Running in the Shadows - Things to consider

So while not the best solution, using the pre-generated character archetypes has allowed us to circumvent one the game's more arduous (though fun) processes. And just as I will become more comfortable running a Shadowrun game, becoming more reflexive about certain operations, so too will you become more familiar with yourselves as your character. There may come a time (probably soon) that as we explore the setting and its many idiosyncrasies, we might want to reconsider some character traits and their mechanical build. And that's fine; I have no qualms one way or another if you want to rework your dude to something more your speed, in fact I encourage it in all of the games I run.

It helps, obviously, if your new interpretation of the character is somewhat reminiscent of the old one. It's fine if your guy who was a gun-toting cyber-mercenary and social vampire (who is trying to find his friend's actual, meaty brain) is now a gun-enthusiast and avid sci-fi fan (who is just looking for something to do when there's nothing good on the Tridnet.) It's not quite as fine is that same mercenary suddenly becomes a Psychic animal-wrangler (who is out to topple the corrupted social network of the 2070s.) Still, I'd consider myself a very accommodating sort, and it's actually not that big of a deal to me if you decide to completely reinvent your character between sessions. You'll be breaking the story over your knee and instantly destroying any definitions the party might have made toward their roles, but that's your beef, not mine.

Anyway, enough of that. Let's just look at some things that you, "the player," can consider for you, "your character.:

Metahumanity and Social Schemes

In Shadowrun, there seriously are fucking dragons who ride limos who laugh all the way to the bank because they just strong-armed their corporate competition into a merger. That's a weird picture, to be sure, but in the 2070s it's not that uprising and actually kind of "meh." The U.C.A.S actually had a Dragon president for about 10 hours, Dunkelzhan, the very same dragon who educated and enlightened the newly Awakened humanity during his 12-hour interview on January 12, 2012. He was killed (more specifically, committing suicide, but the reasons why don't need to be explored right now) just after his inauguration in 2061.

Irrespective of dragons, there are now wholly strange social paradigms emerging or solidifying due to the fact that, after the Awakening in 2012, some children born exhibited startling and downright weird traits. This is deemed the Unexplained Genetic Expression, or UGE, and its effects are what give us the option of Running as Elves, Dwarves, Orks, and their many delineations. I won't get into all of the many different schema that came about because of this, mostly because there's too much and most of it's outlined in the book.

At the same time, the rise of the Megacorporations and the Matrix seriously changed the way that people lived and worked. Consider: There exist a finite number of almost impossibly powerful corporations that run literally everything that matters. There are no longer any governments that can legitimately say they work for the people, because they actually work for a Corp now. Yeah, there are some pre-corporate and even pre-industrial places still left on the Earth, but no one goes there because there are some friggin' powerful and/or malevolent Spirits who run the show there and want none of what you're selling. In Seattle, where a majority of games are run, pretty much every thing can be observed to have been influenced by the 'Corps' presence. The city doesn't have a standing police force, it has contracted mercenary groups whose job is to keep shifty-looking slots out of important or important-looking places. There have been actual, literal wars broken out because two rival Corps want significant market share in a given area. (Example, the Cola Wars in southeast Asia.) In 2070, people don't get loans from a bank. They get assurance of a job at a Corp, with an advance on their wages. Then, they have to work off the principal amount plus interest at barest minimum salary, essentially becoming slaves to the Corp because they still owe money, which equals work. There are innumerable examples of how strange, and incredibly interesting the world has become in 2070 of the Shadowrun Earth, and it's actually worth it to just read the sourcebooks for the sheer entertainment.

Regardless, it's a good idea to consider how your Runner perceives metahumanity and the new social paradigm.

Magic and the Awakening

Filler.

The Matrix and You

Filler.



If you want more info just go to the damn Sixth World wiki. They give some concise definitions of terms and brief tidbits about some events; pretty good for gaining a cursory idea about what to expect.