John 2 has chosen to argue about what happened over a year ago instead of playing the game now, so that shifts my attention away from his game thread to his arguments
Now maybe you see how important this is to me. About a week ago, for the first time in about 4 years, it WASN'T my first thought on waking up in the morning. It actually stayed pretty much out of my head until Monday morning. You know what happened there. One hour inside my head MJ. I would give just about anything for you to be able to have that. You wouldn't be complaining that I'm arguing, you'd be rejoicing that all you had to do was read emails.
(Doing Therapy)
accidental double posting.
(Doing Therapy)
Michael missed me yesterday but is first in line today; Kurt, Harry, and Scott are also active.
Michael asks some questions and gets some answers.
I'm mostly recapping the timeline for Kurt, and more so for me than for him because I keep fearing I'm going to make the mistake of having the party not happen on schedule. So I'll let that post and let him confirm my timeframes.
I'm impressed with the furnishings Harry describes, so I'm not going to go into any complicated analysis of how Arabella feels about them. I will work out his work schedule.
Scott rolls 42 on a 1@2 Deflect Notice with a +7 inherent sit-mod and a 2@6 Mag BRA in a flatlined mag bias world, 45% chance of success works. I laugh at his comment about not checking whether it's working, and move forward to roll his 1@3 Telepathy to Animals, for which I see a 2@1 BRA and 2x7@ bias is 48% chance of success assuming no "familiarity" bonus for Iggy; 89 doesn't work, and I can't imagine that the familiarity bonus would be high enough to make that difference.
That completes today's game.
--M. J. Young
And here I was kinda hoping for Arabella's analysis. I totally expected her to (for instance) call shenanigans on the wall-sized map of the Syndicate and my fascination with having throw rugs everywhere.
Sorry. I wondered what her reaction to the map would be, but then, you are a sailor and she knows it, and she's not going to pick little arguments the first day after the honeymoon. As to the rugs, that makes sense and sounds like the choice a wealthy person would make, and given that her father is in the textile industry her home was probably similarly rug-supplied. She'll make adjustments. She's got to figure out which of those things matter to you and which she can change without comment. The object over the fireplace inherently suggests that it is important and that she shouldn't challenge it without a really good argument and something that really should replace it--neither of which she's going to have ready the first time she sees it.
On that note, I'm going to list as present Eli, Michael, Brock, Kurt, Harry, and Scott, and then close everything. I'm late for my departure because I decided to address all the non-game threads before leaving, and now I'm pressed for time. I should be back, but if not I'll get to everyone tomorrow.
--M. J. Young
It has gotten very late; I'm going to address the six aforementioned players--Eli, Michael, Brock, Kurt, Harry, and Scott--as quickly as possible so I can wrap up and be back tomorrow.
Eli is attempting to teach a bunch of nagas. It's tough just teaching one--I know from personal experience.
I suppose Michael needs a GE roll to determine whether his routine is going to be disrupted, but a 17 says it's same old same old.
Brock returns and asks a couple people what they think about the raid, but they're not people who would have given it that much thought. Still, he might learn something useful from their banter.
Kurt's play of the situation has been so good even I don't know what side he currently is playing--he really could be a double agent. But if I'm going to use a GE roll to figure out what happens next, I'm going to have to figure out what he thinks is the best and the worst that could happen next.
Harry went to work without discussing dinner plans, so Arabella would raid the pantry that he has never actually stocked with food because he didn't really live there much. He'll correct the oversight, I'm sure.
