Rules for characters playing rochambeau, character development powers ACTIVATE!!! Options

[Wounded Ronin]

In order to better understand the question of "HOW DO ROLE PLAY!!!???!!!" and in order to stop alienating those people on this board who think that SR is all about storytelling, characters, and role playing with my asinine detail-obsessed strategy gaming I have decided to write rules for characters who want to play rochambeau. Whether or not a character decides to play rochambeau is a very important question of character development and motive, if you think about it. A character who agrees to play rochambeau is probably orientated towards the present moment whereas the character who refuses is probably thinking more of the future and has optimistic long term plans which a lack of testicles would inhibit which in my mind points to a more intellectual and goal orientated type.

SR3 rochambeau procedure:

1.) One character challenges another character to play rochambeau. The character being challenged may accept or decline and furthermore as the challenged he gets to throw the first kick.

2.) The challenger stands with his legs apart and the challengee throws the first kick after accepting. The challengee is able to make an Unarmed Combat (or default) roll versus TN 4 using all of his combat pool. His base damage code is raised by one level (usually from M stun to S stun) to represent an automatic "called shot" effect. This is otherwise treated like a normal Unarmed Combat attack and if the challengee fails to roll any successes it means that he only tapped the challenger's groin and failed to cause any damage. The challenger is not allowed to roll any sort of Unarmed Combat skill to defend, nor can he use any combat pool since the rules dictate he must hold perfectly still and take the blow. He may only resist the damage from the attack using passive measures, including dermal armor, rolling Body, using Mystic Armor, and so on. This actually improves character development since the player whose groin is getting kicked must state clearly whether or not his dermal armor is covering his genitalia or not and this in turn lets him angst over being unable to have a sex life because his genitals are entombed in armor.

3.) If the challenger is still alive/conscious after taking the unopposed attack described above he has two choices; he may decide to abort the contest and in so doing concede defeat, or he may take his turn kicking the challengee in the manner described in step two. Injury mods will probably apply. If the challengee is still alive/conscious after being kicked by the challenger, the cycle repeats as described in step 2 until one of the participants concedes defeat, falls unconscious, or is killed.


Evaluating results:

Physical damage resulting from a game of rochambeau is handled in a slightly special way. If a character takes a Serious physical wound during rochambeau this means that he has experienced a testicular torsion. If the character's testicles aren't un-twisted and blood circulation restored (requires a Biotech 4 test; since this is a physical task and not a medicine-based one a Medkit CANNOT be used for this test) he will lose spermatogensis and testosterone production after 1 hour. The testicles will die and he will become a eunuch.

If a character takes a Deadly physical wound during rochambeau this means that the testicles have burst from massive blunt trauma. Not only is the character eunichized but his condition will continue to degrade as per normal until he is stabilized as this represents dangerous bleeding from the ruptured ballsack.

Vulva rule:

If a female character decides to play Rochambeau she will get a -2 TN to resisting damage because of how vulvas are a bit more durable versus blunt trauma than testes.

If a female character takes a Serious physical wound during rochambeau it means that massive blunt force has actually split or cut part of her vulva. This hurts a lot but mechanics-wise there aren't really any additional effects besides for wound mods, etc. This is because women can't get a testicular torsion.

If a female character takes a Deadly physical wound during rochambeau it means that she's got some kind of internal bleeding from the genital tract area which is severe enough to be life threatening. However, hormone production, fertility, etc. aren't necessarily going to be affected long term as they would be for male characters. (They could be if there were a massive secondary infection but that is probably going beyond the scope of SR injury rules.)

[mfb]

WR, you are deeply weird.

[Luddite]

[bibliophile20]

After checking Wikipedia for what this... game is, I have to say, I'm reminded of the old "Three Kicks" lawyer joke.

[Backgammon]

Is the Awakened version of this shooting lightning bolts at the opposing "player"'s left testicle?

[Kagetenshi]

Nah. Powerbolt.

~J

[Demerzel]

You can't called shot with a direct combat spell... They burn you from the inside out. If you want a called shot it has to be bolt of some variety...

[Wounded Ronin]

[Backgammon]

Anyone crazy enough to consider a game of nut-kicking is crazy enough to define rules for it.

[Wounded Ronin]

What about mechanics-wise? Does it seem realistic? Could you see players at your gaming table using these rules and being satisfied with the results?

[mfb]

well, i've always assumed that when a medkit rolls First Aid, it's actually telling someone what to do. so i'd remove the "no medkit" limitation.

[Wounded Ronin]

[mfb]

well, the medkit probably asks what the symptoms are. the first question a doctor asks is "where does it hurt". if you tell the medkit that you got kicked in the balls and now they're turning funny colors, it can probably deduce what's wrong and tell you how to fix it. a medkit that only monitors vitals is going to be largely useless, because it's not going to know the difference between a sucking chest wound and a knife wound that's nicked an artery. and if it just injects chemicals, it's not going to be able to do much about either, in the short-term.

[Wounded Ronin]

If the medkit just tells you what to do, though, it really should just give you the equivalent of a Biotech knowledge skill. You should have to default using Quickness to do things like remove barbed arrows, untorse testicles, etc, if you don't have the Biotech skill yourself.

What's the rule for supplemental knowledge skills? You get to to roll 1/2 the supplemental skill to help with your test, or something similar?

So, the way I see it, you'd use the following procedure for using a medkit without a Biotech skill would be as follows:

1.) The medkit rolls Biotech (knowledge skill) 3 versus a TN of 4 for a typical medical problem or 6 for an atypical one. If it fails to get any successes it actually advises the medkit user incorrectly. I'm not sure what kind of penalty this should incur for the user.

2.) Assuming the medkit got at least 1 success the medkit user gets to attempt his Biotech test as though he had a level 3 knowledge skill.

Unanswered question: how long does it take for the medkit to query the user to reach a diagnosis? It would seem like this probably wouldn't be possible during a firefight, would it?

[mfb]

eh. SR's medical rules are wonky enough that i tend to leave well enough alone. basically, i figure if a medkit can perform first aid on a gunshot wound or a simple fracture, it can perform first aid on getting your nuts twisted.

[Wounded Ronin]

But see, in my mind it's possible to provide mediocre care for a basic fracture or a wound with just injecting drugs. You could inject some coagulants near the site of a wound to stop dangerous bleeding and painkillers for fractures. Don't forget also the "broad spectrum" antivenoms contained in a medkit.

Considering how in the world of Shadowrun you have biomonitors and cyberware that interfaces in a very refined way with the physiology I figure that you can somehow stick a prod from the medkit into your teammate and it has the ability to tell you what to shoot him up with. (Or automatically shoot him up, as the case may be.)

[mfb]

a medkit can heal--straight out heal--almost a third your total health in one sitting, by knocking an S+3 wound down to an S. or does it heal down to an M? i forget. either way, that's more than anticoagulants and painkillers.

[Wounded Ronin]

[Kagetenshi]

S+3 will heal down to an M.

~J

[Wounded Ronin]

[ShieldT]

[Kagetenshi]