Shadowrun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Shadowrun
image:Shadowrun4.jpg
Shadowrun 4th edition cover
Designer(s) Bob Charrette, Paul Hume, Tom Dowd
Publisher(s) FASA Corporation, Fantasy Productions
Publication date 1989 (1st edition)
1992 (2nd edition)
1998 (3rd edition)
2005 (4th edition)
Genre(s) Cyberpunk fantasy
System Custom

Shadowrun is a cyberpunk-urban fantasy cross-genre role-playing game, set in the years 2050, 2053, 2060 or 2070 (depending on the game edition) following a great cataclysm that has brought use of magic back to the world, just as it begins to embrace the marvels (and dangers) of technologies such as cyberspace, omnipresent computer networks, genetic engineering, and the merger of man and machine called cyberware. Despite its departure in some respects from the "mainstream" cyberpunk genre, Shadowrun is perhaps the best-known and most popular RPG for this genre.

Contents

[edit] History

Shadowrun was developed and published by FASA Corporation from 1989 until early 2001, when FASA closed its doors and the property was sold to WizKids who licenses the RPG rights to the current publisher, Fantasy Productions (also known as FanPro, who are also responsible for the German version). WizKids produced an unsuccessful collectible action figure game based on the property called Shadowrun Duels.

Shadowrun is currently in its fourth edition, which brings significant changes to the game's system and setting. The fourth edition was released at GenCon in August, 2005.

The Shadowrun role-playing game, various expansions, and a Shadowrun collectible card game have won Origins Awards. The fourth edition also won the prestigious independent Ennie Awards for Best Rules as well as for Best Product in 2006.

Three games based on Shadowrun have been made for console video game systems: one for Super Nintendo, one for Sega Genesis, and one, only released in Japan, for Sega CD. They have been created with entirely different story lines, although they all take place within the same Shadowrun universe. They are generally faithful to the original tabletop role-playing game, although the SNES version allowed the player to combine many game elements which were not normally compatible in the RPG. A new video game inspired in part by Shadowrun and bearing the Shadowrun name is currently being developed for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. This game is a first-person shooter emphasizing the different tactics involved with the use of magic and technology. It was shown at E3 in 2006, and beta testing is planned to begin in December 2006.

[edit] Setting

[edit] Races

Characters in Shadowrun can be humans, orks, trolls, elves and dwarves, as well as certain diverging subspecies (known as metavariants) such as gnomes, giants, minotaurs, et cetera. As magic returned to the world, Humans began to give birth to infants of these races, a phenomenon called Unexplained Genetic Expression, or "UGE". In addition, some juvenile and adult humans "goblinized" into other races (mostly orks, but also some trolls). The term metahuman is used either to refer to humanity as a whole, including all races, or to refer specifically to non-human races, depending on context.

Two of the metahuman races have fictional languages. Many elves speak Sperethiel which some of them—being immortal—remember from the last age of magic. Some orks speak Or'zet which was forgotten until the will of an assassinated dragon released The Or’zet Codex to the public.

Additionally, a virus known as HMHVV (Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus) with many variant strains, has been known to cause further change, frequently resulting in Bandersnatches, Banshees, Dzoo-noo-quas, Goblins, Ghouls, Nosferatus, Vampires, Wendigos, Wild Fomorians and other fierce abominations that are no longer human and sometimes no longer even sentient.

[edit] History

Further information: Shadowrun timeline

The emergence of magic, the outbreak of the VITAS plagues (Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome), the Computer Crash of 2029 (caused by a complex and nearly unstoppable computer virus called "The Crash Entity"), the Euro-Wars, in which the western-European countries once fought off an invasion from neo-communist Russia and then a pan-Islamic invasion like that of 800 years ago, and the fevers for independence of Amerindian tribes, Chinese provinces, etc. left the world governments tumbling and falling. Out came the mega-corporations as the new superpowers.

[edit] The Nations

[edit] The Corporations

The monolithic "enemies" of the Shadowrun world (borrowing heavily from cyberpunk mythos) are the Corporations, dubbed "Megacorporations", "Megacorps", or simply "megas" or "corps" for short. Megacorporations in the 21st century are massively global, with all but the smallest corps owning multiple subsidiaries and divisions around the world. They are the superpowers of the Shadowrun universe, with the largest corporations having far more political, economic, and military power than even the most powerful nation-states.

