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    Th e

    S h a d o w r u nSu p p l e me nt a lI ssu e #1

    V o l u me #1Ed i t e d and c o mp i l e d b yf r o@l i s .a b .c a

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    Edit o r s NOTESEdit o r s NOTESWelcome to the first issue of The

    Shadowrun Supplemental. As far as I cantell, there are no electronic magazinededicated to Shadowrun that works quitethe same way this one does. Most ar epublished in HTML format on the web, andcant effectively be read offline, so I decidedto set this one up a bit differently.

    This is the first issue, so its bound to changesomewhat in the future. If you dont likewhat you see, dont write it off yet, please.Change will be constant . Hopefully issue# 2 will be larger . This is sort of a bug fixof the first issue. Nothing major haschanged, just a few things, including theconversion to PDF format.

    In this issue, we have; A short story by Bull,an adventure module by Thomas Deeny, aTON of book reviews by Gurth, some rantsby Adam Wise, a few shadow-comments, anda new archetype and some correspondingitems. A modest first issue. You will noticethat I myself didnt write anything, notbecause I didnt intend too, but because bothitems I wrote turned out to grow more than Iintended, and probably wont be done untilat least next issue.

    If you dont know who I am, dont worryabout it, youre about to learn more thanyou care to know. Most people know me asFr o, but my full name is Adam Jur y. I amAssistant Fearless Leader of the ShadowRNmailing list, channel manager of # Shadowrun on Undernet IRC, a memberof the Internet Roleplaying Game Society,and a few million other things. Im sixteenyears old and have been playing Shadowrunfor just about 3 year s now. If you want toknow more, get to know me better. : )

    Cr edit sCr edit sSeveral people have been extremely

    important to this pr oject. I couldnt havedone it without you, but Ill still try to makethis short.

    Gurth - Inspiration, feedback, help and a tonof other things. Think The thr ead thatnever ends is due to die yet?

    Adam Wise - Writing, artwork, and the guy Ibounce all my ideas off first. Not to mentionyou have a pr etty good fir st name.

    Bull - Someone that needs a new PC morethan me!The ShadowRN listmembers - For all thefeedback, including all the fighting aboutformats.Skye - For being grumpy about the entirething. You dont change, boy-o.FASA - For Shadowrun, a damned addictinggame. Mike Mulvihill, for answering mystupid questions and for being a generaldecent guy, even for a corp employee...

    Of course, thank you to everyone who wroteand submitted something. I couldnt havedone it without you. To those who submittedar twork for the cover, I decided to leave thattill a later issue.

    And finally, William Gibson for theNeuromancer book on tape, which Ive wornout listening to over and over sinceChristmas.

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    ContactingCo nt ac t ing t het heedi toredi torandandSubmis s io nsSubmis s io nsI can be reached at [email protected] [email protected], first addresspr efer red, please. I can also be contacted onthe ShadowRN mailing list. If you wantsubmission guidelines or just to ask a simplequestion, dont be afra id, I dont bite.

    Lega l it iesLega l it iesThis magazine is in no way endorsed norproduced by FASA Corporation.Shadowrun and Matrix, are copyrights of FASA (1992) Neither I , nor the authors of any individual pieces intend to infringe onFASAs intellectual property and rights.FASA has not read this material in advance,and as such, none of this material isapproved by FASA.

    Redis t r ibut io nRedis t r ibut io nThis magazine may be reproduced in any

    other computer format only with permissionfrom me. It may be ar chived on anycomputer system including the internet andfidonet, as long as this copyright notice is notremoved and I am notified.You may not profit from the distribution,nor may you edit the contents and distributethat, you may only edit for your ownpersonal use. You are encour age to pr int itout and perhaps leave a copy or 2 at a localgaming store. If you do, please leave me anote.

    Co py r ight sCo py r ight sAll contents are copyright (1997) by theiroriginal authors. I (Adam Jur y) r etain thecopyrights over the compilation of material.

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    QUICKSILVERQUICKSILVERLIGHTNINGLIGHTNING

    by St ev en "Bul l " Rat ko v ic h

    "Drek" I muttered to myself as I dodged thesinuous black scorpion tail that lashed outat me. Before me stood the biggest damnedscorpion I'd ever seen in my virtual life, andit was black. in the Matr ix, black meant onething: Black IC, the deadliest form of Intr usion Countermeasures. And this wasbig, even for corp IC.

    My brain buzzed at speeds far greater thanmost norms ever achieve in a lifetime as Iscanned the IC, looking for a weak spot inthe program. One mistake, and that couldend my career for good, leaving me as abrainless vegetable, if I survive at all.Finally I managed to find a weak spot in thecode. I swung back the massive ax that myIcon carried, and swung with full force atthe base of the creature's tail, my Real lifefingers flying over my cyberdeck's keyboardas my attack program ripped into the codingof the IC.

    The ax severed the tail, and with a lash, theIC exploded. In the same instant, thevirtual reality of the Aztechnology computersystem star ted flashing red. Drek, theyknew I was there now. I had to hur ry.

    I flew through the nodes, stoppingoccasionally to scan for more IC, this timetrying to rely on Stealth more than mydeck's str ength. if I got dumped form thesystem now, I might never get the infoJohnny and I needed to finish this run.

    My name's Bull. At least, that's my namenow. I've had other s, and still have onemore, but that's the one almost everyone

    knows me by. I'm a decker, as well as anOrk. I know, that 's odd. I'm used to it.After all, aren't all Orks big and dumb?Right.

    Anyways, I'm a Shadowrunner as well,which explains why I'm breaking intoAztechnologies computer system, trying tofind some classified data on a formeremployee, and a top secret project. Mypar tner is Johnny 99. He's a spell slinger ,an Amerind Shaman following Coyote. Wewere hired to get some data for a guy callinghim Mr. Johnson. Yeah, I've heard that onebefore. but he offered a decent amount of cash, so now I'm slogging it through one of the nastiest computer systems in the worldtrying to get a lowdown on some slot I'venever met for I guy I don't know. Ain't lifegrand?

    Well, I cruised down a couple of datalines,then turned left at the next data intersection,and stepped into a huge datastor e. Aztech of Cleveland's matrix was custom sculpted, andthe whole fragging thing looked for all theworld one of those ancient Incan or Mayantemples, and this datastore was no exception.Row upon row of cases held scrolls, millionsof them, each one representing a data file inthe computer s memory banks. I sighed, thenstar ted uploading Al, my search smar tframe.

    Several nanoseconds later, a small creaturewith glasses, a pick-axe tied to his back, andholding a lanter n appeared before me. I'dmodeled this frame to represent a Gnome,and he was programmed to scan data forme, leaving me free to deal with any

    problems that arose.

    "Whatcha need, boss." Al asked in a highpitched voice."I need some data. Find out anything youcan here about Kano Serennto, and apr oject called Quicksilver . Pull and copyanything related to either of them. I br owse

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    the files later and sort through them. It's aquick pull today."

    Al nodded, then went to work, scanningthrough the scrolls faster than I could

    follow. I watched him work for a fewseconds, then spun as I heard a soundbehind me.

    Running up the hallway leading to thedatastore were two huge cats, possiblypanthers. I'm not really up on my animalspecies, and this wasn't the time to worryabout that anyways. I pulled my axe as theychar ged, and steadied myself. More fraggingblack IC. Whatever it was I was looking for,Aztech certainly didn't want anyone findingit.

    I blocked the first's charge with the haft of my virtual axe, and shoved it off my as thesecond leaped on me. It 's claws raked lar gegashes in my armor program, but didn'tquite penetrate. I kicked the cat off, and thetwo panthers circled me warily, looking foran opportunity to strike. I tried to keepthem focused on me, hoping that theywouldn't notice Al who was still pluggingaway on the data. If they decided to attack him, he'd be a sitting duck. Al had no realdefensive abilities, as he was mostly made of search pr ograms and empty memory.

    I watched the two panthers for a fewnanoseconds, then launched my MirrorImage pr ogram. It created a duplicate of myself, and then mimicked my movements.The two panthers looked slightly startled atthis, then split up to deal with both of my

    icons. I sent my duplicate running back down the hallway, hoping to lead at least oneof the IC constructs off, leaving me free todeal with only one of the things.Sure enough, one of the panthers followed.One nice thing about IC, is that while it maybe powerful, it still is incredibly stupid.That left only one for me to tangle with, and

    that definitely tipped the odds in my favor.Compared to the Scorpion I'd dealt withearlier, this thing was a kitten.

    The cat circled me again, and I drew back

    my axe, intend ing to go on the offensive withthis thing. I stepped forward and swung myblade toward it, but in a flash, it wassuddenly gone. then I hear d a "click" fromboth sides. I turned to the left to see what itwas, and saw several darts fly from hiddenalcoves in the walls. I felt several dar ts hitme from both sides. Drek! A tr ap. And Ifell for it... Damned overconfidence...

    I looked up and saw both the panthers re-appear in front of me. I dropped to myknees as my vision went fuzzy. My musclesfelt filled with lead, and I couldn't lift myaxe.

    "Boss!" Al's voice called out from behindme. he sounded like he was a million milesaway. "I got it all!"

    In the Real World, I struggled to talk.Interacting with the real world whiledecking is difficult enough under the bestcircumstances. I don't know what I got hitwith, but now it was almost an impossibility.I struggled as the panthers got closer andcloser, finally managing to croak out theword "Pull". For tunately, Johnny's watchedover mymeatbod enough times to know when I'm introuble, and he pulled the jack out of myskull as soon as I said pull.

    The virtual world flickered, then vanished.

    I sat in the bright light of my apartment,staring at Johnny for several seconds, thecollapsed on my face as darkness overtook me.

    TO BE CONTINUED...

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    Fr iday NightFr iday NightChaosChaosTho mas DeenyHere's the first adventure I ran for mygroup. It's got tridnet, BTLs, corps, and abid to take over the police service of theSprawl. This adventur e takes place inDallas/Fort Worth, CAS. Your mileage mayvary.

    Dallas/Fort Worth Background:

    Lone Star doesn't have a contract as thepolice service in D/FW. The police force isthe DFWPD, the descendant of the currentday Dallas and Fort WorthPolice Departments. The Big D and the Fortare two of the larger cities that still havetheir own police forces, but in reality, theDFWPD is more of a puppet of theCorporate Court than Lone Star is.DFWPD is reviewed every two years, and asthe time of this adventure takes place, the

    DFWPD contract is up for evaluation intwo, three months.

