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Post by wolflet59 on Jun 26, 2009 5:50:15 GMT -5
Have a look in Universal Gamesroom - Game mechanics - Practical Stuff gives a rundown on barriers magloks rippywire an such
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 13, 2009 20:44:15 GMT -5
Thinking about dice pools...
How come mage's don't have a spirit pool? We have pools for everything else.
Spell Astral Astral Combat
Most dice pools are universal. Combat dice pool do everything a sam needs Deckers get Hacking dice which do everything they need to do. You see where i am going, so why do mage's have so damn many dice pools? Each pool is for something else. I can only think of one answer.
Someone REALLY over thought the magic system.
My final question is obvious.
Wouldn't one "magic" pool be simpler and make more sense?
This is something I've thought about over the years, what really gets me is even a straight conjurer doesn't get spirit dice but a straight spell caster gets spell pool.
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 13, 2009 23:49:29 GMT -5
After giving this some thought I've come up with two possible ideas.
#1 Add a spirit pool using the formula INT + CHA + MAG / 3 it's the same for the spell poll cept with CHA instead of WIL
#2 A universal magic pool using the formula INT + CHA +WIL /3 +init grade The idea here is this pool could be used for any magical test including astral perception.
Remember the astral pool is for non magical style tasks and astral percp. It gets bigger as you init so it makes seanse to simply add it to the unaversal style pool. Peronsly I like #2 as it address's the too many pools problem.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 14, 2009 6:58:36 GMT -5
Magic pools
I think they split up the astral because scrapping with spirits could easily trash a mage if they wanted to cast spells and engage with a spirit - I spoze they were being nice.. or expecting big spirits..
so yes I recon they cobbled together stuff.
You could use astral pool I suppose - that is the realm of spirits - and there would be little to adjust. It would keep it simple and relevant !
a new pool could cause problems crossing over into other storylines.
Just to throw more sabot in.. There is also a task pool - a research pool they introduces for the encephalon cyber headware.. grrrr good idea but why not have that for any longer term task?
what do people think?
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 14, 2009 16:27:41 GMT -5
I knew someone was going to bring the task pool up. Thats another problem all together, Here's what I am saying. Awakened chars dont have a real pool like the other archetypes.
Combat, Hacking and control pool's cover EVERYTHING their archetype needs them for. Mage/Shaman pools cover half their skills. Unless your a spell caster or a astral pit fighter the pools are useless.
We dont need FOUR DIFFERENT POOLS! We need ONE POOL that works like THE OTHER POOLS.
TASK POOL: This, yet another pool, is meant to augment normal skills. At this point there are too many pools all together. It's neet to see a pool for normal skills beyond karma pool but they make this one really hard to get a hold of. Which is understandable we have so many already. Again the task pool follows the same criteria and other pools. It comes in two different flavors but mostly it's universal among mundane skills.
That's what I am lobbying for, for the awakened. We should have a universal pool as well instead of four that do damn near nothing. So sammys, deckers and riggers get all their bets covered and mages only get a hand full. .....
I'm sorry, that's just broken/bullshit.
-and it's not like it'll over power us and make us invincible nor is it ultra abuse-able any more so then any other pool. I think it actually fix's the problem. In terms of pools mage/shaman are pretty much crippled compared to the other archetypes and their pools.
I also don't see why my magic rating should have anything to do with my "fate/luck"
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Post by wombat on Jul 15, 2009 1:16:38 GMT -5
i didn't realize magic users were broken / handicapped - they seem to be doing just fine
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Post by Blackout on Jul 15, 2009 3:03:56 GMT -5
Agreed.
Also, combat pool isn't a sammie pool, everyone gets a combat pool. Sammies don't actually get a pool of their own, they're not special enough.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 15, 2009 7:07:30 GMT -5
You could use astral pool for cunjouring - summoning and banishing... but anything to do with the astral like viewing wouldnt get the dice just like combat pool doesnt add to spotting things.
the difference would be that control of smaller spirits would be made easier as you could call on more dice to create a better effect . for bigger F6+ spirits it may just give you that extra bit that you needed to sway the large spirit's opinion
(You could always use a complementary skill which will not be as effective especially at higher TNs.. trying to get two 10s is a lot harder than getting just one.. so that is where the benefit will come in)
Combat pool is for combat only - an extra something which you can draw on to save your life - not for other useful skills - this is where I would suggest that 'creating the artwork' will always work when given time and resources - any dice rolls would be there to indicate some special quality.
things like creating a forgery will then be pitted against the opponent's skill which is why I put out general guidelines for how effective a set of opponents will be. Some Punx will have a very high int or will have worked as a security lookout - you may argue that they should have a skill of 5 or 6 .. I suggest that their natural talents have been crushed underfoot and they can't be arsed or they are spaced out bringing their effective 'talent' to 2 for a streetpunk. Otherwise they would be regarded as a streetpunk 'boss'
the Magic value gauges how in tune you are with mana
fundementally they tried to creat all things for all people and missed out on chunks here and there.
Personally you ought to have one pool depending on your professional calling which wold be indicated by your skills to be used for a variety of opposed tasks. Base them on your best attributes usually high str body or int.. individuals could easily justify why... but that would be changing the current rules which although I think are cobbled together in some areas do tend to work.
so far two replies are not convinced mages need the pool in order to dismiss powerful enemy spirits more easily!
