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Message no. 1
From: Nathan E Clark <kid_lightning@****.COM>
Subject: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 16:20:49 -0600
I need advise about contacts.

I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
next job that I've planned for them?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Kid Lightning

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Message no. 2
From: Geoff Skellams <geoff.skellams@*********.COM.AU>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 13:18:58 +1100
On Shadowrun Discussion, Nathan E Clark[SMTP:kid_lightning@****.COM]
wrote:
> I need advise about contacts.
>
> I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
> Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
> creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their
contacts
> for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much
info
> can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
> trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
> her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
>
This is one area where common sense should come to the fore. A
Metahuman rights activist is essentially a political beast. She
organises rallies and the like to increase the publics awareness of
metahuman rights, trying to get their official rights recognised. Just
because she works for metahuman rights doesn't mean she knows every
single metahuman out there. So let the runners contact the MRA. Let her
know nothing, or complain that it's groups like this that make her job
so hard.

> How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially
when
> they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days
since
> your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for
the
> next job that I've planned for them?

The SR Companion has a really nice section on using contacts and
the Friends of a Friend (FOF). It also has a section on the flipside of
contacts, namely enemies. (So nice in fact I have thought about writing
a program to create a whole network of contacts from the list the
characters present to me - kinda the six degrees of separation thing).
Remember, when a character gets in touch with a contact, the
contact will probably expect some sort of reward for their help. That
reward may not necessarily be monetary either. You can get the
characters to "owe them one", thereby setting yourself with a plot hook
to start another run ("Hey Jack, I have a little problem I need some
help on, and seeings as though you owe me one..."). The characters can
also give them information, which you can use in creating a backplot for
your campaign.
Enemies are another great way of starting runs, when one of them
decides to have a go at one of the runners (or all of them if it is a
team enemy). The players might not get any cash from the run, but they
might get to live to see another morning.

cheers
Geoff
--
Geoff Skellams R&D - Tower Software
Email Address: geoff.skellams@*********.com.au
Homepage: http://www.towersoft.com.au/staff/geoff/
ICQ Number: 2815165

"The Stoat - pound for pound the most dangerous creature on the face of
the planet"
- Chris Irwin, spouting crap during "Over Port & Cigars..."
Message no. 3
From: Kevin R Mohondro <mohkev@******.COM>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 18:38:49 -0800
> From: Nathan E Clark <kid_lightning@****.COM>

> I need advise about contacts.
>
> I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
> Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
> creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their
contacts
> for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much
info
> can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks
causing
> trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to
use
> her?

How much information you give out is up to you. I know, that answer
sucks. However, this activist knows squat about the gang. Maybe the
activist has a brother in the gang. If you don't want the players
contacting a specific contact. Have them be unreachable.

>Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?

I try to plan as much as possible. But, the players will invariably go
off on some tangent that you hadn't tought of. Two choices, try to
steer them back on to the track you've marked, or go with it.
Sometimes I plan a small little session and my paranoid players start
checking things I'd never have thought of. I just go with it and feed
their fears. It has led to some very interesting (and disturbing)
adventures. But, sometimes their paranoia leads them nowhere. So, the
players may not get to the same ending you had in mind when you
started. Did everyone have a good time?

> How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially
when
> they have such a low rep.?

If a contact gets into trouble I don't think their rep should have too
much to do with it. If they need something done, they would call one
of their chummers and ask them if they've got a bit of time to spare
to help 'em out. That's what the runners do with them. It's a two way
street.

>Should I ever just say, "its four days since
> your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around
for the
> next job that I've planned for them?

I usually ask my players if there's anything they want to get done. I
don't tell them how long I have planned for their "unemployment". If
they're in the middle of something when opportunity comes knocking,
they have a choice to make.

> Any advice would be appreciated.

Hope it helps.

-Moe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Kevin R Mohondro mohkev@******.com
Software Engineer
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h+(h++) r++ y+ z+
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Message no. 4
From: Adam J <fro@***.AB.CA>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 19:58:37 -0700
At 16:20 26/02/98 -0600, you wrote:

>I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
>Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
>creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
>for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
>can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
>trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
>her?

This depends entirely on whom the metahuman rights activisit is ;)

This is how I run my contacts: At chargen, the players write up a paragraph
(Minimum) about the contact. This lets me know what they want in the
contact, and also gives me ideas for plot hooks and threads.

