[X] My Assistant

[Draco18s]

I remember rotary phones. Enter yarn: 1 day a young kid came in lost (I was 12 or something in the mid 80's) and my Mom let the kid use the phone. The kid commented "Where are the buttons?". That was the day my mom decided we needed to replace the phones....

I'm old enough to know what a rotary phone is. Had one as a kid (not hooked up, though, but as a toy). My grandparents also had one they still used up until they moved into a retirement facility.

OH MAN.

PHONE BOOTHS. Remember those?

[suoq]

My Shadowrun rules are older than some of the people on these forums. I still have my first character sheet, which was created using an electric typewriter.

[Draco18s]

My Shadowrun rules are older than some of the people on these forums. I still have my first character sheet, which was created using an electric typewriter.

I've seen one of those in a museum.
(just kidding, my parents owned one and I remember playing with it)

[squee_nabob]

Use positive reinforcement rather than punishment. Don’t assign arbitrary roleplaying penalties or force him to do various roleplaying challenges. To start off a new player who comes from a different gaming background, try to equate roleplaying with beneficial effects rather than negative ones:

Bonuses for well described actions

Encourage him to explain why he does actions, and comment if that action is in genre or not (in a supportive manner, don’t just tell him it is wrong)

Stop feeding him situations designed for character development and instead comment on his choices “I notice you tend to prioritize mages first, is that because you had a bad experience with mages?”

You also want to avoid favoring RP heavy players at the same time. If everyone in your group is good at roleplaying but him, you don’t want him to feel singled out or picked on.

See if he’s interested in the fluff of shadowrun. He might not roleplay because he doesn’t know much about the world, and doesn’t’ wan to be wrong.

This really is a situation where I’d start with a light touch. You can always use heavy measures later.

[Cain]

Twenty questions does work, but basically it's just a tool. Any directed character-building approach would work. If you only apply them to the non-roleplayer, he'll feel unfairly singled out. It'll only work if you apply them to everyone.

[qoute]I would agree. The 'players nominate other players for awesome moments' system removes a lot of the potential arbitrary gm favoritism aspect of it. Giving pats on the back in the form of karma or perks for doing a good job rping just feels *good*. I would second ivan's idea as being a good one.[/quote]
This is a very good system. It works wonders in Savage Worlds, where awesome stunts is supposed to earn you a bennie. You can consider awarding a 1 point Edge refresh for it, or maybe even 1 point of bonus karma is everyone agrees on it.

My Shadowrun rules are older than some of the people on these forums. I still have my first character sheet, which was created using an electric typewriter.

I've still got my SR1 book, autographed by Jordan Wiseman. Admittedly, my first character sheet was a xerox, not a typewritten one.

However, when I was a kid, we didn't have electric typewriters. Just manual ones. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[suoq]

deleted

[Aku]

PHONE BOOTHS. Remember those?

Those are the things superman strips in right? someone oughta arrest that clown for attempted public indecency!

[Draco18s]

Those are the things superman strips in right? someone oughta arrest that clown for attempted public indecency!

Honestly, I never saw one I could step into and close the door like that. Just pay phone booth box things that had a phone and a dangling chain where a phone book used to be.
I.e. the one on the right.

[Troyminator]

I remember rotary phones. Enter yarn: 1 day a young kid came in lost (I was 12 or something in the mid 80's) and my Mom let the kid use the phone. The kid commented "Where are the buttons?". That was the day my mom decided we needed to replace the phones....

I had, and used, a rotary phone until I was in my mid-teens, didn't have cable until I was 16 or so, and remember when gas was $.70/gallon. I was born in the late '60's. Man, I'm old and crumbling into dust.

[KarmaInferno]

Honestly, I never saw one I could step into and close the door like that. Just pay phone booth box things that had a phone and a dangling chain where a phone book used to be.
I.e. the one on the right.

Superman seems to occasionally have the same problem.




-k

[Draco18s]

Superman seems to occasionally have the same problem.

He changed inside a car once too (also, where did he stash all that stuff he was carrying?).

[Aku]

He changed inside a car once too (also, where did he stash all that stuff he was carrying?).

I've had to do that too. generally, after i had to get undressed in the car too...

[ Spoiler ]

get yer minds outa the gutter, i was at the beach, and we were heading home, the back seat of the caqr was the most convenient place to get out of a swim suit...


at least on one occassion (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Draco18s]

I've had to do that too. generally, after i had to get undressed in the car too...

[ Spoiler ]

get yer minds outa the gutter, i was at the beach, and we were heading home, the back seat of the caqr was the most convenient place to get out of a swim suit...


at least on one occassion (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

We've all changed clothes in the car at one point. I did a few weeks ago because I needed new pants, but had to wear my old pants in order to buy the new ones, but I wasn't going to wear them all day, so I changed when I got to work.

[Warlordtheft]

I've seen one of those in a museum.
(just kidding, my parents owned one and I remember playing with it)

I used to type my elementary school papers on a non-electric typwriter. And yes I still have all the 1st ed books from way back. Great resource material when I need it.

[Crazy Ivan]

Never came across how the Benny system works in Savage Worlds, at least as far as players nominating them to get things. The GM we had was very...stingy with the rules, and we never really saw the books, so I learned more after the fact. But the bennys was a nice system in concept, and I liked the fact that we had something semi-tangible to represent things with.

