Character Survival Techniques

Version 1.3 (Compiled by Willem van Driel)

 

Subject: The List of Character Survival Techniques V1.3 [LONG]

From: Willem van Driel <jvandriel@wxs.nlREMOVE2REPLY>

Date: 1999/10/23

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.cyber,rec.games.frp.dnd,rec.games.frp.gurps,rec.games.frp.misc

The List of Character Survival Techniques V1.3

 

This is the list so far (last updated October 10th 1999). It contains

advice for both low-tech and hi-tech games. It may sometimes seem a bit

incongruous, with AD&D stuff right next to something directly from a

cyberpunk game, but all in all I think the point usually comes across.

Anyway, I've tried to keep the advice general enough to be of use in a

wide range of games. I've also tried to keep it practical and to avoid

such advice as 'don't get shot' or 'don't mess with dragons'. (Heaven

help you if you needed to be told those things :-)

 

The most recent version of this list can be found on my website at

http://home.wxs.nl/~jvdriel. For those of you who wish to put the list

on your own website, that's fine by me as long as: a. it's not done for

profit and b. the contents aren't altered. If you let me know that

you've put the list on your site, I'll make sure you automatically get

any new versions.

 

Finally, I'd like to give a warm thanks to everyone who sent in their

advice and comments. This list wouldn't have been possible without you.

 

Willem van Driel <jvandriel@wxs.nl>

 

[Note: * indicates new or revised entries.]

 

---INDEX---

 

Equipment.

Combat.

Character creation.

Negotiations.

Extreme environments.

General advice and strategy.

 

---EQUIPMENT---

 

1. The 10 ft pole (Thaddeus Moore)

As in the expression "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole!" Well

I guess u could carry a larger one. In a party I once played with the

thief carried a collapsible 10 ft pole, made of sections with treaded

ends so they could be screwed together. I think he also had some kind of

pulley operated claw at the end. For picking things up, very useful for

detecting trip wires and pulling suspicious levers too.

 

2. Bandages (Lloyd Revious)

Bandages are a must!!! Unless your DM just kills you and doesn't do

unconsciousness or bleeding to death.

 

3. Chalk

A good way to keep from getting lost in dungeons and mazes. When you

leave a mark, add a small, hardly noticeable detail so that you'll be

able to tell if someone has messed around with your signs.

 

4. Crowbar

At least one person in the group should carry one. That way, you won't

have to start using Excalibur to pry open a wooden chest or door. In an

emergency, a crowbar will also serve as a weapon.

 

5. Lightsources

Always carry torches, a flashlight or some other form of illumination. A

coin with continual light cast on it is popular in many AD&D campaigns,

though you shouldn't neglect to bring some ordinary lightsources with

you as well. Otherwise a simple dispel magic could leave you groping in

the dark. A burning torch can also be useful as a weapon, especially

against animals and regenerating monsters.

 

6. Straps (Lloyd Revious)

String or leather tie straps are almost as useful as rope. Then you

don't have to cut up your much needed climbing rope to tie up a prisoner

(or whatever).

 

7. Piano Wire (Thaddeus Moore)

Thin very strong (metal?) wire, can be used to bind things together or

for trip wires. Use in conjunction with spikes and drive them in at

various heights. While traveling through a dimly lit corridor the group

came to a wooden door. They listen and heard orcish voices on the other

side. So they doused all the torches on the walls. And set up piano wire

at head level by driving spikes into the wall and fastening the wire to

them. Then the group's fastest runner opened the door, taunted the orcs

and took off down the hall. The party had notched the wall where the

wire was. And the runner was able to duck and keep running. While the

orcs got some nasty headaches.

 

8. Firestarters

Fire is one of the most useful things there is. It can be used for

illumination, warmth and destruction. You should always carry the means

for making fire, whether it's old-fashioned flint and steel or a

zippo-lighter.

 

9. The small mirror on a stick

Ideal for looking around corners. Also useful if you're being shot at

and don't want to stick you're head out of cover. (Believe me, taking a

quick peek only works in the movies. In real life (well, real

role-playing), a quick peek isn't enough to give you any useful

information but it's certainly enough for a sharpshooter to add a third

eye).

