One piece of cyberware that was never translated into 3rd edition was the Synthlink.
For those of you not familiar with it, the synthlink was like a highly specialized version of the remote control deck rigger headware, that instead of controlling drones, would control a bank of music synthesizers. The twist to it, was, that in addition to taking straight Direct Neural Interface control, the thing was also capable of translating body movements, such as dance or gestures, into command sets that'd drive the synthesizers. It could also be set up to take input keyed off of the position of the diaphram, vocal cords, and mouth, so that the user's singing could also be used to control the synths, resulting in music acompaniment that perfectly complements the vocal performance. A fairly complicated piece of cyberware, but esentially, all it is is a headware RCD coupled with a limited simrig to get the body/muscle position data, and a dedicated processor to convert the ASIST signals from the limited simrig into commands that the RCD can then transmit to the synthesiser banks.
It was also a implant that was highly utilized by the Rocker Archtype, which was responsible for much of the Big-Hair 80's goodness that permeated the early edition Shadowrun products. I know that the general consensus is that the Rocker Archtype has nothing to add to a well designed Runner team, but with the talk of the changes that Matrix 2.0 and it's "Augmented Reality" will bring to the system, I think the Rocker is a character type that's already been living in an "Augmented Reality" world for quite some time. After all a synthlink equipped rocker can get a drum line going with a tap of a foot and summon guitar chords with the wave of a hand, as opposed to being tethered by a cable hooked into one's datajack, drooling and comatose while trying to do one's thing like Riggers and Deckers have been up to this point. Fits in well with the "mobile digital wizard" concept.
And while some people will say that the Rocker Archtype is purely a product of the 80s, I think that current events have begun to justify how a Rocker would fit in with living on the fringes of society and doing quasi-illegal activities.
Right now, all your big corporate record labels are fighting the new technologies for music distribution that are coming out, because they stand to make a signifigantly smaller amount of money overall under new electronic methods of distribution, while at the same time, losing control over what material gets exposed to the public so they can regulate what has the potential to become a hit. On the flipside, many new independent artists are embracing the new tools to try and build a fanbase, thus inadverntly placing themselves in the line of fire when the big corporatations lash out at things like filesharing and independent netcasting "radio stations".
By Shadowrun's time, we know that nigh-unbreakable copy protection in place on prerecorded media, manufactured bands, and pop music written by computer program instead of the actual artistic talent of a human songwriter, are all comonplace. In other words, big buisness, and not the independent artist, won the war for the fate of the recording industry. An independent musician, struggling to make a name for themselves seperate of the industry, while not living as far on the edge of society and the law as your typcial shadowrunner, is definately in the same neighborhood.
I say that bringing the rocker archtype back for SR4, is the perfect chance to both bring back a nostalgic feel for those of us who remember the old editions, as well as further define the flavor of the updated gameworld. Bring the game back to it's (big, dyed hair) roots!
Full Version: Rocker Archtype?
I am afraid that a rocker has very little to do with Shadowrunner and what they normally do ...
SYL
SYL
Two words.
Be Cool.
Be Cool.
That's a great idea. Let's further define the flavor of an updated gameworld by going back in time 20 years to 80s.
"Kick-start my hearrrt!"
| QUOTE (Arethusa) |
| That's a great idea. Let's further define the flavor of an updated gameworld by going back in time 20 years to 80s. |
The game is *about* the 80s. Back in the 2nd edition days, I didn't pick up a sourcebook with a picture of SMG-wielding magical punk rockers so that I could play a non-80s game.
There needs to be elves with mullets and leather jackets, rampant fear of the Japanese, and people wearing cotton yukatas to sleep.
Indeed, much of Shadowrun is rooted in the fears, hates, and loves of the 80's. For me, you'll never take the 80's out of SR, and that includes the Rocker.
Solution: update the now-clearly-nutty assumptions about technology rooted in what was available 20 years ago, maintain the flavor. It's not impossible, in fact, it has the potential to be amazing.
I'd say the synthlink functions should just be blended into the new wireless Matrix system. It's just another peripheral to interface with.
| QUOTE (Kesh) |
| I'd say the synthlink functions should just be blended into the new wireless Matrix system. It's just another peripheral to interface with. |
Some of it, I can see: Body movement/gestures triggering commands, at least in a simple form, would almost be required for any sort of "augmented reality" interface overlaid onto the real world. I could still see a place for the synthlink for translating complex dance steps, or singing, into control outputs.
