Shadowrun RP (gameinfo+discussion thread)

littleRED · 2012-02-05T17:07:42-01:00

Shadowrun is a RP in a near-future setting in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of sci-fi (cyberpunk) and (urban) fantasy. This means it has all the cyberpunk typical elements of virtual realities, implants and interesting high-tech stuff combined with all the fantasy and magical creatures and races you could possibly imagine from a fantasy setting. The game is set 62 years in the future (current year is 2074). The emergence of magic, the outbreak of devastating plagues, the Computer Crash of 2029, the Euro-Wars, and the fevers for independence of Amerindian tribes, Chinese provinces, and everything else that came with the many struggles that ravaged Europe and Asia during their struggle left the world's governments tumbling and falling. The United States was broken into substates. Monetary value was lost. A world-wide currency - the Nuyen - was established. The world had to rebuild, and rebuild they did, this time in the image of the Mega-Corporations that seized power. Taking advantage of the laws that had been passed years ago, and using their new found freedom, the Mega-corps began impressing their power on the failing governments. Before long the world was transformed. Boundaries were redrawn, and the political landscape was changed forever. When conflicts arise, corporations, governments, organized crime syndicates and even wealthy individuals subcontract their dirty work to mercenary specialists without, who perform "shadowruns" (missions) undertaken by deniable assets without identities or those that wish to remain unknown. Shadowrunners have to earn the reputation for getting the job done. The best ones become (living) legends in the shadows of the underground. Short history: Spoiler:2011 magic awakens in the world. Once mythological beings (e.g. dragons) appear and old forms of magic suddenly start to work. Large numbers of humans "goblinize" into orks and trolls, while human children begin to be born as elves, dwarves, and even more exotic creatures. In parallel with the magical developments, the 21st century features technological and social developments, where mega-corporations control the lives of their employees and command their own armies. The ten largest are even being exempt from the jurisdiction of local law. Technology advances turn so called cyberware (mechanical body parts) and bioware (vat-grown body parts) into something that is as commonly used as cell-phones nowadays. The internet evolves after a huge crash in 2029 into the virtual reality called the "Matrix". It is a worldwide computer network that users interact with via direct neural interfaces. For are more detailled time-line, you can look here Races: Spoiler:Characters in Shadowrun can be humans, orks, trolls, elves, or dwarfs, certain diverging subspecies (known as metavariants) such as gnomes, giants, minotaurs, etc. In the early days, when magic returned to the world, Humans began to either change into, or give birth to elf and dwarf infants, a phenomenon called Unexplained Genetic Expression (UGE). Later, some juvenile and adult humans "goblinized" into other races (mostly orks, but also some trolls). Some even died in the process. The term "metahuman" is used either to refer to humanity as a whole, including all races, or to refer specifically to non-human races, depending on context. Additionally, a virus known as the Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus (HMHVV), with many variant strains, has been known to cause further change, far beyond that of traditional vampirism, frequently resulting in fierce abominations that are no longer human and sometimes no longer even sentient: bandersnatches, banshees, dzoo-noo-quas, goblins, ghouls, Wendigos, and others. Most of these species do not consider human/metahuman types as more than victims, and should be treated as dangerous subjects. Dragons are also present in the awakened world, though not as player characters. Dragons are very powerful physically, magically, and in some situations, financially. Some dragons found the riches they hoarded, and hid during the last Awakening. Their great intelligence allowed them to gain a great deal of influence and power quickly. A few have risen to high political and economical posts, running entire corporations or even as head of state. Descriptions of the standard races: Humans Orks http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Troll Elves Dwarfs The nations: Spoiler:A basic premise of the setting is that as the world endured the string of state-changing events and conflicts, the political landscape fragmented and reformed. In North America, for example, some nations broke apart and reformed, as was the case with the Confederation of American States and the United Canadian and American States; others became havens for specific racial or ethnic groups, like the councils of the Native American Nations, the Native Americans having used their new found magical abilities to regain massive tracts of land; or the Elvish principality of TÃr Tairngire, that encompasess all of the state of Oregon. Some, like the California Free State, simply declared independence, or became de facto corporate subsidiaries like Aztlan (the former Mexico) to Aztechnology Megacorp. Despite the new role of megacorporations, many nations still hold considerable sway through economic, social and military means. The world map in pdf format: here The corporations: Spoiler:The monolithic "enemies" of the Shadowrun world are the corporations, dubbed "megacorporations", "megacorps", or simply "megas" or "corps" for short. Megacorporations in the twenty-first century are global, with all but the smallest corps owning multiple subsidiaries and divisions around the world. They are the superpowers of the Shadowrun universe, with the largest corporations having far more political, economic, and military power than even the most powerful nation-states. In Shadowrun, corporations are effectively "ranked" by the amount of assets under their control, including material, personnel, and property, as well as profit. These ranks are A, AA, and AAA; AAA corporations are top tier. Most corporations in the AA and AAA level are immune to domestic law, responsible only to themselves, and regulated only by the Corporate Court, an assembly of the ten AAA-rated corporations. All AAA-rated and most AA-rated corporations exhibit a privilege known as “extraterritoriality”, meaning that any land owned by the corp is sovereign territory only to the corp and immune to any laws of the country within. Corporate territory is not foreign soil but corporate soil, just like its employees are corporate citizens, though dual citizenship in a corporation and a nation is common. The AAA corps, as well as numerous minor corporations, fight each other not only in the boardroom or during high-level business negotiations but also with physical destruction, clandestine operations, hostile extraction or elimination of vital personnel, and other means of sabotage. Because no corporation wants to be held liable for damages, it has to be done by deniable assets, or shadowrunners, invisible to the system where every citizen is tagged with a System Identification Number (SIN). List of corporations by rank: here Technology: Despite the Crash which caused much data corruption, technology in the game is advanced. Cyberware, technical implants, and Bioware, genetically engineered implants which enhance a person's abilities, emerged. Characters can also augment their bodies with nanotechnology implants. Here is a cropped list of possible ware: Spoiler:Neurological Systems: Adrenaline Booster Boosted Reflexes Painblocker Wired Reflexes Physiological Systems: Arterial Chemical Bypass Artifical Bones Artifical Muscles Artificial Organs (Retractable) Claws (Retractable) Fangs Chemical Analyzer Contraceptive Ingested Chemical Bypass Ingestion Storage Inhaled Chemical Bypass Internal Biorepair System Internal Oxygen Supply Sensory Systems: 360-degree Vision Acute Hearing Acute Vision Alternate Spectral Range Artificial Ear Artificial Eye Bioradar Biosonar Directional Scent Independent Focus Infravision Light Intensification Microscopic Vision Night Sight Optic Readout Parabolic Hearing Polarization Subsonics Telescopic Vision Edit-Out of any sense Somatic Systems: Cyber Arm Cyber Hand Cyber Leg Full Body Prosthesis Hidden Compartment Silver Tongue Vocal Emulator Vocal Modulator Miscellaneous Systems: Calendar Chronometer Cortex Bomb Light Generator Poison Reservoir Tool Implant Tool Link Weapon Implant Weapon Link You shouldn't bother much with this list though. Just tell me what you want your character to be and I'll give you a detailled recommendation of cyber-/bioware. Also, implants lessen the life essence and therefore the capability to use magic and makes it therefore nearly impossible to create for example a powerfull shaman, who is a basically a walking machine. The Matrix: Spoiler:After the second Matrix crash in 2064, Matrix technology was moved away from the wired network and led into a wireless technology. The most noticeable difference between the Matrix in the 2070s and the earlier editions is that wireless technology has become completely ubiquitous. Communications and Matrix access is provided through wi-fi nodes placed throughout the infrastructure of just about every city on Earth. The nodes of all electronic devices a person carries are connected in a similar manner, creating a Personal Area Network (PAN). People access their PAN with their Commlink, a combination personal computer/cell phone/PDA/wireless device available either as an implant or a head-mounted display. This access can be the total sensory immersion letting you dive into a virtual reality, or a sensory enhancement by which the virtual features of one's physical surroundings can be perceived and manipulated. The Matrix is thus not only a virtual reality, but an augmented or mixed reality. There are two general types of hackers: The classical hackers using hardware/software and so called technomancers, who possess an innate connection to the Matrix that permits them to access the wireless network without hardware. Magic: Spoiler:Those able to actively interact with the magical energies of the Sixth World are known as awakened. An awakened character's power in magic is linked to their Magic attribute. A magic user's approach to working with mystic energy is called their Path. The Awakened fall into three general Paths: Magicians, Adepts, and Mystic Adepts. Broadly speaking, magicians focus their magic outward, actively affecting the world around them, while adepts focus their magic inward, passively enhancing their bodies and minds. Magicians are able to cast spells, summon spirits, and create magical artifacts called "foci". All magicians follow traditions that determine their understanding of magic. These traditions include hermetic mages, whose control of magic comes through study and manipulation of magical energy or mana, and who summon and bind elementals in lengthy and expensive rituals to be called on later; and shamans, whose magic derives from a connection to nature via a totem spirit, and who can summon the nature spirits associated with a particular place. Adepts use magic internally in order to accentuate their natural physical abilities. Adepts can run on walls, use mundane objects as deadly thrown projectiles, shatter hard objects with a single unarmed blow, and perform similar feats of incredible ability. All adepts follow a very personal path (Path of the Warrior, Path of the Artist, etc.). This path normally determines their abilities which might be very different for any two adepts: while one might demonstrate increased reflexes and facility with firearms, a second might possess unparalleled mastery of the katana, and a third might be able to pull off incredible vehicular stunts. Mystic adepts, also known as physical mages, are part magician and part adept. They distribute their magic power between the abilities of both aspects. Slang Guidebook / Dictionary: Spoiler:Awakened - Magician, magical. Chipped - Senses, skills, reflexes, muscles, and so on, enhanced by cyberware Chummer - "Pal” or “Buddy” Commlink - A combination of personal computer/cell phone/PDA/wireless device available either as an implant or a head-mounted display (used to access the Matrix). Corp - Corporation, corporate Drek - A common curse word Dumped - Involuntarily ejected from the Matrix. Exec - Corporate executive. Fetishman n. A talismonger. Mr. Johnson - Refers to an anonymous employer or corporate agent. Mundane - Non-magician or non-magical (vulgar). Nuyen - World standard of currency. Suit - A “straight citizen.” Sprawl - A metroplex (large city). System Identification Number (SIN) - Identification number assigned to each person in the society. Trideo - Three-dimensional successor to video. Wired - Same as chipped. Will be expanded as the game goes on. CHARACTER CREATION: The standard way to go is to create a Shadowrunner. BUT, there are no rules for character creation from my side, exept for these: 1. No matter who or what you are, it has to be plausibly explained by your background. 