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JM Hardy
We've got a new PDF-only product out now--Safehouses, which is, well, your guide to safehouses (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG). Here's the rundown:


HIDING FROM THE HEAT

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will. A run will go south. People will be looking for you. Their eyes will be everywhere—your home, your friends’ houses, the places you hang out, even the spots where you buy your soykaf. They’re looking for you, waiting for you, and when they find you, they’re not going to talk. It’ll be a single shot, or a flash of sharp steel, and you’ll be done.

To avoid this, you need to lay low. You need a place where no one will look for you, and where you’ll have enough of life’s basics to get you by. Don’t know where to find such a place? You’re in luck, chummer—we’ve got the guide for you. Whether your acquiring and stocking your own bolt hole or engaging professional safehouse managers, we’ve got the info you need to live to fight another day.

Safehouses is a supplement for Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition that provides both flavor text and rules to help runners acquire or find the hideouts they need to stay out of harm’s way. It includes sample safehouses, equipment suggestions for the well-stocked hideaway, and safehouse creation rules that work with the Advanced Lifestyles rules from Runner’s Companion. Get Safehouses, stay safe, and be ready to charge back into the shadows once the trouble you’re in has blown over.
Seriously Mike
But... but... but... Kane got geeked as hell in the intro story. If you know what I mean.
Makki
The film of the same title comes out next week. Coincidence?
snowRaven
Big LoL at the JackPoint page, again - CanRay will like that one, I think wink.gif

All in all, this looks good. It'll probably be useful in a few future runs I have planned for my players... grinbig.gif

Love the plethora of new Lifestyle Qualities (even if I think some of the 'Safehouse only' ones would fit even permanent lifestyles)
Patrick Goodman
QUOTE (snowRaven @ Feb 15 2012, 01:42 PM) *
Love the plethora of new Lifestyle Qualities (even if I think some of the 'Safehouse only' ones would fit even permanent lifestyles)

Y'know, I didn't even think about that when I was proofing this. Errata, maybe. Who knows? (It's a fun book, though; I had a blast with it.)
Tashiro
Okay, this entire PDF was a great read. I loved it. smile.gif Especially the last picture.
Pepsi Jedi
How many pages is it? The latest shadowrun pdf's have left such information off.
Patrick Goodman
It has 18 pages and a $4.95 price tag.
JanessaVR
I do wish I could automate this. I buy any new SR4 products that come out, so it would be more convenient if I could just get Catalyst to auto-bill me and send me a download link whenever something new comes out.

But no...have to keep checking Dumpshock to see when new things come out and go buy the PDF manually. Sigh... smile.gif
bibliophile20
Bought it. Reading through it. The quality writeups are comedy gold! (especially the bit about "the remote control for the 2-d viewer is missing"). Great job! and I have to join in on the chorus regarding the last picture. dev/grrl/ is certainly graduating up from "annoying newbie" in my book!

And I gotta wonder: whose Jackpoint login page was that? Clockwork's?
JanessaVR
QUOTE (bibliophile20 @ Feb 15 2012, 12:48 PM) *
And I gotta wonder: whose Jackpoint login page was that? Clockwork's?

Most likely suspect, I agree. Hopefully NetCat is finally getting her just revenge on him. Really, I've been wondering why she hasn't done so long before now. In Emergence, she outright told him she'd get him back, so did someone else as I recall. But book after book comes out, and Clockie's still ticking. Maybe NetCat finally decided to do something about him - I seem to recall he made some threatening remarks recently about her daughter (Slamm-O!'s daughter as well). This was a bad idea.

Of course, I'd also be happy if it were Sticks. He's actually the number one JackPointer who desperately deserves a horrible screaming death roasted slowly over a bed of hot coals, the bastard.
Patrick Goodman
Son. Slamm-0! and Netcat have a son. Other than that, I think you're spot-on.
Tashiro
When I saw the opening Jackpoint, I had a good laugh. smile.gif If it's Clock, even better. biggrin.gif
hobgoblin
QUOTE (JanessaVR @ Feb 15 2012, 09:45 PM) *
I do wish I could automate this. I buy any new SR4 products that come out, so it would be more convenient if I could just get Catalyst to auto-bill me and send me a download link whenever something new comes out.

But no...have to keep checking Dumpshock to see when new things come out and go buy the PDF manually. Sigh... smile.gif

Shadowrun4.com on rss reader?
hobgoblin
On the topic of Clockwork, i am surprised he did not get yelled at for his "piggy bank" joke. Then again, so far i have only looked at the preview.
The Jake
QUOTE (JanessaVR @ Feb 15 2012, 08:45 PM) *
I do wish I could automate this. I buy any new SR4 products that come out, so it would be more convenient if I could just get Catalyst to auto-bill me and send me a download link whenever something new comes out.

