Shadowrun

Shadowrun General => The Secret History => Topic started by: belaran on <10-31-15/1256:00>

Title: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: belaran on <10-31-15/1256:00>
According to the book and the plot of Shadowrun Chronicles video game, there is not (yet) a resolution to the Boston Lockdown. I've not read yet Bloddy Business, but I'm guessing that situation in Boston will remains at is in 2077 (ie city being on lockdown).

Is there any plan to have an update either (or both) resolving the situation or update on the inside situation ? (What is happening in Salem with Eliohann, what is Damian mucking about ? and so on...) Also, by now, despite the lockdown, some information, at least in the Shadows, must have been leaked - maybe even smuggling routes out or in....
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: MijRai on <10-31-15/1429:34>
There's a distinct possibility that the city remains on lockdown for years.  I mean, look at Chicago as an example. 

Resolution will take a lot more time, but there will probably be updates soonish. 

Some information has been leaked; that's the point of the Lockdown book.  Smuggling routes are described in said book (basically, your chances of getting in are slim, your chances of getting out are infinitesimal). 
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Ech0 on <10-31-15/1603:19>
As far as I've heard, according to "Hard Targets" the lockdown still seems to be in effect, with no one the wiser, more than a full year later.

Given the nature of the new strain of CFD in Boston, it's quite unlikely that there are still a lot of infected running around the streets of beantown, though.
Still, the general worldwide public is still convinced that a terrorist organisation is to blame.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: MijRai on <10-31-15/1630:28>
As far as I've heard, according to "Hard Targets" the lockdown still seems to be in effect, with no one the wiser, more than a full year later.

Given the nature of the new strain of CFD in Boston, it's quite unlikely that there are still a lot of infected running around the streets of beantown, though.
Still, the general worldwide public is still convinced that a terrorist organisation is to blame.

The public is still convinced it was an outbreak of extremely virulent viral encephalitis. 
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: psycho835 on <10-31-15/1643:30>
As far as I've heard, according to "Hard Targets" the lockdown still seems to be in effect, with no one the wiser, more than a full year later.

Given the nature of the new strain of CFD in Boston, it's quite unlikely that there are still a lot of infected running around the streets of beantown, though.
Still, the general worldwide public is still convinced that a terrorist organisation is to blame.

The public is still convinced it was an outbreak of extremely virulent viral encephalitis.
Man, I really can't wait for some corporate heads to roll. I know, unlikely, but one can always dream...
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: CitizenJoe on <10-31-15/2202:11>
Something from Chronicles is supposed to affect the Pnp game.  Some people have hypothesized that a megacorp will go down.  I don't believe that.  I think the change is basically CFD.  The quarantine won't be lifted until CFD is cured.  Since Chronicles was slated for like 5 cities, things are going to get worse before they get better.  So, Boston will be locked down until Chronicles has run its course.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: belaran on <11-01-15/1305:36>
Yeah, but last i heard, the Shadowrun Chronicles was not faring that well. They are not dead and they may (and I wish'em to) recover, but in the meantime, I would like to have a better grasp of the events relating to Boston. Especially Eliohann - has he been replaced by Deus or some other IA, or is the dragon still "fighting" ? Also, wtf is Damon doing in this mess ?
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-05-15/1446:18>
AFAIK, Eliohann's body has been taken over by one of three AIs. These three AIs (or fragments thereof) also inhabit all the Lockdown Head Crashes (we'll call them LHCs, for short). The mix depends on how much of the different flavors of nanites they got exposed to. Deus was set to be uploaded (thanks, Pax) when Cerberus realized what was happening, and tried to force upload himself to stop it. The results are nanites with Deus, Cerberus, and the amalgam Cereus code in them. My personal suspicion, being that Eliohann was at ground zero, is that his body is now inhabited by either Deus or Cereus. If it is Deus, then things are going to get very, very interesting.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: belaran on <11-05-15/1720:41>
Yes, Cereus is certainly an "interesting" development - but sadly I don't really feel like we have enough "actionnable material" to play around this. Basically, we know that after Fenway, Eliohann crashed in Salem - and we have a couple of infos on what is actually happening there, since the lockdown. Except that, according to the last update from Shadowrun Chronicles, Megas are fighting over there - probably to take control and/or kill Eliohann.

So, if my PCs end up in Boston during the lockdown, and decide - as I think I would, to run after the dragon to try to get to the bottom of this, I'm going to run out of material quickly...

Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: witchdoctor on <11-05-15/2101:48>
You could just choose the explanation you like best or straight up make something up and if it ends up being wrong blame it on Megacorp misinformation or Neoanarchist propoganda. Hint: Neoanarchists make a great scapegoat for just about anything you can imagine, go nuts.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-06-15/1509:57>
Remember, just because the players want to do something, doesn't mean it is possible. Sure, they may WANT to get to the bottom of things and find the dragon (they're insane if they do, but that's besides the point), but this isn't like walking into a Stuffer Shack and getting a box of NERPS. No matter which entity controls the body, count on them not only having multiple schemes in the works, but also having tricks and traps to keep random runner teams from running them down.

If they get stuck inside the lockdown, the simplest way to deal with things is to have jobs that DON'T lead up to Salem. Courier runs across town seem like low-level stuff, until you consider that Boston is rapidly sliding towards the level of Chicago during the Bug City years. There's plenty of work to be done that will require runner support, without venturing too deep into things which haven't been settled yet.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Beta on <11-06-15/1606:13>
If they get caught up in the ‘what the heck happened, anyway?’ aspect of Lockdown, they’ll want to go up to Salem sooner or later, I suspect. 

