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From:	David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject:	Re: Coldhearted Bastards
Date:	Thu, 16 Jul 1998 14:56:47 -0600

Message no. 1 bryan.covington@****.COM wrote:
/
/ Ok. It seems I was taken out of context and some of my allusions
/ and metaphors were read differently than I interpreted them.

I was wondering about that.

/ Let me attempt to clarify.

[snip]

Agreed :)

/ As a counter point, and in an effort to solve what looks like
/ everyone sees as a problem. How do we get the cold-hearted, "I feel no
/ pain.", AD&D shadowrunners to show a little #@&*ing compassion?

...oi

In my experience (15 years of gaming) it's a matter of maturity on the
part of the player.

I remember when I didn't give a fig about who my character killed or
how (not that I went out of my way to do it, but it was just a game).

Somewhere along the way my playing style matured. Now my characters
have depth and feelings and those with a consciounce worry about the
consequences of their actions.

My suggestion is to lead by example.

And bring up the issue in roleplaying. Have your character react to
the apperant callaousness of the other characters. "Geez. I can't
believe you just killed all those people. Were you born without a
heart or what?" Don't address the players, have your character/NPC
address their character. This way it doesn't appear as if you're
criticizing the player. If you address the player than he can defend
himself and his playing style. If your character addresses the issue
then it gives the player the freedom to run his character however he
wants. And hopefully you'll give the player something to think about.

If all else fails, beat with a stick by bring the issue up among the
players.

-David
--
"If I told you, then I'd have to pull a Shadowrun against you. Sorry."
--
email: dbuehrer@******.carl.org
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm

From:	bryan.covington@****.COM
Subject:	Re: Coldhearted Bastards
Date:	Thu, 16 Jul 1998 17:02:24 -0400

Message no. 2 > Agreed :)
>
Wow, two for two! Smokin!!

> If all else fails, beat with a stick by bring the issue up among the
> players.
>
I think the beatings are a good idea! Thanks!

Just kidding. I generally do this when I am playing,
however in this case, I'm the GM. I was looking for more on what a GM
could do. Though your idea might work if I tried to get it through to a
player and then had them do it. Hm....

From:	Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject:	Re: Coldhearted Bastards
Date:	Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:49:51 -0400

Message no. 3 At 05:02 PM 7/16/98 -0400, you wrote:

>> If all else fails, beat with a stick by bring the issue up among the
>> players.
>>
> I think the beatings are a good idea! Thanks!

Hey, we ALL could use a good beating every now and again. Or at least a
good swift kick in the ass.

> Just kidding. I generally do this when I am playing,
>however in this case, I'm the GM. I was looking for more on what a GM
>could do. Though your idea might work if I tried to get it through to a
>player and then had them do it. Hm....

Recheck some of what I wrote and my site. But to summarize (sort of):

Try and design entire runs in which no one gets killed. Make a
non-lethality clause in the agreement, a bonus or something, then design
the actual run so that if the players do some thinking, their runners won't
have to fire a single bullet. The dice-chuckers will be happy with all the
Stealth and Perception rolls you impose on them. The RPers and the
planners will be happy with being able to put thought and character into
the run, instead of just shooting people.

I did this with the current group I've got, their first adventure with me.
Had them sweating bullets during the run. They all enjoyed it, and not a
single shot was fired of any kind.

Now, I did balance this out by letting them gun down the next time some
trash/junkie/rapist/murdering gangers and let them have some "fun"
runnin'an'gunnin', and I let them vent steam every now and again like that.
But most of the time I try to reward them for smart and non-lethal play,
and they've mostly responded very well.

Further, make non-lethal weapons more common in general. Give some to some
sec guards. An Ares Squirt can be extremely nasty, expecially since it's
not really affected by armor, when used properly. After a runner or two
*realizes* this fact, they may be much more willing to pick up gel rounds
or Squirts or whatnot.

Run the sec guards more intelligently. They aren't fanatics that'll duke
it out until death, they'll retreat, they'll beg for mercy, they'll surrender.

You can even resort to Instant Karma awards for compassionate behavior.
I've currently got a player who's PC is a physadept and a small time street
doc. On the one hand, incredibly mercenary. On the other, he carries
around slap patches and uses them on downed gangers and guards, to give
them a second chance at life at least. If he's got time, he'll break out
the medkit.

I tend to give him a bit of extra Karma at the end of each session than the
gun-happy sorts that sometimes show up. And I've even given him a point of
Karma to use right on the spot, depending on the situation, but I've done it.

It's really all about attitude from the GM down. If I set up my entire SR
game with murder in mind, the players will respond accordingly. If *I*
emphasize, in various ways, not killing everyone in sight, again, the
players will respond accordingly. And I don't have a problem with
punishing trigger-happy players. There are more than enough ways,
in-canon, to take care of that sort of PC.

Erik J.

http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/dungeon/480/index.html
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