Dumpshock Forums > Falling Down

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 08:52 AM

The Familiar Story:
I have a game I want to run. It's an idea I've been playing with for a while and really wanted to run with my group, but we're already playing 2 games and haven't got enough time for them so adding a third seems like a no-go at this point.

The Idea:
I want to run a game that is very player driven. As a GM I intend to give a PC a problem, and have them deal with it however they want. It'll be reactionary. I also want to run a game that is based around normal people. The wage-slaves, the everyday person. Characters will be low powered and probably possess very little in the way of typical shadowrunning skill. Finally, the players won't necessarily be together in a group, and may not even know each other or have their stories cross. This, in short, is going to be an individual story about the character and his fall, a series of events that lead to the player losing some, most, or all of their live before. I always like to play simple characters that are underskilled because it's exciting, and it makes it more satisfying when you eventually 'make it'. The final point I suppose is that obviousl some pcs will have skills that cross over into the shadows, but these should be few and far between. If you character is a magic 6 wagemage then there's really no challenge or point to it. It's probably going to be 300BPs, but this is just to gauge whether there's any interest at all first.

The Disclaimer:
I thought it was worth putting this on here. I'm not an experienced GM, and have never run a PBP game before. Also, I've noticed that a lot of games on here start up with good intentions but soon fade and die out. If there is interest in this game, I will do my very best to keep it going. I aren't in a position where I can definitely post every day but I will post when I am able. As a final point to the disclaimer, and a big one, I aren't sure if this is going to work. It's an idea I thought would be cool but it's not something I've tried before and it could end up being boring / lame / generally bad. If it does and people aren't enjoying it then tell me and I'll just close it down.
As a final part to this disclaimer, I'll confess that I haven't got any big story planned that I'm going to drag the characters into. I have a few small ideas. Most of the story will be drawn from the character's lives after they've been submitted. The more perfect the character's life, the more there is to destroy.

That's about it for now. I can't accept too many players, but I don't see it being a game that'll appeal to everyone anyway so we'll see how it goes

Characters

Kyra Benson, Dancer

[ Spoiler ]

Dumlat McAndrews, Corporate Technician

[ Spoiler ]

Aria

Jan 16 2012, 09:11 AM

I'm Very interested! ...I've always wanted to try a normal person in the SR universe. May I suggest that if you go for 300BPs you still allow attributes to be the normal 200BP cap?

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 10:11 AM

If that's what people want. I think PCs should have average stats for their metatype, and 300BPs doesn't even allow you to put 2 points into each stat, so I have no problem with that. Maybe if I allow the full 200 into stats I should include special attributes in that too.

Aria

Jan 16 2012, 12:54 PM

That would help to limit magic and edge certainly, which otherwise might break a low power game...

Where you thinking of setting the game in Seattle?

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 01:54 PM

Yes, to start with, though if you wanted a character to be somewhere else I have no problem with that. As long as they're a normal-ish person in a normal scenario then that's fine.

BlackHat

Jan 16 2012, 02:09 PM

Always interested.

I've also found that I end up with a lot of character ideas that would make interesting "people" in the SR universe but not necessarily very good shadowrunners (particularly when it makes more sense that they would spend their days doing something besides shadowrunning). It would be neat to get a chance to put one of those ideas to the test, doing day-to-day things, which get spiced up by the GM.

I haven't had a lot of luck with games where the characters are operating one-on-one with the GM, but I could see where it could be a advantage in some cases, and a disadvantage in others. Basically, if the GM is active and can respond a lot, a game like that could move at whatever pace those two people are comfortable with (as opposed to needing to make sure all 5+ players have time to post). On the flip side, in a typical PBP game, I've found scenes where the players are interacting amongst themselves require less GM attention, and help fill posting gaps where he or she is busy or not ready to push the story forward yet.

