Shadowrun #25 - Old Town

1. The Caryards and Arena, Old Town

Items

Slap Patch, (Negotiation Sdefeat)

Keywords

Caryards, Datajack, Decker, Drake, King, Nuyen, The Matrix

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

Jake comes to his senses in a giant junkyard laden with cars and other debris. The spot he wakes in has a white sleeping bag on the ground, which can be used just as a bed to save and recover health. Going down one screen, you see various people walking and lounging about. A women informs you that this is the *CARYARDS* and that the place is controlled by the *KING*. There are various other inhabitants that give useful information. Some are former Shadowrunners and reminisce about their glory days.

A couple of the more interesting residents recognize Jake and tell you that Glutman was able to sneak you in. Another informs you about *DRAKE*, the mysterious voice who left a message in Jake's apartment. Others discuss *THE MATRIX* and the conflict occurring within cyberspace. Note that this game was created before either the Matrix movies or even the emergence of the internet, so its level of prescience is actually quite remarkable.

At the entrance to the caryards is the King himself. He offers to let you out for 4,000 nuyen, which is quite a hefty sum (and a lot more than you will have). One of the other caryard inhabitants had mentioned that you could fight the King, so maybe this is a possibility instead of having to pay.

One other interesting character to note is the little boy near the King who plays with the yo-yo. If you ask him about *Heal* he will offer to sell you Slap Patches for 100 nuyen. Slap Patches, like the one you found in the last stage, restore 10 HP. If you accidentally used the one you previously found, here is one way to replace it. Slap patches are the only way to recover HP in mid-battle at this point in the game, and you can hold up to 6 slap patches at once.

To the right of the main caryards screen is the arena. The arena owner offers you the chance to fight for nuyen. This is one of the best places in the game to make money, but the fights are not easy. It is recommended that you have at least level 5 in Body and Firearms before fighting.

Power Up Location

If you need to power-up a little before an arena fight, there is an enemy area south of the main caryards screen that houses Heavy Dudes and Mages. it is a good idea to target the Mages first, as they are easier to defeat. The Heavy Dudes have received a slight attack power boost since Tenth Street and now have the same attack as the Mages -- and a lot more HP. There are a couple of shops outside the Caryards, so you will want to pick up nuyen and save as much as you can. You will want at least 20,000 nuyen to buy the best equipment (most of this will come from the arena), so every bit helps. This is not the best place for powering-up, but it is relatively close to a bed and, quite frankly, it is all you have without leaving the caryards. You should again focus your karma on boosting Body and Firearms. You will receive a 100% accuracy rate with all weapons once Firearms reaches level 7, so there is no need to raise it beyond that level. You should also raise Strength to level 4, as this lets you use all of the weapons you can buy a little later in the stage. Computer and Charisma are completely useless while in the caryards, so do not focus on them if you are trying to save time. If you learn the Negotiation sdefeat from the Arena Owner, you may wish to boost it, as it lowers the price the King charges you to leave the caryards... however, paying the King at all is an inferior choice to fighting him.

Gift of Negotionation

Believe it or not, the disheveled arena owner actually teaches Jake a new sdefeat. Speak with the owner and ask him about *Negotiation*. He will offer to teach you the sdefeat for 1,000 nuyen. After two sentences of conversation, Jake now knows all he needs to know and the sdefeat is added to his set. The Negotiation sdefeat allows you to haggle over the prices for hiring Shadowrunners. The discount you receive increases as you place more points into this sdefeat (specific discounts are listed for each Shadowrunner in the "Shadowrunners" section of the Appendix). This is not a bad sdefeat to have if you plan to hire Shadowrunners regularly, as the savings will quickly pay for the price of the sdefeat, assuming you raise it to the maximum level first. If you never hire Shadowrunners, the sdefeat is pretty useless. The Negotiation sdefeat also lowers the price the King charges to leave the caryards from 4,000 nuyen to 2,000 (you need to raise the sdefeat to at least level 2 to receive the discount). If you intend to pay the King, you should certainly invest in this sdefeat.

