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Charisma and Troll

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Dinendae

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« Reply #15 on: <02-13-16/0132:21> »
Have you considered the Fomorian version of the Troll? Its charisma is 1/5 rather than a 1/4, and using standard priority costs 12 karma. You do start with 1 less starting & max body and lose the dermal deposit, but you gain the positive quality Arcane Arrester (innate magical resistance, if I remember correctly). Given that you're looking to make a Troll Face, the loss of the point of strength and dermal deposits shouldn't hamper you.

MijRai

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« Reply #16 on: <02-13-16/0205:22> »
Like I said earlier, one does have to deal with 1/4 in Logic AND Intuition, though. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Dinendae

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« Reply #17 on: <02-13-16/0227:46> »
Like I said earlier, one does have to deal with 1/4 in Logic AND Intuition, though.


And nothing that is central to a Face's primary skills need those stats. A Fomorian using priority generation, with Meta A, Skills B, Attributes C, Resources D, and Magic E can have:


Body, Agility, and Reaction at 4
Strength 5
Willpower, Logic, and Intuition 3
and Charisma 5


With 36 skill points and 5 group skill points:
Acting Group 5
Ettiquette 1 (I've never seen a need for more than 1 or 2 points put into this skill)
Intimidation, Leadership, and Negotiation at 6
Then they can pick up a combat skill at 6, plus stealth, perception, perhaps a skill to dodge. If their table doesn't use leadership all that much, or at all, they can dump points out of that for more secondary skills.


That's a good Face character right there, has only spent 12 karma of the free karma everyone gets, and it doesn't take into account bonuses and/or attribute increases from augmentations, gear, etc. Granted you will be looking at the majority of augmenting the character after they've made some runs. Sum to Ten or Life Module generation would probably give the character more wiggle room to play with nuyen, if those are allowed at their table, but there's nothing wrong with that character core.

Glyph

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« Reply #18 on: <02-13-16/0441:37> »
You could also play a giant - same charisma, no hit to willpower, and 10 Karma points cheaper.

Lorebane24

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« Reply #19 on: <02-13-16/0851:59> »
You could always go out for the troll reduction treatment.  Renraku needs your nuyen!
The power of the Tri-Horse!

Whiskeyjack

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« Reply #20 on: <02-13-16/1145:26> »
Like I said earlier, one does have to deal with 1/4 in Logic AND Intuition, though.
And nothing that is central to a Face's primary skills need those stats.
Everyone needs INT and REA.
Playability > verisimilitude.

MijRai

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« Reply #21 on: <02-13-16/1240:39> »
Yeah, Intuition is pretty big for a Face; it is a part of Judge Intentions and your Perception. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

jim1701

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« Reply #22 on: <02-13-16/1259:49> »
You could also play a giant - same charisma, no hit to willpower, and 10 Karma points cheaper.

+1

MijRai

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« Reply #23 on: <02-13-16/1308:02> »
I forgot the Willpower hit to Fomorians; it makes them even worse.

I don't get how the even bigger and uglier (by description) Giants get a higher Charisma. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #24 on: <02-13-16/1326:00> »
Charisma is not (just) a measure of looks, but a representation of force of character.

MijRai

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« Reply #25 on: <02-13-16/1853:39> »
And the extra-large Giants are described as not having that. 
Would you want to go into a place where the resident had a drum-fed shotgun and can see in the dark?

Dinendae

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« Reply #26 on: <02-14-16/0014:21> »
Yeah, Intuition is pretty big for a Face; it is a part of Judge Intentions and your Perception.


A starting attribute of 3 in Int is perfectly acceptable, and you can get by on a 2 if you absolutely had to. It really depends on the table and group: For example, I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to judge intentions on a NPC. Other tables might use it each game. For perception you can get more dice with the right visual enhancements in contacts or glasses, and audio perception tests can likewise get a bonus from ear buds or headphones and the right audio enhancements. Willpower for a Fomorian capped at 5, true, but since 5th Edition works like 4th in that odd numbers up the number of damage/stun boxes you get, I don't see a problem with that.


I didn't mention Giants along with Fomorians because I thought they had a social penalty. Looking back at them, it seems that was just fluff with no actual rules mechanics supporting it. With them only costing 2 Karma, they are a great choice for a Troll face as well. Also keep in mind that either the Fomorian or Giant at Metatype A gets 6 edge starting; if you absolutely need more dice for judging intentions or perception, in addition to what gear can give you for perception, pop a point of edge to get 6 more dice, ignore limits, and get 'exploding' 6s. Again things will vary from table to table, but in my experience Trolls can be a good primary face. /shrug

Whiskeyjack

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« Reply #27 on: <02-14-16/1444:48> »
INT is also core to defense tests and initiative. Which everyone wants.
Playability > verisimilitude.

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #28 on: <02-14-16/1458:38> »
And the extra-large Giants are described as not having that. 
How is that, exactly? Run Faster only states the following:
Quote
Across the board, giants test within the same ranges as base ingentis. Similar to trolls, their mental acuity tends to be underestimated. That is to say, while they may average slightly lower than other metatypes on intelligence tests, they tend to be brighter than people believe they are. Thus, giants are quite capable of  surprising people with mental feats that in truth are products of only average or slightly above average minds.

Unless the statline is just wrong, which is a distinct possibility, the exact quote about mental characteristics averaging slightly lower than other metatypes is spot on. With racial maximums of 5s for mental attributes, Giants are exactly that; slightly lower than other metatypes.

farothel

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« Reply #29 on: <02-14-16/1609:19> »
That means you won't find a giant with for instance a logic in the Sheldon Cooper area, but 5 is still very good.
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