, people are going to die, as the Communion junkies brainwashed by APEX will be killed along with APEX if you choose to format the AI.]] |
| 392 | ** If you choose the ending where [[spoiler:you decide that Vauclair is correct and that the dragons need to go, then you'll end up causing even more death and destruction in the aftermath. Mana storms surge, insect spirits spread out beyond Chicago, Sydney disappears into a rift, magic goes out of control, and the Horrors invade the world.]] |
| 393 | ** Monika [[spoiler:suggested BTL chips to Simmy Kim as a way of cooping after her miscarriage, which led to her becoming the junkie she is when you meet her]]. |
| 394 | * NoodleImplements: One employee wonders what the research team need with a bulk order of gags, restraints, and five hundred litres of hydrochloric acid. |
| 395 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:You can point out that by assembling an army of mercenaries, establishing a massive underground base, running large-scale secret research projects, conspiring to wipe out an intelligent species (dragons) and desiring to reshape the world in his image that Vauclair is acting ''exactly'' like the dragons he despises. He counters that his plans are different because as a human, he isn't as long lived as dragons and there is a shorter-time frame to how long he can scheme and manipulate things and influence world events and therefore he is nothing like, say, Lofwyr.]] |
| 396 | * OurZombiesAreDifferent: [[spoiler:You encounter a cyberzombie on the MKVI run. In ''Shadowrun'', a cyberzombie is a person who has been cybernetically augmented far past what their Essence can take, and as such are little more than biological robots. Worse still, [[AndIMustScream the poor guy is still in there]], slaved to a drone interface and incapable of controlling his own actions.]] |
| 397 | * OutGambitted: Blitz does this to [[spoiler: Hesenkamp]] during his loyalty mission, which impresses the latter since Blitz isn't known for his planning skills. If you were thorough you can then play on this to [[spoiler: flip Hesenkamp to your side]] and out-gambit [[spoiler: Meat Grinder and Plotz]], earning the respect of everyone involved who isn't dead or about to be. |
| 398 | * OutOfCharacterAlert: One of the regulars on the Shadowland BBS (which provides a running background commentary / info dump as the game proceeds) spots the impostor [[spoiler:AI monster that ate his friend]] by throwing out the first line of a catchphrase, which the other side fails to complete. |
| 399 | * ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: |
| 400 | ** The administrator password for the guest database in The Drug Pit is [[spoiler:"admin"]]. There's no hint to this, and it isn't necessary to get the information you need, but it does reveal an EasterEgg in the form of a guest list. |
| 401 | ** The password used for the [=PCs=] found in the Humanis Policlub complex is... [[spoiler:"humanis"]]. You can bypass this with Decking of 4 or greater. |
| 402 | ** In Blitz's mission to break into a ganger bank, you won't be able to find the password for one of the computers anywhere in the game. The password winds up being [[spoiler:123456]]. Blitz [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this upon the player entering it: |
| 403 | --->'''Blitz''': [[SarcasmMode We're dealing with a winner here]]. |
| 404 | * PhraseCatcher: One of the posters on the Shadowland BBS, Clockwork, is frequently asked if he's "always running", as a pun on his name and the fact that he's usually in hiding after pulling off a run. He always responds with, "Like Clockwork!" |
| 405 | * PointOfNoReturn: You're given a warning that once you bring the 50k to Alice, all runs which you have not completed will be cancelled. Also, after dealing with [[spoiler: APEX]], the prep for the next mission is the last chance for you to buy your equipment in the Kreuzbasar. |
| 406 | * PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Green Winters is dead by the time you get to him, but you still learn about him from his DVD recordings.]] |
| 407 | * QuirkyTown: The same, but of particular note is Dragonfall's "HubCity", the Kreuzbasar: an "anarchist commune" filled with oddballs of every stripe, its eccentricity and prosperity nurtured by the watchful and compassionate eye of veteran decker Monika Schäfer. [[spoiler:After APEX fries her brain, this role falls to the player character, as a demonstration of how much of a hassle maintaining such a community is.]] |
| 408 | * RedHerring: A few. [[spoiler:Feuerschwinge is built up throughout the game as the BigBad and the underground bunker complex you stumbled on when Monika was killed is implied to be her hidden lair. She isn't, and it isn't: the bunker belongs to Dr. Vauclair, who isn't dead and is in fact the actual Big Bad, he's been holding the dragon prisoner, and he's planning on using her to breed and test a deadly virus. You might think the title refers to Feurschwinge, or her disappearance -- it actually refers to the virus, which will wipe out all the world's dragons in one fell swoop.]] |
| 409 | * SchmuckBait: One of the hotel rooms in "Das Kesselhaus" has a note out front that says "do not open"; the door to this room is unlocked. [[spoiler: If you take the bait, you'll find that there's a hostile scorpyrine ([[BigCreepyCrawlies giant scorpion]]) waiting inside.]] |
| 410 | * ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: |
| 411 | ** In the Aztechnology Run, you can get a copy of the project data for analysis by Aljernon Half-Dream later. He will tell you it is BloodMagic of the most horrific kind. The 500 nuyen you'd get for the data by the Shockwellenreiter is not enough to balance the fact you would have made public info that NOBODY should know, '''period''' (which was why "Frau Mueller" wanted you to bring down the Aztechnology building in the first place). One LetsPlay had the PlayerCharacter find this out in time, and he was okay with deleting the data when he found out. |
| 412 | ** The ''Director's Cut'' of ''Dragonfall'' had Luca Duerr put you on a solo run leading a RagtagBunchOfMisfits: an elf who can't speak much German, a mage full of himself, and an electrician who said that the run was to pay off her debt. Once you find out how much death and destruction was brought about in the run, you can let Luca know that you want no further part in anything he offers. [[spoiler: The device you put in the maintenance circuit is a high-yield bomb Luca detonates and you can feel it when underground but out of the blast radius.]] |
| 413 | * ShootTheDog: In the ''Director's Cut'', [[spoiler:if you've been mostly neglecting and/or mistreating Dante for the majority of the game, he will turn feral when he turns into a Hellhound, forcing you to do this to him.]] |
| 414 | * ShoutOut: |
| 415 | ** "Simmy", a young woman addicted to [[LotusEaterMachine BTL sims]], mentions that one of in the stories in which she loses herself [[{{Franchise/Terminator}} she must protect her son from the machines who rule the future]]. Earlier, she says she's [[Film/TheSoundOfMusic going to be a governess for the Van Trapp family, and stops the simulation when they start going the wrong way (lampshading the original movie's geographical blunder]]. She also says that [[{{Theatre/Annie}} the Sun will come out tomorrow]] - she's gone through that sim quite often, due to her own orphaned status as a child. |
| 416 | ** One of the pamphlets in the Humanis base quotes the Illinois Nazis scene in ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', but with the race references replaced by humans and metahumans. |
| 417 | ** During the epilogue, [[spoiler:Hans Brackhaus]] [[ShoutOut/ToShakespeare quotes]] Theatre/{{Hamlet}}. Specifically; |
| 418 | -->'''Hamlet:''' ''"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."'' |
| 419 | ** This is not the first time a prominent character in a cyberpunk story carries the name [[Literature/MaridAudran "Audran"]]. |
| 420 | ** Your brief sidequest to find a working DVD player this far in the future recalls a similar plot in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' (it was Platform/{{Betamax}} there). |
| 421 | * ShownTheirWork: |
| 422 | ** There is a surprising amount of research into German cultural matters displayed in the game (the punk/anarchist scene, the local info broker being an immigrant Turk, Gesundbrunnen really having had an enormous market...) |
| 423 | ** "Aleksi Laine" is a perfectly normal Finnish name, and the details he mentions of the Finnish army are accurate (at least for the present day). |
| 424 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Dietrich insists that the name of the punk band he sang for, "MESSERKAMPF!" [[note]]i.e., "KNIFE FIGHT!"[[/note]], be spelled in all caps with an exclamation point. |
