From [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] Fri Nov 6 19:16:04 1992 Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 19:15:58 PST Message-Id: <[9211070315 AA 13118] at [mailbox.kpc.com]> From: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] Reply-To: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] Errors-To: [flashlife request] at [kpc.com] Subject: Flashlife V3 #9 (Special Review Issue) To: [f--h--e] at [kpc.com] Status: R From: Carl Rigney (moderator) <[flashlife request] at [kpc.com]> Flashlife Fri, 6 Nov, 1992 Volume 3 : Issue 9 Today's topics: Another Shadowrun List (Matt Morgan) New Gear (William Schongar) Shadowrun Capsule Reviews (Lester Ward) Re: Shadowrun Modules (Mary Kuhner) Re: Shadowrun Modules (Earl Hubbell) Re: Shadowrun Modules (Keith Ammann) Review: Dragon Hunt (Mary Kuhner) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Oct 92 01:52:41 EDT From: Matt Morgan <[H--BU--E] at [DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU]> Subject: Another Shadowrun List Actually there is a[nother] shadowrun list: [S--o--n] at [Hearn.bitnet.] If you're interested it's run in a similar fashion to the adnd list and rec.games.frp. -------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Oct 92 11:04:11 EDT From: [t--c--r] at [wpi.WPI.EDU] (William Schongar) Subject: New Gear The following is a list of equipment and such that I've come up with over the past 2 years or so of running SR games, and playing in them. Some of it is inspired by things that I've read, others by just being bored in class. A note on the damages listed for the weaponry (ok, so most of it *is* weaponry..): Feel free to change around the numbers to balance anything in your campaign, I change them sometimes myself.. a few of them can be *extremely* unbalancing, so use with caution. That said, here's my list 'o stuff.. All new, all 'improved', items to equip people with and hose them with as well. Use, cost, availability, etc., are all subject to GM's discretion for game balance purposes. Damage is also subjective, but has been figured to approximate the values in game terms, without having the 'cinematic boom-boom' effect. Ground Radar - Small portable unit, size .4x.2x.3m Can be used by itself as a monitoring station, or used in a vehicle with hardwired external sensors. Two position switch selects between independent or mounted mode. This unit is most usually used as an intruder alert device in larger facilities (on a larger scale), or biological expeditions for biota monitoring. The unit has a memory function that will allow the recording of patterns, out to the limit of its range. With the addition of this feature, Lone Star has been known to use it to monitor engagements, as it can output which way the suspect ran. -Cost - 10,000Y (singular), 15,000Y (installed) Improved Stun Grenades - Low-density polystyrene casing, opposing conical charges of higher density plastique. Detonation causes severe shock waves in a several meter radius. With the explosion, the polystyrene is utterly evaporated, causing no shrapnel effects. -Damage -> 4D4 Stun, Full Damage Category reduction per 2m (4D4 within 2m, 4S4 to 4m, 4M4 to 6m..etc) (Use *Impact Armor*) -Cost - 250Y each Phosphorous Grenades - Cylindrical metal casing, weight @.4kg Small central charge for detonation/ignition, remainder of container filled with concentrated phosphorous sludge. Detonation ruptures canister, spraying ignited phosphorous sludge out to 4m radius, adhering to surfaces and burning. -Damage -> 6S3, Full damage category reduction per 2m No effect beyond 4m (Use *Impact Armor*) -Cost - 400Y each Tactical Armor - Highly concealable light armor. Utilizes molecular binding of kevlar monofilaments to standard thread, prior to weaving. Heavy Version adds an insulating gel layer, which retains body heat and also disperses impacts more easily. The major drawback to the heavy version is the extreme insulation value of the gel. This is a bonus in the winter, but a health risk in the summer. -Armor Value -> Ballistic 4, Impact 4 (Normal) Ballistic 5, Impact 6 (Heavy) -Concealability - 9 (Normal), 7 (Heavy) -Cost - Not Available. Period. Currently in testing by LoneStar, all equipment is equipped with built-in tracers. Napalm Cartridges - Shotgun rounds using encapsulated chemical compartments. On impact the capsules shatter, combining two mixtures, which form a highly caustic and flammable gel. The third compartment shatters to ignite the mixture. This gel is highly adhesive, burns very hot, and very quickly. Accuracy is slightly reduced due to the uneven force distribution on firing. -Damage -> 8S4 - Damage is negated when applied vs. exterior armor, but flames continue for three actions subsequent. Clothing provides no protection. After three actions, unless extinguished, articles of clothing or armor are useless. Scrap. Slag. Byebye. If an individual is hit with two shots, ignore all armor modifications. -Cost -> Not available. Another helpful Ares Test product. Gas Cartridges - Condensed particulate cartridges are fired