Full Version: DM-turned-GM seeks advice
I'm a longtime D&D dungeon master with a group currently making the transition from d20 to Shadowrun, which I'll be game mastering for. Our group varies in experience from "never played" to "GMed a few games" (I'm in the middle, having played 2e once several years ago but fairly familiar with the genre).
I've read some of the previous posts on the differences in the game system, and they're very helpful. Right now I've got some prewritten material coming in the mail (First Run), and I'm trying to build an interesting game setting to write some original runs.
We're starting out in early 2055 in Seattle (we eventually want to run Super Tuesday so D is still alive). My normal practice when preparing for a game is to create a base of NPCs with some background and a few key locations that the players are likely to interact with, and let the players drive the plot as much as possible.
When you create non-player characters (as contacts, enemies, whatever), do you generally use the prewritten archetypes "as-is" and merely write different background stories for Joe and Jane Decker, or is it necessary to customize their stats to make them unique? Do you assign Karma points (D&D: "experience") to your NPCs when generating them, and if so, how many is a fair number?
Are there any other tricks or routines you go through in a game's beginning stages to prepare yourself? Any advice you have to offer would be appreciated.
Pongolyn
First of all. Awesome. Particularly about the part where you start in 2055.
If you're doing a long-term campaign, I suggest you further limit the available equipment to starting characters. Some of the technowonders from the CC and M&M will not have been developed yet or will have just hit the street and be more expensive. The contact archtype can be used as is, or you can make up your own variations off of them, or you can completely make up new NPCs from scratch. It's up to you to decide what's best for your game. Same deal with assigning KP to your NPCs.
I suggest getting one of those hex-based battlemats and having a good deal of terrain pre-generated in your notes. If you remember the Lankhmar setting in AD&D with its constantly changing cityscape and randomly rolled map quads, that would give you an idea. This will make running PC initiated encounters with random NPCs and vice-versa go more smoothly.
Hope that helps.
If you're doing a long-term campaign, I suggest you further limit the available equipment to starting characters. Some of the technowonders from the CC and M&M will not have been developed yet or will have just hit the street and be more expensive. The contact archtype can be used as is, or you can make up your own variations off of them, or you can completely make up new NPCs from scratch. It's up to you to decide what's best for your game. Same deal with assigning KP to your NPCs.
I suggest getting one of those hex-based battlemats and having a good deal of terrain pre-generated in your notes. If you remember the Lankhmar setting in AD&D with its constantly changing cityscape and randomly rolled map quads, that would give you an idea. This will make running PC initiated encounters with random NPCs and vice-versa go more smoothly.
Hope that helps.
just use the same principals that u used for running dnd and apply them to your shadowrun games.
To address your specific question, I rarely write down NPC stats on paper at all. They all tend to fall into 2 categories: plot/descriptive driven and action driven.
The plot/descriptive ones are the guys like the players fixer, or the Big D. They either have a guideline stat in a book (aka, all players fixers get roughly the same dice as the template to keep things pretty even) or they dont need a stat (aka, the Big D has enough dice to do whatever I need him to do). Stats on such characters are either a given or irrelevent.
The action driven ones are npcs like the security goons guarding some exec. These guys dont need a full stat block, and Ive been playing the game awhile. I know theyll have some moderate range gun skill like 5, be wearing typical armor like a Securetech Jacket (5/3), have raidos, be decently competent in reacting to an attack, etc etc. I dont need to write it down, I can grab appropriate values outta the air.
Youll find, after some experience, that most of SR falls into a similar line of thinking. *Most* of the time. There are, of course, characters youll want to flesh out such as an opposing runner team the players will clash with. In which case youd want some anecdotes to pick up off Shadowland, some stats, habits, specific personalites that might shape combat decisions, a MO, etc. But, in general, I find such sitations to be the exception more than the rule. SR is a lot less "stat" based than D20 Dnd; spend your time coming up with more intricate plot, its a lot harder to have a 2 diemsional reason like "the king sent me" or "the dragon has loot lets go" in a game where you cant trust anyone and even the lowest ork ganger has a shot to 1 round ya.
As far as other hints... Learn the players and their characters. Learn it well. Youll have to anticipate certain courses of action, and methods of doing things. Example: they need to find out where a girl has run away from her corporate parent and find her. Ok great start for a run here, except that its massivly open ended. Youll need to have planned a few ways for them to gather some information and leads based on what the players and the characters are likley to do. If they have a decker, prepare some matrix stuff like maybe a NewsNet story on runaways they could find with a reporter to contact and ask about, maybe theres a local thats famous for that. If one of the players is prone to take things into his own hands, have a few random colorful encounters planned on the street for when he wanders out looking, like a bum thats sure hes seen her or the ganger that doesnt like someone on his turf until you 'prove you deserve his help' with Mr. Bribe. Anyhow, that kinda planning, that leaves the adventure open ended in methodology but still defines the plot, is the kinda planning thats gonna make things easy on you as a GM. IMO anyhow.