One other note about this sdefeat is that you must learn it before all the arena fighters have been defeated. Once you beat them all, the owner will no longer be there to share his knowledge and teach you the sdefeat.

Two Men Enter. One Man Leaves

Think cyberpunk American Gladiators. The arena features one-on-one battles and is a great way to earn nuyen. The initial fighters are rather weak, but difficulty increases quickly. You earn a good deal of karma from the fights, so put whatever you can into Body and Firearms.

You will not always die when losing a fight in the arena. The arena owner will try to stop the fight once you have 5 HP or less. If you are receiving damage too quickly (as is the case starting in fight 6), you will probably be defeated before he can throw in the towel on your behalf.

The arena fights go sequentially as listed below, except for the King battle. That fight can occur at any time by asking the arena owner about *King*.

Arena Fighting Guide

1 Gang Member (1)

HP: 25
EXP: 22
ATP: 6
Nuyen: 300
DEF: 0

The Gang Member fights for with a knife and has no ranged attack. The Gang Member is not very fast and does not attack too often, so do not expect much of a challenge. With Body and Firearms values of 5, you can simply target the Gang Member and quickly attack until he dies. You can avoid damage alltogether if you run around the burning barrel near the arena entrance. Eventually the Gang Member will get "stuck" and you can blast him without worry. You get a good deal of karma from this fight, and that should go into boosting Body or Firearms, whichever sdefeat is lower.

2 HEAVY DUDE (1)

HP: 15
EXP: 8
ATP: 2
Nuyen: 700
DEF: 0

This fight is probably easier than the first. Despite his initial trash talking, the Heavy Dude spends most of his time running around and occasionally shoots at you. He only has a measly 15 HP and an attack power of 2, making him no more dangerous than most normal enemies. If you were able to win the previous fight, you should be able to handle this one without any problem.

3. HEAVY DUDE (2)

HP: 20
EXP: 20
ATP: 4
Nuyen: 1,000
DEF: 0

This Heavy Dude is similar in movement and pattern to the previous one (not a surprise since he claims you defeated his brother). This fight is a little more difficult since the Heavy Dude now has 20 HP, faster movement, double the attack power, and a more accurate shot. You can minimize your damage by running directly left to the arena corner as soon as the fight starts.

The Heavy Dude will eventually wander over there, but he will fire less often and spend most of his time running around. While it may be a little difficult to keep target lock, you should not have to worry much about getting hit. There's the likely chance that, if the Heavy Dude disappears from the screen for more than 10 seconds, he's "frozen." To see if this is the case, edge to the right slowly until you see him partially on the screen. You can proceed to pick him off as he simply stands motionless. Do not move too far over or he will be "reanimated" and resume attacking. This is probably somewhat of a glitch, but it can be exploited in several of the fights. From here on, it will be referred to as the "arena corner trick." Regardless of the approach you use, the fight should still be manageable with Body and Firearms at about level 5 or 6.

4. MAGE (1)

HP: 30
EXP: 12
ATP: 4
Nuyen: 2,000
DEF: 0

The Mage's movement patterns are fairly similar to the Heavy Dude's, but he moves less and shoots more. He has fairly good accuracy and his shots always come in bunches of 4. However, his patterns are predictable so there is seldom a chance that you will lose target. He is also susceptible to the arena corner trick (discussed in fight 3), but it does not work as reliably on him. You do not need any better stats or equipment than you did in the previous fight.

5. MAGE (2)

HP: 36
EXP: 13
ATP: 5
Nuyen: 3,000
DEF: 0

This Mage's attack patterns and movements are nearly identical to the previous fight, but he has more HP (36). His attack power is high enough to pack a little sting, so you could be in trouble if enough high damage shots land. You can win this fight with the level 5 Body and Firearms, but it is probably best to get both in the 6 or 7 range.

