Material Reviews

        In the ever-changing Shadowrun world, which books should you buy? Should you focus on the sourcebooks containing gear and other archetype-related information? Should you grab up all the run books you can find? Or should you learn as much about where your next run is gonna be by getting the location sourcebooks? ..And, for that matter, are you buying the books as a player, or as a GM?
        The Emporium Materials Review is dedicated to providing you with information about what the sourcebooks contain, a small review, and an easy-to-read rating system for both players and GM's, as well as an overall content rating.
        At the current time, and this will be the case for a while, I can only review the books I own myself. However, as I get more books, borrow even more, and look over YOUR reviews (e-mail them to me at chromwolf@home.com) and post them, this particular part of the Emporium will give a comprehensive overlook, letting you know which sourcebooks are grabbers, and which ones can wait for a while longer.

**Note: Please submit your reviews in the same form, including all the criteria, as seen below. Thank you, you will be credited!

Title: Shadowrun, 3rd Edition
Item #: 7001
ISBN: 1-55560-371-8
List Price: $30.00
Pages: 334, 26 color

Overview: This book is the latest edition of the rules book, and has rules for everything a GM or player need for basic roleplaying in the Shadowrun world; History of the world, character creation, gear, spells, (a few) critters, contacts, cyberware, vehicles, foci... Even sample characters, gear from other books, etc. There have also been some small yet notable changes both from the past SR2 book, and on account of other sourcebooks released since SR2.

Review: When I first reviewed this book, I was fairly unimpressed with it; it had been "dumbed down", and some things I liked had been cut from it (the Critters section becoming the "Spirits and Dragons" section, for example). Consequently, I ruled this book as not being terribly great. I'd have to say, however, that since playing the system, reading the rules over for necessary adaptations and rulings, and just generally using this book on the whole, I would have to actually say I like it better than SR2.
SR3 is clear, concise, defining, and has rule clarification and explanation where SR2 did not. It expands on the gear and how to use it, changes some core rules such as Awakened characters using Bioware, and begins the current SR3 trend of exploring the more society and culture portion of the Shadowrun roleplaying experience—for example, the rules concerning creation of fake SINs, ID's, and credsticks provides the rules on how to do it, plus what's implied socially and culturally when you do.
SR3 left a bad impression on a lot of players and GM's alike. Veterans thought it was set too simple minded, and the type of people typically involved in an RPG don't need a rulebook to be simplified for them, simply presented. Despite this, I would say it has been made easier to read, understand, and implement (one of the more notorious unspoken flaws of the Shadowrun ruleset), and all in all, it made running a game, looking up rules during play, and general game flow a lot smoother.

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Title: Cybertechnology
Item #: 7119
ISBN: 1-55560-267-3
List Price: $15.00
Pages: 102

Overview: This addition to the Shadowrun sourcebooks covers all that there is of Cyberware, as per its name. It introduces some new rules, and revamps a few old ones, adds MANY new and amazing pieces of Cyberware, and ultimately, describes a new and terrifying concept, the Cyberzombie.

Review: Primarily being a player, and having started out on Shadowrun with the ever changing, ever upgradeable Street Samurai, I DROOLED when I read through this book. From the standard player mindset, it meant POWER!! LOADED with amazing new Cyberware for those who were interested in far more than just a datajack, it is now possible to replace most, if not all, of the human body with Chrome, plastic, wires, and machinery.
I must admit that from a new GM's standpoint, however, it does present a challenge... A challenge in adapting the rules I know from SR2 (And now, SR3 with the addition of Man and Machine) to not let the player become too powerful, and also, making sure the player has fun adding the cyberware while still being able to roleplay from behind it all.
Overall, this book is very good, but DEFINITELY gives those hard-edged players A LOT of power. My Overall Rating would have been a straight 5 but for that.

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Title: Street Samurai Catalog
Item #: 7104
ISBN: 1-55560-122-7
List Price: $12.00
Pages: 112

Overview: A softer Street Samurai is targeted with this book. Actual bows, arrows, combat axes, and monofilament swords are listed in this book, in addition to the standard high-powered (and some illegal) guns, ammo, armor, misc. equipment, and cyberware. It also includes some new (and, if I might say, cool) Cyberware rules, and sample racial Samurai.

Review: This, although not as exciting as Cybertechnology, is a much more well-rounded book for it's size and content. It's loaded with everything (except hard-edged cyber), and I mean everything, a Street Samurai character would need... The guns, ammo, armor, vehicles, gear... It's got everything to get your run underway. The Cyberware rules are good, too; they expand a GM's power over roleplaying Cyberware, and what a character can do with his cyberware other than just install it at character creation and gain attribute bonuses, etc.
I find few flaws with this book, if any, except that its content is rather short for what could have been put into it. However, again, this is an excellent book, cheap, and helps get those sammie runs off the ground.

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Title: Shadowtech
Item #: 7110
ISBN: 1-55560-156-1
List Price: $15.00
Pages: 119

Overview: Shadowtech was my very first sourcebook. A friend of mine (Thanks much, Inle, should you ever grace this page) owned it, and I knew I would surely someday gain access to its knowledge as well.
It is loaded with information about the (meta)human body, and how it works. Yes, this book has some EXCELLENT Cyberware and Bioware, its main focus is on the organs of the organism that house and handle these implants. An extremely detailed, yet interesting introduction covers how cyberware, bioware, chemicals/toxins, and pathogens interact with the body, and so on and so forth. The main body of the book is taken up by the aforementioned Cyberware and Bioware, as well as Chemicals, Toxins, and Biological weaponry of small scale. Rules pertaining to the above content appear near the end of the book.

Review: I find this book very well done. Again, it is short, and much more content could have been incorporated, but what it has is very good. For a player of standard archetype, this book is mostly useful for its Cyberware and Bioware content, but any advanced player seeking new and unexplored archetypes, or almsot any GM seeking to spice up a certain NPC, will also gladly absorb the rest of the material. The rules stated before allow for many a run, both Player and GM-side. The rules go even further to broaden this book to technology as well, in the Technology and the Law section. I recommend this book for the intermediate GM and/or player, ready to take on something bigger than just the SR2 rules, but still exploring and learning of the endless universe of the Shadowrun world.

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