Your Avarage Shadowrunner & Enemies/Goons, Help the noob GM, earn Karma Options

[Borbag]

So, I have been convinced to run Shadowrun... Trouble is I have never played the game myself. This resulted in lots of improvisations and confused players.
So I need advice on two things:
1) Creating player characters. What attribute matters, what doesn't, what skills are must have (for a sensible shadowrunner), what is needed for a decent mage/technomancer. How much dice is actually avarage for a character? (We're using only SR4A for the time being) I could do test combats all day and get an idea but asking you guys seems much faster.

2) Creating advesaries: This is more or less like the first question. I can't seem to gauge npcs to players; sometimes they prove to be really challenging, sometimes players wipe the floor with them. Also, crowded combats are a BAD idea.

3) Awarding PCs: What are the going rates of shadowruns? I have some idea of Karma awards, but nuyen? No idea. I was thinking of running a bounty hunter campaign (something like cowboy bebop).

Also just curious: Is there anybody running/playing shadowrun in Istanbul, Turkey? The guy that introduced me to SR has vanished from the face of the Earth.

Another point: What are the game breakers? Any suggestion on house rules?

[Stingray]

one skill almost all must have in some level is Perception.
Needed ability scores allocation all depends what kind of charc. is created
street samurais need something else than Mages..etc..
(IMOO) decent dice pool (skill + ability) is about 10..w/ that t charc. survival possibility is higher than not..

[Blade]

1)
Attributes: Strength has little to no use in most situations. Having a high Body is useful when you need it, but the rest of the time it's far less useful than Agility and Reaction are. As for the mental attributes, it depends if you have any skill that depends on them, though most GM won't appreciate stupid and socially inadapted characters. With all the books, you can raise attributes so high that skills don't really matter.

Skills: Perception is a must-have. Dodge (or gymnastic) can be very useful. Infiltration is often a good idea for a shadowrunner but the rest depends on the character.

Average dicepool: it varies from table to table (and player to player). When SR4 came out, an average dice pool was 7-8, and 14 was considered as a very good pool (with the occasional 20 in experiments on how to get the highest [something] pool), with the following books, there was a dice pool inflation and the average is now closer to 10-12 with 20 being quite common for specialists.

2) You can take them from the book, but they'll be weak (and ridiculous: elite troops with just a rating 1 wired reflexes?). But even if you adapt them to your PC you can have surprises. SR characters are often compared to glass cannons: they deal a lot of damage, but they break easily. Most of the time, the side with surprise/initiative on its side wins. Magic can mess things up, with powerful spirits that can be difficult to hurt without the correct weapons (or magic).

3) Up to you, the feel you want to give your campaign, how fast you want the PC to be able to "level up" their gear and so on. You'll find thousands of threads about this on Dumpshock, with the same endless arguments about stealing cars and other things like that.

[Makki]

for characters there are the sample archetypes in the core book, which are fine for beginners. Once players know the game they probably want to tweak them as they are not completely perfect. AFAIK some lack the aforementioned Perception skill.
Alternatively, I really like UmaroVI's alternative Archtypes: http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=35587
they are really well worked out and he explains a lot. Try them, once you aquire the other rule books (Arsenal, Runners Companion, Augmentation, Unwired, Street Magic)

[Paul]

As usual people are pretty quick to give the numbers, and that's all well and good-but I don't see a lot of mention about just sitting down and discussing the setting, and rules as a group. And maybe that's because it's presumed you've done this. *Shrugs* and maybe you have; but I've found this seems to be the most often over looked part of a group. Whether it's by emails, or over a pint sit down and discuss what they expect, and what you expect from your players. (And maybe if you're an established group this is a moot point.)

After that my best advice is to tailor your games to your group. If you can devote a session to just generating characters-and you as the GM generate a few. After that I think it's all personal preference.

[Daylen]

Stats of the adversaries don't matter much(in SR3 giving 4s and 5s in the important stats was fine. Just be sure to not have the fights go like a bad sifi channel original movie; big monster that takes a bazillion hits and doesn't die. Just have the opposition use some tactics, once the PCs are at medium damage they should be running, if not you're probably about to kill them. Note: be sure to enforce the negative modifiers from damage to all rolls. PCs might be tough when going against base TNs, but once the modifiers are in place it has hit the fan. Don't forget to add extra enemies every turn that "just arrived" and did so in very inconvenient locations, for the PCs. This can be done with great effect using an astrally projecting mage to summon spirits (not actively engage in combat, then he might die). Don't forget to not remind players that Spirits are not completely immune to guns, just very very resistant; unless of course you want them thinking an autocannon makes a fine holdout pistol.

