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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2011 6:05:10 GMT -8
So i see that there are a lot of changes in classes and a few on how the game is played in 4th ed, and I have thought about having an initial getting to know the different classes session before actually creating characters for a campaign. (of course this is for peeps who aren't familiar with 4Th edition)
Here's the idea: make one shots for a combat related and skill related session as pertains to each of the changed or new classes. Quick, to the point scenes using premade characters.
I was thinking one for magic, one for matrix, one for critters, and one for vehicle combat.(maybe more if anyone can add to this) NOW REMEMBER this is to get the GM and the players used to the game itself, the new and changed classes and changes in magic, matrix, and combat. Hopefully this can all be done in one game session before the actual character creation is done.
ie... For the magic one, create shamans/mages/adepts of all types as premades, then put them through a combat session and a session where skills they particularly use for that class will familiarize everyone with. Make sure the combat includes spirits and critters.
Ditto with the Matrix and Technomancers, and then just to round it all out with street sams and the rest.
I think this will get everyone, including myself, a great feel on how to makeup a great working team and be more comfortable playing classes and using skills we might have never used before. I have one player that always made up riggers and mostly played that and another whom either took phys ad or street sam. No one used to play deckers or magi and they seemed to always hire npc's. Our group of players where mostly around 2-4 people.
Please add helpful comments or ideas for the sessions, thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2011 5:11:49 GMT -8
It can't hurt, regardless. If your players are really familiar with 3rd edition Shadowrun, it's probably a really good idea. If they're kind of new to Shadowrun, I'm not sure it's necessary. When we started out, none of my players new the system, and it had been so long for me I just knew it was different, but didn't have a lot of preconceived stuff in my head about mechanics. So we did okay.
But like I said, I don't think it could hurt at all, so if you're willing to put in the work to set it up, then absolutely go for it!
And I think your breakdown is good... just make sure people get a feel for technomancers versus regular hackers. Both bring different things to the table, in and out of the Matrix.
--Pukka Tukka
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1d4cast_James
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Preferred Game Systems: GUMSHOE, Fate, Cortex Plus, Dread, Mythender, Savage Worlds, L5R, and Shadowrun
Currently Playing: Whatever I can get into
Currently Running: V20 inspired by Mote of Sin
Favorite Species of Monkey: Jacker Monkey????
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Post by 1d4cast_James on Dec 16, 2011 9:10:36 GMT -8
Myself having started playing in a 2nd/3rd edition hybrid game, had some trouble with 4th Ed, most specifically how magic/spirit binding worked. Other than that, Shadowrun is cake. New players seem to pick it up fairly well. The only other thing that is any kind of time consuming was character gen when equipping characters. There are just so many options. I have never dealt with the Matrix in any edition so I can't say anything on that topic other than I really want to try out a Technomancer .
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2011 15:05:32 GMT -8
I am finding that there is soo much depth to magic and the matrix now that it seems daunting. Playing in 2050 or even up to 2055 was easy as initiates and magic groups were something added as a supplement for later game play, and was heavily gone into in the grimoire, but now its added as an immediate character starting option. Don't get me wrong, I think that's a great help to up your magic attrib and get added bonuses at the start , but there is a ton of back story to go into when being in a magic group and initiate of an order. Isn't there??
The matrix, omg, don't get me wrong, technomancers seem friggin awesome and in previous editions of 2050yr, called the Otaku and were just added toward the end of the supplements as a class just starting to develop. "Children of the matrix" are now called technomancers and are a starting class. I am finding as i read more into the core book, that to be really effective as a GM and immerse the players into a "matrix" part of the story, that I just don't have the chops to be able to do this at this time, tho I really really want to be able to. All of the Shadowrun Actual Play podcasts i have listened to so far or have been able to rarely go into matrix areas, only vaguely. Unfortunately I'm not from the tech field in RL.
IF ANYONE has a podcast they can send me to to be able to pop my tech cherry for story option immersion, please share. The year after i went to GenCon about 10 years ago, my friend who went every year told me he played in a Fasa run game that was Totally in matrix with all hackers run by one of the Fasa employees or the guy who wrote the matrix supplement material and he totally loved it. I wish there was a playcast i could listen to to get some kind of background on how to lay it all out for my players in actual play.
