Events Potentially Important to Characters.
While trying to figure out my own character’s age based on events he had to be alive to experience (The Surge), and what events mentioned in the NPCs bio of my current campaign that shaped them (veteran, but of which army and war?), I began exploring the timeline of Shadowrun events to figure when things would have happened to the characters, what events they might personally consider important, and what events they might have lived personally lived through.
Shadowrun year is supposed to be today +62 so we are in 2080 game year. SR history diverges most sharply from ours in 1999 with the Seretech decision.
There is a lot of data of course, http://shadowrun.wikia.com/wiki/Shadowrun_timeline
So I tried to condense each year to one or two lines of famous events that might inform their character’s knowledge of the world, their hobbies and biases, and I figured I’d share so other campaigns can flesh out their PC and NPC backgrounds.
Let me know which might be important to your characters, or if I missed any events you think should be important to PCs. I stuck to cannon references so the events are accurate to the actual game history as far I can tell to that (Some events are unclear exactly what and when something happened), but for character knowledge, be sure to consider how much of the histories are actually public knowledge, speculation, or obscured up by propaganda.
Most of the characters in my campaign won’t have experiences much before 2040 but depending on knowledge, lore, cultural and familial ties, ancient history events still might be relevant to them.
Shadowrun timeline – Game Relevant Events
1999 – Seretech Decision – Rioters hit what they think is a food truck (but is carrying toxic waste). Seretech security used lethal force to prevent hazardous waste leak. Rules MajorCorps have a right to private army.
2001 – Shiwase Decision – Shiwase repels terrorist attack using private army. Says they would not have to resort to such drastic measures if they were not subject to nation’s laws weakening their security. Using precedent from Seretech Decision, grants Major Corps Extraterritoriality (private property is not under the host country’s jurisdiction). NASA Probes discover pyramids and skeleton on Mars and begin secret follow up mission under VEIL (DOD Top Secret Agency) jurisdiction.
2005 – Second Korean War (South Vs North) begins.
2006 – North Korea attacks Japan, prompting greater war participation and the refounding of the Japanese Imperial State to build up its army.
2010 – VITAS Outbreak (Kali’s Harvest) in India eventually kills 450 million.
2011 – The Year of Chaos – First UGE (Unexplained Genetic Expression) baby is born in January, while several governments collapse due to VITAS outbreaks. In December the Awakening occurs as Dragons reemerge (Ryumyo on Mount Fuji), Magic returns (Daniel Coleman escape Abilene detainment camp with magical shield), bringing ley lines and mana Storms. Several more nuclear power plants meltdown and the Auvergne volcano in France erupts. Black tide hits European shores, kills thousands and displaces millions. Passau Treaties expand Extraterritoriality automatically to AAA Mega Corps and wholly own subsidiaries. Tibet finds Yetis in Nepal and also declares independence from China with Large Magical Barrier.
2012 – The Big D – Ganges, Indus, and Jamuna Rivers in India become purified mana lines. Great Dragon Dunkelzhan grants 12 hour interview with Holly Brighton to explain the awakening. Japan passes the Yamato Act deregulating Japanese corps and makes Nuyen the official currency of the state. Outright warfare between Keruba and BMW prompt Seven Major Corps to form Inter-Corporate Council to mediate disputes. VEIL Mission to Mars (Operation Discovery) suffers malfunction on route killing 5 of 8, remaining 3 return via command module.
2013 – First Naga appear near Angkor War, and begins being worshiped by peasants. Combat Biking League is founded in Baton Rouge.
2014 – Daniel Coleman returns as Daniel Howling Coyote and announces formation of Native American Nations (NAN) and demand all non-natives leave north America. He causes Redondo volcano to erupt burying Los Alamos and so begins the Ghost Dance War (US & Can vs NAN).
2015 – Aztlan – Francisco Pavon of the Aztlan party is elected president of Mexico, renames it to Aztlan (Major Cartel, ORO involved in the voting process). The Magic Hat opens in Minneapolis, first private org for practicing magicians. Natural Vat Food Technologies is established in Puerto Rico, growing fungus in flooded sugarcane fields and converted into Mycoprotein foodstuffs. Makes PR the richest island in the Caribbean. Hong Kong secedes from China and forms the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone (HKFEZ).
2016 – Ares buys NASA.
2017 – 4 Tech Companies merge to form Transys Neuronet. Daniel Howling Coyote initiates the Great Ghost Dance causing Mount Hood, Ranier, St. Helens and Adams to erupt. King Kamehameha IV (Danforth Ho) declares Kingdom of Hawai’i a sovereign nation and is accepted by US due to Megacorp pressure. Tai-Hei earthquake destroys China’s nuclear stockpile and open crevasses in Tiananmen square. Harris-3M launches first private space station, Halo.
2018 – More Chinese provinces rebel and form the Canton Confederation. US, CAN, Aztlan, and NAN ratify Treaty of Denver ending Ghost Dance War. Most of western North America ceded to NAN, and Denver is divided into districts of the treaty member states. Dr. Hosato Hikita of ESP Systems, Chicago demonstrate first gen ASIST (Artificial Sensory Induction Systems technology).
2019 – Ares unveils Apollo Station. Transys announces first successful Cyberlimb implantation on concert violinist Leonora Bartoli. Great Dragon Lung’s red Dragon Association becomes Hong Kong’s most powerful Triad.
2020 – Inuvik named Capital of Trans-Polar Aleut Nation (Greenland, now Thule, Iceland and Arctic).
2021 – Goblinization – 10% of world suddenly mutates, even in utero. Quebec extends rights to all Goblinized franophone citizens, Czech Republic offers full assistance to Goblinized citizens. President Joaquim Delmonte of Dominican Republic announces acceptance of any Goblinized immigrants after he becomes an ork. Japan annexes Yomi Island in the Philippines and sends all meta-human population there. Time Magazine writer McBean writes article, then later book “Looking for Gonzo” about his friend Jerry Gonzo Peterson after he became a troll.
2022 – Switzerland passes MSL (Metahuman Segregation Law) causing several cantons to secede to form Confertation Suisse Francophone. Metahuman race riots occur around the world. LA walls of worst of gang slums and area is dubbed El Infierno. ORO rebrands to Aztechnology as part of adoption of Aztec culture within Aztlan. FCC becomes ITCC (Internetwork Transmission Control Council). VITAS 2 decimates world population. German gov moves to Hanover. Australia and New Zealand form allied coalition (ANZAC). German mages form Doctor Faustus Society to campaign for scientific recognition of hermetic magic. Cuba, Jamaica, Grenada, Bermuda, and Virgin Islands join to form Caribbean League.
2023 – Metahuman Rights – Seattle PD go on Strike. Gov Lindstrom declares strike illegal, fires entire SPD and contracts Lone Star Security Services to replace it. King Kouame of Anyi (Former Ivory coast) declares it to be a Troll and Ork only nation banishing others. Aikido Master Frances Daniels demonstrates new form of magic to enhance physical abilities (Physical adept powers revealed). Texas passes metahuman rights act and upheld by supreme court granting metahumans equal rights. Kenneth Brackhaven goblinizes in to an ork, and is killed and replaced by a brainwashed, surgically altered sinless orphan. Neuro-interface software engineer Moira Thornton invents the synthlink.
2024 – First Simsense player released. Pope John XXV issues Imago Dei, that metahumans have souls and can be saved.
2025 – Lone Star officially takes over Law enforcement in Seattle.
2026 – World Cyclist Combat league is founded as Combat Biking becomes a major sport.
2027 – Dr. Etienne Dumas invents a test for magical ability and Dumas test is quickly adapted by corps and govs.
2028 – LA hit by bad earthquake destroying LAX.
2029 – Crash Virus of 29 – Virus attacks world networks and causes massive destruction to world computer systems causing massive gov upheavals. Earthquake also destroys old architecture in Tenochtitlan. First cyberterminal prototypes developed. Echo Mirage team use cyberterminals to Battle Crash Virus in cyberspace, learn the dangers of biofeedback, but begin pushing back virus with newly developed cyberspace tools.
2030 – Aegis starts path to becoming top private intelligence corp in the world by reconstructing pre-crash data. War between Aztlan and C&C (Who blame Aztlan for Crash) in which C&C is wiped out begets formation of United Corporate Council (UCC) to prevent future “misunderstandings” between corps. Remaining US and Can form UCAS. India has nuclear exchange with Pakistan but war is halted by UN and Corporate court. Concrete Dreams plays first show in Seattle at Club Penumbra.
2031 – Russia invades Poland starting the first Eurowar. Scandinavian Union forms. Echo Mirage team two wipes out last of Crash Virus, Survivors then become targeted by UCAS gov for their extensive security expertise, thus leave to join various corps. Echo Mirage head MAJ David Gavilan disappears (rumored to become Damian Knight). Chief technician Erica Rutledge becomes shadowrunner “Static”. Other members work bringing knowledge of cyberterminal tech to corps only to suffer accidents and have the tech bought out.
2032 – First Trideo broadcast is Concrete Dreams “Sons of Thunder” on RockNet’s New Notes program introducing the music world to the Synthlink. Corporate Court involves itself in reconstruction of worldwide comms that would form the Matrix, takes over ITCC forming Corporate Court Matrix Authority. Consortium of Corporate Court Members take over Global Financial Services. Lone Star is granted extraterritoriality, and given DEA enforcement duties. Human MetaHuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV) is identified.
2033 – Unidentified planes hit targets on both sides of Eurowar, kill key commanders and crash local matrix. Russia and EA call for ceasefire ending Eurowar. Damian Knight acquires 22% of Ares with 1 minute of pre-programmed trading called the Nanosecond buyout, ousts Leonard Aurelius and names himself CEO. Global Financial Services is renamed Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank and moved to the Zurich-Orbital Habitat (previously Freedom Station). The Elven state of Pomorya is founded in northeast Germany.
2034 – Matrix Systems releases the first gray-market cyberterminal, the Portal. Founders both die in freak accidents and computer systems crash losing data. Richard Villiers acquires one-third of Fuchi Industrial Electronics in exchange for all of his North American holdings, his Corporate Court seat, and his backup data and prototype of the Portal. Hualpa, Sirrurg, and an unidentified third great dragon lead a force of Awakened and metahumans to seize Manaus in the Amazon Basin. The force begins to seize more territory, spreading outward from the Basin. Elven country of Tír na nÓg is formed taking over ireland. CAS secedes from UCAS in Treaty of Richmond (Disagreement over the merge with Canada). Alliance for Allah (AFA) Caliphate of the Muslim states in the middle-east try of take advantage of war torn Europe by invading Eastern Europe starting Eurowar II.
2035 – Atlanta named capitol of CAS. Lugh Surehand declares the independence of Tír Tairngire (Portland and surrounding areas) from the Native American Nations with himself as High Prince. Jonathon Reed, Maria Cinebal, and Dar Varien are appointed to the Council of Princes of Tír Tairngire. Lofwyr is appointed to the Council of Princes of Tír Tairngire, then increases its membership to eleven, inducting Blake Ladner, Garth Stone, Larry Zincan, and Rex as its new princes. Aztlan invades Texas, capturing the cities of Austin and San Antonio. The capital of Texas is moved to Dallas-Fort Worth.
2036 – California is forced into secession from the UCAS (After request for more aid are unmet, and UCAS cuts them off). Aztlan invades southern California, taking the city of San Diego after UCAS President Andrew McAlister orders the Pacific Fleet to abandon the harbor. Tír Tairngire invades northern California, going as far as Redding. Governor Treacle appeals to Japan for aid. The Japanese Imperial State grants control of its national currency, the nuyen, to Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank. The nuyen is adopted as the world reserve currency. The Great Dragon Lofwyr announces his hostile takeover of BMW/Krupp at a shareholder meeting, revealing his ownership of 63% of company stock and usurping Wilhelmina Graff-Beloit as CEO. Fuchi Industrial Electronics introduces the CDT-1000 cyberterminal. This third-generation cyberterminal is the size of a desktop box.
2037 – Japan responds to California’s request for aid by taking control of San Francisco and declaring martial law. Denver Data Haven, an underground computer clearing house for illegal and bootleg information, goes online. Located in the old USAF Academy in Colorado Springs, it becomes a force to be reckoned with inside the Matrix shadow community in the years that follow. Lofwyr moves the Saeder-Krupp headquarters to Essen, turning the city into the great dragon’s personal kingdom. DocWagon is founded in Atlanta, Georgia. It promises to provide faster and better emergency on-site medical care than any other private paramedical service. Emotive signal processing is enabled in commercial simsense via Fuchi Industrial Electronic’s RealSense technology. Leader of AFA assassinated and forces begin infighting ending Eurowar II. The first North American Urban Brawl championship, “Super Brawl,” is held. Daniel “Howling Coyote” Coleman resigns as head for the Sovereign Tribal Council (In disgust over multiple secessions of NAN states) and withdrew from society. Opel, Mercedes, and BMW offer automobiles equipped for operation by riggers for the first time at the International Automotive Show in Germany.
2038 – Computer genius Steven Z. Ridgemont founds FTL Technologies. His persona code will be standard on Fuchi cyberdecks for years. Judy Hofsted becomes the first woman to win a professional baseball contract, signing with the Detroit Tigers. First Superbowl since 2030 is held. Anarchist Black Crescent (ABC), an anarchist paramedic network is established in 2038 in the city of Berlin by Louise Derrida and Ozgur al Houssari, a Turkish-Palestinian hobgoblin.
2039 – Night of Rage – Largest Anti-Metahuman riots worldwide and several terrorist attacks (in response to UCAS 14th Amendment and similar global legislation granting meta-human rights). The superheavyweight class (95 kilograms and up) is introduced into the World Boxing Association and the International Boxing Commission to accommodate augmented human and metahuman fighters. A victim’s ghost in the CAS helps discover evidences leading to the arrest of a her murderer, a serial killer.
2040 – The Thomas Jefferson International Airport opens in North Virginia, near Washington FDC. The Cape Republic, Zulu Nation, Oranje-Vrystaat, and the Trans-Swazi Federation unite into the Confederated Azanian Nations. BTL abuse climbs to record heights in the Republic of Korea. Over the next ten years, it is slowly contained through the efforts of socially conscious groups like the Church of Unification.
2041 – DocWagon becomes Atlanta’s de facto official on-site health care provider. All professional UCAS athletic leagues are required to admit metahumans. The UCAS FDA approves antibacterial monoclonal antibody treatment for patient treatment. The First Copenhagen Accords are signed to prohibit biological warfare. First policlubs appear in Europe.
2042 – Yamatetsu achieves AAA status, unknown investor Ms. Buttercup aquires 11% stake. The requirements for corporate extraterritoriality are formally established by the Business Recognition Accords. Starring the great dragon Dunkelzahn, the first episode of Wyrm Talk airs. After declaring independence from Turkey, Istanbul changes its name back to Constantinople. Pope John XXV allows women into the Roman Catholic priesthood. The Eurowars officially end. First biannual international Urban Brawl World Cup. After formally becoming a great dragon, Masaru builds a lair on Vancouver Island. Veil agents intercept and destroy all data from the Ares Cydonia Mars probes.
2043 – The Universal Brotherhood opens its first chapters in San Francisco, Ukiah, and Gilroy, California. The Black Forest Troll Kingdom is founded in Germany. The Grand Duchy of Westrhine-Luxembourg is founded in Germany. The EBMM Scandal, involving magical cheating in an Urban Brawl match, tarnishes the season in Germany.The first professional gladiator matches take place in the UCAS. The Seattle yakuza purge the Koreans from their ranks. The survivors form the first Seoulpa Rings.