6. SAMURAI WARRIOR

HP: 40
EXP: 9
ATP: 9 (gun); 4 (knife)
Nuyen: 4,000
DEF: 0

The Samurai Warrior is the first genuinely challenging fight. He has the capability to hit for very high damage with his automatic weapon, which can be pretty devastating. There are two things working in your favor in this fight. The first is the Samurai Warrior's relatively poor accuracy. He hits hard, but not nearly as often as the previous fighters. Secondly, when you get up close, the Samurai Warrior will try to attack you with a knife instead of his gun, which does pretty measly damage.

The best strategy is to stay as close as possible and fire away while he slashes you with the knife. As soon as the fights begins, move right next into him and begin blasting away. He does move quickly after he is done slashing to get into firing range again, so be ready to move and stay with him. You should still be able to win this fight with the Beretta Pistol and Leather Armor. Try to get Body and Firearms values to at least level 7 first.

7. FEROCIOUS ORC

HP: 50
EXP: 26
ATP: 4
Nuyen: 5,000
DEF: 0

The Ferocious Orc is probably a little easier than the Samurai Warrior, but he can still cause some trouble. He has a pretty high HP total (50) but does average damage with his attack. His main attack pattern consists of firing off 6 shots at a time, then moving around rather quickly. If you can avoid getting stun locked by his shots, you should be able to win while still using the Beretta Pistol. While the arena corner trick does not work on him, he does have some aversion to the right arena corner (note, the right corner this time, not the left)

If you walk straight to the right when the fight starts (right past him) he will run left and never really come over to attack. He will, however, briefly pop onto the top part of the screen, at which point you can get off a shot or two. You can move slightly left of the burning barrel on that side before you get too close that he resumes shooting at you. This is a slow method of defeating him, but|it is very safe.

If you do not like this tactic, you should still move away from the center arena, as the Orc will move more and fire less often that way. When the Orc is nearly dead, he will yell out another taunting message, so you can use this to gauge his remaining life. If this fight is giving you trouble, you may want to stock up on Slap Patches from the boy near the caryards entrance. Still, the Orc fight should be manageable if you pump Body to 8 and Firearms up to 7.

8. GANG LEADER

The Gang Leader is one of the toughest opponents that you will face in the arena. His difficulty is a combination of his very powerful attack and incredible agility; he circles you relentlessly, causing you to frequently lose target. His shots also have the annoying effect of stun-locking you. These two things can combine for a quick death. This fight is the first one that is virtually impossible to win without upgrading your weaponry. To have any chance, you will probably need to upgrade to at least the Shotgun and Mesh Jacket. A Body value of 9 or 10 is also about the bare minimum. You can hold off on this fight until you learn the Heal spell.

One of the better strategies is to walk into the Arena corner at the far left side of the screen. Leave a small space between Jake and the wall when you do this. The Gang Leader will follow and still try to circle you, but the arc of his movement is much smaller now, meaning you will not lose target as quickly. There is also a decent chance that the Gang Leader will try to move between you and the wall and get stuck. In this case, just fire as quickly as you can and the Gang Leader will be finished off quite easily.

9. TROLL DECKER

HP: 40
EXP: 36
ATP: 14
Nuyen: 7,000
DEF: 0

The hardest fight in the arena. The Troll Decker has an incredible firing rate that unleashes waves of double-digit damage. You will likely need at least the Shotgun and Mesh Jacket to have a chance at winning this one. It may be better to wait until after learning the Heal spell if you are having an especially hard time. In that case, make sure you watch your HP and heal once you get to 50 HP or less, since you can lose this amount in one volley quite easily.

It is possible with some patience to beat the Troll Decker before you leave Old Town. You will want to raise Body to at least level 10. The Troll Decker will occasionally halt firing to move around, and this is the key to defeating him. Move just below the center of the Arena as soon as the battle begins. The Troll Decker is programmed to stand as close to the middle as it can while maintaining a minimum distance from you. Because of this, it will often stop to move out, then back in between rounds.

If you are lucky, there will be enough time to defeat him. Your speed with the crosshair will actually make a big difference in this fight -- you will want to begin damaging him about the same time he begins damaging you. Given the random nature of the damage you deal and receive, some times it will just not be possible to survive – reset and try again. This strategy does involve some luck, but it is a great way to earn a lot of nuyen early on.

