 Runners should think twice before murdering people, Vengeful ghosts can make life hell |
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 Sep 30 2006, 02:06 AM
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#1
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Midnight Toker  Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456  |
So, I came across this article.
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5...456126&nav=0Ra7 Proving that I've been into SR for too long the first thing I thought was that it is 2006, there is a decent chance for a vengeful ghost to be created if the killing took place at a mana spike. This article mentions a "distant relative" but I don't buy that. It probably was a vengeful spectre. Consider how many people the average shadowrunner kills over his lifetime. If even 1/100 came back as a malicious spectre he'd be in big trouble. Better than the 'Star, better than family and friends, the vengeful ghost is the best way to get over-the-top shadowrunners to curb their murderous ways. You can evade the authorities and you can hide the evidence, it is difficult to justify a random family member knowing that the runner is the killer or having the resources to be a threat, but the spectre of the victim will know who the killer is and will be able to use atreal tracking to get to him. Furthermore, if the spectre has an unknown chain it is impossible to defeat. I'tll just keep comming back and it may as well barter with winos for karma and improve its force every time. Truely, a tatoo is going to be the least of this guys problems. And it will be the least of the problems of many Shadowrunners. For all we know "Kattie's Revenge" is the ghost's true name attached to the man using SR4 formula pact rules, so he'll potentially live forever to be tormented by the spirit every second of his eternal life for the next 5000 years or so. |
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Oct 2 2006, 09:37 PM
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#2
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
It would be delightfully 1st ed D&D to have a gigantic table of Things That Can Go Awry which you roll on for each NPC the PCs kill. While the vast majority of things would point to "nothing", there'd be a very small subsection of results that would point to things like "create level X enemy" or "become target of vengeful ghost."
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Oct 2 2006, 09:49 PM
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#3
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,150 Joined: 19-December 05 From: Rhein-Ruhr Megaplex Member No.: 8,081 |
If I thought twice about it, it would count as premeditated murder. Since my chars generally don't sign up for wetwork, they really can't think twice.
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Oct 3 2006, 12:51 AM
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#4
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
1d100 01-05 NPC has random fenceable loot worth __ Nuyen 01: 2d6x10 02: 4d6x10 03: 2d6x100 04: 4d6x100 05: d6x1000 06-14 NPC has a panic button/Docwagon bracelet/dead man's switch 06: Docwagon HTR response in 1d3x3 minutes 07: Docwagon HTR response in 1d6x10 Combat Turns 08: Alarm - All local security alerted 09: Police SWAT response in 1d6 minutes 10: Alarm - Facility is automaticly locked down 11: Area Cranial Bomb (GM may choose to reroll) 12: Police response in 3d6 minutes 13: Astral Alarm, instant spirit response 14: Any one or two of the above (GM choice)or Roll again 15-20 Shedim!!! 15: The body is inhabitated by a Shedim after 1d6x3 minutes 16: The body is inhabitated by a Shedim before it his the floor 17: The body is inhabitated by a Master Shedim within 1d6x3 minutes 18: The body is inhabitated by a Master Shedim before it his the floor. 19: The body is inhabitated by a Master Shedim sometime after the run. It comes back to haunt the runners. 20: Any of the Above (GM choice)or Roll again 21-25 The NPC has a lootable key or keys 21: Keys to a scooter, motorcycle, or ATV of GM choice 22: Keys to an automobile of GM choice 23: A card key to a high security facility of GM choice 24: House Keys 25: Any Key(s) of GM choice or Reroll 26-29: Mistaken identity 26: The NPC is really a biological realitive, friend, or lover of a PC (or reroll) 27: The NPC is really a VIP (or reroll) 28: The NPC is really the extraction target (or reroll 29: Incorrect target of GM choice (or reroll) 30:Nothing 31-40: Enemies 31:PC gains 1 level 1 corporate enemy 32:PC gains 1 level 2 corporate enemy 33:PC gains 1 level 1 criminal enemy 34:PC gains 1 level 2 criminal enemy 35:PC gains 1 level 1 wageslave enemy 36:PC gains 1 level 1 law enforcement enemy 37:PC gains 1 level 2 law enforcement Enemy 38:PC gains 1 level 3 enemy of GM choice 39:PC gains 1d6 enemies of GM choice (or reroll) 40:PC gains 1 Free Spirit enemy of GM choice 41-51: Nothing 52-76: Evidence (nothing or reroll at GM discression, ie. homeless guy in the barrens or PC cleanses his astral signiture) 52-57: Police are able to trace the PC's gear. His fixer is implicated 58-62: Police are able to recover the PC's fingerprints and he has been flagged as a person of interest. Any SIN validation (real or fake) will alert the police to his presence unless he gets his prints surgically altered (such alteration will invalidate any fake SIN). If the PC has a real SIN then the police know exactly who he is. 62-65: The Police are able to recover DNA and have flagged the PC as a person of interest. Any DNA scan will alert the police to the PC's presence unless the PC obtains DNA masking. If the PC has a real SIN then the police know exactly who he is. 66-67: A Ritual Sample has been recovered. The PC is pretty much screwed until the sample degrades. 