Paranormal Animals of North America - FASA, Dream Warrior

Paranormal Animals of North America is one of my favorite supplements for Shadowrun after the Native American nations. There is just something abut a book full of exotic creatures. This is tru for any game going back to the first time I opened the AD&D Monster Manual. It may even go back to a love of dinosaurs and reading books on them as a child.

Paranormal Animals was released in 1990 and comes in at 176 pages. The book features a varied collection of creatures as they exist in the Shadowrun world. The contents may be a little hard to use as most of the adventures in Shadowrun tend to focus on urban locations. The GM will have to make a point of finding ways to incorporate many of the creatures in the book.

The book covers over eighty new creatures and provides the GM with information on where they will be found and their behavior. The art for the creatures is very well done as is the cover art. The book features a size comparison chart which is something that is nice as it is often hard to get an idea of the scale of a beast even with defined sizes.

FASA ended up release a second book in the series which I will most likely write about at some point in the future. Even if you don't play Shadowrun the creatures in this book could easily be adapted into a Gamma World or Mutant Future setting. The creatures could even be used for game setting such as Traveller or other similar space based game. This is a book that I think would fit well on any gamers shelf.


Spell:

Dream Warrior

Level: Fourth
Range: 6"
Duration: 1 Round/Level
Ares Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 2 Segments
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is cast the magic user causes the victim to phase into a dreamlike location. The appearance of the world they enter will be identical to the current location. In this state the victim will be attacked by an mirror image of themselves.

The creature attacking them will be exactly as if they had cast an image on a Mirror of Opposition. The attacker will have exactly the same equipment and abilities as the victim had when the spell was cast.

In reality there is not a real creature attacking them. The conflict is all within the mind of the victim. For those in the real world the victim is still visible there will be no indication of what is happening. While under the spell they will stand motionless as they battle their mirror image. Any direct attack on the victim will break the spell and while in this state they are immune to physical attacks or spells.

The spell will continue until it expires or the combat is resolved. If the victim wins then they will return with the hit points they had after the resolution or when the spell expired. If they were to lose they will return with 10% of their total hit points remaining. If they were to have cast any spells these will be gone as well though any physical items used will remain.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

N - Native American, Neverending, Noxious, Nightstone

I have previously posted that other than the initial experience with Dungeons & Dragons no other game has sparked my interest and imagination more than Shadowrun. The Native American pair of books are perhaps the best of the supplemental books that have been produced for the game. These books expand on the various tribes that have some into being or reformed since the Awakening. There is also an adventure in the book. Others suggest that the details on the Nations is not detailed enough but I found it enough so I could use as it and add to it when needed without feeling that I was breaking canon if I wanted to mix things up. This is the first of  the two books and I advise you getting these even if you are playing a newer edition of Shadowrun. Lets also not forget about the fine Elmore art used for the cover.

Movie:


The Neverending Story is one of those, yes yet again, classic 80's fantasy movies. The story revolves around a bullied young boy who wants to escape. He happens upon a mysterious book that eventually brings him into the world of Fantasia. The world of Fantasia is being destroyed by The Nothingness. Of all the ways that a world/universe could be destroyed this was perhaps the most alarming/scary to me. The scary part is not the destruction but the thought of what happens to the people and things that are destroyed by nothingness. It plays off the loss of innocence and fear of insignificance for me. If I had been younger when I saw this I really think it might have been too jarring but then again I would not have had all the baggage I had either if I had been younger. If you have not seen this make a point of renting or buying it. The world itself will have good gaming ideas but the underlying currents of the story are worth it as well....the sequel not so much though.

Plot:

Noxious fumes have been either emanating from the sewers or sweeping in off the docks at night for the last week. These vapors have the effect of a double sized Cloudkill spell though the save it at +2. The players can be brought in by the near death or death of a favored NPC or perhaps lesser henchman. The source of the vapors needs to be found and eliminated. Is it possible that a young green dragon has some how found its way into the sewers or even placed there for some nefarious reason. Perhaps a periodic gate to some corrupted elemental plane is being opened for a reason and the gas clouds are a result of that or is simply a crazed mage of chaos wrecking havoc for some insane deity......

Magic:

Nightstones will be jet black stones with what will be a fleeting hint of green or white lines that appear and fade across it's surface. The stone will be anywhere from 2 - 6 inches in diameter though they will weigh more than expected though not so much as to be cumbersome to carry. These stones are highly prized by Rangers or anyone who spend extended periods of time in the wilderness as well as by dungeon explorers. Nightstones when activated will allow those who have attuned themselves to the stone prior to "ignition" to see as if there were a large camp fire up to 120' if desired. The stone will also provide warmth for those who would be made comfortable by it. Once activated the stone much remain within 60' of where it was placed. Moving it beyond that point without first "extinguishing" the stone will deactivate it and have a 20% chance of destroying the magic. To attune oneself a person much touch the stone within one round of the activation word being used. The stones light will also have the effect of improving the chance of surprise by two.

Shadowrun Second Edition - FASA

I can't think of a game other than D&D that captured my imagination like Shadowrun did when I first saw it. There was something about the mix of fantasy and technology that just seemed right. It was a hard game to get people to play though for some reason. I think the groups I played with did not like the cross genre nature of the game. To me it just seemed right though. As rare as it is for me to get to play now I am certain I will never get to give the game the time it deserves and I so wanted.