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> Market Panic is now live!, Get yer credsticks ready!
Wakshaani
post Mar 2 2016, 09:14 PM
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http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/176342...src=slider_view

Lots more to read than usual, so it might take a few days for discussion to start rolling.
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Uli
post Mar 2 2016, 11:04 PM
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I have a quick question beforehand: Does Market Panic have crunchy stuff and gear? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
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Prime Mover
post Mar 2 2016, 11:57 PM
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Didn't see any gear on first pass through.
Denver (Serrated Edge) released today too.
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Sendaz
post Mar 3 2016, 12:14 AM
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Just got it and doing some quick scanning.

There is no gear or crunchy rule stuff here that I can see.

What it DOES have is a rundown on the corporate life, the big 10 as well as the CC.

From following a corporate drone through their daily grind (sort of) to a who's who within the various megas along with juicy tidbits like what's really bugging Damien Knight.

We get to see the CC in action along with things like the Corporate Audits. And no, doesn't look like Harley got a seat as a CC Justice. Maybe next Edition.

So if you thought they would have a new line of heavy armoured limos or discreet Form fitting bodyguard power armor, this is not the book for that.

If you want to get caught up on current events and some not so public events, or just want some ideas for runs, then this may be right for you


QUOTE (Prime Mover @ Mar 2 2016, 07:57 PM) *
Denver (Serrated Edge) released today too.
Should I be nervous that the description of the Denver adventure starts with "SCALPEL OF HATE" ?
Please tell me this isn't War 2.0 about to kick off by having it turn up as an element migrating from adventure to adventure.
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Wakshaani
post Mar 3 2016, 06:10 AM
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QUOTE (Uli @ Mar 2 2016, 05:04 PM) *
I have a quick question beforehand: Does Market Panic have crunchy stuff and gear? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


Nope. 100% crunch-free, so those of you still using 4th can follow the timeline without having to change anything. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
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Ryu
post Mar 3 2016, 12:00 PM
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That´s good to hear, I´ll have a look then (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
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Uli
post Mar 3 2016, 12:03 PM
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Thanks guys. Actually I appreciate the book is crunch free. It's always bothering to go through over a dozen book to find all crunch options.

Also the older corp books didnt have crunch either (except for the Ford Smartcar, I think).
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Bull
post Mar 3 2016, 10:30 PM
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QUOTE (Sendaz @ Mar 2 2016, 07:14 PM) *
Should I be nervous that the description of the Denver adventure starts with "SCALPEL OF HATE" ?
Please tell me this isn't War 2.0 about to kick off by having it turn up as an element migrating from adventure to adventure.


Just did a quick skim, and far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with that.
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Sendaz
post Mar 3 2016, 10:32 PM
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Thanks Bull (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Still going through Market Panic right now, and it's great reading, might get this later.
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Zednark
post Mar 4 2016, 04:40 AM
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Read the intro, Ares and Aztech sections, good stuff so far. I'm halfway through Evo. I liked the intro in particular.
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Tycho
post Mar 4 2016, 07:24 AM
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Question: Are there Infos on "Running for Ares/..." or "Running against Ares/..." or General Security Philosophies of the different Megacorps?

Things an GM can use to flesh out the differences between the Megocorps other than the Logos on the Walls.
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Sendaz
post Mar 4 2016, 08:19 AM
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Yes and No.

They all approach it to some degree, how it is written out varies by corp.

A couple of the Corps like the Azzies and Ares has a clear section for doing Runs FOR or AGAINST them with about a half page devoted to each side of the coin.

The other corp chapters approach them differently. SK has it all lumped into one. Shiawase doesn't specifically spell it out, but it does present a lot of potential plot hooks you can build runs on.

Do not expect to see bullet point lists clearly listing specific plot hooks, it's just in the fluff, but there is plenty there to pick and choose from as you read about the corp goals, upcoming releases, who has crossed them or they plan to cross, and more.
Likewise you won't see them giving any specific ratings on their people, so how you stat that Jaguar Guard is left to your own discretion.

