|
Well, you see, the IRS doesn't let you write off "entertainment expenses" as fully anymore, so they had to evolve with the times!
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2021 17:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 08:20 |
|
|
If I remember correctly another reason, besides household grifting, for the decline in Shadowrun is that the actual rules set for 6e is almost comically broken. There appears to have been no playtesting, no actual "work" put into creating the game in any way, and the lore has started to lag behind everything else as well. Shadowrun has been coasting for a long while on how much fun people had in the world but not the rule set, and now folks are just ignoring the rules and using other systems to model it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2021 19:38
|
|
|
Didn't 6e also have some actual placeholder text that managed to sneak into the final product?
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2021 19:46
|
|
|
Josef bugman posted:If I remember correctly another reason, besides household grifting, for the decline in Shadowrun is that the actual rules set for 6e is almost comically broken.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2021 19:53
|
|
|
Have this comprehensive review archived from these very forums: https://projects.inklesspen.com/fatal-and-friends/hyphz/shadowrun-sixth-world/
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2021 19:57
|
|
|
By popular demand posted:Have this comprehensive review archived from these very forums: https://projects.inklesspen.com/fatal-and-friends/hyphz/shadowrun-sixth-world/ Oh, I was told to stay away from it and now I get why. I remember when I thought that 5th was a bit of a trash fire because the limits mechanic means a top of the line mystic adept with literally Excalibur, the actual legendary magical sword, couldn't damage a drunk and sleeping army grunt thanks to mechanic meant to prevent top of the line runners from popping heads from a kilometre away with a blunderbuss. Also the technomancer shoving a sprite in the blunderbuss and not being stopped from popping heads a kilometre away despite being blind as a bat, having twitching hands and never having touched a firearm before. (Also the godawful editing, basic combat at page 100 needs limits which are at page 360 sort of nonsense.) SIGSEGV fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Feb 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 02:31
|
|
|
Not quite as bad as that, swords had decent accuracy and adepts could increase it a little and by quite a bit if you had the splat books and actually read through the slog of rules. But a baseball bat had an accuracy of 3 meaning you could only ever roll 3 successes on the attack with it. Which meant if an opponent got 3 successes on their defense roll you wouldn't hit them. Being super average and taking a parry/block action would, statistically, make you immune to any streetsam with a bat because they couldn't increase the limit (unless they had yet another splatbook). The limits were an interesting but ultimately stupid idea. Either they were too low so something was useless or they'd be high and easily stacked further they might as well not be there. Naturally the best weapons also had high accuracy on top of everything else so it only served to punish you further for not picking the optimal option every time. Poil fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Feb 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 13:54
|
|
|
A whole lot of that 6th ed stuff looks entirely un-playtested. And the book seems entirely unedited. Madness.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 14:00
|
|
|
Just to reiterate: no edition is actually good, if you wish to play just grab your favourite RPG and modify it. It's a lot easier than trying to fix Shadowrun's ruleset.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 14:04
|
|
|
Yeah Shadowrun is one of the worst systems to play Shadowrun in. 
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 15:01
|
|
|
By popular demand posted:Have this comprehensive review archived from these very forums: https://projects.inklesspen.com/fatal-and-friends/hyphz/shadowrun-sixth-world/ And also  at basically everything in there.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 16:09
|
|
|
BTW: that review came from this thread: Your one stop for arguing the minutiae of bad RPG design.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 16:14
|
|
|
