Shadowrun
Catalyst Game Labs => Catalyst's Shadowrun Products => Topic started by: Grinder on <05-19-11/0400:01>
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It's available in PDF: http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=91720
Preview: http://watermark.drivethrustuff.com/pdf_previews/91720-sample.pdf
(http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/images/2216/91720.jpg)
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Buy my book!
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Buy my book!
When I get paid! (tomorrow) ;D
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Buy my book!
Why should we? Tease us, come on! :D
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Buy my book!
I will shoot a lifesized cardboard cutout of you in the head. Just so we're clear.
^_^
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Looks good so far (Just perused it real quick like).
Just wondering - is the mention of Kirby Street Cafe(In the austin section) a shout out to Kerbey Lane Cafe in Austin?
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Looks good so far (Just perused it real quick like).
Just wondering - is the mention of Kirby Street Cafe(In the austin section) a shout out to Kerbey Lane Cafe in Austin?
Good eyes, Digital_Viking! That was indeed the author's intent--we just tweaked the spelling a bit.
Jason H.
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Looks good so far (Just perused it real quick like).
Just wondering - is the mention of Kirby Street Cafe(In the austin section) a shout out to Kerbey Lane Cafe in Austin?
I may or may not have friends in Austin that I may or may not have asked for their favorite local dining establishments that I may or may not have then subtly changed the name of before writing about it.
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I may or may not have friends in Austin that I may or may not have asked for their favorite local dining establishments that I may or may not have then subtly changed the name of before writing about it.
Much <3 Crit - Kerbey Lane is top of my list too!
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I may or may not have friends in Austin that I may or may not have asked for their favorite local dining establishments that I may or may not have then subtly changed the name of before writing about it.
Much <3 Crit - Kerbey Lane is top of my list too!
I specifically (errr, I mean, in Spy Games fashion, I may or may not have specifically) checked with Kris with the precise question "What do they serve that's good enough you'd let someone illegally cross a border with a hostile nation?"
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I may or may not have friends in Austin that I may or may not have asked for their favorite local dining establishments that I may or may not have then subtly changed the name of before writing about it.
Much <3 Crit - Kerbey Lane is top of my list too!
I specifically (errr, I mean, in Spy Games fashion, I may or may not have specifically) checked with Kris with the precise question "What do they serve that's good enough you'd let someone illegally cross a border with a hostile nation?"
Well, I don't know what the answer for Kirby/Kerbey was. But I do know that there are two things that I'd let cross the border: Good (east coast/brooklyn style - I'm biased) pizza and good takeout chinese. Both are tough to find, that when you do find the good ones, you're willing to go above and beyond to keep them.
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I specifically (errr, I mean, in Spy Games fashion, I may or may not have specifically) checked with Kris with the precise question "What do they serve that's good enough you'd let someone illegally cross a border with a hostile nation?"
Well I can neither confirm or deny the tastiness and sheer awesome that are Kerbey Lane enchiladas...
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I can neither confirm nor deny wanting to buy this book, I can confirm I can't afford it yet though
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Buy my book!
Why should we? Tease us, come on! :D
Look at that cover! Look at the preview.
There are approximately sixty new named NPCs I introduced for you to use as friends, foes, or more aptly, both. There is a list of intelligence agencies (corp, gov, other) with specialties if any, and a glossary with slang terms.
Oh, and introducing Extraplanar Intelligence.
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Oh, and introducing Extraplanar Intelligence.
;_; need money
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Looks good, I can't wait until my flgs gets it in.
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I begin my long wait for the printed book. :-(
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I got the PDF on the hopes that I won't have another ER Waiting Room visit like I needed in order to read War!. :P
So far, seems pretty decent. Some parts seem to be missing, however, in the gear section.
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I got the PDF on the hopes that I won't have another ER Waiting Room visit like I needed in order to read War!. :P
So far, seems pretty decent. Some parts seem to be missing, however, in the gear section.
How so?
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The one that interested me the most is Clean Car Coating (CCC) which has no price, availability, or modification cost. And, glancing around, there's a few others that caught my eye before, but I'm a bit busy to use the comb.
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I apologize for the lack of info on clean car coating. Stats should be as follows:
Mod Slot Threshold Tools Cost Availability
CCC 0 8 shop Body x 50¥ 4
Jason H.
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So, we can expect this in the Errata Forums soon?
And it looks like a Must-Buy for every Shadowrunner certainly!
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So, we can expect this in the Errata Forums soon?
