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Message no. 1
From: Adam J <fro@***.AB.CA>
Subject: Strong/Weak characters (was Re: Why is everyone so happy with
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 18:20:01 -0700
At 08:36 AM 12/17/97 +0100, you wrote:

>> or like to play. Roleplaying, again IMHO, has nothing to do with
>> creating "effective" characters -- this belongs to the
>> munchkin-department.

>You say that roleplaying has nothing to do with creating effective
>characters... I am sick of all that players that believe they are
>good roleplayers just because their characters are weak...

A weak character doesn't nessesarily mean the role-player is good.. but if
they role-play a weak character well, then yes, they are good.

>creating weak characters is VERY bad roleplaying, IMHO...

Why? Not all characters are born to 'run the shadows', nor do all of them
want to. Some are caught up in circumstances they don't really understand
at first (Sam Verner..), others aren't really competent, but want the
thrill, etc.

> Your
>characters are humans, they want to survive, so they sacrifice all
>they got (money, essence, humanity) in order to survive... They are
>caught in a vicious circle, they have to improve or they will die...

And if they have little money? They can't really lose essence without
implanting cyber, which costs money..

>Of course, creating a lively character with a personality is most
>important, but there is no need for the character to be weak

No need for one to be strong, either.

The 4 PC's in my current game were generated with fairly strict rules
(Which will be on my website real soon now), and most have skills and
attributes of 3's and 4's, with a few higher ones. Limited nuyen, and I
think the highest reaction is 6 + 2D6. Weak, maybe, good characters, yes.

The little bar of stats has Nothing to do with a good and bad character,
and I will argue this until I am blue in my face. If the character is
matched correctly with the level of opposition, everything is usually just
fine.

-Adam J


-
http://shadowrun.home.ml.org \ TSS Productions \ The Shadowrun Supplemental
ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader \ AdamJ@******** \ fro@***.ab.ca
The Shadowrun Archive Co-Maintainer: http://www.interware.it/shadowrun
Message no. 2
From: Ereskanti <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Strong/Weak characters (was Re: Why is everyone so happy with
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 21:51:10 EST
In a message dated 97-12-17 20:21:43 EST, fro@***.AB.CA writes:

> The little bar of stats has Nothing to do with a good and bad character,
> and I will argue this until I am blue in my face. If the character is
> matched correctly with the level of opposition, everything is usually just
> fine.
>
> -Adam J

Ah Adam, you have struck the Nail of Contention very harshly on the head here
with this paragraph. "Matching" the player characters to the game (or vice
versa) will help things move along very well and probably the smoothest of
all. If the PCs are more power than everything that comes along, sure, the
fun is gone after a while for most save the -true- munchkins. Even a
Powergamer needs to remember what defines the power.

If the reverse happens, then the feelings of hopelessness or uselessness (this
latter is the part that seems to get into everyone's face the most) will
destroy the game as well.

Find the balance, and be able to retain the balance even as the
game/characters develop, that is the challenge....and the fun.
-K
Message no. 3
From: losthalo <losthalo@********.COM>
Subject: Re: Strong/Weak characters (was Re: Why is everyone so happy with
Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 12:13:04 -0500
At 06:20 PM 12/17/97 -0700, you wrote:

>The little bar of stats has Nothing to do with a good and bad character,
>and I will argue this until I am blue in my face. If the character is
>matched correctly with the level of opposition, everything is usually just
>fine.

I think you missed what he was saying. He was talking about people who
load their characters down with flaws and weaknesses, and make them less
competent thant he level of the opposition for the purposes of
'role-playing'. Characters 'matched correctly to the level of opposition'
is what he was talking about as making sense.


losthalo@********.comGoFa6)7(Im6TJt)Fe(7P!ShMoB4/19.2Bk!cBkc8MBV6sM3ZG
oPuTeiClbMehC6a23=n4bSSH173g4L??96FmT1Ea4@*********************
4h7sM8zSsYnk6BSMmpFNN0393NRfmSLusOH1Whileyouarelisteningyourwillingat
tentionismakingyoumoreandmoreintothepersonyouwanttobecome

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