In Shadowrun, corporations are effectively "ranked" by the amount of assets under their control, including materiel, personnel, and property, as well as profit. These ranks are A, AA, and AAA; AAA corporations are top tier. Most corporations in the AA and AAA level are immune to domestic law, responsible only to themselves, and regulated only by the Corporate Court, an assembly of the ten AAA-rated corporations.

All AAA-rated, and most AA-rated corporations also exhibit a privilege known as “extraterritoriality”, meaning that any land owned by the corp is sovereign territory only to the corp, and immune to any laws of the country within. Corporate territory is not foreign soil but corporate soil, just like its employees are corporate citizens, though dual citizenship in a corporation and a nation is common.

The AAA corps, and numerous minor corporations, fight each other not only in the boardroom or with tricky deals, but with physical destruction, clandestine operations, hostile extraction or elimination of vital personnel, and other means of sabotage. Because no corporation wants to be held liable for damages, it has to be done by deniable assets: shadowrunners, invisible to the system where every citizen is tagged with a System Identification Number (SIN). They are outcasts, from the streets or disillusioned ex-corp/government/military personnel who threw off the shackles of corp society to achieve freedom. They chose or were forced to work in the shadows cast by the gigantic corporate buildings to support their living. Players of Shadowrun generally assume the role of these shadowrunners.

The Big Ten, the AAA Megacorporations (as of 2070):

  • Ares Macrotech, Detroit-based conglomerate of automobile, steel, arms and space industry companies, led by Damien Knight. The first American-based Megacorp, Ares also trumps up its “mom and apple pie” image, fostering strong brand image within the United Canadian and American States (UCAS).
  • Aztechnology, a corporation from Aztlan (formerly Mexico, recreated in Aztec image) heavily involved in consumer goods, chemistry and magic. The least-liked megacorp in the shadows, due to its nasty secret projects.
  • Evo Corporation, a corp based in Vladivostok, Russia, that focuses on nano- and bio-technology, genetics research and other transhumanist technologies, and “metahuman factors engineering” (products made specifically for metas). The first corp to become transplanetary after establishing a Mars base.
  • Horizon, A Los Angeles (Annexed by the Pueblo Corporate Council in 2061)- based media coporation new to the AAA scene in the 2060s that used the second Matrix crash to make its move. Horizon is a media and PR corporation that lists Tir Tairngire among its clients. While they are primarily invested in media and entertainment they are also strong in consumer goods, real estate, and pharmaceuticals.
  • Mitsuhama Computer Technologies, started as money laundering operation for the Yakuza but soon surpassed their investors' income by a very large margin. Focuses largely on robotics, heavy machinery, magical goods, and computers.
  • NeoNET, created from Novatech’s merger with Transys Neuronet and Erika, pioneers of the new wireless Matrix, to form this powerhouse in the Matrix sector, but with diversified holdings in many other sectors.
  • Renraku Computer Systems, mainly computer and arms-producing giant from Japan. Slowly rebuilding from both the Seattle Arcology debacle and the second Matrix crash.
  • Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries, the world's largest corp, a German conglomerate based on the production of steel, heavy-industrial goods, cars (BMW), arms and communication in Europe. Its majority shareholder and chairman is Lofwyr, a Great Dragon, who bought the company stocks from hoarded resources.
  • Shiawase Corporation, an old family business, which survived the turmoils of the early 21st century unscathed, quickly able to expand in energy production, biotech and environmental procedures. First to fight for and be granted megacorporate sovereignty (later called extraterritoriality): exemption of law on foreign soil.
  • Wuxing Inc., a Hong Kong-based company that joined the AAA-corps primarily due to money from Dunkelzahn’s will, heavily focused on shipping and finance, and recently chipping into the magical-goods market.

Former AAA Megacorporations that were prominent in prior editions include:

  • Fuchi Industrial Electronics, a computer giant built by the Nakatomis and Yamanas from Japan and Richard Villiers from Boston, Massachusetts. Focused heavily in computers and Matrix technologies. Disintegrated during the Corp War of '59 - '60 due to corporate infighting, and fractured. Richard Villiers took his piece and formed Novatech.
  • Novatech, Richard Villiers’ remnant of Fuchi that was based in Boston, Massachusetts. Focused on computer and Matrix technologies, also heavy into the brief space race for Halley’s Comet in 2061. Near bankrupt in 2064, it was forced to an unprecedented IPO, which lead to the second Matrix crash. Smarting from the PR fallout, it formed NeoNET by merging with Transys Neuronet and Erika.
  • Cross Applied Technologies, a Free Quebec-based company that rose in power due to the Corp War in ’59-’60, it was the smallest of the AAA corporations. When its founder, Lucien Cross died in a plane crash on the night of the second Matrix crash, Ares Macrotechnology, its biggest rival, snapped up enough of Cross’ subsidiaries and holdings to nullify its AAA status.
  • Yamatetsu; after moving the corporate headquarters HQ from Japan to Vladivostok, Russia and shifting focus towards metahuman ventures, it renamed itself Evo in the 2060s.

