Girl Genius - the SR4 Campaign Expansion - v1, Playing Sparks in the Sixth World |
Girl Genius - the SR4 Campaign Expansion - v1, Playing Sparks in the Sixth World |
Mar 5 2011, 06:50 AM
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#1
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
The following is my personal fan addition to the SR4 campaign setting. It’s definitely a non-traditional expansion, so conservative GM’s and players should probably stop reading now. If, on the other hand, you’re open to the possibility of potentially reshaping the Sixth World (or at least the shadows), read on. It’s not intended as a crossover per se, but to introduce the type of central characters from Girl Genius, the mad scientists, to the Shadowrun world.
These rules are currently unplaytested, but I’m soliciting comments and ideas from the Dumpshock community. For my part, a chance to playtest them under a sympathetic GM will probably happen soon and I’ll have the opportunity to make a few choice revisions to these rules after having actually tested them out at the gaming table. Reviewers whose contributions are used will be listed in future editions published online. And remember, it’s a good day…FOR SCIENCE! Girl Genius – The Webcomic For those of you who are unfamiliar with Girl Genius, it’s a Hugo Award winning webcomic series located at www.girlgeniusonline.com. It describes a world setting where “the Industrial Revolution has escalated into an all-out war” and mad scientists, more politely called “Sparks,” have warred against each other for decades (if not over a century), turning much of Europe into a collection of city states separated by dangerous wastelands. Those with this special spark of inspiration are endowed with supernormal scientific and technical abilities, able to construct fantastic devices beyond the ability of lesser mortals to understand or duplicate. They’re also frequently possessed of a near-supernatural charisma, which they frequently use to establish power centers for themselves. Those that survive the inevitably dangerous life that is being a Spark have occasionally founded dynasties that are nothing less than royalty in this alternate history Europa. Highly recommended, whether you intend to use this expansion or not. The Spark The Spark is what makes these mad scientists what they are. They’re people who apparently have the ability to tamper with the laws of physics as they are currently understood, but they’re not mages and their invention processes don’t incorporate mana. It’s said that someone is a Spark if he or she has the Spark. Much like the ability to use magic, it’s strongly theorized that this is a hereditary trait, but hard proof at the genetic level has yet to be found. Much like mages and technomancers, Sparks start their lives as normal people. At some time, typically in their teens or later, a Spark will “breakthrough” and begin expressing their abilities by entering Spark Hyperfocus, otherwise known as “The Madness Place,” for the first time. Beyond this point, there is no turning back. Almost without exception, this is a traumatic experience for the new Spark and is also frequently very dangerous for bystanders as any Devices created during this experience are notoriously destructive. If this Device doesn’t kill its creator (and everyone else in the general vicinity), and the new Spark comes through it with their sanity nominally intact, then their career as a Spark begins in earnest. Just as being a mage or being a technomancer are mutually exclusive states of being, so too is being a Spark. Sparks cannot awaken as a mage nor emerge as a technomancer. Likewise, no mage or technomancer can breakthrough and become a Spark. Unlike mages or technomancers, there is no analog of either mentor spirits or paragons available for Sparks. To be a Spark is to be very much alone, in one sense, save for the company of other Sparks; this can be a special kind of madness all its own. The primary benefit of being a Spark is the ability to employ Inspired Science, a term that encompasses a Spark’s ability to build fantastic creations known as Devices (if mechanical) or Constructs (if biological). The fruits of Inspired Science cannot be fully analyzed or duplicated by non-Sparks. No matter their skill levels or what equipment they utilize, no mundane scientist or engineer can ever fully divine their workings, although particularly skilled individuals may sometimes feel that they come maddeningly close to understanding bits of them. Much like magic, when examined at its most fundamental level, the Spark defies current analysis. Many Sparks develop distinctive styles, showing tendencies to prefer working with certain types of Devices or Constructs, but this varies considerably by individual. Some Sparks have also shown the ability to incorporate music into their abilities, seemingly gaining some superior intuition while working with it; the mathematical construction of music may “click” with a Spark’s ability to employ Inspired Science. Lastly, breaking through as a Spark grants several other benefits in short order. Sparks tend to be physically hardier than the average person, typically in excellent shape, rarely sick, and able to recover from injuries more quickly than normal. The mad inspiration that is the source of a Spark’s abilities is also considerable proof against mental intrusion or manipulation. Any attempts to control the mind of a Spark, whether by magic or other means, are almost certain to fail. Hyperfocus, aka “The Madness Place” Even if they survive their breakthrough, Sparks typically lose rationality while they’re working. To actually employ their talents of Inspired Science, they must – consciously or unconsciously – enter a heightened mental state known as Hyperfocus. In this state, their mental processes, intuition, comprehension, charisma and the speed at which they can work are all greatly increased. Unfortunately, this state also tends to be marked by megalomania, increased aggression (especially if interrupted), and serious loss of perspective, rationality and common sense. Awareness of practical and ethical concerns is lost in their pursuit of technical apotheosis; in fact, down-to-earth solutions mostly strike them as extremely boring in this state. In short, they can become fanatically obsessive savants at the drop of a hat. It’s not uncommon for stimulants to induce this state, but the most extreme Sparks can act this way near constantly. It’s also in this state that a Spark’s enhanced charisma tends to inspire loyalty (or at least obedient fear) in lesser mortals and thus enables them to acquire a coterie of minions. Those who pursue goals of political or career advancement can eventually gather tremendous support from their more mundane peers. Fellow Sparks subjected to another Spark in Hyperfocus tend to quickly ramp up to Stage 2 (below) themselves. Even when not in Hyperfocus, Sparks are brilliant, focused individuals, and often impatient with those whose thoughts don’t run in the direction of their own. Because of this, some of those thoughts have veered off in truly alarming directions, making them dangerous and shortsighted. Though the average Spark is talented enough to make the impossible possible, their tunnel vision rarely permits understanding of the consequences of their actions. It’s been said that they’re “smart enough to build death rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves” – an apt description of a Spark in Hyperfocus if there ever was one. A Spark in Hyperfocus may be experiencing it shallowly or deeply, as follows: Stage 1 – Clarity of Thought Sparks in Stage 1 are capable of conducting research and engaging in deep concentration, but are not yet manic. That said, Sparks rarely spend much time in Stage 1 – it’s frequently a transitory stage as they ramp to more extreme states. Stage 2 – Mad Science Unleashed Stage 2 is the most common, recognizable state, involving obviously enhanced creativity and cackling madness. The majority of Sparks in Stage 2 demonstrate extremely poor emotional control and are generally manic, either enthusiastically happy or ballistically angry. This state is the most common one for sparks to work in, but it can still be a very frightening thing to witness. Sparks in Stage 2 tend to view everything and everyone around them as tools. They also tend to forget any danger they may be in and show no concern for their physical wellbeing or that of their surroundings. Stage 3 – Brilliant Rage This stage is rarely seen in Sparks, and tends to occur only when the Spark is extremely angry. Sparks who make it this far have left whatever shreds of their temper they possessed far behind. Rage and passion guide their actions, and they will not listen to reason. Their inventive abilities suffer not a whit because of this, but if the opportunity presents itself they are far more interested in doing battle (likely with a specific target in mind) that slaving over a workbench putting together some new Device. Sparks who reach this stage tend to exit it violently. This is the rarest stage for a Spark to reach; many Sparks can go many years and never reach it – which is good for them and better for everyone else. Triggers Stage 2, which usually equates to the stereotypical cackling mad scientist, appears to be the standard mode of operation for Sparks when they’re working. By concentrating on their work, or by experiencing an emotional upset, most Sparks enter Stage 2 after a brief ramp-up in Stage 1. Most Sparks tend to drop out of Stage 2 back to (relative) sanity once the stimulus is removed or if they’re sufficiently distracted, but if they’ve gone all the way to Stage 3 they usually need to be knocked out of it. Experienced or especially talented Sparks have demonstrated finer control over entering these states, and can move into or out of the deeper Stages as they wish. |
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Mar 5 2011, 06:50 AM
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#2
