So here's my dilemma...

I'm using portions of Ghost Cartels in my campaign and of of my PCs started telling the other PCs about the Shadowrun game his friend was in. He started telling them about the runs his friend was going on and they happened to be ones I am using from Ghost Cartels. I stopped him, but not before he got out a lot of info (and secrets) on two of the runs I am going to use.

So I'm pretty much screwed, right? I mean, I can't use the missions now because nothing will come as a surprise to the players and they'll already know what to expect.

There are a couple options that come to mind off the cuff.

First, tinker with the runs a little bit to change around the various secrets that were given away. Of course, that depends on how much was given away because some may require complete changing the runs around.

Secondly, try putting a few runs in between now and these runs, maybe dust a little bit of the metaplot here and there throughout to nudge them in the way you want, making them think they figured it out rather than they read the book.

Third, penalize them for metagame thinking,whether by slight shifting of the facts as mentioned above, or just hit them where it hurts with the karma. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Ah, yeah thats the risk with using precanned adventures.

On the other hand you could mix it up a bit, put in things that weren't in the originals, change it up so they can't tell what adventure it is anymore, make enough changes they can't predict what'll happen, because they don't know what you kept and what you changed up.

If one of your players already played through the Ghost Cartels runs, then he likely isn't going to have much fun doing it again. Either that, or he will be having TOO MUCH fun trying to break the hell out of them. Not sure what kind of player he is, could go either way.

The only way you can use those Ghost Cartels run and ensure that they are fun for all players is to heavily modify them. The easiest way to do it is to just change some details, this gang becomes that gang, this syndicate switches over to that one. It will disorient players who think they remember whats going on, and not impact the ones who haven't encountered it yet.

Once you have changed around who the major players are, it usually becomes easy to see how a run would play out differently, at this new angle. Thats the only advice I can really come up with.

Doesn't everyone scramble the precans by default anyways? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cyber.gif)


Seriously though, the question that you need to ask yourself is whether or not you trust the player to "play fair" with his OOC knowledge, if you do then just change a few things here and there, otherwise run the mission through a blender.

So change things. Let them think it will all be the same, and change it. Customizing isn't just for your handgun.

i would be pretty mad if i were you. i would run it through the blender and shake it a bit.

Shrug. Ignore it. If the players are metagaming, they'll get bitten on the ass by the things that happen differently based on how the team does things differently. If they're not, they will be amused at the different direction that their adventure takes them in.

You know, after giving this a little thought, you could do something kinda interesting. Have the run go according to the scripted book stuff, but in the middle of it, have something mess up, like someone they are talking to flickers or loops back to an old piece of dialog or something. Then they find out they've been running a sim based off some old run's history, and then the real run begins. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

There are a few examples of that, but one of the best that I incorporated into my adventures came from Tom Clancy's Net Force. There was a online game that was having people btreak into secure facilities like our FPS games. Only thing was, the game was actually 'training sims' to find perfect plans to break into places.

What if the PCs got captured by a group and are being held drugged and being used as test subjects? Ever see Virtuosity? They used criminals as VR test subjects, and their sentence would get reduced for good behaviour.

Definately lets them use their knowledge, but also spins everything on its head. But you need to be able to create a tale from that to make it worthwhile. Have the PCs plan their escape and use the fact that they have no weapons, no armor, no real equipment until they find anything. So, how do they take out the army of guards with powerful guns, avoid cameras and other security?

I <3 you and wish to subscribe to your [insert media of choice].

That's the second time this happened today. It definately made me smile. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

You make the part of me that wants to GM start giggling maniacally (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (And some poor fools have actually expressed interest in being in one of my games, too)


I'm glad we made you smile, hon, I am a firm believer that people should do that once in a while (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Oh, I am quite maniacal myself when it comes to being a GM. Here's a question... Have you ever thought about how 'real' a trideo projection can look? In SR3, they commented that a trid projector in a home telecom can make trideo projections room sized. Imagine living in a dump apartment, using the trideo projector to make it look like something out of a palace, with various vistas through your windows. Or, for the GM in you, a trideo projection to hide something, because what if you 'shrink' the trideo holographic images to a bit smaller than the room. You've got an army of guys hiding behind the 'wall' of the coffee shop your target likes to visit. He goes to the counter, sits down at his table and then you take him out. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

And I work in a callcenter, so I know the benefits of smiling. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Anyway, I think I've derailed this thread enough, but hopefully given the OP some new ideas for plots.

