[X] My Assistant

[Paul]

I'm a guy who likes Shadowrun. In fact I pretty much like a lot of games-role playing, board and strategy games. Be it Heroscape, Chess, Shadowrun or some Stratego I'm down. I'm not interested in getting too personal, for a variety of reasons, but it's common knowledge I think that I served as US Marine, and now work in law enforcement/government, at a maximum security prison. I work on a gang task force, and enjoy playing games with my friends. (Guys like Chrome Tiger, 3278, and more-who sometimes post around here.) Like them I've been kicking around DSF since it was a mailing list; I've also had the privilege of meeting some of the people writing, designing and play-testing the game. Almost universally I think they're decent and fun people.

I generally have little that is very serious to say, and view the entirety of the internet as one big entertainment device. I have enough people making my day busy at work, I don't need to come here and get all serious and worked up. So hopefully that helps anyone who might take offense to anything I say. Picture it all with a sardonic smile, and it's all good!

[Omenowl]

I am a geotechnical engineer working in Texas for the government doing dam and levee safety among other things.
36 years old
Military Brat
Been playing rpgs since I was 8 years old
1 baby boy
Go to a ranch with horses, dogs and chickens on the weekends
I have a bachelors and masters in civil engineering.
Enjoyed canoeing, white water rafting, archery, fencing and target shooting.
Took some tae kwon do, archery, aikido, and fencing.

[toturi]

From Singapore. Han Chinese, 31 years old. A little on the underweight side, used to do the various endurance and water sports, but after a minor training accident, involving me jumping off the deck of an APC in full battle gear, my hip, knee and ankle has been bothering me, so apart from an annual run, I stick to jogging short distances now. Dad was a career military man, retired now. Mom's a homemaker. I am a civil engineer by training but I am looking for a career change. I am conversant in 2 languages - English and Mandarin, did a little bit of French, know a little Malay. I started playing RPGs since 1990, started playing both Shadowrun and L5R in 1995. I love reading, finished Sun Tzu Art of War in the original at 12 (when my grasp of Mandarin was IMO the strongest, it has been downhill since then), read Clausewitz's On War when I had nothing to do after my O levels, read The Prince after my A levels (again because I was bored).
I am a GPMG gunner when I go back for refresher training. I could field strip and assemble an FN MAG/GPMG under a minute. I am a qualified lifeguard (I have to keep telling people it is all about your technique and not about how buff you are). I suffer from nightblindness which is why I am not a marksman(I hit all my targets in the day, 100% score, but at night I barely managed 10%; luckily, the GPMG comes with a night scope now.)

[ Spoiler ]

As long as I can see the target, it is dead, which is why I can't understand why people have problems hitting a man-sized target at 800m with a scope and a rifle (I can do it with a GPMG and iron sights, with only 2 years of training...)

I play Star Wars and Cthulutech as well. In terms of miniature gaming, I play Warmachine and Hordes.

[Red-ROM]

this is kewl. I've been reading posts from a lot of you and it's good to get a feel for the real.

I'm 30(31 in a few days)

i live in Virginia beach, VA (you know, John Smith and all that)

I'm a recovering D&D purest that started SR in 3rd edition(I've played many other RPG's as well now)

I lived in Olypia, WA for 4 years and worked in Gig Harbor,WA

I'm a Heating and Air conditioning mechanic, married w/ a 1 year old boy.

I'm only fluent in English, but i took german in Highschool and I tried to learn Japanese once(I confused many people in Kyoto)

[Khyron]

I'm 30
Live in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, lived in Florida all my life.
Work in IT and occasionally cust/svc due to the crap economy
Internet addict.

[Jhaiisiin]

Lifetime resident of Albuquerque, NM (the place Bugs shoulda turned left at) and I hope I get to stay here my whole life. I just love it here. I've been gaming for... gosh, almost 20 years now? My cousin got me and my brother into it, first with a silly one-shot of D&D, then a much better Shadowrun game (Which he had to run from memory, using 2nd ed rules, because he had no books with him). He hooked us on it so hard we begged our parents for the books and thus began our life of RPG's. Since then, I've done SR mainly for years, all the way up through 4th ed and still going strong. At some point, my brother got into oWoD Vampire and has become an amazing storyteller (he's truly an artist of the word, while I am one of the hand it seems). Several years ago, my best friend and I got introduced to oWoD's Mage, and that has become our primary game, though I still play SR regularly (at least half the year). I'm also regularly involved with D20 Star Wars (not Saga edition, GM won't have it), and occasionally get sucked into paladium games, ridiculous as they are.