I would *never* let a player in my game have a "Mr Johnson". The guy has a
name, doesn't he? Everyone is an individual, and all that.. read my
ranting about how important contacts are in one of my articles on From The
Jury's Bench, housed at the SR Archive.

>Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
>How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
>they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
>your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
>next job that I've planned for them?

Just another idea: The characters lives do not revolve around jobs. The
characters in my game regularly take time out for clubbing, shooting pool,
dating, some legit work, etc. Spending time active time role-playing this
gives more insight on the character, takes some of the 'work' off you, and
can also lead to some great plots.

I've generally found that planning is a bad idea. I'm fixing to run the
Mob War plot in my campaign real soon now (Moving it to 2053, though), but
before that, the characters are going jungle running. This is my extent of
plans:

Players are contacted by somebody who needs something that can only be
found at an abandoned research station. Problem is, it's at least 50 miles
out of Seattle in the wilderness, and players have to find it. They'll
probably find it, although it may take them several weeks if not a month of
scouring the bushland and all that. When they come back, they learn that
the Mob War plot is in full swing, and Hiro (The damn player names ALL his
characters that. Drives me nuts. The next character of his, I name
myself.) gets a call from a Yak contact of his, asking for help in clearing
the Yaks of any misdoing. They can decide if they want to be involved or
not -- and there's no evidence of pay up front. Yakuza honour needs no
money..

10 lines, and it will take several sessions to play out, and it's so
generic that I can adapt it on the fly to anything at all. I'll probably
end up going into the session with a couple pages of brief notes, but
that's it.

In short, I've found that the less you plan, the easier the game is. YMMV.

-Adam
-
http://shadowrun.home.ml.org \ TSS Productions \ The Shadowrun Supplemental
ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader \ AdamJ@******** \ fro@***.ab.ca
The Shadowrun Archive Co-Maintainer: http://www.interware.it/shadowrun
-- "Are you worried about your faith? Kneel down and obey."
Message no. 5
From: MgkellyMJ7 <MgkellyMJ7@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 00:15:35 EST
In a message dated 98-02-26 21:04:34 EST, you write:

<< I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
next job that I've planned for them?
Any advice would be appreciated.
>>

usually, i use Johnsons just as 'middle-men' to get the characters the jobs.
let them use the contacts as much as they want, as long as it helps the game
go in the direction that you think it should. if the PC's call a contact, give
them as much information as you think they should have and only as much info
as the contact might know (ie: a ganger probably isn't going to know executive
secrets). contacts might seek out 'Runners for help, if you have it worked
into a run. otherwise, don't worry about it. the game doesn't have to be
super-realistic. just sit back and have fun. don't stress about how a contact
should act. after you've GM'ed for a while, you'll get a feel for things.
somewhere in the basic book, there is a table for deciding the quality of
information gotten from contacts. that might help give you something to start
with. and it's always okay to say that '4 days have passed and you've rested
up'. i usually start new runs by saying "it's been X days/weeks since the
last run".
you can't plan for everything. PCs will invariably throw the most well-laid
plans awry.

Mgkelly
Message no. 6
From: Robert Watkins <robert.watkins@******.COM>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 15:47:46 +1000
Adam J writes:
>10 lines, and it will take several sessions to play out, and it's so
>generic that I can adapt it on the fly to anything at all. I'll probably
>end up going into the session with a couple pages of brief notes, but
>that's it.
>
>In short, I've found that the less you plan, the easier the game is. YMMV.


Ditto, in my experience... Spending five days writing down an adventure in
excruciating detail really seems pointless when your players, at the very
first opportunity, choose option D: None of the above when they can make a
choice.

I tend to give myself a broad outline, flesh out (in my mind... rarely on
paper) the salient points of the plot, get an image of what the major and
minor players are like, and take it from there. Mind you, I tend to have a
lot of "props"... generic characters, such as Lone Star cops and yakuza
hitmen, and layouts for bars, etc. But this, in my opinion, goes under
background. The more background you have, I find, the less foreground you
need. :)

Murphy's Law for GM's: If you dump the players in a room with two doors,
they'll smash a hole in the wall and go out that way.

(Or the roof, or the floor, or dimensionally teleport to a higher level of
existence...)

