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Message no. 1
From: jhubert@***.de (JÃŒrgen_Hubert)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 18:22:49 +0200
After the resounding success of my d20 NPCs Wiki
(http://d20npcs.wikicities.com/), I decided to develop the concept
further...

Creating NPCs is a time-consuming task in many RPG systems, including
Shadowrun - especially if you have to work out the NPC's equipment,
cyberware, bioware and/or magical powers. In my experience, writing up the
NPCs can often take up as much time as creating everything else for an
adventure, if not more so. But I think there is no reason why game masters
should each shoulder the entire work on their own. Thus, I have created the
Shadowrun NPCs Wiki, so that game masters can submit their own NPC creations
and in turn can benefit from the work of others:

http://shadowrunnpcs.wikicities.com/

This Wiki is still a work in progress - I need to come up with some
additional categories for the "NPCs by Profession" page, for example (if you
have any ideas, just enter them). And unfortunately, all my old Shadowrun
NPCs are in a stack of paper in another city, so I haven't actually entered
any NPCs yet. I will rectify that on the weekend (I don't really have the
time to do write up an NPC before that).

But that shouldn't stop you in the meantime - so if you have some Shadowrun
NPCs lying around in an electronic format somewhere, don't hesitate to
create new entries and submitting them! You don't need to create an account
for this - all you need is some very basic grasp of the simple Wiki
formatting rules (and a help page on how to learn them is linked from the
main page)!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have come up with...


- Jürgen Hubert

Urbis - A World of Cities
Homepage: http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/index.html
Developer's Journal: http://www.livejournal.com/community/worldofcities/
Message no. 2
From: korishinzo@*****.com (Ice Heart)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2005 12:35:57 -0700 (PDT)
> Creating NPCs is a time-consuming task in many RPG systems,
> including Shadowrun - especially if you have to work out the NPC's
> equipment, cyberware, bioware and/or magical powers. In my
> experience, writing up the NPCs can often take up as much time as
> creating everything else for an adventure, if not more so.

[SNIP]

First of all, let me say this is a nice idea. It will probably help
a lot of GMs. Kudos.

Now, on to my contention (inevitably I suppose).

Why are people detailing NPCs like they are characters? Putting that
much effort into an NPC means two things. First, you are going to be
slotted off if a lucky couple of shots from the impulsive idiot
sammie waste the NPC before you even finish describing her wizzer
outfit, let alone start speaking in the cool accent you came up for
her. Second, you are going to end up forcing this NPC into
interaction with the PCs. So the 'apparent' crazy SINless bag lady
approaches and starts dropping important plot hints to the PCs... and
they freak out, burn their safehouses, and flee to Denver. You
players are going to throw dice at you, justifiably IMO, if your
Immortal Elf/bag lady/major plot device shows up in Denver. There
are around six billion people in the Shadowrun world, and your PCs
should have some chance of running into any one of them (admittedly,
far less chance if said person lives on the far side of the globe
with no Matrix connection). Still...

So what is the solution? How do you avoid spending hours making NPCs
who get ignored/instantly wasted/actively avoided/etc? How do you
maintain the illusion that the players can march their character up
to anyone in the world and find all the myriad depths of a real
metahuman? Well, it takes a little discipline, a little memory, and
a healthy does of creativity. This is what I do, and it has surved
me well.

First, keep either a stack of 3x5 cards, a text editor on your
laptop, a legal pad, or any other convenient blank note taking device
easily accessible. Now, any time you describe anyone in the game
world to your players, think of a few distinctive keywords about
them. "Female" "dwarf" "brass finish datajack"
"taciturn"... this
can pretty well cement the person in your short term memory. If the
players decide to approach the dwarf, you already have some basic
descriptives to use. Write them down. Add a name if the PCs ask.
Write down the one she gives. If she becomes important, you can fill
more notes as needed. Maybe the PCs push some interaction, and you
need an attribute/skill/etc number. Pick it. Write it down. "Chr
3, Negot 4, Intimid 3" These number get rolled, so stick to them.
But don't commit to numbers until they are needed. Did you just roll
7 dice for a Chr test? Okay, why? Oh, she's got tailored
pheremeones. Write it down. Work out the reasons, the backstory, as
youy go. Be consistent. Next time (if there is a next time) roll 7
dice again. But never worry about putting down on paper anything you
don't end up needing for that NPC.

