R

15 TIPS FOR NEW

SHADOWRUN GM'S

ecent events have lead to a morphing

of roles within the Classic BattleTech
commandos. Heres a small tip sheet
for new or returning GMs.These tips are not
exhaustive and are based on my individual
experience, however limited as they may be.
Im hoping more and more Classic BattleTech
Commandos make it over to the dark side
of gaming with the Fourth Edition release of
Shadowrun. Ive put these tips together as
more of an illustration of suggestions rather
than hard cut and dry rules.Take from it
what you will, but try not to take it too
seriously. Im writing this as sort of a
welcoming of the Classic BattleTech
commandos to the Shadowrun side of the
game and hope many more join us. I hope
you find Shadowrun as entertaining as I do.
So without further ado here are 15 tips and
tricks that I think will benefit new GMs. And
remember there is PoWeR in the DaRk side...

maliciously destroy the game like shoot

everyone, kickem out of the game and chide
them for being Trekkies and living in their
parents basement.

Dont worry if you make

a mistake wing it.
Shadowrun is a game; if you make a mistake
the FanPro police wont mame and kill you.
Hell when I started up 3rd edition I ran spell
drain totally wrong until one of my players
corrected me and I looked up the rule.You
dont have to know every rule, or quote
every page. (Although some Dumpshockers
probably could, but theyre uber-Otaku.)
Dont worry about looking up every rule
update, focus on keeping the flow of the
game moving. Next game you can make any
alterations that need to be corrected. If
youre surprised by your players and were
not expecting a particular action or they did
something completely unconscionable just
wing it. A large part of running the game is
just running the game and winging things as
you go. Dont worry if the game didnt work
out as planned just keep going. Players are
the incarnation of chaos. Dont look at
improvisation as something bad, performing
on the fly keeps things from getting boring
for you and the players.The players are
invariably going to do something completely
unexpected, just roll with it. Improvisation
isnt easy but the more you do it the better
you get. If the players do something to

I prefer when creating a game to have a

good bit of detail already pinned out. I like to
visually think about the areas where players
are going to be and see if I can pull from real
world examples for details to make up such
places. One area that I get lots of ideas from
are the old run down parts that every city
has.The ghettos of Mission Hill in Boston,
the old abandoned factories and mills of
Everett. I like to think back to the
experiences and history a particular area
had and try to picture it. I ask myself, What
is this area trying to tell me? Is this an area
that has a story to tell? Is the old Revere
Waterfront still echoing with the laughter
and vaudeville performers of yesteryear?
Good science fiction I think focuses not on
the new but on the old. Its taking those
aspects from the old and reworking them a
bit so they provide for new interpretation.
(Case in point Blade Runner, The future is
old.) What do the towns and places have to
tell us? Pretty much anywhere we live now
will be the old face of yesteryear in 2064.
Everything new is old, everything old is new.
I like using history to build that mental and
psychic impression that I draw upon for
details in my world.This can be how an old
home smells or the impressions an old
neighborhood has. In general its good to

Details, details, details,

there can never be enough details.
Sometimes creating NPCs takes a little
detail to flesh out the personality, drive, and
quirks a NPC has. Organizations are made of
people usually in a hierarchical relationship
with many NPCs. Flesh out the organization
by creating NPCs and their hierarchy.
(If you have time, create an org chart for
Company or Division X.The detail helps
you lock down who the power players
are and who the clueless underlings are.
This gives the organization a shape and form.
Every organization or corporation has folks
at the top and folks on the bottom. (See
number four for more detail.)

ask yourself these kinds of questions when

making a home or place the characters enter
into. Have your game sketched out. Ask
yourself, what kind of story are you trying to
tell? Is it a mystery, action based, horror or a
mixture of many genres? Whats the relationship to the players and does it involve any of
the characters background or contacts? How
will the game flow and fit together? Basically
you can break this down into the basic
questions Who,What,When,Where, and
How? Often all you need is a flow chart other
times have every room worked out ahead of
time helps a story flow more coherently.
Try to make campaigns
realistic and well thought out.
When creating a game I like to really think
about the protagonists involved. I like to
have a well thought out arc and to link my
games together with key clues as part of an
intertwined campaign. Each clue the
characters find only creates more questions
till the players learn whats really going on.
I like to involve the players and keep them
stimulated and curious. Ive found campaigns
tend to last longer if they see a bigger
picture starting to form. If your story arc is
somewhat or generally planned out you can
map key events and how they occur.This
helps add to the overall mood of the campaign. If your plot is planned out you can
build energy in the plot culminating in a
climax.This builds a more interesting
experience for both GM and players.
Remember that organizations and
corporations have a project time line that
is often pushed blatantly forward.
(When project deadlines are cemented and
draw near, Runners may be the Corporations
last resort.) The players many times are
caught in the cross fire in a plot they might
scarcely understand but playing a key role.

