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Any D&D/D20

Shadowrun

World of Darkness

Palladium

Other (feel free to post about it)

[Neonivek]

The issue quickly hit with going directly to sci-fi in dungeons and dragons is typically that Mages take a hit to their effectiveness because now Fighters get laser guns and beam swords.

Often the way they fix that issue is by making the weapons less effective than they should reasonably be...

Which honestly sometimes the best part about playing a setting is taking the whole shebang. If I am playing a Caveman game, then maybe bone isn't a very effective material.

literally the most boring way to handle hacking: spend points to have it happen

I'd rather just cut sessions up, or something along those lines.

This is in the scenario where NO ONE can be a Decker and they have a NPC decker who doesn't directly participate.

Another way, I guess, is to give them a rating and have their actions take turns and require direct input...

[heydude6]

Apologies for derailing the discussion, but I need some advice. On August 5th I plan on running a DnD game with two of my buddies (I'll be GM), and I have no idea what to do. Currently I have an idea of what the quest will be about (it will be about trying to kidnap an exotic beast from an elven wildlife sanctuary to sell it to the circus), but that's it. What else should I have ready?

Yeah, the issue with Shadowrun is the deckers, overall. They fuck with the flow of the game a whole lot.

... I still wanna play it.

I'd almost want to do it by instead giving the PCs "Decker points" that they can spend on hacking of their choice.

literally the most boring way to handle hacking: spend points to have it happen

I'd rather just cut sessions up, or something along those lines.

A common solution is to just have a decker npc, and all the hacking happens off camera.

[Egan_BW]

Why not just let the whole party participate? So when a decker initiates a hack, the whole party gets sucked into cyberspace.

[Teneb]

While I like both fantasy, sci-fi and the science-fantasy a few system got going (namely, Shadowrun), I must say I prefer either the sci-fi or the sci-fantasy ones.

The main beef I have with fantasy settings and rpgs is that most are artificially locked to this "medieval stereotype" tech level. Hell, if you have magic, why not have magic trains instead of everyone walking/riding everywhere? Why not have teleporting stations, if wizards are all over the place? And so on.

Anyway, in a few hours I'm about to start a new Eclipse Phase campaign with my previous group + 1 "new" player (she played back when it was someone else DMing and the game was D&D 5e). Players decided they want to be space pirates instead of having to deal with conspiracies and extinction-level threats, so it'll be interesting. Especially since EP leans heavily toward the hard side of sci-fi.

[Criptfeind]

Why not just let the whole party participate? So when a decker initiates a hack, the whole party gets sucked into cyberspace.

Because no one other then the hacker is going to have the ability to meaningfully contribute in cyberspace. (Heck, for the mage even implanting themselves with the ability to access this stuff is probably going to permanently weaken their ability to do magic.) Stuff happening in the astral world has some of the same issues, in that no one but the mage can normally even do anything there, and if you do suck them in, most of them are going to be worse then useless.

Anyway, the parallel gaming is honestly only one of the issues of shadowrun. To me, the bigger issue is how poorly made the game itself actually is. At least, in 5E (I heard later editions super simplifed it some, which might help this.) but basically the game itself is really poorly made, fiddly, contradictory, and just sorta crap. Cool setting. Awful designers.

The main beef I have with fantasy settings and rpgs is that most are artificially locked to this "medieval stereotype" tech level. Hell, if you have magic, why not have magic trains instead of everyone walking/riding everywhere? Why not have teleporting stations, if wizards are all over the place? And so on.

I sorta like Eberron because this is what it does. I mean, high level magic is specifically rare, so you don't have teleportation being the main mode of travel by any means, but it exists for the very rich and so do magical trains.

[My Name is Immaterial]

New discussion point!

Science-fiction, fantasy, modern, or other?  Possibly even some combination thereof?

I really enjoy both sci-fi and fantasy role-play, though I favor sci-fi in particular.  I love creating new and interesting technologies based on current science, they're still fantastical and off in la-la land, but it feels fun to have it be based on 'real' concepts.

