1 comments about Threats 2 (Shadowrun).

1. The creatively titled Threats 2 is the new incarnation of the Threats by FASA. It follows the 3rd edition trend of less artwork and multiple authors.

   Threats 2 is in some ways a follow up to Year of the Comet. It simply introduces some new wrinkles into the game universe. Most of them are pretty interesting and the book itself is a pretty entertaining read. There are enough ideas in it to give game masters and players some inspiration for new campaigns. It also gives a small update on some previous plotlines such as Deus and Shedim spirits. This is nice as it's good to see the game story continue to move along, especially at a somewhat slower pace than Year of the Comet.

   This is not a must have book but could be used to inject some fresh blood into your campaign. It seems to be kind of hard to find and will probably go for the full cover price.

1 comments about Shadowrun.

1. Anyone purchasing Shadowrunner 4th Edition with intentions to GM some games with your friends shall get this GM Shield.

1 comments about Target: UCAS (Shadowrun RPG).

1. Target: UCAS is probably one the last Shadowrun 2nd edition books to come out and possibly the first of the Target series. This book focuses on about 4 cities in the United Canadian and American States. Although most of what's in it has been updated in Shadows of North America it still contains valuable and detailed information on Boston, Detroit, the Washington DC sprawl, and Chicago.

   Perhaps most importantly it tells the (rather short) tale of how Ares (mostly) took out the bug spirits. It also gives rules for using Strain 3 bacteria, those crazy little critters that eat magical items and people.

   It's a pretty fun read in of itself with plenty of decker shadowtalk sprinkled throughout. You're probably going to want it if you want to do runs in either Boston or Detroit.

   It seems to be pretty easy to find (but not nearly as prevalent as the Street Samurai Catalog) and it's usually not too expensive. I believe some of the sellers here have very reasonably priced copies for sale.

5 comments about The Forever Drug (Shadowrun, No 37).

1. This novel could have had a lot of potential, had its main character, Romulus, been treated with the sort of deftness and "alien" POV given to Striper or the various SR dragons. Instead, he spends half the novel behaving like a dog -- not even a wolf, but a DOG ... and a rather idiotic one, at that -- and the other half chasing an assortment of villains whose motives, and relationship to the "mystery woman" Jane, never seem very convincing. Shadowrun fans who are still obsessed with tracking down the odds and ends from Dunkelzahn's will can tie up a few more loose ends here, but for the rest of us, it's the same old "elves/dragons know something you don't know, nyah nyah!" nonsense that was already getting overripe when "House of the Sun" was published. Given that Lisa Smedman's done far better than this (e.g. "Blood Sport") for Shadowrun, "The Forever Drug" is a real let-down.



2. Not the best Shadowrun book written, but not too bad if you like the world's setting. Probably the most jarring problem with the book is that it appears some editor chose to do a global search & replace on the word "frag" and replace it with the word "frig". Readers familiar with the jargon of the Shadowrun world may find this more than a little irritating. (I know I did - it was like driving down a six lane expressway and finding a stop sign.)



3. I started out realy enjoying this book despite it being centred around yet another LoneStar Cop Romulus is a good character stuggeling to do the right thing evan though he over matched be just about everyone in the book. The Story moves you along Ok despite some obvious "why don't they just" On the whole until the ending its a good lite read not in the same league a any of Lisa Smedmans work but fun The real Problem I have with this book is ending it does not have one and unless this is the stangest lead to a sequal I have ever seen I cant imagine what happened.



4. To start off, I was wrong. I read the previous reader's reviews for this book before picking it up. I had a couple of Smedman's previous SR novels (The Lucifer Deck & Psychotrope), and found them enjoyable enough (if not great works of literature). My initial intention was to read the book, then point out it's good points - believing that Smedman probably was being unfairly/overly criticized for this one. But, having read the novel now, I must admit the previous reviewers were correct. This is a bad book, its substance overwhelmed by the writer's need to score political points unrelated to the storyline.

   "A reader from USA" is correct about the main character. To give credit where credit is due, Smedman was trying to capture the mindset of an "inhuman" character, and make it unlike the outlook of (meta)humanity. But this effort largely fails (I'm not sure Lisa Smedman has ever had a dog - her Cat Shamam in The Lucifer Deck is more plausably feline than her Canine Romulus).

   In addition to some minor, but highly distracting annoyances, the novel's ending is in my opinion weakened by two things: one, the introduction of a un-entertaining "terrorism" subplot involving an Amerindian takover of Prince Edward Island, which serves no apparant purpose to the plotline and is just an expression of her antipathies. The other is an appearance by the Great Dragon Lofwyr which I must say is the most inept, heavyhanded use of this re-occuring SR character that I've seen. I guess his role is to provide the nessissary backstory explaination that Smedman could not weave into the storyline because she spent too much time on the wholely unrelated P.E.I. sidestory/distraction - the ending could have been much stronger had she kept her idiosyncratic preferences in check. Note to Mike Mulvihill: next time please, please let Lisa set her novel somewhere in the NAN - she'll clearly be much happier that way, and thus the story will be more enjoyable for the readers as well. It's about time something get set in Ute or Sioux anyhow.




5. I enjoy reading about Shadowrun Novels that take place in cities other than Seattle (though Seattle is VERY exciting!). I felt the general idea of this novel is a good one and was captivated by it. I also was curious to see how a Wolf Shapeshifter could possibly be integrated into a structured organization like Lone Star.

   The main character had a lot of potential and so did some of the secondary characters (like Dass), and I was saddened at the end when the main character suffered the same 'memory loss' as the woman he was trying to help and was so loyal to. That was really good.

   Lofwyr showing up at the end actually DID seem plausible to me in the sense that what Mareth'riel and Romulus were involved in was very secretive and involved some VERY powerful individuals. And the tie-in to Tir Tarngire makes Lofwyr's involvement more plausable since he is a Prince of Tir Tairngire. Lisa Smedman did do a good job in conveying Romulus' loayalty to Mareth'riel - which added to the tragedy of the ending, for me at least.

   What the book lacked was a good flow in writing - the mechanics. It was comparable to riding in a lurching car with the driver learning how to drive stick-shift and failing miserably! Very distracting. There were many ways Lisa Smedman could have re-worded her sentences to make them flow better and incorporate the characters' discriptions, attitudes and perceptions into the flow of the book in a more effective and interesting manner.

   Also, the main character, Romulous, was WAY too tame. He was supposed to be a WOLF SHAPESHIFTER, not a German Shephard Shapeshifter! His situations and behavior were SO watered down, they simply weren't believable! I would figure that he would have had a MUCH harder time assimilating into (meta)human society to get to his current status as it is portrayed in this novel. Also, that Lone Star would have had to excercise more control over him to keep him in check.

   And, enough with the 'frig'! It's clearly frag. I kept trying to convince myself that it was an accent-thing for that partof the UCAS, but I didn't believe me. It came off like a typo, or like an editor who had tried to invent new Shadowrun jargon. In either case, it simply didn't work for me.

   By and large, despite the drawbacks of this novel, I liked it and I'd like to see a continuation with the main character because he has a lot of potential for further development, but these future books need to be written in a MUCH better fashion to do justice to the events and the characters.

5 comments about Magic in the Shadows (Shadowrun RPG).

1. Magic in the Shadows, while long overdue, is most definitely worth the wait. It's a little dry in places, but anything with this much information and rules clarification is going to have that problem. Overall, the book is well worth cover price because of its excellent organization and clear writing. Shadowrun's magic system needed a major overhaul, and this does the trick beautifully. An absolute must-have for anyone, player or GM, who deals with magic in Shadowrun Third Edition.



2. Looks like FASA got their act together for this book and really gave what both players and GM's can use. The background information is clear and concise, the game effects are balanced and well-thought-out, and the new rules enhance the depth of the game. Clearly worth the money.



3. Heh. I remember my troll mage. He kicked so much, well, you know. And to think, that wouldn't have been possible without this book. So wonderful. Magic becomes so much easier with the updated rules. And rules for making your own spells? Exquisite. Although some of the combinations are so powerful that my GM disallowed them. Dam. Ah well. Anyway, the point is that I can assure you that if you're playing a magic user in Shadowrun 3rd Edition, you'll want, nay, you'll NEED, this book. Get it. Now! Enjoy!



4. I remember when I first played Shadowrun how much of a pain using magic was. Fasa has finally come out with a much needed update for the magic system. This is an excellent source book that expands the system for magic and makes it very easy to use. No longer is magic confusing and hard to understand; now it is a breeze to play a magic using character in the Shadowrun world.



5. Shadowrun, despite being my all-time favorite gaming universe, was a complete money drainer, with an excessive amount of supplements to purchase in order to flesh out your campaign.
   3rd edition and its updates however, seemed to consolidate and condense better, focusing on game mechanics and rules rather than pictures and colorful quotes from fictional characters.
   
   Magic in the Shadows is no exception, as it compiles all three previous magic books, updates their mechanics, and also introduces new 3rd edition magic rules, skills, and abilities. Although the 3rd edition books are not as colorful or fun to read as previous books, they do a much better job of actually providing rules and mechanics to streamline your game.
   This book is a must have for anyone with "awakened" characters, because it covers the rules for initiation, a process that makes a magical character uber-powerful.

3 comments about High Tech & Low Life: The Art of Shadowrun.

1. Nice selection of art, though the obmission of any pieces by Timothy Bradstreet is notable given how popular he is and how prominently his artwork features in some of the sourcebooks. However, the presentation could be much better: It is bland in the extreme. Each image is centred on the middle of a white page. Opposite page is white, with small text indicating the title and artist. Very dry. I suppose this would suffice for a traditional artbook, but this is Shadowrun, people! The cyberpunk theme screams for visual overload. Some visual pizazz would have helped immensely. As would have comments by the artist of each piece. Worse still, the pictures all have a slightly faded quality to them. Indeed, comparing some pieces to the original book covers, the pieces here are noticeably less vibrant, looking rather washed out. Finally, the pieces are all forced to fit into the page with one-inch borders around each image. They'd have looked far better filling up as much page space as possible. It makes you want to scream in fustration. Even 'wide' pieces which you'd think would be presented sideways to maximise the size (such that you'd have to turn the book 90 degrees to view it) are instead presented vertically like all the other pages, thereby shrinking them to less than 1/5th the page size! The only good thing I can say about the presentation is that very glossy oversized thick paper stock has been used. Otherwise, this book is a major disappointment.



2. Not a bad way to spend $10. Yeah some of the art could be bigger, and there could be more bells and whistles but the book itself is a quality product. Sturdy. All the great Shadowrun art (many of the same artists created for Battletech - there should be a "Art of Battletech book too!!!!) FOr those who still play the game in its new rendition this is a great way to get the feel of the picture that the original Shadowrun creators wanted you to get. It has a great forward and also info on each artist. Good book. I do not game and havent for years, so this is a perfect book to keep a the memory of the Shadowrun world alive.

   And if anyone cares, FASA corp is out of business. Get this book while you can!




3. The world of Shadowrun is a unique fusion of science fiction and fantasy - a near future world where dragons run megacorporations and cybernetically enhanced trolls walk the streets. It is a world where magic and science intertwine and the cultural traditions of the past collide with the technological innovations of the future.
   The art of Shadowrun is a reflection of this rich environment - a blend of the ultramodern, near-future imagery of cyberpunk and the more traditional characters and creatures of fantasy. Since the release of the Shadowrun roleplaying game in 1989, thousands of illustrations have been produced for the game and this volume brings together the finest of those images. High Tech and Low Life: The Art of Shadowrun features work by some of the most gifted and imaginative artists working today. This volume should make a welcome addition to the collections of art enthusiasts and science fiction fans alike.

5 comments about Street Samurai Catalog/Shadowrun 7104.

1. The street samurai catalog was full of weapons reviews. This helps a lot because now i can give my characters much better gear.



2. Honestly, I'm tired of supporting FASA by buying sourcebooks, but this one has a lot and I do mean A LOT of useful information that you should need for your campaign.



3. This book is written more from advertisers point of view, and seems to be a quite relistic catalog. The quotes are great and i like them, but i wanted more information. it gave general information, but not how everthing worked.



4. needed more items and weapons.It also could have contained GM tips and tricks.



5. A note: If you are playing Third Edition Shadowrun and don't feel like collecting old source material, skip this book completely (it is replaced by a newer sourcebook, as is its companion, Fields of Fire).

   That said: Unlike some of the later sourcebooks, most things here are actually useful while not being overpowered. In addition, it gives a better range of items to choose from within a class (for example, you're not limited to only 4 light pistols).