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
Game Mechanics
The following are the specific gaming mechanics corresponding to the above sections. General Rules
Qualities Taboo Qualities: No Spark can possess the qualities of Adept, AIPS, Albinism, Asthma, Astral Sight, Gremlins, Infirm, Latent Awakening, Latent Technomancer, Magician, Mystic Adept, Night Blindness, Paraplegic, Quadriplegic, Reduced Sense, Sensory Overload Syndrome, Simsense Vertigo, Spell/Spirit Knack, Technomancer, or Weak Immune System. Likewise, no characters with the Magician, Technomancer, Adept, or Mystic Adept qualities can possess Spark qualities. AIs, Centaurs, Changelings beyond Stage 1, Drakes, Nagas, Pixies, Sasquatches, Shapeshifters, and Spirits also cannot be Sparks. Mandatory Qualities: Upon breaking through, all Sparks must purchase the highest possible Body rating for their Metatype if they don’t already have it. They must also purchase Resistance to Pathogens & Toxins at Level 2, as well as Quick Healer. If not purchased at character creation, these attributes and qualities must be paid for from earned Karma as soon as possible. Lastly, all Sparks must purchase the Spark quality (below), or least the Latent Spark quality, if they plan on breaking through as Sparks at some later date. New Qualities:
New Attribute:
Hyperfocus Stages, Benefits, and Drawbacks Stage 1 – Clarity of Thought:
Basic Building Rules These are most basic rules for Sparks working with any technology, both mundane and Inspired.
Building Rules for Devices and Constructs Mundane technology is one thing, machines and creatures that actually break the laws of physics are another entirely. A Spark’s preeminent feature is their ability to use their Inspiration attribute in conjunction with other scientific/technical skill rolls. Not only does this extra dice pool help ensure success when working with technology, but using it allows a Spark to endow otherwise mundane machines and creatures with that Sparky edge, propelling them past their normal limits into the realm of the fantastic. To use their Inspiration attribute, a Spark first starts with the dice pool that would normally apply if the item in question was mundane, then adds their Inspiration attribute into the mix. A Spark must have a skill rating of at least 1 relating to the item in question in order to employ their Inspiration attribute when working with it. EXAMPLE: Ada the Spark wants to build herself a blaster pistol. Normally, this dice pool would be Logic + Armorer. Assuming she has scores of Logic 5, Armorer 5, and Inspiration 5, her dice pool will be 15 (5 + 5 + 5). If she succeeds, she’ll have created something no mundane weaponsmith could ever make, an energy weapon capable of punching holes in tanks that can fit in her hand. One talent of Sparks that deserves special mention is their ability to create intelligent machines or even sentient creatures. Intelligent Devices are created with the Software skill, Constructs are created with the Biotechnology skill. Software is treated a special sort of “Device” for Sparks. Not being Technomancers, they do not have access to the Resonance. However, they can create intelligent programs, essentially analogous to AI’s. Treat any such AI’s as Constructs (below), save that they exist as digital creations only. Constructs should be created as NPC’s, nominally under their creator’s control; their treatment can ultimately determine their loyalty (GM’s call). They have maximum attributes equivalent to their creator’s Inspiration score. Any extra-normal abilities (e.g., shapeshifting or breathing fire), may be added to a Construct by averaging a Spark’s skills in Biotechnology and the most relevant skill to create a technological item of the same ability. If no such item can be readily determined, it’s the GM’s call as to what’s the most relevant skill to use. Every extra-normal ability added increases the amount of time required to build a Construct by 25% over its base time. EXAMPLE: Nikola the Spark is trying to create a bodyguard Construct that’s not only big and strong, but can breathe fire as well. His dice pool to create the Construct is Logic 5 + Biotechnology 5 + Inspiration 5 (5 + 5 + 5 = 15). Assuming he succeeds in his base roll to create the Construct, he can then add in the ability to breathe fire. The closest equivalent item for projecting fire is a flamethrower, so the relevant skill is Armorer. Being a better biotechnologist than mechanical engineer, he only has a rating of 1 in his Armorer skill. His roll to add in fire-breathing ability is Logic 5 + 3 (the average of Biotechnology 5 + Armorer 1) + Inspiration 5 (5 + 3 + 5 = 13). If he succeeds in both of his rolls, he’ll have a hulking, fire-breathing bodyguard to protect him in dangerous situations. Goodness knows what the neighbors will think… |
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Mar 5 2011, 06:51 AM
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#3
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
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Mar 5 2011, 06:52 AM
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#4
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
Campaign Use
This expansion represents a chance to see what Sparks are truly capable of. In this setting, they’re removed from a world of 19th century clockwork mechanics, steam power, and simple electrical devices and instead transplanted to a world of the late 21st century complete with precision robotics, cybernetics, neural interfaces, a vast high-speed global communications network and the beginnings of a nano-manufacturing base. Revolutionary achievements in a globally connected high-tech world will be felt immediately and have great impact (if they ever become public). For all of you TVTropes readers out there, such a scenario represents a chance to answer the question “What would happen if Reed Richards weren’t useless?” Accordingly, as should be blatantly apparent from even a casual reading, this campaign expansion has the potential to radically re-shape the Sixth World, given enough time to do so. The fruits of Inspired Science open many compartments in Pandora’s Box, even beyond what magic is capable of. That said, any Sparks whose existence is revealed to the world are unlikely to profit by them. The Girl Genius tagline is that “Mad scientists rule the world. Badly.” Unfortunately for any aspiring mad scientist overlords, the Sixth World of 2070 CE already has rulers – the AAA megacorps. By default, the corps are unaware of the existence of Sparks and their capabilities, and would likely dismiss them as rambling urban legends even if they did hear of them. If they were ever to become truly convinced, the situation would change immediately. No place on earth (or even in orbit) would be safe for Sparks. It would make the “press gang” recruitment of technomancers when they were first revealed look like a tea party by comparison. Every shadowrunning team on the planet would be competing for extraction runs of any known or even suspected Sparks, and no corp would be willing to take “no” for an answer. Every corp would be also be competing to establish testing procedures for suspected Sparks, much as was done with technomancers when they first emerged into the public consciousness (probably with mixed results). Any Sparks not already living underground would probably be forced into the shadows to survive at that point (unless they were caught or chose to sell out), and the shadows are far from safe themselves… Spark Strategy Guide
Design Notes
Bibliography
Contributors
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Mar 5 2011, 07:39 AM
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#5
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,654 Joined: 29-October 06 Member No.: 9,731 |
As a fan of Girl Genius, I applaud your spirit. That said, you need to be a lot more specific about the kinds of effects Devices can and cannot have. Your example of "an energy weapon capable of punching holes in tanks that can fit in [the] hand" sounds brokenly overpowered. You've got the beginnings of a system, but it needs a huge amount of fleshing-out before it becomes playable.
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Mar 5 2011, 08:00 AM
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#6
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
As a fan of Girl Genius, I applaud your spirit. That said, you need to be a lot more specific about the kinds of effects Devices can and cannot have. Your example of "an energy weapon capable of punching holes in tanks that can fit in [the] hand" sounds brokenly overpowered. You've got the beginnings of a system, but it needs a huge amount of fleshing-out before it becomes playable. Well, that's something of a problem, as I don't see any real guidelines in SR4 about the limits of mundane technology. Weapons-wise, everything from razor blades to nuclear weapons is officially available as equipment. Accordingly, one thing I explicitly decided *not* to do was to take the cheap and easy way out and just end up cloning the magic system, with everything neatly rated in terms of Force (I'm still irked that they were lazy enough to design technomancers that way). As long as technology has no explicit limits in the rules, how could I apply any to what Sparks can produce? I could, instead, propose a truly radical solution - talking to your GM and behaving as a responsible player. But, of course, no one will listen to crazy talk like that... |
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Mar 5 2011, 08:36 AM
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#7
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,248 Joined: 14-October 10 Member No.: 19,113 |
Sounds very exciting. I would love to play in that world. If the game is mainly about sparks then the game balance issues are a lot less important. I would hesitate to bring them into an ordinary game without talking to the other players.