And it looks like a Must-Buy for every Shadowrunner certainly!
Slots Zero? Cost is only Body by 50? Availability 4?
It sounds cool, but what is it? The spot-free finish that Paladins use on their armour?
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Probably similar technology that's used for self-sealing fuel tanks and tires, only designed as a body and paint filler.
Useful for the vehicles too large for the Nanomaintenance Systems, and people who need something that looks better than the Self-Repair System in Arsenal. Or folks too cheap or ghetto for those items.
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So basically it fills in the pockmarks of a run gone bad?
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There are approximately sixty new named NPCs I introduced for you to use as friends, foes, or more aptly, both. There is a list of intelligence agencies (corp, gov, other) with specialties if any, and a glossary with slang terms.
Oh, and introducing Extraplanar Intelligence.
Well, that sounds good so far. But what's up with Denver? What's happening there? Why do I need a write-up of the city?
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Because it is attracting spies like crazy. Or as the Introduction states:
The Treaty City, with its divided political nature, has always contained a thriving espionage industry. The dragon at the top might not like the spy game much, but he can’t stop it, even as powerful as he is. And there are times, of course, that he even plays along, which helps keep things interesting.
Several factors are making the spy situation in Denver hotter than ever. The Az-Am War is not exactly next door, but since it affects Aztlan, the CAS, and other nations, its effects are being felt on the Denver streets. More important than that, though, is the ongoing renegotiation of the Treaty of Denver. The various parties involved can give you a whole bunch of reasons and excuses why they’re pushing the rene- gotiation now, but it all boils down to one thing: opportunity. They’ve spent years knowing that whatever power they had, they held at the mercy of Ghostwalker, and they had to be grateful he gave anything to them at all. But something has changed recently, even though most people would be hard-pressed to say what it is. There is a perception that Ghostwalker is weaker than he used to be, that something has distracted him or sucked up his energy.
As for the GW thing, the reasons are a matter for another upcoming book.
Oh, and there's a reason why DeeCee isn't in Places of Interest.
So basically it fills in the pockmarks of a run gone bad?
Pretty much.
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Oh, and introducing Extraplanar Intelligence.
Given that much of my campaign has serious astral/resonance attention, I was very glad to see the information on how various agencies and powers are taking the resonance realms into account as far as intelligence security. Getting intel around in such a way that the Eternal Library doesn't get a card catalog entry for it is a solid reason to (as mentioned in the book) bring back good, old fashioned tradecraft.
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Well, that sounds good so far. But what's up with Denver? What's happening there? Why do I need a write-up of the city?
Because we haven't had a good write-up on Denver since the Denver Box Set, and it's a major part of Shadowrun lore.
The Denver Data Haven if nothing else.
Also, it's a major Spy, Shadowrun, and Smuggler heavy city, full of things for characters to do. :D
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The one that interested me the most is Clean Car Coating (CCC) which has no price, availability, or modification cost. And, glancing around, there's a few others that caught my eye before, but I'm a bit busy to use the comb.
On the flip side, the tables for Sensor upgrades (T-Ray etc) made it, but specific rule write-ups didn't.
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OK, so now we have good fluff, but bad crunch going on.
Back in the oven?
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Spy Games, page 150 (153 of the PDF):
"Terahertz waves exist at the very upper end of radio waves,
just below the very bottom of optical frequencies. They straddle
the region between waves and particles, and they are an ideal
energy source for surveillance."
A quick double-check of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum) shows that there is the entire microwave band between radio frequencies and frequencies around 10^12 Hz. Further, it is halfway between the thermal infared region and the far infared region, a bit more than 'just below' the very bottom of optical frequencies.
This is also hardly "straddling the region between waves and particles". That which is electromagnetic radiation behaves as both particle and wave, over the entire spectrum.
I have a serious urge to slap the writer, as well as those who proofed that section. This falls below even Star-Trek level blather.
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Maybe the in-game character was an idiot and didn't do the research instead of the writer?
Just saying, it's a possibility.
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Just as a FYI, it was written by Plan 9; a character who has always been described generously as a conspiracy theorist and into fringe nonsense science who, in Attitude, has admitted to implanting all divergent cyber for no logical reason. IOW, he's a crank, but a useful one at times. Other times he's spouting nonsense.
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Yeah, but the line in question is in one of Dr. Cross's memos, and theoretically, she should know better.
Still going to sit on my hands to avoid getting a shooting war started about the Star Trek remark....
