Why do you Shadowrun?, What do you look for in a game? Options

[Quix]

I've got to agree with Straw Man on this one: "The best and most memorable runs I've been on were astounding failures...."
I love the planning, I hate seeing the best laid plans of mice go to pieces, but the most memorable runs have been the ones where our crew was just trying to make it to next week.

Yeah Jack Frost if you see this I mean you.

[eralston]

I would first like to say that you play one high velocity game of Sr if you think it's conceivable for a runner to two runs a day. The logistics alone might make sense; however, Shadowrun just doesn't work that way. No one is professional enough to not get involved and no one is skilled enough to not get killed.

On the grander scheme, I must say that, in general, I run for "the good runs" that are told around dork tables for years. "Good runs" are generally characterized as high risk. THAT DOESN'T MEAN HIGH DANGER, it means high risk. It means that characters dying, especially NPCs, would mean the loss of not just a life, but a reordering of lives around them. I'm talking about getting players so attached to characters that they do not consider walking away (which is something that would happen a lot if there were only danger).

The ability to apply pressure to create risk instead of danger is the real dividing line between "good" and "bad" (though potentially still viscerally enjoyable) Shadowrun, and I play for the good runs.

[emo samurai]

Oh, I'll have good runs. Wait and see.

[Valentinew]

[Dog]

It seems to me that one of the better things about this game is that it combines a highly developed game world with a variety of possible campaign styles. Street punk, carribbean pirate, global corporate espionage. The list goes on. (I do, however, recommend that the GM and players figure out what sort of a campaign it's gonna be before characters are made; Otherwise: train-wreck.)

As far as the character role-playing-ness of it, one of my favourite themes is trying to stay the good-guy in a dark world. Like seeing your buddy sell out and move to a condo on the beach, while you live in a roach-motel because you don't want to answer to the Yaks, or Ares, or whatever.

And remember, kids. Just 'cause what I like ain't what you like, doesn't mean one of us is wrong.

Great thread, Emo.

I like your comments, Eralston. I'll have to give them some more thought.

Also, I love the tongue-in-cheek social satire of it all. There was a lot more of this in earlier editions, and I miss it. It's great when the guy in the next office cubicle has turned into a zombie, but between the flourescent lights and overtime, nobody notices for a week.

[ArchXL]

[SL James]

[mintcar]

Shadowrunners can stay street level even though they earn lots of money. If you look at movies, and real world criminals too, a lot of them still live in the hood. It's just easier to do buisness there, and they feel more at home. They get tons of respect for their fancy cars and what not, while they would be frowned upon in fancier neigborhoods. I could also see a posh face character living in downtown asociate with lowlifs to get a job done. They may be payed the same amount, but they won't necessarily spend it the same way or change their lifestyle because of it.

I GM, and the characters of my players shadowrun because it's what they're good at. At one point they got into a life of crime, and that's part of the background of the characters.

ATM though. We are playing that background instead, and so they haven't even begun shadowrunning. They're gangers and SINless scum, is the reason this time.

[Wounded Ronin]

[ChuckRozool]

I Shadowrun because it's fun and I can hang out and bullshit with my friends.

The MCP says...
---End of Line---

[eidolon]

Never mind.

[Kremlin KOA]

Why? because I need the money

[fistandantilus4....]

In a game, or maybe I should say when I'm running a game, I look for anything that will provoke an emotional resposnse form players. I love having players sweat, or get anxious, anxiety attacks, anything! I've ran games where literally the entire group was near, or at tears. I look for excitement, fun, and andventure.

The style doesn't matter, as long as it;s tun right. WE've played games where we only picked up dice a few times, and onew where we almost never sat them down. Games from starting gangers trying to get in to gun running to games with PC free spirits and young dragons.

I prefer ones with balanced rules. In answer to emo's question about people harping on him for ideas, I don't like some of the things that you use because they throw off the balance. Even a dragon, eve na great dragon, is within the balance of the game because it is within the rules. If you stay consistent within the system, everything works. I don't like some of your suggestions to overpower things because, IMP, it's like cheating. I only use video game cheats after I've beaten the game. I don't use that sort of stuff in SR because you can't "win".

I'm not in anyway trying to say that I'm right and you're wrong. These are jsut my preferences and my reasons. Sometimes it;s great to have this just totally out there, but you have to keep some sort of in-balance/in-context leash on it. Otherwise things spiral out of control. Like the adventure Paradise Lost. There's something in there that basically completely protects against Black IC. But within a few months the corps compensate and it's worthless. A series of checks and balances keep things from getting to far afield, to where the GM no longer has the control he/she needs to keep the game world within the balance.

You're looking for a different balance, and that's fine because it's your game. I'm just throwing in my two cents. Thank you, come again.

[emo samurai]

What do you mean by cheating? What do I do? I consult the Bug City rules for insect spirits and abide by the book rules as much as possible; what do I do wrong?

[James McMurray]

And awaaaay we go. ;)

Remember, anything you do that is outside the rules (like removing chargen caps) is cheating. Not necessarily wrong, but cheating in the "deliberately violating the rules fo the game" definition of the word.

Of course, given that there are rules that contradict one another it's really hard for someone to play a game for any length of time without being forced to cheat. :)

[hyzmarca]

[emo samurai]

WOOHOO!!

[James McMurray]

[emo samurai]

CHEATING IS FUN FUN FUN!!!

If K can have a sam with 9 agility and synaptics 3, then I get a cyberzombie with steampunk cyberlimbs and a blood spirit as a hidden life thingie. That's only fair.

[James McMurray]

Because K is so much better than you that you need the leg up just to feel adequate? :D

[emo samurai]

I will never feel inadequate compared to his character because I let him have 450 BP; no matter how awesome he gets, it will always be due to my magnanimity, nothing else.

[ronin3338]

I play because it's a blend of sci fi & magic. Few games even attempt this, and I like the SR mechanics best. I've played since SR1, and I love nearly everything about it.

For style, we play a little gritty and a little cinematic. As has been pointed out, you can play it however you like. If you enjoy the game, then RAW and anything posted here doesn't really matter. If you and your players enjoy high-powered, over-the-top adventures, then do it! If it means bending/re-writing the rules, that's what the GM is for!

[Unrest]

You know I just like the game system and enjoy playing with it. The only thing I look at in a game is the GM. If their some pompous ass who is going to spend their whole time either trying to kill my character or punishing them unless I have a perfect flawless run every session, then I'm out.

[Wounded Ronin]

[emo samurai]

A lot of people seem like hardasses. It really annoys me.