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hyzmarca
So, I was surfing Cracked.com when I came across this interesting little article.

Electrosensitivity would be absurdly crippling in Shadowrun, but it doesn't actually exist so we can ignore it.
Sunlight is a commonly used allergy so new discussion on it is unnecessary.
The other four allergies, however, have the potential to ruin the days of some characters. A really sadistic GM could pre-build characters with one of these allergies. A more thoughtful GM could give these allergies to NPCs both friendly and hostile to provide extraction runs with a little spice or give the PCs more tactics against a powerful foe.

First, have exercise or, specifically, physical exertion. Exercise induced anaphylaxis makes the Infirm Quality seem downright merciful, particularly taken at Severe. Any Athletics test, gymnastics melee combat, or even running, would activate the allergy. Characters with this allergy should just be thankful that it is impossible to make a weapon out of exercise. On the other hand, it doesn't present too much trouble to vehicle riggers and couch-potato characters in general.

Then we have the allergy to Cold. Honestly, like allergy to sunlight or any other environmental allergy your mileage varies depending on environment. In the tropics, cold is a hell of a lot easier to avoid than sunlight. In the far North, sunlight is easier to avoid than cold. Any time that cold resistance would be useful, such as being trapped on a tundra by angry Eskimos or trapped in a meat locker by Mafiosos, characters with this allergy are screwed. Weapons to avoid include fire extinguishers, capsule rounds filled with liquid nitrogen, icicle knives, and elemental cold spells. Free points if you're cyberpirating in the Caribbean with Black Jack Savage.

Semen - okay, this really only comes up for pornomancer characters. And most people with semen allergies are only allergic to specific people's semen. Having a character with an allergy to Damien Knight's semen is almost free points unless the GM wants to pull out Firewatch teams with squirt guns full of the stuff. However, it is apparently possible to be alergic to one's own semen, which must totally suck for vampires with that allergy. They can have their prostates removed but doing so would instantly reactivate their regeneration causing their prostates to grow back. This is one of the reasons I prefer the SR3 regeneration rules. If one's GM allows this allergy expect sexual encounters with a certain corporate bigwig to become major plot points.

And most dangerous of all - Water. The water allergy happens to be the single most debilitating allergy anyone could have, even beyond the exercise allergy, particularly at severe. Living on a planet covered with the stuff ain't gonna be fun at all.
Malicant
QUOTE
[...]Weapons to avoid include fire extinguishers[...]

Really? sleepy.gif
Mäx
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 20 2008, 09:48 PM) *
capsule rounds filled with liquid nitrogen,


That is so awesome idea, even to i think that if your hit whit few of these your cold allergy is the least of your problems considering that your pretty much a human popcikle at that moment.
Fleinhoy
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 20 2008, 01:48 PM) *
So, I was surfing Cracked.com when I came across this interesting little article.

Semen - okay, this really only comes up for pornomancer characters. And most people with semen allergies are only allergic to specific people's semen. Having a character an allergy to Damien Knight's semen is almost free points unless the GM wants to pull out Firewatch teams with quirt guns full of the stuff. However, it is apparently possible to be alergic to one's own semen, which must totally suck for vampires with that allergy. They can have their prostates removed but doing so would instantly reactivate their regeneration causing their prostates to grow back. This is one of the reasons I prefer the SR3 regeneration rules. If one's GM allows this allergy expect sexual encounters with a certain corporate bigwig to become major plot points.



You, my friend, is one properly twisted individual; If I ever find myself in you neck of the woods I should get you a beer for that comment.
Aaron
Just to add to the fun, I have a friend that's allergic to his own sweat.
hyzmarca
QUOTE (Malicant @ Jun 20 2008, 02:52 PM) *
Really? sleepy.gif


Most portable fire extinguishers used compressed CO2 under high pressure. Compressed gases tend to be cold and the more you compress them the colder they get. It isn't uncommon for fits of dry ice (frozen CO2), to shoot out of the nozzle. It probably isn't cold enough to severely injure a non-allergic person, though the lack of oxygen that results from standing in a cloud of concentrated CO2 would probably be very harmful.
Malicant
Ah, you were talking about fire extinguishers from the middle ages. My bad. smile.gif
MYST1C
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 20 2008, 09:16 PM) *
Most portable fire extinguishers used compressed CO2 under high pressure. Compressed gases tend to be cold and the more you compress them the colder they get.

