SR5 Not Dead Yet Not Same As SR3 Hand of God

Last night while playing a Shadowrun Missions module for Shadowrun 5th edition our table had the rather exciting situation of two PCs caught within the blast radius of all the grenades on grenade belt exploding. One of the PCs is not the subject of today's entry as will become clear once I finally write the session write-up (from a player perspective). Yeah, a plethora awaits.


See, even though role-playing games allow PCs to withstand powerful attacks like a grenade, several grenades exploding at once is still hazardous for one's health.


Fortunately, the other PC had an Edge rating.


Shadowrun 5th edition allows PCs to burn a point of Edge such that they are not dead yet.


For veteran Shadowrun players such as myself who've played third edition, we automatically think of that edition's hand of god.


Except they aren't quite the same.


Sure, both allow a PC to avoid dying from effect that would otherwise spell instant doom. They work differently.


SR3's Hand of God required a PC to spend a point of Karma available within the Karma Pool and then expend all Karma in order to avoid certain death once. Once and only once would the grim reaper of all shadowrunners hand be stayed. Yours truly, utilized Hand of God when my orc street samurai sustained a deadly wound and was tossed near some alligators. Afterwards, he started from scratch karma-wise thereafter. Good times. Good times.


Meanwhile, SR5's Not Dead Yet meanwhile only allowed the PC caught within the exploding grenade chorus to burn a permanent Edge. The RAW (rules as written) don't specifically state said PC must've had a point of Edge remaining within the Edge pool. Apparently, some of the participants learned that was intended as well (RAI).


Plus unlike my poor Orc Street Samurai, said PC can use Not Dead Yet for the remainder of shadowrunning career as long as the PC never burns all Edge and/or buys a new rating of Edge.


Must confess the last caused some cognitive dissonance on my end. Read the passage over and over again. Had a hard time shaking my confusing it with the old rule. Which is why I have taken it upon myself to blog about confusing old rules with new rules. Years ago, when I had started playing third edition Shadowrun, I corrected some old time players that the rules were different now. Flash forward to now, there's been a couple times I slipped back into third edition. Rules arguments are never fun especially when at the heart of the argument is rules differences between editions.


Another thing that came up in reference to Not Dead Yet and burning Edge was one's total Karma earned would be reduced. Don't know if that's rules confusion ala Hand of God or how Shadowrun Missions wants to record it. Shadowrun already has things such as initiation ordeals that permanently reduce both attributes and attribute limits that don't negatively impact a PC's total karma earned. Furthermore, a PC could very well never have raised Edge. If so, karma was never spent on an attribute point which no longer exists. Perhaps it's for record-keeping and determination of prime runner status purposes. Maybe the RAI meant for character's Street Rep to suffer whenever Edge is burnt?


All matters for further research and discussion.


Thus ends the latest installment of rules differences between editions.


Till Next Time,


Happy Gaming!

Greedo Missing Was Just A Bad Attack Role

Today I came to the realization, which I am sure the webcomic Darths & Droids already has, that Greedo missing Han could have come straight out a table-top RPG session.


What's that? Han shot first? Yes, yes, I know that. I remember watching on a television screen long, long ago and being caught by surprise when Han shot Greedo. I also recall later on but still long, long ago being surprised in local cinema seeing Greedo shooting first. And missing.


Sure, folks were riled caused Han originally shot first. Yes, Greedo shooting first in a fashion nullifies Han's character development from a sketchy rogue to a good guy. Eh, maybe. Let's be honest, everyone was like 'how did Greedo miss?! Han was right there! What was Lucas thinking?'


Okay, while I doubt Lucas has played, but any table-top role-player has been there before. Missing the target one would think impossible to miss.


Had such an experience myself this past Monday playing an Adventurers League event via D&D 5E. Both my PC and another PC probably spent one or two rounds attacking a door. And missing.


Now D&D 5E uses pre-3E notions that a to-hit role isn't just to-hit. It's to-hit and do damage. Our attacks may very well have been hitting. They just weren't effective enough to deal damage.


Third Edition/Pathfinder may have set the DC to hit at 10. There's a good chance your missing; and third had contact rules.


As does Shadowrun and old WOD. Don't score a success and you miss. Speaking of old WoD, or at least old MET Laws of (splat), I lost track of the number of times there were simple tasks failing because the storyteller went 'nah throw me chops.' Since a PC is firing a weapon, many GMs would feel justified even as something as simple as door. Same applies toward a sitting individual.


Heck, it's 2017. Thirty years of the West End Games Star Wars RPG. The WEG Star Wars game codified much of present day Star Wars lore. Using those rules as an example, there's two ways Greedo missed both involving the wild die. If you rolled a one, two things could happen. One, you subtract the wild die and the die with highest result from your total. If Greedo's player rolled low enough without those two die results included within the total such that the target number wasn't reached, failure.


