[Onion Man]

Related to my comment in Pet Peeves, is there such a thing as competitive Shadowrun?

Missions is fun, but hardly competitive or tournament style.  I'm looking for something where poor character design might be a real problem and making bad decisions on a run would have real and lasting consequences, like failing the run.

Does anything like that exist or is that just a pipe dream?

[usefulidiot]

I have never heard of anything like it before and have never even considered the thought of it, but it sounds like it could be very awsome. If it hasn't been done yet +1 for the cool concept.

[Bull]

The closest thing would be the TOurnament at Gen Con.  In that case though each team runs the same group of characters through the same adventure, and each is scored based on Teamwork, Roleplaying, and Creativity.  Rules KNowledge helps with the others, but isn't a huge prereq, and you don't make your own characters, it's all about how you handle the ones you are given.

Bull

[XelosUchiha]

I was thinking it would be fun to run something like the new Sourcebook War! except to have two different teams of shadowrunners, each employed by the opposite side of the battle. One team is trying to, say, assassinate the general and the other team is trying to stop them.

Would be a lot of fun but would require two GMs at two tables who would need some way to communicate back and forth (laptop or something) and the two shadowrun groups would only sit at the same table when they come into direct conflict with each other. Might be something fun to do as a comic shop event or at Gen Con. A little more difficult to get that many people together for weekly/monthly sessions.

[Onion Man]

Good to know, Bull.

I guess I may have to swallow my pride and attend a Gen Con in Indianapolis... under protest and extreme duress of course, but might have to swallow my pride and attend.

[nakano]

Is the prizing for the tourney still 1 year of free product for the winners or has that changed?  It was a great reward for a broke university student back in the early 90s...

[Bull]

It's changed.  It's something different most years...  This year was a black wooden Tanto style sword made by Geek Chic with the Shadowrun S in the Handle, along with a gift certificate for the CGL booth.

What year(s) did you guys play, and which con (We used to do an Origins one as well, but attendance was never great, so we stopped).

Bull

[nakano]

A buddy of mine and I were runners up at Gencon the year before the Big D's election.   

[Bull]

Ahh, cool.  Before my time then. 

*edit* Before I started regularly attending the cons, i should add.  I think my first gen Con was the year after the election, and my first origins was the following year.

[nakano]

Was that the year that the big tourney was the wacky courier road race?Was that the year that the big tourney was the wacky courier road race?

[Bull]

Yeah, the Cannonball Run adventure.  The only year I played in the Tourney (I got drafted to GM the next year), and we took second.  Was fun.

[CanRay]

Was that the year that the big tourney was the wacky courier road race?Was that the year that the big tourney was the wacky courier road race?

Yeah, the Cannonball Run adventure.  The only year I played in the Tourney (I got drafted to GM the next year), and we took second.  Was fun.

Bull, you and me, team up, next year!  I'll pull Nas out, and you can be the Horns!

[BSOD]

You could try having two GMs run groups simultaneously towards the same objective. You'd have to keep a very close eye on 'in game time' to keep the groups in synch, but it could be fun to try. Then  again I've never seen role-playing as a particularly competitive thing, I;ve never won Dungeons and Dragons.

[Onion Man]

You could try having two GMs run groups simultaneously towards the same objective. You'd have to keep a very close eye on 'in game time' to keep the groups in synch, but it could be fun to try. Then  again I've never seen role-playing as a particularly competitive thing, I;ve never won Dungeons and Dragons.

It's a whole different kind of monster.

The way Bull described it, the Shadowrun tourney at Gen Con sounds a lot like the old Judges' Guild Grand Prix events.

[freddieflatline]

You could try having two GMs run groups simultaneously towards the same objective. You'd have to keep a very close eye on 'in game time' to keep the groups in synch, but it could be fun to try. Then  again I've never seen role-playing as a particularly competitive thing, I;ve never won Dungeons and Dragons.

Did that in Cyberpunk once it blew up in our faces.  There are folks who still will not talk to each other in the gaming circles down in the RGV.  Not that it would not be cool just remember that players can get pretty competitive.