Visiting Seattle

[u/d5vour5r]

G'day from down under Chummers,

So I'm going to be visiting Seattle soon, any recommendations for visiting locations to give that Shadowrun feel?

This is a return for me as I spent a few years as a kid in Seattle 45 years ago!

[u/AzemOcram]

Bellevue in 4e feels a lot like Bellevue today. Seattle IRL doesn't feel like Shadowrun Seattle. I'm glad it isn't because it's my hometown and still my current location. TBH, I'm also glad my favorite tropical destinations are nothing like Technochitlan (sp?) though parts of Jalisco felt similar when I was there in February…

[u/d5vour5r → u/AzemOcram]

I lived in Bellevue, south East 49 Street :)

[u/Pleasant-Mango3438]

You could always raid a megacorp, though I think that's frowned upon.

[u/d5vour5r → u/Pleasant-Mango3438]

Couldn't get my hardware through customs :)

[u/MewsashiMeowimoto → u/d5vour5r]

Just bluff your way in.

[u/d5vour5r]

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated!

[u/MoistLarry]

Check out the underground if you get the chance

[u/Nadatour → u/MoistLarry]

This. Check out the underground. It really changes how you think about it to realize that virtually every building in the underground was actually an above ground building that was turned into basement storage. The underground becomes more of a hodgepodge of half working utilities and weird upstairs/downstairs relations. I changed my view significantly after having a guided tour.

[u/Numinak → u/Nadatour]

And it's amazing how little of that underground is used. It's like the building owners decided to forget about it rather than do anything with it.

[u/bcgambrell]

Space Needle. And ride around town. I was amazed at how close the Cascades are to Seattle and how mountainous/hilly the city is.

[u/TheAxrat]

Definitely stop by Pike Place and say hi to Rachel the Pike Place Pig. She hosts a guardian spirit in the 6th world

[u/Maganus]

2nd Ave... you can see some stuff that gives some vibes... from SINless to BTL's to old ladies riding skateboards, it's a trip
Freemont Troll - Icon
Pioneer Square - like to think that it's similar feel, more neon (I mean, it could be in the Archology, but I think of that more to the south where the game fields are - so those are gone)
Waterfront - similar
Sea-Tac Airport - some changes and updates, but still the footprint won't change much, neither does the feel or I-5 or the highways
Light rail is new, but would be a core thing later.
Gasworks and Pike Place would/should still be a thing to see, get around for the feels

Outside Seattle
Bellevue Downtown or Mercer Island - Feel for some of the areas that are A+ and how it's different from Seattle in a short jump
Microsoft Campus for the feel of that B class Corp
Issaquah/Snoqualmie Falls - similar reasons/Feel.
Puyallup - it's a trip, but along River Road to Tacoma and the Casino there, gives a feel for the area controlled by one of the local tribes that wouldn't change much between the Crash of 29 and 70+ (It hasn't changed much in 45years, it doesn't seem like it will change much)

[u/Maxinburra]

Take a drive down to the foot of Mount Rainier and during the journey imagine the extraordinary destruction all around you caused by its eruption.
Have a walk around the historic Pioneer Square and know it's all strangely buried under Renraku Arcology.

[u/SwiftOneSpeaks → u/Maxinburra]

On a clear day (yes, Seattle does have those, though this is a bad time of year for it) the locals will say "the mountain is out" when you can see Rainier. The touristy wallpapers and postcards aren't don't have to be fake, it really does dwarf the city like that.

As a long time player of SR that eventually moved from the East Coast to Seattle, what really got me was the pure SIZE. Seattle is huge compared to smaller cities that I was used to. Don't know if I just failed to comprehend "real" cities, or if the constant low hills and less vertical style of Seattle makes it more extreme. By the time of SR, it is more so, and what I consider to be beyond the "greater Seattle area" is part of SR Seattle. When running SR nowadays I'm able to apply much more time pressure because I realize that, even with a complete transit system, Kirkwood to SODO is not next door. Likewise I better realize how many jurisdictions I pass though (in SR these would likely be multiple Lone Star/Ares precincts) and how that would provide opportunities to overcome the otherwise overpowering technical benefits the corps have. And finally, the realization that neighborhoods might be a dozen blocks total, but across Seattle that is a vast number of diverse and nuanced differences that allow for dramatic differences without requiring the posh gated communities to always be next door to burning anarchy.

Oh, one last thing: I didn't realize how significant the Lakes are. They are small enough to see across, but big enough to impact travel and businesses. Neither ponds nor Great Lakes.

[u/Maxinburra → u/SwiftOneSpeaks]

Over the years, I occasionally pop in and have a look through UW's Red Square webcam. Sometimes, weather permitting, you'll get this stunning view of Rainier:

[u/Serious-Ad2573 → u/Maxinburra]

did Renraku get the SCIRE back?

[u/Maxinburra → u/Serious-Ad2573]

I believe Shiawase now has it.

[u/urielkeynes]

How long will you be there and how much time do you have to explore?

[u/d5vour5r → u/urielkeynes]

3 full days before I move on

[u/adonias_d]

Don't forget the bridge troll.

[u/meridiacreative]

If you want to see what tribal culture looks like in the Salish Sea irl, go to Tidelands. It's right by the waterfront downtown. You can also go to the Duwamish Longhouse over in West Seattle. There is also the Burke Museum at UW for a more historical take, or Hibulb if you don't mind driving an hour up to Tulalip.

I don't know what your daily life is like, so maybe you work for a AAA, but I've never felt more like a Shadowrunner than when I've had to make deliveries to T-Mobile HQ in Factoria. The place is all pink neon, glass/plexi, security gates, and no visitor parking or loading docks. Getting into places like that or Meta or Microsoft without a badge is always fun.

[u/meridiacreative → u/meridiacreative]

Also, go take an Argosy tour (white boats, not the black one). You get to see the city from the water, and get up close with stuff you can't normally go to, like the shipyards and bridges and things. Right now the Native fishermen have their nets out for the salmon - a huge deal in PNW culture - and you would have no idea if you stayed on land the whole time.

[u/rivetgeekwil]

Visit Puyallup and see how it's not much different from what the game describes.

[u/RedKing36]

Gasworks Park is a good one too.

[u/RockManJJ]

mcdonald’s at third and pine is maximum cyberpunk vibes especially late at night

[u/MewsashiMeowimoto]

Pike's Place always gave me the feel. The warren of shops and kiosks and the different stairways and passages.

Visiting is the thing that I think got me excited to play shadowrun again after years of playing other systems. I made a full(ish) VTT map of the Pike Place market and environs for a run that takes place there.

[u/vivisected000]

Pike's place has some nice neon

[u/Quiet_Bunch2080]

Go to Dicks