Actually, compressing a gas makes it warmer!
But when a gas is stored under pressure and then released, allowing it to expand rapidly, it cools down instantaneously.
You can check this effect when you open a bottle of any carbonated drink - the pressure in the bottle drops, allowing the carbon dioxide to expand and form a pocket of quite cool gas on top of the liquid, often visible as miniature fog (this works well with Coca Cola).
Synner667
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 20 2008, 08:16 PM) *
Most portable fire extinguishers used compressed CO2 under high pressure. Compressed gases tend to be cold and the more you compress them the colder they get. It isn't uncommon for fits of dry ice (frozen CO2), to shoot out of the nozzle. It probably isn't cold enough to severely injure a non-allergic person, though the lack of oxygen that results from standing in a cloud of concentrated CO2 would probably be very harmful.

There are different types of fire extinguisher, you know...
...For different kinds of fire/materials - powder, co2, water, foam.

I've known a couple of people allergic to common water [as in water that you get from taps, etc - not filtered/boiled water]...
...And they suffer - they are allergic to their own sweat, so they don't enjoy warm places, excersiese, spicy food, sex, etc.

It's quite tragic.


There's a tv comedian over here in the UK who's actually allergic to copper, so he gets a rash everytime he handled UK coins.


I knew someone who was allergic to tobacco, and only found out because the women he was dating was a smoker, and he came out in a rash.

Electrosensitivity does exist - wither in the form that sharks have, or the medical condition [wikipedia - "a condition in which a person experiences physical or psychological symptoms, reportedly aggravated by electromagnetic fields or other electromagnetic waves at exposure levels tolerated by the general public"].
hyzmarca
QUOTE (MYST1C @ Jun 20 2008, 04:21 PM) *
Actually, compressing a gas makes it warmer!
But when a gas is stored under pressure and then released, allowing it to expand rapidly, it cools down instantaneously.
You can check this effect when you open a bottle of any carbonated drink - the pressure in the bottle drops, allowing the carbon dioxide to expand and form a pocket of quite cool gas on top of the liquid, often visible as miniature fog (this works well with Coca Cola).


If you want to get technical, compressing a gas reduces its specific heat capacity, causing its temperature to increase, which causes it to lose heat to the environment until its temperature is equalized with the environment's again. Releasing the gas then restores its specific heat capacity to its original value.
Malicant
All technicalities aside, CO2 extinguishers are very limited in application and can easily kill people who are not allergic to cold. I can't remember when I last stumbled upon such an antique over here in the present, so I assume that the future will have even less of them. They are kind of a non-issue if you explode when someone points a Cornetto at you, anyway. grinbig.gif
HeavyMetalYeti
I've used CO2 extinguishers to instantly cool a six pack. Whether it is cold inside the extinquisher or not means nil however you look at it.

As for the semen allergy, it usually involves someone developing the allergy to the specific allergen.

The cold allergy can also cause an asthma type reation.

And the water allergy, we all have it. It's called drowning.
Malicant
QUOTE (HeavyMetalYeti @ Jun 21 2008, 12:22 AM) *
And the water allergy, we all have it. It's called drowning.
You're talking about the "lack of air" allergy most of us have. wink.gif
hyzmarca
QUOTE (HeavyMetalYeti @ Jun 20 2008, 05:22 PM) *
And the water allergy, we all have it. It's called drowning.


Drowning doesn't cause you to develop painful itching rashes upon even slight contact with moisture. Aquagenic Urticaria does.
Stahlseele
and here i tought nerds just avoided water and soap simply because O.o
i REALLY did not know about there being an allergy to something your body is mostly made up from . .
Malicant
The skin is affected, not all of you tissue, so you don't burst out in flames just for drinking, or being made of water, but sweating might already do the trick and trigger some nasty rash.

I'm really glad I'm not allergic to anything (as far as I know at least).
Wounded Ronin
QUOTE (Fleinhoy @ Jun 20 2008, 02:03 PM) *
You, my friend, is one properly twisted individual; If I ever find myself in you neck of the woods I should get you a beer for that comment.


