Mary-Sue, An excercise - for now... Options

[crizh]

So we were discussing IE's and making them killable by giving them stats. I personally don't think that done properly that stat'ing them up will make them any more killable.

As an exercise I was thinking about what minimums would be necessary to survive the magical interregnum.

I think Magical Stats in the 24-30 range would be sufficient and could be achieved with 2500-3000 karma.

So then I'm thinking, making up that sort of character should be interesting.

So here's the idea, a rogue's gallery of 'Low-end' survivors of the Fourth World.

I'm thinking Karma-gen on 5000 Karma with triple the normal caps on Gear, Spells and Qualities. No Technomancers or AI's obviously and everybody has to have Immunity to Ageing somehow.

I don't think it's is necessary to actually be an IE to have survived so initially this is for just the standard races present in SR.

I also have a seed of an idea for a campaign based around this but it is just that at the moment. I'd like to see what people could come up with first before committing to running that sort of lunacy...

[Dumori]

I will make 2 free spirits one who "is" a rear focus. Perssion in an item or realistic form apreas to be an aritfact of hurge power but is really a spirit. Karma Drain and such to keep him growing plus some of the spirt pacts as the foucs powers. In fact i shall make just that one. I'm using the house rule that for every 6 force after 12 you can take a grater power at 6+pp each.

[Tarantula]

I might take a crack at this, though I think a 500ish karma character could take pretty much any one of them out on the spot, regardless of how much karma they got.

[crizh]

Feel free to post 'reasonable' custom Metamagics and the like. So long as they are in line with current canon with regard to power-level.

[Dumori]

Will do when needed but a lot of intalvls will be used for two times the PPs not metamagics I just wish there was a karam gen sheet for free spirts and the like (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) I'll have to do it all by hand.

[crizh]

That's half the fun though...

[Dumori]

Yeah good all maths Really its just that I cba to do one in excel as well.

[Dumori]

It only costs 3684 karma for 36 force sure its a lot but my gods its even more than enough with that I have what still 2316 karma left. Putting 1989 of that in to edge should do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[fistandantilus4....]

Are you intending to only make the characters and see what they look like, or do you intend to actually run a game based off of these characters here?

[Mickle5125]

... 5000 karma? Oh. my. god. I'M SO IN!!!!!!!1!1!!111!1!

Are you limiting the force for foci and such-like?

I think I'm going to hack out an IE... just for the fun of it.

OR maybe a nosferatu-type... they were around in the fourth age, weren't they?

[crizh]

Are you intending to only make the characters and see what they look like, or do you intend to actually run a game based off of these characters here?

Initially, just make the characters but I think if I get some viable builds that a game might be possible.

I've got some campaign ideas already germinating, they just need fleshing out.

[Fuchs]

A mary sue is defined by having plot/author protection. That's not the same as an (over)powered PC.

And with SR4 character rules, especially the hard caps on skills and stats, it's mighty hard to make an unkillable character. Even a superhigh magic attribute can only carry you so far in a firefight.

Back in the day of SR1/SR2 when I was running a "prime runners" campaign, where after a few years of playing weekly the average karma earned per character was 1000-2000 or more (and awakened characters had initiate grades in the double-digit range, magic reaching 20 before focuses were taken into account), a bunch of cops could still kill/overcome such people, even with 100 karma burned on buying successes.

[crizh]

Well, lets test that theory.

I've set the parameters at 5000 karma because I reckon that is a reasonable minimum for having survived from the Fourth World, any less than that and you just couldn't have survived in a Mana-Void.

I don't have any ED experience and don't want to start a flame-war about Matrices so, for the time being, I'd like to try and make do with established SR rules with a few custom Metamagics and Spells.

[edit] Got my warps and voids in a twist, again.

[Fuchs]

The true test would be putting one such character against a team of new PCs trying to kill it anyway they can. My money is on the PCs.

As far as surviving, there was some way to become a mentor spirit or something similar in ED, as I recall, and a way to possess a body. So, a hero from Barsaive could have become such a spirit, and then return to the 6th world, and take over - maybe voluntarily, or with a spirit pact - a denizen of Shadowrun. They'd have weathered the mana warp on the meta planes.

Also, matrices are generally weaker than channeling raw mana, and only used to avoid getting the horrors attention, from what I remember. They are of not much use in SR anyway.

[crizh]

Free Spirit is certainly one possibility, although it would have to have stayed on the Metaplanes. You need a (BOD + Mystic Armour) of 40+ to survive in a Mana Void and I imagine it's quite painful.

I suppose Rating 6 Aspected Domain might only drop to Rating 6 Mana Ebb, which would be uncomfortable but survivable.

Infected is another, although less playable, possibility.

Formula Pact is a third possibility that I think might well be a good basis for a 'low power' Fourth Age survivors campaign.

[Dumori]

Infected is another, although less playable, possibility.

IIRC the infected didn't exist in the 4th age. I'm playing a spirt who was trapped of hid in an item to escape the mana ebb. HE normally acts as if he is a super unique foucs using the spirt pacts to grant power and dream pacts to walk the world (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) .

[Dumori]

Ignor

[Mickle5125]

So I just had a brainstorm of epic proportions.

Free Spirit Power: Hidden Life

Certainly a way for anyone to have survived from the 4th age... perhaps it could be counted as a spirit pact?

ALSO!!! Is there a limit on force for Foci? I imagine that, with a couple thousand years, one would have plenty of time to design a custom foci of considerable power... even if you weren't able to make it until magic returned.

[DTFarstar]

I have to say, a possession mage would rule the school at these levels. Hello Mr. Force 20 spirit, why yes I'm channeling you, is there anything you would like to do today?


Chris

[Tarantula]

Possessed mage w/ force 20 spirit < force 30 free spirit.

[Dumori]

Possessed mage w/ force 20 spirit < force 30 free spirit.

possessing a random hobo. I'm taking hidden life as well as uping my metal scores and skill to be good at subverting culkts (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Fortune]

I'm surprised that nobody is using the April Fool's Runners Companion rules to create a Dragon. I'm very tempted. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Dumori]

That is because I for all about those rules.

[fistandantilus4....]

Initially, just make the characters but I think if I get some viable builds that a game might be possible.

I've got some campaign ideas already germinating, they just need fleshing out.

I ask because if you're not running a game, then I need to move this to the appropriate area (The main Shadowrun thread). If you're running a game with it, I'll leave it here.

And I agree with Fortune; someone needs to make a dragon.

[Dumori]

TBH a dragon look more fun than a Free Spirt but i need the ok from the GM fist