 

10. Rope (The Wizard)

Rope, you can never have enough, every PC should carry some, and at

least one PC should have a grapple hook. Try to get silk rope, lighter

and stronger.

 

11. Wooden wedges

Shoving a wedge under a door is a much quicker way of blocking it than

by piling up furniture (of course, you should always make sure the door

opens in the right direction). Alternatively, a wedge can keep doors

from closing behind you (secret doors tend to have this nasty tendency).

 

12. Fire extinguisher (Boltcutter)

[Shadowrun] Keep a fire extinguisher by the bedside; ritual magic's

payback, and payback's a bitch.

 

13. Missile weapons

Always carry a missile weapon with you, even if it's only a couple of

darts or a small pistol and even if you don't have the relevant skill.

If an enemy is coming at you from a distance, a missile weapon basically

means you get some free attacks. Also, there will be times when a gun or

bow is simply the only way you can reach the enemy. Besides, a missile

weapon can be very useful for intimidation purposes.

 

14a. ID (Craig L Wigda)

Always have a spare "fake" ID handy (several if you can get them). Have

"real" or "false" permits for your gear (cyberware or weapons, or any

other restricted items).

 

14b. ID (Blank Dave)

Don't forget a badly faded piece of ID. Man I can't believe Superman

believed me when I said my union card was a Cross Dimensional

Immigration Authority card.

 

15. Fake plates (Craig L Wigda)

Have at least two other sets of license plates made up for your vehicle

that match a "legally" registered vehicle of the same make and model

(having the fake ID to go with the plates is also needed, just for your

common traffic offenses).

 

16. Smoke grenades

When pinned down by enemy fire, a well-placed smoke grenade might be

your only way out. My own group got stuck in a building once. We were

completely surrounded by snipers and getting to the nearest neighboring

building meant having to run across a lot of open ground. I would have

given a lot to have had some smoke-grenades back then.

 

17. Stethoscope

Useful for finding out if there's anybody on the other side of a door,

or for listening in on conversations in the room next-door.

 

18. Pistols and knives (Blank Dave)

Pack a pistol and a knife (both are easy to hide, cheap to lose, and are

like brains (everyone's got one, but few use them). They will go

unnoticed, and if not they probably won't draw much attention, unlike

monoswords and assault shotguns. Neither might pack much kick, but their

general utility level makes up for that.)

 

19. Nasties (Lloyd Revious)

One thing I also like to do <...> is add some nasties. Like say

caltrops, snap traps, dog pepper, or anything else your devious heart

desires.

 

20. Stun weapons

Carry some sort of stun weapon (tasers, darts coated with sleeping

poison, etc.) in case you need to capture someone unharmed (for example:

a partymember who has been possessed or has gone berserk). You might

even want to consider making a stun weapon your primary weapon of

choice. People who don't leave trails of corpses behind usually get less

hassle from the law. You also run less risk of being hunted down by the

familymembers or friends of your victims (a lot of action movies are

based on that concept and who knows where your gamemaster gets his or

her ideas).

 

21. Protective clothing

You never know what you're going to have to touch or walk on, so a pair

of heavy gloves and strong boots should definitely be part of your

inventory. Players in a more futuristic setting might want to carry some

gloves and boots capable of withstanding toxic waste. If you've got the

money and vehicle-space, bring along an entire environment-suit.

 

22a. Paper and pen (Klaus AE. Mogensen)

Useful for drawing maps, writing messages, doing calculations, drawing

portraits ("Have you seen this man?"). The paper can also be used as

kindling, to wrap things, and as a fan.

 

22b. Paper and pen (bardic_delusions@my-dejanews.com)

Also the paper can be waved in front of a guard while stating "Important

message for your boss" as you stroll past. As long as they don't get to

read your laundry list you may get by. In a similar vein you can walk

around ostentatiously taking notes and asking questions and people may

assume you belong.

 

23. Sticky stuff (Darkwalker)

I would also add Duct Tape and Super Glue to the list. I've found

endless uses for them.

