This week I'm devoting the content of my Corner entry to a few of the many random Shadowrun related thoughts which roam my mind but aren't well formed enough to build an entire article around. And for those of you who may think I'm doing this just so I can get out of the serious work involved in writing a coherent, meaningful essay....you're right.

1: If I ever hear another player say "I hit him" during melee combat I'm going to scream, take all of their karma, and shove it in a dark uncomfortable place. "Hit him" doesn't tell me anything. Be creative, for God sakes.

2: The same goes for "I shoot him".

3: Just once I'd like to hear a character running through the sewers say: "You, know what? I'm really getting tired of the smell of shit...."

4: The first player who announces they are buying Chapstick for their chapped lips get's a billion points of karma. Same goes for Odor Eaters.

5: It would be nice, just once, to meet a Street Samurai who has a collection of antiquated Buddy Holly 45s. (For you kids who have never seen a 45, they look kinda like CDs only they're black and a bit bigger and don't require the use of a laser in order to listen to them.)

6: Lesson Number One: You will never, ever BEAT Renreku.

7: I've never been a big fan of Shadowrunized profanity. I know it was created in order to keep the parent groups from going nuts but, hell, most foul words have been around for centuries and I see no reason why they wouldn't have survived into the 21st century. So fuck it.

8: Every time you use a sniping rifle you give the bad guys another reason to use one on you.

9: A decker who is a master of computers, but still writes poetry on an antique typewriter, is destined to receive large amounts of roleplaying karma.

10: Same goes for a troll mercenary who likes to play an acoustic guitar.

11: Self imposed vulnerabilities are the most reliable way to make your character more human. Without such vulnerabilities your character is simply a living robot portraying the disposable qualities of such an entity.

12: Why not stop off at the library?

13: If your character gets shot in the arm stop you should, for a split second, look at your own arm, visualize the bullet hole, visualize the blood, and imagine the pain before you decide to pull your own gun instead of ducking for cover.

14: When your shaman clutches his or her talisman while casting a spell think of the talisman's history, think for the energy flowing from it, think of why this energy is flowing, and make sure you understand how this power is manifesting in reality.

15: When you buy an economy sized bag of pretzels at the Stuffer Shack pick up a Chip Clip as well so the leftovers won't go stale. It only makes sense.

16: To a rigger his vehicle is as alive as he is. The two are one. For this reason a rigger's vehicle never gets damaged, it gets hurt.

17: Never offer a troll a bite of your cheeseburger lest ye wish to go hungry.

18: The GM can come up for an excuse for everything. Never forget that.

19. Gunnery vs Vehicles. Firearms vs People.

20: Never act: EXPERIENCE.