from a shotgun. The individual particulate varies by choice, but is nominally stun gas by default. The dispersion is the result of the breakup of a cloth round, which disintigrates split seconds after firing. The contained particulate is then carried forward through momentum, and air friction disperses it into a find dry mist, in a conicular pattern ranging out to 15m distant. At 15m, the dispersion width is 3 meters. This width is reduced by 1m for every 5m distance. If fired at point-blank range there is a slight possibility of target contact prior to cloth round disintigration. -Damage -> Varies. Normally Neuro Stun VIII. (Roll checks at point blank, 1-2 on d6=no effect) -Cost - Available through individual arrangement only. Highly illegal. Flechette Glove - A more lethal variant on the Shock glove, the reinforced mesh Flechette Glove has small barrels along the knuckle ridges. These four barrels are hooked up to a compressed air cartridge on the wrist, and fired by hard impact while hand is in a fist. Each barrel is connected to the Flechette compartment on the hand surface, which hold a maximum of 4 bundled flechette packages (4 flechettes per package). Loading this compartment takes 3 actions. -Damage -> Normal punch damage, Flechette = 4M5 Flechette damage is the total damage for all flechettes -Cost - 1,200Y (Glove), 100Y (4 Flechette Packages) -Concealability - 6 (Due to cartridge) Flechette Pistol - An increase in tactical armor-piercing ability, in response to the rash of heavy armor available on the black market. The small pistol uses a multishot design, based with twin angled barrels. The two barrels are at an angle of 1 degree off-center, each, which converges their point of impact, increasing the damage by having two sturdy flechettes hit within a nominal 2mm spacing. The Flechette rounds are non-standard, and cannot be substituted in any gun, nor substituted for in this gun. The Flechette rounds are bonded tungsten slivers, machined with mirco-current stabilizers, with two slivers per cartridge. The magazine loads normally, and will hold 10 shots (20 cartridges) -Damage -> 5M4 (Use Impact Armor) -Cost - 2,500Y (Gun), 25Y per 10 Cartridges (5 Shots) -Concealability - 8 Tactical Baton - A small tungsten Baton with a sealed, partially mercury-filled, interior tube. The slim baton has a rubber coated handle end, and a slight bulb on the attack end. This bulb functions as a mercury-receiving resevoir when swung, amplifying the force applied on impact. This is augmented by the telescopic extension of the rod to nearly 2/3 its original length. The baton is slightly longer than a ruler, and highly concealable when strapped to a leg. It does not appear to be much of a weapon. - Damage -> (Str+2)M3 Stun (Use Impact Armor) - Cost - Not yet available generically. Fabrication costs would be approximately 900Y. - Concealability - 8 Monfilament Knife - Small Combat knife with a bonded monmolecular line along the outer edge. Knife cannot be thrown. The monfilament is bonded to the knife by a currently experimental process, and is therefore prone to breakage. On any strong enough hit, there is a slight chance that the bonding will fail, reducing the damage of the knife to that of a standard survival knife. - Damage -> (Str+1)M2 (On any hit which is staged to D or beyond (BEFORE reduction), there is a 1 in 6 chance that the bonding will fail. If this happens, damage occurs normally, but the knife is no longer monfilament.) - Cost - Not Available. Period. Never. Ares still has this product in the testing phase. Testing by their own operatives. When they have something better, they'll release this and keep the better one. - Concealability - 6 Improved Explosive Rounds - Concentrated gelginate impregnated within bullet payload. The effect is extreme, and normally fatal when fired by a competent shooter. These Rounds are highly unstable. If caused to detonate prematurely, they create a cumulative grenade effect. - Damage -> Increase Damage Category by One FULL Category Ie - 5M3 becomes 5S3 If exploded on a person, add up the total number of rounds, divide by 2, and each number is one damage category in a damage resistance test of 6(n)2. 1=light, 2=medium, 3 =serious, ... 9=D+5, etc. - Cost - Unavailable. Rounds are too unstable to be produced by normal armorers. Strobe Genade - A high-intensity Laser LED grenade which cycles a frequency of 500kHz visible light. This causes severe disorientation, resulting in extended periods of reduced vision. The strobe grenade can be reused, once recharged. - Damage -> Willpower Resistance to 5L4, otherwise there is a +4 to all target numbers for any type of combat or spellcasting. - Cost - Not available - Concealability - 5 - Recharge - Adaptor cord + wall socket/ Battery pack (30 sec. to recharge) Radio-Detonated Grenades - Standard grenades, fitted with remote detonators. Can be set for for variety of detonation conditions, including combinations of time/radio, impact/time, etc.. - Damage -> Standard - Concealability - 5 - Special --- Decreases target number by 