Infected

“The Infected” are people exposed to the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV), either
through direct exposure or through parental inheritance. HMHVV is an awakened virus capable
of affecting a wide variety of species, transforming them into monstrous forms. There are four
strains of HMHVV, each causing different transformations. Additionally, HMHVV causes different
effects on different metatypes, so if a dwarf and an elf are exposed to the same strain of the
disease, they could end up with wildly different expressions. See Run Faster for rules and basic
descriptions of the different types.

Things to note
● Infected are not undead.
○ While changed by the virus, and often resembling classic shambling monsters,
infected are still living beings.
○ The exact nature of their biologies can be significantly different though. All
humanoid infected require some form of cannibalistic feeding. Strain 1 in
particular have a larger degree of biological and feeding differences, having
reduced body functions and needing to feed on essence as well as blood or
flesh.
● Infected are feared.
○ Infected are cannibalistic, often highly infectious, and have been rising in fear in
the public consciousness.
○ In general the default reaction of a UCAS citizen to infected, is overwhelmingly
negative. While the exact manifestation differs based on the person and their
background, things like fear, mistrust, or hatred are common.
● There are exceptions.
○ In the past there were growing infected rights and advocacy groups. Their efforts
have been diminished in past decades due to the worsening of the infected
condition, social factors, and infected terrorism.
○ Runners in particular often are forced to make strange bedfellows by nature of
their profession, and opinions can be potentially nuanced.
○ There are organizations that advocate and support the infected. Groups like the
Ghoul Liberation League push for better rights and the advancement of ghouls.
Local communities of infected band together to support each other, relying on
each other when the world won’t, and criminal organizations such as the 162s
and similar attempt to carve an economic position out of the gutter.
● Essence drain does not consume the soul.
○ While views of essence and the soul vary dramatically in setting, the out of
character position is that essence is not the soul.
 ○ Essence is a representation of the soul’s connection to the body. “Soul glue” as
some call it. Thus, essence drain does not involve eating the soul, but simply
weakening the it’s hold on the body. This can be disputed in character of course.
● Infected are Dual Natured
○ This means they are active in the astral plane at all times. This has many rules
implications, but in a brief summary, they are always affected by magical wards,
spirits and magicians on the astral can target them, and they can perceive astral
phenomena.
○ Before making an infected character, be sure to read the magic rules carefully.

Things to expect as an infected player

● Tension with other runners
○ Not all characters are tolerant of infected, due to a variety of reasons. The
physical needs of infected to live put them in an inherent tension with
non-infected. Having a talk with someone on a different level of the food chain as
you can be a bit hostile at times.
● Tension in the setting
○ Infected are near the bottom of the social ladder, often not even treated as
people. Hatred, distrust, even bounties and hunters are all common occurrences.
○ Infected will often need to hide their nature on runs, not necessarily from their
teammates, but from members of the public. Getting revealed as a vampire on a
social infiltration could be quite damaging, as an example.
● Moral Ambiguity
○ A hallmark of infected in the setting, and as playing as one, is that there are
never any perfectly moral solutions. Even the best behaved infected still rely on
consuming body parts from their fellow metahuman.
○ Feeding can be a complicated and potentially dark topic. While we support it
entirely on the Haven, players might potentially ask for topics to be put out of
focus or spoilered for user safety and comfort. This isn’t a blanket censor, so
much as tailoring to the needs of people in the conversation at the given time.
● Listening to the needs of others on the server
○ Following on the prior point, infected can dip into dark or potentially upsetting
topics. We all have different backgrounds and tastes here, so when playing an
infected character, it’s very possible to stumble into a situation where one party is
fine with something, and another isn’t. Through usage of the stop card system,
and most importantly communication, we try to work through these things.
○ While we do work to accommodate those uncomfortable with a topic, we also
don’t want to silence topics included within our overall RP environment, so if
things are making participants uncomfortable, we will look to alternate options,
such as Content Warnings + Spoilers, shifting channels, or in the most extreme
cases, hidden opt-in channels.
Playing as a Non-Infected Character around Infected.
● Professional tolerance, but with caution
○ After your character proved themselves as capable enough to enter
ShadowHaven, before they were given access, they also had to understand and
accept that they'd work with a myriad of colleagues. While it's not required for the
runner to like everyone they work with, they wouldn't be given access if they
cannot work alongside their colleagues during runs. Outside of runs is a different
topic altogether, however.
○ It's a relatively normal and understandable reaction to take precautions before
going on a job with an Infected character. Taking a magazine or two of wood pulp
bullets, purchasing a UV light or keeping a closer eye on the character in
question. While it's nothing more than career suicide for Infected to attack fellow
runners on a job, it's always smart to have a backup 'just in case.'
● Infection Concerns
○ Strain 2 and 3 can infect others via bodily fluids, but Strain 1 can only be
transferred by fully essence draining a target.
○ Keeping distance from Strain 2 and Strain 3 Infected is sensible, but the virus
travels via an Injection-vector, meaning simply sharing the same air as a ghoul
doesn't cause infection. Being exposed is also not a guaranteed death sentence.
Medicine has advanced far enough that people as capable as Haven
shadowrunners often have access to support and tools that can make resisting
the virus very possible. Further, if this goes poorly, you can always burn a point of
edge to beat the disease. The true danger is to the average Joe who might not
be able to afford boosted treatment.
○ Without Knowledge: Infected, it may even be difficult to identify certain
expressions. Biosculpted Ghouls and certain strain expressions such as
Vampires are metahuman enough superficially that without explicit knowledge of
what to look for, at most your character may simply see a paler-than-average
runner. Assensing may aid in identifying one, however!
Drakes
Drakes are the descendants of dragon servants from the 4th World. In the years between the
bloodlines were lost and scattered, but now in this age of heightened magic, drakes are
beginning to appear once again. Blurring the line between metahuman and dragon, drakes can
transform into metahuman sized dragons. With the legacy of their ancestor’s servitude hanging
over their heads, drakes have to walk a careful path to maintain their freedom. Dragons have
long memories, and have never forgotten their property of old.