Scott rolls 24 on his project thought attempt, but the familiarity penalty for animals is -20 so we'd better check his numbers carefully. He's got +2x7@ for bias, +1@2 for SAL, and +2@1 for BRA, which comes to 47-20=27, he's golden, and I'll give him new use because I don't think he's used it this way before, 1@3 Project Thought P1@2. Then he rolls 80 on the induce pleasure, for which he has a 1@3 SAL and +49 SM and 2@6 BRA in a flatlined bias equals 83%, he's really hitting the numbers tonight, and since he's never used this on an iguana before I'll give him another new use skill mark, 1@4 Induce Pleasure/Comfort M+13@1 Caster places his holy symbol atop the target's head and, in each hand, holds a wingnut while forming the numeral V sign; he then lightly pokes the target all over with both hands while pronouncing specific passages* selected from the Principia Discordia. The caster then snaps the fingers of both hands in the target's ears, saying, "There; feel better?" Target remains comfortable and feels pleasurable sensations for RS/20 days, which over time may result in +1 bonuses to all skills and attributes (including, additionally, averaged attributes) at the referee's discretion; sound necessary, TF 2:00, +49 SM.
That went fairly smoothly.
--M. J. Young
Let us not forget the religion bonus (+11) and the unidentified affiliation modifier, which together bring the success chance to either 89% or 99% -- or, now, 90%/100% with the new skill mark (yay!). I don't have many holy magic skills, so I really ought to throw in a reminder when I use them. It didn't affect anything this time, of course.
Yeah, you know, you so rarely use holy magic that it crossed my mind and I didn't look. Shame on me. But yes, do mention that it's holy magic when you use it, so I don't miss that.
Let's see what I can do so as not to miss anything with Eli, Michael, Kurt, Harry, and Scott--and boy did that sentence feel like I was some kind of conversation simulation computer trying to take the last sentence and turn it into the basis for the next. Ah, well, let's do what we can do.
It's actually time to bring Eli and Michael into the same thread, so I'll start a new one. Michael rolls 33 on making cloth, which I think is within his chance of success so I'll go with it.
Kurt pulls an 11 GE, good but below expectations. I'll take it in the direction of the rescue.
Harry has some work to do to get food delivered to his home, so he and his wife can eat.
Scott asked about posters, and my inclination is that such things would be forbidden in a world so strictly controlled. There's a 16 GE roll on it, so it's not going to be impossible but it is going to be controlled.
I think I finished the game and ran out of time almost simultaneously; I should return on Sunday.
--M. J. Young
I see Eli and Michael in the first thread, then Kurt, and finally Harry. I can take my time, as necessary; I think Harry might require a bit of it.
With Eli and Michael, mostly I'm facilitating their initial meeting, so there's not much to say there.
I would rather that Mariska rendered the guards unconscious, but I don't see how she could do that to two guards without equipment she's not likely to have, so I guess they're dead.
O.K., it is time to figure out how much Harry makes; he has provided me with some information, and I've got some other information in the world description. A standard ship security officer makes ten thousand diktar on a trip; the perfectly typical run is 190 days, and although it can run as long as 455 days or as short at 174, it's probably best to figure based on typical. That makes the security guard's wage 52.6 diktar per day; the security chief, who gets sixteen thousand for the same run, is making a typical 84.2 diktar per day. They get room and board as part of that.
I'm thinking that a member of the watch has to make a bit more than a crewman to cover living expenses, but that one of the reasons for going to sea is that you can make more money since room and board are covered. There's also the problem that the watch does not work around the clock. So if we make the watchman's wage 60 diktar per day, he makes 300 in a five-out-of-seven-day week; the seaman makes 368D on a seven-day week. It's not unreasonable to suppose that the standard watchman works a six-of-seven-day week, 360D. There would probably also be a bonus for evening shift and a bonus for night shift, and if we make those 5% and 10% we get 63D and 66D per day, 378 and 396 per week.
The junior investigator makes more than the watchman, but less than the security chief on the ship; that ceiling was 84.2D. If we go with 70D per day that's 420D per week, 441 on the evening shift, 462 on the night shift.
I am inclined to think that the Supervisor (who oversees the patrol divisions) and the Senior Investigator (who oversees the investigations divisions) would pull the same salary, which we'll make significantly higher because of their supervisory positions, 85D per day, which is 510D per week, 535.5 evening, 561 night.
