| From: | "J.D. Falk" <jdfalk@****.CAIS.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | (fwd) REVIEW: Shadowrun Ratings |
| Date: | Sun, 29 Jan 1995 08:19:47 -0500 |
Hayden or I forwarded to the list a while back.
----------
From: brooks@****.ee.wits.ac.za (Goth)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.cyber
Subject: REVIEW: Shadowrun Ratings
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 09:45:41 GMT
Message-ID: <brooks.728.2F1F8645@****.ee.wits.ac.za>
[In future, this will only be posted to rec.games.frp.archives. Because this
is the first batch of Shadowrun results, I thought it might also be
appreciated here. - Goth.]
==========================
Results: Shadowrun Ratings
==========================
Last modified on January 19, 1994
=============
Special Notes
=============
The German language version of the Germany Sourcebook was not listed
separately in the original voting list. Because of the difference in
content between the two books, Deutschland in den Schatten now has an
independent entry. The three German Shadowrun novels will also be
included in the next edition of the voting form, but do not appear
below.
Many thanks to Stefan Willkofer for providing information about German
language Shadowrun publications.
==============
Points Ratings
==============
In order for a product to appear on the points rating table, it must
have at least five votes. Products are first listed in points order,
from highest to lowest and then in alphabetical order for ease of
reference.
[The only Shadowrun product with insufficient votes to be listed in the
ratings chart was Divided Assets.]
/-------------------------------------------------------\
| - Key - |
| |
| Score = the product's average rating |
| Low = the lowest rating anyone gave this product |
| High = the highest rating anyone gave this product |
| Voters = the number of people who rated the product |
\-------------------------------------------------------/
Product (by rating) Score Low High Voters
------- ----- --- ---- ------
Harlequin's Back 8.9 6 10 9
Shadowrun, 2nd Edition 8.8 5 10 24
Into the Shadows 8.4 7 10 12
Burning Bright 8.4 6 10 10
The Grimoire, 2nd Edition 8.3 4 10 21
Harlequin 8.1 2 10 19
Double Exposure 8.0 5 10 7
--------------------------- ^ Top 10% ^ ----------------------------
Denver 7.9 6 10 11
ShadowTech Sourcebook 7.8 1 10 22
Universal Brotherhood 7.5 4 10 12
Deutschland in den Schatten 7.5 5 9 6
Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life 7.4 2 10 19
Paradise Lost 7.4 7 8 7
Lone Star 7.3 2 9 13
Imago 7.3 1 9 11
Fields of Fire 7.2 1 10 18
Elven Fire 7.2 0 10 13
Seattle Sourcebook 7.1 2 10 20
Changeling 7.1 4 9 12
2XS 7.1 4 9 12
Celtic Double Cross 7.1 0 9 8
Lone Wolf 7.0 4 8 8
Shadowrun, 1st Edition 6.9 1 10 17
Corporate Shadowfiles 6.9 2 10 15
Tir Tairngire 6.9 0 10 14
Nosferatu 6.9 5 9 8
Dreamchipper 6.7 3 10 14
Mercurial 6.6 3 10 15
Neo-Anarchist Guide to North America 6.6 1 9 14
Streets of Blood 6.6 2 10 11
Night's Pawn 6.5 3 10 11
Street Samurai Catalog, 1st Edition 6.4 1 9 18
Queen Euphoria 6.4 2 8 18
Paranormal Animals of North America 6.4 0 10 17
The Grimoire, 1st Edition 6.4 1 9 16
Never Deal with a Dragon 6.4 2 10 14
Dragon Hunt 6.4 3 8 11
Rigger Black Book 6.3 3 10 21
Paranormal Animals of Europe 6.3 0 10 15
Never Trust an Elf 6.3 2 9 12
Shadowplay 6.3 1 9 12
London Sourcebook 6.2 1 9 14
Choose Your Enemies Carefully 6.2 2 10 13
Bottled Demon 6.2 4 9 13
Germany Sourcebook 6.2 1 8 12
Fade To Black 6.2 2 10 9
