« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: SPAM Broadening Humans  (Read 3350 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline David Johansen

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 832
  • OIC Points +0/-0
SPAM Broadening Humans
« on: April 24, 2009, 07:53:58 AM »
One of my few complaints about Spacemaster Privateers has been the over specialization of the races.  Recently it occured to me that flipping the problem over might produce a viable solution without downgrading the aliens.

With all the different worlds it's quite reasonable to assume that the stats given for all of the races represent a base-line and that variations due to environment or selective breeding or genetic engineering exist in other places.

I haven't built anything yet but the essential notion would be to have around four human variants with two +4 stat bonuses, four +2, and four +0.  I'll have to look up the actual cost for the bonuses.  This differs from just taking a talent in that the aliens can take talents too and stay well ahead of humans by doing so.

This would allow humans to compete a little better with the other races without entirely wiping out their niches.

Obviously one could argue that such modifications should be allowed for all the races but I think that humans are known for their diversity where the other races are not.  At least such alien varients should be better at other stuff than their current niche.
Logged

Offline markc

  • Elder Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 10,697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2009, 08:35:58 AM »
David Johanson;
 In the past I know there was a document that converted the old SM2 Trans-Humans, Replicants and I think there was a third race but the name escapes me at the moment. If it is not in the Vault send me a PM and I can see if I can place it there or send it to you.
MDC
Logged
Bacon Law: A book so good all PC's need to be recreated.
Rule #0: A GM has the right to change any rule in a book to fit their game.
Role Play not Roll Play.
Use a System to tell the story do not let the system play you.

Offline David Johansen

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 832
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2009, 07:16:24 PM »
Did it also include the various human varients that were't so extreme?  Because this would be more like that.
Logged

Offline markc

  • Elder Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 10,697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2009, 10:00:15 PM »
 I do not remember that exact racial stats but I do think that there was more of a range. I will try and find it later on this weekend as I have had about 5 hrs of sleep in the last 36 hrs, all at the end of the time period do to my bad back.
MDC
Logged
Bacon Law: A book so good all PC's need to be recreated.
Rule #0: A GM has the right to change any rule in a book to fit their game.
Role Play not Roll Play.
Use a System to tell the story do not let the system play you.

Offline RandalThor

  • Sage
  • ****
  • Posts: 3,116
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #4 on: April 26, 2009, 06:58:24 PM »
Quote from: David Johansen on April 24, 2009, 07:16:24 PM
Did it also include the various human varients that were't so extreme?  Because this would be more like that.

It did - to an extent. There were about 4 "mutants" other than the Transhumans and Alterant Replicants, which represented heavy-worlders, spacers, etc...
Logged
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Scratch that. Power attracts the corruptible.

Rules should not replace the brain and thinking.

Offline David Johansen

  • Wise Elder
  • ***
  • Posts: 832
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #5 on: April 26, 2009, 11:45:49 PM »
I'm thinking something a little less specific, more like, Linebacker, Thinker, Acrobat, and Glamour, or some such thing.  It bothers me more than it should that humans are significantly outclassed at everything in the Privateers universe.  I think human diversity would be better represented with a few specialized subtypes.
Logged

Offline markc

  • Elder Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 10,697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2009, 01:15:18 AM »
 I my self use a different talent system based on Talent Law but a lot lower powered. The reason I mention this is in SM:P it is fairly easy to by talents to give a bonus to your stats. So the player can mix and match as he see's fit.
 I understand that the #'s are there by just looking at the chart but IMO when you throw in thier TP's it can make them competitive. I am just giving my opinion on maybe what was thought at the time of creation as I know nothing more that I have read in the books.

MDC
Logged
Bacon Law: A book so good all PC's need to be recreated.
Rule #0: A GM has the right to change any rule in a book to fit their game.
Role Play not Roll Play.
Use a System to tell the story do not let the system play you.

Offline providence13

  • Navigator
  • ***
  • Posts: 1,944
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2009, 04:38:35 PM »
Consider the Traveller 2300AD approach;

I believe it was Mesomorph, Ectomorph, Endomorph......which all modified stats! And Normal (?) which did not.

Characters then had stats modified for different gravity worlds, Low to High G.

There was even a bit of genemod tech for poisonous/hostile atmospheres as it was much easier to slightly alter colonists than to scrub/modify an entire worlds' atmosphere and ecosystem. (Although really cool, Kim Stanely Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars would likely take 10x longer than in the books, IMHO.)

Cyberspace had a bunch of human implant mods from implanted cellphones to Robocop-style upgrades to extreme viral mods.

Did you want just a few baseline types to choose from?
Like High-G = +STR/CON .....-AG/QU
      Low-G = +QU..............-ST/CON
      Zero-G/Orbital Habitat = +AG/RE/....-ST/CON etc...

If you make all of the worlds.... you'll need mods per world.
If you give a set  points to mod stats, players can make their own; +8 total (for example) could be +2 ST, +2 RE, +2 PR, +2 CO.......
This way, players could flesh out the game with their own backstory. But I'm kinda lazy that way.

Body type and gravity type could be all you're looking for. At least it's simple.
Logged
"The Lore spell assaults your senses- Roll on the spontaneous human combustion table; twice!"

Offline markc

  • Elder Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 10,697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2009, 06:29:00 PM »
 I just partially wrote up a "generic human" race to start to build my space campaign on. If anyone wants to see it I will drop the stats into this thread or another one. It is not totally finished as I have to do allocate the skills and define a "package" for each type I am going to work with.

MDC
Logged
Bacon Law: A book so good all PC's need to be recreated.
Rule #0: A GM has the right to change any rule in a book to fit their game.
Role Play not Roll Play.
Use a System to tell the story do not let the system play you.

Offline Gallowglacht

  • Neophyte
  • *
  • Posts: 44
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2009, 07:18:41 AM »
I'd be interested. My Traveller game should be wrapping up soon and I'm eager to explore other sci-fi rpg ideas, with blaster law probably making up the base of the combat. It'd be good to see other approaches.
Logged

Offline markc

  • Elder Loremaster
  • ****
  • Posts: 10,697
  • OIC Points +0/-0
Re: SPAM Broadening Humans
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2009, 06:42:21 PM »
 Here is the link to the thread I started for my new basic Future Human Race:
http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=8514.new#new

All comments and ideas are welcome.

MDC
Logged
Bacon Law: A book so good all PC's need to be recreated.
Rule #0: A GM has the right to change any rule in a book to fit their game.
Role Play not Roll Play.
Use a System to tell the story do not let the system play you.
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »