Dyshow am I even using this gunRegistered Userregular
We have an NPC with us that we've hired, and a party member's young son ran up and asked what we were doing. So we humored him and let him take an action as the NPC. We ask him what we should do about the chest problem.
"I use the key!"
"Where did you find the key, bud?"
"Here!" *points at map*
"Haha, alright. Roll this, little guy."
*20*
"...alright! The chest is opened with the key you apparently found!"
+31
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
Unfortunately not the right area of the country for me, but didn't want this to get BotP'd
But you know where the right area of the country will be come this summer?
Portland! Portland, Oregon gamers need to get a hold of me
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
We have an NPC with us that we've hired, and a party member's young son ran up and asked what we were doing. So we humored him and let him take an action as the NPC. We ask him what we should do about the chest problem.
"I use the key!"
"Where did you find the key, bud?"
"Here!" *points at map*
"Haha, alright. Roll this, little guy."
*20*
"...alright! The chest is opened with the key you apparently found!"
This. Is. Adorable.
+29
JacobkoshGamble a stamp.I can show you how to be a real man!Moderatormod
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
Have you ever considered running a game on IRC or roll20? I can guarantee you right now that, if you build it, they will come.
+9
MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
Unfortunately not the right area of the country for me, but didn't want this to get BotP'd
But you know where the right area of the country will be come this summer?
Portland! Portland, Oregon gamers need to get a hold of me
You'll be fine. Portland has enough game stores to warrant one dedicated just to MtG. It was crazy driving around there for one weekend and seeing like six FLGSs.
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
Have you ever considered running a game on IRC or roll20? I can guarantee you right now that, if you build it, they will come.
Hey @Farangu I'm serious, pm me because my phone is dumb and won't let me do it
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
edited March 2016
Another session of the Rise of the Runelords!
They descend into the deep darkness of the Catacombs of Wrath!
I'll just give you three interactions within my group.
Inquisitor: Alright, I say once we start our delve we have the Ranger in the front. We all agree? Ranger: Wait, what!?! Inquisitor: I mean it just makes sense. DM (me): Ahahaha! You just 'voluntold' Ken's Ranger to be the trap-fodder. Inquisitor: I did not! Ranger: YOU JUST FUCKING DID! Inquisitor: SO I DID! I STAND BY IT! Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): SHUT UP! Shut up! Listen, I'm going first. Inquisitor: But you can't detect traps... Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): Like I give a fuck. You think a trap can bring me down? Fuck em'. Inquisitor: Okay, okay... I mean you do have the biggest constitution score of any of us. Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): IS THAT A FUCKING FAT JOKE!?!? I'LL MURDER YOU!!!!"
Following that the party had to fight a couple Sinspawn creatures who were attuned to the sin of wrath, and as such were attracted to whichever character in the group exemplified that sin the most. GUESS WHO THAT WOULD BE......
Inquisitor: *Having been told this information after a Knowledge (Religion) & Knowledge (the Planes) check* Okay, Kaitlin... Kaitlin, these creatures are most attuned to the sin of wrath. Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): What of it??? Inquisitor: I'm just afraid if you keep this up they'll be able to find you through doors & walls. Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): I'm not changing who I am! Not for some limb-dicked Inquisitor or some evil Sinspawns. Inquisitor: They are going to keep coming at you, they'll keep charging you! Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): THEN LET THEM COME! I'LL MURDER THEM ALL! THEY HAVEN'T SEEN MY WRATH!!!!!
Near the end of the session the party was attacked by a Vargouille which was able to paralyze the Druid with its shriek ability. So it swooped down and tried to turn it into a future Vargouille with its kiss ability. Thankfully the Druid passed a rather high fortitude save and after that the Dwarven Fighter grappled the bat-demon. Eventually it got loose but after a solid arrow shot it fell into the pool.
DM (me): Alright the Vargouille crashes into the pool, it begins drowning as it tries to muster the strength to get out of it. EJ, it is your turn. Inquisitor: Alright, uh aww... Maybe stab it? Witch: Just stab it! Ranger: Yeah, just end this! Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): NO! Hold it down even more! I want to see the bubbles stop coming! Inquisitor: Jesus Christ! Dwarven Fighter (Kaitlin): I WANT TO KNOW IT SUFFERED TILL THE END!!!
