This will be the OOC page for On The Run and its recruitment. Just thought that I would place this here to take care of a few housekeeping items much like T_Hawk has done. Thanks Hawk!!
To start with if you could post some information here first that would be great so that the first step of Player Recruitment and Character Generation finalities may be completed.
1. Please include the following colors for postings: Speech - Green, Cell phone - Red, Sub-vocal - Orange, Astral - Pink, Actions - Blue with all others in White. Post in any other colors you prefer for other activities.
2. Include the information included on any SINs or fake SINs, and what type of license/fake licenses you have. Also give a name, type, and area of activity (geographical and business-related) for your contacts.
3. Describe your basic "walking around" gear (i.e. the clothes you'd wear most often), and how you distribute equipment about yourself while in this garb. If it's not in this description, you'll need to change/load up in character before you have access to your equipment. Any equipment you don't mention in this description will be assumed to be stashed at your living space. (I may ask you to alter some of your load-out if I don't think someone could truly carry all this around as described.)
4. Email me your character sheets to negotiate and finalise:
tuatete@hotmail.com5. Usual 400 BP build for characters. Players may not spend more than half their BPs on Physical and Mental Attributes and may not have a character with more than one attribute at their natural maximum. If you choose to use a Sample Character then this will be automatically accepted once any modifications have been sorted.
6. Describe your character in your first post (in-character, please), so that everyone gets an image of who they're dealing with. Try to capture in words how you feel your character is seen by, and how he tries to present himself to, the world. When I need to describe you, or have an NPC react to your character's appearance, I will refer to this. So, make it good: It can set the tone for your character for the rest of the campaign.
7. I won't accept a post from someone on the game board without this info first. When you receive a thumbs up by way of 'GM Approval' then you may begin posting on the run proper.
Notes on gameplay itself (these rules are posted on the want-ad, but I'm replicating them here for future reference):
1. Edge is limited off the bat to 5. I limit it off the bat since it can be applied to any roll, which makes it more potentially unbalancing than any other stat, but dice pools may be limited if I get a lot of character submissions with pools so high that failure is a statistical outlier.
2. Essence loss: One of the mages has just gotten their arm blown off by a ganger with a wide-bore shotgun. The team manages to save the magician's life. However, the magician finds that the wound has caused them to lose essence, and that their magic is now much weaker than it was before. It makes sense.
3. Damage: Wounding will occur, especially if someone fails on a damage resistance test. Expect wounds to be a real problem, and for damage to stick with you through the run. While most everything can be healed, not everything can be taken care of by a medkit. If you've lost an arm, you'll have to see a doctor, or at least get the team healer into an operating room, before you can expect to be back on the road to full health.
4. Defense: Full defense can only be entered into on your action phase (there are some power/maneuver combinations that can get you around this... sometimes). Dodge will only be applied against ranged attacks when the situation warrents it, or if the character is using Full Defense. So expect to be rolling only Reaction against most ranged attacks. Melee attacks will generally allow you to use your dodge/parry/gymnastics ability though. The difference between using dodge and just using reaction is if you are aware that an attack is coming at you. This can be difficult to do in a fire-fight with multiple opponents. In such a situation, it is not always apparent who's aiming at who, and you have little concentration to spare for anyone except the enemy in front of you.
On Rolls:
1. In the past, I've had players roll for themselves and their targets when in combat, in the hopes of making combat go faster. This time around, I will have you roll only for yourself. I will supply the results of your actions (though I want you to describe what you're doing when you post your rolls.)
2. I will not always show the results of an opposed roll. I will almost never show the opposed roll for a social test. You will need to determine the outcome for yourselves based on in-game context and results. I will award extra dice for the person making the test if they do a good job in making their argument, threat, speech, etc. Likewise, I will apply negative dice for bad arguments etc.
3. There are some things that you can't talk a person into, no matter how good you are with words, or how scary you can be. If you want the UCAS Army sergeant, who is well known to be a hard-case but to actually love his men, to turn around and walk away after you've killed one of his soldiers right in front of his eyes... Well, don't be surprised when you hear him chamber a new round into his rifle as a reply. Of course, if you're dealing with a sergeant whose only concern is getting off on easy duty until he can retire, and padding that retirement fund by selling military supplies on the black market in the meantime, you may very well be able to convince him to walk away.
