Jrayjoker
Mar 17 2005, 02:32 PM
Hi all,
I could use some help getting everyone in my new campaign on the same page. We plan on starting our campaign this weekend and so far I have come up with no rationalle for their working together except GM fiat. I am sure that would work for them, but I am reluctant to start that way unless absolutely necessary.
So far I have:
An Elven hermetic combat mage with the amnesia and hunted flaws (oh yeah, she's gonna regret that),
a Troll berzerker who feels no pain (What do you mean I'm unconscious?),
an Elven face/negotiator (go figure),
a Human infiltration decker (Samwise, "What are you doing Golum?" Golum, "Sneakin'!"),
and a sneak sammie.
[ Spoiler ]
The base of opperations is Seattle, and I plan on slowly revealing the fact that they work for one very influential patron. They will think they are independants working for a variety of Johnsons, but in reality they are trying out for their "patron". Think Kaiser Sose from The Usual Suspects, OK maybe not that evil.
Dog
Mar 17 2005, 03:15 PM
Maybe they're related, or they came from the same gang or something. I would expect the players to help you out in determining why they work together, it's good for character development. That's my off-the-cuff answer, gimme a minute...
edit: Maybe give them a bonus contact, a fixer. The same fixer for all of them. They've all done small jobs for him in the past and he thinks they'd work well together. The fixer could turn out to be a toady for whoever you want then.
Maybe they choose to work together because they all happen to belong to the same rare ethnic group.
Did they all work together before entering the shadows, maybe?
Maybe the mage called them all together for his own reasons, but now forgets why...
Talia Invierno
Mar 17 2005, 03:06 PM
Okay -- but I'm going to need a bit more about their personality and their motivations for running first. You've only given me what they are, not who they are.
Also, what contacts do each of them have? Contacts in common is one of the easiest ways of doing this.
Backgammon
Mar 17 2005, 03:45 PM
If they all get hired for the same job, presto, a team.
Give them a common enemy. Someone is trying to kill them all. United they stand divided they fall.
They all have some weird thing in common: all served time in the same jail (yes' I'm readin SOTA64 right now
), all went to same grade school, etc. That should get them curious as to who hired them and why the strange connection.
Solstice
Mar 17 2005, 03:42 PM
I usually have one or two of them be the "established runners" and the rest being kina "newbies" and have the fixer(s) of the "established runners" make them take the "newbies" with them as a favor. Or you could simply have the job need special skills thereby the johnson specifically asks for a certain runner and the fixer put them all together.
Dog
Mar 17 2005, 04:07 PM
I feel for ya, though. How often has this come up in your games:
GM: "Okay, you hand over the loot for a reward and Mr. Johnson walks off. Whaddaya do now?"
Player 1: "I'm going to the pub."
Player 2: "I'm taking my car into the shop."
Player 3: "I'm looking on the matrix for the location of my sister."
GM: "Sure, then what."
Player 1: "What do you mean?"
GM: "Well, the next time you get together. What do you do?"
Player 2: "Next time we get hired, you mean?"
GM: "No, I mean do you go celebrate your victory at the bar, or meet to discuss what happened? Or plan your own run?"
Player 3: "No."
Player 2: "Why would I hang out with these guys?"
Player 1: "How would I know his sister?"
GM: <sigh>
Garland
Mar 17 2005, 04:33 PM
That kind of situation is why I like to have a ringer in the group. I usually tap one of the players to help keep things together; arrange a mutual interest in something, offer to buy drinks for the group after the run, suggest "hey, let's head to the Stuffer Shack, I'm getting hungry." That sort of thing. In play it actually seems pretty low-key and natural. And it promotes good role-playing and I'm all for that.
Another good idea might be for the Johnson to offer to hide them after a run. That way they're all stuck in the same safehouse. Make it a dreky safehouse, so there are a myriad of small problems, like lots of canned-food but no can-openers, a bit nest of devil-rats in the basement, some gangers coming around to collect protection money (hey, no one told them it was a safe-house), a weird spirit in one of the upstairs bedrooms that won't stop making noise, the trid is locked onto Neo-QVC, the tap shoots out only scalding-hot rust-colored sludge, etc.
Make 'em stay for a couple days, and spring a problem on them about twice a day. The idea is to tailor the problems so that each of them has something to do (the techie can try to fix the trid, the decker can arrange better trid service, the troll can twist open those cans with his bare hands, the mage can try to get that spirit to shut the frag up, etc.) They'll either kill each other or end up as friends for life.
Just some thoughts.
DarkShade
Mar 17 2005, 04:39 PM
the easy way? and it works REALLY well, is just ask the players to create a TEAM of runners as opposed to each his own character, they will interweave their backgrounds in ways that would be disruptive to them if you meddled with their backgrounds. then you just have to tweak it a little and presto! end result will be better AND the players will be happier.
dont give yourself more work than you have to, a gm`s life is overworked enough!!
DS
Edward
Mar 17 2005, 04:54 PM
I admit it is a form of GM feat but I still like “your fixer calls you, a Johnson needs a teem and I think you will work well together, take 15 min to get to know one an other before the meet”.
In spite of being suspiciously similar to “you all meet in a pub” or “the town sherif posts a job advertisement” it dose actually make the most sense for a teem of shadow runners.
Your playing professional criminals in a big city. Unless there is some artificial reason to do so it doesn’t make sense for a new teem to trust one another, and they my well not cross paths between runs. I mean aside from work what dose my pacifist intellectual hermetic with a taste for classical music and an interest in alchemy have in cowmen with a troll street samurai that attends thrash mettle consorts and has a subscription to guns and ammo.
One character of mine has an innate dislike of shadow runners, he wants to spend his down time with his family and he isn’t going to let any runner trash near them.
Beyond the job and a drink to celebrate a job well done in the early parts of a campaign don’t expect much interaction. Once the teem trust each other (and trust takes a long time to earn) they may set up a communal safe house or start going on social outings (we had a party wedding but she participated in her husbands murder 2 sessions latter)
Edward
wagnern
Mar 17 2005, 04:56 PM
Hire them for a run, I don't know common fixer exc. Then have the victum of the run frame them for something bad, I don't know, killing a cop or something. Now they must band together and prove there inocence / get back at the framer. The party is the only one they can trust, for all their contacts have 'hung them out to dry' not wanting to get messed up with a group of cop killers.
After this experience, they should hopefully have developed trust and bonds. Also, this would be a great diversion from the shadowrun formula (meet mr jonson, get job, haggel over payment, do run, meet mr jonson agian, mr jonson tries to double cross charictors, exc)
Weredigo
Mar 17 2005, 05:36 PM
Sounds like you just need to set up a firefight at the "local" bar. Group is generally located in same area as some poor street sammy who's got a lotta nuyen on his head. other side of bar is a large group of "punks with predators" type opponents who all decide at the same time "Hey, there's a pretty fat paycheck sittin right there, let's collect." If the ensuing spree of gunfire and grenade tossing doens't pull them together the frantic run from the law afterwards should.
Charon
Mar 17 2005, 06:11 PM
At the beginning of a campaign I usually give the the PCs a free common fixer contact.
And that's all there is to it, really.
torzzzzz
Mar 17 2005, 11:27 PM
| QUOTE (Jrayjoker) |
Hi all,
I could use some help getting everyone in my new campaign on the same page. We plan on starting our campaign this weekend and so far I have come up with no rationalle for their working together except GM fiat. I am sure that would work for them, but I am reluctant to start that way unless absolutely necessary.
So far I have:
An Elven hermetic combat mage with the amnesia and hunted flaws (oh yeah, she's gonna regret that),
a Troll berzerker who feels no pain (What do you mean I'm unconscious?),
an Elven face/negotiator (go figure),
a Human infiltration decker (Samwise, "What are you doing Golum?" Golum, "Sneakin'!"),
and a sneak sammie.