[Glyph]

So, I have been convinced to run Shadowrun... Trouble is I have never played the game myself. This resulted in lots of improvisations and confused players.
So I need advice on two things:
1) Creating player characters. What attribute matters, what doesn't, what skills are must have (for a sensible shadowrunner), what is needed for a decent mage/technomancer. How much dice is actually avarage for a character? (We're using only SR4A for the time being) I could do test combats all day and get an idea but asking you guys seems much faster.

Shadowrun dice pools generally work on skill + Attribute, so generally a character should have a moderately high Attribute if it is one that is linked to their specialty. For example, a street samurai needs a high Agility, since that is the Attribute used for most combat skills, while a mage needs a high Magic score. Average dice vary a lot. This is a game that deliberately encourages both getting magical ability, and enhancing yourself with cyberware and bioware. These things can affect dice pools by 1) increasing an Attribute, 2) increasing a skill, or 3) adding a stand alone bonus to a skill. These bonuses tend to cluster more around combat, social, and magical skills, all of which involve opposed tests with potential negative modifiers. Modifiers are important! Remember them, because otherwise the dice pools for combat, social, and magical skills can be overwhelming.

So I'll give an example. Take a street samurai. He has a natural Agility of 5, and has muscle toner: 2. This raises his dice pool by 2 by raising the Attribute with 'ware. He has a skill of 5 and has a reflex recorder, raising it to 6. He has raised his dice pool another point by raising the skill with 'ware. Finally, he has cybereyes that have the smartlink modification, for +2 when firing smartlinked weapons. He has raised his dice pool by 2 points by getting a stand alone bonus from 'ware.

Not all dice pools are as easy to raise, neither are all dice pools equivalent to each other even at the same amount. Compare, say, the pistols skill versus the survival skill, both at 12. The guy with survival at 12 has a skill of 6 and a Willpower of 6 - impressive! The guy with pistols of 12 has an Agility of 3, improved to 5 with muscle toner, a skill of 4, improved to 5 with a reflex recorder, and a smartlink. Not so impressive, really. He's just someone a bit above average, with some boosts.

One thing to remember about dice pools is that characters generally have to balance being good at something, with being functional at other things. Some characters like snipers or faces are specialists, while other characters, like private detectives or combat medics, have a wider range of skills. The guy with the super-high dice pool may seem more powerful at first glance, but the guy who can shoot, sneak, fast-talk a border guard, drive the getaway car, and patch up his wounded buddies might actually be the more effective shadowrunner. So don't be concerned if you have a wide mix of dice pools. Just make sure that everyone has something they can contribute to the group, and that they can all work together.

2) Creating advesaries: This is more or less like the first question. I can't seem to gauge npcs to players; sometimes they prove to be really challenging, sometimes players wipe the floor with them. Also, crowded combats are a BAD idea.

Shadowrun is a lethal game, where it is usually easier to deal deadly damage than to avoid it (which is where the term "glass cannons" comes from). Thus, it can be a very tactical game. When setting power levels, keep how this NPC is going to be encountered in mind. If they are ambushing someone, you can make them tough and it doesn't matter as much. If the NPCs are the ones ambushing the PCs, you will find that even weak opponents can be deadly.

Also, don't be worried if the PCs do wipe the floor with some opposition. Shadowrunners are supposed to be elite covert operatives; they should be tough. Remember that a statistically even encounter will have a 50% fatality rate - generally, enemies should be weaker than the PCs. If they are too easy, reinforcements can show up.

3) Awarding PCs: What are the going rates of shadowruns? I have some idea of Karma awards, but nuyen? No idea. I was thinking of running a bounty hunter campaign (something like cowboy bebop).

This is something every campaign needs to work out. I would suggest high pay, but also expenses such as bribes, new fake IDs, and such. It is important that you give out enough money for characters such as street samurai or riggers to improve themselves. Otherwise, magical characters will advance much more quickly than technologically-dependent characters.

