|
|
|
 |
| Other comments left for this publisher: |
|
|
|
|
|
Originally Posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/04/04/tabletop-review-shadowr
un-rigger-4/
For the past few years, Catalyst Game Labs has treated Shadowrun fans to a free comedic PDF on April Fool’s Day. Last year it was the hilarious Street Legends: Home Edition which was not only a blast to read, but could actually be used in your game if you had the desire to. Thus year we have Rigger 4. I know there are some ardent Rigger fans out there who are more than a little displeased with how nerfed that character type is in 4e/20AE and may take this PDF as a bit of trolling towards them, but it’s definitely meant to be stupid light hearted silliness. Besides, with Fifth Edition fast approaching, those who take umbrage with Fourth Edition may yet have reason to cheer anew.
So let’s talk Rigger 4. If the cover art of an Amish Troll driving a horse pulled scooter-carriage thingie doesn’t let you know you’re in for a light hearted look at Riggers, than man, I don’t know what to tell you. The introduction by Jason Hardy (line manager of Shadowrun was equally humourous and from there, the PDF gives sixteen pages of incredibly weird crap that can technically be used by your characters in Shadowrun, but will more than likely get them laughed at or killed (hey, why not both?) for using them. Still, if you’ve ever wanted stats for things like a Hoverboard straight out of Back to the Future, you’ve got them here. Hell, there are even hover SKATES! The JackPoint commentary is exceptionally snarky this time around and there’s even some non-vehicles stuff for your riggers to play with if you are so inclined.
Nothing is really safe from mockery here. The steampunk craze of the past few years is skewered. Both BattleTech (another CGL RPG line) and what seems like a subtle soft jab to the long running Ares Excalibur storyline that was pushed over the last year or two are mocked together in one fell swoop. I guess you could add Games Workshop’s seminal line in there as well considering the name of the mech. I would love to see one of these get used in an actual game just to see what happens. I’m half tempted to do it myself and then hand whatever player tries to use it my Steel Battalion controller and say, “Go to it, kid.” I can’t be the only one expecting to see this mech in an actual game considering three pages and change are devoted to it in the PDF. Even the old CRAAAAAZY used car salesman of the 1980s is parodied here. I say 1980s because I haven’t seen those style of commercials since then. They seem to have been replaced by CRAAAAAAZY infomercial guys like Ron Popeil after an 8-Ball.
Not everything in the PDF hits the mark. Like the Knight Errant mobile command center slash doughnut (or donut if you’re American) shop didn’t do it for me, nor did the “Cruller” or D-CAF variants. It’s one thing to have a bad joke. It’s one thing to keep running it into the ground. That said, the only cop jokes I tend to find funny are those in Super Troopers which is a hilarious movie you should watch and or own. The Nadeshiko sexbot is a bit weird too, but like the Hoverboard is actually I could see being hawked in the 2070s. At the same time I could see many a Rigger using them as decoys or cannon fodder for Tomb of Horrors type situations. There are also a few jokes that may go over the heads of much younger gamers like the SK-99 Luftballon, but hey, the current version of Shadowrun does seem to skew to the much older tabletop gamer.
When all is said and done though, this is a free PDF that CGL has put out as a labour of love (or possible stress reliever) to the many fans of Shadowrun across the globe. I think I liked Street Legends: Home Edition a bit more simply because I found the whole thing funny, but this is well worth picking up if you’re a fan of Fourth Edition Shadowrun in the slightest. Unless you don’t like laughing. Or the fun you have from Shadowrun consists mainly of talking trash about it on message boards. So yeah, free Shadowrun PDF people. How can you pass that up? Especially when the often getting too gloomy for its own good Sixth World isn’t taken itself so seriously here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/04/04/tabletop-review-shadowr
un-storm-front/
Storm Front isn’t your usual Shadowrun tome of this size. Of the 202 pages (which include the covers, 188 are pure metaplot fiction. The rest is either some light bits or plot hooks to use in your campaign, ads, or character stats. Now I realize that most people would balk at paying between twenty five and thirty-five dollars for a paperback, as they usually run under ten dollars. So it’s understandable that many would take one look at the price tag on this book and balk. I don’t blame them in the slightest. This is an exceptionally expensive piece of fiction and to be honest, after reading the thing twice, I’m still not sure if it’s worth it or not. Oh sure, Storm Front ends a lot of Fourth Edition plotlines and set ups the frame work for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition which will be released later this year, but Storm Front is just so all over the place I constantly have conflicting feelings about this book as both a critic and a fan of the Sixth World. In my opinion the book has some truly terrible editorial direction going on that is all too reminiscent of late 90s WCW. Sometimes the writing saves the said editorial mandate while when paired with bad writing well, it just make you feel like 5e is going to be as ill-written and received as 3e. On the reverse side there are some great editorial decisions made all the more awesome by the writing which has me pumped for Fifth Edition, and some decisions I liked tempered by poor writing. Like I said, Storm Front is all over the place in terms of writing and quality and honestly, it’s made me go from super excited for Fifth Edition to cautiously optimistic about what’s coming and that’s probably not a good thing that a single release could dampen my enthusiasm. So this review will be looking at each section and my thoughts on each. This review is also extremely spoiler heavy, because there is no way to review this release without spoilers. So if you don’t want things spoiled, I can sum up Storm Front as a book that goes from one extreme to the other quality-wise but that the good outweighs the bad and that’s what counts.
Before we begin though, there are two big reasons NOT to buy this book. The first is if you don’t care about the metaplot and just want mechanics. If you’re into that category or are just plain set on sticking with say, the 2050s, this book is going to be of absolutely no use or value to you. The other is if you are new to Shadowrun or someone interested in returning to the game after leaving for a while (like those that didn’t care for 4E/20AE) and were considering picking up Fifth Edition. Storm Front makes absolutely no attempt to be newcomer friendly and if I gave this to someone new to the game or even a casual fan, they would be completely lost, finding much of the text to be incomprehensible gibberish. Storm Front is written pretty much ONLY for people who have purchased everything put out for Shadowrun in the last few years and know every small detail about the metaplot. I’ve been noticing that the releases for Shadowrun have been getting more and more insular, as if the books are being written more for the people writing the game than people interested in playing the game and it’s definitely becoming more of a product where you pretty much have to pick up every release that comes out lest you be lost on some metaplot point, thus effectively barring newcomers from understanding or caring about the game. This worries me because right now Shadowrun is going down the same path that killed White Wolf’s original World of Darkness where say Third Edition Vampire: The Masquerade books were written in such a way that they assumed you owned and have read every book for the game that came before it. The parallels between what White Wolf did and what CGL is doing are pretty apparent and it has me worried. Thankfully, CGL can turn this around with the release of Fifth Edition but honestly, I don’t know if they will, or even want to. Here’s hoping Fifth Edition is FAR more newcomer friendly than the last two+ years of 4E release have been.
So the first big plot point to be wrapped up is the Aztech/Amazonia war. The bad news is that this section is terrible on pretty much every level possible. Bad writing, bad editorial direction, bad everything. The fact this section starts off the book will have some put down the PDF or physical copy in their hands without reading the rest because it really is that bad. The good news is, the book only goes up in quality from here and that FINALLY, the whole Bogata conflict is over. From WAR! on, the entire Bogata conflict was something a lot of fans complained about and yet Catalyst Game Labs refused to drop it. It was a definite disconnect between the people putting out the game and the people playing it. So thankfully, the conflict has ended. In truth though, it hasn’t REALLY ended; just shifted a little, which means valuable pages and adventures in collections will still be devoted to this whole affair instead of content Shadowrun gamers actually WANT.
Here’s the thing. The Bogata conflict was as close to black and white as it gets in the Sixth World. Amazonia = good. Aztlan = EEEEVIL. We’re talking Monsanto paired with human sacrifice and Captain Power style villains running the show EVIL. Now while the metaplot for these bits were generally in favor of Amazonia winning, the bulk of adventures that took place in the region had players working for Amazonia. So in either case, you would assume that the conflict would end with Amazonia winning. Because after all, doing it the other way is another way of saying, “Hey players, all your work was for nothing. HA HA HA!” It would basically be akin to again, the last few adventures White Wolf put out for the Original World of Darkness where the players were secondary to the metaplot and were more along for the ride than doing anything of note. To this day, White Wolf is still criticized for doing this and one would think every other gaming company out there would learn from that, right?
Well, not here. Aztlan not only wins, but they win HUGE. Worst of all the way they win is the sloppiest I’ve seen Shadowrun get in a long time via a magical previously unrevealed MacGuffin. Aztlan also just doesn’t win the war, but they gain huge public sympathy and damn near kill Sirrug, a great dragon to boot. Not a single thing in this section sits well with me, either as a fan of the Sixth World or as a professional critic. It’s pretty bad in all respects. I get that Aztechnology has been and always will be one of the biggest forces of pure unadulterated evil in the Sixth World, going back to the FASA days. I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with is a) that they won because it totally dilutes the majority of adventures put out for this region, b) it puts weaponry powerful enough to take down Great Dragons in the hands of Megacorps. There’s Power Creep and then there is this – something that simply can’t be rebottled. It’s a horrible idea no matter how you look at it because it’s simply too powerful, and c) Good needs to win at least ONCE in a while in the Sixth World, which I haven’t seen happen in a long time under the reigns of CGL. Pretty much everything just has the world getting worse with bad somehow squeaking a win over good. Sure Shadowrun is a dark game but holy crap it’s NOT Warhammer 40,000. As well, Aztlan needed to lose here, especially with the huge gains they make in another part of the book. A loss here wouldn’t have made them any less powerful and certainly less of a threat to the Sixth World in general. What CGL COULD HAVE DONE was let Amazonia win as a thank you to the players that actually cared about the Bogata conflict and shown that their participating in the adventures had some noticeable effect on the world at large. Instead though, CGL has gone the route of a swerve in the face of good writing for the sake of a swerve. Again, that late 90s WCW effect. Basically Aztlan is pretty much nWo-ish right now in that the bad guys not only don’t ever really lose, but they dominate to the point where it’s not fun or interesting to read about them anymore (The fact this causes me to lose my suspension of disbelief in a game with Sasquatch deckers and Insect Spirits tells you how bad this is) anymore. Eventually people stopped watching WCW in droves because of the now dominance and again, Shadowrun is following another set of parallels that ended in the demise on a long running popular product. Red flags ahoy kids. 0 for 1.
The next big plot point in Storm Front is the end of the Dragon Civil War. This is one section where good writing saved some poorly thought out editorial direction. I mean, the Dragon Civil War has been going on since a little over a year in terms of real time, and about that in-game time. Even the big book for dragon wackiness, The Clutch of Dragons just came out in August 2012! As well, these are creatures who spend years or even decades and centuries to take specific actions, so for the dragon war to come to an end so quickly just doesn’t feel right or realistic considering how it was built up and it just doesn’t jibe with the characterization and/or continuity of these beings since Shadowrun first came to be. Such a wasted opportunity here to put out a some adventures (maybe even a collection) and more. The fact the whole Bogata thing got years (and still is carrying on somewhat) and the Dragon Civil War got a fraction of that time has me wondering what the heck is going on behind the scenes there at CGL.
The good news is that even though I have a minor quibble about the editorial direction here, the writing of this section is top notch. You get multiple reports on what exactly happened when the forces of Lowfyr and Alamais finally do battle. There is a lot of dragon death in this one, almost to the point where it’s overkill and you have to wonder how many are actually left in the Sixth World after this, but the battle descriptions are top notch and you’ll glued to the edge of your PDF here. You’ll get to here from those that were on both sides on the conflict and the sheer level of carnage that ensued. When all is said and done, there is one less Great Dragon in the world, and it should be fairly obvious which one went down for the count.
Besides a recap on the big bad brawl, you are also given a bit of insight as to what happened at the Great Dragon conclave that followed shortly thereafter. HUGE changes have occurred here including a new Loremaster, and the fates of both Sirrug and Hestaby are revealed. The Sirrug reveal is massively anti-climatic on its own, but doubly so considering what happened to him against Aztlan. It’s very much a wimpy cop out, but at least an adventure or two can be had out of trying to find him. Hestaby’s fate I have mixed emotions about. While well written, it’s hard to believe that such a fate could actually occur considering she’s up there with Lowfy and the Sea Dragon as the big three Great Dragon you probably least want to mess with, not to mention she’s arguably the best spellcaster (although Lung may disagree) in her race. I’m having a hard time seeing the punishment stick or last and it’s a shame the section didn’t do more to expand on what Hestaby will do now that she has literally lost everything. Of course, that’s probably being saved for Fifth Edition. So minor quibbles here, but I found the writing to be excellent and where the whole Bogata resolution had me rolling my eyes, the Dragon Civil War fallout has me excitedly anticipating what is next. 1 for 2.
