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Message no. 1
From: Ryan W. Bolduan emeottrw@***.umn.edu
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 12:02:38 -0600 (CST)
I'm preparing for my gaming session this Friday but have a question. I've
got a huge plan/campaign going on that will end up in Chicago the day
before the infestation (about four months away game time), and I've
finally decided it's time to have the group actually meet and identify a
bug hive or group of bugs in the city they are located in.

The question is this, I only have enough time to really read/write one
modele/adventure. My question is this: which module should I spend my
time reading, Queen Euphoria or Double Exposure, or should I just forget
both of them and write my own. Writing my own would be possible, but if
either of these are good, I'd rather just use one of them this week.
Suggestions?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan Bolduan emeottrw@***.mrs.umn.edu
http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~emeottrw

A person concerned with such important matters as I, need not, and should
not, attend to spelling.
--Napolean
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 2
From: Lehlan Decker DeckerL@******.com
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:24:19 -0500
<SNIP which bug module>

My particular favorite of the two modules you listed is Queen
Euphoria. But its a heck of an adventure, and depending on how
you adjust it and the runner involved, death is certaintly a
possiblity. I've GM'ed it, and played in it, and I enjoyed it from
either side.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lehlan Decker, Unix Admin (704)331-1149
deckerl@******.com Fax 378-1939
Moore & Van Allen, PLLC Pager 1-888-608-9633
Message no. 3
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 11:51:49 +0100
According to Ryan W. Bolduan, at 12:02 on 15 Mar 99, the word on
the street was...

> The question is this, I only have enough time to really read/write one
> modele/adventure. My question is this: which module should I spend my
> time reading, Queen Euphoria or Double Exposure, or should I just forget
> both of them and write my own. Writing my own would be possible, but if
> either of these are good, I'd rather just use one of them this week.
> Suggestions?

Answer after the spoiler space:






















Queen Euphoria would be best if you want to use a FASA-published
adventure, I think. It's a relatively straight up-and-down type of
adventure, whereas for Double Exposure the PCs really need to have been
working as a group already -- they first go on two minor runs so the FBI
agent in the story gets something to blackmail them with, and only then do
they actually go on to the insect hive (without knowing it's there, of
course).

QE, however, is also a slight problem here as it is actually two
adventures: one where the PCs kidnap and babysit Euphoria for a few days,
and the second one where they have to find her again and discover the ant
spirit hive as a result.

It wasn't too clear from your post whether you already have a campaig up
and running, in which the PCs haven't all met each other yet, or if you
intend to start a campaign this Friday. In case of the former, neither DE
or QE sound like good adventures to run, I think, and you'd be better off
writing one yourself. OTOH if you're just starting up a campaign, either
of the above should work well, as they both start with simple runs that
any team should be able to handle.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
What in the wide wide world of sports is going on here?!
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: 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?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 4
From: Bob Tockley zzdeden@*******.com.au
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 22:22:46 +1000
>OTOH if you're just starting up a campaign, either
>of the above should work well, as they both start with simple runs that
>any team should be able to handle.

Hmmm... seems like a simple run that turns nasty... that'd never happen in
any of my campaigns... <smirk>

(>) ARKHAM
"Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass."
- Cordellia, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Message no. 5
From: Ryan W. Bolduan emeottrw@***.umn.edu
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 06:59:08 -0600 (CST)
First of all, if any of my group is reading this right now (doubtful), I
can make your life (more of) a living hell, so stop reading now. My
responses follow the spoiler space as well...

