Missing Locales, ...from New Seattle Options

[Snow_Fox]

[Adam]

I believe we have.

So, if Rob emailed you tomorrow and said "Snow Fox, design a new Seattle book" -- what would you do? Just make it a chapter in a Target: Blah book? What would the chapter cover? What information is vitally important for people to run games in Seattle, and what could hit the cutting room floor? Don't assume that someone has Seattle Sourcebook, don't assume that someone has New Seattle. This book is going to be the book about Seattle for them -- the baseline that their Shadowrun experience will grow on. What does it cover, and how?

[Demonseed Elite]

I really did like the format of New Seattle. As has been mentioned, I just thought the writing lacked flavor (and now that someone pointed out the illustrations, I'd have to agree there too).

[akarenti]

I haven't been around long enough to remember the SSB, but I was suitably impressed with New Seattle. It's really the only location book in 3rd Ed that goes into any detail (SoNA and SoE were great, though, just more general). It isn't one of the books I read for fun, but I it's a great reference. I can find just about anything in the book very easily, so if I need a "club in Redmond," I can find a name, and a few words to get the juices flowing.

I mean, books like MitS aren't exactly a miracle of modern fiction, but no one much complains. I just look at New Seattle as more of a reference material than a literary experience.

[Snow_Fox]

A chapter in a Target book could be limited to just the updates in the corp ownership, with the rise of new AAA's and the loss of Fuchi, and the completion of the Arcology. Otherwise the original SSB is fine with maps, lay out sec rating etc.
Other suppliments like Blood in the Board Room and the organized crime SB's had already covered a lot of the stuff that were seperate chapters in the old SSB.

My point is the changes could be limited to a chapter of a book, not an entire book on it's own. since NS rates an entire volume, then it gets comparerd to entire volume the SSB, and when compared to that excellent book, then NS is a weak sister.

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

Seattle is one of those places that definitely needed its own book. It is the central location for almost all of the action in Shadowrun. It is the original setting described in the core rule book.

And it definitely needed a facelift after ten years. The problem is, it didn't get one. All that corp/government/OC info? It's in the back of The Seattle Sourcebook.

You all know my opinion of Kenson's (lack of) writing skills, so I won't beat that horse. It's already decaying due in no little part by other people.

More to the point, Seattle needed its own SB, not an update, because SR3 did something that SR2 didn't really do (and even if it did, the Seattle SB wasn't that old, relatively, when SR2 was released)--It attracted new players; players who had no idea about the history of Seattle in the first ten years of Shadowrun. And Seattle has changed a lot. Sure, some of the locales haven't, and I think that's weak. But someone coming to SR in SR3--assuming they could find a copy of the The Seattle Sourcebook--would read that book and have no clue about how all of so many little comments and ideas became historical plot elements.

[Kanada Ten]

Were I given full control over a new Seattle Sourcebook, I'd begin with a fresh layout scheme to see what it looked like. Instead of going by area, I'd have sections such as Government (including policlubs), Corporate'topia (mostly divided by corporation, but including executive retreats and wageslave haunts), Entertainment (nightclubs, restaurants, malls, etc), Underworld (actually one of the better parts of New Seattle - this would be more about the places that things go down in), Free Zones (places in the Barrens and Underground), each detailing locations (like specific places, not regions and such) written by character locals (not local authors), covering players and actions with shadowtalk, and then a Culture Shock (the only non location specific section) describing the interesting neo-tribal, elven, and so on.

I'd use detailed maps (both interactive online and in book) to pull it all together. Continue with the full page images at each chapter start - and these would be very important I'd spend a great deal of time choosing the art for these pictures and making the artists understand the vision (which seems to be happening at least to a degree).

I'd also expect the book to be as thick as SoNA or SoE and cost around $30-35.

[jklst14]

Perhaps the answer to the current dissatisfaction is a new Net Book?

Possible contents could include:

1) A chapter on the Ork Underground and its unique culture/environment. IIRC, DNA/DOA ventures there but otherwise, there isn't much other canon material that I can recall.

2) Detailed descriptions of other interesting Seattle neighborhoods such as Tarislar, the International District, the University District, Glow City, Hollywood etc...

3) Writeups on other Seattle gangs that are described but never fully fleshed out such as the Ragers, the Leather Devils etc...

Also, since people are unlikely to all agree on a single vision of future Seattle, we could format this new project like the old Plastic Warrior's "Players Guide to House Rules" (from way back in 1998). So instead of just one writeup on the Ork Underground, we could have three separate ones, each written by someone different and offering a different vision for players/GMs to chose from (e.g. Ork Underground Option A - Total Anarchy versus Option B - Rustic Ork Tribal society versus Option C - Trog Utopia )

[ef31415]

Works for me.

TSS is doing a Seattle Supplemental. Maybe add on to that?

[Xirces]

Isn't this sort of thing what the wiki is for?

I'd actually prefer that format (rather than straight book) for a city guide - this way you can have an area with specific addresses and locations and maps, but have them cross-referenced so if you want to know where Penumbra is you can view the map, or go straight to the area and see what else is around.

Interactive maps would be cool - checkboxes for displaying specifc items (bars, clubs etc) or rough gang terrorities - maybe even additions/subtractions over time for things that aren't constant...

Most important thing is searchable and cross-referenced :)

[Guest_Crimsondude 2.0_*]

NS definitely lacks for decent maps.