QUOTE (Umidori @ Aug 1 2013, 12:48 PM)

I'd like to also echo the above sentiment regarding Critter Powers, they don't seem all that different than SR4 except that they seem to operate more cleanly and are more precisely worded.
That was mostly the goal.
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One quirk I've noted is that Hardened Armor doesn't resolve ties between the DV of the attack and the Hardened Armor value. If the DV is less than the armor, the attack fails. If the DV is greater than the armor, roll to resist (with the bonus Armor and automatic hits). But what do we do if the DV matches the armor?
Yeah, that's my fault. The author's intent was for the tie to go to the defender (if adjusted DV is less than or equal to the Hardened Armor rating, the attack fails). This has been submitted as errata.
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I have noticed that the wording for Dietary Requirement has changed, becoming very vague. Whereas before it was 5% of the critter body weight per week, now it's listed as "Unless specified in the critter’s description, it needs at least one meal per day, appropriate to its size and metabolism." That's a lot more finicky, and I can see some epic arguments coming about because of that wording.
That one wasn't my fault, though. It was changed in editing, in order to avoid some of the wrangling you're foreseeing. We'll see how it works out.
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Out of curiosity, I looked at the Critter listings for Ghouls and Vampires. Neither have any special specification in their description, so I can only assume that means they need to feed at least once daily.
Yep. Neither of them has to spend all day/night gorging in order to survive.
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Which raises the question for them - what size meal is "appropriate to (their) size and metabolism"? Does a vampire need to do a classic metahuman neck-bite feeding once a day, or can he get away with nothing more than a literal cup of Joe in the evening? Alternatively, could a vampire wake up and maybe have a tall, refreshing glass of goat's blood to start their day, and maybe only drink actual Metahuman blood once or twice a week?
Vampires can survive on donated blood stolen/purchased from hospitals or blood banks. As you noted in your breakdown, about a pint and a half a night, or two of the Dr Peppers I've knocked off since this morning, is enough to satisfy the Dietary Requirement weakness. Will it give you all the calories you need to do your thing all day? Not even close, but that's been handwaved away for decades in the popular media. Magic helps keep them going.
Ghoul feedings are pretty equivalent. I think I calculated once that it was about two decent-sized cheeseburgers worth a day. Ghouls at least can eat other raw meat; only a portion of it has to be metahuman flesh. Vampires, as noted above, have other issues, but I carry on the fine tradition of ignoring that.
That's how I would run it. I think part of the reasoning behind the wording was to give the GM a little more fine control over what constituted enough at his table.
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Oh, and the new Essence Loss by Power Usage? That's harsh, man. I sure hope that Infected will be cheaper to "buy" at chargen when they're released in 5E, because in 4E the extreme BP costs made it so that you relied on your powers to even just survive long enough to catch up with normal characters in terms of viability. Now, if you use Fear on four different guards in a run, you lose an entire point of Essence! What the flying fig!
Life's hard in the big city. I made Essence Drain a bit more useful, if that helps you at all. But I think you know where I stand in terms of Infected PCs. We'll still have them, but iI don't see it being any easier out of the gate. I don't know how that's all gonna shake out just yet, because I haven't written all of those rules yet.
Yeah, it's harsh. It was meant to be. I made some things easier, but some things...not so much.