Hyzmarca should make a trashy flash game where you're a scantily clad female elf ninja who must run through a sidescroller while avoiding the attacks of Firewatch guys so armed.
HeavyMetalYeti
What about an addiction instead of allergy to water?

I worked in the Psych ward at the local hospital and had a patient who was an Aquaholic. He literally got drunk on water. I was one-on-one with him on night shift and had to make sure that he didn't drink out of the water fountain, sink or toilet. He could drink tea, coffee, pop even kool-aid, just not plain H2O. Needless to say by the end of my shift after he locked himself in the john to "see a man about a dog" he was staggering around drekfaced.

Any other strange addictions out there in SR or RL?
Kagetenshi
Real allergies tend to be the most abusive IMO, in terms of stuff not having an effect on the character. Shellfish is a little iffy, but unless the GM decides that all soyfood is now served with a side of real clams it's probably not going to come up much. I had a character with an allergy to certain kinds of detergents, which came up all of, I think, twice. So on and soforth.

~J
Kyoto Kid
...had a character allergic to processed soy. Imagine trying to find and "real" foods store open at 2 AM when you get the munchies during a run. grinbig.gif
DTFarstar
Soy is my most common allergy as well. GM kept sending us into the wilderness and since most survival food is pure soy, my character ended up having to buy a couple of ranks in survival just to well... survive. Helps that he was a mage with stunbolt, ignite, and levitate though. Stunbolt deer unconscious from line of sight, levitate it up off the ground and cut it's throat and split it's gut to get the organs to fall out. Set a bush on fire and let it cook.

Chris
Stahlseele
allergy(medium) against dogs paired up with phobia(light) of dogs < = my most used combination . .
just good that the metahuman mind knows two reactions to fear . . flight AND fight *g* . . i once red misted a little poodle with an ares viper clivergun, because he scared me . . yes, i play trolls, why do you ask? *g*
Synner667
QUOTE (Stahlseele @ Jun 21 2008, 10:12 AM) *
allergy(medium) against dogs paired up with phobia(light) of dogs < = my most used combination . .
just good that the metahuman mind knows two reactions to fear . . flight AND fight *g* . . i once red misted a little poodle with an ares viper clivergun, because he scared me . . yes, i play trolls, why do you ask? *g*

Hmmm...
...And the -4 modifier didn't have any effect on your targetting at all ["moderate allergy = intense pain, -4 dice pool to all tests while the character experiences the symptoms"] ??
'Cos with a moderate, your troll should've had some trouble red misting - maybe not red misting, more like occasional splatter.


As a general rule [as repeatedly mentioned in the HERO rules, which has spent decades dealing with with advantage/disadvantage systems], if a disadvantage doesn't cause a disadvantage, it's not really a disadvantage at all.
hobgoblin
QUOTE (HeavyMetalYeti @ Jun 21 2008, 12:22 AM) *
I've used CO2 extinguishers to instantly cool a six pack. Whether it is cold inside the extinquisher or not means nil however you look at it.


was that before or after the mythbusters episode? or would you happen to be adam savage under that yeti fur? silly.gif
DTFarstar
And I refuse to believe it is the GMs responsibility to make you disadvantage one. It IS their job to ride herd on the players and make sure you don't take Allergy(Uncommon, Severe)- Black Lotus Pollen when that can only be found in a small geographic area in Asia(not a real life example I don't think) if they are playing in a Seattle ganger game. The main guideline I use is your player cannot have an allergy to something that they would not have reasonably interacted with before. I want a story. That way, the allergy is already in their general vicinity. I also allow them to give me leave to give them a random allergy. I let them select the point value of it and then I pick one(or more) things worth that amount of points that they will find out about at a later date.

Chris
RunnerPaul
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 20 2008, 02:48 PM) *
Having a character with an allergy to Damien Knight's semen is almost free points unless the GM wants to pull out Firewatch teams with squirt guns full of the stuff.

Obligatory Video Link
Stahlseele
QUOTE (Synner667 @ Jun 21 2008, 11:36 AM) *
Hmmm...
...And the -4 modifier didn't have any effect on your targetting at all ["moderate allergy = intense pain, -4 dice pool to all tests while the character experiences the symptoms"] ??
'Cos with a moderate, your troll should've had some trouble red misting - maybe not red misting, more like occasional splatter.