Another point: What are the game breakers? Any suggestion on house rules?

Remember modifiers - they keep high dice pools from completely dominating the game.

One of the big causes of in-game friction can be the nebulous nature of the social skill rules. I would set some firm guidelines to keep characters with high social skills from abusing them against the other characters. If you can only get the Johnson to go so far, up to a set limit, when you are negotiating payment, then you shouldn't be able to tell another player that their character sleeps with you or "lends" you expensive equipment.

I have found the best way to handle social skills is to roleplay most of it out, but keep the "game" stats of the character in mind (in other words, the guy with low Charisma who does all of the talking will sound rude and overbearing, while the quiet guy with high Charisma will have the waitress slip him her commcode).

[Borbag]

Thanks a lot for the help!
So, to summarize what we have learned so far:

1) Shadowrun is lethal and everyone is a glass cannon (do lots of damage, die very easy). Considering that ways to hurt people advances faster than ways to soak damage, this makes perfect sense (in fact, it adds a certain flavor to the game). This means that avoiding damage is more important than armor, and the heavily armored troll with a machine gun isn't as scary as he/she seems (if you are behind cover)

2) Since everyone is a glass cannon, the one with the higher initiative usually wins. Surprise is a HUGE advantage, which makes perception skill a must. Scouting is heavily encouraged. Stealthy characters, mini drones, spirits (watchers maybe), astrally projecting mages and hacking the system (or at least scanning the area for hidden networks) comes to mind.

3) There is no such thing as average dice pool because of the modifiers. Excluding the modifiers, avarage would be 7-8, 10-12 decent and 14+ specialist land. If other books are used as well, all levels increase by 2 or 3.

4) Spirits will be used carefully. A party unprepared for a spirit will have a really good time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Come to think of it, is there any way for a mundane character to hurt a spirit (aside from being patient, lucky and having lots of bullets)?

5) If the enemy is too weak for my taste, reinforcements will show up. If they are too strong, PCs should have the common sense to turn tail and run.

6) Specialists are good. Generalist are better.

7) Strength isn't that important and Body isn't that big of a deal. However I think bulging muscles has its advantages in some social situations (and for those times where you want to break the jaw of the bastard).

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) Awards are up to me. Having an idea on how the player's will spend the money (besides ale&whores) should help.

9) This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game.


New set of questions:

- Surprise: Everyone involved makes an initiative roll. A character can react to the ones that got less hits than he. Suppose the party ambushes some mobsters. If the mobster gets more hits than the players, he will be the guy to yell SHIT and dive behind the car. The one who gets less hits will be the unfortunate fellow who gets filled with bullets. Did I get that right?

- Initiative Passes: Is the maximum number of IP 4? Also I think that specialist should have 3 IPs. Not that focused characters can have 2 IP. However, a character can fend for himself with only 1 IP and a combat skill with 7-8 dice pool. True or false?

Thanks again!

[Makki]

9) This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game.

make sure to not focus on one tactic, that you have in mind, but be flexible. Your players will think of 10 different ways before they even consider the ideas you had in mind making up the challenge. Because it's a game and a game has to be fun, I usually let my players carry out whatever plan they come up with, as long as it's not completely ridicolous.

New set of questions:

- Surprise: Everyone involved makes an initiative roll. A character can react to the ones that got less hits than he. Suppose the party ambushes some mobsters. If the mobster gets more hits than the players, he will be the guy to yell SHIT and dive behind the car. The one who gets less hits will be the unfortunate fellow who gets filled with bullets. Did I get that right?

- Initiative Passes: Is the maximum number of IP 4? Also I think that specialist should have 3 IPs. Not that focused characters can have 2 IP. However, a character can fend for himself with only 1 IP and a combat skill with 7-8 dice pool. True or false?

Thanks again!

-if you ambush soimeone, you get a +6 bonus on the test. If you're still to slow, you're in the wrong business or have a very bad day. Yes, you're right.
-4 is max for physical and astral. With an additionial book, matrix can get to 5. Rest is correct. I play an Infiltrator with only 1 IP. He doesn't go into combat, or runs away.

