From:	Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: The Enemy vs the true Cyber feeling
Date:	Thu, 1 Jun 1995 18:54:08 GMT

> Me too. I like the idea of magic and even some horrors, its just the way
> they're presented. Shadowrun to me should be about street level runs,
> with a slow uncovering of any deep and dark conspiracies rather than the
> sudden "save the world" idea of Harlequin's Back.

What I don't like about the horrors is that it shades towards the insect
spirits: it's a magicians-only game, with mundane characters either
having to carry assault cannon or just being virtually helpless against
these beasties. I did like the feel of HB, but when my wife ran it she
really cranked up the feel: you should have seen the description of the
two PCs (a mother-son pair of leopard shapeshifters, both with cyber...)
I really wish I was enough of an artist to draw it.

> Thus while I totally disliked HB I loved Harlequin as this eon old duel
> between ancient elves was uncovered *slowly* by the PCs. And the magic of
> the twos elves was really only *background* until the end when it was
> good because it was the climax to all the anticipation.

Agreed: I liked both Harlequin runs. The first was good, as the "cog in
a huge machine" feel leaked in. It spawned a followup where Ehran
declared chal'han on Quinn, my PC, for reasons far too complicated to
explain... My wife preferred Harlequin's Back, but she liked and expanded
on the various mythical aspects of the stories (always a keen interest of
hers).

> HB didn't sow any seeds it just slapped these Horrors right in your face,
> and after one scenario it was all over and you could forget all about it
> (at least thats how its presented in the book -I had my players actually
> have to stay with Thayla forever once they'd agreed :)

Bit of a bummer for the characters :-) Cue Lynch asking Harlequin later
"why don't we just get a battery of 155s and a few thousand rounds in here?
Couple of hundred rounds of Hotel Echo and that bridge is *history...* "
Harlequin just sighs...

The only problem with HB was that I was told I *had* to run a magician, or
the group would get creamed. That always annoys me: why shouldn't two or
three skilled samurai be able to complete a run, albeit with rather more
difficulty than a team that does include a magician?

--
When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better
or for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him.

Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk