Shadowrun
Shadowrun General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Senko on <12-23-15/1804:36>
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I've been reading old posts and watching sliders and its prompted me to start this thread as a place for people to post little things to flesh out the world and make it more of a living, breathing one when describing it if your running or even playing a game. I'm not talking about the big changes e.g. corporations run the world but just the little day to day things you picture being in place that make it different. These are just a few to hopefully start the ball rolling.
1) Magicians, shamans and sorcerers are listed in the phone book as valid businesses.
2) Most larger homes probably have a room that's largely empty of furniture for augmented reality fun.
3) Beggers and homeless people are less common sights. Not less common in numbers but between the security and archologies they'd be rather excluded from the higher zones so you don't see them unless you go to the bad part of town.
4) Colleges have a an awakened and non-awakened team for sports.
5) Hospitals have a no magic box for people to tick if they don't want to be treated by magical means and a no ware one for those who don't want it implanted without their consent.
5) The devil made me do it is a valid legal defense but you need to be able to prove it.
6) Paper books are exotic items rather like antiques.
7) Museums and other cultural facilities offer AR tours rather than audio ones.
8) Movies and novels are a valid source for historical debate e.g. the old horror movie body snatchers is considred potential evidence that there was a racial memory of sheddim.
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Most middle-class people don't have driver's licenses; Gridguide and Gridlink do all the work, combined with the car's Pilot system. This is good, because with all the AR activities that exist, people could easily become dangerously distracted. And you thought texting was bad! Getting a license would be limited to specialty careers, like professional sports, long-distance trucking, etc. Also maybe bus drivers in neighborhoods too poor to have gridguide.
With simrigs and VR, many sporting events have significantly less people in the stands, physically. You can be more involved by following direct simsense recordings of your favorite players, or the numerous camera angles provided by drones and stationary cameras. Also related, just about every sporting event will likely have a hefty, high-Force manabarrier between the fans and the field, to prevent Awakened fans from trying to manipulate the outcome of the game via magic.
It's mentioned in the books, but it's always just an off-hand comment, but: Magic has made it so just about all windows, be them in cars or buildings, are tinted by default. They can shift between clear and tinted via matrix or sometimes voice commands. This is to block LOS with magic.
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That's exactly the kind of little detail I'm after thanks.
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4e's book Attitude has a lot of little stuff like this.
Simsense technology has made it so a lot of music is intended to be listen to with emotion recordings, allowing artists to more directly set the tone of a song. No longer do you have someone in an unstoppably peppy mood not understanding your favorite sad song!
Crazy fashion may be commonplace in the Sixth World, but there's reasons for a lot of it. Respirators and gasmasks are actually quite common in most bigger sprawls and in poorer districts. This is usually because the air is very unclean. Things like the Japanese societal quirk of wearing facemasks in public when you're sick also probably bled over into Western culture, at least in Seattle.
One that always blows people's minds-- If you're ever tasked to find a way to play a DVD or similar piece of media in Shadowrun, that would be like you right now trying to find a way to play an 8-track, or maybe a 5-inch floppy disk. SR is about 60 years in the future. Sixty years ago, we had records and color TV wouldn't exist for another decade!
Mythology is likely no longer called "Mythology" in schools. With the return of magic, the "legitimacy" of many old-world religions have been refreshed. Norse, Egyptian... Especially Aztec! Things that we consider "old and just make-believe" can't be called such so concretely anymore. Can you call it a myth when you can see it on the news?
...I'll see what others spring to mind.
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Can you call it just a phase when the childs imaginary friend throws a tantrum complete with flying plates if you don't set "her" a place for dinner ;D
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How about that most courts outside the NAN don't consider facts learned via the Mind Probe spell to be admissable in court, because there's no way for the results to be publicly confirmed-- You can only take the magician who did it's word.
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Although there aren't any flying cars, in major cities there's an altitude designated for drone traffic. Drones are everywhere, running deliveries, policing, in people's homes doing menial tasks.
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How about that most courts outside the NAN don't consider facts learned via the Mind Probe spell to be admissable in court, because there's no way for the results to be publicly confirmed-- You can only take the magician who did it's word.
