Shadowrun

Catalyst Game Labs => Catalyst's Shadowrun Products => Topic started by: AJCarrington on <02-10-17/1840:57>

Title: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: AJCarrington on <02-10-17/1840:57>
From Tumblr (http://catalystgamelabs.tumblr.com/post/157060368961/shadowrun-book-of-the-lost-previews):

Quote
The Bastard, upright. A man in clown makeup stands in a broken skyjacker window over another man on the verge of a long plummet. Near the clown’s hand, a white rose.Opportunity, adventure, but also mania and frenzy. 404, upright. A woman crouches on the edge of a rooftop, holding a white rose. In the distance is the image of a woman in a red dress. Destruction, failure, collapse. Queen of coins. A woman in a red dress, lounging amidst luxury. She has material wealth but emptiness of soul. Upright, she is opulence, magnificent. Inverse is suspense, fear.

Opportunity and adventure abounds. Destruction and failure loom. Will the result be magnificence—or fear?

Book of the Lost takes the intricate art of the Sixth World Tarot and turns it into stories and campaigns for Shadowrun players. Full of plot hooks and adventure seeds, this book is a treasure trove of ideas, mysteries, and enigmas that can make memorable games. Open it and explore knowledge that had been lost but is now, here, rediscovered. And waiting for you. Book of the Lost is for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, and can easily be used with Shadowrun: Anarchy with minor NPC adjustments.

Some pages:

(http://68.media.tumblr.com/f32552c6a3d074d574af092e8fad0346/tumblr_inline_ol5va3Z69S1s9c9hj_500.jpg)

(http://68.media.tumblr.com/6d9f4a31ebc582e5bb9a2a1eb0267eff/tumblr_inline_ol5vaahpkp1s9c9hj_500.jpg)
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Crimsondude on <02-11-17/2052:34>
Full-sized preview jpgs

https://68.media.tumblr.com/f32552c6a3d074d574af092e8fad0346/tumblr_inline_ol5va3Z69S1s9c9hj_1280.jpg

https://68.media.tumblr.com/6d9f4a31ebc582e5bb9a2a1eb0267eff/tumblr_inline_ol5vaahpkp1s9c9hj_1280.jpg
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Marzhin on <03-11-17/0738:10>
I wasn't expecting it so soon, but the book just appeared on DTRPG (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207193/Shadowrun-Book-of-the-Lost-A-Shadowrun-Campaign-Book).

(http://fondationdraco.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SR5_BookOfTheLost.jpg)
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Prime Mover on <03-11-17/1418:38>
Thanks an arcology podcast tweet I saw this was out.  So wish catalyst would announce their releases.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: &#24525; on <03-11-17/1817:32>
So its Tarot Deck the Manuel? Is that it?
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Prime Mover on <03-12-17/1820:05>
Campaign booked based on the Tarot showing up in 6th world.  Just did first pass so far, pretty
interesting.  Really looking forward to sitting down with some free time tomorrow and digging into it.  It's definitely scratched an itch felt has been missing from SR for awhile. Can't wait to get a copy of the deck.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: cantrip on <03-13-17/1703:31>
I wasn't expecting it so soon, but the book just appeared on DTRPG (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207193/Shadowrun-Book-of-the-Lost-A-Shadowrun-Campaign-Book).

(http://fondationdraco.fr/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SR5_BookOfTheLost.jpg)
Any word on it being released at the Catalyst Game Labs Store? I've been purchasing from there recently, though I also really like DTRPG.  :D
I'm hoping for a printed release....
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Marzhin on <03-15-17/0650:06>
I like how the emergence of the Sixth World Tarot forces the various shadow communities to come together, bringing a bit of the feeling of the old Shadowland back, as Bull himself remarks.
There's even a couple of posts by The Laughing Man! (Things sure have become pretty sour between him and Frosty...)
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TonyK on <03-15-17/1719:38>
And the references to Brackhaven; between this, and what's in Anarchy and Cutting Aces, there isn't any in-depth information into what went down.  Would love to see that fleshed out more.

