Recruiting: Quid pro Quo - Take 2 Options

[Fuchs]

I did this before, but the games (Tokyo in the Shadows and Jamaica in the Shadows) died - although after a respectable run - when the other player/GM dropped. I'd like to do this again though (with wikis too, those work really well), so here's:

Quid pro Quo, or „GM for your GM“ - Take 2

The basic idea is that two people team up, and each runs a single-player campaign for the other, parallel. Ideally, for each post as a player, there would be one as a GM as well. While this means that if one player can’t post for a bit two campaigns are frozen, it also may result in a faster gameplay (only one player to coordinate with/ask details from, two chances to find the motivation to post) and may also see campaigns that are tailored to the player in question (As in (hypothetical example) „You run a „Gritty Seattle Ork Underground“ campaign for me, I run a „Corporate Court Trouble Consultant 005“ for you“).

To sum it up: Each player comes up with a type of campaign (theme, powerlevels, campaign focus, etc...) they'd like to play in and designs their pc accordingly. Each GM obliges the player and designs a campaign world tailored around the respective player's wishes.

Then when the game starts, each time you post, you post one post for the game in which you are a player and one post in the game you are a GM.

This proposal is more about getting the campaign (not just the character) you want to play in, in exchange of providing the campaign your GM wants to play in. The campaigns would not have to be set in the same world, or use the same optional/house rules, or same BP level at all.

While the would most likely be character-focused, less mission, more life based, and so on - just from the set up of 1-1 - the theme, power level and flavor is not limited by anything but the willingness of a GM to run it for you - from gritty street punk to dragon PC, from black as it can get to screaming neon pink mohawk, from drama to sitcom.

In a 1-1 campaign, it's much easier to balance things by tailoring the campaign to the character in question, since there's no "collateral damage" among other PCs to worry about. A Mage with 4 IPs might be overpowered in a game where the samurai has 3 IPs and everyone else 1, since anyone able to counter the mage might kill the rest, but in a game with just the mage there are no such concerns.

In the same way, there are no concerns about a character dominating a campaign by virtue of an exotic race, background, or item - there are no other players to worry about. It's easy to have the PC supported by NPCs, as in some novels.

[Fuchs]

Personal Expectations:

General:

I'd do a wiki for each campaign, since that greatly enhanced running and playing, in my experience. I'd also like a quick rhythm of posting - at least 1 double-post per day.


As a player:

General theme:
What I am looking for to play in is a more action movie/TV series feeling than gritty realism. Focus on playing day to day, with a wide spectrum, ranging from runs to dealing with the neighbour's escaped para-pet that's stuck on the tree in the yard and won't come down. No "Make a mistake? You're dead" stance, I am looking to play a character with faults and mishaps, so the campaign shouldn't be that lethal. I don't expect a game where the PC is invulnerable, and unbeatable, but I don't want to worry about my character - the character generally worries enough, and won't do suicidal stuff anyway. I also am not too fond of micro-management - my character has skills so I don't have to know how to defeat a security system, or that the two wires the GM says my PC spotted shouldn't be cut.
More emphasis on interaction and infiltration than action. Less focus on planning, more focus on twists and turns and unexpected situations. Shouldn't be a sitcom where all bad things are laughed off and no one gets really hurt, but especially not a dramatic tragedy where every wound ends up hurting the character's soul, and every day sees another loved one dead. More like Indiana Jones or Kelly's Heroes (where the action is concerned) than deep, soul searching melodrama. The character should be able to get back on his/her feet after a bad turn, not be scarred for life.
Mature topics (sex, slavery, racism, etc.) are ok, but shouldn't be graphic or detailed. No page-long torture sessions to gain information. I like my campaigns with shades of grey, and staying in the middle there. No working for blood mages/toxics/insect shamans/mass-murderers etc. but also no "Humanis is bad, so you'll kill them every run!" hammered down my throat.
I do not hate clichees or tropes, they are part of that movie feeling. Not to the extent of "We'll lock you in this deathtrap and leave you while we go to execute our master plan, Mr. Bond", but rather that than "double tap to the head, we'll not take any chances".
Runners shouldn't be king of the hill, but not at the bottom of the food chain either. Aiming for the point where they can take on some complicated runs, but still get captured/forced to surrender by that pirate or go-gang. No Dragons, Immortal Elves, or other such uber-super-NPCs directing the character in their plots, but no "struggle for your next meal, punk" feeling either. Middle of the road.
Lasting and developping NPCs by preference, part of the focus on the character's life.

Rules:
I would prefer a rules-lite version - I post what the character wants to do, the GM tells me what happens, rolling for me in most cases if needed (or use one roll, then judge the fight/scene from that roll). It speeds up the scenes, and puts the focus on characterisation, away from mechanics.

Setting:
The setting should be somewhat consistent, no jarring, sudden changes. It shouldn't start in Seattle, then suddenly turn into "Lost in Space in another dimension" before revealing it was actually a "matrix world" in space in another dimension (actual example that happened to me once). I like Magic being mysterious, even if the rules do not support it - a mundane character might not know how most spells work.
I have a preference for a caribbean campaign. South-East Asia would work too, maybe parts of africa. Mysterious magic, pirates/mercenaries playing important parts, and a looser/more corrupt government than in the UCAS would be the keys.


As a GM:

I don't like to get too graphic with torture, sex and the like. For rules, I am used to a more loose approach, and I have some blank spots (We haven't used quickening or spell locks ever since we stopped using either back in SR1 days, for example).
What I am definetly not used to is the "GM vs. Player" style. If you're looking for a GM that challenges you I am not your man. I focus on providing plots, npcs, and twists and turns, but I assume that the PCs will, if not always succeeding, generally survive, and I don't really plan out elaborate security systems. As a GM, I feel that if a player has a detailed plan for something, good, if he hasn't, and just says "I try to weaken the structure" I take it and roll with it according to the PCs skill.
I am very open for settings and themes. High-powered "recover dangerous artifacts for the draco foundation all over the world", "Slowly discover that you are more (or something else) than you thought you were", "Your Johnson is the local master vampire" "your rent is due, and you've hooked your gun to pay for your last bottle, what do you do?" are all ok.

[Play]

Looks good. I'm in. (Though I still don't want to run you as a rigger, technomage, or hacker.)

Wiki where?

What a good idea.

[Fuchs]

I usually do wikis on wikispaces.com, like the two linked in the first post.

[Play]

Great. Let's go.

[Fuchs]

Well, what kind of campaign/character do you want to play in?

[Play]

I'd like to play a magic user, probably shaman. Choose your own adventure style, in the sense of being an entrepreneur, making my own work, instead of being a slave to the 'I have to find a Johnson and do a run for a corporation that is going to stab me in the back' cliche.

Seattle setting works for me. Doesn't matter that much.

Overall I like your game parameters. That fits my wants.

So....you give me the char you want to play, I'll give you mine?

[Fuchs]

Sent you a PM. And, I think it's best, judging from my experience, if we discuss the campaigns a bit, hashing out the basics, and set up, important NPCs and such. More work to start, but pays in the long run.

[Play]

K. There'll be a mail for you in the morning.

[Fuchs]

Ok.