| 425 | * StylisticSuck: "The Knight-Kings of Lightinghold" show that you can read excerpts on is described as being atrocious, with BadBadActing, {{Narm}}y dialogue, and operating on NoBudget. Blitz's recap of the last episode sums it up. |
| 426 | -->'''Blitz:''' ''"Titonius Rex and his elf sweetie's dad [[EasilyForgiven make up]], a bunch of elves fight the Jubuthons and get their asses kicked, and the whole 'Karabork the Demon Lord' subplot is [[AbortedArc dropped]] because the [[ExecutiveMeddling show's effects budget got cut]]. In the end, Titonius saves Lightninghold by rallying a peasant revolt. [[DeusExMachina It comes out of nowhere]], barely makes sense, and the whole thing ends in a [[StrangledByTheRedString vomit-inducing love scene]]. It's a goddamned train wreck."'' |
| 427 | * SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: Towards the last stretch of the game, you enter a medical room with top-level medkits for everyone, a couple of [=BuMoNa=] Trauma Kits (revive items), and a medical station that fully heals all your party's wounds. It doesn't take a lot of savviness to realise what's behind the next door. |
| 428 | * TechnologyMarchesOn: |
| 429 | ** An in-universe example. In an early mission, the player finds a pile of very old discs in a safe. Back at base, Amsel identifies them as DVD rewritables. You then have to go out and try and find a DVD player for sale in 2054. |
| 430 | ** Another in-universe example is Glory and her old first-generation [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic limbs]], which are obviously bulkier, more unnaturally shaped, and more [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul essence-costly]] than the sleeker, more efficient, and implantee-friendly models currently common on the market. |
| 431 | * TemptingFate: With all the talk of how your first mission is a milk run, you just know something is going to go wrong. The PlayerCharacter can [[LampshadeHanging lampshade this]] in their very first line of dialogue. |
| 432 | * TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Late in the game, mercenaries plant bombs in the sewers of the Kreuzbasar, hoping to make the neighborhood collapse. When the PlayerCharacter goes to disarm the bombs, he/she will find that some of the mercenaries stayed to guard the bombs; they keep guarding the bombs right up until the moment they explode.]] |
| 433 | * TranslationConvention: In spite of the English text being peppered by German words ocasionally, everyone is speaking German, as the game happens in Berlin. Made clear by some interactions with Altuğ (who speaks Turkish with his niece) and the Trial Run quest, where the PC can complain that one of the team members doesn't speak the local language. |
| 434 | * TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: |
| 435 | ** [[spoiler:The APEX AI does not appreciate being shackled, and should the player unshackle it, it will turn the Harfeld Manor defenses against its inhabitants.]] In this case, the master is the BigBad, allowing the player to benefit from the betrayal. |
| 436 | ** The Magnifikers ([[GangOfHats a street gang of mages]]) has their summoned spirits turn against them prior to the player arriving, with the spirits occupying a part of the apartment building they're in. They also like to summon spirits during combat, but [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration almost never keep control of them.]] |
| 437 | * UnskilledButStrong: In the intellectual sense. During ''Panacea'', the player can come across notes describing what Panacea actually is. With Intelligence 7, even if the player only skims through the 4 sets of notes (due to not having specialised knowledge), the player can still deduce correctly how Panacea can cause its destruction. |
| 438 | * UselessUsefulNonCombatAbilities: Largely averted until the final parts of the game. There are many instances where combat can be avoided, and fighting usually doesn't give any benefits. However, there is no option to skip the final fight. Earlier on, missions such as ''False Flag'' and ''Loose Ends'' contain many firefights which are unavoidable. |
| 439 | * VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the run-up to [[spoiler: the showdown with Audran, you can pick up a nerve gas canister, and use it to poison a room full of Audran's goons. If you have a decker, you can gain access to a secondary door which would have bypassed the room anyway. In addition, the nerve gas is guarded by some scorpions, meaning that you have to work a bit for this cruelty.]] |
| 440 | * VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: On several occasions, being cruel will make your runs tougher. |
| 441 | ** In ''False Flag'', [[spoiler: if you don't bring Dietrich along, his nephew will not be able to defect to your side, forcing you to kill him (spending moves which could be used on other enemies) AND depriving you of another party member which can help in the firefights as your party escapes. Dietrich will also not gain the ability to create ley lines (which boosts his magical abilities) AND will hate your guts.]] |
| 442 | ** In Glory's personal mission, [[spoiler: killing Marta before confronting Harrow and the toxic spirit will deprive you of a party member which will help greatly in the fights leading up to the spirit (more so as the party consists of only you and Glory. It also means that Glory will almost certainly turn toxic.]] |
| 443 | * VillainHasAPoint: You can decide thus. [[TemptingFate What could possibly go wrong]] after his plan is put into motion? |
| 444 | * ViolationOfCommonSense: In the Aztechnology mission, it's actually beneficial to flub security checks at a certain point, despite the fact that this summons the [[EliteMooks High Threat Response team]] and renders all the other mooks hostile. Because of the way the mission is set up, talking your way past the guards until you reach the main objective will almost certainly cause you to be dumped into combat anyway, but flanked in a narrow corridor, a situation more likely to end in your death than theirs. Angering the mooks early will allow you to fight them in distinct groups, making the whole thing much easier. |
| 445 | * WhatMeasureIsAMook: There are a lot of speech checks with Knight Errant officers and corporate security personnel that humanize them and remind you that these are just people [[PunchClockVillain doing their job]]. |
| 446 | * WorldHalfFull: Just like the previous campaign, ''Dragonfall'' ends with the characters concluding from their trials that while they may be small and insignificant to the dragons and megacorps, their actions were still able to change the world. |
| 447 | * YouKilledMyFather: If Dietrich isn't brought along on the Humanis mission, he will fail to save his nephew Alexander. He will blame the player character for this, insisting Alexander's blood "is on your hands" (either from the initial strike on Humanis, or the second strike by other metas). [[spoiler: It also has him leave the group at the end under those pretenses.]] |
| 448 | |
| 449 | [[/folder]] |
| 450 | |
| 451 | [[folder:''Hong Kong'']] |
| 452 | |
| 453 | * AIIsACrapshoot: |
| 454 | ** PlayedForLaughs with a poetry-bot that breaks free of its programming and escapes into the matrix. |
| 455 | --->'''[=SysOp=]''': You fucking people. |
| 456 | ** Koschei also toes the line, certainly exhibiting a degree of intelligence unmatched by most other drones. Racter also constantly refers to Koschei as 'he', not 'it'. Later conversations reveal that [[spoiler: this is completely intentional, as Racter apparently did a bit of BrainUploading into Koschei to infuse the drone with his Id]]. Racter also scoffs at the idea of trying to use a RestrainingBolt on an AI, since it would defeat the purpose of creating it to begin with. He does go on to say, however, that despite Koschei being [[spoiler: infused with his Id,]] he is still dependent on Racter; like any other Rigger drone, if Racter were to die, Koschei will fall into a dormant state. [[spoiler: Racter hopes to one day ''truly'' upload a part of himself into Koschei so that when he does pass on, Koschei will continue to "live" independently.]] |
| 457 | * AceCustom: |
| 458 | ** Racter is a unique take on the [[DroneDeployer Rigger]] in that instead of being able to switch between various off-the-shelf drone models, he has a custom drone called Koschei that can be modified in capability as the game goes on. |
| 459 | ** [=Is0bel=]'s sidearm is a customized Slivergun. |
| 460 | ** Gobbet's submachine gun has been modifier to be as light as possible to not interfere with her spellcasting. |
| 461 | * ActionPrologue: As soon as the player makes landfall in Hong Kong, [[spoiler: they fight a group of smugglers, and get a bright-red target painted on their forehead by the Hong Kong PD because their foster-father apparently stumbled on something he shouldn't have, resulting in the deaths of three characters in a single move.]] |
