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View Full Version : Will my DMing style cause problems? (Shadowrun)



Name_Here
2009-09-15, 09:41 AM
I'm not a Gm who gets too involved in the minutia of RPGs. I've never rolled dice to see what kind of goods are available at a given town and I've only really set up detailed maps when it is absolutely necessary. I don't set up in depth security features for the dungeons like alarms and traps and then most of the time I have never even bothered to go over the rules of the game for more than a few minutes to gain a pretty basic understanding of the game. And then I don't make my players line out exactly what they do every time they open a door or exactly where they keep their menagerie of weapons that they accumulate like burrs.

Now in some games this kind of shotgunning it leads to great results. My D+D group loved pulling one over on me rule wise and they never really needed more than a rough sketch on a bit of graph paper to develop a plan for their assault and then there were multiple times where the sotry I was forced to come up with on the spot was much more natural and epic than the one I had written out. But D+D is much more about the glory and of good triumphing over evil. Dark Heresy is another system that I've had some success with. Sure it isn't as gritty and as depressing as I was planning with my group overcoming many obstacles with disgraceful ease but my players love the insanity and absurdness of the 40K universe even without me following the rules for scarcity or countless other rules I probably leave broken by the side of the road.

But Shadowrun seems different somehow. It seems like a system that lives and thrives on GM preparedness and attention to the minutia. I can just imagine the group trying to put together a run, asking a million and one questions about security procedures, security personnel, local gangs, local charity organizations, Local coffee shops overlooking the factory gates and me madly making up fact after fact until I have to effectively scrap my notes on the subject because the facts paint something completely different. On this board I've seen builds for utterly unhackable Comm links and working on the perfect untraceable run as well as stories like the CLUE files where runners were killed, mangled and frustrated by some miscommunication with the GM. After seeing these stories I got worried about how well I can GM because I love the setting of Shadowrun and I wouldn't want to be anything but a good GM for it but it seems like it just jars too much with what Shadowrun is.

Doc Roc
2009-09-15, 09:48 AM
Shadowrun has a number of levels of play. I recommend that you avoid the actual runs and drop your players into a mafia war or something similar. It sounds like you're not really in a position yet to lay out a hit or extraction on a major corp and that's fine. Those things are a often either one-shots or campaign cappers.

Don't rush. Find something that you like, and that your players like, and work from there. Shadowrun is REALLY REALLY big. This is Important to remember because it lets you work the way you want to work.

Timeras
2009-09-15, 09:52 AM
If your group liked your style in other games, it should not not be a big problem in SR.
But some things are different. There are no random monsters in an office building. You should plan the building before you play and decide what security would reasonably be there (that doesen't mean the PCs can get every info before they enter).

Farlion
2009-09-15, 09:53 AM
If your players like to get into detail, then you should actually come prepared when playing Shadowrun.

On the other hand, if your group doesn't ask alot of questions then your all set with what you do.

I'd recommend to start with a low tech campaign. Start out as gangers, having to do some minor "beat-em-up" or "cash-the-money" type of runs. There the details of the terrain can be made up as you go along.

On the other hand, I have made the expirience, that the background of the NPCs you deal with, is something the GM has to work out. It makes a real difference if you beat up Joe Nobody or the son of the local Mafia Don. I have made my players realize, that finding out more, is often better for their health.

But even this can be neglected, if you want your players to get in trouble with the mafia :smallbiggrin:

Since you are actually asking this question, I assume you have already thought alot about your GMing style. I advise you to prepare a little more for Shadowrun, but more important, read some novels so you can make up stuff as you go along. I never prepare too much, since my players never do what I expect them to do, and sometimes my preparations turned out to be a total waste of time.

Here the most important things you should have in petto:

1) NPC backgrounds, liasons, connections and foes

2) a rough outline of territories (gangs, yakuzas, mafia etc.)

3) a rough outline what security level the neighbourhood has they are currently in


I think that should give you a solid basis for GMing on the go!

Cheers,
Farlion

Lycan 01
2009-09-15, 02:21 PM
Talk to TheCountAlucard. :smallwink:

I had the same exact worries as you. Truth be told, we have the exact same DM style for DnD and Dark Heresy, apparently. But TheCountAlucard recently started GMing Shadowrun, and he told me all about it. In fact, check out his thread, and you should get the answers to some of your questions without even having to ask them.


But from what I've gathered, you don't need to worry as much. No, you don't have to plan out the air ducts and ventilation system. No, you don't need to say how many cubicles there are on floor 23, and what is in each of them. No, you don't have to say what brand of coffee the cafe across the street sells. You actually can wing it with Shadowrun, to some extent. Its still a good idea to plan SOME stuff out, like how many cameras are on a floor, what times the guards change shifts, et cetera...

I second the idea of starting small, with the players being just street thugs trying to make their way up the ranks to being Shadowrunners. IIRC, somebody said the best thing to do is start them all out really simple, with only one knowing magic, and the cybernetic implants and stuff being very limited and simple. They start out robbing stores, or perhaps foiling robberies instead. Perhaps they stop a couple of convenience store robberies, and eventually find out that the thugs are part of a gang that has a hang-out nearby. Their next mission is to sneak into the hang-out (a very simple apartment or something, with a few lookouts and maybe one or two security cameras) and assassinate the boss and possibly return some of the loot to the stores that got robbed.

Or, if you want to skip straight to the "lets break into an office building and hack the CEO's computer for incriminating files" sort of missions, I have an outline for one I thought up awhile back you could use. :smallsmile:


I'd love to play Shadowrun myself, but nobody I know is interested enough in it for me to start a group. My DnD and Cthulhu players aren't too keen on the Cyberpunk setting... :smallfrown:

Raum
2009-09-15, 05:39 PM
But Shadowrun seems different somehow. It seems like a system that lives and thrives on GM preparedness and attention to the minutia. I can just imagine the group trying to put together a run, asking a million and one questions about security procedures, security personnel, local gangs, local charity organizations, Local coffee shops overlooking the factory gates and me madly making up fact after fact until I have to effectively scrap my notes on the subject because the facts paint something completely different. On this board I've seen builds for utterly unhackable Comm links and working on the perfect untraceable run as well as stories like the CLUE files where runners were killed, mangled and frustrated by some miscommunication with the GM. After seeing these stories I got worried about how well I can GM because I love the setting of Shadowrun and I wouldn't want to be anything but a good GM for it but it seems like it just jars too much with what Shadowrun is.By default, SR is based around research and stealth (or at least an attempt at stealth). Cyberpunk is at least partly about the little guys outsmarting the 'evil bureaucrats' of corps and governments. The system should work as a dungeon-like series of combats if that's what you want, but you may lose some of the punk flavor.

Nothing wrong with that and the setting is large enough for several different styles. Guerrilla warfare for some of the smaller states or corps, full out war in some areas, even "Go fetch <insert rare animal or item>" for universities or corporations. Of course the type of game may change the archetypes you want to allow players. Adjust it to fit your style and have fun!