Street Legends is live Options

[Patrick Goodman]

Jason's not here right now, since he's doing the GenCon thing, so I thought I'd post the links for the new book, since I'm anxious to talk about it.

Street Legends at BattleShop

Street Legends at DriveThru

Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth commence!!

[CanRay]

It's alive...

ALIVE!

ALIVE!!! MUH-HA-HA-HA!!!

...

*Cough*

I'll tell you what I think when I get a chance to read it properly. Skimmed over, seemed decent.

[Patrick Goodman]

I'll tell you what I think when I get a chance to read it properly. Skimmed over, seemed decent.

I look forward to your review. Of course, I really want to know what (if anything) people think about the small part I wrote, but I'm interested in hearing about the whole thing.

The problem with books released at GenCon...many of the people who might be interested in commenting on it are at the con and not online....

[Starglyte]

I have gotten up to Parlor Tricks, and so far the only entry that I was meh about was Kellan Colt. Not bad, but I didn't really find her that interesting.

[BookWyrm]

Hmmm, $25 is a tad steep for me these days. After a couple of prospects pan out later, I may grab the PDF.

[Pepsi Jedi]

It's a bit past 'tad steep' for an electronic copy. I love my PDF books but $25 for a down load is alot. Course so is $45 for a supplement. $50 bucks when you factor in either gas to get it or shipping for a single supplement book? Not even a core 'Start' book? That's getting out of casual hobby and edging up into 'very expensive hobby' sort of category. I love RPGs and really like Shadowrun, but 45 bucks for one supplement is gettin' nuts.

[CanRay]

It could be worse.

It could be Warhammer Minis and you have multiple armies. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Prime Mover]

Alot of the industry has adjusted price points down on pdf products as they realize the value of spending money on a virtual product for the budget conscious. Catalyst seems to have decided to stay on the high end of the scale. I'm all for putting up 10 or 15 bucks for a great pdf product, and do so for my two other most favorite rpg's. For SR I wait for the hardcopy and it's a shame as SR is the only one I buy every single release for. Heres to waiting a month or two before I get to see SL, looking forward to spoilers and reviews.

[CanRay]

Here's a spoiler: Bull is old and cranky and beats people (virtually) over the head for trying to call him a hacker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[BishopMcQ]

Bull's been that way for years...oh, you probably meant "Bull" from Street Legends.

@Bull--I hope you had one for me at the Claddagh last night. First Indy I've missed in awhile.

[Starglyte]

I was not expecting Mihoshi Oni to be a Fomori Troll. Makes me want to see her back story.

[Patrick Goodman]

The hardcopy's expensive because it's a fill-color book and full color costs a lot of bucks. I couldn't tell you why the PDF is so high; I don't set prices.

[CanRay]

High-end electrons?

I was thinking maybe filesize, but Runner's Companion is showing in at 40 Megs or so, and Street Legends don't even hit 15 Megs.

Likely, it's to due to the DTF being so expensive, so the PDF has to match that equivalent price in order to encourage purchasing the DTF instead of, or people might only buy it on PDF.

[hobgoblin]

That is one colorful cover, me likes (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Sephiroth]

I'm a little shocked by what the Nadja Daviar article's writer did with Aina Dupree.

I thought the thing you guys did with cerberus/eliohann was an interesting idea.

[Prime Mover]

(elbows 800lb gorilla out of the way)
So IE & GD stats living up everyone's hopes or fears? Probably the stats I most want to see.

[Sengir]

[Disclaimer, I did the equivalent of skimming over a book at my FLGS. So consider this a superficial analysis of a small sample and not a detailed review. I also can't say anything about the short stories]

All in all, I get the impression that the preview conveyed a really good and comprehensive image of the book. Like Rigger X, the stats seem to be completely average across the board, with no special gear, capabilities or knowledge to qualify these guys as legends (or Jackpointers). Obviously, the dragons and Surehand are an exception to that, their stats basically are a more eloquent way of saying "I'm invulnerable and can do everything" -- did you expect anything else?
In the same vein, the descriptions of Bull and Villiers are quite representative. The fluff texts alternate wildly between the stereotypical charsheet background text plus minutes taken during a campaign (I swear I heard the dice rolling in my head when skimming over Elijah), and detailed "omnipresent narrator" information. While both formats have their merits, it would have been nice to agree on one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Overall, Street Legends makes a nice collection of NPCs who are more versatile and durable than the mooks presented in normal core books. If the short stories are entertaining and it drops in price a bit, I will definitely consider picking it up.
Yet at what it was promised to be, namely a fluff book, it just fails to deliver.


Oh, and the usual random list of "hm, that doesn't look right"
- Puck doesn't have any cyber, not even a datajack
- The guy writing about Puck (Icarus IIRC) casually mentions that both Deus and Pax are still around. The assembled matrix elite of the Sixth Worlds responds with "will it rain, do you think?"
- Villiers and Lanier have several points of Essence in Deltaware, that's anything but "minimally augmented"

[Prime Mover]

I understand from a developer point of view statting needs to middle ground to fulfill the cheering crowds at both ends of the "stadium". But some min-maxing in "Prime Runners" would/should be expected. Example: No excuse a high end runner wouldn't have the highest rated device targeted at his area of expertise. Or mods that make said runners job easier.

[Patrick Goodman]

Well. no one's bitched about de Vries yet (though the day is yet young), so maybe my streak continues. I was sure it was going to come crashing to the ground with this book.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Prime Mover]

If it helps I promise to comment once I get a hardcopy. *smirk*

[Sengir]

Well. no one's bitched about de Vries yet (though the day is yet young), so maybe my streak continues. I was sure it was going to come crashing to the ground with this book.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Can't say anything about the implementation, but the idea is hilarious. And de Vries at least makes sense in a book supposedly about "legends". He is an unusual concept, has archived quite some notoriety, and has a trick up his sleeve which is normally considered impossible (Essence Focus).

And speaking of the Infected, one other thing that rubbed me the wrong way: There is a big and shocking revelation about Hannibelle, which totally changes the way people will view her both IC and OOC...

[ Spoiler ]

She's getting her munchies from Tanamous. Yep, that's it. An Infected is paying an organization everybody knows to be catering to the Infected to do just the thing they do. I was _totally_ blown away...

[CanRay]

It is a big, shocking thing about Hannibelle. Everyone assumed that she was seeking alternatives, not doing... That.

As pointed in the Shadowtalk, when KANE is defending your moralistic position, it's time to go home and rethink your life. Oh, she's a hacker, she's already home. Half that job is already done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Patrick Goodman]

Can't say anything about the implementation, but the idea is hilarious.

The beautiful thing about writing Martin up was that I had free reign to do just about any damn thing I wanted. It was a lot of fun to write that; I just wish I'd had another, oh, thousand words or so. And better art.

Which part of the implementation do you have trouble with (if any)? I'm genuinely curious about people's reaction to the piece.

[Method]

Can anyone comment on the editing? Is this book plagued with the typos and errors we've seen in recent releases?

[Sephiroth]

Can anyone comment on the editing? Is this book plagued with the typos and errors we've seen in recent releases?

For the writing? It's ok. I wouldn't say it's plagued with bad editing, but I have noticed a fair number of typos in the multiple write-ups I've read so far. They're not incredibly obvious typos that make you think "where the hell were the proofreaders for this thing," like that big error in the 6WA that got a lot of people upset, though. Just little things.

I have noticed several mechanical errors in the stats, though. Ones I've found so far after going through with a fine-toothed comb:

Several of the Awakened guys with power foci have their magic listed as augmented by said foci. That's wrong, since 4e power foci don't boost Magic directly, but that's kind of a technicality. Not all of the people with power foci have this error. Martin DeVries doesn't, for example.

Haze is listed with an augmented Edge of 7. As in "6 (7)." There is nothing I recall that augments Edge like that. If it's supposed to be from his rating 1 lucky rabbit's foot power focus, it needs to be spelled out in the stat notes.

Minor nitpick: Ma'Fan's "Exceptional Attribute (Edge)" is supposed to be called Lucky. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Mika's Magic attribute should be 6, because of his augmentations. The stats seem to not take into account the reduced Essence on his magic.

Serrin Shamander's personal watchers have their mental stats listed at F, but it isn't specified whether he can summon those spirits at a Force higher than 1.

Sticks' Initiative and IP are not listed.

Thorn: see above with Mika.

There is no bloody way that Winterhawk's edge should be as high as listed. Not even Lofwyr and Hestaby have Edge that high.

Not sure whether Hannibelle is technically allowed to still be dual natured with her current Essence.

Kia's Agility augmented cap doesn't go quite that high. Unless I'm doing my math wrong.

It'd be nice if Hestaby's and Lofwyr's stats included notes, since I'm sure the discrepancy between their Initiative and their actual Int + Rea is from quickened spells but there isn't anything actually specified and elaborated on as such.



Keep in mind that I don't think the book is really too bad. I actually rather like it, to tell you the truth. And a lot of the art looks sweet, IMHO.

On a separate note,

[ Spoiler ]

I can't say that I'm terribly satisfied with the main write-up of Nadja Daviar. It's not that it's written badly or anything like that, it's fine, it's more the completely offhand manner in which the author of that piece wrote off an IE like Aina. "Oh, the Draco Foundation board of directors has had its hands full with a lot of crap recently, because Nadja Daviar suddenly came back, oh and by the way the Acting Chair Aina Dupree got deaded deader than dead because a bunker fell on her but the fact that Nadja and her lusty brown nipples are back is causing a lot more problems." I'm exaggerating and paraphrasing, obviously, but that's essentially the extent of the attention to which they treat it. One of the major NPC's in SR canon, and probably the biggest embodiment of a true survivor out of all the immortal elves, is written off just like that without even any mention of what effect that will have on the Sixth World (other than how it affects the DF, of course), or mention of the other IE's or GD's even taking notice of it at all.

I'm not a fanboy of the IE's and GD's in shadowrun, for those of you that hate any ED ties with a passion. I'm not overly inclined to favor Aina as a character over any other in SR canon. It just kind of... bothers me that such a big NPC was written off so easily, is what I guess I'm trying to say.

I like the split happening with the great dragons over Hestaby's speech, by the way. Interesting turn of events, methinks.