 

* 24. Explosives

If you can get away with it, carry some explosives (preferably in a nice

shock/fire/waterproof box :-). You don't need to carry many, just have a

few handy to bail you out of difficult situations. An explosive can

open/create doors, take out that armored vehicle/creature that's

impervious to your bullets, provide a diversion, etc. Most grenades can

also be made into booby traps.

 

* 25. Hooks and whistles (Matt "Dirty A Sid" Johnston)

A note about preparation; five words for you: Fish hooks and signal

whistles. Oh yeah, don't forget the string. Can you imagine dropping

Nystuls Magic Medallion of Unending World Peace down the sewer grate,

just as the bad guy with Tensers Magic Medallion of World Destruction,

is about to tear your world apart? Is your thief really going to be

strong enough to tear that grate from the ground? Hope your DM thinks

so. What about that time you tried to get your friends attention before

they mistakenly gutted the runaway prince in disguise, during the heat

of battle, with swords clanging on shields all around? Bet he bit it

didn't he?

 

---COMBAT---

 

1. Standard operating procedure (Thomas R Nelson)

Have an S.O.P. for battles, i.e., these guys in front/left/middle/

right, and these guys in back, clerics casting this and this, and mages

casting this and this. There aren't that many different situations

you'll encounter. When you're under attack, if you ALWAYS set up the

same way for the fight, then you'll get quicker at it and not only will

the players react better as a team, but also it can make a difference

whether you spend a round coordinating or can get set quickly. i.e., we

spent two rounds deciding who does what and in the meantime, the monster

was able to close on our mage; or the fighter went to close with the

monster, but the mage was casting a lightning bolt at him, so the

fighter moved into the path of the bolt and...

 

2. Keywords/phrases (Bardic_Delusions@my-dejanews.com)

In certain circumstances a character yelling one word or phrase could

make everyone do "the right thing". Little things like "double team

right" might mean the mage and right fighter are to combine on the right

side enemy. Customize the concept to your team and abilities.

 

3a. Concentrating attacks (Sean Emmott)

Concentrate as many attacks as possible on one opponent: the quicker one

is killed, the sooner there's one less attack on your group.

 

3b. Concentrating attacks (Klaus AE. Mogensen)

While this may be true in AD&D, it's not necessarily true in games where

damage impairs the ability to fight. In HERO or Rolemaster (for

instance), if all PCs attack different opponents in the first round,

they may be able to stun them, so they can't hit back. In Rolemaster,

HarnMaster, Storyteller and other games to numerous to mention, damaged

characters get combat penalties, so even if they aren't stunned, they

are unlikely to hit you. In many games with reasonable combat rules, the

best mass combat tactic is to let the poor fighters perform holding

actions (parry for all they're worth) while the good fighters finish off

_their_ opponents.

 

4. To fight or not to fight... (D.G. Larush)

Know when NOT to fight- A thief or mage who is out of spells is NOT

useless in a fight as long as you realize that you can be valuable while

not fighting. Reining up the horses, pulling wounded party members out

of combat, throwing burning oil. These can all aid the party without

placing a wounded or otherwise non-battle ready party member in

jeopardy.

 

5. Evil altars (Boltcutter)

Don't leap on the, actively used, altar to the Evil God to get a better

swing at someone.

 

6. Surrendering (D.G. Larush)

Surrender IS an option- I almost lost a character once because I got too

"heroic" and never even considered paying off highwaymen as an option.

Learn to recognize when the DM is hinting that you're outnumbered (forty

of the king's archers with arrows nocked is a good sign), and learn to

be able to eat crow and surrender when appropriate. A good DM will never

let your characters rot in jail forever, but will use it to further the

plot. What do you think thieves are for?

 

7. Cover

Use cover if any is available. Anyone who needlessly stands out in the

open during a firefight deserves every bullet he gets. Remember that

cover can sometimes be shot _through_ (not even stone walls can always

provide safety), so try to never give away your exact location.

