Scorched Flaw in SR4?, Free Points for Awakened characters? Options

[ShadowDragon8685]

-2 dice pool versus Black IC (yeah, like mages are going to come up against those) and -2 against BTLs? (Again, like a mage is going to come up against BTLs.)

So I've had two characters with former decker backgrounds that have decided to Awaken. The backgrounds are good, but...

One of them is one of Dues' former Otaku kids, and one of them is a former decker. Both of them Awakened in the aftermath of the Crash, both have taken the Scorched flaw.

Good backgrounds, but they're trying to pull the wool over my eyes and get five free BP.

I don't think so.


So I was thinking I should pull out the SR3 companion and look up the rules for being conditioned by Psychotropic IC. If they're going to try and use Scorched to basically get free BP... I was thinking giving them a hard-on for megacorps that no longer exist might be fun. But what do you think?

[James McMurray]

There's really few possibilities:

1) disallow it
2) allow it
3) tack extra penalties on

I prefer #1, but haven't actually had to tell a player he couldn't have any flaws that wouldn't actually be flaws. I might crumble in the face of a good back story.

Speaking of good backstory, if the background for the scorched flaw opens up in game possibilities, that could be worth the extra build points, making extra penalties unnecessary.

Definitely don't give them extra penalties to start with, instead find a way to amke sure it comes up during the game. As only a 5 BP flaw, having it only come into play once or twice during his career is probably ok. A single kidnapping followed by BTL brainwashing can make them wonder if that extra skill point was worth it. :)

[FanGirl]

I'd imagine that allergies to easily-avoided substances are a good way to trip people up, too. Like, you could have the Mafia or the Yakuza kidnap the guy who's allergic to vegetables and force-feed him broccoli until he talks.

[hyzmarca]

The ex-otaku and ex-decker should both have datajacks. Hot sim can be run through datajacks against their will if necessary.
Question, did they spend points on computer related skills?
If so, they may desire to use those skills in the future or be required to use those skills in the future. If not tell them that their backgrounds and skillsets are incongruant and one of them should be changed.

[ShadowDragon8685]

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=12505

One of 'em decided to ditch when I called him on it. The other one may or may not have seen it yet.

Basically, I told them "Install Datajacks (or calculate concomitant essence holes in the event your datajack was removed at some point,) and show me some decker and Otaku-related background skills, or change your backgrounds."

I dunno what his problem was. I wasen't flying into a rant, I was just saying "Gotcha". Oh well.

I don't like to flat-out disallow something, but... Meh.

[Teulisch]

scorched isnt just a decker thing. its good for people with a history of BTL abuse, even if they are not currently addicted. And remember, some places spam the airwaves with sim pop-up porn.

[Dranem]

That's the point.. you caught him at his game....

One more point I would like to place is that the Matrix Crash didn't Awaken people. Many people had no way out and got sucked in never to be seen again, but they didn't Awaken in the process. The Comet on the other hand did...

On the case of the Otaku, I could forgive it, as many Awaken after puberty... but it wouldn't have been the Crash that did it..

But yeah, if they're a decker in early life, then they should have the ware or essence loss and computer skills to back up their history. Otherwise they're just making it up for free bp.

[SL James]

You know, there is a whole forum about SR4 that isn't this one.

[Brahm]

@ShadowDragon8685

I'd say screw it too if my GM was a jerk and told me my charater had to install a Datajack. Datajacks are fully optional now since trodes are their performance equal. Even hardcore riggers and deckers that won't nessesarily get them. Most Technomancers, as a backup way to get hooked up EM interference free, are definately going to go trodes versus a Datajack. Also depending on how you want to play it you are vulnerable to Black IC in AR. If you read the shadowtalk about wierd Matrix events at the end of System Failure it is fairly suggestive that is a possibility.

Having to go without AR or risk getting IC dumped isn't a free ride at all. Worth 5 Build Points? Oh hell, it's only 5 Build Points. He didn't take all the hackerish negatives, did he?

[ShadowDragon8685]

SL James - yes, but this could just as easily be a former decker/otaku Awakening after the YotC and trying to take Scorched for free BP in SR3, too, without any cyber or essence lost. This is more of a general DMing advice question than anything that really relates to SR4.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Brahm, did you read the post?


