All Thumbs 5/10 point flaw.
You're just not good at B/R skills. Maybe you never took Shop class, maybe you just plain suck at it, but you're about as handy with your hands as a newborn kitten. As a 5-point flaw, you simply suffer a -2 dice penalty on all B/R skills; as a 10-point flaw, any time you are forced to roll a B/R skill, any result of 1 is an automatic Glitch, and any roll with more than two 1s is a Critical Glitch, no matter how many dice you throw.
Bloodthirsty (20 point flaw)
You don't like to make prisoners - after all, why leave a witness? Any time anyone is under your power whom you have wronged, make a Composure test (3) to avoid killing them. If you fail this test, you must kill them, though the methods thereof are entirely at your discretion.
This flaw does not come with an automatic point of Notoriety, on account of me not thinking you should be extra-hosed for your Flaws beyond the Flaw itself. Anyone with this flaw will soon enough rack up the Noto on their own.
Curious (15 point flaw)
You're a cat, baby. You can never resist investigating something, even if it puts you at risk. Any time you come upon something interesting, interesting being defined as something interesting to you as defined by your background, or as related (even tangenitally) to your job or the surroundings you find yourself in, you need to make a Composure test (3) or you find yourself investigating it, without even realizing it.
Pacifist (20 point flaw)
You don't like fightin', peroid. You won't carry so much as a taser for your own defense, and violence is terrifying to you. You are literally unable to raise a physical resistance to violence against you, being considered Unaware in all forms of combat skills - this includes hand-to-hand, firearms, projectiles, magic (You're considered Unaware for the purposes of any combat spells; this includes Counterspelling), or cybercombat. Furthermore, you must make a Composure test (3) in order to even handle any object, and a Composure test (5) to suggest that others (including summoned spirits or compiled sprites) take hostile action on your behaf or on the behaf of others.
Heroic (15 point flaw)
You can't turn down a plea for help, even if the source may be suspect. You must make a Composure test (4) to turn your back on any cry for help from any source; a source that is already familar to you as a liar or a betrayer gets no such consideration, however.
Loco (10/15/20 point flaw)
You have a mental "illness". Doctors and fancy highfalutin' folk may have all sorts of nifty names for it, but the plain truth is you're fit for the bughouse. You may or may not be all there at any given point at time. At any random time during the game, the DM may call for a sanity check from you - this being a roll of 2d6 that determines how "with it" you are. Consult the following chart:
12: Moment of Presience. All actions you take for the duration of the "Scene" occur at a +2 dice bonus. Hey, life ain't all bad, chummer.
10-11: You're all there, firing on all cylanders and flying on all thrusters. Act normally.
8-9: You're being strange and weird, babbling things that will not make sense until after something has happened. Nevertheless, you have full control of yourself: Act without penalty on all active skills except social skills, which suffer a -2 dice penalty.
5-7: Out there somewhere. You're distracted, on edge and screaming incoherantly about things that make perfect sense to you, but none whatsoever to anyone else. You're not really where you think you are, and things aren't what you think they are. All actions take a -4 dice penalty.
3-4: Completely gone. The DM describes the world to you as he pleases; it needs to have no bearing whatsoever on what's really going on. You act without penalty, but as you cannot distinguish what is real and what is not, you may find yourself "firing" a stick as though it were your Predator, or engaging in swordfighting with a club. The DM will tell you what you think you are doing, but will roll the action that you are really taking.
2: Earth to you, come in you? Are you recieving us, over? You have no control whatsoever over yourself or your perceptions of your surroundings. You merely walk ahead slowly, babbling about things that make no sense, taking bizzare and inane actions.
The variable point cost of this flaw comes from the number of times per game the DM may force a sanity check, and the severity thereof. As a 10 point flaw, the DM may call for only one check per game; as a 15 point flaw, he may call for three. As a 20 point flaw, he may call for sanity checks any time he chooses.
Poverty (15 point flaw)
You can't get it with money. Any time you make money from any source, you must immideately give up half of it to pay for your debts, your loansharks, your expensive habits or nights on the town, whatever. Should you be out of reach of civilization when you make money, the Poverty flaw comes into effect the moment you come into reach of civilization.
Positive qualities:
Brave (20 point edge)
You are one couragous cookie; an example to others. Your life seems to be charmed in that whenever you are acting on impulse, things never seem to happen quite as bad to you. Whenever you're acting on your own or your team's initiative (not the same as initiative turn; whenever you or your team has started an action), anytime you roll dice to resist a hostile action, you are treated as automatically having rolled at least one success.
Mechanically inclined (10 point edge)
You have knack for working with machines and technology. +2 dice to all Build/Repair skill rolls.
The Stare & The Voice (10 point edge)
Maybe you're a parent, maybe you're tough as nails, but for whatever reason, you have the Stare and the Voice. You can intimidate people without even trying, making them pay attention to you out of a gut fear. Any time you make a social roll, roll Intimidation and add the number of net successes as bonus dice to the other social roll. This applies to Intimidation as well.
Full Version: Homemade Negative Qualities
Your Pacifist Flaw, ShadowDragon, needs to be a 5/10.
5 - You cannot be the aggressor and cannot kill anyone unless they are trying to kill you. If your character does kill someone else, he must make a Composure 4 test or suffer a -2 dicepool modifier until the character can 'atone' for his perceived sins.
10 - The character must make a composure 4 test to attack back in self defense and must always use non-lethal force. If your character's actions lead directly or indirectly to the death of another being, then you must make a composure 4 test or be at a -4 dicepool modifier until the character 'atones' for his sins.
Atonement for sins - This is determined by the game master, but can usually boil down to saving another life, other than a team mates. A guard that was gunned down by a teammate during a run and stablised by the pacifist is a good atonement. If something like this situation is not available, the GM makes a call on actions like donating money, working for free for a good cause or just letting the character 'work it out' on his own time by having a negative modifier for a week/month depending on speed of game, level of pacifist and actions which led to the negative modifier.
5 - You cannot be the aggressor and cannot kill anyone unless they are trying to kill you. If your character does kill someone else, he must make a Composure 4 test or suffer a -2 dicepool modifier until the character can 'atone' for his perceived sins.
10 - The character must make a composure 4 test to attack back in self defense and must always use non-lethal force. If your character's actions lead directly or indirectly to the death of another being, then you must make a composure 4 test or be at a -4 dicepool modifier until the character 'atones' for his sins.
Atonement for sins - This is determined by the game master, but can usually boil down to saving another life, other than a team mates. A guard that was gunned down by a teammate during a run and stablised by the pacifist is a good atonement. If something like this situation is not available, the GM makes a call on actions like donating money, working for free for a good cause or just letting the character 'work it out' on his own time by having a negative modifier for a week/month depending on speed of game, level of pacifist and actions which led to the negative modifier.
Read my Pacifist flaw. I mean really read it.
It's absoloute in forbidding you from taking hostile action, even if you are under fire. You have to make a Composure Test (5) to even suggest that others engage in violence, even non-lethal violence.
I think that's worth the 20 points.
It's absoloute in forbidding you from taking hostile action, even if you are under fire. You have to make a Composure Test (5) to even suggest that others engage in violence, even non-lethal violence.
I think that's worth the 20 points.
| QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685) |
| Read my Pacifist flaw. I mean really read it. It's absoloute in forbidding you from taking hostile action, even if you are under fire. You have to make a Composure Test (5) to even suggest that others engage in violence, even non-lethal violence. I think that's worth the 20 points. |
I agree that it's worth 20 points.
I don't agree that it's a good flaw to add - no one would take it. And if they did, they would severely disrupt the game for everyone else, as they freak out every combat, argue constantly, and pass out when the other guys raise their guns.
Konsaki's versions let you continue to play a Shadowrunner, just one with a problem.
The 20 point would be great for an NPC, but I'd never let a PC take it in my game.
| QUOTE (lorechaser) |
| There's no provision included for skill. The greenest poker player and a world champion would each lose the same amount gambling each month. |
instead of 1D6, it might make more sense to do a will roll to "hold back money," and roll edge to see how much is gained (or lost) people with gamlbing problems don't think straight while gambling, so lose more than someone who doesn't have an addiction. so it makes more sense to lose more than you gain. this isn't a professional gambler this is someone who can't stop gambling and they want to!
Each month before any upkeep, you must bet your lifestyle costs, you must take in debt to meet your bet if you don't have enough. (Low life = 2,000 Nuyen) The character cannot hold money back if it has it available.
make a willpower check and any hits are added to the edge roll (you do not get the rule of 6 and cannot use edge on either of these rolls.
any hits achieved on the edge roll show you how much money you walk away with.
6 - 120%
5 - 80%
4 - 60%
3 - 40%
2 - 20%
1 - 0%
Glitch = you lost and owe someone
Critical Glitch = you had a straight flush queen high...he had king high...
the way you have the flaw set up it's not a disadvantage unless the GM rolls bad, there's a 50% chance he'll come out on top... I'd take those odds.
You have to remember though that the player is getting BP for the FLAW. You arnt supposed to get anything good out of the FLAW other than the BP, which you get at chargen...
It's like saying that you want something good to come out of the Uncouth flaw even though you get the 20BP already...
Besides, if the character was a 'successful' gambler, he wouldnt have to shadowrun anyways...
It's like saying that you want something good to come out of the Uncouth flaw even though you get the 20BP already...
Besides, if the character was a 'successful' gambler, he wouldnt have to shadowrun anyways...
| QUOTE (Konsaki) |
| You have to remember though that the player is getting BP for the FLAW. You arnt supposed to get anything good out of the FLAW other than the BP, which you get at chargen... It's like saying that you want something good to come out of the Uncouth flaw even though you get the 20BP already... Besides, if the character was a 'successful' gambler, he wouldnt have to shadowrun anyways... |
maybe he doesn't "have" to...
maybe he's a bored little rich kid...
| QUOTE (djinni) | ||
maybe he doesn't "have" to... maybe he's a bored little rich kid... |
Ok, you are correct there.
Even so, when a player buys the gambling flaw, no matter what his 'Gambling' Skill is at, he forfits any right to complain about losing money each month due to his gambling problem. He got the BP at CharGen, now it's time to pay the piper.
Even if he argues the 'I'm a gambling master rank 6' schtick, gambling will always be a 'Game of Chance' where the odds are against you when playing the house. The cash the character is losing was played out in some form of game where the skill of the player has no effect, like betting on a sports game. Shit happens.
| QUOTE (Konsaki) | ||||
Ok, you are correct there. Even so, when a player buys the gambling flaw, no matter what his 'Gambling' Skill is at, he forfits any right to complain about losing money each month due to his gambling problem. He got the BP at CharGen, now it's time to pay the piper. Even if he argues the 'I'm a gambling master rank 6' schtick, gambling will always be a 'Game of Chance' where the odds are against you when playing the house. The cash the character is losing was played out in some form of game where the skill of the player has no effect, like betting on a sports game. Shit happens. |
The precedent is already there. There are Positive Qualities that can penalize a character under limited situations. I see no reason there can't be a Flaw that benefits a character under limited situations.
| QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685) | ||||||
The precedent is already there. There are Positive Qualities that can penalize a character under limited situations. I see no reason there can't be a Flaw that benefits a character under limited situations. |
In my OP for this flaw the player already has a 1/6 chance of making 120% of what they bet, based off their flaw rating. That right there is the only thing that should be positive about it.
If you make it where their 'Gambling' skill is added in, then it would be way too twinked out. Remember that they can use their gambling skill during the month to make money the entire time if they roll well enough, but this is supposed to be an upkeep roll made just by the GM to account for losses in games where player skill has no value or a game where you had good odds but the dice didnt roll in your favor.
Or of course, those games you smartly "threw" to the House so they didn't kick you out.
| QUOTE (Konsaki) |
| In my OP for this flaw the player already has a 1/6 chance of making 120% of what they bet, based off their flaw rating. That right there is the only thing that should be positive about it. |
none of these posts have said you should add the skill.
in fact pointing out that the skill should NOT be used to determine the outcome of the flaw.
I suggested luck be used as a factor instead of a simple D6 since the D6 roll shows no chance of glitching (doesn't take the rest of the gaming mechanic into account) you can also use other positive/negative qualities to factor in.
making it a threshold roll instead of a simple roll makes the player feel more in control they roll the dice instead of the GM so it's not the GM's fault etc...
all these factors need to be taken into consideration. especially when someone other than the players are rolling dice.
| QUOTE (djinni) | ||
none of these posts have said you should add the skill. in fact pointing out that the skill should NOT be used to determine the outcome of the flaw. I suggested luck be used as a factor instead of a simple D6 since the D6 roll shows no chance of glitching (doesn't take the rest of the gaming mechanic into account) you can also use other positive/negative qualities to factor in. making it a threshold roll instead of a simple roll makes the player feel more in control they roll the dice instead of the GM so it's not the GM's fault etc... all these factors need to be taken into consideration. especially when someone other than the players are rolling dice. |
What about all those perception rolls that the GM is rolling for your character? The player has a choice in how much intuition, perception and gear he has, but the GM will make the roll for the important stuff like getting ambushed.
Same thing for this flaw, the player gets to decide if he has it and at what rank, but the GM gets to roll the dice.
Hell, if you are really bent on having the player roll dice for this, you can let them roll it infront of everyone. You could also have the GM roll one die and the Player roll one, then divide the sum by 2, round down.
| QUOTE (Konsaki) |
| What about all those perception rolls that the GM is rolling for your character? The player has a choice in how much intuition, perception and gear he has, but the GM will make the roll for the important stuff like getting ambushed. Same thing for this flaw, the player gets to decide if he has it and at what rank, but the GM gets to roll the dice. |
all what perception rolls? no Gm I've had has rolled my perception for me...
and well they shouldn't, so what I got a critical glitch doesn't matter what the GM tells me I see I see
| QUOTE (Grinder) |
| - Brave: mabye gives you bonus Edge? |
Ehh.. I'd say no to this one. There's allready a positive quality that gives you +1 to your Edge. And Guts gives you +2 vs intimidation etc. Sooo.. not sure if this one is even needed.
i actually miss my low level enemies, whats more i like whoevers idea it was that they be negetive contacts, up to 5 or 10bp
| QUOTE (Kesslan) | ||
Ehh.. I'd say no to this one. There's allready a positive quality that gives you +1 to your Edge. And Guts gives you +2 vs intimidation etc. Sooo.. not sure if this one is even needed. |
What's wrong with the way I made up Brave?
Here's an idea.
Hatred: 5/10/15/25 The character just cannot get along with a certain group and hates the sight of them. -4 to any social interaction with them other than intimidate, and a composure test of (3) must be made to cooperate with them at all. GMs are encouraged to judge the size of a group apporiate for the campaign.
5 points is for a fairly small group (Specific gang, PHDs, sailors ina land locked campaign, cult, small subculture)
10 for a signifgant group (Specific AAA corperation, mages, hackers, doctors, riggers, Lone Star, Knight Errant)
15 for large group (trolls, elves, orks, wageslaves, corpers, the poor, the cybered, the rich)
20 for an extremely large group, taking up over 50% of the population (human metatype, male or female gender)
Hatred: 5/10/15/25 The character just cannot get along with a certain group and hates the sight of them. -4 to any social interaction with them other than intimidate, and a composure test of (3) must be made to cooperate with them at all. GMs are encouraged to judge the size of a group apporiate for the campaign.
