View Full Version : I Bought It on Vbay...
BoloOfEarth
Oct 2nd, '03, 07:26 PM
My players were joking around last week, talking about VIPER, and one of them said something about vbay. (Wierd Al's ebay song was playing at the time.) That got me thinking, "maybe that's not such a bad idea..."
With all sorts of new weapons and equipment coming out all the time, what does VIPER do with the old stuff? Auctioning stuff off could be an interesting idea, and provide some fun adventure plots.
Never having bid or bought anything on ebay, my big question is how this would work. (I'm assuming VIPER would have to do some convoluted stuff to avoid putting themselves at risk, so it wouldn't be exactly like ebay.) How could they safely (in a comic-book world) receive payments? Or ship goods without getting them traced back? I'm not looking for what would work in the real world, just what would be plausible in a game world.
Also, any plot ideas that strike your fancy would be appreciated.
Hermit
Oct 2nd, '03, 07:47 PM
Perhaps they need a Viper variation of Paypal for starts ;)
Supreme Serpent
Oct 3rd, '03, 04:28 AM
They could easily do something within VIPER itself; among the Nests using the Serpentine Network. Nest A has upgraded its weapons, and no longer needs the piles of old blasters, but Nest B is just starting out, and could use some cheap weaponry...perfect fit. VIPER central could handle shipping/payment arrangements, and gets a cut of the action. VIPER central could even auction out the services of staff supervillains to different nests that way - "OK, who wants to use Ripper for the week of 11/5-11/11?" :D
I like that a lot. Will have to incorporate it in the future.
Hermit
Oct 3rd, '03, 04:35 AM
I now have a mental image of Radar from M*A*S*H* Working for Viper....
"Hey Sparky? Yeah, this is Radar at the Otomwa Nest. Look, we're running low on battle armor, and we recently got a super team in the state, can you believe it? Guess you can't stop progress. Anyways, got any spare suits you can loan us? HQ is being awfully stingy ... uh huh... no, we don't have Ripper any time soon, and boy could we use him. How about we give you 10 flash grenades, 6 old blasters for back up... oh, and I got a copy of Scum Magazine that's only two months out of date."
;)
death tribble
Oct 3rd, '03, 04:43 AM
Hermit,
Thanks for that. I have not seen MASH in a long while but that was really funny. I could just imagine him doing that.
As to V Bay. That could work. Other organised crime units would make use of it as well.
Lord Liaden
Oct 3rd, '03, 05:02 AM
In the Wired Age, I don't think it would be that difficult to set up an auction website where criminals could bid for various items. It would probably have some innocuous site fronting it, with passwords from registered users necessary to get to where the real action was taking place. You might have to be sponsored by a previous member in good standing before you can register.
Payment would probably be cash for goods at a pre-arranged meeting place, as is typical for drug deals and other exchanges of contraband, to assure that neither party would be cheated.
Lupus
Oct 3rd, '03, 06:21 AM
Originally posted by Lord Liaden
In the Wired Age, I don't think it would be that difficult to set up an auction website where criminals could bid for various items. It would probably have some innocuous site fronting it, with passwords from registered users necessary to get to where the real action was taking place. You might have to be sponsored by a previous member in good standing before you can register.
Payment would probably be cash for goods at a pre-arranged meeting place, as is typical for drug deals and other exchanges of contraband, to assure that neither party would be cheated. And it all gets busted open when some 12-year-old hacks a password and gets a crate delivered to his house.
"Hey, let's go play 'paintball' with the bullies!"
Okay. Was I the only one with childhood fantasies like these?
Supreme Serpent
Oct 3rd, '03, 06:33 AM
Originally posted by Lupus
And it all gets busted open when some 12-year-old hacks a password and gets a crate delivered to his house.
"Hey, let's go play 'paintball' with the bullies!"
Okay. Was I the only one with childhood fantasies like these?
Makes for a fun scenario - why is VIPER robbing candy stores? Ripping off Pokemon cards? Sabotaging schools? ;)
Lord Liaden
Oct 3rd, '03, 06:35 AM
Originally posted by Lupus
And it all gets busted open when some 12-year-old hacks a password and gets a crate delivered to his house.
