[X] My Assistant

[hermit]

*hands Dr. Banner's Extra Strong RadAway*

[Sengir]

You can only get twice the skill any normal has if your level 6 initiate(8 if we take account aptitude) and you have enought donors you can kill to get that, after all you have to do 3 point of physical damage for every 1 point you want to get, also to make it last for weeks you have to pay 6 karma(8 if you want to have douple that of aptitude guy) assuming you started at 6, if not then it's 1 more karma for every point you where under 6.

Also, it's blood magic. Blood magic is supposed to be powerful with enough "donors" and is generally not something PCs get

[hermit]

So after Bloodzilla it's the Incredible Flesh Tearer?

[Faelan]

You can only get twice the skill any normal has if your level 6 initiate(8 if we take account aptitude) and you have enought donors you can kill to get that, after all you have to do 3 point of physical damage for every 1 point you want to get, also to make it last for weeks you have to pay 6 karma(8 if you want to have douple that of aptitude guy) assuming you started at 6, if not then it's 1 more karma for every point you where under 6.

My point is that it does not spell out that it is a bonus of 1 die per 3 damage, secondly it ties Active Skills to initiate grades. Magic is pretty bad ass as it is, do we really need to make a potentially unlimited advancement in Firearms a part of this. Of course the fact that there is nothing saying he cant boost Sorcery is also pretty major cheezzz to me. It should be limited to the normal Augmented Skill Cap or be restricted to a single follow on action.

[Mäx]

My point is that it does not spell out that it is a bonus of 1 die per 3 damage, secondly it ties Active Skills to initiate grades. Magic is pretty bad ass as it is, do we really need to make a potentially unlimited advancement in Firearms a part of this. Of course the fact that there is nothing saying he cant boost Sorcery is also pretty major cheezzz to me. It should be limited to the normal Augmented Skill Cap or be restricted to a single follow on action.

I just can't understand how you make such a fuss over the fact that an Initiate grade 6 adept can get a non permanent firearm skill thats fopping 3 higher then gunslinger adepts skill, or maybe only 2 higher, for the low low cost of 100+ karma and having to ritually murder a pair of dudes with the firearm skill in question.
It can be an usefull metamagic, i just don't see becoming a super gunslinger as one of the good uses for it.

[Faelan]

I just can't understand how you make such a fuss over the fact that an Initiate grade 6 adept can get a non permanent firearm skill thats fopping 3 higher then gunslinger adepts skill, or maybe only 2 higher, for the low low cost of 100+ karma and having to ritually murder a pair of dudes with the firearm skill in question.
It can be an usefull metamagic, i just don't see becoming a super gunslinger as one of the good uses for it.

Why just Initiate Grade 6? Why not 10 or even higher? The more grades the worse it gets. There is no mention of a Ritual, just as it does not clealry state what the bonus is. You could simply execute a couple of people. Why not use it for Sorcery? The thing is as it is written it leaves a whole bunch of holes open for abuse. Simply it is poorly designed, and poorly written.

[Mäx]

Why just Initiate Grade 6? Why not 10 or even higher? The more grades the worse it gets.

Because an actual adept in play is unlikely to become even a grade 6 initiate, 10 or higher isn't realistic at all.
As for the ritual part, here's a quote from the description of cannibalize, witch inculcate says it's similar to
"The sacrifice and consumption of the donor’s blood or flesh allows the adept
to temporarily enhance his own abilities"

[hermit]

It's still not slow, at least. But yes, the rules are somewhat strange.

BTW, can a Free Spirit learn this metamagic?

[Faelan]

Because an actual adept in play is unlikely to become even a grade 6 initiate, 10 or higher isn't realistic at all. As for the ritual part, here's a quote from the description of cannibalize, witch inculcate says it's similar to "The sacrifice and consumption of the donor’s blood or flesh allows the adept to temporarily enhance his own abilities"

Unlikely sure, but possible. It says similar to cannibalize, it does not say use the rules for cannibalize. How is it similar? Another example of lazy mechanics. If you are going to add crunch make sure it is clear. Temporary is fine but even Cannibalize is restricted to augmented maximums. I have a real problem when the only uncapped portion of the game begins to allow other portions to be uncapped.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Because an actual adept in play is unlikely to become even a grade 6 initiate, 10 or higher isn't realistic at all.
As for the ritual part, here's a quote from the description of cannibalize, witch inculcate says it's similar to
"The sacrifice and consumption of the donor’s blood or flesh allows the adept
to temporarily enhance his own abilities"

Really? Had a Physical Adept Grade 8 Initiate in SR3...
Have a Physical Adept Grade 5 Initiate in SR4....

