SR4 Rumor Control, From a PLaytester Options

[Bull]

A few rumors and some rumor control:

1. Will there be flying cars?

Yes. Following the Crash 2.0, hover technogoly is perfected by Aztechnology, who quickly mass markets a line of Aircars. Ares, Saeder-Krupp, and Mistuhama quickly follow suit with their own versions. By 2070, 1 out of every 4 cars on the "Road" is an air car.

2. Is Shadorun 4th edition severing all ties to Earthdown?

Yes. In an attempt to distance itself from Earthdawn, Shadowrun will no longer call itself the 6th world. It's now the 5th dimension.

Also, Harlequin will be shown to be a crackpot who's been taking a mixture of LSD and Cocaine, and Sperethial will be found to be just a Frech version of Pig Latin.

3. WIll Shadowrun 4th Edition be d20?

No.

In fact, the new Assistant Line Developer Arnie Trachtonberg pulled a knife on one fan who asked that question at the GAMA Trade Show, saying "Ask me that again and I'll fucking cut your balls off and use them for D20's!"

4. Will Shadowrun 4th Edition use d6's?

Yes, though it will now only use a small number. Attribute tests will use 2D6.

mORE WHEN i GET HOME

[DrJest]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Eyeless Blond]

[Grinder]

[Nikoli]

So much for Peace guiding the planets adn love steering the stars.

[Fortune]

[Luca]

I'm happy about the reduced number of dices but....hey man, for the rest it seems like we are dealing with a completely different game.
If the change in SPerethiel nature and world denomination really means severing all those ties after ages of using them.....it seems like this is a new game in many senses, a not simply Shadowrun 4th edition.

[Austere Emancipa...]

For non-native English speakers:

[ Spoiler ]

There's a definite possibility that Bull is not being serious.

[Lindt]

There is a reason his site is call BullDrek.

[Jrayjoker]

And here I was planning my new campaign with all this in mind.

I think Bull should run for president of Shadowrun-town. :wobble:

[GunnerJ]

Bull for SR4 Line Developer in 2005.

[Jrayjoker]

You don't suppose that Bull and Master Shakes have been talking, do you?

[Critias]

What is "talking" a euphamism for?

[Luca]

:S you are damned lucky that english is the major language spoken around the world....."maledetti culosi"... ;)

[Austere Emancipa...]

<--- is not a native English speaker either. Bull had me there for a while, until the last line of point 2...

[Bull]

sorry, got distracted at work and then didn;t have time to finish. Stupid job making me, like, work and stuff.

4. Will Shadowrun 4th Edition use d6's?

Yes, though it will now only use a small number. Attribute tests will use 2D6, added together. Skill tests use 3d6, keeping the highest result. Initiative will use a deck of 52 cards. ANd finally Rigging, Magic, and Decking will be diceless.

However, do not fear! For those that own the Chessex "Bucket 'o Dice" ™, you will still need those dice for combat. Guns still use the same damage codes as in SR3, but now you roll a number of D6's equal to the Power of the weapon times the Damage Level in numerical increments. Thus, a Predator (9M) will use 9*2 dice, or a total of 18 dice, while a Panther Assault Cannon (18D) will roll 18*4, or a whopping 72 dice!! Asst. Line Developer Arnie Trachtonberg was quoted as saying "Them runners will still need their shitloads of dice, that's fer sure!" He was receiving a rather thick envelope from a Chessex representative as he stated this.

5. Will decking really be wireless and easy to use?

Of course! In fact, everything is now wireless in Shadowrun! Nanotech transmitters implanted in the skull at birth allow every (meta)human on the planet to control almost everything electronical through remote control. This leads to some interesting situations as everyone in a locale vies for control over all the electronic devices in the area. With Shadowrun 4th Editions patented new ShadowDiceless ™ system, the GM can quickly and easily decide who controls what without anyone lifting a die!

6. Seriously, what about the D20 system I keep hearing about.

...

D20 gives you cancer.

7. Is Deus involved in the Crash 2.0?

No. In fact, Deus does his best to prevent the crash, fighting valiently to save the Matrix. He becomes a hero to all deckers, and when it becomes obvious that there's no way to stop the crash, legendary decker Zapper Weisman download Deus into his headware memory. The two personalities, with Zapper's blessing, merge into a single entity simple called "Deck". Deck goes on to pioneer the new Matrix 2.0 design.

8. So who caused the crash then?

Spam. Millions Millions of Terrapulses of Spam sent out at the same time the day after Thanksgiving, 2065 (also known as Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year). This overloads the matrix, causing a cascade failure in 95% of the network hosts. Retail reported a 2% decrease in business that day.

