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Message no. 1
From: "Jason Carter, Nightstalker" <CARTER@***.EDU>
Subject: Attributes and Skills
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 92 00:26:54 CET
Hi Chummers,
It's time for

The Shadowrun:
Flexible Character Creation System
Review
Part I
Attributes and Skills

A) Attributes
Rereading the Attributes section of the SRFCCS I surpisingly found myself
liking it. Make characters pay more for higher attributes. What an cool idea.
To top it off the attribute cost is the SRI karma cost for buying the attribute
to that level if you started at zero.
My only criticism to the attribute section is the modified point cost for
values based on racial maximums. I say drop it. you have to by a one or two
to get back points, and I'm like sure that 0.5 or 1 point is going to make a big
difference on your character. As for scores higher that racial maximums, don't
bother giving a cost. If this is being used for beginning characters they have
no business with attributes higher that their racial max.

B) Skills
Having left Atributes with such a good taste, I found the work you did on
skills to be, how can I say it, uninspired? No, lacking is more like it. After
putting attributes on a curved scale you used a straight one for skills. If you
look at the examples at the end of this post you will find that using the varied
mulitplier and the straight 1.5x to come out to almost the same point cost. (The
average difference was +1.3125 points more for varied than straight. This was
heavily weighed down by the Rocker archtype.)
For what I think would be a better solution, I modified the chart you put in
for characteristics to use for skill cost. Please note that skills cost about
the same as attributes. I think that's fine since in SR you need the skill if
you really want to do something, defaults just don't cut it.
I also think that you catagories for skill cost difference are a little off.
I included my version which looks at 1) combat effectivesness, 2) general
adventure usefulness, and 3) frequency of use.
In the examples below, I have used the catagories as I defined.

Skill Catagories
Highly Useful - Computers, Firearms, Sorcery (more than any other skills
characters live and die by these three)
Mostly Useful - Armed Combat, Bike, Car, Conjuring, Demolitions, Electronics,
Enchanting, Etiquette, Gunnery, Interrogation, Negotiation, Projectile
Weapons, Rotorcraft, Stealth, Thrown Weapons, Unarmed Combat (combat skills
and skills you just have to have for successful running)
Sorta Useful - Athletics, Biology, Biotech, All B/R skills, Computer Theory,
Cybertech, Hovercraft, All Languages, Leadership, Magical Theory, Military
Theory, Motorboat, Physical Sciences, Psychology, Sailboat, All Special
skills, Sociology, Vectored Thrust, Winged Plane (skills from the sorta useful
to the good for role-playing purposes only)

Level
Skill Type 1 2 3 4 5 6
Highly Useful 2 4 7 11 16 22
Mostly Useful 1 2 4 7 11 16 (same as attributes)
Sorta Useful 0 1 2 4 7 11

Attribute Skill Cost How many skills of each value
Example Cost 1.5 Var My 6 5 4 3 2 1
B-O Mage 25 33 36 34 - - 3 - 5 -
Decker 37 60 60.5 89 4 1 2 1 - -
Detective 45 60 65 95 3 1 3 1 1 -
Elven Decker 30 33 37.5 48 2 - - 1 2 -
Former CM 31 42 46 64 1 2 2 - 2 -
F Wage Mage 23 42 43.5 63 3 - 1 - 3 -
Gang Member 72 45 47 62 - 3 3 1 - -
Mercanry 44 60 62 85 3 - 2 4 1 -
Ork Merc 29 43.5 46 56 - 3 - 4 1 -
Rigger 68 34.5 36 46 1 - 2 2 1 1
Rocker 68 39 31 40 1 1 - 3 3 -
Shaman 46 40.5 40 53 1 1 1 4 - -
Street Mage 32 45 48 64 2 1 1 1 3 -
Street Sam 63 37.5 40 55 1 1 3 - 1 -
St Shaman 47 36 40 49 - 3 - 3 - -
Tribesman 66 43.5 37.5 55 2 1 1 2 1 -

All examples are taken directly from archtypes section is SRI. Hope you
all enjoy this. I await you comments and thoughts. Keep your flames at home
and Doctor Doom better control that TWHAP! of his, it's beginning to hurt.

Working On Magic or Races next,
Jason J Carter
The Nightstalker

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Attributes and Skills, you may also be interested in:

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