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Message no. 1
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Steven Ratkovich)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Mon Jul 30 14:15:01 2001
Some of you who've read the Shadowrun Supplemental know that I've been doing a column
called Damage Control. Well, I've not been playing much Shadowrun the last year or so,
and Adam wants be a bit more Productive with the TSS (i.e., more issues), which means more
columns from yours truly.

So I'm looking for ideas.

Ideally, the column deals with those rules that are easily abused by Munchkins, Power
Gamers, and Rules lawyers alike. I take those problems, small and large, and work up a
set of rules for them to balance them out, or to make them harder to use and abuse.

The overall tone tends to be a bit tongue in cheek about the whole thing ("Woe is me,
the players are all out to ruin my game! What can I do??"), but the idea is fairly
serious.

So I'm turning to you. Present me with what you think is a problem area in the rules
that's easily abused. I'll see if I can't work up a rules fix, plus you get your name in
lights when I give you credit :]

And hey, the TSS *is* an award nominated publication now :]

Bull -- Who thinks either the Awards were fixed or you slags didn't get off your duffs and
vote like you should have :]

--
The Best Ork Decker You've Never Met!
http://bull.dumpshock.com
Message no. 2
From: shadowrn@*********.com (BD)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Mon Jul 30 15:00:01 2001
> So I'm turning to you. Present me with what you think is a problem area
> in the rules that's easily abused. I'll see if I can't work up a rules
> fix, plus you get your name in lights when I give you credit :]

Well, I know that I've had problems in the past with magicians who
astrally perceive EVERYTHING (I've done it too) and therefore rarely get
surprised by cybered goons or those with hostile intentions. I've worked
it out for myself, but beginning GMs might not know how to deal with it:
maybe you could go over how to use the existing SR rules to make it harder
for Astral Perception to be such a spoiler.

S'all I can think of right now... oh, ruthenium polymers are another oft
abused item 'round these parts. Not sure if that's fixed in 3rd Ed.,
though, haven't bothered checking in M&M.

> Bull -- Who thinks either the Awards were fixed or you slags didn't get
> off your duffs and vote like you should have :]

I didn't ever find out how to vote... I hunted around the site a bit...

====-Boondocker

__________________________________________________
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Message no. 3
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Steven Ratkovich)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Mon Jul 30 15:05:03 2001
>>>> Well, I know that I've had problems in the past with magicians who
astrally perceive EVERYTHING (I've done it too) and therefore rarely get
surprised by cybered goons or those with hostile intentions. I've worked
it out for myself, but beginning GMs might not know how to deal with it:
maybe you could go over how to use the existing SR rules to make it harder
for Astral Perception to be such a spoiler.
<<<<

Good one :] I'll have to play with this idea a bit...

>>>>
S'all I can think of right now... oh, ruthenium polymers are another oft
abused item 'round these parts. Not sure if that's fixed in 3rd Ed.,
though, haven't bothered checking in M&M.
<<<<

They suck :] Check out TSS 11, I think. My first Dmagae Control article was
"Controlled Ruthenium" (Or as I occasionally call them, Munchkenium Polymers :))

>>>> I didn't ever find out how to vote... I hunted around the site a bit...
<<<<

Hehe, S'okay. you had to go the the official origins awards site. Adam had a link, but
not sure exactly where...

Bull -- Published Author and Columnist for an Award Nominated Magazine
(Isn't it cool how you can get so much out of so little? :))

--
The Best Ork Decker You've Never Met!
http://bull.dumpshock.com
Message no. 4
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Tue Jul 31 05:35:04 2001
According to BD, on Mon, 30 Jul 2001 the word on the street was...

> Well, I know that I've had problems in the past with magicians who
> astrally perceive EVERYTHING (I've done it too) and therefore rarely get
> surprised by cybered goons or those with hostile intentions.

Maybe a good solution is not to be too specific. Instead of telling the
assensing PC that the cybered goons are hostile toward them, only say
they're aggressive -- or maybe that they're anxious, or even at peace with
themselves, if they see violence as just another means to achieving an end.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Tot straks en poppelepee maar weer.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+@ UL P L++ E W-(++) N o? K w+(--) O V?
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Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 5
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Bryan Pow)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Wed Aug 1 16:15:18 2001
A way that I came up with to take care of over use of assensing was simple.
One was the creation of a spell that is basically an astrall flashlight. Its so
bright that it hides the users aura (adds its force to assensing tests) but of
course stands out like a beacon so can only be used for privacy. This was used
as SOTA advancement, I made it used by alot of execs and normal joes who have
access to magicians who just want to have the peace of mind of not having their
emotions being able to be read.
--
Ein scharfes Schwert schneidet sehr, eine scharfe Zunge noch viel mehr.
The tongue is sharper than any sword.
Message no. 6
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Thu Aug 2 10:35:01 2001
Steven Ratkovich writes:

> So I'm turning to you. Present me with what you think is a problem area
> in the rules that's easily abused. I'll see if I can't work up a rules
> fix, plus you get your name in lights when I give you credit :]

OK, here are some more areas that I think have munchkinous abuse potential:

* Cheesy Flaws that do not directly affect the character (eg Bio-Rejection
vs Sensitive System for magically active characters, Matrix Flaws for non
deckers, Sea Madness, etc).

* Magnification scopes and eyes (sheesh, how good are these things!).

* Did you know that flamethrowers _automatically_ set things on fire, which,
according to the rules in CC means that ammunition _automatically_ explodes,
even if you got flamed for 1L from a flamethrower set to a choke of 7...

* Any vehicle such as a breadbox drone or van is pretty much invulnerable
with 9+ points of armour, and it's easy to make this concealed on a van.

* Hardened armour and Gel Packs, need I say anymore?

* Skillsoft jukeboxes.

* Chipjack expert drivers (waaaay too good).

* Mnemonic Enhancers (1 run = 1 Rating 5 Skill!).

* Boosted Reflexes 3 + Synaptic Accelerator 2 + Muscle Toner 4 = Initiative
8 + 5D6. Cheese, cheese, cheese!

* The Confusion critter power - have you ever checked out just how _nasty_
this is? An affected individual has to make a Willpower test to decide to do
anything other than wander aimlessly (like, say, shoot the summoner). Even
if they succeed, they sufer a TN modifier equal to the Force of the spirit!
If security shamens summoned these regularly in my game, shadowrunners would
cease to exist as a breed...

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 7
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Thu Aug 2 10:40:01 2001
Steven Ratkovich writes:

> Ideally, the column deals with those rules that are easily abused by
> Munchkins, Power Gamers, and Rules lawyers alike. I take those problems,
> small and large, and work up a set of rules for them to balance them out,
> or to make them harder to use and abuse.

BTW, I think that you forgot the biggest drawback of Munchkin Polymers: they
don't hide you from thermo. I've never had a problem with Ruthenium in my
game, simply because of this. One of the security goons is bound to either
(a) have cyber thermo, (b) have thermo goggles, (c) have a helmet with
inbuilt thermo, (d) be a dwarf, or (e) be a troll. Munchkin Polymers also
don't hide you from astral space (ie watchers, elementals, spirits,
projecting magicians, or perceiving magicians). All it takes is one of these
many options, and the Munchkin Polymers are pretty darned useless.

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 8
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Keith Duthie)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Thu Aug 2 21:30:02 2001
On Mon, 30 Jul 2001, BD wrote:

> Well, I know that I've had problems in the past with magicians who
> astrally perceive EVERYTHING (I've done it too) and therefore rarely get
> surprised by cybered goons or those with hostile intentions. I've worked
> it out for myself, but beginning GMs might not know how to deal with it:
> maybe you could go over how to use the existing SR rules to make it harder
> for Astral Perception to be such a spoiler.

My first ever character was a pacifist shaman, and our group were going to
meet the contact of one of the PCs. For some reason (I forget what it was
exactly), I got a bad feeling about it and went in astrally perceiving.

There's nothing like being possessed, shot, and knocked unconscious to
keep you from overusing astral perception...

--
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
http://users.albatross.co.nz/~psycho/ O- -><-
Message no. 9
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 01:40:02 2001
Keith Duthie writes:

> My first ever character was a pacifist shaman, and our group were going to
> meet the contact of one of the PCs. For some reason (I forget what it was
> exactly), I got a bad feeling about it and went in astrally perceiving.
>
> There's nothing like being possessed, shot, and knocked unconscious to
> keep you from overusing astral perception...

