Underworld Sourcebook (Not to be confused with
Shadows of the Underworld is FASA's attempt at pulling the action out of the corporations and down into the streets. Gangs got a little bit of coverage in
The Shadowrun Companion, but th
is book expands on that, plus adding information on the various organized crime syndicates, as well as policlubs, cults, eco-terrorists, and more.
There are a few minor spoilers in this review, so you may want to ask your GM if you should read further if you like to stay surprised..
The first section outlines "The Business of Crime", giving about a half page of information about the following: Computer Crime, Controlled Substances, Counterfeiting and Forgery, Fencing, Fixing, Gambling, Hijacking, Kidnapping, Loansharking, Por
nography, Prostitution, Robbery, Shadow Services, Smuggling, and White-Collar Crime. Also included in this section is Money Laundering and Organlegging. While some of these may be common in most games, I'd wager that you could find something here that c
ould be of use.
The next section focuses on the Mafia -- its history, current events (Covered thoroughly in Mob War, a module released at about the same time as Underworld.), and speculation for its future. The Mafia has been hit hard lately in Shadowrun, losing
not only the entire Chicago area due to the bug spirits, but losing Capo Don James O'Malley of Seattle to assassination in early 2058. (This is the plot thread covered in Mob War, which is the subject of a future playtest review of mine.)
The next 3 sections cover The Yakuza, The Triads, and the Seoupula Rings. The same things are covered -- the history, present, and future expectations. Where appropriate, diagrams of the "Chain of Command" are given, along with information about
the local chapters of the syndicates, how much power they hold in each area, who or what they like to recruit, and initiation rituals.
"Other Operations" covers the gangs, both the street and go-gang variety, as well as Matrix gangs and the so-called "Wizzer" gangs. Vory v Zakone is covered, a Russian syndicate that has moved to North America and is taking hold on the we
st coast. Chimera, a small group of very powerful assassins is profiled briefly, mainly with decker comments and street rumours. Ghost cartels are the final part of this section, old fashioned drug cartels that still push the 20th century "natural&q
uot drugs over simsense, BTL, and other mind altering substances.
The next section is Underground Groups. The cults, policlubs, eco-terrorists and rebel groups of the Sixth World are covered here. A general briefing of what each type of group is followed by descriptions of a few specific game usable examples is given.
These range from "Mothers of Metahumans" to "Children of the Dragon", the fastest growing cult in North America, which believes Dunkelzhan ascended to a higher plane to save all of humanity.
The second last section is Game Information, which is a GM only look into some of the things you just shouldn't tell the players. This includes ideas of getting the players involved as members of the 4 main crime syndicates, ideas for what they should be
doing as a member of these syndicates, as well as awarding amoral karma and what should happen if a member seeks to break free. Then there's a system for rating the syndicates and gangs according to their dealings in the various areas outlined in the fi
rst chapter, similar to the system presented in Corporate Shadowfiles. This is one of those ideas that looks good on paper, but would rarely if ever get used in one of my games. Guidelines for running Tamanous, Chimera, and Ninja characters as NP
C's and player opponents are also given. One of the more interesting snippets is "Tattoo Magic", which allow you to quicken 1 or more spells to yourself with a magical tattoo.
The final section gives profiles of two First Tier gangs: The Ancients and The Cutters, as well as Third Tier gangs: The Voodoo Posse, The Scatterbrains, The Steppin' Wulfs, Isis-9, Razor Heads and the New World Soldiers. The Third Tier gangs are all sor
t of oddball, as they include an Otaku Gang, one gang based purely around violence, a gang of near-clowns, and more. Not all of these could be used regularly in most campaigns, but they could certainly spice up an existing game.
Underworld is presented in the same way as most FASA Shadowrun products, as an electronic document on Shadowland, with deckers and everyone else contributing so-called "Shadowcomments" to the articles provided by Shadowland. As such
, there are plot ideas and hooks hidden within, as well as some information that could just as easily be dis-information.
The book has less art than most others do, which is fine by me -- art isn't needed to make a good book, although it helps. My favourite illustration would have to be the New World Soldier member on page 111, by Mike Nielson. The rest of the book has the
normal layout, with no odd formatting problems that I noticed.
In some places Underworld is heavy on text that may not seem applicable to you or your game -- like the history of the Mafia, for example. However, I feel this does not detract from the product in the slightest. These histories appear to be well
researched, although I have no actual idea how accurate they are, I would assume they're as factual as possible.
Which brings me to my final point: What do the organized crime syndicates think about us playing a game in their world? : )
Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
