Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: "Steven A. Tinner" <bluewizard@*****.COM>
Subject: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 01:18:43 -0400
Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
their games?

I tend to run a prop light game, using only printouts of easily Xeroxed
maps, and I make extensive use of letters.
Bull has received several letters and emails in particular either as set
ups for jobs, or information he's been looking for.

Back when we started a Bug City campaign we also made great use of the fax
machine, sending info back and forth as hardcopy.

Made for some interesting faxes left in my drop box at the newspaper!
"What the heck is this!? A picture of a squashed bug?!"

Anyone else have some great props that have made their games more
enjoyable.

BTW - Bull, you gotta tell them about the Dark Force gun! ;-)

Steven A. Tinner
bluewizard@*****.com
http://www.ncweb.com/users/bluewizard
"The color and the shape."
Message no. 2
From: Drekhead <drekhead@***.NET>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 09:17:20 +0000
On 11 Jun 97 at 1:18, Steven A. Tinner wrote:

> Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
> their games?

Mostly what you mentioned, photo copied maps and pictures. But I did
have on GM in a Traveller game that did something I thought was
pretty cool. He's a programmer, and wrote several programs that he
would run on his computer. Whenever we said we were hacking a
computer on accessing one to get information, he would fire up his PC
and let us have at it. Whatever we could pull off of it we could use.
If we rolled well, he would give us a password or something to get
in deeper. I thought that was pretty cool.

One other thing he did was we found an alien derelict vessel, and
rather than draw it out on paper, he made a Doom PWAD out of it, and
let us wander around in it! (If you have never played Doom you
probably have no idea what I am talking about).

The best props for me has always been music. I would always use music
to set a mood. I would load up the CD-changer with different kinds of
music and punch the remote to load the right track at appropriate
times. (I kept a list in front of me). It worked well. Fast-paced
action music seemed to make the normal slow combat sessions move
along well. On a few occasions, a would fire up some alternative band
to ear splitting levels when the PC's were trying to communicate in a
club. They had to scream at each other to be heard. It was cool, and
they enjoyed it because it gave them a better "feel" for the
atmosphere.

So, what have the rest of you used?

--

=DREKHEAD========================================================
drekhead@***.net --- http://users.aol.com/drekhead/home.html ---
=================================================================
=================================================================
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot
stomping on a human face...forever. -George Orwell
Message no. 3
From: Drekhead <drekhead@***.NET>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 12:40:53 +0000
On 11 Jun 97 at 1:18, Steven A. Tinner wrote:

> Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
> their games?

Mostly what you mentioned, photo copied maps and pictures. But I did
have on GM in a Traveller game that did something I thought was
pretty cool. He's a programmer, and wrote several programs that he
would run on his computer. Whenever we said we were hacking a
computer on accessing one to get information, he would fire up his PC
and let us have at it. Whatever we could pull off of it we could use.
If we rolled well, he would give us a password or something to get
in deeper. I thought that was pretty cool.

One other thing he did was we found an alien derelict vessel, and
rather than draw it out on paper, he made a Doom PWAD out of it, and
let us wander around in it! (If you have never played Doom you
probably have no idea what I am talking about).

The best props for me has always been music. I would always use music
to set a mood. I would load up the CD-changer with different kinds of
music and punch the remote to load the right track at appropriate
times. (I kept a list in front of me). It worked well. Fast-paced
action music seemed to make the normal slow combat sessions move
along well. On a few occasions, a would fire up some alternative band
to ear splitting levels when the PC's were trying to communicate in a
club. They had to scream at each other to be heard. It was cool, and
they enjoyed it because it gave them a better "feel" for the
atmosphere.

So, what have the rest of you used or observed?