Interesting what about using them to further an investigation e.g. the fact learned is where the murder weapon/bodies are buried? If the mage vomits then say he's eaten the girls at XXXX and the police can confirm that is his house, the latest victim crying in the basement can state he's the kidnapper and his fingerprints are all over the instruments in the kitchen, their the body parts in the freezer and two men buried out the back (that was not a good movie to watch when I was hungry). His home terminal has a recipe of the best cuts and so on. Mind probe lead them to the crime scene but the evidence is more than enough to confirm he is the cannibal killer of North Hensington?
I'd imagine there'd be some limits on public casting as well e.g. control emotion love/hate/what have you would need to be at a manageable level for public concerts and the like or you'd be facing charge's for using magic to make the tween/teen audience members love you. Hmmmm probably a fair few laws in that regards for any part of the entertainment industry to differentiate between A the great musician and B the lousy musician who makes his fans love him with magic.
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With the Matrix, commutee has been cut down considerably. In most office works, all you have to do is connect to your company's host, from anywhere in the world. No more traffic to get to work and return, no more being late and excusable. Of course this would not be applicable to workers who need to be phisically there like a surgeon, but that's what drones are for: I imagine most high end hospitals having robots like today Leonardo Da Vinci to do the surgery from remote.
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Hmmmm I wonder if they might have the same car rules I hear Japan does today where in before you can buy a car legally (as in not a problem for a runner) you need to prove you have a permanent space to park it? "I'm sorry Mr Brown our records show you live in a Renraku 11C apartment which doesn't have a parking spot . . . oh I see your renting a garage from Mr Mallory at 7521 Himitsu dirve let me just make a phone call to confirm that."
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Advertising is everywhere, but probably mostly AR based. Menus outside restaurants will also be AROs. And you will most probably have advertising done by materialised spirits, at least in some locations. You don't need a high force spirit to shout a sentence and add some fancy effects, so any mage can summon these.
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With the Matrix, commutee has been cut down considerably. In most office works, all you have to do is connect to your company's host, from anywhere in the world. No more traffic to get to work and return, no more being late and excusable.
Don't you believe that. That's what they say in the job interview, but the reality is different: Your boss is always a control freak and he wants you present physically - even if he is not there himself. Because the office is the only place he can monitor you - and more important make your life just a little bit more miserable. It's also easier to prevent you from doing anything other than work. Just imagine you just doing the necessary work without seeing your fellow office drones competing with you for the meager scraps of boni and promotions.
Sure, you could technically use home office every day, but Steve that little snake comes in every day to be noticed by the boss and you'll be damned if he trumps you with his on-site unpaid overtime...
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Of course you use the term snake literally since last year the office pooled their money to get him drugged and genemodded into a snakegirl.
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Your boss is always a control freak and he wants you present physically - even if he is not there himself. Because the office is the only place he can monitor you - and more important make your life just a little bit more miserable.
You're lucky, you could have a techofreak boss rather than a technophone. Sure, you get to work from home, but those cameras and monitoring agents are 24x7, and monitor far more than a physical boss could!
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There is a fun thread on shadow schools (http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=21806&st=0&p=673679&#entry673679) for those trying to find a decent education for their little ones, but for various reasons can't or won't use the normal systems.
Canray's and Ryusukanku's contributions in the thread are well worth the reading.
As an example
Except for the Hacking Class.
"Everyone here now has an F. In order to get a passing grade, you have to change that. Good day."
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With the Matrix, commutee has been cut down considerably. In most office works, all you have to do is connect to your company's host, from anywhere in the world. No more traffic to get to work and return, no more being late and excusable.
Don't you believe that. That's what they say in the job interview, but the reality is different: Your boss is always a control freak and he wants you present physically - even if he is not there himself. Because the office is the only place he can monitor you - and more important make your life just a little bit more miserable. It's also easier to prevent you from doing anything other than work. Just imagine you just doing the necessary work without seeing your fellow office drones competing with you for the meager scraps of boni and promotions.
