Another New Player, New in town and looking for advice, chummers. Options

[The Stray7]

So, I used to be a GM for [The Game That Causes Cancer], and a bunch of RL stuff hit me all at once. One of the players in my game group pitched the idea of running a Shadowrun Game for us while I relax and take the player's seat.

I've had some experience with SR, but not much. I played a short-lived game back in the 3e days, I took a brief look at the Shadowrun CCG, and we took a look at the new 4e book when it came out, but no long-term games came from any of those, so I'm feeling a little lost. Not as lost as some in our group (as I have a little experience with the setting and I've played enough RPGs to pick up the basics of how the mechanics work), but enough to be a bit nervous.

So I ask you, what are some problems newbies like me are likely to run into, and how can I avoid them?

For reference, I'm playing Jester, the group's street shaman and only full magican.

[Khyron]

Common problems:
1. Crazy Maths and stuff
2. Having to roll more D6's then you can hold in two hands.
3. The entire party relying too much on a single character ie: expecting the hacker to do everything

Common Solutions:
1. Study Hard, Maths is your friend.
2. Either use a dicebot script or roll them in a cup or something. Seriously sometimes the D6's get out of hand.
3. Lazy player syndrome. Multiple solutions.

[Udoshi]

In shadowrun, there are many different game styles. Some people play straight by the book. Most Gm's house rule stuff to fit their worldview, say if they read a rule and go 'wait, that's stupid, let me fix it', then they tend to do so. Wheras in D&D, a player might say to a gm 'hey, this class ability doesn't work like it should!', and a gm will often go 'Yeah? That's what the book says, deal with it'.

The key to remember is, if you're having fun and it works for you, thats good. However, Shadowrun is kind of a different mindset than the cancer game. I'm not so great at pointing out the differences, so here's a joke instead.

---
So, its a major gaming convention. There's some open table gaming going on, and one of the games happens to be shadowrun. The guy running it is friendly, open, knowledgable about his product, happy to chat with passerby about various rules. He's even brought some pre-genned character sheets if anyone wants a taste of the game, and eventually ropes in two players: Someone who's ever only played D&D before, and a man who's played a couple times before with his group back home.

As they talk, and chat, and figure out what they want to play, the D&D player snags a cybered-to-the-max street samurai. A real killing machine, and the veteran runner takes a street mage. The GM sets a simple run up, playing to both their interests - it is a sample run, after all. They're to infiltrate a facility, bust past the automated security while another team draws the security response teams to another part of town - and strike a killing blow at a dragon itself!

So they begin by busting down the door, the samurai blazing through security drones, shooting things up left and right while the mage regularly Heals him back up and occasionally tosses a spell or two. His player winces a bit each time the sammy stops to pull the clips out of every drone they slay, but goes along with the looting because he can see how much lead the samurai is expending.

The GM totally plays to their tastes, letting them rampage around this facility, providing descriptions of things. Floors, elevators, scenery and things they want to know more about. Fudges a roll here and there to keep the game flowing, and generally does a good job of being an enabler of fun. As they team has a moment to recover in the elevator down to the beast's lair, the mage stops to pull a few bullets out of the samurai, while he primes a reloads. Priming a grenade, the samurai watches the mage spend an edge to summon a murthering big air elemental just before the elevator goes *ding*.

There's a great big western dragon waiting for them in the lobby to his lair, having watched their progress on his various security monitors. The GM really turns up the heat, giving them a real epic battle, but finally lets the cybersammy crush the dragon in brutal hand to hand combat after expending all of his ammo - looted and otherwise, tanking the beast while the mage keeps him topped off.

So it came to pass, that with huge grins on their faces, they're left with a dragon's living room area full of rare items, expensive antiques and other things a dragon might like to keep around on display. In short, the samurai's favorite game. As they're scouring the place trying to figure out how many valuables they can reasonably get away with, the mage walks over to the samurai to congratulate him. The following conversation happens.
"Amigo, look what I found. A fairlight excalibur, still in the box! This thing went for over a million when it first hit the market! I want you to have it. Cuz, hey, you did all the work, hey?"
The samurai grins, excited at the prospect of that much money and shrugs, backpacking the now-removed-from-box simdeck. The mage pats his shoulder, and moves onto continue looting. When he's out of sight in the bathroom, he pulls the detonator out of his pocket and pushes the button, blowing the whole simdeck full of explosives and the samurai with it ALL over the lobby. He then proceeds to take credit for the entire assassination, make off with the other boxes of fairlights he didn't tell the samurai about, and retire.