2044 – Chancellor Alfons Hunggarten attempted to break the monopoly of foreign corporations. The South German League collapses after corporations withdraw their support. A constitutional council is established to reorganize Germany. The Olympic Games are held for the first time since 2032. Multinational teams backed by corporate interests are allowed to compete.
2045 – The Federal Republic of Germany is replaced by the Allied German States. Physical Adepts allowed into UCAS professional sports. Crowds from all across the country flock to an all-simsense theme park that opens near Portland, in Tir Tairngire.
2046 – The simsense program Free Fall, starring Holly Brighton, breaks sim sales records and pushes simsense technology into the mass market. Humanis Policlub is founded in Texas.
2047 – Maria Mercurial plays her first concert in Underworld 93.
2048 – Aztechnology opens the Spindle orbital platform. Operation RECIPROCITY: The Corporate Court conducts a joint military strike against Aztechnology and Aztlan for nationalizing corporate assets, forcing them to accept the terms of the Veracruz Settlement to pay reparations to other AAA whose assets it nationalized. Maria Mercurial’s Who Weeps for the Children? hits number one on the MTCA’s Top 100, pushing her to novastardom. Amanda “Euphoria” Lockheart becomes a simsense star with the release of her first starring role, Shotgun Blue. Panama Canal is transferred to the Corporate Court, and the Pan-Corporate Zone is designed as a “megacorporate protectorate” with its own governor and security provided by all of the AAA megacorps except Aztechnology. Scotland declares full independence.
2049 – The great feathered serpent Arleesh awakens in Amazonia. Maria Mercurial’s second album, Puta, is released. Renraku develops the first semi-autonomous knowbots. A team of mages from AGS and the Czech Republic are awarded the first Nobel Prize for Magic.
2050 – Shadowrun 1E starts. Keyboard-sized seventh-generation cyberdecks enter the market. Closed-circuit simsense technology is commercially available, allowing a single rigger to monitor an entire building. Buttercup reveals that she is a free spirit.
2051 – Final Fling, featuring simsense starlet Euphoria, is released, she “suddenly retires” later that year, her last film Against the Hive Masters becoming a classic. The great western dragon Schwartzkopf appears in the town of Furth im Wald at the foot of Schwarzkoppe Mountain and declares himself its ruler. Spinrad Industries signs a one hundred-year lease for the entire Principality of Monaco and begins a dramatic reconstruction plan.The Song-O-Mat scandal. After Zir Zemo’s use of the Song-O-Mat software is discovered, the Japanacorp Uzora is revealed to have manufactured numerous musical groups with the same software.
2052 – UCAS Data Systems pulls funding from Dr. Ronald Halberstam after they discover he is trying to isolate children’s’ brains from their bodies to raise them completely in the Matrix. Bioware is released to the public market, gaining instant popularity.
2053 – The Essence-Integrity Theory is published, describing the link between cybertechnology enhancements and the loss of magical potency. The Great Dragon Hestaby awakens and stops Tír Tairngire’s attack on Shasta Dam. She claims Mount Shasta as her domain.
2054 – The shadowrunners known as the D-Team, with D standing for Dunkelzahn, make their first appearance. Events of SR:Dragonfall occur and SR:Dead Man’s Switch begin. An unknown scientist proposes that elven cells resist aging. He calls the phenomenon the Stopwatch Complex. Martin de Vries continues his one man mission and ends a vampire serial killer’s fifteen-month reign of terror in Minneapolis/St. Paul with extreme force.
2055 – Universal Brotherhood – Events of SR: Dead Man’s Switch conclude. Acting on “tips” from Ares, the UCAS FBI discovers that insect spirits control the Universal Brotherhood and shut it down, using a cover story of financial corruption. An Ares Macrotechnology Firewatch team assaults the Universal Brotherhood’s chapter house in Chicago. The insect spirits escape into the city, causing mass panic. The UCAS government demolishes buildings around the downtown core, trapping over 100,000 civilians within the “Chicago Containment Zone.” The official story is of a VITAS outbreak. Unknown group infiltrates and detonates a sub-tactical nuclear weapon against the queens knocking all spirits there into torpor. Shadow docs released revealing truth of incident gain Chicago new nickname of Bug City. The first rumors of Otaku, children who access the Matrix without a cyberdeck, begin to emerge.
2056 – Bug City – Insect Hives uncovered worldwide. The UCAS Congress formally recognizes the great dragon Dunkelzahn as a legal citizen. A famous “handshake” between Dunkelzahn and UCAS President Thomas Steele sends the Technocrat ticket to the top of the polls. Renraku Computer Systems launches the Locus Elementum organization.
2057 – Year of the Dragon – Aurélie de Paladines wins the French presidential election and becomes the first woman to be President of France. The UCAS House of Representatives declares the UCAS Presidential Election of 2056 invalid, cancelling the inauguration of incumbent President Thomas Steele on the next day. Speaker of the House Betty Jo Pritchard becomes president ad interim before new election. UCAS: President Steele and Vice President Booth are impeached. By default, Speaker of the House Betty Jo Pritchard becomes the first female president of the UCAS, and new elections are announced. The Great Dragon Dunkelzahn and Kyle Haeffner win the UCAS Presidential Election. Dunkelzahn is sworn into the office of President of the UCAS, hours before dying in the explosion of his limousine in Washington FDC, UCAS. An astral rift appear soon after on the site. Riots start in all the UCAS cities. Haeffner is sworn in and continues Dunkelzhan’s polices.The reading of Dunkelzahn’s Will establishes the Draco Foundation, among many other things. David Emerson funds his religious organization, the Children of the Dragon, revering the Great Dragon Dunkelzahn. A change to the 14th Amendment allows non-metahuman sentients and probationary citizens to obtain SINs, and a new National Flag is adopted.
