Robinton
 | |
| Reddit Username | [JamesRobinton] |
|---|---|
| Timezone | US Eastern |
| Country | United States |
| GM Level | 3 |
| GMP Tracker | [1] |
Characters
GMing Style - the Rule of Cool
My general style is to aim for more Pink Mohawk style runs. To me, Shadowrunners carry themselves like Big Damn Heroes and their adventures should reflect that level of on-the-edge-of-your-seat insanity that their life entails. While wild and out-of-pocket choices can, and should, have consequences, ultimately my goal is to tell a fun and engaging story with the characters as the star of the show.
I definitely opt more for "rule of cool" - the mechanics are there to guide the story when it matters and to be more or less thrown out when it doesn't matter or when those mechanics make for a worse story. This is, of course, within reason - characters suddenly being able to do things they cannot do on other runs breaks the integrity of the shared story.
When I run more Black Trenchcoat runs, that rule of cool is much more flavored in the sense that doing the legwork and having smart plays will have significant effect on the outcome. A skilled team, working together well, and with a smart plan can significantly reduce the danger of a High+ Run into something that is accomplished with the precision and style of shadowrunners.
My Runs
| Name | Metaplot | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Ballroom Blitz | 23 December 2085 | |
| Fast Food | 13 December 2085 | |
| Hospital Wing | A Quest for Transcendence | 29 November 2085 |
| Divorce Rates | Paradise Lost | 25 November 2085 |
| Running Red 2 | Paradise Lost | 10 November 2085 |
| Missing Persons | 15 October 2085 | |
| Gotta Start Somewhere | 8 October 2085 | |
| Aces High | 16 September 2085 | |
| Disasterpiece Theater | Paradise Lost | 14 September 2085 |
| Muck Hunt | 13 September 2085 | |
| Running Red 1 | Paradise Lost | 31 August 2085 |
| Turning Tides | 24 August 2085 | |
| Hunter and the Hunted | 9 August 2085 | |
| Three Deckers at Minase | 25 July 2085 | |
| Rose Red | 22 July 2085 | |
| Requiem for the Dreamers | 18 July 2085 | |
| Redmond Run | 16 July 2085 | |
| HR Complaint | 1 July 2085 | |
| Rookie Mistake | 27 June 2085 |
Metaplot: Paradise Lost
Setting - The Confederation of American States
Overview
Most of my runs will take place the Confederation of American States, or CAS. Largely, this allows me some freedom to not break Seattle, but additionally, as a resident of Florida it allows me to steal heavily from the world I know the best.
Runs coming out of the CAS will likely fall into one of the follow, very not extensive, list:
- Smuggling into or out of the Port of Tampa
- Political destabilization runs into the Caribbean League or Atlzan
- Critter Hunts!
- Anti-Humanis Policlub runs
- Beach episodes
- Mystic/Voodoo shenanigans in New Orleans
Disclaimer
While the CAS can evoke images of of the Confederacy of the 1860's US Civil War and, in Shadowrun canon, often leans heavily into anti-metahuman rhetoric, those themes will not be heavily present in my games. When they are present, they will be explicitly noted in the run description and will adhere to Shadowhaven's X Card / Stoplight system.
The CAS setting allows for an odd mix of runs and NPCs to encounter - while this is the Sixth World, and many folks are out for themselves, the CAS still has the leftover DNA of Southern Hospitality and "fix your face and start acting right".
Picking the Team
Shamelessly stolen from OrionsRequiem:
This section comes with the caveat that I am limited in choice of the applicants I get.
My philosophy for choosing people for the job is to give the players the broadest selection of skills to complete the job. I will always try and bring a Matrix specialist, a magic specialist, a stealth operative and a face. This is to give the most room for a plan to be formed. Certain jobs will have leanings towards more of one archetype, but that is my broadest general case.
There will also be preference given towards thematically appropriate characters. Those who have a reason to want to do this job beyond just the nuyen and karma I feel make for a great story. In addition, I tend to prefer characters that I feel will be challenged by the job, it can feel good to completely roll over a host or steamroll the OpFor, but there is a much greater satisfaction in my mind of being pushed to your limit and not knowing that success is guaranteed.
Declining the Job
I generally won't pick a character that is likely to decline the job or engage in PVP / Monkey-Wrenching. I don't find those fun to GM for and find it often just leads to frustration for all parties involved.
Derailing the Run
If a situation comes up that causes the PCs to go separate ways, the actual mechanics of the game will be paused and we will engage in "positive metagaming" in order to outline the results of the story to the satisfaction of the players. I do not tolerate bad faith monkey-wrenching at my table.
Assumed Competence
Shamelessly stolen from OrionsRequiem:
The concept of assumed competence is one that we on the ShadowHaven apply to avoid things like "gotcha" moments. However there are things that I do not personally believe that it covers. Disguising yourself, buying burner SINs, and obtaining safehouses that aren't on your sheet have to be done on the table, this list is not exhaustive either. While these things aren't always needed, they're things to consider on a run that can't just be handwaved away.
The other note on Assumed Competence is that it goes both ways. Security forces are paid to keep a place secure, so they will do everything in their power to ensure that is the case. While these things will stay within the constraints of the difficulty system that we use on the Haven, they will have tactics and decisions that are aimed to maximize their own life expectancy, while also doing their duties. Spiders will prepare IC if a host is poked, Mages may summon spirits, security forces will call for backup.
Consequences
The best stories are built of consequences. My preference for handling glitches and critical failures during a run is to work out the narrative with the player. I've always hated being a player in the situation where this badass character in my head suddenly does something ridiculously stupid to justify a glitch, narrated by the GM, with no input as to what failure looks like for that character in my own head.
Additionally, one of the benefits of using the CAS as a location is that I can route things through a few primary fixer NPCs who will remember your successes and your failures, allowing us to craft overarching storylines across sessions.