Not that unlikely, actually. Though it DOES take time and Karma.

As for Inculcate. Yeah, Reads like a Ritual to me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

[Mäx]

Have a Physical Adept Grade 5 Initiate in SR4....

And after how much karma is this?
I din't say it's impossible and i think even you can agree that initiate grade 10(+) isn't really even worth mentioning.

And my point stands "i can get a temporary gun skill of 12 by spending 100+ karma" isn't really some super OP idea for a character build.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

And after how much karma is this?
I din't say it's impossible and i think even you can agree that initiate grade 10(+) isn't really even worth mentioning.

And my point stands "i can get a temporary gun skill of 12 by spending 100+ karma" isn't really some super OP idea for a character build.

Yep, A bit...

And no arguments... it is not all that superior of an option, in my opinion...

[Eimi]

So, I looked through this thread, and googled, and if it was out there somewhere, I missed it: Does anyone happen to know what the maximum rating of the Fingerprint Morphing cyberware is? Because it isn't listed in the OOC gear information (other than being alluded to in the whole "this cyberware is basically retinal duplication but for prints in how you use it" entry and in the Cost section).

[aikar]

Hello everyone

I don't really understand how to use the Face Case (page 143f).
In the fluff text it is described as a face scanner/automatic mask creator which provides more detail than the Latex Face Mask.

The Box on the right only says it adds its rating (1-3) to the disguise test.

Is it an enhancement for the latex mask (and adds its rating to the rating of the mask) or does it replace it (and produces masks with its rating)? Is it one use only or may it be reused? Does it already include the Facial recognition scanner described in the fluff text or do I have to buy this additionally?

Thanks for clarification

[Sengir]

Hello everyone

I don't really understand how to use the Face Case (page 143f).
In the fluff text it is described as a face scanner/automatic mask creator which provides more detail than the Latex Face Mask.

The Box on the right only says it adds its rating (1-3) to the disguise test.

Is it an enhancement for the latex mask (and adds its rating to the rating of the mask) or does it replace it (and produces masks with its rating)? Is it one use only or may it be reused? Does it already include the Facial recognition scanner described in the fluff text or do I have to buy this additionally?

Thanks for clarification

My personal guess is that the author was simply not aware of the fact that the Latex Face Mask in the Core Book is not a premade mask, but actually a kit which produces a mask according to specification, and hence came up with the same idea. There are quite a few items in SG which read like exact duplicates of earlier equipment, presumably due to the lacking rules familiarity of the new shake 'n bake freelancers...

So just use the existing mask, the the rules for that one are far more complete.

[CanRay]

"Shake 'n' Bake Freelancers! It's what's for dinner!" "And I helped!"

[Sengir]

I just had this image of Jason Hardy putting a handful of SR set pieces into a bag and shaking it, with a bunch of freelancers shuffling around his feet and exclaiming "And I helped!" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Grinchy McScroog...]

I think Spy Games looks pretty cool, but then I'm a sucker for espionage-type stuff. I blame a steady diet of James Bond as a child. Unfortunately, since CGL's distribution in Canada is way more miss than hit (can be partially read as Lion Rampant are complete drek), I haven't yet been able to find a copy of neither Spy Games nor A Fistful Of Credsticks. I know I could just buy the PDF's, but I'm quite partial to dead-tree format. I have a professionally-printed copy of each of the recent ebooks.

Guess I'm just ranting/venting a little because of all the trouble I've had to go through to acquire some of my Shadowrun collection. It's been a lot of ordering from The States, which can get really pricey very quickly.

*sigh*

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

[Aku]

I thought it was a pdf only release?

[Critias]

I thought it was a pdf only release?

Nope, it's out in hardcopy now. The pdf was out earlier than the paper book, yeah, but it was never a pdf only.

[Aku]

Nope, it's out in hardcopy now. The pdf was out earlier than the paper book, yeah, but it was never a pdf only.

Oops, I've been struggling to keep up. Still, it might be Grinchy's best way to get it since he's struggling to find a dead tree version

[hermit]

So, this is my much-belated wrapup of the Spy Games review. I decided to reformat and in little parts edit my review, for easier reading.

