[X] My Assistant

[_Pax._]

I also spent a lot of years as part of a gaming "club", on the campus of the nearby university. What games were running and who was playing them changed from year to year, even from semester to semester. That probably colors my approach to such disclosures a lot, too; I'm still used to not necessarily knowing anyone else at the table from game to game.

(And boy, I miss those days. It was as easy to find a game there, as it was in highschool ...)

[All4BigGuns]

(And boy, I miss those days. It was as easy to find a game there, as it was in highschool ...)

Be nice to be able to find a few more gamers around here too. We've had lots of attrition the past couple years due to people having to move for work and such. We're down to four people (including whoever GMs) during most sessions these days.

[_Pax._]

That's one of the reasons I wish I could afford to go to a lot of conventions - once every two months, even. Should be able to find two different SRM modules each con, I could PLAY my way through whole seasons, each year.

Sadly, unless I win the lottery, that's just not going to happen. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[Wounded Ronin]

Funny how mature always seem to equate to sex,drugs and violence neh?
What about philosophical, religious or political themes?

Because they go whistling over everyone's heads. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

LOL, a lot of times players can't even solve a classic mystery.

I guess all this over the top horror stuff is just a lot more noticable.

[Lionhearted]

Horror can be done effectively without shocking the player's sensibility, psychological horror building on warped perception, uncertainty of trust, jumping at shadows and exploring insanity doesn't require any of that. Heck even a boogey man can be scary if done right.

[StealthSigma]

Horror can be done effectively without shocking the player's sensibility, psychological horror building on warped perception, uncertainty of trust, jumping at shadows and exploring insanity doesn't require any of that. Heck even a boogey man can be scary if done right.

That's terror, not horror. To briefly explain the difference. Terror is the fear that occurs before being confronted by what your fear. Horror is what happens once you've been exposed to it.

[Lionhearted]

Never heard of terror as a genre

[StealthSigma]

Never heard of terror as a genre

Terror as a genre usually goes by the term thriller.

[Lionhearted]

So H.P. Lovecraft wrote thriller then? That's news to me...
What I'm saying is that your definition is flawed.

[StealthSigma]

So H.P. Lovecraft wrote thriller then? That's news to me...
What I'm saying is that your definition is flawed.

The definition is correct. That is what terror and horror deal with. The genres just don't fall in line clearly with the sensations.

[Lionhearted]

Since I was refering to horror as a genre in my original point, what were you trying to say?
That horror can have elements of psychological thriller? Of course it can...
and terror is still not a genre of fiction

[All4BigGuns]

LOL, a lot of times players can't even solve a classic mystery.

Most times, it's probably less "can't" and more "doesn't bother" because mystery-style games are boring as all frigging hell.

[ZeroPoint]

Most times, it's probably less "can't" and more "doesn't bother" because mystery-style games are boring as all frigging hell.

From my experience, its a combination of both, having played with multiple GMs, and having GMd MANY games. When I started out or when i played with inexperienced GMs, I noticed that if the GM can't paint an accurate/deep world, players have a hard time wrapping their mind around all the details, and even if all the information is there to solve it, they can't see it. And then they stop trying so it becomes hack'n'slash. Take the same scenario, with a little more experienced GM, who is prepared, and can help give players a better idea of their surroundings and can make events flow well, and everything starts to feel more logical, and that mystery isn't so much of a mystery any more. Now its an interesting challenge.

This scenario is one of those cases. A new, inexperienced SR GM is running the game, giving strange details and events, details lacking in cohesiveness and seemingly arbitrary (shocking powers becouse his name is Voltwhatever? thats pretty dumb) , with some events designed to punish or push PLAYERS (instead of the characters), all to attempt to steer the characters along a specific story arc, and then seemingly letting them ignore that arc.

Done with an experienced GM, all the details needed to pursue this story to an end could have been introduced in a more fluid and logical manner, encouraging players to participate (instead of punishing them for not). And if the GM notified the players about the potential content ahead of time, then that shouldn't have been a problem either.

Determining what themes will be in a game is usually done by the group as a whole, but should still be declared at the start of the game by the GM.
For example, a GM wants to run standard "dark and edgy" SR. When getting players to decide to join the game, he notifies them of the themes of the world, and what may be experienced during the game. The player can then decide whether they want to join or not, without even saying "I have problems with that because such and such." They can just say, "No thanks, maybe next time. Let me know if you decide to run a BESM game." Sometimes a player wants to play a game with a specific atmosphere/setting...like the time one of my players came to me and said "Hey, lets play a Call of Cthulu game." I thought it was cool idea, but thought that I as a GM would not be able to portray the themes well enough since they can be a little discomforting, as did some of the other players. So as a group we decided to pass on that idea for the time. If I HAD decided to run it, before the start of play I would have made everyone playing aware of exactly the sorts of things they MAY encounter (in broad terms) so they could decide whether they were in or not.

[Wounded Ronin]

You know, on the general subject of horror, and since PTSD has come up a bunch of times in this thread, and seeing how lots of characters in Shadowrun are supposedly former military...

...is anyone aware of a good guide on the internet on how to role play or portray characters with PTSD??

[O'Ryan]

You know, on the general subject of horror, and since PTSD has come up a bunch of times in this thread, and seeing how lots of characters in Shadowrun are supposedly former military...

...is anyone aware of a good guide on the internet on how to role play or portray characters with PTSD??

I'm away from my books at the moment, but I believe WAR! has a section about PTSD... not as a negative quality, but just describing its effects and treatment efforts in the 2074 universe. If that doesn't work the "Flashbacks" quality out of Running Companion is probably a great place to start, probably combined with "Paranoia." Since it manifests so differently in people, at worst you can get away with random negative mental qualities. Combat Monster or Combat Paralysis (or randomizing between the two!) sound pretty plausible.

Fireworks can sound an awful lot like mortars, seeing certain makes of car might remind you of carbombs...
I think active runners have it a lot worse than most prior-service, because there's no respite. A typical run might involve explosions and/or getting shot at, seeing gruesome injuries... which means it'll never fully heal and will probably lead to worsening symptoms as time goes on.

[Grinder]

I'm away from my books at the moment, but I believe WAR! has a section about PTSD...

He was asking for a good guide. SCNR. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[hermit]

I'm away from my books at the moment, but I believe WAR! has a section about PTSD...

GOOD guide. He requested a GOOD guide. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Anyway, I think a evaluation sheet for psychiatrists would already be helpful.

[Grinder]

Wow. Great minds think alike. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

DSM IV Criteria for diagnostics: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/dsm-iv-tr-ptsd.asp

[Lionhearted]

Bear in mind that if you just look at symptoms you will be subject to every disease and mental disorder ever construed. Consistency, frequency, duration and impact to normal function are just some of the criterias being looked at when setting a diagnosis.
Basically, never try to diagnose yourself (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Glyph]

Would runners suffer post-traumatic stress disorder? Doesn't it typically happen when the soldier comes home, and has to adjust to a new norm when he is still wired for battle conditions? Shadowrunners pretty much stay in battlefield conditions. Not that that is particularly healthy, either.

[FuelDrop]

Would runners suffer post-traumatic stress disorder? Doesn't it typically happen when the soldier comes home, and has to adjust to a new norm when he is still wired for battle conditions? Shadowrunners pretty much stay in battlefield conditions. Not that that is particularly healthy, either.

Maybe runners suffer from TLD*?

*Traumatic Life Disorder.

[Faelan]

Nope it has nothing to do with reintegration into normal society. It is the accumulated aftermath of trauma.

[_Pax._]

Faelan's right. You can suffer PTSD without ever leaving the theater of operations.

[StealthSigma]

Would runners suffer post-traumatic stress disorder? Doesn't it typically happen when the soldier comes home, and has to adjust to a new norm when he is still wired for battle conditions? Shadowrunners pretty much stay in battlefield conditions. Not that that is particularly healthy, either.

PTSD is not limited to soldiers. They just provide a large sample group of patients that are easier to study than the general population. It was estimated, IIRC, that around 60% of people living in NYC suffered from PTSD for six months following 9/11 and 0.6% of NYC residents still suffer from PTSD from 9/11. It's basically an anxiety disorder where the stress of a high trauma/high stress situation doesn't return to normal levels after exposure to and removal from the incident.