[Glorthoron]

I'm just wondering if anyone would like to share with the rest of us any of their GMing (or general gaming) techniques that are considered unorthadoxed?

[ArkangelWinter]

Chess timers. Several players over the years have been bad about taking forever to finish their turn,  so I use them during combat turns to keep it flowing. It also builds some realistic combat tension, as too much hesitation will get you skipped and likely dead, and much like real combat, theres not time to plan every little move.

I know some here hate it immensely, but I also use Hit Location tables.

[Glorthoron]

Chess timers. Several players over the years have been bad about taking forever to finish their turn,  so I use them during combat turns to keep it flowing. It also builds some realistic combat tension, as too much hesitation will get you skipped and likely dead, and much like real combat, theres not time to plan every little move.

I know some here hate it immensely, but I also use Hit Location tables.

I've incorporated hit location tables in the past too, but more so just to determine where a missed attack ended up.  Such as hitting your ally beside your opponent.

Timers are a good tool too.  When your character has less than a second to react, there should be little time to think over his actions.

[Black]

Created a bunch of business card sized quick reference sheets for the player's Contacts.  This way they have an easy, visual way to decide which contact to use when its time to do some foot work.  Given that I often give contacts to the players based on successful missions (rescued scientiest, orc underground leaders, mecurial , a japanese 'adult' simsense director with yakuza contacts, etc. they can sometimes loose track of their contacts, or forget the ones they havent used in awhile.

Did create biohazard counters once when they infiltrated a containmenated lab.  That was fund

[All4BigGuns]

In my opinion, timers are one of the most horrid suggestions I've ever heard. Just because the character doesn't have much time to think through an action doesn't mean the player shouldn't. If it makes combat take a little (or even a lot) longer, so be it.

Hit location charts used in a game that does not incorporate such things in the normal rules as written are just as bad in my opinion as well. If they were intended to be used, they would have been incorporated into the rules.

[ArkangelWinter]

The player is the character. And we've all had that guy who would take 5-10 minutes to decide what to do with his Initiative, not including the 5 minutes he had to decide while waiting on everyone else. I actually have 3 or 4 in of our gaming association. The chess timer stops that, and no one can claim its unfair because I have to use it too, for each NPC.

And if we want to have the hit location battle again, I suggest a new thread. You have your opinion, I have mine.

[Glorthoron]

In my opinion, timers are one of the most horrid suggestions I've ever heard. Just because the character doesn't have much time to think through an action doesn't mean the player shouldn't. If it makes combat take a little (or even a lot) longer, so be it.

Hit location charts used in a game that does not incorporate such things in the normal rules as written are just as bad in my opinion as well. If they were intended to be used, they would have been incorporated into the rules.

I have to agree with Arkangel.  The timer is a great thing.  I've wasted too many nights on just one fight because people take forever deciding what to do.  No one in their right mind would enjoy sitting around a table for 20 to 30 minutes waiting for their chance to take a 30 second action.  And it usually ends up being just one or two people in the group slowing it down for everyone else.

The hit location isn't a bad idea at all, and I think your reaction is very narrow minded (not being insulting, just saying .  That is something that really depends on what the players (and GM) want.  If they want to know where they were hit, who's to argue?  It saves the GM the hassle of being blamed for a character loosing an eye, if it was determined randomly, rather than the GM deciding it. 

It seems to me that you must be opposed to any and all house rules.  After all, if any house rule were meant to be used in the game, it would, as you said, have been incorporated in the rules.

[All4BigGuns]

It seems to me that you must be opposed to any and all house rules.  After all, if any house rule were meant to be used in the game, it would, as you said, have been incorporated in the rules.

Actually, there are many that I like, among them are the Cha x X (X being 2 or 3) free BP for contacts, giving the free knowledge pool for those using karma generation and splitting Magic and Edge out of the half-point limit for the karma generation (the latter two being what it takes to make the generation system truly usable in my opinion). There are others, but I can't think of 'em off the top of my head.

