Logs for ShadowRN and Associated Mailing Lists

From:	"Damion Milliken" <dam01@***.edu.au>
Subject:	Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Mon, 10 Jun 1996 22:40:45 +1000 (EST)

Message no. 1 First of all, thanks to all those who gave suggestions and ideas for my
variant Super Tuesday, Casualties of War scenario - it was much
appreciated. I'll probably run a mini bug breakout in the UCAS sector of
the downtown area of Denver - that has about the same atmosphere as Hell on
Earth.

Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new game next
session, and I was wanting to start it off at a low power level. You know,
a game where the PC's are just hitting the big time, where the characters are
gang members, uni computer/magic degree dropouts, AWOL army privates,
ex-Lone Star police academy dropouts and so on. To facilitate this, I'm
going to down-scale the character creation table as it is in SRII. To me
this table represents experienced runners, who have knowledge of the field,
equipment, training and contacts. So, what I'm looking for is sugesstions
on balancing the down-scaling of the table in order to still keep it fair.

Here's the table as it is taken directly from the SRII book:

Priority Race Magic Attributes Skills Resources

A Meta Magician 30 40 1,000,000/50
B Meta Adept 24 30 400,000/35
C Meta - 20 24 90,000/25
D Human - 17 20 5,000/15
E Human - 15 17 500/5

(I've included the modifications for the "More Metahumans" rule - hey, I
think metahumans are *cool*.)

Here's what I've decided upon as a base:

Priority Race Magic Attributes Skills Resources

A Meta Magician 24 30 100,000/22
B Meta Adept 19 24 40,000/16
C Human - 16 20 9,000/12
D Human - 14 17 500/8
E Human - 13 15 50/4

Now, I can make a couple of observations about this kind of a setup. Namely
that it encourages the choice of metahumans and magically active characters
(particularily physical adepts). The "gain" to be had from chosing a
metahuman or a magical character is greater than the "gain" to be had for
placing the A or B priority on something else. A similar problem exists
with the skills/attributes vs the resources. The skills and attributes
present more "gain" than the resources do (at least when compared to the
original character creation table). The likely end result of this is that
I'll see a lot of metahuman and magician characters, and that nobody will
have decent resources. I can live with the latter, but the former may pose
a little problem, however I guess I could live with it.

OTOH, if one just does a straight out comparison between the categories in
my new table, then it can be seen that by choosing a higher resources one
can gain many times more nuyen as compared to the "gain" to be had by
choosing a higher attributes or skill category. So that might even the
resources-skills/attributes inbalance up. However, the problem of a
dominance of magical types still remains. I guess I'll just have to live
with it.

Naturally enough, in addition to down scaling the character creation table, I
shall be closely monitoring the gear (cyber/foci/guns/etc), spells and
contacts that I will allow to be chosen.

I'd like the views of anyone who has done a similar thing themselves, or who
has suggestions and ideas for a good way to go about doing such a thing.

Thanks.

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

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GE d- s++:-- a20 C++ US++>+++ P+ L E@ W(+)>++ N- o@ K- w(--) O@ M- !V PS+
PE Y+ PGP->++ t+ 5 X++>+++ R+(++) tv--- b++(+++) DI- D G+ e>++ h(*) !r y--
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

From:	"Paolo (2) Falco" <Falco@****.it>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Mon, 10 Jun 1996 20:46:32 +0000

Message no. 2 On 10 Jun 96, Damion Milliken wrote:

> Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new
> game next session, and I was wanting to start it off at a low
> power level. You know, a game where the PC's are just hitting
> the big time, where the characters are gang members, uni
> computer/magic degree dropouts, AWOL army privates, ex-Lone
> Star police academy dropouts and so on.

I was goinmg to do something like that too... I, however, had
thought of asking each player what he wanted his character to
be, and privately deciding on his skills and attributes. I think
that when starting at such a low level, one point of firearms is
worth maybe two points of etiquette(street), no (just an
example)? Some characters I had thought of were:
Dropout Student, Bouncer, Former Patrolman, Former Gang Member
(hunted by his former companions) and Small Dealer.
I was thinking of this campaign as a huge contact-network
building, in hope of finding jobs and stuff, and as a fight for
survival, looking for redemption and rehabilitation... I want
something VERY dangerous and very intriguing, where roleplaying
has to be at its best...
I am also planning of making magic less powerful and less
accessible, much like something "fabled" and marvelous, that PCs
have only limited access to. Just an idea...
And, I am looking for a VERY detailed setting, with maps and
stuff... Know of anything like that (even for other games,
namely CP...)? Ah, it would be better if it was a dark, rainy
city...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Paolo Falco | "Home is where the supper-dish is"
Ironbound Section | Snoopy
---------------------------------------------------------------
HTTP://www.polito.it/~walter/RollerBrawl/rollerbrawl.html
The Above Web Page Contains Gory Graphics And Fun For Skaters!