But no...have to keep checking Dumpshock to see when new things come out and go buy the PDF manually. Sigh... smile.gif



Much love for this idea... at least set it so that you can specify what material you want to purchase. E.g. Sourcebooks, Campaign Books, no Adventures (or whatever your preferences are).

- J.
Pepsi Jedi
Or you could just take a minute or two a month and buy um? lol.

like um on Facebook. They let you know when the new books come out. Follow the link and buy. Takes like 5 minutes if that.
JanessaVR
QUOTE (Pepsi Jedi @ Feb 15 2012, 05:07 PM) *
Or you could just take a minute or two a month and buy um? lol.

like um on Facebook. They let you know when the new books come out. Follow the link and buy. Takes like 5 minutes if that.

Yeah, or I could just be a lazy smartass. And 5 mins? I'm usually reading my purchased and downloaded copy within 2 mins of seeing the publication notice. What *are* you doing with the other 3 mins? smile.gif
Patrick Goodman
Speaking only for myself, getting a snack. Never fails, I go to download something, I get the munchies.
CanRay
QUOTE (Patrick Goodman @ Feb 15 2012, 09:17 PM) *
Speaking only for myself, getting a snack. Never fails, I go to download something, I get the munchies.
Right, it's the downloading that gives you the munchies. wink.gif

I don't know, the name of the author looks familiar, but I can't place it...
bibliophile20
Well, it's on your driver's license...

Hmm... is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us about your assumed identity? Because you've clearly gone to ground, didn't bother memorizing the details of your cover ID too thoroughly and are now taunting your pursuers with this publication. silly.gif
BookWyrm
I may just grab this soon.
Fabe
It's nice to see Dev/grrl/ is moving up a bit on Jackpoint but is any one else wondering how much longer She can lead this double life before She gets busted or som thing and has to arrange her own extraction?
Pepsi Jedi
QUOTE (JanessaVR @ Feb 15 2012, 08:15 PM) *
Yeah, or I could just be a lazy smartass. And 5 mins? I'm usually reading my purchased and downloaded copy within 2 mins of seeing the publication notice. What *are* you doing with the other 3 mins? smile.gif


I did say '5 minutes, if that'. Meaning usually less.

it takes me less, but if you had to look for your credit card or something. *Shrugs and grins*
snowRaven
QUOTE (Patrick Goodman @ Feb 15 2012, 08:44 PM) *
Y'know, I didn't even think about that when I was proofing this. Errata, maybe. Who knows? (It's a fun book, though; I had a blast with it.)


It's easy as a GM to allow or disallow qualities on a case by case basis, though.

Heck, usually I have my players roll randomly to see what they get unless they had a specific request...
Nebular
Pretty neat stuff. Are the Qualities in the Safehouse Qualities section only intended for Bolt Hole and Safehouses, or can they also be applied to Advanced Lifestyles from Runner's Companion (naturally excluding those that actually say "safehouse only")?
Patrick Goodman
QUOTE (Fabe @ Feb 15 2012, 11:02 PM) *
It's nice to see Dev/grrl/ is moving up a bit on Jackpoint but is any one else wondering how much longer She can lead this double life before She gets busted or som thing and has to arrange her own extraction?

This question has come up. I don't know if any answers were arrived at, but the question has come up.
CanRay
QUOTE (Nebular @ Feb 16 2012, 09:56 AM) *
Pretty neat stuff. Are the Qualities in the Safehouse Qualities section only intended for Bolt Hole and Safehouses, or can they also be applied to Advanced Lifestyles from Runner's Companion (naturally excluding those that actually say "safehouse only")?
They're not Missions-Legal, but I don't see why they couldn't be included with regular Advanced Lifestyles with GM approval.
QUOTE (Fabe @ Feb 16 2012, 01:02 AM) *
It's nice to see Dev/grrl/ is moving up a bit on Jackpoint but is any one else wondering how much longer She can lead this double life before She gets busted or som thing and has to arrange her own extraction?
QUOTE (Patrick Goodman @ Feb 16 2012, 10:14 AM) *
This question has come up. I don't know if any answers were arrived at, but the question has come up.
This is very much at the forefront of my thoughts, and, yes, I have a lot of ideas. biggrin.gif
Sengir
QUOTE (CanRay @ Feb 16 2012, 05:01 PM) *
They're not Missions-Legal, but I don't see why they couldn't be included with regular Advanced Lifestyles with GM approval.