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 02:39 PM

Fair enough, that's a good point. We'll have to see how it goes. I should be able to post most weekdays at least. Maybe if things start going slowly then longer posts covering longer periods of time (if the story allows) will help. Sort of like 'this is what I want to achieve today'. Maybe it'll work out that the characters do know each other, work for same corp etc. It depends what people come up with. I'm looking for descriptions and lifestyles before stat lines.

sabs

Jan 16 2012, 03:06 PM

Something to mention, having tried to make 'regular' people. Most of the 'regular' people skills, just don't exist. The skill system that's in Shadowrun is really 'shadow' slanted. It's hard to make an accountant, for example. You end up taking vast hordes of knowledge skills, because besides Computer 2, etiquette 1 with a specialty, there just aren't that many actual skills you would legitimately have.

BlackHat

Jan 16 2012, 03:31 PM

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 16 2012, 09:39 AM)

Fair enough, that's a good point. We'll have to see how it goes. I should be able to post most weekdays at least. Maybe if things start going slowly then longer posts covering longer periods of time (if the story allows) will help. Sort of like 'this is what I want to achieve today'.

Yep, depending on the style you're going for, and the player's comfort level, they might post longer periods (assuming success on most minor tasks) and fill in the details themselves. Sometimes the tendency is to stop and give the GM an opportunity to react (since the player has no idea what, if anything, the GM has planned) every couple of steps, or after every spoken comment, which results in much slower back and forth posts, but if it becomes an issue, I'm sure the players will get into sync with your pace pretty easily. I only mentioned it as something to keep an eye out for. If you're able to post every couple of days, I doubt it will become a problem.

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 16 2012, 09:39 AM)

I'm looking for descriptions and lifestyles before stat lines.

Are you looking for these now? Or just checking interest in this thread before asking for that sort of stuff somewhere else?

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 03:46 PM

I don't mind really. I'm happy to run it with just 1 or 2 people so there's already enough interest to give it a go. I suppose if you get something up early then it'll give me longer to plan how I'm going to mess with you

Post things here if you're ready. I probably won't bother with a separate thread unless it becomes really messy.

@sabs: I know what you're saying and it's a fair point but I don't see it as too much of a problem. The way I look at it the further removed from the shadows your normal life and the fewer transferable skills you have, the more fun you'll have trying to overcome those challenges. I'd love to see a character with computer 2, etiquette 1 and a load of knowledge skills as that will make challenging the character that much easier.

BlackHat

Jan 16 2012, 03:48 PM

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 16 2012, 03:52 AM)

This, in short, is going to be an individual story about the character and his fall, a series of events that lead to the player losing some, most, or all of their live before.

One more question, are the details of the character's "fall" something you'd want us to give input on (or come up with as part of the character description) or is it something you're planning to surprise us with based on what we come up with? Either way sounds fun.

sabs

Jan 16 2012, 04:02 PM

Oh, I'm not saying it's not fun. I'm saying that it's hard to SPEND 300bp on a wage-slave, without buying increasingly weird and esoteric knowledge skills

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 04:19 PM

I was going to do that bit. That will hopefully be a big part of what I intend to do in the game. For the character descriptions I'm just looking for regular people with normal jobs so that I can torture them in some way. I'm thinking that everyone will have the SINner and Day Job qualities by default so avoid those.

mister__joshua

Jan 16 2012, 04:21 PM

QUOTE (sabs @ Jan 16 2012, 04:02 PM)

Oh, I'm not saying it's not fun. I'm saying that it's hard to SPEND 300bp on a wage-slave, without buying increasingly weird and esoteric knowledge skills

Haha. I know what you mean. Well, if you're building a character based on normal life I guess you could fill out his points with lots of high loyalty low connection 'friends'. It's always good to have actual friends when the poo hits the fan.

