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Message no. 1
From: "Mike Mulvihill (FASA)" <FASAMike@***.COM>
Subject: Shapechanger
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 16:23:17 -0500
The Digital Mage wrote on Wed, Nov 20, 1996 1:27 PM EDT


>Is it me, or does this mean taht shapeshifters have actually MORE chance
>of dying than a mundane (who woulnd't have ANY chance of dying by simply
>taking a Deadly wound).

I actually thought about that but my rationale was that since shapeshifters
are actually animals and not (meta)humans, it only makes sense that they
should have the same reaction to deadly damage as animals not as (meta)humans
regardless of them being PC's or not.

Have Fun!
Play Games!
Just Finished The Underworld Sourcebook!

Mike Mulvihill
Shadowrun Line Developer
FASA
See our web page at www.fasa.com
Message no. 2
From: Timothy P Cooper <tpcooper@***.CSUPOMONA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shapechanger
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:38:49 -0800
> The Digital Mage wrote on Wed, Nov 20, 1996 1:27 PM EDT
>
>
> >Is it me, or does this mean taht shapeshifters have actually MORE chance
> >of dying than a mundane (who woulnd't have ANY chance of dying by simply
> >taking a Deadly wound).

I believe, the rule in question was the "on a deadly wound, roll 1d6, if 1 or 2
(or something like that) the regenerating creature dies..". You could easily
extrapolate that to:
On a 1 or 2, the deadly wound does not heal...start taking overflow.

I think that particular problem stemmed from the addition of the Physical
Overflow rules for PCs/NPCs in SRII, not considering Shape-changers as NPC(PC)s
'cause they are after all in the critters part of the book (and I don't think
they were ever used as actual NPCs in any pre-SRII material), and not updating
the Regeneration power to take into account the addition of Physical Overflow.

> I actually thought about that but my rationale was that since shapeshifters
> are actually animals and not (meta)humans, it only makes sense that they
> should have the same reaction to deadly damage as animals not as (meta)humans
> regardless of them being PC's or not.

No offence, but Nah... doesn't work for me...IMHO you'd be perfectly justified
in using the Physical Overflow rules for animals/critters.

> Have Fun!
> Play Games!
> Just Finished The Underworld Sourcebook!

Cool...when's it due on the shelves?

>
> Mike Mulvihill

~Tim (it's just sinking in that I'm arguing rules with a FASA Developer..)
Message no. 3
From: Brett Barksdale <brett@***.ORST.EDU>
Subject: Re: Shapechanger
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 13:42:20 -0800
>>Is it me, or does this mean taht shapeshifters have actually MORE chance
>>of dying than a mundane (who woulnd't have ANY chance of dying by simply
>>taking a Deadly wound).

>I actually thought about that but my rationale was that since shapeshifters
>are actually animals and not (meta)humans, it only makes sense that they
>should have the same reaction to deadly damage as animals not as (meta)humans
>regardless of them being PC's or not.

Not that a serious rationalization is really needed. With all of those
neat-o abilities, shapeshifters definitely need some strong drawbacks.
Just looking at the preview section, I /still/ think that it's positives
far outweight it's negatives. Especially if you run a low-power game.

Speaking of the Companion, has that sucker shipped yet, Mike?

- Brett
Message no. 4
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@****.ORG>
Subject: Re: Shapechanger
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 14:56:12 -0700
Timothy P Cooper wrote:
|
|> The Digital Mage wrote on Wed, Nov 20, 1996 1:27 PM EDT
|>
|> >Is it me, or does this mean taht shapeshifters have actually MORE chance
|> >of dying than a mundane (who woulnd't have ANY chance of dying by simply
|> >taking a Deadly wound).
|
|I believe, the rule in question was the "on a deadly wound, roll 1d6,
|if 1 or 2 |(or something like that) the regenerating creature dies..".
|You could easily |extrapolate that to: | On a 1 or 2, the
|deadly wound does not heal...start taking overflow.

Sounds good to me :)

|> I actually thought about that but my rationale was that since shapeshifters
|> are actually animals and not (meta)humans, it only makes sense that they
|> should have the same reaction to deadly damage as animals not as (meta)humans
|> regardless of them being PC's or not.
|
|No offence, but Nah... doesn't work for me...IMHO you'd be perfectly
|justified |in using the Physical Overflow rules for animals/critters.

I gotta agree with ~Tim. IMHO, it's more than reasonable
for both (meta)humans and (paranormal)animals to use the
overflow rules. Otherwise it starts feeling like AD$D,
where PCs can die slowly, but NPCs and monsters suffer from
Sudden Instant Death Syndrome :)

|~Tim (it's just sinking in that I'm arguing rules with a FASA Developer..)

I'm right behind ya :)

-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.htm~~~~
Message no. 5
From: John Pederson <Canthros@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Shapechanger
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 19:00:53 -0500
In a message dated 96-11-22 16:25:32 EST, you write:

>>Is it me, or does this mean taht shapeshifters have actually MORE chance
>>of dying than a mundane (who woulnd't have ANY chance of dying by simply
>>taking a Deadly wound).
>
>I actually thought about that but my rationale was that since shapeshifters
>are actually animals and not (meta)humans, it only makes sense that they
>should have the same reaction to deadly damage as animals not as
(meta)humans
>regardless of them being PC's or not.
>
I think I agree with you, but for a different reason. My reasoning is that
only neural damage (injury to the brain or spinal chord) could actually kill
such a character. This is also what is (I think) stated in the SR2 main
book-that when the rolls are made on Deadly damage, they're being made to
check for damage to the central nervous system, the one thing the Regeration
power, it states, cannot repair damage to...OTOH, it kinda isn't fair
(realism-wise) to require this roll of only regenerates (though it works
nicely for game balance:). Perhaps one should require it of all PCs and
NPCs? Either that, or go with the overflow option (mind you that it will
make those vamps and shifters MUCH longer lived...). And I would definately
go with overflow for damage from Vulnerability and Allergy-caused wounds.

John Pederson "God is dead"
canthros@***.com -Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 to 1900)
lobo1@****.com "Nietzsche is dead"
http://members.gnn.com/lenoj/johns.htm -God (everlasting to everlasting)

"Only dead fish swim with the stream."

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Shapechanger, you may also be interested in:

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Thwap!