Friday Faction: BattleTech Universe

In 2024, BattleTech is forty years old. Infamously, the game of ‘big, stompy robots’, in the four decades since the original publication of BattleTech: A Game of Armoured Combat by the FASA Corporation in 1984, the miniatures combat game has been expanded with numerous sets of new rules, supplements, several ranges of miniatures—both plastic and metal, over one hundred novels, a cartoon series, a collectible card game, and multiple computer games. What all of these have done—especially the novels—is develop the background and setting, covering a history that begins in the twenty-first century and runs all the way into the thirty-second century. It is detailed, involves multiple factions, hundreds of personalities, and a region of interstellar space surrounding Earth with a radius of roughly five hundred light years. Yet with this wealth of detail comes a complexity which leaves the prospective player to wonder where he should start with the game, which faction should he pick and why, and how did the current situation in the BattleTech universe get to be like it is. These are also questions—and more, that BattleTech Universe addresses and answers.

BattleTech Universe is the key lore book for the BattleTech setting. Published by Catalyst Game Labs, this is a complete history of the Inner Sphere from the theoretical foundations of the Kearny-Fuchida drive in 2018 and the launch of the TAS Pathfinder in 2107 through the Age of War and the Terran Hegemony, the foundation of the Great Houses, to the establishment of the Star League and a golden age. Then with the Amaris Coup, the collapse of the Star League, and the Exodus of the Star League Defence Force under General Aleksandr Kerensky, on through the Succession Wars that threatened a technological collapse into the fourth millennium and thirty-first century, to the Clan Invasion and the devastating onslaught of the invaders’ technologically advanced battlemech designs, the Dark Age that followed a collapse in the interstellar communications network, and ultimately, the capture of Terra by the Clans and the ascension of the ilClan, the one Clan to govern the others. In the process, the book not only provides a history of the BattleTech setting, but also gives a description of the current state of the Inner Sphere.

BattleTech Universe is really a book of two halves, though they are not equal halves. Less than a third of the book, the first half lays the foundation for the longer, second half. The development of the battlemech, the foundation of the Great Houses—Davion, Kurita, Liao Marik, and Steiner—and the four Succession Wars fought to decide which one of them would succeed to the position of First Lord and re-establish the Star League. This includes the development of the technology fundamental to the setting and its neo-feudalism—the battlemech and the pilots who become the new knights of the Inner Sphere. First with the Mackie, and then with its armour and weaponry, including autocannons, lasers, missile launchers, and more. Notable designs are highlighted, such as the Banshee, the Thunderbolt, and Frankenmechs! This groundwork sets everything up for what follows—the conflicts, the intrigues, the clash of personalities, the coming of the Clans, and much, much more. The reason that the second half is both longer and far more detailed is simple. It only covers one-hundred-and-twenty-six years, but these years are when the game is set and when the game’s setting is being developed as an active intellectual property, with events and clashes and stories within the setting that support new supplements and expansions for the game, giving new technologies and battlemech designs for players to deploy, and new battles to fight via new supplements and expansions for the game.

Throughout, BattleTech Universe highlights particular events such as the War of 3039, Operation Revival which saw the invasion of the Inner Sphere in 3049 and the battle of Tukayyid, the Word of Blake Jihad, the foundation of the Second Star League, and their consequences. This is supported by detailed background on the Clans and their culture and their technology, highlighting the radical differences between it and that of the Inner Sphere, and shining a spotlight on the feared Mad Cat battlemech and the baffling use of Elemental Battle Armour. Personalities, such as Victor Steiner-Davion and his resentful sister, Katherine Steiner-Davion, and more up to date with Yori Kurita, Julian Davion, and Danai Liao-Centrella, as well as the ilKhan, Alaric Ward, are given short biographies, including discussion of what motivated them. In between, other aspects of the BattleTech universe are not ignored. Thus, there are sections devoted to the major corporations of the Inner Sphere, the intelligence agencies operated by the Great Houses and other factions, and then, in between, there are maps, the changes in boundaries marking major changes in the history of the Inner Sphere and showing the winners and losers and which faction possesses which worlds.

The last third of BattleTech Universe is devoted to its many factions. Beginning with the five Great Houses, each faction is presented with its history, culture, and goals as well as what its future might be. For each of the eight Clans still existing in 3151, there is a similarly lengthy examination of their history and culture, and then shorter overviews of the twelve Lost Clans. The major kingdoms of the Periphery are given similar treatments, whilst the minor states are given a broad overview. Lastly, the most notable mercenary units are detailed, many of them well known across the Inner Sphere, such as Wolf’s Dragoons, the Gray Death Legion, and the Kell Hounds.

Physically, BattleTech Universe is a coffee table style full of great artwork drawn from the forty years of BattleTech’s publishing history combined with short, easy to digest essays on innumerable subjects. The book is well written, the artwork excellent, and the maps give some scale of the Inner Sphere, but each time they do show a large swathe of occupied space on just a couple of pages. If there is anything missing, it is an index and a bibliography of all of the books that the authors have drawn from for the contents of BattleTech Universe. That might have also helped for any reader wanting to delve deeper into the subject.

BattleTech Universe is an engaging and readable overview of the BattleTech setting and its history. Dedicated fans will probably prefer to delve deep into the supplements and sourcebooks that they have on their bookshelves, but this does not mean they will not enjoy the grand sweep of history presented in its pages, whilst those new to BattleTech will find BattleTech Universe a very useful introduction, readying them for the battlefield.

Sixth World, Sixth Edition

The world has endured much in the last eight decades in what has been an interesting twenty-first century. December 24th, 2011, marked the end of the five-thousand-year Mayan calendar and the beginning of the next, and with it came unimaginable change. U.G.E., or ‘Unexplained Genetic Expression’, gave rise to the birth of mutant and changeling children, followed by ‘Goblinisation’, in which a tenth of the population mutated into hideous forms. Although their appearance triggered global race riots, they became recognised as Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, and Trolls, separate species in their own right, members of Metahumanity known as the Awakened. Dragons appeared in the skies and were greater than anyone even imagined, owning corporations, becoming media stars, and one even getting elected president—before being assassinated on the day of his inauguration. Corporations were recognised as sovereign states unto themselves, so rose the power of the mega corps, all chasing status on the ten-member Corporate Council, regulating their activities where once national governments had done so. Recognition of the corporations and their extraterritoriality weakened the United States as the Native American demand for recognition turned into an armed struggle that would eventually force Canada, Mexico, and the United States to recognise the Native American Nations under the terms of the Treaty of Denver. Worse was to follow with the data Crash of ‘29 as a killer virus destroyed data and systems worldwide, toppling governments and threatening to destroy the USA. In response, operatives co-opted by the US government and using advanced cybertechnology entered cyberspace and fought the virus. Not all survived, but several of those who did took that technology to market, ultimately leading to personal cyberdecks which allowed individuals to easily access cyberspace and travel anywhere from the comfort of their own homes. In the wake of the Crash of ’29, what remained of the United States merged with Canada to form the United Canadian and American States in order to save both their economies and resources. It was followed by the secession of the Confederated American States four years later, and the founding of Tir Tairngire, an Elf nation just outside of Seattle. The rise of two types of technology—cybernetics and virtual reality would lead to widespread adoption of cyberware as augmentations and the Matrix, the descendant of the World Wide Web, its virtual reality or augmented reality accessed via cybernetic implants, a commlink, even the natural ability of the Technomancer, has run parallel with the rise and study of magic through various traditions.

By the year 2080, the divide between rich and poor, between SIN and SINless has only got wider. A SIN or ‘System Identification Number’ provides state and corporate recognition, access to education, healthcare, and potentially a job, but that job is going to be as a wage slave serving the interests of a corporation. Some of the SINless see their not being part of the system as a badge of honour. It enables them to undertake jobs and tasks that having a SIN would make very difficult, whether that is protecting the rights of fellow slum dwellers or becoming Shadowrunners. Shadowrunners do the jobs, perform the heists and personnel extractions, steal data, babysit assets, investigate mysteries, and the like that corporations and other agencies with a budget big enough do not want to be seen doing. Employed by a ‘Mister Johnson’, they are a corporate fixer’s deniable assets, willingly paid to do underhand tasks that would otherwise ruin a corporation’s reputation, until that is, the Shadowrunners become a liability!

This is the setting for Shadowrun – Sixth World, the roleplaying game originally published in 1989 by FASA, Inc. and subsequently developed over the course of thirty years into novels and short story anthologies, miniatures games, card games—collectible and otherwise, computer games, and more, including, of course, a detailed background and history of the Sixth World setting itself, which also spanned the roleplaying game’s thirty year history, from 2050 to 2080. It combines three genres in particular, two of them particularly not being obvious bedfellows—Cyberpunk, Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy. It is a roleplaying game in which the Player Characters take the roles of Shadowrunners, freelance operatives trying to get by without attracting too much attention, but getting involved anyway.

Shadowrun – Sixth World is the latest iteration of the rulebook, published by Catalyst Game Labs essentially the sixth edition for the setting’s Sixth World. It introduces the setting, provides the means to create the numerous types of Player Characters possible, run the different aspects of the setting—primarily magic and the Matrix, details a wide array of threats and other NPCs and creatures, lists numerous items that the Player Characters can equip themselves with, and hidden at the back, almost like an afterthought, provides a handy introduction to the Seattle of 2080 that includes several NPC contacts and almost twenty scenario hooks! This is all peppered with fiction set within the world of Shadowrun that helps to impart its flavour and feel, examples of the rules in action, and a pair of pullout sections that showcase just a little of the artwork of the roleplaying game’s past thirty years. Veteran players will recognise many of these pieces.

One of the first things Shadowrun – Sixth World does is highlight the differences between it and previous editions. This is aimed at the veteran player coming to the new edition. So, what then are those changes? First, and foremost, it includes faster easier rules for Edge, the undefinable element of risk taking, guts, and heedless ignorance in the face of danger, stripped down skills, Armour not being part of the Damage Resistance test, the Elimination of Limits, a hangover from the previous, more complicated rules, simplified action, spells no longer needing Force, and altered Matrix functions. The aim is to provide simpler, more streamlined mechanics that encourage greater, faster, and more dynamic action, whilst ultimately making play easier.

A Player Character in Shadowrun has a mix of physical, mental, special attributes, typically ranging value between one and six. The four physical attributes are Body, Agility, Reaction, and Strength, and the four mental attributes are Willpower, Logic, Intuition, and Charisma. The four Special attributes are Edge, Magic, Resonance, and Essence. Of these, only magic-using Player Characters have Magic and only Technomancers have Resonance, whilst all Player Characters have Edge and Essence. The latter measures how much cyberware, bioware, and other augmentations that a Player Character can have before he becomes too machine-like. It also measures the capacity for a Player Character to use magic. Install too many augmentations and the Player Character’s Essence is reduced, and so is his capacity to use magic. Skills, on the same scale as attributes are divided between active skills and knowledge skills, plus languages. A Player Character has a Metatype—Dwarf, Elf, Human, Ork, or Troll—which conform to the classic fantasy versions of them, plus a Lifestyle, ranging from Street and Squatter to High and Luxury, which apart from Street has to be paid for and maintained. He can also have Qualities, positive or negative, such as Analytical Mind, Catlike, AR Vertigo, or Combat Paralysis.

A Player Character will also have a broad role, either Arcane Specialist, Face, Street Samurai, or Technology Specialist, but within them there are several ways of achieving what each role is designed to do. The Arcane Specialist can be a Mage, a Shaman, or an Adept, the latter being able to focus his magic inwards to enhance himself either physically or socially; a Face can be skill based, a social Adept, or augmented with the right cyberware or bioware; and a Street Samurai can be all skill focused, a physical Adept, or heavily augmented with cyberware. The Technology Specialist can either hack into the Matrix or operate vehicles and drones, either through technological means or innate magical means. The Decker uses technology to hack the Matrix, whilst the Rigger uses it to control technology. The Technomancer uses innate magical ability to hack the Matrix, whilst the Dronomancer uses it to control technology. In general, Player Characters will be specialists in their role. There is some flexibility in terms of character design and the degree to which a character is augmented, but that degree will always be limited by how much a player wants his Arcane Specialist character to be able to use magic.

Character creation itself is not an easy process and takes some getting used to. It uses an updated version of the Priority System first seen in Shadowrun, First Edition in 1989. A player sets the priorities for his character’s Metatype, points to assign to skills and attributes, Magic or Resonance capability, and Resources. Metatype also includes Adjustment Points, which are then spent on Edge, attributes for that Metatype, and either Magic or Resonance. Resources are not just spent on weapons, armour, and other equipment, but also cyberware. At the end of the process, a Player Character receives some Knowledge and Language skills for free (but can purchase more), chooses Contacts and some Qualities, and spends Karma to customise the character. This is in addition to a series of questions designed to help the player envision his character and his motivation as well as his place in the Sixth World. Alternatively, a set of ten pre-generated archetypes provide ready-to-play Player Characters or examples to show what the end result looks like.

Kimama Sanchez
Metatype: Ork Role: Shaman
Racial Qualities: Low-light Vision, Built Tough 1

Body 6 Agility 4 Reaction 3 Strength 6
Willpower 4 Logic 2 Intuition 2 Charisma 5
Edge 4 Magic 6 Essence 6

Attack Rating: 9 Defence Rating: 6+3 Initiative: 5+1d6
Composure: 9 Judge Intentions: 6 Memory: 4 Lift/Carry: 10

Skills: Astral 1, Athletics 1, Close Combat 1, Conjuring 5, Influence 1, Perception 1, Sorcery 5 (Spellcasting +2)

Knowledge Skills: Spirit Types, Seattle Dive Bars

Languages: Or’zet

Spells: Analyse Truth, Antidote, Armour, Confusion, Detect Life, Detect Magic, Heal, Mindlink, Stabilise, Stunbolt

Rituals: Circle of Healing, Ward

Qualities: Mentor Spirit (Bear), Combat Paralysis, Quick Healer, Built Tough (2)

Contacts: Bartender (Connection 2/Loyalty 3), Beat Cop (Connection 2/Loyalty 3), Fixer (Connection 3/Loyalty 2), Mechanic (Connection 3/Loyalty 3), Mafia Consigliere (Connection 3/Loyalty 1), Mentor (Connection 3/Loyalty 3)

Equipment: Extendable Baton, Combat Knife, Lined Coat, Metalink Commlink, Credstick, Lifestyle – Squatter (Prepaid, One Month), Evo Falcon, ¥3557

Mechanically, at its most basic, Shadowrun – Sixth World is quite simple. To have his character undertake an action, a player rolls a dice pool of six-sided dice, results of five and six counting as successes or hits. If more than half of the results consist of ones, then there is potential for a glitch or critical glitch. The dice pool typically consists of the total of an attribute and a skill, a task having a threshold, which represents the number of hits a player has to roll to succeed. This is a straightforward Simple test, whilst an Extended test consists of two Simple tests, the side rolling the most hits winning the outcome. Extended tests are essentially a series of Simple tests, the Player Character having a period of time in which to roll them in order to achieve a greater threshold. Alternatively, a player can buy hits, dividing the number of dice in his dice pool by four and counting the result as the number of hits.

Edge gives an advantage to a Player Character’s action. The cost ranges from one to five Edge. So, for example, a one-Edge Boost will enable a player to reroll a die or add three to Initiative; a two-Edge Boost lets him add one to a die, give an ally an Edge, or Negate an Edge used by an enemy; a three-Edge Boost grants an automatic hit or heals a some Stun damage; a four-Edge Boost can add Edge to the dice pool and make results of six explode or reroll all failed dice; and a five-Edge Boost can make results if two count as glitches for the enemy or create a special effect, that benefits the action. These are not the only Edge Boosts, but in addition, there are Edge Actions. These include making a Big Speech, a Called Shot, a Knockout Blow, or gaining Sudden Insight, all of which have their benefits. Lastly, Edge can be permanently burned to gain a ‘Smackdown’ when a Player Character really, really has to hit hard, and ‘Not Dead Yet’ when otherwise, it looks like the Player Character should be.

Edge is integral to play. A Player Character can earn Edge through play, especially in combat encounters, up to a temporary maximum of seven, so a player should not only be looking for opportunities to earn it, but opportunities to spend it too. Thus, ideally, there should be a constant turnover of Edge as play progresses. Yet, this is hampered by the sheer number of Edge Boosts and Edge Actions to choose from and they are a lot to remember. In fact, too many to remember without having a reference sheet to hand for every player, let alone the Game Master.