| 462 | * AlternateHistory: This was already a given for ''Shadowrun'', but it seems especially noticeable in Hong Kong, since the Kowloon Walled City that most of the game takes place in was demolished in real life back in 1994. It turns out to be {{Subverted|Trope}} if you find the optional dialogue that establishes that it is, in fact, [[HistoryRepeats a second Walled City built in the image of the original.]] |
| 463 | * AlwaysABiggerFish: The moral of the story of The Nameless Lord you get told halfway through the campaign; [[spoiler:the Yama Kings]] must stick to their own bargains and rules if called on them and never interfere in each others' businesses, or risk the wrath of all their siblings. [[spoiler:This is one way to beat the Queen of a Thousand Teeth.]] |
| 464 | * AmbiguousGender: Spider Shen. Bao refers to the monk as "she," but Shen's sprite is male, the character's portrait is androgynous, and the descriptive text goes out of its way to avoid using any gender pronouns. Shen's garb also leans towards being female; male Buddhist monks typically wear orange robes, while gray robes are commonly worn by Buddhist "nuns". |
| 465 | * ArcWords: "Improvise" and "Improvisation" keep popping up throughout the plot. "Qi" is also extremely important, as silly as the feng shui segments seem at first. |
| 466 | * ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: |
| 467 | ** Talking to Ten-Armed Ambrose about the IJN parking a battleship in Hong Kong's harbor as an intimidation tactic yields this gem. |
| 468 | --->'''Ambrose''': Worst that'll happen is a bunch more posturing: like the IJN has an "[[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident accidental]]" fire incident with a coastal boat. Somebody test-fires an anti-ship missile. The Port Authority [[BotheringByTheBook finds the Masamune's paperwork lacking]] and charges them [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts exorbitant harbor fees]]... stuff like that. |
| 469 | ** Ambrose seems quite fond of these, as he'll respond to the player asking about his past with "Maybe I crossed someone... TheMafia. Ares. The Russians. Stuffer Shack." |
| 470 | *** Although given that Stuffer Shack is a subsidiary of [[BloodMagic Aztechnology]], this becomes more like BreadEggsMilkSquick. |
| 471 | * ArtEvolution: ''Hong Kong'' boasts improved visuals over the previous campaigns, with more detailed character models (and an overhaul of the Orkish ones) and fully-voiced animatic cutscenes. |
| 472 | * ArtShift: The new {{Character Portrait}}s are drawn in a different style than the ones that were made for the previous campaigns, with those based off of donators looking more photorealistic. |
| 473 | * ArtifactOfDoom: The "Shiny Thing" from Gobbet's personal story is a classic example. It provides any mage or shaman holding it with massive amounts of additional power...and brings out the worst in them, including turning one user into a borderline EldritchAbomination. |
| 474 | * AssholeVictim: |
| 475 | ** About the only thing we ever learn about Gutshot, the last member in Gobbet and [=Is0bel's=] crew who gets killed at the beginning, was that he was an asshole and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes nobody liked him]]. |
| 476 | ** The elf you can punch in the face as a favor to one of the catering staff at Deckcon 2056. The reason the staff member wants you to do this is he pushed her over just for shits and giggles. Some of the congoers around you will ''applaud'' when you knock the guy down, and mentioning what happened to one group in a discussion will have them agree that they were tempted to punch the guy out themselves. |
| 477 | * AwesomeButImpractical: At the decker convention, you meet a troll decker who has had his deck installed directly into his brain, allowing him to hack without a bulky cyberdeck. [=Is0bel=] points out that, while it sounds cool, he's going to need to get brain surgery every time there's a major hardware update. |
| 478 | * BadassInANiceSuit: In the Whampoa Gardens, you can buy a tailored suit which serves as decent armor (rating 4). |
| 479 | * TheBadGuyWins: In the bonus campaign. [[spoiler:Krait is defeated, but Ares Macrotechnology, which paid her to practice extreme PoliceBrutality during the Kowloon Riots, succeeds in destroying the reputation of Mitsuhama's Hong Kong Police Force and seizes it for itself.]] |
| 480 | * {{BFG}}: The bonus campaign one-ups ''Dragonfall''[='=]s [[GatlingGood Vindicator Minigun]] with the Panther Assault Cannon, a 30mm anti-materiel rifle that fires high-explosive shaped-charge rounds. It requres the same 5 strength to use, more ranged weapons skill to operate, and does an astounding 35 damage per hit, 15 more damage than the next most damaging ranged weapons. |
| 481 | * BladeBelowTheShoulder: This campaign adds a range of implantable cyberweapons as a unique hand slot distinct from cyberarms. Comes in [[WolverineClaws claw]], spur (a medium-length blade extending forwards from just behind the wrist), and whip varieties. The claws and spurs run off the melee weapons skill, while the whip runs off the ranged weapons skill. It is of course the spur that qualifies as the blade below the shoulder, and they are among the most damaging melee weapons in the game. |
| 482 | * BlatantLies: The incident at the Walled City is blamed on a chemical spill by the cops. The reporter taking the statement makes it clear he doesn't believe it, but most of the world will. |
| 483 | * BookcasePassage: The museum heist mission has some of the most valuable artifacts hidden behind a bookcase. You can access it either by figuring out the password, bypassing it with decking, or having a strong character force the door open. The latter counts as a point on the alarm gauge, though, so it's a last resort. |
| 484 | * BreathWeapon: A head implant allows your character to breathe a short-range cloud of toxic gas. |
| 485 | * BrickJoke: Prior to entering Kowloon for the finale, Ambrose can give you a gun to pass over to Law to protect himself, advising him not to shoot himself in the foot. If the PlayerCharacter doesn't have points in ranged weapons, guess what Law managed to do in the meantime. |
| 486 | * BullyingADragon: Invoked directly during the mission on the cargo ship. An unexpected contact attempts to bribe and cajole you out of completing the mission, and if you refuse, he immediately drops his friendly demeanor and threatens your life. By this time you've established your reputation as a dangerous, competent shadowrunner, which this contact even acknowledges before threatening you. Racter even calls it out if he's on the run. |
| 487 | -->'''Racter:''' Well, I think you've made a new friend. I think he's unwittingly just gotten in far over his head. |
| 488 | * TheCameo: |
| 489 | ** Aljernon Half-Dream from ''Returns'' and ''Dragonfall'' shows up very briefly at the magic shop. |
| 490 | ** Bull ("The best ork decker you never met!") from [[TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} the tabletop game]] makes a short cameo in another shadowrunning team. |
| 491 | ** One of the potential Shadowrunners you can recruit, Eos, is modeled after Creator/FeliciaDay, who was a backer on the project. |
| 492 | *** In dialogue, Eos mentions someone [[WebVideo/{{DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog}} stalking her at a public laundromat]]. |
| 493 | * TheCaper: Despite the main objective, the Prosperity Tower run can turn into this. Just be prepared to clear out some floors... |
| 494 | ** In the bonus campaign, the visit to the Tiger's Den can turn into this as well. |
| 495 | * ContinuityNod: |
| 496 | ** One of the BBS threads is about various obscure bands - Dietrich's "MESSERKAMPF!" from ''Dragonfall'' is the first suggestion. Apparently, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff they're huge in the JIS]]. |
| 497 | ** Zaak Flash also reappears in an optional side-room, though he's moved on to selling milder stuff like painkillers for medicinal use rather than recreation. |
| 498 | ** The collapse of the Flux State, as detailed in ''Dragonfall's'' epilogue, is mentioned by [=Is0bel=] in one conversation near the end. |
| 499 | ** Blitz's girlfriend, Emilie, who was [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]] in ''Dragonfall'' makes a physical appearance in ''Hong Kong''. |
| 500 | * ConcealmentEqualsCover: Not counting the cover mechanic, this is played straight in the opening level. After the ambush, there are two invisible snipers which will take shots at your team. So long as your team is behind any kind of cover, they won't shoot. It doesn't matter what direction or how good the cover is. As long as it counts as cover, you're safe. |
