Author Archives: jhardy

We’re sorry about the gap between Shadowrun Missions, but the good new is the wait is over! The new Mission, Critic’s Choice, is now on sale (Battleshop, DriveThru), and it’s fast-moving fun! Here’s the rundown:

It’s Showtime

When the curtain goes up on a shadowrun in Chicago, you never know who’s going to take the stage. There are all sorts of creepy players out there, ghouls and gangers and more, and once the overture’s done, runners better be ready to dance with whoever emerges, with the rat-a-tat-tat of bullets keeping time.

The cast of characters in this mission includes a good-hearted street doc looking to expand, a pit-fighting elf, a pugnacious gang leader with an historical bent, and one of the oddest tribal gatherings ever seen inside a major sprawl. That’s not all, of course—what would a good shadowrun be without a few surprise guests? Runners will have plenty to keep them on their toes, and hopefully by the end they’ll have moved up a spot or two in the Chicago shadowrunner cast list. Assuming, of course, that they haven’t dropped six feet under.

Critic’s Choice is the latest Mission for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

New Shadowrun fiction is on sale now for your immediate consumption! It’s got hungry vampires, sardonic spirits, Anne Ravenheart, and so much more! Featuring Thomas McAllister, the main character of Another Rainy Night, the story is an exploration of shadowy deeds and dark desires–just what we like to see in Shadowrun! And as part of the Enhanced Fiction line, it comes with game statistics and rules for the main characters. If you buy the PDF version, the stats are right in the document. If you buy the ePub or Kindle version, you can get the stats for free right here. Or I guess you could just get the stats for free–but you’d be missing out on a great story!

Sail Away, Sweet Sister is available at the following outlets: The Battleshop has a bundle with the PDF, ePub, and mobi versions all bundled together; so does DriveThruRPG. Alternately, you can get the Kindle version at Amazon, and it will be coming soon to the Barnes & Noble online store–watch this space for the link!

Here are some more details if for some reason you haven’t already run out and grabbed it:

Monsters of the Shadows

Thomas McCallister’s area of expertise—the virus that turns metahumans into flesh-eating monsters—has taken him into some dark corners of the Sixth World. When he came face to face with the serial murderer known as the Mealtime Killer, he had hoped that a particularly dark chapter of his life had come to a close. But when night falls in the sprawls of the world, blood is still being shed, and people are still dying. Another killer is still out there, one that needs to be found and stopped, but the challenge McAllister is about to face is one he never could have anticipated. His resolve will be tested in ways he never anticipated in his darkest nightmares.

Sail Away, Sweet Sister builds on the events of Another Rainy Night, taking another dark turn down the streets of the Sixth World to face the monsters that lurk there. Along with a full short story, it contains game statistics for the major characters in the work, as well as spells, gear, and other game information that allows you can drop the people from this story right into your Shadowrun game (stats are included in the PDF version and will be made available as a free PDF that ePub/Kindle buyers can download).

Sail Away, Sweet Sister is dual-statted, meaning it can be used with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition or Shadowrun, Twentieth Anniversary Edition.

The previews have all been posted. The ramp-up is all done. The time is here. Run & Gun, the core combat book for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition is now available for PDF purchase and print pre-order (Battleshop, DriveThruRPG). And when we say print pre-order, we have a load of options for you, since along with the regular edition, we’re also releasing a limited edition of the book! Following on the look of the Shadowrun, Fifth Edition limited editions, this will feature a red leather cover with an embossed illustration of some of the weapons from the book.

So what do you get in Run & Gun? Well, the previews will give you a good taste, but here are some highlights: A monofilament chainsaw. Three laser weapons. Full-color illustrations of dozens of firearms, including the Savalette Guardian and the Ares Executioner. Fashion armor, mil-spec armor, and the deceptive murder armor. Group maneuvers in combat. Called shots on specific body locations. Information on using explosives in cars for assassinations. And so much more!

The graphic below outlines the bundles available at the Battleshop; below that is the summary text of the book if you need more information. Enjoy!

Nothing Is Free

Guns and ammo cost nuyen. Mastering martial arts takes time. And learning how to use explosives without blowing yourself up takes patience and a steady hand. These weapons and more are out there, waiting for you. You have the chance to use them to become deadlier, faster, more dangerous than the next guy—and more dangerous than you were yesterday. You’ll have to pay the price to get what you want, but this is the Sixth World. Don’t you always?

Run & Gun is a combat core rulebook for Shadowrun, Fifth Edition, containing more weapons, more armor, more modifications, and more game options such as martial arts and unit tactics. Explosives, survival gear, specialized techniques—they’re all here! Break the book open and prepare to raise your game!

I recently heard that Steven A. Tinner, co-host of the Critical Glitch podcast, gamemaster to the stars, and all-around excellent guy, passed away. So I’m going to talk a little bit about him now.

At Origins Game Fair in 2012, we at Catalyst learned we were going to have the chance to have Felicia Day of Geek and Sundry play a game of Shadowrun. Naturally we wanted her to have as good an experience as possible, so the current conventions coordinator, Steven “Bull” Ratkovich, was tasked with selecting the right gamemaster for the job.

He chose Tinner, and he made an excellent choice. Tinner had been Bull’s gamemaster for a long time, throwing him into the shadows, making life difficult for his characters, occasionally blowing him up, but always making sure all the players had an awesome time.

As a gamemaster, he had all the tools. The rules knowledge, the storytelling ability, the characterization, the enthusiasm—it was all there. Even better, he wanted his players to have fun. Sure, he was tough and would put them through the wringer, but that’s what gave them the stories they talked about years after the games happened. And that’s what happened almost any time you talked to someone who played in a game Tinner ran—they’d tell you a story about the trouble they went into, how fragged up everything got, and how much fun they had.

At conventions, Tinner was one of many great Shadowrun gamemasters who found a way to accommodate any players who came. If people wanted to game, he wanted to make that happen. When he wasn’t running a game, he was an enthusiastic player, throwing himself into his character with energy and glee and daring everyone else at the table to keep up.

Recently, he joined with Tim Patrick to co-host the Critical Glitch podcast covering all things Shadowrun. Listening gives you pure, unfiltered Tinner—smart, opinionated, funny, well informed, and a good interviewer and listener. Quite simply, he had a voice worth listening to.

I knew him through his Shadowrun life, but that wasn’t the only part of his life. He was a family man, active in his faith, and a person of great kindness and compassion. In short, he was the kind of guy we need many more of.

I always look forward to convention season, especially to the chance to walk into the Shadowrun gaming area and see old friends. The fact that Tinner won’t be in that room is a very sad thought; the fact that he will be cackling with glee somewhere as players in that room run into dire situations brings some comfort. I just wish I’d be able to hear it.

Thanks for the laughs, great runs, and good times, Tinner.