| From: | Marc Renouf renouf@********.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Class, turn over your papers and begin. |
| Date: | Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:32:35 -0500 (EST) |
> 1) Karma Pool. Is there a point where a PC gets too big a
> pool to handle? I.E. they're always succeeding at tasks
> that should be reasonably tough (TN 9-12). If so, how do
> you deal with it?
I deal with it by using the "life threatening" or "style"
delineation I described last week. It works very well. If you want
details, either check the archive or contact me via private e-mail and
I'll hook you up with some easy-to-use guidelines that solve this problem.
> 2) Karma Pool Again. Do you follow the rule that meta-
> humans gain karma pool at half the rate as humans? If so,
> do they start out with 2 karma pool, as in 2nd Ed.?
No. I allow everyone to accrue Karma at the same rate. But then
again, I don't use the "more metahumans" rule, nor do I use SR3's reduced
priority for metahumans (using the 100-point system instead). It's all a
tradeoff.
> 3) More Pooling Around. Do you even use the pool? I
> know one group (probably more) that don't; instead they
> burn good karma to do the same things as the pool would.
I've run it both ways. I currently use the pool, but with
some slightly different guidelines (see above). Having run a campaign
entirely without pool, I can say that the effect is strange. I've had
players forego their next initiation to succeed on a shot that ended up
being meaningless anyway (the player was playing a physad and burned like
15 in successive re-rolls just to make a single shot). Basically, it
allows players the opportunity to succeed at virtually anything - at the
cost of character development. You end up burning so much karma to save
your ass or be the baddest mother on the block that you don't have
anything left to improve you skills.
Either way works, and again, it's all a tradeoff.
> 4) Just Plain Karma. How much do you typically give
> out for runs that you make up (I recently bought Eye-
> Witness and Double Exposure. The karma awards are
> way out of line with what the GM section says you
> should get)?
A typical run is like 4-5 Karma (including personal Karma). For
anything more involved, the number can rise to 6-8. It rarely goes above
this. Also keep in mind that sometimes a run will stretch over multiple
sessions. In this case, players get personal karma for each session (1 or
2 typically, sometimes as high as 3), but only get the base Karma when the
run or story arc is complete.
> 5) Karma Fer Sale. Do you use the Cash for Karma
> rule, and vice versa? If so, what do you use as the cost?
> The "upscale campaign" example the SRC uses is kinda
> crazy...1 point for 1000 nuyen...
I do not use cash for Karma. Personally, I think the rule sucks.
Nor do I withold Karma from players whose characters indiscriminantly
murder random innocent bystanders - so long as the action undertaken is
in character. The sense I got from the "Cash for Karma" rule was that it
was a way for "evil" people to have a hope of advancement. In my mind,
this is a pointless attempt to try to bludgeon people into playing "hero"
characters. I personally run a much darker campaign.
> 6) Mmm....foooood..... What should I have for dinner
> tonight? I was thinking of a Stroganoff type meal, with
> broccoli, but I'm quite a bad cook.
My vote is for Ramen noodles. Quick, easy, 2 for a quarter.
> 7) Ghouls. A while back, I posted a bunch of questions
> about ghouls. One was never really answered, and maybe
> someone with T:UCAS could help me out. What happens
> with a ghoul PC and cyberware? What's the deal?
Apparently, rumor has it that ghoul PC's will be handled in MitS.
Time will tell.
> 8) Canada. Without looking at reference material, I.E.
> anything at all, who's the current leader of our country,
> and what's his title (don't cheat...this is a public awareness
> poll...and no, I haven't a clue who the Australian Prime
> Minister is)?
Don't know, don't care. Canada was eventually absorbed into the
UCAS, so how important could it be? ;)
> 9) Dice. How many dice do you usually take to a gaming
> session? And do you take those multi-sided AD&D dice,
> even though you know you won't need them?
I only take a big ol' cube of d6's (36 in all, they're made by
Chessex, and come in a variety of colors and styles).
> 10) If you were covered in bugs, what kind of vegetable
> would you be?
I wouldn't be a vegetable. I'd be a fungus. A stinkhorn
mushroom, to be exact. You know, all phallic-looking and covered with
flies...yum!
> (Bonus question: Heard of these guys?)
> --I'll Believe In You
> The Tragically Hip
Yeah, but they suck. ;)
Marc (whose idea of "good music" stretches the bounds of taste)