The other possibility of a one on the wild die is you fail spectacular fashion. Missing someone sitting across from you would count as failing spectacularly. If WEG hadn't predated the Special Editions by a decade, I would say Greedo missing inspired the wild die...


Also, practically every table-top RPG has rules for critically missing where an attack automatically fails.


So there you have it. Greedo missing Han from across the table was just a bad roll. Rather surprised it took me so long to think of this...


Next Time.

Stranger Things, Adventurers League, and New Players

Recently, I discovered the joy of the Netflix series, Stranger Things. In addition to being an eighties movie pastiche, Stranger Things is celebration of 80's pop culture, fads, and trends. Among them is a game of particular fondness of this blog, Dungeons & Dragons. While I am not quite old enough to have played the Red Box bought from a toy store, I am old enough to have seen the advertisements. As I lamented previously, I don't recall ever seeing any of those D&D games in stores although I kind of looked...


Trip down memory lane over. Back on topic. Anyway the kid group plays D&D, which winds up playing a major role in Stranger Things. I may quibble about accuracy; but how consistently were the rules played from group to group back in those days. Especially among kids. I mean look at Monopoly. How many people actually read those rules? May not have had the disdain I held against board games for as long as I did if we had... In any case, the Dungeons & Dragons play in Stranger Things does reflect play accurately among kids of that age group. Whatever that age group is as I am not sure how old they actually are...


As an aside, the Upside-Down is a smashingly great idea that WotC should capitalize on. Sure, there's echoes of it here and there but it was never a cornerstone of any D&D game I ever participated in. When the 'Demogorgon' hops from plane to plane is very reminiscent of monsters travelling to and from the Ethereal Plane. Sure, there's the Plane of Shadow but that didn't really become into its own until 4th Edition. The Upside-Down could serve as fodder for really nasty Umbral realm or a post-apocalypse Penumbra in World of Darkness games.


So watching Stranger Things does really inspire me to play D&D. Particularly simpler D&D. Since there isn't any nearby OD&D, B/X, BECMI, or retro clone games occurring in the area, fifth edition is probably as close as I'll get. Wouldn't you know my local FLGCS runs Adventurers League games.


Recently I sat at an Adventurers League table hosted by my FLGCS and other than the adults, such as myself, playing and DMing I'd swear it was like watching the cast of Stranger Things (okay maybe younger...) game! There was same intense passion, excitement, and energy. Tactical combat? We don't need no stinking tactical combat was the mantra. Combat happened. They went full bore. In short, the one encounter adventuring day.


Adventurers League doesn't do the one encounter day. AL doesn't do 'OMG it's Demogorgon!' day. It does three encounters although the final encounter does include a boss like 'Demogorgon', ie Big Bad. Adventurers League is designed for the convention audience in mind. The serious player who wants to be challenged each encounter until final battle when they just have their weapons and cantrips against the Big Bad.


Except unlike the days of the RPGA, AL mods can be run at home or at game stores. Unlike the days of Red Box or pre-4th edition D&D (although 4th wasn't that expensive), I can't imagine young players as young or younger than the Stranger Things group plunking down $150 for the core set to play D&D. So they aren't going to play at home. They will probably play at a store. So instead of gaming among each other they'll be gaming with teens and adults. Participating in D&D play that doesn't necessarily fit their natural 'all spells at once' style.


Don't get me wrong that can be fun for a 2 hour 1 - 4 level mod that doesn't follow the typical mode of tough, tough, very tough with maybe a short rest allowed in between. Otherwise, it falls on the adults to shoulder the way through the mod while ensuring the new, young players have fun. Which is all fun and games until an adult's PC dies. Character death is one thing but no one wants to cycle through characters when they otherwise wouldn't.


Yet there's gold in them hills. Stranger Things does and has inspired a new crop of young players to try a game beloved to many gamers, Dungeons & Dragons. Adventurers League at FLCGS serve as the vehicle to try the hobby that it table-top role-playing. It would be folly not to compose modules suited to those young players play style. If not one 'Demogorgon!' encounter, but a trio of meh, meh, 'Oh, no the 'Demogorgon'! Furthermore, such a style reflects D&D's natural play style. It was only when I started playing organized play game did I encounter the tough, tough, and tough style of module. Gaming sessions wavered from the trivial to the epic. Not only would younger, newer players enjoy that style, more experienced, older players would as well.


I know I would.


So here's a call for some simpler two hour and four hour modules that new, young and older, experienced  players who just want to emulate the D&D we see in Stranger Things courtesy of Adventurers League.


Next Time,


Happy Gaming