Alright, I'm currently in the midst of designing some one-shots to run at SIMCON in a month and a half and I need some advice on a design issue: should I start the modules at the "beginning", i.e. the fixer's call and the meet with the Johnson, which eat up time, or should I start in the middle (in media res), when they're already on the mission, allowing for maximum usage of the limited time slot given by the con?

To pull an example out of current threads on the board, like, say, the the underground auction thread, do I really have to go through all of procedure of gathering the team, getting to the meet and negotiating with the Johnson (which took a quarter of the time last time I ran a one-shot). Or, can I just had out a "mission briefing" saying what the mission is, what the terms are and how much they're getting paid, and have them sitting in the audience at the auction, protecting the Johnson as he bids on a rare artifact and then being sent after the artifact when another team of runners hijacks it?

Please note that I'm asking this in reference to time constrained one shots, not for regular play. In a regular game I would always give the PCs the option of walking away from the negotiation table, but in a one shot, especially at a con, it's different. Different due to the implicit approval of the players having signed up for it. If they weren't interested in playing that module, then they wouldn't have signed up for it.

why not just start off at the meeting?

the main reason i wouldn't skip the meeting is because part of what the face should be doing is trying to get more info/cash/resources/etc out of the Mr. Johnson, and removing that particular scene removes an opportunity for the face to shine.

Good point. I think it's indicative of my exhaustion that I hadn't thought of that...

In the middle is always fun "You're all bodyguards of some type for Mr Heinrich Johnson and he's at an illegal auction. The location is secure so he's given you leave to wander around the auction in case anything catches your eye. The 3000 you were given is burning a hole in your pocket as you eye the various things for sale. Just be sure and be ready, after he aquires the item he wants he'll need you to escort him back to his private jet." The face still has plenty of interesting things to do as he wanders the various stalls and vendors, etc. And it gives people a chance to do something IC and it skips that "Will we or won't we accept the mission" angle when you know darn well that you will.

Another option is to start out as runners in the middle of a run gone bad, then the adventure is trying to get revenge.

Or "As you speed down the highway with the Johnson in the backseat gunfire erupts, peircing the side of your Nightsky Limo." <insert two rounds of combat>> "you reflect back on how things could have gone so badly." <<rewind to auction scene or the meet and hire scene>> That gives you a chance to start the game of with something everyone will start paying attention to right away.

Although I've never tried it, I always thought a fun way to start off a run would be in the middle of an absolute shitstorm. Describe the corporate complexes' Matrix grid on high alert, CORPSEC teams raining down nine-mil like the armory needed some free space, and drones of all shapes and sizes rolling, flying, and walking in, spraying bullets. This would clearly be a railroaded segment, not at all unlike a scripted sequence in a shooter, or something. Then you hit them with:

Three weeks earlier..

..And from there, switch between the current botched job, and what lead up to it. It's ultimately what you make of it, but as a player, I'd really enjoy it.

[Lord Ben beat me to it, but I think that just goes to show you how awesome a Tarentino-ed run would be.]

I think the best way to shorten the amount of RL time needed for runs is to shorten the time between the meet with the Fixer/Mr. Johnson and the run itself.

Smart players will spend as much time as you give them doing surveillance, Matrix legwork, and hunting down specialized gear.

So, if you are pressed for RL time, try making the run very time-sensitive.

If specialized gear is needed, have the Fixer/Mr. Johnson bring it to the meet in a van or something and give it to the runners instead of an upfront payment.

If I really wanted In Media Res run, I would do something like having the player characters dosed with Laes and have action beginning when it wore off.

SWEET! I'm from good ole Rocha'cha mi'self!!! (I'm actually a grad student at UR too...ah Wilson Commons, haven't been there in months!)

Hopefully I can make it to SimCon this year though, leaving my wife with our kids for a weekend is usually a very bad idea...

Also, I'm always partial to Food Fight, but it sounds like you're looking for a more in depth introduction...

I did that once - it was rather fun. They did not start right in the action though, but woke up in a Lone Star medical center. "So... this is not a dream or metaquest. Why are we Lone Star officers? We are on a run? Who hired us? And what do we have to do?"

*sigh* Have you seen what they've done to WC, with the new Starbucks and everything?

And why not bring the wife and kiddies along? Or are they not gamers?

All good points that I will take into account. Thanks.


I actually have something like that planned, so... *shrug*

Nope....I had only just stopped in and out and haven't spent much time there....you make me not want to now either.... my home away from home is the Laser Lab on East River Rd., so I don't see much of River Campus these days (I was there a lot during my undergrad years though..)



Well, she's not a gamer (at least not a rpg gamer, I got her hooked on boardgames though...one step at a time....), and our 3 kids are all 5 years old and younger, one of which has special needs, so...bringing them wouldn't be the....best option, if you know what I mean...



Another In Media Res thing.....you could always have a mage have altered their memories, maybe even set them up on a suicide type run with the patchy memories and planted evidence they have....could be fun for them to figure out things as contacts and want-not give inconsistent messages and all....then they get to get back at the mage...he could be a corp hireling having them hit another corp OR causing internal corp strife.... he could be a toxic shaman just wanting mayhem caused in retribution to a certain corp (after they were sent to kill him anyway, maybe....)..... the mage could be in a rival running team and set them up as their distraction, after a fudged attempt by both groups to hit the same place...... just a few more ideas....

They moved the Hive down to the Pit, into that cafe area, and now Starbucks has taken over the third floor (technically, it's the largest Starbucks in the country, because that lounge area outside of the Hive is now considered to be part of the Starbucks.)

But the Laser Lab is cool; I suppose that you know the Gold Aluminum guys?


We will be having several board games people coming in, if she's in the mood to try something a little more exotic than the standard fare.


Ouch. Yeah, I know what you mean. Of course, if I were evil (and I'm not!) I would say bring them anyway; last year, Greg (our-then Club Prez) commented to me and his girlfriend that, if he wanted to get into a convention for "free" sometime, he would run a Bunnies & Burrows module, and, when no one showed up to play, hey, not his fault. So when he walked away to go handle something that our Con Chair was yelling about, I turned to his girlfriend and commented that if he were to try that, we would be morally obligated to sign up every small child attending the con and give them energy drinks directly before the game.


*steals idea*
*files off serial numbers*
*places in "Maybe" file*