That lets me pay the Commander, of which Harry now is one, 100 per day, 600 per week, 630 evenings, 660 nights, and the Captain 120 per day, 720 per week, 756 evenings, 792 nights. That, though, is not what Harry makes, because his eighteen-day rotation confuses the issue significantly. I'm covering a lot of stuff in that thread, and still have to copy some of it to my personal "Harry Mary Piper Alpha" record so I can find it more easily next time I need it.
--M. J. Young
I see posts from Eli and Michael, Brock, Kurt, and Harry.
My post is mostly for Eli, but also for Michael, and I'll encourage them to keep talking.
I'm throwing a lot of stuff into the mix for Brock, because these people will have ideas of how to do this sort of thing, but I want to give him the chance to contribute, so we'll let him do so.
Kurt has definitely surprised me; the question is whether he has surprised Mariska, a girl trained by her father to stay alive. In a situation like this, she's going to have her heightened awareness running; if he wants to surprise her, he must either beat or eliminate her intuition check and beat her heightened awareness; but he does not have a skill for such a thing--which doesn't mean he can't learn it. On the other hand, I gave him a potent ally whom he is double-crossing, and it's not going to go easily for him, I'm pretty certain, unless he is very lucky.
Harry is finishing dinner and moving forward a few days.
--M. J. Young
It appears that Eli and Michael have both managed to post several times, but Harry's is the only other active game thread.
Michael and Eli are making my life easy here, because Michael already has answers to most of Eli's questions, so I only have to fill in a few details here and there.
I think I need some GE rolls for Harry, but I'm going to have to re-read his post to get a handle on them. Ah, yes--we need to know whether there's going to be another fire, and if so when. 18 is just barely outside the middle toward the bad side. He wants a fire, so we'll give it to him, but in a slightly inconvenient location. First, though, we have to determine whether he will respond to the whistle or not.
--M. J. Young
Again I see Eli and Michael in conversation, Kurt in ambush, and Harry in action.
We'll give Eli and Michael a bit more information about the spiders, and point them in the right direction for teaching each other--oh, darn, I should have included the stuff about the plastic steel. I'll post again.
Kurt is next (well, I posted out of sequence, but that's all right, he's probably not waiting with breath abated). In fact, I messed everything up; I've got some fixing to do--inattentive, I suppose.
I am categorizing his attempt to ambush Mariska as an stealth steal initiative skill learning attempt using distraction--that is, not an ambush skill that uses the environment to hide, but a B7@1 steal initiative by distraction skill. Fortuitously he has a 7@1 Fisticuffs skill, so his bias cancels out; the world bod bias is 13@, and his BRA is is a 1@10 Will Power, so he's got a 33% chance to learn this. If he does, he negates her intuition check but not her heightened awareness skill; if he doesn't he still has a chance if she fails both of those checks. His roll is 05, giving him 1@1 Steal Initiative by Distraction B7@1 and eliminating Mariska's intuition check. She, however, gets her heightened awareness, a 1@8 high amateur SAL with a 2@2 BRA but no bonus for bias in this flatlined world, 40% chance of success, and she has to meet or beat his 05 to notice him: 17 does so.
I'm working from a sheet that is a slightly advanced version of Mariska, but my extrapolations say she does not have martial arts training and instead relies on her guns. The question is whether she already has one in hand, which seems likely but could be otherwise, so we'll roll a GE and if it's Good Enough or better she doesn't. 14 is not, so she does not need to draw the gun but only use it. We need to roll initiative. Her numbers are 2@3 SAL, 2x11@ bias, +20 for point blank, 2@3 RSV, and 2@2 BRA, which comes to 110 minus his 1@6 TV is 94% chance that she would hit him; his numbers are +20 point blank, 1@10 RSV, 2@2 BRA, 2x9@ bias, and 1@1 SAL, 91 minus her 1@8 TV is 73% chance to hit her. We roll against chance to hit for who shoots first, and he rolls 33 to her 61, so she shoots first. Both pistols are RF10, but she's got the 2@ SAL and 2@ BRA so she gets 40 shots per minute to his 10 shots per minute, so she'll get three shots before he can get his first (because she goes first and last with that spread), and her first three rolls are 21, 43, and 02. The base damage of the weapon is dangerous +2DC (one for SAL, one for MSV) is fatal, so the first shot does 11, the second 22, and he'll never hear the third. One must not underestimate anyone, and he was aware that she was well trained in combat techniques.
