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Message no. 1
From: Steven A. Tinner bluewizard@*****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:22:27 -0500
> BTW, if Shadowbeat is made out to be the "holy grail" so often on this
list, how come it only got rated 6.9 in the survey? :)

IMO, Shadowbeat was a double edged sword.
For GM's the book utterly rocked.
All the rules needed for Rockers, Sports, Media and more in a well written,
useful book.
What more could you ask for?

For players however, Shadowbeat offered very little.
A few average archetypes, and still no real reason to play a Rocker or
Reporter who also runs the shadows.
Very little gear/tech.
Not a lot of "fluff" fiction.

Unless you are planning on using this info in a campaign as a GM, it's kind
of a waste.
In fact, even as a GM, unless I have a player who is a Rocker or Media star
(which has been a total of TWICE in the last 10 years!) I don;t even bother
to bring the book to gaming sessions.

If you're a GM or SR-Zombie who just likes to read about the Sixth World,
then Shadowbeat is an awesome purchase full of nifty facts and useful data.
If you're a player who tends towards physads, merc, mages and sammys -
there's not much here for you.

Steven A. Tinner
bluewizard@*****.com
http://listen.to/Tinner
"9 points for word usage, and a cookie for using the term "Gygaxian
Whore"."
Message no. 2
From: Lehlan Decker DeckerL@******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:23:35 -0500
<SNIP good and bad of shadowbeat>
>If you're a player who tends towards physads, merc,
>mages and sammys -
>there's not much here for you.

Well I'll agree its a mixed bag of stuff. But it has some
good stuff for players. I just made a dwarf for a one
shot game I'm in, and he is a former urban brawl
player. Shadowbeat was great for background
material, and was a nice change from the gang or
military/corp background alot of runners have.
Shadowbeat is nice for fleshy things out.
Message no. 3
From: Robert Watkins robert.watkins@******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 13:46:41 +1000
Lehlan writes:
> <SNIP good and bad of shadowbeat>
> >If you're a player who tends towards physads, merc,
> >mages and sammys -
> >there's not much here for you.
>
> Well I'll agree its a mixed bag of stuff. But it has some
> good stuff for players. I just made a dwarf for a one
> shot game I'm in, and he is a former urban brawl
> player. Shadowbeat was great for background
> material, and was a nice change from the gang or
> military/corp background alot of runners have.
> Shadowbeat is nice for fleshy things out.

Ditto here... and it can be good in a lot of other settings too.

1) Play a gang campaign? There's the Combat Biker rules! An excellent way
for gangs to settle their disputes, without _too_ much bloodshed. Players
can take the roles of the gang champs, and when they aren't running, they
can settle scores with their rivals in other gangs.

2) Come across something really down and dirty in the shadows? Mitsuhama
dumping drek in the Sound? Gaeatronics supplementing their fusion power
stations with gasoline turbines? The Tir about to launch an invasion of
CalFree? Shadowbeat tells you how to get the word out. Not to mention that
providing a free-lance media report can often supplement a runner's income.

But seriously, folks... Shadowbeat is a sourcebook, providing background
info and a few rules about parts of the SR world. Like most of the theme
books, it's really only useful for the GM. How many people here, for
example, bought the Tir Tairngire book, despite never running in the Tir? Or
the NAN books?

--
.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com
Message no. 4
From: Paul Gettle RunnerPaul@*****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:44:15 -0500
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

At 10:23 PM 2/16/99 -0500, Lehlan Decker wrote:
>Shadowbeat is nice for fleshy things out.

Spoken like the Scriptwriter/Director of the next big simsense hit.
:)
"Quiet on the set! Fleshy things out! Begin recording and _ACTION_!!!"

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--
-- Paul Gettle, #970 of 1000 (RunnerPaul@*****.com)
PGP Fingerprint, Key ID:0x48F3AACD (RSA 1024, created 98/06/26)
C260 94B3 6722 6A25 63F8 0690 9EA2 3344
Message no. 5
From: Lehlan Decker DeckerL@******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:54:22 -0500
<SNIP>
>it's really only useful for the GM. How many people
>here, for
>example, bought the Tir Tairngire book, despite never
>running in the Tir? Or the NAN books?