"Hey, let's go play 'paintball' with the bullies!"
Okay. Was I the only one with childhood fantasies like these?
No you weren't. Heck, it's no sillier than Ankylosaur changing the shipping address on an UNTIL crate and having a prototype powered-armor suit delivered to his front door. ;)
Besides, the potential for the website being hacked is the stuff of game scenarios.
But that 12-year-old better have a stack of cash handy when the VIPER delivery guys show up at his house. :eek:
Rage
Oct 3rd, '03, 07:55 AM
Originally posted by Lord Liaden
No you weren't. Heck, it's no sillier than Ankylosaur changing the shipping address on an UNTIL crate and having a prototype powered-armor suit delivered to his front door. ;)
Besides, the potential for the website being hacked is the stuff of game scenarios.
But that 12-year-old better have a stack of cash handy when the VIPER delivery guys show up at his house. :eek:
If he could hack a website like that im sure a mere credit card company is no sweat for him.
And then he could out fit his freinds, and mutilate his enemies...
winterhawk
Oct 3rd, '03, 07:59 AM
This is a really cool idea. My question is would it be open to other criminal organizations? On one hand, I don't know if VIPER would allow its tech to be distributed to the masses. On the other, selling off outmoded tech to drug cartels and 3rd world despots might be a significant source of income from otherwise 'dead' inventory. Opinions?
JmOz
Oct 3rd, '03, 08:07 AM
Not a bad idea, and it would explain where some "Master Villian Wantabe's" got the equipment for their masses of loyal servents
Lord Liaden
Oct 3rd, '03, 08:14 AM
Originally posted by winterhawk
This is a really cool idea. My question is would it be open to other criminal organizations? On one hand, I don't know if VIPER would allow its tech to be distributed to the masses. On the other, selling off outmoded tech to drug cartels and 3rd world despots might be a significant source of income from otherwise 'dead' inventory. Opinions?
I'd say that selling off obsolete equipment would be very desirable for the VIPER bean-counters, and as long as it doesn't involve some fundamental secret technology like the "Universal V-Chip" ;) , the agency leadership should have no problem with it.
Moreover, handing blasters to "common" criminals is one way to raise their credibility and threat level to four-color superheroes who normally waltz through thugs without breaking a sweat. And cutting off the source of supply for those devices might become a campaign priority.
Steve Long
Oct 3rd, '03, 08:24 AM
The scene in the movie The Jackal in which the Bruce Willis character uses an anonymous computerized system to order contraband weapons from a mysterious supplier might provide you with some ideas. ;)
SCUBA Hero
Oct 3rd, '03, 08:32 AM
I thought that system was vbay. . .
Supreme Serpent
Oct 3rd, '03, 08:36 AM
Originally posted by Hermit
Perhaps they need a Viper variation of Paypal for starts ;)
"PayUpOrElsePal!" :p
lemming
Oct 3rd, '03, 09:11 AM
Originally posted by Hermit
I now have a mental image of Radar from M*A*S*H* Working for Viper....
I was looking into something like this, but hadn't thought of the V-Bay angle. Now we have Radar as well. Thanks Hermit & Bolo.
I'm thinking there would be the internal to Viper site so that Viper equipment stayed in Viper, but I can see the older outdated stuff could be available to other organizations and villians. Hmm, I'm thinking perhaps something more like Craig's List (http://www.craigslist.org)
In the Champions Universe we do have Larisagrad (I think that's the name) which is the "free" city in terms of computers.
<!-- I think I'm going to start doing this in many of my posts.
RARE! Hard to find Viper V-2 Blaster in original packaging! -->
Supreme Serpent
Oct 3rd, '03, 09:16 AM
There could very well also be "facilitator" type villains out there who don't normally go out and do crimes themselves, but supply things to villains that they need. Like Marvel's Tinkerer who made gadgets, AIM that supplied things as well as doing its own plots, or Taskmaster / CU's Thugmaster who train muscle for villains.