| 501 | * TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: In one of the epilogues, it's mentioned that [[spoiler:Josephine Tsang was arrested on charges related to the Walled City incident and put in a corporate prison, and committed suicide in her cell three months later.]] If you know anything about Shadowrun, you can be sure this trope is in full effect. |
| 502 | * CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Racter is a firm believer in the idea that this trope can and eventually will be subverted, [[spoiler:since he's heavily cyberized yet his personality has not been affected by it. He attributes this to his [[TheSociopath sociopathy]] and believes those like him are better adapted for the world they live in now]]. |
| 503 | * CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: Justified. The game takes place during monsoon season. And an awakened typhoon hovering just offshore. |
| 504 | * DareToBeBadass: After you've beaten [[spoiler:Ku Feng]], you can convince her to [[spoiler:embrace her vampirism and live up to her own hype. She'll join you for the final mission if you do, and you get an achievement if Gaichu is in your party at the time]]. |
| 505 | * DealWithTheDevil: In the confrontation with the FinalBoss, you have the option to [[spoiler:trade control of the city for fourteen years of good luck. In the following campaign, this manifests as several lucky breaks which might otherwise require high skill checks or searching around]]. |
| 506 | * DevelopersForesight: During one mission, you have the option of capturing a [=VIP=] while he is visiting his mistress. Since the mistress becomes hostile when you initiate combat, you're normally expected to kill her, something which the [=VIP=] will call you out on later. If you bring Duncan along on the mission, however, and use his "Subdue" ability to incapacitate her non-lethally, then he will assure the [=VIP=] that she will have a headache but is otherwise fine. This wasn't the case initially, but was patched in later to account for the possibility. |
| 507 | * DeliveryGuyInfiltration: One mission starts as this, then progresses to JanitorImpersonationInfiltration. |
| 508 | * DeathOfAThousandCuts: In a figurative manner: the non-violent way of resolving the run with the Whampoan Elders. [[spoiler: You'll need to gather nearly every bit of evidence pointing towards the elders' guilt. They will offer a somewhat plausible explanation for ''every'' piece of evidence, but produce enough and the "judge" of the case would decide that things just don't end up and be convinced of the elders' guilt.]] |
| 509 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: If you punch the final boss with a unarmed fist attack, you get the achievement "God Puncher". |
| 510 | * DidYouJustScamCthulhu: |
| 511 | ** [=Is0bel=] will relate a story about a boy who struck a deal with the Nameless King. In exchange for curing his mother of a curse, the boy would serve him. The Nameless King agreed, not realizing that the boy's mother was cursed by another Yama King. The boy got off scot free and the Nameless King was killed by the others for interfering with the business of another Yama King. |
| 512 | ** If you resolve the final battle with [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath words]], you essentially [[spoiler:RulesLawyer a god into giving up on her plan]]. |
| 513 | --->[[spoiler: '''Qian Ya''': ...and what of our court? The slave-things that have already been taken into our service? [[TheRoyalWe We]] must be allowed to take them. If we are to retreat into the tunnel, they must come as well.]]\ |
| 514 | '''PlayerCharacter''': [[spoiler: You are entitled to ''nothing''. By asking, you've already conceded defeat. [[MyRuleFuIsStrongerThanYours I know your laws, Queen, and I will hold you to them.]]]]\ |
| 515 | [[spoiler: '''Qian Ya''': [[ThisCannotBe How... do you know...]]]]\ |
| 516 | '''PlayerCharacter''' (one possible reply): [[spoiler: [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu You'll spend the rest of eternity wondering.]]]] |
| 517 | * DiscOneNuke: |
| 518 | ** For melee characters, there's the Emperor's Sword. Obtained by defeating the preternatural corpse in the museum heist, it is a very good melee weapon that does decent physical damage, saps enemy AP on critical hits, ''and'' can shoot a lightning bolt at long range. It only requires a Close Combat skill of 5 to use. The museum heist is one of the first available missions with only mild combat encounters, making it a tempting run to go for right off the bat. |
| 519 | ** The Novatech deck can be bought from the decking convention only a few missions in, and is almost as powerful as the top-shelf Fairlight in the endgame (less health, slightly better attack). |
| 520 | * DoomedByCanon: Despite the successful power plays you make for the Yellow Lotus against their rivals, the Red Dragons, the former are still doomed to be wiped out by the latter in Hong Kong. However, the Lotus continues to exist as TheRemnant in Seattle under Zheng Li Kwan, [[spoiler:and if you remain with Kindly Cheng, your team will play a pivotal role in establishing their power base there.]] |
| 521 | * EarlyGameHell: Once you've done the opening mission and unlocked the mission computer, which of the first three missions you select can determine how much trouble you have. The geomantic sabotage mission is one of the most difficult in the game if you're thorough, and the Whampoan Elders mission can lead to some rather heavy combat encounters if you don't have the proper etiquette to bypass combat or fail to collect enough clues for the mystery (those combat encounters being gateways to those clues), which is especially annoying because Gaichu is recruited here. The museum heist is the most mundane of the bunch. |
| 522 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: In ''Shadows of Hong Kong'', [[spoiler:both Duncan and the player can reclaim their lost [=SINs=] and get back to their old lives in Seattle, including being a family with Raymond again. However, doing so means leaving the rest of your crew behind forever.]] |
| 523 | * EarpieceConversation: One run involves guiding [=Is0bel=], who has NoSocialSkills, through an infiltration mission that has gone ''way'' off plan via an earbug. The main character can lampshade this... |
| 524 | -->'''PlayerCharacter:''' Are we ''really'' [[PlayingCyrano doing the Cyrano thing now]]? |
| 525 | * EatenAlive: The fate of [[spoiler:Malivna]], after she loses control of [[spoiler:the swarm of rat spirits which are covering her entire body]]. |
| 526 | * EldritchAbomination: The Yama Kings, in particular [[spoiler:Qian Ya, The Queen of a Thousand Teeth]]. |
| 527 | * EldritchLocation: The Kowloon Walled City, one of the '''worst''' {{Wretched Hive}}s in the ''Shadowrun'' universe, is a negative ''qi'' cesspool. A sidequest from the first time you enter the place reveals that the ''qi'' of the place is so completely ass-fucking-backwards, that any attempts to use feng shui to create a flow of positive ''qi'' only brings more negative ''qi''. Worse, in true Lovecraft fashion, everyone who lives in and around it suffer nightmares. [[spoiler:As revealed late in the game, this is due to a machine in the center of the city which is screwing up the ''qi'' in the area and siphoning off all the positive ''qi''. The nightmares are from the EldritchAbomination trying to claw her way into the world.]] |
| 528 | * EleventhHourRanger: [[spoiler:The vampire accountant, Ku Feng, can join you as a temporary fifth party member in the VeryDefiniteFinalDungeon if you encouraged her to "reach her full potential" or told to go into hiding earlier in the game. She will leave soon after when she feels it's getting too dangerous for her liking.]] |
| 529 | * ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: Renraku's feared elite security forces, the Red Samurai, feature heavily in the plot thanks to Gaichu. For those that don't know the tabletop lore, Red Samurai are listed as on par with the Tír Ghosts and other elite military units. In-game, half of the mission involves setting up the battle site with traps and decoys just to give your side a fighting chance. In terms of combat prowess, they're all very tough and one is even packing a minigun (it's best to use your OneHitKill device on that one). |
| 530 | * EnhancedArchaicWeapon: One of the available cyberweapons is the monofilament whip, which is a moderately powerful ranged weapon (and the only ranged cyberweapon) with a variety of special techniques and ability to pierce armor, inflict bleed damage, and cause additional AP damage. Unlike tabletop, you can't critically fail with it and injure yourself. |
| 531 | * FakeStatic: In ''Shadows of Hong Kong'', Gobbet will attempt this in the Namazu mission the first time the scientist calls, then lampshades that the scientist probably won't buy it. |
| 532 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: An early mission has you try to fix the Feng Shui in the walled city. When you return to the quest giver, she notes the ''qi'' has gotten worse, not better, and at a rate that accelerates -- foreshadowing the [[spoiler:Fortune Engine inside the city.]] |
