| From: | dbuehrer@******.carl.org dbuehrer@******.carl.org |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Burnout or Realism? was Re: Decker Mage |
| Date: | Fri, 02 Jun 2000 10:43:50 -0600 |
>According to Mike & Linda Frankl, at 17:41 on 31 May 00, the word on the
>street was...
>
> > I tend to implement a house rule there for munchkin prevention. To me some
> > people tend to take the path numbers and say that they are happy as a magic
> > 6 rating mage and begin to toss in cyberware by the point. I play it that
> > when a mage starts to get too much cyberware (more than a point or 2) they
> > start running the risk of losing magic whether they get more modifications
> > or not (auto-burnout). Otherwise you wind up with a Street Samurai/Mage
> that
> > can sling lead and fireballs with equal efficiency and then still go 3 - 4
> > times a turn. If you don't automatically see the problem with this then I
> > can't explain it to you.
>
>So? This character would become a prime target for any opponents the group
>are going to go up against. The street sam/mage will be able to get rid of
>incidental opponents (with that I mean people who come looking for a fight
>and make the mistake of picking him) really quickly, but longer-term
>enemies, who have the ability to observe and plan, will not have so much
>of a problem with that. And these latter enemies are the ones who will
>take out this kind of character first of all, because it's the biggest
>threat in the group.
>
>A good quote here is the Warning To Power Gamers from the Over The Edge
>rulebook, page 13: "Just let me warn you that the more powerful you are,
>the deeper you get into trouble before you realize you are in serious
>danger. Consistently, the most powerful characters tend to be the shortest
>lived."
Reminds me of something my father told me concerning 4-wheel driving. A
4-wheel drive vehicle allows you to get more stuck than with a 2-wheel
drive vehicle.
There are a number of responses one can take with a powergamer.
Just say No. As Mike has done, take steps to limit the powergamer. I
personally would tell the powergamer that I do not want to run a powergame
and that I expect him to make his character accordingly. The problem with
making house rules is that the powergamer often sees the house rule as a
challenge to overcome, and it becomes a you vs them game. I prefer to make
my expectations known right up front.
Let them make their powercharacter and then let them get into trouble as
only they can. This would equate letting them drive a 4-wheel drive
through rough terrain and wait for them to drive off of a cliff, or get
stuck in the mud. The GM is always more powerful than the powergamer
because the GM never runs out of bad guys or ammo.
Let them make their powercharacter and then run a roleplaying game in which
their powertoys/skills/stats have little meaning. This would be like
putting a 4-wheel drive on the interstate and then closing off all the exit
ramps.
To Life,
-Graht
http://www.users.uswest.net/~abaker3
--
"What you are doing at the moment must be exactly what
you are doing at the moment--and nothing else."
