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Message no. 1
From: Shannon@*****.co.za (Shannon Buys)
Subject: Skill ratings and reputation
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 09:45:10 +0200
Anyone increase players reputations based on their skill ratings? e.g. Joe
Streetsam has specialised his pistol skill to a 7 or 8 in Ares Predators.
This is way into World Class. That would mean that everyone in the sprawl
and outside it should recognise the guy as being the guy who can hit a wasp
at 200 yards with a pistol.

Anyone incorporate this?

I'm trying to get this accross to players. So that we stop having
characters who don't know how to drive or tie their own shoelaces, but
they're 18 and have better small arms skills than most seal teams. And when
you ask how and why, they go well, uhm, he trained his whole life. GM
goes, but where, why did he. Did you personally at 12 own a pistol. No.
Do you own one now? No. Y not? Cause my dad won't let me. Y did your
characters dad let him? I don't know, he was abducted by these guys who
trained him and then he escaped. Sorry son, in this world you have to pay
for training. Unless of course it's the Taliban, in which case please roll
me a D6, if you roll anything other than a 6 you where used as a suicide
bomber and are therefore dead. etc?
Message no. 2
From: sf_fuller@********.com.au (Simon & Fiona)
Subject: Skill ratings and reputation
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 19:02:51 +1100
----- Original Message -----
From: Shannon Buys <Shannon@*****.co.za>
To: Dumpshock list <shadowrn@*********.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 6:45 PM
Subject: Skill ratings and reputation


> Anyone increase players reputations based on their skill ratings? e.g.
Joe
> Streetsam has specialised his pistol skill to a 7 or 8 in Ares Predators.
> This is way into World Class. That would mean that everyone in the sprawl
> and outside it should recognise the guy as being the guy who can hit a
wasp
> at 200 yards with a pistol.
>
> Anyone incorporate this?
>

I like this idea a lot. Of course, some people conceal just how good they
are.

> I'm trying to get this accross to players. So that we stop having
> characters who don't know how to drive or tie their own shoelaces, but
> they're 18 and have better small arms skills than most seal teams. And
when
> you ask how and why, they go well, uhm, he trained his whole life. GM
> goes, but where, why did he. Did you personally at 12 own a pistol. No.
> Do you own one now? No. Y not? Cause my dad won't let me. Y did your
> characters dad let him? I don't know, he was abducted by these guys who
> trained him and then he escaped. Sorry son, in this world you have to pay
> for training. Unless of course it's the Taliban, in which case please
roll
> me a D6, if you roll anything other than a 6 you where used as a suicide
> bomber and are therefore dead. etc?
>

"No." would work equally as well.
Shadowrunners are meant to be a cut above, but beginner skills should be
limited to some extent. Another way to hurt these types is to design a game
that will require every skill but combat stuff, just for a laugh. Or have
bad guys who are equally as talented.
In the end though, as long as everyone has fun that's all that matters.
Message no. 3
From: shadowrun@********.net (Augustus)
Subject: Skill ratings and reputation
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 09:22:46 -0800
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shannon Buys" <Shannon@*****.co.za>


> Anyone increase players reputations based on their skill ratings? e.g.
Joe
> Streetsam has specialised his pistol skill to a 7 or 8 in Ares Predators.
> This is way into World Class. That would mean that everyone in the sprawl
> and outside it should recognise the guy as being the guy who can hit a
wasp
> at 200 yards with a pistol.

Its an interesting idea, but...

I think if somebody had a rep of 200 in a city and a firearms skill of 8...
its one of those things that everybody might know (who he is and that he is
a good shot)

In that case though... his reputation of 200 has probably stemmed from the
fact that his firearms skill is so good.

Whereas, somebody with a rep of 5 and a firearms skill of 8... nobody has
heard of him in the first place, making it hard to pin any reputation on him

In that case... two guys talking at a bar might be "Did you hear about the
guys that held up the stuffer shack last night? One of them was pretty much
a real dead shot with the predator..." "Oh? Who was that?" "I don't
know,
nobody recognized the guy"

The PC might start to be known on the street at
"The-Guy-With-The-Gun-Who-Is-A-Good-Shot"... but until his reputation gets
up there, nobody will know who he is... for talking about him though, you
might dole out 1-5 extra reputation points... or in the example above, maybe
thats where his rep of 5 has come from?


> I'm trying to get this accross to players. So that we stop having
> characters who don't know how to drive or tie their own shoelaces, but
> they're 18 and have better small arms skills than most seal teams. And
when
> you ask how and why, they go well, uhm, he trained his whole life. GM
> goes, but where, why did he. Did you personally at 12 own a pistol. No.
> Do you own one now? No. Y not? Cause my dad won't let me. Y did your
> characters dad let him?

Here's the thing... Your life isn't the same life that everybody else has
led

My father liked to go target shooting since I was real young... when I was 8
he started taking me to his gun club and I started shooting... by 12 I had
won about 10 medals... when I was 14, I won 3 gold and 1 silver in adult
competitions... just before my 16th birthday I fired a gun for the last
time

In the example above, one of the responses is "Cause my dad won't let me"
but in the gun club I belonged to, there was atleast 100 others that fit in
the 8-16 years old range... so just because your players father won't let
him own or fire a gun, doesn't mean everybodys dad is going to be like that

And that ofcourse assumes that the PC's life was more or less a "normal"
family atmosphere... I am sure a few PCs might have risen up out of the
gang lifestyle or maybe something along different lines.

If you are worried about this (where they got the skills and such) the easy
solution is to start having your PCs write up histories for their characters
that explain where they got the skills from... you could also just try
putting a cap on it for starting characters (at whatever level you think
works for your campaign)

Clint

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