Looping the Hen Games

I thought maybe I could try to pre-empt some of the challenges that come from death and dying. As Shadowrun is really a game of missions (although the ramifications of any particular mission may be very long-lived indeed), dealing with the loss of a character should be easier than D&D ever was (though no death should ever be easy). I hope the following thoughts my help.

First, my suggestion is everyone make a 2nd character now, right at the beginning. I would even try to make something completely different, and have that character even potentially be a 'contact' to the main character. Then, if a main ever dies, there is an easy transition to a new character. Also, having a Sniper backup, or a bioSWAT member, or a Helicopter Pilot, might be useful as well. As the character progression is slower in Shadowrun, and the 'power variances' are high even in starting characters, I also probably wouldn't have a problem with switching characters between sessions if that idea appeals to anyone.

Second, if a character dies, your new character can start with the same number of Karma as the old character had. The level loss thing in D&D was kind of arbitrary and consistently weirded the game (my fault), so I'm just going to do away with the death penalty. Losing a cool character is probably more than enough penalty.

Finally, I just want to note that at some point, one or more character deaths are inevitible, and I hope when it happens it won't dampen anyone's enjoyment too much. As you saw, a full-blooded Street Samurai can go down in one round, and had he gotten off his attacks first, could likely have done the same to anyone in the party. Heaven forbid you have to face a squad of them (or to be honest, a squad of anything simultaneously, which hasn't really happened yet, though it was close this weekend). I've tried (for my own benefit as well) to introduce just very small pieces of the game at a time. There are deadlier things to come for all players that will have to be dealt with. For example, drones, mages, spirits, for almost everyone, IC and defending hackers for Gribble, more complex security (biometrics, RFID) for Nadia and higher-level and bio/drug-enhanced corporate personalities for the face. Additionally, squads and bad guys also have edge they can use based on their professional level, and they'll start using it more regularly as we move forward.

So, if and when a character loss happens, I hope we'll all just take a short break, honor the memory of one fallen, and get back at it.

I'm open to any other options, suggestions and comments. This isn't set in stone, but I thought it might be a good way to address some of the challenges we've had in this area.

Posted by at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Dionysius Phamaceuticals Blame Faulty Fusion for Fire

It is being reported that a 3000-degree fire at the Bethden Hills Research Facility was caused by a ruptured faxil valve on unit 4 of their on-site sub-fusion generator, and not by a terrorist cell as was initially reported on the Lone Star CrimeNet. Adjustors are calling the facility a complete loss, and accountants at several regulatory agencies are guessing the lengthy insurance process will force Dionysius into Chapter 22 Bankruptcy proceedings. Aztechnology, parent of DPI, has distanced themselves from their subsidiary. A leak from an anonymous manager show reports of lackadaisical safety procedures.

The death toll stands at 32.

Policlub Massacre Sparks Meta-Tension, Alamos 20k Reprisal at Ork Enclave

"We were just having a peaceful march when out of nowhere the dirty orks began attacking us. We were weaponless. Defenseless. And they just slaughtered us. And they say they wonder why our organization exists. Just take a look, the corpses are stacked like cordwood." So says Dave Dukelin, organiser of this weekend's Policlub March for Unanymity where more than 100 Humanis members were slain by a previously unknown ork military society. So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Alamos 20k, often called the militant arm of the Unanymity movement, struck back. Using milspec armored vehicles and weapons, they leveled the Red Tuskan Bareo on the outskirts of Denver; 30 orks and several trolls are reported dead, including 10 human children who an ork mother said had come to play whizball at a local field. 55 more were injured and taken to a local clinic.

Commlink Prototype Goes Missing Along With Inventor, Ares Shares Down

Noted physicist, inventor and playboy Vladimir Kruschenkov has been missing for over a week and Lone Star has called off the search. It is assumed he was killed some time after 8pm on June 9. He was last seen entering a limousine owned by a local high-society metahuman outside a poche downtown restaurant where he was dining prior to unveiling his latest creation. The XJ-12, a prototype comm-unit purported to be capable of stable quantum processing and 2048-bit encryption as well as an optional 7-point AI, was supposed to propel Ares back on top on the commlink market. Shares are down more than 3 points to 232.75.

Ares is offering a reward of 100,000 nuyen for information leading to an arrest or recovery of either the prototype or Vladimir Kruschenkov, no questions asked.

