| From: | Mark Steedman <M.J.Steedman@***.RGU.AC.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Rampant Mage Control |
| Date: | Fri, 22 Aug 1997 11:37:35 GMT |
i'll cut this up
[section 1]
> how do you handle a group who has two mages who do a LOT of astral
> scouting and such. too much time is spent on this in the game, the sammies
> get bored 'my trigger finger's itchy, and my gun's aimed at the meat!',
> etc.
[section 2]
> actually, the two mages hog the game in general but there is not
> much
> i can do about that because they are the two best players and they come up
> with all the strategy and plans, do the talking, etc. this cannot be
> helped because the area i live in (town: 10,000---roleplayers<50).
[section 3]
> but i try to make adventures
> tailored to the sammies skills, or the rigger's, or the decker's, and they
> just sit there and ask the mages what to do!
> HELP!
>
ok the first problem, section 1 is solved by using astral security,
this team will acquire a rep for being good at this sort of thing so
hire them to deal with somewhere with decent astral security, like
DNA/DOA's pairs of force 8 guard fire elementals (which only attack
astral intruderes to avoid accidents, use astral scouting you have to
fight em, don't and they are irrelevant), put 20 watcher spirits over
the target to keep an eye out for intruders, each staff magician can
have charisma in the things, so big facilities can have quite a few,
now do the maths using the search table in the grimiore, so they are
crap, probably force 2 but -19 TN for 19 extra spirits and you waltz
in their astral and they know you are comming! oops what subtle atral
scout, more like announcing on the trid, 'hey we're comming a
shadowrunning today!'. Astral scouting is extreamely effective but
against sensible defences it simply tells the target you are comming,
gangers at the fence (sammies in old cloathes) is no deal, a mage
over your fence reeks runners :)
Section 2. Well this is always going to happen and really doesn't
need/have a solution. Keep an eye on it but the best players will
always dominate and to some extent it's fair, they put the most in
they get the most out.
Section 3
Well they get what they asked for then!
One possibility is.
I assume the magcians project from either a safehouse or the riggers
van while the sammies keep watch, well have an encounter while they
are away. Preferably that does not endanger the magicians (the
players are using thier characters well) unless the team gets taken
out in which case they will get back to find a load of goons with
guns awaiting to interegate them (if the magicians allow a watcher
that saw them to escape (solve manabolt watcher by giving them too
many targets so some get away). A corp sec team would do beautifully.
Seperate the players, point out to the sammies the magicians are
defenceless and the magicians cannot help because they don't know.
Don't let the magicians player help, but if you think the mages will
be captured (don't kill them for someone elses screw up) take the
astral scout party aside and while running that point out at player
level you will ensure their characters don't get too fragged over
even if it requires some convenient cavalry to show up the moment the
last mundane PC goes down.
No easy solutions but.
Mark
