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Adhoc
Hi,

I'm back (bet you didn't miss me smile.gif). I've been hanging out at Underworld after the Lounge closed.

I'm starting a SR-campaign again and I would like to hear you ideas about what themes , that are important in a SR-campaign.

I'm not really looking for plots, but are more interessted in the conflicts, settings and values that define Shadowrun as rpg-setting. In other words: what do I absolutely have to have in my game?

I'd appreciate it if you could come up with a short plot-description to illustrate your example.

wavey.gif
Adhoc
TinkerGnome
Some themes in Shadowrun:

Degredation of humanity: Corporations generally don't see people as people. They're assets to be used, discarded, or eliminated, as the need arises. This goes 10 times for the SINless. A corporate "urban renewal" project which involves burning down a squalid city block with little reguard for the squatters living there is a pretty good example of this.

Desperation: What people in civilized nations consider poverty does not compare to the SR meaning of the word. A poor person living in the Barrens has it worse than a poor person living in the worst ghetto in Chicago. Gang violence, muggings, robberies, and the like are so common that even Shadowrunners get mugged (or at least it gets attempted).

Culture shock: Shadowrun blends a dozen cultures into one big roiling mass. You've got high tech, you've got magic, you've got the Japanese corp ways, you've got tribals, you've got everything in between. Having someone accidently insult someone of a different culture happens frequently. Not being able to get anywhere with someone because you don't know their frame of reference is common, too.
Mr.Platinum
nuyen.gif nuyen.gif nuyen.gif It’s one of those evenings, typical rain with a black sky, kids of the street huddle together to keep warm in the alley next to hounds others try to seek happiness in a bottle because that’s where there soul is, in the bottom of it.
The sadness of those who have given up in Redmond is in sight everywhere tonight, why? There are many reasons why people give up here, lost members of a family to a gang, drugs, BTL’s, pimps and death.
One thing many people live by is trust, but who is close enough to our runners for them to trust? There newly found companions? Maybe.
Some people find trust in an item…. for example a man named Hiro, he puts his trust in his platinum plated gun or some Ghouls like Dead net or Gomi find trust in there cyber decks, it’s a sad thing, for every one needs a companion.
Tonight every one was told to meet at Skunks; there may be some work.
The mood in Skunks is a saddening one, there are no tunes being played only a few people occupy some of the tables, an ork sitting at one of the tables is looking at a picture with a look on his face as if he’s about to cry, he slams down a shot a gets up and walks away leaving the picture at the table. **It’s a picture of a boy sitting on the mans shoulders who was just sitting at the table** nuyen.gif nuyen.gif nuyen.gif


There Thats just an intro to mY next Adventure in TouristeVille I really tried to set the mood in Redmond.

Enjoy.
Crusher Bob
Hmm...

1 Theme one: It's always about people
No matter how much cyberware, computers, and magic are around, people are still the same hairless apes that discovered fire, way back when.

Sample plot: pick your favorite greek tragedy add cyberware and run.

2 Theme two: There are plenty of people with more power than sense
This applies both to people not calculating the odds, ot being out for blood because you killed their dog, or who keep looking for that one 'lucky break'...

The teams fixer comes to them with a small job. It seems fixer owes some snotty college brat (with way too much money) a favor, he is asking the team to break into a minimally secure localtion, lift some items and give them to him... Why is he so embarrased? The minally secure locations is a soroity house. That's right, the team needs to do a pany raid. Will their reps ever survive?

3 Theme three: A gun in the mind is worth two in the hand.
If I can convince you of the existence of my 1000s of loyal followers, that will revenge themselves on you if you kill me. It's just as good as it I did have 1000s of loyal followers.

The PCs a hired to take out a hot new street gang. The problem it that this 'hot new gang' is a complete fabrication, by a team of runners that wants a piece of the action, but dosen't want to be in the spotlight. How is the team going to destroy something that dosen't quite exist?
Toptomcat
Whatever themes you deem appropriate for inclusion in your game should be included. A UCAS military campaign will and should feel much different from a Seattle shadowrunning campaign, or even an Aztland military campaign.
Mr.Platinum
Good call with the milatary, or for a corp have a dark evil mood for those souless company men.
Kanada Ten
Cynical Heroism - The world is a festering hole of crap and only we, the PCs, can change anything. We are above the corporations, above the greedy little peons of the Sixth World. Only we have the power to decide between right and wrong. Plots - Sabotaging Humanis operations, planting evidence against a crime boss, smuggling metahumans out of the Protectorate, rescuing a reporter from kidnapers, delaying construction crews, and willing extractions.

Plus ca change... - Nothing changes; for every step forwards, metahumanity takes a step backwards. Money and power are all that matter, and we have both. Plots - Syndicate operations, enforcing, profit skimming, protection rackets, extortion, kidnapping, slave trade, weapons smuggling, and drug distribution.

Retribution - For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Everyone you talk to, talks to someone else. For every drop of blood you spill, a drop of your blood will be taken. Every bullet has a mate, and every life Death will take. Plots - Hunting or being hunted, smearing or clearing reputations, making a name or erasing it, and taking back what belongs to you.

Time Stands Still for No One - The beat of life in 2064 is faster than a chromed sammy with wired four. Fashions fade, hearts change, and the world spins in the hertz of an eye. The currents that control your life, the people, the power, the money, are all temporary, swept away by the rising tide. You can count on nothing but yourself, and even then only a little. Plots - More about who's behind the throne than actual plots, but: slander, evidence tampering, screwing with advertising champaings, defending or interfering with pirate trids, wetwork.
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