Topic: Looking for a player for a solo Shadowrun 4 or D&D 3.X game

[Starfox]

Hello

I have been absent from the site for some time, but the gaming bug bit me again, and I am looking for a player interested in a solo game in either Shadowrun 4 or D&D 3.X DMed by me. I prefer sandbox-style, where a player can explore, plan and execute plots of their own, build organisations and powerbases or simply roll with the punches.

I don't like counting XP or karma and I prefer if a player makes a character that he or she has fun to play right away, not a character that he or she will have fun playing a few levels or dozens of karma later, and since it's a solo game anyway player characters would be built without too much regard for the character generation rules and limits. Advancement in game is by player request.

Rules-wise I usually take over rolling dice behind the scenes since it speeds up gameplay and doesn't clutter up the scenes with too many numbers, though I sometimes post particularly noteworthy results in a small OOC line. It also preserves some mystery, since the player might not know if a character's bluff or disguise check has failed in advance. But if a player prefers to roll the dice him- or herself, that's of course ok. Generally I don't roll that many dice to start with.

I like games a bit darker, with some D/s and nc elements, and I alter the official campaign settings in that area, making the Forgotten Realms a darker place with less 20th century democracy and more slavery and oppression.

If anyone is interested in such a game please post here or send me a PM to discuss more details and preferences.

[Elayne]

Welcome back. :)

I'd be interested actually  - I know Shadowrun a little and D&D 3.5 acceptably well.  :)


Do you have a preference to which?

I'm perfectly fine with themes that are a bit darker than the typical role play... That's half the fun!

[Starfox]

I've got no system preference. I prefer a (modified) Forgotten Realms setting for D&D (though with less magic and magic markets) and there I like the southern/arabian parts. Shadowrun I have ran games in Seattle, Miami, and the Caribbean, and could give Africa a try as well, though I don't like too much of the official timeline in that game.

In both games I prefer not to deal with accounting or logistics minutiae. I found one can run even a "build up your merchant house" game without actually counting coins by keeping things focused on interaction and plots, and handling money in a more abstract way. (Less "You earn 525 silver pieces per week as profit from transporting grapes to the coastal town", more "your trade deal with the al-Serin family came through after you blackmailed the scion of the family, and this opens up a new trade route for your family, but you'll have to keep an eye on them to prevent the son taking revenge. And you might need to take steps to foil their plans to marry their daghter to the pasha's uncle, since that could gain them influence to counter your increased wealth and retake the trade route".)

[Callie Del Noire]

Welcome back. 

I like the idea of a SR4 game a bit, as I recall our LONG ago game.

Would you allow SURGE victims?

[Starfox]

Hi Callie!

Depends on the surge, though while I don't mind the "powers" I usually prefer an alternate explanation than "comet flew by, I mutated". Surge never sat right with me, it defies logic since just about every unwanted surge effect could easily be removed by Shadowrun's medicine. And the social impact Shadowrun claims is simply stupid. There is fiberoptic hair and custom cybereyes that people implant in their bodies, no one is going to get freaked out by magical colored hair or eyes. People get cybernetic balance tails and customized body parts too, and claws. Freaking out about surge feels like freaking out about a pocket knife in a crowd carrying loaded guns.

So, for surge effects, I'd prefer a more special explanation (magical accident, victim of some genemod experiment or cybernetic experimental treatment, etc.), and a good reason why unwanted effects are not easily removed at the next clinic. But yes, that means I have no problem with someone just having surge effects that the character and/or player wants, with no negative surge effects to balance it out.

[Callie Del Noire]

Hmmm have to think up something.  Too bad we can't resume that old game eh?  I still have it book marked.

I like the magical accident idea. A Mage adept (maybe awakened by the accident).

[Starfox]

Do you mean the D&D game, "The Misadventures of Callie del Noire"?

[Callie Del Noire]

Do you mean the D&D game, "The Misadventures of Callie del Noire"?

Yup.  It is the only dead game I kept book marked from my early days on the board.

[Starfox]

I'll have to reread the thread to get the details back - I still remember the general plot - but we can restart that.

I'll be able to handle 1 or 2 more games, in case anyone else is interested.

[Callie Del Noire]

I'll have to reread the thread to get the details back - I still remember the general plot - but we can restart that.

I'll be able to handle 1 or 2 more games, in case anyone else is interested.

Or do a SR take on it perhaps?

[Starfox]

That would work as well.

[SatanKlaus]

Hi, I might be interested in your game. I played a little SR 3 and, before that, I played Shadowrun 2.01 religiously, though I am unfamiliar with the rules of SR4.

