| From: | Jonathan Wright <jwrigh01@********.ca> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Get a Clue |
| Date: | Tue, 24 Sep 1996 13:57:24 -0400 (EDT) |
> I and one of the guys a game with were talking about giving
> clues to PCs. We've both run across the problem of how
> much to give out. What seems to be an obvious clue to the
> GM leaves the players clueless. The PCs founder and the
> players get bored and start playing Magic. But if you bash
> 'em in the head with a clue they give you that "What do you
> think I am, stupid?" look. How do other GMs on this list
> deal with this? And to be all inclusive, what do the
> players think would work best?
>
As a GM I find that sometimes just calling a break and going and doing
something else for half an hour is all that's needed to bring players out
of the brain fog that often hits SR players and renders them unable to
see the "obvious" clue. We all sit down to resume and I ask one of the
players to review the details of the current run. This serves two purposes:
1) The other players clarify certain clues and details. This can lead to
the breakthrough they need.
2) I find out if something was not properly communicated or missed
completely. If I'm at fault for this it can then be corrected and they
can get back on track.
I must admit its a pretty tricky balance to maintain. To much info and
the players become bored (as well as me), to little and they become
frustrated. I have only had one shadowrun where they simply didn't catch
on to what was happening, I got frustrated and had the Johnson pull the
plug on the run. This smartened the runners up, they learned that not
attempting to piece clues together would lead them to failure.
Jon Wright
