[Medicineman]

Changelings make up about 1% of the entire population of the Earth
just for the facts its 2 % (and ca 10 % in Seattle )
thats twice as much as awakened and how many of these are in your Grooups ? ;

Which basically noone cares about. We are the players. The heroes. We want to play the cool stuff!
Doc Chaos is totally right. As long as it does not interfere with the GMs Adventure
(Troll streetpunk in an Tir Taingire Elvencourt High Society Spy Adventure) we should play whatever we want !


2) there will be a lot of pointing and staring by 'ordinary folk' since you're NOT the norm.
thats why they all get distinctive Style "for free"
even those that are quite ordinary, those that have no external Feature at all

Hough !
Medicineman

[Irian]

One problem could be, that Shadowrun simply HAS no possibility to compare orcs to elves, for example. Nobody can say what point value "+1 max Charisma", for example, has, because it's not the same as the quality given in the sourcebook. This is why I prefer GURPS, there you can exactly tell how much points a certain race should cost... *sighs*

[anotherJack]

Doc Chaos is totally right. As long as it does not interfere with the GMs Adventure
(Troll streetpunk in an Tir Taingire Elvencourt High Society Spy Adventure) we should play whatever we want !

No problem, who stands in your way ? talk about it with your GM.
Now, Catalyst gives a ruleset supposed to fit with the basic-classic background and style of gaming, including frequency of metavariants in their BP cost, I think that's a good job, but they never said you had to respect it.
You want free metavariants, or characters build with 1000 BP ? okay, why not ? that's just not the basic-classic game.

Which basically noone cares about. We are the players. The heroes. We want to play the cool stuff!

Oh, yeah, but you know, old rule, if everybody's cool, then nobody's cool.
I find it better if metavariants stay rare, or the game quickly turns into a ridiculous freakshow. But "if that's what you're into…"

[FastJack]

Changelings make up about 1% of the entire population of the Earth
just for the facts its 2 % (and ca 10 % in Seattle )
thats twice as much as awakened and how many of these are in your Grooups ? ;

From Seattle 2072:

Population: 3,000,000+
Human: 66%
Elf: 13%
Dwarf: 2%
Ork: 16%
Troll: 2%
Other: 1%

So, in Seattle, they'd be at less than 1% since that 1% contains Changelings, Infected, Awakened Sentients, etc.

My point in the whole thing is that if you want to play with more Metahumans, then change the BP values for the Metahumans. Instead of trying to rebuild them using positive/negative qualities, sit down with the GM and explain that you want to play where Metahumans aren't as rare, so can we a) lower the costs or b) get rid of the costs entirely?

[Usda Beph]

Which basically noone cares about. We are the players. The heroes. We want to play the cool stuff!

Oh, yeah, but you know, old rule, if everybody's cool, then nobody's cool.
[/quote]Or... You are unique and special. Just like everybody fraking else!

[anotherJack]

Or... You are unique and special.

Never needed an exotic metavariant for this, just a little bit of work on your character and interpretation.

[voydangel]

Also. Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, I'll just throw in the fact that if you use the alternate character creation system using karma listed on pg 41 of the Runner's Companion... then metavariants are free, and so you can therefore be the cool guys and the heroes and all that jazz, in addition to not having to worry about the creation system trying to 'force' PCs to fit into the correct demographic spreads. Personally, I find that making characters using that system makes them a bit too buff, but i suppose that could easily be fixed by making a few tweaks to the math, such as having attributes cost 'new rating x4 or x5' or some such.

[FastJack]

Also. Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, I'll just throw in the fact that if you use the alternate character creation system using karma listed on pg 41 of the Runner's Companion... then metavariants are free, and so you can therefore be the cool guys and the heroes and all that jazz, in addition to not having to worry about the creation system trying to 'force' PCs to fit into the correct demographic spreads. Personally, I find that making characters using that system makes them a bit too buff, but i suppose that could easily be fixed by making a few tweaks to the math, such as having attributes cost 'new rating x4 or x5' or some such.

Or by charging them to increase from 1 instead of the racial minimum.

[Medicineman]

@Fast Jack
I just consulted my German sourcebooks
Runners Compendium (pg 60 )says 2% of the Populace in Industrialized Countries have to be classified as Surged , but( confusingly ) 1 Page later that only 1 % has to be classified as Changeling

and....(Schattenstädte ?) has listed 10% of Seattles Inhabitants (300.000) as Changelings on Page 64. But that was Shadowtalk

so we were both right
I just wanted to clarify that

HokaHey
Medicineman

[anotherJack]

Maybe an explanation : SURGE and changeling ain't really the same, since SURGE also occured some classic goblinizations. May explain the gap between the 2% Surged and the 1% Changelin, what you think ?

[Irian]

From Seattle 2072:

Population: 3,000,000+
Human: 66%
Elf: 13%
Dwarf: 2%
Ork: 16%
Troll: 2%
Other: 1%

So, in Seattle, they'd be at less than 1% since that 1% contains Changelings, Infected, Awakened Sentients, etc.

Nope. Changelings are not an own metatype or species. An orc with wings who looks like a fairy is still just an orc. A human with horns is still just a human. So the 66%+13%+2%+16%+2%+1% = 100% contain the Changelings. The Shadowtalk estimates 10% - any why not? Most effects will be pretty small, probably not even noticeable without a closer inspection. And the 1% is just a guess anyway - who knows REALLY how many ghouls, shapeshifters, etc. live in Seattle?

[Medicineman]

after reading it a 2nd (and 3rd) Time I think 2 % are all Metavariants (maybe including Sentient Critters ?) but I'm not quite shure

the shadowtalker assumes a lot of Surge Refugess from Cas and Ucas because of Seattles Reputation as a "save heaven for Freaks and  other Strangeties"...until Brackhaven became Mayor
 
JahtaHey
Medicineman

[Usda Beph]

I think that players will always play the type they want to and be damned the statistics. I mean for all anyone knows Usda is the only Minotaur in Seattle. Players will probably never care what the HMFICs say is the right mix, because they aren't running the table being played at.

[Mäx]

and because these Rules are stupid I decided if I want to play a Metavariant , I'll make it via the Surge Rules (allready done it with a male Dryad.It saved me 5 points compared to the variant and I got Astral Perception for free )

Well the think is, my normal female Dryad(calling a male that just doesn't make any sense, even if you surge one and give him same qualities) still has the full 35 point limit availeble for positive and negative qualities.l

[Medicineman]

Your'e totally right with the qualities argument
But for me it was more Important to have a "fair" Char than full amount of quality Points

(calling a male that just doesn't make any sense,...
but You have to give Him a Name
I think mother Nature did plan for male Dryads, right

with a natural Dance
Medicineman