For more details and rules, check Howling Shadows.

Things to note
● Metahuman-ish
○ Drakes still count as their original metatype for terms of spell targeting.
○ However, even in metahuman form, they still produce dracoform enzymes,
blurring their true level of metahumanity.
● Two Forms
○ When drakes shift, they turn into a dragon with a size of roughly 2 to 3 meters,
not counting wingspan.
○ A drake can be of any metatype, but the drake form is a separate and distinct
form. Shifting from the metahuman form to the drake form causes any ware to
disappear. The drake form cannot receive ware.
○ While a drake can hide their scaly form, their aura will still show it.
○ Drakes are dual natured in their drake form, which means they can’t disconnect
from the astral. See the infected section for more details.
● Heavy Karma Costs
○ Drakes have large karmic costs to even allow shifting.
○ Picking a drake will involve long term character development, and large karma
investment to reach general usage of drake powers.
○ It can be a difficult first character.
● Wanted, but not too much
○ The long reach of the dragons that made their kind hangs over every drake.
Great dragons view drakes as their lost property, and would enjoy having it back.
○ However, dragons are rather particular about their property rights. Grabbing a
drake that they don’t have rights to could ignite a feud with a powerful rival.
Unfortunately for them, the bloodlines have become muddled over the millenia,
meaning finding out which dragon owns which drake is a rather difficult task.
○ As a result of this, dragons don’t snatch drakes on sight, especially drakes that
are runners. While they do want to acquire drakes in an abstract sense, they only
will do this if they feel supremely confident that they can get away with it. One
drake isn’t worth an immortal rival.
 ○ That’s not to say they stay idle though. If a dragon has their eyes on a drake,
they will set plots in motion. However, this would likely be related to multiple runs,
and perhaps centrally tied into the story of the character in question. It would not
be a passing whim.
○ Drakes are also valuable for the magic of their body parts. This is obviously not a
good thing for the drake in question. Opportunistic hunters and talismongers
might try to kill or capture a drake, to harvest them for their valuable scales or for
other purposes. While this is more of a risk to non-runner drakes, it still could be
a potential threat at times.
● Security Responses
○ A large scaly monster is a terrifying sight to security forces. You know what else
is? A warrior with more metal than flesh, a mage chunking explosive fireballs,
and a decker making your Matrix security look like a joke.
○ Drakes do not provoke a “special” response from security forces. Plenty of
drakes are less impressive than the average runners, being just random people
who sprouted scales.
○ Any team on a runner’s level will lead to HTR coming, and it’s the same with a
drake.
○ By that same token, feel free to shift in combat. Though mind the fact that it might
not be subtle.