1 - Cost - 400Y (Detonator), +50Y to each grenade Stun Whip - A dual conductor cord connected to an insulated handle. The battery pack in the whip is limited, by only discharges upon impact, which causes the conductive meshes to meet and discharge. - Damage -> 5S2 Stun (Uses Impact Armor) - Cost - 2,000Y - Concealability - 8 Battery pack is good for 15 hits before needing recharge Predator III - The Predator Line in a smaller, more concealable, package. With a reduced magazine, vented tungsten barrel, and reactive trigger, it is the next generation of pistols. The magazine hold 10 shots, and can fire two per action, with a penalty of only +1 to the second shot. - Damage -> 6M2 (No integral smartgun Link) - Cost - Not available. Ares releases new guns when it has something better for themselves. With the invention of their Predator III, they were able to market their Predator II. It's called 'Keeping Ahead of your customers'. - Concealability - 6 Coweesin ART - The Flechette version of the Vindicator Minigun. Not very effective against vehicular armor, but highly effective against human targets. The 6 rotating barrels require 1 round to speed up, but then can be kept continous for 15 turns. A recharge trickle pack is capable of recharging an ART for a full day, provided it gets ample time in between uses. - Damage -> 6M3 (PER SHOT), 6 shots per action (Use 1/2 Impact Armor) - Cost - Not Available. Nope. Never ever. Rounds are not interchangeable with other flechette guns, works only with Coweesin (A division of Ares) special rounds. Ammunition is 90 shots. - Concealability - No way in hell. - Special - Recoil Comp, level 3 No Smartgun link can be attached. Nor Smart goggles. Foam Grenade - Developed as a fire-fighting tool, this grenade has seen extensive use as a Lone Star riot-control weapon. The foam, of patented and unknown manufacture, is dispersed on impact within a 2m radius, covering targets liberally. While the substance is air permeable, it hardens in seconds. This is useful for controlling hostile groups. It hardens to the strength of Reinforced Plywood, so it can be used as hard cover, should officers find it necessary. This grenade was developed by Ares, who fully intended to make it suitable for all its possible uses. - Damage -> Within one action of explosion, any targets within 2m of blast radius are immobilized. Use hit location to determine just where, and roll Twice. Any head hits make the character helpless, and chest hits/ abdomen hits Automatically ensnare at least one leg as well. If one area is rolled twice, keep the results. - Cost - Not available. Composition unknown. - Concealability - 5 Laser Cutter - Originally developed as an artist's tool, this cutter features two converging beams. When the beams hit the same point, the heat is great enough to melt most any substance. Although the use is difficult, as it requires great concentration on the point of convergence, and slow, it is a worthwhile tool. Given sufficient time, laser cutters will slice through Armorplast and Vehicle armor. The cutter itself is approximately double the size of a monfilament whip, while the power pack is the size of a large beltpack. Sufficient energy exists in a pack for 5 uses before needing recharge. - Damage - 6L4 if used as combat weapon Automatically successful when cutting through other materials, to a depth of 2 inches, given two actions to heat material. - Cost - Yeah, riiiiight.. laser technologists at your beck and call? I think not. - Concealability - 4 Cybergas - Available in either single finger or multi-shot versions, the Cybergas system fires gas from pressurized capsules inserted into a central firing chamber. Effective range is approximately 5 meters, less if dispersal is set to a wider field. The finger version holds one carttridge, end reloads through the top. The internal version can be mounted in an arm, hand, leg, or anywhere besides the head. It holds three cartridges, firing one at a time. - Damage - As gas - Cost - 14kY (5k for wrist-mounted, non-cyber 3-shot version) - Concealability - 20 when not firing, 8 when firing Taser Hand - For the non-lethal edge, two conducting pads can be installed on the hand, or a dual-prong extensor needle. These wil deliver a stunning shock to bare skin of any species, but are limited in effectiveness against armor, due to the low possible current. Recharge can be easily done using charge pack and placing appropos extensions on charge pads. Holds enough charge for three shocks. - Damage - As Taser - Cost - 15k - Concealability - 10 EMP Grenades - Lone Star's own design, constructed for them exclusively by undisclosed sources. Chemical explosions inside the grenade augment a field disturbance of limited duration, pulsing out once with s strength of .43 Teslas. Such a field is enough to incapacitate any electronic devices within a short range (3m), and will wipe computer programs and memory. Cyberwear is affected horribly by such fields, either breaking, shutting down, or having control circuits neutralized. - Damage - None physical. Electronic