Pink Mirrorcoat: A Sliding Scale of Shadowrun

Three Shadowrunners walk into a bar.

The first Shadowrunner finds their target at the bar, sits down next to him, and buys him a drink, before informing him - through gritted teeth and with a voice that announces the culmination of a chilling vendetta - that Oracle sends her regards. The second Shadowrunner casually snaps their fingers to set the exit behind them ablaze, and after taking a second to adjust their wide neon-trimmed collar, dropkicks the big troll bouncer who was reaching for his gun. The third Shadowrunner has already scanned everyone else in the bar and begins eliminating them in descending order of threat level, cutting edge military cybernetics combined with top-of-the-line firearms dropping four goons before they even realize they're being fired at.  

While the above is a frankly terrible joke, it does vaguely imply the three common "Flavors" of Shadowrun. They're usually used as an either-or descriptor; however, I believe they're better suited to a three-way sliding scale, and I would like to tell you all about how that could help you describe your own game's vibe to your chummers. Let's jack in, shall we?

Different Dystopian Dispositions 

If you've ever been in or around a conversation about Shadowrun, you've likely heard one of the three terms below used to describe the style of someone's game. 

• Black Trenchcoat is the designation for the more "Serious" games. Characters are generally serious, and vulnerable, in the dystopian world. When you say you're running a "Black Trenchcoat" game, it usually means that your campaign will be focusing on more serious themes, grittier stories, and an overall darker game with serious consequences to player actions. Serious.
• Pink Mohawk is the opposite of the above, and describes more "Whacky" games. Player Characters are usually much more competent and robust, events and storylines tend to be lighthearted and feature fewer "real" consequences, and problems are often solved with copious amounts of explosives. 
• Mirrorshades is the middle point between the the two, giving both sides of the coin the chance to get some play - You'll face questions of morality, involved storylines, and have some expectation of character development, but you'll also have times where you're dodging bullets in a blazing street race against a literal speed demon.  

Now, these are fine as a very basic classification - if all you want to know is whether plowing an invisible APC through a wall is at least somewhat tonally appropriate, then it's a good enough system. However, I want to be able to more granularly communicate what my game's vibe is all about, without having to resort to wretched, inefficient words. 

So, here's the most obvious and practical system I could think of - a triangle slider with two accompanying regular sliders!  

If you know anything about visual design, then I can only apologize.

Augmented Moods

The most controversial change on the central triangle slider (leave a comment if there's an actual name for these things that isn't "triangle slider") is that I've significantly redefined the three terms. Here, you use them to convey what your game's tonal focuses are and how much so; with the very center of the triangle being an even spread of the three, and each corner acting as a full-on ideal of that element and neither of the other two. 

• Black Trenchcoat is how Serious your game is. Trenchy games are ones that think about themes, and really emphasizes the grimness of dystopia. Going heavy on Trenchcoat means that your game has consequences and drama, while its absence means the dark stuff isn't as focused on. 
• Pink Mohawk is how Colorful your game is. Mohawk-leaning games see ostentatious and larger-than-life characters, using impractical-but-cool equipment and casting spells while swinging katanas around; less pink games would be considered more down to earth and (relatively) realistic.
• Mirrorshades is how Professional your game is. Boldly separating into its own category, a focus on shades indicates a game about highly-coordinated and efficient operators; a completely mirrorless game embraces a discordant team dynamic, and cares not for procedures or plans. 

The Same Words, but Different

Why did I give these somewhat-established terms new definitions? Because everyone else has already been doing it. I've been around enough conversations along the lines of...

 "Well my game's mostly Pink Mohawk, but our last game we had such a Mirrorshades moment..." 

...to realize that I might as well join the club; and as long I communicate what I mean by them effectively, I'm sure there will be absolutely zero misunderstanding about them. Have you ever heard of misunderstandings on the internet? Me neither. 

My main goal, though, was to make a system that no longer makes these concepts mutually excusive. Why wouldn't I want an easy way to explain that I'm in a game about leather-clad weirdos who spend 4 hours planning on how to blow up a dragon, or a game about SWAT-like operatives and their emotional turmoil? 

And, most importantly, I made it so that the dead center of the triangle is what the "standard" concept of a Shadowrun game is, at least in my mind: A team of stylish and skilled criminal weirdos, in a dystopian and hostile world, laughing at Johnny Law as they complete contracts through precisely-applied chaos before getting caught up in something bigger than them. 

Often, dragons are bigger than them.

So what're the other two?

While not as critical as the central triangle, I believe these other two sliders help further convey the "feel" of your game. 

The Wild/Mellow slider could most easily be described as "how many explosions your game has". A Wild game features high-octane car chases, dramatic running battles, and intense showdowns with powerful nemeses. A Mellow game can still have action, just that it's less "ramping bikes off a building to hit a helicopter with your sword" and more "tense gunpoint standoff in a dark alley".  

the Neon/Rainy slider talks about how "upbeat" your game is. A Neon game might take place in a dark setting, but it focuses on the little things - your personal successes are meaningful, and you might even change the world! A Rainy game does more work to hammer in the hopelessness - the corporations have won, the world is ruined, and your actions will never matter on a greater scale. 

And again, both of these are sliders rather than binaries; and neither of them really conflict with the central triangle - a game can be be high-octane advantures of zany cyberpunks while still ultimately being nihilistic, and even the most noir detective story can end on a hopeful note. 

Well that's nice and all, but who is this for? 

For you, dear reader! Take it, use it, modify it, completely redesign it - I give you the full freedom and authority to do as much or as little with it as you wish. Just remember to mention me fondly when you're showing people your vastly superior and exponentially more aesthetically pleasing version of it. 

My main idea is that GMs and players can easily use this to graphically show others what their game is like. Of course, this is still subjective - what I consider a maximally Rain game might seem only 60% Rain to you - but either way, hopefully it'll get people to talk more about the moods and tones of their games.

It could also be used for not-yet-playing groups to settle on what type of game they want - all the players individually filling it in would help the GM hone in on what type of experience they collectively want, and how strongly they feel about those things. 

You could, of course, use this for other games as well; I specifically gave this a Shadowrun-y vibe, but you could apply it to basically most other cyberpunk games, and realistically other games too with a bit of modification.  

And of course, the most important reason that I made this, the greatest purpose of all - So that I can be the first one to post it, and tell you all about how fun my latest Shadowrun game has been!