NPCs should have

realistic selfish motivations.
Personally I like realistic NPCs. I find myself
constantly trying to make NPCs interesting
and realistic.Theres a great history and
personality creator in the old Cyberpunk
2020 book. If Im having writers block Ill

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usually use some of theyre charts to get

ideas for creating interesting NPCs. I have to
give Mike Pondsmith kudos for his creation
system.When creating NPCs I like to start
out with what their relation is to the game.
Are they contacts, or are they actual protagonists in the big picture? When protagonists
are organizations or corporations its a good
idea to sketch out the entity and the entities
involved. Creating a realistic structure is
helpful when creating power plays, struggles,
and general intrigue.
Flesh out important NPCs and important
background NPCs who pull the strings. Its a
good idea to create a good detailed write up
about contacts the characters have lots of
interaction with.This helps them become real
for the players. Folks are going to have
skeletons and things they hide. Hell, some
have down-right self destructive habits.
Personas and personalities are complex. Life
isnt usually black and white, NPCs shouldnt
be either. (Ive met all kinds of folks who at
one point are the life of the party, only to
find later theyve had a schizophrenic
breakdown and a dark past.) Many times its
our faults that make us interesting. Its those
things that make us stand out that others see
and equate with a personality. Frequently
good friends do things that go beyond logic
and loyalty. Its during those divisive times
that we as individuals either support friends
or re-evaluate our relationships. Contacts are
the same way. Folks in power who have
influence might call upon characters to do
some really heinous stuff. (Possibly a Mr.
Johnson cuts up a teenage prostitute and
needs the characters to dispose of the
body in exchange for a favor with a large
megacorp.Who would have thought he was
the East Coast VP of Ares Operations, Go
figure. ) You get the idea. As people we have
faults.We as individuals have a capacity for
good or bad its the combination of both
that makes characters and NPCs interesting.
In Shadowrun everything and everyone is
grey or black.There are some light souls out
there, just not in the sewers.
Sometimes you have to ignore
5 the dice, they lie anyways:
Luck vs. Accountability.
Every now and then the dice just dont go
the way you want at a very, very, inopportune
time. If its going to kill the game, or destroy
the plot then its not a bad idea to flub the
rolls. If the players earned the rolls outright
and rolled fairly in combat and killed the
evil master mind dark mage then let him die.
18 The Commando Quarterly

If they got a lucky shot on someone or

something that could cause problems in the
game then ignore the rolls. Maybe they have
an unknown benefactor.The core problem is,
the plot possibly needs to be re-thought out.
Important people tend to stay out of the
action when they can pay underlings to take
a bullet for them. Ive had a couple of
protagonists die in a hail of badly rolled dice
even after spending karma for a re-roll.
Unless a body is properly taken care of, Ill
bring NPCs back for future games as a Hey
Ive got friends too Puta! Every now and
then getting lucky adds to the drama of the
situation.This isnt always a bad thing.
Surprises for the GM keeps the GM on their
toes and makes the game more interesting
for all.
NOTE: If a Decker is trying to combat an
uber-A.I. in a matrix showdown, I dont care
how much karma theyve earned.That
Decker is going to be the next resident at
Meadow Acres retirement home for the
indigent and disabled. (I see a lobotomy in
your future!) You just have to think about
balance and If this NPC dies is it really all
that important? If a player really starts to
mess with the wrong people the character
has to deal with the consequences. Im not
about to go and tell some Mafioso wannabe
that his pants are ugly and the gold chain
around his neck looks like something
Donny Osmond might wear. I dont want
folks with firearms knowing who I am. If
players brazenly do something stupid then
players may be dealt with in a particularly
vicious manner. One thing my players always
forgot to wear when going into corporate
facilities, the ubiquitous ski mask.The Decker
gets most of the pay data but isnt able to fix
the vids, its only later that the players mugs
are on the evening news and Lonestar is
looking to question them. Luck and consequence need to be dealt with, players must
be accountable for their actions for good or
bad. (Note this goes for Riggers as well.)
Take your time, only one
person can speak at once.
At conventions especially tables have a way
of growing in proportion and size.When
dealing with large groups of runners it helps
to have folks take turns talking and acting.
I usually go clock wise or counter clock wise
in non combat situations. In smaller homegrown groups this isnt so much an issue but
with larger groups come semblance of order
is needed.Your players will thank you for it.

