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Message no. 1
From: powbr323@*******.otago.ac.nz (Bryan Pow)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 15:54:58 +1300 (NZDT)
Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?
Message no. 2
From: lordmalachdrim@*******.com (Nate Borys)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 23:16:14 -0500
I was on the stage where I had to write an original adventure but college
work got in the way and I've been unalbe to devote enough time to it of
late.

>From: Bryan Pow <powbr323@*******.otago.ac.nz>
>Reply-To: Shadowrun Discussion <shadowrn@*****.dumpshock.com>
>To: shadowrn@*****.dumpshock.com
>Subject: Commando program
>Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 15:54:58 +1300 (NZDT)
>
> Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
>Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?


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Message no. 3
From: dam01@***.edu.au (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 15:58:45 +1100
Bryan Pow writes:

> Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
> Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?

I've thought about it. I probably will next year once my thesis is
submitted. However, being a SR Commando is rather rough compared to being a
BattleTech Commando. You still have to run the same amount of stuff (about
one official event every two months or so), but writing a SR adventure that
can be used by complete newbies for _each_ and _every_ event is rather a lot
more difficult than designing a simple and small BattleTech mission that
anyone can just play...

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 4
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 10:42:39 +0100
According to Bryan Pow, on Thu, 19 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...

> Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
> Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?

The what?

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 5
From: loneeagle@********.co.uk (Lone Eagle)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 11:44:38 +0000
At 03:54 PM 19/12/2002 +1300, Bryan wrote:
> Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
>Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?

The whichwhatwherewhen?

I don't know, I don't think so... Is it the sort of thing one can be
involved in without knowing it?


--
Lone Eagle
"Hold up lads, I got an idea."

www.wyrmtalk.co.uk - Please be patient, this site is under construction

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Message no. 6
From: bull@*********.com (Bull)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 03:01:39 -0500
At 10:42 AM 12/19/2002 +0100, you wrote:
>According to Bryan Pow, on Thu, 19 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...
>
> > Hoow many of you guys are part of the Commando program for
> > Shadowrun? Is it a good thing to get involved in?
>
>The what?

This is, unfortunately, one of the problems the Commando Program is having...

Basically, the Commandos are a demo program that FanPro is
running. As part of the registration process though, you have to
submit an adventure, to show that you have something you can run for
newbies. It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is on the
application, and tends to scare people off.

And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most people
tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(

Bull
Message no. 7
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 10:38:21 +0100
According to Bull, on Fri, 20 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...

> Basically, the Commandos are a demo program that FanPro is
> running. As part of the registration process though, you have to
> submit an adventure, to show that you have something you can run for
> newbies. It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is on the
> application, and tends to scare people off.

I understood from Damion's post that you need to write a new adventure
every so often...? If that's really the case, then I can see what's scaring
people off... OTOH a single, simple adventure suitable for new players
shouldn;t be too much of a problem, I'd think.

> And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most
> people tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(

I take it everyone on the ds forums knows all about it, though, hmm?

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 8
From: loneeagle@********.co.uk (Lone Eagle)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 11:55:02 +0000
At 03:01 AM 20/12/2002 -0500, Bull wrote:
>>The what?
>
>This is, unfortunately, one of the problems the Commando Program is having...
>
>Basically, the Commandos are a demo program that FanPro is
>running. As part of the registration process though, you have to
>submit an adventure, to show that you have something you can run for
>newbies. It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is on the
>application, and tends to scare people off.
>
>And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most people
>tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(

So stop bitching about how noone knows what it is and tell us :-)


--
Lone Eagle
"Hold up lads, I got an idea."

www.wyrmtalk.co.uk - Please be patient, this site is under construction

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GCC0.2: y75>?.uk[NN] G87 S@:@@[SR] B+++ f+ RM(RR) rm++ rr++ l++(--) m- w
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Message no. 9
From: adamj@*********.com (Adam Jury)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 13:23:36 +0100
At 12:55 20-12-2002, Lone Eagle wrote:

>So stop bitching about how noone knows what it is and tell us :-)

http://www.commandohq.com has the details, although they're relatively
sparse; most of the effort has been dedicated towards Classic BattleTech as
opposed to SR.

Adam
--
| Editor, The Shadowrun Supplemental: http://tss.dumpshock.com |
| adamj@*********.com | http://www.talkinabout.com | UIN: 2350330 |
Message no. 10
From: dam01@***.edu.au (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 23:35:26 +1100
Bull writes:

> And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most people
> tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(

Maybe it needs some links on dumpshock?

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 11
From: dam01@***.edu.au (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 23:35:47 +1100
Adam Jury writes:

> http://www.commandohq.com has the details, although they're relatively
> sparse; most of the effort has been dedicated towards Classic BattleTech as
> opposed to SR.

Maybe it could do with some links from shadowrunrpg.com?

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 12
From: dam01@***.edu.au (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 23:38:13 +1100
Gurth writes:

> I understood from Damion's post that you need to write a new adventure
> every so often...? If that's really the case, then I can see what's scaring
> people off... OTOH a single, simple adventure suitable for new players
> shouldn;t be too much of a problem, I'd think.

Hmm. Maybe I misinterpreted it, but I got the impression that you were
supposed to run a different, or new, event each time. If you could just
re-run the old one, then it'd be really easy! Although, I could see
potential problems if someone who'd played last time turned up again...
(Which was sort of why I figued that it had to be a different thing each
time, too.)

> > And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most
> > people tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(
>
> I take it everyone on the ds forums knows all about it, though, hmm?

No, I don't think that it's any better known over there, either actually...

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 13
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:09:55 +0100
According to Damion Milliken, on Fri, 20 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...

> > I take it everyone on the ds forums knows all about it, though, hmm?
>
> No, I don't think that it's any better known over there, either
> actually...

Well, that's a relief, anyway...

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 14
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 19:28:15 +0100
From the commandohq.com site:

> 6. How does the application process work?
> The application process has three stages. The first
> stage is for the prospective Commando to click
> on the “Enlist” hyperlink on the http://www.commandohq.com/ site
[snip]
> You’ll be required to fill out the application
> package and provide an original Battletech or
> Shadowrun scenario that you would use to
> demonstrate the games.

Though I didn't click on said link (see below), that line makes it seem to
me like you only need to write up a single scenario, which you'd use all
the time.

> 7. How many events am I going to have to run?
> All Commandos must run at least 6 events in any
> calendar year. These events can be run at any
> time during the year.
>8. Are we expected to attend 6 conventions a year?
> Absolutely not! Conventions are a lot of fun, and very
> important to FanPro, but they are not the
> primary focus of the Commando program. Our
> primary focus is getting out into local Game
> Stores and running events there. The Commandos
> are there to support the local Game Retailers!

Well, all that put together rules me out -- unless FanPro intends on buying
Games Workshop, anyway, or until I can find a way to run SR six times at
GenCon UK :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 15
From: bull@*********.com (Bull)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 16:52:52 -0500
At 10:38 AM 12/20/2002 +0100, you wrote:
>I understood from Damion's post that you need to write a new adventure
>every so often...? If that's really the case, then I can see what's scaring
>people off... OTOH a single, simple adventure suitable for new players
>shouldn;t be too much of a problem, I'd think.

So far as I know, you just have to write one. The problem is, I think
people assume it needs to be good and in depth... Which it may be, to be
honest. I'm not sure. I know that if I had to, I couldn't write an in
depth adventure. I simply don;t think the right way for that.

I generally go with a very broad, vague outline with a point A and a Point
Z, and occasionally script in a Point F or a Point M as needed for story
and plot, but otherwise wing my games. And when i write, I think and write
in a very linear, simple fahion, so if I plan my games out in detail they
end up rigid and "railroadish".

> > And advertising for it is a bit of a problem, currently, since most
> > people tend to be somewhat unaware of it :(
>
>I take it everyone on the ds forums knows all about it, though, hmm?
A little. Clutch unfortunately is a Battletech player, is is fairly
unfamiliar with Shadowrun stuff. I tried pointing him at the right spots
for some advertising for the SR end of things, since he's unfamiliar with
the SR online community, but... I think he only ended up hitting Dumpshock.

For more info on the Commando Program, head here: http://www.commandohq.com/

Bull


>--
>Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
> Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
>-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
>-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-
>
>GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
>O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
>Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 16
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 11:06:45 +0100
According to Bull, on Fri, 20 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...

> So far as I know, you just have to write one. The problem is, I think
> people assume it needs to be good and in depth... Which it may be, to be
> honest. I'm not sure. I know that if I had to, I couldn't write an in
> depth adventure. I simply don;t think the right way for that.

If it's intended to get people interested in SR, I think the main thing it
needs to be, is captivating. It could do that by being in-depth, but IMHO
it's not really necessary -- as long as it shows some of the more
interesting bits of the game world, and isn't dull for the players, it
should do, if you ask me. But I'm not the one making the decision on this,
so what I think about this doesn't matter much :)

> I generally go with a very broad, vague outline with a point A and a
> Point Z, and occasionally script in a Point F or a Point M as needed for
> story and plot, but otherwise wing my games. And when i write, I think
> and write in a very linear, simple fahion, so if I plan my games out in
> detail they end up rigid and "railroadish".

Which could be good for an introductory adventure, provided you disguise
the lack of choice. My choice would be to go for a simple adventure along
the lines of "Break into this building and steal <whatever>" or "Take
this
item to that location," into which a few unexpected twists can be
introduced. That gives clear-cut objectives with little scope for the
players to go off at an unexpected angle, but can still be interesting if
the twists are good enough.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 17
From: anders@**********.com (Anders Swenson)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 10:23:54 -0800
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gurth" <Gurth@******.nl>
To: "Shadowrun Discussion" <shadowrn@*****.dumpshock.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 21, 2002 2:06 AM
Subject: Re: Commando program


[snip]

Which could be good for an introductory adventure, provided you disguise
the lack of choice. My choice would be to go for a simple adventure along
the lines of "Break into this building and steal <whatever>" or "Take
this
item to that location," into which a few unexpected twists can be
introduced. That gives clear-cut objectives with little scope for the
players to go off at an unexpected angle, but can still be interesting if
the twists are good enough.

I'd like to see a library of these introductory adventures.
--Anders

--
Message no. 18
From: Gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 11:25:27 +0100
According to Anders Swenson, on Sat, 21 Dec 2002 the word on the street was...

> I'd like to see a library of these introductory adventures.

Though I'm not a member of this Commando program, it seems to me that they'd
not be too smart if they didn't make all the approved adventures available to
all the members.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Je moet knoeien met de riemen die je hebt.
-> Probably NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 19
From: adamj@*********.com (Adam Jury)
Subject: Commando program
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 13:05:51 +0100
At 11:25 22-12-2002, Gurth wrote:

>Though I'm not a member of this Commando program, it seems to me that they'd
>not be too smart if they didn't make all the approved adventures
available to
>all the members.

I believe that's exactly the case, although I'm not a member myself - the
FLGS local to me doesn't have space to run RPGs. [And with 5 days a week
working on RPGs and one day a week playing them, I think I'm allowed to
have one day off a week . . . ;-)]

Adam
--
| Editor, The Shadowrun Supplemental: http://tss.dumpshock.com |
| adamj@*********.com | http://www.talkinabout.com | UIN: 2350330 |

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