68-71: If the PC used any magic the signature of that magic has been traced. If the PC is a magician with a real SIN then the police know who he is. If he is magician without a SIN is signiture will be on file. If the PC was using magical items purchsed from an PC (such as expendable anchors or tattoos) then the supplier of those magics has been implicated. If the PC has not used any magic then reroll. 72: The Johnson has been arrested but is holding out. The PCs should lay low. 73: The Johnson has been arested and has confessed. All of the Johnson's criminal contacts have been implicated, including the PCs. 74: Any of the Above (GM choice) or reroll 75-77:Nothing 77-84 Haunts 77:A Force 1d6 apparition haunts the PC 78:A Force 2d6 apparition with a chain haunts the PC 79: A force 1d4 spectre haunts the PC 80: A force 1d6 specture with a chain haunts the PC 81: A Unique Spirit of the GM's choice haunts the PC (or reroll) 82: A Nomad attempts to attach itself to the PC 83: A Wraith follows the PC home 84: Any of the above (GM choice) or reroll 85-99: Nothing 100/00 Roll reroll twice and use both effects. |
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Oct 3 2006, 01:11 AM
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#5
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Uncle Fisty Group: Admin Posts: 13,891 Joined: 3-January 05 From: Next To Her Member No.: 6,928 |
wow.... your dedication astounds me. I am so using that now.
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Oct 3 2006, 06:38 AM
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#6
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Moving Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 573 Joined: 23-July 03 From: outside America Member No.: 5,015 |
I like it. It makes the PCs more accountable (or their successors, once the first wave of PCs learn the hard way). It makes sense that if they kill a large number of things, the chance of their Johnson being arrested is much higher due to the increased attention such a case would draw. And the idea of shedim possession before the corpse hits the floor... because he was just lurking nearby following the big guns around waiting for a body... that's something they won't expect / forget.
Unless the PCs are chickens or tile-layers I don't think they can lay. They could lie low. Or lay eggs / lay tiles (complete transitive verb). But not lay low. Lay would be past-tense of lie, so maybe they lay low last year. But in the future they should lie low.
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Oct 3 2006, 07:25 AM
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#7
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Thank You, Grammer Nazi. :P The proabilities and effects might need to be adjusted somewhat. The Mistaken Idnetity ones may not be totally realistic or totally aproperiate, they were mainly filler inspired by a rather sadistic idea from KarmaInferno. I wasn't sure if they were a good idea then but I really couldn't think of a good replacement of them. Maybe more Nothing or maybe copies of some other effects to make them more probable (shedim, maybe). I tried to limit the probability of effects that would completely hose the run while focusing on things that would haunt them later (Which is why leaving evidence is so much more probable than anything else). Yeah, arresting the Johnson would be the best way to get to the runners in cases of private employers. Even if the Johnson is a deniable asset himself there is eventually someone with motive somewhere. In cases of corp-vs-corp runs the unwriten rules of covert warfare would limit retaliation against known enemy Johnsons, but when it is personal (and small time runners are likely to get into personal stuff) the dude with the checkbook will ultimatly be a suspect. |
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Oct 3 2006, 08:15 AM
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#8
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Moving Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 573 Joined: 23-July 03 From: outside America Member No.: 5,015 |
Ahh... grammar is a programmer's bread and butter. ;)
Right. No items like "your shot accidentally triggers the target's mysterious cyberware flaw cranial bomb, razing the nearest three city blocks to smoking rubble." It's also fairly simple. If you were rolling a whole fistful of dice to come up with the precise ramifications of each NPC's death, your players would get a bit miffed if the majority of those outcomes indirectly resulted in new characters needing to be made.
