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Scope_47
I was cleaning up following a shadowrun game at my apartment, and as I am want to do, I had an odd thought... do they still have the equivalent of county fairs (ferris wheels, games, funnel cakes, etc at an event usually held in the fall) in 2070?

I had an interesting idea for a run where a mafioso hires the PCs to protect/babysit his three children while they have fun at the fall fair, but wasn't sure if it would actually be appropriate in spite of the serious probability of hilarious hijinks (Uncle Street Sam, will you win me a stuffed bear at the shooting gallery? Pwetty Pwease!).


Also, what about other seasonal events we have now like Ren-faires... or holiday events from other areas that might have migrated given globalization - such as the Mexican Day of the Dead?

What do you guys think?
Crusher Bob
I'd assume that the matrix is much more likely for such events. You odn't need to maintain the rides, you don't have to worry about moving your carnival around, etc. In addition, you can 'serve' all sorts of exotic dishes (drop bear onna a stick!), have really killer rides, and everything else you can write the code for.
cristomeyers
I don't see my hometown giving up the country fair just because of some dragons and magic and stuff. I really don't see them going out at all, heck with the enhanced automation available, they could actually become more prevalent since you don't need people to operate rides and such.

That and I find the idea of the street-tough runner losing his lunch on the Scramber highly entertaining.

A Ren-faire complete with elves and dwarves, sounds like a Tolkein addict's wet dream...
ornot
I'd expect to see something like that in the countryside, but in the 'plex the closest you're likely to get is probably some kind of carnival. Even today, do you get these county fairs in New York or Los Angeles? The difference in population density changes the flavour of such things.

EDIT: I'm informed that one does get county fairs in New York and Los Angeles. I'd still be interested if someone could provide a comparison of an urban county fair to a rural one.
Demerzel
LA and New York still have ag surrounding them, or close enough. Seattle is surrounded by nearly hostile foreign powers. In UCAS proper I'd imagine there would be.
Ravor
Well I'd say yes, they do have fairs/carnivals and even the odd amusement park, but that they are most likely very strictly divided via 'class status', with your rich corp babies getting something akin to what we have now while the barren trash are lucky to be dealt old half-broken death traps and roasted devil rat instead of cotton-candy...

Still, I love the idea of virtual theme parks who in order to get an edge over their competition bump up their feeds to Cal-Hot or maybe even BTL levels.
Kyoto Kid
QUOTE (cristomeyers)
That and I find the idea of the street-tough runner losing his lunch on the Scramber highly entertaining

...after we finsh these Nukitburgers let's go on the Tilt a Whirl
Tomothy
Also, I can't imagine a mafioso hiring people outside the family to babysit his kids (I'm making the assumption that none of the runners is intimately connected). It just seems weird to me.
Nim
QUOTE (Ravor)
Well I'd say yes, they do have fairs/carnivals and even the odd amusement park, but that they are most likely very strictly divided via 'class status', with your rich corp babies getting something akin to what we have now while the barren trash are lucky to be dealt old half-broken death traps and roasted devil rat instead of cotton-candy...

Even more likely, the rich corp babies have something like the Disney version of a county fair. It's high-tech and polished with a superficial veneer of old-timey down-home painted over the top, and the games are all rigged to make sure the executives' kids will win.
knasser
I can't see in an age of SIMsense and ready access to massive online virtual adventures, that a modern roller-coaster, helter-skelter fun fair would survive. In the dystopian setting of SR2070, most kids would regard it as less fun with the chance to break your arm.

If a fair is going to get by in this world, I think you've got to be looking at a return to traditional values: freaks, bawdiness, shysters and fear. Come see the giant. Watch the barghest fight three dogs - who will win? Have your fortunes read by the daughter of Howling Coyote himself! The beautiful spirit Esedera will reveal to you the mysteries of Astral Love (ten minutes maximum)... Be entertained by the mysterious Harlequinn.

Etc.

In fact, I think this is an excellent idea. Think I might write this up. BRB. wink.gif

-K.
Nim
Been watching Carnivale, knasser?