5 points is for a fairly small group (Specific gang, PHDs, sailors ina land locked campaign, cult, small subculture)
10 for a signifgant group (Specific AAA corperation, mages, hackers, doctors, riggers, Lone Star, Knight Errant)
15 for large group (trolls, elves, orks, wageslaves, corpers, the poor, the cybered, the rich)
20 for an extremely large group, taking up over 50% of the population (human metatype, male or female gender)
| QUOTE (Nasrudith) |
| Here's an idea. Hatred: 15/20/25/35 The character just cannot get along with a certain group and hates the sight of them. -4 to any social interaction with them other than intimidate, and a composure test of (3) must be made to cooperate with them at all. GMs are encouraged to judge the size of a group apporiate for the campaign. 15 points is for a fairly small group (Specific gang, PHDs, sailors ina land locked campaign, cult, small subculture) 20 for a signifgant group (Specific AAA corperation, mages, hackers, doctors, riggers, Lone Star, Knight Errant) 25 for large group (trolls, elves, orks, wageslaves, corpers, the poor, the cybered, the rich) 35 for an extremely large group, taking up over 50% of the population (human metatype, male or female gender) |
If you're going to use hatred I would drop the points significantly, down to 5/10/15/20.
I've never seen a 35 point quality.
And 15 points for disliking a particular gang, or people with a PhD? That's far far far too many points. That's on par with not being able to go outside, points wise, but the restriction is just about a mild allergy to seawater in a landlocked campaign.
20 points for a specific AAA? Azzies. No one likes Azzies, and you're at 20 points.
Okay fixed. I was at first worried it would be too severe. Though I wonder if 20 points is too low now for hating an entire gender or humans. Your going to have trouble with a very large number of people. I guess the only other 35 point flaw, burn out addiction is much worse. Not only having to deal with severe addiction but also slowly losing essense and not getting anything for it.
| QUOTE (Nasrudith) |
| Okay fixed. I was at first worried it would be too severe. Though I wonder if 20 points is too low now for hating an entire gender or humans. Your going to have trouble with a very large number of people. I guess the only other 35 point flaw, burn out addiction is much worse. Not only having to deal with severe addiction but also slowly losing essense and not getting anything for it. |
20 points is also uncouth, where you can't stand dealing with *anyone* or severe addiction, where you have to do novacoke at least twice a day or severe common allergy, where you take a box of damage every minute you are in the sun.
20 points is hardcore in SR4.
Hmmm... a couple I was thinking about (Positive and Negative)
Positive:
Multilingual (10/20 BP) - Character has more than one Native Languages. One additional at 10 BP, two additional at 20 BP
Negative:
Illiterate (-20 BP) - Character cannot read or write
Thoughts, comments?
TC
Positive:
Multilingual (10/20 BP) - Character has more than one Native Languages. One additional at 10 BP, two additional at 20 BP
Negative:
Illiterate (-20 BP) - Character cannot read or write
Thoughts, comments?
TC
I don't think another native language is worth more than 5 BP.
Well a rating 6 in a language is worth 12BP, so from that perspective 10 is a good deal.
The problem is that most people aren't spending ANY BP on languages, they're using the free knowledge points they get from their logic and intuition. So from that perspective they're not worth it.
The problem is that most people aren't spending ANY BP on languages, they're using the free knowledge points they get from their logic and intuition. So from that perspective they're not worth it.
Consider that Ambidexterity, the positive quality that lets you fire two guns at once, is only five BP.
Yeah. An extra Native language is only a 5 BPer in my mind.
Yeah. An extra Native language is only a 5 BPer in my mind.
| QUOTE (TCArknight) |
| Hmmm... a couple I was thinking about (Positive and Negative) Positive: Multilingual (10/20 BP) - Character has more than one Native Languages. One additional at 10 BP, two additional at 20 BP Negative: Illiterate (-20 BP) - Character cannot read or write Thoughts, comments? TC |
I don't know that illiterate is worth 20 bp.
I may be imagining a different SR than you, but in my SR, much of the country is functionally illiterate anyway. There's an entire language of iconography that means there's no real need to be able to read to get by. Everything has icons, or iconic imagery (You don't need to be able to read today to find a McD's, go in, pick the food you want, pay for it, or find and use the correct bathroom. Hell, I'm pretty sure you don't even need to be able to read to work the register at this point).
So being illiterate is a small penalty, and it makes things like coding nigh impossible. But for the average man about town, it's a minor inconvience.
As for Ambidex being a 5 point quality - it's really not that useful in practice. It's handy to be able to use either hand, but dual-wielding in SR is far from dual-wielding in other games. It has a few very nice uses, but overall, it's just another option.
| QUOTE (lorechaser) |
| So being illiterate is a small penalty, and it makes things like coding nigh impossible. But for the average man about town, it's a minor inconvience. |
Actually, I have a friend who works on an iconized programming languange. Can't tell more, because he doesn't tell more (non disclosure agreement).
But I agree that illiterate isn't worth 20 points. 5, at best.
I think we discussed the bilingual/trilingual quality before and agreed on 5/10 BP
.Since you don't need ambidexterity to fire two guns at once, 5 BP is okay.
I have a positive quality (yes, I know that this isn't really the thread for it) in response to a complaint that I've been hearing about the hacking rules, i.e. that someone like FastJack, supposedly the best hacker in the world, period, only rolls four to six more dice than someone with an average skill of three, which means that he would only have an average of two two three more hits than John Q. Hacker, hardly the sort of power expected of Sir Legendary Hacker.
So, after a bit of consideration:
L33t Hax0r
Cost: 10-15-20 BP
Maybe you were practically raised in the Matrix or even helped build it, or both, but one way or another you're a demi-god of the virtual world, a big fish with big teeth in the virtual sea. For each level you gain an additional die to any and all Matrix actions, and at the 20 BP level you can choose to, instead of the bonus dice, have the threshold lowered by 1, because, damn, you make this look easy!
This quality can only be taken at chargen if the character has all of the skills in the Electronics and Cracking skill groups at a minimum of level 4, with the Hacking skill at a minimum of level 5, and cannot be taken by Technomancers. This Quality can also not be taken in conjunction with any quality that is a direct detriment to Matrix skills, such as Codeblock or Incompetence (Electronics or Cracking skill). This Quality may be combined with Codeslinger.
~*~
Opinions? So, going back to FastJack, we have a Hacking skill of 7, a L33t Hax0r bonus of 3, a Codeslinger bonus of 2, bringing us to 12, plus his personally coded programs, which probably have ratings of 7 or maybe 8, which would give him a total of 19 to 20 dice, which sounds reasonable to me, considering the superhuman level of skill that he reportedly has.
So, after a bit of consideration:
L33t Hax0r
Cost: 10-15-20 BP
Maybe you were practically raised in the Matrix or even helped build it, or both, but one way or another you're a demi-god of the virtual world, a big fish with big teeth in the virtual sea. For each level you gain an additional die to any and all Matrix actions, and at the 20 BP level you can choose to, instead of the bonus dice, have the threshold lowered by 1, because, damn, you make this look easy!
This quality can only be taken at chargen if the character has all of the skills in the Electronics and Cracking skill groups at a minimum of level 4, with the Hacking skill at a minimum of level 5, and cannot be taken by Technomancers. This Quality can also not be taken in conjunction with any quality that is a direct detriment to Matrix skills, such as Codeblock or Incompetence (Electronics or Cracking skill). This Quality may be combined with Codeslinger.
