A hologram projector costs 200 ¥, that's 25 more than Speak Up. And the projector is not invisible microelectronics straight out of a spray can.

>equipment from late 4e
>not thought through
What an incredible, shocking surprise!

Much like the cost of grenades in any of the Editions. *shrug*

That is just because sales are always booming.

Declaring something irrelevant looks far more believable and less like a cop out when you do it once the point is brought up, and not after going back and forth about it for a bit (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Sure. But I'll frankly say I never did more than flip through these books, and build my understanding of SR as per 2073 on the early 4e material entirely.
The alternatives are too horrible to consider.

C'mon, everybody loved it when Snow Crash did it.

Did it do so five times in a row, slightly differently?

No, just the one time, but it was fairly similar to this one. I really don't get what they're trying to do with the metaplot at this point. I remember when I first started playing it all seemed really cool: Dunkelzahn's death, bug city, etc. Now it just feels like that whole vibe is gone.

Hey, even better, with the rules out of Street Grimoire (specifically Endow), you -too- can become a possession and/or essence/karma/magic rating devouring beast!

To the best of my understanding, they're trying to 1) remove nano-forge from the setting 2) turn editing errors (no-name posters in Corporate Guide) into a plot and 3) change Boston to fit Shadowrun Online gameplay.

Authors who were trying to just write in good stories/game material were rare. For a long time, many were simply doing "world-building," extending the setting with new things. But they ran out of "terra incognita" by the end of the third edition (it could be argued they ran out of "marketable terra incognita" if the cancellation of Shadows of Latin America is any indication, but things are not so simple, and 4th edition Lagos and Bogota books were the last actual shots).

Sourcebooks are all about changing the previously established setting. So the authors are more likely to pick topic they don't like they way they were handled, to change the setting to better fit their taste.

Which would be fine and could lead to some interesting stuff if Catalyst's writing standards weren't somewhere below 'Fortune Cookie' these days, and they weren't in the habit of assigning writers who are willfully ignorant of previous canon to write new things.

Well, minding that they cancelled Shadows of Latin America, they have a whole continent as their playground. Africa is barely covered, too, and there's a bunch of places that haven't been revisited in a very long time, or have barely been mentioned before.
Frankly speaking, my problem with the current metaplot is that they've concluded a few long-running arcs (like Aztlan-Amazonia war that has been going since what, second edition?), and haven't produced anything as engaging to replace them.

Oh man, there're several of us who want o *really* go into Africa, but, no luck yet.

And, yeah, we've tied off a few plots (Some willingly, some less so), but there are others burbling up. Can't say which yet, but... stuff is happening. Keep watching.

Could you at least say somewhere what happened to Yucatan? As far as I understand, the revolution won to make it, essentially, Amazonia's client state - what happened when the open war broke out?
As for Africa - well, most of Asia hasn't been revisited since the 60ies, and there's quite a number of blanks in Europe, too...

Yeah, I see stuff brewing, like this here Stolen Souls or the whole Ares bug possession arc. I'm just not sure if I'm as into these as I am into earlier stuff.

Yeah, pretty much all the currently visible plot for 5e revolves around... stupid possession enemies.

Again.

Not pointing any fingers here, but someone really, really needs to come up with a new idea.

I'll just sit here and keep writing my Russo-Yakutian War, then.
Although I am really not sure now is the time.

AS long as you are sticking with SR4A, you should be fine. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Well, the Ares plotline has clear grognard appeal, since it harkens back to a lot of older stuff. And Invae cyberzombies.

CFD, on the other hand...it nukes nanites, and it's nice to have a technological threat for a change, but somehow I don't feel the big thrill or mystery of it.

Uh, these must be some peculiar grognards, cause I don't exactly remember Ares (or any of the megacorps) this stupid or bug-friendly.
Oh, and that plotline also blatantly runs in the face of the previously established fluff in what comes to Invae abilities.

Threats 2, Theresa Montgomery in Augmentation....I guess the fact that it harkens back a lot is part of the charm.

Isn't that Dirk Montgomery's Sister (from 2XS)?

I was under impression Ares was in control in Threats 2, while this time it seems the other way round. I'd be fine with that, frankly, if that did not involve changing how bugs work.

I have a few irons in the fire myself, with nary a bit of magic or possession in the mix. It's still the opening salvo of 5th edition gang, just over a year into release. Give stories a chance to rev up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Heck, while we're here, I'll drop a quick survey for you.

On a 10 point scale, where you get 5 for most-wanted, 4 for next, then 3, 2, 1 and 0, rate the following plot nuggets as something you'd like to see more of:

Great Dragons
Lesser Dragons
Immortal Elves
Bugs
The Horrors
The Black Lodge
Shedim
Infected
Toxic Spirits/Shamans

Artificial Intelligences
Technomancers
GOD
Decker gangs

Corporate activity
Government activity
Policlub activity
Criminal Organization activity
Gang activity
Police activity
Military activity
Terrorism
Tribal activity
Racial activity

Unsolved mysteries

Other (Please list, but only vaguely! "Shapeshifters!" is fine, "Sasquatch meta-rights!" is weird but fine, "A plot where nanobots are burbling out of teh street and making human-consuming globs that can only be combated by freezing chemicals and..." is not.)

Hate to be the pessimist, but as you say, it's nearly a year into SR5, and this is all we have out for plot.

We're still short a couple core systems books, too, but the plot hooks that are out there now are the only game in town. Variety is needed here. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)



4 - Toxic Spirits/Shamans - These guys were right up there with blood mages on Dunk's hit list, it'd be nice to see them doing something to deserve it.
1 - Policlub activity - Policlubs are a cool concept that's core to the setting as well.
5 - Criminal Organization activity - The Mob, the Triads, the Seloupa Rings, the Yakuza... these guys have the kind of power struggles Shadowrunners can really sink their teeth into and cut loose.
3 - Gang activity - For a game that's been so highly tied to the streets, gangs get no love. There are a ton of really memorable gangs written into the setting.
2 - Tribal activity - Seriously, use the bloody NAN for something. They're a unique polity to the setting.