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Message no. 1
From: Martin Steffens <chimerae@***.IE>
Subject: R2 question
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 23:16:39 +0000
Since I'm still waiting for Rigger 2 to arrive (thanks to Virgin
megastore's efficient ordering system we're entering week 18 now :/ )
I just started designing a few small autonomous drones that I've had
wandering in my head for ages.

One of the little buggers is an in-house insect killer: it's sensors
scan for the bugs and even allows excluding certain small critters
(don't kill spiders, just grab them and put them outside, don't do
anything with lady bugs; that kinda stuff). It's equipped with a
small taser in a extendable arm to zap the bugs and another small arm
to pick up the remains, or clean the taser arm.

Now I've had some problems with the taser damage code. Clearly it
would be a D damage code for most insects, but it won't do anything
but sting a bit if it accidentally hits a human target (no robocop
killing machines here :). SR however doesn't give me a way of doing
this. I figured out that R2 has something for it, based on some of
your postings, but haven't got the faintest clue how it works
exactly.

Here's what I came up with myself and have been using for years now:

tiny creatures = stage damage up three levels (L becomes D)
insect size to small lizards

small creatures = +2 levels
rabbits and their ilk

pet size = +1 level
medium dogs and all cats (put chiwawa's under small :)

human size = normal
all meta humans (for the sake of ease trolls too, although they're
rather big)

big creatures = -1level
bear size to hippotamus

very big creatures = -2 levels
dragons and similar sized critters

I haven't made a -3 category since it would make the critters a bit
too invulnerable, but so far it did prevent the average sammie
killing a dragon with one burst of a shotgun (something I always
considered to be a bit of an anti climax...)

Is this consistent with the rules in R2? (like Erik I like to stay as
close as possible to the original rules, that's why I ask)


Martin Steffens
chimerae@***.ie
Message no. 2
From: Mongoose <evamarie@**********.NET>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 01:21:15 -0700
Now I've had some problems with the taser damage code. Clearly it
would be a D damage code for most insects, but it won't do anything
but sting a bit if it accidentally hits a human target (no robocop
killing machines here :). SR however doesn't give me a way of doing
this. I figured out that R2 has something for it, based on some of
your postings, but haven't got the faintest clue how it works
exactly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At that level, a damage code is meaningless- assume a normal bug has
zero body (like micro drones in R2, which, duh, you don't have yet). If a
zero body drone takes ANY damage, it is destroyed. That makes sense for
regular insects- any damage SR can measure with normal damage codes would
kill them. Comparing human scale to bug scale is like comparing nautical
scale (from Cyber Pirates) to human.

Mongoose
Message no. 3
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 10:56:35 +0200
According to Martin Steffens, at 23:16 on 8 Oct 98, the word on the street was...

> Now I've had some problems with the taser damage code. Clearly it
> would be a D damage code for most insects, but it won't do anything
> but sting a bit if it accidentally hits a human target (no robocop
> killing machines here :). SR however doesn't give me a way of doing
> this. I figured out that R2 has something for it, based on some of
> your postings, but haven't got the faintest clue how it works
> exactly.

What you could do is adapt a rule from Rigger 2 (I know, you don't have it
yet): a drone with Body 0 is destroyed as soon as it takes _any_ damage.
You can use the same rule for living things, and say that insects have a
Body of 0 -- thus, even a 1L electric zap from the drone will kill them.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Love don't live here anymore.
She had to move out when Cobain shot himself.
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: 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?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998
Message no. 4
From: Fixer <fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 07:31:54 -0400
On Thu, 8 Oct 1998, Martin Steffens wrote:

->Since I'm still waiting for Rigger 2 to arrive (thanks to Virgin
->megastore's efficient ordering system we're entering week 18 now :/ )
->I just started designing a few small autonomous drones that I've had
->wandering in my head for ages.
->
->One of the little buggers is an in-house insect killer: it's sensors
->scan for the bugs and even allows excluding certain small critters
->(don't kill spiders, just grab them and put them outside, don't do
->anything with lady bugs; that kinda stuff). It's equipped with a
->small taser in a extendable arm to zap the bugs and another small arm
->to pick up the remains, or clean the taser arm.
->
->Now I've had some problems with the taser damage code. Clearly it
->would be a D damage code for most insects, but it won't do anything
->but sting a bit if it accidentally hits a human target (no robocop
->killing machines here :). SR however doesn't give me a way of doing
->this. I figured out that R2 has something for it, based on some of
->your postings, but haven't got the faintest clue how it works
->exactly.
<snip rules>
->Is this consistent with the rules in R2? (like Erik I like to stay as
->close as possible to the original rules, that's why I ask)

In SR2, Big Black book, under the 'Critters' section, it states
that any creature with a Body of 0 (it also restates in Rigger2 for drones
with Body 0) is automatically killed (destroyed) by any successful attack,
regardless of power or damage category. Since bats have a body of 0, I
assume Insects of normal variety must have the same (I don't want to
consider negative body). Thus, your 'taser' could simply do 2L Stun
damage and still kill the bugs.

