 So, I came across this pile of old SR stuff..., ...any of it any good? |
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 Nov 22 2005, 02:04 AM
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#1
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Running Target  Group: Members Posts: 1,070 Joined: 7-February 04 From: NYC Member No.: 6,058  |
A friend of mine turned out to have a bunch of old SR books - some his own, some a buddy of his dumped on him years ago when moving - so I figured I'd make a list, and run it by the fre... fine people here, see if any of it is worth reading - or worth something, period. Here it is:
7103 Sprawl Sites 7104 Street Samurai Catalog 7105 Paranormal Animals of North America 7106 The Grimoire: The Manual of Practical Thaumaturgy, 14th Ed., 2050 7108 Rigger Black Book 7110 Shadowtech 7117 Bug City (with the UB and Missing Blood booklets) 7120 Awakenings: New Magic In 2057 7121 Threats 7123 The Underworld Sourcebook 7201 Seattle Sourcebook 7202 Native American Nations: Volume One 7203 London Sourcebook 7207 Native American Nations 7210 Tir Tairngire 7303 Dreamchipper 7304 Queen Euphoria 7314 A Killing Glare 7322 Super Tuesday 7323 Shadows of the Underworld 7901 Shadowrun 2nd Edition 7902 Contacts 7903 The Grimoire: The Manual of Practical Thaumaturgy, 15th Ed., 2053 7904 Virtual Realities 7905 SR Companion: Beyond the Shadows |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:25 AM
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#2
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
sprawl sites docks you karma for killing people instead of cutting their hair. despite similar inanities, it's pretty good material.
shadowtech is the best SR tech book ever. a lot of the rest are good reading for background info on SR> |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:58 AM
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#3
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Running, running, running Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,220 Joined: 18-October 04 From: North Carolina Member No.: 6,769 |
nope, it's all worthless.... pm me and i will direct you to an apporiate Sr worthless destruction center.
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Nov 22 2005, 03:11 AM
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#4
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
i'd offer my, uh, "destruction" services, but i've already got most of those.
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Nov 22 2005, 03:12 AM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 596 Joined: 18-February 03 Member No.: 4,112 |
There's a better disposal centre down here in Australia. I'll pay for postage.
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Nov 22 2005, 03:25 AM
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#6
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
If you're into SR, it's all worth reading. Anyway, here's my take on some of your list items.
The Maps lack in the realism department. The contacts section was ok.
One of my personal favs. You don't mention if it's the grey-covered first edition one or the black-covered second edition reprint. The article by Winter in the back chapter was one of the best "How to be a Shadowrunner" article, up until Matador's piece in Fields of Fire blew it out of the water.
I must confess, I miss this style of book. Horribly wasteful expanses of white space for some entries, which is why this format isn't used much anymore. Still, entry after entry that's got at least half a page of shadowtalk make this one of the more flavorful oldschool books.
Seeing as how SR's magic system gets re-invented practically every edition, there's not much you can really adapt here from a rules standpoint, unless you're still running 1st edition. Good from a historical perspective though, and it's got some good cover art.
This book was uber cool when it first came out. Nowadays, it's so-so. The art is hit-and-miss, but the book gets points for having art for every vehicle, something we didn't see again in a rigger book until the release of Rigger 3 Revised.
I can't say enough good things about this one. It has some of the best shadowtalk of any SR product before or since. There are flamewars and grudges that span from entry to entry, humor bits that are comedy gold, and each of the shadowtalk posters has a defined personality. Having all sorts of cool gear is just a bonus compared to the shadowtalk. This was one of the releases that was on the cusp of the transition from first to second edition, so even if you have a first edition printing, everything in the book was designed with the second edition rules in mind. Except for the damage code for cyanide.
Fun, if you like bug runs. I recently pulled my copy of this off the shelf during Hurricane Katrina disaster, because there was a sysadmin for a major internet hub who was posting a blog throughout the disaster, and it was very similar in tone to the matrix posts from Bug City when the city first gets locked down. By UB book, I assume you mean the fiction piece of Universal Brotherhood, and not the Adventure Module "Missing Blood". If it is the fiction from UB, then you have what is, hands down, one of the best pieces of SR fiction anywhere. Don't part with it.
