Resource Pool Armory Questions

[Alverant]

Who puts limits on how big a Resource Pool armory can be? My reading of the rules is that initially the armory is 1.5 times the size of the kit (60/90). But after the first game session, there is no limit unless the GM mandates one. So I'm wondering why have an initial limit?

 

I can understand keeping the armory pool limited to prevent the PCs from acquiring mountains of stuff. How successful have other GMs been in keeping the equipment pool from being turned into Vigilante Warehouse of Lots o' Stuff?

 

Are there also armories for Contact Pools? I can't see that since contacts are people you know and you can't put that in an armory.

 

Thank you

 

{additional} Does anyone allow Multipowers to be put in Equipment Pools? That just seems abusive IMHO. I picture the Resource Pools to be like the spiritual cousins of Variable Power Pools. And in VPP no multipowers are allowed. I have a player who's character has a large Utility Belt in her equipment pool which includes the different types of darts and pellets. I think that's far too specialized for what the EP is meant for. What do you think?

[Eosin]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

We have used the Equipment Pools for some time in all three Dark Champions campaigns. The armory gets whatever we happen to find be that a bazooka or a phaser. We do keep track of odd, unique, hard to purchase, or extremely powerful weapons but once we have made a few gangland take downs keep track is a waste of time. You have all the street guns that you could ever use. You still need to go find the NICO grenade if you want one but an AK?

 

Second part - the Equipment Rules are for equipment. If it is built with a MPP then the MPP goes in the pool. A police vest is a MPP, you wouldn't forbid a police vest would you? If you don't want certain weapons in the game then disallow them and never introduce them as weapons carried by NPCs.

 

The Equipment rules give a mechanic to, "you can't run around the city with the Punisher's entire arsenal strapped to your back." It works good but occasionally bumps its head against common sense. The old "Duct Tape" canard. I'd highly recommend the RP rules but don't leave common sense at home.

[Eosin]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

Oops, mixed the darts part. I'd allow something that functioned vaguely on par with a knife (1d6) but you can't carry 10 machetes. More importantly, I'd tell the players to keep equipment real and by the book rather than allowing them to make up weapons unless they are 350 points in which case I'd nerf the RP rules anyway.

[Alverant]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

We have used the Equipment Pools for some time in all three Dark Champions campaigns. The armory gets whatever we happen to find be that a bazooka or a phaser. We do keep track of odd' date=' unique, hard to purchase, or extremely powerful weapons but once we have made a few gangland take downs keep track is a waste of time. You have all the street guns that you could ever use. You still need to go find the NICO grenade if you want one but an AK?[/quote']

 

Except where would the players keep their armory? And what happens when law enforcement finds out they have enough firepower to start a war (or a gang finds out they have all these weapons)?

 

Second part - the Equipment Rules are for equipment. If it is built with a MPP then the MPP goes in the pool. A police vest is a MPP' date=' you wouldn't forbid a police vest would you? If you don't want certain weapons in the game then disallow them and never introduce them as weapons carried by NPCs.[/quote']

 

I wouldn't disallow the slots in the police vest to be bought individually. The Vest is armor plus a multipower and is much like a utility belt. Well like a utility belt except that it doesn't have 20 slots. Since RPs are so cheap I do feel that allowing MPs are abusing the rules. I treat it a bit like a Gadget VPP and one of the VPP rules is No Multipowers.

 

The Equipment rules give a mechanic to' date=' "you can't run around the city with the Punisher's entire arsenal strapped to your back." It works good but occasionally bumps its head against common sense. The old "Duct Tape" canard. I'd highly recommend the RP rules but don't leave common sense at home.[/quote']

 

Gamers and common sense?

[Eosin]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

Except where would the players keep their armory? And what happens when law enforcement finds out they have enough firepower to start a war (or a gang finds out they have all these weapons)?

 

What happens when the police find out they have been killing people whom they say deserve to die? I assume by Dark Champions you mean vigilante game and the PD finding a cache of weapons is the least of the parties worries. Those weapons should mostly belong to gangbangers and mafia goons. Vigilante prints should not be on them.

