| From: | tevel@******.com (Tevel Drinkwater) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Shadowrun 4: Sign of the Apocalypse? |
| Date: | Wed, 05 Oct 2005 18:34:33 -0700 |
>On 10/4/05, Ice Heart <korishinzo@*****.com> wrote:
>
>
>>>-Wondering if people will stop playing Life 1.0 and go back to a
>>>version without the widespread RFID/wireless world we live in
>>>
>>>
>>I have a very unfriendly suggestion:
>>
>>BACK THE <edit> OFF!
>>
>>Notice something, people:
>>
>>
<snip>
>WHOA THERE, ACTION JACKSON!
>
>My comment was made in jest. I'm sorry if you feel people are attacking you,
>really, I am. However, this particular email really had no more place on the
>list than any containing an attack.
>
>
>
I certainly won't take offense at anything that was said. Some people
might be getting a little worked up, and may have said some things out
of frustration, but I'll cut them whatever slack they need. Certainly
Korishinzo is someone whose opinion I respect, even if I sometimes
disagree with that opinion. As for all the list traffic, there has been
a fair bit of useful and insightful information that I have gleaned from
it. I also believe the debate on the merits of SR4 has progressed. As
(I believe) the first to draw an analogy between Bluetooth and PANs, I
look forward to trying Bluetoothrun (as Koroshinzo wryly put it some
posts back).
I probably won't restart the old Shadowrun campaign until some more of
the core books are updated, but I'm sure no matter what, I'll enjoy it
in it's own right, and make it work for my group. Heck, I ran Gary
Gygax's Mythus once! I guess this puts me with the new guard /
apostates / whatever, but I'd still hate to see a schism actually occur
for real on this list. Heck, when I was down at tech school a few years
back, I hooked up with my old GM from University, and he was quite
adamant that SR3 was unadulterated organic fertilizer, and that SR2 was
the pinnacle of Shadowrunning. I convinced him to run a short 2nd
edition game campaign, and I thoroughly enjoyed it (of course).
Certainly a retro experience.
This whole debate has made me give some thought to how things will work
in my campaign. I've also reread my SR4 book (which printed perfectly,
ahhh to gloat once more on topics long past) checking points that I may
have just skimmed over before.
This debate has also made me think of game designs in general. In 2nd
edition, they got rid of staging (everything staged at 2) and kept
target numbers. In 4th, everything stages (thresholds) and target
numbers are fixed. A bit off topic, but what I really liked about Ars
Magica was, well everything, but in particular perhaps the magic
system. All spells were essentially a verb + noun combination (ie creo
ignem, create fire). The bigger the effect, the higher the target
number. The two designers of that game have since converted the
majority of rpgs to a similar system. First Vampire:tM (Ability + Skill
dice) and then d20 (Ability bonus + Skill vs. Target number). Now 4th
ed is doing much the same thing, as opposed to just skill dice. Good,
bad? Whichever, it's certainly playable.
As to background along with the whole "feel", that is a tough call.
Honestly, I miss the old SR1, it was novel, it was different and the
background was almost completely implausible yet totally intriguing. It
was cyberpunk and yet fantasy. As an aside, living in the future
capital of the Tsimshian nation, Kitimat, understand that no matter how
unrealistic any background element of SR4 is, I'm certain the Native
American Nations vol. 2 entry on the Tsimshian nation is even more
outlandish. Despite that, it was still fun. I like the concept of
wireless and PANs. As to "hackability", if Shadowrun was like the real
world, I could install Gnu Privacy Gaurd for my futuristic Thunderbird
mail client, and it would take deckers decades to decrypt, not combat
turns. No difference from SR1 to SR4 there.
So in conclusion, we can all still be friends and have a big group hug
after we finish venting. Besides, the mailing list has been very
interesting of late, and I don't think it has deteriorated into a true
flame war. We probably have nearly reached an impasse, perhaps. It
seems to be coming down to "I like it" vs. "I don't like it". Ah
well.
Oh yeah, I hope that I have not gravely offended anyone at any point
during the Edition Wars. If so, please accept my humble apologies. If
humble apologies are not enough to slake your thirst for vengeance, you
can always email me and I'll provide you with targeted personal abasement.
-Tev
P.S. Korishinzo, my Ars Magica is almost all 2nd ed. I'm sorta old
also. Alas, I was always stuck running it, and never got a chance to play.
P.P.S. Holy smokes, in the time I took to write this there was a whole
other digest! Now that's list activity for you!