Basically the ones I support are the ones that are a boon to the players, as the players should be far better than the NPCs. Adding things like hit locations (just as an example) harms the PCs far more than it would any NPC.

[Demerzel]

I have experimented with utilizing A Penny for My Thoughts as a pregame exercise to flesh out backgrounds. It's a GMless role playing exercise, and has a very interesting back story to the game itself that lends to a single point of origin for all the players in the game.

[ArkangelWinter]

A4BG, the trend I've noticed is that you hate stacking things too far against PCs. And I agree.

But timers dont at all when I have the same constraint. And I dont use Hit Location for every shot, because frankly 1 and 2 box hits arent worth it. But I've never had a complaint about hearing a big hit described as "he blasts your left hand to ribbons, but avoids vital organs" or roll 2d10, getting 20, and crying "BOOM! Headshot. Damn you."

[Leigion]

I'll tell you one my favorite moments GMing and a player (whos a good friend of mine) honestly stunned the table in a moment of awe with brought props. He didnt tell anyone he had props. Best 2 karma i ever handed out for RP. Ok so the set up was the night before session they did a job and caught a break got intell of a drug and arms deal about to go down in 3 hours at a parking garage. Basic car swap kinda thing so they get a plan grab gear and head out to intercept wanting both cars. Well the session ended with them pullling into the parking garage they still had to go to 3 floors up. So the next night we all sit down to play and he gets up and says i'll be right back got to use the bathroom. So we are all WTF as you can imagine. We are talking and what not he halted the game and in a flash he plops down at the table one hand in his backpack the other reaches for dice.

Hes in completly differnt clothes. All black, a black turtleneck, black leather gloves a stalking cap like he just got off from working 8 hours on the docks and to top it off he's wearing a clear hard plastic mask. You know the one in the movies thats featureless. He pulls out of his pack more masks, one for everyone at the table. We played the rest of the night wearing the masks when masks were called for. Completly unorthadox, but i have to admit it was fun and good humor. It was a nice change of pace seeing new faces on old mugs that sit at your table to play shadowrun.   

[Leigion]

to a4bg, I have noticed to in other posts by you, you pretty much hate anything that doesnt help you powergame. You wont play in a game that you can die in, you all for PC's mopping the floor with NPC's and now that a timer gets tossed out there its nope worse idea ever. The timer is what we use and yes it stops the bs at the table when combat comes up. Plus in the case of running astral, matrix, and regular world it helps so people dont hog the time using abilitys, Its a life saver when you have to do indivual times aswell when they split up. I am actually  intrigued if there is any type of serious thought or challenge in the games you play in. Do you GM at all or just player?
Almost forgot, Yes to hit locations they are cool.

[Glorthoron]

to a4bg, I have noticed to in other posts by you, you pretty much hate anything that doesnt help you powergame. You wont play in a game that you can die in, you all for PC's mopping the floor with NPC's and now that a timer gets tossed out there its nope worse idea ever. The timer is what we use and yes it stops the bs at the table when combat comes up. Plus in the case of running astral, matrix, and regular world it helps so people dont hog the time using abilitys, Its a life saver when you have to do indivual times aswell when they split up. I am actually  intrigued if there is any type of serious thought or challenge in the games you play in. Do you GM at all or just player?
Almost forgot, Yes to hit locations they are cool.

How much time do you give each player?

[FastJack]

Let's keep this on the subject and not on other posters.

[Leigion]

On how long 30 seconds per player turn in combat it doesnt seem like long but sit and watch 30 secs tic by on a clock. A full circle turn gets done in less then 3 minutes. We use the rule of max 12 dice so counting up sucess is easy. I use index cards to keep track of npc's. I just arange them relitive to where they are on the board behind the screan and mark off damage. We also use a megnetic marker board so we can do the line up of who turn it is.Well worth 10 bucks. You can slap people around in the line up with litttle fuss.