Rob Wilson wrote:Thats an extreme example, as normally the group will sort out the bad apples and force them to temper their anger. But I do like for my players to know there are consequences to their actions.
Extreme indeed, but interesting. I too like to make sure that my players know there are consequences to their actions. As a result, most of the players in my group now carry taser pistols when on-duty, and tend to KO most petty perps rather than shoot them dead.
That said, most people like to play the slightly Chaotic/lawful or Chaotic/unlaw characters as they can have the most fun. The ones that choose and properly roleplay Good/Lawful characters like Paladins and the ultra conservative clerics, amaze me.
It can be done, but it's hard to do and still remain on good terms with the rest of the group, especially since any rogues in the party will invariably try to push relations to the limit or beyond. Hence why I dislike the alignment system in D&D. Too often it provides a crutch that goes beyond giving you an idea of how to play a character and a rigid set of rules that must be followed.
My only Good/lawful character was a Cleric called Deathblossom, and the only way I could do it was by making the whole thing lighthearted - he was a Cleric, that wore a flowing robe, came from distant sunkissed lands and though primarily dealt with healing the party, could get down with his Kung-fu self when needed (hey I was 14, cut me some slack). If I had played him straight I'd i've gone insane, so he spoken only broken Elvish and local standard (his name being an embarrassing mix up when trying to translate his job title - User of herbs to heal the sick - into Elvish), never quite understanding what's going on and trying to heal the injured enemy after kicking them into next week.
Some of the more Po-faced DM's hated him, as he was never serious enough for their games, but fuck them you have to have some fun.
Comedy is a good thing to have in a game, in my opinion. It shouldn't dominate it, but any session or adventure should have some more lighthearted moments, from side-splitting comedy to something that gets a slight chuckle from the group, or even just a knowing smile.
I tend to consider myself reasonably good at improvisation. I don't like making "important" or "key" NPCs prior to a game and forcing the characters to get along with them in order to continue the game. Rather, I don't like doing that exclusively. It's not a bad practice, but it gets old if that is all you rely on. Invariably the characters will get bored of talking to major NPCs. They'll be walking along the street and smile at a random person, or they'll look over someone's shoulder as they are reading a book or working at a computer terminal. Often they'll get interested in the flavor text in some way that you never imagined, and what then? Many GMs I know say "don't bother, it's not worth your time, it's just a random NPC" or something similar. Me, I like to add a little flavor to the world. These are all real people, their lives continue without the players. They have names, families, life stories, friends, and so on. Obviously I'd go completely crazy if I actively thought about every person the players could possibly come into contact with, so instead I wait until the players show me where they are interested. I start with very general things. Name, appearance, a rough personality, occasionally speech patterns (at the very least, I alter my voice in
some fashion for each NPC), job, etc. Then if the players get more interested, I write up a short character sheet for the NPC. Stats, skills, etc. One of my favorite examples of this started when the PCs were chasing after a suspect in the open desert, and screwing up pretty badly. Fortunately for them, they called in for backup, and they had just chased the suspect out of a Military base. Backup came in the form of a Hopper (hover VTOL), which managed to stop the suspect's vehicle rather spectacularly (thanks to some good rolling) with its autocannon. The players immediately took interest in the gunner who pulled off the shot, and so I made a note of it. As the game continued, the gunner would show up here and there when it was appropriate, such as during a weapons test of some military hardware. One of the players was a skilled driver, but not much good at the whole "infantry" thing, so he was given a light tank to drive. Problem: tanks need more than one person to operate. Solution: enter the gunner.
After the weapons test (which naturally turned into a real combat fiasco), one of the players wanted to express his gratitude to the gunner who had saved both of their hides at one point, and a character I had added into the scene as a quasi-humerous in-joke cameo who really did the most to save everyone's asses when the exercise got out of control. So he asked if the gunner had any family (since he had gotten the cameo NPC's family some gifts as well).
Well, sure, I decided. The gunner was married to the pilot of the hopper that had come in that night, and I decided that they had some kids (I forget offhand what the number and genders were). The gunner's name was Leon Detzer, and the pilot's name was Roz Detzer, though for the longest time we just referred to them as "Gunner" and "Pilot".