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 15, 2009 20:29:39 GMT -5
"Astral Pool dice can be used for any test made while on the astral plane or metaplanes, except for Magical Skill Tests." MITS pg 58
It's use is very limited but if everyone feels we're fine then there's no point in saying anything else.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 16, 2009 7:19:08 GMT -5
OK use Astral pool to deal with spirit-style things.. as you are interracting with the spirit diectly
it wouldnt be available for perception tests but would be for any conjour skills.. seems reasonable..
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 27, 2009 5:00:42 GMT -5
Ghouls - I have been very taken by 'Fallout' representation.. those who have retained their mind since their change and those who have gone feral.
The small communities of ghoul who still retain their human traits will live on the edge of society being a runner for all intents and purposes - you can deal with these people if you need to..
Feral ghouls have lost their minds becoming vicious scavengers.. you will find the feral ghouls are elusive - they do not like being disturbed and tend to avoid habited areas. Could be something to do with their hightened senses... there are a lot of them around lurking in those places that people tend to avoid.. so Runners tend to come across them.
They are known to attack when suprised or cornered - preferring to slink out of sight and avoid people. they are carrion-eaters but will kill smaller creatures to survive. They need human /meta flesh or blood as they degenerate over time without it. This is due to them having what is like a leukimea but human tissue can be absorbed readily and will rapidly replenish their own damaged or withered tissues.
They lose much of their inhibitions and can become frenzied when fresh human blood is available or when in packs. Often hunter squads will bait an area with blood paks like they used to do to attract sharks to draw in ghouls and collect the meagre bounty on them.
The lone ghoul hunters use tasar armour - a rubberised membrane under the anti stab vest giving them a 4/2 armour vs electricity/ slashing.. rather than any ballistic protection. alongside this they carry stun stix and tasar rounds which tend to be very effective especially in the watery sewers.
The thinking ghouls have attempted to distance themselves from these feral creatures by calling them zombies. Clinical trials suggest that after a year of not consuming fresh (ish) body products the civilised ghoul brain deteriorates to an animalistic level.
Dont be fooled by 'animalistic' these things have a cunning and an aptitude at remaining out of sight and detection. They tend to go to ground - crawling into burrows or remaining underwater for long periods. They are strong and resistant to a whole range of things which will kill an unprotected human. Gas poison toxins radiation are known to be less effective on these creatures.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 27, 2009 5:01:55 GMT -5
That is my overview of them - nothing has been completely nailed down though - please feel free to add or remove any of these 'potentials' through discussion...
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 27, 2009 9:48:07 GMT -5
I was under the impression there were three drones. Two in the air and one on the ground that was powering up. I pictured it as being some kind of arm drone.
Ghouls:
Critters is a free source book so I believe I can reproduce articles from it: Critters defines ghouls as:
Ghouls are metahumans infected with the Krieger strain of the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus (HMHVV). The virus causes the victim to lose all body hair. The skin becomes a rough, scabrous hide, and the fingers elongate, with the nails hardening into claws. Teeth become sharper and more pronounced, while the eyes develop a white film of cataracts. The transformation often destroys the intellect of the victim, but many ghouls remain quite intelligent.
Ghouls feed on the flesh of metahumans, along with other animals. They tend to hunt in packs of anywhere from six to twenty. They live in isolated areas apart from humans and metahumans, but close enough for them to feed on the dead. Graveyards, mortuaries, and illegal chop shops are common ghoul haunts.
B Q S C I W E R 7 5 x 4 6 1 4 5 5Z 4
Attacks: Humanoid Powers: Enhanced Senses (Smell, Hearing), Pestilence (Krieger HMHVV). Some also have Magical Skills. Weaknesses: Allergy (Sunlight, Mild), Reduced Senses (Blind, or nearly so) Notes: West African ghouls, called sasabonsam, have extreme- ly long legs and arms and can run on all fours as easily as on two legs (x 5 running multiplier). Filipino ghouls, known as busaw, exhibit Allergy (Citric Acid, Moderate).
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 27, 2009 9:58:07 GMT -5
When you marry these ideas together one thing becomes quite clear. Everywhere is different. What applies to ghouls in Seattle doesn't ring true for ghouls in japan or Africa.
Also note that the Z next to the essence indicates ghoul are "duel beings" which means they can't turn their astral sight off. This in turns means they don't suffer the normal +2 penalty. Their simply used to it and this servers to make them very dangerous to mages and other astral beings. Even though their blind or damn near, their astral trackers which makes them almost imposable to get away from.
The biggest weakness ghouls have seem to have is spirits since they act faster when only on the astral plane. Projecting mages are also problems for ghouls since you can nail them with astral combat from afar and with 3 or 4 actions per turn a mage with descent astral offensive ability can really rip'em down.
You don't need to be able to cast spells to use sorcery for astral combat. So almost all ghouls are going to have sorcery 1-3 for purposes of astral combat. Being a ghoul is a hard lifestyle like being a runner, adepts/mages and shaman would have 3+
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Post by Crimson D on Jul 27, 2009 10:24:41 GMT -5
Ghouls and cyberware:
Ghouls are always feeding to keep their body up, for lack of better explanation. Whether or not a implant works depends on the condition of that area of the body. Perhaps ghouls with implants must eat even more to keep their body "alive" enough to power and interact with a implant. If their body degrades too much a surgeon might have to come in and help but who wants to open up something with a highly contagious disease?
Since implants are paid for with essence it might even be fair to allow healing magic to correct the problem. Provided the ghoul ate enough before hand to support that area of his body.
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