One Saturday night, Kimama Sanchez gets home from the bar where she has been drinking to find four gangers, members of the 7th Avenue Slashers, attempting to lift her Evo Falcon. They have a Professional Rating of two, so their attributes are all two with skills to match, except for their intimidating manner and willingness to throw their weight around. Kimama Sanchez just wants to go to bed, so to avoid a fight, she attempts to intimidate the gangers. As a tough-looking Ork, Kimama is definitely more physically powerful than any of the gangers. This gains her an extra point of Edge from the Game Master. Kimama’s player keeps that in reserve and rolls her dice pool, which consists of six dice, equal to her Charisma + Influence. This will be opposed by the gangers’ Willpower + Intuition, equal to two each. The Game Master rolls this as a group, stating that for each hit that Kimama’s player scores more than the gangers, one of them will flee. The Game Master rolls three, three, six, and six. Kimama’s player rolls two, three, four, six, six, and six, a good roll, but only enough to affect one ganger. Fortunately, Kimama has the extra Edge awarded because she is tough-looking and her player decides to use it as well as a point of her innate Edge to purchase a two-Edge Boost to add one to one of the die results. She turns the result of four into five and now has two hits. This means that she has successfully intimidated two of the gangers, who after Kimama asks gruffly, “Hey, squishies, you really wanna be trying this, this time of the morning?”, decide that taking on a tough-looking Ork this time of the morning is not for them.

The core mechanics are used throughout Shadowrun – Sixth World, including all of the mechanical subsets that handle the different aspects of the rules—magic, Technomancy, the matrix, rigging, and so on. Combat is surprisingly treated in just twenty pages, but that also includes plenty of examples that really help the Game Master grasp the rules. At the core, combat revolves around comparing Attack Rating to Defence Rating, and if one is greater than the other by four or more, that combatant gains a point of Edge. More Edge can be gained from the situation, from gear, and more. Edge can be spent before or after the roll. Damage can be soaked by rolling hits generated from a roll based on the Body attribute. Damage is applied to the defendant’s Condition Monitor. Overall, the combat covers ranged and melee combat, grappling, knockdown, explosives, gas attacks, spray attacks, and more.

Magic is divided into two traditions, Hermeticism and Shamanism, the former being academic in nature, the latter more experienced and performative in nature. The first relies on Logic as its attribute, the second on Charisma as its attribute. The rules cover spells, conjuring, summoning, enchantments, alchemy, and more. Adepts have innate powers, such as Astral Perception, Danger Sense, Killing Hands, and more. One danger of using magic for any tradition is the possibility of Drain because using or casting magic is tiring. Every spell has a Drain Value, and when it is cast, the magic-using character’s player must make a roll to withstand its effect. For every hit, the Drain Value is reduced. Any Drain Value left over inflicts stun damage, but this is stun damage that cannot simply be healed. It must be rested to recover from!

It is Sunday morning following a Seattle night out and Kimama is still facing down two gangers who want to steal her bike and were not put off by her intimidating manner. One of them draws a streetline special and points the pistol at her and with a sneer says, “Whatcha gonna do ’bout it, trog?” The other one pulls out a knife. Things have taken a bad turn, one which Kimama wanted to avoid. Combat is about to ensue, which begins with initiative. The Game Master will roll one die and add four for the gangers, whilst Kimama’s player will roll one die and add five. However, Kimama has the negative Quality of ‘Combat Paralysis’, which not only halves the result, but means that she goes last in the first round. The Game Master rolls one, adds four, for a total of five. Kimama’s play rolls a five and adds five for a total of ten. Halved, this is five. What this means is that after the first round when Kimama has to go last due to her Combat Paralysis, she has the same Initiative as the remaining gangers. However, since her Edge is four compared to their one from their Professional Rating of one, this breaks the tie and she will go first in subsequent rounds.

The lead ganger, armed with his Streetline Special, opens fire at Kimama. The Game Master rolls the ganger’s Firearms 2 + Agility 2, Kimama’s player will be rolling Reaction 3 + Intuition 2, whilst the Attack Rating of the Streetline Special is compared against Kimama’s Defence Rating. The Streetline Special has an Attack Rating of eight, whilst Kimama has a Defence Rating of nine, which includes the benefit of her lined coat. Since the Attacking Rating is not four greater than the Defence Rating, there is no Edge benefit. From the situation, the Game Master states that it is dimly lit in the alley alongside Kimama’s squat, but since she has low-light vision as an Ork, gives her a bonus Edge. The Game Master is rolling four dice, getting a result of four, six, six, and six, whilst Kimama’s player rolls two, three, three, five, and six. The Game Master rolled one more hit than Kimama’s player. This is added to the damage value of the Streetline Special, which is two, for a total of three damage. Kimama’s player now rolls to soak this damage, which is six for her Body. Her player rolls two, three, four, four, five, and five for two hits, leaving Kimama with a point of damage to suffer. Given how tough she is, this really is a scratch! This is marked off on the Physical damage Track of her Condition Monitor on the character sheet. Fortunately for Kimama, the other ganger thinks that the pistol is enough to change her mind and does not attack this round.

It is time for Kimama to act. She is not keen on violence, so decides to cast Stunbolt at the ganger with the gun. Kimama’s player will roll her Magic 6 + Sorcery 5 (Spellcasting +2) for a total of thirteen dice! This is definitely four higher than the ganger’s Defence Rating of three, so Kimama is awarded a bonus point of Edge, plus another one because of the poor light conditions and her Low-light Vision. So, she has two. The ganger will oppose the roll with his Willpower + Intuition total of four. Kimama’s player rolls one, one, one, one, three, three, four, four, four, five, six, six, and six, which is four hits and four ones. Fortunately, for Kimama, the number of ones rolled is not enough to cause a glitch. Her player decides to spend the two bonus points of Edge to turn two of the fours into fives, and now she has six hits. This is added to the total effect of the Stunbolt, which is five. The ganger is about to take eleven points of damage, though it is only stun damage. Since damage from direct combat spells cannot be resisted, this is applied directly to the ganger’s Condition Monitor, which is only nine. So down he goes, asleep in charge of a cheap gun. Still, Kimama must check for the effects of Drain because she has cast a spell. Stunbolt has a Drain value of three, so Kimama’s player must roll three hits or more, using her Willpower 4 + Charisma 6, to negate the effect. Kimama’s player rolls one, two, two, two, four, four, six, six, and six, which means three hits and no effect due to Drain! In the meantime, the last ganger is standing there with a knife, just having seen his compatriot fall over, wondering if he should run for it, grab the gun, or use his knife…

The general effect of simplifying the mechanics is to streamline play, most notably with the different subsystems. The magic feels a lot more fluid and easier to run, whilst the rules for handling the Matrix, hacking, and the Decker character type have been adjusted so that Hackers are no longer quite playing what was essentially a separate game or combat to the rest of the Player Characters. This has been done by reducing the number of hacking related skills in the roleplaying, just as the number of skills have been reduced elsewhere in the rules; keeping Noise—the factor, such as distance, which occludes hacking attempts, which ensures that a Decker is on-site with the other Player Characters rather than somewhere else; and by shifting the timeframe of hacking attempts to be in line with that of the other Player Characters in the ‘real’ world. It is still quite technical, so actually something that both Game Master and a player whose character is a hacker, need to learn, and do so separately from the other players. As does the Technomancer, but there is a more personal feel to the play of this character type in comparison to the Decker. Similarly, the Rigger has a lot to encompass in terms of what the role can do, with the Technomancer’s equivalent feeling a bit more fluid. All of which stems from the efforts of the designers Shadowrun – Sixth World to ease play and reduce the seemingly insurmountable technicalities of the different subsystems in previous editions. This is not to say that they have not been removed completely, but they have been reduced.

The other aspect of Shadowrun—cyberware, is listed at the back of the book in the lengthy chapter of gear. Here is where the Game Master and her players will find all of the guns, katanas, armoured trench coats, cyberdecks, and cyberware they will need. Much of it is illustrated, and it also includes vehicles and a wide range of tools as well, all of which can be used to outfit the Player Characters as well as the NPCs, the latter according to their NuYen, the latter according to the needs of the budget. Here is where the players will spend the amount of money listed under Resources in the Priority Table for character creation.

For the Game Master there is a good selection of NPCs, including threats and surprisingly detailed contacts for the Player Characters, and critters, both mundane and awakened. Many of the latter are quite nasty, such as the Basilisk, the Ghoul, and the Vampire, and listings also include dragons, though not the named dragons of the setting. The section on running the game is fairly short, but the advice is good and there are rules here too, for handling ‘heat’, the measure of which the Player Characters might have come to the attention of the authorities. Beyond this—and beyond the numbered pages of the book, the Game Master is given an extra set of bonus content. This includes an overview of Seattle in 2080, its isolation and independence from the United Canadian and American States making a good spot in which to base a campaign, just as it did in the 2050 and the first edition of Shadowrun. There are even some extra Qualities which a Player Character can have as an inhabitant of particular districts in and around the city! The four NPCs given are fully rounded out and detailed, all ready for their involvement in some of the plots and hooks listed here at the end of the book. There are almost twenty of these, all ready to be fully fleshed out by the Game Master, so they will need some work to prepare for use with a playing group. Overall, the support for the Game Master is generous.

