[SR3] Rule Bending/Creating Options

[Sphynx]

As is probably true of most groups, we have a guy who really likes to bend rules to the maximum to create very bizzare combinations. This is the character that has a "Natural Immunity" to the Kamikaze drug (to gain the benefits without the negative effects). :P Check out his inventions for our game.....

Of course, harmless Kamikaze addiction via the wording of Natural Immunity.

Breathes fire via Chemical Glands that produce Methane. He bought both the spit and breath options. Since the only difference between the 2 is the distribution method, both are in the neck, both produce the same gas, he paid double the price of 1 and 0.1 more BioIndex. He combined that with the ability to create an electrical spark between 2 front teeth (hidden compartments, with the additional essense and costs of JoltAlert). He wanted Napalm, but no such luck. Damage is 6M.

Has a Ranger-X bow with PhotoVoltaic paint. At first it was treated as a dumb idea, since the rules clearly state that you need a computer interface to use it. Compromise was that the bow is setup with 3 areas that are Camouflage shaped. He can select from up to 5 stored camouflage colors (blue-white-grey for snow, green-tan-brown for woodland, black-black-black for darkness, black-white-grey for urban, brown-tan-white for desert) that are programmed into the bow. (Spensive bow....)

His Ranger-X Bow also has a SmartLink-2. Admittedly intended as a firearm-only devise, but since the Smartlink-2 gives a -1 to 'arc line-of-fire weapons', he talked us into it. :P So he gets -1TN for the Ranger-X (most spensive bow in the world me thinks)..... His Strength 12 Orc addicted to harmless Kamikaze. :P

Of course, the basic Wired-2, superthyroid, muscle toned/augmented combination to go along with it protected by a WhiteTiger suit with 4 levels Thermal Insulation (the suit includes a 'hood' that can lay-flat like a Collar....)

I'm guessing most people that will read this will hate the guy, but I love the stuff he comes up with. So does the GM apparently. :P I just had to share the latest inventions as I convert his sheet to HTML for the game. I'll be sharing the 9 character sheets (we have a big group, bigger than last time) by this weekend I hope. :)

[eidolon]

Right off the bat, my first thought is

If you're immune to a drug, that means all of its effects, not just the bad ones. It's like being magic resistant. That means you resist Heal too.

Second thought is he'd burn his own face if he tried to breathe burning methane at someone. But in general, I'm hard on the chemical glands stuff because there are so many potentially ridiculous uses for them.

The bow stuff, I'd have no problem with, assuming that proper concern was given to the hows and the how much-es (cost).

And I don't come away from your post hating that guy, I come away from your post thinking your GM needs to be less...permissive.

[Kagetenshi]

Not that I disagree, but there's another thread for that.

Re: Ranger-X, aren't they already smartlinkable (and thus must have an interface)?

As for the methane, what eidolon said. Did he give any way to avoid the flame traveling back into his mouth?

~J

[mfb]

pretty sure. if not, there's definitely a package that allows smartlink and other targeting gadgets to be attached to bow.

[eidolon]

Yeah, and even if there weren't it's not much of a jump to add it. Just pay the same cost for adding it as you would for any firearm. No real need to go beyond that unless you're wanting fluff to support it.

[Wounded Ronin]

To me that whole character concept is too ridiculous. It reads like something out of a bad Mary Sue fanfic.

[Sphynx]

Immunity to Toxin, level 3 does specifically state it only blocks the 'ill effects'. :P

As for burning the face, circus performers do it all the time, and hair-spray cans don't go exploding if you make a torch out of them with a lighter. As long as his lips seal when he's done with the spitting, there's no reason to assume physics would work differently for him. o.O

GM is obviously very permissive yes, as long as it makes sense with the given rules, and doesn't actually break them.

Wound, I assume you're speaking of the Fire Breathing. Yeah, seems far fetched to me too, but unless there's rules to play a Draconian, he's always going to do his best to create one with the rules (Hence the Orc and Fire Breathing). However, in the last 2 games, he hasn't breathed fire at all, the characters don't even know he can. He just wants to be able to for theme, and as a general rule, we never disallow anything built on theme. We may bend the rules to make the cost more than the player wants to pay, but to make a character without theme seems a bigger crime to us.