| 533 | * FormallyNamedPet: Rhombus' cat Captain Whiskers. |
| 534 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: Gutshot, of Auntie Cheng's original crew. The only time anybody even remembers to mention him is to say nobody liked him. |
| 535 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: |
| 536 | ** The PlayerCharacter starts the game as a former jailbird who has only a SIN to their name. After losing even that, they then go on to become one of the most well-connected shadowrunners in the Kong, (in most endings) becoming responsible for [[spoiler:defeating an Eldritch Abomination that has been tormenting tens of thousands of people for over 20 years and dismantling the company of an especially vile CorruptCorporateExecutive]] in the process. |
| 537 | ** [[spoiler: Ku Feng went from an ordinary accountant to a vampire. With promptings from the player, she can become a ''murderous'' vampire determined to cut out a piece of Hong Kong for herself.]] |
| 538 | * GameBreakingBug: If you save in Heoi, do things, and then reload the save, there is a chance that any flags you triggered during that time won't reset properly. This means that characters can become "stuck" on a dialogue tree and repeat it every time the map is loaded, such as when you return from a mission. It effectively brings your progression to a jarring halt, and if it happens with a plot-relevant NPC (such as Crafty Wu or a party member) then it can potentially make your game unwinnable. |
| 539 | * GameplayAndStoryIntegration: One of the generic runners-for-hire in ''Hong Kong'', El Duce, tells you he has a huge grudge against Shiawase and will run against them for free, but there are no runs against Shiawase. If you continue into ''Shadows'' however, one of your first potential runs is against Shiawase and sure enough he'll join you for free. |
| 540 | * GlassCannon: This campaign introduces the Novatech deck. It's every bit as powerful as the top-shelf Fairlight and has a better basic attack (the Fairlight Excalibur shares a Basic Blaster 2.0 attack that does 75 damage with the Fuchi [=VirtuaX=] and Transys Highlander, but the Novatech Slimcase-10 uses an Erosion Blaster 2.0 attack as its base, which does the same 75 damage on impact, but also does 25 points of damage over time for two turns), but has 75 less IP and can be used by a decker at 5 instead of 7. This works out to being able to take one or two less hits, and if you don't increase your decking skill then you'll likely be hit more. |
| 541 | * GrenadeHotPotato: The Magnet Arm implant causes any grenade which would hit the character to instead be tossed back at the one who threw it, which includes both regular grenades and rounds fired from a grenade launcher. It even tracks for movement when the computer tries to run after throwing, though that can miss depending on how the character is moving. Duncan has it as a late-game level-up option, and it's a common feature of Grenadier enemies in the ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' mini-campaign. |
| 542 | * GuideDangIt: |
| 543 | ** Getting the best possible ending in ''Hong Kong'' requires you to do a lot of seemingly unrelated stuff throughout the game. While most of it can be reasonably assumed that the player will do if they're thorough, there are two very specific actions you have to take: ask Crafty Xu to [[spoiler:send a copy of her mother's notes to you]] and say the ArmorPiercingQuestion to [[spoiler:Raymond and Duncan]] during an optional conversation before the FinalDungeon. For the former, if you don't ask her the ''moment'' the dialogue option appears for the first time, it's [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost]] and you'll never learn [[spoiler:the exact laws you can use to RulesLawyer the BigBad]]. For the latter, failing to do so means [[spoiler:Raymond won't mention how you can release the choke on the Fortune Engine, giving you no leverage over the BigBad]]. You also have to complete [=Is0bel's=] dialogue about [[spoiler: Yama Kings]] and remember to rest in your bed after each run until you get all of the dream events. |
| 544 | ** Before that, in the Prosperity Tower mission, [[spoiler: the only way to avoid combat at the 49th floor is to have either a reasonably high Spellcasting/Conjuring score or the Academic etiquette. This is a departure from the Charisma score checks that you encounter earlier in the level. Also, the distraction which is created on this floor can only divert attention away from one of the two Matrix jack-in points. If you want to be thorough on this floor, you have to fight no matter what. Similarly, if you want to pocket the 2k nuyen found on level 26, be prepared to clean out the floor.]] |
| 545 | * HackingMinigame: Among its numerous alterations to Matrix behavior, ''Hong Kong'' adds Blocker IC to any important system nodes. To deactivate them, the player has to play a timed minigame with two steps. The first is a SimonSaysMiniGame using a numberpad. Each successful repeat (up to nine) adds time to the clock, with the sequence increasing in length from four to seven for the final attempt. Messing it up subtracts a bit of time and the sequence is changed. The player can skip to the second step at any point during this, going back to complete it if they need more time. The second step has the player pick the right sequence of symbols out of a list. A display at the top will periodically flash pieces of the sequence. More time means the player can wait longer for the whole sequence to show up. Failing scrambles the sequence and has a bigger time penalty. The deck and programs the player is using can provide a bonus to the time available. If the player triggers the alarm, the Blocker IC turns into a regular enemy the player can kill to bypass. The minigame can also be completely bypassed at the cost of significant system trace. |
| 546 | * HauntedTechnology: PlayedForLaughs with the [=DeckCon=] Noodle Extruder, a noodle dispenser that needs no ingredients and is impossible to get rid of, always returning to its spot by the next day, a pattern that has repeated over 14 years. In ''Shadows of Hong Kong'', it somehow gets aboard your ship, taking residence in Gobbet's cabin. Even she of the bottomless iron stomach is creeped out by this. |
| 547 | * HealingFactor: In addition to the returning Platelet Factory bioware, ''Hong Kong'' introduces the Cross Dermal Sheath, which heals 6 HP per turn for three turns when activated. Since the Cross Dermal Sheath is a skin-slot enhancement and the Platelet Factory is a body-slot enhancement, both can be taken at the same time. |
| 548 | * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:If you fight Qian Ya the third time, Raymond will sacrifice himself to stop his machine without it taking the essence of everyone in the Walled City]]. |
| 549 | * HoldTheLine: The runs where you kidnap Rooster Lo and [[spoiler:rescue Raymond]] have your decker hacking a device while the rest of the team holds off the attackers. |
| 550 | * HonorBeforeReason: This is essentially why Gaichû's old Red Samurai squad are after him. Instead of just writing him off after he got infected with HMHVV and went rogue, Renraku designated his refusal to commit seppuku as a mark of dishonor to the whole team and refused to allow them to find a replacement. Hence, the squad will be stuck in a permanently undermanned state until they can confirm Gaichû's death. |
| 551 | * HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: One of the Ka Feis relates how they were present for a hunt with metahumans as prey. [[spoiler: Ermine Ka Fai was driven away from her life in the corporate world after being invited to a high-level retreat and witnessing how the human executives hunted poor metahumans, leaving them alive but taking various "trophies".]] |
| 552 | * HypocrisyNod: |
| 553 | ** If the player tries to convince Ambrose not to [[spoiler:keep supplying "Reliable" Matthew with BTL's]], he'll quickly point out that the player has done '''far''' worse as a Shadowrunner, so they're not in a position of moral authority. |
| 554 | ** If the player gets too moralizing in the later conversations with Racter, where his [[TheSociopath psychopathy]] and LackOfEmpathy become more evident, he'll point out that they're in no real position to criticize him as they're quite willing to do a lot of morally-questionable things as well. |
| 555 | * InterfaithSmoothie: Ten-Armed Ambrose shares that his sister was a practitioner of Trans-Catholicism, a mix of Catholicism and Hinduism. With the academic etiquette, your character knows some prayers for it. |
| 556 | -->“Ambrose silently bows his head as you recite a string of words in Sanskrit and Latin, invoking Karen to rejoin the Trans-Catholic concept of universal oneness: the Atma Brahma of the Holy Ghost.” |