Now, the most common NPCs rquired are killable drones in combat.
These are the worst NPCs to spend a ton of time on. They are
expendable and recyclable. Suppose your PCs wander into some gang
turf. You decide that the gang is the Jdub3's, a predominantly
Chinese gang, made up of mostly humans and orks, with the odd dwarf
or troll. This sentence goes into its own note. The J33's just
became part of your game world. Now you decide they are jumped by an
appropriate handful of toughs (maybe 1.5 or 2 to 1 odds). 4 humans,
2 orks, and a troll... you decide... making quick 1 line entries in
your notes. A slender/twitchy/dark haired human... a tall/broad
shouldered/bald human... an aggressive/short/muscular/female human...
etc. Quick notes so you can describe them and keep them straight in
your head. Now comes the fun part. The numbers. It is easier than
it looks.

The average reaction across low BP characters (which gangers will
usually be) is 4-6, with 2D6 for initiative (boosted reflexes are
cheap). Want one to have a higher reaction? Lower something else,
like Str or Wil. As you roll, you notes become 4+2D6, 3+2D6, 6+1D6
(uh oh, this one is probably awakened), and so on. The same approach
works for skills. As with attributes, averages fall in the 3-4
range. If someone has a 5 or a 6, then some other skill suffers,
being very low or non-existant. The watchword is consistency. Your
gangers are going to ahve combat pools in the range of 6 or so.
Karma pools should not be more than 1 or 2. Gear is easiest of all.
SMGs are usually around 6L, and typically fire burst. Pistols, 6L or
9M. Clubs and knives are based on Str, so pick an attribute number
that makes sense. At the end of a fight, an NPC (whether
dead/fleeing/surrendered/or victorious) will look something like
this:

Member of Jdub3's
Tall/Asian/Human/Female - physically twitchy/emotionally calm
Att: 3/5/3/4/5/4 (7+2D6) CP 7/KP 1 [Wired 1,Eyes w/low,heat,flare]
Pistols 4(9M) Smrtlnk 2/Pred 3 Bal 6,Imp 3
Edged 4 (4M) Cougar Long longcoat, form fit 2
Unarmed 3 (Karate), Intimidation 4

This will have been generated on the fly as the combat scene
developed and a stat was needed. In my head, I have a more complex
image of the ganger by now. Why she fights, who she is, etc... but
the players will probably never know. She is a walk-on extra in a
fight scene. Here is the real beauty of the simple notes. Next game
session, the players end up fighting a few human security guards. I
rifle through my notes and copy a few things to a new section.

DeveCorp Sec Guard
Short/Powerfully Built/Human/Male - strong/a bit of a bully
Att: 4/4/6/3/3/4 (5+2D6) CP 5/KP 2 [Wired 1,Eyes w/low,flare,disp]
SMG 4(7L) Smrtlnk 2/Ingram Bal 7,Imp 4
Club 3 (7M Stun) Snap baton L sec, form fit 2, helm
Unarmed 4 (Boxing), Intimidation 4

A couple of number changes and I have recycled an NPC. However, the
players are not confronted with a twitchy Asian woman. And they
never see that the stats are almost identical. So I have nearly
infinite supplies of expendable grunts. By the end of a long game, I
have not had to do more than come up with new descriptions in dozens
of sessions. I have a stat set for almost any concievable NPC.

