It definitely tops my list of games that have lots of soul (or heart or whatever you prefer to call it). I still remember cracking open the book for the first time in my friend's living room. We poured over it all afternoon.

(I remember I has a similar experience with that friend and the original Rifts rulebook too. Something about magic and high-tech is extremely appealing to me.)

-paws

I think I saw him at McDonalds the other day...

Oh crap! I just about lost it on that one.

What are you talking about? I got myself a dunlapin' gut and I'm broke as fuck. Low fat healthy food is way more expensive for it's measely caloric value then fatty ground chuck or a bag full of double cheeseburgers from McDonalds...

It was a sign of wealth historically.

But definitely not presently or futuristically (The latter being the accepted temporal connotations on this thread, I believe).
These days (And I presume futuristically) its in your choice of dress and what kind of car you drive. Being a fatty would count against you. Can't afford a personal trainer or lypo?

Actually in SR4 fluff it's commonly said that there are people in the Barrens who are dying from hunger, not malnutrition, hunger. Besides, in a world where most people eat soy (which I don't think is very fattening), being slightly fat (in a healthy way. There's a world between a healthy fat and obese) could be a way to show that you eat real meat.

I doubt it. With body modification and cosmetic surgery, rich people have the exact body they want, no matter what they eat or how they live.

I imagine in a world where sensation can be altered for the right cost many people would starve to death chasing chip induced imaginings over filling their stomachs (Remember the lab monkey with the two buttons, anyone?). Or certain particularly weak/disadvantaged people so deep in the barrens and so brutalized by gangs that the have nothing, and no place to go to get anything. I doubt either of these people (Especially the latter) is a particularly common sight to the more privileged citizens who have the luxury of choosing form over function. Thus form would be most likely ruled by what it is today: the commercial media.
Check out 'Biosculpting Social Effects' in Augmentation pg 61
Or if too many words frighten and confuse you, try look the picture on page 51. Good example of the body image commercial media is pushing in 2070.

The odds are that the rich would have very good bodies (however they define good). On the other hand, the average SINless character would odds are be suffering from some level of malnutrition. Remember, soy, while filling, isn't all that fattening and unless they pop a lot of vitamin pills, those who consume mostly soy would be close to malnutrition (though they probably don't feel the hunger as much).

However, most runners do indulge in physical activities, so the chances are that those that thrive in this lifestyle will be fairly fit.

I see your post and I raise you one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlytmtStpdg

Two words; Thomas Roxborough.

I'd imagine that average residents of the Barrens would range from stick thin from lack of food to fat from eating leftover fast food found in a dumpster. I think it would make for a fascinating sociological exercise to take a group of people, place them in a city with finite boundaries that they cannot cross, and see how they survive. I don't imagine shelter or even water would be an issue as you could find an empty building and siphon off a fresh water main. But finding a source of healthy protein and vitamins would be the real trick. There has to be some sort of non-toxic wildlife roaming about that could serve as a source of food (or people grow beans and rice on makeshift plots) else everyone in the Barrens would be dead in under a decade.

I have a question... Was this thread started so that us out-of-shape Gamers could feel comfortable LARPing Shadowrun?

I'm going to start hawking my Sugar Busters/high-protein diet plan at GenCon.

Some books mentioned people eating rats, cats and bugs. They also talk about armored food convoy going through the Barrens. I guess that once in a while some go-gang hit one of them and give it or barter it to people in the Barrens.

In a different Cyberpunk game, my group was able to pay for a Safehouse by stealing a truck full of Soymilk.

As I'm Lactose Intolerant, I was able to provide a sample of what we stole.

Most of my deckers and riggers end up pretty thin, basically because their Sim VR addictions preclude stuffing themselves with snacks.

I have no problem with physical characters like Sams having a bit of flab to grab. Look at De Niro's character in Ronin, he had a few love handles, if I remember correctly, and he's the epitomy of kick-arse shadowrunner to me.

Did he fight Kenshiro?

As long as you can think and react quickly being built like Bruce Lee isn't a necessary requirement for being a successful shadowrunner.

Over THE GREAT NEW ONE DOLLAR DOUBLE CHEESBURGER!

Well, it's been called "nutrisoy" in the texts, so I assume it's soy protein with a bunch of vitamins and minerals added in.

Either that or it's tofu that failed quality control with good branding. The crud means vitamins!

Of course, I'm sure that there's higher quality stuff available for the more privelaged, too.

I think that such assumption is dangerous, considering the setting you're talking about. I would not assume it is either nutricious or soy.

You're suggesting it's actually soylent green or something?

No (although that would be a fun storyline). But I wouldn't be surprised if a chemical analysis came back with mycoproteins, krill, plastics, devil rat or any number of other cheap substances, and the name 'nutrisoy' is slapped on it just because nutrisoy has historically sold better than 'nutrirat'.

"Nutrirat" is a new produce from Orxploto Farms, made from the finest and oldest traditional ork and troll recipies, using twelve herbs and spices to provide flavour and nutrition to the finest farm-raised rats you can find on the market!

"Nutrirat, at least we're honest about where the meat comes from!"

Initially, so did I, then when I really read about soy (my ex-gf was a vegan), and then tried a suggested vegeburger recipe, I realized that while you can flavor it to a faretheewell, and it will keep you full, it is just basically soy with flavorings and flour to keep its shape. i.e. no real nutritional value.

Yum yum.