| From: | "Steven A. Tinner" <bluewizard@*****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The Munchkin Manual (long) |
| Date: | Fri, 10 Apr 1998 02:51:31 -0400 |
This is the first version of the Munchkin Manual, and I'm looking for input
to make it more sueful as a serious tool for helping GM's educate and
eliminate munchkins.
I anticipate your input.
Steven A. Tinner
bluewizard@*****.com
http://www.ncweb.com/users/bluewizard
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Semisonic
----------
THE MUNCHKIN MANUAL VERSION 1.0
By Steven A. Tinner <bluewizard@*****.com>
(Modeled after and inspired by Christian Steenhorst’s
<bj169@*******.Carleton.CA>
Mind’s Eye Theater Twink FAQ)
CONTENTS: I: INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A MUNCHKIN?
II: HOW TO RECONIZE A MUNCHKIN
III: HOW TO DEAL WITH MUNCHKINS
IV: HOW TO STOP BEING A MUNCHKIN
V: MUNCHKIN STORIES
I: INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS A MUNCHKIN?
If you are reading this manual, you are either looking for a good laugh,
looking
for helpful hints, or reading it because somebody handed it to you without
any
explanation.
The purpose of this manual is to provide a guide to weary players of the
phenomenal RPG known as Shadowrun put out by FASA. It is a role-playing
game in which players take on the role of shadowy soldiers of fortune in
the
Awakened world of the 2060’s.Unfortunately, not all of these are good
players
and that is what this manual is all about.
A munchkin can be one of many things. A munchkin is first and foremost a
cheater. A munchkin can be someone who tries to find a way around nasty
character flaws. A munchkin can be someone who simply does not know how to
play and thinks he does.
The purpose of this manual is to provide a guide to finding, educating, and
hopefully helping these munchkins escape the easy trap of munchkinhood.
II: HOW TO RECONIZE A MUNCHKIN
1. The Cheater
The Cheater is typically a very charismatic individual. They are typically
used to
being the senior player and usually wish to keep it that way. One way to
recognize a cheater is that he rarely talks about what his character is
doing. This
is because he doesn't want anyone checking up on him.
There are a few ways to cheat. the first way is to go with the chaos. In
this
manner, munchkins do not spend karma when going for re-rolls, use Skills
and
Gear that they don't have, and generally act in the interest of their own
survival,
rather than the story.
Another way to cheat is to spend karma points that you don't have.
Character A
and Character B start out at the same power level but Character B somehow
ends
up being 20 points ahead of Character A after 4 months. Something is
wrong.
Lying to a newbie is not a nice thing to do. munchkins that are well-read
in the
ways of the game will sometimes try to pull the wool over the eyes of less
experienced players and GMs. These people somehow manage to get away with
literally anything in the name of warping or outright changing the rules.
Then there are the players that conveniently ignore the rules. A character
is
supposed to take drain and doesn't. Another takes wounds that should take
4
weeks to heal and is fine next session. Another ignores target number
modifiers
for wounds And yet another conveniently forgets to enact his Flaws. This is
usually to preserve the character's existence, and denotes a cowardly
player who
is a little wee bit too attached to his character.
The worst amongst all of them all is the MetaGamer. MetaGaming is typified
by a
player who hears something out of game that his character would obviously
not
know and brings it into the game through no role-playing whatsoever. Among
these are players that react to threats that they should ignore, players
that spread
information that they shouldn't know, or when a character displays vast
amounts
of knowledge about the current opponent, certain items, or other characters
(or
similar inappropriate knowledge).
2. The Rules Manipulators.
There are plenty of ways to munchkin within the rules. Amongst these
players
are the Min-Maxers, the Know-It-Alls, the Probability Enforcers, and the
Rules
Warpers.
Min-Maxers are those than engage in Min-Maxing. A Min-Maxed character is
one that is astoundingly weak in one area in order to put the points into
one other
area. For example a player wants to make a Street Samurai because he wants
to
kick some butt. So, he takes many almost no points in mental attributes
except
Intelligence for the Reaction bonus, no social skills and dumps the rest of
his
points into Firearms and Combat skills. Any munchkin that makes a character
vulnerable in one area to make it powerful in another is a Min-Maxer.