[Faraday]

- Surprise: Everyone involved makes an initiative roll. A character can react to the ones that got less hits than he. Suppose the party ambushes some mobsters. If the mobster gets more hits than the players, he will be the guy to yell SHIT and dive behind the car. The one who gets less hits will be the unfortunate fellow who gets filled with bullets. Did I get that right?

- Initiative Passes: Is the maximum number of IP 4? Also I think that specialist should have 3 IPs. Not that focused characters can have 2 IP. However, a character can fend for himself with only 1 IP and a combat skill with 7-8 dice pool. True or false?

Thanks again!

First, you do the surprise test, then you roll for actual initiative.
If the ambushee gets more hits on his surprise test than any of his ambushers, he can make a free perception check to notice what's coming during the first initiative pass. If he makes it, he can react during his initiative.

--Initiative passes: Max number is 4, in the meat. Max is 5 in the matrix (including controlling drones). Combat specialists should usually have 2-4 IP from magic or ware, depending on the game. Less combat focused characters can get away with 2 IPs from magic/'ware or even just use drugs as needed. (Jazz is great for this)

In the matrix, everyone who's anyone gets 3 passes in hot sim. This is the hacker's baseline: it's easy to get and pretty acceptable. 4 or even 5 passes are quite possible, but are a good deal more expensive and harder to get.

[Stingray]

..one way to mundane to hurt spirits is Stick n- Shock Rounds..

[Borbag]

I love those bullets.
Well OK, I love anything that does electrical damage. I'm funny that way.

[Blade]

Who doesn't? Half the armor, and as long as you hit the victim has -2 to all his tests in the worst case.

[Dreadlord]

My first experience as a Shadowrun GM would have been WAY easier if I had STUCK WITH ONLY THE MAIN BOOK! All the extras are very nice candy, but it becomes overwhelming for a new GM.
Once the game is rocking and rolling along, you can add in a book at a time to the game, as you feel comfortable with the expanding ruleset.

On the subject of IPs - for new players: suggest that they all have the ability to get about the same number of IPs. It can be very frustrating for a new player to be the dude sitting around all evening waiting for his next IP, while everyone else is having a ball. You can even restrict them to a set number of passes, such as max two passes. Be fair, and don't throw speed demons at them all the time, though.

[Daylen]

My first experience as a Shadowrun GM would have been WAY easier if I had STUCK WITH ONLY THE MAIN BOOK! All the extras are very nice candy, but it becomes overwhelming for a new GM.
Once the game is rocking and rolling along, you can add in a book at a time to the game, as you feel comfortable with the expanding ruleset.

On the subject of IPs - for new players: suggest that they all have the ability to get about the same number of IPs. It can be very frustrating for a new player to be the dude sitting around all evening waiting for his next IP, while everyone else is having a ball. You can even restrict them to a set number of passes, such as max two passes. Be fair, and don't throw speed demons at them all the time, though.

Reminds me of too many games where as soon as someone talked about having higher reflexes it became a race to see who would have the most IPs. Then the GM started having to do the same so some baddies would survive to get a shot off. More IPs are like nukes, unless people self limit it just becomes an arms race.

[Paul]

My first experience as a Shadowrun GM would have been WAY easier if I had STUCK WITH ONLY THE MAIN BOOK! All the extras are very nice candy, but it becomes overwhelming for a new GM.

Once the game is rocking and rolling along, you can add in a book at a time to the game, as you feel comfortable with the expanding rule set.

Yeah this is something I agree with. Too much is sometimes just as bad as too little.

[thorya]

2) Creating advesaries: This is more or less like the first question. I can't seem to gauge npcs to players; sometimes they prove to be really challenging, sometimes players wipe the floor with them. Also, crowded combats are a BAD idea.

Though you probably want to include more detail for important NPC's, you can sum up npc's with two numbers if you need to make them on the fly. The high number for their dice pools in areas they're good at and the low dice pool for things they're bad at. Depending upon which books you're using and the power level of people you play with, a range of high numbers can be 8-14 and the low numbers can be 4-8. To soak damage you might want to use the higher number (or even a third number) and you'll want to use the low number for reaction without dodge (unless they're fighting a dodge ninja) and the damage value for their weapons. So a trained guard might have 10 as his high number and 5 for his low number. So he uses 10 for pistols, clubs, knowledge security protocols, rolls 10 to soak damage etc. He uses 5 for skills he's not great at, but feasibly has access to, perception, unarmed combat, con, etc. A PC specialist will still beat this character the majority of the time, but they're not a push over. Additionally, you can quickly gauge after an encounter or two what good numbers to provide a challenge are.

