From:	Richard Tomasso rtomasso@*******.com
Subject:	Deciper press release link
Date:	Thu, 9 Sep 1999 11:31:32 -0400 (EDT)

Bull wrote:
> Now, to set the record straight on this ..., the ED/SR link
> was, well... badly done. It was something that got thrown into the mix
> AFTER Earthdawn was written, and unfortunately, it made the link an awkward
> one, at best. Plus, that link hampered SR, because any time something
> happened in Shadowrun, everyone went rushing to find an ED precedent, or
> associated it with the IE or Horrors (And rightly so during Dowd's run,
> especially toward the end :/). And anything in ED, everyone started
> looking for in Shadowrun.

I'll have to disagree with you here, Bull. (just cuz I can :))
I think FASA shouldn't have worried about that one. If the fans saw
something hiding behind every plot element, so what? I personally never
thought the connection was omni-present. Sure, they needed to pay some
attention to it, but I hope they didn't pull their hair out over it.

Part of the problem was the infamous Carl Sergeant transition, which
did make a big deal over the ED connection.


> 1) Earthdawn didn;t sell. There's nothing that can be done about that.
> FASA tried everything they could to get people interested in the game,
> INCLUDING giving away the rules on CD-ROM. In the end, it wasn;t enough,
> and the game went the way of the Dodo,

Yeah. Though it was selling, just not making enough money for FASA. Sales
picked up after the CD-ROM. I guess FASA management decided they could
make more money with miniatures games. Ner.


> 2) There was a time in Shadowrun (late 95 or so) when if you mentioned
> Immortal Elves or Horrors, most Shadowrun Players wanted to slap you (And
> you long termers, don;t deny it. I remember a LOT of complaints on this
> list back when I first joined in 96, and that was after the FASA IE and
> Horror stuff was dying off). It got to be a VERY overused cliche in
> Shadowrun. Anything big happened, it either meant that the Horrors were
> coming, Harley was involved, or both. Even the bugs, which by themsleves
> got way overused, were Horror related.

Again, I think this was more a player perception than reality. I for one
never saw it. Possibly b/c my group ignored the bug plotline.