I am gathering interest for a new PBP game. I have a few basic ideas for a game and also have a few requirements for the players.
First off I do want to say that GM'ing PBP isn't my best skill. I am not a verbose writer. In fact, I am not a writer at all. I can come up with some great stories but I am lacking when it comes to truely putting details on paper. That said, if you are willing to overlook that and try to tell a good story anyway then lets give it a go.
I am thinking I will limit the number of PC's to 5. This will not be the first 5 players to post their interest. I am wanting to pick from the characters submitted the ones that are the best fit for a team. Availability and posting regularity will play a big factor in my decision.
There have been a lot of games that have never really gotten started because of one or two players not keeping up in posting with the others. I am not saying that there has to be a post a day. But my personal threshold for this is one week. If it is over a week and there hasn't been any word from the player, then the PC will become an NPC or take a stray bullet. My choice. I try to be lenient but I don't want to see the game die that way.
This game will probably best be described as Cold Pro w/ Pink Highlights. I want to keep the "realism" in the game as much as possible. But I still want to have fun and skip over some of the monotonous details. If you add into your posts that you are taking steps to be discreet then I will probably handwave most of that to keep things moving.
I am thinking of going with Karma Gen for character creation with the following rules. Feel free to comment on any of them. All books are fair game.
1. 850 Karma
2. Race costs BP in Karma
3. Any race beyond the core races will have to be approved.
4. Attributes Cost X5 per Sr4A
5. Magic/TM PC's may Initiate/ Submerge twice, Mundanes got to spend up to 150 Karma on gear and Avail 16.
6. Knowledge skills are bought like in BP where characters start with a number of Knowledge skill points
equal to (Logic + Intuition) x 3.
7. The Karma cost of Contacts equals Connection + Loyalty
8. Matrix actions are Attribute + Skill with hits capped by program. Intuitive Hacking allows a player to default without the program limiting hits to 1.
9. Character Type (Mage, Adept, TM) do not count to the 70 Karma Qualities Limit. Nor does Martial Arts.
10. Only the last 100 Karma can be used to spend for improvements past the initial Character Gen Rules and must use the Advancement Table from Sr4A
10. Background Questionnaire is mandatory.
I am looking for professionals. I want a rounded build but you need to be good at what you do so don't over-generalize. Don't worry about starting location, you will be recieving a plane ticket to your first meeting. Be prepared to travel.
So what do you guys think? Is there any interest?
I plan on taking a couple of weeks at least to get characters approved and the game to start. I have to get caught up on the games I have joined.
Background Questionnaire[ Spoiler ]
1. What is your characters Sex?
2. What is your characters physical size?
3. What is the color of the characters Hair, eyes, and skin?
Hair:
Eyes:
Skin:
4. What is the character's general appearance (i.e., How does he dress, etc.)?
5. Where was the character born (City, State, Hospital Name)?
6. What is the characters date of birth?
7. What was the character's family life like?
8. Has the character begun his own family?
9. Where or how was the character educated?
10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?
11. What are the characters beliefs on church and state?
12. Describe the characters Moral code. Include how mercenary he is, whether or not he'll kill innocents, etc.
13. What are the character have any goals?
14. Why does the character run the shadows? (Why does he run the shadows still, rather than getting a "real" job?)
15. What kind of personality does your character have? This should not necessarily be obviously stated in the background, as it is more important for actually playing the character, but it may color or add mood to the history.
16. What special qualities does the character possess? This does not refer to skills, but rather at other things, such as How he gets along with people, does he plan ahead, etc.
17. Are their certain things the character can't or won't do? Why?
18. What things, people, or ideas does the character hate?
19. What things people, or ideas does the character love?
20. What is the character's name? Give both full birth name, as well as nicknames, street names, etc.
21. Determine what your character used to do, before becoming a shadowrunner (very important).
22. Decide why your character left his or her old job, if he had one. (also important).
23. Come up with a reason for why the character became a shadowrunner. (This very often will tie in with #22. This is not the same as #14, but rather why he started running the shadows originally. What led him to it?)
24. How did your character come to know his or her contacts? Contacts are an important part of Shadowrun, decide how and why you know them.
25. Does the character have a SIN? Does the character actually use it? Or is the character one of the SINless_masses? This may be affected by the characters previous employment.
26. Is the character a full-time shadowrunner? Or does the character lead a Batman-like double existence?
27. Which person(s) or group(s) do you love the most?
28. Which person(s) or group(s) do you hate the most?
29. Which person(s) or group(s) do you respect the most?
.
30. Which person(s) or group(s) do you fear the most?
31. What is your favorite color?
32. What is your favorite food and/or drink?
33. What place would you most like to visit?
34. Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?
35. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the most enjoyment? (WARNING: Answering Sex for this question can and will result in penalties to your character!)
36. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the least enjoyment?
37. What annoys you the most?
38. What (if any) is your favorite form of art?
39. What is your greatest goal?
40. What do you think is your characters best quality?
41. What do you think is your characters worst quality?
42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?
43. Which religion (if any) do you follow?
44. What is your most treasured possession (and why)?
45. What are your three most common dreams?
46. What is the Characters current relationship with his family?
47. If the characters family is still alive, what do they do, and where do they live?
48. Where did the character learn his Skills?
49. Does the character have a good luck charm? What is it, and why?
50. What type of music does the character like?
51. List any past serious relationships that your character has had, and give a brief overview of the relationship.
52. Where does your character live? Why does he live there?
53. Remember, I, as most Gamemasters, like detail, so if you can think of any other little details, quirks, or whatever that you think might please the almighty GM, then add them here.
Since you're going for a professional game, it might not matter as much if the team has some experience and some sweet gear. Speaking of which, you mentioned mundanes being able to spend 150 karma on gear, what's the ratio (or is that part of the karmagen system that I overlooked)?