Beyond gaming, I'm 5'6-5'8ish (Depending on day, have a touch of scoliosis that tends to alter my height a bit), weigh in around 180 these days and am in better shape than I have been in the past. Just turned 30 last month, and tried like hell to avoid it with no success. I get to sport 3' of hair, which has caused me to be threatened with death should I ever cut it off. I'm currently a satellite TV install tech, and have worked various other tech fields over the years. Tech stuff just hits my brain really easily for some reason.

I'm also a freelance tattoo design artist and I sketch other things now and again. Just finally got back into school, though I'm at a loss what direction I want to go for. Would love to live off my art, but "Starving Artist" exists as a phrase for a very good reason.

[ColdEquation]

I'm kinda new here, so I'll gladly introduce myself. I've been aware of Dumpshock and its fourms for a long time, but only recently signed up.

I'm a 31-year-old guy from White Bread, USA, also known as Salt Lake City, Utah. I was raised LDS/Mormon, whatever you want to call it, but when I got to be about 24 I realized that I'd learned more about how life works from FastJack, Captain Chaos, Matador and Hatchetman than I'd ever learned from Jesus, so I've been doing my own thing ever since.

I'm getting married on Friday (8/28/09 for reference) to a wonderful woman who prefers the Hedge to the Shadows, but I can't hold that against her. I work for a grand-format print company, which means we make things that are bigger than large. If you've been to a mall somewhere in the United States or Canada lately, chances are you've seen our work. The company's proudest moment so far was being one of the subcontractors that worked on the 20 and 30 story tall building wraps that were seen during the 2002 Winter Olympics. I manage the shipping department, which keeps me here a lot later than I would like sometimes.

I went to college for a few semesters deluding myself that I could make a living with an English Degree; reality stepped in and kicked that out from underneath me.

I've been running Shadowrun for close to 15 years. I was introduced by way of the old FASA catalogues that came with my BattleTech stuff. Soon, my mechs were gathering dust while the streets of Seattle beckoned.

[KCKitsune]

I'm a 36 year old white guy living in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania (right outside of Carlisle), and I am right now going to school to get my Medical Laboratory Scientist degree. I'll be taking Analytical Chemistry (CHM371) at Shippensburg this fall and Genetics in the Spring. All my other classes are taken care of.

I've been in the Navy. I almost made it through Naval Nuclear Power School, but fail to pass the Prototype stage of the training. I later got kicked out for Sleepwalking (no joke). I've worked in the Computer field (Earthlink, but got my job outsourced to the Philippines. That's why I'm going for my MLS degree... not much chance of getting outsourced.

[Earlydawn]

Border of New York and New Jersey. I'm 21. I'm a Political Science major with a personal focus on Defense / Security Studies. I'm an Epee fencer (retired since High School), a firearm owner, and a cat lover. I started my political life as a Democrat, back when I believed that people were fundamentally good and possessed intrinsic self-value. Shifted off to a more moderate stance during my first two in College. In the last year, I have finally come to terms with the idea that I am a Conservative, particularly in the areas of national defense and economics. Father is small business owner, and mom is a upper management biomedical wageslave. Hoping the latter pays off in Deltaware eventually. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Very strongly considering commissioning into the Air Force. I'd like to do either intelligence or unmanned aviation. Army also isn't out of the question, although I would be very skeptical about heading down that road without having a specific specialty right out of MEPS (Do officers even go through MEPS?).

[The Jake]

I am 30 years old, in a defacto relationship with the most wonderful, understanding beautiful woman. We just had our first child a little over four months ago.

I live in Melbourne, Australia. Contrary to popular belief we don't ride kangaroos to work. Awhile back I was married to an American and lived in L.A. for a bit over a year but chose to come back when the relationship went south as I didn't want the stigma of people thinking I wanted the green card. Also been fortunate to do some travel across Asia and South America.

I work in information security as a consultant across the company's internal projects. I'm hoping to move into a more focused architectural role soon. As much as I love security I am a bit disillusioned with it sometimes. But the pay is too hard to argue with. I've done my Bachelors degree and been accepted to do a Masters but I'm still not sure I want to do it - it costs a lot, and I'm still umming and ahhing about what I'd learn vs. how it will help my career and/or life in general.

Outside of work I am very interested in health and fitness and exercise regularly (6'2"/ 215 lbs). I used to do wrestling and Brazilian jui jitsu with an eye towards doing competitive jiu jitsu and at least one amateur MMA fight (I've also done karate, taekwon do and dabbled in others). However I've had two major injuries requiring surgery and my road to full recovery long with no immediate end in sight. I have taken this opportunity to look at my health more holistically. To maintain my competitive streak I am now learning poker. I also have interests in property investing and personal development.

I try to run or paritcipate in role playing games at least once a fortnight, usually running Shadowrun but it's hard with my commitments. I've been gaming since I was 9, having started on AD&D 2E, Cyberpunk 2020 and SR1.

- J.

[MKX]

I came to find RPG's later in life, SR 1st Ed and AD&D around 1991 while studying/drinking at university. Born and raised in Australia, not travelled out of the country and don't speaking anything but English, which is kind of odd as I have quite a few mates from all around the world- ethnically my family on my fathers side came over on the 2nd fleet, originally from northern England after being busted for highway robbery (lol, no bread stealing here!) and my mothers side are 2nd generation migrants from Scotland with a little bit of French and German.
Unmarried, never married, no kids I'll admit too and I'm a continual disappointment to my parents in that regard.

Professionally, I'm a network admin/engineer, mostly telco stuff (SDH, PDH transmission, Base stations, fibre, wireless- I fix it all) for a mobile phone telco and also a wireless broadband provider... I also have a Bachelor of Arts in fine arts with a major in painting and drawing, needless to say, its not what pays the bills.
Unprofessionally, I privately import Japanese sports cars and spend my meagre spare time tuning them up, driving like an idiot, blowing them up, then having to fix them. I have written fan material for RPG's in the past when I had the time, wouldn't do it for a quid, only the love of the hobby, like most long time RPG'ers I know a socially unacceptable amount of facts about weapons, firearms, explosives, toxins, medical technology and chemistry.

[Erl of Ingst]

Caucasian Redhead (do they come in any other brand than Caucasian?), 23 years old, 5'9"-5'10", 120-140 lbs (I live a strange life), American with some knowledge of Russian (far too little for how long I've lived here). I'm a child of chaos, but a lover of order. I try not to give myself labels for fear of the fanatic behavior that frequently follows, the desire to be unique, and the knowledge I'll quickly change anyway. For some reason I've had an unusually easy life, but sadly I'm very lazy. I'm a technophile.

I'm currently a volunteer in Kazakhstan, but I return to America in less than 3 months. I teach English but decided long ago I'm already bored of it. I have a degree in Psychology but decided long ago I'm already bored of it. I'm thinking I want to return to study Architecture or Civil Engineering, but so far my plans are vague. I want to learn Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese (for the tech).

My history with gaming is boring as I've never found a group that lasts longer than a month or two. I love the complexity, technology, story, and roleplay-ability of Shadowrun. It also has a quality that keeps a strangely diverse group of people (as we can see here).

The characters I play frequently represent my desires and fears, but I guess that is more typical that not.

[McCummhail]

Redhead

Hail fellow brother of Argon!

[Straight Razor]

Well..
28
6' 165lbs
nashville, tn
European decent with heavy native american features.
speek English and some Japanese(tourist level)

lots of collage, but no degrees yet. I'm sorta of an professional student. I'm always in and out of class. I'm just not happy unless i have at least a few classes in a year. I'm just now coming to terms with aspect of my self. lol

I hope to get back in to collage and finish up a BS in cellular molecular biology with a focus in human genetics. I'v been working on getting my massage therapist license for the past few years on and off. I'll have that done on Dec 6 of this year. YEA!! going to use that to pay for the rest of my collage.
I'd like to actually make it to med school someday.

as for what i do.. I have had a number of carriers. I owned my own 1-hr photo lab, though that ended in poorly. I built blimps of a number of years. (yes like the goodyear blimp, no not the goodyear blimp.) During that time i built the worlds largest remote controlled aircraft. Got to work with a lot of really cool people on a lot of really cool projects... for the DOD, so that's all i can say about that.

Now I'm a jeweler, I did a 2yr apprenticeship with Shane Co. I miss the people and the company, but not the management. I am currently employed with Jared. Been there for a year as of last month. I like my job there too.

As for hobbies. Well... I have been into pen and paper RPG's since i was 14. My first ever game was earthdawn. Moved to D&D and then found SR back in 02', been hooked ever since. Played all the whitewolf systems, but i could never really get into them.
I have been trying to wirght, but i'm having hard time devoting the time to it.
I like to build things. I'm currently making a japanese tea house in my back yard using only hand tools and traditional japanese joinery. no nails, screws or glue.
also trying to teach my self watch/clock repair. I have several electronics projects going on. Like i said l like building stuff.
I'm also into martial arts. aikido and kempo mostly. lived at an aikido dojo for a year. Been trained in kenpo by both a first generation tracy, and Ed Parker instructors.

