Post by Lady on Oct 29, 2016 10:24:59 GMT -5
Before you start building a character or even read deeper into the way the system works an important understanding to have is the flavor of the world of Shadowrun. The first thing for you to understand is, this is not a game you win. If you have every played second edition Dungeons and Dragons or similar systems you will understand. Survival is a short term goal, sooner or later you will be killed, if not while you are weak and vulnerable, then after you've grown enough to become a threat those who you've made enemies will team up and end you.
A series of natural disasters cut the population down to a fraction of what it once was, add in the awakening of magical creatures, introduction of magic into the population, mutations into alternate races such as dwarves, orks, and elves dissolved the world into madness. In such chaotic times the structure that rises is rarely kind, people are identified by "System Identification Numbers" or SINs and if for whatever reason your SIN is destoryed or lost, or you were born without one being issued, the world forgets about you. In Seattle (where our game takes place) there is even a portion sectioned off for the SINless. No government assistance, no hope, people live and die in a squallor more akin to the dark ages then the modern era that exists just over the wall.
'Metahumanity' newly dubbed to include the various metatypes that now make up the population but despite the increased variance in the population it is not safe to assume there has been any increase in tolerance by the people who make it up. With so little to go around, everything is you do have should be coveted, and protected, because there are more a few people willing to take it. No one can be trusted, and your home no matter what a little shit hole it might be, is all the more precious when people don't know where it is, or that it belongs to you.
There are paths that aren't jaded or despairing but think carefully before you choose one, and ask the question how would your character have managed to live a life in the light when the world around them is trapped in the fading twilight before night. You have survive this far. You are one of the lucky ones. The goal now is to keep surviving and figure the rest out as you go, or maybe you have other reasons for staying alive, is there a wrong you need to right? An injustice you need to avenge? Someone you have to protect?
When you begin building ask yourself this question, what drives you? What lights your fire to fight to not only survive but flourish in this world where so many try, fail and die? What skills have assisted in that pursuit? Unlike other systems where you ask what characteristics have made you exceptional and helped you succeed in Shadowrun you ask instead what characteristics have helped you to not fail fatally yet compared to the many who have.
A series of natural disasters cut the population down to a fraction of what it once was, add in the awakening of magical creatures, introduction of magic into the population, mutations into alternate races such as dwarves, orks, and elves dissolved the world into madness. In such chaotic times the structure that rises is rarely kind, people are identified by "System Identification Numbers" or SINs and if for whatever reason your SIN is destoryed or lost, or you were born without one being issued, the world forgets about you. In Seattle (where our game takes place) there is even a portion sectioned off for the SINless. No government assistance, no hope, people live and die in a squallor more akin to the dark ages then the modern era that exists just over the wall.
'Metahumanity' newly dubbed to include the various metatypes that now make up the population but despite the increased variance in the population it is not safe to assume there has been any increase in tolerance by the people who make it up. With so little to go around, everything is you do have should be coveted, and protected, because there are more a few people willing to take it. No one can be trusted, and your home no matter what a little shit hole it might be, is all the more precious when people don't know where it is, or that it belongs to you.
There are paths that aren't jaded or despairing but think carefully before you choose one, and ask the question how would your character have managed to live a life in the light when the world around them is trapped in the fading twilight before night. You have survive this far. You are one of the lucky ones. The goal now is to keep surviving and figure the rest out as you go, or maybe you have other reasons for staying alive, is there a wrong you need to right? An injustice you need to avenge? Someone you have to protect?
When you begin building ask yourself this question, what drives you? What lights your fire to fight to not only survive but flourish in this world where so many try, fail and die? What skills have assisted in that pursuit? Unlike other systems where you ask what characteristics have made you exceptional and helped you succeed in Shadowrun you ask instead what characteristics have helped you to not fail fatally yet compared to the many who have.