| From: | Helge Diernaes <ecocide@***.CBS.DK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Everyone(almost) who plays Shadowrun is a Munchkin! |
| Date: | Mon, 11 Sep 1995 00:13:24 +0200 |
> I have found that giving a character a disadvantage can often add a
> lot to the role-playing aspects of the character, some examples that come to
> mind are a blind decker or mage. A decker could see VR and a mage could use
> astral perception, but both limit his ability to interact with the physical
> world. A physical affliction or phobia, or some kind of quirky mental code
> seem to work well too.
> Illness, fear of water or flying, or a strict code against killing
> are examples of this. Anyone have feedback?
>
I agree. A Shadowrunner should per definition be some kind of wierdo,
else what is the point of running the shadows instead of living warm'n
cosy in a nice corp?
I mean, any rational being who just wanted money and/or family safe from
all harm, would be a complete idiot to move out from his archology
(spellig? :-)), except on tourist maraudings.
In my experience as player and GM in SR, the surviving PC's over more
than 3 sessions had three characteristics in common:
1. Cleverness. Essentially, do not engage in fights unless on other
viable options exists. (This can differ from player to player; my
physadept elven psychopath relished mortal bladed combat because he was
addicted to humanoid blood. :-) Also he utilized an uzi with lasersight
instead of smartlink, as to letting the beam higthen his victims' terror).
2. High combat and/or high technical abilities.
Combat might be detested, but when it comes, letting the bastards have it
instead of oneself is usually the accepted axiom.
3. Lots of contacts, high and low.
With these characteristics, they would have excelled in any corp, had
their motives been gold,fame'nfamily.
Reading Gibsons books yields identical results; the main characters are
where they are and do what they do, simply because their needs were not
sated by a "normal" life - for people with their abilities.
BTW, If my perception of the main chars seem rather wild, bear with me.
We all have our perspectives :-)
Case was suicidal, even as a console cowboy, Molly is homocidal, Turner
is stubbornly independet, The Finn is, well The Finn :-).
R.N.Charette's trilogy Secrets Of Power is about the same.
Samuel Verner had his quest for his sister, which was paramount and which
his corp would not let him make, the Dodger is fiercely independent and
hungers for total symbiosis with the Matrix, Hart is initially without
scruples altogether, Ghost is fighting his own war for 1. a woman, 2. his
tribe/people, Sally is like Hart, etc.etc.
In my own campaigns, I've played a homocidal but otherwise rational white
streetsam, a psychopatic Tir Elf with 1. an severe addiction to humanoid
blood (fresh and warm, mind you), 2. a serious arrogance even considering
his Tir heritage. Currently I play an Indian Racoon Shaman, who is an
econut making Greenpeace look like contaminators.
The consequence of all this is tremendous roleplay opportunities.
If the players do have their share of phobias, philias, fanatisms, mental
disorders, etc., it leaves the game with whole new dimension of
flexibility and surprise.
Since my group started making our PC's more .. interesting, we haven't
taken one job from one lousy Johnson. Our individual quests, hunts,
whatever, let us forge ahead to accomplish that goal. Our GM might make
an adventure to that task, ofcourse, but it generally works
better if the GM just leaves the players to their own thinking/doing, and
concentrates on knowing his/her world so well that there is consistensy
in the consequenses to the PC's actions, even those the GM didn't imagine
beforehand.
Also, I do love the concepts of spinning intriques; the GM lets several,
sometimes unrelated, intriques flow around the players, and if the
players by some means fall into one of them, well, then its fun for sure.
Admittedly, a PC playing a raving maniac is bound to get it good sometime
soon, but what the heck. It has then been excessively fun playing that
char, and s/he will probably be remembered more than a boring vet.
I do not indicate that all vets are boring, I have one myself and he's
definitely not boring :-).
Besides, PC creation in SR takes no time for a player who knows what s/he
wants. The trauma resulting from losing a loved PC is in my experience
minor, as the player very well knew, that that kind of playing would kill
his/her PC of sooner or sooner. But while it last its great.
--
Regards,
Silhouette
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Helge Diernaes | "The Eye that looks always to the safe side is closed
ecocide@***.cbs.dk | forever." Poul Muad'Dib, 'Dune'
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