...if not, you should smile.gif
knasser
QUOTE (Nim)
Been watching Carnivale, knasser?

...if not, you should smile.gif


No. I'd not heard of that until now. Looks interesting.

I did read "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury though, when I was thirteen and I've never had a good night's sleep since. frown.gif
2bit
Within Seattle -
Consumer product trade show meets open-air concert festival. Brought to you by Aztechnology, and smothered in vendors and branding. Very, very mainstream.

You're only going to get traditional freak shows, barkers, rides, midways, "authentic" psychics, handcrafted items, and such out on the fringes of society. Closer to the barrens, and in the NAN.
Kyoto Kid
...hmmm.

Harlequin...? Carnival...? Something Wicked This Way Comes...?

...think I'll keep the light on tonight...
NightmareX
Add horrors and make an SR equilivent of the old arcade game Carnevil biggrin.gif
cristomeyers
Luckily none of my players have ever played Silent Hill 3.

Otherwise they would be right terrified if I said that the next run took place at a fairgrounds...
knasser
QUOTE (2bit)
Within Seattle -
Consumer product trade show meets open-air concert festival. Brought to you by Aztechnology, and smothered in vendors and branding. Very, very mainstream.

You're only going to get traditional freak shows, barkers, rides, midways, "authentic" psychics, handcrafted items, and such out on the fringes of society. Closer to the barrens, and in the NAN.


True, but the way that I play the setting, the crime, the gangs, the threatening chaos and poverty are only ever round the corner. That's what makes the people in Bellevue build the walls so high. You only have to one wrong exit before you find yourself skirting the outlying districts of Hell.

I think a fairground wouldn't have a problem setting up somewhere they'd be readily accessible to the affluent. The carnival folk and the area it's set up in are part of what would lend it that edge for the sheltered types. Oh this is giving me such good ideas.
Luddite
I'd say that in the mid-to-lower rent districts of Seattle you'd still have something akin to a fair. Less of a county fair, 'cause there's very little livestock in the 'Plex unless you count devil rats, more of an extra-large block party with some corporate sponsorship. Especially in the less awful sections of the Barrens, where Matrix connections are less ubiquitious and physical entertainment is more common.

Now, in the CAS you can bet your ass that the county fair is still going strong. It may have as many virtual rides and attractions as it does physical ones, but with FASA/Wizkids/FanPRo going out of their way to remind us of how traditional the CAS is every chance they get I can't imagine a staple of Southern country life like the county fair coming to a close.
odinson
I would think that a corp run amusement park would be more probable in a metroplex than a corp sponsored traveling fair. Imagine a building the size of an arcology with hundreds of rides, floors filled with matrix games, haunted houses and other such fun.
They could even make it closer to West Edmonton mall and have tons or retail stores.
Thane36425
There is one of those travelling carnival in town right now. They probably would still exist in 2070, enhanced by magic, technology and so on. A carnival with a real live Sasquatch entertainer, something most people would never get a chance to see, would be a good draw. And I'm sure they'd still have the same crooked games, rickety rides and "colorful characters."

On the sinister side, perhaps the carnival is a front for a creature like a vampire or wraith: on that feeds on joy and happiness. There would be enough people around that if could syphon a little here and a little there that the people wouldn't even notice, attributing it to mood swings or losing at a game of ring toss.

On the other hand, you could see things like this sponsored by policlubs. How about the Humanis carnival with the shooting gallery full of Metahuman targets, or the environmental group's gallery where the targets are the heads of verious corps, because they are the big polluters?

knasser
QUOTE (odinson)
I would think that a corp run amusement park would be more probable in a metroplex than a corp sponsored traveling fair. Imagine a building the size of an arcology with hundreds of rides, floors filled with matrix games, haunted houses and other such fun.
They could even make it closer to West Edmonton mall and have tons or retail stores.


