| From: | The Deb Decker <RJR96326@****.UTULSA.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Cry, Havok (cuz you ain't gonna be in my game). |
| Date: | Wed, 15 Sep 1993 01:55:15 -0500 |
>start yelling 'MUNCHKIN!', let me tell you, the campaign is VERY high
>power, but this character is the weakest of the lot.
Gee, I was joking when I mentioned Stan Lee on Plot-D. . .
I hope your GM has a good grip on the characters. . .this is the LEAST
powerful character? Let us examine the definition of his powers:
> Just as an "off the cuff" suggestion, I'd do it like this and
>then tweak it during play to make it work right:
Just as an off the cuff suggestion, I'd tweak him hard before play. Get it
right the first time.
> The basic logic of Havok's powers has always been that he is
>a sort of cosmic capacitor -- he receives and stores up cosmic energy
>and can then release it in a directed (or, if he chooses, a nondirected,
>albeit then considerably weaker) blast. Thus he has a limit based on
>how much energy he can absorb.
Yet you never specifically itereate such limitations below. Unless you
mean that the "dice pool" is his "ammunition", a very nebulous
relation at
best. If that is indeed what you intended, What are the effects of additional
dice? Do they act asthe skill dice to attack? or do they stage the attack's
power? If the pool does not function in this cpacity and indeed serves
similarly to combat pool for the power, this character is EXTREMELY abusive,
IMO.
> Overall damage code: Essence+2 M 3 (it's his physical body
>receiving and storing, so anything messing with his physical bod could
>damage his storage capacity. However, I would rule that CULTURED bioware
>(i.e., bioware using his own genetic material) would NOT subtract from
>his essence in this case (as it would for a mage).
Obviously a hangover from the 1st Edition. Join the New Order today! :)
Damage isn't too bad. . .no worse than a Heavy Pistol. Does armor resist>
I would rule that Impact does, or at least dermal armor.
I understand your reasoning behind the cultured bioware/Essence ruling. However,
that same argument ("but it's just like the real thing") is invalid for
mages, and therefore invalid for Havok as well.
> Dice pool: Unlike spells and weapons, which really do need
>training to direct, this is an inborn power. Once he mastered basic
>control, directing the thing is trivial. Thus the only REAL control
>he would have on it would be HOW MUCH POWER he pumps into each blast.
> Thus, I'd give him a number of dice which he can allocate
>between blasts, equal to (K)*(Essence). To start with I'd probably
>set K equal to 3 -- thus if he doesn't get cybered, or use non-cultured
>bioware, he would have a pool of 18 dice to use.
You have yet to elaborate on how this pool fucntions. You reference to it
at the end of the first paragraph indicates it measures the amount of power
he can pump into it, yet the damage code you gave does not take this into
account.
> How does the pool regenerate? Ah. One die per TURN (ten minutes,
>I believe). Takes him a while to receive and store the energy from
>ambient sources.
A relic of D&D, where one turn is indeed ten minutes. A Combat Turn in
Shadowrun is either 3 or 5 seconds, depending on whom you ask. If you want
to impose an arbutrary 10 minute waiting period, feel free.
> This is under NORMAL conditions. Under certain special conditions,
>the character could accumulate a LOT more energy -- near a nuclear reactor
>leak, for instance (Havok was not only IMMUNE to radiation of all kinds,
>he got STRONGER around it).
How about after being hit by a Power spell? or after Hellblast? How about after
blowing up the battery of an electric car?
> Have fun! Sounds like an interesting Shadowrun concept, as long
>as the player doesn't just want to Blow Things Up. In fact, if the player
>is a really good one who works up real characters with real personalities,
>I'd reward him/her by being generous with the interpretation of the power,
>especially in a cinematic sense. Make it dramatic, deadly, dangerous,
>and most of all LOTS of FUN.
YWhat does this character do besides Blow Things Up, that cannot be accomplished
by another character. Your charge to abstain from gratuitous violence
is not enforced by the character description as written. A GM can be easily
oerwhelmed by an aggressive player of this character.
> Also, his power has a restriction. If it kills someone (anyone),
>he 'freezes up'. He can't move, etc. for two turns. This was thrown in
>to try to balance him a little (VERY little! :). I think there is basis
>in the comic for this, but I'm not sure. (O.K. SO I DON'T FOLLOW X-MEN!).
Very Little Indeed. "OK guys, I knocked out the mage. Hose the rest of while
I take a Quelude." You stil have not limited his powers to the extent you
claimed at the beginning of the post.
I fyou want to use him, you will need to define him much better than you
have here. But I would ask that if you want to play superheroes, invest in
GURPS, Champions, or any of the other innumerable superhero games that
dominate the market; they are already designed for such characters and
will be far more balanced and rewarding thatn this bastardization of Shadowrun.
J Roberson