Now, to the meat of the book.

The first chapter is the largest: Denver. First things first: This section is structured like the classic guides of old, with a section on getting there up front, then facts in a nutshell, then expanding more broadly into each sector. Nice. Certainly beats the disorganised mess that is War’s Bogota section. Props: Someone remembered Denver is not at sea level. There actually are people at CGL who know how geography works. And it actually thinks about ways of using technology to get around altitude problems! Too bad it doesn’t mention things fro Arsenal, like OxyRush nanites, or neo-EPO infusions, though. The olympic guide texts threwn in are definitly a nice touch.

The premise of border checkpoints on every street, and during rush-hour traffic, doing high-detail searches along the lines of the old East/West German borders is a bit ridiculous if you wish to keep a city functional, but that’s from the riginal Denver setting, I suppose, and people who actually know what such checks are like aren’t exactly common (and for the record, there was next to no borer traffic in divided Berlin. That was the point of the wall). I guess this can be handwaived, but still, how the hell does the Hub ever do business if only one person an hour can enter or leave. And speaking from personal experience, one hour for a thorough passenger-and-vehicle search (including queuing) is very optimistic.

Two blunders in the Hardegraves clinic section: SURGE, not UGE, struck when the comet passed in 2061 (UGE made Orks and Trolls and happened in 2021); and there are four known treatments for old age in Arsenal. Also, I don’t really understand why soul-eating is any less abhorrent to Nagas, Pixies, Centaurs and all the other things that are intelligent enough to sign up for a SIN, but YMMV.

And it seems Yamatetsu’s bid to enter the Olympics side by side with nations has been granted? I can’t remember reaing about that, but won’t claim it didn’t happen in some book (I’d appreaciate a header in which though).

Overall, the facts-at-your-fingertips section is nicely written, save fort he above mentioned inconsistencies. Obviously, someone took a copy of the Denver section of SoNA and the Denver book and tried to figure out a way to progress things. Much more Ghostwanking than necessary, but the Ghostwalker situation isn’t the current writers‘ fault. Still, a little less Ghostwanking ould be nice, and grounding Great Dragons in general. Maybe by killing off GW? All he does is play Godzilla and be in the way of a decent plot anyway.

Denver history seems a bit strange at first, but tries to progress what is in the above mentioned books following the post-2064 storyline. For the most part it does this well. One aside: The safest way to protect data from technos is to print it out and put it in a box. Just saying. It’s not exactly rocket science.

In Denver sectors, things start to really get weird. “With Geneva cut off and in a constant state of siege, Denver is the new center of world politics.” – because what, the World only consists of North American nations and North American megacorps? That is one hell of a stretch. Why not New York, home to the Corp Court and a port city the rest of the world – which is not American – actually knows about? Why some backwater city at the arse of North America that is run by Godzilla the Sue Dragon? Few nations except the sector nations even have embassies there (they’re listed in detail a lot later). One major player in North America – Aztlan– is entirely missing (The Tir has been mysteriously allowed entry, despite GW’s ‘kill on sight’ policy on Tir citizens, as we will learn much, muc later). No European and only few Asian countries to be found, but yes, it’s the navel of world politics now. The mind boggles and boggles.

It also contains the first self contradiction. So Denver weathered the Crash really well compared to places like Calcutta, but the entire middle class evacuated the CAS sector because of the Crash’s huge effects. Uh huh. It also hires university graduates for their service industry. McHugh’s in the CAS sector must be one intelligent place for a Soyburger shop. Or does “to that end, it actively recruits graduating university students, tourists, and even former Ute nationals to work in the service industry” imply that everyone who enters the CAS sector will be pressed to work in it’s burger shops and Wal Marts and call centers? Either way, the mind boggles. And despite being the most pro-gun country in the world according to NRA haven – pardon, Gun heaven – poor people in the bad parts of the CAS sector (which could as well be the North Korean sector by that witeup) defend themselves with pointy sticks.

Also, Chinese are now pigeonholed as hardcore metaracists? That’s pretty new, considering that the Hong Kong writeup never mentions this. Is this the trademark CGL between-the-lines racism from War rearing it’s ugly head again? China, because it scares America, now is the new evil in SR?

Also, what is it with CGL and the sap-shooting trees, really.

