EDITOR'S PAGE 

     Once again, as of late, I've been forced into defending Shadowrun
as a system.  So I thought I touch on this subject yet again.  I am a
very active person in my local BBS community, on the boards that I
monitor.  I deal on two local only message boards, and two international
message net boards to total about four to five hundred messages that I
write monthly.  The local boards are were I have been encountering the
Shadowrun attackers. 
     The first defense I will handle is the keynote feature of
Shadowrun's mechanics; the rating=dice system.  In Shadowrun, when
making a skill or attribute check of any kind, you get a number of dice
equal to the rating of the skill or attribute in question, sometimes
augmented (should you so desire) with dice from a "pool" that is
available for just such things, against a target number set by the GM
depending on a variety of factors that alter the difficulty of the task
you're attempting. 
     I like this system for it's simplicity and incredible realism.  It
makes it rare for neophytes to out preform experts regardless of the
circumstance.  This is realistic, especially if you think about real
life situtations.  Expert shooters will consistantly score ten of ten
shots fired into the half-inch ring of the target with crisp speed while
moderately skilled shooters will only manage perhaps ten of ten into the
two or three, even four or five sometimes, inch ring in the same time
frame. 
     Expert programers will fly through code and debug and alter it in
only a fraction of the time a novice programer will take to do the same
tasks.  Vetern drivers put their machines through paces that
inexperienced drivers wouldn't even dream of trying.  Doctors with
twenty years of experience will diagonis and select (correct) treatment
with greater accuracy and less time for emergency patients than will
interns. 
     In short, Shadowrun makes the mechanics of the system resemble the
"mechanics of life".  Characters running with Firearms 6 will outshoot
those with Firearms 3, those with Car 9 will outdrive those with Car 5.
Programmers with Computer 7 will outcode those with Computer 4.  In
short, it will only rarely happen that someone with a signifiantly
lesser skill will beat the preformance of someone with a higher skill. 
     Some players complain that this is a slower system, as a result.  I
disagree.  Only two things have to be done to make a test in Shadowrun;
the player counts up dice equal to his rating plus pool dice that he'll
choose to use, and the GM determines a target number.  Even moderately
experienced Shadowrun GMs can arrive at a "correct" target number faster
than most players can count out their dice.  You grab dice, drop on
table, count out the successes and there you go.  Your result.  Fast and
easy. 
     The second defense that I've been forced into is one that I don't
understand; that Shadowrun is a combat game.  Again, as you may have
guessed, I disagree.  In fact, I *streneously* disagree.  First off,
look at the name of the game; *SHADOW*run.  You are to conduct your
character in a shadowy fashion, silent and quiet, staying to the less
lit areas of the 'plex. 
     I have touched on this subject before, noteably in my first issue
of SHADOWBUZZ with my article on Shadowrun Play.  I'll hit the high
points again.  First off, characters that make a huge ruckus as they
complete their contracts hurt their chances at living, their
reputations, and their future chances to both obtain work and to
complete work. 
     Shadowrun is a system that encourages stealth and deception to
complete contracts.  Only the most low security targets can be completed
through overwhelming firepower; by runner teams treating it as a
military clearance raid.  Even there you'll have to have a damm good
grasp of tactics and speed; once a minor war erupts in the 'plex various
factions will respond with force.  Lone Star will arrive to enforce
their police contract for the 'plex, and neighbor corporations to your
target will respond to ensure that the warfare doesn't damage their
nearby assets. 
     But once you start moving into the big leagues, to the heavy
targets, you just will not make it with sheer firepower.  It will not
happen, you will fail, you will die.  It is as simple as that.  Renraku,
Mitsuhama, Ares Arms, Lone Star and the other megacorporations can not
be overwhelmed. 
     Their security is top notch, their forces highly trained, their
equipment military specification.  The computer systems will either be
heavily ICEd or isolated from the security sensors that teams will wish
to use deckers to cancel.  The troopers will be numerous and deadly in
their tactics and responses. 
     And even if a team does have enough sheer firepower and tactical
knowledge to get away with a surgical military style strike at a
megacorp target; it won't last.  Anything that noticable will
drastically decrease the value of anything retrieved from the target;
because the target will know that something has been done and will look
to see why the team hit. 
     Further, the target will respond in force to preclude future
attempts against them in similar fashion.  Any shadow team powerful
enough to overwhelm corporate security (when in passive mode) merits a
retalitory strike.  The team will be tracked and hit by corporate
security, and casualities for the shadow team will surely happen. 
     As an addition to this defense of Shadowrun's "style" of play, it
has been suggested that merely because the system has stats for heavy
weapons and vehicles, such as rotary miniguns, assualt cannons and
mil-spec choppers; it is a combat game.  I have yet to hear a logical
arguement to support this claim.  The items are in there for two
reasons.  First off, they give the GM the information that he needs to
prepare corporate and governmental forces, who DO have such items.
Secondly, they give players an idea of what's available and what they
can strive for. 
     Most of the heavy augmentations, weapons, vehicles and equipment are
out of the reach of beginning characters.  Either for nuyen reasons, or
lack of contacts or a combination of the two.  So it gives players goals
to aim their characters for as they rise through the shadowrunner ranks
from the minors to the big leagues. 
     Betaware cybernetics isn't a possibility for beginning characters,
and isn't reachable for minor characters in any signifant measure.  But
for characters that work steadily, successfuly, towards this goal that
they've set for themselves, it's very satsisfying. 
     My main Shadowrun character right now is a "combat rigger" named
Onyx.  Onyx started with resources C, high for me.  He had some
datajacks, smartlink, Math SPU, eye and ear mods and that was it.  He
has saved his nuyen faithfully as he's completed runs, worked through
his contacts and has achieved some augmentation levels.  Betaware
Vehicle Control Rig 1 for 84,000 plus implantation costs (averaging
about 60 or 70 K per major augmentation).  Just now he got enough nuyen
to implant Betaware Wired Reflexes 1 for 385,000 plus implantation costs
that brought the cost up to about 460,000. 
     I saved for that with Onyx for nearly a solid six weeks of gaming
that averaged about 1 1/2 games per week.  Yes, I scored some big runs
and some big payoffs; but I was up against big opposition.  The last
target that we dealt with to put me over the top on my nuyen need was a
target that resembled a military camp in it's security level.  But
finally getting it was a good feeling, a solid sense of satsisfaction
for achieving a signifant item through dedicated work and patience. 
     I like having these so called "major" items in the game.  They give
it character, fun, flexibility and power.  They give characters
something to aim for, and GMs something to use against players.  My BW
Wired 'flexes that I'm so proud of, megacorps give level 2 to ALL of
their elite operatives, just at the snap of the finger.  So my glee is
tempered with soberity; my exhibitation of my higher abilities will make
me a prime target for my more augmented opposition. 
     If you haven't played Shadowrun with a solid group of
shadowrunners, you haven't experienced the thrill and power that the
game has.  No other game gives you the feeling of "you against the
world" as Shadowrun does.  You start as a character who is quite
literally a termite in the world of nine foot, three hundred pound dogs.
If you play your cards right, use style and grace, and not a little
intelligence and sublty; you can parlay yourself into a position of
power in the shadows. 
     A name that's known only to those who handle the flow of power in
the world; megacorps and the big leagues of the shadows.  Nothing is
more thrilling, dangerous or full of oppturnity for the intelligent
character and the intelligent gamer.  Give it a shot with a good group,
all that can happen is you won't like it.  All that can happen that's
GOOD will be that you'll find a new gaming love. 

Later, 
Nightstalker