Hope you don’t have anything
else to do but read for a while…
Ok, I feel it is
about time I returned to this forum as my life is seeming to become a
bit more stable; this game is going to depend a lot on what the players
wish to
do for it will be mainly “mission based” where the players are offered
jobs and
they either take it or they don’t.
The following is a
description of the world of Shadowrun. This is an alternate dimension Earth
style game so most nationalities and countries exist in one form or another; it
is a high tech magic world with a lot of possibilities for interesting
character concepts I will list off some base character archetypes as well as
some examples of the various technologies to help you understand where the tech
level is in this world after the briefing is over.
If you have any questions or want any help
creating your character you can contact me through AIM. My user name is:
Gnomekingtwitch
I HIGHLY suggest talking your character
over with me while you make it and even speak with the other plays so
you can build an effective team; everyone will have a role to play.
SHADOWRUN
Welcome to the Shadows
(Taken from the 3rd Edition Shadowrun Base
Book, FASA Corporation)
The year is 2060, The world is
changed, some say Awakened. A long lull in the mystical energies of the
universe has subsided and magic has returned to the world. Elves, dwarves,
orks, and trolls have assumed their true forms, throwing off their human
guises. Creatures of the wild have changed as well, transforming into beasts of
myth and legend. The many traditions of magic have come back to life, and
shamans and mages have carved out a place in the new world for themselves and
their powers. Many aspects of the Awakening remain mysteries, but modern
society fights on to assimilate the ways of magic into the technological world.
The Decades
that followed the Awakening were years of panic and turmoil, as the four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse seemed to race across the Earth. Cultures that had
never lost touch with their mystical pasts began to use magic against the great
nations that had suppressed them for so long. The vast global
telecommunications network collapsed under an assault by a mysterious computer
virus. Dragons soared into the skies. Epidemics and famine ravaged the world’s
population. Clashes between newly awakened races and the rest of humanity
became common. All central authority crumbled, and the world began to spiral
downward into the abyss.
But man and
his kin are hearty animals. Out of the devastation and chaos, a fragile new
social order slowly emerged. Advanced simulated sensorium (simsense) technology
helped eradicate the last vestiges of the computer virus and replaced the old
telecommunications network with the new virtual-reality world of the Matrix.
Amerindians, elves, orks, and dwarves formed new nations. Where environmental
degradation and pollution have made many areas uninhabitable; eco-groups wage
war on polluters, and Awakened powers use incredible magics to heal the earth.
Central governments have balkanized into smaller nations and city-states, as
fear of the world’s changes drives wedges between people of different
backgrounds. Vast metropolitan sprawls known as metroplexes cover the
landscape; these urban jungles swallow whole regions. Police departments unable
to contain crime waves and civil unrest have been privatized or their work
contracted out to corporations.
Megacorporations
have become the new world superpowers, a law unto themselves. The entire planet
speaks their language, as the nuyen has become the global monetary standard.
The megacorps play a deadly game, paying pawns in the shadows to help them get
an edge on the competition. Meanwhile, corporate executives and wage slaves
hole up in their own enclaves, safe behind layers of security and
indoctrination. Outside the walls of these arcologies and gated communities,
whole stretches of the sprawls have become ungovernable. Gangs rule the
streets; the forgotten masses grow, lacking even a System Identification Number
(SIN) to give them any rights. These outcasts, dissidents and rebels live as
the dregs of society, squatting in long-abandoned buildings, surviving through
crime and predatory instincts. Many of them attempt to rise above their
miserable existence by slotting addictive BTL (Better-Than-Life) chips, living
vicariously through someone else’s senses. Others band together, some for
survival and some to gain their own twisted forms of power.
Technology,
too, has changed people. No longer merely flesh, many have turned to the
artificial enhancements of cyberware to make themselves more than human. Some
acquire implants that allow them to directly interface with machines, like
deckers who run the Matrix with a cyberdeck and programs or riggers who jack
into vehicles or security systems and become one with them. Others seek to push
the envelope of their physical capabilities, testing themselves on the streets
against other street samurai. The human of 2060 is stronger, smarter, faster
than his predecessors.
In the
world of 2060, the metroplexes are monsters that cast long shadows. And in the
cracks between the giant corporate structures, shadowrunners find their homes.
Entire societies live and die in a black-market underworld, exploited and
abused, yet powerful in their own way. The Mafia, Yakuza and other crime
syndicates have grown explosively as their networks provide anything that
people will buy. Shadowrunners are the professionals of this culture where
self-sufficiency is vital. When the megacorps want a job done but don’t want to
dirty their hands, they need a shadowrun, and they turn to the only people who
can pull it off: the shadowrunners. Though only the blackest of governmental or
corporate databases even registers a shadowrunner’s existence, the demand for
his or her services is high. Deckers can slide like a whisper through the
databases of giant corporations, spiriting away the only thing of real value –
information. Street samurai are enforcers for hire whose combat skills and
reflexes make them the ultimate urban predators. Riggers can manipulate
vehicles and drones for a variety of purposes. Magicians, those rare folk who
possess the gift of wielding and shaping the magical energies that now surround
the Earth, are sought after to spy on the competition, sling spells against an
enemy, commit magical sabotage, and for any other purpose that their employers
can dream up. All these individuals sell their skills to survive, taking on the
tasks too illegal or dangerous for others to dare.
