Shadowrun Industry Stuff

Logan Graves (Fenris@BigKnobiKlub.virtualAve.net)

Along with the listing of "Things Overheard in the Shadows," I figured it was about time to give this feature its own page too. Below, you'll find some of the more noteworthy and often, stranger, Shadowrun Industry News that I've come across, as well as anything else that piqués my interest -- those timid at heart, had best beware!
Fenris (11:36:46/06-07-58)

(2-6-60):
Another nod to Talon, this time for writing Ricochet Rita & yours truely in his fabou revamp: "New Seattle." Thanks again omae!! Buy the Book Today or read our review in the BKK Bookstore!
Fenris

(2-5-60):
FASA Discontinues Earthdawn Line

FASA Corporation has announced it will officially cease production on the Earthdawn line.

Jill Lucas, President of FASA, said, "It was time to make some hard decisions. Earlier in 1998, FASA sent out 80,000 free copies of the core rules on CD-ROM, and though the sales jumped considerably in response, they were still not at the level that FASA felt they needed to be to continue production. Earthdawn has had a healthy run, but as with most things, there comes a time when you must move on."

It has been many months since anything new for Earthdawn was published. With the recent sale of FASA Interactive to Microsoft, and with it the rights to all FASA game titles (including Earthdawn), FASA gave up trying to find a buyer for the game line and existing stock.

"FASA believes that our customers are entitled to the best product we can produce for every game line, and with two new lines being released in 1999, we felt we could not give Earthdawn the kind of continuing attention it and the players deserved. The products already available, however, were designed to give players a strong foundation on which to build continuing adventures," said Rett Kipp, marketing manager.

Introduced in 1993, Earthdawn is a fantasy roleplaying game set in an ancient age of magic. As humanity emerges from a self-imposed imprisonment in underground shelters, they must fight the remnants of the Horrors, creatures from astral space that have ravaged the earth. Heroes re-explore their world, hoping to reclaim it from the devastation wrought by the centuries-long Scourge.

FASA still plans to support Earthdawn and its fans. To help players and gamemasters round out their campaigns, FASA is exploring the possibility of publishing the completed Dragons sourcebook and the remaining novels on-line.

FASA will also continue to offer Earthdawn products for several more months to give fans the opportunity to complete their collections.

(1-9-60):
Microsoft Buys FASA Interactive Technologies
(Not FASA Corporation, itself!!)

Yes, it's true, but we don't hafta like it! Now DON'T PANIC and read on . . .
Fenris

Microsoft Buys Maker of MechWarrior Computer Game
January 8, 1999         [Reposted from Reuters Wired News]

REDMOND, Wash. (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., seeking to bolster its presence in the video gamne market, said Thursday it would acquire FASA Interactive Technologies Inc., a Chicago-based computer gaming company.

Microsoft will gain the electronic rights to FASA Interactive's BattleTech games, including the "MechWarrior" series, which it said is one of the best-selling PC games in the history of the industry. Terms of the acquisition were not discolsed.

"The acquisition of FASA Interactive reflects our commitment to growing our business with a smaller portfolio of top-quality games," said Ed Fries, general manager of Microsoft's games group. The "MechWarrior 2" game, which takes place in a chaos and battle-ridden year 3057, and its related products, have accounted for over $70 million in sales, Microsoft said.

"MechWarrior is at the high end, targeting an audience that is willing to read the 300-page manual, because they are fairly sophisticated, complicated games" that cater to the gaming enthusiast, Furman Selz LLC analyst Stewart Halpern said, contrasting MechWarrior with more mass-market games that have cheaper development costs.

FASA Interactive's development staff will be integrated into Microsoft's product development teams in Redmond, where it will continue working on upcoming titles. Jordan Weisman, chief creative officer of FASA Interactive has also joined Microsoft.

Microsoft is also exploring opportunities for other FASA Corp. vidoe game properties. The acquisition will not affect the anticipated retail release of "MechWarrior 3" in 1999 by Hasrbo Interactive and MicroProse Inc. under a previous agreement.

Microsoft has officially announced it is set to acquire
FASA Interactive and its parent company, Virtual Worlds.
January 8, 1999         [Reposted from Next Generation On-Line]

"The acquisition of FASA Interactive reflects our commitment to growing our business with a smaller portfolio of top-quality games," said Ed Fries, General Manager of Microsoft's games wing. "The MechWarrior franchise is one of the best-selling series of PC games in history and is synonymous with groundbreaking technology and compelling gameplay. We're excited to continue the growth of the BattleTech property as part of our portfolio."

