Shadowrun

Never played Cyberpunk; how was it?

In other news, Shadowrun has a website, and it has a forum! I can't believe it took me...two years to figure that out.

[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of Mars

Cyberpunk? Pretty shitty if you ask me. With the right build, you're able to automatically hit any enemy at close range. Get a rifle and they're SO fucked. And then there was Cyberpunk 203X.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

Only played original Cyberpunk, not the 2020 flavor.

But yes, really easy to become obscenely powerful. However, with a good GM, this shouldn't happen anyway. Our GM wasn't very good, so we ended up playing as little more than munchkins.

Not very fun, if you ask me.

Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.

Yeah, considering that if you fail a Body roll after getting hit means you're pretty much fucked, you just don't have enough time to become powerful.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

Pity, I'd thought it was supposed to be a grittier Shadowrun. Oh well.

• Speaking of Cyberpunk, anyone try Corporation? How's it stack up?

Think I've got my cousin visiting for the weekend, gotta think up some runs.

edited 10th Feb '11 12:20:27 PM by DrRockopolis

[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of Mars

Well, in Cyberpunk, if you take as much as 1 point of damage, you have to roll Body to check if you're not stunned by the shock. If you take more than 8 damage to limbs or head, you have to roll Body to check if you're not DEAD. And to think that if you have Reflex at 8-10 and one firearm skill at 5-7, you only miss on critfails at close range. That's so fucked up it ain't even funny.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

A "grittier Shadowrun?" Is that really possible? Yeah they tend to be surprisingly optimistic for a cyberpunk setting (A.I.s have the same range of motivations and personalities as humans, man-eating ghouls aren't really that bad people, etc), but there's still some pretty horrific aspects of the Sixth World.

Man, I love Shadowrun. I just wish I could find some people to play with. I had a group when I was still going to school in Binghamton, NY, but that was over six years ago now and I haven't played since. I'm going to try to find a group when I finish this deployment and move back to Fort Benning, GA in August.

"Did anybody invent this stuff on purpose?" - Phillip Marlowe on tequila, Finger Man by Raymond Chandler.

Eh, Shadowrun isn't all that gritty anymore since the ingame 60s. Yeah, the 50s, they were shown as very gritty and dystopian, but especially now the 70s? Everything glitters! Well, on the façades, at least, let's best not look behind them, heh.

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic

See, that's what I like about '70's Shadowrun. It's more like the real world. All the corruption and evil and darkness are under the surface. Sometimes the classic cyberpunk setting from the 1070's-80's gets a little unbelievable. Everyone's constantly ground down, there's no joy in life, everyone knows that corporations and governments don't have the least bit of public good in mind, etc.

"Did anybody invent this stuff on purpose?" - Phillip Marlowe on tequila, Finger Man by Raymond Chandler.

Well, I agree with you it's not terribly realistic. However, it... had an own chic, an own atmosphere. Cyberpunk atmosphere that is. 4th Ed is not so much Cyberpunk as Post-Cyberpunk. Not that that is inherently bad - it would indeed have been rather painful to watch if they had tried to artificially drag out the Cyberpunk atmosphere. Still, it is what it is, at least IMO, and that is not fully cyberpunk any more.

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic

What I like about Shadowrun is that it's classless. More room for customizing that way - you can build pretty much any bizarre combination of skills, traits and attributes you want. I'd love to give my champloo'd Legend Of The Five Rings Shiba a test run: the concept was a straight-up Shiba stereotype, a bodyguard to a wizard. Keen senses, easily concealable weapons, some knowledge of magic and, due to a kink in the first edition of L 5 R, Logic up the wazoo (Shiba, fighters, start with Intelligence at 4. Out of FIVE).

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

Yup, it absolutely has become Post-Cyberpunk. Which I think is a good thing. Again, I love the old-school straight Cyberpunk. I've read everything William Gibson has ever written (besides Zero History because I haven't bought it yet) and loved all of it. I liked the Bridgelight Trilogy the best because it was starting to move into Post-Cyberpunk. Ghost in the Shell is also Post-Cyberpunk and it's my favorite anime and one of my top ten TV series period. PC is much more realistic and relevant to the current modern world.

Yes, that's exactly what I love about Shadowrun besides the setting. Class-based RP Gs are a terrible idea. I like my RP Gs to be as flexible as possible, like the real world. Locking characters into stiff classes makes no sense whatsoever. Why shouldn't you be able to use a Technomancer/Sniper/Face character if you want to? Obviously he wouldn't be very good at any of those things as a starting character, but he could develop over time, and shouldn't that be up to the player anyway?

"Did anybody invent this stuff on purpose?" - Phillip Marlowe on tequila, Finger Man by Raymond Chandler.

Git S? Uh, it's a time ago since I watched the anime, and never had anything more to do with it, but from what I remember it's really rather cyberpunkt. It's rather overtly gritty and dystopian, IIRC.

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. Unrelated ME1 Fanfic

Yes, but the protagonists are part of a government organization that generally have the public's best interests in mind despite their often unorthodox and even illegal methods. That's about as contrary to classic dystopian cyberpunk as you can get. In fact there's really not much dystopian about the Ghost in the Shell setting. Everything is bright and clean due to nanotech air scrubbers, nuclear fallout can be cleansed by the "Japanese Miracle" - another type of nanotech - and middle-class Japanese people seem to live fairly comfortable lives in decent housing.

"Did anybody invent this stuff on purpose?" - Phillip Marlowe on tequila, Finger Man by Raymond Chandler.

I tried to match the map◊ of LA from "Corporate Enclaves" to one from Google Earth. I'm a bit shocked how much of LA got flushed.

edited 7th May '11 12:47:10 PM by NotSoBadassLongcoat

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

So, what's the consensus on most popular edition. I want to pick up some books, so I can find a game, but I want to know what edition to grab to better my odds. I've played enough dnd(3.5 wheee) to know newest is not always most well liked....

:smug:

Goddamned Persona 2.0! I can't figure out a way for the players to feel comfortable with all those camera drones around and what's worst, it's part of LA's Narm Charm (yes, Shadowrun's LA seems cheesy as fuck). Unless I start handing out bonus nuyen for doing cool stunts.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

Aaand, special edition Shadowrun bloggery! I asked the guy who maintains Shadowrun's fanpage on Facebook if he wants to read my post about the LA Sprawl, he said yes, so I translated it.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

And we call it how? Yes, EPIC SHIT.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

YES

Also, another note about Shadowrun on my blog.

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

I'm very slowly working on a setting and subsequent campaign set in my hometown. It's kinda nice to live in a city that's had so little mention in canon material...

First key to interpreting a work: Things mean things.

...I just had a completely crazy idea for a quest. Stop a dwarven gang from stealing construction materials. If that fails, storm a literal Dwarf Fortress. In LA (which is 3/4 flooded) it can be even set on an island and have a large "Trespassers will be BOATMURDERED" sign.
As for boatmurdering itself, waterskiing against your will in water full of toxins, pathogens and mutated wildlife is definitely "FUN".

"what the complete, unabridged, 4k ultra HD fuck with bonus features" - Mark Von Lewis

I just saw that trailer above and I think I need to change my pants now :,D

What is this I don't even

With regards to 3rd edition specifically, can anyone suggest how to make elementals cost-effective? I keep looking at what players might want to do in a corp setting and I cannot find a single reason why a corp would willingly pay for the ritual materials required for some of their mages to sit around for hours summonning elementals with that would last a few days, when the same money could be used to hire another few low-end wage-mages to provide astral cover.

Sure there's the whole thing with bound elemental guards, but that's a once a year thing. I just don't get how you'd persuade beancounters to provide enough funds for elementals to go along with corp mages to be awesome.