Tir na nOg 6.1 0 10 15
Find Your Own Truth 6.1 2 10 13
Total Eclipse 6.1 2 8 11
Sprawl Sites One 6.0 3 10 22
Street Samurai Catalog, 2nd Edition 6.0 0 9 21
Virtual Realities 6.0 4 10 19
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 2nd Edition 6.0 3 9 16
ShadowBeat Sourcebook 5.9 1 9 17
A Killing Glare 5.9 0 8 11
Ivy and Chrome 5.6 0 9 12
Native American Nations Vol. II 5.6 1 8 10
Dark Angel 5.5 0 9 11
Native American Nations Vol. I 5.4 1 8 14
Eyewitness 5.4 0 8 8
------------------------- v Bottom 10% v ---------------------------
Prime Runners 5.2 2 9 9
One Stage Before 4.7 0 8 12
Striper Assassin 4.7 2 8 10
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 1st Edition 4.6 1 7 13
DNA/DOA 4.6 0 9 12
DMZ (Downtown Militarized Zone) 3.7 0 6 10
Sprawl Maps 3.4 0 7 9
Product (alphabetically) Score Low High Voters
------- ----- --- ---- ------
2XS 7.1 4 9 12
Bottled Demon 6.2 4 9 13
Burning Bright 8.4 6 10 10
Celtic Double Cross 7.1 0 9 8
Changeling 7.1 4 9 12
Choose Your Enemies Carefully 6.2 2 10 13
Corporate Shadowfiles 6.9 2 10 15
Dark Angel 5.5 0 9 11
Denver 7.9 6 10 11
Deutschland in den Schatten 7.5 5 9 6
DMZ (Downtown Militarized Zone) 3.7 0 6 10
DNA/DOA 4.6 0 9 12
Double Exposure 8.0 5 10 7
Dragon Hunt 6.4 3 8 11
Dreamchipper 6.7 3 10 14
Elven Fire 7.2 0 10 13
Eyewitness 5.4 0 8 8
Fade To Black 6.2 2 10 9
Fields of Fire 7.2 1 10 18
Find Your Own Truth 6.1 2 10 13
Germany Sourcebook 6.2 1 8 12
Grimoire, 1st Edition, The 6.4 1 9 16
Grimoire, 2nd Edition, The 8.3 4 10 21
Harlequin 8.1 2 10 19
Harlequin's Back 8.9 6 10 9
Imago 7.3 1 9 11
Into the Shadows 8.4 7 10 12
Ivy and Chrome 5.6 0 9 12
Killing Glare, A 5.9 0 8 11
London Sourcebook 6.2 1 9 14
Lone Star 7.3 2 9 13
Lone Wolf 7.0 4 8 8
Mercurial 6.6 3 10 15
Native American Nations Vol. I 5.4 1 8 14
Native American Nations Vol. II 5.6 1 8 10
Neo-Anarchist Guide to North America 6.6 1 9 14
Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life 7.4 2 10 19
Never Deal with a Dragon 6.4 2 10 14
Never Trust an Elf 6.3 2 9 12
Night's Pawn 6.5 3 10 11
Nosferatu 6.9 5 9 8
One Stage Before 4.7 0 8 12
Paradise Lost 7.4 7 8 7
Paranormal Animals of Europe 6.3 0 10 15
Paranormal Animals of North America 6.4 0 10 17
Prime Runners 5.2 2 9 9
Queen Euphoria 6.4 2 8 18
Rigger Black Book 6.3 3 10 21
Seattle Sourcebook 7.1 2 10 20
ShadowBeat Sourcebook 5.9 1 9 17
Shadowplay 6.3 1 9 12
Shadowrun, 1st Edition 6.9 1 10 17
Shadowrun, 2nd Edition 8.8 5 10 24
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 1st Edition 4.6 1 7 13
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 2nd Edition 6.0 3 9 16
ShadowTech Sourcebook 7.8 1 10 22
Sprawl Maps 3.4 0 7 9
Sprawl Sites One 6.0 3 10 22
Street Samurai Catalog, 1st Edition 6.4 1 9 18
Street Samurai Catalog, 2nd Edition 6.0 0 9 21
Streets of Blood 6.6 2 10 11
Striper Assassin 4.7 2 8 10
Tir na nOg 6.1 0 10 15
Tir Tairngire 6.9 0 10 14
Total Eclipse 6.1 2 8 11
Universal Brotherhood 7.5 4 10 12
Virtual Realities 6.0 4 10 19
===============
Points Synopsis
===============
Total number of voters: 25
Overall average rating: 6.5
Highest rated product: Harlequin's Back (8.9)
Lowest rated product: Sprawl Maps (3.4)
========
Comments
========
This next bit is a selection of comments people have sent in. I've
removed some remarks which were very similar, especially for products
which provoked large quantities of comment and I've done some minor
editing for grammar and spelling. Other than that, this is how they
were sent in.
Shadowrun, 1st Edition
----------------------
I still play the original Shadowrun. Just don't like SRII's combat as
much.
Some rules inconsistencies, but everyone knows about them by now.
Too many errors in the first edition.
No use in buying this anymore, 2nd Edit. is much better.
The Shadowrun book itself seemed brilliant (if enjoyably confusing)
when I first got it, but the two follow up products really let it down.
The whole design of the SSC seemed aimed at wasting space, because the
company couldn't come up with any more ideas, for equipment. The
Grimoire was just confusing.
Shadowrun 1st Ed. core rules had a lot of interesting stuff in them,
but it was poorly playtested and confusingly organized. (However, by
the time 2nd Ed. came out I had workable house rules, so I didn't buy
it.) The system is only marginally playable as presented, and full of
little botches (for example, almost all of the sample characters are
illegal or miscomputed, and one is actually dead on arrival due to
excess cyberware!)
I don't think anybody should bother with the first edition game
anymore. The second edition has fixed a lot of bugs and overall has far
superior mechanics in my opinion.
Obviously not needed anymore.
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 1st Edition
----------------------------------
There is a decent short adventure (Silver Angel) bundled with the GM's
screen. However, it is very bad form to have rules on the screen that
(a) don't appear in the rulebook at all, or (b) disagree with it! The
screen is somewhat necessary, but it's badly done.
Shadowrun, 2nd Edition
----------------------
It took a while for me to accept the changes, but in general, they're
ok.
Some parts are still very unclear but the game is great.
Very good combat system, quick with plenty of control. Few "uncertain"
areas. Magic integrates well, but the Grimoire makes magical
advancement well and truly possible, with St. Sam. Cat. being a list of
must have basics.
The second edition book has all the good points (because it's basically
copied) of the first book, without the confusing rules, and a complete
set of updates.
A well done series of books.
A definite improvement over the 1st edition.
Shadowrun GM's Screen, 2nd Edition
----------------------------------
The GM screen is not entirely complete, as I think other tables could
have been put on it. Eg the skill web was superfluous (one could just
copy it from the book, and leave it on the table, for all to use.)
Also, it IQs a bit too high, but I think that comment is just that bit
too subjective ;)
General Sourcebook Comments
---------------------------
Most books cover useful topics.
The source books are getting better and better.
Depends always on the campaign you're playing. If you're playing a lot
of Deckers and Riggers VR and RBB must get higher ratings etc.
In my opinion, Shadowrun's sourcebooks/boxes are its strongpoint.
These are books that shape and define the Shadowrun whole. Sprawl sites
and NAGRL are just excellent, it saved me hours in defining the nitty
gritty realistic tech and fashion needed to run the game. The Riggers
Black Book and the Shadowtech book were both badly needed even if they
did mess things around slightly (with respect to rules).
Shadowbeat, Corp Shadowfiles, Lone Star, and Neo-Anarchist really give
a good feel for life (and death) in the Sixth World.
Street Samurai Catalog, 1st Edition
-----------------------------------
The Street Samurai Catalog is a big waste of paper -- huge margins, one
entry per page, irrelevant graphics. There are about 5-10 pages worth
of useful material in here, but it is not worth the price of purchase.
Contain some good items as well as some nice rules.
The Grimoire, 1st Edition
-------------------------
The Grimoire is much more information-dense [then SSC1], but has little
concern for play balance. Use with caution.
Street Samurai Catalog, 2nd Edition
-----------------------------------
SSC2 is a waste of money in my opinion. The tables in SR2 give most
info for the things covered in the SSC, so except for knowing which
accessories come with what, the book is best left in the shop.
Street Samurai Catalog [2nd Edition] is VERY useful.
The SSCII was a joke! It was just a re-formatted version of the
original. Nothing new, and not much you couldn't find in the SRII book.
What a waste.
The SSC2 is nothing more than a collection of new guns, I have nothing
against new intruments of destruction :) but let's face it they tend to
get kind of boring.
Sprawl Sites One
----------------
Sprawl Sites had a couple of nice bits in it, including usable floor
plans and a few good adventure seeds, but not enough for its length.