2058 – Year of the Mob -Mob war erupts in Seattle. Telestrian Industries’ Project Aegis from SR:Dead Man’s Switch is developed into a product called “Fluorescing Astral Bacteria-3”, or “FAB-3” to combat insect spirits. Ares implements “Operation Extermination,” a large-scale physical and magical assault on the insect spirits infesting the Chicago Containment Zone. Unfortunately, FAB-3 does not restrict its depredation to insect spirits—it affects any astral object or being. Chicago’s ghoul community is devastated. The Chicago quarantine is officially lifted in President Haeffner’s State of the Union address. Renraku successfully recaptures the AI Morgan, and utilizes sections of her programming to develop the Arcology Expert Program (later to be known as the infamous AI Deus). Housed in the SCIRE, it controls the day-to-day care of more than 90,000 people. Saeder-Krupp finished construction of the Essen arcology, which is hailed as a triumph of modern engineering. Renraku Europe relocates its HQ from Berlin to Munich and begins the construction of an arcology on the grounds of former Hellabrunn zoo.
2059 – Year of the Corp – Tadamako Shibanokuji, chairman of Yamatetsu’s board of directors, suffers a debilitating stroke. Control of his stock shares temporarily goes to Yamatetsu CEO Saru Iwano, until Tadamako dies, and the shares revert to his son, an Ork named Yuri Shibanokuji, who relocates the corp HQ from Kyoto, Japan, to his home city of Vladivostok, Russia to enact a change of corp culture. The Pacific Prosperity Group is established. After White Monday (Massive Tokyo stock exchange drop) Several Corporate Court seats shake up and new AAA corp Novatech (Formed from Villiers International and Cambridge Holdings) replaces Fuchi on the court, after Richard Villiers leaves Fuchi CEO position to head Novatech. The Draco Foundation announces that Art Dankwalther, to whom Great Dragon Dunkelzahn willed UCAS $34,586,224,739.58, has been discovered. The “Shutdown” of the Renraku Arcology (The SCIRE) begins in Seattle, UCAS, is sealed automatically by security systems, trapping more than 100,000 people inside. Local, federal and corporate authorities deploy troops and declare the arcology off-limits to non-military personnel.
2060 – Year of the AI – Start of Shadowrun 3rd Edition. The UCAS Army erects a quarantine zone around the SCIRE. Rumors spread on Shadowland that an Artificial Intelligence has taken over the SCIRE and is performing brutal experiments on its captives. Representatives from the corporate and anarchist zones of Berlin sign a treaty of coexistence. The Draco Foundation awards its prize to Yamatetsu for creating the first self-sustaining underwater habitat. Renraku’s arcology in Munich opens.
2061 – Year of the Comet – Corps rush to design and launch probes to study Halley’s Comet. The Corporate Court founds the Grid Overwatch Division as a cross-jurisdictional Matrix law enforcement division. Tibetan monks transport Inazo Aneki to the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone to transfer him back to Renraku Computer Systems custody. Shadowrunners working for Overwatch abduct Aneki and eventually bring him into the Renraku Arcology to confront and shut down Deus. Deus forms the Network by downloading its code into the minds of around a thousand metahumans. Unknown to Deus, the AI Maegara was transferred to the Network as well. Renraku Computer Systems announces the death of its CEO, Inazo Aneki, who commited Seppuku while jacked in to the SCIRE’s host. He remains nominal CEO. Only Ares probe succeeds in making it to the comet. As Halley’s comet becomes visible the first SURGE cases are reported, including hundreds in India near the river Ganges. Earthquakes and volcanoes erupt globally. A Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research team identifies a recently-discovered vein of metal in Azania as orichalcum. The news sparks an orichalcum rush among the megacorporations. A massive draconic astral form tears itself from Dunkelzahn’s Rift, dragging countless spirits with it into the material world. Dubbed Ghostwalker, it regains material form, moves to Denver and targets several high-profile buildings and spirits focusing mostly on the Aztlan sector.
2062 – Yasuhito becomes Emperor of Japan; beginning the Gen-Yu era. Overwatch learns of the Network while observing Renraku Arcology survivors. The Council of Denver meets with Ghostwalker, giving him control of the city. The Aztlan sector is given to the CAS and Aztlan personnel are ordered to leave it the city. As Halley’s Comet disappears from view. All known natural orichalcum deposits run dry, and no new deposits are located. Reports of new SURGE cases decrease to a trickle. The Great Dragon Hestaby, who had guarded northern California Free State from Tír Tairngire, joins the Tir High Council of Princes, replacing departing Lofwyr. Shiawase and Renraku cooperate in purging their ranks of Deus infiltrators to secure their corporations against insurgency.