    The Texas Rangers are similar to theMetroplex Guards you have in Seattle,UCAS. The Rangers are a cross betweenstate police and the Army of Texas. They'llbe called in during a state of emergency, alikely case in this scenario, "Friday NightChaos".

    "Friday Night Chaos" Background:

    Last spring, Spectrum HoloflixEntertainment Systems (SHES) laid off seventy people, eventually rehiring 35 of the

    employees. Cooper Ver tz was one of thoselaid off but not rehired. Cooper was anencoder for SHES's simsense chips, one of the better encoders in the biz, a rising star.He and some other ex SHES employeesbegan their own company, ZeeZeeFlash(ZZF). It was a very small operat ion, noteven denting SHES's market share. Butthings didn't work out to well for ZZF.They were about to go under by mid autumnwhen Gar y DeMichaels stepped in .

    Gary DeMichaels is the head of D/FW LoneStar's Security Operations, in charge of thesecurity offices at the BeLTV compound andother smaller contract holders. Gary knewthat the DFWPD was going to get thecontract once again, and once again, LoneStar will be shut out. But if somehow,DFWPD could be shown to be unable tohandle their cities, and Lone Star troopscould come in and have a good showing justbefore the review - Lone Star might have achance at getting the contract. But how?

    DeMichaels found his answer in Vertz.Desperate to keep his company afloat, heagreed to create BTLs for DeMichaels, aspecial type of BTL. This one-shot BTLchip, which they called Silver Tiger,delievered a sense of euphoria to the user.But hidden in Vertz's code was anotherprogram, one that made the chipheadsusceptable to visual subliminals. A tape

    was worked up, and given to a tr ideo pirate.The pirate piggybacked the tape'ssubliminals onto Channel 47's popularganger show, "Firefight This Week". FTWairs at 9pm on Fridays.

    The subliminal tape's message? Kill, kill,kill.

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    One week ago, the chips hit the streets in asmall ar ea, a test group. The test was asuccess, they (Vertz and DeMichaels) think.Two go-gangs went wild, tearing up theirturf, geeking whoever they came across.

    DFWPD had their hands full.

    Cooper Vertz found out how well the chipsworked, and the next Wednesday,blackmailed DeMichaels. 1 million Nuyen,or the real cops find out what Lone Star'sRegional Director was up to. DeMichaelsagreed, but brought in a street assassinnamed St. John from Quebec City to killVertz. "Make it look like it's par t of theFriday night chaos," he explained to thefemale assassin. She went out and hired astreet gang, the Reverends, to geek Vertzbefore the city erupts.

    Adventure start:

    The adventure starts about 6:30 on Fridayevening. The runners are outside, walkingdown a pedwalk when two bikes and a carcome towards them. The vehicles slow asthey pass a crowd of people on the street.One of the Reverend gang members insidethe car shouts out, "Hey, Cooper!" AsCooper looks up, the gang members openfire on the crowd, killing Cooper Vertz, twobystanders, and wounding thr ee others. Thegang vehicles take off, passing the runners.The gang doesn't care about the runners andwon't do anything to the runners unless thePCs do something. Remember , the gangershave at least two SMGs and one shotgun.

    Later that night, the Reverends meet with

    St. John to get thier pay. Shewill kill all of the gang members. The Player Char acterswill be nowhere around when this happens.

    The runners should realize that the city iscoming apar t. Gangs mainly are attackingwhoever they can find. Some things youmight want to include are: A scene wher e

    two different gangs (who usually work together) are fighting each other and have aDoc Wagon ambulance pinned down. Havesirens in the distance and whizzing policecars rush by. Helicopters with spotlights

    shining on the str eets. The runners comeacross a couple fighting in front of anelectronics store. One of the fighter s has thechip in and caught a glimpse of the"Firefight this Week" episode being shownon 25 trideo units in the window of thestore. Don't forget looters, perhaps even abuilding goes up in fire and the firefightersrush to the rescue.

    10:30 pm, Fr iday:

    City Manager Abernathy orders an 11:00pm city-wide curfew as DFWPD scramblesto contain the madness. Sporadic r iotingthoughout the night until about 2 am wheneverything calms down.

    Saturday, early afternoon:

    One of the runners gets a call from thierfixer with a job offer . Meet a Mr. Johnsonlater that day at such and such a time, suchand such a place.

    Mr. Johnson is from Tandy Corp., a rathersuccessful computer house based indowntown Fort Worth (in 205x, Tandy is asbig as Apple three years ago, or IBM tenyears ago). Last night, about 9:15, fiveexecutives killed each other in one of theboardr ooms in Tandy Tower. They killedeach other with their bare hands, one of

    them crushed another's skull with a pottedplant 's base. All five died. "All five had achip like this in their chipjacks," says Mr.Johnson, holding out a burnt out BTL chipwith a holo of a silver tiger on it. Mr . Jwants to hire the runners to find out wherethe BTLs came from. Then tell him. He'lltake it from there.

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    Next Fr iday, 9:00pm:

    If they haven't caught DeMichaels by now orstopped the subliminals from beingpiggybacked onto Firefight This Week, the

    both cities will erupt in Friday Night Chaos.The City Managers will decide to call in theRangers, declaring a state of emergency.DeMichaels will be in meetings with the CityManagers and be allowed to bring in LoneStar 's operatives. The piggybacking willcontinue for a few days, diminishing as LoneStar is able to put on a good show. Soonafter, it appears that Lone Star wasresponsible for saving the cities. It lookslike Lone Star will get the Police Services

    job.

    If they find ZeeZeeFlash but don't make aconnection to DeMichaels and just tell theTandy Forces where the BTLs came from,the ZeeZeeFlash building will be a smokingcrater by next morning. DeMichaels willhave gotten away with it, and may try thesubliminals on Fr iday, hoping that ther e willstill be enough product out there to causeenought damage. In two weeks from thisFriday, all of these Silver Tiger BTL chipswill have been used up.

    This is how it played out with my group:

    Fr iday night, the P Cs witness the Cooper hitbut don't attack the Reverends as theyescape. The runner s get Cooper 's ID whenthe ambulances arrive to cart off the deadand wounded. One PC contacts his gang

    boss buddy once it's after 9pm, gang boss(and gang) disdains cybertech, so they aren'tchipheads. They don't know what is goingon. Runners witness and take partin a three-way fight (wiz-kid gang vs.ambulance vs. r azorgir l gang). They hearabout some members of PC's buddy's ganggetting jumped by an unknown group. PCcontacts gang boss buddy, mentions theReverends and finds out that the Reverendswere found in small, wet piles in a parking

    gar age. Hmm. Runner s get caught behindthe curfew, bunk out with PC's buddy'sgang.

    Next day, Mr . J hires the crew. They takethe chip to a technician contact whorecognizes the work as containing SHESpr oprietar y code. He also noticed some

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    coding in there that didn't make any sense,like there was a second program runningwhile the euphor ia pr ogram was r unning.

    A visit to SHES and to SHES's datastores,

    cross-checking with a list of casualties fromFriday night turns up a familiar name,Cooper Vertz. One PC meets with abuddy/potential girlfriend who works forLone Star Security Services at the BeLTVcompound. He mentions something about acase he's working on. She prods him formore details on what he's working on (she'san innocent with regards to DeMichael'splans). She tells the runner that if she letsLone Star in on what's going on, she'll getnoticed in the department and possibly getadvanced in the system. In turn, she'll seethat he gets a few Lone Star contracts. Itlooks like a good deal, and he tells hereverything. The next day, she tells hersupervisors, hoping that she'll get the creditwhen the BTL bust goes down. It goesstraight up to the Lone Star RegionalDirector, who is also the Bad Guy NumeroUno of this scenar io. Bad call.

    That PC returns home to find hey hey hey,his home has been br oken into, andthere are the culprits. Four undercovercorrupt Lone Star cops are here, ready tobr eak a few legs and ar ms. They want toknow who is working with the PC. Theydidn't know the PC was an EarthElementalist with two Elementals ready foraction. Big fight scene. Lone Star is ontothem.

    Later, the PCs track down Cooper's house

    where they find hidden away a computerpad with schematics of the chip and partialcode for the subliminalpr ogram. They also find a box of chips.They head to the ZeeZeeFlash offices. Smallwarehouse type of place, many boxes of chips. A Lone Star FRT (dr essed in Tandycolors) staking out the place charges in

    (thinking the PCs are committing a littleB&E, which they were). Big bat tle.Scramble. Escape. Runners come acrossDeMichaels' name in some files stolen fromZZF.

    Investigation into the Reverends massacreturns up a survivor who describes theassassin to the players. After a bit of legwork, they find out the assassin's streetname, and find that St. John is going to havea meet with her Mr. Johnson. Runners setup to bug the meet with help of the DFWPD(one of the runners has an Undercover Copcontact). Mr. Johnson is in fact GaryDeMichaels. DeMichaels wants the runnerskilled. St. John leaves, the PC shaman has ahearth spirit confuse DeMichaels and someof the runners KODeMichaels, DFWPD grabs DeMichaels.The street sam PC and chromed elf PCchase after St. John. Battle scene in aparking garage, chrome against chrome. OurHeroes (tm) win, St. John is left in a fewsmall, wet piles.

    Tandy pays them the second half of thepayment.

    The next day, the runners head over toZeeZeeFlash. The storehouse is empty.

    Editors note:Since there seems to be a lot of interest inthe Dallas / For t Worth ar ea, I will beincluding future scenarios by Thomas Deenyin upcoming issues.

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    Ur ban SpiderUr ban Spidert o t e mt o t e m

    by St ev en "Bul l " Rat ko v ic h

    Spider is many things. He is a wily hunter ,often able to defeat creatures more powerfulthan he. He is a patient captor , waiting forhours on end to catch his prey withoutmoving. He is a builder, creating andfort ifying his home. He is a pr otector ,defending his home and his web with his life,if need be. Shamans and Shamanic Adepts

    following Spider are all of these things aswell.