devices face 4D2 resistance test, dice determined by fragility 2 dice - Tapes, disks 3 dice - Chips of any sort 4 dice - Delicate cyberwear (internal) 5 dice - External cyberwear, Decks, Systems - Cost - Unavailable, uncertain composition - Concealability - 7 Wrist Whips - Small tactical packages at your back and call. Flexible rubber tube fits around wire spool, retaining a weight on the end of the wire. Spring-loaded return system keeps wire coiled until centripetal acceleration is sufficient to snap weight outward. Whip extends to 2m, guided by rubber lead. When retracted, the wire pulls the rubber tube inwards, blending with the casing. - Damage - as whip - Cost - 500Y - Concealability - 12 Footspike -Cyberspur for the leg. Blade of Zirconium Oxide extends through self-sealing boot or shoe sole, to a length of 4.5 inches. Blade is traingular, and has little side cutting capabilities. - Damage - 5M2 - Cost - 13500Y - Concealability - 18 (Who looks at the bottom of someone's foot??) Cybersheath -Surgical graft to any major limb or main torso. Armorplastic sheath, designed to blend in with bone structures in an X-Ray scan. Flouroscopes will show the variation, dependent on the accuracy of the machine. Knife size and type varies with location of implant, to conform to optimum efficiency for access. Sheath designed so that outside of knife is flush with skin, making it nearly impossible to detect with a 'pat-down' search. -Damage - As knife. Varies with size. -Cost - 7500, with knife. -Conc. - 14, undetectable under clothes by the eye Le Key -Portable lock shearing device. Small pneumatic cylinder, with two handles that fold down from the back, posessing a Tungsten Carbide blade with a tempered martensite structure. The blade is wedge shaped, to allow insertion into door jambs, vehicle doors or between padlock posts. When full pressure is achieved, which requires 2 actions if loaded, the blade is forced against the target area, the cylinder braced, and fired. The blade travels forward 4 inches, shearing nearly anything in its path. -Damage - GM Discretion for structural. 6D3 vs live targets. (Sickos.) -Cost - 1500Y -Conc. - 5 Flash Glove -Fashion glove with high output strobe. A normal glove in appearance, the Flash Glove contains several power cells within the wrist band area. These charge a large number of capacitors connected to a series of small, high intensity, strobes, located within the glove at intervals. The visible output is channeled through fiber optics to the center of the palm, in an interwoven pattern hardly distinguishable from normal appearance. From a full-extension position of the fingers, the charges are released when the pinky is flexed forward. The batteries are normally only useful for approximately 2 flashes. -Damage - 5M3 Stun, reduce power every 3m, reduce staging every 6m -Cost - 650Y base, varies with glove type. Battery replacements - 50Y -Conc. - 10 NOTE: Costs refer to the base cost for manufacture by a competent Armorer. NONE of this equipment is available commercially, and NONE is available through black markets.... yet.... Hope you've all enjoyed this little escapade into the world of gizmos. I apologize for any technical inconceivabilities, or errors in specifics (I don't know for sure what exactly 500kHZ visible light will do, but a physics major told me it would work.. blame him), but I can't be right all the time. If there are corrections which would make these more accurate, please send them to me, and I'll update the file. More to come as I think of them... -Tracker, Gizmo-a-holic -------------------------- Date: 28 Oct 91 06:49:51 GMT From: [ward 1] at [husc8.harvard.edu] (Lester Ward) Subject: Shadowrun Capsule Reviews References: <[1991 Oct 27 111735 17932] at [agate.berkeley.edu]> Organization: Harvard University Science Center Real short capsule reviews (mail if you want longer ones): Virtual Realities: If you do decking, get it. Sprawl Sites: Only worth it for new Archytypes/Contacts (simply because they are referred to in modules), and rules on credsticks. If you want random encounters, make them up. NAN 1&2: Get only if REALLY interested in the NAN. Modules too crappily edited to be of use. Seattle Sourcebook: I really like this one. London Sourcebook: Ditto. Neo-Anarchists Guide to North America: The general perception on this one is that does not deliver the goods. Sue me, but I like it's complete lack of detail. Most don't. Modules: (Note that these are based on the way our particular party and GM ran them. Mileage will vary) Dreamchipper: Good SR intro, with something for everybody. DNA/DOA: Dungeon Crawl. Good for combat campaigns. Good only because our GM made it so (Great ending). Harlequin: Just do it. Dragon Hunt: A bit artificial, but it leave the characters with the very Cyberpunk feeling of having been messed with by powers greater than themselves, if done right. Bottled Demon: Really scary for mages. A good mage roleplayer could turn this into an entirely different run. I should mention that we ran this simultaneously with the