Shadowrun Gamer Evolution

Stage 1 (Total Newbie): Does not understand the genre, but has heard other players talking. "So what kinds of anime characters can I play?"

Stage 2 (Newbie): Has read a few parts of the book, and looked at most of the pictures. "I'm a cyberninja possessed by a demon, and I dual wield monofilament shotguns. Are all of the Johnson guys related or clones or something?"

Stage 3 (Pre-Munchkin): Has had an experienced player offer some suggestions that were taken completely the wrong way. "I have all four limbs replaced and my torso, too. When I get enough money saved up, I'll have the cyberskull and then pilot myself around like a drone so I'll be immune to Stun damage."

Stage 4 (True Munchkin): Has read enough of the book to be dangerous. "I'm an elf shaman with Wolf as a mentor, specialized in Combat spells and Fire spirits. I have 1's in Agility, Strength, and Logic and don't own a vehicle."

Stage 5 (Player): Has made up multiple character concepts and chooses one based on the other archetypes around the table. "Oh, you're already playing the gun-fu adept? I have a drone-swarm rigger idea I've been thinking about; I'll use him instead."

Stage 6 (Experienced Player): Knows what will fly with the GM and what won't. Actually enjoys playing the faceman. "Look, guys, I know the J said he wanted this done tonight, but I still think we need to do some legwork first."

Stage 7 (Jaded Player): Realizes that in Shadowrun, it's not about how powerful you are; it's about how quiet you are. Also understands that the GM's real job is to keep the players paranoid. "All of my weapons are silenced, RFID-disabled, wireless-disabled, and I've had a cyberdoc remove my fingerprints and all hair follicles. That should slow down Lone Star an extra five minutes."

Stage 8 (Gamemaster): No one else knows enough about the game to do it justice. Someone has to run this thing, so it may as well be you. "Roll initiative."

Stage 9 (Frustrated Gamemaster): You are surrounded by newbies and munchkins. If you're lucky, there's one player who understands the roll/role reference. "Dammit, just roll initiative already."

Stage 10 (Sadistic Gamemaster): You realize that if you're a cruel bastard, no one will want you to GM anymore and you might get a chance to play. "Roll initiative, my unsuspecting bitches."

*ding* Welcome to level 3, Emo!

The key here is that Ghostwalker is a Great Dragon, not a player character. Great Dragons, Immortal Elves, and other NPC's generally answering to the description of plot device usually can do a few things that everyone else cannot do.

oth sound familiar in SR3.

In SR3 there is a metamagic found in Target: Awakened Lands that allows the shaman access to most of the spirit's powers, which can include Immunity to Normal Weapons. However, that metamagic is not [yet] available in SR4.

Yes, but you have to scream "Burninating the peasants" while your doing this.

a blast from the past for some of you:

SHADOWRUN

Favorite Archetype:
*Real Men* play Street Samurai.
*Real Roleplayers* play Street Shamans.
*Loonies* play Rockers.
*Munchkins* play Cyberninja.

Favorite Metahuman:
*Real Men* play Orks.
*Real Roleplayers* play Dwarfs.
*Loonies* play Sasquatches.
*Munchkins* play Vampires.

Favorite Job:
*Real Men* like extractions.
*Real Roleplayers* like undercover operations.
*Loonies* like working the counter at Stuffer Shack.
*Munchkins* like political insurrections, but only if they get to run the country afterward.

Favorite Opposition:
*Real Men* like go-gangs.
*Real Roleplayers* like policlubs.
*Loonies* like DocWagon.
*Munchkins* like Aztlan.

Worst-Case Scenario:
*Real Men* hate when their employers screw them over.
*Real Roleplayers* hate when the Real Men blow their cover.
*Loonies* hate when the other players won't help them out of their self-inflicted predicament.
*Munchkins* hate when the opposition puts up a fight.

Approach to the Run:
*Real Men* scout out the territory, make a stealthy beeline to the objective, blast their way out and speed away from the scene.
*Real Roleplayers* get in under disguise, jigger the security systems and slip out in a delivery van.
*Loonies* go up to the front desk and announce, "Candygram!"
*Munchkins* blow away the guards, get what they came for, blow away the cops and go home.

How They Dress:
*Real Men* wear Armor Jackets over their street clothes.
*Real Roleplayers* wear corporate suits, tribal garb and neohippie outfits over their Form-Fitting Body Armor.
*Loonies* wear Lined Coats over nothing at all.
*Munchkins* wear Full Heavy Armor and Gyro-mount harnesses for a stroll down Main Street.

Favorite Social Skill:
*Real Men* like Interrogate.
*Real Roleplayers* like Negotiate.
*Loonies* like Etiquette (Zoo Animal).
*Munchkins* don't waste points on Social Skills.

Favorite Contact:
*Real Men* like their Armorer.
*Real Roleplayers* like their Bartender.
*Loonies* like their Rotary Club Habitue.
*Munchkins* like the High Prince of Tir Tairngire.

Favorite Weapons:
*Real Men* like katanas, Ares Predators and Ingram Smartguns.
*Real Roleplayers* like shuriken, Narcoject guns and sniper rifles.
*Loonies* like Tiffani Self-Defenders on Gyro-mounts and Ares Squirts filled with disappearing ink.
*Munchkins* like Dikote monofilament whips, assault cannons with APDS ammo and recoilless Vindicator miniguns.

