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From:	shadowrn@*********.com (Ahrain Drigar)
Subject:	What a "Surge"
Date:	Thu Nov 15 10:40:01 2001

Message no. 1 Just got YotC. Pretty good all around (IMHO). I don't mind the surge as
much since I prefer a more "over the top" style game.

Now the question. Does anyone have any surge effects of their own they
would be willing to share? I am looking in specific for some ideas
(mechanis, cost, etc) of wings as a surge effect. Biet leathery, insectoid,
feathered, or other. Like I said, just looking for some ideas cause I got
someone thinking of Pixie from Pokemon. (only with wings the SHOULD really
work)

Ahrain

From:	shadowrn@*********.com (M.S. "Herc" Bobroff)
Subject:	What a "Surge"
Date:	Thu Nov 15 12:10:02 2001

Message no. 2 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Ahrain Drigar" <Ahrain_Drigar@*******.com>

> Just got YotC. Pretty good all around (IMHO). I don't mind the
surge as
> much since I prefer a more "over the top" style game.
>
> Now the question. Does anyone have any surge effects of their own
they
> would be willing to share? I am looking in specific for some ideas
> (mechanis, cost, etc) of wings as a surge effect. Biet leathery,
insectoid,
> feathered, or other. Like I said, just looking for some ideas cause
I got
> someone thinking of Pixie from Pokemon. (only with wings the SHOULD
really
> work)

Heya Ahrain,

Alright, sure, the idea of having 'winged metatypes' flying around is
a nice one, you need to consider in what way are they flying. Are
they flying because of 'magic,' (e.g. the ability to Levitate while
flapping their wings), or naturally?

The easiest way is magically. The individual could have surged and
gaining as a bonus the ability to cast levitate upon themselves (force
of spell equals their essence attribute). In return, as a penalty,
they gain wings, and they can either flap the wings or use them as
their control surfaces (depends on you, as the GM).

The other way, the person can naturally fly, without the benefit of
magic. Here is where -massive- changes need to be made to the
character. First, their bone density needs to drop immensely, to
match that of birds that do fly (their bones are predominantly hollow,
for the most part). Their muscular structure will need to adapt to
the muscular movements necessary to be able to fly as well. Their
respiratory system will need to change as well.

So what happens with the naturally flying individual in terms of game
mechanics (from my pov). First, the physical change is going to
painful and is going to take some time to do. I would use the
mechanics for the change to becoming a ghoul (see SR Companion) to
affect their mental attributes (and other attributes depending on the
die roll). Will their physical attributes change, definitely. Body
is going to take the biggest hit, their Body attribute probably would
drop by 2 points (for humans, dwarves, elves, and orks), by 4 points
for trolls; the racial maximum for their Body attribute would also be
reduced by the same amount.

On top of all this physical change, the character is going to need to
undergo physical therapy to learn how to use their new body, and
learning how to fly would also be as dangerous for newborn birds ("Now
then, we are going to push you out of the 145th floor of this
skyscraper, giving you about 20 seconds of time to figure out how to
fly before you hit the ground. We were hoping you would pay the
additional ¥2,500 for a licensed mage to cast levitate on you just in
case you failed in your learning attempts. Also, we are not
responsible should someone decide to take a potshot at you while you
are busy learning to fly as well.").

Now, then you were mentioning different types of 'bodies' for flying
purposes. The people who would look pretty much the same as they are
know (albeit smaller of frame and weight) will have the least problems
with other people. The ones who turn into insectoid type flyers
(along with the possibility of insectoidish characteristics) will have
the most problems as they will be associated with invae spirits and
will either be killed or turned over to the relevant authorities for a
pre- and post-mortum autopsy.

Beware what you wish for, you may get it,
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Michael "Herc" Bobroff
Hoosier Hacker House

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