 

8. Melee against groups

When fighting against a large group in melee combat, always place your

back against a wall or another large object so you can't be attacked

from behind. Even better, try fighting from an enclosed space such as a

doorway or a narrow pass. That way, even less enemies can get at you

and, more importantly, you still have the option of retreat. If you

yourself have the advantage of numbers, then be sure to use it. Surround

your enemy so there's always someone who can attack from the rear, try

to catch the opponent in a cross-fire, etc.

 

9. Pursuit

If you have an advantageous position, the enemy might try to lure you

out of it by retreating. If you were winning before the withdrawal,

you'll probably feel a strong urge to pursue and continue the fight.

Only do this if you're sure the enemy is truly broken and disorganized.

 

* 10. Shield-wall (Phil Hendry)

Assuming a dungeon setting... When meeting an opposing group in a

corridor, any fight which ensues is almost bound to be 'fair'- i.e. one

on one, two on two etc. The odds can easily be weighted in the party's

favour if the party is prepared to retreat to the last chamber they were

in, then by clustering around the doorway inside the room, they can get

maybe as many as three on one. This works best if the room is off the

side of the corridor, rather than at an end- otherwise the opposition

can 'charge' down the corridor and break through the 'shield-wall' in

the room, negating any advantage.

 

---CHARACTER CREATION---

 

1. Spell selection

When choosing your spells (or mutations or psionic powers or whatever)

make sure the spell isn't superfluous. A lot of spell effects can be

achieved just as well by having the right equipment or by the skills of

your fellow partymembers. For instance, if you're a low-level mage and

have several warriors in your party, go light on the combat spells. Most

of the time, the damage you can do with them is negligible compared to

what the fighters will dish out. Pick something more useful instead.

 

2a. Skills

With all the combat skills to pick from, it's often easy to overlook the

more unobtrusive ones. Don't forget skills like swimming, riding (or

driving) and reading/writing.

 

2b. Skills (Blank Dave)

Always have a medical skill, First aid will do (if only one person has

such skills, you can be almost guaranteed he'll be the first one in need

of those skills when the fighting breaks out).

Always have some form of combat skill (a fight will always break out,

being able to defend yourself is a must. Even non combat oriented games

will usually have a physical fight somewhere).

 

3. Group input (Blank Dave)

As a group make your characters as a group. Too often the characters are

independently made. This results in holes in the group. By making

characters as a group, it is possible to provide a better width and

depth to the group. Think what happened when no one made a cleric or

magic user.

 

4. Powerlevel

Strange as it may seem, sometimes your odds are better if you don't try

to create an all-powerful character. There are several reasons for this:

 

a. GM compensation. It's a gamemaster's job to provide the players with

a challenge. If you create characters capable of taking on a tank, then

tanks are what you'll get.

b. Overconfidence. Powerful characters usually wade into combat without

even considering if there's another way of dealing with the situation.

But combat can be deadly no matter how strong you are.

c. Lack of character attachment. Powerful characters rarely have

interesting non-combat skills or equipment, because the player spent all

his resources on boosting fire-power. The end result is usually a combat

machine with about as much originality as the average toaster. Because

of this, the player tends to care much less about keeping the character

alive.

If you're used to playing terminator-type characters, it can be quite

difficult to make a change. Power gamers usually shudder at the thought

of not maxing out a combat skill, and start sweating at the idea of

actually spending some points on charisma or social skills. The best

advice I can give is this: when creating a character, choose the one

thing that most defines the character. This could be anything. Perhaps

your character is a thief with a love for climbing. Or perhaps she grew

up near the ocean and loves ships. Or tends to be very curious. Or wants

desperately to be a part some social group. Or has a drug problem that

he's trying to beat. Or wants to be the first mage to perfect the

growing (and domestication) of really big carnivorous plants. Once you

establish the core concept, the rest of the character usually comes

naturally and you'll feel much less inclined to spend all your character

resources on combat.

 

5. Be interesting (Xiphias Gladius)

I have had at least one GM change a die roll so that I didn't die, just

because he liked my character. In my experience, GMs are much more

willing to let boring characters poorly played die, while they will go

out of their way to find some way of keeping favorite fun characters

alive.

 

---NEGOTIATIONS---

 

1. Basics

Never let on how badly you need the other parties help. And always be

sure to let your most charismatic/silvertongued partymember do the

talking.

 

2. Talking is an option (ChAoS)

One overlooked survival technique is to talk. Many people die because

they attack the too tough for them creature because "it's there" or

"it's evil". But kings have armies, some monsters gate in help (some

fiends gated help can also gate), and sometimes you just aren't tough

enough. But talking may give you a chance to deal with the enemy, get an

idea of its plans, find a weakness, or deal with the villain while

others sneak by to complete the mission. Perhaps he'd GIVE you the goal

of the quest if you do something for him. <...> As usual talking

requires judgement but may save you a painful death.

 

3. Truth (D.G. Larush)

Never assume the other guy is telling the truth. All too often I've seen

PC's take the word of any NPC as gospel truth, even if the NPC has

obvious reasons to lie (i.e. is having the crap beat out of him by the

PC's).

 

4. Motivations (D.G. Larush)

Always keep the other guy's motivations in mind. The key to negotiation

is figuring out what the other guy wants. Is the other guy a mercenary?

Offer double what the other guy's paying. Is the other guy a Techie? How

about some flashy tech? Is he a religious devotee? Hope you know enough

about theology to convince him that you're in the right.

 

5a. Lying (Ryan Mark Vurlicer)

Don't lie unless you need to. I've seen many PCs who ended up as

pathological liars when talking with NPCs, when there was no known

reason to lie. Often, the NPCs eventually found out they were being lied

to. This does not make for successful negotiations.

 

5b. Lying (Jim Davies)

And when you do lie, make absolutely sure that you know what you said.

Lies are harder to remember. It's often a good idea to make sure that

the GM remembers it as well, so that you can at least agree on

something.

 

6. Losing face

When you've got your opponent over a barrel, make sure he knows it but

be careful not to rub his nose in it too much. If you do, he might

decide to refuse your demands, regardless of the consequences. There are

people who would rather die than be extorted/humiliated, especially by

someone they don't respect, so loss of face should be kept to a minimum.

Staying polite helps. And occasionally you might want to consider giving

up something relatively invaluable, so your opponent has something to

show his own people that can be interpreted as a victory.

 

7. Ask for the moon (bill.dowling@ibm.net)

Don't be afraid to ask for the moon. The other party may have no use for

it.

 

---EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS---

 

* 1. Jungle: machetes (Vos MC)

<...> you want to take machetes with you when you're traveling through

the jungle, as our group recently found out. Short swords get real thin

when you use them like that.

 

* 2. Jungle: transport (Vos MC)

Also, horses aren't a very good form of transport in the jungle, and

horsemeat gets a bit boring after a couple of weeks. (That must have

been the third batch of horses we went through. And the first of the 4th

batch died recently too. (Never charge unknown creatures that are slow

enough to run away from.))

 

* 3. Jungle (Vos MC)

Bring something waterproof to keep your maps and other papery stuff in.

 

* 4. Space: vacuum-suit

NEVER, EVER go on a space-journey without a vacuum-suit. Somewhere along

the line, your ship *will* get a hull breach. (They always do. Sigh.)

Keep the suit handy and know how to use it. If you haven't got an

appropriate skill, then at least train until you're able to:

a. get into and out of it without too much delay.

b. seal the suit and activate life-support.

c. seal ruptures.

 

* 5. Stuff to bring along (Pieter)

Jungle: insect net, poison antidote, machete, portable boat.

Desert: water, white clothing, water, compass, water, camels and water,

warm clothes (it gets COLD at night), water.

Arctic: black goggles (to prevent snowblindedness), rope to tie each

other together to avoid snow-filled chasms, knowledge of how to build an

iglo, really warm clothes, ice pick, crampons.

Space: well, gee, a space suit; comm gear; navigational stuff, spare

fuel, space suit repair kit.

 

---GENERAL ADVICE AND STRATEGY---

 

1. Keeping your Polish minedetector alive

When exploring a dungeon with a lot of traps, the person who walks point

basically acts as a Polish minedetector. Needless to say that this

person should have a lot of hitpoints/dexterity/good saving throws/luck.