Fixer --------------} The easy I do before breakfast,
the difficult I do all day long,
the impossible only during the week,
and miracles performed on an as-needed basis....

Now tell me, what was your problem?
Message no. 5
From: Martin Steffens <chimerae@***.IE>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 12:45:46 +0000
and thus did Mongoose speak on 9 Oct 98 at 1:21:

> At that level, a damage code is meaningless- assume a normal bug has
> zero body (like micro drones in R2, which, duh, you don't have yet). If a
> zero body drone takes ANY damage, it is destroyed. That makes sense for
> regular insects- any damage SR can measure with normal damage codes would
> kill them. Comparing human scale to bug scale is like comparing nautical
> scale (from Cyber Pirates) to human.

Aha, so that scale vs damage thing is in R2 and Cyberpirates? Cool,
cyberpirates is in the same order as Rigger 2.. sigh...

And the funny thing is Virgin MegaStores has SR3 by now, which I'm
still waiting for to arrive from Amazon... Sometimes I wonder who is
behind this all...

Martin
(who feels like dark forces want to keep him from reading any new SR
material)

Karina & Martin Steffens
chimerae@***.ie
Message no. 6
From: Mike Bobroff <Airwasp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 10:53:15 EDT
In a message dated 10/9/98 2:02:39 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
evamarie@**********.net writes:

> Now I've had some problems with the taser damage code. Clearly it
> would be a D damage code for most insects, but it won't do anything
> but sting a bit if it accidentally hits a human target (no robocop
> killing machines here :). SR however doesn't give me a way of doing
> this. I figured out that R2 has something for it, based on some of
> your postings, but haven't got the faintest clue how it works
> exactly.

Once you get the R2, use the Anti-Theft Shock System as the cost for having a
taser which does this effect. And as for the damage to a person, how about
something along the lines of 2L stun?

-Herc
------ The Best Mechanic you can ever have.
Message no. 7
From: Micheal Feeney <Starrngr@***.COM>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1998 12:51:08 EDT
In a message dated 98-10-09 07:46:48 EDT, you write:

<< And the funny thing is Virgin MegaStores has SR3 by now, which I'm
still waiting for to arrive from Amazon... Sometimes I wonder who is
behind this all... >>

Thats cause you did it the hard way. I order straight from fasa, and my bbb3
was in my hands in about a week, maybe less.
Message no. 8
From: Martin Steffens <chimerae@***.IE>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 10:21:25 +0000
and thus did Fixer speak on 9 Oct 98 at 7:31:

> In SR2, Big Black book, under the 'Critters' section, it states
> that any creature with a Body of 0 (it also restates in Rigger2 for drones
> with Body 0) is automatically killed (destroyed) by any successful attack,
> regardless of power or damage category. Since bats have a body of 0, I
> assume Insects of normal variety must have the same (I don't want to
> consider negative body). Thus, your 'taser' could simply do 2L Stun
> damage and still kill the bugs.

Simple, but elegant. Thanks everyone who pointed out this rule I
completely missed.

I still think my scaling system has some merits, but technically I
don't need it for bugs at least. That reminds me I should program the
little bug-killers to play dead and set off an alarm if a Bug Spirit
ever turns up in the house :).

Karina & Martin Steffens
chimerae@***.ie
Message no. 9
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: R2 question
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1998 12:48:23 +0200
According to Micheal Feeney, at 12:51 on 9 Oct 98, the word on the street was...

> Thats cause you did it the hard way. I order straight from fasa, and my bbb3
> was in my hands in about a week, maybe less.

You are in the US. Martin is not.

I ordered something from FASA a few years ago (okay, about five) and it
took over three months to arrive. I mailed some stuff home from the US in
mid August this year (a few days after GenCon), I finally got it in the
mail in late September. (Granted, this was surface mail because air mail
was the nice sum of $42 or so.)

Martin, I'll give you the address of the store in London where I buy most
of my game stuff. You won't have to wait three months before they send
your order to you.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Love don't live here anymore.
She had to move out when Cobain shot himself.
-> NERPS Project Leader * ShadowRN GridSec * Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-
-> The New Character Mortuary: http://www.electricferret.com/mortuary/ <-

GC3.1: 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?
Incubated into the First Church of the Sqooshy Ball, 21-05-1998

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