Shadowrun
Arbiter leaned back against the outer wall of the Renraku compound, rain beating off the brim of her hat and driving through the fabric of her longcoat. Her thumb aimlessly played with the hammer of her Ruger Warhawk, as her eyes squinted through the pouring rain, looking for signs of trouble.
This was taking too long.
"Where the frag are they?" she muttered.
"Relax, my friend. You are too impatient." Arbiter looked to her left to look at her teammate, who was similarly flat against the wall on the opposite side of the door they were standing vigil beside. The Dwarf woman grinned broadly, a smile reminiscent of her moniker.
"Really, Cheshire? They were supposed to contact us five minutes ago."
"They'll be along soon. Sobek hasn't noticed anything wrong."
"Sorry if I don't inherently trust your spirit..." Arbiter said and was about to continue when they heard news over their commlinks.
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"Sorry to keep you lasses waiting," Glitch's British accent came over the radio. "The boys ran into a bit of a snag..."
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The door buzzed as the lock released and granted the women access to the building. "What kind of snag?" Arbiter inquired.
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As they stepped out of the downpour into the climate-controlled interior of the building, they were immediately greeted by a Renraku security guard. "Freeze! Don't move!" Cheshire reflexively raised her hand and the guard sailed hard against the wall, rendering him unconscious.
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"The kind of snag that sees me kicked outta the server and alarms bein' tripped?" Glitch said with no attempt to hide his frustration. "The boys will be with you in a sec. Stand back."
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"Wait... what do you mean 'stand back'?"
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An explosion tore through the wall down the hall as Viper and Breach stepped through the hole the blast had opened. The ork used the newly created doorway for cover, pouring rounds into the room as the massive troll ran to Arbiter's side, barely able to stand upright in the hallway.
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"Breach! What the frag are you doing?! This is not going to make the escape any easier."
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"It gets worse..." the massive troll said, reloading his shotgun. "Glitch only got half the data before the system kicked him out. We gotta get to the server and physically remove the hard drive to get the whole file. Security is between us and our paydata and you can bet more security will arrive soon."
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Cheshire's eyes took on a mischievous look as she began summoning her spirit for the fight ahead, as Arbiter unholstered her twin revolvers. She took a meditative breath as Viper pulled back to change clips. Exhaling in what sounded like an exasperated sigh, Arbiter cocked the hammers on her Warhawks as she strode into the room with Renraku security. "Let's get paid..."
Welcome to the Sixth World
The world has changed. Some would say it has Awakened...
The year is 2080. The world as it was once known ended at the end of the Mayan calendar. It was on that December day that magic returned to the world and gave rise to races once thought to be myth: elves, dwarfs, orks, trolls... even dragons. Old mystical rites belonging to long-suppressed indigenous peoples suddenly held true power and old nations rose from under the foundations of long reigning powers.
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With the resurgence of magic, among the first to embrace this returned ancient power were the corporations. Already vastly powerful, they rose to monolithic proportions, winning the rights of nations as they grew. These corporations seized large portions of the planet for their own gain, corrupting the environment and shattering nations in their greed.
Science charged forward in the face of magic, as only 1% of the world's population had the Talent. Personal augmentations allowed people to become faster, stronger and smarter than the average metahuman. When a strange computer virus caused the Internet of old to crash, a new technology was created. Called the Matrix, this massive worldwide grid allows people to connect their minds directly to computers and work at the speed of thought. While a collaborative corporate team called GOD (Grid Overwatch Division) oversees this system, there are those that are skilled at manipulating the digital landscape.
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As the largest corporations vie to be the largest and most influential company on the planet, even they realize that waging open war on their competitors is bad for business. Operating under the oversight of the Corporate Court, the corporations make use of shadowrunners: freelance mercenaries who operate in the shadows of the massive skyscrapers. These deniable assets have a wide range of skills and abilities that are in demand by those in power. Are you clever, quick and tough enough to survive in the deepest of shadows?
A Deep Setting with Refined Mechanics
Shadowrun has been around for over 20 years and in that time, the setting has continued to deepen and evolve, while the mechanics have streamlined and gotten simpler for new players to access. The game relies on a large pool of six-sided dice to determine whether an action succeeds or fails.
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A session of Shadowrun often involves deceitful employers, complex infiltrations and gritty firefights in a cyberpunk alternate future that fuses dystopia and fantasy. With 20 years of GameMastering under my belt, Shadowrun has been my bedrock game for as long as I've been enjoying the hobby. Both Fifth and Sixth Editions are available to play.
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Ideal Group Size: 5-6
Suggested Age Rating: 13+ (PG-13 to R Rating)
System Complexity: 3.5/5
Character Creation Complexity: 4/5
