Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => Gear => Topic started by: Mirikon on <12-30-11/0650:45>
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I've heard mentions of this before, referencing older books, but what is it? What does it do? Is it still around?
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2XS is a bloody wonderful piece of literature written by the late Nigel Findley (CanRay, if you may?). It's the fourth Shadowrun novel published, and the first after the Secrets of Power Trilogy. If you can, pick it up and enjoy.
Amazon's Entry (http://www.amazon.com/Shadowrun-4-2XS-Nigel-Findley/dp/0451452100)
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As for the what ,@xS was a chip, similar to a BTL, but one that was designed to mess with your biochemistry, not just your brain. It's stimulate your body to generate more realistic actions, firing off adrenaline or whatever. This, as you might imagine, is both a better high and a more dangerous one.
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2XS is a bloody wonderful piece of literature written by the late Nigel Findley (CanRay, if you may?).
*Pours a 40 on the curb*
2XS was the book that sold me on Shadowrun, and kept me a fan for over 20-years despite never having had the chance to play. It's. That. Good. Classic Noir, with Cyberpunk elements, blended in with a lot of other goodies. ;D
Here's all his novels in eBook form, cheap at a bulk rate! (http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28_222&products_id=2476)
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Thanks, I'll check it out!
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Read them, they're worth it.
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Absolutely have to agree with Canray on this. 2XS sealed the deal for my love of shadowrun. And Nigel Findlay was the first game author whose material I followed, simply because he wrote it.
It is worth a read. Nigel's work on the Lone Star Sourcebook back in the day was also out of this world.
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*Pouts a 40 on the curb*
You realize that I live in Winnipeg and this is making one hell of a ice-covered curb for people to slip on, right?
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*Pouts a 40 on the curb*
You realize that I live in Winnipeg and this is making one hell of a ice-covered curb for people to slip on, right?
Riiiiight. Are you suggesting that Canadiens can't handle beer and/or ice? ;)
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*Pouts a 40 on the curb*
You realize that I live in Winnipeg and this is making one hell of a ice-covered curb for people to slip on, right?
Riiiiight. Are you suggesting that Canadiens can't handle beer and/or ice? ;)
Well, there's lots of drunks and seniors in my neighborhood.
EDIT: And the Methadone Clinic.
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He's just afraid kids will get their tongues stuck to the sidewalk.
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He's just afraid kids will get their tongues stuck to the sidewalk.
Considering my neighbors, yeah, a bit.
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If it passes muster (Only the first draft, after all), I have a small nod to 2XS in my first work, by the by. Just a teensy one.
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I did not see it mentioned here yet, but you can get four books (including "2XS") in an omnibus edition of Findley's Shadowrun works. I bought it for my iPad (Kindle App) for $12 USD. That's about $3 per book - a great deal.
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and don't forget that were we meet argent 8)
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and don't forget that were we meet argent 8)
And the Wrecking Crew! ;D
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Ugh. There's your MS right there ...
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MS? Multiple Sclorosis?
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Mary Sue. Argent and the Wrecking Crew, along with center-of-everything Ryan Mercury, are what turned me off Shadowrun novel fiction, because they're all so blatantly ... I can't say, because this is generally supposed to be a family board.
One of the things -- and to be entirely honest, here's the main thing for me -- you judge a Mary Sue by is 'how do the main protagonists get along with them?' Oh, capabilities/powers is one thing; outlook, another. (BTW, Pollyanna wasn't a 'the world is an incredibly wonderful place!!' kind of girl, she was 'well, let's make the best out of what we have'. She tried to see the good in even the worst situations, and if you'll recall the movie, that didn't always hold her up.) The worst violations, IMO, are those who are automatically friendly to people they've just met, just because those are other PCs.
And yes, we have those on the boards here.
No, going by that mark, I will never, ever be in danger of playing a Mary Sue. A character is measured by their abilities; a good character is measured by their opposition. A great character is measured by their interaction with other PCs.
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Argent, a Mary Sue? Sounds like a high-end contractor to me that was willing to take on some hooding jobs for rare occasions.
Anyhow, Mary Sues don't get as beat up as Argent usually does.
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Argent and the Wrecking Crew: yes, Mary Sues. Incredibly competent? Check. Always wins? Check. (Doesn't matter if they get the shit kicked out of them on the way; real people lose. Gets along with other PCs / Main Good-Guy Characters instantly? Check.
Mary ******* Sues.
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Nigel Findley was the one that got me hooked on SR and kept me hooked for years and has been a big source of inspiration for my gaming.
May he rest in peace.
- J.
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Marty Stu is the male form
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*Pours another 40 on the curb*
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Argent and the Wrecking Crew: yes, Mary Sues. Incredibly competent? Check. Always wins? Check. (Doesn't matter if they get the shit kicked out of them on the way; real people lose. Gets along with other PCs / Main Good-Guy Characters instantly? Check.
Mary ******* Sues.
If you go by that logic, then every recurring character in every TV show or novel for the last few centuries is a Mary Sue. Harry Dresden? Mary Sue. John Carter of Mars? Mary Sue. Catherine Willows of CSI? Mary Sue. Dr. Gregory House? Mary S...ok well, maybe not him, because he doesn't get along with anyone.
Your definiton needs some clarification, please.