Section Three is the beginning of the end for Seattle Mayor Kenneth Brackhaven. This is a section that I think is pretty much excellent in all respects save for the fact it’s odd they are doing this right after his successful re-election. I liked that implication that Brackhaven is suffering from the same issue that is plaguing poor Fastjack (more on that later) and it had me wondering what the two could have in common (it’s alluded too later in the book). Seattle has always been THE location of locations for Shadowrun and with Brackhaven apparently going Call of Cthulhu levels of crazy and his government falling apart at the seams, there is a plethora of great ideas that DMs and the writers at CGL can throw out with barely even thinking about it. A lot of dirt is exposed here and Seattle appears to be the center for a lot of activity in Fifth Edition. I also loved that they gave you a list of adventures from the Shadowrun Missions line that directly affected this eventual fallout, which means if you’re late to the party, you can grab all the pertinent adventures (reasonably priced at $3.95 a pop) and do a campaign with your gaming pals. The storyline might even work better now with Storm Front and the full season of adventures released as you aren’t in the dark as to how things will eventually turn out.
One of the other fun things about this fallout is that you can conceivably run a campaign around this entire plot bit without having any Shadowrunners in your party. Maybe your players are all Lone Star employees hoping to get that security contract back now that we know WHY they lost it. Perhaps the team are all FBI agents working to bring Brackhaven down. Hell, they could even be government employees working for Brackhaven caught up in this whole affair. There are so many options here and I love it. 2 for 3.
Section four is all about Denver and like Bogata, I think this fell apart horribly due to editorial direction. I’m not sure if I feel the writing just made things worse or if it salvaged the ideas here at best they can. The end result is just a hodge podge of crap though. I mean, it started off fine with the idea of Ghostwalker becoming more and more tyrannical and metahumanity becoming second class citizens compared to free spirits. This is all good, but it quickly falls apart . Whether it’s the idea of watching Harlequin Vs. Ghostwalker in a battle that belongs more in Dungeons & Dragons thanShadowrun, the fact Aztechnology gains a massive foothold in a city they were once all but barred from, or the fact the entire section felt like CGL was backpeddaling back to the status quo of First and Second Edition Shadowrun left me really disappointed in what I read here. Again we have the whole “push Aztechnology like it was the nWo” bit going on, which is annoying. If they got this, they definitely needed to lose in Bogata. To have both is just bad planning unless of course, they really ARE trying to return Denver to the FASA days, which is just not a good idea. I mean I love Second Edition. It’s my favorite version of Shadowrun, but if I want to play in the Denver from the FASA era I’d use those rules. No one wants to see things go back to the way they were twenty years ago. If you’re going to change things, leave them changed instead of going from one extreme to the other.
The Aztlan power grab isn’t my only issue. The Harlequin Vs. Ghostwalker battle was so laughably bad in concept and execution, you have to wonder who vetted it. It gets even worse when you realize that the entire level of anarchy and disarray Denver is thrown into is caused by Puck of all characters. Not only does it become completely unrealistic that Puck isn’t immediately killed horribly by several Jackpointers, but if you recall, CGL recently published a canon adventure where Puck can easily die if the players don’t do things in an exact manner. So if Puck died in your game, how do you resolve this metaplot without him unless you want to cheapen the adventure your players ran through? Again this is one of those White Wolf OWoD parallels where it became about hamfisting a story on players first, and the actual playing of the game second. I don’t think this is intentional, as I think they (writers and editors) either forgot about this adventure or they just assumed most people wouldn’t actually play it. Either way, it’s another big red flag. Anyway, if Puck isn’t horribly and brutally eviscerated by the time 5e comes out, I will be extremely disappointed because there’s simply no way he isn’t Public Enemy #1 with most of JackPoint. Of course, you do finish the section going, “Well shit, maybe Clockwork is right to think the way he does about Technomancers some of the time” and that’s well…unnerving. Just another truly bad section. 2 for 4.
Section five is all about Ares. Now, much like the entire Bogata conflict, the whole “Ares Excalibur is a crappy weapon” went on for far too long and most people either didn’t care or outright thought it was stupid. However, unlike the Bogata conflict, this part of Storm Front makes lemonade out of lemons unlike the first section of the book which took lemons and somehow made rancid feces out of them. A lot of this section hints at what is to come with Ares and Insect Spirits and also continues the groundwork set in the adventure Sacrificial Limb/ You really do need to have read/played Sacrificial Limb on where CGL is taking Ares. However, since the next season of Shadowrun Missions is set in Bug City, you can probably hold off on the spoilers in the aforementioned adventure and experience it for yourself that way. Sure the majority of this section is a recap of the stupid things Ares did and the canon experiences of several adventures related to the Excalibur that were published in some adventure collections, but it’s all secondary compared to the foreshadowing this section contained. 3 for 5.
Section six is the fallout from the recent Tir Tairngire election. I’m sad to see High Prince Larry go as he was a fun and interesting character, but since Shadowrun moves more or less in real time, it had to happen eventually. I do think the new High Prince is a bit of a dull choice that makes the Tir a less interesting place, but it’s also a choice that makes the most sense logistics-wise. The way the Tir elections are held, this is exactly as I would have expected things to go down. Which is neither bad nor good; it simply is. I can’t deny that I was hoping for Rex to somehow win, but if they actually pulled the trigger on that, I’d have been shocked and wondering how they would be able to justify it story-wise, even it would have made for a ton of potential story hooks and adventures. Also nice to see the return of ol’ Grimmy the Grimoire! The Tir section is well written and hopefully the shakeup here means we’ll see a sequel to the Elven Blood adventure collection. About the only negative thing I can say about this section, is it nullifies a lot of The Land of Promise, which just came out what, seven months ago? Still, the five pages here are more cohesive and better written than a lot of Storm Front. Sometimes less is more. 4 for 6.
Section seven is about a decker (possibly also a technomancer) named Dodger and his efforts to help shore up the new Matrix that will be debuting in Fifth Edition. It’s an interesting read, but the use of this depends on exactly what the new Matrix will look like in 5e, both style and mechanics-wise. I will say I’m excited to have Deckers back as it is such an iconic aspect of Shadowrun and taking it out (along with horribly crippling Riggers) are my two biggest issues with 4e. It’s a short but fun read that explains just how de la Mar got one of the best in Cyberspace to help make the new Matrix such a tough place to be. 5 for 7.
Section eight is entitled “Sleeping with the Enemy.” The first half is JackPoint poster Hannibelle talking about changes in Ghoul culture – all of which are decidedly for the worse. All of the Infected (Vampires, Ghouls, etc) seem to have gained a heightened sensitivity to sunlight. Hannibelle also points out that ghouls are having to digest far more human flesh than they used to and it’s becoming far easier to devolve into the feral state. It’s a really interesting read and although I’m not sure where CGL is taking HMHVV in Fifth Edition, it has me intrigued.
