 On the Run |
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 Mar 27 2006, 05:37 PM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 68 Joined: 16-August 05 Member No.: 7,558  |
Has anyone gotten the new adventure On the Run yet? Run it? What do you think of it as an adventure?
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Mar 27 2006, 05:53 PM
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#2
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 327 Joined: 28-January 06 Member No.: 8,209 |
I bought it (PDF), but haven't run it yet. My groups first two runs were being hired by one trideo/chip/entertainment company to annoy another one in the middle of a little shadow war, and that's going to come back again, but I figured it was time for a break on that story arc. But then again, On The Run deals with entertainment industry people again, so maybe I'll just integrate it in; I haven't quite decided yet.
From reading through it, it's a VERY good introductory adventure; it obsessively provides rules references and brief descriptions of doing things, which is perfect for easing new GMs and players into the rules set and changed environment. I love it to that extent. The storyline makes somewhat more sense if you're familiar with some of the older adventures, though. |
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Mar 27 2006, 08:31 PM
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#3
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
I bought the PDF but haven't run it either. It looks fairly well written and laid out. It is a good adventure for starting characters, for anyone new to SR4 or SR in general. The references to rules and GM tips are also very useful.
Still I was disappointed that they haven't improved the layout of the published adventures. I find myself having to flip back and forth too much between the "Tell it to them Straight" and "Behind the Scenes" portions. As most things in "Tell it to them Striaght" should be read as the "intro" to the scene, other things you need to wait to tell them ("Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to read that now, forget that part guys"). However, there are still other portions of text inside the "Behind the Scenes" section that must be "told straight" to the players (scripted dialogue and such). I find this horribly inconsistent. The first section should simply contain "intro" text (if any), and all text that should be read aloud to the players should be included in the appropriate section of "Behind the Scenes". That would make it much easier to following when running the adventure from the book as things would be laid out in order of when they're supposed to happen. Maybe this is just me griping, though. Does anyone else find the layout confusing? |
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Mar 27 2006, 08:48 PM
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#4
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Target Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: 1-March 06 From: NYC Member No.: 8,325 |
mdynna, I've actually taken my group thrugh the first 1/4 of "On The Run" and I couldn't agree with you more about the layout. Although, the upside of having the PDF is I can copy and paste the text into a word document and change the layout to my heart's content.
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Mar 27 2006, 09:04 PM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 137 Joined: 21-February 06 From: Lenexa, Kansas (Yes Kansas, we ain't all hicks y'all.) Member No.: 8,291 |
I ran On the Run over the weekend and was, all in all, pretty happy with it. By happy coincidence the first adventure my friends and I ever played (and we played it over and over) was One Stage Before, so we had a fantastic nostalgia trip going for us.
The main flaw that I see in the adventure was that a huge amount of the plot could be skipped over if the runners aren't incredily curious as to the nature of the disk. In many of the Shadowrun games that my friends and I play, we play characters that are very concerned with having a reputation for professionalism. Such characters will miss a vast amount of the plot since many key encounters rely on the characters not just getting the thing and handing it over to the Johnson. I have awesome players, so they came up with some pretty good "professional" reasons to do all the digging, but it was definately a stretch. Aside from that the adventure is very well put together, especially as an introductory adventure. Each section really focuses on an aspect of the rules, with plenty of hints for new GMs and page references for the main book. Plus, the frequent reminders as to how things look through AR really helps remind players new to SR4 how pervasive the new wireless Matrix is. All in all I heartily recommend this adventure, especially to new groups, or any group that has questions about how things work, be they system or setting. I only wish they would have gotten this done sooner, it would have been a fantastic thing to have released at the same time as the new book. I think it would have smoothed a lot of bumps. |
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Mar 27 2006, 09:05 PM
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#6
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Target Group: Members Posts: 63 Joined: 21-October 04 Member No.: 6,778 |
When I used to run store-bought modules for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ed, I'd get out a highlighter and highlight everything I wanted to state to the players out loud in yellow. If there were other parts I wanted to read to the players, but not right away (perhaps they need to do something first), I'd use orange.
