Blackjack's Corner #007
The Need For Speed
By Blackjack [Blackjack's Shadowrun Page: www.BlackjackSR.com] [BlackjackSRx@gmail.com] [@BlackjackSRx]

Posted: 1997-01-07

I'm working with a new group and inform the players that a small and violent gang has appeared, describe them and their positions, and make the point that it would be best if everybody rolled for initiative so the proper order of butt whipping can be established. The samurai rolls first while the rest of the group, inexplicably, awaits his die results. Then goes the decker along with the mage after a moment of contemplation to see if either wouldn't mind the other rolling first. Then rolls the rigger who, apparently achieving a low number, sits heavily back in her chair with a hull. All is quiet. I glance around and the players look back, slowly realizing that it's ok to announce their scores, which they do in a simultaneous roar of digits. After two or three attempts I manage to get them to reveal their numbers one at a time, although one has already forgotten. The samurai goes first. He asks me what he sees. I quickly spill the descriptions and locations of the five gang members again. He stares forward for a moment, looks to the ceiling for answers on what to do, and then slowly announces that he wishes to quick draw and fire his pistol. I announce he has to make a quickness test, target of four, completely throwing him off guard. One by one he gathers up his quickness dice, adding one more before the roll because he forgot he had a eight instead of a seven. Shaking the dice five or six times he tosses them in the pattern of a wide gauge shotgun across the table, with one die falling on the floor and requiring a moment to retrieve. He shakes this one die five or six more times before releasing it. After a moment he looks at the results, standing to see the one which practically rolled into my lap. He sees a six and rerolls it and, seeing another six, rolls it again. I inform him that this is not necessary, as achieving a four is achieving a four and achieving an eighteen is still just as good as achieving a four. He sits back down and waits for something, perhaps the spaceship that will take him home. Finally it registers: I have another test to make. He states that he wants to shoot a gang member. I ask him which one. He asks me to describe them again. I do and he states he wants to shoot the one with the SMG. I ask him how many shots he is firing. He states that he is firing three, which is ok under my rules. I calculate the target number to be a seven and the player informs me he has a smartgun link. I then calculate the target number as being a five and he announces he has a shock pad. I drop the target to a three and he asks why it isn't a two. I give an explanation and we undergo another tedious die rolling procedure. He hits, and hits quite well. I roll the resistance test and make six slashes next to the NPC's name. The player then informs me he is using APDS ammo. I cross out the NPCs name and look to the next player, the decker. Startling him out of near slumber he looks to me and asks how many gang members there are. I go home.


The above is a rather extreme, though not implausible, example of slow game speed. Fast speed is essential if the game is to be anything more than a jerky and tedious string of die rolls with the occasional bit of roleplaying. The following are a few possible ways to speed up your sessions:

1: Have the players sit clockwise from highest to lowest potential initiative. When things start to speed up and you feel like ditching initiative all together it makes jumping from highest to lowest a lot quicker and easier and makes sure you don't accidently let somebody with a maximum possible roll of 11 go more often than somebody with a maximum possible roll of 36.

2: If the player isn't ready with an idea on what they are going to do, basically just sitting there with one of those "uh, whuh?" expressions, then skip over them for the time being. You can always come back to them later when they've made up their mind.

3: The players should be thinking about what they're going to do during their action while other players are preforming theirs. This does not mean the player should ignore everything else that is occurring for the sake of their own contemplation, they should simply divide their attention properly.

4: If a player knows they will be using a certain skill very soon they should have the dice palmed and may sometimes even roll them before they even announce why. If you're playing with untrustworthy players this won't work because their unsuccessful demolitions roll may suddenly turn into their semi successful athletics roll.

5: Don't waste time making idiot die rolls. An idiot die roll is a test which is made even though there is a ninety nine percent chance of a certain outcome, such as somebody without armor getting wasted with a twelve shot assault rifle burst. Just cross out the NPC and get on with the game.

