Monthly Archives: May 2015

Do you like hacking the Matrix? Do you feel the need for new programs? Qualities aimed specifically at deckers and technomancers? Advice on playing and running the Matrix? A two-column example of how Matrix play proceeds? Information on artificial intelligences, Dissonance pools, and other deeply weird parts of the Matrix? All this, and art that springs from the most deeply deranged art notes we’ve ever assembled? Then you should know about Data Trails, the new core Matrix sourcebook for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition. It is now available for PDF purchase and print pre-order (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG), including various bundle configurations that also offer a sweet limited edition. Need more details? Scan this:

The Infinite Frontier

The last great undiscovered country is vast, wild, and weirder than you can possibly imagine. And it’s nearby, waiting, accessible by the press of a button, or a simple gesture, or even just a thought. The Matrix holds a whole lot more than selfies and cat videos—it has artificial intelligences, electronic ghosts of people formerly alive (or perhaps still living), and deep wells of pure data that can swallow you whole. Oh, and a copy of every secret ever recorded electronically. The possible rewards of exploration are great, and the dangers are greater.

Data Trails is the Matrix sourcebook for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, offering more options for decker and technomancer characters, including qualities, programs, gear and more. With detailed examinations of hacker culture, information on diving deep into immersive hosts, and briefings on the strange sites hidden in dark corners of the Matrix, Data Trails is a vital resource for any Shadowrun players involved in the omnipresent flow of information. Non-Matrix specialists have chances to get in on the adventures as well, with game details explaining how their skills and expertise translate into the wild virtual world.

Data Trails is for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

Also, we have a new novel for you! The Shadowrun novel line continues to march forward with Borrowed Time by R.L. King (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG, Amazon link coming soon!). You’ve seen King’s work in Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and the anthology that accompanied the Shadowrun Returns video game, and now you get a full-length novel, featuring her signature character, Winterhawk! If you need details, you can read the summary below, or you can check out the full review that has already been posted on Diehard GameFan. But whatever you do, make sure you check out the creepy cover art below.

Out of Time, Out of Options

JackPointer mage Winterhawk left the shadows at the top of his game: these days he indulges his curiosity about all things mysterious and magical on his own terms. But he’s about to discover that the shadows are hard to leave behind, and old enemies have their ways of drawing him back in.

Dosed with an exotic arcane poison that will kill him in days unless he retrieves a powerful magical artifact, ‘Hawk has to assemble a team fast and think even faster, because he’s not the only one tracking down the prize. His team is hardly the well-oiled machine he’s accustomed to: an old friend with major trust issues, an old rival who hates everything ‘Hawk stands for, a decker who annoys everyone he meets, a samurai who’s only in it for the money, and a gunslinger who may have her own agenda.

With his life on the line and the clock ticking fast, ‘Hawk must survive the mean streets of Los Angeles and the magical hellscape of the Australian Outback while keeping his mismatched team from imploding before they finish the job. But when the artifact is revealed to be far more than it seems, Winterhawk is forced to make a choice that could affect the lives of millions—to say nothing of his own.

We’ve just released two new campaigns for a variety of fantastic action within the Sixth World.

First up is Shadowrun: Lockdown, now available for print-pre-order and PDF purchase (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG). This crossover plot book covers a slew of details of what’s going down in Boston and ties into the action of Shadowrun: Chronicles.

Voices of Disaster

The voices are getting louder. Strange voices, dissonant voices, sometimes babbling nonsense, sometimes telling stories too unbelievable to be true. People are falling prey to the voices, losing their identities as someone or something else slips into their skin. It’s affecting people at all levels of society, from squatters in burned-out warehouses to corporate CEOs. It’s spreading, and no one can figure out how to stop it. Boston-based NeoNET is at the center of this storm, and panic is spreading through the streets of the northeastern sprawl. People are scared and people are dying, which means that there are large sums of money to be made by any shadowrunner willing to brave those chaotic streets. Finding work won’t be the problem. Getting out of the sprawl, however, will be.

Lockdown is a plot sourcebook for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition with plot hooks, setting details of Boston, character details, and surprising reveals that will keep characters on their toes and running for their lives. With rich plot information and game mechanics for a new breed of cognitive fragmentation disorder sufferers, Lockdown can play a vital role in enthralling Shadowrun campaigns while continuing the unfolding story of the Sixth World.

Next up is Bloody Business–also available for print-pre-order and PDF purchase (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG)–a campaign book in the style of Jet Set and Artifacts Unbound.

Wounded Fury

A scared megacorporation does not run and hide in the shadows. Instead it lashes out, swiping with sharp claws, not caring who is hit by the blows. Many of the megacorps are currently reeling, hit by multiple harsh wallops. NeoNET and Evo are dealing with the fallout of the CFD virus, Ares has powerful forces eating it away from inside, Horizon backed the losing side of the Aztlan-Amazonia war, and the Japanacorps are rearing back to take on the world—and each other. When the corps get aggressive, shadowrunners get called, and blood gets shed.

Bloody Business is a campaign book giving players the chance to earn piles of money from the megacorps as they reel through troubles and crises. It’ll take a lot of good shadowrunning moves to earn that cash—and even better moves to survive long enough to collect it. With short adventure outlines that can be played independently or linked into a longer campaign, and NPC stats to suit a wide variety of situations, Bloody Business plunges Shadowrun teams in the middle of corporate chaos.