However, as complete as Shadowrun – Sixth World does feel, it is not perfect. Whilst it goes out of its way to explain what the changes are with the new edition and what the slang means in the setting, what it does not do is give a glossary of game terminology. That would have helped in places where game terms are mentioned before they are properly explained. There is no full example of character creation, so it is different to know quite what you are doing with the creation process, at least initially. There are just too many nuances to it for it to flow easily. There is no example of play. There is plenty of in-game fiction and examples of the rules, but not of general play, and again that would have helped ease the learning process of the game. In terms of background, anywhere beyond Seattle is glossed over, which is disappointing for anyone coming to the city from the surrounding area, especially from any of the Native American Nations or Tir Tairngire.

All that aside, the biggest issue with Shadowrun – Sixth World is its complexity. It is a complex game, one with several separate sets of rules for handling the activities of various roles in the game. All of which need to be learned and understood by a player and the Game Master if they are going to be brought into play. None of which is insurmountable, but it is a hurdle nevertheless, and it always has been since Shadowrun first appeared in 1989 and subsequent supplements and rulebooks added new roles. That said, the rules for Shadowrun – Sixth World really have been streamlined and they do a great deal to reduce the complexity. The challenge of learning to play is still there, but it has been eased.

Physically, Shadowrun – Sixth World is decently presented. In general, it is well written, but it does need an edit in places. The artwork though is good, and it is very nice to see the artwork of past editions presented in the book’s several pullouts.

Shadowrun – Sixth World is a great setting with a lot to explore and experience. That is not quite present in Shadowrun – Sixth World, which instead hints at it whilst presenting the means to access it and explore the wider world presented in other supplements. That means—magic, hacking, rigging, technomancy, combat, and more—have been reworked to be streamlined, and faster and easier to run and play, and so make playing or running Shadowrun not as daunting as it has been in previous editions. That is an impressive feat, and whilst Shadowrun still remains a roleplaying game that calls for more than a casual commitment, Shadowrun – Sixth World has made it more accessible and easier to learn.

—oOo—

Catalyst Game Labs will be at UK Games Expo which takes place on Friday, May 31st to Sunday June 2nd, 2024.

Sixth Beginning for the Sixth World

The year 2019 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Shadowrun. To mark that date, its publisher, Catalyst Game Labs is releasing an all new edition of the roleplaying game in which man meets machine and magic, corporations are states unto themselves, dragons are CEOs and media personalities. The year is 2080 and the setting is the Sixth World, a future in which shadowrunners run the shadows to undertake missions against corporations, gangs, organised crime, and more, often simply to make a living, but at other times to make a difference. The first release for Sixth Edition is the Sixth World Beginner Box, a quick-start for the new edition designed to introduce both the setting and the rules as well as provide a starting scenario.

Open up the deep box and you will find contents aplenty. This starts with a quick one-sheet guide to what is in the box, preparing the reader for what lies underneath. Underneath is ‘An Instant Guide to the Sixth World’, which explains the setting and history of the Sixth World into just three pages, whilst devoting a fourth to summarising ‘The Big Ten’, the current most powerful, influential, and rich corporations in 2080. It is a quick read, but deftly distills over thirty years of multiple editions of the roleplaying game and accompanying supplements into something which can be read in a few minutes.

Below this are not four character sheets, but four character dossiers. They include a Troll Street Samurai, an Ork Combat Mage, an Elf Covert Ops Specialist/Face, and a Dwarf Decker. Each is eight pages in length and includes a character sheet with a breakdown and explanation of its various parts; background, preferred tactics, and roleplaying tips; and a write-up of a complete Run or mission. It is a simple Run, basically a case of getting into a lightly guarded facility, stealing some data, and getting out again. How it is presented is actually old fashioned, so looks a bit clever by today’s standards. It is divided into two columns. In the left hand column, the narrative of the Run is given, whilst in the right hand column, is an explanation of what skills might used, what dice might be rolled, and what the outcome might be if the Run had been run as a roleplaying session. The Sixth World Beginner Box does this not once, but four times, once for each of the Character Dossiers and thus from a different point of view each time. Read each of these recaps for the Run and you get a nice idea of not just how each character approaches the Run, not just in terms of roleplaying, but also in terms of their role on the team and they do. The only issue with the set of Character Dossiers is that there is not a Human among them and so do not reflect the mix of Metahumanity—Dwarves, Elves, Orks, and Trolls—and Humans in the Sixth World. (That said, a Human Rigger, a Drone or vehicle pilot, is available to download as an expansion to the Sixth World Beginner Box.)

Characters in the Sixth World Beginner Box and thus Shadowrun, Sixth Edition have eight attributes, plus two or three special attributes, depending upon their character type. The primary attributes are Body, Agility, Reaction, Strength, Willpower, Logic, Intuition, and Charisma, and whilst all characters will have the special attributes, Essence and Edge, only spellcasting characters have the Magic attribute. As in previous editions, the value for attributes typically ranges between one and six, but can be higher. Of the special attributes, Essence is a measure of a character’s nervous system and spirit, whilst Edge represents the ability to do amazing things within the bounds of the setting. Characters also have skills, typically rated between one and nine, which have been greatly streamlined and condensed in comparison to previous editions. All of the gun skills are not represented by the Firearms skill for example, but it is still possible to specialise in weapon types. Characters also have Knowledge skills and Qualities, sort of advantages and disadvantages, but whilst the characters have them in the Sixth World Beginner Box, they are not explained and do not play a role in the game. Really they are there for flavour and detail, though experienced players of Shadowrun may want to bring them into play.

The new rules are explained in the twenty-four page ‘Quick Start Rules’ booklet. As with previous editions of Shadowrun, it uses a dice pool mechanic to generate successes and the more successes or Hits a player rolls, the better his character does. To have his character undertake an action, his player rolls a number of six-sided dice, aiming to roll fives or sixes. Each five or six rolled is a Hit and the more rolled above a task’s threshold or more than an opposing character, the better the character does, but if more than half of the dice come as a one, then a ‘Glitch’ has been rolled and something goes wrong for the character. Dice pools are typically formed from a skill plus a linked attributes, such as Firearms and Agility, Sorcery and Magic, and Influence and Charisma, with modifications adding to or detracting from the dice pool. It should be noted that characters can get a lot of dice to roll, often ten or more.

Besides having a lot of dice to roll, what the players and their characters also possess something that gives them the edge, and that is, well, Edge. Every character has an Edge Pool equal to his Edge attribute at the start of every session and his player can spend Edge points from the pool to give the character an advantage in a situation or encounter, for example rerolling a die, giving Edge to an Ally, gaining an automatic Hit, adding more dice to roll, rerolling failed dice, healing damage, or even forcing an opponent to roll a glitch. These all have varying costs and a player can only spend Edge on one of these options on a turn. In the Sixth World Beginner Box, Edge can be gained through having tactical advantage in a situation, up to a maximum of seven. Hopefully more options will be provided in Shadowrun, Sixth Edition to gain Edge through play and roleplaying, what the Sixth World Beginner Box introduces is an Edge economy, with a flow going in and out of each character’s Edge pool.

Combat involves multiple dice rolls, but still feels quite streamlined. Characters get to maneuvre before they act, check to see if they gain any Edge, and expend Edge as necessary, but then their players get to roll dice. So when a shadowrunner fires at a ganger with his Ares Light Fire 75 light pistol, his player rolls dice equal to his shadowrunner’s Agility and Firearms, whilst the Game Master would roll the ganger’s Reaction and Intuition. So for a shadowrunner with Agility 4 and Firearms 3, his player would roll seven dice, whilst the Game Master would roll six dice for the Ganger’s Reaction 3 and Intuition 3. The shadowrunner’s player rolls 1, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, and 6, whilst the Game Master rolls 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 6. This gives two extra Hits to add to the weapon’s Damage Value of 2. That is a total of 4 Hits against which the Game Master will roll four dice the Ganger’s Body of 3 and his ganger leathers which give him +1. The Game Master rolls 1, 3, 4, and 6 for one Hit, which means that the Ganger takes three damage.