I need to move him to another world; I wonder what would be good? I'm thinking something medieval, but not Vorgo and not D&D. He's got two pistols and forty bullets, plus the explosive gum, and I'll include his other spy gear. I note that he's listed as stage 2, which means if he makes a successful flexibility check he goes to stage 3, the roll is 22, but I don't see a flexibility listed (must have been a very low roll last time). That gives me a day to think about this--or for someone to leap up and announce that he wants to take over Kurt and has a great idea for a world (is that too broad a hint?). Well, we'll think about it.
I think Harry would best like his wife to tag along, so we'll give a GE roll, 17, neither good nor bad.
--M. J. Young
I would love to see someone whose basic kit includes two guns and "spy gear" do Sherwood Forest, but someone who is used to your level of commitment would chafe under my level of refereeing. I would only agree to take over Kurt if both you and he think he is forgiving enough to deal with it, and not SO advanced a player that he would blow me out of the water trying to referee for.
I have a world, as long as don't have to post until tomorrow. He seems easy enough to run (that's a compliment, Kurt), so I think I could handle him along with Maxx. Just send me his character papers if you'd like me to pick him up.
(By the way, Maxx, if you're reading, I do intend to post for you and apologize for the delay. I don't expect such delays will be frequent.)
I would love to see someone whose basic kit includes two guns and "spy gear" do Sherwood Forest
Define "Spy Gear". That sounds like my Verser's Survival Pack....
I have the highest confidence in all of you, considering you know how to run this game much more than I do. I try to keep up with numbers, but I'm still confused as to how the heck she beat me if I successfully stole initiative.
Or did she beat my 5 with a success, but a better one at 17? At least I saved the bullets for the next world, pending that the tech bias allows the guns to work.
Yes, that's it exactly. She already had a skill running whose purpose is to defeat attempts by opponents to steal initiative (and to negate ordinary surprise). Your skill, in essence, guarantees surprise, so if you both succeed, you can't both have succeeded. The way Mulitverser deals with that is with comparative relative success - basically, whoever has the highest successful roll wins. Notice that it's possible for the character with a higher chance of success to roll so high that the other character's roll can't beat him.
All right, Harry, as much as I'd like to see what Scott's world idea is, I'm sure I'll come up with someone else (maybe even you) who needs to verse into a fantasy setting, so we'll give Kurt to you and let you run the world you've envisioned.
Kurt, try to forget that he mentioned the name of the world, or conversely to remember that it might not be as you expect even if you know where/when/what it is. I'll start a thread for it, but I won't post more than a thread starter.
I'm going with a 1@5 flexibility; I think most people can't touch their toes, despite the efforts of physical ed instructors to make that a common practice. That means he is still at stage 2--Harry, check the details on running a stage 2 entrance (p.382 in the printed rules) so you're ready for it; it's more fun live, but you can do it in forum.
Here is the character sheet as I have it:
- Name Kurt Joseph Wright
a.k.a. Krillis--screen name
Attributes
Persuasion 1@7
Charisma
Animal Magnetism 2@1
Strength 1@7
Stamina 1@4
Resistance 1@8
Density 1@1
Flexibility
Agility 1@8
Hand/Eye 1@10
Intellect 2@2
Intuition 1@9
Education Level 2@1
Will Power 1@10
Averaged Attributes
Ranged Strike Value 1@10
Martial Strike Value 1@9
Target Value 1@6
Damage Value 1@6
Best Relevant Attributes
Tech 2@2
Psi
Mag
Bod
Bias
Tech 9@1
Psi
Mag
Bod
Weaknesses
Asthma reducing endurance, no attacks to date.
