Well, do you know what to do if attacked by a bear? There are many theories out there, everything from run and climb the nearest tree, to play dead, to talk calmly to it, to trying to assert yourself, and several others. Bears are very real, and can be a big threat, and yet I'm guessing 99+% of people wouldn't know what to do if they were suddenly standing face to face with a bear in the middle of the wilds.

Similarly, despite knowledge of shapeshifters existing, people are still going to have that mass overload of information (even moreso than modern times) of various ways to deal with everything. And of course, it is very hard for true fact to pierce public 'common knowledge'. If the vast majority of people believes that garlic will stop a vampire cold, then it would take a huge concerted effort to change public opinion to realize that garlic does jack against them. This is why I hold by the belief that even though the true knowledge of how to defeat a creature with regeneration is out there, it is far from common knowledge, and the truth is often buried under alot of hearsay.



Because as we all know, movies are all 100% accurate of the real world, and sims will of course follow that proud tradition of sticking to the facts. The books even make specific mention of movies constantly showing magic doing things it can't really do. I see no reason that they would have a desire to educate the masses about how vampires can't really be stopped by garlic (Especially as some can, because if they -believe- that they can be stopped by garlic then they are).

That's the difference between a rent a cop and REAL corp security. I figure that real corp security would have training classes on how to recognize and neutralize the most common or dangerous threats that they might encounter. You might be surprised to find out that they DO carry a clip of silver ammo for their handgun and/or a wooden weapon for those "just in case" times. Or at least have SOMEONE who can deal with a vamp or shifter. Its been 50 years, I think that the "Oh crap its not going down!!!" factor has be replaced with a "Processes and Procedures for dealing with Hostile Paranormals and Para-critters" that gets drilled into their heads and they spend 4 weeks a year getting training against.

Most of which probably boils down to "Geek the mage first" and "When all else fails aim for the head" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Yo, Tyger. Lay down the info on your other players. This isn't just meant to be a thread about dealing with a bulletproof ninja bear is it? I mean, given the right layout, you could have them off in the wilds messing with paracritters, fighting poachers, whatever. There's lots of non-standard stuff you can do with a group of wiztypes.

A lot of what happens depends on the mood of the bear itself and why it's after you if indeed that it is after you. What works in one situation won't work in another one.

This reminds me of a story that happened to a friend of mine. Him and another guy where out in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. He needed to go out to the outhouse one morning to take care of some buisness. Ends up that a black bear showed up pretty much the moment he left the shack and was within 20' of him. What's left of the bear is now hanging on his wall. Yes he went to the bathroom in his skivies and a rifle. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)


PS: He does admit he got lucky on the shot.

Work for talisleggers, getting telesma or some shit. Maybe some work for MIT&T. There's all kinds of antics an all magic team can get up to.

Reminds me of this guy. I can't find the original video, so the sound has been replaced with a music track.

Same guy also built some combat armor based around the same research.

Every animal attack I ever hear of reminds me of this guy.
Because he is the baddest man alive.

We have:

An elven mystic adept - heavy on the face side (Kinesics 4) with a few minor illusion spells.
A human magician - 67 years old without even one offensive spell, or training in any firearms. He's not quite a pacifist, but close. Heavy focus on healing spells.
A shifter (bear) physical adept - the aforementioned tank.
A human technomancer - leaning slightly toward the rigging side of things.

All of them took Magic (or Resonance) attributes at 6 to start. So they are loaded for bear. Especially the bear.

We also have a fifth player interested, who just asked about playing a pixie stealth adept.

So yeah, not a single piece of cyberware in the group, and nothing heavier than an AK-97 in the party. This is going to be an interesting challenge, as the party composition came out nothing like I was expecting, and I am having coniptions trying to figure out a reasonable campaign theme. Much reading has ensued! Hell, any suggestions?

I kinda like the MIT&T angle... might have to explore that a bit more.

Atlantean Foundation style runs. Lots of archaeology, treasure hunting, investigation/research, etc. Some combat but limited mostly for dramatic purposes.

- J.