~*~
Opinions? So, going back to FastJack, we have a Hacking skill of 7, a L33t Hax0r bonus of 3, a Codeslinger bonus of 2, bringing us to 12, plus his personally coded programs, which probably have ratings of 7 or maybe 8, which would give him a total of 19 to 20 dice, which sounds reasonable to me, considering the superhuman level of skill that he reportedly has.
| QUOTE (bibliophile20) |
| I have a positive quality (yes, I know that this isn't really the thread for it) in response to a complaint that I've been hearing about the hacking rules, i.e. that someone like FastJack, supposedly the best hacker in the world, period, only rolls four to six more dice than someone with an average skill of three, which means that he would only have an average of two two three more hits than John Q. Hacker, hardly the sort of power expected of Sir Legendary Hacker. So, after a bit of consideration: L33t Hax0r Cost: 10-15-20 BP Maybe you were practically raised in the Matrix or even helped build it, or both, but one way or another you're a demi-god of the virtual world, a big fish with big teeth in the virtual sea. For each level you gain an additional die to any and all Matrix actions, and at the 20 BP level you can choose to, instead of the bonus dice, have the threshold lowered by 1, because, damn, you make this look easy! This quality can only be taken at chargen if the character has all of the skills in the Electronics and Cracking skill groups at a minimum of level 4, with the Hacking skill at a minimum of level 5, and cannot be taken by Technomancers. This Quality can also not be taken in conjunction with any quality that is a direct detriment to Matrix skills, such as Codeblock or Incompetence (Electronics or Cracking skill). This Quality may be combined with Codeslinger. ~*~ Opinions? So, going back to FastJack, we have a Hacking skill of 7, a L33t Hax0r bonus of 3, a Codeslinger bonus of 2, bringing us to 12, plus his personally coded programs, which probably have ratings of 7 or maybe 8, which would give him a total of 19 to 20 dice, which sounds reasonable to me, considering the superhuman level of skill that he reportedly has. |
Personally?
I'm hoping SR4 doesn't try to bring all these 'super leet like you'll never be' NPC's out to the forefront. I know, I know, I'm wasting my time wishing that, but damn that shit gets old fast.
Fastjack has that legendary quality because he is good, and uses good stuff. Other hackers might be just as good, now they have to stick around as long and prove it wasn't just luck.
That's all. Arnold isn't the strongest man in the world, he's just the most famous strong man in the world. Angelina Jolie isn't the prettiest woman in the world, she's just famous for it.
Fastjack isn't the best hacker in teh world, he's just famous for it...
Make sense?
| QUOTE (lorechaser) |
| I may be imagining a different SR than you, but in my SR, much of the country is functionally illiterate anyway. There's an entire language of iconography that means there's no real need to be able to read to get by. |
there is no register...
there is no person at the "counter"
you walk in, your AR pops up a menu, you push your selection, and presto..you've ordered...
however...when you've broken into the security installation and need to read the signs telling you what section you are in...you can't...
when you need to identify the ID badge that someone flashed you....you can't...
when you are inside and a security rigger sends you an IM attempting to identify the persona he found, you can't...
being illiterate to the average joe...yeah pretty minor.
to a shadowrunner...it's very major.
See, I don't think the signs are going to require reading either. I think there's a green section, an orange section, a purple section, a red section. And the sign has a green arrow pointing one way, an orange another.
Or you simply pull up your AR map, and select the area you want to go to, and you get an overlay of glittery light that points the way.
It will be an inconvience when you're busting in, and someone messages you. But do people really message in 2070 like that? Or do they simply send a voice-message? I mean, iPhone already has video voicemail planned. 60 years from now, with Commlinks, I think that'll be standard.
Again, I think it's how you see the world of 2070. To me, part of the implied dystopia is that things we take for granted are lost arts.
I point to the fact that you can submit essays in txt as proof.
Or you simply pull up your AR map, and select the area you want to go to, and you get an overlay of glittery light that points the way.
It will be an inconvience when you're busting in, and someone messages you. But do people really message in 2070 like that? Or do they simply send a voice-message? I mean, iPhone already has video voicemail planned. 60 years from now, with Commlinks, I think that'll be standard.
Again, I think it's how you see the world of 2070. To me, part of the implied dystopia is that things we take for granted are lost arts.
I point to the fact that you can submit essays in txt as proof.
Reading and writing aren't going to become lost arts, I'm telling you. Sure, the majority of SINless may be, but Joe Wageslave is going to need to be able to read, as is anybody who actually lives and functions inside a city.
If the majority of the SINless can't read and write, you're either going to come up with icongraphy to serve them, or miss out on a huge portion of the population.
I'm thinking most corps will come up with something...
I'm thinking most corps will come up with something...
| QUOTE (lorechaser) |
| If the majority of the SINless can't read and write, you're either going to come up with icongraphy to serve them, or miss out on a huge portion of the population. I'm thinking most corps will come up with something... |
The majority of the SINless also have no money to pay for products, remember.
To some extent. But they have to get their cheap clothes and Squishes somewhere. Maybe the 'raku company store, or Ammo World is all writing, but I think you'll find you can get most of what you want at Stuffer Shack with just pointing.
This is actually a really interesting point, that came up obliquely. This particular flaw defines a lot of what you think your world is like. So while it's 5 points in my game, it may well be 10-20 in yours, which reflects our different outlooks.
This is actually a really interesting point, that came up obliquely.
This particular flaw defines a lot of what you think your world is like. So while it's 5 points in my game, it may well be 10-20 in yours, which reflects our different outlooks.
Well, Updated Amnesia quality:
Amnesia: 5/10/15/20
Well, you can't remember crap. Higher levels have higher drawbacks. Maybe you were brainwashed, maybe you were injured, maybe you suffered from a bad brain disorder, perhaps a prototype mind-altering spell went wrong, maybe you were abducted by aliens. At any rate, parts of your life simply aren't there...or SOMETHING is there, but it wasn't what happened...
5: The past few years of your life are unaccounted for, or are something else that really happened. You remember, say, your childhood, and your teen years(to a point, depening on age, etc), but theres a chunk missing. The player makes the character, then is encouraged to work with the GM to figure out what REALLY happened during that time. The GM is encouraged to throw a few loops in there without the player's knowledge as well. You might have some unaccounted gear or some folks you dont know how you meant, or might have someone pissed at you and don't know why. Piecing together things is possible, with alot of legwork, a good hacker friend, and the like, though the character might not like what they find...
10: A bit more severe, you're missing(or have falsified) about half your life, and not necessarily in order. You have an idea where some of your skills came from, but not all of them. You might know a language or two you don't remember learning. As above, the player still makes the character, and writes up some background, but the GM has a little more leeway with the background here, and is encouraged to come up with a bit more. Siblings, old spouses, old bosses, people wronged might(and probably will)pop up now and again. This version of the Quality is probably the most used, examples like the 'programmed killer or secret agent'. Character probably is under a different name and ID than his real one, and might confuse the two. They perhaps might have some flashbacks now and then. A portion of Knowledge BP can be handed over to the GM for purchase in some strange knowledge skills for flavor. The character will have a hard time accounting for this missing or falsified part of their life, and most likely will not like what they find when they dig, and might even upset people by digging.
15: While the player in question still mostly creates the character(numerically), the GM has a bit of say here. Assume the player can choose the basics, but a portion of BPs and resources are handed over to the GM for use in choosing, and are kept secret from the player. The character probably remembers nothing of his real name and life, the GM creating 90% of his backstory, with the player in this case throwing a few ideas here. The only thing this character rememeber is probably the past year or two of his life, but no more. Positive qualities(if any) should be chosen by the GM, as should other Negative qualities. Most knowledge skills(save a couple) should be handed over to the GM in this case, and the player only chooses his native language. Very hard to uncover here, because of the amount missing.
20: In this case, GM has full control over the character creation process. The player knows nothing except a few basics written on a dummy sheet...an(extremely probable) fake name, gender(which may or may not be what they started as), race(hey, elf poser/ork poser/human looking exist for a reason), and other odds and ends, with gear that they have no idea how they got, and skills that they don't know, though perhaps they are let on to one or two of VERY recently known ones. They even dont know what they can do, they might have an IDEA, but these people dont remember any more than 6 months of their current life. When in dice tests, player says if they want to try something, and the GM does so. This character has to go through a lot to learn what he has, why he has it, how he has it. GMs should watch out that players do not choose this for the simple fact they are too lazy to make their own character. GMs have a bit of work with this one, having to write a 'real' and 'fake' backstory, the fake given to the player.