Tanegar

Jan 16 2012, 07:19 PM

QUOTE (sabs @ Jan 16 2012, 11:02 AM)

Oh, I'm not saying it's not fun. I'm saying that it's hard to SPEND 300bp on a wage-slave, without buying increasingly weird and esoteric knowledge skills

I'm not sure that's true. Looking through the skill list on page 120 of SR4A, I see over thirty different Active skills that just about anyone could plausibly have:
Gymnastics (it's the skill used for dance)
Automatics (lots of gun enthusiasts out there)
Longarms
Pistols
Unarmed Combat (plenty of people study a martial art in their spare time)
Diving
Parachuting
Pilot Aircraft (anyone with a civil pilot's license)
Pilot Groundcraft
Climbing
Running
Swimming
Con
Etiquette
Instruction
Intimidation
Leadership
Negotiation
Artisan (multiple skills possible there: Drawing, Painting, Sculpting, Cooking, Musicianship...)
Navigation
Perception
Tracking (hunters and the like)
Aeronautics Mechanic
Automotive Mechanic
Chemistry
Computer
Data Search
First Aid
Industrial Mechanic
Hardware
Nautical Mechanic
Software

...and that's without even getting into Magical or Resonance skills. Moreover, there's no reason to feel constrained by the "official" skill list. If there's something you think your character should be able to do, talk to the GM about adding a custom skill.

Aria

Jan 16 2012, 07:43 PM

I'm tempted by a hacker adept or by a nascent TM (I still don't fully understand the rules but I'm becoming more and more interested in the matrix stuff

) ...it strikes me that the biggest barrier between normal people and the shadows is the need for violence (or maybe that's just a personal thing?!?) and matrix violence isn't real...is it?

I'm not saying the pacifist quality is absolutely neccessary but something to consider!

Another option might be a budding dancer with a future on the stage (again probably an adept...love adepts!).

I think the idea of limiting magic is a good one and makes me feel less cheesy wanting to play an adept (sometimes need to be restrained for my own good)

Tanegar

Jan 16 2012, 08:13 PM

I'm not so sure that limiting BP will get you what you want: viable low-powered character. I think it's more likely to get you either brutally min-maxed or outright crippled characters. Consider this instead:

400BP
Attributes limited to racial average; i.e., an ork's starting Body can be no higher than 7
Skills limited to one at 5, the rest at 3; or two at 4, the rest at 3
Dice pools capped at (Attribute + Skill) x 2

I think this is more likely to produce characters who are well-rounded and generally capable without being powerhouses.

sabs

Jan 16 2012, 08:27 PM

5 is supposed to be "one of the best in the world. Olympic Athletes, etc"
I think 1 at 4, rest at 2, or 2 at 3, rest at 2 is much more appropriate for wage slaves.
Also, consider the Karma buy system. It rewards buying lots of low levels of skills.

BlackHat

Jan 16 2012, 08:50 PM

I like both ideas of putting a few caps (or even suggested caps), otherwise I agree that you'll probably see a lot of characters trying to be as good as they can be given whatever constraints you impose - which isn't really in the spirit of the game. Of course, you could also just tell those players "No thanks" since you'll probably find you're going to have more players willing to join than you're prepared to handle.

As for what those limits should be, I'm less sure. 5 seems high (like someone said, its someone at almost the top of their field), but I could see a lot of concepts where that would be just fine for a normal person. If someone wanted to play a corporate cybertechnician, it might be just fine that they have a 5 or even a 6 in cybersurgery. A professor with a 5 in "Instruction" is going to be similarly not game breaking, and models a character concept well that isn't suited to the shadows. See how often either of those characters get to use their skills from their previous life. A character with 5 or 6 in spellcasting, though, is probably quite a bit more capable in the shadows, and so there should probably be a lower limit for that sort of thing. Same goes for hacking, combat skills, etc. It would be hard to decide where to draw the line, though. The best thing might be to just ask people to reign themselves in, and if someone doesn't, to reserve the right to ask them to get weaker.

Edit: And yeah, either of those concepts with 5-6 in the skill would be remarkable individuals, which would make it even more interesting when they fall from grace. In the case of the corporate cybertechnician, maybe he gets his career ruined when some shadowrunners sabotage his prototype implants, or he gets extracted by some rival corp. A world-class cybertechnician would make a much more realistic target than some guy who's a little better than the black-clinic street-doc on the corner.

Of course, if the GM's intention is that the PCs are playing ordinary (as in, unremarkable) people beforehand, it would make sense to put a hard limit and just say "no world heavyweight boxers, and no world-famous musicians, but you're welcome to be a bouncer at a club or a drummer in a band who is still trying to get noticed."

Tanegar

Jan 16 2012, 08:53 PM

Rating 2 is described as "Novice," an apprentice or trainee. Rating 3 is an "entry-level professional" or an associate's degree, 4 is a "mid-career professional" or a bachelor's, and 5 is an "expert" with a Master's degree. Depending on where your character is in his career, 5 can be entirely appropriate.

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 09:31 AM

@Aria: To be honest I hate to be limiting in character creation but I was hoping to avoid Awakened characters completely as that for me straight away makes you NOT normal, it gives you an edge that directly translates to being a shadowrunner. You said you'd like to make a hacker but Hacker isn't really a normal person job. If you wanted to play a matrix user (and like you I'm not too hot on the rules. I bet you understand them better than me even thought I've read unwired twice!) then I'd suggest something like IT Tech support, software developer, matrix game designer, something along those lines. You may eventually end up as a hacker as that's the shadow role you're most suited to, but it's not who you are. Make sense? Alternatively the dancer character sounds interesting.

@Everyone: The limiting stats and skills thing is a good idea but I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary. I think BlackHat pretty much nailed it with 'ask players to be self limiting, and reserve the right to reject'. The ideas you mentioned for professor or cyber technician are both just the sort of thing I was thinking of. Everyone suggesting limits seems to already have a pretty good idea of where the limits should be so I have no problem asking people to self-impose their own. It's not about squeezing all the power you can it, and to me if your concept makes for an absolutely crippled character in the regular sense, then in this game it'll just be all that more entertaining.

On Karmagen, I love the idea and agree that it would suit this game more than most, but I also have no experience with it and don't know where to set the limits for it. If anyone that uses it a lot can suggest an amount then I'd be happy to work with it (though initiated mages will face immediate orbital bombardment)

Aria

Jan 17 2012, 12:50 PM

Ok, I will skip the ‘hacker’ part from any description… for the dancer I was thinking of someone who was a rising star rather than already famous – someone 18-19 who was on the verge of becoming a principal dancer out of school (and is beginning to feel the pressure! Black Swan esque perhaps? I don’t know, after all it sounds like you want to take responsibility for our fall from grace

). If you’re not keen on awakening at the start can I go for ‘latent adept’? – I’m sure I can work in a reason why she wasn’t picked up as active in the regular corp tests! I know you want 'ordinary' but everyone has at least one thing they're good at - or hopefully anyway

Another option I’ve considered is more Cyber Generation, (which is a game I’ve always enjoyed even though it’s a bit Mohawk for what I think you have in mind…) and that is a pair of twins 12-14 who are latent TMs. With identical stats I'd be happy to play both of them (until you kill one of them off horribly or something equally sinister

) ...before any emergence they could be as ordinary as you wanted!

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 01:24 PM

Yeah, the downfall of the characters is kind of the main story. I'm starting to think I perhaps didn't make it very clear in the beginning so I'll have another go.

What I was hoping for was for the characters to be normal people, and the mission will be me throwing extraordinary problems at them to see how they react and cope. It's sort of like chronicling how someone ends up in the shadows, though if you play it clever I suppose you could get back on top and avoid the shadows completely. To take BlackHat's example. Say you're a cybertechnician and a group of shadowrunners steal your latest prototype causing you to lose your job. You immediately have several things you may want to do. You could try and track down the shadowrunners (probably not advised), try and hire a runner of your own, find out who they were working for etc. After that, do you want to get the prototype back? Do you want to just get revenge? Do you take the information to your ex-corp? You could even offer your services to the people who stole it. After all, you know how it works! All the while you've lost your source of income, so you'll need money to live, or go bin-dipping. The point is that all of these decisions are up to the player. It isn't a get run, plan run, go format. Does that clarify it for anyone?

I will at this point state again that I can't guarantee that this is going to work or be any good. It was just an idea I had and thought it would be fun. I'm new at this so don't set your expectations too high, but I can hopefully offer some entertaining challenges to overcome and a reasonably frequent post rate

Unrelated, but I do like Cybergen. As a 10+ year Cyberpunk player it's what I know. My group, driven by me, only switched to shadowrun at 4th edition after the monumental disappointment of waiting 10 years for a new book and then it being complete ass. But, while a cool idea that is perhaps not as suited to the game as the other 2 concepts.

BlackHat

Jan 17 2012, 01:28 PM

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 17 2012, 04:31 AM)

On Karmagen, I love the idea and agree that it would suit this game more than most, but I also have no experience with it and don't know where to set the limits for it. If anyone that uses it a lot can suggest an amount then I'd be happy to work with it (though initiated mages will face immediate orbital bombardment)

I'm not sure what a good "ordinary" karma level would be, but I will suggest that if you go with karmagen you look into the errata'd version that was slipped into the reprinting of runner's companion, but never made it into any official errata. If you're interested, I can dig up the link around here (one of the writters posted the differences), but it fixes a few karma costs that have been updated since RC first came out.

I'll try to get my idea posted up tonight. I've got a few ideas that will be cool (but potentially quite useless) and its just a matter of narrowing down which one I think would be the most fun to play.

BlackHat

Jan 17 2012, 01:36 PM

QUOTE (BlackHat @ Jan 17 2012, 08:28 AM)

I'm not sure what a good "ordinary" karma level would be, but I will suggest that if you go with karmagen you look into the errata'd version that was slipped into the reprinting of runner's companion, but never made it into any official errata. If you're interested, I can dig up the link around here (one of the writters posted the differences), but it fixes a few karma costs that have been updated since RC first came out.

Here you go

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 02:20 PM

Did you just quote yourself? How very 3rd person of you. One is impressed.

Heh. Cheers. I'll have a look through it when I get chance.

BlackHat

Jan 17 2012, 04:30 PM

QUOTE (BlackHat @ Jan 17 2012, 08:36 AM)

Why yes I did

Quote-ception!

Tanegar

Jan 17 2012, 05:01 PM

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 17 2012, 04:31 AM)

You said you'd like to make a hacker but Hacker isn't really a normal person job.

Again, I tend to disagree. There are computer security specialists whose job is, in fact, to test a system's security by attempting to hack it the same way a real attacker would. Even if that isn't your specific job, just about anyone employed in an IT security role will have at least some hacking ability, if only to understand the kinds of threats they need to defend against. I can also see people like journalists needing to do some hacking from time to time, in order to dig up the real story behind the bland corporate press releases. Maybe the character is Anonymous, or whatever the Sixth World equivalent is, and hacks corporate systems for the lulz. Maybe he's an old, old, old-school hacker and hacks for the sheer joy of exploration and learning.

"Hacker" doesn't necessarily mean "cybercriminal."

sabs

Jan 17 2012, 05:08 PM

But he doesn't want those people. He also doesn't want security guards, and cops.

He wants average everyday people.
Dancers, Secretaries, Accountants, HighSchool Teachers.
I mean, I can come up with a Corporate Wage Mage, with a magic of 3 or 4, and all sorts of spells. But that's not what he wants.

Tanegar

Jan 17 2012, 05:23 PM

Who says an average, everyday person can't have a hobby? Moreover, the problem with that is that someone with no skills whatsoever outside the ordinary workaday job will not survive the "fall." Drop John Q. Wageslave in the middle of the Redmond Barrens, and odds are he'll be dead by dark. It's not just a question of skill, either, but of mindset: if you're the kind of person who has never even thought about life outside the corp, you're probably not the kind of person who will adjust well (or at all) to life in the shadows.

Do you want to play someone who falls from grace, and finds new purpose as a runner; or do you want to play someone who falls from grace, and is killed by the first ganger who comes along and sees an easy mark?

BlackHat

Jan 17 2012, 05:25 PM

Also, he didn't say "no ranks in the hacking skill" (yet), he just didn't want "hacker" to be the main character concept or profession. He suggested IT Tech support, and I could see a number of other non-criminal professions that might explain a few ranks in the hacking skill (probably not a ton, though). A lot of everyday casual gamers employ hacks and cheats, and a chiphead might know enough to crack weak copy protection on BTLs, and these could justify a point or two in the hacking skill. But when they're doing their everyday tasks, they're not necessarily hacking (they're solving customer service problems, writing software, or trying to find their next fix), but they might have some idea how to go about an honest-to-Gaia hack if they found themselves in a desperate situation.

Tanegar's example of computer security specialist or journalist seem along the lines of what I would expect for this kind of game. The Anonymous 4chan hacker or old-school decker concepts are probably a bit closer to the Shadows than intended, but I can't really say what the GM is looking for, either. It might be the case that he'd rather none of us know how to hack at all.

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 06:03 PM

While I understand your point Tanegar, what Sabs said is pretty much spot on. It's not that I'm denying the existence of these people, it's just not what I'm after for this game. I understand it won't be for everyone, but it's something I found interesting and thought others might too. Obviously the game will be tailored to the characters. I aren't gonna drop wageslaves in the middle of Redmond, but I might give them xxxxx (I wrote something here, but then deleted it as I have a shortlist of ideas and I don't wanna waste any). The characters aren't necessarily even going to get shadowrunner scale problems, it depends how far they fall and how serious things get. To start with I was thinking it'd run more like Office Space or Horrible Bosses. Depending on how that goes, things will escalate from there.

Out of interest, is everyone who's posted thinking of playing, or just commenting? I don't mind either way, just wanna get an idea of numbers.

EDIT: Also, it's worth mentioning I am planning on giving a higher than normal karma rate to PCs once they start doing appropriate things, if I even decide to do it that way. I'm toying with the idea of just awarding skill points as their used.

Hudson

Jan 17 2012, 06:25 PM

So far I've only been reading along but I'm definitely interested in playing.

Thus I wanted to ask if you have set any specific limits to the "wageslave" status. The reason I'm asking because I've been working on a character of near-genius level IQ who never developed the drive to put that to good use or to apply it to any meaningful skill area and thus languishes still in the secretary pool.

sabs

Jan 17 2012, 06:54 PM

I'm intrigued, but I don't know if I have the time. I'm in 3 games, and sometimes I can post,a nd sometimes I go a week without posting.
that being said, I'm really intrigued by the idea of:

Orc Corporate Personal Assitant. No real skills, but he's got a company installed skillwire system, implanted simrig, and a datafilter.
His job is to keep himself in good physical shape. The 'spyder' in charge of his sector uploads what ever skills are needed, and activates both the datafilter and the personafix at the requests of the boss. Traditionally he acts as secretary/bodyguard for a Junior Line Manager. He's got little motivation, but he gets paid decently well. Occasionally he's woken up with bruises, and once with a broken hand, which he just didn't remember how he got, and more worriedly, he's had Hazard Bonus and Special Services show up on his paycheck several times, and he has no idea why.

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 07:43 PM

QUOTE (Hudson @ Jan 17 2012, 06:25 PM)

So far I've only been reading along but I'm definitely interested in playing.

Thus I wanted to ask if you have set any specific limits to the "wageslave" status. The reason I'm asking because I've been working on a character of near-genius level IQ who never developed the drive to put that to good use or to apply it to any meaningful skill area and thus languishes still in the secretary pool.

That sounds fine by me so far

mister__joshua

Jan 17 2012, 07:46 PM

QUOTE (sabs @ Jan 17 2012, 06:54 PM)

I'm intrigued, but I don't know if I have the time. I'm in 3 games, and sometimes I can post,a nd sometimes I go a week without posting.
that being said, I'm really intrigued by the idea of:

Orc Corporate Personal Assitant. No real skills, but he's got a company installed skillwire system, implanted simrig, and a datafilter.
His job is to keep himself in good physical shape. The 'spyder' in charge of his sector uploads what ever skills are needed, and activates both the datafilter and the personafix at the requests of the boss. Traditionally he acts as secretary/bodyguard for a Junior Line Manager. He's got little motivation, but he gets paid decently well. Occasionally he's woken up with bruises, and once with a broken hand, which he just didn't remember how he got, and more worriedly, he's had Hazard Bonus and Special Services show up on his paycheck several times, and he has no idea why.

Thats fair enough. You could always join in later if you wanted to. The concept sounds good. Did you set him up to be deliberately easy to work with? Sounds like he's already on his way to trouble

sabs

Jan 17 2012, 08:26 PM

Well more I set him up the way I envisioned expendable security bodyguards in sensitive positions might be.

Problem:
You want someone competent, who will keep his mouth shut, and will willingly throw himself in front of a hail of bullets, and you want to pay him peanuts.

Solution:
Competent: Skill Wires
Keep Mouth shut: DataFilter
Hail of bullets: Personafix
Cheap: Orc working for Secretary wages.

So all you need is someone young, and in good physical condition. This is a great job for a lower class orc. He gets paid Secretary wages. he is easy to work with, but more I could see these kinds of people existing. He's on his way to trouble in that he's expendable, and easily replaceable. Hell, if they can recover his body after he dies, they can even re-use the skillwires.

I haven't done the math yet, but all that cyber will be Used. Because, who cares about his essence, certainly not the Corp, and he's not educated enough to know better.

Tanegar

Jan 17 2012, 10:50 PM

QUOTE (sabs @ Jan 17 2012, 01:54 PM)

I'm intrigued, but I don't know if I have the time. I'm in 3 games, and sometimes I can post,a nd sometimes I go a week without posting.
that being said, I'm really intrigued by the idea of:

Orc Corporate Personal Assitant. No real skills, but he's got a company installed skillwire system, implanted simrig, and a datafilter.
His job is to keep himself in good physical shape. The 'spyder' in charge of his sector uploads what ever skills are needed, and activates both the datafilter and the personafix at the requests of the boss. Traditionally he acts as secretary/bodyguard for a Junior Line Manager. He's got little motivation, but he gets paid decently well. Occasionally he's woken up with bruises, and once with a broken hand, which he just didn't remember how he got, and more worriedly, he's had Hazard Bonus and Special Services show up on his paycheck several times, and he has no idea why.

That's actually quite brilliant. Kudos.

Aria

Jan 18 2012, 12:56 PM

QUOTE (mister__joshua @ Jan 17 2012, 02:24 PM)

Unrelated, but I do like Cybergen. As a 10+ year Cyberpunk player it's what I know. My group, driven by me, only switched to shadowrun at 4th edition after the monumental disappointment of waiting 10 years for a new book and then it being complete ass. But, while a cool idea that is perhaps not as suited to the game as the other 2 concepts.

Duly noted - I'll begin to throw some ideas around for the dancer then... rough idea is that she is just about to/has just complete/d her education at the Royal Ballet school in the UK and so will be out in the cold looking for a job with a professional company, rounds of auditions, stress, etc...so she's back in Seattle (home) for a bit before looking. Might that work with whatever you have in mind?

mister__joshua

Jan 18 2012, 01:34 PM

Sounds good to me. What I have in mind isn't really anything. It'll be based almost in it's entirety on the characters that are presented. If you wanna play a semi-professional dancer looking to break into the big time, then I'll have fun working with that. By extension, if your character has a family, a home, boy/girlfriend, close friends and acquaintances, a dog, a steady job, a car, a hobby etc all just gives me more stuff to work with.

Aria

Jan 18 2012, 01:40 PM

Grand...are you happy for me to assume she's a latent adept who has refused to acknowledge her gift? Seems a stretch to believe that she wouldn't know she had potential (corp testing being what it is) but for various reasons (hyper conservative parents perhaps?) she supressed it. So in this case she's 'special' because she has ignored a potential avenue of strength and has done it through mundane ways alone?!?

mister__joshua

Jan 18 2012, 02:06 PM

I'm happy for her to be a latent adept yes. I don't think there's any need to explain it away though. I wasn't aware that it was possible to test for latent magical power before it triggered, but even if it is a common thing I'm sure it's possible to miss it. I think it'd be more fun for her not to know rather than actively suppress (awakening I imagine can be quite scary), but I'll leave it up to you.

Aria

Jan 19 2012, 01:02 PM

Gotcha! The wheels are spinning and I'm putting some stuff together on Kyra Benson...more to follow!

