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Message no. 1
From: snicker@*********.net (Snicker)
Subject: Ultrasound Penalties / Narcoject rules
Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2004 09:00:33 -0500
(I'd sent this before, but I got a bounce on it, and never saw it come
through. In light of the current invisibility discussion, seems like
perfect timing. This was before I found the stuff in M&M, thanks Zeb):

So in my adventure last week, the team was up against a bandersnatch
"released"* from the "zoo" in the Renraku arcology (pre-shutdown). To

combat it's camouflage ability, they purchased ultrasound sights / goggles.

I read the rules in the Street Samurai Catalog, had a vague recollection of
some rules in another book along with an excellent description, but
unfortunately, I couldn't find them...

*so*

I made it up as I went along. A bit.

My ruling was that vision penalties relating to light and fog were negated
completely, HOWEVER, all perception / targeting penalties were
automatically at +4. Flat. So regardless of light-levels or fog, the
"basic" to-hit was automatically 8, due to the unusual nature of
"seeing"
by topographical map. I also ruled that "sound dampened" areas (like the
food court in the 'raku Mall) halved the range of the ultrasound (without
adding further penalties). I knew there was something about halving
light-related penalties, but it just didn't make sense to me.

Also, my team has discovered the wonders of narcoject (and now DMSO via the
Ares Squirt). Two questions:
1) Should there be varying "dosages" of narcoject to handle particularly
large creatures? I mean, let's face it, the Bandersnatch is one big
bad..... (*hush your mouth!* .. I'm just talking about 'snatch...)
b) How does one handle the dart vs. armoured individuals?

So...

Any thoughts or comments? I don't actually own 3rd edition (yet), so I
might have missed something in the translation, but I think it's a pretty
good house rule, especially for something I think the rigger plans on
making a regular part of her sensor suite.

Snicker

*(P.E.T.P.A. heard about Renraku's experiments to synthesize a bio-mimetic
polymer more adaptable than ruthenium fibers, and the experiments on the
bandersnatch to reveal those properties.. *so*, they "somehow" got in,
released the 'snatch, and tried to escape under cover of improved
invisibility spells. No such luck. The team found them first. And there
was much rejoicing...)
Message no. 2
From: gurth@******.nl (Gurth)
Subject: Ultrasound Penalties / Narcoject rules
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2004 20:11:57 +0200
According to Snicker, on Tuesday 03 August 2004 16:00 the word on the
street was...

> My ruling was that vision penalties relating to light and fog were
> negated completely, HOWEVER, all perception / targeting penalties were
> automatically at +4. Flat.

That's not the way I'd handle it. Like you say, ultrasound basically gives
you a depth map -- so anything that's easily recognizable by its outline
or shape (like a person) shouldn't get a modifier, IMHO. Spotting things
where the shape is not the prime recognition feature would be penalized,
while any test where an item's color is the only factor automatically
fails. All IMHO, of course :)

> So regardless of light-levels or fog, the
> "basic" to-hit was automatically 8, due to the unusual nature of
> "seeing" by topographical map. I also ruled that "sound
dampened" areas
> (like the food court in the 'raku Mall) halved the range of the
> ultrasound (without adding further penalties).

Again, I'd do it differently. If the sound is dampened, it probably won't
echo back to the ultrasound receiver, and so the ultrasound device will
paint a picture of an open space there -- even if there is a wall with
sound-absorbing materials on it.

> I knew there was
> something about halving light-related penalties, but it just didn't make
> sense to me.

I think the idea there was that the author(s) imagined characters would
overlay normal vision with the ultrasound image, in which case halving
darkness penalties does make sense. Using pure ultrasound, though, it
doesn't.

> 1) Should there be varying "dosages" of narcoject to handle particularly
> large creatures? I mean, let's face it, the Bandersnatch is one big
> bad..... (*hush your mouth!* .. I'm just talking about 'snatch...)

Bigger critters usually have more Body dice, and so a higher chance of
staging down the damage. Problem solves, I'd say :)

> b) How does one handle the dart vs. armoured individuals?

The flavor text in M&M says the dart can penetrate most armors, which I
think means that the target's armor is not a factor in determining the
damage from a dart gun. If you think this is too easy, you could rule that
the dart _won't_ penetrate armor at all, and so a called shot (to hit an
unarmored body part) is required.

--
Gurth@******.nl - Stone Age: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
... in real life, which was styled after the film.
-> Possibly NAGEE Editor & ShadowRN GridSec * Triangle Virtuoso <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://plastic.dumpshock.com <-

GC3.12: GAT/! d- s:- !a>? C++(---) UL+ 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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