That game was Based on Shadowrun yes, if it has the same rule base i don't know, and if it does, then the genesis version was probably based on 1st ed, we're going to play 3rd ED.
And to those who don't know what Shadowrun is, here's a, probably bad, "brief" discription/FAQ'ish thing:
When?It takes place in 2062.
What?- Government/corporation balance:
This is perhaps the core of shadowrun, corporations have more or less, taking over. The police is privatly owned(called the "lone star") now, and there has also been corporate wars, but at some point they realised, bugger! this is a waste of money! then made 3 laws to stop the wars, but they kept on going...in the shadows....and this is where YOU come in! You play the role as a shadowrunner. Shadowrunner is the term used about freelancers who does various jobs for corporations, like: steal that and that new prototype, kill that man, sabotage that perhaps even test the own corps security(you won't be told this of course, often you won't know who you are working for, before you get their trust, by being a loyal employee.)
- Technology:Technology has VASTLY improved, there's cybernetic implants(Cyberware), fancy guns, biologic implants(Bioware) and also a computer system called: matrix(instead of the usual computers, where input is text or voice based, computers have now been "rigged" to plug into your brain(try to think Tron - only, noncheesy :p). A somewhat similar system to the matrix is being used to control vehicles, this isn't used for everyday driving though, but for military/special purposes, it's not illegal though(iirc).
- Magic:Magic has over a few steps returned over the decades, first in 2011 people start to mutate into Orcs and Trolls, and a lot of newborn babies dwarfish and elven, some orcs and trolls too i think, this scares the heck out of a lot of humans, KKK slowly fades away, and racism evolves into actual racism. But of course humans are not the only animals to change because of magic, animals around the world begins to change into various mythical creatures: unicorns, hellhounds, Centaurs, gargoyles, fenrir wolves, kraken and dragons, in fact, there was a dragon who tried to be the US president, however...he was assasined in his human form(some great dragons posses the ability to take a human form), there's also a Dragon that owns a rather large corporation. Of course, the mythical creatures are only naturally present in the country from which the myth is from, or where the myth takes place.
Then later actual magic is performed first indian tribes comes in contact with old spirits, thus they now have the ability to do magic, they start to get in loads out conflict with the US government, start a bunch of wars, yadaydaydablabla(can't remember how the war exactly ended so... you'll have to hear that one later). Now various teenagers accidently casts spells triggered by their uncontrolled emotions, The fact that people start performing magic starts all kind of discussions, "witchburnings", christian hate(traditionalists + satanism(*coughmagiccough*) = very bad combo) however, everything calms down, the US makes laws about it, uses Magicians themselves to find and hunt down criminal magicians, and the Pope accepts Magic.
Gameplay?so what classes and races can you play in this game?
- Races:in the game there's 5 basic races: Human, Orc, Troll, Dwarf and Elven.
- Human is the very basic race, you have no pros or cons, other than.....you're still the race that's the largest, numberwise.
- Orcs are slightly stronger than humans, not so pretty or smart, but a bit stronger and tough.
- Trolls are even stronger and tougher, but, you guessed it, even uglier and less intelligent.
- Dwarves are also a bit tougher than the humans, but they're not more stupid nor uglier, (iirc they have a minus to quickness(dexterity)).
- Elves, who are, a little bit less tough, but prettier and more agile than humans.
It's important to know that unlike D&D, playing a non-human will have severe social penalties - People will usually want to serve the humans first, or give them better deals, pay them more money, etc.[/color]
aside from these races, there's also some abbriviations of these, like a japanese dwarf, dryad, cyclops....etc. Oh and you can play a Were"whatever" and Ghoul too.
- ClassesIn Shadowrun there are not classes per say, but only skills, but still, most people specialise in a certain field, and this is what i call a class, and here they are:
Hermetic Magician:
This is your "regular" sort of magician, studies magic by reading various tomes and books(or computer e-books), capable of conjuring Elementals.
Shamanic Magician:
Shamans follow a certain totem, the totem is basically a kind of deity(often a strong spirit) that the shaman follows and obeys, capable of conjuring various spirits based on what locations they're at(the spirits cannot leave their domain).
- Note both types of magicians can cast the same type of spells, the only difference is the totem part, and the spirit/elemental difference.
Adepts:
Adepts are also a kind of magician, except that Adepts cannot cast spells, they use their magic power to boost themselves in various ways(by a strange coincidence these boosts are often available as cybernetic implants), this could be: boosted reflexes, the ability to fall very deep without harm, killing hands, improved senses, improved skill...and more.
Riggers:
Riggers controls vehicles by pluging their brain into the vehicle itself, so the vehicle acts as a extension of the drivers body, so this is your getaway driver, helicopter ride. However vehicles is not the only thing he can control, some riggers use controls drones instead(basically small robots), which can be used for surveillance, combat....and probably more.