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Mar 27 2006, 09:20 PM
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#7
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 858 Joined: 25-August 03 From: Braunschweig, North German League, Allied German States Member No.: 5,537 |
I second it's a good adventure and I second the structure is illogical.
What struck me as somewhat strange is that, at least in the German version, several NPCs have skills that make no sense - several people have the "Automatics" skill while not possessing any automatic firearms (or no firearms at all!). And Marli Bremerton's house layout makes no sense: to reach her hidden panic room she would have to use the lift to get to the ground floor (she can't use the stairs in her wheelchair) then get to the store room with the hidden lift to the cellar. Should the runners decide to break into the house it would not be possible for Marli to reach her hidden command center - unless she's (for whatever reason) already there (the runners could easily and quickly secure the main lift). And why hasn't Marli's niece Althea discovered the spirits her aunt communicates with even though she's a full-blown shaman while Marli only has SURGE-born astral senses? |
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Mar 27 2006, 09:43 PM
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#8
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
Good, I was starting to wonder if I was the only one annoyed by the layout (and its been that way since, at least, all of SR3 as that was when I starting buying and running published adventures). Anything that is to be read aloud to the players should be in bold and placed wherever it is needed in correspondence with the other Behind the Scenes GM notes.
WizKids people are you listening? Change your adventure layout please. |
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Mar 27 2006, 09:50 PM
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#9
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Prime Runner Group: Retired Admins Posts: 3,929 Joined: 26-February 02 From: .ca Member No.: 51 |
Well, WizKids people probably aren't reading the boards, but FanPro people surely are. ;-)
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Mar 27 2006, 10:10 PM
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#10
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
Do we have the honour of conversion with Adam Jury? If so, then I have another request:
Please, please, please release alternate character sheets. One for every main "archetype" like used to exist in SR2 and SR3 (from the Companion). The "generic" one included in the core rulebook just ends up being inadequate for everything. |
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Mar 27 2006, 10:40 PM
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#11
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
Search the forum and you'll find links to some nice sheets.
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Mar 27 2006, 10:41 PM
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#12
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
They have the skill but no weapon ready? Imo that's not very unlogical. I have a driving licencse and the driving skill (to speak in game terms), but don't own a car. So does that makes no sense to you? :D |
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Mar 27 2006, 10:47 PM
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#13
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,635 Joined: 27-November 05 Member No.: 8,006 |
From the SR4 pre-release FAQ #6:
I don't know if that is still the plan, if it has been rolled into the GM Screen product, if it'll be a Web-freebie, or what. I'm kinda surprised Adam hasn't mentioned it since I seem to remember him being involved with the SR3 Character Dossier and being very happy with the whole idea and execution of it. |
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Mar 27 2006, 11:13 PM
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#14
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Target Group: Members Posts: 63 Joined: 21-October 04 Member No.: 6,778 |
By the way, thanks for the review, guys. I'm an old-time SR1-3 GM, but I'm brand new to SR4 and I hope to be GMing my own group really soon. It sounds like On the Run is just the thing to ease us all into this new Edition. Thanks! :)
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Mar 27 2006, 11:34 PM
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#15
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
You get some freelancers wandering aboot, aye. Welcome. I'm just happy I was mentioned. |
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Mar 28 2006, 12:14 AM
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#16
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Prime Runner Group: Retired Admins Posts: 3,929 Joined: 26-February 02 From: .ca Member No.: 51 |
For whatever honour that is. ;-)
The Character Dossier, as mentioned, is in this odd limbo-space right now. Something, new/updated character-sheet wise, will happen, at some point, whether it's the Dossier as I want to do it or something else. |
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Mar 29 2006, 03:40 PM
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#17
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Target Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 29-March 06 Member No.: 8,417 |
I played OtR this week. It's much better than "First run" and was much fun. However, there were two problems.
