Shadowrun Training Wheels, Sending a prime runner along Options

[LurkerOutThere]

So this Sunday I've got my triumphant return to Shadowrun GMing planned. One problem i've got right off the bat is while some of my players are familiar with the setting others have never even heard of it before but are keen to learn. Also many of them come from a swords and sorcery style background so i'm not 100% sure if they'll be prepared for the tone right off the bat. I'm thinking about introducing a "mentor" type runner to help them get familiarity and suggest and alternate path if they might be considering something disastrous. This will also allow me to plug in any skill set they choose not to take, decker, rigger, face, etc at least at the outset allowing the players to either sub contract for future runs.

Has anyone else ever tried this? I've done it before with mixed results, one game the players resented the character. Another they got too dependant ont hem and were a little upset when i "killed him just to mess with them".

I think this time i'm going to make the mentor character be a truely one shot deal. The run in question they'll be working for a smuggling cartel recovering some stolen drugs. The setup is the veteran is doing the same but rather then being paid in nuyen will receive a get out of town free card after a run against the local Azzie sub-corp got a lot louder then expected. That will neatly take him/her out of the picture.

Any thoughts?

[Mr. Mage]

As a good way of showing them how the system works....you could use the Demo game on the Catalyst website. It has a more basic version of the rules so it's easier to learn. It may not help with setting the proper tone for an actual game, but at least then you have one less thing to worry about...like how to actually play.

As for the tone...make them watch movies....Robocop is a pretty good one since it portrays how private corps have taken over the world....anything with a dystopian future.

Your mentor idea may work pretty well though...I'll have to keep that in mind...

[Wiseman]

Edit - Removed. My response had nothing to do with a mentor. My apologies.

[BookWyrm]

Mr. Mage has the right idea. Take them through a couple of introductory adventures to get a feel of the game.
Having a 'mentor' character to kind of help them out through the adventure also sounds like a good idea. I kind of pictured the prelude to this like this;

Fixer: "Look, I know the gigs have been slim lately, but I've got this one job coming up, and I need you for it."
Mentor: "Sounds ice to me. What's the gig? B and E? Datasteal? Extraction?"
Fixer: "Actually, I've got the team assembled---"
Mentor: "Huh? Then what am I doing?"
Fixer: "Let me finish. The team's almost set, but the're kind of shiny...."
Mentor: (long pause) "You want me to wetnurse a clutch of noobs? You gotta be kidding me."
Fixer: "Negative. I need an experienced hand on this one. They've got potential, it's just under the surface."
Mentor: (smirking) "...and like when we first linked up, someone's gotta show them the ropes. OK, I'm in. When do I meet the 'lucky kids'?"

[knasser]

I sent my lot on a milk run for their first mission. The players were more used to D&D style Kill & Loot than Shadowrun, so I knew that I'd need to help them adapt. I kept the actual opposition fairly weak, but they still got the idea when, after trying to locate their extraction target by stomping randomly from room to room in a large factory complex, they found that their target had heard the gunshots and walked out of the front door while they were elsewhere.

For the second mission, the non-D&D nature of the game was driven even further home when they had to enter a club for their next mission and couldn't take in most of their serious weaponry or armour, putting them at a strong combat disadvantage to the security there. For this, I did give them a mentor of sorts. Only it wasn't a more experienced runner (which risked both overshadowing the PCs and contributing too much to the decision making of the team), but their Mrs. Johnson who stayed in Matrix contact with them through out most of the run and was on hand to offer advice when they got stuck. It also allowed me to neatly remove her if I wanted to when Matrix security severed their link.

A mentor isn't a bad idea, though best if you can find some way to stop them directly being part of the run (a hacker can serve well for this if the team doesn't have one). At any rate, you definitely owe it to the players to explain how Shadowrun works and how quickly the D&D approach can get them killed. I like to explain Shadowrun in two ways: Firstly, it's a game of eggshells armed with hammers. Secondly, it's like a big game of Paper, Scissors & Stone. You win by finding out what your opponent has first and then hitting accordingly.

Hope this helps and good luck. I had my own return to Shadowun after a lay off a little while ago and we're playing our fifth session tonight. I went through exactly this process.

K.

[LurkerOutThere]

I guess I should be more clear what i mean by tone. I always tell my players to be prepared for Ronin but to try and make it go more like mission impossible.

[knasser]

I guess I should be more clear what i mean by tone. I always tell my players to be prepared for Ronin but to try and make it go more like mission impossible.

Oh right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I begin each session with a 20 second introduction to the setting. The team mostly shares a squat in Redmond, so my intro sentences for the first session began something like this:

"Seattle. It's eighty miles from tip to tip, a tiny island of the last remnants of the USA pressed against the Pacific Ocean by the encompassing Salish-Sidhe Indian state. It's endless roads lead from the manicured lawns of the private enclaves of Bellevue, to the glittering dark towers and pyramids of Downtown, from the industrial hearts of Auburn to the collapsed decay of the Redmond Barrens. It's the latter where you live. As you look out from the boarded slats of your squat's windows, you see down into a street of breaking asphalt and the detritus of human life. But no tramps, no drunks or chipheads slumped in alleyways. At night, in Redmond, you find somewhere you can hide or somewhere you can defend. Across the street, you catch sight of Boots, the young ork ganger you know, sitting back in an empty window frame watching the street, pistol to hand, watching the approach from Glow City, 'cause who knows what might come up from there. He sees you and nods."

Anything to introduce some atmosphere and to communicate additional information about the setting. For your game, you probably want to lead with more crime-based material. I also use news reports and rumours that the players have heard, which is good for gang movements, police details, etc.

[The Jake]

I established the campaign in a way I could coach them.

I put my PCs though a multi session 'prelude' which explained how they were recruited as Seraphim agents. Each had already acquired unique skillsets making them attractive as raw recruits. I also set their characters at an early age (17-24) at the start. once the prelude was done, it would be 4 years later.

They had a handler, who is still a contact of theirs from when Seraphim fell called 'St. Bernard' - a dwarf who is an ex-field agent for Canadian intelligence, recruited by CATCo but shot and paralysed on a job. Has taken to training new agents. When CATCo collapsed, he fled with a chunk of CATCo data and used it to go freelance. The PCs helped him escape Canada and CATCo, migrating to Seattle.

When they were raw recruits, St. Bernard basically spoon fed them jobs and basically coached them on how to conduct covert operations.

When they became street level operatives, post CATCo, I also gave the PCs a short doco explaining the basics of Shadowrun and common professional courtesies - e.g why shadowrunners rarely get caught, dealing with fixers and Johnsons, professionalism, etc. From that it has sort of evolved.

Doing it this way enabled me to pave the way from SR3 to SR4 and slowly introduce tech without overwhelming the older players who were familiar with the system.

- J.

[Method]

Just be careful not to make this a GMPC. Those are never good for a game.

[kzt]

After they get done showing then the ropes they can then demonstrate that SR is a really deadly game....

[Neraph]

For the second mission, the non-D&D nature of the game was driven even further home when they had to enter a club for their next mission and couldn't take in most of their serious weaponry or armour, putting them at a strong combat disadvantage to the security there. For this, I did give them a mentor of sorts. Only it wasn't a more experienced runner (which risked both overshadowing the PCs and contributing too much to the decision making of the team), but their Mrs. Johnson who stayed in Matrix contact with them through out most of the run and was on hand to offer advice when they got stuck. It also allowed me to neatly remove her if I wanted to when Matrix security severed their link.

www.AskJeeves.com/shadowrunners

Haha! That's awsome.

[HappyDaze]

After they get done showing then the ropes they can then demonstrate that SR is a really deadly game....

By killing off one or more of the PCs in a classic crime-movie styled bid for a bigger share of the loot!

[Maelstrome]

in every game i run regardless of the system i always make a mentor type character for the players to interact with.
i try to keep the characters from taking active roles. they are their solely to help the pcs if they want it.

[kzt]

By killing off one or more of the PCs in a classic crime-movie styled bid for a bigger share of the loot!

Snarf. Don't trust anyone.

How about have the opening run being a transparent version of the bank robbery at the start of Dark Knight?

[Method]

Snarf?

[LurkerOutThere]

Snarf. Don't trust anyone.

How about have the opening run being a transparent version of the bank robbery at the start of Dark Knight?

Ugh thanks for the feedback guys but I do my best to discourage sociopathic behavior amongst the runners just as a matter of enjoyment for myself.

[kzt]

I'm not sure about Happydaze, but I wasn't serious.

[HappyDaze]

I'm not sure about HappyDaze either, but he may have been serious...

[crash2029]

In the matter of an experienced 'runner helping out rookies I humbly refer you to my submission on knasser's vignette thread.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=&a...st&p=819036

Yes it's a shameless self-plug. Sue me.

[The Jake]

Just be careful not to make this a GMPC. Those are never good for a game.

That's why I made a deliberately physically gimped NPC. One who could give lots of advice, provide intel and guidance but not much else.

- J.

[The Jake]

In the matter of an experienced 'runner helping out rookies I humbly refer you to my submission on knasser's vignette thread.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?s=&a...st&p=819036

Yes it's a shameless self-plug. Sue me.

I just read it and found myself want to read more. Damn good story.

- J.

[crash2029]

Thank you. John is my first SR character. I made him back in SR1.

[knasser]

By killing off one or more of the PCs in a classic crime-movie styled bid for a bigger share of the loot!

Actually, that's a very good idea, in a way. Obviously it would be disastrous if the mentor NPC actually did slaughter PCs, but if the GM can set things up so that the mentor NPC merely betrays them and attempts to get away with the money (very hopefully failing), then that is indeed an excellent introduction to Shadowrun. The mentor turned out to have a great ulterior motive for teaching the PCs, the PCs learnt the additional important lesson of guarding themselves against betrayal and it makes for a wonderful twist.

If I were starting a campaign, I think I would use this. I would have to be very careful in the setup to ensure that the NPC couldn't just kill off the team (I.e. they end up at different locations) and also that the PCs had a very good chance of stopping the NPC (i.e. they know where he's headed to the airport and they can do an exciting race across town to beat him there, etc.).

Thanks. I think this is actually really good, even if it was a joke at first,

K.

[GreyBrother]

When i started to GM a couple of months ago i assessed the situation. Familiar with Seattle, i thought about changing the wallpaper and told them "So, here's the deal. I GM and you create some rookies. Gangers, wannabes, scriptkiddies, whatever you want. The date is January 2070, Emergence didn't happen and you can be from any country that borders on austria. You will play Emergence, you will play absolute rookies with no frakkin idea what's going on in the shadows and you will be contacted by a seemingly powerful fixer who calls himself Mister Sedlaczek. He will recruit you as runners if you can present him some oral proof of skill, followed by a more physical proof. That's the deal. Foreigners in austria. Who's in?"
Everybody agreed and the fixer is kind of their "mentor" to austrias shadows. Many connections, many job opportunities, has an agenda himself which is unknown to the characters and actually answers their questions and actively tries to better "his" team. In return, they only run for him and make jobs he approves beforehand. He's as powerful as i need him to be for the story and that fits my GM Style quite well.

[LurkerOutThere]

Actually, that's a very good idea, in a way. Obviously it would be disastrous if the mentor NPC actually did slaughter PCs, but if the GM can set things up so that the mentor NPC merely betrays them and attempts to get away with the money (very hopefully failing), then that is indeed an excellent introduction to Shadowrun. The mentor turned out to have a great ulterior motive for teaching the PCs, the PCs learnt the additional important lesson of guarding themselves against betrayal and it makes for a wonderful twist.

I would agree that it would be a good plot except it's been done so many times, and I have yet to meet the group of gamers especially shadowrun players that need to be taught to be antisocial. Also most of my crew has played through one of my Paranoia games which makes thadowrun look like cake