One clever strategy that several readers have pointed out is to use Grenades (bought at the weapon shop). As soon as the fight starts, target the Troll and select the grenade. Do this as quickly as you can and you can possibly get all 6 off before the Troll Decker has moved. Depending on the Grenade damage, this can be enough to safely defeat the Troll. This trick is definitely worth trying if you are having a hard time and want to clear the arena before leaving Old Town.

10. (REPLICATING) MAGE

HP: 50
EXP: 40
ATP: 3 (gun); 7 (p-ball)
Nuyen: 8,000
DEF: 4 (main); 3 (clones)

The Replicating Mage creates clones of himself to attack you. This increase the damage you take while trying to throw off your targeting of the real Mage. The clones will die shortly after you start attacking them, but the only way to inflict damage is to attack the real Mage. The Mage can have as many as four clones present at one time, and this fight can be rather tricky if you are being attacked by multiple targets at once. Both the stun-lock and sprite slowdown will make it hard to do anything. The easy way around this is to move to the far left corner of the screen once there are several clones in the arena. For whatever reason, the clones will remain behind while the real Mage follows.

Alone, the Mage is quite easy. His attack is not that powerful and he does not fire at a very fast rate. Another giveaway of the real Mage's identity is that he is the only one who can use the Powerball spell. Any time you see this, target that Mage and fire. This fight will probably take a while because the Mage has a fairly high defense. His defense is so high, in fact, that you will need at least the Ruger Warhawk or stronger to damage him. If you were able to defeat the Troll Decker, your weapons and abilities are more than adequate for this fight.

THE KING

HP: 45
EXP: 31
ATP: 5
Nuyen: 3,000
DEF: 1

You will need to fight the King if you want to leave the caryards without paying. If you do happen to pay, however, you can still come back and fight the King later. You enter this fight by asking the Arena Owner about *King*. Also, unlike the other fights, there is no chance that the Arena Owner will call this fight before you die.

The King is probably a little easier that the Samurai Warrior, but he still provides a decent challenge with starting weaponry. Try to get both Firearms and Body up to about 7. When you enter the fight, move to the left side, but stand directly in front of the right-hand post by the entrance. While you are in this area, the King will be thrown out of sync and will waste time moving back and forth into the Arena circle. If you move too far the left or toward the center, this trick will not work. With the King's timing off, he fires far less often and is a pretty easy target.

Occasionally he will become "frozen," as happens with the arena corner glitch (discussed in fight 3). If he remains off the screen for more than 10 seconds, slowly edge right until just enough of him appears so that you can target him. Proceed to blast away and he should be dead in no time. If this fight is giving you trouble, buy a few Slap Patches from the boy in the caryards (ask about *Heal*). They should extend your life enough to achieve victory.

Leaving The CarYards

Once you have had enough of the caryards gotten bored of fighting in the arena or tire of losing, it is time to leave. There are two ways out and both go through the King. You can:

1. Pay the King

   This is the sissy way out. For 4,000 nuyen (or 2,000 with the Negotiation sdefeat at level 2 or higher), the King will step aside and allow you permanent rights to exit and reenter the caryards. Some players end up taking this choice because they are not aware of the second way to leave the area.

2. Fight the King

   Ask the Arena Owner about *King*, and he will give you the chance to fight. Fighting the King is the ideal way to leave. Not only do you avoid paying him 4,000 nuyen, but you make 3,000 once he is defeated. He is not an easy foe.

⤴ ↳

2. Exploring Old Town, Old Town

Items

Black Bottle, Potion Bottles, Stake, (Talisman Shop Phone Number)

Keywords

Cortex Bomb, Examination, Shaman, Talismans

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

Old Town is not very large, consisting of a primary street and a few attractions along the way. The first stop after the caryards entrance is the Old Town Monorail station. This can take you back to Tenth Street or ahead to the next area (Daley Station). do not leave just yet, though, as there is a bit more to see. The most important sites are the Weapons and Talisman shops at the far end of the street. Head to the very end first and ignore the bar and side road along the way for now.