    Shamanic Adepts following the ways of theUrban Spider are very territorial, by nature,and will adopt a "home turf" to be their own.This is referred to as the Sham-Ads "web".The web can be of any size, ranging from asingle building to a city block, or even a citydistrict. More powerful Spider Shamans andSham Ads have been known to adopt entirecities as their webs. A Spider Shamans webmay never decrease in size, although he mayexpand it as he grows in power (at the GM'sdiscretion). He will str ive to pr otect thisterr itory from other pr edator s.

    While a Spider Sham-Ad may hunt in hisown territory, no other may without hispermission. Those that seek to harm or huntothers in the Sham-Ads territory will meetwith swift retr ibution from the Sham Ad. Heis both the protector, and the predator, of his"web".

    The Spider Sham Ad gains the Home Turf Bonus, which operates very similar to theHome Turf Advantage from the SRCompanion. this gives him a - 1 to all skillbased tests within his "web". If the Sham-Adis operating outside his territory, he loses

    these benefits. Also, should he fail to"protect" his "web" adequately, he loses thesebonuses until he r egains favor with Spider .

    A Spider Shaman gains the Home Turf

    Advantage as well, but additionally gains + 1dice to all illusion spells and Combat spellswhile on his home turf, as spider will lie inwait and try and trap his prey, although he'sa fierce war r ior when necessar y. These spellbonuses are tied in with his Home Turf advantage, and should he lose the Home Tur f for whatever reason, he will lose the spellbonuses as well.

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    Spidey -r unnerSpidey -r unnera r c het y pea r c het y pe

    by St ev en "Bul l " Rat ko v ic h

    Name: Stephen Parker, aka. Spider-ManRace: HumanSex: MaleAge: 18Descr iption: Shamanic Adept , following theUrban Spider Totem.

    Body: 3

    Quickness: 6Strength: 5Charisma: 3Intelligence: 6Willpower: 3Essence: 6Magic: 6Reaction: 6Initiative: 2d6 (+ 6 Reaction)

    SKILLSAthletics: 6 (7)Projectile Weapons: 4> Wrist Thr owers: 6> > Web Shooters: 8Unarmed Combat: 6> B/R Web Shooter s: 5Stealth: 4 (5)

    POWERS6th Sense (3 pts)Extra Initiative- 1 dice (1 pt)Traceless Walk (.5)Adhesion (1 pt) (See next page)Stealth + 1 (.25 pt)Athletics + 1 (.25 pts)

    GEARWeb Shooters (See next page)Form Fitting Armor (Costume)

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    WEB SHOOTERSThe Web Shooters are a pair of wristmounted devices that can fire a stream of liquid that hardens almost instantly (about

    three seconds after contact with air) into avery tough (strength 8) and incredibly sticky"webbing". This can be used for tying up orcapturing people, as well as for "webswinging", a method of travel that involvesfiring webbing from building to building andswinging on it as if on a rope.

    The web shooters have 5 small canisters oneach wrist, all linked to the firing mechanism.Each canister contains enough of the "web"

    compound to fire 100 meters of webbing, thusbetween both wrist units, a full charge willallow the wearer to fire up to 1000 meters of webbing.

    Web Shooters are fairly rare and hard tofind, thus they have a fairly high cost.

    Cost: 2000 Nuyen per shooter100 Nuyen per canister of webbing.Street Index is 3.

    ADHESION POWERAdhesion power created by:Geo r g Gr ev eMany thanks to him for allowing us to use it.

    "Adhesion" - Cost: 1.0

    The Adhesion power gives the PA the abilityto make par ts of his body adhesive to objects(it works more like magnetism than glue butit works on all material). The adhesion powerhas a very limited r ange (only up to the outerborder of the PA's aura) and can becontrolled in a way that allows the PA to say

    "I make my left palm and my right foodadhesive" and can be turned on/off instantly.When combined with the "Traceless Walk"power the Adept doesn't apply pr essure/forceto the object he is adhesive to. Pressuresensors will not recognize him and so on (seeTr aceless Walk power in Awakenings).

    This power is perfect for climbing buildings,hanging under ceilings and walking along aceiling upside down...

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    FASA Rev iew sFASA Rev iew s

    by Gur t h

    Lately, a lot of people seem to want to knowwhich sourcebooks to get or to avoid, andwhy. So, I thought to myself, why not just putreviews for nearly all of them into one place?Give a short review, talk about theirusefulness, stuff like that. FASAs cataloggives an overview of whats for sale, but youcant expect it to be an objective source of information about the books. So, here is anarticle that might prove useful to thoseplanning to shell out some cash for a

    sourcebook or two in the near futureeverything is IMHO, of course.Youll notice that I dont discuss anyadventures; mainly this is because that a)would add a lot of work, b) would likely spoilthe fun for the players, and c) I dont owneven half of the ones that have beenpublished. There are also no net.sourcebooksin this list, though I may do a similar articleabout them in the futur e. Then again, I mightbe considered biased when it comes to these...

    *grin*

    Goth < br [email protected]> compiledthe first net.RPG.Product.Ratings of ShadowrunShadowrun products in early 1995, whichconsisted of a survey in which each productwas to be rated between 1 (sucks) and 10(super) by the participants; 25 people sent inthe completed form, and I added the averagerating from the survey for each ShadowrunShadowrunproduct in this sourcebook review, as well as

    one quote I found interesting from theComments section of the survey (and no, Ididnt include any of the comments I made init).

    Fo r ma tFo r ma tEach book discussed below is r ated for thefollowing aspects:Title:Title: obviously, the books full tit le as it

    appears on the front cover. In brackets is theyear in which the book came out. Author(s): Author(s): who is to blame for writing it. Number: Number: a split figur e. The fir st par t isFASAs product number, the second, insquar e brackets, is the books ISBN number ,to make order ing easier.Price:Price: the price in U.S. dollars as listed onthe back of the book Pages:Pages: the number of pages, obviouslySections:Sections: the sections (chapters) into which

    the book is divided, in the order they appearin the book.Overview:Overview: a short general discussion of thebook, from which it should also be appar entas to how useful this book is to which kindsof players. Rating: Rating: the r ating (from 1 to 10) that th ispr oduct received on theNet.RPG.Products.Ratings for ShadowrunShadowrun ;only for books published up until late 1994.Comment:Comment: the one comment I picked from

    the sur vey. Notes: Notes: any notes to the publication, if any.

    If anything is mar ked with a question mar k,Im not sure of whether or not the data iscorr ect, or I simply dont know.

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    FASA Publ ic a t io nsFASA Publ ic a t io ns

    Awakenings (1995)Awakenings (1995) Authors: Authors: Stephen Kenson, Robert Cruz,Diane Piron-Gelman, Sharon TurnerMulvihill Number: Number: 7120 [1-55560-273-8]Price:Price: $15.00Pages:Pages: 160Sections:Sections: Introduction, What You Need ToKnow About Magic, The Ways Of Magic, TheMagical Arsenal, The Astral Advantage,Adepts, Voudoun, Major Mojo, Rules, StreetGrimoire, Archetypes, TablesOverview:Overview: An advanced magic sourcebook,

    like TheThe GrimoireGrimoirein some ways, and unlikeit in others, AwakeningsAwakenings is one you mightwant to stay away from until youve gottenthe hang of the magic rules presented in SRIISRIIand TheThe GrimoireGrimoire, as it builds on theinformation given there. The workings andtheories behind magic in the Sixth World areexplained in the usual neo-anarchist fashionof presenting a real world text withcomments added by various people, whichmakes some things clearer but also raises

    more questions. The first part of the book isdevoted to such game world discussions of magic and its applications, with the secondpart consisting of rules expansions andclarifications. Included are rules for physicaladepts, new adept powers, a system forpracticing voudoun (voodoo), new totemsincluding some for paranormal animals, anda load of new spells. Then added on are somenew player character archetypes and tableslisting all spells, totems, and physical adept

    abilities published up until 1995. Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: wasnt out yet when theratings were compiled Notes: Notes: this is the full version of a file thatfloated around the net in early 1995, usuallyknown as the Neo-Anarchists Guide toNeo-Anarchists Guide toMagicMagic(NAGM) or Neo-Anar chists Guide toNeo-Anar chists Guide tothe Awakenedthe Awakened(NAGW).

    Aztlan (1994?)Aztlan (1994?) Author(s): Author(s): Nigel D. Findley Number: Number: 7119 [1-55560-257-6]Price:Price: $18.00?Pages:Pages: ?

    Sections:Sections: ?Overview:Overview: a book I dont own, so I cant sayanything much about whats in it. I do knowits about Aztlan (the former Mexico) andthat weird things happen there... Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: brought out after thesurvey Notes: Notes: as said, I dont own this one.

    Bug City (1995)Bug City (1995) Author(s): Author(s): Rob Cruz, Tom Dowd, Mike

    Nystul, Chr istopher Kubasik, Diane P iron-Gelman Number: Number: 7117 [1-55560-253-3]Price:Price: $18.00Pages:Pages: 160 + 8 color + fold-out color mapSections:Sections: Welcome to Bug City, City UnderSiege, Windy City, Living In Oblivion,Insects Among Us, The Core, GamemasterInformationOverview:Overview: Bug CityBug Citydeals with what happensin Chicago in the summer of 2055 and later.

    If youre not a gamemaster, you might wantto stay away from this book (and thisoverview) until your gamemaster says its OKfor you to read it, though. As said, Bug CityBug Citydeals with Chicago, and as the name suggestsit has something to do with insect spirits.Namely, some organizations have beensecretly breeding tens or even hundreds of thousands of them underneath Chicago, andwhen something goes wrong, they break loose. The UCAS seals off the city, and lets

    nobody in or out in order to keep theproblem contained. Some time later,somebody even uses a... you didnt think Iwas going to tell you that, now did you?Anyway, if youre a gamemaster and plan onthrowing some nasty surprises on yourplayers, Bug CityBug Cityis the book to buy: it offersa complete campaign setting, which I tend to

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    describe as Combine Mad Max and Alien,and then set it in Sarajevo, and because itstotally isolated it is a gamemastersplayground.Concerning the artwork and layout, this is

    different than most people will be used to. Atfirst, its a bit difficult, as it seems to attemptto give an impression of the chaos in Chicago.Once you get used to it its okay, though Ithink it could have been done a little bitbetter. Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: the book wasnt out yet.

    California Free State (1996)California Free State (1996) Authors: Authors: Lori Methany, Michael Mulvihill,

    Steve Perrin, Diane Piron-Gelman, andothers. Number: Number: 7209 [1-55560-193-6]Price:Price: $18.00Pages:Pages: 160 + 8 color + fold-out color mapSections:Sections: Introduction, The CaliforniaQuestion, Free State Fast Facts, NorthernCrescent, Central Valley, San Francisco BayArea, Big Sur Coast, Los Angeles, MojaveDesert, The Players, Game Information,Maps, IndexOverview:Overview: the now out-of-print Neo-Neo-Anarchists Guide to North AmericaAnarchists Guide to North Americadealtwith California Free State in one of itschapters, but this sourcebook expands on thedata given there, and updates it to 2057. If anything, it only makes the situation worsefrom the one described in the older book,making California a patch-work of semi-independent areas more or less under threatfrom each other and the countries borderingon the Free State. Anyone planning to set acampaign in California will need thissourcebook, and for those just visiting for awhile it can also provide good adventureideas. However, if only a short visit isplanned, the information in the Neo-Neo-Anarchists Guide to North AmericaAnarchists Guide to North Americawill besufficient for most gamemasters. Also addedare some new rules for California-specificthings, although these mainly deal with

    magical side-effects and complications. Thereare also rules for mutant and toxic critters,which can be useful in other areas of theworld as well. In the back of the book aremaps of the various parts of California, and

    one for the whole state. Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: published after 1995, sonot available.

    Corporate Security HandbookCorporate Security Handbook(1995)(1995)

    Author: Author: Michael E. Colton, Rob Cruz, TomDowd, Diane Piron-Gelman, Sam Lewis,Mike Mulvihill, Sharon Turner Mulvihill Number: Number: 7118 [1-55560-261-4]Price:Price: $18.00

    Pages:Pages: 128 + 8 colorSections:Sections: Introduction, History, PhysicalSecurity, Technical Security, MagicalSecurity, Matrix Security, PersonnelSecurity, Executive Protection, Behind TheCurtain, Ares Security International Fall2055 Catalog, Gamemaster Information,Corporate Secur ity Per sonnel, ArchetypesOverview:Overview: Promised as being On thehorizon in a 1993 FASA flyer, this book finally came out in 1995. At first glance, its a

    good book, but when you get a little deeperinto it, you soon start thinking I could havecome up with those ideas too! The book iswritten as a Knight Errant brochure on howto secure your corps facilities, and as such itprovides a good many ideas on how to do justthat in the ShadowrunShadowrungame, but like I saidbefore, theres virtually nothing you cantthink of yourself if you apply a bit of common sense coupled to a little research.One nice idea is the Fat Aerial Bacteria

    (FAB), which can be used to block thepassage of astrally-projecting magicians,though nobody seems to agree on how itactually works. The Ares Catalog bitcontains lots of things useful for security inStreet Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Catalog-style, thoughvirtually no new weapons except two squirtguns and a paintball weapon. Also in the

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    book are typical security troopers, and threenew archetypes of freelance security people. Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: not applicable.

    CorporateCorporate Shadowfiles AShadowfiles A

    Shadowrun Sour cebook (1993)Shadowrun Sour cebook (1993) Author: Author: Nigel D. Findley Number: Number: 7113 [1-55560-211-8]Price:Price: $18.00Pages:Pages: 152 (incl. 32 color)Sections:Sections: Introduction, Big Brother is Here,Megacorporate Primer, Doing Business,Competition, Zurich-Orbital Habitat, RatingCorpsOverview:Overview: Unlike many other ShadowrunShadowrunsourcebooks, CorporateCorporate ShadowfilesShadowfilesis notan open the cover and out pop usefulthings book. Dont get me wrong, this is agood book and I like it, but its subject matteris not useful to most shadowrunners. Thebook deals with the way megacorporationsmake money, and has a chapter on givingcorps ratings, in order that these ratings canbe used to show the effects of shadowrunsmade against those corps. The last section of the book is probably the most useful toplayers, because it gives information on the

    eight biggest corporations in the ShadowrunShadowrunworld. The main reason to buy this book would be to get background information onthe world in general and corporations inparticular, and gamemasters can find ideasfor adventures in here (preventing corporatewar is always nice), but as a game supplementit is only moderately useful. Rating: Rating: 6.9Comment:Comment: This had more useful info thanmy business textbook!!!

    >>>>>[ Chummers, enough of this drek.Heres something you might actually finduseful [ Who the heck was that? And whyare they pulling drek like that? ] >[ Can we get back to my reviews?Puhleasse? No offense, but I dont typethese up for my own good! ]

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    Cybertechnology A ShadowrunCybertechnology A ShadowrunSourcebook (1995)Sourcebook (1995)

    Author: Author: Tom Dowd Number: Number: 7119 [1-55560-267-3]Price:Price: $15.00Pages:Pages: 102Sections:Sections: Introduction, Part 1: Cyberware,Welcome To The Cutting Edge, Life On TheWire, Comfortably Numb, Cyberware Rules,Part 2: Cybermancy, Beyond The Pale,Cybermancy, Magic And Death, CybermancyRules, Chrome Kings, Tables, IndexOverview:Overview: this is the book that those wholove the Street Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Catalogandespecially ShadowtechShadowtechwill want to own. Thefirst par t of the book follows a str eet samurai

    named Hatchetman as he recovers from anear-fatal incident, with him describing howand why he got his cyberware, followed by acatalog-type section with new cyberwarethings from lights in your eyes to cyberarmswith built-in gyromountsalthough it suffers(IMHO) from the ShadowrunShadowrun attitude of only including things that have a direct use inthe game. A few are also a bit over the top,like the oral weapons and the extra arm.Then theres expanded rules covering just

    about everything involved with cyberware;this section has some rules that appeared inprevious books, and gives yet another systemfor cyberware damage ( ShadowtechShadowtechstill hasthe best one, if you ask me). There is no newbioware in this book, by the way.The second half of the book talks aboutcybermancy: getting more than 6 Essencepoints worth of cyberware, without dyingand without using alpha or higher gradeware. This has some inherent risks, and is

    very hard to get, but it can be done. It seemsto me like this will mostly be a gamemasterstool, though. Then there is a chapter withsome Prime RunnersPrime Runners-type characters whoall have lots of cyberware, and a table withall the cyber- and bioware that has appearedin ShadowrunShadowrunbooks. Rating/Comment: Rating/Comment: not available.

    Denver The City of ShadowsDenver The City of Shadows(1994)(1994)

    Authors: Authors: Nigel D. Findley, Bill Lenox, TomWong & Tom Dowd Number: Number: 7212 [1-55560-236-3]Price:Price: $25.00Pages:Pages: 168 in the players book, 62 in thegamemaster s book Sections:Sections: Players book: Intr oduction, ReadAll About It, What You Need to Know, HowIt Got This Way, How It is Now, The RealPower, The Nexus, Aztlan Sector, CASSector, Pueblo Sector, Sioux Sector, UCASSector, Ute Sector, IndexGamemasters book: Introduction, Spirit of Denver, People, Locations & Organizations,

    RulesOverview:Overview: Yep. Two books in a box. The boxis of the same size as FASA uses forBattleTechBattleTechproducts (if any of you play thatone), with one of the books being for theplayers to read, and the other the property of the gamemaster. The players book is set upas a Neo-A guide to Denver, in the familiarstyle, and contains no game rules whatsoever.It also doesnt tell the whole truth, as usual,as this is up to the gamemaster to decide by

    using his/her gamemaster book. Each of thecitys sectors is described, with its notablelocations, but the book does more than justgive a city description. It also spr eads rumorsabout the Nexus, a sort of decker-heaven (if you can get in), and its inhabitants, and thebook gives a history of Denver as well as agood description of the current fucked-upsituation (and that is just anunderstatement).Taking the gamemaster book to hand, this is

    set up in such a way that the players could read it if they want, and still not know whatis truly going on. You see, the gamemaster isgiven three choices for everything described,so (s)he can choose which to use in thecampaign. The rest of the gamemaster book is a section with rules; these include credstick rules (from Sprawl SitesSprawl Sites), legalities rules

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    (from ShadowtechShadowtechor Sprawl SitesSprawl Sites), securityand search rules (from the Neo AnarchistsNeo AnarchistsGuide to Real LifeGuide to Real Life), and more previously-published rules as well as some new rules onpolice response times and typical equipment

    used by Denver border guards.The idea behind this set is to run a campaignin Denver after youve bought it. If you planon staying in Seattle (or wherever), theres noneed to bother buying this campaign set. Rating: Rating: 7.9Comment:Comment: Looks good. A few holes in theplots, needs an expansion on the FreeMar ket mechanics, but lots of potential for agamemaster running a group of smugglers. Notes: Notes: The box contains a players book, agamemasters book, a small (about 28 x 44cm) full-color map of the whole of Denver, alarge (about 55 x 90 cm) full-color map of downtown Denver, and two credit-card sizedvisitor passes to two different sectors (I gotAztlan and CAS, but there ar e others too).