Description
6'1, 180#, Blonde lONG Buzz Cut, 18yo mistaken for 21, Hazel eyes, clean shaven, no birthmarks or tattoos, Scar on face between mouth and nose, right under the right corner of the nose, going down about half an inch, does not touch mouth, white, a bit pallid.
Skills
Tech
1@4 Carving T2@3
1@4 Use Knife T3@3
1@2 Operate Mounted Mobile Machine Guns T6@1
1@1 Use Small Hand-carried Explosive-driven Slug Thrower T6@1
1@1 Repair Pistol T6@2 (9mm semiautomatic)
1@1 Repair Large Hand-carried Explosive Driven Slug Thrower (Rifle) T6@2
1@2 Repair Heavy Hand-carried Explosive Driven Slug Thrower T6@2 (Shotgun)
1@5 Drive T8@0
1@8 Use Computer T11@0
Psi
2@1 Latin P0@0
1@1 Meditation P1@0 finds and taps inner mental/spiritual strength for use in next psionic skill, 5:00 gives RS=SM to next psionic skill check
1@8 Self-awakening P5@0 slapping face softly to encourage wakefulness, allows second will power check on staying awake
Mag
Bod
1@10 Fisticuffs style B7@1 fast aggressive weapon-adverse attx3 +5 att SM -5 def SM hands
1@1 Steal Initiative by Distraction B7@1
Equipment
Jeans
White shoes
Black T-shirt
White socks
Plaid boxers
Backpack, red, two large main areas closed by zippers, two pouches in front, one above the other, closed by zippers, easily-accessible pockets one on each side.
Spiral College Ruled Notebooks (4)
Sketchbook
3 Pens
High School Ring
Latin-English Dictionary
Wallet, with driver's license and $75 inside.
A towel.
A handrag, for Harry
9mm Beretta Pistol RF10, 15 shot clip, dangerous 10':75':150':300':+1/3'
9mm Beretta Pistol RF10, 15 shot clip, dangerous 10':75':150':300':+1/3'
9mm Beretta Pistol RF10, 15 shot clip, dangerous 10':75':150':300':+1/3'
Spare 15 shot Beretta clip
Spare 15 shot Beretta clip
Tuxedo with "BO Blaster" nerve gas, 5 shots
Gecko Sneakers with molecular bonding technology for climbing
Exploding gum, 5 slices, chew and rewrap silver-side out, fatal blast 2' radius
X-ray sunglasses, see through first layer, can read cards from the back
Scuba Gear, light, one hour air supply
Stage 2
World List Tropical Island
If Looks Could Kill
The scuba gear was in the trunk of the car, which is probably where most of his other possessions not on person are located except for the pistols and clips he just took and whatever clothes he is wearing, which is not the Tuxedo, so that is probably also in the car. The car is probably within three hundred yards and near his level or slightly below; he doesn't get the car, just the contents. He does have the gum in his pocket, and might have the gecko sneakers on his feet.
He also has a cat as an associate, who versed out a day or two back. It's up to you whether the cat is already here, arriving now, or arriving shortly, or if you want to leave the cat out of this world and bring him back in another, although I'm inclined to have the cat be present. The cat was near the car, although the car has probably been moved, so we're looking at separate locations.
The cat's name is Harry:
- Name Harry (Cat)
a.k.a.
Attributes
Persuasion
Charisma
Animal Magnetism
Strength
Stamina
Resistance
Density
Flexibility
Agility
Hand/Eye
Intellect
Intuition
Education Level
Will Power
Averaged Attributes
Ranged Strike Value
Martial Strike Value
Target Value
Damage Value
Best Relevant Attributes
Tech
Psi
Mag
Bod
Bias
Tech
Psi
Mag
Bod
Weaknesses
Lactose-intolerant
Description
Tabby cat, 20# big boned
Skills
Tech
Psi
Mag
Bod
Equipment
Stage
World List Tropical Island
If Looks Could Kill
Obviously I have not paid much attention to the cat....