Since a lot of traps are of the pitfall variety, the pointman should

always hold on to a rope that is also being held by the other

partymembers. That way, if the floor collapses beneath him, he won't

immediately be turned into hero-kebab on the spikes that traditionally

line the floor of any self-respecting pitfall.

 

2. Marching orders

Several people have remarked to me about the importance of this. Though

the actual marching orders will vary depending on the party in question,

the general order usually resembles something like this:

Point: any character with stealth.

Front: warriors, preferably with distance weapons available.

Middle: vulnerable characters.

Rear: warriors again or other characters with at least a little bit of

combat power.

 

3. Splitting up the party

Never. Ever. No matter how good an idea it may seem at the time.

Remember that 'divide and conquer' works just as well for the enemy. If

you are, by some act of God, forced to split up, then at least agree on

a rendezvous-point and time and also on a recognition sign or password

(shapeshifters can be a real pain in the butt).

 

4. The Law (Dave Brohman)

Use the proper authorities whenever possible. The cops are a lot less

likely to think you are a crook when they see you show up every three

month bright and chipper to renew your e25 monoknife carry permit. This

came up in our game just last week. Someone broke into my apt. And tried

to access my computer for incriminating information. We caught her and

she though she had me over a barrel. She knew from her source that I

wasn't going to kill her so she was all smug. So I picked up the phone

and dialed 911. Everyone's jaw dropped. No one, ref included, had

thought of that. Remember, 'punks straddle the line. Just cos they

spend a lot of time on the wrong side doesn't meant they have to stay

there.

 

5a. Public transport (Dave Brohman)

Use the subway. Everyone keeps suggesting that making a getaway on

public transport is a bad thing. Not so. A subway is a really good place

to get lost in the crowd. Plus, they can't run your plates or I.D. your

vehicle.

Guard: "They got away sir."

Boss: "What did their vehicle look like?"

Guard: "About 40 feet long, seats 60, 'Night City Transit Authority'

written on the side..."

 

* 5b. Public transport (Dragonscroll)

A corollary to this advice. Do not attempt to flee from the police or

the Transit Authority via public transportation. They both have the

ability to stop the subway car/bus/rickshaw you are on and come to get

you.

 

6a. Low profile

When your on a mission or if you've got something to hide (like having a

body in the trunk of your car), don't do something stupid like speeding

or driving under the influence. Even if you get off with only a ticket,

that ticket might be enough to connect you to the crime. Also, don't get

into fights and when a cop/guardsman tells you to do something, say "yes

sir" and play the concerned citizen. Don't overdo it though. An overly

helpful person gets remembered as much as a troublemaker.

 

6b. Low profile (Craig L Wigda)

If you have expensive/military/or hard to get gear, do not flash it

around. People would just love to take things away from you if they can.

 

7. Bugs (Craig L Wigda)

Always check provided gear/safe houses for bugs.

 

8. Shooting cops (Blank Dave)

Don't shoot at the police (it makes them mad, and this point can never

be overstated enough).

 

9. Keywords/phrases

These were already mentioned in the combat section but they can also be

useful in other situations. The party should have a short list of subtle

signs, with meanings like:

"Something is wrong, try to leave unobtrusively."

"Get ready for a fight."

"Get ready to run like hell."

 

10a. Planning

When you're making a plan, _always_ make a backup plan for when things

go wrong (which, let's face it, they always do). So don't just say:

"We're going to sneak into the temple, steal the Ruby Eye of the Mad

God, and then sneak back out again", but also decide in advance what

you're going to do if you get discovered halfway and you've got hordes

of mad priests and guards coming towards you from all directions, while

bells madly toll the alarm. My group usually starts arguing, with half

the players wanting to make a run for it and the other half wanting to

go on and try for the Eye anyway. Of course, while we're arguing our DM

happily lets the guards and priests close in.

 

10b. Planning

In general, try to keep plans simple. You can't plan for every

contingency anyway and having too many/too long/too detailed plans only

ensures that things will get messed up, not to mention the fact that

they suck up a lot of game-time.