Now suppose the Asian woman surrendered. They (the PCs and her) get
to talking. Find out she is a Triad wannabe, because that is what
her older brother did, and he's vanished. She wants to find him.
Turns out, she knows the area pretty well, and has a knack for
forgery. The PCs call on her the next time they need some forgeries,
or a bit of info from her turf. They haggle to a price, and a
contact is born. Someday, maybe they even get a run that leads them
across the path of her brother. That is all for the future. For the
moment, I have edited my above entry a little:

Kaya - no other name known, cell phone number known
Runs with Jdub3's, Contact 1
Tall/Asian/Human/Female - physically twitchy/emotionally calm
Att: 3/5/3/4/5/4 (7+2D6) CP 7/KP 1 [Wired 1,Eyes w/low,heat,flare]
Pistols 4(9M) Smrtlnk 2/Pred 3 Bal 6,Imp 3
Edged 4 (4M) Cougar Long longcoat, form fit 2
Unarmed 3 (Karate), Intimidation 4, Computers 4, Negotiation 3, Know:
Forgery 5, Know: Local Rumor 4, Know: Kingsgate Area 4
Triad groupie, searching for lost older brother - Triad, Surrendered
to team after gang fight

Because I have played her a few times now, her
personality/history/motivations/appearance/etc are easier and easier
to remember. I refer to my notes less and less, except a quick
consulation to roll some dice. And I can still use her stats a
hundred times over with only minor edits.

For me, at least, this approach is vastly superior to reams of
pre-fab NPCs I have spent hours of my week generating. YMMV.

======Korishinzo
--doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
any given week :)



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Message no. 3
From: gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 10:45:40 +0200
According to Ice Heart, on 13-07-2005 21:35 the word on the street was...

> For me, at least, this approach is vastly superior to reams of
> pre-fab NPCs I have spent hours of my week generating. YMMV.

Agreed 100%. All you need to know about an NPC is the bits the players
are going to see, plus whatever backstory you need to figure out to
decide on the NPC's place in the adventure -- and usually that happens
before you decide on who the NPC is anyway, is my experience.

> Korishinzo
> --doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
> any given week :)

An hour? I can beat that ;)

--
Gurth@******.nl - Stone Age: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
de limme
-> Possibly NAGEE Editor & ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Site: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 4
From: bullcon@*****.com (Bull)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 08:33:52 -0400
On 7/14/05, Gurth <gurth@******.nl> wrote:
> > --doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
> > any given week :)
>
> An hour? I can beat that ;)
>
Err... you prep for a game? :]

Bull
Message no. 5
From: jharkes@*****.com (Jeroen Harkes)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:57:28 +0200
Ice Heart,

Maybe you could post you guidelines in the Wiki. That way people can
easily reference it. Beside you have allready written it down :-)


Minordemon.
Message no. 6
From: allen.versfeld@*****.com (Allen Versfeld)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 15:01:00 +0200
On 7/14/05, Bull <bullcon@*****.com> wrote:
> On 7/14/05, Gurth <gurth@******.nl> wrote:
> > > --doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
> > > any given week :)
> >
> > An hour? I can beat that ;)
> >
> Err... you prep for a game? :]
>
> Bull
>

Of course! There's the phone calls to confirm that people are
actually going to be there, there's the negotiations on who's turn it
is to bring refreshments, there's the quick rush to the stationers to
grab yet another replacement pencil, and even the 15 minute
brainstorming planning session while all the players get comfortable
and wait for you to start.
Message no. 7
From: sp@*****.gr (Stefanos Patelis)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 16:28:46 +0300
Allen Versfeld wrote:

>On 7/14/05, Bull <bullcon@*****.com> wrote:
>
>
>>On 7/14/05, Gurth <gurth@******.nl> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>--doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
>>>>any given week :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>An hour? I can beat that ;)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>Err... you prep for a game? :]
>>
>>Bull
>>
>>
>>
>
>Of course! There's the phone calls to confirm that people are
>actually going to be there, there's the negotiations on who's turn it
>is to bring refreshments, there's the quick rush to the stationers to
>grab yet another replacement pencil, and even the 15 minute
>brainstorming planning session while all the players get comfortable
>and wait for you to start.
>
>
>
>
Don't you guys have breaks for pizza or take away ordering? Its a must
have....! Refershments are one thing but proper greasy food is another...