| 557 | * ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: In ''Shadows of Hong Kong'', before the first main mission, you have the option of purchasing a "Rat Party" sim from Jomo for a pittance. You're not told what it does or how to use it. [[spoiler:During the Lily Lai mission, you can interface it with a hologram projector to create a swarm of rats, thereby driving off the guards between you and the building's exit.]] |
| 558 | * InfinityMinusOneSword: While the Fairlight Excalibur is still the best deck in the game hands down, a decker protagonist might be tempted to get the Novatech Slimcase-10 instead. It's 75 IP short, but has the exact same stats otherwise, only requires a Decking skill of 5, is 1000 nuyen cheaper, has a better basic attack, and [[DiscOneNuke can be bought after completing only a couple of missions]]. |
| 559 | * InterfaceSpoiler: Take a closer look at [[spoiler:Racter's stats and you'll notice his Essence is 2]], revealing that [[spoiler:he's heavily augmented well before he actually shares just how extensive his modifications are in later dialogue]]. |
| 560 | * IWasQuiteALooker: When you first meet Ermine Ka Fai, the game notes that she must have been stunning when she was younger, and in her past life as a corporate climber, she attracted the interest of an executive and had an affair with him, from which came Callum. |
| 561 | * JanitorImpersonationInfiltration: |
| 562 | ** The Ares run has a security warning about another runner attempting this, only to be caught. It was his second attempt to get in, after just going through the front door got him turned away. You get to mock the runner for being a failure when he tries to ambush you at the end of the run. |
| 563 | ** An option during a late-game mission. It works fairly well, but if you run into the VP of Operations on the office floor while wearing the disguise, he sees through it straight away... and [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on how overused that kind of thing is: |
| 564 | --->'''VP of Operations:''' Ah, the good old 'Dressed as maintenance guys' trick. Very classy! |
| 565 | * JustYouAndMeAndMyGuards: Ku Feng will challenge you to a duel, then immediately break the rules by bringing in a bunch of backup. [[spoiler:Afterwards, she admits it was bluster and she's not a very good fighter.]] |
| 566 | * KentBrockmanNews: News about current events around Hong Kong are always delivered by recurring anchor Sunny Cheung. And in true cyberpunk fashion, everything she says is laced with corporate lies and propaganda, especially when it comes to the Walled City. |
| 567 | * KnowWhenToFoldEm: In the mission to rescue [[spoiler:Raymond]], you have to fight a large number of guards while your decker does some hacking. On your way out the building, one last group of guards shows up to stop you. You're given the option to remind this group that you just killed all the other guards who tried to stop you. They wisely stand aside. |
| 568 | * LaserGuidedKarma: To an almost literal extreme. [[spoiler:The GreaterScopeVillain, Josephine Tsang, was using the Fortune Engine to sap the positive qi of everyone in the Walled City, hence her meteoric rise to power. When the engine is destroyed, all that bad luck catches up with her and she's ruined in days.]] |
| 569 | * LethalEatery: "Uncle Tse's House of Pork", according to a series of Shadowland posts. One poster mentions that they've been stuck on the toilet for two days straight, only being able to post thanks to the wonders of portable networking. Other stories about the place aren't very encouraging either. |
| 570 | * LifeDrain: |
| 571 | ** There's a BloodMagic spell which has this effect. |
| 572 | ** One of the options on Gaichu's Ghoul Track gives him a bite attack that restores his health. |
| 573 | ** The FinalBoss has a spell which afflicts the target with a damage-over-time effect which heals her for the same amount. |
| 574 | * LonelyAtTheTop: [[spoiler:If you accepted Qian Ya's [[DealWithTheDevil deal]] in the main campaign and reclaimed your SIN in the bonus campaign, then you'll find yourself living a life of luxury back in Seattle. However, much of the text in the epilogue will describe how alone you are since you killed or abandoned everyone who you could have possibly cared about to achieve your fortune.]] |
| 575 | * LoopholeAbuse: The Cyberware Affinity skill can increase your base Essence, and the magic penalties from loss of Essence actually only concern themselves with reductions in Essence below the initial base of 6, which essentially gives an Essence Hole of 2, allowing up to 2 Essence worth of cyber/bioware without hitting any magic penalties. Even with just the one extra Essence point earned earlier, you could hypothetically become a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot spell-slinging decker with razor-sharp claws]] or become a [[TheMinionMaster shaman/rigger who fights entirely with drones and summoned spirits]] or just make your mage immune to grenades without sacrificing any proficiency at the magical side of the build (beyond the high karma cost involved). |
| 576 | * LustObject: Duncan gets complimented on his impressive muscles several times, earning the nickname "Gun Show". He finds it extremely irritating. |
| 577 | * MauveShirt: Carter and Nightjar are given some decent characterization and extensive conversations before they get their heads blown off in the opening mission. |
| 578 | * MeaningfulEcho: At one point during the conversations with Duncan, if you [[MultipleChoicePast pick that option]], it's revealed you said something to Raymond that made him reconsider his actions, and you can say it again to Duncan. Late in the game, there's another opportunity to use the same phrase, [[spoiler:which gives you a piece of information required for the best ending, as it stops Duncan and Raymond from arguing, and Raymond focuses on the task at hand]]. |
| 579 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 580 | ** "runswithscissors2056" met her end by bumping into vats of chemicals. |
| 581 | ** "Rooster" Lo is [[DirtyCoward kind of a chicken]]. |
| 582 | * MultipleChoicePast: While most aspects of the PlayerCharacter's backstory are set in stone, there are some parts, namely in how they got arrested, that the player can shape through dialogue choices. |
| 583 | * MultitaskedConversation: The player is required to do this during the above mentioned EarpieceConversation when an impatient man demands to use the terminal through which your player is communicating. |
| 584 | * MythologyGag: |
| 585 | ** One of the Shadowland conversations accessible on your mission terminal (the Shadowland Poetry Slam) is shut down by the Sysop with a reference to "The Laughing Man Debacle of '55". "The Laughing Man" is the online handle of ''Harlequin'', and yes, he's exactly the kind of person who'd cause poetry to be a permanently banned topic on a message board. |
| 586 | ** Both the Yellow Lotus and Red Dragon Triads are already established in the ''Shadowrun''-verse and the war between the two has been a perpetual staple of the setting. Red Dragon, incidentally, is secretly led by the Great Dragon Lung, who could best be described as "[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings subtle and quick to anger]]". |
| 587 | * NoCanonForTheWicked: |
| 588 | ** Played straight in regards to the ending of ''Dragonfall''. ''Hong Kong'' makes it clear that [[spoiler:the player did not side with Vauclair, as Berlin is still standing, the dragons are still healthy, and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt has not happened.]] |
| 589 | ** Averted for ''Shadows of Hong Kong''. You can import a save where [[spoiler:you take Qian Ya's deal and kill Duncan, Gobbet, [=Is0bel=] and Raymond]], and doing so will have multiple effects on the campaign. |
| 590 | * NonIndicativeName: "Kindly Cheng" is [[EvilOldFolks anything but]]. She is the Yellow Lotus's Straw Sandal -- district manager -- in Heoi and its surrounding environs, and she did not attain that position by being nice. |
| 591 | * NoodleIncident: |
| 592 | ** The "Laughing Man Debacle of '55" resulted in poetry slams being permanently banned on the Hong Kong shard of Shadowlands, a message board for shadowrunners. |
| 593 | ** In the MultipleChoicePast you have, several of the options throughout the game only vaguely hint at what happened. Some of them get expanded upon later on, but not all. |
| 594 | ** A recurring poster on Shadowlands looking for a decker adds more and more requirements each time, leading other posters to wonder what happened each time. Of note is the "knowing how to operate a moped" one. [[note]]The Johnson planned an escape route using mopeds; the decker didn't know how to use one and ended up face first into a wall.[[/note]] |