The other aspect about this section is that they are FINALLY doing something with the plot threads from Another Rainy Night which originally came out in February of 2012. This thing had so much potential and the fact ARN’s threads and hooks were sat on for over a year is a bit frustrating for those that really enjoyed that short story, but now it appears CGL is going to run with them again. Finally, a long time closet vampire is revealed for his true nature in this section and the ramifications of that are sure to be felt in a small way in Fifth Edition. Again, this is another really well done section and it’s a shame the pieces that feel like throw-aways in this collection of metaplot wrap-ups are so much better done than the large pieces taking center stage. 6 for 8.
Section Nine is another short one, but unfortunately the streak of quality ends here as this write-up on the Japanese corporations is pretty much terrible in all respects. Look, I know that sometimes some weird thing gets by the editors that just happens to be an instant obvious bit to me simply because of my life. Like when Dirty Tricks had a thing about Jesse Ventura in it and I just happened to be an ex staffer for the guy so I could pick it up. Well this is similar except instead of being a minor error, the entire section is a bit well…I wouldn’t say racist by any means so PLEASE don’t take it as that as that’s an insult to whoever wrote this bit, but it does read like whoever wrote this knows absolutely nothing about Japanese culture, politics, or history save from what they’ve seen in badly dubbed movies from the 70s. As a guy who reads, writes, and speaks Japanese, has worked for two different major corporations over there, was Professor freakin’ Oak for six years, and who recently decided to not take a job with NHK World (Japan’s equivalent of CNN) as a program monitor and quality control manager, this whole section had me shaking my head going,” NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” I’m baffled by whoever thought this sounded remotely like Japanese culture in terms of work, life, and family and doubly surprised this made it through editorial, but it’s like every bad erroneous half truth about their culture was rolled up into a ball and given a cyberpunk twist. I showed it to two people I know who worked on the Sega-CD version of Shadowrun (Don’t worry, it’s only in Japanese and you probably haven’t played it. That said, an English translation is underway so you may eventually get to play it without the translation guide I wrote for it in the mid 90s…SURPRISE!) and they both had the same reaction to the perception of Japanese culture as portrayed in this section. That is confusion, annoyance and a bit of disgust. Seriously CGL, next time you want to touch on the Japanese side of things, I will volunteer to do the dramaturgy or even writing of it for FREE if it means preventing something like this. You know how some French gamers were none too happy about the stuff that came out for their home country? This is up there.
Anyway, rant over. Basically this section is an attempt to undo some of the changes made to the Japanese corporations over the past few years. Again, it feels like back-peddling to how things were in first and second edition Shadowrun, but I can understand the logic behind this reversion. Businesses ebb and grow and the potential for some really interesting stories to be told was here, but instead it kind of went with, “All the Japanese companies team up against the West like they formed Devestator.” You get a bit of information on what Renraku, MCT and Shiawase are all up to and how they plan to return to prominence, on their own and as a collective. This is one of those times where the editorial direction to revitalize the Japanese side or Shadowrun other than the Yakuza is a smart choice, but truly bad writing flubbed it up. 6 for 9.
The tenth and final section is an odd one and I can’t really review it properly. That’s because so much of what is going on is purposely left nebulous and won’t be revealed until Fifth Edition. It’s a teaser of sorts of things to come and it’s exceptionally well written. I will admit that I’m going to miss Fastjack and at times I thought CGL was going to pull a large enough swerve that 5e’s metaplot bits would take place on Shadowsea, but it appears JackPoint is here to stay. What matters is the grid is locked down, we have what is very similar to the Matrix of old aesthetically speaking and the new trio of Bull (Yay!), Glitch (Sure, why not) and Slamm-O! (ugh…) are running things for the JackPointers. I’m very happy with the new Matrix and the return of Decks, especially since it’s done in a way that is purposely retro and yet makes total sense. I was always a bit skeptical that the Matrix would be entirely wireless as it has been currently, as I couldn’t see the MegaCorps being down with that. What we have now makes a lot more sense Sixth World-wise.
One thing I’m interested to see is if the files FastJack was keeping on Riser and Plan 9 are legit or just erroneous beliefs on his part. My hope is that the file on Riser is true as it would make for some excellent stories if your gaming troupe interacts with the characters from the Shadowrun books. On the flip side, I hope the one on Plan 9 is an absolute red herring based on FastJack’s growing…let’s call it a mental disorder for now. Even Plan9 should have moments of lucidity or he wouldn’t be one of the best in his business. That too will make for some fun stories and even the occasional bit of comic relief. After all, the man’s too damn paranoid to be struck by the same thing FastJack and Riser were nailed with. In my head, I can even see an entire novella based on Plan 9 trying to figure out if he’s still him. 7 out of 10.
So Storm Front ends with a 70% quality rating. As I said, the book really is all over the place quality-wise, but the good does outweigh the bad here. I will admit though, the parts that are bad are SO BAD that it has me worried for some things to come, but at the end of the day I know I’m going to still be tuning in to see what all Catalyst Game Labs has planned for the Sixth World. Obviously though, I’m just one guy, so you line up ten Shadowrun fans that have been there since First Edition, and you’re probably going to get ten slightly (or even wildly different) takes on what they liked, hated and were indifferent to in Storm Front. If you’re new or a casual reader of Shadowrun, this book really is not for you and you’ll be lost more often than not, but if you’ve been here for all of 4E/20AE, you might want to get this for closure’s sake if nothing else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
There is my Hover Board.. i mean.. Killer Board. Thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
‘Sim Dreams and Nightmares’ essentially has enough content to stand on its’ own as a product. It will be interesting though, to see what other like titles are eventually bundled together for this years’ ‘Runners Black Book’. I mention this as Sim Dreams reads very much like a chapter in a much larger sourcebook. The writing is generally clean and concise, and the approach taken in the JackPoint conversation is a very clever one. The JackPoint posts add a lot of value to the mechanical and story information by showing how this industry is viewed by Sixth world inhabitants. Additionally, it alludes to other occurrences within the metaplot, but does so in a way that would not confuse a newer reader.
I do say ‘generally clean and concise’ as there are still the consistent typographic errors that have become the hallmark of Catalyst products. I do wonder if digital publishing has lowered editorial standards for some companies as they can simply release a ‘corrected’ version if enough people complain. Spelling errors are something that I don’t recall seeing very often when I was buying my SR books exclusively in print (from FASA). This has been a problem for well over a year and it does need some attention - I'd add a star to my review rating in a heartbeat if more attention to detail had been paid.