next two adventures, so we were a bit more... tense than normal. Queen Euphoria: A tough one which is pretty fun. If done right, you can really freak out your players ("What is your willpower.") Don't let them see the cover. NAN1: (I don't remember the real name). Like I said, shitty editing, but the idea behind it can be put to good use. Toxic stuff sucks. Mercurial: Almost too complicated and a deus ex machina ending, but I had a pretty good ride. Ivy & Crome: Never actually played this one. It reads OK. There are more, but I haven't done them. Wordman "Cut to musical number in alley." - Joe, from recent Shadowrun -------------------------- Date: 9 Aug 91 14:28:40 GMT From: [m k kuhner] at [genetics.washington.edu] (Mary Kuhner) Subject: Re: Shadowrun Modules References: <[8--0] at [gara.une.oz.au]> Organization: University of Washington, Seattle In article <[8--0] at [gara.une.oz.au]> [j--e--l] at [gara.une.oz.au] (Khyron) writes: > Well, i am new to shadowrun and am wondering what the best modules >and sourcebooks to get are. > I am planning to get all the sourcebooks eventually but would like to >know which ones to get first. Sammy cat, Grimoire, etc Depends on your playing style, but here's how it fell out for us. (My biases: I like fairly low power levels, all characters of about equal ability, lots of magic but not overwhelmingly powerful, and plots with plenty of roleplaying opportunities. I don't like high lethality or doom and gloom plots, even though they are central to the genre. Combat in small doses only.) The GM's screen has a fairly decent short beginning adventure bound in with it (much better than the one in the book) and is middling to useful, given how unclear the rules are; it is not totally consistent with them, but that's FASA for you.... Sourcebooks: *Recommended Street Samurai Catalog - worthwhile if you like well fleshed out equipment lists, and there is some good cyberware here. The amount of waste space in the book is annoying though. Grimoire - very useful but watch out for play balance. Clarifies the Critter powers and gives better Astral Space rules, rules for Enchanting, etc. Probably a must if you have much magic in the campaign. Virtual Reality - buy this if you plan to do any decking to speak of; the basic decking rules have severe problems. Seattle Sourcebook - maps and descriptions of areas in Seattle. Get it if you need this kind of thing, but a cheap street map of Seattle 1991 is a decent substitute. (Then again, I'm living in Seattle so maybe I'm biased.) *Not recommended Sprawl Sites - floorplans, random encounters, more archetypes. Buy it only if you feel a real need for the floorplans and NPCs. Paranormal Animals - don't bother unless you use lots of 'monster' encounters and are having trouble thinking of them. Good explanation of Critter powers but it's duplicated in the Grimoire. Native American Nations I - don't bother; this is a hack-and-slash module with minimal sourcebook material appended. Anarchist's Guide to North America - we didn't get this, but other reviewers have said it's useful only if you plan to run outside of Seattle a good deal, and a little thin even for that. Modules: *Recommended (though not very strongly - none of FASA's modules seem very good to me) Maria Mercurial - fairly clean though difficult bodyguarding run. Harlequin - extended campaign made up of several runs; some are good, some aren't. Ivy and Chrome - fairly interesting investigative plot, though has some logical problems. Bottled Demon - interesting highly arcane plot, though rather overpowered. Dull unless at least one magician in group. *Not recommended DNA/DOA - dungeon crawl. Dreamchipper - interesting plot but so linear the players hardly have anything to do. Universal Brotherhood - module/sourcebook with lots of material on this organization; may be of interest, though the module wasn't very good. Much of the material is duplicated in the Grimoire. Queen Euphoria - almost identical to Universal Brotherhood without the background material. (A better module than UB, but that's not saying much.) Dragon Hunt - too violent and overpowered for my tastes, though some have liked it. Hope this helps! Mary Kuhner [m k kuhner] at [genetics.washington.edu] -------------------------- Date: 13 Aug 91 08:15:38 GMT From: [e--l] at [alumni.cco.caltech.edu] (Earl Hubbell) Subject: Re: Shadowrun Modules [m k kuhner] at [phylo.genetics.washington.edu] (Mary K. Kuhner) writes: >Depends on your playing style, but here's how it fell out for us. >My biases: I like fairly low power levels Following Mary's examples - here's how things seemed to fall out for us (biases: heavy followers of the 'just say no' school of GMing - but willing to optimize as long as everyone agrees they like the power levels and the characters, and a fair willingness on my part to alter anything needed on the fly (I GM the local campaign)) >The GM's screen has a fairly decent short beginning adventure bound in It seemed like a good minor adventure - I haven't run it. >Sourcebooks: >*Recommended >Street Samurai Catalog - worthwhile if you like well fleshed out A must for diversified equipment - watch out for optimization, and high-spec equipment should be difficult to get. A little low on the value per page, though. >Grimoire - very useful but watch out for play balance. Clarifies the A must for mages - we threw out combat spells, and have still been working on restraining them from stealing the spotlight. >Virtual Reality - buy this if you plan to do any decking to speak of; the >basic decking rules have severe problems. We don't have PC deckers at the moment - but when we did we should have had this...(only NPC deckers - makes it easier on game flow) >Seattle Sourcebook - maps and descriptions of areas in Seattle. Get it We have it - but it's not very useful most of the time. Don't bother if you can make up descriptions on the fly and write them down for later reference, and/or have a map of Seattle. (Geography seldom totally determines the course of a campaign - as long as you can get the flavor & relative distances...) >*Not recommended >Sprawl Sites - floorplans, random encounters, more archetypes. Cute to flip through - but not very useful. >Paranormal Animals - don't bother unless you use lots of 'monster' Nearly useless - random animals just don't excite me. >Native American Nations I - don't bother; this is a hack-and-slash Too much the tourist guide - not enough about what makes playing in one area different than another. >Anarchist's Guide to North America - we didn't get this Some good sections (local flavor shines through), and some bad sections (see NAN comment). Look at it, if you get excited about a city, buy it. >Modules: >*Recommended (though not very strongly - none of FASA's modules seem >very good to me) >Maria Mercurial - fairly clean though difficult bodyguarding run. Partially run - game broken off through no fault of the module, but reasonably interesting to the players. Difficult but interesting. >Harlequin - extended campaign made up of several runs; some are good, >some aren't. Ran exactly one of the interior modules - the players enjoyed it a lot, and the opposition was about the right level for the group. "I'll just sneak in and beat up the mage..." (Gemini, before being knocked out by said mage) - the whole book is fun reading, but some of the interior modules need some heavy revising. >Ivy and Chrome - fairly interesting investigative plot, though has some >logical problems. Extreme logical problems - I took the premise and characters and revised it heavily. In its defense, it did inspire some good ideas. >Bottled Demon - interesting highly arcane plot, though rather >overpowered. Dull unless at least one magician in group. Overpowered - yes. Players got the appropriate feeling of being caught up by greater forces. Very important to scale the opposition to the appropriate level for the characters involved. >*Not recommended >DNA/DOA - dungeon crawl. Haven't bought it - everyone says it's poor. >Dreamchipper - interesting plot but so linear the players hardly have >anything to do. Good plot, good characters. The linear nature of the plot can easily be fixed if you don't hold the module events to be set in stone. "We work long and hard so we can circumvent the plot by magic." - player quote. They had fun - everyone had their chance to shine in a situation. I recommend this one. >Universal Brotherhood - module/sourcebook with lots of material on this >organization; may be of interest, though the module wasn't very good. Sourcebook >very< interesting, only okay in utility value. Better written than most of the Shadowrun novels. Module requires >heavy< fixing, both in logic and characters. It took heroic efforts to make it runnable, helped by the fact that the group I was running was extremely high power (Chain Lightning - boosted mage combat machine living in terror of astral space - saved the group repeatedly from their folly). >Queen Euphoria - almost identical to Universal Brotherhood Redundant with UB - get one or the other, not both (my tastes run to the UB - better reading, about the same level of module fixing required). >Dragon Hunt - too violent and overpowered for my tastes, though some >have liked it. No comment. Haven't run it, don't know anything about it. In general I find that the FASA modules are more useful for inspiration than for actual layout - I have yet to see any group of players come anywhere >near< the normal plot flow of a module. I mostly used the modules to play through as 'bit' pieces with assorted gaming friends while I (and they) familiarized myself with the mechanics and apparent style of the game. Buy the Street Samurai Guide and the Grimoire - make up your own decking rules - and see what inspirations strike. The published modules tend to have a very inconsistent flavor - running one per group seems to work better than trying to force characters through several disparate modules. -- Earl Hubbell - [e--l] at [tybalt.caltech.edu] - Opinions solely mine. "...they[new generation mathematicians] dressed and spoke with what one senior mathematician called 'a deplorable excess of personality.' In fact, they often behaved like rock stars." - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. -------------------------- Date: 24 Oct 92 00:26:44 -0400 Original-Date: 13 Aug 91 17:23:18 GMT From: [aa 687] at [cleveland.Freenet.Edu] (Keith Ammann) Subject: Re: Shadowrun Modules Okay. Time for the Dayton-area team consensus view on modules and supplements ... * Street Samurai Catalog: Required -- not for the myriad of weapons, weapons, weapons, or the hilarious decker comments, but for the new types of cyberware and rules for cyberware failure and replace- ment. * Grimoire: Required if you have a mage, and since mages are pretty much required themselves ... 