Know-It-Alls are players that are well-read in all the wonders of the Sixth
World
and insist on putting it all into one character sheet. This gives GMs a
headache.
These are the players that are not satisfied playing an ordinary character
and must
play something so extraordinary that they think they're going to
"wow-em-all" so
to speak.
Like the Demolition expert with a Panther Assault Cannon, Barret Sniper
Rifle
and Wired Reflexes III, or the Shapeshifter Combat Mage whose entire
concept is
that he's got Regeneration and takes Physical Drain from spells with a
Force
higher than his Magic rating.
Probability Enforcers are the players that insist that whatever they want,
no matter
how outlandish is entirely possible (and sometimes have a great whopping
heap
of reasons why). These are the players that want to convince you that it's
entirely
possible that their street punk could have learned Gunnery from the local
VA.
That it's entirely possible that the great assassin character could have
easily come
across a weapon banned by the UN. Yes, these things are entirely possible.
But
just remember, by Chaos theory, there is a mathematical possibility for
literally
anything. It's up to the GM to tell a munchkin that what he wants is so
unlikely
that he should not have it.
The Rules Warpers are the players that want to make a given Skill,
Attribute,
Spell, or Physad Ability do something that it obviously cannot do and was
never
meant to do. Like the player that, under the basis that it raises your
Charisma,
wants to use Tailored Pheromones for summoning Spirits.. Or the player who
wants to default to Firearms for an Athletics test. Or even the player that
insists
that he can fire his light pistol with enough accuracy that he can fire
through the
Juggernauts eye, into the brain and kill the beast with one shot.
3. Power Gamers
Power Gamers are a type of munchkin all their own. They're not Cheaters
and not
Rules Manipulators (though they may use these strategies). Power Gamers are
players that are only interested in gaining personal power for their
characters.
These are the munchkins that don't think they're going to be satisfied
unless
they're playing gods. Some players have declined to play given games
because
the GMs refused to let them play mega-powerful characters.
A variant of the power gamer is the Wound Wailer. These munchkins become so
attached to their character that any damage is seen as a personal affront.
Even a
Light Wound becomes a major trauma to these players. While no one likes
having
their character mauled in combat, a role-player takes this in stride,
accepting that
Shadowrunners live dangerous lives. A Wound Wailer on the other hand is
incapable of believing that any harm should ever come to his beloved PC.
4. Other Variations
Some categories of munchkin depend entirely on the player. These player
types
are not munchkinous by themselves, but can rapidly become so.
The Loony is the player who always looks for the comedy in a game. No
matter
how perilous the run, this player seems to find something to laugh at.
While a
little comedy can be enjoyable for the game. Turning EVERY encounter into a
chance to do a stand-up routine is too much. Building a character that has
no
other purpose in the game, other than to cause a commotion is simply
munchkinous.
The Evil Git is the player who has ulterior motives for everything. Every
piece of
gear he carries, every skill is devoted to plotting and detecting hidden
plots within
the group. No matter what type of character he is playing, the Evil Git is
constantly observing the other PC’s and passing secret notes to the GM.
Again,
when this type of intrigue makes sense in the game it is commendable,
however,
when it is the character’s sole reason for existence, and is done just to
make the
other player uncomfortable, it is munchkinhood in it’s purest form.
III: HOW TO DEAL WITH MUNCHKINS
Unfortunately, there are no proven methods for dealing with munchkins.
Anything put forth in this part of the manual is simply theory,
speculation, and my
own biased opinion.
The Enforcer method involves being a dictatorial GM and severely limiting
what
a player can and can not do. This usually involves setting stifling limits
on all the
players because of a munchkin minority. Unfortunately if it comes to this,
then
something must be done! Past anti-munchkin strategies have included
limiting
certain types of cyberware, some skills, modifying Drain codes and limiting
how
a player may spend karma, enforcing drastic character makeovers and so on.
Keeping the players on a tight leash makes a lot of them angry, but it does
cut
down on the munchkining.
A more subtle approach is to sit the munchkin in question down and calmly
explain to them what they're doing wrong. Be wary, being accused of
munchkining will usually cause a player to go on the defensive very quickly
as
many munchkins are not even aware that they're munchkining. Use calm,
diplomatic reason in your argument. Tell them what you don't like and why
and
how you can go about fixing the problem. Make sure they know it's not a
personal attack. If the problem persists then be more firm, subtly let
them know
that they're playing on borrowed time if they keep it up.
Again, Unfortunately, the most current and popular method is Ostracizim.
In
this a circle of people that consider themselves to be superior players/GMs
get
together and exclude those players/GMs that they deem inferior by means of
cutting conversation. This forms an informal bond between superior players
and
GMs, and forces the munchkins to gather together in their own games. But
this
method leaves one half of the games being good and one half being piss
poor.
More diplomacy is called for in situations like this. Unfortunately,
munchkins
tend to be thick-headed and usually won't listen to reason.
IV: HOW TO STOP BEING A MUNCHKIN
CHARACTER
By now some of you may have realized that you fit the description of one
(or
more) of these munchkin types. The first step into creating a completely
munchkin-free character is to think about what you want to play before
character
creation. Before you ever write down anything to do with an actual
character
sheet, think about who your character is, what he's like, how he thinks,
think up
an entire background days in advance before actual character creation.
This way
you can get inside your character's head and plan out in advance what
Attributes,
Skills, Cyberware, Edges and Flaws the character should have.
To make a truly interesting character, the theme of the character should be
some
sort of personality that you personally find interesting. Something that
makes you
want to act. Never make a character on the basis of being really good at
an ability
or having a really cool combination of powers and cyberware and expect that
character to be fun to play in the long run. An interesting concept will
lend
endurance to the playability of the character.
If you're having trouble thinking of a good character concept, then there
could be
one of several problems. One is that you simply have an imagination block
and
need some time to think about it. No problem. the other problem could be
that
you really don't want to play at all. It could be the reason you can't
think of a
character is because you're too busy thinking 'Why are you making me play
this
stupid game?!'. If you don't want to play, then don't! There's no
obligation to
play. And if you do play when you don't want to you'll just be bored out
of your
skull for an evening when you could be doing something much more
interesting.
An involuntary character will usually end up being not only heavily
munchkined,
but badly played.
ATTRIBUTES
If you have thought of a really cool character concept that has you pacing
around
the room in frothing anticipation, then welcome to the beginning of your
munchkin-free character! the first step is Attributes. Attributes describe
who your
character is; how physically capable, how socially interactive; and how he
thinks.
Choose these on the basis of your background! If you character has spent a
majority of him life as a nerdy scientist then by god don't take physical
as your
primary category. And never EVER choose your primary category on the basis
of
your character's gear or powers.
SKILLS
Again, based on the concept you conceived earlier choose appropriate
skills.
Never take skills in an attempt to make your character last longer. Only
take
Unarmed Combat if your conceptual character is good at fighting, don't take
Armed Combat on the basis of avoiding damage, don't take inappropriate
skills.
Choose skills that enhance your CONCEPT’S strengths, not simply your
character’s ability to take or dish out damage.
EXTRAS
Now the fun begins. Extras are the gear, spells, and powers that give you
a leg up
on the competition. But once again, choose your extras wisely! Take a look
back
to your original concept and then choose from your available extras. If
your
concept is a noble samurai, don’t make him a physad just to take Enhanced
Armed Combat! Even if he is a physad does his background allow for him to
have that power? Take a step back and question whether or not your
character
would actually want to learn it. He might, he might not, just think about
it.
EDGES & FLAWS
With the introduction of the SR Companion, munchkins were given new and
exciting ways to tweak a character with the introduction of Edges and
Flaws.
Looking back on your original concept, decide what Flaws would best suit
your
character before even thinking about Edges. Your concept should make the
decisions on its own. And ONLY take Flaws if they are appropriate to your
character. Remember, you WILL have to enact your Flaws in the course of
role-playing. Otherwise you're being a munchkin.
Common munchkin Merits & Flaws are simply those that are normally taken by
munchkins for various reasons. Common munchkin Flaws are Flaws that the
munchkin either thinks will be able to slip through without anyone really
noticing
or Flaws that the munchkin warps to somehow be a Edge. Common munchkin
Edges are Edges that make the character invincible in one way or another.
In
either case Edges & Flaws that are taken over and over again by countless
characters add tedium to the game.
COMMON MUNCHKIN FLAWS: Allergy - Uncommon substance (reeeeallly
uncommon substance, like Polonium),Vindictive, Uncouth, Combat Monster
(used as an Edge), Distinctive Style.
COMMON MUNCHKIN EDGES: Lightning Reflexes, Combat Skill Affinity.
Unless you wish to be labeled a munchkin, do not take these Edges or Flaws
unless you have a really good reason.
PRE-GAME WARM-UP
Assuming you've got your character approved, now comes the time before the
game called "getting into character". This involves getting inside your
character's
head, feeling him, understanding him and so on. One good way to get into
character is by choosing the right music to listen to. A corporate hitman
might
enjoy the passionate melodies of Beethoven. A street-punk might enjoy the
rebellious sounds of Prodigy. A twisted trog might get into some AC/DC.
Figure
out what works for you and play it.
Other ways to get inside your character’s head include watching movies, or
reading books about an appropriate topic. Playing a merc? Check out an
issue of
Soldier of Fortune. Hermetic Mage? Have you thumbed through Awakenings
lately? Rough and ready ganger? Rent Boyz in da Hood.
Accents can make a world of difference if done correctly, so it doesn’t
hurt to
practice. If you’re playing an London native, watch a few episodes of Monty
Python, and try the accents for yourself. Playing a backwoods redneck?
Watch the
Nashville Network.
OK, that last part was a joke. I’m sorry. You get the point though.
Anything that
helps you get a handle on your character’s personality, his mannerisms and
style
will help you make the change from munchkin to role-player.
GAME TIME!
At the game, the most important things to do are avoid all the bad things
listed in
this manual and to stay in-game! Actually, you don't have to stay in-game,
but if
you choose to go out-of-game, don't drag others with you.
Things to avoid are (obviously) munchkining and frequent visits out of
character
comments. Don't hold up a scene by explaining why your character is doing
something, just do it! Don't constantly ask questions out-of-game, and for
pete's
sake don't argue with the GM when they're trying to keep things running
smoothly!
One more thing to remember when you're in the middle of the game is that as
a
role-player you should have NO SHAME. If someone uses Control Thoughts on
your character to make you do something really ridiculous, DO IT! Don't
just
pout and complain and give the whole plot away. If you’re forced to shoot
the
other PC’s, do it with zest! Make those rotten jerks pay! Nobody likes a
player
that’s too proud of himself to go along with a plot just because it’s
turned nasty.
Just saying that your character is doing something isn't enough. Your good
role-playing will encourage others to role-play well.
If you have your character in your head, and you have the confidence to act
out
your character's impulses then you should do just fine and maybe win the
approval of other players.
PART VI: MUNCHKIN STORIES
In this section we explore actual munchkin stories. these stories are fact
and
not speculation. The names of the players have been changed not only to
protect
them, but to protect me. ;-) Some fact have been altered for humor.
1. Player Alpha submitted a character to a game. Then after getting it
back said that he forgot to add a few things. The next time the GM saw
the character sheet that character had racial maximums for every
attribute, several bonded Fire Elementals, a Force 10 (!?!) Power Focus,
and several hundred thousand nuyen.
2. Player Bravo boasted to player Charlie how good he is at min-maxing.
How he knows all the tricks and makes it a point to make sure all the
characters he makes are min-maxed as to get the most points available.
Bravo then proceeded to “help” Charlie make a new character that had no
useful skills other than Thrown Weapons. When Charlie was unable to
damage the car they team was chasing because he was armed with nothing
but thrown weapons the run came to an abrupt stop.
3. Player Delta was caught by Lone Star during a Shadowrun. Upon being
ordered to lay down his weapons by the officers, he proceeded to tell the
police to back off or they’d be in trouble. After being confronted by the
GM after the game, Delta revealed that he knew the police were only
armed with heavy pistols, and he was sure that he had enough armor to
stop them.
4. Player Epsilon was on a run in a volcanic area. Boiling hot mud had a
random chance of splashing onto a PC and causing severe burns. When
the random roll revealed that Epsilon had been hit, causing burns that
would surely “burn off all his skin” the player quickly shouted. “I don’t
have any skin!” and attempted to justify his cyber augmentation as a
reason for him to avoid taking damage.