It should also be noted that the party found a statue of an evil mage-queen with a masterwork ranseur on it, so the Dwarven Fighter took it. And while battling the Sinspawn she would remark, "Hey look what I got! That's right! It's the tool of your evil god, LET ME SEND YOU TO THEM WITH YOUR OWN FUCKING STUPID POLE-ARM YOU FUCKS!"
So... I don't know about you folks but you have never played (or ran) a game with an actual Dwarven Fighter. Because my friend Kaitlin is doing it. She is in the perfect resonance.
She is the Daniel Day Lewis of playing Dwarven Fighters.
your group is so great, zongual
the sort of party that gets their adventures written up as a script for other media
0
Zonugal(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered Userregular
The great thing is this group, for the most part, has never played role-playing games so they just learning. The Inquisitor, the Witch & the Ranger have never played any sort of D&D game in their lives. The Druid has maybe 6 months of gaming under his belt, and the Cavalier, Summoner & Dwarven Fighter all have a couple years of experience.
So I get to have conversations like:
DM (me): And the Sinspawn slashes at you for seven points of damage. Ranger: Aww shit... Inquisitor: Seven points! Ranger: I'm down to half my hit points. Inquisitor: Aww man... These things seem really strong. DM (me): Ahahahahahahaha.... Just you wait till you're at 17th-level and I'm hitting you for 150 points of damage. Inquisitor: Jesus... DM (me): Per turn. Inquisitor: JESUS CHRIST DM (me): I will break you, adventurers....
0
FaranguI am a beardy manWith a beardy planRegistered Userregular
I need gaming friends that I don't have to lead kicking and screaming into new things. No, I don't want to play Catan. No, I don't want to do more D&D.
Any of you folks in the chicagoland area? I'll make the fanciest campaign just for you. You'd be doing me a favor.
Have you ever considered running a game on IRC or roll20? I can guarantee you right now that, if you build it, they will come.
I always prefer in person sessions. Plus, with a three month old baby, there would be multiple forced breaks that would be easier to mitigate with an in-person group.
Might just have to consider working around that, though...
In our first session, the GM fulfilled a life-long goal by starting a campaign with, "You all wake up in a prison cell." My character, who relies on drones or a vehicle to do anything in combat, spent the entire session huddling in the back of the group with a looted gun I don't know how to use.
It's these times where Skypeing in works in my favour, because I can just browse the forums while the rest of the party and the GM argued at cross-purposes about different interpretations of the system using two versions of the rulebook. Then half an hour later, it's my turn again.
I did, however, coin the term "feyaboo" to describe the PC who wears pointy ears to try to pose as an elf, so I didn't feel totally useless.
Also, my Python dice roller works.
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
+1
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Oh man. I did that once with a Shadowrun campaign. BIG mistake on my part. Had the players make their characters with a bit of implicit language that they should be able to survive without their toys.. but really screwed over the Face and the drone decker (4th edition *shakes fist*). Dropped them off in the middle of Norway.
The campaign recovered, but.. yeah. One of the reasons my campaigns fail to launch now is because I want to make 100% sure I know what my players want before I come up with a plot, which usually means I don't have much plot going in, which puts me behind the 8-ball...
I did, however, coin the term "feyaboo" to describe the PC who wears pointy ears to try to pose as an elf, so I didn't feel totally useless.
Don't they already call that "Elf Poseur" or something in-universe?
They do. Ork Poseurs also picked up in popularity after the release of the Or'Zet "rosetta stone" and artifacts discovered thanks to Dunkelzahn's will and the arrival of Halley's Comet.
(They even made Ork Poseur a quality in either 4th or 20a, I forget which!)
I admit, I chuckled at the term feyaboo. If it weren't for it being an obscure internet meme from the early 21st century and thus likely not fitting well in-universe, I'd stea---
When I was thinking of doing a Shadowrun game I was going to start the players in a prison. And have the warden coerce them into doing a mission for him in exchange for their freedom (he was, of course, going to double cross them...), so they wouldn't have been without toys for long.
0
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
When I was thinking of doing a Shadowrun game I was going to start the players in a prison. And have the warden coerce them into doing a mission for him in exchange for their freedom (he was, of course, going to double cross them...), so they wouldn't have been without toys for long.
Look... the rule is, the Mr. Johnson screws the runners only 1 time out of 10. If you blow that the very first run, they're never going to trust anything you put in front of them as a GM!
Give it 4 missions. First mission should be a milk run that goes wrong. Second mission should get them a taste of the toys they want. Third should introduce the arc you want to run with.. Fourth screws them (think empire strikes back). After that, you'll have them hooked.
When I was thinking of doing a Shadowrun game I was going to start the players in a prison. And have the warden coerce them into doing a mission for him in exchange for their freedom (he was, of course, going to double cross them...), so they wouldn't have been without toys for long.
Look... the rule is, the Mr. Johnson screws the runners only 1 time out of 10. If you blow that the very first run, they're never going to trust anything you put in front of them as a GM!
Give it 4 missions. First mission should be a milk run that goes wrong. Second mission should get them a taste of the toys they want. Third should introduce the arc you want to run with.. Fourth screws them (think empire strikes back). After that, you'll have them hooked.
*whistles innocently*
Oh, it would take a few missions to finish the job the warden had in mind (I never got around to fleshing out details). I kind of wanted a Guardians of the Galaxy / Suicide Squad feel. And I *just* realized I could explore that if I ever decide to run an Edge of the Empire game.
+3
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
The analogy has been made regarding me. I'm usually the best at convincing my friends to do things, and they love it when I GM (and are always begging me to, which I never do because of self-confidence issues).
May also be that I don't kill my players outright out of the gate. While there are some seriously tough/evil rules in Shadowrun.. I prefer to save those for the really important moments. I'm trying to entertain, after all!
I did really, REALLY rough up a player one time though when I put him against a 0.2 essence dwarf holed up in an illegal research facility, and one of my players thought it would be a good idea to run out of cover to cross a caved-in hallway when he KNEW the dwarf was aware the team was there...
I kind of looked at him and said "Are you sure?" like twice.. then he did it, the dwarf kicked in his readied action, and the player was 2 hit boxes from death.
The analogy has been made regarding me. I'm usually the best at convincing my friends to do things, and they love it when I GM (and are always begging me to, which I never do because of self-confidence issues).
May also be that I don't kill my players outright out of the gate. While there are some seriously tough/evil rules in Shadowrun.. I prefer to save those for the really important moments. I'm trying to entertain, after all!
I did really, REALLY rough up a player one time though when I put him against a 0.2 essence dwarf holed up in an illegal research facility, and one of my players thought it would be a good idea to run out of cover to cross a caved-in hallway when he KNEW the dwarf was aware the team was there...
I kind of looked at him and said "Are you sure?" like twice.. then he did it, the dwarf kicked in his readied action, and the player was 2 hit boxes from death.
i'm not sure if i would love or hate you.
probably both.
0
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
The analogy has been made regarding me. I'm usually the best at convincing my friends to do things, and they love it when I GM (and are always begging me to, which I never do because of self-confidence issues).
May also be that I don't kill my players outright out of the gate. While there are some seriously tough/evil rules in Shadowrun.. I prefer to save those for the really important moments. I'm trying to entertain, after all!
I did really, REALLY rough up a player one time though when I put him against a 0.2 essence dwarf holed up in an illegal research facility, and one of my players thought it would be a good idea to run out of cover to cross a caved-in hallway when he KNEW the dwarf was aware the team was there...
I kind of looked at him and said "Are you sure?" like twice.. then he did it, the dwarf kicked in his readied action, and the player was 2 hit boxes from death.
i'm not sure if i would love or hate you.
probably both.
What made it really hilarious at the time was that the player in question was ex-Army. Every bit of training in him should have said this was a Bad Idea(tm) , and he still did it.
Surprisingly, players are shocked when I use the exact same rules they do! They expect me to cheat or something!
... I think the only time I ever did that was when a physical adept used a combat tomahawk to take out one of the player's drones in the Redmond Barrens...
When I was thinking of doing a Shadowrun game I was going to start the players in a prison. And have the warden coerce them into doing a mission for him in exchange for their freedom (he was, of course, going to double cross them...), so they wouldn't have been without toys for long.
I don't think I've ever witnessed a prison opening work properly. I think it's the antagonistic nature of the relationship: the PCs are immediately looking for a way to escape. In Suicide Squad, the solution is cranial bombs, which admittedly do exist in Shadowrun. Maybe if you could intertwine sub-goals in each mission which would eventually lead to a way of neutralising the bombs, but that would require PCs to be long-term planners.
Prison openings work in video games because it allows a gradual introduction of game mechanics: "Ah, Outsider, welcome. Please look over there. Please move forwards. Please interact with this object. Please describe your physical appearance using these sliders. Oh no, combat, here, hold this crappy weapon." Whereas in a game as gear-porny as Shadowrun, your players have spent two hours deciding exactly what kind of techy toys their characters are loaded up with, and if they're anything like me they've made notes of all the stat blocks and rules they'll need. Having an army of drones or arsenal of cool guns on your character sheet, only to be told that you can't play with them right away and instead have to play second fiddle to the magic users and martial artists who need less gear, rankles somewhat.
My two cents, anyway, based on a prison start I tried once and the session I was in last night. If I knew that it would be an in medias res prison session to start, I'd have spent the extra 2,000¥ to get a cyberware Commlink, which would have allowed me to summon at least one of my drones. Although probably only a surveillance drone. Which wasn't needed as one of the other players has some kind of radar talent that mapped out the entire complex.
Looks like I'll be spending this campaign the same way I spent my last two Shadowrun campaigns: wheelman duty. Only I've filled the space in my van with drone racks...
Rhesus Positive on
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
0
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Just look at how Jake Armitage starts the game back in the SNES Shadowrun - on a slab in a Morgue. No memories (so the player can build him like they want), no guns, no clue what's going on.
Perfect setup for a convention game. Bad setup for an ongoing campaign unless your players are willing to give you (as the GM) complete control.
... If you ever have a player willing to do that, RUN WITH IT. *pets his pet Drake*
I've had a good prison game start...where we promptly escaped. The reason any individual character was in prison was left entirely up to the player to come up with. You could be framed or have done it or whatever but it served as a simple quick background thing and this was before the modern story game thing had made that standard.
That'd be harder in Shadowrun than D&D. Shadowrun would benefit more from having something to blackmail them with but that's more of the Usual Suspects than a prison start.
Being able to combine character generation with in-universe plot creation would be amazing. Sort of like how Fate does character back stories, only somehow with the eleventy billion numbers and tables that a Shadowrun character requires. Also it's in non-linear time to allow players to go back and change stuff once they realise that a decision they made three hours ago was a stupid one.
An Ars Magica game could work like this, because it's a system where character generation takes place in linear time, building skills year on year. It would be a great way to introduce how the world works to the players as well as their characters: session one could be all the characters at age seven, kidnapped to the Fairy realm as the Fey are wont to do. They learn how skills work, how the dice mechanics work, and a little bit about what the setting is like. Once they escape, using roleplaying and rudimentary low-level play, it causes the Order of Hermes to take notice of the PCs, and they are initiated into their Houses. Hell, the first session could even inform the players as to which House they want to be part of, by giving them a chance to see what areas of the setting they'd prefer to explore.
I didn't realise when starting this post that I'd end up with a "you wake up in a prison cell" plot, but there you go. God, I love Ars Magica.
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
0
HawkstoneDon't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things. Somewhere outside of BarstowRegistered Userregular
I played the prison thing once with a GM..it was a mess, and it fell apart when he revealed that the whole game would be set there with no intention of ever leaving. Months on end with no scenery change, little chance to gain xp, no access to any sort of discernible loot or weapons. It really was a prison.....for his players.
I played the prison thing once with a GM..it was a mess, and it fell apart when he revealed that the whole game would be set there with no intention of ever leaving. Months on end with no scenery change, little chance to gain xp, no access to any sort of discernible loot or weapons. It really was a prison.....for his players.
I've got another session coming up next Saturday. Due to crappy schedules its been like a month plus since last session. Most of the group has the XP to level. We shall see if anyone remembered to!
I played the prison thing once with a GM..it was a mess, and it fell apart when he revealed that the whole game would be set there with no intention of ever leaving. Months on end with no scenery change, little chance to gain xp, no access to any sort of discernible loot or weapons. It really was a prison.....for his players.
I played the prison thing once with a GM..it was a mess, and it fell apart when he revealed that the whole game would be set there with no intention of ever leaving. Months on end with no scenery change, little chance to gain xp, no access to any sort of discernible loot or weapons. It really was a prison.....for his players.
What an asshole
He thought it was really clever and would be fun. I didn't take it personally... I think he envisioned OZ set in D&D and I get that but the execution was such that it was just a constant depressing beat down with no discernible way to improve your situation and he wasn't the sort of DM that was up to the sort of character interactions that could salvage something so maudlin.
Inside of a dog...it's too dark to read.
