Shadowrun RPG - Catalyst Game Labs

Gen Con Indy!

AdamJury — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:21:39 +0000

My flight to Indianapolis leaves in about 3 hours. Looking forward to seeing a bunch of Shadowrun fans at the show! We’re at booth #1307, which is exactly the same place we were last year. And yes, we will be running the Mr. Johnson game as usual … rules to be decided still!

Oh yeah … we’ll have some brand new books and t-shirts there, too.

Be sure and check out our seminars, all of them on Saturday:

Catalyst Game Labs: Shadowrun, BattleTech, Eclipse Phase and more!
This seminar discusses the goings-on of Catalyst Game Labs in general, and especially its new games. Meet developers and writers, and ask them your questions directly.
2008-08-16 12:00 to 13:00
Embassy Suites–Chancellor 3

and

Shadowrun Q&A: Countdown to the 20th Anniversary!
Find out the latest developements and plans for Shadowrun, as we get ready for its 20th year! Meet developers and writers, and ask them your questions directly.
2008-08-16 13:00 to 14:00
Embassy Suites–Coronation II

and (for completeness)

BattleTech Q&A: 25 years of Heavy Metal Mayhem!
Find out the latest developements and plans for BattleTech! Meet with developers and writers, and ask them your questions directly.
2008-08-16 14:00 to 15:00
Embassy Suites–Chancellor 3

See you there!

Runner’s Companion PDF now available

PeterTaylor — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:09:49 +0000

Our next advanced rulebook Runner’s Companion is now live for pre-order and PDF purchase:
PDF
Hardcopy Book
Combo

Runner’s Companion will be available at GenCon and will be making its way to your local FLGS in the coming weeks. Meanwhile Look for more indepth previews in the coming weeks. To whet your appetites here is a brief overview of the book:

The first chapter, aptly named Starting Out, focuses on the basics of team-building and roles on a shadowrun team in a clear and concise way that should help groups find the right balance of character types for their games.

Survival Tips, the second chapter, highlights some of the obstacles runners face and exploits they can put to use when operating in a high-tech surveillance society. It does so in a manner that’s useful to both newbies and veterans in the shadows and demystifies some of the issues regarding omnipresent surveillance technology. This chapter also covers some tricks for travelling around and getting your stuff to all the cool locations we’ve been introducing in our SR4 setting books.

The Alternative Character Creation introduces two optional character generation systems: one Priority-based system and one Karma-based system.

The Alternative Character Concepts begins with extensive fiction to contextualize the various metatypes, metavariants, and new species at large in the Sixth World (now available as optional character races). The subsequent rules material introduces optional rules for playing: 17 different metavariants (including 3 all-new metavariants), changelings, drakes, 4 non-metahuman species, a handful of shapeshifter species, free spirits, AIs, and all the HMHVV Infected types (including ghouls).

Next up we have a New Qualities chapter which introduces just over 40 new Positive and 40 new Negative qualities. These run the gamut from story-oriented qualities to minor mechanical boosts and are open to most character types. This chapter also includes 60+ Metagenetic Qualities to be used with the new SURGE and metavariant rules.

The Advanced Contacts chapter includes the long-awaited rules for Group and Virtual Contacts, a number of sample contacts for each, and a selection of useful new standard contacts.

Advanced Lifestyle expands and diversifies the Lifestyle options in SR4, giving them far more depth and making them an integral part of play. Also included are Lifestyle Qualities that are both fun and useful for those groups wishing to expand this aspect of the game.

The final chapter, Life on the Run, features several threaded short stories that serve to illustrate to newcomers and old timers alike how certain character types do what they do, how they percieved their own abilities, skills and powers, and how they interact with the technologies, augmentations and gear associated with their area of expertise. This section also spotlights some of our regular JackPoint posters and provides some further insight into these characters.

ENnies Voting Now Open! Vote Catalyst!

AdamJury — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:20:29 +0000

Public voting for this year’s ENnie Awards is now online! This year, Catalyst Game Labs is nominated twice: once for the Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules in the Best Free Product or Web Enhancement category and also in the Fan Choice Best Publisher category!

In the Best Regalia category, you also owe it to yourself to check out Green Ronin’s Hobby Games: The 100 Best, a great book with top game designers writing about their favorite games — both Shadowrun and Classic BattleTech are included, of course!

Please check out the other nominees and other categories and then go register your voice!

Going to Gen Con Indy?

AdamJury — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:09:13 +0000

If you’re going to Gen Con Indy, or maybe still trying to make that last minute decision, check out the This Just In from Gen Con podcast, hosted by Paul Tevis & Ryan Macklin. They’ve already posted a couple episodes talking about different events that will be happening at the convention, along with some handy tips for the show, including the most important 3-2-1 Rule [That’s no less than 3 hours of sleep a day, no less than 2 full meals a day, and no less than 1 shower a day — you should learn to love this rule.]

They’ll be posting live updates from Gen Con every day, as well, so if you can’t attend the show but want the news as soon as you can get it, subscribe to This Just In from Gen Con.

I Love the Sixth World

AdamJury — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:16:19 +0000

You’ve seen the Discover Channel Commercial. You’ve probably seen xkcd’s take on it … but I haven’t seen a Sixth World approach to it yet. Work one up and email it to me!

July Catalyst Game Labs Shadowrun Chat

PeterTaylor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:02:55 +0000

As August’s Shadowrun Chat will fall in the middle of GenCon, we’re going to try to cover a couple of months worth of materials at the July Shadowrun Chat. With that in mind, we’ll be doing a double feature covering the Shadowrun Missions campaign, the upcoming Runner’s Companion core rulebook (and the new player-oriented material it introduces), and touch on a few other topics. The Shadowrun chat will be held this coming Saturday (19 July) at 10AM (PDT). The chat will be held as usual on the BattleCorps Shadowrun web chat.

Shadowrun Quick-Start Rules nominated for ENnie award!

AdamJury — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:38:44 +0000

Catalyst Game Labs is pleased to learn that our free Shadowrun, Fourth Edition Quick-Start Rules have been nominated for an ENnie Award in the Best Free Product or Webhancement category.

Voting will be open from July 21 to August 3, and the winner’s announced on Friday, August 15th at Gen Con Indy. We’ll be sure to reminder you when the voting starts!

June’s Shadowrun Chat Transcript

AdamJury — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:17:19 +0000

Woohoo! After a stretch of nearly three weeks where I’ve been buried from the time I wake to the time I pass out in laying out upcoming Shadowrun books, I’ve managed to make a day for catching up on those little tasks that have been slipping through the cracks. We’re hip-deep in preparations for Gen Con Indy, and looking forward to this year’s show in a major way!

That said, here’s the transcript of last month’s Shadowrun chat, where we talked a heck of a lot about Unwired, which is now available in PDF and Pre-Order.

Origins Game Fair 2008 Report

JohnDunn — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:21:53 +0000

Catalyst Game Labs wants to give a big thank you to all of our gamemasters, the Origins Game Fair, and, most importantly, our players for a great weekend of gaming at this year’s convention.

The Shadowrun tables were packed all weekend. We ran over 200 players through 35 tables of events. Plus, we introduced dozens of new players to the game world and rules system at our demos in the dealer hall.

Shadowrun Missions players got a sneak peak at the New York City campaign. These events were consistently overfilled, and we appreciate the the enthusiasm on everyone’s part. The first adventure – SRM03-00 Everyone’s Your Friend will be broadly available later this month.

This year’s Origins Shadowrun tournament – Death of a Samurai – gave players a look into the underworld turmoil that the upcoming Ghost Cartels book introduces. The competition between teams was fierce. The winning team barely eked out their victory.

We tried a new handout this year – NERPS Cards. These gave players some extra tricks to influence the games as they played through them, and everyone seemed to enjoy the added flexibility. These seemed to be trading pretty hotly on the black market, so we’ll have more of them at GenCon.

GenCon Indianapolis is just a few weeks away. If you’re planning on attending, make sure to look up the Catalyst Game Labs Shadowrun events. We’ll have the same great gamemaster team, more Shadowrun Missions Scenarios, and this year’s tournament – Bad Moon Rising – also ties in to Ghost Cartels. Of course, we’ll have game demos available in our dealer’s hall booth to introduce new players to the system.

Catalyst Game Labs bring Classic BattleTech, Shadowrun, and MechWarrior novels back to bookstores

AdamJury — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:34:14 +0000

Lake Stevens, Washington (June 24, 2008) - Catalyst Game Labs (An InMediaRes Productions, LLC company) announces the return of novels for Classic BattleTech, MechWarrior, and Shadowrun. The re-launch of these perennial lines will include an amazing selection of authors—including New York Times’ Bestselling Author Michael A. Stackpole.

"The triumphant return of three of the most seminal adventure gaming book lines heralds a great next step for all the brands," David M. Stansel-Garner, Operations Manager for Catalyst Game Labs said. "We're really excited to bring these novels back to thousands of eager fans who have been waiting patiently for their return."

"An estimated 25 million people having played a game or read a novel set in the BattleTech Universe since its inception almost 25 years ago," Stansel-Garner continued. "Throughout that time BattleTech alone has inspired over a dozen video games, a cartoon, a collectible card game, a collectible miniatures game and several toy lines. Additionally, it has amassed one of the largest fictional universes in the sci-fi genre, with over 170 gaming products and almost 100 full-length novels (with much of that translated into over a dozen languages world-wide). Tie that together with the hundreds of thousands of copies of Shadowrun's 120 game sourcebooks, video games, and 50 novels (also translated into numerous foreign markets)… we have a lot of eager fans chomping at the bit for these new books."

Bestselling author and owner of InMediaRes Loren Coleman will return to pen more novels in the Classic BattleTech line. "In 1994 I read through the Warrior trilogy in a single weekend. I've been a devoted fan ever since. I expect to feel much the same way as I pick up the new storyline installments. Working with top writers on a compelling storyline is one of my greatest joys as a writer. Coming back to it now—and with Mike back on board as well—it's like our favorite park has just been reopened. I'll bring the green army men. He'll supply the fireworks."

Look for the first MechWarrior novel, A Bonfire of Worlds by Steven Mohan, Jr. in November 2008, followed by the first Classic BattleTech novel, Shadows of Faith by Loren L. Coleman in December. The first of the all-new Shadowrun novels will appear in January, 2009.

About Catalyst Game Labs Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high quality gaming products that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes, presented in a form that allows both beginning players and long-time veterans to easily pick up our games. Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming product with all the benefits of an electronic interface and community, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player. For additional information, visit www.catalystgamelabs.com.

About WizKids, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Topps Company, WizKids is a Seattle-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating tabletop games driven by imagination. Its HeroClix® and Pirates brands are among the most successful games on the market today, with over one hundred million miniature game figures sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.