| From: | Wordman <wordman@*******.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: FASA's On/Off Course? |
| Date: | Thu, 7 May 1998 00:49:55 -0400 |
are doing it to quickly. They did the same thing to Battletech. I was
perfectly happy before the Fourth Succession War, then they spring that on
us, and then, God help us, the frigging Clans show up and screwed up
everything. Same problems with power curve, too.
Point is, most groups meet once a week, for maybe four to six hours. In
that time, you can fit _maybe_ a couple of days of game time in, if you
really hurry. So plots unfold slowly. By the time you get to a point where
you can incorporate something, some new thing comes out, and you sort of
feel like you have to hurry to catch it. I know you don't have to, but you
still feel that way.
As far as the "year of" style goes, I think the idea is not just to say "oh
this will be fun", but to open a new _kind_ of shadowrunning. Cyberpirates,
for example, details a sea-bourne campaign. Fields of Fire introduced
mercenary campaigns. Bug City, and so on. Width the Underworld Sourcebook,
you get a good feel for running and organized crime campaign. BitB was
slightly different, in that it offered a sort of different mind set for
running. BitB forces players to think a bit more like fixers ("this is
happening, how can I take best advantage of it") than most other runs. It
also provides a plausible way to involve amatures in the running biz (more
low-level corpers might use runners) and dealing with amatures tends to
make good stories, as mistakes are much more interesting. Seems like FASA
is trying to do more of this kind of product, exposing the breadth of the
stories that can be told in the world of Shadowrun.
I like this, but while breadth is good, I think depth is more _useful_ to
me as a GM. I would love it if they slowed down the pace of the big plot
twisting books to a two year turn-around instead of one, and came out with
more depth-based products (at least as deep as the Seattle Sourcebook) per
year.
I also like their track system method for adventures. It gives me the kind
of info I look for in an adventure book and not much else. The ones I've
seen also let me set the power curve, which is useful.
One thing I've yet to see if I like is there handling of magic. SRs magic
system borrowed a lot from "real" magic, and had a very good feel to it.
From what I've seen the only person who currently grooves into this feel is
Steve, who is not a FASA employee. This concerns me a bit, as it may mean
more new magic rules that originate from a "this would be cool" feeling
instead of "a logical extension of the magic system would be" kind of
feeling. We'll see on this one.
I'm satified with current handling of I.E.s. (BTW, did Tom Dowd ever reveal
why Elves and Dragons don't seem to like each other much before he left SR?
Did that secret "die" with him?)
As far as "where do I want to go today?": The path I'd like for SR is
definately not the one FASA will take. I really like more street level
plots, and FASA tends towards the Epic. I'd love to see an adventure book
that is geared mostly towards a gang campaign. The book would give extreme
detail on maybe ten blocks, the gang's turf. Even if you didn't run a gang
campaign, you could have runners enter the turf for one reason or another.
That's the type of stuff a really like -- exactlt the type of stuff FASA
does not make (with possible exception of Seattle Sourcebook).
Wordman
"Stressed from the battle, but not fatigued.
My hat's made of metal to avoid debris."
-- N.W.H. "Buried and Bald"