Hmmmm. A bug infestation would make for an extremely trippy adventure. Something else to write up!
FlakJacket
QUOTE (Tomothy)
Also, I can't imagine a mafioso hiring people outside the family to babysit his kids (I'm making the assumption that none of the runners is intimately connected). It just seems weird to me.

Depends. If there's an internal power struggle under way within the Family and you really can't be sure who if anyone you can trust then bringing in outsiders without any ties to opposing factions or stake in how things shake out could be a good tactical move.
Nim
QUOTE (Thane36425)
There is one of those travelling carnival in town right now. They probably would still exist in 2070, enhanced by magic, technology and so on. A carnival with a real live Sasquatch entertainer, something most people would never get a chance to see, would be a good draw. And I'm sure they'd still have the same crooked games, rickety rides and "colorful characters."

It could make for a great run. Come up with a good excuse for the PCs to have to go undercover as part of a travelling carnival...say, using it for cover to smuggle someone or something across a series of borders. Should be possible to invent a reason why it makes sense smile.gif

Hmm. The carnival is full of magically-active people, freaks and oddities, and frequent spellcasting. Also, there's a lot of strong emotion. All together, it muddies astral signatures and makes an excellent smoke-screen for the enchanted object or magical creature the PCs are transporting (and which opposing forces are trying to locate).
Thane36425
QUOTE (Nim)

It could make for a great run. Come up with a good excuse for the PCs to have to go undercover as part of a travelling carnival...say, using it for cover to smuggle someone or something across a series of borders. Should be possible to invent a reason why it makes sense smile.gif

Hmm. The carnival is full of magically-active people, freaks and oddities, and frequent spellcasting. Also, there's a lot of strong emotion. All together, it muddies astral signatures and makes an excellent smoke-screen for the enchanted object or magical creature the PCs are transporting (and which opposing forces are trying to locate).

That's an interesting idea. I did something like that with one of my shaman characters. He got in some trouble and went and hid amongst the "gypsie" clans in Northern CalFree up around the Mount Shasta area. Stayed with them a few months, got in good with them with his healing spells, and collect magical raw materials over time.

Hiding in a carnival might work as described, just have to hope the package doesn't have to be delivered in a hurry.
Nim
Yeah. I suppose it could also be a 'hide this until the heat dies down' job, more than a transport issue.
Meriss
Knasser are you still working on this cause I would love to see it.
MadHamish
I don't see why not. People would probably need more entertainment in a future as dystopian as ShadowRun. There'd certainly be the variety people have suggested (Magic themed, policlub/corporate sponsored, etc..) There'd probably be matrix/AR style fairs/carnivals too. Imagine runners stumbling into an ghost town's AR street carnival where the streets throng with digital fairgoers and are oddly bare of people in the meat.

A traveling show would also be a good way to run a smuggling ring. With all the crap that gets unloaded/packed up at one of those shows, there'd absolutely be some boxes that spotaneously appear and disappear.
kigmatzomat
Plus VR maybe safer but it's still virtual. Without BTL a roller coaster ride just isn't the same. Besides, VR is passive, you're along for the ride someone else took. If you'd rather scream, throw your hands up, etc you don't get to choose. I suppose you could do the Sim Coaster thing but it won't have the same punch as a proper SimSense recording.
knasser
QUOTE (Meriss)
Knasser are you still working on this cause I would love to see it.


I did write some stuff up, but I'm actually thinking of expanding it into another mini-adventure for my site, like the last one I did. If I get into it, I'll post a link to it when I'm finished, as usual. If not, then I'll just format the characters that I've done and post them here.

I think that I need to go and read some Ligotti to get into the mood, first.

-K.
Iduno
QUOTE
Imagine a building the size of an arcology with hundreds of rides, floors filled with matrix games, haunted houses and other such fun.


Actually, according to Seattle Sourcebook, floors 1-5 of the Renraku Arcology contained things like a zoo and a permanent circus. Would those have been taken out for the ACHE?
Meriss
@knasser kewl !
@ Iduno ummm I think Deus?/UCAS army took out the mall. I could be wrong thou
knasser

As promised, I've been writing an adventure based around a Carnival. It currently runs to 14 pages. It got out of hand.

