by John Helfers
skillsoft: A program that adds abilities or knowledge to bodies capable of using them.
street samurai: A warrior of the streets, a specialist in various kinds of weapons, and someone you want on your side in a fight.
technomancers: Individuals who can access the Matrix with no equipment, using simply their mind.
trideo: The three-dimensional media in which most entertainment is presented.
WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
The Shadowrun universe has evolved throughout its twenty-year history, and the arrival of the Fourth Edition of the game brought some of the most significant changes yet. If you haven’t caught up with Shadowrun recently, here are some things you should know about:
The Wireless World: Crash 2.0, the Matrix disaster of 2064, paved the way for the creation of a wireless Matrix. The Matrix is all around everyone now; rather than having to log into it through a cyberdeck, the inhabitants of the Sixth World can interact with it wherever they go. Augmented Reality (AR) overlays much of the world, making the locations’ appearance customizable and providing cascades of information. This means data is everywhere, so shadowrunners have multiple opportunities to dig up information they can use to make a buck.
A New Horizon: In the aftermath of Crash 2.0, one megacorporation, Cross Applied Technology, is torn apart and loses its AAA status. Its seat on the Corporate Court is taken by the upstart entertainment/public relations giant Horizon, whose employee-friendly policies and generous outlook seem too good to be true. In other Big Ten changes, Novatech merged with Transys-Erika and renamed itself NeoNET, and Yamatetsu restructured itself into the Evo Corporation.
Shifting Borders: The same strain that changed the corporations affected many nations. The Ute Nation caved to external pressures and became part of the Pueblo Corporate Council; the Salish-Shidhe Council made Tsimshian a protectorate; and earthquakes and floods devastated the California Free State.
Emerging technomancers: Recent times saw the emergence of people who can interact with the Matrix without equipment, using only the power of their minds. These strange and inexplicable abilities set off a worldwide panic.
Underworld explosion: A powerful, extremely addictive bio-engineered drug named tempo shook the world, and the potential profits from it set organized crime groups against each other in an explosive conflict.
Those are the central changes, but at its heart Shadowrun is still Shadowrun. Fixers still arrange things, Mr. Johnson still waits with an offer, and dragons are something to stay far, far away from.