Paranormal Animals of North America
-----------------------------------
PANC is something vital to adding a magical spice to the world. A
second edition or an errata sheet regarding 2nd ed. treatment of
certain powers would be nice.
Paranormal Animals disappointed me -- the creatures are mostly
"monsters", generally brute-force and uninteresting, with little
ecological information. Predatory squirrels, predatory moose --
everything's got fangs in 2050.
The animal guides aren't needed if you don't plan on running into any.
Virtual Realities
-----------------
I thought VR was a bit of a rip-off with that short story taking up
almost half of the book.
I can't even find a copy of VR, even though I love it.
The decking system stinks, and so did Virtual Realities. I didn't flunk
it, coz I liked the story.
VR has some good stuff in it, but it is half story.
Rigger Black Book
-----------------
The Rigger Black Book is worth the money.
RBB, IMHO, was very vague. Vehicle mod rules seem arbitrary in places,
and just what the heck is a CF, anyway? Area? Volume? Mass? Weight?
RBB is a great book. Wheels are a very personal statement and a custom
vehicle can add a lot of flavor to a character. 'Specially when it gets
hosed.
ShadowBeat Sourcebook
---------------------
ShadowBeat was not useful (to me at least) at all. I found it dull and
unnecessary.
ShadowBeat is nice, but may not be in some GM's style.
ShadowTech Sourcebook
---------------------
ShadowTech is a necessity for NPCs at least. I don't like my players
getting too powerful.
A GM caveat book, it can seriously change the power level of a game,
both for and against PC's. Use with care.
ShadowTech is just great. That's the true SR style: writing things in
such academic way that one who wouldn't know it's all fantasy, would
believe it all.
Too powerful
Corporate Shadowfiles
---------------------
Like Shadowbeat, a useful book, but in a background sorta way.
This had more useful info than my business textbook!!!
Fields of Fire
--------------
Oo! Oo! Please Mr. GM, sir, can I have a smartlink II? I promise to use
it as often as possible! Consider a super version of St. Sam. Cat. Will
drastically alter your games. The Merc Mindset is particularly useful
as it allows players to have honor. But the hardware can be X-Treme.
Get some people who know both guns and the system rather than
bootlegging C-Punk's already garbled munchkin guns.
The best sourcebook.
Lone Star
---------
Haven't read Lone Star enough to rate honestly, but what I've seen
looks good.
More useful than Shadowbeat, it details the cops. If the GM doesn't use
the cops often, or as a real challenge, they may want it and the
PC's may not want them to have it. Adds a lot of flavor.
Universal Brotherhood
---------------------
For myself I just wish to say that the original Universal Brotherhood
product was, quite possibly the best FRP product I have seen in a long
time. It has come in handy many times for inspiration for other
adventures and presentation for other adventures, even non-UB ones.
The most excellent supplement I've ever read for Shadowrun, or any
Cyberpunk genre game was the UB handbook, it changes the feel of entire
campaigns, I'm only glad it's not out any more, so my players don't get
their hands onto a copy of the Davitt notes.
Universal Brotherhood is a mostly well-done execution of an idea I
didn't like: too black-and-white, not enough scope for moral ambiguity.
Insect spirits are apparently always, totally, irremediably evil and
anyone they get their hands on is lost -- not the most interesting tack
to take, in my opinion. Slanting the writing of the "data dump" towards
the players is unwise -- you don't want to dump that much info on your
players all at once as it brings the game to a screeching halt -- and
the deliberate use of an ugly non-proportional typeface made it painful
to read. But it's an atmospheric story, and a good GM could do
something with it. This is really a module with lots of background, not
a sourcebook.
UB is not needed if you don't intend on using that subplot of the SR
universe, and from what I hear, most groups don't.
Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life
----------------------------------
Useful. Again, it's background material, but it's the day to day stuff.
Very handy. Very little of it will imbalance a game, if any.
General Location Sourcebook/Set Comment
---------------------------------------
It all depends on the city you're playing in.
Lose the munchkin gear and make some world changes based on reason. No
more "high elf" "vampire wannabe" we got things you could never dream
of bullsh*t.
Make up your own world. It can be much more realistic.
If you're adventuring in any of these areas, they're a must.
Seattle Sourcebook
------------------
Seattle sourcebook is inexpendable. Why, the runners live in Seattle,
how could their GM know nothing of it? It's well written and offers a
great deal in plot-ideas.
