From: flashlife@amd.com
Reply-To: flashlife@amd.com
Errors-To: flashlife-control@amd.com
Subject: Flashlife   V2 #4
To: flashlife@amd.com

From: Carl Rigney (moderator) <flashlife-control@amd.com>


Flashlife  Wed, 24 Apr, 1991   Volume 2 : Issue 4

Today's topics:

  Re: Artistic skills:  Too much detail? (ANANDA)
  New concentrations and specializations for skills (ANANDA)
  Ghosts (Mary Kuhner)
  Dragonbreath (Christopher Gulledge)
  How to make players think? (Christopher Gulledge)
  Re: Fire & making players think (Carl Rigney)
  Re: How to make players think (Christopher Gulledge)
  Imaging Systems / Essence Rebuilding (Robert Hayden)
  Shadowrun ideas (Andrew David Weiland)

----------------------------------------------------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 15:11 CST
From: ANANDA%BSU.DECNET@MSUS1.BITNET
Subject: Re: Artistic skills:  Too much detail?

>> is me
> is Carl

>>Instrumental music
>>(conc) instrument family--e.g. saxaphone, clarinet, flute, guitar,
>>       synth, etc.
>>(spec) specific instrument--e.g., atlo sax, bass guitar, etc.

>[I think you're getting into too much detail - Music is a skill,
>vocal or instrumental is a concentration, guitar is a specialization. 

To make the stucture you propose analagous to something else:  weapons
should be a skill, firearms or gunnery a concentration, and pistols a
specialization.  Specific weapons?  Well, that would be "too much
detail."  

As far as the guitar--how many people who are good lead guitarists
would be just as good a bass guitarist?  Not many, a couple of band
members told me.  Similarly, the Phantom character who is skilled in
operatic singing would not do particularly well in a chromer band, as
the styles are simply too different.

>Likewise writing.  TV writing in 2050 is a cross between computer
>skill and Etiquette(Media).  Other tastes may differ.  

My reporter character's player happens to be an English major--and she
violently disagrees with this.  Computer skill is "understanding 
computer technology and programming", and etiquette (media) is
"functioning in the subculture without appearing out of place," i.e.
knowing how to do and say the right things around media types. 
Neither of these includes much creativity, nor actual skill at writing
something that will catch a viewer's attention.
	[Yes, that's why I said journalism in 2050 is computer and
	 etiquette/media.  Media doesn't want creativity, it wants
	 ratings.  Your mileage may differ, as I say.]

Seriously, in a campaign with a rocker, a reporter, a theatre-type who
is skilled in operatic singing, a decker, a mage, and a street sam, I
*need* to have the same level of detail and specialization in artistic
skills as in combat skills.  

Ananda

ananda%bsu.decnet@msus1.msus.edu  /ananda%bsu@msus1.msus.edu \__if the .decnet 
ananda%bsu.decnet@msus1.bitnet    \ananda%bsu@msus1.bitnet   /  causes problems


--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 15:12 CST
From: ANANDA%BSU.DECNET@MSUS1.BITNET
Subject: New concentrations and specializations for skills

>[You can buy a second concentration for the same price as the first,
>although its more cost effective just to buy the general skill
>instead.  --CDR]

What about Etiquette, where you are required to get a concentration?
	
	[The general skill of Etiquette can't be used itself, but you
	 can buy it up and then buy concentrations from that.]

My players and I have come up with several new concentrations and
specializations for skills.  

Unarmed Combat
	Fist-fighting (brawling, boxing)
	Throws
	Grapple is renamed Wrestling (take-downs, holds, escapes)
Electronics
	Security systems (while it is true that many security systems are
		tied into a computer, there are many that aren't...)
Interrogation
	Verbal (interviewing)
	Machine-aided (torture) (sick, I know, but just the thing for your
		next cyberpsycho npc who is determined to get that tidbit of
		info that your players didn't know they had...)