FASA, based in Chicago, was the creator of the highly successful BattleTech universe. Microsoft will own the property and all rights to MechWarrior, MechWarrior 2 and MechCommander. The games between them have generated over $70 million in sales.

Microsoft is also exploring opportunities for FASA's other properties, including [the video game] Shadowrun, which was rumored to have been canned recently. Microsoft was quick to add that the acquisition is not expected to affect the anticipated retail release of MechWarrior 3, which will be published in 1999 by Hasbro and MicroProse.

Microsoft Buys FASA Interactive
by Jason Ocampo
January 7, 1999, 4 p.m. PT         [Reposted from GameCenter.com]

Microsoft announced today that it has acquired FASA Interactive Technologies from its parent company, Virtual World Entertainment Group.

FASA is best known for its BattleTech universe, a popular franchise that has been turned into books, tabletop games, computer games, and more. The acquisition gives Microsoft the "exclusive and perpetual electronic rights" to the BattleTech property. In addition, Microsoft gained the electronic rights to other FASA properties, including Crimson Skies and Earthdawn. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Gamecenter spoke to Ed Fries, general manager of Microsoft Games, about the deal. According to Fries, FASA Interactive is currently developing MechWarrior 3 for MicroProse and Hasbro Interactive. He said that FASA Interactive would finish the title for the two companies.

After MechWarrior 3 is done, Fries said that future BattleTech titles will be published by Microsoft. Those titles include MechWarrior 4, a project already underway, and most likely MechCommander 2, a sequel to the real-time tactical strategy released earlier this year by MicroProse.

In addition, the acquisition does not mean that Microsoft will own or operate the BattleTech Centers located around the country. Virtual World will continue to own and operate the centers, which allow gamers to simulate BattleTech battles.

FASA Interactive's development staff of approximately 40 employees will be incorporated into Microsoft's games group. Fries said he was excited about the talent coming into the company, including FASA Interactive CEO Jordan Weisman, who is also the cocreator of the BattleTech universe. The addition of the FASA team will expand the games group's internal development capabilities to approximately five or six teams.

Microsoft also has relationships with a number of outside developers. The company made an investment in Chris Roberts' Digital Anvil. In addition, the company has relationships with developers such as Atomic Games (developer of the Close Combat series), Ensemble Studios (developer of the Age of Empires series), and Total Annihilation creator Chris Taylor's new startup, Gas Powered Games.

"We're really about trying to produce a really small number of high-quality products," Fries said. While Microsoft usually works with outside developers, he explained that "the more we talked with FASA and the MechWarrior guys, the more we realized this was the route to take."

(1-3-60):
The BKK has been a member of the Great RPG Archive for quite some time. And now we're a rated site! Click for our 91% review!

(1-1-59 thru 12-31-59):
Wha Happen'd ta 2059??

Ever since the initial release of the First Edition rules, Shadowrun has been set "60 years in the future." All sourcebooks' & novels' time-date stamps reflect this (if one adjusts for real-world publishing schedules and for world-wide distribution delays).

And in such fashion here at the BKK, we've faithfully marked the passage of time thru this simple addition. However, with the advent of Shadowrun3, FASA has changed the time offset to "61 years in the future." How was this accomplished? By releasing a number of multi-year, campaign-style adventures in the year prior to SR3's release.

For us, this little twist caused a major problem: we could either maintain our slick filing system or lose a year & conform to Shadowrun's new continuity. After much thought, we've finally decided to "bite the bullet & skip over 2059." (Note that we've filled in the 'missing' months in our Concert Calendar Archive.)

(08-21-58):
Kudos to Talon and the folks at FASA for including the "Fenris explosives examples" in Shadowrun 3 and thereby immortalizing me! ;-) You guys just made my year!!
Fenris

(8-15-58):
Shadowrun 3: A quick peek inside
[Reposted from the ShadowRN mailing list]

On August 10th, Ereskanti <ereskanti@aol.com> wrote:

Okay, I promised Dvixen and Adam I would do this as best as possible, so I'll
break up the topics a bit as we go.  I'll start out with the book's general
appearance and format.

