Review - Runner Havens Options

[KosherPickle]

Hello, and welcome to my review of Runner Havens! I had resolved to get a review written since, well, I wanted to. A couple of things before I get started.

1. For those that remember reading my partial and chapter extensive review of Shadows of Europe, I don't plan on finishing it. I've changed my format for reviewing, and it would look really strange to have later chapters reviewed in a different style than previous chapters. I also don't plan on reviewing those later chapters in my old style. Way too much work.

2. My review doesn't look only at content. It also looks at typesetting, typos, writing style, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

3. I'm doing the entire review in one shot, so that I don't do one part first, then never get back to the rest of it.

With all of that out of the way, let's get to it!

For those that don't notice that sort of thing, Runner Havens is the first Shadowrun module to feature a new 'WK GAMES' graphic on the lower left cover. I like the graphic for the word 'GAMES'; not sold on 'WK'. The cover sports a lithe light-skinned female of otherwise unknown origin as well as a malicious looking troll standing on the roof of a brick building. The former has her handguns pointed toward the sky; the latter is littering the street below with ammunition from his massive gun. I think it goes without saying that if you ever get into a situation where you have to shoot above and below, you're not long for this world. Good luck, chummers!

Right before we hit the first chapter, the opposite page has a setup that readers of 2nd Edition books (especially the later ones) will find somewhat familiar. A short blurb about the book we're about to dive into, one-line descriptions of upcoming posts (read: Sourcebooks), and random news from around the globe. Hold onto your hats, kiddies. It's February of 2070, and we've got some catching up to do.

The Hong Kong chapter (and presumably all sourcebook chapters from hereon in) starts with a short fiction. The main character of this is Ma'fan and it's the "eighth night of the ninth month of the year of the Tiger," a.k.a., 8/9/2070. Wait a second...Anyway, Ma'fan breaks into the Ikon Tower (whatever that is) thanks to a distraction by some 9x9 members (whoever they are). Presumably, her goal is to get to a computer terminal to make comment after comment in the Hong Kong posting.

The first page has a timeline. We love us some timelines, don't we? Unfortunately, there's no accompanying demographic box to go with it. Very sad. I always liked knowing what percentage of the population was made up of trolls.

Jason Levine has solo writing credits for the Hong Kong section (he had co-author credits in portions of Shadows of Asia), and it shows. Levine doesn't vary his style much. The names of the characters change, but the way they give the information doesn't. Some passages hint of a sense of humor and attempt to make the material more interesting, but for the most part it doesn't happen. Hong Kong is a relative unknown in the Shadowrun Universe, with the best sources of information only recently released in Shadows of Asia (a paltry amount) and Survival of the Fittest (the Wuxing Skytower is described in this campaign). A lot of foreign words and names tend to blend together, and no great attempt is made to help them stand out.

The Hong Kong section also has an annoyance that is not related to Levine's writing ability. A new critter called the Ghost Dolphin is described in a small info box on page 51. Interesting critter. Very well fleshed out with regards to physical appearance, behavior, and possible magical powers. However, actual stats for the critter don't make it into the book. This doesn't make much sense to me, despite the fact that a new critter manual is slated for release. Critter information is not so lengthy that it can't be put in a book like this.

All that said, Hong Kong is a very viable place to run a campaign. It's not quite 'Seattle in Asia,' but the similarities are too abundant to be mistaken. Both are port cities, both have megacorporate interests, both have underworld elements, both are surrounded by foreign powers. A fairly strong anti-corporate presence has finally arisen in Hong Kong (probably the last city to acquire one) in the form of 9x9. (I call them "9 by 9.") Magic, and especially geomancy, is an important part of this free city. Hong Kong works for just about any campaign type, except possibly mercenary. And if you want to do that, stage your base there and truck north into the Canton Confederation or west to Macao. There's information and to spare to run a campaign solely in this city.

The Seattle section of the book begins with a first-person short fiction focusing on Rowena O'Malley. If the name doesn't ring a bell for you, her father was once Don of the Seattle Mafia before he was slain by the assassin group known as Chimera. A rival mafioso was responsible for the hit, and Rowena spent many years plotting revenge. That seed finally bears fruit, and Rowena ascends to the top.

Four different writers are given credit for this section; this is a good decision. All kinds of information about Seattle come from wildly different sources and are given different voices. A political update is given as a transcription of a blogcast; syndicate information is an uploaded file meant for Yakuza newbies. I haven't gone back and cross-referenced the information here with the New Seattle book, but I doubt there's anything really crazy, stupid, or offbase in this book.

