User:Sleevey
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| Reddit Username | [1] |
|---|---|
| Timezone | GMT-7 |
| Country | US |
| GM Level | 1 |
Gamemaster Foundation
Howdy! I'm Sleevey. I've been GMing in general for a while but shadowhaven was my first experience with shadowrun. I fell in love with the setting quickly (despite its NUMEROUS flaws) and here we are.
Style
Shadowruns to me are building a puzzle. You set up all the little pieces and the moving parts, all the NPCs and potential characters interactions and all the bad people with guns and magic and you roll em all together and make a nice puzzle. Then you hand the puzzle to the players and let them go nuts.
Generally, I think my runs are more light-hearted across the board. Shadowrun can be very goofy at times. It has some inherent silliness to a lot of the lore and even some of the mechanics. I like that stuff a lot. You can have some fun, light-hearted times in the setting that I naturally end up embracing.
However, the setting also has a whole lot more than that. Intrigue and secrets, horror and mayhem all sifts throughout the setting and deserves respect. As much as I love pink mohawk silliness, I love those realms just as much.
Essentially, stuff can be multiple things. Shadowrun juggles a lot of different themes and tones and I try to be open to all of them as a GM. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing my job, would I?
Picks
While I do like to make sure most of the bases of a criminal team is covered, I like TTRPG's because of the characters. Strong choices and themes, interesting potential roleplay moments, I like characters with some character, y'know? That's the reason I play these games and that's probably the reason I picked a runner.
I do also like to make sure the team is competent enough to handle the task. Flailing at a suddenly insurmountable astral obstacle because I didn't pick anyone with astral perception isn't fun for you and it isn't fun for me. This doesn't mean I don't take weaker characters. With a little skill and maneuvering, you can even make a team with varying power levels work to everyones advantage. Having a beefed out street sam to shoot with the big guns is a good way to show how serious the threat is.
Declining Runs
It goes without saying but I'd ultimately like people to go on the runs I post. I try to both select characters and format the run post to prevent characters from turning down the job. However, sometimes a character just doesn't fit. In those situations, I try to let the player swap out for a character that does fit or walk away in a way that makes sense for the context. But like, I really want people to go on the runs I make, y'know.
Derailing A Run
If the players seek to go about the run in a bizarre way or backstab the Johnson then I'm all for it. If the runners go completely against the fold and twist the entire situation on its head, I'm still all for it. There's no set way to do a certain thing and I go in knowing something I'd never expect will probably happen. Just be patient, if things get too crazy I may need to call a break to go over rules/thematics or set up an un-exptected combat. And remember, actions have consequences.
Consequence and Failure
One of the more interesting things about shadowrun is that enemies play with similar hands. Going in hot without a plan? You might pull it off but people have seen you there and will be wary next time, if you can pull it off at all. Failure comes hand in hand with success, without the risk being present the victories aren't won. The 6th world is a dangerous place and going in unaware and without a plan can lead to the odds quickly being stacked against you. That being said, I never go into anything with the idea that the players should fail. I'm here to provide a good time, sometimes a challenging one, not kill you and your dog.
The Sixth World
I really like shadowrun's setting. From the eldritch horrors to the cyberhands and from the Null Node to the Stuffer Shacks. There's a lot of moving pieces and a lot of hooks you can use to dig into players.
One of the most interesting things to me about the world, though, is the more mundane aspects. In world with dragons that rule over half the globe and spiritual entities from other realms, it's hard being an average Joe. Hell, even the matrix, the upscaled internet we built to make out lives easier is now filled with "resonance" and "proto-sapients". Seeing how the realms of normal life, one thats not too dissimilar from today in a lot of ways, intersects with the fantastical in interesting and sometimes tragic ways is just gold to me.
I am also a sucker for paracritters and awakened beasties as well.