What Runners Do
Shadowrunners
commit crimes, usually for money. When a corporation or other sponsor needs
someone to do their dirty work, they look to the shadows. As “deniable assets,”
runners make advantageous – and expendable – tools.
Runners
usually operate in teams. A team can be any combination of character types,
depending on what the players want to do. The team should have a plausible
reason for working together, such as being old friends or cellmates, having the
same interests, or even being forced together by circumstance. Different teams
will have different capabilities. For example, one team may excel at breaking
and entering, while another might be a squad of bruisers who work best as hired
muscle.
Runners
have contacts, who represent other potentially useful people they know. Some of
these will be other underworld types,
like gang members or a hit man. Others may be ordinary people, useful or
information or for “special arrangements” – for example, the corporate
secretary who lets you know when the wiz research scientist you’re supposed to
kidnap will be leaving the building.
The most
important contact for shadowrunners is the fixer. A fixer acts as a middleman
and can usually help the runners find gear, other contacts or work – all for a
fee, of course. A corporation or other employer that needs shadowrunners sends
someone to a fixer to ask for recommendations. If a team of runners has a good
reputation and meets the job requirements, a meeting is arranged to discuss
details ad haggle over payment. Because such matters are highly sensitive,
anonymity is par for the course, and employers of this type are known simply as
“Mr. Johnson.”
Mr. Johnson
may not always be a corporate representative. The world of Shadowrun is rich
and complex, with many people and groups who may need to hire runners to
accomplish certain goals. A criminal syndicate may hire runners to strike at
rivals, a mage may hire them to acquire certain rare materials for magic use,
or joe neighbor may need to find the terrorists who kidnapped his wife.
Regardless of the sponsor, if a job involves doing something dangerous and
potentially illegal, it’s a shadowrun.
Shadowrunner
teams may even take the initiative, doing jobs of their own accord. For
example, a player character may have a grudge against a certain megacorp, or
perhaps he doesn’t like how a certain gang treats people in his neighborhood,
or she may decide it’s time to get her criminal record erased.
Runners
accomplish their tasks by working the streets for information, calling in
favors and markers from friends and contacts in the shadows. They take whatever
action their job requires: surveillance, theft, breaking and entering, even
murder.
Runners do
these things because they are survivors. Many of them grew up committing crimes
to get by, perhaps they obtained special training somewhere and want to put it
to use. Some may have extended families to feed and no other source of income.
Many of them prefer the freedom of the shadowlife, controlling their own
destinies as opposed to being a wage slave in some drab corporate business park
kissing corporate hoop all day. Others enjoy the thrill of running, thriving on
its risks. Finally, some are inspired to run by a sense of social justice: they
want to damage the powers-that-be however they can while providing for the
underclass. These runners are known as “hooders” for their Robin Hood outlook.
Basic Runner Types
The following terms refer to runners who specialize in
various fields.
Deckers are skilled at computer
programming and maneuvering through the datastreams of the virtual-reality
telecommunications grid known as the Matrix. They use special, custom-built
computers known as cyberdecks (they look like a keyboard with a cable that
plugs into the side of your head right behind the ear.) that allow them to project
their minds directly into the Matrix’s complex, three-dimensional reality. By illegally logging on to the Matrix,
deckers can run search routines, tap phone calls break into system hosts to
retrieve data. They use a variety of programs to accomplish such operations, as
well as attack and defense programs should they engage in cybercombat with
another decker or an Intrusion Countermeasure (IC) construct.
Mages are one
type of magician character, known for using thaumaturgical abilities in a
scientific manner. To mages, magic is about knowledge and structure. Mages cast
spells, perceive and project astrally, and conjure elemental spirits.
(Note: If you plan on being “Awakened” (a mage, adept, or
shaman) you will need to speak to me about your magic powers.)
Adepts, the modern-day
ninjas and berserkers, use magic to enhance the bodies’ abilities. Adepts tend
to be athletically oriented, with good stealth and combat skills.
Riggers have a
piece of cyberware known as a vehicle control rig (VCR) installed in their
bodies. The VCR allows them to interface directly with suitably adapted
vehicles, seeing through the vehicle’s sensors and controlling it as they
control their own bodies. Riggers can use a remote-control deck to do this from
a remote location, and may even control several vehicles or drones at once in
this manner. Many riggers specialize in drones, remote-control vehicles of
varying sizes and capabilities used for surveillance and combat. Certain
riggers, called security riggers, use their cyberware and skills to jack
directly into a building’s security system; these characters become living
monitors that can react instantly to intruders.