Hopefully this works, I always loved the amnesia flaw and would like to bring back an old SR3 character concept i had utilizing it. It takes a little work and some GM/PC collaboration, but i think it can be totally workable. If anything, the one that needs be watched is that 20 point, for reasons of lazy players stated above.
Amnesia: 5/10/15/20
Well, you can't remember crap. Higher levels have higher drawbacks. Maybe you were brainwashed, maybe you were injured, maybe you suffered from a bad brain disorder, perhaps a prototype mind-altering spell went wrong, maybe you were abducted by aliens. At any rate, parts of your life simply aren't there...or SOMETHING is there, but it wasn't what happened...
5: The past few years of your life are unaccounted for, or are something else that really happened. You remember, say, your childhood, and your teen years(to a point, depening on age, etc), but theres a chunk missing. The player makes the character, then is encouraged to work with the GM to figure out what REALLY happened during that time. The GM is encouraged to throw a few loops in there without the player's knowledge as well. You might have some unaccounted gear or some folks you dont know how you meant, or might have someone pissed at you and don't know why. Piecing together things is possible, with alot of legwork, a good hacker friend, and the like, though the character might not like what they find...
10: A bit more severe, you're missing(or have falsified) about half your life, and not necessarily in order. You have an idea where some of your skills came from, but not all of them. You might know a language or two you don't remember learning. As above, the player still makes the character, and writes up some background, but the GM has a little more leeway with the background here, and is encouraged to come up with a bit more. Siblings, old spouses, old bosses, people wronged might(and probably will)pop up now and again. This version of the Quality is probably the most used, examples like the 'programmed killer or secret agent'. Character probably is under a different name and ID than his real one, and might confuse the two. They perhaps might have some flashbacks now and then. A portion of Knowledge BP can be handed over to the GM for purchase in some strange knowledge skills for flavor. The character will have a hard time accounting for this missing or falsified part of their life, and most likely will not like what they find when they dig, and might even upset people by digging.
15: While the player in question still mostly creates the character(numerically), the GM has a bit of say here. Assume the player can choose the basics, but a portion of BPs and resources are handed over to the GM for use in choosing, and are kept secret from the player. The character probably remembers nothing of his real name and life, the GM creating 90% of his backstory, with the player in this case throwing a few ideas here. The only thing this character rememeber is probably the past year or two of his life, but no more. Positive qualities(if any) should be chosen by the GM, as should other Negative qualities. Most knowledge skills(save a couple) should be handed over to the GM in this case, and the player only chooses his native language. Very hard to uncover here, because of the amount missing.
20: In this case, GM has full control over the character creation process. The player knows nothing except a few basics written on a dummy sheet...an(extremely probable) fake name, gender(which may or may not be what they started as), race(hey, elf poser/ork poser/human looking exist for a reason), and other odds and ends, with gear that they have no idea how they got, and skills that they don't know, though perhaps they are let on to one or two of VERY recently known ones. They even dont know what they can do, they might have an IDEA, but these people dont remember any more than 6 months of their current life. When in dice tests, player says if they want to try something, and the GM does so. This character has to go through a lot to learn what he has, why he has it, how he has it. GMs should watch out that players do not choose this for the simple fact they are too lazy to make their own character. GMs have a bit of work with this one, having to write a 'real' and 'fake' backstory, the fake given to the player.
Hopefully this works, I always loved the amnesia flaw and would like to bring back an old SR3 character concept i had utilizing it. It takes a little work and some GM/PC collaboration, but i think it can be totally workable. If anything, the one that needs be watched is that 20 point, for reasons of lazy players stated above.
edit: okay, you mentioned lazy players, I might've missed that on my first skim though. Sorry. Leaving my post unchanged though; but I'm aware that much of it is agreeing with you.
I like amnesia too, but here's another way to look at it:
Player: "I don't want to write a background, and I don't want to have to deal with any pesky personal attachments like family, I just want to sort of appear and start kicking ass. But if you want to make a secret history for me that surfaces so that the plot will revolve around me and make me the center of attention that's cool. Oh, can I have some extra BP for that?"
Sure, as a GM you can choose to be really mean with the flaw, but as the GM you can choose to be really mean without the flaw, too. I'm not sure amnesia is worth the number of points it's usually given.
Now the version of the flaw where the player gets a blank character sheet and has to figure stuff out, that's a concrete disadvantage (although it still has all the attention grabbing effects I mentioned) and is worth something.
I'm not saying that amnesia isn't a flaw and isn't worth any points, but as much as it would suck for you or I to have no memory, for a PC it's inconvenient, but also usually represents either laziness or a desire for an inordinate amount of attention from the GM. Amnesia can be fun, but it doesn't deserve TOO many points.
Just my 2 centinuyen.
I like amnesia too, but here's another way to look at it:
Player: "I don't want to write a background, and I don't want to have to deal with any pesky personal attachments like family, I just want to sort of appear and start kicking ass. But if you want to make a secret history for me that surfaces so that the plot will revolve around me and make me the center of attention that's cool. Oh, can I have some extra BP for that?"
Sure, as a GM you can choose to be really mean with the flaw, but as the GM you can choose to be really mean without the flaw, too. I'm not sure amnesia is worth the number of points it's usually given.
Now the version of the flaw where the player gets a blank character sheet and has to figure stuff out, that's a concrete disadvantage (although it still has all the attention grabbing effects I mentioned) and is worth something.
I'm not saying that amnesia isn't a flaw and isn't worth any points, but as much as it would suck for you or I to have no memory, for a PC it's inconvenient, but also usually represents either laziness or a desire for an inordinate amount of attention from the GM. Amnesia can be fun, but it doesn't deserve TOO many points.
Just my 2 centinuyen.
Well, Amnesia always has been one of those flaws that has a bit of controversy in it, and of course, thats because its misused. Incompetence being the biggy, people argue whether someone should just say 'my characters old-school and has Incompetence in tons of mechanical and electronics skills'. Some might say just write it in the background, dont take the points and be done with it, while the other side says incompetence with computers, electronics, cars and the like IS indeed a disadvantage in this time period, and it deserves stuff to offset it.
As it gets mentioned with Ambidexterity, its advantage isnt so big it needs to be worth BP to purchase. Using 2 weapons isnt as advantageous as one might think, and some folks think it matters not what hand is being used. While some say otherwise.
Amnesia can be looked at the same way. Some people might say 'just make up what you want, give the GM a few ideas and let him run with it, for no points either way', and the other camp says 'the amount of stuff that can be in the background can truly hinder the character, and so it should be worth points'. In fact, Amnesia could include other negative qualities that the character has no clue of until it happens. Not knowing your whole life can be a real hinderance to some, to others, not so much.
Dark Secret was another. In this case, the character KNOWS something, and knows that, it cannot, in any case, be uncovered, for whatever reason. It being uncovered could lead to a plethora of other things(Hunted, Hung Out to Dry, family being targeted, friends being targeted, etc.) The 2 points that Dark Secret was awarded, some felt, was way too cheap, since it could possibly lead to thinks MUCH harsher, like Hunted-6. Again, other camp said that too many stereotype emos took this and it was easy to abuse.
Well, really, the same could be said about many positive and negative qualities, when you think about it. There will always be folks who disagree one what constitutes a flaw and what doesnt.
As it gets mentioned with Ambidexterity, its advantage isnt so big it needs to be worth BP to purchase. Using 2 weapons isnt as advantageous as one might think, and some folks think it matters not what hand is being used. While some say otherwise.