--

=DREKHEAD========================================================
drekhead@***.net --- http://users.aol.com/drekhead/home.html ---
=================================================================
=================================================================
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot
stomping on a human face...forever. -George Orwell
Message no. 4
From: david lowe <dlowe@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 14:14:53 -0800
>On 11 Jun 97 at 1:18, Steven A. Tinner wrote:
>
>> Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
>> their games?
>

IMHO props can make the game. I use a lot of the standard stuff, maps,
copies, etc. Fortunately, I'm a graphic designer for a printing company, so
I have the resources to put out some pretty cool stuff. Laminated ID cards,
color screamsheets, survelliance photos, etc, have all shown up in my
games. BTW, I wonder how many others out there use their jobs to support
their gaming experience? Hmmmm.

There is a Call of Chutulhu module from Pagan Publishing but I can't
remember its name off hand, that has some great staging tips for the game.
At one point the players are separated into two groups, and it suggests
running the game with two GMs and using hand held radios to keep the two
groups in communication. When we ran it (on a halloween night no less) the
climax was amazing! Both groups were shouting orders and communication to
each other over the radios while things came unstuck on both ends. Chaos
reigned and everyone had a great time. My players usually use radios in
SRII, so I can't wait to use the same thing on them sometime.

D.
Message no. 5
From: Tim P Cooper <z-i-m@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 17:19:45 EDT
[snip Traveller GM with his own programs and Doom WADs for maps..]

Sounds like he had LOTS of time on his hands...

Cool though!

~Tim (who just found out that after shutting down his mailer to try and
clear his modem, that it neglected to handle a bit of book-keeping such
that when he opened it again all 60 odd SR posts were still in the inbox
and the entire contents of his outbox mysteriously vanished along with
the 2 hours spent on writing them...:-/ )
Message no. 6
From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 15:19:05 -0700
---"Steven A. Tinner" wrote:
>
> Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props
for
> their games?

We run rather prop light as well. I make good use of maps and
miniatures when the need arises (the sprawl maps and maps from DMZ)
come in handy here. About the only thing DMZ was good for. ;o)

I also lamenated the generic grid/maps that came with DMZ and use dry
erase markers for putting together my own maps, or making a larger
scale version of a map from a book or module.

Other than that, I also use copies of handouts or maps from
adventures. Plus, my group has learned to make use of email for
exchange of info and actions in between actual gaming sessions.

@>--,--'--- Loki

Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/

_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com
Message no. 7
From: GRANITE <granite@**.NET>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 19:14:17 -0700
> Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
> their games?

Hmm..I like to use as many props as I can or have time to come up
with..usually stuff like scream sheets..I bury important info in with
articles I come up with inspired from pics I clip from mags and
newspapers..I plan to do some of this for GenCon as well..as soon as
I find out more about the module we are running..I have a portably
vehicle light that I use as a FlashPak..Toss it up on the table in
front of a player "You see this just before you're PC sees a
flash"..We had one group at GenCon that came up with all these props
for their characters on the second and third rounds of the
tourney..One guy's character was G.I. Joeblonski he showed up with
one of those kids toys that slips over your hand and wrist and make
clamping sound effects...I also occasionally like to use sound effect
CDs..once I put the CD on a continuous loop with gun fire..and played
it until the firefight was over..This drove the players crazy...I use
lots of diagrams on a dry erase board as well..ANd I'm working on a
couple of others for GenCon that I want to keep a surprise...That
sort of thing...pretty much anything I can think up and come up
with...
--------------------------------GRANITE"Rock Steady"
===============================================
Lord, Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change,
The Courage To Change The Things I Can,
And The Wisdom To Hide The Bodies Of Those People I Had To Kill
Because They Pissed Me Off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ShadowRunner's Serenity Prayer
Message no. 8
From: Marcin Serkies <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 07:13:54 +0200
At 01:18 11.06.97 -0400, you wrote:

>Anyone else have some great props that have made their games more
>enjoyable.

First - good music. In loud place music should be loud and players should
barely hear you. Second - once upon a time my players flied with Cessna
(with pilot) - pilot died accidentaly and they wanted to land safely (no
parachutes). There was very bad weather and all panels were breaken. So i`ve
execute Flight Simulator on my PC and told them - land and you`ll be alive
:)))) They died... crashed into ground. Third - make lots of things that
players can found during the session. ID`s, wallets, broken tapes,
microprocesors etc. If they can touch that they`ll go deeper in game world.

