Feng Shui Mutated mutants
From: Sensei Posted on: 4/18/2004 12:07 pm
To: ALL
Message: 353.1
> "Aw, mutation doesn't look all that bad."

Heh heh. Spoken like a true CDCA arcanotech researcher. ("Look, Bob, think of how much more you'll get done with three arms!")

> "there [is] a fu path to take away your mutation"

While this is very true, I have yet to meet anyone who was willing to sacrifice some more useful fu schticks in more action-oriented paths just to have access to No Medicine or Clearing the Ground. Heck ,even arcanotech users would have to forego several arcanoschticks just to get these two fu schticks as a cure for themselves.

> "all you have to do is take Transformation...and buy up your stats"

Transformation helps for a short bit, but whether you look human or not isn't much consolation once you start hallucinating and craving the flesh of your comrades. (Which, thanks to the accumulating Outcome modifiers per Mutation Check failure, will be preeeeetty soon.) As far as buying up stats, again, that's just a *lot* of costly XP that could have gone towards acquiring much cooler schticks.

> "I'm a little puzzled about what happens after -14, though. Do all your stats shift or just one at a time?"

Hm... I'm thinking the last Outcome chart entry should be "-14 or more" instead of just '-14'. I mean, after you hit -14, your added Outcome penalties won't allow you to get less than that on future rolls anyway. Which means that every time you fail a check, you'll suffer ALL the Attribute modifications on the chart. Cripes, before long, one of your attributes will have to hit 0, and you'll be out of the game.

So, if you like arcanotech and being a mutated freakazoid, well, more power to ya! I would just say that people who take arcano schticks and use 'em should know pretty much up front that they're gonna get freaky at some point, it's just a matter of time. (Unless they snag a cool feng shui site that reverses mutation. That would be gnarly!)


Edited 4/20/2004 4:47 pm ET by Sensei (Sensei22)
From: dwjohnston Posted on: 4/18/2004 1:10 pm
To: Sensei
Message: 353.2
in reply to: 353.1
I don't see anything on the mutation table which says anything about hallucinations. And on closer reading I've figured out how it works. You will _not_ change more than one stat at a time once you've experienced all the results on the table. Nothing at all will happen if you roll above 14 on the mutation table (and you've already experienced all the mutation table results at least once) because you are already pretty much an Abomination and they are immune to mutation.
From: Sensei Posted on: 4/19/2004 4:26 pm
To: dwjohnston
Message: 353.3
in reply to: 353.2
> "I don't see anything on the mutation table which says anything about hallucinations."

Check out the -8 rating. Right before 'violent impulses begin'.

Upon rereading, I see you're right that far as once you hit -14, nothing further happens. It makes sense now that you mention it, just wish they woulda' stated that in the rules to be clearer.

From: dwjohnston Posted on: 4/20/2004 5:03 am
To: Sensei
Message: 353.4
in reply to: 353.3
Oh, I see. Yes, there it is. Well, I'm new to the system. Of course
since there are no game mechanics it's basicly a roleplaying thing. Note
that in the narrative text "future guy" is long past that point and still
seems to be on the side of the Dragons.

Of course the actual cutoff point past which nothing more can happen is
19 since it is possible to get up to a -5 on a closed roll, right?

From: Sensei Posted on: 4/20/2004 4:54 pm
To: dwjohnston
Message: 353.5
in reply to: 353.4
Yeah, -5 is the max penalty on a closed roll.
You would need to have been on the -14 category already in order to subtract the five from it, tho, on a mutation check... and I think we've decided it's not worth rolling anymore once you've already hit the -14. (So I don't think anyone'd roll to get the -19.)


Edited 4/21/2004 9:43 pm ET by Sensei (Sensei22)