Shadowrun
Shadowrun Play => Character creation and critique => Topic started by: ProfGast on <01-13-15/0421:11>
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After this year, there will be people who are eligible to vote who were born after Dunklezahn died.
So my favorite one of the "20 Questions" for polishing a character is the one that states:
Many people remember certain historical events for the rest of their lives. For those alive in the first decade of the 21st century,
it could be the assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the Tiananmen Square protests, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, or the attacks of 11 September 2001. People remember where they were, and what they were doing when they first heard of these events. Shadowrun history has significant events as well, such as the assassination of President Dunkelzahn, the Crash 2.0, and the emergence of technomancers and artificial intelligences.
Pick a few events from recent Shadowrun history and ask where the character was at the time, what does he remember about the event, and what was he doing at the time?
Thinking about it made me wonder, given that SR5e takes place in 2075, How old WOULD a character have to be to have experienced some of the high points in Shadowrun history? So after a lot of digging around the Shadowrun timeline, I compiled a list that covers nearly 75 years of Shadowrun history in roughly 5 year increments. The list is by no means comprehensive, and I filled in a lot of intermediate years with events that I thought were particularly noteworthy.
Where were you...
1 year ago, during the Az-Am conflict or the Dragon Civil War? When the new Matrix was announced? 2074
5 years ago during the Emergence crisis when a new wave of hostility erupted towards Technomancers? 2070
10 years ago during the Matrix Crash 2.0? 2064
14 years ago for the Year of the Comet? How did SURGE affect you? When Ghostwalker took over Denver? 2061
15 years ago when the SCIRE went dark? What do you know of the events that happened in the building now known as the ACHE? 2060
18 years ago when President Dunkelzahn died? 2057
20 years ago when the Universal Brotherhood was shut down and Chicago was cut off from the rest of the UCAS? How did Bug City affect you? 2055/2056
25 years ago when Buttercup of Yamatetsu (EVO's) board of directors revealed she was a free spirit? 2050
27 years ago when Maria Mercurial released Who Weeps for the Children? 2048
30 years ago when the Federal Repulic of Germany became the Allied German States? 2045
33 years ago for the premiere of Wyrm Talk? 2042
36 years ago during the Night of Rage? 2039
40 years ago when the CAS, Tir Tairngire, Tir Nan Og and Cal Free formed? 2034/2035/2036
43 years ago when Concrete Dreams performed Sons of Thunder the first live trideo? 2032
45 years ago when the UCAS formed? 2030
46 years ago during the First Matrix Crash? 2029
51 years ago when simsense was released commercially? 2024
53 years ago during Vitas 2? 2022
54 Years ago during Goblinization? 2021
58 Years ago for the Great Ghost Dance and the Treaty of Denver? 2017/2018
63 years ago for the Awakening? 2012
65 years ago for Vitas? 2010
66 years ago when the reactor in France exploded and created the SOX? 2009
70 years ago when a major earthquake nearly leveled New York City? 2005
74 years ago for the Shiawase Decision when corporations gained extraterritoriality? 2001
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That's a great post, thank you for your work!
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Awesome, thanks! :D
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This is ... incredibly good.
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That's great! Thanks for sharing.
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makes the aged disadvantage even better doesn't it? You can be the old curmudgeon saying, "back in my day..."
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makes the aged disadvantage even better doesn't it? You can be the old curmudgeon saying, "back in my day..."
Aye, I love the Aged Quality.
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Thanks for all of the positive feedback, I had a lot of fun putting this together and thought I'd share a another fun comparison that I found.
Maria Mercurial's hit single "Who Weeps for the Children" was released 27 years ago in 2048.
I've edited that into the list.
For reference, songs released 27 years ago from present day (2014/2015) include Michael Jackson's BAD (1987), Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer (1987), U2's With or Without You (1987), the Beach Boys' Kokomo (1988), and last but not least, Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up (1988)
Concrete Dreams' Sons of Thunder broadcast in comparison, corresponds to the release of Elton John's Rocketman, America's A Horse with no Name, Bill Withers' hit Lean on Me, and John Lennon's Imagine.
Just food for thought.
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Posted that list to my group or are starting a new round of character creation... definitely helps to put the world into perspective.