Alibear Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 If you want to have someone who can drive/ pilot any vehicle, like James Bond say, it costs a fortune, a lot more than the worth of the talent. You can buy Universal Translator for languages. You could buy Weapons Master with PSL's which costs 9 points. Would you allow a similar catch all talent for vehicle familiarities? I have made a ruling that such a skill cost 9 points, the same as the WF variant, do you think that's reasonable? Would you allow it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? This is for Transport Familiarity? 9 points sounds reasonable for many games, and if no one has spent lots of points in your game already to have TFs then it would be fine. Weapon master (the PSL thing) uses the rule that using an unfamiliar weapon is a -3, so it is easily compensated for. If someone buys that, fine, they can use the weapon to attack without penalty, but I do not let them use 'special modes' without actually knowing the weapon (so if a weapon gives a bonus to disarm, for example, only someone trained in its use i.e. with the relevant WF can use that mode.) Universal translator costs more and requires a skill roll. So I'd allow the '9 point familiarity' to be able to get anything going, probably, but I would limit what you can do with it: combat piloting/driving would still be at -3, for example, unless you had the specific TF. Of course you could then buy 9 points worth of PSLs to offest that penalty... In addition I'd probably require an INT/PER roll and/or extra time to get the vehicle going if it is one that the character has not used in-game previously: the principles of flying all aircraft are similar, but the cockpit layout can be very different, for example. All of this may be too restrictive: if no one really objects, just go with the 9 points and leave it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarron Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? That's cheesy as hell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamePhil Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? That's cheesy as hell! It is, but at the same time in many games that's about all the ability is worth. Not all, certainly, but many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbarron Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I probably wouldn't allow it for 9 points, because I can't really see the logic in that. However, I would prabably let the PC by all of the TF within larger groupings. Like... Common Riding Animals - 2pts Common Motorized Ground Vehicles - 2 pts Uncommon Motorized Ground Vehicles - 2 pts Air Vehicles - 2 pts Sci Fi & Space Vehicles - 2 pts Recreational Vehicles - 2 pts Water Vehicles - 2 pts This covers most vehicles I can think of for 14 pts, and you could probably drop the Scifi & Space vehicles in most games, as they would never come into play/could be covered by Air Vehicles. I don't think 12-14 points is so bad. But I know how it goes when you are trying to crunch points... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citizen Keen Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I think it wholly depends on the type of game you're playing. In a Dark Champions game, I'd never allow a Universal Driver talent. I probably wouldn't allow a Universal Translator, either. But in a Champions game? Certainly, I'd allow it, because vehicles aren't all that important. In a Space Opera Star HERO setting? Sure. I never saw Kirk get into an escape pod and say "I can't fly this thing!" But in a serious, Military Star HERO setting? No frickin' way. I'd go so far as to make transport familiarity even harder to procure. Genre by genre, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamePhil Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I never saw Kirk get into an escape pod and say "I can't fly this thing!" Star Trek III, Sulu gets into the driver's seat of the Klingon ship, and says, "It's been a long time." The obvious extension is, "...since I flew a Klingon ship." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? Even 9 points is too much. For the amount of use you get out of this in a normal campaign, 5 points, tops.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? Oh good lord, trust the GM: if your whole concept is you can drive anything, you are not going to find anything you can't drive. Any other way would be crap GMing, and we don't do that. Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? Oh good lord, trust the GM: if your whole concept is you can drive anything, you are not going to find anything you can't drive. Any other way would be crap GMing, and we don't do that. Sean Maybe you don't, but I've known a few.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? Maybe you don't' date=' but I've known a few.... [/quote'] Give me co-ordinates. They won't trouble you again. I've been itching to try out the orbital masers anyway..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zornwil Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I have "Driver Skill" which accords a -1 CP for each transport and piloting skill. Related, I added "Warrior Skill" which does the same for all weapons familiarities. 1 point familiarities may be bought 2 for 1 but should be in the same group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I know you can buy TFs as large groups ... and frankly, if the game will involve that many different things to pilot/drive/fly then the post investment is more than adequate. On the other hand ... if you're not going to encounter stuff all that often to drive I'd make a bargain with the GM.. State that you can't possibly think of everything a person could drive, you'd like to pick the most common for the character sheet on creation to they are there. But anything else you'd like to "Automatically Know" with the requirement that you have to invest the next few XP (whatever the TF is worth) into it and not something else. Sort of prespending XP within a narrow subset to handle a character concept. Depending on your GM, most probably wouldn't have much issue with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Raven Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? A Talent or Perk that costs 9 points doesn't seem right. Depending on the genre, there are many ways I'd handle this. There are those genres where everybody (at least importing bodies, like PCs) seem to know how to use any vehilce or weapon they come across. In these types of games, such things are everyman skills. Typically, the same happens with languages, but that's only because everybody speaks the same language. Then there are those genres where vehicles are important, but equally important is actually having a skill it using them. No skill, no vehicle use. In cases like these, I'd use a Talent similar to Universal Translator. I'd call it Universal Vehicle Operator. It costs 20 points, grants the character the ability to use any sort of vehicle and includes an effective Combat Driving/Piloting ability with a roll equal to the character's DEX Roll (and can be increased by +1 per 2 points. In those other genres where vehicles aren't that important or there just aren't that much of variety, it's just cheeper to by the TFs and Combat Pilot/Driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lupus Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I think it wholly depends on the type of game you're playing. In a Dark Champions game' date=' I'd never allow a Universal Driver talent. I probably wouldn't allow a Universal Translator, either. But in a [i']Champions[/i] game? Certainly, I'd allow it, because vehicles aren't all that important. In a Space Opera Star HERO setting? Sure. I never saw Kirk get into an escape pod and say "I can't fly this thing!" But in a serious, Military Star HERO setting? No frickin' way. I'd go so far as to make transport familiarity even harder to procure. Genre by genre, I suppose. Exactly. Hell, in Champions, I don't even use TFs or WFs. Everyone can use anything. (I give some penalties for outlandish vehicles, but they go away with a bit of practice, with no points expenditure.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alibear Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 Re: Universal Driver? I might be in a minority here but I don't like changing the rules from genre to genre, I like to have a set of standard rules if at all possible. A Super likely wouldn't buy the power anyway but for a special forces agent or the like it is a must. I think I'll leave it as a blanket 9 point skill. Thanks for the imput, it really seems to help the thought process. :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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