| From: | Paul Jonathan Adam <Paul@********.DEMON.CO.UK> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Everyone(almost) who plays Shadowrun is a Munchkin! |
| Date: | Sat, 9 Sep 1995 11:29:45 GMT |
writes:
>
> Replacing burned out or blind eyes
> with electonic ones that can see is 'realistic'. Plucking out
> perfectly good ones during character creation for the 'total
> package eyes' is ludicrous. And that's just one example.
Oh, no... I had this argument at length on rec.games.frp.cyber trying to
get my point across. All I can say is I've been on Army exercises at night
where on a dark rainy night you couldn't see past the end of your arm.
If I could get cybereyes with low-light and thermal in that situation,
it's literally a survival option.
For that matter, in real life I need five dioptres of contact lens in
each eye. If cybereyes were affordable, common and known to be safe (like,
millions installed and few problems) I'd seriously consider them just to
avoid having to wear contacts or glasses.
Remember, the PCs are people who go in harm's way. Deliberately. If they
don't secure every reasonable advantage, they're going to get their butts
kicked. This is called "role-playing" when the PCs evaluate the threats and
try to deal with them.
Munchkinism, IMHO, is when the PC exists only as a way to be bigger/better/
faster than everyone else. Most of my PCs could easily be called "munchkin"
from an evaluation of their stats... yet they are downright vulnerable,
because they have weaknesses, blind spots, consciences. Yes, you play your
PC to guard those weaknesses - but still sometimes you just say "Lynch
lays down the rifle and raises his hands..." even though you *know* the right
thing to do is to kill the terrorist and the hostage: because you also know
your PC would not do that.
--
"When you have shot and killed a man, you have defined your attitude towards
him. You have offered a definite answer to a definite problem. For better
or for worse, you have acted decisively.
In fact, the next move is up to him." <R.A. Lafferty>
Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk
