Cyberzombie for a Freaks Campaign, Or, Yeah, my GM's lost it Options

[WhiskeyJohnny]

By standing in a BGC of 4, which makes Spells of Force 4 and below simply fizzle?

And to deal with those of Force 5 and above? And what about those that offer no resistance test?

[Doc Byte]

To bring it back to the face aspect of this CZ, can you already name some stats? My surged Pixie-Ki-Face built rolls 16d right out of chargen w/o being maxed out. - Okay, I have zero combat skills, but 8d full dodge, 6d concealment and 13d damage resistance.

[WhiskeyJohnny]

To bring it back to the face aspect of this CZ, can you already name some stats? My surged Pixie-Ki-Face built rolls 16d right out of chargen w/o being maxed out. - Okay, I have zero combat skills, but 8d full dodge, 6d concealment and 13d damage resistance.

Not quite, as I'm still trying to pack enough 'wares in there to get -6 Essence. If I can pull that off, I'm gonna have a Charisma of 13 or so (without the surgery to increase it) and as high a Logic as I can pull off. I also want a high Body and Agility, and probably Willpower as well. I'm also going to go for a high Edge, if I can get the karma to work. That's the good thing about having 560 to play with, I guess.

[InfinityzeN]

Move by Wire 3 will use up 5.0 points for $175k. Additionally it will give you +6 Reaction and Skill Wires 5. Add in Muscle Replacement 4 for another $20k & 4.0 points. Your at 9.0 points for $195k. From there, use the rest of your money and the last 3.0 points to round out your picks. If you actually find that you can't fit everything you want into that, change Muscle Replacement 4 to the two bioware boost (Augmentation and Toner) at $60k and 1.6 points.

[WhiskeyJohnny]

Move by Wire 3 will use up 5.0 points for $175k. Additionally it will give you +6 Reaction and Skill Wires 5. Add in Muscle Replacement 4 for another $20k & 4.0 points. Your at 9.0 points for $195k. From there, use the rest of your money and the last 3.0 points to round out your picks. If you actually find that you can't fit everything you want into that, change Muscle Replacement 4 to the two bioware boost (Augmentation and Toner) at $60k and 1.6 points.

Well, I could do that, I guess. Still, I'm trying to use the optimal 'wares, rather than just that which gets me deep into the negatives.

[Stahlseele]

And to deal with those of Force 5 and above? And what about those that offer no resistance test?

Every single Spell is affected by the BGC.
Spell of Force 5 goes down to Force 1 on the Target.
While the DRAIN, if i understood right, goes UP by 4 on the casters side of things.
So it's both harder to cast a spell into the BGC and does less when it succeeds.
And every spell has SOME kind of resistance test. Hell, you can even try and resist spells that are benefiting for you . .

[Dahrken]

The Drain goes up if the caster is in the background count zone, and the spell's Force goes down if the target is in the background zone. If both are in, then yes, the caster is doubly screwed.

[Stahlseele]

Ah, okay, at least half right ^^

[Edana]

Every single Spell is affected by the BGC.
Spell of Force 5 goes down to Force 1 on the Target.
While the DRAIN, if i understood right, goes UP by 4 on the casters side of things.
So it's both harder to cast a spell into the BGC and does less when it succeeds.
And every spell has SOME kind of resistance test. Hell, you can even try and resist spells that are benefiting for you . .

Actually, environmental manipulations typically don't have resistance tests, which is why I said what I did about Mana Static. Really though, if a GM pulls that on you without any way to prevent it after letting you play a CZ, you should probably hit them with a chair (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

As far as actual pieces of cyber go, MBW3 is actually really nice regardless of role (aside from the essence cost, but that's not an issue for you). A rating 6 nanohive lets you support a lot of nanoware, and is 2 essence for only 60k. If you're aiming at logic being high, you can't go wrong with an Encephalon, the second level of that is 1.5 essence and will set you back 75k. There aren't all that many things that directly affect being a face, so you may as well grab stuff that benefits other roles, especially since you're effectively unlimited in essence. (Obviously get the normal face-y stuff like tailored pheremones as a priority.)

