Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Ursus Grim)
Subject: Props and the science of gaming
Date: Wed Jun 26 12:05:05 2002
Lone Eagle 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?

The first and easiest thing I use is music.
The Matrix soundtrack
KMFDM
Chemical Brothers
Afro-Celt Sound System

For D&D-like games I like
Peter Gabriel's Passion soundtrack
Dead Can Dance

The list is long, but these are the ones I can recall right now.

Since we're kind of broaching how to create a smoothly running game, I'll
ask what do the various gamemasters like to have to make a game run
smoothly? For instance, my experiences with gaming have shown me time and
again that the game will run more smoothly and without distractions if 1)
you have a round table so that everyone faces each other and no one gets
ignored or abandoned in a dead zone and 2) absolutely no TV.

Urs

Urs

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Message no. 2
From: shadowrn@*********.com (shadowrn@*********.com)
Subject: Props and the science of gaming
Date: Wed Jun 26 18:30:04 2002
In a message dated 6/26/2002 12:09:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ursusgrim@*******.com writes:

> Since we're kind of broaching how to create a smoothly running game, I'll
> ask what do the various gamemasters like to have to make a game run
> smoothly? For instance, my experiences with gaming have shown me time and
> again that the game will run more smoothly and without distractions if 1)
> you have a round table so that everyone faces each other and no one gets
> ignored or abandoned in a dead zone and 2) absolutely no TV.

ABSOFRAGGINLUTELY no TV! Very bad idea! Plus I've wanted to use a round table
for gaming for years and when I get my dream mansion after I turn filthy
stinking rich, the medieval-themed gaming room (hey, dream big!) is going to
have just that! Usually though if you can just keep everyone facing a center
it helps, otherwise you're right players can and do get forgotten.
Message no. 3
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Lone Eagle)
Subject: Props and the science of gaming
Date: Thu Jun 27 04:55:01 2002
>From: "Ursus Grim" <ursusgrim@*******.com>
<Snip>
>Since we're kind of broaching how to create a smoothly running game, I'll
>ask what do the various gamemasters like to have to make a game run
>smoothly? For instance, my experiences with gaming have shown me time and
>again that the game will run more smoothly and without distractions if 1)
>you have a round table so that everyone faces each other and no one gets
>ignored or abandoned in a dead zone and 2) absolutely no TV.

A table of any sort (within reason) is an absolute must, when we play at my
house we sit around a table, when we play elsewhere seating tends to be
sofas etc which tend to be at the fringes of the room. But I think that the
table in itself starts to get people into the right mindset.
It also helps if smokers can smoke while playing, our group is almost
entirely smokers, the only non-smoker is rarely seen even in non-smoking
enviroments. My house is a smoking zone, we have an ashtray in the middle of
the table, a window open and an ioniser working overtime to minimise the
fog, our other prime site is non-smoking and generally just as we've worked
our way into full "RP mode" someone needs a cigarette, we all troop outside
and loose the flow. Likewise my kitchen butts up right against the play area
which means that making coffee just means that everyone has to speak up a
little, our other site has a much more seperate kitchen which interupts the
flow for hot drinks as well.
And yes I agree, you should not even be able to see the TV, any games
consoles or anything like that if at all possible, unless you're using it to
run "a security video feed that Johnson gave you".

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Props and the science of gaming, 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!