Things to expect as a Drake player

● Tension with other runners
○ Drakes can be a scary prospect for runners to contemplate. Made in the form of
one of running’s greatest historical foes, and having the chance of holding a
dragon’s eye, it might be difficult for others to trust you.
○ Additionally, it might be hard to trust them. Do they care about you as a person,
or would they sell you out for the most convenient paycheck. It’s taboo to harm
another runner on the job, but that leaves out a lot of extra time.
● Tension in the setting
○ Drakes are high value beings with telltale signs on the astral. If not under the
control of a dragon, the threat always hangs over them. Potentially wanted by
dragons, hunters, and mages, drakes need to keep their eyes open and their
mind’s wary.
○ Drakes might want to be careful who they reveal their status to. While using their
drake form is fine, the more people who can link the form to a person the more
ways your secrets can be revealed. Walking a balance between safety, the need
for personal connections, and towards growing the power needed to protect
yourself is a delicate thing.
Playing as a Non-Drake Character around Drakes
● Haven Coworkers
○ Like in the infected section, regardless of a character’s personal views involving
drakes, it’s expected that they have to work alongside colleagues of all types.
While they don’t need to like everyone they work with, they would have to show
the ability to work with colleagues during runs, in some professional capacity.
○ Turning in drakes for bounties, beyond being a violation of that mutual trust, is
likely a poor business decision. The worth of a drake to a talismonger isn’t going
to be worth the loss of professional trust. Being a runner pays well after all.
● Relationship Dynamics
○ Drakes have a deep connection to the lore and the setting, and there are many
different ways that characters could interface with that. They could distrust them
as agents of dragons, or as a massive security risk to associate with, but they
could also see that they, like other runners, want a chance to live their life in
freedom. The ultimate choice is yours.
○ Here are some sample dynamics. This is by no means exhaustive.
■ “They say to never cut a deal with a dragon. Perhaps there’s a reason for
that. Drakes were designed to be a dragon’s perfect servant. Who could
say what goes through their minds, what plots they might have?”
■ “Drakes are runners just the same as you or I. They have enemies,
people avoid them, but so do the rest of us. We’re all united in the
bottom.”
■ “Drakes are hunted by Great Dragons, and that’s an association you don’t
want. Limited contact means limited danger. Hopefully.”
■ “Dragons are cool. Dragons are like drakes. I like drakes.”

Cyborgs
In the Sixth World, it’s a common sight to see flesh replaced with steel and chrome. Cyberware
is ubiquitous, a powerful and versatile path for metahumans to evolve their capabilities. That
said, metahuman ambition has limits. The more transformative the ware installed, the greater
the stress on the mind and body, and the greater the potential health risks. Ethical concerns
have never stopped corporations though.

Through a highly invasive and dangerous surgical procedure, the constraints of the metahuman
body can be abandoned. The metahuman brain is extracted and placed in a highly advanced
life support system, the Cranial Containment Unit (CCU), and subjected to an intense array of
hormonal and biochemical treatments to adapt the brain to this new, fundamentally changed
existence. Many die or are driven insane in the transition, but those who survive are an
incredibly potent tool and weapon. Colloquially called jarheads or borgs, these beings are a
feared sight by any shadowrunner on a job.
However, while many remain under the control of their corporate creators, some Cyborgs have
managed to slip control and find a new life, for a variety of reasons. Some for freedom, others
for wealth or power, and some simply by accident. Regardless, the shadows have gained
powerful new members.

For more lore, check Augmentation (4e) or Body Shop (6e)

Things to Note
● Who becomes a Cyborg?
○ The ideal candidate for this operation, in corporate eyes, are young
brains. Whether cloned or taken from a child, the neuroplasticity of a
growing brain makes it ideal for implantation into a CCU. Such subjects
have better mental outcomes and an easier transition.
○ There’s another, darker, reason corporations prefer these brains. An adult
that becomes a borg has a history, ideas, an irritating sense of
personhood and rights. With a fresh brain, one without past or connection,
the subject can be indoctrinated completely, molded into the perfect tool.
Instead of an employee, the corporation builds a drone with a wetware
component.
○ Adults have a high failure rate when undergoing the operation. Successful
cases tend to undergo months of psychological and pharmacological
preparation. Even then, side effects such as memory loss and mental
disorders are common.
○ Adults do have one major benefit over cloned or child subjects. They
actually know the world and have a fully developed brain. While
corporations work to shorten the “training” period for young brains through
endless virtual reality training, skillwires, and psychological torture, it
simply can’t match the life experience and development of an actual adult.
As a result, most newly activated non-adult subjects have fewer skills,
less knowledge of the physical world, and short attention spans.
● An Unstable Existence
○ Abandoning the metahuman body has consequences, despite the
strengths gained in changing flesh to steel. The brain, and the life of the
cyborg, is utterly dependent on the CCU. It regulates hormonal function,
monitors neurotransmitters, filters waste, and provides nutrition. The brain
within, in tandem, is the single most complex organ in the body. The total
system is incredibly intricate and sensitive. Because of that, the slightest
deviations in performance can cause catastrophic errors in the system,
and through that, the mind of the cyborg.
 ○ To maintain mental health, cyborgs must undergo weekly maintenance
sessions under the supervision of trained professionals. This
maintenance includes medical testing, mental checks, tuneups of the
CCU, and even socialization training. This process is essential to
maintaining mental health, with prolonged gaps in maintenance often
leading to drastic consequences.
○ Even with the best handlers, many cyborgs struggle with their existence.
Whether due to alienation, difficulties in the transition, dehumanization by
corporate masters, or simply malfunctioning life support systems, it’s not
uncommon for cyborgs to develop mental disorders, such as dissociation,
phobias, and psychosis.
● Why do corporations make Cyborgs?
○ Full limb replacements have similar strengths to cyborgs and they allow
for the usage of bioware. Why do corporations make cyborgs then? Well,
the basic answer is money. While the facilities required for cyborg
creations are advanced and highly costly, in terms of mass production,
cyborgs are more economical to produce than elite cyberlimbed warriors.
Additionally, a fresh brain can be considered “combat-ready” in as little as
3 to 6 months.
○ Cyborgs in many ways resemble an unhackable drone, a rigger with a
body encased in steel. They can’t be affected by most magic, and they
are immune to many environmental hazards.
○ Cyborgs are also easier to control than wared out soldiers. They are often
incredibly indoctrinated, and are dependent on constant maintenance.
Without this, they will fall apart, both physically and mentally. This gives
corporations a great deal of leverage and security. For many subjects this
existence is the only one they know.
● Age Concerns
○ Given the creation process of many cyborgs, their age and experience
can be less than many other runners. Like with shifters, Cyborg
characters can have an age lower than 18. This brings several points to
keep in mind.
○ Any cyborg of this type that has managed to make it to the Haven will be
experienced, at least in terms of combat and runner knowledge. They will
have endured specialized development programs to accelerate their
tactical knowledge and thinking ability during their corporate period, and
they, like all runners, must have completed several smaller scale runs to
qualify for membership.
○ Corporations work to accelerate the growth and maturity of clonal or child
brains they train, working to make useful soldiers, quickly. This process
has mixed results. While they do become effective soldiers, with those
that either fail or resist “deactivated”, the process isn’t perfect. Biology
does have limits to effective growth and development speed. Because of
this, there is an ambiguity to things and various paths for character
 roleplay and direction. Whatever roleplay path you choose to take, just
remember the golden rule, Don’t make it weird.