[BlacKat]

Lets see...

Living in upstate NY (Rochester) since about 93. College degree in IT/Network Administration. Currently doing Sys admin for Windows and Legacy VAX/VMS systems (Yes people still use these systems). White male, 34, a bit overweight (damn desk jobs), used to practice Northern Wushu Kung-Fu and may get back to it one day. Occasionally active in the SCA. Only fluent in 1 language, English, but know a smattering of French and Spanish.

Been gaming since 85. Started with Basic D&D and went from there. Picked up SR with 1st Ed. Also did Mechwarrior for a long time. Been on these boards since before it was DumpShock (1997 or so). Though I do not post very often.

BlacKat

[Tiger Eyes]

This is more fun than the "getting to know you" game at the Mom's Club! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'm a 34 year old woman - of a variety of nationalities, mostly Caucasian but with enough Cherokee that I don't sunburn and avoided stretch marks - and a married mother of two; a 7 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. I'm 5'3" (with shoes), 110 lbs, and despite my age, still get carded. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) My naturally dark hair started to go gray shortly after my son began walking (how exactly did the human race manage to survive more than one generation???). My husband is Upper Management for a Megacorp. I left my well paying Corporate America job 7 years ago to become a stay-at-home mama. I now write for Shadowrun, as many of you may know, primarily the fluffy bits. I have a BS in Botany and a BA in Creative Writing, and I started playing SR in college and never looked back. I have a incompetence in Navigation and an avid love of hiking, which has led me to become proficient at wilderness survival. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) In urban areas, I'm content to let someone else make sure I get where I'm supposed to go (as anyone who hung out with me at GenCon can attest to). I'd say something about my hobbies, but I'm afraid that someone at Catalyst will see that I'm admitting to hobbies and start pestering me about deadlines.

I currently live in Portland, Oregon but I'm moving to Anchorage, Alaska this year, and bemoaning the fact that I won't be able to drive to Disneyland on a semi-regularly basis (and the fact that there just aren't a lot of options for sexy clothes in 0 degree weather).

[BishopMcQ]

A southern California native, I'm 28 years old. I currently live in San Diego, but miss Seattle and Lyon and think regularly about moving back. Fluent in English, Conversational in French and I can muddle my way through written Spanish. Single, caucasian male, 6' and 175 lbs.

I also work for one of the megacorps--a multi-national shipping company. Graduated with a Bachelors in History, Emphasis on pre-1800 Europe, with a minor in Psychology. College basically taught me how to write, think, and listen. These are the basic skills which I implement a work, even if I only apply the knowledge to other things. I'm a collector of odd trivia and remember small details that people talk about and never expect others to recall.

I'm familiar with ceramics, history, practical applications of firearms, computer networking, chemistry, logic puzzles, fencing, weight-lifting, applied martial arts, and baking.

[Navarre]

I'm a 29 year old male currently living in the Chicagoland area, though I grew up in a tiny town in Northern Michigan (had to drive 3 hours to get to a mall.) 5'6" 175 lbs. Caucasian.

I have a Bachelor's degree in Technical Communication with a concentration in Computer Science, and no real interest in working in an IT field... Oops.

I am currently in an engineering position, where I shepherd clients through the process of lighting their products on fire (no kidding, I watch things burn for a living).

My primary hobbies are RPG's, board games, and SCA fencing. I love to read.

[Adarael]

I love the disproportionately large representation of Japanese-speakers on a Shadowrun board. Not exactly surprising, but still funny & awesome.

[PBTHHHHT]

Started a thread like this many moons ago (LINK). Its interesting to see how peoples lives have changed over the years.

Yup. Thanks for bringing up that link, I remember there was a similar thread ages past and you're right about seeing how people's lives have changed.

Lawyer with a Chemical Engineering degree and a minor in history. Currently, I work for the government.

Chinese ethnicity, parents are from Hong Kong so I can speak Cantonese and understand a little bit of Mandarin. Grew up in the Deep South and now living in the DC metroplex, so when I say I'm Southern Chinese, I really mean it... (Hong Kong being in southern China).

[Sticks]

39 year old father of three.

Born lived and probably will die in Ayr, a tourist town on the West Coast of Scotland, 30 (ish) miles South of Glasgow.