First one was the prob Waltermandias already mentioned: if the runners try to be professionals and contact Mr. Johnson as soon as they have the CD, the adventure is over. The chars have no real motivation to go on. Second one was the CD and the "uncrackable code". First, this part is ilogical. Why should a second-class studio 20 years ago use a supoer-code unbreakable even today? Second, it conflicts with the rules: the rule book tells me that every code is cracked in a few seconds. Gr Mibo |
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Mar 29 2006, 04:27 PM
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#18
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Target Group: Members Posts: 15 Joined: 7-March 06 Member No.: 8,341 |
Do any GMs who've run the adventure have any suggestions on ways to pique the runners' curiosity -- without seeming too much like railroading? I've read the adventure and I know that one of my players will be warning everyone that "We're uber-professionals. Don't even *stare* too hard at that disk." Suggesting that the runners actually crack or copy the disk might make him wet himself...
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Mar 29 2006, 05:43 PM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 296 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Usually under a cat Member No.: 864 |
For the first problem, remember something (I believe this is mentioned somewhere in the adventure): This item is not a particularly high priority item for Johnson. He's looking for a lot of things of this nature, and a good majority of them have turned out to be fakes--as he suspects this one probably is. The upshot of all this is that he might not be available for a meet when the characters call him. He might not even be in town. They might get voice mail telling them to leave a message and get back to him. They might get him, saying, "Cool. You got it. I'll be in town in a few days, so we'll meet then." Basically, make it so the characters can be professionals and offer to deliver the disk right away, but Johnson isn't as anxious about it as they are. At that point, they might end up being a bit more curious. In addition, you could also add in an extra encounter with one of the other groups looking for the disk (or even possibly Nabo's people, pissed at the hacking of the commlink, or Loomis hiring some bozos, if he's still alive). As for the second problem--it's one of those cases where you have to suspend disbelief a bit. Kind of like how modern-day equipment can't read old floppies. Sort of like how during the Y2K scare, everybody was scrambling to hire 50- and 60-year-old programmers because the modern kids couldn't deal with the old COBOL and FORTRAN systems. Or the Navajo codetalkers. I'm not a computer science expert, but I did get some advice from a couple when I wrote the adventure, and they assured me that, while it wouldn't be easy, it would be possible to come up with an algorithm that would be extremely tough to crack, especially for systems that aren't set up to deal with it. Don't forget, too: it's not a second-class studio that set that code. It's somebody who was very wealthy and powerful and had access to the best deckers money could buy. |
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Mar 29 2006, 05:44 PM
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#20
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 718 Joined: 10-September 05 From: Montevideo, in the elusive shadows of Latin America Member No.: 7,727 |
1. Just make the Johnson unavailable for a while and wait. Sometimes all you need is a little silence.
2. Have one of the runners friends/contacts (maybe the ones they used for legwork) show up and ask about their results. (i.e. spur curiousity) 3. Have them roll int+log and remember some rumour or comment they cannot place about the name or the sentence on the disk. Don't add anything else and wait for the players to start digging around. 4. [ Spoiler ] I am not into railroading and prefer adapting outcomes better. In this case I think that a simple "nudge" would do. Cheers, Max |
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Mar 29 2006, 05:50 PM
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#21
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
Have the guy selling the disk spill his whole story. Remember, he got it from his Dad but the Mr. J said it was "stolen". Now some "uber-professional" PCs might just say, "Mr. J lied, happens all the time." But others might get a little curious about this significant inconsistency. |
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Mar 29 2006, 06:48 PM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 327 Joined: 28-January 06 Member No.: 8,209 |
There's one code which mathematically provable to be unbreakable, called a one-time pad. [lecture-mode] Encryption is, at its simplest level, replacing data with other data that is not itself readable or meaningful, but which can be converted back to the original data through decryption algorithm. One very simple encryption scheme is to take the binary data, and XOR it with a second binary string. So, for example, the binary representation of the ASCII string "Hello" is; 0100100001100101011011000110110001101111 Lets say we have our key be 11011011. So first, we duplicate the key to equal the length of the string: 1101101111011011110110111101101111011011 And then, we XOR the string against the key: 0100100001100101011011000110110001101111 1101101111011011110110111101101111011011 = 1001101110111110101101111011011110110100 So that would be the encrypted message we send. Then, at the other end, what you do is you take the key, XOR it against the encrypted message, and the