My oldest son likes to play gadgetteers, so we have developed a gadget making set of rules. Basically you get a number of points bases on your special gadget attribute and skill. To make a new gadget you cannibalise old ones. Points can be traded for armour or damage etc using hero games as a guide. If you had 12 points you could make 1 12pt, or 2 11pt etc. My son is an extreme mini maxer (5I am very proud of him) so we needed a fairly robust system. |
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Mar 5 2011, 09:13 AM
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#8
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,654 Joined: 29-October 06 Member No.: 9,731 |
I could, instead, propose a truly radical solution - talking to your GM and behaving as a responsible player. But, of course, no one will listen to crazy talk like that... Two things. One: smarminess undermines your argument. Ditch it. Two: Any game that relies on common sense for its basic functionality is doomed from the word go. Not all GMs are alike. Some will set unreasonably high limits. Some will set unreasonably low limits. Some will be cajoled or fast-talked into letting the player get away with too much, and Cthulhu help you if the player is the GM's significant other. You really do need to set parameters for what Sparks can and cannot build. Seth's idea sounds like a good one. Assign point values to Device attributes: damage, clip size, rate of fire, and concealability for weapons, Matrix attributes for programs, regular attributes for Constructs, etc. The Spark has a budget of points to work with for each Device; say, Inspiration x 2. You'll need to play with these values quite a bit, but that's what playtesting is for. |
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Mar 5 2011, 09:31 AM
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#9
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
Two things. One: smarminess undermines your argument. Ditch it. Two: Any game that relies on common sense for its basic functionality is doomed from the word go. Not all GMs are alike. Some will set unreasonably high limits. Some will set unreasonably low limits. Some will be cajoled or fast-talked into letting the player get away with too much, and Cthulhu help you if the player is the GM's significant other. You really do need to set parameters for what Sparks can and cannot build. Seth's idea sounds like a good one. Assign point values to Device attributes: damage, clip size, rate of fire, and concealability for weapons, Matrix attributes for programs, regular attributes for Constructs, etc. The Spark has a budget of points to work with for each Device; say, Inspiration x 2. You'll need to play with these values quite a bit, but that's what playtesting is for. My primary point stands - much of the technology in Shadowrun *isn't* rated. And if you can't have reasonable discussions with your GM and fellow players, what you should be ditching is that gaming group. Assigning a points pool like you've outlined above would be the kiss of death for this entire concept - no other technologist in the game operates on that kind of pool (I exclude technomancers, who are just mages ripped off), which would cripple Sparks by comparison. Instead, there's an existing "points pool" of sorts already in place - it's called money. No money, no techie. You want it, pony up the cash. And under my rules, Sparks are paying double. Thank you for your comments, but ultimately it sounds this just really isn't your cup of tea. What you're proposing wouldn't capture a tenth of the essence of Girl Genius. |
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Mar 5 2011, 10:32 AM
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#10
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,248 Joined: 14-October 10 Member No.: 19,113 |
I haven't read the girl genius (yet) but I am going to.
The point idea I used was to support a gadgeteer character: constantly changing which is the current gadget set that they used, and they were fun. It was also because the player was a minimaxer, so he enjoyed minimaxing the points system. You have a clear vision for your girl genius: so go with it. Game balance isn't that important if the campaign is about the sparks. If you are designing a game for your immediate player pool you know how much care you have to put into your rules, and whether or not you can just ask the players "please don't break it". If you are publishing a game for lots of people: the bar to entry isn't very high . I would say that the best way to test your rules is to try them out. If you can get a couple of people to play test them that would be good. My player group are constantly coming up with new game systems (probably 1 or 2 a year), and we find the best thing to do is to run a "pub fight" 2 or 3 times, and have a long discussion about how the rules felt having played with them. I am not sure what the equivalent of a pub fight is for the girl genius: probably a making fest. A suggestion for you: create a couple of girl genius's with different focus's and publish them in this thread, with a couple of examples of how they would play. One that makes constructs, and one that makes armour / weapons would be interesting. |
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Mar 5 2011, 07:16 PM
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#11
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
Thank you, Seth. I think that's bascially what will happen with our gaming group. The first session, at least, will be a "stress test" to see how well my test Spark character can get along with the other character types of the Sixth World. If I end up trashing the session (which I typically try *not* to do, but in the interests of stress testing perhaps I should try a bit), then I suppose it's back to the drawing board. I just *really* want to avoid having gone the "magic with the serial numbers filed off" approach, as comparing technological gear to magic spells and spirits is really comparing apples to oranges, and I think that would destroy the feel I'm trying to pull of with my current approach.