	[ Umm, how about lie detectors and veracity scanners?
	  Torture is Interrogation (Coercive), not (Machine Aided). --CDR]

	Physical threat (interrogation via intimidation)

	[ We usually just consider this as "defaulting to Strength" :-) --CDR]

Negotiation
	Bargain (haggling, barter)
	Con (duping someone; presuading someone to do something they
		normally wouldn't do)
Ettiquette
    Military
    Government
    "Underworld" (Yakuza, Mafia, Seoulpa rings, inter-group relations)
    Media (Journalists, Rockers, (other) Musicians, Actors, etc.)

Military and Government specializations include:
	specific branches or departments
	inter-branch or department relations
	local- or state-level groups 

About the "Underworld" concentration:  Although arguments can be made
to  include this under the Street concentration, the different groups
listed as specialization possibilities are highly organized and have
their own rules of conduct, which are very different from the rules of
ettiquette that would apply to gangs and other Street elements.  This
would seem to argue for the various mob groups to be specializations
of the Corporate concentration.  However, the primarily illegal and
extra-legal orientation of the mob groups does not fit the Corp.
concentration.  Making "underworld" its own concentration solves these
problems.  (We do need a better name for this one.)

	[I allow the Mafia/Yakuza/Seoulpa to be concentrations, or you
	 can default to Street but won't know as much detail.  Knowing
	 you the Mafia operates tells you very little about Yakuza.
	 I also allow specialization from Street to any of the three,
	 or a particular gang, etc.  You can also specialize in a particular
	 gang from Tribal.]

Languages
	Romance family:  add Latin.

While it may be true that not all of these concentrations or
specializations will ever be needed, writing them up before they are
needed is a good way for me to help maintain consistency.
	
--
Ananda
ananda%bsu.decnet@msus1.msus.edu  /ananda%bsu@msus1.msus.edu \__if the .decnet 
ananda%bsu.decnet@msus1.bitnet    \ananda%bsu@msus1.bitnet   /  causes problems


--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 91 19:18:48 -0700
From: Mary Kuhner <mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu>
Subject: Ghosts

>From: Kent Jenkins <jenkins@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu>
>So, although this is a rather vague question, what are Ghosts in Shadowrun and
>how do you handle them?
>I would imagine conjuring one specific spirit out of many would take a lot of
>effort.  Then again, are Ghosts strictly spirits, because if they are Mages
>can't conjure them.

I have two rather different answers, from characters in the same
campaign; and I imagine there are others.  It's not so well formalized
as calling on spirits of place or of the elements, mainly because it is
much more chancy--and, often, destructive of the magician.

Not many mechanics here, I'm afraid; as a player I try not to learn too
much more than my characters know.

--

Yakeel is a shaman of the Yoruba tribe in Africa.  Her opinion on
ghosts:

You have to understand about ghosts and Ancestors.  When one of the
People dies, their spirit goes to join the Ancestors in their realm.  A
shaman can go there and come back alive [via a spirit journey] but this
is not something to do lightly, because there is always a price for it.
The Ancestors watch over the People, especially their own descendants,
but they are not the kind of spirits that a shaman can call to this
world.  At least, I have never met anyone who could.  Magic that calls
on them, like the warpaint we used to avenge the destruction of the
village, sends the person who uses it to their realm.  That is where
their power is.  Their power in this world is through the living, their
children; though sometimes in great need they will send help in dreams.

Now ghosts are another matter altogether.  They are the spirits of men
who did not reach the realm of the Ancestors--because they were too evil
in life, or too caught up in what caused their death.  A man whose son
killed him, or a man who dabbled in black magic, he might become a ghost.
A man who killed his own child might become a ghost.  I know that a
shaman could learn to call up such spirits from the place they haunt,
but if you did that you would be prolonging their evil--it gives the
ghost power, calling on it and making it important in this world again.
The true spirits might turn against you if you did this.  The thing to
do with ghosts is send them away [banishment] before they can hurt the
living, for that is all they can do.  There is no good in a ghost,
except as a warning about what not to do.