OP, if you need help, I can write a few scenes for you, to give you a way to spin it around, but leave the stats and the security and everything numberwise for you to make it fit your campaign.

I'd point this out, too. It's important to take into account what the player's like. Some of my players would use their knowledge to deliberately lead the other players on a wild goose chase given half a chance, so this player may very well deal with the OOC knowledge in a non-metagame way. But if you know that's not the case, then yeah, change some shit up.

So here's what I'm thinking I'll have to do for damage control...I can't figure out much else.

My characters have an In with the Yaks...so I'll have to alter the adventures so the characters are working for the yaks instead of the Komun'go....so instead of trying to get the accountant FROM the Yaks, they'll be trying to kidnap the accountant and hold off a group of shadowrunners and FBI, etc...

I'm not too happy about it, but it's what I'll have to do.

What do you think?

When in doubt, swap the role of the PC's gumi with the Komun'go. If they're not working for one of the featured adversary gumis, then what's the harm in turning everything into an internal yakuza war over control of tempo?

Has anyone else tried Ghost Cartels from another angle?

And if so, how did it work?

Just to play devil's advocate here, I'd say that the player wasn't metagaming. After all he didn't know what adventure you were going to run or where you got your ideas from. You can't be mad at him for that unless he's psychic and you knew it in advanced....

...and if you knew it in advance then why are you GMing for this guy anyway?

But realistically, there will be other runners that this guy's character hangs with. He'd eventually hear stories from a friend's, chummer's, contact's rival, ol'school buddy that she went through a similar run prior to this. After all, isn't that what the comments in all the SR fluff have been all about over the years?

So, the best advice is what you've already gotten; alter the adventure slightly and you should be fine. If it was a full blown module, change names. Put a fragging dragon in it to spook the one guy who does know what's going on just so he can try to wrap his mind around that one for a while (not a great dragon mind you, but he'll be asking himself what the drek is a feathered serpent doing in the ghost cartels all night long).

Sign--

Wacky

Wacky,

OF COURSE I wouldn't be mad if this was just an accident...here's what happened...

My player said "Are you getting this from a published module?"

Me: Some of it, yeah...I'm tailoring it for us, but some of it, yes.
Player: Okay, cuz my friend was telling me about the game he's in and he mentioned Tempo.
Me: Yeah, it's a published campaign.
Player (to other players): Yeah, he was telling me about this one mission where they had to break into a DocWagon facility.
Me: Yeah, let's stop there because that's one I plan on using...
Player: I guess there was this reporter who ODed on the drug and they had to go get her body.
Me: Dude, cut it out...I said that's one I'm running...
Player: Oh, sorry.

Then, at the end of the night...

Player: Well shoot, now I can't talk to my friend about his game.
Me: Yeah, I dunno how much you've already talked to him but...
Player (interrupting, to other players): Yeah, he told me there was this one mission where they found out a drug dealer was a cop and they warned him that he was...
Me: DUDE, COME ON!

So, it wasn't completely innocent. And now I have some major overhauling to do.

SIGH,

Legs

thats a quick way to get a ban from a game right there

Heh. Just change it up. I'm sure you can come up with something cooler anyway.

Yes, let him sit it out. Tell him not to bother coming over while you play because he knows what happens. It wouldn't be fun for him and you don't want the rest of the group's fun ruined. When he says he can keep it to himself, just point out how obviously he can't.

OR let him pay you for the percentage of the book he rendered useless. (Then don't invite him back. Tell him to go play in his other friend's group.)

Ok, even I consider that way too harsh, just run things through a blender "just enough" that metagaming will screw him over and warn him that you will dock Karma if he isn't able to keep things to himself. Because let's face it, you can't stop him from talking to your players anyways and an actual "ban" is just going way overboard.

Situations like this are when you end a session, and ask a player to stay after for ten minutes or so, during which you have a nice polite talk. And basically say "Dude, that's bullshit. Please cut it out." If he flips out, tell him to sit out a session and think it over - a flat up ban without any sort of discussion is pretty lame. If your problem player is actually reasonable, hey, score one for diplomacy.

I would be tempted to introduce changes that result in very bad things happening if the player uses his knowledge. Like changing what happens to from a kidnapping to a car bomb. If the PCs "just happen" to in the perfect place to foil the kidnapping they instead just happen to be in the perfect place to get blown up, etc.