"Go to the sign of Marvel's Axe, a dubious inn on the edge of the Thieves Quarter, in the City of Greyhawk, and look to your own wrist. If you perceive a bracelet and dangling dice, watch for the next throw in the war between Law and Chaos and be prepared to follow the compelling geas." -Signal

Monday, July 22, 2013

Cyberpunk - Pacific Rim Sourcebook

 In a few months the subject of this post will  not be one that will be caught by search engines as much as it is right now. I apologize for anyone coming here thinking they are going to find anything about the Pacific Rim movie.

This is a sourcebook for the Cyberpunk game that was released in 1994 and comes in at 159 pages. It deals with the non Americans side of the Ring of Fire. Written in a travel guide style it will give the GM enough information to let characters adventure in the lands it covers without the GM having to become an expert in a country they may not be familiar with. The areas are provided plot hooks that can be used as starter or filler adventures in the areas.

I personally wish that the book had been broken apart into two or three books. The sections on Japan and China are not nearly detailed enugh for the part that those two countries should play in the game. Each could have been afforded their own and then Pacific Rim could have been used to describe. I might even have broken the Australian sections out as they are really more Westeren cultures.

IN the end though the book is still worth having. It will give enough information to get by on all the countries listed though for some a little more research would be warranted.
 
Countries covered:
- Japan
- Korea
- China
- Taiwan
- Southeast Asia

  - Indochina
    - Myanmar
    - Cambodia
    - Laos
    - Vietnam
    - Thailand
  - The Island States
    - Singapore
    - Brunei
    - Indonesia
    - Malaysia
    - The New Philippines


- Australiasia

  - Australia
    - West Australia
  - New Zealand




From the back of the book:

ON THE RIM OF THE CYBERPUNK WORLD

The Pacific Rim. The name conjures up images of high-tech glitterlands. Here every dream can come true, realized by the tech-wizards of the Orient. But under the Westernized exterior lie traditions thousands of years old, and beneath the clean streets lurks a shadow world more sinister than any American sprawl.

This is the Edge of the CYBERPUNK gaming world: Hawaii to China, Japan to New Zealand. The "Rim" has it all: commerce, smuggling, piracy, and revolutions. This region is a place of surprising contradictions and diversity.

It's all in this travel-style guide: Nineteen different countries toured in detail, with NPCs and Adventure Hooks highlighted, plus regional maps. Need the inside on the Outside? You want the Pacific Rim Sourcebook: your guide to the Mysteries of the East.



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