[HoE] Fortitude Response Topics

[Matthew Steflik <grifflik@stny.rr.com>]

My player responds with more Syker comments.  What started with just
Fortitude has blossomed into a discussion on problems with the Faraway
Syker as a whole.  I didn't snip Judas' or Zombi's posts for length
consideration, but both were posted yesterday.  Again, from here on out,
the words are Jesse's:

In response to Judas Stone:

Thanks for the comments. I do agree with following a theme with a
character - believe me, I do. I have created many with little to no
"useful" gear or given them very specialized gear. Both are fun to play.
As to comparing the cost and the fortitude power, I think game balance
should be looked at for just that reason. If you could never afford to
purchase any of the specialized gear from Faraway for your character,
and there is a lot of gear that can do the same thing that is far more
inexpensive, you would not see those theme specific
characters. I applaud you for taking a Tsar.  I tried with one of my
sykers. To do it cost 6 belongings points. What I would rather see is to
say (for example) a Tsar costs you one bounty point if your from Faraway
and three if you're from earth (they say "some" were used here).  Then
make the ammo cost half for the syker on Faraway, too for a starting
character and just give a reasonable limit on how much he could have
brought back. These are the kind of things I was thinking of,  for I do
agree once on earth these items would have a huge cost to buy, though
common gear issued to almost every syker.
To give you the example of the character I was trying to make from
Faraway, I had him not come back with combat armor because he left it
for the locals.  Nor did he have any mil rats or 5.56 ammo.  All this I
figured was left, but it still was too costly for me to do the Tsar
because I ended up with nothing in edges and
skills to utilize it. After looking at game play skills and gear vs.
having the cool super expensive toy, I gave it up as unusable. I ended
up going with stats and scrounging gear when I got back to earth and
came home with no "special" stuff.
Just as an aside, I assume most Tsars "left behind" would have been
destroyed.  While the locals couldn't use them, perhaps the skinnies
could figure it out. If you did manage to bring one back, I agree you
would become the target of a lot of people if you openly carried it
about. My point (again referring back to "balance") is that because the
Tsar is much more expensive than other peoples equivalent gear, it
creates a situation akin to running around with a bull's eye on your
back. If it were only worth three times (or so) a comparable weapon, it
would not be so "hot" and wouldn't cause the syker as many problems as
it does at the current values. At the current values you could, with the
cost of this one item and its ammo, give a biker gang the trade goods to
fuel all their bikes and by hundreds of rounds of ammo.  Don't get me
wrong - I LOVE theme gear. I  feel this source book had great history,
updates and expansion of powers, but has a few problems (namely the
brain bust chart and gear IMHO being unbalanced for game play when
compared with the other sourcebooks and rules. Thanks for the
discussion! I am enjoying this, and I like seeing other marshal and
player ideas on this sourcebook.
- Jesse VanValkenburg

In response to Zombi Bob -

Thanks Zombi.  I agree with you on likeability and interaction
completely. The Syker is balanced in that respect. What I was looking at
is more along the lines of restrictions on gear and the fact their gear
all seems to cost 10  to 20 times more than similar earth gear that
anyone can get. I also agree with your statement regarding availability
vs. desirability. This makes yet another reason for a syker not to take
this gear. They become a hot meal for every shady gun toting gang,
muttie, bad syker, doom priest, junker, or trader without morals out
there. If the same gear cost 2 or 3 even 4 times as much it would still
be rare, but would not paint as bright a bull's eye on you. I like to
make a character based on a story idea or theme (I played a Jamaican
"laid back" syker that did not carry a ton of gear or armor ("You don'
need dat, mon...you got you ganja, and you blast 'em in da head when ya
are paid ta. You be a  fool to be fightin' dem armies 'a mutants for
nuthin', mon."). He was a special forces assasin and cared a submachine
gun and that's it. It made sense for the character and I took 3 points
of belongings in gear to...all in pot and seeds. He wandered about the
West planting them.  My point is that it was fun, and I chose to spend
the points on it so it would round out the character. It really did
nothing for me game play wise - just role-playing. I enjoy concepts as
much as
the next guy and try to always have my characters make sense that way.
My question was more at why would you play a syker from Faraway when the
things that would make you different from a earth syker are so much more
expensive and really give you no "real" increase in ability to really
warrant the cost.
The Faraway Syker in that respect is not balanced to the other
archetypes...even to the earth syker. I do
like your idea of how things are interaction wise. In my game I run it
almost identical what you stated. To some extent, Matt seems to as well.
At least my impression as a player is that he does. To sum up, what I
wanted to know is "Do any of the other people out there think the gear
cost and the danger of fortitude make it unrealistic to choose the
Faraway Syker as an archetype, and would it be seem necessary to modify
these things (even in a house rules setting)".  I know I'm approaching
this topic a little late (Brainburners has been out for awhile), but I'd
like to hear the reasoning behind the added cost for this type of gear.
If there is some reason that makes sense, I would be glad to hear it.
Perhaps, for example, it was decided that it would be based purely on
rarity.  In that case, I agree on values for earth, but IMHO there
should be a modifier for a character starting on Faraway so he can bring
it back easier if desired. Then if it "paints a bull's eye on his back"
so be it. He knows it as a player going in and wanted to do it for
flavor.  Just like the junker's free device and starting supplies, or
the old soldier buying a SAW, a few belts of ammo or combat armor, or
the templar who makes his free sword into a relic by taking that
advantage ( not to mention the cyborg...ouch...that gets everything for
"free" and is a complete horror). Thanks for the cool response. I loved
what you had to say and hope to hear more.
- Jesse VanValkenburg

Matt once again - more conversation to come as he sends them my way, I
imagine.  While I don't agree with everything that Jess is saying here,
I'm enjoying the dialogue created by the thread.  Thanks for the
continued response.

Matt Steflik
Master of Wahoo
Gimme Shelter - http://www.geocities.com/grifflik/