 

10c. Planning (Sander Biesma)

Whenever you decide to make a plan, stick to it. Just because you

discover a hidden door which might hide a load of treasure (and your

usual Fiend or two) that doesn't give reason enough to sidestep from

your original plan and screw it up completely, making your original goal

harder to achieve.

 

11. Unknown territory

When heading into unknown territory, try to get information beforehand

if you can. Try to find out about weather and terrain conditions,

monsters you might encounter, local leaders, customs the people might

have, laws of nature, laws of supernature, etc.

 

12. The real deal (Dave Brohman)

Ask questions FIRST, shoot later. So many punks accept the line they are

fed without bothering to check the facts. Get your employers line, then

visit your local information sources and find out the REAL deal.

 

13. Mr. Johnson (Craig L Wigda)

Always check out your job and the person hiring you before you take the

job (but most GMs do not allow you the chance to do this). Never trust

the equipment provided by Mr. Johnson.

 

14. Coffins (Gary Astleford)

Don't open coffins. Only stupid people open coffins.

 

15. Navigating buildings (D Howard)

One of the best survival techniques is if you run into a building to

evade capture NEVER head upwards, through yes, but never up because it's

a lot harder to get back down again!

 

16. Portable phones

If your character carries a portable phone, turn off the sound before

you go on a mission requiring stealth.

 

17. Meetings

Never let the other party chose the place for the meeting. Make sure

it's held somewhere public and unenclosed, such as a mall. If you need

more privacy, try to meet somewhere in the open, a public park for

instance. That way, it's harder for your enemy to box you in. Always

arrive at the meeting place early and spend some time observing it. Note

the available exits. During the meeting, have some backup waiting

(preferably with a getaway vehicle and a long range rifle).

 

18. Mugshots

Before going on an assignment, try to get pictures or descriptions of

people important to your mission. My own group once went to talk to a

scientist without taking this precaution. The person we met later turned

out to be a very well-armed imposter [Ouch].

 

19. Payment

When accepting a mission, try to get as much money in advance as

possible. Not only does this reduce the chances of being cheated, it

also makes it less likely that your employer will try to stab you in the

back in order to avoid having to pay you. Don't forget to ask if your

expenses (hospital costs, ammo, broken equipment etc.) are covered.

Also, those surviving should receive the shares of deceased teammembers.

 

20. Traces

Be careful not to leave traces at the scene of the crime. You might want

to invest in some gloves, a disguise or perhaps even some spells

specifically designed to clear all traces. These can be extremely handy,

especially in Shadowrun, where even a single drop of blood or strand of

hair is enough for a ritual magic team to track you down. Also remember

that a lot of firearms eject empty cartridges, which might be used for

evidence.

 

21. Dealing with the Mob (Blank Dave)

Don't wave sexual apperatus at the local mafia Don (we learnt that

through experience).

 

22. Boltholes (Craig L Wigda)

Have more then one bolt hole or safe house with some extra gear, cash,

and fake IDs.

 

23. Intrusion

While (or before) trespassing through a fortress/dungeon/corporate

building, see if you can pick up an appropriate outfit/suit that will

allow you to blend in. Also, pay attention to the names of high-ranking

personnel (again, try to find this out beforehand if possible). That

way, when someone stops you and asks you what the hell you're doing in

the Inner Citadel carrying the Scepter of Urgh, you'll be able to say:

"I've got direct orders from lord X, out of my way, you flunky." This

will probably not be enough to get you out of trouble, but it should

keep the guards from attacking you on the spot and thus buy you some

time.

 

24. 'To do' list (Lauri C. Gardner)

Make a list of all things you are supposed to do, especially the dumb

things. If you don't mention them, you will forget them. Have the list

go around having rest of the team members make additions.

 

25. Some advice for thieves (Barry Wood)

[AD&D] If you detect traps, do NOT assume just because you have a

"Remove Traps" roll after the "Detect" that you are somehow responsible

for removing each and every trap. Even at medium levels, the odds of you

failing your roll and being killed by a trap are high. So, let the mage

spend some spells removing it. Let the fighter use his polearm to poke

around a bit. The best thief I ever ran with would go to the front of

the party and say "Yep, there's a trap here" and then promptly return to

his place in back of the party.