The Chapters do give each corp their own flavour and recounting of its history along with recent events, so yeah a GM can get a pretty good feel for them so they are more than just changing the logo on the office window.
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Blade
post Mar 4 2016, 09:09 AM
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Is it truly set in the Shadowrun 2070s or is it our 2016 with name changed and some cyber and magic sprinkled on top?
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Sendaz
post Mar 4 2016, 09:52 AM
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QUOTE (Blade @ Mar 4 2016, 05:09 AM) *
Is it truly set in the Shadowrun 2070s or is it our 2016 with name changed and some cyber and magic sprinkled on top?
Not sure what you are meaning.
The SR universe pretty much started its divergence back in the 80s, from Mondale getting the presidency to all the events in the Awakening so the timeline & tech in SR is quite a bit different than what we have in the here and now.

Which does create some tense points when arguing about tech like nanobots and the cloud since SR went one route with it and some of it is still relevant/realistic while some bits have proven to work in other ways in reality vs how SR presents it.
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FriendoftheDork
post Mar 4 2016, 12:22 PM
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How relevant would the fluff be to a 2050 campaign? I do like the focus on fluff and corporate, might be sorely lacking in the runner-centric books.
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hermit
post Mar 4 2016, 12:41 PM
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QUOTE
Is it truly set in the Shadowrun 2070s or is it our 2016 with name changed and some cyber and magic sprinkled on top?

It does develop on from Corporate Dossier and takes into account published adventures, such as the Horizon trilogy. Better than average research, and during my skim I didn't notice any massive screwups like with Rigger 5's bizarre reliting of products.

QUOTE
How relevant would the fluff be to a 2050 campaign? I do like the focus on fluff and corporate, might be sorely lacking in the runner-centric books.

Not at all, being set nearly 30 years in the in-game future. Get yourself a PDF or hardcopy (secondhand, check ebay and amazon) of Corporate Shadowfiles then, the old 2050s Corp book. Shadowrun 2050 also has a lot of information on the 2050s corporate scene, as does the Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong sourcebook.

---

A bit of a pity you made Sumitomo a part of MCT (though that does explain it's size). I like Sumitomo. For one, it has a history, something all Shadowrun Japanocorps conspicuously lack (by "history" I mean "it was founded at the same time as the Virginia Cominion"). Plus, their Logo is so quintessentially Japanese design. I wish MCT and Renraku had such a Logo.
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Blade
post Mar 4 2016, 02:22 PM
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QUOTE (Sendaz @ Mar 4 2016, 10:52 AM) *
Not sure what you are meaning.
The SR universe pretty much started its divergence back in the 80s, from Mondale getting the presidency to all the events in the Awakening so the timeline & tech in SR is quite a bit different than what we have in the here and now.


I was mostly saying this in light of what there was in Attitude, where many things about the daily life could be lifted from a book about today's life, replacing "Internet" with "the Matrix" and adding some additional stuff about magic and cyber on top.

So I'd like to know stuff like:
- Are wage-slaves described as 2016 employees, or are they actual wage-slaves?
- Are corps seen as Apple/Google/Exxon/General Electrics or as they correctly described as "all these together and much more"?
etc.
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Sendaz
post Mar 4 2016, 04:27 PM
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QUOTE (Blade @ Mar 4 2016, 10:22 AM) *
I was mostly saying this in light of what there was in Attitude, where many things about the daily life could be lifted from a book about today's life, replacing "Internet" with "the Matrix" and adding some additional stuff about magic and cyber on top.

So I'd like to know stuff like:
- Are wage-slaves described as 2016 employees, or are they actual wage-slaves?
- Are corps seen as Apple/Google/Exxon/General Electrics or as they correctly described as "all these together and much more"?
etc.

Ah that is a fair question.

The book starts off on a chapter following a wageslave through his day, with the reporter for a local Paper following him around taking in the wage slave life and all it entails.