BlackHat

Jan 19 2012, 04:48 PM

I'm thinking I would like to go with a classic wageslave. Some average joe with just enough natural talent to qualify him for some sort of corp-funded scholarship or training program (which, of course, came along with an exclusivity contract upon completion... just until he manages to pay back the expense of his school and training... which of course will never happen since he is constantly accruing more expense living in the gilded cage of corporate housing). I'm not sure what field I would want this character to be in (or, rather, I am open to suggestions, but might lean towards something software related or maybe more social like management, sales, or customer service), and I am also a little torn between wanting to play someone who is trapped in the eternal purgatory of a pointless dead-end career that he has grown to hate (whose life might be ruined, and nobody around him would notice or care) or someone who has risen through the ranks a bit (and is probably performing a more important job), and has more on the line when shit hits the fan (again, if mister__joshua has a preference, I can work with it). I think either idea has a lot of possibilities for interesting situations.

I'll try to nail down more of the specifics tonight, but thought I would throw that much out there so people knew I was still interested and thinking about this game.

Trigger

Jan 19 2012, 10:13 PM

I am bouncing around the idea of a late teenage ork courier, running errands for people in the Ork Underground, hanging out with friends, and generally trying to stay out of the way of the gangs and other big fish who would love nothing more than to either 'recruit' him to their ranks or to get the snot nosed brat out of their way. I really like the idea of playing a regular person in Shadowrun, someone who isn't part of the shadows, and is only partly aware of the bigger world around him. I am also interested in him maybe being a latent something, probably latent technomancer. I have always wanted to play someone going through the change, be it awakening or emerging, and dealing with that change in world view.

As for character build formats, I think karma gen will create more rounded characters and will allows the players to get more with a smaller pool. Also, I think it shows a better balance in how much weaker you want them to be then a regular PC. I think 600 or 650 karma would be a good amount for build, about 100-150 karma behind a starting shadowrunner, whereas a 300 BP build is about 200 karma behind a starting shadowrunner. I think a limited availability allowance is a great restriction, maybe 8R, 6F. As well as one skill at 5 with rest at 3 or two at 4 with the rest at 3. I also understand the no magic/resonance(just assuming on this part), but like Aria I would like to play a latent character and think the potential allows for some great RP.

Aria

Jan 20 2012, 01:35 PM

Got as far as a character sketch: Dancer, something that always helps me get a handle on a character. In the process of filling out the '20 questions' now - are there any specific questions that need adding to the list or shall I just plow on?

mister__joshua

Jan 20 2012, 01:45 PM

Where are the 20 questions you're using? I'll have a read through them and see if it's a good idea for everyone to do them and if there's anything to add.

Aria

Jan 20 2012, 05:26 PM

1) What's your heritage?
2) What would your parents say about you?
3) What historical events does your character remember?
~~4) How did you get into shadowrunning, and why?~~
5) What is your living space like?
6) What are your beliefs / convictions (if any) and why do you hold them?
7) what do you think is your most annoying / worst trait?
8) What megacorp do you like the most? the Least? Why?
9) How did you come to know your contacts?
10) What do you do on a day off?
11) How did you come to learn your skills at your present proficiency?
12) Are there any moral limits on what jobs you take or things you'll do?
13) How do you view magic / technomantic abilities?
14) How do you view augmentation / implantation?
~~15) What do you think of ordinary life and those who live it?~~
16) What would be a bad nightmare for you? Any deep-rooted fears? Why is it so frightening to you?
17) What is your 'sacred object' or 'close one', and how did they become so important to you?
18) What did you want to become as a child, and what are your goals now?
19) What does your character look like, and what inspired her choices?
~~20) How did you get your street name?~~

I think there's a list of 30 floating around somewhere but these are the ones from the old version of SR I believe...

mister__joshua

Jan 20 2012, 08:23 PM

That sounds good to me.

Additionally:
What is your characters typical daily routine
Does your character like their life/job currently
List of living family members, close friends and partner

mister__joshua

Jan 22 2012, 08:25 PM

Right, provisionally I'm gonna allow a 600 karma build then I'll compare results to the 300 bps on an individual character basis.