Pixies, Why? Options

[Snow_Fox]

Can someone in the in's with production tell me why they brought in/allowed pixies? Was this an earth dawn cross over or an appeal to the urban fantasy crowd like in the Rachel Morgan books?

[Ancient History]

I hate Kim Harrison with the fires of hell, so no on that particular score.

There was a slight demand for it. They were one of the few sapient critters out there. There was the whole Bordertown aesthetic, and there was the Earthdawn crossover material. Personally, I wanted to develop their culture a little more, and there are some subtle and unsubtle hints spread out among the books concerning it.

[Lanlaorn]

Can someone in the in's with production tell me why they brought in/allowed pixies? Was this an earth dawn cross over or an appeal to the urban fantasy crowd like in the Rachel Morgan books?

I don't know what the hell the Rachel Morgan books are, but I hate to break it to you: mages, spirits, elves, orks and trolls in a cyberpunk setting is already urban fantasy.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

I hate Kim Harrison with the fires of hell, so no on that particular score.

There was a slight demand for it. They were one of the few sapient critters out there. There was the whole Bordertown aesthetic, and there was the Earthdawn crossover material. Personally, I wanted to develop their culture a little more, and there are some subtle and unsubtle hints spread out among the books concerning it.

There is no accounting for Tastes there Ancient History... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)
Kim Harrison rocks... SO much better than the Anita Blake Books (well, anything after the 6th one or so) in my opinion... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

That said... Pixies are interesting, but unfortunately, my GM does not like them, and has yet to allow them in game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smokin.gif)

[Stahlseele]

There is no accounting for Tastes there Ancient History... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)
Kim Harrison rocks... SO much better than the Anita Blake Books (well, anything after the 6th one or so) in my opinion... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

That said... Pixies are interesting, but unfortunately, my GM does not like them, and has yet to allow them in game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smokin.gif)

show him the atland webcomic.
inky the blue little guy with wings.

[Summerstorm]

I don't have that many problems with pixies. They make for GREAT horror. Seriously.

What i have problems with is their stats. Intuition+: sure maybe 1 or so. Charisma+: No prob, make it +2... they are funny, nice pixies, Willpower: huh... wait a minute, Logic: WTF? What is going on here? Of course ALL pixies played (ok 90%) will be magicians and are serious contenders against motherfucking NOSFERATUS in power.

[Yerameyahu]

Indeed. And +1 Edge (over standard metahumans), just for kicks?

[The Dragon Girl]

I rather <3 them, but I'm crazy and made a pixie-hacker. First off there's the fun of playing a critter- something that isn't considered a person, and is mostly considered a nuisance or a source of telesma, and then the fun of ..nothing being made the right size outside of the home village, presuming you were born in one and aren't an urban pixie, and thirdly.. if your interests as a person do not coincide with what you're 'expected' to do... eeh I like the little fairy-bugs, but I can come up with a whole list of fun RPing reasons for any of the races and professions.

[Dumori]

Best Pixie I've seen is a surged pitfighter just something darkly funny about a pixie punching out a troll. Pixie mystic adepts are the way forward.

[Stahlseele]

Nah, i'd go with hacker/rigger too . .
Use concealment to hide my body/astral self and a carried holographic emitter so everybody thinks i am an AI or something . .

[Yerameyahu]

No reason you can't be a Mystic Adept Hacker/Rigger. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Probably the best way.

[Stahlseele]

No reason you can't be a Mystic Adept Hacker/Rigger. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Probably the best way.

which is something i really do NOT like about SR4 . .
You can have your cake and eat it too . . magical types can do everything else too . .

[Yerameyahu]

Yup, especially if they're invisible flying super-stats. Bleh.

[Megu]

Honestly, my rationale for them being OK is that when you really think about it, Tinkerbell was clearly the most badass character in Peter Pan.

[Karoline]

which is something i really do NOT like about SR4 . .
You can have your cake and eat it too . . magical types can do everything else too . .

It's not that big of a problem. If they spend the energy (karma) to be a good hacker/rigger, they aren't going to be as good of a mage/adept, and they won't be as good as a pure hacker/rigger.

So basically you trade power for versatility. I really don't see a problem there.

Pixies on the other hand, they do have a huge boost to mental stats (and agility and reaction, arguably the better physical stats), which really isn't compensated for by lackluster str and bod since lowered maxes aren't really a big deal unless you really want a high stat, and lets face it, not many pixies are going to want a high str stat. The low bod sucks a bit for wearing armor, but how often do invisible flying targets a foot high get hit anyway?

So, personally I don't really have problems with pixies as a playable race, I have problems with them having absurdly amazing stats and exceptional abilities with almost non-existant drawbacks, all for less than the price of a troll.

[Karoline]

Honestly, my rationale for them being OK is that when you really think about it, Tinkerbell was clearly the most badass character in Peter Pan.

I don't know, Wendy made an entire crew of pirates cry.

[Yerameyahu]

My point was that the way to become the best hacker/rigger was *via* MysAd (possibly just Adept). It's not dual specialization, it's the path to that specialization. You've likely seen the builds around here.

[Karoline]

My point was that the way to become the best hacker/rigger was *via* MysAd (possibly just Adept). It's not dual specialization, it's the path to that specialization. You've likely seen the builds around here.

Yeah, and I've made some too. They generally work out fairly well, but if they want to beat a dedicated mundane hacker/rigger, they're going to be spending way more BP/Karma. They can be better than the max potential for a hacker/rigger, it just takes a long time.

[The Dragon Girl]

Eeeh, don't forget you have to buy off uneducated, and you aren't nessicarily -good- at being invisable. My little guy cant conceal himself worth drek, you have to increase your magic stat to get any good at it. Theres also paying out the hoop for any and all gear, and -having- to buy it directly from either Evo or Neonet.

[Karoline]

Yeah, buying off uneducated is an extra 20 BP, which makes them realistically 55BP, but given the 100BP worth of free stats, that part isn't so bad. Forgot that concealment was only a -magic dice. I was thinking it was a +magic to threshold to spot the pixie. Still, since most are pixie are awakened, -5 or -6 DP is fairly serious.

Gear isn't so bad. 50% extra cost isn't generally too much. It can add up, but most equipment doesn't need to be replaced often

[Yerameyahu]

Right: 'any and all gear' actually means 'only clothing and personal weapons'.

[The Dragon Girl]

..no I really meant everything, because tools, commlinks, implants, clothing, weapons...trodes.. everything has to be bought from them

[Yerameyahu]

Why? Very few things need to be sized, and you wouldn't have implants. Commlinks certainly don't need to be sized, and 'tools, weapons, trodes' barely adds up to anything. If you spend money on anything, it'll be programs and vehicles.

[Dr.Rockso]

I rather <3 them, but I'm crazy and made a pixie-hacker. First off there's the fun of playing a critter- something that isn't considered a person, and is mostly considered a nuisance or a source of telesma, and then the fun of ..nothing being made the right size outside of the home village, presuming you were born in one and aren't an urban pixie, and thirdly.. if your interests as a person do not coincide with what you're 'expected' to do... eeh I like the little fairy-bugs, but I can come up with a whole list of fun RPing reasons for any of the races and professions.

How do you get telesma off a pixie? Don't they go *POOF* on death?

[Ancient History]

Pin the little bastards down.