The rules for the Matrix and Netrunning use the same mechanics, whether a Decker is scanning for a wireless feed or the presence of corporate decker, taking control of a set of security cameras, hacking open a data file, and so on. Basically, a Decker’s player will either be rolling his character’s Electronics and Logic if action is legal, but Cracking and Logic if not, choosing from a mix of legal (edit file, enter/exit host, jack out, and Matrix perception) and (crack file, data spike, format device, hack, snoop, and spoof command) illegal actions. An interesting limitation upon a Decker’s actions in the Matrix is Convergence, which occurs when a Decker has done too much and attracted the attention of the Grid Overwatch Division, illegal actions in particular attracting their attention. When Convergence occurs, the Decker is dumped from the Matrix, his cyberdeck is bricked and rendered useless, and law enforcement is called to their meatspace location. Overall, it adds an urgency to all decking operations in the Matrix, whilst the mechanics are easy and fast, giving netrunning an immediacy that was not always present in previous editions.

Lastly, there is magic, and that too uses the same mechanics. The traditions are Hermetic and Shamnic magic, all just using the Sorcery, Conjuring, and Enchanting skills. The danger of casting magic is that spellcasters can suffer from Drain, causing fatigue, and a spellcaster can only improve the effectiveness of a spell—Amp up a combat spell for extra damage or Increase Area effects for spells with area effects—by increasing the effects of Drain. Fortunately, a spellcaster can Soak the Drain Value of a Spell, using either Logic and Magic if a Hermetic Mage or Charisma and Magic if a Shaman. Again Shadowrun, Sixth Edition will add more detail, but the mechanics for magic in the Sixth World Beginner Box cover just about everything the Ork Combat Mage will need just as the rules for the Matrix cover everything the Dwarf Decker will need.

The second book in the Sixth World Beginner Box is the ‘Battle Royale Adventure’. The adventure begins in a Stuffer Shack supermarket and if that is enough to cause veteran players of Shadowrun to groan—the first adventure for Shadowrun, ‘First Run’, which appeared in the first edition was essentially a fight in a mini-mart—then there is no need to be on that account, for it is only the start. The shadowrunners are in the Stuffer Shack when something goes down outside and in the warehouse complex opposite, a four-way gang showdown over a limousine and its passengers. It comes with advice for the Game Master, a map or two, and some NPC stats. In general, the players are free to approach the situation however they want—stealth, charm, diplomacy, out and out combat—and there is good advice for all of that for the Game Master  (though it could have been organised to more obvious during play), but it is a terrible scenario.

The problem is that it is a set-up to help both the Game Master and her players work out the rules. Which is fine, because that is what you want in a quick-start or an introduction to a roleplaying game. Yet it is no more than that. There is no plot to speak of that the player characters will get involved in; there is no beginning, middle, or ending, it is just a set-up for the player characters to be pulled into, resolve, and no more. The backstory for that set-up involves Seattle and Washington, DC politics, but there is no way for that to come out in play and there is no sense of Seattle as a place because it takes place in one location. In fact, it is so annoying unsophisticated in its lack of storytelling and development, it does not actually read like a scenario for a roleplaying, but an encounter for a wargame. And that is exactly what it is.

Above all, what ‘Battle Royale Adventure’ does not do is provide a means for the pre-generated player characters to do what they are supposed to—and that is, to go on a ‘Run’. In fact, what the Sixth World Beginner Box does instead is tell the players, in each character dossier, how a run through the shadows might go down without the players having any influence over it. Given how irrelevant the ‘Battle Royale Adventure’ actually is except as a combat encounter, the Game Master could actually tell her players not to read the fiction in their character dossiers and then she could run the run that the characters go on in that run. It would be a better illustration of a Shadowrun adventure than the ‘Battle Royale Adventure’.

In addition, the Sixth World Beginner Box comes with an excellent poster map of Seattle—which would be even better if more of it was involved in the ‘Battle Royale Adventure’, a dozen Shadowrun six-sided dice—not quite enough for some of the pre-generated characters in the box, and a set of fifty-four quick-reference tool cards for items, weapons, spells, and stats for the NPCs in the adventure. Physically, all of this is presented in full colour, on glossy card, with fantastic illustrations. The cards are perhaps a little flimsy and it would have been nice if they had been illustrated too as they would have increased their versatility, but otherwise, the production values on the Sixth World Beginner Box are excellent. 

The Sixth World Beginner Box is an impressive set. It is a great introduction to Shadowrun, Sixth Edition, with some excellent pre-generated characters and well presented rules that are easy to read and understand. Veteran players of Shadowrun will find a lot here that is familiar and mechanics that are easy to run and play, whilst those new will be enticed by the nicely done pre-generated characters and the quality of the components before discovering the ease of the rules. Unfortunately, both will find the single encounter that is ‘Battle Royale Adventure’ a dreadful disappointment. As written, there is nothing wrong with the single encounter that is ‘Battle Royale Adventure’, but as a Shadowrun adventure and as an introduction to playing Shadowrun it is singular in nature and severely lacking in terms of plot and story, and that lack fundamentally betrays the quality and purpose of the Sixth World Beginner Box.

1989: Shadowrun

1974 is an important year for the gaming hobby. It is the year that Dungeons & Dragons was introduced, the original RPG from which all other RPGs would ultimately be derived and the original RPG from which so many computer games would draw for their inspiration. It is fitting that the current owner of the game, Wizards of the Coast, released the new version, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, in the year of the game’s fortieth anniversary. To celebrate this, Reviews from R’lyeh will be running a series of reviews from the hobby’s anniversary years, thus there will be reviews from 1974, from 1984, from 1994, and from 2004—the thirtieth, twentieth, and tenth anniversaries of the titles—and so on, as the anniversaries come up. These will be retrospectives, in each case an opportunity to re-appraise interesting titles and true classics decades on from the year of their original release.

—oOo—

Shadowrun: Where Man Meets Magic is thirty years old. Released in 1989 by FASA Corporation—a publisher then best known for its roleplaying games based on licensed properties such as Star Trek: The Role Playing Game and The Doctor Who Role Playing Game—it can be seen as the first great mélange roleplaying game, the first great roleplaying to successfully combine genres in one setting (much like Pinnacle Entertainment Group did with the Deadlands: The Weird West Roleplaying Game did almost a decade later with the Wild West and horror). This was a mix of the fantasy with the Science Fiction, specifically the Cyberpunk subgenre. The Cyberpunk genre had been popular ever since the publication of William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer in 1984 and the roleplaying hobby had been looking for a cyberpunk roleplaying game ever since. The publication of Cyberpunk 2013 by R. Talsorian Games in 1988 had fulfilled that demand and certainly throughout the early nineties, following the release of Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. in 1990, would continue to do so with a series of supplements. Cyberpunk 2013 and Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. would continue a straightforward exploration of a future which combined lowlife and high tech, the latter often put to uses their inventors or intellect property owners never imagined by those forced to live on the streets by radical breakdown or changes in society. The antagonists armed themselves, modified themselves with cyberware, replacing and enhancing limbs and senses, even directly linking themselves into Cyberspace, a planet-wide computer network, a virtual space where they could continue the same protests and fights against the encroaching power of the corporations as they did in the real world or ‘meatspace’. Shadowrun would do the same, but the antagonists did not just have access to cyberware and cyberspace, they had access to magic, for theirs was a world inhabited by Dwarves, Elves, Orks, and Trolls—and more—as well as Humans, and they faced not just the corporations, but Dragons too! In time, the Dragons grew to be powerful, personifying corporations and becoming media personalities, even running for President. It would be glib to describe Shadowrun as Dungeons & Dragons meets Cyberpunk, but it is a start and it might be a selling point, though more importantly, it would grow to become something much more. 

The setting for Shadowrun—the Sixth Age—is specifically tied to one date, December 24th, 2011. This marked the end of the five thousand year Mayan calendar and the beginning of the next. The change would see the appearance of dragons and the rise in magic until it would be recognised as a science. Then with U.G.E., or ‘Unexplained Genetic Expression’, mutant and changeling children began to be born, children who eventually recognised as Elves, and this would be followed by ‘Goblinisation’, in which a tenth of the population mutated into hideous forms, forms which would become known as Orks and Trolls, their appearance triggering global race riots. Together with the Dwarves, these new races or members of Metahumanity became known as the Awakened. Politically, the United States would be weakened as corporations were recognised as extraterritorial and Native Americans’ demand for recognition turned into an armed struggle that would eventually force Canada, Mexico, and the United States to recognise the Native American Nations under the terms of the Treaty of Denver. Worse was to follow with the data Crash of ‘29 as a killer virus destroyed data and systems worldwide, toppling governments and threatening to destroy the USA. In response, operatives co-opted by the US government and using advanced cybertechnology entered cyberspace and fought the virus. Not all survived, but several of those who did took that technology to market, ultimately leading to personal cyberdecks which allowed individuals to easily access cyberspace and travel anywhere from the comfort of their own homes. In the wake of the Crash of ‘29, what remained of the United States merged with Canada to form the United Canadian and American States in order to save both their economies and resources. It was followed by the secession of the Confederated American States four years later.