Yeah, I stopped keeping up with the SR crunch around 5th Ed and focused mostly on the fluff, the last proper character I built was a 4th Ed one. From what I heard, the rules at the end of 4th was where things started to go majorly downhill (the FATAL and Friends thread post mentioned the sourcebook WAR! at the end of 4th covering the Aztlan-Amazonia War, and that was agreed to be pretty much poo poo). The rules are badly written and the books definitely needed multiple more editing passes... I met some of the devs of SR (and BT) at PAX East 2015, and they seemed cool, but in over their heads. And yeah, (IIRC) Blaine Pardoe being one of the head devs/execs of Catalyst and spending money meant to pay freelancers on home renovations and the like. I think he’s still there? GhostStalker fucked around with this message at 16:53 on Feb 11, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 16:37
|
|
|
Hopefully when they go bankrupt from all this mismanagement the license would go to someone qualified. For a change.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 16:47
|
|
|
give it to the germans, its not like germans dont know english
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2021 18:07
|
|
|
Part 08 - A Change of Career (Part 1) (Is0bel version)  We have successfully delivered the message to Strangler Bao and without any poor, innocent triads dead by our hand just like Kindly Cheng requested. It wasn't a great trip, but ultimately we did get off pretty easy all things considered. After all if you absolutely gotta deliver a letter to the gates of hell, getting to walk away without anything pulling you in through the mail slot has to be considered a success. Even if the brimstone won't come off anytime soon.  Don't think this was here last time. Modern street art or buried pirate treasure?  A few merchants have popped up since our last visit too, but none of them will give a filthy outsider the time of day right now so we'll instead head straight back to Kindly Cheng. Shouldn't keep her waiting anyway.     IGobbet did a great job of guiding us. [A wry grin.] Did she? Good to know. My message was delivered and Strangler Bao is back in the fold, earning for me. As far as I'm concerned, our transaction is complete. While you were gone, I set the wheels in motion to wipe your identities.[She pulls out her PDA. Stabs a button with a lacquered fingernail.] The order has been sent. Hooray? It's not like we had a whole lot going on before this, but this still doesn't feel like much of a party popper moment.  [Wu exhales heavily. His eyes remain focused straight ahead, but his shoulders sag.] I didn't like the way my life was going anyway.[Wu pulls himself up to his full height.] Yeah, well I had something going in Seattle, Shin. I had my license. I was going freelance. Found a storefront in Bellevue where Carter and I were gonna set up shop. Now it's all blown to hell. [He clenches a fist.] Someone's gonna pay for that. Pay for Carter. We'll figure a way out of this, Duncan. There's only one way out of this, Shin, and that's *through* it. Whoever gave the kill order on Carter also forced us to give up our identities. And took Raymond.[Wu sets his jaw firm.] That's all I can think about. Finding who did this. Finding Ray.[Kindly Cheng holds up a hand.] While I was working to get your SINs burned, I also had my network look into Raymond Black's disappearance. That's what we pointed out with the Academic etiquette before, seems we had the correct read on things. Who says books can't help you deal with hardened criminals?  [She finds it and looks up at you again.] I have news to share with you, my darlings. The kind you won't like. Oh what? Come on already...    HKPF police report that the UCAS man, Raymond Black, was behaving erratically and would not respond to police orders to surrender.If their negotiation tactics at all resembled those that we saw then no poo poo he would've behaved a touch "erratically". No additional information regarding Black or why he was traveling to Hong Kong are available. Police have stated that due to this shooting's proximity to last night's shootout with the White Star, the investigation must remain confidential and no other details are being revealed at this time... [Wu puts his hands to his face.] This just keeps getting worse. It definitely isn't getting any better. [Is0bel reaches out to touch Wu, thinks better of it and pulls back her hand.]  Sorry for your loss. I never had a father so I don't know what it's like to lose one... but... Sorry. You okay, Duncan? I don't think so. I don't think I'm gonna be okay for a long time, Shin. Raymond dies the same night we're ambushed? That's no coincidence. No loving way.[Kindly taps the video closed. She hunts around the keypad and selects another button.] I'm afraid that's not all, my darlings. This is security footage from Victoria Harbour from last night. You'll find it contains... a contradiction.   [Wu puts his hands on the table and leans in.] Those weren't cops. And Raymond wasn't "resisting arrest."It's pretty clear that there's some larger game being played here. But who's playing and what are the stakes?  What's with that guy's face?