has anyone played/dm'd shadow run?

[Hari the Monk]

I actually don't mind the buckets of d6's in the game. I do dislike the 'death spiral' damage system that is core, though. In an even stand-off fight, whoever takes damage first is odds-on favorite to die first.

However, I was raised on the D&D model of hit points, and I suppose that could have spoiled me WRT combat systems.

 

[Victim]

Salutations,

Sounds like he is probably cheating or atleast mistaken about the rules- I played magic users in the game.. and in no way was I ever as powerful as your describe.

Have the dm ask for a complete breakdown of how the player is doing these things (not during a game, outside of it), this should help clear things up.

FD

Like I said, the player in question knows the rules, especially with regard to magic, better than the GM. He doesn't know how the player is doing it. Also, I don't think we've earned enough karma for the mage to buy up his magic rating by becoming an initiate.

Also, the mage has a smartlinked (real smartlink, not goggles) weapon (some kind of SMG, I think). He doesn't stick out much. Besides, if the Dm followed the guideline of shooting the unarmored people, we'd be going through coporate liasions like crazy.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'm coming in a little late on the thread, but I used to play a lot of Shadowrun. Fun game. I liked rolling buckets of d6'ers and it is actually a change of pace for me to roll one puny d20.

My favorite character in SR went by the name of "Social". I pumped his charisma and gave him tailored phermones. I was pertty much useless in combat, but WOW did I clean up during the legwork phase of the game.

GM: Your target number to get the address of the club is 6.
Me: No problem.
GM: I meant 9.
Me: No problem.
GM: ... um ... you need two 9s!
Me: Hmmm. Might have to use a karma die.
GM: AURGH!!

 

[Sulimo]

I havent played it for quite a awhile but I really love the game. Wish I could get involved in a SR game actually. I really like the system, and am glad its one of the few holdouts againt the D20 collective.

I havent actually played 3e Shadowrun though. I have played both 1st and 2nd edition though.

With a local find of a heap of cheap SR novels I've actually started getting back into in a substantial way. But I guess unless I can find a PBeM game, I'll only get by SR via the novels.

 

[Rayston]

I guess unless I can find a PBeM game, I'll only get by SR via the novels.

If your real interested check out the repeated plugs for my fave MUSH

Shadowrun Seattle: MUSH as mentioned both earlier in this thread and at this thread posted yesterday

http://www.enworld.org/messageboard...p?threadid=3656

or just come check out our webpage at

http://www.dnaco.net/~shadow

or if you know MU*'s well enough already check us out at

shadowrun.dnaco.net 4201


Rayston
Shameless Plugster ( anything for some good RP)

 

[ColonelHardisson]

One last thing: the reason cyberware costs essence while a hip replacement doesn't is because cyberware is actually hooked up to your brain, and your brain doesn't like to send or receive electrical signals from a machine; whether that's artificial muscle tissue or a move-by-wire system. And as I recall, you only go insane from it if you have 0 or less Essence, which means you have to be kept alive by cybermancy anyways--not a good thing.

My point was that it seems nonsensical, based on what we know of real world technology. There is no reason to believe that anyone in the real world will go insane due to having cybernetic implants. There are already medical procedures (experiments with giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and some experimental stuff having to do with returning motion to paralyzed people) which tap into the brain, maybe not in the same way as fictional cybernetics, nor as intrusively, but similarly enough to ascertain that it won't drive people insane. I don't mind a limiting factor for game stuff, to keep characters from becoming complete cyborgs with no penalty, but the rationale behind this is shaky. Even in fiction or RPGs, things that simply are inconsistent with the game world hurt the reader's/gamer's abiltiy to suspend disbelief. Magic is nonexistent in the real world, so game rules have to make it up whole cloth; cybernetics, or the beginnings of such technology, actually exist. Game rules for it should try to be consistent with what is known in the real world. It's sort of like if they had made it so that operating any machinery would eventually drive you mad; cool concept, but it goes against what really happens.

 

[Rayston]

Cyberware and essence loss?

there is no reason to believe that cybernetics would drive you insane in todays world, with todays understanding of the human body and cybernetics. but thats just theory, noone has really went

"full borg"

yet, we dont know what'll happen to them when they do.

in the SR universe the realization that cybernetics did this to peoples brains was just that a "realization" they were surprised, there was absoloutely no pre-existing reason to believe that it should happen, but they had to deal with it, then magic gave a pseudo-reason as to why it did.

and in SR magic has come back, and its not just hot elves and parlor tricks, its MAGIC, it has changed the way the world works, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!!!! is covered in magic, everyone has an "aura" that can only be seen by mages, maybe when magic came back it somehow "changed" the physiology of human beings, making them suddenly dependant on there essence( as represented by there aura's that until magic came back noone knew about ) for not only life, but there very sanity.

magic is a huge mystery still in the SR universe they dont know yet its full effects on the world, some claim too, but they are prolly talkin out there butt.

The theories in the context of the game-universe as to why you go insane or die when you lose a certain amount of essence is just that "theory" some mages/shamans rant about the essence being the "soul" and without the soul we die, but who knows wether thats true or not, theres no real way to prove it, in the context of the game-universe.

just my 2 cents

Rayston

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Awesome game, the RP elements are the greatest I have seen in any game including world of darkness and Legend of the Five Rings. With all the different factions and agendas there are limitless possibilities. And just like the real world the corps, or gangs, or crimelords are nor 'evil' per se, but doing what they need to do.

The design was very clunky, 3rd edition is a bit better. We've thrown out Deckers as PCs since runing a decker and a group simultaneouslly was a pain.

 

[Warrior Poet]

Another supporter of the game's atmosphere here: Shadowrun's "feel" is very well developed, and an absolutely fascinating environment to experience as player and game master alike.

I only ever played the 1st edition, and the rules could get a little cumbersome, especially in combat, where I seem to recall thirty minutes of game time to resolve a few rounds of gunfire (although some 3E combat rounds go that long, too). Shadowrun did do a good job of making firearms extremely deadly, which many who come to the game from a h.p.-based background might find somewhat disorienting (especially since creating a character took a while, too - got $400,000 to spend? Well, there's a lot of stuff to buy: cyberware, equipment, vehicles, contacts, bus pass, etc.)

Anyway, a very fun setting, and a nice change of pace from swords and chainmail (though, technically, there were swords available in Shadowrun, and a friend of mine played a Troll with a battle axe who quite simply mowed through the opposition). I don't really have any complaints about the dice system, and the detail that went into the setting was terrific. It was hard for the game master to deal with a decker while the rest of the group was trading bullets with the bad guys: gotta keep switching scenes.

One complaint: the novels. Ugh. Well, o.k., I only read one, called _Never Deal With A Dragon_ and it was terrible.

Enjoy the game.

Warrior Poet

 

[Kichwas]

How can mages become so crazily powerful

Our DM doesn't have the time to completely master the rules as this player has done, and I don't have the rule books.

You've answered your own question.

This problem holds true for any RPG.

It happened to me in my first 3E DnD game when a player who works part time at the local game store showed up with the rules near memorized while the rest of us were still fumbling around in the dark.

One solution is to make the offending player responsible for all rule lookups. To 'employ' the person as an official rules lawyer. Eventually they will manage to argue to their own character's disadvantage. And they will help the rest of you get up to speed.

...archetypes have

Still playing 1E?