Ramblings of a gamer or two

Ok so I just saw the finished artwork for a cool thing I have been wanting to finish for awhile. Once I get the finals in my email I will be posting up a pair of new Contacts with short stat blocks and short write-ups.

Ok so I wanted to do a new blog post a week. Wow I failed at it before I was even ready to start. Well I am going to try to do a better job But I found out just a week ago I am going to be a father for the first time. It was a really cool thing just feel a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Also I am working on like 4 projects at the moment. This one is one that has fallen out but I will be doing a post a week starting with the beginning of next week. Should be together once I finish one other thing. Working out of town this weekend. I will try to get the post up for Monday but it might be Tuesday after I get home. Not sure how the wireless is going to work. Plus trying to finish the next episode of Hiddengrid. Well enough rambling for right now. See ya all in a few days.

I would like to write a new blog post a week here. I will try my hardest to make that a much more regular thing. It will cover things that are very much Shadowrun based. I will also write up reviews for all the SR books I own. In addition I will see if I can not get Hero to post something up here every once in awhile. I will keep you all posted to going on’s here, it is much easier. Well see ya all soon.

Now here is another pic

The Wrestling Goat Sucker

Well there you go. All in all a great game run out and get a copy… And by that I mean head over to the website and get it.

Monsters Vs. Monsters

Alrighty folks I know we have been very bad at updating as of late. Well Lots has happened my dad had Triple bypass surgery a little over a month ago I have not been able to get my head into this since it happened. Helping the family and picking up tons of slack at work. I just had a good vacation to help me clear my head which was much needed. I have the next episode recorded it just needs to finish edit and then I am going to post it. I Am also here to let you know we are doing a ton of editting on the site in the next week or two. I hope to have the same feel to every page. We will be doing a feature of the week I think as things get up to date. I am going to try to post more frequently on this as well. It is going to be not just SR here for Kanis and myself it will be for any gaming things we want to do. Hope this lets you know we haven’t forgotten you all. I am so sorry for the delay in the episode.

Zendead

Hey,I’m back! Haven’t had much time to do much online stuff,as I have started my own business. That and a trip to Dragoncon have left very little free time for my favorite game and the peripherals .(although Zendead and I did get an episode of the pod cast recorded.(Watch for it soon, its in editing.)

Dragoncon was a blast. The better half and I got to meet some of the great folks from Catalyst including Loren Coleman and Brent Evans. I got my SR4A autographed by Mr. Larry Elmore(WOOT!) Loren and Brent signed my Seattle 2072.(on the blank page 3 even. ) I also had a copy of The battletech novel “Double Blind” with me that Loren gratiously signed.  I hung around the booth and checked out some of the upcoming products and really had a good time.

Also I got to hang with Zendead, which was cool. I think its going to help us gel on the podcast, We are really starting to get a “flow” to the recordings. which makes it a better product in the end. I look forward to the next episode.

My second group( the FNG’s) is up and running again after a brief hiatus. Which is good as out main group is trying out the Pathfinders stuff for a bit.

hopefully I will have more informative stuff to post soon.

Walk In Beauty,

Kanis

One word that brings to mind LARP’s, or at the least a bunch of guys sitting in their parents basement with cloaks on. So lets fix that. Props are great tools that can help players feel a connection to their characters and the world around them at large.

For instance in one campaign I ran one character got a note that was incriminating for an NPC. The player hated the fact that the rest of the group gave up the note. Now I had typed the note and dyed the paper with coffee and crumpled it up. It looked cool and it was cheap and fast I think I spent 10 minutes working on it. I remember the players crowding around the page when I handed it to them. The fact that they traded something that was not much, but the value of this little clue became much larger. I then made that part of the bigger plot. So props can change the direction of a campaign. So keep that in mind.

Well what can you do as props? Maps that you hand draw or do as printouts. Notes, Journal pages, ID’s, Passcards. The list is endless, you just need to think about the things the players will interact with in a physical manner. If they mess with something then think of how you might make a prop out of it. For those really ambitious these types of things can be the memories that people have from the game. Some things to do get a ton of cool looking fonts from hand writing to graphitti to wingbats. Those can help to add little bits if you have the time learn to use a graphics program as well. They are invaluable skills and if you post them others can get some use out of everything you create as well. Get a laminater and use it for badges. Get a big collection of head shots of people. Those are useful even if you just need to grab one for an NPC.

So now you see there is something about props that is cool and makes the game better. Plus you don’t have to be a guy sitting is his parents basement to do it. Thou those guys have the time to make great props.

I recently hatched a new group of runners.  Well, more clearly, I graduated a group of players from the realm of DND, and introduced them to Shadowrun.  It has been a  wonderful and somewhat frustrating experience. 

The players are two of my offspring, one of their buddies, and my eldest sons fiancee. I can honestly say that after two short sessions, I am proud of them. Although they are still strongly influenced by the hack and slash mentality, they are catching on well to the “criminals for hire”flavor of SR4.

I decided since they had very little preconceived notions of the setting, that I would try something different when it came to character creation. I handed them  a list of 50 questions about the character and let them describe and flesh out the background first. Then we fit the concept they wanted to the rules. I started them at 300 build points so as to keep things street and simple and just let them pick what they could fit into that frame work.

