In the cyberpunk genre where style is more important than substance the issue of branding is paramount. However as we move through the Shadowrun gear section the branding of items fades away. It’s important that characters are firing an Ares Predator or Colt Manhunter but not important that they’re using an Espirit Smartlink or Parashield Cyberears. Obviously it’s not smart to list 50 different brands of toolkit that function identically. However it is important if you’re stressing the cyberpunk aspects of Shadowrun to identify what brand of equipment the characters are carrying. It’s more interesting to receive McDonnell-Douglas Aviator CyberLenses than it is to receive cybereyes despite being a handful to write and say.
If you’re going to go this amount of trouble then it’s important to utilize this detail in play. Is the character wearing a Petrogas corporate jacket on a meet with a Thales-Raytheon Johnson? does his cyberware scan as a complete set of Emerging Futures technology? When the character glitches does her Optical Dreams smartlink reticule hard code it’s location to the deckers Bicson commlink implanted in his skull and require a third party hotfix to correct? It’s a lot to say and doesn’t affect the mechanics of Shadowrun unless the GM or players decide its does but it’s does add to worldliness of your game.
The next time your PCs are installing some cyberware, buying a long coat or picking up a toolkit consider offering them a branded piece. If the player would rather have the generic brand then let them know that the no-name brand falls below the stuffer shack brand in terms of coolness.
Random Corporation Table
Roll 1d6 for the hundreds value, 1d6 for the tens value and 1d6 for the final value.
111 | Adams-Westlake Mediaworks | 411 | Total Service |
112 | Realizm Simulations | 412 | Shiawase Armaments |
113 | Paradigm Pictures | 413 | Shiawase Biotech |
114 | Architectural Dynamics | 414 | Shiawase Envirotech |
115 | Armada Personnel | 415 | Arboritech |
116 | Champion Financial Group | 416 | Kuroyama Minerals |
121 | Temperance Investments | 421 | A-Technologies |
122 | FactFiles | 422 | Desert Storm Security |
123 | Festival Foods | 423 | Fuchi Simsense Studios |
124 | HyperSense | 424 | Hephaestus Technologies |
125 | Iris Firmware | 425 | Imperial Tech Services |
126 | Najima Securities | 426 | Resha Corporation |
131 | Fuchi Corporate Services | 431 | Vector Matrix Services |
132 | Gambare Aerospace | 432 | Arianespace |
133 | Shin Chou Kyogo | 433 | ATT |
134 | Ultimax | 434 | Barytech |
135 | Underwater Living | 435 | BMW AG |
136 | Wakatta Software | 436 | GIAT Industries |
141 | Mærsk-Sealand | 441 | Commerzbank |
142 | Genecraft | 442 | Hermes Eurocom |
143 | Harland & Wolff Nautical Designs | 443 | Ruhr Datafax |
144 | Renraku Philippines | 444 | Dresdner Bank |
145 | Blohm & Voss GmbH | 445 | Swiss Bank Corporation |
146 | Eurosoft | 446 | Krupp Group |
151 | Gaz-Niki | 451 | Messerschmitt-Kawasaki |
152 | Izom Armaments | 452 | Orbital Dynamix |
153 | Securitech International | 453 | Ruhr Nuclear |
154 | Tetradyne Matrix Systems | 454 | Siemens-Nixdorf |
155 | General Dynamics | 455 | Philips |
156 | Weapons World | 456 | Crashcart |
161 | Knight Errant | 461 | Saotome Aquadomes |
162 | Leviathan Technical | 462 | MetaErgonomics |
163 | Osprey Technical Publications | 463 | PensoDyne Biotechnical |
164 | Silicon Valley | 464 | Tsuruga International |
165 | Ares Integrated Solutions | 465 | Xiao Technologies |
166 | National Broadcasting Service | 466 | Yamatetsu Naval Technologies |
211 | Hard Corps | 511 | Yamatetsu Productions |
