5269 lines
231 KiB
Plaintext
5269 lines
231 KiB
Plaintext
THE SECOND ANNUAL NEO-ANARCHISTS GUIDE TO EVERYTHING ELSE(tm)
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"The daily press is the evil principle of the modern world, and
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time will only serve to disclose this fact with greater and
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greater clearness. The capacity of the newspaper for degeneration
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is sophistically without limit, since it can always sink lower and
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lower in its choice of readers. At last it will stir up all those
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dregs of humanity which no state or government can control."
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-- Soren Kierkegaard
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The Last Years: Journals 1853-55
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Edited and Compiled by Jerry Stratton
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jerry@teetot.acusd.edu
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jerry@usdcsv.acusd.edu
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Compuserve: 76506,636
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The copyrights of each article are held by the original authors.
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This compilation is Copyright 1992 Jerry Stratton.
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Distribute freely, at no cost to the user or profit for yourself.
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Welcome to the Second Annual Neo-Anarchists Guide to Everything
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Else. This is a semi-regular electronically-distributed magazine
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devoted to FASA's Shadowrun¨ role-playing game. In the NAGEE,
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we're covering everything _else_.
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We are now accepting ads. Prices must be listed in Nuyen, and you
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must give an LTG number. If you're worried about deckers, you're
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in the wrong place, chummer. Advertising space is free, but we
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reserve the right to hold our nose and drop your copy into the
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round file. So, your team need a little exposure? Your band
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playing a hot date? Need to sell some specially acquired
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information? Hey, just send us the ad and we'll stick it in here.
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Or, not. But what've you got to lose?
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There's currently a gopher server for the Guide running on
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beelzebub.acusd.edu (that's IP address 192.55.87.241). If you're
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not familiar with gopher, it's a simple news server that a lot of
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sites are running. If you've got it at your site, all you'll need
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to do to use it is type gopher (if you want the NAGEE gopher, type
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gopher beelzebub.acusd.edu). If you haven't got it at your site,
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you might think about getting it. The gopher client will compile
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on most Unix computers, and can be found at boombox.micro.umn.edu
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(of course, you need to know how to compile -- but I guess that's
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what contacts are for, eh? Find a decker).
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If you'd like to contribute to an upcoming Guide, go to it. See
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last issue's introduction for what we want. You won't get paid,
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but you will get the adulation of tons of people. Just tons.
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The Guide comes in two versions -- Rich Text Format (for Word 4.0
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and other word processors) and an ascii text version. The ascii
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version contains the same information as the Word version, but
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doesn't look nearly as spiffy. If you don't have a friend with a
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Macintosh and Word 4.0 (or higher), expand your circle of friends:
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contacts are, after all, the key to survival.
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Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this issue.
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CONTENTS
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Bulletin Board
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New York City 2050
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The North Bay
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The Meat Market
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Economics of Shadowrunning
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The Word on the Streets
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Shadow U.
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The Ice Box
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The Black Market
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Silent Death
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Dead Zones
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Roper
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Grey's
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The Neo-Anarchists' On-Line Grimoire
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Master Spell List Addenda
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Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out
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Tess Diary
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Amazon Tales
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The Chipper
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Seattle Sourcebook Index
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The Annual Neo-Anarchists Guide to Everything Else is published...
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whenever. I'm Jerry Stratton. My address is 4129 1/2 Utah Street,
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San Diego, CA 92104. Subscription? Pfah! Go pick it up yourself.
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Single copy price? Only your immortal soul, chummer! Bwah-ha-ha!
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Well. Direct inquiries to Jerry Stratton at jerry@teetot.acusd.edu
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or jerry@usdcsv.acusd.edu on internet, or 76506,636 on Compuserve.
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The above addresses are subject to change, especially Snail Mail.
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The Second Annual Neo-Anarchists Guide to Everything Else was
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released on May 26, 1992. Like I got nothing better to do today?
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Current issues are available at Compuserve's RPG group, if they
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can possibly spare the space, and via anonymous ftp at
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usdcsv.acusd.edu in the rpg.shadowrun directory. Shadowrun is a
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registered trademark of FASA, Inc. We have nothing to do with
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FASA, and they have nothing to do with us.
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THE BULLETIN BOARD
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Fri, 20 Mar 52 07:13:20
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To: All
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Subject: Correction: Pharmacy
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Hul Kaline is also known on the street as Conananol and
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Schwarzezine. Ask for Sharzezine, and they'll as likely laugh at
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you or kill you as a narc. Like I said, we at the NAGEE cannot be
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held responsible for the information presented here. (p. 40, The
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Pharmacy, Hul Kaline)
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Fri, 20 Mar 52 07:15:36
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To: All
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Subject: Correction: Pharmacy
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In the Addiction Level example, it says that the Addiction Level
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if he gets 1 success or less is 2, and the Addiction Level if he
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gets 2 or 3 successes is 1. Vous et wrong, wrong, wrong. If he
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gets 0 or 1 success, his Addiction Level is 6 -- Rating (3) times
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dosage (2). If he gets 2 or 3 successes, his Addiction Level is 3
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-- Rating times (the dosage reduced by 1). Yeah, we apologize if
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you're more addicted than you thought you were. That's what you
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get for using drugs. Just say no, hey?
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Incidentally, if any of you have used the more recreational drugs,
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let us know what their effects are. We'd never use those things.
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Uh uh. (p. 38, The Pharmacy, Drugs in Shadowrun)
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Fri, 20 Mar 52 07:20:31
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To: All
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Subject: Explanation: Fort Hollywood
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Yes, the Dunes in Hollywood is a half Hotel, half Motel. Think of
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it as a hi-rise motel. The official name, though, is the Dunes
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Sunset Hotel & Restaurant. (p. 7, Fort Hollywood, Hotels in
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Hollywood)
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Fri, 20 Mar 52 07:24:24
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To: All
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Subject: Correction: Shadow U.
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Whoops. Social Skills is not a skill. It's a skill type (like
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Active Skills or Knowledge Skills). The skills of that type are
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Leadership, Interrogation, Negotiation, and Etiquette. See this
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issue's Shadow U. for a corrected version. (p. 27, Shadow U.,
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Social Skills)
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Also, under 'Written Composition,' books/texts, articles, etc., is
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a specialization of the 'non-fiction genre,' rather than its own
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specialization. It's the counterpart to novels, novellas... under
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'fiction.' And comedy, drama, western, horror, etc., is a
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specialization of the 'scripts' concentration.
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Under 'Acting,' comedy, drama, etc., are the specializations for
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the 'simsense, movies, etc.' concentrations.
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And, finally, Perkins-Athabaskan is Sasquatch.
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Fri, 20 Mar 52 07:31:25
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To: All
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Subject: Explanation: Insanity
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If a character with Deadly insanity is resisting insanity, that
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character has a bonus of 4 to the Target Number. This is despite
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the fact the a character with Deadly Insanity has no target number
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penalties due to insanity. The more insane you are, the harder it
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is to go further insane. Though you can pretend otherwise. (p. 46,
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Insanity)
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From: Quiverclaw
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Address: <Z_RASMUSSEAM@CCSVAX.SFASU.EDU>
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Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2052 23:58:15
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To: Neo.Anarch.Guide.Everything.Else
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Subject: more SR questions...
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Hi, me again *grin*
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1) Would it be possible for someone like, oh, say Jerry Stratton
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to come up with a coherent set of rules for SR for cyber-
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insanity... I appreciate whats in NAGEE, but that doesn't give
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things like chances for someone with exceptionally low essence to
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go cyberpsycho. etc., etc....The reason I'm asking is all these
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new archetypes (blade boy, street rigger, etc....) that have
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essences oh say around the .5 range or lower...shouldn't a pc have
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the chance to go cyberpsycho after his essence drops below 1?
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Well, as a GM I discourage going below 1, and well...I digress...
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2) Another question on dead zones...do they extend to the barrier
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or what? I.e. could you fly over one in a plane? That type of
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thing, anyway, you get the idea...
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3) I've got the Rigger's Black Book, and Joe is right...it doesn't
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go into enuff detail on how to do things like conceal
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weapons...and which ones can be concealed...can we look forward to
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this in NAGEE2? Hope so. Maybe even sooner...anybody feel brave?
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4) Not a question this time :) If you haven't gotten through
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whatever means at your disposal NAN 1 & 2 do so. Well worth it.
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Excellent background, plus a pretty good adventure in each to
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boot. Speaking of books, can anyone tell me if the trilogy Secrets
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of Power is out? and if so, what are the numbers so I can have it
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ordered? (yeah, I know, I said no questions...but hey, you don't
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like it, don't subscribe to a list server :) Anyway, if you
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haven't seen the ad. its in the back on NAN 2...but no numbers :(
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5) and finally...why do the artists for SR always consider it
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necessary for anybody who has spurs to walk around with them
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extended? Just curious.
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Enough of my well, insert your favorite expletive here.
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Tue, 24 Mar 52 09:15:15
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To: Quiverclaw
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Subject: re: more SR questions...
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Well, Quiverclaw, I'll answer your questions in order. First, I am
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working on integrating cyber-psychosis with the insanity rules
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from the previous guide. Hopefully, it'll be done in time for this
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guide. If not, it'll be here next time. It'll assume that cyber-
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psychoses occur (if they occur at all) when a character has cyber
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installed. Once you're at 0 or less Essence (and you could chance
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this to 1 or less if you wanted) it becomes very hard to resist
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the insanity.
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2) Dead zones, dead zones. Frag, I didn't know what I was opening
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up when I brought this up. Your questions are answered in this
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issue. See 'Dead Zones Redux.' A dead zone would have to be
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awfully big to extend to the barrier. Since the barrier is 50
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miles up, the zone would need a radius of 50 miles. Such a zone
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would be 100 miles wide.
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3) Nope, no one wrote about this for this issue, and I didn't see
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anything out on the matrix, either. Anybody want to volunteer?
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4) There are currently four books that I know of for Shadowrun.
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The Secrets of Power trilogy, which I haven't read, and 2XS,
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reviewed in the last issue.
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5) Lots of them have spurs non-extended, you just don't notice
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them underneath the suits.
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From: Strings
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Address: <shaman@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 52 14:09:25
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To: Neo.Anarch.Guide.Everything.Else
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Subject: Neo-Anarchist's Guide
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As an interested 'runner, and representing other interested
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'runners, I was curious as to how one went about submitting to the
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Guide to Everything Else. We have a few ShadowCorps on the lam,
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and some inside scum on what's hit the beer-town of Milwaukee
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since the 'good ol' days' before the turn of the century.
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Wed, 25 Mar 52 19:39:40
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To: Ariel
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Subject: re: Neo-Anarchist's Guide
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Anything you want to submit, send on over to me at
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jerry@teetot.acusd.edu if you can't reach me there, try
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jerry@usdcsv.acusd.edu, and if that don't work, you might try
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Compuserve: 76506,636. Otherwise, you're one of the great unknown,
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and our electrons will never cross.
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From: Benz Steele
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Address: <bmartin@sctc.af.mil>
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Date: Wed Apr 22 06:03:43 2052
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To: Neo.Anarch.Guide.Everything.Else
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Subject: letter to Dr. Stratton
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Cianide, chummer,
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this is Benz Steele from Germany, where the beer is the best and
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the shadows are deep. I'm relaying a message for an employer who
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has problems with using a deck. I came across a posting of yours,
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the anarchist something or other and gandered it at him. Seems the
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old worm took offense at the words of a Dr. Stratton.
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The gist of it is, this Stratton corp came off with an idea about
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failure of gear in dead zones. Tamarantha (the worm) started going
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off about the quality of education these days, and I'll spare you
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the rest. His point was that certain principles, namely the
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mechanical laws, have always been around, and were discovered way
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back when with the Greeks, along with that four basic materials
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stuff. Gravity is one of these nifty laws (we don't fall off the
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earth in a dead zone, so it must still work, at least in some
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manner) so the satellites will never fall from the sky, except
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through the natural decay of orbits and other outside
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interference.
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Other devices based on the basic physical principles of springs,
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slopes and the like should all work fine.
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Oh, yeah. Tam also wanted to know if you'all have an archive
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somewhere. I'd just cruise the ether and find it, but my current
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Johnson doesn't approve of such behavior, and the pay is good.
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I noticed you'all'r short of decking articles, would you be
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receptive to a couple? (if the worm'll give me the time...)
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Benze Steele, decker of the first IMP
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From: Silver Cianide
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Address: <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
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Date: Wed, 22 Apr 52 08:33:26
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To: Benze Steele
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Subject: re: letter to Dr. Stratton
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Hi, Benze! There's no distribution list; If the first NAGEE mailed
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to you, I can do that (specify Microsoft Word/RTF or Text), but
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it's easiest (for me, anyway) if you pick it up from the ftp site:
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usdcsv.acusd.edu (192.55.87.6). It's in the directory
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rpg/shadowrun.
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And we certainly are interested in decking articles. Yeah, Yeah!
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And you'll be happy to know that, due to popular demand, there's
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another article on dead zones, expanding on idea of 'mechanicals'
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that was brought up by the Greek reference in the first article.
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In particular, steam engines have made a comeback. Good thing the
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rail companies never got the initiative to redesign their tracks
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for modern trains.
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Incidentally, the quality of education these days has nothing to
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do with Dr. Stratton. He's no longer affiliated with any Corp,
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being as he's retired, and all, and was presumably educated before
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the Awakening. Personally, I don't see what good a pre-awakening
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education could be, but who am I?
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From: Mark
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Address: <mstorer@ponder.csci.unt.edu>
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Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1992 04:40:27 GMT
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To: Neo.Anarch.Guide.Everything.Else
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Subject: Cyber Applications
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Okay, So your razor boy has cyber-eyes, a radio, and some headware
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memory:
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Program the locations of several concealed explosives into the
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headware Mp's. Rig it so that these locations are displayed with
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their number in his field of view. Run down explosive laden alley
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with [insert baddies] in hot pursuit.
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You can see the explosives, they can't. When they get to the right
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place, broadcast (with the radio) the correct signal at the
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correct frequency and BOOM. No more pursuit.
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Do this to several alleys. With demolitions(B/R) build C-12 into a
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shaped charge that looks remarkably like a brick. No one will find
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them until its too late.
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(or beer cans, or dead rats, light fixtures... get Creative).
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NEW YORK CITY 2050
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Brought to you by Dark Elf tourist information
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Dark Elf, VESPOSIT@ccvm.sunysb.edu
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It's a tough town, megacorps engage in illegal activities, crime
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is rampant in many areas, there is violence in the streets,
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metahumans, and monsters.
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All in all, it hasn't changed much!
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"New York was bad enough before the awakening, now it truly is a
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jungle out there!"
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Mayor Franklin Dean, Jan 3, 2050
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ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA:
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Manhattan Athletic Complex (built after the quake of '05): A full
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sports complex/concert arena.
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New York Times, Daily News, Various Tabloids
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ABC (Awakened Broadcasting Company): The original ABC gave over to
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a more modern format.
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NBC,CBS (more TV/holovid/simsense broadcasts)
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Soho theater district <Broadway>
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Restaurants/Hotels/Clubs: Many of New York's "classic" nightspots
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and hangouts are still around, but the quake of '05 made room for
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many newer venues, all having that special New York atmosphere.
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STATISTICS:
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Population: 9,000,000 +
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Human: 63% (approx. 5,670,000)
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Elven: 13% (approx. 1,170,000)
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Dwarven: 4% (approx. 360,000)
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Orkish: 15% (approx. 1,350,000)
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Trollish: 4% (approx. 360,000)
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Other: 1% (approx. 90,000)
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(population count is only for sentient species)
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Crime Rate: High (the latest data was too disparate to give an
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accurate assessment)
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>> Who's going to believe this drek, the corps are afraid that
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showing the real figures will damage their poor little tourist
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industry! <<
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--Sandman <09:32:19/10-22-50>
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PUBLIC SERVICES/UTILITIES:
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Police Service: Metro Police Incorporated
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Fire Control: Lerner LTD.
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Sanitation: Various Independents (believed backed by organized
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crime cartels)
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Public Works Maintenance: Northeastern Technical Services
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Public Database: Atlantic Telecommunications (a division of Trump
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International)
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Grid-Guide System: Magna Tech (a division of Akaru Incorporated)
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Power: Bell Atlantic, Long Island Atomics
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Military: UCAS 43rd Metroplex Guard
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This is a unit of "weekend warriors" similar to the 20th century
|
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national guard reserve. They are the official standing military
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force for the greater metropolitan area.
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>> Yeah, see your local UCAS recruiter today. You too can get paid
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less and only get half the gear of the average corporate security
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force. <<
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--BillyJack<11:28:09/12-02-50>
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MAJOR POINTS OF INTEREST:
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Most of the original sites survived, or were reconstructed after
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the quake. Some of them are:
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Empire State Building (restored in 2006)
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World Trade Center
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Central Park: Can be an unfriendly place in it's deepest parts,
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especially at night. The inner regions have become like the
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Barrens in Seattle. The more peaceful southern section has become
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a well known hangout for elves.
|
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|
||
>>I went to the Tavern On The Green a few weeks ago, the place was
|
||
filled with elves and dwarves of all shapes and sizes. There were
|
||
some other humans there too, but I felt out of place anyway, since
|
||
I was the only one in the joint NOT dressed like an extra in a
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Robin Hood Vid. It looked like a scene out of one of those role-
|
||
playing games that were popular in the latter half of the 20th
|
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century<<
|
||
--Morgan<08:54:35/11-09-50>
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||
|
||
>>Yeah, those posergangs can be a real pain in the ass.<<
|
||
--NancyK<11:28:10/11-09-50>
|
||
|
||
>>And I suppose you can't stand all those "keebs" running
|
||
around?<<
|
||
--Dark Elf<11:40:26/11-10-50>
|
||
|
||
Statue of Liberty: Still welcomes travelers to the city after its
|
||
second renovation since the 1980's.
|
||
|
||
The Intrepid: Still floating in it's dock after a world war and a
|
||
century of tourists. Was purchased by the Dragon Tirandor in 2038
|
||
for use as a lair/ corporate headquarters.
|
||
|
||
Rockefeller Center: Bought out by a number of Japanese companies,
|
||
but retains it's original look and name.
|
||
|
||
NEW SITES:
|
||
Manhattan Athletic Complex: located between Henry Hudson Pkwy and
|
||
West End Avenue on the west side. (One of the largest arenas on
|
||
the east coast, it has a removable dome.)
|
||
|
||
Akaru Inc. World Headquarters: This is the world headquarters for
|
||
Akaru Inc., a large conglomerate originally based in Japan. The
|
||
Akaru complex is just south of the Manhattan Athletic Complex
|
||
(MAC) on the west side of West End Avenue between 59th and 63rd
|
||
streets. It is one huge building ten stories tall. It is similar,
|
||
in many respects, to Seattle's Renraku Arcology. The first three
|
||
levels are basically malls, hotels and casinos (yes, NY has lifted
|
||
it's gambling laws since 2030). The rest of the building contains
|
||
offices and laboratories. There are also several sub-levels which
|
||
house "secure" areas. The roof has a helipad and several antennae
|
||
for communication.
|
||
|
||
>>Yeah, gambling's legal now, but the mayor gets a 10% cut. And he
|
||
claims he has no mob ties!<<
|
||
--Dark Elf<16:25:05/12-25-50>
|
||
|
||
Trump Center: While tycoon Donald Trump met with financial
|
||
disaster in the late 20th century, his son, Donald Jr. found great
|
||
success in the world of big business. He managed to form a huge
|
||
conglomeration of smaller companies under the name Trump
|
||
International. In NY, his megacorp is rivaled in power and
|
||
diversity only by Akaru. The new Trump Center occupies six city
|
||
blocks, encompassing the area between park and 5th avenues, and
|
||
from 51st to 54th streets. Madison avenue actually goes through
|
||
the complex, with entrances to the parking facility. It has a main
|
||
building that is 8 stories tall, with a number of sub-levels. Atop
|
||
this superstructure is the tower, which climbs 80 stories above
|
||
the main building. The first few floors are malls/hotels/casinos
|
||
and other public venues. The tower contains corporate offices,
|
||
security garrisons, storage facilities, media/ telecommunications
|
||
facilities etc.... (It is rumored that Donald Trump Sr. is kept
|
||
alive and in retirement here by an enormous amount of cybernetic
|
||
life support systems and is more machine than man).
|
||
|
||
The tower also has a rooftop heliport.
|
||
|
||
GENERAL AREAS:
|
||
Midtown/Downtown Manhattan: Almost totally overrun by the corps.
|
||
everything here is either corporate controlled, or geared towards
|
||
the corporate pocketbook. This is known on the streets as
|
||
Corptown, and is aptly named.
|
||
|
||
Greenwich Village: A region in corptown that is not completely
|
||
controlled by the corporate mind. It is the place to go for the
|
||
"Trendy" hangouts and corporate wannabees.
|
||
|
||
Chinatown: The Downtown area surrounding Canal St. that is still
|
||
mostly residential. It is almost exclusively Chinese, and is the
|
||
place to go to find street vendors and black market fences. The
|
||
streets are controlled by various gangs that constantly compete
|
||
with each other for supremacy in the area.
|
||
|
||
Brooklyn/Queens: These areas are mostly residential. There are a
|
||
large variety of neighborhoods, many with an almost exclusive
|
||
cultural bias. quality of life varies from block to block (i.e.
|
||
the more affluent homes of Jamaica Estates turn into a war zone of
|
||
poverty and crime when one crosses Hillside Ave.)
|
||
|
||
Uptown (North of Central Park): These are the areas hit worst by
|
||
the quake in 2005. Many areas have never been repaired, and there
|
||
are streets blocked by fallen buildings. Many areas are dangerous,
|
||
with buildings that may begin to collapse at any time. The corps
|
||
have few interests other than low-cost housing developments. There
|
||
are a few spots that can be considered "healthy" neighborhoods,
|
||
but many are urban nightmares. This region has the highest police
|
||
mortality rates. The northernmost tip of Manhattan is overrun with
|
||
vegetation that has grown beyond the boundaries of old parks,
|
||
producing another region of barrens.
|
||
|
||
>> Fine, just hype corptown and make people believe that every
|
||
other place in NY is a dirty rotten hole, no wonder most of the
|
||
neighborhoods never get too far. <<
|
||
--Velvet Knight <11:31:08/11-10-50>
|
||
|
||
Bronx: This area is similar to the way it was in the 20th century.
|
||
It contains the highest concentration of Native Americans in the
|
||
city.
|
||
|
||
>>We give them Manhattan for $24 and only 4 centuries later, they
|
||
give us the Bronx<<
|
||
--Running Eagle<18:26:47/12-01-50>
|
||
|
||
Organized Crime: New York has continued to be a center for
|
||
organized crime cartels of various backgrounds. While the Yakuza
|
||
has pushed the Mafia out of Seattle, the same has not happened in
|
||
NY. In NY, the Yakuza have gained a very strong power base (and
|
||
have influence in almost every Japanese corp in the city, with the
|
||
most notable exception being Akaru, who consider them dishonorable
|
||
slime). There are also various Seoulpa rings scattered throughout
|
||
the city. Even with the growing power of Asian syndicates, the
|
||
Mafia has maintained most of it's power in NY. The Mafia typically
|
||
uses legitimate businesses as fronts for their own illegal
|
||
operations. They practically control the construction and waste
|
||
disposal operations in the city.
|
||
|
||
Police: Roosevelt Island is the site of the city headquarters for
|
||
Metro Police Inc. They have a small airstrip for security use.
|
||
This strip is also open to high level corporate executives who
|
||
carry a corporate security pass. This site houses Metro's patrol
|
||
helicopters, planes, and patrol boats.
|
||
|
||
>>Security pass, HA. They only let Metro shareholders use it.
|
||
Anyone who tries to get a pass gets laughed at. These cops only
|
||
take care of their own.<<
|
||
--anonymous<21:17:04/10-05-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
CORPORATE POLITICS
|
||
|
||
The major competitors in NY are Akaru and Trump. Both of these
|
||
corps are made up of hundreds of smaller corps that were bought
|
||
and either sold off in pieces or renovated and made profitable.
|
||
Akaru and Trump consider each other to be honorable opponents.
|
||
Yoguchi Akaru, a descendant of a long line of samurai, has no
|
||
desire to put Trump out of business, that would take far too many
|
||
resources, and would probably destroy his company. Akaru realizes
|
||
that competition with Trump has given his company momentum. He
|
||
sees that there is an almost symbiotic relationship between the
|
||
two companies, and to destroy one destroys the other. There are,
|
||
however, factions within Akaru Inc. that do not believe this.
|
||
Akaru has to constantly play these people against each other to
|
||
keep them from doing something rash. Even if Akaru's goal was to
|
||
eliminate Trump International, he would frown on the dishonorable
|
||
methods used by most businessmen these days. For Akaru, honor is
|
||
of the utmost importance.
|
||
|
||
Trump shares many of the same views as Akaru, and many of the same
|
||
problems. In a corp as large as Trump International or Akaru, one
|
||
person cannot possibly have absolute control over all the
|
||
businesses that make up these huge conglomerates, and factions
|
||
within Trump also have their own agendas regarding their major
|
||
competitors. Trump has an active social conscience, and is
|
||
constantly concerned with making NY a better place (no small
|
||
task). The great amount of respect (friendship?) between Trump and
|
||
Akaru is widely known in the business community. The unusual
|
||
relationship between the two has been described as showing the
|
||
difference between enemies and opponents. They are far from
|
||
enemies, but they are still opponents in many ways. There are many
|
||
in the business world who shudder when they think of this, and
|
||
their worst fear is to see Trump and Akaru merge, a move that
|
||
would probably allow the joint firm to be the largest, and most
|
||
powerful single corporate entity in the world. The internal
|
||
dissensions within these two megacorps and the mutual respect
|
||
between their owners keeps the entire corporate scene in a kind of
|
||
uneasy equilibrium.
|
||
|
||
New York is not an attractive city to see from the air. There is a
|
||
constant haze of smog hovering over the city, making it seem dirty
|
||
during the day and positively gloomy during the night. The most
|
||
breathtaking things about the city is the sheer size of most of
|
||
the buildings, and the sight of the Great Dragon Tirandor in
|
||
flight (a rare sight since he usually restricts his excursions to
|
||
the late night). The main attractions of NY are its historical
|
||
significance, and the fact that is the place to go to do business,
|
||
any kind of business on either side of the law. NY is a sprawling
|
||
mass of urban gloom, with shadows everywhere, an ideal place for
|
||
those who make a living off the hidden agendas in the corporate
|
||
world. The environment of NY is tense at best. Cultural/Racial
|
||
tensions flare, poverty breeds crime, corps use any means to get
|
||
what they want. It is the city of big business and big corruption.
|
||
Don't walk the streets unarmed, and don't let Metro see the big
|
||
guns. The cops can be as hair triggered as anyone else, if they
|
||
see the iron, they will call in the cavalry, unless you happen to
|
||
know someone inside. The corps have their own police, and the UCAS
|
||
military is in town. It is hard to tell if all this firepower is
|
||
their because of all the crime, or if all the crime is there
|
||
because of the firepower. Everyone who lives in NY is there
|
||
because they want something, and NY is the place to get it, one
|
||
way or another.
|
||
|
||
>>Yeah, good old NY is not for those with a weak stomach<<
|
||
--Heckler<17:50:32/11-24-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE UNDERGROUND
|
||
|
||
NY's sewer and subway system were damaged heavily in the quake of
|
||
'05. While repairs were made, and a new magnetically guided subway
|
||
system was introduced, many of the old tunnels still exist. The
|
||
quake left a labyrinth of broken down subway and sewer tunnels,
|
||
along with the ancient pneumatic transit system, and a few
|
||
subterranean caverns all existing under the city. There are rumors
|
||
of whole underground communities, many of which have probably
|
||
never seen the outside world. These tunnels form a modern day
|
||
dungeon complex of epic proportions, all hidden away from the
|
||
everyday eye. Reports of "monsters" give evidence that the tunnels
|
||
are home to awakened critters, and are a very dangerous place to
|
||
be.
|
||
|
||
>>C'mooooon Down!!!<<
|
||
--Phil the Troll <14:19:07/12-21-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETS
|
||
|
||
NY city has two LTG's. One is the public LTG for the area, and the
|
||
other is the Manhattan Corporate LTG. The Corporate LTG carries an
|
||
orange security level, and is made available to clients willing to
|
||
pay a fee. To get into most corporate mainframes, one must either
|
||
go through the LTG's security, or tap the correct data lines in
|
||
corptown. Several corps even have private LTG's accessible only
|
||
from the corporate LTG. Network addresses in NY change almost
|
||
constantly.
|
||
|
||
>>A friend of mine got flatlined when he found out that the old
|
||
address of the "decker's haven" database was changed and was given
|
||
to East Coast Security Systems, a major software firm that
|
||
specializes in IC systems<<
|
||
--Red Sonja<23:45:46/12-03-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
Welcome to New York Chummers, try not to get yourselves killed.
|
||
A public service file brought to you by The Dark Elf
|
||
<vesposit@sbccvm.bitnet>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE NORTH BAY
|
||
|
||
Special Report by: Renford Political Consulting
|
||
Chris Beauregard
|
||
<cpbeaure@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I was wandering the UCAS system in Detroit, and I came
|
||
across this. It seems to have been written by an independent
|
||
contractor for some UCAS bigwig. Would anyone like to guess that
|
||
they're considering reclaiming the place? It could be very
|
||
interesting up there in the next few months.]<<<<<
|
||
-ReRun <12:01:51/11-01-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Could be really deadly up there. The only way they're gonna
|
||
get into that place is by gassing half the occupants and
|
||
permanently disabling the other half. I don't think Quebec is
|
||
gonna like a couple divisions of UCAS regulars on their doorstep
|
||
too well. The UCAS couldn't take the Warrens with anything
|
||
less.]<<<<<
|
||
-Omega Wolf <05:13:29/11-03-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Hey, you wouldn't believe what happened here just a while
|
||
ago. Shriek and I were sitting over the SAN, and out of nowhere
|
||
comes a triad of UCAS chopper constructs (wonder who that could
|
||
have been?) They punched through the SAN ice, and we followed them
|
||
right up to the SPU just outside you-know-which 'tastore (wonder
|
||
what they were after?) The Sysop will be glad to know that 'ol
|
||
Blacky works, real well.]<<<<<
|
||
-Silicon Eel <02:34:01/01-02-51>
|
||
|
||
A report on the status of the city of North Bay, prepared for
|
||
Senator Jan Douglas by Renford Political Consulting, Inc.
|
||
|
||
|
||
OVERVIEW
|
||
|
||
North Bay is one of the largest thorns in the UCAS's side next to
|
||
the NAN. The constant panzer runs across the Quebec border by
|
||
riggers based in the area have put negotiations with the country
|
||
in a very difficult position. Not long ago, Quebec demanded that
|
||
the runs be stopped before any increase in the power allocation
|
||
from the James Bay project were approved. The UCAS military has
|
||
begun mobilization for what appears to be a major action in the
|
||
North Bay area. The prospects of a large scale assault on the area
|
||
look to be very grim. The firepower of the relatively large number
|
||
of panzers in the area would be a deterrent in itself, without the
|
||
added threat of an operating airbase, difficult terrain, and the
|
||
impregnable fortress that is the Warrens. It is believed that two
|
||
or three regular UCAS divisions will be necessary, along with a
|
||
considerable number of specialists to deal with the Warrens. This
|
||
number of troops that close to the Quebec border will certainly
|
||
result in a very delicate diplomatic situation, something the UCAS
|
||
should avoid at all costs.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Yup, they're going for it. Stupid, really stupid.]<<<<<
|
||
-Omega Wolf <05:20:12/11-03-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
HISTORY
|
||
|
||
For the latter half of the twentieth century, North Bay was noted
|
||
for it's NORAD installation. Aside from having one of the largest
|
||
military airbases in North America, deep within what is
|
||
essentially a hollow mountain was housed the command centre for
|
||
most of the DEW line. Around 1995, a sizable portion of the base
|
||
personnel, as part of the Canadian defense budget cuts, were moved
|
||
out. To make use of some of the empty space, portions of CFB North
|
||
Bay were converted to biological research and storage areas,
|
||
without the knowledge of the city. Shortly after the turn of the
|
||
century, the base was converted almost entirely into a hazardous
|
||
substance research facility, the politically correct word for a
|
||
bio-warfare centre. While considerable outcry was made by the
|
||
population of the city, the base was the only major support to the
|
||
economy of the city, and the furor quickly died out with the
|
||
influx of several thousands more military personnel and their
|
||
spending.
|
||
|
||
Throughout the early years of civil unrest throughout the rest of
|
||
the world, the city, because of its relative isolation, was mostly
|
||
unaffected. The only major incident was a small riot started by a
|
||
brawl between reserve Indians and servicemen. Several were killed
|
||
in the fighting, and close to one hundred wounded before the
|
||
fighting was brought to a standstill.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Now that's a load of drek if I ever heard it. I think the
|
||
figures were closer to fifty killed, and three hundred wounded.
|
||
The real reason the whole thing started was because some army
|
||
hotshot took the opportunity during the fighting to see what
|
||
driving a tank through a hotel would do. Trust me, I was there. I
|
||
was part of a group who took out three parked CF-18 fighters while
|
||
the military was out shooting civilians.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tall Boy <13:56:26/11-03-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Do you know why they covered it up so much? I mean, that
|
||
many dead didn't mean much back then when thousands were dying in
|
||
street fighting across the country.]<<<<<
|
||
- Shriek <03:43:52/11-05-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[That was in the United States. Canada wasn't nearly as bad.
|
||
And you have to consider that the city only had a population of
|
||
70,000 or so at the time. We're talking about a good portion of
|
||
the population being killed off.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tall Boy <13:22:00/11-10-50>
|
||
|
||
During the Lone Eagle crisis, the peace of the small city was once
|
||
again broken when vigilante action against reserve Indians
|
||
resulted in what amounted to a small war. The end result was 90%
|
||
of the native population being wiped out, and large portions of
|
||
housing in the city being leveled by guerrilla action. The
|
||
remaining natives were shipped to the re-education centres
|
||
established about that time. When the VITAS plague hit, the area
|
||
was mostly free of its effects, given the relative isolation of
|
||
the city. It did not escape the effects of the UGE, however. After
|
||
the beginning of the UGE, every child born in the area exhibited
|
||
the characteristics of the Dwarf strain. Close to 15% of the
|
||
population left the area in the first three months. After several
|
||
months, a small number of normal children were born to the area.
|
||
The effects of the UGE on the area were explained by government
|
||
officials as an isolated effect probably having to do with the
|
||
pollution of one of the area lakes.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[They explained it like that, yes. No one believed it though,
|
||
at least no one living there. The lake water story is pure and
|
||
simple drek. No one ever drank out of it, and that's the only way
|
||
you could possibly be affected by the water. They just didn't want
|
||
to admit to the shoddy waste disposal techniques used by the base.
|
||
I once had an army transport dump about a ton of PCB's on a site
|
||
next to my property. I complained, but they stated that it was
|
||
harmless. Harmless, if you consider having non-human children
|
||
harmless.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tag <09:06:45/11-03-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Sorry chummer? 'non-human' did you say? I sure hope you
|
||
don't live around here anymore, 'cause if you do you ain't gonna
|
||
live much longer...]<<<<<
|
||
- Chuck D <17:09:24/11-07-50>
|
||
|
||
During the years of the Ghost Dance, North Bay was hit hard. One
|
||
night, the city was rocked by a major earthquake. As the city is
|
||
situated in the extremely stable Canadian Shield, the only
|
||
explanation was the now growing magic. Indeed, one month after the
|
||
quake, a group of native shamans took credit for what they called
|
||
'justice against the befoulers of the planet.' The recovery of the
|
||
city itself occurred quickly enough, but the base was damaged
|
||
considerably. Large areas of the underground complex were lost
|
||
completely, and the electronics of the base were, with few
|
||
exceptions, destroyed. Close to two thousand personnel died as the
|
||
tunnels collapsed around them, and several hundred others died in
|
||
the city itself. The rebuilding of the above-ground portion of the
|
||
base was accomplished in the first year after the quake. The
|
||
underground complex was operational after two years of work.
|
||
However, large portions were still unusable.
|
||
|
||
While the quake took out a considerable amount of the cities
|
||
economic power, the most damaging event in the history of North
|
||
Bay was Goblinization. On that day in April, 2021, almost half of
|
||
the residents of both the city and the military base were
|
||
transformed into dwarves. The reason still has not been explained
|
||
to any great extent. In the next year, North Bay became the site
|
||
of the largest influx of dwarves in North America. Close to three
|
||
thousand moved to the city. This was counterbalanced by over five
|
||
thousand normal humans leaving the city. In a matter of one year,
|
||
the face of the city was transformed.
|
||
|
||
Several years later, the military converted a portion of the base
|
||
into a magical research centre. Part of its duties were to study
|
||
the reason for the high rate of Goblinization among the
|
||
population. Three years later, a Matrix Warfare centre,
|
||
essentially a clone of the U.S. Echo Mirage project, was added.
|
||
The entire base was wired for the use of the new technology. For
|
||
unknown reasons, the old computer linkages were kept intact and
|
||
added to the new system. When it was discovered that parts of the
|
||
damaged base were still connected, the old system was disconnected
|
||
again. During this time a fusion power plant was also added to the
|
||
base.
|
||
|
||
The Crash of '29 hit the base hard. In the first few days, close
|
||
to one third of the base hardware was destroyed as the virus swept
|
||
through the system. In response, the system was disconnected from
|
||
external lines, the virus cleaned out of the system (with a high
|
||
rate of damage to equipment and personnel), and the old linkages
|
||
restored to pass over the damaged sections. The base continued to
|
||
operate more or less normally, albeit slowly, until the virus was
|
||
destroyed. After the virus was destroyed, the base system again
|
||
underwent an overhaul. The work was not quite as thorough as the
|
||
previous rebuilding of the system though. Patches to the damaged
|
||
sections were made, and much of the ancient connections still
|
||
remained part of the new system. At this time, the MW section
|
||
added some rudimentary IC to the system. As the years went by,
|
||
this was improved considerably, and CFB North Bay eventually had
|
||
what was considered the most secure military system in the world.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Drek! The guys who programmed most of it also left a
|
||
trapdoor big enough to throw a Cray III through. The Soviets got
|
||
more research information outta the place in one year than they
|
||
got from NORAD during the entire Cold War]<<<<<
|
||
- Viper <12:09:22/11-05-50>
|
||
|
||
When the Canada-U.S. merge occurred, close to half of the
|
||
personnel of the base were transferred, in a move that devastated
|
||
the North Bay economy, as part of a deal with the separated
|
||
province of Quebec. For several years, until one small Japanese
|
||
chemical company moved in, the city was akin to a ghost town. The
|
||
introduction of Kenji Biotech Inc. was the only thing that saved
|
||
the city from death.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Of course, we weren't all that surprised when this happened.
|
||
I mean, North Bay was pretty much the leading manufacturer of Bio-
|
||
Hazards, courtesy of the Canadian government. Over the years the
|
||
company has shrunk somewhat. They used to have over a thousand
|
||
employees, mostly from the area. Now they employ maybe two hundred
|
||
and most of them are foreigners.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tall Boy <14:01:54/11-06-50>
|
||
|
||
The greatest transformation of the city occurred around the period
|
||
of the Night of Rage. Given the large meta-human population of the
|
||
city, it became a prime target of New Terrorism. On the night of
|
||
September 23rd, 2038, close to a thousand members of a group
|
||
calling themselves the Purity League went on a rampage through the
|
||
city, killing all metahumans crossing their path. The military
|
||
watched the battle without interfering. During the fighting,
|
||
several thousand dwarves retreated into the damaged parts of the
|
||
base, and fought off numerous attacks from the terrorists. When
|
||
they were finally fought off and the smoke had cleared, one
|
||
quarter of the meta-human population of the city were dead, and
|
||
hundreds of normal humans as well.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[For those who don't know, the Purity League was the northern
|
||
equivalent of Alamos 20,000. I think there were close to ten
|
||
thousand members in the northern UCAS and Quebec. After the North
|
||
Bay battle, the group splintered into smaller terrorist groups. A
|
||
few of them took another shot at the town, but they didn't last
|
||
much longer than the military. Eventually, we all got tired of PL
|
||
groups taking shots at us and we took out about half-a-dozen of
|
||
their compounds with some of the CF-201's the military 'left
|
||
behind.' No trouble after that...]<<<<<
|
||
- Tag <11:44:30/11-07-50>
|
||
|
||
At this point, the meta-humans rallied and, in a prolonged battle,
|
||
took over the base. All military personnel were killed on sight.
|
||
Before the UCAS even had time to mobilize, the angry dwarves had
|
||
turned the base into a fortress. A takeover attempt by a battalion
|
||
of UCAS infantry was beaten back with 70% casualties before they
|
||
had even reached the outskirts of the city. A second assault was
|
||
called off when Quebec sent an ultimatum warning that any more
|
||
mobilization of troops within 50 miles of the border would be met
|
||
with force. No more attacks on the base were ever attempted.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Fraggin' idiots! They didn't even have any air support, no
|
||
prelim recon, nothing. I guess they didn't figure that a group who
|
||
could take one of the stronger military bases in the country could
|
||
also hold it.]<<<<<
|
||
- Chuck D <03:45:16/11-08-50>
|
||
|
||
In the aftermath, the defenses of what was now called the Warrens
|
||
were increased even more. The contents of the air base, still
|
||
containing several military CF-201 interceptor/bombers, were
|
||
supplemented by stolen military craft, most notably four Ares
|
||
Dragon helicopters, at least a dozen heavy panzers, and an EFA
|
||
interceptor. The newly formed government of the Warrens also began
|
||
encouraging riggers running the Quebec border to use to base as a
|
||
resupply point. As a result, the base normally has a number
|
||
'visiting' panzers and several other craft on call.
|
||
|
||
Much of the complex was destroyed during the fighting, and sizable
|
||
portions of the grid serving the base had to have extensive work
|
||
performed on them. As well, close to two thirds of the base was
|
||
lost due to cave-ins during the fighting. This includes the Matrix
|
||
Warfare labs, one of the larger magical research labs, and close
|
||
to half of the bio-warfare labs.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Heh. "Close to two thirds." Slight understatement there
|
||
chums. Getting into the bloody place took a fraggin' big pile of
|
||
explosives, in all kinds of bad spots. I think we lost more 'cause
|
||
of overkill with the boomers than we did to the security systems.
|
||
From what I saw, and I saw a lot, the rebuild after the quake was
|
||
a real spit 'n glue type job. Wires hangin' all over the place,
|
||
cracks and crevices all over the place, tunnels packed with
|
||
rubble.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tall Boy <05:09:34/11-22-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[You wouldn't believe the security on this place. I stopped
|
||
there one day for a refuel, and got to look around. They still
|
||
have the blast doors from the original base (the ones designed to
|
||
handle a nuke...), but with a few more feet of some kind of
|
||
ceramic shielding attached. There are camera/servo-gun
|
||
combinations in almost every corridor, and most of the larger
|
||
corridors has gas vents and servo- grenade launchers. I was told
|
||
that most of the passages are rigged with explosives to collapse
|
||
on command. And this was just the residential areas. They wouldn't
|
||
let me into any of the high security areas.]<<<<<
|
||
- ReRun <11:07:21/11-26-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Magically, this place isn't nearly as tight. I mean, they're
|
||
dwarves mostly, right. Dwarf mages are pretty rare, and there are
|
||
absolutely no shamans in the place. I've been told that the high
|
||
tech/high contamination atmosphere of the places drives most of
|
||
them nuts in the first week, and none have managed to last more
|
||
that a month without killing themselves. I've heard rumours of
|
||
toxic shamans in the abandoned areas though. They'd thrive on the
|
||
bio-hazards]<<<<<
|
||
- Barron <23:17:42/12-03-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I do not know about toxic shamans, but there are things deep
|
||
within the Warrens that are many times worse. I have fought things
|
||
that would make the UCAS think twice about wanting the Warrens
|
||
back. I have fought things that make myself think twice about ever
|
||
going back]<<<<<
|
||
- Pendragon <12:01:00/12-05-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[At least you beat them. I've lost a few friends who decided
|
||
that bio-prospecting was the way to go. Damn right it's the way to
|
||
go. To you're grave, if they can find enough to bury.]<<<<<
|
||
- Barron <00:23:14/12-10-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Are you kidding? There's a fortune to make bio-prospecting
|
||
down there. Only about ten percent, maybe less, of the base is
|
||
currently occupied. That leaves a lot of room for exploration.
|
||
I've come across a few mega-nuyen finds in that place in only the
|
||
six months I've been in there. The beasties sure as hell don't
|
||
deter me from going down there.]<<<<<
|
||
- Jade Hunter <10:37:02/12-15-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[That's not quite true about the lack of mages. There are a
|
||
few of them down there, but they are very isolated. They spend a
|
||
lot of time in the old magical labs, trying to decipher the
|
||
military magic notation. I'm also told that they spend time
|
||
putting together new spells, tailored for the underground. I must
|
||
agree that there are no shamans.]<<<<<
|
||
- Ice Bunny <15:00:33/12-17-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
ORGANIZATION
|
||
|
||
The North Bay government is divided into two areas. There is the
|
||
city government, essentially a town council governing close to
|
||
eight thousand residents of the city, and there is the Security
|
||
Council of the Warrens, governing the close to four thousand
|
||
permanent residents of the underground complex. The city
|
||
government defers to the Security Council on defense matters, but
|
||
is otherwise independent. As well, Kenji Biotech maintains a
|
||
compound approximately twenty kilometers from the city, with its
|
||
independent corporate government. Neither the Security Council nor
|
||
the town government have any kind of diplomatic relations with any
|
||
neighbours. The closest they have come are the occasional
|
||
'negotiation teams,' battalion sized combat groups sent out to
|
||
deal with suspected infringements on their territory.
|
||
|
||
It is policy of the Security Council to encourage criminal
|
||
elements of both the UCAS and Quebec to use the base as a resupply
|
||
point. Specifically, the Warrens deals well with riggers running
|
||
the Quebec/UCAS border. In this manner, they receive new
|
||
technology, while riggers are offered a safe resupply zone, fuel,
|
||
and for aircraft, a large defended runway with heavy concrete
|
||
hangars. Occasionally, it is believed that the Security Council
|
||
participates in some of the runs, adding the occasional panzer
|
||
team to a run.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Those negotiation teams are nasty. I saw one go after a
|
||
Humanis compound that someone (stupid) established about 50 km
|
||
away from the base. All that they left of the place was a few
|
||
burnt out shells and a lot of craters. Those CF-201's are killers
|
||
on a strafing run.]<<<<<
|
||
- Puck <23:10:06/11-04-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[If you happen to visit the Warrens, don't screw with the
|
||
security procedures. If you get out of line, even by a millimeter,
|
||
they toast you. This place doesn't follow anyone else's laws, so
|
||
they don't have any trouble in shooting people. This is only
|
||
security procedures, you can raise all the hell you like, shoot
|
||
people randomly, etc., and they won't bother you. They assume that
|
||
anyone in the Warrens who gets killed shouldn't be there anyways.
|
||
Nice, friendly people.]<<<<<
|
||
- Omega Wolf <14:50:33/11-19-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I can speak from experience that the sight of one of the
|
||
Warrens concrete hangars is one of the most uplifting things
|
||
you're likely to see. Cheap fuel, good, solid repair jobs, and
|
||
lots of reloads are the norm. And after a run of the Quebec
|
||
defenses, you normally need it.]<<<<<
|
||
- ReRun <11:24:53/11-26-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[They're pretty good about paying for your cargo too. I
|
||
exchanged a load of Vindicator cannons for some really hot bio
|
||
material. You wouldn't believe the profit I made on them.]<<<<<
|
||
- Jade Hunter <04:45:36/12-03-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
GEOGRAPHY
|
||
|
||
THE WARRENS
|
||
|
||
The Warrens was perhaps one of the largest and most intricate of
|
||
underground bases in the NORAD system. At its largest capacity,
|
||
after its last expansion in 2006, it could hold close to 12,000
|
||
residents full time in housing zones, as well as close to three
|
||
times as much room in labs and storage areas. At its largest
|
||
occupancy it only held three thousand. In the aftermath of the
|
||
quake and the battles, much of the base was lost to collapses in
|
||
the tunnel system and bio-chemical contamination. Indeed, few
|
||
residents move out of the known safe zones without enviro-suits.
|
||
|
||
The inhabitable area of the base is currently divided into three
|
||
main zones: Residential, security, and supply. Residential zones
|
||
contain all the space and services necessary for the four thousand
|
||
residents. Security zone handles not only the defensive systems of
|
||
the base, but controls close to forty kilometers of territory
|
||
around the base, and monitors out to an unknown distance. Supply
|
||
consists of the food production caverns and several small factory
|
||
areas producing necessities of life for the underground. As well,
|
||
a large portion of its efforts go towards the recovery of gear
|
||
from the lost areas of the base.
|
||
|
||
Defensively, the base is a wonder of technology. Almost every
|
||
corridor is covered by camera/servo-gun combinations, and most of
|
||
them are monitored. Externally, a large sensor array searches for
|
||
air targets, and two interceptors are always ready to scramble in
|
||
case of threat. Most of the ground around the base is also covered
|
||
by sensor arrays. It is suspected that these arrays extend
|
||
northward to the Quebec border, and forty to fifty kilometers to
|
||
the south. Heavy panzers also patrol the areas around the base,
|
||
and infantry teams patrol the outskirts of the city. To top things
|
||
off, every adult resident of the base is trained in the operation
|
||
of most of the systems of the base, and almost all carry heavy
|
||
sidearms at all times.
|
||
|
||
Aboveground, the airport is the main feature. The ancient
|
||
commercial airport has been converted entirely into the military
|
||
base. Concrete hangars house a fleet of at least a dozen
|
||
helicopters, between six and eight CF-201 fighters, two EFA
|
||
interceptors, and a fleet of panzers. As well, a variety of
|
||
conventional armored vehicles are housed.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[The way I understand it, security nowadays has gone down the
|
||
tubes. A lot of the servo-guns are more or less dead, the lighting
|
||
in the tunnels has been cut down, and many of the security sensor
|
||
arrays have been taken out by weather, Humanis infiltrators, and
|
||
some of the animals in the area. Some parts of the complex have
|
||
turned into little tribal caverns, and I hear a lot of gang fights
|
||
go on in the tunnels. Is this just rumour, or what?]<<<<<
|
||
- Komet Kid <02:19:50/11-06-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[The whole servo-gun thing is a rumour, but they sure don't
|
||
look like they'd work. I hear that Security Council technical
|
||
teams occasionally select a few guns and give them a little work
|
||
so they look like they're dead. The thing about the lighting is
|
||
entirely correct, but since all the security cameras have been
|
||
replaced with thermo systems, it doesn't matter much. Besides,
|
||
they never needed lighting anyways. Think about it. They're mostly
|
||
dwarves. Built in thermographics. As far as the tribal thing, it's
|
||
true, but not in the Security controlled sections. Since they're
|
||
completely isolated from the rest of the complex by some serious
|
||
defense systems, they really don't care what goes on down there.
|
||
Besides, they use it as a training ground for their troops.]<<<<<
|
||
- ReRun <17:09:27/11-09-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I don't know about isolation. I heard about a Banshee that
|
||
got into the residential section and killed off a couple people
|
||
before they fragged it. Supposedly it got in through some ancient
|
||
ventilation tunnels. Understandably, the SC downplayed it quite a
|
||
bit.]<<<<<
|
||
- Barron <01:07:48/12-10-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[While you're in the Warrens, some places you might run into.
|
||
First, a note on finding your way around. The place is organized
|
||
in colour zones, Red being the main security zone, purple, green,
|
||
blue, and white being the residential section, and orange, gray,
|
||
and black being the factory/research zones. If you see the black
|
||
zone, by the way, get the hell out of it. If you're not
|
||
authorized, you're dead. Then the place is set up in levels, from
|
||
1 to, as far as I know, 40. The Access number is the "street
|
||
address" of the place. You might have to ask directions to find
|
||
the Access, the place is a real maze.
|
||
|
||
Temporaries Hostel
|
||
Green Zone, Level 7, Access 1409
|
||
Large Hotel
|
||
No racial bias
|
||
LTG# 0956
|
||
Manager: Armand Lorino
|
||
If you're a visiting rigger, they normally put you up in the
|
||
Temporaries. A really nice place, big rooms, awesome room service,
|
||
and solid doors (this is real important in the Warrens). No
|
||
problems with weapons, armor, but they don't like customers
|
||
killing each other.
|
||
|
||
Cavern One
|
||
Green Zone, Level 17, Access 0043
|
||
Nightclub
|
||
Bias towards non-riggers
|
||
LTG# 9844
|
||
Owner: Morin Desjardine
|
||
You can't really call it a nightclub, 'cause the Warrens doesn't
|
||
have a day/night cycle. This is the hottest spot for riggers. The
|
||
amount of tips and information running around this place is
|
||
fantastic, and Rick, one of the bartenders, has run the Quebec
|
||
border at least fifty times, still does, and likes talking about
|
||
it. Weapons are allowed, fighting is allowed, but don't shoot the
|
||
staff.
|
||
|
||
Purple Zone Bazaar
|
||
Purple Zone, Level 10, various entries
|
||
Open Marketplace
|
||
No racial bias
|
||
Organizer: Lt. Lesli Darrien
|
||
In every zone of the Warrens, there exists a mall. The purple zone
|
||
bazaar takes the cake. Located in a really massive cavern that
|
||
used to be a series of gyms before the walls were taken out, jam
|
||
packed with several hundred people, you can buy and sell anything
|
||
here, plus a few other items. BTLs, body parts, military hardware,
|
||
data, anything. Don't try to rip anyone off though, because the
|
||
place is organized by the security council, and there's normally
|
||
about three platoons of regular infantry roaming the crowd, and a
|
||
few drones hovering over your head.]<<<<<
|
||
- Komet Kid <00:34:59/12-12-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[We can't forget something really important, can we?
|
||
|
||
Security Council HQ
|
||
Red Zone, Level 15-20, various Accesses
|
||
Large Office Building
|
||
LTG# 1111
|
||
The nerve center of the Security Council, this multi-level complex
|
||
is open day and night, heavily guarded, and real important to
|
||
visitors. This is the place where you arrange permission for a
|
||
temporary stay, Warrens citizenship, sale of really big/hot cargo,
|
||
escorts for a run through Quebec (they do this sometimes), and a
|
||
lot of other stuff. Don't screw with security. You can't carry
|
||
weapons into the place either, and if you happen to trip a
|
||
detector while you're in there, and they have them all over, the
|
||
automatic defenses will shred you.]<<<<<
|
||
- Sage <23:20:12/12-15-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Purple Zone, Level 36, Access 1034 will get you into the
|
||
abandoned section, if you fiddle with the electronics on the lock
|
||
a little. Getting back is a little tougher.]<<<<<
|
||
- anonymous <15:22:47/12-18-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
NORTH BAY
|
||
|
||
The city proper of North Bay exists in a relatively small area
|
||
near one of the two area lakes. While in its prime the city
|
||
occupied considerably more area, the quake, depopulation, and
|
||
warfare left a much smaller population and most of the city in
|
||
ruins. The remaining population retreated into an easily defended
|
||
lakeside area, which they eventually walled off. As well, the
|
||
current location is less than a kilometer from the gates of the
|
||
Warrens.
|
||
|
||
The majority of the residents earn their pay in trade with the
|
||
Warrens. Farming, hunting, fishing, and scavenging from the city
|
||
provide a meagre, yet sufficient lifestyle for most residents. A
|
||
small portion also engage in running the Quebec border, usually
|
||
through the system of rivers and creeks of the northern
|
||
wilderness. As a result, the proliferation of weapons in the city
|
||
is extreme, where virtually everyone has access to military
|
||
hardware. The city government, as a result, tends to be quite
|
||
dynamic in that the entire upper echelon is normally 'replaced'
|
||
several times per year. The current government, led by the Dwarven
|
||
Bear shaman Erich Connors, has somehow managed to last out six
|
||
months, despite three separate attempts at deposing them.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Hmmm. They don't say much about the place. Sounds like some
|
||
kind of frontier town.]<<<<<
|
||
- Smily <08:45:04/11-06-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[That's actually a pretty good analogy, if you add in the
|
||
military surplus family car, automatic weapons, modular housing,
|
||
and the occasional gang. The place is actually very fun at night.
|
||
The wall parties are a real blast, and some of those bars...]<<<<<
|
||
- ReRun <17:22:16/11-09-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Yeah, the wall parties are awesome. This is when a bunch of
|
||
residents get together, go up on the wall (about thirty feet high,
|
||
twenty thick with battlements) and watch the ghoul/gang wars.
|
||
Hell, sometimes targets get close enough so that we can join the
|
||
fun. And the bars, yeah, they're something else. Bass One is about
|
||
the wildest and most dangerous place I've ever been, and The Tank
|
||
is phenomenal. The Tank, by the way, is a reconstruction of the
|
||
place that started that riot in town way back near the turn of the
|
||
century. They have this big Leopard tank imbedded in the wall. And
|
||
the turret still moves...When you're completely burned and the
|
||
thing starts pointing your way...]<<<<<
|
||
- anonymous <23:50:05/11-24-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
OUTSKIRTS
|
||
|
||
When the population of the city retreated to a relatively small
|
||
area, the remainder of the city became easy pickings for all
|
||
manner of squatters and more sinister residents. A few
|
||
homesteaders live out of the main city, in small walled
|
||
fortresses. These are normally surrounded by small plots of
|
||
cultivated land and several layers of razor wire, minefields, and
|
||
remote weapons systems. Aside from these few, the remainder of the
|
||
residents consist of a variety of gangs, squatters, and a fair
|
||
number of ghouls. Nearly every night the city erupts with the
|
||
sound of gunfire, explosions, and such as the gangs fight running
|
||
battles with ghouls over scavenged food supplies. Occasionally the
|
||
city sends out troops to cull the number of ghouls, but lately
|
||
this has resulted in considerable casualties. It is expected that
|
||
the practice will be discontinued in the near future, unless more
|
||
military vehicles can be borrowed from the Warrens.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[This is not a place to get caught outside in at night. I've
|
||
seen groups of ghouls go after some of the homesteads with
|
||
flamethrowers. They're much worse on people caught in the
|
||
open.]<<<<<
|
||
- Looie Loo <20:39:04/11-02-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[The reason the combat teams have been getting shot up so
|
||
much is due to infiltrators, not the ghouls and gangs. It seems
|
||
the Purity League is about to have another go at the Warrens, the
|
||
poor, stupid buggers.]<<<<<
|
||
- From the Deep <11:02:00/11-07-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Wasn't the PL wiped out?]<<<<<
|
||
- Tag <13:55:30/11-02-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
KENJI BIOTECH
|
||
|
||
The Kenji Biotech compound is typical of Japanese corporations. A
|
||
number of modular housing units, a factory, and various services
|
||
all contained in a high wall studded with defensive systems. There
|
||
are several helicopter pads, and almost daily one heads over to
|
||
the Warrens airport to pick up some bio-hazard. It is estimated
|
||
that 200 workers live here, but the exact figure is unknown.
|
||
|
||
On a rare occasion, Kenji will recruit workers from the town,
|
||
usually to supplement security. Normally they simply bring in
|
||
workers from one of their other factories.
|
||
|
||
If is unknown exactly what the purpose of the Kenji base is,
|
||
however it is obviously known to some party as a number of
|
||
attempts by criminal elements to enter have been made on the
|
||
compound. It is unknown whether any have succeeded - Kenji Biotech
|
||
does not have much in the way of public relations. It's suspected
|
||
that the heavy security has been more than a match for the runner
|
||
teams.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Yup, that's one thing the locals are good at. Supplementing
|
||
security.]<<<<<
|
||
- Tall Boy <23:50:01/11-08-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[This Kenji outpost is just there for the purpose of testing
|
||
the various items from the Warrens. It is believed that, as well
|
||
as the daily chopper run, they send in exploratory teams through
|
||
some hidden passages. They also pay bio-prospectors pretty well
|
||
for their stuff.]<<<<<
|
||
- ReRun <02:05:20/11-09-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[They do send exploration teams. I have encountered a few
|
||
members of these teams, violently. They are heavily armed, and use
|
||
powerful magic. They do not know the passages though, and that is
|
||
their weakness.]<<<<<
|
||
- Pendragon <20:17:51/12-01-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I wouldn't be braggin' about that chum. Kenji has some real
|
||
vicious security units. I for one would not want to have a run in
|
||
with them.]<<<<<
|
||
- Chuck D <14:08:21/12-10-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I do not brag, and I do not fear Kenji Biotech.]<<<<<
|
||
- Pendragon <18:58:06/12-10-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Maybe you don't, chum, but a lot do. 'Cept maybe said
|
||
'criminal elements.' I have it on good authority that they're
|
||
actually a bunch of good old boys from town after KB's ass for
|
||
something or other. If you've met the towns good old boys, you
|
||
sure wouldn't want to be in Kenji's position, chums. Maybe you
|
||
think yer big city go-go-gangs are tough, but you don't want to be
|
||
around when these guys pull up in an APC with belt fed
|
||
Vindicator/GL mounts on the top. Or the LAW rockets in the back of
|
||
the family pickup. 'Less you got a panzer.]<<<<<
|
||
- Wastrel <00:10:58/12-21-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE MATRIX
|
||
|
||
The Warrens matrix has been torn down, damaged, patched and
|
||
overhauled so many times that no one can really say what it is.
|
||
The original military connections, dating back to approximately
|
||
1970, are still connected to the state of the art system added
|
||
around 2038. Add to this hundreds of line patches and the various
|
||
hardware running the system, and the result is what some deckers
|
||
have called the most dangerous grid on the planet. The Security
|
||
Council has taken advantage of the deadliness of the system by
|
||
connecting their own system inside the many layers of military IC
|
||
still operating. This is possibly the only major weakness in their
|
||
defensive systems. Currently, the outer security layer of the grid
|
||
is purely the old 2038 military system with a few patches. These
|
||
system patches, however, are indistinguishable from the old
|
||
system. Once past this main outer layer, the ancient internal
|
||
military systems are mixed in with many system patches and the new
|
||
government systems. Security is laughable. To quote the infamous
|
||
decker Sparrow, "A complete drek-head could cut through that stuff
|
||
with a turtle and on-the-fly utilities." Analysis by an
|
||
independent consulting firm has confirmed this opinion. The
|
||
matrix, while possibly the easiest way to access the Warren
|
||
goings-on, has little to offer in the case of a large scale
|
||
assault. Thorough analysis has indicated that absolutely no
|
||
external slave system such as doors or ventilation systems are
|
||
connected to the grid. Only a few internal security cameras,
|
||
obviously passed over in the rebuilding, seem to exist. Quite
|
||
possibly there is a second, unconnected system controlling all
|
||
this.
|
||
|
||
The city system is attached to the Warrens grid, but the security
|
||
of it is minimal. The biggest threat outside the Warrens is the
|
||
Kenji Biotech grid. Strong corporate IC has encouraged many
|
||
invaders of the North Bay system to look for their fortunes
|
||
elsewhere. It is of interest to note that the area grid is still
|
||
connected to the international system, although the Warrens is
|
||
technically speaking a criminal outpost. Attempts were made in the
|
||
early years of its establishment by UCAS technical teams to remove
|
||
the system, but the teams were overwhelmed by the number of
|
||
ancient military connections to the outside grid. It is estimated
|
||
that there are close to three hundred independent connections to
|
||
the UCAS RTG, as well as those to the Quebec and Algonkian-Manitoo
|
||
RTGs.
