From: bkdavis@eos.ncsu.edu (B K DAVIS)
Subject: Re: Cyberpunk (was: SR: SRII combat mods)
Originator: bkdavis@c00100-100lez.eos.ncsu.edu
Reply-To: bkdavis@eos.ncsu.edu (B K DAVIS)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Project Eos
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 06:18:13 GMT


>>|     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


Every char in the book has at least some firearms skill. In SR it is like knowing
how to breath, the better you breath the longer life you live. Or just do not 
go in areas where you can't breath that well. I am a samurai and I look out for 
the memeber of my team. Also People dodging my shots might get hit by the decker
who lucked up and manged to hit. In a firefight I am considered to the major
threat so when they get shot by someone else it splits there attention somewhat.
AND when that happens they get geeked rather quick. Even mages need to know how
to use a gun. Usually they have low strengths, but it does not take that much 
strength to pull a drekking tigger. The shaman I run with sometime (Jinx, VERY WELLNAMED 
CHAR) uses spells, but always carries that roomsweeper and he only has a firearms of 
2. BTW Jinx is a gator shaman(my other char) and I will be posting his stats soon.
Right now he is in the hospital getting over an encounter with Twilight that
Free spider thing. Twilight dropped a power ball on itself, knowing that it would 
not do damage to itself. NASTY FRAGGER...

Later 
Bre