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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun Missions _ Fun with "Boxed" text

Posted by: DireRadiant Jul 7 2007, 06:03 AM

I've run over half the missions for SR4 by now. I've had great groups to run through,and we've always had fun. But there are always those little things about missions.

Boxed Text:
- Had a team of runners with no vehicle, and boxed text kept persistently talking about "You drive up."
- I don't mind the opening scene starting with the runners at the meet, but later on you get things like "You knock on the door" of the next place they are going to. No sending astral scouts, no surveillance drones, no listening first?
- I don't know how may times the scene is described and it's only half way in that you get that the team is approaching a a two story building.
- Text always telling runners how poor they are, how desperately they need money, and how they feel about driving around in Aurora.

Runners instantly breaking the mission
- Tunnel Vision, runners can send astral and drone scouts pretty much directly to the final encounter.
- Once of Prevention, the TM sends in a crack sprite and takes over the entire system.
- Twist and Insult, runners split up and half do each path, very entertaining to figure out the encounters.

So what fun things have you had to deal with and adjust on the fly with missions?

Posted by: the_dunner Jul 9 2007, 12:18 AM

QUOTE (DireRadiant)

I've run over half the missions for SR4 by now. I've had great groups to run through,and we've always had fun. But there are always those little things about missions.

Thanks for the feedback! Running that many of the missions is terrific. I'm glad you guys are having fun, because I feel that's the most important part.

I do want to respond and clarify a couple of your points.

QUOTE

Boxed Text:

From the Introductory text, partial section bolded for emphasis:

QUOTE (Missions Introduction)

Tell it to them straight is written to be read aloud to the players, describing what their characters experience upon entering the scene. You should feel free to modify the narrative as much as desired to suit the group and the situation, since the characters may arrive at the scene by different means or under different circumstances than the text assumes.

We do what we can to try to make the material generally applicable. But you're certainly right -- most of the time at least one of these sections will be wildly divergent from the way your group chose to do things. I'm of the opinion that this text isn't gospel. It's just meant to try to capture a mood. By all means -- if you've got something more appropriate, please use it!

QUOTE (DireRadiant)

- Tunnel Vision, runners can send astral and drone scouts pretty much directly to the final encounter.

Hmm. This one I'm concerned about because actually, they' can't. From the scene "Down the Hole" (less than 1/2 way in):

QUOTE (SRM02-09)

Radio contact with the outside world is not possible anymore.

That should stop drones dead at the waterfall.

As far as a spirit goes -- there are a number of "interesting" things later on that that would prevent all but an extremely powerful spirit from returning and reporting on what it would find.

[ Spoiler ]

QUOTE (DireRadiant)

- Once of Prevention, the TM sends in a crack sprite and takes over the entire system.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. There are several systems in place. It's unclear to which one you're referring. One sprite, unless it's extremely powerful shouldn't be able to hack all the systems. Further, from the adventure text:

QUOTE (SRM02-07 p. 12)

The security system is not hackable from the outside, as it is completely isolated from the rest of DocWagon’s networks.

I suppose if they're inside already, they could try and take that system down. OTOH, if they're already inside, they might have other problems to deal with.

QUOTE (DireRadiant)

Twist and Insult, runners split up and half do each path, very entertaining to figure out the encounters.

Now that's just funny.

In the interests of protecting the guilty, I'll refrain from naming characters or scenarios in re-capping any of my more interesting ones here.

However, a couple of interesting ones:

Turned down the job, because it paid too little.
Betrayed the team to the opposing faction, part way through the session.
"Infiltrated" by breaking a window, during prime business hours, without checking the security system, and having all 6 team members enter through said window at the same time.
Introducing themselves to their hostage.
Attacking Lone Star.
Leaving an injured runner behind -- while said 'runner had all their Matrix IDs and was part of their active communications network.
Summoning something too powerful, and knocking themselves unconscious in the attempt. While on stakeout.

Posted by: Adarael Jul 9 2007, 06:36 PM

So, Dunner - or any other freelancer - I imagine you're more familiar with this than me... And since I want to know for future freelance proposals...

For 'vanilla' style adventures (not track or setup books) is "Tell It To Them Straight" required? In past projects I've worked on, they never had a narrative boxed text, but rather a guideline for how to narrate a scene. Granted, this was for a 'different' style of game line.

I ask because I really dislike boxed text, and generally would prefer to have narration guidelines rather than something meant to be read to the players if their actions are capable of changing what's being read.

Posted by: BishopMcQ Jul 9 2007, 07:59 PM

As a Missions writer, I know that there have often been times where we have not included "boxed text" because the ways that the runners could have arrived at a scene were vastly different. In these cases the material is presented in the "Behind the Scenes" section and the GMs are left to their own devices.

Personally, I use the boxed text for Conventions and open game days when I want the Mission to match everyone else's experience of it. For my own tabletop games when I borrow material from a Mission to support my campaign, I customize the text for my own group.

Posted by: DireRadiant Jul 9 2007, 08:20 PM

The Missions are a lot of fun, and are a great set of introductory and conventions style events. They do what they are meant to do.

In general I think the "Tell it to them Straight" should be focused on setting the scene. Description of physical things, why did the group come here, leave out, or separate all those little fluff bits about not having enough money, or having a mood the same color as the sky or their cigarette ash. Some 'Runners run cause their crazy, they got plenty of money from their last mission. Speaking of which, Twist and Insult start with them just being paid off from their previous missions when they are called back in to do an additional mission... but the mood in the boxed text si all about how they are so dirt poor they need the money.

And lines like this make me wince, "Her
eyes are cold but burn like a well banked
fire."
or "slender and long-limbed,
with muscles like steel cables under her
tanned skin and spiked red hair, and
ruthless as she is beautiful." Cha 3, so I'm not sure actually how ruthless.

Posted by: Adarael Jul 9 2007, 09:01 PM

Ruthless like an angry korean shopkeeper. Beautiful as that guy down the street that keeps parking his americar halfway up the curb. Deadly like a really bad case of bronchitis! Arms like the steel cables on bridges - rusting and smelling vaguely of urine!!

These are shadowrunners. Their lives are dedicated to living free of the constraints that tie you down...except when they have to work within them to get paid. They ride the bleeding edge to survive...except when they're babysitting some corp exec who wants to go slumming in touristville. They make their home where eagles fear to tread, because eagles don't tread much of any where so much as just land when they're tired or want to look at something shiny.

This is Shadowrun.
Forget to watch your back because Double Exposure requires you to.
Leave your ammo at home, because you forgot to RFID tag-wipe it.
And sometimes cut a deal with a dragon, because the pay is fucking phenomenal.

Posted by: Squinky Jul 12 2007, 03:24 AM

I too have had issues with the boxed text. My belief is that it is mostly my inability to adapt though. I am a pretty new GM. I can't really see any other way to do the job that is currently being done any better.

The biggest issue I've had with missions was having to roleplay a Cat chick as a fixer ....My players gave me so much crap about not making the voice right....I just couldn't get into her character. Don't get me wrong I like the character, I liked her way back when I drew her contact image, but man, playing a Cat chick is pushing my boundaries a lot

Posted by: TheMadDutchman Jul 27 2007, 02:51 PM

I've got kind of a funny one. In one of the runs I played in "The Grab" it assumes that the players stay for dinner w/ the Johnson. We, the players, were of a different breed. We were the "one negotiations are done we leave" kind. It's funny because there's an encounter after dinner where the Johnson's enemies find her and attack her and the PCs are supposed to be present because if she dies the deal's basically off.

Sadly we kind of got railroaded into hanging around. I think the GM should've just arbitrated the encounter between Johnson and goons sans PCs and based on his own judgment decided whether or not the Johnson died.

Still, it's the funny things like that which can really seem to derail the games.

In the end I don't think it really matters. If the Pcs outplay a module (as does happen) and a 4 hour game raps up in 2:30 that's fine. As a GM I'd probably shake all of their hands and get the numbers of any of them I wasn't in a group w/ already to see about expanding the ranks.

I do agree that the box text rarely matches the reality of the gaming situation but this isn't anything new to SR modules. Every SR module I've ever read has a lot of evocotive and very customized description in it. Divided Assets, Celtic Doublecross, Eye Witness, Harlequin, all of them. They are however, better than most. I've read modules from other games and thought "How the hell am I going to work this into my game?" At least w/ SR modules I've only ever thought "I'm gonna need to make a few adjustments"

Posted by: DTFarstar Aug 7 2007, 03:47 PM

In 'The Grab' my players were happy to get a free meal, then when the altercation afterwards came around the J's enemies showed up, they all rolled well on initiative and killed them before the J or the gangers had a chance to react. The J was just like "Oh DREK!" *pulls out her predator* "Oh..*blink**blink* Well, I knew there was a reason I hired you." The scene afterwards talks about licking wounds and the J being either injured and dead and all this stuff and I had to scrap the whole thing.

Then in the next one(can't remember the name) they well....

[ Spoiler ]

Posted by: Deacon Aug 9 2007, 03:03 AM

QUOTE (TheMadDutchman @ Jul 27 2007, 02:51 PM)

As I recall, we trust the GMs and players to keep the ball rolling, meaning that if the PCs suddenly do something out of the ordinary, the GM is allowed to do whatever he deems necessary in order to keep the game moving, even if it means diverging from the Mission entirely. (I've had a team do exactly this, and I basically had to make up a shadowrun on the fly for them.)

In this case what I'd have done is gone with it. Okay, the runners do the negotiations and then skedaddle. Then they do the entire run (with parts made up when necessary) and come back for their payment... only to discover that the Johnson was scragged ten minutes after they left, and had they only stuck around, they'd be getting paid right now instead of finding out they did the whole run for gratis.

Which can be a real disappointment when the runners just put out a lot of cash for completing the mission and discover that the funds spent aren't being replaced, but... c'est la vie. Life in the shadows sucks sometimes.

All a GM can really do is take the ball and run with it. If that means having to take it out of the stadium, so be it. If that means taking it and turning it into a hockey puck and giving the players ice skates and sticks, well...

-Deacon

Posted by: TheMadDutchman Aug 12 2007, 04:52 AM

QUOTE (Deacon)

All a GM can really do is take the ball and run with it. If that means having to take it out of the stadium, so be it. If that means taking it and turning it into a hockey puck and giving the players ice skates and sticks, well...

I completely agree with you and as GM I've learned to roll very well w/ the punches.

In retrospect I think it would have been hilarious to play through the waves of carnage that would have followed- because the group we were playing: someone was going to pay us and if the Johnson was dead we'd figure out on whom amongst her known associates the debt would have fallen and then we would have collected.