r E volution V O L U T I O N

T H E C A M P A I G N r E volution V O L U T I O N

T H E C A M P A I G N iNTRODUCTION "Watch your back, shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.”

Welcome to 2084. Welcome to the Sixth World. Welcome to the REVOLUTION. This is a guide to the REVOLUTION campaign, a story of cyberpunk conspiracy, apocalypse, and horror that we will tell together about magical revolutions, technological evolutions, and whether somewhere between them there’s a future for Mankind at all. Though your characters will begin as street-level shadowrunners—elite criminals for hire living on the fringes of society—they’ll be drawn into the ultimate war, and maybe even eventually become one of the near-mythical midnighters, those elite of the elite who pull off runs on the Corporate Court’s orbital headquarters and against spirit gods in their astral courts. REVOLUTION is about hope and despair. It is about people and the conflicting priorities of human civilization, daring to ask how far our race has truly come since we climbed down from the trees, and whether or not we’ll even still be human at the end of our evolution. The world of rEvolution is like an apocalyptic Garden of Eden trapped in a cellular "eclipse phase,” the period between when a cell is infected by a virus and when the virus appears within the cell and transforms it. During this period, the cell does not appear to be infected, but it is. Like this Schrödinger’s infection, the Sixth World contains the secrets and spoils of both good and evil, of ignorance and enlightenment, of barbarity and virtue. Whether a prison or a playground, reality is what we make of it. The impending techno-magical Singularity of this viral transformation can break our shackles or deepen our illusions, but only we can decide. As a campaign, REVOLUTION presents this world to your characters who are faced with this inhospitable future. They’ll need to make a stand in the coming revolutions that will influence the evolution of their lives and the fate of those around them, if not the world and civilization at large—for better or for worse. It’s up to them.

WHAT’S IN THIS GUIDE This guide covers the basic information you’ll need to create a character and jump into our session zero, when the group will gather and collaboratively create a shadowrunner team, a city to call home, and a shared objective to kick off the campaign. Don’t worry about actually creating your character now or even coming up with a concrete concept, all of that can wait until session zero. For now, look over this guide to get a general idea of what your choices are. If you’re confused about something or want more info on a given topic, feel free to ask me for more. The first section covers the numerous Available Races that you can choose to play as. The second section is about the Sixth World itself, from its history to its culture. The third section explains the possible Citizenships & Backgrounds that your character might hail from. Finally, the fourth section is about your character’s Archetypes & Concepts, explaining the common positions you’ll find on a shadowrunner team.

AVAILABLE BASE RACES Menehune (Transoceanic Islands): Even hairier than the average dwarf, menehune are well-adapted to oceanic life, with leaner In 2084, humanity isn't what it used to be. The changes wrought by the builds, a layer of insulating fat, and nictitating membranes that allow appearance of magic and runaway technological development have them to see underwater. More affable and compliant than most dwarfs, resulted in a colorful mélange of new races. Broadly, humanity 2.0 can be they are a seamlessly-integrated, accepted, and visible part of the sorted into four categories—classic humans, metatypes like elves and Polynesian cultures they hail from. orks, metasapients like pixies and sasquatches, and transhumans like infomorphs and genetically-enhanced parahumans. ELVES No other metahuman culture has had the obvious world-changing effects HUMANS as elves have. Three nations in Africa, Europe, and North America, A shrinking minority, humans are still found anywhere civilization is. isolated neighborhoods in almost every major sprawl, personalities acting Earth’s many ethnic and racial groups form the foundation for all other as a primary face or voice for almost every major world power, and a metatypes and transhumans. Their abundance prior to the appearance of natural monopolization of the entertainment industry. Lithe, almond- magic gives them a sense of unity in their humanity that has only grown eyed, and silky haired, elves are the new standard of metahuman beauty. with the rise of the megacorporations and decline of nation-states. More isolationist and ethnocentric than even dwarfs, elves grow up with Though baseline humans are rapidly dwindling, those that remain are a sense of superiority that’s little discouraged by their incredible natural much the same as they were at the beginning of the century. charm and athleticism. Few elves dare to go against this hierarchical Nartaki (Indian Subcontinent): Curiously, humans do in fact culture, and are widely shunned for doing so. Elves are theorized to have possess one metavariant: the nartaki. They resemble humans with the a lifespan measured in centuries, and have enhanced low-light vision. exception of blue, red, or gold skin and an additional pair of arms. Most Dryads (Any): Small, slender, and with hair that changes color have entered into a form of Hindu priesthood and seek to live a simple with the seasons, dryads are considered to have an unearthly grace and and unrestricted lifestyle in pursuit of magical Enlightenment. beauty beautiful even by elven standards. Unique among metatypes, all reported dryads are females, and unlike other metatypes possess no particular region of origin. Consequently, dryads lack any singular, in- METATYPES depth culture. The metavariant is drawn to natural environments, and There are four metatypes that appeared in the early years of the they tend to stay away from highly polluted areas. This is due to their Awakening: dwarfs, elves, orks, and trolls. Collectively, they make up ability symbiotically bond with their surroundings. over half of metahumanity, and metatype-human tension has risen as Nocturna (Europe): Referred to as Night Ones, nocturna their population continues to grow. All metatypes have pointed ears, resemble bestial elves, with dark fur from deep blue to violet covering with some variance among metavariants. Except where noted, all their entire faces and bodies. A reclusive nature and hypersensitivity to metatypes share the ethnic background of their parents. bright light make this metavariant nocturnal, making it difficult for them to fit into standard society. But this relative invisibility has also helped DWARFS hide them from the worst discrimination, allowing them to carve out a Dwarfs possess an unparalleled ability to fit into any locale or culture in niche in the societies and businesses of the night. Natural hunters, they the world. Typically just over a meter tall with barrel-like builds and are particularly quick and possess powerful hearing. ample body hair, they are stoic, silent, and strong-willed as a culture. No Wakyambi (Southern Africa): Wakyambi are thinner, more long- metatype is as socially and culturally close-knit—some say xenophobic— limbed, and up to a whole meter taller than even standard elves. as dwarfs are, making them the subject of as nearly as many bigoted Incredibly uncommon and reclusive, they rarely have contact outside conspiracy theories as the long-lived elves. Though slow to react both their hunter-gatherer tribes, which are worshipped by surrounding locals. culturally and physically, they are incredibly durable in body and soul, More nimble, cunning, and instinctive than the average elf, they possess impressively strong, longer lived than humans, and possess an uncanny sense of prescient survivalism. thermographic vision. Unfortunately, their diminutive stature makes life in Xapiri Thëpë (Amazonian Basin): These odd metavariants the Sixth World more costly than for most. resemble small elves that are partially or entirely green-skinned