Wild how Shadowrun today feels like an optimistic alternate future. Native Americans gain independence from the U.S. government? A benevolent dragon becomes the president and governs by suicide? People still communicate primarily through message boards? Sign me the fuck up.
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GitS:SAC 1st season is literally just about basic corruption and regulatory capture.
Its honestly why I really hate the 2049 series so much. It just kinda throws that all out. oooo spoopy newtype shit.
They got an episode about white supremacist Americans too.
Shirow's manga also mentions israeli scheming over Palestine a few times.
Oh, by contrast with reality.
SIMPLE
SYNDICATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...frankly, you look at the broadcasts on forums in Shadowrun, and they're audio as well as visual. You could podcast that way too, if you felt the need.
All the best podcasts are on radio anyhow. "The Game Show", "If You're Listening", etc.
*That played TTRPGS, esp that one.
On the other hand, California is invaded by *ultra racist* authoritarian Japan, and Denver is placed under the claws of a.... benevolent dictator dragon. win and lose.
Still, reading the entire section on him.... Evicting the Azzies from Denver was a pleasing bit of lore. We all love hating on the Azzies.
The tldr though was (and maybe its a retcon), that he was keeping The Sheidim out of our reality. Evil shadow life sucking dudes.
...i mean moreso than in real life
Dunkelzahn's still got two years until his campaign, right? Could happen. We might even have a real UCAS by then. -shudder-
"What if somewhere on the way to total dystopia, the universe itself provided the keys to taking control of our future away from capitalism?"
It’s in my library already and I booted it up once but barely got into it aaa
In shadowrun, they decided to build on top of it, turning the whole thing into a subterranean caste society of dwarves and ghouls connected through a labyrinth of escalators.
I kinda want to run a firefight in a semi-abandoned mall I know.
Her current series about anarchist demons trying to tear heaven down is also good
And I’ve read a LOT of cyberpunk stories.
It's all fucked and your gonna die of you don't Rob the vending machine to make rent
https://shadowrun.fandom.com/wiki/Dragonheart
The GM, an engineering student, was like “roll if you want to, or just take the 350, because it’ll for sure be with 25 of that.”
https://bsky.app/profile/wired.com/post/3ljssctt3wc2h
But as the war in Ukraine has demonstrated, no, not at all, the Rigger is real, and relevant.
They're archtypes far older than tolkein, but he did codify them in english with words not attached to any specific mythology.
Then again the rest of the country has it's own problems such as a literal zone from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in the south with magic, basically fey realm bleeding into reality & the military needs to make incursions, christians -
And that is besides the north sea being toxic & full of pirates plus other instabilties.
Lowfyr controlling on region is really the least of the problems ^^
#Shadowrun
But cyberpunk without electronica is so weird or disregarding hip-hop completely.
It is fun to go back and look at all the lame bars and clubs they imagined. Or red light districts. They did not get out much.
In the beginning they had all of Berlin after fighting against Nazis during a global panic (Night of Rage). But then the german team was into repeating the divided city narrative and wrote the corporations taking over west Berlin into it.
And that's just weirdly embarrassing, no matter how noble the humble hobbit may be elsewise.
And I have always liked rocks.
OK, bring it. I'm already definitely the right shape.
My best friend from HS, Mike, died last year, at 53. We used to play Shadowrun, and his twin brother gave me his books, and now I’m figuring out how to build a campaign worthy of Mike and his brother and his daughters, who want to play too.
RIP Mike.
So in plainer terms, I'm sorry about your friend, and I appreciate you sharing the story.
I think speculative fiction needs some lifeline of hope.
It's been years and the group I game with still want to throw all the books at whomever said the mission was a "cake walk" or a "milk run". ⚔️💜
However they at least remembered that First Nations existed and tried to give them a prominent role unlike almost any of their competitors. Much as WoD tried to give representation to LGBTQ+.
Shadowrun Hong Kong rivals Deus Ex & New Vegas in terms of writing quality.
You get a bisexual orc brother who's an ex-cop with anger issues, who asks you to make the judgement calls in the field as he trusts you.
If you’re dropping nuclear weapons on any of the Great Lakes, you must be doing something right. Let’s hear it for Damien Knight.
Boy now that's what you call a fantasy written in the 90s
China’s exploited workforce lives in pod hotels with forcefields instead of shantytowns made of cardboard boxes?
America’s elite caste of billionaires fight over the best way to *help* humanity?
The Illuminati and Big Pharma are actually good guys?
Damn.
Yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CthU2bsh6Fs
GIVE THE WURM A TURN!!!!!!!!!
But remember, that world is generally nasty and brutish, if not short, for most people.
Notwithstanding the totally-not-a-dragon and mysterious implant.
#Shadowrun
I do not have the other editions handy.