Looks like it fits perfectly with the original lifestyle rules...I sometimes wonder why I love RC so much despite all the rough edges it has...
Fabe
QUOTE (CanRay @ Feb 16 2012, 12:01 PM) *
This is very much at the forefront of my thoughts, and, yes, I have a lot of ideas. biggrin.gif



Cool,care to share any of them/
Sengir
OK, I got it and had the most fun with an SR product ever since the original lifestyle rules ("yessir, the house is on fire, Anything else you require?" biggrin.gif
All the fun also is quite well garnished with rules, didn't run the numbers but it looks all solid on the first glance and anyway it's nice to see rules are there .
So congratulations to CR, way to start a new job cool.gif

---

One small complaint, though:

Each rank of neighborhood
increases the threshold to find the person by two. No one expects
a bunch of shadowy criminal types to be hiding in corpville, after
all. Z-zones and barrens decrease the threshold by two, as the folks
there will sell out anyone at even the cheapest price.


The "ranks" should be "levels", and since 0 also is a rank/level, that would mean barrens get a threshold modifier of 0 (-2 for barrens, 2 for one level/rank). Looking at p. 15, the first sentence should read something like "Each level above street increases the threshold by two" wink.gif
CanRay
I blame the editors, it was my first book. nyahnyah.gif That's my story and sticking to it.

Thanks, Sengir, good catch. smile.gif It's understandable however, but still a good catch and one should use the proper terms.
Sengir
Well, the thing about the thresholds sent me into "huh?" mode for a minute...
almost normal
I feel like the only person rooting for Clock =/ stupid netcat flaunting her family.
Fatum
Loved the book for little touches here and there, like that book on paranoia middle entertainment boltholes have, or Hotel California and Hell’s Waiting Room qualities, or those missing remote and rent-paying mold.
It's as if you're writing all the horrors from experience :3
CanRay
QUOTE (Sengir @ Feb 28 2012, 06:24 PM) *
Well, the thing about the thresholds sent me into "huh?" mode for a minute...
Sorry about that. I thought I had it ironed out. It is complex as it's hard to figure out all the ways to track someone in the 2070s.
QUOTE (almost normal @ Feb 28 2012, 06:38 PM) *
I feel like the only person rooting for Clock =/ stupid Netcat flaunting her family.
Him going after Netcat is one thing, including a one-year old (or less) child in the fight? That's going a bit far even for Shadowrunners. Even Kane wouldn't... Well, he might if paid enough. But it wouldn't be personal with Kane.
QUOTE (Fatum @ Feb 28 2012, 06:45 PM) *
Loved the book for little touches here and there, like that book on paranoia middle entertainment boltholes have, or Hotel California and Hell’s Waiting Room qualities, or those missing remote and rent-paying mold.
It's as if you're writing all the horrors from experience :3
Funny enough, no. I've been lucky in places that I've lived. That said, I've had to help friends move into some places that... Yeah. So got it second-hand.

"Hell's Waiting Room" I did experience when helping a friend with a concussion. I spent all night awake to make sure he was OK. Don't regret it, but it was a trial.
Sengir
QUOTE (CanRay @ Feb 29 2012, 09:04 AM) *
Sorry about that. I thought I had it ironed out. It is complex as it's hard to figure out all the ways to track someone in the 2070s.

Don't worry, the text on p. 15 is good and IMO leaves no questions. Just the quoted bit from p. 13 was like "ok, so the modifier for Barrens is +2-2=0...for Street is it 4 since Street is the second level, or just 2 because it's basically the same level as Barrens...or 0 for Street and -2 for Barrens because both are worth 0 LP?"
Patrick Goodman
It's not outside the realm of the possible, Sengir, that I missed that in proofing. I thought I'd caught most of the things of that nature, but it seems to have slipped past me.
almost normal
QUOTE (CanRay @ Feb 29 2012, 03:04 AM) *
Him going after Netcat is one thing, including a one-year old (or less) child in the fight? That's going a bit far even for Shadowrunners. Even Kane wouldn't... Well, he might if paid enough. But it wouldn't be personal with Kane.


That's what I like though, how human it is. Clock is just this passionate character who has such seething rage that he's losing focus and possibly losing support and friends in the process.