Shadowrunners are likely to have frequent contact with one non-AAA corporation, Lone Star Security Services. Lone Star is a corporation that has taken over majority of law enforcement services in the UCAS. Lone Star tends to avoid unprofitably dangerous areas such as the Seattle barrens (Puyallup and Redmond).

[edit] Technology

Despite the Crash which caused much data corruption, technology advanced at a tremendous rate. Cyberware, technical implants, and Bioware, genetically engineered implants which enhance a person's abilities, emerged.

[edit] The Matrix

Originally, direct neural interface technology enabled humans and metahumans to directly access computers and the Matrix, the global computer network restructured after the 2029 Crash. Access to the Matrix was accomplished by "deckers": individuals that have cyberdecks which are futuristic equivalent to modern day laptop computers. These interface machines are connected to the brain through a Datajack generally located at the temple or behind the ear. The "deck" would then be plugged into a port that is connected to the Matrix at large. The Matrix was originally based on ideas by William Gibson and the cyberpunk literary genre.

In Shadowrun 4th edition, the Matrix rules have changed, thanks to the setting's constant evolution and a drive to match real world technological developments. After the second Matrix crash in 2064, Matrix technology was moved away from the wired network and lead into a wireless technology. This technology was originally proposed in the early 2060s by Transys Neuronet and Erika, now part of NeoNET.

The most noticeable difference between the Matrix in the 2070s and the earlier editions is the widespread use of wireless technology. Communications and Matrix access is done through a Personal Area Network (PAN), managed through an individual's Commlink, a combination personal computer/cell phone/PDA/wireless device that hooks into the Matrix through wi-fi nodes placed in every city's infrastructure.

The other major difference in the Matrix of the 2070s is the use of Augmented Reality, where a person hooked to the Matrix through their Commlink has their vision imprinted (through direct neural implants or special glasses), with the same files and images that one would see on a computer desktop. This allows many users to stay on the Matrix constantly while walking around in normal space (though the traditional full-immersion neural interface is still accessible).

Cyberdecks are obsolete, so "deckers" have once again become "hackers" (though the definition might annoy real world hackers, the term is used as understood in popular culture). In addition, the otaku of previous versions (deckers who did not need decks to access the Matrix) have metamorphed into a new class - the technomancer, who has an innate connection to the Matrix and is capable of entering into a wireless network with no special equipment.

The use of the term 'Matrix' in the Shadowrun game to refer to an immersive virtual world predates its use in the popular feature film The Matrix. In Shadowrun, the Matrix is not a simulation of reality but rather is the global communications and information network that is a successor to the internet.

[edit] Magic

Magic is the element that separates Shadowrun from other cyberpunk roleplaying games (Cyberpunk 2020, Ex Machina, ICE's Cyberspace). Magic in Shadowrun comes from three sources or traditions, the Hermetic, the Shamanic, and the Somatic. A character who is able to use magic is said to be awakened. An awakened character's power in magic is equal to their Essence statistic, at least initially. Because of this, most magically active individuals attempt to avoid cybernetic enhancement, which lowers Essence.

[edit] Hermetics

Hermetic magic revolves around casting spells and summoning elementals. It is one part chemistry, one part philosophy, one part mathematics, and yet none of them at the same time. It is a "logical" approach to magic in which the spellslinger studies theories of the nature of magic and how to harness it as an individual. Users of hermetic magic are called 'mages'.

[edit] Shamanic

Shamans are mages who live in accordance with the natural world. They feel especially bonded to a specific animal spirit (called a Totem) and are guided by that spirit in their lives. It is this spirit that gives the Shaman his/her magic, teaches them their spells, and gives their lives purpose. A shaman CAN fight against his/her Totem, but in the end, it is fighting against oneself.

[edit] Somatic

Adepts use somatic magic, internalized mystical power that accentuates their natural physical abilities. Adepts can run on walls, use mundane objects as deadly thrown projectiles, shatter hard objects with a single unarmed blow, and perform similar feats of incredible ability. Each adept has a different set of abilities: while one might demonstrate increased reflexes and facility with firearms, a second might possess unparalleled mastery of the katana, and a third might be able to pull off incredible vehicular stunts.