due to a Gnomes (Central Europe/Asia Minor): Even smaller than secondary skin layer containing chloroplasts, which expands as the xapiri baseline dwarfs, gnomes’ youthful forms are compensated for by the thëpë ages. Xapiri thëpë have their own tribal culture and nature religion ability to rapidly process information. Overcoming their low numbers, completely separate from the rest of the world. The few that ever leave gnomes have found niches throughout urban environments, including are usually exiles, runaways, or diplomats, the last the most common. many in the shadows. They possess a strange resistance to spells that has Their ability to photometabolize makes them particularly vulnerable to made them a frequent target for kidnappings and experimentation. pollution, and they have less rational thought processes. Hanuman (Southern Indian Subcontinent): Hanuman resemble monkeys more than dwarfs, with elongated limbs, feet, and hands; ORKS profuse hair except on the face; a prehensile tail; and an agile frame. The most populous metatype by far—comprising almost a quarter of the Their lack of status in Hindu culture leads hanuman that move away from global population—orks nonetheless haven’t had the same success with their villages and attempt to integrate with the modern world while living carving out their own identities and nations as elves and dwarfs have. in a social purgatory—a shadow realm that often leaves them away from Bulkier than humans in terms of both height and muscle, with lower home, without citizenship, and thrust into new subcultures. Due to their canines that protrude over their jaw, orks’ fearsome appearances and frequent outsider status, hanuman often develop rebellious attitudes and high numbers have made them the primary target of metahuman bigotry earn a reputation for wildness and reckless behavior. Only recently and violence. What culture that orks do have has developed in defiant acknowledged as sapient, hanuman diverge from typical metahuman opposition to these attitudes, even as they’re pushed to the dangerous rationalism, relying more on a cunning instinct and impoverished fringes of society. Their dramatically shortened Koborokuru (Japan): Slightly less durable and strong than the lifespans and innate recklessness have fed into this culture, creating a standard dwarf, koborokuru instead have a leaner, hairless form that’s mindset best typified orxploitation goddess Orxanne’s lyrics—”live fast, surprisingly nimble. Koborokuru were powerfully shaped as a racial die young, best behind a smoking gun.” Orks are even hardier than subculture by the unparalleled bigotry and persecution of the Japanese dwarfs and just as strong, and are able to see easily in low light. Empire, giving rise to a strong separatist mentality. Hobgoblins (Arabian Peninsula/Central Asia): Hobgoblins Fomori (British Isles): Though just as muscular as an average troll, a diverge greatly from typical ork physicality, shorter, leaner, green-hued, fomorian is shorter and slightly less stocky. Combined with their lack of and possessing all-black eyes and a narrow mouth full of sharp teeth. dermal deposits, this makes fomori appear less “monstrous,” giving them Hobgoblins value honor, anger, and vengeance blended with the Arabian an easier time integrating into society and often allowing them to act as and Asian cultures they hail from, in defiance of these conservative the faces of the troll community. This social favoritism has created no cultures’ persecution of them. The resulting social exclusion has left small amount of enmity between fomori and the traditionally less hobgoblins on the fringes of society in ghettos primarily populated by attractive trolls and their other metavariants. Their Celtic lineage has their own kind. This exclusion has allowed the hobgoblin population to sparked a revival of early Celtic religion, traditions, and even paths of grow despite facing often violent opposition from anti-metahuman magic, a practice not appreciated by many elves threatened by this factions and hate groups in the region. They have particularly strong unification. Because of this, many fomori not pushed in front of trid forces of personality sharpened by a hormone-triggered quick temper. cameras are instead slipping into the cracks of society to hide from their Ogres (Europe): Shorter and smoother skinned than the baseline persecutors. Fomori’s emotional acuity does not always translate into ork, ogres’ most notable feature is a prominent potbelly, often enlarged empathy or ethical behavior, and they are prone to emotional by their rampant obesity. False rumors of their cannibalistic nature left manipulation. Whether Awakened or mundane, fomori are also more them ostracized from all cultures, their lack of acceptance keeping them resistant to arcane effects, including their own spells. on the outskirts of society or in a megacorporation’s manual labor force. Giants (Nordic Union): Giants are the largest troll metavariant, Slow to react and dull in personality, ogres are as strong in force of will making them positively massive—typically three meters tall, with the as their stomachs are iron, able to digest—and even derive nutrition from tallest recorded being 3.65 meters. The increased height spreads out —a bewildering range of “food.” their increased muscular bulk, leaving them with a more slender Oni (Japan): Named for mythical demons, oni look the part, with appearance without any loss of strength. Instead of dermal deposits, troll-like horns rising vertically from the temples, protuberant eyes, and giants possess thickened skin with a dene, bark-like appearance. Giants skin that is always a vibrant bright red, blue, or orange. Persecuted and have increased facial hair thickness; most males grow full beards that are exiled much as koborokuru were, oni swore themselves to koborokuru often braided or trimmed in a pattern. Their problems are even greater lords as modern-day samurai, a culture that has persisted and expanded than those that base trolls encounter due to giants’ large size and a lack among the Japanese diaspora. Oni possess stronger and bolder of acceptance in their homes. As such, most giants end up unemployed personalities than the average ork. and living on the fringes of society. Their emotional acuity tends to be Satyr (Mediterranean): Though similarly muscled to basic orks, underestimated, making them quite capable of surprising people with that’s where the similarities end. Satyrs have longer and narrower faces mental feats that in truth are products of only average minds. with less pronounced canids, horns that are typically short and swept- Minotaurs (Mediterranean): Minotaurs get their name from their back, and most notably, the goat-like legs complete with cloven hooves wide, flattened nasal structure, wide-set eyes, and long, symmetrical that give them their unique gait. Satyrs do not possess a culture of their horns, resembling a bull’s face. Minotaurs are shorter than trolls, but tend own but adapt well to the surrounding cultures. Though the world at to carry the same bulk with added width, further lending to their bullish large casts them as free-spirited and artistic, they run the gamut of appearance, along with profuse body hair and a lack of dermal deposits. professions. Satyrs are more rational-minded than the typical ork, and can Minotaurs have not developed a culture of their own, instead integrating run and jump with impressive ease due to their unique legs. fairly smoothly into Mediterranean society. As a demonstration of the importance placed on this integration, many minotaurs choose to TROLLS truncate their horns or wear blunt caps to limit risks to others. A smaller The most uncommon metatype, trolls’ numerous differences have made sect finds it disgraceful that their kind “mutilate” themselves for the “little it highly difficult for them to fit into society, driving many of them to the people.” Minotaurs are far more instinctive than trolls, and their horns can dangerous hells of the Barrens and Frontier. Trolls are 2.8 meters and be used as bestial weapons that can even penetrate body armor. three hundred and fifty kilograms of muscle topped by large tusks