(Talk to me about your vehicle or drones or whatever you
want to use as a rigger.)
Shamans are
magicians who follow a totem spirit animal, such as Coyote or Bear, and embody
that totem’s characteristics. To shamans, magic is attunement with the forces
of nature. Like mages, they can cast spells and astrally project and perceive.
They also conjure nature spirits and spirits of man.
(Note: If you wish to play a shaman contact me and I will
give you a list of totems to choose from, you must choose a totem to be a
shaman and once you have chosen it you cannot change it. {Unless you are still
in character creation of course.})
Street Samurai
are physically enhanced combat monsters. With cyberware implants and combat
skills, they attempt to be the quickest, meanest and strongest killing machines
on the streets. Many of them cybernetically boost their reflexes to get an
edge, or boost their strength so that they can inflict more damage. Many are
also lethal with firearms, and almost all have a smartlink cyberware system
installed for increased precision in shooting. Some fight for honor, some
because they get paid for it (usually called mercenaries), and others because
they are insane enough to go up against anything.
These basic runner types are just the tip of the iceberg and
are not meant to define a set of character classes. Players can create a
dizzying variety of characters, for example, a detective character who relies
on charisma and skill as opposed to cyberware, or a covert operations
specialist who has all the gear and cyberware necessary to penetrate electronic
defenses. The only limit is your imagination.
Settings
Shadowrun is set only
sixty-two (54ish now) years in the future, but the world has gone through
tremendous changes. Some of these changes are reflected in various settings in
which shadowrunners are sure to find themselves. Two of the most significant
are the Matrix and the astral plane.
The Matrix
is the cybernetic analog of the worldwide computer network and
telecommunications grid. Only a character equipped with a cyberdeck can enter
this “cyberspace,” which appears as a vast lattice stretching away to infinity.
When a deck jacks into the Matrix, he leaves his physical body behind and
projects his consciousness through the simsesne capabilities of the cyberdeck
into the matrix’s virtual reality. The decker’s mind is represented by his persona
icon, which can have any appearance its programmer wishes. The same is true for
the entire Matrix landscape and all the stylized icon constructs resident
within it (representing hosts, programs, IC, other deckers and so on). The
Matrix is constantly alive with the hum of data tragic – faxes, phone calls,
e-mail, tridlinks, program frames, exploring and working personas, and more.
Within the Matrix, everything operates at the speed of
computer processing or thought, and so time foes by much more swiftly than in
the real world. A decker can traverse the globe in seconds, hopping from local
to regional grids, or even through satellite uplinks and back down again. Huge
constructs that represent a myriad of hosts dominate the datasphere. Many of
these are public and accessible, serving as databases, social clubs, gamerooms
or PR offices. Others are private, layered with IC and security measures and
patrolled by corporate deckers. These hosts contain the deepest, darkest
secrets of corporations and other entities.
The astral
plane is another reality entirely. Only a full magician can perceive its depths
or project her consciousness therein. Those who take astral form can move
through the astral plane at the speed of though, but few magicians can stay
within this realm for longer than a few hours. The astral plane is the home of
spirits, beings of quicksilver and shadow, a realm of mystery and danger. It
parallels our own physical plane, seeming almost to mirror it. The auras of
living creatures and magic are reflected upon it, where those skilled in the
art can read them. The theory goes that the astral is actually sustained by the
life force of the Earth and its creatures. From the astral plane, a magician
can read the emotional imprints that linger on various items. Sufficiently strong feelings may even pollute
the astral atmosphere. Sterile corporate offices, murder scenes and toxic
dumping grounds, to give just a few examples, all have their own distinct (and
unpleasant) astral “flavor.”
Shadowrun
contains many more interesting settings, too numerous to mention more than a
few here. Players may find themselves in corporate arcologies, self-contained
and self-sustainable mini-cities that house thousands of corporate citizens;
awakened lands, where metahumans and dragons work together to purify the often
polluted Earth; or the cold edge of space, where humanity is slowly populating
numerous orbital habitats while it plans for more. And there is always the
sprawl, the urban decay that spreads like a blight across the land. Even
corporate thugs and cops fear to tread in its many shadowy regions.
I am not going to go into the history for it is very long
and detailed but I will sum it up.
Magic came back, in a big way; the native Americans where
the first to make use of it and at first people thought it was a hoax; that is
until with the power of the native American magic mother nature waged war on
them. Volcanoes erupted; tremendous earthquakes shook major cities to their
foundations and storms thundered overhead. It was chaos and a lot of stuff
happened; in the end they where given a lot of land which is now known as the
Native American Nation (NAN).
