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TargetPractice
Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster. Well to make a long story short, I need a form of ranged combat for my character. My group had its first game last night and after 3 grenades in the right direction the GM asked me to pick a new ranged combat focus. Here are some details:

Ork
Physical Adept
Martial Artist (original I know spin.gif)
Rather good stealther (really pushing the boundries of creativity there twirl.gif )
And pretty much the stealther/BE/silent killer type.

He is a grade 2 Initiate with Centering and Infusion

The powers that are currently taken are

Improved Ref 2 (2.25) G
Combat Sense 1 (.75) G
Improved Stealth 4 (.75) G
Improved Martial Arts 6 (2.25) G
Killing Hands S (1.5) G
Blind Fighting (.5) G



My martial art is Pitfighting (IE brawling) with the maneuvers of Evasion, Disorient, and Close Combat.

if in melee I use a stun glove on my fists (gm fiat works with killing hands) [also not allowed to dual wield a stun glove with another stunglove)

So in short I'm looking for another vector for ranged attack, that I would rather not be pistols. I just don't get the feeling with the character. I was thinking maybe a carbine that is rather silenced, but the concealibility is down. I also have the skills to have a B/R of 5 in that weapon, also a Chemistry of 5, Demolitions of 4, Electronics(&B/R) 4. I'm just running out of ideas for a ranged attack, grenades are out of the question, and I have a little leeway with ammunition creation(no APDS but I was able to construct a grenade based on firing multiple taser lines at once and using the battery from a multi flash pack). So if you could help he I would truly be grateful. (BTW this is basically the 1 week rewrite allowed in all of our games)

wink.gif
Grimtooth
Why do you need to "refocus" your character? If the gm allowed it in the first place i would think its his/her problem not yours.

Re-vamping a character just because you either got lucky or used the skills you have to the fullest extent is the way the game gets played.

If your gm can't cope, it sounds like he/she should gm a different game.
TheScamp
With Chemistry, why not use a SuperSquirt loaded with the drug/poison of your choice? Granted, it's considered a light pistol, but it's concealable and powered by CO2, so it's not loud, either.

QUOTE
If your gm can't cope, it sounds like he/she should gm a different game.

The GM is coping. He/she is saying, "Woah, I made a mistake, and didn't realize the full ramifications of what I allowed."
TargetPractice
Because we both tend to believe that grenades tend to slow down combat.
Grimtooth
or speed it up depending on the throw eek.gif


I didn't mean to come across pissy on that last remark, but i've been in the same situation. I didn't make the player revamp the character. I revamped my idea about how combat would go with the new variable.

Limit quantities available, give them to the opposition too, mark the player in LoneStar databases and put him under surveillance.

Catsnightmare
Well with ranged weapons as an adept there's always the Missile Mastery power open to you and dikote shurikens, that combination gives you a total +3 Power and +1 Damage Level to shuriken.
If you want better range than that you'll have to settle for the nonlethal approach. Billard/cue balls do the same base damage as shuriken (stun damage instead of lethal) but use the same range as aerodynamic grenades. Missile Mastery still adds +2 Power to that.
Also if you have access to it, Target: Awakened Lands has rules for boomerangs. I read them at a glance at my FLGS and Adepts w/Missile Mastery can do some cool drek with boomerangs.
Kremlin KOA


----------
non grenade thrown weapons, go for missile mastery... and use shuriken... reusable and lethal in your hands
------------

It seems cat beat me to punch, oh cat you might want to realiza that shuriken have the same range as aerodynamic grenades.
Canid13
WHat about throwing knives? They're relatively easy to come across, and even a normal knife can be thrown in a pinch.

Though I'm with the others, of the GM made a mistake he shouldn't make you rewrite the character. But I also concede that grenades without a grenade link are a tad tough on the GM - course he could pass this on to you to track (I did, and it worked, though the PC wasn't awakened and did eventually plan on SM2).
Catsnightmare
While throwing knives are more readily available I left them out because of their slightly shorter range than shuriken, and IIRC regular knives have an even shorter range than throwing knives. Since you were looking to replace grenades I figured you'd want something with comparable range (while not using guns) so I went the best I could find range-wise, thus shurikens and billard balls.

Though now that I go back and look, bows and crossbows surpass even aerodynamic grenade ranges, another option you could look into.
Canid13
Ah, a martial artist adept with a Ranger-X bow. How original :oP

Seriously, it's a pretty darn good idea, esp since you can get a laser for it as well as some of the new power and quickdraw. Definately a good way to go.
Catsnightmare
QUOTE (Kremlin KOA)


It seems cat beat me to punch, oh cat you might want to realiza that shuriken have the same range as aerodynamic grenades.

Is that an errata I missed? According to the BBB pg 111 shuriken have a much shorter range than that of aerodynamic grenades as listed on pg 119.
TargetPractice
Well, I'm allowed to revamp skill choices also, so it doesn't have to be throwing weapons, I could go bow. I just don't like to use pistols for the character, it doesn't suit the mental image. And concealibility would be a plus, does anyone know if you could coat a Ranger-X bow in ruthenium and if that would help the concealibility any?
Kremlin KOA
my mistake, was thinking 2nd ed
twofalls
QUOTE (Grimtooth)

Limit quantities available,  give them to the opposition too, mark the player in LoneStar databases and put him under surveillance.

I'm sorry friend, I can't agree with you on this one. Allowing a player a neat skill and then nerfing it by limiting the availability of the materials needed to use the skill because of in game issues with it isn't the way to resolve a problem respectfully. GM's make mistakes, and having a sit down conversation after the session with the players and discussing the issue is the only way to go. Everyone gets their say, and a decision can be reached by consensus. This way no one need fear that the GM is going to arbitrarily punish them for coming up with effective twists in the game.
Crimson Jack
QUOTE (twofalls)
QUOTE (Grimtooth)

Limit quantities available,  give them to the opposition too, mark the player in LoneStar databases and put him under surveillance.

I'm sorry friend, I can't agree with you on this one. Allowing a player a neat skill and then nerfing it by limiting the availability of the materials needed to use the skill because of in game issues with it isn't the way to resolve a problem respectfully.

Agreed. Nerfing blows. The best way I can think of to handle this kind of situation is to create situations where using said weapons or skills needs to be done with caution (ie. don't throw grenades in a fuel dump, where the X is the runners need to obtain) or escalating the runs into a higher danger level (but also increasing the rewards to compensate).

Everyone walks away feeling good about the story that way. The GM gets to run a trickier or tougher run and the players feel like they not only earned their just rewards, but didn't get cheated out of their characters' full potentials.

I made this mistake once by allowing everyone in a new campaign I started too much karma and leeway upon chargen. Rather than nerf everyone, I just made the game tougher for them. Everyone is happy.
toturi
Frankly, I never had this problem. Too much power to the players, I mean. I've always had only Priority or BP 120/123 in my games. Any thing Canon goes. Personally, I feel the game system is such that it is unnecessary to worry overmuch on how powerful or how munched a PC is. If a player is cocky becuase his PC is so munched, inevitably he'll bite off more than he can chew and that is not counting the villian of the piece.

Anyway, when I run my games, I always tell my players that anything goes as long as it is Canon, but if they munch and find things aren't challenging, I remind them that it is the same way IRL. IF you are good, things are eas(ier).
Edward
You probably would have found grenades limiting anyway. They are great in open arias or when your wanting to make a mess but they are loud (security 2 blocks down just went on alert) and have a nasty tendency of doing structural damage (depending what type you use) and then there are sympathetic explosions (even if you retuse it to only caused by fire spells) if your carrying enough grenades to call it a specialty.

As to the originality of using any specific weapon I doubt there is a weapon in SR that has not been used for enough adepts to make it a bit old. Shuriken, billiard balls, throwing knives. They have all been done before and will be done again. If you have a good personality behind the character there is no shame in using a weapon combo that has been used before.

I would choose throwing weapons and keep the grenades “for special occasions” they work great if you can get them under a car.

Edward

Ps I thought the complaint was the annoyance of tracking grenades not the power of them.
Kremlin KOA
densiplast toothpicks hasn't been used all that often
toturi
Heads. Where there are people, there are always heads.

Rome: Total War. Head Hurlers. biggrin.gif
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