Re: [BNW] New Guide looking for some help

[Bob Fletcher <bobfletch@erols.com>]

Steve Crow wrote:

    Thanks for the input, I've made some comments below.

> Determine how much combat you want.  What PCs do you have that are
> "combatants"?  Which ones aren't (Healer, Sneak, Genius)?  What are the
> latter going to do during combat?  Keep in mind that combat is _very_ fatal
> due to the open-ended nature of damage die-rolling and the fact that
> Strength is what keeps you alive (particularly for non-combatants).  Take
> damage equal to twice your Strength to a location, and a PC is DOA ASAP.

     I believe in a healthy dose of combat several times during a session, but I
expect my players to do some investigative work as well and at least try to talk
their way out of some situations.  I'm not worried about the lethality, I
usually modify my dice rolls to suit my cinematic tastes, almost always in the
player's favor.  In other words, I don't have much interest in killing their
characters (unless they don't give me any other choice), but I don't mind
seriously bloodying their noses. ;-)

> _Are_ your PCs going to be Defiance members?  Are they going to start as
> Defiance members or are you going to introduce them slowly?  What if they
> don't _want_ to be Defiance members?  What if they want to be Registered, or
> Triumph Inc. employees, or even *gasp* Delta Primers?  (The Ripper
> mini-adventure assumes you're characters, even the Delta Primers, or
> pro-Defiance, perhaps unreasonable lengths.)

    From what I've gathered from the group make-up (a Bouncer, Tough, Teleporter
and Telekinetic, by the way), I don't think they'll have any group affiliations
at the start of the game.  I'm starting them off in New York, and they won't
know each other.  Whether they go with the Defiance or Triumph or whatever is
their call.  As near as I know, they'll all be unregistered, so "legal"
affiliations are unlikely to exist in the beginning or develop during the game.

> Have plenty of different delta NPCs on hand. Either that, or folks or going
> to get kinda bored fighting Generic Blaster for the 12th time.

    I have kind of worried about this a bit.  I don't mind the power packages
from a character development point of view, but I am worried about the variety
of bad guy deltas I'll be able to throw at them.  But, hey, it's my job to be
creative.  I'll work it out.

> Try to give the opposition a face.  Who is the Delta Primer leading the
> efforts to track down the PCs?  Who is the head of the mob that they will be
> most often opposing?

    That's no problem.  I _love_ recurring bad guys. <evil grin>

> Keep in mind that (unless they're "approved" Deltas), public fighting will
> draw attention.  Private fighting will often draw attention.  Unless you're
> going to revert to "You hear sirens in the distance," ad nausem, be prepared
> to deal with the consequences of such public brawling.

    I expect that to be a bit less of a problem in New York, what with it being
the next thing to a demilitarized zone, but there will definitely be
consequences to prolonged battles or public displays of their powers.
--
Bob Fletcher
bobfletch@erols.com

Elder Gods, Shmelder Gods.  Who believes in that baloney, anyway?
Hastur, Hastur, Hastur.  See, nothing hap-