Drakes and other stuff in SR4, Requesting help for missing rules Options

[Sren]

Does anyone have some good rules for using Drakes as PCs in SR4? I ran a game in SR3 where the characters were all drakes, but didn't know it, which was fun to GM (I don't normally like to GM, but sometimes running theme games is really fun). I have a different group now, and I'd like to run a similar game, but I need help coming up with the powers bred drake PCs should have. If I run the game, the PCs won't know, so the BP cost for being a drake is only a matter of keeping the GM (me) informed of how powerful the characters are, not something the players will need to worry about when making characters (if I can get the group to try SR, I'm going to start them as teens, and RP them becoming shadowrunners).

In addition to running drake PCs, and looking for stat conversions for true drake NPCs, I'd like to know if anyone else has stats for immortal elves (newly born in the sixth world) or super soldiers (genetically modified in the womb, so their bioware is truly a part of them). I've also run super soldier games, which weren't as fun to run as drake PCs, but still entertaining to GM.

What I'd like to get out of this post, is rules for alternate PC types, including point cost. This is primarily for theme games in which all of the characters have the same special trait, or even having each of them be special in a different way. Since the Dragons of the Sixth World book set the drake cost as 25 BP, I'll use that as a guide for each of the special types. So the final goal is 25-point special qualities for each of the following traits not subject to the normal limits on special qualities: bred drakes, immortal elves and super soldiers. (And maybe get suggestions for true drakes too).

I'll post my thoughts in a separate post in a few minutes, please comment!

[Herald of Verjig...]

The only modifications I can remember for IEs are that they are immune to aging, pathogens, and at least one of them responds to healing magic as if he has an essense of 8. (not that I'd consider that IE anywhere near normal in any group, even one that consists of himself, so that essense part may be from his research)

Pre-birth genetech is covered in SotA 2063. The basic game rules are the same, except it takes half as long to apply the mods and costs 75% of normal. I didn't find a crossover between genetech and bioware in my quick scan just now, but you could rule that an optimised near-human can stuff even more bioware in than regular clonal ware can provide.

I don't know how the BP is different from SR3 to SR4, so just keep in mind that the 25bp is equivalent to a full magic rating sorcerer in cost and make that parallel.

[Sren]

Bred Drake (Campaign option, special quality)
Cost: 25 BP
Bred drakes are the distant relatives of ancient drakes, originally created to be servants to true dragons. A bred drake has the special ability to take a complex action to become a drake. Drakes look like small dragons, two to three meters long, complete with wings. In drake form, the character gains the following abilities: Dual Nature, Astral Armor*, Enhanced Sense (Enhanced Smell, Wide-band Hearing, low-light vision, thermographic vision), Elemental Attack* (fire, cold OR electricity, chosen at character creation), mystic armor* and natural attack (claw and bite: DV STR/2 + 2, AP -2). Additionally, drakes can fly at twice their normal movement rate, gain one additional initiative pass, and have the following enhancements to their physical attributes: +3 body, +1 agility, +1 reaction, and +3 strength. (*the rating of these abilities is equal to the drake's essence). When in drake form, all cyberwere becomes inactive, although bioware still works normally.

In metahuman form, drakes may use astral perception as a simple action, and may turn off astral perception as a simple action.

All magical skills and special abilities that the drake possesses in metahuman form work normally in drake form.

An astrally projecting drake in drake form (if he has the ability to astrally project) gains the same bonuses to his astral attributes as he does in his physical body, and also gains the extra initiative pass.

All drakes suffer double essence loss in from cyberware and bioware. Drakes who do not successfully hie their presence will be hunted by dragons and others for use as servants. Some potential masters will be less willing than others to consters the drakes feelings on this matter. It requires 4 successes on an assensing test to discover a character is a drake, or 7 successes if the drake has not yet experienced his first change. Masking works normally to conceal a drakes true nature.

A drake can resist his first change by making a successful willpower test. Each time he successfully resists the change, the difficulty of the test goes up by one the next time he experiences an event that might trigger a change.

Does this look OK for 25 points?
EDIT: fix spacing.

[Sren]

Immortal Elf (Campaign Option)
Cost: 25 BP
Prerequisite: Only elves may have this quality.

Elven characters with this quality will permanently stop aging when they reach adulthood. However, this benefit doesn't really have any effect on the game.

Immortal elves are immune to all diseases and pathogens, including awakened diseases. They also do a good job taking the long view of life, and are incredibly patient in most things, having an instinctive feeling of superiority and desire to improve themselves as efficiently as possible over the long haul. An immortal elf with the aptitude special quality may apply it to a skill group instead of a single skill, and may purchase skills or skill groups with which he has the aptitude quality up to rating 8 instead of rating 7. After an immortal elf has earned all 8 ranks in all of the skills or skill groups with which he has aptitude, he may spend 40 karma points to gain aptitude in a single new skill or skill group that he doesn't already have the aptitude quality for. All immortal elves have the ability to learn magic, however, some never train in it. An elve may, at any time in their lives, purchase the magician, adept or mystic adept quality by spending karma points equal to twice the qualities BP cost. They are still subject to the other normal restrictions on those qualities, and still require training to learn magical skills and powers.

Like other special metahumans, dragons and other older beings seek out immortal elves for servants, and occasionally for destruction. They also don't generally care about the immortal elves feelings on the matter.