   If you are looking for more toys for your compaign, get this book. If you prefer a better idea of how to play a Street Samurai, don't look here. There's almost nothing on tips or hints in this book. Cybertechnology and Fields of Fire are much more useful for the hows and whys of playing street sams.

1 comments about Year of the Comet (Shadowrun).

1. Year of the Comet was (I believe) the last book that was written when FASA still existed and (I think) the first Shadowrun product Wiz Kids/FanPro published.

   Near the end of FASA's life it became pretty obvious that the overall background history and story (meta-story) of the Shadowrun game world had slowed down quite a bit. We got fairly regular updates in the form of tech and magic sourcebooks but the overall "history" of the world hadn't changed much in a while. Year of the Comet changes all that and contains several big kick-starts to the Shadowrun world. Halley's Comet is passing by the Earth and seems to bring all kinds of weird events with it. There are some big changes in Denver, Japan, California Free State, and (sort) DeeCee. We get a new dragon, some new (unpleasant) spirits, and naturally occuring orichalum.

   It's a pretty fun read and it contains many new ideas for game masters to create adventures with. It's a pretty thick book with plenty of Shadowtalk and a nicely laid out Game Information section in the back.

   The only possible flaw for this book may be too much too late. It does so many things to the game universe it can be confusing. But you don't have to implement them all at once and/or can pick which ones you want to keep in your campaign.

   Probably worth picking up if you're interested in the new direction of Shadowrun.

1 comments about Target: Wastelands (Shadowrun).

1. Target: Wastelands is yet another 3rd edition location book. It's nice to see some more original material coming out in 3rd edition instead of just rehashed previous material.

   This rather slim book (133 pages) gives details and rules for the following types of places: Polluted/Irradiated toxic zones, underwater platforms/arcologies, orbital space habitats, the extremely cold polar regions, and desert lands.

   The theme that ties all these places together of course are their natural dangers. Toxic zones are those places that have been warped (especially magically) by pollution or wholesale human suffering. It gives some nice rules for making toxic shamans, mutant critters, and toxic paranormal animals. The space portion gives the rundown on current space habitats and finally makes it possible, even reasonable to have a Shadowrun in space. The underwater portion reads pretty much like the space portion only it takes deep water characteristics into account like pressure, oxygenization, and unpleasant sea life. The desert section gives us a little info on the Desert Wars (but not nearly enough) and gives us the details on several deserts throughout the world. The polar section gives us some brief info on extremely cold regions of the Earth such as polar research stations and resource extraction facilities.

   This book really seems to do a good job of making these regions dangerous and a pain in the ass to work in yet within the realm of possibility in the game world. The desert and polar sections especially give some places for magicians to shine too. The rules section in the back is nice and concise and makes sense. It's also an interesting read just for fun.

   You don't need this book for regular campaigns but it will give you the background needed to allow your players into some weird, new locations. Seems hard to find and is usually full price. It'll probably get cheaper as the book gets older.

3 comments about Shadowrun Quick Start.

1. A friend of mine owns a gaming shop, and we popped open a copy to use as the store copy. Got some people interested in the game at a relatively small cost, and the SR3 books started selling off the shelves like hotcakes and i got 8 new people wanting to play my game. If you already own any Shadowrun stuff it's not worth it, but if you just want to check the game out it's a great tool for new players. You'll still need to nab SR3 or SR2 if you want to seriously play, but this book is a good way to see if you're interested especially if you don't know anyone who owns a copy of either edition that you can borrow or read.



2. I'll be honest. This book helps you with the basics. But you NEED the SR3 book, its just so much better. This book provides a pretty good START, but if you wish to continue, you would do better to check out the subjects described in the book, in the SR3. It's not even an equipment list! Whats up with that? An if you want to start off by creating your own characters, you should get the SR3 too. My final rating? Useless without SR3, great for explaining basics. (Also it's great for players generally... cuz it explains the basics VERY well) But FASA should do better next time. Besides... what about the sample mission? GREAT. That's one of the highlights in my opinion...



3. I bought this book thinking I didn't have to spend thirty bucks on a game i might not like. so anyway the book has minor details but is very very confusing. I already shelled out cash for first run and have to buy the 3rd edition rules anyway =) so this book was mainly a waste of cash.If you need to start everyone is saying to start with third edition right away...to third i go =)