The Hong Kong section was not error-free, but the mistakes were few and far between. Seattle, on the other hand, has some very striking typos and typesetting issues (a big one in the Mafia portion). Oddly enough, the Red Hot Nukes don't rate a mention in the list of gangs, but are mentioned in a posting in the Seattle file. I just find that strange. Another oddity: on page 75, mention is made of the University of Seattle. I know and you know that no such place exists, right? Well, page 104 mentions "University of Seattle (formerly Washington)". Whew, glad we got that cleared up. Wait. What happened to Seattle University? I'm going to assume that they consolidated under the same name (because of the great shamanic studies and augmented reality engineering programs) and the writing got a little lazy.

We already know that Seattle is a viable place to run a campaign. I need not say more.

"Cities on the Edge" is a tetralogy of other possible locales where you can shoot people and steal things: Cape Town, Azania; Caracas, Venezuela (such as it is); Hamburg, Allied German States; and the Commonwealth of Constantinople (but everyone calls it Istanbul). There's not a whole lot to say about these places since there isn't much said. There is definitely enough information to formulate a few runs in and out of any of these places. If you like the area and want to stay longer, you're going to have get creative about the geography and demography.

"Game Information" has some nice 'keep this in mind' sections, but there's no charts and tables like we're used to seeing. For those who remember the tracked adventures Blood in the Boardroom and Mob War!, you'll be well familiar with the way the adventure ideas are laid out: a couple of fairly fleshed out ones followed by short paragraph ideas for other runs. Only Hong Kong and Seattle get this treatment; even giving short paragraph ideas for the "Cities on the Edge" would have been a nice touch.

Runner Havens is the first sourcebook (On The Run was an adventure) for 4th Edition. In my opinion, it definitely comes across as a first sourcebook. Despite the fact that there are writers, editors, and other personnel from previous Shadowrun material, lazy writing and editing make themselves fairly evident in the book. I appreciate that the index was provided for free on the website, but it should have made it into the book somehow. There are certain things I would have really liked to have seen in this book that just couldn't find a place. Not all is bad news, however. I think this book is a good companion piece to 3rd Edition books such as Target: Wastelands, Target: Awakened Lands, and the State of the Art books. It does not work well for a group that is new to Shadowrun and will only look at 4th Edition material. If that is the case, I would suggest waiting on more 4th Edition books in order to utilize the strengths of this book properly. If, in spite of my warning, you do purchase it, stick to the Seattle section only.

6.5 out of 10.

[KosherPickle]

Mainly because I like to hear myself talk (or see myself type), I'm going to add a short addendum of things I realized I never got around to in the review.

1. Shadowrun is officially out of the pseudo curse word business. Don't expect to see words like "hoop", "drek", and "slitch" in the course of reading anymore. The f-bomb is dropped a few times in Runner Havens.

2. No mention of SURGE, at all. Kind of surprising. This was a big deal in-game nine years ago, but I guess things are easier to deal with nowadays.

3. Lots of mention of drugs, and where to score them. Apparently, WizKids is all about cram, jazz, and novacoke. This might be part of the larger concept of making Shadowrun more gritty. Life is hard, do drugs to escape.

4. Since it was too late to thrust Google into canon, is Horizon heavily based on them? It sure reads like it is. I look at the corporate culture and Google just springs to mind.

[bclements]

It's not the only culture that springs to my mind (from personal experience) :)

[Brahm]

[Grinder]

Good and fair review, but I would like to know more about the chapter
"Cities on the Edge". Who wrote it, how is it written, how long is the entry of every single city?

[Critias]

How usefull would you say RH is to non-SR4 players? It doesn't sound like it's terribly rules intensive, so it should still be a handy read for those of us using SR3 rules but the SR4 timeline...right?

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[Critias]

[Grinder]

How cute! :love:

:D

[Synner]

[Critias]

[SL James]

He'll be the one covered in blood waving an AK-47.

[Oracle]

Shhh! Homeland security is watching!!

[Critias]

[SL James]

[emo samurai]

PUPPY!!! PUPPY!!! PUPPY!!!!!

[KosherPickle]

[KosherPickle]

[KosherPickle]

[Synner]

[booklord]

[KosherPickle]

[Brahm]

[Synner]

[KosherPickle]