All yours, Harry. I'll start that thread now.
--M. J. Young
I have Eli and Michael waiting (and I apologize for the extended interruption--the hamburger and custard stand in the next county just reopened, and the family was insistent on an excursion), followed by Harry, and then John 2 makes his return.
I've posted a question for Eli and Michael (one question looking for answers from each of them) which I'll have to have answered before I can proceed.
Harry first needs to know whether anyone is in charge and wants to be. I'd say the best situation is someone willing to give him command, middle would be someone not willing to relinquish command but glad of the help, and worst would be total chaos. The GE roll is 10. He also wants to know what's in the warehouse, and I'd say that if it's a middle roll no one knows, and 16 is about as middle as you can get, so that's the status. As to a fire axe, he'd need a good enough roll to get that, although if it's not too bad he might get something he can use. The roll is 23, which is nearly as bad as anticipated.
John 2 returns. He just botched and is trying to figure out what he knows.
--M. J. Young
Alright. The thread is cut, the Stage 2 description is posted. I really don't like posting these Versing In stories because I never feel like I have the flavor of the stage quite right, but I think I got the idea of making your senses make sense of reality sort of close.
I've been massively halfassing the math on Ahmetia's and Ric's games, but I'm going to make an effort to do things by the book on this one, which will probably mean a return to begging for help with math, but we'll see where this takes us.
The world I had in mind would be all wrong for O'Sevens. But yes - if he ever verses out, I have a world for him, too.
Edit: And John, are you kidding? That's a much better Stage Two than I would have done, even at the table.
Edit: And John, are you kidding? That's a much better Stage Two than I would have done, even at the table.
::John looks at you with a puzzled expression::
Or were you talking to Osevens?
Yeah, I was. You hadn't said anything since my previous comment, and it was O'Sevens who just did a Stage II entrance in Kurt's game. Your confusion is excusable, though.
His name is Harry. Like me, I don't think he likes his name very much. (If a toilet was called a "scott" you'd hate your name too) That's not the first time that's happened though. JohnOsevens does kind of lead you to believe his name is John.
That sort of thing is why A1Nut and I always call each other by the other half of our screen names.
Yeah, see, I knew that, John. (Shutting up in the Behind the Screens thread now.)
Yeah, I won't call Harry John because I've got four people in play whose names really are John, and it's tough enough keeping track of them. Of course, Harry has the problem that that's now also the name of Kurt's Cat, but at least as long as Harry is running Kurt's game the two are unlikely to be confused for each other.
I got seriously derailed today by plans changing more times than I can count, but I'm going to try without becoming confused to race through posts by Eli and Michael, Harry, Scott, and John 2, who is indeed the second of those four Johns, and I'm told the fourth is coming. I'll also mention that although the joke in Men in Tights is cute, what happened to Prince John is in some ways worse.
My two NagaWorld visitors are both going to attempt to learn teaching skill to teach each other. I'll do the more likely success first, which is Michael, more likely because in addition to a better (2@1) BRA he also has a better Psi bias, 1@10, which in this world gives him a 41% chance to learn this on the first try, and he rolls 83, not a success. Eli's chance of success is considerably lower, based solely on his 1@10 intuition, 20%, but he rolls 08 so that's a success, 1@1 Teaching P0@1. Hmmm--I don't think I should actually tell them the results in the thread; after all, there are a lot of people out there who think they can teach. I guess, though, that I ought to give simple intuition checks to them, 10+2=12, 7+7=14, both are successful.