You didn't say much about what kind of setting you plan to use, except that it will be a bit darker and kinkier than the whitewashed version they sell to the kids. I suppose, Shadowrun has a lot of dark areas already, only the usual stories don't take place in them. Some ideas:

I would be interested in your 'darker, edgier and kinkier' take on corporate life. Even though Shadowrun usually features fighters from the gutter of society, trampled on but standing proud, wouldn't it be interesting to see the other side? A corporate 'problem solver', a subdivisions go-to man for the dirty work would make for an interesting character. In my mind, a Mr. Johnson who has to decend from the glittering towers and negotiate with Shadowrunners and their ilk, is as much a warrior as the men and women he hires. And yet, in the eyes of the common man, he is without honor, a cog in the machine of exploitation and corruption. And, quite possibly, they are not even wrong. I imagine him to be immensely yaded with what he has seen - and paid to be done - down on the streets below the glittering lights. He is probably a man of dark desires. And yet, most of his days are spent in a nice, brightly lit corner office or in the tranquility of his loft. One does wonder how much his secretary knows - or gets to feel - of the darkness he conceals underneath his spotless white shirt and fashionable business suit? When your boss has an untraceable 'black-ops' account and free access to illegal goods, services and cyberware, just how personal does Personal Assistant become?


Speaking of yaded, the average trideo viewer today is nothing but. Naked news anchors, gladiator shows, live suicides, it rarely evokes more excitement than a yawn. Enter the Shadowdolls, an all-female group of shadowrunners, wired with life senselink rigs to give the viewer the closest possible experience of their exciting, dangerous life. "See what they see, hear what they hear, feel what they feel!" Is the slogan, and they feel a lot. Pain, fear, adrenaline, excitement. Not to mention all the lust, jealousy and cattyness during downtime in their hideout from the hormonal adjustments they secretly got when they were under to get the senselink equipment installed...


Granted, the second one is more an idea for a group game but I had it already in my mind when I stumbled across your offer to GM and I thought I would propose it as well.

Satan_Klaus

[Starfox]

I'd add that a large number of people - mostly middle class - sees corporations as benevolent, since they work for them, so it's not as if everyone thinks the managers as honorless.

The Mr. Johnson, dealing with shadowrunners to further his corp's, his superiour's and his own agenda, is a working concept. Since major corps are extraterritorial, even normal corporate politics can be murder. If you want it a bit darker you could pick a corp that's a front/puppet/partner of organized crime.

The Shadowdolls concept is actually canon - L.A. is controlled in the latest edition by a media megacon and live-action shadowrun shows are a big hit - runners sell ads and exclusive feeds as part of a run. A bit over the top, in some spots, in my opinion.

Of course you could combine the two ideas, in a way, and have the corporate man have his personal shadowrunner group, wired with simrigs and cortex bombs to control them, doing his dirty work and also delivering (incrimating) records for him of their exploits, which can be altered so they don't lead back to crimes, and then reused in simsense flicks the corp produces as baselines for the fake runs portrayed there. It could be an interesting dynamic there, with shadowrunners on such virtual leashes, probably the victim of a too sweet "cyberware as payment" deal, and now forced to obey due to additional devices implanted.

[SatanKlaus]

The Mr. Johnson, dealing with shadowrunners to further his corp's, his superiour's and his own agenda, is a working concept. Since major corps are extraterritorial, even normal corporate politics can be murder. If you want it a bit darker you could pick a corp that's a front/puppet/partner of organized crime.

I like the stark contrasts of this idea. He could have
9:00-11:00 'home office'
12:00-18:00 'strategy planning session at the office'
20:00-20:15 'shooting people in a back alley'
and 22:00-midnight 'abusing his PA'
on his implant day planner.

And his challenges and opponents can be very varied, from envious colleauges to disgruntled shadowrunners to murderous street thugs.

Of course you could combine the two ideas, in a way, and have the corporate man have his personal shadowrunner group, wired with simrigs and cortex bombs to control them, doing his dirty work and also delivering (incrimating) records for him of their exploits, which can be altered so they don't lead back to crimes, and then reused in simsense flicks the corp produces as baselines for the fake runs portrayed there. It could be an interesting dynamic there, with shadowrunners on such virtual leashes, probably the victim of a too sweet "cyberware as payment" deal, and now forced to obey due to additional devices implanted.

It's a bit of a danger to 'overload' the story with different ideas. I could well imagine that Mr. Johnson could sometimes use 'innovative' and 'cost-saving' hiring practices for people doing his dirty work and for people fullfilling his dirty desires. Maybe a fuck-toy secretary or a bodyguard living in some fantasy BTL-land where she is an amazon and he is the prince she is destined to protect. But adding a sim-sense rig to it might be a bit too much. The company probably prefers if things like that are covered up, not aired to the pblic. I think the shadowdolls concept would work better as a small-group game, anyhow.