9. Is Dunkelzahn ever coming back?

Yes. I can't say much, as this is very hush hush, but watch Damien Knight real closely in the upcoming books. Especially once he buys that duck.

10. What is the official Soft Drink of FanPro?

Well, the sponsorship deals haven't been finsalized, but Red Bull is rumored to be the number one contender.

11. Will we see any new cyberware?

In 2067 Nanotechnology really takes off, once Yamatestu makes a major beakthrough in design. This leads to a replacement of most Cyberware with Nanotech. Most of the classic Cyberware designs are still available in Nanotech form, but some interesting new applications come about.

Ares introduces The Nanite Cyber Tool. It's capable of changing into several interesting shapes. It was originally called Mr. Studd, but a rival company successfully sued Fanpr... err... Ares for the name rights.

Saeder-Krupp introduces the Nanite Morph Hand, which is capable of creating 9 different weapons, including a gun that can fire up to 8 rounds of Nanite-created ammunition before it needs to recharge. Other wepons include an axe, a knife, a sword, and a pocket secretary.

The CAS military, in a move that lead up to it's retaking of Texas, developes a nanotech version of Wired Reflexes in 2069, and introduces to the world Wired Reflexes 4, 5, and 6. They showcase the neww technology during the Nanosecond Takeover of Dallas in the fall of 2069, and soon Street Samurai and Munchkins the world over are lining up at their door to "enlist" for a short tour of duty and to have the new NanoWires implanted.

12. Will there be any new critters introduced in 2070?

Of course. In addition to a rather long list of critters that the developers have deign to be "useless flavor text" (Hoop Snake anyone?), it will be revealed that poaching on a mass scale has been happening for the last 20 years, and that many Paranormal Creatures are extinct, or nearly so. However, their removal makes room for nuemrous new critters.

One of the more commonly seen critter will be the Awakened Woodchuck. There are a number of varients of these formidable creatures, each with it's own unique power sets. Expect to see the Manachuck, the Cyberchuck, and the fearsome Hackerchuck running rampant throughout the world soon!

13. Is it true Nigel Findley will be writinga new book?

In a way. To honor his memory, and to give the fans a special treat, the bones of Findley were dug up and ground into powder, which was then mixed with a vat of printing ink. 1000 limited edition, foil embossed Hardcover copies of Shadowrun 4th Edition will be priunted with this ink, and will be available for the very reasonable price of $500. Get them while they last!

14. What about Tom Dowd?

We will be doing a similar print run of Street Magic. As Tom Dowd is still alive, we plan to spend the next 6 months draining him of several pints of blood a week. This blood will be used as the ink for Street Magic. However, as one playtester has already learned to his misfortune, do not read any of the incantations from the special editions of Street Magic aloud. It really annoys He Who Must Not Be Named For Fear Of Eternal Torment.

15. Will we see the return of large pictures and shadowtalk for individual weapons, vehicles, and cyberware?

Yes! We also plan to include all technical gear, all individual peices of clothing and armor, plus a catalogue of mundane items such as various brands of Trideos, Microwaves, Computers, and the like.

These will each be compiled in large tomes dedicated to various themes. Shadow Weapons will be available at Gen Con, and Shadow Cyber, Shadow Armor, and Shadow Vehicles will each follow one a month. We plan to release the other Shadow books by the end of 2006. Each book will be at least 256 pages, will be hardbound and feature full color artwork, and will retail for $149.99.

As the weapons, gear, etc. will not be included in the core Shadowrun 4th Edition book, and we're taking care to make the pages completely photocopy and scan proof, players will have to buy these books. But accodring to Arnie Trachtenberg, Assistant Line Developer, that's ok because "fans have been saying for years they would pay whatevre we asked to have shadowtalk and full page pictures. We're just giving them what they demanded!"

More rumor control later!

Bull

[Demonseed Elite]

:rotfl:

[Fortune]

Sounds good to me! ;) :D

[Demosthenes]

Rabid Woodchucks.
W00T!

[Caine Hazen]

Ahh...Bull, you made the morning forums checks so much better... thank you :grinbig:

[GrinderTheTroll]

Damn you are slobbering all over this guy, LOL.

I propose a new "Top-10 List"!11!1!!!

[DragginSPADE]

[Adam]

[CirclMastr]

[hobgoblin]

hmm, how much damage would a pre-errata pocket secretary do if trown by a avarage troll?