This is the set-up for Shadowrun, the Sixth World in 2050. The roleplaying game itself would be set in the Seattle metroplex, a UCAS enclave isolated on the West Coast by several members of the Native American Nations, including Tir Tairngire, the major Elven realm on the North American continent. Its rain-soaked skyline is still dominated by the Space Needle, joined now by the Aztechnology Pyramid and the Renraku Arcology, but away from the bright corporate lights, the city is surrounded by the Barrens, an urban slum-like wilderness that the city mayor never mentions—unless he has too. The likelihood is that the player characters make their home in the Barrens, surviving as best they can, undertaking runs in the shadows on behalf of corporate Mister Johnsons. Such runs are likely on rivals of Mister Johnson’s employer, easily deniable attempts to extract or destroy data or technology, extract persons, and so on. As shadowrunners they will face corporate security, corporate mages, and corporate deckers all attempting to stop their intrusion with the legal right to use lethal force, so they had better bring protection!

In Shadowrun, the players roleplay these Shadowrunners. In terms of characters, players have a wide choice of Races, members of Metahumanity—Dwarves, Elves, Orks, and Trolls—as well as Humans. They have an even wider choice when it comes to what it is their characters do. Primarily, these are presented as Archetypes, each with a full colour illustration and ready to play. The sixteen given include Elven Decker, Former Wage Mage, Ork Mercenary, Rigger, Rocker, Shaman, Street Mage, Street Samurai, Street Shaman, and Tribesman, all of which have been iconic roles within the roleplaying game. There are omissions from the list of archetypes, there being no Dwarves or Trolls, so archetypes like the Dwarven Rigger or Troll Street Samurai would have to wait for future supplements and editions of the roleplaying game. Each of the sixteen comes with background and commentary, followed by attributes, skills, contacts, and gear as well as cyberware and spells, depending upon the Archetype.

Characters are defined by nine attributes, divided into three groups, Physical, Mental, and Special Attributes. The Physical are Body, Quickness, and Strength; the Mental are Charisma, Intelligence, and Willpower; and the Special are Essence, Magic, and Reaction. Of these, Essence is a measure of a character’s nervous system and spirit, Magic is a measure of a character’s magical energy, and Reaction measures how quickly and how often a character can act under pressure. Notably, both Essence and Magic are depleted by invasive cyberware, so spellcasting characters tend not to augment themselves with such technology. Attributes range between one and six for Humans, but can be much higher for Metahumans, Trolls for example, can have a Body as high as eleven! Skills do not have such limits and notably include magical skills such as Conjuring for the calling and banishing of spirit powers and Sorcery for the casting of spells, and various aspects of Etiquette, such as Etiquette (Street), Etiquette (Media), and Etiquette (Corporate), for knowledge of and how to deal with particular subcultures. Skills can also have concentrations, like Firearms (Pistols) or Interrogation (Verbal), which improves the rating of the concentration, but reduces the rating of the core skill. So the character with Firearms (Pistols) 3 actually has a rating of 4 with pistols, but 2 with other firearms.

The primary means of creating a character in Shadowrun is to choose an archetype and get playing. There are guidelines for modifying the Archetypes, but they more showcase how fiddly it is modify an Archetype rather than build one from scratch or simply grab one and start playing. Part of the issue here is the priorities inherent to character generation. Creating a character begins with a player actually setting priorities in terms of what he wants to play out of Attributes, Magic, Race, Skills, and Tech. The stronger the priority, the more it plays a role in the character and for Attributes, Skills, and Techs, how many points a player has to assign in those areas or money his character has to spend. Importantly, if a player wants to play a Metahuman character then he places his top priority in Race, followed by the next priority in Magic if he wants his character to cast magic, whereas a spellcasting Human would need to have to make Magic his top priority. So a Dwarf Shaman would have the priorities Race-4, Magic-3, Attributes-2, Skills-1, and Tech-0; a Human Mage would have Magic-4, Attributes-3, Skills-2, Tech-1, and Race-0; and an Ork Rigger would have Race-4, Tech-3, Attributes-2, Skills-1, and Magic-0. Essentially, the priorities are a nice balancing mechanism, but they do force particular aspects of a character to be emphasised, whether that is Magic and Race over Attributes, Skills, and Tech or vice versa. Humans have the most options though, since they can place priorities in Attributes, Skills, and Tech rather than Race or Magic. On the downside, it means that it is very difficult to create a character who is good—or at least not bad—at everything, as all characters are specialists in one way or another.

Overall Archetype creation from scratch is not easy. Setting the Priorities is perhaps the easiest part, because after that a player needs to delve deeper into each Priority. Assigning Attribute and Skill points is straightforward enough, but deciding upon spells if a Magic using character, what Contacts to buy, and what gear to buy is not. Especially if in terms of gear, a character has a lot of cyberware or equipment, for example a Decker with his cyberdeck and its programs or a Rigger and his drones. This all takes time and really, the first edition of Shadowrun hints at the possibilities of character generation rather than fully supporting it. To fair, other roleplaying games had previously focused on playing archetypes rather than players creating characters, most notably Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game from West End Games, but Shadowrun does not adhere to the Archetype only option, instead hinting at the possibilities of character generation without fully supporting them, such as saying what the step-by-step process is for each character type.

The sample character is a Troll Shaman. His player has given him the Priorities Race-4, Magic-3, Attributes-2, Skills-1, and Tech-0. This means that he is a spellcasting Metahuman with little tech—certainly no cyberware—and little NuYen or money. The lower priority on Attributes is balanced by the modifiers for his being a Troll, but he is incredibly brainy for a Troll, whilst also being nowhere near as strong as the average Troll.

Troll Shaman
Body 5 Quickness 2 Strength 4
Charisma 4 Intelligence 4 Willpower 4
Essence 6 Magic 6 Reaction 3

Skills
Armed Combat 2, Conjuring 5, Etiquette (Street) 2, Etiquette (Tribal) 2, Negotiation 2, Sorcery 5, Magical Theory 2

Spells
Analyse Truth 3, Heal Moderate Wounds 4, Sleep 3

Dice Pools
Astral 15 Defence 2 Dodge 2 Hacking 0 Magic 5

Gear
Knife, Medicine Lodge Materials

Notes
Snake Totem; +1 reach for Armed/Unarmed Combat, Thermal Eyes, Dermal Armour (1); Allergic to Sunlight, Mild reaction

Mechanically, Shadowrun begins simply enough. It is a dice pool system, using six-sided dice. To succeed at a Success Test, a player rolls a number of dice equal to the appropriate attribute or skill for his character. Rolls of one always mean that a Success Test Fails, with rolls of all ones mean that the character has made a disastrous mistake. Conversely, rolls of six explode, letting a player roll again and add the result to the six. A simple Success Test would have a Target Number of two, a Routine would have three, an Average would have four, and so on. If a character rolls one or two success, then he has barely succeeded, three or four and he has achieved a noteworthy success, and so on.

Yet beyond these base mechanics, Shadowrun adds layers complexity with its different subsystems. Combat is not particularly complex, with players rolling successes to hit after adjusting for various targeting modifiers and then applying damage, the amount being determined by the means of attack’s damage code. So a light pistol has a damage code of 3M1. This means that it would inflict a wound with Power Level of 3 (against which the target makes a Resistance Test to withstand the damage), of Moderate Wound Category, and for each Success rolled above the first, would raise the Wound Category by one. Damage can be reduced in the same way, a player rolling his character’s Body Attribute and adding to the number of Successes to reduce the Wound Category as much as possible. Combat tends to be quite dynamic with characters being able to rely on their Dodge and Defence Pools—which renew each round—to get them out of trouble. That said, once vehicles come into play, a likelihood if a Rigger is being played, combat becomes more complex.