That`s all now :)

c-ya

Yasiu
Message no. 9
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@****.ORG>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 06:44:41 -0600
david lowe wrote:
|
| At one point the players are separated into two groups, and it suggests
| running the game with two GMs and using hand held radios to keep the two
| groups in communication. When we ran it (on a halloween night no less) the
| climax was amazing! Both groups were shouting orders and communication to
| each other over the radios while things came unstuck on both ends. Chaos
| reigned and everyone had a great time. My players usually use radios in
| SRII, so I can't wait to use the same thing on them sometime.

I've used walkie-talkies a couple of times. Me and the player doing
the scouting would take one WT and leave the rest of the team with
the other WT. I'd tell the player what he saw and what was going on
and then it was up to him to pass information on to the other
players. It's loads of fun :) At some point I want to get a whole
set of WTs, one for everyone, so we can experience the fun of radio
traffic.

-David
--
"What's the point spread on World War III?"
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.htm
Message no. 10
From: Bull <chaos@*****.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 14:06:18 -0400
At 01:18 AM 6/11/97 -0400, Steven A. Tinner wrote these timeless words:
>Simple little question ... what do the GM's out there use as props for
>their games?
>
>I tend to run a prop light game, using only printouts of easily Xeroxed
>maps, and I make extensive use of letters.
>Bull has received several letters and emails in particular either as set
>ups for jobs, or information he's been looking for.
>
It's kinda cool to get these e-mail messages, and be able to hold short
conversations with our "Johnson" before the run starts...;]

>Back when we started a Bug City campaign we also made great use of the fax
>machine, sending info back and forth as hardcopy.
>
>Made for some interesting faxes left in my drop box at the newspaper!
>"What the heck is this!? A picture of a squashed bug?!"
>
That was a trip... I still have some copies floating around...:] I just
wish we both worked at a place with a Fax again...;]

>Anyone else have some great props that have made their games more
>enjoyable.
>
>BTW - Bull, you gotta tell them about the Dark Force gun! ;-)
>
<sigh>

Ok.... When I was away at college, I ran a Star Wars RPG for a year.
Great game, and I got lucky and had a bunch of good role players too...

Anyways... When we first started, a couple of the guys started throwing
Star Trek jokes out at every little thing. It was funny at first (and
still is), but it got to be annoying when the Smuggler asked their
Commanding Officer one time to send some Red Shirts along with them on a
mission. he did this IN CHARACTER! Argh!

And so, the Dark Force gun was invented. It was a Super Soaker that I had
hanging on my wall, and one night I threw it in my back back (It was one of
the little orange ones from the original series. The pistol Squirt:)) and
brought it to the game. From then on, Star trek jokes were an immediate
blast from teh Dark Force Gun. this had the added penalty (Cuase most guys
couldn't give a rat's ass about getting a little wet) of netting teh
character a Dark Side point. DSP's were a BAD thing in my game, cause if
you ever got 6, you became an evil NPC (I played a Hero based game, where
everyone is a Good Guy:)), and I got to run the character. We had one Jedi
turn to the Dark Side, and he later came back to haunt the players (as well
as kick their asses across the galaxy:)).

Bull
--
Now the Offical Celebrity Shadowrn Mailing List Welcome Ork Decker!
Fearless Leader of the Star Wars Mailing List
NEW HOME PAGE!: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/3604/home.html

Bull, aka Steven Ratkovich, aka Rak, aka a lot of others! :]

"The best Ork Decker you never met"
-Me, in the upcoming "Target: UCAS" Shadowrun Sourcebook!
Message no. 11
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 22:34:45 +0100
David Buehrer said on 6:44/12 Jun 97...

> I've used walkie-talkies a couple of times. Me and the player doing
> the scouting would take one WT and leave the rest of the team with
> the other WT. I'd tell the player what he saw and what was going on
> and then it was up to him to pass information on to the other
> players. It's loads of fun :) At some point I want to get a whole
> set of WTs, one for everyone, so we can experience the fun of radio
> traffic.

That reminds me of the "Bodycount" wargame rules (for Vietnam). All
players are supposed to be US or Allied commanders, and the writers
suggest they can communicate with each other through a tape recorder -- if
radio contact is established, the player records a message on the tape
(using callsigns etc.), and all players listen to all taped message
_once_, at the end of each turn. The referee is encouraged to add messages
to and from units that aren't on the table, and to occasionally interfere
with players' messages.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Drowning in the main-stream.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U 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?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 12
From: Kim Christiansen <kimc@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: Props?
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 23:05:18 +0100
> From: Marcin Serkies <yasiu@******.COM>
> Subject: Re: Props?
> >Anyone else have some great props that have made their games more
> >enjoyable.
>
Well, I am a graphic production person IRL, so I have a color scanner, laser
printer & color printer and some time to figure it all out. I use newsfax's,
scream sheets, simulated datapads ( I show them my Apple Newton so they get
the feel of how these things work) and we use map and miniatures when combat
starts to keep track of where everyone is. I also wnat to add music and
sound effect to my game. And, I was a budding thespian at one point so I add
a lot of color to my NPC's, including accents, attitudes and sometimes
costume props like hats, lab coats etc.

Great Topic!

kim
Message no. 13
From: Phil Smith phil_urbanhell@*******.com
Subject: Props
Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 10:25:29 GMT
I think this thread has died now but last gaming session but one I informed
a character that there was a hit out on him. Then his fixer (who works for
the mafia) called and told him that La Dame (they were in New Orelans)
wanted to see him about this.

In the next gaming session I gave him a chance to get worked up over it,
went through the whole run. They went back to the meet, the fixer called
and asked them where they were. I then distributed karma and sat at the
piano playing the theme from the Godfather whilst they updated their
character sheets :)>

Phil
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
Message no. 14
From: Wavy Davy ctysmd@***.leeds.ac.uk
Subject: Props
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 15:30:55 +0100 (BST)
On Sun, 14 May 2000, Phil Smith wrote:

> In the next gaming session I gave him a chance to get worked up over it,
> went through the whole run. They went back to the meet, the fixer called
> and asked them where they were. I then distributed karma and sat at the
> piano playing the theme from the Godfather whilst they updated their
> character sheets :)>

Music is a good atmosphere aid, I rekons. The first time I ever
played Cyberpunk we had Nine Inch Nails playing in the background,
really dark, gritty, industrial stuff, and the suspense was great.

Do any of you folks use music as an 'aid' to roleplaying SR? It can be
distracting, I know, but our group suffers from CDDS, or Chronic
Distraction Digression Syndrome, and anything to keep players focussed
and tensions high would be a welcome addition.

If any of ya do, what do you use? Bands, genres, whatever?
Also, has anyone written any SR inspired music? I'm in the process of
doing so, and would be interested to here any other material out
there.

Anyone got got any ideas on what a "Troll thrash band" actually sounds
like? :)

Rock on, chummers :)

--
Wavy Davy (who shares wins)
...I'd like to see a nature film where an eagle swoops down and pulls a fish
out of a lake, and then maybe he's flying along, low to the ground, and the
fish pulls a worm out of the ground. Now that's a documentary!
Message no. 15
From: Jan Jaap van Poelgeest aka nevermelt jjp@******.nl
Subject: Props
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 18:24:58 +0200
Wavy Davy:

> Do any of you folks use music as an 'aid' to roleplaying SR? It can
be
> distracting, I know, but our group suffers from CDDS, or Chronic
> Distraction Digression Syndrome, and anything to keep players
focussed
> and tensions high would be a welcome addition.

I've found that music can also serve as something to distract the
players. This often happens when the music imposes itself on the group
too much. To prevent this I tend to stick to lyric-less music that
doesn't peak out too often...

> If any of ya do, what do you use? Bands, genres, whatever?
> Also, has anyone written any SR inspired music? I'm in the process
of
> doing so, and would be interested to here any other material out
> there.

I've made a few compilation discs using my CD burner and Napster, which
is a wonderful way to fill 74 minutes of your session with the
background music you need (i.e: Combat, Tension/During The Run,
Downtime).
Normally, I tend to use music generated entirely by artificial means for
these CD's, especially bands such as Orbital, Dust Brothers,
Propellerheads, Kruder&Dorfmeister, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk and anything
else which doesn't have too much lyrics and stays where it is supposed
to (i.e: the background). Movie music often does the trick too.
The NIN scenario you suggested would IMO be awkward as Mr. Reznor's
voice has a tendency to interrupt any thoughts you might have. Of
course, if lyrics aren't a problem the entire world of Industrial music
is open to being backgroundised and you can start playing anything like
Frontline Assembly,Ministry , Sister Machine Gun, Nitzer Ebb,
Einsturzende Neubauten, Skinny Puppy, Fear Factory etc. etc. etc. It's
all a matter of personal taste, I suppose.
On a side note, Dick Dale and others like him somehow manage to do great
as background as well.... same's valid for blues and some types of jazz.
Now that I consider it, I sometimes use some CD's by gold-chain-toting
"who-da-man" homies when my PC's head down deep into the barrens.

Aside from that, I also use location-specific music: Asian bands playing
western music with native lyrics always set the scene when the PC's head
into YakTown or SeoulpaVille <flashback> One time I even turned up the
volume on the stereo reaaalll high during a scene in a karaoke bar: the
PC's and me ended up shouting to each other over the music for that
additional "being there" feeling </flashback>. Also, I've been
desperately trying to get my hands on some really crappy muzak for
corporate buildings, but haven't been succesful so far (I guess I'll
just have to take a tape recorder with me the next time I'm in a lift).
Actually, if anybody knows a good source of lift music, please do tell
me about it).

Finally, I've also found that computer game music tends to be absolutely
ideal for roleplaying sessions, a comprehensive list of the games whose
music I use would be:

Half Life (very good tension/run music), Quake (extremely suitable for
any scary scene and by NIN, too), Starsiege Tribes (Combat, Tension),
Carmageddon (Fear Factory songs done Instrumental), Outlaws (for those
runs into Aztlan ;), Mechwarrior 2 (The mother of all game soundtracks),
Total Annihilation (very well-rounded dramatic orchestra-type music).
I've also considered using the Star Wars soundtrack, but my guess is my
players would instantly start demanding light sabers doing 16D damage
and playing physads with Jedi-inspired powers, so I've refrained from
doing that.

If anyone knows of some other suitable game music, I'd love to hear
about those as well...

> Anyone got got any ideas on what a "Troll thrash band" actually
sounds
> like? :)

Hmm... try and listen to some stuff by Strapping Young Lad.... it ought
to give you an idea.


Jan Jaap van Poelgeest aka nevermelt, Aurally Saturated
Message no. 16
From: Patrick Goodman remo@***.net
Subject: Props
Date: Mon, 15 May 2000 15:42:15 -0500
Oh, Lord...it's back. The music discussion that won't ever really die,
instead just going dormant.... :)

From: Wavy Davy
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 9:31 AM

> Music is a good atmosphere aid, I rekons.

It can be. It can also be a horrible thing that interrupts more than in
enhances. Depends on what you're trying to do.

> The first time I ever played Cyberpunk we had Nine Inch Nails playing in
> the background, really dark, gritty, industrial stuff, and the suspense
> was great.

Trent's stuff can be great sometimes. PRETTY HATE MACHINE can be used just
about any time, for anything, but I find BROKEN and a significant portion of
THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL to be worse than useless for anything but the
(occasional, as in "very rare") club scene. Your mileage, obviously, can
vary significantly from mine.