Still, it's funny that depending on how universal the new Matrix 2.0 is supposed to be, every character could have a chance to be an Amateur Rocker.
Heh, more evidence that it's all about the 80s...Real Leather and Synthetic Leather are still on the equipment lists with all the other armor. However, considering the cost of these items, and the fact that they only provide a point or two of Impact armor, it's kind of a strange item to list alongside ballistic armor, isn't it? But it's there because of the influence of the 80s upon the game.
And there's nothing wrong with that, right??? My main character wears a synth-leather jacket over his armor vest right now 
| QUOTE |
| That's a great idea. Let's further define the flavor of an updated gameworld by going back in time 20 years to 80s. |
Plus Ca Change
...la plus c'est la meme
Letīs hope things change so much they become a little more the same when it comes to the openin story. Plus Ca Change was a lot better than the one in 3:d ed.
Letīs hope things change so much they become a little more the same when it comes to the openin story. Plus Ca Change was a lot better than the one in 3:d ed.
While I'd be one of the voices against the idea of "returning to the 80s", I don't think it'd be contrary to the idea of SR4 (even without the 80s) to bring back the "cultural figure against the mainstream" idea. I think it fits well. Misfits make good protagonists.
It would work better like an example character in a fluff text, that is supported in the rules only by the possibility of doing such a character (which exists in any Shadowrun edition so far). There would not be enough rocker shadowrunners for it to be an actual archetype.
I think it's funny that modern day musicians are more involved with the criminal world than ever before and yet somehow calling it a Rocker rather then Rapper ruins the update. That said, we certainly don't need an archetype with special rules.
Hehe. Well, maybe if I had gotten my copy of Shadowbeat when it was published, I wouldnīt have thought the rocker archetype to be so ridiculous. If the whole thing would remind people of criminal musicians today, it would work. I seem to forget that rock was not always played by old millionaires.
<<<edit>>> Maybe it wouldnīt actually have to remind of anything thatīs big today. It certainly wouldnīt have to be rappers, as that might lead to the same situation in a few years. It really needs to NOT remind people of anyone who is an über rich diva today though.
edit 2. My first "rocker" character would be like Jimmy Cliff in "The Harder They Come".
<<<edit>>> Maybe it wouldnīt actually have to remind of anything thatīs big today. It certainly wouldnīt have to be rappers, as that might lead to the same situation in a few years. It really needs to NOT remind people of anyone who is an über rich diva today though.
edit 2. My first "rocker" character would be like Jimmy Cliff in "The Harder They Come".
| QUOTE |
| I seem to forget that rock was not always played by old millionaires. |
So true.
One of the songs that came out some time ago, "Gone 'til November" (or something), really made me think about the dual life of a not yet signed musician and criminal.
My edits became a bit to many up there. I should have kept it simple. Has anybody seen The Harder They Come? Itīs about exactly that line between trying to make it in the buisness and being swept into criminal activities.
We do need rules for it, I think. I think that they should set down just the barebones framework for music performance, even if it's just "Roll the skill against this TN", instead of just dumping it into the vague Knowledge Skill category, only to be used for magical Centering. Shadowbeat is SR1, and hasn't gotten an update since then... and it used friggin' Open Tests to determine outcomes (ugh).
This would facilitate not only someone who wanted to play a Rocker (a rare, but quirky, character, perhaps like El Mariachi), but also the street sam who wanted to pick up a few guitar lessons to win over a romantic interest or a decker who is really into some form of electronic music performance.
This would facilitate not only someone who wanted to play a Rocker (a rare, but quirky, character, perhaps like El Mariachi), but also the street sam who wanted to pick up a few guitar lessons to win over a romantic interest or a decker who is really into some form of electronic music performance.
| QUOTE (Kanada Ten) | ||
So true. One of the songs that came out some time ago, "Gone 'til November" (or something), really made me think about the dual life of a not yet signed musician and criminal. |
Yeah. Good song, too.
| QUOTE (Kanada Ten) |
| I think it's funny that modern day musicians are more involved with the criminal world than ever before and yet somehow calling it a Rocker rather then Rapper ruins the update. That said, we certainly don't need an archetype with special rules. |
That's... actually a damn good point. it actually plays up the dystopian angle, in a way... with all the synthetic music around by then, real performers would have to compete heavily just to survive. Still, I'd see them more as hiring runners, than being runners.
| QUOTE (Kesh) |
| Still, I'd see them more as hiring runners, than being runners. |
Or as a "day job" that a runner can take that's a little bit less restricting than the typical upright uptight day job.
| QUOTE (Kesh) | ||
That's... actually a damn good point. it actually plays up the dystopian angle, in a way... with all the synthetic music around by then, real performers would have to compete heavily just to survive. Still, I'd see them more as hiring runners, than being runners. |
Of course, rappers don't have the monopoly on criminal behavior. Got two words for you: Phil Spector.