Similarly, Magic is not too complex. At its core, it is broken into two traditions, Shamanic and Hermetic. There is good advice on playing, a Shaman each having a  Totem, like Eagle or Wolf, which the Shaman’s player will roleplay his character acting like lest he lose access to his magic, whilst the Hermetic Mage is much more like a traditional magic-user. The two primary skills for magic are Sorcery, which allows for the casting of spells of all sorts, whilst Conjuring covers the summoning of spirits. The danger in any spellcasting is that it is fatiguing. A spellcaster can cast as many spells as often as he likes, but the more powerful a spell, the more likely it will leave him fatigued, even inflicting physical damage upon himself if he fails to resist the draining effects of the spell. Again, Shaman and Mages have their own dice pool to draw from, this time the Magic pool to support their actions, as well as a similar for use on the Astral Plane. The magic chapter includes a good grimoire of spells to choose from, though at the beginning of play a Shaman or Mage is unlikely to know more than two or three (though exactly how many is not actually that easy to determine).

The last of the subsystems in Shadowrun concerns the Matrix or the Grid. Here Deckers plug straight into cyberspace using cyberdecks and explore the virtual world, making hacking runs on corporate mainframes and datastores, dodging or neutralising the Intrusion Countermeasures or IC mounted by the corporations, including right up to the Black IC that will actually target and damage the intruding Decker’s own body. Decker characters needed to be equipped with cyberdecks and programs, the Game Master needs to create a network of nodes for the Decker to penetrate and explore, quite literally a separate play space designed for one character. Now whilst the actions of the Decker take place in the same timeframe as those of other characters, a combat turn the Matrix being equal to one in the real world, the character is nevertheless taking up a lot of game play, but then it was ever thus for such characters in Cyberpunk roleplaying games.

In terms of support for both characters and setting, Shadowrun provides a lengthy list of equipment, including a lot of guns and cyberware, plus a lot of lifestyle options such as music and simsense. The coverage of lifestyles continues with the advice for the Game Master, from the Streets to Luxury—something perhaps for the Shadowrunners to aspire to. She also receives some advice on how to handle various aspects of the rules, but really little in the way of advice for creating the type of adventures that Shadowrun is designed for. It does not help that the scenario included in the book, ‘First Run’, has nothing whatsoever to do with making the characters’ first run in the shadows…

The setting for Shadowrun is further supported with lengthy lists of contacts and NPCs for the player characters to run into, as well as a good bestiary of critters. The region around the Seattle Metroplex is also detailed as well what it is like inside it. Rounding out the book is ‘First Run’, the aforementioned scenario, which is more of an extended encounter in which the characters have their late night visit to a Stuffer Shack supermarket interrupted by a robbery.

Physically, the first edition of Shadowrun was an impressive looking book for 1989. The colour plates—for both the character Archetypes and the critters—are vibrant and eye catching, but a lot of the black and white artwork is exciting and dynamic too, capturing the exciting, if often grim nature of life as a shadowrunner in 2050. In general, the writing is also good, much of it full of flavour and detail which serves to build the world of the Sixth Age and engage the reader, whether it is in-game slang or the names of corporations and particular objects, their makes and models. The rules are also supported with decent examples of play, in many cases helping the Game Master to learn the not always easy mechanics for any one situation. Yet there is still the problem that the advice on what the player characters are meant to be doing is sorely lacking…

Reception of Shadowrun was mostly positive. Writing in Challenge #41 (1989), Julia Martin began an extensive review with “When I heard that FASA was working on a cyberpunk genre roleplaying game incorporating magic, I, “Oh no, this is going to be sickeningly cute or too strange to be believed.” But now that Shadowrun is out, I must admit that they’ve convinced me. The background for the game develops a plausible reason for the existence of magic in cybertech times.” before concluding that, “Shadowrun is a truly hot game.” and that “I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something really new.” Stephan Wieck gave Shadowrun an equally lengthy review in White Wolf Magazine #17 (August/September, 1989), his conclusion being a positive, though qualified one, that, “The largest problem with the game is that it has an ambivalent theme. The gamemaster is handed a setting filled with proud Indians, corrupt corporations, and nasty critters. But, after being handed all of this information, you’re left saying “Now what? What do I have the characters do?”. Plus, the fiction with the book is darkly humorous, whereas the artistry and background of the game lend towards a more serious, action drama theme. These problems won’t hinder an experienced gamemaster who can choose his own direction, but others could have a rough time getting their campaign off the ground. The introductory combat encounter helps a bit, but more information and ideas on running a campaign in Shadowrun should have been included in the gamemaster’s section of the book. For this reason, I would recommend Shadowrun to experienced or older gamers. To these players I give it a very high recommendation.” In Space Gamer Vol. II No. 2 (October/November 1989). Lester W Smith began his review by saying, “I have to admit that when I first heard that FASA was coming out with Shadowrun, a roleplaying game that combined cyberpunk and fantasy, I groaned out loud. The thought of elves, orks (FASA’s spelling most of the time), trolls, and sorcerers rubbing elbows with cyber hackers, corporate samurai, and biker gangs seemed just too silly to believe. But when FASA’s sixteen-page promotional booklet became available, I gave it a read and I was immediately glad that I did. In the booklet, FASA managed to make the promise more than just plausible; they made it exciting.” He concluded that, “In all Shadowrun is a very visual game system. That is, it encourages imagery and role-playing, without bogging down in overly dry rules.”

In comparison, William Gibson, when asked about cyberpunk and roleplaying games in The Peak issue 7, vol 100 (June 27th, 2007) acknowledged the appropriation, but was otherwise dismissive, saying, “[W]hen I see things like ShadowRun, the only negative thing I feel about it is that initial extreme revulsion at seeing my literary DNA mixed with elves. Somewhere somebody’s sitting and saying ‘I’ve got it! We’re gonna do William Gibson and Tolkien!’ Over my dead body! But I don’t have to bear any aesthetic responsibility for it. I’ve never earned a nickel, but I wouldn’t sue them. It’s a fair cop. I’m sure there are people who could sue me, if they were so inclined, for messing with their stuff. So it’s just kind of amusing.”

Yet, what is apparent from the reviews—two of them by industry professionals—is that initial reaction was one of disbelief, even incredulity. The idea that fantasy could work with cyberpunk seemed implausible, even cheezy. Upon seeing Shadowrun though, they were won over by the background which deftly explained how the two radically different genres could work together. This first response highlighted the strength of Shadowrun—its background, its mix of magic and machine, and more importantly how they work together in the Sixth Age. That background has advanced as many years, from 2050 to 2081, as Shadowrun has been in print. Now published by Catalyst Game Labs, it is currently in its fifth edition and about to receive its sixth, and in that time, the roleplaying game has received almost a hundred supplements, as well as being developed across almost fifty novels and a handful of computer games. The setting has gone through numerous storylines, including the election and subsequent assassination of Dunkelzahn, a Great Western Dragon as President of UCAS, the return of Hally’s Comet, a civil war between the dragons, and more. What is clear from the continuing storyline and the range of media across which Shadowrun can be found is the skill of its developers in not just making the Sixth World a living place for its fans and their characters to game in—especially in the Shadowrun Missions series, but also making it a franchise, an intellectual property that exists beyond its core format as a roleplaying game. Thus someone could be a fan of the setting without having played the roleplaying game at all, but instead read a novel or played a computer game. The likelihood of course is that fans of Shadowrun will read the novels and play the computer games too, but it broadened the appeal of the setting. This is not surprising of course, FASA Corporation, Fantasy Productions, and Catalyst Game Labs have all experience doing exactly the same with the BattleTech franchise.

The first edition of Shadowrun packs a lot of flavour and feel in depicting the Sixth World. From the outset it presents cool Archetypes that you want to play—even if you cannot really quite create your own from guidelines given with any ease—and paints a world divided by the haves and havenots, the bright neon lights of the former casting deep shadows on the latter, enabling them to operate with hopefully stealth or subtlety against the former. In comparison to later editions of Shadowrun, in the first there is a conciseness to the rules and the background, even if the rules are not always quite as robust as they could be. Above all, Shadowrun delivers its promise of magic and machine, of the arcane and the apparatus, of conjury and computing, and makes them work in a setting that is deftly built and explains why they do. It also explains why the Sixth World has been visited again and again, and expanded upon in multiple editions of the roleplaying game, in numerous supplements, novels, and computer games, to create a setting rich in detail and depth, and ultimately why it has remained a fan favourite.

