From: | Bull <chaos@*****.COM> |
---|---|
Subject: | The ABCs of Shadowrun |
Date: | Fri, 20 Mar 1998 17:18:19 -0500 |
Charybdis, general cool person and Op on #Shadowrun made this and I felt it
funny and cool enough to pass on :]
Bull
===========================
Okay, chummers. This one probably deserves a little explanation. It all
started on Undernet's #Shadowrun channel. We, the users and the ops, were
all really bored. And, as I often do when I'm bored, I
started posting children's songs. So someone said I should only do that if
the songs were related to Shadowrun. And like the smart-hoop I am, I
suggested that if nothing else, we should create the ABCs of Shadowrun,
sort of a primer for children on the SR terms... What followed was an
interesting game where we all tried to come up with Shadowrun words for
every letter of the alphabet-- and tried to best each other with more and
more creative words for each letter. But while this was fun and passed the
time, I realized that it really couldn't serve as a true
primer for kids. After all, it had no rhyme or meter. Weren't all nursery
rhymes written in iambic pentameter? So I set out to rectify that problem,
and this was my solution. So, without further ado, I give you the ABC's of
Shadowrun (Dr. Suess, eat your heart out <g>).
The ABC's of Shadowrun
By Charybdis GreyDragon
A starts us off with Aztechnology, chum.
If they're involved, walk away... Better yet, run.
A is also for Armour, and Astral, and Ares,
And APDS Ammo which somehow everyone carries.
B is for Bullets for every sam's gun.
And also for Barriers, so spirits can't come.
B is for Barghests and Banishing too,
Something we hope our team's mages can do.
C is for Combat, the core of it all.
And also for Contacts whom all runners call.
C is for Conjuring--like elementals and spirits,
And for the Cockatrice that paralyzes those who get near it.
D is for Dunkelezhan, the Dragon, Big D,
Who left quite a will for the world to see.
D is also for Decking, for skating the IC,
And for Dwarves, and for Drain, and for six-sided Dice.
E is for Elves, who run both the Tirs
And for Elementals which a sane runner fears.
E is for Essence which most sammies lack
And for Explosives, a favorite attack.
F is for Fuchi, of cyberdeck fame,
And also for FASA, who gave us the game.
F is for Firearms, Force points, and Flechette,
And F is for Foci, a great Astral threat.
G is for Gaming, which we all like to do,
And for the Gamemasters, the proud and the few.
G is for Grenades, Gas vents, and Guns,
All our wiz Gear that we need on our runs.
H is for Hermetic, the path of the Mage
And for Harpies, best viewed in a cage.
H is for Hearth spirit called for a service or two,
And for Heal, a spell that just might save you.
I is for Iggies, your Initiative dice,
And for the bane of the decker, that classic black IC.
I is for Insect spirits, the bugs that invaded Chicago
And also for Initiation and the adventure Imago.
J is for Johnson, the great corporate liar,
Who hands out the nuyen to runners for hire.
J is for Jacks, used for decks and for rigs,
And also for Jail, which no runner digs.
K is for the magical squid called the Kraken
And also for Karma earned for shooting and hacking.
K is for Kage, a defunct Shadowrun Zine
And also for Krupp, after Saeder, I mean.
L is for Lowfyer, the great corporate wyrm
And L's for Lone Star, the police services firm.
L is for Lifestyle, which runners should buy,
And also for Legwork-- do it or die.
M is for Manhunter, the gun made by Colt
And the oft chosen spell, the force 6 Manabolt.
M is for Matrix where the deckers all play
And it's for Monowhip used in Melee.
N is for Naga, the magical snake
And for the Nuyen we all hope to make.
N is for Nature spirits, summoned by shamans
And for NPCs-- both the unique and the common.
O is for Orichalcum, the magical metal
Which is used in the foci talismongers all peddle.
O is for Orks, who with a few trolls can be found
Deep below Seattle, in the Ork Underground.
P is for Paranormal like some animals are
And for Projectiles-- weapons used from afar.
P is for the Programs which the deckers all use
To break into systems and their data peruse.
Q is for Quickness, which is one attribute
Of the combat pool used to dodge and to shoot.
Q is for Quebec on the UCAS's north border
Which also has runners disturbing its law and its order.
R is for Riggers with their vehicles and drones
And for Renraku who built that Arcology home.
R also is for the gun the Ruger Super Warhawk
And for the Radios we use to subvocal or talk.
S is for Sammies, Spirits, Shamans, and SINs
And also for the Shadows we live and run in.
S is for the beleaguered city, Seattle,
Where so many runners work and do battle.
T is for Totems, the odd spirit guides
And also for Trolls with their tough dermal hides.
T is for Tactics to give you an edge
And T's for Trauma patches, so you don't end up dead.
U is for Unexplained Genetic Expression, UGE,
And also Unarmed Combat, like Tae Kwon Do or Ti Chi.
U is for Universal Omnitech, a corp with biotech facilities
And Universal Brotherhood: "Unleash your inner abilities."
V is for Vehicles to escape after your runs
And for Vanquisher and Vindicator, both miniguns.
V is also for Vashion Island, armoured attire,
And V's for VITAS and the dreaded Vampire.
W is for Wendigo, sometimes confused with the Yeti
Who would rather eat you than eat soy or spaghetti.
W is for Wards to protect you from spells
And for Willpower which protects you from magic as well.
X starts very few words that deal with runs
Except those annoying X-rays which detect hidden guns.
X does end a few, though, on the simsense scene
Like Dir-X and Full-X, that format supreme...
Y is for the contact, the Yakuza boss;
He is one Johnson you had better not cross.
Y is for Yamaha Pulsar which fires a charge
And for the Yedi which is fuzzy and large.
Z is for Zurich-- the Orbital, I mean
Where the great Corporate Court is known to convene.
Z is also for Zero Perspiration, chum,
And Z's the alphabet's end, so now I am done.
((With thanks and apologies to AdamJ, Skye, Dodger, DocRaven, Bull, Dvixen,
Krilion, and the other Undernet #Shadowrun ops and regulars who not only
put up with my silly whims but also willingly-- or not so willingly--
played my goofy little ABC game...))
*******************************************************
Peace,
Charybdis GreyDragon
charybdis@*******.cnchost.com
http://www.krilion.cnchost.com
**Humpty Dumpty was pushed! **
--
Bull, aka Steven Ratkovich, aka Rak, aka Chaos, aka a lot of others! :]
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