[Chaemera]

I like to think I'm pretty generous for the most part.... lol.  Seriously though, if I am awarding a PQ it is different than a PC purchasing it.  If a PC wants to purchase a PQ they go through the normal rules for doing so.  The, I guess you could call it, discounted version that you quoted above is something I have awarded a player with, usually for some kind of fluff reason related to a campaign arc or some other amazing circumstance. 

The same goes for the NQs.  If a PC deliberately starts shooting up with combat drugs and develops an addiction, they get nothing for it.  If a PC through story arc, incredibly bad luck, etc. picks one up... that's when they get a small compensation in the grand karma balance act.

Just FYI, the "normal rules" for a PC purchasing a PQ are for you (the GM) to decide to award them one & charge them double the BP cost in karma. Nothing wrong with allowing characters to buy PQs (if appropriate to the story/character), of course.

I do like the generosity in compensating a character's bad luck with a little karma, keeps people from getting sour at the table. Not everyone likes a harsh & punishing game all the time.

[Kontact]

Sometimes a dude is supposed to die.

Sometimes he burns edge.

Sometimes his brush with death has negative consequences.

[Faradon]

Just FYI, the "normal rules" for a PC purchasing a PQ are for you (the GM) to decide to award them one & charge them double the BP cost in karma. Nothing wrong with allowing characters to buy PQs (if appropriate to the story/character), of course.

I do like the generosity in compensating a character's bad luck with a little karma, keeps people from getting sour at the table. Not everyone likes a harsh & punishing game all the time.

It's all good   The normal rules tend to need some tweaking in lots of areas for the fun of the whole table. 

Like you said, nobody likes always being beat down... but worse than that is players get down right resentful if you make permenant changes to their character without their input.  "Awarding" someone a PQ and then charging them 3-5 adventures worth of karma is the kind of thing that will really disgruntle some players.  It goes from wanting to reward them with something to almost seeming like a punishment... especially if they had plans for how they were going to advance their characters already. 

Now don't get me wrong, I can be a bit rough on the players at time too.... well, a lot of the time.  But in the end having fun is the end goal.

@ Kontact - I like to think that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  So while yes, negative consequences may have some long term Negative Quality type affects on a person, they are usually strengthened in other ways to make up for it.  Besides, I like the Karmic Balance of it all, just like I sometimes (but not always) give a point of edge back to a player that critcally glitches and doesn't spend edge to negate it.

[LonePaladin]

Now, I don't fully agree with the rule that positive qualities always need to be bought. There are some that would require a lot of work to acquire, sure -- one of my players is working on gaining the College Education PQ, but she's actually using her downtime to take classes, and it's filtering into her roleplaying. Yes, she's going to have to pay Karma for it, eventually, but this makes sense.


There are other situations where requiring Karma expenditure just doesn't make sense. Let's say, for instance, that the team finds themselves in Los Angeles for a while. They figure, while they're in La-La Land, they might as well play it up a bit. A few bribes and hacks later, they've gotten themselves P2.0 accounts. The face plays it up, coaches the others on how to climb the social-networking ladder, or at least enough to stay on the network in the first place.


Then they get hired for a job, and it turns out to be one of those public-spectacle types. Like chasing down a notorious drug-pusher, and going to town on him with Fichetti Pain Inducers. Or they do something outlandish, like steal a helicopter and land it in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater.


Regardless of how they do it, they do something really public that is clearly shadowrunning. Given LA's fanboyism of the biz, they're instant celebrities. Their Pito scores instantly hit double digits, and their media saturation, even if it's just for a week, borders on becoming a meme.


In a case like this, I'd give the runners the Fame quality, at the "local" level. It would make sense -- but charging them Karma for it wouldn't. They weren't actively seeking the PQ, just doing biz; their location, and the circumstances of the job, put them in the spotlight. They might also lose it if they don't work to make it stick.

[Charybdis]

@ Kontact - I like to think that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  So while yes, negative consequences may have some long term Negative Quality type affects on a person, they are usually strengthened in other ways to make up for it.  Besides, I like the Karmic Balance of it all, just like I sometimes (but not always) give a point of edge back to a player that critcally glitches and doesn't spend edge to negate it.

That basic statement is indeed the foundation of evolution.

However, that which does not kill you, can also cripple you leaving a permanent disability....

[Dead Monky]

However, that which does not kill you, can also cripple you leaving a permanent disability....

