RPG Archives Shadowrun: Storyline, Rules, and Background

Storyline, Rules, and Background

It has been nearly eighty years after an event called the Second Awakening swept the world, returning magic and the supernatural back to reality. From this event, the very face of humanity was changed. Many men and women underwent severe changes in both body and mind. They became creatures once thought to have a place only in myth and fairy-tales. Nearly half of humanity became creatures that would be known as mythic beings. These mythic beings formed a number of different races, some became elves, others orcs, yet even others trolls, etc. Reports poured in documenting people who had the power to manipulate reality and nature itself. This became what is known as magic.

Fast forward to today. The year is 2085. Due to the chao's that came about during the Second Awakening, Religeon and world Governments lost power the the rich and powerful mega-corporations. These Mega-Corps came into control of the world not by way of force or faith. They put the world in their palm by using something far more powerful. They gained control over the flow of information, the very root of all power. Everyone is on file, everyone is under constant survaillence... everyone except a subculture of "invisible" outlaws known as Shadowrunners.

To a Shadowrunner, things like politics, nicities, and faith are meanlingless. To them there is no such thing as good or evil. There is nothing but survivel in a society that (in some way or another) cast them out. They are not rebels, and few consider themselves outlaws like the gangstas and Mobsters. They are mercinaries and bounty hunters, who are willing to do just about anything for the right price. They are made up of all types of races and species, and specialize in all three types of realities.

Welcome to the shadows, chummer...

 

Rules and the Courtesy System

Like every other RPG on this board, Shadowrun has its own special set of rules in addition to those already stated. They are as follows:

1.) Please keep an up-to-date account of your charactors stats. Although this Shadowrun RPG is a free-battle-system of play, your charactor stats are crucial when determining your interaction with the Moderator controlled Charactors (MCC's).

2.) Please turn off signatures when posting.

3.) In the event of an prolonged absense from gameplay (3-5 days), either Arcueid or myself will excuse your charactor from play until your return. Also, If you know you are going to be away from your computer, please contact either one of us if you want to request something.

4.) Do not post until your charactor is accepted.

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Courtesy system

The courtesy system is something I thought of a while back in another RPG forum and under a different name. Basically is a rewards system for decent RPGers. If your charactor performs an impressive deed (not godding), complete a crucial part of the storyline, or are basically remain a good rpg'er for a length of time, you may be awarded a Courtesy pt (henceforth, C-pt). Only Arcueid and myself may award C-pts.

At any time you may choose to "spend" your C-pts for a number of different things. The things you can spend them are as follows....

Effect.......................................Cost

Gain 3 stat pts............................ 1 pt

Raise the stat Maximum by 3.......... 1 pt

Create your own side-story............ 1 - 9 pt = To create your own side-story, that is a story not involved in any way with the major plot, simply contact either myself of Arcueid. We will then either Okay the side story or deny it if it is too vague. The cost depends on how long it will take and how far it is from the main plot.

Buy a 2nd charactor...................... 6 pts You may only possess up to 2 charactors at one time, unless you have or summon familiar (only magic users of a certain strength can summon familiars). Additionally, your second charactor does not *have* to be a ShadowRunner.

Kill another player's charactor........... 7 pts How this works is when someone wants to off another charactor, the Player killer must first contact either Arcueid or I. The pts will be immediately spent, BUT we will contact the target player. He or she may then....

Block a player killing attempt........... 3 pts Once we notify the target, he can spend pts to save him or her self. When the attempted player killer posts his or her supposed murder, the other player may post a sort of "close call" situation.

Redo post................................... 8 pts If a player is unstatisfied with the response their charactor gets from a certain action, that player may spend C-pts to redo a post. If more than 3 people have already responded to that post however, this offer becomes void, and the consequences of their post is set in stone.

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A few last notes on Courtesy pts.
1.) A player may only possess a maximum of 13 C-pts at any one time.
2.) Again, godding won't get you C-pts, respect from other players and adding to the game at large will.
3.) If you are killed, you may immedieately create a new charactor with the same number of stat pts your dead character had minus 10. ALL your C-pts carry over to your new charactor.