The situation is key, and will often determine a lot about how the game evolves.
• Very Important: When you post rolls, I want you to use this site.
http://invisiblecastle.com/ At the bottom, where it says "notes" I want you to include:
• What the action is for. I.e. "Perception roll upon walking into the bar." (including the bar's name)
• Your dice pool formula: I.e. Attribue # + Skill # +/- modifier #'s.
• If in combat, I want this formula on every roll: Turn#:Initiative Pass #:(Action Type): Description of action (the same as I mentioned above, and may be substituted for that). Abbreviate if you wish, so long as I can definitely tell what you're trying to say. I have no problem with a note that looks like this: T1:IP3:SA (For simple action): Att (attack) vs. Ganger #1. Note that if I can't tell what you're saying, I may ask you to re-roll with clearer notation.
• If you do not have these notes on a roll, I will not accept it! Best case scenario then is that I will re-roll for you, and you'll have to take whatever comes from that.
• I also want your rolls recorded in the post they are made in. The post should contain the same information I've asked be noted on the rolls themselves. This will let me pair a roll with its context.
Here's an example of how this works:
Shadow is facing down a Go-ganger. The street is dark, and the sodium-lamps lining the street have been destroyed by vandals long ago, save for one lone remainder down at the far end of the street. Shadow grits his teeth and raises his Predator IV. He takes a moment to place the white dot of his smartgun targeting system between the ugly trog's eyes before pulling the trigger.Simple Action: Take Aim
Simple Action: Attack (Pred IV) vs. Ganger
Agility 5 (Improved Attribute +1) + Pistols 5 (Semi-Auto +2) + 1 Take Aim (1 SA) + 2 smartgun – 2 partial light = 14 dice = 8 hits
Note how and what I put in the actual post, and how and what I put in the roll link. This is how all your rolls should look.
• A further note on rolls: I will sometimes ask you to revise a roll with modifiers that I'll supply. When possible, I will give these modifiers to you before you actually make a roll, but sometimes I may simply be unable to do so.
• Add modifiers in to your rolls as per the examples given in the Corebook. Generally, these will be perfectly suitable, and I encourage you to do so. In general, this saves time and can often give me a hint of what you're trying to accomplish within the mechanics of the game. There may be times, however, when I'll ask you to remove one, or alter one.
On GMing:
1. I will make rulings as we go along. I will also make mistakes. Whenever you see something happening that you take exception with, I encourage you to bring this to my attention. You may do so on this thread, or by PMing me. I will always take under consideration anything you say, and will research your views according to source material when possible and/or applicable. (So it really helps if you give me page numbers to which to refer when you bring these matters up.)
2. However, when I make a ruling, it needs to stick. Even if it's wrong in your opinion. So, once I've decided on something, we need to let the matter drop. If I later discover that my ruling was in error, I will post a statement stating so on this board (as well as why), so that in the future we can do things correctly. But the ruling itself applies to the instance in which I make it.
3. Once a run begins I like it to move along smoothly and quickly - posting often is what I do. This clarifies anything that needs to be cleared up quickly and keeps the run moving.
On Players and Characters:
1. Be civil to the other players. Arguments happen, but we must always approach them in an adult manner. I know it seems like the sort of thing that's so obvious it doesn't need to be stated... but the fact that I'm including it on this post shows that the matter has come up before. I will never, ever tolerate one player being abusive to another. If it happens, I will take steps to rectify the situation up to and including banning the player from the game. If it gets to that point, I will most likely message Digital Doom and ask to have the player banned from the site as well.
2. In character, in the game, you are free to RP however you want, even if the character you are role-playing is not a very nice person and the things that they do even less so. That being said, I expect you, as a player, to exercise discretion. If you want to roleplay a situation that may be morally objectionable, think about it hard. Then think about it some more. Then PM me asking whether or not it's alright, especially when it involves another player ('s character.) And don't forget this is a PG-13 site.