The Hub is less weird, but only slightly so. What, only in the Hub are embassies considered exterritorial property? Unlike what, everyplace else? Rrrrright. Also, how are night clubs to attract visitors from all sectors, if there is a curfew? Ever been to a city under a curfew? Did it have a bustling nightlife? Also, while mentioned before, not a single word on what embassies are located within the hub and given special exterritoriality embassies elsewhere do not have. That should be here and not at the other end of the Denver chapter. Or it should at least be referenced.

The PCC sector is set up as a study in contrasts – expressive, inefficient artsy Ute versus efficiency-obsessed communazi Pueblo. While I am pretty sure neither nation had those traits before, it also appears a bit strange to me how much the Pueblo efficiency (which looks a lot less like the nation I remember from NAN, and more like the spooky faux state from Brazil, the Terry Gilliams movie, in being not efficient at all) is pigeonholed into something the author probably imagine evil Germans to be like. The methods used by the Pueblo to streamline restaurants, as an aside, are not efficient at all the way they are described. However, to a degree, every sensible restaurant uses them. Another aside: if the PCC has developed that way, the LA chapter in Corp Enclaves should look drastically different. Again, Research. And after efficience nazi Pueblo and slacker, artsy Ute, we get the macho, wolf-like Sioux. How nice, every Indian tribe wears their hat. Even the tribes that aren’t the tribes at all.

UCAS sector! Full of proud, gun-toting and paranoid Bush era Americans who jump up and down shouting USA USA USA. Because they can has independence! The gallery of cheap clichés continues. They also have a cowboy attitude and like to shoot them some Injuns. Bet that makes them really popular with the wolf-like macho Sioux! Also, while they have the highest wages, they apparently don’t go shopping much, because they dress more poorly than everyone else. Because Matrix shopping seems nonexistent in Denver. Come to think of it, the omnipresent Matrix of SR4 is notoriously missing from this Denver Sectors writeup, in general. It reads more like … today’s Denver with cliché’d Injuns and Confederates and Yankees. Oh, and of course, Ghostwanking.

LOL, the Draco Fondation’s homeless shelter presses homeless for info on dragons and artifacts before letting them in. Because bums are ideal sources for true information on dragons and artifacts.

Okay, this does it: “Brown Palace Hotel. A Seattle institution, the Brown Palace Hotel boasts rooms full of distinct and unusual pieces of art.” Dear author, do you know which city you are writing about? It seems not, because you mistake Seattle for Denver, apparently. It’s marginally understandable if a writer has no idea where Bogota lies (it’s just a few clicks away on Wikipedia, of course, but things like browsers can confuse some people), but confusing two US cities? What the hell did you do in your 13 years of high school?

The Aurora Warrens has a detailedly described Ghoul Meat Market that nobody seems to bother to shut down, but not a single gang is even mentioned by name. Way to go to miss on local colour such settings need. And, in the wrapup, Ghostwanking galore. Somehow, Ghostwalker unifies people, especially those who hate him, under his banner. Somehow, this city that is the new navel of world politics because it has a few consulates is provincial to a level that makes Hicksville, Montana seem worldly and open-minded. And somehow this unifies them as the independent nation of Denver. Eh. This doesn’t come together, not written like this. Overall, Denver Sectors is by far the shabbiest part of Spy Games. Whoever wrote this at the very least be partnered with a more experienced author until they can write an actual text on their own. This chapter really would have needed some lining up with the rest of the book.

Corporate Interests is better written but also has it’s bizarre parts. So Ares’ standing with the paranormal community is bad because they tried to enslave bug spirits? What? Because there’s this huge bond of brotherhood among nonhumans for being, well, nonhuman, or what? Let’s just not consider this written, since the whole Bugs-enslaving thing supposed to be ultra secret anyway. The awakened might be wary because Ares doused Chicago with FAB III, but hell, they were realy desperate. And nuked the place before, so it’s not like they had it ut for the Awakened in particular.

Other than that, though, it’s a nice chapter, detailing what all current big 10 megas and homegrown and smaller corps are up to in Denver. It’s solidly written, if not exciting, and offers sufficient detail. It also gives nice details on local corps, such as Warpdrive and Eagle, and Mesametric which needed some fleshing out.