It is actually well done and there are sideboxes capitalizing on certain aspects, like what drones may be expected to dress like and what corp group bonding activities they can get stuck with along with Metahuman Job rights.
And it's not just their life, but how a Runner may make use of it like what kind of incentives you may need to turn a drone so he passes you some intel or leaves a certain door unlocked at the right time.
They even list the top 10 BTL chips drones use as an escape from their dreary life along with the growing danger it presents.
It does a fair job on really giving you a feel for being under constant surveillance, corp peer pressure, internal politics, unwinding with your colleagues afterwards and even a twist ending.

As for the corps, they go into the origins of the corps and their current attitudes and acquisitions along with current troubles and issues for the future.
You also have to remember these are Triple As.
So you can not just go oh "Ares = Guns like Exxon = Oil" because the Corps are so much more multi-faceted that that and they go into that here.
Ares for example is also big into space research.
Now whether this is just a means to put bigger guns into space or not is another question or maybe they just want a bug-free getaway, but it is a branching none the less. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Yes they have their main shticks, the areas they excel in, but the constant drive for the almighty nuyen means they ALL have their fingers in ALOT of pies and they regularly step on each other's toes.
Which in the end means more work for us. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)


If I have one complaint it is the fallout from the Boston Lockdown is still coming down and still a lot of questions remain so when this does it may be a big game changer for the corp left holding the bag.

But I can see why they did this as this will be having impacts for years down the road and we did need a current update on the big 10.

Just keep in mind Boston and the Corp Audit as well as the New SIN system they keep hinting at can still throw everyone a curveball, which will probably be the basis for a number of forthcoming adventures/missions.
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hermit
post Mar 4 2016, 05:03 PM
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Running Review (writing as I go)

Opening Fiction: Well written, great grasp on the Gibson spirit that's always been at Shadowrun's core, but deeply flawed when it comes to the background. I like the atmosphere, the way the main character "awakens" into a runner, and the brief but impactful description of the daily madness of corporate life (Brazil comes to mind). But it is at many times ill-fit with the Shadowrun background. When is this story supposed to take place? Apparently before 2060, because Fuchi buys up a company. Still, the protagonist goes into the Matrix with his commlink. Also, the UCAS never was engaged, militarily in Guatemala, not least becasue Guatemala stopped existing in the 2020s. While I appreciate the generic trope of "the Mesoamerican war" in Cyberpunk fiction, this is not the place, I'm afraid.

In constructive criticsm, Yucatán ould offer a good alternative for Guatremala. Same shit, but canon conforming. similarly, NeoNET instead of Fuchi America (same company, different name). With a legycy system like Shadowrun, it's such little touches that make all the difference.
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Nath
post Mar 4 2016, 11:38 PM
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QUOTE (hermit @ Mar 4 2016, 06:03 PM) *
Also, the UCAS never was engaged, militarily in Guatemala, not least becasue Guatemala stopped existing in the 2020s.
Much later according to the Aztlan SB.
QUOTE
Aztlan, page 41
During the years 2045 to 2047, the nations of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua were accepted into the Aztlaner republic as member states, guaranteeing to all the peoples of those countries the same rights and privileges accorded to Aztlaner citizens. In 2048, Panama also petitioned for membership and was accepted.


QUOTE (hermit @ Mar 4 2016, 06:03 PM) *
In constructive criticsm, Yucatán ould offer a good alternative for Guatremala. Same shit, but canon conforming. similarly, NeoNET instead of Fuchi America (same company, different name).
It depends on the story told (as I haven't read it). As far as the canon went, no foreign countries (or megacorporations) officially sent troops to fight during the civil war in Yucatan. But Amazonia, NAN, Tir Tairngire and CAS may have provided covert support.

Also, in Corporate Guide, by 2072, Neonet was still using "Fuchi" as a brandname for Fuchi Orbital and Fuchi Consumer Electronics, while Renraku still maintained Fuchi Corporate Services.
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Sascha Morlok
post Mar 5 2016, 09:02 AM
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QUOTE (Blade @ Mar 4 2016, 03:22 PM) *
I was mostly saying this in light of what there was in Attitude, where many things about the daily life could be lifted from a book about today's life, replacing "Internet" with "the Matrix" and adding some additional stuff about magic and cyber on top.