[Gobbet reaches up to stroke the rat perched on her shoulder.] Is that a mask?For reference, from the opening:  It doesn't look like a mask. It looks like some sort of semi-rigid plastic implant. Real craftsmanship.[She pushes out her lower lip in appreciation.] Quite the fashion accessory. [Kindly Cheng watches Wu intently.] I believe you.[Wu stands back and turns to you.] What now?It's safe to say we've gotten entangled in something bigger than ourselves, but there isn't much we can do about it without even a basic idea of what it is we're involved in. Think Duncan's got the right idea here. We find out who this Plastic-Faced Man is. Then we get some answers. With what resources? [Cheng's eyes sparkle.] I'm afraid there are some facts you are going to have to face. Uh-huh. Guessing much of this consideration has already been done in advance. [Kindly wipes her hand across a stack of tiles, spreading the ivory colored pieces across the table.] You've had a very long night, my sweets. Very long. And frankly, you all look like poo poo. Rest now, I promise you safety in my town for the night. We'll talk about the Plastic-Faced Man tomorrow.[Kindly gestures to Gobbet and Is0bel.] Ladies, go find our new friends a place to bed down in that rats-nest squat-boat you call home. We'll all talk after you've slept. Figure out our next steps together. Yes, Auntie. Rats-nest squat-boat? We call it "The Bolthole."Think we know the place. It's the abandoned trawler we call home. [Is0bel tries a smile.] It's homey. Meet you there. Thank you for your help, Auntie.[Kindly Cheng smiles and her black button eyes flash cold.] What are friends for? Let's go, Shin. I'm beat to hell. If we ever reincarnate as a sardine, at least we'll get to start with some prior experience. Also "safeboat" is most definitely not an actual word. NEW MUSIC:  (It's the safe  Hm, it does feel kinda homey here. Looks better from the inside than the outside at the very least.  Seriously. I know the drill. [Wu turns to you.] Stinks of fish, just like that place we squatted at on Leary Avenue back when we were kids. The one with that Aztlan family and their dog. You hated that dog. He kept digging out my food stash. No matter where I hid it, he'd find it and scarf down a week's worth of grub.[He wipes his nose with a gloved hand.] Still, it was sad what happened to him. And the family. No one should go out that way. They were good people. Yeah, until the 162s decided they wanted the place... [He stretches, and his spine pops like a handful of firecrackers.] I think I've been up for something like thirty-six hours straight.[He drops his arms.] And this has been one poo poo-stain of a day. Time to end it.[The ork turns to you. Raises an eyebrow.] Anything you need before I leave you to it...? Is there a place for my stuff? Yeah, check the locker over there. You can stash your stuff in it. No one'll touch your things in there, and it's a lot bigger than it looks.Yeah, think we know the type. It really is wild how much stuff you can fit into those personal lockers. Is it just you and Is0bel living here? Yeah. [Gobbet's mouth screws up a bit.] Now that Nightjar and Gutshot are gone, it's just us. And the creepy Russian guy renting the engine room downstairs. Oh, of course. It's just like that old saying, a home without a creepy basement Russian is just a house. Nothing to worry about. He mostly keeps to himself. [She checks her PDA.] He'll stop soon. He's usually quiet by now. How'd you get your hands on this place? How do people like us get our hands on anything? We *found* it. You found it empty?[He sweeps his eyes across the cabin. The doubt is plain on his face.] Somebody abandoned a prime piece of real estate like this? They were completely emaciated, stewing in piles of their own poo poo. Their eyes had sunk into their skulls. Pretty gruesome stuff. They racked up a killer score, though. True. They had the moves. Should've hung an IV while they were playing, though. Turns out, nutrition is important. Tragic is the lot of the hardcore gamer, ever suffering for their rancid art. So what happened? Did they die? [She shrugs.] Nightjar ran 'em out. Not sure what happened to them after that. Anyway, it's ours now... Auntie Cheng says so. All but the engine room, you mean. Right. Everything but that. Auntie rented it out from under us. That must've pissed you off. [She shrugs.] Whatever, we weren't using it. As long as our downstairs neighbor keeps to himself, he can have the lower level, especially if it keeps Auntie Cheng happy. That's all the questions I've got. I'm gonna grab some sack time, too. Good. You look like you could use it. We'll go see Kindly in the morning. Figure out our next move. We'll leave the tour of this no doubt very fine boat for later, for now we gotta get some sleep before we accidentally stumble overboard. Can't complain about having your own cabin, and one big enough to stretch your legs in at that. Bed looks pretty clean too.    