One thing that drove me mad (perhaps appropriate?) while I was constructing this was the general lack of a means to rate technology. Commlinks and computer equipment have handy Device ratings, as do a few other categories such as sensors, security devices, B&E gear, survival gear, medical gear, cyberware, and bioware, but not even everything in those categories is rated, nor is everything rated on a common scale. The best that I could *find* was the Building Table on SR4 Core Rules, p. 125, which rated technology by it's complexity, from Simple to Exotic, so that's what I ended up going with. If Shadowrun *had* a more standardized means to rate technology, my job would have been half as long, the rules above simpler, and play-balance numerically addressed. Perhaps something for the designers to think about for version 5, though somehow I doubt it. I suppose we'll see what turns up in playtesting. Again, thanks for your comments. |
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Mar 5 2011, 07:44 PM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 252 Joined: 11-June 10 Member No.: 18,694 |
I'm curious to see how Othar Tryggvassen (Gentleman Adventurer) should be statted.
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Mar 5 2011, 07:50 PM
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#13
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,654 Joined: 29-October 06 Member No.: 9,731 |
My primary point stands - much of the technology in Shadowrun *isn't* rated. Everything that PCs can do is rated. I think Seth is right: in a Spark-centric campaign, balance becomes much less of an issue. If you expect Sparks to not overshadow all other archetypes, however, balance needs to be addressed in the crunch. Money is, for all practical purposes, not a limiting factor unless you want to go into the millions of nuyen for physics-breaking doohickeys. I strongly recommend you reconsider allowing Sparks to break the limits of sorcery; those limits exist for a very good reason, to wit, allowing a character to break those rules effectively makes them a god in-game. You know your group better than I do, but I'm fairly confident that at least a few of them will try to build something that you deem inappropriate (since that's kind of what Sparks do in Girl Genius), and be irritated or at least disappointed when you have to slap them down. Establishing concrete parameters from the outset will go a long way toward averting this kind of thing. |
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Mar 6 2011, 01:36 AM
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#14
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The ShadowComedian Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 14,538 Joined: 3-October 07 From: Hamburg, AGS Member No.: 13,525 |
Horribly broken and unuseable as a cyberzombie/cyborg with the psychic drawbacks i am afraid. But a fun idea nonetheless. And yes, i encurage EVERYBODY to read the complete girl genius archives.
Also, in the world of shadowrun, why would a spark EVER leave spark state? You look behind you . . there's a nifty holographic projection of a world wide computer system that controls several dozends of highly advanced machines to work together for one common goal . . like making coffee from the coffee plant straight to the cup! |
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Mar 6 2011, 01:57 AM
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#15
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 151 Joined: 18-February 10 Member No.: 18,170 |
I strongly recommend you reconsider allowing Sparks to break the limits of sorcery; those limits exist for a very good reason, to wit, allowing a character to break those rules effectively makes them a god in-game. I second this. The Limits of Sorcery are not just limits on the magic system--many of them reflect particular aspects of the setting. For example, raising the dead changes the flavor of dystopia in the world. Any sort of teleportation, time travel, or divination presents so many potential problems/paradoxes that you'll wish you'd kept the cat in the bag. These technologies are potential world-changers. If you want to change the SR world in your game, that's one thing, but it's something you really should playtest. Don't just playtest in the "friendly" manner--do the most broken things you can think of so you know the limits of the resulting system and where it breaks. Playtest the system where half the sparks have built or are building teleportation and/or time travel portals. Playtest the system where you have "resurrection men" or spark-zombies. Playtest the system where a spark builds a technomagic channeling device to cast magic spells by having a device (or portal) reaching into astral space. |
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Mar 6 2011, 07:13 AM
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#16
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,416 Joined: 4-March 06 From: Albuquerque Member No.: 8,334 |
As a suggestion, all those willpower tests should be composure tests. For the purpose of the test, the bonus charisma *does not* apply.