Vivyan's Weapon Shop

Follow the main street to the very end and you will find the weapon shop on the right. The shop is owned by a crazy dwarf named Vivyan who has a bad habit of setting his hair on fire. Exactly the kind of guy you want controlling a weapons arsenal. Crazy or not, he does offer some good buys. Below is a list of his wares.

RS = Required Strength which is the level your Strength attribute needs to be in order for you to wield the item.
AP = Attack Power which is the maximum damage the weapon can do. The damage numbers you see over the enemy's head will be random values between 1 and this maximum minus the enemy's defense.
AR = Accuracy Rating which is a relative stat that measures how precisely the weapons will hit. This stat is out of 6.

Colt American L36 Pistol

RS: 1
AP: 3
AR: 1
$500

Fichetti Light Pistol

RS: 1
AP: 4
AR: 1
$2,000

Ares Viper Heavy Pistol

RS: 2
AP: 4
AR: 2
$4,000

Ruger Warhawk Pistol

RS: 3
AP: 6
AR: 2
$9,000

Defiance T-250 Shotgun

RS: 4
AP: 8
AR: 2
$15,00

Grenade

RS: 1
AP: 13
AR: n/a
$100

Mesh Jacket

RS: 2
DR: 2
$5,000

The Shotgun, although pricy, is the weapon you should buy. If you have been fighting in the arena, you should have enough money saved to afford it. If not, it is advised that you return and fight some more (you should be able to win the first 7 fights with the Beretta). If you really cannot afford the Shotgun, the Warhawk Pistol is a decent alternative. None of the other weapons will make a big difference and are a waste of money.

After buying the Shotgun, you should invest in the Mesh Jacket. Its defensive power is twice as strong as the Leather Jacket, and it should ward off a lot of damage from random street enemies. In fact, you will now be invincible to the attacks of the snipers and peepholes in Old Town. If you cannot afford the Mesh Jacket now, use your new weaponry to win another arena fight or two, then return.

With the Shotgun and Mesh Jacket, return to the arena and test out your new gear. With a Body stat at level 9 or 10, it is possible to win all the remaining arena fights.

Talismans Shop

Talismans are magic wards and enchanted items. Two of these items are required to learn magic spells; the other has a special purpose that will be uncovered later in the game. The one thing they all share in common is that none of them have any use right now. The available inventory is below, but you should save your money for now and return later when you need the items.

Sharp Wooden Stake

Stake
$2,500

Blue and Purple Bottle

Potion Bottles
$3,000

Black Potion Bottle

Black Bottle
$6,000

Before leaving, talk to the store owner. She teaches you the *TALISMANS* keyword. Ask about this and you will learn *SHAMAN* as well as learn the TALISMANS SHOP PHONE NUMBER. Having this phone number will save you some time a little later in the game. After this visit, head back in the direction of the caryards.

Sputnik Club

The local Old Town bar. The bar houses a few Shadowrunners but not much else of interest. In case you do not have it, the man near the entrance can teach you the *Hiring* keyword when asked about *Shadowrunner*. One of the elves at the bar also lets you know that his datajack was fixed by a man named Ed around the corner.

There are a couple of Shadowrunners available for hire here. The Orc near the bottom (Orifice) and the guy dressed like the Indian from the Village People (Dances with Clams). Dances is a mage but is probably the worst Shadowrunner in the game, so save your nuyen. Orifice is a slightly better version of Hamfist from the previous section. Neither are really needed at this point, and your nuyen is better saved for upcoming equipment.

Ed's Patch 'N' Fix

Take the advice of one of the Sputnik patrons and head north along the road to find the street doc. Turn right off the main street and proceed down the alley into his shop. Ed greets you and asks if there is anything you want him to look at. You need to ask him about *Datajack*. If you did not learn this keyword already, the nearest place to learn it is from the kid in the middle of the caryards who is sitting against a barrel.