The front cover art is fantastic; the designer should be commended for this choice as it so perfectly captures the simultaneous appeal of Simsense and its’ contrasting systemic social problems. Again, a very clever choice.
The book is 17 pages long and covers simsense, BTL, moodchips and personasofts (this last one giving you all the tools you need to run ‘Dollhouse’ as a Shadowrun game). Each is given a thorough discussion, as well as an in-world rationale for their use. Shadowrun has always excelled at internal consistency, and this book is another prime example of how to do this well. The last few pages dwell on the mechanics behind Simsense, such as some new Qualities, rules for weaning off Addictions and a table which summarises all of the Simsense with their Addiction Ratings and Thresholds, and a price list at the end.
This is a well-developed discussion of Simsense in the Sixth World, and this will be valuable to both GMs and players alike. Many modules deal with Simsense stars, the effect chips have on NPCs, and even Simsense in sporting events. Reading through this will give GMs in particular a much better handle on how to weave this industry into the game credibly, and even offer some hard choices to player-characters.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
thank you catayst game I love the low tech battletech good ideal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
An April Fools joke, but one of the better ones. No King Tiger though...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Ok, I know it's free and a joke, but the stat's for the female elf ninja stripper are the same as the ork Elvis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Twilight Horizon provides information about the new Triple AAA megacorporation in the Shadowrun setting, Horizon, additionally Las Vegas is updated for the Sixth World of Shadowrun and there are many, many plot hooks and adventure ideas. If you want to incorporate Horizon as a major player in your Shadowrun campaign (or to have your ‘runners visit Vegas) this product will prove a worthwhile resource.
Twilight Horizon begins with a short piece of fiction and then moves into the meat of the book, starting with an overview of Horizon Corporation, the youngest of the “Big Eight” megacorps that dominate the Shadowrun setting. For a book focused on Horizon, the description of the corporation is very short, only seven pages (though various points are expanded upon later in the book) but gives a basic overview of the way Horizon works especially the intra-corporation ‘consensus’ that guides how the corporation acts.
Vegas gets a few more pages (21) and provides a good lay of the land for action taking place there. It’s a crazy town. The bulk of the product is fifteen semi-linked adventure frame works, primarily aimed at experienced runners, that chronicle Horizon’s continuing evolution among the megacorps including one that takes places at the Sixth World’s evolution of the Burning Man festival! A wide variety of NPCs are provided for the various adventures and other Horizon-based adventures. Lastly, some updated rules for simsense and persona fix chips, both businesses that Horizon is deeply invested in.
Overall, a useful game master’s resource for the evolving world of Shadowrun if Horizon or Las Vegas is likely to be involved in your campaign.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/03/18/tabletop-review-shadowr
un-sim-dreams-nightmares/
I have to admit, five bucks for only seventeen pages of content is a little bit exorbitant, especially for a throwaway fluff piece like Sim Dreams & Nightmares. That alone would generally prevent me from giving something a recommendation, but three things saved the latest PDF supplement for Shadowrun. The first is that the piece is extremely well written. Sim Dreams & Nightmares is a fun read, and highlights an aspect of the Sixth World we don’t always think about – Sim abuse. The second is that the piece has some very nice full colour art attached to it, which is part of the high price tag. The third is that, although only eighteen percent of the PDF is actual game mechanics, what’s here can be really helpful if you have anyone in your troupe that wants to play a drug addict.
Sim Dreams & Nightmares contains two one page pieces of fiction that highlight how real Sims can be and the trouble they can cause. Poor, poor Bull. The bulk of the PDF, however, is a Jackpoint discussion on Simsense, BTL, skillwires, Personafixes and the like that a Metahuman can become addicted to with time. Case in point is Turbo Bunny, who leads this Jackpoint discussion. We all know she hops on and off the wagon like her vehicle of choice is an Awakened pogo stick, but it was nice to see a frank discussion of this side of the Sixth World led by someone who knows it all too well.
Although discussing drug abuse is undoubtedly a very dark topic, Sim Dreams & Nightmares is a surprisingly amusing piece, complete with running gags like Ecotrope having a massive (deserved) beef with Turbo Bunny, or /dev/grrl’s obsession with a sheep comment. It’s good to inject some humour into this piece, but it’s also good that it never becomes a total farce.
Mechanics-wise, you get three and a half pages on how to run addiction via dice rolling instead of just role-playing it out. There are five new negative qualities you get pick up for your character, along with a single positive quality. These qualities range from a generic addition to various drugs to no longer being able to feel a specific emotion, or even losing your original personality due to massive BTL/Sim/etc usage. A good roleplayer can definitely make use of these, although amnesiac protagonist is one of the biggest clichés there is in RPGs. The optional rules for addiction and how to get clean are quite interesting and well written, but I’m not quite sure how much use they will get. This is partly because you don’t see a lot of gamers who play addicts, and partly because the rules are in a throwaway PDF when we’re only a few months off from a completely new edition of Shadowrun. So the chance of these rules seeing play in too many campaigns isn’t very good, unless they end up doing a Shadowrun Missions where one of the PC’s gets addicted to something temporarily. Even then, the new season of Shadowrun Missions will be using the new edition rule set, so again, it’s not bloody likely these addiction and withdrawal/staying clean rules will see the light of day after this PDF.
Finally, the PDF gives you a full page of various drugs along with their new Addiction Rating and Addiction Threshold for easy access, along with half a page of prices and availability for Sim related products. Again, this is a fine idea, but it’s a bit odd to release new rules supplements so close to the release of 5e. Still, only a portion of fans move over to a new edition once it is released, so for those planning to stick to Fourth Edition/20AE, it’s good to know Catalyst is still supporting the system even in its last days.
All in all, Sim Dreams and Nightmares is well written, but it’s definitely overpriced for what you get. The good news is that if you do decide to pick it up, you get a smattering of great fiction set in the Sixth World, along with some potentially useful mechanics for addiction. The bad news is that if you’re planning to jettison 4e for the upcoming Fifth Edition of Shadowrun, what’s here won’t be of any use to you, unless you’re looking for an highly overpriced set of three short stories and some potentially outdated mechanics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
This little number is a must have for any GM wanting to run Battletech: AToW, all the extra stuff it adds to the game gives both you and the players far more variety of choices and experiences that might just leave you hankering for more!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Of all the RPG's I am thinking on running recently, this has to be one of the top few. I have always enjoyed the Battletech universe and this book is no exception, it fits in perfectly with the history and game-play of not only the table top game but also its own nicely detailed system as well as letting the GM get creative with non-cannon scenarios and campaigns. Definitely a must have for all those who love the Battletech universe and enjoy both the table top game and role-playing since it mixes the two almost seamlessly. 10/10!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Sweeping you straight in with pages seemingly ripped straight from undernet social media/discussion sites and a spot of fiction thrown in, this is a detailed explanation of what 'simsense' is all about in the Sixth World. If you think video games, particularly first person shooters, are addictive and sweep you in making you feel as if you actually are in whatever scene is being depicted, just imagine something about a thousand times more realistic, and that's simsense.
