Troll Tank Options

[Sweaty Hippo]

Should I put a maximum limit on dice pools to prevent things from getting out of control?

And what of the "Possession" rules when a Mage gets possessed and gets much better stats? Should I assume that most, if not all, Mages do it because it's a smart, tactical decision, particularly if said Spirit is powerful, or just set my foot down and say "no?"

But what in-game reason/rationale would there be for such options to not be available? For example, wouldn't the Troll Tank be so good at combat that a bunch of high-up military dudes realize this and convince him to give up the "shadowrunning" and get handsomely paid for being a shock trooper?

[hyzmarca]

But what in-game reason/rationale would there be for such options to not be available? For example, wouldn't the Troll Tank be so good at combat that a bunch of high-up military dudes realize this and convince him to give up the "shadowrunning" and get handsomely paid for being a shock trooper?

Not really. The troll tank is good at getting shot, but that's just about it. His low agility reduces his combat potential as does the fact that he has to spend a great deal of essence (and money) on damage-preventing 'ware.

[psychophipps]

Yeah, my group had a Perceptatron with all the extra senses and Assensing (our pet name for Mr. Perceptive) based upon the reason why my character's tend to have good perception skills/attributes, "Because perception makes all other actions possible." He was loads of fun...until his #4 Grandson and the Shogoth outran him.

I had great fun squishing the mean old bastard with a multi-ton oozing black freight train of horror and insanity. "Takeli-Li! Takeli-Li!"

[hyzmarca]

Social skills can reach the highest levels, due to so many things that stack, but the GM regulates what they can and cannot do, and needs to set reasonable limits. If it's "You get 10 successes, he really likes you," it's not so bad. It's when you have "You get 10 successes, you talk him into giving you the keys to his car, then shooting himself" that you run into problems.

The real cheese comes from "creative" rules interpretations. For example, possession mages are a viable choice, but a munchkin might get 1 for all physical Attributes and say "I have the spirit possess me for the day, with the command to basically 'be me' for the day" as a way of trying to weasel around the limitation of being limited to a number of services from the spirit.

The pornomancer is an absurdly powerful potential gamebreaker even if the GM isn't an idiot or a pushover, just as long as the player also isn't an idiot or a pushover. The power that a pornomancer can wield simply though pillow-talk with the high and the mighty is simply awesome. An ambitious pornomancer with the right contacts and a smart player can easily find himself in bed with most of the leaders of what passes for the free world. He might need a sleep regulator and some precise scheduling to keep up with such a diverse selection of lovers, but just getting it on with one important person gives him a great deal of information and influence.

And even if the GM shoots this down because he wants to keep the game street level, the pornomancer can become absurdly powerful by selectively seducing the correct characters. Impossible runs can become cakewalks, in fact, without creative rules interpretation just so long as the rules are used at all.

[masterofm]

If you summon a spirit and say "be me for a day" how the heck would a spirit know how you act? Saying "be me for a day" might just take it as "Ok... I get to be inside your body for a day! Woo Hoo! I'm going to go eat 10 gallons of ice cream."

Anyways the pornomancer is the "I win button" for one specific thing. The problem with that is the minute people just don't want to take three seconds to listen to your pornomancer talk and have masks or fully sealed suits he eats it hardcore.

[Glyph]

The pornomancer is an absurdly powerful potential gamebreaker even if the GM isn't an idiot or a pushover, just as long as the player also isn't an idiot or a pushover. The power that a pornomancer can wield simply though pillow-talk with the high and the mighty is simply awesome. An ambitious pornomancer with the right contacts and a smart player can easily find himself in bed with most of the leaders of what passes for the free world. He might need a sleep regulator and some precise scheduling to keep up with such a diverse selection of lovers, but just getting it on with one important person gives him a great deal of information and influence.

And even if the GM shoots this down because he wants to keep the game street level, the pornomancer can become absurdly powerful by selectively seducing the correct characters. Impossible runs can become cakewalks, in fact, without creative rules interpretation just so long as the rules are used at all.

That's not really an intolerable situation for me, though. A character becoming powerful through planning and roleplaying? That's fine - they're working for it, instead of using their huge dice pool to bully PCs and NPCs around. And it's not without risks or potential complications, either (working out how to approach certain people, how to circumvent their bodyguards and "handlers", how to avoid or manipulate the papparazzi, lovers who become jealous or obsessive, etc.). Frankly, an intelligently-played pornomancer could make the game more interesting for both the other PCs and the GM.