Oh, yeah, this reminds me of another munchkinous abuse potential item:
Influence!

Mr J: "I really like these runners for some strange, inexplicable reason,
and feel like paying them 20 times my initial offer."

Security Guard: "That is not the Assault Cannon Wielding Troll I am looking
for."

Dodgy Coporate Exec: "These guys seem really trustworthy, they won't tell
anyone if I blab about my 3 billion nuyen insurance scam."

Fixer: "Oh, what the hell, you're a great customor and a way cool guy, I'll
throw in a BattleTac communications system worth 50,000 nuyen for free."

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 10
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Steve Collins)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 02:30:02 2001
On 8/3/01 12:45 am, Damion Milliken said:

>Keith Duthie writes:
>
>> My first ever character was a pacifist shaman, and our group were going to
>> meet the contact of one of the PCs. For some reason (I forget what it was
>> exactly), I got a bad feeling about it and went in astrally perceiving.
>>
>> There's nothing like being possessed, shot, and knocked unconscious to
>> keep you from overusing astral perception...
>
>Oh, yeah, this reminds me of another munchkinous abuse potential item:
>Influence!
>
>Mr J: "I really like these runners for some strange, inexplicable reason,
>and feel like paying them 20 times my initial offer."
>
>Security Guard: "That is not the Assault Cannon Wielding Troll I am looking
>for."
>
>Dodgy Coporate Exec: "These guys seem really trustworthy, they won't tell
>anyone if I blab about my 3 billion nuyen insurance scam."
>
>Fixer: "Oh, what the hell, you're a great customor and a way cool guy, I'll
>throw in a BattleTac communications system worth 50,000 nuyen for free."
>


It is nan abuse risk until the first time the run into a Johnson who has
either magical protections or a high willpower. At that moment the spell
will fail, the character will likely take at least a moderate drain if
not worse (The drain code is rather severe, F/2 + 1 D I believe) and the
Johnson will notice the spells failure. Here there are several options,
he orders his body guards to waste the characters thinking it is a more
dangerous spell, he could just not mention it and get his revenge later
or he could stand up loudly announce that they were trying to influence
him with a spell and storm out and afterwards proceed to trash their
reputation so that no Johnson will ever hire them for anything more
serious than a run on the local Stuffer Shack.

The same goes with most of the other situations, all it would take is 1
failure and they quickly learn how dangerous it is to just go around
casting spells like that. No dealer will ever sell to them, Fixers won;t
return their calls, Neither will contacts who start to wonder if the only
reason the ever associated with that slime was because of an Influence
spell and so on.

Finally I tend to add situational modifiers to controling manipulations
like this so that the security guard saving against the Influence for the
troll walking into the bank with the PAC gets a +6 to his Wil Save. The
Mage would need almost as many successes as his willpower to affect him.
Then the Influence goes away as soon as it is pointed out to the target
that he is acting irrationally. So even if the spell takes effect then 10
seconds later when someone says "hey, that guy's got a gun! Do
something!" he sounds the alarm, ducks below cover and starts shooting.

Influence is a wonderful spell when used properly but like any spell it
runs into problems when overused.


I used to have a player with a VERY high level Disregard Spell in a Spell
Lock, he thought he was invincible with it on because no one would ever
notice him. The target number if he wasn't using any stealth was usually
around 19. So I gave him enough rope to hang himself. He was walking
around the headquaters of a large local gang gathering intel. He wasn;t
taking any precautions to be stealthy figuring the Disregard would
protect him. I just started making Perception Tests. I figured that with
60 people in the room wandering around 1 test every 15 seconds sounded
good. It took me less than 30 minutes for someone to get a success.
Bingo! he was spotted and in a boatload of trouble.

Steve
Message no. 11
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 03:35:02 2001
Steve Collins writes:

> <Snip somewhat silly examples>

Sorry, I was continuing in Bull's tongue-in-cheek style. Most of these
examples were not exactly serious ;-). You'd be a little silly to regularly
Influence your contacts, for example, and you'd be rather silly to Influence
your Mr J without first checking for magical support.

But I still think that someone with a high Force Influence spell and a good
spellcasting ability can pretty much "this is not the bound and gagged
executive you are looking for" and such things on a regular basis.