The Culture Politics starts again that Denver now suddenly is the focus of international politics. It doesn’t even try to explain this anymore. It just “mysteriously happened”. Even though Denver has nothing that’s of interest to non-American nations. It has Ghostwalker, boo fucking hoo. After this little gem, it presents us this bit of deep wisdom: “The Front Range Free Zone’s cultural landscape is informed by the politics as much as the politics are shaped by the culture. To understand one, you must understand the other.” No shit, Sherlock. Guess what, it’s like this everywhere. You forgot to mention the sky is blue. And please stop comparing Seattle, or Denver, to West Berlin. You apparently have absolutely no idea of what West Berlin was like. It is highly annoying to see people who know nothing about that period perpetuate bullshit like “History shows similar circumstances to be detrimental to the citizens of such cities, like the East and West Berlin of the mid-twentieth century.” East Berlin never was a fucking enclave. It was the fucking capital of East Germany. West Berlin never was divided into subsectors with any sort of controls (the Western powers effectively merged their sectors, withdrew to their bases and let the locals do their thing, only coming out in force if the Russians and East Germans were being stupid). If you really have to compare Denver to any real place, try Belfast before Good Friday, or Jerusalem and the West Bank (Seattle’s more like a very affluent and well-armed Gaza that’s the size of the West Bank).

Also, again, with a nightly curfew, how can restaurants with late hours operate? Even given some sort of special permit for the restaurant, I doubt the customers they need to operate have one? That doesn’t quite check out. If sufficient people for a nightlife of sorts had exemptions from the curfew, the curfew itself kind of stops making any sense.

And finally we learn which international eyes have been cast on Denver. It’s … the Algonquian-Manitoo Council! Yep, with such a heavyweight in the international political scene being involved, Denver truly is the navel of international politics now. Really, nothing hints at that. Yes, other North American nations will take notice. Some foreign nations apparently do – Amazonia, Japan, the Expanded Vatican, Egypt, and Austria. But other than that? Nobody cares. And why should they. Denver is a local, temporary hub in world politics, quite unlike the seat of the UN, or New York with the ZOB and the temporary UN HQ, or cities with international relevance like national capitals of important players. Denver is a backwater in the Rockies that’s relevant if you own a piece of North America because of the Contract of Denver and Ghostwalker, or if you happen to be a T-bird smuggler, but that’s all there is to it.

The AMC is in Aztlan’s pocket not because of loans, but because Aztlan monopolized their food industry through rather nasty means.

Tir Tairngire is allowed into Denver? What? Didn’t Ghostwalker issue that any Tir citizen would be killed on sight? Would this please be explained? No, it is not, or I forgot something from Dragons or SoNA.

Overall, though, a worthwhile section. As is the next piece, on lower-level power players. It’s Hardy’s random NPC dump again, but at least this time some of the NPCs might actually be useful. Criminal Elements also is pretty useful – and finally, info on gangs. I had already given up on that. The gangs are varied and okay written, though more detail on their turf/primary area, and a few more of them, would have been nice.

Next is a hotspots section, much like the one in War! which was so bad it had to be rewritten in parts for the German translation. I'm happy to say this section is a good improvement on the last Deep Shadows book.

The E.C. chapter has some bumpyness and sounds like it was written by a German (Lars, were you very tired when writing this? Usually, your English is better), though I found it makes sense for German-Dutch Ecotope in a way. It's an interesting writeup though and makes me want to know more about Brussles, E.C.

London surprised me most in that it did not make me want to type a colourful, insulting rant. It was a logical development of the SoE plot and respectful to canon for the most part. I care a great deal about London as a setting, and while I miss Lord Marchment, they backpedaled from their making this yet another Seattle clone setting apparently. That's the right choice. Maybe, just maybe, conspiracy Theories will not be an utter and total disaster.

Now, Kansei and Austin are only marginally interesting but at least add some local hat to the settings. "Berlin South" (cringe) here, with Lone Star; Ninja Samurai Corpers duking it out with Katanas there. Those settings will not win the cake but hey, they're okay. They even tell you why you might be interested in them, which is something that Bogota in War didn't manage in 50-odd pages. Improvement.

Nairobi is nice to see a mention too, since Africa usually is mentioned only in an offhand way, dismissed as the home of hellhole feral places where people eat each other habitually and love ghouls. And finally, Tel Aviv, another city I've long hoped to hear from again. and it's done reasonably well (as in, SoA quality) again.

