| From: | Jeffrey Riordan <JRIORDAN@***.gov> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | TopCat's Manifesto -Reply Long and Rambling |
| Date: | Mon, 20 May 1996 12:50:42 -0400 |
of) feature I can't intelligently seperate out quoted
from non-quoted material sorry about that folks. This
is not an argument for or against TCs views just my
views on things he has said.
Most of what TopCat said regarding Roleplaying is
true not just for SR but for all games regardless of
Genre. I've been playing since 80, yea, it was D&D
but back then that was the big deal. I've played other
game systems such as FASA's Dr. Who, Champions,
Amber and several others that have ceased to exist.
I've also GMd Champions, SR and AD&D so I have
experience on both sides of the screen. The abilaty to
go beyond the numbers in any game is esential in
order to roleplay in any game system regardless of
what sided dice you use.
This leads me into the discussion of Stereo types
which TC seems to hate so much. They are useful to
the extent that they give a new player (to RPG not just
a particular game system) something to relate to.
Most new RPG players usually start with a "fighter"
type character because they can grasp and
understand the physics of the situation: Point, pull
trigger (or swing sword) opponent takes damage and
tries to do the same to you. Without a stereotype
such as a Bad Ass Tank Troll they would probably be
left floundering with something like "Ok, I'm big and
look ugly so why do people want to pay me money,
favors etc..." Each stereo type has something that
people can identify with and relate to.
I would expect that someone who has played RPGs
for some time and developed a rounded view of what
RPGing is about wouldn't need stereotypes anymore.
(how much time and how mature there view is is a
personal decision I won't get into)
One thing that bothered me about TCs stereo type of
"I shall not kill" or "kill everything" is that you assume
it is a stereo type. I look at it as a characters code of
living. Some people feel that the only good oppenent
is a dead one. I feel that that's a point of view not a
stereotype. I also think it's a particullary hard one to
roleplay since if the GM is on the ball what happens
when your buddy happens to be on the oppositions
side?
My first SR character started out as a stereo typical
Street shaman (Dog). Since I was new to the system I
didn't now how to min/max other than taking a
conentration in summoning Nature spirits.
Considering I would never be able to summon
Elementals it seemed like a smart move at the
time...(Wipe those grins off your faces). Over game
time the character developed the "I will not kill"
attitude. That's not to say that I have NOT killed, my
character has killed 1 mage (astral combat and I didn't
know at the time it was physical until I got hit) and
attempted to murder one of his teammates after going
thru Queen Euphoria. My character believed that the
other character was responsible for her death
considering the dozen offensive grenades used in the
basement from his grenade launcher. Took him out
too but another mage healed us both back from the
dead and explained things to me.
Now tell me that the "I shall not kill" is a stereotype
that kills roleplaying potential? What happens when
your sister happens to be taken over by a bug that's
bent on snacking on your liver?
I'm in no way saying that I haven't been guilty of
just sitting back and rolling dice to get thru things.
Some of it was lazyness other times it was my body
was there but my mind wasn't kinda thing.
Next topic: Magic vs Cyber tech.
I think trying to compare the two is like apples and
Oranges and it's that way on purpose. Cyber cost NY
which can or can not be readily available and can take
a long time to heal from. Then again the Razorboys
have tons of Karma that they can pile into there skills
and stats while they struggle to make the next
mortgage payment on there MBW4. Mages on the
other hand usually have NY to burn while they never
have enough Karma to cover the force 6 Powerbolt
and initation to grade 2 and pick up a forec 5 Heal
spell to help out the party. Unless the Mage starts
cranking out foci our summoning mega size
Elementals they don't have much of cash flow
problem. (Caveat: That's how it is in the several long
term games i've played in).
There is one thing that TC said about never losing
spells that is not quite true. While you may never
lose the spell formula to cast a force 6 spell if you've
been hit for a deadly you can start losing your magic
rating to allow you to cast the spell. Which is why a
PA I know retired his character, first 2 runs he went on
he took a deadly on each and lost a point of magic
each time. Cyber may get damaged but it can be
repaired eventually. Magic rating costs huge Karma
to repair (through initiation) and that means forgoing
uping skills and stats.
IMO it depends on what you are trying to do. Mages
have a lot of power potential because of the number of
spells and other things they have access to. Cyber
guys have the edge when it comes to skill and stat
development. Mr. Mage might be able to use magic
fingers to press the button on the other side of the
glass window and save the world but unless he's got
Nuclear theory and Demolitions out his ears I don't
want him anywhere near the Nuke that's in the
basement of the Needle that's going off in 2 minutes.
Well it's taken me about 5 hours to write this thing up
and I already see other responses to the post. Might
as well respond to those later on....
