On Direct Combat Spells and OR, A Houserule that (hopefully) will become Canon Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Neraph]

Good evening, Gentlemen.

I would like to start by saying that as I heard that SR4 was in the works, I got so excited that I started to design my own game (having only played 3E online through a MUD, I never saw a rulebook and didn't understand the mechanics). Well, in a week and a half I had designed a game tentatively named 'Fallen,' and as I was fleshing out the magic system and designing some races (I didn't like balancing bonuses with penalties, so I was creating elves, orcs, and trolls to be more powerful than humans, but needed a balancing factor. The concept of BP for me was born of that), I went to a bookstore to find that 4E had released. I browsed through that and immediately was both excited and happy, and began to mourn my project. My game was identical to SR4 (what of it I had written), down to damage codes for weapons, stat gaining, skills (mostly), and Edge. And that was designed solely by me in slightly less than two weeks. The only thing really different was mine was a fantasy-based game (I only heard about Earthdawn recently).

It has come to my attention that the OR tables and new drain mechanic for Direct Combat spells seem a little.... harsh, and most of this board tends to agree with me. I can see where the game designers were going with this, but on a road from Washington DC to New York, but they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Instead of what most people do (simply complain), I put my brain muscles (I know brains don't have muscles; bear with me) to the task of fixing this error, and to that end this is what I have come up with.

Direct Combat Spells:

In order to simulate the greater difficulty through which channeling pure mana in a destructive nature (Direct Combat Spells), increase all Drain Value of Direct Combat spells by +3.

Punch and Death Touchnow have a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+1.
Clout and Manabolt now have a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+3.
Blast and Manaball now have a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+5.

Shatter now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+2.
Powerbolt now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+4.
Powerball now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+6.

Knockout now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2).
Stunbolt now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+2.
Stunball now has a Drain Value of DV: (F/2)+4.

What this does is makes Direct Combat spells difficult (but not impossible) to cast, making Indirect Combat Spells much more attractive (that was the point of the current changes), and keeps the danger of Overcasting firmly in place (instead of more attractive, as the current changes do). It also goes with the nature of Errata, meaning making slight changes rather than rules overhauls.

Object Resistance:

Category--------------------------------------Threshold

Natural Objects--------------------------------------1
(Trees, Soil, Unprocessed Water)
Manufactured LowTech Objects and Materials----2
(Brick, Leather, Simple Plastics)
Manufactured HighTech Objects and Materials---3
(Advanced Plastics, Alloys, Electronic Equipment)
Highly Processed Objects---------------------------4+*
(Computers, Complex Toxic Wastes, Drones*, Vehicles*)

*Note that Vehicles and Drones are suggested to be 1-3 points higher, as the DM feels.

That is definately the feel the designers were after, without making many other spells either unviable or completely unreliable by extention of the current proposed tables.

TO THE DESIGNERS: Feel free to completely rob me of these Ideas if you (pleasepleaseplease) decided to like them. I love Shadowrun, and would gladly help out in (nearly) any way possible. I won't hold it against you if you take these Ideas, and I wouldn't even ask you to put my name in any books (if you decide to use the changes I propose).

EDIT: Edited for Superior Quality.