Next stop: Thorn's Spying 101. Well, Tradecraft, but that's what it is. That and Loose Alliance level write-ups of agencies and the likes.

So. Thorn is the Brit/Tír Michael Westin of Shadowrun? He sure sounds the part in Tradecraft. Thorne's Top Tricks remind me of the voiceovers in Burn Notice - tone, topics covered, their relative randomness (but at least vague coherence with the surrounding narrative). Not that that's a bad thing for me, I like that show, I even like Westin's somewhat smug tips and tricks (actually, I compiled some 20 out of a long list I found on a web site for newbie players as a quick 101 on what I think a runner should know). Spy Games' Tradecraft could work the same way, which is, I guess, what the chapter aims at. Also, some parts remind me of Spy Games (the movie), like the almost literal part about lies (keep it simple, bla bla). Hey, at least someone did some research here.

Possible Nitpick: CIA and Langley are a CAS affair in SR, right (being in Virginia)? So why compare them to Yale (which is UCAS in SR) and speak of "this country" as though there was an actual USA in SR?

Then, agencies. Here's where we'll see whether canon is getting the War treatment or is handled as respectful as it ought to. First is the UGB. standard russian agency stuff, but reasonably well done. MI5/MI6 next. Can't really remember those form London, but IIRC they were in SoE. Argus and Aegis Cognito then (given the existence of Jellyfish Intel, I'll never say anything about theior dorky names again), Information Secretariat, the CIA and DIA and all the other UCAs and CAS agencies (well, some of them, going by the current USA and it's 25-odd agencies). Short, fast facts in Thorn's anecdotal Westin way of telling things. Reads nice enough. I'd almost say this book is not overall going to stink, but then again I said that about Attitude too. And it did in the end. So, reserving my judgement for now.

A treatise on the tech curve, Technos and the value of not relying on a Matrix that is fundamentally impossible to secure (and emotitoys; not sure if I am angry about their mention or amused at their dismissal) later, we get to the NPC section. Okay, Hardy seems madly in love with teh idea of putting NPCs into his books. The upside: clear differentiation between crunch and fluff, even if they're on the same page (whcih, mostly, they are not). It's not quite ideal but I can't think of any better way to possibly do it, hence I'll save you smugness here and just say it's probably best way to handle this. Unless you want to ban the crunch into the back of the book entirely, that is. The article ended a bit abruptly, with the page space wasted at the end of the 'hotspots's ection, surely a smug good-bye from Thorne would have been possible?

Next stop: Counterintelligence. So it's time to discuss the opposition of spies as we know them. Writing is solid and sounds different from Thorne, because it's a different voice. That's not been standard in previous books and hence, a good sign. Again, the writing's quality seems on par with Loose Alliances, which is good enough (though not great). Info on the working of agencies tries to take into account that SR is not the current real world with elves, but has mechanisms that are real gamechangers in the realm of intelligence. Well, that's also a step up from Attitude (which failed to even acknowledge the prevalence of holo-TV (TriD) and SimSense). I really like the agencies covered, too. The UCAS now has something that is the Jack Bauer CTU in all but name. On a side note, do I understand this right, the UCAS has even more semiindependent or fully independent agencies than the US? Here's something I miss: inter-agency rivalry. It made 9/11 possible, so it can have horrendous consequences. It should get more than a passing mention by Thorne.Anyway. Truth dancers: interesting. KE: well, that's one of these story updates. At least it fits in and does not stand out like a sopre thumb, like that Horizon guy in War's Bogota article who actually isn't even remotely in Bogota and probably does not exist. KE's entry sound useful too for a Seattle campaign. The SSD are a counterintelligence group masquerading as a protection detail - isn't that what the Secret Service does? Anyway, they're a scary corporate-based enemy. GRU, of course. Zone Defense Force (why isn't the ZDF in teh large Denver section though?).- And the Stasi-like Texas rangers, which again made me both laugh and want to cry. Nice writeup though. Not planning a trip to Texas with any of my campaigns anytime soon, but if I did the Rangers woulkd definitly feature. A Mix of Harry Callaghan, deep-accented Texans and grey-faced creepy Stasi who bug everything and have an incredible web of contacts. Neat. Oversight Board - does it have Aurors?