Favorite Cyberware:
*Real Men* like Smartgun Links.
*Real Roleplayers* like Voice Modulators.
*Loonies* like the Sears Handi-Craftsman cyberarm power tool assortment.
*Munchkins* like it all, preferably beta-grade.

Favorite Vehicle:
*Real Men* like Harley Scorpions.
*Real Roleplayers* like Ford Americars, heavily customized.
*Loonies* like Winnebagos.
*Munchkins* prefer GMC Banshees, but a Citymaster will do in a pinch.

Favorite Spell:
*Real Men* like Mana Bolt.
*Real Roleplayers* like Mask.
*Loonies* like Mana Tickle and Ram vs. Bowling Pins.
*Munchkins* like Turn to Goo, even though it was taken out of the 2nd Edition.

Favorite Totem:
*Real Men* like Wolf.
*Real Roleplayers* like Raccoon.
*Loonies* like Roadrunner.
*Munchkins* like Owl.

Favorite Thing About 2nd Edition:
*Real Men* like the new combat rules.
*Real Roleplayers* like the new Metahuman allergy rules.
*Loonies* like the new Laubenstein color illustration with all the weirdos piled into a truck.
*Munchkins* like the new loopholes.

Biggest Problem with 2nd Edition:
*Real Men* don't like that Karma autosuccesses are gone.
*Real Roleplayers* don't like that the list of 2050s slang is gone.
*Loonies* don't like that the "Food Fight" scenario is gone.
*Munchkins* don't like that the Turn to Goo spell is gone.

I was going to do that anyway. And what are you saying yes to? Bound spirits helping with drain, summoning, or earth spirits offering their immunity points in hardened armor to the mage without being channeled?

I believe the general consensus was that without channeling, you would be engulfed by the spirit which means no LOS and soaking damage on every IP from the spirit's form crushing your pathetic little meat body under the tons of pressure made manifest by the elemental.

Spirits can help with Sorcery, Spell Sustaining and Spell Binding. They cannot be used to help with Drain or Conjuring by the RAW. In SR3 there were Ally spirits which could take the drain for a spell instead of the master IIRC, but this like Spell Binding generally led to unhappy spirits who would take a particular malicious glee in tearing the Mage limb from limb if they became free.

I'll check my copy of The Grimoire (2nd edition) and Awakenings 2057 when I have my lunch break, I think they were invented prior to SR3 though.

Some might not, but some do. Remember, each caster's paradigm can differ and that means spirits will likewise differ.

In other words, your earth spirit might look like a giant chunky rockman, but your neighbor's earth spirit might look like a spritely brownie or looming gargoyle.

Ally Spirits are detailed in the SR2 Grimoire.

Just for that I will question the Awesomeness of Mecha in general.

(OK showing my age here what the hell is a Mecha? Is it like Voltron or a Go-Bot or a Transformer or something?)

Mecha.

I wonder if it's less of yet to question it and more of "maybe if we ignore the not-so cyberpunk concept of an earth elemental mecha, it'll go away"

Since they both huh-what!? Halved armor?
IIRC Dikote added +1 to the Power of all weapons, and additionally (in the case of bladed weapons) increased the damage level by one.

No wonder no one ever used anything else.

Once is always enough.

Maybe not the first time...but try it often enough and you'll end up with that infamous critical glitch and rockman mecha will crush your head after you pass out from the drain.

Additionally as Fist pointed out, if you want to be able to breathe and have a clear line of sight, the rockman would at best provide cover rather than the actual armor.

Fist/MoonHawk--As I recall, Dikote halved barrier rating so it became possible for someone with a dikote sword to hack through walls rather than simply end up with a blunt sword. Against armor, it simply provided a +1 or 2 and increased the damage level for slashing weapons.

Ok so Voltron on PCP

Wikipedia is mankind's greatest body of collaborative fiction.

They have gotten in to trouble a couple of times for it too.

Another featureck of the Wikipedia is that it tend's to be a bit more colored by peoples opions, this can be either good or bad depending on what sort of research you are doing. However there is some good information in there (aprticularly on pop-culture), just cross reference with some other sources to make sure you don't get hoodwinked.

This isn't something new. There are books stocked in reputable libraries of higher learning that contain patently bizzare assertions and conclusions.

I was in Chapters the other day, Canadian equilavent to Borders, and they now have a small section titled Non-fiction that contains things on the Grail, Loch Ness Monster, and what appear to be books in the vein of the Celestine Prophecy.

Non-fiction section used to be an old bookstore joke, and there were customers that would get angry and argumentative when they were told that the Celestine Prophecy was in the Fiction section.

An earthen, self-propelled gimp suit?

Yes, but you would then have to Control Actions on the spirit to get it to turn at the same time you turned and the like, otherwise you would next to no peripheral vision, your hearing and sense of smell would be useless as they are filled with dirt.

Additionally, taking that much cover generally causes penalties in combat, perception and spellcasting, as you have a reduced ability to interact and respond to opponents movements.