and horns and calcified deposits of skin. This monstrous appearance and their widespread reputation for diminished mental faculties have made METASAPIENTS segregation, struggle, and strife the foundations of the little culture they Metahumanity is not the only intelligent species on Earth. Since the have. They can be seen working as laborers or security goons, but most Awakening, they share that distinction with a handful of other sapient exist on the edge—or even completely outside—of society. A few races, among them centaurs, nagas, pixies, and sasquatches. exceptional individuals make it up the social ladder, but fitting in Metahumanity as a whole has been slow to recognize these beings as anywhere is a daily struggle and reminder of their outsider status. Trolls equals, and, for their own part, sapient paranormals tend to live in possess thermographic vision and are enormously durable and strong at isolated communities in their native habitats. Due to metahuman the cost of nimbleness and a steep rise in living expenses. Unfortunately, encroachment forcing them out of their habitats or their own curiosity they are also slow to process and analyze information, and are distinctly and drive, some sapients have become a part of society. Metasapients in socially challenged. their “natural state” are not members of technologically-based societies, Cyclopes (Mediterranean): Cyclopes strike imposing figures, not and are sometimes erroneously categorized as hunter-gatherers or just taller and more muscled than the average troll, but possessing a nomadic herders. In truth, they all avail themselves of technology when single, large eye in the center of their foreheads. They grow little to no possible. Due to their physical differences, there is a great degree of hair, lack dermal deposits, have bronze hued skin that looks almost expense and modification necessary to adapt equipment for their use, metallic when they perspire, and rarely have horns. Cyclopean culture is and basic items are often more economical to craft rather than purchase. strongly influenced by their Aegean origin, aggressive temperament, and vision difficulties. Desired for their size and aggression, cyclopes find CENTAURS work all around the Mediterranean and further abroad as security and Found only in parts of Greece, the Eurasian Steppe, and a handful of other manual laborers on boats and dockyards. Their affinity with the sea has locations, the typically horse-headed centaurs are strange and alien to led many cyclopes worship Poseidon. Cyclopes’ rational reasoning is most metahumans. Few of the human-headed survive to adulthood, as even more diminished than standard trolls’, and their single eye distorts they are considered to be lesser and abandoned. Though centaurs have their vision making precision work difficult and robbing them of long been considered primitive, generally desiring to maintain their thermographic vision. simple tribal herd lifestyle in their natural habitats, they are quite capable of sophisticated thought and understanding of modern technology. INFOMORPHS Centaurs serve in mercenary units, work on rural farms, or act as guides Encompassing all entities whose consciousnesses reside in a computer or trackers thanks to their innate magical tracking sense, low-light and brain or on the Matrix, infomorphs are pure code, whose personality and thermographic vision, and rapid speed. Powerfully built, their kicks can be memories are in the form of software and data. Most are heavily devastating. restricted by design, but many have achieved emergent intelligence. Though widely feared and reviled due to recent terroristic incidents, AIs’ NAGAS data-processing abilities have made them invaluable tools that have Found in the Amazon, the Indian Union, and the Naga Kingdom of significantly accelerated society’s technological evolution. AIs range from Angkor Wat, nagas are ten meter long snakes that resemble the non-sapient “nullAIs”—clever talking user interfaces—through predominant snake species of the area. The Sixth World tale of the naga protosapient “protoAIs”—versatile, self-motivated, but not-quite- is one of metahuman hubris at its finest, as they were at first trained them metahuman minds—to fully sapient “metaAIs.” Drones, the machine to work as guard animals until they revealed their sapiency. Though cold- bodies which infomorphs inhabit and control, range from industrial blooded, they are highly adaptable, hardy, and strong, and are as m a c h i n e r y a n d w e a p o n s y s t e m s , t h r o u g h u l t r a - r e a l i s t i c eloquent as they are venomous. “cyberdolls” (androids), to commlinks, cybernetic implants, and even "biodrones," animals and bioroids with cyberbrains. Despite the majority PIXIES of AIs only coming into existence in the past two decades, there are Found primarily in European and Pacific Northwest forests away from the about as many AIs as people. Approximately one-third of metahumans sprawls, pixies resemble half-meter tall elves with wings. They are closely own a nullAI or protoAI serving as a constant personal companion in a connected to nature and magic, and are shunned by metahumans for home computer or commlink. The population of metaAIs is smaller, fewer their perceived ties to the erratic fey. Though chinadoll-frail, they are than 100 million in existence, primarily due to hardware costs and legal incredibly quick and nimble, more guileful and cunning than most controls. While in a handful of nations and corporations metaAIs enjoy full metahumans, possess an uncanny luck, and can vanish at will. rights and citizenship, in many more places they are outright banned and deeply feared, while basic AIs are considered “things” or property rather SASQUATCHES than people and accorded no special rights. The act of duplicating an The legends of Bigfoot and the Yeti were true: Built like trolls but covered infomorph—“xoxing," a contraction of "xeroxing”—is highly criminal. in shaggy fur, sasquatches were either born before the Awakening or are just a long-lived race able to hide for millennia. Sasquatches have never PARAHUMANS revealed the truth and likely never will. Sasquatches have been About 1% of Earth’s population, parahumans are transgenic people remarkably successful at entering metahuman society when they choose, incorporating non-metahuman genes ranging from the strikingly obvious with work often found in entertainment and politics. Though they lack the (a coat of fur) to the subtle (a biochemistry adapted to zero gravity). Each ability to speak—the concept of a spoken language is incomprehensible type of parahuman is technically a different species from humanity. Due to them—they have an amazing ability to mimic sounds, which they use to their bizarre appearances and alien mental patterns, many parahumans when hunting with their powerful claws. face rejection by not just biocons, but society at large, and so find their niche by following their genetic destinies to the dangerous edges of civilization. Parahumans typically fall into one of five types—apexes TRANSHUMANS designed to be the next stage of human evolution, gendered designed Just as magic has offered humanity one evolutionary path, so has to be explorations of the extremes of gender, sex, and sexuality, technology. These children of the future—collectively known as geniuses designed to push metahuman intelligence to its absolute limits, transhumans—espouse the use of technology to enhance mental and pantropic designed to survive in extreme, hostile, and toxic physical abilities beyond the metahuman norm, such as genetic and cybernetic enhancement, medical extension of the lifespan, use of mind- environments, and warforms designed to be the ultimate weapons. altering drugs, and communion with increasingly advanced computers. Unsurprisingly, the megacorps are also fascinated by the possibility of PROVOLVES enhancing metahuman minds for superior intelligence and ability. Like Provolves are animals that have been provolved, or uplifted, by genetic most of those involved in promoting someone else’s evolution, though, engineering, cybernetics, and intensive socialization to have heightened they aren’t concerned enough with