2063 – Noted ork rocker CrimeTime releases Djoto, the first album primarily in Or’zet, and overnight the orxploitation musical genre is born. High-level media and industry officials establish the Horizon Group, and former sim-star Gary Cline is appointed CEO. The first publicized (and for many, known) manned mission to Mars, the Yamatetsu ship, the Valentina Tereshkova, transmits live footage from the Martian surface. Control over the Renraku Arcology is passed to the Seattle Metroplex Guard. The SCIRE becomes the ACHE – Arcology Commercial and Housing Enclave. The five-floor mall has been reopened to the public. The underground levels which house the Arcology’s fusion reactors remain under the control of the UCAS military, while the highest floors remain sealed off. The 200 floors above the mall have become a massive public housing project, home to 150,000 residents on welfare as what some have described as a “voluntary inmates of a gigantic self-contained low-security prison”.The Hong Kong triad war ends with the Red Dragon Association victorious and the Yellow Lotus destroyed. Deus starts a complete purge of disloyal Network nodes by killing or crippling them to prevent them from further obstructing the compilation process. Severely weakened, Megaera contacts Mirage for assistance in repairing crippled nodes. During Submersion at her tribe’s Dissonance well, Pax (Leader of the Otaku Tribe Ex Paxcis) has a powerful vision of a immense serpent rising from the depths of cyberspace. It grew and filled the Matrix until it wrapped around the world, poisoning the world with Dissonance and corrupting the very fabric of cyberspace. Inspired, Pax begins developing a new virus. Pax is increasing pressured by her Fading (Losing Otaku abilities as she ages). Additionally, Overwatch, GOD, and various intelligence agencies begin pursuing her after her former master, Deus, frames Ex Pacis for the abduction of Shiawase heir and future Japanese empress, Hitomi Shiawase. Having finally tracked down a Winternight cell (apocalyptic cult), Pax proposes an alliance with them. The Surtr prototype is stolen from Zeta-ImpChem and Winternight begins producing it in Scandinavia. Winternight begins carrying out strikes against Overwatch enclaves and the Network on behalf of Ex Pacis, using deniable assets when possible to inhibit identification.
2064 – Matrix Crash 2.0 – Novatech announces that 20% of their stock will be sold in an IPO, The East Coast Stock Exchange begins upgrading its infrastructure in anticipation of heavy traffic for the Novatech IPO. Operation Jormungand: Pax successfully tests the Jormungand worm and readies it for distribution. Winternight’s allies in Hindu Kali cults help Ex Pacis place otaku in Kolkata Integrated Talent & Technologies, where they scout potential sites for Jormungand code eggs. Puck informs Pax of Deus’s plans for the Novatech IPO (Using its computing power for a massive upgrade). The Network finishes compiling Deus’s code and uploads him into the Matrix. The surviving 1,342 Network nodes fall into a coma. Pax gives Puck a Jormungand code egg with instructions to upload it to the East Coast Stock Exchange without Deus’s knowledge. The Corporate Court systematically dismantles as much of Winternight’s infrastructure as they can. The cult is believed destroyed and the CC forces stand down. Deus takes over the ECSE as trading begins. Otaku spies in the ESCE create a Resonance Well inside the Host, allowing Megaera and Mirage to engage Deus. Jormungand activates. Friday confesses Winternight’s plan to her captors. Puck places his Jormungand egg into the ESCE Host.Operation Mjolnir: Six of Winternight’s fifteen EMP bombs and three of their five conventional nuclear weapons detonate; corporate, national, and independent agents manage to stop the rest of the weapons or mitigate their effects. 9:51 AM: Dissonance corrupts major data hubs around the world. International data traffic begins crashing. An illusion is cast over Boston of a wolf devouring the sun.2065 – Empress Hitomi Shiawase becomes Chairwoman of the board of Shiawase after internal corporate reorganization. Transys-Erika hosts the Second Universal Matrix Conference at their Silicon Glen corporate facilities in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. The main consideration is the Wireless Matrix Initiative, intended to replace the wired infrastructure damaged during Crash 2.0, and a series of standards for the new initiative. The Corporate Court revokes Cross Applied Technologies’s seat and AAA status. CAT is reclassified as A. Horizon receives its AAA rating and its seat on the Corporate Court.Novatech and Transys-Erika announce their merger. The new corporation is named NeoNET and retains its AAA status. Richard Villiers remains CEO. The great dragon Celedyr is announced as the head of R&D.
2066 – First generation commlinks — palm-sized cyberterminals — are commercially released. The French government sets the Brocéliande Forest as a self-governing territory under control of the Korrigan, a coalition of sapient non-metahumans including pixies and spirits. Glitterworld, an immersive interactive sim park, opens its doors in Korea.
2067 – Crippled from the Matrix Crash 2.0, the Ute Nation is absorbed into the Pueblo Corporate Council. Yamatetsu rebrands itself as Evo. Orxploitation experiences a surge in popularity.
2068 – Virtual marriages are approved as legal by the Corporate Court and in multiple nations around the globe, including UCAS. Gen. Angela Colloton, famous for her command of the Renraku Arcology situation and for defending against the 2064 coup, is elected President of the UCAS.
2069 – Two major earthquakes from the San Andreas and San Pedro Shelf fault lines rock the West Coast. Centered in Los Angeles, they causing widespread destruction never seen before in California. Parts of Southern California and the Central Valley fall below sea level, and after being hit with a tsunami, Los Angeles and other coastal cities are cut off from the mainland, effectively becoming islands. The quakes are powerful enough that people in Africa report seeing well water moving. Mount Rainier, near Seattle, erupts; in the following years, it repeatedly showers Seattle with ash falls. Later it is discovered that the topography of the area has significantly changed, with a vast network of astral constructs in the form of underground tunnels and lagoon-sized sinkholes appearing. This unnatural phenomenon is named the Deep Lacuna and stretches from CalFree north of Los Angeles south into Aztlan. Between the earthquakes, flooding, and appearance of the Deep Lacuna, much of LA is a disaster zone; the entire NAN pitches in for rescue and recovery operations. Symbionts reach the mass market. Princess Caroline is coronated as Queen of the UK five days after King George VIII passes away. MIT&T publishes “The Virtuakinetic Phenomenon,” regarding an individual, Patient “V”, who is apparently able to manipulate the Matrix by thought alone. “V” disappears shortly afterwards, the apparent victim of an unwilling extraction. Saeder-Krupp reveals the first large buildings produced solely by nanotechnology in Portland. The office complex is considered a major breakthrough in nanite-built structures. S-K announces plans to construct their first ever Seattle offices using the same technology.
2070 – A Brave new Wireless world – Start of Shadowrun 4E. The great dragon Rhonabwy signs a contract with Evo’s MetaMatrix branch to produce a daily music review blog called Soothing the Savage Beast. The Hong Kong Incident – 342 patients and 58 medical staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone, including Dr. Thomas Shalbermat, are killed during a violent escape. Mitsuhama Computer Technologies releases a public statement describing the escapees as violent and unpredictable “technomancers.” The United Nations holds an emergency session to discuss the technomancer threat. The rise of technomancers is called the Emergence. Sojourner an AI makes headline news by hijacking the space station Tlaloc (beginning of the so-called Tlatoc Crisis), Pulsar, another AI supported by Horizon releases its “manifesto” and offers to negotiate with Sojourner. Horizon releases Persona 2.0, an exclusive multimedia personal blogging, communication, and social rating system in Los Angeles. The AI Bai Li officially converts to Buddhism. The technomancer registration bill is passed into law in the UCAS. Alexandria and Cairo become havens for technomancers and hackers after the Coptic Pope issues a proclamation offering sanctuary to any who are “People of the Book.” Underground railroads are formed across Asia and Europe to bring them into Egypt. The Diet passes a bill requiring mandatory testing of children for technomancer abilities. Empress Hitomi establishes a government school for young and latent technomancers. The Laodicea Order – an religious order of technomancers – is founded by the German Catholic Church. EVO establishes Garagrin base on Mars.
2071 – Legislation requiring mandatory testing and registration of technomancers is passed by the New European Economic Community (NEEC). The Corporate Court votes against the Artificial Intelligence Accords. It states that the question of AI sapience and rights must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Sun Temple Agriculture seeds all available acreage in Tenochtitlan with its “cotton candy grass,” engineered to absorb airborne pollutants and trap it in the soil as sulfur and ammonia. For the first time in seventy years, pollution levels in Tenochtitlan drop and the city is covered in a field of reddish gold. The Pueblo Corporate Council begins offering SINs to AIs, which accords them rights as Pueblo citizens. Horizon and Evo follow suit within days. A new drug hits the streets around the world. Called tempo or flipside, it sparked an underworld war. Governments rushed legislation in an attempt to control the drug-related crime sprees fueled by the underworld unrest. Empress Hitomi gives birth to the Crown Prince of Japan, Asaka Nashihito.
2072 – The 2072 Winter Olympics begin in Denver. Aztlan’s athletes are barred from competing or even entering the city by ZKF forces. The Seattle government does not renew Lone Star’s contract, citing its poor handling of the tempo crisis. The city negotiates a new contract with Knight Errant.Ares Macrotechnology unveils new nanotechnology designed for space travel applications. The Corporate Court publicly announces that construction is underway on a space elevator, scheduled for activation by 2074 with a space-side habitat ready for general occupation by 2076. The Court receives a petition to decommission the Mt. Kilimanjaro mass driver upon completion of the space elevator. Aztlan declares war on Amazonia after capturing a black ops team inside one of their secret weapons development facilities. FastJack contracts a team led by Riser to get him into the network of a NeoNET facility outside Albuquerque, PCC. While FastJack is investigating the facility’s purpose, something infects both him and Riser; they begin to exhibit symptoms of dissociative identity disorder, which FastJack also notices in Plan 9. The infection identifies itself to FastJack as the “Self-Educating Autonomous Reasoning Combat Hacking” program. Ghostwalker revives Zebulon, the free spirit of Denver from her parts in the 6 districts.