And remember, if the spell fails, the target does not automatically know it
was cast - they still have to notice it. Likewise, if someone tells them
they're being silly, then they do not automatically come out of the
Influence - they merely get another resistance test.

Your story reminded me of a team Loony who had an Influence spell that was
near unresistable which he used to use on the other team members (and not
much anyone else :-)). Fortunately he tended to target the Roleplayers, and
make them think that they were chickens or something, rather than target the
Real Men or Munchkins, who would have just killed him outright for casting a
spell at them (if they noticed). Needless to say, the character didn't
exactly last all that long :-).

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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Message no. 12
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 04:30:02 2001
According to Damion Milliken, on Fri, 03 Aug 2001 the word on the street
was...

> Oh, yeah, this reminds me of another munchkinous abuse potential item:
> Influence!

Tell me about it... I had a player once who thought of Influence as Control
Actions, and cast it on almost everyone to get them to do something for
him. The solution was pretty simple, though: re-read the rules for noticing
magic, and apply them any time anyone casts a spell in a social situation
(especially if that spell happens to be Influence). The way I see it, most
people that shadowrunners deal with will recognize what's going on and
it'll be more like:

Mr J: "I really like these runners for some strange, inexplicable reason
that probably has to do with that magical energy I saw jumping my way just
now, and I certainly don't feel like paying them 20 times my initial offer."

Security Guard: "That is not the Assault Cannon Wielding Troll I am looking
for. That other one is the spellcasting human I'm going to call
reinforcements in on, though."

Dodgy Coporate Exec: "These guys seem really trustworthy, but if they're
casting spells at me without my permission they'll probably tell everyone
if I blab about my 3 billion nuyen insurance scam after all."

Fixer: "Oh, what the hell, you're a great customor and a way cool guy, I'll
throw in a BattleTac communications system worth 50,000 nuyen for free,
and then never do business with them again because they're
Influence-casting SOBs."

The player in my group finally learned when he tried to sell a stolen
wristwatch that was only worth about 200 nuyen, but cast Influence on the
fixer to get 20,000. The fixer noticed the spell, and so did the two goons
he'd brought to the meeting, with the result that a firefight ensued in
which the fixer got killed. After that, no fixer wanted to deal with the PC
because he'd gotten a reputation...

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Tot straks en poppelepee maar weer.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+@ UL P L++ E W-(++) N o? K w+(--) O V?
PS+ PE(-)(+) Y PGP- t@ 5++ X(+) R+++(-)>$ tv+ b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 13
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Lubzens Opher)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 15:15:02 2001
on Fri,3 Aug 2001 10:14:37 Gurth said:
>Tell me about it... I had a player once who thought of Influence as
>Control Actions, and cast it on almost everyone to get them to do
>something for him. The solution was pretty simple, though: re-read the
>rules for noticing magic, and apply them any time anyone casts a spell in
>a social situation (especially if that spell happens to be Influence).
>The way I see it, most people that shadowrunners deal with will recognize
>what's going on
I have two doubts about this approach:
1)I allways thought that all the mental control manipulations were
designed in such a way that if they succeed the subject won't feel that
they have been manipulated at least until the spell's end (i.e. they
might notice the casting motion but assume it is some relatively
harmless spell, such as Analyse Truth).

2)success won't tell them what spell was casted, only that the magician
has casted a spell. for additional information they will have
to roll some magical knowledge skill(probably either Magical Theory or
Sorcery).

Opher Lubzens
-every light casts shadows
Message no. 14
From: shadowrn@*********.com (sven)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Fri Aug 3 18:30:02 2001
Lubzens Opher wrote:

<snip>
> 2)success won't tell them what spell was casted, only that
> the magician
> has casted a spell. for additional information they will have
> to roll some magical knowledge skill(probably either
> Magical Theory or Sorcery).

Agreed, but wouldn't you as Mr. J sitting in one room with your
employees at least wonder or make a small inquiry on why the mage
character casts a spell while he is addressing them?

Just my thoughts,

-sven ;)
--
Message no. 15
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sat Aug 4 07:05:01 2001
According to Lubzens Opher, on Fri, 03 Aug 2001 the word on the street was...

> 1)I allways thought that all the mental control manipulations were
> designed in such a way that if they succeed the subject won't feel that
> they have been manipulated at least until the spell's end (i.e. they
> might notice the casting motion but assume it is some relatively
> harmless spell, such as Analyse Truth).

For Control Thoughts, I'd agree with you. Influence, however, implants an
_idea_ into the target's mind, and leaves it up to that target to act on
it. So if you're a fixer who habitually tries to screw over anyone you deal
with, and you suddenly get the brilliant idea to be nice to someone, IMHO
you're likely going to question yourself before actually doing so.

> 2)success won't tell them what spell was casted, only that the magician
> has casted a spell. for additional information they will have
> to roll some magical knowledge skill(probably either Magical Theory or
> Sorcery).

Agreed, to a degree. My view is that you don't need to know the specifics
under typical shadowrunner circumstances. _That_ a spell has been cast on
them without their consent in a social situation would be enough for most
people in the shadows to refuse to work with the spellcaster, IMHO. Whether
it's Analyze Truth, Influence or Makeover doesn't really matter, as it's
just not good manners.

Common sense says that in situations where both sides want something more
or less opposite to what the other side desires, a spell being cast by one
side usually means the other side will now be at a disadvantage. So they'll
act on it, if you ask me.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Tot straks en poppelepee maar weer.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+@ UL P L++ E W-(++) N o? K w+(--) O V?
PS+ PE(-)(+) Y PGP- t@ 5++ X(+) R+++(-)>$ tv+ b++@ DI- D+ G+ e h! !r y?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 16
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Rand Ratinac)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sat Aug 4 20:00:00 2001
<snipt!(TM)>
> For Control Thoughts, I'd agree with you. Influence,
however, implants an _idea_ into the target's mind,
and leaves it up to that target to act on it. So if
you're a fixer who habitually tries to screw over
anyone you deal with, and you suddenly get the
brilliant idea to be nice to someone, IMHO you're
likely going to question yourself before actually
doing so.
<snipt!(TM)>
> Gurth@******.nl

Precisely. This should be gospel to any GM whose
players like fooling with the minds of other
characters. If the spell can be questioned (as opposed
to simply being resisted) and you're telling the
victim to do something against his/her nature, s/he
WILL question it.

That's why Influence absolutely rules, but not for
screwing people over. Influence should NOT be used to
convince people to pay a LOT more money than
something's worth - not if you want to have further
dealings with them, or they have large guns. On the
other hand, if you're fencing something worths tens or
hundreds of dollars and you just need a few thousand
more to save your scrawny neck, most GMs would
probably let you get away with it, or even encourage
it, because using it in THAT manner, at THAT juncture
is good gaming.

Wanna know what Influence is best used for? That
security guard at the front desk that you're trying to
sneak past - Influence him to go to the toilet, or
have a smoke, so you don't have to wait potentially
hours for him to make up his mind to do so naturally.
Or say that the guards know you're there and they're
searching for you. You need to get across open ground,
past one of them. If he looks right, you're
screwed...but if he looks left... So you Influence him
to want to look left until you make it to cover again.
That kind of thing. Influence is best used to
encourage people to perform small, non-risky actions
that come naturally to them - because then they won't
question it and as long as your spell succeeds,
they'll do it.

====Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow, aka Doc'booner, aka Doc' Vader)

.sig Sauer

If you SMELL what THE DOC' is COOKIN'!!!

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Message no. 17
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Gurth)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sun Aug 5 07:15:01 2001
According to Rand Ratinac, on Sun, 05 Aug 2001 the word on the street was...

> Influence should NOT be used to convince people to pay a LOT more money
> than something's worth - not if you want to have further dealings with
> them, or they have large guns.

My thoughts exactly. Giving someone an idea is much more subtle than making
them think a different way (like Control Thoughts does) and can accomplish
different things, provided you're smart about how you use it.

> On the other hand, if you're fencing something worths tens or hundreds
> of dollars and you just need a few thousand more to save your scrawny
> neck

I'm guessing you meant to say "if you're fencing something worths tens or
hundreds of thousands of dollars" else you're giving a good example of what
Influence _isn't_ a handy spell for :)

> Influence is best used to encourage people to perform small, non-risky
> actions that come naturally to them - because then they won't question
> it and as long as your spell succeeds, they'll do it.

Which means that to make the best use of the spell, you'll need to do some
research or thinking first, rather than cast it and see what happens.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Tot straks en poppelepee maar weer.
-> NAGEE Editor * ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
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Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 18
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Rand Ratinac)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sun Aug 5 21:10:02 2001
> > On the other hand, if you're fencing something
worths tens or hundreds of dollars and you just need a
few thousand more to save your scrawny neck
>
> I'm guessing you meant to say "if you're fencing
something worths tens or hundreds of thousands of
dollars" else you're giving a good example of what
Influence _isn't_ a handy spell for :)

Actually, I meant to say "if you're fencing something
WORTH tens or hundreds of thousands of
dollars"...damn, Typo Man strikes big time there. ;)

> Which means that to make the best use of the spell,
you'll need to do some research or thinking first,
rather than cast it and see what happens.
> Gurth@******.nl -

True. The examples I gave were simple things that
should apply to just about everyone. Everyone has to
go to the can at some point. If you can see cigarettes
in a guard's pocket, it's a safe bet he goes outside
to have a smoke every so often. If someone's
searching, they're going to be looking around - so
encouraging them to concentrate their search in one
direction for a little while isn't a stretch.

However, doing research and knowing something specific
about a particular person could prove even more
effective. For instance, if you found out that a
scientist is a bit absent-minded, an Influence spell
that makes him think he's already grabbed his security
pass, when it's still on his dresser, would probably
be effective and, most importantly, it wouldn't be
questioned when he finally realised he didn't have it.
And in the meantime, you could grab it and make use of
it. What if you're an assassin and security has your
target, who just happens to be claustrophobic, locked
up tight in a safehouse? Well, if you know he's
phobic, you could get your mage friend to look in
through the window and cast an Influence spell to
aggravate your target's phobia to the point where it
starts working for you - he'll feel he's gotta get out
and he'll do anything he can to feel fresh air on his
face. And you just wait for him to come to you...

This is the kind of thing that an Influence spell is
great for, from a player's POV. From a GM's, well, if
your players aren't using it to plant subtle ideas,
you should feel free to decide the spell just wouldn't
work, no matter how successful the casting is. Inertia
is a fact of life, in physics AND in people. Just
because an idea comes to someone, doesn't mean they're
going to act on it - and if it's against their basic
nature, chances are very good they WON'T act on it.

====Doc'
(aka Mr. Freaky Big, Super-Dynamic Troll of Tomorrow, aka Doc'booner, aka Doc' Vader)

.sig Sauer

If you SMELL what THE DOC' is COOKIN'!!!

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Message no. 19
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Bull)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sat Aug 11 14:30:01 2001
At 12:44 AM 8/3/01 +1000, you wrote:
>BTW, I think that you forgot the biggest drawback of Munchkin Polymers: they
>don't hide you from thermo. I've never had a problem with Ruthenium in my
>game, simply because of this. One of the security goons is bound to either
>(a) have cyber thermo, (b) have thermo goggles, (c) have a helmet with
>inbuilt thermo, (d) be a dwarf, or (e) be a troll. Munchkin Polymers also
>don't hide you from astral space (ie watchers, elementals, spirits,
>projecting magicians, or perceiving magicians). All it takes is one of these
>many options, and the Munchkin Polymers are pretty darned useless.

Unfortunately, under 3rd Ed (ANd I have a BIG beef with this), you add HALF
the rating of the Camera system to any Thermo or Ultrasound tests, for some
stupid ass reason. I cut this out of my home game, but... Gah. What was
someone thinking?

(And for the record, M&M is the only 3rd Ed book I didn't "playtest" :/)

Bull
Message no. 20
From: shadowrn@*********.com (Damion Milliken)
Subject: Damage Control
Date: Sun Aug 12 08:50:01 2001
Bull writes:

> Unfortunately, under 3rd Ed (ANd I have a BIG beef with this), you add HALF
> the rating of the Camera system to any Thermo or Ultrasound tests, for some
> stupid ass reason. I cut this out of my home game, but... Gah. What was
> someone thinking?

Yikes! I hadn't noticed _that_! The rules say such systems are "notqqq
affected" by Munchkin Polymers, and then immediately after say that the
Munchkin Polymers have half effect vs these systems. Very wierd!

--
Damion Milliken University of Wollongong
Unofficial Shadowrun Guru E-mail: dam01@***.edu.au
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