[ Spoiler ]
The base of opperations is Seattle, and I plan on slowly revealing the fact that they work for one very influential patron. They will think they are independants working for a variety of Johnsons, but in reality they are trying out for their "patron". Think Kaiser Sose from The Usual Suspects, OK maybe not that evil.
|
Could be some connection with the mage, if she has amnesia she wont remember who she knows form the past....... on that note how bad is the amnesia? and if its bad douse she remember any of her spells? or that fact that she is a mage at all.
torz x
Zephania
Mar 17 2005, 11:47 PM
One of my pet player hates is PCs picking amnesia so they don't have to give their character background. Or saying they're "hunted" and not putting any effort into defining it.
The next player that come to me with one of these is in for a shock, they can do the background but I'll do the rest, they really wont know if they're a mage or a samourai untill they try. It will make for an interesting game and encourage them to be more creative "I think I'm a street sam but don't know why I woke up knitting a jumper?"
TheWinningLoser
Mar 18 2005, 12:27 AM
For god's sake people, it doesn't matter anymore. Now you're all just being incompetent. I just thought it would be cool to hover around. That's all. I'm not using the focus to let me fight better, I'VE STILL GOT FEET! I don't need to fly everwhere. The whole reason me and Akai started this thread was to get some suggestions on how it would play out in a game if I wanted to use the spell on something. I don't exactly think I'm gonna need all this referencing, cross-referencing, cross-cross-referencing etc... I could do without the continuous debates and insults, all I needed was an idea or two. Find something better to do. Seriously. Look, if I wanted all this crap about whatever you guys are talking about now, (You lost me in all the quoting within quoting and quoting beyond that.)You only need to say whatever your idea is and SHUT THE HELL UP. If someone disproves you, oh well, it's not ripinng your balls off. Just accept the fact someone has a different idea, and if you want to argue about it, do it elsewhere. Stop wasting everyone's time.
In short.
I GET THE POINT, LEVITATE SHOULDN'T BE USED IN A FOCUS. IT'S OVERLY COMPLICATED AND UNCLEAR IN THE RULES. LET'S ALL GO POST SOMEWHERE ELSE. STOP RAVING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS OVER TWO DAYS AGO.
Zephania
Mar 18 2005, 12:32 AM
UH? Are you in the right thread?
Fortune
Mar 18 2005, 12:40 AM
| QUOTE (TheWinningLoser @ Mar 18 2005, 11:27 AM) |
| I GET THE POINT, LEVITATE SHOULDN'T BE USED IN A FOCUS. IT'S OVERLY COMPLICATED AND UNCLEAR IN THE RULES. LET'S ALL GO POST SOMEWHERE ELSE. STOP RAVING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS OVER TWO DAYS AGO. |
Nobody is forcing you to read the thread (even if this was the right one!). We here at Dumpshock come to discuss Shadowrun, sometimes at length. There is definitely no reason for you to be downright rude and insulting in your posts just because we choose to continue a discussion past the point when you personally do not want to be involved.
Besides, I think maybe you should actually read the thread in question. Most people posting on it do not think that using Levitate in a Sustaining Focus is overcomplicated or unclear.
kevyn668
Mar 18 2005, 01:08 AM
| QUOTE (TheWinningLoser) |
| For god's sake people, it doesn't matter anymore....<snip> |
I'm sorry, but that was one of the funniest things I've seen here in days.
| QUOTE |
| ...we had a party wedding but she participated in her husbands murder 2 sessions latter... |
Oh no you don't, Ed. You GOTTA tell the story behind that one!
Dog
Mar 18 2005, 01:20 AM
I'm confused. Entertained, but confused....
Solstice
Mar 18 2005, 01:28 AM
That Loser guy is on BTLs for sure....he doesn't even know where he is.
Solstice
Mar 18 2005, 01:39 AM
| QUOTE (TheWinningLoser) |
| You lost me in all the quoting within quoting and quoting beyond that. |
So your calling everyone incompetent, yet you admit you can't understand their debate....that makes sense.
