Welcome to the Data Haven

Hello chummers.  😉

My name is J, but I also answer to Insomniac.  This blog will soon be the home of all my Shadowrun stuff that I have scattered around the Net.  Primarily a place to grab run notes, I plan on reviewing sourcebooks, posting fan fiction and perhaps even commenting on the game itself.

If you’re not familiar with Shadowrun (in the P&P RPG style, rather than the video games), it is a near-future, dystopian, cybernetic future game where fantasy elements have been re-introduced to the world causing an interesting blend of magic and machine.  The storyline is in-depth and there are so many things going on at once that Game Masters should have no shortage of material.  However, if you find yourself short on material, hopefully some of the future posts on this blog will help with that.  🙂

While I will occasionally pipe up like this, the bulk of my posts will likely be “in-character” as my grumpy, sleep-deprived sysop alter-ego, Insomniac.  He runs a board in the Seattle Matrix where shadowrunners can look for work.  He’s a no nonsense kind of guy, but he does welcome some discussion.  So if you’d like to comment on run notes, feel free to do so in character and become part of the dialogue.

Well, I think that’s it for now.  Hopefully, you’ll check back from time to time.

J.

>>Oi!  Who’s grumpy?  Anyways, I figured I’d step up and introduce myself.  The handle’s Insomniac and I run my own little corner of ShadowSea.  If you need work, I’m your guy…assuming legality ain’t a scruple you tend to have.  If you think the shadows might be the place for you, then loiter for a bit and see what’s around.  Who knows…maybe you’ll be the next best thing round here.  Or maybe you’ll end up as the next red stain on the asphalt.  Either way, these should be interestin’ times, omae.  Perhaps I’ll see ya round.
>> Insomniac
“The shadows never sleep, so why should I?”

RPGaDay 2026 #22 – Grit (#RPGaDAY2026)

Grit… if this were a conversation about a setting, I’d just say “Yes please!” and move on. But when it comes to characters, it’s less clear cut. Sure, every character should have a back story to tells everyone why they’re risking their life like this… but for so many players, beyond the story that states why they’re here, the back story actually guides very little about their day-to-day actions.

Grit is all about treating their desires as a marathon rather than a sprint, but it always seems very rare when a player acts during a session in a way that is a means to their end goal. I often get told what their character was doing “off-camera” to pursue their agenda, but when we’re at the table, their actions are very much focused on the here-and-now and pass up opportunities to chase their own agenda. It would be like my wife’s character Hel, who is bent on hunting down the last vestiges of Cross Applied Technologies, breaking into a corporate compound that used to be a Cross holding, finding an old CATCo data vault buried under the building and then just ignoring it because it’s not for the game we’re doing right now. She would never… she would derail my plot to make sure she bled that server dry… but I’ve had players that have outright ignored the plot carrot placed specifically for them because they didn’t even remember their own character’s back story. That’s not grit… that’s coughing up a story to shut me up and let them play.

So, where every GM has an obligation to keep their players invested, so do the players have an obligation to at least buy into the story of the game enough to engage with the story the GM is trying to tell. Then, when a loose thread for your story is dangled before you, find that grit and pull that thread with everything you’ve got. The GM placed that there for you and acknowledging that indulgence is very welcome. Speaking from experience here…

RPGaDay 2026 #21 – Charity (#RPGaDAY2026)

Charity, huh? Most characters I’ve witnessed are not the most charitable sorts. Granted, most of that experience is in Shadowrun, where characters need to improve or die. Even in the fantasy games I’ve played have a similar mindset though. Hoarding gold in order to afford that next most powerful weapon or suit of armor, when a few silver pieces could save a family in a nearby hamlet from starvation. The game aspect of roleplaying games often sees characters acting as selfish hoarders of wealth, even when a paladin or cleric might tithe at the local temple.

Sometimes, there are mechanics that can help to reflect this sort of charity. In Shadowrun, there is a Negative Quality called Dependents, which takes a share of each job to reflect them having to care for someone. Burn has this quality to reflect looking after his disabled brother, though on large scores, I have chosen to drop a couple extra thousand nuyen to the care facility his brother is in. This has also historically had a rule (or house rule… it has been both over a few editions) of cash-to-karma to incentivize this sort of charitable act. In 7th Sea, my wife’s character Giulia donates to orphanages, having been raised by them growing up. So, it’s not impossible… but often requires mechanics to support.

I’ve even heard players tell others “if you give away this money, my character is going to stab yours in the face” when the team makes money and one of them is charitable… which is already seldom and only discourages it further. So, I don’t see a lot of charity at my table.. it is un-gamer behavior, it would seem.

RPGaDay 2026 #20 – Promise (#RPGaDAY2026)

This prompt on my birthday is Promise. Well, I promise that I’m older now, but remain immature.

That aside, characters seem to often find themselves trapped by promises they’ve made. A solemn vow of fealty to a noble family, a promise to avenge a fallen father, or a ill-conceived sentence offer to a crying child that you “promise to bring their mother home alive and well”, these sorts of promises shape stories both long and short. Promising that child to bring their mother back, only to have to explain that their mother is gone at the end of the adventure can be an evening’s adventure, while learning the noble house you’ve sworn a vow to are really not as noble as you believed could span a campaign.

So, does that mean that a character should never make promises? If your character shirks all attachment, perhaps. But even being the member of a team on an adventure is a sort of promise: a promise to watch their back and they will watch yours. Even that vow can be broken… I had a character retire via betrayal and they became the focus of a mini-arc within the campaign, as the runners that survived the betrayal by the decker devoted time and nuyen to tracking him down. Even when they caught up with him, they didn’t kill him, but rather destroyed his reputation, stole his cyberdeck as “compensation” and left him for dead in hostile territory. Naturally, that wasn’t the end of him… but they promised him that if he stuck his neck out again they’d return. They kept that promise… violently.

How do your characters handle promises? Those they willingly make and those they imply… it says a lot about a character with how they keep their word and when their word is broken, how they react. Some rarely give their word, so that when they do it “means something”. Others may give their vow and when forced to break it, atone for it later. Then others may promise the moon and deliver none of it. All are valid strategies, but how the rest of the world perceives them should be different. If your character has a reputation for breaking your word and/or giving it to readily, then it will carry less weight going forward. Know that a promise is only as valuable as how often your character upholds them and the world should react accordingly.

RPGaDay 2026 #19 – Desire (#RPGaDAY2026)

Oooh, Desire… Everyone has it. What they crave may vary from person to person, but everyone desires something. Those passions can change. They can weaken, intensify, shift or mutate. The desires of characters often serve as the main driving force that sees them strike out onto the road, seeking adventure, vengeance or purpose.

Burn is an example of how desires can change (hey, I’ve been playing the character for more than a decade… he’s got a lot of history). Initially, he wanted to burn Mitsuhama to the ground. Then he became primary caretaker for his disabled brother and he had to be a little more cautious. Then he found a woman who was willing to put up with his impulsive anger and give him a place to land. He got off of drugs and suicidal missions and has now positioned himself as the protector of his core people. He’s still brutal, honest and has no tolerance for racists. But now his desires are centered on keeping his brother and girlfriend safe (even if she really doesn’t need his help) over simply sowing discord.

Knowing the desires of your NPCs also helps any GM decide how a character might react when under threat or planning out their next move. My recent Anarchy villain, Sarah Braun didn’t set out to become a villain… she just wanted to help her people in the face of impossible odds and took a few shortcuts to become strong enough to do more. Even as she started using blood magic, it was never with malicious intent. She just needed a little extra power to help those who needed it at the expense of those whom she determined were beyond help anyways. Those who couldn’t be helped gave their life to ensure those who could be helped survived… justifiable in her mind. Still murdering people… but in the name of reducing body count.

Understand desire and how strongly the character will pursue it to shape them as a hero… or villain. The distinction between the two is often closer than the dichotomy would have you believe.

