Darksyn 266 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 (edited) I've been running a 40k interactive for some time now, and while I still fully intend to run the thread, it is very involved on the author's end (Keeping track of many, many things and mechanics.), and so, after replaying Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall, and reading most of the Shadowrun 4E core books, I've decided to start another, far more fluid piece of interactive fiction. Compared to my other thread, this will not have fully rolled up character sheets, or all that much in terms of mechanics, focusing more on narrative. Before the thread truly begins, I'll give a synopsis of the setting for anybody who is interested in following along, but does not know much about the setting. Shadowrun takes place in what is called "The Sixth World." It is based on our earth, with some important differences. History diverges leading up to the turn of the millennium, and corporations have begun to experience rapid growth, with things like laws granting their property extraterritorial authority, amongst other things. If the continued growth of these corps wasn't quite ominous enough, around the year 2012 two things happened. U.G.E. : Unexplained Genetic Expression. Humans begin to have children with elven and dwarfish features, in the vein of what we'd call fantasy races. Along with Elves and Dwarves starting to crop up, there is a great upheaval as Great Dragons awaken from a long, long slumber... and magic returns to the world in The Awakening. People begin manifesting magical powers and aptitude. To make a long story short, these two major events lead to a MASSIVE shift in society, causing countries to panic, fracture, and lose their grip on the populace, just in time for the Megacorporations to step in. Maps are redrawn, environmental disasters run rampant, nuclear technology begins to fizzle or behave oddly, and society more or less loses its collective shit. Then, Goblinization happens. People of all ages begin to suddenly express genetic traits not unlike U.G.E... Different from U.G.E, the process is excruciatingly painful, and results in Orks and Trolls manifesting as part of what has now been termed 'Metahumanity. Jumping ahead after the initial extreme upheaval and discrimination, things settle as much as they are able, and technology booms, as Megacorps push every sector of research to the bleeding edge, favoring profit over ethics. The Matrix results from the overhaul of the internet, and is a place where people 'jack in' via an implant and control a persona in the digital world. With the state of urban decay and lawlessness, it becomes a meeting ground for all sorts of people working shady and dangerous jobs. Shadowrunners. Fast forward to more recent events. A few decades on, events conspire through AI, terrorist groups, and other shadowy groups... And the Matrix crashes. This is not the first time - The first crash had been caused by a particularly nasty computer virus. The second Matrix crash is nigh-apocalyptic. Communication shuts down almost entirely, and technology has to be redesigned from the ground up. This paved the way for a modern, wireless Matrix. Over nearly everything in an area with Matrix activity, there is Augmented Reality, and AR goggles, implants and contacts, as well as commlinks and datajacks allow people to interact with the digital as if it were physical. Things haven't stayed quiet on the magical even front, however, and as Halley's Comet passes the Earth, another, smaller scale goblinization style event occurs, and metahumans of all sorts are affected at random by odd mutations - Catgirls, people turning into merfolk-mutants, adults that never physically leave their adolescence, and more. Changelings, these mutants are called, and the event is termed S.U.R.G.E - Sudden, Unexplained Recessive Genetic Expression. Now, in the 2070s, in a world changed forever, Shadowrunners are as busy as ever. The world is in a grim state, leaving many opportunities for those who wish to avoid the drudgery of wageslavery, or for those whom have slipped through society's cracks. The question now is, who is our new 'Runner? Please vote for one option from the following lists for character creation. Once the vote is concluded, the next will determine our runner's appearance. Note: I have limited character creation somewhat due to the nature of this thread... Since, for example, an AI would not have a physical body, Drakes are straight up too strong for what I have planned, Nartaki are from a culture unfamiliar to me, and certain metavariants (Minotaurs, Menehune, Xapiri Thepe, Oni, Ogres, Cyclopes, Harumen, Night Ones, Koborukuru or creatures like Naga (Armless snakes with human heads), Centaur (Human upper body on a horse lower body... With a horse's head.), and Sasquatches... aren't all that attractive, and this is intended to be titillating - Ideally in more than the sexual sense, but it'd be silly to avoid sexual content on a fetish forum. HMHVV infection (Vampirism, becoming a Ghoul, etc.) is a possibility, though not at character creation, and not without serious consequences. Metatypes: Human (All 'rounder, the baseline all metatypes are measured against. Lucky, compared to other metatypes.) Elf (Quick, charismatic, lean, taller than humans, beautiful, superior night vision), Variants: Dryad (Linked with nature and 'allergic' to pollution. Limited photosynthesis through patches of skin, shorter than average elves, project a natural glamour of grace, innocence, charisma and beauty.), Wakyambi (African metavariant, extremely tall and lean, matching or beating trolls in height, move with extreme grace.) Dwarf (Stout, short, strong willed. Less like fantasy dwarves, more like people with dwarfism. Vision into the infrared spectrum, resilience against pathogens and toxins), Variant: Gnome (No pubic hair, petite build inherent magical resistance, neotenous [Meaning that they appear adolescent indefinitely once they come of age. Would make our character Look like a Loli, with all the ageism that brings.]. Ork (Muscular, tend to be broad shouldered, Frequently discriminated against, have small tusks or jagged teeth. Superior night vision.), Variants: Hobgoblin (Lankier, more wiry than the average Ork, sharper features, sharp teeth, more predisposed to aggression, less body hair than the average ork.), Satyr (Goat legs and hooves, humanoid torso and pelvis, small horns, slender build.) Troll (Built like a brick shithouse. Vision into the infrared spectrum. Tallest metahumans, with proportionally longer arms, tusks or jagged teeth, bony armored plates all around the body. Frequently discriminated against, considered dangerous by most, stupid by others. (Though there is zero evidence supporting the latter of such claims.), Variants: Giant (Leathery skin, 9ft tall on average, human proportions, no horns or dermal deposits.), Fomori (No dermal deposits, smaller than average trolls, stronger than average trolls, high incidence of magical talent.) Non-Metahuman Sapients: Pixie (Tiny nonhuman sapient, average height around a foot and a half tall, with a wingspan two thirds their height. Appear otherwise as miniature elves of various ethnicity. Disappear when they die, and are inherently magical, can astrally percieve at will, may conceal themselves at will.) Free Spirit (Magical spirits that have taken physical form and wish to remain in the physical world. Can take many different physical forms, open mimicking metahuman features. Cannot use cyberware, biowere, geneware, nanoware.) Edited April 17, 2017 by Darksyn (see edit history) Quote Link to comment
DsGSilver 782 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Gonna cast my vote for regular Elf. As a side note, this has made me interested in the Shadowrun series; are there any games in the series you'd recommend starting on? Quote Link to comment
blooper 611 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Gonna go with a plain old human. Quote Link to comment
kal301198 1 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 2 hours ago, blooper said: Gonna go with a plain old human. My vote is for human too Quote Link to comment
wedgeantilles 156 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 Hy vote is for human three. (german joke^^) Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 18, 2017 Author Share Posted April 18, 2017 17 hours ago, DsGSilver said: Gonna cast my vote for regular Elf. As a side note, this has made me interested in the Shadowrun series; are there any games in the series you'd recommend starting on? If we're talking about the Shadowrun tabletop, the only one I have any knowledge and experience with is 4E, if we're talking videogames, I suggest Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall Director's Cut and Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong. The latter two games take place in the 2050s in-setting, so it lacks the 'modern' augmented reality stuff, but aside from hacking being 'decking' and requiring big ol' special keyboard decks and a direct jack-in connection, the cyberware and such would be different, and less advanced. For the rest of the thread so far, I'm a little shocked nobody has chosen any of the other metatypes/variants, aside from @DsGSilver, that is. There will be a fairly diverse cast of characters whether or not we end up with a human protagonist, of course. Quote Link to comment
Unknown104 76 Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I'll go for an elf Quote Link to comment
Judinous 0 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 My vote is for Elf, Pixie sounds like a lot of fun though. Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 Three for Elf, Three for Human. Huh. o_o Votes will remain open until 11AM, West coast time. Quote Link to comment
Mydnyght68 206 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Honestly, I'd want a Pixie... Quote Link to comment
Grim Reaper 52 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Not sure if this vote is in time however I will go with wakyambi Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 Real Life decided to come in and stomp on my original deadline, but I'm here and writing now. Voting is closed! Our protagonist is a female elf. The question is, Would the thread prefer a pre-made female elf character, or to create one together? Please put your vote in bold. Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 15 minutes ago, Grim Reaper said: Not sure if this vote is in time however I will go with wakyambi 17 minutes ago, Mydnyght68 said: Honestly, I'd want a Pixie... Even if these did not end up swaying the vote any, they do give me ideas for fellow runners that show up and perhaps end up on our character's team. It's more than simple enough to get a little bit of fanservice for everybody, after all. Quote Link to comment