'nuff said. * Sprawl Sites: Why is everyone panning this? I thought the encounters, while inappropriate for randomly tossing in, make great seeds for full-sized adventure ideas. Also, the list of Contacts is a much- needed addition to the textbook's, and the Archetypes are pretty good, especially the Former Mage Detective and the Former Tribal Warrior. * Virtual Realities: Mixed opinion. Yes, the decker rules needed to be overhauled, but did they need to be made more COMPLICATED in the process? Also, the novella, while exceptionally good, is nonetheless widely regarded as a marketing scam. On the upside, the new programs and guide to creating Matrix systems are very good, and cybercombat is a lot nicer. * Seattle Sourcebook: As a GM, I like this book for the atmosphere and the geographical and demographic information. Players shouldn't bother or should borrow the GM's copy. Decker comments are always good. * Neo-Anarchist's: It's inconsistent, but I love it. It would have been better if they'd come up with some way to standardize the entries for easier comparing-and-contrasting. Dallas, DeeCee, and Chicago are all very well-written. San Francisco and Atlanta aren't. New York is okay, but as has been pointed out, it seems to exist solely to hassle players with pass cards. Quebec prompts the question, "Why?" Again, only the GM needs to buy this, and only if the party has some compelling reason to leave Seattle (reaching the end of the Universal Brotherhood adventure is often in this category). * NAN-I: Again, the modules is regarded as a scam. Also, considering what sourcebook it's found in, the adventure is strangely lacking in actual "Injun content." Most of the operators are Anglos operating in Native territory. The source material is very, very good, though. Again, for GMs only. * Paranormal Animals: Problem here is that all but three or four of the Critters herein are only to be found in the wild, and the wild is only to be found in the NAN. Don't get this without the above. * London Sourcebook: Fantastically written -- but the British Isles are a rather limiting adventuring environment. (Imagine that North America consisted only of Seattle, the Salish-Shidhe Council, Tir Tairngire, and Chernobyl. That's what you've got in the British Isles.) It's hard to justify buying it for game purposes, but it's ideal if you just want to treat yourself. * NAN-II: Proof of the existence of squalor and not much else. Could easily have been used to fill out NAN-I with a chapter or two of, "Everything to the north of these places is more or less scummy and dull." Well, I take that back -- NAN-II gives you a good environment for smuggling or for laying low for a few months. But it's a pretty lousy adventuring scene. * Shadowbeat: I loved EVERYTHING about this supplement (except for the fact that the NBA Pacific Conference they invented didn't match mine, of which I was VERY proud). The musical performance rules adapt great to other art forms. Got a mage- enchanter who does artistic sculpture or jewelry-making in her spare time? See if she can actually make a name for herself with it. * Shadowtech: My friends loved it, but I wasn't that impressed. This supplement struck me as a GM's weapon against cyber- inflation in the party. Unfortunately, if the players get to use stuff from it, the arms race continues. I see no reason to perpetuate the cycle. Good for the biochemical rules, though. As for adventure modules . . . * Silver Angel (comes with the GM screen): A good introductory module. Use it to teach beginning players about game mechanics and basic shadowrunning strategy? A bit lean on plot, but so was _Rambo._ * Dreamchipper: Excellent beginner's module, despite its "linearity." Lots of opportunities for players to go off on amusing tangents, if you don't mind gamemastering them. Good plot concept. * DNA/DOA: I didn't think this one was so bad, but again, it's strictly for beginners. Make it a first or second run. * Bottled Demon: One of my favorites, despite the ridiculous opposition. Some of the NPC's will teach your samurai nice lessons in humility as your mages do just fine against them. * Dragon Hunt: NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER buy this module. It was designed for munchkin players with no regard for moderation whatsoever. To succeed your characters must all have Firearms, Corp