Well I own both, even though I've never sent Pc's too
Tir Na Nog and I've only used TT sparingly over the
years.
I think Shadowbeat is one of nicer sourcebooks for
players, since it gives you lots of ideas for your
background. As a GM if you can give me a good
colorful background, I'm liable to let you sqeak by on
somethings I usualy wouldn't.
For instance my current Dwarf PA/Former Urban
Brawl player was kicked off the team and runs the
shadows because he was caught placing bets and
rigging games (and since the assistant coach had bet
on that particular game...). He is addicted to gambling
and somewhat to alcohol, and is hunted by the mafia
since he owes them about 20K due to his lost bets.
Most of his contacts are related to his days in the
league as are his skills. A very colorful and interesting
character, and as a player I drew 90% of the info
from Shadowbeat.
Message no. 6
From: Lehlan Decker DeckerL@******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:56:26 -0500
>Shadowbeat is nice for fleshy things out.
>Spoken like the Scriptwriter/Director of the next big
>simsense hit. :)
>"Quiet on the set! Fleshy things out! Begin recording
>and _ACTION_!!!"

LOL! Now bite me.
Geesh, one little grammatical slip due to lack of caffine
and half the list catches it. Sigh....Anyone out there
know anything about Elite/Informix 5.x
upgrade/database restores and feel like sharing their
brain? :)
Damn..where are skill chips when you need them.
Message no. 7
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon@*******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 20:28:52 PST
<BigSnip(TM)>
>But seriously, folks... Shadowbeat is a sourcebook, providing
background
>info and a few rules about parts of the SR world. Like most of the
theme
>books, it's really only useful for the GM. How many people here, for
>example, bought the Tir Tairngire book, despite never running in the
Tir? Or
>the NAN books?
>.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com

Errr...how pathetic would it sound if I said I did?

Seriously, though, Robert has a point. If you compare Shadowbeat to,
say, Shadowtech, or the SSC, it falls down flat as far as players are
concerned.

If you compare it to...errr...the NAN books, or Target: UCAS or anything
like that...well, it RAWKS!! As a GM's tool, it can be invaluable,
depending on how detailed you like to get, and how much you want to
stick with the 'official' Shadowrun universe, rather than making your
own culture stuff up.

*Doc' gets a thoughtful expression as he sits on the can, flipping
through Shadowbeat. "Hmmm...urban brawl...hmmm..."*

Doc'

.sig Sauer

P.S. Guess I'm becoming famous. People are starting to rip off my
smartass comments (I saw that, Lady J!!). Gurth now has a not-so-humble
opinion. Ahhh, bliss...:)

______________________________________________________
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Message no. 8
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon@*******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 20:35:13 PST
<BigSnip(TM)>
>But seriously, folks... Shadowbeat is a sourcebook, providing
background
>info and a few rules about parts of the SR world. Like most of the
theme
>books, it's really only useful for the GM. How many people here, for
>example, bought the Tir Tairngire book, despite never running in the
Tir? Or
>the NAN books?
>.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com

Errr...how pathetic would it sound if I said I did?

Seriously, though, Robert has a point. If you compare Shadowbeat to,
say, Shadowtech, or the SSC, it falls down flat as far as players are
concerned.

If you compare it to...errr...the NAN books, or Target: UCAS or anything
like that...well, it RAWKS!! As a GM's tool, it can be invaluable,
depending on how detailed you like to get, and how much you want to
stick with the 'official' Shadowrun universe, rather than making your
own culture stuff up.

*Doc' gets a thoughtful expression as he sits on the can, flipping
through Shadowbeat. "Hmmm...urban brawl...hmmm..."*

Doc'

.sig Sauer

P.S. Guess I'm becoming famous. People are starting to rip off my
smartass comments (I saw that, Lady J!!). Gurth now has a not-so-humble
opinion. Ahhh, bliss...:)

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Message no. 9
From: Robert Watkins robert.watkins@******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 14:45:13 +1000
Doc Rand writes:
> Errr...how pathetic would it sound if I said I did?

Not very... I bought it too. :)

> P.S. Guess I'm becoming famous. People are starting to rip off my
> smartass comments (I saw that, Lady J!!). Gurth now has a not-so-humble
> opinion. Ahhh, bliss...:)

Don't get too cocky... I first say a 'IMnsHO' acronym about 2 weeks after I
first went on-line in '92. I'm sure other old-timers from days before the
World Wide Wait became trendy would remember them too...

(For the acronym-deprived: IMnsHO stands, of course, for 'In My
not-so-Humble Opinion', and is a parody of IMHO)

And smart-ass comments have been around a long time, too.

--
.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com
Message no. 10
From: Rand Ratinac docwagon@*******.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 21:10:18 PST
>Doc Rand writes:
>> Errr...how pathetic would it sound if I said I did?
>
>Not very... I bought it too. :)

Now how about we ask an impartial judge? :)

>> P.S. Guess I'm becoming famous. People are starting to rip off my
>> smartass comments (I saw that, Lady J!!). Gurth now has a
not-so-humble
>> opinion. Ahhh, bliss...:)
>
>Don't get too cocky... I first say a 'IMnsHO' acronym about 2 weeks
after I
>first went on-line in '92. I'm sure other old-timers from days before
the
>World Wide Wait became trendy would remember them too...
>
>(For the acronym-deprived: IMnsHO stands, of course, for 'In My
>not-so-Humble Opinion', and is a parody of IMHO)

Yes - but I haven't seen anyone using it around here but me. Until now.

>And smart-ass comments have been around a long time, too.
>.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com

True...but no one does them with such flair and panache as myself - and
no one's been sticking them at the ends of their email between two
beautiful starry-type things. :)

*"Well, trademark IMNSHO and call me Micro$oft."*

Doc'

.sig Sauer

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Message no. 11
From: dghost@****.com dghost@****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 00:43:27 -0600
On Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:44:15 -0500 Paul Gettle <RunnerPaul@*****.com>
writes:
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>At 10:23 PM 2/16/99 -0500, Lehlan Decker wrote:
>>Shadowbeat is nice for fleshy things out.

>Spoken like the Scriptwriter/Director of the next big simsense hit.
>:)
>"Quiet on the set! Fleshy things out! Begin recording and _ACTION_!!!"

Oh GAWD! ROFLMCAO! ... Thanks Paul. I needed that. :)

--
D. Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
"You, you're like a spoonful of whoopass." --Grace
"A magician is always 'touching' himself" --Page 123, Grimoire (2nd
Edition)

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Message no. 12
From: dghost@****.com dghost@****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 01:01:07 -0600
On Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:22:27 -0500 "Steven A. Tinner"
<bluewizard@*****.com> writes:
>> BTW, if Shadowbeat is made out to be the "holy grail" so often on this
>list, how come it only got rated 6.9 in the survey? :)

>IMO, Shadowbeat was a double edged sword.
>For GM's the book utterly rocked.
>All the rules needed for Rockers, Sports, Media and more in a well
written,
>useful book.
>What more could you ask for?

Well written? I'm not sure about that. I'd say decently written and
poorly laid out (or at least sub-par layout).

>For players however, Shadowbeat offered very little.
>A few average archetypes, and still no real reason to play a Rocker or
>Reporter who also runs the shadows.
>Very little gear/tech.
>Not a lot of "fluff" fiction.
>
>Unless you are planning on using this info in a campaign as a GM, it's
kind
>of a waste.
>In fact, even as a GM, unless I have a player who is a Rocker or Media
star
>(which has been a total of TWICE in the last 10 years!) I don;t even
bother
>to bring the book to gaming sessions.
>
>If you're a GM or SR-Zombie who just likes to read about the Sixth
World,
>then Shadowbeat is an awesome purchase full of nifty facts and useful
data.
>If you're a player who tends towards physads, merc, mages and sammys -
>there's not much here for you.

I think the lifestyle section is pretty useful for deckers and can be
good BG gear for other characters. My partially cybered PhysMage had a
large field holophone put into her High lifestyle apartment. For those
of you without Shadowbeat, the large-field holophone lets you see and
send full-body holo images during calls. If you've read Technobabel, one
was used to talk to Leonardo. That was a more advanced (read expensive)
version. I think of the more common version as being akin to what was
used in Star Wars to communicate from the Star Destroyers (didn't Darth
Vader use one to talk to the Emperor? or was it an Admiral talking to
Darth Vader?).