--
.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com
Message no. 7
From: NightLife <habenir@*****.UC.EDU>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 02:10:02 -0500
At 04:20 PM 2/26/98 -0600, you wrote:
>I need advise about contacts.
>
>I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
>Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
>creativity).


Don't down play yourself it's all practice.

>How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
>for information


Once maybe twice per session.

> and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
>can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
>trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
>her?

Plenty as a MRA she probably know quite a few ork gang members who might be
willing to pass gossip onto her espically if she's good to them.

>Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
>How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
>they have such a low rep.?


Depends on the contact. A bartender maybe once or twice over the pc's carrer
anf Johnson once every couple of months.

>Should I ever just say, "its four days since
>your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
>next job that I've planned for them?
>Any advice would be appreciated.
>
>Kid Lightning

No never say it's been "four days". The pc's will likely spend a couple of
weeks just on their personal lives. If they're really tight for cash then
they're living to high up on the hog and they need to live where the can
afford a month or two of lfiestyle after a job. If they're gutter trash then
that's who differnt ball game as they need to do a "job" a couple of times a
week. As they are probably going to get paid one or two thousand ¥.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nightlife Inc.=
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

"I am telling you nothing - merely asking you to remember that death come in=

many shades. Some are harsh and infinitely painful to look upon; others can=
be
as peaceful and beautiful as the setting sun. I am an artist, and many=
colors
lie on upon my palette. Let me paint him a rainbow, and give you the means=
to
decide where it ends."

Erik from the book Phantom.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Document Classified=
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Message no. 8
From: Christian Bryndum <d96403@***.LYNGBYES.DK>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 10:39:47 +0100
At 16:20 26-02-98 -0600, you wrote:
>I need advise about contacts.
>
>I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
>Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
>creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
>for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
>can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
>trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
>her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
>How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
>they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
>your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
>next job that I've planned for them?
>Any advice would be appreciated.
>
>Kid Lightning
>

I usually give my players a great deal of contacts, especially from bought
adventures. And then they use them quite a deal on other runs, for infor,
backup, gear etc etc.
And when everything is one big paradise i kill the contacts, then the
players have to figure out what has happend to their suppliers. Then just
make one of the other players contact the killer and ZAP, you got a pretty
nice intrigue running.

Chaszmyr
Check out my homepage on:
http://delfi.lyngbyes.dk/~d96403



"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
Yet with strange aeons, even Death may die."
Howard P. Lovecraft
Message no. 9
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 11:45:27 +0100
Nathan E Clark said on 16:20/26 Feb 98...

> I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
> Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
> creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
> for information,

As realistically as possible -- contacts are there to be talked to, but
they're not always available. If players can't reach their contacts every
time they try, they might feel cheated, because they've payed a lot of
money for something that's no use to them. OTOH contacts can't usually be
reached every minute of the day, so you can use that to delay the players:

"I call up my street doc contact, see if he knows something about the
recent killings"

"Hi, this is the doctor's voicemail. I'm not in right now, but you can
leave a message after the beep."

BEEEEP

And then, several hours later when the players are stuck, you can have the
doc contact them with a piece of info that'll help them along.

> and if they do it without my planning it, how much info can a metahuman
> rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing trouble in the
> Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use her? Or should I
> plan anything and just see what happens?

IMHO you shouldn't really plan how much each character knows. FASA does
things that way because they have to write their publsihed adventures as
fool-proof as possible, but when you devise an adventure of your own, it's
easier to handle things on a case-by-case basis: only decide what a
contact knows when a PC calls on him or her.

> How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
> they have such a low rep.?

If one of the contacts has something they think the PCs can help them out
with, let them come to the runners. The important thing to remember is
that these contacts are _people_, not names or descriptions on a sheet of
paper. Try to make them act realistically and believable, and I think you
should find most of the answers to your questions easily.

> Should I ever just say, "its four days since your last run, you've
> rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the next job that I've
> planned for them?

You could do that, and ask what they're doing in the mean time. You could
also for example let a run come to them, and involve them against the
characters' wills. E.g.: one of the characters comes home and finds a
large hole where her apartment used to be, plus a discarded disposable
rocket launcher in the street outside. Oops...