Of course, I'm the list's resident weirdo in regards to music that works in
SR games.

> Do any of you folks use music as an 'aid' to roleplaying SR?

I can't do it without music; I can't speak for anyone else here, however.

> It can be distracting, I know, but our group suffers from CDDS, or
> Chronic Distraction Digression Syndrome, and anything to keep players
> focussed and tensions high would be a welcome addition.

Then I'm surprised you'd use industrial of any stripe as background music.
That, to me, is the most distracting kind of thing. Of course, while most
people see the cyberpunk genre and immediately think "industrial," with NIN
and Ministry coming in at the top of most lists, I tend to think more in
terms of making a soundtrack with less obnoxious rock music predominating.

In no particular order, bands that have appeared on my ever-more-common
personal mix CDs (I *love* my CD burner) include: Kiss, Queen, Golden
Earring, Asia, Planet P Project, Alan Parsons Project, Ted Nugent, Kansas,
Hagar-era Van Halen, Tommy Shaw, Tina Turner, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper,
Queensryche, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, and Peter Gabriel.

I also tend to use a lot of film scores. Recent participants: THE MATRIX,
THE CROW, THE CROW: SALVATION (I don't yet have the score to THE CROW: CITY
OF ANGELS), just about anything by David Arnold (mostly STARGATE and
INDEPENDENCE DAY at the moment), and the new addition to the set, GLADIATOR
(which, incidentally, is a *magnificent* motion picture, if you're following
my other discussion about movies). Most of the STAR WARS and STAR TREK
scores find their way into the rotation, too, especially since the campaign
I'm running is starting to lean in the Halley's Comet direction. ARMAGEDDON
and DEEP BLUE SEA, both scores by former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin, also
see a lot of use.

I have almost no use for the soundtracks to many of these movies in terms of
game play (though I own all of them).

> Anyone got got any ideas on what a "Troll thrash band" actually sounds
> like? :)

It's up to you. For my purposes, it's a slightly more melodic version of
gangsta rap, with exceptionally deep vocals, substituting "breeda" for
"mothafucka", and having a bassline and percussion section that you can feel
twelve blocks away.

Again, your mileage may vary.

--
Patrick E. Goodman
remo@***.net
"I'm going to tell you something cool." -- Gene Wolfe
Message no. 17
From: aautran aautran@********.fr
Subject: Props
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 10:20:45 +0200
From: "Patrick Goodman" <remo@***.net>

> Oh, Lord...it's back. The music discussion that won't ever really die,
> instead just going dormant.... :)

Yeah, and all newbies are eager to throw their two pfennig about it,
when apparently old boys aren't yet overfed with it ;)

> From Wavy Davy:
> > Do any of you folks use music as an 'aid' to roleplaying SR?
>
> I can't do it without music; I can't speak for anyone else here, however.

So do I, at least to put everyone in an adequate state of mind.
Sometimes the music runs off, but if nobody notice that, it means that
the atmosphere is already established.

>From Jan Jaap:
> If anyone knows of some other suitable game music, I'd love to hear
> about those as well...

I use lots of jazz for non-combat situations, especially modern/free
jazz. John Zorn is a treasure chest, especially the 'Masada' and 'Masada
chamber ensemble' series. 'Naked City' can be also used, albeit more...
special. Tim Berne and Marc Ducret are interesting in the
atonal/weird/disturbing field, and if I really need a whacked out
feeling (eg entering a Twisted Chaos mages order hideout), I use Steve
Reich or some Kronos Quartet recordings (it's more serial music than
jazz, but who cares). Great for dystopian (sp?) or sick descriptions.
Otherwise, Miles Davis from the 'In a Silent Way' and 'Bitches Brew' era
is a best, Dave Holland, Hasidic New Wave, Jan Garbarek, Akosh S. Unit,
perform well. One track I ought to try is free jazz/drum'n'bass mix.

Some usefull (IMHO) movie sound tracks: movies by Wim Wenders ('Paris,
Texas' or 'Wings of Desire' ('Der Himmel über Berlin') are good) or Emir
Kusturica (almost all).

