But it was still fun. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/spin.gif)

One of the things that happened with me, as far back as SR1, was a disconnect between what the game seemed to say was possible, and what was actually possible. I saw no reason, as a GM, not to have cameras inside elevators, recording who used them, or motion detectors inside vents (mostly for dealing with vermin), and as my knowledge of technology (and the world's ability to use technology) advanced, I started seeing things like facial recognition software and the like.

So a part of me, early on, went, "How the hell do Shadowrunners keep anonymous?" and the answer was, "With a lot of work."

It's one reason I made Koryo. This was a character who believed that being spotted was the greatest sin. That having anyone notice you on a run was tantamount to failure, regardless of the outcome of the run itself. I bent over backwards to get the proper contacts, spells, and techniques so that he/she could ghost through a run without anyone noticing him/her. It is hard work, but when the run goes off without a hitch, I feel a special sense of pride.

I had to hit that special balance for running the game though - tailor the adventures and runs to the PC's skillsets. The PCs don't tend to do 'stealth runs', because they have no means to deal with the requirements of a proper 'stealth run'. Funny enough, the most recent run required kidnapping a rockstar, and to do that, they did the following:

1) Get a car that looks like the one the limo agency uses.
2) Get a second car and have it cause a traffic jam in front of the limo heading to the target.
2a) Have the technomancer block the 'call' going out from the jammed limo, indicating there will be a delay. Send a reply to the limo that says the call has been received.
3) Drive the fake limo up to the entrance, and get the target in.
3a) Stun bolt the bodyguard, and drive off, saying that the bodyguard is being attacked, and the target is being brought to a safe house.
3b) Really make those diplomacy rolls.
4) Copy the signature of the proper limo to that of the fake limo, for when being chased by security.
4a) Swap signature with actual limo, and 'vanish'.
5) Jam car departs, and security shows up at actual limo.

It went... reasonably well, actually. The players put a lot of work into this, and they got all their rolls off. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I thought it was a well-thought out heist job.

Because 80s.

Well, it is nearly impossible to be perfectly clean, but it's not that hard to make those runs in a way that is credible enough for the purpose of the stories we tell. .

The most important thing to me is just wear masks, nanopaste, magical illusion etc. during the most brazenly illegal activities. After that, suspension of disbelief comes easily to me.

Just as the setting throws you tons of obstacles, it hands you tons of Tools that real criminals do not have.

For example, in real life, if you kill a political figure, the manhunt will be intense and you will have nowhere to hide. In SR, you have the Barrens! In real life, the hunt will not let up. In SR someone (or something) will have done something even more horrible than what you did by the end of the week and take the heat of you. In a world with Alamos 20K and Sirrurg, just how homicidal are you if you are Public Enemy Number One?!

In real life, it takes forever for a hacker to do his thing. If he doesn't find a careless human error in the required time window, it might even be impossible. In SR, it takes seconds.

In real life, you get shot once, you are done. Therefore, a shootout is usually a doomed proposition. In SR, it means you have hit midsession! The Advanced medecine and outright magical Healing makes this more palatable, but the bottom line is combat in SR operates at a degree of realism between Heat and Die Hard V which means until the entire SWAT team is on your ass you are still in good shape even when the lead start flying.

In real life, a perfect fake is hard. In SR, it's affordable and part of your toolkit.

Finally, there are so many runners that it is a setting established fact that as long as you don't go out of your way to destroy property and be an a$$, most corp are not going to pursue runners because there are no profit in it.

So you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be in and out in a reasonable time frame, have a safehouse and not be an idiot.

Road Ronin.

Street has better imagery though.

Well, if a PC is going to insist on describing himself as a 'Sahdowrun Street Ronin', you have a solid point. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotate.gif)

It also has much better alliteration though since the syllables that are stress have a much closer sound.

Dbl pst.

I understand that in an attempt to use the same starting consanant, Road Ronin and Street Samurai are discussed. Why not just Street Ronin? I think it sounds better than either.

Come on, Road Ronin was a joke. It evokes images of the Road Runner.

meep meep

RoboRonin came in a close second I suspect and I am so glad it didn't make first.

IIRememberC Street Samurai was always about THE or at least a Code to discern Muscle from Pros then becomming a trend (as each street muscle thought of himself as the real deal) thus loosing its "ring". Beeing called a "Samurai" by someone else suddenly ment something.

Every Street Sam has a lord; his name is Mr. Johnson.

We could rename them to Road Ronin

Razor Gorilla
Urban Knife
Metal Monster

How about Razor Ramon? No wait...

Hmmm. As some one who played SR1 from day one, I guess I never saw it as silly. Since Rifts was immensely popular back then, along with a few other much sillier games I saw Shadowrun as a very serious game, that was unlike others.


But that said, Street Ronin doesn't flow off of the tongue like Street Samurai.

Street Samurai
Street Shaman
Road Ronin
Metal Monster


Where's Stan Lee when you need him?

Making money hand over fist with films and now TV shows.

I want you to know this is all your fault.

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Remind me of ice cold memories
When every night was as gray as Seattle skies

Now and then when I see our Face
She takes me away to the Johnson's place
and if I stare too long
our Mage will probably make me die

Whooooaaaaa Street Samurai
Whoa oh oh oh Street Samurai

She's got cybereyes of the greyest skies
beneath Seattle's rain
I'd hate to look into those eyes and see their essence drain

Dunkelzahn's death reminds me of an astral rift
from which I would hide
and wait for the mana bolts and lead rain
to quietly pass me by

Whooooaaaa Street Samurai
Whoa oh oh oh Street Samurai
Woo oooh oooh ooh Shadowrun of mine
Ooooohhhhh Street Samurai

(Synthlink solo)

Aries is go, Aries is go now
Renraku oh, ohhh
Renraku oh now
HMHVV ohh, (Ghoul child) HMHVV whoa now
Aztlan oh, (blood magic) Aztlan whoa now
Aye aye aye aye where do we go now? Where's the saaaAAAaafehouse now?
Where do we go, Where do we go now?
Street Samurai
Street SaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaamurai....

Now which one of you chummers has the singing voice to make this cover happen? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Gilette Girl has better alliteration than Razor Girl.

However, Razor Girl has a cooler sound to it... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But Gilette makes Razors and shaving cream so it's great.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Touche...