RPGaDay 2026 #18 – Directness (#RPGaDAY2026)

Directness, eh? I mean, I have characters that are very direct in their actions and others who would do anything before telling someone the honest truth. Does that make one a better person than the other? In this particular example, no… both of them are kinda terrible people… but it does tell someone something about how the characters will conduct themselves and shape how they interact with the world around them.

My usual example of Burn is the first one. Burn is an ass and will tell you exactly what he thinks of you, to hell with the consequences that may follow and he will just as soon crater your skull than tell you what he thinks of your racial slur. No filter and direct, for better or worse. The flipside of that is my character Fade. A face/decker, he specializes in getting into places he shouldn’t and stealing from people, disguised as anyone he feel will get him past the next checkpoint. He is charming, dishonest and has a million lies ready to deploy in a moment’s notice. You will never get a straight answer out of him, even when you’re on his team. Truth is an anathema to him.. probably because he doesn’t remember what the truth is anymore.

Most characters will fall in the middle somewhere. But knowing how they handle truth and whether they have a direct or blurred line with it can shape a lot about a character and how they interact with others.

RPGaDay 2026 #17 – Intensity (#RPGaDAY2026)

Hmmm… Intensity… I suppose the word might mean different things for different characters. Every hero has a passion: something that pushes them to do their acts of daring do. This passion is likely to manifest in some form of intensity and will often be filtered by the character’s personality. I’ll use my characters of Burn and Salvador as examples.

Burn is a chain-smoking racist bastard who despises the crushing weight of corporate xenophobia. His intensity is plain for all to see when he’s on the job. He’s grumpy, loud-mouthed and (in the face of his enemy) violent. It is easy to spot Burn’s intensity, even if you don’t understand him well. Salvador is a different story. His hatred of all things Montaignian is just as strong as Burn’s hate for Mitsuhama, but his outward guise is always composed. His face carries a smile, a laugh in his throat, as he shows off his skill in the Torres sword school. One may never see his seething hatred. How his intensity shows is through his resolve. His unwillingness to compromise on his goals and his morals. His refusal to bend the knee, no matter how exhausted he becomes. He strives to maintain that unflappable facade, so his enemies might never see a moment of weakness. Salvador’s intensity may be something only he truly experiences, unless his foes really studied him.

How does your character channel their intensity? Understanding what pushes them forward and how it manifests can shape your character’s personality.

RPGaDay 2026 #16 – Composure (#RPGaDAY2026)

Composure. Heroes possess it in spades, in order to endure all the hardships they are bound to face as they adventure. I do find the idea of the stalwart and fearless hero to be a bit dull, though. There is little interesting when nothing gets under a hero’s skin. Even the introduction of an irrational fear can add humanization to a character and make them more relatable, even from the position of being superhuman in capability.

Take Burn, my Shadowrun character as an example. He’s a very capable fighter, marksman and demolitions expert. He’s a capable wheelman. He’s horribly inept in social situations that require much in the ways of niceties. When it comes to magic, however, he is far less confident. He’s been pinned down in fire fights, he lost his arm to a premature detonation on an industrial mining site and gone toe-to-toe with corpsec without losing his resolve. When reality (as he understands it) begins to distort and spirits shrug off high caliber rounds, his confidence wavers. This is one element of Shadowrun’s mechanics I appreciate… the Composure test. Even the most resilient in society can be pushed to the point where their lizard brain overrules developed training and they get the hell out of Dodge. Couple Composure rolls with Phobias and you can have a character who might break in a pivotal fight, leading to interesting outcomes and tense moments.

So, invite some chaos into your games, by having characters be flawed with fears and uncertainties. When Composure wavers, a story is strengthened.

RPGaDay 2026 #15 – Endurance (#RPGaDAY2026)

Endurance. I’ve been a Forever GM for 25 years. I’ve got it. Boom.

