| From: | Lehlan Decker <decker@****.FSU.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Insect vampires? |
| Date: | Fri, 19 Dec 1997 11:03:39 -0500 |
> At 11:09 AM 12/18/97 -0500, Lehlan Decker wrote these timeless words:
>
> >> I think he's still a physad. The reason is that in a module (Total Eclipse
> >> I think...), there's a vampire mage. If he succeeded in maintaining his
> >> magical abilities, there's no reason a physad won't. The only question is :
> >> Will he have a magic of 6 or equal to his essence ? I would tell he has a
> >> magic attribute equal to his essence but that's my opinion...
> >>
> It was a vampire Mage full of Cyberware... Every munchkins wet dream...:/
>
> And something I can guarantee you will never see again, even as an NPC, as
> long as Mike M. is Line Developer because he almost had a fit when I told
> him about it :]
>
> As for the essence = Magic question, this is another instance in which the
> current magic rules have holes... Exactly how closely does a person's
> Essence reflect their essence? Sure, at it's base it's equal. But then
> there are a dozen and one things that can affect it... Foci, Magic loss
> from Deadly Wounds, Initiation, etc...
>
> As some of you know (and I keep bringing up, just so you know why I've
> worked out this in such detail), I have my personal Vampire rules that I
> keep tweaking and working on, and this has been one of the most difficult
> portions of the rules to work out. Basically I work it llike this:
>
> A Mage (or PhysAd) has a base Magic Rating equal to whatever the magic
> rating was when the character became a vampire. Thus, a Burn Out mage with
> only one point of essence who is resurected as a vamp STILL only has one
> point of Magic, regardless of how much essenc ethe vampire has at any given
> time. Plus, despite the vamp's regeneration abilities, the vemp will still
> lose magic points from deadly wounds, even if he regenerates instantly.
>
> For a potential PC, this keeps things in balance...
>
> >Then his powers would fluctuate, which would be ok.
> >
> For a PA, this has some potential, BUT... Do you really want a
> non-initaite starting character (If we're talking a PC) who could have 12
> points of PA powers at any given time? For a villian this is fine, but for
> a PC, this is WAY too powerful... Thus I'd stick with the same rules for a
> mage (Or shaman) outlined above...
>
> >My main argument has been, that both vampires and PA's ground
> >their magic in their bodies, (faster, stronger etc), and the
> >two types just aren't "compatible". This is my explanation for
> >game balance. One of the worst villians I toyed around with for awhile
> >was a Troll PA turned Vampire. He never got used, but he was
> >fairly scary.
> >
> I can definately see this point of view, but I don;t think it's that bad...
> I simply don;t think essence works quite that way... but as I said
> before, This eventually falls into the whole category of house rulings and
> what the GM thuinks, since we have no official explanations for any of this...
>
> Steve K, if you are reading this... Please Consider some of this stuff for
> SR3 and work it out for us? It would help a LOT :]
>
But if he answers us, it will take all the fun out of the debate! :)
I see your points. Ultimately it comes down to game balance, and how you
see essence + magic. I think your explanations work fairly well
for balance. Villians tend to bend the rules, so I don't worry
about them too much. :)
I hate the idea of classes. (Your a vampire, so you can't have
cyberware)(Your a were so you can't be a PA), for me it usually
comes down to game balance and some sort of logic. As long
as your players are happy, I figure you aren't doing too bad. :)
--
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Lehlan Decker 644-4534 Systems Development
decker@****.fsu.edu http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~decker
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Time is the best teacher. Unfortunately it kills all of its students.