 

Charactor Classes, Races, and explanation

What is a Shadowrunner?

In the world of Shadowrun, that is Earth, every legal citizen on the planet has a SIN, a System Identification Number. The SIN maps out who they are, what the are. It is their complete digital identy, from work history to what they bought for dinner on any given night. But their are those who are SINless. Either they were born without a SIN or having purposely erased it, the SINless are all considered criminals. Seeing as how the SINless technically don't exist, they have no civil rights... but they are not bound by any laws either. The SINless can go anywhere without being easily tracked by the Mega-corps. Since they are untraceable, they make the perfect deniable asset... the perfect mercinary. That mercinary is what is now called the Shadowrunner.

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Types of Shadowrunners

"Samurai"- This is the provincial warrior. These are the most common type of Shadowrunner next to the Decker. Street Samurai's specialize in the "Real World". These are your strong-arms, your thugs, your ex-soldiers, your hitmen, etc. Most elite Shadowrunners of this type are known to get cybernetic implants.

"Decker"- The ancestor of the modern day Decker was known as the Computer Hacker. They number a little less that the Street Samurai, but on the whole, they make the most money. They specialize in breaking into computer mainframes. Their true power lies in manipulating the realities of a companies computer "Matrix." Here they do virtual battles with computer defense programs, "C. Double D's" (Corporate Defense Deckers), and the infamous (And very much deadly) Black ICE programs. The prize for their success is valuable information, control over company security, and/or better software. They get their name Decker because they use a computer Deck that plugs directly into their Cerebral Cortex (i.e. Brain).

"Sorcerers" and "Shamans"- These are your modern day magic users. Good magic users are hard to find, but they are an absolute gem if you come across one. The difference between Street Sorcerers and Shamans are the types of magic they use. Sorcerers (also known as Street Mages) use magic pertaining to manipulation of reality. Elamentaless energy, ESP, telekinisis are their forte. Shamans (aka Warlocks) deal with magic relating to nature. Both are relatively equal in power. Magic users are also known for keeping Mediums, spirits from the astral planes as servents (sometimes as slaves, sometimes as friends). Which leads into the Magic Users battle ground, the Astral Planes. Astral Planes are simply alternate realities in which no physical form exists. Some examples of different astral planes are the Realms of Rage, Hell, Heaven, Fire, Love, etc. A magic user can only increase his or her magic power by learning to manipulate these Astral Planes. They also travel here to get information from a particular Spirit or Ghost.

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The (Playable) Races of Shadowrun

The Human - Still the most dominate race on the planet. Humans represent both the extremes of good and evil as reflected in their long history. In the last hundred years, humanities mentality has changed relatively little when compared to the changes of the world. Humans excel in all Shadowrunner types.

The Elves - The most beutiful and lithe sentinent beings on earth... they are also the most racist, sheltered, and self-centered race ever to "grace" the planet. It is not known how long their actual life-span is, but it is known that since the 2nd Awakening, the elves seemed not to have aged at all. Elves are the only race to actually to claim and run countries. Currently Ireland, the UK, and the United States of America and Canada are run by them. The make great Deckers and Magic users.

The Orcs - Although the first generation of orcs born in the 2nd Awakening were relatively as intellegent as the humans they once were, with each generation of their species, both their lifespan and intellengence decrease, as well as becoming more ugly. The latest generation of orcs are considered to be the most aggessive and violent race on the earth. The make great Samurai's.

The Dwarves - Hard and tough, if not a bit unattractive, the dwarves are a proud race that has melded with the human society more than any other species. A dwarf is nothing if not direct and shrewd. That directness belies their iron will, and their shrewdness has tagged them as being untrustworthy and cheap. They excel at being Deckers and Samurai's as far as having careers of Shadowrunners.

The Ogres - Giants that usually stand between seven to elleven feet tall. Despite their imposing appearence, they are actually quite intellegent and the first generation of Ogres are expected to live up to 250 years. Sadley, after the first generation, that lifespan shortens to a mere sixty years. Their size and intellegence makes them excellent samurais and formidable Shamans.