I prefer fantasy for one, cynical reason: out of the three, it's easiest to world build. There's a set formula, with lots of tropes to pull from, and you don't have to deliver on a certain set of authenticity that the others demand. SciFi is more difficult to world build, because you can't just say "Dwarven stronghold here, Elven outpost here, human city here, bbeg here." You need to make alien races, exotic tech, etc. And I find modern settings the hardest, because I have a fetish in my work where I have to be highly accurate or authentic, so I end up struggling with them.

Apologies for derailing the discussion, but I need some advice. On August 5th I plan on running a DnD game with two of my buddies (I'll be GM), and I have no idea what to do. Currently I have an idea of what the quest will be about (it will be about trying to kidnap an exotic beast from an elven wildlife sanctuary to sell it to the circus), but that's it. What else should I have ready?

If none of them speak elvish, then give them the creature's name, but not what it looks like, so they have to do some detective work.
Pull out an old story book, or find a mythology website for some unique monster ideas. I recommend https://abookofcreatures.com
Have some interesting zookeeperesque characters to round it out for interesting NPCs.

[Rolan7]

My current vampire was almost at peak human resilience even when she was human, and now she's a relatively long-lived vampire with supernatural resilience.  But three nurses (quasi-vampire... things) attacked her one round, cutting around her dodge and armor, and nearly took her out of commission in one round.  They weren't even super lucky!  It's just that in such settings, you're expected to avoid getting stabbed with scalpels.

A little more on this...
GM: "3, 2, 3... 8 damage.  ...Real sorry Eleanor, guess you're taking a nap."
Me: "[consider] ...Well, no."
GM: "Oh right, you have resilience activated?"
Me: "I could, sure.  But also I have one left."
Other player who ran a 6 health (1 stamina plus 5 base) character recently:  "Jesus christ"

I had a serious wound penalty, but no.  I built this character to survive, after I lost a character I really liked.
I really like this one too, which works out, because she's a high-ranking manipulator ventrue...  And when things go awry, she still turns out to be tough as all fuck.
(That's something I like about NWoD, it encourages you to spread points a bit.  She has massive stamina, but she's not very strong or dextrous.  She simply continues.)

[heydude6]

Apologies for derailing the discussion, but I need some advice. On August 5th I plan on running a DnD game with two of my buddies (I'll be GM), and I have no idea what to do. Currently I have an idea of what the quest will be about (it will be about trying to kidnap an exotic beast from an elven wildlife sanctuary to sell it to the circus), but that's it. What else should I have ready?

If none of them speak elvish, then give them the creature's name, but not what it looks like, so they have to do some detective work.
Pull out an old story book, or find a mythology website for some unique monster ideas. I recommend https://abookofcreatures.com
Have some interesting zookeeperesque characters to round it out for interesting NPCs.

I should probably clarify, this is my first time ever running a DnD game and I'm super nervous. I've read the rule books but I don't know how to set things up.

[Harry Baldman]

I should probably clarify, this is my first time ever running a DnD game and I'm super nervous. I've read the rule books but I don't know how to set things up.

Have some characters ready to interact with the PCs. Preferably funny and interesting ones to help draw players into the setting. Break out the ragmen, the bearded lady, the circus wizard, the elven poachers (what, you expect a naturally chaotic race to abide by its own rules?), the headman of the nearby hamlet constantly beset by elven fuckery, the traveling druid with a massive snake he'd love to show you. Make the exotic beast intelligent and able to speak (as many magical beasts already can, and others could learn to if, say, the elf elder saw fit to Awaken them), and perhaps an entirely reasonable sort at that not necessarily opposed to being put up for show in a circus (if the PCs are able to explain it to a satisfactory degree, that is), provided you could show it a contract with certain guarantees...

Ultimately the adventure is a way to bring people to A) experience and riff on the fun of the characters and events you bring to the table (this includes your monsters, so make sure to give them character moments as well) as well as B) discover and riff on the fun parts of their own characters in the process. Both components are important. Don't be afraid to throw in an in-joke or two to increase player familiarity with the setting.

As for stats and such, don't worry about it that much. Have them ready for the things you'd expect the players to fight (elves, the exotic beast, fun wildlife, the druid's massive snake, local toughs looking to screw the PCs out of their rightful claim, etc.) and maybe write down the salient bits (attacks, damage, HD, HP, saves and attribute bonuses, noteworthy skills and special abilities) on a card for easy lookup.