Things settled down a bit for a few years, and then VITAS,
the new Black Death struck. This Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome (VITAS
for short) claimed roughly a quarter of the world’s population. During this
period something very strange happened; normal people started giving birth to
seemingly mutated babies, the first metahumans, known as Unexplained Genetic
Expression, or UGE. There was a lot of mistrust and bigotry aimed at these
magically mutated children who grew up to be what are now known as Elves and
Dwarves. But it was nothing compared to the race riots that broke out a few
years later when people started just randomly changing into what are known
today as Trolls and Orks, this process was dubbed “Goblinization.”
There were a lot of riots and a lot of killing and then… a
virus nastier than anything anyone has ever seen before took out the entirety of
the telecommunications grid. Many countries merged including what was left of
the USA and Canada
now known as the United Canadian American States (UCAS). Many metahumans formed
their own countries, the elves being the most thorough about it have formed lands
in America (Tir Tairngire) and have complete control of Ireland (Tir na nOg).
California also split off from the rest of the UCAS and became known as the
California Free State, later to be taken over by Tir Tairngire in a large war
involving lots of magic and a few of the mysterious Dragons on the Elves part.
I am pretty sure VITAS hits once more after all this.
There was a big corporate war in which some where disbanded
others merged new ones where formed. Here they are the main ones as they exist
today:
- Ares Macrotechnoloy, Detroit-based
conglomerate of automobile, steel, arms and space industry companies, led
by Damien Knight.
- Aztechnology, a
corporation from Atzlan (former Mexico,
recreated in Aztec image) heavily involved in consumer goods, chemistry
and magic.
- Fuchi Industrial
Electronics, a computer giant build by the Nakatomis and Yamanas from Japan
and Richard Villiers from Boston.
Disintegrated during the Corp War of '59 - '60, in which Novatech
sprang up as its North American successor, led by Villiers.
- Mitsuhama Computer
Technologies, started as money laundering operation for the Yakuza but
soon surpassed their investors' income by a very large margin.
- Renraku Computer Systems,
mainly computer and arms-producing giant from Japan.
- Saeder-Krupp
Schwerindustriegesellschaft, the world's largest corp, a German
conglomerate based on the production of steel, heavy-industrial goods,
cars (BMW), arms and communication in Europe. Its
majority shareholder and chairman is Lofwyr, a Great Dragon, who bought
the company stocks from hoarded resources.
- Shiawase Corporation,
an old family business, which survived the turmoils of the early 21st
century unscathed, quickly able to expand in energy production, biotech
and environmental procedures. As the oldest megacorp who first fought for
megacorporate sovereignty (falsely called extraterritoriality): exemption
of law on foreign soil. Yet, 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, Shiawase is now
more conservative with its decisions.
- Yamatetsu Corp, a
shipping and infrastructure giant, of Japanese-Philippine origin.
- Wuxing Inc., a Hong
Kong-based company, and Cross Applied Technologies, a Free Quebec-based
company joined the exclusive club of AAA-corps (those with a seat at the Corp
Court.)
Race
Characters in shadowrun may be of
one of the five subgroups of Homo sapiens: the predominant human (Homo sapiens sapiens),
elf (Homo sapiens nobilis), dwarf
(Homo sapiens pumilionis), ork (Homo sapiens robustus), and troll
(Homo sapiens ingentis).
Non-humans are known as metahumans,
while the five subgroups as a whole (including humans) are known as metahumanity. All are human beings, at
least according to the geneticists, racists say differently.
In the early 2060s, humans are still
the most numerous race populating the planet. Each of the other races are
represented about equally, but are scattered unevenly across the globe. In some
places, humans form an extreme minority, but those tend to be areas where the
other races have gathered for safety, protection and isolation.
Humans
make up the standard. As characters, they receive no special attribute or
ability modifications. (Average Height 1.7 meters, weight 70 kg, skin color
pinkish-white to ebony, lifespan 65 - 70 years (worldwide.)
Dwarves
are hardier, stronger, and more willful than humans. They also have
thermographic vision, which allows them to see radiated infrared (heat) energy
as well as the normal light spectrum (simultaneously). They have a slower
movement rate than other races, but are also more resistant to disease. And
yes, they are short. (Average Height 1.2 meters, weight 54kg, skin color
pinkish-white to ebony, lifespan More than 100 years.)
Elves
are more agile and more attractive than humans. They also have low-light
vision, which enables them to see clearly in near-total darkness. (Average
height 1.9 meters, weight 72 kg, skin color Pinkish-white to ebony, Lifespan
Several hundred years.)
Orks
are much tougher, stronger, less attractive, and less acute than humans.
They too have low-light vision. (Average height 1.9 meters, weight 95 kg, skin
color pale pink to ebony, Lifespan 45-50 years.)
Trolls
are big and nasty. They are a lot
tougher, slower, much stronger, less attractive, less acute, and less willful
than humans. They too have thermographic vision, really long arms that give
them an advantage in melee combat, and extremely tough skin with bony deposits
that makes them more resistant to damage. (Average height 2.8 meters, weight
225 kg, skin color Pinkish-white to brown, Lifespan 60 years.)
