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Dohoho where to begin with this gem.
First off, the "Playtesters" credits are the Allies and the Axis. No, I'm not joking.
Next, the stats for these vehicles are absolutely laughable compared to the stuff I'm used to seeing in BT. For instance, the Type 95 Ha-Go only has an armor value of 4 on its front. That is *horrid* and bad and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Finally, some of the Obsolete dates are also laughable. M4 Shermans being phased out in 2015? I think that's wrong. They'd still be around in at least the 2050's.
All in all, this is one April Fools joke you *must* pick up regardless if you're a BattleTech fan or not. You owe it to yourself, after all.
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The Way of the Samurai, while I was not overly thrilled with the in game universe framework for this, the mechanics are all solid. With new advantages (available only to the cybered), cybernetic suites designed for street samurai, and some new cyberware (revamping the old booster reflexes and new arm blades) and the archetypes -one for each race using the rules included here- are good and useful, even if they use art recycled from the first edition, which I found nostalgic more than anything else, though I miss the original character write up for the Ork street sam.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/
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Sprawl Sites: North America, is a collection of places each described with a color map in two versions (one with numbered areas for the GM and one without for the players). Each location has a short description keyed to the map, a set of adventure seeds and a piece of a linked adventure that visits all of the locations. Quite a useful resource if you are a fan of maps, the adventure seeds are mostly interesting and enough to inspire a run as needed. Though a brief notation on the matrix security for each of the locations would have been a useful addition to the descriptions provided.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/
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Land of Promise, updating information on the elven nation of Tir Tairngire to the current era of Shadowrun. Most of the product is in setting discussion of the Tir and its current situation, heavy on politics and attitudes light on actual data, the original Tir Tairngire book would almost seem needed to be able to use this to present the Tir as part of a campaign. The adventure seeds are uninspired but the character trove (write ups of generic NPCs) which include a variety of gang members as well as Tir police could be quite useful.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/
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Bottled Demon, the real deal from 1990 (complete with ads!), scanned to PDF for your reading and gaming pleasure. Not an adventure I ever played back when it was new, but one that I always wanted to. A dangerous and mysterious magical artefact, legendary elven killers, a hard driving Lone Star cop and dragons, it hits so many of the key points of the Shadowrun setting in one adventure. That being said, it is also an adventure written in 1980 and it really tries to force the action down certain channels but it should be a fun ride in the hands of a good GM. Though, as with all of the scanned early adventures, it suffers from not having a conversion to the current edition of Shadowrun, especially with the 2050 setting book available that would be some good cross marketing.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/
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Shadowrun brings into focus the darker self-interests of society and manifests them very stylishly in a very distinctive universe. The Mega Corporations are what existing capitalists would like to become, if they thought the state wasn't as much of a power to reckoned with as they'd like it to be. The meta-humanity is a very inventive variation of the current diversity of races on Earth and the fragmentation of mankind very similar to the Wild West.
The book is well written. Everything is nicely introduced and all the players are imaginatively designed. As an RPG, Shadowrun laid the foundation for others. Its background material inspired others to to as well as them, not to mention lead to the creation of video games and novels. This is a purchase you should make if you want to know how to narrate your own stories in science fictional contexts. It was a ground breaker, which brings familiar elements to bear, but reinvents them in very creative and original ways.
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Drachen, in jeder Welt haben sie viele Gemeinsamkeiten: Sie sind nach den Göttern die mächtigsten Wesen der jeweiligen Welt, riesig, meistens Feuer speiend und immer mysteriös und unnahbar. The Clutch of Dragons stellt uns die bedeutendsten Drachen, ihre Marionetten und Motivationen vor und lüftet ein paar wenige Geheimnisse dieser mächtigsten Geschöpfe der Welt von Shadowrun.
Erscheinungsbild
Das einzige vollfarbige Bild, welches sich in dieser PDF befindet, ist das Titelbild. Es erstreckt sich über 2 Seiten und zeigt einen roten Drachen, welcher sich in einem Kampf mit Runnern eingelassen hat. Der Kampf findet auf beengtem Raum statt. Die übrigen Zeichnungen sind alle in detaillierten Grautönen und meist als halbseitige Bilder in der PDF verteilt. Leider sind große und detaillierte Drachenbilder eher rar gesät, so dass man sich nur ein grobes Bild vom Design der Drachen in der Schattenwelt machen kann. Die restlichen Bilder zeigen Runner in verschiedenen, meist ruhigen, Situationen.
Das englische Settingbuch hat 154 Seiten. Es gibt zwar ein kleines Inhaltsverzeichnis, dennoch wurde hier auf ein klickbares Inhaltsverzeichnis, zugunsten eines PDF-Inhaltsverzeichnisses mit Unterkategorien, verzichtet.