Nice, -meaty- I believe was the word that Mike Mulhillvil used, book.  Really
good size, 330 some-odd pages.  There is a table of contents AND an index (4
page or so, 8 point text size, three column), again to quote Mike M., "If it
ain't in the index, it ain't in the book". (He might have used proper english
;)

Good look and far better organized.  Major sections go as

Introduction (which is what it says, including a new story intro (See How they
Run).

And so it came to pass (I actually skipped this, but will be going back over
it).

Game Concepts (rules comprehension and explanation)

Creating a Shadowrunner (Archetypes are going to be a term on the way out).

Skills (this is the reason the term Archetypes is going to be fading)

Combat (and how to do it now)

Vehicles and Drones (most of the R2 stuff that everyone will need to use to
begin)

Magic (a good beginning, but no Initiation).

Matrix (again, a good beginning, but no Otaku or -really- strange stuff)

Running the Shadows (a look at the fun parts, with a LOT of stuff from the Neo
A's tossed in and some clarfications on other material).

Beyond the Shadows (Karma, Character Advancement, NPC's, Diseases, etc...).

Contacts (says it all, note "Gangs" are no longer purchasable as a single
contact; Teeg was not thrilled)

Spirits and Dragons (these are the ONLY critters introduced in the Third Ed
book actually, and with good reasons given by Mike IMO).

Street Gear (haven't made it through this beyond a skimming, but you get the
idea...legality ratings and such are now involved).

Seattle and the Modern Northwest (the beginning scenario idea, but NOT enough
to make anyone drool all over themselves.  That is left for a Seattle 2 type
of thing).

The Developer's Say (nice note from Mike).

Sourcebook Updates (includes some necessary errata for information covered in
Rigger 2, VR 2, as well as guidelines for converting some characters.

Index.

And so far, it all makes sense to me.

-K
 

(8-1-58):
A Quick Euology for the Passing of SR2
[Reposted from the ShadowRN mailing list]

On July 6th (& again, on the 24th), Bull <chaos@NCWEB.COM> wrote:


Well, maybe not [so quick] :]

Ok, anyways, despite the enormously long weekend, I've decided to plod
along and report all of this while it's fresh in my mind.  Who knows how
I'll feel tomorrow after a good nights sleep :]

Anyways, on with the show.  This is what FASAMike announced at Origins
during the seminars about SR3.  He really went into detail about
everything, so...

The details, in no particular order:

1.  One of the best and biggest additions isn't a change so much as
something that was very curiously missing from the first two editions of
the game:  A detailed explanation of just what shadowrunning was, and who
shadowrunners were.  And there is a new piece of fiction in this area as well.

2.  Examples.  LOTS of examples.  This is one area of the book that really
makes it "user friendly".  They used examples quite frequently.

3.  Initiative gets a slight facelift.  This is one I partlicularly like
for various reasons .  Basically, the action order has been rearranged
slightly, so that everyone gets to go early in the round, and the
speedsters get all there extra actions later in the round.
     Basically, you roll initiative.  Everyone goes once, starting with the
highest initiative total.  Once everyone has gone once, subtract 10 from
your rolled initiative.  Everyone that still has a positive number gets to
go a second time, and so on.  It works very well, and fixes the problem of
speedsters vs. magic.

4.  Skills.  Skills get a major overhaul as well.

     --  There are now only General and Concentrations of skills.
     --  Active Skills were broken up a lot, especially Firearms.  Instead
of a general firearms skill, you now need to learn Pistol, Rifle, SMG, etc.
 Then you can Concentrate in a certain type of pistol, or whatever.
     --  You get 10 more points per priority than you used to using the
Priority System before.  These are used for Active SKills only.
     --  You get your Intelligence x 5 in Knowledge Skill points to buy
Knowledge Skills.  These cover everything from theory skills to 20th
century comic books.
     --  Skills are all linked directly to an attribute now.  Your skills
are also limited by your attribute ratings.  They cost more to buy above
your attribute (both at Char Gen and during game play with karma).
     --  The Skill Web is gone.  Instead there is a list with all the
skills grouped with similar skills.  You can default to these skills or
your attribute only.  No more making Eti tests using your firearms :]