Someone to get other contacts from, costumes, info on local law enforcement/supers, hideout locations, local muscle, etc. Could be a good business. After all, most interrogations focus on "who do you work for?" not, "Where did you get the lead to hire Guido & Nunzio?"
Hermit
Oct 3rd, '03, 10:53 AM
I sort of picture ARGENT as being into this as well.
Lord Liaden
Oct 3rd, '03, 11:24 AM
Yeah, I was thinking that this approach could put VIPER into direct competition with ARGENT, not to mention the War Machine.
OTOH, the different groups could specialize: the War Machine supplying cutting-edge weapons, ARGENT designing other types of devices to order, while VIPER provides used merchandise for the budget-conscious criminal. VIPER might even buy older inventory from the other two in bulk for resale.
Adds a new dimension to the term "robber-baron." ;)
Gary
Oct 3rd, '03, 02:03 PM
Originally posted by Lord Liaden
I'd say that selling off obsolete equipment would be very desirable for the VIPER bean-counters, and as long as it doesn't involve some fundamental secret technology like the "Universal V-Chip" ;) , the agency leadership should have no problem with it.
Moreover, handing blasters to "common" criminals is one way to raise their credibility and threat level to four-color superheroes who normally waltz through thugs without breaking a sweat. And cutting off the source of supply for those devices might become a campaign priority.
Actually if I were a Hero, I would fear a standard assault rifle a lot more than a blaster. A FN-FAL or AK-47 is a lot better than a 8-10d6 energy blast. And 8/8 Kevlar is better than a standard 8/8 FF belt.
Hermit
Oct 3rd, '03, 02:43 PM
"Here at CRAZY Setti's, everything MUST go!
That's right, we're cutting laser prices in half! Need armored vehicles to break into those banks? Tanks, tanks alot! Here at CRAZY Setti's! You can net yourself a net laucher, and for those speedy gooddozies, you can purchase up to three barrels of our patented Super Slippery Snake Oil!
Why do we sell the best from every Nest for Less?
Because I'm CRAZY Settie, that's why!"
Lord Liaden
Oct 3rd, '03, 02:57 PM
Originally posted by Gary
Actually if I were a Hero, I would fear a standard assault rifle a lot more than a blaster. A FN-FAL or AK-47 is a lot better than a 8-10d6 energy blast. And 8/8 Kevlar is better than a standard 8/8 FF belt.
Well, that depends. Physical Defense is often higher than Energy Defense for many supers, because of the difference in cost for buying up Strength compared to Constitution and deriving the Figured Defense Char. therefrom. Moreover, those blasters could be laser or other Killing Damage, which if against ED will usually be more effective than bullets. Heroes whose Missile Deflection only works up to bullets will be in trouble with blasters, as well.
Then we have the more exotic high-tech weapons based on NND or AVLD, which can bypass that Kevlar altogether. Speaking of which, since a Force Field has a lower Base Cost than Armor for the same Defense, you can often work the Advantages and Limitations on a FF so that it's more effective than Armor for the same cost, at least over the short term. For ex, does that Kevlar perchance have an Activation Roll? ;)
Dr. Anomaly
Oct 3rd, '03, 04:11 PM
This thread reminds me of something I did...gosh, over 10 years ago for the Champions game I was running at the time.
A very annoying supervillain named Psi-Clone began showing up & annoying the heroes no end. In reality he was a world-cracking mentalist, with the ability to duplicate another person ("Psi-Clone", get it? :rolleyes: ) The problem was that what he WANTED to be, more than anything, was a physical/brick type. Therefore, in most situations, he didn't use his hundreds of points of mental powers...he used various gadgets & gizmos (most, but not all of the strength-boosting variety) that didn't always work well (Activation Roll, etc.)
During their dealings with this nutball, the PCs came across a catalog...the one from which Psi-Clone had been ordering his stuff. I actually typed up this catalog and handed the copy to the players when the characters found it. It was filled with all *kinds* of stuff, not just the things Psi-Clone had been using (but those were in it as well).
