| From: | "Gurth" <gurth@******.nl> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Almighty's New GM Q |
| Date: | Sat, 23 Mar 1996 10:54:45 +0100 |
> I've just started playing Shadowrun within the last month or so,
> along with a friend of mine (Dodger) who started playing it before but
> didn't get very far. I have been GameMastering in Ad&d for about a year and
> a half, but Shadowrun is a big step in a different direction. If anyone has
> any advice for a new Shadowrun GM, it would be most appreciated. Also any
> adventure ideas would be nice. Thanx.
Most important, IMHO, is don't be afraid to fuck up the first few games
you run. You'll get the hang of the rules and the world soon enough.
First, naturally, get everybody to make a character, and since it seems
your players are all **&*-ers, stress the point that SR is not a
ROLLplaying game -- that is, try to get them to avoid the "I take all
skills at 6" attitude that I ran into when I first ran SR with the people
I used to play AD&D with.
Also, get a real good grip on the world, so you know what would happen if
the PCs walk th streets carrying weapons and wearing armor that would seem
too powerful to use even on a battlefield. Stealth is the key if you don't
want Lone Star breathing down your neck every time you go outside. You
don't need to enforce this sort of thing on the players immediately, just
make sure they're aware of this aspect of modern society.
Be easy on the players, and don't doublecross them during the first few
adventures. Keep those simple and straightforward, with something in it
for everyone. If there's a mage in the party, make sure there is something
for a mage to do in addition to shooting a gun at people. The same goes
for deckers and riggers. This will accomplish two things: first the
players won't get bored (although see below for a note on this matter),
and second you'll all get to know the pros, cons, and game mechanics
behind all these things.
Matti will likely disagree with me on letting the players in on the game
mechanics bit, but I believe a game is easier to run if the players know
the rules.
Magicians and deckers are somewhat hard to deal with in certain
situations: when magicians go into astral space or deckers go into the
matrix, they get separated from the rest of the team, so the action
switches to only one player instead of to the whole party. This can easily
result in the others getting bored while the magician or decker player is
busy for half an hour. If at all possible, switch your attention to the
other players regularly, or do the astral space or decker bit while you
send the other players out to get food or whatever.
As for matrix stuff, don't even look at pages 160 to 179 of the SRII
rules, but BUY VIRTUAL REALITIES 2.0. The matrix will be a hell of a lot
easier if you do (I forbid players to make deckers for years, seeing how
frustrated I got with the SRII matrix rules every time I said "Let's give
it another try, shall we?"...)
--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
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