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[The thing about this mix of the new and the old is that it
|
||
leaves all kinds of holes in the security there. The government
|
||
relies on the older military ice to keep out intruders, so they
|
||
have relatively light security themselves. So if you're good, you
|
||
can trace a path through the old military systems without a hint
|
||
of ice...]<<<<<
|
||
-Key Cat <12:01:51/11-01-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[If you're lucky, chummer, you might. If you're not lucky,
|
||
you could be toast. I thought I had a nice little entry, 'til I
|
||
hit the wandering ice. I was lucky. I only lost a Cyber-7.]<<<<<
|
||
-Nova <23:20:00/11-04-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Yeah, tell me about it. I got chased halfway through the
|
||
system before I managed to kill the sucker! By that time, there
|
||
were fragging alarms going off all the way to Chiba. I almost got
|
||
hit by a Trace, but it managed to get bogged down in one of their
|
||
patches. Not that it would have mattered much. There's no one for
|
||
the Trace to call back to!]<<<<<
|
||
-Ice Falcon <03:57:09/11-07-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[You killed the ice?!? Frag, this is military ice here!]<<<<<
|
||
-Stink Bug <17:34:10/11-08-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[You betcha! It took a bit, but I had this MG9067-SF
|
||
hardening chip my buddy Tall Boy picked up in one of the old
|
||
Matrix Warfare labs down there. Besides that, I don't think the
|
||
ice was updated for the patches, because it really slowed down
|
||
when it hit 'em. And it may be military ice, but it's still a
|
||
decade old.]<<<<<
|
||
-Ice Falcon <12:30:38/11-12-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[This military stuff is peanuts compared to some of the Kenji
|
||
Biotech system they have in town. I was doing a look-see on the
|
||
Kenji system, and did I get a little surprise. I burn the fraggin'
|
||
Killer, in a Red node no less, was browsing some data, and then
|
||
the alarms go off. So I haul ass for the SAN, and what do you know
|
||
but the Killer is back up, meaner than ever, and lookin' for me!
|
||
Far as I can tell, they've got something that's
|
||
regenerating.]<<<<<
|
||
-Louie Loo <02:12:15/11-18-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[That's pretty doubtful. You probably just set something off
|
||
when you were browsing, and it started the alert and rebuilt the
|
||
ice.]<<<<<
|
||
-Screamer <20:45:07/11-19-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Like hell I did, chum! I've been scanning for things like
|
||
that since...well, since I set one off. If they were capable of
|
||
something my little 'mine detector' couldn't find, then I'd never
|
||
have got past that ice in the first place.]<<<<<
|
||
-Louie Loo <03:47:32/11-24-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[My question is, with all the various hardware, how do they
|
||
maintain the thing?]<<<<<
|
||
-Argand <21:04:59/12-02-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[They don't. They can't. They don't even know where the
|
||
hardware running half the thing is, and they don't know how to
|
||
maintain what they can find. When a machine goes down, they just
|
||
replace it with something a little more modern, and maybe patch
|
||
the area around it. >From what I've heard, some of the military
|
||
ice they can't even get to recognize the Security Council deckers.
|
||
They've lost a few to that problem.]<<<<<
|
||
-Ice Falcon <11:13:40/12-04-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[Who would want to get into the system in the first place?
|
||
The place is ancient.]<<<<<
|
||
- Kormack <14:08:18/12-11-50>
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[If you can get into the MW mainframe, you have paydata.
|
||
There are programs in there that were designed to take out Sov
|
||
military IC, and that means they can cut through modern corp IC
|
||
like a Fairlight Excalibur through Blue Access. You just have to
|
||
find the lab. And finding it doesn't mean you can find it again.
|
||
The fraggin' system changes so often...]<<<<<
|
||
- From the Deep <09:46:40/12-13-50>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE MEAT MARKET
|
||
|
||
THE IMMIGRANT STREET PRIEST (Exorcist)
|
||
Jerry Stratton <jerry@teetot.acusd.edu>
|
||
Priorities: Attributes 4, Magic 3, Tech 2, Skills 1, Race 0
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Street Priest came to North America from either Spain or
|
||
Italy, and is usually male. In his youth, he was an athlete, and
|
||
he used this to pull himself up from the streets. When he reached
|
||
puberty, he started talking to god, and devoted himself to the
|
||
priesthood. When he started out, he discovered a talent for
|
||
exorcisms, but didn't realize he could conjure until much later.
|
||
|
||
The street priest is not fully accepted by the church hierarchy,
|
||
and does not really care. He spends his time with the people of
|
||
the street, tending to their spiritual needs and, when possible,
|
||
protecting them from secular harm. His knowledge of Christian
|
||
theology is tempered with urban legends and mythology.
|
||
|
||
The street priest is not a shadowrunner, although such a priest
|
||
might become involved with a shadowrun team for a specific
|
||
purpose. The street priest may well ask for a donation of time if
|
||
the people of the street are having trouble with a certain
|
||
corporation or government agency.
|
||
|
||
The street priest can usually be found running food or medical
|
||
supplies to people in need, or helping out at a local Catholic
|
||
soup kitchen.
|
||
|
||
If the priest's contact is a fixer, the priest trades information
|
||
and occasional sanctuary for information on food and medical
|
||
supplies.
|
||
|
||
QUOTES:
|
||
"Please. These people are poor, and are unable to meet your
|
||
demands."
|
||
"Heaven and Hell await you, son. You must choose."
|
||
"Madre de dios, se–or, the community needs this food. How can you
|
||
allow it to be thrown out?"
|
||
"No, we have nothing for you to steal. Perhaps you might make a
|
||
donation to the people instead?"
|
||
"Meditate on this while you heal, my child."
|
||
"The Angels of the Lord attend me and my needs."
|
||
|
||
ATTRIBUTES
|
||
Body 6
|
||
Quickness 4
|
||
Strength 5
|
||
Charisma 6
|
||
Intelligence 4
|
||
Willpower 5
|
||
Essence 6
|
||
Reaction 4
|
||
|
||
SKILLS
|
||
Conjuring 6
|
||
Street Etiquette 2
|
||
Theology 1
|
||
Christianity 3
|
||
Athletics 5
|
||
Unarmed Combat 3
|
||
Performance 1
|
||
Oratory 2
|
||
Religious 4
|
||
|
||
LANGUAGES
|
||
Spanish or Italian 6
|
||
Church Latin 5
|
||
English 3
|
||
|
||
CONTACTS
|
||
Any Street Type (prob. Doctor or Fixer)
|
||
|
||
GEAR
|
||
Used Car (often breaks down)
|
||
Religious (Conjuring) Library
|
||
Rating 6 (300 lbs)
|
||
Car Phone
|
||
Ordinary Clothing
|
||
Priestly Clothing
|
||
Priestly Equipment
|
||
Conjuring Materials (8,000Y)
|
||
|
||
The priest will probably have already conjured two elementals with
|
||
the above conjuring materials (remember that the priest has to buy
|
||
the materials specifically for the force and type of elemental).
|
||
Street priests tend to prefer air and fire elementals. These are
|
||
more in line with their calling. The priest will probably be
|
||
attended by a Force 5 air elemental and a Force 3 fire elemental.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Note to Game masters: if the player decides to go for a Force
|
||
6 or greater elemental, you might want to be present for the
|
||
success test -- if the success test is failed, those 6,000Y or so
|
||
of materials are gone.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry [08:33:22/05-12-92]
|
||
|
||
The priest will always attempt to conjure spirits in private. To
|
||
him, conjuring is a personal sacrament. The street priest is
|
||
always aware of the ambiguities inherent in summoning, and tries
|
||
very hard to make it obvious that God is the source of power, and
|
||
the priest is only the conduit for that power. Some street priests
|
||
will believe that spirits are forms of angels. Others believe them
|
||
to be demons, bound by God's will. Or, perhaps they're simply
|
||
manifestations of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of God. Such
|
||
manifestations appeared as tongues of flame to the apostles, and
|
||
as a strong wind to others.
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE JACK OF ALL TRADES (Jack-o-T)
|
||
Wordman <ward1@husc.harvard.edu>
|
||
Priorities: Tech 4, Attributes 3, Skills 2, Magic/Race 1/0
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Jack-of-all-Trades uses many skills, but is master of none.
|
||
His kind have always existed, but the SkillSoft tech of today make
|
||
him more able than ever. He prides himself on having the tech and
|
||
knowledge to deal with any situation. To him, the Shadowrun Ñ with
|
||
its unpredictable curves and pit-falls Ñ is the ultimate test of
|
||
his diversity.
|
||
|
||
QUOTES:
|
||
"Look, man, your average shadowrunner has a problem: he's a
|
||
specialist. One'll run the matrix, another'll drive you 'round,
|
||
and another is just some dude with a big gun. Everyone's a
|
||
specialist these days.
|
||
"Not me.
|
||
"I can do everything, for you, chummer. One call does it all. And
|
||
if I can't do it myself, I'll just get me a chip that'll help me
|
||
help myself. Sure, so maybe a Razorguy can eliminate the
|
||
opposition better'n me, but what's he gonna do when he's alone and
|
||
needs some data? You need an adaptable sort like me running for
|
||
you. Ain't a situation I can't handle.
|
||
"So...we deal or what?"
|
||
|
||
ATTRIBUTES
|
||
Body: 4
|
||
Quickness: 5
|
||
Strength: 4
|
||
Charisma: 3
|
||
Intelligence: 4
|
||
Willpower: 4
|
||
Essence: 2.0
|
||
Reaction: 0
|
||
|
||
SKILLS
|
||
Armed Combat: 4
|
||
Computer: 6
|
||
Car: 4
|
||
Etiquette (Street): 4
|
||
Firearms: 6
|
||
|
||
CYBERWARE
|
||
Chipjacks (Four, plus one included with Skillwires)
|
||
Cybereyes with Flare Compensation, Low-Light, and Thermographic
|
||
Imaging
|
||
Datajack
|
||
Datasoft Link
|
||
Display Link
|
||
Headware Memory (90 Mp)
|
||
Skillwires (6)
|
||
Smartgun Link
|
||
|
||
CONTACTS
|
||
Any Street Type
|
||
Decker
|
||
Fixer
|
||
Mechanic
|
||
Rigger
|
||
Street Doc
|
||
|
||
GEAR
|
||
Heckler & Koch HK227 (w/ built-in Smartgun)
|
||
Lined Coat
|
||
Fuchi Cyber-4 w/Response Increase (1): Bod 6, Evasion 6, Masking
|
||
6, Sensors 6, Attack 4, Evaluate 4, Sleaze 5
|
||
Skillsofts (all general)
|
||
Three knowledge (3)
|
||
One knowledge (6)
|
||
Three active (3)
|
||
One active (6)
|
||
One language (10)
|
||
One language (9)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE MAGE HUNTER (Dwarven)
|
||
Hubris, the Shadowmaster <escotoR@moravian.edu>
|
||
Priorities: Race 4, Attributes 3, Magic 2, Tech 1, Skills 0
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mage Hunter is, as his name implies, the worst nightmare of the
|
||
unsuspecting spell-tosser. His family may have been murdered by
|
||
magic, he just might hate mages enough to want to do them harm.
|
||
Either way, he hunts mages for a living, which means he'll have no
|
||
problems getting work.
|
||
|
||
QUOTES:
|
||
"Yeah. I'm clean. I got no 'ware. Don't mean I ain't bad enough.
|
||
Just means you're to stupid to see. I could crush you like last
|
||
week's newsfax. Don't worry. I won't... yet.
|
||
|
||
ATTRIBUTES
|
||
Body: 4
|
||
Quickness: 5
|
||
Strength: 7
|
||
Charisma: 3
|
||
Intelligence: 3
|
||
Willpower 7
|
||
Essence: 6
|
||
Reaction: 4(6)
|
||
|
||
SKILLS
|
||
Etiquette(Street) 2
|
||
Firearms 6
|
||
Interrogation(Physical) 2(4)
|
||
Stealth(Urban) 1(3)
|
||
Unarmed Combat 4
|
||
|
||
GEAR
|
||
Colt Manhunter(w/ 1 extra clip & 30 rounds Reg ammo)
|
||
Form Fitting Body Armor(Lvl 3 B-4 I-1)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
ECONOMICS OF SHADOWRUNNING
|
||
|
||
Corporation Report: Economics of Independent Illegal Operatives --
|
||
'Shadowrunners'
|
||
earl@cco.caltech.edu (Earl A. Hubbell)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Abstract: Statistical analysis applied with some wild assumptions
|
||
demonstrates 1) Shadowrunners are not generally a significant
|
||
force and 2) They are an economic preferred alternative to 'in-
|
||
house' operatives, despite general unreliability.
|
||
|
||
|
||
SEATTLE OF 2050:
|
||
Population : 3x106 individuals
|
||
Corporate affiliated: 1.5x106
|
||
Below Poverty: 1x106
|
||
|
||
Thus, we see economically independent units compose 5x105
|
||
individuals. We rule out the 'Below Poverty Level' population, as
|
||
any significantly skilled/cybered/magic unit will be aggressively
|
||
recruited/have entered poverty voluntarily/will not be counted in
|
||
standard census.
|
||
|
||
From the UCAS census estimates, we have approximately 1% of the
|
||
population having 'significant' cyber-enhancements (so called
|
||
'samurai', 'riggers' or 'deckers') or significant magical
|
||
enhancement ('physical adepts'). Full mages compose approximately
|
||
.1% of the population.
|
||
|
||
Thus, there are approximately 3x104 units of significant personal
|
||
power in Seattle. Of these units, 3,000 are mages. Due to
|
||
aggressive corporate recruiting, it is estimated that only 10% of
|
||
the 'significant' population may be considered 'independent'.
|
||
Thus, we have 3x103 significant units, of which 300 are mages.
|
||
|
||
For obvious reasons, counting this population is difficult,
|
||
however, it seems that only approximately 20% of this final group
|
||
engage in high-risk operations (the remaining 'independents'
|
||
belonging to various 'normal' occupations).
|
||
|
||
Thus, the 'significant' population available to 'shadowrun'
|
||
consists of merely 60 mages, 60 skilled 'deckers', approximately
|
||
120 riggers, 120 physical adepts, and 300 samurai (numbers do not
|
||
add due to some overlap in categories, and approximation errors).
|
||
|
||
Given the near-necessity of 'magical cover' on any significant
|
||
operation, we see an operating population of approximately 100
|
||
'teams' of runners within Seattle, composed from a pool of
|
||
approximately 600 'powered' individuals, and approximately 2,000
|
||
skilled personnel in various 'support' positions (so-called
|
||
'fixers', 'detectives', 'security consultants', 'cannon-
|
||
fodder'...)
|
||
|
||
This explains the 'close-knit' nature of an otherwise paranoid
|
||
profession - the 'teams' generally know of each other, at least by
|
||
reputation, and in the case of mages, almost certainly by
|
||
individual (deckers as well). They interact with the same
|
||
population, travel in the same circles, need the same information,
|
||
think the same way.
|
||
|
||
Thus, we see that although 'runners' form a relatively large force
|
||
on the scale they tend to operate, their disorganized nature tends
|
||
to leave them with little real impact on corporate operations.
|
||
|
||
|
||
PART 2: ECONOMICS OF CORPORATE/SHADOWRUNNER INTERACTION.
|
||
|
||
SEATTLE:
|
||
Median Income: 25 kY/year.
|
||
|
||
This figure is highly unreliable, due to the very visible presence
|
||
of 'unreported' money floating throughout many credit networks.
|
||
Cash-flow estimations are therefore difficult, and much more
|
||
approximate than any other computations.
|
||
|
||
Total cash available to non-corporate individuals:
|
||
approximately 1010 Y/year. (note - most of this 'income' is in
|
||
fact passed back and forth between individuals of little note, or
|
||
flows from the UCAS government to the welfare recipients, and is
|
||
then returned, allowing the UCAS to claim{digression deleted})
|
||
|
||
Total cash available to corporate individuals:
|
||
approximately 1011 Y/year (note - due to the 'pyramid' structure
|
||
of the society in 2050, most of the money is available to the top
|
||
1% of the population, and is unreported due to various tricks with
|
||
corporate holdings, services provided 'gratis', etc...)
|
||
|
||
Due to the familiar 'money surge' as international financial
|
||
markets open and close during the daylight hours, approximately
|
||
3x109 Y value flows into and out of Seattle each day. This drives
|
||
a fair amount of 'high finance', but has little effect on the
|
||
lives of 'independents'. {digression deleted}
|
||
|
||
Assuming corporations, for optimum functioning, require the
|
||
occasional 'bending' of stringent regulations and laws, since 100%
|
||
law enforcement has been found to not be cost-effective in
|
||
'security maintenance' (see Lone-Star report #115345:
|
||
'Optimization of Law Enforcement by the Saad-Dine Algorithm').
|
||
Assume 99% of all corporate functioning may be 'above question'.
|
||
Assume further that plausible deniability may be established for
|
||
corporate operatives in 90% of the remaining cases. This leaves
|
||
.1% of funds available, indeed, nearly required, to be spent
|
||
outside the corporation on 'extra-legal' operations.
|
||
|
||
From our previous numbers, we obtain an estimated 108 Y/year
|
||
available in the Seattle area for payment of independent
|
||
operatives. Given the estimated population of 102 teams, this
|
||
works out to 106 Y/year income per team - a high-paying income,
|
||
cut into by the various individuals in the network being paid for
|
||
their support services. (An interesting parallel to income tax may
|
||
be made here - some free-market assumptions about 'government by
|
||
market forces' seem to be confirmed.)
|
||
|
||
In practice, there is a strong stratification within runner
|
||
society- most exist in an environment of rapid cash-flow, and
|
||
succeed in merely a comfortable existence, punctuated by gambling
|
||
with their lives. The rare high-success ratio teams are looked
|
||
upon with great awe, and keep most of the merely adequate teams
|
||
'playing with the death lottery', and are often assumed to have
|
||
some 'favor' or 'technique' that they have hit upon, when in
|
||
reality most of the difference comes from statistical anomalies
|
||
(the familiar 'gamblers paradox' restated).
|
||
|
||
Note that the total economic force available to the 'runners' is
|
||
about a factor of 10 less than the total population of
|
||
'independents', and so plays only a minor role in the economic
|
||
life of the city (welfare recipients alone exceed their cash,
|
||
although most of it is spent on 'necessities').
|
||
|
||
APPENDIX:
|
||
Some interesting breakdowns, and error analysis.
|
||
|
||
The total number of 'runners', seems likely to be accurate to
|
||
within 50%. Smaller categories may vary by up to 200% (number of
|
||
mages - shamans are especially notorious for not being counted).
|
||
|
||
With that in mind, however, some interesting secondary data may be
|
||
applied to our results:
|
||
Adjusted population ratios:
|
||
Human: .5 among independents
|
||
Ork: .2
|
||
Elf: .2
|
||
Other .1
|
||
(these do not equal 'average' population ratios for Seattle, due
|
||
to aggressive recruiting of humans by corporations, however, the
|
||
accessibility of cyberware to humans seems to be larger, somewhat
|
||
balancing this trend).
|
||
|
||
Adjusted education ratios:
|
||
.7 High School or lower
|
||
.2 Bachelors or equivalent
|
||
.1 Ph.D. or other advanced
|
||
|
||
(a large population of 'independents' tend to have informal or
|
||
unusual educations, if they have them at all, and so are
|
||
(mis)counted in the lower population. Surprisingly, a large number
|
||
of advanced degrees are present in the independent population.)
|
||
|
||
Some consequences:
|
||
There are approximately 45 samurai/adepts presumed to have Ph.D.'s
|
||
in various fields - these subjects should probably be interviewed
|
||
for a psychological study, so we can identify dangerous trends in
|
||
our own employees.
|
||
|
||
Personal curiosity has led me to independently investigate the two
|
||
known dwarf runner physical adepts possessing Ph.D.'s. It seems
|
||
that they are twin brothers, and interestingly enough, bitter
|
||
enemies on the street. {deleted as digression}
|
||
- Dr. R. Smith-Nabulsi
|
||
Boeing-Mitsuhama Statistics Group 5.
|
||
|
||
[Dug this out of some corporate's personal files in his headware
|
||
memory, when a corporate extraction went wrong and we were forced
|
||
to put him on the open market - thought you might find it amusing
|
||
- Slash]
|
||
|
||
[I found a similar Renraku report on 'Corporate Cyberware: Cash
|
||
Efficient or Research Boondoggle' - made some interesting points
|
||
about cost-optimization within the corporate environment for
|
||
cyberware. - Elephant]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE WORD ON THE STREETS
|
||
A definitive listing of street slang in 2050
|
||
compiled by the Dark Elf <VESPOSIT@ccvm.sunysb.edu>
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
A-Boys: A type of boostergang whose motif is a specific animal.
|
||
Angel: A benefactor, especially an unknown one.
|
||
Arc: An arcology.
|
||
Ballerinas: Reflex boosted female assassins in the employ of a
|
||
major corp.
|
||
Booster: Gang member that uses cyberware, leathers, and violence
|
||
as a way of life.
|
||
Bounts: Bounty hunters.
|
||
Bopper: A robot.
|
||
Brain Tap: A datajack or a chipjack.
|
||
Breeder: Orc slang for a "normal" human.
|
||
Business: In slang context, crime. Also "Biz."
|
||
Buzz: Go away. Buzz off.
|
||
Chipped: Enhanced by cyberware.
|
||
CHOOH: ("choo") Slang for alcohol, as used in vehicle power
|
||
plants.
|
||
Chromatic: Heavy Metal music.
|
||
Chromer: Slang for metalheads, heavy metal fans.
|
||
Chummer: Pal or Buddy.
|
||
Cinema: A movie, usually in tri-d.
|
||
Clavie: Any person who lives in an enclave.
|
||
Combat Drugs: Designer drugs for military use.
|
||
Comm: The telephone.
|
||
Corp: Corporation, corporate.
|
||
CORPSE: CORPorate Security Expert, a corporate assassin.
|
||
Cowboy: A decker/netrunner.
|
||
Dadie: Knowledge or skill chip.
|
||
Dandelion Eater: An Elf, very insulting. See also Keeb.
|
||
Dataslave: a corporate decker or a data processing employee.
|
||
Datasteal: Theft of data from a computer, usually by decking.
|
||
DEBS: Transvestites, a type of posergang.
|
||
Deck: 1. A cyberdeck. 2. To use a cyberdeck illegally.
|
||
Decker: A pirate cyberdeck user. Derived from 20th century
|
||
"hacker."
|
||
Deckhead: A Simsense addict. Or anyone with a datajack/ chipjack.
|
||
Derms: see Dorphs.
|
||
Dinks: Any member of a rival boostergang.
|
||
Dorphs: Designer drugs that increase healing rate and limit
|
||
fatigue. (also, Derms)
|
||
Dr. Know: A contact who always seems to have useful info. Also a
|
||
seller of knowledge and skill chips.
|
||
Duck: A person who carries more weapons than could possibly be
|
||
needed.
|
||
Dumped: Involuntary ejection from the matrix.
|
||
Enclave: Corporate subsidized housing aka the projects.
|
||
Exec: Corporate executive.
|
||
Fate Meat: Someone bound for the body banks. "It is his fate to be
|
||
meat"
|
||
Fetishman: A talismonger, a dealer in magical items.
|
||
Flatlined: killed in the matrix by Black IC.
|
||
Flickerclading: A synthetic plastic material impregnated with
|
||
fiber optics and temperature gauges designed to respond to
|
||
skin temperature, a 21st century version of the mood ring,
|
||
but is worn as clothing.
|
||
Frag: a common swear word.
|
||
Fringe, The: Edges of society where nomads hang out, barrens.
|
||
Geek: To kill.
|
||
Glitter Clothes: Clothes made of flickercladding.
|
||
Glitter Folk: Rich people who only have time and money.
|
||
Go-go-go: A bike gang or gang member.
|
||
Gothics: A posergang whose motif is death and old b&w horror
|
||
movies.
|
||
Gutter Jumpers: Claim jumpers among the homeless, squatters.
|
||
Gyro: A small one or two man helicopter.
|
||
Hardwired: 1. Having Cyberware. 2. Unable to change, inflexible
|
||
options.
|
||
Heatwave: A police crackdown.
|
||
Hitmage: A magic-using assassin.
|
||
Hoi: Hi, Hello.
|
||
Hose: 1. Louse up, screw up. 2. to spray with an automatic weapon.
|
||
Hydro: 1. Hydrogen fuel. 2. anyone crazy enough to take it as a
|
||
drug.
|
||
ICE: Security software. Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics.
|
||
Input: A girlfriend.
|
||
Jacked-In: Actively using a cyberdeck.
|
||
Jam: 1. To fight or to run away "let's jam". 2. Jamming.
|
||
Jamming: 1. Sex. 2 Moshing heavily in a band. 3. Being involved in
|
||
a paramilitary operation involving a large amount of flying
|
||
bullets and shrapnel.
|
||
Jander: To walk in a casual or arrogant manner, to strut.
|
||
Keeb: An Elf, very insulting. See also Dandelion Eater. After a
|
||
discontinued advertising campaign (Keebler).
|
||
Knife Bullets: Armor piercing ammunition.
|
||
Know, The: Knowledge or information.
|
||
Kobun: A Yakuza clan member.
|
||
Meat Bop Parts: Vat grown replacement body parts.
|
||
Meat Puppet: A prostitute whose memory and/or senses are disabled
|
||
temporarily.
|
||
Mnemonic: Someone who uses a brain implant as an electronic vault.
|
||
Motorhead: A rigger or a mechanic.
|
||
Mr. Johnson: An anonymous corporate agent.
|
||
Mundane: A non-magician, or non-magical.
|
||
Muscle Boy/Girl: Someone with enhanced strength.
|
||
NetNerd: Someone who spends more time in the matrix than in the
|
||
real world.
|
||
Ninja: A freelance assassin.
|
||
Nutrisoy: Cheap processed food product derived from soybeans,
|
||
fortified with most essential vitamins.
|
||
Nuyen: World standard of currency. Used for Japanese foreign
|
||
markets.
|
||
Output: A boyfriend.
|
||
Oyabun: Head of a Yakuza clan.
|
||
Panzer: A combat hovercraft/ ground effect vehicle.
|
||
Paydata: A datafile worth money on the Black Market.
|
||
Plastic Gangster: A person with a great deal of cyberware.
|
||
Plex: A metroplex, a large city.
|
||
Poli: A policlub or a policlub member.
|
||
Polymer-one-shot: A cheap hold-out pistol.
|
||
Poser Gang: Any gang whose members all adopt a specific look or
|
||
style.
|
||
Razor Boy/Girl: A person who uses various bladed implant weapons.
|
||
Ripperdoc: A surgeon specializing in implanting illegal cyberware.
|
||
Rocker Boy/Girl: A freelance musician.
|
||
Samurai: A mercenary or muscle for hire. Implies an honor code.
|
||
Sarariman: A corporate employee.
|
||
Screamer: A credstick or passkey that triggers alarms when used.