You can add further complexity by picking three numbers if you like, and it takes about 15 seconds to create an NPC this way. Possible three number ranges high 12-16, medium 6-12, low 2-5. Again different tables will need different numbers, but this is a generally useful tactic for a GM. Do keep track of wound modifiers and other modifiers that PC's apply to the NPC's.

[Stahlgewitter]

You people really create npc (other then the storyreleated) ?
ive never in my gm life created an npc ^^ all i do is throw a few dice and make up some numbers ^_^

[Daylen]

You people really create npc (other then the storyreleated) ?
ive never in my gm life created an npc ^^ all i do is throw a few dice and make up some numbers ^_^

You're players must be nice. In the group I game with consistency and many times rolling in front of the players (for nonsecret effects) are demanded by players. We don't like cheating GMs; if the GM just makes up everything then my stats don't matter, if my stats don't matter why did I bother with them. The answer is of course to settle arguments about what happens; some people like to have a game not story time.

[thorya]

You're players must be nice. In the group I game with consistency and many times rolling in front of the players (for nonsecret effects) are demanded by players. We don't like cheating GMs; if the GM just makes up everything then my stats don't matter, if my stats don't matter why did I bother with them. The answer is of course to settle arguments about what happens; some people like to have a game not story time.

Obviously, I am not proposing that you just make things up as the GM. But building every npc out like an actual character is really time consuming. Especially when the players go off in a different direction than you planned for. With a two or three number approach, the PCs' stats still matter since the npc stats are fixed. Obviously you pick stats for npcs based upon what you could actually build a character to do. It's not cheating, since a GM can build the npc's with however much BP or karma they feel is appropriate, it's just reduced bookkeeping.

I don't think it's a good idea to roll in front of players, if you have people that meta game (which I usually do in groups I play with).

[Paul]

When creating an NPC on the fly I always have a notebook nearby, where I jot down whatever notes I may need. That way if at the meet suddenly a pedestrian becomes a part of the big show, I can quickly drop some logical, reasonable and internally consistent stats on him or her and then if I need to refer to them I can just look at my notes.

It doesn't happen often because I actually like devoting the time to making sure I have stats for a large number of the people my PC's could interact in a significant way. I'm also careful to make sure that I don't cheat-if an NPC dies, I can make more, or throw more at them if it's that sort of situation. Honestly enough it's damned easy to take their victory and find a story I can tell from it.

"Oh you're the guys who murdered Judy the bartender because you were trying to rip off your Johnson? Yeah she was my kid sister, and I have the vindictive flaw, and a death wish." Or "Gosh you guys are the real deal! You murdered that chick right here in front of me! You must be ready for the big leagues! I have this job in Aztlan..."

Seriously if I want your character dead I can do it a hundred million petty, street legal ways. But I don't want you dead. I want to wring every last ounce of story from you before I discard your semi lifeless body only to have it scooped up, and reanimated to squeeze just that much more from you. Not even death gets you out chummer.

[Borbag]

My next project is going digital. 14 dice, the main rulebook and character sheets. The rest will be on my laptop. Chummer (and its dice roller), excel tables for modifiers and rule reminders, name generators (because I suck at names) and pdfs for quick referance. Let's face it, Shadowrun is a slow game; I try to streamline it as much as possible. I don't like writing down statistics, especially for grunts; that's why I asked the "avarage dice pool". Thanks for the high/low dices, by the way (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Now that I think about it, I should probably make a generic pool of NPCs for emergency purposes.
Anyway,

Question of the day: What is your take on the "3 separate worlds" problem? Spells are cast in the meat world so no problem there. I haven't read the awakened world in detail (yet. tech first, magic second. this is cyberpunk after all), so no idea on the astral. Hacking in combat = extended tests = the player rolls the dice and waits for its turn, gets bored. Also, I need imaginative ways to wreak havoc once I hack in a commlink.

P.S: It's been ages since I wrote something in English. Damn...

[stevebugge]

Thanks a lot for the help!
So, to summarize what we have learned so far:

9) This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game.