Maybe being a Seattle native biased me, but I found the Seattle
Sourcebook very dry. It didn't do much at all to give a feeling for the
various neighborhoods. You'd do better to get a map and tour guide to
modern Seattle and then improvise.
Seattle isn't as well written as the others.
Native American Nations Vol. I
------------------------------
Good. Provides detailed info on near-Seattle environment. 'Course if
you never leave Seattle, you may not need it. Or maybe you do.
NAN 1 was awful -- half of it is a bad adventure module, and the other
half is very shallow and prefunctory. Nothing about culture at all.
London Sourcebook
-----------------
I appreciated the London and Germany books (when I was looking into
buying them). Now no copies are available.
London sourcebook had far too many geographical inconsistencies
(Inverness is NOT on the West coast....)
Deutschland in den Schatten
---------------------------
Regarding the Germany Sourcebook, I've got the German-language
version [Deutschland in den Schatten], which I found better than most
FASA-published sourcebooks. I think this is because FASA is an American
corp, so they have to be careful what they say to prevent getting upset
American parents chasing them for corrupting their kids' minds. (I
babble too much.)
I only know the German version of the Germany Sourcebook... that one
is really great!
Neo-Anarchist Guide to North America
------------------------------------
Useful. Provides a necessary view of the old US. Helps to show the new
world order.
Tir Tairngire
-------------
Some good stuff, mostly for use as the home of many bad guys.
This place couldn't ever exist. Too much inside joking. Wannabe junk.
The Tir books are a blast, if only for the commentaries and
speculations as to what the 'big picture' really is.
Tir na nOg
----------
Fun to read, never found a use for it except as a distant backdrop.
Please note, I am Irish and my vote for the Tir na nOg source book
might mean something, it is the best Ireland book of any genre I have
read. My congratulations to the authors, at least they didn't indulge
in stereotypes.
Denver
------
Looks good. A few holes in the plots, needs an expansion on the "Free
Market" mechanics, but lots of potential for a GM running a group of
smugglers.
DMZ (Downtown Militarized Zone)
-------------------------------
DMZ is BattleTroops with Shadowrun-knobs on. An OK game, but it
doesn't really fit in with the rest of the SR world.
As a friend of mine said about DMZ, "The system didn't work for
BattleTroops, so naturally they used it for DMZ also."
Useful supplement for guys who like boardgames, but not very
useful for actually playing the SR RPG.
DMZ was much better used as an aid to the Shadowrun game than as a game
in itself. I would find it hard to imagine that anyone with no
knowledge of SR could play the game either.
DMZ is a playable but not terribly exciting tactical wargame. We didn't
find it at all usable for roleplaying as its results are strikingly
different from the roleplaying combat system's and much more lethal. A
combat-optimized DMZ character looks quite different from an optimized
SR character, and each will die in the others' environment. The
damage-track system can be adapted, though (my SR-based homebrew used
it).
Sprawl Maps
-----------
Maps are nice but too expensive. And do me a great favour: No more
cardboard without maps on it. I was thinking I'd gotten a big pack of
maps and what did I get? Some maps and a thick piece of cardboard.
General Adventure Comments
--------------------------
The modules get better as time goes -- I like the recent ones much
better than the early ones.
The adventures are too linear to be much fun.
All Fasa modules suffer from the concept of "The PCs will do this"
syndrome with out regard to what a sensible PC would actually do. Do
not rely on the modules explicitly, they will have some difficult holes
to fill.
Too many of the Seattle adventures deal with the music industry. Surely
there's more to life in Seattle than just entertainment.
I haven't GMed Queen, Paradise, Double and A Killing... yet, but they
look all right. At least they got a more interesting plot than One
Stage Before. Sheesh, my runners had nothing to say whatsoever,
everything was pre-planned... A really frustrating run, both for the
runnners and me. (Why didn't I give it 0? Because it made them lose a
lot of money, which is definately A Good Thing)
The quality of Shadowrun adventures is very low. They do not leave
enough room for player efficiency or creativity. Also, they tend to be
very linear in their plotlines.
Some modules are really killing bastards (the opposition in some
adventures is much too powerful, like those containing insect spirits
and Total Eclipse) and your players don't have a chance to survive. I
rated adventures good if the plot and the characters (NPCs) were worked
out well.
