Starting Point Level for Your THS Game/Campaign

[DAT]

Just a curiosity question:
What starting point level are folks using for their THS games/campaigns?

I've had 150, 250, and 500.

[vicky_molokh]

200 points, and I was (am, actually) playing a Ghost made of a Bioroid, so I had to cut down on some traits in order to fit that into the total. E.g. put limitations on Possession, had a worse radio system in my bioshell, own one bioshell and rent all others as the need and opportunity arises.

Gained 88 points since the campaign start.

[whswhs]

It looks as if my first campaign was 240 points. My second was 250. Of course my first one was using 3/e, which made for slightly different point values.

Bill Stoddard

[sir_pudding]

The only time I've ever managed to run it, it effectively ended up being 150 points for attributes and professional/primary advantages and skills, plus 50 points for discretionary spending, plus a racial template or infomorph/shell of any cost, with up to 50 points in disadvantages and five quirks. If I am ever permitted to reboot that campaign I'll probably do it with very explicit point buckets, and professional templates and lenses.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

If I am ever permitted to reboot that campaign I'll probably do it with very explicit point buckets, and professional templates and lenses.

Point buckets are probably very good for Transhuman Space.

[johndallman]

The two campaigns I've played, both 4e, were 220 points + 75 of disadvantages, and 250 + 30. No, our AI PCs didn't have very impressive shells.

[RogerBW]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

Someone mentioned points buckets. I think that might make it impossible to play an SAI, because so many of your points go on simply being an SAI. Ghosts probably have trouble too, and I'm wondering about my Felicia II character since that template is quite expensive.

Yeah, the ghost in that other campaign John mentioned was technically a fragment, in large part because of points constraints.

I think that if one's going to have a game with both infomorphs and biohumans one has to make sure that the infomorphs get plenty of chances to use the things they've paid big points for: in game terms, what stands out to me on the templates are Possession, Enhanced Time Sense and Doesn't Sleep.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

Someone mentioned points buckets. I think that might make it impossible to play an SAI, because so many of your points go on simply being an SAI. Ghosts probably have trouble too, and I'm wondering about my Felicia II character since that template is quite expensive.

On the contrary, I'd say that having a separate point bucket for Templates might solve the issue. It's just that Baselines will probably have to have said bucket include some other traits, or else the campaign could simply ditch baselines. Or let people play baselines if they don't care about a point disadvantage.

Originally Posted by RogerBW

I think that if one's going to have a game with both infomorphs and biohumans one has to make sure that the infomorphs get plenty of chances to use the things they've paid big points for: in game terms, what stands out to me on the templates are Possession, Enhanced Time Sense and Doesn't Sleep.

The problem is that Enhanced Time Sense and 5 levels of Less Sleep are available basically 24/7 for normal humans (and, with digital emulations, to Ghosts) for free, it just takes drugs/brainbugs to get. So it's unclear what exactly are the AIs paying for.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

Also surely an enterprising player would design a template that exactly fills the point bucket. I'm sure in TS there are far more upgrades and parahuman variants than the books have space for.

The Templates also tend to be no9where near the TL limits. Either DP underdesigns them as a matter of philosophy or keeps them as small as seems reasonable for practical roleplaying reasons.

At any rate, if you gave me a bunch of pts to spend on a Racial Template and the abili9ty to custom design one I could spend maybe 400-600 on a TL10 Eugenic Upgrade.

[Crakkerjakk]

350 for an action-y Mars US Marshalls game, of which only 250 is used for the character, and 100 (minimum) is for implants, biomods, etc.