There are all manner of virtual experiences to be had, from mood-influencing through violence or sexual encounters, just about anything that you can imagine. Of course there are useful ones. Think of it like e-learning taken to an extreme, for you can use the technology to acquire instant mastery of a skill that you do not have, without the need to study or train. When you unslot the chip, these ersatz memories disappear, of course... but some poor souls think that they still have those skills, or worse ones from an immersive entertainment chip, and end up trying to do something they cannot do and coming to grief, often spectactularly, in the process. Thought you could climb down the outside of a building? Or could hold your own in a firefight? Or snipe from concealment and take down someone well-guarded?
It's scary, and the way in which it is presented makes it become real, possibly even beyond the confines of the Shadowrun ruleset. If this technology did exist, and it's easy to imagine, people would use it. Heck, most role-players would love it. And tragedies would ensue, and not just for the weak-minded. These are insiduous... An excellent read, thought-provoking source material. Be careful what you slot, chummer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Review also appeared on the author's deviantart (http://canray.deviantart.com/journal/So-what-have-I-been-up
-to-359384984) and www.dumpshock.com.
Okay, so let's start with the title image. The image not only looks sweet, it also hammers home the topic of the file. It shows off, but not with seminude babes (which bore me by now, more than anything else) but with hilarious simsense Johnny Spinrad-esque orc versus RL ork bum. The interior art also is quite impressive. AAS is fast becoming THE artist for Shadowrun in this era, much like Mike Jackson and Geier were in early SR. Not that the others are shabby, but he gets the feel I want Shadowrun to have best, I think. And all the detail that's speaking to dedicated fanboys like me.
The opening story is fantastic and pretty much ... well, it deals with the one thing that defined SimSense craziness for me, early on, back when 2E was new and I had just spent two weeks' worth of pocket money on 2XS. It's just a throwaway sentence in that book, and yet it has stayed with me through all these years. This story is the story of that sentence. And it's written in a way, with tone and flavor, that is worthy of Nigel Findley.
Generally, this details the SimSense and BTL usage as I have done for myself, which I of course like. I'm probably biased here, but I think that's a logical expansion on what has been written, and especially the therapeutic SimSense used to 'resocialise' criminals and addicts I have already used, as a private expansion on what SimSense can do. Also, CGL, you totally owe me brain bleach for Hannibelle's comment on snuff beetles.
As aways with Croteau's writing, it's the little details that get me. Victor Vigilante, the intro-fic referencing that one half-sentence from 2XS, the sheep. Hell, I'd pay if he wrote a "runs gone bad" PDF! I feel that, among the current writers, he is among those who most "get" Shadowrun as I love it (and kudos for the Molly Millions shout-out). Also, he's so far the only author whose /dev/grrl writeups make me actually kinda like her. AAS' fantastic art full of inside jokes (Neill!) is the icing on this delicious epub cake. Old Art has seen re-use too, but thoughtfully; the Bunraku pic is among the best Chernik did for SR, and the down-and-out junkie is the weakest art but at least fits in thematically.
The addiction qualities are varied, reasonably balanced, and flavorful. I know a character who has two of them out of hand, and I certainly will use them as soon as I can. That's what the system has been missing, far more than yet another combat rifle, stats for great dragons or Charm of Nurgle, the spell. As with the additional lifestyle qualities of Safehouses, this adds flavor instead of more items of +2. The new addiction list and the simsense-based drugs price list also add to the game, I think.
Some small dark spots cannot be ignored, though they're a wide trend with CGL products. There are typos, more than one, and sometimes glaring. Proofing apparently wasn't effective enough. Neither was editing, some sentences look positively mangled. If editing even happened, this looks a bit like handed in close or slightly over deadline and just handed down to layout for production without any editing happening because a bad product still sells, while editing takes time that could be put to use making more sub-standard product instead.
9/10, with one point below perfect for the nonexistent editing and bad post-writing treatment CGL seems to consider business standard by now. I rounded up for the local review because, well, it's still damn good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
http://www.teilzeithelden.de
-----------------------------------
Vielen kommt es so vor, als sei die Horizon Corporation plötzlich aus dem Nichts entstanden und habe sich einfach so neben die anderen Triple-A-Kons geschmuggelt, noch bevor es jemand so recht bemerkte. Ganz so falsch ist dieser Eindruck nicht, aber ... wie kann das sein? Das beleuchtet Catalyst Game Labs mit dem Quellen- und Kampagnenband The Twilight Horizon.
Erscheinungsbild
Das hier besprochene PDF umfasst 154 Seiten. Derzeit ist bei DriveThruRPG.com kein Print on Demand-Exemplar verfügbar; man muss also mit der PDF-Variante dort vorlieb nehmen. Andernorten kann man allerdings das Buch auch als Printausgabe bekommen.
Abseits der Umschlagseiten ist das Buch inklusive der hier und da eingestreuten Zeichnungen schwarzweiß gehalten. Trotzdem sind die Details der Zeichnungen gut herausgearbeitet und auch sonst findet man sich dank schwarz hinterlegter Bereiche und anderer Formatveränderungen schnell und gut im Buch zurecht.
Inhalt
Die Horizon Corporation hat in der jüngsten Zeit erhebliche Aufmerksamkeit von den Shadowrun-Autoren bekommen. Einige Abenteuerbände haben diesen Kon zum Mittelpunkt auserkoren (A Fistful of Credsticks, Anarchy Subsidized, Colombian Subterfuge), auch in Büchern wie dem Corporate Guide finden sich Informationen zur Horizon Corporation. Was also enthält so ein separater Band und lohnt sich die Anschaffung, vor allem bei Vorhandensein der vorgenannten Bücher?
Eingangs wird im Buch nach der fünfseitigen Teaser-Story darauf verwiesen, dass der Quellenband sich durchaus auf Informationen stützt, wie sie in den schon genannten Titeln erwähnt werden. Hinzu kommen Titel wie Artifacts Unbound, Spy Games, War!, Jet Set und Corporate Intrigue, die empfohlen werden, um bei der Umsetzung von Inhalten aus diesem Quellenband noch weiter in die Tiefe gehen zu können oder umgekehrt, wo man nachschlagen kann, worauf die eine oder andere Information aus The Twilight Horizon basiert.
