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[SR6] House Rules

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MercilessMing

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« Reply #45 on: <11-30-21/1025:47> »

Spell Amps
That should have been in Street Wyrd

Subtle Casting    +1DV 
+1 Threshold to tests to notice casting.
Combine this with a reduced normal threshold to notice casting, because the CRB rule is crazy high

Reckless Casting   +1DV
+1 Wild Die to spellcasting tests.  Spells cast recklessly are always obvious.

Finstersang

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« Reply #46 on: <11-30-21/1719:37> »

Spell Amps
That should have been in Street Wyrd

Subtle Casting    +1DV 
+1 Threshold to tests to notice casting.
Combine this with a reduced normal threshold to notice casting, because the CRB rule is crazy high

Reckless Casting   +1DV
+1 Wild Die to spellcasting tests.  Spells cast recklessly are always obvious.

Coincidentally, I had already implemented the exact same houserule for the Wild Die option, just with a different name ;D. An Amp to go stealthy didnīt occur to me, though.

Absolutely loving it and yes indeed: These should have been in Street Wyrd (along with an overhaul to the existing Amps for Combat spells...)
« Last Edit: <11-30-21/1721:47> by Finstersang »

MercilessMing

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« Reply #47 on: <06-02-22/0856:59> »
Qualities

Negative
Essence Hole
At some point in the past, you had one or more pieces of ware removed.  Maybe it was defective, maybe you needed the cash, or maybe it was removed without your consent.  In any case, you're left with all the drawbacks of ware without the benefits.

  • Game Effect: Each level of Essence Hole reduces your Essence by .2, creating an Essence Hole of a corresponding amount.  This hole can be reduced or eliminated with augmentations as normal (see Essence Holes, pg. 146, Sixth World Companion).  It cannot be bought off with karma. 
  • Bonus: 2 Karma per level (max 10 levels)
« Last Edit: <12-15-22/0924:39> by MercilessMing »

draxdeveloper

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« Reply #48 on: <10-11-22/2146:38> »
Knowledge House Rule

This house rule take in consideration how much specialized a skill is and apply it in the Legwork table from Contacts (page 50)

I don't know if I can copy the table here so I will not. But level 0 and 1 don't represent someone with a real knowledge in the subject, so we will start with level 2. In the same way levels 9 and 10 are far above the expected info you would get with a knowledge skill, so we have 7 levels, most skills fall in level 2 or 3 (rating 3 and 4 in legwork results).
I can't add a table with examples now but it would be something like:
Level 1: Generalist level (Trideo)
Level 2/3: Regular level (most examples of knowledge skills)
level 4/5: Specific level (A specific genre of Trideo Series)
level 6: Really Specific level (A specific Trideo Series)
level 7: Obscure level (Characters of a specific Trideo Series)

Not the best examples but I hope I could make the concept clear, anyway...

You can get the quality of the info based on the specificity knowledge level, so if your knowledge is level 5 you would know "secrets and hidden information" , if it's level 1 you would know just "a few nuggets of information" and if it's level 7 "some deep secrets".

You can access information for a higher level making a memory roll, the threshold 2 + the difference of the levels. So if you have a knowledge level 3 and want something level 7 the threshold would be 6.

Language House Rule

This one is easier, the levels are almost the same but each level have some definitions, also the basic level now is named accented and you can buy a level above expert (master or something like that) that it's almost as native level.

Language (Accented): You can read and write with no issues, but you have a heavy accent. Add one to the threshold of a con test if you are trying to disguise as a native of the language. Roll if the target is speaking somewhat faster, in a low level or if there is a lot of noise. In other words anything that would force you to focus in what the target is speaking
Language (Specialist): You got ridden of the accent or can easily disguise it. Roll if the target is speaking really fast, whispering or using a lot of slangs.
Language (Expert): You just need to roll if worst conditions or if your mental status is really affect (confused or similar)
Language (Master): You almost work as a native. You need two extreme conditions to need to roll, also you have a bonus of 4 (all the bonus are the same as the book)
All the tests are to know if the player understand the language. If the player need to roll a perception test they it's must be a separated test and must be made before the language test (if you didn't hear anything there is no need to know if you would understand it)

MercilessMing

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« Reply #49 on: <12-15-22/1128:41> »
Grenade resolution too complicated?  The 6e core book wants you to refer to three tables to resolve this.  Scatter direction, scatter distance, dodge penalty.  But you can get very similar results with a much simpler approach.