|
||
Seoul Man: A member of a Seoulpa Ring.
|
||
Seoulpa Ring: A small criminal gang.
|
||
Shadows: The quasi-criminal world of freelance shadowrunners.
|
||
Shalkujin: An "honest" citizen.
|
||
Sinless: 1. Part of the underclass not having a SIN (c.f. System
|
||
Identification Number). 2. In the Shadows.
|
||
Slot: 1. a mild curse. 2. To use a skillsoft.
|
||
Slot and Run: 1. Hurry Up, Get to the point. 2. Move and Run.
|
||
So Ka: I understand.
|
||
Soykaf: Coffee substitute made from soybeans.
|
||
Squat: see Stuntie.
|
||
Stud/Studding: Rigging or remote control of a vehicle.
|
||
State of the Art: 1. Hipper than Hip. 2. To be on the edge.
|
||
Stuntie: A Dwarf, highly insulting. also Squat.
|
||
Sprawl: 1. A metroplex (c.f. plex). 2. To fraternize below one's
|
||
social level.
|
||
System Identification Number (SIN): ID number assigned to every
|
||
member of society. (but c.f. sinless)
|
||
Tag: Name, handle or trademark. To grab or take something.
|
||
Tagged: Equipped with a tracking device. Recognized.
|
||
Trid: Three-dimensional successor to video.
|
||
Trog: An Orc or a Troll, very insulting.
|
||
Very: Hip term for cool fun or "in."
|
||
VatJob: Someone who has extensive cyber/vat grown replacement
|
||
parts.
|
||
Wagemage: A magician who works for a corp.
|
||
Wavy: Cool or smooth.
|
||
Wetware: 1. Biological enhancement. 2. Any original body organ.
|
||
Wetwork: Assassination, murder.
|
||
Wigly: Weird or different. Usually referring to a good drug trip.
|
||
Wire Boy/Girl: A decker.
|
||
Wired: Equipped with cyberware, especially wired reflexes.
|
||
Wiz: 1. Wizard. 2. anything impressive. "Truly wiz, man."
|
||
Wizard: 1. A powerful mage.
|
||
Wizworm: Slang for a Dragon.
|
||
Word, The: Any type of slang or gossip.
|
||
Yak: Yakuza. Either a clan member or a clan itself.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Hey, all you closet linguists out there. I've recently run
|
||
across an article on the evolution of words such as 'drek' and
|
||
'frag.' I'll see if I can dig them up for the next issue.]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (11:56:47/05-23-52)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
SHADOW U.
|
||
|
||
NEW SKILLS, CONCENTRATIONS, AND SPECIALIZATIONS
|
||
|
||
SOCIAL SKILLS (correction from previous issue)
|
||
|
||
LEADERSHIP
|
||
Gang
|
||
|
||
INTERROGATION
|
||
Verbal (interviewing)
|
||
Machine-aided (lie detectors, etc.)
|
||
Coercive (torture) (sick, I know, but just the thing for your
|
||
next cyberpsycho npc who is determined to get that tidbit of
|
||
info that your players didn't know they had.)
|
||
|
||
NEGOTIATION
|
||
Bargain (haggling, barter)
|
||
Con (duping someone persuading someone to do something they
|
||
normally wouldn't do)
|
||
|
||
ETIQUETTE
|
||
Media (Journalists, Rockers, Musicians, Actors, etc.)
|
||
Organized Crime (Yakuza, Mafia, Seoulpa rings, Tongs, inter-group
|
||
relations)
|
||
Religions/Cults (by religion or cult, inter-group relations)
|
||
Tech (Technicians, Armorers, Mechanics, etc.)
|
||
Military
|
||
Government
|
||
Military and Government specializations include:
|
||
specific branches or departments
|
||
inter-branch or department relations
|
||
local- or state-level groups
|
||
|
||
>>>[You readers of this (the ascii version) don't have to worry;
|
||
there was no actual error there. It was only in the rich text
|
||
version.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry (10:59:37/05-24-92)
|
||
|
||
|
||
* * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * * *
|
||
* the Blue Chip *
|
||
* new & used chips 'n things *
|
||
* Buy, Sell, or Trade *
|
||
* TriVids, Wordies, Simsense, Hardcopy *
|
||
* 1048 University Ave, Hillcrest *
|
||
* next to Soho's on University *
|
||
* San Diego FTZ *
|
||
* Noon-Midnight *
|
||
* LTG# 619-212-5565 *
|
||
* * * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * *
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE ICE BOX
|
||
|
||
>>>>>[I originally posted a rather extended version of this to the
|
||
CyberRPG mailing list. This was before I got a hold of VR and
|
||
realized that a lot of what I had posted was covered in VR. So I
|
||
changed this a fair bit...]<<<<<<
|
||
- Barron <08:14:30/05-11-92>
|
||
|
||
>>>[Here are two new bits of ice to look out for. They keep on
|
||
trying to stop us from grabbing their data. Heh.]<<<
|
||
-- Micromara [09:14:27/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
|
||
PURGE IC
|
||
This White IC is similar to Scramble, but it will instead erase
|
||
the entire file. This IC was introduced because in the past,
|
||
deckers have been able to download and analyze the Scramble code
|
||
and reverse the process.
|
||
|
||
Purge IC takes two actions to erase a file, and if it's stopped
|
||
during the first action (Slowed, destroyed, etc) the file could
|
||
conceivably be recovered, with the help of certain YexpensiveY
|
||
utilities or maybe a real good NPC decker.
|
||
|
||
Load Rating: 1/2 Rating (round down)
|
||
|
||
|
||
DEMOLISHER IC
|
||
This is another White IC based on Scramble. It is placed in a
|
||
datastore and covers all the files in the node. When any of the
|
||
files is read by unauthorized individuals, it scrambles the entire
|
||
contents of the node. If any files are down loaded with the IC
|
||
still in place, it works similarly to Scramble, except that if the
|
||
IC is set off while within the deck, the IC, well, let's just say
|
||
it thinks of the deck as one big node, and all those files within
|
||
that node... It starts with the largest file and works its way
|
||
down. To destroy a file, roll the IC's Rating with a target number
|
||
equal to the MPCP Rating of the deck. A success indicates that the
|
||
file or program was scrambled. This is done with each file,
|
||
stopping only when the program fails a test. It goes without
|
||
saying that utilities hit cannot be run. It's possible to use a
|
||
Rebuild utility on stuff hit by Demolisher (unless, of course,
|
||
your Rebuild was scrambled...) Demolisher has a construct similar
|
||
to Scramble (a light coating of something) except that it covers
|
||
the entire node.
|
||
|
||
Load Rating: Rating x 1.5
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>>[Here are some nice little utilities to help you out. I got
|
||
mine from a friend in Seattle. Check the bulletin boards for
|
||
purveyors if you're interested, but look out for narcs.]<<<
|
||
-- Micromara [09:17:02/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
M-2097 MINE DETECTOR
|
||
Scooped from an obscure military database by an anonymous decker,
|
||
this one will be a sure friend to the discriminating (and
|
||
cautious) This is a heavily modified Browse used to detect files
|
||
or programs that the you really doesn't want to look at. Examples
|
||
of these would be ones which cause systems alerts, activate IC,
|
||
attempt traces, infect your deck with a virus, and so on. The
|
||
target number is up to the GM, and depends on the sophistication
|
||
of the trap (take a modern virus, for instance. It can range from
|
||
the really obvious, to self-encrypting and mutating.)
|
||
|
||
Most versions of this program appear as a crew of military
|
||
engineers who scrutinize every file with what you'll recognize as
|
||
mine detection methods. Low rating programs involve some guy
|
||
crawling around poking a knife into the node in a pattern around
|
||
him, while more advanced versions consist of a couple guys with a
|
||
shovel and metal detection rig. (We've also seen a hacked Rating 1
|
||
version where some Merc, fingers in ears and eyes shut, stomps
|
||
ahead with one foot. A detection is real cute...)
|
||
|
||
Options: One-Shot, Link Rating: 1 through 10 (we got the whole
|
||
series...)
|
||
Size: Rating^2 Price: same as Sleaze
|
||
Designer: UCAS Military
|
||
|
||
|
||
REBUILD
|
||
Something hacked together by the Ice Bunny after having One Of
|
||
Those Days. This program can be used to rebuild a scrambled file.
|
||
The program is large, slow, and unpredictable. Fortunately, the
|
||
good decker shouldn't need it much, and the bad decker, well, he
|
||
isn't reading this. That's why most of you'll want the One-Shot
|
||
version (aside from the size of the thing, that is) We understand
|
||
that the Bunny is working on something to take care of Purged
|
||
files, based on this thing.
|
||
|
||
When the program is running, roll the Rating of the utility, with
|
||
a target number equal to twice the rating of the Scramble IC that
|
||
hit the file. At least one success is necessary to even pull out
|
||
usable data. Increased successes increase the amount of usable
|
||
stuff that can be extracted (normally starts at about 50-75%). As
|
||
well, the program requires a number of rounds equal to the Rating
|
||
of the Scramble. The success test is made on the last round.
|
||
|
||
This program manifests as a bunch of cyber-gnomes who surround the
|
||
file in question, tear it into tiny bits, and start sorting it
|
||
into bits before rebuilding it. The whole process is reminiscent
|
||
of a couple hyperactive kids putting together a puzzle.
|
||
|
||
Options: One-Shot Rating: 1 through 10
|
||
Size: Rating^2 x 4 Mp Price: Same as Evasion
|
||
Designer: Ice Bunny
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE BLACK MARKET
|
||
|
||
PORTABLE VEHICLE CONTROL RIG (PVCR)
|
||
(thanks to Rat Rasta, JDELAHUNT@CCNODE.COLORADO.EDU)
|
||
|
||
An experimental item from Mitsuhama, the PVCR uses existing
|
||
autopilot connections and wiring within the vehicle to allow a
|
||
rigger better control of the vehicle. At this point, the PVCR is
|
||
unsubtle in it's methods, using it's rating in dice to attack,
|
||
with the vehicle resisting with it's autopilot rating. Each turn
|
||
on "conflict" takes three seconds, and when the PVCR wins (which
|
||
it will), the rating of the effective VCR is the rating of the
|
||
vehicle's autopilot or the PVCR, whichever is lower.
|
||
|
||
The Mitsuhama PVCR allows a rigger to move from vehicle to vehicle
|
||
without rebuilding each vehicle.
|
||
|
||
Once the PVCR is removed, however, the vehicle has no effective
|
||
autopilot, and every subsequent driver suffers a +2 to driving
|
||
target numbers.
|
||
|
||
Mitsuhama Portable Vehicle Control Rig
|
||
Rating Cost
|
||
1 20,000Y
|
||
2 35,000Y
|
||
3 55,000Y
|
||
4 120,000Y
|
||
5 190,000Y
|
||
6 260,000Y
|
||
7 660,000Y
|
||
8 790,000Y
|
||
9 999,999Y
|
||
|
||
>>>[Now, I have to admit to not knowing much about this kind of
|
||
stuff. I never even talk to the bus driver. But isn't something
|
||
like this for stealing cars?]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (10:56:05/05-09-52)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
CYBERLIMBS
|
||
Wordman <ward1@husc.harvard.edu>
|
||
|
||
|
||
The following rules make cyberlimbs a bit more useful than per
|
||
vanilla Shadowrun, offering some more useful extras. Effort has
|
||
been made to make sense of the essence costs of various extras.
|
||
(It makes no sense, for example, that the cyberarm guns in the
|
||
Street Samurai Catalog cost more essence the bigger the gun gets.)
|
||
I will try to justify essence costs at all times, allowing you to
|
||
decide if it makes sense for the reasons I give. (I'm always
|
||
available for discussion).
|
||
|
||
As some of the things I'm proposing will cost no essence, the cost
|
||
is usually elevated -- sometimes irrationally so -- for game
|
||
balance purposes.
|
||
|
||
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
|
||
Quite a bit of what follows is from the Cyberpunk RPG and it's
|
||
Chrome supplement. This is mostly a rules conversion to Shadowrun.
|
||
|
||
As per normal Shadowrun rules, limbs come in two types: natural-
|
||
looking and obvious cyberlimbs. Normal-looking limbs offer no
|
||
special extras and the following rules do not apply to normal-
|
||
looking limbs unless otherwise indicated. Every pair of limbs
|
||
(Cyberhands not included, see below) acts as a level of dermal
|
||
armor.
|
||
|
||
I'm using the concept of Spaces. Each limb gets a number of Spaces
|
||
for added extras. These Spaces should be considered a measure of
|
||
volume. As this is the first (untested) draft of these rules, some
|
||
of the Sizes of extras (i.e. the number of Spaces occupied by
|
||
them) will probably need some adjusting.
|
||
|
||
Also, some Spaces are different than others. A Finger Space is
|
||
different from a other Spaces. This should become clear later.
|
||
Note that not all Spaces need be filled.
|
||
|
||
CYBERARMS
|
||
Cost a full essence point for either type (a table of essence and
|
||
monetary costs can be found at the end of this missive). The arm
|
||
portion (that is, the shoulder to the wrist) of the limb holds 4
|
||
Spaces. The hand part of the limb holds either 1 Hand Space or 4
|
||
Finger Spaces.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Missive? Who do you think you are, Gary Gygax?]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry Stratton (12:41:27/05-23-92)
|
||
|
||
CYBERLEGS
|
||
Cost a full essence point for either type. The limb as a whole
|
||
holds 4 Spaces.
|
||
|
||
CYBERHANDS
|
||
For those who just want to replace the hand and not the whole arm.
|
||
These cost 0.5 Essence for either type. [Note that all costs and
|
||
benefits of the cyberarm described above already include the
|
||
hand]. A hand can hold 1 Hand Space or 4 Finger Spaces. Increased
|
||
strength cannot be installed in a hand, but an obvious cyberhand
|
||
can easily crush bone. It also has the damage code of a club
|
||
(Str+1)M2 for punching damage. These last two abilities are shared
|
||
by a cyberarm as well.
|
||
|
||
SPACES (normal non-hand/non-finger spaces)
|
||
Built-In device: Space cost up to gamemaster. Devices might
|
||
include a pocket secretary, TV, radio, bug detector, medkit, stim
|
||
player, fire-extinguisher, etc.
|
||
|
||
Built-In Smartgun Link: Takes 0.5 Spaces and costs 0.25. This
|
||
essence cost (half the cost of a normal smartgun link) reflects
|
||
the hardware that must be installed in the head/eyes.
|
||
|
||
Cavity: A space to put stuff into. Accessible without tools
|
||
(optional). Space cost is variable, depending on how big the space
|
||
is. Again, what fits into the cavity is up to the gamemaster.
|
||
|
||
Cyberdeck: Fills number of Spaces equal to MPCP/3 (round all
|
||
fractions UP). This Space cost does not include storage (but does
|
||
include memory). Storage must be installed separately -- see Data
|
||
Store, below -- or externally. The deck can be internally
|
||
hardwired to a datajack for 0.1 essence. (Note that a datajack is
|
||
still needed.) Includes output and input ports through the arm, so
|
||
internal wiring is optional. These decks are at 5 times the Nuyen
|
||
cost.
|
||
|
||
Cyberguns: Arms only. As per the Street Samurai Catalog except for
|
||
essence cost. All guns cost 0.15 essence for firing controls in
|
||
the skull (optional). Smart cyberguns exist but are five time
|
||
normal cost. Guns take up the Spaces based on gun. See the table.
|
||
|
||
Data Store: Takes up Mp/1000 Spaces (keep fractions). Not
|
||
compatible with headware memory accessible only by external cable.
|
||
Can be hardwired internally to an internal cyberdeck.
|
||
|
||
Increased Strength: The same as the normal Shadowrun rules. Each
|
||
level takes up 0.25 Spaces.
|
||
|
||
Spur: Arms only. Takes 1 Space. No essence cost.
|
||
|
||
Whip: Monofilament or otherwise. A retractable whip. 1.5 Spaces.
|
||
0.15 essence for controls in the head (optional).
|
||
|
||
Wired Reflexes: If the organic body had (or has) a Vehicle Control
|
||
Rig or wired or boosted reflexes implanted, they reflexes must be
|
||
installed on the cyberlimb to get normal use. This hardware takes
|
||
0.5 Spaces regardless of the type or level of reflex enhancement,
|
||
but the Nuyen cost is included in the cost of the reflexes.
|
||
|
||
HAND SPACES (all cost 1 Hand Space)
|
||
|
||
Finger razors: Standard razors, retractable or otherwise. No
|
||
essence cost.
|
||
|
||
Flash Pack: Flashes out of palm or from back of hand. Standard
|
||
flash pack, but directional.
|
||
|
||
Maglock Passkey: Highly illegal. Magcard flips from back of hand.
|
||
Can be detected externally, with some difficulty (Concealability:
|
||
16).
|
||
|
||
Microtronics Kit: A full microtronics tool kit contained within
|
||
all the fingers of the hand.
|
||
|
||
Taser: Works as a shock glove, but punching damage is unchanged.
|
||
|
||
FINGER SPACES (all cost 1 Finger Space unless otherwise noted)
|
||
Credstick: Full credstick, any type. Obviously not a finger. Non-
|
||
jointed.
|
||
|
||
Cutters: Takes two Finger Spaces (one blade on each of two
|
||
fingers). Work as heavy-duty scissors/wirecutters. Stabbing damage
|
||
in melee is (Str/3)L2.
|
||
|
||
Dartgun: Fires single compressed air dart. Range as Hold-out. Can
|
||
fire as Narcojet or taser darts. Reloading is complex and takes 1
|
||
min.
|
||
|
||
Finger Compartment: As in the Shadowrun rules, but no essence
|
||
cost.
|
||
|
||
Injector: Chemical injector which pierces the skin and deliver a
|
||
toxin. 2 doses. A touch is required for effect, resisted by impact
|
||
armor. Any fluid can be injected: Narcojet, Fugu-5, curare, acid,
|
||
etc.
|
||
|
||
Light: Flashlight. Narrow beam to 30m.
|
||
|
||
Lockpick: Effective against mechanical locks only.
|
||
|
||
Sprayer: Chemical sprayer. 2 doses. 2 meter effective range. Any
|
||
gaseous chemical is usable: Mace, Neuro-Stun VIII, VITAS-3, etc.
|
||
|
||
CYBERLIMB COST TABLE
|
||
ITEM ESSENCE COST SPACES COST NUYEN COST
|
||
Limb Replacement 1.0 50,000Y
|
||
Cyber Limb 1.0 100,000Y
|
||
Hand Replacement 0.5 40,000Y
|
||
Cyber Hand 0.5 75,000Y
|
||
Increased Strength - L*.25 +(L*150,000Y)
|
||
Built-in Smartgun Link 0.25 0.5 2,500Y
|
||
Built-in Device - variable 4*cost
|
||
Cavity - variable 100Y
|
||
Cyberdeck (0.1) MPCP/3 5*cost
|
||
Cyberguns (damage/ammo) (0.15)
|
||
Hold-Out (3L1/12) 0.5 250Y
|
||
Light Pistol (3M2/10) 1.0 650Y
|
||
Machine Pistol (3M2/10) 1.5 900Y
|
||
Heavy Pistol (4M2/6) 2.0 800Y
|
||
Submachine gun (4M3/8) 2.5 1,800Y
|
||
Shotgun (3M3/4) 3.0 1,200Y
|
||
Data Store - Mp/1000 Mp*100Y
|
||
Spur - 1.0 11,500Y
|
||
Whip (0.15) 1.5 by weapon
|
||
Normal whip 5,000Y
|
||
Monofilament whip 15,000Y
|
||
Wired Reflexes - 0.5 0Y
|
||
Finger razors - 1H 9,000Y
|
||
Flash Pack - 1H 1,500Y
|
||
Maglock Passkey - 1H 100,000Y+
|
||
Microtronics Kit - 1H 9,000Y
|
||
Taser - 1H 4,500Y
|
||
Credstick - 1F 5,000Y
|
||
Cutters - 2F 2,000Y
|
||
Dartgun - 1F 10,000Y
|
||
Narcojet dart 1,000Y
|
||
Normal dart (2L2) 100Y
|
||
Taser dart 500Y
|
||
Finger Compartment - 1F 3,000Y
|
||
Injector - 1F 30,000Y
|
||
Light - 1F 1,000Y
|
||
Lockpick - 1F (rating*1,000Y)
|
||
Sprayer - 1F 25,000Y
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
SILENT DEATH
|
||
How not to wake up the corp guard three doors down...
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
BULLET NOISE
|
||
A supersonic bullet sounds like a cracking whip. One which cracks
|
||
from leaving the muzzle until it goes subsonic, which might not be
|
||
until it is inside the target. Subsonic bullets make a sound like
|
||
a whip that is NOT cracking. You can hear them both. The sound is
|
||
NOT deafening. We are talking about shooting without anybody
|
||
knowing.
|
||
|
||
MUZZLE NOISE
|
||
Gasses expanding at Supersonic velocity sound roughly like a
|
||
gunshot. Funny thing, that. Most of the sound is from the muzzle
|
||
gasses expanding. The point of using subsonic ammunition (or
|
||
faking it with a drilled barrel) is that if you want to be silent,
|
||
do it right. Not too much benefit in quieting the muzzle noise in
|
||
the quiet of the night just to follow it with the cracking of 30
|
||
whips from 30 shots... Either somebody really kinky is having lots
|
||
of fun, or a firefight is going on.
|
||
|
||
BULLET TUMBLE
|
||
Stand a top up and let go. It falls over. Take a top. Stand it up
|
||
and spin it and let go. It stays up for a while. Then it falls
|
||
over. Spin a top real fast and it stays up longer. Slap a spinning
|
||
top and it bounces around more than a slapped non-spinning top. A
|
||
slapped fast-spinning top dances more wildly than a slow spinning
|
||
top. Take a spinning bullet and fire it through air and its
|
||
accuracy improves over a non-spinning bullet. This is akin to a
|
||
spinning top standing up longer than a non-spinning top. Take a
|
||
spinning bullet and fire it through a target of varying densities
|
||
and toughness (like a human body) and like a slapped top it will
|
||
bounce around.
|
||
|
||
Try the trick with the top. Spin the bullet real fast and fire it
|
||
through a target of varying densities and toughness and it will
|
||
bounce around wildly and tumble and dance. This is why rapidly
|
||
spinning bullets tumble more wildly than slow spinning bullets. It
|
||
is the energy expressed in rotation around one axis being changed
|
||
into energy expressed in spinning around more than one axis... if
|
||
a bullet spins around more than one axis it is tumbling. Lighter
|
||
bullets will tumble more easily than heavy spinning bullets
|
||
because... angular momentum... the top "resists" having it's axes
|
||
of rotation changed. This is "gyroscopic force".
|
||
|
||
Take a heavy top and spin it slowly. Take a light top and spin it
|
||
much faster so it has the same rotation energy. Slap them both the
|
||
same. The lighter, faster rotating top bounces and dances more, in
|
||
response to the same slap, than the heavy top. This is why the 7
|
||
mm magnum is the spear and the 5.56 (M-16) tumbles like the blade
|
||
of a rototiller, as I said in the previous post. In these
|
||
examples, the slap to the bullet is hitting skin and organ and
|
||
fibrous connective tissue and muscle and bone in the target body.
|
||
|
||
Somebody posted that some Doctor had proved that all bullets
|
||
tumble the same amount, leaving the average mind to conclude that
|
||
this is without regard to the bullet velocity, rate of spin,
|
||
bullet weight or shape, or the target type.
|
||
|
||
Either the quote was careless or the Doctor got his degree from a
|
||
Crackerjacks box. I prefer to presume the latter. A cannon shell
|
||
won't tumble from hitting me. An M-16 bullet will tumble more
|
||
times going crotch-to-shoulder (which may occasion it exiting my
|
||
body through the left knee) than going through my arm. Some slugs
|
||
on some trajectories will make the one tumble the Doctor said they
|
||
would, but for every slug, for every hit, to make one tumble,
|
||
requires more smarts than a bullet has. (Unless it is a Cyberslug,
|
||
which sounds like something that, when stepped on, will slime you
|
||
right quick.)
|
||
|
||
SILENCERS AND BULLET SPEED
|
||
We have concluded that the "washer" type silencer does not slow
|
||
the bullet down. Hooray for consensus.
|
||
|
||
We have had it explained that the drilled barrel type DOES slow it
|
||
down. Truth is, all barrels exert friction on the passing bullet,
|
||
whether drilled or not, because the bullet is squeezed in the
|
||
barrel... if it were not so the gas would escape past the bullet
|
||
which would damage the gun badly and ruin accuracy besides.
|
||
|
||
While the number and size and placement of holes can be done so
|
||
that the highest velocity is not at the muzzle, the only object of
|
||
drilling the barrel is to prevent supersonic muzzle gas... the
|
||
bullet is supposed to be accelerating positive (getting faster)
|
||
all the way to the end of the barrel. Drilling so many, or so big,
|
||
or placed so that the bullet is slowed down by friction while
|
||
inside the barrel sounds like some designer didn't do his math
|
||
right, or was being really cautious about preventing supersonic
|
||
gas at the muzzle. Combining the drilled barrel and the washer-
|
||
type (which can sustain continuous fire if built right) sounds
|
||
like a much more deadly combo.
|
||
|
||
WASHER SILENCERS
|
||
This is a can full of washers & springs.
|
||
|
||
The end of the barrel is threaded on the inside. The silencer
|
||
screws into the end of the barrel. The washers are spaced apart
|
||
with springs. The springs and washers may be coated to reduce
|
||
rattling noise from the gas slamming them around. The outer casing
|
||
of the silencer is perforated. It may also be multiple layers. The
|
||
washers may also be perforated. The machining does not need to be
|
||
super-critical... the 9 mm bullet passes through a 10 mm hole in
|
||
the center of a 20 mm washer. Most gas immediately hits the washer
|
||
and diffuses through the perforations on the side of the can. What
|
||
gas passes with the bullet through the 10 mm hole repeats this at
|
||
the next washer. It all gas goes subsonic before exiting the can
|
||
(either at the perforations on the side or at the muzzle
|
||
perforation) the muzzle noise has been suppressed. Gas quantity
|
||
and pressure at the muzzle are the determining factors of how many
|
||
washers of what size are required and what precision is required
|
||
in the machining to achieve noise suppression. Note my choice of 9
|
||
mm, 10 mm, and 20 mm are arbitrary ones. Exact models will vary
|
||
and you can (illegally in US) make your own.
|
||
|
||
>>>[The author asked me to append the following notes as well:]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (01:02:17/5-8-52)
|
||
|
||
Attribution not required, either... which is partly because I'm
|
||
humble, partly because these books are read by the FBI and other
|
||
unpleasant people, and partly (please note this to the readers)
|
||
because the only silenced weapon I've handled is one silenced by
|
||
the removal of the firing pin. The rest of the information is
|
||
second hand, and some of it may be reliable.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Boy, it sure sounds like you've handled more...]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (01:02:37/5-8-52)
|
||
|
||
Remember the allegation recently on the net... that the
|
||
Anarchists' Handbook had deliberate disinformation that could
|
||
truly hurt the trusting reader. I don't know a specific point to
|
||
tell.
|
||
|
||
>>>[It's a problem. We can't always verify the information we get.
|
||
Here's a warning to everybody reading this: don't trust it unless
|
||
you can verify it. Anyone can take an electronic copy of this and
|
||
insert different information. Neo-Anarchists do not believe in
|
||
Public Key Cryptography. Openness is the key to the future.]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (01-01-56/05-08-52)
|
||
|
||
You might also point out that the best political affiliation that
|
||
the budding or hardcore anarchist might acquire is a membership in
|
||
the NRA. Being an anarchist without an effective right to keep and
|
||
bear arms reduces the status of the anarchist to that of a school
|
||
grader who won't play the regulated games... impotent.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
DEAD ZONES REDUX
|
||
Jerry Stratton, jerry@teetot.acusd.edu
|
||
|
||
|
||
There've been a few questions about the game mechanics behind dead
|
||
zones. In our game, we use dead zones as flavor. Our game master
|
||
decided to use dead zones after seeing them in a series I wrote
|
||
for the ADND-L game list (Men Not Afraid). So, the mechanics
|
||
presented here are not necessarily used by us. But they could be.
|
||
This is the way dead zones act in my fiction, modified for a
|
||
Shadowrun world. Change it as you see fit.
|
||
|
||
WHAT IS A DEAD ZONE?
|
||
A dead zone is a place where technology doesn't work. See the
|
||
earlier article in the First Annual Neo-Anarchists' Guide to
|
||
Everything Else. What technologies don't work? Powder and most
|
||
other explosives don't explode. Electricity doesn't flow. Nuclear
|
||
radiation doesn't radiate. Drugs don't react with the brain in the
|
||
same way as outside of a zone. On the surface, things look the
|
||
same. Fire still burns. Light still illuminates. Water still
|
||
boils. Gasoline burns (although spark plugs don't spark, and who
|
||
uses internal combustion anymore, anyway?)
|
||
|
||
Gears, springs, pulleys, and ropes work, but there's evidence that
|
||
even these will have different effects. One group noted that ropes
|
||
seemed much stronger inside a zone, as if the r2 law were no
|
||
longer in effect. It seems possible that mass due to acceleration
|
||
increases linearly with distance from the center, rather than with
|
||
the square of the distance.
|
||
|
||
>>>[That bit of confusion is from physics. When you swing a rope
|
||
around, anything tied on it's end is going to feel heavier. How
|
||
much heavier is proportional to the square of the length of the
|
||
rope. The same thing occurs when you climb a rope, since the rope
|
||
always swings to the side, if only a bit.]<<<
|
||
-- Physics Phred (12:35:32/05-08-52)
|
||
|
||
Basically, everything that makes technology what it is, doesn't
|
||
work.
|
||
|
||
>>>[There are some strange things that work differently. There's
|
||
an old parlor trick from way back, where you take a toothpick, a
|
||
fork, and a spoon. Attach the spoon to the fork by inserting the
|
||
bowl of the spoon between the tines of the fork. Insert the
|
||
toothpick partially between the tines of the fork. Now, rest the
|
||
other end of the toothpick on your finger. In a dead zone, that's
|
||
impossible. The spoon and fork pull the toothpick down every time.
|
||
Outside of a dead zone, you can balance it. Many Elven scholars
|
||
use this to point to the basic flaw in science. How can something
|
||
be balanced if all the weight is on one end?]<<<
|
||
-- Dr. Jerold Stratton [07:48:49/03-28-92]
|
||
|
||
>>>[Drugs do work differently in the zones. It used to be thought
|
||
that the use of drugs in pre-awakening shamanistic rituals was an
|
||
attempt to simulate assensing. But I can guarantee you that peyote
|
||
is a completely different thing inside a zone than it is outside.
|
||
Outside, it's a trip. Inside, it's a journey.]<<<
|
||
-- Fire Mountain [07:51:52/03-28-92]
|
||
|
||
Both gravity and magnetism, or some analogy to them, do work.
|
||
People don't float away from the earth when they're in a dead
|
||
zone, and a few natural compasses continue to point north. Most
|
||
compasses don't work. It seems that they must be created in a
|
||
'natural' way for them to work. Lodestones always work. And while
|
||
electrical current doesn't exist in a zone, there is some analog
|
||
to electricity: lightning still strikes in thunderstorms.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Technically, I don't see much difference between relativistic
|
||
gravity and naturalistic gravity anyway. Both basically state that
|
||
things fall because 'top' and 'bottom' exist. And we've yet to
|
||
fully understand magnetism. However, magnetic north does not
|
||
fluctuate inside a zone, whereas it can outside a zone. This
|
||
indicates that lodestones are not pointing in the direction of the
|
||
earth's magnetic lines of force, since these meander all over the
|
||
place, but are pointing towards some naturalistic north.
|
||
|
||
And lightning? Well, according to the Greeks, lightning is a form
|
||
of the element of fire. Incidentally, a very good instrument (so
|
||
I've been told) for telling whether or not you're in a dead zone
|
||
is one of those sealed flasks with metal leaves inside, (Leyden
|
||
Jars, I believe) used in high schools. Take a rubber rod, give it
|
||
a charge, and touch it to the metal ball on top of the flask. In
|
||
the 'real' world, this causes the leaves to swing apart. In a
|
||
zone, this does nothing at all.]<<<
|
||
-- Dr. Jerold Stratton [22:27:40/03-29-92]
|
||
|
||
Dead zones range in size from a few meters to a few kilometers.
|
||
The largest known dead zone is 15 miles wide, in the area known as
|
||
the Bermuda Triangle. And it's been known to grow to twice it's
|
||
size on clear nights of the full moon. Dead zones grow and shrink
|
||
with the lunar cycle, but this depends on solar interference,
|
||
cloud cover, and planetary forces. People in our Shadowrun game
|
||
haven't figured it out yet, and it'll probably take a while. The
|
||
lunar influence has been noted, but it's not exact, so not
|
||
everyone believes it.
|
||
|
||
There are no known dead zones within a living city. In fact, most
|
||
(if not all) seem to occur in the areas that were the least
|
||
touched by man before the awakening. There are those who claim
|
||
that dead zones are a healing attempt by the Earth. These are the
|
||
same people who believe that dead zones will eventually grow and
|
||
engulf the entire world.
|
||
|
||
Dead zones are spherical, and centered on the surface of the
|
||
earth. In the ocean, they are centered on the underwater land
|
||
surface.
|
||
|
||
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF DEAD ZONES ON SOCIETY?
|
||
Early in the 21st Century, trains were already coming back as a
|
||
form of shipping. Because the rails were never redesigned, the
|
||
rails that were built (and restored) are still compatible with the
|
||
steam engine. And the steam engine works in a dead zone -- fire
|
||
burns, water boils, and pressure turns pistons. So, there are a
|
||
few steam engines in the midwest. In the relatively large dead
|
||
zone in the northern part of the Indian nations, normal trains
|
||
debark and their engines replaced by a number of steam engines,
|
||
which pull the load across the zone. On the other end, different
|
||
diesels take over, and the steam engines pull another train the
|
||
other way.
|
||
|
||
Except for the Bermuda Triangle dead zone, most dead zones are not
|
||
large enough to cause major problems with air transportation. Dead
|
||
zones are spherical. Even a six-mile wide dead zone only extends
|
||
three miles high, and that only at the exact center. Since most
|
||
dead zones occur in unpopulated areas and jets are usually quite
|
||
high, they don't intersect with the zone.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Incidentally, there's a small body of evidence that says the
|
||
Bermuda Triangle dead zone existed before the awakening.<<<]
|
||
-- Smilin' Sam [07:34:41/04-10-92]
|
||
|
||
Underwater travel has perhaps been most affected. Submarines send
|
||
out radar soundings. If the radar doesn't return, they'll skirt
|
||
that area.
|
||
|
||
>>>[In fact, this may be the origin of the term 'dead zone.' When
|
||
radar enters a dead zone, it doesn't come back, leaving a dead
|
||
area on the radar screen.]<<<
|
||
-- Silas Jack [08:08:17/03-28-92]
|
||
|
||
Stanley Steamers, a steam automobile from the early twentieth
|
||
century, are popular automobiles among those few who live near
|
||
zones. Surprisingly, these automobiles can reach speeds in excess
|
||
of 50 miles per hour.
|
||
|
||
WHO USES DEAD ZONES?
|
||
Nobody really uses a dead zone. Enchanting materials taken from a
|
||
dead zone are guaranteed to be unhindered by the deadening effects
|
||
of having been worked. But even the most solitary mages haven't
|
||
quite learned to live without portable radios, computerized
|
||
libraries, microwaves, and digital watches. I mean, a Rating 6
|
||
Conjuring Library weighs 300 pounds! Combine that with a Rating 6
|
||
Enchanting Library, a Rating 6 Sorcery Library, and whatever else
|
||
you might need (Geology Library? Biology Library?) Of course, if
|
||
you're hiding from a mundane, a dead zone is a great place to do
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
WHAT CYBERWARE DOESN'T WORK?
|
||
Any electronically-augmented or chip-augmented cyberware will
|
||
completely fail in a zone. This includes just about everything.
|
||
Some cyber-spur implementations -- those that use muscle-position
|
||
to spring a mechanical lock -- will still extend in a zone.
|
||
Boosted reflexes continue to work, although some correspondents
|
||
have reported strange, shamanic sensations, possible due to the
|
||
unnatural drugs that are boosted reflexes. Wired reflexes do not
|
||
work, usually leaving the user a quivering mass.
|
||
|
||
FIREARMS
|
||
Firearms do not work, although gunpowder still burns. On the
|
||
fringes of a zone, firearms may explode if used, causing damage
|
||
equal to the damage of the weapon, The wound level, power, and
|
||
staging are reduced by 1 (but not below light or 1). And yes, an
|
||
explosion in a firearm may set off the rest of the bullets. In
|
||
this case, treat it as autofire, equal to half the number of shots
|
||
exploding.
|
||
|
||
There have been some reports that, in the center of very large
|
||
zones, when they've waxed to their largest, gunpowder doesn't even
|
||
burn. This has yet to be confirmed.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
* * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
* Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap? *
|
||
* No job too small, no fee too large! *
|
||
* Need a reference? Need information? *
|
||
* Call Dirty Dan the Fixit Man. *
|
||
* What you want, baby I got! *
|
||
* if you're in too deep, let Dirty Dan fix it! *
|
||
* LTG# 7-1-DIRTY-DAN *
|
||
* Seattle Area Only. *
|
||
* Void where prohibited by law. Heh. *
|
||
* * * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
ROPER
|
||
Safehouses in Seattle
|
||
by LLWardIII
|
||
|
||
ANGLE
|
||
|
||
If you need a meeting room, safe-house, decking haven, or any
|
||
other short-term real estate, Roper is your man. Roper owns or has
|
||
access to apartments of every kind in every district in Seattle,
|
||
as well as a few warehouses and at least one house.
|
||
|
||
All are available (for a fee, of course) on a per day basis;
|
||
occasionally, one can negotiate an hourly fee instead. All rooms
|
||
are guaranteed to be free from bugs and other surveillance, but
|
||
under NO circumstances will Roper provide security.
|
||
|
||
Matrix access is available from almost every location, but a large
|
||
deposit is requested for activation. This deposit is forfeit if
|
||
the SAN number of the location is compromised.
|
||
|
||
|
||
STYLE
|
||
|
||
Roper is not cheap, but he is reliable. No one has ever reported a
|
||
double-cross.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Rumor has it the runner team called the Advocate once tested
|
||
his integrity by, after having some members rent a place, offering
|
||
ten times as much cash to reveal their whereabouts. He
|
||
refused.]<<<
|
||
-- Wordman (11:32:05/04-22-52)
|
||
|
||
The bug-free guarantee has never been found to be false.
|
||
|
||
A deposit is required for all rentals, in addition to the Matrix
|
||
deposit if there is one and the per day rental fee. Damage to the
|
||
location or is deducted from the deposit, and compromising the
|
||
location results in a forfeit of the deposit. Deposits are usually
|
||
about ten times the normal rental price of the real-estate for
|
||
each day. (Thus to rent a medium middle class apartment (600Y per
|
||
month normally) for 3 days, a deposit of 24,000Y is required
|
||
(10*600Y*4days).)
|
||
|
||
Roper, of course, maintains a blind eye on any illegal activity
|
||
carried out from or in the rented space. However, sloppy crimes
|
||
usually result in higher fees next time, or perhaps no next time
|
||
at all.
|
||
|
||
Roper is very quick to keep part of the deposit for very minor
|
||
damage or problems. Additionally, Roper doesn't usually own a
|
||
single location for more than six months. He has pseudonyms on
|
||
about every apartment waiting list in Seattle.
|
||
|
||
|
||
CLIENTELE
|
||
|
||
Not being one to discriminate, Roper serves just about anyone who
|
||
can pay, although he has been known to refuse service to groups
|
||
based on bad rep. He also has refused service to a group composed
|
||
entirely of Orks at least twice.
|
||
|
||
About 80% of Roper's leases are to corporates. Organized crime
|
||
usually has its own locations, but has used Roper occasionally.
|
||
|
||
|
||
EMPLOYEES/RESOURCES
|
||
|
||
Roper employs a stable of deckers to keep his locations invisible.
|
||
If a party requests Matrix access, Roper usually sends one of his
|
||
own deckers (either up front or covertly) to maintain the security
|
||
of the SAN. Upcoming deckers vie for a job with Roper, as it is a
|
||
fairly easy job most of the time, allows time to train, and gives
|
||
access to great equipment, including a microtronics shop and three
|
||
Fairlight Excaliburs.
|
||
|
||
|
||
AREA OF OPERATION
|
||
|
||
As stated earlier, Roper owns locations all over Seattle, but he
|
||
usually does business downtown. He is known to frequent the Gray
|
||
Line and the Edge.
|
||
|
||
|
||
DESCRIPTION
|
||
|
||
Roper is short for a human and is not very imposing. He usually
|
||
allows his clients to dictate the pace of a meeting, but he
|
||
decides on the location. He will not hesitate to retain any or all
|
||
of a deposit if he feels he has been slighted. He realizes that
|
||
his real-estate is in high demand, and is unwilling to jeopardize
|
||
his cartel by betraying clients. He sees to it that no one
|
||
compromises him, but he never interferes with or intrudes on a
|
||
client.
|
||
|
||
Roper is a semi-successful oil painter under the name Samantha
|
||
Tarrow. He is also a Neo-Anarchist.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
GREY'S
|
||
Anatomy of a Seattle Bar
|
||
by LLWardIII
|
||
|
||
ANGLE
|
||
|
||
Contrary to popular belief, the name of this bar does not refer to
|
||
it's owner, or any other person named Grey. In fact, there is no
|
||
Grey working at or associated with the bar. Instead the name is
|
||
supposed to convey the message "colors mean nothing here."
|
||
|
||
Grey's was started by three gang-members-turned-Shadowrunners as a
|
||
neutral ground for the gangs of Redmond. The driving idealism of
|
||
the bar is that the interaction of gang members will help cut down
|
||
on violent acts between gangs.
|
||
|
||
Although there were some problems initially, Grey's has become
|
||
accepted by most of the gangs in Redmond. The three founders have
|
||
shown to be more than a match for earlier opposition, and gangs
|
||
that don't frequent Grey's leave it alone.
|
||
|
||
|
||
STYLE
|
||
|
||
The first thing noticed about Grey's is that there are no places
|
||
to park. Vehicles that have been left in front of Grey's (against
|
||
the advice of signs saying no parking) are moved or destroyed by
|
||
Grey's employees. By now most patrons know to avoid parking near
|
||
Grey's.
|
||
|
||
Grey's takes a somewhat novel approach to weaponry: if you are
|
||
found clean by a weapon scanner, you get 30% off your bill. This
|
||
system works for two reasons 1) gangs like to save money, and 2)
|
||
in past instances, as soon as someone drew a weapon (gun, knife,
|
||
broken bottle, anything) within the confines of the bar, he was
|
||
immediately killed by Grey's employees. There are signs to this
|
||
affect posted in the entry way (for legal reasons). By now most
|
||
patrons know to avoid bringing weapons into Grey's.
|
||
|
||
Grey's employees come down hard on brawlers as well (but generally
|
||
let them live). If possible, this is done from a distance with
|
||
stun magic from Erik (see below). By nowÉ (you get the idea).
|
||
|
||
In spite of that, Grey's can still get pretty wild. Grey's
|
||
employees have no objections to patrons dancing naked on tables or
|
||
more carnal activity on the dance floor (although in such cases,
|
||
Erik usually astrally confirms that the involved parties are doing
|
||
so voluntarily.) Grey's turns a blind eye to drug use [which will
|
||
NOT go away by 2050] but asks patrons actively using chips in the
|
||
bar to stop or to leave (BTL fantasies usually don't involve
|
||
purchasing Grey's alcohol.) Grey's is NOT known for checking age
|
||
very carefully.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Actually, my son says Grey's is known for not checking age
|
||
very carefully. A minor semantic distinction, but he says it's an
|
||
important one.]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (13:24:36/05-23-52)
|
||
|
||
The public portion of Grey's is divided into two sections. First
|
||
reached from the entrance is the main bar room. It contains many
|
||
tables, more private booths and the bar itself. A wall insulates
|
||
the room from most of the volume generated by the second half of
|
||
the room, the dance floor. An archway leads into the dance floor
|
||
room. It contains a standard recessed dance floor -- surrounded by
|
||
elevated booths and tables -- and a stage.
|
||
|
||
The booths overlooking the dance floor are open to all, but those
|
||
in the main bar room are usable only by those who pay for them
|
||
(the tables in the main bar room are free, however). Additionally,
|
||
Grey's has two small private rooms a dressing room.
|
||
|
||
|
||
CLIENTELE
|
||
|
||
While the founders of Grey's use the bar to stop violence, Grey's
|
||
patrons have different ideas. Apart from relatively safe
|
||
entertainment, Grey's provides a perfect venue for deals and
|
||
alliance agreements. (Most notably the temporary alliance of
|
||
Redmond's big four to annihilate Xenon, a group who was
|
||
interfering in all of their business seemingly at random.)
|
||
|
||
Grey's also serves as a place for smaller gangs to posture
|
||
themselves and show what they got. This has the effect of also
|
||
showing what they have worth taking, but that's gang life. Elven
|
||
women (especially those from rival gangs) seem to be the Thing
|
||
Worth Fighting Over this month. A gang member surrounded by female
|
||
elves (or enslaving female elves) has Status. That's also gang
|
||
life.
|
||
|
||
Grey's has also made possible the Cranes, a small gang bent not on
|
||
gaining territory of drug markets, but on acquiring information.
|
||
No one knows if this group has a headquarters, for they are only
|
||
seen at Grey's. Members always wear masks (not unusual for Grey's)
|
||
and a white crane sick pin. While they are still up and coming,
|
||
they fill a welcome niche at Grey's.
|
||
|
||
There are almost no non-gang (or ex-gang) people to be found at
|
||
Grey's, including the employees. Organized crime is not welcome,
|
||
which has caused some problems in the past. The Yakuza is rapidly
|
||
learning the lesson the gangs did in the early days: interference
|
||
in the operation of Grey's will not be tolerated. The owners have
|
||
quite a bit of power Ñ in terms of both influence and
|
||
physical/magical strength Ñ and at this time generally have
|
||
support of a few gangs who don't like the Yakuza interfering with
|
||
their territory. However, Grey's is careful not to take an
|
||
offensive stance against the Yak, figuring that a "don't mess with
|
||
us, we don't mess with you" strategy is more financially sound.
|
||
|
||
|
||
EMPLOYEES
|
||
|
||
Employees of Grey's, of both sexes (65% female) and all races,
|
||
wear gray suits (complete with gray shirt, gray tie, etc.). Most
|
||
are usually gang members or ex-gang members, so can usually handle
|
||
themselves. All have been trained to some degree by Thane (see
|
||
below). Most employees serve drinks, but each night a half dozen
|
||
are exempted from serving drinks to provide wandering security
|
||
(which half dozen are chosen is determined by a rotating
|
||
schedule.)
|
||
|
||
In addition, five men and three women have been highly trained by
|
||
Thane and serve as security every night. It is these people that
|
||
usually deal with troublemakers (see above). Naturally, if a
|
||
serious problem emerges, all employees are expected to do their
|
||
part.
|
||
|
||
The door is guarded by one of Thane's well trained cadre and two
|
||
bouncers: Bob, a big troll, and Mucus, an even bigger Orc. If
|
||
prospective customers pass through two weapon detection systems
|
||
(ratings 5 and 7, in that order) they are given some sort of token
|
||
indicating so (it changes nightly). They are not required to wear
|
||
it. If they present it with their bill, they receive 30% off.
|
||
Weapons are not taken from those who have them (but see above).
|
||
|
||
There are four bartenders, three on duty at any given time: April,
|
||
a rather plain elf; Wax, a handsome human with gold eyes; a
|
||
middle-aged (although still in good shape) human man named Juan;
|
||
and Karen, a surprisingly attractive Orc woman (if that's
|
||
possible).
|
||
|
||
>>>[My, my. Showing our true colors?]<<<
|
||
-- Brian Qen-Xin (04:32:11/05-23-52)
|
||
|
||
The owners of Grey's were all part of a very successful
|
||
Shadowrunning team (so successful that most people have never
|
||
heard of them). All grew up in gangs in Redmond, but severed their
|
||
gang affiliations long ago.
|
||
|
||
Thane started as a Warrior in the now defunct Priests. His Orkish
|
||
strength and high intelligence made him very successful. Thane is
|
||
fast (very fast), calm and deadly. His success as a runner allowed
|
||
him to install some high quality cyberware. He is of two minds
|
||
regarding violence: he would much rather see violence never occur,
|
||
but when it does, it should be handled immediately with excessive
|
||
force.
|
||
|
||
Erik is a mage of considerable ability. It is he who usually
|
||
demolishes vehicles who park in front of Grey's. He was given a
|
||
full ride scholarship to Seattle University. He became the first
|
||
dwarf to receive a Masters in Magical Theory and Arts at the top
|
||
of his class.
|
||
|
||
Mithral is a telepathic telekinetic. (Actually, she is a sorcery
|
||
adept, but she doesn't know that.) His considerable abilities have
|
||
helped to overcome some legal problems in the past. Mithral
|
||
handles most of the financial aspects of the Grey's operation.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE NEO-ANARCHISTS' ON-LINE GRIMOIRE
|
||
|
||
>>>[Remember that, just because the title of this is the 'on-line
|
||
grimoire,' that doesn't mean that all these spells are necessarily
|
||
on-line. Referees can outlaw some spells, make some spells private
|
||
-- owned by an individual who hasn't given out the spell theory,
|
||
make some spells lost -- hidden in some tomb somewhere, waiting to
|
||
be found by the intrepid shadowrunner/archaeologists, etc.
|
||
|
||
Referees can change any part of these spells. Remember, this is an
|
||
electronic copy. All you've got to do to change things is open it
|
||
up with your word processor (text editor for the text version) and
|
||
edit away to your heart's content. You must decide what kind of
|
||
things you want mages to do in your campaign. For example, in
|
||
Keith's spells, I absolutely love the idea of the mageswords. But
|
||
I think that Flight should require the use of the appropriate
|
||
spirit. If that means that some shamans can't fly, well, so be it.
|
||
(Of course, since I'm only playing, not running a game, I have
|
||
very little say about anything, so feel free to ignore me!)
|
||
|
||
Also, remember that spells can be made permanent in a variety of
|
||
ways.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry [08:11:00/05-16-92]
|
||
|
||
All spells in this installment of the on-line grimoire courtesy of
|
||
holmes@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
|
||
|
||
|
||
ANTI-BLADE BARRIER Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Anti-Blade Barrier S2 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is similar to the already existing theories of Anti-
|
||
Bullet Barrier and Physical Barrier. The target for the spell is
|
||
6. The number of the success counts as armor against such attacks
|
||
as bladed weapons (including weapon foci swords, Bladed variations
|
||
of shuriken, and common house knives) serrated edges (including
|
||
sharp rocks, broken glass, and circular saws); bladed arrowheads
|
||
(including the Precision Arrows found in the Street Samurai's
|
||
Catalog, but not the blunt, or stunner, arrows); and grenade-like
|
||
shrapnel (including shrapnel grenades and showering glass
|
||
fragmentation, but not standard shotgun shells).
|
||
|
||
BIOPHYSICAL ARMOR Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Biophysical Armor M3 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is essentially an armor spell that protects the body
|
||
from influences that interfere with its natural rhythms. The spell
|
||
assists deckers/runners in the matrix against damage from Black
|
||
IC/Personas. It also assists against such attacks as electrical
|
||
shock (stun batons, shock sticks) and vertigo (such as ultrasonic
|
||
induction). It doesn't aid in normal combat related situations so
|
||
no, the spell cannot be used in conjunction with the standard
|
||
armor spell in melee/firearms related combat.
|
||
|
||
The spell does not aid against the effects of aging in any way. It
|
||
does help the subject fight off the effects of Poisons, Pathogens,
|
||
Toxins, and related substances (even against the reactant of a
|
||
"Stonebiter" Bat). It also gives its dice to the recipient to
|
||
resist the effects of Health spells.
|
||
|
||
ENHANCE WILLPOWER Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Enhance Willpower D3 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell gives defense dice vs. attacks similar to those the
|
||
Mental Armor spell aids against. It also directly strengthens the
|
||
psyche, allowing the subject to resist the effects of drain more
|
||
readily. It doesn't directly change the willpower attribute. It
|
||
enhances the recipient's ability to deal with the varying energies
|
||
of Astral Space. The spell also does not enhance the ability to
|
||
resist its own drain.
|
||
|
||
FLAME SHIELD Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Flame Shield S2 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is similar to the existing spells Anti-Spell Barrier
|
||
and Personal Physical Barrier. The spell gives successes equal to
|
||
its success level against fire-based attacks of all sorts. This
|
||
includes Flame Projection, Firebolt, Hellblast, Flame Volt, Flame
|
||
Bomb, and other flame spells and powers. It does not protect
|
||
against the Ignite spell. It also does not afford complete
|
||
protection against heat in a pure form. Against heat and heat-
|
||
related attacks, the spell functions as an Armor spell (lava
|
||
flows, light-based lasers, etc.).
|
||
|
||
FLIGHT Manipulation (Telekinetic)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Flight M1 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
The target number for the spell is a 3 (Natural Objects). The
|
||
number of total successes that are accrued help to define the
|
||
"flight pool" of the user of the spell. Only voluntary living
|
||
subjects can be affected by this spell.
|
||
|
||
The speed that can carry its recipient is equal to the dice
|
||
allocated from the "flight pool." 'Running' speeds utilize a
|
||
modifier equal to the force of the spell. The control of the
|
||
flight (turning, any maneuvering, etc.) is equivalent to the
|
||
remaining dice of the "flight pool."
|
||
|
||
For example, Jeremie gets 15 success with this spell, which he has
|
||
at a Force of 5. His top speed is 75 meters per turn, though he
|
||
would be moving in a straight line, with no ability to turn. In
|
||
that example, he had all his "flight pool" dice allocated to
|
||
speed. If he were moving at a speed of 0, that is no dice
|
||
allocated to speed, he could effectively hover in place and gain
|
||
15 dice to "in-place" maneuvering (dodging and the like). Note
|
||
that any alteration is speed allocation, results in appropriate
|
||
change to the "maneuvering" ability of the user.
|
||
|
||
>>>[15 successes? What, he rolled 20 dice? Remind me not to mess
|
||
with Jeremie.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry (09:03:33/05-16-92)
|
||
|
||
Or, Jeremie can allocate 7 dice to speed, leaving him with 8 dice
|
||
for maneuvering.
|
||
|
||
Faster speeds usually require the use of Oxygenate. This spell
|
||
also allows for movement through water, as the previous version
|
||
did not, though the movement modifier for faster speeds cannot
|
||
exceed a 3, regardless of spell force.
|
||
|
||
FORESIGHT Detection
|
||
Scott Crain - Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Foresight D2 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
Similar to the already existing Combat Sense and Personal Combat
|
||
Sense theories, this spell allows for a limited precognitive view
|
||
of the area around the spell's user. The successes for this spell
|
||
directly enhance the Dodge and/or Defense pools of the user, as
|
||
the spell gives some indirect insight into "where he should or
|
||
should not be at the time" and "what to do to stop this action."
|
||
|
||
The area of "detection" is standard for detection spells. Due to
|
||
the extra level of stress placed upon the caster (time is
|
||
something more difficult to handle), the target number is a 5
|
||
instead of 4. The spell can be placed upon another individual, but
|
||
this further alters the target number to a 6.
|
||
|
||
INCREASE MATRIX REACTION Health
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Inc Matrix Reaction+1 L3 Mana Sustained
|
||
Inc Matrix Reaction+2 M3 Mana Sustained
|
||
Inc Matrix Reaction+3 S3 Mana Sustained
|
||
Inc Matrix Reaction+4 D3 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is essentially a variation on Increase Cyber Reaction
|
||
spells. The spell will work in conjunction with Wired/Boosted
|
||
Reflexes (when going naked into the matrix) and Increase Response
|
||
systems on Cyberdecks. It will not work in conjunction with
|
||
Increase Cyber Reaction (which don't work in Matrix Interfacing).
|
||
It will not work in conjunction with Increase Reaction spells of
|
||
other forms, as they are not designed to work with the mind and
|
||
its fuller faculties in simsense realities.
|
||
|
||
The spell will aid the decker/runner if they are attempting to cut
|
||
and run from attacking IC. Treat the spell as if it were an
|
||
Increase Willpower spell, for purposes of dice mechanics. If for
|
||
some reason the decker/runner already has an Increase Willpower
|
||
spell in effect on his/her person, the Increase Matrix Reaction
|
||
spell takes precedence, even if it is a lower level of increase.
|
||
|
||
The spell functions in all other ways as any other Increase
|
||
Reaction spell does, adding a number of dice to the initiative, as
|
||
well as a +2 to the reaction attribute of the user per level of
|
||
increase. Many GM's might not allow the spell to interact with
|
||
Cyberdecks of any sort, but might allow the spell to work when
|
||
running naked in the matrix.
|
||
|
||
MAGESWORD Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathan K. Henry
|
||
Magesword S2 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell creates a blade of energy equal in length to the
|
||
caster's willpower attribute in feet. If the length is equal to 4
|
||
feet or more, it has a +1 reach. Spells that assist the Willpower
|
||
attribute do not increase the length of the blade.
|
||
|
||
The target number for this spell is a 5 instead of 6. The number
|
||
of successes is the rating for skill level and strength. The
|
||
targeted individual uses willpower to resist damage. Impact armor
|
||
does not assist. Neither do most artificial shields, walls, etc.,
|
||
though they are not themselves damaged. ("What do you mean he
|
||
died? His clothes aren't ripped up or hurt, there isn't a mark I
|
||
see on him.") Anti-Spell barriers function as Impact armor would,
|
||
reducing the successes of the attack damage. Mana Barriers
|
||
function as an Armor spell would, that is adding more dice equal
|
||
to the barrier rating to the resistance test. Physical Barrier and
|
||
Anti-Bullet Barrier do not assist. Dermal Armor (Bodyware section
|
||
of Cyberwear) does assist.
|
||
|
||
The damage done by the attack is (success rating)M2. Reach
|
||
modifiers are mentioned earlier. Shape of the "sword" doesn't seem
|
||
to matter in the case of damage for this case (sorry, no (SR)M3
|
||
Mage Katanas). The magician controlling this spell can deflect
|
||
Weapon Foci being used by another (whether or not they are bonded
|
||
to the user). The magician can also attack Astral beings/entities
|
||
with this weapon (as long as they can see them). The "sword"
|
||
created by this spell does not have to glow or be visible to the
|
||
physical world. Fully capable magicians usually have their "sword"
|
||
non-visible and use their perception talents at the same time.
|
||
Sorceror Adepts are not that lucky. Their swords are usually
|
||
visible to the naked eye.
|
||
|
||
MAGESWORD II Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathan K. Henry
|
||
Magesword II S3 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is essentially the same as the above mentioned
|
||
Magesword, except that the sword is completely physical. The sword
|
||
cannot pass through non-living objects like the mana version.
|
||
Impact armor is fully effective as are Physical Barrier spells.
|
||
The Anti-Bullet Barrier is still ineffectual against it.
|
||
|
||
The sword can hit non-living objects. This allows it to be used
|
||
against doors, cars, etc. It can still be used to defend against
|
||
Weapon Foci. The sword cannot hit purely Astral beings/entities.
|
||
If a creature/spirit is manifest, it can be used to attack them.
|
||
The power of Immunity to Normal Weapons does not aid the subject
|
||
from attacks by this "weapon."
|
||
|
||
The damage by the weapon is (success rating)M2. Reach modifiers
|
||
are as for the mana version. If a variation of this spell is
|
||
researched where the blade is a "katana" form, then the damage
|
||
does go to M3.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Won't the drain go up, as well?]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (08:46:40/05-16-52)
|
||
|
||
The sword is visible at all times, and sheds a minor amount of
|
||
light (about equivalent to a standard firefly).
|
||
|
||
>>>[A pretty huge firefly, I'd guess. An awakened firefly,
|
||
maybe?]<<<
|
||
-- Silver Cianide (08:47:38/05-16-52)
|
||
|
||
NOTES ON THE MAGESWORD SPELLS
|
||
The sword must remain within line of sight of the caster at all
|
||
times. Mirrors and/or Binoculars can assist as long as the spell
|
||
doesn't go beyond a range equal to the magicians magic rating
|
||
times the success rating of the spell in meters.
