User:Mursey

'GM STYLE: CO-OPERATIVE CONFRONTATION.'

STYLE SUMMARY:

I am definitely a black trench-coat GM. My goal is to challenge and entertain you, my players. I firmly believe that the greater the obstacles placed in your way the more satisfying your victory becomes. Most of my runs will eventually lean towards the higher threat levels, with a sprinkling of lower threat runs for variety.

Some of these runs will include darker themes while remaining well within the boundaries of the Shadowrun setting and the server rules (Benraku parlours, organ-running, meta-human trafficking, substance abuse, domestic violence etc.) These runs will include a potential trigger warning in the job listing on reddit.

Don't expect to “win” every run. I will never, ever, deliberately set up a run to fail, but if the dice (or your decisions) make things go bad, they go bad. I'm a firm believer in the concept of dramatic failures being just as awesome and character building as a spectacular success. The best stories are the disasters you walk away from rather than the cake-walks you can barely remember.

Remember, you can X-out at any time using the safety card system and if we approach a topic which makes you uncomfortable, just speak up or use the anonymous card system if you're not comfortable talking about it on an open channel. We'll turn it down a notch or two or fade to black for the scene. This doesn't provide a “get-out” clause if it looks like your character is about to be taken down in a hail of gunfire. But nobody wants to RP through a character or NPC being water-boarded if it makes them uncomfortable.

Extreme example, but you get what I mean.

SELECTING THE TEAM FOR A RUN:

I'll make some efforts to accommodate pink mohawk characters and players, but I'll preferentially select black trench coat and mirror shades characters over pink ones for my runs. Aside from that small caveat, character selection will be entirely IC. I'll select the team based on the Johnson's needs, prejudices, and budget. So having the largest or even the most appropriate dice rolls will not necessary land you the job. Especially if the Johnson is on a tight budget or wants to establish ties with newcomers to the scene. Also, expect newer or less experienced Johnson's to make bad decisions regarding team composition. Dealing with the mixing skill sets IC will be part of the challenge of the run.

Note that this may also mean that a particularly clueless Johnson (a Mr or Ms Smith) might pick a team that's entirely unsuited to the job. That's the life of a runner, omae.

THE MEET:

Please don't propose a character for a run if it looks as though it's a job the character in question won't take. Often though, you won't know if that's the case until you turn up to the meet. If you take a character to a meet and decline the job, there is a chance your character may gain negative street cred or notoriety if they glitch the delicate matter of declining the job.

If in-game time permits, you or your team-mates can IC propose a replacement character of yours be brought in the for run. If the Johnson deems the proposed replacement(s) suitable, then your are much less likely to lose rep or gain notoriety. If he doesn't, we can try to find a replacement player and character last minute on the boards or the team can take the job at the same level of risk, but split the reward between fewer of them. It's up to the remaining characters on the team at that point.

LEG WORK AND PLANNING:

A little bit of planning before a run will go a long way. It will be entirely possible to walk away from even a high threat run without a single box ticked on any of the runner's status tracks. But it will require decent planning and good communication between players and characters.

That said, not everyone enjoys the leg work and planning stage of a run to the same extent. Some players just like to wing it. I'll adapt to your desires as players as best I can. But if you try to improvise without a plan in a higher threat run, it'll make your run that much harder.

WHEN THINGS GET NOISY:

I have eleven years of real-world (UK) police and military experience although I've now been a civilian for almost as long. Expect my NPCs to use a modicum of real-world tactics and problem solving skills appropriate to their threat level. Gangers on a milk-run or low threat run will do dumb shit that includes holding their weapons in a manner that looks cool, causes themselves soft tissue damage and vastly reduces their accuracy. But a Knight Errant SWAT team will use authentic real world tactical doctrines including insertion and infiltration tactics, surveillance, over-watch, over-lapping fire-arcs, suppressive fire, fire-by-movement etc. Remember, NPC's can have the Small Unit Tactics knowledge skill too.

I won't actively be trying to kill any of the PC's, but character death (or edge burning) will be increasingly likely on higher threat runs, in accordance with the GM standards for the Haven. If I ever run a prime or semi-prime, Burning Edge to survive will most likely not be an option.

Don't expect to “win” on every run. As I've already said I won't deliberately set you up to fail but on higher threat runs if you make a mistake or leave an opening, you can get that HRT team is going to see it and pounce on it.

Remember that when we're in rounds, you don't get to have long conversations about what to do next (either IC or OOC). The rules say you get three or four words per combat round. I'm somewhat more flexible than that, but you'll need to be concise during communication in combat. Making a plan in advice really helps.

OOC TALK AND TABLE ETIQUETTE:

We play this game to be social. By means, chat and talk with one another OOC, but I'd prefer it if you kept the OOC banter to the roll 20 chat window. When a NPC is present I'll assume anything you say is being said in character unless you specify otherwise (I'll remind you of this in game). Even so, if you want to discuss how to rip off a particular NPC, the time to do that is before or after you meet them IC. Not while your character is standing in front of them (unless you do it through DNI, of course).

Which reminds me. If you are speaking in DNI, don't speak out loud. Use the chat window with the prefix "DNI" at the start of your message.

I also encourage IC banter between player characters using the roll 20 chat. I only have one voice to speak with, and using roll 20 for IC inter-party party when I'm focused primarily on the actions of one character (during matrix and astral scenes for example) keeps you guys engaged in the session when you are not "on camera" and really adds to character development.

I am happy if you use the Roll 20 text chat function to talk OOC about anything except tactics, especially during those long, long combats when you are waiting for your initiative pass to come round again. Too much OOC voice chat during combat makes it difficult for people to keep track of what's going on and slows combat down to even more of a crawl It makes the run go so much faster and makes it less likely that the run will need to become a multi-session one. Especially at higher threat levels. This is entirely optional, but 100% recommended by your GM.