GM's and Obssessive Compulsive Disorder, Just curious if I'm the only freak GM... Options

[TechnoDruid]

Okay, so I've been GM'ing SR for fifteen years now. And I've found myself with a serious OCD problem with having to pick up every 3rd Ed. item. But, oh no, it doesn't stop there. With every book, the spine will eventually break and pages will begin falling out etc, so I've taken to pulling pages out of books once they start falling apart and putting them in sheet protectors in three ring binders. The runs that I put together, aside from the "fly by moment" runs are all layed out similar to the published adventures. My maps are all heavily detailed and were hand drawn, but now I've taken to a CAD program from Sourceforge. Anyone else out there as OCD as I am in this regard?

[Abrojus]

Use to think i was, but not anymore, thx :)

[ShadowPhoenix]

I need more SR3 books, I've got most of what I consider the important mechanics books(BBB, CC, MM, R3, Matrix, SRC, Critters) and 1 Source(New Seattle). I want to get the Target:# books, SSG, and the MITS & SOTA. When my BBB Matrix and MM began to show page dismemberment, I took them all into the kinkos and told them to chop em, laminate the covers and spiral them all. I still have some unchopped books, but my BBB, Matrix, and MM books all needed help.

When it comes to campaigns, I'm more loose and off the cuff, I can take a single sentence that I wrote down, and reference my wetware memory for the rest of the run that I store in my memory. Only for entirely complex campaigns do I whip out the pen and paper. But I just usually do whatever suits the game flow at the time, I guess I do the whole chess thing, I anticipate the possible moves of the players about 3 steps ahead, or 1 floor up or down in a building :P.

CAD program sounds like it would work more reliably for a map generator though, I might play with one one day.

[Kagetenshi]

TechnoDruid, you haven't even begun to approach the levels of OC attention to detail that I've reached, let alone seen in others.

~J

[Arethusa]

Can I get a link to that opensource CAD program?

[TechnoDruid]

Go to www.sourceforge.com and check out the program AutoRealm. Pretty decent. Sorry I can't give you a direct link, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. PM me later if you haven't found it and I'll dig it out for you.

<laughs> Nice to see I'm not the only OCD GM on the block. ;)

[Kagetenshi]

Not recommending it for anyone who wouldn't be using CAD for another, work-related reason, but Vectorworks is good stuff. I personally prefer it to AutoCAD for buildings, though AutoCAD is better at small stuff IMO.

~J

[ShadowPhoenix]

I think someday I'll be as OCD with SR as I am with D&D, I think maybe my lack of OCD with SR is my comfort level with the game, I don't need things written down because I understand my game world real well. With DnD which I'm writing up a complete world all the way down to import/exports and a real history and a believed history of the world. so with my DnD I'm being way way in depth, though it'd come to mind occassionally to write up my player's gang numbers and roster a little more in depth. maybe then it would make the game more real to them. dunno though.

[simonw2000]

Anyone know of a program that designs Matrix hosts?

[Nikoli]

Go here for a Host generator. I love the internet.

[simonw2000]

I mean as in System Maps?

[Kagetenshi]

Ah, the dungeon-crawl method :D

You can do that CAD-style too.

~J

[Nikoli]

Was wondering that myself. Oh well.

[Kagetenshi]

Remember your Universal Matrix Architecture! You see a triangle; what are you looking at?

~J

[Firewall]

Someone needs to make a quick Matrix cheat-sheet (I will compile one myself if necessary) that has Universal Matrix Architecture and the basic test equations.

Well, what you really need is a set of streamlined matrix rules for those of us on permanent Matrix Overwatch. Current GM just has me roll Matrix rating against TN:8. (the Johnson paid 250k :nuyen:, so I will not whine too much)

[BitBasher]

I/O node?

[Large Mike]

Well, I don't treat my books very special. (Just ask anyone that's seen my sr3. Blitz and I believe Grey both saw what I mean) As a matter of fact, I abuse them, underline, highlight, make notes in the margines and inside the front covers. But that's only my 3rd books.

I'm *very* OCD about grabbing every book ever printed. I'm not even sort of near being there yet, but it's a serious complusion for me. Even if I don't like the book. I won't buy Matrix or Target: Matrix until I have a copy of everything else in the area, but it's still on the list. I'm even picking up Earthdawn for it's SR connections. (Maybe I'll find a fantasy game I don't hate there, we'll see.)

At this point, I would commit crimes for Lone Star, the Tirs, Aztland, and Harelquin. (Not harlequin's back. I can pick that up at any moment.)

[ShadowPhoenix]

I don't really treat my books special, nor do I outright seek their end, but when the book begins to combust, it's time for me to find a way to keep all the pages, because if I didn't, I'd be missing half of my core book and several important matrix pages. So spiral bound they got.

[Kagetenshi]

If the book starts to combust, you'd better throw some water on it, not put it in a spiral notebook :P

And BitBasher wins the prize. An I/O node, AKA a SAN. What about a sphere?

~J

[holychampion]

I think I'm OCD about SR, I'v collected every book available for SR, even drove to Chicago to pick up Harlequin. I use a lap-top and Micro power point for my adventure writing, I scan in Maps and Pictures of Buildings, locations and People I find on the Internet to insert into my Module. It usually takes me 25 hours throughout a week and a half to complete a adventure. I also have very dedicated gamers, for my B-day and Christmas they always buy me whatever books I currently don't have (new releases) including Modules. Thanks for the Link, now my wife will have even more to complain about with this new tool.

[Herald of Verjig...]

Remembering from the Genesis game:
Cube (square) is data
octagon or 20 surfaced object is CPU
something that looks like a classic RAM chip is the Matrix access point
and the spheres are just there to get in your way

[holychampion]

A Sphere: Slave Mod.

[Kagetenshi]

Holychampion got it.

The Herald missed the SPUs, which are lower-numbered polyhedrals, or octogons without the inner bit in the Genesis game, IIRC.

~J

[Shockwave_IIc]

Me im worst then some not as bad as others, Don't think there's a SR3 Series book that i don't have, thats been released.

I've pulled the colour character pics from SR3 and put them in a folder, ermm Highlighted the different types of operations at the back of Matrix.

Side Note: Is it me or is Pax's stats in both Threats 2 and Brainscan like Illegal??

[Method]

I used to be pretty OCD when it came to collecting, but I've been away from the hobby for awhile. I bought SR1 the week it hit the shelf in '89 and I own every book prior to the demise of FASA. I'm currently catching up with the Fanpro stuff, but that won't take long.

As far as runs go, I have about 15 years worth of hand drawn and colored maps in a huge trapperkeeper. My players laugh when I say things like "I don't think I have a map for that...". I have recently taken to downloading satellite photos of inner city areas to use as visual aids. Hell I haven't played a PC in probably 6 or 7 years, but I have a stack of them made up because every time I have a cool idea I have to generate a character "just in case".

Man I love SR.....