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html - UIN5044116
They say they know what's best for me.
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

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Message no. 10
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 09:31:58 -0700
Nathan E Clark wrote:
/
/ I need advise about contacts.
/
/ I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
/ Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
/ creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
/ for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
/ can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
/ trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
/ her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
/ How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
/ they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
/ your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
/ next job that I've planned for them?

I lump contacts into two broad categories: those that charge or
offer a discount, and those that don't.

The PC has a business relationship with the contacts that charge.
There's an outside chance that the contact might screw the PC, so the
PC should be a little paranoid. A thief's fence would be a good
example. The contact may hire the PC, or ask him for help, but the
PC will be rewarded for his troubles.

The PC has a friendship with contacts that don't charge. The contact
is faithful to the PC as long as the friendship is maintained. If
the friendship is not maintained the contact may seek revenge. If
the contact needs help the PC is expected to do it for free, or for a
cut rate. The contact can also be used to leverage the PC. The
contact may be targeted by the PC's enemies.

When it comes to dealing with contacts I use common sense based on
the PC's relationship with his contact. If it's a business
relationship the contact won't care how often the PC calls on his
services, as long as the PC has cash to pay for it. If it's a
friendly relationship the contact will start to resent the PC if the
PC abuses the friendship. Likewise, a friendly contact might abuse
his relationship with the PC. And their availability also relies on
their work schedule. The business contact can only be reached during
business hours. The friendly contact can be reached during off
business hours, but if he's interupted at work it better be for a
good reason.

Hope that helps :)

-David
--
"Laugh and grow strong."
- St. Ignatius of Loyola
--
ShadowRN GridSec: Enforcer Division
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 11
From: SCROSE <scrose@****.COM>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 10:59:42 -0600
Nathan E Clark wrote:
>
> I need advise about contacts.
>
> I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
> Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
> creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
> for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
> can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
> trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
> her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?

Policlubs and the those folks with personal politically agenda. Have
lots of information about the things they are interested in. It is not a
question of weather or not they would know but a matter of is it related
to what is going on at the time.

> How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
> they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
> your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
> next job that I've planned for them?
> Any advice would be appreciated.

Always having more than one plan is good. Contacts are useful but you
have to use them also consider that contacts are a two way street. You
must not kick the drek out your runners like I do. it's often weeks
between runs in my campaign even with magical healing and good biotech.
It takes time to replace gear, heal up etc...
Message no. 12
From: Lehlan Decker <decker@****.FSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 12:33:37 -0500
On Fri, Feb 27, 1998 at 10:59:42AM -0600, SCROSE wrote:
> Nathan E Clark wrote:
> >
> > I need advise about contacts.
> >
> > I'm having trouble finding a use for any of my PCs' contacts. Mr.
> > Johnsons are the most useful so far (I guess I'm limited by my own
> > creativity). How freely should I allow the PCs to contact their contacts
> > for information, and if they do it without my planning it, how much info
> > can a metahuman rights activist tell them about a gang of orks causing
> > trouble in the Barrens--especially when I didn't plan for them to use
> > her? Or should I plan anything and just see what happens?
>
<SNIP>
I usually create a list of contacts. What they can and can't do,
what information they may have. It helps to keep it all straight.
What a contact knows or doesn't is ultimately left up to the GM.
Use some common sense, and what fits the story line.


> > How often do contacts actually seek out the runners help, especially when
> > they have such a low rep.? Should I ever just say, "its four days since
> > your last run, you've rested up." Period. and let them dig around for the
> > next job that I've planned for them?
> > Any advice would be appreciated.
>
> Always having more than one plan is good. Contacts are useful but you
> have to use them also consider that contacts are a two way street. You
> must not kick the drek out your runners like I do. it's often weeks
> between runs in my campaign even with magical healing and good biotech.
> It takes time to replace gear, heal up etc...

It depends. Fixers tend to keep track of the status of the runners
they use. I usually roll a D6, and let it repersent the weeks
since the last run. (Depending on special circumstances of course).
Then when we first get together, we spend about an hours, discussing
"downtime" events, that type of thing if we don't want to rp it.
Contacts are just like any other NPC, they have lives, may resent
runners calling at 3AM, may have a fight with their wife, etc.
If you like the idea of runners finding their own jobs, check out
cyberpirates for some good examples, rules, ideas, etc.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Lehlan Decker 644-4534 Systems Development
decker@****.fsu.edu http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~decker
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Uh-Oh Toto, it doesn't look like we're gods anymore."
Message no. 13
From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 13:34:44 -0500
Regarding contacts...

