[CanRay]

The problem with Min-Max is that his pants have fallen down.

[Netzgeist]

The problem with Min-Max is that his pants have fallen down.

+1

Even with pants down... Minmax Charisma is AWESOME.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

Ghostbusters?

GMs, remember that someone with Connection 6 is not going to be Lofwyr, Damien Knight, Richard Villiers, or Buttercup -- or even Miles Lanier or Roger Soaring-Owl.  For those, you should need to purchase things normally restricted to group contacts -- Matrix access, magical access, even numbers to indicate how many people can jump when they blow the whistle.  What you should especially hit them up on is the 'Area of Influence'; +4 (National Level) at least, +6 (Global) if they're wanting to snag a real mover and shaker.  So if they want Lofwyr as a close personal friend who'd do anything for them, make them wind up spending at LEAST 33 points for him -- if not more, all things considered.

My personal house mod to the contact game has the cost being (Connection ^ 1.25) * (Loyalty ^ 1.1).  A Connection/Loyalty 6/1 Friend for Life dock worker will cost you 7 points (+1 for going from 5 to 6), but a Connection/Loyalty 1/6 Just Biz major mob boss is going to cost you 9, because of his reach and influence.  A 6/6 Friend for Life mob boss will be a 63-point sink for you -- but on the other hand, this is the guy you can go to for almost anything and probably get it.

I'd also make sure the characters get some amount of free contacts -- Charisma times the highest of Negotiation or Etiquette, perhaps, with a minimum of their Charisma unless they've been Burned.  The elven face character (CHA 7, Negotiation 5) will be able to afford 35 points worth of contacts -- a Connection/Loyalty 4/3 contact and a couple of 4/2 contacts, perhaps -- while even a troll thug will get a point or two break.

[CanRay]

Never underestimate the power of a Connection 1 character, however.  They only have themselves, but they can be experts in their field that aren't recognized.  Or are anti-social to the point of nearly being hermits.

Buddy from 2XS is an excellent example of one.  I can think of a few other folks that are the same way.

*Sighs*  Possibly even myself.  'Course, what kind of use would I be?

[Triggvi]

One thing that stops min/maxing out of control is the rule of 20 (also make sure the situational bonus fall under the cap) Also have them use the karma-gen system. It generally makes well rounded characters because the best points efficiency is in a lot of lower level skills. Also i would not allow any character to start the game with a attribute of 1. Also focus of the Roleplaying side of the characters and less on the mechanics, it will give you a better game and less lop-sided or one dimensional characters.

Almost every game i have been in doesn't allow emo-toys for the reason that they tend to destroy the game.

[kirk]

One thing that stops min/maxing out of control is the rule of 20 (also make sure the situational bonus fall under the cap) Also have them use the karma-gen system. It generally makes well rounded characters because the best points efficiency is in a lot of lower level skills. Also i would not allow any character to start the game with a attribute of 1. Also focus of the Roleplaying side of the characters and less on the mechanics, it will give you a better game and less lop-sided or one dimensional characters.

Almost every game i have been in doesn't allow emo-toys for the reason that they tend to destroy the game.

See, I don't get that (about emo-toys). If they're common then Mr. Johnson brings his, too.

[Triggvi]

the dice modifiers for emotoys are way out of proportion to the relevant skills, that they quickly become unbalancing. They are better left out of the game. Also they just way too cheezy for my taste.

[Zilfer]

the dice modifiers for emotoys are way out of proportion the the relevant skills that they quickly become unbalancing. They are better left out of the game. Also they just way too cheezy for my taste.

I've heard this line repeated so many times... what the hell are Emotitoys?!?! and what makes them cheesey?

[kirk]

the dice modifiers for emotoys are way out of proportion the the relevant skills that they quickly become unbalancing. They are better left out of the game. Also they just way too cheezy for my taste.

I've heard this line repeated so many times... what the hell are Emotitoys?!?! and what makes them cheesey?

AR has cheap immobile sensor "drones" that run emotion-soft. They can add R [1-6] to your social dice.

As a rule the complaints I see are because runners have them but nobody else does. A secondary level happens when Mr. Johnson brings one but the face didn't.

They're really, really inexpensive compared to what buying the software and putting it in your commlink might cost.

[Triggvi]

the dice modifiers for emotoys are way out of proportion the the relevant skills that they quickly become unbalancing. They are better left out of the game. Also they just way too cheezy for my taste.

I've heard this line repeated so many times... what the hell are Emotitoys?!?! and what makes them cheesey?

AR has cheap immobile sensor "drones" that run emotion-soft. They can add R [1-6] to your social dice.

As a rule the complaints I see are because runners have them but nobody else does. A secondary level happens when Mr. Johnson brings one but the face didn't.

They're really, really inexpensive compared to what buying the software and putting it in your commlink might cost.

The programs should as expensive or more so per rating than tacnet. The cheap cost and relative power of the stuff makes them too much of a game imbalancer.

[Glyph]

To put it into perspective, rating: 6 empathy software is double the power of glamour, maximum-rated kinesics, or maximum-rated tailored pheromones.  It is pointless dice pool inflation, in an area where there are already multiple stacking dice pool modifiers.

[Triggvi]

To put it into perspective, rating: 6 empathy software is double the power of glamour, maximum-rated kinesics, or maximum-rated tailored pheromones.  It is pointless dice pool inflation, in an area where there are already multiple stacking dice pool modifiers.

thanks for the back up on this.

[Mason]

In my game, Empathy Software adds the dice to social resistance tests only.

[Zilfer]

Ah i see. Are they restricted or Forbidden at all?

[Mason]

not that I know of.