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I stand corrected.
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Spy Games, page 150 (153 of the PDF):
"Terahertz waves exist at the very upper end of radio waves,
just below the very bottom of optical frequencies. They straddle
the region between waves and particles, and they are an ideal
energy source for surveillance."
I'm a physics undergrad so that paragraph makes me weep
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Maybe the physics in a world with magic are different than the real world. :P
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Mini Rocket Cigarettes
These short-range rockets are narrow enough to fit in
a cigarette. They require Exotic Weapon skill, as the mini
rockets have a short fuse hidden in the tobacco and fire in
the direction of the filter. Range is comparable to hold-out
pistols. Damage is 4P.
This is an amazing item, but 4P? I imagine that's if I use it at range, but what if I were to, say, discreetly place one of these puppies into a target's pack of cigarettes? Surely having a mini rocket fired into their mouth does more than 4P.
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I imagine their throat can't resist damage well, instant glitch?
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Maybe the physics in a world with magic are different than the real world. :P
If the spectrum changed magic would be the least of your worries
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Mini Rocket Cigarettes
These short-range rockets are narrow enough to fit in
a cigarette. They require Exotic Weapon skill, as the mini
rockets have a short fuse hidden in the tobacco and fire in
the direction of the filter. Range is comparable to hold-out
pistols. Damage is 4P.
This is an amazing item, but 4P? I imagine that's if I use it at range, but what if I were to, say, discreetly place one of these puppies into a target's pack of cigarettes? Surely having a mini rocket fired into their mouth does more than 4P.
+4 DV for a called shot perhaps?
And I'm guessing a complete lack of defense tests due to surprise :P
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I love it when people focus on part of one thirty-page chapter in 176-page book as broad as this book's scope is.
That being said, in case I didn't make it clear earlier there is now a list of Sixth World intelligence agencies and a glossary with "industry" terms. For example, there are now names for the intelligence subsidiaries of the Big Ten and several corporations and nations, and others, including the UCAS. Though I did forget every g-d time up to the time of the print release to include the IRS in the UCAS intelligence community (which is canon per Runner Havens). It is actually smaller than the current one (in number of agencies and sheer size, natch). But I thought you might want to know. You're getting the inside information here. There are also a couple not listed that just aren't for various reasons. And, of course, it is not a comprehensive global list. However, considering the small scope and size of most nations' and corps' intelligence goals and operations (There are only really three countries in the world IRL that have had a global presence in decades) it is fair to assume and play out the idea that the ones listed, even if they aren't Aegis, Argus, or SIS are probably service providers to smaller players. Even IRL many small agencies have often been little more than proxies or fronts for big agencies.
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I love it when people focus on part of one thirty-page chapter in 176-page book as broad as this book's scope is.
Crunch are always easier to rules lawyer then fluff...
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It's the old Role Playing Versus Roll Playing argument.
Me, I'm heaving into Role, so... That said, I am a bit upset that the Crunch was so poorly documented and implemented, as a lot of it seems very interesting and useful without being overpowered.
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Curious. Are the fractured spirits of Denver updated in Spygames?
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I wouldn't say updated, but they do play a role.
People not reading the 40% of the book that is Denver are missing the parts of the book where we're actually affecting metaplot, which makes it a lot easier to say that we're not since they've gone full ostrich in the one section where of course that material actually demands to be included. Excuse me. I'm rambling.
The spirits of Denver are covered in the book. I am disappointed one of the more all-out amusing ideas didn't make it in, though.
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OBTW, I put the UGB in Counterintelligence because of the political officers material as well as the fact that as far as CI goes, they are by far the craziest and most likely to do something. Plus, you know, between their offensive and defensive CI, especially as it relates to magic and Resonance, and the British having a global offensive CI program you get a nice nod to The Great Game. Perhaps the magic aspect would have been more clear if I had the word count to cover their business in Yakut.
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I love it when people focus on part of one thirty-page chapter in 176-page book as broad as this book's scope is.
Unfortunately, this is the state of the current gamer.
Regardless of system, they WILL pick apart rules sets to the minutest degree, and will find and complain about the slightest problem.
It's best to just use this behavior as free playtesting feedback.
-k
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KI, this is the Internet, it's not just the state of gaming. :P
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The funniest thing I've seen was on Dumpshock. I can't comment there, but I read the SG and SL threads (Man ... That book). Nath was commenting about how it's espionage/HUMINT-focused; specifically mine and Critias' chapters (the ones titled Tradecraft and Counterintelligence. Guess what they're about) and the lack of info on SIGINT and such.
