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Message no. 1
From: mamos@*****.com (Mike Amos)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 09:32:02 -0700
I have a character issue I'm not usre how to handle.

I'm playing a character who is in love with physical fitness, he's a big
time body builder and weight lifter. Unfortunatly he just got caught in the
arcology shutdown. I have no idea how long they will be in there, or if he
will make it out at all. I'm guessing in the meantime he will have little
time to hit the weights. So depending on how much he is forced to use his
strength over the course of getting out I'm trying to figure out if he
should lose some of this strength or his weightlifting skills.

Do you think a character should lose skills and attributes from atrophy?
At would rate should a character lose them?

Thanks
Message no. 2
From: rodrigo_berenguer@*****.ca (Pete)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 12:25:20 -0500 (EST)
I've been toying with this as well, but more as a
means of preventing super-characters with a jillion
skills, all of which are rated higher than average. I
should say that my own character fits that bill, so
this would affect me adversely as well.

What I was thinking is running atrophy like SOTA. Have
a new entry under Skills, and another for Attributes.
If these come up, roll 1d6 to determine with Attribute
is affected, or some create a table that affects skill
catagories (combat, physical, etc). I think that magic
skills should obviously be removed because they can
already come up.

I was thinking of a Karma cost of one point per
rating, or nuyen cost of 500 per rating. This way,
players have to keep up on their physical and mental
prowess, as well as watching what is going on in all
the fields they have skills in. Either this will limit
the amount of Karma they can spend on skills, or limit
the funds they have for other toys.

It's still just a rough idea. Anyone's thoughts?

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Message no. 3
From: davidb@****.imcprint.com (Graht)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 10:36:10 -0700
At 12:25 PM 1/29/2003 -0500, Pete wrote:
>I've been toying with this as well, but more as a
>means of preventing super-characters with a jillion
>skills, all of which are rated higher than average. I
>should say that my own character fits that bill, so
>this would affect me adversely as well.
>
>What I was thinking is running atrophy like SOTA. Have
>a new entry under Skills, and another for Attributes.
>If these come up, roll 1d6 to determine with Attribute
>is affected, or some create a table that affects skill
>catagories (combat, physical, etc). I think that magic
>skills should obviously be removed because they can
>already come up.
>
>I was thinking of a Karma cost of one point per
>rating, or nuyen cost of 500 per rating. This way,
>players have to keep up on their physical and mental
>prowess, as well as watching what is going on in all
>the fields they have skills in. Either this will limit
>the amount of Karma they can spend on skills, or limit
>the funds they have for other toys.
>
>It's still just a rough idea. Anyone's thoughts?

My only issue with this is that it may stop being a roleplaying game and
become a rollplaying game as everyone focuses on the numbers.

In real life, yes, skills and muscles atrophy from lack of use. In a
roleplaying game my philosophy is to not bother with it as it becomes a
distraction from just playing the game.

--
To Life,
-Graht
ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader II
http://www.graht.com
Message no. 4
From: wildside2060@*****.ca (Wildside)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 18:38:01 -0500 (EST)
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>From the little I have played of the Arcology shut down.



Muscle atrophy will be the least of your worries!!!!

W

Mike Amos <mamos@*****.com> wrote:I have a character issue I'm not usre how to
handle.

I'm playing a character who is in love with physical fitness, he's a big
time body builder and weight lifter. Unfortunatly he just got caught in the
arcology shutdown. I have no idea how long they will be in there, or if he
will make it out at all. I'm guessing in the meantime he will have little
time to hit the weights. So depending on how much he is forced to use his
strength over the course of getting out I'm trying to figure out if he
should lose some of this strength or his weightlifting skills.

Do you think a character should lose skills and attributes from atrophy?
At would rate should a character lose them?

