I'm back after a little delay. I set out to do a series of articles about the experience of reading through Shadowrun 2050. You can check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them.
The "Let's Read" was going along well enough but I eventually hit a snag. I realized somewhere during the writing of Part 3 that I was diving into a regular review on the book. This wasn't something I intended to do but couldn't help myself. I could no longer discuss each part on it's own because there just wasn't a whole lot of material to comment on.
So I decided to scrap Part 3 and shoot straight with a complete rundown. So let's power down the rose-tinted cyber eyes and take a look at Shadowrun 2050 for what it is.
Showing posts with label Old School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old School. Show all posts
July 31, 2012
July 20, 2012
[Let's Read] Shadowrun 2050 : Part 2
Today we are going to dive into the first chapter in Shadowrun 2050. If you missed Part 1 be sure to check it out first.
The first chapter is appropriately named The Knife at Your Throat. This is a rundown of the various facets of 2050 life that might end up getting you killed. An excellent place to begin. The chapter is broken up into three parts which each break down their own little slice of Shadowrunner life. All of this is written within the framework of a file that has been posted on the infamous Shadowland. That means Shadowtalk. Shadowtalk has always been the most entertaining part of any Shadowrun fiction for me and I am glad to see it return in just the way I remember it.
For those of you unfamiliar, this means that the text is broken up with commentary written by some of the famous characters from the fiction. For those of you that remember this well, you won’t be disappointed. Captain Chaos, Fast Jack, Argent, Hachetman and even Big D himself all comment somewhere within the first chapter.
Ok. Let’s dive in.
The first chapter is appropriately named The Knife at Your Throat. This is a rundown of the various facets of 2050 life that might end up getting you killed. An excellent place to begin. The chapter is broken up into three parts which each break down their own little slice of Shadowrunner life. All of this is written within the framework of a file that has been posted on the infamous Shadowland. That means Shadowtalk. Shadowtalk has always been the most entertaining part of any Shadowrun fiction for me and I am glad to see it return in just the way I remember it.
For those of you unfamiliar, this means that the text is broken up with commentary written by some of the famous characters from the fiction. For those of you that remember this well, you won’t be disappointed. Captain Chaos, Fast Jack, Argent, Hachetman and even Big D himself all comment somewhere within the first chapter.
Ok. Let’s dive in.
July 18, 2012
[Let's Read] Shadowrun 2050 : Part 1
It’s here. Since I heard about this book a few months back I’ve felt nothing but excitement about it. Let me give you a little history on my relationship with everyone’s favorite cyberpunk/fantasy hybrid.
Shadowrun was the second roleplaying game that I really got into. After cutting my teeth on D&D, Shadowrun came off as just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I quickly was spending my meager teenage income to collect each book as it released. This was right around when Third Edition was new. I read all the old modules I could get my hands on and was generally in love with the game.
Fast forward years later with the release of Fourth Edition (and now 20th Anniversary). I like the unified mechanics. I like what the they did with moving the setting forward. 2070 felt new and fresh. Most of all, it felt like a good evolution of the game’s original cyberpunk roots.
Unfortunately for me that left some of what I fell in love with behind. I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining what I mean other than Fourth Edition felt less “cyberPUNK” and more “near future espionage + magic.” The old Matrix went way. Sadly so did the most of the attitude and aesthetic that made those books so enjoyable for me to read in the first place.
Needless to say that when I heard that a sourcebook that brought the excellent 20th Anniversary rules back in time, I went absolutely bonkers. Enter Shadowrun 2050. Fast forward to today and the PDF has finally released. Instead of doing a cut and dry review I thought I would simply bring you along for the ride while reading it.
Follow along after the break.
Shadowrun was the second roleplaying game that I really got into. After cutting my teeth on D&D, Shadowrun came off as just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I quickly was spending my meager teenage income to collect each book as it released. This was right around when Third Edition was new. I read all the old modules I could get my hands on and was generally in love with the game.