As for the Mistaken Identity entries... I think it is very unlikely a PC would not recognise a loved one, etc. unless they were in a full chem suit or similar. There is a real chance, however, that the person just shot was actually an inside contact of one of the PCs' fixers, and that fixer loses a loyalty level for the major inconvenience the PCs just caused him. If you have watched Dark Star (the inspiration behind Red Dwarf) you'll remember Sgt. Pinback was really just a fuel technician trying to rescue someone who'd fallen into a fuel tank, but because he was wearing a safety suit belonging to Pinback he'd been put aboard the Dark Star and launched into space. No reason why the guy with the ominous shadow who keeps almost appearing around the corner at the end of the hallway and subsequently gets blown apart by the runners' grenades wasn't simply a cleaner mopping the floor. I think the abandon shown by some runner teams could easily lead to a high casualty count of such mistaken identities, perhaps even rivalling those of a certain military force in modern warfare. |
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Oct 3 2006, 09:39 AM
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#9
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Our grammar is not context-free.
As for "events that would completely hose the run", you don't think generation of a Master Shedim counts? ~J |
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Oct 3 2006, 09:56 AM
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#10
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Minimize the probability, not eliminate it. If one has random consequences for killing then some of those consequences should hose the run, just not many. That being said, it may be possible to work around a Master Shedim, for a while. If you are killing at a decent rate then it'll get bodies for its family with no effort of its own. It I were an undead cannibal I would wait untill the nice Habitat for Inhumanity people finished making nice houses of all my kids instead of eating them outright. Police response is far more dangerous, and lets be honest, any security company that doesn't give biomoniters and dead man's switches to guards does not have the lowest possible insurance premium. It isn't unreasonable for one dead guard to signal the whole lot or automatically signal the police.
Great idea. |
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Oct 3 2006, 11:50 AM
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#11
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Moving Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 573 Joined: 23-July 03 From: outside America Member No.: 5,015 |
Whenever I give handouts, eg a scrawled PostIt note found on a desk, etc. I always give it atrocious spelling and grammar. Usually inspired by the drivel that goes on in World of Warcraft but amplified somewhat, just to give the players a feel for what English/Deckerspeak [3/5] (Writing [1]) really would be like. If it's referring to anything the runners aren't immediately familiar with they need to make intelligence checks to decipher clues as to what it actually means. Of course, the author of the note would know what it was about... probably... if he could remember what he'd been thinking about as he wrote it. And as for the Shedim, I think it's a creative and logical idea. If you were a shedim and wanted bodies I suppose you could lurk in sewers and hope to find meat without too many limbs missing. But following some assassins around and taking your pick from the choice cuts... maybe going for one with merely a fresh shotgun blast to the jaw and a sprig of parsley... that'd be worth waiting for. Or manabolt-inspired sudden-onset chronic meningitis, almost good as new, no scratches or rust, comes with a free business suit, still clean, and one year movie pass good at any tridhouse. Wouldn't wanna get that all mussed up by jumping in the driver's seat while the trigger-happy delivery men and their messy guns are still trolling around. |
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Oct 3 2006, 01:18 PM
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#12
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Given that Master Shedim are supposed to be in the same class of "may not even exist" as the rest of the Threats, I still dislike their inclusion.
~J |
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Oct 3 2006, 08:36 PM
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#13
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Master Shedim are in the 'may not exist' catagory because their Aura Masking and Regeneration make them impossible to distinquish from the living original unless you happen to be a high level initiate. If Bob the security guard regrows his head after a load of OO buckshot passes through it at point-blank range but is otherwise perfectly normal there it is perfectly reasonable to assume that he just had the good sense to pop an Immortal Flower that morning.
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Nov 25 2006, 12:35 AM
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#14
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Slightly revised random consequence table. I have reduced the probability of generating a Master Shedim by 1/3 and altered some of the sillier possibilities.
