How do you play SR?, From Street Hustlers to Munchkins Options

[bwdemon]

A few threads here have made me curious as to how exactly everyone here prefers to play the game. This isn't a thread to argue over why X's style is better than Y's, just a nice discussion over what you like. Please keep things civil.

At one end of the spectrum, the players are on equal footing with gangers and other street-level threats. At the other end of the spectrum, the players would be on equal footing with the IE, Dragons, and other Earthdawn leftovers. Where does your personally preferred game fall? What are some of the characteristics of that game?

I prefer beginning at the street-level and progressing slowly upward. Eventually, the characters are respected (or feared) at the local level, and maybe known regionally or possibly internationally (depending on how much traveling they do).

I never have the characters draw the personal attention of any megacorp's board of directors, let alone the Earthdawn leftovers. They may well play parts in the plans of those powers, but they would never know it and the major powers may not even know that those specific runners were involved.

The game difficulty runs the gambit from appallingly easy to impossible. Players are given a wide variety of choices for work and they have the option to choose whatever they think they can handle. Sometimes it's too much, but that presents a valuable learning experience if nothing else.

Paranoia runs high. Everyone is out to make a nuyen and if they can make it at your expense, then you need to watch your back. Contacts are critical and must be properly cultivated and maintained if the players expect any sort of safety. Reprisals should be expected, though how, when and if they actually occur varies. Stealth and secrecy are keys to survival.

Equipment use is limited. Weapons typically have a concealability of 4+ and are mostly limited to SMGs at the high end. Occasionally, it is possible and necessary to use bigger and better weapons, but this is a rare occurrence. House rules are used for burst and full-auto fire, as well as damage codes and availability. Other equipment is limited less by rating and more by how much it will harm/help the game.

Magic is no more or less common than would it would seem from the core book and supplements. However, it is not the unbeatable answer to everything. Magic can be countered and it has been around long enough that the easier counters are commonplace - espescially regarding astral perception and projection.

I've never really been happy with rigging rules, so I rarely use vehicles. I'm happier with decking, but it is also rarely focused on, largely due to how it can bring a game to a screeching halt.

That's a lot of info, but it pretty much covers my take on the game. Now let's see how your preferred game looks or would look... :)