From:	bsingley@*****.com (Ben Singley)
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Mon, 10 Jun 1996 16:59:32 -0400

Message no. 3 Damion Wrote:

>I'd like the views of anyone who has done a similar thing themselves, or who
>has suggestions and ideas for a good way to go about doing such a thing.
>
>Thanks.

It sounds like a very good system for running 'reasonable' campaigns. In
my former SRII group (I recently moved) we put reasonable (there's that
word again) limits on the cyber/bio/equipment of characters. We did this
because we did not want to have to delve into the fantastic in order to
make the game challenging.

Alot of our cyberguys had wired refs 1. A really fast st. sammy had wired
refs 2.

We limited bioware to 1/2 normal--that is, a character with a body of six
could fill themselves up with a max of 3 body index points of bioware.

Mercenary characters (non sorcerer adept/mage types) who wanted to have
access to a dealer or affiliate with merc groups could not allow their
essence to drop below 2. We reasoned that as essence drops and one became
more edgy, he would have difficulty operating as part of a merc unit, hence
the limitation. But we compensated by allowing mercs access to wizzer
toys. The merc riggers (same essence limitation) really liked that one.

The end result were characters who had maybe 10+2D6 to as high as 13+3d6
reaction in one exceptional case (think that's fast, you should see some of
the stats of the characters in the group I'm gaming with now!) or so whose
skills were way up there. Most importantly, the game remained challenging
to all players, including the GM, because one didn't need to delve into the
fantastic to make the game challenging. The emphasis was on tactics, good
planning, and skill development rather than how much cyberware and
bionetics one could cram into him.

Insofar as your character generation list goes, I might increase the skill
point allotments. The monetary totals seem okay, but riggers and deckers
are at a distinct disadvantage in terms of their access to tech. Perhaps
in their case you could increase monetary allotments and decrease
skill/attribute point totals on a case by case basis in order to
compensate. Of course, all players could simply agree to limitations in
the interest of gameplay like we did.

Ben

From:	Ubiquitous <weberm@*******.net>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Mon, 10 Jun 1996 17:31:13 -0400 (EDT)

Message no. 4 At 10:40 PM 6/10/96 +1000, you wrote:

>Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new game next
>session, and I was wanting to start it off at a low power level. You know,
>a game where the PC's are just hitting the big time, where the characters are
>gang members, uni computer/magic degree dropouts, AWOL army privates,
>ex-Lone Star police academy dropouts and so on.

Wasn't there an article on this in a back issue of White Wolf or Challenge
magazine? I distinctly recall seeing low-powered archetypes with funny
facesd once.

--
"I remember my first sexual encounter because I kept the recipe."
- Jeff Dahmer

From:	Joker <s1057948@*******.gu.edu.au>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 14:25:40 +1000 (EST)

Message no. 5 On Mon, 10 Jun 1996, Paolo (2) Falco wrote:

> On 10 Jun 96, Damion Milliken wrote:
>
> > Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new
> > game next session, and I was wanting to start it off at a low
> > power level. You know, a game where the PC's are just hitting
> > the big time, where the characters are gang members, uni
> > computer/magic degree dropouts, AWOL army privates, ex-Lone
> > Star police academy dropouts and so on.
>
> I was goinmg to do something like that too... I, however, had
> thought of asking each player what he wanted his character to
> be, and privately deciding on his skills and attributes. I think
> that when starting at such a low level, one point of firearms is
> worth maybe two points of etiquette(street), no (just an
> example)? Some characters I had thought of were:
> Dropout Student, Bouncer, Former Patrolman, Former Gang Member
> (hunted by his former companions) and Small Dealer.
> I was thinking of this campaign as a huge contact-network
> building, in hope of finding jobs and stuff, and as a fight for
> survival, looking for redemption and rehabilitation... I want
> something VERY dangerous and very intriguing, where roleplaying
> has to be at its best...
> Paolo Falco

I am currently playing in a game that started in this style. But we
started in Chicago when the bugs struck. I works fine is the characters
are willing to put in the effort, but it changes back to your usual
setting, and power level fairly quickly as soon as they get there hands
on some Karma. Also I think that giving a character his skills and not
just setting a maximum on levels will lead to some friction as most
characters like to control these things. The game is great for helping
the roleplaying element of SR and is a good start to bigger things.