    DMZ Downtown MilitarizedDMZ Downtown MilitarizedZone (1990)Zone (1990)

    Author: Author: Tom Dowd Number: Number: 7111 [1-55560-132-4]Price:Price: $30.00Pages:Pages: 72 in the rulebook, 46 in thearchetypes book Sections:Sections: Rulebook: Game Stuff, Preparingto Play, Sequence of Play, Movement andActions, Basic Combat, Magic, Motorcycles,Critters, Shadowrunning, Playing the Game,Timeline, Weapons TableOverview:Overview: Ever played BattleTroopsBattleTroops? Likedit? Then DMZDMZ should prove easy enough tolearn: DMZDMZ is BattleTroopsBattleTroops withShadowrunShadowrun-knobs on, plain and simple. Ituses dots for movement purposes (byspending a certain amount of MovementPoints, you can move to the next dot), andalso uses those dots to find weapon and magicranges. The whole BattleTroopsBattleTroopsgame system

    has been overhauled to include typicalShadowrunShadowrun things like magic, critters,motorcycles, and some more of that stuff, butunderneath the glitter its still theBattleTroopsBattleTroops system. Thats OK, I like

    BattleTroopsBattleTroops, but for ShadowrunShadowrun Isomehow feel it doesnt come out really right.The system is 2D6-based, instead of thehands-full-of-D6s-based ShadowrunShadowrun rules,and includes rules to convert yourShadowrunShadowrun character to DMZDMZ. What itdoesnt do is give rules to convert it back, soif you do take your ShadowrunShadowrun characterinto DMZDMZ, prepare to spend a lot of timefiguring out exactly how wounded (s)hecomes out. Anyways, the rules themselves aresuitable for what they try to do: you canspeed up combat by playing DMZDMZ instead of ShadowrunShadowrun. As soon as youre used to themof course, but theyre not very hard to learnanyway. Still, I had expected a bit more,really.By the way, the Archetypes book is nothingmore than all ShadowrunShadowrunarchetypes (fromfirst edition ShadowrunShadowrunand Sprawl SitesSprawl Sites)converted to DMZDMZ stats, plus a few addedextra ones. It also has four scenarios to startyou off. Rating: Rating: 3.7Comment:Comment: DMZDMZ is a playable but notterribly exciting tactical wargame. We didntfind it at all usable for roleplaying as itsresults are strikingly different from theroleplaying combat systems and much morelethal. A combat-optimized DMZDMZ characterlooks quite different from an optimized SRSRcharacter, and each will die in the othersenvironment. The damage-track system canbe adapted, though (my SRSR-based homebrewused it). Notes: Notes: In addition to a rulebook and anarchetypes book, the box contains 2 large(approx. 55 x 85 cm) gray maps with a whitedot pattern; 7 small (about 28 x 42 cm) full-color maps with overprinted dot pattern; 1large (same as size as gray maps) full-colormap, also overprinted with a dot pattern; 16

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    plastic figure stands; two six-sided dice; and4 sheets with cardboard countersrepresenting characters, smoke, doors, firingarcs, etc. The weapon stats are conversionsfrom first edition ShadowrunShadowrunweapons, so no

    Fields of FireFields of Fireguns are included, and theweapons dont always match the secondedition weapon stats.

    Fields of Fire (1994)Fields of Fire (1994) Author: Author: Tom Dowd Number: Number: 7114Price:Price: $15.00Pages:Pages: 110Sections:Sections: Introduction, Fields of Fire,Mercenar y Equipment, Rules, Tables

    Overview:Overview: The ShadowrunShadowrun mercenarysourcebook. The first part of the book givesbackground mater ial on what it is like to be amerc, written as an article by a well-knownmerc. The next section is more useful togadget-lovers: in a similar fashion to theStreet Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Catalog, this provides allsorts of gear, intended for mercenaries.Natur ally, this is also useful to just about anyshadowrunner who wants a good gun. Inaddition to new weapons, things such asclimbing gear, military armor, andcommunications systems are also featured, asare a few new vehicles. Then comes the rulesclarifications. These provide optional r ules toenhance your game (most are very useful),and rules pertaining to some of the newequipment featured in the book. The finalsection is a huge equipment table, listing justabout all gear officially released by FASA upuntil ear ly 1994, useful as a quick r eference. Rating: Rating: 7.2Comment:Comment: Get some people who know bothguns and the system rather than bootleggingC-Punks already garbled munchkin guns.

    Germany Sourcebook (1993?) Authors: Authors: most likely the same as those forDeutschland in denDeutschland in den SchattenSchatten

    Number: Number: 7204 [1-55560-186-3]Price:Price: $18.00

    Pages:Pages: ?Sections:Sections: ?Overview:Overview: What can I say? Maybe that Ivenever really read this oneI got the Germanversion, but I havent been bothered to alsobuy the English one. What I do know is thatcertain things have been left out of theEnglish version, so if you speak Germanyoure pr obably better off buying the or iginalrather than the translation. Rating: Rating: 6.2

    TheThe Grimoire The Manual of Grimoire The Manual of PracticalPractical Thaumaturgy 15thThaumaturgy 15thEdition, 2053 (1992)Edition, 2053 (1992)

    Author: Author: Paul R. Hume Number: Number: 7903 [1-55560-190-1]Price:Price: $15.00Pages:Pages: 142Sections:Sections: Introduction, The Ways, The Arts,The Higher Mysteries, The Beings, ThePlaces, Magical Threats, Spells, IndexOverview:Overview: Magicians, buy this book. Uselessto any other kinds of characters, anymagician will find this one invaluable simplybecause of all the new things it details. Mostof the information presented in TheTheGrimoireGrimoire is immediately useable in anycampaign, provided your character hasenough Good Karma to spend. Things likeinitiations, astral quests, spell design, newspirits, and rules expansions all combine tomake magicians more powerful and more

    dangerous than ever. The druid rules fromthe London SourcebookLondon Sourcebookare also includedand updated to second edition ShadowrunShadowrun,and some magical threats are introduced,giving gamemasters some very nastysurpr ises to spr ing on unwary players. Rating: Rating: 8.3

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    Notes: Notes: This is the reworked version of theoriginal GrimoireGrimoire(1989, I think), which isnot included her e

    London Sourcebook (1991?)London Sourcebook (1991?) Authors: Authors: Carl Sargent & Marc Gascoine Number: Number: 7203 [1-55560-131-6]Price:Price: $15.00Pages:Pages: ?Sections:Sections: ?Overview:Overview: Havent got this one either. I didtake a look into it once (thanks, Phill!), andit seemed OK to me. I do know that itcontains rules on druids and ley lines, but Icant remember much else. Rating: Rating: 6.2

    Comment:Comment: LondonLondon sourcebooksourcebookhad far toomany geographical inconsistencies (Invernessis NOT on the West coast....)

    Lone Star (1994)Lone Star (1994) Authors: Authors: Nigel D. Findley & Stephen Atkins Number: Number: 7115 [1-55560-230-4]Price:Price: $18.00Pages:Pages: 136 + 8 colorSections:Sections: Introduction, Behind the Star,Corporate Structure, Enforcement Arm,

    Corporate Arm, Personnel, OperationalProcedures, Intelligence Gathering, NewEquipment, Gamemaster Information, IndexOverview:Overview: Everything you always wanted toknow about Lone Star, but were afraid toask! Seriously, this book does a good job of telling the tr uth (as far as it can be dug up, of course) behind Lone Star. It goes into almostevery aspect, from corporate politics to thecops on the street, and also has informationabout the equipment and methods used by

    Lone Star employees. Granted, the book doescontradict some information from previousbooks (mainly adventures), but nothing youcant live with. The book is most useful forgamemasters, who will be able to judge LoneStars response to the players actions mucheasier after reading thr ough the book once ortwice, not to mention having a use for the

    stats for typical Lone Star employeesincluded in the back. Players dont reallyhave much use for it, though as always theymight want to read it anyway. Know youropposition, and a ll that j azz?

    Rating: Rating: 7.3Comment:Comment:More useful than ShadowbeatShadowbeat, it details thecops. If the GM doesnt use the cops often, oras a real challenge, they may want it and thePCs may not want them to have it. Adds alot of flavor.

    Native American Nations VolumeNative American Nations VolumeOne (1991)One (1991)

    Author: Author: Nigel D. Findley

    Number: Number: 7202 [1-55560-130-8]Price:Price: $12.00Pages:Pages: 136Sections:Sections: Peacekeeper: A Prologue,Introduction, The Adventure, Picking Up thePieces, Legwork, Cast of Shadows, PlayerHandouts, Native American Nations, Salish-Shidhe Council, Sioux Nation, PuebloCorporate Council, Ute NationOverview:Overview: The largest part of this book isthe adventure Peacekeeper . What follows on

    from this is a short guide to four of theNative American Nations, described in asimilar way as in most other ShadowrunShadowrunsourcebooks: basic text with comments bypeople who think they have something to say.As with the Neo-Anar chists Guide to Nor thNeo-Anar chists Guide to Nor thAmericaAmerica, the information provided doesntgo very deep but is sufficient to get some ideaon what is going on in each country. Ipersonally would have liked to see moregame-specific information as well as morethings on topics like how to cross borders,but that is just my personal opinion. Playersmight want to read this book, especially if their characters are Native Americans, butotherwise its mostly a gamemasters book,giving ideas for adventures if you readbetween the lines a bit. Rating: Rating: 5.4

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    Comment:Comment: NAN 1NAN 1was awful half of it isa bad adventure module, and the other half isvery shallow and pr efunctory. Nothing aboutculture at all.

    Native American Nations VolumeNative American Nations VolumeTwo (1991?)Two (1991?) Author: Author: Nigel D. Findley Number: Number: 7207 [1-55560-158-8]Price:Price: $12.00Pages:Pages: ?Sections:Sections: ?Overview:Overview: I havent got this one, and I havenever really had the chance to read it either,so I dont know. I suspect it is much along thelines of Native American Nations VolumeNative American Nations Volume

    OneOne. I do know that it has an adventurebacked up with source material, and that itdetails the remaining nations not covered byNAN1NAN1.

    Rating: Rating: 5.6

    TheThe Neo-Anarchists Guide toNeo-Anarchists Guide toNorth America (1990 or 1991 North America (1990 or 1991 the book contr adicts itself)the book contr adicts itself)

    Authors Authors :: A whole lot of people Number Number :: 7206 [1-55560-135-9]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 128 + 6 double-sided fold-out mapsSectionsSections :: Introduction, Neo-Anarchism,California Free State, San Francisco,Confederated American States, Atlanta,Dallas/Fort Worth, Republic of Qubec,Qubec City, United Canadian and AmericanStates, Federal District of Columbia,Chicago, New York CityOverviewOverview :: What does North America look like in the 2050s? This is the book thatexplains. Sort of. Even though it claims to bea guide to North America, you will need boththe Native American NationsNative American Nationsbooks, theSeattle SourcebookSeattle Sourcebook, and TirTir TairngireTairngire toget a more or less complete picture. This oneis concerned mostly with the areas occupiedby Anglos. Anyway, this Guide describessome areas of North America in the well-

    known fashion of text filled with deckercomments, but also gives an idea of what neo-anarchism is all about. The text is supportedby three-color maps in the back of the book:every major city thats discussed has two

    maps, one that shows the complete city andone to illustrate the downtown core, andthere is also a map of almost the whole of North America. All this combined gives areasonable picture of ShadowrunShadowruns NorthAmerica, but doesnt really go into details. Of course, that is to be expected from a book that handles an entire continent. As forusefulness, again mostly for the gamemaster,and only if you want to know more about theworld, or if your players want to venture outfrom Seattle to explore the lands beyond. Rating Rating :: 6.6CommentsComments :: Useful. Provides a necessaryview of the old US. Helps to show the newworld order. Notes Notes :: Out of print.