For action scenes, well any regular, high-paced music should do it. One
thing to consider is the adequation with the players. I know that my
players will jump up full of aggressive thoughts at the first bar of
'Ratamahatata', or will drive like crazy while 'Speedking' is on the
air... I still have to wait for the perfect (IMO) use of 'Master of
Puppets': meeting Lofwyr... *EGMG (c)*. Otherwise, hard rock or metal
rule, but I don't own that much music of this type to conduct
experiments :(.

I hope I provided some ideas about a type of music not often considered
suited to RPGs. Just my 2 kopecks.

> Of course, I'm the list's resident weirdo in regards to music that works in
> SR games.

May I contest the title, though being a shorter term 'resident' :?)
Message no. 18
From: Patrick Goodman remo@***.net
Subject: Props
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 07:14:41 -0500
From: aautran
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2000 3:21 AM

> > Of course, I'm the list's resident weirdo in regards to music
> > that works in SR games.
>
> May I contest the title, though being a shorter term 'resident' :?)

Oh, by all means....

--
Patrick E. Goodman
remo@***.net
"I'm going to tell you something cool." -- Gene Wolfe
Message no. 19
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Lone Eagle)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 11:30:01 2002
Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play shadowrun? be
they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?
I "redecorate" my living room for every session and I reckon it helps the
"settling in" phase at the start. Anyone else got any thoughts?

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Message no. 20
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Anders Swenson)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 11:45:01 2002
On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 15:31:26 +0000
"Lone Eagle" <loneeagle2061@*******.com> wrote:
> Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play
> shadowrun? be they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?
> I "redecorate" my living room for every session and I reckon it helps
> the "settling in" phase at the start. Anyone else got any thoughts?
>

Well, I use maps, roadmaps of Seattle as well as tactical plans, and
minis. The latest Dragon has some nice vehicle plan views I think I'll
color copy and mount.

But what I want to know is what you mean by 'redecorate'!
--Anders
Message no. 21
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Meph)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 11:55:02 2002
> Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play shadowrun?
be
> they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?


I use minis, and I use soundtracks playing....helps set the mood!

Meph
Message no. 22
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Lone Eagle)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 12:05:09 2002
>From: "Anders Swenson" <anders@**********.com>
<Snip>
>But what I want to know is what you mean by 'redecorate'!

Not wishing to sound like a psycho, I own a number of airsoft weapons, I
generally put an SA80 on the mantlepiece, a rem 870 across the table just in
front of the GMs screen and a couple of handguns in amongst the character
sheets, make the place look like somewhere runners are chilling out.

<Span Style:Thevoicesinmyhead>
(It didn't work, you sound like a psycho!)
{Yeah, freaking weird Tackleberry type!}
[You don't exist, none of you exist! Help! Can anybody hear me!]
<Span\>

But I'm not a psycho, honestly.
I also use music, sort of the 'runners go to a club, I put on some music and
immediately the players think of the club from The Matrix.
I also have a wooden "sculpture" which hints at one of my character's secret
identities, which I leave on display, only the other GM has picked up on it
so far but...
(There's a point of Karma in it for anyone who does pick up on it).

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Message no. 23
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 13:30:01 2002
According to Lone Eagle, on Wed, 26 Jun 2002 the word on the street was...

> Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play shadowrun?
> be they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?

