Take Me Out To The Ballgame, For it's root, root root root for the.... Options

[tsuyoshikentsu]

So baseball rules. Perhaps irrationally, we wants 'em.

We also want data on what team is where nowadays; nothing's really been updated since Shadowbeat, with a few exceptions. Here's what we have so far:

The Check: While the catcher and the pitcher are deciding which pitch to throw, the catcher may make a Judge Intentions roll opposed to any runner's Agility + Con roll; if successful, he will know if the runner is attempting to steal or not.

The Pickoff: A runner may take a lead off of any base, which grants him up to a +2 bonus on any attempt to steal; however, he takes a proportional penalty to any attempt to resist a pickoff. When a pitcher attempts to pick off a runner, he makes an Agility + Throwing test opposed to the runner's Reaction + Running; if successful, the runner is out. On a critical glitch, the ball goes 2d6 meters past the first baseman and the runner may attempt to get as far on the basepaths as he likes.

The Set: Pitching, in general, is very similar to an attack with a grenade; this includes the fact that a pitcher make Take Aim for as long as he likes prior to his pitch. (Limited, of course, by both the Take Aim restrictions in SR4A and the "delay of game" restrictions in baseball.)

The Windup: The pitch itself is a Throwing + Agility roll, modified by a range penalty appropriate to the pitcher's Strength. A pitcher may take a full windup if he so wishes. (In baseball, this mostly happens on a 3-2 pitch or when the bases are empty.) If he does, he gains a +1 dice pool modifier to the roll; however, the batter gains a +1 modifier to his Judge Intentions roll, and anyone attempting to steal gets a +1 modifier to their roll as well.

The Pitch: The Throwing + Agility roll is resolved as if it were a grenade attack (scatter 1d6) against a Reaction roll of 0 hits. However, if the scatter minus net hits is a positive number (0 is not a positive number in this case) the pitch is out of the strike zone and is a ball. If the pitcher glitches, the catcher must make a Reaction + Agility check with a threshold equal to the net hits of the pitch; on a failure, the ball gets by him. (Scored as a wild pitch if the pitch would have been a ball, or a passed ball if it would have been a strike.)

On a critical glitch, roll the Throwing + Agility roll again, and subtract successes from scatter. If this roll indicates a strike, the pitcher has pitched an "easy one right down the middle" and the batter gets a +4 bonus to his hitting roll. This bonus may bring his dice pool above the normal maximum of 20 or Attribute + Skill. If the roll indicates a ball, the pitch is heading right for the batter. Resolve this as a normal Throwing + Agility attack, with the batter rolling his Reaction and, if applicable, Body + Armor to resist damage. (Damage from a baseball is [STR/2]P.)

The Steal: When a runner declares he is stealing, he makes a Strength + Running (15; 1 second) extended roll against the catcher's Agility + Throwing (15; 1 second) extended roll. If the runner wins, he's safe; if the catcher wins, the runner's out. Ties go to the runner. If the batter critical glitches, he's tripped and automatically out; if the catcher glitches, the ball goes 2d6 meters past the second baseman and the runner may continue as far as he likes.

The Swing: The result of ball or strike is not immediately revealed to the batter. Instead he may make a Judge Intentions roll with a threshold equal to the net hits of the pitch; if this roll succeeds, he will know if the pitch is a ball or a strike. Regardless of the Judge Intention roll, the matter may choose to swing or not to swing. If he does choose to swing, he rolls Reaction + Clubs as an opposed test against the Throwing + Agility roll the pitcher has made. If his roll is exactly equal to the pitcher's, he hits a foul ball out of play; if he misses, he gets a swinging strike; if his roll is higher, it's a solid hit. A glitch in any case means his bat breaks; a critical glitch means a foul pop-up. If the batter hits, and the pitch would have been a ball, he may instead choose to "check his swing;" in that case, a ball will be called (assuming the umpire makes the right call; see below).

The Call: In the event that the batter doesn't swing, and the scatter test was either negative or above 1, the umpire makes the correct call. If the scatter test was 0 or 1, or in any case where the batter checks his swing, the umpire rolls Perception + Intuition. There is no threshold for success, but in the event of a glitch (including a critical glitch) the umpire makes the wrong call -- a ball is a strike or a strike is a ball.

Beating The Throw: Once a runner has hit a ball into play, he makes a Strength + Running (15; 1 second) extended check, which is opposed to the fielder's Agility + Throwing (1 per 2 meters' distance from target; 1 second) check. Whoever reaches the threshold first wins; as in baseball, ties go to the runner. A fielder may "relay" the throw to another fielder in order to avoid range penalties.