[Oskiee]

Greetings. I ran a few games last year with a few friends. 3 of us have been play SR for years, but im really new (and i think pretty bad) at GMing. I have a number of things i want to ask from more experienced GMs.

1) Ive looked up and down the book to find some way to scale down range and distances. The reason why is id like range to play a big part in my games(ive been ignoring it up until now), but i have a hard time imagining and being accurate on actual distances. The last game we played, i tried playing on a mat with 1 inch squares, but that was to large a scale, on top of that id like line of sight and things like that to take effect. Basically i want to get some minis and make my games a bit more tactical with the standard abstract that i love about SR. So i was wondering what others do in for that.

2) Combat, for my group, takes a really really long time. It took us almost an hour to finish combat once. Its mostly because my group like to think things through. I was thinking about putting them on a stop watch, give each person 30 seconds to decide(which is why i want to do mini's as well. It would help them, and me, visualize whats going on easier).

3) Im not up to date on any of the books. And I'd really like to make my games a bit more immersive, so im wondering what books would be good to learn more about the game world as a whole, and in detail. Also, what would be a good way to get the rest of my group immersed too. I'd like them to get to know the game world better so they know how to behave.

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds.


Edit: also, I want to purchase a gm screen, or even the runners toolkit as a whole, but i havent found it anywhere. Is it still on sale in not just PDF form?

[MisterJohnson]

Hoi.  To your points...

#1:  Yeah, minis are the way to go when your combats can get tricky.  Good idea.  If possible (and this might be hard to find anywhere) - get a copy of the DMZ boxed set.  It was printed first about 21 years ago, but it came with a ton of cardboard stand-up minis for use in that game.  I use those and the maps from DMZ for many of the encounters while playing the RPG.  Perhaps you can pick-up a copy at a second-hand RPG store like: nobleknight.com    Best of luck.

#2:  Putting an actual timer on people is an interesting concept.  I usually give players about a minute, and I try to ensure that people who can not comment on whats happening (as in, their characters can not see things) then they cannot give advice of what to do.  My players are fairly 'trained' to not confuse 'player' knowledge with 'character' knowledge.  Before you go with the timer, simply rattle the table when things start to drag and say "Five seconds, what are you going to do?"  If they hesitate, then their character misses an action opportunity.  I have done this sometimes just to keep the game moving.  Again, my players know I'll move on - so, they are pretty good about thinking things through while other players are doing their actions.

#3: Read.  A lot.  Ask your players to read the history of the game world to date too (whatever date your campaign is set in).  The Sixth World Almanac is a good start, but so is the opening timeline from the main rule book.  There's a lot to know and don't expect to know the entire history of the game world overnight.  It will come.

Sixth World Almanac:  http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=81942&affiliate_id=164934


As for the Runner's Toolkit - I highly recommend it.  This is one of the few items I did not get as a PDF due to the cards and the screen (I wanted to physically have those nicely printed - and the GM screen is by-far the best GM Screen I have ever seen.)  I picked up my copy at a local hobby shop.  If your does not have it - see if they can order one for you.  There are also some online RPG stores who may still have it in print.  Also, try Catalyst's own storefront at:  battlecorps.com

[Wraithian]

Regarding ranges...

Get yourself a decent size white board.  I say, "decent size," as it depends on how much area you have to work with.  The one I have is about 3' x 3 1/2', and I draw (crude) maps on it, mark character locations, scale distance with a ruler, etc.  Years ago, I was hesitant about picking one up for that reason, but has since turned into one of the handiest purchases for RPG's I've ever made. 

[ArkangelWinter]

When I run Mutant Chronicles, and sometimes CBT and SR, I use a chess timer. It not only makes combat run faster, but also really makes players feel like they're in am "act fast o rdie" firefight, especially after they've gotten geeked because they lost their turn thinking slow.

[JustADude]

When I run Mutant Chronicles, and sometimes CBT and SR, I use a chess timer. It not only makes combat run faster, but also really makes players feel like they're in am "act fast o rdie" firefight, especially after they've gotten geeked because they lost their turn thinking slow.

Nice. Of course, I generally know what I'm going to be doing 2-3 IPs in advance, barring huge surprises. Heavy Weapons Troll is "Geek the Mage, Geek the Hacker, Geek anyone else still standing", while my Mage is "Mob mind. Sic Beast Spirits on anyone left. Start lobbing Elemental spells at any drones or vehicles,"

[CanRay]

I need a chess timer now.

[Mirikon]

I generally encourage players to have a 'default' action for combat, just to speed things up if they're having trouble deciding. Even if that default is 'shoot the closest target', that still speeds things up dramatically.

[ShadowChaser13]

I always found combat akes a long time.  What i did was really stick to the rule bok, where a simple action is one sentence, a complex action is a few sentences.  If it ends up being an ridiculously unrelastic mid comabt strategy session, tell them at the beginning you'll forfeit their turns.

One time it was really ridiculous, so i played the part of the four npc gangers hang a conversation that mirrored the players conversationand took like ten minutes to have one of them act.  was pretty funny....