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Message no. 1
From: William Monroe Ashe <wma6617@****.TAMU.EDU>
Subject: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 09:14:16 -0500
In the game I am GM'ing one of the characters decided to take the amnesia
flaw, cortex bomb flaw, and flashbacks flaw. Oh man am I going to have
fun with him ...

My thoughts so far are:

He was the personal vassal for Lung the great dragon. (He's cybered to
the gills BTW). He was one of his top assassin's. Lung is very
displeased that he failed to carry out his last job. The character was
fanatically loyal to Lung so everytime he encounters the idea of a dragon
he gets a powerful headache and an overwhelming sense of guilt (with no
real reason why ...)

If he sees any images of an Eastern dragon the guilt will become so
intense that he'll lapse into the coma the SR-Comp describes. Any other
image of a dragon, and he'll just feel guilty.

Later on the entire crew will run afoul of Lofwyr. Lofwyr knows all
about Lung's boy. So he and Lung will start to contest over *something*
and draw the players into dragon games.



Waddya Think? Comments and Suggestions are greatly appreciated



regards

-B
Message no. 2
From: "John (RunnerX)" <georgas@***.NET>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 14:54:31 -0700
William Monroe Ashe wrote:
>
> In the game I am GM'ing one of the characters decided to take the amnesia
> flaw, cortex bomb flaw, and flashbacks flaw. Oh man am I going to have
> fun with him ...

Sure, all those flaws make it fun for the GM, but be careful. I have
found that those flaws are simply taken by players that want the extra
building points, and really don't care about the consequences of their
choices. Some of them also don't want to bother with spending the time
of creating a background, so they take these flaws with the hopes that
the GM will create one for them. Also, many GMs (myself included), have
made the mistake of giving these characters too powerful of a background
because they had the chance.

> My thoughts so far are:
>
> He was the personal vassal for Lung the great dragon. (He's cybered to
> the gills BTW). He was one of his top assassin's. Lung is very
> displeased that he failed to carry out his last job. The character was
> fanatically loyal to Lung so everytime he encounters the idea of a dragon
> he gets a powerful headache and an overwhelming sense of guilt (with no
> real reason why ...)
>
> If he sees any images of an Eastern dragon the guilt will become so
> intense that he'll lapse into the coma the SR-Comp describes. Any other
> image of a dragon, and he'll just feel guilty.
>
> Later on the entire crew will run afoul of Lofwyr. Lofwyr knows all
> about Lung's boy. So he and Lung will start to contest over *something*
> and draw the players into dragon games.

See....cool background with a lot of potential power. Now, if a PLAYER
made up this background of being an assassin in the service of a great
dragon and presented it to you, would you actually accept it? You have
to think : These are starting characters. They don't have a lot of
power, and they shouldn't have a lot of power. The point is to slowly
build up their power and reputation. Also, IMHO, this does not make it
fair for the other players, who I assume have simpler backgrounds. How
will they feel when the background of this one character ends up being
the driving force of the game? Anyway...sorry...this turned into a
rant.

RunnerX
Message no. 3
From: GRANITE <granite@**.NET>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 18:01:10 -0700
> > In the game I am GM'ing one of the characters decided to take the amnesia
> > flaw, cortex bomb flaw, and flashbacks flaw. Oh man am I going to have
> > fun with him ...
> Sure, all those flaws make it fun for the GM, but be careful. I have
> found that those flaws are simply taken by players that want the extra
> building points, and really don't care about the consequences of their
> choices.

It is the responsibility of the GM to make the player concider the
consequences..For instance start playing with the Cyberware damage
rules...If that Cortex bomb get damages..Pop goes this goes head...I
know a certain EWO that was a bit concerned about that at GenCon...

--------------------------------GRANITE
"Rock Steady"
===============================================
Lord, Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change,
The Courage To Change The Things I Can,
And The Wisdom To Hide The Bodies Of Those People I Had To Kill
Because They Pissed Me Off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ShadowRunner's Serenity Prayer
Message no. 4
From: Michael Paff <mikepaff@***.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 22:07:48 -0400
At 06:01 PM 8/20/97 -0700, GRANITE wrote:
>It is the responsibility of the GM to make the player concider the
>consequences..For instance start playing with the Cyberware damage
>rules...If that Cortex bomb get damages..Pop goes this goes head...I
>know a certain EWO that was a bit concerned about that at GenCon...
>
Hey! I burned that Karma to protect the party. If that cortex bomb
had gone off, a stray spark might have set off the gas truck I happened
to be standing next to...