I think a sorceror could learn to call ghosts too--probably using not 
the place of death, but something that belonged to the dead person, and 
using a big ritual the way sorcerors do.  But it would be just as bad for
a sorceror to do this as it would for me.  If you depend on ghosts, you will 
lose power in this world, because the ghosts will take it from you.  And 
your own spirit will not live among the ancestors.

--

Ratty is a shaman of Seattle, from no discernable tradition--taught
magic by the spirits of the streets at the Awakening.  But no one will
deny that he knows about ghosts.

Only the spirits can teach you to call spirits; you can study all you
want, but nothing will happen if they don't choose you.  And only the
ghosts can teach you to summon ghosts, as far as I know.  They taught
me.

There was a burned-out place in Redmond haunted by Chalker and his gang,
who had been enemies of ours, but honorable ones, and were killed by an
enemy of both who had no honor at all.  A friend of mine saw one of them
at twilight, and told me about it.  I was desperate for help, and I went
there, to the ruins, at night.  I asked the spirit of the place to lead
me to the spot where the ghosts were strongest, and sat and waited for
them.

Chalker came to me, and we made a bargain--his power for my use, my aid
for his revenge.  He gave me a porcelain dog that carried his power and
his gang's, a bit of each of them that I could call on.  He told me
there would be a price for this aid, but that he did not think it would
be beyond my bearing.

He was wrong, and it almost killed me, to be a shaman of the Rat and
bound to the ghosts.  I hadn't understood what they were.  I thought
they were men, dead men lingering.

They are not; they are spirits, they have their own realm.  Chalker's
gift opened that place to me, and when I had mastered it I could call up
the spirits of the dead.  But like all spirits they ask everything from
those who serve them; they make you like themselves.  I had to do a
fearful thing to save myself.  I went journeying in dreams, and I came
to a place where I could only agree to help Chalker, laying down my
totem, or follow the path of my totem, laying aside the power of the
dead.  And I would not choose either way, and there was no other path
from there except into death.  I found the power in myself to bind
Chalker to my will, and it didn't change anything.  I could not do both,
and I was promised to both.

So I chose to die.

I was needed here, and the Rat spared me; I could not have saved myself
after I did that.

I wish I had known Chalker as a man.  He was a good healer and a loyal
friend, a shaman of the Dog totem like my teacher.  The ghost is not
that.  He gave the power of healing to me in his gift, for he could not
use it himself; no power to heal or make grow, only to kill and terrify.
I have sat at his feet and asked him to teach me, but he will not; only
of vengeance and the ways to vengeance.  Death took the man.  What is
left is like a spirit of vengeance, with one purpose only.  If I can do
what I promised him I would do he will be no more, and I will be glad.

To call up a ghost there must *be* a ghost; many men leave no such
thing.  And the caller must have a tie to the realm they live in, 
as Chalker gave to me with his gift.  I did not summon him, that first
time; could not.  It was more that he summoned me.  I could summon him
now, or even bind him, because I am part of that place, part of the
lands at the edge of death.  I will be glad to be done with that too.  I
swore to the Rat that I would give it up when the need was past.

A sorceror could have done what I did.  Her power would be
different from mine; probably to conjure a ghost in the circle and bind
it, and then call on its services later.  I do not know what the price
would be for someone like that.  I've never seen it done.

Someone not mageborn, like Jayhawk, would be possessed if they
tried it; that would be the only way the ghosts could act through
someone without the gift to use magic.  I drove off the ghost that tried
to take Jayhawk, but if she had been entirely willing maybe I would have
failed.

But if the link is there, it is simple enough.  You need a place where 
the person lived, or a thing they made, or a bit of their body--that's
easiest.  And you call as you might call a spirit.

If the ghost hates you, it will fight against you, and if it wins it
will force you to serve its hatred.  When we had killed Lefty I called
up his ghost to learn the codes that would destroy his allies, and he
almost took me.  [An opposed success test, the ghost's Force against an
appropriate stat or skill of the conjuror--Conjury itself, or Will, or
Charisma, depending on how you imagine the contest to work.]  It is very
unsafe to conjure a ghost that hates you.

It is not safe to conjure them at all.  When a witch learned of
Chalker and took her circle to try to banish him, he called me onto the
spirit plane and to him, to defend him.  I had no power to refuse.

I can sacrifice them, the ghosts of Chalker and his gang, to aid my
spells [for automatic successes].  I will know their names all my life,
the ones I sacrifice.  I could not do this if they were not willing to
aid me, but that doesn't make it seem any better.  

I killed some of those people myself, before their enemy, our enemy,
threw the switch that killed them all.

I wonder if they will let me go when it is over.

--
Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@genetics.washington.edu


--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 91 2:01:17 EDT
From: thanatos@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Christopher Gulledge)
Subject: Dragonbreath

One thing that has puzzled me is what do Dragons use as a skill for
their breath weapons? Essence is the only thing I can figure to use.
Also with elementals, do you use force or quickness for their attack?
The book says force but some times I wonder. And flame projection, A
force three fire elemental could not hurt a five year old with flame
projection.  I had a mage lose control of a force three elemental. The
elemental atacked the decker.  Five rounds later the decker killed it.
The elemental never even scorched her. Decker- Bod 2 Qui 4 unarmed 3

Thanatos


--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 91 2:01:17 EDT
From: thanatos@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Christopher Gulledge)
Subject: How to make players think?

How do you get a group of players that refuse to think to actually
think? I'm to the point that I'm ready to start killing them.  However,
I would like a less drastic solution if possible. I have told them what
I expect, and I have refused any leway on this present run. So if they
die, oh well. But my problem is that they roleplay their characters
well.  Except for the fact that my players have so little sense on
criminal activities, the life blood of Shadowrun, they really are good
players. How the hell does somebody, namely the GM, teach players how
to B&E, Kidnap, assasinate, steal, etc. 

I'm not that good at it myself, but my plans are usually more than and
I quote one of my players" let's just walk in the front door kill
everyone we run into and steal what we need." the response- " Good
plan" I almost screamed. It was supposed to be a quiet B&E and
datasteal. The funny part is that I played the guards appropriately and
they still lived! And the largest weapon was a SMG the players had. A
lot of GMs have let their players get away with murder, I have seen
groups with Monty Hall syndrom like you would not believe, and my group
is very much not like that. I have just gotten very tired of having
idiots, good role players but idiots none the less, play the game. 
I might just tell them to go back to playing D&D.

Forgive my rambling, but I am extremely annoyed at them and I'm sure
that you have had players do stupid enough things that you will understand
my frustration. Any advice would be appriciated.

Thanatos



--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 91 20:20:58 PDT
From: cdr@amd.com (Carl Rigney)
Subject: Re: Fire & making players think

> One thing that has puzzled me is what do Dragons use as a skill
> for their breath weapons? Essence is the only thing I can
> figure to use.

I stage a Dragon's breath weapon up with its Body [pause for readers to
turn pale]; but my Dragons are nasty.  (I also consider their armor to
be vehicle armor, and creatures with Body above 12 to be vehicles for
the purposes of damage; normal weapons halve power and staging and drop
one damage level, e.g. assault rifles become 2L1.)  For less horrifying
dragons, using Essence to stage up the breath weapon is OK.

> Also with elementals, do you use force or quickness for their
> attack? The book says force but some times I wonder.

I believe the Grimoire and the Paranormal Animals guidebook provide a
better explanation of how that works.  Engulfs use Quickness.  For
attacks, I like Quickness rather than Force.

I give Fire elementals their force in dice to stage up the damage, and
consider the power rating to be equal to their force for all fire
elementals, not just great ones.  Normally mine engulf instead of project.

Note that you use your willpower, not combat skill, to attack
manifested elementals, unless using a magic weapon or their
vulnerability.  And they get twice their force in automatic successes
vs. ranged attacks.

> 3) Also a bit of a problem that I may post to Flashlife. How do
> you get a group of players that refuse to think to actually think?

I wish I knew. :-)

First consider whether they *want* to think, or are just looking for a
beer&pretzels shoot 'em up.  Assuming they want to run in the kind of
thinking campaign you want to run, the best advice I can offer is 
"In nature there are neither rewards nor penalties, only consequences."

If they succeed with lame plans, then they'll make lame plans, because
that works.  If lack of planning gets them killed, maybe the next set
of characters will plan better.  But it also depends on whether your
*players* are any good at planning.

> But my problem is that they roleplay their characters well.
> Except for the fact that my players have so little sense on
> criminal activities, the life blood of Shadowrun, they really
> are good players.

Well, maybe you're running the wrong kind of scenarios.  Just because
FASA says shadowrunners are all criminals doesn't mean your PCs have to
be.  Maybe they'd be better off as bodyguards, or street muscle, or
just as soap opera.  Play to their strengths.  Or maybe they need to
read some good crime novels; I'm quite fond of the "Burglar Who..."
series by Lawrence Block.

> I quote one of my players "let's just walk in the front door
> kill everyone we run into and steal what we need." [...] The
> funny part is that I played the guards appropriately and they
> still lived!

"Anything that works is better than anything that doesn't work."  
Maybe you need smarter or tougher guards.  Its hard to argue with success.

> And the largest weapon was a SMG the players had.

That's good - avoid arms escalation.

Design scenarios around the PCs' hooks.  Set up situations that will
require thinking to solve, not just brute force.  I like no-win
situations where the PCs have to decide between two very ugly choices,
because 1) decision-making often illuminates characterization and 2)
its very entertaining when they find a third way I'd never considered.

> Forgive my rambling, but I am extremely annoyed at them and I'm
> sure that you have had players do stupid enough things that you
> will understand my frustration.

Heh heh.  My players are on flashlife, which I'm cc'ing this to, so I
don't think I'll take the bait.

--
Carl Rigney
cdr@amd.com


--------------------------


Date: Wed, 10 Apr 91 22:50:04 EDT
From: thanatos@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Christopher Gulledge)
Subject: Re: How to make players think

Actually I came up with an idea last night. One of my players came up
with a mission that he wants to run. Since he's running I am playing.
So I decided to take a character that will not be as much fun for me to
play (my favorite character does not speak english all that well)
However the character *may* be able to teach them a thing or two.

I am actually going to try to make a few non-combat scenarios for my
players. The kind that if you can't think your way out of them you wake
up dead. They probably will not take the bait, They are not stupid they
just won't think.

Now that I've aired out one of my griefs I'l see what you think of the
other. I have a wonderfully balenced team. (That is because in
character creation I helped them and sort of made sure that toes would
not get stepped on.) So why does no team function as a team? It amazes
me that the only person who trys to act in a team spirit is the social
character(like she is a fixer, almost), but the others refuse.

I actually must make amends. The above mentioned character does try to
think. She just doesn't understand the criminal acts and how to pull
them off. A few of my players and I had a cchat last night and the
topic of discussion was why they refuse to think and why they refuse to
play as a team. I think they are going to try to play together this
Friday.  I'll let you know.

At any rate, the Question of the day-- Any suggestions on how to get a
team to play like a team? They sit, they brood, they mull, and when it
comes time for a plan they stare blankly. Not because they cannot think
of one, but because they refuse to say their ideas. The strategy and
tactics discussion is led and consists of one person, and she knows
that she has no concept of tactics and stratagy.  The saddest part is
that at least three of the other players have very strong grasps of the
subject, they just decide for whatever reason not to use them.

This may be a subset of the last question so if it is just kind of
ignore it.  Anyway maybe if they see themselves on flashlife (two of
them read it) they will get embarassed enough to say an idea. Nah,
it'll never work. One is the one who already tries and the other
wouldn't say his ideas if he knew how to end world hunger.

