The importance of reinforcements Options

[sunnyside]

I've been in a bunch of threads about how to emphasise the non combat aspects of the game. Trying to add in situations where the hacker, stealth dude, or particularily the face can have their time in the spotlight.

What occured to me recently is that among the games I've ran and those I've played in, not just Shadowrun, more than anything else the determining factor in whether or not it was all about combat was the existance of reinforcements.

The key concept here is that while you'll still get into combat during most game sessions, the earlier you are detected and the longer you're in combat, the more dire your situation becomes, and at some point you'd get squashed.

I personally think reinforcements of this nature are natural in Shadowrun, particularily when operating in higher rated urban settings. In seconds someone could be on a comlink mentally screaming for backup. It'll take some amount of time. But it wouldn't take very long in combat turns in principle to make arrangements for a wage mage to send over some spirits they have ready to go and have them materialize in front of the players. The speed of aereal drones means that they could be inbound rapidly as well, even if they have to launch from other corporate facilities. If Lonestar is involved they would have people on the ground in the area with some density, depending on the rating of the location. Also forces within a facility, that would initially have probably been spread out, would have time to organize and, if they suspect where the players are going, they'd be able to start setting up ambushes and getting into hidden positions to snipe from.

And of course if they players keep winning but don't flee someone could call in other Shadowrunners, their own special forces, the national guard, or the military.

When players are aware of this, suddenly the combat guys are willing to let the non combat monsters try their shtick for as long as they can manage things. Planning and legwork go way up as well. Even if the GM isn't actively trying to put in situations for the hacker and face or if they haven't worked out how other people's contacts might be able to help, the players will take the initiative to seek them, and things tend to start working out.

When players aren't concerned about reinforcements, or don't respect the threat they might pose, I find the combat types view faceish players as a time wasting nuisance outside of negotiations, and will often gleefully undermine them by instigating a fight. Grumbling about initiative passes, broken rules, and power gaming usually ensue in these games.

Does this match up with your experiences? What might a "realistic" and or appropriate escalation of reinforcements be in your opinion or your game?