NEWS

[SR6] What's the idea behind Impaired (Attribute) ?

  • 5 Replies
  • 2580 Views

marfish

  • *
  • Newb
  • *
  • Posts: 82
« on: <06-20-22/0531:49> »
I mean, I feels like it doesn't really serve anything but a cheesy way to get karma. At one point, I was hoping the DIY rules for quality would bring some fresh air, but when I saw "Take 1 unresisted damage per 60 seconds. Bonus: 2 Karma (ex. Allergy levels)" and "Reduce Skill or Attribute max. Bonus: 8 Karma", I just couldn't get it...Why?

Why would they think "Reduce Skill or Attribute max" is worth 4 times more karma then "Take 1 unresisted damage per 60 seconds"? What's the reasoning behind it? I am so confused...

Hobbes

  • *
  • Catalyst Demo Team
  • Prime Runner
  • ***
  • Posts: 3078
« Reply #1 on: <06-20-22/1128:08> »
Quality values are all over the place.  Big picture the bonus Karma from Negative qualities aren't really meaningful.  At char gen you're limited to six qualities and 20 bonus karma.  A very high value / low impact negative quality lets you get one more positive quality in, maybe.  Big picture not huge as the most broken quality in the game is Stolen Goods and that one is a Negative Quality anyway  : )

FWIW Shadowrun Missions limits Impaired Attribute to One Level, max of -8. 

The main issue is that more interesting Negative Qualities with a bigger impact get skipped by players in favor of a few more Karma.  House rule:  Just make every Negative Quality worth 10 Bonus Karma, every Positive Quality cost 10 Karma.  Take 2 Positive, and 4 Negative and your 20 Bonus Karma and move on.  ;  )   

Stainless Steel Devil Rat

  • *
  • Errata Coordinator
  • Prime Runner
  • *****
  • Posts: 4572
« Reply #2 on: <06-20-22/1139:10> »
My view is similar to Hobbes'.  In a perfect world, every quality would get a comprehensive re-evaluation and potentially recosted so that they're all balanced against each other.  But that's not likely to happen, I'm afraid.

Even if that were to happen though... there will always be ways to wring free karma from negative qualities that you know won't meaningfully impact you in-game.  Yes, Impaired Attribute is a particularly low hanging example due to the extreme amount of karma you can wring from a dump stat.  Personally, I also heartily support house ruling that quality, as well, because of that.
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

MercilessMing

  • *
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 598
« Reply #3 on: <06-21-22/1241:30> »
Quote
In a perfect world, every quality would get a comprehensive re-evaluation and potentially recosted so that they're all balanced against each other.
Did it even happen when 6e was being developed?  I haven't done a comprehensive comparison or anything, but my impression is that by and large the old costs just got pushed forward into the new edition.

KarmaInferno

  • *
  • Ace Runner
  • ****
  • Posts: 2005
  • Armor Stacking Cheese Monkey
« Reply #4 on: <06-29-22/0811:50> »
I feel the 6 limit should have been done away with, leaving the 20 karma cap.

As it is, it discourages taking low Karma qualities. Which is a pity since some of the low karma qualities are quite flavorful.

Sphinx

  • *
  • Errata Team
  • Omae
  • ***
  • Posts: 879
« Reply #5 on: <07-08-22/1513:48> »
Recommended house rule: No duplicate qualities on a Shadowrun team. If a quality like "Impaired Attribute" is too good to resist, only one character can have it. If two players want the same quality for their characters, they can work out a deal or dice for it.