2073 – The nature of HMHVV begins to change. The Infected start noticing increased sensitivity to sunlight and spontaneous cyberware rejections. The Great Dragon Ghostwalker performs a ritual that closes Dunkelzahn’s Rift in Washington, FDC. Over six hundred civilians are killed, nearly two thousand more injured, and almost three hundred fifty are missing, believed pulled into the rift (SINless victims are not included in the official body count). Draco Foundation lawyers move to have Nadja Daviar’s SIN reinstated. She returns to the public eye after almost nine years in hiding. The Great Dragon Sirrurg lays waste to the Aztlan city of Cali. He and his entourage rampage for three hours, slaughtering five thousand soldiers at the local military base. The attack ends at 12:58 PM when he casts a magical spell over Cali’s business district, killing nearly ten thousand civilians with magically-induced genetic and physical defects. Amazonian forces move in before Aztlan can do so and occupy the city. The Great Dragon Hestaby speaks before the United Nations General Assembly. She condemns Sirrurg’s rampage, citing Aztlan’s 2064 execution of Dzitbalchén as the source of his rage, and urges the UN War Crimes Tribunal to take action. Elliot Eyes-of-Wyrm, founder of the Shasta Shamans and one of Hestaby’s closest friends, is assassinated immediately after her speech concludes. Events begin the Great Dragon Civil War. Shortly after Hestaby’s speech to the UN, Alamais establishes a stronghold near GeMiTo, a feral city. Intent on advancing his beliefs of Dragon superiority, the Great Dragon attracts a number of adult dragons to follow him, turning the area into their feeding grounds–every day a dozen or so dragons preyed upon the inhabitants of the sprawl, consuming upwards of 300 metahumans a day. By the time it is all over, ninety thousand metahumans are killed and eaten. Hestaby retaliates against Saeder-Krupp and its subsidiaries; attacking Dubai — summoning spirits and using powerful magics to carve up Saeder-Krupp’s Middle East division headquarters. There are no fatalities during her attack on the forty-seven story high rise, despite turning it into rubble. The United Nations indicts Sirrurg for war crimes.
2074 – At Zebulon’s behest, Ghostwalker outlaws spirit summoning in Denver. Contact with Evo’s Gagarin Base on Mars is lost, then restored after 130 days of radio silence. Hurricane Donald and Sirrurg both land in Borinquen (Puerto Rico) and destroy the NatVat facility, as well as devastating most of the island. Aztlan’s corn crop withers and dies. Within two days, areas that hadn’t been rained on by Hurricane Donald also see their corn die, and the infection spreads both north and south. It is referred to as: “Atlacoya blight”. Inside of a week, Aztlan see much of it’s agricultural strength evaporate. The Second Treaty of Denver expires. Ghostwalker has Perianwyr arrested for “illegal bondage of sapient beings” (spirit summoning) and “treason.” Following increased gang and terroists attacks, activity Denver descends in to civil war. Ghostwalker and Harlequin duel in Denver before Zebulon interrupts and convinces Ghostwalker to stand down. Discussions for a third Treaty of Denver begin between the UCAS, CAS, Sioux Nation, Pueblo Corporate Council, and Aztechnology. Shadowrunners free Perianwyr from imprisonment. Lofwyr attacks Alamais’s GeMiTo compound with overwhelming force that consists of over a thousand metahuman mercenaries and shadowrunners, armored fighting vehicles, air support, twenty adult dragons, and the Great Dragons Lung and Arleesh. Metahuman shadowrunners score the killing blow on Alamais at approximately 1006 on November 6. The Great Dragons leave their lairs for a formal assembly. This marks the effective end of the Great Dragon Civil War. The Assembly sentences Sirrurg to imprisonment, and Hestaby to be stripped of her hoard and ostracized for an apparent ritual (Possibly Black Lodge) attack against Lofwyr during the assault on Alamais.
2075 – Start of Shadowrun 5E. Tir Tairngire holds general elections: Marie-Louise Telestrian becomes High Princess. Hestaby is seen at Mount Shasta for the last time. Loremaster Celedyr declares this date as deadline for all grievances the Great Dragons hold against Metahumanity, considering them all settled afterwards and forbidding further large-scale violence stemming from them. This would officially mark the end of the Great Dragon Civil War.
2076 – The Stolen Souls post hits Jackpoint, revealing more details about Cognitive Fragmentation Disorder (Cyber and especially Nanotech allowing overwrite of mind with rogue AIs) to the shadows. An iridescent dragon escapes a MIT&T research facility, attacks the Boston NeoNET towers, and is subsequently repelled by the Great Dragon Celedyr. The creature crashes into Fenway Park’s Green Monster, flies north to Salem while spreading an iridescent rain cloud, then disappears. Starts events of SR: Boston Lockdown. Boston is quarantined by a collaborative effort between the AAA Prime Megacorporations. The local Matrix node is shut down, effectively cutting the city off from the rest of the world, while defenses both technological and magical are implemented to prevent anyone from getting in or out of Boston. Officially, the quarantine is erected to stop a viral encephalitis outbreak. Unofficially, the iridescent dragon infected a large number of people with a dangerous, experimental CFD strain. Nanotech mostly outlawed and is dropped by most users for fear of CFD and Gray goo threats.
2077 – The Monads (CFD infected people who have stabilized and/or merged their minds) announce themselves to the Corporate Court and outline plans for Project Exodus (Monads to Mars and beyond), scheduled for completion in 2080. The Corporate Court announces the Megacorporate Revision, scheduled to take place over the next few years with the intention to (re)assess the status of all AA and A corporations. The Revision triggers a lot of unrest (and runs) as the scrutinized corporations become targets for AAA takeover as well as attempt to keep their respective statuses by merging with / striking against competitors.2078 – EVO and the NAN offers sanctuary to all CFD cases, now collectively (and mistakenly) referred to as Monads. Cynthia Bills (a Monad) begins campaigning and becomes one of the frontrunners for the new EVO CEO. Gov Brackhaven liquidates his assets and flees Seattle to avoid prosecution, after his efforts to exterminate Ork underground become public.
2079 – NeoNet goes bust being blamed for Boston Lockdown, Spinrad Industries take it place on the Corporate Court.
2080 – “Hardened” nanotech returns to the market in small, limited, and expensive augmentations.