I like how the emergence of the Sixth World Tarot forces the various shadow communities to come together, bringing a bit of the feeling of the old Shadowland back, as Bull himself remarks.
There's even a couple of posts by The Laughing Man! (Things sure have become pretty sour between him and Frosty...)
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: AJCarrington on <03-17-17/1101:09>
Any word on it being released at the Catalyst Game Labs Store? I've been purchasing from there recently, though I also really like DTRPG.  :D
I'm hoping for a printed release....

Now up for sale on the CGL Store.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: DeathStrobe on <03-17-17/2118:59>
And the references to Brackhaven; between this, and what's in Anarchy and Cutting Aces, there isn't any in-depth information into what went down.  Would love to see that fleshed out more.

You're going to want to read the Seattle Boxset.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Marzhin on <03-18-17/1009:31>
So, I finished reading Book of the Lost, and I really enjoyed it. Tons of adventure and campaign ideas formed in my mind as I was reading, which I think was the point, but it worked. A lot of the proposed stories and plots are very interesting (and I like how the writers used this opportunity to advance a few old metaplots as well). Even something that could have been silly (Taco Temple) was actually quite intriguing. And the puzzles and riddles hidden in the cards promise to be a lot of fun (and headaches) for runners and GM alike. Good job :)

That being said, there are two things I didn't like in the book:

- Lack of clear distinction between chapters that can be read by everyone or are written from an in-universe perspective and chapters that are GM only. It goes back and forth between the two, and there are times when, within the same section of the book, you really can't tell anymore if you're reading Game Information or Jackpoint posts. I prefer when the GM-only info is gathered at the end of the books in a dedicated section.

- The Power of the Cards chapter. While I understand the need to include something for players who want direct rewards from collecting the Tarot cards, these often feel random and sometimes even, well, silly ("Lofwyr’s ten-ton gold coin", really? Does it simply appear from thin air in front of the runners? Yet the first lines of the chapter clearly states teleportation is impossible in Shadowrun...) Fortunately this section is only 9 pages long.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <03-19-17/2355:58>
So, I finished reading Book of the Lost, and I really enjoyed it. Tons of adventure and campaign ideas formed in my mind as I was reading, which I think was the point, but it worked. A lot of the proposed stories and plots are very interesting (and I like how the writers used this opportunity to advance a few old metaplots as well). Even something that could have been silly (Taco Temple) was actually quite intriguing. And the puzzles and riddles hidden in the cards promise to be a lot of fun (and headaches) for runners and GM alike. Good job :)

Thank you so much!

 :D
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <03-20-17/1452:06>
I'm open to questions anyone might have about the mini-campaigns inside of Book of the Lost.

In beta writing, the BOL was simply called the "GM's Guide to the Sixth World Tarot", so it is  obviously not complete without the Sixth World Tarot.

I've have already made one post under "Book of the Lost Errata" relating to two mis-printed campaigns.

There may be other questions GMs may have that I can answer (and some I cannot). Echo and I worked extremely hard to fill the Tarot with puzzles that can be turned into campaign ideas. BOL doesn't even cover all of the puzzles we created, leaving some for GMs to do with as they wish, and leaving others for potential future campaign products.

Ask away! If anything turns out to be errata, we can add it to the Errata Forum.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Beta on <03-20-17/1545:40>
Is book of the lost going to make much sense without the tarot?  Or do we have to buy the tarot too if we really want to make sense out of things?  By any chance is there a pdf of the tarot, that I can pretend is just an art file?  Or better yet, is the art just available as a pdf somehow?

