| From: | Arcady arcady@***.net |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Why Neo-Anarchists make NO sense! (Was - Re: Neo-Anarchists?) |
| Date: | Tue, 13 Jul 1999 23:29:26 -0700 |
> >individual has the right to coerce another to yield to his desires.
> >Neo-Anarchists believe that unanimous consent, freely and willingly
> >given, is the only just way to govern any society or group of
> >individuals."
>
> The above should readily illustrate why the Neo-A's NEVER made
> any sense for use in the SR books.
> I'm not saying that they don't fit in the SR world - they do.
> In that context, they are a believable and realistic response to
> growing and prevalent megacorp control and coercion.
>
> As for using them as guides for Shadowrunners ... well, I can't really see
> runners as being "non-coercive"
> Oh yeah, maybe some of them are, there's bound to be a few good-guys out
> there after all.
> But by and large Shadowrunners are just another form of coercion, and most
> often, they are applying that coercion in favor of one mega corp
> or another.
I think the idea that every PC MUST BE A SHADOWRUNNER was not part of the
original concept of Shadowrun. It's always been a theme. But what a runner
was and what else a PC could be used to be a bit more open.
Shadowbeat for instance has the option of playing media stars. Companion
reintroduced the idea of playing non runners. I believe older versions of
the game may have come with a 'corp' archetype. And so on.
Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 and it's prior edition Cyberpunk 2013 both mention that
the PCs are rebels striking out against the machine in a hopeless but heroic
struggle. Personally I've never seen the game run this way. But the basic
book claimed that was the intended style.
I think a similar thing happened with Shadowrun. Only FASA caught on and
switched the game's focus from the general 'misfits of 2060' to the more
specific one of playing corporate mercenaries (after all, that's really what
90% of all runners really are when you strip off the romantic delusions).
It's a very subtle switch; but it's there. And in the new view of things,
Neo-A's have much less of a logical place.
Personally, I'd love to run a game with a PC Neo-A team striking out against
the machine in perhaps a Bubble Gum Crisis meets the Beatnik generation sort
of style.