CanvasBack
Mar 18 2005, 02:38 AM
| QUOTE (Jrayjoker) |
Hi all,
I could use some help getting everyone in my new campaign on the same page. We plan on starting our campaign this weekend and so far I have come up with no rationalle for their working together except GM fiat. I am sure that would work for them, but I am reluctant to start that way unless absolutely necessary.
|
Ok, how does this grab you? Give them a common enemy. No wait, hear me out. Giving the group a common enemy increases the likelihood that they'll want to work together against a common foe. It could be big, it could be small... It could start small, and end up big... The common foe could be unintentionally pissing in their Kool Aid or deliberating taking a shit in their pool. What the foe is doing and why is up to you. Hell, it could be simply a case of the enemy's goals being in direct opposition to the party's needs and being oblivious to the fact that their actions have consequences. Or, it could be more like the enemy flaw where somebody is out to get the PCs. That's my suggestion and I'm sticking to it.
Dog
Mar 18 2005, 02:42 AM
Oh, I get it.
WL is suggesting that the mage is hunted by a guy with a levitation focus, who is so clearly hostile that the team must bond against him.
kevyn668
Mar 18 2005, 02:48 AM
Eh, cut the dude some slack. He's apparently new here.
It's still funny, though.
SuperSpy
Mar 18 2005, 04:11 AM
Have someone hire the Troll Berserker to kill the Mage with amnesia.
Make it so that the Face overhears the deal going down. Subtly suggest to the face that he/she might be able to make a little money by warning the Mage of his/her impending doom.
Make the Decker a contact of the Face that he/she can team up with to track down where the mage lives (or at least his/her phone number).
With the Mage properly warned, the three set up a (hopefully non-lethal) trap for the Troll.
The Mage will want to know who is behind the assasination. Try to make it obvious that with the little information that the Troll knows about his employer, all four of them can track down the Johnson, kill him/interogate him, and retrieve the money that the Troll was supposed to be paid for the run.
Obviously would take a bit of prodding from the GM to make it all work out in the end but could be fun.
Edward
Mar 18 2005, 04:34 AM
| QUOTE (kevyn668 @ Mar 18 2005, 09:08 AM) |
| QUOTE | | ...we had a party wedding but she participated in her husbands murder 2 sessions latter... |
Oh no you don't, Ed. You GOTTA tell the story behind that one! |
It may be a little of topic but I was asked. So I put the story in spoiler tags (if they work)
[ Spoiler ]
To give you an idea of the players involved the male (and I won’t say man) had last played a razer boy (he clamed samurai but no honer to speak of) I forget his self given street name but we stated calling him twitch, witch he disliked in and out of character, the gem ruled that twitch was getting better job offers than he was. On one run he started setting fire to pay data so I cast a low powered fire bolt at him, he was carrying two dozen grenades we where lucky to escape the blast radius.
His new character was a southern gentleman and card carrying member of humanis with affiliation to some of the more violent splinter groups (the party of 8 contains maybe 3 humans).
The other player was new to the game and easily board, in spite of having brown hare she is the classic blond. One session they started to go out, the next they where married.
2 sessions latter the male was offered a sum of nuyen to kill the parties eleven face and medic, he went to said face and offered to cut her ear of as proof that she was dead, (she had also been approached to kill his smarmy ass), she refused.
When next he was lying on the ground beading with his wife leaning over him and the face/medic working on him the medic used the wrong drug he, passes body test. She “slips” with the scalpel he invoked hand of god the blade snaps on his jugular, the medic then gives up on subtly and stabs a combat knife in his neck.
The wife, now leaning over her obviously murdered husband’s corps and right beside the one she saw murder him starts looting the body and said “cool I’m a widow I get all his stuff” as far as I know there was no collusion between the face and the wife but I may not have heard of it.
[ Spoiler ]
Edward
Sandoval Smith
Mar 18 2005, 04:45 AM
Unless there are plot reasons otherwise, I tell players to work out how they know each other themselves. If they want to meet in a bar, so be it. If they want to work out a cohesive back story, even better (saves the hassle of coming up with reasons why they should hang out, and allows conflicting types to work out themselves why they get along, instead of the GM fiating it).
Jrayjoker
Mar 18 2005, 02:16 PM
Thanks for all you ideas. I will be starting the campaign up tonight, and I'll let you all know how it goes down.
