Campaign background:
You were lied to. The future didn’t turn out like it is written in the books – it never does, an’ it never will. A significant portion of the population is not metahuman mutants. The future isn’t spooky magical beasties. It’s steel, concrete and glass, same as it always was. Meta’s are not a part of society – they are freaks and outcasts, no better than rabid dogs. They even passed a law to that effect years ago - Only humans get human rights now. Magic is not some fantastic answer to everything – it’s the province of madmen and crazies, something strange, alien and terrible. I mean, yeah, magic is the stuff of fairy tales I guess.
Assuming mommy used to read you Lovecraft. Tir Tairngire never was some reborn elvish paradise on earth – currently it’s a third world warzone under martial law. They say there is a dragon running for president, but that’s just a joke. Ain’t nobody gonna vote for a monster like that.

The future belongs to mankind simply because mankind is prepared to shoot everybody in their way then tear what remains from their victims blood soaked hands.


It’s a Vegas strip club, and it’s before opening time. The joint smells of stale sweat, and the wall is covered in the kind of slick plastic that is easy to clean. Some spotlights dance on the stage as the girls practice their routines. Somewhere towards the back there is a man in a garish Hawaiian shirt leaning across a table. The offer he made was part too good to be true, part too tempting to refuse.
“It’s like this. You get fast cars, handmade suits, luxury hotels, a SIN marked ‘Do Not Detain’, and wired for download. We get the rights.”
The man lent back and grinned, then carried on talking.
“I don’t much care what you do. You got a grudge to settle? Go settle. Enter backstreet no-holes-bared racing? Be my guest. Steal the Mona Lisa? You will have a D.N.D. Sin so no law going to stop you. Heck, do it ALL. But whatever you do, make it interesting and make it saleable. So then, just how does all that sound to you?”
Corporate immunity, a paycheck too large to spend and A list entry to every party worth going to. And all they had to do in return was become film stars. Damn, kids grow up dreaming of doing this. And here it was, on a plate in a sleezy bar. Who could say no?

Mood:
Cyberpunk Noir

Soundtrack:
Country & Western. Rough, cigarette ravaged voices singing songs of tragedy and loss.

Rating:
Assuming the mods are happy, I am aiming for about a 15 rating. The campaign will deal with racisium, crime, graphic violence, frequent references to drug use & sex etc. Swearing should be kept to a minimum.

Characters:
The group will consist of several simsense stars, and their support crew and general hangers on.

All characters will need a decent background. Plot hooks are good. Plot hooks are fun. You want personal, intimate, loving from the plotline don’t you? Character history’s should contain several friends/lovers/family/people-who-won’t-shoot-you-on-sight, and at least one villain of some description.

Build wise, I am not overly fussed. Bear in mind what high level skills mean, and think about it when writing background etc. (eg guns:6 makes you Billy the Kid, and you don’t get to be Billy without leaving a whole load of dead guys behind you.)

Any character with any magic at all should probably be a little ‘gone in the head’. Any serious caster should be utterly certifiable. You don’t get to negotiate with the laws of physics and stay sane.

Characters are defined not by their strengths, but by their weaknesses. In view of this, there is no limit on the number/value of flaws you can have. Not only that, but your flaws get you half as many points back again (eg 150% value). If you run out of ideas, have a look at stuff like Deadlands for inspiration. You should also consider buying ‘unknown’ merits and flaws, good and bad juju that your characters (and you as a player) are blissfully unaware of. ‘Unknown’ get you double their value. (eg ‘unknown flaws’ – 20 means I come up with 10 points of flaws you find out about the hard way, and ‘unknown merits’ – 20 means you get 40 points worth of cool stuff you have no idea what to do with.)

Just remember ‘hombres:
Never take your gun anywhere it will get you into more trouble than it can possibly get you out of.

I see.

Yes: I am new here. No: I’m not afraid of setting stuck in and getting my hands dirty.

Yes: I am a mile off cannon and gaining fast. No: I don’t understand what place a dragon saving the rainforest has in a cyberpunk game. So I threw those elements away. Anyone who wants them back, well, speak up with your reasons. You never know, I might see the error of my ways.

Yes: It is a game for a standard shadowrunning team. No: It isn’t just about shooting people and blowing stuff up.

Yes: There are several recent threads from people looking for a ref. No: They don’t seem to be able to rustle up a single page of character history between them.

Don’t worry. I understand. New kid in town turns up, has a quick look around the board, notices that several folks want a game and decides ‘ok, I will give it a go’. Only he throws away huge chunks of backstory and asks that characters consist of more than just a list of numbers. I’m sorry, but I thought Shadowrun was a game of cyberpunk horror, not ‘D&D with guns’. Looks like I was wrong.

SR3 or SR 4?

[laughs]

Doh! Knew I forgot something important. I would prefer to use 3, because I like the dice pool mech and TN's rather than counting successes.

let me see what I can come up with.

Many people have used the same setting without changing a thing and managed to run the kind of dark and gritty games that you're talking about successfully. Just because dragons are there doesn't mean the players will ever get to see one in their lifetime. Just because there's some guy out there decked out with state-of-the-art deltaware doesn't mean that your character isn't going to have to choose between installing a second hand smartlink and paying next month's rent. Instead of pigeonholing Shadowrun according to some arbitrary label of a genre, see what you can do with the game before you try to turn it into something it's not.

If your goal is to find players, it also helps not to be an abrasive ass and call people out for being lazy or stupid or something just because they didn't sign up for your game. Then again, that philosophy applies to pretty much every part of life.

Okay for some help critism...er advice I mean.

Just lower the starting BP points available and that should lower your magic using types straight off. It's a huge sacrifice in points for a regular 125 bp game so, it'll be even heavier in a lower bp game.

Make cyberware cheaper and/or more essence friendly. (you are the GM)

I have played Cyberpunk in the past and as I have, I get the feel you're looking for.Which brings me to my next (hopefully) helpful tid-bit.

Try running a group of all gangers/ gang hanger-on's. In shadowrun, it really is the closest to the cyberpunk "feel"

Not dissing your game concept...just throwing out some stuff maybe you can use.

Also, from some of the Plot rules....concerning Meta's and magic, perhaps your setting (if following close to canon) will be pre-game current time...like around 2015+ (I dont have my books with me at moment but, perhaps this is right after the NAN secessession?....just another observation i made)

Not to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but I think he said it was an SR3 game Jack.

DUHHHHH!!!

He did didnt he. Well, then just ignore the 400 bp parts then. I do believe the rest fits though.(possibly)

well yeah, your thoughts are erudite, just change it from 400 to like 125 BPs, and than encourage dropping it from there.

Changed, and i uhhh....had to look up erudite by the way.

its okay. I did after I used it just to make sure I wasn't completely off.

Arg! This sounds awesome, I'm rusty at SR3 though, I've been spending my time with SR4. I can't guarantee I'll be able to participate in any case. I just started school up again. I'll PM you if I come up with a character.

Is the ABCDE rank method acceptable for char gen? I don't have the Shadowrun Companion with the Build Point system in it.

*Goes to dig out SR3*