2. You have to have at least two major defects (weaknesses) 3. Every bombastic feature has to have a weakness. Means, for all I care you could be the demonlord from hell, but that ultra-mega-hyper power of yours has to have restrictions (i.e. barely works when it rains). So you can be anything from the above-mentioned demonlord to a totally normal secretary. Just keep in mind that you'll probably end up in highly dangerous and life threatening situations, where that cute little office assistant may not survive the next round and that this incredibly cool demonlord could end up being crushed to pieces by the whole magical world. All in all, create a character you can identify yourself with. PUT SOME LOVE INTO IT!!! For those who have trouble coming up with something, here are some basic archetypes: Spoiler:Hacker: You are able to use sophisticated hardware to jack into the Matrix, steal data, sabotage security systems, and generally reak havok on your enemy’s computer networks. Fixer: You are a charismatic negotiator and skilled con artist. As the most socially adept member of your crew, you’re often the one in charge of dealing with Mr. Johnson, cutting deals with sleazy informants, and using your sly way with words to get you and buddies out of a bind. Mage: As a practitioner of the hermetic tradition, you favor magic based on mana, illusion, and the elements. In addition to being a potent combatant, you also possess a number of utilitarian spells to assist you and your fellow Shadowrunners. Rigger: You are equipped with a special control rig that allows you to mentally control drones and vehicles via a cybernetic link. With your trusty combat drone, you dominate the battlefield, keeping your enemies at bay or simply bringing the pain. Shaman: You are a mystical seer who commands the powers of the spirits and the Astral realm to aid her allies and hinder her enemies. You and your friends are watched over by your spirit guardian, an animal totem that you dedicate yourself to. In combat, you are an adept healing as well as a fearsome enemy. Street Samurai: You’re tough, mean, and stacked from head to toe in cybernetic enhancements. However, it’s not technology that dominates your life, but dedication to the ancient warrior’s code of Bushido. Your martial ability coupled with your body enhancements make you a deadly foe in battle. CHARACTER SHEET: Spoiler:Name: the one you are born with (i.e. Harry Califax) Shadowname: is the nickname you earned in the shadows (i.e. Throatslicer, cuz you like to slice throats) Gender: male/female (other?) Race: troll/ork/elve/dwarf/human are the standard races (but you can be anything) Age: Looks: Personality: Skills/Powers: Weaknesses: Background: have fun writing this, be creative and PUT SOME LOVE INTO IT!!! Don't bother with points, stats and such, I'll assign you balanced stats fitting your character description (and background) and will put it at the bottom of this post together with your character sheet. Post your charactersheet in this thread!!! The game will start as soon as I have at least 4 players, but it will be possible to join later on. Game rules: One post per day is mandatory. Posts don't have to be walls of text, but they should be well written out. PUT SOME LOVE INTO IT!!! Try to kill another player and the hand of God (me) will descend from the heavens and crush you like a bug. I'll do anything I can to save your character from certain death, but I won't tolerate sheer stupidity. If it rains bullets, than take shelter, for christer sake! Setting: The starting point will be (New) Seattle (here) in the UCAS (United Canadian and American States), so you should include in your background how you ended up there (maybe even being a local). The rest will be revealed when the game starts and during the game of course. :o) Here's a little bit about the city, for those who are too lazy to click on the link: Spoiler:The Seattle Metroplex is an island of UCAS territory surrounded by hostile nations, and the only UCAS port on the Pacific Ocean. Four million UCAS citizens live in the Metroplex, with up to a five hundred thousand transients visiting every day. Those are the official numbers, mind. Rough estimates place the actual population (including transients and a few species not yet regarded as sentient by the Metroplex Census Office) closer to six million. Seattle is a little more cosmopolitan than your average sprawl, which is a major plus for people in our line of work. Any ethnicity, metatype, ’ware, or outfit blends right into with the pavement-pounding downtown hordes. You really have to make an effort to get anyone to raise an eyebrow at your appearance, even in the exclusive high-sec corp enclaves (where you can look weird as long as you also look rich). It’s also easy to plug into whatever subcultural niche you prefer here. There are dozens of little ethnic neighborhoods and specialty shops where you can find anything your individual quirks desire. Linguachips and translation programs are ubiquitous these days, but your average Seattleite speaks at least two languages, even if they can’t write their name. The ones you’re most likely to encounter are English, Japanese, Salish dialects, Or’zet, Aztlaner Spanish, Russian, Korean, and Sperethiel. Visitors to Seattle see a city of living crystal, with each building a massive polygon of multifaceted green gems lit from within. This is the much-hyped “Emerald City” AR overlay promoted by the Seattle Tourist Board, broadcast via thousands of participating nodes and networks right to your commlink. Most of Downtown Seattle, especially the looming corporate skyscrapers, has adopted the green, glassy AR theme to “skin” over their drab exteriors of concrete and mirrored windows. The street level overlay is more colorful and varied in appearance, though green and crystalline elements are still dominant. Seattle’s virtual reality is pretty much like any other, though you’ll note the Emerald City design motif is standard here, too. The largest systems include Mitsuhama’s infamous Forbidden City host, the Aztechnology Pyramid, the NeoNET Constellation, and the translucent green apparition of the Arcology Commercial and Housing Enclave. Of course, no introduction to the Seattle Matrix would be complete without mentioning SeaSource, a popular public database and search engine. If I happened to miss something crucial, pls go ahead and ask (feel free to PM me too).