That's hilarious.
1) SIGINT and ELINT and all that noise is in SOTA64. It has some value for alternate PC campaigns in a pure intel campaign. For the purposes of integrating into normal campaigns? Not so much.
2) I think my position has been pretty g-d clear on this for years, and especially since I've been on this board rambling about the book for nine months. It's so clear in fact that I made the Espionage and Shadows PDF that same year SOTA64 came out because it didn't do much to integrate espionage into ongoing campaigns.
3) Which brings me to: I've been a fan of espionage longer than SR, and I started playing SR in 1992. We could have done a writeup similar to Szeto's, which is what I was expecting (and how EXPINT came to pass in the form it's in, AFAIK) with little blurbs on HUMINT, SIGINT, TECHINT, and shit that if you are so inclined can be found explained in excrutiating detail all over the Internet and shelves of books. The entire point of our chapters (And I can speak for Critias because we've been at this for a while) was to give readers a taste of what you cannot find anywhere else. As a side note, of course it's HUMINT-heavy when you involve runners. After playing SR for 20 years and spending a goodly number of those years playing in and GMing espionage-heavy/dominant/based/related/mentioned games I can tell you one inescapable fact: The most straightforward SIGINT op (SIGINT is boring, btw, but that's beside the point), once runners are involved, becomes a Metahuman-based field operation. Period. Deniable decking job? Close-in SIGINT support like the ISA and CSS does/did/never existed to do? Reference work of any kind? All end up relying on the human element. I mean, fuck, one of my regular co-gamers' main PC was a NSA combat decker. He spent more time shooting people in the face than decking because when he did his stats and deck were so insane that he just annihilated the opposition. IMO, Bamford's books on NSA (no "the," btw. Their policy) are only interesting for the political intrigue that, oh wait, that strays into human espionage/intrigue ... You show me a game where a table obsesses over a crypto pattern and I'll show you an empty table.
Besides that, SOTA64 does still exist. There is this thing called a back library, and aside from UB if you want an old, even OOP, book it's damn easy to find on eBay, etailers, LCS/LGSes (support your local stores, damn it!), etc. SOTA64 is six or seven years old. It's not a lost jewel requiring adventure to find. There's also this SR fandom thing on the Internet that I hear may be going places. Or so's the word on GENie and usenet. *shrugs*
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All that's true, but what's also true is that SR attracts more techno-dweebs and nerds than other games, IMO. Including ex-military guys who worked in intel and would expect a spy book to cover some of those details. Doesn't mean the book is bad or worthless, but you can't discount the desire for some of that detail/fluff to be there.
It's at least as reasonable as statting Serrin Shamandar or Lowfyr, which is what's coming out next.
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For the record, my comments (http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=34978&view=findpost&p=1072996).
While not being only a Denver sourcebook, Spy Games is not a pure espionage sourcebook. Actually, the authors focused a lot on HUMINT and action : James Bond, Alias, Burn Notice, you pick your favorite. And I mean A LOT. SIGINT does not exist in this book. It is somewhat significant that the NSA only mention in the entire book is page 172, in the list of agencies. There is also no mention of reconnaissance satellites.
Part of the problem is, you cannot really draw a line between shadowrunners and spies. It's not like industrial espionage and deniability were of no concern to spies. Shadowrunners were the answer to the ethnic homogeneity of Japanese corporate intelligence services, the absence or relative weakness of "patriotism" among their employees, and the generalization of biometric border controls (compare to Mahmoud al-Mabhoud assassination in Dubai IRL, where Mossad likely burned two dozens of elite operatives whose biometrics are now known by every security services in the world). As far as Spy Games goes, the difference only lies in assets handling and costly hi-tech toys. Everything else spies do, the runners do as well, just on a different scale. A SIGINT chapter would have been carved out of Unwired for the most part (which would still have been better that, say, introducing a Terahertz radar that does the same thing than the Arsenal ultrawide band radar, with different rules).
This time I put a red emphasis on the sentence I insinuated the absence of SIGINT in Spy Games is probably a good thing.
I agree with you on having in a sourcebook what you can't find on the Internet and bookshelves. Which makes the small amount of information on magic in Spy Games all the more regrettable (and that from a guy with no lost love on magic !).
Regarding all your ramblings of the past years, sorry, I don't remember them.