Ed offers to give you an *EXAMINATION* for 500 nuyen to see what's wrong with your datajack. ***DO NOT AGREE TO THE EXAMINATION UNLESS YOU HAVE 2,000 NUYEN*** As you will soon see, during the examination, Ed activates a *CORTEX BOMB* inside Jake's head. The Cortex Bomb will detonate in 30 game hours (30 minutes of real time), essentially blowing up Jake's head and ending your quest in a hurry. You will receive updates each minute telling you how much time remains before the bomb explodes. If you do not have 2,000 nuyen yet (which you will need shortly to diffuse the bomb), come back here later. You can proceed to the next stage without making this visit yet.

After enabling the cortex bomb, speak with Ed again. Oddly, he somehow knows your name now. Ask him about *Cortex Bomb* and he will give you the 500 nuyen back that you paid for the examination. You can also ask about *Street Doc* and he will recommend a colleague named Dr. Maplethorpe who might be able to help. If you are really pissed off at Ed, you can go ahead and defeat him at this point. There is no benefit or penalty to doing so, but make sure you get your refund first.

Activate the Cortex Bomb. Head back down the street and into the Monorail Station. Board the monorail on the left side and you are on your way to Daley Station.

⤴ ↳

3. Old-Town, Old Town

Items

Credstick, Ghoul Bone, Lonestar Badge, Magic Fetish, Tickets, Glutman's Telephone Number

Keywords

Calls, Ghouls, Glutman, Negotiation, The Cage

Enemies

*1 Karma point equals 8 Experience (EXP) points

The game does not provide incredible guidance on where to go next. You have some clues on Grinder being defeated by Lone Star, the tickets, some concert, etc., but no real purpose that should make the next step apparent. For now, all you can do is follow-up on some of these clues and see which ones play out.

Cops and Morge Guys

it is safe to assume that we want to find the tickets and enter the club where Maria is playing. We know the deceased Grinder possessed them, so the morgue is not a bad place to look. If you head back to the morgue, the morticians will no longer run from Jake (assuming he is wearing the Shades). Definitely not the brightest bulbs... If you ask the bottommost mortician about Grinder, he tells you that he can only open the file for "family or a badge."

Head back to the street where the Grim Reaper Club is. Enter the building below the club but above the Glutman building. The first room in an enemy area, but the second contains a shady businessman. This character holds quite a few goodies. If you ask him about *Firearms*, he will offer to sell you Grenades for 100 nuyen. Grenades are not worth it, so pass him up on his offer (more about this in the "Weapons and Armor" section of the Appendix). If you ask him about *Lone Star*, and he will sell you the LONESTAR BADGE for 150 nuyen. Take him up on his offer and Use the badge. You are now a police officer.

You can also sell the businessman your Beretta Pistol or Leather Jacket. Go to the Weapons or Armor screen and Give the desired item to the businessman. He will then propose a price that you can accept or refuse. You can do this to make some easy money (Leather Jacket fetches 1000 nuyen; Beretta fetches 200), but these items are far more valuable on your body.

One last thing to do before leaving is ask the businessman about *Hiring*. He will then teach you the *NEGOTIATION* keyword, which comes in useful later. He is the only person in the game who teaches this keyword.

With the badge equipped, head back to the morgue. Speak with the bottommost mortician and ask him about *Grinder*. He will offer to pull Grinder's file and belongings from the cabinets. After you accept, he opens the two cabinets and then tells you to dig out the file. Examine the nearest filing cabinet and you will find the CREDSTICK, which can be used to place calls at the video phone. Examine the next filing cabinet and you will find the TICKETS. You can now use these Tickets to enter The Cage and see the Maria Mercurial concert.

With your newly acquired Credstick, it is time to make a couple of phone calls. The closest working video phone is in Jake's apartment, so head back there. This will also give you a chance to save and use karma before finishing the stage. When in Jake's apartment, Use the Credstick on the video phone and a number list will open. Assuming you read the Ripped Note on the desk, only Sassie's number should be available. Give her a try.