[Stahlseele]

Environmental Manipulations?
Heat/Cold?

[Edana]

Environmental Manipulations?
Heat/Cold?

Yeah, and light/dark, amongst others. Some of them have tests to cope with the effects of the environmental changes (like an AGI+REA test to avoid falling on Ice Sheet), but the change in the environment itself is unavoidable (even if you make that test, there's still a sheet of ice). Most are a nuisance, Mana Static vs Cyberzombie or spirit is an extreme edge case. Versus a metahuman caster it's a pain in the rear, but it affects everyone, including the original caster.

[Stahlseele]

Well . . if the spell is weak sauce, then it probably doesn't cover much room anyway . .
I'd make it take effect outside of the BGC. So a round hole in the ice-sheet, where the CZ is standing while the spell is being cast.
If he then steps on the icesheet around him, it's his own fault, really ^^
Darkness is more difficult, as even if around him is no darkess, there's darkness around his little patch of light . . (oh the irony)

[Edana]

All of the environmental manipulations I see are tagged Area, so even at F1, they have a minimum 1m radius, which is a non-trivial area. In the case of Ice Sheet, the test is provoked by attempting to cross the ice, so presumably if you're in the area when it's cast you don't have to worry as long as you don't try to move.

Mana static is especially problematic in that it is permanent, so even with your ruling you could potentially pin the CZ into a tiny area for hours given enough successes. (Reduce BC by 1 per hour once permanent. Starting BC equals hits, anything above 5 is guaranteed lethal to a CZ. Depending on how overlapping BC's are handled it could be lethal all the way down to 1.) Really though, I wouldn't ever condone using Mana Static as an offensive weapon, especially against a PC that was specifically allowed going into the game. The intent of the spell seems to be more of a defensive one, intended to reduce or negate incoming spells at the expense of the caster's own casting ability, presumably allowing the mundanes on the team to finish things off.

[Stahlseele]

Mana Static is such an ice offensive spell in all meanings possible ^^
Especially if cast on enemy spirits or wards and the such.
Just good that they mostly nixed the aspected mana static spell *snickers*

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Mana Static is such an ice offensive spell in all meanings possible ^^
Especially if cast on enemy spirits or wards and the such.
Just good that they mostly nixed the aspected mana static spell *snickers*

Still listed in Street Magic actually...

[Edana]

Oh god, yeah, mana static is abusive enough. Being able to buff yourself and still abuse the enemy at the same time would be crazy. Amusingly the aspected version is listed in the table of spells at the back of the 1st printing of Street Magic. I haven't gotten the reprint, so I'm not sure if that got fixed (same drain code as the non-aspected version even (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif) ).

[Whipstitch]

Yeah, I've ran Magicians who were built with no real regard for min-maxing but were able to more than pull their weight anyway simply because they had decent Assensing and packed Heal and Mana Static on a team with no other casters. That's part of why I've always argued why Magicians are probably the best overall archetype. They have some exclusive tools to deal with a particular niche (astral space & Awakened threats) and they can produce a number of meat side effects that either compliment technological solutions or cannot be reproduced through tech at all.

[WhiskeyJohnny]

See, and that's the sort of thing I was trying to get at with the whole "What happens to an awakened character who is zombified?" question. Not how do I become a min/maxed mage while being a CZ, but rather what useful things can I do to deal with Astral Space/other Awakened in addition to meat and tech threats?

[Glyph]

And that's pretty much what I laid out (and before the lynch mob forms again, I did point out it was very cheesy. But the rules for cyberzombies specifically say that the cyberzombie does not suffer Magic loss from implantation).

Essentially, either a point of adept powers (since your background count doesn't lower your Magic below its rating of 1), or spell defense, which only uses the skill and has no Drain. Casting spells is out because even overcast ones would fizzle, astral projection is possible but probably not a good idea, and any spirits summoned would instantly squeak and vaporize as soon as they came into contact with the cyberzombie's aura. Any cyberzombie, even a previously mundane one, can use assensing and astral combat.