1d100 01-05 NPC has random fenceable loot worth __ Nuyen 01: 2d6x10 02: 4d6x10 03: 2d6x100 04: 4d6x100 05: d6x1000 06-14 NPC has a panic button/Docwagon bracelet/dead man's switch 06: Docwagon HTR response in 1d3x3 minutes 07: Docwagon HTR response in 1d6x10 Combat Turns 08: Alarm - All local security alerted 09: Police SWAT response in 1d6 minutes 10: Alarm - Facility is automatically locked down 11: Nothing 12: Police response in 3d6 minutes 13: Astral Alarm, instant spirit response 14: Any one or two of the above (GM choice)or Roll again or Nothing 15-20 Shedim!!! 15: The body is inhabitated by a Shedim after 1d6x3 minutes 16: The body is inhabitated by a Shedim before it his the floor 17: The body is inhabitated by a Master Shedim within 1d6x3 minutes or before he hits the ground (GM choice) 18: The next spirit summoned by any shaman in that domain will be an out of control blood spirit even if that shaman does not have the Sacrificing metamagic. 19: The body is inhabitated by a Master Shedim sometime after the run. It comes back to haunt the runners. 20:GM choice or Nothing 21-25 The NPC has a lootable key or keys 21: Keys to a scooter, motorcycle, or ATV of GM choice 22: Keys to an automobile of GM choice 23: A card key to a high security facility of GM choice 24: House Keys 25: Any Key(s) of GM choice 26-28: Mistaken identity 26: The NPC is really a friend-of-a-friend 27: The NPC is related to a VIP ally 28: The NPC's pocket contains a letter from an adoption agency and DNA test results which prove that he was related to the PC. Or nothing (GM choice) [I recommend this only once per PC but repeated use may have comedic value] 29: Nothing 30:Nothing 31-40: Enemies 31:PC gains 1 level 1 corporate enemy 32:PC gains 1 level 2 corporate enemy 33:PC gains 1 level 1 criminal enemy 34:PC gains 1 level 2 criminal enemy 35:PC gains 1 level 1 wageslave enemy 36:PC gains 1 level 1 law enforcement enemy 37:PC gains 1 level 2 law enforcement Enemy 38:PC gains 1 level 3 enemy of GM choice 39: Nothing 40:PC gains 1 Free Spirit enemy of GM choice 41-51: Nothing 52-76: Evidence (nothing or reroll at GM discression, ie. homeless guy in the barrens or PC cleanses his astral signiture) 52-57: Police are able to trace the PC's gear. His fixer is implicated 58-62: Police are able to recover the PC's fingerprints and he has been flagged as a person of interest. Any SIN validation (real or fake) will alert the police to his presence unless he gets his prints surgically altered (such alteration will invalidate any fake SIN). If the PC has a real SIN then the police know exactly who he is. 62-65: The Police are able to recover DNA and have flagged the PC as a person of interest. Any DNA scan will alert the police to the PC's presence unless the PC obtains DNA masking. If the PC has a real SIN then the police know exactly who he is. 66-67: A Ritual Sample has been recovered. The PC is pretty much screwed until the sample degrades. 68-71: If the PC used any magic then the signature of that magic has been traced. If the PC is a magician with a real SIN then the police know who he is. If he is magician without a SIN is signiture will be on file. If the PC was using magical items purchsed from an PC (such as expendable anchors or tattoos) then the supplier of those magics has been implicated. If the PC has not used any magic then Nothing happens. 72: The Johnson has been arrested but is holding out. The PCs should lie low. 73: The Johnson has been arested and has confessed. All of the Johnson's criminal contacts have been implicated, including the PCs. 74: Any of the Above (GM choice) or Nothing 75-77:Nothing 77-84 Haunts 77:A Force 1d6 apparition haunts the PC 78:A Force 2d6 apparition with a chain haunts the PC 79: A force 1d4 spectre haunts the PC 80: A force 1d6 specture with a chain haunts the PC 81: A Unique Spirit of the GM's choice haunts the PC (or reroll) 82: A Nomad attempts to attach itself to the PC 83: A Wraith follows the PC home 84: Any of the above (GM choice) or reroll or Nothing 85-99: Nothing 100/00 Roll reroll twice and use both effects. |
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Nov 25 2006, 02:51 AM
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#15
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,640 Joined: 6-June 04 Member No.: 6,383 |
I like the table but if I roll it every time a security guard gets blown away the PCs are going to accumulate a small leigon of ghosts following them around by the end of their career.