Otherwise a threshold 6 on a willpower test is nigh impossible to achieve. |
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Mar 6 2011, 07:14 AM
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#17
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
Well, this is sounding like a definite vote of no confidence from the Dumpshock community. I'll take it down tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight.
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Mar 6 2011, 07:16 AM
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#18
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Immortal Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 14,358 Joined: 2-December 07 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Member No.: 14,465 |
Damn, now we're going to have to vote for a new Chancellor.
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Mar 6 2011, 07:40 AM
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#19
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,248 Joined: 14-October 10 Member No.: 19,113 |
QUOTE Well, this is sounding like a definite vote of no confidence from the Dumpshock community. I'll take it down tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight. Don't do it! Go with the idea! I for one am very interested in how it goes. As far as the limits to sorcery are concerned, I share their views: in shadowrun. If you make "breaks to the limits of sorcery" the point of the game, its ok. Mostly the limits of sorcery are there because:
Aside; If I had been designing shadowrun I would have added mind reading to the list...but there you go. As the genius girl, as long as the game is spark focused, I would revel in breaking the limits. (I'd still draw the line at time travel unless your GM has had experience GMing it. Time travel gets very hairy very quick). Of course in the nature of "balancing" the game, the fact that you can break these limits means that you have to have some downside. Every corporate out there would want you in their research labs. Or dead of they cannot have you. So you would have to be very careful using these powers. |
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Mar 6 2011, 09:15 AM
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#20
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The ShadowComedian Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 14,538 Joined: 3-October 07 From: Hamburg, AGS Member No.: 13,525 |
Well, this is sounding like a definite vote of no confidence from the Dumpshock community. I'll take it down tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight. The idea os good, but in the context of the rules and the setting the execution was not so good. Right now, this is more akin to WH40K Ork Mek-Boys. |
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Mar 6 2011, 08:18 PM
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#21
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,416 Joined: 4-March 06 From: Albuquerque Member No.: 8,334 |
At its core, Girl Genius is beyond the scope and limitations of the Shadowrun universe. That said, bringing in mechanics inspired by girl genius is not a bad thing. How many times have we seen other ideas brought into shadowrun. They may not be able to bring in the full scope of the idea they love, but that doesn't stop people from importing ideas into the SR universe anyway.
So take what you can, and be as faithful as you can, without potentially wrecking the game you are trying to add to. Take the suggestions here, and use them. Placing *some* limitations on sparks is not a bad idea. Game balance must be preserved, after all. Time travel and teleporation *need* to stay out of Shadowrun. Once you include those, things become stupidly more complicated to balance. For lack of a better term, what Sparks do is technomagic. Beyond what Technomancers do. The Spark's forte lies in bending the laws of physics way beyond what common knowledge says is possible. |
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Mar 6 2011, 08:53 PM
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#22
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 558 Joined: 23-June 10 Member No.: 18,749 |
I was looking forward to reading this...and now it's gone....
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Mar 6 2011, 09:26 PM
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#23
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Awakened Master Ninja Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 931 Joined: 30-January 07 From: CalFree Member No.: 10,844 |
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Mar 6 2011, 09:35 PM
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#24
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,248 Joined: 14-October 10 Member No.: 19,113 |
vote 2
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Mar 6 2011, 09:36 PM
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#25
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,654 Joined: 29-October 06 Member No.: 9,731 |
Look, nobody (not even me) is saying the idea is a bad one. It just needs (a lot) more refinement to work with Shadowrun. I'd quite like to see it turned into something playable. I guess I'm vote 3.
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 28th March 2024 - 10:26 PM |
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