| From: | Hahns Shin Hahns_Shin@*******.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Power Gaming and Benchmarking (Long) |
| Date: | Fri, 23 Jun 2000 02:13:39 -0500 |
to most people on this list. Mostly, I'm concerned with "benchmarks". What
are telltale signs of different "power levels" of SR gaming in your group?
I've had the fortune of playing (and not-as-much-fortunate task of GMing) in
various SR groups over the years, and we've run the gamut from street-level
campaigns to power games that involved the very fate of the Sixth World.
I've separated some of them into distinct categories, but I'm curious as to
what you guys/gals think:
1) Weeflerunners - Believe it or not, we ran a mini-campaign of wannabe
shadowrunners who were all fired from their snug corporate jobs in the
Renraku Arcology and became sort-of "Mallrats" shadowrunners (the
"Mallrats"
name wasn't my idea, but it came up eventually, and it stuck). A light
pistol was standard fare. SMGs were a deadly force. The only cyberdeck was a
Fuchi Cyber-4 which was borrowed for one run from an old friend.
2) Street Level - Imagine runs that only paid a thousand nuyen per person,
and you get the picture. Our rigger drove a modified Honda ZM-Turbo and had
a VCR level 1. Our muscle had a Smartlink and Boosted Ref. II. Oh, and hand
razors. We had a Rat shamanic adept (before aspected mages) for magical
support. Two teammates were killed by a single Force 5 Fire Elemental in
one run. Trolls and Orks rocked, simply because they didn't die as much.
The detective archetype actually kicks ass.
3) SR 2050 - SR as it was meant to be played back in 1st Ed. We call this
"old school" playing... the Predator was the gun you carried, the Fuchi was
the deck you banged, and everyone wore a lined coat or armor jacket simply
for their ballistic value (not for the camo/ruthenium/hardened gel pack
monstrosities of later sourcebooks). Wired II or Boosted III is standard,
and the mage had most spells at Force 4 or 5. People actually attempted to
play adepts (and suffered from mediocrity, because they couldn't buy power
points or initiate, like in SR3). The detective archetype starts to suck.
The most powerful guy you know is your Fixer. Basically, low tech curve
(compared to 10 years later).
4) SR 2055 - Fields of Fire. All I have to say about that. :-) The
occasional piece of Bioware, some Alpha grade cyber, Initiate grade 1 or 2,
perhaps. Multiple magically-active characters. Shadowtech was pretty spiffy.
By now, you threaten your players with the detective archetype if they don't
make viable, fleshed-out characters. The most powerful guy you know is one
of many Johnsons that call on you regularly for creative corporate work.
5) SR 2060 - More magic than you can shake a knobby staff at. Adepts
actually kick a little ass. Sammies are more machine than man (Dermal
Plating out, Dermal Sheathing in). Riggers have more drones than fingers.
Ruthenium Polymers are standard for stealth excursions. You've met a
powerful underling of Lofwyr/Mafia Don/Damien Knight/<insert plot character
here>. Players are more concerned with Karma than the payment for the run.
You get the picture (in your cybereye/cam/laser/gun).
6) Power gaming - Taking on an Insect Spirit or two is no problem for your
Physical Mage. The magically-actives have formed their own group and are all
initiate grade 4 or above. The decker can take on most sammies in hand to
hand combat. Fairlights are out-of-date/style. You've met
Harlequin/Lofwyr/<insert plot character here> and lived to not talk about
it. You've fired a Panther Cannon out of a vehicle once (and never thought
that a Panther Cannon can be a personal infantry weapon).
7) Munchkins - Your rigger owns a combat panzer. Your sammie owns a
customized, Smartlinked II Panther cannon, which he Ambidextrously fires
with his zero-recoil Vindicator (also customized). Your Physical Mage has
taken on an Insect Hive and won. The detective archetype is redundant,
because your decker, with his skillwires, is much better at all of those
skills than the detective ever will be. The GM walks off in disgust...
thankfully, I've never played or GMed a Munchkin campaign.
This is a long post (sorry), but mostly I want to know about your personal
benchmarking system.
Hahns