Eli will teach Michael his 2@1 Eli's Style B7@1 Fast Aggressive Weapon-utilizing style, kick- and punch-based, RF2, +10 Att SM +10 Att Dam Mod. Michael has nothing better than a 5@ standard jumping skill, but I'll figure out which if I figure out that I need to know. It's something less that a 20 point hole to start (the 7@1 skill being 20 points higher than a 5@1), and to that we add Michael's completely unknown BRA, the 2@1 example, half of Eli's 1@10 bod BRA, the 1@1 teaching SAL that Eli just gained, and +0 for the world bias level. If the roll is not greater than thirty I do not need more information; if it is more than seventy I also do not need more information. The roll is 83.
Harry suggests that there ought to be someone watching the warehouse who is employed by the warehouse owner, and thus that there ought to be some knowledge available. It's likely that someone is there, but not certain that he would be informed (if they hired a watchman against thieves, they might not have told him what he is protecting), but a GE of 15 favors Harry slightly and throws me back to determining what's in there, 7+8+9=24, as bad as anticipated.
Scott also gets a 7+8+9 GE roll.
John 2 is still in the hospital for another day or two, and then he'll be on the road again. It's 1984, so car seats are mandatory in most states, and although I don't know whether that includes in whichever state he is, I'll probably use it anyway, once we get that far.
I think I've covered everything; I'm pleasantly surprised.
--M. J. Young
It's 1984, so car seats are mandatory in most states, and although I don't know whether that includes in whichever state he is, I'll probably use it anyway, once we get that far.
Please. I'd rather not get thrown out of yet ANOTHER car. Plus, I think mommy would do anything in her power to keep me safe and alive, all things considered.
Meow.
Ok, normally I don't like doing multiple posts in a day either, but I figure I'll keep pace while I can knowing that I will probably slack off as time goes by, and that I am unlikely to be able to post tomorrow.
As for Harry the Cat, I'd like to flesh him out a little bit more. Would anyone object to adding the following:
Bod
2@3 Scent B 0@1
2@5 Stealth B 0@6
1@5 Four-legged Dash B 3@1 (He's a housecat who has had to fend for himself for a short time - he's still learning)
2@1 Fall Shock Absorption B 4@6
1@8 Aggressive Tumbling (Pounce) B 4@8 (Adds RS/10 SM to one attack)
2@1 High Jumps B 5@2
2@5 Balance Beam B 6@1
1@8 Claws B 7@1 - Fast, Aggressive, Weapon-adverse use of natural claws and bites, base Annoying becomes Damaging when in-style.
Can anyone think of other skills or abilities a housecat would have?
In the Character Creation thread, Harry was described as "wild" prior to Kurt's taking him in; I'm not sure if that information is new to you or would influence your thinking. I'll get back to you about skills and abilities.
What about basic communication? They're good at letting people know what they do and don't want.
He can climb.
In that case I would probably raise his skills:
Bod
2@1 Four-legged Dash B 3@1
2@1 Aggressive Tumbling (Pounce) B 4@8 (Adds RS/10 SM to one attack)
1@10 Claws B 7@1
Communication is handled under Psi, but I'm a bit uncertain how to handle that. I don't want it to be 0@0 Language because he can't speak any languages and he doesn't really respond to English per se, but he can express himself in vocalizations and body language... Maybe
1@3 Understanding (English) P1@0
1@3 Signal Generation (Vocal) B 0@2
1@5 Signal Generation (Body) B 0@2
2@5 Climb (Trees) B 1@3, -15 SM when climbing down (cats find it easier to jump down than to climb down)
?
You could try handling communication via Bod: some variant of B3@0 Use Domesticated Animal should serve.
I'm trying to do the cat's skills, though. I don't really see him Using himself, y'know what I mean? Maybe Kurt can use UDA to actually convince him to do something useful...
