So sticking with the recent theme of role playing games (RPGs), this week we look at Shadowrun.
Where Dungeons & Dragons can entail a lot of fantasy sword play, Shadowrun is more about role playing, your character interacting with the characters of the games master (GM).
In that regard it is a sweet spot for those with a gift of the gab, those with some theatrics in them.
The downside can be finding a GM who can create the varied characters, backgrounds, connections, to carry gaming sessions.
In my case, the extensive network of sources and connections which can be created through sessions of Shadowrun really interests.
But, it can bog a game down if the gaming group is too large. This is one RPG that once the party climbs about four, maybe five, it can drag for some as the discourse between other party members and the GM created characters takes place.
So a bit about the game.
“Shadowrun is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy, horror and detective fiction,” details Wikipedia with a rather bang on explanation.
“From its inception in 1989, Shadowrun has remained among the most popular role-playing games. It has spawned a vast franchise that includes a series of novels, a collectible card game, two miniature-based tabletop wargames, and multiple video games.”
One of the miniature tabletop games of which they note is Shadowrun: Sprawl Gangers, a game that has sadly been in development for years, and seems either dead in the water, or at the very least is dragging slowly toward a still unknown release.
Regular readers will be aware this gamer loves miniature skirmish games. There is just something about the tactile feel of miniatures, and the use of tactics where brains play a key role, which I adore.
So Sprawl Gangers has been on my ‘watch list’ for ages, and should it ever be produced I’ll jump at it since it builds off the base of the solid Shadowrun world.
While I have not been an avid reader of Shadowrun fiction novels, the couple I have picked up have been quick, and fun reads.
That a successful RPG should not be a surprise since dozens of books based on D&D worlds have been big sellers through the years.
The Shadowrun “title is taken from the game’s main premise – that industrial espionage runs rampant in a near-future setting. A shadowrun – a successful data theft or physical break-in at a rival corporation or organization – is one of the main tools employed by both corporate rivals and underworld figures. Deckers (futuristic hackers) who can tap into an immersive, three-dimensional cyberspace are opposed by rival deckers and lethal, potentially brain-destroying artificial intelligences called ‘Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics’ – ‘ICE’ for short –, who are protected by street fighters and/or mercenaries, often with cyborg implants (called cyberware), magicians, and other exotic figures, on such missions as they seek access, physical or remote, to the power structures of rival groups. Magic has also returned to the world after a series of dystopian plagues; dragons who can take human form have returned as well, and are commonly found in high positions of corporate power.”
It sounds like a bit of a genre mishmash which it is, but that is where the fun comes from. An experienced GM can go just about any direction in terms of story, and that keeps games fresh, and players interested.
As a player the Shadowrun world truly is an oyster, and the pearl is being allowed a very free rein in terms of player character development.
Back to Wikipedia for a bit more flavour.
“Shadowrun takes place several decades in the future (2050 in the first edition, currently 2079. The end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ushered in the ‘Sixth World”’ with once-mythological beings (e.g. dragons) appearing and forms of magic suddenly emerging. Large numbers of humans have ‘Goblinized’ into orcs and trolls, while many human children are born as elves, dwarves, and even more exotic creatures.
“In North America, indigenous peoples discovered that their traditional ceremonies allow them to command powerful spirits, and rituals associated with a new Ghost Dance movement let them take control of much of the western U.S. and Canada, where they formed a federation of Native American Nations. Seattle remains under U.S. control by treaty as a city-state enclave, and most game materials are set there and assume campaigns will use it as their setting.
“In parallel with these magical developments, the setting’s 21st century features technological and social developments associated with cyberpunk science fiction. Megacorporations control the lives of their employees and command their own armies; the ten largest have extraterritoriality, such as currently enjoyed by foreign heads of state. Technological advances make cyberware (mechanical replacement body parts) and bioware (augmented vat-grown body parts implanted in place of natural organs) common.
‘The Computer Crash of 2029 led to the creation of the Matrix, a worldwide computer network that users interact with via direct neural interface. When conflicts arise, corporations, governments, organized crime syndicates, and even wealthy individuals subcontract their dirty work to specialists, who then perform ‘shadowruns’ or missions undertaken by deniable assets without identities or those that wish to remain unknown. The most skilled of these specialists, called shadowrunners, have earned a reputation for getting the job done.
They have developed a knack for staying alive, and prospering, in the world of Shadowrun.
Now if all that wild and wonderful craziness hasn’t drawn you look into Shadowrun, then maybe this is not the RPG for you.
Myself, this is certainly top three territory in terms of RPGs, although unfortunately I am not currently involved in a game, so my troll character languishes in a binder somewhere too long not played.
But if you like a broadly open storyline, and tons of opportunity to interact with the non-player characters of the RPG world you are immersed in, then Shadowrun is one to delve into.