Das Einleitungskapitel ist spannend geschrieben und bietet alle paar Sätze bereits versteckte Ansätze für mögliche Runs. Wer also beim Lesen von Quellenbänden schnell kreativ wird in dieser Richtung, den wird bereits das erste Kapitel ziemlich glücklich machen. Man erfährt Hintergründe zum Kon, einerseits reine Informationsweitergabe, andererseits ein bisschen Geplauder aus dem Nähkästchen. Es geht darum, wie ein SimStar CEO eines Megakons werden kann, wie der Konzern so schnell so viele mächtige Verbündete schaffen konnte, und nicht zuletzt wird der Umgang mit den Mitarbeitern und die Philosophie des Konzerns unter die Lupe genommen. Horizon setzt auf kollektives Wissen und kollektive Weisheit, fragt ständig das Befinden, die Meinung und die Wünsche der Mitarbeiter mittels Umfragen während der Arbeitszeit ab, speichert Daten der Mitarbeiter „zu deren Sicherheit“, kurzum: „What’s good for Horizon, is good for the world!“ Und offenbar funktioniert dieser Ansatz hervorragend.
Das nächste Kapitel ist Las Vegas, der Neon-Stadt, gewidmet. Es ist mit gerade einmal zwanzig Seiten recht schlank ausgefallen, bietet aber doch etliches an Informationen. Zu dieser Fülle gehören Beschreibungen der einzelnen Distrikte bis hin zur angrenzenden Mojave-Wüste und ihren „critterlichen“ Besonderheiten, doch es werden auch reichlich Etablissements beschrieben sowie Hinweise über gängige Freizeitaktivitäten. In Vegas steht das Spielen natürlich an erster Stelle, und das reicht von bekannten Spielen wie Blackjack und virtuellem Poker über ungewöhnlichere wie Keno und Pachinko, die im Buch näher erläutert werden. Und zu Vegas und Spielen gehören natürlich auch Drogen und Sex, und auch hier bietet das Buch einige Anregungen. Es ist sogar einigermaßen fokussiert auf solcherlei, wie ich finde. Darunter finden sich Standardlocations ebenso wie völlig schräge Ideen, zu denen etwa „Rena’s House of Pancakes and Bondage“ zählt. Es kommt natürlich auf den einzelnen an, wie er solcherlei Inhalte wahrnimmt und findet, in meinen Augen zeigt dies einfach, dass Shadowrun sich selbst nicht allzu ernst nimmt und allerlei Raum für Verrücktes bietet. Und wenn nicht in Vegas, wo sonst?
Kernstück des Quellenbandes bieten allerdings Plotaufhänger für Runs rund um Vegas und Horizon. Auf fast hundert Seiten werden insgesamt dreizehn Plotideen aufgeführt. Das hierbei gewählte Mittelmaß ist sehr ansprechend. Natürlich findet man keine Details in dem Maße, wie man dies bei reinen Kampagnenbänden erwarten kann, dennoch bleibt es nicht nur bei Brotkrumen, sondern die einzelnen Plothooks wurden ausreichend ausgefleischt mit Motivationen, Örtlichkeiten, NSC mitsamt Werten, einer groben Aufteilung in verschiedene Plotunterpunkte und derlei mehr. Aus meiner Sicht genau die richtige Mischung, um neue Spielleiter nicht völlig allein im Regen stehen zu lassen, bereits erfahrenen Spielleitern hingegen noch genug Raum zur freien Ausgestaltung zu geben.
Alle dreizehn Plotaufhänger hier im Detail darzustellen, würde zu weit gehen. Trotzdem an dieser Stelle einige Hinweise, welche Bandbreite diese so abdecken. Zunächst zu nennen wäre da Self preservation, wo der Aufhänger darin besteht, dass die Runner dem Kon auf den Schlips getreten sind. Vielleicht auch nicht, aber zumindest fühlt sich der Konzern auf den Schlips getreten und hat ein Kopfgeld auf die Runner ausgesetzt. Nun ja, Kopfgelder kann man ja wieder zurück ziehen … wenn die Runner zu der einen oder anderen Gegenleistung bereit sind. Das sind sie doch, oder?
In Technomancer uprising weht der Wind aus einer ganz anderen Richtung. Die Technomancer und KI kämpfen um ihre Rechte und werden dabei, nicht ganz uneigennützig natürlich, vom Horizon-Konzern unterstützt. Das wiederum gefällt der UN gar nicht und der Kon gerät ins Schwimmen. Grund genug für eine militante Technomancer-Gruppe, einen Virus in den Konzern einschmuggeln zu wollen, um mal wieder klare Verhältnisse zu schaffen.
Eine besonders nette Idee bietet der Aufhänger Red Rain in Anknüpfung des „Blutregens“ von 2073: Salt Lake City steht unter Wasser und Tage dauernder starker Regen hat die Abwasserrohre überlastet. Die Menschen mussten sich in höhere Etagen von Gebäuden retten. Und darunter befindet sich natürlich auch die Zielperson der Runner, die diese extrahieren sollen.
Besonders gelungen an den ganzen Plothooks ist der Mix aus mundanen, technischen, magischen und sonstigen Schwerpunkten. So ist gewährleistet, dass man so einige Runs mit derselben Gruppe und denselben Charakteren spielen kann, ohne dass es langweilig wird. Im Gegenteil wird jeder der – zumeist ja gegebenen – Archetypen über kurz oder lang seine besondere Nische finden können, um zu glänzen.
Zum Abschluss bietet das Buch noch zehn Seiten Character Trove, eine Sammlung von etwas mehr als dreißig unterschiedlichen NSC, die man im Rahmen der vorgestellten Plots oder auch in ganz eigenem Setting gut einsetzen kann. Und als sei das noch nicht Service genug, finden sich diese sogar noch alphabetisch gelistet ganz am Ende des Bandes.
Der Appendix – ein bisschen das beliebte Postscriptum der Quellenbücher, wie mir manchmal scheint, stellt noch diverse Hard- und Software vor, die man kennen sollte, vielleicht auch einsetzen mag, um Vegas und die Horizon Corporation noch einmal plastischer ins rechte Licht zu rücken. SimSinn, Aktiv- und Talentsofts, diverse Formen von Personafixes mit Beispielen, Mood Chips, Dream Chips, Trip Chips … hier bleibt kein Wunsch offen.
Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis
Das Verhältnis zwischen Preis und Seitenzahl sowie Aufmachung ist grundsätzlich okay. Dass die 154 Seiten allerdings prall mit Informationen und Anregungen gefüllt sind, verschafft dem Buch einen deutlichen Mehrwert, so dass ich die Investition fast schon als wirklich günstig bezeichnen würde.
Fazit
Wer Interesse an der Horizon Corporation oder an Las Vegas als Spielort hat, ist mit diesem Buch wirklich gut bedient. Die zugehörigen, schon vor längerem erschienenen Abenteuerbände schaden nicht, sind aber auch nicht zwingend erforderlich. Die Beschreibungen sind lebendig, die vorgestellten Örtlichkeiten und Gimmicks kreativ, der Aufbau ordentlich und übersichtlich … hier hat man wirklich so ziemlich alles richtig gemacht.
Unsere Bewertung
Erscheinungsbild 4/5 Schwarzweiß, solide bebildert
Inhalt 5/5 Top! Umfangreich, kreativ, toll zum Schmökern und Auffinden gleichermaßen
Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis 5/5 Viel drin für einen fairen Preis
Gesamt 5/5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/03/04/tabletop-review-shadowr
un-missions-showcase/
I was actually kind of surprised to see a new Shadowrun Missions, honestly. I thought the season had wrapped up nicely with Election Day, and so I wasn’t really expecting any more until the new edition of Shadowrun comes out later this year. Still, you’ll never hear me complain about a new one. After all, Shadowrun Missions is the best deal in gaming adventure-wise. For less than the cost of a comic book, you get roughly three dozen full colour pages, along with all the aids and information you need to run the adventure and hopefully complete it in a single session. I say “hopefully” because we all know how off tangent a game can go. Shadowrun Missions even lets you track faction stats as you run through each adventure in this season. That doesn’t mean you HAVE to pick them all up; they’re each designed to be played as a one-shot, but you do get the most value out of the collection when you run them as an interconnected campaign.
Where Election Day wrapped up the political intrigue storyline of this season’s Shadowrun Missions, Showcase wraps up the “artifact hunt” side of things. For a few years now, a lot of Shadowrun adventures (Missions or otherwise) have focused on collecting magical artifacts, even though that have no discernible use. In fact, roughly half of the adventures in this set of Shadowrun Missions had you artifact collecting. Well, here is the payoff. Many of the artifacts you collected this season, along with several others, are on display at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Science. If you’re a long time Shadowrun fan, you can pretty much see what is coming. If not, well, the museum gets looted by shadowrunners and both the Atlantean and Draco Foundations, who each had artifacts on display in the showcase, are accusing the other of taking their otherworldly possessions. It’s up to your players to figure out who is behind the crime. In the midst of your research, you’ll discover that more than one party tried to steal the collection on the same night, which led to a comedy of errors. The only problem is figuring out which team of runners actually got away with the goods.
Along the way, your players will get offers from not one, but two, great dragons (through their representatives) to turn over the artifacts to them rather than their rightful owners in exchange for money and aid in procuring the objects. You’ll also run into elven archaeologist Fiona Craig as well as “Street Legend” Kellan Colt… unless, of course, your team let her die in a previous Shadowrun Missions adventure because, like a lot of Shadowrun fans, they hate the character and her novels, considering them one of the lowest points in the franchise. Whoops. Anyway, the adventure climaxes with a massive battle between the players (and any help they picked up along the way) vs. the people who stole the artifacts. It really is a huge battle and even though Shadowrun Missions is designed to help even the most inexperienced GM run a Shadowrun game, I would strongly suggest that you be extremely well versed in Shadowrun rules before attempting this thing. Hell, there’s even a sidebar about how to run a battle this large, which is probably daunting for less experienced GMs. Between the sheer scope of the combat and the fact that the adventure pretty much promises some PCs will bite it during the affair, you might want to think twice about running Showcase, even though it’s well written – simply because of the sheer amount of work you’ll have to put into the climax, coupled with the potential for the less mature members of your party to freak out when their character dies rather horribly. This is almost Call of Cthulhu guaranteed level dying here.
After the battle, expect betrayal from all allies. There is a very strong chance that even if the PCs win the battle, they will lose the war (meaning the artifacts, and thus their payoff) as their allies turn on them, taking the artifacts for themselves. Again, this adventure feels designed more to frustrate players (or kill their characters off) and have the season end on a dour note, which really isn’t cool in my opinion. Again, Showcase is a well written adventure, but it definitely feels like a big middle finger to all the players who went through some, or even every, adventure in this set. In this respect, I really wish this season ended with Election Day, as that was a great payoff to the season, where Showcase is just… anticlimactic and screws the players over big time in nearly all respects. Like I said, it’s just not the way you want to end a collection of interlocking adventures. A campaign needs to end on a high note… or with everyone dead, not leaving the players feeling like the entire adventure was a waste of time, money, and life. My suggestion is to flip-flop the order of the two. Run Showcase first and then Election Day.
If it helps, our team ended up getting a list of who owned what artifact, and then contacted both Foundations offering them one object from the other’s collection OF THEIR CHOICE in exchange for some slight aid. They also contacted Ares, since they were contracted to guard the artifacts, and got some help there. Ares got to prevent a PR disaster and get some revenge. Since Colt was dead by way of their previous choices, they didn’t have to worry about her, and both sides got five artifacts each (four of their originals and a trade!), and with Ares and the PCs there to play middlemen, neither foundation could risk a betrayal and everything went neatly back to the museum for the remainder of the show – with massively increased security. It was a win-win for all parties, but everyone who played was extremely experience in Shadowrun, so they knew all the possible angles without bleeding player knowledge into character knowledge.
Overall, Showcase could have been a bit more PC friendly (player character, not political correctness), as it really does seem to go out of its way to be mean to them. At the same time it’s well written and it really does weave all of the threads from the artifact hunt into one cohesive final story. Unlike most Shadowrun Missions though, this adventure is not for the inexperienced or casual Shadowrun GM. You really have to know the setting and system inside and out to make this flow smoothly. Finally, the adventure will more likely than not end on a down note, which is realistic, but unsatisfying, so you may want to just skip this and have your campaign end with Election Day. It’s your call. Thumbs up or a thumbs in the middle depending on the quality and experience of whoever is running this adventure. Either way though, it’s less than four dollars and a fun read, so Shadowrun fans will probably still want to pick this up to read, even if it never gets played.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Log In 
![Take on Even More Supplements [BUNDLE]](images/4854/114745-thumb80.gif)
