Tabletop_Gaming__April_2019

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TRY THIS IF

YOU LIKED...

SHADOWRUN

It lacks the fantasy

elements that make

Shadowrununique,

but Shadow of the

Beanstalk is a much

simpler way to hack

mega-corps in a

dystopian future.

F

rom computer-hacking to bio-

modication, Shadow of the

Beanstalk has everything you

need to launch your Genesys game into

the neon-lit streets of the cyberpunk

genre – though the smorgasbord of

tropes does give the setting itself a

distinctly generic feeling, this may not

actually be a bad thing.

Like the previous Genesys

sourcebook to hit shelves, Realms of

Terrinoth, Shadow of the Beanstalk

is designed to get players exploring a

world rst seen in other Fantasy Flight

games. In this case it’s the corporate-

dominated near-future that’s home to

both the Android board game and the

recently-defunct Android: Netrunner

living card game.

is is a world that neatly ticks every

cyberpunk cliché going. Corporate

giants grow clones for menial jobs,

street toughs with luminous hair jack

into vast oceans of data and the streets

are awash with designer drugs with

achingly sci- names like Pixel or

Sting. At the very centre of it all stands

the titular Beanstalk, a vast space

elevator that forms the heart of the

sprawling mega-city of New Angeles.

is isn’t just reected in the ction,

either, with a wealth of new rules and

options all designed to help you play

out your neon and chrome fantasies.

ere are new templates for playing

as mechanical bioroids or long-limbed

humans born and raised in micro-

gravity, skills dedicated to knowing

what’s hot on the Net, and careers for

hackers and tech experts. If you want

to, you could build a cyborg cop armed

with a futuristic hand-cannon and a

drinking problem, or a genetically-

modied courier with chameleonic

skin and an ear for online gossip.

Beyond all the new options and

slick tech on oer, there are a couple

solid changes to the core Genesys rules.

e rst of these is a codied favour

economy – a way of tracking who owes

what and how big a deal their obligation

might be. While it may seem like a

pretty minor deal, it meshes incredibly

Jacking back into the world of Android

GENESYS: SHADOW

OF THE BEANSTALK

(^) PLAY IT? YES
Like other Genesys settings the world
of Android is rather cookie-cutter, but
the rules have everything you need for
a strong cyberpunk adventure.
well with the cyberpunk ethos of
information being power.
e other major system laid out within
Shadow of the Beanstalk is computer
hacking or, to give it its ocial title,
‘Running the Network’. Breaking into a
well-protected system isn’t settled with
just a single roll, but rather a lengthy and
involved process of battling defences
and grabbing data where you can.
In many ways this acts as a kind of
secondary combat system for the game
and, just as the more hands-on members
might buy new guns or combat drugs,
a group’s dedicated runner can equip
themselves with all kinds of sweet tech
to make things easier.
When it runs well the system can
be wonderful. Having the runner work
alongside the rest of the team, opening
doors and disabling cameras as they
break into a black-ops lab, can be a
thrilling experience that really drives
home the cyberpunk dream.
However, while the book has some
fairly solid guidance on keeping
things fun here’s plenty of scope for
it to be handled poorly. Having one
or two characters spend most of a
session trying to grab vital data while
the rest of the table twiddles their
thumbs can be unforgivably boring.
Shadow of the Beanstalk is a setting
painted in broad strokes and, while it
lacks any depth or – if we’re being honest

• originality, there’s still plenty of room to
  build your own stories and characters. In
  fact, in many ways the generic cyberpunk
  feel of the book works out in its advantage.
  With a slight shift to your
  perspective you can begin to
  approach Shadow of the Beanstalk
  as less of a setting guide and more
  like a general cyberpunk toolbox that
  Genesys GMs can plunder as they see
  t. Yes, you can use it to run games set
  in the Android universe, but with only
  a bit of tweaking you can take a shot at
  something more directly inspired by
  Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell, or
  even something of your own creation.
  If Shadow of the Beanstalk was a
  little more o-the-wall, a bit more

original, all this would become a

lot harder. Perhaps that counts as

damning by faint praise, but it’s true.

Folks who are already invested

in the near-future of Android and

Netrunner will certainly get a kick

out of the lore and info-dumps,

and those that just want sweet

cyberpunk rules will nd exactly

what they want. It’s not the most

exciting product of all time, but it

works. Sometimes, what else can

you want but that?

RICHARD JANSENPARKES

256 13+ £40