But yeah, I see original performance and composition to become less and less common (although would still be around and popular), while sampling and mashups of old material to become the mainstream in 206x-7x, with all the increases in availability and Sturgeon's law that comes with it.
People IC listen to Synthetic Music in your games? Like Trance, or Britney Spears post-production?
Adding additional archetypes like rockerboys, simsense performers and medias only expand the possibilities of roleplaying experiences. Sure they aren't as effective as optimized characters archetypes but they allow for a greater variety of roleplaying experiences. Granted books devoted to them sell for crap but 4-5 pages out of a 350page rulebook isn't that much to ask.
| QUOTE (Crimsondude 2.0) |
| People IC listen to Synthetic Music in your games? |
If there's nothing else on the streaming music feed.
But you didn't answer the second, more important, question.
| QUOTE (Crimsondude 2.0 @ Mar 21 2005, 03:11 PM) |
| But you didn't answer the second, more important, question. |
| QUOTE |
| Like Trance, or Britney Spears post-production? |
In my games, as suggested by the books, synthetic music has progressed past just sounding like trance/electronica, to where it can approximate any genre of music much like soy products can approximate other foodstuffs. The soy analogy is an apt one, because while everyone knows it's really not that good, it's cheap and widely available, so most people shut up and swallow it. Since synthesized voice technology is also well advanced of what we have today, these don't even have to be instrumental only, there can be "vocal" acompanyment.
As for manufactured artists like the B.S. you mentioned above, they're also fairly commonplace, as an alternative to having computer generated singers (since even by SR time, there's still people who can tell the difference).
You do have artists out there who care about the music, instead of just wanting to be another corporate employee, but the Music Insdustry has tired of trying to deal with tempermental artists and their ideosyncracies. Only about a dozen or so of these artists have contracts with major labels. The rest go the route of live performance in small clubs, buiding up a local fanbase without the support of the major labels.
Of course, most of this isn't even my idea, I just took what was detailed in books like Shadowbeat and the Sprawl Survival Guide and ran with it.
Being a Runner really gives you something to write about. Look @ U2 almost all of their songs are about politics and suffering.
Ok question for ya.
I had a kewl concept for a character. He is the DJ for a Matrix Bar in Oslo, being on the matrix he never actually goes to Oslo. What kind of gear would the bar/ character need to make this setup work?
I am thinking that spending fat amounts of money upgrading the VR/Ar quality of the host would be a great idea. This would be the kind of place where people would spend days just working on their Icon/Persona.
The bar would have simsense enabled drinks and furnishings. One could actually feel the fabric on the couches ect.
What rating host would this need?
I had a kewl concept for a character. He is the DJ for a Matrix Bar in Oslo, being on the matrix he never actually goes to Oslo. What kind of gear would the bar/ character need to make this setup work?
I am thinking that spending fat amounts of money upgrading the VR/Ar quality of the host would be a great idea. This would be the kind of place where people would spend days just working on their Icon/Persona.
The bar would have simsense enabled drinks and furnishings. One could actually feel the fabric on the couches ect.
What rating host would this need?
| QUOTE (hahnsoo) |
| We do need rules for it, I think. I think that they should set down just the barebones framework for music performance, even if it's just "Roll the skill against this TN", instead of just dumping it into the vague Knowledge Skill category, only to be used for magical Centering. Shadowbeat is SR1, and hasn't gotten an update since then... and it used friggin' Open Tests to determine outcomes (ugh). This would facilitate not only someone who wanted to play a Rocker (a rare, but quirky, character, perhaps like El Mariachi), but also the street sam who wanted to pick up a few guitar lessons to win over a romantic interest or a decker who is really into some form of electronic music performance. |
Well, there is a bit more in the rules for you. Musical skills fit under the generic Artisan Skill, and there is the Adept Power Enthralling Performance which has its uses.