We ended up with a Troll adept named Rambo, a Human samuari called Jake, an Elf rigger who goes by the handle Lenny,and Jo-jo, an elf wolf shaman. Not a bad mix,really, although a little short on matrix stuff,but I can adjust the setting for that.

So right out of the box, I drop them into an improvised version of “Food Fight”. With a little carrot and stick action, I get them all in the parking lot of a” Bargain Bin Commodities outlet” store. A group of Holloweeners give them a run for their money but they survive and grab all the gangers stuff(including a couple of cases of Golden Apex energy bars that are in the gangers stolen americar. As they are all strapped for cash, they roar off to sell the goods and when coming out of the fences business location, are met at the vehicles by a Lone Star detective who informs them that unless they want to go to the big house for killing two convenience store clerks( they did erase the RFID tags in the weapons, but didn’t think  about the energy bars) they would help him with a little problem. 

Needless to say I am haveing fun. Its refreshing because our other group have been playing since SR1. I know pretty much how they will react most of the time and GMing for them is easy as they already know the rules and such. 

The n00bs are tougher because not only do i have to figure their opponents pools but the characters also. ( I have already informed them that I am playing pretty loose with the rules and rolls as I don’t want to slow things down too much.)

I am glad that I have been given a chance to corrupt…er…initiate a few new players into the ranks of Shadowrun afficianados. Role-playing is a great hobby and Shadowrun is the best game going.

I think Rambo’s player said it best when he said”I got the shit kicked out of me…when do we play again???”(grin)

walk in beauty,

Kanislatrans

Good morning gentle readers. The world of Shadowrun is a dark and oppressive place. The world may look like nothing good can come in it. But that is far from the truth. The characters are suppose to be a beacon of light in this dark place. That being said it is important that the characters are that if for some reason they are not then I personally think that you are not playing the game the way it was written. It is not D&D it is something else. It should illustrate the contrast between the haves (Corp faces), and the have-nots (Shadowrunners). The Runners are suppose to bring the justice of the people to to the faceless corporate entities of the world. They maybe doing things that the law disapproves of but even the law is now just faceless corporate employed people.

Now all that being said to play the game more like a dungeon crawl is fine but just remember that it is a different game. And you should look at doing the game with the rules set to reflect that. That being said if the characters are cold blooded killers then karma is not how to let them improve do it in some other way. Whether by paying for training or some other way. The GM must really know his group and the players must know that wanton destruction will lead to not improving. This is part of the social contract of the game.

The social contract is a great concept but if the agreement is not figured out early then when you change things the players have every right to complain. But if you are forthright then there is nothing to be said. It might not sit well with some players and those players are the ones that curtailing them in manners such as this is how they play the game. Now if all of the group is about killing and backstabbing the whole time, and you as a GM do not like that. Well then it might be time to fold up your screen and look for a new group to game with. Now if it is just one or two players then maybe it is time to think about trying to recruit a new player or two. That is after you have tried to talk to the player(s). Now if you and the other players have said something to the offender then it is most likely time to fix the problem. Now how do you figure out if it is a problem?

Well lets make a fake group of gamers. We have Joe the GM, Steve, Mike, Sally, and Roy. Mike and Steve are all about killing and taking no prisoners. Now if you think that it doesn’t fit the game you want to run pull them one at a time off after the game. Now here is the hard part you will have to talk with a friend about something unpleasant. But really it must be done for the sake of the game. Find out if it is just you or it they have had a bad experience before that makes them want to do this. Now the really hard part comes after you have confronted them, that is listening really listening to them. Now if you can try to help alleviate their concerns about the game. Don’t yell and accuse because that is how friendships get destroyed. And something else you can do is ask for feedback about the game. Even if it is over email the following week. Do something to get communication channels open and keep them open and flowing.

Now the question comes up what does all this have to do with Shadowrun? Well nothing and everything. Nothing because this whole thing is a indie game theory. That of social contracts but it is something that almost every game has even if it doesn’t come right out and say so. The concept of teamwork is part of a social contract and social dynamic that is present in just about every game. Now this is going to be an on going series of articles about gaming that I want to do but don’t think they need to be a part of the regular show. So enjoy.

ZenDead

     The wireless world is here. People in the 2070′s need not wait till then for the wireless world. It is here and now. How can I say this just look at all the wireless items used by most in everyday. Cellphones, laptops, PDA’s, smartphones. Those arre just a few of the things. On my phone for instance I have a GPS program running, I can get sattalite radio, as well as get online, plus more features that I still haven’t figured out. I am sitting in a Denny’s getting breakfast writing this. After I finish it I will upload it to the blog. I am connected on multiple social networks. I am just one guy not raised in the world of the electron that children now a days are. The things they can do with a computer and cell phone is amazing.

       To drive home the point more is that no one thinks twice about people with laptops or smartphones. They maybe curious as to what you are using but not surprised that you have one. I use a netbook almost completely. Since I do much online. People see it and ask how it works since I was an early adopter of this tech. The screensize is what turns most people off but it is better then most cellphones and people still read email on those it is just a getting over the bigger is better mentallity of the US. I know it will happen. It is just a matter of time till most people think nothing of it.

         Wireless interconnectivity is coming at a breakneck speed. Soon you will have a smartphone that serves as a router for all your wireless items. And there you have a commlink. Your bluetooth, MP3 player, and your laptop will all run through it. So as you can see the wireless is here and just getting better as time goes. Enjoy the ride to a truly wireless world.