Texte können markiert, kopiert und gesucht werden. Die Bilder können ebenfalls kopiert werden.
Inhalt
Unterteilt ist die PDF in 14 Kapitel, von denen sich 10 direkt mit jeweils einem speziellen Drachen auseinandersetzen. Die Geschichte am Anfang bringt einen sanft in die richtige Stimmung. Danach wird einem gezeigt, dass mehr in den Lüften über den MegaCorp-Cities abgeht als sich Otto-Normalrunner träumen lassen könnte.
Das PDF ist weiterhin unterteilt in Kapitel, die aufzeigen, wer wie mit oder gegen Drachen arbeitet, über die wichtigsten Großdrachen und abschließend ein paar spieltechnische Informationen für den Spielleiter. Zwischen den großen Kapiteln wird eine Kurzgeschichte erzählt von einem, den meisten Shadowrunnern, wohlbekanntem Mann.
Jedes einzelne Kapitel liest sich zum Teil wie für den Spielleiter geschrieben, hat aber auch zwischendurch immer auflockernden Shadowtalk, welcher auch neben den rar gesäten Bildern das einzig auflockernde ist.
Diese PDF ist definitiv ein das Spieluniversum unterstützender Band, allerdings sind die Texte recht langatmig. Die Informationen werden nicht nicht in hübschen Tabellen oder leicht zu verdauenden Stichsätzen geliefert, sondern beinhalten jeweils ihre eigene kleine Geschichte.
Dies ist zum durchlesen sicherlich gut, lässt einem aber die schnelle Informationssuche recht schwer gestalten.
Eine Zusammenfassung der wichtigsten Informationen der Drachen und der Organisationen, die mit ihnen zusammen arbeiten, hätte den jeweiligen Kapiteln sicherlich gut getan.
Die Information in jedem Kapitel sind sicherlich reichhaltig, werden durch den Shadowtalk aber immer etwas relativiert, so dass man als Spielleiter immer selbst eine Entscheidung treffen muss, ob die dargebotene Information Kanon oder erfunden ist, innerhalb der Spielwelt.
Ganz getreu dem Vorsatz „Lass dich nie mit Drachen ein“ bietet das elf Seiten lange Portfolio an spieltechnischen Informationen nur zwei Drachen als wertetechnischen Nichtspielercharacter, mit Verweisen auf andere Quellenbücher, wo man sich noch andere spielrelevanten Informationen besorgen kann.
Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis
In dieser Spielhilfe sind praktisch alle relevanten Informationen zu Drachen in der Welt der Schatten aufgelistet, die ein Spielleiter nutzen kann, um diese mächtigsten aller Kreaturen in der Welt der Schatten agieren zu lassen.
Der Preis des Produktes ist, vor allem, da er zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung dieser Rezension herabgesetzt war, den Informationsgehalt auf jeden Fall wert. Man sollte allerdings bedenken, dass der größte Teil hier Spielleiterinformationen sind, an die ein normaler Runner selten kommt.
Wenngleich ich verstehen kann, wie leicht es ist, den Verlockungen nachzukommen, die ein Buch beinhaltet, welches so viel Mysterium lüften kann.
Die Aufmachung könnte etwas farbenfroher oder bebilderter sein und der Text etwas weniger langatmig, ansonsten aber auf jeden Fall ein wertvolles Werk.
Fazit
Diese PDF ist für jeden Spielleiter absolutes Muss, welcher ein wenig drachisches Mysterium in seine Schattenwelt bringen will. So wird erklärt, welcher Drache sich hinter welcher Operation und Organisation befunden hat
All dies wird hier detailliert aufgezählt und dem Leser allerdings ein wenig trocken dargeboten.
Unsere Bewertung
Erscheinungsbild 4/5 Es ist kein Index vorhanden, allerdings eine PDF-Suche möglich, sowie ein separat anklickbares Inhaltsverzeichnis mit mehr Unterpunkten als das PDF-Original. Bis auf das doppelseitige Titelbild ist alles in Grautönen.
Inhalt 4/5 Die Drachen, ihre Organisationen und Handlanger sowie Feinde sind detailliert beschrieben, aber ein wenig trocken aufbereitet, Bilder, Tabellen oder ein lockeres Layout hätten den Lesefluss besser steuern können.
Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis 4/5 Man kriegt, was man erwartet, das Mysterium der Drachen dargebracht für uns Normalsterblichen, mit einem Hauch an Zweifel. Die PDF ist zum aktuellen Preis sicherlich preiswert.