VIDEO: Nightmare       Gah!  Was I drooling?[He lets go of your shoulder and smirks.] You were sucking your thumb pretty hard. Sounds nasty. Not the visual I was hoping for this morning.[He cocks a thumb at the hatch.] We gotta go. I've been trying to wake you for awhile now. You were thrashing around in your sleep. Thrashing around? Yeah, you were clawing at the air.Wow, way to totally ruin our cool big sis image here, sleeptime Shin. I was having a dream. No kidding? I had a hell of a nightmare last night, myself. What about? [He shrugs.] I never remember my dreams all that well. It was probably motion sickness. Not used to sleeping on a boat. I woke up a little while ago and hit the head. Then I came back and woke you. Sorry to hear that. You ready to go? Yeah, no sweat. [He stretches his shoulders.] Today better be a step up from yesterday, Shin. Nothing's gone right since we stepped foot in this country. What makes you say that? Think about it. That statement from the cops on the newscast could be fake. Ours was. And that surveillance footage? We never saw Raymond get shot. The camera was hit by stray gunfire. [His passion is intense, but contained. Focused.] Raymond's alive, Shin. I know it.Never saw the body, huh? True enough, at the very least we should file Raymond's fate under "inconclusive" for the time being. You make a good case, Officer Wu.[He smiles. His teeth are white and straight and perfect.] Shoulda been a detective instead of a head-buster, right?[His smile fades.]  [His jaw tightens and his teeth grind so loud you can hear it.] What else is gonna be taken away from me? You still have that piercing you got in Tacoma? I had to drop that. Hygiene issues.[Wu struggles to smile. He fails.] What the hell did we fall into here, Shin? I mean, what's coming next?See this is why you aren't a detective after all, Duncan. You hardly need to have the script in hand to see where this is going, and Kindly was laying it on pretty thick yesterday too. Isn't it obvious? Look around. We're SINless. Living in the shadows. Dealing with criminals.[Wu is silent for a moment. All you get is a blank expression.]  What do you think that jaunt into the Walled City was? [He crosses his arms, considering.] ...It was a test. The triad woman was testing us. Shadowrunners. Oh man. I have to *think* about this. [He shakes his head slowly. Lets out a groan.] This isn't the way it's supposed to be. I'm *supposed* to be a cop. And I want a pony. But we play the cards we're dealt.[He drops his hands to his hips and takes a couple of deep breaths.] That's right. That's right. It's like Ray always said -- "When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills." [He chuckles. Finally.] Raymond never said that. It was our housekeeper, Mrs. Malony. She had it tattooed on her back, right? How'd you see it? Don't mess with me, woman. You know I've got anger management issues.Alternatively: quote:
Alright, alright. It was "Life is improvisation." Yeah. Raymond liked to talk in bumper stickers. Insisting on "Honk if you're horny" as his go-to pickup line never brought him much luck in the dating scene.  Whatever.[He checks his watch.] Gobbet and Is0bel left awhile ago. We should get going too. See what that triad lady has to say. And that's exactly what we'll do, though it's looking to be another lengthy conversation with Kindly so we'll take a break here. 'Til next time.  Returning to Kindly Cheng after having the Forlorn Spirit kill the triad (the rewards are unchanged regardless of the outcome): I've heard from Bao. He got my message - very clearly. But he also says there was bloodshed. And I specifically told you to let them live.[Her button eyes are like tiny lumps of coal.] I'm disappointed. We didn't kill your men. It was an angry ghost.[Kindly Cheng grins a predatory grin.] Of course, my darlings. Of course. An angry ghost! That explains my dead soldiers! It's true, Auntie Cheng! A vengeful spirit rose up from a pile of dirty rags! *It* killed Bao's... [She quickly corrects herself.] *It* killed your men. [Cheng tut-tuts.] I expected more of you than this, my sweet Gobbet. Now stop talking before you get yourself in trouble.--- There's also a cut conversation of an outcome where the message seemingly could've been left on Bao's desk: I've heard from Bao. He received my message. The message that you left on his desk after slaughtering his men. Not at all what I asked for. Sorry, Auntie. There is no cause for concern. I expected you to gently caress it up. That's why I sent you. What? Part of the message was on that stick.[She eyes you closely.] And part was the messenger. Bao didn't rate sending real shadowrunners to deal with him. Your sloppy handling of the job helped to prove my point. Good to be of service.