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littleRED

12 years ago

I'd like to propose following bag combination:

ASSAULT BACKPACK 250Â¥
Forum Image: https://www.fakku.net/image-404/images/843755-IWTB3M1.jpg

ASSAULT EQUIPMENT BAG:
Forum Image: https://www.fakku.net/image-404/images/843756-SEECVGG.jpg

ASSAULT RIFLE BAG:
Forum Image: https://www.fakku.net/image-404/images/843757-9M09G31.jpg

Damienthedevil

12 years ago

My list of equipment. If you think I need anything extra, feel free to say.

Ares predator IV X2
AK 97
Form-Fitting Body Armor Shirt
Combat boots
Med kits
Water purifying tablets
Rations
water
Change of clothes
underwear
toothbrush
toothpaste
Assault Backpack
Assault Rifle back

littleRED

12 years ago

BTW, just wanted to mention that I diced out the pairings for the shift changes. The pairs are:

1. N + Traitor
2. Rudy + Charon
3. Victorique + ShadowFang
4. Dussack + Sandman

The doctor was left out, because she would've been missing a partner and since she is too small it wouldn't have been nice.

ToyManC Forgot my safe word

12 years ago

Since most of my technomancer's abilities are built in, I am unsure what gear to bring, other than rations, a medkit (or two), and water purifier tablets. I was considering a microtronics kit, and standard tool kit, as well.

There is also the matter of the Matrix being less than reliable in the Lagos region. Would it be advisable to bring gear that would assist with keeping us connected, other than our commlinks? Perhaps tactical headsets with encryption capability?

When reading about the various guns, I read about something called smartlink, is that something that would let my character interface with a gun more easily? And if so, is it available for us in this game? How much ammo should we each carry?

We will also need to arrange for reliable transport for when we arrive in Lagos, since I doubt we all want to cram our whole group into a cab.

For now, my gear loadout is this:
-Ares Predator II (Sidearm)
-AK 97
-Medkits (2)
-Water Purifier tabs
-microtronics kit
-tool kit
-Rations (MRE's?)
-Assault equipment bag
-Assault rifle bag

Any suggestions from more experienced Shadowrunners would be helpful, thanks.

littleRED

12 years ago

Flaser wrote...

