Background Count, What's standard? Options

[Apathy]

I've played in games before where the standard background count for almost everyplace in the city was -1, and areas with -2 were fairly common. Alternately, I've played games where almost the whole city was BC=0, with only the most toxic areas getting a -1 or -2. What's the general consensus on DS for what BC each area should start with?

[paws2sky]

For me, default BC=0. Other areas vary.
It'd take something pretty big to rate a BC 3 or above.
Even a BC 2 would take something noteworthy to generate.

-paws

[FrankTrollman]

Honestly I think most people wildly over estimate background counts. A Background of 4 or even 3 is supposed to be really special.

-Frank

[Muspellsheimr]

Default of 0.

Area's of significant emotional importance 1 to 2 (such as a recent passion crime scene, or a cemetery).

Area's of long standing emotional or spiritual importance 3 to 5 (such as Stonehenge)

"Naturally" occurring aspected domain 1 to 3 (such as the Ring of Fire incident in Japan)

Artificially created aspected domain 2 to 4 (such as toxic waste site)


I have seen a lot of people on these forums under the assumption that background count is the rule rather than the exception. I strongly disagree with this for multiple reasons, some of which being:

• The typical awakened never exceeds a Magic rating of 3, and so will be seriously affected by a background of any rating. The thought that the vast majority of Awakened individuals are in fact mundane except in a select few area's is off.
• The players of Awakened characters will (at least in my experience) feel picked out to be gimped, and either complain or quit playing. I know I will never play an awakened character in a game with a standard background other than 0. Which means that I will not play in such games at all, as all my characters are awakened.

[WeaverMount]

Let's assume you have 10k people on a barge. In a master stroke of demolition skill the barge and everyone on it is turned to paste and debris. Several houndred watch. What kind of backgrount count are we looking at. Would if there was a geomancy crew on the scene in 5 minuets would that help?

[Fortune]

In my opinion, 0 - 0 - 2 would be appropriate Background Counts for the places listed in the Poll. I think people have a tendency to sometimes over-use Background Count.

[Faelan]

Background count of 0 for most places (99.99%). The Toxic zone might start out at -2 for a major dumping ground. Anything beyond 6 or -6 is in general unsustainable in my opinion in the "mana sphere" of the Earth. Outerspace -12 max, without a similar positive count being possible. Special events can cause a higher than 6 or -6, however they will fade quickly.

[crizh]

Honestly I think most people wildly over estimate background counts. A Background of 4 or even 3 is supposed to be really special.

-Frank

Couldn't agree more. Stonehenge is a 4, someplace where a few people are a bit upset or mean to each other should barely rate a 1 unless the emotions are extremely strong or twisted.

[crizh]

Let's assume you have 10k people on a barge. In a master stroke of demolition skill the barge and everyone on it is turned to paste and debris. Several houndred watch. What kind of backgrount count are we looking at. Would if there was a geomancy crew on the scene in 5 minuets would that help?

In the first few seconds/minutes, 2 maybe 3, depending, and then tailing off like Mana Static does but with a longer period. Days or weeks. That's assuming there is no Astral component to the deaths. Blood magic, toxics, etc and it's a different ball game.

Geomancy would make a difference but it depends what the team want to achieve, they could just as easily stabilize and aspect it as cleanse it.

[RunnerPaul]

someplace where a few people are a bit upset or mean to each other should barely rate a 1 unless the emotions are extremely strong or twisted.

This thread is making me feel just so "extra lucky" to have worked some of the places I have in my life.

[crizh]

This thread is making me feel just so "extra lucky" to have worked some of the places I have in my life.

Qua?

[NONSENSUS]

In the game I GM, barrens are -1, the worst parts of the barrens are -2. I'm planning on taking my PCs into Glow City and near the old power plant there is a toxic spirit in a -6 background count. On their first run, the PCs went up to Mt. Ranier shortly after it erupted. There was a fire-aspected mana warp there.

[Fuchs]

I have 0 as standard BC, office or barren. Toxic sites I rate higher, but those are usually not visited that often.

Currently the team's mage is (on an extended astral quest with the team) experiencing some sites said to be "magic death zones", and discovering that they actually "just" have a very strong BC (4-6), thus rendering most mages mundane. Strangely enough, it's aspected towards his rather special tradition (Character background), and the result of powerful magic done in the past.

[kanislatrans]

I voted 0-0-2

I haven't thrown my crew into anything more than a 2. The first time it hit 2 was when a wendigo had corrupted a unicorn shaman and was using her to summon 30 or so undead zombie like critters.

the second, in the lair of a toxic Cockroach shaman.

Mother Earth is pretty good at cleaning up tha nasties if given enough time. I play it as unless something is really big and dis-eased, the stink ain't gonna stay around long.

however, I put a 2 background count inside any Mchughs. that slop is toxic! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

[Moon-Hawk]

I'd like it if -1 and -2 were relatively common, but with adepts in the party it's just too big of a pain in the ass to deal with, so I usually ignore it unless it's an extra special important background count.
I love the background count rules, except when they come to adepts.

[masterofm]

0-0- 2 to 3 is what I would vote. Two unless you have a lie down on top of some oozing barrels and then you might be looking at a three. Anything else then that you really really really have to have something supernatural trying extremely hard to make it worse then that.

Background count in our game is ran as it's pretty much never a Zero, but 0.1-0.9 background count will not actually do anything to you. Heck the background count in a not so great part of the barrens might be 0.85 but its still not a one, and if it's not a one you are in the clear. I like that as a take on background count. Never zero, but it might as well be.

[AngelisStorm]

I think of background alot like the awakened population. While there are few awakened, and even fewer are magicians/adepts/combo, Shadowrunners run into a lot of them, in their line of work.

Same deal with background count zones (at last in many of the games I play or GM). 0 is definitely the standard background rating for my world though.

Incidently, I really like the chart found on pg 121 of Street Magic.

I voted 0, 1, Other, but when I was voting I thought of it as a toxic dump, complete with critters and toxic shaman(s). A normal toxic dump, bad though it is, I would have ranked quiet a bit lower.

I really like the emotional side of domains. So the japanese/american WWII holding camps, the square in front of the Vatican, major Cathedrals, the war memorials in Washington DC and outside of Honolulu, and so on. But also the small town church, with the background count of 1 or so, so that the villagers can hide in it, and it will make spirits who want to hurt them think a minute about it.

Btw, does anyone ever use a background rating for an entire city or really large area? For example, I would think about it for Vatican City, and maybe Jerusalem. The city of Salem I would think about for a low rating (since it's a small town, with a huge awakened population, and people go there just to see the magicky folks). And maybe the Redmond Barrens (and a few other areas, like the bad slum in Italia) for a 1 background or so.

Does downtown Chicago have a low background count over the whole area? (The events were pretty tramatic, and then sustained for years.)