Now, I like to make my sessions enjoyable. Not all positive, mind you, but I don't like to see my players getting pissed off. When that happens, I try to lighten their spirits some. If they have a problem with a call that I made or something, I like to work it out right there, so that there are no hard feelings. I also don't like bullshitting my players and pulling things out of my ass. I can screw them over quite well enough without having to resort to cheating, thank you. However, at one point during the campaign, I did have to fudge a few things here and there to keep the campaign from coming to a grinding halt (one of the dangers of running any pre-gen adventure or campaign, it seems). In addition to that, one of the players had gotten some absolutely horrendous rolls (fumbling in Silhouette means rolling a one on EVERY die, and the player had used an emergency die in order to help ensure success. He fumbled on 3D6), and was suitably annoyed at having failed to take down the NPC in question before she escaped in their ride.
Then realization struck. They were in the middle of the desert, a heap of rubble behind them, and their only means of transportation long since gone. In addition, that car held the vast majority of the group's weapons, including two character's signature guns. Soon, after hitching a ride back to the arcology thanks to a passing badlands floater, they were busy moping. Not only had they lost their vehicle, which was a serious financial blow in and of itself, but they had lost a significant amount of weaponry as well, which was also expensive. Now, it should be noted that these characters were bounty hunters in the Badlands prior to their contract with the police force of the arcology (they were hired on to help fill out the ranks during a very important conference, where security was being stretched almost to the breaking point). The specifics of the contract were that the individual units (the players were part of a larger bounty hunter organization) were to work together, so since two of the players had valuable social skills and such, the whole group was assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau, or the C.I.B. Essentially, they were detectives. Now, the other two members of the group were more combat-oriented, but they had enough other skills so that they could operate reasonably well in the C.I.B.
I should mention here that it was never my intention to take their weapons and vehicle away from them permenantly. In fact, once they got back to the arcology, they were informed that it had been found and picked up prior to their arrival (it had been abandoned right away by the NPC to avoid detection). So after filling in their superiors as to what had happened, they went down to collect their gear, now in a considerably better mood knowing that at the very least their vehicle was safe, and likely most, if not all of their weapons.
After some routine questions by the guys who had been assigned to check the vehicle for clues and such, the question on all the player's minds was finally addressed.
NPC #1: Okay, that covers the blood on the driver's side, the shattered glass, and the various bullet holes we found. Now, we found something here in the back which we'd like you to take a look at.
Player #1: Sure thing.
NPC #1: (opens up the back, revealing the player's cache of weapons, including some submachine guns, an assault rifle, a high-velocity grenade launcher, around one hundred grenades for said grenade launcher, a custom-made sniper rifle, plus quite a bit of ammunition for all the weapons in question.) Now, does
all of this stuff belong to you guys?
Players: (look at the gear, making sure it's all there, then nod proudly) Yup, that's ours.
NPC #1: Uhh...okay. What department are you guys with again?
Player #1: CIB.
NPC #1: You guys are CIB?!
NPC #2: Ho-lee shit! Hey! You guys hear that? They're with the CIB!
NPC #3: You've got to be kidding! Sweet Prophet!
NPC #1: Damn, they must really be cracking down these days! They're giving out grenade launchers to the
detectives!
NPC #2: What are they giving SWOS*, Main Battle Tanks?!
*Special Weapons Operations Squad (Think SWAT)
My players and I got a good, long laugh out of that, and their moods picked up considerably as a result, and it turned into one of the defining points of the campaign.
Not that it's stopped them from increasing the size of their arsenals, mind you, and frankly, I don't care. If they want to have over a dozen guns and tons of ammo, I let them, so long as they could realistically get them in the game and they pay for them, fine. I limit them in the following ways:
1. They can only carry a certain number of weapons and magazines at any one time. The number is flexible, but beyond a certain point they either run out of pockets/straps/space or they become encumbered. Any additional equipment is carried at the expense of either weapons or ammo.
2. They are cops. Detectives at that. They cannot run around with assault rifles (or even submachineguns) in public unless they have a damn good reason. Hence, the most they carry on them 90% of the time are some handguns, which remain either hidden or holstered the vast majority of the time, plus maybe two reloads on average.
3. Not all problems can be solved through combat. If combat is all you can do, prepare to run into trouble when you can't write that report (they
are cops, after all) or deal with those NPCs.
So far they have been quick studies, and have learned when it is wise to leave the guns at home without any huge hints from the GM, I'm proud to say.