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So, we have Dr. House and Sherlock Holmes that aren't Mary Sues. That it? Well, Harry might not count, he doesn't like a lot of his allies, of course, that might be because they want to kill him or have plans to do so.
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My definition really doesn't require clarification, faux-politely-asked-for or not, because in part a MS is defined by the viewer.
It is also, however, defined by the genre; John Carter of Mars is a Planetary Romance hero, which means other rules apply to him. Dresden gets the shit kicked out of him and loses pretty regularly, at least once a book -- and upon meeting someone, is by-god not automatically bestest buddies with 'the good guys'.
In any case. No, I'm not going to further defend my opinion; it's my opinion, mine all mine, go get your own. Go listen to some Billy Joel, 52nd Street, Track 3. Tired, grumpy, gonna go get some sleep.
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Er, the traditional definition of a "mary sue" is not merely that they always win the endgame. If that were the case then 90% of stories would be defined as starring them.
It's in their depiction. They typically are handsome and liked by everyone that matters. They often are good at whatever task they need to do, even if (and especially if) they have no reason to be skilled in that area. They don't seem to have any real flaws, or if they do the flaws are set up in such a way that they either aren't really a flaw or are even an advantage.
-k
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Old school Superman: World's Worst Mary Sue
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So, we have Dr. House and Sherlock Holmes that aren't Mary Sues. That it? Well, Harry might not count, he doesn't like a lot of his allies, of course, that might be because they want to kill him or have plans to do so.
Ironically, Dr. House is Sherlock Holmes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_House#Parallels_to_Sherlock_Holmes) (kinda).
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So, we have Dr. House and Sherlock Holmes that aren't Mary Sues. That it? Well, Harry might not count, he doesn't like a lot of his allies, of course, that might be because they want to kill him or have plans to do so.
Ironically, Dr. House is Sherlock Holmes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_House#Parallels_to_Sherlock_Holmes) (kinda).
I can see that.Er, the traditional definition of a "mary sue" is not merely that they always win the endgame. If that were the case then 90% of stories would be defined as starring them.
It's in their depiction. They typically are handsome and liked by everyone that matters. They often are good at whatever task they need to do, even if (and especially if) they have no reason to be skilled in that area. They don't seem to have any real flaws, or if they do the flaws are set up in such a way that they either aren't really a flaw or are even an advantage.
-k
Well, that helps put me at somewhat at ease with some of my characters. Their flaws are HEAVY flaws that do affect things. Hell, their advantages are flaws as well.
Still worry about it.
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It also pretty much refutes the idea that Argent and the Wrecking Crew are Mary Sues. Mostly due to the fact that it's only the Crew, as a whole, that has the skill set they need. Even Ryan Mercury, supa-bad-@$$ that he is, is only exceptional in his specific role. That of infiltration/CQB. He isn't sniping folks from 1000 yards, he isn't fireballing them to death, and he isn't a multi-millionaire by virtue of his financial acumen (the big D gave him that stuff).
The team as a whole should be incredible. They are highly trained professionals who each excel at their specific role. Together, they make up an incredible, hard-hitting team. That does not, however, mean that they are individual, over-the-top, unstoppable MS uber-characters.
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My definition really doesn't require clarification, faux-politely-asked-for or not, because in part a MS is defined by the viewer.
<snip>
Real quick, if it is defined by the viewer, then I hearby declare YOU to be a Mary Sue and not worth reading.
See the problem there? My first post WAS polite. This one was not. Don't get snippy because I disagreed with you.
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If you're going to argue with a Gun Nut, do it with the Canuck. I'm less likely to be armed with firearms. ;D
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I felt Assets Inc out of the Dragonheart Trilogy was more the Mary/Marty Stu team. In particular the main character and his relationship with Nadja Daviar... it just screamed it.
- J.
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I felt Assets Inc out of the Dragonheart Trilogy was more the Mary/Marty Stu team. In particular the main character and his relationship with Nadja Daviar... it just screamed it.
- J.
I liked these books, 2XS and the Dragonheart trilogy. So wether the heroes were too perfect or not (and I don't remember feeling that this was the case), I still enjoyed them and that is the only criteria I have when it comes to fiction.
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I think it's the nipples that get people.
EDIT: On the flipside, it's probably where we get the name Pornomancer.
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Having played in a high powered Shadowrun game (and run one), I didn't think the crew in the Dragonheart trilogy to be overpowered.
The game I ran for my old group was set in Denver. It was a high powered game where the team had to solve the mystery of one of their members amnesia (BTW: don't take amnesia as a flaw, it lets the GM do whatever he wants to you) which then spiraled into a plot to seize the nuclear football.
For those unfamiliar with the term, the football is the collection of codes that allows the President of the USA (or UCAS, in this case) to order the launch of nukes. In this particular case, it was to use some of the older Star Wars satellites to drop ordanance down the gravity well to wherever. Think Thor shot upgraded from low orbit to geosynchronus, and instead of mere thousands of pounds, think up to a few tons. Impact speeds exceed mach 25. Enough kinetic energy to create a blast similar to a tactical nuke (25 to 30 kilotons) but without contamination or fallout.
The final episode of the game had them facing off against an Aztechnology Jaguar unit, and a great feathered serpent. They managed to defeat everyone (with a few bullet holes between them) and got on their escape T-bird, piloted by a friendly cyberzombie.
After that, the events in the Dragonheart trilogy seemed pretty much par for the course for the big players.