Dont worry about being a Ham.

When running NPCs I like to portray
some very dysfunctional folks. One favorite is
the drunk alcoholic Russian who turns out to
be the players pilot. Only later do they find
out he installed a level 4+ autopilot system.
I tend to ham it up a bit.The world of
Shadowrun has always been sort of
cartoonish in my mind. Magic, gunfire, and
combat tends to be fairly dramatic and
cinematic. Having a hammy NPC only makes
sense. Ive noticed that wargamers tend to be
a bit more discreet when playing when
compared to the Roleplaying crowd.The only
problem is that acting a bit weird comes with
running a game. If you dont ham it up you
might be missing out on a fun opportunity to
act and exaggerate the action.Theres nothing
more fun than a large hyper active troll
looking for Crack or is addicted to BTLs.
When youre hooked on BTLs the real world
and the virtual tend to blend together in
many odd and disturbing ways. Its the GMs
job in a sense to portray folks who arent
flying on two or even one pistons.

Youve got to get rid of the

Decker if hes slowing things down.
I like the matrix, the plot lines and even the
old story in Virtual Realities 1.0.The problem
is that action tends to be very fast and very
furious.The matrix tends to occur at a speed
far greater than the outside world. So easily
two and a half hours of gaming might only
equate to lest than a minute in real time.
This and the problem that all the players are
not in the matrix makes that one Decker
stop the flow of the game.The best way to
integrate the Decker is if the others in the
game need to make a food run or take some
other break.Then you might be able to
sneak a quick decking session.The Mr.
Johnsons Black Book has a nice reduced
rule set for decking but Ive found it easier
to relegate Deckers to NPCs.

The Mr. Johnson only lies, its your

job to screw over the characters.
Surprises are a good thing.The Mr. Johnson
is always going to screw the players over at
some point. Isnt that why theyre runners?
Shadowrunners in the darkness of the sixth
world are expendable assets. On occasion
they become more of a liability and have to
be liquidated. It happens and players always
hate it. Mr. Johnson might sell the players out
for his or her own gain? Who knows?
Maybe that Mr. Johnson is just a pawn
working under someone higher up in the
corporation? (What? Were working for a
low level accounting manager?)

15 Tips for New Shadowrun GMs

Intrigue is a part of the game and what
makes the game so interesting. Invariably
the players are going to get the old knife in
the back at some point. It happens, will
happen, and will continue to happen.
Remember though that theres a cost tied
with everything. Make sure when the players
get the shaft or barrel its for a good reason
that ties well into the needs and context of
the story. Screwing over players just to screw
over players is silly. Even in the underworld
theres a level of professionalism.You start
from the street where an everyday pusher
would sooner sell your organs to a street
doc than look at you.You move up the ladder
slowly. Just be mindful of who the players are
dealing with. Even the big boys liquidate
assets. Especially if theres a large monetary
gain. Ultimately motivations for deceit can
be broken down into one of two things:
power or money, and the lengths that a Mr.
Johnson or individual will go depends on
those two attributes. A great movie that
demonstrates this is Tom Clancys Clear
and Present Danger.

the corpses a street doc might have to

dispose of and the lasciviousness of
Tamenous ghouls.Try to make things
more than they are and exaggerate a bit.
The whole point of doing this is really so
you can have fun with the game.
Take notes during the
game for future reference.
Often you have to make up NPCs on the fly.
Having notes to refer back to can be handy
when trying to add more detail to a NPC
for later use. (Usually first meetings are just
impressions anyways, its not till later that
we really learn about someone and who
and what they are?)