Simpler Grenade Resolution (6e)

An attack with grenade or similar area effect weapon, whether thrown (Athletics, sp. Throwing) or launched (Exotic Weapons, sp. Launchers) is a Simple test with a threshold determined by the gamemaster.  If the attack meets or exceeds the threshold, the object lands or arrives close enough to the target to be considered accurate.  If the attack misses the threshold, the object will land some distance away.  The more the roll misses, the farther away it lands.
One attack die will always be a Wild Die.  This adds the random element that the RAW models with the extra 2D6 roll.  A hit on the Wild Die increases the accuracy of the throw, while a 1 will make it less accurate.

Suggested Base Threshold for Thrown attacks:
1 for every 5 meters of distance (Distance / 5), plus more based on difficulty (CRB pg. 36 for guidelines)
Example: An average difficulty throw from about 30 meters away would have a threshold of 9.

Suggested Base Threshold for Launcher attacks:
Threshold based on Range category, plus more based on difficulty (CRB pg. 36 for guidelines)
Close: 7
Near: 5
Medium: 7
Far: 9
Extreme: 11

Scatter
The thrown or launched object will scatter by 1 meter per missed threshold hit.  The direction should be determined by the gamemaster, either determined randomly or decided by what's appropriate in the narrative.  The wild die result could be used as inspiration for this.

Avoid Incoming (A) Minor
Instead of rolling REA + Athletics - Dodge Penalty (determined by the Dodge Penalty Table):
Roll REA + INT and don't apply any dodge penalty.  For every hit, character may move 1 meter in the direction of their choosing.  If the move 2+ meters, they may also elect to drop Prone.

Justification: Easier to remember than REA + Athletics, eliminate penalty to streamline, makes minor somewhat useful since it provided almost no benefit before.
« Last Edit: <12-15-22/1320:35> by MercilessMing »

Finstersang

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« Reply #50 on: <12-20-22/0704:42> »
Love it, lots of good stuff in there. And by god is it necessary, the current rules are just so clunky and wonky. Iīve been ruminating on the same issue for a while now as well. I think thereīs another grave issue besides complexity that could be adressed by Grenade Houserules: AR/DR. Thereīs a lot of weirdness in that system anyways, but when it comes to Grenades, this is where truly everything falls apart:

  • Somehow, either the Strength-based Throwing AR or the Launcherīs AR (~ the "Precision" of the thing) is compared to the Armor-based DR...
  • ... which then still does almost nothing besides granting 1 (one) Edge...
  • ... or denying 1 Edge to the Attacker. Speaking of which: The GM somehow also has to figure out which target has the highest DR for the comparison ???
  • ...And note that this all is supposed to happen before the actual attack and scatter rolls, so you donīt even know who will actually end up in the effective range of the grenade. And it might actually not even go off right away in many cases, because delayed explosions are still a thing.
  • Also, what about Grenades with non-explosive Payloads?
  • (Also, AOE combat spells work completely differently? This is not a thing Iīm going to touch on here, but I think its worth pointing out as well  ::))
Iīm fine with the way AR/DR works now in single-attack cases, but itīs clear that the whole concept needs to be completely flipped on its head for Grenade Resolution. The DR should have a clear and impactful interaction with the actual Explosion, and the AR should reflect the "precision" of the Attack. Meanwhile, Edge maybe needs to take a bit of back seat in there. Also, thereīs a lot of other small things to adress here, like HE Grenades being strictly worse than Frag. So please allow me to pick up on your suggestions and modify them a bit  8)

Thresholds:
A little bit of cautious criticism: If you want to stick with "thrown or launched object will scatter by 1 meter per missed threshold hit", scatter becomes a bit too reliable, even with these relatively high thresholds. Even on a completely botched roll, it will never be more than just those 11 Meters on extreme Ranges. However, for my own modification, Iīd stick with roughly the same Thresholds you suggest. Maybe MINUS 1 or 2, since the penalty for missing the Threshould is more serious as well. The Wild Die isnīt needed for this solution to work. It could be used to further reflect the chaotic nature of these attacks, but I think the next part does this well enough  ;)

