Shadowrun Play > Gamemasters' Lounge
GMing the Matrix
JackRackham:
I have been playing ShadowRun for a while, mostly combat oriented characters. I am thinking about running some games, but need some help with some aspects of the rules. Specifically, I have been browsing the rule books for rules concerning the Matrix since this is the least familiar to me.
I see a lot of rules concerning players skills and programs, but I see very little concerning the actual Matrix and how a GM should represent it. Maybe it's there and I am just missing it. Can somebody point out the pages and or sections of the SR4 and Unwired rulebooks I should concentrate on to learn how to run the Matrix for my players?
Doc Chaos:
There are basically none. Which is a grand problem IMHO. There are bits and pieces throughout "Unwired", but it never paints a clear big picture.
Mooncrow:
Honestly, with how the Matrix interactions sync (or rather, don't) with the rest of the group's actions, I tend to keep Matrix descriptions to a bare minimum =/ It kills my roleplaying soul, since there are a lot of cool things I could do with it, but in the name of smooth play, it's just not possible without making everyone else wait.
Jonny Reload:
I dunno, with my groups, I've found Matrix integration to be seamless... WHEN THE PLAYER KNOWS WHAT THEIR DOING!!! Obvious Hackers aren't for new players but if you plan on playing one, you can't half ass it. At the BARE basics of what you need to learn are the dice rolls for gaining entrance into a node undetected and Matrix perception tests. If you don't even understand those 2 fundamental basics, then Hacking is not for you, and you will slow down the game when you decide to try hacking.
When you have a GM as well as a player who know how to use the Matrix rules, if your scene is going on for more then 5 minutes, your either trying to hack an Ultra Violet server or one of you 2 don't know what there doing :D
Best advice I can give you is if you really wanna be able to run the Matrix, ya gotta read (unfortunately) everything. But pg. 224 and 235 are probably where you should start to understand the layout of the Matrix and how players will be using it when your running.
Mooncrow:
--- Quote from: Jonny Reload on ---I dunno, with my groups, I've found Matrix integration to be seamless... WHEN THE PLAYER KNOWS WHAT THEIR DOING!!! Obvious Hackers aren't for new players but if you plan on playing one, you can't half ass it. At the BARE basics of what you need to learn are the dice rolls for gaining entrance into a node undetected and Matrix perception tests. If you don't even understand those 2 fundamental basics, then Hacking is not for you, and you will slow down the game when you decide to try hacking.
When you have a GM as well as a player who know how to use the Matrix rules, if your scene is going on for more then 5 minutes, your either trying to hack an Ultra Violet server or one of you 2 don't know what there doing :D
Best advice I can give you is if you really wanna be able to run the Matrix, ya gotta read (unfortunately) everything. But pg. 224 and 235 are probably where you should start to understand the layout of the Matrix and how players will be using it when your running.
--- End quote ---
How do you handle doing two scene descriptions without slowing down the game overmuch? I'm curious, because I would love to be able to do that. The mechanical parts of the Matrix aren't a problem any more, but trying to do anything beyond a bare minimum description of the node sculpting seems to bring things to a grinding halt.
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