Etiquette, and Interrogate at 8, Heavy Security Armor, and an abundance of fake credsticks. Nyet nyet ackpth. God help those whose GMs foist this one upon them. * Harlequin: Mixed reviews. The second run in this series was hands- down my all-time favorite. The third was, next to Dragon Hunt (did I mention how bad Dragon Hunt is?), my least favorite. * Universal Brotherhood: Very good, but for ADVANCED PLAYERS ONLY, and even then expect a high mortality rate (ours was 40%; would have been 60% but for a Heal Deadly Wounds spell). Be ready to ship the characters out of Seattle at the end. Also, if anyone from FASA is reading this, here's what I'd like to see more of: * INFO ON TIR TAIRNGIRE! Some folks are getting a mite peeved that FASA is holding onto this bone for their own exploitation. * Some mid-level modules, perhaps involving gang wars, the Mafia, or intra-corporate intrigue. If anyone knows anything about City of Angels or the NAGRL, I'd be interested in hearing about them, even though I've gone inactive -- don't have the time to play in a sustained campaign, and haven't even glanced at the second-edition rules revisions. -------------------------- Date: 16 Feb 91 16:35:17 GMT From: [m k kuhner] at [phylo.genetics.washington.edu] (Mary Kuhner) Subject: Review: Dragon Hunt Review of _Dragon Hunt_, a module for Shadowrun: Warning: It is difficult to discuss a module with mystery-solving as a main theme without spoiling some of the mysteries. I have tried to concentrate the spoilers at the end of the review, but take care. _Dragon Hunt_ is a relatively short adventure module (~60 pages) and presents a single adventure line, in contrast to previous products such as _Harlequin_ and _Universal Brotherhood_ which contained either multiple storylines or extensive background material. The adventure presented is an investigation--the PCs are trying to discover the identity of a mysterious amnesiac by tracking down people who might know him. However, the investigation is bound to involve extensive combat, as powerful forces try to prevent the PCs from succeeding. The combat opposition does not reference the published archetypes in FASA's usual manner; instead, stats are presented for a large number of NPCs. These take up a substantial part of the text; in one complex, for example, there are a lot of Troll guards, and their stats are repeated in each room even though they are all the same. Only seven NPCs are given full descriptions. Everyone else is simply a block of stats and combat skills. The reason for this seems to have been power escalation; one gets the impression that the author was saddled with unreasonably powerful PCs, and has designed the opposition to match. They are substantially more skilled and better armed than the book archetypes--one NPC totes a Panther Assault Cannon--and it is hard to see how a beginning, non-optimized Shadowrun team would stand a chance against them. (It is also a little hard to see where the companies involved are finding such excellent guards.) The presentation of mechanics suffers from FASA's usual disdain for proofreading; they are liberally sprinkled with typos and rules errors. The maps are particularly unfortunate; they were printed on graph paper with excessively dark lines, and it is difficult or impossible to distinguish walls from grid marks. The introductory story and summary of the adventure are unusually detailed and quite nicely done, as are the personality descriptions of the major NPCs (though I was amused to see that one, who also appeared in _Bottled Demon_, has shed his Demolitions skill en route). The premise of the module, a hunt for a missing identity, seems promising. However, very little support is given for anything but combat. Despite claims that the problem "can be solved in an infinite number of ways", the structure of the module seems to push the PCs from one fight to another with relatively little in between. The heavy emphasis on combat stats leaves little room for sketches of minor NPCs, detailing of physical settings, etc., so if the GM would like to expand on the detective work he/she will have to do it from scratch. Descriptive material, where present, is mainly in the form of sequences to be read to the players; most of these contain little real information and are excessively forcing ("You spot a food delivery van and follow it to the hideout"--a decision the players should be making for themselves.) [Spoilers omitted. --CDR] My advice would be to stay away from this module. As an exercise in combat it is too high-powered for most groups; as an exercise in detective work it is sadly lacking. The premise is intriguing, but you can learn everything you'd want to know about it from a short summary or by reading the introductory synopsis. There is little in the rest of the module that is likely to be useful. A disappointment after _Harlequin_, which had the same sloppy editing but a much richer plot. Mary Kuhner [m k kuhner] at [genetics.washington.edu] -------------------------- End of Flashlife **************************