Think Tank
Message no. 5
From: Dvixen <dvixen@********.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 19:48:07 -0700
Michael Paff wrote:
>
> At 06:01 PM 8/20/97 -0700, GRANITE wrote:
> >It is the responsibility of the GM to make the player concider the
> >consequences..For instance start playing with the Cyberware damage
> >rules...If that Cortex bomb get damages..Pop goes this goes head...I
> >know a certain EWO that was a bit concerned about that at GenCon...
> >
> Hey! I burned that Karma to protect the party. If that cortex bomb
> had gone off, a stray spark might have set off the gas truck I
> happened
> to be standing next to...

*blink* I think I missed that part. Thanks for not telling Quicksilver,
btw, he'd have been very upset that you were inside the hovercraft with
that thing. (And prolly wouldn't want you doing any seriously dangerous
decking. ;)

> Think Tank


--

Dvixen Code-word : Weevil-chuck. dvixen@********.com
"And I thought First Ones were rare." - Ivanova - Babylon 5
Message no. 6
From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 21:03:36 -0700
---GRANITE wrote:
>
>
> It is the responsibility of the GM to make the player concider the
> consequences..For instance start playing with the Cyberware damage
> rules...If that Cortex bomb get damages..Pop goes this goes head...I
> know a certain EWO that was a bit concerned about that at GenCon...

Not to mention the Southern-belle/Amazon standing next to him and the
fuel truck at the time...

===

@>--,--'--- Loki <gamemstr@********.com>

Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/

"You're calling me Bitch like it's a bad thing."
--> CrapGame during the Drive in the Country tournament.
_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com
Message no. 7
From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 21:26:36 -0700
---William Monroe Ashe wrote:
>
> In the game I am GM'ing one of the characters decided to take the
amnesia
> flaw, cortex bomb flaw, and flashbacks flaw. Oh man am I going to
have
> fun with him ...

Just keep it in check. You'll find the players taking that many high
level flaws are munchkins or number players just going for the extra
build points.

More often than not they don't have a valid background to explain the
flaws, and they don't have much foresight into the consequences these
flaws will bring.

Most members on the list should remember my tales of our former
munchkin, Paul, and what happened the time he presented me with a
character taking Amnesia, Phobia (Scorpions), Severe Allergy (Scorpion
Venom), and Dark Secret. He was really after the build points.

I presented him with an appropriate background, but not an overpowered
one. I like what I saw in another post that you should judge the
background you give an amnesiac character by whether you'd accept the
same background from the player himself.

For those who don't remember this little instance with Paul:

I decided he was a flesh form worker from a roach hive in Cal-Free.
(Good-meld of course so there's no tell-tale physical signs, and
masking so my other PC mages couldn't ruin the suprise. :o) Anyways,
his hive was sacked by a territorial Scorpion shaman, with the aid of
some Nova Scorpions. Paul's character was stung repeatedly and left
for dead. After the chaos settled, an ERT moved in and found his
comatose body. He was ressucitated, but suffering from amnesia.

So there you have it. A background covering the Amnesia, Phobia and
Allergy with Scorpions, and Dark Secret (bad news for people to find
out you're a flesh form roach). Low powered, no undue bragging rights
for his character but it gave me all sorts of nice plot hooks. :o)

Best part is his character came in just before the group went into bug
city, and on an adventure destined for a run in with a Mantis Cabal.

He still doesn't believe I'd made his character a roach worker. :o)

===

@>--,--'--- Loki <gamemstr@********.com>

Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/

"You're calling me Bitch like it's a bad thing."
--> CrapGame during the Drive in the Country tournament.

_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com
Message no. 8
From: GRANITE <granite@**.NET>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 23:49:45 -0700
> Hey! I burned that Karma to protect the party. If that cortex bomb
> had gone off, a stray spark might have set off the gas truck I happened
> to be standing next to...
> Think Tank

Precisely [EGMG]... You acted responsibly..But for the PC that takes
this particular flaw thinking..What are the chances I will ever have
to worry about it..THose chances should be fairly high..Folks don't
go around sticking cortex bombs in a guys head for the fun of
it..They do it to kill.. :)

>*blink* I think I missed that part....

:)

>Not to mention the Southern-belle/Amazon
>standing next to him and the fuel truck at the
>time...

