| From: | Drew Curtis dcurtis@***.net |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Brainscan: initial thoughts (spoilers) |
| Date: | Thu, 8 Jun 2000 10:17:41 -0400 (EDT) |
This isn't really a review, just some thoughts.
What I liked:
This adventure has a lot of things in it that I've thought have been
severely lacking Shadowrun adventures for years. They are:
Seriously detailed information about the overall plot. The GM sections go
into what's going on behind the scenes so deeply I found myself wondering
if I hadn't gotten ahold of some of the Dark Lord's own crib notes. This
is in contrast to the third adventure in Corporate Punishment (Legacy?)
where the players AND the GM have no idea whatsoever as to the
significance of their actions in the adventure.
Players finally get to participate in a Shadowrun-universe-changing
event. This is in contrast to modules such as Blood in the Boardroom
where PCs are on the far edge of any real action, reacting to changes
rather than creating them.
The writing is excellent, I even found the fiction pieces interesting,
which is a first for me.
What I didn't like:
For an adventure that did so many good things that have been lacking so
long in Shadowrun for years, it was all undone right at the end. Unless
the GM lets the players in on the events that occur in the Epilogue (with
the Renraku folks, not the arcology survivors), the PCs are left feeling
like they failed at the last minute. The bad guys end up with Deus and
the PCs can't stop it. It seems that right at the end total success gets
ripped right out from under the PCs, leaving only half a victory.
It's one of my pet peeves about the X-Files, for years Scully and Mulder
find all kinds of terrific evidence only to have The Authorities show up
at the end and take it away from them. The same thing happens at the end
of Brainscan. I think it's a little unfair to do this, furthermore it's
not necessary for the final events of the bad guys discovering that they
don't have Deus off-screen. It could easily happen right there in front
of everyone (which is how I plan to run it). Otherwise the PCs are left
not knowing what the final resolution was (much like Legacy again). As I
mentioned above, I'm not talking about what happens to the Arcology
survivors at the end, just the Renraku discovery that Dues is not
captured.
All in all I thought it was an excellent product. I feel the same way
about Brainscan as I do the movie Gladiator. Gladiator was a great
three-star movie that with a few minor changes could have been a four-star
movie. Brainscan was the same way.
Overall if I had to sum up my thoughts about this in a single sentence, it
would be: It's better than either of the Harlequin campaigns.
I know folks will disagree with me, but for what it's worth that's what I
think. Opinions are a dime a dozen.
For those authors who are list members, great job guys! Well done!
Drew Curtis, President, Digital Crescent, Incorporated
http://www.dcr.net (502) 226 3376 Internet services.
Frankfort Lawrenceburg Shelbyville Owenton Louisville Lexington
http://www.fark.com: If it's not news, it's fark.