Sure, you could technically use home office every day, but Steve that little snake comes in every day to be noticed by the boss and you'll be damned if he trumps you with his on-site unpaid overtime...
That's because you do not live in a nice corporate house, inside an arcology. It's a privilege to live there and being capable of working from home.
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Upper class homes are well sealed up and use filtered air. For most people in the cities however, pollution is bad enough that you wash, or at least wipe, cups, glasses and dishes before using them (or else keep plastic over them). The tradition of bar tenders always having a rag handy, and wiping out your glass before filling it, is back in full force. (if you are at a place swanky enough to use real glass, instead of pouring their rotgut into cheap plastic glasses)
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In my GM's game there was a war in the streets of Seattle between Speedy Wok vs Ninja burger. Normally it would be played for laughs (like finding a delivery boy shot, or we ordered from one and got something from the other). Believe it or not added a lot of flavor
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Upper class homes are well sealed up and use filtered air. For most people in the cities however, pollution is bad enough that you wash, or at least wipe, cups, glasses and dishes before using them (or else keep plastic over them). The tradition of bar tenders always having a rag handy, and wiping out your glass before filling it, is back in full force. (if you are at a place swanky enough to use real glass, instead of pouring their rotgut into cheap plastic glasses)
I really like this.
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While certainly the most prevalent and cheap, the most annoying ads are not AR spam, they're Trideo ads. While significantly more expensive, they're generally considered more effective since AR-spam can quickly be muted by a simple adjustment to a commlink's firewall. Trid ads on the other hand are annoyingly persistent and frequently cause people to get quite frustrated with their commlink trying to shut them off, not realizing that the offending ad is not being routed through the commlink at all, but instead through real space.
The annoying nature and perceived audacity of these types of ads is so prevalent that the phenomenon has created its own meme:
{AR user taps his commlink to mute ad but still sees ad... AR user taps angrily on commlink to mute ad but still sees ad.... AR user goes out and buys new Fairlight commlink but still sees ad... AR user smashes commlink repeatedly with hammer but still sees ad........ AR user gouges eyes out with an icepick. Does not see ad anymore.... Frag you TridAd, I win.}
Transapparency - The property of an object that allows it to be seen despite the presence of intervening objects. Frequently used in safety applications such as making the ARO of a vehicle apparent even when the physical vehicle is in a blind spot or otherwise obscured.
Because of the transapparency of certain AROs and the personalizing features of certain AR rendering engines, many feel that the AR experience is an isolating one, at least compared to a group viewing of a common image such as in trideo or a live performance. For that reason sports bars in particular will often make significant capital investments into high end trideo projectors to create that common viewing experience for their patrons thus helping to engender a team spirit and community feel as patrons feed off each other's excitement (or disappointment) more easily.
On a similar note, trideo is often used in applications where a very specific experience is desired, such as in a high fashion applications where the designer doesn't want the rendering of their "art" to be altered by personal filters or mangled by someones cheap DNI connection.
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Which prompts walking into a store with a SIN broadcasting as your meant to you get "Hello Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms XXXXXX did you enjoy XXXXX, we have a new supply of XXXX in or could I perhaps suggest YYYY intstead?" As the shopkeep gets your records uploaded to them to help guide your shopping or alternatively an AR persona for the initial shopping till the real person can deal with you.
Mr Agamato
Purchase 3 tanktops Size Medium 3 months ago.
Purcahse 4 pairs of boxers size medium 3 months ago.
Purchase 4 pairs of socks size 32 3 months ago.
Purchase 2 business shirst blue with white striping, size Medium 5 months ago.
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How about that most courts outside the NAN don't consider facts learned via the Mind Probe spell to be admissable in court, because there's no way for the results to be publicly confirmed-- You can only take the magician who did it's word.
Interesting what about using them to further an investigation e.g. the fact learned is where the murder weapon/bodies are buried? If the mage vomits then say he's eaten the girls at XXXX and the police can confirm that is his house, the latest victim crying in the basement can state he's the kidnapper and his fingerprints are all over the instruments in the kitchen, their the body parts in the freezer and two men buried out the back (that was not a good movie to watch when I was hungry). His home terminal has a recipe of the best cuts and so on. Mind probe lead them to the crime scene but the evidence is more than enough to confirm he is the cannibal killer of North Hensington?
