TABLETOP TALES PRESENTS:
THE SHADOWRUN RUNDOWN #1
“Frippity Froopah Frippety Fray!
I got a frickin’
feeling it’s gonna be a fabulous day!”
I love Dungeons and Dragons and I love pen-and-paper roleplaying. I have been playing these games, more or less, once a
week for over three years and I don't ever plan to stop playing. Most of
the times I've played Dungeons and Dragons, I have been the Dungeon
Master. For those who don't know, a Dungeon Master, a term that is expanded to Game Master for various kinds of games, is the guy who is in
charge of telling the story, determining what monsters and characters
the other players come across and, in essence, is the god of the world
the players explore. As an author, it gives me a chance to flex my
creative muscles.
Yet,
while Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games can
breed a lot of original ideas, it doesn't hurt to fall back on familiar
ideas, tropes and characters inspired by works of sci-fi fantasy. I find
myself borrowing/parodying from all masters of the imagination; from L.
Frank Baum to Frank Oz. Today's subject is a twisted parody of one of one man and the empire he built that defined family friendly entertainment for a generation, Walt Disney.
What is it about Walt Disney that draws inspiration and attention? I suppose it is for a number of reasons: arguably Walt Disney was a genius who managed to tap into the fairy tale world of the past and create timeless films that exude nostalgia. Or maybe its his impressive ability to create/manage a lucrative media empire that grew to be one of the largest controllers of entertainment but control a number of other businesses. Yet, I think what draws me and many others to satire his squeaky clean image is the cult of personality that surrounds him. Walt Disney created an image for himself and his company. The ideals he pursued are quite admirable, but his methods of maintaining this image seem like small-scale fascism with a special security force, strict rules and regulations (for example, if you have tattoos on your arms you have to cover your arms with long sleeves), and a number of secrets and technologies cooked up by a cadre of creative engineers or "Imagineers" that build mechanical men.
There is something about poking fun at the idealistic post World War II America that crumbled under the backlashes of anti-Vietnam sentiment, Water Gate, and the civil rights movement. It is my opinion that the main villain of Bioshock borrows some characteristics from Walt Disney's charismatic personage. And so when it came time to create a unique setting for my Shadowrun game, I decided to create a cyber-punk version of Disney world ruled by a tyrannical animatronic cyborg that is the version of Walt Disney that gives hapless hipsters and sarcastic sotts an intellectual hard-on.
Before we get to the introduction to my first Shadowrun campaign, I should probably explain what the game is about. Shadowrun is is a role-playing game, similar to Dungeons and Dragons but running on a d6 system, set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction. It is a mix of inspirations ranging from Blade Runner to Ghost in the Shell to the Matrix into an rpg that bubbles with personality and complexity. In fact, the game was and is so complex that I would say learning to run a game, making characters, and just running a single session was one of the most difficult trials of my career as the GM.
Rather than review the game, which is quite advanced but interesting, I want to just expose you guys to some of the material I wrote for the setting. This following is something I acted out to begin our first session.
2062,
A Recovered Rehearsal of Paul Kidney’s Return Speech
[A 50-60 year old man’s head fades into screen. He
has greying black hair, a curt clean mustache, and a brilliant white smile.]
KIDNEY
Howdy there, folks. It’s your best pal, Paul Kidney.
You probably know me for my old films from Snow White and the Seven Midgets or
my old friend, Rick Rabbit. You also probably know me for my city and theme
parks, like Lilliput Island, where a man always feels a hundred feet tall.
And heck, you might of heard rumors of my most
recent invention, the first Prosthetic Body. Not only am I the system’s
creator. I’m its first client.
[The camera zooms out give a full shot of his body.
His neck and head sit in a dome atop a slim cyborg body. His eyes are black and
seem to sparkle. His cyborg body is a tin grey color and wears a black suit, a
white shirt, and a black tie with a silver bunny ear pin. The film begins in
black and white and fades into SUPER HD color.]
Someday through a combination of advanced biowares,
nanotechnology and cyberization anyone with a debilitating illness or an aging
body will be able to trade out their old models for something that is timeless,
ageless and classy. For now, we look to the future for more incredible advances
in the world of Cyberization.
For me, invention is like a wheel, turning with time
and with great minds as its spokes. At the center of this wheel, is Liliput
Island, The Land of Tomorrow. Truly,
my greatest achievement and fruition of my works, Lilliput is the invention of
imagination, a dream. As of today, the island’s initial construction is
complete and it is opening to new immigration, after a decade of the world
waiting and watching. I’m proud to say the island is a shining example of good
ol’ America made innovation and a testament to our proud heritage. To all you
visitors and potential Liliputians, let me tell you what you’re in for.