Gesamt 4/5 Eigentlich ist alles vorhanden, was man haben will, aber auch nur genau so viel. Bei allem hätte man mit einem Schüppchen mehr noch ein bemerkenswertes Produkt rausholen können. Es ist eine gute Spielhilfe, die einem gibt, was beim Kauf erwartet. Durch die trockene Aufmachung macht es jedoch nicht viel Spaß, gelesen zu werden.
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Euro War Antiques provides a mixture of setting information and new old equipment for the Shadowrun setting. Both parts are fairly focused in their application but could be invaluable for the right campaign, but not for all campaigns.
Euro War Antiques is a source book for Shadowrun. It is divided into two parts:
• History of the Euro Wars, an overview of the conflicts that shattered Europe and allowed the corporations to gain a stranglehold on the continent. While I am not entirely convinced by this future history, it is interesting, though some maps would have made it easier to follow.
• Equipment used by the various forces, most of these are military vehicles and weapons, with a few man portable weapons, but mostly heavy metal. If you have need for a variety of older tanks or aircraft, this will have you covered and it is interesting to see the write-ups for current (i.e. 2013) vehicles such as the M1 Abrams, HMMWV and the Leopard.
Both sections have in-world commentary by various source which provide some amusing insights and additional information. While exceptionally useful if you need some background on the Euro Wars or some antique heavy weapons, it may not prove very useful outside those confines. Just know why you are buying it and you will not be disappointed.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Note: Read more reviews and other gaming articles at my journal https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/
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I am increasingly excited about this game. This gives us a look at some of the things changing in Shadowrun 5th edition, such as limits and the return of Deckers.
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A well written story that sets the tone for the changes coming to Shadowrun 5th edition.
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For all the viewers waiting for some character crunch, this is it! This preview contains several pages of rules about generating Shadowrunner characters.
This iteration of the character generation system is very interesting, and has a foot firmly planted in the origins of the game. The priority system is back, and back in a big way. In addition there's a point buy system ON TOP of the priorities. So once you generate your character via the priorities, you allow a large range of customization by buying extras.
Another innovation involves metatype. When you buy an advanced metatype with priority, you get an additional choice to determine if this person has a high number in thier "special attributes". These special attributes are Edge, Magic, and Resonance. For instance humans remain the luckiest people in the 6th world. They have a minimum of 2 edge when putting metatype at priority E. If you instead buy your human with priority A instead, your Edge could be stratospheric.
It took me a little while to wrap my head around some of the design concepts, but I'm pretty excited about the changes. I think this will give a lot of customization options. I also like using the special attributes as a way to balance and highlight differences among the metatypes. While the Trolls, Elves, and Dwarfs all have qualities that make them stand out from human norms, humans can have that special 'something' about them. In most of the gaming groups I've seen, players avoid playing humans. Partially this is for the cool factor of playing a Troll or Elf, but the better stats available to those metas are always a big draw. This change looks like it might be in place to give humans that extra "oomph" that makes them the default in the Sixth World.
I'm getting excited about this edition, and look forward to the release.
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Well documented and very informative, this book will greatly enlighten people about criminal societies and their organizations. Each of the big league players and their respective activities are fleshed out in great detail. The end section on how to use them and their holdings is is very insightful and to the point. I highly recommended this book for those who wish to blend organized crime with the already controversial Shadowrun universe.
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This is not a preview. It's a short story. I expected to see what changed, a short summary of things that will be different in this fifth edition. So it was rather dissapointing.
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Quality work, guys! Just enough wit to keep the crunch interesting, and there's definitely a very-appreciated new emphasis on clarity (in, for example, the difference between spending and burning Edge, which I'm ashamed to admit I apparently had been misunderstanding for several years now). Lots of production values, too-- the art's good, and the aesthetic of the book is just glorious. Love the chart and sidebar borders.
Not sure I'm crazy about the new test notation, which seems kind of verbose... I'm probably going to end up shortening it to something like Mechanic + LOG [M, 18, 1h] instead of Mechanic + Logic [Mental] (18, 1 hour), but I can understand not wanting to scare off new players with a bunch of really complicated acronyms and notation.
Overall? If the rest of the book is half this good, I'm gonna be a happy GM.
(Also, found two typos you might want to fix:
p 49, sidebar, last sentence: "primer runner"
p 55, Contacts, third paragraph, last sentence: "BThe Loyalty rating ranges fro,")
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These Cards are perfect for quick references. Awesome print, I'm so glad I could get these.
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![Shadowrun: Gear Cards [Drones & Vehicles, Volume 1]](images/2216/111506-thumb100.jpg)
