Fract

Re: A 'Drug Predilection' After some study on real-world drug effects, I've come to the conclusion that common recreational drugs (at least in their pure form), case little to no direct physical damage to a user. I'll probably spin up a new thread to discuss the methods I am considering to handle addiction, acute withdrawal, post-acute withdrawal, etc., but I believe I have come to a decision on the Frother's ability. I've decided to give them a bonus on they Physiological Addiction checks, a penalty on their Psychological Addiction checks, and a higher-than-average CON/STUN. The side-effects, withdrawal effects, and chemicals/organisms involved, are just too myriad to easily justify a blanket protection stemming from natural genetic mutation, especially in a setting with hard sciences and limited "powers."

Re: The Value of Potential - Characteristic Maxima and CP An effect like this does exist in the setting, for certain species, based around artificial muscle/tendon/sinew implants and bone reinforcement. That, however, breaks into the realm of $ cost vs character point cost-which looks like it is going to be another mess to hammer out, especially given an actively modeled market economy-so I took the quick and lazy option for now.

Re: A 'Drug Predilection' I've just had a few minutes to take a glance, this looks like a really solid foundation to play with. Thank you, Killer Shrike! I'll have to take some time to dig through the entirety of it and see what I can learn. Are all your mechanics designed for 6E or are they written for 5E?

Re: The Value of Potential - Characteristic Maxima and CP

In settings where there are Characteristic Maxima set, and some level of variance between species or other representative classes, is their a CP value associated with having "above average potential'? For example, taking the following Characteristic Maxima (6E1 50) as the average: Strength (STR) 20 Dexterity (DEX) 20 Constitution (CON) 20 Intelligence (INT) 20 Ego (EGO) 20 Presence (PRE) 20 Offensive Combat Value (OCV) 8 Defensive Combat Value (DCV) 8 Offensive Mental Combat Value (OMCV) 8 Defensive Mental Combat Value (DMCV) 8 Speed (SPD) 4 Physical Defense (PD) 8 Energy Defense (ED) 8 Recovery (REC) 10 Endurance (END) 50 Body (BODY) 20 Stun (STUN) 50 Running (m) 20 Swimming (m) 10 Leaping (m) 10 Now if another species or class had a Body Maxima of 30, what would that difference of 10 potential Body be worth? Just as a vague starting point, I have been been playing with something like: (Maxima Delta) * Stat's CP Cost/10 = # CP 10 * 1 /10 = 1 CP I sum all the delta CP values and then round according to standard policy, but I am not sure if 10 is an appropriate value for that divisor, or if the CP cost of a stat is an appropriate weight. I do not know that I necessarily need to bother with this, but it does seem like there is a mechanical value to potential, and I would like to maintain a degree of character balance across species. Does anyone have any recommendations, or advice on how they have handled this previously?

Re: A 'Drug Predilection'

Re: A 'Drug Predilection' Good point, I'll have to let it percolate for a bit. It would probably be wise for me to find an appropriate blend of mechanics for long-term addiction and withdrawal, modeling the slow degradation of various mental and bodily functions, before I make any serious decisions on pricing.

Re: A 'Drug Predilection' Hmm, given the rather nasty potential of some of these combat drugs, assuming I translate them directly, I think I am going to revise my previous plan and scrap the idea for a bonus for their drug of choice. Life Support:Immunity seems like it should make a decent pattern to craft this new power from. I will cut it back to Damage Negation (or Damage Reduction) for Stun damage due to drugs or withdrawal, as suggested by Karmakaze, and something like "Chemical Resilience", allowing them to heal what would normally be permanent Characteristic loss. Would 3CP be an appropriate price for said Resilience, or would it be closer to something like immunity to all terrestrial poisons, at 5 CP?

Re: A 'Drug Predilection' My current intention is to reduce stats, and apply STUN/Body damage as appropriate for the dosage, long-term usage, and any potential drug interactions. A rough example of one drug would be: [Rush mechanical design is based on the "Potion of Giant Strength" from 6E351 Trigger Examples] Rush (Mix of adrenal boosters, circulatory enhancements, and healing agents) Effects +1 Speed, Trigger (Inject drug; +0.25) (12 Active Points); Time Limit (6 hours, -0.5), Focus (OAF Expendable, -1.25) [5 Total Points] Resistant Damage Reduction - 25% (15 Active Points); Impenetrable (+0.25); Time Limit (6 hours, -0.5) [12 Total Points] Detox. Effects: -1 Str, -1 Con, -1 Body, and -2 Stun, Trigger (Elapsed time limit; +0.25) (5 Active Points); Time Limit (6 hours, -0.5) [3 Total Points] +1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Body, and +2 Stun, Trigger (Inject Rush while in withdrawal from rush; +0.25) (5 Active Points); Variable Time Limit (6 hours or less, matching remaining withdrawal time; -0.5) [3 Total Points] Addiction - Make physiological/psychological addiction checks after duration expires - For every 4 doses, there is a stacking -1 penalty to Con. and addiction checks - Continuous (as in, the user wants to be on it all the time, as opposed needing a fix one or twice a day) - Long term addiction (uncertain about length of time, probably measured in days to weeks) will permanently reduce Con, Stun, and Body. Life expectancy of an addict is 7 years or less. Given the accumulation of negatives over time, I'm not sure if Damage Negation would be the best way to handle it. I like the straight % cut from damage, but I am not sure what the best mechanical way to handle Damage over Time and stat impairment. Having a relatively fine level of granular control would be nice as well, so this can be tuned enough that it isn't abusive.

So I'm in the process of converting one of my favorite settings, The World of Progress from SLA Industries, and my lack of familiarity with Hero is slowing me down significantly. For those unfamiliar with it, SLA Industries is a hyper-violent dystopian horror game, whose core book is now free (linked above). At the moment I am working to craft racial templates, and attempting to define an ability for the "Frothers" that is best described as a genetically based 'drug predilection'. In the World of Progress, drugs are treated much like diet supplements in our world, with a cornucopia existing to cover every possible situation or desire. This includes combat drugs that, while boosting the user significantly, can have horrific effects on the body (they named it "Shatter" for a reason). Frothers were first a cultural offshoot of the mainstream, who embraced the use of drugs. After dozens or more generations, these clans started to produce children with a genetic advantage supporting their drug habits. All Frothers are addicted to at least one substance, even if it is only a psychological addiction, but those who have this genetic aberration are more resistant to the damage and complications the drugs cause. The way I would like this to work mechanically, is lessening of some negative aspects of usage/withdrawal, and potentially a slight boost in positive effects from their drug of choice. I've debated handling this with increases to various Characteristics in the template, but this seems like a rather inelegant way to handle things. Alternatively, I've been considering some form of Damage Reduction or Power Defense (a la "Chemical Resistance"), but neither of these seem to fit exactly either. Applying a blanket step decrease of negative drug effects / withdrawal effects is more appropriate, but doesn't seem fine grained enough, nor do I have any idea how one would price such an advantage. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.