The chapter then wraps up with two counterintelligence scenarios narrated by Hard Exit. It's actuually solid writing, and I like how he describes the first, an Aztlaner doublebluffing locals in Yucatan into killing UN forces, adnd how Hard Exit stopped him (through harsh and illegal in most civilised states means). The second sums up an op in Denver, a classical investigation and a masterful (and almost legal) conviction of a double agent. The kind of stuff you see in shows like Lie To Me and The Closer. As it'S titled "the Legal Divide", I missed some explanation wrapping it up; as is, it'S more like Hard Exit Tells War Stories. Niot bad, but it could've needed an editor's touch and a new writeup, maybe a pargraph explaining the legalness in the elgal divide.

Bottom line: useful. Not stunning, or dazzlingly written, but solid and usable, tells you why you should care about it, and comes across as coherent with previous chapters, and established Shadowrun canon.

And now, since it's one of the raw spots in the book, comes another chapter that really left me wondering. It has all the makings of a chapter, but where the previous is some 20 pages long, this is a stunning *three*, including a one-page chapter intro fic. What the fuck?. Is this where the missing 36 pages were? Spy Games was originally announced as 206 pages, but clocks in only 170 in it's final form. What has been cut? Did sanity prevail over madness and potted plant plots, a continuation of the "storyline" introduced in War? do I even *want* to know?

Anyway. The one-and-a-half page text detailing "extraplanar intelligence" actually is a good summary of why and how the metaplanes and spirits affect the way intelligence works in SR. That's a good thing, but does it need it's own 1,5 page chapter? Actually, 1,25 pages, since one quarter of the second page again is empty. This format leaves me wondering, even though the writing as such is not bad or anything. Why not just attach this to the previous chapter? Is this intro fic so damn important to some obscure metaplot build-up? Not to even mention that Milan the tent city (this is Italy, not Vael Dothrak) is the first major break with SR canon in this book. A WTF is due, though less because of bad content (apart from the intro fic, which is well enough written but takes place in a world that is not Shadowrun) and more because of the bizarre formating. What the hell.

Okay, on with the book. Equipment, the last section. Overall impression: As in Attitude, with some rulesslightly more wonky. Which is not bad because equipment was the best chapter in Attitude. Lots of stuff here I'll like to use, some old things raise their heads again.

We start off with general stuff on camouflage we know (and I loved) from the SOTA books, ported into SR4. This is quite nice. The rules work a bit odd, as mentioned by others, and could have used someone familiar with the core rules books to look them over and straighten them out. But they still seem to work more or less, just using unnecessary deviant rules from similar items elsewhere. I like that sidebar with the fake SIN's contents. CCC got stats in this thread; at least that. Commlink Accessories seem a bit futile to me, but if you want to do everything with your commlink now, including decapitating people and blow hit up, you'll love it (I prefer internal links for the business work and secondary external links for private things and PAN, maintianing a business and a private PAN on my charactetrs). Commlink mods are not forme, hence, but YMMV. Some of the other stuff seems really redundant, but hey, Ican still use them for brand names of high-class image recognition software. Gadgets are fun for the most part. New Spells are interesting and, o far, I haven't found a terrifyingly broken thing like Slow. Inculate is, as mentioned before, the final piece for my Space Marine project. Other than that, some metamagics seem redndant, as others have said.

One thing I miss is the ELINT stuff from SOTA. what happened to sattelite coverage, drones, and stuff like this? Granted, Spy Games goes farmore Bond than Bauer, but it should've been accounted for. Not that the Gadgets aren't nice, which they are. Overall, this chapter leaves a positive impression, as well as the impression that it could have been a lot better if there had been tighter editing by someone who knows the rules.

Then, it continues with something completly unrelated: Conspiracy theories and bizarreness. In ... a chapter on equipment. In continuing text, with nothing at all indicating a complete change of topic. Like, what? Was there no fitting short story and art so you could make it's own chapter of these 1,5 pages? Which actually are 1,75 pages, making this longer than extraplanar intelligence. The mind boggles.