|
||
|
||
The "movement" speed of the spell is equivalent to its success
|
||
rating with "running" modifiers being equivalent to the spell's
|
||
force.
|
||
|
||
The mana version can be cast from the Astral Plane and utilized
|
||
into the physical world if the caster also is Manifesting. The
|
||
physical version of the spell cannot be cast from the Astral.
|
||
|
||
The Initiate Talent of Shielding is of great benefit to the
|
||
defender of both versions. It raises both the target to hit and
|
||
gives extra dice to resist the damage with.
|
||
|
||
QUICKENING AND LOCKING MAGESWORDS
|
||
If the caster wishes to maintain self-control over the spell, the
|
||
functions remain the same in all ways.
|
||
|
||
If the caster wishes to make the sword usable to someone else the
|
||
"sword" becomes "self sustaining" and does not keep any of its
|
||
self motivation ability. It is thus considered an object that is
|
||
to be "wielded" by an individual. Any living creature may utilize
|
||
the mana version of the spell. They do not need to be able to see
|
||
it, though perception of the weapon's dimensions does help (target
|
||
numbers go up by 1 otherwise). The damage the weapon does becomes
|
||
standard for melee combat (Str)M2, with any appropriate reach
|
||
modifiers. The target resists damage according to the version
|
||
used. An additional point of Karma is required to make the sword
|
||
"permanent" in this fashion. This includes Spell Locks, which
|
||
usually become the handle of the weapon. (Hey look, he's got
|
||
himself a Lightsabre!)
|
||
|
||
>>>[I suspect the sword retains an astral link to it's creator,
|
||
just like normal Quickened/Locked spells, right?]<<<
|
||
-- Myra (08:57:21/05-16-52)
|
||
|
||
MENTAL ARMOR Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Mental Armor M3 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is similar to the Armor spell. The target is the
|
||
subject's willpower, with successes treated as additional dice for
|
||
purposes of resisting any form of attack against the psyche. This
|
||
includes Mana-form combat spells, Mind Controls and Probes, Fear
|
||
and Weakness powers of paranormals, as well as Essence Drain
|
||
attacks from Vampires. It will also work defending against combat
|
||
attacks in the Astral in much the same way that an Armor spell
|
||
protects the body in the physical world.
|
||
|
||
MENTAL SHIELDS Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Mental Shields S2 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is essentially the same as the Mental Armor spell,
|
||
except that it is true "armor," giving automatic successes against
|
||
the attacks mentioned above. Think of it as a limited scope Anti-
|
||
Spell Barrier, that also includes attacks from Parabiologicals and
|
||
Paranormals.
|
||
|
||
MOVEMENT Manipulation (Telekinetic)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Movement S3 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell directly copies the spiritual/elemental power of the
|
||
same name. It does not protect the user of the spell from some of
|
||
the more harmful side effects. When combined with the Weather
|
||
Guard spell most, if not all, of the adverse side effects are
|
||
negated (air friction, vertigo, etc.). The spell can be cast on
|
||
any person or object. Movement is multiplied by the number of
|
||
successes.
|
||
|
||
Potential uses of this spell, besides the standard movement
|
||
increase, are:
|
||
|
||
Firearms Enhancement: When placed on the chamber of a weapon, the
|
||
spell enhances the Power attribute of a projectile. The level of
|
||
enhancement is equal to the success level of the spell. There is
|
||
no additional recoil modifier for use of this spell.
|
||
|
||
Vehicle Speeds: This can be very dangerous if the pilot/driver of
|
||
the vehicle is not aware of the spell's placement. All target
|
||
numbers are increased by the success level of the spell with
|
||
appropriate modifiers for rig level (if any), etc.
|
||
|
||
Vehicle Economy: If careful control is utilized, the spell will
|
||
enhance the economy level of a normal vehicle by the success level
|
||
of the spell. A vehicle that has an economy of less than 1
|
||
KM/Liter will have the economy increased by .1 KM/Liter per
|
||
success. A vehicle that has 100 or more KM/Liter economy (as some
|
||
mopeds do) has the economy modified by 10 times the number of
|
||
successes.
|
||
|
||
A vehicle has a 15 KM/Liter economy rating. The casting magician
|
||
obtains 5 successes with the spell, thus enhancing the economy by
|
||
5 KM/Liter. Another vehicle has .5 KM/Liter economy. The same
|
||
number of successes on this vehicle will enhance the economy by a
|
||
further .5 KM/Liter (5 success X .1 KM/Liter).
|
||
|
||
>>>[Remember, your referee might disallow some of these options.
|
||
Check with your referee before basing a plan on a specific option,
|
||
or you could be unpleasantly surprised.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry (10:41:20/05-16-92)
|
||
|
||
PATHKEEPER Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Pathkeeper M3 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell has a few purposes, most of which are minor in their
|
||
effect, but have an overall effective usefulness. The spell allows
|
||
the magician or individual effected to walk without distraction
|
||
over any standard medium. This includes water (such as a river or
|
||
lake), a rocky incline (such as a mountain slope or desert creek),
|
||
etc., without penalty for movement. The spell also offers a
|
||
limited amount of protection from the terrain the recipient is
|
||
moving through.
|
||
|
||
For example, choppy waters go smooth in a radius equal to the
|
||
caster's magic attribute in meters, around the user. The user will
|
||
also gain no distractions from such things as briarthorns, cactus
|
||
pines, jagged rocks, etc.
|
||
|
||
To get a good idea on the spell's diversity, consider the spirit
|
||
power of Guard, with a twist (levitate-like powers over water or
|
||
mud). The spell will not protect from such things as lava,
|
||
electricity, wire fencing and caltrop-like obstructions. The user
|
||
also cannot walk through something (this is not a Passwall spell).
|
||
The recipient must willing (so no, you can't suddenly strand a
|
||
fish on the water's surface). The spell will not work on non-
|
||
living objects.
|
||
|
||
If the caster of the spell designates the spell to be used by an
|
||
individual underwater, and an oxygenate spell is used in
|
||
conjunction, the individual can move at standard movement without
|
||
penalty. It has been hypothesized that if a hydrate spell
|
||
(oxygenate for a water breather) were used in conjunction with
|
||
this spell on a water traveling target, they could move about on
|
||
land without penalties.
|
||
|
||
RESIST ALLERGY Health
|
||
Matt Bunch - Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Res Nuisance Allergy L1 Mana Sustained
|
||
Res Mild Allergy M1 Mana Sustained
|
||
Res Moderate Allergy S1 Mana Sustained
|
||
Res Severe Allergy D1 Mana Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell allows the caster to dull out an allergy's effects on
|
||
the target. For the spell to function, the caster must touch the
|
||
subject. Once the spell has been successfully cast, the caster
|
||
does not have to maintain physical contact to sustain the spell.
|
||
|
||
This spell does not remove the allergy. It just alleviates the
|
||
effects of the allergy. The spell does not aid against
|
||
Vulnerabilities. For example, a vampirically inflicted individual
|
||
is exposed to sunlight while under the effects of a Resist Deadly
|
||
Allergy. As long as the spell is in place, the subject is
|
||
protected from the harmful effects of the sunlight. If a
|
||
Shapeshifter is touching or comes into standard contact with
|
||
silver they are protected in a similar fashion, but if the silver
|
||
is used as a weapon against the character, it still has its
|
||
modifiers to damage (+1 Damage Category).
|
||
|
||
>>>[Some referees might decide that each allergy requires a
|
||
specific spell.]<<<
|
||
-- Jerry (10:52:59/05-16-92)
|
||
|
||
WARPLIGHT Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Warplight M3 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell is similar to the power of Adaptive Coloration used by
|
||
the Bandersnatch. The number of successes indicates the modifier
|
||
to the perception tests needed when using the standard visual
|
||
spectrum. This includes Thermographic vision and the UV spectrum,
|
||
but not sound or EM fields. If the subject is moving at a rate
|
||
greater than 10, the modifiers to perceptual tests are doubled.
|
||
|
||
The spell also acts as full armor against standard lasers, with a
|
||
rating equal to the successes of the spell.
|
||
|
||
WEATHER GUARD Manipulation (Transform)
|
||
Jonathon K. Henry
|
||
Weather Guard S3 Physical Sustained
|
||
|
||
This spell protects the recipient from the elements. This includes
|
||
the effects of rain, sleet, hail, snow, desert heat and
|
||
sandstorms, etc. It does not protect a person from spells with
|
||
elemental side-effects, such as Flame Volt or Acid Bomb. Harsh
|
||
winds are reduced to gentle breezes (for the protected).
|
||
Dehydration due to prolonged exposure to the sun will have no
|
||
adverse effects, though standard consumption of water is still
|
||
required.
|
||
|
||
The spell does not aid someone in perception tests against fog,
|
||
rain and the like, nor does it protect someone with a Severe
|
||
Allergy to the effects of sunlight. It will negate the effects of
|
||
distraction due to rain, wind, etc.
|
||
|
||
|
||
MASTER SPELL LIST ADDENDA
|
||
|
||
|
||
The initial Master Spell List can be found in the first Annual
|
||
Neo-Anarchists Guide to Everything Else. You can cut and paste
|
||
whatever spells you want from here into there.
|
||
|
||
Note the two corrections under Transform Manipulations: the two
|
||
personal spells were previously listed with a range of Visual.
|
||
Obviously not, they're Personal.
|
||
|
||
|
||
DETECTION SPELLS
|
||
|
||
Name Drain Target Range Area Duration Type
|
||
Foresight** D2 5/6 Visual MAx#S Sustain Mana
|
||
|
||
|
||
HEALTH SPELLS
|
||
|
||
Name Drain Target Threshold Range Area Duration Type
|
||
Inc Mtx React+1** L3 Attrib.x2 Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Inc Mtx React+2** M3 Attrib.x2 Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Inc Mtx React+3** S3 Attrib.x2 Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Inc Mtx React+4** D3 Attrib.x2 Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Res Nuis Alergy** L1 10-Ess. Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Res Mild Alergy** M1 10-Ess. Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Res Mod Alergy** S1 10-Ess. Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Res Svre Alergy** D1 10-Ess. Touch Single Sustain Mana
|
||
|
||
|
||
TELEKINETIC MANIPULATION SPELLS
|
||
|
||
Name Drain Target Staging Range Area Duration Type
|
||
Flight** M1 3 Visual Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Movement** S3 Object Visual Single Sustain Physical
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TRANSFORM MANIPULATION SPELLS
|
||
|
||
Name Drain Target Threshold Range Area Duration Type
|
||
AntiBlade Barier** S2 6 Visual MA/Force Sustain Physical
|
||
Biophysical Armor** M3 4 Visual Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Flame Shield** S2 6 Visual MA Sustain Physical
|
||
Enhance Willpower** D3 Will Visual Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Magesword** S2 5 Personal MAx#S Sustain Mana
|
||
Magesword II** S3 5 Personal MAx#S Sustain Physical
|
||
Mental Armor** M3 Will Visual Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Mental Shields** S2 Will Visual Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Pers. AntiSpell Barier L1 6 Personal Single Sustain Mana
|
||
Pers. Physical Barier M2 6 Personal Single Sustain Physical
|
||
Pathkeeper** M3 4 (Voluntary) Visual Single Sustain Physical
|
||
Weather Guard** S3 6 Visual MA Sustain Physical
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT
|
||
|
||
"If some unemployed punk in New Jersey can get a cassette to make
|
||
love to Elle McPherson for $19.95, this virtual reality stuff is
|
||
going to make crack look like Sanka."
|
||
-- Dennis Miller
|
||
Twentieth Century comedian and prophet
|
||
|
||
"Chip me in, Johnny; Chip me in, Jane!
|
||
Jack me to the max, pump that comstim in my veins!
|
||
Hear the fire all around me with my com-enhanced brain!
|
||
Rockin! with my FNFL!
|
||
-- Kansas City Charlie
|
||
(and the Flying Buffalo Chips)
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE ARCHITECT OF DREAMS
|
||
|
||
The walls of Seattle City Hall were of the finest marble, finely
|
||
engraved with the works of masters and local unknowns alike.
|
||
Despite the crowd, the noise, and the numerous doors and halls,
|
||
once I got my bearing the hallway seemed designed specifically to
|
||
bring me where I wanted to go, as if it were made specifically for
|
||
me, specifically for this occasion. The ceilings were vaulted, but
|
||
not too high, and if I didn't know better I would've sworn that
|
||
the light coming through the slanted windows was sunlight and not
|
||
from hidden fluorescent tubes. Rather than take the elevator, I
|
||
took the stairway, the more to explore this amazing feat of
|
||
architecture. The stairs were actually designed for walking. They
|
||
were thin, and gave the impression of a European castle, but
|
||
whenever I passed someone, it was never crowded.
|
||
|
||
I stopped once to look out the window, over the city. There were
|
||
so many new buildings, and so many buildings in progress. All the
|
||
work of one man, the man I was there to see.
|
||
|
||
It was the saddest thing I had ever seen. I was here to convince
|
||
him to leave this world, but I could've stayed, myself. Before
|
||
this, I used to be surprised that perfectly normal people could
|
||
give up reality for a chip-induced fantasy. Now, I'm surprised
|
||
that such a small number of people actually do. No, there was no
|
||
way I could succeed. This was everything he'd ever wanted. How
|
||
could I convince him to return to the regular bump-and-grind?
|
||
|
||
John Doe graduated summa cum laude from Stanford University in
|
||
2046. His degree was in Architecture. His dream was to design and
|
||
oversee the building of a new city, a true artistic creation of
|
||
the future. But no city was willing to outlay that kind of money
|
||
for a makeover of dubious necessity, and John had to content
|
||
himself with standard work for standard buildings in standard
|
||
cities. He was talented, no question, and his work was admired by
|
||
his colleagues. But there wasn't any room in this world for what
|
||
he wanted.
|
||
|
||
Until he met her. He'd always been jacked so he could plug into
|
||
the computers and design from within. But he'd never thought of
|
||
using simsense. Until a friend bought him a custom chip for his
|
||
birthday, and life was never the same. In this chip, he was the
|
||
most sought after architect in the world, and everyone clamored
|
||
for his attentions.
|
||
|
||
In these last three years he has gone further in his dream world
|
||
than he could ever have gone in the real world. He has designed
|
||
whole cities, and buildings that fill the senses.
|
||
|
||
I did meet him that day, and we discussed his leaving. But only
|
||
after he took me on a tour of his favorite projects, including a
|
||
restaurant that he not only designed, but owned. The only thing he
|
||
regretted was that his father wouldn't come inside to talk to him.
|
||
But that wasn't enough of a hook to bring him out.
|
||
-- Dr. Jerold Stratton, Ph.D., Psychology
|
||
|
||
|
||
HOTEL CALIFORNIA (Ark of the Damned)
|
||
|
||
The Dream Park was conceived as the ultimate test of the future
|
||
today. Brainchild of future activist Trurl Klapaucius, the Dream
|
||
Park has degenerated into the best example of what the future has
|
||
to offer.
|
||
|
||
>>>[This is the hope of the future, chummer. Our population has
|
||
already recovered from Vitas, and is growing faster and faster. We
|
||
need more room for people, and the more room we take for people,
|
||
the less we have for food, even synth. Trurl may have given up,
|
||
but he's given us our only chance at a future of hope, rather than
|
||
a future of pollution, sweat, and homeliness]<<<
|
||
-- Mel Walsinats [05:32:19/05:11:52]
|
||
|
||
Trurl emigrated from Poland to Seattle in 2030, and acquired
|
||
backing for his project (Dream Park) in three years. Construction
|
||
began on June 22, 2034 and was completed on September 18. The
|
||
original Dream Park contained 400 rooms. Trurl sold lifetime
|
||
living rights for 100,000Y each. Tenants were required to have
|
||
their own plug. Trurl provided waste disposal and food. The food
|
||
was nothing more than gruel pumped into the body, and the living
|
||
accommodations were spartan, if clean.
|
||
|
||
But the magic was in the built in matrix. The Dreamtime, he called
|
||
it, and tenants spend every moment of their lives in the
|
||
Dreamtime. In the Dreamtime, the building is a luxurious mansion,
|
||
the food is the finest cuisine the world can offer, and everyone
|
||
is beautiful. He sold all 400 spaces in 43 days.
|
||
|
||
The Seattle government freaked. They decided that they did not
|
||
like this type of development. They have since passed very
|
||
restrictive laws protecting the residents of the Dream Park and
|
||
making it next to impossible for new Parks to be built. The Dream
|
||
Park owner, for example, is forbidden to touch a tenant's base
|
||
payment -- it must be returned if the tenant ever decides to leave
|
||
or the Park is ever closed down. But it doesn't matter, because no
|
||
one wants to leave, and the interest on 40 million Nuyen is a very
|
||
nice profit, even after taxes, food, and custodial expenses. After
|
||
all, only the minimum of upkeep is necessary. No one ever unplugs
|
||
from the Dreamtime.
|
||
|
||
>>>[Well, not quite true. But the turnover is incredibly slow.
|
||
Last year, only 10 vacancies opened up, and the year before, only
|
||
12. So far this year, 3 vacancies have been filled. Out of 1,600,
|
||
that's pretty fraggin' low. Unfortunately, we don't know how many
|
||
of those are people leaving and how many are deaths.]<<<
|
||
-- Frank Bishop [06:27:33/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
>>>[How little you know. Nobody dies in the dreamtime -- we're
|
||
forever young, there's no sickness, no disease. What's there to
|
||
die from?]<<<
|
||
-- Mel Walsinats [07:31:01/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
>>>[I think you've mistaken your virtuality for reality, Mel, old
|
||
chap. Your icon may be in paradise, but your body is atrophying in
|
||
its own crap.]<<<
|
||
-- Wily Coyote [09:05:51/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
>>>[Drek, Coyote-san. They take care of us here. The vessels are
|
||
kept clean, and if they atrophy, well, so what? There's only one
|
||
important muscle on the whole thing.]<<<
|
||
-- Mel Walsinats [18:54:32/05-12-52]
|
||
|
||
Trurl grew disillusioned with his child, and sold it to Sam
|
||
Belding (accountant for Concrete Illusion) for a reputed sum of
|
||
2.8 million Nuyen in 2042. Belding doubled the number of spaces --
|
||
after all, the tenants didn't need any of the space other than
|
||
their bed and their jack. He offered to let anyone who wanted to
|
||
leave (there was a waiting list, supposedly, of 5,000 people who
|
||
wanted in), leave. Only 78 people did so. Then, he turned around
|
||
and sold the 478 new spaces for 150,000Y. The seed grew to 103.9
|
||
million Nuyen. It was during Belding's tenure that Dream Park
|
||
became known as the Ark of the Damned. When he sold it, most of
|
||
the letters in the neon logo had stopped working (in the real
|
||
world; in the Dreamtime, of course, they're fine), leaving the
|
||
letters "D am ark" which may or may not have been purposeful.
|
||
Belding sold in 2048.
|
||
|
||
The third (and final) owner is Dr. William Hansen. He has doubled
|
||
the number of spaces again -- there are now 1,600 tenants in the
|
||
Dream Park. All of the neon letters are dim now, and the place has
|
||
come to be known as "Hotel California." 299 of the original
|
||
tenants remain, and 385 of the second group remain. Those who
|
||
bought the approximately 800 new spaces paid 180,000Y apiece, and
|
||
the price has currently risen to 200,000Y.
|
||
|
||
Only government inspectors are allowed to see the inside of the
|
||
Dream Park. Visitors must jack in in the visitors' lounge, and
|
||
prospective tenants are allowed to jack in from the landlord's
|
||
office. The waiting list is rumored to hold over 1,000 people, so
|
||
the Dr. Hansen doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to, as
|
||
long as it's not required by law. There are four people to a room
|
||
(what used to be a single person room in Trurl's day), and it'll
|
||
probably jump to 6 people per room soon (3 beds, 2 high). That'll
|
||
bring the population of Dream Park to 2,400. If Seattle ever
|
||
relents, you can be sure that Dream Park will build up as well.
|
||
It's still only 4 stories tall!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
* * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
* Live! At the Ugly Jazz Club! *
|
||
* Creamtronic Dreams! *
|
||
* Rock into the Summer with Vance Lance, Mickey Sean Cassidy, *
|
||
* Freddie Tanes and Silver Cianide. *
|
||
* *
|
||
* Hourly Specials *
|
||
* 14 Normal St. PTV Ch. 349 *
|
||
* Seattle 6Y Access *
|
||
* 12Y at the door No Recording! *
|
||
* June 21, 8:30-12:30 *
|
||
* * * * * * * * ADVERTISEMENT * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
TESS DIARY
|
||
by LLWardIII
|
||
|
||
[Writer's Note: This is the summer diary of my character Tess, a
|
||
grade 0 Snake shaman. She walks in a different world than most of
|
||
us. Comments welcome at ward1@husc.harvard.edu]
|
||
|
||
|
||
>>June 3 / Seattle / Voice mode<<
|
||
I have confusion. I thought the running of shadows was the
|
||
Path. I no longer know. I'm not confident that setting my thoughts
|
||
in this pseudo-permanent medium is a rational act, but Jana seemed
|
||
to think so. My confusion is such that I will consider anything.
|
||
(Anything? A dangerous thought, if true. Even my honesty eludes
|
||
me.) There is too much black.
|
||
Maybe it is the mundane concerns. The current resolution with
|
||
Aztechnology should be a break. But is it a resolution? Baal has
|
||
left to avoid possible retribution; that seems prudent. I should
|
||
leave but is that the right thing? My dream of the wind through
|
||
the sculpted walls seemed far.
|
||
Chicago. But the sneer....
|
||
|
||
>>June 4 / Seattle / Voice mode<<
|
||
I have just played back my first entry. John says that the
|
||
voice-to-text translator seems to work fine. If I am sure of
|
||
anything, it is to take his word for technical matters. I can
|
||
remember speaking more between some of the sentences from
|
||
yesterday, but I must have just thought them. Interesting.
|
||
|
||
>>June 6 / Seattle / Voice mode<<
|
||
Went back into Redmond to make my goodbye's (for how long) to
|
||
old friends. The first time I'd stepped onto Brain Eaters turf for
|
||
years. I wasn't even in colors. Even though I've come to recognize
|
||
lust in males, I've never fully understood it. Bruiser felt, not
|
||
lust exactly, but something. I'd never noticed that before. He
|
||
seemed concerned for my safety on my journey. I'm glad I told them
|
||
I was going to Los Angeles.
|
||
Troxia has disappeared. She has apparently run off with a
|
||
corper and moved to, coincidentally (?), Chicago. The Eaters are
|
||
uneasy, but anything that gets her out of here should curb her
|
||
chiplust. Voracious appetite for new input, but no will to go get
|
||
it. She's a lot like me in some ways, had it not been for Snake.
|
||
The loss of the arm seems to have made Buck more philosophical.
|
||
He said very little, but he and I always understood one another
|
||
anyway. I'm sure he knew I'm really going to Chicago. He reached
|
||
into a box and pulled out something I never thought I'd see again.
|
||
The Collar. He kept it after he killed Marcus, apparently just in
|
||
case he needed to make an object lesson. He said "It is the chain
|
||
that you're dragging that was once your relief." (I wish I'd been
|
||
looking at him from the Ethereal then. I'd swear -- for a brief
|
||
moment -- that Dog spoke through him. More confusion.) He seemed a
|
||
bit uneasy about how I'd react to The Collar.
|
||
It almost seems like that frightened, ignorant creature was a
|
||
lifetime ago.
|
||
I'll be glad to get out of here tomorrow. This hotel room is
|
||
beginning to depress me. Or is it the city? To much black.
|
||
|
||
>>June 7 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Chicago airport is a zoo. I'm glad I was in a suit. I'm also
|
||
glad I left the taser behind. Huh, imagine the look on the maid's
|
||
face when she finds that in the sink. She's probably used to it.
|
||
The woman next to me on the plane was in simsense for the whole
|
||
flight. She was an executive secretary. I examined cyberware very
|
||
closely from astral for the first time. I never noticed how truly
|
||
intricate the fusion between flesh and machine is. It was actually
|
||
quite beautiful.
|
||
I begin to understand why cyberware, by its nature, makes
|
||
healing so difficult. The patterns. So beautiful. I have not the
|
||
words.
|
||
|
||
>>June 8 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Talked to a gentleman in a bar, discovered that he had just
|
||
lost his wife. I watched him astrally while he drank and the
|
||
alcohol seemed to improve his state. We talked for hours (I mostly
|
||
listened) and he never asked my name. Just needed someone to talk
|
||
to.
|
||
I bought a taser. Funny how something that would have landed me
|
||
in jail at the airport can be bought without license from a
|
||
sporting goods store.
|
||
Chicago's emotional state, in general, is a bit more negative
|
||
that Seattle. The weather, perhaps. Maybe just the crowding. Or is
|
||
it the Mafia? (Morte Alles Francia, Italia... something). Is it
|
||
relevant?
|
||
|
||
>>June 9 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Been studying ancient Chinese all day. Some interesting texts
|
||
from library.
|
||
|
||
>>June 11 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Stopped a rape. I was downtown, when I thought I saw Troxia. It
|
||
turned out not to be her, but I followed her for a while. I
|
||
noticed a man doing the same. His aura was a bit... twisted, so I
|
||
mind probed him. Nauseating. He was so far gone, I don't think he
|
||
noticed. I ambushed him with the taser and left him sprawling in
|
||
the street. No one seemed to care.
|
||
Even so, I felt badly about sifting his thoughts. Every time
|
||
I've done it before was in desperation. And the... subjects knew it
|
||
was coming. I'm glad I decided against probing Cat's Eye while he
|
||
slept that first night.
|
||
Today was the first spell I've cast in days. Now that my
|
||
attention is focused on it, it feels like the mundane world is
|
||
driving it's hooks into me. I think now might be a good time for
|
||
an astral tour of the city.
|
||
|
||
>>June 13 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Last night seemed to help.
|
||
I sought out Troxia this afternoon in earnest. I tried to learn
|
||
the city be asking around the old fashioned way, but I had to
|
||
resort to summoning a watcher. (They grow them a bit strange
|
||
looking out here). Troxia and her "significant other" joined me
|
||
for lunch. Doesn't seem like Troxia's type, but who am I to judge.
|
||
Troxia told me later that it was all biz.
|
||
Dreamt of the sneering face again, but He wasn't sneering this
|
||
time. He seems very familiar, but is that just part of the dream?
|
||
Baal put digitized pictures of everyone we ran across into this
|
||
gizmo, but His face is not any of them. Something about two small
|
||
creeks crossing is there, but eludes me.
|
||
|
||
>>June 14 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Another dream of the Face. This time eating rattlesnake.
|
||
Couldn't sleep after that. I am beginning to feel the Face is on
|
||
my Path. As an obstacle, judging by the symbolism, yet it doesn't
|
||
feel that way. I'm going to have to find this man.
|
||
Spent the day trying to buy Peyote, in the hopes that it will
|
||
make my dreams stronger. Very hard to get here, but found some. It
|
||
is good to have a tangible direction.
|
||
|
||
>>June 15 / Chicago / Voice mode<<
|
||
Dreams of the Face again; this time hiding something. The
|
||
crossing streams are not creeks but rivers. I got the feeling of a
|
||
mountain surrounded city. I'm going to Denver.
|
||
I ran into an artist on the El today, and he drew a likeness of
|
||
the Face from my description. It is something at least.
|
||
|
||
>>June 16 / Denver / Keypad mode<<
|
||
This city is beautiful! The sun was setting over the Rockies,
|
||
just as the plane landed. Although legally I am supposed to be in
|
||
the UCAS sector, I have a room in neutral downtown.
|
||
No dreams last night. I think I am getting closer.
|
||
|
||
>>June 17 / Denver / Voice mode<<
|
||
Downtown is set off at 45 degrees to the rest of the city, so I
|
||
got a bit lost today. A huge Amerind corp-type pointed out that
|
||
the mountains are always to the west. I should have thought of
|
||
that.
|
||
Between bouts of scanning the screamsheets for the Face, I took
|
||
an astral tour. This town almost pulses with deals. A very odd
|
||
sensation. I saw a mage lose control of a Fire Elemental and paid
|
||
close attention to it's aura. The entity killed the mage, then
|
||
flew off into the night, both of which I expected. Its
|
||
aura/emotion when it killed its summoner was not the satisfaction
|
||
of revenge that I'd expected. No desire, but no regret either, as
|
||
if it was just something that it had to do. Very curious. When it
|
||
flew away, however, the feeling of freedom it radiated almost
|
||
consumed me. I noticed that, inside my pocket, my right hand was
|
||
wrapped tightly around the Collar.
|
||
|
||
>>June 18 / Denver / Voice mode<<
|
||
Went to Confluence Park, where the Platte river meets Cherry
|
||
Creek. Obviously not the rivers. I overheard a woman mention the
|
||
Cherry Creek Mall. Just to be thorough, I took a quick peek. The
|
||
mall was standard, but near by was the Tattered Cover Book Store.
|
||
Not just real paper books, but a whole building full. Clientele
|
||
was almost all Awakened. The astral charge in the air was so
|
||
thick, I wouldn't have been surprised if Spirits started forming
|
||
out of thin air.
|
||
|
||
>>June 20 / Denver / Voice mode<<
|
||
Haven't made much progress on locating the Face, but haven't
|
||
had the dreams either.
|
||
I did meet a decker named Ty, who is looking for work. Very
|
||
interesting aura. Intricate beyond anything I've seen. For that
|
||
reason, I think, I find myself very drawn towards the
|
||
shadowrunner. I asked about the picture of Face and mentioned a
|
||
price tag. We are now working out of a downtown apartment. I feel
|
||
hopeful.
|
||
|
||
>>June 22 / Denver / Voice mode<<
|
||
The Face now has a name: Whittiker. He is part of the Pueblo
|
||
Corporate Council. That makes sense to me for some reason.
|
||
Ty has been showing me around the Matrix. It gives me a
|
||
horrible headache, but is very fascinating. I begin to understand
|
||
the thrill John feels when fishing secrets from miles away.
|
||
|
||
>>June 25 / Denver / Voice mode<<
|
||
Whittiker is in the city of Pueblo, a hundred miles south. From
|
||
a map I see that the Arkansas and Fountain Rivers merge there.