0
HawkstoneDon't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things. Somewhere outside of BarstowRegistered Userregular
Other than the minimal XP aspect, that actually sounds pretty fun to me
I hate loot though
Yeah I think you could do without one or even two...its when you lose all three that it gets tough to keep people interested. Progression of some tangible sort is a must, something has to feel rewarding to continue.
When I was thinking of doing a Shadowrun game I was going to start the players in a prison. And have the warden coerce them into doing a mission for him in exchange for their freedom (he was, of course, going to double cross them...), so they wouldn't have been without toys for long.
I don't think I've ever witnessed a prison opening work properly. I think it's the antagonistic nature of the relationship: the PCs are immediately looking for a way to escape. In Suicide Squad, the solution is cranial bombs, which admittedly do exist in Shadowrun. Maybe if you could intertwine sub-goals in each mission which would eventually lead to a way of neutralising the bombs, but that would require PCs to be long-term planners.
Prison openings work in video games because it allows a gradual introduction of game mechanics: "Ah, Outsider, welcome. Please look over there. Please move forwards. Please interact with this object. Please describe your physical appearance using these sliders. Oh no, combat, here, hold this crappy weapon." Whereas in a game as gear-porny as Shadowrun, your players have spent two hours deciding exactly what kind of techy toys their characters are loaded up with, and if they're anything like me they've made notes of all the stat blocks and rules they'll need. Having an army of drones or arsenal of cool guns on your character sheet, only to be told that you can't play with them right away and instead have to play second fiddle to the magic users and martial artists who need less gear, rankles somewhat.
My two cents, anyway, based on a prison start I tried once and the session I was in last night. If I knew that it would be an in medias res prison session to start, I'd have spent the extra 2,000¥ to get a cyberware Commlink, which would have allowed me to summon at least one of my drones. Although probably only a surveillance drone. Which wasn't needed as one of the other players has some kind of radar talent that mapped out the entire complex.
Looks like I'll be spending this campaign the same way I spent my last two Shadowrun campaigns: wheelman duty. Only I've filled the space in my van with drone racks...
The general idea I had was:
Players decide why they are in prison; it shouldn't be terrible enough that there's no way they would be set free (so, more Guardians than Suicide Squad...). The game would start with them being gathered to meet with the warden, who needs something done on the hush hush (I was toying with the idea of his sister being held captive and him needing people to find and rescue her for reasons).
Carrot: If they complete this he'll erase their records and they will be free
Stick: If they run or don't follow through, etc, he would alert everyone to the extremely dangerous criminals that escaped and needed to be hunted down.
He would then engineer their escape during a transfer and set them up with a contact to get outfitted and find out more about where to start the mission. That contact wouldn't betray them, but once the official mission was complete the warden would definitely try to kill them off.
So, basically there would be 2-3 quick scenes before they got geared up, and the players would be free to ignore the plot threads as long as they wanted to deal with the consequences. There would be "favor" mission for their contact and a couple of information gathering missions before the big rescue operation, which would dangle more plot threads in front of the players, then the warden betrayal.
In any case I ultimately decided I had 0 desire to GM a rules-complex game like Shadowrun even though I love the setting.
Posts
"I use the key!"
"Where did you find the key, bud?"
"Here!" *points at map*
"Haha, alright. Roll this, little guy."
*20*
"...alright! The chest is opened with the key you apparently found!"
Unfortunately not the right area of the country for me, but didn't want this to get BotP'd
But you know where the right area of the country will be come this summer?
Portland! Portland, Oregon gamers need to get a hold of me
Define Chicagoland? I get Fox 32 on my TV
This. Is. Adorable.
Have you ever considered running a game on IRC or roll20? I can guarantee you right now that, if you build it, they will come.
You'll be fine. Portland has enough game stores to warrant one dedicated just to MtG. It was crazy driving around there for one weekend and seeing like six FLGSs.
Hey @Farangu I'm serious, pm me because my phone is dumb and won't let me do it
Define Chicagoland
I'm in Chicago
They descend into the deep darkness of the Catacombs of Wrath!
I'll just give you three interactions within my group.
Following that the party had to fight a couple Sinspawn creatures who were attuned to the sin of wrath, and as such were attracted to whichever character in the group exemplified that sin the most. GUESS WHO THAT WOULD BE......
Near the end of the session the party was attacked by a Vargouille which was able to paralyze the Druid with its shriek ability. So it swooped down and tried to turn it into a future Vargouille with its kiss ability. Thankfully the Druid passed a rather high fortitude save and after that the Dwarven Fighter grappled the bat-demon. Eventually it got loose but after a solid arrow shot it fell into the pool.
It should also be noted that the party found a statue of an evil mage-queen with a masterwork ranseur on it, so the Dwarven Fighter took it. And while battling the Sinspawn she would remark, "Hey look what I got! That's right! It's the tool of your evil god, LET ME SEND YOU TO THEM WITH YOUR OWN FUCKING STUPID POLE-ARM YOU FUCKS!"
So... I don't know about you folks but you have never played (or ran) a game with an actual Dwarven Fighter. Because my friend Kaitlin is doing it. She is in the perfect resonance.
She is the Daniel Day Lewis of playing Dwarven Fighters.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
the sort of party that gets their adventures written up as a script for other media
So I get to have conversations like:
I always prefer in person sessions. Plus, with a three month old baby, there would be multiple forced breaks that would be easier to mitigate with an in-person group.
Might just have to consider working around that, though...
Also @DaMoonRulz @Bucketman I'm in the western suburbs - Lombard, to be precise. Also bucketman PM is coming at some point today
Chicago Megagame group
Watch me struggle to learn streaming! Point and laugh!
In our first session, the GM fulfilled a life-long goal by starting a campaign with, "You all wake up in a prison cell." My character, who relies on drones or a vehicle to do anything in combat, spent the entire session huddling in the back of the group with a looted gun I don't know how to use.
It's these times where Skypeing in works in my favour, because I can just browse the forums while the rest of the party and the GM argued at cross-purposes about different interpretations of the system using two versions of the rulebook. Then half an hour later, it's my turn again.
I did, however, coin the term "feyaboo" to describe the PC who wears pointy ears to try to pose as an elf, so I didn't feel totally useless.
Also, my Python dice roller works.
The campaign recovered, but.. yeah. One of the reasons my campaigns fail to launch now is because I want to make 100% sure I know what my players want before I come up with a plot, which usually means I don't have much plot going in, which puts me behind the 8-ball...
They do. Ork Poseurs also picked up in popularity after the release of the Or'Zet "rosetta stone" and artifacts discovered thanks to Dunkelzahn's will and the arrival of Halley's Comet.
(They even made Ork Poseur a quality in either 4th or 20a, I forget which!)
I admit, I chuckled at the term feyaboo. If it weren't for it being an obscure internet meme from the early 21st century and thus likely not fitting well in-universe, I'd stea---
Oh, who am I kidding.
Look... the rule is, the Mr. Johnson screws the runners only 1 time out of 10. If you blow that the very first run, they're never going to trust anything you put in front of them as a GM!
Give it 4 missions. First mission should be a milk run that goes wrong. Second mission should get them a taste of the toys they want. Third should introduce the arc you want to run with.. Fourth screws them (think empire strikes back). After that, you'll have them hooked.
*whistles innocently*
Oh, it would take a few missions to finish the job the warden had in mind (I never got around to fleshing out details). I kind of wanted a Guardians of the Galaxy / Suicide Squad feel. And I *just* realized I could explore that if I ever decide to run an Edge of the Empire game.
The analogy has been made regarding me. I'm usually the best at convincing my friends to do things, and they love it when I GM (and are always begging me to, which I never do because of self-confidence issues).
May also be that I don't kill my players outright out of the gate. While there are some seriously tough/evil rules in Shadowrun.. I prefer to save those for the really important moments. I'm trying to entertain, after all!
I did really, REALLY rough up a player one time though when I put him against a 0.2 essence dwarf holed up in an illegal research facility, and one of my players thought it would be a good idea to run out of cover to cross a caved-in hallway when he KNEW the dwarf was aware the team was there...
I kind of looked at him and said "Are you sure?" like twice.. then he did it, the dwarf kicked in his readied action, and the player was 2 hit boxes from death.
They had two weeks.
I just kept screaming, "Two Weeks!" at them.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
i'm not sure if i would love or hate you.
probably both.
What made it really hilarious at the time was that the player in question was ex-Army. Every bit of training in him should have said this was a Bad Idea(tm) , and he still did it.
Surprisingly, players are shocked when I use the exact same rules they do! They expect me to cheat or something!
... I think the only time I ever did that was when a physical adept used a combat tomahawk to take out one of the player's drones in the Redmond Barrens...