So I'd like to know stuff like:
- Are wage-slaves described as 2016 employees, or are they actual wage-slaves?
- Are corps seen as Apple/Google/Exxon/General Electrics or as they correctly described as "all these together and much more"?
etc.


The S-K chapter should feel different, as it shows, that Lofwyr organize his corp more like a country (specifically like the old Roman Empire), instead of an ordinary corp. So his corp often just do stuff for their own 'population' and not for the open market.
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hermit
post Mar 5 2016, 03:08 PM
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QUOTE
Much later according to the Aztlan SB.

Yeesh, it was that late? Thanks for the catch. (Damn ...)

QUOTE
But Amazonia, NAN, Tir Tairngire and CAS may have provided covert support.

Or mercenaries, or troops "on holiday", like all those Russian "volunteers" in Ukraine and Syria.

QUOTE
Also, in Corporate Guide, by 2072, Neonet was still using "Fuchi" as a brandname for Fuchi Orbital and Fuchi Consumer Electronics, while Renraku still maintained Fuchi Corporate Services.

I thought so too at first, but into the next chapter, Fuchi was repeatedly identified as the AAA that had bought Great American Products (a company based in Singapore, yay for the Bridge Trilogy reference).

-----

Running Review (cont'd)

A Day in the Life of Karl Denisovic
There's a lot of good to be said about this. This vision of corporate life doesn't feel like 2010-with-elves like Attitude did. It does feel appropriately oppressive and does take into account many important things - corporate culture, constant surveillance, corporate sousveillance and how the corp structures their employees lives. Many brand name-drops and procuring oddities like the karmic Feng Shui style chairs give a good feel of a place where everything s corporate-owned and -branded. And I really like the way the SimSense addiction was worked in without being obnoxiously "Just Say No!". It's stuff we can see happening in the near future, but not today. Exactly how it should be done. I really like the sidebars with top 10 movie and SimSense/BTL downloads (despite mixing up BTL and SimSense again, see below).

And for the most part, he gets the Shadowrun feel right (if not the facts, and honestly, there are not enough mages to waste them in administering a random marketing department, even if his boss only has a flicker of talent). He even gets the mount doom impression of the Rainier right - better than most Shadowrun writings, actually. Seems like he's actually been to Seattle (he also appropriately covers geography. But where is there a Gainesville to be a slum in Seattle? Is this supposed to be part of New Puyallup?).

However. And here we go. Karl works for Fuchi. In 2077. Great research here, Chris Lites (*slowclap*). Or rather, great job getting the new guy up to speed, Jason (*slowclap*). Fuchi, in 2077. Because fuck continuity, the minimum viable product is what counts.

I'm not saying the writing is bad. It is good. It is just not very close to Shadowrun canon. For instance, the major networks all belong to one or another megacorporation - so why should the Ares anchorman on an Ares network's Ares sponsorship be some kind of shock to anyone, let alone a veteran runner like Sounder? And a shadowrun AI isn't what the author thinks it is - that would be an Agent. A Shadowrun AI is a spooky gjhost of the Matrix, not every software system that uses AI principles. Plus, AI prefer to be called Digital Intelligences (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) . Again, in Netrunner or Neuromancer (Angie Mitchell's house comes to mind), this would be perfectly fine, but not in shadowrun. that's the catch about writing for a world with such a legacy. And that's where the publisher ought to give new guys a hand - or have a fluff bible of some kind, or a Wiki maybe.

Bottle imp? More CP2020 lingo? that should also be Agent, or maybe Fetch. S&K? Commonly written SK. It is Saeder-Krupp and not Saeder and Krupp. The Fuchi HQ is where, Singapore? Such things matter. And by "related to VITAS", you mean related to AIPS? Because VITAS is a virus-induced toxic shock plague which is not at all related to hero syndrome.