I have a Missions character, Bongo Slade, whose highest skill is in fact Artisan, with a specialization in percussion. He has Enthralling performance, and Throwing Weapons he picked up in bar fights, augmented with Missile Mastery and Power Throw. Amazing what a cymbal can do when thrown properly. (Shades of Odd Job and his bowler hat in "Goldfinger")
I admit fitting him into the goals and purposes of a group of street sams is sometimes a bit tricky, but that's what makes playing him fun.
Music used to be a big part of Shadowrun, atleast for the characters. In the novels they are always talking about goblinrock, or who's playing where. Heck the "On the Run" module is all about the Music business. Maybe they need a "Cultural Companion" or something liek that, something like Shadowbeat was. 
| QUOTE (pbangarth) |
| I have a Missions character, Bongo Slade, whose highest skill is in fact Artisan, with a specialization in percussion. He has Enthralling performance, and Throwing Weapons he picked up in bar fights, augmented with Missile Mastery and Power Throw. Amazing what a cymbal can do when thrown properly. (Shades of Odd Job and his bowler hat in "Goldfinger") |
...does it go *shhhhhhhhing* when he throws it?
@Swirler. Yeah, I could go for seeing a Shadowbeat update for 4th ed.
the synthlink was, iirc, explained as a specialized cyberjack. as the chipjack is no more, most likely the synthlink is at most a firmware update to a generic datajack these days.
hell, i suspect that you can run a fairly good studio setup using AR or VR right out of you comlink.
more and more of the golden boxes of old are today redone as software plug-ins for recording software. and if one could use AR or VR to present the user with a studio size mixing setup then the bum in the corner may well be the unknown artist behind the latest subversive indies doing the rounds online.
hell, i suspect that you can run a fairly good studio setup using AR or VR right out of you comlink.
more and more of the golden boxes of old are today redone as software plug-ins for recording software. and if one could use AR or VR to present the user with a studio size mixing setup then the bum in the corner may well be the unknown artist behind the latest subversive indies doing the rounds online.
I just made a Rigger-Rocker. What I did is use one of my 5 skills for the Artisan skill, which was a bit tough, but them's the breaks if you want to be good at it!
I figure there would be some specialized cyberwear. Though I agree that a lot of the old synthlink would now be something you could load on a 'link or datajack, the SOTA would keep moving and there would be something awesome out there rockers would use. I figure half the cost in
and essence as a Control Rig, and you get to manipulate all sorts of instruments the same way as drones. Instead of all the drone commands, they would be musical programs.
As for concept, lots of musicians want to seem tough. They get a taste of the shadows, and they want to see more and more.
I figure there would be some specialized cyberwear. Though I agree that a lot of the old synthlink would now be something you could load on a 'link or datajack, the SOTA would keep moving and there would be something awesome out there rockers would use. I figure half the cost in
and essence as a Control Rig, and you get to manipulate all sorts of instruments the same way as drones. Instead of all the drone commands, they would be musical programs. As for concept, lots of musicians want to seem tough. They get a taste of the shadows, and they want to see more and more.
Having worked music(metal specifically) journalism for awhile, many of my characters have some ties in the music field. I wouldnt call all of them straight up rockers per se, but there was heavy influence.
One is a black metal ''club'' bouncer/roadie adept who went on his first shadowrun last game we played(well, awhile ago). It was great; when you get a group of experienced people in the ''street arts''-but new at running-together, hilarity can ensue. We had a blast. While he wasnt a rocker, he worked with music and musicians; that was how he ended up in Denver.
One was a rigger/tech whiz/fellow with a supertweaked cyberleg(had an accident, and since he loved machines and electronics couldnt help himself but to keep adding to it) who just happened to like the music and play the keyboards...and had jury-rigged a cyberdeck(SR3), into a keyboard to hide it.
One that im toying with now for an upcoming game is a mage that's sort of on the way of becoming a Faustian casualty, if he doesn't have some intervention(and he might JUST end up as a casualty if one more bible-thumper comes up to him). I figured this might be fun to play. He's in a band(guitarist) albiet far from mainstream. Sort of also the black magic path like the bouncer..but while he's more of the indulgent, freedom-type, this guy is considerably darker.
A troll ganger/punk rock bassist. Hey, the character sort of wrote himself.
I just thought young Troll+Bass+old-Misfits hairstyle+Gang would be a great addition to a street campaign.
And finally a cybered-assassin, whose main love is playing drums in his Icelandic death metal band, and it makes a fantastic cover-story.
So yeah, some might say i use the whole music concept a bit too much in my characters...but i like to call it a signature of sorts. While ive played plenty of characters who had nothing to do with music, the ones that do usually leave me something extra to get into. Some people like playing certain races, some like certain professions, some like magical, some like mundane, i like metalheads.
