11ShadowrunQuestions

(fornewplayers)

1 Whatcantechnologydoin2070?
Alotandalittle.Thebiggestadvancesareindataprocessingandunderstandingofthe
humanbrain.Forthecomputers,this(a)meanscountlesslittlecomputerseverywhere.You
canmessageyourfridgetoorderfoodinwhenitslow,youhavevoicerecognitiononyour
comm(thenextevolutionarysteponfrommobilephones),yourcarcanfinditswayhome
whenyoupassoutdrunkbehindthewheel.And(b)therealcomputersareabletorun
incrediblyrealisticvirtualenvironmentsandinterfacewiththehumanbraininrealtime.
ThelatteriscalledSIMsenseandisawayofoverridingthenormalsensoryinputofthe
humanbody.Ithasmanywonderfulusesandafewreally,reallynastyones.
Otheradvancesareinbiology,materialsscienceandpowerstorage.Theupshot?Biological
andcyberneticalterationstothehumanbody.Theycangiveyouanewarm,theycan
rebuildyourskull,theycanvatgrowadditionalgreymatterfromstemcellsandgiveyour
brainanupgrade.Andeyes...youcangetsomereallycooleyes,thesedays.
Buttherearen'tmanybigrevolutionsinscience.Noteleportersorlightsabres.Thethings
thatarepossibleintheory2007/9,aresometimespossibleinpracticein2070.Butnoone's
radicallychangedthetheoryyet.

2 Whatcanmagicdoin2070?
Noonereallyknowsforsure.Atleastnoonewho'stalking.Allthat'sdefiniteisthatmagic
isdark,sinisterandpowerful.Mageshavebeenabletomanipulateenergytothrowfire,fly,
turnfleshintostoneorcontroltheverywaypeoplethink.Thereseemtobelimitsthough.
Therehavebeenconstraintsthoughnoonehasmanagedtoteleportorraisethedead.
SpiritsandAstralProjectionarereal,however.

3 Iseverybodyhappy?
No.Really,no.It'sbadoutthere.Stayhereinyourlittlecorporateenclavewhereournice
securityforceswillprotectourloyalemployees.Seemslikeeveryyear,thepolicelose
controlofanotherpartofthecity.AndtheVITASplagues...whodidyoulosetoVITAS?
Me?Justmysister.Iwaskindoflucky.Itellyouthis,it'sagoodjobtheMegacorpsarein
charge.Ifitwasn'tforus,you'dbeleftwithwhatremainsoftheWorld'sgovernments
tryingtorunthings.Theyhadtheirchanceandtheyfailed.Nowdon'tyouthinkyoushould
begettingbacktowork?You'reproductivitywasdownthismonth,andyoureallydon't
wanttobeblacklistedifyoulosethisjob.NotwithlittleTimmywantingschoolvouchers,
eh?

4 Wheredidthemetahumanscomefrom?
Us.ItbeganwithUGEbackintheearly2010's.Childrenwerebeingborndeformed(asit
wasthoughtbackthen).Somanyoftheminsomanypartsoftheworld,themedicalworld
wasbaffledastothecause.Becausetheyfittedthestereotypessowell,itwasinevitable
thatthemediadubbedthechildrenDwarvesandElves.Thatgotabout10%ofnewbornsin
theearlyyears.Butitwasn'tanythingcomparedtowhathappenedtoseeminglynormal

childrenwhentheyhitpuberty(andsomeunfortunateadults).Goblinisationputpeople
inprolonged,agonisingstateslastingfrommonthstooverayear.Andtheyemerged
grotesquelychanged.Withdwarvesandelvessettingaprecedent,itwasinevitablethat
wegotOrksandTrolls.thoughtheyhavescientificnames.It'sstillsettlingdownand
evennow,ahumanchildwilloccasionallygobliniseatpuberty(everyparent'snightmare).
Likewiseatrolloranelfwillsometimesgivebirthtoahumanchild.It'sgettingless
frequentthough.
Andeveryonefallsintooneoftheraces.Therearenohalfbreeds.Humanandorcgetiton,
itcouldgoeitherway,butitwillbeoneortheother.

5 Who'sincharge?
TherearetencorporationsthatarecalledMegacorporations,ortripleAAA's.There's
barelyagovernmentintheworldthatisn'tintheirpockets.MegacorpslikeRenraku,
SaederKrupporAresruntheshow.Nationalgovernmentsremainforthemostpart
becausethemega'sdon'twanttodealwithtakingoutthetrash.Buttherearenorealrules
forthebigboys.Themanoeuvringandstrugglefordominancebetweenthemiswhatturns
thegreasycogsoftheworld.
Butperhapstherearealsootherpowersatwork.Lessobvious.Nolessdangerous.You'll
learn.

6 HowmanyhitpointsdoIget?
About1015.Andyoudon'tgetmore.OneofthefundamentalprinciplesofShadowrun,
andyouneedtogetusedtothis,isthatitiseasiertodishoutdamagethanitistotakeit.
YoucanbethebestshotintheUCAS,youcanhurlafireballthatwillscorchthearmour
offanAresCitymaster,butyouwillnever,evergetawayfromthefactthatifsomeone
catchesyouintheopenwithanassaultrifle,youmightdie.Eventhebigplayersare
vulnerable.Thatdragonmighthaveenoughmagicaljuicetolevelyourpartyinonego,but
withtherightplanning(andaMediumMachineGun),asinglestartingcharactercould
bringherdown.That'swhyShadowrunissofilledwithplotting,treacheryandstealth.It's
partofthegame.(Andohyes,dragonsareverygoodatallthreeofthese).

