Setting Primer

What is Shadowrun? In three words, Cyberpunk meets Magic.
In the future, the biggest companies count as their own countries. Magic has returned, and now a dragon is in charge of BMW. Megacorps fight secret wars against each other, while any country daring to resist them will find itself torn to pieces. On the streets, countless individuals are undocumented, and some of them are hired as deniable assets.
In the alleys, a Street Samurai with mechanical arms fights alongside a Physical Adept that can punch through cars with their bare fists, while a summoned spirit takes on a Rigger's drones. A Decker hacks the enemy commlinks, preventing them from calling for help. The security firm that owns the police contract, hears the gunfire coming from a bad neighbourhood, and doesn't care.
They are Shadowrunners, hired to do a job. Steal an object, data, a person, a life. Escort and protect someone important, or bring an item from point A to point B while warding off interested parties. Or maybe investigate a suspicious situation, which soon turns into a fight to the death.

Genre

Cyberpunk

Year

2081

Divergence Point

1989

Return of Magic

24/12/2011

Society

SINners and Saints

What's in a SIN? Digital identification numbers, SINs are what prove you are a legal citizen of a country or a megacorp. But a lot of folks out there lack one, either by birth or disaster. These SINless lack civil rights and tend to stay out of the way of authority. Sometimes, the police doesn't care. But the closer you get to the rich and wealthy, the more you have to worry about not having a SIN.
Most runners are SINless, sometimes by choice. They buy fake SINs to do their shopping, then eventually burn them when their data trail becomes a liability. SINners have it harder as runners, because even when they use fakes, their biological material might be traced back to their real identity.

Corps: The boss of you

Megacorps rule the world. The biggest ones are extraterritorial, meaning they make their own laws at their own territory. The largest ten, the triple-A corps, even have their own Corporate Court. Defying the Corporate Court comes at great risks, as the UCAS found out when they turned on Ares. They have their own money, and citizens that are born and trained to die in servitude.
Industrial espionage, kidnapping employees, plain ol' sabotage and murder, the corps will gladly fight dirty. But just like countries, the megacorps can't afford to wage open war on each other. That's where deniable assets come in, both their own trained elites, and hired grunts that nobody cares about.

Metatypes: Human or not Human

We are all still human. Metahumanity is all Homo Sapiens, whether you're Human, Ork, Troll, Dwarf, Elf, or one of the rarer variants. Even the infected, from Ghouls to Vampires, are still metahumans. But there's plenty of folks around that don't believe that, and have either traded in or expanded their racism. Fear and hatred have spilled blood, and will keep doing so.
Some countries and megacorps stick to racism or xenophobic behaviour. Others see profit in welcoming the downtrotten. You may encounter a gang on the streets that wants to cut off your ears or tusks. You may be welcomed into a country because of what you are. Don't let it fool you. We are all still fellow humans, no matter how much they might try to convince you otherwise.

COMMunication

The Matrix is everywhere. If you use AR goggles, you'd better have a good spam filter, or you'll go crazy from all the ads blocking your vision. You might be tempted to go VR, to experience things you can't in the real world. Just keep that Firewall up, before a hacker's prank gives you a headache, or worse.
That commlink is important. It lets you connect to your bank accounts, keep in touch with your contacts, or dig around to find a useful map. It helps secure your wireless devices, not as good as a Cyberdeck can, but it's a start. Want to communicate with your teammates, and maybe share some Augmented Reality Objects? That commlink is what allows you to. Better not lose it.

Shadowrunners

Running the Shadows

Everyone occasionally needs a hired hand. Megacorps and organized crime need deniable assets; cops need to circumvent red tape and politics; a street doc is in need of new ware or some payback. That's where Shadowrunners come in. A fixer gives them a call, then introduces them to a Mr. Johnson with a job offer.
What kind of job? Could be anything. Steal data. A physical object. A living being. A life. Or protect someone or something instead. Maybe solve a mystery, or smuggle contraband across borders. No matter what, you'll have to hit the streets and do your homework, do the job, and pray you don't run into too many hidden surprises.

A Motley Crew

Shadowrunners are a varied bunch, but there's some typical archetypes that they mostly fall under. There's the classic Street Samurai, augmented with cyberware and bioware, ready to kick ass. The Physical Adept does the same, but powered by innate magic. A Mage will sling combat spells or help you be stronger or invisible, while a Summoner calls upon spirits for the heavy lifting.
There's the Decker and Technomancer, hacking the Matrix with either a Cyberdeck or their mind. The Face, focused on social activity and deception, who also helps negotiate a better pay. Lastly, the Rigger can sneak in with spydrones, or have a large flying one rain death from above. And provide a quick getaway.

Tools of the Trade

So many toys, so many options. Weapons range from knives and pistols to axes and assault cannons, armour from thick clothing to full body armour. But that's just the simple stuff.
You can get tools to climb walls and ceilings, fool advanced locks, or jam enemy communication. Throw out some gas grenades and flashbangs. Or a glitter bomb that makes invisible people an easy target to send to kingdom come.
Spy on your enemies with microcams, detect explosives with a sensor-wand, whisper to each other through micro-transceivers. Even the sky isn't the limit, thanks to Satellite Links. If you can think of a kind of device, your fixer just might be able to get it for you.

Choices and Consequences

Shadowrunners may be deniable assets, and may even be hired to kill, but they tend not to murder indiscriminately. It might sound strange that they don't feel the need to do so, despite getting shot at for a living. But fact is, murderers don't live long in this business.
Why? Because if you make it personal, so do others. Johnsons won't hire loose cannons. Contacts stop taking your calls. And that megacorp who you just cost hundreds of thousands in training fees? Needs to send a message, by taking your head.
So runners don't steal much outside of what they were hired to do. Are willing to use non-lethal measures. Often will hold back on causing collateral damage. Because otherwise, rather than being the ignorable hired help, they become the prime target. And that is a bad thing to be in the shadows.