Qualified ( sic ) Musician and Percussionist, worked with many things in my time including, auto-repair, sales, warehousing and storage, electronic assembly and food production. Currently infiltrating the UK branch of Wal-Mart from the inside with a view to bringing down the whole damn corp. Still playing in local pub bands, and doing some tuition on the side.

Started gaming in the early 80's by writing my own system for my group of friends, money was scarce and times were hard (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) , moved into the old TSR Marvel Superheroes game which i played for years, dabbled in D&D, Warhammer 40k and Warhammer RPG, TMNT the game, Rifts, Sla Industries basically whatever i could get my hands on i played.

A lifelong reader of as much Sci-Fi and fantasy as i could get, i got the first secrets of power book out of the local library on spec', and for the next few weeks could be found in a corner muttering about shooting dragons with mini-guns, from then i was hooked, found the old first edition rules(BBB) and london sourcebook in a secondhand book store and have them still, along with most paper releases up till 2nd Ed. As age, marriages and kids came along the gaming group dried up; but my love for the Sr universe and backstory never died, i continue to read avidly and would love to game again in the future. Had mild literary aspirations in my youth, probably why i became the resident GM and still find myself knocking up interesting scenarios and tidbits that i never use. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) . When i eventually got online and found Dumpshock i was in awe, all these people who also loved the game and a few who had made the same links and connections in the meta-plot, been lurking ever since, dont say much; usually cause i feel others are better qualified than me, last rules i played were 2nd Ed and Ancient History seems to have all the geek info sewn up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) , seriously dude i'm gonna put a Tm on my name as soon as we figure out who used it first.

To finish i would just like to gush a bit and say to all my fellow Dumpshockers, its an honour to read yer views and occasionally add my own, long may we and the game continue.

[Werewindlefr]

I live in Detroit, Michigan, although I've moved there 18 months ago; previously, I was living in Creteil, France - that's 10 km south-south-east of Paris, and I've studied in Caen fo my Bachelor's/Master's - the major city razed in the Normandy landings.
I am currently a High-Energy Physics (aka particle physics) graduate Student at Wayne State University. I speak English quite fluently, at least fluently enough to play RPGs in the US. I've been playing roleplaying games for 10 years now, starting with WoD but quickly bringing Shadowrun 3rd edition to the table (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

[LurkerOutThere]

I am a 28 (as of yesterday) anglo male who might be best and generously described as a mutt. My ancestors were never the guys in the army with horses but they likely at least had their own swords or spears as the case may be. I'm ex-military comm guy who a few years ago left the military-industrial complex to go back to school full time. At which point I got tired of being poor and went back to work in the civilian sector. I took a ten grand pay cut but ultimately I sleep better at night. I was disabled in the military due to a fatefull run in with a hum-vee which I won in that I survived. I am 6'3 and clock in at around 280 pounds and take great pride in the fact that the last physical confrontation I was in not only was not initiated by me but ended with me standing and the other person not and me asking them if they wanted to continue. Last week I proposed to a beautiful woman with her parents looking on and despite what self preservation instincts might have screamed at her she agreed to marry me. Fortunately she is at least as big a gamer as I am so I anticipate no major changes to my life on that score until children enter the pciture some time at least a year or so down the road. My hobbies outside of gaming are hunting. I am only fluent in english however I understand Korean and speak it a bit. My hobbies outside of gaming involve amateur game programing and occasionally hunting. I maintain active first aid, CPR, and disaster response certifications through the red cross and have volunteered with them in the past. I live in Omaha NE USA, by choice as I like having four seasons and my family is here.

[TheOneRonin]

34 years old, married, father of 2 (one more on the way in October), currently living in North Carolina but originally from the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Currently managing the support desk for the EPA. Prior Service Army Mechanized Infantryman (dismount), avid gun/ballistics nut, martial arts enthusiast (starting training in Inosanto Blend [Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Kali] JKD back in 91, dabbled in Judo and Krav Maga, currently training hard in Modern Arnis), 20-year roleplaying vet (started with D&D and Robotech, then picked up SR in '94), and electronic gaming fan (Xbox360/Wii/PC).

Also, I spend lots of time watching the Military Channel and UFC. And did I mention I'm a big Star Wars fan?

[Eric]

37 male of Polish/Irish/English descent. Married 3 years with an 18-month old daughter. Am a manager at a tv station in Wisconsin. Started gaming in 1982, got into Shadowrun in college. Fell away from it for awhile after college, but starting to get back into it (although I will confess, I play more D&D than SR - hope that doesn't get me booted from the site). Otherwise, spend my free time with my family, working with my parish and local Knights of Columbus, hunting, fishing, watching movies, and playing games.