Austin setting info, What books are out there? Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Abstruse]

I have moved to Austin since the time I was a regular on these boards and, after a long time of being distracted by life-type things, I've had an itch to do some gaming again. I'm really liking the idea of running an Austin campaign since I know the area so well now and since there's so many neat plot hooks.

However, before I do this, I'd like to get my duckies in a row and figure out exactly what CANON info is out there for Austin, TX, CAS. I know the basics and I don't expect anyone to quote entire books at me. In fact, I'd prefer if you'd just point me in the directions of what books to dig through to find info.

Right now, all I remember is that Austin is divided along the Colorado River with the South side (where I currently live) being Aztlan and the North side being CAS. And with LA having their own problems, NYC still recovering from an earthquake after a few decades, Chicago overrun with bugs, and Austin as it is, most simsense production has moved to Nashville rather than Austin. The only reason I mention this is that I was wanting to do a big media angle for one arch and it popped into my head.

Once again, I've got pretty much every Shadowrun book in existence except a few of the less metaploty novels, so you don't need to give me an entire history lesson but merely point me at which books I need to look in. Thanks.

The Abstruse One

[WearzManySkins]

From what I recall there is one OOP book that very briefly details events in Austin. But from what I recall FASA put the Steve Jackson facility right at the border between UCAS/Texas and Aztlan. Ie directly in the line of battle. :) IIRC the dividing line went directly thru the SJ place. :)

WMS

[Abstruse]

If it's a FASA or FanPro book pre-4th Ed, I've got it. I've even got one of the limited edition 4th Edition books.

I'm pretty sure the Colorado River was the border between CAS and Aztlan. Steve Jackson Games is actually located a few blocks away from my apartment according to Google maps (though I've never noticed them or I would've flipped...plus I had to walk RIGHT past the location on the map every single day on my way to work at my old job and I never noticed it) and it's basically a residential area until you hit AMD or so, then it's all industrial. There's a ton of side-streets and if they were to put the border there, it'd make no logical sense. The river, on the other hand, only has eight bridges -- Congress Street, First Street, Lamar, Mopac, S. Pleasant Valley, Hwy 183, and Interstate 35. There's also a bridge used for rail travel. It would be easy to put border checkpoints on these bridges and, if necessary, destroying the bridges. The river would be much easier to defend and make a stand for the CAS troops than Ben White Blvd. Of course, this would mean giving up the airport...

You know what? I might just write a little netbook about this once I can pin down the canon info on the subject...I figure I know enough about this city and enough about the setting in general to give it a shot. Anyone have book titles for me so I can get started on the research?

The Abstruse One

PS. I'm not 100% behind you on the SJG border issue (if you're right, I'll eat crow on this one), but I do know that the address listed as ground zero for the Carmack Blast in Chicago was the address of the old FASA HQ in Chicago.

[WearzManySkins]

Well it was during/when FASA was doing Shadowrun.

But if may have been on the Genie FASA boards, it may have been talked about there.
The FASA crew were fairly talkative on the boards there, all kinds of things were talked about.

WMS

[Abstruse]

Find me the book and I'll bow before you. Seriously, no sarcasm, I really want to know what the canon info on this is. Please?

The Abstruse One

[WearzManySkins]

:rotfl: Well it may be in my hard copies of the FASA Shadowrun Forums from Genie, let me "dig" them up and read thru them.

I have looked in all of my copies of the published Shadowrun materials, my collection is fairly complete.

Bowing no, I just want to see if my memory is failing......or not!!! :)

[WearzManySkins]

Hmm have found a conversation about something bad happened in Lake Geneva, Paul says tragic mass-driver misfire in '18, Tom says tragic Great Dragon dumping in '22.

[MITJA3000+]

Neo-Anarchist's Guide to North America?

[WearzManySkins]

[Cain]

There's some stuff in the Lone Star sourcebook, although probably not what you're wanting. Lone Star's HQ is in Austin, so the book skims over the city to focus on LS.

[FlakJacket]

There's about half a page worth of information and shadowtalk about Austin in the Games of State/Espionage section of State of the Art 2064. Shadows of North America lays out the basic situation as well - Colorado river divides the two halves of the city with the I95 bridge being the only connection left.

[Abstruse]

If that's true, then whichever side blew up the South Congress bridge would be in BIG trouble. The country (or continent or maybe the world's) largest (or second largest, I can't remember off the top of my head) urban population of bats lives under the bridge, and they've developed a little cult. There's usually a hundred or two hundred people every night on the south bank of the bridge ready watch the millions of bats fly out about sunset. One of Austin's nicknames is even Bat City. And traffic is nuts as it is...I'd hate to see what it'd be like with the Mopac bridge gone...then again, something tells me population density would have gone way down so maybe they'll help...

Any other books I can check? Thanks for the help guys. And yes, I am looking on my own too but with little luck.

The Abstruse One

[Big D]

Considering the circumstances, far worse had already happened.

I've always wondered... is the Alamo still around? Or did it get blown up or vandalized as an azzie psyop?

Also, who holds the flood control dams upstream, and the major dams around Austin?

[Abstruse]

I don't think any of those questions are answered in canon, but if I had to guess...

I'd say based on Aztlan and Aztechnology's habit of encouraging loyalty similar to a dictatorship, they probably either razed the Alamo or else turned it into a museum blasting Texas in general and the glorious victory that the Mexican army gained at the battle.