    TheThe Neo Anarchists Guide toNeo Anarchists Guide toReal Life (1992)Real Life (1992)

    Author Author :: Nigel D. Findley Number Number :: 7208 [1-55560-165-0]

    PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 104 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Finding Your Feet,Security Blanket, Fringe of Space, KillerAccessories, Dressed to Kill, DocWagonsNew Medicine, Seattle on 30 a Night,Guarding the Till, Eating Fast andFearlessly, Best of Home Security, SharperImage, One-Way Communication, You AreYour Credstick, RulesOverviewOverview :: Lots of background material

    mixed in with useful and less-useful newequipment and rules, the Neo-A Guide toNeo-A Guide toReal LifeReal Life gives an insight into securitysystems, fashion, medical clinics, coffinhotels, credsticks, and a few more things of interest to ShadowrunShadowrunplayers. The book ispretty useful for getting to know a bit moreabout how the world of ShadowrunShadowrunworks,

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    and what you can expect to encounter in thesprawl. The section on credsticks is really

    just a slight expansion and reprint of therules in Sprawl SitesSprawl Sites, however. Forgamemasters, the chapters on security

    provide good information on how corps andothers guard their compounds, houses, andplaces of business, while for the fashion-conscious players there are some fashion-weapons and equally-fashionable armor andgoodies (finally! I like useless gadgets for mycharacters...). The last chapter providesspecific game rules for all subjects covered.All in all, Id say you could do a lot worsethan buy this book. Rating Rating :: 7.4Comment Comment :: Useful. Again, its backgroundmaterial, but its the day to day stuff. Veryhandy. Very little of it will imbalance a game,if any. Notes Notes :: Stats for things like weapons and gearare included for both first and second editionShadowrun.Shadowrun.

    Paranormal Animals of EuropeParanormal Animals of Europe(1993)(1993)

    Authors Authors :: Carl Sargent, Tom Dowd & Mike

    Colton Number Number :: 7112 [1-55560-199-5]PricePrice :: $18.00PagesPages :: 168 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Preface, AwakenedAnimals, Appendix 1, Appendix 2, Powers of the Awakened, World-Wide Distribution,Critter TableOverview:Overview: Very similar to the earlierParanormal Animals of Nor th AmericaParanormal Animals of North Amer ica(seebelow), this book details the creatures that

    stalk Europe. Gamemasters can baseadventures around these animals, or simplythrow them against the players to make themspend some ammo. Apar t fr om this, the book is useful as background material, because itgives a short scientific description of theanimal, based on observations made byresearchers, while also adding shadow-

    comments based on observations made bynon-researchers, as well as a picture of theanimal and a map showing where you arelikely to encounter it. Be wary of the sizecomparison pictures, as the animals in these

    are sometimes grossly out of proportion tothe size theyre supposed to from in the text.In addition to critter descriptions and stats,included is a very much expanded Powersand Weaknesses section (expanded over bothShadowrun Second EditionShadowrun Second Edition andParanormal Animals of North AmericaParanormal Animals of North America),and a stats list of all critters published inShadowrunShadowrunup until 1993, which means ithas virtually all of them. One of the mostuseful parts of the book, apart from the newanimals themselves, is the World-Wide

    Distribution chapter, which gives indicationsfor how you can put European critters inNorth America and the other way around. Bythe way, the beasties of Europe are generallymore powerful than those that lurk in thegood ol US of A (RIP). Rating Rating :: 6.3

    Paranormal Animals of NorthParanormal Animals of NorthAmerica (1990)America (1990)

    Author Author :: Nigel D. Findley Number Number :: 7105 [1-55560-123-5]PricePrice :: $12.00PagesPages :: 176 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Street Smart, I ntr oduction, P owersof the Awakened, Awakened AnimalsOverviewOverview :: Another one for the gamemaster.The only thing this book talks about isawakened critters, so unless you want yourcharacter to have a greater wolverine as apet, this isnt much use to players. Much the

    same comments apply to this book as toParanormal Animals of EuropeParanormal Animals of Europe, so I wontrepeat them; there is a section with expandedPowers and Weaknesses for the critters, butthis is superseded by the same listing inParanormal Animals of EuropeParanormal Animals of Europenot in theleast because the list in that book is for usewith the second edition rules. Naturally,

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    complete game stats for each critter aregiven, as is a quick-reference list of allcritters in the book. Rating Rating :: 6.4CommentsComments :: The animal guides arent

    needed if you dont plan on running intoany. Notes Notes :: The stats in this book are for firstedition ShadowrunShadowrun(at least, in the copy Iown). There are conversions in the back of the second edition ShadowrunShadowrunrulebook.

    Paradise Lost (1994)Paradise Lost (1994) Author Author :: ? (Nigel Findley, I think -Fro) Number Number :: 7317 [?]PricePrice :: $10.00

    PagesPages :: ?SectionsSections :: ?OverviewOverview :: Not in my possession, Im afraid.Like the Native American NationsNative American Nationsbooks,Paradise LostParadise Lostis basically an adventure witha source section bolted on for good measure.Oh, and its about Hawaii. Rating Rating :: 7.4

    Portfolio Of A Dragon:Portfolio Of A Dragon:Dunkelzahns Secrets (1996)Dunkelzahns Secrets (1996)

    Authors Authors :: Steve Kenson, Mike Colton, ToddBolling, Jon F. Zeigler Number Number :: 7122 [1-55560-306-8]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 112SectionsSections :: Introduction, The Dragons LastDance, The Last Testament Of Dunkelzahn,I, Dunkelzahn..., The Players, ShadowlandOn Parade, The Sleeping Dragon, WhoWatches The Watchers?, In The CardsOverviewOverview :: this review could have some big

    spoilers if the game you play in hasntreached August 2057 yet! Consider yourself warned... If youre still reading this, then youprobably already know Dunkelzahn wasassassinated when he was inaugurated asUCAS president, and left a will that raiseslots of questions. Portfolio Of A Dragon:Portfolio Of A Dragon:Dunkelzahns SecretsDunkelzahns Secretscontains this will, and

    takes a look at who benefits (and some of thereasons why), and tries to find out who killedthe Big D (and again: why). In essence, thisbook is one big device for generatingadventures, because a great many of the

    entries in Dunkelzahns will could be turnedinto anything from short one-off adventuresto whole campaigns, in search of an item, thetruth, both, none, or something else entirely.It doesnt give any concrete adventure plots,but could spark lots of them; for this reason,it can be considered safe to read forplayers. Rating/Comment Rating/Comment :: not for this one. Notes Notes :: better check with your gamemasterbefore r eading this book.

    Prime Runners (1994)Pr ime Runner s (1994) Author Author :: Carl Sar gent (?) Number Number :: ?PricePrice :: $18.00 (?)PagesPages :: ?SectionsSections :: ?OverviewOverview :: A book with NPCs to put into aShadowrunShadowrun campaign. From what Iunderstand, these are not simple contacts butmore fully-developed NPCs, like the Cast of Shadows section of the FASA-publishedadventures. These NPCs are supposed to behigh-powered, but the ShadowRN grapevinesays that they arent really, and that anaverage player team would kick theircollective asses with relative ease. I haventactually seen the book, mind you, but anet.publication called NERPS: EdgeNERPS: EdgeRunnersRunners is available, which featurescharacters actually in use by ShadowrunShadowrunplayersand that ones free. Rating Rating :: 5.2

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    Rigger Black Book (1991)Rigger Black Book (1991) Author Author :: Phillip McGregor Number Number :: 7108 [1-55560-169-3]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 136 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Civilian Vehicles,Security Vehicles, Drones, Military Vehicles,Vehicle Ratings, Vehicle Operations, VehicleModifications, Vehicle Weapons, Sensor s andECM, Vehicle Combat Turn, Revised CombatRules, IndexOverviewOverview :: Ive heard people complain aboutthat the Rigger Black BookRigger Black Bookisnt reallyuseful, but I disagree. It provides largenumbers of vehicles of all types to populateyour ShadowrunShadowruncampaign with, and more

    importantly, it gives rules for modifyingvehicles. The vehicle combat rules havealmost all been integrated into the secondedition ShadowrunShadowrunrules, as have the r evisedcombat rules for personal combat, so youdont need to buy the book to get those.Vehicle ratings are expanded over those inbasic ShadowrunShadowrun, and include such things ashow many seats and doors the vehicle has,fuel and engine types, and cargo space. Alsofeatured are new weapons, though mostlymissiles and cannons for military-gradevehicles; not something street riggers can putonto their modified Westwind 2000 easily.The book is moderately useful to characterswho just want a car or bike; riggers, on theother hand, will find it very useful because of the large number of vehicles andmodifications to choose from. Rating Rating :: 6.3Comment Comment :: RBBRBB, IMHO, was very vague.Vehicle mod rules seem arbitrary in places,and just what the heck is a CF, anyway?Area? Volume? Mass? Weight?Notes:Notes:stats are for first edition ShadowrunShadowrunin my copy of the book. The ShadowrunShadowrunSecond EditionSecond Edition rulebook has conversionguidelines.

    Seattle Sour cebook (1990)Seattle Sour cebook (1990) Author Author :: Boy F. Peterson Jr . Number Number :: 7201 [1-55560-111-1]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 175 + 4 color + fold-out mapSectionsSections :: Introduction, Welcome to Seattle,Facts At Your Fingertips, History,Downtown/Seattle, Renraku Arcology,Aztechnology Complex, Council Island,Bellevue, Tacoma, Everett, Renton, Auburn,Snohomish, Fort Lewis, Redmond, Puyallup,Government, Economy, Crime, MapsOverviewOverview :: Not, as the FASA catalog says,loaded with maps. In fact, there are only 13pages with maps in the back of the book, andall these are of the different districts in

    Seattle. (And guess what? They dont even fittogether!) The major part of the book is anoverview of all the districts that make up theSeattle Metroplex, with histories,geographical descriptions, demographics, andso on given for each district as well as Seattleas a whole. The most important part of eachdistrict chapter consists of short descriptionsof various buildings and locationsas youllall be familiar with from the city descriptionsin the NAGEENAGEE. The last (shorter) chapterstalk about how the plex is governed,organized and non-organized crime, andother things that are handy to know. As withmost ShadowrunShadowrunsourcebooks, there are lotsof decker comments everywhere, so make of the text what you will. The book is almostessential to run a campaign in Seattle,because it gives a much better insight into thecity that the short text in the back of theShadowrunShadowrunrules does.

