Sacrificial Limb now out!, Second Boardroom Backstabs adventure drops you into KE boots! Options

[JM Hardy]

The post-GenCon wait is over! Sacrificial Limb, the second in the Boardroom Backstabs adventure, is now available for print pre-order and PDF purchase (Battlecorps, DriveThruRPG)! Here's what you get:

SECRETS WORTH KILLING FOR

In 2072, Roger Soaring Owl, CEO of Knight Errant, resigned.

In 2073, Roger Soaring Owl was attacked on the streets of Denver. Witnesses were not clear on just what attacked him, but most say it was meaner, stronger, and faster than any metahuman.

Now it’s 2074. It’s time to find out what Roger Soaring Owl learned.

Corporate machinations don’t get any meaner than this. Rivals of the megacorporation are certain it’s hiding some dark secrets, and they’re willing to spend significant nuyen to uncover this information. Runners are going to have to infiltrate an Ares subsidiary and gain the corporation’s trust if they want to discover the secret—and if they do, they will have to find a way to survive with what they have learned.

Sacrificial Limb is the second in the Boardroom Backstabs series of adventures for Shadowrun. It has plot information, NPC details, player handouts, and everything needed to throw players into the depths of corporate espionage, digging for the paydata the megacorps want to keep hidden.

Sacrificial Limb is for use with Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition.

[Sengir]

Gaaahhh, as if my backlog wasn't already large enough

[Prime Mover]

I'm with ya, been so busy lately got 7 pdf's in my "to read" folder (not all SR). Just finally got caught up on my Fluff and Smoke chapters. Gotta say kinda saw ending coming, reminds me of something I'd do to my players.

[Sengir]

What, zero comments/reviews so far? I've been waiting for the resolution of this plotline for ages and Pegasus' new AGS Travel Guide did not make it to the Spiel in Essen (or rather, the truck didn't) but...well, not all CGL products have been worth picking up as of late (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Fatum]

I only quickly flipped through my player's book, and let me note that

[ Spoiler ]

the new Insect spirit abilities are bullocks!

Also, I can't believe the stats for grunts are serious. Street Punks (Professional Rating 3)? Containment Zone Gangers (Professional Rating 3)? Ghouls (Professional Rating 3)? Really? No, really? Compared to the stuff in Core: Humanis Policlub Goon Squad (Professional Rating 0), Corporate Security (Professional Rating 2), Lone Star Police Squad Member (Professional Rating 3)?!

Won't buy.

[hermit]

I want to be a Knight Errant Trainee. I also want a weekly payment of 2000 Euros.

[Sengir]

Got bored, bought it for the story, was severely disappointed by the inconsequential story and at the same time glad I didn't buy it as an adventure. As an adventure it read like "well, the players are here. We don't tell you what they might do here, but there are some possible sideplots. Just be careful not to have them do sideplot X, that would spoil the story"...

[Sengir]

A more detailed review, going chapter-by-chapter. As such, spoilers ahead

[ Spoiler ]

Intro fiction:
Two big names conspiring, obvious potential ramifications. And a reminder of how attitudes toward smoking have changed IRL (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Intro Section:
Well, plot summary and the standard "how to run an adventure" text. Noteworthy tidbit (although not relevant to the adventure): Knight doesn't know that things have gotten out of hand

Scene 1:
This one is actually a fun idea, the meeting takes place in a virtual play pen full of agitated brats whacking each other with virtual foam bats. And the characters have to blend in or get whacked by security loaded for (pedo-)bear.

The Job itself is to get hired as recruits by KE and keep taps on their training routines as well as stealing samples of any gadgets the players might come across.

Scene 2:
The players arrive at KE's training facility, find out that despite their seemingly tough security they actually hire just about everyone (though the Rating 6 SINs provided by Johnson certainly help) and then...well, good question. The players are supposed to roleplay their deep cover job and they better do well, because uncovered spies end up as test subject for Unlimitech. But info for roleplaying their recruit lives or describing the setting to them? No Sgt. Hardman greeting to read out to the players, no info on how a recruit's day or the schedule for basic training might look like, nothing. Not even a map of the facility.
There are a few suggestions on how "this scene can become a multi-session experience", namely things like laser tag or weapon drills, and some potential side plots, but what does that help if the basics are missing? One of the side plots also seems to assume that insect spirits can just jump on a target and invest him with one of their comrades. Like the lack of "so, what am I supposed to do here?", this will be a recurring element.

Oh, the runners' drill sergeant gets introduced as "a gruff satyr in his mid-fifties", but is statted as human.

Scene 3:
The runners get a live-fire excercise with some crippled insect spirits. Worth an extra scene? Given the lack of training information it probably is. List of possible side plots again suffers from instant invae inhabition syndrome, and the lack of maps hurts more than in general.

Scene 4:
If the players did well with roleplaying their cover identities (heh) this is a bonus mission for them: Shadowrunners stole something from an Ares warehouse, get it back. This is what you know after reading what supposedly is the GM summary. You have to read the location descriptions to find out how the players get on the track (check the surveillance, duh).
This scene actually had a map...but before you break out the champagne, it'S a map of the warehouse, not of the runners' hideout. So hopefully your players want to leave the other runner team alone and start a shootout in the warehouse, in that case you are set. The NPC section leads to even more head-scratching, because it only lists NPCs needed if you follow the suggestions for "pushing the envelope" -- stats for the opposing runners can be found in the Cast of Shadows at the end of the book, but it would have been nice to have a pointer...

Scene 5:
The runners meet with one of Johnson's lackeys in a sleazy bar, he tells them to arrange for their promotion into OSP (KE subdivision which guards Unlimitech facilities). The scene wins the price for worst side missions.
a) The barkeeper asks the runners to transport a vase to Ottawa. Yes, he's talking about the Ottawa in Quebec. Of course I will transport some random object for you, citizen, I will see to it right after clearing out the cave near Riften. Oh wait, this is not Skyrim?
b) This is the previously mentioned "side plot X". Unless the players act as blackmailers you have to make them fail their job, otherwise they would learn too much...


Scene 6:
It's like Scene 2 all over again. The players arrive at Unlimitech, they are taken in, this is where the narrative ends. You get told what the insect queen might want from them, but what are you or the players actually supposed to DO here? Is this supposed to be some sort of infiltration job? Then maybe tell me something about the place they are infiltrating, the jobs they might be assigned, their daily routine and so on. Or are the players supposed to draw their guns at the first guy they see and start firing? One sentence in the queen's description almost seems to suggest it.

This scene has a map, but it looks more like a random municipal building with randomly assigned rooms. The conference room is twice as large as the server room The server room is twice as large as the conference room?

Scene 7:
Only an alternate for players who screw up in Scenes 2-4 on their cover is blown. At least here it is clear what they want to do, get out of the Unlimitech facility deep inside the containment zone (not the one from scene 6, hence no map) and blow up some shit. Hooray, once you screw up the adventure it actually starts making sense

[Nath]

Yes, he's talking about the Ottawa in Quebec.

No trolling please.

At least, not so obvious.

[CanRay]

The barkeeper asks the runners to transport a vase to Ottawa. Yes, he's talking about the Ottawa in Quebec.

No trolling please.

At least, not so obvious.

To be fair, Ottawa-Hull has been a part of Quebec for a long time now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Fatum]

The conference room is twice as large as the server room?

Isn't it the other way round? Anyhow, I've been to server rooms that easily dwarf most conference rooms (that only fit one table for eight, as the map seems to imply), so what's the problem here? They just have a few racks - they're doing research, must have high computational needs.

[Sengir]

No trolling please.

At least, not so obvious.

The book says Ottawa is in the Republic of Quebec, admittedly so far I didn't care enough for that part of the 6th World to call it into question.


@Fatum: Yep, should be the other way round. And I figure by 2070 server rooms are quite a bit smaller than today, just like today's racks look really lonely in a room built in the 70s (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[pbangarth]

To be fair, Ottawa-Hull has been a part of Quebec for a long time now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

The man said no trolling!

[Fatum]

@Fatum: Yep, should be the other way round. And I figure by 2070 server rooms are quite a bit smaller than today, just like today's racks look really lonely in a room built in the 70s (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Ah, you haven't been around IBM zSeries mainframes, have you? Not quite their predecessors, but still can take up quite a bit of space, especially with he disk storages, tape libraries, and the rest of the good stuff.
Besides, more teraflops! MORE! MOOOOREEEE! You'll have so much computational power! Those are not your dad's ultraviolet nodes! Those are X-ray nodes! GAMMA NODES!

[Bearclaw]

So has anyone actually read/run this?

<edit>Nevermind. Sengir had a review in spoilers. Sadly, he hates it. Too bad, the beginning/intro looks great. I'd really like a second opinion though. From the sound of it, maybe I can use scene 7 without the rest. The next time the team fails at something, everything goes black and they wake up in a room strapped to gurneys (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) </edit>