Message no. 1

From:	sp@*****.gr (Stefanos Patelis)
Subject:	Brevity of SR4 combat [was:Hacking a Smartlink in SR4]
Date:	Mon, 03 Oct 2005 17:55:50 +0300

Snicker wrote:

> At 08:35 AM 10/3/2005, you wrote:
>
>> > I can't see how this ruins the SR4 concept. I kinda see it as
>> > adding some extra stuff to it...
>
> [SNIP]
> As far as SR4, the only thing I worry about is the brevity of combat.
> Previously, the combats were rather lengthy, true, but they were also
> cinematic (at least the way I ran them they were). I think of it akin
> to the Matrix: hundreds of bullets, lots of dodging, and opportunities
> for everyone to shine. Now the combats are so short, I don't imagine
> melee combatants will even get a chance to close the distance before
> the combat is over. I worry about this, because for some of my
> players, the combat IS the game. If combat doesn't take up as much of
> the game as the (to them) "boring" roleplaying and adventuring, they
> consider it a slow night. Granted, I could throw more combats in, but
> that leads to interrupting my floor more frequently, which can really
> detract from the storytelling that most of my players are there for.
>
I definetely think combat still retains its Matrixuesque feel with
dodging bullets and fast paced rounds. The probelm of speed you are
referring to lies more with the players leaning on a specific style of
gaming and less with the system. My take on this is that I give the
players what they want changing the system or the modules slightly to
lean towards their preferrance of style. If they want more combat you
must give them more combat and start thinking of other ways to make
combat unique. But if you have to satifsy both roelpayers and combat
lovers then you already have a problem at hand that no system can really
solve it...Only your actions and management.

A scrap in an alley is fun the first hundred times ( ;-) ) but what if
you throw in more than two sides? Perhaps innocents? unique environments
? especially if that difficult terrain requires some extra rolls to
accomplish things? Suddenlty that alley scrap becomes a fight that
starts in an alley and suddenly transfers itself in an underground goth
club where strobe lighting makes for some nice modifiers, the local
ghoul gang decides they don't like interloppers and join in and because
of the bad lighting the battle splits into the club's different rooms...
Not a simple combat scene any more...


> So... Who wants to run a quick sim of a typical 4-person (three grunts
> and a mage) newly created party against a 6-man corp sec team for me?
> (I don't have my book yet).
>
> ;)
>
> Snicker
>
>

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