Well, Jake does have good taste in women. Unfortunately for him, Sassie has moved on and trashed all his belongings after she heard he was dead. Talk to her and she will give you the *CALLS* keyword. Ask her about *Calls* and she will tell you about *GLUTMAN* along with giving you his number. Interestingly, as soon as she tells you this, the Calls keyword will disappear from your list forever. No worries, as you won't be needing it again.

Say goodbye to the ex and call Glutman. His secretary picks up and says that the boss is out. This is same woman you encountered earlier in the office where you picked up the cyberdeck. You can actually have this identical conversation with her in person if you want, but this makes it easier. Ask her about *Glutman* and she tells you that he is at *THE CAGE* on the edge of town. This comment is very important, as Glutman will not appear at The Cage unless his secretary has said this first. Hang up and head to the other end of town.

Hire Hamfist

Before getting into Hamfist in particular, a little aside about Shadowrunners. Yes, the game is named after them. In case you have not figured it out, Shadowrunners are a type of mercenary who are paid to handle certain tasks or missions. There are many throughout the game, and Jake himself was (is) a Shadowrunner.

In the game world, Shadowrunners are divided into three classes: mercenaries, deckers, and mages. Mercenaries are soldiers. The are designed for physical combat and often sport superior firepower and armor. Deckers are specialized Shadowrunners who carry cyberdecks and can access the Matrix. Their fighting abilities are usually worse than mercenaries. Mages are the least hearty of the three types, but they wield magic spells. Some mages specialize in offensive spells, some defense and support, and some both.

In practical terms, it is never necessary to hire a Shadowrunner. This game can be easily beaten without them. This is due mainly to the fact that Shadowrunners are almost always inferior to Jake in terms sdefeats and survivability. Some Shadowrunners (particularly the mages) are pretty horrible and will die in even moderate fighting situations. A complete ranking and evaluation of all Shadowrunners can be found in the "Shadowrunner" section in the Appendix.

This brings us to Hamfist. Tenth Street is certainly easy enough to complete that he will never make a difference as far as battles go. However, Hamfist does have some interesting uses:

1. Being a decker, Hamfist has a working datajack and can access the Matrix. Particularly, he can enter the computer in Glutman's office. Once you are in the office, Examine Hamfist, go to his items, and use his cyberdeck on the computer. There is some risk of him dying in the Matrix, so make sure his health is full when attempting this. Successfully entering the computer will allow you to steal 1,000 nuyen from Glutman's account, basically paying for the cost of Hamfist and netting you 500 nuyen. You can still access this computer later, but you will need to wait until about the half way point in the game.
2. Hamfist makes an excellent graveyard companion, resulting in a very quick way to earn karma. Simply take him to the Graveyard and run around. This will lure numerous Ghouls that Hamfist will pick off. Ghouls typically leave him alone and only target Jake, so he's relatively safe. You can earn about 2-3 karma per minute this way. Note that there is a limit to the number of ghouls you can fight in any one trip and they do become harder as you make more visits to the Graveyard.
3. More of a novelty, you can Give the Beretta Pistol to Hamfist and he will keep it for you. You can then pick it up later by rehiring him, as he will keep it in his inventory. What's the point of this? Well, it is the only way to finish the game with BOTH the Beretta Pistol and Zip Gun (for more on the Zip Gun, see three sections below). This is a strategy for those "perfectionist" and "100%" players who just have to have every item in the game. There's no benefit to doing it otherwise.

Grave Digging

On the screen past the Grim Reaper club, you can find the entrance to a Graveyard. The graveyard holds four crypts and numerous Scary Ghouls who rise from the earth to attack you. While they may seem infinite, there are only nine ghouls in the graveyard and they always spawn from the same points. These ghouls do reset each time you exit and reenter the screen, however. The damage you inflict on a ghoul will remain if it enters the ground and reemerges later. If a ghoul does enter the ground, it will always reappear from its original spawning point.

One interesting thing to note about ghouls is that they become harder as you fight them. All ghouls start with 4 maximum HP, but they receive 2 additional maximum HP every time you defeat one and it later respawns from the same point. Their HP will increase up to a maximum of 40 (which make them very difficult to defeat). This increase is PERMANENT. While this may be a bug, if it is intentional it is probably designed to prevent rapid karma earning by hunting in the graveyard. You can still earn karma quite easily (especially using the Hamfist trick described above), but your progress slows a lot after about 7-8 trips.

You will notice that each crypt's doors are sealed shut, but you can pry them open by using the Scalpel. The three rightmost crypts contain coffins. When examined, the coffins will contain either Ghouls or nuyen. If you receive a message of "Nothing special here," keep examining until you find something. If a coffin does hold nuyen, you will receive three bills worth 10-20 nuyen each (or 30-60 in total).

While in the graveyard, you will find that someone is yelling for help. Enter the leftmost crypt and you will discover an injured shaman. You can heal him by using the Slap Patch from the morgue. do not worry if you have already used the Slap Patch -- more are available later and you can return here. Once healed, the shaman will talk to you. He teaches you the *SHAMAN* and *MAGIC FETISH* keywords. He will also give you the MAGIC FETISH (item) once you Talk to him. Note that when examined, the Magic Fetish says "engraved on the item is a bat." This is a subtle clue at its use later, but the item is meaningless for the time being.

After healing the shaman, one of the next ghouls you defeat will drop the GHOUL BONE. As with the Magic Fetish, hold onto this until later.

The Cage

With everything else completed, head to the end of the street and enter The Cage. In the entranceway you will see a massive bouncer and a video phone to your left. The video phone is useful if you have not called Sassie or Glutman's secretary yet, but this is probably not an issue if you have been following this walkthrough.

The bouncer lets you know that you need tickets to pass, and he has no intention of moving without them. Select this item and Give it to him. Once the bouncer has stepped aside, you can enter the club. does not seem nearly as crowded as one might think from all the hype. After all, there are only twice as many people in the club as there are members of the band. Still, most people do not have much to say. Both the waitress and bartender do respond when asked about *Glutman*, noting that he's sitting by the band and has run up quite a tab. Interestingly, they both say the same thing even if you have not called Glutman's secretary and he is not at the club yet.

There is also an odd man on the left side who talks about "Ghoul busting." He says that he once met a Shadowrunner who claimed he could handle them. The Shadowrunner he is probably talking about is Jangadance, the Jamaican who is on the phone at the Grim Reaper club. Once you learn the *GHOUL* keyword, Jangadance will be off the phone and can be hired, however, he charges you 1,500 nuyen and is quite useless. Ignore this guy for now and talk to the man just above him, sitting on the couch.

You have finally found Glutman, who seems quite amused to see Jake based on his picture. He expresses his surprise that Jake is still alive given the value of the tech he is carrying in his head. When you Talk to him, he offers to hide you somewhere that you will be safe. Once the conversation has ended, Jake is blindfolded and taken somewhere. The area ends at this point.

The Zip Gun

You could very easily have beaten this game many times and never even heard of the Zip Gun. The reason is that you need to do something quite counterintuitive to ever get it. The Zip Gun is always given to you by Glutman if you talk to him in The Cage and do not have any other gun in your inventory. The game does this so you cannot get stuck in the next stage (caryards) with no way out. The Zip Gun has the same attack power as the Beretta (3) but has a lower accuracy rating (0 vs. 1 for the Beretta), making it a worse weapon. The difference in accuracy can be quite significant at this point in the game. You need an extra point in Firearms to make up the Zip Gun's lack of accuracy. With the Firearms sdefeat at level 1, you will miss almost every time with the Zip Gun.

So how does one get the Zip Gun? it is impossible to miss the Beretta, since you need to defeat at least some enemies to earn enough nuyen for the Lonestar Badge. However, once you have the Beretta, you can get rid of it either by 1) giving it to Hamfist the Shadowrunner, or 2) selling it to the Business Man (who also sells the Lonestar Badge). If you ever wish to get the Beretta again, you will need to give it to Hamfist (this trick is for the perfectionists who want every item in the game).

Since the Zip Gun is essentially a poor man's Beretta, there is no reason to try to obtain it. It is primarily there as insurance to protect a curious (or careless) player.

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