--
??????? ????????

EWORX S.A.
22 Rodou Street - Maroussi 15122 - Greece
tel: +30 210 61 48 380, +30 210 61 48 360
mob: +30 6978853066 - fax +30 210 6148381
mailto:sp@*****.gr -- http://www.eworx.gr
Message no. 8
From: jhubert@***.de (JÃŒrgen_Hubert)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:17:54 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeroen Harkes" <jharkes@*****.com>
To: "Shadowrun Discussion" <shadowrn@*****.dumpshock.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 2:57 PM
Subject: Re: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!


> Ice Heart,
>
> Maybe you could post you guidelines in the Wiki. That way people can
> easily reference it. Beside you have allready written it down :-)

I second that. There is absolutely no reason why people shouldn't post other
material useful to Shadowrun on the Wiki.

- Jürgen Hubert

Urbis: http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/index.html
LiveJournal: http://www.livejournal.com/~jhubert/
Message no. 9
From: korishinzo@*****.com (Ice Heart)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 10:45:04 -0700 (PDT)
--- Allen Versfeld <allen.versfeld@*****.com> wrote:

> On 7/14/05, Bull <bullcon@*****.com> wrote:
> > > > --doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game
> sessions in any given week :)

> > > An hour? I can beat that ;)

> > Err... you prep for a game? :]

> Of course! There's the phone calls to confirm that people are
> actually going to be there, there's the negotiations on who's turn
> it is to bring refreshments, there's the quick rush to the
> stationers to grab yet another replacement pencil, and even the 15
> minute brainstorming planning session while all the players get
> comfortable and wait for you to start.

Precisely. My table top game runs most every Saturday night from 6pm
to midnight. I am usually at the gaming table, laptop and reference
materials set up, by about 5pm. As people wander in, I collect money
for refreshments, field game-related questions, check my notes from
the previous session, and so on. By 6, my head is thoroughly in the
game, and I am ready to pick up where we left off the week before.
Rules questions from the previous session have been researched and I
have an answer/ruling ready. I often read sections of my favorite SR
or Gibson novels, or let Johnny Mnemonic play on the laptop. This
channels my imagination towards cyberpunk-style descriptions and
characters. Etc etc. At 5:30 I call anyone I have not heard from
regarding their presence at the session. At 5:45, I send someone to
the store with all collected funds and a snack/beverage list. They
are also instructed to pick up stragglers. None of this prep work
leaves room for writing up full NPC character sheets. :)

======Korishinzo
--the devil is in the details



____________________________________________________
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
Message no. 10
From: korishinzo@*****.com (Ice Heart)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 10:47:56 -0700 (PDT)
> Don't you guys have breaks for pizza or take away ordering? Its a
> must have....! Refershments are one thing but proper greasy food is
> another...

The pizza place of choice delivers around 10pm, typically a nice
break from the latest tense combat or run-planning scene. Very
little disruption, no one leaves. :)

======Korishinzo
--wishes the local Chinese restaurants delivered





____________________________________________________
Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
Message no. 11
From: loneeagle@********.co.uk (Lone Eagle)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 19:28:43 +0100
At 06:47 PM 7/14/2005, Korishinzo wrote:
>Korishinzo
>--wishes the local Chinese restaurants delivered

You don't have a Chinese that delivers?
How do you survive?
You'll be saying you don't have guns* for the players to fondle next...