Amnesia can be looked at the same way. Some people might say 'just make up what you want, give the GM a few ideas and let him run with it, for no points either way', and the other camp says 'the amount of stuff that can be in the background can truly hinder the character, and so it should be worth points'. In fact, Amnesia could include other negative qualities that the character has no clue of until it happens. Not knowing your whole life can be a real hinderance to some, to others, not so much.
Dark Secret was another. In this case, the character KNOWS something, and knows that, it cannot, in any case, be uncovered, for whatever reason. It being uncovered could lead to a plethora of other things(Hunted, Hung Out to Dry, family being targeted, friends being targeted, etc.) The 2 points that Dark Secret was awarded, some felt, was way too cheap, since it could possibly lead to thinks MUCH harsher, like Hunted-6. Again, other camp said that too many stereotype emos took this and it was easy to abuse.
Well, really, the same could be said about many positive and negative qualities, when you think about it. There will always be folks who disagree one what constitutes a flaw and what doesnt.
| QUOTE (ElFenrir) |
| Well, really, the same could be said about many positive and negative qualities, when you think about it. There will always be folks who disagree one what constitutes a flaw and what doesnt. |
So remember, kids, always talk to your GM before picking up any new qualities, so that you know how he or she is going to treat them. And knowing is half the battle.
Go Joe!!!
Sorry, we were starting to sound like a saturday morning special.
I rememeber the old days of Fantasy Role-Playing, where your local-boy-done-good fighter raised in a field of flowers in a happy cabin in a well-adjusted family was no different than the dark, brookidn amnesiac fighter who was trained to be an assassin, watched his family horribly tortured and killed, is being chased by 3 kingdoms and a dragon, has 3 dead fiancees and a pet dog that haunts him as they live in a fungi-infested cave in hiding. The only 'advantages' and 'disadvantages' were the minus 1 to Cha and 1+ to Con your dwarf got for being tough but gruff, and the level limits that were a tradeoff for a multi-century lifespan and thermographic vision. 
Then in the TSR days kits came out, which gave variants of character that had BUILT IN advantages and disadvantages to balance each other out.
Somewhere down the line someone came up with the bright idea of 'customizing' your old advantages and disadvantages, dividing the camp into the new kids who liked this customizing idea, and the grognards who wanted their cursed fungus cave living fighter the old fashioned way.
Eventually someone came up with the idea of having them worth 'points' rather than other advantages/disadvantages, so people could purchase advantages at the cost of other things or have a ton of bonuses for living cursed and haunted in a cave of glowing possesed fungi.
Edges and Flaws were born, while half the world rejoiced, the other half condemed the hundreds of toothpick-allergic amnesiac badgerphieliac assassins that cropped up.
The battle continues to this day.
Then in the TSR days kits came out, which gave variants of character that had BUILT IN advantages and disadvantages to balance each other out.
Somewhere down the line someone came up with the bright idea of 'customizing' your old advantages and disadvantages, dividing the camp into the new kids who liked this customizing idea, and the grognards who wanted their cursed fungus cave living fighter the old fashioned way.
Eventually someone came up with the idea of having them worth 'points' rather than other advantages/disadvantages, so people could purchase advantages at the cost of other things or have a ton of bonuses for living cursed and haunted in a cave of glowing possesed fungi.
Edges and Flaws were born, while half the world rejoiced, the other half condemed the hundreds of toothpick-allergic amnesiac badgerphieliac assassins that cropped up.
The battle continues to this day.
Hahaha!
Bravo, ElFenrir. Nice explanation.
Bravo, ElFenrir. Nice explanation.
Sig!
| QUOTE (Moon-Hawk) |
| So remember, kids, always talk to your GM before picking up any new qualities, so that you know how he or she is going to treat them. And knowing is half the battle. Go Joe!!! Sorry, we were starting to sound like a saturday morning special. |
You've misquoted.
It's Firewatch, Go!!!
I found this topic out of shear coincidence looking for Yakuza stuff... And it just so happened to be in one of the posts. 1 word searches for the lose! But I found this and lurked it for an hour reading over all the positive and negative qualities created I'd like to add a few... I'll admit most of them are just concoctions of mine, and some of them affect the party and I've all ready heard people saying qualities that affect the party rather than just the person are lame, but I think these are less taxing and more fun to work with on most levels.
Unknown Cyberware: 2-10 BP
The character is the average Shadow Runner, but in the mix of StreetDocs and DocWagons a lot of them don't remember most of the procedures, but damn if her leg doesn't itch something fierce after that last gash! The character has a "hitch-hiker" implant that takes up essence normally, but the character has no recollection of having the privilege of giving the "O.K." Such lower BP gain implants might be cortex bombs with a short fuse or embedded in your madula oblongata, surveillance material systems hardwired to your nervous system, and the simple such things that can be removed, if you're fast enough. Some of the higher BP gain implants are those that Corps have groomed to make some hellish experiments come to life. Toxin pumps, nano virus fail-safes, thought and emotion blockers, area EMP and cortex bombs, etc...
(I gave it a range because it depends how quickly the fail-safe cortex bomb goes off after you access the data in that hidden Datajack (Thank you SNES ShadowRun) is entirely up to the GM, as is the set back to when it finally runs down the timer. Once it's gone it's gone, thus why it can go so low. This should definitely be consulted with them.)
The Lemon: 2/5 BP
Okay, so you decided you buy the cheap one... Big mistake! One important item the character bought was a bad buy and he doesn't know about it... yet. Whether it be Cybernetics he didn't know were hand-me-downs, A Focus that's got one too many cracks in it or the sedan that doesn't cruise so well after a few miles on the odometer. The item in question won't be useful all the time and will cease to function on occasion at 2 BP, at 5 BP the item will actually break at a very inopportune moment. This must be placed on an item that will have significant set backs if it is broken. Never buy from street vendors, how many times have I told you!?
(A musing, like a mild Gremlins, best possibility is with Amnesia or if the GM decides to give the character a nice extra 2/5 BP and tacks this little baby on and let the good times... not happen.)
Greenhorn Hopeful: 5 BP
Every cloud has it silver lining, every person gets their fair share, every piece of drek gets fed into the characters ears they take from anyone with a lick of experience compared to them they take like it's the fraggin' 16th Edition of the Bible in gold plating, and it gets irritating real quick. The Greenhorn Hopeful is new to the biz, and everyone knows it. Asking questions, and sticking by the character that mostly resembles their ideal of the word "hero" is what they're good at, and whoever is bound with the lovely task of dealing with this pecker wood gets the short straw. -3 to dice pool in social situations where the party is involved and they're present. On the other hand, fun times have been had at the expense of the newbie, especially if the "hero" is malevolent in teaching his would-be pupil. A Composure Test of Intuition + Willpower(4) can stay their hands and mouths for a little while... But it's only a matter of time.
(This I find is a humorous and fun negative quality even though it makes the party suffer it allows them to get back, heh, being at the mercy of all the "hero's" tutelage. It also adds role-playing fun when they're at a seedy bar in the Barrens talking to a rough Johnson and Purity Princess 2070 orders a hot chocolate.)
Tweaked: 5 BP
The character in question is not insane, not crazy, not odd in anyway... Until he decides something's worth shootin' and that's everything. Some call it trigger happy, some call it jumpy... But it's really just labeled Wired Reflexes without the benefit of aiming. Tweaked characters make cool diplomatic situations turn into heated bullet-filled debates. Any time there's a stand-off, a sound mistaken for a guard on a stealth mission, or the shoot-first-ask-questions-later interrogation method applies... The Tweaked character makes smooth situations turn into sandpaper and is almost always the first to pull for his gun, doesn't mean he shoots it off first though. Composure Test Logic + Willpower(4) will keep him from doing something TOO stupid. -5 to social dice pool when trying to calm tensions between parties and the character is present.