You’ll arrive at Destination Station, an airport and
car park that uses the world’s biggest advances in travel to bring you to the
dream of imagination. You will then be taken across the New Golden Gate Bridge
via one of our bullet trains to the main island. Visitors can visit the main
island for free, that’s my gift to you. The main island is the world’s premier
city with amazing buildings like the Kidney Globe and plenty of sights to see
that remind one of old California. From Hollywood Blvd. to American Mall of
Tomorrow, Lilliput has more than enough to warrant a visit. I bet most of you
are more interested in our theme parks?
First up
we’ve got Main Street, U.S.A. No japs allowed of course. [Wink] What?
[He looks at the crew]
What in sam hill was wrong with that line? What do
you mean? I’m not racist? I made a fucking movie about a singing negro,
remember? Christ.
[He throws his scotch on the ground]
America has really gone to the dogs. Troglodytes and
midgets! It’s worse than wops!
What are you looking at, underbite? Turn that
goddamn camera off! Where’s my drink? Who’s ass to I have to get real scotch
instead of this synthesized piss?!
2072,
Modern Day Liliput
It all began with a
man’s head in a block of ice. That head belonged to the creator of America’s
most beloved cartoon rabbit, Ricky Rabbit. That head belonged to a man who
built an entertainment irony with the words, “Frippity Froopah Frippety Fray! I
got a frickin’ feeling it’s gonna be a fabulous day!” That head belonged to
Paul Kidney. He died way back in 1968 after an assassination attempt by a group
of errant hippies. As per his wishes, his head and spine were preserved in a
solution of his own design and to be kept frozen in a top secret location, the
Kidney Vault, until the technology was ready for his return. Many believed this
to be an urban legend or myth.
That was until nearly a
hundred years later, the Austrian mega corporate dragon, Reluc, owner of Family
Figments, inherited a map to the Kidney Vault from Dunkelzhan. Inside this
vault Reluc found the original prints and designs of Kidney Entertainment’s
films, inventions, product, designs and so much more. There was also a metal
box. Inside that metal box was a head; the head of Paul Kidney.
It was July 4th,
2062 when Paul Kidney made his first broadcast in over a century. Reluc had
invested in one of Kidney’s designs for a life-sustaining system that could
basically make a man into a machine and the results were staggering. Paul
Kidney’s head, attached to a cyborg body, announced his company’s merger with
Family Figments into Kidney Global. He also announced that his most ambitious
dream, Lilliput Island, had been completed; “Where every man will feel twice as tall.”
Lilliput Island is an
artificial island, built by Family Figments, just off the coast of the
California Free State. The island is an autonomous city nation owned today by
Kidney Global and is one of the world’s premier tourist destinations. The
island city is connected to seven smaller islands, six of which are theme
parks, and is itself home to a number of tourist attractions from Kidney’s
Hollywood to Kidney’s Star Trek museum (right across the street from the Kidney’s
Star Wars museum). The main island is 47 sq. miles and has a population of 5
million people, with an average of about 150, 000 tourists visiting the parks
at any given time, and has heavily mixed population. Many companies find the
island quite attractive for running business since there are no taxes, but they
do have to put up with the various rules about appearance that Kidney Global
applies to them. To enforce the island’s laws and keep the streets, or at least
the streets with Kidney businesses, clean- in more ways than one- are the
Lilliput Street-Sweepers. The Street-Sweepers are a semi-military police force
trained by Kidney Global to be clean, polite and always have a smile on their
face; even when blasting away a street gang that can’t take a hint that they
shouldn’t be hanging out in front of the Kidney Mall. As aforementioned, the
two most powerful figures on the island are the co-heads of Kidney Global. Paul
Kidney is the brains, personality and face of Kidney Global. Reluc seems to
just be the money behind the company, but his ambitions are considered highly
suspicious- being a dragon and all.
So, what does this mean for Shadowrunners?
It
means opportunity for anyone willing to work discretely and with style. There
are two sides to Lilliput. There is what the Lilliputians call the “Main
Streets”, territories that are heavily occupied by Kidney businesses and kept
“clean” by the Street-Sweepers. Then, there is everywhere else. Sure, when the
other corps came to Lilliput they made sure to make their corporate zones and
neighborhoods look nice but, like an urban cancer, many of these areas have
become ghettos or worse thanks to several counter culture movements on the
islands. It is in these areas that you’ll find most of your shadows. Not to say
there isn’t a dark side to the Main Streets of Lilliput. After all, what’s more
disturbing; a fake smile or a glare?