Needless to say, the sammy's player didn't like this one bit. He stands up, making a scene, yells at the GM, insults the mage's player, and generally flips out. After maybe a good ten minutes of pissed off geek, the he storms off for other parts of the con. As soon as he's gone, the veteran runner breaks out laughing. I mean seriously laughing, nearly crying. As soon as he can speak, he hands the GM a twenty and says "Oh man, that was GREAT. See you again in an hour?"
---

A runner would have raised a brow at wetwork, dropped their jaw at the prospect of running gung-ho into an entire base with only two people, and walked out at the first mention of dragon - if their contact didn't lie to them about their target. Or it might have just been a diversion for the other team.

The biggest advice I can offer is to bring a spare copy of the big book to the table, and really study the things your character can do. If a situation arises in which people don't know how to resolve an action, having the answer on hand is a lot better than digging through the book, and you can answer questions for your other players. Anything to make the game flow smooth as you get adjusted to the system helps.

Common problems I've run into:
Remembering to apply wound modifiers the first time someone gets injured in combat.

Also, You can't take an action on the matrix without the right program....and the book doesn't tell you that until you read the section on it. (you cannot default on matrix actions). Imagine this scene, between a player and the gm.
"I'd like to search the matrix for information on our target!"
"Okay, roll data search plus browse...with a minus one, because its hard to find."
"Uh? Browse?"
"Yeah. The program?"
"Uh..I don't have it."
"Then you can't look for information."
"Okay. How do i get a browse program?"
".....pass me the book, I need a refresher on how Availability works."

[The Stray7]

Udoshi, I know you mean to be helpful, but I can't say I found your con story humorous in the least. It paints D&D players as moronic hack & slashers and Shadowrun players as backstabbing weasels, and you and I both know that this isn't the case for either game. I'm disappointed that you would assume that I don't grasp the fact that Shadowrun is built to accommodate a different style of play than D&D, and that you would try to present the differences in such a manner.

I appreciate your tip on the matrix program issue, thank you. If you have any other suggestions helpful to players new to the system, those would be appreciated as well. But really, would you have used that con example if I had mentioned I was a veteran of, say, Mage: The Ascension or Deadlands or Mutants & Masterminds or Star Wars?

I apologize for the rant, but I had to get that off my chest.

Back to the subject: Gear is a bit overwhelming, and I'm not really sure what I'd need to start with as opposed to what I can just try to get during play. What sort of gear should I be focusing my starting nuyen on?

[Dragnar]

As a mage, a commlink would be the only thing you really need. As a first magic character, you should just go uncybered (as it's a lot easier to juggle the points that way) and most of the tech toys are most useful for hacker types or can be emulated by magic.
You don't even need a gun.
Well, a vehicle of some sort might be nice as well.

And to tell you about the most likely pitfalls regarding rules and mechanics, I'd need to know what level of inter-party balance you want. If you have played D&D 3rd Ed. with a full caster and a fighter in the same party without the fighter being completely useless, than there's nothing in SR to be afraid of. The system doesn't even come close to that kind of balance problems.

[fistandantilus4....]

In regards to the rules and gear, I would suggest starting out using just the core book before adding in anything else, so that you can get the basics, without getting bogged down with glitz. Try a couple of different throw away characters and some quick one shots, just to get a little experience with how a cybered character works, how spells and summoning work, and what the matrix is like. If you're running the game, you'll need that experience to be able to handle your players doing all those things, and especially to be able to run the opposition effectively.

For your first run as a GM, go a little rules light, intro the players to the setting. Let them get an idea of what it's like, how society works, and what some realistic expectations are in your setting. Some people have character hop onto a bus with an AK-47 in downtown Seattle and don't think much of it. Not to go back to the D&D/SR issue, but that does happen sometimes when players are used to haing characters walking around with a sword on their hip.