Not much to say about this one other than it's rather good.
Oh man, does this one bring back the memories. From the kitchy photo art ads, the other ads, the dearth of shadowtalk, the maps, and the detailing of every portion of the Seattle Sprawl, this book is an absolute keeper.
Another fun placebook. Good cover art.
Everything I said about Seattle Sourcebook? Ditto For London. Even with that, it's not a clone of the Seattle SB by a longshot. From the little touches like the euro-format datestamps to the slang used, and just the writing in general, this book has its own distinct voice. There are some history bits that involve Princess Diana that will need some retroactive continuity applied to them, but that sort of problem crops up a lot in SR.
Maybe it's just me, but I never found Volume 2 to be nearly as helpful as Volume 1. Had it been me, I would have ditched the adventure sections and just merged them into one book.
This one is deliciously over the top in places. All the art in it is top notch.
The introduction of personafix BTL.
Back in high school, my RPG group regularly rotated out GMing duties, but we ended up running through all of the published bug runs back to back because none of us knew what modules we had bought and planned to run. By the end of it, the team's streetsam was prone to hiding under the bed, and the team's Mage would cast a full force fireball at any insect she saw, regardless of how far away the insect was, or who would be in the fireball radius, or how drained she was at the time. The team's merc committed suicide in the bathroom of the safehouse in the middle of the third run.
This has a full description of how Urban Brawl works. Handy to have if you don't have Shadowbeat.
What I said about the rules usefulness of the first Grimoire goes for this as well. The art is great, though, and there are a lot of hidden easter eggs and in-jokes in many of the pictures. Having the two side by side, especially if you have a newer product like Magic in the Shadows, you can get a good feel for "where have we been, and where are we going?"
Actually, Virtual Realities 2.0. Had it been #7107, the original Virtual Realities, I'd be saying a lot of good things about the fiction piece about the little boy who grew up in the Matrix, Renny. The second edition is little more than rules with a few shadowtalk gems sprinkled in here and there. About as useful from a rules crunch standpoint as the old Grimoires are, which is to say that it's a good history lesson.
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Nov 22 2005, 03:36 AM
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#7
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Creating a god with his own hands Group: Members Posts: 1,405 Joined: 30-September 02 From: 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 Member No.: 3,364 |
Paul's lying. they're all worthless. give them to me. :D
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Nov 22 2005, 04:28 AM
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#8
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
You should lay them all out in a pile somewhere, and roll around naked in that pile every night before bed (or AS a bed). This will cover you in Good SR Mojo, and protect you from all evil.
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Nov 22 2005, 04:53 AM
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#9
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Target Group: Members Posts: 46 Joined: 6-October 05 From: Toronto Member No.: 7,819 |
The Shadowrun books near and dear to my half dead heart you have are; 7106 The Grimoire: The Manual of Practical Thaumaturgy, 14th Ed., 2050 - Changed my life I tell you - and 7121 Threats - simply a fascinating read.
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Nov 22 2005, 05:36 AM
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#10
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Resident Legionnaire Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,136 Joined: 8-August 04 From: Usually Work Member No.: 6,550 |
I'd kill (you or whoever you ask me to) for that Seattle Sourcebook. :grinbig:
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Nov 22 2005, 08:07 AM
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#11
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 313 Joined: 26-February 02 From: UCAS Member No.: 1,015 |
Even though it's now available in PDF, this is probably still one of the more valuable Shadowrun items. |
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Nov 22 2005, 01:51 PM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 7-February 03 Member No.: 4,025 |
Dammit, looks like this guy found "where a rock meets the sun." I KNEW there'd be some good stuff there!
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Nov 22 2005, 01:57 PM
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#13
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Chrome to the Core Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,152 Joined: 14-October 03 From: ::1 Member No.: 5,715 |
Bug City, Threats, Underworld, Seattle, Tir Tairngire
By far the books I'd consider most useful. I have three of the above five (BC, Threats, TT), and I wouldn't dare give them up. Especially BC. (God damn is that one of the best written books ever. Between that and UB, it's a wonder nobody plays with bugs anymore. They can be fragging scary.) |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:05 PM
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#14
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,453 Joined: 17-September 04 From: St. Paul Member No.: 6,675 |
So, I've got a nice pile of books too. Should I post it to make you all drool as well?
