''Harlequin'' is an adventure campaign published by FASA in 1990 for the near-future dystopian role-playing game '' Shadowrun''.

Description

''Harlequin'' is a 151-page book designed by

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

Ken St. Andre Kenneth Eugene St. Andre (born April 28, 1947) is an American fantasy author and game designer, best known for his work with ''Tunnels & Trolls'' and ''Wasteland (video game), Wasteland''. He was born in Ogden, Utah, and has been an active member ...

, John Faughnan, W. G. Armintrout, Jerry Epperson, Paul R. Hume,

Lester W. Smith Lester W. Smith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Early work and GDW Lester Smith began his game-design career in 1984 with ''Mind Duel'', a science-fiction board game submission to ''Space Gamer'' mag ...

, and James L. Long. The various adventures in the book are specifically designed to be interspersed between other adventures, rather than being run sequentially, so that the players don't immediately realize there's a connection between the various adventures. The ultimate result or consequence of the missions is not revealed in this book, even to the gamemaster. Author Tom Dowd wrote, "Future game products will be based on hidden elements of ''Harlequin'' ..GMs are not the only ones who might read an adventure book so we don’t want to give away any surprises.”

Plot summary

''Harlequin'' is a series of adventures in which the shadowrunners are sent on a series of missions to solve a puzzle.

Reception

In the November 1992 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 #187), Allen Varney didn't like the "hidden ending" that would be revealed in later publications, but thought "''Harlequin'' achieves striking effects through its component sections’ cumulative power. The first moment that the team realizes the connection between dsiparate scenarios is magical." Varney concluded that the book largely achieves ambitious goals. Scott Taylor of '' Black Gate'' in 2015 rated the ''Harlequin'' series as #9 in "The Top 10 Campaign Adventure Module Series of All Time, saying "Truly, these two volumes are an inspiration to those who believe that series adventures can strive to be productive beyond the swords & sorcery gaming genre."

Awards

In 1991, ''Harlequin'' won the Origins Award for ''Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1990''.

Reviews

*''

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 * ...

'' #26 (April/May, 1991) *'' Envoyer'' #5https://web.archive.org/web/20030508020151fw_/http://www.envoyer.de/ausgaben/1997/03/home.html

References

{{reflist Origins Award winners Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1990 Shadowrun adventures