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Heavily armored PC needs a little humbling.

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summers307

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« on: <03-17-13/1909:53> »
So one of the PC's in my group discovered that in the initial character creation, if he just buys all of his limbs as obvious cyberlimbs and an obvious torso, he can have amazing attributes AND armor (33 ballistic and 30 impact) just through those. The only drawback so far is that he has an amazingly low essence score, but he's a tank (almost literally) so he doesn't need it.

The problem is that not only is his armor way over the top, he hits like a howitzer with a light swing, He can be dog piled by 5 custom drones that I designed to be like ED209 from the Robocop, since he didn't have to spend any build points on attributes, he had 350 points into skills. Firearms, close combat, athletics, and even diplomacy WITH tailored pheramons so he can barter to make his cyberlimbs better
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I don't want to feel like I have to punish him for finding a way around the system and maximizing like a bawse, but I can't make a combat scenario that's difficult for him, and it's getting boring now having him roll along. He of course will not change characters and I hate it when PC's undermine the system so they can hog the spotlight.

I need creative drawbacks for heavy cyberlimbed PC's. Can cyberlimbs be targeted? How can I hurt them? Can they be hacked? CAN ANYONE HELP ME?!

Bonus challenge, if the choice can come from the core rulebook it would help even more.
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Bewilderbeast

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« Reply #1 on: <03-17-13/1940:41> »
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Inconnu

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« Reply #2 on: <03-17-13/2016:09> »
Make a spell that uses Essence as the resistance pool. Or even better, the threshold! ;)

All4BigGuns

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« Reply #3 on: <03-17-13/2050:51> »
So one of the PC's in my group discovered that in the initial character creation, if he just buys all of his limbs as obvious cyberlimbs and an obvious torso, he can have amazing attributes AND armor (33 ballistic and 30 impact) just through those. The only drawback so far is that he has an amazingly low essence score, but he's a tank (almost literally) so he doesn't need it.

The problem is that not only is his armor way over the top, he hits like a howitzer with a light swing, He can be dog piled by 5 custom drones that I designed to be like ED209 from the Robocop, since he didn't have to spend any build points on attributes, he had 350 points into skills. Firearms, close combat, athletics, and even diplomacy WITH tailored pheramons so he can barter to make his cyberlimbs better
.
I don't want to feel like I have to punish him for finding a way around the system and maximizing like a bawse, but I can't make a combat scenario that's difficult for him, and it's getting boring now having him roll along. He of course will not change characters and I hate it when PC's undermine the system so they can hog the spotlight.

I need creative drawbacks for heavy cyberlimbed PC's. Can cyberlimbs be targeted? How can I hurt them? Can they be hacked? CAN ANYONE HELP ME?!

Bonus challenge, if the choice can come from the core rulebook it would help even more.

You allowed the character into the game, so it's all your mistake. You should have just said "no" to the character before play began.
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RdMarquis

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« Reply #4 on: <03-17-13/2051:34> »
Magic would probably defeat him with ease. If he didn't put points into Attributes, he wouldn't have much of a defense against, say an Influence spell.

DaveDaveDaave

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« Reply #5 on: <03-17-13/2051:50> »
Megh he has lots of armor but I`ll bet he`s not had a good hard look at the knockdown rules or thought to up his body any?
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RHat

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« Reply #6 on: <03-17-13/2144:26> »
Spells.  All you need is spells.
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Mirikon

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« Reply #7 on: <03-17-13/2151:32> »
First, let me say that Guns is completely correct. You are an idiot for letting that monster get into play. What you should have done is take a phone book, and beat the player with it until he stops trying to break the game.

Now that you have to clean up your mess, without thinking hard, here are my ways to beat the human tank:

Stunbolt/Manabolt - Watch the player's reaction when his walking tank gets taken down on the first initiative pass.

Control Thoughts/Actions, Influence - Watch the other players beat the offending player after the group gets wiped because someone had no Willpower to resist mental influence.

Demolish Cyberware spell - 'Nuff Said.

Gas grenades, full of your toxin of choice - Because cyberlimbs don't help against poison.

Hacker - Seriously, this guy is just BEGGING to be hacked.

Infected - Low essence, you say? Well, that will make him easy pickings for this vampire over here...

Bugs - The guy is likely to be overconfident. Turn that against him. Go to a meet, Stunbolt. He wakes up in a coccoon, and gets to sit there waiting to be invested while the rest of the group has to decide whether they save him or not.

Police/Corpsec - Check his license/SIN for the cyberware and weapons regularly, pretty much any time he's walking openly outside the Barrens. Just getting to a meet should have him stopped by the cops at least once. Treat the same as some idiot walking down the street in milspec armor.