I wrote it in the style of a guy operating out of his garage -- sort of the way you used to see things in the old Edumund Scientific catalogs, before they got all slicked & commercialized. Things like: "Tornado in a Can! Order several, and let the kids take them to school to make those tornado 'drills' more realistic!"
My players seemed to be hovering somewhere between amused and horrified by the catalog... :D
BoloOfEarth
Oct 3rd, '03, 05:30 PM
Originally posted by lemming
I was looking into something like this, but hadn't thought of the V-Bay angle. Now we have Radar as well. Thanks Hermit & Bolo.
Actually, my friend John is the one who came up with the idea of vbay. I'll pass on your thanks.
I really liked all the ideas here. I've been trying to infuse a little more character into the faceless minions of supervillains and like the Radar O'Reilly-type character idea. We can always count on Hermit to come up with great ones.
I never thought about the super-vehicle angle, but that would be an interesting plot device.
Dr. Anomaly, I like your idea of the catalog, though I don't have enough time to do something like that. The closest I've come is some in-depth info on some of the player characters that they've discovered in the hands of thugs and in a villain base. It's kinda disconcerting to have some street tough know exactly what your top running speed is...
Thanks again, everyone, for the great input and feedback.
Hermit
Oct 3rd, '03, 06:09 PM
Originally posted by BoloOfEarth
I really liked all the ideas here. I've been trying to infuse a little more character into the faceless minions of supervillains and like the Radar O'Reilly-type character idea. We can always count on Hermit to come up with great ones.
Ah shucks :o Tweren't nothing.
Actually, if I came up with the "Great One" it should be Jackie Gleason as a Nest Leader :)
Gary
Oct 3rd, '03, 09:11 PM
Originally posted by Lord Liaden
Well, that depends. Physical Defense is often higher than Energy Defense for many supers, because of the difference in cost for buying up Strength compared to Constitution and deriving the Figured Defense Char. therefrom. Moreover, those blasters could be laser or other Killing Damage, which if against ED will usually be more effective than bullets. Heroes whose Missile Deflection only works up to bullets will be in trouble with blasters, as well.
Then we have the more exotic high-tech weapons based on NND or AVLD, which can bypass that Kevlar altogether. Speaking of which, since a Force Field has a lower Base Cost than Armor for the same Defense, you can often work the Advantages and Limitations on a FF so that it's more effective than Armor for the same cost, at least over the short term. For ex, does that Kevlar perchance have an Activation Roll? ;)
I generally find that most PCs have PD and ED that are roughly comparable. Very few are like Obsidian with 30 PD and 20 ED. And when attacks are low relative to defenses such as agents vs supers, killing attacks become more valuable. 8-10d6 EBs have almost no chance of stunning the typical super, but I've been the victim enough 10 Body 50 Stun attacks from 2d6+1 RKAs in my gaming career. And the FN-FAL with +1 stun multiple is even worse. Also there is the chance of multiple hits with autofire attacks. Base 5 OCV for the agent, built in 1-2 from the assault rifle, and 1-2 CSLs from the agent and the chance for multiple hits isn't too horrible.
Very few PCs will stop with a 15 pt missile deflection in a Super campaign when for 5 pts more, they can start deflecting lasers and blasters.
As far as the exotic attacks go, those are generally the weapons that are cutting edge for Viper, not surplus. Viper may be willing to sell 10d6 blasters, but will they really be willing to sell off 5d6 NND neutrino blast guns? ;)
Kevlar may or may not have an activation roll depending on whether the agent expects combat and whether he has a full suit including helmet and face plate.
winterhawk
Oct 3rd, '03, 09:56 PM
Originally posted by Hermit
Ah shucks :o Tweren't nothing.
Actually, if I came up with the "Great One" it should be Jackie Gleason as a Nest Leader :)
"One of these days...one of these days...BANG! ZOOM!...I'm destroying the moon, Alice!"