Looks cool, but the neck seems extremely exposed. Given the position most IDEs are likely to explode from, I'd imagine that he would need to do alot more with some chin to collar protection. I just envision all the shrapnel aiming right for that exposed section under the chin that I could see during the interview.

Could be worse. Could pretty easily be 25.

I was thinking the same thing. The shoulders and knees are likewise exposed, you can see when he kneels that there's pretty much just some fabric between the outside and his skin.

You're just prejudiced due to your support of the Dragon Skin system. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotate.gif)

For your group, I've one solution: Wards!

If the bear can't enter in a building? And the magician can't go through with his focuses, etc? What do they do?
In a open space fight, many security corps equip their guards with tasers or electric bullet or gel rounds. Electric can stop a bear ( it fits very well to the situation ) and gel rounds can put him down.

And Gamma-scopolamine, and Pepper Punch? You have a great choice of toys to stop them. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

Darn, no sound (atm), so it isn't all that impressive of a video.

The bear suit thing looks very impressive, but the limb cover seems somewhat limited. Granted it is likely more than soldiers have now (I have absolutely no idea what they have now) but it still seems like it leaves alot of openings, especially to something like shrapnel.

It also seems quite bulky (though apparently lightweight), which would make it hard to maneuver in tight spaces, and perhaps hinder things as simple as getting in and out of a truck.

I do have to admit I love the AC helmet though. A bit on the noisy side, but very handy. The laser sight is another cool idea, but I can't imagine it working so well on the field during the day. No one is going to be able to spot that little point of light at 100m during the day.

And don't forget narcojet + DMSO. Runners aren't the only ones smart enough to figure out it is an instant KO against anything that moves.

And what kind of protection is Dragon Skin going to offer over one's knees?

I'm guessing what appeared in the video was just a prototype and that the full version would cover more than the chest.

Personally I think the bear armor looks a bit sketchy, like it is made out of regular plastic. I'd want to see some tests before I tried it out.

Funny you should ask. They specifically have joint cover versions for knees and elbows. They use smaller disks, so there's less flex, but they also don't need to be as heavy.

Here's part two of the video where the armor takes a frag grenade at zero distance. It's really an awesome design. It uses angular deflection and the pitch and yaw of the disks to spread the force over a larger area, reducing the concussive force by 40%. That means taking a bullet to the chest is less like getting wailed on by a hammer and more like getting clocked with a rubber mallet. Too bad the glue that holds the disks in place can't stand the desert heat...

Yikes you guys giving advise to punish and kill the char or challenge him?! Unless things have changed ALOT on the shapeshifter rules from 3rd ed most of those methods will not just do damage that wont be regened but probably kill him! Shapeshifters are not invincible, they just have alot fewer doctor bills and dont have to worry as much on long runs where taking a few lights and a medium will start worrying others.

Remember though its expensive to not have to worry about the little hits! I don't know what it cost in sr4 but I assume it is similar to sr3 and that always ment the char was not so potent in most other areas. Also, no cyber so the only way to boost is with magic, which again I assume will be as expensive as sr3. This is gona leave the guy skimpy on attributes and skills. I know if I was a shapeshifter and gave up having cool skills and nice stats to be able to not have most medical bills, and still be ready for more action when the rest of the team is almost dead (assuming a run gone bad there), I would be ticked if the baddies hurt me alot and had me going to the vet after every run.

oh as a side note I once had a blast playing a tiger shapeshifter with the flaw- dayjob at the local zoo where I was one of the tigers on show.

True, regeneration is a very expensive ability, but we're just offering as many different ways to offset such a character when desired. This helps break away from "Oh look, another squad that just happens to have silver bullets." whenever you want to throw a bit of an extra challenge at the shifter.

Having to use magic as opposed to cyber to get cool abilities is a bit of a win-win though, since increased magic also means better regeneration rolls. Still, you are right, no need to go crazy on the person for regeneration, but it is important to know how to negate/challenge regeneration.

increased magic means better regen rolls?

since when?

I believe a Regeneration Test is Body + Magic, no?

Body + Magic yes (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

At least since the start of 4th edition. I have no idea about previous editions.

no longer just roll a d6 and on anything but a 1 that nasty ol' deadly damage goes away?