The characters had datajacks back in the SR3 days, the days before the Crash. They HAD to have, to have been full Otaku/Deckers. Trodes just didn't work as well back then. One of them was one of Dues' ex-Otaku, the other was a Decker before the Crash.

[Brahm]

[FanGirl]

[caramel frappucc...]

Wow, sure am glad I pulled outta that game in time.

[hyzmarca]

Yep. The decker could have decked with trodes but he would have been one of the most craptastic deckers around due to the resultant penalities. Heck, he wouldn't even need a deck. He could have just played around with his telecom and got creamed because telecoms don't have a masking rating.

The Otaku, on the other hand, requires a datajack. It is in the character creation rules for otaku. All otakus must have datajacks. The fact that he was a White also ensures that he will have cybereyes, a ceberal booster 2, and several other cyberware implants.
Of course, I'd offset the damaging essence loss by letting the character pre-initiate up to two times and I'd let it have a pet medusa drone just because of the brass ovaries required to take that kind of background. I mean, we don't know what happened to the AIs after the crash yet. GMs have free reign over them for the moment. Our Lord and Savior might be in the process of rebuilding his Network even as we speak and most nodes have always been unaware of their status as nodes.

[James McMurray]

Good job calling him on it. If you're gonna be an ex-decker, at least have some decking skills. :)

[Glyph]

Scorched is hardly free points. BTLs are the drug of choice in SR, and I wouldn't put it past some shady dealers to offer a free "taste" to unwary people - those ubituous commlinks have a down side. And psychotropic mindbenders are probably a favored tactic of many corporations that nab a shadowrunner. It is a flaw that would probably come into play more than, say, someone's moderate allergy to gold. Plus, it hobbles a character with a Notoriety point right out of char-gen.

[James McMurray]

Being offered a free taste doesn't mean you'll take it. That part fo the flaw is only apparent if the player decides to make it be. The other side is up to the GM, and shouldn't be overdone when looked at as the downside of a 5 point flaw.

But then again, my players are frequently of the mentality that they'd rather die than be captured. I don't know why, but if I start tossing nonlethal attacks at them they hit the panic button and open up every trick they've got. Just a few EX Explosive rounds won't do that.

[Dranem]

Granted the Scorched Quality does have some major in game issues.

I think the biggest thing the GM was irked about is that the character's history file and their actual sheet didn't match up. All the unaccounted for BP costs in skills and lost magic points were not there - it was more the way they decided they were Scorched than the actual quality that we're truly discussing here.

It's like me saying that my character used to be a Face for the mob, yet have no charisma or knowledge skills to back it up.

[edit]
In my mind, it's more an issue of good role playing, rather than roll playing that's important. Your character's history isn't just some disjointed story for the sake of making your character 'sound neat', it should collaborate with the skills, proficiencies and flaws that you've chosen in your character sheet.



This post has been edited by Dranem: Apr 12 2006, 07:04 AM

[hyzmarca]

Actually, it is easier to justisfy an ex-mob face with 1 CHA and no social skills than it is to justify an ex-decker with no essence loss.


I was the most charismatic and handsom person in the entire outfit. I was a skilled lawyer and a brilliant negotiator. Everybody loved me. Unfortunatly everybody was one person too many. Evilyn was Don Rigatoni's girl and everybody knew it. I had enough sense to stay away from her and turn down her every advance but the Don was a jealous man and couldn't stand the idea that Evilyn was obsessed with me even though he knew that I would never let her do anything about it.

Long story short. I caught three bullets with my face. They were big ones. .50 AE, I think they're called. They came outta a Super Warhawk. I recovered but I can't talk straight, I don't remember half the crap that I'm supposed to remember, and my face looks like it caught three bullets from a super warhawk.

[Brahm]

[Brahm]

[FanGirl]

I think it has more to do with the fact that Sci-Fi club (and our college, for that matter) atttracts a certain type of person than any influence that Emo may or may not have had on me. I've always been kinda nitpicky about things like spelling, so of course the butchering of Deus' name bothered me.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Oooofh... What hit me?

*picks self up off the ground.*

*reads the back-thread.* Hmmmmmmmmm... That point about the cyber that Deus' kids should've had is handy. Not that it matters since he decided to splitski, but thanks.

[Platinum]