Posted by at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I thought that went pretty well for a first game on a new system. Everyone was involved and did what their character specialized in, which as Gribble commented, is much different than our D&D games normally were. I think it's nice that the system lends itself to many ways to solve problems. It was also cool to actually finish a two-part mission, and then some, into one session. Reading the book should actually make more sense now that we've tried some stuff, so I will go over it again this week, and whoever has the other one should as well.

For everyone's benefit, here are a couple of links you should check out:

www.dumpshock.com and the Dumpshock forums are the two main Shadowrun sites on the net. When reading the forums, you should probably stick to the 4th Edition one so as not to get confused; there were a lot of changes between 3rd and 4th.

This site is the one where I got the little print-out sheets for combat; everyone should probably print out their own, potentially for ranged and melee. It has a lot of other cool tools on it also.

Posted by at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I’ve learned a lot gaming with y’all over the last couple of years. As we look to a new campaign, and maybe bring on board some new players, I wanted to try something. As a GM, I am interested in what type of a game y’all are looking for, and what things you find fun in a game, and what you don’t. We all play to have fun first, and everything else second. To help in that pursuit, I really want to know what parts of our games (if any) have been the most fun, and what have been the least. To help determine that, I’ve put together some questions on topics I know have caused some consternation to help figure out where I am in relation to y’all. I hope everyone who wants to continue to play together will take a few to answer the questions below, plus provide any additional feedback you would like to offer.

Thanks!

TT's campaign and social contract

What types of game do you like best - action-based or role-playing? (use percentages to indicate how you would like your game to look)

Do you want the GM to fudge (to keep characters alive, for example, or to keep the villain you've been tracking for 6 months from going down to the first critical hit or stun effect) -
Never
Rarely
Occasionally
Often

How much does character death affect your enjoyment of the game?
Much
Some
Little
Not at all

Character death should happen:
Never (if the answer is never, please give me an idea on how to maintain tension and risk vs. reward)
Rarely
Occasionally
Often

Would you rather have your character improve through stat bonuses, skill points, luck and the like or through cool stuff, like weapons, armor or tech? (use percentages)

How much impact do you want your character to have on the world? Which best describes: (save the town; save the city; save the country; save the world; save the universe?) How much should that scale as characters grow in power? (Do you want the players to always be just one part of the world or should they always be saving the world?)

How many mood-setting, or minor scenes should there be? (For example, minor combats, side quests, NPC discussions, etc)

How do you want to acquire your stuff? Do you want to role-play acquisition or be able to assume most general merchandise is available to buy between sessions as long as you have the cash?

How much wealth should be available? (low, medium, high...whatever we can get our hands on?)

How much of the action should the dice determine? (Dice are deities, they should determine everything!; Dice are dirt, they should only determine combat!; Dice should be used for anything above an 'everyday action'; Dice should only be used for difficult actions)

Most adventures should be:
Life-threatening
Challenging
Moderate
Easy

Additionally, I would like to offer up what my guidelines will be when running games. Feel free to discuss these as well and your thoughts on them.

T's rules of GM'ing

If there is a rules disagreement, no more than 3 minutes should be used during a session to discuss. A note should be made and a permanent ruling decided after the session, either through discussion or email. The main reason for this rule is simply to avoid spending 4 hours on a minor rules point when we should be playing instead.

All players (and the GM) should be civil to everyone else at all times.

If a players or players do not like something about a game (ongoing or one time), they should feel free to present the topic for discussion.

*Getting on a schedule*: Of course life happens and events will occur that will interfere with a game from time to time, and everyone understands that. However, there needs to be a consistency people can count on that applies as well (I understand this applies to me as well as I've been as guilty as everyone else). Lack of transportation, surgery, kids and the like are good excuses. Shopping, hangovers, playstation or getting food or coffee should not be reasons people are absent or tardy. I commit to putting substantial resources of time (and money, though I don't expect everyone to do that) into a game, and with hope others will do the same. If you want to be a part of a gaming group, be a part of it, and if you don't, don't. If you are unhappy with an aspect of the game, it should be discussed, not ignored through non-participation. If someone is not up for a particular game on a particular day, there are other things the group can do other than cancel, just to keep the continuity of a scheduled game.

I know this can be a touchy subject, but to have a truly workable game, I need to know how to plan my time. If Gribble does run the other half of the Shadowrun game, he’ll know how I feel (and I know Rodney already understands this completely)

Feel free to discuss any of this or anything I have missed!

Posted by at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)