| From: | "Shadowrun ML demon <shadowrn-ml@*******.hanse.de>" |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: [SR3] Physical Adepts |
| Date: | Tue, 8 Jul 1997 08:04:13 GMT |
TopCat <topcat@***.NET> writes:
> The problem here, as it seems to me, is that your physad probably...
> A) Doesn't know how to spend karma to his best benefit
Uhm - Don't know... how much choice do you have with 15 points of good
Karma after three runs ? Being non-initiated I try to initiate
first... (o.k. - I got myself that Electronics skill first and some
Magical Theory, but now I want to initiate)
> B) Relies far too heavily on or thinks only of Initiation
Don't think so - Level 1 (heck ... even Level 0) would be nice to have.
> C) Forgot what money can really do for you
What you don't have cannot do you any good. I spent a lot of money on
equipment, but my character is just not the type who would scavenge
dead bodies for their eq usually.
> D) Wants to be as powerful as a Street Samurai, without the drawbacks
No - I want to be different... and I am already better when it comes
to Stealth and MA - but there are juyt certain things you NEED to have
if you want to survive (like speed, for instance).
> E) Forgot the perks of physad existence
See D.
> F) Any combination of the above
Actually I think none of the above is true - but of course you might
always disagree.
> Now, the problem could also lie in your GM. Have the physad player explain
> his problem with being underpowered compared to everyone else (is he
> *really* underpowered or is he just slower than a fully wired samurai and
> not as good of an aim?). A good GM will then work with the player to help
> him out. Maybe he'll give him a break on Initiation or some extra karma
> (karma-for-cash rules, anyone?), maybe he just offers some RP'ing tips,
> maybe he'll offer some karma-spending tips that the player hadn't condiered,
> maybe he'll shrug and say "sucks to be you". As long as it's something
> other than the last, the physad player will be better off than he was before
> he took the time to ask.
Uhm - tips: Not very probable... I am the most experienced player
(heck, I am one of the oldest SR players around on this planet... we
started when the first edition just came out) and pretty often the GM
asks me for my advice on rules because I just know them out of my head
or know where to find them so we don't lose as much time in
time-critical situations.
Roleplaying : The GM and I both agree our way of roleplaying my
Japanese Ninja with ties to the Yakuza is pretty cool because we try
to keep the japanese touch. Things aren't said - you just give certain
hints, it is more important how you say something that what you say
sometimes and so on...
Him recognising me being underpowered: Uncertain. As an experienced
roleplayer I keep my character out of situations that he can not
surive... meaning: I try to create situation where he will kick
ass. ;-) And until now I was pretty good at it. Actually the main
problem of my character is that he is dead slow and has no real
long-range potential... both major drawbacks in the SR world.
> My physad character (Vagabond) was perhaps the most powerful character on
> our Shadowrun team. He wasn't blindingly fast (6+2D6), but he was played
> smart and he was very effective at what he did. I didn't try to make him a
> front-line samurai, he wouldn't have done well in that role. I didn't try
> to make him into a monster-grade initiate, there were better places to spend
> his karma. I didn't forget about the nuyen I'd made on runs just because
> "physads need karma more".
Heck - I am the one with the toys in the team... and they costed me
yuite some money. But that bug scanner has proven REALLY useful, for
instance.
> Money can be used to establish connections, LOTS of them. A runner lives
> and dies by the strength and security of his contacts. It can also be used
> to get SOTA gear to make life easier on you (a dikoted secure jacket is a
> nice investment, likewise a *very good* fake SIN and surveillance gear). It
> can also be set aside for a "retirement fund". Money can be used in so
many
> places for so many things that any character who would discount it because
> it isn't karma and he needs karma to initiate should seriously rethink his ways.
I think you misunderstood me a little there. I do know the value of
money, BUT it is not as important as Karma to me... for mages and
physads, that is.
> If I were your game's physad player, I'd sit down and really think about
> what kind of character I was playing. If all that matters to me are
> attribute and skill points and levels of Initiation, then there are ways
That is what I really did. My character is basically some stealthy
ninja type (because that is what physads are best at) - the problem
is: Every Stealth situation might become a usual fight situation
pretty fast. All it needs is some lucky guy or an astral patrol. And
then I'd need more speed to get my ass outta there !
> Anyways, have him consider his character a bit and ask the GM (or even
> fellow players) for his opinions and help and I think the situation will
> resolve itself painlessly and to the satisfaction of all parties involved.
Don't misread me: I am having a LOT of fun (the group is pretty good
by now and the last run basically went as smooth as silk although the
bad guys were pretty good) and I really like that character. It is
just that in all these situations my character wasn't made for but he
always walks on the brink of I am basically solely relying on the
goodness of my GM... otherwise I'd be dead meat, because our GM tends
to equip his guys with APDS ammo, HVARs and the like whereas we just
have armor jackets & camo suits because we couldn't afford anything
else.
Being the only character who did not improve over the last 3 runs
sucks, too...
O.k. - but all in all I am having a LOT of fun and SR still is my
favorite RPG. I like playing my PA and I will continue to do so (if I
had wanted to play some munchkinous character I'd have taken one...)
because the challenge to play this character and keep him alive is
much more fun. I would like to see the PA system more balanced,
though. Basically a lot of the PA powers are too expensive - if that
would be fixed (and maybe the 0 Ini grade would be skipped) PAs would
certainly become more playable.
Later,
Georg
- --
Georg C. F. Greve <greve@*******.hanse.de>
http://porter.desy.de/~greve/
"People who fight may lose. People who do not
fight have already lost." -- Bertold Brecht
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