The plot/descriptive ones are the guys like the players fixer, or the Big D. They either have a guideline stat in a book (aka, all players fixers get roughly the same dice as the template to keep things pretty even) or they dont need a stat (aka, the Big D has enough dice to do whatever I need him to do). Stats on such characters are either a given or irrelevent.
The action driven ones are npcs like the security goons guarding some exec. These guys dont need a full stat block, and Ive been playing the game awhile. I know theyll have some moderate range gun skill like 5, be wearing typical armor like a Securetech Jacket (5/3), have raidos, be decently competent in reacting to an attack, etc etc. I dont need to write it down, I can grab appropriate values outta the air.
Youll find, after some experience, that most of SR falls into a similar line of thinking. *Most* of the time. There are, of course, characters youll want to flesh out such as an opposing runner team the players will clash with. In which case youd want some anecdotes to pick up off Shadowland, some stats, habits, specific personalites that might shape combat decisions, a MO, etc. But, in general, I find such sitations to be the exception more than the rule. SR is a lot less "stat" based than D20 Dnd; spend your time coming up with more intricate plot, its a lot harder to have a 2 diemsional reason like "the king sent me" or "the dragon has loot lets go" in a game where you cant trust anyone and even the lowest ork ganger has a shot to 1 round ya.
As far as other hints... Learn the players and their characters. Learn it well. Youll have to anticipate certain courses of action, and methods of doing things. Example: they need to find out where a girl has run away from her corporate parent and find her. Ok great start for a run here, except that its massivly open ended. Youll need to have planned a few ways for them to gather some information and leads based on what the players and the characters are likley to do. If they have a decker, prepare some matrix stuff like maybe a NewsNet story on runaways they could find with a reporter to contact and ask about, maybe theres a local thats famous for that. If one of the players is prone to take things into his own hands, have a few random colorful encounters planned on the street for when he wanders out looking, like a bum thats sure hes seen her or the ganger that doesnt like someone on his turf until you 'prove you deserve his help' with Mr. Bribe. Anyhow, that kinda planning, that leaves the adventure open ended in methodology but still defines the plot, is the kinda planning thats gonna make things easy on you as a GM. IMO anyhow.
| QUOTE (CanvasBack) |
| Some of the technowonders from the CC and M&M will not have been developed yet or will have just hit the street and be more expensive. |
'Cept, most of it was developed. Just about all the stuff in M&M was in Shadowtech and the same is true for most of the other books as well. For such a technologically advanced setting the rate of product development in R is astoundingly slow
| QUOTE |
| When you create non-player characters (as contacts, enemies, whatever), do you generally use the prewritten archetypes "as-is" and merely write different background stories for Joe and Jane Decker, or is it necessary to customize their stats to make them unique? |
I think that its good to vary things up a bit, but keeping meticulous notes on all of the NPCs in your game might make you a bit nuts. I find that keeping a file on my laptop of different NPC archetypes and their general skills works best. I can modify it on the fly by one or two skill/attribute points as I see fit. Regarding the background story element, I usually write a couple of personality quirks about each NPC and often I write down an actor or famous person that I want to think about while roleplaying the character (ie "this guy acts like DeNiro in Cape Fear").
| QUOTE |
| Do you assign Karma points (D&D: "experience") to your NPCs when generating them, and if so, how many is a fair number? |
Never. NPCs generally don't need that much attention, but then again, I suppose its up to you on how much detail you want to put in your game. If you're going to be running games for a while with your group, you might find this a tedious procedure to do every time. The only time I actually work out all the stats and develop a character like I would a PC, is when I'm making some of the main antagonists in the story. For example, I wrote a rival team into one of my games once in which I wanted them to feel like the PCs felt... very unique and original. Thus, putting in the hours to create this team came off feeling unique to the story and not canned.
There isn't really a "fair" number for creating NPCs and enemies. You have to think about the situation that you'll be putting your team in first and foremost. Remember, that anyone can kill anyone in the right circumstances in Shadowrun. So, the guy who aims his rifle from an ambush point is a deadly force to deal with, even if you're a veteran runner. Hold out pistols can kill runners. You might want to run a mock combat first to get a sense of how deadly things can get.
| QUOTE |
| Are there any other tricks or routines you go through in a game's beginning stages to prepare yourself? |
Your main run and the flow of the story should be detailed out, but also try to think about ways that the runners may try to circumnavigate your plans. I usually write up a list in outline form of ideas on ways to get around some of the problems that I pose to my group and actions that I will take to meet their wiles. This will keep things running smoothly and give the PCs a worried sense when they think they might have given you a bump in the road and you turn it into a devious counterplan. Conversely, when their actions warrant a rewarding response, its nice to have already thought about how you would handle creative thinking. Its hard to remember all the rules. I've been GMing for something like 14 or 15 years now. If I know an NPC is going to be using a fire elemental, I write down the stats and abilities of said elemental. If a critter is going to cross the PC's paths, then I write down the stats and its abilities. Reference time kills a bit of the flow of a game, and although its required almost every game, I try to nip it in the bud by thinking of things ahead of time. Legwork. Most runs require that your PCs do their homework on NPCs, corps, events, etc. Have this written out ahead of time in a format so that you know who the likely NPCs or sources that would have the required information and then their responses according to how many successes they generate on their etiquette tests. You should write up the legwork info on all major elements in your run if you want to make your roleplaying of NPCs flow smoothly. Set the tone with karma and monetary rewards. Don't go nuts giving away the moon on the first run. A do-able first run will generate 4-5 karma, a lenient one will generate 6-7. You give them too much and they'll feel jipped as the power level eventually escalates and you don't feel like giving them more karma.
I agree that you should limit availability of gear because of your starting year. It also lets you trickle stuff down to the characters when you want. The group being unfamiliar withthe rules means that every new toy they get access to will have a fairly decent coolness factor. The day they learn about platelet factories you'll get to watch their jaws drop and the drool start to flow.
I use straight archeytypes (some home brewed) for my NPCs. Personality changes are enough to make them unique from a player's perspective, and a few minor changes on the fly will keep them guessing about stats.
I never give karma to NPCs. All you really need to do is set their stats where you want them, and make sure their karma pool reflects that. For example, if you have a human with unaugmented strength of 9, he has earned at least 63 karma. Barring circumstances in his history that would have caused him to spend pool permanently, he should have at least a 7 karma pool.
Crimson Jack's advice is great. I would also get a copy of Wordman's SR sheets. Printout a copy of the condition monitor sheet. I slip them into clear plastic protectors and mark them up with a grease pencil. That way the same sheet is usable any number of times. I also put a vehicle / drone sheet in there, but it gets written on to have the stats of the device at my fingertips.
Print out a copy of the GM screen available at fanpro's site. Give a copy to each player. The modifier and action charts are invaluable tools.
I use straight archeytypes (some home brewed) for my NPCs. Personality changes are enough to make them unique from a player's perspective, and a few minor changes on the fly will keep them guessing about stats.
I never give karma to NPCs. All you really need to do is set their stats where you want them, and make sure their karma pool reflects that. For example, if you have a human with unaugmented strength of 9, he has earned at least 63 karma. Barring circumstances in his history that would have caused him to spend pool permanently, he should have at least a 7 karma pool.
Crimson Jack's advice is great. I would also get a copy of Wordman's SR sheets. Printout a copy of the condition monitor sheet. I slip them into clear plastic protectors and mark them up with a grease pencil. That way the same sheet is usable any number of times. I also put a vehicle / drone sheet in there, but it gets written on to have the stats of the device at my fingertips.
Print out a copy of the GM screen available at fanpro's site. Give a copy to each player. The modifier and action charts are invaluable tools.
| QUOTE (James McMurray) |
| Print out a copy of the GM screen available at fanpro's site. Give a copy to each player. The modifier and action charts are invaluable tools. |
Ah yes, that brings up another good point. The more your players know about the rules, the easier of a time you'll have running the game. My group is at the point where I don't have to babysit them through the process of casting a spell, conjuring a spirit, or understanding how combat works. It all moves pretty fast. That will come in time, of course, but encourage them to be the masters of their own domains.
FLAGRANT PLUG!!!
Check out my website... should help you a lot.
site.Choke Chain
And check out blackjacks when dumpshock comes back up.
Check out my website... should help you a lot.
site.Choke Chain
And check out blackjacks when dumpshock comes back up.
I had forgotten about Blackjack's. By all means go there when dumpshock is back up. It is the best series of articles for GMing SR that I've ever seen.
I would also suggest that you teach the players the rules as much as you can. But try to do it while giving them as little information of things beyond the core rulebook as possible. The first time they meet a toxic shaman should be a thrilling encounter with an insane shaman and hit pollution elementals instead of "oh yeah, I know about those guys. They summon nastier versions of spirits and like to throw around environmentally unfriendly magic."
I would also suggest that you teach the players the rules as much as you can. But try to do it while giving them as little information of things beyond the core rulebook as possible. The first time they meet a toxic shaman should be a thrilling encounter with an insane shaman and hit pollution elementals instead of "oh yeah, I know about those guys. They summon nastier versions of spirits and like to throw around environmentally unfriendly magic."
Indeed. Keep the flavor books for yourself, such as the 'Target' and 'Shadows of' books. Fill them in on what they need to know and then let them discover the rest through your games.
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