Last week, I finally received word that my copy of SR4 arrived.
Well after plunking down my hard earned rubles I have only barely cracked the covers & already have just a few questions & concerns.
First off: the attribute cap for starting characters. - Either one at 6 & the rest 4s etc. or 2 at 5 & the rest 4s etc.
Now is this based on the human model, or does this cap also limit attributes for meta types? For example: an Orc character spends 40 BPs on body which would normally yield a rating of 7 Is this permissable for a starting character, or must he still observe the cap rule of 1 attribute at 6 or 2 at 5?
Next is more of an observation than a question.
The negative quality Infirm affects all physical skills. This is a bit incongruous with regard the new skill "Perception". As an example, I use myself. I have serious chronic arthritis and most definitely would consider myself infirm with regards to purely physical skills as climbing, jumping, running, balancing on a narrow ledge etc. Perception on the other hand is more a acuity of mind (in the rules it is based on Intuition) in which one notices details and responds to sensory stimuli. Despite my somewhat limited physical ability, my sensory acuity is still incredibly sharp for I still can hear even the faintest sounds, notice minute details, and pick up on clues rather quickly.
The way I see it, Infirm should be more specific than the overall blanket as it is presented in the rules. In SR3, it affected a character's physical attribute cap which in turn limited to a degree how far a character could progress in linked skills. This concept would still make more sense in SR4. The quality could also be broken into affecting either a character's Physical or Mental attributes. Thus it would have an effect on skills linked to the attribute group.
Full Version: Finally. it's here
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| First off: the attribute cap for starting characters. - Either one at 6 & the rest 4s etc. or 2 at 5 & the rest 4s etc. Now is this based on the human model, or does this cap also limit attributes for meta types? For example: an Orc character spends 40 BPs on body which would normally yield a rating of 7 Is this permissable for a starting character, or must he still observe the cap rule of 1 attribute at 6 or 2 at 5? |
That limit is a skill limit, not an attribute limit. Skills are not modified by race. Attributes are limited by the fact that you can only spend 200 BP's on them.
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| The negative quality Infirm affects all physical skills. This is a bit incongruous with regard the new skill "Perception". |
That one is covered by the rule on page 52. It's abstracted for playability. But I imagine it's easy enough to house rule
Actually, the rules on Attributes as stated on page 73, third line from the bottom on the left side:
| QUOTE (SR4 p.73) |
| ...characters cannot have more than one attribute at their natural maximum. |
Otherwise, it's open game. Aside from the 200 BP limit on Physical/Mental, of course.
It's not a 200BP maximum, it's a 1/2 Total Character Build Points maximum. So if you make a character with 500BP, she gets 250 BP on Phys/Ment stats. Edge, Magic, and Resonance do not count against this total. Thank God.
Although the max still applies cross group. So no getting Willpower maxed and Magic Maxed, you have to choose one or the other.
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