Racial Essays
The
following are essays written by representing members of the various races to
help you get a better idea of what it is like to live in their shoes.
Dwarves by Thaddeus, trid pirate and
sometime decker
The most obvious thing about being a
dwarf is our height. Yeah, we’re shorter than everyone else. So we spend our
lives dealing with a world built for taller people, people who often talk down
to us figuratively as well as literally.
“Half-size” we ain’t, though. Most
of us have shorter legs in proportion to our torsos than other races, which
means we’re not much smaller than humans from waist to neck. We can probably
borrow your shirts. However, we often can’t reach shelves in stores, or get a
good view of art in most museums. And just try getting served in a crowded deli
at lunch time when you’re shorter than the counter! On the other hand, we can
fit in tight spaces (always useful in both my lines of work), and we don’t bang
our heads on low-hanging branches. Watch out, Stretch, some dwarves may try to
walk you into obstacles!
Folks who were called dwarves long
before the Awakening had limbs that didn’t grow in proportion to their torsos,
but they weren’t the dwarven race we know today. Probably because of the long
existence of dwarf-like people, lots of old stories involve dwarves. And let me
tell you, these stories have caused real problems for dwarves in the modern
world. Too many people think they know what we’re like because they’ve read Grimm’s Fairy Tales or some fantasy
epic; they’re surprised to find we don’t all dig in mines, or hunger after
gold, or live in cute cottages in the woods.
Even worse, our short stature makes
lots of other people see us as children. Get this through your heads, OK? A
dwarf over the age of 18 is an adult. Patting a dwarf on the head, pinching his
cheeks or fixing his clothes is about as rude as you can possibly get. So is
talking to dwarves in bright, sing-song voices usually reserved for kids who
ain’t out of diapers.
You ask me, this kind of treatment
is the reason why many dwarves put on a tough act, being gruff and cold toward
people of other races. Lots of young dwarves end up in fights, trying to prove
themselves or defend themselves from intrusive head-patters. That’s where the
stereotype of the “hot-headed halfer” comes from. You spend a day being patted
and pinched, and see how calm you are.
Of course, being treated like a cute
kid has a few advantages (much as I sometimes hate to admit it). Other people
often underestimate us. From businessmen to street toughs, more than one dwarf
has let the other guy think he can pull one over on the cute li’l half-pint,
and then- wham! – taken the big ol’ fool for all he’s worth.
Many other “typical dwarf behaviors”
also stem from outside causes. Take the idea that dwarves like to live
underground, in caves or in a basement. The fact is, us dwarves feel more
comfortable in small spaces – big surprise, right? So a dwarf is more likely to
take advantage of the cheaper rents in basement apartments, or live in a cave
because it’s comfy and convenient. (The house Nature built – what more could
anyone want?)
As for the stereotype that all dwarves
are brilliant natural mechanics, I’m not sure where this got started – probably
in all those fairy tales. It’s become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy –
lots of dwarven children get little tool sets as their first toys. And schools
channel us into math and science programs. Of course, in many fields, dwarf
mechanics have a natural advantage because we can squeeze into smaller spaces.
I suppose there might even be a genetic difference in intelligence types that
makes us more likely to be good at putting things together. If there is,
though, it skipped me. I can’t figure out the workings of my toaster. You
should see the looks I get when I tell people that I have no idea why their car
won’t start…
Elves by Roweena, rigger
Many
people, especially those of other metahuman races see elves as the most
fortunate metahumans. We’re so pretty, they say, so glamorous. Some humans try
to borrow that glamour by pretending to be elves – it would never cross their
minds to imitate orks or trolls. Why. We elves even have our own nations! Being
an elf must be wonderfully exciting. Never a dull moment for us Beautiful
People – or so the prevailing view goes.
Well I can tell you otherwise. I’m
proud to be an elf, and I can’t complain too much about my own life. But I
don’t live the fashionable lifestyle that the trid programs tell you is every
elves birthright. Nor do many other elves I know. And as far the
singing-songs-to-trees, can’t-find-Enter-on-a-keyboard stereotype… my t-bird
and I are living proof of how wrong that one is!
This may come as a surprise to many,
but there are poor elves, ugly elves and boring everyday elves. Being poor or
socially handicapped is hard on anyone, but it’s harder on elves because it violates
their own and everyone else’s expectations. An ork living in a squalid tenement
causes no comment (which is sad enough). But an elf living in one… there must
be something terribly wrong with her.
Everyone knows elves are meant for better surroundings. An elf in anything less
than a glamorous setting is an especially pathetic failure, at least in most
people’s minds.
Poor baby, you may be thinking. How
terrible, not to be as beautiful and exciting as people think you are. You
should have such problems, yes? But it is
a problem when no on else will take your real troubles seriously – or when
they judge you more harshly for having them than someone of a race that’s
“supposed” to have a hard time.