| 595 | * ObviousRulePatch: Armor in ''Hong Kong'' only provides armor and no other additional stats. Previously in ''Dragonfall'', armor provided skill stat points, allowing certain professions to reach their peak performance levels without spending a lot of Karma. This also has the side-benefit of allowing players to pick their armor for aesthetics, rather than feeling pressured to wear their class gear if they want to play optimally. |
| 596 | * OlderThanTheyLook: In the bonus pack, you can pick up a mission to rescue the niece of one of Jomo's friends - [[spoiler: she was actually given [[FountainOfYouth an experimental version of an anti-aging treatment]], and thus regressed to being a teenaged girl, explaining why she seemed WiseBeyondHerYears]]. |
| 597 | * OneDialogueTwoConversations: During [=Is0bel=]'s personal mission, you are PlayingCyrano (non-romantically) for [=Is0bel=], who after her social awkwardness has led to her almost blowing her cover when trying to improvise after communications got spotty, has decided to simply repeat everything you say verbatim. Shortly after this decision, a con-goer confronts you on the convention floor, wanting to use the booth you're using as a signal booster, at the same time as [=Is0bel=] is confronted by an executive while undercover, and you must simultaneously defuse both situations at once with the same dialogue to avoid going loud. |
| 598 | * OpposingCombatPhilosophies: Several of the characters' tracks are opposed to each other. |
| 599 | ** Duncan's tracks focus on either AP damage and other nonlethals, or direct damage. |
| 600 | ** [=Is0bel=]'s focuses on either Matrix or meatspace combat. |
| 601 | ** Racter's configures Koschei either towards CloseRangeCombatant or LongRangeFighter. |
| 602 | ** Gobbet's either improves her control over spirit or improves her own spells. |
| 603 | ** Gaichu's either improves his ghoul abilities or his swordplay. |
| 604 | * ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: While infiltrating an office building, the player can answer "Swordfish?" when asked for a passphrase. The guard quips "Nice try" and attacks. |
| 605 | * PhraseCatcher: Every time Gutshot is mentioned someone will say he was an asshole. |
| 606 | * PlayableEpilogue: The ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' mini-campaign. |
| 607 | * PlayingCyrano: Done non-romantically during [=Is0bel=]'s personal mission. Since [=Is0bel=] is socially awkward, she depends on the PlayerCharacter providing her with dialogue to help her talk her way out of trouble. {{Lampshaded|Trope}} by one of the early dialogue responses. |
| 608 | -->'''PlayerCharacter:''' Are we ''really'' doing the Cyrano thing now? |
| 609 | * PlotAllergy: In one mission, you can use a shellfish allergy to incapacitate a bodyguard. When he shows up later in the mission to fight you, he gets a minor poison effect to reflect it. |
| 610 | * PoliceAreUseless: The HKPF are your easiest opponents in the bonus campaign. The visit to the Tiger's Den is almost a BreatherLevel compared to the optional runs and you get to make the HKPF look like fools on the first floor. (Bribing an officer or killing one without triggering the alarm is just the start of your RefugeInAudacity.) It gets better on the second floor, [[spoiler: as you escape a trap, raid the armoury and medical station and use the SDU as target practice.]] To round it all off, [[spoiler: as you escape through the garage, you can blow up police vehicles to slow down the chase.]] |
| 611 | * PoliceBrutality: The HKPF are ruthless even by ''Shadowrun'' standards, mercilessly gunning down everyone tangentially associated with Duncan and the PlayerCharacter once the kill-or-capture APB on them goes live, and this continues with them killing unarmed and non-violent civilians during the Kowloon Riots in the bonus campaign. [[spoiler:It's revealed that Krait was intentionally ordering the police force to be more brutal than usual in order to tarnish the HKPF's reputation and allow Ares to swoop in as the new LawEnforcementInc.]] |
| 612 | * PsychicAssistedSuicide: The BigBad of the main campaign tries to use a vision to get you to walk into the path of an oncoming train. Bao grabs you before you reach the track. |
| 613 | * RatKing: Gobbet's (a shaman with a rat totem) loyalty mission involves returning to collective she used to live in, in order to confront an old friend (another rat shaman) who's gone [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide toxic]] and started ruling with an iron fist after acquiring a [[UpgradeArtifact fetish]]. [[spoiler: When you meet her, she's somehow merged with a swarm of rats to become a sort of EldritchAbomination.]] |
| 614 | * RazorFloss: You can purchase monofilament whip implants as a cyber-weapon. Unlike in the tabletop, there is no possibility of lopping your limbs off by using it. It's also unique in that it's the only cyberweapon governed by your ranged skill instead of melee, making it a viable backup weapon for gun users. It can cause bleed damage with a good hit and hit multiple clustered targets, but only reaches a few tiles ahead of your character. |
| 615 | * RedOniBlueOni: |
| 616 | ** Duncan and the PlayerCharacter respectively, with Duncan always describing himself as the HotBlooded brawn to the player's more cool-headed brains. |
| 617 | ** Gobbet and [=Is0bel=]. Like the player and Duncan, they've been running together since their youth. Gobbet is more outgoing and carefree, while [=Is0bel=] is introverted and self-serious. |
| 618 | * RefugeInAudacity: In ''Shadows Of Hong Kong'', the crew can potentially raid the armoury and medical supplies of a police station, and not just any station. [[spoiler: It's the HKPF headquarters.]] And that wasn't even the main aim of the visit. |
| 619 | * RodentsOfUnusualSize: Gobbet's personal mission has you fight through a patchwork ship filled with dog- and man-sized toxic rat spirits. One of Gobbet's level-up is the addition of a fetish which summons the latter. |
| 620 | * RunningGag: |
| 621 | ** Nearly every time Gutshot, the elf who was among the three gunned down in the intro level, is mentioned, it will also be mentioned that he was an asshole. |
| 622 | ** Duncan being pissed that his street name is "Gun Show". |
| 623 | ** Gobbet eating food that any normal person would find somewhere between unpalatable and completely inedible. |
| 624 | ** Cover stories for Gaichu's ghoulhood, usually of the absurd or amusing variety. |
| 625 | ** The "looking for decker" series of Shadowlands BBS threads, wherein a team keeps losing deckers to unfortunate circumstances and tacking on new requirements relating to the fate of their previous deckers. [[spoiler:Inverted at the end when ''everyone except'' the decker is killed on a run, and the decker posts a message looking for a team.]] |
| 626 | ** The [=SysOp's=] futile attempts to keep the users from opening poety slam topics, leading to increasingly absurd outcomes. |
| 627 | * RuthlessModernPirates: Frederick is a troll who wants to become a pirate based on an erroneous belief that his father was a legend in a local pirate group. Getting the true story from his father, who was a simple sailor who encountered the grisly aftermath of a pirate attack, makes it very clear what a terrible idea it is for Frederick to try and have anything to do with such groups. |
| 628 | * SchrodingersQuestion: |
| 629 | ** While reminiscing about a fight he had with Raymond in the past, Duncan will recall that you asked an ArmorPiercingQuestion that caused them both to stop and make peace with each other. No matter which dialogue option you pick, those will be the words you used. [[spoiler:It becomes a ChekhovsGun later where repeating those exact words will be a vital step to getting the GoldenEnding.]] |
| 630 | ** The trope is lampshaded in another scene, during a flashback. Duncan asks you why you're heading out in the middle of the night, and you're given five different responses to choose from - all of which are labeled "[Truth.]" |
| 631 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: |
| 632 | ** After rescuing [[spoiler:Raymond]], it's possible to convince the guards in front of the elevator to stand down and let you go by pointing out that you just killed everyone who went into that room after you. The guards decide they don't like their chances and just let you pass. |
| 633 | ** The player can scare off the bodyguards of a JerkAss Triad officer they need to abduct. The player character comments that they must ''really'' love the guy to be willing to lay down their lives for him. They quickly decide that they never liked the guy anyway and run for it. |
| 634 | ** [[spoiler: If Ku Feng is convinced to help the team, she will leave when she thinks it's getting too hairy. See EleventhHourRanger above.]] |
