The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Intro:
In the past 2 versions of Shadowrun everything about the Matrix was covered in 1 book (Virtual Realities & Virtual Realities 2.0). When the people at FASA got around to doing their Matrix supplement for Shadowrun 3rd edition they found out quickly that they had more information than one book could conveniently contain. What they did instead was come out with two books. Matrix (reviewed by me last week) which is a rules supplement, and Target: Matrix, which is a location book detailing the Virtual Reality world of the Matrix as it exists on a day to day level. To me this book is a long time coming.

Most books for Shadowrun over the last 10 years have been based on the concept of them being 'e-books' that a data haven called Shadowland put out every couple of months, thus the information is all in-character except for the 'Game Information' section. This allowed GMs an easy way to allow players to study up on broad topics in the Shadowrun universe simply by logging into a computer and looking up the information. These e-books were great because you not only got the information for….say….the current state of the nation of Aztlan, but you also got innuendo because of the number of in-character people commenting on the source material. (Note: these comments and rumors made for great GM hooks). With the large number of rules expansions for Shadowrun 3rd edition FASA didn't have the time to be putting out books in the 'e-book' format, and as a result the SR setting went a little stale. All that has changed though with the release of Target: Matrix. Not only are 'e-books' back, but the Target:Matrix book is an 'e-book' that focuses on the people who make the 'e-books'!

Book Content:
The book makes it very clear at multiple points that the contents of the books are just a limited number of examples in the wider context of the entire world-wide Matrix. The examples in each chapter were generally chosen either for their importance or their novelty.

The ‘Grids’ chapter is dedicated to Regional Grids (LANs or WANs is the closest term in today’s terminology), the equivalent of cities in the Matrix, each having a number of individual private hosts (servers). Each example includes a history of the RTG, a few example hosts that the RTGs have on their systems, the general style of the RTG, and a few choice shadowtalk comments that may hurt or help a PC who uses the information depending on how the GM feels. There are a more than a few amusing comments, especially in the section on Magicknet.

‘Data Havens’: The shadowrunner’s best friend for information are datahavens, and for the first time FASA has given us a huge chapter dedicated to those online libraries filled with all the information the Corps wished weren’t public. The ShadowMatrix is covered with the history, the inner-workings, the people associated with the ShadowMatrix (including information on Captain Chaos finally!), and the ShadowMatrix’s connection to the Nexus in Denver. Other datahavens are covered as well, including an interesting satellite datahaven called Asgard that acts as an Ebay for illegal information in the Shadowrun world. Good stuff for people who want to put the information they grabbed from Corp X to good use while making friends and a tidy profit at the same time.

‘Virtual Seattle’: Given Shadowrun’s historic center in Seattle the Regional Grid for Seattle has a chapter all it’s own. Both the Regional Grid as well as the big Corp private hosts are covered here at least in passing.

‘Hosts’: An eclectic assortment of private Hosts can be found in this chapter from the renegade computer programmers of Hacker House, to Lone Star’s databases and a little on how to manipulate them. Matrix games are covered, one of which is ‘Dawn of Atlantis’ which slips a little of the controversial Earthdawn / Shadowrun crossover into the book as a fantasy game based on the founding of Atlantis. Player Characters in Shadowrun seem to be able to play a game of Earthdawn inside of the 'Dawn of Atlantis' game (so I'm playing a game inside a game inside a game? The mind boggles). It's rather strange but I personally think this was a very cool and novel idea. A lot of people don’t like the SR / ED crossover information so Your Mileage May Vary. Finally Matrix brothels are covered and two examples are given. Hmm, gives the idea of online pornography a whole new dimension!

‘Personas’ is a chapter dedicated to a number of different Deckers that were famous, or infamous, enough to have gained them enough notoriety to get mention in the book. Such Matrix legends as FastJack and Michael Sutherland are discussed, but so are a number of less known Deckers that have made names for themselves. FYI there’s a great pic of Slamm-0! on page 89.

‘Organizations’ covers a diverse number of groups that have an interest in the Matrix. The famous ‘Dead Decker's Society’ is discussed, and the equally infamous Grid Overwatch Division (GOD) that was set up by the Corporate Court to monitor and arrest people involved in illegal Matrix activity is covered also. There is also a very peculiar group known only as the ‘Exchange’ that is one of the most ripe plot hooks I’ve read about in awhile.

‘Anomalies’: Finally!! I’ve been waiting for an Open Forums chapter in a Shadowrun book for far too long and they finally hand me this great chapter. Almost all of the original e-books FASA put out for Shadowrun had a chapter dedicated to nothing but what amounted to different shadowtalkers telling stories, trading rumors and innuendo, and generally gossiping on the topic at hand. These chapters were always, to me, the most interesting both as a player and as a GM.

Finally we get another Open Forum chapter and Anomalies was everything I’ve been hoping for. Rumors about AIs and whether people’s consciousness can be copied into the Matrix whole are covered, both theories which are roundly criticized with the same uneasy joking comments that tell you everybody isn’t as sure as they might wish to be about the subjects. Such famous Matrix Anomalies as ‘Wonderland’ and Thomas Roxborough are discussed in the same manner most people talk about alien abductions today. A VERY good chapter.

‘Game Information’ is a short chapter of GM secrets about SOME of the topics discussed in the rest of the book.

Review:
All the style that was missing in my Matrix review is found in spades in this book. Lots of content for both Players and GMs put together in the classic Shadowrun e-book style that makes the information all the more interesting.

The artwork is generally good, but there’s a wide variance. All the recycled stuff is obviously good or it wouldn’t be back, but both the quality and content of some of the new artwork is suspect in my opinion. A perfect example of both problems is the graphic on page 120. This picture has both bad art quality and bad subject content to me (gratuitous artwork of big breasted women doesn’t turn me on like it did when I was 12). On the other hand I’ve already commented on how much I like the Slamm-0! picture and most of the new artwork (especially the artwork of Grid Reaper) is very well done.

I’d suggest this book to nearly any person who plays Shadowrun for the simple reason that Shadowrun is a game that centers on acquiring information and this book more than any other tells you how you can get the information you’re looking for. It’s also an extremely interesting read for PCs for general world information and GMs for the large quantity of plot hooks left open (shadowtalk has the habit of generating them).