I have a decent SR4A group that meets every other Saturday in NYC, we've been going through some lapses do to scheduling issues. Also I have to travel 2+ hours to make my game. I was hoping for a weekly game online, played on a weeknight.

If there's anyone running such, lemme know.

It just so happens that the game in which I was participating recently fizzled out, also due to scheduling issues, putting me on the lookout for another game to fill the shoes of the old. We used Skype's voice conferencing to play and trusted everyone to be honest about their dice rolls. We played weekly, usually every Monday evening, and the whole thing worked pretty well, when enough people showed up. We had a rotating GM slot so that no one person got stuck being the GM for eternity. If there are more people interested in this sort of thing, I could rustle up two of the guys from my old group and run a fresh campaign via Skype. Is there any one else out there looking for an online game?

How did that rotating GM thing work? Did you have separate characters or same characters?

Every player had a their own character. The character of whoever was GMing would sit out for that adventure -- they were presumed to be on vacation or visiting their kids or doing something else that prevented them from interacting with the active characters -- and at the end of each adventure, the character that sat out would be awarded half the karma the rest of the characters received. It was never totally equal: not everyone in our group wanted to GM, and some GMs were better prepared than others and wound up stepping into the role more often. But all in all it worked pretty well. It gave those of us who rarely got to play a PC a chance to be in the trenches every once in a while and the group got to have a different play style each time a new adventure started. Each new shadowrun had a new GM who would in turn write a short log of what happened during the sessions they ran, complete with NPCs, on an ever-growing Google document for everyone to read. That way subsequent GMs could review what had happened in the past and use unresolved plot threads or NPCs in their own adventures if they wanted. Any plot points that had not been totally hashed out by the group during a session were fair game for other GMs to twist for their own nefarious ends. We kept a strong continuity going while at the same time surprising the group when Joe Shmoe NPC who couldn't tie his shoelaces in one GM's adventure turned out to be a serial killer in another's. It was cool and I can't think of another game system where a rotating GM system would be as easy to implement. I'm a bit bummed that the campaign's come to an end, but I'm hoping another one can rise from its ashes!

So then each session had to be a 1 shot as arcs that depended on certain characters would be problematic. If 1 session had John GMing, & Rob the Hacker was doing something major... the next session, Rob the Hacker would have to disappear & not complete the major plot point as he had to GM.

Not my cup of tea. My current game has this issue where some players have alternative plans & wound up missing. As a result, we cannot do long term story arcs.

If you are 2+ hours from NYC are you anywhere near NE PA? I am running a Monday night physical game in Dickson City, PA and am looking for more players. I know you are asking for online, but this may still be an alternative.

That isn't precisely correct. Each GM would run their adventure -- Johnson hires team to do X -- while at the same time they would add onto the large story arcs. Each adventure typically took several sessions, retaining the same GM until that adventure was complete (I think our longest run took 3 months of real-time to finish with the same GM running the entire thing). Once that run was over, a new GM would step in, have another Johnson hire the team to do something else, and continue the large story arcs that couldn't be contained in one adventure. Having different GMs for each session would make things a bit disjointed so we didn't break it down that far, just a different GM for each run.
As for Rob the Hacker missing out on major plot points, that happened to a limited degree. Rob the Hacker would be around for a full run wrapping up everything he was doing for that particular mission against Renraku or whatever, then Rob's player would step in as GM with a new Johnson hiring the team for a new mission. Rob would miss out on that particular mission his player was GMing, which might include elements of the large story arcs the characters had, but typically he just missed plot points relevant to that particular run. The large arcs were usually too big to be much impacted by a different character being "on vacation" during each run. Our largest story arc involved a PC who was given the task of starting a Christian mission in Kowloon. That took maybe 18 months of real-time to play out with 4 different GMs. When each character returned from their hiatus, the others would fill the character in on anything important they might have missed and the story continued. It was smooth and frequently surprising each time a new GM stepped in and added an additional unexpected layer to the story.
But still, if that isn't your thing then there's no reason you have to take part in a game like that. Also, while I liked that particular way of running the game, it does require people who know the system well and can run adventures. If I were to find a group where I was the only person capable enough to run the game, then it wouldn't make much sense to have a rotating GM structure. I would definitely prefer to not be forced to GM all of the time but if my only chance to play meant I had to be the constant GM, then I'd still take it. I'd rather roleplay than not, even if I need to be the GM the whole time.

Sorry, I live in NYC. It just takes me 2+ hours to travel from 1 part of the city to another. Public transportation. I don't drive. Weekend subway/train/bus service sucks. I'm nowhere near PA. Thanks for the offer.

