Jon's Glorious Karma Character Generation System, beyond BeCKS Options

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Jon’s Glorious Karma Character Generation System (S3CKS)

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In this thread I'm going to develop and discuss the SR3R Complete Karma System, which I may or may not be able to resist naming S3CKS. A few points:

First, some of this is definitely going to be predicated on rule changes from SR3R. I'm going to have to dig in a bit before I'll be able to say how easily this will be adaptable to someone using otherwise pure-canon SR3 rules; I suspect that the damage will be mostly limited to metarace costs and costs for modified edges/flaws (possibly more generally, where unmodified edges/flaws overlap or interact with others), but as I say I'll need to get into things before I can be sure. I also suspect that adoption of a few specific rules from SR3R (like rebalanced metaraces and modified edges/flaws, say) will enable use of this system with at most modest changes even without more wholesale adoption of SR3R, but, as I say, I won't be sure for a bit yet.

Second, for those familiar with BeCKS, this is an extensive modification—in addition to some metaracial stat mod rebalancing, resource costs are substantially modified, edges and flaws are (over and above some changes) given individual pricing rather than a flat multiple of BP cost, and assorted other things. I waffle over whether to call it a modification of BeCKS or a whole new thing, though I've definitely been using it as a starting place.

Third, if anyone is feeling like they have too much free time and want to help out (apart from commenting on things), the most effort-intensive part of this is building different types of characters as demonstrations of viability/nonviability/overpoweredness. Find the most recent summary (when one exists) and make something!

~J

Edit: also, I'm going to be maintaining an updated version of the current proposed rules in this post to prevent people from having to assemble it themselves from chaotic thread discussion (or monologue, as the case may be). I'll include notes of significant proposals, even if they haven't been conclusively added to the current rules.

Summary of Current Rules

Initial allotment: 425 karma points (kp)

Metarace

• Human: 0kp
• Ork: 15kp
• Dwarf or Elf: 20kp
• Troll: 35kp

All metaraces gain Karma Pool every 10 karma. Humans gain some other benefit yet to be determined (leading proposal: +10% Good Karma, so every time they get a point of Karma Pool they also get an additional point of Karma that doesn't count towards earning more Karma Pool)

Magic

• Full Magician: 75kp
• Aspected Magician: 50kp
• Adept: 75kp
• Magician's Way Adept: 85kp

There are no free Spell Points; everything previously done with Spell Points is now done using general karma. There is no limit to how much karma may be spent for these purposes.

Attributes
Attribute costs, both at chargen and afterwards, are shifted by the Racial Modification; improving a Dwarf's Strength (+2 mod) from 3 to 4 costs the same as improving a Human's strength from 1 to 2, 4 karma. The obligatory first point in every attribute is free (so you can make a Human with 1/1/1/1/1/1 stats without spending anything on Attributes); attributes with penalties still get to 1 free, but the cost of improvement thereafter is shifted, so improving a Troll's Charisma from 1 to 2 costs the same as improving a Human's Charisma from 3 to 4, 8 karma.

Attributes may be purchased above the RML for the usual 3*[new level] cost, shifted as above.

Starting attribute costs: (rows: attribute rating, columns: racial bonus/penalty)

CODE

      -2      -1      +0      +1      +2      +3      +4      +5      +6
1      0       0       0       -       -       -       -       -       -       1
2      8       6       4       0       -       -       -       -       -       2
3     18      14      10       4       0       -       -       -       -       3
4     30      24      18      10       4       0       -       -       -       4
5     51      36      28      18      10       4       0       -       -       5
6     75      57      40      28      18      10       4       0       -       6
7      -      81      61      40      28      18      10       4       0       7
8      -     108      85      61      40      28      18      10       4       8
9      -       -     112      85      61      40      28      18      10       9
10     -       -       -     112      85      61      40      28      18      10
11     -       -       -     142     112      85      61      40      28      11
12     -       -       -       -     142     112      85      61      40      12

And so on.

Skills
As per post-chargen costs. Specialization is now unrestricted and works the normal way.

I'm toying with the idea of lifting the Skill 6 cap, but if I do specializations would probably need to be capped (see below); if the Skill 6 cap remains, Specializations would have a cap of 7.

Resources

• 5k¥: 0kp
• 20k¥: 17kp
• 90k¥: 33kp
• 200k¥: 50kp
• 400k¥: 66kp
• 650k¥: 83kp
• 1M¥: 100kp

There's a proposal to support exchanging karma for cash by extending the exchange past 1M¥ (probably capped at chargen), recording how much had been spent previously (including on Resources), and going from there.

Contacts

• Level 1: 1kp
• Level 2: 5kp
• Level 3: 25kp

Edges/Flaws

Edges:

• Exceptional Attribute: 10kp
• Aptitude: 14kp
• Double Jointed: 2kp
• High Pain Tolerance: 2kp plus 4 per box
• Lightning Reflexes: 4, 8, or 12kp
• Night Vision: 6 kp
• Quick Healer: 6kp
• Resistance to Pathogens: 2kp
• Resistance to Toxins: 3kp
• Toughness: 5kp
• Will to Live: 2, 4, or 6kp
• Bravery: 4kp
• College Education: 2kp
• Perceptive: 10kp
• Perfect Time: 1kp
• Sense of Direction: 2kp
• Spike Resistance: 6kp/level
• Technical School Education: 2kp
• Animal Empathy: 4kp
• Blandness: 6kp
• Friendly Face: 4kp
• Human Looking: 3kp
• Focused Concentration: 8kp
• Poor Link: 6kp
• Cracker: 8kp
• Vehicle Empathy: 10kp

Flaws:

• Computer Illiterate: -10kp
• Borrowed Time: -20kp
• Sensitive System: -10kp
• Weak Immune System: -3kp
• Combat Paralysis: -14kp
• Oblivious: -10kp
• Sensitive Neural Structure: -10 or -22kp
• Bad Reputation: -5kp/level
• Distinctive Style: -4kp
• Astral Impressions: -14kp
• Codeblock: -2kp
• Choker: -6kp
• Jack Itch: -3kp
• Cranial Bomb: -20kp