Satan_Klaus

[Starfox]

It's a bit of a danger to 'overload' the story with different ideas. I could well imagine that Mr. Johnson could sometimes use 'innovative' and 'cost-saving' hiring practices for people doing his dirty work and for people fullfilling his dirty desires. Maybe a fuck-toy secretary or a bodyguard living in some fantasy BTL-land where she is an amazon and he is the prince she is destined to protect. But adding a sim-sense rig to it might be a bit too much. The company probably prefers if things like that are covered up, not aired to the pblic. I think the shadowdolls concept would work better as a small-group game, anyhow.

Ah, didn't mean publishing the actual records. I meant the emotracks could be used to spice up the legal action sims, since the simstars are not experiencing real combat and tension, and might be worse at faking it. They wouldn't be publishing actual records of crimes.

Though a simrig (the set that records emotions and sensory tracks) is a real useful tool for any dom in my opinion - a feed from his fucktoy secretary's simrig in an augmented reality window to his implanted commlink let's him see exactly how's she's reacting to whatever he is doing to her. And of course he can taste her arousal, humilation, shame, in perfect clarity. Or have it fed back into her on a whim. It seems perfect for mindgames.

It all depends on how dirty and dark your character is. He could get away with a lot in the name of ensuring loyality and discretion when it comes to controlling his staff (bodyguards, chauffeur, matrix overwatch, mage support etc.)

[SatanKlaus]

Ah, didn't mean publishing the actual records. I meant the emotracks could be used to spice up the legal action sims, since the simstars are not experiencing real combat and tension, and might be worse at faking it. They wouldn't be publishing actual records of crimes.

I always thought the action had to match the sensetrack.

Though a simrig (the set that records emotions and sensory tracks) is a real useful tool for any dom in my opinion - a feed from his fucktoy secretary's simrig in an augmented reality window to his implanted commlink let's him see exactly how's she's reacting to whatever he is doing to her. And of course he can taste her arousal, humilation, shame, in perfect clarity. Or have it fed back into her on a whim. It seems perfect for mindgames.

Very true. A great tool for controlling your toys. And the necessity for it could be explained away with 'morale' and 'loyality' or some such corporate bullshit.

It all depends on how dirty and dark your character is. He could get away with a lot in the name of ensuring loyality and discretion when it comes to controlling his staff (bodyguards, chauffeur, matrix overwatch, mage support etc.)

I guess it takes a rather soulless person to be a Mr. Johnson, so he certainly is not on the side of light. How dark he is remains to be seen. Do you want me to make a character or how do we proceed? What system, anyway? Never played SR4 but I can do Sr 2 or 3 without help. (Wouldn't mind learning 4, though).

Satan_Klaus

[Starfox]

I always thought the action had to match the sensetrack.

In my very first Shadowrun novel, read back in 1991, they explained how they tweak the sensetrack in the studio, so I always assumed that they can play around with the recordings.

Very true. A great tool for controlling your toys. And the necessity for it could be explained away with 'morale' and 'loyality' or some such corporate bullshit.

Or it's part of a cyberware package. In SR4, it doesn't really cost a lot of essence anymore - and can replace a simsense module, which many use to enjoy simsense chips.

I guess it takes a rather soulless person to be a Mr. Johnson, so he certainly is not on the side of light. How dark he is remains to be seen. Do you want me to make a character or how do we proceed? What system, anyway? Never played SR4 but I can do Sr 2 or 3 without help. (Wouldn't mind learning 4, though).

I prefer SR4, I haven't played SR3 in years, and SR1 and 2 are even further back. I'll send you a PM with further details/questions.

[Callie Del Noire]

good thing we're not doing Crossovers SatanKlaus.. I don't think we'd get along..we're both too assertive.

[Starfox]

I might mention things in both games (recycling saves the enviroment!), but it's not a crossover. Consider it more a parallel universe affair.

[SatanKlaus]

Well I was thinking about doing a 'Shadowdolls'* small-group game some day. Could be something you might be interested in.

Satan_Klaus



*All female team of newbie Shadowrunners, broadcasting both their runs and their sexual exploits to their viewers by sim-rig as the ultimate sexploitation reality tv show.

[Callie Del Noire]

Well I was thinking about doing a 'Shadowdolls'* small-group game some day. Could be something you might be interested in.

Satan_Klaus

*All female team of newbie Shadowrunners, broadcasting both their runs and their sexual exploits to their viewers by sim-rig as the ultimate sexploitation reality tv show.

Sounds interesting. I got a few 'face' types I'd love to try out, SURGE and vanilla. One of them is a walking sim sense studio.