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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

From: The Reverend <MDB0213@*****.TAMU.EDU>
Subject: That beginning character (black and) blues
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 15:50:58 -0500
From: "Jason Carter, Nightstalker" <CARTER@***.EDU>

]On the subject of Bioware, I personally see no need to make it a strange and
]mysterious thing. Generally anything you can do with Bioware you can do with
]cyberware or just do without. The Bioware is just more expensive. Of course
]if you don't want your beginning characters to have bioware that's fine, but I
]just don't follow FASA's reasoning.
(sorry to quote the whole thing)
True, almost all of the bioware stuff can be done, but it's via a new
technology/science. Also, the book says (I believe) that ALL the stuff in
Shadowtech (this includes stuff like Doom, Tactical computers, etc), should be
hard to get ahold of. Besides the obvious (game balance), I can think of a
good reason to make it hard to get. New-ness. Considering the rarity of
cyberware (excepting shadowrunners, of course), there is not much of a demand
for the illegal/oddball stuff. There probably is not going to be a plant
pumping out this stuff (any color you want, so long as it's black), and so it
takes a while to "trickle down" to where us normal shadowrunners can get to it.
The campaign I was in (the one with the very rare bioware) was a very low power
campaign, and this let us in on S-tech without being able to abuse it (no
abusin' the abbos...least not while anyone's lookin'). What would you rather
have (D&D example): a sword with a hilt created such that it magically helps
the wielder's aim, or a +1 longsword? Semantics, and meaningless in this
discussion.

My point, though, is that it will take a while to get to the shadowrunners.
Not every corner street doc is going to have the supplier/blueprints/equipment/
skill to build this stuff, and so it's going to be expensive and rare. Kinda
like Alpha/Beta clinics are (supposed to be).

]On the subject of High Force Spells, I don't see a force 6 spell as being a high
]force spell. Yes, it's rather deadly when on a combat spell, but in other
]cases its no big deal.
IMHO, it takes more of you to cast something like this. you're putting more of
yourself into it. That's just my view of it, and could be RIGHT out. But I
think a level 6 spell is going to be like a level 6 skill/stat: there, but not
very common (excepting shadowrunners, but they can learn skills on their own.
Buying it gets expensive.)

]You don't have to buy a spell formula for spells you know when you begin play.
Okay, that's what I thought. However, letting characters start out with high
level spells makes it that much easier for the campaign to go high power (I
prefer low-power). Kinda like rcoster's problems with his munchk^H^H^H^H^H^H
players.

BCNU, Rev
---
The Reverend "They called me the Reverend when I entered the church unstained"
Fear the Information Revolution...for it has reached the hands of the strange.
PGP 2.2 Public Key Block available upon request

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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.