Let's face it, when we all started role-playing killing the bad guys was a pretty high priority on our to do list. We all looked forward to blowing the drek out of the mega-corp goons and using our levitate spells to wreak havoc on the Star's patrol cruisers. As time progressed, on the other hand, it seemed that our efforts turned towards less violent missions. (I could be wrong, maybe you are all still a bunch of combat wombats without a cause, and it's me against the players) Well in the very least, most GMs tire of having their well crafted plots ripped apart at the hands of random blood shed, and turn to more intellectual or grandiose endeavors.
This, however, is where my problem arises. As a GM, I find myself becoming often times appalled by the seemingly stupid amount of killing that goes on during a routine rpg session. All I want is to have one night free of bartenders racked to the torture machines so that the players can extract the location of his secret stash of soy wine. Why is it that with all the "role-playing" goodness that these games tote, every urge that makes its way out of the deepest recesses of our minds comes in the form of beating the hell out of some poor undersized dwarf with a hygiene problem? Sex is another influence, but that's an understandable weakness.
Sure we have all heard rumors about that theatrical role-players who carry on epic quests against all that oppresses metahumanity without laying a finger on their holstered Ares Preds, but who that hell are they and why haven't my Neanderthal players learned how to talk first and blow stuff up latter? Or maybe these elite purists and torch bearers of the new wave in pretending don't actually exist. They are forever confined to the examples-of-play in the optimistic rule book introductions. Either way, I don't get the impression that heavy combat scenes are going to leave the table tops of Shadowrun players, or any other game for that matter, in quite some time.
Speaking from personal experience, of course, I've recently been attempting these myth like, combat free games. In all honesty, I think I got just what I was looking for. Basically, I'm either inept at the whole concept, or my player's boredom started to rub off on me. Their I was blissfully leading them around in a ring of carefully crafted, ugly free, web of intrigue, and all I kept thinking to myself was, "Damn this is hard." So I gave in and had the to previously docile gate guards go loco on the PCs. Sure it was weak minded on my part, and hell it doesn't take much effort to GM a good gun fight, but the effort wasn't without a minute amount of justification. I can't say I was totally surprised, but suddenly my players started to give a drek about what the hell was happening. Sure it could have been that the plot was boring them into submission, but the amount of attention they gave to this particular blood fest, almost made me think that the deprivation was enhancing gameplay. If anyone is looking for a sure way to spruce up a fight, try denying them the satisfaction for a while.
So what is the horrified, and compassionate GM to do. Everywhere we look, killing fake people seems to occupy the past time of humanity. It's in the video games, in the news, and by God it's even in Shadowrun! Well it's with an almost defeated sense of willpower that I proclaim, "Blow the hell out of the corp goons while you still can." It's only a matter of time before the theatrical role-playing mystics invade. And in their wake go the twenty page critical hit tables, and marital art maneuvers that define our generation of glorified pretenders. Satisfy your human instincts now before we are all forced to remember our best sessions in terms of diplomatic court battles and hard won, deeply philosophical/spiritual, struggles.
In the words of my other action movie loving friends, "...and thanks for working in that fight."
I'm not kidding, that's what he told me after my artistic attempts at combat free.
Disclaimer: If I come off as a munchkin, it wouldn't surprise me, I just finished reading, or rather ingesting The Munchkin's Guide to Power Gaming. Fear not, I haven't gone to the dark side as of yet.