Kanfy fucked around with this message at 08:55 on Apr 27, 2021 |
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 11:15
|
|
|
Kanfy posted:Returning to Kindly Cheng after having the Forlorn Spirit kill the triad (the rewards are unchanged regardless of the outcome): As funny as this is, it does make me wonder just how plausible an excuse "A ghost did it!" is in this universe. I mean, sure, ghosts are real and all but you think people would overuse the excuse so much it's now cliché again.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 11:49
|
|
|
Oh, I think Auntie believes the ghost did it. I also think she's smart enough to see who sent the ghost in Bao's direction. I'm a fan of the Plastic-Faced Man's entire... thing He's a fun character/plot point.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 14:00
|
|
|
habeasdorkus posted:Oh, I think Auntie believes the ghost did it. I also think she's smart enough to see who sent the ghost in Bao's direction. One doesn't become a fixer - or a triad hotshot, for that matter - without knowing just what any cutrate shaman is capable of.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 15:07
|
|
|
Okay, so recap. Something is very wrong with qi in the walled city and people are having wierd rear end dreams just by being near the place, Raymond knew something about "Prosperity in the walled city" and wanted to hire shadowrunners to escort you in but people with power (Probably corpos) sicced the SWAT on us to stop it. How common are cultists in Hong Kong? Maybe there's a cult behind all this?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 16:31
|
|
|
As you may remember from from Eiger's mission and Glory's on the last game destructive cults are a definite thing in the sixth world. That said, unlike Lovecraft you don't find them under hiding every rock and behind every evil scheme. Kind of a rare thing, a lone toxic shaman is a much more common problem.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 16:45
|
|
|
By popular demand posted:As you may remember from from Eiger's mission and Glory's on the last game destructive cults are a definite thing in the sixth world. As discussed during the Dragonfall thread, at least one of those destructive cults actually drat near succeeded in setting off their Ragnarok.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 17:34
|
|
|
True. I was remarking on the rarity of such cults, not the destructive power. Aztech is arguably the biggest destructive cult to ever rise on the planet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 17:47
|
|
|
By popular demand posted:Aztech is arguably the biggest destructive cult to ever rise on the planet. ... And they're still active and operating.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 17:50
|
|
|
kaosdrachen posted:... And they're still active and operating. Have you heard the good news about the Path of the Sun? It's Aztlan's state religion, and it involves regular blood sacrifices.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 17:52
|
|
|
kinda strains the metaplot believability that people are still unaware of blood magic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:00
|
|
|
By popular demand posted:kinda strains the metaplot believability that people are still unaware of blood magic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:04
|
|
|
Rogue AI Goddess posted:Before 2020, I would have agreed. "It's actually a false flag to make us look like we're the ones using blood magic!"
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:14
|
|
|
you hear "its an attenpt to infringe upon our religious freedoms!" in the canon also its canon that they banned bein catholic in aztlan on pain of death and theres jesuit ninjas they send in for the catholic underground
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:18
|
|
|
You don't need an excuse to hate on the Megacorps but Aztech is practically writes phonebooks full of reasons to start fighting.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:52
|
|
|
Hey now, all blood sacrifices are 100% voluntary and willing! *scoots book titled How To Coerce and Mind Control People under bed*
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:56
|
|
|
argosaxelcaos posted:How common are cultists in Hong Kong? Maybe there's a cult behind all this? Ignoring Aztechnology you mean? There's gonna a be at least a few in any major city. Any half decent Shaman can rig one up with minimal work. That's not just a normal cult though. Boosting poo poo up until unawakened people in the general area start having Portent of Doom dreams? That's serious magic. Count the number of mortals who could pull it off on the entire planet on one hand kinda magic. "Time to skip town because this place isn't just going to hell, it might actually be going to hell" kinda magic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 18:57
|
|
|
Stroth posted:Ignoring Aztechnology you mean? There's gonna a be at least a few in any major city. Any half decent Shaman can rig one up with minimal work. That's not just a normal cult though. Would all the feng shui stuff have something to do with it? Like, someone was specifically trying to set up an environment of such concentrated metahuman misery that Weird poo poo like this starts happening?
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:29
|
|
|
paragon1 posted:Hey now, all blood sacrifices are 100% voluntary and willing! Or they're prisoners which, y'know, aren't actually people.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:36
|
|
|
dont forget em clones e:fb
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:38
|
|
|
Cythereal posted:Would all the feng shui stuff have something to do with it? Like, someone was specifically trying to set up an environment of such concentrated metahuman misery that Weird poo poo like this starts happening? Technically possible, but honestly that’s the kind of idea where even the Azzies would probably shoot anyone who suggested it as too crazy to keep around.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:44
|
|
|
Stroth posted:Technically possible, but honestly that’s the kind of idea where even the Azzies would probably shoot anyone who suggested it as too crazy to keep around. (thinks back to APEX in Dragonfall) (and Vauclair) So you're saying that a megacorp is definitely behind this.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:48
|
|
|
Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:Or they're prisoners which, y'know, aren't actually people.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 19:55
|
|
|
Deep Dish Fuckfest posted:Or they're prisoners which, y'know, aren't actually people. That's for secret R&D and destroying your enemies. The public religious stuff is separate.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 20:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 28, 2024 08:20 |
|
|
Cythereal posted:So you're saying that a megacorp is definitely behind this. Basically yes, since the cops and the media are being manipulated. Either a cult with members in the high ranks of a megacorp, or a megacorp CEO that's a toxic shaman and is getting something out of keeping the Walled City as lovely as posible
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2021 21:52
|
|