THE CHIPPER Reviews of things you have to pay for. HELL'S ANGELS Hunter S. Thompson Ballantine Books, 1967 New York, NY What's a go-gang? Face it: most of us have no idea what goes on in the kind of motorcycle gangs that populate cyberpunk worlds such as Shadowrun's. Well, Hunter Thompson risked his life just for us gamers. For over a year in the sixties, he hung out with the Hell's Angels, going to their meetings, their parties, and their 'runs,' loafing, drinking, riding, and eventually getting stomped. His book captures the essence of cyberpunk in a world without the cyber. If you're looking for better ways to role-play your go- gangs, I can recommend nothing better than Hell's Angels. Here are a few quotes taken practically at random: "...some of their homes resemble private arsenals -- knives, revolvers, automatic rifles and even a homemade armored car with a machine-gun turret on top. They don't like to talk about their weaponry... it's their only insurance policy against that day when the Main Cop decides on a showdown, and the Angels are absolutely certain that day is coming." "There's only two kinds of people in the world [they say]... Angels, and people who wish they were Angels.... it helps to believe, when the body rot starts to hurt, that the pain is a small price to pay for the higher rewards of being a righteous Angel." "there has never been one, either, who had anything but contempt for the idea of good clean fun... which is one of the reasons they shun even the minimum safety measures that most cyclists take for granted. You will never see a Hell's Angel wearing a crash helmet. Nor do they wear... leather jackets.... Anything safe, they want no part of. The Angels don't want anybody to think they're hedging their bets.... any independent making a pitch for Angel membership would be rejected as "corny and chickenshit" if he showed up in leather." Quoting an Angel: "When you walk into a place where people can see you, you want to look as repulsive and repugnant as possible. We are complete social outcasts -- outsiders against society. And that's the way we want to be. Anything good, we laugh at. We're bastards to the world and they're bastards to us." reviewed by Jerry Stratton THRILLING LOCATIONS Robert Kern, Michael E. Moore, Gerard Christopher Klug Approximately $10. Victory Games, Inc., 1985 New York, NY 10001 Thrilling Locations is a supplement for the James Bond 007 role- playing game, but it makes a marvelous handbook for any modern/near future game, including Shadowrun. Thrilling Locations describes luxurious casinos, luxurious hotels, luxurious restaurants, luxurious trains, luxurious boats, and luxurious jets. Thrilling Locations is written for high-rolling adventurers attempting to live in the world of royalty and money. Maps are provided in each case. Almost all of the locations are real locations. In addition, other useful information is given. Under the casino section, a few interesting games are described. Under the boat section, some tips on outfitting the master villain's boat with armor and armory is provided. In each case, tips on npc encounters are detailed. You'll have to change the names from the Bondian things such as Plenty O'Toole, and replace 'agent' with 'runner,' but there's very little useless information in this book. Almost nothing is game specific. You'll get the Casino de Monte Carlo, the MGM Grand Hotel, the Tavern on the Green, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (yes, that Orient Express), the Burger Hargraves 125' cruiser, and the Regent Air luxury Jet. All fully described and mapped out in more detail than you're likely to need. I'm very impressed with Thrilling Locations. I can recommend it to any referee running a modern/near future game. reviewed by Jerry Stratton WHITE WOLF #30 February 1992, $3.50 ($3.95 Canada). The February issue of White Wolf contained one article specifically dedicated to Shadowrun, and another with some interesting ideas. There are three capsule reviews as well: The London Sourcebook, Native American Nations Volume Two, and Total Eclipse. The two articles of interest to Shadowrunners are New Shamanic Totems for Shadowrun, and The Scope of Magic. New Shamanic Totems for Shadowrun Berin Kinsman These are new totems for Shadowrun mages. There's nothing special here -- each entry is simply a sentence or two about the totem's outlook/personality, and the advantages/disadvantages. Most are quite useful, although the 'Skunk' looks suspiciously to have been based on Pepe le Pew. If you want more totems (and who doesn't?) this is worth looking at. You'll need to modify some of them depending on the precepts behind your world, but they're all reasonable (even the Skunk). Here's what you get: Armadillo, Badger, Bat, Beaver, Buffalo, Deer, Dolphin, Fox, Frog, Horse, Lizard, Mouse, Opossum, Otter, Skunk, Squirrel, Swan, Turtle, and Weasel. The Scope of Magic Christopher Earley This installment of the regular column _The Scope of Magic_ provides street spells for another modern role-playing game, _Night Life_. Each of these spells has a place in the Shadowrun universe. They're the kind of thing a wizard/shaman might invent just to help survive normal, mundane life. Things like a stoplight control spell, space guitar, and fake bus tokens. Most of these spells should be Light, and staging is unlikely to be higher than 3, usually 1 (if it ends up being Mana-based), or 2 (if it ends up being physical). reviewed by Jerry Stratton