Well that too... ;)

--------------------------------GRANITE
"Rock Steady"
===============================================
Lord, Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change,
The Courage To Change The Things I Can,
And The Wisdom To Hide The Bodies Of Those People I Had To Kill
Because They Pissed Me Off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ShadowRunner's Serenity Prayer
Message no. 9
From: Justin Pinnow <vanyel@*******.NET>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 07:43:32 -0400
> From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
> To: SHADOWRN@********.ITRIBE.NET
> Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
> Date: Thursday, August 21, 1997 12:26 AM

<Snip>

> He still doesn't believe I'd made his character a roach worker. :o)

While I like the background you gave the PC in your campaign, I have to
wonder: would you let someone create and run a PC spirit (bug or
otherwise) normally? Also, wouldn't he have some clue about his ties to
roach, like the possible control of the roach shaman or his fellow roaches?
Perhaps they all died, I guess...but his personality would be much
different than a normal human's, IMO.

> ===
>
> @>--,--'--- Loki <gamemstr@********.com>
>
> Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/
>
> "You're calling me Bitch like it's a bad thing."
> --> CrapGame during the Drive in the Country tournament.
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com
Message no. 10
From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 13:23:31 -0700
---Justin Pinnow wrote:
>
> > From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
> >
> > He still doesn't believe I'd made his character a roach worker. :o)
>
> While I like the background you gave the PC in your campaign, I have
to
> wonder: would you let someone create and run a PC spirit (bug or
> otherwise) normally?

A warrior spirit or a queen, no. A worker fleshform worker, <shrug> if
they felt the need I guess I might allow it. I can't see a fleshform
insect worker being a gamebreaker, can you? The drawbacks would far
out weigh the benefits (if there are any). Besides, to further answer
your question, if you check my webpage I have posted rules for
creating playable and balanced PC free spirits.

Also, keep in mind I'm not speaking of doing this to one of my regular
great players. I'm doing this to teach a munchkin a lesson on going
for 20+ extra build points in flaws and thinking nothing is going to
happen in return.

> Also, wouldn't he have some clue about his ties to
> roach, like the possible control of the roach shaman or his fellow
roaches?

He did, hive mind started bringing in little whispers and voices at
his subconscious as the group approached and entered Bug City. It was
other roach nests that he was picking up on. But the player didn't
catch on to this.

And as you say below, the roach nest was eradicated. He's the sole
survivor of his nasty little family. The roach shaman had long since
been destroyed by the roach mother spirit.

> Perhaps they all died, I guess...but his personality would be much
> different than a normal human's, IMO.

Actually yes and no. Keep in mind some of the known good-meld
fleshform's from novels and sourcebooks. A good-meld gives the spirit
access to the hosts thoughts and abilities. A few of these figures
have existed quite a while before (or even still without) others
discovering the truth. Now that the poor worker is suffering from
amnesia, and the host is all it has to fall back on he may act a
little odd but don't most sever amnesiacs? Besides this flat and
strange personality fit how Paul played most of his PC's.

===

@>--,--'--- Loki <gamemstr@********.com>

Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/

"You're calling me Bitch like it's a bad thing."
--> CrapGame during the Drive in the Country tournament.
_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com
Message no. 11
From: "J. Keith Henry" <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 23:28:28 -0400
In a message dated 97-08-21 01:11:44 EDT, daddyjim@**********.COM writes:

>
> So there you have it. A background covering the Amnesia, Phobia and
> Allergy with Scorpions, and Dark Secret (bad news for people to find
> out you're a flesh form roach). Low powered, no undue bragging rights
> for his character but it gave me all sorts of nice plot hooks. :o)
>
> Best part is his character came in just before the group went into bug
> city, and on an adventure destined for a run in with a Mantis Cabal.
>
> He still doesn't believe I'd made his character a roach worker. :o)
>
Two bits of interest...

First...SEE MIMIC!!!!! It will give you all sorts of ideas.

Second...what about the Allergy to Insecticides and the like? I know, it
just pays off because he's a spirit type, but the ideas are rolling...
-K
Message no. 12
From: Loki <daddyjim@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: using amnesia, and flashbacks
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 00:30:46 -0700
---"J. Keith Henry" wrote:

<snip>

> Two bits of interest...
>
> First...SEE MIMIC!!!!! It will give you all sorts of ideas.
>
> Second...what about the Allergy to Insecticides and the like? I
know, it
> just pays off because he's a spirit type, but the ideas are
rolling...

Fleshforms don't have the vulnerability to insecticides. So it never
came up.

Also, the character never lived long enough for me to develop too far
with it. :o( Paul was never known for keeping his characters alive
beyond three gaming sessions, and I never went out of my way to kill
any of them he did most of it himself. <shrug>

===

@>--,--'--- Loki <gamemstr@********.com>

Poisoned Elves: www.primenet.com/~gamemstr/

"You're calling me Bitch like it's a bad thing."
--> CrapGame during the Drive in the Country tournament.
_____________________________________________________________________
Sent by RocketMail. Get your free e-mail at http://www.rocketmail.com

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