(Heh... Good luck with this one. You might think that though Tweaked and Greenhorn Hopeful cost the same BP they're not costing appropriately, it's because the calming of tension is very specified, the social penalty applies for ALL rolls where the Greenhorn can muck things up while being amidst conversation. That's the difference.)
Big Mouth Small Gun: 10/15 BP
The big mouth is a dying breed... And there's a reason... They like to talk drek, and then it comes back at them in the form of a lot of sharp things and bullets. Not only do they talk drek but ALL of this clan claim the wondrous ability to not be intimidating at all. This character is classified as Unaware for all Intimidation rolls, and is labeled as being under Rat's teachings when a fight turns out. The character must use his first initiative action to find cover and stay there. They make the same willpower test but the threshold is 3 + each combatant to even think about shooting. At 15 BP the drek talk must happen at every opportunity that presents itself, and the character is always considered Assisting in a team roll when another character uses intimidation, roll 1d6 on a 1-3 he critically glitches for his assistance. Followers of Rat that take this pay either 5 or 10 BP respectively.
(Brackit picks up the drug dealer, "Tell me where your boss is, or else!" Chuckles noticing the gun has been forcibly removed from the dealer's hand finally gets his courage back, "Yeah! Or Brackit here is gonna butter your bread!" The drug dealer's face shifted from terror to amused disbelief, as Brackit looked slowly at Chuckles with a mix of contempt and utter loathing. "We'll talk later..." The drug dealer laughing in the background, Chuckles suddenly became 5 inches shorter behind the bar counter.)
Please comment on modifications to the BP gain and such, I need more opinions on the disadvantages. They seem acceptable and not totally or extremely detrimental, but definitely annoying.
Unknown Cyberware: 2-10 BP
The character is the average Shadow Runner, but in the mix of StreetDocs and DocWagons a lot of them don't remember most of the procedures, but damn if her leg doesn't itch something fierce after that last gash! The character has a "hitch-hiker" implant that takes up essence normally, but the character has no recollection of having the privilege of giving the "O.K." Such lower BP gain implants might be cortex bombs with a short fuse or embedded in your madula oblongata, surveillance material systems hardwired to your nervous system, and the simple such things that can be removed, if you're fast enough. Some of the higher BP gain implants are those that Corps have groomed to make some hellish experiments come to life. Toxin pumps, nano virus fail-safes, thought and emotion blockers, area EMP and cortex bombs, etc...
(I gave it a range because it depends how quickly the fail-safe cortex bomb goes off after you access the data in that hidden Datajack (Thank you SNES ShadowRun) is entirely up to the GM, as is the set back to when it finally runs down the timer. Once it's gone it's gone, thus why it can go so low. This should definitely be consulted with them.)
The Lemon: 2/5 BP
Okay, so you decided you buy the cheap one... Big mistake! One important item the character bought was a bad buy and he doesn't know about it... yet. Whether it be Cybernetics he didn't know were hand-me-downs, A Focus that's got one too many cracks in it or the sedan that doesn't cruise so well after a few miles on the odometer. The item in question won't be useful all the time and will cease to function on occasion at 2 BP, at 5 BP the item will actually break at a very inopportune moment. This must be placed on an item that will have significant set backs if it is broken. Never buy from street vendors, how many times have I told you!?
(A musing, like a mild Gremlins, best possibility is with Amnesia or if the GM decides to give the character a nice extra 2/5 BP and tacks this little baby on and let the good times... not happen.)
Greenhorn Hopeful: 5 BP
Every cloud has it silver lining, every person gets their fair share, every piece of drek gets fed into the characters ears they take from anyone with a lick of experience compared to them they take like it's the fraggin' 16th Edition of the Bible in gold plating, and it gets irritating real quick. The Greenhorn Hopeful is new to the biz, and everyone knows it. Asking questions, and sticking by the character that mostly resembles their ideal of the word "hero" is what they're good at, and whoever is bound with the lovely task of dealing with this pecker wood gets the short straw. -3 to dice pool in social situations where the party is involved and they're present. On the other hand, fun times have been had at the expense of the newbie, especially if the "hero" is malevolent in teaching his would-be pupil. A Composure Test of Intuition + Willpower(4) can stay their hands and mouths for a little while... But it's only a matter of time.
(This I find is a humorous and fun negative quality even though it makes the party suffer it allows them to get back, heh, being at the mercy of all the "hero's" tutelage. It also adds role-playing fun when they're at a seedy bar in the Barrens talking to a rough Johnson and Purity Princess 2070 orders a hot chocolate.)
Tweaked: 5 BP
The character in question is not insane, not crazy, not odd in anyway... Until he decides something's worth shootin' and that's everything. Some call it trigger happy, some call it jumpy... But it's really just labeled Wired Reflexes without the benefit of aiming. Tweaked characters make cool diplomatic situations turn into heated bullet-filled debates. Any time there's a stand-off, a sound mistaken for a guard on a stealth mission, or the shoot-first-ask-questions-later interrogation method applies... The Tweaked character makes smooth situations turn into sandpaper and is almost always the first to pull for his gun, doesn't mean he shoots it off first though. Composure Test Logic + Willpower(4) will keep him from doing something TOO stupid. -5 to social dice pool when trying to calm tensions between parties and the character is present.
(Heh... Good luck with this one. You might think that though Tweaked and Greenhorn Hopeful cost the same BP they're not costing appropriately, it's because the calming of tension is very specified, the social penalty applies for ALL rolls where the Greenhorn can muck things up while being amidst conversation. That's the difference.)
Big Mouth Small Gun: 10/15 BP
The big mouth is a dying breed... And there's a reason... They like to talk drek, and then it comes back at them in the form of a lot of sharp things and bullets. Not only do they talk drek but ALL of this clan claim the wondrous ability to not be intimidating at all. This character is classified as Unaware for all Intimidation rolls, and is labeled as being under Rat's teachings when a fight turns out. The character must use his first initiative action to find cover and stay there. They make the same willpower test but the threshold is 3 + each combatant to even think about shooting. At 15 BP the drek talk must happen at every opportunity that presents itself, and the character is always considered Assisting in a team roll when another character uses intimidation, roll 1d6 on a 1-3 he critically glitches for his assistance. Followers of Rat that take this pay either 5 or 10 BP respectively.
(Brackit picks up the drug dealer, "Tell me where your boss is, or else!" Chuckles noticing the gun has been forcibly removed from the dealer's hand finally gets his courage back, "Yeah! Or Brackit here is gonna butter your bread!" The drug dealer's face shifted from terror to amused disbelief, as Brackit looked slowly at Chuckles with a mix of contempt and utter loathing. "We'll talk later..." The drug dealer laughing in the background, Chuckles suddenly became 5 inches shorter behind the bar counter.)
Please comment on modifications to the BP gain and such, I need more opinions on the disadvantages. They seem acceptable and not totally or extremely detrimental, but definitely annoying.
| QUOTE (Moon-Hawk) |
| Well a rating 6 in a language is worth 12BP, so from that perspective 10 is a good deal. The problem is that most people aren't spending ANY BP on languages, they're using the free knowledge points they get from their logic and intuition. So from that perspective they're not worth it. |
The fact that buying a language to 6 cost 12BP made me think that bilingual ought to be 10BP too. I guess it's only likely to come in handy every so often and anyone with a DNI could slot a linguasoft, which might bring the price down. Maybe compromising on 7 points would work?
That being said, how about a "natural linguist" quality? 5BP and you get to buy languages cheaper and faster. A quality that takes the long view (although the above mentioned linguasoft problem still rears its head).
New Flaw: Street Stupid 10 BP
Your character hasn't exactly grown up remotely near the street and doesn't pay much attention to popular culture. All street knowledge skills cost double karma, and are treated as unaware if no ranks are possessed. In addition the character receives a -4 penalty to the etiquette dice pool when dealing with the street level. (GM descresion, but gangers, prositutes, panhandlers, apply.) Finally the character cannot start with lower than middle lifestyle.
