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Power Plays (Corp guide) released

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Aria

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« on: <04-25-21/1720:19> »
Just picked this up from DriveThru!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/354827/Shadowrun-Power-Plays-Runner-Resource-Book?src=sub

Not had much of a chance to read it though yet but it has interesting qualities related to each Big corp :)
Excel Cha Generators <<CG5.26>> & <CG6.xx> v36

Wakshaani

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« Reply #1 on: <04-28-21/1956:21> »
If anyone's got a review, we're all ears.

Aria

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« Reply #2 on: <04-29-21/1424:58> »
I think the qualities at the end of each chapter are a great idea and have plenty of story potential... but that’s really all I’ve read so far :)
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Nightmare

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« Reply #3 on: <05-05-21/1412:02> »
Whoever wrote the Horizon section didn't get the memo that Sticks was KIA during the Detroit Bugfest.

Michael Chandra

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« Reply #4 on: <05-05-21/1445:44> »
One of these days I need to advocate a world bible for CGL. o_o
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

Wakshaani

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« Reply #5 on: <05-07-21/2120:20> »
Whoever wrote the Horizon section didn't get the memo that Sticks was KIA during the Detroit Bugfest.

Had to check on this one. He's not dead, he's just fragged and retired from his extensive injuries. One of those, "Lived … but only just" things. He's not real happy about having gone from Mr. Adventure to his current state, but, he's at least alive.

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #6 on: <05-07-21/2126:55> »
Whoever wrote the Horizon section didn't get the memo that Sticks was KIA during the Detroit Bugfest.

Had to check on this one. He's not dead, he's just fragged and retired from his extensive injuries. One of those, "Lived … but only just" things. He's not real happy about having gone from Mr. Adventure to his current state, but, he's at least alive.

Remember, SR books are largely written as in-universe documents... so even things that are flat out stated as fact aren't always necessarily so (at least in fluff!).  Not only can rumors of someone's demise be greatly exaggerated, there's always the potential for the unreliable narrator factor when you have in-character dialogue...
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

Sir Ludwig

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« Reply #7 on: <05-07-21/2344:37> »
I got my dead tree version (+pdf) and due to some real world stuff, have had extra time and competed two readings.  I like it, the corp qualities can give some real character (pun intended) to playing.   I am more of a corp espionage SR type and it gave me some ideas to point out to a couple of my newer players.   I am also trying to think of how to work the EVO Revolutionary or Evo In (p71) into a game so that I could let some players purchases after Chargen.

Regards,
SL   
Si vis pacem, para bellum

DeathStrobe

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« Reply #8 on: <05-09-21/1632:25> »
One of these days I need to advocate a world bible for CGL. o_o

Just need more contributors keeping the wiki up to date. *cough cough*

Michael Chandra

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« Reply #9 on: <05-10-21/0304:31> »
On one hand, sure. On the other hand, that only covers public info, not covert development info.
How am I not part of the forum?? O_O I am both active and angry!

Wakshaani

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« Reply #10 on: <05-11-21/1926:11> »
I'm really surprised that there're still no reviews of this one.

Nightmare

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« Reply #11 on: <05-12-21/1457:31> »
Whoever wrote the Horizon section didn't get the memo that Sticks was KIA during the Detroit Bugfest.

Had to check on this one. He's not dead, he's just fragged and retired from his extensive injuries. One of those, "Lived … but only just" things. He's not real happy about having gone from Mr. Adventure to his current state, but, he's at least alive.

Well as Ellis - the beta - says in Cutting Black:

Quote
The one who called himself Sticks. Weeks ago, when he assisted
Colonel McCord with our liberation from the Ares black site, he
was severely injured and crippled, beyond the reach of even
modern medicine. Out of gratitude, we will provide care and
comfort for the rest of his days.
> Ellis

It sounds to me that the one we all know as Sticks from the old days is dead and he's possibly become one with the bugs....or a cyberzombie....not just "barely survived".  That seems pretty deadly there with the "beyond the reach of even modern medicine" and "will provide care and comfort for the rest of his days"...that sounds terminal to me.

Beta

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« Reply #12 on: <05-12-21/1747:50> »
To me it reads more like at least high spinal cord damage,  maybe some brain damage (modern medicine can deal with most other things)

Wakshaani

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« Reply #13 on: <06-05-21/0339:03> »
Anyone have any thoughts on this one yet?

Beta

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« Reply #14 on: <06-29-21/1143:06> »
I've only read a small part of the whole so far, but a few observations:

Good:
====
- Uses a structure designed to make things more applicable in the typical game (instead of a random block of text).  Not every writer seems to have really made good use of all the sections, but overall it helps compared to the 5e product whose name I forget.

- Some interesting developments in Evo, like the new CEO and their return to nanite manufacturing

- Nice job of highlighting the wacky internal dynamics of Horizon.  I feel like I'm finally 'getting' Horizon more after reading that section.

- The list of AA corps was great to have.  I'd love more detail on some of those some day, but I recognize that might be a hard one to make money on, so I'll be content with having the extensive list.

- Overall enjoying the writing of the parts that I've read, and have been inspired with some ideas for my games (this point is probably the most key one of everything I'm saying here!)

Less good (diving into more detail, because I think that is important on any negative feedback)
=======

- In the Evo section it would have been good to have two sentences about what happened with the old CEO (I don't recall reading what happened with the old CEO?  I assume it was covered somewhere but I haven't gone back to look)

- I was disappointed to see anti-grav technology made canon (it was left optional to the GM when brought up in 5e).  There is a lot of technology in SR that might be on dubious footing in terms of materials, engineering, or thermodynamics, but up until now it was a matter of degree, not of "we have no current science that suggests this is remotely possible"  It also seems like something that will have a major impact on the setting (unless it gets retconned or something)

- It still feels like writers don't quite know what to do with Wuxing's major business units.  I guess to most people both transportation and finance are pretty abstract, and so it is hard to say what makes them good or bad or to make them game-tangible or interesting.  (all megas suffer from this to some degree, but most have at least one business that is easier to talk about.  To some degree that is magic with Wuxing, but the nature of their magic services is also kind of abstract so it doesn’t help as much as it might)  There is always talk about those business lines and how they are maybe having some conflict with others, but I’ve yet to see a Wuxing write up that inspires me to make more use of Wuxing in my game.  It isn’t that the write-up is bad, and it included some interesting parts, but everything away from the ruling family and rivals still felt a bit 2-dimensionsal compared to the management parts and some of the other corps (I don’t blame the writer; Wuxing is hard!  But I live in hope that one day someone will make me excited to use them)

 

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