what their creations will think of levels of intelligence and communication, in some rare cases even them. Transhumans face significant discrimination, particularly from matching or exceeding metahumans. The most successful provolves have bioconservatives who espouse a more traditional view of humanity. been apes, crows and ravens, dolphins and whales, octopuses, parrots, and pigs, though many other species have been augmented with varying BIOROIDS degrees of success, including cats, dogs, elephants, monkeys, sea lions, Bioroids are fully-biological synthetic beings engineered with limited self- and even neanderthals. With the exception of a handful of research corps, preservation, repressed desires, enhanced loyalty, and submissive no one grants citizenship to provolves, making them legally no different tendencies—but they still think and feel. There are four primary types of than common animals. Since most provolves spend their lives under the bioroid—social models which predominate in customer-facing jobs such strict control of metahuman masters, few have the time or opportunity to develop complex ideologies, cults, or the like, although it’s not unknown. pantropic models as secretaries, nurses, and hostesses, designed for Provolves typically find corporate employment as scientists, security, and hostile environments in the ocean or space, pleasure models designed media icons. Those few who manage to escape their enslavement for the booming bioroid prostitution trade that has all but wiped out invariably turn to the shadows, as their very existence is criminal. metahuman prostitutes, and warform models designed as disposable troops, bodyguards, and cops. Though most bioroids are made to look like metahumans (typically humans or elves) with obvious "seams" and artificial eyes so they can be easily identified, some have more exotic AVAILABLE OVERLAY RACES forms, such as killer whale physiology. Legally considered non-sapient As the evolution of magic and technology has accelerated, these forces property in most polities, there is a thriving underground railroad for the have transformed more and more of metahumanity into something else growing number of bioroids that have "awoken" and sought freedom. entirely, further fragmenting a coherent global identity. Magic has created changelings, drakes, the Infected, and shapeshifters, while technology has created cyborgs, genetic upgrades, and monads. All of these are creatures resembling legendary monsters of myth—like ghouls, fairly uncommon (some extremely so), making them ideal options for vampires, and wendigos—with paranormal powers and appetites for player characters, who are exceptional individuals that stand out from the metahuman flesh. While some HMHVV strains affect any metahuman or common masses. metasapient, others affect only elves, centaurs, dwarfs, humans, nagas, All of these are “overlay races” that can be optionally taken in orks, sasquatches, or trolls. Many strains turn the Infected into feral addition to your selected base race. Some overlays can be stacked or cannibals, but some metahumans manage to fight through the Infection obtained in the course of the campaign. For example, you could be a and retain their sapiency, even as they must struggle with their new panther shapeshifter that transforms into a Night One elf, a parahuman urges. One of the single most controversial and difficult issues before turned into a monad, or a genetically upgraded ork that becomes metahumanity is addressing the status and rights of the Infected. Of all Infected. All combinations are subject to gamemaster approval. the varieties of metahumanity, no others are as maligned or suffer from greater misunderstanding. Because of this disenfranchisement, the CHANGELINGS majority of the Infected remain SINless and are treated as dangerous Changelings first appeared around the world in the early 2060s during animals at best, with some polities offering bounties on confirmed kills. the passage of Halley’s Comet, when SURGE (Sudden Recessive Genetic Expression) afflicted about 1% of metahumans across the globe. Seen by MONADS many as the next stage of metatype evolution as they diverge further and Commonly referred to as headcases, monads are metahumans, and even further from baseline humanity, changelings are actually neither a race nor some parahumans and provolves, who were infected with Cognitive a metavariant. Each is literally “a freak of nature,” magical mutations Fragmentation Disorder (CFD) starting almost a decade ago. CFD infected produced by abnormalities in the genome. SURGE can cause a range of nanoware implants with a gestalt AI consciousness that used nanites to changes—feathers, scales, tails, multiple limbs and eyes, and much more “overwrite” the victim’s personality. Though relatively few in number, this —from the relatively minor to the completely transformative. Though “bodyjacking,” even when unintentional, has made monads easily the outsiders by nature and with no cohesive culture to call their own, the most hated racial group of the Sixth World, closely followed by AIs less extreme changelings have found general acceptance in most places. themselves. While CFD can be cured, many monads reject or avoid Indeed, their popularization in some fringe media and alternative youth treatment. The majority left several years ago on a hyper-tech spaceship culture was responsible for the renewed interest in gene technologies, bound for deep space, but a few still exist in scattered hiding across and paved the way for the cultural and social acceptance of transhuman Earth. The nature and extent of monads’ abilities is unknown, but they are enhancement, biotech and genetic augmentation, and metasapients. suspected to possess vastly improved nanoware-boosted mental faculties, particularly in the sciences, making them incredibly valuable to CYBORGS megacorporations. Known derisively as “jarheads,” cyborgs are metahuman brains encased in fully cybernetic bodies. While the technology to create cyborgs has SHAPESHIFTERS existed for more than two decades, they’re still a rare sight due to their Shapeshifters are sapient Awakened animals with the magical ability to prohibitive price-tags, highly sophisticated technology, and being a assume a metahuman form. They are uncommon but not rare, and many method of last resort for those seeking to cling to life at any cost. They choose to mingle with metahuman society, particularly in Awakened inhabit anthroform drones, vehicles, and even buildings, though the more nations in Latin and North America. A few are even employed by non-human the form the greater the risk of alienation and insanity. megacorps in various functions. Elsewhere, though, they are considered Compared to normal drones, a cyborg’s metahuman brain boasts notable dangerous animals and have bounties for their destruction. Besides being advantages in terms of overall versatility, decision-making abilities, vastly more intelligent than non-Awakened critters of their species, they sophisticated behavior, and skill learning and use—and they are also are typically larger and more physically impressive specimens, which can substantially harder to subvert. In addition, they have the advantages include bears, big cats, canids, cows, falcons, and horses. Their inherent to their chosen machine bodies. Their integrated cyberware also metahuman form is the same gender as the animal, and generally shares makes them natural hackers, as the Matrix is their natural environment other traits as well—eyes of the same color, hair similar to the animal’s and they typically learn to manipulate it long before they learn to walk in fur or plumage, distinctive scars and injuries, tattoos, etc. their new bodies. Their mechanical bodies make them difficult to target or sense with magic, and require constant upkeep and maintenance.

DRAKES Drakes are exceedingly rare metahumans with the latent or manifested ability to transform into a dragon. Though severely limited in size and magical power compared to actual dragons, they are nonetheless veritable forces of nature, and are desperately sought out by those wishing to leverage their abilities, particularly great dragons.

