Shadowrun Returns - Update #5 and More

There's a new Shadowrun Kickstarter update as they present even more reward tiers (USB "dog tags" look pretty cool) and a World of Shadowrun Primer, for those not familiar with the setting. The pledges are just below $1M, by the way, which gets a second major city in the game.

In other Shadowrun news, Joystiq writes about the setting and playing the PnP rules:

First, the setting. If you've ever played Deus Ex: Human Revolution – or watched Blade Runner, for that matter – you'll know what you're in for with Shadowrun. The big twist is that magic is suddenly a part of everyday life on this version of earth; an earth where cybernetically-enhanced dwarfs, elves, and trolls freely roam. A little silly maybe, but I've always been struck by the power Shadowrun has to unite those who enjoy both fantasy and science fiction – which is sometimes tougher to do than you might think.

As for the system, the first thing I learned about Shadowrun is that it's a terrible idea to get into a fight. For all their nifty weapons, the combat penalties that rapidly accrue from injury can make individual characters quite squishy. I learned this for myself in my first ever run, when I tried to snipe a troll and ended up being murdered for my trouble. As I discovered later, the much smarter move would have been to actually hack the troll's brain – this is a thing that can be done in Shadowrun – and have him walk to the edge of the city where we could finish him in a back alley somewhere.