Fast forward years later with the release of Fourth Edition (and now 20th Anniversary). I like the unified mechanics. I like what the they did with moving the setting forward. 2070 felt new and fresh. Most of all, it felt like a good evolution of the game’s original cyberpunk roots.
Unfortunately for me that left some of what I fell in love with behind. I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining what I mean other than Fourth Edition felt less “cyberPUNK” and more “near future espionage + magic.” The old Matrix went way. Sadly so did the most of the attitude and aesthetic that made those books so enjoyable for me to read in the first place.
Needless to say that when I heard that a sourcebook that brought the excellent 20th Anniversary rules back in time, I went absolutely bonkers. Enter Shadowrun 2050. Fast forward to today and the PDF has finally released. Instead of doing a cut and dry review I thought I would simply bring you along for the ride while reading it.
Follow along after the break.
June 19, 2012
Dungeon World: Kickstarting My Heart
Ok. I have a confession to make. I have yet to back anything on Kickstarter. I know, I know. I'm not supporting all the great Board Game, RPG and Video Game projects that are being made. I'm missing out on all of those cool Backer rewards. Trust Me! I've wanted to. My greatest failure was actually forgetting, FORGETTING to back Shadowrun Returns.
All of this is about to change. I've stumbled on a project today that really sings to my latest interest. Old School Fantasy Adventuring. I've been reading the most excellent Dungeon Crawl Classics and it really has me longing for a return to form for my Fantasy RPGs.
Enter Dungeon World.
Dungeon World promised to combine modern rules with old school style. I heard about this what seems like ages ago. A rules hack for Apocalypse World which emulated old school D&D as opposed to the dark and deviant setting that is standard for the game. Apocalypse World is supposed to have some good mechanics backing it. Stuff that ties characters together and rules that don't get in the way. From what I understand it has many "Indie" RPG mechanics.
Fast forward to now and Dungeon World is already well past being funded. In fact, it is currently 1,281% Funded. Yea. They overshot the goal that much with over a week to go.
So I'm going to throw in my $5 at least. For that price you get the PDF and PDF copies of the exclusive Kickstarter Backer supplements. At that price point I can't help but give in to curiosity. For those that want a little more there are tons of other backer levels that include softcover and hardcover books. All of which are priced nicely.
The game will operate under an open Creative Commons license as well. The developers want it to inspire others and let them run amok with what they have created. I think this is a great approach as it is even more open than the typical OGL.
Modern Mechanics + Old School Style + Great Art + Great Price. I'm on board.
You still have 11 days to go. Check it out.
All of this is about to change. I've stumbled on a project today that really sings to my latest interest. Old School Fantasy Adventuring. I've been reading the most excellent Dungeon Crawl Classics and it really has me longing for a return to form for my Fantasy RPGs.
Enter Dungeon World.
Dungeon World promised to combine modern rules with old school style. I heard about this what seems like ages ago. A rules hack for Apocalypse World which emulated old school D&D as opposed to the dark and deviant setting that is standard for the game. Apocalypse World is supposed to have some good mechanics backing it. Stuff that ties characters together and rules that don't get in the way. From what I understand it has many "Indie" RPG mechanics.
Fast forward to now and Dungeon World is already well past being funded. In fact, it is currently 1,281% Funded. Yea. They overshot the goal that much with over a week to go.
So I'm going to throw in my $5 at least. For that price you get the PDF and PDF copies of the exclusive Kickstarter Backer supplements. At that price point I can't help but give in to curiosity. For those that want a little more there are tons of other backer levels that include softcover and hardcover books. All of which are priced nicely.
The game will operate under an open Creative Commons license as well. The developers want it to inspire others and let them run amok with what they have created. I think this is a great approach as it is even more open than the typical OGL.
Modern Mechanics + Old School Style + Great Art + Great Price. I'm on board.
You still have 11 days to go. Check it out.
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