Thanks


---------------------------------
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Message no. 5
From: SteveG@***********.co.za (Steve Garrard)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 10:27:20 +0200
Mike Amos wrote:
>
> I have a character issue I'm not usre how to handle.
>
> I'm playing a character who is in love with physical fitness,
> he's a big time body builder and weight lifter. Unfortunatly
> he just got caught in the arcology shutdown. I have no idea
> how long they will be in there, or if he will make it out at
> all. I'm guessing in the meantime he will have little time to
> hit the weights. So depending on how much he is forced to use
> his strength over the course of getting out I'm trying to
> figure out if he should lose some of this strength or his
> weightlifting skills.
>
> Do you think a character should lose skills and attributes
> from atrophy? At would rate should a character lose them?
>
> Thanks

I think this would depend on how long you're stuck in there. Since body
building is the process of tearing and herniating your muscles, it takes at
least a week for them to "repair" and settle. Your muscles won't begin to
weaken until at least 2 weeks since your last training session (per muscle
group), and not seriously until about 2 to 4 weeks after that. When (and if)
you get out again, if enough time has passed, you'll have to break your
muscles in again, but you'll soon be back up to your previous strength
(albeit quite stiff for a few days).

If, on the other hand, we're talking about several months here, then that's
a little different. I'd say that after about 4 to 5 weeks you might lose a
point of strength, perhaps another one after an additional 6 weeks or so.
Technically speaking, it takes quite some time, particularly for a body
builder, for muscles to actually atrophy (in the strict definition of the
word).

But if you want to apply this type of thinking to all skills and attributes,
then some of the suggestions already posted by others are worth looking
into.


Slayer

"Beware my wrath, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
- Unknown Dragon


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Message no. 6
From: cmd_jackryan@***.de (Phillip Gawlowski)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 16:25:48 +0100
On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 09:32:02 -0700, Mike Amos <mamos@*****.com> wrote:


> Do you think a character should lose skills and attributes from atrophy?
> At would rate should a character lose them?

Well, I think you can safely asume that there is enough lying around to
be lifted on a regular basis.
At least he will use his strength often enough to compensate the lack
of training.

Maybe carrying loads of equipment for the team can help, too.

--
Phillip Gawlowski
GameMaster and GeneralIdiot
Message no. 7
From: sf_fuller@********.com.au (Simon & Fiona)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 11:52:53 +1100
> Mike Amos wrote:

> > I'm playing a character who is in love with physical fitness,
> > he's a big time body builder and weight lifter. Unfortunatly
> > he just got caught in the arcology shutdown

I've been thinking about this while I was at work. You know what happens to
gym junkies if they suddenly stop? They get fat. All that unnatural excess
muscle converts to fat, and is very hard to lose again. It'd be damn funny
if the character finds that his armour no longer fits, and is forced to get
new clothes from the only available place, an ultratrendy fashion joint in
the mall. A big fat guy dressed like a 14 year old trendite, watch his
street cred plummet.

Of course, you might not want to do that to your own character.
Message no. 8
From: SteveG@***********.co.za (Steve Garrard)
Subject: Degredation of skills and attributes, aka use itor lose it
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 10:05:23 +0200
Simon & Fiona wrote:
> > Mike Amos wrote:
>
> > > I'm playing a character who is in love with physical
> fitness, he's a
> > > big time body builder and weight lifter. Unfortunatly he just got
> > > caught in the arcology shutdown
>
> I've been thinking about this while I was at work. You know
> what happens to gym junkies if they suddenly stop? They get
> fat. All that unnatural excess muscle converts to fat, and is
> very hard to lose again. It'd be damn funny if the character
> finds that his armour no longer fits, and is forced to get
> new clothes from the only available place, an ultratrendy
> fashion joint in the mall. A big fat guy dressed like a 14
> year old trendite, watch his street cred plummet.
>
> Of course, you might not want to do that to your own character.

This is generally true, but it takes a good couple of months of little or no
physical activity before this even _starts_ to happen. Also, this depends on
diet. If you're ingesting tons of fat and carbs during this period of
inactivity, it may happen a little faster (like a week or so). On the other
hand, if you're stuck in the arcology with nothing but beef jerky and water,
you should be able to maintain muscle mass a little longer (like a week or
so).

I think someone's suggestion of you playing packhorse for the team might
help a little though :)


Slayer

"Beware my wrath, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
- Unknown Dragon


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