I've got a fairly large number of SR (and other) miniatures, but they never
get used because my group hardly ever plays at my house, and I don't
exactly feel like taking both a pile of books _and_ a couple of cases of
miniatures with me :) Most of the time, props in my group are limited to
hand-outs the GM created to give the PCs a clue, which has the side effect
of adding a bit of flavor, but half the time the main reason is either so
that the information on the prop doesn't need to be repeated a lot, or to
give a picture of something instead of spending a lot of time on a verbal
description. Photographs of real orks and trolls are high on my gaming
wish-list :)

There are really two main reasons why I don't use many props as a GM. The
first is because, if you give he players a prop, they _know_ they're onto
something. For example, if you create a prop that consists of a few names
and LTG numbers written on a napkin, and give it to the players when their
characters are searching someone's apartment, you might as well tell them
"You'll need to talk to <insert names here>." This is, IMHO, an arrow sign

about as big as the "clues" in many early FASA adventures (such as the
cigarette lighter in Peacekeeper). The only way to get around this is to
create props not connected to the adventure and hand them out when it seems
appropriate, but that is a hassle and requires me to carry even more junk
with me...

The second main reason is that, if I do something, I want to do things
thoroughly and consistently. So that means that if I were to use props a
lot, I'd want to have a prop for just about everything, and preferably
stuff that's as close as possible to what the PCs would find. These are
clearly impossible to achieve, and so to keep myself sane I might as well
just describe stuff to the players rather than give them an actual item to
look at :)

Much the same applies to music: almost nobody in our group has stuff that I
feel suits SR, except for one or two albums which would get very tiring to
hear over and over again, and anyway I've found it very hard to make the
music suit what's going on in the game. A computer with a large collection
of MP3s within reach of the GM would probably work, but is also not an
option for us -- if only because we don't always play at the same house.

However, I do use stuff that makes things easier on the GM. For example,
I've got a couple of modern maps that come in handy, for example a panoramic
view of the US Pacific northwest and a tourist map of Victoria that came in
handy when the PCs in my group shot up^H^H^H^H^H^H^H visited that city
recently. I've also made copies of all the maps in the back of the Seattle
Sourcebook, laminated them, and keep them in a binder so they're easier to
refer to than having to dig up the book. In the same binder are transparent
plastic sheets so that things can be drawn and written on the maps without
having to keep wiping the actual maps all the time, then re-draw the same
stuff later.

I wouldn't consider these to be props, though; more GM aids.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Little ever changes, if anything at all
-> 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. 24
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Lars Wagner Hansen)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 15:30:04 2002
From: "Lone Eagle" <loneeagle2061@*******.com>
> Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play shadowrun?
be
> they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?
> I "redecorate" my living room for every session and I reckon it helps the
> "settling in" phase at the start. Anyone else got any thoughts?

I have a bunch of SR posters, and some other "cyberpunk" posters, which are
always kept on my walls in my gaming room.

Apart from that I have a few Seattle tourist brochures (ca. 1986) which are
generally always laying on the table.

We have tried with music, but our tastes is just to different.

Lars
--
Lars Wagner Hansen, Jagtvej 11, 4180 Sorø
l-hansen@*****.tele.dk http://home4.inet.tele.dk/l-hansen
--
SRGC v0.22 SR1 SR2++ SR3+++ h+ b+++ B--- UB++ IE+ RN LST W++ dk sa++ ma+
sh++ ad++++ ri mc rk-- m- (e-- o t-- d-) gm+ M- P-
--
Main Rule of Usenet: Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to
their level, then beat you with experience.
Message no. 25
From: shadowrn@*********.com (shadowrn@*********.com)
Subject: Props
Date: Wed Jun 26 18:30:01 2002
In a message dated 6/26/2002 11:33:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
loneeagle2061@*******.com writes:

> Just out of interest, how many people use props when they play shadowrun?
be
> they miniatures, decorations or even LRP props?
> I "redecorate" my living room for every session and I reckon it helps the
> "settling in" phase at the start. Anyone else got any thoughts?

Closest I've come to this, though I've wanted to use props and as soon as I
get the money we're using mini's but for now next time I start it up we're
using Army men. Much cheaper. Woah, I just digressed so much I closed the
sentence without finishing the thought. That's a new low for me. Anyway,
closest I've come is following Steve Kenson's suggestion to use the John
Williams score for Jaws while running that one-shot adventure he has on his
web-page. It was a blast and really had everyone on the edge of their seat.
My wife started freaking out every time she heard that first pair of notes.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Props, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!