| From: | Bull <chaos@*****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | SLARP v1.2 |
| Date: | Mon, 2 Jun 1997 08:22:50 -0400 |
a bit. So here's Version 1.2 of the SLARP rules (version 1.1 got edited
before I got around to sending it, so...:)).
As always, please reply and give me some feedback, especially those of you
who would like to participate in the SLARP at Gen Con (or Origins if I get
the chance).
Also, for anyone else out there: If you would like to try and playtest
these rules a little bit either at home with your SR group, or at other
cons, please feel free to use these rules, abuse these rules, or just plain
ignore these rules! All I ask is you ssend me some feedback so that i can
make these rules that much better...;]
Anyways, i'll shut up now and let you have the rules...;]
Bull
P.S. Skye: Go ahead and use this draft of the rules to HTMLize for the
page. Thanks...:]
Shadowrun Live Action Role Play rules, v1.2
by Steven "Bull" Ratkovich
((Updated 6/2/97))
The Combat rules were revised, expanded, and actually explained after some
discussion on the SR mailing list. thanks to everyone who gave me ideas! :]
I've also attempted to format this a little better to make it easier to
read and find rules.
Coming soon! Adam "Fro" Jury is currently working on an IC/OOC article to
cover these rules in more depth.
A. What is SLARP?
This is a project that is the brainchild of a late night session at Denny's
between myself, Mark "Mr. White" McKenna , and Steven "Evil GM"
Tinner
that involved a lot of really strange ideas, and way too much Pop and
greasy food.
This project was them further enhanced and twisted with the help of the AFL
of the Shadowrun list, Adam "Fro" Jury, Skye "Just Skye" Comstock
(Sorry if
I misspelled that, pal:)), and the lovely and mysterious Dvixen.
Ideas are currently being bounced off the Shadowrun List in general, and
will hopefully culminate in one kick ass game session at Gen Con in August.
The basics of the SLARP is to give players of the SR RPG the chance to
experiance Shadowrun in a whole new dimension, that of Live Action Role
Playing.
Keep in mind that this is designed for friendly competition and
cooperation. After all, the object is to have fun! :]
B. SLARP CHARACTER CREATION
Characters are pregenerated like regular Shadowrun Characters using the
following rules and modifications to normal rules. The numbers should be
rarely used, but the fact remains that players often play characters
smarter, faster, and more charismatic and skilled than they themselves
truly are. While the player may not be able to talk his way out of a wet
paper bag, his character could sell Ice machines to Eskimos. So the
Character Sheet will
reflect this, and will aid in the role playing to some extent.
While certain items and gear will not be used in the SLARP (like aircraft,
some weapons, etc.), they should not be ignored if they would be gear your
character has access to. Remember, this is a living, breathing character
that you are created, and should not be maxed out to take advantage of the
SLARP environment. Also, During a Convention or event where the SLARP
takes place, you may get the chance to fully play the SR RPG with the other
SLARPers (I just love that phrase! :)), and you will need your character
for this. That gear that can't be used in a SLARP may and will be useful
during the standard RPG.
Use the Point Based Character Creation system from the Shadowrun Companion
to build your character. Edges and flaws are not allowed, and starting
money is limited to 400,000 nuyen. If you cannot use the Point System (For
whatever reason), Resources may not be taken at a priority higher than B.
Standard character Races only. No optional races such as Vampires, Shape
shifters, or the odd metatype variants,
he "More Metahumans" rule is NOT used.
Cyberware is limited to basic Cyber only. No "upgraded" model of cyber
ware (alpha, beta, gamma).
Bioware is allowed, but is limited to standard. No cultured Bioware.
You may purchase as many contacts as you like. However, there will be a
list of contacts made available that can be used withing the SLARP
environment (These are role played by your fellow SLARPers). You may
choose no more than 2 of these contacts.
No spell at higher than force 6.
Your "on hand" starting cash will be determined at the beginning of the
SLARP, if it is necessary. This is the only cash you will normally have
access to, regardless of how much cash the character actually has. In the
Full RPG, you will normally have access to your full cash resources.
You get 100 Good Karma to build up your character once creation is
complete. This is because often players go to a SLARP wanting to play
their favorite, tried and true SR character, but he's quite powerful. This
gives you something to work with and make you character something more than
a "stock" newbie, plus, allows some way to balance the various characters
out while giving the players a chance to customize the characters.
For the magically active, you may start a SLARP character initiated.
However, you must spend the full karma amount to initiate each level. You
cannot "group initiate", nor can you do "quests" to lower the cost.
You
MAY, within the SLARP an RPG game, if enough magically active players are
available, and the SLARP judges allow it, role play a group initiation, if
the SLARP players are willing to form a magical group.
You start with a total of 5 Karma Pool. In the full RPG, this is spent as
normal. In the SLARP, these are used slightly different as dice are
generally not used. Full rules for Karma use in the SLARP is given below,
under the "Rules" Section.
C. THE BASICS
Under normal circumstances, there will be at least two teams, possibly 3 or
more. One team is a team of Shadowrunners, always. Often there will be a
second team of Shadowrunners as well, competing with the first team.
There may also be a team of "independents", interested in accomplishing a
different goal than the first 2 teams, or just trying to get the Object of
the Game and sell to the highest bidder.
Also, there may be a team that only plays the NPCs, contacts, and NPC
opposition.
Player positions will be announced to everyone at the beginning of the SLARP.
In addition to playing a character, players may also volunteer to play
NPC's as well. These will usually be the contacts of the SLARP (there will
be a list of between 4 and 10 contacts available for the SLARP session to
the players), as well as the Johnsons, Lone Star, or whatever else is
needed for the plotline.
There will always be at least 2 judges, usually 4 or 6, depending on the
size of the SLARP. The judges will usually be participating as well, so
they should be fair and impartial when it comes to rulings. Any problems
with conduct, cheating, or rules questions should be taken up with the judges.
Judges have the final say, and are in complete charge of the SLARP. they
have the power to ask players to leave the game, though any major decisions
(Like kicking someone out) should involve a decision by all the judges
involved.
Your starting cash will be handed out at the beginning of the SLARP by the
judges, who will also provide you with full details of the scenario (at
least, enough details to get you started). this Money, as explained above,
is the only resources available during the game, and only those contacts
that you can actually meet with in the SLARP can sell you stuff, whether it
is info,
weapons, or other gear.
Often, your starting equipment will be restricted as well, for one reason
or another. You are asked not to violate these restrictions. More gear,
if it's available, is available from various contacts in the SLARP. It's
up to the contact how much a piece of equipment or info is worth, so you'll
have to bargain or pay the price set by the black market.
Under normal circumstances, the SLARP will be set within certain
boundaries. It will not always be feasible to include hotel rooms and such
at a Convention, as not all the participants will be in the same hotel
room. Boundaries will usually be set before the SLARP starts, and should
be told to you by the judges.
D. THE RULES
Keep it simple, stupid. This is some of the best advice I''ve ever gotten,
and so I've tried to keep the actual game rules simple, for fast play, and
so that role playing can be the focus, not roll playing, or other mindless
silliness (though that's fun too:)).
Combat is fairly simple. Avoid it if at all possible, though this isn't
always possible, of course. When it does become necessary, a fairly simple
combination of HP/Base Damage/Paper-Rock-Scissors has been worked out.
To start with, your Hit Points (HP) are equal to your Body Rating. Thus,
if you have a Body of 10, then you have 10 HP. You also have an Armor
Rating (Arm) which subtracts from the damage dealt.
When combat is initiated, players take turn attacking, starting with
whoever declared the attack.
Each weapon will have a Damage Rating (DR) that will be written down on
your Gear Card, which you will receive for each piece of gear you have, and
you will be given one for each piece of gear you buy. This is the base
damage caused by the weapon, if it hits, modified for armor.
Also, you have an Attack Rating based on you skill in a particular field of
combat (Armed, Unarmed, Firearms, etc.). The rating system goes like this:
Skill 1-3 = 1 AR
Skill 4-5 = 2 AR
Skill 6-7 = 3 AR
Skill 8-10 = 4 AR
Skill 11+ = Go away, you munchkinous bastard! :]
For every AR you have, you get one throw of PRS.
In Ranged Combat, every successful PRS throw on the part of the attacker is
one hit. Damage is applied. If the Defender wins the PRS throw, then he
successfully dodges the blow. On a tie, the defender is hit, but his armor
absorbs the damage. However, the armor is damaged, and one Arm rating is
subtracted.
Some weapons may be fired in Burst Mode or Full Auto mode, and some can
ONLY be fired in Burst and/or full auto. For every three bullets fired,
add 3 points to the DR of the weapon.
However, for every three points of uncompensated recoil, you lose one AR.
It is possible, thru modifiers and such, that you could end up with an AR
of 0 or less. In this case, the defender has the advantage. This is
represnted by the attacker needed to win additional PRS throws to make a
successful hit.
If you have an attack roll of 0, you will need to win 2 PRS in a row to
hit. If it's a -1, you need to win 3. -2 AR means you need to win 4 PRS.
And so on.
Thus, be careful attacking with too many AR modifiers, as it becomes
increasingly difficult (Though not impossible) to hit anything.
In HTH combat, whether armed or unarmed, combat is worked out in the same
way. However, if the defender wins the PRS contest, he successfully
counter attacks the attacker, and hits the attacker, causing damage as
normal.
Gear Cards will be based on set ratings (which will be posted once they are
worked out fully). The Cards are assigned at the beginning of each game,
and will be signed by either one of the Judges, or by the player running
the NPC contact that sells that particular piece of gear.
When a piece of gear is damaged (Thru a spell or combat or whatever), the
person that damaged it makes a note on the card stating that it has been
damaged. For example, Joe shoots Jenny, but only damages her armor jacket.
It loses 1 Armor Rating, and Joe marks this on the card. This way,
damaged gear cannot be conveniently "forgotten" later on, as your opponents
always have the option of checking your gear card to make sure that you are
playing fairly.
Another area that needs to be addressed is Magic. Combat and damaging
manipulation spells are no problem, as they are worked out the same way as
normal combat. If a question arises about the way a spell worked or
whatever (i.e., does my fireball cook off the ammo for your assault cannon?
If so, what happens?), try and work it out between the two sides. If an
agreement cannot be reached, call in a Judge to officiate.
For other spells, however, the effects are not so straight forward,
especially once you start getting into the wonderful area of Mind Control,
and spells of that kind. For these, you need an opposed test, just like in
the RPG. For this, compare the Force of the spell to the rating of the
targets defense
(Normally willpower, but not always.) To simplify, I'll use an example.
Joe Mage wants to Mind Control a cop into letting them go. Joe's Spell is
a rating 5, while the willpower of the Cop is 2 (He's weak, and can't even
resist a donut:)). Subtract the two numbers, and since Joe has a higher
rating, it's his attack.
Divide the difference by 2, rounding up (In this case, the difference is 3,
so the final number is 2). This is the number of PRS throws the loser
needs to win to either get the spell to work, or defend against it. In our
example, The Cop would need 2 successful throws to defend against the
spell. He only gets one, and so the spell works and Joe Mage walks free...
In the SLARP, you may spend a karma pool for one automatic success, or to
save your ass. Say you get shot, and shot badly. Spending one pool will
allow you to escape the combat lightly wounded and unconscious (and no,
your opponent may not just slit your throat while you are unconscious).
Karma pool does not refresh during a SLARP session, which usually lasts an
entire weekend, so converse your pool and spend it wisely.
3 Armbands will be necessary for the SLARP, to show different character
status. Armbands should be clearly visible on the outside of your clothing,
worn on the upper right arm. Those players without a visible armband are
considered IN CHARACTER and ALIVE. Should this status result in
inappropriate actions, point may be lost by the offending player.
A BLUE armband indicates an active IN CHARACTER (IC) status. These players
are fair game to have actions taken against them, and any actions they make
are considered to be in the game.
A WHITE armband shows the player to be OUT OF CHARACTER (OOC) status.
These players are not in the game, and thus may not act within the game,
nor may they have actions taken against them. This is used for characters
that need a break, or are out of the game temporarily, for whatever reason
(Unconsciousness, etc.).
A RED armband indicates that your character is DEAD. this means that he is
out of the current LARP for good, for whatever reason, whether it is death,
serious trauma, or a role played reason. These character may not affect
the game I any way for the rest of the session, though they are welcome to
watch.
As you can see, this section is still a bit rough, and is in the works.
Playtesting is the best way to test these things, so we'll see how it
goes...:]
E. Equipment
This is a really rough section right now, and will be updated as soon as I
get some feedback on how well trhese numbers work out, especially when
combined with the combat section above.
The Damage Rating (DR) of a weapon is calculated by taking the base damage
number of the weapon (Fro the RPG), and adding a second number based on the
weapons Base Staging Code (L, M, S, or D).
These are added as follows:
L = 0
M = 2
S = 4
D = 6
Thus, something that causes 6M damage would have a DR of 8.
Armor has ballistic and impact armor equal to it's normal SR RPG rating.
F. Decking
This section is COMING SOON! As soon as I figure out how to work it. If
anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
G. ENDGAME
There will be a point system created for playing the SLARPs to determine
winners, as well as karma points and such in place of a GM. This system
will, of course need to be tested and such, but will hopefully work well,
once I figure it out...:]
There will be two different points given. Karma points and SLARP points.
Karma points (KP's) only apply to a that SLARP session, and determine how
well you did during the session, and will determine the "winner" of the
SLARP session.
KP's are given for a variety of things, most of which are predetermined
before the SLARP begins. These could include your KP ability (This is
voted upon by the SLARP members. You get a certain number of points
depending on your votes).
KP's translate themselves into Good Karma to further develop your SLARP
character.
SLARP Points (SP's), on the other hand, determine your status within the
SLARP community (when and if there ever is one:)). SP's are also gained by
several different things.
Being voted the best (or tying for best) Role Players in a SLARP session
nets you on SLARP Point.
Being on the Winning Team in a SLARP nets you one SLARP point.
Successfully Role Playing a Contact as well as a SLARP PC nets a SLARP point.
There may also be other "hidden objectives" and such in a SLARP that will
net SP's and/or SLARP points, so keep your eyes and ears open, and role
play well! :]
I'm posting this to me web page as soon as I get around to it, and updates
and changes will be posted there as well. The addy will be:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/3604/slarp.html
Anyone planning to attend Origins or Gen Con, and are interested in helping
me play test this, let me know and give me some feed back...:]
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!