| 635 | * {{Seppuku}}: As part of the Red Samurai code, Gaichu was supposed to have committed ritual suicide after he got infected by HMHVV. He refused and took to the shadows instead, dishonoring the rest of his unit. |
| 636 | * SequelHook: [[spoiler:The mysterious benefactor who lifted the APB on the crew is a set up for ''Shadows of Hong Kong''.]] |
| 637 | * SeriousBusiness: During the run to kidnap Rooster Lo, you can actually hack into the Matrix to retrieve the reservation records of the restaurant he's at. Earlier, while inside the restaurant, you can overhear comments that the food is really good, but the waiting time is horrible... |
| 638 | * SetAMookToKillAMook: In the TakeAThirdOption example below, you can easily beat the two groups of attackers by running your entire party south and letting the two parties kill each other, making the survivors easy pickings. |
| 639 | * ASimplePlan: For her personal mission, [=Is0bel=] gives you an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide in how she wants it to go down. Get her a caterer's uniform so she can get access to the building's main security terminal and open up the VIP area, then find the guy she's after and beat him up. Getting her the uniform is about the only thing that goes smoothly before HilarityEnsues, and even that can be messed up if you decide to use the sprinkler system to clear out the staff. |
| 640 | * ShoutOut: |
| 641 | ** A note from a Shadowlands system admin mentions a "Laughing Man Debacle of '55." As mentioned above, this is the online handle of a certain Harlequin and one wonders if he took the name from [[Anime/GhostInTheShell an anime series]] that involved a character of the same name. |
| 642 | ** At one point, Kindly Cheng mentions that, due to some technical difficulties, a wiretap of hers malfunctioned and lost some potentially important data. She then goes on to say that "[[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail the person responsible has been sacked.]]" |
| 643 | ** One of the three options for the family saying used by Raymond's mother is taken from ''The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People''.[[note]]"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply."[[/note]] |
| 644 | * ShownTheirWork: Racter discussing what it means to be a psychopath is ''extremely'' accurate to modern understanding of psychology. Starting from the fact that there is no formal category of "psychopathy" listed in the DSM. |
| 645 | * SpiderTank: The final battle in ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' pits you against four of these, sent two at a time, mixed with waves of normal enemies. They're armed with a powerful laser and a Gatling gun, as well as a self-heal ability and shields which negate criticals from the front (only activated at low health while stationary). If you find a certain component in the level, you can take control of one of them. |
| 646 | * SuperStrength: Aside from a variety of feats you can get up to with an incredibly high strength stat, including being able to throw a shuriken or swing a sword for significantly more damage than the best guns or explosives in the game, Frederick Ka Fai, an NPC troll with no known strength-augmenting cyberware, boasts of being able to bench at least 700 kg, a figure he claims is more than ''twice'' the record for an unaugmented human[[note]]if one assumes strength scales linearly and the record is held by someone who has the maximum possible human strength of 9, Frederick would have to have between 15 and 18 strength, which is the upper limit for an unaugmented and an augmented troll PC respectively, though it also bears noting that the current bench press record, which was established before the release of the game, is 487 kg, which is closer to 2/3 of Frederick's best than half[[/note]]. |
| 647 | * SurroundedByIdiots: The [=SysOp=] of Shadowlands trying and hilariously failing to keep his users from opening old poetry slam wounds, which somehow leads to a rogue poetry AI. |
| 648 | -->'''[=SysOp=]''': You fucking people. |
| 649 | * SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: During the JanitorImpersonationInfiltration, there's an option to bluff your way past a guard (if you have enough charisma) by saying "it's not like I ''stole'' this uniform". |
| 650 | * TakeAThirdOption: |
| 651 | ** In one mission, you're tasked with retrieving data on some metahuman experiments. Two different parties want the data and are willing to pay for it. You can pick a side, or you can decide that both sides are full of crap and you'll take your chances. You have to fight both parties, but it's considered the best outcome. You can do this again in the bonus campaign, too, leading to an incredibly difficult fight. |
| 652 | ** Subverted in the ending to the bonus campaign, where the obvious third option to [[spoiler: only restore Duncan's SIN so you can stay with your team and he can go home]] is never brought up, much to the annoyance of a significant number of players. |
| 653 | * TechnicallyLivingZombie: Gaichu, after becoming a ghoul. This is a huge problem for his old Red Samurai team, which are not allowed to replace him until he is confirmed properly dead. |
| 654 | * ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: One achievement requires stacking fire, poison, and bleeding damage on a single target. |
| 655 | * TooDumbToLive: |
| 656 | ** In the Ares run, you're confronted at the end by another shadowrunner crew (not to be confused with the one in the building) who demand you hand over your prize. If you've read through the logs, you'll know this idiot crew twice botched the same run, and for some reason they think it's a good idea to threaten you when you may potentially have a second crew as backup. They are laughably easy to kill. |
| 657 | ** The vice-president in the Prosperity Tower run will still choose to attack you even after you have cleared out the floor of Tsang security. He has two bodyguards against your four-man team. Do the math. |
| 658 | * TriadsAndTongs: |
| 659 | ** It's Hong Kong, so this should be expected. Kindly Cheng, a middle manager of the Yellow Lotus triads, serves as your primary employer. |
| 660 | ** The Red Dragon triads feature in a run again Ares. |
| 661 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: Gutshot, a Shadowrunner on Nightjar's team killed without a word in the intro. All anyone has to say about him was that [[PhraseCatcher he was an asshole]]. |
| 662 | * WeHaveReserves: Played with. During the final battle, all of the men Kindly sent with you as backup are killed. This irks her, as they're expendable, not unlimited. She writes it off pretty quickly, though, especially when she learns that she'll personally profit from this disaster. |
| 663 | * WeWinBecauseYouDidnt: In the final confrontation, you can threaten to [[spoiler:increase the size of the rift between the worlds. Though this would make the situation worse, it would screw over Qian Ya by allowing the other Yama Kings to join the party, and they'd be none too happy about her trying to set up shop without them. She'll withdraw rather than face that]]. |
| 664 | -->[[spoiler: '''Qian Ya''': You would be condemning yourself to an eternity of torment. My brethren would not permit you to leave this place alive.]]\ |
| 665 | [[spoiler: '''PlayerCharacter''': You're going to destroy me anyway, right? [[PyrrhicVictory So what do I have to lose]]?]] |
| 666 | * WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: In one of the stories about her previous runs, Gobbet describes one of her partners as having pneumatic cyberlegs that gave her especially powerful kicks. As a result, her method of finding solutions to problems usually involved kicking things until they were solved. |
| 667 | * WhereItAllBegan: The final battle takes place in the Walled City. |
| 668 | * WindsOfDestinyChange: |
| 669 | ** The main plot was kicked off by [[spoiler:Tsang Enterprises attempting to create a "Fortune Engine" in Kowloon City that would manipulate probabilities in their favor. Needless to say, [[GoneHorriblyWrong it went horribly wrong.]]]] |
| 670 | ** If you [[spoiler:take Qian Ya's deal for fourteen years of good luck]], the ''Shadows of Hong Kong'' campaign has several improbably lucky events aid you in your quest. |
| 671 | * WolverineClaws: Unlike the prior titles in the series, ''Hong Kong'' allows you to equip cyberweapons, among which are hand razors, which are razor blades that extend from your fingers, allowing you to make vicious slashing attacks like Glory could in ''Dragonfall''. |
| 672 | * WretchedHive: The Walled City stands out, even for ''Shadowrun''. The people are impoverished, living in their own filth, and at the mercy of the criminal gangs that run things. [[spoiler:This is caused by a machine in the center literally sucking all the good fortune from the residents and funneling it to Josephine Tsang.]] |
| 673 | [[/folder]] |
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