Craig Chatfield

From:	Marc Lipshitz <MLIPSHIT@****.CO.ZA>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation -Reply
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 08:35:26 +0200

Message no. 6 >>> Paolo (2) Falco <Falco@****.it> 10/June/1996 10:46pm >>>
On 10 Jun 96, Damion Milliken wrote:

>> Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new
>> game next session, and I was wanting to start it off at a low
>> power level. You know, a game where the PC's are just hitting
>> the big time, where the characters are gang members, uni
> >computer/magic degree dropouts, AWOL army privates, ex-Lone
> >Star police academy dropouts and so on.

>I was thinking of this campaign as a huge contact-network building, in
>ope of finding jobs and stuff, and as a fight for survival, looking for
>edemption and rehabilitation... I want something VERY dangerous and
>ery intriguing, where roleplaying has to be at its best...
I>am also planning of making magic less powerful and less accessible,
>much like something "fabled" and marvelous, that PCs have only limited
>access to. Just an idea...
>And, I am looking for a VERY detailed setting, with maps and stuff...
>Know of anything like that (even for other games, namely CP...)? Ah, it
>would be better if it was a dark, rainy city...

Hmm, low powered characters, lethal setting, magic rare and not that
powerful, detailed setting, try Call of Cthullu:)

Marc

From:	Marc Lipshitz <MLIPSHIT@****.CO.ZA>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation -Reply
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 08:47:29 +0200

Message no. 7 >>> Ben Singley <bsingley@*****.com> 10/June/1996 10:59pm >>>
Damion Wrote:

>I'd like the views of anyone who has done a similar thing themselves,
or who
>has suggestions and ideas for a good way to go about doing such a
thing.
>
>Thanks.

It sounds like a very good system for running 'reasonable' campaigns. In
my former SRII group (I recently moved) we put reasonable (there's that
word again) limits on the cyber/bio/equipment of characters. We did this
because we did not want to have to delve into the fantastic in order to
make the game challenging.

Alot of our cyberguys had wired refs 1. A really fast st. sammy had
wired refs 2.

We limited bioware to 1/2 normal--that is, a character with a body of six
could fill themselves up with a max of 3 body index points of bioware.

Mercenary characters (non sorcerer adept/mage types) who wanted to
have access to a dealer or affiliate with merc groups could not allow
their essence to drop below 2. We reasoned that as essence drops
and one became more edgy, he would have difficulty operating as part
of a merc unit, hence the limitation. But we compensated by allowing
mercs access to wizzer toys. The merc riggers (same essence
limitation) really liked that one.

The end result were characters who had maybe 10+2D6 to as high as
13+3d6 reaction in one exceptional case (think that's fast, you should
see some of the stats of the characters in the group I'm gaming with
now!) or so whose skills were way up there. Most importantly, the game
remained challenging to all players, including the GM, because one didn't
need to delve into the fantastic to make the game challenging. The
emphasis was on tactics, good planning, and skill development rather
than how much cyberware and bionetics one could cram into him.

Ben

We did something similar, at the start of the game no character could
start with any system rated higher than 1, (or first category in the case
of items such as skillwires). In addition we utilise a system which
penalises characters with low essence when making social roles. The
theory being that as the character's essence drops he loses his
humanity and becomes less emotional and less able to react emotionally.
People tend to pick up this emotional vacuum and react negatively. If
anybodies interested I will post the details to the list

Marc

From:	dbuehrer@****.org (David Buehrer)
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 07:01:27 -0600 (MDT)

Message no. 8 Ben Singley wrote:
|
|Damion Wrote:
|
|>I'd like the views of anyone who has done a similar thing themselves, or who
|>has suggestions and ideas for a good way to go about doing such a thing.
|>
|>Thanks.
|
|It sounds like a very good system for running 'reasonable' campaigns. In
|my former SRII group (I recently moved) we put reasonable (there's that
|word again) limits on the cyber/bio/equipment of characters. We did this
|because we did not want to have to delve into the fantastic in order to
|make the game challenging.