[edit] Quotations

  • "It is not about what you know, but who you know." - Street Proverb
  • "Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon." - Street Proverb
  • "That which does not kill me is dead when I'm through with it." - Joel Neechi, Merc
  • "When you cut someone nowadays, you don't know if they'll bleed or leak hydraulic fluid." - Evil eye, Tiger Gang Member
  • "Geek the shaman/mage first" - Street Proverb
  • "Repeat after me kiddies, 'Half up front!'" - Prime Runner, Shadowland Poster
  • "Why do things happen the way they happen? For all I know the world is just one big game and all our actions are determined by the roll of a die." - Dunkelzahn, Great Dragon, Late President of the United Canadian American States
  • "Guns, guns, guns. My life would be so dull without them" - Wedge, Mercenary

[edit] System

[edit] Mechanics

The Shadowrun game mechanics are based entirely on a 6-sided dice system.

The game is skill-based rather than class-based, but archetypes are presented in the main book to give players and gamemasters an idea of what is possible with the system.

Shadowrun (3rd edition) cover
Enlarge
Shadowrun (3rd edition) cover

Before the fourth edition, skill and ability checks worked like this: All actions in the game, from the use of skills to making attacks in combat, are first given a target number that reflects the difficulty of the action which is then raised or lowered by various modifying factors, such as environmental conditions, the condition of the character, the use of mechanical aids, and so forth. The character then rolls a number of dice equal to their level in the relevant skill, which then the number of dice rolled that meet or exceed the target number determines if the character is successful performing the action and to what degree of success the character has. As an example, a character with a high firearms skill not only has a better chance at hitting a target than someone with a lower ranked skill, but is also more likely to cause more damage to the target. Target numbers may exceed 6, in which case any dice that show a 6 have to be re-rolled (a target number of, e.g., 9 is reached by rolling a 6 followed by at least a 3; thus, a target number of 6 and one of 7 are identical). For even higher target numbers, this procedure has to be repeated; thus, an action with a target number of 20 (like attempting to procure military-degree weaponry) will only succeed if 3 successive dice rolls result in sixes, and the fourth gives at least a 2. This system allows great flexibility in setting the difficulty of an action.

In addition to this basic mechanic, players can use dice pools to add bonus dice to certain tests, though dice that are used do not refresh until the end of a turn. This adds an extra tactical element, as the player must decide where best to spend these bonus dice. For example, combat pool could be spent to improve attacks or to improve defense, or some of each. Players also have Karma Pool that can be used to reroll any dice that failed to reach the target number. Karma Pool only refreshes once a scene. The combination of Karma Pool and dice pools gives players a considerable amount of freedom to decide how important a task is to their character. Two characters with identical statistics could perform very differently on the same tasks depending on their priorities (and thus, allocation of dice pools and karma pool).

Shadowrun's original dice system has been cited as a major influence in the development of White Wolf's original Storyteller System. The new Storyteller System from the new World of Darkness was copied for the new dice system in the fourth edition of Shadowrun.

[edit] Archetypes

Although the skill system is freeform, certain combinations of skills and equipment work well together. This combination of specialization in skill and equipment is known as an archetype. The most notable archetypes are Street Samurai, characters who have heavily augmented their bodies with cyberware and bioware and focus on physical combat; Adepts, characters who have magical abilities that increase their physical combat abilities; Deckers or Hackers who are experts at manipulating computer networks; Riggers who augment their brains to achieve fine control over vehicles and drones; and Magicians who cast spells and can view emotions and call spirits from astral space. Among magicians, there is a split between Shamans who call upon an animal totem of their choosing (Bear, Cat, Wolf, Whale etc, endless possibilities) to help them manipulate magic and Hermetic Mages who study texts and devise experiments and theories to aid their magic.

Some people complain that Shadowrun separates different types of characters too far: Street Sams are useless in computing; Deckers are useless in magical encounters; Magicians can't drive well. Each specialty seems so far removed from the others that it appears difficult to write an adventure which involves all the players at the same time.

However, the archetypes are not character classes: the player is allowed to cross boundaries. Restrictions are not imposed by the system itself, but by the player's specializations. Because character-building resources are limited, the player has to weigh which game resource (magic, computers, combat, etc.) he wants to specialize in and which he has to neglect. This allows high character customization while still ensuring that characters are viable in the setting.

