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Transplanting Roanapur into Shadowrun

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Kylen

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« on: <08-11-11/0102:59> »
Recently, I was reliving my love of the anime Black Lagoon, which, in case you don't know, features a team of four people who are 'delivery boys who sometimes have to skirt the law to put bread on the table' in the worst hive of scum and villainy on the earth: The city of Roanapur, somewhere in South East Asia, near Korea. Most of the arcs involve the group getting some item (some info, a person, an actual object) or a job to get said thing, and shenanigans follow in the form of running gunfights, explosions, and other Shadowrun-esque stuff. The city is ruled by three major criminal groups: The Italian Mob, Hotel Moscow (a form of the Russian mafia), and the Triad. As you can bet, this town is generally crazy.

The problem I'm having is what to do for runs, because some of the out of town stuff requires at least a boat. Should I make the city (it's quite large in the anime, maybe in the almost century since then it's grown to sprawl levels) similar to Denver, where an intercity run is craziness on it's own? Any suggestions for runs? Should I start them as the current incarnation of the Lagoon Company (that being the four main characters)?

Suggestions and criticism will be accepted.
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Fallen

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« Reply #1 on: <08-11-11/0715:26> »
Hey there,

I feel I should first point out that I am not at all familiar with the anime from which you draw the ideas for your intended Shadowrun campaign.  Regardless, there are a few things that I would like to point out:

Firstly, no matter the setting or how cool something is, you should probably initially ask yourself what kind of stuff goes on there so to better pinpoint where from you will draw inspiration to design your adventures.

You mention the Mafia, Triads and a version of the Vory.  That, to me, means you have the potential to cover most of the bases from which typical Shadowrun campaigns draw from.  Whereas Seattle and Denver-based campaigns often draw the source of Runs from Megacorporations, you can easily swap their role in the scheme of things for that of the three criminal syndicates which are inherent to your chosen source of inspiration.

As for the Runs themselves, well, they can pretty much be anything:

Courier jobs wherein the characters are required to deliver a package (or data, or a person) from one place to another.  The place itself can be anything, really: warehouse, camp, house, apartment -- what-have-you.  What's more important is the motive behind it: who, in your setting, would want goods moved from place to place and, more importantly, why?

Escort (no, not that kind) duty wherein the characters are hired to serve as a personal security detail for some character or another, possibly in transit from one place to another, or something more localized to a particular venue.  Again, so long as you can answer the what, where, why and how of it, it should be no different than if a likewise Run in one of SR's main "hubs".

Infiltration and spy games wherein the characters are hired to operate undercover by one syndicate into the fold of another.  It need not be something necessarily done on a very grand scale (especially considering many criminal syndicates operate in several small quasi-independent "cells").

Training wherein the characters are hired to train a certain someone on behalf of their employer (again, drawing from the criminal-element-heavy elements of your intended campaign setting), or, conversely, they themselves must undergo some form of training.  The location of your setting can no doubt make for very interesting opportunities for jungle survival, scuba expeditions, exploration, and possibly guerrilla warfare.

Alternatives are nearly limitless in regards to the population at large inhabiting your city: how does the criminal element affect their daily lives?  Do they/would they need/want protection?  Enough to hire the Runners?  Do they also have particular needs that warrant hiring Runners to deal with the syndicates?  How about law enforcement?  Etc.

Regarding your worry about waterway travel -- there needn't be any.  Just make sure to inform your players that, in your setting, the most usual means of transportation is by waterfront and the like.  If none of your players pick up a relevant skill in that regard, simply add a boating NPC to the cast of characters who will lessen that difficulty.  Of course, you could feasibly run a perfectly fine game in which the characters continuously need to find ways to secure marine transportation so to accomplish their goals.

Allow yourself to be inspired by your chosen setting and take the time to go through the logistics of how the city is run, if for no reason other than to give yourself enough material with which to work.  I would recommend you do some quick Wikipedia-ing in regards to the general area wherein your campaign will take place, read up on how the Vory, Triad and Mafia operate.  The more information you allow yourself to have access to, the more likely you will be able to come up with solid material to keep a healthy game running.