A BattleTech Starter

BattleTech is thirty-five years old. Originally called BattleDroids, in the decades since, BattleTech, both as a game and a setting has been supported by numerous games and expansions, miniatures and rulesets, a collectible card game and a television series, computer games and novels. At its heart though is BattleTech the game, a game of combat fought between humanoid bipedal robots, each standing between seven and seventeen meters tall, massing between twenty and one-hundred tonnes, and armed with a mix of weaponry including lasers, particle projection cannons, autocannons, and missile launchers. In combat, pilots will manoeuvre around each other and through various types of terrain to get the best shot, to first destroy armour, and then weapons and other parts of the battlemech with internal damage. It is not just a matter of blazing with all weapons, for every action a battlemech takes in terms of movement and firing weapons, generates heat. Generate too much heat and a battlemech’s fusion engine will shut down or even explode. Fortunately, every battlemech is fitted with several heatsinks which bleed off the heat generated through battle, but a mechwarrior—and thus the player—will still need to manage his battlemech’s heat to fight efficiently on the battlefield.

BattleTech is a roughly 1/285 scale wargame played out on a hex-map, between two or more players, aged twelve and up. Each player can control just the one battlemech, but games are typically played with each side fielding one or more lances, each consisting of four battlemechs, at a skirmish level. Other games and expansions added armour and other vehicles, infantry, air and space assets, and increased the scale of the conflict, but the core of the game is still about battlemechs.

The setting for BattleTech is the Inner Sphere in the thirty-first century. Humanity has developed a means of Faster-Than-Light travel and settled some two thousand worlds within a radius of about five hundred light years of Terra. Although mankind established the Star League as a governing interstellar council, its collapse led to centuries of warfare between five great houses—the Free Worlds League, the Federated Suns, the Draconis Combine, the Lyran Commonwealth, and the Capellan Confederation--that continue to its day. The ongoing series of conflicts, known as the Succession Wars, has led to a loss of technology and limited advances in terms of science and technology, though there are rumours of caches of Star League technology and knowledge still to be found. Players typically field units serving one of these great houses, but they can also field mercenary units which sign contracts with the great houses. There is even scope for players to create and field their own mercenary units and whole campaigns can played around them. Essentially, BattleTech is a wargame set in a militarised Science Fiction universe involving futuristic weaponry and multiple factions, which despite having the feel of Space Opera in its storyline, is quite hard in terms of its Science Fiction.

Originally published and developed by FASA, it is currently published by Catalyst Game Labs who in order to celebrate its thirty-Fifth anniversary have released a new edition of the game, starting with the BattleTech Beginner Box. This is designed as an introduction to the game and the setting for two players aged twelve and up—though there is the capacity for as many as four to play. Skirmishes can be fought between single battlemechs and between lances of battlemechs if there are just two players, or with a player controlling one or two battlemechs each if there are four players.

The BattleTech Beginner Box is a light, but sturdy package illustrated with an eye-catching picture of a battlemech in action. Inside the contents are divided by a deep plastic insert. On top, the first things that catch your eye are the two grey plastic miniatures, assembled, but not painted, both ready to bring to the battlefield. These are of a Griffin and a Wolverine respectively, both medium battlemechs. Alongside them are the novela, ‘Golden Rule’, a set of eight record sheets, four pilot cards, and two six-sided dice. Below the tray is a small punchboard of additional BattleMechs and terrain, one double-sided map, a rulebook, and a Universe Primer.

‘Golden Rule’ is written by William H. Keith, the author of Decision at Thunder Rift, the first BattleTech novel published in 1986. Where the novel was set in the year 3024 and told the story of Grayson Carlyle’s attempts to resurrect his father’s mercenary regiment and following its destruction at the hands of pirates, ‘Golden Rule’ takes place in 2290 and concerns a mission undertaken by Grayson’s father when he was serving with Colby’s Commandos. It is an entertaining introduction to the setting and the type of situations that might be encountered in a BattleTech game. Although it comes to a natural pause, it is not complete. The reader will need to purchase BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat boxed set, the full rules for the game and continue reading it there. Overall, it is nice to see Keith return to write a piece of introductory fiction just as he did over three decades ago.

The eight full-colour record sheets provide the full stats—’mech data, including Movement Points, weapon stats and location, and armour arrangement—along with an illustration. Full write-ups are given on the other side of many, whilst others have illustrations from the setting. The write-ups will be familiar from the game’s technical readouts. The battlemechs include a Locust LCT-1V, a Wolverine WVR-6R, a Locust LCT-1E, a Wolverine WVR-6M, a Griffin GRF-1N, a Thunderbolt TDR-5S, a Griffin GRF-1S, and a Thunderbolt TDR-5SE. This is a good mix of design types and the background on the reverse side adds plenty of flavour and detail to support the stats. The four pilot cards are also done in full colour and are double-sided. Each describes a pilot and his or her background as well as indicating which battlemech they pilot and a special ability or two. For example, Lance Sergeant Jia Yawen is the pilot of a Thunderbolt who has the ‘Sandblaster’ and ‘Weapon Specialist (Large Laser)’ special abilities. The first grants a bonus when determining the number of LRM (long range missiles) missiles that hit in clusters with a successful hit, the latter grant a ‘to-hit’ bonus when firing a large laser. The dice are a pair of plain white six-sided dice.

The punchboard contains eight battlemech standees which match the eight record sheets as well as seven pieces of terrain, both light and heavy and of varying size, which can be added to the maps provided in the BattleTech Beginner Box to modify the terrain. The map sheet itself measures 18” by 22” and is marked in 2¼” hexes. One side depicts arid terrain marked with the occasional stand of trees, whilst the other side shows grassland broken up with more forested areas.

Below this are the BattleTech Beginner Box Quick-Start Rules and An Instant Guide to the Inner Sphere, both of which are done in full colour. The BattleTech Beginner Box Quick-Start Rules provide the rules to play with plenty of examples and some simple scenarios as reference tables on the back page in just twelve pages. The ‘An Instant Guide to the Inner Sphere’ is just four pages in length and details the five great houses involved in the ongoing Succession Wars as well as Comstar, the quasi-religious organisation which provides Faster-Than-Light communication across the Inner Sphere. Description of both battlemechs and mechwarriors are also included. It is perhaps a bit basic and does not really provide much in the way of the setting’s flavour—the pilot cards, the battlemech descriptions, and the novella all do a better job of that.

The rules themselves cover initiative, movement, and attacking with everything rolled on the two dice as needed. Whichever side wins the initiative goes second, allowing them to react to the actions of the loser. Each side then takes it in turn to move their battlemechs, each having a different number of Movement Points depending upon whether a battlemech is walking, running, or jumping. Movement is done hex by hex, Movement Points being paid to enter a hex—the heavier and more difficult the terrain, the greater the cost—and to change facing. Once movement is done, attacks can take place. This is done by taking the attacking pilot’s Gunnery skill and adding modifiers for his movement, the target’s movement, any intervening terrain, and range. This generates a number between two and twelve. If the roll is equal to the number or over, then the attack is successful. Hit location is then determined randomly and damage applied.

Included in the Quick-Start Rules are a few simple scenarios. These go from from one-on-one battles to adding terrain and additional battlemechs and a pair of battlemechs attempting to break out from behind enemy lines. There is some variation here, especially in mixing and matching the battlemechs fielded against each other. An experienced wargamer will probably be able to add more, but players new to the game and the hobby may have greater difficulty.

Overall, the rules are clear and easy to understand, and ably supported by some good examples. That said there are a couple issues with both them and the BattleTech Beginner Box. One is the use of the dice. The rules suggest using black, red, and hite dice to indicate the type of movement each battlemech has made on a turn, but there are just a pair of white dice in the box. This is obviously not enough. Now of course, dice are expensive and would have added to the cost of the set, but some movement tokens could have been included by increasing the size of the punchboard. The issue is what the rules do not cover and this is quite a lot in terms of BattleTech as a game. This includes piloting skills, critical hits, additional terrain, firing arcs and attack direction, more weapons and equipment, and so on… Again, to be fair, the BattleTech Beginner Box introduces the game’s rules, but arguably, some of these are so integral to the game of BattleTech—the rules for heat in particular—it would have nice to have seen them included in some advanced rules. 

From the design of a starter set or a beginner box, the BattleTech Beginner Box does also miss a trick. There is no, ‘What’s in this box’ sheet, explaining the box’s content and pointing out where start. There is a description of the box’s content in the Quick-Start Rules, but that is probably the sixth or seventh thing someone opening the box is going to look at, and even then, really only when they sit down to read the rules.

Physically, the BattleTech Beginner Box is an attractive box, well presented, the rules clearly written, and nicely illustrated. It is though, too basic a game for anyone with any experience with wargames and definitely too basic for anyone who has played BattleTech before. They will probably want to go straight onto BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat. Nevertheless, BattleTech Beginner Box is still a good introduction to both the rules and the setting, decently priced, and attractive.