Re: [HoE] Math

[Kirt Dankmyer <loki@triadntr.net>]

>     And when you're done, and you have your motorcycle with a plasma pistol
> attatched to it, and you realize the arithmetic would be better spent with
> eight words, "Buy motorcycle, get plasma pistol, get duct tape", it's just
> too time consuming for too little payoff.  The original junker rules worked
> well (My junker was able to make up an exoskeleton before the game in a good
> amount of time and was able to rig up a monster detector in game without
> sucking away everyone's time).

That's only true in that case. I think Marv's motorcycle was a bad example for
them to use, since it pretty much would have been better for the player to
create a plasma pistol and mount it on a motorcycle using the Road Warriors
rules. However, for the same amount of math (or less, actually) one could
build a one-man flying platform with an invisible force-shield and laser
weapons, i.e. a "Trouble Bubble", using VTOL, Flash Gordon, and Force Field.
And I don't think you can create something like that with a weapon and duct
tape.

It's also important to note that that example is what I call an
"omni-example", an example that is deliberately complex in order to show
exactly how the system works when trying to do something complicated. I
designed an improved version of the Junk Gun in thirty seconds just by
changing the damage slightly and getting it to fit in the same size frame...
Since there's only one power involved there, the math was very simple.
 
>     Playability is the key.  Complex rules are OK when you're alone at night
> with the junker book and there's nothing on the SPICE channel, but in game,
> Lord help you if you want to make a gadget in game or if you want something
> snazzy without doing endless arithmetic.

Nothing endless about it. And considering how long it takes to create a Junker
device in game time, if you're making something that requires a lot of math,
chances are you're doing it in between-game downtime anyway. If it's something
with a low TN that takes fifteen minutes to build, chances are the math will
take you less than five minutes to do... Less if you use a calculator.

Playability IS key. The "complex" rules (which aren't that bad) also allow for
more interesting devices. I can, for example, create a walking gun that shoots
anything that moves that is not wearing a Templar cross, and I don't have to
argue with the GM about what I need to do that. For me, that's MORE playable,
not less.
	-Loki