Though the system we learned our "point" system on was Scion, and that was largely houseruled. It worked out really nice, deciding to take an extra point of Legend now or Xp later.

[Draco18s]

Though the system we learned our "point" system on was Scion, and that was largely houseruled. It worked out really nice, deciding to take an extra point of Legend now or Xp later.

Reminds me again that I wish Jim was still around to run games. His last game was a scion game. Hero to God in 11 weeks.
And yes, they did destroy the universe.

[Crazy Ivan]

We only went to Demi-God. Playing at God-level really didn't interest most of us. Demi-God was a blast, just because we were drunk with power.

[Cain]

Never came across how the Benny system works in Savage Worlds, at least as far as players nominating them to get things. The GM we had was very...stingy with the rules, and we never really saw the books, so I learned more after the fact. But the bennys was a nice system in concept, and I liked the fact that we had something semi-tangible to represent things with.

Bennies are basically rewards for doing cool stuff. Savage Worlds runs best when the bennies flow freely, so people are more willing to spend them on outrageous stunts, thereby earning more bennies. It's a fun little cycle, when it works.

In my home game, the GM hands them out when players make him laugh, or when others say: "That was cool, she deserves a bennie." You don't need a formal nomination or a vote to earn one, you just tell the GM that you really enjoyed what someone just did; if the GM agrees, that person gets a bennie.

[scarius]

i do a "play of the day/special mention" karma award, its for when something was just so awesome/well done/what ever, a few of the other GMs that i know have taken this idea on board, its only for 2/1 karma but it can be given to anyone and is normaly a group vote. Some of the "play of the day/special mention" have gone to people for such things as, jumping out a window in a bar fight that she didnt want to be a part of, setting up a zip line from a corp hq to the apartment block near by and using it as an escape route and not being hit by any of the 3 vulcan cannons bullets, waiting for the person that they were kid napping in the spa while in heavy mil armour, putting a guy who was on fire out with a .50 cal...

on topic:

i have been in this situation before, to fix it up we went and had a couple of drinks and i asked him what he wanted out of the game. i found that being straight up with him about it not only helped clear the air and get the point accross easily, but he also was more receptive to what i had to say

[Cain]

i do a "play of the day/special mention" karma award, its for when something was just so awesome/well done/what ever, a few of the other GMs that i know have taken this idea on board, its only for 2/1 karma but it can be given to anyone and is normaly a group vote. Some of the "play of the day/special mention" have gone to people for such things as, jumping out a window in a bar fight that she didnt want to be a part of, setting up a zip line from a corp hq to the apartment block near by and using it as an escape route and not being hit by any of the 3 vulcan cannons bullets, waiting for the person that they were kid napping in the spa while in heavy mil armour, putting a guy who was on fire out with a .50 cal...

The problem in SR4.5 is that's not very immediate. Ask any psychologist, they'll tell you that the best reinforcers are the ones given right away. Sometimes you can do this with Edge refresh, but if the comedy gold happens at the beginning of the game, they might not have spent any Edge yet. Rewards for coolness and comedy should be on-the-spot for best results.

[Crazy Ivan]

Bennies are basically rewards for doing cool stuff. Savage Worlds runs best when the bennies flow freely, so people are more willing to spend them on outrageous stunts, thereby earning more bennies. It's a fun little cycle, when it works.

In my home game, the GM hands them out when players make him laugh, or when others say: "That was cool, she deserves a bennie." You don't need a formal nomination or a vote to earn one, you just tell the GM that you really enjoyed what someone just did; if the GM agrees, that person gets a bennie.

We used it, and I followed that it was the reward for cool stuff, but we never actually got a real briefing about them, nor were they implemented consistantly. I just blame the GM though, as we really never got to see the books unless it was for equipment and talent/perks/whatever the special stuff like that is called.

[Kingboy]

The problem in SR4.5 is that's not very immediate.

There's nothing preventing GMs from handing out bonus Karma during the game for good roleplaying, cool moves, etc. You'd probably want to establish a guideline for limiting how much Karma a person could gain this way each session/adventure, but it gives you your immediate feedback, and possibly encourages other players to do similar things in game (similar in terms of quailty/game improvement, not mere imitation).

[TeknoDragon]

Perhaps refresh a point of someone's Edge for doing Awesome Things?

[Cain]

There's nothing preventing GMs from handing out bonus Karma during the game for good roleplaying, cool moves, etc. You'd probably want to establish a guideline for limiting how much Karma a person could gain this way each session/adventure, but it gives you your immediate feedback, and possibly encourages other players to do similar things in game (similar in terms of quailty/game improvement, not mere imitation).

Handing out bonus karma in the middle of an adventure isn't much of an inducement. While it is immediate, it's not reinforcement, because it can't be spent until after the game ends. Also, it means good roleplayers get a huge bonus over learners, since they can earn a lot more karma during a session.

Perhaps refresh a point of someone's Edge for doing Awesome Things?

Again, what happens if there's really cool roleplay just as game begins? No one's spent Edge yet, so there's no gain.

[Traul]

Again, what happens if there's really cool roleplay just as game begins? No one's spent Edge yet, so there's no gain.

Nothing prevents the Current Edge from exceding the Total Edge. The system supports it, so the GM can just give away free Edge points anytime he wants.