[Angelone]

Yeah it's pretty much an IC tax.

[Reaver]

And then, there are evil asshat GMs (like me) that interpret the above mentioned rule to be applied to anything that can be customized for size issues (armor, vehicles, weapons, etc)....

Just cause 'weapons' are the only thing mentioned, doesn't mean (to me) that it shouldnt apply to vehicles.... Unless you actually think a 3 meter troll could drive a car designed for a 1 meter dwarf just as well as said dwarf.... And vise versa...

[Mantis]

Well it does say tools, so you could interpret a vehicle as a tool... Just depends on how much you want penalize someone for playing a troll or dwarf and how much you want to hamper your team by having one in the team. Using the rule to the nth degree means you can't use each others guns, commlinks, vehicles, scuba gear, or anything else that would or should need to be modified without penalties.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

So if someone in your group chooses to play a troll despite being warned about the inconveniences from being a giant, you choose to not apply penalties to them to make their life easier?

[Reaver]

Well it does say tools, so you could interpret a vehicle as a tool... Just depends on how much you want penalize someone for playing a troll or dwarf and how much you want to hamper your team by having one in the team. Using the rule to the nth degree means you can't use each others guns, commlinks, vehicles, scuba gear, or anything else that would or should need to be modified without penalties.

Never, ever, EVER, EVER touch a man's tools without permission!!! (ok, professional rant over)

Ever thought about how much lung capacity a troll has/needs to remain conscious??? Or what a mask meant for the head of a 10 foot tall person would look like??

In 'reality' they couldn't wear a human scuba mask cause the sides would sit right ON their eyes!! Ever gone to the department store and tried to put on clothing from the 'age 3-6' racks??? Yea, not comfortable. (don't ask)

••••

In the end, it boils down to how much realism you actually want in your game. If you are looking for lots of realism, clothing, weapon, tool, gear sizing does matter. If you are glossing over the details and just playing for fun, then don't bother with any of the sizing issues...
I bother with it simply cause it has the added effect of cutting out some twink builds (body 15 str 10, 22/20 armor trolls...) simply cause they usually can't afford ALL the toys with size customization on them...
..... And it leads to some rather funny situations.... Like when the troll rigger was KO'd and the 2 dwarves had to figure out how they were going to drive the Van (troll sized) away from the blood bath the run turned into!

[Mantis]

Just to be clear, in my games those penalties do apply and dwarves and trolls do need to get those modifications done. I've done that both for verisimilitude and also to help nerf a few annoying min/maxers I've since gotten rid of.

[mtfeeney = Baron]

You apply it evenly to all uses of items where size would be a factor?  Just for weapons?  For a limited scope of rules for weapons/vehicles tests?

[Reaver]

You apply it evenly to all uses of items where size would be a factor?  Just for weapons?  For a limited scope of rules for weapons/vehicles tests?

My players are aware of it before they make their characters or even discuss possible character builds. The size modification applies to everything they can purchase except buildings. So that means clothing, armor, tools, weapons, vehicles, and everything else.

Now, on the otherside of that coin, a dwarf/troll can ride IN a vehicle without the modification... They may be cramped, but I don't put a penalty on being a passenger... As long as they don't try to operate said vehicle...

[Lacynth40]

Yeah, see, this is where the logic of the GM steps in. Yes, there is only one rule quoted, but it says "item" in the rule, and then has an example of a weapon, and then a tool. So, the term "item" in the actual rule can mean anything you can buy for the character, or that the character would have to interact with. Which means if there is a size difference, then the penalty is applied. Simple as that.

[Muscular_Bevar]

Wondering if anyone else has noticed that when the artist show the differently modified weapons for trolls (for example) that they end up looking like they could blow a hole in the side of a tank with a handgun(the first one that came to mind is SR4A pg. 91). I'm assuming its for balance reasons but has anyone toyed with the idea of increasing the costs dramatically and the DV to suit. It seems odd that a gun 3 times larger would only ever be designed with the smallest possible caliber used (why are all the trolls using oversized airsoft pistols???)

[Reaver]

Wondering if anyone else has noticed that when the artist show the differently modified weapons for trolls (for example) that they end up looking like they could blow a hole in the side of a tank with a handgun(the first one that came to mind is SR4A pg. 91). I'm assuming its for balance reasons but has anyone toyed with the idea of increasing the costs dramatically and the DV to suit. It seems odd that a gun 3 times larger would only ever be designed with the smallest possible caliber used (why are all the trolls using oversized airsoft pistols???)

The size of the weapon has no baring on the damage. That is determined by the caliber of the round. In SR, the caliber has really been simplified to 'light', 'heavy' 'shotgun', etc for the type of weapon it is...

If you really want the headache, you could figure out the advantages of all that plastic/steel/weight would do to the tangibles... Such as recoil, heat generation, range, etc

[Lacynth40]

I was actually kind of wondering that, too... The troll has a pistol that is the size of the elf's torso... That's gonna move a hell of a round.

[CanRay]

I was actually kind of wondering that, too... The troll has a pistol that is the size of the elf's torso... That's gonna move a hell of a round.

"It shoots through schools."