"Where does he get those fantastic toys?" - The Joker

To all GMs who haven't figured this out yet. If your having problems
because your PCs have powerful toys, take the toys away. If your players
really hate this then do a temporary takeaway. This happens to Batman alot.
The villain takes away his utility belt and Batman has to do it on his own
or get his belt back. Either way will make the game challenging again.

And there are lots of ways to rationalize it. The law being the major
excuse. And I don't care how powerful someone is, if you throw enough LS
troops at them they will go down. Numbers always beat skill. And if a
vehicle, weapon or item is the problem you can have someone steal it. If
it's that powerful other people are going to want it. And then there's the
simple plot of revenge. Someone the PCs have pissed off goes after them.
And since he's allready delt with them he knows what to do (get that damn
utility belt <grin>).

Change your perspective and new options will appear like magic.

-David

/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\ dbuehrer@****.org /^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\/^\
"His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like
underpants in a dryer without Cling Free."
~~~~~~http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1068/homepage.html~~~~~~

From:	Jeff Perrin <jperrin@*********.net>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 11:01:14 -0400

Message no. 9 David Buehrer wrote:
> "Where does he get those fantastic toys?" - The Joker
>
> To all GMs who haven't figured this out yet. If your having problems
> because your PCs have powerful toys, take the toys away. If your players
> really hate this then do a temporary takeaway. This happens to Batman alot.
or another option is present jobs that they cant take their toys with
them such as have to go to a foreign country and use what the Johnson
can provide them with there. Another option is present missions that
their toys are worthless (and make them have to get more toys) such as
having to make a very loud and visible distraction opposed to the usual
stealth, in and out in under 3 minute missions.

Luc aka BobW

From:	"Paolo Marcucci" <paolo@*********.it>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 17:02:56 +0200

Message no. 10 At 11:01 11/06/96 -0400, you wrote:
[snip]
>their toys are worthless (and make them have to get more toys) such as
>having to make a very loud and visible distraction opposed to the usual
>stealth, in and out in under 3 minute missions.
>
>Luc aka BobW

You mean the opposite, isn't it?

:) Paolo
____________________________________________________________
Paolo Marcucci paolo@*********.it
InterWare Service Provider Trieste, Italy
http://www.interware.it/ Tel. +39-40-411400
The Shadowrun Archive - http://www.interware.it/shadowrun/

From:	bsingley@*****.com (Ben Singley)
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation -Reply
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 16:49:27 -0400

Message no. 11 On 6/11/96, Marc wrote:

>Ben
>
>
>We did something similar, at the start of the game no character could
>start with any system rated higher than 1, (or first category in the case
>of items such as skillwires). In addition we utilise a system which
>penalises characters with low essence when making social roles. The
>theory being that as the character's essence drops he loses his
>humanity and becomes less emotional and less able to react emotionally.
>People tend to pick up this emotional vacuum and react negatively. If
>anybodies interested I will post the details to the list
>
>Marc

Marc,

I'd love to see the details. Please post!

Ben

From:	bsingley@*****.com (Ben Singley)
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Tue, 11 Jun 1996 17:41:28 -0400

Message no. 12 David Wrote:

>To all GMs who haven't figured this out yet. If your having problems
>because your PCs have powerful toys, take the toys away. If your players
>really hate this then do a temporary takeaway. This happens to Batman alot.
>The villain takes away his utility belt and Batman has to do it on his own
>or get his belt back. Either way will make the game challenging again.
>
>And there are lots of ways to rationalize it. The law being the major
>excuse. And I don't care how powerful someone is, if you throw enough LS
>troops at them they will go down. Numbers always beat skill. And if a
>vehicle, weapon or item is the problem you can have someone steal it. If
>it's that powerful other people are going to want it. And then there's the
>simple plot of revenge. Someone the PCs have pissed off goes after them.
>And since he's allready delt with them he knows what to do (get that damn
>utility belt <grin>).
>
>Change your perspective and new options will appear like magic.
>
>-David

Hey David,

Just a comment on 'wizzer toys'

IN our group at least, nobody ever got a hold of stuff like banshee lavs or