[edit] Character Creation

Standard die with Shadowrun logo
Enlarge
Standard die with Shadowrun logo

The fourth edition of Shadowrun uses a point-based character creation system reminiscent of GURPS; previous editions had optional point-based creation systems and instead used a priority system where the player ranked the character's relative strengths in each of five areas (race, attributes, skills, magic, and resources) and received points to spend or benefits in each area depending on the priority. The point-based creation systems handle character creation in stages that could be compared to the prior versions' priorities, but the point-based system allows for further specialization (e.g., huge amounts of skills and very little magic or cyber). The point-based system is noticeably more difficult than the priority system.

Shadowrun characters are created with contacts, friends and acquaintances who will usually help the character out. The contacts system makes it quite easy for players to acquire the use of skills that their characters don't have, albeit at a price, a radical departure from most role-playing games.

[edit] Essence

Essence is a measure of a living being's lifeforce. Most humans and metahumans start with a value of six. It powers magic, and as essence fades, so does magical aptitude. Cyberware, bioware, nanotech implants, and other major changes to a being's body can damage its essence as well. Generally, if a being's essence ever reaches zero, it dies. Cybermancy allows metahumans to survive for extended periods of time with an essence rating of less than 0. However, the body will begin to shortly break down as if it were dead, leading to the reference of such individuals as 'cyberzombies'. Such individuals can survive for only about a month's time.

[edit] Karma

In third edition and earlier, players were awarded Karma points as a game progressed. These points are usually added to a total called Good Karma, which can be used to boost attributes and skills. Skills that are already well-developed cost more Good Karma than skills which are undeveloped, which helps encourage specialized characters to become more flexible by spending Good Karma on weaker attributes. This advancement-buying system is much more organic than level-based systems (as made ubiquitous by Dungeons & Dragons), though not all roleplayers agree that is necessarily a good thing. Karma also makes characters more powerful in general because every tenth (or twentieth for metahumans) point is added to the Karma Pool instead of Good Karma. The Karma Pool allows players to re-roll dice or "purchase" additional dice in certain situations. Karma can even be used to avoid certain death, at the cost of all Good Karma and Karma Pool points.

In fourth edition, there is only a single, generic type of karma, which is used solely as a character advancement tool.

[edit] Fourth Edition Changes

With the new edition, major changes to the rules system were adopted.

Out of the original six attributes (Body, Quickness, Strength, Charisma, Intelligence, and Willpower), Quickness was split into Agility and Reaction, while Intelligence was broken into Intuition and Logic. A new attribute called Edge was introduced to replace Karma Pool. Instead of starting from a base, characters buy their Magic attribute like a normal attribute. The statistic originally called Reaction has had some of its functions taken over by the new attribute by the same name.

The initiative system was modified to only affect the order of actions, not the number of actions, during one turn. The number of actions taken by a character is determined by implants and magic but not rolling dice.

Several of the archetypes were modified. Deckers were renamed hackers and given access to some rigger abilities; riggers as a distinct profession were removed. Many distinctions between shamanic and hermetic magicians were removed, and the magic system was designed to allow many other variant traditions. Technomancers were introduced, individuals who have the same roles and abilities as hackers, except without needing any cyber augmentation or technology.

Skills were changed from the target number system to a "hits" system. The target number is fixed at 5, and to complete a skill test, a player takes a number of six-sided dice equal to the skill and its linked Attribute, and rolls them, counting the number of dice that show 5 or 6 as "hits". The number of "hits" are compared to a pre-determined amount (or Threshold) set by the GM for the roll with success based on whether the appropriate number of "hits" was equaled or exceeded. In addition, dice pools were removed, eliminating most of the tactical allocation of dice during combat, spellcasting, hacking, and other activities. These changes were intended to speed up the resolution of skill tests and combat.

The "Rule of One" of previous editions has been changed. A "glitch" is when at least half of the rolled dice come up 1s. A glitch results in a minor inconvenience or setback for the player. However, if a person rolls a glitch while scoring no hits, it is considered a "critical glitch," and is substantially more serious or potentially even fatal.

Rules for combat, magic, hacking, and other activities were changed to accommodate the new skill system. The modified rules are typically similar in outline, but the details are necessarily different.

