QUOTE (Heath Robinson @ Jan 10 2009, 03:30 AM)

Larme,
Okay, by the mechanics (and mechanics alone) a Minigun is nothing special.
But we have GMs for a reason. We have rules that say "if something doesn't seem right, arbitrate it" for a reason. The Minigun doesn't need to give you an Intimidate bonus because a Minigun will ensure that you don't need to take Intimidate tests. A mere bonus to intimidate checks implies the possibility of failure. A minigun firing intimidates without fail.
It's like you shouldn't need to get an intimidate bonus for cutting a living person into hunks of meat in front of your target. You really shouldn't be rolling a test then.
No, I disagree. No piece of gear gives you automatic success at any test of any real difficulty, that totally breaks the dice system that the whole world is based on.
And by intimidate, I don't mean "makes people run for cover." That's not being intimidated, per the system. Per the system, when you make a successful intimidation roll, people will be cowed, they will do what you say, and they will be afraid to attack you. When you point a minigun at them, surely they will run away, but that's not because they're too afraid to stand their ground, it's because they'd be stupid to stand their ground. Once they take cover, the minigun is no longer that dangerous to them, they can sneak around, outflank you, and cap you in the head. That's not called being intimidated, that's called a firefight.
If a charismatic person (like a social adept) points his light pistol at five people and says "freeze or I'll cap each and every one of you in the brainpain," those people are going to freeze, and they'll probably follow the adept's instructions. They're peeing their pants not because they're afraid of the gun, but because they're afraid of the wieldier. If a charisma 1 troll pulls out a minigun and yells "don move, breedahs!" instead of obeying, those five people will run their asses off and take cover. They might be afraid, but they're not Intimidated, they can freely act and they won't do anything that the trog says.
The same goes for cutting someone up. Of course it's not an automatic success. If you carve someone up to intimidate someone else, and you pass your test, the other person will be whimpering, crying, begging for their life... They'll tell you whatever you want to know, just don't hurt them! If you fail your test, they'll say "fuck you, you sick bastard! You just killed Larry! I'll never tell you shit, you can gut me if you want but I don't care, I'll never do what you say you fucking bastard!" Because you failed your test, they're enraged, not terrified, by what you just did. Because instead of doing it in a scary, intimidating way, you did it in a gross, inhuman way. That's what the dice are for. Automatic success is not something that exists, unless it's something stupidly easy like getting out of your car, or walking down stairs, or convincing a store clerk to let you have your smokes even though you're 3 cents short.