Roleplaying Low Essence, How do you adjudicate? Options

[Cray74]

[Pavlov]

Hahaha...I assure you, my guy's Essence might be 4.12, but he's no pacifist. After reading through this thread, I guess my impression of low Essence characters may have been over-influenced by CP2020, but everyone seems to have a fun time with it either way.

[Eindrachen]

There are two things you can do to represent the debilitating side-effects of too much wire/metal in the meat.

The first, as I recall, were some rather interesting problems that arise from various items. I don't remember the exact effects, but they can certainly be ramped up if needed to really reign in the worst excesses.

The second is a homebrewed method. Basically, I divided all 'ware into one of two categories for general purposes: mental and physical. The mental stuff was generally anything that dealt with the nervous system, and maybe a few other things (especially bioware that was hormonal in nature). The physical stuff was anything that just added to your physiology or anatomy, for general purposes (bone lacing, orthoskin, etc.).

When the surgery to put it in was done, for every 1 rolled during the proceedure, the person had to roll a Body (for physical) or Willpower (for mental) test, TN 5 (6 for cheap, 4 for alpha, 3 for beta, 2 for delta). Each success cancels a 1 from the surgery; any 1's left generate a Flaw appropriate to the 'ware being installed (GM's decision).

[Wish]

I understand there's alternative to blazing guns and 'no witnesses.'

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When conflict becomes inevitable, the successful shadowrunner must assess the situation properly. Once an operation has passed into the phase of armed conflict, sudden and dramatic violence, along with the elimination of any witnesses to such acts, are often recommended. Often the only alternative is defeat. Given that for a shadowrunner defeat often means death, failure to aggressively pursue all available means of rapid and favorable conflict resolution is essentially suicidal. He who hesitates is lost. When considering the elimination of witnesses, one must consider whether the expected gain in operational security is worth the damage to one's karma and reputation. Further, one must consider whether or not elimination of witnesses is likely to create more enemies, or more dangerous enemies, than would be created by allowing the witnesses to report upon your activities.

Edit - fixed italics.

This post has been edited by Wish: Dec 6 2003, 04:47 AM

[Tanka]

o.O

What does this has to do with Roleplaying Essence?

Or the price of beans, for that matter?

[Cray74]

[DV8]

Technically, Doc Funk is absolutely correct; low essence has no effect on personality. In practice, however, and I think the many, many...many threads regarding this exact topic, it's all about which type of Shadowrun flavour you prefer. I personally love the idea of cyberpsychosis, even though it's not covered by Shadowrun rules. To each his or her own.

[Shockwave_IIc]

I know Cp2020's psychosis rules have been brought up, but has anyone taken a good look at the bubblegum crisis/ AD police Cyberpsychosis rules? They add a lot more then "filmsy sacks of blood" to it.

[RangerJoe]

It has been pointed out before that roleplaying the "psychological effects" of cyberwear in a in-run environment is kind of silly. Folks running around with 0.2 essence are professionals doing what professionals do (be it cutting IC, cutting wires, or cutting holes in security guards). For many groups, most time is spent playing in-run situations. For these groups, the "psychological effects" or adverse effects, need not be a major part of the game (afterall, why have your character buy gear that makes his/her life harder, eh?).

The effects of low essence on a character really shine during downtime. Have your favorite T-Bird rigger reflexively point a finger at someone he's arguing with, for the moment forgetting that when he's _not_ rigged in, doing that _doesn't_ trigger a burst of machinegun fire. Gritz, my ork decker, has spent several minutes standing in front of his kitchen cabinet wondering why his Search utility is not helping him find the can of Spaghetti sOys he was looking for. Just as mages see the world differently from mundanes, I cannot help but believe that heavily chromed characters truly do dream of electric sheep.

[Tanka]

Kind of like how, when a Sammie with SLII can't figure out why he isn't shooting as well as real life while playing Duck Hunt 2063, huh?

[Eindrachen]

RangerJoe: That's actually very similar to something I do to my poor players, based on something another GM did.

Whenever we were trying to do some rather mild stuff, the GM would often randomly make an Essence (4) Test. If no successes rolled, he'd come up with some creative things to distort our little world here. For example, one guy with an adrenaline pump, bone lacing, MBW system, and some muscle enhancement was trying to have dinner at a swank place (part of a meet). Naturally, he had other things that put his Essence in the crapper, and failed the secret little test.

Suddenly, he pushes his steak knife through the plate, sticking it halfway into the table, with such a twitch that he also managed to knock over his glass of tea. He tries to grab the glass as it knocks over, only to move like lightning... and crush the glass in his hand. His adrenaline pump kicks in (all the action, and the sudden pain of the glass stabbing his hand), and he starts speaking (swearing, actually) very loudly, stamping his feet, and carrying on like this for about 30 seconds.

When he stops, he looks around, sees the restaurant silent as the grave and twice as still, looking at him. He regains some composure (he actually had a bit of Charisma), wraps his hand in a napkin, and quietly says to the nearest waiter, "Check please."

That was one example; others happened in the course of the night that made us all carefully consider the impact of our 'ware on our social interaction.

[Tanka]

The only social disabilities to come with it is from obvious 'ware, fresh 'ware, or being a cyberzombie. If you aren't used to your new Muscle Augmentation 4 yet, chances are you won't mean to cut through not only the steak, but the table as well.

[Eindrachen]

Actually, I do believe that the above example does show how combinations of certain 'ware can actually be a harmful thing. The MBW system alone has been said to be extremely bad for most folks, since it puts your system in a state of controlled seizure. Combined with enhanced strength, not to mention the adrenaline pump (which is triggered by anything from combat to a ball-game), you have the makings of a bad situation in public.

It's ridiculous to ignore the way different kinds of 'ware interact with one another to cause problems for the average slot in SR. These things are not isolated pieces of equipment that merely provide some benefit; even the most basic things, in tandem, can cause erratic problems, even after a long time.

Oh, that doesn't mean everyone will react negatively to someone with lots of 'ware. I'm sure in a rave near the barrens, my pet cybermonkey could find folks who think that what happened is funny, even cool, and have no negative reaction to him.

But a straight-laced, upper-class executive, who expects people who can't control themselves to get help (or, more often, to just get out), is never going to react favorably to someone who drives a knife through a table and crushes a glass in their hands with the speed of a hyperactive snake. They can smile and say, "Oh, it's okay" all they want, but in their minds, they know now that they are dealing with someone who could just as easily drive a knife into them and crush their neck, with the same astounding speed.

[Prospero]

Hey, I like to think that in Duck Hunt 2060, the gun comes with a smartlink connection. :cyber: