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Message no. 1
From: Paul D McLamb <HAWK@***.BITNET>
Subject: opinions
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 16:43:00 EST
Hoi, chummers
I'm fairly new to the shadows (only been playing a couple
of months) and would like to get some suggestions on refer-
ence materials you think someone trying to start out as a new
GM would need. So far I have SRII, GrimoreII, and the London
source book. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in
advance.
.
"Shoot straight, conserve ammo
and always watch your ass-tral"
.
Knighthawk, Hawk Shaman
Message no. 2
From: Citizen Lemming <ratinox@******.COE.NORTHEASTERN.EDU>
Subject: Re: opinions
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 23:00:48 CET
>>>>> On Wed, 30 Dec 92 16:43:00 EST, Paul D McLamb
>>>>> <HAWK%UNC.bitnet@*****.nic.SURFnet.nl> said:

Paul> Hoi, chummers

Paul> I'm fairly new to the shadows (only been playing a couple of
Paul> months) and would like to get some suggestions on reference
Paul> materials you think someone trying to start out as a new GM would
Paul> need. So far I have SRII, GrimoreII, and the London source book.
Paul> Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Street Samurai Catalog: The weapons list, new cyberwear. You've already got
the updated tables in the back of the SRII book if you can figure out what
they mean. Otherwise, pick up the SSC. Probaly any serious Solo will want
to pick it up, anyway, just to see the selection of cool stuff.

Rigger Black Book: a must-have item, IMO. Lots of vehicles in all
categories, drones and remotes, and rules for customizing everything. The
RBB has, IMO, slightly better autofire and burst fire rules than SRII
does--I think FASA decided to go for that elusive "balance" thing with
SRII's burst fire rules.

Virtual Realities: The Decker sourcebook. I don't have it, so I can't
comment upon it. I've been told that much of VR wound up in SRII, so I
guess I don't really need it.

Shadowbeat: akin in many ways to CP2020's Chromebooks. I've only browsed
it, but it's got *lots* of nifty stuff for media-types, rockers, reporters,
etc. "This is Edison Carter, Network 23..."

Shadowtech: Yow. A lot of the stuff in here can seriously unbalance a game
if anyone has free reign with it. Biotech versions of a lot of cyber, a lot
of biotech that cyber can't do, lots of new cybertech (cranial cyberdecks,
computer enhancements, etc.). Also a section on drugs and other chemicals.
The absolutely best thing is the Legality system in the back, and how much
of a criminal offense it is to own/be grafted to a variety of cybernetics
and biotech mods (this is the source of Availability Codes in SRII).

None of these are really mandatory. Buy what you think you need. Even
better, have the members of your group pick up the books relevant to their
characters, and share.

--Rat PGP Public Key Block available upon request
||||| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||
Northeastern's Stainless Steel Rat ratinox@******.coe.northeastern.edu
It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss/With all these marbles in my mouth
--`Weird Al' Yankovic, Smells Like Nirvana
Message no. 3
From: Jalong1@***.COM
Subject: Re: Opinions
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1998 15:59:40 EST
Zebulin Magby <zebulingod@*******.COM>
writes:
>Absolutely correct. The character wants essense to grow back even
>though
>he hasn't given up the cyberware. He says it's because the body would
>get used to it over time...and be able to fit even more in.

::Drags himself from the depths of the Shadowy Matrix…::

Umm, no. From my understanding if you want more cybertoys you need to rem=
ove
the older ones/get better types (alpha, beta, etc.…) and generally sac=
rifice
more of your humanity in the name of, of, of, uh something or other. The w=
hole
reason you loose essence is that you loose a part of yourself. They
literally cut it out of you. While there are ways to get more essence in a=
ll
but one case the cure was worse than the problem.

Such 'cure' would involve something along the lines of becoming a vampire =
or
such. The only example of a runner getting their essence back was in a no=
vel
(the name of which eludes me at the moment) where a spirit basically refil=
ls
the runners lost essence. Of course the price was that all his cyberware
oozed off him, leaving him cyberless.

::Returns back to the Shadowy Matrix to Lurk some more…::

Jalong1
Message no. 4
From: Jett <zmjett@*********.COM>
Subject: Re: Opinions
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 03:07:41 -0500
Jalong1@***.COM wrote:

> <snippety>

> The only example of a runner getting their essence back was in a novel

> (the name of which eludes me at the moment) where a spirit basically refills
> the runners lost essence. Of course the price was that all his cyberware
> oozed off him, leaving him cyberless.
>

That was Nosferatu. The character was Tom the troll samurai and novice bear
shaman. The spirit used his magically-active body as a doorway to get inside a
powerful ward. One of my fave SR novels, FWIW.


--Jett

<*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>


"I'll make this clear, that I'm just here for backup. And to offer the occasional
advice or insult."
--Jett, on being an NPC

Behold the mighty sonic scream of the Jett!

http://www.scifi-fantasy.com/~zmjett/shadow.htm
Message no. 5
From: Blackadder <blkadder@****.NET>
Subject: Re: Opinions
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1998 06:58:40 -0500
Jalong1@***.COM wrote:

> <snippety>

> The only example of a runner getting their essence back was in a novel

> (the name of which eludes me at the moment) where a spirit basically
refills
> the runners lost essence. Of course the price was that all his cyberware
> oozed off him, leaving him cyberless.


Then Jett replyed:

>That was Nosferatu. The character was Tom the troll
> samurai and novice bear shaman. The spirit used his
>magically-active body as a doorway to get inside a
>powerful ward. One of my fave SR novels, FWIW.


The I added:

I agree. I liked Nosferatu as well.
You should also keep in mind that the spirit in the book that removed
Tom's cyberware& and Essence was HUMONGOUSLY powerful, and not something a
regular PC could ever hope to summon up IMO.

The BlackAdder !!!
Message no. 6
From: Mike Bobroff <Airwasp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Opinions
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 09:41:19 EST
In a message dated 12/25/98, 2:03:19 AM, SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET writes:
<<> The only example of a runner getting their essence back was in a novel

> (the name of which eludes me at the moment) where a spirit basically refills
> the runners lost essence. Of course the price was that all his cyberware
> oozed off him, leaving him cyberless.
>

-That was Nosferatu. The character was Tom the troll samurai and novice bear
-shaman. The spirit used his magically-active body as a doorway to get inside
a
-powerful ward. One of my fave SR novels, FWIW.>>

The book was Nosferatu, the spirit in question is named Malthanas, IMHO, a
free spirit ally that helped an elf named Lliam O'Connor. And I did like the
effect of the troll getting back all of his essence, which shows that there is
still hope for character's to regain lost essence (at the small price of
loosing the cyber - gee damn, small price to pay).

-Herc
Message no. 7
From: Mike Bobroff <Airwasp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Opinions
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1998 09:48:45 EST
In a message dated 12/25/98, 5:59:11 AM, SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET writes:
<<>That was Nosferatu. The character was Tom the troll
> samurai and novice bear shaman. The spirit used his
>magically-active body as a doorway to get inside a
>powerful ward. One of my fave SR novels, FWIW.


The I added:

I agree. I liked Nosferatu as well.
You should also keep in mind that the spirit in the book that removed
Tom's cyberware& and Essence was HUMONGOUSLY powerful, and not something a
regular PC could ever hope to summon up IMO.

The BlackAdder !!!>>

I'd like to point something out here, you said a single humongously powerful
spirit couls do it, but not a regular pc alone (I added in the alone part as
that is something I am inferring from your response), how about a lot of pc's
acting together in a ritual?

The only problem with this is the design of the ritual to be able to do this.

Oh, and is the possibility of returning essence to someone sound just like the
reverse of the Cybermancy rituals? Instead of allowing for more cyberware, it
is re-anchoring the spirit to the person again, thereby rekindling the lost
essence of the person. And without a lot of successes, not all of the essence
would be returned either.

-Herc
Message no. 8
From: Jalong1@***.COM
Subject: Re: opinions
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1998 13:01:03 EST
>The book was Nosferatu, the spirit in question is named Malthanas, IMHO, =
a
>free spirit ally that helped an elf named Lliam O'Connor. And I did like=
the
>effect of the troll getting back all of his essence, which shows that the=
re
is
>still hope for character's to regain lost essence (at the small price of
>loosing the cyber - gee damn, small price to pay).

Rats, it looks like the conversation has gone way past this point, but oh
well…

Yup, a small chance of hope for one to regain their essence which is
completely under the GM's control. Since the spirit did it on it's own fr=
ee
will without checking with the troll first. Gotta love it. ;)

>Oh, and is the possibility of returning essence to someone sound just lik=
e
the
>reverse of the Cybermancy rituals? Instead of allowing for more cyberwar=
e,
it

Not to me, it since cybermancy (at least to my knowledge) is tying the spi=
rit
to what would otherwise be a dead husk. What the spirit did was replenish=
his
life essence lost. Kind of like the character Lorien in the TV series Bab=
ylon
5 did to Sheridin. Of course Lorien could only keep Sheridin going for 20
years before one day Sheridan… just… stopped.

Jalong1

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