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 What do you do during "down" time? |
 Jul 20 2006, 03:27 PM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 44 Joined: 7-May 06 From: Winnipeg Member No.: 8,532  |
Hi everyone! I would like to know what do you do (or what your players do) when there's a "down" time like a decking run or roleplay scene involving only one character. I know of a lot of people who like to read books or draw but do you have any suggestions to stay in the game or be creative? I know that you can always either listen to what's happening or discuss in-character with other players but I'm trying to see what are the other possibilities here... stuff I haven't thought of yet...
Thanks a lot. Peace! Crossfire |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:28 PM
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#2
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,453 Joined: 17-September 04 From: St. Paul Member No.: 6,675 |
My characters all masturbate, a lot.
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Jul 20 2006, 03:33 PM
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#3
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Do you role play it?
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Jul 20 2006, 03:36 PM
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#4
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 475 Joined: 17-June 02 From: Concord University, Athens, WV Member No.: 2,880 |
I'd laugh at him, but that's exactly what the rigger did last time the decker was doing his stuff.
And he did it on the decker. |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:37 PM
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#5
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,428 Joined: 9-June 02 Member No.: 2,860 |
LARP it, even. ;) My current decker/hacker/whatever spends a lot of time programming. Creating smart agents is his "thing." My muscle character has a part-time job in a gunshop. The PC formerly spent a lot of time with endless girlfriends, but that got a bit goofy after a while - wish fulfillment, not roleplaying. |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:39 PM
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#6
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 834 Joined: 30-June 03 Member No.: 4,832 |
My rigger character did smuggling runs, built drones and maintenenced vehicles mostly.
I never had much down time with any of my other characters. |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:44 PM
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#7
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Target Group: Members Posts: 44 Joined: 7-May 06 From: Winnipeg Member No.: 8,532 |
Thanks for those "self-pleasuring" examples lol but I was referring more about the players themselves. Let say if a decker is taking 20 minutes to hack a site, what are the other players doing during that time?
Peace! Crossfire |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:47 PM
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#8
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
Downtime or lulls should not happen any more than a team that is separated in combat. I might spend a minute describing a room, but everything happens at the same time. I have ranted massively in the past about how "Pizza time" should not exist. (Any more than having someone in a team wander off and do their own thing) Any RP that would last more than 2 minutes should be handled before or after the main session. http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...5&hl=pizza+time http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?show...4&hl=pizza+time When we have people that are just not interested in the game, they usually draw, flip through source material putting together a shopping list or eat. Leaving the room is not an option. |
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Jul 20 2006, 03:56 PM
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#9
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Do you mean that a group should never find it self in combat without the whole group being there, that combat should never be split between two groups, or something else? If it's one of the first two them "huh?" Splitting a group is one of many tool in the GM's kit that can be pulled out every now and then to increase suspence (what's happening to Joe?), shake things up (crap, we gotta get back together!), get players to think about things from a different angle (Facey McFacealot's not here, who does the talking?), etc.
Definitely another "huh" on this one. PCs should not be auonomous blobs working only for the collective good. They can be, but they shouldn't be forced into it. It's quite possible to run two things simultaneously. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:07 PM
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#10
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 7-February 03 Member No.: 4,025 |
I think Crossfire is referring to last night's difficulties. Sucks to try to GM for a decker when there are two other conversations in the room. Sucks also for the players who's characters are waiting for the decker to do something.
Now, as a GM, I can try to give them some other stuff to deal with, but that presents two problems: 1. It slows down even further the progress of the decker, as I have to jump back and forth between two activities. 2. It tends to send the non-decking (or rigging, or pit-fighting, or crocheting) characters off doing something else, seperating the team even further. Having said that, in retrospect it would've been cool to help me with the decking stuff. Look up rules, offer suggestions to the player. Hitcher jacks are wonderful for justifying such things. As for characters... that's tricky. In Crossfire's case, he was playing a mage who could've easily decided to do some astral wandering. (Thanks for not making me deal with that as well.) Anything that doesn't distract is going to be pretty passive and boring for you guys. One more reason that I make decking runs rare and try to get them over as quickly as possible.... |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:13 PM
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#11
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,150 Joined: 19-December 05 From: Rhein-Ruhr Megaplex Member No.: 8,081 |
I don't see why it would take that long, at least since SR3 is around. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:18 PM
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#12
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
In character 20 minutes is waaaay too long.
Out of character it can be too long, too short, or just right depending on the size of the system being hacked, the familiarity of the GM and hacker with the rules, and the number of unexpected situations that occur (such as cybercombat on a botched roll that should have been easy). In our games if 20 minutes are going to go by, the GM does his best to find something for the other characters to do. In that vein we generally avoid any situation that could involve lots of solitary time for one character (primarily astral scouting and decking). Decking is easily avoided by having an NPC do the decking. You can make all the rolls ahead of time and just give the results to the players at the appropriate time. ?Unfortunately, this has sometimes had the effect of numbing the players to the matrix because none of them ever saw it. It was "something that NPC does." SR4 helped this a lot with it's easier access and always around matrix. Astral scouting is usually cut to a minimum by wards and/or astral security in the form of spirits or other astrally active entities. The mage gets a little scouting done and then goes back to the group to share the info. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:24 PM
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#13
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 7-February 03 Member No.: 4,025 |
The 20 min was OOC time.
As I said, the problem with giving the other character's something to do is that it drags out the situation of having them seperated. I'd much rather have them involved --even if only periphrially-- with the decking as it happens. Any suggestions? |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:27 PM
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#14
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
My post was not the best written post.
What I meant is that the group should be run so that you allow them to go their separate ways, but you flip through everyone each turn as there are events that could affect the others.
What I was trying to explain here is that they can to autonomous, but I explain that I really try and discourage Joe Samurai from trying to isolate him/herself from the rest of the group. There are times when this does happen and is relevant, but if Joe wants to get some action from a hooker, while the team is doing surveillance, the player will get a look and shake of the head. I usually design my games in such a way to minimize isolation, like a decker doing a recon run. We can usually whip through something like that quickly, but I usually have people accompany them through hitcher jacks so that everyone is "together" or has a sense of what is going on. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:29 PM
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#15
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
1) Avoid decking. This is fairly straightforward, but unless it's a very nonstandard campaign or you have an NPC decker it can start feeling very fake after a while.
2) Let the players run the system. You can up matrix security levels and set it up so that cybercombat is very likely. Then give the other players some IC, Agents, or Security deckers to play in the ensuing battle. 3) Find a way to string their actions alongside the decker's. In the example given, some security gaurds could arrive from another location (or called in from their homes nearby) and a combat ensues. Stick the decker in his initiative slot and work them all at the same time. This can get incredibly confusing though, especially in editions prior to SR4 where decking and standard combat was a drastically different rule set. The above ideas also work to avoid the same issue happening when mages astrally scout out an area. Of course, if you find yourself running decking, astral scouting, and standard combat at the same time things can get really bad, especially in SR3 and below. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:33 PM
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#16
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
Most astral recons take under 1 minute. Player gets a map, body counts, and some quick descriptions. Most of the time, I make the decker jack in from a point on site. (Especially subsystems) The decker is usually a security expert that cracks maglocks etc, so they are always with the team, then they jack in somewhere unnoticeable and start opening locks. If the decker runs into IC things get tense for the team, as guards wander around. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:35 PM
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#17
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 834 Joined: 30-June 03 Member No.: 4,832 |
Oh I see what you mean, yeah the "decker takes over the game for 20 min" maneuver. Mostly the rest of us hang around the table and BS, usually drawing what would normally be a 20 minute decker episode out to 40 min because we keep distracting them from getting done.
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Jul 20 2006, 04:36 PM
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#18
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
Keep the team together. The mage will usually run astral when the decker is working, the sammies will be setting up defensive positions, traps, rolling a drone through the duct work/halls, watching the decker's output screen, monitoring communications, searching the office... there are many things for them to do. Keep them rolling initiative, even if they are delaying ... they feel involved. |
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Jul 20 2006, 04:48 PM
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#19
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Keep them rolling init when nothing is happening? Why, other than to waste time?
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Jul 20 2006, 05:26 PM
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#20
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
the advantage of playing online: downtime can be filled up by playing more games!
as for the other kind of downtime: my main char takes his family on vacations, trains, and takes classes at U-Dub, roughly in that order. my other main character splits her time between working long shifts in the Seattle General ER and killing people who she thinks deserves it. everyone needs a hobby! |
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Jul 20 2006, 05:30 PM
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#21
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
It encourages them to do something to get involved. Also gives them a sense of timing. |
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Jul 20 2006, 05:33 PM
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#22
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957 |
Cool. In my group rolling for init when nothing was happening would make them want to start delaying actions because that's what you usually do in combat when there's nobody to shoot. Differently play styles I suppose. It's all good. :)
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Jul 20 2006, 05:37 PM
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#23
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,095 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Ontari-airee-o Member No.: 1,115 |
True enough.... I find player paranoia entertaining.
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Jul 21 2006, 01:22 AM
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#24
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 475 Joined: 17-June 02 From: Concord University, Athens, WV Member No.: 2,880 |
Well in that case, after the decker's player told him to quit, the rigger's player started humping the decker's player while screaming "Hot dickings!" After some yelling and the rigger's player being thrown onto the floor, things calmed down for about 20 seconds before he did it again anyway. These people terrify me. |
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Jul 21 2006, 01:24 AM
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#25
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
the decker didn't happen to be a 5-yr old asian boy, did he?
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