''Mercurial'' is an adventure published by

FASA FASA Corporation was an American publisher of role-playing games, wargaming, wargames and board games between 1980 and 2001, after which they closed publishing operations for several years, becoming an IP holding company under the name FASA In ...

in 1989 for the near-future

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

role-playing game ''

Shadowrun ''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime fiction, crime, wit ...

''.

Plot summary

The adventure is set in Seattle in 2050. The Runners are hired to protect the rock star Maria Mercurial from her former manager, who apparently wants to harm her after she broke their contract. Soon it becomes clear that this is not a simple bodyguarding gig, as first a

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

gang and then a second group appears, and details of Maria's unhappy past begin to surface.

Publication history

Following the publication of the role-playing game ''Shadowrun'' in 1989, FASA immediately followed up with the first adventure supplement ''Mercurial'', an 80-page softcover book written by Paul Hume, with interior art by Joel Biske,

Timothy Bradstreet Tim Bradstreet (born February 16, 1967) is an American artist and illustrator. Early life Tim Bradstreet was born February 16, 1967, in Cheverly, Maryland. He graduated high school in 1985. Career Bradstreet entered the comic book industry in ...

, Barry Crain, Tammy Daniels, Tara Gallagher, Earl Geier, Rick Harris, and Jim Nelson, and cover art by

Jeff Laubenstein Jeff Laubenstein is an American fantasy artist specializing in watercolor who has produced artwork for several game publishers, and is especially well-known for developing the look and feel of the cyberpunk role-playing game ''Shadowrun'' and the ...

Reception

In the January 1990 edition of ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

'' (Issue 12),

Lee Brimmicombe-Wood Lee Brimmicombe-Wood (born 7 December 1963 in London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan ar ...

admired the production and layout, especially the "debugging" instruction for gamemasters in each section, "for getting players back on track if they wander off course." Although Brimmicombe-Wood thought the adventure "fairly straightforward and unchallenging ..little more than a linear shoot-em-up", he admitted that the adventure possessed "enough pizzazz and ideas to make it rattle along at a furious pace ..it's loud and noisy enough to keep a largish group of players happy for a couple of sessions." Brimmicombe-Wood didn't like an element of fantasy included in the thriller plot, "confirming that FASA have yet to get the cyberpunk/fantasy blend right." Brimmicombe-Wood concluded by giving the adventure an average rating of 3 out of 5, saying, "for a referee who is not afraid to handle plenty of action and turn up the style this is a tight, compact little scenario to throw (grenade-like) at his or her group. Handle with care." In the May 1990 edition of ''

White Wolf The Arctic wolf (''Canis lupus arctos''), also known as the white wolf, polar wolf, and the Arctic grey wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesme ...

'' (Issue #20),

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 ...

gave it an above average rating of 4 out of 5 overall, stating, "''Mercurial''s only weakness may be that some of its storyline transitions are difficult for the players to follow and for gamemaster to run."

References

{{Italic title Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1989 Shadowrun adventures