anything like that. When I referred to the limitation on essence (can't go
lower than two) for characters who wanted to have a merc affiliation and
have access to a dealer, and then stipulated that such characters through
such an affiliation could get access to wizzer toys (heck of a run-on
sentence--use of commas not withstanding), I typically dropped the
availability target number and possibly the street index, depending on what
they wanted to acquire.

We put STRICT limitations on access to such goodies as APDS rounds, but
they were easier for merc-type characters to aquire them. This was also
true for things like tekked-out chem-sealed full-heavy armor, not that
characters had any use for them 95% of the time. In terms of vehicles, one
character actually acquired an F-variant PRC-42B Wasp (still really
expensive, but the team pooled their resources). But he kept it in the
barrens and didn't fly it at altitudes of over 500 feet or so (and
typically lower than that!) cuz he didn't want to get busted by the Star or
worse. A few times he made it over the border into Salish-Shidhe with it
(45-60 feet above ground) and it did, in fact, get destroyed later on.
Another rigger wanted a Vanquisher HMG (rotary-barelled) for the pop-up
turret. He had the cred, and acquiring it was easier. Anyway, in sum,
merc-type characters who accepted the essence limitation had easier times
acquiring exotics up through about HV-LMGs.

INsofar as the voluntary limits on bionetics and cyberware, among other
things, the group agreed on it for no other reason than we wanted to rely
more on skills and thoughtful planning. To my experience, and I've reached
a consensus on this with all the people with whom I've ever played SRII, in
terms of combat, regardless of skill level (kinda), speed is what
influences combat the most. This if often true in any scenario, and I'm
not just talking about the SRII game system. But it can get a bit outta
hand in the SRII game system (my opinion, I know this'll spark a big
debate). what is the point of developing a character when all you really
need to be combat effective is a smartlink, Wired refs 3 (or move by wire),
muscle aug 4, enhanced articulation, and an adrenal pump (level 2)? That's
a reaction (assuming quickness and Intelligence of 6) of 20+4D6.--Gakk.

Anyway.... It had nothing to do with the "Batman hypothesis"

"Batman Hypothesis", I rather like that. ;-)

Ben

From:	"Paolo (2) Falco" <Falco@****.it>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation -Reply
Date:	Wed, 12 Jun 1996 18:34:14 +0000

Message no. 13 On 11 Jun 96, Marc Lipshitz wrote:

> Hmm, low powered characters, lethal setting, magic rare and not
> that powerful, detailed setting, try Call of Cthullu:)

Hehe, where do you think I got the idea from? :)
I really like the paranoid tension that a good CoC game can
mount up...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Paolo Falco | "Home is where the supper-dish is"
Ironbound Section | Snoopy
---------------------------------------------------------------
HTTP://www.polito.it/~walter/RollerBrawl/rollerbrawl.html
The Above Web Page Contains Gory Graphics And Fun For Skaters!

From:	Lady Jestyr <s421539@*******.gu.edu.au>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Thu, 13 Jun 1996 10:07:57 +1000 (EST)

Message no. 14 > > > Now for my newest request. I'm going to be starting up a new
[snip]
> > > Star police academy dropouts and so on.
> >
> > I was goinmg to do something like that too... I, however, had
[snip]
> > has to be at its best...
> > Paolo Falco
>
>
> I am currently playing in a game that started in this style. But we
> started in Chicago when the bugs struck. I works fine is the characters
> are willing to put in the effort, but it changes back to your usual
> setting, and power level fairly quickly as soon as they get there hands
> on some Karma. Also I think that giving a character his skills and not
> just setting a maximum on levels will lead to some friction as most
> characters like to control these things. The game is great for helping
> the roleplaying element of SR and is a good start to bigger things.
>
> Craig Chatfield

Yeah, I'd have to agree with Craig on this one. I play in the same game
and we're TRYING to keep it to a low power level. Everyone's voluntarily
restricting themselves to light pistols (I miss my twin Savalettes...
*sob*) and a lined coat by way of armour, and the GMs are giving us
commensurate goons to fight. So far, it's working OK, but we've had a
couple of problems:

1. It leaves magic very powerful. My flamebomb 5 does nasty things to
people with no armor. Sure, you can throw away a big gun. It's hard to
unlearn a big spell. (I won't even MENTION the mage with a Light-Ray
force 11...)

2. Whenever you come up against something other than goons (ie bugs,
elementals etc...) there's an endless chorus of "Yeah, light pistols and
light armor, he said. Low lethality, he said..." Let's face it, to hurt a