[toturi]

I have to go with your GM's interpretation of Immunity and I would applaud hm for allowing it. Not many GMs has the balls to allow something that does not break the rules but can been seen by others to be potentially game breaking. I would also like to complement your friend's ingenuity as well.

I thought the smartlinked Ranger X bow with a high strength PC was done quite a long while back. Back during the Jive forums era I believe.

[Sphynx]

Yeah, Bow Accessory Mount is on page 13 of Cannon. Guess I just never knew about that. :P

[Kagetenshi]

[toturi]

[Sphynx]

Is there a better 'natural' gas (or even liquid I suppose) I could/should recommend to him?

[toturi]

Some form of alcohol, maybe?

[eidolon]

Kage covered the methane issues. As far as the immunity, which is it? You list Natural Immunity, and then Immunity to Toxins. I don't have my books handy.

Either way, the player's use of it is sheer munchy idiocy, and there's no way I'd allow it in my games.

[Sphynx]

There's only 1 immunity Edge that I'm aware of Eidolon. And I'm referring to the 3 point version of it, not the 1 point version of it. Regardless, I think the 'sheer munchy idiocy' is quite wrong. 'sheer munchy' perhaps, but do NOT call my friends idiots even through implications please.

[Kagetenshi]

I resent that. I know I've committed idiocy, so if you're going to link being the creator of idiocy to being an idiot, you're calling me an idiot.

Now, feel free to take umbrage at the fact that he's calling it idiocy, but remember that one does not always imply the other :)

(I don't actually resent that, I'm just a stickler for precision in language. Probably because of my lack of precision in thought.)

~J

[Sphynx]

The point is, it's not idiocy to go by 'canon' ruling. The ruling clearly states that the character can take a 'drug' (in addition to toxin or poison) without 'ill effect'. Just because someone's House Ruling of changing 'ill effect' to 'any effect' doesn't comply with 'canon', does not make going by 'canon' idiocy.

Of course, your'e welcome to House Rule an 'any effect' to your version of Natural Immunity, but by 'canon', it only effects 'ill effect'.

[will_rj]

beware, the thread is starting to point to the wrong flame...

Back to the point, firebreathers spit a combustible liquid into a fire that´s held outside their mouths. Your friend is creating the spark with his teeth and i´m not really sure that it´s possible to make the teeth spark mechanism work in such a way that spares his mouth, not to mention his mustache, if he happens to sport one. One way to escape the melted cheese dillema would be a lighter in a cyberfinger.

[Sphynx]

Yeah, we told him something similar, but it's about 'theme'. He wanted a fire-breathing adept at first, but he couldn't convince us of a way to do it, so went the cyber method. He wants to breath fire like a dragon (despite it only doing 6M damage). Since the entire character was based around that theme, I find it unlikely the GM will ever get gritty-realistic on him burning his mouth. Perhaps best to just re-word it into a new piece of Bioware, the FireBreather (but based on the glands and teeth for 'costs' and limited number of uses).

[Moon-Hawk]

Do it like a monowhip. If he glitches, he dribbles on himself and ignites. :-)

[eidolon]

No implications of any one person's being an idiot intended, but Kage has already pointed that out.

[Ryu]

Flamable breath done this way does damage at least the lips. Using something else than methane would be good because of damage, too. (An electrical spark in a wet environment. With many pain-conducting nerves. Ouch).

That said, why did you not give him a custom magic power if you are allowing something that gives him "a dragons breath" via technology?

[eidolon]

IIRC, fire breathers coat their mouths and lips with petroleum jelly to alleviate the danger somewhat, do they not?

[Moon-Hawk]

None of the fire-breathers that I know (including myself) do this, but then again I keep a damp washcloth in my off hand when I'm breathing fire. I have yet to use it for anything other than wiping a teeny bit of accelerant (unlit) off my lips, but it's there just in case.
And I use charcoal lighter fluid as fuel. It has extremely low surface tenison, which makes it easy to atomize into fine mist as you exhale. Different people use different fuels, they all have their pros and cons.
I'm sorry, I probably should've been contributing to this thread more. Yes, I know how to breathe fire, does anyone want to ask me anything?

edit: BTW, eidolon, I'm not saying that some firebreathers don't use petroleum jelly, just none of the ones I know. There's a lot of variation.

[Ryu]

Yes, I want to. Can you set something on fire by breathing on it? Would that hurt?