But when you read through Lockdown it is pretty clear that Salem may be inside the quarantine line, but generally has not been hit the way the rest of the area has been.  In fact they’ve pulled together quite well.  I think the chance of getting through to actually see the dragon is extremely low.  They will almost certainly be intercepted, with way too much magic to punch through (the thing about blowing away a spirit is that within seconds the summoner may send a new spirit after you, and be crankier.  No runner group is apt to have the resources to punch through an almost endless spirit assault, nor are they apt to get past that much magical monitoring.)  At best I think they’d get a spokesperson for the Children of the Dragon, who will probably provide a lot of pseudo-spiritual mumbo-jumbo.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: belaran on <11-10-15/0948:12>
Of course, there is many "ways" for me to workaround the issue. I just wish we had a bit more about what is going on, just to avoid taking our story too far from the official time line. (I just like to stick to the time line, it actually feeds my creativity more than "making my own version of the story" - well, actually it helps me making my own version...)
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Beta on <11-10-15/1039:48>
Of course, there is many "ways" for me to workaround the issue. I just wish we had a bit more about what is going on, just to avoid taking our story too far from the official time line. (I just like to stick to the time line, it actually feeds my creativity more than "making my own version of the story" - well, actually it helps me making my own version...)

Sorry, I'd misunderstood your earlier post.

Agreed that it is very awkward having such a long delay.  Lockdown encourages the group to come to a fairly defined course of action, but makes it clear that the game world will come to some conclusion based on aggregate feedback from the mixed computer and PnP games -- which inherently means that there is some period for getting feedback, more for them to decide exactly what happens based on that feedback, and yet more to put that impact into a product and bring it out.  So there is the mix of 'why are there no repercussions for so long and "Wait, we sold the information to party X, and somehow they took the fall for what went on?  That doesn't seem to make sense...."  Structurally the PnP book is written to hit pretty much every group with this problem.  On top of which, like your group, most are interested in dragons and will want to know what happens there....



Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: belaran on <11-10-15/1050:34>
Yep. I mean I appreciate the idea of trying to "build together" the universe rather than just let game designer makes all the decision. But with the uncertain future of the video game (or at least, the slow releases of new chapter) it is making the all thing a bit difficult. It's a bit of shame of reading Lockdown, be excited, and shelve it for a undeterminated amount of time.

Actually, I would need is something like "more info on the Lockdown coming in sourcebook XXX scheduled in (for instance) mid 2016". That would enough for me to know how to "pace myself" ...

@catalyst insiders so ? ;)
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Lighthouse on <11-10-15/1805:29>
I am planning on running it and looking forward to more info.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-12-15/1404:48>
To be fair, this isn't all that unusual for a major plot arc. We need only look back to the Arcology Shutdown for a prime example. Renraku Arcology - Shutdown has a copyright of 1998. Brainscan (which freed the arcology) has a copyright of 2000. That's a two year span between the launch of the arch and closing that chapter. If you include the information from Threats 2 and other books building up to System Failure (copyright 2005), which ended the arc, you're talking a seven year span, during which time no one other than developers knew which way things were going to fall.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: iamfanboy on <11-13-15/1949:10>
And the Lockdown arc will probably resolve with the overall CFD storyline, which can't resolve until there is some way of either restoring older personalities rewritten, or coming to terms with the rewriting. If it does involve using the Deep Resonance to restore their personality (creating and implanting an e-ghost over the intruding AI?) then only beings who left a deep imprint on the Matrix have much of a chance to come back.  At minimum I expect FastJack to reappear because of it, and it'd be nice if they paid off the bit at the end of System Crash with Captain Chaos' e-ghost.

Be interesting if CC's e-ghost or FastJack, is planned to be one of the major NPCs of a later Chronicles story, and that's why CGL can't do drek until Chronicles either wraps up or is canceled; be a shame if CGL dropped major spoilers for another company's game, ne?
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Lighthouse on <11-14-15/1349:46>
i'll just have to add a lot of side missions until the next book comes out.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-17-15/1120:33>
If you want to distract them, there's always the time-honored use of red herrings. Perhaps they meet up with a certain clown makeup wearing elf inside the lockdown zone who is taking advantage of the chaos, and are sent on a series of jobs that... end up having nothing at all to do with the lockdown.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Lighthouse on <11-17-15/1121:58>
I am one step of ahead of you. I already thought of that but what would he get done? Pick up magic artifacts? steal CEO's emails? pull a prank on Celedyr?
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-17-15/1127:49>
Yes, yes, and yes. Also, have clam chowder delivered from one side of the city to the other, and other zany antics.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Longshot23 on <11-17-15/1140:23>
Don't forget making life miserable for some semi-psycho with a bat fixation (fetish?  :o )  8)  ;) . . . .
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Mirikon on <11-17-15/1145:39>
And when you run out of zaniness, you can always turn to having some 'legitimate businessmen' need 'troubleshooters' to take on some 'problems'.
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: witchdoctor on <11-18-15/2239:42>
What you mean the nice man in the tailored suit actually wasn't paying me ludicrous amounts of nuyen to deliver candy to poor disadvantaged ganger children in the Barrens? Aww man!
Title: Re: Boston Lockdown - Status and resolution ?
Post by: Raven2049 on <11-19-15/1919:28>
What you mean the nice man in the tailored suit actually wasn't paying me ludicrous amounts of nuyen to deliver candy to poor disadvantaged ganger children in the Barrens? Aww man!

that sounds like it should be an actual Mission