Actually the single most important thing to do is decide as a group what play style you want to go with. It's possible to run and Play Shadowrun with very little and sometimes no combat and you can go to the other extreme and run virtually all combat. Where problems occur is when not everyone is on the same page.

After that making adversaries has 2 general ways to go:
Tailor to the Characters or try to figure what would be realistically used (This choice should be based on the play style the group opted for)

Then when you have some time use a point value as a guideline for developing NPC's or if you need to go quickly use something out of the book and tweak it.

The best helpful hint I ever got was save your generic NPC's on 3 x 5 cards in a box, so if you've stated out Mall Security Guard save it on an index card for quick reuse when you just need one later. For major NPC's they often get their own character sheets and get saved to a binder (or Flash Drive)

[Warlordtheft]

4) Spirits will be used carefully. A party unprepared for a spirit will have a really good time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Come to think of it, is there any way for a mundane character to hurt a spirit (aside from being patient, lucky and having lots of bullets)?

We'll there is stick and shock. Also, a good shot works best, wide bursts are better than narrow in some of these situations as the net damage increases from extra hits makes overcoming their immunity to bullets.

5) If the enemy is too weak for my taste, reinforcements will show up. If they are too strong, PCs should have the common sense to turn tail and run.

Pretty much, also don't be afraid to follow the maxim-dead runners tell no tales, live ones can be talkative, mind probed, or used on a suicide run.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

6) Specialists are good. Generalist are better.

If the group has only four players or less, this holds true. Once the number of PC's (at 5 or 6)gets higher than that, some of the PC's can specialize without detriment. BTW-I would strongly encourage your fist games to be 5 or less. Running more PC's than that is tricky and I find that after 20+ (GET OFF MY LAWN) years running this game that groups above 7 are un-managable and it is better to start two seperate games.

7) Strength isn't that important and Body isn't that big of a deal. However I think bulging muscles has its advantages in some social situations (and for those times where you want to break the jaw of the bastard).

Adding a modifier to an intimidation roll cause you have a troll cracking his knuckles is a perfectly good way to handle it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) Awards are up to me. Having an idea on how the player's will spend the money (besides ale&whores) should help.

My advice is base it on how often you play, just enough that characters can improve in the forseeable future but not so much that in 3 runs they can call in a thor shot.

9) This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game. This is a tactical game.

Yep. And there's subsets to that: Magical, Matrix, Drones/vehicles, and meat.

New set of questions:

- Surprise: Everyone involved makes an initiative roll. A character can react to the ones that got less hits than he. Suppose the party ambushes some mobsters. If the mobster gets more hits than the players, he will be the guy to yell SHIT and dive behind the car. The one who gets less hits will be the unfortunate fellow who gets filled with bullets. Did I get that right?

- Initiative Passes: Is the maximum number of IP 4? Also I think that specialist should have 3 IPs. Not that focused characters can have 2 IP. However, a character can fend for himself with only 1 IP and a combat skill with 7-8 dice pool. True or false?

Thanks again!

Yep, not only will he dive behind cover, he can shoot at the same time.

For meat, the max IP is 4, though 3 is more common and 2 pretty much standard runner fare. PC's with 1 IP are at an extreme disadvantage when the lead starts flying, but they can use edge or take combat drugs to get an extra IP.

[Stahlgewitter]

You're players must be nice. In the group I game with consistency and many times rolling in front of the players (for nonsecret effects) are demanded by players. We don't like cheating GMs; if the GM just makes up everything then my stats don't matter, if my stats don't matter why did I bother with them. The answer is of course to settle arguments about what happens; some people like to have a game not story time.

Well i didnt really cheat, its more like. They run into a group of guards and if youve got some experiance youll know what numbers they should have to feel op/underpowered/even.
So most of the time i did like,
oh they are fighting a ganger, good lets see he has an pump-gun, lets give him 4 skill, take 3 combatpool, well smart yes/no and shoot at them.

When you know what powerlvl youre players have and whats typical for an npc and what should be so that its balanced,
its way easier than planning hours ahead

Also my players are a little to creative so most runs end with a complete alternate ending ^^
ive tried a few times playing pre generated (buyed and selfmade) adventures, it was always a catastrophe.
but who cares, we have way more fun with our style of play (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)