From:	The Deb Decker <RJR96326@****.UTULSA.EDU>
Subject:	Ham-Fisted & Tongue-Tied
Date:	Fri, 25 Jun 1993 19:36:20 -0500

Well, I applaud drh for saying what has been missed all along: DZs are plot
devices, and are not meant to be an examination of reality, through
quantum or other theories. And it is true, at their most basic level,
they are quartermasters that remove toys from PCs. They are not needed;
Shadowrun has enough threats. But that doesn't mean they can't or
shouldn't be used, and I resent the implication that a GM who uses these
is neither creative nor possesed of role-players. I had a player in a
GURPS Cyberpunk campaign who took techno-fetishism as a quirk. His
character was a law clerk thorwn into unusual circumstances (like a
Hitchcock movie). He was not a combat monster, but part of his
role-playing was to buy every new techno-toy that came out ( and
I provided many) to the point of near-bankruptcy.

Running that campaign in Shadowrun, I would have had him on a train
that breaks down in a dead zone. Maybe some Maori tribesmen attack and
he's one of few survivors, or otherwise separated from others. At any rate,
half the entertainment would have come from this techno-freak city boy
placed way out of his element, having little to do with his lack of eqipment.
Yes, his equipment has been forcibly removed, but that doesn't disallow the
opportunity for role-playing.


J Roberson
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