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Nov 25 2006, 04:15 AM
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#16
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Midnight Toker Group: Members Posts: 7,686 Joined: 4-July 04 From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop Member No.: 6,456 |
Yes, there is a point there.
Rolling it no more than once per run or once per character per run seems more appropriate. Some of the effects have after-run consequences while some a best initiated during the run, so there is a problem there. Perhaps I could eliminate the during-run consequences and only leave the after-run consequences, thus making it a once per run roll. Or the roll could be made before the run and attached whichever NPC happens to get killed first. |
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Nov 25 2006, 04:26 AM
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#17
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Or even a random NPC between the first killed and the sixth. |
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Nov 25 2006, 04:32 AM
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#18
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 619 Joined: 18-April 03 From: The UV Nexus Member No.: 4,474 |
There are no d100s in Shadowrun. PLEASE! Don't go there! The Sprawl Survival Guide manages random encounters with a d6. We don't need no 3d20s. We don't need no saving throws. Wizards! Leave our game alone! (apologies to Pink Floyd) |
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Nov 25 2006, 01:08 PM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 573 Joined: 23-July 03 From: outside America Member No.: 5,015 |
You didn't include the possibility of the NPC just killed being an 'inside man' contact of one of the PCs' fixers?
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Nov 25 2006, 03:41 PM
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#20
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,333 Joined: 19-August 06 From: Austin Member No.: 9,168 |
Eh, I'm fine with it. Since this is an external GM aid, it's not canon (or cannon), so we aren't creating an actual need for anything but d6's. And honestly, how many GMs don't have d10's lying (or laying) about, just waiting to be rolled? Since you aren't playing WoD or rolling Fighter HP, or wielding a Bastard (or hand-and-a-half) sword any more, use those dice somewhere! However, there are some overlaps in the new table. 75-77 are included in more than one category. So there are 42 Good/Neutral results, and 60 bad, and one reroll. I'd be inclined to remove 2 good, so that you're at a 40/60 split. Take away the 75-77 "No result" column, and then turn 41 in to something that has both positive and negative qualities, or possibly one that's random. I'd suggest 41: The PCs have drawn the attention of a local Free Spirit. Roll 1d6 to determine its force, then roll 1d6 and check below to determine its attitude: 1: Neutral to the party, hostile to the killer 2: Neutral to the party, friendly to the killer 3: Hostile to the party, neutral to the killer 4: Hostile to the party, hostile to the killer 5: Friendly to the party, neutral to the killer 6: Friendly to the party, friendly to the killer I also modified 28 to read: 28: The NPC is a contact of their PC’s fixer. Killing him reduces either the fixer’s loyalty (if he finds out) or connections (as he must find a new source) by one (1-3, loyalty, 4-6 connection). Then I stole the list. |
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Nov 25 2006, 03:55 PM
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#21
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,006 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Simulate 1d100 through a byzantine arrangement of d6s.
~J |
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Nov 25 2006, 03:59 PM
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#22
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,333 Joined: 19-August 06 From: Austin Member No.: 9,168 |
Roll 48d6, then roll an additional 28d6. If the roll of the 28 is higher than the 48, add the lowest 12 of the second roll to the highest 12 of the first. Then subtract one from all dice over 5, and add one to all dice showing 3, as long as their is also one die showing 4 for each one you add. Reroll twos. Plot on a standard polar coordinate system, the consult the chart. |
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Nov 26 2006, 08:01 AM
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#23
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Moving Target Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 573 Joined: 23-July 03 From: outside America Member No.: 5,015 |
Canon and lying respectively. The other options render the sentence meaningless.
Hooray I am appeased. If you wanted to convert it to d6 system (and you liked rolling a lot) you could structure it into a menu:
It wouldn't be too hard to code it into a program but then you might as well use the d100 table. |
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Nov 26 2006, 11:07 AM
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#24
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,598 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Hong Kong Member No.: 4,253 |
Hmpf, if I ever get to run again, I think I'll take a page from General Butt Naked's book:
So what kind of bad karma do I get for that? |
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Nov 26 2006, 08:44 PM
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#25
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,333 Joined: 19-August 06 From: Austin Member No.: 9,168 |
I know. I just wanted to keep with the style of the thread. ;)
Hmmmmm. I'm thinking that would actually be pretty easy to insert in to a script, and put on a web page. I may have a new spare time project. ;) |
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