Indeed, an equally valid question would be "Why *not* Karma?"

Well, everyone's gotta make a living, why not do it opposing some corps (at the behest of other corps)

First edition Shadowrun had a serious neo-anarchist bend to it. Much of the fiction involved augmented street heroes who helped the destitute while working for those who had real money and power. (as an aside, I loved the Wolf and Raven stories for this.)

So, karma was a part of that. I don't feel it was ever implemented in a manner that really fit with the fluff, but there was always a nod toward that. If anything, I'd say that 4th Edition has abandoned every aspect of karma but the name. I'd like to see that change.

I was in a gaming group that had a motto of "Making The World A Better Place, One Savage Beating At A Time."






-k