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Err, am i reading it right that i can take a Aztech Crawler, add a weapon mount and a SMG to it, and hide it in my shoe?! (ignoring the Arsenal 1 mount pr 3 body, round up stuff)
Also, how fast can one deploy or repack a drone in a case?
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hey Bull
nice pugin about you in the book
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Outside of review a few chapters as they were posted to proof a bit, I haven't had the chance to read Spy Games yet :) What/where/who said what about me (or at least my alter ego :))
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Bull makes a comment about unused tunnels...
heh, as if alligators in the sewers where not bad enough. Now there is talk about a "hypnosquid"...
oops, actually there are several shadowtalks from the old ork.
i guess the big reference is the "urgent message" on page 150, that allows a certain sig line to be mentioned ;)
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Btw, i suspect Spy games may be as big a treasure trove for hackers/drone riggers/gadget heads.
all manner of fun dohikies that can be used in various ways. hell, scan gloves may be a permanent part of the hacker wardrobe. Who knows when some Johnson bring a icky hardcopy to the meet?
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I like writing Bull as the moral conscience of JackPoint.
As much as Critias' and my chapters are similar because of the overlaps and that they're about how this stuff is applied to running, I think I made the difference pretty clear in the first two sentences of my chapter.
A wizened “grey man” once told me that intelligence is being able to look someone in the eye and convince them to commit a hanging crime.
Counterintelligence is the hangman.
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Heh, kinesics mastery reminds me of the bene geserit having one verbal conversation, and one non-verbal at the same time.
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Bull makes a comment about unused tunnels...
heh, as if alligators in the sewers where not bad enough. Now there is talk about a "hypnosquid"...
An Incubus? I haven't dropped one of those in my game since first edition.
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I really do think that future SR edition (*shiver*) could benefit from having said squid appear in the critters section. I find it more likely that a runner team will bump into one of them then say a merrow or thunderbird.
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I really do think that future SR edition (*shiver*) could benefit from having said squid appear in the critters section. I find it more likely that a runner team will bump into one of them then say a merrow or thunderbird.
Really not sure if it's same squid creature, haven't read book yet but Incubus is in Running Wild.
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I really do think that future SR edition (*shiver*) could benefit from having said squid appear in the critters section. I find it more likely that a runner team will bump into one of them then say a merrow or thunderbird.
Really not sure if it's same squid creature, haven't read book yet but Incubus is in Running Wild.
Yes, it is the same. But i think a new GM may have some fun with putting something like that in a basement or such ;)
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I wouldn't say updated, but they do play a role.
The spirits of Denver are covered in the book. I am disappointed one of the more all-out amusing ideas didn't make it in, though.
Zebulon broke into 6 or more spirits, more then likely one facet of his personality for each sector. Four were named and described (I really like the here's 4 possible backgrounds , pick one system in Denver).
Grey Sky- Force7 / Pueblo Sector Trickster or Shadow who enjoys messing with border security.
Night- Force 8 / UCAS Sector Enjoys pain and suffering connected to BTL's and/or racial violence.
Smoke- Force 8 / Sioux Sector Hiding as an ally spirit of an influential cat shaman.
Rojo- Force 9 / Aztlan Sector Directly involved in sector politics for the good or ill of the people.
Did Rojo survive the fall of "his" sector? Is Ghostwalker aware of the fractured nature of the spirits? Is he doing anything to "repair" him?
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I don't remember anything significant on the Denver Spirit topic in Spy Games, but the issue was addressed in Dragons of the Sixth World Game Information, as of 2063.
Dragons of the Sixth World, page 190
When Ghostwalker arrived in Denver, one of his first orders of business was hunting down the fragments of Zebulon. The great dragon destroyed the spirits' physical forms and captured their magical essence. He intends to reintegrate the spirits, believing that Zebulon will be a useful ally and the process may also being to mend the rifts in Denver and help stabilize his domain. Even with his tremendous knowledge, however, Ghostwalker isn't entirely certain how to melf the six spirits back into one, or what the result will be. Therefore he's taking his time and studying all facets of the problem before going any further.
At the gamemaster's discretion, it's also possible that Ghostwalker hasn't yet recovered all of the fragments of the Spirit of Denver. Now occupied with other matters, the dragon may need agents capable of hunting down, overcoming and capturing a powerful and wily free spirits or two, agents like a group of shadowrunners, for example.
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2 Demerits for me. Been long time since I've read over DotSW. Thanks for the refresher!