Maps you can also draw up on the spot on millimeter paper, especially since there doesn't look to be any kind of dungeon component involved. Towns don't actually need maps (neither really does anything else other than immediate battle maps and dungeons), but work out what they look and feel like in advance. Have a broad attitude, look and feel worked out for the forest as well (dark and foreboding? primordially beautiful? colorful yet horribly dangerous? teeming with bizarre invertebrates? unnaturally sterile and park-esque due to elven forestry?), and for elves if you expect they'll be present.

And, y'know, have the dice in place and a spot to roll them.

Other than that, don't feel pressured to work out too much in advance. Invariably the players will have either a mildly different understanding of the setting and the problem at hand from you, so making too much of a railroad can throw you for a loop.

[Kadzar]

Why not just let the whole party participate? So when a decker initiates a hack, the whole party gets sucked into cyberspace.

Because no one other then the hacker is going to have the ability to meaningfully contribute in cyberspace. (Heck, for the mage even implanting themselves with the ability to access this stuff is probably going to permanently weaken their ability to do magic.) Stuff happening in the astral world has some of the same issues, in that no one but the mage can normally even do anything there, and if you do suck them in, most of them are going to be worse then useless.

Anyway, the parallel gaming is honestly only one of the issues of shadowrun. To me, the bigger issue is how poorly made the game itself actually is. At least, in 5E (I heard later editions super simplifed it some, which might help this.) but basically the game itself is really poorly made, fiddly, contradictory, and just sorta crap. Cool setting. Awful designers.

I'd really love to run or play in a cyberpunk game, especially Shadowrun (currently playing through the recent CRPGs), but the rules for such tend to be overly-complicated, or you otherwise find rules-light games that don't give you enough gear to or anything to be satisfying.

As for the decker problem, one option would be for the decker to have ride-along gear, so other players could operate extra avatars that the decker creates, since cyberpunk usually likes to depict cyberspace as basically a videogame. So they couldn't perform power user functions, but they could help fight defense programs. Also, when not facing significant obstacles, the decker should only need a single roll to affect nearby technology.

[My Name is Immaterial]

I should probably clarify, this is my first time ever running a DnD game and I'm super nervous. I've read the rule books but I don't know how to set things up.

AH.
In that case, here's a barrage of questions:
How many times have you played D&D before? How about the players? Are they novices, or veterans? (Novices need less to be impressed, while veterans love a good curve ball.)
What level are we talking? (Lower levels will be easier, since you don't have to worry about all the spells a wizard could use, but don't offer the mechanical engagement that higher levels offer.)
How long do you want the session to be? (You're looking at about 15~60 minutes per encounter, depending on the difficulty, and the experience of the players. I'd aim for two/three fights: easy, introduction fight, medium difficulty midway fight, and a good climatic 'boss' battle.)

[heydude6]

None, it's going to be everyone's first game. I want to start at level 1 but I can change that if you think it's a good idea (Nobody's starting with magical items though. My players will only be reading the handbook). Session can be as long as it needs to be, I'd say 3-6 hours.

[Teneb]

I though my previous campaign got out of hand. I knew nothing.

My players hijacked a cargo ship, and went to a habitat to fence it. Their attempts to fence devolved into memetic warfare, faking a murder, impersonating the victim, outright terrorism, and planning a coup.

And then I decided, you know what, someone else also is doing a coup. The players decided to do a counter-coup. They failed and escaped, abandoning their attempts at doing a coup for just trying to fence again at a new location.

[KingofstarrySkies]

... Jesus christ

That'd be a great book

[Jimmy]

My players aren't used to conserving their resources after so long without a dungeon crawl. The sorcerer blew her wad early by blasting most of her high level spells at trash mobs at the entrance to a gnoll cave complex. The cleric's just about tapped after resurrecting the player with the most hit points when he died to a crit from a longbow, and they've decided to rest.

In the middle of the dungeon.

Next session's gonna be fun!

(I'm giving them five encounters between rest cycles, whether it's stuff they actively seek or ambush encounters.)

Also, I really wanna run a campaign centred around the players as members  of the city guard. Instead of being murderhobos, they're responsible for protecting the city, investigating crimes, and getting chewed out by their sergeant who's perpetually six months away from retirement. Drag out all the cheesy cop show tropes, but with magic!