HMHVV, Daddy, where do new ghouls come from? Options

[Stahlseele]

wasn't there the case of the SR3 Ghouls a PC's who actually added the ghoul bonuses to racial max? so a troll ghoul would be REALLY strong and REALLY dumb/uncharismatic . . while a dwarven ghoul would be REALLY head-strong . . i've made a threat about this over in the SR3 boards a while back, i'll see if i can dig up the link . .


edit: founds it
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=19440

[JBlades]

Ok, looked at as a normal virus it would be like this:

Krieger Strain of HMHVV
Disease:
Vector: Injection, Speed: 1 Day (3), Power: 3, Nature: Viral
Effects: Transformation into a ghoul.

B +4
A -
R +2
S +3
C –2
I +1
L –1
W +2
EDG -
ESS –1
M 1
Init –

Note that normal racial maximums still apply and that these are treated as stat augmentations, subject to normal rules.

Powers:
Dual Natured, Enhanced Senses (Hearing, Smell), Natural Weapon (Claws: S/2 + 1),

Ghouls get the following Negative Qualities and gain no BPs for them (these do not count against the 35 BP limit):
Allergy (Sunlight, Mild), Dark Secret (Ghoul), Dietary Requirement (Metahuman Flesh), Reduced Senses (Blind).

Thanks to Frank and Happy Daze for the input! :)

[JBlades]

Now you slap in some cybereyes, and have a bit of cosmetic surgery to fix the claws and complexion, and all you have is a virus that gives huge physical stat bonuses, makes you dual natured with a magic stat of 1, and cuts your lifestyle costs as long as you buy a Tanamous contact who acts as a butcher shop for you, but such is life in the sixth world.

Also, of course, a permanent case of bad breath! ;)

[HappyDaze]

I'd add that becoming a ghoul automatically includes the Sensitive System flaw. You can still get cyber, but it's not going to be cheap on your (already reduced) Essence.

[HappyDaze]

[JBlades]

Lol, Glade Plug-ins Cybergland for Ghouls™! Now in refreshing strawberry!

[Ghost in the Mac...]

Also, as the OP, I should clarify: I need to have a solid set of mechanics for what the PCs need to roll if they get bitten or scratched. I'm not looking for Conversion to Ghoul rules. There is no intention whatsoever to have PCs actually turned into ghouls -- the PCs all work for DocWagon and have Platinum Contracts -- the questions are:

1) What do they need to roll to see if they are infected? (What test or tests, and against what threshold.)

2) What means are there to be cured? (Magical? Medical? Any others?)

3) And how expensive is treatment if they should catch HMHVV and thus be required to get themselves cured?

-~GitM

[FrankTrollman]

If they have platinum contracts, they are just plain covered. You don't even need rules. The players get bitten, they'll want to check into the doctor anyway. Have them all roll a Body test, and the ones who roll badly have to stand around in one of those gowns which don't quite close in the back while a nurse jabs them with long needles.

And that's it. Medical cures have been around fir that disease almost from the first time they announced that it was a disease. It's a really underwhelming plot line. You can't even catch it more than once. Everyone who fights it off or gets treatment not only won't turn into a goul, they won't turn into a ghoul at any point in the future even if they get exposed again.

In short, side by side with the ghoul transformation rules in the SR3 companion, they printed the existence of a vaccine, at which point it just becomes puzzling all around. It's just not that scary.

-Frank

[DTFarstar]

Hell, Frank, I could see forces that KNOW they will be fighting ghouls later on, or at least that there will be a good chance they will, checking into a hospital being infected and then cured so they just flat out don't have to worry about it ever again.

Chris

[HappyDaze]

[DTFarstar]

Sorry, I was really tired when I responded. Yeah, exposed to a weakened strain or something as an immunization technique. Still would want to be monitored something immunizations infect people by accident and this would be a BAD one to get screwed with.

Chris

[JBlades]

From what I understood of the rules in Augmentation, you assign a rating to the vaccine, and that rating then counts as a dice pool modifier to all resistance tests against that disease/virus/whatever for life. And there does seem to be a vaccine, so...

@Ghost: If you use the virus version, which I think is probably best, and assume that the runners were vaccinated at birth, which everyone probably is, then the answers to your questions are:

1) They roll Body + vaccine rating(probably high, like 6, since there aren't a lot of cities being over run with ghouls) + any other anti-viral dice pool mods(like an anti-viral med in Aug)[threshold 3]. They have 3 rolls over 3 days. If, over those 3 rolls they make at least 4 successes, they're fine.

2) Cured? You mean once they're a ghoul? The cure is to find a good source of dead bodies and get some cyber to fix the blindness, bad complexion, bad breath, and scary nail growth problems you're going to have for the rest of your life.

3) No cure for HMHVV, so sorry. Of course anyone who's a runner and can't make 4 successes out of 18 dice + their Body X3 is doomed anyways, so no big loss. On top of that, they could just burn an edge point.

Basically, if they don't want to become a ghoul, they won't. But if they manage to blow all of these things and choose not to burn an edge it's not really your problem at that point, is it?

[Ghost in the Mac...]

Thanks!

There's a fair chance that several of them have never been vaccinated, but that's due to their choice in backstories.

On the other hand, they do have easy access to the vaccine through DocWagon, and even if they aren't smart enough to get themselves vaccinated before the encounter, they can certainly get anti-viral treatments once infected to help fight off the virus.

And, if they are lucky, the PC healing-specialized Mother Earth Shaman has Cure Desease.

Of course, he's also the one pretty-much guarenteed to have never been vaccinated.

-~GitM