| From: | "Like, dude, where's the firefight?" <MURRAYMD@******.BITNET> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Further Discussion on Game Balance, Mages, and Bioware. |
| Date: | Fri, 30 Oct 92 21:02:49 CET |
> I have been reading these posts from various assorted people trying
> to explain why bioware should and should not hurt mages. I think I have
> seen all the hair-brained pseudo reasons for each side posted.
^^^^^^
>>>>>[First off do not take my name in vane (not all the ideas were mine
anyway
). Next, I would like to say that, that was a very nice and well thought out
post. However, you go on to say that 'if you don't like the rules to change
them'. Some groups may accept that....then you join a new group....they don't
accept it. Then, being the mage you are in this case, you have to make some
minor adjustments to your character. Which can be a pain in the but. Sure I
agree that it is game balance but it just doesn't sound right that ONLY mages
have essence taken off. In AD&D you can have mixed characters can you not?
Like a magic-user/fighter that can have the magic and the weapons/armor of a
fighter? So why couldn't I, a combat mage, have the same type of advantage?
It seems to be more then just a question of game balance but also what is fair.
Don't you think? I still want to hear more opinions on this.]<<<<<
--Psuedo <8:39:11/10-30-53>
Your post made me look at the issue from a different perspective.
Yeah, it does seem a little unfair that mages get penalized for bioware and
mundanes don't. But when I look at the versatility and capabilities of a
mage versus a mundane, that very small soft spot disappears.
Magic users have virtually unlimited room for advancement. They
can increase their Sorcery skill and Initiate to their hearts content.
They can create new spells and magical equipment as long as they have the
money and the karma. There is a *HUGE* possibility for advancement that
increases their capabilities immensely.
Unfortunately street sams have a glass ceiling to their
advancement: Essence and Body. You can only cram so much garbage into
them before they break. Increasing their firearms skill starts to pale in
comparison at higher levels to the advantages of upper level Initiation.
My point is that magic users have it good enough as it is. If we
were to allow mages to get bioware sans essence loss, they would get far
more benefit from it than a sam would. Imagine a mage with Cerebral
Booster flittering around Astral space with an INT of 8. Their higher
intelligence would help them with Enchanting. They would have a slightly
higher Reaction (as would the Sam). The mage would have 3 advantages as
opposed to the sam with 1. What about a mage with Enhanced Articulation,
Muscle Augmentation, and Synaptic Accelerators? The mage is hucking
spells faster than the Rigger can dance without having the burden of a
locked/quickened Increase Reaction spell. All of this with the cost of
just putting in the bioware (The potential damage from surgery can be
negated, eliminating the essence loss due to surgery reply.)
I feel that mages are just fine the way that they are, especially
taking essence loss due to bioware insertion. If your mage "needs" bioware
then your mage is not fully exploiting magic for its usefullness.
BTW, I'm sorry for mis-spelling psuedo, I'm normally better than
that. Didn't mean to use your name in vain. I also agree that house rules
stink and I don't like them either, but sometimes you need to take 1 step
backwards to get 2 steps ahead.
Thanks for your time.
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