|
||
Whittiker's position seems innocuous enough, but we are heading
|
||
for Pueblo as soon as we make the arrangements. Ty knows a samurai
|
||
there named Rojo.
|
||
>>Keypad mode<< As I was looking at Ty this morning, I caught a
|
||
strange expression in my reflection in the window. It seems like
|
||
I've seen that expression before on someone else. I'm beginning to
|
||
get a bit confused over my feelings toward Ty (if only because I
|
||
don't know what they are), but I must not let that confusion
|
||
affect my Path.
|
||
|
||
>>June 30 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I can't even remember how much of the information we're finding
|
||
I have put into this diary. I should go back to check, but I don't
|
||
have time. Our discoveries are coming very quickly.
|
||
|
||
>>July 6 / Pueblo / Keypad mode<<
|
||
I've mixed emotions about last night. The experience was
|
||
enlightening, to say the least, but now, as I write surrounded by
|
||
satin sheets, I have doubts as to my goal. Yesterday I was sure
|
||
that Whittiker's secrets were the reason I was drawn to this
|
||
place, but after last night, I am beginning to question this.
|
||
I have never before experienced what Ty brought forth in me
|
||
last night. The (I have trouble even writing it) ecstasy coursing
|
||
through me was enough to send my soul out into its astral home; a
|
||
reprise, almost, of my gang initiation. As then, I could see my
|
||
meatbody below me, but it wasn't still. I could see it spasming
|
||
under Ty's caress.
|
||
Even stranger, I could feel it.
|
||
Somehow I could still feel my body. Every touch. Every kiss. As
|
||
if I had somehow bridged the tenuous gap between mind and body.
|
||
More likely is was my partner's doing, although probably
|
||
unintentional.
|
||
Even as she sleeps, Ty's aura is vibrant, especially where her
|
||
skin touches her husband's. Lying on Ty's opposite side (which is
|
||
curious, as when I went to sleep, he was asleep between us), Rojo
|
||
is easier to figure out, but no less interesting. His aura pulses
|
||
faintly (in time to his heart, I believe), a strong contrast to
|
||
last night. An odd effect; parts of him completely black, while
|
||
from the patches where he still has his original body, his aura
|
||
seemed to explode. I think Snake is watching him.
|
||
Personal indulgence aside, this is what concerns me. Is
|
||
Whittiker really on my Path? Or was I actually drawn here just to
|
||
meet these two people? Ty and Rojo have certainly affected me. It
|
||
is almost like Awakening again. But, no. It can't be; the guards
|
||
on Whittiker's secrets are to strong for Snake and I to ignore.
|
||
But... something.
|
||
Last night was significant, and not just because of the
|
||
enlightening astral connection. Nor because I finally understand
|
||
why Humanity places such a strong emphasis on the pleasures of
|
||
mating. Something else is there.
|
||
In spite of my growing doubts and nagging suspicions, Rojo, Ty
|
||
and I are going to go through with the plan to infiltrate
|
||
Whittiker's building. I must have answers. My mind tells me that I
|
||
will find them there, but my spirit tells me that the answers (and
|
||
perhaps the questions) will differ vastly from my expectations.
|
||
Snake has remained annoyingly quiet. Although that has happened
|
||
before, I am still frightened.
|
||
|
||
>>July 7 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
>>Input error. Impedance overload<<
|
||
Aaaaannn!!
|
||
>>Input error. Microphone spike<<
|
||
Venom! This fragging hurts.
|
||
>You should stay quiet, Tess.
|
||
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Too much black.
|
||
>You'll be fine Tess, just hang on.
|
||
>>Nil translation<< Ty?
|
||
>I'm here.
|
||
Important. Get sword to Jana. Seattle. >>Nil translation<<
|
||
>Who? What sword?
|
||
Get that fragging thing away from me!
|
||
>Easy, love, easy. Rojo, put the patch away.
|
||
>>Nil translation<<
|
||
>Tess! Tess!
|
||
>>Is she...?
|
||
>No. Just unconscious. She cast a healing spell on herself
|
||
before we got there.
|
||
>>Let's hope she held it long enough. I found her clothes.
|
||
>The bleeding's stopped.
|
||
>>Christ. I'm going to go get... the...the rest of her.
|
||
>Be careful. Are you all right?
|
||
>>No. Not after this. What's that flashing?
|
||
>What? Oh. Her secretary is recording.
|
||
>>Turn it off.
|
||
>Hurry back.
|
||
>>Interru
|
||
|
||
>>July 9 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
As soon as we got in, I knew it was wrong. How stupid
|
||
could I be? It hurts so much. It feels like my arm is on fire,
|
||
even though I know it's no longer there. If my intact eye wasn't
|
||
swollen shut, I might cry.
|
||
I... I think Rojo blames himself, but it was my fault I got
|
||
caught. I should have been paying more attention to where he was
|
||
going. Rojo says Whittiker's gun fired explosive flechettes. Thank
|
||
All that he didn't pull the trigger when.... The sick duck. Who
|
||
shoots someone bound in front of them?
|
||
Damn it. I'm bleeding again. Not that I can see it. Snake. I
|
||
could heal myself, if only I could see.
|
||
I think... I think it may be time to put myself in debt. I can't
|
||
continue like this. The true sadness is that it's all my fault. I
|
||
misinterpreted something somewhere. I don't know. What did I do
|
||
wrong?
|
||
|
||
>>July 11 / unknown / Keypad mode<<
|
||
Interfactor seemed... tense, for lack of a better word, although
|
||
that probably isn't possible. He (?) managed to get me out here,
|
||
wherever "here" is. I think I'm somewhere in Japan. Chiba would
|
||
make sense, given the nature of my upcoming surgery.
|
||
The Surgeon (that's all I have heard him called) said that he'd
|
||
never seen wounds like mine before. I agreed, and given some of
|
||
Baal's violence, that is not a small statement. I'm a bit glad I
|
||
can't see my body in the real plane, 'cause it's appearance is
|
||
very distressing in the astral plane. The Surgeon informs me that
|
||
a spread of six of the flechettes impacted around my right armpit,
|
||
destroying my breast, some ribs and exploding my shoulder. Another
|
||
cluster (or maybe two) spread down to my left hip, destroying my
|
||
eye (I'm apparently lucky I don't have brain damage) and bruising
|
||
some bone.
|
||
My arm, according to the Surgeon will not accept a vat grown
|
||
replacement, so he is cyber-replacing it. That didn't sound right
|
||
to me, until I took a good look at my stump from astral. Something
|
||
is preventing it. I have a feeling it is Snake, which is
|
||
disconcerting. I'm told that normally they can install machinery
|
||
which doesn't take away as much of my humanity, but that since
|
||
they don't have the flesh of my real arm to work with, I have to
|
||
settle for the normal stuff. The eye will be almost half organic,
|
||
as will the sub-dermal plating that the Surgeon insists upon ("to
|
||
reinforce your damaged skeletal structure.") Apparently, the
|
||
problem with grafting real flesh to my arm does not exist for my
|
||
breast, so thankfully they are simply growing me a new one.
|
||
I'd love to crawl around this place sometime. John would be
|
||
very interested in their machines, I have a feeling.
|
||
I am not looking forward to surgery. The Surgeon assures me
|
||
that everything will be fine, but I haven't told him about the
|
||
intensity of my dreams. The surgery itself doesn't scare me, but
|
||
the idea of being chemically prohibited from waking up does.
|
||
If something should go wrong, my will can be found at SAN
|
||
(0003)-09-2938 box 747. Passcode "Jormungandr."
|
||
|
||
>>July 29 / unknown / Voice mode<<
|
||
I almost forgot about this thingy.
|
||
The bandages are finally off. Yay! During the actual surgery, I
|
||
apparently drove them crazy, as I kept blinking into a Metaplane.
|
||
None of the mages here have access to the Metaplanes, so to them
|
||
it seemed that my aura just vanished, even though my body was
|
||
still showing vital signs.
|
||
Oooo. Pink!
|
||
Um... I did dream, but I don't remember . I looked at some of my
|
||
EEGs. The docs said they were strange, but they just looked like
|
||
squiggles. I'm told they tried an experimental simsense recorder
|
||
on me in an attempt to record my dreams. I don't think it worked.
|
||
My meatbody looks great! I had thought there would be scarring.
|
||
I keep breaking cups with my new hand, but I'm getting better. The
|
||
injectors were Interfactor's idea. The eyes are amazing. They can
|
||
see heat patterns and zoom in on far away objects. They can even
|
||
cry. I can't feel the plating at all unless I probe with my
|
||
fingers. My new breast is fine. It is now the same size as its
|
||
opposite. I never realized how annoying that almost-invisible size
|
||
difference bothered me until now.
|
||
>>Input error: Nil translation. 67% probability of being
|
||
laughter.<<
|
||
Wow. I think these drugs are getting to me. I'd better stop
|
||
talking before I say something silly.
|
||
|
||
>>August 2 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I just woke up here, even though I was in a hospital bed when I
|
||
went to sleep. It was almost like a dream, but the light
|
||
reflecting off my arm would seem to indicate otherwise. Damn,
|
||
nothing quite like spending 800K for a month of surgery. I'm gonna
|
||
get my bearings, then find Ty and Rojo. Then Snake and I have a
|
||
long overdue appointment.
|
||
I've only been to Snakehome once before. Maybe twice. I don't
|
||
really know what to expect. The first time, I was invited. Last
|
||
time I was welcome. This time around I don't even know if I'll be
|
||
allowed in. My power has diminished. I can't seem to make spells
|
||
work without chanting in Chinese. That is most distressing. It
|
||
seems like I should know something about the Path I got injured
|
||
on... why it went wrong.
|
||
I don't have it.
|
||
|
||
>>August 3 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
They're both dead. Rojo... he...
|
||
>>Input error. Microphone spike<<
|
||
>> Y¼¿ ¤¦ ¬¶»¥Y <<
|
||
|
||
>>August 4 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
The storage seemed to transfer O.K. Where did this temper come
|
||
from? Looking back over this log... I don't know. I would never have
|
||
tossed my pocket sec into a mirror three months ago. Very
|
||
disturbing.
|
||
I feels like my world is falling apart. My magic is going. My
|
||
friends are gone. Ty... O.K.... Ty got...killed. Black IC apparently.
|
||
Running something in Denver. Rojo first found her. He killed
|
||
himself. He... left....
|
||
|
||
>>August 5 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
Words are harder now. I never told Rojo that I didn't hold him
|
||
responsible for what happened to me. I can't help but feel....
|
||
What is wrong with me? I've lost people before. People I've
|
||
known longer than Ty and Rojo put together. I... damn it. Calm.
|
||
Calm.
|
||
|
||
>>August 6 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
Buried them today. I used to think that burials were to ensure
|
||
the spirits of the Dead rest. I think now that they're more for
|
||
the living. Nothing makes you deal with death more than planting
|
||
your friends in the ground.
|
||
Took a long walk. Beautiful weather, which I found depressing.
|
||
It is becoming a bit clearer.
|
||
|
||
>>August 7 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I've been wandering in a haze for days. Time to stop. I
|
||
understand love. I loved Ty and Rojo, although not in the way they
|
||
loved each other. Bruiser loves me; we had the same look. It seems
|
||
absurd that I didn't recognize that last time I saw him.
|
||
I've been putting off seeking Snake due to my grief. No. Due to
|
||
fear. I go tonight. I go alone.
|
||
|
||
>>August 8 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
It is so clear! I don't know why it took so long to realize.
|
||
It... well... start at the beginning.
|
||
My quest began in a sweat filled room with only one door. This
|
||
short, greasy bald guy with a horrendous cigar entered from the
|
||
other direction, blocking my path. He started to taunt me about
|
||
loosing my magic. I thought it was some sort of test, but he never
|
||
made any sort of question or point. Looking back on it now, I can
|
||
see that it was a test of separating the mundane irrelevancies
|
||
from my magic. When he began to make dry comments on my sex life,
|
||
I said "Does any of this matter?" He just looked at me. I told him
|
||
to back off any pushed him out of the way. He didn't seem to mind,
|
||
and I sure felt a lot more confident.
|
||
I thought I'd prepared myself for the sudden shifts in scenery
|
||
so typical of the Metaplanes. I was wrong.
|
||
Suddenly I found myself staring right into what I can only
|
||
describe as the Source of Magic. Mana flowed out of a void,
|
||
flooding the universe to infinity in every direction. It was
|
||
enrapturing. After a long while (almost too long, I now realize),
|
||
I noticed that the flow wasn't really fluid at all. More like
|
||
individual streamlets. I noticed that one of the streamlets --
|
||
maybe threads is a better word -- seemed wrong somehow. I traced
|
||
it's path from the void and found that it passed just above me.
|
||
I remembered some bad hermetic theory that I'd read long ago.
|
||
I'd always considered it garbage, but it seemed to work here. I
|
||
experimented with the flow a bit. I made a wrong move and it
|
||
charged through my body. It just left me tingling, but I think it
|
||
could have been much worse. The stream seemed normal after that.
|
||
I'd apparently fixed it.
|
||
Water rushed around my ankles, and I was naked in a sewer.
|
||
Almost like growing up again, but I was already full grown and not
|
||
afraid. I felt Snake just around the corner.
|
||
Realization struck just before I turned.
|
||
Snake was before me, but elusive to the eye. She seemed to
|
||
radiate thoughts this time and never spoke. I knew that my damage
|
||
and loss of magic had been a punishment, but that was now
|
||
incidental, because I now knew why I had been punished.
|
||
I shouldn't have needed the hint, but the magic threads finally
|
||
made sense. The thread was, of course, mine, but it wasn't
|
||
'wrong,' just misused; or... sorcery done correctly, but for the
|
||
wrong reasons. I'd been questioning everything. Is this on my
|
||
path, is that on my path? Stupid. The path will come to me, not
|
||
vice versa.
|
||
Snake seemed to smile.
|
||
For the first time in Her presence, I felt confident. Even now,
|
||
as I sit here alone, I understand that do not know where I am
|
||
going. And as never before, knowing that I do not gives me great
|
||
strength.
|
||
|
||
>>August 10 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I am still struck by the simplicity of Snake's lesson. I
|
||
suppose all True things seem simple once they are understood. I
|
||
talked to another of Snake's Chosen about the lesson today. He
|
||
seemed to think that I should be upset about the permanency of it.
|
||
I don't think he believed me when I said that I'd met Snake.
|
||
I don't think She chose him the same way She chose me.
|
||
Mentioning being chosen has reminded me of something Snake told
|
||
me long ago. "You must not dwell on whether I think something is
|
||
right or wrong. I have chosen you. Your decision will be the
|
||
correct one." I should not have forgotten that.
|
||
A Mage told me about a Sorcery lecture series given at the
|
||
local college by some guest lecturer. A week ago, I would have
|
||
worried about if going to this lecture was on my Path. It is
|
||
somewhat liberating to have those thoughts vanish. The lectures
|
||
have crossed my path, and sound interesting, so I will attend. The
|
||
point is that I won't know if they are on the Path until they are
|
||
finished.
|
||
"Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitudes."
|
||
|
||
>>August 11 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
This sorcery seminar looks most intriguing. The professor is
|
||
not Human. I mean literally not a Homo Sapiens. He calls himself
|
||
Dion Kimber and is a City Spirit.
|
||
He passed out a syllabus (which looks a bit too hermetically
|
||
oriented for my tastes) but chose to tell his own story instead of
|
||
teaching sorcery for the first lecture. He apparently went free
|
||
some years ago after his summoner died. A corporate wage mage;
|
||
geeked during a shadowrun. He seems very interesting.
|
||
Only today have I noticed that I have cultivated Ty's more
|
||
revealing style of dress. A subtle tribute perhaps? In this heat
|
||
though, you need to dress skimpily. I actually wouldn't have
|
||
noticed, but this early bloomer kept staring at my breasts during
|
||
the lecture. Couldn't be more than fourteen years old. No skill,
|
||
but lots of raw power. Coyote chosen, I think. The class is going
|
||
to confuse the hell out of him.
|
||
|
||
>>August 14 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I had to leave class today, 'cause I started to weep over Ty.
|
||
Irrational timing. After I calmed down, though, I felt really
|
||
good. Made me realize that she really did mean that much.
|
||
The kid is in way over his head, which could be dangerous. He
|
||
still continues to stare down my cleavage. I'm going to have to do
|
||
something about that.
|
||
I'm finding only one idea in four from lecture new, and maybe
|
||
one out of every three of those useful. I almost forget that most
|
||
of these students (not to mention the teacher) haven't ever seen
|
||
the Metaplanes. Most of them -- how did Rojo put it? -- "don't know
|
||
dick" about astral space.
|
||
While shopping for my sorcery texts (mostly philosophy stuff),
|
||
I found a book on enchanting. Hermetic, but I can relate to some
|
||
of it. It's much more interesting than the sorcery texts, at
|
||
least.
|
||
|
||
>>August 16 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I cornered the kid today and asked him why he found my breasts
|
||
so fascinating. He kind of fumbled and mumbled sheepishly, which
|
||
was sorta cute.
|
||
I gave him a ride home, then invited myself in so I could
|
||
convince him to look elsewhere for magical training. I mean, the
|
||
kid's parents don't even know he's Awakened. I lay down the
|
||
basics, especially the difference between shamanic and hermetic
|
||
magic. That seemed really illuminating to him (as it did to me,
|
||
all those years ago.) He asked me to tutor him for the summer. I
|
||
refused.
|
||
I talked myself out and turned to go, but he stopped me and
|
||
said "I find your breasts fascinating because I don't have them."
|
||
I was a bit too stunned to respond, and so he, eyes looking at the
|
||
floor, said "Can I see them?" I remember thinking only: and the
|
||
Path will come to you. I took off my shirt.
|
||
|
||
>>August 17 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
The kid (I never did learn his name) didn't show up in class
|
||
today; a good sign. He'll do fine. Magically, he and I are a lot
|
||
alike.
|
||
I've been thinking about yesterday, and I'm not so sure that I
|
||
went away profitless. I'd never made love to another magician
|
||
before. There were some odd astral ripples. We both noticed them,
|
||
and I think he may have learned more about magic from them than he
|
||
did from anything I told him. I gained a little something into how
|
||
sorcery effects auras. In fact, now that I think about it, it
|
||
makes one of the points of today's lecture very clear.
|
||
|
||
>>August 20 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
Today I witnessed the joy of two parents in a park. Their child
|
||
took her first steps, and was soon walking around the grass. For
|
||
the first time that I can remember, I found myself thinking about
|
||
my parents. Who were they? Why did they leave? It seems almost
|
||
unnatural that I've not thought about it before.
|
||
|
||
>>August 24 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I had lunch with Professor Kimber this noon. He is a
|
||
fascinating man. Spirit, rather. Some of his subtle movements are
|
||
so human, it gets hard to tell. He seems such an average normal-
|
||
guy, and then bam, he says the most brilliant thing you've ever
|
||
heard.
|
||
I've been using this diary much less, recently. I think that's
|
||
a good sign. Maybe I don't need it any more.
|
||
|
||
>>September 3 / Santa Fe / Voice mode<<
|
||
I've been traveling around with Dion. We've been teaching each
|
||
other in the most wondrous locations. I can see why the NAN make
|
||
such a big deal of pollution. I'd kill to regain this land, too.
|
||
Dion has thought me a few new spells and I've gotten better at
|
||
casting the ones I already know. Dion is actually a very artistic
|
||
spirit. He's been encouraging my attempts at illusion sculpting.
|
||
He's much better at it than I am. In return, I've been trying to
|
||
teach him alchemy. It is going slowly. (I think spirits have a
|
||
slower learning rate than humans. More repetitions seem
|
||
necessary.)
|
||
It seems odd that I've become so intimate with an astral
|
||
entity. A hundred years ago, I might have been burned at the
|
||
stake. Nowadays it's simply unusual. Dion has been with other
|
||
women before. Lots of women, if the seemingly limitless pool of
|
||
ideas he suggests is any indication. His staying power is
|
||
impressive.
|
||
I find his predilection for handcuffs interesting. He seems to
|
||
relish the control. At first I thought it was just control over
|
||
me, but I think it is really the idea that he is in control of a
|
||
magician that pleases him. When he first suggested the idea to me,
|
||
I flat out refused; more ghosts from the past. Later I told him
|
||
that I would if he'd tell me his truename. I expected him to
|
||
freak, but he just looked at me and said "You can find that out
|
||
yourself, can't you?" I said "Yes, I can." He thought about that
|
||
for a second, then told me.
|
||
Being bound still doesn't appeal to me, but it gets him very
|
||
excited, and that does appeal to me. Perhaps more than it should.
|
||
|
||
>>September 14 / Taos / Voice mode<<
|
||
Dion vanished three days ago. All my attempts to find him have
|
||
failed. Either he has been banished or he doesn't want me to find
|
||
him. In either case, I'm fairly certain that his truename was a
|
||
lie. That surprised me, but it shouldn't have. I'm slipping a bit.
|
||
This sounds heartless, but I don't miss him very much. I think we
|
||
looked at each other as pleasant experimentation. I'm glad I never
|
||
showed him the Collar.
|
||
I'm beginning to miss home a bit. If for no other reason than I
|
||
knew how the city worked. I have about a week left before my visa
|
||
expires, so I'm going to head over to Sedona.
|
||
|
||
>>September 15 / Sedona / Voice mode<<
|
||
This is one interesting place. On the one hand it is
|
||
extraordinarily beautiful; the green against red against gray. On
|
||
the other hand, it is filled with mundane magic-wannabees. I've
|
||
never seen so many crystals in my life. You hear stories about the
|
||
NAN lands, and how noble the Indians are, but I can't believe that
|
||
the whites in this particular town were any worse than these
|
||
people.
|
||
I was meditating up on a cliff, and one of these guys asks "May
|
||
I join you?" I couldn't believe it. I was real tempted to blast
|
||
him off the mountain.
|
||
Hmmm. There is music playing from the next room that sounds
|
||
familiar. Reminds me of sewers, for some reason.
|
||
Superchunk!
|
||
>>Input error -- Impedance overload<<
|
||
|
||
>>September 19 / Pueblo / Voice mode<<
|
||
I think my decision about where to go next has been made for
|
||
me. I seem to be a bit low on funds. I hate that feeling. Anyway,
|
||
I leave for Seattle tomorrow. It'll be good to see the troops
|
||
again.
|
||
Maybe.
|
||
|
||
[Writer's Note: Tess was killed two months after this entry.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
AMAZON TALES
|
||
Sony-Louis Rollando
|
||
|
||
|
||
When my dad lived in New Orleans, I used to sneak out to the
|
||
docks. The docks were a real sight for a ten year old. A lot of
|
||
men, drunken bastards, used to hang out there. Probably still do.
|
||
There were always a few kids out there, and we'd always gang
|
||
together, more for protection than any kind of friendship. There
|
||
were always new faces, and always some old faces who just stopped
|
||
coming down. I always figured their parents found out, and kept
|
||
them away. Most of the docksiders were listless and gray, but
|
||
there were some right mean bastards as well.
|
||
|
||
Only a few of the bums would talk to us, mostly old sailors, I
|
||
think. We always knew where they were. One I remember real well
|
||
was a gray-haired old guy we called Patch-Eye. Never knew his real
|
||
name, though we knew the name of an old flame of his -- he had her
|
||
name tattooed beneath a picture of her on his right arm, though
|
||
he'd never talk about her.
|
||
|
||
Patch-Eye could just as well have been Pegleg. I guess he was
|
||
missing a lot of his body, and back then cyber just wasn't as
|
||
common as it is now. I suppose cyber probably never did become as
|
||
common in the Confederacy as it has here. I haven't been home for
|
||
well over a decade now.
|
||
|
||
Anyway, Patch-Eye was still pretty good with his remaining eye. He
|
||
could identify most any ship that came into the harbor, by name
|
||
and origin, while it was still a sail, a smokestack, or an
|
||
antennae array on the horizon. This was how most of his tales
|
||
usually started.
|
||
|
||
"See that ship out there? That's the Marie Celeste III, bound from
|
||
Amazonia. Probably loaded down with fruit and nuts, and not a few
|
||
of them fetishes."
|
||
|
||
Few of us had ever seen any imported fruits. They were for people
|
||
better than us. But most of us had been to a 'mamaloa' at least
|
||
once, and seen their bottles and wands. Fetishes from the small
|
||
jungles of South America, on the Pacific, were in sharp demand by
|
||
the local witches.
|
||
|
||
"I was down in South America many times," he said, "but only once
|
||
in the Amazon. You kids've never seen anything like that."
|
||
|
||
Actually, us kids had never seen much other than old drunks, muddy
|
||
marshes, and yellowed, dying plants. Maybe that's why we listened
|
||
so intently to him.
|
||
|
||
"Yeah, It was the Jesus San Marcos, a huge clipper, sails like an
|
||
ocean of their own. Captain Washman, he was the owner as well, he
|
||
sold his house for that boat, and a better deal he never made.
|
||
Last I heard, old Washout sailed it to Free Europe, or whatever
|
||
they call themselves now, and was running the African coast.
|
||
|
||
'Yeah, we sailed the San Marcos to the mouth of the Amazon. The
|
||
Captain'd hired out to bring back some hunters and their game. Me
|
||
and the rest of the crew, we figured it'd be some monsters. The
|
||
jungles have always been odd, but after the awakening, no place
|
||
could outdo the jungles for wickedness. All the legends of the
|
||
jungles came true -- the Rahara of the Yanoama, the snake-lovers
|
||
of the Warao, Yoin of the Kaingang."
|
||
|
||
Of course, none of us had been around during the awakening. We
|
||
figured life before then must've been like life without
|
||
electricity, or without computers.
|
||
|
||
"What are they? The Rahara is a snake, bigger than an anaconda.
|
||
They can sleep for days, and even weeks, letting the jungle grow
|
||
right over them. But let someone try to walk over it, and the head
|
||
will whip around and swallow them whole, tearing up the jungle to
|
||
do it. The Yoin is a huge, man-demon. It grabs people in the night
|
||
-- yes, even rats like you -- and shoves a knife up your ass to
|
||
rip out your heart and intestines. It eats them, I guess it thinks
|
||
they're a delicacy.
|
||
|
||
'You know, I've heard rumors that one managed to sneak away on a
|
||
trade ship, and there've been some strange deaths in the quarters
|
||
recently. I'd be careful if I were you."
|
||
|
||
We didn't know enough to actually check the newspapers at the
|
||
time, but I think he just made that up.
|
||
|
||
"So we were headed into this green hell to rendezvous with these
|
||
guys, and bring their captures back to New Orleans. We anchored
|
||
the San Marcos well into the Amazon basin, and the Captain, First
|
||
Mate, and a couple of hands, including me, we got into a big barge
|
||
and made our way upstream with poles and oars. It was hot work.
|
||
There was no breeze, and it was as humid and hot as it ever gets
|
||
here.
|
||
|
||
'We all had shotguns, and one guy, John... John Yarbrough, he had
|
||
an English longbow, just in case we ran into trouble and the guns
|
||
didn't work. They don't call 'em dead zones for nothing, you know,
|
||
and back then they weren't mapped out so well as today. Many a
|
||
man's wound up dead thinking his rifle or cyber'll save him."
|
||
|
||
Of course, the same's true even today. Ten years ago the
|
||
scientists made a big show about knowing exactly where the zones
|
||
would be, but those of us who had to use their theories quickly
|
||
learned not to trust them too much. Sure, if they predict a
|
||
zone'll be in a spot, it'll often be true. But not always. And
|
||
even in a zone there'll be pockets of normality. And we still have
|
||
no idea why they'll grow with the moon, some of them disappearing
|
||
completely with the New Moon.
|
||
|
||
Back then, though, we thought we knew everything.
|
||
|
||
"On the way in we saw a huge croc. I didn't think they came out
|
||
that close to the ocean, but that one was big as a sea serpent,
|
||
must've been 50-60 feet long.
|
||
|
||
'No, I don't know what that is in meters. Damn fools. Eat you for
|
||
an hors d'oeuvre. Snap you clean away."
|
||
|
||
You know, I'm leaving out the parts where we find him some
|
||
whiskey, or roll over another drunk for some fedsticks.. Dunno.
|
||
And I'm sure I'm still forgetting some things. Memories are the
|
||
most deceptive creatures in the awakened world. So, here goes:
|
||
|
||
He hacked up some phlegm. Some of the new kids left.
|
||
|
||
Hm... Now, you're probably getting a picture of Patch-eye as an
|
||
old, dying drunk. Okay, that's what he was. But he was a lot more
|
||
than that to us. Most of the kids had no father, or if they did,
|
||
he hated them. A lot of the kids had no parents at all. Patch-eye
|
||
was by no means a father substitute, but he was someone who
|
||
existed.
|
||
|
||
I almost said 'a lot of my friends' instead of 'a lot of the
|
||
kids,' but that'd be misleading. We stayed together for protection
|
||
and order, not out of any need for friendship. You lose that real
|
||
fast in the sprawl.
|
||
|
||
He wiped his face, and took another drink of whiskey.
|
||
|
||
"We beached the boats a few kilometers past the San Marcos. The
|
||
savanna stretched right into the horizon. It'd been a lot easier
|
||
to just bring the whole ship in, but that was against the law. It
|
||
was still legal to hunt, though, cause the jungle was still
|
||
screwy, and they were trying to regrow it. Crocs, for example --
|
||
we saw them everywhere, cause the Savannah favored them more than
|
||
the jungle would've. I guess it was more an everglades than a
|
||
Savannah, but not quite as much water.
|
||
|
||
'We made sure we camped far away from the river. We brought the
|
||
rafts, put 'em on posts, and pitched the cots a foot off the
|
||
ground. Made sleeping a whole lot easier.
|
||
|
||
'We got a message from the ship, that our contacts were further
|
||
in, into the remaining jungle, another two or three days upriver.
|
||
|
||
'At night, the insects made more noise than a city street. To the
|
||
south east, we saw what looked like the lights of a small city,
|
||
but there were no cities here anymore. The only cities left in the
|
||
Amazon were much closer to the Atlantic. I've heard rumors of dead
|
||
cities inhabited by awakened animals and ghosts, and we were glad
|
||
the insects drowned out whatever noises might be coming from that
|
||
ghost city.
