I was wondering something. did the whole Renraku Arc storyline come up before 4th ed, or did they already have that in mind as a way to transition into 4ed? Not complaining or anything, just a wondering. It would be interesting to see if they adapted that once they decided to go 4ed or have this all planned out. I personally enjoyed that arc and am going to actually run a group through it as I transition them to 4ed. Anyone have any insight?


Trevor

are you talking about deus?

that story line was from 3ed at least

Note: This is pure speculation, and is only my opinion.

The Renraku Arc storyline had been put to bed years before the SR4 transition. Admittedly, some of the players (Deus, Mirage et al) participated in the events of System Failure, but saying that a module from late SR2 to early SR3, was planned to be a prequel to SR4 feels like a stretch to me.

Synner or Rob would know for sure what was going through the Line Developer's and Assistant Line Developer's heads, as would the freelancers who were working on developing the system and transition. My view from the cheap seats would say that they may have seeded the AI conspiracy in the Renraku Arcology, knowing that they would later need to come back to it. A similar seeding with Threats and Threats 2 for Big Bad conspiracy groups, laid down the framework for dozens if not hundreds of possibilities to watch the world end. Stepping back for a look at the big picture, it's possible to see the elements that were woven together to cause Crash 2.0. Like most problems, any individual piece would have been troublesome but manageable; the synergy of chaos caused by the groups working in concert is what brought about the lasting change.

If you are looking to blend old world content with newer events, Harlequin's Back and his speech at the crater that used to be the GGD can tie easily into events from YotC. The surge of energy caused by Halley's comet plays nicely into the closing of the gap by Darke and his allies.