You're call, chummer. It's only half the fun, if ya guys don't forget something to pack. LOL. *evil GM mode*

littleRED

12 years ago

Dear all,

I just got a note from ToyManC. Unfortunately he won't be part of the game anymore, due to RL reasons. He said that his workload jut got too heavy and he won't be able to make even the the one post per day, hence rather drops out of the game, than hold us back.

I'm gonna NPC Rudy the Rat until I find a way of excluding him from the team.

NeoStriker

12 years ago

He will be missed. *Sniff*

littleRED

12 years ago

Was reading the CLUE files a bit, which is basically an archive of examples of player CLUElessness. This is one of my favorite examples of the famous: U SURE U WANNA DO THIS?

Enjoy:

Spoiler:

littleRED

12 years ago

MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wordmangler2000

12 years ago

Sorry guys. My bad. I should never have come here.

littleRED

12 years ago

Ah, well ... Wordmangler didn't leave just the game, he left Fakku, because RL is asking the most of his attention.

I'm sad not to having him on board anymore, but yeah ... RL is more important than internet forums.

Flaser OCD Hentai Collector

12 years ago

In other news, the game has been really plodding as of late. My PC and NPCs always getting the spotlight can't be any fun for you guys.

I think we need to discuss a few things, like what your characters want to do and what ideas you have about solving the difficulties the party faces. I've created a Doodle Poll, to find a suitable timeslot. Make sure you vote what time(s) you can be online!

We could either use Skype (as some of you already do) or IRC. if you're not familiar with IRC clients, I've created this link that'll connect you using a web-based client (Mibbit):

irc://#FAKKU-SR@irc.rizon.net.

Bottomline: Whether this IM session comes through or not, start discussing things! You're not playing a computer game, you'll have to take a pro-active role here if you want to achieve something.

If you're unsure, than feel free to ask! It's part of the GM's job to describe the world to you and answer any question your character would know naturally. It's also better to discuss stuff with other players ahead of time, so you don't have to post a dozen messages just to have a conversation.

littleRED

12 years ago

Flaser wrote...

I agree and support this !!! :)

Flaser OCD Hentai Collector

12 years ago

OK, since most of you voted, it seems like we have a window that's good for most of you. We're going to delay an hour or two compared to the very start of the window to make sure everyone shows up.

We'll have an IM session at 16:00 (4 pm), GMT.
If you have trouble knowing when that is in your local time, use the Doodle:

http://doodle.com/h2n883caxk6gpqza

1. Set it to GMT (Greenwich Meant Time)
2. Note where the appointed time is. (3rd green column from the left in the big window)
3. Set it to you local time.
4. Check when you'll have to show up.

We'll use the Shadowrun RP group on Skype.

If you have any trouble with Skype, use this link and me and littleRED will try and help you get it resolved.

irc://#FAKKU-SR@irc.rizon.net.

littleRED

12 years ago

Dear all,

important announcement regarding the suicidal Doctor: no one - and I mean NO ONE - except for Dussack, Sandman and Leblanc will remember the little blue elf.

It's like she never existed.

End of announcement.

Flaser OCD Hentai Collector

12 years ago

According the doodle you're all free at this moment, so please get on Skype ASAP!

littleRED

12 years ago

The PC Victorique was removed from the game - and everybody is to act like it never existed in the game in the first place.

Flaser OCD Hentai Collector

12 years ago

According to the Doodle Poll, all of you should be available on Wednesday 16:00-19:00 GMT. Therefore I'm fixing our discussion and gaming session at that time, so make sure you show up on Skype!

If don't know what this means in your local time, use the Doodle's world time feature:
http://doodle.com/bd7qbi4aaihkcep4

If you have any trouble with Skype, use the following link to contact us on IRC:
https://chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23FAKKU-SR&server=irc.rizon.net

littleRED

12 years ago

Ok people,

we're about to finally cut from the prologue to the main game.

The 2nd group on rpol started off nicely - most of them seem to be experienced Shadowrun players, so that will give new and interesting aspects to the whole game.

For anyone, who wants to join the game still, PM me here - and we'll see, if we can work something out. I decided to move the game, because it turned out that a normal forum does not support the amount of admin rights I need to keep the game quality on a certain level. So we moved it to a website that is specialized in play-by-post games.

The remaining active players already have accounts there and are on the game, so basically this is more a announcement for the rest, who might wanted to follow the story. I would invite you over to keep reading the story, but the game is marked as adult content and I have to follow strict guidelines on participation, including that I have to remove lurkers.

That's all from my side.

Greetings,
RED

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