From: carl@gergo.tamu.edu (Carl D. Perkins)
Subject: Re: Cyberpunk (was: SR: SRII combat mods)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Geochemical and Environmental Research Group - TAMU
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 06:26:00 GMT

In article <wilder.711657256@mik.uky.edu>, wilder@mik.uky.edu (jeff wilder) writes...
>|     And here we have the root of our problem.  I'm not at all suggesting
>|that you should become a street sam or that you should take the same risks
>|as that member would.  Street sams (if they're any good and aren't set up
>|in the "perfect" place) will be shooting a lot, throwing grenades, running
>|around trying to get somewhere with cover and a decent field of fire, and
>|otherwise making rather obvious nuiscances of themselves.  You will be sitting
>|behind the best cover you can find (regardless of how good a field of fire
>|you have), ready to help out if the street sam(s) decide they're outclassed
>|and absolutely need everything that can help.  Now this is not going to make
>|me, the hypothetical street sam, much happier than you.  I'd rather you were
>|sitting safe at home where I don't have to worry about saving your life if
>|we need to run.  But since that's not possible (or you wouldn't be there),
>|I'm stuck with making the best out of a bad situation.  Which does not involve
>|you being totally unable to do anything if it gets too hot.  If that doesn't
>|sit well with you, fine.  Stay at home.  I'll find somebody else.  Now please,
>|address this issue and don't go off about turning your decker into a sam or
>|taking one along with you in the Matrix when you don't have to which is just
>|plain stupid.
> 
>And you *really* think that the situation you've described justifies the
>expenditure of either a) 4 skill points at character generation, or b) 1+
>2+4+8=15 Karma points, later?!  And that's just for a Firearms skill at
>level 4!  You honestly believe that?
>If so, you're hopeless.

So learn a concentration. Your decker would probably find Firearms(Pistol)
the most usefull (SMG would be better on a run, but pistol may be usefull in
more situations - i.e. muggers, home defense, etc). Learning pistol to level
4 takes 1+1+3+4= 9 Karma (only 5 if you learn it to level 3). If you specialize
with a specific gun (say Predator II) it is 1+1+2+3 = 7 Karma for level 4
(only 4 points for level 3). Besides, you don't have to get it all at once.
A Firearms 1 (general) only costs 1 point (as does a concentration or
specialization, so there is no reason not to do that first level as a
general skill). Level 2 costs 1 for either a concentration or specialization
and 2 for a general. I'd expect that after one or two runs you could afford
to spend 2 points of Karma to gain Firearms (general)1, (pistol)2.
Granted, a skill of 2 is not incredibly usefull, but some skill is
always better than no skill.

Your body is always in the real world where it can get shot at. You can get
geeked by IC only if you make an effor to go to where it is. That is why
everyone should have *some* combat skill, but only deckers really need
the Computer skill. Sooner or later you will probably end up in a situation
where there is no one but you to do the shooting - separated from the group,
an enemy popping up from an unexpected direction, random street violence
when you're on the way to the Stuffer Shack some evening. It is the nature
of running that, sooner or later, one will go bad and the nature of the
SRUN universe that random violence is not uncommon (besides - what GM could
resist putting the only PC without a combat skill in a combat situation?).
If you have no skill with a gun you probably won't even be carrying one.
If you have even a pistol 2 skill, you'll probably be carying - and when that
corp security guy comes out of the men's room across the hall from you you'll
be able to point your gun at him and say "freeze" and, as he won't know that
you can barely use the thing, he probably will. Or you could just shoot him,
and he might not have seen you (i.e. no dodge pool) or will end up dodging back
to where he came from and the shots should attract the attention of your
combat types.

Not taking some sort of a combat skill is kinda foolish - you should have
at least one of Firearms, Unarmed, or Armed (the truely strange will
go for Throwing instead, and some tribal types might take Projectile)
at some level. If nothing else it'll probably save you a few points of
Instant Karma later on. A concentration is fine - as pointed out above
it'll save you 6 Karma if you are buying up to skill 4 from scratch
(which is a very good deal, since 6 Karma is about how much you can expect
to make on a reasonably uncomplicated job). Besides, as you've pointed out -
being a combat monster is not your job. On the other hand, keeping you alive
is not exactly the samurai's job either. Their job is to fight, staying alive
while they do it is up to you. Most of 'em won't care if you get geeked as
long as it's on the way out after you've gotten what you were brought for -
anyone can pry the deck from your dead fingers to have the data extracted
later. This would still be a successfull job, as far as the sammies are
concerned at least - and they can sell your nice expensive deck for more
nuyen too.

--- Carl

>================================================================================
>| Jeff W   uk06666@ukpr.uky.edu | Meddle not in the affairs of cats, for they  |
>| Wilder   & wilder@mik.uky.edu | are subtle, and will piss on your cyberdeck. |
>================================================================================
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