On Tue, 16 Mar 1999, Gurth wrote:
>> <I asked for adventure info here>
> Answer after the spoiler space:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Queen Euphoria would be best if you want to use a FASA-published
> adventure, I think. It's a relatively straight up-and-down type of
> adventure, whereas for Double Exposure the PCs really need to have been
> working as a group already -- they first go on two minor runs so the FBI
> agent in the story gets something to blackmail them with, and only then do
> they actually go on to the insect hive (without knowing it's there, of
> course).
>
> QE, however, is also a slight problem here as it is actually two
> adventures: one where the PCs kidnap and babysit Euphoria for a few days,
> and the second one where they have to find her again and discover the ant
> spirit hive as a result.
>
> It wasn't too clear from your post whether you already have a campaig up
> and running, in which the PCs haven't all met each other yet, or if you
> intend to start a campaign this Friday. In case of the former, neither DE
> or QE sound like good adventures to run, I think, and you'd be better off
> writing one yourself. OTOH if you're just starting up a campaign, either
> of the above should work well, as they both start with simple runs that
> any team should be able to handle.
>
> --
> Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html

To answer your first question: I've been with the players for four years
now, this specific campaign has been going on for about eight months now.
The whole campaign (a seriously outdated outline on my webpage) deals with
events leading to the discovery of Strain III(number right?) and this
group's involvement with it since day one. The entire group has quite a
few reasons to stick together, but I won't go into detail on that.
Currently we're getting close to D-day in Bug City so I figured it's time
to give them a nice intro to what Bugs are capable of. Having both QE and
DE gave me something to work with. I was thinking ahead too, and the
runners have completed both quick runs for DE.

I had a chance to skim through both and I didn't really get the idea that
Double Exposure was a beginners adventure. It seems to limit the runner's
reliance on high powered weaponry and then throws them in a fray with
quite a few bugs near the end. On the other hand, although I liked QE's
plot better (more interesting), it does seem very straight forward. In
any case, your suggestion seems to indicate moving to writing my own.
Anybody have some useful plot summaries for bug spirit runs? If so,
sending them in private is fine too. Thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan Bolduan emeottrw@***.mrs.umn.edu
http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~emeottrw

A person concerned with such important matters as I, need not, and should
not, attend to spelling.
--Napolean
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 6
From: Gurth gurth@******.nl
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 20:42:29 +0100
According to Ryan W. Bolduan, at 6:59 on 16 Mar 99, the word on
the street was...

> First of all, if any of my group is reading this right now (doubtful), I
> can make your life (more of) a living hell, so stop reading now. My
> responses follow the spoiler space as well...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
[snip]
> To answer your first question: I've been with the players for four years
> now, this specific campaign has been going on for about eight months now.
> The whole campaign (a seriously outdated outline on my webpage) deals with
> events leading to the discovery of Strain III(number right?) and this
> group's involvement with it since day one.

Ah, that's quite a bit different than the impression I got from your first
post :)

> the runners have completed both quick runs for DE.

In that case, doing Double Exposure might be the best step, as it's a
logical follow-up to the two mini-runs they've already been through.

> I had a chance to skim through both and I didn't really get the idea that
> Double Exposure was a beginners adventure.

I didn't mean to suggest that it is -- I intended to say that the first
two (small) adventures in that book, as well as the first adventure in
Queen Euphoria (the kidnapping) should be doable for beginners. The final
adventure in either book is a lot more difficult (although I haven't
played DE, only read it, so I don't know first-hand how well a given group
will handle it).

> It seems to limit the runner's reliance on high powered weaponry and
> then throws them in a fray with quite a few bugs near the end.

Well, it _is_ a Nigel Findley adventure, which aren't known for always
letting the PCs come out on top :)

> On the other hand, although I liked QE's plot better (more interesting),
> it does seem very straight forward.

It is. That doesn't make it no fun, though. (What did was that my
character got killed by one of the ant spirits :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
What in the wide wide world of sports is going on here?!
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
->The Plastic Warriors Page: http://shadowrun.html.com/plasticwarriors/<-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: 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?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 7
From: Mongoose m0ng005e@*********.com
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 12:39:34 -0600
:>> <I asked for adventure info here>
:> Answer after the spoiler space:
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>
:>

:I had a chance to skim through both and I didn't really get the idea that
:Double Exposure was a beginners adventure. It seems to limit the
runner's
:reliance on high powered weaponry and then throws them in a fray with
:quite a few bugs near the end.