First of all, you may be giving too much information to the players when
they get the job. When Mr. Johnson hires the runners, they are going to
leave out as much information, normally, as they can without jeopardizing
the mission. Which still means a lot let out. So if the runners want to
know who else has hit that location, obtain maps, get security info, or who
hired them and why, they are probably going to have to get that info from
their contacts.

Contacts can roughly be divided into two camps, and they switch back and
forth. There are the contacts you use for gear. Why does the street sam
take the armorer contact? Not because they figure the armorer can give
them good intel, it's because they want to buy big toys from the armorer.
Same with the magicians and the talismongers. Then there are the contacts
you use for information, like metahuman rights activists, corporate
secretaries and the dreaded fan. It's not bloody likely a corporate
secretary can supply you with milspec armor, but she probably can tell you
who's sleeping with who at the office, what projects are greenlighted,
which executives are up and which are down, and so on.

One way to codify this is to assign two ratings for each contact. One
rating defines their ability to obtain information, the other rating
defines their ability to obtain gear. Set and specialize these ratings for
each contact. If you want more info, I included this house rule into an
appendix in the NERPS: Edge Runners compilation (unless Gurth cut it out, I
can't remember). In fact, that net.book has a number of NPCs that you
might find interesting for your game. It's available in a number of
places, such as Paolo's Monster Archive (you know, I can remember visiting
that site back in 92 or 93 and using GOPHER!! It was pretty cool when I
was able to get time on a machine that had an early version of Mosiac. But
anyway...).

Hope that helps.

Erik J.

"Oh, the silent helicopters and the men in black fatigues? They're just
going to take me in for some leonization therapy."
Message no. 14
From: The Bookworm <Thomas.M.Price@*******.EDU>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 16:32:41 -0600
On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, Robert Watkins wrote:

> Murphy's Law for GM's: If you dump the players in a room with two doors,
> they'll smash a hole in the wall and go out that way.
> (Or the roof, or the floor, or dimensionally teleport to a higher level of
> existence...)

Of course we do! They might have guards or boobytraps or other suprises
on the KNOWN exits:). Its simple runner parinoia at work....

Thomas Price
aka The Bookworm
thomas.m.price@*******.edu
tmprice@***********.com
Message no. 15
From: David Johnson <binky@***********.HACKS.ARIZONA.EDU>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 15:42:15 -0700
On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, The Bookworm (Thomas Price) wrote:
> On Fri, 27 Feb 1998, Robert Watkins wrote:
> > Murphy's Law for GM's: If you dump the players in a room with two doors,
> > they'll smash a hole in the wall and go out that way.
> > (Or the roof, or the floor, or dimensionally teleport to a higher level of
> > existence...)
>
> Of course we do! They might have guards or boobytraps or other suprises
> on the KNOWN exits:). Its simple runner parinoia at work....

Naah. Your paranoid, you're just not paranoid enough. Knowing the runners
will try to break out in other ways the other ways will all be
variously trapped, guarded, and etc. Thus leaving the known exits
relatively safe... then again ...

You can get into the entire 'you know that I know that you know that I
know... ' circle. Shucks... wouldn't be surprised if someone rigged
a cortex bomb to an ekg to trigger the bomb when the implantee thinks too
hard, just to anticipte this chain of thought.

David Johnson
binky@***********.hacks.arizona.edu
(my sigs below.. it just happens to be the same color as your screen)
Message no. 16
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: New GM Needs Help Part II
Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 14:50:07 +0100
Erik Jameson said on 13:34/27 Feb 98...

> One way to codify this is to assign two ratings for each contact. One
> rating defines their ability to obtain information, the other rating
> defines their ability to obtain gear. Set and specialize these ratings for
> each contact. If you want more info, I included this house rule into an
> appendix in the NERPS: Edge Runners compilation (unless Gurth cut it out, I
> can't remember).

It's still in there, as Appendix A on page 45 (in my hardcopy). Anyone who
hasn't obtained a copy of Edge Runners, check out http://nerps.home.ml.org

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html - UIN5044116
They say they know what's best for me.
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

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