Decker:
Hackers who are commonly called deckers because they use a "Deck" to hack computers, this Deck, is basically a highly advanced computer that allows the Decker to use Certain hacker utilities/programs inside the matrix, this could be attack/defend programs against IC's(pronounced Ice, afaik), or stealth programs to avoid combatting ICs all-out-together, decryptions, password hacking...and etc.
Street Samurai/Merc/Gun-nut/Grunt....etc.
This is your "basic" fighter, except this time, he has big guns, occasionally melee weapons, and he's all boosted up with cyberware, Bioware and who knows what kind of drugs, some even has special made weapons, to be even more deadly. There's of course various specialisations of this bloke, sniper, demoman, straightonassualt, melee'ist...etc.
Otaku:
This is kinda a cross between Adept and Decker. Otaku have the ability to affect the matrix with nothing but their minds, and they install new programs by a type of "meditating" on the matter. However all Otaku are children - they lose their power the older they get. However by the time they have lost their powers they've usually stashed a lot of money from jobs so they can buy a proper Deck and programs. Also, they tend to live in tribes that support eachother(food, clothes and getting Decks/programs for the "retired" Otakus).
CyberZombie:
Note, this is not a PC class, strictly NPC, and also quite rare - expensive to have such a bloke you see.A CyberZombie is a person who have so much cyberware that his soul/spirit/whatever wants to leave(See Cyberware topic for reason), or in other words, he's dead. Or so he would be if not it was for a group of mages who keep his soul in his body through certain rituals so he can do his owners bidding, fail to do his bidding, he dies.(this is yet another reason it's not a PC "class"). But as you probably guessed CyberZombies are EXTREMELY mean in combat, and they are not to be underestimated, who knows what kind of enhancements this guy has.
- ContactsThought i'd just add this, since well.....i'm bored(stacked teams on NS
).
In Shadowrun there's some specific stereotypes/special nicknames for certain types of characters for NPCs.
Mr. Johnson:
Mr Johnson is a generic name(name is obviously inspired by John doe) of a corporate employee who works as a middleman between the corp and the Shadowrunners, so this is one of your employers.
Fixer:
A fixer, as the name suggests, "fixes" things, that is getting equipment, weapons, jobs(all kinds of jobs, corporate and noncorporate alike) and perhaps even extra contacts. so this is a quite resourceful contact to have.
Talismongorer:
This is your Magical-shop-owner, who's able to sell you all kinds of different magic stuff, like materials for different rituals, libary (e-)books to study, foci(magic item, but not as you know them - helps you to cast magic in different ways, or serving as a weapon on the astral plane). This man does of course also know a deal about mythical creatures and magic in the new world.
Gun-tinkerer(not a SR term, just one i whipped out.):
the name pretty much says it all, this bloke knows how to make and repair guns, quite useful if you need something for a "special purpose". Again there's of course also vehicle mechanics and more.
Street Doc:
This doctor(or in some cases, "doctor") isn't associated with officials in any way, or at least not in his "free time". And thus you can get treatment(medical or installation of Cyber- and/or Bioware) without the government knowing, or if you happen to be SINless.
- Items and stuffHere's some general info about various items and equipment.
Credstick:
A Credstick is a unipurpose IDcard, it holds your Name, SIN, Bank account acces, Drivers license and so on. Depending on the credstick, there's different security measures on it(this might be false info, but i remember it like this.).
SIN:
SIN = System Identity Number - which is the equialence of todays CPR numbers. It is pretty much everything in this world. Without a SIN you won't be missed if you happen to "dissappear", and you also lack a lot of rights. However on the other hand i suppose it's a tad harder for the government to track you down.
Cyberware:
As mentioned above Cyberware is cybernetic enhancements, Most boosts you combatwise, but some can also be used for simple storage, extended the brains memory, replacement of limbs, cosmetics(some parts of society likes the "techno look") or Deck plugin. It comes in 2 different kinds and 4(iirc) ratings, the 2 different kinds is obvious and synthetic, Synthetic cyberware is easier to hide, and doesn't scare the public as much. The rating affect how much essence the cyberware robs you of. Installing Cyberware draws from your Essence, which is your lifeforce, Magic is based on how much Essence you have, so magicians stay away from it, but for a nonmagician it still sets a limit of how much cyberware you can have.
Bioware:
This is biological enhancements, basically you get a genetically modified bodypart/organ. This can range from combat enhancements such as the ability not to feel pain, to the ability to sweat perfume(or something else), to cateyes, fur, even extreme magneticness on the other gender and more!
here's the official site, doesn't tell much about the game, but well, here it is anyway.
Now you all know a "bit" more about Shadowrun :p, hoped i helped somehow, otherwise i have wasted a lot of time, but nevermind.
EDIT: oh and erm....as you already know....i'm in :p and i'd classify myself as a rusty moderate.
Edit of Edit: *GASP* even more!
Topic: Shadowrun Campaign (Read 6484 times)