5.  Phys ADs are now known as simply Adepts.  All the other magical adepts
are now known as Aspected Magicians.

6.  Trolls/Elves are now priority C on the race Priority.  Dwarves/Orks are D.

7.  Etiquette is now chosen like every other skill.  You can buy general
Eti, or you can specialize.

8.  NPCs have no threat pool any more.  Instead they get normal dice pools.

9.  They modified the way you get Karma Pool.  It's now 1 for every 20
instead of 1 for 10.

10.  There will be rules for ways to burn Karma.

11.  There is a section that discusses how to set Target Numbers.

12.  There are several pages that explains exactly what the skill ratings
mean.  They really emphasise the fact that 5-6 is a VERY high rating for
the skill, not "average". :]

13.  MAGIC!  Honestly, it didn't look like any really drastic changes got
made.  Basically, they reworked the philosophy of how magic works, things
like how Auras interacted and that really fixed a lot of the major problems.

     --  Spellcasting is now based on your Sorcery, NOT the force.  Force
still detrmines Opponents TN, the effect of the spell, etc.  But you roll
your Sorc now instead of the force ewhile casting.  I like this since it no
longer means that low level spells are more likely to fail :]
     --  Magic Pool has been replaced by Spell Pool.  This is now calulated
by adding Int, Will, and Magic, divided by 2 or 3 (I think), instead of
being directly related to the sorcery skill.
     --  Spell Locks no longer exist.  Instead you have Reuseable Spell
Foci (I think theya re called) that you bond, then you have to cast a spell
into it every time you activate it, and it works at the successes of that
casting.  The real difference ebtween this and the locks (other than the
recastings) is that this doesn;t mystically disappear when activated, and
can easily be taken away or stolen.
     --  Grounding has been almost eliminated, apparently.  Not sure how
the new stuff works, but...
     --  The carification of just what and where magic came from helped
explain things like Critter Powers and how they worked.

14.  Street Gear!  Lots of detailed minor street gear.  Stuff like tools
and little stuff :]  Woohoo!

15.  Legality Ratings added

16.  Recoil Compensation has been added to the weapons lists, so that you
know about any built in Recoil Comp.

17.  LMGs got moved to Heavy Weapons (The newer version of personal gunnery
skill.  Gunnery now covers Vehicle Weapons).

18.  List of where weapon mounts go on guns.

19.  BTLs, SINs, and the various Credstick rules added.

20.  Rules for Spurs, and for using two spurs at once.

21.  Boosted Reflexes and Bonelacing added.

22.  Most of SSC stuff is added to basic gear lists.

23.  Rules for Using Biotech with things like Medkits (Just how do these
work? :))

24.  Manifestation gets renamed for Mages and Spirits.  Don't rememebr
which is which, but one gets called Materialization instead of
Manifestation, and the other remains Manifestation.  This distinguishes
between what Astral mages do to get seen, and what Spirits do to move to
the physical realm.

25.  Alphaware is in and is now basic gear.  Price dropped to double
regular cyber.  This means players now get to diecided money vs essence
when buying basic cyber.

26.  Cyberlimb updates.  Two different types, Synthetic limbs vs. Obvious.
Obvious are the big metal clunky kind, but they're cheaper and easier to
add mods.  Synth are disguised, cost more, and are harder to add things.

27.  Working with the above are guidelines for obvious cyber in public, and
how people react (Not Cyberpsychosis, I think, but more a social reaction).
 This also has a section for wearing armor in public.

28.  Cyberlimbs get strength boost.  Instead of all cyberlimbs having a
strength 3, they start at the "average" strength for the race they are
designed for.  4 for Elves and Humans, 5 for Dwarf, 6 for Ork, and 8 for
Troll, I think.

29.  Astral perception gets some modifiers, things like light, etc.

30.  Overall, it looks to be a good book.  The Manuscript that we got to
see looked fantastic, and it had some of the B&W art in it already.  Good
stuff... :]

Well, anyways, that should answer your questions, and if not, I probably
can't but will try.

Night all, time for me to sleep...

Bull
 

(1-1-58):
And on a very Sad Note
[Reposted from the AOL's GIX Message Boards]

In February of 1995, Nicole Frein wrote:

Friends,
A sad task has fallen to me.  While I had intended to post this message at a
later date, I have already seen postings in the public forum on this subject
and felt I should address it here.

Sunday morning, my forum co-host, friend, and business partner Nigel Findley
had a heart attack that resulted in his death.  Having just been out on the
town with him and his SO, I can say with certainty that it was utterly
unexpected.