I like faces who are played like faces, who are always trying to make connections, keep illicit deals running smoothly, soothe ruffled egos, and so on. Not the ones who whip out all of their dice and say "Ha ha, looks like you guys are paying for my dinner again."

[Sweaty Hippo]

Not really. The troll tank is good at getting shot, but that's just about it. His low agility reduces his combat potential as does the fact that he has to spend a great deal of essence (and money) on damage-preventing 'ware.

Eh, you can't be good in all things. I guess I'm still in my D&D days, and afraid of unbalanced characters making the rest of the party obsolete. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotate.gif)

[Rasumichin]

To get this thread back to the original topic, keep in mind that a troll tank may be virtually immune to most weapons, but is still extremely vulnerable to other types of damage.
Inhaled or DMSO-delivered toxins can be a problem, as well as direct mana combat spells.

Patching these weaknesses is possible, but will usually take up additional ressources.

However, Runner's Companion makes it relatively easy to protect your troll from enemy mages.

[DTFarstar]

Yeah, the troll tank is my game is sporting Arcane Arrestor and Astral Hazing.

Chris

[hyzmarca]

That's not really an intolerable situation for me, though. A character becoming powerful through planning and roleplaying? That's fine - they're working for it, instead of using their huge dice pool to bully PCs and NPCs around. And it's not without risks or potential complications, either (working out how to approach certain people, how to circumvent their bodyguards and "handlers", how to avoid or manipulate the papparazzi, lovers who become jealous or obsessive, etc.). Frankly, an intelligently-played pornomancer could make the game more interesting for both the other PCs and the GM.

I like faces who are played like faces, who are always trying to make connections, keep illicit deals running smoothly, soothe ruffled egos, and so on. Not the ones who whip out all of their dice and say "Ha ha, looks like you guys are paying for my dinner again."

Yeah, but just wait until the well-roleplayed pornomancer is jet-setting around the world for rope bondage with Angela Colloton on Monday, a threesome with the Emperor and Empress of Japan on Tuesday, a romantic candlelit dinner with Lofwyr in Wednesday, watersports with Alachia on Thursday, and wild animal passion with Damien Knight on Friday.

[Stahlseele]

isn't the emperor 12 years old or something like that?

[masterofm]

Possession adds the force of the spirit to all of your physical stats. If you have channeling you can also control yourself while the spirit rides shotgun within you.

[hyzmarca]

isn't the emperor 12 years old or something like that?

He's married to ex-vampire ex-ganger otaku Hitomi Shiawase. I presume that they have sex. If he is then he's the luckiest 12-year-old in the universe.

[Sweaty Hippo]

If one is worried about Pornomancers, look at the Pornomancer's Willpower and Perception. An unseen Spec-Ops dude/Mind Screw Mage that is competent in "Striking first" can kill/mind control the Pornomancer before she/he can speak to him.

[Stahlseele]

Biggest problem MY Golems (read, slow, ponderous, nigh invincible, inmetahumanly strong trolls) usually had was things like chem-tech weapons . . in SR3, Gamma Scopolamine hit for 10D Damage that is resisted with only natural body . . and even a troll has problems rolling 8 tens to reduce it down to 0 . . heck, rolling enough tens to get below serious stun was hard enough x.x . . .

[Mr. Unpronouncea...]

What do you mean "only" natural body? The various cyber & bio toxin filters and counter-agents worked peachy against chems.

[Stahlseele]

yes, but if you have built your tank to TANK, then you don't have all that much money/essence/bioindex left to pump up chem-tech resistance . . supergland, some muscle-stuff, artwinkulation, in SR4 probably both kinds of Bone-Stuff, dermal-works, and some combatware like smartlink, full eye-package, some reflex-ware and you're fast enough at really low numbers in both essence and money . . try and squeeze in the other stuff too O.o
trolls may be large, have large bodies and the such, but somehow they don't have more room for bioware then the average dwarf *g*
yes, i really liked SR2 and bioindex being influenced by natural body attribute . .

[Tarantula]

Thats why every smart tank has nonconductive chem resistant armor.

[Mr. Unpronouncea...]

trolls may be large, have large bodies and the such, but somehow they don't have more room for bioware then the average dwarf *g*
yes, i really liked SR2 and bioindex being influenced by natural body attribute . .

They're not easier to shoot either. (And I think SR4 got rid of the sensor bonus vs. trolls too.)

You win some, and you lose some.