Podcast actual play i have listened to are from these : Emerald Shards Hidden Grid Swing and a Miss A Fistful of Misanthropes
Any help on how to conquer these two avenues in the game would be appreciated...immensely
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1d4cast_James
Apprentice Douchebag
Podcaster
Posts: 90
Preferred Game Systems: GUMSHOE, Fate, Cortex Plus, Dread, Mythender, Savage Worlds, L5R, and Shadowrun
Currently Playing: Whatever I can get into
Currently Running: V20 inspired by Mote of Sin
Favorite Species of Monkey: Jacker Monkey????
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Post by 1d4cast_James on Dec 16, 2011 18:07:50 GMT -8
Don't get me wrong, I think that's a great help to up your magic attrib and get added bonuses at the start , but there is a ton of back story to go into when being in a magic group and initiate of an order. Isn't there?? Only if the GM wants it to be. Personally, I like roleplaying up the ladder as I buy Attribute upgrades and society levels. I've seen GMs just let you buy it and move on for the sake of moving on and I think that kills the experience. The matrix, omg, don't get me wrong, technomancers seem friggin awesome and in previous editions of 2050yr, called the Otaku and were just added toward the end of the supplements as a class just starting to develop. "Children of the matrix" are now called technomancers and are a starting class. I am finding as i read more into the core book, that to be really effective as a GM and immerse the players into a "matrix" part of the story, that I just don't have the chops to be able to do this at this time, tho I really really want to be able to. All of the Shadowrun Actual Play podcasts i have listened to so far or have been able to rarely go into matrix areas, only vaguely. Unfortunately I'm not from the tech field in RL. The matrix element is very daunting, even to me as an IT Professional. I want to run it or go into it, but I haven't been able to work up the nerve. Thankfully all of my gaming experiences have either just brushed it (having the only hacker an NPC) or moved around it. IF ANYONE has a podcast they can send me to to be able to pop my tech cherry for story option immersion, please share. The year after i went to GenCon about 10 years ago, my friend who went every year told me he played in a Fasa run game that was Totally in matrix with all hackers run by one of the Fasa employees or the guy who wrote the matrix supplement material and he totally loved it. I wish there was a playcast i could listen to to get some kind of background on how to lay it all out for my players in actual play. Podcast actual play i have listened to are from these : Emerald Shards Hidden Grid Swing and a Miss A Fistful of Misanthropes Any help on how to conquer these two avenues in the game would be appreciated...immensely I wish I could find the same. I have a podcast (it's in my signature) and we've talked about Shadowrun and many of the supplemental material that is out, but we only brushed the Matrix Topic. Maybe I'll push for a closer look at the Matrix .
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2011 19:07:00 GMT -8
Technoboy, I actually have your podcasts down, and listened to the two shadowrun ones, and now i see you have had a third one, ill listen to tonight. Actually ill listen to all three again.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2012 6:20:04 GMT -8
Please excuse the late arrival to this thread but I'm playing catch-up. I think the idea of running a kind of ‘technical warm up’ session pre game is a great one. I organised a similar get together with just that aim in mind. It was just myself and a few players over a afternoon, picking our way through the mechanics and simply getting a feel for the various technical elements that go to make up combat (ranged and melee) plus the matrix and astral environments. It was a pretty fun experience helped in part by the pre-gen characters that the 20th Anniversary edition provides and the fact that many of the players were ex-Hero Games (Champions, Fantasy Hero, etc) players which possesses a not dissimilar structure both in combat and character creation. We’re not at the point where the dice is leaving our hands without having to consult some element of the rules first but you are spot on in that pre-gaming sessions like the kind you suggested are bloody helpful. I will admit that the Matrix side of things is a bit of a mountain to climb but I figure that if you want to give your players the best possible experience, getting to grips with that stuff comes as part of the territory. Really getting down to it and owning those rules (rather than the other way around) is also the open secret every experienced GM has come to appreciate. Once you’ve internalised it, you can draw upon them when required almost subconsciously. I can’t speak anyone else but for me and the players, once we know the mechanics by heart, the world we inhabit for the duration of the game seems to find focus and becomes a much more vivid experience for everyone. It also allows more time for fart noises which as we all know, is the most fun a group of guys can have without involving a weekend in Vegas.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2012 6:29:25 GMT -8
awesome to hear!, all my gaming has stopped atm, we had one session with one player skyping from New Zealand. unfortunately, one player's wife is going through cancer again, one is into theatre and doing two plays, one might be going through divorce as he found out xmas that his wife was cheating on him. The other is just busy atm...so no play for me.
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