I don't think I've ever witnessed a prison opening work properly. I think it's the antagonistic nature of the relationship: the PCs are immediately looking for a way to escape. In Suicide Squad, the solution is cranial bombs, which admittedly do exist in Shadowrun. Maybe if you could intertwine sub-goals in each mission which would eventually lead to a way of neutralising the bombs, but that would require PCs to be long-term planners.
Prison openings work in video games because it allows a gradual introduction of game mechanics: "Ah, Outsider, welcome. Please look over there. Please move forwards. Please interact with this object. Please describe your physical appearance using these sliders. Oh no, combat, here, hold this crappy weapon." Whereas in a game as gear-porny as Shadowrun, your players have spent two hours deciding exactly what kind of techy toys their characters are loaded up with, and if they're anything like me they've made notes of all the stat blocks and rules they'll need. Having an army of drones or arsenal of cool guns on your character sheet, only to be told that you can't play with them right away and instead have to play second fiddle to the magic users and martial artists who need less gear, rankles somewhat.
My two cents, anyway, based on a prison start I tried once and the session I was in last night. If I knew that it would be an in medias res prison session to start, I'd have spent the extra 2,000¥ to get a cyberware Commlink, which would have allowed me to summon at least one of my drones. Although probably only a surveillance drone. Which wasn't needed as one of the other players has some kind of radar talent that mapped out the entire complex.
Looks like I'll be spending this campaign the same way I spent my last two Shadowrun campaigns: wheelman duty. Only I've filled the space in my van with drone racks...
Perfect setup for a convention game. Bad setup for an ongoing campaign unless your players are willing to give you (as the GM) complete control.
... If you ever have a player willing to do that, RUN WITH IT. *pets his pet Drake*
That'd be harder in Shadowrun than D&D. Shadowrun would benefit more from having something to blackmail them with but that's more of the Usual Suspects than a prison start.
An Ars Magica game could work like this, because it's a system where character generation takes place in linear time, building skills year on year. It would be a great way to introduce how the world works to the players as well as their characters: session one could be all the characters at age seven, kidnapped to the Fairy realm as the Fey are wont to do. They learn how skills work, how the dice mechanics work, and a little bit about what the setting is like. Once they escape, using roleplaying and rudimentary low-level play, it causes the Order of Hermes to take notice of the PCs, and they are initiated into their Houses. Hell, the first session could even inform the players as to which House they want to be part of, by giving them a chance to see what areas of the setting they'd prefer to explore.
I didn't realise when starting this post that I'd end up with a "you wake up in a prison cell" plot, but there you go. God, I love Ars Magica.
That's when you riot.
In-game, real-life, either way.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I hate loot though
I've got another session coming up next Saturday. Due to crappy schedules its been like a month plus since last session. Most of the group has the XP to level. We shall see if anyone remembered to!
What an asshole
He thought it was really clever and would be fun. I didn't take it personally... I think he envisioned OZ set in D&D and I get that but the execution was such that it was just a constant depressing beat down with no discernible way to improve your situation and he wasn't the sort of DM that was up to the sort of character interactions that could salvage something so maudlin.
Yeah I think you could do without one or even two...its when you lose all three that it gets tough to keep people interested. Progression of some tangible sort is a must, something has to feel rewarding to continue.
The general idea I had was:
Players decide why they are in prison; it shouldn't be terrible enough that there's no way they would be set free (so, more Guardians than Suicide Squad...). The game would start with them being gathered to meet with the warden, who needs something done on the hush hush (I was toying with the idea of his sister being held captive and him needing people to find and rescue her for reasons).
Carrot: If they complete this he'll erase their records and they will be free
Stick: If they run or don't follow through, etc, he would alert everyone to the extremely dangerous criminals that escaped and needed to be hunted down.
He would then engineer their escape during a transfer and set them up with a contact to get outfitted and find out more about where to start the mission. That contact wouldn't betray them, but once the official mission was complete the warden would definitely try to kill them off.
So, basically there would be 2-3 quick scenes before they got geared up, and the players would be free to ignore the plot threads as long as they wanted to deal with the consequences. There would be "favor" mission for their contact and a couple of information gathering missions before the big rescue operation, which would dangle more plot threads in front of the players, then the warden betrayal.
In any case I ultimately decided I had 0 desire to GM a rules-complex game like Shadowrun even though I love the setting.