From:	TopCat <topcat@***.NET>
Subject:	Re: Karma & Characters
Date:	Wed, 30 Jul 1997 16:35:38 -0500

At 09:38 AM 7/29/97 -0500, Adam wrote:
>On Tue, 29 Jul 1997, George Metz wrote:
>> What does anyone think of a proper "retirement level" based on Karma
Pool?
>> When does a runner say, "Enough is enough, let's get a SIN and move on with
>> our lives"? Anyone?

>I don't think it should be based on Karma pool levels, though it will
>play a small part. People that become Shadowrunners do so for a reason;
>need money, revenge, adrenaline junkies, track someone down, etc. After
>a character has achieved the goal that originally set him down his path,
>or found a way to deal with it, then he should retire.

I have to agree with Adam here. Shadowrunners do have a purpose and set
goals for themselves just like anybody else. Once you achieve those goals,
you move on or you stagnate. If all you wanted was to "stick it to The Man"
how many times do you do this until it loses it's attraction? If you were
running for cash, how much cash do you need to accomplish what you want
done? You've been a runner for a while now and know a lot of people, why
risk your neck when you can become a fixer and live a much easier life?

Sure, there are those psycho-runners out there who want to run forever but
they all end up losing their edge (by age, SOTA, overconfidence, or making
the wrong people just mad enough) and at their level, they won't get away
with mistakes. Sooner or later, they'll get made. And then what? Were
they ready to just pack up and retire, move into the light? Or were they
too caught up in what they were to ever imagine such a thing might happen?
Did they even see it coming? This is where true roleplaying comes in, to
paraphrase a slogan that I'm sure we all know: You have to know when to say
when...

>Point is, when a character has reached the end of her story, she should
>go back to what she had. She can still be a mentor to new PC's (Blade)
>but is not needed as a crucial part to the story.

There's a great point, old PCs make great NPCs. The players know them and
they like to know that their old favorite character isn't just thrown away
now that a new game has started.
--
Bob Ooton
topcat@***.net