Since the rules in the Fourth Edition are mechanically dissimilar to those in earlier editions, balance issues differ between editions. Characters from previous editions do not easily convert to the new edition with their strengths and weaknesses intact. There were a few changes to the fictional setting in the Fourth Edition. The main premises remained unchanged while the timeline advanced by five years. The largest change in setting was the addition of a global wireless matrix that allows people to have augmented reality displays: visual overlays on real-world scenes. This encourages hackers and technomancers to join their teammates physically rather than provide matrix backup from a remote location, a change designed to make coordinating and integrating online and real-world actions easier for the GM.

[edit] Flaws

There have been complaints that cybertechnology in the Shadowrun game system makes very little sense. Because of the strict rules that make cyberware difficult for the character to have, it is far less likely that someone will give their character enhancements like full cyberlimbs rather than alternatives like bioware and magic. This is a problem because cyberware, especially the obvious cyber-limb kind, is a staple of the cyberpunk genre. However, this was less of a problem in the third edition, where the increase in functionality for cyberlimbs made them more appealing to both "trick" characters and more general street samurai. Due to the limit on cyberware/bioware imposed by the Essence rating, and the open development system, cyberware tends to have an "early power, not much late development" tone, versus a slower-developing but potentially much more powerful magic-oriented character.

The name theoretical troll was used to identify one of the inherent flaws in a previous edition release of the game. It referred to the fact that a player could select a Troll as a starting character and, through manipulation of rules, could make the equivalent of a walking, indestructible artillery platform, through various methods. Trolls were known for extremely high combat statistics (Body and Strength) which allowed players to abuse the system in ways it wasn't designed for.

The first edition of the game is notable for an infamous flaw in the ballistic combat system that made even the most powerful firearms all but useless against characters wearing even moderate body armor. With the second edition of the game, the combat system was overhauled so that even with armor, firearms still posed as a potentially deadly threat, especially in the hands of a skilled character.

Another problem that cropped up first in the first edition and fixed incrementally through subsequent editions were the complicated rules involving grenades. Before the addition of rules for the effects of blast against barriers in the second edition, there was a common joke among players that, given a horrible roll by a GM, one could place a baby in a box with a live grenade and the baby would come out unscathed.

[edit] Influences and links

Shadowrun was retroactively linked to Earthdawn, and is set in the "Sixth World", where Earthdawn is the "Fourth World" and our modern-day Earth is at the tail end of the Fifth World. Such links are not necessary for play, but they allow crossover potential.

Shadowrun is influenced by the writings of William Gibson (particularly Neuromancer)[citation needed], although less so than the Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game[citation needed]. Gibson himself has stated his dislike of Shadowrun, although he has not publicly stated any reasons, aside from the presence of fantasy creatures in the game and that he had not been asked for "permission". However, he never stated that Shadowrun used his intellectual property, so it is not clear what kind of permission he meant.

Despite Gibson's disavowal, and despite its inclusion of non-"traditional" cyberpunk elements, Shadowrun remains popular, and is today the best-known cyberpunk RPG[citation needed].

[edit] Publications

For a complete list of the published books and novels see List of Shadowrun books.

[edit] Movies

Despite various rumors, no Shadowrun movie has been published so far. In the recent years, however, FanPro's promotional fan film competition has brought forward a variety of German fan-based short films depicting numerous aspects of the Shadowrun world in numerous levels of quality, some in subtitled versions. American-made Shadowrun movies do exist, but are few in number.

[edit] Video games

Three video games have been developed based on the Shadowrun franchise, the first in 1993 was an action RPG titled Shadowrun developed by Australian software company Beam Software (now Melbourne House) for the SNES console. The second also titled Shadowrun was for the Sega Mega Drive in 1994 developed by US company BlueSky Software. The third game was an interactive fiction adventure game developed by Japanese company Group SNE in 1996 for the Mega CD console, again titled Shadowrun.

A fourth and latest (in production) game is for the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista, with the working title Shadowrun developed by US company FASA Interactive owned by the Microsoft Corporation, which is also producing the title. However, many fans of the roleplaying game have not appreciated the major changes to story, races, and magic in the 2006 title, and the publishers of the Shadowrun roleplaying game have issued a statement saying, "Microsoft rewrote the timeline and setting for this game, so it is not in continuity with the tabletop RPG. It may be more accurately described as a game loosely based on Shadowrun."[1]

Rumors continue to circulate of Microsoft developing Shadowrun as a MMORPG. Nothing concrete has ever surfaced from these rumors.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

The external links in this article may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.
Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. Please remove this tag when this is done. This article has been tagged since October 2006. (talk)
Official sites
Unofficial sites
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/h/a/Shadowrun.html"