Cynthia said that she was writing /d/ this time around, so I have hopes.

Just finished cover to cover and I really like it. A few quick points.

Nice to see lots of the old timers in here. My old buddy Smiling Bandit throw up several post, a whole piece by Fast Jack talking about punching guys in the Junk, etc.

I have a new all time great NPC to pop in. Cat-in-the-bag Man is great. I mean seriously, I couldn't stop cracking up when I read about him. Whoever wrote the bit about that stupid cat-throwing ass-monkey deserves a raise. (Story starts on page 120, best in the book in my personal view and there are lots of good ones)

I really like my line about "UNCLE KANE IS COMING FOR YOU!!!" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)


That might explain the increase in my ability to stomach her.


FastJack needs to write more. A lot more.

And I really want to read the story when he finally finds someone to punch in the junk. The idea of a Hacker in his 70s beating the drek out of someone just appeals to me somehow.

"Get off my NODE!"

I have very mixed feelings on Attitude, some places it needs more, some I would have just cut out or put in another book. I do like that it tries to update Neo-Anarchist Guide to Real Life a bit but overall its going to be a mixed bag for most people on usage.

My mixed feelings went away when I spent a few hours in a hospital ER finally reading War!. Gives me hope that War! was just a, "We're sorry, we were drunk when we put it together. We'll never do it again..."-moment.

(I couldn't get away from the TVTropes link this time, sorry.).

Well War!, along with 6WA, got stuck in "financial issues" limbo for a while and then required to have various sections rewritten as the existing ones where no longer available for catalyst to use. Under those conditions i say good luck getting a masterpiece out the door.

I was disappointed by 6WA, unhappy with Corp Guide and started getting really afraid about the line after reading War! so I had decided to stop buying SR products until quality rose.

According to some posts here, Attitude seemed better and I'm interested by what it covers so I decided to buy the PDF anyway.

I wanted to wait until I've read it all to give my opinion, but after reading the first two chapters, I decided to post this first review part to warn potential buyers.

Layout, art and overall feel : seems more professional than War! Looks like a solid SR corebook with an introduction and all.

Introduction : Good thing there's one this time. A funny reference to the discussions there had been here about "Caution Tape Girl" and a correct introduction.

The Unthethered Life : Who are runners and why do they run? Good questions, too short and limited answer. They only talk about 3 types of runners: corporate people getting for some reasons not explained (not even an example) in the Shadows, people born in the Streets who rise to the runner status (they don't really say how either) and other (with nearly no other explanation as to who these other are). As for the reasons, they give only two: money and freedom, leaving out a lot of other reasons and not even really explaining the freedom thing.
Maybe the chapter is too short, but it's clearly lacking. Even new players probably won't learn anything from here (at least anything they couldn't guess on their own).
But bonus point for the funny reference to the whole pink mohawk/black trenchcoat thing.

Street Life : A long chapter written as an old runner guiding a newbie in his first steps in the Shadows.
- A lot of lost space: half a page about socks? I mean, it could be ok if it felt like an old runner's strange fixation, but 3 Jackpointers feel obligated to weigh in on that topic as well?!
- Most of the advice seem to be given by someone living in 2011 who imagines how he would do things if he was a runner or a homeless and think he's very clever for getting that to enter a building all you need to do is wait for someone with the access to do it.
- There's one moment where the guy speaks about how it's important to befriend cab and bus drivers, ignoring pre-established fact that most cabs (and many buses too) are automated or remotely rigged. He also talks about commlink games and "stacking lines" as if talking about 2011 cellphone games.
- There are some valid and interesting points about... well attitude, which is nice, though.
- There are many points that are very discutable, but shadowtalker mostly agree with the guy all along. It really feels like something written by a single author who has fake people argue against him so that he can prove himself right by answering them.
- And then there's the twist. Which is just absurd.


So after reading these two chapters, I'm not so confident about the quality of this book. I'll keep reading and let you know if it gets better. It sure looks like it does from a quick scan, but after such a bad start I prefer to make sure.

TUL was mine, and I'm sorry you weren't happy with it. It was a big question to try and answer in a short word count (that I ended up going over anyways), and keeping in mind that this was a book about shadowrunners' attitudes -- not a Runner's Companion or extended character creation type book -- I went for a short, sweet, flavorful answer instead of a more in-depth look. Instead of trying to analyze exactly how an individual runner's background arc might land him in the shadows, I wanted to provide a little information about some shadowrunner stereotypes and give a few ideas about those stereotypes playing out in-game. I wanted to share some of the basic feel and flash (or attitude, for lack of a better term) associated with some of the broad categories of runners that tend to pop up in-universe the most, more than anything else. Most of all, and this is why it's how the piece ended, I wanted to hit home some of the differences/similarities between the safe, mundane, steady work and the pressures of shadowrunning. I wanted to touch on where shadowrunners come from, but also wanted to point out that just because it's not a nine-to-five in a cubicle doesn't mean being a shadowrunner isn't work; just sort of setting the stage for the rest of the book.

I'm sorry if you weren't pleased with the end result, but I appreciate the feedback regardless.

Internet debates sprout about the strangest of topics...

Look how often we'll go around and around on the same things here on Dumpshock.

Look how often drop bears come up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I know I keep looking up for the little bastards. Just in case.

I've been neglecting the poor beasts lately. Gotta do something about that …

Jason H.

Paranormal animals of 2073. Do it like you did Paranormal animals of North America

INCLUDING THE PICTURES AND FULL PAGE OF SHADOW TALK FOR EACH

I'll buy the PDF and a couple of hard copies!

Please.. please don't. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)
Because if I somehow get offed by a drop bear in a SR: Missions game, I might just cry. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

Hrmmm... Drop Bears for Season 4.5 or the 2012 CMPs....

GenCon Tourney, man. The Drop Bear Uprising. Dig it.

Jason H.

Better yet, the Scramble. We get you a drop bear costume, Jason...

Oh no, the Furries are invading Shadowrun! And they're RABID!

dropbearonomicon?

There should be more Drop Bears, maybe an adventure based off of the conspiracy.

We are watching you.....

We are waiting........

DROP DROP DROP!!!!

Thanks for taking interest in the feedback. I get it that it was hard to fit everything there is to say about the topic in such a small word count.
There are some good points about attitude, I agree. And it's true that it makes you think about how your runner's past can have an impact on the way he'll act and run. But if that's what you wanted to address I think you shouldn't have done it by asking the question "who are the runners?" since your point doesn't really answer the question and - I think - trying to have your point fit in the answer to that question made you spend words that could have been used better.


Once again, I guess you were a victim from the small word count. You only touch the tip of the iceberg, and end up with something that's too vague and general to really stress the point.

Worst, they are Infected™