GENETIC UPGRADES A genetic upgrade is a metahuman whose genes have been carefully selected not only to fix defects but to enhance certain traits (such as appearance, health, or memory). If their descendants are included, upgrades make up about a third of the wealthy, among whom young people lacking upgrades are beginning to be stigmatized. Most upgrades come from commercial genetic templates ("gene lines”) which are vastly cheaper than customized eugeneering, since the work is already done and hidden defects are unlikely to appear, but some are unique one-offs.

INFECTED The Infected are victims of the Human Meta-Human Vampiric Virus (HMHVV), a magical retrovirus that cruelly transforms the afflicted into THE SIXTH WORLD used to represent the user in VR, most people prefer to customize their Personas to better represent their identity. Computers, the distributed backbone of the Matrix, are powerful HISTORY and cheap, though not superhuman; processors are embedded in almost The history of the Sixth World began on December 24th, 2011, when the every piece of technology—from clothing to roads to people. They are United States and a still-extant Soviet Union came to nuclear blows in a controlled by infomorphs, most of which are null- and protoAIs. cataclysm known as the Winter War. The force of so many atoms being Biotech: Most people, in the wealthy Domes at least, have had torn asunder all at once rent the fabric of reality, and magic came all clear genetic problems eliminated in the womb, and many are flooding into the world. In the tumultuous decades that followed this enhanced, some to the point where they are parahumans, no longer Awakening, technology accelerated out of mankind’s control, climate strictly Homo sapiens (or nobilis, robustus, etc.). Advanced medical change wreaked vengeance on the environment’s despoilers, and treatments can largely eliminate disease (for a price), rapid-growth countless wars reshaped the geopolitical landscape as corporations cloning can provide an endless supply of fresh organs, and lifespans are became ever more intertwined with the declining nation-states. Today in growing longer—though true immortality remains a dream. 2084, metahumanity teeters on the brink of survival or extinction. Biotechnology can also create entirely synthetic metahuman servants known as bioroids, “provolve” other species to near-metahuman intelligence, create exotic farm animals and pets, resurrect extinct MAGIC & TECHNOMANCY creatures, and synthesize drugs which can modify the metahuman mind Magic is the umbrella term for a variety mystical forces and phenomena to order. Still, the field's relative immaturity means that it has many that may not even be the same thing, as magic is intensely personal and detractors, known as bioconservatives, or biocons, who remain dubious unique to the wielder, place, and time. Poorly understood even after of the humanity of bioroids and provolves, and skeptical of the morality decades of research, what is known is that magic is the manipulation of of what they see as the eugenic culling of an entire species. mana, a mystical energy intimately connected to life. This manipulation is Memetics: Memetics is a young science of the mind, enabled by also known as will-working, personal beliefs made manifest, the power to the development of powerful infomorphs. It sees “memes” (ideas and literally reshape reality through spells, summoned spirits, and travel to thought-patterns) as propagating like genes, using minds as their hosts, the astral otherworld of the Dreaming. Consequently, most magicians find mutating and adapting as they go. Some people dismiss memetics as their abilities shaped by their faith, culture, or reinvigorated ancient either seriously unreliable or, worse, deeply amoral and manipulative. For mythology, and guided by archetypal totems and gods. Both everywhere most people, though, the memes they consider most core to their and incredibly rare—barely 1% of people have Awakened in some form identities are are of intense personal significance, and can guide all and most of these possess only scraps of power—but its effects can be aspects of their lives. Memetics isn’t magic mind control; rather, it raises felt on every facet of society, from the environment to industry and the ancient arts of propaganda, rhetoric, and teaching to new heights. warfare. Despite this, magic exists in fundamental tension with Populations are increasingly seen as a memetic battleground for technology, the two forces inevitably clashing, whether its pollution from corporations, radicals, politicians, and pranksters. industrial nanoforges creating zones of toxic magic or cyberware causing Manatech: Manatech straddles the abyss between magic and magicians to burn out. technology, the blunt fusion of two opposite polarities into one unholy But magic wasn’t the only inexplicable force to enter the Sixth combination. How, or even why, manatech works is a mystery even to World. Alongside mana and magicians came the Emergence of the field's top researchers, and its use is still highly rarefied. Still, the Resonance and technomancers, the latter manipulating the former with terrifying effects of the primitive developments so far—such as nothing but their brains to instinctively turn the Matrix into their unstoppable cyberzombies that warp the very essence of magic, playground. Technomancy is even rarer and less understood than magic bioengineered bacteria that consume mana, and arcane nuclear weaponry is, but appears to be based around the manipulation of knowledge—data —mean that the future evolution of manatech could shatter the delicate —rather than belief as with magic. This opposition seems to make it détente between magic and technology. impossible for one to be both Awakened and Emerged.

ENVIRONMENT TECHNOLOGY Magic’s intrinsic connection to life means that the Awakening awoke the The technology of the Sixth World has engineered miracles and spirit of the Earth—Gaia—herself. And when she did, her fury at calamities. Even as society has crumbled and regressed, scientific centuries of pollution and devastation was legendary. The last few development continues to rapidly evolve, driven by corporate untouched wildernesses began to expand, their flora and fauna awakened competition and the greed of the wealthy. The unregulated proliferation and hungry. Disease, famine, and war driven by climate change-run-amok of technology means that even the poor have easy access to technology drove metahumans to congregate in the protection of urban sprawls, that a few decades ago would have been considered science fiction. it’s allowing these primal gardens to retake vast swaths of abandoned commonplace to find Barrens gangers sporting cyberware and drones, wastelands. By the time metahumanity had realized what was happening slummers living in smart homes, and Stalkers in the Frontier 3D printing and tried to fight back, it was too late. Sterile, blood-red oceans had crude survival gear. The rich, meanwhile, live in post-scarcity utopias far swallowed coastlines and entire nations, deserts and forests had beneath the waves and beyond Earth, the nearly-complete space elevator expanded at equal rates, and constant volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, in the Caribbean already having revolutionized space exploration and tsunamis, and storms made much of the Earth uninhabitable. A sixth commerce. mass extinction has driven the evolution of an entirely new biosphere, The Matrix: The Matrix is a wireless virtual network, global in legends whispering of eldritch Godlings that tower hundreds of feet in scope and free to use. There’s almost nobody in the world without access the sky and lethally-capricious fey who wield magic as easily as to it in some form, no matter how remote or poor, making it the ultimate metahumans breathe oxygen. supra-nation. It is infrastructure and entertainment, augmented reality Having lost the war, national militaries and corporate mercenaries (AR) and virtual reality (VR) creating new worlds over and inside our own. barricaded the remaining urban sprawls, creating safe havens for These wonders are made possible by direct neural interface (DNI) metahumanity to wait