Sorry, had to be done :p
Zed-F
Oct 3rd, '03, 10:01 PM
Originally posted by Gary
Very few PCs will stop with a 15 pt missile deflection in a Super campaign when for 5 pts more, they can start deflecting lasers and blasters.
Now that depends on whether your players alter the way they build their characters to fit their conception, or whether they alter their conception to the way they want to build their characters, doesn't it? I've seen plenty of 15 pt missile deflections in my time.
MoonHunter
Oct 3rd, '03, 10:37 PM
It would probably look like an online catalog for a "police seizure auction". Except there would be weapons for sale. It would allow bids by email. They would know if the person sending in the bid has the finances or was of an organization that might have the finances to buy things. It would be an invite only to be there for the auction, with a million or so, to be transftered as bond, to an account as an act of good faith.
Gary
Oct 3rd, '03, 11:01 PM
Originally posted by Zed-F
Now that depends on whether your players alter the way they build their characters to fit their conception, or whether they alter their conception to the way they want to build their characters, doesn't it? I've seen plenty of 15 pt missile deflections in my time.
In a completely unscientific study, I went through CKC. Out of 10 villains with missile deflection, 9 of them had it to all range attacks. Only Lodestone had it for bullets, and only ferrous bullets at that.
Zed-F
Oct 4th, '03, 04:16 AM
Originally posted by Gary
In a completely unscientific study, I went through CKC. Out of 10 villains with missile deflection, 9 of them had it to all range attacks. Only Lodestone had it for bullets, and only ferrous bullets at that.
The real question is, out of the villains in CKC who had full missile deflection, how many had it where it didn't seem to be justified by the conception?
Figuring out whether the conception was tailored to the desired powers or the powers were tailored to the conception is difficult after the fact if the character's conception is one where min/maxing a particular power is warranted. It's a lot easier to spot cases where the conception does not really seem to call for min-maxing.
If my character can deflect bullets and energy beams with his hands, he'd better have super-tough skin/armour, and the defense powers to represent it. If he's a martial artist with normal skin, though, he probably shouldn't buy more than 10 points of missile deflection.
Mr. Ooze
Oct 4th, '03, 06:08 AM
Originally posted by Gary
Actually if I were a Hero, I would fear a standard assault rifle a lot more than a blaster. A FN-FAL or AK-47 is a lot better than a 8-10d6 energy blast. And 8/8 Kevlar is better than a standard 8/8 FF belt.
That's one of the problems I have with KA's currently. twenty or so agents with 2d6-1 autofire RKA's can flat take down most of any super team, with possible exception of the team brick, and even he is going to more than likely be con-stunned, and that's simply not to genre.
It gets even worse for characters who don't have a lot of reisistant defense, and count on missle deflection/high CV -- or the "not gettign hit" defense, as I call it. Sooner or later the dice are going to bite you in the ass, and off you go into negative body land...
It gets even uglier when you factor in millitary hardware, like the SAW or a Barrett "Light 50".
I think it's a bit strange when Superheros have no trouble taking out a team of super powered terrorists ( The Ultimates, in my current game.), yet they almost get completely wiped out by a group of Colombian drug runners with AK-47's and a couple of grenade launchers.
Threadjacking? What? Who? Me? ..... Oops.
FenrisUlf
Oct 4th, '03, 10:29 AM
Originally posted by winterhawk
"One of these days...one of these days...BANG! ZOOM!...I'm destroying the moon, Alice!"
Sorry, had to be done :p
ROFL!
And all this reminds me of a long-gone campaign where we had a pair of VIPER agents who were basically Laurel & Hardy in green.
Lord Liaden
Oct 4th, '03, 02:17 PM
Originally posted by Mr. Ooze
I think it's a bit strange when Superheros have no trouble taking out a team of super powered terrorists ( The Ultimates, in my current game.), yet they almost get completely wiped out by a group of Colombian drug runners with AK-47's and a couple of grenade launchers.
