[CitizenJoe]

If the infection is only effective while the ghoul is alive (as is the case in prior editions, i.e. infection power is based on essence) then you could take the depowered virus and use it as an inoculation.  Once you overcome the weakened virus, you have an immunity to it.

If the infection ability extends beyond the life of the ghoul, like Anthrax which can stay dormant for years, then you've got the issue of anything the ghoul has ever touched is now contagious.

Of course, the real reason that you can't contaminate everyone that easily is that A) HMHVV is destroyed by the UV of the sun and B) the Green river is so toxic and polluted that people don't go near it and the virus couldn't survive the bath.

A couple issues with the Krieger strain is the moving goal posts.   For the other forms of HMHVV (vampirism) it is passed on via the Infection power.  For ghouls it is passed on with the Pestilence power.  In 3rd Ed. Pestilence was Unmodified body vs. Essence - 2.  For a stock ghoul, with essence 5, that means a 3.  The Stock average person with 3 body would have to roll 2 or less 3 times to get infected.   That's about 4% chance.  SR companion moved those goal posts up to straight up Essence.  So now the average person had to roll 5 or higher, which means about 30% infection rate.  I've got no idea how it is in 4th edition, but prior to power creep, the average person should only have a 4% chance of being infected.

[Mercer]

The easiest fix to fit the fluff would be to make the HMHVV II and III Vector: Injection.  That way, it's only transmitted on bites or other mixing of bodily fluids.  (So wrap it kids, before dating a ghoul is I guess what I'm saying.  Like if there's a ghoul prostitute that caters to necrophiliacs or something.)

[Critias]

The easiest fix to fit the fluff would be to make the HMHVV II and III Vector: Injection.  That way, it's only transmitted on bites or other mixing of bodily fluids. 

Which is, among other things, exactly the suggestion in the errata written by Patrick Goodman, the original author.

[Mercer]

Cool.

I have only a vague understanding of the disease rules, but with a Penetration of -6 and a Damage of 8, it seems like ghoul fever is a hard disease to shake.  (I know VITAS 3 is something like Pen -2 and Damage 4 and it's called "the deadliest disease in human history" so it makes me think HMHVV III is pretty bad.)  If every failed test takes .1 Essence from the character and if it reduces them to 0 they become a ghoul then they need to succeed on 10 checks before they fail on 60 (or 1 test, if they're the average starting samurai) and they're -6 to the rolls.

It seems like most everyone is totally boned except for the highest of high body people and the super high Edge characters (unless the GM is super nice and lets edge refresh between tests). 

I'm unclear on what bonus dice apply to this test, and what exactly failing means.  Does it mean no successes, or is even 1 success considering beating the disease on that test?  Also, what are the effects of glitching or crit glitching on disease tests?  Also, do the penalties from agony take dice away from future disease resistance tests? 

[UmaroVI]

Yeah, failing means less than (Power) successes, so you fail if you roll 7 or less successes. You don't take Wound modifiers on resistance tests, and Agony specifies it's as if it was a wound modifier, so no, it doesn't worsen that. There aren't hard rules on glitch/critical glitches for this AFAIK.

[Mercer]

So you're -6 to the test, need at least 8 successes per test, and have to pass 10 before failing however many it takes to drain your Essence?  It seems like it would be easier just to say, "If you touch a ghoul, you become a ghoul." 

[JustADude]

Runner's Companion 82

Infertile Infected
Bonus: 5 BP (10 BP if character has the Infection power) Only Infected characters can take this quality. The virus in this character’s bodily fluids has mutated and is no longer transmissible, or the character was born Infected and the virus was never present in her system. Other characters cannot become Infected by coming in contact with her bodily fluids, and the character loses the Infection power if she has it.

Not all Ghouls are contagious. The books never give us a percentage on just how many are fertile and how many are infertile. Fluff leads me to believe that most are contagious, but most of the ones seen in play from official missions or adventures are infertile from my experience.

Now I wonder if someone couldn't create a biological agent that does nothing but mutate HMMVV to 'sterilize' the characters.

[Sichr]

And next week you`ll read about it in news in relation with the scientist that had received a visit from Asamondo...
I bet not only such research exists, as do research of food that would cover ghoul Dietary requirements without the need to import fresh human meet from Lagos etc. I only find it hard to believe that true goal of Assamondo Queen is to have nation of sterile sassabonsam. Because the infection is what keeps outsiders away.

[All4BigGuns]

Yeah, failing means less than (Power) successes, so you fail if you roll 7 or less successes. You don't take Wound modifiers on resistance tests, and Agony specifies it's as if it was a wound modifier, so no, it doesn't worsen that. There aren't hard rules on glitch/critical glitches for this AFAIK.

This would pretty well mean that the majority of characters might as well not even bother rolling because they don't have enough dice to even come close to the required hits. Anyone see yet why my suggestion is to either not use ghouls at all or heavily house rule the crap out of the disease?

[FastJack]

Yeah, failing means less than (Power) successes, so you fail if you roll 7 or less successes. You don't take Wound modifiers on resistance tests, and Agony specifies it's as if it was a wound modifier, so no, it doesn't worsen that. There aren't hard rules on glitch/critical glitches for this AFAIK.

This would pretty well mean that the majority of characters might as well not even bother rolling because they don't have enough dice to even come close to the required hits. Anyone see yet why my suggestion is to either not use ghouls at all or heavily house rule the crap out of the disease?

Or, if it's too much, you can simply change the Vector from Contact to Injection.

[Sichr]

Cool.

I have only a vague understanding of the disease rules, but with a Penetration of -6 and a Damage of 8, it seems like ghoul fever is a hard disease to shake.

Note that those Eratta quoted earlier contans this:

Page 68, 2nd column, HMHVV III entry:

    Change Vector to Injection
    Change Penetration to -3
    Change Power to 6

[Leevizer]

No, that's just as easy to bring up in game as any other hindrance. Just because mages and adepts lose magic from ware doesn't mean that they should never have ware, don't benefit from ware, or don't want ware (in character at least). With sensitive system, when that big cartel boss rewards the group with a piece of pimped out delta cyber, the sensitive mage is left trying to figure out if it's worth the full essence cost or not while everyone else is rejoicing. Likewise when you piss off the same cartel and they pop a mysterious implant into you, you're going to get hit twice as hard. I get pissy when a player puts a flaw on his sheet and get's all hissy when it comes up in play. Then again, I'm a Die Hard style GM and most of the players that give me those issues want a God Mode style game.

"Oh hey, I thought I'd give you all this nice cyberware thingy, because I all know you all want to have cyberware, especially that mage over there."

Seriously? Also. Why wouldn't the mage just sell it to someone else instead?

[Glyph]

I agree it's an odd example, but you can't really sell deltaware second-hand; it is specifically tailored to an individual.

[Leevizer]

I agree it's an odd example, but you can't really sell deltaware second-hand; it is specifically tailored to an individual.

So the mob boss is an idiot who doesn't know about magic and essence (or is it common knowledge in the third world?), or doesn't care about the mage not wanting cyberware, as in, "I just decided to pay you guys with this stuff, if you don't like it, too bad"

[CitizenJoe]

You're really breaking my belief threshold if you've got the Mafia with deltaware access.  I could however see them giving the corpses of people with deltaware to someone as payment.  If the team has REALLY good cybertechs and such, they could potentially salvage some valuable parts, but that's really a big screw job.  It's like saying you can have this stolen police car that's been wrecked.  No need to thank me...