out the dwindling supplies of oil, food, and water. technology that allows one to “jack-in” their brains directly to the digital The vast reaches beyond these heavily-defended DMZs have become ocean. While every commlink comes preloaded with a default Persona known as Exclusion Zones, or more commonly, the Frontier. Even militaries rarely ever dare to step foot in the surreal regions where magic has broken down the fabric of reality, for only death and madness wait within. The few hardy (or mad) metahumans who manage to eke out a SOCIETY nomadic living—known as Stalkers—are revered and feared in equal Attempting to describe the diverse and fractured societies of the Sixth measure by their urban brethren. World in a single paragraph is even more futile than it was at the turn of the century, but a few broad generalizations can be made. Nearly everyone in the Sixth World belongs to one or more zuilen, sociocultural GREAT POWERS cliques combining the worst aspects of lifestyles, political parties, and With the Awakening and the nuclear devastation of the Winter War fandoms, transcending geographical borders with the help of Matrix bringing a dramatic finale to the Cold War, the old world order of nation- social networks known as memenets. Zuilen and memenets are the state superpowers quickly collapsed. Sovereign power has moved number one way people define and express their personal memes and upwards into regional powers and downwards into ideological cliques identities. While some zuilen are casual, others are so intensely tribalistic known as zuilen that transcend geographical borders. The new world that they are better classified as terrorist groups, even if the core of the order is a feudal, multipolar patchwork of nations, megacorporations, zuilen is formed around something as seemingly innocuous as a romantic transnational organizations (TNOs), alliances, and a growing number of pairing in a trid show. Among the most popular North American zuilen free cities—the metanational Great Powers. are biocons, Christians, infosocialists, magical supremacists, Depending on how you count there are between six to ten of transhumanists, orxploitation, tribalists and neo-pagans, and these, and foremost among these—the closest thing the Sixth World has ultranationalists. to a superpower like the old U.S.—is the Corporate Court, a TNO Navigating the complexity of this social landscape would be formed by the ten largest megacorps in the world and empowered to impossible without the help of muses, personalized null- or protoAI govern the affairs of all private industry. The others, in descending order assistants that grow up with their owners and are often among an by most classifications, are the New European Economic Council (NEEC) individual’s closest companions. They are often responsible for much of a of nations and corps dominated by the Nordic Union, Russia, the USA child’s education while growing up, traditional schooling a relic of the past. Gone too is the concept of a stable, long-term career. Most people successor state the United Canadian and American States (UCAS), the are now permanent freelancers contracted for only months at a time by a Japanese Empire Pacific Rim Prosperity Group (PRPG) , the of revolving wheel of corps, and typically in the narrow sliver of service corporations based out of the free city of Hong Kong, and the Native industry jobs that haven’t been automated by AIs and drones. American Nations (NAN), particularly the Arctic Treaty Nations. Below To distract from this chaotic tedium there are more entertainment them is a protean ocean of zuilen—policlubs like the infosocialists and options than ever. With the most popular being trideo—AR—and ultranationalists, religions like Catholicism and Universal Paganism, and simsense—VR—media, from trid shows in the traditional mold of subcultures like transhumanism and bioconservatism—all of which claim comedies and dramas, to fully immersive simsense worlds. Almost all followers far more loyal to them than any nation. media can be interacted with, but for those looking for something more, th The current system is reminiscent of 19 century world politics. danger sports like magical martial arts, autodueling, and micrograv Indeed, it appears likely that the bipolar system of the mid-20th century LARPs offer endless amounts of adrenaline. Drugs are another option, was an aberration in world history. This may be an ominous sign. After from digital BTL, “Better Than Life,” software that overclocks the brain’s all, the old Great Power system led to two devastating world wars... pleasure centers to bioengineered and Awakened chemicals with a myriad of incredible effects. The typical individual, though, spends most of their life in the CRIME & WARFARE same neighborhood, rides around on a motorized ro-ped, eats artificially The Sixth World has revolutionized warfare as much as it has everything flavored soy, krill, and—if they’re lucky—vat grown meat, modifies their else. With the decline of nation-states and the rise of the multipolar Great body to keep up with ever-changing fashion trends, and enjoys the Power world order, the legal monopoly of armed force has been broken miracles of cheap, guaranteed contraception and STD-protection. up and distributed to corporations, mercenaries, terrorists, and gangs. A self-sustaining cycle of constant low-intensity conflict across the globe and corporate war profiteering by the military-industrial complex has blurred the lines between war, terrorism, and crime, and erased international borders. Dubbed the War Economy, this cycle has created a new breed of industry—private military corporations (PMCs), multinational mercenary corps with enough firepower to go toe-to-toe with sovereign nations. Business is booming in the shadows too, the demand for mercenaries for the meat-grinder boosting the number of shadowrunners as the two professions bleed together. The largest gangs, the syndicates, have evolved to counter the incredible technologies available to law enforcement. Criminal enterprises of the past been made impossible by AIs, advanced forensics, and hyper- surveillance, and the sleek, streamlined syndicates of 2084 eschew unprofitable violent crime in favor of lucrative money laundering, IP piracy, illegal gambling, prostitution, computer crime, loan-sharking, smuggling and talislegging, etc. But while they prefer to avoid bloodshed, they are just as capable of defending themselves on the actual battlefield as they are the economic battlefield. Warfare has also been one of the prime beneficiaries of magic and technology, and even ragtag terrorists can be found sporting drones, bioroids, AI support, magicians, exo-frame power armor, memetic engineers, and targeted bioengineered viruses. CITIZENSHIP & BACKGROUNDS health, location, spending habits, and anything else that can be gleaned. Eloi without Collars are quickly exiled to the outside, where they join the No matter who you are, everyone in the Sixth World comes from one of shadows or perish. three backgrounds—the bleeding edge Domes where the hyper-wealthy The Eloi can be divided into two subsets, the wageslaves and the Eloi rule through economic and political monopolies, the impoverished 0.1%. Wageslaves are automation’s survivors, the last remnants of the Barrens where Slummers eke out a short-lived existence between the middle-class, and the bulk of the Eloi. The 0.1% are the true Eloi, their life warring gangs and corps, and the nightmarish wilderness of the Frontier a futuristic whirl of parties and conferences, rubbing shoulders with the where wandering Stalkers survive amidst ancient magic and monsters. big names in business, government, the media and high fashion. North America, where REVOLUTION is primarily set, features all Effectively immortal thanks to bleeding edge medical technology, many three of these in abundance, scattered across a number of nations. of these so-called corplords no longer even live in the Domes, but in Among these are the inheritors of the old America’s legacy, the still- orbital stations far above their subjects. powerful UCAS in the northeast and the ultranationalist Confederacy of American States (CSA) in the southeast. Though the CSA