Yes, that would be incongruous. To be honest, I've never had that kind of situation occur. Mind you, I don't usually play Colombian drug runners and their ilk as fighting with military discipline and using coordinated tactics. Groups of agent-level soldiers with modern military hardware and tactical intelligence will be a credible threat to many supers, but I find it difficult to credit most criminals with that kind of savvy.
In any case, though, with the edge in Dexterity, Speed and often Movement that most supers have over normals, they can usually rip through several times their number of agent-level foes before they can get in that lucky shot if the supers use decent tactics themselves. I've had teams of Standard Supers pulverize tanks with coordinated attacks, avoiding their heavy but slow weapons through superior mobility.
As for bricks being Stunned by automatic weapons fire, I've found the Real Weapon Limitation useful for saying that these weapons just couldn't do that (and of course, the high-tech stuff lacks that Lim). ;) Some GMs don't like to use it that way, though, and of course YMMV.
Gary
Oct 4th, '03, 03:10 PM
Originally posted by Zed-F
The real question is, out of the villains in CKC who had full missile deflection, how many had it where it didn't seem to be justified by the conception?
Figuring out whether the conception was tailored to the desired powers or the powers were tailored to the conception is difficult after the fact if the character's conception is one where min/maxing a particular power is warranted. It's a lot easier to spot cases where the conception does not really seem to call for min-maxing.
If my character can deflect bullets and energy beams with his hands, he'd better have super-tough skin/armour, and the defense powers to represent it. If he's a martial artist with normal skin, though, he probably shouldn't buy more than 10 points of missile deflection.
Some villains, like Cheshire Cat, are fairly questionable. He deflects everything using a billy club.
It's just my experience that in a superheroic campaign, virtually everybody with missile deflection will buy it to the 20 pt level. CKC seems to agree with my experience.
Hugh Neilson
Oct 4th, '03, 05:21 PM
Originally posted by Gary
Some villains, like Cheshire Cat, are fairly questionable. He deflects everything using a billy club.
Redefine it as an uncanny ability to dodge, or, for the character in question, teleporting out of the way at the last instant, and it makes a lot more sense. The billy club seems like a holdover from 1st Edition where missile deflection required a focus in its definition.
Hermit
Oct 5th, '03, 09:12 AM
Originally posted by Hugh Neilson
Redefine it as an uncanny ability to dodge, or, for the character in question, teleporting out of the way at the last instant, and it makes a lot more sense.
That's how I did it as well. :)
Lupus
Oct 5th, '03, 05:30 PM
Originally posted by Mr. Ooze
That's one of the problems I have with KA's currently. twenty or so agents with 2d6-1 autofire RKA's can flat take down most of any super team, with possible exception of the team brick, and even he is going to more than likely be con-stunned, and that's simply not to genre.
It gets even worse for characters who don't have a lot of reisistant defense, and count on missle deflection/high CV -- or the "not gettign hit" defense, as I call it. Sooner or later the dice are going to bite you in the ass, and off you go into negative body land...
It gets even uglier when you factor in millitary hardware, like the SAW or a Barrett "Light 50".
I think it's a bit strange when Superheros have no trouble taking out a team of super powered terrorists ( The Ultimates, in my current game.), yet they almost get completely wiped out by a group of Colombian drug runners with AK-47's and a couple of grenade launchers.
Threadjacking? What? Who? Me? ..... Oops. This isn't necessarily bad genre, of course, particularly for darker games. 20 or so skilled agents is a lotta points value, after all. And the +2 OCV from M-16s really does help. However, any halfway decent superhero in that kind of setting is gonna be able to bump their DCV above 10 while attacking, unless they have the PD to suck it down. And even bricks with 40PD? Yep, they can get stunned - bullet hits them in the eye, does no damage, but makes them go 'Ow!' and grab their eye for a bit in pain, losing an action. That's con-stunned. And generally, if less tough heroes get hit by bullets, they often just go down, unless they have armoured costumes. And then, they'll often be stunned.