I reckon I'm about 2/3rds of the way through, but I find that I'm short on stalls and sideshows. I need suggestions from all of you here as to what could fill out the carnival. Give me everything you have and I'll grab whatever fits. Traditional carnival attractions are okay, but also anything that might be new or adapted in 2070.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. This last bit of padding is the main thing left to do. It'll be a weird carnival if the players ask what's there and I answer two shooting ranges and a stall selling soy-floss.

-K.
Therumancer
A couple of points:

1. Remember that a lot of the world was amazingly restored by the return of magic, cities overgrown, etc... in some places the foliage grows back at a hyper-accelerated rate and you can't even clear it with defoliants. This is a point that seems to be overlooked a lot of times, especially in "around the table" games because so much focus is put on the urban centers.

What's more it's been mentioned in several places (including one of the early Fanpro novels) that not everyone eats Soy. It's affordable to eat real food regularly in the NAN or Tir regions, so apparently there is a lot of farming going on out in that restored wilderness.

Farming of course means that people are going to want to have fairs and stuff where the farmers (big corperate ones, and smaller ones alike) can show up to compare who has the fattest hog, who grows the best apples, etc... A lot of agricultural business (showcasing of new products, produce contracts from contests, etc...) also takes place at these events.

Thus, I could easily see Fairs existing, but remember that a real Fair isn't intended simply to appeal to kids (although they do) the rides and such are just trappings to make such scheduled gatherings an event, going back to the old days when Fairs were really the only time when you'd get all your neighbors together at one time. Thus you should downplay a lot of the cheez, it's not the circus or carnival after all (there is a differance).


2. There are also entirely urban fairs set up by Churches, Ethnic Groups, and other things. There are companies who rent the rides and stalls and sell the cheezy prizes for the "boardwalk" games, although even here there is still something of a serious side to them.

Speaking of the Mafioso idea, fans might remember there was a "Sopranos" episode all about the "Italian Cultural Festival" and how The Mafia was traditionally involved in setting it up for "their people". This leading to a big battle with the local church which was shaking them down for money since there were intended to be religious overtones including a statue (with a crowd) which was supposed to be paraded around the fair grounds.

In such a case a local gangster might hire some "bodyguards" for his kids especially if there is some kind of internal squabbling going on between wiseguys and for purposes of "face" he needs to make an apperance even though it paints a target on him.

Rather than a Samurai winning a prize at a shooting booth, you might have incidents with the rides malfunctioning or whatever. Indeed a big part of the episode of "The Sopranos" in question was that the Wiseguy helping set things up for the community (assigned by the don) decided to cut corners and pocket as much of the fair money as possible and thus skimped on maitnence and safety.

You could tie such an incident either into an intentional attempt at murder/intimidation, or simply as a "Side encounter" due to poor maitnence
and to add atmosphere.


3. A fun fact is that infrared doesn't work through glass. An interesting way to set up an encounter in many RPGs is to have a confrontation in either a glass maze or house of mirrors that is dark, as PCs who are likely to jump to infrared (as opposed to nightvision) can really mess themselves up there.

Along with the fact that if presented properly you can psyche the PCs out into thinking they have to navigate a maze (without ever saying so) and then just have the baddie cut loose with an assault cannon (shredding through the 'walls' like tissue paper) or other high yield gun. Something the PCs oftentimes will be able to do themselves, but will sacrifice the initiative on due to implication. I'd aware extra Karma (or exps) as well as giving the PCs the first attack if they think of doing this first in such a situation as for whatever reason the "dungeon" mentality takes over whenevr they run into a carnie maze I've noticed. Too many Marvel Comics I guess. smile.gif



Meriss
Hmm. Stalls and sideshows, well with UGE and SURGE and whatnot I can see the old Victorian freakshow making a comeback. The games would probably rigged mechanicaly and magically. Don't forget the Turkey leg stall. (awakened turkeys = bigger legs yum!) The fortune teller might actually be accurate. (you will die a terrible, terrible death) Uhh thats all for now maybe more later.
knasser
QUOTE (Meriss)
Hmm. Stalls and sideshows, well with UGE and SURGE and whatnot I can see the old Victorian freakshow making a comeback. The games would probably rigged mechanicaly and magically. Don't forget the Turkey leg stall. (awakened turkeys = bigger legs yum!) The fortune teller might actually be accurate. (you will die a terrible, terrible death) Uhh thats all for now maybe more later.