If you can, get one of the older novels, like one by Nigel Findley (2XS). That all depends on how you feel about sitting down with a book, or what cash you're willing to spend. You could also try watching a couple of movies like Heat, Johnny Mneumonic, Ronin, Smokin' Aces hell even The Big Hit and The Matrix are movies that can give you some different perspectives on how to handle shadow runs. Personally though, I recommend The Usual Suspects. You can find a ton of threads on here recommending movies, books, and music that are SR related.

Mainly, take the first game or two slow. Shadowrun's biggest selling point has always been its story and setting . The rules come secondary. Get your players ser on the idea behind it, and the rest will come easily.

[The Stray7]

As a mage, a commlink would be the only thing you really need. As a first magic character, you should just go uncybered (as it's a lot easier to juggle the points that way) and most of the tech toys are most useful for hacker types or can be emulated by magic.
You don't even need a gun.
Well, a vehicle of some sort might be nice as well.

And to tell you about the most likely pitfalls regarding rules and mechanics, I'd need to know what level of inter-party balance you want. If you have played D&D 3rd Ed. with a full caster and a fighter in the same party without the fighter being completely useless, than there's nothing in SR to be afraid of. The system doesn't even come close to that kind of balance problems.

Well, I'm not GMing this game, but we're all used to the hyper-balance of 4th edition D&D, so I'm a little worried about not being effective the other way. I have Drain--the cybered-up street ninjas don't. I have one initiative pass, the street ninjas have 2 or 3. Granted, I'm not playing a combat-oriented wizard, but every single one of my special abilities cause me automatic damage, so I'm wondering just what I bring to the table that someone with the right cyber gear couldn't do better. It's probably a baseless concern, but I can't help but feel a little concerned that all my tricks are going to hurt me while the streets ninjas won't even be slowed down.

In regards to the rules and gear, I would suggest starting out using just the core book before adding in anything else, so that you can get the basics, without getting bogged down with glitz. Try a couple of different throw away characters and some quick one shots, just to get a little experience with how a cybered character works, how spells and summoning work, and what the matrix is like. If you're running the game, you'll need that experience to be able to handle your players doing all those things, and especially to be able to run the opposition effectively.

For your first run as a GM, go a little rules light, intro the players to the setting. Let them get an idea of what it's like, how society works, and what some realistic expectations are in your setting. Some people have character hop onto a bus with an AK-47 in downtown Seattle and don't think much of it. Not to go back to the D&D/SR issue, but that does happen sometimes when players are used to haing characters walking around with a sword on their hip.

If you can, get one of the older novels, like one by Nigel Findley (2XS). That all depends on how you feel about sitting down with a book, or what cash you're willing to spend. You could also try watching a couple of movies like Heat, Johnny Mneumonic, Ronin, Smokin' Aces hell even The Big Hit and The Matrix are movies that can give you some different perspectives on how to handle shadow runs. Personally though, I recommend The Usual Suspects. You can find a ton of threads on here recommending movies, books, and music that are SR related.

Mainly, take the first game or two slow. Shadowrun's biggest selling point has always been its story and setting . The rules come secondary. Get your players ser on the idea behind it, and the rest will come easily.

I'm not running this game. I'm taking a break from GMing, so most of my concerns are from a player perspective. And he's got us on the idea behind it...I'm just trying to wrap my head around the system (it's a lot like nWoD, but that's like saying Mutants & Masterminds is like 3rd edition D&D--only true in the broad strokes, not fine details) and trying to figure out what a character like mine can get by with. The book is organized as if the designers were expecting people to read it cover to cover, rather than using it as a reference at the game table, so I'm unsure just how much my street shaman character needs a commlink and what sorts of programs I actually need on it and how many fake licenses I need and whether it's better to have a Rating 3 fake SIN or three level 1s.

Getting a feel for the setting isn't my problem, since I'm not the one running the game. I'm trying to get a better idea of the ins and outs of the system.

[Wacky]

If you can, get one of the older novels, like one by Nigel Findley (2XS). That all depends on how you feel about sitting down with a book, or what cash you're willing to spend.

If you don't want to spend the money, try tracking it down with your local library's interexchange program. It'll find the book from a library in your state (assuming you're in the US) and send it you yours for your reading pleasure! Great resource that too many players/GMs don't use anymore--I love you library!

...also a great place to find spell formula for free in SR4 games (now that they're force level free)!

Sign--

Wacky

[Dragnar]

Well, I'm not GMing this game, but we're all used to the hyper-balance of 4th edition D&D, so I'm a little worried about not being effective the other way. I have Drain--the cybered-up street ninjas don't. I have one initiative pass, the street ninjas have 2 or 3. Granted, I'm not playing a combat-oriented wizard, but every single one of my special abilities cause me automatic damage, so I'm wondering just what I bring to the table that someone with the right cyber gear couldn't do better. It's probably a baseless concern, but I can't help but feel a little concerned that all my tricks are going to hurt me while the streets ninjas won't even be slowed down.

I'll refrain from adding a tirade about Orbizards and Yogi-Hat Rangers kissing any kind of balance in 4th Ed good-bye and instead focus on the SR points. I'll just rephrase my earlier point to "If you played 4th Ed. with a mixed ranged/melee group and thought that's effective, then there's nothing to be afraid of in SR. The system doesn't have that kind of imbalance" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Now, to SR. Full mages are actually a bit better than street sams, not worse. Really, it's the other people that should be concerned that you don't make them useless. If Drain is a real concern, you're casting the wrong spells or have built your character with too few drain resistance. And getting additional Initiative Phases is actually cheaper to get for a full mage than for a street sam (take "Increase Reflexes" and a force 4 sustaining focus). Yes, you may take some drain here and there, but there's nothing you can't emulate with magic, while there's lots of magical tricks the other chars can't emulate with technology.

I'm not running this game. I'm taking a break from GMing, so most of my concerns are from a player perspective. And he's got us on the idea behind it...I'm just trying to wrap my head around the system (it's a lot like nWoD, but that's like saying Mutants & Masterminds is like 3rd edition D&D--only true in the broad strokes, not fine details) and trying to figure out what a character like mine can get by with. The book is organized as if the designers were expecting people to read it cover to cover, rather than using it as a reference at the game table, so I'm unsure just how much my street shaman character needs a commlink and what sorts of programs I actually need on it and how many fake licenses I need and whether it's better to have a Rating 3 fake SIN or three level 1s.
Getting a feel for the setting isn't my problem, since I'm not the one running the game. I'm trying to get a better idea of the ins and outs of the system.

Everyone has a commlink in the 2070s, mage or not. Not having one is akin to not having electricity nowadays, ie: kinda possible but really awkward. What programs you need depends on which splatbook you're using.
How important fake SINs and licences are depends heavily on your group's style of play. The more "pink mohawk", ie: action movie your game is, the less important are ways to stay out of the system. Low level SINs are quite worthless either way, though. Either take a high-level one or none at all.

[Lok1 :)]

If you havn't seen it check out this Thread, as some basic tips that might get you started.

[Saint Sithney]

I have Drain--the cybered-up street ninjas don't.

Buy a fetish for each spell type you're likely to rely on. Fetishes are cheap and exist solely to help you resist drain. Also pick up some lvl6 stim patches to keep you going when the drain should have you floored. They're pretty cheap, last a full hour each and are good for everyone. Think of these things as your equivalent of weapon mods and ammo respectively.

[The Stray7]

I'll refrain from adding a tirade about Orbizards and Yogi-Hat Rangers kissing any kind of balance in 4th Ed good-bye and instead focus on the SR points. I'll just rephrase my earlier point to "If you played 4th Ed. with a mixed ranged/melee group and thought that's effective, then there's nothing to be afraid of in SR. The system doesn't have that kind of imbalance" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Now, to SR. Full mages are actually a bit better than street sams, not worse. Really, it's the other people that should be concerned that you don't make them useless. If Drain is a real concern, you're casting the wrong spells or have built your character with too few drain resistance. And getting additional Initiative Phases is actually cheaper to get for a full mage than for a street sam (take "Increase Reflexes" and a force 4 sustaining focus). Yes, you may take some drain here and there, but there's nothing you can't emulate with magic, while there's lots of magical tricks the other chars can't emulate with technology.

Ok, then. Is it possible to buy hits on Drain tests? I have an 8 dp for drain tests...is this a good number, or should I be looking into fetishes?

Everyone has a commlink in the 2070s, mage or not. Not having one is akin to not having electricity nowadays, ie: kinda possible but really awkward. What programs you need depends on which splatbook you're using.
How important fake SINs and licences are depends heavily on your group's style of play. The more "pink mohawk", ie: action movie your game is, the less important are ways to stay out of the system. Low level SINs are quite worthless either way, though. Either take a high-level one or none at all.

The GM has said core only to start with. I'm not entirely sure what style we're going with yet, because he described the difference between "pink mohawk" style and "Ice Cold Professionals" in a much different light than action-vs.-realism.

Buy a fetish for each spell type you're likely to rely on. Fetishes are cheap and exist solely to help you resist drain. Also pick up some lvl6 stim patches to keep you going when the drain should have you floored. They're pretty cheap, last a full hour each and are good for everyone. Think of these things as your equivalent of weapon mods and ammo respectively.

Ok, then. I wasn't sure if picking up a fetish would be worth it...A bit of old school paranoia about winding up stripped of equipment made me leery of tying my powers to a stick that might not be there when I need it. I picked up some level 3 patches already, so I'll keep them in mind.

[The Stray7]

So we had our first session last night. All the characters, independently, wound up at the same Stuffer Shack together, just messing around and looking through the aisles to pick up stuff to ward off the munchies.

Then a chick with a crying baby enters, and...

BOOM

The wall bolws in, and a parade of black-and-orange goons with flaming pumpkins on their jackets storm in, apparently after the woman. They're led by a thugs "ugly enough to make trolls look lovely," a thug with an assault rifle, and dwarf who looked like her really didn't want to be there in the first place.

There's a tense situation as the thugs order everyone in the Stuffer Shack against the walls, claiming they were only after the woman. An impressive zero percent of the players moved. My Jester decides to start intimidating them, sayings "You don't want to hurt us? That's cool. We don't want to hurt you either."

Now, my character knew none of the other people in the Shack. He's making up crap as he goes along, pointing to the large troll (another PC) and claiming he had the death sentence in the PCC and that "He doesn't like you."

Then the warpianted Amerindian draws a remington roomsweeper and blows the thug with the assault rifle away, and things get hairy. A thin elf with too much bioware steps in and flattens ugly boy with a shock glove to the nuts, and I magically order the dwarf (who turned out to be a wizard as well) to leave (And he does, realizing that his run had gone real south real quick). That just left the four Halloween thugs, who started shooting (and all had apparently graduated from the Imperial Marksmanship Academy, because none of us took a single hit). A nearby orc revealed himself to be mystically adept, setting one of the thugs on fire, and an elf chick with many, many guns burst out of the bathroom and geeked yet another. Then the Troll went (he had glitched his initiative). he picked up one of the aisles and slammed it into the remaining pair of gangers. One went down, and the other took the hint and gave up.

I questioned ugly when he came to (after his close encounter with the zap glove), who told me that they had been after the chick because she was putting the squeeze on some Johnson, taking him for whatever she could get by threatening to expose his affair with her to his wife (and she had the child to prove it). I graciously tended to the lady's wounds (which tunred out to be minor) and she mistook us for a team of professionals and traded contact info with me. The Troll wrapped Ugly Boy in the remains of the aisle and we went our separate ways before the Lone Stars showed up.

Is this what would be referred to as a "pink mohawk" style session?

[MikeKozar]

Is this what would be referred to as a "pink mohawk" style session?

That's what I would refer to as a "stone-cold awesome" style session. Grats to your GM - fun, righteous, simple and elegant.

As I understand it, the Halloweeners were "pink mohawking" it... I mean, the place had a perfectly good door, but they decided to make an entrance. They also demonstrated the fallacy of the 'we're too tough to worry about opposition' philosophy of Pinking Out - you never know what the DM is going to make the other guys in the room. Hilarious that you guys were the random, well-armed bystanders this time.

[Dragnar]

Ah, the good ol' "Food Fight"...
A classic.

Now, the situation itself is neither "Pink Mohawk" nor "Cold Proffessional". You were attacked, you geeked the attackers. It's more about the repercussions and how the world reacts to that.
If the scene is over and no one ever thinks twice about it apart from reminicing about how awesome it was, you're leaning on the mohawk (ie: It's more about being cool than acting to minimize repercussions).
If Knight Errant takes offense on you trashing a Downtown Stuffer Shack (I assume Downtown, as the Halloweeners are a Downtown Gang) and want to get someone busted to look good for the media and they come after you and they find you, because the Mage forgot to clease the signatures of his spells and you forgot to hack the cameras in the Shack, so KE now has a picture of you and they can even ritually kill you, because someone bled without spraying ammonium choride on it, which would make it unusable as a magic sample, then yes, you're "Stone Cold Proffessionals".
Keep in mind, no one style is "better" than the other, but you don't actually need any false SINs, ammonium chloride grenades, scrubbing-agents or whatever in the second style of play.

[zifer8]

That's what I would refer to as a "stone-cold awesome" style session. Grats to your GM - fun, righteous, simple and elegant.

Just gonna pop into my players thread long enough to say thanks.

[MikeKozar]

If Knight Errant takes offense on you trashing a Downtown Stuffer Shack (I assume Downtown, as the Halloweeners are a Downtown Gang) and want to get someone busted to look good for the media and they come after you...

Depending on your GM, the whole 'your actions have consequences' style of play could spin out into the exact opposite direction. You leave the cameras intact, and everybody sees your group defending itself (and a cute human mother and baby!) from the degenerate Halloweeners. Anyone who sees the video takes your side, and political groups use it to advance their agendas - MOM uses clips of the Troll smashing the bad guys in a clip about responsible metahumans taking back their communities and standing up to crime and hate, and the NRA makes sure everybody sees the gangers getting fair warning and then a kneefull of shotgun. The news outlets pick it up as an exciting clip where the bad guys get thumped, and dub your group something goofy like 'The Stuffer Shack Six' and try and secure interviews. You enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, and maybe even score a Street Cred point or two.

Then the Halloweeners, armed with all the extra info your fans are digging up, come for payback, and the Johnson who initiated the whole thing decides to make an example of you, to discourage this sort of random heroism interfering with business in the future...

[The Stray7]

Depending on your GM, the whole 'your actions have consequences' style of play could spin out into the exact opposite direction. You leave the cameras intact, and everybody sees your group defending itself (and a cute human mother and baby!) from the degenerate Halloweeners. Anyone who sees the video takes your side, and political groups use it to advance their agendas - MOM uses clips of the Troll smashing the bad guys in a clip about responsible metahumans taking back their communities and standing up to crime and hate, and the NRA makes sure everybody sees the gangers getting fair warning and then a kneefull of shotgun. The news outlets pick it up as an exciting clip where the bad guys get thumped, and dub your group something goofy like 'The Stuffer Shack Six' and try and secure interviews. You enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, and maybe even score a Street Cred point or two.

Then the Halloweeners, armed with all the extra info your fans are digging up, come for payback, and the Johnson who initiated the whole thing decides to make an example of you, to discourage this sort of random heroism interfering with business in the future...

Dude, my GM reads this thread! Don't do that to us! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Cardul]

>snip<

Then the Troll went (he had glitched his initiative). he picked up one of the aisles and slammed it into the remaining pair of gangers.

>snip<

Is this what would be referred to as a "pink mohawk" style session?

While it still waits to see what the GM does(if anything), the tactics and style of the PCs would sort of be Pink Mohawk...
But this! This is the core of things! No, the Troll did not just pick up something heavy...he picked up a *AISLE* and hit
it into the 'Weeners. That, sir, is DAMNED COOL! That is definately a Pink Mohawk style move..I look forward to hearing
more, because, you know what, it sounds like your group, while a wee bit on the large side, is cool!

[The Stray7]

While it still waits to see what the GM does(if anything), the tactics and style of the PCs would sort of be Pink Mohawk...
But this! This is the core of things! No, the Troll did not just pick up something heavy...he picked up a *AISLE* and hit
it into the 'Weeners. That, sir, is DAMNED COOL! That is definately a Pink Mohawk style move..I look forward to hearing
more, because, you know what, it sounds like your group, while a wee bit on the large side, is cool!

Well, let me give you a rundown on the Characters of our group. We're not officially a team yet, but it will be interesting to see where things go. We are:

The Jester (my character)--talkative, drug-addled street shaman, built with a lot of illusion powers and the only member of the group who has much in the way of spirit powers (didn't have to use them this time around) and a talent for astral recon and assensing.

Onyx--The cybered troll. The player thought "Troll cyber ninja" was a cool concept, so he took lots of interesting cyber. He's the big strong silent type. I'll know more when I see his character in action, but his player is having fun playing against type.

Kachina--The Amerindian smuggler, who has a decked-out van, rigging skills, and an addiction to adrenaline which means that she has a terminal allergy to boredom. Very likely to get us all killed. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Kendra--The former corporate Technomancer. Spent most of the fight hacking into the Stuffer Shack and erasing data trails, while looking to see if the cops had been called.

The Ork Mystic Adept--I am unsure of the character's name. He's a mystic adept, slinging spells quite effectively while following the somantic way. I forgot to mention that after he fried the Halloweener, he jumped in with a mystic barrier to protect the lady on his second initiative pass.

The Elf Gun Nut--Has just about every gun she could afford and about twenty thousand rounds of ammo. She hadn't decided on a name when play began, which is unusual for the player (who normally doesn't go for such combat-oriented characters)

The Elf Cyber Samurai--Has enough cyber to make his essence ridiculously low, like a .15 or something like that. I didn't catch his character's name. He was the one who gave the Ugly Guy the electric boogaloo.

Next week we're going to have yet another character join, as one of the players had sat the game out and decided SR looked like fun. All I know about her character is that she was leaning towards an Ork Face.

It's interesting because much of the group is playing characters against type. I usually go for brooding antiheros, while the Troll's player isn't usually the stoic defender, and Kendra's player usually goes for Irish spellcasters of some type (or an elf). I think We all are having fun tweaking our normal personas.

[Cardul]

Stray....it seems that the only thing your team was needing was a Face...

Let me say that, it is nice that the technomancer had fun doing probably the most BORING part
of being a TM/Hacker: matrix overwatch, aka "I watch everyone blow stuff up, while I hide!"
It is the most boring part, but also the most important...

[The Stray7]

Well, my character has decent enough charisma and a little Influence training, so I can do the Face part if I really need to, but yeah, it will be nice to have an actual Face in the party when we meet to do an actual Run. Which will be good, because My character has a Patron in The Trickster. handy for illusion spells and Con, but probably a disaster waiting to happen if I get an idea for a neat prank (and, since I've been reading the Running List Of Things I'm No Longer Allowed To Do thread, that amounts to a frighteningly large number of ideas).

Well, the Technomancer was using the opportunity to get used to the hacking system, which is one of the more complex systems in the game. In character, there was a lot of "I don't want to be noticed by the people who don't like me" paranoia. We're still getting the hang of everything, so there's likely to be more learning as the player discovers just what she can do with the Matrix rules.

[Kumo]

Stray....it seems that the only thing your team was needing was a Face...

Hey, not necessarily... a talkative PC with some proper skills can act as a Face. Not as good as professional, of course.

[The Stray7]

So, I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the summoning and biding rules for magicians, and I was wondering if someone could give me a rundown that helps clear things up. Any takers?

[Marwynn]

Summoning is a relatively simple process. You choose one of the Spirits from your tradition, determine the Force you want the Spirit to be at. Then you roll your Magic + Summoning versus the Spirit's Force. Compare the hits, if you got more than the Spirit you've summoned it. The net hits are the number of services it owes you, and the Spirit hangs around up till the sun's setting or rising. Can only have one unbound Spirit. Drain is twice the hits of the Spirit during the test.

Binding a Spirit is slightly trickier.

You need Binding Materials, Force x 500 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) from your Friendly Local Talismonger. Same drill as above, but this time you use your Binding + Magic vs the Spirit's Force x 2. This takes Force hours to do. Drain is again twice the hits of the Spirit during the test.

You need one net hit to bind the Spirit, any extra are extra services. The services don't expire. You may have up to your Charisma in Bound Spirits.

Bound Spirits have a greater variety of services. They stick around until all the services are used up, meaning they don't disappear after sunrise or sunset.

A great use of this is say Binding your Combat Spirit type and have it use an Aid Sorcery service for you. It'll then add its Force to your dice pools for casting Combat Spells. Or whatever category the Spirit is in.

Does that help?