    Rating Rating :: 7.1Comment Comment :: Maybe being a Seattle nativebiased me, but I found the SeattleSeattleSourcebookSourcebookvery dry. It didnt do much atall to give a feeling for the variousneighborhoods. Youd do better to get a mapand tour guide to modern Seattle and thenimprovise.

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    Shadowbeat (1992)Shadowbeat (1992) Author Author :: Paul R. Hume Number Number :: 7109 [1-55560-159-6]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 102 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Its Only Rock &Roll, Broadcasting, The Nets, ThatsEntertainment, And Now the News, Sports,Simsense, Archetype Additions, Gear,GlossaryOverviewOverview :: Information about the media inall its aspects in the ShadowrunShadowrun universe.ShadowbeatShadowbeat is not very useful forrollplayers, because it provides little hard-and-fast rules, but if you want to roleplay a

    journalist, musician, or other media-

    affiliated character, you could do a whole lotworse than invest your money in this book.Its contents are fairly useless to typicalShadowrunShadowrun characters (mages, samurai,etc.), so its a bit of a specialized sourcebook;the first chapters give background materialon music, trideo, sports, and simsense, aswell as actual rules for their inclusion in thegame. This book isnt written as a Neo-Aguide, so it freely mixes rules with sourcematerial in a humorous writing style. Thecolor section has some interviews withnotable NPCs, together with their full gamestats, while the Archetype Additions andGear sections have things like cameras,musical instruments, simsense recorders, andthe skills to operate them. Rating Rating :: 5.9Comment Comment :: ShadowBeatShadowBeatwas not useful (tome at least) at all. I found it dull andunnecessary.

    Shadowrun GM Screen SecondShadowrun GM Screen SecondEdition (1992?)Edition (1992?)

    Author Author :: ? Number Number :: 7902 [?]PricePrice :: $12.00PagesPages :: ?SectionsSections :: ?OverviewOverview :: Havent bought it, dont want toeither (but a copy is welcome if someonewants to make a donation to a worthy cause:). Not because I hate the thing, but I alreadyhave a gamemaster screen that I made myself and so has all the stuff I want on it; the book and character standups are not enough toconvince me to buy this one. However, if youdont already have a gamemaster screen and

    also nothing to fake one with, why not buy it? Notes Notes :: In addition to the cardboard screen,this contains a book of archetypes andcontacts, plus standup character (probablyDMZDMZ-style cardboard figur es).(Yup, the kind with the cruddy cardboardbase, I made wood bases for them all, workednicely -Fro) Rating Rating :: 6.0Comment Comment :: The GM screen is not entirelycomplete, as I think other tables could have

    been put on it. Eg the skill web wassuperfluous (one could just copy it from thebook, and leave it on the table, for all to use.)Also, it IQs a bit too high, but I think thatcomment is just that bit too subjective ;)

    Shadowrun Companion: BeyondShadowrun Companion: BeyondThe Shadows (1996)The Shadows (1996)

    Authors Authors :: Zach Bush, Jennifer Brandes,Chris Hepler, Chris Hussey, JonathonJacobson, Steve Kenson, Linda Naughton,

    Brian Schoner, Michael Mulvihill Number Number :: 7905 [1-55560-298-3]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 136SectionsSections :: Introduction, In Their OwnWords, Character Creation, Skills AndTraining, How To Hire A Shadowrunner,Contacts And Enemies, Advanced Rules,

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    Running The Game, Alternate CampaignConcepts, Shadowrun Character Sheets,IndexOverviewOverview :: the advanced rules supplementfor the ShadowrunShadowrungame as a whole, most of

    this book expands existing rules, addsoptional new ones, and clarifies others. It isin no way required to play the game, but itsquite a good add-on to increase the scope of the game itself as well as of the game world.Among the topics covered are a whole newcharacter generation system (points-based,rather than a priority system), edges andflaws to make a character more unique, newmetahuman races, a new skill web, rules forlearning and improving skills (making thismore involved than just spending GoodKarma), and more. There is also a chapterthat builds on the Behind The Scenes chapterfrom Shadowrun Second EditionShadowrun Second Edition, givingmore advice to gamemasters, and a chapterwith alternate settings for campaigns, such asmaking all player characters employees of DocWagon. Al in all its a good investmentfor players who know the intricacies of thebasic ShadowrunShadowrunrules, although I wouldntrecommend it to groups who are relativelynew to the game. Rating/Comment Rating/Comment :: not app licable

    Shadowrun Second Edition (1992)Shadowrun Second Edition (1992) Authors Authors : lotsa folks Number Number : 7900 [1-55560-196-0] for thehardback edition; 7901 [1-55560-180-4] forthe softback editionPricePrice : $30.00 for the hardback edition;$25.00 for the soft back editionPages: 296 (incl. 16 color) + 24 color + fold-out mapSectionsSections : Welcome to the Shadows, The YearIs 2053, Plus a Change, And So It Came ToPass, Game Concepts, Metahumanity,Creating A Character and Archetypes, Skills,Combat, Magic, The Matrix, Behind theScenes, Contacts, Cr itters, Gear , The ModernNorthwest, Seattle, Developers Notes,Sour cebook Updates, Index

    OverviewOverview : Essential for anyone who wants togamemaster Shadowrun, but Id adviseplayers to get a copy as well. Being the basicrules, youre gonna need th is to run any kindof Shadowrun game. Why am I telling you

    this anyway? Youre obviously playing italready... Notes Notes : the hardback was a limited edition,and only the softback is still in print (eventhough the har dback is much sought-after).This was the second-highest rated book onthe survey (Harlequins Back got 8.9). Rating Rating : 8.8Comment Comment : The second edition book has allthe good points (because its basically copied)of the first book, without the confusing rules,and a complete set of updates.

    Shadowtech (1991)Shadowtech (1991) Author Author :: Karl Wu Number Number :: 7110 [1-55560-156-1]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 120 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Bionetics, Bioware,Cybertechnology, Cyberware,Eugenics/Genetics, Gene-Tech, Chemistry,Compounds, Technology and the Law,Equipment Table, Equipment IndexOverviewOverview :: as well as adding lots of newimplant-goodies to your runners wish-lists,this book provides an insight into howcyberware and bioware work in the gameuniverse, together with explanations of genetic engineering. Rules for drugs and druguse are given, as are general data about thehuman body (the author is a doctor,apparently). The implants are divided intobioware and cyberware, with the biowaregenerally being of more use to combat-oriented characters than the cyberware.Headware cyberdecks are introduced, butyou will need Virtual RealitiesVirtual Realities tounderstand what is what with these. The lastpart of the book has a legalities section(expanded over that in Sprawl SitesSprawl Sites), and

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    tables listing the legalities of almost allequipment published until 1992. Rating Rating :: 7.8Comment Comment :: A GM caveat book, it canseriously change the power level of a game,

    both for and against PCs. Use with care.

    Sprawl Maps (1994)Sprawl Maps (1994) Author Author : ? Number Number : 7401 [?]PricePrice : $15.00PagesPages : 8 (theres 8 maps and a thick pieceof cardboard in the plastic wrapper)Sections: ?OverviewOverview : A set of 8 maps for use with DMZ.If you like DMZ and play it a lot, I guess you

    should buy this one as well. I dont own themaps, Ive just read the bit in the FASAcatalog and looked at somebody elses copyonce, which means I cant say much aboutthem. Going by the rating from the survey(this was the lowest-rated out of 67products...), theres not much need to buythis set unless youre desperate for new mapsfor your DMZ game. Rating Rating : 3.4Comment Comment : Maps are nice but too expensive.And do me a great favour: No morecardboard without maps on it. I was thinkingId gotten a big pack of maps and what did Iget? Some maps and a thick piece of cardboard.

    Sprawl Sites (1990)Sprawl Sites (1990) Authors Authors :: Boy Peterson, John Faughnan &Mike Stackpole Number Number :: 7103 [1-55560-119-7]PricePrice :: $12.00

    PagesPages :: 128 (incl. 8 color)SectionsSections :: Introduction, Life on a Limb,Location Archetypes, Sprawl Encounters,Archetypes & Contacts, Sprawl Law,Credsticks and IDsOverviewOverview :: A mixed blessing. First off, let mesay that most of this book is for gamemastersonly, not for the players. The new contacts

    are useful if youve gotten bored with theones in the basic rules, as are the archetypes.The Location Archetypes ar e not, as you maythink, character archetypes with appear atspecific locations, but instead these are maps

    of typical buildings. This section isdefinitely the most useful of the book, as itgives an idea of what a typical bar, shop,office, or house looks like, and who you canexpect to find there when you get inside.Maybe Americans have less use for it, as Iexpect these things were based on1980s/1990s American buildings, but I guessthat non-Americans will find it pretty handy.The least useful bit is the Sprawl Encounterssection. This provides the gamemaster with afew tables to roll dice on, and then areference to the 132 encounters listed on thenext pages. The encounters are a bit too farworked out to be true encounters, and toolittle worked out to be useful as shortadventures. The best use for them would beas something to base home-writtenadventures on, I feel. The chapter on laws isalso featured (and expanded) in ShadowtechShadowtech,but Sprawl SitesSprawl Sitesstill has some useful bitshere, namely the enforcement ratings.Finally, the credsticks bit is included (andagain expanded) in the Neo AnarchistsNeo AnarchistsGuide to Real LifeGuide to Real Life.

    Rating Rating :: 6.0Comment Comment :: Sprawl SitesSprawl Siteshad a couple of nice bits in it, including usable floor plansand a few good adventure seeds, but notenough for its length. Notes Notes :: A bit strange, this one: on all FASAprice sheets Ive seen, it is marked asSprawl Sites OneSprawl Sites One, but Ive not heard of aTwo so far...? Anyway, its out of print

    now.