As far as the dams, I'd say Aztechnology runs them. They're on the border and frankly, Aztechnology would have better staffing and personnel than the CAS government would. In my opinion, it would've been hammered out in whatever treaty stopped Aztlan at the Colorado River. It might also be a joint force, or the dams might've gotten split up between the two with one taking the dam near 183 and the other taking the one upstream. They also could've just said screw the lake and just opened the things up.

So far, all I've been able to determine as far as canon info on Austin:

1) The film industry moved here from Los Angeles when trouble broke out there, then hightailed it to Nashville when Aztlan invaded or vice versa. Source: Target UCAS

2) Zilker Park is still open to the public and Aztlan allows much more access to the park than other places on their side of the border while still appearing to enforce their borders in order to allow listening posts and bugs all over to overhear secret intelligence meetings which were apparently commonplace there. Source: SotA 2064

3) Lone Star was founded in Austin, even though their first contract for municipal law enforcement was Corpus Christi. Source: Lone Star Sourcebook

4) The dividing line between CAS and Aztlan is the Colorado River. Source: Various.

Does anyone have anything else they can add? Thanks.

The Abstruse One

[Big D]

You're missing a lot of dams. There are a half dozen major dams upstream of Austin, any one of which could be blown up and probably wipe out the others downstream, along with anything near the river. On top of that, there are lots of smaller flood-control dams that feed into or sit on the Colorado.

Control of the dams is probably a fairly important issue for surviving Austinites.

I have one note to add to your list... there are rumors that Texas built a spirit-based ABM system back in the '50s. No details on how the spirit would be guided to the inbound, however.

[WearzManySkins]

Heck with the damns and such who got Hippy Hollow? :)

Also power generation facilities will be high on the list also, wonder if Comanche Peak is still in use by this time?

[Big D]

It's well behind the lines. But isn't fusion widespread?

[GrepZen]

The LCRA runs the dams in Texas currently so anyone who has control of the LCRA facility on Lake Austin Blvd would own the dams. The rest of Texas power is controled from Tayor, TX (close to Austin) by ERCOT.

Big D: are you talking about the 2050 or 1950? If 1950 then no, the silos at Beecave containing were decommissioned a few years back and the site went up for sale. Also Bergstom AFB was turned into an airport so no missiles there either. I wouldn't doubt that we had more stuff here but, unless the interceptors were getting tracking info from Ft Hood or San Antonio we don't have the radars for that kind of work.


Not to derail the topic but, the Austin/Texas info from FASA is wack. Due to the amount of Military & Mil/FED research sites in Texas we'd be nuked before any portion of the state was given up. Now I may just be a tad pissy as the thought of any portion of Texas going back to Mexico fills me with hulk like rage (remember the alamo & all that), but, it seems to me that the troops, NBC, and armor in Ft. Hood alone could wipe out anything Mexico had at the time. If you add in the stuff in San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus, etc...

[kzt]

[WearzManySkins]

IIRC the UCAS military stripped the UCAS military bases prior to turning them over to the CAS/Texas military. So most of the neat hardware/vehicles are gone.

That leaves CAS/Texas with bases that have material issues(tanks etc) and features missing.

I do not think CAS/Texas had time to restock/rebuild those bases prior to the Aztlan invasion.

The Mexico of today and the Aztlan Empire are vastly different forces. From what I have read of the Aztlan, they are a first tier military organization in the world of Shadowrun 4th ed.

Also the Aztlan invasion is what caused Texas to succeed from CAS, due to they did not give immediate aid(military etc) to Texas in fighting against the invaders.

For a state militia to fight and hold a first tier military like the Aztlan, speaks loudly of the Texan fighters.

Once Texas rejoined CAS, they did get some aide from CAS, but then the Aztlan had a foot hold in Texas.

IIRC the front lines are static now, due to some treaties etc. Does not mean that independent Texan resources are not engaged in a low intensity conflict with Aztlan forces. Such forces for some reason, are below the CAS/Texas radar so to speak.

I view the front line between the two sides to be rife with independent thunderbirds making runs of various types. Also the various methods of smuggling people/goods by the coyotes of today will be in use going both directions across the front lines.

I know the author of the DFW area was/is from that area.

[Big D]

err... they didn't have spirits in 1950 to make a spirit-based ABM system with. :)

One thing on the Azzies... didn't they pack an awful lot of mojo for 2035? I was under the assumption that spirits, mages, and trained critters gave them an enormous advantage at a time when A&M&M was still working on the second M.

One of the downsides to basing a setting in reality is that some things will *always* be whacked, and those will be noticed by people who know those things.

Don't even mention LA on here. Just don't. :)

[WearzManySkins]

LA :rotfl: LA :rotfl: LA :rotfl: LA :rotfl:

[WearzManySkins]

Texas AMM got it in 2025, along with UCLA and MITT by the Shadowrun Timeline wiki.

Aztlan has its forces occupied in other places, so in Texas they are more than likely having a wait and "we will kick your hoop as soon as we take some irons out of the fire."

Aztlan hot spots

Denver or the lack there of.

Yucatan Peninsula

Colombia and Venezuela

[FrankTrollman]

[thorr]

is there any info on the texas rangers? are they in any source books? do they even still exist in sr?