''Dreamchipper'' is an adventure published by FASA in 1989 for the

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

near-future role-playing game '' Shadowrun''.

Publication history

''Dreamchipper'' is an 80-page book written by James D. Long, with a cover by

Dave Dorman Dave Dorman (born 1958 in Michigan) is a science fiction, horror and fantasy illustrator best known for his '' Star Wars'' artwork. Early life Dorman's parents are Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jack N. Dorman and Phyllis Dorman. Both parents ...

, and published by FASA in 1989.

Plot summary

Several prototype military grade personality chips programmed with the recorded personalities of Jack the Ripper, Cleopatra, and Genghis Khan have been stolen. The shadowrunners (the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

s) are hired to retrieve the chips.

Reception

In the April 1990 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (Issue #156),

Ken Rolston Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game (pen and paper), role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. In February 2007, he elected to join th ...

called this "good, gritty cyberpunk, well organized and entertaining, with a solid action-adventure story line." Rolston complimented the adventure for being broken into short and manageable episodes, and also for allowing enough leeway to allow for the players' "characterization and divergent problem solving." Rolston concluded with a thumbs up, saying, "The ''Shadowrun'' game is one of the hottest role-playing settings at present, and this is a good example of how that setting can translate into dramatic action-adventure role-playing."

Stephan Wieck Steve Wieck (also credited as Stephan Wieck) is best known as one of the founders of the publishing company, White Wolf, Inc. He is also one of the original writers of '' Mage: The Ascension''. Wieck is a co-founder of DriveThruRPG which later mer ...

reviewed ''Dreamchipper'' for ''

White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * ...

'' #20, rating it 4 out of 5 overall, and stated that "I found ''Dreamchipper'' to be a very good adventure. plot centers around cyberpunk technology and involves some of the psychological strangeness prevalent in cyberpunk literature." In the May 1990 edition of '' Games International'', Lee Brimmicombe-Wood admired the production quality of the book, which he called "up to the usual excellent standard." He also liked the "street atmosphere" of the scenario, and complimented it because "the annoying fantasy element doesn't intrude." Brimmicombe-Wood concluded by giving this adventure an average rating of 7 out of 10, saying, "''Dreamchipper'' runs at a slower pace than its predecessor '' Mercurial'', but there's much more scope for character interaction and there are enough lead-ons to make it an excellent kick-off for any campaign."

Other reviews

*'' Games Review'' (Volume 2, Issue 5 - Feb 1990)

References

{{Reflist Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1989 Shadowrun adventures