Also, BTL and SimSense are not the same. I cannot blame Chris here, though; it seems half the writers by now don't understand that.

By and large a good writeup, but one that would have really profited from fact-cghecking, the existence of a fluff bible for new authors, and proofreading (once it's Awakening: 1948, then "there be dragon out there" ... such things happen; this is why there are proof readers. Ah, classic CGL. Good to great writing, diminished by lack of interest in a quality product.
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Wakshaani
post Mar 5 2016, 04:38 PM
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Keep it rolling, Hermit. Feedback's vital, both the good and bad. (And, yes, the idea of a setting Bible's a good one. There are some parts, but nota whole. Jotting that down.) The good gets mentioned less, but I legitimately appreciate it all.

(Not my chapter, mind you, but it still matters.)
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Sengir
post Mar 5 2016, 08:37 PM
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QUOTE (hermit @ Mar 5 2016, 04:08 PM) *
A Shadowrun AI is a spooky gjhost of the Matrix

They don't have to be "spooky ghosts", but every single AI in Shadowrun is a spontaneous emergence event. You don't just have for axple a run-of-the-mill justice AI like in CP2020, an AI which happens to be a judge would be a major special snowflake.
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hermit
post Mar 6 2016, 01:01 AM
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While mostly in German, I have fairly detailed corporate lists myself. I'd even translate them (send me a PM with an email, and I'll email a translated sample).

Also, I am not trying to understate the good - I liked Chris' stuff, just feel it would have massively benefitted from more help offered to get him into the nitty-gritty of SR canon, and some editorial polishing. I [i]like[i] CP2020 and Gibson references, it's what I myself try to inject into my games as often as I can get away with it. And for the sake of every new SR writer I'd really, really hope there'll be a setting bible or wiki (the wiki probably is a better medium, since it can be expanded, accessed and shared more easily). Because it must be extremely intimidating for a writer to have to try and work with such a long-standing setting - mistakes like the ones I noted above are are unavoidable if there is no guide for the new guys.

-------------------

Rolling Review (cont'd):

Courting Disaster
A chapter about the Corp Court, headed by a one-page short about a spy girl injecting dubious memos into the CC system. Not badly written, but it should be said I liked the style Chris Lite wrote his chapter in better. This chapter, thoughm is well-researched. It goes into the history of the court (didn't look up the dates, but the outline reads correct), the Veracruz settlement (though it's referred to as the Aztechnology Crisis here), and an outline of the SR4 Matrix and why it went wireless mesh that actually is among the best and most concise summaries I have read to date. Then comes a summary of the de la Mar metaplot, which also is well written and concise, and a reminder what the Dickens Project/Justice Hino plot as all about. This is accompanied with a bizarre image of a female justice in what looks like a future US supreme court justice robe being led away from what looks like of of the smaller courtrooms of the US Supreme Court by armored police officers while Harlequin the Supreme Court judge laughs at her between holographic judges. While this does tell a story, it is one that's never adressed anywhere, it seems, and thus this artwork that, by itself, is great, in it's specificness seems very oddly placed.

What follows is laying out more metaplot - how the CC started the Megacorp Audit to scramble the Big 10, how they were understandably unimpressed by the callous treatment of Justice Hino, and how MCT came to take over Mitsubishi Motors because of that Audit. All neat and clean and, as far as I could tell, with no significant continuity errors. This is followed up by a portrayal of CC justices and a picture of Zurich-Orbital. Interestingly, Saeder-Krupp's Grand Inquisitor (and corp fashion icon) now apparently is a CC justice, which kind of makes me wonder if SK's CFS problems have just gone away or if this is some other spiel of Lofwyr's. A description of the CC's infrastructure rounds out this chapter.

This is decent and solid writing. It lacks the gibson references and style of the previous chapter, but also avoids it's weak points. Whoever wrote this either is a long-standing SR fan or did decent research. Not much to criticise really.
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