OK OK, I’ll play. Based on the prompt from a couple back, regarding strain, endurance is a key component for any character. Otherwise, that ever-present strain will rind them down before they make it to the end. There are many characters that this very thing occurs… character death is the usual manifestation of endurance running out. However, there was one outcome I only heard about secondhand that has stuck with me over the years…

A character stopping their adventuring ways after learning that their whole cause was a lie. It was a friend’s D&D game and characters were around level 4, if I recall correctly. The character was one of those “left home to avenge my village” type fighters and were in pursuit of the local Baron, who had orchestrated the destruction. When he finally got to confront the Baron, the nobleman showed the fighter all the evidence that his village had been dabbling in forbidden magics and after repeated pleadings to stop, the village continued and were on the brink of unleashing a powerful demon on the world. The fighter listened and after examining the evidence, rather than taking the usual approach of refuting the evidence, accusing the Baron of lying and putting him down…

He just left.

His world view had shattered when confronted with evidence and now, in his mind, he was the villain. Avenging the evildoers who were brought to justice… and so the character just…retired. I was kind of blown away by this at the time. You played this character for 4 levels and you just laid them down? The player told me in the moment that it just “felt right”, though they later confessed they had grown bored with the character and it felt like a good time to retire them. The GM of the game also later admitted that the evidence had been (of course) fabricated and the Baron was the demon he accused the character’s village of summoning, but in the wake of the character’s retirement the campaign pivoted. For the better, to my understanding… though this was years ago now.

Still, it was a unique (in my experience) way a character’s endurance collapsed. Voluntary retirement is a rarity, but interesting in how it can change a story when one of the heroes just quits. A suspect an interesting story can arise surrounding the power vacuum that would create in a world dependent on heroes.

RPGaDay 2026 #14 – Regard (#RPGaDAY2027)

So… Regard. I might actually use the alternate question over on Casting Shadows. Is there a system I hold in high regard that I haven’t played? I am intrigued by the use of tags in Legend in the Mist. Something about using keywords to define your character and equipment, while using a simple dice mechanic to add in the risk element. The Keywords and Dispositions in Anarchy have already given me a bit of a feel for that sort of gameplay. While fantasy games aren’t typically my setting of choice, I feel that the mechanic is easily portable, so I am curious about how it plays.

I think that a character foundation being based in words over numbers suits my preference as a GM and player, where characters actually have a backstory to justify why they are the way they are, rather than a min-maxxed set of stats with a flimsy story stapled to it to justify the high numbers. I don’t think the system would work with my current group… too many people that love to throw dice and pummel NPCs over being a part of the world. It’s part of why I don’t have a home game… a disconnect between the sorts of games we prefer to play.

In any case, the Mist series of games have my attention and I hope to try them out at some hope, to see if they do a solid job of character-story-focused storytelling.

RPGaDay 2026 #13 – Strain (#RPGaDAY2026)

Next up: Strain. Every adventurer is under some sort of strain. The weight of some sort of burden they feel the need to shoulder, a price on their head that keeps them from setting down roots or existing as a second or third class citizen in their homeland, the strain that rests on them spurs them forward. If there wasn’t some sort of external pressure on the character, there would be nothing pushing them out the door to risk their lives.

How a character reacts to strain can be a defining trait for them. If the pressure increases, do they push back harder, or fall back until the pressure lets up? If the pressure on them lightens up or even vanishes, do they rest and set down their weapons, or do they allocate their drive to a new cause? In the case of Burn, my Shadowrun character, he is unrelenting and stubborn, willing to push himself to collapse in the face of his adversaries. Salvador (7th Sea) on the other hand, prefers to strike hard and lethally, only to fade into the shadows when consequences arrive. When Salvador completes his mission, he is likely to lay his sword down and retire to his family’s lands, but Burn is likely to attach his rage to a new mission and keep fighting, as it’s the only life he’s ever known.

Knowing how your character reacts to strain can help define their personality, their fighting style and even how their story is likely to end (Salvador in peaceful retirement vs. Burn bleeding to death on corporate soil, for example). Understanding the strain they aim to endure can shape a lot about a character, so know the pressure to know the character.