Granted, our burdens are lighter
than those of races like orks and trolls, whom many others openly revile. But
the glamour of elvishness is no protection against subtler forms of prejudice.
I’ve lost count of the people who see us all as nature-loving daisy-eaters,
unable to cope with modern technology. Please, somebody, help that poor elf
girl use the big, complicated public Matrix terminal! Or make a big production
out of bring some wilted salad to the cute little elf, so she won’t have to
soil her lips with meat. We elves know the sting of prejudice, but unlike our
ork and troll cousins, we’re not supposed to express our anger. Angry pixies
aren’t lovely and ethereal. Some elves, eager to be as “tough” and feared as
any other races, really violate the
stereotype – they become gang members or loaded-for-trouble street samurai.
Others, like me, do our best to ignore what we’re “supposed” to be like and
just try to follow our hearts. It’s true we’ve had it easier than others at
fitting into human society, and many of us do. Others have moved to tribal
lands, or to the elven nations of Tir Tairngire and Tir na nOg. The movement of
elves to live among “our own” has caused its own problems for those of us left
behind: with fewer of us around, we’re more conspicuous. Also, it adds to some
people’s belief that elves are snooty and deserve to be taken down a peg. We
don’t generally have trouble finding employment and housing, but those who
don’t like us often suggest (with varying degrees of rudeness) that we should
go live in “your own country.”
Some people also suspect elves for a
reason other races do not share, our culture. The Sperethiel language, claims
of old customs, our general talent for magic, the legendary ancient elves, all
this and more make some people uneasy about us. They speak darkly of an elven
conspiracy to take over the world. Well, if there is such a thing, no one ever
told me – and I wish they would. I’m getting tired of working for a living!
Humans by Jason, street samurai
Maybe you think human equals boring.
Maybe it does, in a way. But being boring isn’t the worst disadvantage to have.
So we don’t have pointed ears and tons of magic like elves, or a knack for
finding our way around engines like dwarves, or a thousand ork buddies who’ll
save our skins just because we look like them, or the massive size and strength
of a troll (so useful in dark alleys!) what we do have is a long history of
being the only race in town… and the advantages that come with it.
Humans are the only race in the
world’s known recorded history. Until about fifty years ago, and there are
still more of us than any other race. This makes us the “norm” by which to view
other races. For example, dwarves are shorter than humans, and other races are
taller. If trolls where the norm, we’d all be considered short. Humans are the
baseline for comparison, which automatically gives us a position of privilege.
We’re not actually “better” than any other race, but lots of people – humans
and others – think we are. This is a good thing in some ways, and a really bad
thing in others.
On the good side (at least from a
practical point of view), being human means I look like the majority of other
people almost everywhere I go. Things are designed for people like me:
buildings, clothes, cars, keyboards, cyberware and so on. Unless I spend some
time in the Ork Underground or in Tir Tairngire, where humans are a tiny
minority, no one much is going to hassle me just because I look different. If I
walk down the city streets packing a large gun, authority is likelier to give
me a pass than it would if I were a troll.
On the bad side, people are more
accustomed to seeming human faces than others, and so are better at picking out
individual humans – not good, if you’re in a line of biz where you’d rather no
one remembers your face. Then there’s the larger issue of prejudice. Too many
people say “people” and mean humans only. Other races are called “metahuman” to
distinguish them from plain old us; their name is our name with a prefix tacked
onto it, which implies that humans are the default model and those other races
just cheap knockoffs. If you despise this kind of prejudice and want to
distance yourself from it, you may have a real tough time. Lots of metahumans
won’t trust you, because they’ve taken too much drek from your fellow humans
and they assume you’re the same kind of bigot. Speak out in favor of metahuman
rights, and even some humans you thought were friends may turn on you for
“betraying your own.” And the people you’re speaking out for won’t necessarily
thank you either; they’ll be too busy trying to figure out your ulterior
motive.
Because the other races were
originally born to humans or changed from humans, a lot of humans are related
to people of other races. You’d think this would make us more accepting of
them, but throughout history we’ve had a hard time being tolerant of those who
are different. It’s been that way for centuries, and it probably won’t change
any time soon.
Orks by Stella for Star, mage
Orks are the most numerous and least
respected metahuman race. These two facts are probably related. Larger than
humans and heavier than elves, we are often feared because of our size (not to
mention our tusks). This makes getting acquainted that much harder, which
contributes to fear of orks because no one knows what we’re really like.
People have a lot of misconceptions
about orks. For example, scientists said for several years that orks are
nocturnal, but no one ever bothered to ask whether our preference for darkness
was biological or simply the result of living in a society that doesn’t want to
see us during the day.
