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Message no. 1
From: Tomasz Kubacki <j23tom@*****.ONET.PL>
Subject: SOTA for armour?!
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 17:59:03 +0200
Leaslie =Leszek Karlik (Mike)
said that sota rule for ph. armour is stiupid...& i agree that. Why?

primo..
How often technologies of hard materials change?
re: Once per Year maybe twice.

secundo..
How long that would be manufactured ?
re: about year (including test phase)
>>>>Test phase, what test?<<<
Corporate owner (probably dragon)

that gives us 2 fucked years

Sota rule is only for that part of tech. that is
changing in short time (like software).
------------------------------------------
J23TOM also known as
Clark Kent
j23tom@*****.onet.pl
------------------------------------------
Message no. 2
From: Max Rible <slothman@*********.ORG>
Subject: Re: SOTA for armour?!
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 09:34:38 -0800
At 17:59 9/23/97 +0200, Tomasz Kubacki wrote:
>Leaslie =Leszek Karlik (Mike)
>said that sota rule for ph. armour is stiupid...& i agree that. Why?

The SOTA rules in the Shadowrun Companion simply don't make sense, except
for ECM/ECCM. In a situation like the Matrix, where everything is upgraded
regularly, or when you have opposed tests being made, it makes sense to use
those SOTA rules. But a broken limb isn't harder to fix because someone
invented VITAS-7, Mana Bolt isn't harder to invent because someone came up
with Redirect, and body armor doesn't get weaker against fists because
someone invented better armor-piercing ammunition. My group just ignores
the rules. (I handle the SOTA on weapons by importing things from the
Cyberpunk 2020 Chromebooks. "You may have a Panther Assault Cannon...
but that guy over there has a man-portable railgun!")

--
%% Max Rible %% slothman@*****.com %% http://www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %%
%% "Before enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice. %%
%% After enlightenment: sharpen claws, catch mice." - me %%
Message no. 3
From: Mike Bobroff <AirWisp@***.COM>
Subject: Re: SOTA for armour?!
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 14:24:16 -0400
In a message dated 97-09-23 12:38:08 EDT, j23tom@*****.ONET.PL writes:

> Sota rule is only for that part of tech. that is
> changing in short time (like software).

Perhaps, but first, can the language, and be more tasteful in your choice of
words.

Getting back to the SOTA rule, yes some things do change over time, which is
why there is also a random table for the GM to role. If things change to
quickly to suit the GM (rolling something twice in a row) then he/she can
just as easily reroll the dice again or choose something else.

The SOTA rule is in for game balance, and to reflect the advancements in
technology in the world. One example of this is the Internet, up until I had
access to it, I was not up to SOTA with the people who have it. My car is a
1990 Ford Taurus, and is far our of SOTA, but still runs.

Also, do apologize for your 'mouth' it has no room on this list. Be more
creative in the future with the English langauge.
Message no. 4
From: Timothy Little <t_little@**********.UTAS.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: SOTA for armour?!
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 14:55:07 +1000
At 09:34 AM 9/23/97 -0800, Max wrote:
>
>The SOTA rules in the Shadowrun Companion simply don't make sense, except
>for ECM/ECCM.

SOTA reflexes!

"You see, the the last couple of years have seen a few new revisions, so
your 'ware is out of date. You now move slower than the average troll, I'm
afraid"
:-)

>In a situation like the Matrix, where everything is upgraded
>regularly, or when you have opposed tests being made, it makes sense to use
>those SOTA rules. But a broken limb isn't harder to fix because someone
>invented VITAS-7, Mana Bolt isn't harder to invent because someone came up
>with Redirect, and body armor doesn't get weaker against fists because
>someone invented better armor-piercing ammunition. My group just ignores
>the rules.

Same here. SOTA only matters where the only applications are opposed by
tech which is advancing at a similar rate. Decking the Matrix is about the
only time these conditions are met.

One run I played in, the objective included decrypting data from a chip
which was 20 years old. It had been encrypted by top-line code, at Rating 15.
At that point, the decker mentioned how 30's crypto algorithms were so far
behind SOTA that he could do it on his pocket calculator. Well, by the
rules, he's right!

The GM introduced partial data loss to make up for that, of course :-)

>(I handle the SOTA on weapons by importing things from the
>Cyberpunk 2020 Chromebooks. "You may have a Panther Assault Cannon...
>but that guy over there has a man-portable railgun!")

An arms race probably should lead to ever-increasing Damage Codes, faster
reflexes, better armour, etc. but the rules handle this about as well as a
carp handles aerobatics.

They don't scale up well at all.

--
Tim Little
Message no. 5
From: Geoffrey Giesemann <geoffwa@***********.COM.AU>
Subject: Re: SOTA for armour?!
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 18:32:47 +1000
>At 17:59 9/23/97 +0200, Tomasz Kubacki wrote:
>>Leaslie =Leszek Karlik (Mike)
>>said that sota rule for ph. armour is stiupid...& i agree that. Why?
>
>The SOTA rules in the Shadowrun Companion simply don't make sense, except
>for ECM/ECCM. In a situation like the Matrix, where everything is upgraded
>regularly, or when you have opposed tests being made, it makes sense to use
>those SOTA rules. But a broken limb isn't harder to fix because someone
>invented VITAS-7, Mana Bolt isn't harder to invent because someone came up
>with Redirect, and body armor doesn't get weaker against fists because
>someone invented better armor-piercing ammunition. My group just ignores
>the rules. (I handle the SOTA on weapons by importing things from the
>Cyberpunk 2020 Chromebooks. "You may have a Panther Assault Cannon...
>but that guy over there has a man-portable railgun!")
>
I think the SOTA rules are meant to represent the gradual improvement of
technology. Instead of making your character go out and purchase the new
'15/15' form-fitting armor or the new exo-skelton version FASA decided that,
to stay on the edge you need to spend so many nuyen to upgrade. In real life
someone might come up with a better spell then Mana Bolt. To save time SR
Companion lets you pay an 'upgrade' fee. And if you know what 151 million
nuyen + delta grade cyberware can do to a person then we'd need a new
rulebook every time the corps bring out a new piece.

Geoff

-------------
To err, is human.
To survive, is sanity.
------------

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