decent fleshform you need a gun that throws a lot of metal out at very
high speeds. Light pistols make a fleshform go "oooh, that tickles"...

Lady Jestyr

------------------------------------------------------
I don't have enemies, it's just that my best friends
are trying to kill me.
------------------------------------------------------
Elle Holmes s421539@*****.student.gu.edu.au
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1503/
------------------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed are my own, unless you don't
agree with them, in which case they are my evil twin
sister's opinions.

From:	"Gurth" <gurth@******.nl>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Thu, 13 Jun 1996 11:30:32 +0100

Message no. 15 Lady Jestyr said on 10:07/13 Jun 96...

> 2. Whenever you come up against something other than goons (ie bugs,
> elementals etc...) there's an endless chorus of "Yeah, light pistols and
> light armor, he said. Low lethality, he said..." Let's face it, to hurt a
> decent fleshform you need a gun that throws a lot of metal out at very
> high speeds. Light pistols make a fleshform go "oooh, that tickles"...

(Invae! Yes! :) You mean trueforms, don't you? Flesh forms can get hurt by
light(er) weapons a lot easier than true forms, because they don't get the
armor the true forms get as a result of manifesting.

Apart from that nit-picking, you're basically right. I've seen a player
shoot a Force 6 spirit with a CMDT set to BF mode repeatedly before it
finally died and went away (it manifested inside the players' car as they
were driving through Chicago trying to find a way out :)

The way to deal with insect spirits is either ungodly destructive weapons
that will get through that manifest armor + the normal armor (what, you
don't add the two together? Shame on you :), which is something like 18
for a Force 6 Ant spirit soldier; or use a weapon focus or Killing Hands
against them.

Oh, and to make them even less nice to players, consider this house rule
of mine: if the target's armor level is greater than the modified Power of
the attack, the target gets extra dice to roll for its Body test: 1 die
per 2 points. So shooting a burst from a CMDT against the Force 6 Ant
spirit gives it 3 extra dice...

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Character Mortuary: http://huizen.dds.nl/~mortuary/mortuary.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U 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?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

From:	Stephen Delear <shadow@***.com>
Subject:	Re: Low Powered Character Creation
Date:	Fri, 14 Jun 1996 16:43:57 -0500 (CDT)

Message no. 16 On Thu, 13 Jun 1996, Gurth wrote:

> Lady Jestyr said on 10:07/13 Jun 96...
>
> > 2. Whenever you come up against something other than goons (ie bugs,
> > elementals etc...) there's an endless chorus of "Yeah, light pistols and
> > light armor, he said. Low lethality, he said..." Let's face it, to hurt a
> > decent fleshform you need a gun that throws a lot of metal out at very
> > high speeds. Light pistols make a fleshform go "oooh, that tickles"...
>
> (Invae! Yes! :) You mean trueforms, don't you? Flesh forms can get hurt by
> light(er) weapons a lot easier than true forms, because they don't get the
> armor the true forms get as a result of manifesting.
>
> Apart from that nit-picking, you're basically right. I've seen a player
> shoot a Force 6 spirit with a CMDT set to BF mode repeatedly before it
> finally died and went away (it manifested inside the players' car as they
> were driving through Chicago trying to find a way out :)

Try taking most of the explosives out of an assault cannon shell and
filing it with bug spray. Nice effect which can be used at close range
(or you could using the cannon to snipe at bugs from a click off).

>
> The way to deal with insect spirits is either ungodly destructive weapons
> that will get through that manifest armor + the normal armor (what, you
> don't add the two together? Shame on you :), which is something like 18
> for a Force 6 Ant spirit soldier; or use a weapon focus or Killing Hands
> against them.
>

According to FASAMike bugspray injected via Narcojet or inserted into the
bugs system via DMSO will cause the bug to have the same allergic
reaction as if it has injested it, get an ELD-AR and have some fun!

Stephen Delear
>
> --
> Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
> You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire
> -> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
> -> The Character Mortuary: http://huizen.dds.nl/~mortuary/mortuary.html <-
>
> -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
> Version 3.1:
> GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U 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?
> ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
>

Mailing List Logs for

Further Reading

Disclaimer