1 Apr 2016

NaNo Prep 2016 - Shadowrun Webcomic

Two weeks ago, I previewed two potential ideas for NaNoWriMo 2016.  Last week, I posted details on the setting for one of the ideas, the Terran Commonwealth  Today, I want to lay out the idea for the other idea, the Shadowrun webcomic.

The still-unnamed comic isn't the first time I've delved into the Shadowrun setting.  I've played the game, even acted as the GM for a group of friends, and wrote By the Numbers.  The amount of world building needed is far less than that of Colony Base 183, though some is still needed.  Also, unlike Colony Base 183, the webcomic is starting from characters instead of the situation.  Unlike By the Numbers, the characters aren't a team, at least not yet.  The nature of the RPG lets me bring in a diverse cast and throw them into a job with little time for them to get to know each other.  Instant conflict there, and that can ramp up during the plot.  Let's meet the cast.

Chrome Rainbow - the muscle of the team.  Chrome is an elf from Tarislar, a neighbourhood in Seattle where displaced elves went during the Night of Rage.  He has a number of implants, as would be expected in a street samurai, and knows people from the neighbourhood who he can call on if needed, including the Elven Mob.  Chrome is also gay, thus the street name.  He's tall, tan, with short platinum blond hair.

Corporal - the getaway driver.  Corporal is an ork who is ex-UCAS Army, having served in the motor pool.  As a rigger, he has a number of vehicles available to him, including drone.  He named his vehicles after Transformers, based on the closest approximation between his vehicle and a character.  That does mean the Roadmaster is named after Optimus Prime and the insect-like Fly-Spy after the Insecticon, Ransack.  Corporal still has his Social Identification Number, which will make it tougher to avoid official notice.  His demeanor is far gruffer than Chrome's; Corporal doesn't waste time mincing words.

Papa Slick - the hacker.  Slick started running after Crash 2.0* caused his wife's death and destroyed the company he worked for.  Slick picked up "Papa" after his then-teammates discovered that he was raising his daughter.  The transition from corporate designer to shadowrunner was difficult, so Slick picked up some extra cyberware to try to keep up with the edge.  He brings an older but not necessarily wiser view to the group.

Sister Sam - the magician.  Formerly a Shinto priestess at a Shiawase location, Sister Sam fled the corporation after making a discovery that she couldn't reconcile with her beliefs.  She follows the Shinto tradition of magic, naturally enough.  Sister Sam has set up a shrine in Seattle, and takes jobs as needed.  She doesn't charge for dealing with dangerous spirits, such as insect spirits; she sees such beings as abominations that should be allowed to roam the Earth.  Her street name comes from being a priestess with a katana as a weapon focus; the name is short for "Sister Samurai".

Tempest T. Pot - the face.  Slightly more naturally charming than Chrome, Tempest has learned how to set people at east, thanks to her life on the street, first as a hooker, then as a bunraku parlour "employee".  Tempest managed to gather information when her second-hand skill jack was on the fritz and used it to leverage herself out of her contract with the Yakuza and into the life of a Shadowrunner.  She's still pulling herself out of the hole she's in; she still has the BTL addiction that sent her to the Yakuza parlour in the first place.

The first storyline will start with the cast already placed together as a team by Mr. Johnson, though without the needed prep time to get used to each other's foibles.  In media res bypasses the early set up and drops the audience right into the plot, hopefully giving them time to root for the characters before discovering their backgrounds.  All I need is one hundred pages of script.

Simple, ne?


* The one in-game, not the one that occurred in 2008.  Details at the link.

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