Viruses - Viruses can be a lot of fun. Two really fun things would be one that inverts all his controls, so to move his right arm up he has to think about moving his left leg to the side, and so on, and one that makes Grimmy pop up and ask if he'd like help with every complex, standard, move, or free action he takes, EVERY SINGLE TIME, regardless of the settings. And he must answer verbally, every time, or it keeps asking, in his AR (set so others can see/hear it).
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Hellion

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« Reply #8 on: <03-18-13/0043:01> »
Emp grenade or herf gun.... Big pile of metal ready to melt with a flamethrower spell would be my answer
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blackangel

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« Reply #9 on: <03-18-13/0259:45> »
I will say magic... let him be possessed by a spirit and becoming a vilain bodyguard for a few sessions and let him find a way to free (stop) him himself.
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Glyph

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« Reply #10 on: <03-18-13/0300:26> »
I would double-check the rules for cyberlimbs to be sure this character is kosher.  At character creation, typically you have to make tough choices between armor and having decent Attributes (remember, each limb has to have Body, Strength, and Agility bought up separately for it, and you use the average for those).  Plus, this guy will have little other 'ware, such as initiative boosters.

Others have already brought up magic (really, it is a vulnerability for any mundane character who is not a fomori with astral hazing), gas, and the fact that the character is very conspicuous.  Hacking, not so much, really, unless he  keeps the wireless active on his 'ware (most runners don't).

Full auto narrow bursts are good - he is not likely to dodge that well, and while it will still be stun, and he will probably soak most of it, it can still whittle him down.  Don't be afraid to use sniper rifles or assault cannons against a character that logically would attract that kind of firepower.  Obviously, the gang down the street isn't likely to have one, but people who know they are going up against the team that includes the full-cyber monster will plan appropriately.

Black

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« Reply #11 on: <03-18-13/0319:34> »
I would double-check the rules for cyberlimbs to be sure this character is kosher.  At character creation, typically you have to make tough choices between armor and having decent Attributes (remember, each limb has to have Body, Strength, and Agility bought up separately for it, and you use the average for those).  Plus, this guy will have little other 'ware, such as initiative boosters.

Others have already brought up magic (really, it is a vulnerability for any mundane character who is not a fomori with astral hazing), gas, and the fact that the character is very conspicuous.  Hacking, not so much, really, unless he  keeps the wireless active on his 'ware (most runners don't).

Full auto narrow bursts are good - he is not likely to dodge that well, and while it will still be stun, and he will probably soak most of it, it can still whittle him down.  Don't be afraid to use sniper rifles or assault cannons against a character that logically would attract that kind of firepower.  Obviously, the gang down the street isn't likely to have one, but people who know they are going up against the team that includes the full-cyber monster will plan appropriately.

The gang down the street could use improvised weapons very effectively.  Paint to blind the target?  Set him on fire even?  Improvised explosive? Rope his feet with a chain and lift into the air?  All ambush attacks of course.

However, the best answer, is to talk to the player and sort something between yourselfs.  You mention that they are taking the spot light, is this impacting the enjoyment of other players?  Are you only running combat missions where tanks will rock, or is their negotiations, investigation, stealthly break and enters, etc were the other players can shine?
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Mystalya

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« Reply #12 on: <03-18-13/0339:37> »
Nothing a little Control Thoughts can't fix.

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All4BigGuns

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« Reply #13 on: <03-18-13/0354:03> »
Post the sheet. I have a feeling that not everything is entirely legitimate, and while I could be mistaken, it is certainly possible.
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Companero

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« Reply #14 on: <03-18-13/0508:47> »
Quote
Don't be afraid to use sniper rifles or assault cannons against a character that logically would attract that kind of firepower.

I'd be a little careful about simply attacking him with bigger guns, from a GMing standpoint. With some players - like the kind of player who'd create that character - that strategy can sometimes start an arms race between the player and GM which ups the general power level of the game in ways you might not want. Also, it wouldn't take him out of the spotlight, because those attacks are still within his area of expertise.

Quite aside from anything else, he might pick up the assault cannon at the end of the fight  ;).

Attacking him with magic as others have said - especially with fairly innocuous, common spells that blatantly take advantage of his low attributes to work - or hacking is probably a much better strategy because a ) it will give him reasons to consider a more balanced character next time around and b ) it gives some of the other characters a chance to shine.

Turning a character's dumpstat against him using low-tech, easily available means: the time-honoured weapon against the wildly unbalanced PC!

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