Good luck and have fun!
« Last Edit: <08-11-11/0726:32> by Fallen »
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Kylen

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« Reply #2 on: <08-11-11/1702:57> »
Thanks for the insight. I'll be honest this will be my first self-made series of adventures and such. I'll definately look into the actual workings (Thanks to Vice I actually have how the Shadowrun counterparts work) and work some stuff out.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien

"F*** subtle." - Dresden

Charybdis

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« Reply #3 on: <08-11-11/2024:37> »
Nothing wrong with using basic Seattle for boat-adventures. It has a harbour, island  and even tributary rivers.

Also, there's nothing wrong with just inserting neighbourhoods that suit the feel of what you're trying to accomplish...images like these might be useful...

http://coolvibe.com/2010/future-back-alley/
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PKfkqssTanU/Tced3ugGPAI/AAAAAAAAEw8/M4GzuuvS4c8/s1600/Bladerunner+Street.jpg
http://mcf.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/view.pl?id=113647&genre=1
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=154755

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BadManInc

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« Reply #4 on: <01-28-12/0409:36> »
I'm very glad that I'm not the first person who thought this would be a wicked idea. I'd very much be interested in finding a city map for Roanapur to use in our campaign. we've got a team that's gonna set up operations there sometime in the near future. there's a LOT of opportunities to be had there.
it's going to be one hell of a wild ride, better strap yourselves in.

Kylen

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« Reply #5 on: <01-28-12/2330:31> »
Danka. I'm still working on it. As soon as I get a tablet, I can start drawing up maps and junk.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien

"F*** subtle." - Dresden

Angelone

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« Reply #6 on: <02-09-12/2237:16> »
This page has some info: http://roanapura.city.free.fr/roanapur-gta-vice-city.html
Also a google image search showed some cityscapes.
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chinlamp

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« Reply #7 on: <02-10-12/0304:57> »
I love the thought of this, I'd been thinking of doing something similar for a while, but I don't have a tablet or that much time, so I've been putting it off.

Hearing that someone is doing it fills me with glee.

Kylen

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« Reply #8 on: <02-11-12/0349:35> »
This page has some info: http://roanapura.city.free.fr/roanapur-gta-vice-city.html
Also a google image search showed some cityscapes.

Oh. My. Gods.

I've needed this sort of page forever! It's so bloody hard coming up with a slotting list of various important locations. You just made my job like, ten times easier.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien

"F*** subtle." - Dresden

Dracain

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« Reply #9 on: <02-11-12/1423:29> »
Dude, I've been thinking of this for such a long time.  They go together almost perfectly!.  You've got the street sam (Revy), the Hacker (Benny), The Face (Rock) and the generalist (Dutch).  The nazi storyline also translates rather well into the game, though it would probably be aided if your group was primarily composed of non-humans, and the group was pro-humanists instead of nazis. 

Kylen

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« Reply #10 on: <02-11-12/1731:41> »
See, I'd cast them as Revy the lightly auged GunAdept (human or elf), Benny the (hacker/techno here, human), Rock the human newbie pornomancer, and Dutch the heavy auged street sam.

Also....Roberta's Blood Trail is a 6 episode OVA now :D
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien

"F*** subtle." - Dresden

Angelone

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« Reply #11 on: <02-12-12/1354:42> »
I'm glad I could help. Good luck on your project.
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la vida no vale nada

Leevizer

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« Reply #12 on: <02-12-12/1606:06> »
I wanted to help you with this, but then I read that you wrote "anime".

Although reading Black Lagoon reminded me of Shadowrun again. Good luck.

Kylen

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« Reply #13 on: <02-12-12/1719:57> »
I wanted to help you with this, but then I read that you wrote "anime".

Although reading Black Lagoon reminded me of Shadowrun again. Good luck.

Hey now. The anime is VERY loyal and connected to the manga. The only real issue is during Gangster Paradise in Japan in the dub. Minor script stuff, but nothing horrendous.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." - Tolkien

"F*** subtle." - Dresden

Leevizer

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« Reply #14 on: <02-13-12/0322:04> »
I wanted to help you with this, but then I read that you wrote "anime".

Although reading Black Lagoon reminded me of Shadowrun again. Good luck.

Hey now. The anime is VERY loyal and connected to the manga. The only real issue is during Gangster Paradise in Japan in the dub. Minor script stuff, but nothing horrendous.

While I do agree with the Black Lagoon anime following the manga, it does not change the fact that manga is, in almost every single case, superior to the anime.