original message returns. Sounds great, right? The problem with this particular algorithm are numerous. Probably the most severe, though, is that - given a long enough message, or enough short messages - you can actually perform a mathematical analysis against the encrypted strings which you can use to derive the key, and then - of course - you can unencrypt the messages. In fact, if the message is significantly longer than the length of the key (such that the key repeats numerous times), you can do it from a single message. This is where a one-time pad comes in. What you do is you provide a set of pads to both people (or a large number of files, or binders, or whatever). When you send the message, you also send an identification string ("Pad 0154213") that they can use to find the correct key. Once you use a key, you tear the pad off and chuck it. Under two assumptions (a key is NEVER re-used, and the key is at least as long as the message itself), the code is unbreakable. Why is it unbreakable? Because the characters are indistinct; you can say "Okay, this message is X bites long, so it's X characters", but - with the key at least as long as the message, and the key never re-used - there's no way to tell what string it is. It's equally likely to be ANY string of that length. And in fact, the easy answer to THAT one is to always "round up" - increase the message length with random characters so that you can't analyze the actual length of the message to make a guess at content. So at that point, the only point of failure are the two ends; if someone can gain access to the pre- or post-encrypted message at either end, or can get a copy of the key used to encrypt it, they get the message... But that's true of ANY encryption scheme, and this one isn't even vulnerable to brute-force decryption attacks like modern public-key encryption is. The US government has used this technique for a long time. In fact, the way they generate (or at least used to; I don't know if they still do it this way) one-time pads is by having a radiation detector on the roof of a building. It generates a stream of 1s and 0s by measuring the density of cosmic rays hitting it at any given point, which is completely random and thus impossible to replicate somewhere else. Okay, I'm done. :-P [/lecture-mode] |
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Mar 29 2006, 07:15 PM
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#23
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 371 Joined: 10-January 06 From: Regina Member No.: 8,145 |
I think the point being raised is now: why can't I implement this with my Commlink to make it unbreakable?
As soon as you introduce the idea of an "unbreakable" code into the game world you have to answer why every corp or paranoid Shadowrunner hasn't implemented it yet. |
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Mar 29 2006, 07:17 PM
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#24
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Target Group: Members Posts: 66 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 582 |
I ran it this past weekend. Ran into a few plot-bending problems. Warning! Spoilers!
#1. The characters did not intimidate, harass or attack Zipper. They simply sent her an e-mail, posing as potential buyers. She met them personally, because they gave a return address, unlike all the 'anonymous' emails she'd previously received. The team paid her off, and she gave up Loomis. #2. Because they went through Zipper the way they did, their arrival at the Coda was not perceived as a threat. Loomis actually met with them and considered their offers. I had to improvise his demands for the disk - there were no guidelines given for what he was asking - the script assumed the characters would just try to take the disk, even though Mr Johnson mentioned that he would be willing to pay for it. The team gave Mr. Johnson a figure (1/2 mil!), but Mr. J. balked and stalled for time. While the team waited for his response, Tarkasian's team attacked. The combat in this scene took place mostly in and directly behind the Coda, not in the junkyard. Loomis did almost manage to escape into the junkyard... #3. The team cut a deal with Loomis - they brokered a deal with Mr Johnson to buy the disk outright for $140K (after much bargaining), which Loomis would split 50/50 with the team. The team also got Mr. J's payment, and the bonus for not sharing the data with anyone else. Mr J. never knew about the team's deal with Loomis. We also ran into the non-curious/professional runners problem with this run. But I gave the team extra karma for thinking outside the box, so all was good. All in all, a fairly satisfying adventure. And now to go retool 'One Stage Before', 'Dark Angel', and 'Total Eclipse'! |
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Mar 29 2006, 07:39 PM
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#25
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Grand Master of Run-Fu Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,840 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Tir Tairngire Member No.: 178 |
Because it's limited to relatively short messages. The longer your message, the more likely that a pattern will emerge, and your encryption can be cracked. You'd have to generate an insanely long string to encrypt even short files; one-time pads are best used for quick messages in shorthand. And there is an "unbreakable" code in the books. The hash power of fault sprites. Which does lead to the question you're posing-- why hasn't every corporation invested in otaku as heavily as they have in mages? *Especially* with this sort of security availiable? |
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