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Know your audience, occasionally

hack and slash is a good thing.
Every now and then players want less
intrigue and more hack and slash. Knowing
your players a little before the game is a
good idea. In general Ive found kids dont like
really complex plots overall.Thats not a bad
thing, hell many adults just like to blow off
some steam enacting fantasies about killing
hapless co-workers and supervisors. It just
sort of comes with the territory. Especially if
youre running an intro game a little or a lot
of violence is a good thing. One of my
favorite games to run for newbies is my,
Night of the Zombies. (Thats where I
discovered that SR shotguns are a zombies
natural predator.) I wanted something kind
of fun and pulpy and zombies are a great way
to unleash some hidden hostility. Ironically,
every time I run this game players ignore
the 20 zombies prostate on the ground.
Coincidently theyre all pointed toward the
large column of light, beaming up into the
night sky.This never seems to bother the
players till after they figure out whats going
on. ...Uh, guys, I think were going to have to
fight our way out of here.

Props you can

never have too many!
Actually you can, but thats beside the point.
I like turning my games into a little bit of a
live action game around a table. Props are
the perfect way to do this.They can really
be just about anything. Say starting off the
easiest are forms, pictures, scraps of paper,
news articles anything you can use.You might
create some scream sheets for a download
type newspaper print out similar to older
games.You can create multimedia pieces,
music, video, what ever floats your boat.
Ive created scream sheets, maps, old match
cases, bits of a receipt...hell, the pictures you
find when you buy a picture frame could
work. A prop is anything you make, buy,
steal, scavenge, or put together to represent
something in a game. Good places to look
are Goodwill stores, arts and crafts shops
or what ever youre looking for.The skys
the limit when dealing with props. Ideally the
prop should fit in with the plot of the game
but it could be something to throw off the
players as well. One prop idea was the ichor
of Roth-Shogoth which is molasses I poured
into an empty water bottle. It gave a nice
viscous consistency. Players look at it in the
bottle and theyre first reaction is, This
doesnt look healthy, drop everything.
Props are just fun. Ive heard of one guy who
rebound an old Websters dictionary to make
it a Tome of unholy knowledge. (Who ever
thought the secrets of evil would be in
alphabetical order.) Props are fun and really
spice up a game.

Have fun; but it can be more

fun writing than it is running.
The trick is to have fun while running too.
I like to ham up my NPCs and really delve
into their quirky nature.Think about all

Come to games prepared

with well thought-out scenarios.
Some GMs can run a whole game on the
fly completely unprepared. In high school I
played with a Call of the Cthulu GM who ran

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games completely on the fly and did it well.

(To give props where theyre due, Don
Fergoso in TX is a great example of an
improvisational GM.) I like to plan out my
games, clues, links and game flow about a
week before the game. If I have time, Ill go in
and fill in notes on NPCs and other events
in the game. I tend to use a meta-flow chart
to map out the game and where hopefully
I would like it to go.You dont have to write
a thirty page book but just having the basic
stats down, notes on flow and NPCs and key
events is usually enough. If you have time,
maps are always fun to hand out to players.
Behold the power of the Pimp!
Encouraging interesting PCs
is your job.
I never get to play. I mean I never get to play,
ever. Im always the GM. (I think thats one
reason I like wargaming so much, no GMs.)
So from time to time to stave off nostalgia Ill
make out a character or two. One such night
was the birth of Master Spanker aka Mr. Ivy.
I based him on the DVD American Pimp,
having got a good deal of enthusiasm from
the DVD. So after buying 5 level II Hos,
other gear and drugs, Master Spanker was
part face, part pimp, and part drug dealer.
Since I didnt have a chance to play him in
normal game play he turned into a NPC.
One night I had a new player sit in who
needed a character and saw the pimp. From
there the magic happened. For some reason
the Pimp is the ultimate clown.Take every
bad Blaxploitation film from the 1970s, add a
little bit of Blackula and JJ from Good Times
and you get Master Spanker. Ironically the
first player to play the Spanker was a kid
from Sri Lanka who you would never have
guessed would open up as a Pimp. (He has a
very clean almost British accent.) He took
being a Pimp to a new and greater level.
Even when his character was out gunned
he grabbed both pistols and opened up
Hollywood style. I gave him extra karma for
that since he was fighting a pretty butch set
of drones. Now at every convention theres
at least one player who plays the Spanker.
The point of this is to illustrate that breaking
the mold when making a character with style
and purpose is more important than
substance. Creativity does not come from
being a munchkin but putting out a character
with that extra touch of style. Characters
that stand out help give the players a level of
depth to focus on and act upon. Creating a
personality and a history for new players
helps them get into the mood of the game.
Never underestimate the power
of stereotypes.

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