As a general rule [as repeatedly mentioned in the HERO rules, which has spent decades dealing with with advantage/disadvantage systems], if a disadvantage doesn't cause a disadvantage, it's not really a disadvantage at all.

Shadowrun 3
i don't play 4th
Kagetenshi
QUOTE (Synner667 @ Jun 21 2008, 04:36 AM) *
As a general rule [as repeatedly mentioned in the HERO rules, which has spent decades dealing with with advantage/disadvantage systems], if a disadvantage doesn't cause a disadvantage, it's not really a disadvantage at all.

Because that's totally easy to judge at chargen.

~J
Wounded Ronin
QUOTE (RunnerPaul @ Jun 21 2008, 07:54 AM) *


Holy shit!
Synner667
QUOTE (Stahlseele @ Jun 21 2008, 01:49 PM) *
Shadowrun 3
i don't play 4th

And your point is ??
...A disadvantage has some sort of negative effect, else it's not a disadvantage - just some character point fluff, that justifies whatever you want it to, not really worth anything [the d&d chaotic evil syndrome - "i want a character who does anti-party things, so i'll be chaotic evil and therefore must do those things because it's their alignment"]

QUOTE (Kagetenshi @ Jun 21 2008, 04:07 PM) *
Because that's totally easy to judge at chargen.

Erm, when you choose a disadvantage, you choose frequency and level = the frequency determines how often you encounter the disadvantage...
...So you do know how often you'll encounter it, when generating your char.
Mäx
You do not select the frequency of the allergy just how common the substance is, the player only chooces what he's allergid to and how severe the allergy is and then GM desides how common that substance is in the particular home location for the finall point value.
But how common the substance is doesn't really tell how often your actually going to encounter it during play.
Synner667
Well, in SR4, you have to select uncommon/uncommon = how common the condition/substance is for the local environment [pg 81].

How common it is is only a factor of how common it is in your local environment, which determines how often you'll encounter it - else it's meaningless...
...'Cos I could take vacuum for a very damaging effect and very common [after all, space is BIG] - but that's just being a wanker and having a shit ref.

Obviously, the frequency you select is based on how often it occurs in your local environment [water based allergy when you'll never go near water is not a disadvantage, water based allergy in england [where it rains rather frequently] is a disadvantage]


If a disadvantage does not disadvantage the character, it's not a disadvantage.
Malicant
Allergy to just water is always and everywhere common. The moment you start sweating you trigger it. wink.gif

Also, a negative quality does not need to be a disadvantage. It might be, and that is more then enough. Example: sea water in Seattle. The BBB states this as a common allergy, but even if you take it, you will most certainly never be disadvantaged by it. Unless some Mafia crooks decide you need to sleep with the fishes, but then you'd die anyways.

Seriuosly, if I go by Synner667's definition, only Street Sams would be allowed to take combat paralysis. biggrin.gif
Mäx
QUOTE (Synner667 @ Jun 22 2008, 12:13 PM) *
Well, in SR4, you have to select uncommon/uncommon = how common the condition/substance is for the local environment [pg 81].


I really think that part is for GM not the player to decide, player only selects what they're allergick and how badly they do not get to decide if that substance is common or uncommon(but the book does give giudelines for that)

QUOTE (Synner667 @ Jun 22 2008, 12:13 PM) *
How common it is is only a factor of how common it is in your local environment, which determines how often you'll encounter it - else it's meaningless...


Not necessarily, BBB says that allergy to seawater in Seattle would be common, but if i had a allergy for seawater i would definedly try to tay away from the sea.
Or are you saying that you as a GM would throw me up againf baddies carrying supersoakers loaded with seawater becouse it's you duty as a GM to make the dissadvantage to gome up.
ornot
There are ways to bring stuff up as a GM. Salt water is actually pretty easy. Have a meet at the docks, a water elemental summoned at the coast, a flood. Shellfish is also quite easy. Rule that some common cosmetic uses krill in its manufacture. Make it an effort to find stuff which doesn't use it. Food labelling is not necessarily as good as it is today, since it gets in the way of selling stuff. Obviously you don't make it crippling to the character, but it should come up every so often.

I have a PC with a cat allergy. I ruled it as uncommon, since not so many people have pets in 2070. It got funny when he decided to go loco on the local mafia, broke into the Don's mansion, and then suffered a -2 penalty the entire time he was there because cat hair gets everywhere!

Even more amusing is when he has to meet Tabby (I'm running the Denver SRMs). Being allergic to your fixer is embarrassing.
Rad
Random mooks carrying supersoakers of whatever youre allergic to?

No.

A hit squad armed with your personal kryptonite, courtesy of a pissed off mob boss who did his homework (and bribed your streetdoc).

Absolutely.

Any allergy is a disadvantage--because if anybody finds out...
ArkonC
QUOTE (Rad @ Jun 22 2008, 01:19 PM) *
Random mooks carrying supersoakers of whatever youre allergic to?

No.

A hit squad armed with your personal kryptonite, courtesy of a pissed off mob boss who did his homework (and bribed your streetdoc).

Absolutely.

Any allergy is a disadvantage--because if anybody finds out...

"Right, so our target is allergic to cats, everyone put away your guns and grab a cat."
No, I think not, unless it's severe and actually does damage and, even then, only if it's practical (like silver)...
A severe cat allergy would do 1 damage per turn you manage to rub the cat on him...
My ares predator... Well, you see where this is going...
hyzmarca
QUOTE (ArkonC @ Jun 22 2008, 12:27 PM) *
"Right, so our target is allergic to cats, everyone put away your guns and grab a cat."
No, I think not, unless it's severe and actually does damage and, even then, only if it's practical (like silver)...
A severe cat allergy would do 1 damage per turn you manage to rub the cat on him...
My ares predator... Well, you see where this is going...


Actually, you tie the cat's tail to a handle and hit him with it as hard as you can. Actually, you take two cats, tie their tails together. Your cat nunchucks have a damage code of STR/2 +6 against characters with severe cat allergies and STR/2 +2 against everyone else.
ArkonC
QUOTE (hyzmarca @ Jun 22 2008, 07:37 PM) *
Actually, you tie the cat's tail to a handle and him him with it as hard as you can. Actually, you take two cats, tie their tails together. Your cat nunchucks have a damage code of STR/2 +6 against characters with severe cat allergies and STR/2 +2 against everyone else.

Yeah, and since it can hardly be called a normal weapon, it beats ItNW too! nyahnyah.gif
Stahlseele
QUOTE (Synner667 @ Jun 22 2008, 09:57 AM) *
And your point is ??
...A disadvantage has some sort of negative effect, else it's not a disadvantage - just some character point fluff, that justifies whatever you want it to, not really worth anything [the d&d chaotic evil syndrome - "i want a character who does anti-party things, so i'll be chaotic evil and therefore must do those things because it's their alignment"]


Erm, when you choose a disadvantage, you choose frequency and level = the frequency determines how often you encounter the disadvantage...
...So you do know how often you'll encounter it, when generating your char.

in SR3, Allergy Medium means you have a +1 on all your actions while you're exhibited to your allergen AND it means +2 on the Power-Niveau of WEAPONS Made out of that Allergene . . i allready take allergy to DOGS not to DOG HAIR . . so their bite will hurt more instead of people having to coat their knives with dog-hair . . with the mild phobia of dogs that means a +2 on target number and +2 on attacks made by dogs against the character . . this can get hairy indeed . . i started that with my Cat-Shaman, and of course he had the Spell ALLEVIATE ALLERGY at Force 3 . .
Wounded Ronin
If the mob boss's house is full of cats, call off your assault, abduct his cats, put C4 in their bellies, and remote detonate them when he pets them. talker.gif
Kyoto Kid
QUOTE (DTFarstar @ Jun 21 2008, 12:12 AM) *
Soy is my most common allergy as well. GM kept sending us into the wilderness and since most survival food is pure soy, my character ended up having to buy a couple of ranks in survival just to well... survive. Helps that he was a mage with stunbolt, ignite, and levitate though. Stunbolt deer unconscious from line of sight, levitate it up off the ground and cut it's throat and split it's gut to get the organs to fall out. Set a bush on fire and let it cook.

Chris

...yeah the character in question (3rd ed) also had Survival as well as she used to be a wilderness guide. She however was mundane so had to do it the "old fashioned" way.
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