(I have an irrational irritation with tarot.  I’m all for more adventure ideas and am not at all against some cool art or meta-plot movement -- but the thought of buying tarot cards makes me shudder.  I obviously don’t want to buy the adventures book on its own if it doesn’t make sense that way.  But I really don't see shelling out however much money for physical cards that will just irritate me by being around the house. )
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <03-21-17/1632:44>
BOL will probably not make any sense without the Tarot Deck. It wasn't originally designed or written to make any sense without it, but CGL added content after I handed it in that may or may not be useful. It is a campaign book - so it shouldn't be read by Players at all.

There is not a PDF of the tarot deck (yet?). It was specifically designed to be a gaming prop, something the GM can hand to players across a table and let them see, feel, and interact with physically. My understanding is that the "Deluxe" set is the size the tarot is intended to be for game purposes and the normal size is for more general, non-Shadowrun non-gaming experiences (e.g., Tarot collectors, etc.).

There was a version of the tarot released last GenCon that can be used - but it was also small and really meant for collecting rather than using.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <03-21-17/1642:00>
As for any "irrational irritation", there's not much I can offer.

Except that remember that this is a "game" and it is not attempting to be an "fortune telling device". In fact, in the sourcebook, it specifically says that the Sixth World Tarot isn't even a fortune telling device in the Shadowrun Universe.

Instead, it is a mysterious manifestation of 78 electronic devices that appear to have photographs of actual people in the Shadowrun universe in actual situations. What makes it unique is that the photos themselves should be impossible. Some of them are from impossible angles. Some of them are from private situations no one should even know about. Some of them may even be from the "near future".

No one in the Shadowrun universe has a complete "deck" of the Sixth World Tarot. They might have the one and only card of the "Three of Cups" in the entire world. Maybe they might upload a copy of the image to the Matrix - or maybe they won't. If they do - they might obscure it or modify it so that anyone downloading a copy will not have the full truth that's on the card. Rumor has it that the cards themselves have some ability or abilities to grant knowledge, wealth, and/or power, to whomever deciphers the puzzles within them.

Having offered that - maybe you can see it yourself to not think of them as "Tarot" cards like a neo-gypsy might scam a buck with, but are instead just another source book or game prop like a set of Weapons or Spell Cards.

Just a thought.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Sterling on <03-24-17/1007:40>
BOL will probably not make any sense without the Tarot Deck. It wasn't originally designed or written to make any sense without it, but CGL added content after I handed it in that may or may not be useful. It is a campaign book - so it shouldn't be read by Players at all.

There is not a PDF of the tarot deck (yet?). It was specifically designed to be a gaming prop, something the GM can hand to players across a table and let them see, feel, and interact with physically. My understanding is that the "Deluxe" set is the size the tarot is intended to be for game purposes and the normal size is for more general, non-Shadowrun non-gaming experiences (e.g., Tarot collectors, etc.).

There was a version of the tarot released last GenCon that can be used - but it was also small and really meant for collecting rather than using.

For those players who actually get together physically around a table I'm sure this was a wonderful idea.  For those of us who play over the internet via Skype or Roll20? Not so much.

I really wish the company had been upfront about the whole thing, and made it clear that the two products are pretty much co-dependent.

It seems to me that offering the book as pdf but not the deck is particularly short-sighted.  That's coming from someone who's been accused of being a "Catalyst Apologist" because I can usually see the upside in most releases.

I hope that Catalyst's health plan covers shooting oneself in the foot.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: AJCarrington on <03-25-17/0902:10>
In fairness, I don't think that we've seen word on whether there will be a digital version of the tarot deck or not (at least I don't recall).
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Mr. Grey on <04-03-17/0911:12>
As I read this, I cannot help but think of the opening in Denver, City of Shadows. Ace job guys!
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Sphinx on <04-03-17/1036:52>
I have Book of the Lost as a PDF, and I would really, really like to buy a copy of the Sixth World Tarot to go with it. But it's not for sale. Why not? I'll gladly pay for two versions of the deck, print and PDF, if it means getting the PDF today and the fancy print version later. C'mon, guys, take my money already.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Sphinx on <04-04-17/0128:28>
Near as I can tell without a deck, all of the art that appears in the book is drawn from the Tarot cards. For the curious:

Cover: Eight of Blades
p.5: Seven of Blades
p.6: The Bastard
p.14: The Awakened World
p.22: The Comet
p.23: Four of Batons
p.25: Aes Sídhe Banrìgh
p.29: Three of Batons
p.30: The Hermit
p.31: The Threshold
p.34: Six of Batons
p.38: Ace of Cups
p.43: Queen of Cups
P.48: Four of Blades
p.49: Queen of Coins
p.54: Page of Blades
p.62: King of Batons
p.65: Eight of Coins
p.68: Five of Coins
p.72: Knight of Blades
p.76: Six of Coins
p.77: Six of Cups
p.80: The Dragon
p.84: Nine of Coins
p.87: Two of Batons
p.90: Nine of Blades
p.94: Ten of Coins
p.95: Five of Batons
p.98: Discipline
p.103: King of Blades
p.106: The Avatars
p.107: The Tower
p.110: Seven of Cups
p.118: Ten of Batons
p.119: Ten of Cups
p.125: King of Cups
p.126: The High Priestess
p.130: Two of Coins
p.134: Page of Blades
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Prime Mover on <04-04-17/1855:14>
Still no eta on cards?
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: &#24525; on <04-04-17/2213:41>
Mhmm, right after the TM book ::)
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: AJCarrington on <04-05-17/1250:29>
I thought I saw a post on Tumblr a couple of weeks back indicating that they were shipping from the printer at the end of March. Assuming everything is on schedule, we're probably looking at a May release.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: The Tekwych on <04-05-17/1727:37>
For those that placed a pre order with a company that uses Alliance they changed the SKU a few weeks ago. I had to place my preorder again with the new catalogue SKU
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <04-09-17/2316:07>

There are 78 tarot cards. The cards themselves contains much more information and detail than the 31 cropped and limited (and edited) images in the book.

There might be a PDF version of the Tarot Deck in the works - but it would make some puzzles much too easy and some puzzles actually impossible.

Personally I would think anyone who played Shadowrun would love to own something so unique anyway, which would solve any problems online players might have.

Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Mirikon on <04-10-17/0042:34>
I've played Shadowrun, and I couldn't see myself spending more than $5 for a deck of cards. ANY deck of cards. Why? Because I'm poor. Literally, as in living below the poverty line. A sourcebook I have to buy that requires me to buy a physical deck of cards to be able to play it? Nope.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: RowanTheFox on <04-10-17/1701:03>
I've played Shadowrun, and I couldn't see myself spending more than $5 for a deck of cards. ANY deck of cards. Why? Because I'm poor. Literally, as in living below the poverty line. A sourcebook I have to buy that requires me to buy a physical deck of cards to be able to play it? Nope.

Same here. As much as I love tarot decks, I'm so far below the poverty line I can't even see it anymore.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: &#24525; on <04-10-17/1714:23>
Personally I would think anyone who played Shadowrun would love to own something so unique anyway. . .
I don't see how you would think that.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Jack_Spade on <04-11-17/0559:19>
I do have disposable income, but I'm still hesitant to buy stuff like that. My focus lies on creating a believable world in the minds of my players and not in providing them with pretty picture card deck.
Consequently Book of the Lost will have to wait until it appears as German translation with Pegasus (who hopefully will add the missing pages and Tarot).
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Beta on <04-11-17/0819:01>
I could see big fans of the setting wanting the tarot deck.  But not all setting fans are currently playing, and not all players/GMs are such big setting fans.  For that matter, most games will not have direct interactions with the sort of major background character apt to be shown in the tarot, so it is pretty easy for a group to skip this until the impact shows up in later books.