 

Omega Team: In an old warehouse near HCU until Retro discovered our base. We moved to another location and disconnected all telecommunications within the block.

 

Conclave: The team owned a building in Bankhurst. I connected the building to a long lost subway tube (as mentioned in HC). Heavy communications gear and a big friggin armory.

 

Weekend Warriors: I own a Bed & Breakfast serving high security persons such as diplomats, traveling dignitaries, and the occasional high end gun runner. I pay shake down money to the mob but I got enough fire power and computer equipment in that place that I could take out a whole mob family. The heavy traffic and odd security precautions are expected - sort of a hiding in plain sight.

 

Getting busted is part of the tension of playing a vigilante. Heck, you could even run a Delta Green "drop box" idea.

 

Boring the players with an entire game session spent trying to figure out how to get weapons and gear for an assault on Retro seems to defeat the spirit of the genre.

 

I wouldn't disallow the slots in the police vest to be bought individually. The Vest is armor plus a multipower and is much like a utility belt. Well like a utility belt except that it doesn't have 20 slots. Since RPs are so cheap I do feel that allowing MPs are abusing the rules. I treat it a bit like a Gadget VPP and one of the VPP rules is No Multipowers.

 

You asked. I gave my opinion. I've played a metric ton of Dark Champions.

 

Much of this depends on how you, the DM, design the campaign standards. If players are 75 + 75 then asking them to pay for anything that resides in the real/vigilante world is probably asking too much. On the other hand, if they are 350 points then allowing a RP -- or anything for free -- is probably being too nice.

[Alverant]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

What happens when the police find out they have been killing people whom they say deserve to die? I assume by Dark Champions you mean vigilante game and the PD finding a cache of weapons is the least of the parties worries. Those weapons should mostly belong to gangbangers and mafia goons. Vigilante prints should not be on them.

What happens when the police come across a cache of weapons they believe is owned by a rival gang that has been killing its rivals?

 

In your DC campaigns how often do the police know the vigilantes are good guys right off the bat?

 

Much of this depends on how you' date=' the DM, design the campaign standards. If players are 75 + 75 then asking them to pay for anything that resides in the real/vigilante world is probably asking too much. On the other hand, if they are 350 points then allowing a RP -- or anything for free -- is probably being too nice.[/quote']

 

It's a 100/100 game with 60 points for a kit 90 points for a starting armory. I thought that was plenty, but one of the players is trying to milk it for what it's worth. And I think it's being to approach abuive level.

[Edsel]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

I am the GM of this game.

 

The Weekend Warriors have some very useful contacts within the District Attorney's office and HCPD. That helps keep investigations into their activities mis-directed. They also have to worry about their public image. If they get start getting innocent bystanders killed or over do it, they are likely to get the public sentiment against them and then problems can start. If the public gets up in arms the police will devote more effort towards the team and that spells trouble.

 

The vigilantes are criminals in the eyes of the law (they're Vigilantes after all), but the crime-ridden city of Hudson City has a lot of other (worse) criminals to worry about (Card Shark, an on-going Mob war, large street gangs, Outlaw bikers, etc.). If these true blights on society are cleaned up or controlled and it appears that the Vigilantes are part of the solution then there is less pressure to stamp-out the vigilante menace.

 

However if the Vigilantes go on too much of a killing spree then they are liable to draw too much attention to themselves. It is a balancing act that they constantly have to worry about.

[Eosin]

Re: Resource Pool Armory Questions

 

In 4th ED when playing the Hudson City Blues we tripped the formation of a Vigilante Task Force whose sole mission was to hunt us down. One or two of the members also had to abandon their primary ID after it was compromised.

 

As far as a player milking/abusing the system - it is a constant temptation to overpower characters. Some are better at handling it than others. Maybe you can do something like ask for a background without any game stats and then define certain criteria from there. Outlaw more than a single level of Combat Luck and Deadly Blow. Require rather strict use of the provided guns and equipment. Design the first few games to use skills (CK, AK, KS, SS, Acting, Streetwise, Conversation, Seduction) that the player may have skipped to buy up all the combat goodies. Also make the first few battles against 50 point thugs with an 11 DEX and 2 SPD.