Much of ork identity is colored by
the trauma of sudden genetic expression, vulgarly known as goblinization. Any
orks over forty years old were not born orks, but transformed, either in the
mass change of April 2021, or on their own as adolescents. Either way, virtually
every adult ork alive today faced rejection by family, friends and society upon
becoming what they are. This cannot help but color our views of the world and
so there is a grain of truth to allegations that we see anti-ork feeling where
none exists. Only a grain, however – many of the other races would prefer we
didn’t exist, and do their best to keep us out of their daily lives.
Orks in most areas have difficulty
finding employment, buying land, or otherwise supporting themselves within the
larger community. Rampant discrimination leads many orks into lives of crime,
as the only way in which to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Young orks often band together into gangs for mutual protection in their harsh
neighborhoods, and may turn on any outsiders as a potential threat. And then
there are people like me, whose rare magical gifts would make us prized if we
wore any shape other than an ork’s. But we are of a “goblin” race, and so must
use our talents in other ways.
All of this reinforces negative
images of orks throughout society. Orks who try to “work hard and play by the
rules.” As the famous platitude has it. Find acceptance that much harder to
earn. Orks most often find work as laborers, where our size and strength is
appreciative. Because we are nearly as strong as trolls but not so large, we
have greater agility and can fit more easily into spaces designed for human
convenience.
We tend to live apart from other
races because others shun us. At first, most orks wanted to live where they
always had, in mainstream society. These days, many orks prefer to live among
their own kind. Some want us to have our own nation, as the elves do.
Organizations of orks are working on a variety of ways to improve life for our
people; as more orks reach adulthood who were born orks, things may look
brighter. As we develop our own distinctive customs and culture, other races
may understand us better. They will need to do so for their own sake; ork women
have a high incidence of multiple births, which makes us the world’s
fastest-growing population. The other races will have to come to terms with us
sooner or later.
Trolls by Daniel, Bear shaman
You
may have wondered how this essay would read. Maybe you expected something like.
“PLEEZ LIKE US
TROLLS. US R
GOOD.” Sorry, folks. Being a troll doesn’t make me brain-dead, no matter what
lots of other people think. If trolls were really as dumb as we’re made out to
be, there wouldn’t be too many troll runners. We’d all be dead of our own
idiocy by now.
Most people equate size with
stupidity, and assume trolls are dumb because we’re big. Centuries of comedy in
which the clever little weakling outwitted the big, strong guy have primed
people to have low expectations of trolls.
Another factor of the dumb-as-a-plascrete-wall
image is probably our teeth. Trolls have tusks, like orks and our other teeth
are shaped differently. This leads to speech that sounds flat, uninflected, and
therefore “stupid” to the ears of humans and others. Most trolls who speak in a
way humans find pleasing have bought their acceptance with extensive dental
work.
Our size poses other problems as
well. Trolls often find everyday life uncomfortable, physically and socially.
Everything is built for much smaller people; we don’t fit in spaces like small
automobiles or compartments in coffin hotels. We can’t squeeze into most
standard chairs and desks, which is why so few of us take office jobs. In many
areas, troll children can’t even go to the local school. Socially speaking,
most people’s reaction on first meeting a troll is, “Please don’t beat me up!”
Actually, we’re less likely to become violent than most other races: our size
is enough to make people leave us alone rather than fight. We’ve been lucky
enough to escape the worst of the scapegoating, however, most likely because
we’re still pretty rare. There are a lot more orks to hate than there are
trolls.
Not that trolls don’t face bigotry.
More of us live in the wilderness than in cities, partly because the wide-open
spaces give us breathing room, but also because of prejudice and suspicion.
Finding a landlord who’ll rent to us is quite an accomplishment, let alone one
who won’t insist on twice the usual security deposit because he’s sure our
weight will damage the floors. And even if we do find such a person, many
residences are just too small to accommodate a troll family.
Wilderness trolls have developed a
cultural identity – a rough, primitive way of life vaguely analogous to the
back-to-the-land tribal lifestyle popular with some elves. Some urban humans
romanticize this vision of trolls, which hasn’t helped the average city troll
with dreams of simple acceptance into general society. Your average urban troll
makes his living at a job that requires heavy lifting or muscle – for example,
bouncer at your local bar. Plenty of others have been lured into organized
crime, where they can finally get some respect as the toughest enforcers in the
business. Trolls who turn the “big, dumb trog” stereotype on its ear often
overcompensate, becoming over-refined in an effort to avoid seeming troll-like.
Comedians nowadays get a lot of mileage out of a troll handling a delicate
teacup or arraying in fine evening wear. But I guess I’d rather see that than
yet another variation on the big dimwit being hornswoggled by the skinny guy.
Character Template
Real Name:
Runner Name: (All Shadowrunners go by a
nick name; after all you wouldn’t be stupid enough to use your real name, would
you? Example runner names: Glitch, Hotwheels, Shadow, Mr. Potato Head. Use your
imagination.)
