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Message no. 1
From: Ronnie Grahn sbe14114@****.netlink.se
Subject: Newbie Modules
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 20:07:27 +0100
Thanx everybody!!!

I think I have a good idea on what to get now,
the Gamesmaster screen (I admit that I'm a gm screen junkie), First
run and New Seattle (when they get to sweden, which it probably have I
hope).
Then I will take it from there...

There's plenty of interesting stuff to buy, I was thinking of Mob Wars
(with the underworld sourcebook) and Blood in the boardroom. Can
anybody comment on these three modules??

--
Greetz from Sweden,
Ronnie
Message no. 2
From: Mike Buckalew mike_buckalew@*********.com
Subject: Newbie Modules
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 11:46:43 -0800
> There's plenty of interesting stuff to buy, I was thinking of Mob Wars
> (with the underworld sourcebook) and Blood in the boardroom. Can
> anybody comment on these three modules??

Mob Wars and Blood in the Boardroom are not adventure modules. They are
sourcebooks designed to help a gm create their own adventures. I wouldn't
recommend them for starting gms. I would suggest running a couple of the
actual adventure modules before creating your own.

I'm afraid that I can't offer much help on selecting which current module to
run, I've only run the early ones. If you can find them, the ones I would
most recommend are Dreamchipper and Mercurial. DNA/DOA is a good transition
module to get a D&D style group into Shadowrun.

Mob War and Blood in the Boardroom, however, might be a good bridge between
running the detailed modules and creating your own stuff from scratch. Use
them after you're comfortable running the detailed modules, but before
you're ready to design your own.

Buck (Mike Buckalew)
buck@*********.com
Test Manager
FileMaker, Inc.
Message no. 3
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Newbie Modules
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 11:50:21 +0100
According to Ronnie Grahn, at 20:07 on 2 Mar 99, the word on
the street was...

> There's plenty of interesting stuff to buy, I was thinking of Mob Wars
> (with the underworld sourcebook) and Blood in the boardroom. Can
> anybody comment on these three modules??

I'd recommend against Mob War! and Blood in the Boardroom as your first
adventures. Much better to stick to something like Dreamchipper, A Killing
Glare, Super Tuesday!, or some other more traditional-style module. At
least, for the first adventures you run (Super Tuesday!, Missions, and
Shadows of the Underworld are good here because they each have multiple
adventures in one book).

Once you're a bit more experienced in SR, MW! and BitB can make very good
adventures, but they require a lot more work than other SR adventures --
almost as much as, if not more than, adventures you completely design
yourself.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
"The only mechanoids ever issued with genetalia were those serving
aboard Italian starships" --Kryten, Red Dwarf VIII
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+
PE Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 4
From: Brett Borger bxb121@***.edu
Subject: Newbie Modules
Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 09:05:52 -0500 (EST)
> There's plenty of interesting stuff to buy, I was thinking of Mob Wars
> (with the underworld sourcebook) and Blood in the boardroom. Can
> anybody comment on these three modules??
<plug>
Well, you can always look up my reviews in The Shadowrun Supplemental.
</plug>
However, I'll summarize.


SPOILER WARNING: There aren't really spoilers below, but some
timeline details are revealed, and if you are in a game being played
prior to 2059, you probably shouldn't look below.



1) Underworld Sourcebook

Probably essential to run a decent underworld-based game unless you
have a decent amount of knowledge on the subject. It also covers the
particular details of Seattle people and groups. (for example, while
Yakuza and Mafia are "modern" concepts (if one can call groups
hundreds of years old modern...) but Seoulpa Rings are a Shadowrun
invention. On the other hand, if you have Mob Wars, there is a rather
large amount of duplication of material concerning the groups.

2) Mob War

This covers a list of suggested conflicts between different Underworld
groups. It's in the "tracked" adventure format, which means that
rather than being a series of encounters ala First Run, it is a list
of general plotlines that you can flesh out as you see fit. Some
people prefer tracked adventures, some people prefer full-blown
modules. Myself, it depends on the phase of the moon. Mob War is
better to gain a slew of ideas concerning potential runs, but
Underworld is better to give a larger understanding of the groups and
for coming up with longer-term adventures (Mob War is centered around
the events following the assassination of the head Mafia dude in
Seattle).

3) Blood in the Boardroom

Okay, first a history lesson. Previous to 2060, We all happily played
2nd edition (or 1st edition for a few diehards, right Spike?) and
there were 8 megacorporations, and no one ever thought that would
change. Then a dragon was elected president, assassinated at his
inaugural ball, and left a will distributing a rather ridiculous
amount of wealth. And it was distributed in a rather cunning way
(This is covered in Portfolio of a Dragon). This led to some serious
unbalancing in the "Big 8" (as they were called), and to the events in
Blood in the Boardroom, which spans a 2 year period, that ends in the
release of 3rd edition :), where there are 10 (or 11, if you count
Draco Foundation, as New Seattle appears to) megacorporations.

So this means that a lot of the events may not have proper relavence,
since by the info you have, they have already happened. That said,
you can still use it and have a lot of fun. Blood in the Boardroom is
also a tracked adventure. Personally, I'd not recommend it...none of
the adventures thrilled me, and with the time period it was written
for behind us, most of the "oh wow" effect is lost. On the other
hand, the events chronicled in BitB are still continuing in 2060, so
it is valuable for background info.

> Greetz from Sweden,

Forgive my American ignorance, but is it Sweden or Switzerland with
the three official languages...I'm thinking Switzerland, but I'm not
positive...

-=SwiftOne=-

Further Reading

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Thwap!