From: gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Grant R. Davis)
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg
Subject: Re: Pure Zone effects on Characters
Date: 13 Sep 92 19:40:26 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <gatemail1.0b25412171828170@morticia> cwynne@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Colin J. Wynne) writes:

I started a new campaign this week and sent the party into Los Angeles
to recruit some NPC Storm Knights (there are only 3 players)

>There was some disagreement 'twixt my players and I concerning how a SK's
>personality is affected by the reality in which they find themselves.
>
>For example, in the LB, the LoSavagery allows that clothing will be lost,
>while minimal modesty is retained.  Elspeth, the Victorian were-tiger, in
>the society in which she was raised, would feel absolutely naked wearing
>anything less than a corset, three petticoats, a high-collared blouse, an
>ankle-length skirt, etc.

I have a shapeshipter in my game, too. How do you handle shapeshifting in
pure zones in your game? Since the I-verse update said that zombies don't
just stop moving when they disconnect, I ruled that he could still shapeshift,
but lost his resistance to normal weapons and weakness to silver. However,
after he shapeshifted and demolished a synthecycler in front of a Video 
Vigiilante, everyone in LA ran out and bought silver bullets, not knowing
that they had no special effect on him. 
	I also let him have flight and a breath weapon (he's a were-wyvern), 
and made him put 3 adds in both flight and breath weapon skills. It sounds 
munchkinish, but I was desperate for players, and shapshifting is one of the 
least abusive 'tools' these days. Anyway, I put a Magic axiom level of 10
on the flight and shapeshifting, and a 12 on the breath weapon. 

>The way she ended up playing it was what I, at least, had in mind. 
>Several other players had their various ideas about what should, or might,
>happen, too.  The end result was along these lines:
>
>Elspeth basically took the loss of her clothing in stride...and decided she 
>would be really mortified when she recalled the whole thing later.

Yeah, the Victorians' modesty is sort of a function of the Social axiom,
so it would be lost in a Pure zone.

>More or less, what I'm looking for here is who agrees or disagrees with my
>interpretation of Pure Zones.  And that is that, since WL's make up the
>general feeling and atmosphere for a cosm, then if you are in a Pure Zone
>and subject exclusively to those world laws, you will start behaving like
>a native, but without losing the overall sense of self needed to maintain
>your identity and your mission.
>
>So, whereas Elspeth shed (if you'll allow that word :) her Victorian
>modesty, her basic personality did not change.  And whereas the Brenden,
>the covert operative, had trouble thinking about 'king and country and the
>good of the entire world by thwarting the plans of the evil Dr. Mobius',
>he knew they were trying to rescue somebody in the dangerous jungles of
>Meretika.

Sounds good. My players are working for a faction of the US government that
opposes the Delphi Council, and I need to figure out how the Tharkold and
Orrorsh characters feel about that.

>And if a player refuses to act appropriately for the reality whose PZ he
>is in, I, as gm, shouldsimply assume that he is blowing a p-point every
>fifteen minutes.  Right?

Absolutely :->

I've been looking at the FAQ, and it seems to me that most people have to
make a contradiction check at the beginning of every scene unless they are
in their native realm, a pure zone, or the Space Gods realm, because of world 
laws. I'm especially worried about the Law of Pain. 
	Last week, the Core Earth character wanted to invoke the Law of Hope
in LA. He put up a reality bubble, and I also made him make a Reality skill
check to 'overcome' the Tharkoldu's reality, like Baruk Kaah did in one of the
novels. He had to make a reality roll higher than the Tharkoldu's reality
skill. Since he wasn't touching the techno-demon, it was a long-range
contradiction as well, and he would have taken damage equal to the amount by
which he failed the roll. I didn't count the roll as his action for the
turn, either. Next time, I may not make him roll, since there could be
more than one opponent and it would get complicated.
	If the Tharkold player wants to use the Law of Pain outside LA,
he will have to overcome his target's reality, both when he gets the roll-again
and when he uses it.

How does this sound?

The Grant Man
gdavis@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu

"This is good[beer]. Remind me to take this world."-Lost Destiny
Newsgroups: alt.games.torg