Race:
Age:
Sex:
SIN: Are you a legal citizen or not? (Note:
You are easier to track down by authority if you have a SIN however if you are
found and you don’t have one then you don’t exist as far as they are concerned
and they can do what ever they want to you. Someone who doesn’t exist has no
rights.)
Concept:
Appearance:
Strengths and Weaknesses: (Can you see
better than most? Are you a really bad swimmer? Perhaps you are afraid of
spiders or squeamish around blood; do you have a weak left hook but you can
spray mace like nobodies business? Let’s hear it. PLEASE! Do NOT attempt to
create a super character; I will flat out deny unreasonably powerful
characters.)
Personality: (Include likes, dislikes,
favorite kind of music, drink of choice, racial bias, or even favorite sexual
position; whatever just give the character some, well, character. The more
texture the better, breathe life into it, I want to see some well thought out characters.
Impress me. )
Cyberware: (Basic stuff for now, no really
high end stuff unless you have good reason and I say it’s ok. Don’t worry you
can always buy it and pay some shadow clinic to stick it in you later.)
Magic: (here is where you would write if
your character is awakened or mundane and if they are awakened whether they are
an adept, magician, or shaman.)
Equipment: (As usual basic equipment is ok
anything big or very illegal, assault rifles, or explosives, will need to be
ran by me first.)
Nuyen: (The “new yen” is the standard form
of money in this world and will be used for purchasing new equipment; everyone
will start with somewhere around 1000 ¥ after you have chosen your gear. Neuyen
comes in two forms, cold hard cash and digital format transferred by a character’s
credstick. A credstick works like an all around identification unit and functions
as an ID. However you can request to be paid in other forms for your jobs, such
as stocks in the corporation (a good thing if you plan on making their stock go
up soon with a successful run), or equipment which can sometimes be better than
just buying it your self if the corp produces the item.)
Cyberware
When
you get cyberware it takes from your “essence” there is only so much essence
that any given person has and once you run out you will die. Unfortunately
there is no way to judge how much any given person can take but as a general
rule if a person has more than 70% of their body replaced with artificial parts
(not including tissue grown replacements and bioware VERY EXPENSIVE!) then you
are in danger. Further more the loss of essence effects a person’s connection
to the magical energies of the world as they become more machine than man. It
is harder to use magic as well as be effected by magic, beneficial or harmful,
the more cyberware you have. There are various kinds of cyberware; basic
cyberware, Alphaware, and Deltaware. Both Alpha and Deltaware take up less
essence than standard cyberware with Deltaware costing the least essence
however it obviously costs a whole lot more nuyen. There are two forms all
cybernetic replacements can come in; Obvious and Realistic, Obvious costs less
but can be a bad thing in social events. Not many people like talking to a
walking toaster.
Example Cyberware
Headware:
Datajack:
A standard piece of equipment required for most headware. It is required for a
cyberdeck; that is if you want to be able to plug the thing into your head and
use it.
Memory:
Store information from computers or pocket computers in memory storage located
in your head.
Commlink:
The true hands free communications device.
Subvocal
Microphone: Allows you to subvocalize when speaking on your commlink so other’s
have a harder time hearing you.
Telephone:
Do you hear that ringing?
Cyber Ears
Cosmetic
Modification: For elf posers
Dampener:
Never get deafened by flash bangs again!
Hearing
amplification: Eavesdroppers delight.
High
frequency
Low
frequency
Recorder
Select
sound filter: So you can pick out a certain conversation in a crowded party.
Cyber Eyes
Camera:
Take my picture
Cosmetic
Modification
Display
Link
Flare
compensation
Image
Link: See what’s on the computer screen, on your eye. Useful for having a
minimap of the building you are infiltrating.
Low-light
Opticam:
Now you can record the girl next door as you peep!
Protective
covers: Now you won’t get stuff in your eye.
Retinal
clock
Retinal
duplication (illegal)
Thermographic
Vision
Magnification
Body Ware
Bone
lacing: Plastic, Aluminum, and Titanium
Fingertip
Compartment
Hand
Blade: Retractable or not
Muscle
Replacements
Smartlink:
Plug into a compatible gun and you will have a heads up display in your field
of vision complete with ammo count, current fire mode, temperature (so you
don’t over heat and melt the barrel of your gun) and a cross hair for more accurate
shooting.
Voice
modulator: Increased volume, Playback, Secondary pattern, Tonal shift
Boosted
Reflexes
Dermal
Plating
Filtration
Systems: Air, Blood, Ingestion
Vehicle
Control Rig (VCR)
Reaction
Enhancer
And
of course various limb replacements.
If
you think of anything that isn’t listed that you want; just ask me and I am
sure we can work something out.
The
game will take place in what is known as New Seattle; this includes some of the
area around the current Seattle. Seattle
is a free state that is ruled by
the corps for the most part. The law enforcement is controlled by a small
security corp known as Lone Star, they where hired on by the Seattle Government
when the regular cops went on strike.