However, bullets end up being more powerful than energy blasts in a few cases, and that's bad genre. They should remain dangerous, unless you have the stats to ignore them, but they shouldn't be /better/ than blasters. For me, the problem here is not the stats for guns, but the stun multiplier. I hate the 1-5 stun multiplier. :) In superhero games, I use a flat x2 multiplier for killing attacks. If you wanna stun someone, use an energy blast. Some other GMs use a x2 or x3 stun multiplier, decided by a 1-3 or 4-6 roll.
So, an FN-FAL does at most, in my game, 39 points of stun (+1 stun multiplier, 13 damage maxed out). This'll do some BODY damage to a regular not-tough hero, and even a buncha STUN. But in a game where the average defences are 25 or so, a high-CON hero won't even be stunned.
Not unless there are coordinated attacks, that is. Which you could expect if you get a special forces group going after heroes. But that 39 STUN is a rare thing. An average result (8 BODY, 24 STUN) would bounce off an average hero's defences. So, under half of the attacks penetrate, and prolly well under half of the attacks hit... so suddenly, only 5 of those 20 troops are actually doing damage to the heroes. Whereas 8-10d6 blasts will be a lot better.
Mr. Ooze
Oct 5th, '03, 09:39 PM
Originally posted by Lord Liaden
Yes, that would be incongruous. To be honest, I've never had that kind of situation occur. Mind you, I don't usually play Colombian drug runners and their ilk as fighting with military discipline and using coordinated tactics. Groups of agent-level soldiers with modern military hardware and tactical intelligence will be a credible threat to many supers, but I find it difficult to credit most criminals with that kind of savvy.
In any case, though, with the edge in Dexterity, Speed and often Movement that most supers have over normals, they can usually rip through several times their number of agent-level foes before they can get in that lucky shot if the supers use decent tactics themselves. I've had teams of Standard Supers pulverize tanks with coordinated attacks, avoiding their heavy but slow weapons through superior mobility.
As for bricks being Stunned by automatic weapons fire, I've found the Real Weapon Limitation useful for saying that these weapons just couldn't do that (and of course, the high-tech stuff lacks that Lim). ;) Some GMs don't like to use it that way, though, and of course YMMV.
It was a bad day all around.
First, The PC's made a few tactical errors. Nothing insanely bad, but enough to put them into catch-up mode from the start.
Then the dice went really cold for them.
Then the bad guys started getting very good rolls. One of the bad guys with the grenade launcher
took out the MA with one grenade.
It irks me when a combat goes from "winable" to "I hope we get out of here with our skins" due to a couple of bad rolls. I hate that when It happens to me as a player, so I can understand how annoying it is for everyone when I'm GM'ing.
But. What can you do? Dice are supposed to be random.
Lord Liaden
Oct 5th, '03, 10:23 PM
I can only tell you what I do on those occasions: fudge the lousy rolls. ;)
It's an infrequent occurence, mind you, but if my players are running their characters well, tactically and in roleplaying, and they're in a situation that they should handle relatively easily from a game mechanic and genre perspective, I won't let the random quirks of the dice get in the way of that. If they've played really well and earned a hard-fought win, I'll sometimes fudge a great roll by the villains that would snatch that victory from them. OTOH, if the game has built up excitingly to the climactic confrontation with the Big Bad, and someone rolls a phenomenal Damage total that will cream him and spoil the climax of the game, I'll give the villain some impromptu "plot defense" to reduce the damage.
I typically roll behind a screen, so the players can't tell when I'm cutting them a break or diffusing their flukey luck, although I've explained to them that I'll do so on rare occasions when I think it's warranted. My players trust that I'll only do it when it will enhance the enjoyment of the game, which may make me a lucky GM. :)
Supreme Serpent
Oct 6th, '03, 07:31 AM
I've been considering trying out a house rule of "If your applicable resistant defense is 2x or more the body rolled on the KA, the KA does no damage, regardless of STUN rolled."
That way, light KA's can still put a hurt on lightly armored characters, but the Thing can ignore small arms fire without having to buy extra defenses "only vs bullets" or such.
I know there's issues in the mid-defense range, but I just want a way to limit the effect of the stun lottery. :rolleyes:
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