Standard adventures, of average quality.
General comment on SR modules: Never assume that just because maps and
stats are provided you can use them "as is". FASA doesn't proofread
well, and often the maps/stats are inconsistent with the text or just
plain impossible (my favorite is the castle in Harlequin which has no
doors).
DNA/DOA
-------
DNA/DOA is a dungeon crawl. It makes little sense and has no interest
but combat.
DNA/DOA is the worst kind of D&D dungeon crawl transposed to Shadowrun.
Other than this dog, all the FASA adventures I've used have been of
pretty good quality.
Mercurial
---------
I found Mercurial OK, but if you're used to the later adventures'
lay-out, this is very confusing to GM.
Mercurial is an interesting, if overambitious and overly forcing,
adventure. It has some flaws (the NPCs are shown as doing things which
are impossible within the rules, and not enough thought is given to the
consequences of certain spells the PCs might have) but could be the
basis of a decent scenario.
Dreamchipper
------------
Dreamchipper has a nice idea but very poor execution -- the characters
are shoved through the plot by brute force, sometimes to the point of
simply stating "now the characters do such-and-such".
Queen Euphoria
--------------
Queen Euphoria is a less-interesting replay of Universal Brotherhood;
there is no reason to buy both, and UB has much more background
material.
Bottled Demon
-------------
Bottled Demon is the worst SR adventure I've run.
Bottled Demon is a fairly nice adventure, though most of its drama will
be centered around the magic-using characters only, and the denoument
could have been better thought out. There's a bit of real moral
decision-making here.
Harlequin
---------
Harlequin (I and II) were worth the money. I don't usually like
modules but these were super.
Harlequin is the best GM supplement out there as it provides a long
course of PC advancement.
Harlequin is an anthology of linked short adventures which vary from
quite good to awfully bad. When I ran it, it became apparent that the
linking device doesn't work well -- the characters rapidly become very
strongly motivated to avoid the next adventure, and no matter how hard
you push them, they will put more effort into avoidance than into
adventuring, which tends to spoil the stories. Individual stories might
run well on their own, though. Watch out for very poor quality in the
maps (essentials like doors, elevators, etc. are missing).
The Harlequin adventures are a little weird, and it is very important
that the PCs and players don't know what's going on for Harlequin, just
like the book says.
Dragon Hunt
-----------
Dragon Hunt is very high-powered and very combat heavy. I have to
wonder where Firearms 8 hospital guards are recruited.... I really
disliked the plot, which is not only linear but set up so that the
characters cannot win, no matter what they do.
Imago
-----
Imago is great for deckers.
Elven Fire
----------
Elven Fire is the best SR adventure I've run.
Elven Fire is probably the best overall adventure, it has something for
everyone.
Ivy and Chrome
--------------
Ivy and Chrome is mainly high-powered combat again. At this point I
stopped buying the modules -- I can set up my own combats.
One Stage Before
----------------
Don't do adventures like One Stage Before, please. There are no
possibilities for the runners. They are just pushed around or getting
the information they need without doing anything by themselves.
Eyewitness
----------
Eye Witness scored 9 coz it's the 1st I GMed and coz it has a lot of
detective work involved.
Double Exposure
---------------
Although I gave it 7, I'm still afraid that Double Exposure will be in
the style of One Stage Before... (Leads the runners by the hand, throws
them around a bit, and leaves them again..) Hope not, that's why
there's the 7.
Secrets of Power Novel Trilogy
------------------------------
Couldn't put them down when I read them the first time, but I really
never felt like re-reading them.
Cool stuff.
Great for newbie players to illustrate the SR "feel" and descriptions
for just everything (barriers, spirits etc.)
Terrible series, but at least I managed to read through them.
Never Deal with a Dragon got good at the end.
I think the books are very poorly written, but the first one does at
least have some decent descriptions of runs in action.
Other Novels
------------
Well, what can I say? Not award-winning fiction, any of them, but
enjoyable if you play SR.
2XS was "not bad." I realized I liked SR better when -I- made up
the storylines.
The short stories for Into the Shadows were brilliant (with the
exception of one), if only the other books were collected anthologies
of short stories, rather than plotless (or limited plot) novels.
The novels contained ideas that the sourcebooks didn't even hint at.
Thank God for Nigel Findley, who can actually write reasonably well!
:-)
=======
The End
=======
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