Robot vs Space Marine - Page 2

Mailanka · 09-04-2009, 06:39 PM

So, I'm tossing together a space opera setting in my spare time, a baroque and over-the-top gothic setting filled with epic action heroes, and something slowly dawns on me. I need some help with this:

In one corner, you have a space marine. He's awesome, let's say, 500 points of pure, distilled, military win. He's also got power armor (worth 100 DR) and an awesome gun (15d pi+). In the other corner, you've got a robot, also made of 500 points of win. However, assume his DR and weapon are innate. 100 points of DR is 500 points, right there, and 15d pi+ damage is 90 points, so even before he's purchased any skills, any stats, he's already 90 in debt.

Now, I observe that most robots don't come with weaponry. Instead, they have weapon mounts. I imagine I could just buy a gun for him and socket it on. Can I do the same for armor? How about a radio? Why would you play a robot worth several thousand points when you could play a much cheaper robot who sits in a tank and drives it around?

I imagine this same problem faces most cyborgs, genetically engineered assassins, super-heroes and heroes with magical powers in a setting filled with magical enchantments, so I'm sure several of you have come across this and dealt with it before. My instincts say: Gear is stuff you buy with money, inherent advantages are stuff you buy with points. But the line between "gear" and "inherent advantage" blurs when you're playing a robot.

How can you integrate Ultra-Tech into a game with "powered" characters without making the powered characters chumps? And lets avoid answering "By making the non-powered guys pay for his gear as gadgets," not because it's a bad answer, but it's one I'm already aware of. I'm looking for other ideas.

Thoughts?

09-04-2009, 06:39 PM	#1
Mailanka Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands	Robot vs Space Marine So, I'm tossing together a space opera setting in my spare time, a baroque and over-the-top gothic setting filled with epic action heroes, and something slowly dawns on me. I need some help with this: In one corner, you have a space marine. He's awesome, let's say, 500 points of pure, distilled, military win. He's also got power armor (worth 100 DR) and an awesome gun (15d pi+). In the other corner, you've got a robot, also made of 500 points of win. However, assume his DR and weapon are innate. 100 points of DR is 500 points, right there, and 15d pi+ damage is 90 points, so even before he's purchased any skills, any stats, he's already 90 in debt. Now, I observe that most robots don't come with weaponry. Instead, they have weapon mounts. I imagine I could just buy a gun for him and socket it on. Can I do the same for armor? How about a radio? Why would you play a robot worth several thousand points when you could play a much cheaper robot who sits in a tank and drives it around? I imagine this same problem faces most cyborgs, genetically engineered assassins, super-heroes and heroes with magical powers in a setting filled with magical enchantments, so I'm sure several of you have come across this and dealt with it before. My instincts say: Gear is stuff you buy with money, inherent advantages are stuff you buy with points. But the line between "gear" and "inherent advantage" blurs when you're playing a robot. How can you integrate Ultra-Tech into a game with "powered" characters without making the powered characters chumps? And lets avoid answering "By making the non-powered guys pay for his gear as gadgets," not because it's a bad answer, but it's one I'm already aware of. I'm looking for other ideas. Thoughts?