I'll quit babbling again. Thanks again for the ideas. Oh, just a side
note.  If you want a wonderful source of ideas, watch mission
impossible. Tone them down some depending on their aptitude and
reasources, but some of the plots are great.

Thanks again,

Thanatos


--------------------------


Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1991 18:41 CST
From: AVATAR%BSU.DECNET@MSUS1.BITNET (Robert Hayden)
Subject: Imaging Systems / Essence Rebuilding

Greetings one and all from the quiet backstreets of uptowne Seattle.

I've got two things to report:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
My local GM has combined some stuff from cyberpunk and other systems and 
then needed some clarification on the different type of imaging systems 
that I had taken.  So I checked some military books and then she said to 
post my results here, so I am.

Ultraviolet-
        Utilizes reflected ultraviolet radiation to highlight near objects
which appear lighter, while objects at a distance appear darker.  
The representation is quite 2-dementional and little or no detail is available. 
*WILL* work through smoke, fire, dust, and other adverse conditions.  UV light 
is available in all locations out-of-doors at any time of the day.  UV will 
not work underground, in buildings or in other sheltered situations unless 
a source of radiation is provided.

IR-
        Utilizes reflected infrared radiation to see.  As the light wave is
longer, it is able to bend and highlight detail much better that UV light. 
The representation is in 3-d.  It will not work through adverse conditions
and sunlight tends to hinder the operation although starlight or streetlight 
does not have that effect.  IR will not work underground, in buildings, or in 
other sheltered situations unless a source of radiation is provided.

Thermographic-
        Is the ability to see heat.  Not to be confused with IR, which uses
reflected light.  Warm areas appear in reds to whites while cooler area
appear violet to blue to black.  This will operate through smoke, fog or
other non-heat adverse conditions.  Fire will make Thermo unusable and sudden 
bursts of heat can be blinding unless flare compensation is used.  Wrapping
oneself in materials that do not let heat escape is an effective defense.

Equipment:
	IR scope	1,500
	UV Scope	1,500
	IR Binoculars	  250
	UV Binoculars	  250
	IR Goggles	  700
	UV Goggles	  700
	IR Cybereye	3,000  (.2 essence loss)
	UV Cybereye	3,000  (.2 essence loss)
	Helmet Light IR   250
	Helmet Light UV   250


One of the other things that has cropped up is rebuilding essence for us 
chummers that have less that .1 left to something a little more realistic.  
The following system will allow the slow rebuilding of essence point.

	[I don't like this system, but I use something else entirely.
	 Perhaps other readers will find it useful, though. --CDR]

Cost in Karma:   10 plus the total amount of essence will yield you a 1
                 point essence increase.  (eg.  If you want your total
                 essence to go from 6 to 7, it will cost you 17 Karma 
                 points.)  At no time can the total essence exceed 12.

Rationalization:
                 The human (humanoid???) body has a remarkable capacity to
adapt of adverse conditions.  If essence represents the health of your
nural network and spirit, it can be reasoned that given the time (karma
points), the body will learn to accept intrusive cyberware or biological
grafts and the amount of available essence will slowly rise.  This also
allows those poor schmucks who have less than .1 essence to get new arms
put on when they get shot off.

-- 
Robert "Scooby" A. Hayden
avatar%bsu.decnet@msus1.bitnet
avatar%bsu.decnet@msus1.msus.edu
	[curb your .signature, please; I hate having to edit them
	 down to reasonable size.  Thanks! --CDR]


--------------------------


Date: Sat, 20 Apr 91 19:48:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andrew David Weiland <aw1s+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Shadowrun ideas

Just bought the Shadowrun game recently (two weeks ago).  Here are a few
of my thoughts on it:

***

One of the biggest problems with the physical adept is the extra
successes combined with the ability to make lethal attacks with their
hands.  I find this unrealistic; not because physical adepts can kill
with a blow, but because they are the only ones that can do so.  I also
thought about a few other features of martial arts, and what could be
done with them in Shadowrun, and came up with the following:

Martial Arts

Martial Arts is a concentration of the unarmed combat skill.  It is
limited to those attacks which use only hands and feet (though other
styles are martial arts in the common definition).  The only common
denominator is that martial arts emphasize science over speed and
strength.  There are at present two specializations involving this
skill; killing attacks and stunning attacks.  To me killing attacks
seems pretty similar to karate, and stunning attacks to jujitsu (?).

