From: uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu (John M. Scheibeler)
Newsgroups: rec.games.cyber
Subject: Re: Metal Master
Date: 10 Oct 92 06:59:33 GMT
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Archive-Name: rgc753

[[ Folks, this is getting nuts.  Can we let this subject die?
   If you want to play with superheros, use as superheros game system.
   --Joshua ]]

dhoberma@pearl.tufts.edu writes:

>In article <1992Oct08.183104.5190@Veritas.COM>, uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu (John M. Scheibeler) writes:
>> adr9510@rigel.tamu.edu writes:
>> 
>> 	Hmph.  I have a character you'd like to meet; his name's
>> Metal Master.  Full Body plating, all limbs cybered & armored, skinweave,
>> sub-dermal armor, hardshell ceramic-boron Metalgear-style armor
>> (spaced and foamed to eliminate problems from HE ammo)... Bullets
>> don't frighten MM.  Nothing can do enough damage to get through his
>> armor.  Not even those "god" weapons in the military listing.  And yes, 
>> he wears this stuff *all the time*.  Even has a protected rebreather in
>> case someone tries to asphyxiate him.  Bullets don't kill MM.  Nothing does.

>What is this man (thing's) emp stat? Does he *always* wear his helmet?
>If not, a good called shot to the head with some HE will definitely
>take him out after a few shots! (somehow I doubt he has a foamed eyeshield!)

	His EMP is 2, and yes, he *always* wears his helmet.  One of the
rules we found disturbing in CP 2020 is they never stated WHEN damage
was doubled (damage to the head, that is), before or after armor is
taken into account.  I stated that since a round had to get through armor
first, damage was doubled after armor was applied.  Another player 
argued about shock effects, and the basic fragility of the head, which
didn't wash, because if you have a padded hardshell helmet, the force of
the bullet does not buffet you, and the head may be the location of the
brain, but it also has one of the hardest sets of bone surrounding it.  So
in our games, damage is doubled after armor, and if none get through, oh
well too bad.  No, he doesn't have a foamed eyeshield, but state where
(in the rules) it states that you can aim for a character's eyes and I'll
allow the shot.  (It only says you can shoot for his HEAD.)  And let's 
count the amount of armor he has on his head: Armor Plating (25), plus
skinweave (12), plus Hardshell Helmet (40) equals 77 SP armor.  And the helmet
is not affected by AP modifications or any attack that supposedly 
"bypasses" armor.

>Already he has enough armor to be the top target of the Cyberpsycho Squad
>who will probably hose him down with several dozen Bio-arasaki motion
>restraints (a ref roll of 25 is nesc to avoid getting snared once you have
>been hit) once immobile, a tech walks over with a laser drill. End of story.

	A Ref tried that once.  I got hit.  I rolled my basic BOD (14) plus
my Strength Feat (10) plus 1d10 to break the restraints.  The CyberPsycho
squad decided they'd fall back at that point.  And I like the idea about
the laser drill.

>or

>A few EMP grenades (don't tell me you have full EMP shielding too...thats
>orbital hardware and at least 10 times normal cost)
>will put him down (picture every bit of cyberware in this guy's body
>suddenly going off line. Can you say fishbait?)

	Yes, he IS totally shielded against EMP.  Took out a full metalgang
that way.  I just carried in the EMP grenades, set them off, and took care
of the gangers that weren't immobilized.

>or

>Contact skin agents. Nerve gas is a favorite. Goes right through the skin.
>Skinweave doesn't protect against it. You'll be dead faster than you can say
>cyberbrick.

	Full Body Plating, skinweave UNDERNEATH it.  No skin --- no
skin contact.

>or
>what is his ref? must be pretty bad with all those penalties from the full
>body gear and the full body plating?

	10 + 2 (new biotech --- called neural sheathing), - none for 
full body plating (new tech), -2 for Armor, = 10

>put him in a trash compacter. Those are built industrial. 
>Squish like grape!

	He wouldn't like that.  Squish for sure.  But that's no fun.
>or

>as someone else suggested, drop him in a lake. He certainly is too bulky
>and heavy to swim! a rebreather is not an internal oxy supply, and even
>those run out.

	Thank you for reminding me of his internal oxy supply (and 
modified lungs so he doesn't need as much oxy).  He'd just walk out of
that one.  I did it once, and I was dropped into the Atlantic from
60 miles out.

>or 

>a 7.62mm minigun with acid rounds. That dissolves armor. (depending on
>calibre 1or2d6 sp per hit, and each hit lasts for three phases.
>Enough of that and MM will be Milquetoast man.

	Nope.  Acid-resistant armor, gotta love it.

>that's all I can think of in that vein...

>I'll bet he doesnt get into any good parties
>(or anywhere at all...wearing all that stuff all the time is a pretty good
>indicator that no one wants you as their friend, and no one in their
>right mind will trust someone as cybered up as you.
>No one in their right mind would let you into their
>	house\club\corporate HQ\you_name_it_they_wont_let_you_in!

	Who says they can stop me from entering?

>The social barriers are intense (unless your GM plays  NPCs selectively
>blind to all the stuff you are wearing.

>Sounds like your GM needs to sit down and get a grip :)

	That he does.  Or they do.

>	Pretty frightening guy, I must admit

	I have to admit right now, MM is the munchkin character to spoil all
muchkin games.  I created him after sitting in on a convention game
(I played a normal Techie, straight out of the rules) and got continually
overshadowed by the other munchkin PCs (the one with three special abilities
at +10 and the lightsaber was my favorite).  The GM even thought my
character was "wimpy".  I didn't realize just _how_ wimpy he'd meant.

	Anyway, I sat down with the book and started picking out loopholes
and other interesting items.  (Like the fact that you can't shoot me in
the eyes, only in the head.)  Since this GM also allowed other PCs to come
in with "fantastic" items they'd gained from their home games, I started
creating stuff.  The ceramic-carbon-boron hardshell armor was one of
these things.  Since the other PCs had millions of Euro, so did I, and I
spent it on things like full EMP shielding, and CyberPsychology (to bring
my EMP back up).  Finally, my character was ready for another convention where
the same GM was running, and sure enough, out of eight players, all eight
(incl. myself) were running Munchkin characters.  This changed rapidly
as I started going "off" on the other players (like the samurai slut
with less EMP than me who wouldn't sleep with me even though she stated she'd
sleep with anyone who gave her money or drugs... she didn't last long against
Super Studd) [if you're wondering what Super Studd is, think of a hydraulic
piston.  All night every night, and REAL HARD.]  Before long I'd managed to
kill half the party, survive the munchkin Solo with the 20 BOD throwing
me out the AV-4 into the Atlantic, survive the attack of the SuperCops from
Hell, and scare the rest of the party into hiding.  Our mission was to
clear New York of a certain Metalgang, and the other players weren't gonna
do it, so I went out and picked up several EMP grenades, went to the gang's
headquarters, detonated all the grenades, and crushed the four individuals
left standing.  Easy 1 billion euro.  The GM, since then, has improved, and
doesn't allow munchkins into his game.  Might be because MM, which really
stood for Munchkin Massacre, is in his game now, waiting for those 
munchkins to show up so he can crush them.

	But it _is_ possible to build a character immune to most firepower,
as you well know.  Last count, the highest total SP a character was able
to gain on his torso (skinweave, subdermal, torso plate, metalgear, armored
T, armored Trench) was 107.  An average roll from a RPG wouldn't even
scratch him.

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