Thanks. I already have a fortune teller that I'm very proud of (you wait till I upload this thing). I don't have a freak show, though. I should probably add one. I'll see if I can think of a few things. Was there a list of oddities in Year of the Comet? Also, where was that list of metavariants?

I didn't have any food trading going on there - I was seeing it as just entertainments. But on reflection, I don't see why some of the locals couldn't come in and peddle their wares. I see it now:

Trader: "Genuine curry! 2 nuyen.gif . Or 4 nuyen.gif with meat!"
Player: "What sort of meat?"
Trader: "Mouse, mostly. On the bone."
Player: "Vegetarian then, thanks."

I've enjoyed writing this adventure but I still need some more ideas for stalls and games.

-K.
YQM
I have to say yes on this one.

While I get that virtual fairs would be easier and cheaper I view it the same way I view camping. I do not go camping because its more entertaining then home and its not. I go camping because I like to feel a return to nature type of thing. I am sure carnivals andor fairs would be the same thing. People would take their kids would would take their kids and ect ect until it becomes a tradition and return to the old life.

Sometimes people just need to get away and downtown is not as much fun as it use to be.
YQM
QUOTE (knasser)
Also, where was that list of metavariants?

Meriss
QUOTE (knasser @ Apr 22 2007, 05:25 AM)
I didn't have any food trading going on there.

Food is one of those things most folks forget when you hit the fair/amusment park. But it's always there. Off the top of my head, fair food includes: cotton candy, ice cream, funnel cake, beaver tails (in Canada, pastry not rodent although), Belgian waffels, caramel corn, candy apples, turkey legs. And the list goes on, and on. And it's usually way more expensive. (poor runners bring a lunch) Stalls off the top of my head: Milk can game, frog jump game, ring toss, the "test your strength" game (bigger pole for trolls), basketball toss. There's always some way to seperate your runners from their hard earned nuyen. rotfl.gif

Heck knasser now that spring is here (At least where I am) go to your local fair/amusment park and take notes! (try to have some fun thou, or folks will think you're weird)

Alright walked around a little and thought about fair food some more. (Now I'm just hungry) More fair food: fish and chips (knasser, I believe my right to speak with a funny british accent is suspended for not thinking of this first), dim sum, pot stickers, shish kebab, ramen, soba, devil rat on a stick. Beverages: coffee, tea, cola, lemonade, slushies, milkshakes.
knasser
QUOTE (Meriss @ Apr 22 2007, 06:07 PM)
(knasser, I believe my right to speak with a funny british accent is suspended for not thinking of this first),


Hmmm. Having a "funny British accent," myself (and a Bristol one at that), I'm going to suspend judgement on that comment. wink.gif

I'd like to thank people for their comments and I hope that they will consider the return on their investment a good one. Meriss - the stall and food suggestions were helpful. I'm posting the adventure in a new thread where I'd like comments on it to go, please. I'll edit this thread with a link in a minute.

This is my second ever adventure, so here goes. biggrin.gif

-K.

EDIT: Okay, the thread I started for the adventure is here. It would be good if comments on it went there instead of here, as I don't wish to hijack this thread completely. wink.gif
Meriss
QUOTE (knasser)
Hmmm. Having a "funny British accent," myself (and a Bristol one at that), I'm going to suspend judgement on that comment. wink.gif

Yes well my best imitation of a British accent is a combination of 19th century Cockney, and modern Cockney. And I'm a Canuck, so I'm told my accent is fairly humourous. biggrin.gif Just trying for a little levity chummer.
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