Qualities and Handicaps, ...do they really have to cost karma? Options

[Tyro]

I think nobody should ever be infected against their will - it has a HUGE impact on a character, and the player has probably invested a great deal of time and effort by that point. I would only infect someone if the player okayed it in advance.

[Medicineman]

if someone is being turned into a ghoul, they can burn edge to get a critical success on their first resistance test. this will reduce the disease's power to 0. (number of successes required + 4 means you reduce the disease's power to 0). therefore, not turning into a ghoul is actually surprisingly easy for a PC.

Sorry ;its not that Easy (at least by RAW)
Even if you Lower the Power to 0 you still have to Make 9 more tests.the next one will be Power 8 again (and if you Lower this one to ...maybe 4 than the Following Test will be Vs Power 12 (it Adds up ! )
And If you're being bitten by Two Ghouls (Hell According to RRAW Rules even if you only get Close to them)you have to resist against both
But the HMHVV Problem has allready been discussed (in Length !)

i do agree that nobody should wake up one morning and be told "oh, by the way, you're a vampire now", but the solution there is to give them a chance to avoid getting turned into a vampire. don't have them wake up and find out they were turned in their sleep, give them a chance to realise what's happening and get away

You're damned right
+1 from Me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I think nobody should ever be infected against their will - it has a HUGE impact on a character, and the player has probably invested a great deal of time and effort by that point. I would only infect someone if the player okayed it in advance.


Hmmmm, If you don't want to infect someone you have to play without Ghouls,Vampires and any Kind of HMHVV because it's highly contagious (Read the Rules and Shiver !)

HokaHey
Medicineman

[WyldKnight]

Hmmmm, If you don't want to infect someone you have to play without Ghouls,Vampires and any Kind of HMHVV because it's highly contagious (Read the Rules and Shiver !)

HokaHey
Medicineman

Which is why you give the players a way out. From my experience this comes in three ways.

1) If they didn't want it and are ticked they got it don't make them pay karma for it.

2) GM handwave some cure thats been kept for the wealthy and powerful because of its cost and craft a run around stealing it.

3) Fight infected mostly with the negative quality that says they cant pass it on (cant remember the name.)

Any of these work, choose whichever you think solves it best. Personally I prefer Option 2. You keep the infected, no one gets a free boost/character ruined, and you can keep the lethality of the infected. On the other hand you can't make this run EVERY time someone gets infected so its generally a good idea to give them that freebie and from that point on stress that they should wear protective materials to keep from being infected again.

[Machiavelli]

And this would be quite uninteresting. The fear of not being infected is one of the main-moodmakers in the game.

[WyldKnight]

Ya I addressed that right at the end and saying what my groups GM did.

"On the other hand you can't make this run EVERY time someone gets infected..."

[Medicineman]

2) GM handwave some cure thats been kept for the wealthy and powerful because of its cost and craft a run around stealing it.
No Need to Handwave it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
Nanites solve the Problem

with a tiny little Dance
Medicineman

[WyldKnight]

Wait...they can? Then whats so scary about the infection?

[Rotbart van Dain...]

The reason we make use of a persistant cost-tracking system is to ensure that all characters have some objective basis for comparison and balancing.

The karma cost system as a whole is not persistent in play.

Sure, the changes (Learning stimulus, Initiation/Submersion cost reduction) seem small and secondary at first, but at the bottom line, the character using those will have more free karma to throw at primary stats than the one not.
A character burning Edge due to back luck will lose karma on the other hand, as will some one that loses a focus/ally, perm-binds a spirit/sprite, donates karma to a free spirit - or gets a GM/wound-inflicted Negative Quality... even losing that Positives Quality he paid karma for by GM-fiat.

Then whats so scary about the infection?

You need to have those level 9 O-Cells.

[Medicineman]

Wait...they can? Then whats so scary about the infection?

because its rare,costly and for the Rich & Famous. If You prepare way ahead for Infection and pay(how Much 25.000 per Dose ?) a huge amount of ¥ it's ok You won't get infected, but if you get surprised by a Ghoul Attack....
you won't be able to get Lvl 8 or 9 O-Cell-Nanites in Time. You're either Dead or a Ghoul !

Hough!
Medicineman

[Machiavelli]

Not so bad at all. +4 Body, +3 Strenght.

[Orcus Blackweath...]

Personally, I would say yes charge him. That will teach him to be more careful about who he goes home with. Players that do stupid stuff should not be given a "free ride" or rewarded for doing the stupid stuff. Do you give them a break when they fire that AK into the gas depot using incendiary rounds? I don't, so why should I give them a break when they do a lot of shacking up without knowing who they are shacking up with.

As for the ghoul fight, well again they failed the "save" and there are consequences to that. There is always the option to retreat instead of going in and fighting. I play The Other Game as well and the consequence for losing to a wraith or ghoul is a disease or loss of level. Should the player not have to loose the XP that goes with the level? I equate Karma to XP, only spendable (like the old 3.x version of The Other Game for wizards to craft magic items).

Just my opinion and like others said, if it works for the group, then that is all that really matters.

Hmmm so my technomancer get's bitten by a vampire (not a combat character, so nothing he could do to stop it, vampiric charm, and etc...) He is now a vampire, loses all technomancer ability (can't have rtesonance and magic), loses all of his ware (rejection), is hunted actively because he is now infected, and then the GM charges him Karma? Remind me never to play in any game you run Forgarn.

[Machiavelli]

Good point.

[Medicineman]

Not so bad at all. +4 Body, +3 Strenght.

Won't Help you if everybody shoots you on Sight (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Hough!
Medicineman

[Tsuul]

He is now a vampire, loses all technomancer ability (can't have rtesonance and magic), ...

Or becomes the first resonance based Vamp, sucking life from the internets. Go TechnoVamp, Go!

Vampmancer???