[MrJBlackBook] New DM, help Options

[napster0088]

I picked up the new 3rd edition shadowrun rules awhile back because I wanted to get into rpging but there're is a thing or two I don't understand. Do other DMs play on a table and have buildings set up or do you have square paper or something else completely different. I'm not getting how I should show the enviroment to the players.

Thanks,
The noob DM

[Nikoli]

Different strokes my man.

Personally, if I had a really tight gaming group and the space to do so (not to mention the funding) I'd go figurine based and pick up the sci-fi modular mapping tiles that you see advertised in Dragon magazine. but that stuff takes cash and space to store, of which I have severe limits on both.

Check some online resources, look into getting a battlemat. there's a company out that has a huge, really sweet mat with 1 in squares on one side and 1 in hex ont he other (1 in square is the standard for figurines, I prefer hex as I learned figurine combat playing Battletech)

Honestly, a basic grid, some figurings and maybe a few odd ball pieces to illustrate cover and you should do okay. The trick is to give folks a rough tactical layout so they can plan the strategy, otherwise you have to describe the setting over and over as folks move their characters about in their head. this leads to inaccuracies and takes more time during the game.

Another good choice is a few or 3 sets of Tactiles, which takes the battlemat conpect a step further, while using less space. these are interlocking puzzle-like pieces that you can draw your map on (they have a grid to use as well) and you law down only what you need, as they move along, you pick up where they left and place it int he area they are moving to, drawign in the new stuff. great for not revealing too much of the map, but horrendous on you because of the paperwork.

If you have the money and inclination as well as a laptop, I suggest Visio, it's excellent for making SR maps for reference and if you dig far enough on the web, I'm sure there are stencils for forensics (bullet placement, corpses etc.) Barring that, Dunjinni has a good mapping program and I believe they also support sci-fi based games as well.

And, as this is a toy I want eventually and if you got the cash, a plotter makes an excellent printer to use as you won't have to cut and paste so much paper.

The laptop+mapping software of choice makes it hnady for you to have all your maps, with all the notes the players shouldn't see available to you, always a good thing, and on the plus side, you can keep some pr0n on there to alleviate the boring parts (decking)

[Syd]

I don't bother with tiles and terrain--don't want to haul it around, money, etc. I do keep some miniatures and a grid with some wet-erase markers. I'll draw out the area (or floorplan) of the combat, and we'll move miniatures around. I've numbered my miniatures so it's easier for me to track.

D&D needs the mat and some miniatures for combats. Because Shadowrun ranges are much greater, players are more mobile, and the areas of combat a little more dynamic (like a running car battle) I generally just draw stuff out on some paper and keep track of everybody's location with a pencil. Use some graph paper and note the scale for calculating distance. I'll break out the miniatures for close-in battles, or really important ones.

[BishopMcQ]

My personal tactic is to draw out as much of the layout of the building on a large mat as the team has access to, this philosophy does wonders for their legwork as they try to get all the info rather than running blind. Then I add the pertinent details as we go.

If you are able to buy several "bricks" or cubes of d6s in different colors, you can easily use those as markers setting each die to a specific number. This helps not only keep track of wounds and modifiers, but also let's you know who is a grunt versus something more...

@Nikoli--If you've got a compound that you're going to be using a lot or a map for constant reference Kinko's has BW plot prints pretty cheaply and can take anything from hardcopy to almost any type of digital file.

Re: Dunjinni--I have never used the program myself, but i've seen some of the maps that come out of it and it seems great. There are hundreds of icons available for the neophyte DM and the experienced one alike to help compile wide ranging maps. The program is also much more reasonably priced than say Campaign Cartographer or AutoCad and has a more intuitive interface I'm told.

[ChaosEsper]

In general, the way I do it is to draw out two maps on graph paper. One of them has all the stuff I need as a GM, guards, paranimals, wards, etc. and the other one is something like a basic blueprint that has doors, walls, and structural supports, etc. That one I put in the middle of the table and as the players figure stuff out via astral, visual, research survaillance i have them fill it in. This has mostly worked so far, though it works better with a small group. Right now I'm working with 6 people and we need to pass the map around a lot.

[Slacker]

[Crimson Jack]

I remember my very first run ever. I was pretty excited about running a session of this new game called Shadowrun. I was so excited that I built a 3-D section of cityscape, carefully detailing the buildings, gluing them together, and affixing them to a firm sheet of Bristol board. When the player (solo game) circumnavigated the area of city that I had devised, I about put my head through a window.

Keep it simple. ;)

[BookWyrm]

Sit in on a few already-running games & get a general idea of what's going on. INtroduce yourself to the group, tell them you're a new GM & you're trying to learn to be a good one. Be polite, but ask whatever questions come to mind. Write down what thoughts you might think are good ones. Have a couple of experienced players & GM's sit in on your game & give you pointers.

But always, bring snacks.

[pragma]

I also am a firm believer in pencil and paper sketches based on a rough preknowledge of the facility.

As for acually finding plotlines and setting atmosphere, have a rough plan and I find it tends to work itself out.

[Digital Heroin]

If I could ever find an actual tabletop group, I'd be an advocate of a nice simple whiteboard. You won't break the bank on it, and it only takes a few patient moments of drawing to set up things. Plus, you can evolve the map as your players perceive new information.

[Tandem]

a problem i've encountered with mapping is not storing the info, but making it 3D.
in opposite to some other RPGs, this one has a greater aspect of 3D tactics than usual (if you're actually doing outdoors action).
for example, entering a facility means usually coming from outside. in that case, the tactical movement can start when the runners get there, and then i wish to consider viewing arcs of both runners and guards, and to let the players know how it looks like exactly (as a player, the thing i hated most is doing something stupid because i misiterpreted what my character was actually seeing).
also, if not careful enough, the players might be interested in the firing arcs of security forces too.

while one the same floor, battle and stealth are relatively easy. when it comes to the sniper-in-window situation, it gets complecated by far.
i was trying to think about a new system to allow such 3D representation without actually building multiple mats, but i haven't tried it yet. it will use one erasable board with grid on it, and i'm going to use color to depict different stories, as much as needed.
the figures are made of sawed-down broomstick (just get one, and saw it to half inch discs. mark each ring somehow, and stick a small magnet on the other side. cheap and effective). they'll get some marking in the appropriate color so it will be known on which floor they are.

just to be clear, i'll have my own maps, and the players will have their own, not always accurate map, in advance. this is for WYSIWYG tactical movement.

what do you think about this?
how do you deal with it yourself?