Except in the Sixth World where you can chop that broken shit off and get a sweet, sweet metal replacement.

[Sid]

A cripple with a better crutch is still a cripple, no?

[Charybdis]

However, that which does not kill you, can also cripple you leaving a permanent disability....

Except in the Sixth World where you can chop that broken shit off and get a sweet, sweet metal replacement.

I have a relative working in robotic hand reconstruction.
He'll be the first to say that some of his patients get full hand mobility back (including a few extra tricks, like 720 degree wrist rotation  )
He'll also say that far fewer of these patients fully recover....

Not all disabilities are physical.
Not all wounds heal.
Not all coal becomes a diamond.... most is crushed into insignificant dust....

[Dead Monky]

True enough.

You know, Charybdis, that got me thinking: do people with cyberlimbs suffer from phantom limb syndrome?  If so, I wonder if it would be more or less disturbing knowing there's actually something there in its place.

[FastJack]

True enough.

You know, Charybdis, that got me thinking: do people with cyberlimbs suffer from phantom limb syndrome?  If so, I wonder if it would be more or less disturbing knowing there's actually something there in its place.

I don't believe they do in the tradition sense. Since it's been put out there that Cybereyes can be used by mages, because you paid the essence for them, they do count as your limb. However, from a different perspective, I wouldn't be surprised with some sammies getting "phantom itches" on their cyberarm or something, sensations that don't have any scientific explanation.

[Charybdis]

True enough.

You know, Charybdis, that got me thinking: do people with cyberlimbs suffer from phantom limb syndrome?  If so, I wonder if it would be more or less disturbing knowing there's actually something there in its place.

I don't believe they do in the tradition sense. Since it's been put out there that Cybereyes can be used by mages, because you paid the essence for them, they do count as your limb. However, from a different perspective, I wouldn't be surprised with some sammies getting "phantom itches" on their cyberarm or something, sensations that don't have any scientific explanation.

Nerves are tricky things, and current science still can't 100% explain all of the effects such as these.

Today, even the best 'cyber-limb' so to speak, can still give a completely phantom sensation. Sometimes the re-use of the same severed nerves (to provide electric impulses to the artificial limb) can get the brain and limb very confused about what is actually happening.

Have all these problems been solved by 2070⁺? Who knows?

[The_Gun_Nut]

There is a story of someone with a cyberlimb thinking his limb was set in one position, only to look over and see it was somewhere else.  His "aura limb" had drifted off the cyberlimb briefly, and only when his attention was brought back did it return to normal.

[Kontact]

@ Kontact - I like to think that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."  So while yes, negative consequences may have some long term Negative Quality type affects on a person, they are usually strengthened in other ways to make up for it.  Besides, I like the Karmic Balance of it all, just like I sometimes (but not always) give a point of edge back to a player that critcally glitches and doesn't spend edge to negate it.

That basic statement is indeed the foundation of evolution.

However, that which does not kill you, can also cripple you leaving a permanent disability....

Pain is temporary.  Joint injuries are forever.  (or until you can score some pig-lig.)

It's not too often that a guy needs to use the Hand of God to escape death, but when that happens, it's not meant to be something they can forget too easily.
HoGgin' is reserved for when everything else fails, and you have to throw yourself on the mercy of the GM.  "I really like this character.  Isn't there something..."

Sometimes it was just bad luck.  That's fine.  Burning the karma down is penalty enough.
Sometimes it was just poor judgment.  That's forgivable.  Burning the karma and taking a quality like flashback (uncommon) for instance, to remind them what a screwup they've been, that's generally what's called for.
Sometimes it was plain stupidity.  When someone brings it on themselves by ignoring warnings or trying the same thing over and over again, expecting different results, the character should die.  Sometimes, though, they'd rather play that same character with a hefty disability.  Sometimes that's acceptable.

Neq Quals:  Better than Character Death.

[Makki]

my char rolled a critical glitch on a toxin resistance test. GM and I agreed a mild allergy against said toxin would be appropriate. no karma

[farothel]

I would say it depends on the group and the style of play.  If a character stops at every bar to drink himself into a coma, after a while you should start to let him make addiction checks and give him an addiction should he fail.  Things like wanted are also logical from time to time.  If you go on a killing spree, there should be consequences.  Every action has a reaction.

On the other hand I would say to be careful with it.  It's not because a character tries novacoke once that he is addicted immediately.