7 WhoisHarlequin?
Anurbanmyth.Forgetaboutit.Justbecauseadeathgoesunexplained,there'snoneedto
goinventingnightmares.Seriously,forgetit.

8 WhatdoShadowrunnersdo?
Itdependshowmuchyoupaythem.Theyrangefromcompetentprofessionalstogangers
fromthestreet,butareusuallyacutabovethecommonman(orelsetheywontlastlong).
Mr.Johnsonmighthirethemtostealaprototypeorsabotagearival'soperationor
somethingelseentirely.Asdeniableassetstheycan'tbetracedtotheiremployer.

9 WhatcanIgetawaywith?
Dependswhereyouare.Ifyou'reinthebarrensthenyoucanprobablywalkdownthestreet
withanassaultrifleinyourhands(butkeepaneyeoutforthelocalgangswhomighttake
offence).TrythesamethinginBellevueandyou'llhaveheavilyarmedpolicealloveryou

inminutes.Likewise,whoyoupissoffprobablymattersmorethanwhatyoudo.Amurder
inRedmondwillgetsomepaperworkfiled.Punchsomebodyricherthanyouandthey'll
haveachipinyourheadfasterthanyoucansayprivatisedpoliceforce.

10 Whatmagicalcreaturesandplacesarethere?
Lotsofcreatures,someplaces.Justasinamanarichenvironment,somehumansexpressed
aselvesordwarves,somefactionofanimalsbecamealteredversionsofthemselves.You
wontseeunicornsgallopingdownthefreeway,butthezoomighthavesomedepressed
lookingnagaandafewcorporatefacilitiesusebarghestsfortheirabilitytoperceive(and
harm)astralforms.
Thebigonesaredragonsandspirits.Theformerfortheirintelligence,magicalpowerand
mostimportantlyofall,theirabilitytocommunicatewithmankind.Onehaseven
establisheditselfasthemajorshareholderanddirectorofacorporation.Thespiritsbecause
theycanbesummonedandcontrolledbymagicians.Theycomeinmanydifferentforms
andwieldvariousabilities.Andsomespiritsarefreeofanymaster.Theseinparticular,are
tobewaryof.

11 WhathappenedtoAmerica?
Abouteverythingbadyoucanimagine.Itisnomore.InsteadyouhavetheUnitedCanadian
andAmericanStates(UCAS)andthey'vehadalotofterritorytakenfromthem.Backin
theearly2000's,therewasgrowingpopularunrestduetoincreasingcorporatepowerand
theeconomicwoesthathadbefallenthedebtriddenUSAalongwithgrowingfearatthe
small,inexplicablephenomenathatwerestartingtohappen.Thegovernmentrespondedin
theusualwayofgovernmentsthatseethemselveslosingcontrolandtightenedtheirgrip
withstrongerlaws,harsherpunishmentsandreductionsincivilrights.Aterroristgroup,
calledSAIM,motivatedbytheblanketseizuresofnativeamericanlandstruckatanuclear
missilefacilityintheUSA.Thenativeamericanmovementingeneralhadbecome
somethingofacausecelebrfortheanticorporateandantiestablismentfactionsandthe
governmentdidn'tlikeit.Amongstthemanydissidentswhowerebeingrelocatedtore
educationcentreswasincludedayoungmancalledDanialHowlingCoyote.Afewyears
later,duringastorm,heledtheentireinmatepopulationofthecampoutintothenight.
Guardsreportedthathewasglowingandthatbulletswouldnottouchhim.Forthenext
yearhewastheUSA'smostwantedindividualwhilstatthesametimesupportforhimgrew
inmanyquartersandwithallethnicgroups,fuelledbyhisoccasionalmediastatements
againstthegovernmentandcorporations,andbyhisabilitytoeludetheverybestattempts
tocapturehim.Withincidentsofbeingabletodemonstraterealmagic,nativeamerican
shamans(thoughthisactuallyincludedconvertsfromanyrace),madeenormousgainsin
popularisingnativeamericanbeliefsystems,includingabacktothelandethos.Scared,
thegovernmenthitbackinallthewaysitcouldandthereisastrictmediaclampdown.
DanialHowlingCoyoteissuesademandtothegovernmentoftheUSAtorelinquish
controloflargeswathesofNorthAmericanterritorytohisNANCouncil.Thisistreated
withderisionuntilMt.Redondoerupts,buryingLosAlamos.DanialHowlingCoyote
broadcastsamessagefromanearbyreservationtakingcreditfor'invokingMotherEarth'
andanentirebattalionofUSAFairbornecavalryissentafterhim.Nonesurvive.Thetruth
ofwhatishappeningleakstothepublicdespitegovernmentcensorshipprovokingpanic
andmorecivilunrest.Overthenextfewyears,repeatedattacksonDanial'sguerillaforces
arefoiledandtheUSAisnowinastateofactualwarfareagainsttheenemywithinitsown
borders.In2017,DanialleadswhathecalledtheGreatGhostDance.Fourvolcanosin

NorthAmericaeruptedsimultaneously,devastatingwholeregions.Facedwithanenemyit
cannotfight,anddemandswithinitsownpopulace,theUSAnegotiates.Largeterritories
arecededtoNANcontrolandotherpartsoftheUSAsecedeoftheirownaccord.After
twohundredandfortyyearsofexistence,theUSAwasnomore.