Hi folks,

Some of you might remember I've written some Visual Basic based automation for gaming in the past. I still need to finish my most recent project -- it's half complete -- but as usual, I thought of another one. I thought I'd see what people think.

The idea is that a person is born with certain things they can't change, and the rest is up to them. Shadowrun lets you pick race, gender, etc. at char-gen, but the character wouldn't have picked those. As a result, we get some crazy min-maxing, and seldom if ever do we get someone who really wanted to be a different race or gender (unless that's part of the sophisiticated role-player's concept to begin with). Even if such identity-conflict is planned, it's going to be hard to have it be authentic.

So here's the idea: A random-generator creates your PCs race, gender, and magical potential. It also assigns a certain number of skill-points, representing inherited base traits. Edges and Flaws are handed out here as well.

This would work best with BeCKS or the BP system of char-gen -- the software would determine the cost of you pre-gen semi-random PC template, and then you'd have the remaining points to spend on your own, representing the characters attempt to work with what nature gave them and build upon it.

Questions:

1.) Would you enjoy playing such a PC, or would it just piss you off to have your min-maxing ruined?

2.) How many attribute points should be randomly assigned for you ahead of time? I was toying with 18 (ie. Pedestrian average), but then everyone would have at least that many, and that's not realistic. At least some people should be dealt a short hand and have to work up from there. Maybe roll 6d6 and give that many points, randomly distributed between attributes?

3.) Should you get any skills assigned to you as part of "pre-career life experience"? The "Pedestrian" archetyle from the old contacts book had a "Professional skill" of 3. Maybe that's appropriate here, too.

4.) You can't work off Edges, but you can work off Flaws (at least, in some campaigns). As such, should PCs be allowed to nix Flaws they can't stand that come up randomly (of course, giving those BPs back)?

5.) What else besides race, gender, magic, otaku-status, base attrs, and professional skill are "nature" and not "nuture" that should be handed to someone?

....and, any other thoughts?

--K

One of the things I really like about Shadowrun, at least as compared to games like D&D (or at least 2nd edition, I haven't played it since it went 3rd) is that you can plan your character rather than taking what "nature" hands to you. I've already got a body/life handed to me by nature, I like being able to exercise my imagination, ingenuity, mathematical ability, etc. to come up with something fun. So I would probably not use these rules, but perhaps others may...

I think it's fine if your players want to do it and stick with it. Otherwise, the character creation rules pretty clearly state that you're not done with character creation until the player is happy with the character and the GM ok's it. So in essence, it's not even possible to force it on the players, since they can theoretically just can the character and try again until they get what they want.

It would piss me off, since I tend to have an idea of what I want for my character ahead of time. Sometimes it includes a background with things that happened to the character that are beyond their control. Example: My Street Doc char, who was in a car accident when he was a bit younger, and had to have a full cyberarm and leg installed. He went downt the philisophical path of transhumanism, and despite what anyone thinks about all that chrome, he doesn't take any special precautions to hide it.

Likewise, it would annoy me if I intended to play a tech-wiz of some sort, and had to pay the 30 points for being magically active. It would be unbalancing to get magical ability for free though. Then I'd end up with a tech-wiz with a reduced magic rating due to cyber and the option to put karma into magical skills later. Or a tech-wiz who happens to also be a physad in his spare time. "Sorry, I don't want to afford wired reflexes. I'll just take the adept power equivalent. I wasn't doing anything special with those power points anyway."

i wouldn't enjoy playing a character created for me like this. in the process of creating my character i become more attached to them, making me want to play them as much as possible. since i'm more attached i'm more likely to roleplay well and not get into many situations that could kill me. a character created for me like this probably wouldn't last long in my hands, i just wouldn't be as careful with it. with the "Pedestrian" way you're going about this it seems to be more appropriate to a ganger campaign or something else low-powered, just my take on things.

I can see this being a great tool to help with NPC creation, but I don't see many players actually enjoying having even this much of their characters dictated to them. In my opinion, you might as well just make up the entire character(s) yourself and just have players pick them out of a hat.

Well, it's convenient that the feedback was unanimous.

Thanks, guys.

--K

I think it would be interesting to try, if the campaign was really low powered. The problem with SR is that just about every thing kills you with out too much thought and so you have to make a character that can dish out that level as well as take that level of deadlyness. Randomizing characters would make them a moving lunchmeat unless you are playing something really lowpowered. Like kiddyshadowrun, where you are paid in cookies by the bullies to steal the Test answers from the teachers desk, or something.

But yeah as fortune said, its an excellent NPC gen Idea. Not every one you are going to meet is going to be able to run with the runners, and this program would make these people really well.

Okay, here I come with a differing opinion

Personally, I would love such a system, where you get a random base to build further upon - however, I know that alot of people wouldn't.

I know some players who do this a different way - they choose the Amnesia flaw at a moderate level, spends some points on what they really want a character to have (often race, one or two attributes, a skill or three, some edge and/or flaw and maybe a specific piece of cyber, or magic potential) then they let me build the rest of their character. Some come to me with a base concept, and I build the character together with them, and some hand in a finished character and I have to take away from it

Personally, I am working on a roleplaying game system of my own that incorporates just the type of creation krishcane mentioned - you get a base level in all attributes depending factors like race, starsign (those have a major influence on the gameworld), gender, and a random factor (genes) and such, and some starting potential depending on how and where you grew up (skills, abilities, etc) and then you get to build the character up from there. It's only in the beginning stages, so I can't post anything to anyone - but so far it looks promising, I think (now I just need the energy to finish it)

I think there are several players out there who wouldn't mind that kind of challenge, as long as you give them some control over attributes and edges/flaws. My suggestion would be that you can lower an attribute one step, or raise it two, by spending BPs - this limits the characters potentials but doesn't completely leave him screwed even if he gets an average of 1 and 2 in all attributes. As for skills I would leave most of that up to the player. Hand out a few logical skills depending on where and how the character grew up, but do not force specific values on them. Just force them to get those skills. Let the player add some edges and flaws that can be explained by character behavior/attitude, and let him/her remove one or two that could plausibly be worked away.

If you are considering a game on here with characters made in such a random way, then let me report my interest in participating right now!

Thanks, SnowRaven. Regarding running a game, that might be fun someday, but time prevents me from getting serious about that. The one game-in-progress, which you are well aware of, is all I can manage so far.

--K

[double post]

oh, don't worry! Cage Fight is the best reading I have had in a long time - I wouldn't want you to take time away from that to do another game or project on here. I love where you are going with that!

(On a side note, to those who are also reading the Shadowrun movie topic... How about Cage Fight as the base for the script? It has everything from gritty street level to high magic and excellent dialogue - plus interesting, funny and likeable characters to boot!)

I like the concept, and if my players ever actually get things together, I have a similar randomization (less involved) process planned.

Part of why it appeals to me is that the group I play with has a tendency to do things like always take Int 6... etc, etc. In many ways, the characters do become very predictable.

And I like rolling dice... =)

Yeah, I have the same problem, Everial. I think the dumbest character in the group has 5, and we have a few with Int 7 and one 8(!) (thanks to cerebral booster) - so basically I'm gming a group of geniuses who are running the shadows... oh, and almost everyone has Quickness 8-10 (depending on race) and strength minimum of 7...

My next campaign I'm putting an emphasis on the darker, grittier street level - I'm going to have my players 'limited' to characters living on the streets and in the sewers, whatever the reason - squatters, ex-cons, drunks, chipheads, burn-outs, ghouls, maniacs, amnesiacs... people who have lost everything they had, or who barely had anything in the first place. I'm gonna play up the despair, horror and pain of the underbelly of society. Of course, there's a twist to all of this to keep it interesting and to help it move forward, but I won't give that away in case one of my players go here without my knowledge (yes, I'm paranoid and suspicious - that's why I'm the GM!)

About Cage Fight as the basis for a Shadowrun movie... wouldn't that be funny? It kind of reminds me of a cyberpunk version of Goonies.

--K