I've never actually played Shadowrun, although I've listened to some actual play podcasts. It's got a similar flavor to the magic, at first blush. Potentially powerful, but with a high cost. There are hackers (Byrons) for the Analytical Engines and there is a system for Engine combat, but it's not as divorced from regular play as it is in Shadowrun. The Boojuns (trolls, dwarves, orks) only made the transition 2 years ago, so they are in a weird place. Trolls can carry heavy machine guns, and I'm sorry, but that is sick as hell. In general, though, I don't think it is nearly as combat oriented.
As compared to Earthdawn, the magic level is way lower. Overall, I think the game is probably much deadlier. Wounds can get infected, which can straight-up kill you if you leave them untreated. Adepts in ED can feel somewhat apart from the general population, and I don't think that'll be the case in 1879. There aren't many teasers that connect the worlds that I've come across so far, except for a really neat possible explanation as to why t'skrang are so different from the other Namegivers and why their birthrate is declining. But, I have only just started the GMG, so there may be a lot more of that sort of thing.
The books are dense - probably a bit overloaded, to be honest. My 40-yo eyes would have appreciated a larger font. Some of the smaller artwork is kind of forgettable, but nearly all of the big pieces are amazing. There's this one of a troll being swarmed by the bobbies as his confederates get away that just kills me.Statistics:Posted by Slimcreeper — Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:47 pm
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