 

26. Animals

Keep a sharp eye and ear on the local fauna. When something is wrong,

the animals often know about it before you do. An unusually quiet forest

or a flock of birds that suddenly takes off for no apparent reason could

both indicate trouble. You might also want to consider getting a trained

dog or another animal with senses sharper than your own.

 

* 27. Use it!

If you've got it, use it! Saving your resources 'for the real

emergencies' is all very well, but when you feel you might have need of

a certain item/spell/whatever, don't hesitate to use it. A lot of

characters die with unused healing potions in their backpacks and unused

spells on their minds. Don't let that be you.

 

* 28. Know Who Your Friends Are (Colin Turner)

Many groups fail to note who's good to deal with. Or worse, they even

fail to remember who they've dealt with at all. Sometimes an old friend

has just what you need, or knows who can help you - why takes risks all

over again by asking favors of new contacts when you don't have to?

Associates from years past don't drop off the face of the earth because

you've been out of town for a while. In fact, they may have just the

information you need, but you've forgotten all about them.

 

* 29. Hair (Bishop187@aol.com)

Long flowing hair (on either sex) looks good, keeps your neck (and

possibly shoulders, depending on length and your taste in clothing) from

being sunburned, and cushions those nasty crit hits - skull. Problem is,

if a clever opponent gets close and grabs you by that hair, you're in

deep trouble. Same goes for long beards. If you still insist on looking

like a Viking, a punk rocker, or Weird Al Yankovic, I would suggest the

following measures:

a) pre battle haircut. possibly with dagger.

b) some sort of magic spell, possibly "Retract Hair" or somesuch.

c) grease applied to hair to make it too slippery to hold.

d) become a character who wears a helmet, and tuck all that hair inside.

 

In short, GET A HAIRCUT. A short one. Even if you're female, and

required by fantasy gaming law to have "midnight black"/"golden yellow"

hair down to your ankles, it's better to break the law than to be one

day dangled out a window by that hair.

 

 

Well, that's it for now. My thanks go out to the following people whose

suggestions made it into the list in one form or another:

Gary Astleford <ocelot@connectnet.com>

<Bardic_Delusions@my-dejanews.com>

Sander Biesma

<bill.dowling@ibm.net>

<Bishop187@aol.com>

Roderick Christ

Blank Dave <blank_dave@sympatico.ca>

Ronald Boehm <ronald.boehm@tu-clausthal.de>

Boltcutter <sbartholet@sprintmail.com>

Dave Brohman <HughMcHugh@aol.com>

ChAoS <jj@monadnock.keene.edu>

Darkwalker <darkshidhe@aol.comNOSPAM>

Jim Davies <jim@moose.powernet.socks.co.uk>

Florian Decker

Dragonscroll <cio@dragonscroll.com>

Sean Emmott <seanemmott@email.msn.com>

Flykiller <flykiller@aol.com>

Lauri C. Gardner <lauri@dawn.joensuu.fi>

Phil Hendry <p.hendry@lancaster.ac.uk>

D Howard <bigd@wyrmtalk.u-net.com>

Matt Johnston <dirty-a-sid@tyler.net>

Peter Knutsen <peter@knutsen.dk>

D.G. Larush <larushdg@muss.cis.McMaster.CA>

Klaus Æ. Mogensen <klaudius@get2net.dk>

Thaddeus Moore <tadmoore@erols.com>

Thomas R Nelson <tnelson@uic.edu>

Pieter <psimoons@wi.leidenuniv.nl>

Ike Porter <iporte1@umbc.edu>

Lloyd Revious <etrigan@imt.net>

Turner, Colin <ctu1f@Allstate.com>

Vos MC,0876208 <mcvos@cs.vu.nl>

Ryan Mark Vurlicer <rmv2498@unix.tamu.edu>

Craig L Wigda <clwigda@gdwest.gd.com>

The Wizard <dzur@hotmail.com>

Barry Wood <fenris@utdallas.edu>

Xiphias Gladius <ian@schultz.io.com>

 

 

 

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