And with his last post, Kurt brings me into game mechanics. I don't honestly know how to answer his questions. Partially because I don't know what the biases of his previous Verse were, and secondly because I need clarification on how Bias actually affects things. As far as I understand it, the skills he's trying for right now should still work, with the possible exception of attempting to field-strip his gun. I am of the opinion that he should be able to develop that as a Bod skill, but since his sheet doesn't reflect it I have to go with it as a Tech skill, and I think it might well be curved out given this world's relatively low Tech bias. Also as I understand it, unless skills are biased out completely, or the world has a negative bias actively resisting you, the world's bias doesn't change anything after a skill is learned, so there's no way to tell the bias of the world by using skills you already know, am I right?
Eh. Not really.
The chance of success at skill performance is SAL + BRA + the bias adjustment + sit-mods; the bias adjustment is double the character bias level or the world bias level, whichever is lower. So it's not true that the world bias doesn't influence success chance once the skill is learned: it acts as a cap on the bonus the character gets for his own bias.
Everything he describes doing with the gun falls under normal use, which is T6@1, and the basic style of a martial art is B7@1. Since those are both @1, they are never curved out, and they will be possible in this world.
However, you will have to decide whether he's performing these skills right now or not. If he's using them, he gets a roll for success, which might botch. ("Failure" in this case wouldn't be outright failure, it would be awkwardness, clumsyness, fumbling, or errors.) If he's not performing them, he don't roll and he can't botch, but he can't learn anything significant either.
Since he's trying to find out if the skills work, I would probably roll. However, I would not give any information about how difficult the skills "feel" beyond whatever the dice indicate. The world bias is not that simple to discover. He may gain a feel for it over time, but tests of this sort should reveal very little other than "yes/no this particular skill was/wasn't successfully performed this time."
Is that clear enough, or would more elaboration on a particular point be useful?
I'm trying to do the cat's skills, though. I don't really see him Using himself, y'know what I mean? Maybe Kurt can use UDA to actually convince him to do something useful...
He's not using himself; he's using Kurt. And anyway, I wouldn't get too hung up on the name of the skill listing in the rulebook. Those listings aren't really skills; they're more like a bias score paired with a baseline, which you use together to design a skill. If a man getting a dog to do a trick is B3@0, then it's reasonable to place the bias of a cat getting a man to feed him at B3@0, as well.
You don't have to do it, obviously. It's just a suggestion.
I see your point about him using Kurt, and I might go that route. (On a similar but unrelated vein, do you know what Tech bias level piloting falls under? I would think it would be higher than driving but there's no reference to it.)
Alright, let's give him some rolls, which means math... Oi this is the part I hate...
For the gun he has a 1@1 SAL, 1@10 BRA (Willpower, unless I'm mistaken), plus double the lower of his Bias level or the World's, so that's... +10, for a total success chance of... 41%? He rolls a 71. Not a botch (he would've had to roll a 96 or higher) but definitely a failure.
No, I'm wrong. Willpower isn't a RA for Tech, but his 2@2 Intellect is. That raises his success number from 41 to 43 and changes nothing.
For the fighting stance he has a 1@10 SAL, 1@10 BRA (because Willpower is a RA for Bod), +10 Bias bonus for a total of 50% chance of success, 50% chance to fail, 5% chance to botch. He rolls a 14, an easy success if not a strong one.
As I'm going over his sheet, I have a question: What skill is giving Kurt the 9@1 Tech bias on his sheet? The highest I'm seeing there is his 6@2 Repair Firearms skills.
Also, does he have - or require - a skill to operate those x-ray glasses?
No and yes - a skill is required, but I don't think he's ever used them. I'd wait until he tries to figure it out.
That bias is probably a skill with 1@4 SAL that was insignificant except insofar as, at character creation, it was his highest-biased tech skill. His creation posts are on the second page of the sticky thread, if you're curious.
I actually have used them once before. It seemed like a completely passive effect-as if the glasses are always x-ray glasses, and nothing that I actually had to make a roll to use.
If you've used them before, successfully, then you have skill with them. That might be the source of your 9@1 tech bias, actually.
You might not have had to roll in the previous universe, but I guarantee you'll have to roll here. That's the only way that the low tech bias has a mechanical opportunity to limit the usefulness of the glasses.