| From: | Brett Borger <bxb121@***.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: SRII Lethality |
| Date: | Wed, 17 Dec 1997 14:14:38 EST |
> trying to threaten the PCs a long time ago and attack them with
> complex stories. They get all tied up trying to figure out what to
> do that they screw up. The last adventure I ran the PCs were trying
> to get to a boat. I figured they'd rent a boat, or they'd rent some
Well of course the lack of lethality isn't a major problem...I play
SR because the universe is so great that it allows me to come up with
really great plots and conspiracys. Mainly my complaint with the
lethality is in passing. They'll tick off a gang, or try and take
over a yacht from the coast guard, and have no difficulty. That
"sweating" you describe should be a major theme....and it jsut isn't.
THe players fear my major enemies, but 99% of the other elements in
the world that threaten everyone else don't threaten them at all.
Part of the "heroic" element I like is the concept that the players
have something BESIDES better armor, guns, and bodies than everybody
else. You too could be a hero like them if you had the special
something.....
And to make it worse, one of my players ALWAYS plays a character that
has a devil-may-care attitude. Picture it: The earth cracks in a
cloud of fire and brimstone. One huge claw, followed by another,
which pull up the 15 foot tall winged demon. Skin looks like boiled
leather. Claws resembling scythes. Wings that block the light,
flexing slightly as they are folded to him. He turns his glowing red
gaze to the players. He smiles, with bits of rotted flesh visible
between his razor sharp teeth. He speaks, the voice vibrating along
their bones. "Whose soul shall I feed upon first?"
Chris rolls his eyes and yawns. "Is that it?" (that's the
character).
The demon roars its anger and sweeps towards him.
Usually at this point Chris blows it away (also annoyingly, he almost
always defeats my plots. He has some sort of sixth sense that allows
him to take apart the most convoluted plots). Even when he doesn't,
and he gets massacred, it doesn't bother him.
Worse yet, if I ever complain about bad role-playing, he points out
that this is the same attitude HE has in RL. (it's true too). He
also mentions that he couldn't play a different attitude, and if he
tried he wouldn't enjoy it.
Sigh. It was cute for a while (the best time was when he was on his
bike and had a confrontation with a free spirit (he didn't know it
then) that turned out to be a major enemy. He ended up charging him,
getting on top of him with the bike, and peeling out on his face.
(The free spirit lived, but boy, was he pissed!) But now, it has
become more of a problem, as it really makes it hard to make the
characters feel threatened, when the one who is most often the leader
never CARES if he is threatened.
Advice anyone?
-=SwiftOne=-