Also, like other magical beings, immortal elves' bodies aren't as tolerant of modification, so immortal elves pay twice the essence cost for all cyberware and bioware.

Sound too powerful for 25 points? I'm not sure it actually provides enough benefits for 25 points, unless the campaign is going to last until the characters have several hundred karma so the character can make use of having multiple aptitudes.

[fistandantilus4....]

Moed to SR4 Forum

[Kyoto Kid]

...they're still not immune to bullets... :grinbig:

on the serious side, 25 bps may be a bit on the low side since they can apply aptitude to a Skill group (that's three to four skills that can be raised above the cap which in effect 20 - 30 free BPs as well as being a rule breaker). I also don't agreee with raising the aptitude skill cap for IEs to 8. They should have to buy a separate quality for that and it can only apply to a single skill. Furthermore, the Natural Immunity to all pathogens is pretty powerful as standard characters can only be immune to a single natural one for 5 BPs (and, as stated on p. 79 of the core rules, "Natural immunity does not affect diseases or toxins which are magically based, such as HMHVV"). Considering that a "standard" character can only be immune to a maximum of 7 "normal" diseases/pathogens (the 35 pt limit for qualities) I would say that IE's get a real deal.

55 BPs total? Yeah that's a fair chunk of change, but you really get a lot in return even given the x2 essence drain for implants and that the character is a karma whore with being able to buy additional aptitudes (that can be applied to additional skill groups) and purchase the Magician quality after chargen (rather than the Latent Awakened quality "lesser" characters must be satisfied with).

In addition to the Sensitive System quality above, I would also give them the Delusions: that they are better than everyone else and Obsessive/Compulsive - Perfectionist for that is what basically they are. Of course they would receive no BPs from these & the qualities either and would have to RP the effects when the opportunity arises.

For a high power campaign where all or most of the PCs are IEs, I guess this would work, as I don't see an IE ever wanting to be caught running around with a bunch of dirty, inferior, mortal non elves (or even elves depending on the outlook). Too much imperfection to deal with.

Of course, by the same token the "inferior", mortal runners would also look on the IE with disdain as to "who the drek does this slot think he/she is?" [go to first line in post]. :grinbig:

[edit]

...oh, and as to being on another entity's hit list. runners are always on the "most desirable" to shoot at list by the Star or any other LE/Security agency. They also are sought out as servants for GDs and...gee...IEs who don't want to get their scaly talons/dainty little hands dirty. Also, neither of these parties really gives a frag about their (the lowly mortal runners') feelings either.

[kzt]

The immunity in the book is insane. How often have would it have been be REALLY useful to be immune to all diseases in a game? I can think maybe twice in 20 some years. It's like immortality, basically just a colorful special effect with no impact on the game. Or do many characters in your games really die of old age?

[Kyoto Kid]

...just pointing it out from a rules perspective.

And yes I have played under GMs that used disease as a threat. Go tromping through the sewers of Seattle (or worse, some underdeveloped nation), slog your through the jungles of Amazonia, or through the East Anglian Stinkfens. Then, add open wounds from combat which usually happens to occur at the worst time. The heal spell may take away some of the initial boxes of damage, but it doesn't stop the secondary (and more insidious) effects of pathogens, bacterial, parasitic, or viral infections. A medkit only has a limited amount of drugs as well as requires time to use and locations like these impose a lot of negative modifiers.

[DTFarstar]

Sterilize.

Chris

[hyzmarca]

[DTFarstar]

I meant sterilize the person, but I guess that works as well.

Chris

[Wanderer]

[Sren]

I ran a super soldier game in 4th edition last year. As a GM, I managed to have a lot of fun running this one (but the drake game was still more fun). Since all of the characters were super soldiers, the point cost was irrelevant. Each character received 400,000 nuyen to purchase bioware with, and although they couldn't choose more than 6 essence poinits worth, they didn't loose essence from this bioware. (I wanted them to be able to play awakened characters because I had planned for many opponents to be magical). They also received the bio-rejection flaw, and couldn't get more bioware implants later in life. As powerful as the characters were, their opponents were Azzy blood mages and vampires (and occasionally other super soldiers), so the bioware just barely kept them up to the challenge.

For a more reasonable version:
Super Soldier
Cost: 25 BP (Campaign option)

A character with this special quality is the product of one of many dozens of super soldier experiments going on in nearly every first world country and every AAA mega. As one of the more successful experiments, the character was born with several bioware or gentech modifications worked into his DNA. The character has 100,000 nuyen worth of bioware or gentech modification built into his body that have no essence cost, and are not subject to bioware stress, they are simply part of his body.

Additional bioware or gentech modification purchased at normal cost at character creation are likewise built into his genetic code and have no essence cost.

All characters with this special quality automatically have the sensitive system negative quality, but gain no BPs for it, and all magical special qualities cost five more BP than normal. Additionally, characters with this quality have had their DNA carefully screened and fixed, so they cannot have the following negative qualities: Allergies to common substances or Infirm. All other negative qualities are worth five less BP at character creation.

Like other special characters, super soldiers have either enemies or owners. Someone created them for a reason, and the character either works for their creator, or is hunted by their creator (who may want him back, or want him dead).

[hyzmarca]

[Fortune]

[Kyoto Kid]

[venenum]

Has anyone updated the ghoul rules for SR4 yet?

[Sren]

Anyone have any comments on my attempt at SR4 Drakes?