From:	Arcady arcady@***.net
Subject:	Bioware, Betaware, and a 3rd edition game of mostly newbies
Date:	Wed, 30 Jun 1999 18:29:37 -0700

Hello;

I'm just starting up a new game (the players should be arriving in 40
minutes... got to finish cleaning. :) ).

I've got mostly newbies to Shadowrun, including myself (more or less, did 3
sessions before spread over 10 years).
However I've got 2 players who are experts at the system, and one who is
very well versed in the novels (despite having never played).
! of the experts and the novel-player have presented me with characters
that make use of items that until Man and Machine is published have no rules
under 3rd edition but exist in second edition items.

One has extensive Bioware and mostly Betaware cyber ware (enough to cut his
essence down to 0.04).
The other just pulled Ambidexterity and some Deltaware cyber eyes.

My gut feeling is to tell them both to stick to only items in the currently
published 3rd edition books.

Outside of the two of them and the other old hat at Shadowrun, nobody in
the group even owns any of the books they are pulling stuff from. Including
myself.
Glancing at the Bioware character's sheet; he looked quite potent. Enough
to single handedly take on the rest of the team.
Is the second edition stuff as unbalancing as it looks to me as a newbie?
How would others handle this situation if they too were new to GMing the
game?

The player is complaining that he will no longer have all his starting cash
if/when Man and Machine is published. My current response is that at that
time he can get what he can or submit a new character, but that I don't want
him using it all at this point.
In large part this is because I don't to make the other players feel a need
to begin buying obsolete books. Nor do I want them unable to be on par with
each other. Nor do I want them to feel overwhelmed with rules they have no
ability to learn.


Arcady http://www.jps.net/arcady/ <0){{{{><
The Revolution will not be televised; it'll be emailed.
/.)\ Stop making sense. Be an Anti Intellectual
\(@/ Be Tao. Live Tao. Feel Tao. But don't do Tao.