has been environmentally and economically ravaged by Awakened climate change, THE BARRENS & SLUMMERS it remains fiercely culturally American and a stronghold for mundane When the Domes went up, the sprawls outside were cut off from first humans and biocons. In the UCAS, DeeCee, Manhattan, Seattle, and world comforts and amenities, and quickly became known as the Barrens Toronto are among the world’s foremost sprawls (Domes surrounded by —neon hells drenched in acid rain. A unique mixture of disease, poverty, Barrens), while Îsle New Orleans in the CSA is a major smuggling hub. hopelessness and anarchy, they are used by the Domes as their own After the USA’s collapse, the bulk of the continent was granted personal trash heap—often literally, thanks to the vast landfills known as to the newly-formed NAN, including the Pueblo Council in the the Trash Wastes, where scavenger cults live. Despite their sprawl, large portions still suffer from overcrowding, as the farther one is from the Southwest and the Sioux Nation in the Midwest. Unfortunately for these protection of the Domes the more dangerous it becomes. Metahuman young nations, they didn’t fare as well as their northern brethren, and police never step foot in the Barrens, leaving the job to understaffed Awakened climate change devastated their fledgling economies and bioroids and drones. As a result, crime runs rampant, and the Barrens are small populations. Though Los Angeles still remains a global powerhouse ruled by a hierarchy of criminal syndicates and gangs, countered only by for the Pueblo Council, both of these countries teeter on the edge of the vulture-like specter of megacorps seeking to scavenge a profit. With collapse, particularly the Sioux Nation which is mostly a lawless control over the only reliable access to clean water and stable energy, the wasteland of roving tribal go-gangs. corps ensure the Barrens can never rise up against them. In a similar condition is the California Free State (CFS), a nation The largest social class by a wide margin, Slummers are those recently liberated from the yolk of the Japanese Empire but beset on all unlucky enough to call the Barrens home, teetering on the liminal zone sides by competitors looking to snap up new territory, agricorps between the utopian Domes and the untamed Frontier. They are a exploiting the remnants of its fertile valleys, and infosocialist insurgents. massive underclass, with a disproportionate number of orks, bioroids, Most of what’s left of the CFS is scattered around San Francisco, one of Infected and other disaffected minorities. Most of these are SINless, the world’s major cities for magical and technological development. To making them non-entities in the eyes of the state, reliant on the goodwill the north of the CFS, past a tense DMZ and in former Oregon, is Tír of the gangs and corps. Consequently, many turn to crime, the best of Tairngire, one of the first of the so-called “elven nations.” Formerly a these becoming shadowrunners. fascist monarchy, civil revolution has wracked the country and left it torn between progressive reformists and traditionalist counter-revolutionaries. Beyond these nations, a growing number of people are choosing THE FRONTIER & STALKERS to live on the new frontiers of civilization, from cities deep beneath the If technology and mankind rule the urban civilization of the Domes and waves, to orbital habitats, or even settlements on the Moon or Mars. Barrens, magic and nature rule the primordial Frontier. The rapid expanse While these populations are still small and mostly confined to corporate of the Frontier seems to have been halted by the heavily barricaded employees and the wealthy, they’re growing rapidly, and in a few places DMZs at the far reaches of the Barrens—for now. But in its depths, cruel one can even find the equivalent of orbital trailer parks and other slums. fey and eldritch Godlings lurk, rad-jungles swallow the land, and reality- warping mana storms are born. THE DOMES & ELOI It’s a miracle—one still not understood by the corps and nations There are only a handful of Domes left in the Sixth World’s largest cities, —that any people at all can survive the Frontier with some semblance of the last refuges of first world civilization. With the encroachment of the sanity. But the Stalkers manage to do it anyway. Descendants of the Frontier and the explosion of the underclasses, the wealthiest hundreds of millions of refugees set adrift by the rampant war, neighborhoods of the wealthiest cities constructed hyper-advanced environmental destruction, and nation-state collapse of the years domes dozens of miles in height and radius to completely seal following the Awakening, they have carved out a nomadic niche, acting themselves off. Within, the level of technological development is several as guides, transporters, and mercenaries for those foolish enough to generations ahead of the outside, crime is nonexistent, and the venture into the Frontier. Others are intensely xenophobic and reclusive, megacorps carve up the streets into extraterritorial fiefdoms. from quarantine zones of Infected to mutant doomsday cults. The smallest in number of the three of the three classes, the Eloi The Frontier is also useful to corps, crooks, pols, and scientists. nonetheless wield the vast majority of power and influence—they have The megacorps and their political puppets can wave the Frontier around the most money, the best technology, and even the best bodies. as a vague but ominous threat. Criminals profit off artifacts from the Surrounded by the techno-utopian wonderlands of the Domes, most Eloi Frontier and the cover it affords smugglers. Researchers can make a live out their lives in relative ignorance of civilization’s impending fortune reverse-engineering the stuff Stalkers bring back. There are even collapse. Their every need is attended to, few ever even needing to leave rumors of black budget megacorp labs inside the Frontier. Some view the the corporate arcology where they’re born, let alone the Dome. But what Frontier as a sleeping dragon, but their admonitions against waking it the Eloi gain in comfort they give up in privacy. As a condition of have gone unheeded. No politician wants to admit publicly to harboring corporate citizenship in the interest of public safety, they are implanted as fears that the Frontier is merely dormant, but in private, quite a few do. children with a special chip known as a Collar, which contains their System Identification Number (SIN) and transmits extensive data on their ARCHETYPES & CONCEPTS only craft magical objects, explorers that have no ability to manipulate sorcerers There are four core archetypes to every shadowrunner team—mage magic and can only astrally perceive and project, and that can only cast spells. (Awakened), face, hacker, and street samurai. Healers, infiltrators, and riggers—often as hybrid archetypes with one of the core four—are ADEPT also frequently found. Adepts channel mana into their own minds and bodies to enhance their But every runner archetype is just a broad umbrella for your natural abilities, making their talents and skills much more potent at the character concept. To start with, pick a simple concept and work from cost of never being able to astrally project or naturally perceive the there. Do you want to play an explorer? Someone sneaky, like a spy or Dreaming. There are numerous categories of adepts, including those who thief? Someone cerebral, like a scientist? A hardened criminal or ex-cop? specialize in social manipulation and engineering, martial arts, various Or do you prefer to be a rabble-rousing agitator? You can also start with a weapons such as pistols or blades, chameleon-like physical personality type and choose an associated profession. If you want a social transformations, and superhuman computing. butterfly who excels at manipulating people, you can play a media personality, blogger, or party-going socialite. Perhaps you’d prefer a MYSTIC ADEPT bottomed-out reject with substance abuse problems, in which case an ex- Rare even among the Awakened and incredibly powerful, mystic adepts merc or former neo-feudalist capitalist who lost their fortune and family can cast spells, summon