If I believed in some sort of heavenly afterlife, I supposed that I would
like to believe that he has been taken away somewhere where he can fly 767's,
eat good food, drink good beer, read stimulating books, enjoy the occasional
chocolate milk shake, and play with Big Nerf Guns to his heart's content.

Instead it seems that the Spark of Life that made him the unique individual
that he was is gone now, and the world is going to be a lesser place for it.
I respected him both as a person and as a professional; I hope I can live up
to his example as both someday.  Until then, I will continue to gather with
the rest of his friends and toast his memory every Thursday night.  He made
my life much richer and I am glad and grateful to have known him.

I am not sure how this will affect us at the magazine, other than filling us
with grief, so please don't ask.  Nigel was a wonderful, generous, fun-loving
man, the center-point into which the spokes of our group were fastened.  We
will miss him terribly.

[O] Nicole Frein
[O] Adventures Unlimited Magazine
[O] Bootstrap Press Online rep

In addition to being a friend and mentor to many aspiring writers and game
designers here online, Nigel was the co-host of the OGF Game Designers Forum
and a popular conference guest and host. We will greatly miss him and his
contributions to the world of gaming and America Online.

-Andrea Reed
Online Gaming Forums Coordinator

-Mike DeArruda
Games & Entertainment Asst. Producer

-Scott Gries
AOL Project Manager/Games Producer

******************
Nigel Derek Findley passed away suddenly on February 19, 1995, at his home in
Vancouver.  He is survived by his loving partner Holly Langland and his
adoring family: Mother Audrey, and brother Rodney.  He was predeceased by his
father Garland in 1967 and his grandmother Dorothy MacLachlan in 1992.  Nigel
was born in Venezuela in 1959 and grew up in Spain, Nigeria, the United
States and England before his family moved to Vancouver in 1969.  He was
educated in England and at St. George's School in Vancouver.  He received his
BSc and BFA degrees from the University of British Columbia where he was an
active member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.  In 1990, after brief careers in
technical writing and marketing, he decided to pursue his true love, writing,
as a full-time occupation.  The literary legacy Nigel leaves behind him is
great.  Over the past 15 years Nigel has written over 100 books, including 12
novels, making him one of the most recognized names in the science fiction
and gaming community.  In addition, for the past 6 years, Nigel wrote for
High Tech Office column for the newspaper Business in Vancouver.  His quick
wit, inquiring mind, unique turn-of-phrase and enthusiasm for life will be
sorely missed by his family, his friends, his colleagues, and his readers all
over the world.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of
your choice.

Vancouver Sun, February 22, 1995
 

(5-24-57):
So there I was, minding my own biz (for a change...) when Mike [SR2 artist extraordinaire, aka. that guy who did the "Fuchi Matrix Tour" pictorial in the VR1 Sourcebook] Nielsen drops this bombshell into my email slot. It seems he's been put in charge of the brand new:

We asked Mike, what all o' this hoopla was about?

Each player is trying to build up Runner teams to make Shadowrun attempts on "Objective" cards. Each Objective is worth a certain amount of Reputation pts depending on how dificult it is and most objectives have special rules on them that effect the Shadowrun in some way. Players place "Challenge" cards face-down on these objectives to harrass/stop other players from snatching an objective before they do. The Challenges represent situations/events that can happen to a team of Runners during a Shadowrun (ie; Security guards, electrified fence, Lonestar patrol,etc.) Each challenge has a sleaze value on it and if the team of Runners has the required skills listed in the sleaze value they may ignore the Challenge and continue their Shadowrun. Once a player's Shadowrunner team finally gets past all the challenges then he gets the Objective and the reputation pts that it was worth. When someone gets enough Rep to win then the game is over. There are a BUNCH of different types of cards in the game such as; Locations, Contacts, Vehicles,drones,spirits, Special events, gear (standard/matrix/magical), Prime Runners like Hatchetman and much much more.
Mike Nielsen (21:16:32/5-21-57)

(4-7-57):
The Big Knobi Klub website was favorably reviewed the May 1997 issue of The net magazine! We're at the top of page 59 in their "blue pages." Having read the review, it appears that our site (& FASA's) doesn't adequately explain how Shadowrun is played. Apparently their games correspondent, Brain Hostetler, is geared more towards video games, and not familiar with RPG's. (Funny, I thought that we had provided one of the web's few descriptions of Shadowrun... Oh well, at least there'll be no more head scratching over our vastly increased number of daily site hits. ;-)
Fenris

(3-18-57):
Just a quick nod to Talon for mentioning Vixen & me in his wholly wonderful sourcebook, "Portfolio of a Dragon: Dunkelzahn's Secrets." Thanks omae!!
Fenris

(1-13-57 thru 2-23-57):
[Reposted from e-mail & rec.games.frp.cyber newsgroups:]

  
On 13 Jan, in "rec.games.frp.cyber" Fenris wrote:
 
  >>>[Just a quick note, I just discovered that our chosen pass-time, ie. Role
 Playing Games, are under assault again.  This time from "Unsolved Mysteries" of
 all places.
 