Mydnyght68 206 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Let's work together to make that character. Quote Link to comment
kal301198 1 Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 I'll cast my vote for a custom character, always the best part Quote Link to comment
Nikeryda 181 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I vote for makingour own character. Quote Link to comment
ExplosiveTurtlez 232 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 LET's provoke as much chaos as possible and make a custom character among a small mass of people. MaverickJsmith 1 Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 13 minutes ago, ExplosiveTurtlez said: LET's provoke as much chaos as possible and make a custom character among a small mass of people. This is Shadowrun of all games. More than you could possibly imagine. MaverickJsmith 1 Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Vote closes at 11AM PST once again, I intend to keep updates at a brisk pace. Quote Link to comment
Sportsegg 4 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Man I got here late for character selection lol Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Post in progress, though some IRL things may delay it a few hours yet. Quote Link to comment
Darth_Thorin 49 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I vote for premade, because it takes me hours, if not days to make my own character. I do not think we want to waste that kind of time making a hive mind choose Quote Link to comment
wedgeantilles 156 Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I agree with Darth_Thorin, let's take a premade character. Quote Link to comment
Darksyn 266 Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 Apologies for the wait. It looks like creating a character together has won out, so without further ado... Instead of going for an aggregate appearance based on votes, the first four replies will be voted on. (So hurry up and post if you really want your design in the running!) Name: (Can be a 'Runner nickname, given name, nothing you wouldn't readily give out online IRL, especially since we're playing a criminal, after all.) Appearance. (Pick one in each category, including a specific height and hairstyle.) --- Height: Short, (Less than 5ft 5in) Average, (5ft 6in to 5ft 11in) Tall (6ft+) Physique: Skinny, (Not unhealthily so, but noticeably skinny and lanky) 'Nerdy', (Out of shape, but certainly not overweight.) Average, (The plain-jane look.) Toned, (The opposite of the Nerdy physique, particularly in-shape with good muscle tone.) Hair: (Pick any colour and easily described style. Unusual hair colour dyes are common.) Eyes: (Pick any natural colour.) --- Character Strengths (What is our elf particularly good at or good with?) Pick three of the following. Hacking, Driving, Medicine, Stealth, Guns, Melee Combat, Unarmed Combat, Social Interaction, Infiltration, Explosives, Academic Knowledge, Street Knowledge, Criminal Knowledge. Character Weaknesses (What is our elf not so good at?) Pick three of the following. (That do not conflict with strengths already chosen.) Hacking, Driving, Medicine, Stealth, Guns, Melee Combat, Unarmed Combat, Social Interaction, Infiltration, Explosives, Academic Knowledge, Street Knowledge, Criminal Knowledge. --- -Toilet Tracking- The way this will be handled in the thread will be based on how time passes. As a general rule, time will be handled in larger chunks, though combat or interaction will shorten the time passed in each post based on what makes sense thematically. Accidents, desperation and the like will have an effect on dialogue, character reactions and so on - Our character might end up getting a reputation for her 'problems' amongst certain groups, which will generally impact her reputation in some way (Good, Bad, Embarrassing or Annoying) based on the perception of those around her. I will be tracking every restroom visit, and for the sake of the almighty FANSERVICE, I will be writing some of them out (So long as it does not break pace or tone with the story.) for those readers into that. With all of this in mind, there are Five things of (fanservice-y) importance that will be tracked with every post, as well as Health and Mental State. Effectively, they are: Thirst: (Tracks how recently we last had something to drink. High is bad, and hampers focus.) Hunger: (Tracks how recently we last ate. High is bad, hampers focus and causes audible stomach rumbling.) Stomach: (Tracks how much food and drink we intake. The effect on Bladder and Bowels will be indicated by plus signs. For example, a bottle of water would be listed as Bladder+, Coffee/Soykaf as Bladder++, and a small meal might be Bowels+, or a larger one, or something spicy might be Bowels++.) Bladder: (Tracks how badly we need to pee. Tracked in [Descriptor, percentage] Bowels: (Tracks how badly we need to poop. Tracked in [Descriptor, percentage.] Desperation sets in at 70%, getting worse as it increases. Control slips starting at 90% capacity, accidents happen NO MATTER WHAT at 100%. The rate at which Stomach contents convert to Bladder/Bowels contents is at my discretion. --- Once this vote concludes later today, we will start immediately! Quote Link to comment
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