;) |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:18 PM
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#15
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Running, running, running Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,220 Joined: 18-October 04 From: North Carolina Member No.: 6,769 |
nope, just pm for the address of a local destruction center |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:21 PM
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#16
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 934 Joined: 26-August 05 From: Earth - Europe - AGS - Norddeutscher Bund - Hannover Member No.: 7,624 |
I stilll need a Denver Box to complete my Shadowrun and Earthdawn collections. Anyone got a spare one? ;)
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Nov 22 2005, 02:25 PM
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#17
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,070 Joined: 7-February 04 From: NYC Member No.: 6,058 |
Heh... I admit making people drool is a nice side effect, but my true purpose is my stated one, since I really doubt I'll have the time anytime soon to read it all. That, and I figure this'd give my GMs a chance to go "DON'T READ THAT!" if necessary. |
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Nov 22 2005, 02:51 PM
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#18
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Free Spirit Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,948 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Bloomington, IN UCAS Member No.: 1,920 |
A couple months ago I bid on eBay on a rather large collection of old SR books, something like around 40 to 50 books. The top 2 or 3 bidders were resellers and snipers to boot, but the auction didn't reach the reserve. The person relisted the auction and this time I was determined not to let the resellers win, but I guess they decided the reserve was too high to win and turn a profit, so no one ran the auction up to my high bid.
The auction ended, I was the high bidder, but my bid didn't get pushed past the reserve. However, the seller offered it as a second chance sale for my stated bid amount. That bid was lower than the first time the auction ran, and I jumped at it, even though I had all but about 2 or 3. 7101-7109, 7112-7115, 7117-7119, 7121-7126 7201-7208 7301-7303, 7305-7308, 7312, 7331 7901-7903, 7905-7906, 7908-7909 |
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Nov 22 2005, 03:09 PM
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#19
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
I like writing fiction.
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Nov 22 2005, 03:12 PM
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#20
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Chrome to the Core Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,152 Joined: 14-October 03 From: ::1 Member No.: 5,715 |
tisoz: My copy of the SR2 softcover seems to have gone MIA. Doing a new book for that is definitely something I'd be interested in. I'd also like Lone Star.
What new books do you want? :biggrin: |
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Nov 22 2005, 03:43 PM
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#21
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Shooting Target Group: Validating Posts: 1,618 Joined: 29-January 03 From: Montevideo, Uruguay. Member No.: 3,992 |
All those books are old and obsolete. I urge you to donate them to some Third World country (say, mine), where they'll be put to... uh, better use. I'll do the paperwork for you, maybe even pay the shipping. ;)
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Nov 23 2005, 03:15 AM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 124 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,812 |
On the lucky/unlucky find story, my mother-in-law gave away to some kid down the street (for free) her son's (my brother-in-law's) Warhammer 40K stuff when he was in the UK for six months and she got sick of storing it (and without consulting him). I'm not a player of 40K myself, but I understand that a 6,000 point army of Space Marine things, all the Space Marine books and every minature professionally painted is worth a bit?
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Nov 23 2005, 03:58 AM
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#23
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,507 Joined: 27-January 05 From: ...and I'm all out of bubblegum Member No.: 7,021 |
If I was a WH40K player, I'd be killing a kid down the street. |
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Nov 23 2005, 04:17 AM
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#24
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Target Group: Members Posts: 87 Joined: 12-January 05 From: Brazil, RN, Natal (Also known as Amazonia) Member No.: 6,968 |
AND somebody´s mother. Never forget. Never forgive. NEVER. |
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Nov 23 2005, 09:29 AM
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#25
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,283 Joined: 17-May 05 Member No.: 7,398 |
Yes, they're worth a lot. A squad of 10 men (about 150-200 points) costs around $50 US. Multiply that by 30, and that's about $1,500. That would just be basic men, too. The vehicles and books would cost more. |
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