05-03-2022, 08:56 AM | #11 |
Join Date: Apr 2022
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
There just have to be shops willing to do this, maybe not your average mass consumer shop, but shops run by regular folks, they'd probably be 100% down with it.
A halfling is basically just a 'little person', and those riding on choppers and the like is just cool. If I had the skills for it, and even got paid on top of it? Then I'd be 100% down simply because it's 'cool'. So I don't know if the halfling has to suffer through regular equipment for long. Someone out there with the tools and the personality for it will do this. Like this wolf truck: https://imgur.com/gallery/fehbT54 |
05-03-2022, 09:01 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Boston, Hub of the Universe!
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
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A mini moto might work, though. But any custom vehicle that puts the user’s eyes much below the expected range will mean the rider will have problems riding and navigating in modern SM0 human traffic - their eyes are too low to see through car windows and other drivers won’t notice them. I foresee a lot of “accidentally rear-ended or run-over by trucks”.
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Demi Benson |
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05-03-2022, 09:05 AM | #13 |
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
I'd recommend a "pocket rocket" style minibike, some of those have quite decent performance I understand. If the PC isn't the only halfling in the game world, probably there's a significant market for such things aimed at halflings already.
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05-03-2022, 09:06 AM | #14 |
Join Date: Apr 2022
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
Perhaps some hydraulics?
Getting down on the ground is mostly for standing still after all. It's why regular bike seats should be kept high, high enough to pedal efficiently, but that usually puts the rider at a height where it's not easy to stay seated while standing still, and has to scoot forward over the frame to touch the ground. But that's fine cause it's a bike for riding, not parking. Thus, the hobbike...I mean halfbike could perhaps have some lowrider like suspension to keep it elevated during driving and thus off curbs and other bumps. While being able to go low when waiting at the lights. I bet this can be automated with engineering too. Like a reverse truck brake for attachments (the things that go PSHHH) That get recharged while driving. But since I lack any real knowledge about this, I don't know if it's feasible. |
05-03-2022, 09:10 AM | #15 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
I don't have any great wisdom about motorcycles to offer. I simply wanted to chime in with this: whatever penalty you might assign for the awkwardness of a halfling riding a human-sized motorcycle, you should also permit the halfling to acquire a technique to buy off the penalty.
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05-03-2022, 10:09 AM | #16 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
You can do a lot of stuff with custom builds.
As far as parking goes, some of the big BMW touring bikes have automated systems for it. In part because they're aoubt 3 times as heavy as a more conventional MC while also having a relatively high centre of gravity. It would be reasonable to think that you could fit a similar system on a smaller bike if the training wheels aren't enough. You could even do a custom built bike from scratch to fit someone at SM -2, it's just a matter of figuring out how to make things fit while ensuring everything is within reach. And it's almost certainly going to be more expensive than a stock bike of the same calibre. Savings on materials are going to be slim while the amount of hours worked both on design and assembly will be quite a bit higher. At least if you want something of a reasonably safe quality for the road. But if there are a lot of SM -2 people in the world that want to ride bikes, the time investment on the design and assembly become less of a factor. |
05-03-2022, 12:53 PM | #17 |
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Snoopy's basement
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
The Shriners have what halfling bikers need.
https://jleibovitch.tripod.com/63434160.jpg |
05-03-2022, 05:23 PM | #18 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
Given that it's fantasy, a Halfling might have customized stilts and "waldoes" to give them the same reach and mobility as a Human. With practice those aids could possibly negate Size penalties.
Alternately, a Halfling could commission a man-sized magical exoskeleton which would be a more elegant way of getting the same effect. Enchantments could also be used to adapt large equipment to small users. A variant enchantment based on the Manipulate spell seems appropriate. |
05-10-2022, 07:16 PM | #19 |
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
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05-11-2022, 08:08 AM | #20 | ||||
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: Halfling on a motorcycle: SM and Skill
Quote:
I mean, there's precedence for halflings opting for riding dogs, so a dog-themed motorcycle is an option for custom work. Sorta reminiscent of the horse-themed (well, unicorn-themed, arguably, given the spike on the head) motorcycle from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's second DLC package. Quote:
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That said, an option that lets them sit roughly eye-level with the SM+0 drivers on the road is going to be better. Quote:
Stilts seem like something that would be of good use to halflings living in an SM+0 area, although some might see them as demeaning as they imply halflings aren't good enough and need to change themselves to match us bumbling cloud-scrapers (said halflings probably don't take kindly to being called halflings, either - "I'm not half anything!"). Ditto the man-mecha.
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