[X] My Assistant

[Dashifen]

I noticed Frosty (aka Jane Foster) in Augmentation, but I've not seen some of the more notable VIPs in the setting since the edition change over. Notable by their absence are the dragons and Harlequin, who if nothing else was good for a sarcastic comment now and then.

I always got a perverse pleasure out of seeing the dragons and immortal elves posted on Shadowland. Have they not be invited onto Jackpoint (yet) or is their lack of posting due to some other reason?

[Jaid]

on the shadowrun website, a while back, they had a list of 'canon' NPCs so to speak.

basically, it was a list of posters at jackpoint, really, so a lot of the old crowd sorta disappeared, and we don't really know what happened in a lot of cases...

for example "something" has happened to dragonslayer. don't know what. but something happened.

[Wakshaani]

The leadnig theory is that Dragonslaver got et. Possibly by Hestaby. Fatima seems to be teh one taking up the anti-dragon banner since then, or, at least, the cloest thing to it on Jackpoint.

Teh Laughing Man still has a login, however. Which, really, is pretty dang interesting in and of itself.

[Ancient History]

JackPoint isn't an "open forum" like the old Shadowland nodes. Strictly invitation-only.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[neko128]

Immoral elves?

Are we sure you didn't mean "immortal"?

I suppose it could go either way.

[hobgoblin]

[Dashifen]

Freudian ..... perhaps :D

[Bull]

Honestly, outside of the first couple times that they posted... It was just silly. It came down to a (lame) running joke of Harlequin being an ass and Orange Queen calling him on it.

The thing is, they don;t need to post to Shadowland, they don;t need to read Shadowland, and they have no reason to care about Shadowland. They're friggin' great dragons and immortal elves. At best, they have people to do that sort of thing for them.

Plus, i think that was one of the (many) things that was taking the "Street level" aspect away from the game. Between adventures were you go up against all powerful AI's and get involved with the games of Great Dragons and this sort of thing... <shrug> That's fine for some games, and maybe as the culmination of a long running campaign, but for a "normal" SR game... Not so much.

I'm really liking the current format myself. I like the static core of posters. Just a couple books in, and we're already seeing rivalries and arguments between some of Jackpoint's users, and getting to know a few of them. The stuff with Netcat and Clockwork was a lot of fun in Emergence, and it was nice to see that rear up again a couple times in Augmentation.

And hey, we still have Frosty, Fastjack, and Smiling Bandit, plus a few other names taht have been around forever.

Bull

[hobgoblin]

hell, who needs the "jester" tossing comments around when one have slamm-o running wild?

[Dashifen]

I like this new format, too, especially the fueds (e.g., Netcat vs. Clockwork) that are cropping up, but I'd also like some posts from the other powers in the world. For example, I think there are those in the world who would have been able to comment on the information in the Cybermancy portion of Aug. specifically the information relating to Africa.

*shrugs* YMMV :D

[FrankTrollman]

[fistandantilus4....]

You've got one messed up Mary- Sue- zombie. :cyber:

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[fistandantilus4....]

[Pendaric]

I like the 'pointless posts' that throw plot ideas left right and centre in the old SR£ ST. Not quite as prolific anymore.

[Fortune]

[Fortune]

While I agree that the Shadowland format was a bit better, I am very glad to see Shadowtalk return to the Core rulebooks after its absence in SR3.

I don't think it would have hurt to throw in a post or two from the more familiar Powers-that-be to stir the pot a little though. Nor do I think it would do any harm to continue the tradition of 'throwing bones' to loyal (or at least vocal and/or unabashed) customers/devotees by including the odd random post by their namesake character(s).

[Ancient History]

The problem with the Shadowland format, especially for the last couple of third edition books, is that things went insane. Each book was adding a minimum of fifty posters, most of whom piped in for a single maybe-useful comment and then were never seen again (guilty of that myself). Of the few posters that did stick around, it was extremely difficult to keep track of their individual personalities, backgrounds, and specialties.

I like the IEs and GDs and even USPs (Unidentifiable Shadow Posters), but even they were getting way over-used by the end. You know what I think of when I remember IEs and GDs posting? The Street Samurai Catalog, Tir Tairngire and Aztlan.

In the SSC, Dunkelzahn posting wasn't just a big deal-it was truly shocking. In TT, the occasional comments by The Big 'D' and The Laughing Man were more than enoughto set everybody's conspiracy-meter off. Azt, by comparison, was like a 13-year old getting their first porn mag. People just keep wanting to pour over it, again and again.

See, IEs and GDs and USPs work best in moderation, saving up the really big, juicy stuff for the truly important moments. Adds more emphasis, adds more tension. Let's the readers know "oh Hell, this is gonna be great!"

Now, that's not to say JackPoint doesn't have its drawbacks. For one, you have a limited "pool" of players, which can be frustrating for writers and readers alike - how exactly does this poster know this information? Is it even accurate, or are they talking out of their ass? What do I know about this poster from their past behavior? The idea of an unreliable annotator isn't new, but it means some people that missed a book and pick up the next one might miss out on certain sundry details. Case in point, Emergence has some significant character development for several shadowposters that people who skip the book will miss.

[Rotbart van Dain...]

[hobgoblin]

please, dont start that one again...

[Wakshaani]

Emergence does?

Dangitall.

Still staking out my local game store for my copy.

*stalk stalk stalk*

[Blade]

Actually I think jackpoint may be a bit short of a few posters, or maybe needs to have some posters post more often because right now it feels like the Jackpoint community is no more than 10 people.
And even if there are some good and funny shadowtalk, I think it boils down too much to :

[Shinobi Killfist]

I always hated the immortal elves and dragons on shadowland. I just think of my dad near a computer, then I try to visualize someone from the time where the wheel was a novelty and I just don't accept them there. They should be insecure and befuddled by virtually everything on the matrix, getting into hidden nodes should be beyond them. The there immortal they can do anything thing just doesn't jive with me.

[Ancient History]

Why do you think that just because people were more primitive they were any less intelligent?