[Reaver]

Edge really is a trump card to be played when a character is close to death.... but some players would rather have their character die then burn the edge point for some reason. ...

[Lethal Joke]

Edge really is a trump card to be played when a character is close to death.... but some players would rather have their character die then burn the edge point for some reason. ...

I...have no idea where that comes from. Of course, my players have gone on a total of two runs - the first was a deliberate cakewalk while the second had an extra curveball that they dodged for the most part. Still, there was some concern about the elf hermetic aspected magician taking a near-death amount of abuse after nearly knocking himself unconscious with a high-power spell.

[Reaver]

I don't know either, but I have seen it with more then a dozen players. I don't know if they are trying to buff me, or tried of the character and want something fresh, or what...

It not like I run a slaughter house campaign, (the characters feel the heat they bring down, but I don't sit around and plot their demise...)

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

I've seen this too.  Usually it's a matter of the player - 'I want my character to be ultimate at everything, anything he tries he should succeed at.'  And when the fit hits the shan, and the character is not only in the brown but going down under it for the third and final time, they get all pouty and upset and basically don't wanna play no more.

You shrug and move on - and let them move on, too...

[decPL]

Maybe it's just me being completely new to SR, but either I'm misreading the intention behind burning Edge, or other GMs are much more merciful. Sure, if you burn your Edge, you survive instead of dying, but just barely. Had a similar situation in CP2020 (I was a player in that case) - took a critical pistol shot to the head; the GM decided he doesn't want to kill my character as it was simply a case of essentially 1 dice roll going bad (around our RPG tables we generally try to avoid killing players due to bad dice luck; bad decisions on the other hand ). My friends shot the assaulter (I was actually fired upon without doing anything aggressive towards that particular NPC, the guy was simply paranoid and thought that me politely questioning him was a first step towards murder attempt) and activated the Trauma Team card; I ended up with a full face/skull reconstruction, month of hospital recovery (assisted by some healing nainites/cyberware the docs decided were required to even keep me alive) and a hospital bill worth more than all my possessions put together (this ended up as a plot hook, putting my character on a corp payroll).

So yeah, Edge > Death, but GM >> Edge

[Mirikon]

Honestly? I've never had to rely on Edge to survive combat. Sure, there have been times I got mauled viciously, and times drain knocked me out in the van as we sped away (BTW, the results when you cast Ice Slick in front of the biker gang that is chasing you are HILLARIOUS!), but I've never had to burn Edge to survive. Mainly because I engage in the idea of "don't be stupid", and focus on making characters without major weaknesses. And I make sure I have both ranged and melee options, so that if I need to hide behind cover and shoot, then I can do that. Also, I always carry flash-bang or smoke grenades if I'm able, because they make getting the hell out of dodge much easier.

In other words, follow the old armed forces creed: Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Sure, things will happen that you don't expect. But if you prepare for everything you can, and you're able to adapt to situations as they develop, then you should never NEED to burn Edge. If you're in a position where you have to burn Edge, either you crit glitched your defense roll, and rolled bad on your damage resistance, or you should have gotten the hell out of dodge long before that.

[Elektrycerze3]

Mainly because I engage in the idea of "don't be stupid".

And now I want a phonebook with your autograph =)

[MachineGunBallet]

This kind of discussion goes on with every RPG (Roll Playing Game, not Rocket Propelled Grenade).

I haven't played much Shadowrun yet, but you wanna define the strengths of the fight based on the toughest players, and give the rest something to do.  You don't have to make the fight super tough for all the players at the same time.  Quite the opposite, you may want to leave holes in the opponents defenses that are sufficient for one or two players to shine.  That's not always obvious, but cool when it works.  (Like facing overwhelming force while indoors, but when the players get outside, the Rigger's Drones get to lay down some serious lead.)

One thing that comes from experience is to be careful not to geek the softer characters in the energy given off between the toughest players, and the toughest opponents.

I do like the idea of nonlethal weapons, and drugs to enhance gangs (gang name, "Juicers" cause they are always on something).

Seriously... how can I get drones to drop some supper glue?  Ohhh.... how about a binary chemical.  When activated Chem A leaks all over an area to protect, and Chem B the exists.  When the players are escaping...  step step, stick.