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    Street Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Catalog(1989/1992)(1989/1992)

    Author Author :: Tom Dowd Number Number :: 7104 [1-55560-122-7] for eithereditionPricePrice :: $12.00PagesPages :: 112SectionsSections :: Ares Winter Catalog 2050, AresSecurity Catalog 2050, WiremastersSupplement, Working the Streets, CyberwareDamage, Cyber Repair , Upgrading Cybr ware(the typo in cybrware isnt mine) , CustomCyberware, Cheap Cyberware, SamuraiArchetypes, Weaponr yOverviewOverview :: the Street Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Cataloghaslots of equipment of all kinds, ranging from

    light pistols to riot-control vehicles. Despitethe name of the book, most of it is usable by

    just about any character interested inprotecting him- or herself (and who isnt?).The Ares Security Catalog has security-grade equipment, though some of thecivilian gear would fit in here better thanin the first section (Joe Pedestrian with aburst-fire shotgun??). Both sections includesome new vehicles, but these are betterdetailed in the Rigger Black BookRigger Black Book. The

    Wiremasters Supplement focuses mostly onheadware but fails to provide many usefulthings. The optional rules bit (all thesections about the cyberware) can be useful,but the equivalent rules in ShadowtechShadowtechar ereally better to use. The book rounds off allthis by providing four metahuman streetsamurai archetypes. If you have theShadowrun Second EditionShadowrun Second Editionrulebook, youllfind almost all equipment from the StreetStreetSamurai CatalogSamurai Catalogin the Sourcebook Updates

    chapter, though without the notes on whataccessories that the gear might have asstandard, such as built-in smartlinks or gasvents. Rating Rating :: first edition: 6.4 / second edition: 6.0Comment Comment :: (first edition) The StreetStreetSamurai CatalogSamurai Catalogis a big waste of paper huge margins, one entry per page, irrelevant

    graphics. There are about 5-10 pages worthof useful material in here, but it is not worththe price of purchase. / (second edition)The SSCIISSCII was a joke! It was just a re-formatted version of the original. Nothing

    new, and not much you couldnt find in theSRIISRII book. What a waste. Notes Notes :: This overview is for the first editioncatalog, published in 1989. I havent got thesecond edition (from 1992), but the basicdifferences are that things like damage codeshave been altered to second edition rules (a4M3 SMG becoming a 6M SMG, etc.), andthat a few items have been deleted. Almost allthese changes are outlined in the SRIISRIIrulebook.

    Thr eats (1996)Thr eats (1996) Authors Authors :: a whole load of people Number Number :: 7121 [1-55560-290-8]PricePrice :: $18.00PagesPages :: 104 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Alamos 20,000,Afraid Of The Darke, Winternight, TheVampir Conspiracy, Halberstams Babies,KSAF, The Atlantean Conspiracy, HereThere Be Dragons, Bugs, Blood Mage Gestalt,The Black Lodge, The Human Nation, Tutor,Strain IIIOverviewOverview :: As the name suggests, this book has the low-down on a number of people andorganizations that have the potential of drastically altering the balance of power inthe Sixth World. This poses a problem forme here, because I want to say somethingabout the book, but I cant say too much...The chapter names tend to give a fairimpression of who and what gets discussed inthe book, which is done by dividing eachchapter in a section with neo-anarchist text-with-comments followed by a section withgamemaster information. This is partly agood idea, because it means the gamemasterhas the real scoop (as far as that is given)r ight next to the information to which playerscould have access, but it also means that itbecomes difficult to give this book to players

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    its all too easy to read on into thegamemaster section and find out things thatthe gamemaster would want to keep secret forthe moment. The only way to do this seems tophotocopy the parts that the players have

    access to, but that gets expensive, especiallysince the book itself isnt cheap either for a104-page sourcebook. The threats themselvesare good ones, and could easily form thebasis for an entire campaign rather than aone-off adventure, though this once againbrings up the matter of cost: in building acampaign around these threats, youll neveruse all of them in your game (not unless youplan on playing nothing but ShadowrunShadowrunforthe next 10 years) so in fact most of the book would be wasted... Rating/Comment Rating/Comment :: not app licable Notes Notes :: I would consider this book very mucha gamemaster-only work.

    TrTr nana ng (1993?)ng (1993?) Authors Authors :: Carl Sargent & Mark Gascoigne Number Number :: 7211 [1-55560-209-6]PricePrice :: $18.00PagesPages :: ?SectionsSections :: ?

    OverviewOverview :: Again, I havent got this one, but Iscanned through it once. Not that Iremember much, though... Sorr y. Rating Rating :: 6.1Comment Comment :: Please note, I am Irish and myvote for the TrTr nana ngng source book mightmean something, it is the best Ireland book of any genre I have read. My congratulations tothe authors, at least they didnt indulge instereotypes.

    TirTir Tairngire (1993)Tairngire (1993) Author Author :: Nigel D. Findley Number Number :: 7210 [1-55560-197-9]PricePrice :: $18.00PagesPages :: 152 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, First Impressions,Geography, How It Came to Be, Politics, TirSociety, Economy, Telecommunications,Laws, Tir Tairngire Peace Force, Portland,Salem, Eugene, Open Conference, MapOverviewOverview :: Finally information on the Tir.After lots of contradictory statements inearlier books, this one attempts to give a viewbehind the curtain, sorry, wall thatsurrounds Tir Tairngire. This is, in myopinion, one of the best country sourcebooks,

    mainly because it not only focuses on thecountrys customs and laws, but also on howthose laws are implemented, when you haveto look out, and more along those lines. Likemost of the country books, this one is mostsuitable for gamemasters in order to writeadventures based in Tir Tairngire, but it alsocontains useful information for players whowant to check up on the world behind thegame system. We also get a look at the mostImportant people in the Tir government, witha lot of hints dropped that not all is as itseems to be ( EarthdawnEarthdawn players, payattention!). Three cities (Portland, Salem,and Eugene) are also described in reasonabledetail, and a map of the country is providedat the back of the book, something I feelFASA should have done in all sourcebooks.However , since Tir Tairngire is not very easyto enter (sort of East Germany-styleinaccessible), the book is not really useful forplayers operating from Seattle (or Denver),unless, of course, some Tir noble decides tohire outside help. Rating Rating :: 6.9Comment Comment :: This place couldnt ever exist.Too much inside joking. Wannabe junk.

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    Virtual Realities (1991)Virtual Realities (1991) Authors Authors :: Tom Dowd & Chris Kubasik Number Number :: 7107 [1-55560-144-8]PricePrice :: $15.00PagesPages :: 152 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Computer Systems,Intrusion Countermeasures, Cyberdecks,Programs, Cybercombat, Matrix Realities,Fuchi Incorporated A Matrix Tour,Hacker House Summer Update, VirtualRealitiesOverviewOverview :: Ill say it right out, I was ratherdisappointed with this one. I may be biased (Inever liked the decking rules), but to devotealmost half of the book to a short story was abit of a rip-off for my taste. The first

    chapters give useful information aboutdecking: the decking rules are expanded witha new node, new utilities, new IC, and morenew things deckers can use to theiradvantage. Also given are rules forconstructing/updating cyberdecks andwriting utilities yourself. The book goes on togive a general image of what the Matrix reallyis, both from the gamers point of view, andby using a tour from Fuchi Inc. This lattergives very nice color pictures of actualMatrix nodes so you can see what it all reallylooks like. What follows then is a sort of Street Samurai CatalogStreet Samurai Catalogfor deckers, butwithout anything new: all the stuff thatHacker House sells is detailed in the firstchapters of the book. Then theres the shortstory, with which the book ends. The story,titled Virtual Realities like the book, is setentirely within the Matrix. Rating Rating :: 6.0Comment Comment :: The decking system stinks, andso did Virtual RealitiesVirtual Realities. I didnt flunk it, cozI liked the story. Notes Notes :: This book is out of print, mainlybecause VR 2.0VR 2.0 came out in 95.

    Virtual Realities 2.0 AVirtual Realities 2.0 AShadowrun Sour cebook (1995)Shadowrun Sour cebook (1995)

    Author Author :: Paul Hume Number Number :: 7904 [1-55560-271-1]PricePrice :: $18.00PagesPages :: 176 + 8 colorSectionsSections :: Introduction, Interlude 1:Welcome To The Matrix, Matrix 2.0,Interlude 2: Things To Come, Grids AndHosts, Intrusion Countermeasures, Interlude3: SOTA In Fear, Mapping Matrices,Interlude 4: Worlds Of The Matrix, Deckers,Cyberdecks, Programs, System Operations,Cybercombat, Hacker House, Matrix Law,Artificial Intelligence, The Otaku, MatrixHot Spots, Appendix, Index

    OverviewOverview :: this book presents a completeoverhaul of the Matrix system, changingthings down to almost the basic principles of how the Matrix was run before. It attempts tomake decking easier for players andgamemasters, in which it succeeds for themost part. For example, the complicatedbusiness with nodes populated with IC isreplaced by rules in which deckers entercomplete systems that activate particularpieces of IC when the decker gives away his

    presence. The more obvious youll gostomping around the Matrix, the moreintrusion countermeasures will get fired yourway. A few drawbacks of the book are that itrequires everyone who is used to the oldrules, to convert to the new ones without a setof conversion guidelines for old characters orsystems, and that the rules are scattered allover the book, making it har d to find specificrules in a hurry. All in all, though, it makesthe Matrix a lot more playable than VirtualVirtual

    RealitiesRealitiesever did. The color plates are alsonice, all of them computer-generatedartwork, though they dont really give all thatmuch of an idea of what the Matrix is reallylike. Rating/Comment Rating/Comment :: published after thesurvey.

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    Notes Notes :: replaces both the Matrix chapter of the SRIISRII rules, as well as the completeVirtual RealitiesVirtual Realitiesbook.

    >>>>>[ Guys and gals, check thisout..heeheehehehee.. I found this in an oldprint publication under some boards in an

    apartment. The funny lettering on thebottom, some sort of World Wide Webaddress.. I would have never thought it

    was that complicated back then.. ] >[ Weird..very weird. I wonder whatwas there? ] &