--
D. Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
"You, you're like a spoonful of whoopass." --Grace
"A magician is always 'touching' himself" --Page 123, Grimoire (2nd
Edition)

___________________________________________________________________
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Message no. 13
From: Bob Tockley zzdeden@*******.com.au
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 18:14:30 +1000
>(For the acronym-deprived: IMnsHO stands, of course, for 'In My
>not-so-Humble Opinion', and is a parody of IMHO)

Hehehe... And all this time I thought it stood for "I mean, no shit how
obvious". \=)

(>) ARKHAM
"... and in the guise of man they came - dead men walking, enshrouded in
shadows so dark that the night itself was overcome in horror..."
- Digital Age Alive
Message no. 14
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 11:10:00 +0100
According to Rand Ratinac, at 20:35 on 16 Feb 99, the word on
the street was...

> P.S. Guess I'm becoming famous. People are starting to rip off my
> smartass comments (I saw that, Lady J!!). Gurth now has a not-so-humble
> opinion. Ahhh, bliss...:)

I've had that since long before you were on the list, but I only use it
when I need it. Just think of it like this: anything you can do, somebody
else has come up with already on this list :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
There's no such things as a "brown alert," sir.
-> 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. 15
From: Ereskanti@***.com Ereskanti@***.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 17:46:37 EST
In a message dated 2/17/1999 2:34:04 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
dghost@****.com writes:

>
> Oh GAWD! ROFLMCAO! ... Thanks Paul. I needed that. :)
>
Okay, *GOTTA* ask, ".....MCAO???"

-K (who's simply stuck on the "C"??? Cherry?!? ;-)

<SHIELDS>
Message no. 16
From: dghost@****.com dghost@****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 19:23:30 -0600
On Wed, 17 Feb 1999 17:46:37 EST Ereskanti@***.com writes:
>In a message dated 2/17/1999 2:34:04 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
>dghost@****.com writes:
>> Oh GAWD! ROFLMCAO! ... Thanks Paul. I needed that. :)

>Okay, *GOTTA* ask, ".....MCAO???"
>
>-K (who's simply stuck on the "C"??? Cherry?!? ;-)
>
><SHIELDS>

Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Cybernetic Ass Off. :)

--
D. Ghost
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
"You, you're like a spoonful of whoopass." --Grace
"A magician is always 'touching' himself" --Page 123, Grimoire (2nd
Edition)

___________________________________________________________________
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Message no. 17
From: Ereskanti@***.com Ereskanti@***.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 22:06:57 EST
In a message dated 2/17/1999 8:43:15 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
dghost@****.com writes:

>
> >-K (who's simply stuck on the "C"??? Cherry?!? ;-)
> >
> ><SHIELDS>
>
> Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Cybernetic Ass Off. :)

Alfredo, you are just *NO* fun at all tonight... ;-P

-K
Message no. 18
From: dghost@****.com dghost@****.com
Subject: Why Shadowbeat both rocked and sucked
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:55:37 -0600
On Wed, 17 Feb 1999 22:06:57 EST Ereskanti@***.com writes:
>In a message dated 2/17/1999 8:43:15 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
>dghost@****.com writes:

>> >-K (who's simply stuck on the "C"??? Cherry?!? ;-)
>> >
>> ><SHIELDS>

>> Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Cybernetic Ass Off. :)

>Alfredo, you are just *NO* fun at all tonight... ;-P

Oh? Well, I thought you seriously were asking what the "C" stood for ...

Oh wait, I'm being *NO* fun again ... I suppose I should make some crack
about "attachments"? :)

So ... any ideas on how concealable my ass is?

--
D. Ghost (who /should've/ changed the subject since his ass had nothing
to do with shadowbeat rocking and sucking... :)
(aka Pixel, Tantrum, RuPixel)
"Size matters not... You judge me by my size?" --Yoda
"A magician is always 'touching' himself" --Page 123, Grimoire (2nd
Edition)

___________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
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Further Reading

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

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