I imagine that the concept of "fruit of the poisonous tree" applies, i.e. since the initial information was not obtained legally then any subsequent evidence developed is also inadmissible. This is on the assumption that UCAS law hasn't changed from current US Law. It may be of interest to note that this would not apply in the UK since there is only an exclusionary rule for confessions and not evidence.
Of course, since the Megacorporations are extra-territorial then they may also allow Mind Probe evidence to be acceptable.
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I would imagine that 70+ years after magic came back and has been accepted enough to be offered as a schooling option/university course they would have a number of laws about magic quite a bit different to our current ones (which tend to be along the lines of stone the witch). There's also a fairly big difference between basing your prosecution on the word of a mage that subject x did y and conducting scientific investigations using magic as an aid. The difference between "we know you killed them because Jim Bob say's he read in your head you did." and "Ok the death reply confirms what that kid was saying about someone else setting off the trap because he was standing next to the victim so I want a full forensics sweep of this place for anything relevant.". You don't convict on magical testimony but I can't see you ignoring magical investigatory practices in a world where a spirit really might have killed the guy in a room locked from the inside by possesing him and making him slit his writsts. Still that's a debate for another thread, an interesting one though.
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couldn't mind reading also be verified by having two separate and independent Mages ,one from the prosecution and one from the defense read the mind of the subject?
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couldn't mind reading also be verified by having two separate and independent Mages ,one from the prosecution and one from the defense read the mind of the subject?
I would imagine that 70+ years after magic came back and has been accepted enough to be offered as a schooling option/university course they would have a number of laws about magic quite a bit different to our current ones (which tend to be along the lines of stone the witch). There's also a fairly big difference between basing your prosecution on the word of a mage that subject x did y and conducting scientific investigations using magic as an aid. The difference between "we know you killed them because Jim Bob say's he read in your head you did." and "Ok the death reply confirms what that kid was saying about someone else setting off the trap because he was standing next to the victim so I want a full forensics sweep of this place for anything relevant.". You don't convict on magical testimony but I can't see you ignoring magical investigatory practices in a world where a spirit really might have killed the guy in a room locked from the inside by possessing him and making him slit his wrists. Still that's a debate for another thread, an interesting one though.
Oh yeah, I'm sure that Mind Probe and similar spells can be used as cause for investigation-- They can legally be the cause of suspicious, but they can't be considered "legal proof" by themselves (again though, this doesn't apply to all places).
As for being verified by two separate and independent mages... Still no. Think of it from the perspective of the jury. A guy walks in, and says "Yeah he did it." and then another guy walks in and says "Yeah he totally did." It's just slightly widening the closed circuit.
It's different for us thinking about it because, from a meta perspective, we know it works. The rules are right there, if they fail the resistance you get exactly what you want. Clean cut. There's no prejudice against text, no nihilistic "I can't believe it because I can't experience it"... And do keep in mind, both of those independent mages could just as easily cast a different spell and lie. If all the non-awakened are taking their word for it...
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All buildings (and apartments for lifestyles over squatter) would have an atmospheric and chemical sensor array so you can check the weather and how acidic/damaging the rain is. Also pretty much everyone would have at least rating 1 chemical protection on their outermost clothing layer in order to cope with high chemical/acid rain days.
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Given the trend of criminal law in the US, I'd absolutely believe that Mind Probe may be admissible by 2078. It definitely will become so at some point.
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Elves and sometimes Dwarfs are geek'd simply for their life span by jealous metas who die naturally at 50.
I am wondering why something so central to our thinking and emotional life as death and the time given to us is not addressed more in shadow run. I agree that racism of skin color is replaced by metatype but what about this issue?
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As for being verified by two separate and independent mages... Still no. Think of it from the perspective of the jury. A guy walks in, and says "Yeah he did it." and then another guy walks in and says "Yeah he totally did." It's just slightly widening the closed circuit.
You're describing the inherent problem of all expert witnesses.