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[Koekepan]

A lot of the discussion around SINs was concerned with the implications of a panopticon for the viability of shadowrunning. As a throwaway remark, I suggested starting with the first VITAS in 1918, and setting the world in 1938, or similar. Might even be 1958. The more I think about this, the more potential it has. Let's start a good, old-fashioned, two-fisted, tuxedo-and-trenchcoat Dumpshock brawl on what the rules for that might look like.

Obviously, computing and the Matrix become ... well, not nullified, but greatly reduced in relevance. No ASIST, no VR, no cyberware, substantially more limited health care. So what are we left with, so that we don't end up with Magicrun?

We can start by thinking of some of the nicer ideas from Earthdawn. But we can also put our own spins on various things.

For instance, Essence would have vastly reduced relevance, if we even bothered with it. People just aren't putting any metal more sophisticated than an earring in their bodies.

Information is deeply valuable, as always, but now the blueprints you're stealing are real, a list of employees might (if it exists at all) exist as punched cards or paper tape - or quite simply a filing cabinet. Stealing a ribbon out of a typewriter would be useful because you can read off the imprints on the used tape what was last typed on it. However, you don't have a virtual fugue state - information media are highly physical.

To prevent the utter domination of magicians, it's not necessary to prevent magicians from existing, but there are a few limiting ideas.

For instance, one can have a slower, more cerebral practice of magic. Rather than snapping your fingers and tossing off fireballs at a moment's notice, make it take longer, be harder, or benefit so substantially from preparation of formulae that impromptu magic is largely useless for doing more than lighting another cigarette while you turn up the collar of your trenchcoat against the rain. This means that when the shit hits the fan, the thug with the tommygun pretty much reliably wins against any but the most carefully prepared magicians.

Another thing would be to make a broader population actually sensitive to the existence or manifestation of magic. They mightn't be able to do much about it, but they can all see it, so it's not a secret invisible power which suddenly erupts in fireballs.

Another idea is to give lots of people minor talents - basically their own party tricks. Some might be utilitarian - like mending rips in fabric. Some might be decorative - instant cosmetics! Some might be vaguely combat useful - magic skunk spray!

Another idea is to open the doors to negotiation with spirits to anyone. Anyone who isn't magicblind (which would now be a meaningful flaw) would be able to try talking to a spirit and negotiating with it to get something done. For example, Mick the Bruiser might ask the domestic spirit of a neglected building to please unlock the front door, and promises in return to wash the windows. Of course, he might be lying which might result in all sorts of bad karma coming down on his head... for those with a historical bent, a relationship of negotiation with mystic forces was typical of pre-christian european religions, so there's a wealth of material to draw on.

Another idea might be that, given sufficient knowledge, mundanes might be able to manipulate magic. By analogy, completely colourblind people can blend paints if they have a list and suitable annotations. If Ida the Femme Fatale knows enough about magic she might be able to arrange a few ingredients from a herb garden into a magic ward which, smeared on the doorjamb, will wake her up if the door opens, giving her enough time to grab a pistol and prepare to defend herself. Would she be on a par with Boxcar Billy, moonshine-fueled visionary and itinerant alchemist? No, but it would be useful nonetheless.

What I like about the ideas of letting everyone taste just a little mystic power is that it shows a deep-seated change in everyday life.

There is also huge potential for examining the results of the social turmoil. The Roaring Twenties crash hard as more and more ugly things happen, Europe is a mess, Russia is coming to terms with ideological madness, and colonialism is still alive and (comparatively) well.

Let's hear your thoughts.