On the other side, you've got Everyone's favorite NetCat, who's fallen in love, has a kid, and daddy FastJack looking out for her. What self-respecting runner *wouldn't* want to see that crumble?
CanRay
QUOTE (Sengir @ Feb 29 2012, 10:08 AM) *
Don't worry, the text on p. 15 is good and IMO leaves no questions. Just the quoted bit from p. 13 was like "ok, so the modifier for Barrens is +2-2=0...for Street is it 4 since Street is the second level, or just 2 because it's basically the same level as Barrens...or 0 for Street and -2 for Barrens because both are worth 0 LP?"
0 for Street, -2 for Barrens, as Barrens is 0 points, but technically a level below Street.

Z-Zone, baby, the bottom of the bottom!
Redjack
Safehouses. All runners need safe houses to operate from or hole up in. Over the years, I thrown a number of them together off the top of my head as a team has reached out to fixers or landlords or similar contacts. At $5.00, I snapped this up as soon as it came up. Initial impressions of artwork and content were very positive. Initial impression of quantity left me with a "what?". For $5.00, I didn't expect 250 pages, but neither did I expect 18. This under 20 page count is becoming a disturbing trend from CGL. For example, Burn, the latest Missions module weighs in at 32 pages for $3.95. I like bite sized content, but I feel like the bags of chips that are over 1/2 full of air... deep down I feel wronged for paying for air.

That out of the way, let's dig into the content. The artwork was very good and relevant to the product; the latter is just as important to me. Several short fictions to wet your appetite. I liked Wedge's list; it even covered the thing most people forget about: entertainment. The safehouse Point cost was a good addition. I haven't crunched the numbers, but at a glance they look reasonable enough. I especially like the qualities.

4.5/5 Artwork: Seven, good quality, mostly relevant pieces including the cover.
5/5 Content: Just what the runner ordered.
4/5 Additional Features: Qualities, cost tables, descriptions all in the format used in Runner's Companion. No new equipment/sensors/gear. frown.gif
4/5 Overall Value: Page count is way low comparably. A well written rules book for a relatively frequently used topic combine to raise the value to me.
Fatum
QUOTE (Redjack @ Feb 29 2012, 09:39 PM) *
I liked Wedge's list; it even covered the thing most people forget about: entertainment.
You know, this one I just don't understand. Any datachip in the seventies has essentially unlimited storage space, and there are pirates to provide content in the Matrix aplenty - with essentially unlimited download speeds. Hell, even if you're not into paying pirates/finding free stuff, getting corp libraries' contents should be easy enough for anyone Matrix-savvy.
So that leaves us with a question - why the hell would anyone with a commlink on him need any additional entertainment as long as he's hidden in his bolthole? For "civilian" life entertainment costs make sense, since they represent the money you pay to get into clubs, posh restaurants and such; but for boltholes I'm just not seeing it at all.
Redjack
If I put on my paranoid tin-foil hat... If I'm going to a bolt-hole, I've burned my most current SIN. If I burn my SIN, I burn everything licensed to it: leases, software, media... With corporations ruling the world and everything copy protected and update enabled, imagine being tracked because your subscription to a music service or movie download was linked from old SIN to new SIN. Of course, this assumes you follow forward that things like the RIAA and MPAA have gotten their way and no one "owns" a copy of anything, you license music, movies, books, etc for a finite amount of time.
Just my $0.02.
CanRay
QUOTE (Redjack @ Feb 29 2012, 02:39 PM) *
This under 20 page count is becoming a disturbing trend from CGL. For example, Burn, the latest Missions module weighs in at 32 pages for $3.95. I like bite sized content, but I feel like the bags of chips that are over 1/2 full of air... deep down I feel wronged for paying for air.
I wrote both items. I'll work on being more verbose. Thank you for the positive review otherwise. biggrin.gif
QUOTE (Fatum @ Feb 29 2012, 05:47 PM) *
You know, this one I just don't understand. Any datachip in the seventies has essentially unlimited storage space, and there are pirates to provide content in the Matrix aplenty - with essentially unlimited download speeds. Hell, even if you're not into paying pirates/finding free stuff, getting corp libraries' contents should be easy enough for anyone Matrix-savvy.
So that leaves us with a question - why the hell would anyone with a commlink on him need any additional entertainment as long as he's hidden in his bolthole? For "civilian" life entertainment costs make sense, since they represent the money you pay to get into clubs, posh restaurants and such; but for boltholes I'm just not seeing it at all.
The idea is that it's books on chip, which might date from the 2050s when memory wasn't so easily had. Also, you may want to be in a static zone in order to prevent electronic tracking, so have no downloadables. Also, Wedge wrote this "When he wrecked his shoulder with a modular infantry weapon system", the old guard will probably recognize when that was and smile.
QUOTE (Redjack @ Feb 29 2012, 05:54 PM) *
If I put on my paranoid tin-foil hat... If I'm going to a bolt-hole, I've burned my most current SIN. If I burn my SIN, I burn everything licensed to it: leases, software, media... With corporations ruling the world and everything copy protected and update enabled, imagine being tracked because your subscription to a music service or movie download was linked from old SIN to new SIN. Of course, this assumes you follow forward that things like the RIAA and MPAA have gotten their way and no one "owns" a copy of anything, you license music, movies, books, etc for a finite amount of time.
Just my $0.02.
All depends on the situation.