It is an interesting  and different product, and kudos to all involved for making it happen.  But to me it seems a bit niche for setting fans.  Granted that SR has accumulated a lot of setting fans over the various versions.  (And King of Sartar was a niche publication for fans of the Glarantha setting and was pretty huge for that setting; hopefully this can be as inspiring)

Edited to fix the name of the Gloranthan publication.  King of Dragon Pass was an awesome, quirky, computer game, but what I meant to name was King of Sartar, a book that revealed certain setting secrets and hinted at many others.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Mirikon on <04-11-17/1004:44>
(And King of Dragon Pass was a niche publication for fans of the Glarantha setting and was pretty huge for that setting; hopefully this can be as inspiring)
Hopefully, but little of 5th edition has proved inspiring, except inspiring ennui.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: PMárk on <04-11-17/1527:25>
I'm a little baffled about the ire toward the Tarot deck. It's a gaming prop and a cool one. Most gamers like those.

 Yeah, some kind of pdf version would be good, to be able to use the book without it, just like WotC did with the old and new Ravenloft Tarokka decks, but that's it.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: RowanTheFox on <04-11-17/1620:02>
No ire here, just broke. Personally I'd find it delightful to do a reading with the deck and design a campaign based on the results.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Mirikon on <04-12-17/1800:06>
My ire isn't directed towards the tarot deck, but towards making products reliant upon that specific prop to run. When talking about the Ravenloft Tarokka decks, adventures that referenced them could be run just fine with any regular tarot deck, or even, in many cases, with a regular deck of cards. WOTC didn't try to make a campaign that required everyone picked up the Three Dragon Ante cards to get through it.

All this, on top of the fact that 5th Edition has consistently over-promised and under-delivered. It was No Man's Sky before No Man's Sky was a thing.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Hargrim on <04-13-17/0351:00>
Quote
BOL will probably not make any sense without the Tarot Deck.

It wouldn't? Why exactly is the 6W Tarot Deck required to use Book of the Lost? I mean I read the PDF and having the Deck is cool, but I did not found anything in the book that would push or force me to buy the prop to use it during my games?
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Tarislar on <05-05-17/1908:31>
- Lack of clear distinction between chapters that can be read by everyone or are written from an in-universe perspective and chapters that are GM only. It goes back and forth between the two, and there are times when, within the same section of the book, you really can't tell anymore if you're reading Game Information or Jackpoint posts. I prefer when the GM-only info is gathered at the end of the books in a dedicated section.

My GM was just complaining about this very thing in the Denver scenarios recently.

Its like the new layout/editing crew doesn't understand the good old sections of "Tell it to them straight" v/s "Behind the Scenes" v/s "Running the Adventure"
Clear GM info ends up being in the Tell it to them Straight section while needed player info is in Running the Adventure or Behind the Scenes.

Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: TheDeep on <07-10-18/2123:22>
The book is for GMs and has no purpose without the Tarot.

I understand your feelings about tarot in general, but maybe it would ease you to know that in development - we deliberately considered it a game accessory meant to accentuate a universe in which magic is real and had no intention to confuse it with being real. It has a lot of Shadowrun specific content in it. It has some tongue-in-cheek humor in it. It has a lot of meat to use for a game, since we were deliberately looking to Dunkelzahn's Will for inspiration on the kind of source book/accessory it was supposed to be to enhance the game.

Good luck.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: Beta on <07-11-18/0934:28>
Now, if you'd publish a pdf of the card images of the deck at some point, that would be grand. 



It might be nice to be able to shuffle up the cards, and I understand there are some cool tricks with lining up certain cards in certain orders ... but I'd settle for seeing all the stuff that got packed into the art.  Some images are in BotL, but not all, and it is not always clear which card some of the art is from in there.
Title: Re: [SR5] Book of the Lost
Post by: DeathStrobe on <07-16-18/2049:57>
While not that cheap, you can still pick up signed copies of the tarot deck from echo's store https://echochernik.myshopify.com/collections/tarot/products/shadowrun-sixth-world-tarot-deluxe