Re: [HoE] Cyborg cold cuts

[Allan Seyberth <darious@darious.com>]

At 02:38 PM 9/20/1999 PDT, you wrote:
>I'm not talking about the Veteran chart now (and never really was - again I 
>never claimed I would let someone take the disad and then buy it off 
>immediately).  I'm tossing it out for discussion of the overall concept, the 
>basis for that concept, and for ways to implement it once the game has 
>begun.

Okay - let me restate the premises, as I understand them.
1)  PC with One Armed Bandit hindrance for whatever reason.
2)  Cybernetic arm to be attached to said PC.

Possibilites:
1)  PC had One Armed Bandit from character creation, either from a regular
hindrance, Veteran table, mutation, or whatnot.
2)  PC earned One Armed Bandit hindrance through misfortune during game play.

Base-line question:
1)  Should PC's be allowed to compensate for hindrances?

Answer:  
1)  Yes.  The rules allow you to buy 'em off.  It would be silly and
unrealistic to not be able to compensate for them?

Possible issues with answer.
1)  Game balance. 
	a) Character points:  Should a PC be allowed to get "free" character
points by spending game money?  (or trade goods, or whatnot)
	b)  VotWW:  Is already cheap for the price.  Minimizing the impact from
it's disadvantages only increases the munchkin factor of the edge.
	c)  Freebies:  A PC buddy builds a cybernetic arm.  Back to the free
character points issue.

Rebuttal to possible issues.
Thuuppttt!  It's your game, do want you think you need to do to keep things
balanced.
If I was running a game, here's what _I_ would do.
Let em.  Cybernetic arms would be a junker device, and subject to all
junker rules - including the use of ghost rock for power.  
The cyber-arm would have to be build during game play, so there would be
some time spent missing a limb.  Let the PC know just how difficult it is
to fire a rifle with only one arm. . . A few combats with that happening
will make up for a lot of "freebie" advantages later.
Junker arms are going to be fairly conspicuous.  Less likely to be able to
disguise.
Two words - malfunction rolls.
Three words - outta ghost rock.
Two more words - Arm hit.  Remember - a character without an arm doesn't
suffer wounds to that location.  Well - now that there is something there,
arm hits will start shooting into and through that shiny gizmo. Which
brings me to . . . 
One word - maintenance.  That arm has gotta be repaired somehow, taking
time and parts and maybe even money if it's not a PC doing the repairs.

I think that the above constitutes enough of a disadvantage that the arm
can't be considered a "freebie".

Oh - two more words, but only if you are an evil GM.

Maximum Overdrive. 

 :-)


-------------------
Allan Seyberth
darious@darious.com

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Ira Glasser (ACLU):
The chicken maintains an absolute  privacy interest in information as to
whether or why he or she may have perambulated the thoroughfare.