*We have a number of replicas, purchased by the players, which are laid out
on the table before the game. It allows players to rack the slide when
their character does it...etc.
One of the most memorable uses (from my point of view) was a while ago, the
team had captured one of the leading light "bad guys" - and it happened to
be one that my character had some history with, he had no idea of her
involvement and felt betrayed... - I spent most of the interrogation
sitting sullenly at the side of the table cocking and easing the hammer
home on a Peacemaker replica (representing a Ruger Super Warhawk).
It worked beautifully, giving me something to do in the interrogation
without having to break the character's mood by speaking and really
worrying the prisoner.
Props really help the freeform side sometimes...


--
Lone Eagle
"Hold up lads, I got an idea."

www.wyrmtalk.co.uk - Please be patient, this site is under construction

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Message no. 12
From: lrdslvrhnd@*****.com (Kevin McB)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 18:10:45 -0400
On 7/14/05, Lone Eagle <loneeagle@********.co.uk> wrote:
>
> You don't have a Chinese that delivers?
> How do you survive?
> You'll be saying you don't have guns* for the players to fondle next...
>
> *We have a number of replicas, purchased by the players, which are laid out
> on the table before the game. It allows players to rack the slide when
> their character does it...etc.
> One of the most memorable uses (from my point of view) was a while ago, the
> team had captured one of the leading light "bad guys" - and it happened to
> be one that my character had some history with, he had no idea of her
> involvement and felt betrayed... - I spent most of the interrogation
> sitting sullenly at the side of the table cocking and easing the hammer
> home on a Peacemaker replica (representing a Ruger Super Warhawk).
> It worked beautifully, giving me something to do in the interrogation
> without having to break the character's mood by speaking and really
> worrying the prisoner.
> Props really help the freeform side sometimes...

Heh. When I played, most of us had Nerf guns that we'd shoot at the
GM instead of saying "I fire at the ork" Of course, he *also* had a
Nerf gun that he fired at us... I once had one of the suction cup
darts stick to my glasses, and he declared that my character's eye
covers stopped the bullet *g*

Props are GOOD. Unless you have a slightly nervous habit of playing
with stuff in your hands and a GM who decides that if you pick up one
of the props (other than to move it aside), your character is actually
performing the action... I started a bar fight or two when I started
playing with a foam knife instead of my eraser 8-}

Kevin... who not only didn't have Chinese that delivered back then,
but didn't even have CHINESE (it was compensated by having a mobile
greasy burger place set up shop in the parking lot behind the building
8-} )
Message no. 13
From: gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 10:55:44 +0200
According to Bull, on 14-07-2005 14:33 the word on the street was...

>>>--doesn't have more than an hour or so to prep for game sessions in
>>>any given week :)
>>
>>An hour? I can beat that ;)
>
> Err... you prep for a game? :]

Exactly :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - Stone Age: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
de limme
-> Possibly NAGEE Editor & ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Site: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ P(+) L++ E W--(++) N o? K w(--)
O V? PS+ PE@ Y PGP- t- 5++ X(+) R+++$ tv+(++) b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 14
From: jhubert@***.de (JÃŒrgen_Hubert)
Subject: The Shadowrun NPC Wiki is now open!
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:54:57 +0200
I've finally found the time to add a sample NPC to the Wiki - a human
security guard:

http://shadowrunnpcs.wikicities.com/wiki/Human_Security_Guard

Hopefully this will show how to format entries...

Oh, and even if you have no need or desire to enter and use Wiki NPCs, you
might at least consider the Graveyard Section:

http://shadowrunnpcs.wikicities.com/wiki/The_Graveyard

After all, most of us who have played Shadowrun have fond memories of
certain runners we have played and who died in particularly spectacular and
memorable fashions. This is your chance to provide them with a memorial of
sorts - create some entries for them that tell the rest of us who they were,
and how they died!


- Jürgen Hubert

Urbis: http://juergen.the-huberts.net/dnd/urbis/index.html
LiveJournal: http://www.livejournal.com/~jhubert/

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