 Some background:  I currently live in Western Kentucky.  Last month we were in
 the news with the Floridain "Vampire Slayings."  A group of minors, 4 from
 W.KY, one from Florida, went down to the Floridian's residence and killed her
 parents in a pseudo-vampiric ritual.  The five were apprehended in Louisana,
 but their "cult" originated here in W.KY.  The group's leader (not one of the
 above 5) is reported to be a non-minor who operates out of an abondened
 building in the middle of our Land-Between-the-Lakes National Park (about 25
 minutes from where *I* live).
 
 Anyway, today I overheard on the local talk radio station, that Unsolved
 Mysteries will be in Murray, KY, on Jan 22nd or 23rd (where the cultists lived)
 interviewing & filming the background stuff for their anti-RPG story.  The
 local radio guy who interviewed the U.M. producer asked, what angle they were
 taking?  Were they were coming down here to trash the Murray community?  Where
 was the unsolved mystery part, here?
 
 The producer replied, they were using Murray as a microcosmic example of the
 country's larger problem of how kids' passtimes & fantasy elements can lead to
 cult activities.  No, their story was [quote] going after Role Playing Games,
 in general & Vampire: [the Masquerade], in particular [end quote].
 
 The Unsolved Mysteries story is scheduled to aire in late February or early
 March.  Just thought you'd all like to know.  (Long ago, back when I used to
 live & breath AD&D, I remember the damage that a book by Rona Jaffe' & a
 certain TV news-story expose' did to that game...) ]<<<
 
         --Fenris (9:43:13/1-13-57)

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fenris,

   My news server will not allow me to post to the group, could you please post
 this for me? Thanks.

                   -WayneO  [14th January]

  As a student of the media, I have found that the media will often take an angle
to a story because it is the only angle they know. It is far easier for the media
to find a person who is sure of the evils of gaming and has the "Proof" to back 
it up than it is to find a person who knows the good of gaming. Perhaps what we 
can do as gamers is to e-mail, snail mail, or telephone the producers of Unsolved 
Mysteries and give them OUR side of the story. If they want to be proponents of
sensationalistic journalism, lets not give them the excuse of "Oh.. no one from
gaming industry was available for comment." Unsolved Mysteries can be reached via
the web at http://www.unsolved.com/comments.html They can also be reached via 
their hotline at 1-800-876-5353. Their snail mail address is:

                     Unsolved Mysteries
                     PO BOX 10729
                     Burbank, CA 91510

   If they do decide to run the story, let them think twice about slandering a
hobby that has been around since the dawn of the theater. A hobby that in part
is responsible for their very existance as a Television program.

                                 -WayneO
 ***************************************************************************
 *Wayne Overla                         * 32bsotx@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu       *
  

I finally found the time to view the video of this Unsolved Mysteries episode, which aired at 18:00 (cst) on Feb 21^st. The "Vampire: The Masquerade"-Cult segment was buried in the second half of the program. I was pleased to note that they seemed to have toned down their story's original very anti-RPG angle. They made note of the game's ritualistic nature and how it was normally a harmless social diversion (except for these three instances...) And even though it'd be easy to proclaim this as a victory for "the little guy" (ie. we, gamers), there's no way to know if our letter-writing campaign actually influenced their decision to tone it down, especially since I received absolutely nada in the way of a reply from Unsolved Mysteries (let alone a copy of the Vampire segment's original script to compare with the one they aired). Many thanks & copious Karma to all of you who took the time to defend our pastime of choice! (Tell yer GM's, I said you could have the points! `;-)
Fenris

(12-26-56):
Many thanks to Steve Kenson (aka. Talon) & the folks at FASA for writing me into the explosives examples in the "Shadowrun Companion: Beyond the Shadows!!"
Fenris