| From: | AlSeyMer AdSM@******.be |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Class, turn over your papers and begin. |
| Date: | Thu, 18 Feb 1999 22:34:01 +0100 |
Hash: SHA1
At 16:55 18/02/99, from Scott Wheelock:
>Finally, a list of questions the whole family can enjoy...
>
>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 use a simple house rule: I keep a running total of all the karma
awarded to each character. Each time the total hits an odd multiple of
ten, the Karma Pool goes up by one, and each time it hits an even
multiple of ten the player has to choose a normal
(combat/magic/astral/...) pool to associate the Karma point with. In
effect, it creates specialized Karma Poolsassociated with each normal
pool. An associated Karma Pool may be used in circumstances when the
normal pool it is associated with may be used.
Exemple:
Drag-that-drops, sheep shaman, has received 53 good karma since the
game began. His Karma Pool is 3, and he chose to associate one Karma
point with his Magic Pool, the last one with his Combat Pool. In feats
of magic or combat, he can use up to 4 karma points to save his day.
When enchanting, or anytime except during a combat turn, he only gets
a Karma Pool of 3.
>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. They allocated a priority to be metahumans, depriving their
characters of some useful options. There is no use to limit them more
than that. However, I might allow a character with a racial priority
one less than it should, giving him half the good karma a normal
character would get, as a tradeoff.
I allow metahuman characters to begin play with one point in Karma
Pool and another associated with a normal pool of their choice, as per
1). I haven't really thought about this, but as I like to have
metahuman characters in play, I keep this rule as an incentive ;-)
>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 tried, and it doesn't work that well. At beginning, the characters
have a lot of trouble to evolve, and once they attain the
"survivability level", they tend to hoard on karma to get this long
dreamed of "Assaul Rfles-12" or such. With such a huge amount of karma
at hand, they sometimes tend to burn it to succeed in this impossible
task, blowing the adventure apart.
However, sometimes, I allow them to trade one or two point of karma
to get a little turn of fate, for example finding somebody in a huge
crowd, finding cover on an empty street, or such. I usually allow it
only to save the party from disaster (not much fun in running a
character creation afternoon ;-).
>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)?
Something like their total Karma Pools. I use a WoD-like technique,
assigning an amount of karma for each element of the scenario that
needs to be done. I total them, based on the completion of objectives,
and divide the total evenly between the characters. Then, I add a few
karma points based on role play, fun-of-the-game participation, etc.
usually no more than 2 points. As the characters get more experienced,
they get more rewarding (and demanding ;-) adventures, and sometimes
get a small one, "like in the old time", just to show them how good
they are. I usually give an adventure of this kind after a failed run,
to represent their lack in popularity and to give them something to
succeed at.
>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...
No. Not this straight. But, maybe, the characters did some really
good things, or extremely bad ones, and they get what I call a "karmic
echo", reflecting directly upon them the essence of their actions.
Some contact having one of those hard to find item and is willing to
trade it, win lottery, a date becoming more permanent, a fast car, ...
all the things dreams are made of ;-) On the other side, my big time
favorite is the inversion of the flow in their toilets, a sure thing
of things going bad, especially at morning, or, in a less cartoonesque
way, some contacts going silent, stolen car, a mad sniper, ...
I don't design a "karmic echo" on the spot, à la "You killed the
bum:
a cow drops from the sky...", I prefer to make it one of the
good/annoying thing of the normal life, and to tailor those events to
fit as closely as possible to the character. It gives the player and
me the opportunity to make the character live outside of the run, adds
to the verisimilitude of the game, ...
This is not "cash for karma", but as I grant karma upon the
completion of objectives and not upon sweetness of the heart, I needed
something to reflect the fact that Fate exists (in my games), and it
seems to work. As I see the game, the idea of Fate/Karma/... is firmly
ingrained in it, so I put myself to a little trouble to find ways to
make sure this idea gets to the players. IMO, it reinforces the
magical side of the game, and it's mainly what's make it different
from a CP2020 game with mages.
Awarding karma for cash... well... it's just the opposite way.
>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.
Restaurant? ;-)
>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?
When a character is bruised by a ghoul, when some body fluids can get
to him (ghoul's saliva/sweat on an open wound or such), he risks to be
infected.
If the risk becomes a reality, at first nothing happens, and the
illness is still curable. Then, he goes through a period of nausea,
pain, and general discomfort. As a final stage, the transformation
occurs.
The character now has ghoul stat modifiers, and gets the wonderful
opportunity to botch a willpower roll to become a mindless drone with
no memory of its own past. Of course, his new genotype absorbs his
bioware (bye bye enhanced pheromones, welcome cadaver scent;-), and
his cyberware, depending of its quality, is usually at least degraded.
With a lot of luck, alpha cyberware isn't affected. For neural stuff
and headware, well, it sucks. Really.
>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)?
Uhhhh... Kyle Haefner, sir? No? Uhhhhh... don't know sir... The
corner sir? This one sir ? No sir, the walls don't move sir... ;-)
>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?
21, with a few ten sided dices. I used to have 30d6, well, some of
them got evaporated.
>And now, the tenth question on our poll...
>10) If you were covered in bugs, what kind of vegetable
>would you be?
A bug repellent one ;-)
>"Her mother said, 'Kill him, slow at your leisure,'
>Ah, but desperate times call for desperate measures."
>
> --I'll Believe In You
> The Tragically Hip
>
>(Bonus question: Heard of these guys?)
>
Yes.
Thanks for the post, should become a starting point for many
interesting threads ;-)
AlSeyMer
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