[WhiskeyJohnny]

Okay, so I'm working on my stats (unmodified by 'wares, as of yet) - I'm assuming I can get to -6 Essence exactly (which should be doable, I think) - so with 560 Karma to spend, here they are:

Body: 7 (81 Karma)
Agility: 8 (99 Karma)
Reaction: 4 (27 Karma)
Strength: 3 (15 Karma)
Charisma: 11 (180 Karma)
Inuition: 4 (27 Karma)
Logic: 7 (81 Karma)
Willpower: 5 (42 Karma)

And then the two that don't count against my 560 Karma limit.
Edge: 10 (162 Karma, and assuming Edge is effected by Unnatural Vigor)
Magic: 1 (Free due to being a CZ/30 Karma if Magician/20 Karma if Mystic Adept)

As you can see, I'm 8 Karma under the limit. I've got some questions though: does Unnatural Vigor apply to Edge as well? How do I calculate my modified attribute maximums, by adding my negative essence to the normal max or by calculating it based on my new attribute maximums? If I go with SURGE would that increase the amount of Karma I can spend on Attributes? If so, by how much? Also, does Edge count against the total Karma I'm allowed to spend on stats? How about Magic (if I were to go with the abusive route of being an Awakened CZ, theoretically speaking)? I treat them as separate here, as they would be in a BP chargen. If that's wrong, do let me know. Also, if my math in general is wrong, let me know (I hope I'm misinterpreting the "New Rating*3" cost of attributes by adding each increase together, but if not, c'est la vie).

Finally, is this distribution optimal for my priorities of Face/Brain/Combat/Tank?

P.S. On the subject of the theoretical Awakened CZ, would having Foci, Fetishes, etc. help deal with the fact that his Magic is 1, permanently? Are there spells which suffer less from having only a 1 in Magic? Could I attune myself to my Astral Hazing, as I become "...a Domain in [my] own right." and how abusive would this be if I could and did? I'm still trying to get my head around the whole magic system, and I just picked up a copy of Street Magic so bear with my lack of knowledge, please.

Quick Edit:

A cyberzombie can attack astral forms physically, and use the assensing skill, and that's about it. This is assuming someone who was mundane prior to becoming a cyberzombie.

Getting the magician or adept quality for someone you know won't lose Essence from implantation, and won't need a Magic rating higher than 1 is, in my opinion, a bit cheesy, even for a "freaks" campaign. If you lack any sense of shame, though (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ... for a magician, it is best to be an aspected sorcerer (especially if the optional Expert Aspected Magician rules (pg. 31 of Street Magic) are used). You can get counterspelling, and suddenly your cyberzombie is even more resistant to spells. Actively dispelling will just give you physical Drain, but spell defense is not affected by your Magic rating (or even by background count... I think). For an adept, you can get 1 Power Point in abilities - say, kinesics: 1, commanding voice, and cool resolve: 1 for your elven face. A mentor spirit could add bonuses to either option.

I'll check this out, now that I have Street Magic. I still need to decide if I'm gonna be that shameless (and if it wouldn't marginalize the other players) though.

[Yerameyahu]

Oh, jesus. It's beyond insane to have Edge affected by Vigor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[WhiskeyJohnny]

Oh, jesus. It's beyond insane to have Edge affected by Vigor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

That's what I thought, but then I thought "How cool would it be to have double digit Edge?" and so I put down 10. I'll probably have to reduce it regardless - I need the Karma for skills.

[Yerameyahu]

Sure, anyone can appreciate that, but it's still the difference between nice cheating (okay, 'bending the RAW'), and just killing the other players. God.

[WhiskeyJohnny]

Sure, anyone can appreciate that, but it's still the difference between nice cheating (okay, 'bending the RAW'), and just killing the other players. God.

Well, the other players are pretty darn powerful, or so they've told me, and they've had about 1250 Karma since the start of the game, and I only (and I say only here with my tongue firmly in cheek) have 1000. But like I said, it won't be 10 in actual play. If you prefer, I can change it.

[Yerameyahu]

Ha, doesn't matter to me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm just enjoying the thread.

Since you mention, though, I think cyberzombies should probably have reduced max Edge, as a penalty of their evil wrongness.