Killing Attacks

A skilled unarmed combatant can inflict lethal damage with only his
hands and feet.  The exact amount of damage a character can inflict is
based on their unarmed combat skill, concentrations in martial arts, or
specialization in killing attacks.  This reflects the fact that a
brawler can make deadly attacks, but isn't as good at it as a trained
martial artist.  For all unarmed killing attacks, the target number is
increased by 1 (to 5, 4 if the character has a longer reach than his
opponent).  Damage for killing attacks is (Strength)L1 for skill 3,
(Strength)M1 for skill 6, and (Strength)S1 for skill 10.  A skill 6
martial artist can choose to make L1 attacks instead of M1, and a skill
10 martial artist can make all three sorts of attacks.

Physical Adepts must buy extra successes for unarmed killing attacks
separately.  Cost is 1.5 points per additional success.

Stunning Attacks
Stunning Attacks inflict fatigue damage, like normal (fist) attacks, but
the staging is increased.  Staging is based on the character's unarmed
combat skill, concentration in martial arts, or specialization in
stunning attacks.  Damage is (Strength)M2 for skill 3, (Strength)M3 for
skill 6, and (Strength)M4 for skill 10.  There is no penalty to target
numbers, but remember that staging also affects a character's chance of
increasing the wound level of an attack.

Because target numbers are not increased, a physical adept's extra
successes for normal unarmed combat also apply to stunning attacks (i
think so; individual GMs may rule otherwise).

I'd like to see other martial arts depicted in Shadowrun style, perhaps
as additional specializations in the martial arts concentration. 
Especially interesting would be Aikido (force based on your opponent's
Strength?) and  Tae Kwon Doh (manuver arts; improved reach?).

***

Does anybody besides me think that tech priorities 3 and 4 (for
nonmages) are too powerful?  A character with tech priority 3 can buy
all of the equipment, cyberware, and programs he can use.  The Rigger,
Street Samurai, and Decker archetypes are all structured around tech
priority 3.  All of them (excepting the Decker) have pretty much the
best equipment they can use.  If one of these classes were to take
priority 4, and sacrifice a few skill or attribute points, they could
buy enough equipment for the whole party (and deckers could throw in a
MPCP 9 deck besides).  This is also somewhat annoying because the Gang
Member and Tribesman archetypes are also structured around tech priority
3 (necessary if they want a connection to a tribe or gang) and they
don't have nearly as much investment in tech as the other archetypes.

I think that the nonmage tech awards for priority 3 and 4 should be
halved.  Riggers, Deckers, and Samurai who are serious about
Shadowrunning will have to take tech priority 4 (500,000 nuyen). 
Tribesman, Gang Members, and other tech-3 types who aren't tech oriented
will have to sacrifice a few 

***

Initiation: Is too powerful, but it's a cool idea.  The raised magic
rating isn't too powerful.  Masking and the metaplanes should definitely
stick around.  But quickening should disappear, improved spell defense
should probably do so too.  Centering is a very interesting concept, but
it shouldn't be so useful in combat.  I'd say centering a spell should
take time; maybe 1 round for each point of force of the spell (the time
it takes to center a spell isn't explicitly mentioned in the rules;
unless i'm missing something).  I also don't get how centering can
negate penalties for cover, but i guess this is magic and we can't
understand everything.

-- 
Andrew D. M. U. Weiland		aw1s@andrew.cmu.edu


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End of Flashlife
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