6: Eliminate certain die pools or find alternatives to using them. I speak in particular of the combat pool. Other pools aren't all that hard to deal with, like hacking or rigging, because there is usually only one player using them. But the combat pool slows the game down immensely because everybody has access to one and I've found nobody who can allocate dice quickly enough. The gamemaster should compensate by raising target numbers, giving severely hit characters a "break" from time to time, and by informing players that they should duck more. If a piece of cyberware gives dice to this pool, compensate by raising an attribute or thinking of a new way to utilize such dice.

7: Simplify compound rules. Every once in a while you'll come across a particular action which requires three or four separate rolls to successfully execute. Other than magical drain tests, most of these can be reduced to a simple attack/resist structure. Check out "The Joy Of 4" rules on my page for more information on such a system. Also along these lines is a slowdown attached to the combat pool, namely that screwy "if your combat pool dice exceed the number of successes rolled by the attacker then the attack has missed" or something like that. Teach the players to duck and 86 this rule.

8: The GM, whatever their method of gamemastering, should be able to do it efficiently. If the game is running badly and it's not the players fault then the gamemaster should find a new way of making things work. Beginner GMs will always run into slowdown problems as they adjust to the system. If an experienced gamemaster is having the same problem they should really rethink the way they are running things.

9: If you are a player, GM at least once. If you are a GM, play every once in a while. You'll find that, in each position, there will be particular things your players or your gamemaster are or are not doing that are frustrating to you. I get this feeling a lot when I gamemaster for a lame group of players. I call it the "Do THIS!" phenomena by which the players never seem to do anything fun, spontaneous, or exciting in your world and you wish you could be a player in your own game so you could show the other players the zillions of options available.

11. If you're a player, memorize your character sheet. Know your skills, attributes, and available equipment by heart so you don't have to waste time looking them up.

12. New players, i.e. players who have never used the Shadowrun system before, should be pared with a veteran gamer who knows the rules and can explain them as the game progresses.

13. Know the rules associated with the type of character you are playing. If you're a mage, learn and memorize as many rules as possible associated with being a mage and have any sourcebooks available on that subject by your side.. Same with a decker, rigger, sammy, or anybody. This is definitely something I wish more players would do because, although I've been gamemastering for as long as the game has been around, I am still horrible when it comes to remembering the rules. If somebody announces they're going to conjure a great form force six elemental using all kinds of fetishes and things I will probably have to look the procedure up in one of the rule books to make sure I do it right. If the player knows this procedure, or hands a sourcebook to me they have opened to the correct page, it saves valuable time.

14. And finally, if the roleplaying aspect of the game starts to take off in a situation, ditch the rules for a little while. This takes a lot of self discipline and will not work with Slaughtering Sammy type players who would view this as an excellent opportunity to do evil with out those pesky dice holding him back.

So lets try this again:

I'm working with a new group and announce that a small and violent gang has appeared, describe them and their positions, and announce that it would be best if everybody rolled for initiative. Simultaneously four sets of dice hit the table. Clockwise the results are announced and, as usual, the samurai has priority. I finish rolling my guys' initiative, taking my time as I know none would approach that of the sam's, as the sam announces he is quick drawing his pistol with a shock pad and APDS ammo and firing at the leader. I blurt a target for the quickness test and move onto the decker while the sam rolls his quickness. "I'm outta here." He states and bolts down the street. Back to the sam. "Got it." he states, firearms dice already in hand, "Three shots.". I shout another target number, palm the leader's body dice, and move onto the mage. "I'm gone too." he says and rolls the dice for his personal invisibility spell. Back to the sammy, who announces his successes and the adjusted damage code. I dump the dice for the resistance roll and cross out the NPCs name. It's the sam's action again and he decides to seek cover by ducking behind a dumpster. One of my guys' actions. I notice the rigger is beginning to roleplay the confusion one with a low reaction experiences by darting her eyes around and bolting upright in her chair. My guy simply dives for cover. On to the rigger. "Whut the hell?" She yells and dives for cover. The mage's action again. "Four successes, +8 to perceive me." he announces "Oooh! A wall!" he adds and begins to slink along it toward the gang members positions. Three of my guys' actions. None perceive the mage and I make three quick and futile firearms tests to see if they hit the decker running down the street. Final action, the sam's. "Watch it, flashy!" he warns the mage, and palms a grenade.

Turn over.