Things to expect as a Cyborg player

● Existential Questions
○ Cyborgs are alienated from metahumanity, no longer having a body to call their
own, their only way of interacting with the world through the matrix. Many have
been treated by property by corporate masters, their very existence made to
deliver violence, to be a tool of destruction. Is that the limit of their existence
though? Can they be more? Do they want to? Many will try to put them in a box,
but body or not, the mark of personhood is self-exploration and reflection. Where
will your path take you?
○ In much the same vein as e-ghosts, cyborgs and the setting elements they bring
serve as a great medium for exploring questions of humanity, self-identity, and
neuro-divergence, and the quest for personhood in a world that doesn’t want to
provide it.
● Tension in the setting
○ Many cyborgs are essentially manufactured weapons, created to serve as killing
machines. A kill-bot, not a person, in the eyes of many and a model with known
mental instability. While this is by no means true for every borg, many in the
world will be wary around a known cyborg. Additionally, without specialized
training, the inhuman body language and cues of cyborgs can cause unease
among the more organic.

○ Cyborgs require constant maintenance, a process that quite literally puts their life
in the hands of another. It’s not a simple repair job either, but a specialized and
complex task. While their old corporate masters offer a safe, secure life, is that
worth the loss of freedom? On the other hand, does the street doc on the corner
have the skill to keep you operating, to even keep you sane? Not to mention the
inherent vulnerability, the danger of letting another have complete control over
you. Who can you trust to have this power over you? Can you repair yourself? Do
you want to?

Playing as a Non-Cyborg Character around Cyborgs

● Relationship Dynamics
○ Cyborgs are quite varied in background and in personality. Some chose
their condition, while others were born in the shell. All have been touched
by the corporations at some point in their life, generally for the worse.
While a corp sinner can hide their past, a cyborg will always remain a
cyborg. That said, the mental dispositions and stabilities of cyborgs can
vary dramatically, so it can be difficult to characterize a cyborg without
getting to know them. Awakened characters may potentially feel uneasy
 by the lack of aura of cyborgs, their trace on the astral as lifeless as any
drone.
○ Here are some sample dynamics. This is by no means exhaustive.
■ “A metahuman mind can’t live like that, not for long. I don’t know
what’s worse, those that are slowly crushed by their condition,
who fall apart, or those that somehow thrive despite it. Whatever it
is that they become.”
■ “People have the right to become like that if they want to, but so
many never got that choice. They need our support, our care, a
chance to live like they never got to.”
■ “Jarheads are pretty creepy, but damn are they good in a firefight.
You’ve never seen stone cold until you see a guy with no muscles.
They’re fine by me.”
■ “Borgs are talented runners, I can’t deny that. They’re built for it
after all. Still, it’s hard to trust them. You never know what they’re
thinking, what they might do. When they’re going to crack. I hope
I’m not in a room with them when it happens.”
■ “So they’ve got a metal body? Who cares really? I have a friend
who’s one, he enjoys being able to punch through walls. It’s cool!
He’s got a better sense of humor than a lot of ‘totally normal’
mages I know too.”