From flashlife-request@kpc.com Fri Nov  6 19:16:04 1992
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 92 19:15:58 PST
Message-Id: <9211070315.AA13118@mailbox.kpc.com>
From: flashlife@kpc.com
Reply-To: flashlife@kpc.com
Errors-To: flashlife-request@kpc.com
Subject: Flashlife   V3 #9	(Special Review Issue)
To: flashlife@kpc.com
Status: R

From: Carl Rigney (moderator) <flashlife-request@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 <HAMBUREE@DUVM.OCS.DREXEL.EDU>
Subject: Another Shadowrun List

Actually there is a[nother] shadowrun list: Shadowrun@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: tracker@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: ward1@husc8.harvard.edu (Lester Ward)
Subject: Shadowrun Capsule Reviews
References: <1991Oct27.111735.17932@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: mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu (Mary Kuhner)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun Modules
References: <8100@gara.une.oz.au>
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

In article <8100@gara.une.oz.au> jbell@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 mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu



--------------------------


Date: 13 Aug 91 08:15:38 GMT
From: earl@alumni.cco.caltech.edu (Earl Hubbell)
Subject: Re: Shadowrun Modules

mkkuhner@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 - earl@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: aa687@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: mkkuhner@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 mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu



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End of Flashlife
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