3. I expect my players to differentiate between the player sitting across from them at our virtual table, and the character they play in the game. The two are not the same. Nor are they even more than remotely related at times. If a character is slotting you off, do not take it out on the player. And vice versa. I have learned this the hard way.
4. Don't metagame. I know it's hard, and I've fallen into this trap myself at times. OOC information is not usable in character. Even though you, the player, may know that something bad is about to happen when you walk into that abandoned warehouse, or into that Aztechnology R&D laboratory, your character probably won't. Oh, they may be paranoid and prepared. That's part of running the Shadows. But if I think you're using OOC knowledge, or basing your actions off of what you think would work best in the game as opposed to what your character would do, I will call you on it. For minor infractions, I'll probably just warn you over PM that you seem to be metagaming a bit. For major infractions, I will most likely delete your post and then have you make up a new one without the offending actions.
5. As it happens to me, I expect it will happen to you at some point. Life gets in the way. I absolutely understand, and commiserate. That being said, if you let me know ahead of time that it will be happening, it will keep the game from slowing down. I can play your character for you (and reserve the right to do so) when you're not going to be around to play him yourself. If I think that a player's holding up the game by not posting, I will move them regardless of whether they've asked me to do so or not. But if I know that someone's going to be gone, it will help me keep the game moving quickly, as I usually wait a day or two before I take things into my own hands.
6. Everyone can die. I actually think that 5 minutes spent thinking before acting on a situation, given that this is a Play by Post game can actually save lives and earn Karma. I try for realism in my games, and it's absolutely possible (in some cases, even probable) that your character may bite the big one at some point. Believe it or not, I don't like for this to happen any more than you do (yes, even when it seems like I'm going out of my way to kill you!) But according to the rules of the game and the story we're telling... well, sometimes it's unavoidable. I intend for my run to test your characters, and sometimes they won't pass. When that happens, death may be the result. But... that's part of where the fun of the game come in. After all, how enjoyable would it be to never have death or failure as a possibility? To walk through the game without exerting yourself at all, and have tons of karma and loot drop in your lap? For me that's worse than boring. I hate it when there is no challenge. So, death is possible in this game, and there are going to be times when it will be a more than likely outcome.
7. There are consequences to your actions in character. As mentioned before, I try for a certain amount of realism in my games. Shadowrunners are professional criminals: keeping to the shadows keeps them alive and running. Hence the name. However, your character is often perfectly capable of killing just about anyone they meet, and may be tempted to do so as a matter of convenience (or perhaps boredom... though I hope not). You are, of course, free to to this. As I've mentioned before, I want you to play your character however you want. But be aware that there will be consequences to your actions in game. If you blow up a building downtown, don't expect the police to sit around and twiddle their thumbs, while remarking how awesome the fireball from the explosion was.
8. Play creatively. Creative thinking will get you out of just about any situation. Just about. Does that heavily cybered ganger have your mage on the ground, staring down the barrel of a gun aimed right between his eyes? Sure, you might be able to nail him with a spell before he pulls the trigger. Maybe. But how else can you get out from under the gun? Do you know anything about his gang that might help? Or maybe you suspect his employer is the big bad you're running against. The one who wants to level the ganger's neighborhood to clear the way for a new shopping mall. Maybe the best thing to do is faint and hope the ganger won't shoot someone who's already unconscious.
9. The moral here is think. You're not always going to be the baddest razorboi on the street. So it will behoove you to use your mind as well as your muscle. I encourage you to put yourselves in your character's shoes, and try to think about what you would do in a situation like that. How would you get out of it? Genrally fights hurt but at times are necessary. Its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.
10. Above all else, I want you to have fun. That's the reason we're playing, right? It is also the reason you joined this site - me too! To escape for a while the uncaring realities of day to day life. Humor is appreciated when everyone laughs and if the humor is about a players character then that player needs to see the funny side of it too. That is laughing with, laughing at tends to cause derision.
11. People call me Tani and I have been away from the sight but now I am back. Thanks all of you who support this amazing site.
