| From: | L Canthros <lobo1@****.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Shadowrun Companion rule mods |
| Date: | Sat, 15 Feb 1997 19:00:40 EST |
<snip other guy>
> I don't beleive in the way the Contact upkeep is handled. IRL I
know
>a lot of people in a lot of different carreers. I can get general
>information from these casual contacts with just a phone call. If I need
>more than detailed information or help then I am obliged to offer
>something in return. That is the way the it should have been handled. I
>guess they wanted a simple (a way too expensive for the contact level)
>way of handling it. And why does the freind of a friend give your
contact
>better contacts than you do. Contacts need to be worked out more but
this
>was poorly executed.
perhaps...but I don't know if those are necessarily the same kind of
contacts that you have in SR...much like how you can't put down all of a
person's skills into a starting character...I think it has more to do
with how well you know those contacts...a Level One contact is not a
simple acquaintance. They're a lot closer to what you might consider a
friend...not a good friend, but someone you know and are on good terms
with, maybe someone you hang out with on occasion. A Level 2 contact is a
good friend and will stick with you through quite a bit...while a Level 1
contact won't be around if you're the wrong guy to be around, a Level 2
contact will still be there. A Level 3 Contact is probably more like a
close relative or best buddy. Even more than a Level 2, they will be
there no matter what...Of course, that's my take on all of this. As for
how they're handled, remember that a) money is not worth as much in 2050
as it is now (this isn't always consistent, but usually it's pretty
close) and b)the upkeep is spread out over an entire year. The upkeep is
more than just money, too...just as you get info from those people when
you call them, they get info from you when they call you. Anything that
can considered to be worth money (info, favors, etc) counts toward upkeep
cost.
> SOTA has magic as a catagory. Is there something about magic in
>Shadowrun I've missed lately? If you want access to new metamagic sure,
>that's fine, but the force 5 spell that worked yesterday is still going
>to be cast as a force 5 spell tomorrow no matter the SOTA. And would
SOTA
>ever apply to shamans? Does Dog no longer answer your calls unless you
>upgrade to Dog 2.0?
This has been discussed at least once around here, so you're not the only
one who's picked that up. But, a couple of ideas: first, just like
bullets and armor go back and forth, so do spells and spell defense.
Second, I think this applies to magical theory as you discussed above. As
for shamans...hmmm...I think that might count as a bonus to shamans, they
are immune to magical SOTA. Mages, OTOH, are highly dependent on the
amount of information available and could be considered to be vulnerable
to the SOTA. The final option is to degrade magical libraries, rather
than skills (if that's not what it does, My book is upstairs:). It still
doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I don't know what else to do,
besides simply ignoring the rule (it is optional, after all:)
I suppose the SOTA rules might be better if they had bothered to explain
just what was meant by an advance to the SOTA in those areas...so magical
theory has improved? How?
>
>- MC23, who wonders why only he sees these holes in the SRC on the list
-
Well, you'll be happy to now that you're not the only one, at least one
other person has pointed out most of the problems you've had with the
book. (which as I recall are a)unbalanced meta-variants, b)munch
shapeshifter rules, c)overall quality (okay, you're the only one who's
really bitched about that:), and, most recently, d)SOTA rules...whoops!
forgot e), the unbalanced chargen rules, and f), the physads-force points
discussion:) I think the rules for shapeshifters are pretty fair, myself,
but only if the player is good RP wise...if not, they're a munchkin's wet
dream, 'cause it's almost all RP problems.
--
-Canthros-the shapeshifter-mage-who-really-liked-the-SR-Companion
If any man wishes peace, canthros1@***.com
let him prepare for war. lobo1@****.com
--Roman proverb
http://members.aol.com/canthros1/