Your character hasn't exactly grown up remotely near the street and doesn't pay much attention to popular culture. All street knowledge skills cost double karma, and are treated as unaware if no ranks are possessed. In addition the character receives a -4 penalty to the etiquette dice pool when dealing with the street level. (GM descresion, but gangers, prositutes, panhandlers, apply.) Finally the character cannot start with lower than middle lifestyle.
Dependent
Bonus: 5 or 15 BPs
A character with the Dependent quality has a loved one who depends on her for support and aid. This could be a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, an old friend or even, in some extreme cases, a pet. The character has to devote time and resources to the care of her dependent; the dependent migt also serve as a point of leverage against the character by her enemies. If this negative quaity is taken at a 5-BP level, it represents a dependent who, while needing the character's suppot in enral, can take care of himself most of the time (examples for this would be unemployd spouses or children beyond the age of 10). At a 15-BP level, the dependent cannot take care of himself, and the character must either tend to the dependent's needs around the clock or hire someone else to do so (examples for this would be young children or very elderly and disabled parents).
Day Job
Bonus: 5, 10, 15 or 20 BPs
The character has a "real" job besides shadowrunning, which burdens him with responsibilitis and robs away a portion of his time. However, such a job also confers some advantages - the job arns te character some nuyen, it could serve as a cover for shadow-activity, it might be helpful for money-laundering, and it might give the character a good place to meet new contacts.
Bonus: 5 or 15 BPs
A character with the Dependent quality has a loved one who depends on her for support and aid. This could be a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, an old friend or even, in some extreme cases, a pet. The character has to devote time and resources to the care of her dependent; the dependent migt also serve as a point of leverage against the character by her enemies. If this negative quaity is taken at a 5-BP level, it represents a dependent who, while needing the character's suppot in enral, can take care of himself most of the time (examples for this would be unemployd spouses or children beyond the age of 10). At a 15-BP level, the dependent cannot take care of himself, and the character must either tend to the dependent's needs around the clock or hire someone else to do so (examples for this would be young children or very elderly and disabled parents).
Day Job
Bonus: 5, 10, 15 or 20 BPs
The character has a "real" job besides shadowrunning, which burdens him with responsibilitis and robs away a portion of his time. However, such a job also confers some advantages - the job arns te character some nuyen, it could serve as a cover for shadow-activity, it might be helpful for money-laundering, and it might give the character a good place to meet new contacts.
| CODE |
BP Value Monthly Salary Weekly Hours 5 1,000 10 hours 10 2,500 20 hours 15 5,000 40 hours 20 10,000 60 hours |
Phobia
Bonus: 5 to 20 BPs
Something scares the hell out of the character - a specific thing or condition triggers a deep-seated fear in him. The value of this quality depends on two factors. First, decide whether the triggering condition is Uncommon (2 BP) or Common (7 BP). Then decide who severe is this phobia: Mild (3 BP), Moderate (8 BP) or Severe (13 BP).
Uncommon triggers are conditions which are relatively rare in the local area, such as specific sounds or smlls.
Common triggers are conditions commonly encountered in the local area, such as sunlight, magic, insects, the outdoors and crowds.
A Mild phobia applies a -1 dice pool DM to all of the character's actions (except for resistance tests) as long as the character is in presence of the triggering condition.
A Moderate phobia applies a -2 dice pool DM to all of the character's actions (except for resistance tests) as long as the character is in presence of the triggering condition. In addition, the character will try his best to avoid thiscondition; he will have to pass a Composure (2) test in order to force himself to confront it.
A Severe phobia causes the character to flee, or if this is not possible, to collapse in terror when exposed to the triggering condition, unless he passes a successfu Composure (4) test. If the test is sucessful, the character still suffers a -2 dice pool DM to all of the character's actions (except for resistance tests) as long as the character is in presence of the triggering condition.
| QUOTE |
| The fact that buying a language to 6 cost 12BP made me think that bilingual ought to be 10BP too. |
Knowledge skills and languages are pulled from the pool of Knowledge Skill points as far as I know, which are the typical Int+Logx3 free points, and are purchased on a 1 for 1 basis. Languages only cost 1 BP per level last i checked, and cost 6 of the free BP to max out. Knowledges and languages only start costing 2 BPs per point after you go over the limit of free knowledges, and most characters ive seen usually run from 18-21 Knowledge/Language points. You can get 2 languages at 4(well and solidly fluent) for only 8. While Languages are counted seperate from Knowledges, you still spend your initial Knowledge points on them, as demonstrated in SR4.
So perhaps 5 BPs MIGHT be more worth it. Like a flaw should be a flaw, an edge should be an edge, and 10 BPs for a free language is actually COSTING the player 4 points. Theyre only netting a base 1 for the 5 point one, but perhaps if you made it in levels(5,10,15,20 for MultiLingual), the savings increase, making it worthwhile, for say, a Face character.
However, the other difficult thing about a Language positive quality, is that most character are considered 'fluent' at around a 3 or 4. I think only teachers or very high level diplomats would have 6s in the language, and government translators could i think even have a 5 under these new rules, making the BP cost for the edge tricky. I'd lower it to perhaps 3 BPs per level, even, for this reason.
Like Negative Qualities must be balance, for a Positive Quality, i'd look at it and ask myself, 'would i have ANY character that i can take this with?' If the answer is no, i'd look at it again and tweak it.
| QUOTE (Omer Joel @ Feb 3 2007, 04:17 AM) |
| Dependent Bonus: 5 or 15 BPs A character with the Dependent quality has a loved one who depends on her for support and aid. This could be a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, an old friend or even, in some extreme cases, a pet. The character has to devote time and resources to the care of her dependent; the dependent migt also serve as a point of leverage against the character by her enemies. If this negative quaity is taken at a 5-BP level, it represents a dependent who, while needing the character's suppot in enral, can take care of himself most of the time (examples for this would be unemployd spouses or children beyond the age of 10). At a 15-BP level, the dependent cannot take care of himself, and the character must either tend to the dependent's needs around the clock or hire someone else to do so (examples for this would be young children or very elderly and disabled parents). |
I fiddled around with the Dependent quality a bit. tell me what you think:
Dependent
Bonus: 5. 10, 15 or 20 BP
A character with the Dependent quality has a loved one who depends on her for support and/or aid. This could be a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a pet, an old friend or even, in some extreme cases, an elderly or disabled. The character has to devote time and resources to the care of her dependent; the dependent might also serve as a point of leverage against the character by her enemies.
Examples at BP bonuses:
5 BP: A spouse that is of equal age and autonomous; a fully grown and healthy pet that has automated food and water dispensers in the apartment; a teenager in college.
10 BP: A teenager that is still in school, but is still not yet autonomous, especially financially; a quadriplegic friend that needs maintenance done on his drones on a regular basis.
15 BP: Young children, i.e. preteens; an elderly person that needs a little bit of help around the house and with the bills—their retirement fund isn’t exactly flush or even in existence.
20 BP: A disabled, elderly, or mentally retarded person that needs round-the-clock care/specialized health care/regular medical treatment/exotic medical drugs. Infants and toddlers also go under this level (for obvious reasons).
Note that the level of this Quality can be decreased or increased as time goes by, either by the children maturing (i.e. a 20 BP infant would eventually be downgraded to a 15 BP preteen) or by a character/character’s spouse getting pregnant and giving birth to a 20 BP toddler. In any of these cases, no Karma costs or bonuses are incurred.
EDIT: I changed the 15 BP level a bit after ShadowDragon8685's rather accurate point *is sheepish*
| QUOTE |
| 15 BP: Young children, i.e. preteens; a character that is living a Hospitalized lifestyle on your tab (because you’re such great chummers!) for a period of at least one year (look at it this way: you’ll definitely have a loyalty rating 6 contact when he’s out). |
That's going to be one hell of a tab.
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