Scatter is 1W6 Meters per missed point of the Threshold. This is obviously a lot more unpredictable - However, you then also subtract the remaining AR from the rolled scatter, thus reflecting the "precision" of the weapon (Note that this also better fits stuff like the +2 AR of guided missiles). Regarding the direction of the scatter: As you probably also noticed, the scatter diagramm isnīt distributed evenly anymore. Instead itīs highly biased to "overshoot" the target instead of going too short. This may be fitting for close and near ranges, but for higher ranges, it makes sense to flip the diagramm on its head, especially for thrown grenades.

Armor, DR and Edge for the Defender: Now with AR covered, what about the Defense Rating? As I said above, it makes no sense to actually compare the DR to the AR in these cases, especially if the explosion doesnīt go off right away or if the grenade scatters so much that the victim isnīt even in reach anymore. Instead, I suggest the following: When the Grenade goes off (and if itīs an actual damage-dealing grenade  ::)), all victims in range simply compare their DR to the remaining Damage Score theyīd face for that range. If they have a higher value (no "+4" in this case), they get 1 Edge to be used for the the Damage Resistance Test only. Furthermore, against Frag Grenades (and Frag Rockets/Missiles), the victims also roll their Full Defense Value (i.e. Body + Armor) instead of just Body. This balances out the higher damage/kill radius of Frag explosives and helps distinguishing them from HE Grenades. They are still very scary against soft targets even with that houserule ;) (Note: At my tables, this is actually part of a broader houserule that aims to bring back the "Flechette" Damage type from 4th and 5th Edition)

Edge for the Attacker: ... Honestly, isnīt the devastation of well-placed explosive enough to reflect an Advantage for the attacking side?  ;) The goal here is to decouple AR and DR in the case of Grenade Attacks, and the AR has a lot more impact if its used to determine scatter anyways. So: No Edge for the Attacker, at least not from AR/DR. However, the GM should feel encouraged to grant situational Edge for clever placement of grenades and/or high attack rolls.

Avoid Incoming/Prone Status: Great idea to simplify the Avoid Incoming roll! I donīt mind keeping Athletics in there, but I just have no clue how the Dodge Penalty even made it in the Core Rules again when so many other more meaningfull modifiers have been scrapped. Seriously, what does it even reflect? Anyways: Avoid Incoming also mentions the Prone Status, and in your houserule it seems to be not mandatory anymore after 2 Meters. No objection to that modification, but what always irked me that the Prone status does nothing against grenades in on itself. In reality, dropping prone is arguably the most important thing if you want to survive a grenade blast. I suggest the following addition to the Status description on p. 53: "As long as you are not in Ground Zero range, being Prone also reduces the Damage Code of explosions by 2." (Edit: Apparently, this also an effect of the Hit the Dirt action, but itīs not mentioned straight away in the description of the action, and itīs unclear if and how it can be combined with Avoid Incoming ??? Anyways, sticking the -2 Explosion Damage to the Prone status seems like a good way to clean things up... )

Airburst Link: Simply reduces the Threshold for the Attack Test by 1. No effect on Hit the dirt or other defensive options. With an additional Minor Action and a DNI, Characters can use the same effect for thrown Grenades, as long as they are wireless-active (a totally great idea that will never backfire :P).

Last, but not least: For some reason, the description of Avoid Incoming explicitly tells us to let the Defender chose the direction before the scatter direction is rolled. To me, this is just the worst kind of randomness, because it will lead to a situation where a bad roll with higher scatter + a good Avoid Incoming roll ultimately goes against the defenders because they just so happened to run in the wrong direction. Not exactly fun to lose a character to that kind of bad luck IMO :P As long as the victim has a good view of the actual attack happening, they should be able to make out where the point of impact will be - and choose to run after scatter has been determined.
« Last Edit: <12-20-22/1253:30> by Finstersang »

 

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