 My screwed up GMing., Some advice maybe? |
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 Jun 9 2006, 08:53 PM
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#26
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Shooting Target  Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465  |
Hehe, always a critic. I try to remain fair and impartial while keeping things moving and interesting. |
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Jun 9 2006, 09:13 PM
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#27
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,556 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Seattle Member No.: 98 |
If a funky dice roll is going to kill the good time we're having, you'd better believe I'm gonna fudge it.
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Jun 9 2006, 10:49 PM
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#28
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Fudging the dice is usually a bad idea. If you fudge in the players favor they can come to rely on it. If you fudge against the players then they can become confused. You need to be consistent. As GM you're god. God has to be subtle. He's sort of like a professional arsonist. His best work looks perfectly natural, like an electrical fire due to a bad circuit breaker. There are plenty of subtle things you can do. For example, you can have NPCs buy sucesses instead of rolling. Likewise, if you want to make a NPC tougher you can actually make it tougher by providing it with bonus dice or using edge or reroll failures instead of just ignoring unfavorable rolls. Of course, you can make things more difficult or easier by adjusting the edge refresh rate. As for the Shaman's combat ability, in all honesty he should be superior to the gunbunny even with 5? fewer dice. Magic is that much better. A spellcasting focus can bring his dice up, as can specializing. Personally, I'm not sure that combat spells would be he best speciality. If you really want to help you can reintroduce expendable spell foci, but I'm afraid that they'll have a bigger impact than in SR3 due to the dice mechanic.
Shucks :) The scenario laid out was just too good to let go to waste. It's like something out of a 2d platformer where you get to the end of the first stage and are confronted by a guy you never met before who gloats for no apparent reason then leaves without fighting. You just know that he is really important to the story and you know that you're probably going to fight him later but you have no clue why. |
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Jun 10 2006, 12:17 PM
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#29
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 360 Joined: 18-March 02 From: Plymouth UK. Member No.: 2,408 |
Fudging in both directions is necessary from time to time but I do keep it to a minimum.
My player suspect nothing. (Until Now) It makes the feel of the game better. |
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Jun 12 2006, 04:25 AM
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#30
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
Actually, the weakest guy getting headshotted and killed outright *is* in everyone's interest if you play for the tactical/problem solving element of the game. If you are trying to play a tactical game you absolutely must let the dice fall where they may. That's how I play. |
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Jun 12 2006, 08:55 AM
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#31
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,664 Joined: 21-September 04 From: Arvada, CO Member No.: 6,686 |
I'm with you on that one Wounded. Whats the weakest character doing out in the open in a likely combative area where he can be headshotted so easily?
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Jun 12 2006, 02:05 PM
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#32
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Incertum est quo loco te mors expectet; Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,548 Joined: 24-October 03 From: DeeCee, U.S. Member No.: 5,760 |
Playing strictly online, I don't have too much right to comment, however I WILL fudge the dice when it'll stop the plotline (for example, perception test to find a critical clue that progresses the plot).
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Jun 12 2006, 02:52 PM
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#33
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Redundancy can help with that.
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Jun 12 2006, 03:11 PM
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#34
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Shadowrun Setting Nerd Group: Banned Posts: 3,632 Joined: 28-June 05 From: Pissing on pedestrians from my electronic ivory tower. Member No.: 7,473 |
I did something like that once, exploiting the time delay of grenades so that instead of the PC getting nailed with freeze foam from a minigrenade that rolled back between his legs, a Force 6 Good Merge Ant Spirit (which he was firing at) jumped on him and flung him out of the basement (the PC was standing on a landing in a basement and the Insect Spirit was in the hallway outside), letting the Spirit take the blast. That was last year when I was feeling kind. Now, because of another campaign getting to the crunchy parts and just a general downturn in my willingness to spare PCs, I've let an entire team wounded (And not just "wounded." All but one got D wounds) because, well, them's the dice. |
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Jun 12 2006, 04:45 PM
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#35
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Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715 |
I'm normally in favor of a little careful GM-fudging, especially since dead characters can ruin plotlines. I generally fudge slightly and find another inventive way to punish their bad luck.
However, with the all-powerful "escape certain death" rule in SR4, I'm no longer sure. |
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Jun 12 2006, 04:55 PM
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#36
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,635 Joined: 27-November 05 Member No.: 8,006 |
"Escape certain death" basically incorporates the function of dice fudging for that purpose into the rules. Since it is "escape certain death" and not "escape any bad thing happening" the GM is then in the position to set the alternate, less immediately leathal consequences. |
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Jun 12 2006, 05:03 PM
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#37
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,635 Joined: 27-November 05 Member No.: 8,006 |
Moving where? Down the railroad. ;) ;) ;) Fudging dice shouldn't be a requirement to keep things interesting. Dice rolling usually are, and should be, something interesting and that heads in the direction of interesting. If they aren't then there is something thats been done prior that needs adjusting for the next time. So fudging is either the crutch, and you need to look harder for the source of the problem, or fudging is the problem itself and you need to just let it happen and see where it goes. |
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Jun 12 2006, 05:06 PM
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#38
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 565 Joined: 7-January 04 Member No.: 5,965 |
I think a lot depends on the players, and the feel of the game you want.
Some games need to let dice fall where they may. others need to fudge in the players favor. If your playing with people who are new to SR, its a good idea to fudge things a bit. you want them to have fun, and want to play again. doing a game requiring detailed character creation with very brutal results of simple mistakes will not be fun for newbies. Generaly, first few games you dont want to kill anyone unless they do something really bad like a shoot-out with the star. sure they can get hurt bad, but nothing worse than a deadly wound right? random combat in a mission because one guy glitches a stealth roll or alram disarm attempt is not a fun way to die. But then, if you have a bunch of hardcore SR veterans, then fudging isnt really necessary. they know what their doing, and you can expect them to know the risks. |
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Jun 12 2006, 05:09 PM
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#39
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,754 Joined: 9-July 04 From: Modesto, CA Member No.: 6,465 |
Despite you're quoting me, I won't take this personal. 8) Meh, there is a time and a place to fudge dice. I've had enough GM/DM experience to know when to let them lay or make 3's into's 5's. ;) |
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Jun 12 2006, 06:16 PM
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#40
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Shadowrun Setting Nerd Group: Banned Posts: 3,632 Joined: 28-June 05 From: Pissing on pedestrians from my electronic ivory tower. Member No.: 7,473 |
hahaha Yeah, well when the PCs stop minding their surroundings on the job, bad things happen. The best part is that so, the mage was ready to go to war with the attackers even while his two remaining teammates and the extraction target are bleeding to death. He's fallen behind an upturned table, and when he looks out... The attackers (who all told shot nine people, five to death) walk out of Run Run Shaw's without saying a word or killing them some more (which, to be fair, would have been the result if they stuck around. Mage would have died, and then they would have shot everyone in the head again to make sure.) |
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