[Poindexter]

Anyone ever tried doing a 2 player PbP game? 1 GM, 2 runners, done. It's so hard to find 4-5 runners that are gonna stay active and keep a game going, i thought, what if ya just start a game where its more a partnership than a team? Feels like it could get boring without as many minds in the game. Also could get boring, as with only 2 people, the team will be more limited in the types of jobs it can take.

anyone done this and if so, how did it go?

[martinchaen]

I've never done a Play By Post with only three people, but I have ran and played in Roll20/Skype games with only 2 players and that worked out fine.

As long as the premise is that there are only two people, I think it could work out well. Obviously, such a partnership probably shouldn't be tasked with doing something a full team of 6 might usually be sent after, but with a little clever distribution of roles I can see it working.

You could also have the GM run an NPC or two that's there for flavour and a Deus Ex Machina kinda-deal more than anything else, but that'd mean extra work on the GM of course.

[Koshnek]

Could be something like a pair of KE boys on patrol. They run into some shit. If it gets hairy then they got HTR on the way. Something street level might be good? 

[Triskavanski]

Could be like Army of Two.

With a two man team, it would be important to bend the rules slightly, or overall give less of a challenge compared to a 4-5 man team. Though you've gotta make sure the two players are bestest buds, and neither of them would cause the other to leave, along with the GM. If the OOC connections aren't there, it would be too easy for one player to get up and leave, shattering the game too soon.

[Koshnek]

True... Something prime might be better. A couple of fellows who worked together for a long time. They take any mission they think they can accomplish which is most of them. If Mr GM doesn't mind playin an extra NPC maybe they could merc out expertise if they need it. If neither char is awakened, then they might grab someone to help them recover a magical artifact. Most missions would probably be the two of me though.

[martinchaen]

This would be a great time to break out the High Life rules (p350, AABCC priorities). Two long-time ace runners who can complement each other.

They'd probably both have at least one decent firearms skill, one magic oriented and one tech oriented to cover overlapping fields. One more charismatic to handle the talking, the other more focused on utility skills. Both would likely be able to sneak in somewhere.

Personally, I absolutely think this makes for an interesting game between friends, but I also agree with Trisk in that you'd need players who actually enjoy playing together for it to work.

[Koshnek]

Oooh, that's be cool. Prime and high life? Could make a pretty sweet duo that way. If this makes it past a concept Id definitely like to give it a go. Even if it wasn't prime level.

[Poindexter]

I dunno. I'd almost be tempted to go street level with it. Just you, your guts, and one friend against the whole giant, unforgiving world.

sounds kinda awesome.

[Poindexter]

Know what?
As soon as i get an idea for a setting and story, I'M DOING THIS!

my Old Jack City game is about to go belly up, maybe I'll do it in Jacksonville again. Jacksonville aint underwater or some shit in 2075 is it?

[Koshnek]

Don't know much that isn't in the 5e books, but going by that I don't think so :p. I'll keep an eye on this. I'm lookin for a PbP so I can have some Shadowrun everyday even if it's just a couple posts haha. Waiting til Wed every week is brutal :O.

[Tecumseh]

I've been rolling around a similar idea for a year or two now, but I was thinking one-on-one: a GM plus a PC. It would be more of a "day in the life of" RP experience, focusing as much on the setting itself as the particular job at hand. I am inclined toward a Street Scum setting, rather than a Prime Runner "Rambo vs. Everyone" experience, but that was more a matter of personal preference about which aspects of life in 2075 I wanted to explore in greater detail. The protagonist in question wouldn't need to be a shadowrunner, necessarily; just a chummer or chummette trying to make their way in the giant, unforgiving world, as Poindexter said.

Chemistry between the player and GM would be critical, even more so than it usually is. It would be as much of a collaboration as it would be a traditional game. In fact, in my ultimate vision there would be two games running parallel to each other, and in the second one the GM and the PC would swap roles. This is mostly because I'd also like to play in this arrangement as well as GM it.

[Csjarrat]

Anyone ever tried doing a 2 player PbP game? 1 GM, 2 runners, done. It's so hard to find 4-5 runners that are gonna stay active and keep a game going, i thought, what if ya just start a game where its more a partnership than a team? Feels like it could get boring without as many minds in the game. Also could get boring, as with only 2 people, the team will be more limited in the types of jobs it can take.

anyone done this and if so, how did it go?

"The Old Smoke (london game)" has been running at 2 players for quite a while now, though we did have three to start off with. it works pretty well, but as a GM you have to build missions in such a way that they are achievable for the skillset available, its easy to have them get stumped by too much tech (both are awakened, non-hackers in 4e) but they're pretty good at the sneak in and steal stuff kinda run.
TBH i like this, i find that once a PBP gets to 5 players it reaches a critical mass where it just slows down and dies. no-one wants to make a decision on an action and everything takes months to do.
2 players is slick, streamlined and works well.
I'd probably make a request that one of your 2 members takes at least a bit of tech in their role (at least a couple points in datasearch/computer and a couple ranks of hardware) that way they're not gonna be completely gimped by a basic maglock and you're not having to handwaive too much why places haven't got good physical security in place just so they can complete the run.

[rednblack]

I think a street level campaign could be a lot of fun.  A crew of two against the gangers, the star, and low-level corps.  Sounds like a blast.  I agree with what's been said that the two should complement one another, and it would be best if they had a long-standing relationships as PCs when the campaign gets off the ground.  Hell, a lot of what they're doing might not even be "runs" per se, but two street rats trying to climb the ladder out of the gutter.

[Blazrath]

This honestly sounds like you need a monkey and a metal man.

If anyone knows that reference and where it was used in pre-teen to teenager literature, you get a special cookie.

[Raven Runner]

I'd be stoked to tag in as a player on something like this...I can see there being lots of room for teamwork and character development that I've had a hard time finding in a big group game.

Plot idea: you know when a run goes really REALLY bad and it ends up with you and your buddy hiding in a culvert in a town you've never been to before hoping no one notices that trail of blood?  Well what if the game started there?  People out to get you, your old fixer is pissed and making your home town to hot to handle...there's a lot of ways this could go, but it being very open ended and character driven would work well with only two players...assuming the GM is game to roll with a more open setting.  Kind of like Jason Bourne x2...so double the awesome

That or street level, as other folks have mentioned...but you might need some reason the characters aren't looking for more friends to roll with...