From:	korishinzo@*****.com (Ice Heart)
Subject:	SR4 Conversion
Date:	Thu, 28 Jul 2005 10:50:11 -0700 (PDT)

> So how do you handle Karma Pool rerolls?

A star or asterisk on the note indicates that they are worried enough
about the difficulty to spend karma if necessary. I simply put a
line through any number that is not a success and toss the notepadd
back. They either reroll and edit the note, or keep the notepad and
the roll as is. Note a huge complication, and has served us quite
well.

> In the example above, say you had determined the TN was 5, and the
> player wants to really put his target down so wants to reroll
> looking for extra successes... do you tell them to reroll
> everything under 5? or juast say roll 4 dice? Do they still have
> their dice laid as they rolled so they can see what they already
> had, or do you hand back the post-it... what if you hand back the
> wrong post-it...

Well, since they are tossing me a Post-It pad, I'm looking at it, and
tossing it back, the chances of tossing them the wrong one are
limited. I've never done it.

> Doesnt it get confusing if you are in the middle of dealing with
> people acting on a later initiative number already, especially if
> the karma reroll puts down a target that the later guy was going to
> shoot at to finish them off, but if the target was already down
> they'd have shoot at a different threat?

Emphatically no. If an average action pass in SR combat is 1 to 1.5
seconds long, confusion is not just possible, but a near surety. If
Player A, with an Initiative of 14, shoots at NPC Z; and Player B
decides to do the same on her Initiative of 12, it won't matter if
the first shot was fatal or not. By the time the first bullet has
plowed to a stop in the bad guy's chest the second bullet is probably
already on its way. We are talking about a difference of time on the
order of tenths of seconds between one PC acting and another. It is,
in fact, wholly unrealistic to allow someone to change their declared
target in the space of an action pass.

> Frankly you seem to be playing with players who seem to have the
> mental ability of 6 year olds (or at least that is the level you
> seem to credit them with...) if they can't even figure how many
> dice they get to roll and can't simply compare their rolls against
> a single target number and say how many die rolls beat it...

I would counter by saying they are mentally lazy. They show a
tendency to ask me a question they could answer for themselves with
just a few more seconds of thought. Not always, but definately the
majority of the time. And it is hardly limited to the group I run
games for now. I've seen it happen with group of players for a long
time.

> I get the feeling that if I ever played with you as the GM it would
> only be for one session... you seem far to much of a control freak
> for my taste.

Tsk tsk, so confrontational. :) Control freak is definately a
term that has been applied to me. But, also terms like first rate
story teller, thoroughly consistant adjudicator, and brutally fair GM
get thrown around. Since I routinely have to turn players down
because my table is full, I'll take your criticism with a grain of
salt. Yes, I am control freak. However, the end goal to that trait
is a fast paced, highly immersive, and very dynamic game. If the
players work with me, they end up with game they love and a campaign
they talk about years later. If they don't, well, I basically
bludgeon them until they do. :) It's for their own good, after
all. Once the players are working with me, the rules fade into the
background and the real game begins. The characters and the story
come to the fore. I don't GM to wield power, I GM to tell stories
(the power is just a fringe benefit ;p ). Stories that the
players get to take a direct hand in the outcome of. Once they stop
screwing around, they always enjoy themselves. When is the last time
your group of players got through a meet with Mr. J, a couple days
of legwork, two combat scenarios, and another meet with Mr. J in one
6-hour session?

======Korishinzo
--most sessions at our table, once I get everyone whipped into shape



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