spirits, and enchant objects as easily as they can might fit. How about an energetic, live-life-to-the-fullest, must-see-it- all empower their own minds and bodies. What they lose in raw power in character? Then a career shadowrunner or astral traveler might be what any particular discipline—as well the ability to ever astrally project—they you’re looking for. make up for in unparalleled versatility. With enough imagination, there Once you’ve decided on your character concept, look over the are few things mystic adepts can’t accomplish. runner archetypes below and pick one that best fits your concept. As few shadowrunners have spent their entire lives running and most come from a variety of backgrounds, careers, and skillsets, it’s possible for all but the most sheltered wageslaves to find their own niche on a shadowrunner FACE team. Some even are runners on the side, while in their “real lives” they In the dense social and cultural landscapes of the Sixth World, the face use their talents for legitimate work. plays a vital role on any shadowrunner team. Earning their name due to their role as the literal face of the team, typically they are fast-talkers, AWAKENED skilled at deception, negotiation, and interrogation. Faces often overlap with other archetypes due to the wide range of applicable magical and Due to how personal every Awakened's relationship is to magic, there are technological abilities—social adepts can manipulate the most minute nearly as many permutations of this archetype as their are Awakened details of their behavior and appearance to become veritable Hannibal themselves. As a result, Awakened might be found among any of other Lecters, magicians can use spells and enchanted objects to control those archetypes, from shamanic faces to mental adept deckers. Broadly, around them, cyberware can enable precision pheromone control, and though, the archetype can be divided into three types—magicians which even hackers can use software and infomorphs to analyze and dissect use magic to cause external effects, adepts which use magic to augment others’ thoughts and feelings. their own bodies, and mystic adepts which can do both. Rumors all speak of so-called null mages, those who seem to possess a limited Talent capable only of redirecting, disrupting, and nullifying magical HACKER effects. All Awakened are capable of undergoing a magical evolution Hackers project their minds onto the Matrix where they have control over known as Initiation, augmenting and expanding their abilities. everything it touches—which in the hyper-connected Sixth World is everything from your gun to your clothes to your toaster. With this ability MAGICIAN to liberate data and manipulate, subvert, and deactivate their Magicians can cast spells, summon spirits, and enchant magical objects. environments at will, every shadowrunner team leans heavily on their Those magicians that can do all of these are known as full magicians, hacker for Matrix support. Hackers are either deckers who use cybertech while aspected magicians sacrifice versatility for specialization. or technomancers who can use their minds alone. Full: Even though less than 7% of all Awakened are full magicians, they make up the popular conception of the spell-slinging, DECKER spirit-commanding, magical sword-wielding mage, leading to the oft- The original Matrix jockeys, deckers use powerful and illegal cyberdecks uttered mantra of “geek the mage first.” Their ability to do a little bit of augmented by cyberware to carve through the glacial security of the everything, from offense to defense to healing or infiltration by way of Matrix at the speed of light. Legal deckers are typically software their natural astral projection, makes them a vital asset to anyone that can developers, hardware technicians, or security specialists. Illegal deckers secure their services. Some full magicians focus their potent abilities, are typically corporate espionage or government agents, shadowrunners, typically losing their ability to astrally project or perceive in exchange for or independents who deck for a zuil. specific heightened abilities—elementalists have a natural affinity for air, earth, fire, or water, hedge witches and wizards are highly skilled at TECHNOMANCER particular types of spells, and seers have a heightened sensitivity to Technomancers are Emergent metahuman biocomputers who can thread mana and the astral currents of the Dreaming. the Resonance present in every Matrix data trail to perform incredible Aspected: Looked down on by their full mage brethren as feats of hacking and compile sprites, infomorph servitors made of “impartial” Awakened, the more numerous aspected magicians are far Resonance. With a little imagination and creative application of their more limited in their abilities, though they often compensate for this by powers and sprites, technomancers can be almost as versatile as being more skilled with their specialization. Aspected magicians fall into magicians and adepts, rigging drones and vehicles with nothing but their one of the following categories: apprentices who can astrally perceive, thoughts, reprogramming their minds to obtain new skills, and have a limited ability to cast spells and summon spirits, the aware— communicating telepathically, wirelessly augmenting any electronic the largest single category of any Awakened—who can only astrally device—from cyberware to weapons to medkits—and even hacking the perceive, conjurers who can only summon spirits, enchanters who can metahuman brain. Due to technomancers’ intrinsic connection to the Resonance, metasapients and other sentient creatures with innate magical abilities, such as the Infected and shapeshifters, cannot be Emerged.

HEALER Dedicated healers are rare among shadowrunners, as most need to be able to apply their abilities directly to criminal endeavors, rather than just repairing flesh and bone. Healing is also time-intensive, even with all the magical and technological wonders of the Sixth World. The effectiveness of magical healing in particular is limited, meaning that old-fashioned skill and an ample supply of sophisticated medkits and autodocs is the mark of a true battlefield medic.

INFILTRATOR Often, but not always, overlapping with faces due to their shared focus on non-violent solutions, infiltrators strive for invisibility instead of the in- your-face dazzle of faces, less James Bond and more Jason Bourne. They can go anywhere and anyone—often literally, thanks to many infiltrators’ ability to physically alter themselves at will. Infiltrators may use spells and spirits, adept powers, bio- and cyberware, and even drones in their spycraft. While not every team has a dedicated infiltration specialist, it’s vital that at least one member has dabbled in the art.

RIGGER Riggers are the ultimate synthesis of man and machine, using their extensive control rig cyberware to neurally “jump into” vehicles and drones, risking lethal levels of biofeedback to literally become the machine. They With the help of specialized command consoles, they can even control swarms of vehicles and drones, making them a potent force multiplier, scout, and transporter. A growing subset of riggers are learning how to control biodrones, animals with extensive cybernetic implants that allow riggers to “become” the animal and control it in the same way they do carbon and steel drones. There are also a small number of technomancers who have learned to use their abilities not just for hacking, but for rigging, neurally emulating control rigs and pushing their devices beyond their limits with machine sprites.

STREET SAMURAI Stretching the strict limits of the archetype, street samurai encompass the vast variety of shadowrunner combat specialists, making their presence standard on every shadowrunner team. Street sams can be up close and personal—cybered-up monsters with carbon bones and blades that slide out of their flesh or physical adepts whose mana-imbued blows can shatter walls as readily as spirits—or distant demons raining down explosive rounds and arrows. Demolition experts, snipers, razorgirls, heavy weapons specialists—the method doesn’t matter, only the result: the utter annihilation of their enemies.