212 | AresSpace | 512 | Wuxing Financial Services |
213 | Qantas | 513 | Prosperity |
214 | Bank of America | 514 | Albion Mutual Funds |
215 | General Motors | 515 | Fidelity Mutual Insurance |
216 | Crystal Optics | 516 | Malaysian Independent Bank |
221 | Emerging Futures | 521 | Wuxing Worldwide Shipping |
222 | Lifescape | 522 | Swift Wind Deliveries |
223 | Mercury Express | 523 | Minh-Pao Exports |
224 | Mostrans | 524 | Cartwright Cartage and Freight |
225 | Quick Trigger Systems | 525 | Jam-Bo Games |
226 | Pratt & Whitney | 526 | Eastern Electronics |
231 | Aztechnology | 531 | Lotus Multimedia |
232 | BANCOMEXT | 532 | Four Winds Press |
233 | Dassault | 533 | Tiger Trideo |
234 | Embracer | 534 | Soba Foods |
235 | Free Transit Cartage | 535 | Saito Studios |
236 | Genetique | 536 | Cross Advanced Electronics |
241 | Ares Makrotech | 541 | Cross Biomedical |
242 | Hawker-Siddley | 542 | Cross Entertainment |
243 | Natural Vat Technologies | 543 | Cross Global Development |
244 | Optical Dreams | 544 | Cross Matrix Technologies |
245 | Pemex | 545 | Artemis Industries |
246 | Productos Cultivatos | 546 | Beaux Retail Consortium |
251 | Marine Technologies | 551 | Bicson Biomedical |
252 | Stuffer Shack | 552 | Bioleve |
253 | Carréfour | 553 | Down Development |
254 | Televisa | 554 | Fleche Armaments |
255 | Trés Chic | 555 | Virtual Air Inc. |
256 | Mitsuhama Industrial Technologies | 556 | Xerxes Positive Research |
261 | Integrated Agricultural Applications | 561 | Horizon Transglobal |
262 | MMC | 562 | Charisma Associates |
263 | Brookes Thaumaturgy | 563 | Pathfinder Multimedia |
264 | Dolmen Data Systems | 564 | Affiliated Artists |
265 | DSA | 565 | Hisato-Turner |
266 | ESPIRIT Electronics | 566 | New Line |
311 | Maritech Enterprises | 611 | Polyaural |
312 | Pentacle Distributing | 612 | Singularity |
313 | Mediasim | 613 | Virtual World Disney |
314 | Automatronics | 614 | BUT Heavy Industries |
315 | Mitsuhama-Benguet Mining | 615 | BuMoNA |
316 | Mitsuhama Militia-ware | 616 | Ruhrmetall |
321 | Parashield | 621 | General Genetics Worldwide |
322 | Aekai Heuristic Technologies | 622 | Global Polymers |
323 | Black Lotus Software | 623 | Müller-Schlüter Infotech |
324 | BrainWave, Inc. | 624 | Zeiss-Audiotek Cybersysteme |
325 | Mitsuhama Computers | 625 | Beretta |
326 | CBC | 626 | Egis Services |
331 | Highstar, Inc. | 631 | Esprit Electronics |
332 | Mitsuhama Media | 632 | Panhard |
333 | Mitsuhama Music | 633 | Thales-Raytheon |
334 | Sakura Studios | 634 | Total-Elf |
335 | Soonan Simsense | 635 | Federated Boeing Metalworks |
336 | Automation Systems, Inc. | 636 | Federated Boeing Shipyards |
341 | Mitsuhama Industrial Technologies | 641 | McDonnell-Douglas |
342 | Takai Development Corporation | 642 | Sea Launch |
343 | Zen-Marsh Chemicals | 643 | IFMU Robotik |
344 | Ambrosius Publications | 644 | IFMU Air Technologies |
345 | HermeTech Associates | 645 | Sternschutz Security |
346 | Mitsuhama Magical Services | 646 | Lusiada Técnica |
351 | Mitsuhama Thaumaturgical | 651 | Lusiada Telecom |
352 | Pentacle Distributing, Inc. | 652 | LusoAgronomica |
353 | Pentacle Press | 653 | LusoServices |
354 | Astin Remote Systems | 654 | Petrogas |
355 | Drive-Ware Technologies | 655 | Bristol Optics |
356 | Elk-Sedge Systems | 656 | Transys Data Services |
361 | Mitsuhama Automatronics | 661 | Mindstrom Neurotechnologies |
362 | VOR Robotics | 662 | Götaland Telekom |
363 | Mitsuhama Biotechnologies | 663 | Suzhou Biotechnology |
364 | New Life Harvest | 664 | Iris Software |
365 | Petrovski Security | 665 | InterScience Inc. |
366 | Ertxantxa | 666 | Commonwealth Enterprises |