From:	Sebastian Wiers m0ng005e@*********.com
Subject:	Realism
Date:	Wed, 29 Sep 1999 15:05:32 -0500

:Of course, then you run into everyone's least-favorite arguement; if a
troll
:has a strength of 10, he can pretty easily dead lift the front of a car, a
:clearly super-human feat. But if I have a charisma of 10, why can't I con
:some ganger into handing me his gun?

A troll with a strength of 10 can lift the same weight as 3 average
humans. That's probably not enough to lift even one end of a car. More to
the point, SR attributes are "linear"- a 10 isn't so much super human as it
is twice as good as a 5. If somebody with a 5 in something has a snowballs
chance in hell, having a 10 gives you double-sized snowballs chance...
I'd say you could con a ganger into giving you his gun; they aren't
known for intelligence or willpower. Then again, they aren't known for
steady nerves, and might shoot you even though they WANT to surrender. But
guards? If they are halfway competent, I figure they take a "your name
ain't on the list" attitude, and try to figure out who to call, if just to
cover their own butts.

Mongoose