Contents are: The Palantir - Quantum Communications. Well, I guess they're useful for that extreme fringe of Deep Space Shadowrun, so you don't have 10minute delays in communication (actually, we're more talking about hours with blackouts due to albedo, but meh). Number stations are the Machine God Talking To US ...? Bizarre. But that is the intent of that section, I guess. Lonsestar can search commlinks? Boo-fucking-hoo, really. Like they couldn't get away with this before. Nerfing the Resonance Realms has long been overdue to make data runs without a technomunchkin viable again, so good stuff. And finally, Skulls&Bones, who are behind everything in the world because the world apparently starts at the Californian West Coast and ends at the Eastern Seaboard. America focus much, here? Anyhows, how does the New Revolution factor in this, then? Alamos 20K and the American agencies? Mr Knight? Daviar? McBain? Colloton? Coleman (Daniel, not Loren)? Look, if you want to build up an America-centric world conspiracy, at least tie up all the weirdness in America. There is plenty of it, after all.

The placement of "The Classified Section" is absolutly bizarre. It could just have been put together with extraplanar intelligence into a section called "The X Files", where it would have been a lot more appropriate. But what's it doing in equipment? The crunch section? It's not really badly written, though falls short of a proper conspiracy theory, but what the hell.

In general: I don't really see why none of the less unprofessional and freakish shadowtalkers get to write equipment. I really would prefer a return to Arsenal-ish formating for items, and especially, those tables. Because the way it's currently done is less than ideal. Why not have Mika and Hard Exit, two posters who really live the spy/gadgeteer lifestyle, compose this section? See "I don't like nanopaste BECAUSE IT MAKES ME LOOK FAT" for proof. And frankly, neither is Plan 9 suited to write about serious running.

This is no good use of Plan9 and /dev/, as characters, either, because it is way over both their heads. And screw in-character writing, why not just have Plan9 write the X-Files section? The current writers should really use characters who have a reason to write something for their in-book voices, not randomly selected characters or characters where they purposely have a bad voice describing very important things like equipment.

And please, tables instead of copypasting sidebars. Because that is total crap. Compose easily readable tables and put them at the end of each book. It's not rocket science, you can still use your beloved black boxes and white text, just format the stuff into an easily referable format. That's not too much to ask.

Bottom line: While there are some kinks in the book, I gotta say, this is an improvement on War and Attitude. I have a fairly positive impression of the book, though it seems a bit rough and could have used some more polishing, it is not a failed potential parade like Atitude, or ... well, let's not even mention War here. Some format decisions are completly out there though.

Overall, Spy Games lookes like a book of old, of the height of Synner's era. Some rough edges and weirdness, but nothing like the total offense War was, nor as lackluster thrown together, unguided and beyond canon as Attitude was (which was good in parts and horrifying in others). It's almost back to a Shadows of Europe level, more or less (with some serious bumps in Denver, but nothing that is an insult like stuff from the above mentioned books). Editing still could use improvement, but the margin of typos and grammar, format and other errors is back to the level of older books, which is alright I guess. Still, another glance-over would have been nice. The less errors, the better the impression.

Of note: The art in this book is top notch (one thing that has extremly improved with CGL for some time now and steadily - the only thing unaffected by the Derp that came with the Line Dev transition), and especially the shaman and the Ranger in Counterintelligence are priceless as character/NPC illustrations. Not to say the other art, with very few blunders, is not rather close behind. Keep it up.

[Nath]

Tir Tairngire is allowed into Denver? What? Didn’t Ghostwalker issue that any Tir citizen would be killed on sight? Would this please be explained? No, it is not, or I forgot something from Dragons or SoNA.

The old Tir government stepped down in 2064, the immortal elves in charge all left (well, as far as I know, having not read Street Legends), and fair corporate-rigged elections were held, with Hestaby probably now running the show. I guess such changes can justify Ghostwalker easing sanctions. Actually, that would even be odd if he didn't (unless his relations with Hestaby really are that bad).

[hermit]

The old Tir government stepped down in 2064, the immortal elves in charge all left (well, as far as I know, having not read Street Legends), and fair corporate-rigged elections were held, with Hestaby probably now running the show. I guess such changes can justify Ghostwalker easing sanctions. Actually, that would even be odd if he didn't (unless his relations with Hestaby really are that bad).

Possibly. Though in case of the Tirs, he extended it to all citizens of these nations, which is more severe than how he banned Aztlaners - where non-government/Aztech affiliated Aztlaners are okay with him, so it seemed like this was not about the government. And it has, to the best of my knowledge, never been mentioned (and the Princes are worming their way back into Taingire, according to Street Legends, with some allying with Daviar).

[CanRay]

You didn't think the Princes were just going to let a the uppity Democracy-Crazed Mob take over without a fight, did you?