In any rate, i'd love to see more music-type tech in SR4, al la Shadowbeat...which was one of my favorite old sourcebooks of all time.
One is a black metal ''club'' bouncer/roadie adept who went on his first shadowrun last game we played(well, awhile ago). It was great; when you get a group of experienced people in the ''street arts''-but new at running-together, hilarity can ensue. We had a blast. While he wasnt a rocker, he worked with music and musicians; that was how he ended up in Denver.
One was a rigger/tech whiz/fellow with a supertweaked cyberleg(had an accident, and since he loved machines and electronics couldnt help himself but to keep adding to it) who just happened to like the music and play the keyboards...and had jury-rigged a cyberdeck(SR3), into a keyboard to hide it.
One that im toying with now for an upcoming game is a mage that's sort of on the way of becoming a Faustian casualty, if he doesn't have some intervention(and he might JUST end up as a casualty if one more bible-thumper comes up to him). I figured this might be fun to play. He's in a band(guitarist) albiet far from mainstream. Sort of also the black magic path like the bouncer..but while he's more of the indulgent, freedom-type, this guy is considerably darker.
A troll ganger/punk rock bassist. Hey, the character sort of wrote himself.
I just thought young Troll+Bass+old-Misfits hairstyle+Gang would be a great addition to a street campaign. And finally a cybered-assassin, whose main love is playing drums in his Icelandic death metal band, and it makes a fantastic cover-story.
So yeah, some might say i use the whole music concept a bit too much in my characters...but i like to call it a signature of sorts. While ive played plenty of characters who had nothing to do with music, the ones that do usually leave me something extra to get into. Some people like playing certain races, some like certain professions, some like magical, some like mundane, i like metalheads.
In any rate, i'd love to see more music-type tech in SR4, al la Shadowbeat...which was one of my favorite old sourcebooks of all time.
Here is an idea on Rockers in SR4. Comments appreciated! Get out the red pens! (I'm particularly interested in the skill checks and Rocker Status - I'm pretty new to the rules).
Rocker Archetypes in SR4
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Rocker Archetypes in SR4
[ Spoiler ]
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The MusicLink should also include all the basic functions of a Datajack.
I can see that. I was thinking the MusicLink would just add-on to other things. If you did just the MusicLink, you couldn't do much, though, you are right.
With datajack, you can output and input.
With cybereyes and ears, you can get live input without additional gear.
With voice modulation, you can do some scary things voice wise. Maybe even be the backup singers and the singer!
With control rig, manipulate the band pit at the opera by yourself...
Etc.
With datajack, you can output and input.
With cybereyes and ears, you can get live input without additional gear.
With voice modulation, you can do some scary things voice wise. Maybe even be the backup singers and the singer!
With control rig, manipulate the band pit at the opera by yourself...
Etc.
I agree that music should play a role in an SR game - just defining the music a character likes can do a lot to make them more human (example: an assassin character I play listens to two things: girlie techno and Italian opera... both of which have received from other runners 'how the frag can you listen to that drek?' comments)
It actually gives me an idea for another character... more of a country rocker than an 80s rocker though (might be good for a CAS campaign) - a Johnny Cash type character, but having actually experienced all the songs she writes/sings... think about it... "Momma said always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns, but I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" (Folton Prison Blues, Johnny Cash)
And one can never forget Harry Chappin's sniper "He laid out the rifles, loaded the shotgun, stacked up the cartridges all along the wall. He knew he would need them for his conversation, if it went as he planned then he might use them all!"
It actually gives me an idea for another character... more of a country rocker than an 80s rocker though (might be good for a CAS campaign) - a Johnny Cash type character, but having actually experienced all the songs she writes/sings... think about it... "Momma said always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns, but I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" (Folton Prison Blues, Johnny Cash)
And one can never forget Harry Chappin's sniper "He laid out the rifles, loaded the shotgun, stacked up the cartridges all along the wall. He knew he would need them for his conversation, if it went as he planned then he might use them all!"
I edited the post to make a few tests easier. I playtested this a bit and found the thresholds hard to hit.
With an Artisan skill of 5, Intuition 5, an average instrument, and a MusicLink, the cash comes in but does not seem broken.
Comments appreciated.
With an Artisan skill of 5, Intuition 5, an average instrument, and a MusicLink, the cash comes in but does not seem broken.
Comments appreciated.
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