Oh and BTW, holy thread hijack! Funny especially because it was probably a complete accident.
torzzzzz
Mar 18 2005, 11:17 PM
| QUOTE (TheWinningLoser @ Mar 17 2005, 07:27 PM) |
For god's sake people, it doesn't matter anymore. Now you're all just being incompetent. I just thought it would be cool to hover around. That's all. I'm not using the focus to let me fight better, I'VE STILL GOT FEET! I don't need to fly everwhere. The whole reason me and Akai started this thread was to get some suggestions on how it would play out in a game if I wanted to use the spell on something. I don't exactly think I'm gonna need all this referencing, cross-referencing, cross-cross-referencing etc... I could do without the continuous debates and insults, all I needed was an idea or two. Find something better to do. Seriously. Look, if I wanted all this crap about whatever you guys are talking about now, (You lost me in all the quoting within quoting and quoting beyond that.)You only need to say whatever your idea is and SHUT THE HELL UP. If someone disproves you, oh well, it's not ripinng your balls off. Just accept the fact someone has a different idea, and if you want to argue about it, do it elsewhere. Stop wasting everyone's time.
In short.
I GET THE POINT, LEVITATE SHOULDN'T BE USED IN A FOCUS. IT'S OVERLY COMPLICATED AND UNCLEAR IN THE RULES. LET'S ALL GO POST SOMEWHERE ELSE. STOP RAVING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS OVER TWO DAYS AGO. |
EH???
Ed cool story just the sort of thing I would do! - IC of course!!
kevyn668
Mar 19 2005, 12:52 AM
| QUOTE (Edward) |
| QUOTE (kevyn668 @ Mar 18 2005, 09:08 AM) |
| QUOTE | | ...we had a party wedding but she participated in her husbands murder 2 sessions latter... |
Oh no you don't, Ed. You GOTTA tell the story behind that one! |
It may be a little of topic but I was asked. So I put the story in spoiler tags (if they work) [ Spoiler ] To give you an idea of the players involved the male (and I won’t say man) had last played a razer boy (he clamed samurai but no honer to speak of) I forget his self given street name but we stated calling him twitch, witch he disliked in and out of character, the gem ruled that twitch was getting better job offers than he was. On one run he started setting fire to pay data so I cast a low powered fire bolt at him, he was carrying two dozen grenades we where lucky to escape the blast radius. His new character was a southern gentleman and card carrying member of humanis with affiliation to some of the more violent splinter groups (the party of 8 contains maybe 3 humans). The other player was new to the game and easily board, in spite of having brown hare she is the classic blond. One session they started to go out, the next they where married. 2 sessions latter the male was offered a sum of nuyen to kill the parties eleven face and medic, he went to said face and offered to cut her ear of as proof that she was dead, (she had also been approached to kill his smarmy ass), she refused. When next he was lying on the ground beading with his wife leaning over him and the face/medic working on him the medic used the wrong drug he, passes body test. She “slips” with the scalpel he invoked hand of god the blade snaps on his jugular, the medic then gives up on subtly and stabs a combat knife in his neck. The wife, now leaning over her obviously murdered husband’s corps and right beside the one she saw murder him starts looting the body and said “cool I’m a widow I get all his stuff” as far as I know there was no collusion between the face and the wife but I may not have heard of it. [ Spoiler ]
Edward
|
Weredigo
Mar 19 2005, 10:29 AM
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Heaven shall never be more pleasent then one satisfied.
Jrayjoker
Mar 19 2005, 01:28 PM
Update:
I had the four male runners break up a potential rape of the unconscious female by the son of a Mafia Don who has a very bad reputation for that sort of thing. All kinds of hillarity of course ensued.
The impulsive, combat monster troll was fun to watch..
Dog
Mar 20 2005, 12:06 AM
Yikes! Rape scenario (especially involving a PC) in an RPG is pretty heavy. Hope it worked out for you though.
Jrayjoker
Mar 20 2005, 01:23 AM
The insane troll combat monster called a shot to the rapist's groin and staged it up to 3 over deadly before anything unseemly happened.
Jrayjoker
Mar 20 2005, 01:23 AM
I decided he bled out through both femoral arteries before the medkit was applied.
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