|
||
|
||
'In the morning, we pushed off again, poling slowly upstream. We
|
||
passed another dead city, and as we passed I could've sworn the
|
||
insects were speaking a barely audible Indian tongue. We, though,
|
||
pushed on in silence."
|
||
|
||
Oh yes, I almost forgot. He emptied a bottle of tequila. We'd
|
||
found him a near empty bottle thrown away from a nearby bar. He
|
||
spit the worm out, and it rolled through the cracks in the dock. I
|
||
heard it splash in the bay. Big worm. He went back to the whiskey.
|
||
|
||
"That night, there were fewer bugs, but more animals. What were
|
||
once flying squirrels hopped like gliding rabbits in the tall
|
||
grass and bush. A dragon or flying snake flew across the moon
|
||
sometime early in the morning.
|
||
|
||
'The third day, we pushed up the Jari, a smaller river feeding the
|
||
Amazon, and soon entered a new, low jungle. By night, the jungle
|
||
was deep and dark. We got word from the trappers and the ship, and
|
||
figured we'd meet up the next day.
|
||
|
||
'We were just about to sleep, when we hear this sizzling in the
|
||
sky, like frying bacon. Fire fell from the trees. In another trip,
|
||
among the Taka-noo, I learned that they're familiar with this, and
|
||
blame a spirit sloth, whose crap is the source of all fire. We had
|
||
to high-tail it out of there real quick.
|
||
|
||
'I never want to move around in the jungle at night again."
|
||
|
||
We felt the same way about New Orleans.
|
||
|
||
"And then, to top it all off, sometime around 4 in the morning, it
|
||
starts raining, but the rain don't make it to us before it rolls
|
||
around in the forest roof. By that time, the drops were green and
|
||
warm, and felt like nothing less than a giant's piss.
|
||
|
||
'So, come morning, the sun starts heating the jungle up, and we're
|
||
wet and tired. And there, as we round a corner in the river, are
|
||
the trappers. So, we carried the animals back and made it to the
|
||
ship by sundown. Now, you get out of here."
|
||
|
||
What?
|
||
|
||
"Nope, that's the way it happened."
|
||
|
||
Absolutely not, and we knew it. Then some kid, I don't remember
|
||
who (well, I remember who, just not his name. When we got a
|
||
football game going, he was a good fullback), handed him a burger.
|
||
God knows where it came from.
|
||
|
||
"OK, so we see the trappers, and they've got this monster in what
|
||
looks to be the flimsiest cage I've ever seen. I mean, it had
|
||
good-sized bars, but this thing was huge."
|
||
|
||
The kids up close moved back a bit to get out of range of the
|
||
spray.
|
||
|
||
"I had no idea what it was, but I knew it was awakened. Even in
|
||
the jungle nothing like that was natural.
|
||
|
||
'It had long arms, like an orangutan, but it stood at least 8 feet
|
||
tall. No, 8 feet huge. It was an off green, like the underside of
|
||
a frog, and the head... the head was horrible. It was like someone
|
||
upended a giant spider and stuck it on this thing's neck, the
|
||
bottom side facing towards us, and a square, fanged mouth in the
|
||
center.
|
||
|
||
'When it roared, it sounded like a dying elephant.
|
||
|
||
'That's not true. I've never heard an elephant dying. Only ones
|
||
I've seen have been dead.
|
||
|
||
'Anyway, we round the bend and there this thing is, caged, sure,
|
||
but for how long? John and I, we figure we ought to turn around
|
||
right there. John's always been a smart one. I think he even went
|
||
to college. He's probably back in England now.
|
||
|
||
'I have no idea how they captured this thing. They must've pumped
|
||
it full of a keg of tranq. But as we get closer, we realize it
|
||
won't be quite so hard to get it to the ship -- the cage is on
|
||
pontoons, and there are real long ropes for tying it to their
|
||
boat. So as long as it can't break out -- and we're hoping, hey,
|
||
it hasn't broke out yet, maybe it can't -- as long as it can't
|
||
break out, we're set. Lug it in, load it up, and go home. No
|
||
problem. Piece of cake.
|
||
|
||
'There's no way we can sleep, so we figure we might as well get
|
||
started. They had a long canoe, so eight of us row. The captain
|
||
and two of the hunters (I guess there were only two hunters, and
|
||
the rest were grunts like us) trail behind on two boats, each
|
||
connected to a corner of the cage; they're about 30 feet behind
|
||
the cage, and I'll bet they were wishing they were further. The
|
||
two hunters each had tranq rifles, and they're trailing behind at
|
||
an angle, so they can fire if they need to without worrying about
|
||
us.
|
||
|
||
'Cause if one of us gets tranqed, one of them'll have to row, of
|
||
course. One thing I wasn't too sure on was what would happen if
|
||
the cage started to catch up with us, because we were going
|
||
downstream, after all. But I guess the canoe caught more current
|
||
than the cage. That was one problem we didn't have to worry about.
|
||
|
||
'It was pretty easy going. The river was slow and steady, and we
|
||
didn't have to work too hard. Coming out onto the Amazon was the
|
||
same, though it got heady in some places. The Amazon's pretty
|
||
wide, though, and all we had to worry about was keeping centered.
|
||
|
||
'And we made it. Past the dead cities and the talking insects, and
|
||
into the basin. Had a bit of trouble loading it onto the San
|
||
Marcos, though. One sailor got a nice gouge in his arm on that
|
||
one. The ship's doctor had a hell of a time keeping it from
|
||
turning green. And then, we pulled out and headed home.
|
||
|
||
'All through the first day and night it howled and banged on its
|
||
cage. And the second day as well. But the second night... That
|
||
night was dark. Probably we missed a storm further south. But I
|
||
woke up that night, sometime after midnight, and I knew something
|
||
was wrong. I felt like I did the time I got caught in the eye of
|
||
Hurricane Gary. Like time just up and stopped. But I realized it
|
||
wasn't like the hurricane at all -- I could still hear the waves
|
||
punching up against the side of the ship, and there was a wind
|
||
whistling through the sails.
|
||
|
||
'There wasn't an ounce of sound coming from the hold. I tried to
|
||
wake up the guy next to me, but he wasn't there, and there was
|
||
something warm and wet there instead. There was no light. I got
|
||
off the bunk and woke up John, below me. We went up top, so as not
|
||
to bother the guys sleeping.
|
||
|
||
'The captain and mate were up already. In the light of their
|
||
lantern, I saw blood all over my hand, and then I got scared. Why
|
||
we survived, I don't know. The captain had gone to the hunters'
|
||
quarters to find out if the creature's silence was anything to
|
||
worry about, and they were already dead, torn apart, he said. The
|
||
thing had to be loose, and we had no weapons of worth to stop it.
|
||
Not up here, anyway. Maybe, maybe the autos downstairs.
|
||
|
||
'Oh yeah, the tranq guns were gone. Washout asked John and I to go
|
||
down and get everybody else up top. So we did. I was feeling too
|
||
sick to think straight. Downside, John got his bow, and I woke up
|
||
the two riflemen. Or tried to. One of 'em was dead, torn apart.
|
||
The other one woke up groggily. I told him to get his auto, we had
|
||
to get up. Then, John and I woke half of everyone else up -- the
|
||
other half were dead. The creature had come through here and
|
||
chosen half of us to kill. We were freaked. The rifleman began to
|
||
understand what was going on, we just told him to follow us
|
||
upstairs.
|
||
|
||
'Then he said he couldn't find his clips. He'd left one in and two
|
||
taped to the sides before turning in -- he always did. But all
|
||
three were gone, and so was his box.
|
||
|
||
'We heard something growl in the shadows, and we just sweated our way
|
||
topsides. All told, there were ten of us left. And the only weapon
|
||
between us some knives and a single bow. We started lowering the
|
||
lifeboats. Washout was against it at first, but we convinced him
|
||
in seconds. There was no way we were going to take this thing on
|
||
and live.
|
||
|
||
'We lowered the two lifeboats, and while we were doing that the
|
||
captain convinced two others to help him lower the sails. Then we
|
||
climbed down, and five of us in each boat. John was the last one
|
||
down, covering us with his bow. Bravest man among us, he was. I've
|
||
nothing against college folk. We rowed off, watching the ship sit
|
||
there on the ocean, against a backdrop of one or two stars poking
|
||
through the clouds.
|
||
|
||
'We were picked up three days later, half... trashed, by a Cuban
|
||
fishing boat.
|
||
|
||
'Washout hired some guns and a ship to help him find his own ship.
|
||
He'd bet a lot of money on that boat. They found his ship to, two
|
||
or three weeks later. The creature was gone, but from what I hear,
|
||
the corpses were all strung about from the yardarm, skinned to the
|
||
muscle, and no carrion-eaters or insects anywhere near.
|
||
|
||
'I told you Washout brought his ship to Europe. Nobody here would
|
||
sign on to a ghost ship."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE CHIPPER
|
||
Reviews of things you have to pay for.
|
||
|
||
|
||
HELL'S ANGELS
|
||
Hunter S. Thompson
|
||
Ballantine Books, 1967
|
||
New York, NY
|
||
|
||
What's a go-gang? Face it: most of us have no idea what goes on in
|
||
the kind of motorcycle gangs that populate cyberpunk worlds such
|
||
as Shadowrun's. Well, Hunter Thompson risked his life just for us
|
||
gamers. For over a year in the sixties, he hung out with the
|
||
Hell's Angels, going to their meetings, their parties, and their
|
||
'runs,' loafing, drinking, riding, and eventually getting stomped.
|
||
His book captures the essence of cyberpunk in a world without the
|
||
cyber. If you're looking for better ways to role-play your go-
|
||
gangs, I can recommend nothing better than Hell's Angels.
|
||
|
||
Here are a few quotes taken practically at random:
|
||
"...some of their homes resemble private arsenals -- knives,
|
||
revolvers, automatic rifles and even a homemade armored car with a
|
||
machine-gun turret on top. They don't like to talk about their
|
||
weaponry... it's their only insurance policy against that day when
|
||
the Main Cop decides on a showdown, and the Angels are absolutely
|
||
certain that day is coming."
|
||
|
||
"There's only two kinds of people in the world [they say]...
|
||
Angels, and people who wish they were Angels.... it helps to
|
||
believe, when the body rot starts to hurt, that the pain is a
|
||
small price to pay for the higher rewards of being a righteous
|
||
Angel."
|
||
|
||
"there has never been one, either, who had anything but contempt
|
||
for the idea of good clean fun... which is one of the reasons they
|
||
shun even the minimum safety measures that most cyclists take for
|
||
granted. You will never see a Hell's Angel wearing a crash helmet.
|
||
Nor do they wear... leather jackets.... Anything safe, they want
|
||
no part of. The Angels don't want anybody to think they're hedging
|
||
their bets.... any independent making a pitch for Angel membership
|
||
would be rejected as "corny and chickensh*t" if he showed up in
|
||
leather."
|
||
|
||
Quoting an Angel: "When you walk into a place where people can see
|
||
you, you want to look as repulsive and repugnant as possible. We
|
||
are complete social outcasts -- outsiders against society. And
|
||
that's the way we want to be. Anything good, we laugh at. We're
|
||
bastards to the world and they're bastards to us."
|
||
reviewed by Jerry Stratton
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THRILLING LOCATIONS
|
||
Robert Kern, Michael E. Moore,
|
||
Gerard Christopher Klug
|
||
Approximately $10.
|
||
Victory Games, Inc., 1985
|
||
New York, NY 10001
|
||
|
||
Thrilling Locations is a supplement for the James Bond 007 role-
|
||
playing game, but it makes a marvelous handbook for any
|
||
modern/near future game, including Shadowrun. Thrilling Locations
|
||
describes luxurious casinos, luxurious hotels, luxurious
|
||
restaurants, luxurious trains, luxurious boats, and luxurious
|
||
jets. Thrilling Locations is written for high-rolling adventurers
|
||
attempting to live in the world of royalty and money.
|
||
|
||
Maps are provided in each case. Almost all of the locations are
|
||
real locations. In addition, other useful information is given.
|
||
Under the casino section, a few interesting games are described.
|
||
Under the boat section, some tips on outfitting the master
|
||
villain's boat with armor and armory is provided. In each case,
|
||
tips on npc encounters are detailed. You'll have to change the
|
||
names from the Bondian things such as Plenty O'Toole, and replace
|
||
'agent' with 'runner,' but there's very little useless information
|
||
in this book. Almost nothing is game specific.
|
||
|
||
You'll get the Casino de Monte Carlo, the MGM Grand Hotel, the
|
||
Tavern on the Green, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (yes, that
|
||
Orient Express), the Burger Hargraves 125' cruiser, and the Regent
|
||
Air luxury Jet. All fully described and mapped out in more detail
|
||
than you're likely to need.
|
||
|
||
I'm very impressed with Thrilling Locations. I can recommend it to
|
||
any referee running a modern/near future game.
|
||
reviewed by Jerry Stratton
|
||
|
||
WHITE WOLF #30
|
||
February 1992, $3.50 ($3.95 Canada).
|
||
|
||
The February issue of White Wolf contained one article
|
||
specifically dedicated to Shadowrun, and another with some
|
||
interesting ideas. There are three capsule reviews as well: The
|
||
London Sourcebook, Native American Nations Volume Two, and Total
|
||
Eclipse.
|
||
|
||
The two articles of interest to Shadowrunners are New Shamanic
|
||
Totems for Shadowrun, and The Scope of Magic.
|
||
|
||
New Shamanic Totems for Shadowrun
|
||
Berin Kinsman
|
||
|
||
These are new totems for Shadowrun mages. There's nothing special
|
||
here -- each entry is simply a sentence or two about the totem's
|
||
outlook/personality, and the advantages/disadvantages. Most are
|
||
quite useful, although the 'Skunk' looks suspiciously to have been
|
||
based on Pepe le Pew.
|
||
|
||
If you want more totems (and who doesn't?) this is worth looking
|
||
at. You'll need to modify some of them depending on the precepts
|
||
behind your world, but they're all reasonable (even the Skunk).
|
||
Here's what you get: Armadillo, Badger, Bat, Beaver, Buffalo,
|
||
Deer, Dolphin, Fox, Frog, Horse, Lizard, Mouse, Opossum, Otter,
|
||
Skunk, Squirrel, Swan, Turtle, and Weasel.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Scope of Magic
|
||
Christopher Earley
|
||
|
||
This installment of the regular column _The Scope of Magic_
|
||
provides street spells for another modern role-playing game,
|
||
_Night Life_. Each of these spells has a place in the Shadowrun
|
||
universe. They're the kind of thing a wizard/shaman might invent
|
||
just to help survive normal, mundane life. Things like a stoplight
|
||
control spell, space guitar, and fake bus tokens. Most of these
|
||
spells should be Light, and staging is unlikely to be higher than
|
||
3, usually 1 (if it ends up being Mana-based), or 2 (if it ends up
|
||
being physical).
|
||
reviewed by Jerry Stratton
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
SEATTLE SOURCEBOOK INDEX
|
||
|
||
Wordman was nice enough to take the On Line Index to the Seattle
|
||
Sourcebook and format it so that it can be put on one sheet of
|
||
paper. You'll have to use both sides of that sheet, though. And
|
||
you'll have to get the Rich Text version, chummer.
|
||
|
||
I see from the Rigger Black Book that FASA has finally realized
|
||
that indexes are useful things. If anyone has indices for any of
|
||
the other books, though, let us know! Maybe we can compile a
|
||
comprehensive Shadowrun index.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Alabaster Maiden: 36
|
||
Alderwood Mall: 85
|
||
Algona Community Hospital: 111
|
||
Allied Independent Agribusiness: 117
|
||
Angel Express: 67
|
||
Angela's: 121
|
||
Aquaculture Lodge: 61
|
||
Aquarium: 37
|
||
Ares Macrotechnology: 71, 133, 153
|
||
The Armaldillo: 141
|
||
Assenson's Flying T-bird Farm: 117
|
||
Atlantean Foundation: 150
|
||
Atzlan: 31
|
||
Auburn Center: 97
|
||
Auburn District Courthouse: 109
|
||
Auburn District Hall: 109
|
||
Auburn General Hospital: 100
|
||
Auburn Mall: 108
|
||
Aurora Village: 38
|
||
The Aurora: 107
|
||
Aztecha International, South: 96
|
||
Aztechnology: 56-58, 35, 56, 89, 96, 150
|
||
Bagley Wright Theater: 38
|
||
Banshee: 131
|
||
Barn Burger: 107
|
||
Basil's Faulty Bar: 77
|
||
The Bawdy Lass: 114
|
||
Bellevue Art Museum: 67
|
||
Bellevue Correctional Facility: 68
|
||
Bellevue Crab House: 66
|
||
Bellevue District Courthouse: 68
|
||
Bellevue District Hall: 68
|
||
Bellevue Hilton: 66
|
||
Bellevue Pour House: 67
|
||
Bellevue Sleep & Eat: 66
|
||
Bellevue Square: 67
|
||
Berkley Soy Foods: 116
|
||
Bicson BioMedicals: 90
|
||
The Big "O": 121
|
||
Big Rhino, The: 29
|
||
Billing's Medical Services: 91
|
||
The Bishop's Corpse: 140
|
||
Black Junk Yards: 142
|
||
Blackstone'sÉ of Paranatural: 115
|
||
Blood Monies Software: 98
|
||
Bob's Beer Factory: 72
|
||
The Body Mall: 134
|
||
Bosco's: 29
|
||
Bothell Mall: 115
|
||
Bowman Metal Works: 109
|
||
Brichert Paper Mills: 79
|
||
Brier Hotel: 114
|
||
Brother Anatole: 114
|
||
Cafe Sport: 29
|
||
Carnation-Seattle Ranch: 133
|
||
Casey's: 108
|
||
Cavilard Research Center: 71
|
||
Center House: 38
|
||
Charles Royer Building: 42
|
||
Charles Royer Station: 78
|
||
Chez Ogino: 26
|
||
City Health South: 100
|
||
Clone Zone Mall: 108
|
||
Club Penumbra: 36
|
||
Community General: 111
|
||
Comfy Cubicle
|
||
Lakewood: 76
|
||
Merideth: 96
|
||
Cougar Mountain Hospital: 72
|
||
Cougar Mountain Resort Hotel: 96
|
||
Council Island Hospital: 62
|
||
Council Island Inn: 60
|
||
Covington Rent and Rest: 104
|
||
The Crime Mall: 143
|
||
Crusher 495: 131
|
||
The Crying Wall: 78
|
||
Cutting Edge: 37
|
||
Dadson Vision Entertainments: 89
|
||
Damian's: 29
|
||
Dante's Inferno: 36
|
||
Darrington Correctional Facilities: 86
|
||
Dassurn Securities: 43
|
||
DeClerry's: 77
|
||
DeGear's Electronics: 72
|
||
Deireadh An Tuarthell: 142
|
||
Denton's Lore Store: 101
|
||
Diamond Deckers: 109
|
||
Dieringer Sleep Company: 107
|
||
Dirty Rikki's: 85
|
||
Doctor's Hospital of Tacoma: 80
|
||
The Downfall: 131
|
||
Downtown Library: 38
|
||
Dr. Bob's Quickstitch Clinic: 134
|
||
The Dragon's Roar: 67
|
||
The Drunken Non-Com: 126
|
||
Eagle Lodge: 61
|
||
Ebey's Bar: 85
|
||
The Edge: 29
|
||
Edmonds Instruments: 116
|
||
Elliot's: 29
|
||
Elven View: 28
|
||
The Emerald Room: 28
|
||
Enumclaw Moneymaker Hotel: 107
|
||
Everett Beacon Mall: 85
|
||
Everett Community College: 91
|
||
Everett District Court House: 86
|
||
Everett District Hall: 86
|
||
Everett Gala Inn: 84
|
||
Everett General Hospital: 91
|
||
Everett Naval Hospital: 91
|
||
Everett Naval Shipyard: 89
|
||
Everett Triple Tree Inn: 84
|
||
Evergreen Kingdom: 39
|
||
Executive Body Enhancements: 46
|
||
Exhibition Hall: 39
|
||
Ezell's Southern Accent: 66
|
||
Fast Freddie's Surgery: 46
|
||
Federal Building: 42
|
||
Federated Boeing Auburn Facility: 110
|
||
Federated Boeing Everett Facility: 89
|
||
Federated Boeing Field: 43
|
||
Federated Boeing Metalworks: 79
|
||
Federated Boeing Renton Facilities: 98
|
||
Federated Boeing Shipyards: 43
|
||
Fenris Nacht: 80
|
||
The Filthy Dragon: 104
|
||
Fort Lewis District Hall : 125
|
||
Fort Lewis Sauna: 126
|
||
Fort Lewis Stockades: 125
|
||
Fort Lewis Visitor's Quarters: 121
|
||
Fort Lewis Zoological Gardens: 122
|
||
The Frag Grenade: 54
|
||
French W Ranch: 116
|
||
Friendship Restaurant: 61
|
||
Fuchi Research Compound: 71
|
||
Gaeatronics: 71, 151
|
||
Gates Undersound Hotel: 26
|
||
The Gates: 72
|
||
Geon, Douglas: 48
|
||
Glass Onion: 29
|
||
Global Technologies: 71
|
||
Golden Soy: 121
|
||
Good Samaritan: 143
|
||
Gracie's For Ribs: 30
|
||
Grand Attraction: 84
|
||
Grand Council Lodge: 61
|
||
Gravity Bar: 30
|
||
Gravity Bar North: 85
|
||
The Gray Line: 30
|
||
Greasy Ben's: 100
|
||
The Green Nymph: 118
|
||
Green River Inn: 107
|
||
Green Village: 30
|
||
Greenwoods Inn: 66
|
||
Hajek's Computers: 91
|
||
Harborview Hospital: 45
|
||
Haukshorn Complex: 44
|
||
Health Maintenance Organization: 45
|
||
Hell's Kitchen Tours: 141
|
||
Hilton, Bellevue: 66
|
||
Lake Youngs: 96
|
||
Seattle: 27
|
||
The Hole Story: 108
|
||
Hollywood Correctional Facilities: 132
|
||
Hollywood Hospital: 134
|
||
Hollywood Simsense : 133
|
||
Hotel Nikko: 27
|
||
Howling Good Time: 141
|
||
Humana Hospital: 80
|
||
Icarus Descending: 30
|
||
Independent Information Network: 90
|
||
Ingersoll and Berkley : 90
|
||
Ingersoll and Berkley Tower: 44
|
||
Ingersoll Aquaculture: 116
|
||
The Italiano: 101
|
||
The Jackal's Lantern: 131
|
||
Jason's Bar and Grill: 85
|
||
Jay's Boathouse North: 114
|
||
The Joke: 131
|
||
Kennedy's Cheap Electronics: 92
|
||
Kenston Aircraft Interiors: 142
|
||
Kingsley Precision Metals: 117
|
||
Knight Errant: 64, 71
|
||
Knight Errant Training Academy: 98
|
||
Knutson's Country Home: 31
|
||
Lake Forest Park: 115
|
||
Lake Wilderness Hospital: 111
|
||
Lake Youngs Hilton: 96
|
||
Lakewood Comfy Cubicle: 76
|
||
Lakewood Shezan: 77
|
||
Laubenstein Plaza: 27
|
||
Learson Shipyards: 79
|
||
Lee Chee Garden: 31
|
||
Life-Eez Appliances: 133
|
||
Ling Ho: 31
|
||
Little Bit O' Saigon: 28
|
||
Lone Star: 151
|
||
Lone Star Security Building: 44
|
||
Lost Unicorn: 121
|
||
Loveland Bump and Sleep: 140
|
||
Loveland Quinn's: 143
|
||
Lucas Place: 27
|
||
Lynwood Library: 92
|
||
The Mad Woman: 131
|
||
Madigan Army Hospital: 125
|
||
Magician's Feast: 107
|
||
Main Place Arcade: 67
|
||
Maple Valley General: 100
|
||
Maple Valley Mall: 97
|
||
Marcus' Hotel: 31
|
||
Margaret Bridge Child Hospital: 80
|
||
Matchstick's: 36
|
||
Maximillion's: 31
|
||
Mayflower Park Hotel: 27
|
||
McChord Airfield Visitors Center: 122
|
||
McChord Hospital: 126
|
||
McKuen's Scrap Yard: 44
|
||
McMillin Correctional Facilities: 142
|
||
Medicine Lodge Hollow: 62
|
||
Merideth Comfy Cubicle: 96
|
||
Metroplex Hall: 42
|
||
Metroplex Prison: 42
|
||
Metroplex Supreme Court: 43
|
||
Microdeck Industries: 71
|
||
Microdeck: 149
|
||
Miller-Forest Computers: 126
|
||
Miner's Landing: 32
|
||
Mitsuhama Computer Technologies : 44
|
||
The Mogul: 67
|
||
Mon Hing Restaurant and Bar: 97
|
||
Monohan Vehicles: 133
|
||
Mountlake Memorial Hospital: 118
|
||
Mukilteo City Park: 86
|
||
The Murdered Mime: 100
|
||
Murphy's Law: 32
|
||
Museum Lodge: 62
|
||
New Century Square Hotel: 27
|
||
Night Crawlers Corporation: 99
|
||
Nightingale's Body Parts: 45
|
||
Northgate Mall: 39
|
||
Novelty Hill Sleep & Eat: 130
|
||
Nukit Burgers: 46
|
||
Nyen Lang: 32
|
||
Ohgi-Ya: 32
|
||
Omnidome: 39
|
||
Opera House: 39
|
||
The Other Place: 32
|
||
Overlake Medical Research Center: 72
|
||
Pacific Rim Communications : 79
|
||
Pacific Science Center: 39
|
||
Pacific University: 122
|
||
Palace of China: 80
|
||
Parkland Gala Inn: 121
|
||
Parkland Mall: 122
|
||
Passport Lodge: 62
|
||
Petrowski Farms: 142
|
||
Pike Place Farmer's Market: 39
|
||
Pink Door: 32
|
||
The Playhouse: 38
|
||
Port of Tacoma Police Station: 79
|
||
Psychedelic Pirate: 37
|
||
The Purgatory: 115
|
||
Purple Haze: 32
|
||
Purple Haze, Tacoma: 77
|
||
Puyallup District Court House: 142
|
||
Puyallup District Hall: 142
|
||
Puyallup Lodge: 140
|
||
Red Lobster: 27
|
||
Redmond Center Hotel: 130
|
||
Redmond Center Mall: 132
|
||
Redmond District Hall: 132
|
||
Redmond District Court House: 132
|
||
Redmond General: 134
|
||
Redmond Phoenix House: 131
|
||
Reno's: 35
|
||
Renraku Arcology: 47-55
|
||
Renraku Computer Systems: 152
|
||
Renton Center Mall: 97
|
||
Renton District Court House: 98
|
||
Renton District Hall: 98
|
||
Renton Hole in the Wall: 97
|
||
Renton Inn: 96
|
||
Renton Mall: 40
|
||
The Retirement: 141
|
||
The Rubber Suit: 92
|
||
Rumpelstiltskin's: 54
|
||
Run Run Shaw's: 35
|
||
Sea-Tac Mall: 78
|
||
Seattle Art Museum Pavillion: 40
|
||
Seattle Coliseum: 40
|
||
Seattle Convention Center: 40
|
||
Seattle Ferry Terminal: 86
|
||
Seattle General Hospital: 45
|
||
Seattle Hilton: 27
|
||
Seattle University: 40
|
||
Seattle-Tacoma Airport: 42
|
||
Seward Club: 37
|
||
Shadow Lake Correctional : 98
|
||
Sheraton
|
||
Snohomish: 114
|
||
Tacoma: 76
|
||
Shiawase Corporation: 79, 152
|
||
Shy Giant: 121
|
||
Silcox Island Correctional : 79
|
||
The Silver Fools: 67
|
||
The Skeleton: 134
|
||
Snohomish District Court House: 116
|
||
Snohomish District Hall: 116
|
||
Snohomish Medical Center: 118
|
||
Snohomish Optical Incorporated: 117
|
||
Snohomish Security Personnel: 118
|
||
Snohomish Society Farm: 117
|
||
South Island Clinic: 62
|
||
Space Needle: 40
|
||
The Spirit Focus: 143
|
||
THE Sports Bar: 35
|
||
Squatter's Mall: 134
|
||
Stouffer-Madison Hotel: 27
|
||
Stuck's Bag-Your-Body: 111
|
||
Stuck's Carnival: 111
|
||
Stuffer Shacks: 46
|
||
Sybrespace: 37
|
||
Tacoma Charity General: 80
|
||
Tacoma District Courthouse: 79
|
||
Tacoma District Hall: 79
|
||
Tacoma Dome Hotel: 76
|
||
Tacoma Ferry Terminal: 78
|
||
Tacoma Mall: 78
|
||
Tacoma Nybbles & Bytes: 80
|
||
Tacoma Style: 77
|
||
Taetzel Building: 134
|
||
Takuri's: 35
|
||
Talbot Security Vehicles: 99
|
||
Tam's Under the Needle: 35
|
||
The Terrible Taps: 122
|
||
The Terror Pit: 97
|
||
Thomas Lake Mining and Oil: 90
|
||
Thomas Vinters: 68
|
||
Thrasher's Correctional Facilities: 116
|
||
The Top Side: 114
|
||
Trader Vic's: 28
|
||
Transonics: 40
|
||
Travis Memorial: 91
|
||
The Turner Clinic: 118
|
||
Twenten's: 141
|
||
Tyee, Thunder: 14-15
|
||
UA.S. Post Office: 43
|
||
U.S. Public Health Hospital: 45
|
||
Ultra Resort: 111
|
||
Underworld 93: 143
|
||
United Oil R& D: 110
|
||
University Hospital: 46
|
||
University of Washington: 25, 40, 60
|
||
Urban Combat Simulator: 125
|
||
Villa Plaza: 78
|
||
Wanda's Witchery: 97
|
||
Warwick Hotel: 27
|
||
Weapons World: 46
|
||
West Coast Hamlin Hotel: 28
|
||
Westin Hotel: 28
|
||
Wylle's Gala Inn: 28
|
||
Wynaco Correctional Facilities: 109
|
||
Y.MA.: 42
|
||
Yoshiro's: 131
|
||
You Should Not Eat So Much!: 35
|
||
Zalensky's Electronics: 80
|