And I think FastJack wrote an essay on legally getting something in Attitude, and is still looking for someone to punch in the junk. wink.gif
TwoDee
QUOTE (almost normal @ Feb 29 2012, 08:07 AM) *
That's what I like though, how human it is. Clock is just this passionate character who has such seething rage that he's losing focus and possibly losing support and friends in the process.

On the other side, you've got Everyone's favorite NetCat, who's fallen in love, has a kid, and daddy FastJack looking out for her. What self-respecting runner *wouldn't* want to see that crumble?


What's interesting is that Clockwork is written as, if not a sympathetic character, at least a complex one that we're capable of understanding. Shadowrun has something of a history of making political conservatives--especially social conservatives--into caricatures, and it's kind of refreshing that, even though he's a complete heel and absolutely in the wrong, Clockwork comes across as a realistic person with understandable prejudices, and not some unhinged nutball screeching about eugenics or whatnot.
Fatum
QUOTE (CanRay @ Mar 1 2012, 05:30 AM) *
The idea is that it's books on chip, which might date from the 2050s when memory wasn't so easily had. Also, you may want to be in a static zone in order to prevent electronic tracking, so have no downloadables. Also, Wedge wrote this "When he wrecked his shoulder with a modular infantry weapon system", the old guard will probably recognize when that was and smile.All depends on the situation.
Uh, the thing is, if I go into hiding right this instant with the closest thing to a commlink I have on me (namely, an Android phone), and the place for said hiding will have an electric outlet, I'll have movies for about a week, and books for no less than a month without downloading anything. For a runner who might go into hiding at any moment at all, and who possesses unlimited drive space and bandwidth it makes all the more sense to prepare in advance...
Well, it must be my hoarder perspective, I guess. I'm prone to stockpiling interesting baubles I know I'll never get around to reading/watching/listening...
CanRay
QUOTE (TwoDee @ Mar 1 2012, 07:38 PM) *
What's interesting is that Clockwork is written as, if not a sympathetic character, at least a complex one that we're capable of understanding. Shadowrun has something of a history of making political conservatives--especially social conservatives--into caricatures, and it's kind of refreshing that, even though he's a complete heel and absolutely in the wrong, Clockwork comes across as a realistic person with understandable prejudices, and not some unhinged nutball screeching about eugenics or whatnot.
I certainly tried to continue that, without purposefully antagonizing Netcat after the "And your little boy, too!" moment.
QUOTE (Fatum @ Mar 1 2012, 08:03 PM) *
Uh, the thing is, if I go into hiding right this instant with the closest thing to a commlink I have on me (namely, an Android phone), and the place for said hiding will have an electric outlet, I'll have movies for about a week, and books for no less than a month without downloading anything. For a runner who might go into hiding at any moment at all, and who possesses unlimited drive space and bandwidth it makes all the more sense to prepare in advance...
Well, it must be my hoarder perspective, I guess. I'm prone to stockpiling interesting baubles I know I'll never get around to reading/watching/listening...
And what better place to store those baubles than in a place where you have nothing to do BUT read/watch/listen? biggrin.gif
SirFozzie
Was I the only one who laughed when getting to the final page and seeing /dev/grrl's message to FastJack, courtesy of the bus?
CanRay
QUOTE (SirFozzie @ Mar 4 2012, 01:59 PM) *
Was I the only one who laughed when getting to the final page and seeing /dev/grrl's message to FastJack, courtesy of the bus?
Everyone seems to love that pic! biggrin.gif Including myself.

BTW, the first picture of the scared suits and their equally scared ork bodyguard are her parents, the first time we've seen them. wink.gif
snowRaven
QUOTE (CanRay @ Mar 4 2012, 07:49 PM) *
Everyone seems to love that pic! biggrin.gif Including myself.

BTW, the first picture of the scared suits and their equally scared ork bodyguard are her parents, the first time we've seen them. wink.gif


Cool! *goes to look again*
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