My impression is that the runners are NOT supposed to take on the bugs
in those cases- you are dealing with entire HIVES. In DE, it gives
explicit rules for RUNNING AWAY- which is exactly what our (fairly
powerful and well eqpuiped) group did. Fortunatley, we all have high
quickness scores, or are small enough to carry...


:Anybody have some useful plot summaries for bug spirit runs? If so,
:sending them in private is fine too. Thanks.


The guidelines for insect shaman threat ratings pretty much sum it up:
Insect shaman hires runners for innocuous run with difficult to understand
motives, hoping to increase his hives power (or somebody hires them to
investigate / prevent such run). Either way, runners notice odd things,
and the Shaman attempts to kill them. This is basically the basis for
both QE and DE. Note that the shaman will likely want to kill- or invest-
them even if the co-operate fully and don't notice anything odd.
That's just scratching the surface. The possibility of a "good merge"
lets you twist almost any run into a "Bug Run" by making one or more of
the NPC's into Bug Spirits with hidden motives.

Mongoose
Message no. 8
From: Damon Harper nomad74@*******.com
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 22:43:45 PST
>The question is this, I only have enough time to really read/write one
>modele/adventure. My question is this: which module should I spend my
>time reading, Queen Euphoria or Double Exposure, or should I just
forget
>both of them and write my own.

It really doesn't matter. Six o' one, half a dozen of the other.
IIRC, both have the same *basic* ending. If your party is into more
action than puzzle-solving, go with Queen Euph. If they like mysteries
more, go with Double Ex.
My personal fav was QE- mainly because I wasn't GMing it. :)

-Damon Harper
"But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive."
-Shakespeare, King Henry V
________________________________________________________
<nomad74@*******.com> <ICQ 4297972>

Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Message no. 9
From: Ryan W. Bolduan emeottrw@***.umn.edu
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 07:53:12 -0500 (CDT)
Okay, quick dirty question. Don't laugh too hard, our campaign is still
mired 2055, so we're not up to the latest in the time line. Tonight I am
going to start Harelquin's Back (and if any of you for some reason are
reading this, stop now). I personally am very impressed by this setting.
It's not only unique, but it seems to add an element of fun not found in
any other module I've ever read. Any hints/tips/suggestions from you
GM's that have run the module before. Anything I should tweak and/or
watch out for? Thanks in advance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ryan Bolduan emeottrw@***.mrs.umn.edu
http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~emeottrw
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 10
From: Lee Decker deckerl@******.com
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 08:55:51 -0400
> Okay, quick dirty question. Don't laugh too hard, our
> campaign is still
> mired 2055, so we're not up to the latest in the time line.
> Tonight I am
> going to start Harelquin's Back (and if any of you for some reason are
> reading this, stop now). I personally am very impressed by
> this setting.
> It's not only unique, but it seems to add an element of fun
> not found in
> any other module I've ever read. Any hints/tips/suggestions from you
> GM's that have run the module before. Anything I should tweak and/or
> watch out for? Thanks in advance.
>
I haven't run that one in quite awhile, but as memory serves, have alot of
fun.
Encourage the players to roleplay to the hilt. Violence is almost never the
solution in
the Harliquin stuff (although there are some neat places to let loose).
And make sure you know the stuff backwards, forewards, etc. The stuff can be
fairly
twisty, and if you don't have an excellent grasp of it, its hard to convey
the stuff
to the players.
Message no. 11
From: De Herdt Sven Sven.De.Herdt@***************.be
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 15:11:09 -0000
> Ryan W. Bolduan[SMTP:emeottrw@***.umn.edu] wrote:
>
>Okay, quick dirty question. Don't laugh too hard, our campaign is still
>mired 2055, so we're not up to the latest in the time line.

Neither am I, I started about half a year ago with 2 new groups and we
started end of 2054 and are currently still somewhere in the Harlequin (the
first one) campaign. Why should the time period you play in matter.

My intention is to work both groups up to 2060 through a sequence of
official and home-made adventures/campaigns.

s
o
m
e

s
p
o
i
l
e
r

s
p
a
c
e

a
d
d
e
d

This should do the trick, not that I am going to state ultra-secret info
about the campaign, but others might.

>Tonight I am
>going to start Harelquin's Back (and if any of you for some reason are
>reading this, stop now). I personally am very impressed by this setting.
>It's not only unique, but it seems to add an element of fun not found in
>any other module I've ever read. Any hints/tips/suggestions from you
>GM's that have run the module before. Anything I should tweak and/or
>watch out for? Thanks in advance.

I have already read it, but still awaiting anxiously for the players to
finish the first Harlequin campaign. One remarque I would like to make is
that Harlequin's Back actually is an astral quest as stated in the
introduction. Another statement was (IIRC) that GM's should avoid the
magical players to switch to astral perception or projection since this
would reveal where they are.
I am still wondering though how to handle this, because the magical
characters in the group use this technique frequently, mostly as a
reconnaissance trip.

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ryan Bolduan emeottrw@***.mrs.umn.edu

Sorry I couldn't help you out on this module, but my players still have a
long way to go and therefor I have not experiences with the module what so
ever.

--
Sven :)
Message no. 12
From: Ereskanti@***.com Ereskanti@***.com
Subject: Quick Module Question
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:58:45 EDT
In a message dated 10/8/1999 8:11:47 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
Sven.De.Herdt@***************.be writes:

> > Ryan W. Bolduan[SMTP:emeottrw@***.umn.edu] wrote:
> >Okay, quick dirty question. Don't laugh too hard, our campaign is still
> >mired 2055, so we're not up to the latest in the time line.
>
> Neither am I, I started about half a year ago with 2 new groups and we
> started end of 2054 and are currently still somewhere in the Harlequin (the
> first one) campaign. Why should the time period you play in matter.
>
> My intention is to work both groups up to 2060 through a sequence of
> official and home-made adventures/campaigns.
>
> s
> o
> m
> e
>
> s
> p
> o
> i
> l
> e
> r
>
> s
> p
> a
> c
> e
>
> a
> d
> d
> e
> d
>
> This should do the trick, not that I am going to state ultra-secret info
> about the campaign, but others might.
>
<snip>
> I have already read it, but still awaiting anxiously for the players to
> finish the first Harlequin campaign. One remarque I would like to make is
> that Harlequin's Back actually is an astral quest as stated in the
> introduction. Another statement was (IIRC) that GM's should avoid the
> magical players to switch to astral perception or projection since this
> would reveal where they are.
> I am still wondering though how to handle this, because the magical
> characters in the group use this technique frequently, mostly as a
> reconnaissance trip.

I have had a statement that has become one of our game groups' commonplace
statements about the Metaplanes in general. "It is as close to Real as Real
is going to get without being so." We use the same statement for UV Hosts in
the Matrix btw.

The Metaplanes *do* allow for the ability to *perceive* yourself as if you
are fully and completely in their domain (physically speaking even). As
such, you can *project* into the astral of the metaplane (don't you just
paraplanar mechanics???) within the boundaries of the Astral quest and still
NOT see the truth about the Metaplane itself. It is entirely up to the GM in
this case.

I would consider this potential problem area as one of those place L. Decker
mentioned in his previous post. You can prepare for this in any number of
ways, the easiest of which IMO is simply to NOT say anything that is
different from the POV of Astral Reconnaissance that you have done in the
past. Another *alternate* option is use the rules for "Astral Voids" in the
MitS sourcebook IMO. This will tend to keep even the most stalwart users of
Astral Reconnaissance into a better state of restraint for the purposes of
the HarlBack game material as well. It is a more drastic measure though, and
again something you will want to consider carefully before implementing.

-K

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