FYI... still looking for an on-line (non-PbP) game in case anyone is doing one.

I would be willing to co-run something with someone. I'm fine for coming up with stuff, helping build a framework to a campaign, flesh bits out, and build locations or NPC's (I actually write NPC's and PC's for fun, figuring out their quirks and history, why they are here instead of there can be really interesting) but I'd want to work with someone that can run at least 40% of the sessions so I get to play, this bow-man adept sitting on my desk is fragging frustrating.

I would definitely love to join in an online game. The good news is my availability is UNLIMITED almost. You would never have to worry about me being absent-scheduling is not an issue for me at all. I have created a few characters who are ready to run, pending approval. The bad news is that I have NO experience with games that aren't face to face, and the last face to face game I played was several years ago. I have, however, have spent the last few weeks reading up on the rules (and several source books) and I'm sure I would do fine, maybe a session or two before I got in the groove. I would be willing to gm as well after the first couple sessions. I am familiar with most of the third edition era world (Events, locations, politics, ect.) and could probably come up with some great stuff. I am only now discovering the 4e world though, but I have read the rules and they seem much more simple than the previous set, I know I can handle a game and it would run smooth. I am SOOOO eager to play a SR game. I am willing to do anything to make that happen if someone will play with me. ( I would need some information on how we would set it up though (phone conference, chat, ect.)

Let me know chummers!

Sixgun_Sage and Jones923, I too am still interested in trying to start up another online game and if you're up for it, I can start working on rousing the remaining parts of my old crew for a fresh campaign. The biggest issue at the moment is that I'm leaving for an extended business trip next week where internet access is currently in a state of flux: I'll have a better handle on the internet situation once I'm on site. If you don't mind waiting two weeks for me to figure out what the heck is going on with the online connectivity, then I hope we can start a new game. Send me a private message with your email address and we can start talking specifics with the whole group.
Jones923, the Skype method my old group was using for online games worked really well for us. Download Skype from their website, install it, then let everyone in the group know what your Skype name is so we can add each other to our respective contact lists. Have a headset with microphone handy and at gametime, everyone signs in and one person starts a conference call with everyone in the game. It doesn't cost anything and is easy to set up. I sometimes think that the initial Skype development team should be sainted for their work, such is my love for it.

Sounds good, I'll go download skype. I am brand new to this site, I dont know how to send a personal message, just email me ipwoody923@yahoo.com and give me the specifics. If it takes a couple weeks, fine. We can work on getting some material together anyway.

Hey you guys still looking for runners? I would love to join in on you guys, but i do have a pretty lame schedule so i would have to know when you guys would be playing.

Gah where were you guys a few months or more ago! There was an online game set inSeattle that was up for a long time. We used MUSH -similar to irc- as our way of connecting online.

Send me a message with your email address, scapegoat, and we can talk about scheduling. Nothing's been set yet so it's hard to say how wacky it'll be to find a good time for everyone to play.



I think I saw that campaign mentioned somewhere here in the forums a while ago, but since the group I was in was still operating at the time and I'm not a fan of instant message-type or play-by-post games, I didn't look much more into it. But hey, if that game's done, that means there're more people out there to join a new game, right?

We got at least two people ready to do a game, c'mon I know there are a few more who would like to play.

If you're still setting something up, please let me know. My current group is on hiatus so my availability for a game is very much open.

Hey. I just spotted your post. Due to player attrition/Christmas happening and not having a game for about a month, I have some openings in my game.

I'm running the game online via Skype, and it takes place in Manhattan (which was detailed in a Missions expansion). We play every second Tuesday in the evening. Our next game is on Tuesday.

Send me a PM if you are interested, and I can bring you on board.

It wasn't an instant message or play by post type of game. It was a game that basically had the potential to be an MMORPG in text based form. Instead of sitting around a table or sitting on Skype, you're typing... Sorta like mIRC, if you had any experience with that.

Sorry for the slight highjacking. Whenever I DO end up with availability, I intend to hit you guys up.

I don't (or didn't) use Skype as I felt it wasn't needed for gaming as there are a ton of other app's & web-based ways to game online with other people. However, seeing as for some reason people have this need for Skype, I signed up & now have it. So... if you are planning on running an online SR game that is...

1. NOT a "Play-by-Post" format
2. Plays/meets after 5pm EST Mon-Fri or after 12pm Sat-Sun
3. Plays weekly or bi-weekly

... please let me know via PM. Thank you.