Hiya,
I am a new poster looking to run an EP game and introduce it to my gaming group, all of them ignorant of what they are getting into.
I have chosen to run "Continuity" as a starter, because there is a minimum of required knowledge (no Firewall, interplanetary politics, gatecrashing etc.) and because there are the cool audio files that come with it. I have downloaded some tips that another GM wrote to help with the game and have printed out the pregens from EP and Sunward to use.
However, I have hit a couple of snags and would like the input from this community on them before I start.
Firstly, the robots:
In the scenario the maniac AI on the initial station has set the bots to attack the players. It lists the types of bots and gives a page reference on where to find them in the main rule book. Looking them up I found that the bots listed there seem incomplete. Only movement capabilities, armour and gear is mentioned, nothing on combat capabilities or Attributes. So I looked around and finally found stats for a bot AI earlier in that chapter.
Okay, cool. Using those I worked up a set of stats. Still no combat abilities. So I just slapped an unarmed combat skill chip in them for a skill of 40, presuming that the Maniac AI would have done this when it programmed them to kill. I also gave them basic unarmed damage. Although the bots have multiple arms, I wont be using them as the -20 to the skill check is a bit too much of a bite from their skill to be a threat.
Was this correct? Is it overpowered? Am I missing something on bots and combat? It seemed like a bit of a convoluted way of doing it for some simple rogue bots.
The Second snag:
In several points in the mission the players are required to (or it is at least suggested that they) hack doors, cornucopia machines, airlocks etc. However none of the pregen characters suggested as appropriate for the mission include Exploit Software, a requirement for hacking. The only two pregens that do are the Swarmer morph hacker or the InfoLife, neither of these are great for players just starting out. I intend to include some exploit software hidden on the station, probably the rec room, but this seems like a bit of an oversight in terms of mission design.
Am I dealing with these issues correctly? Has anyone else run this and found other problems?
Thanks for your help.
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Continuity
Wed, 2013-02-27 08:33
#1
melanikus
Continuity
Wed, 2013-02-27 09:05
#2
Lilith
This was actually the first
This was actually the first scenario I ran for my group as well (can listen to it [url=http://traffic.libsyn.com/totalmisanthropy/ep000.mp3]here[/url] if you like), and honestly I just kind of winged a lot of things for my players' benefit (they're not the, ah ... brightest bunch). I didn't bother worrying about the Exploit program and just let them roll InfoSec to interact with systems. As for the bots, well ... that didn't really become a factor as they group ended up firing their guns at each other more than anything else.
Anyway, good luck with your game. Hope your players enjoy it!
Wed, 2013-02-27 12:44
#3
melanikus
Thanks, I'll certainly take a
Thanks, I'll certainly take a look (or listen).
Thu, 2013-02-28 01:37
#4
Justin Alexander
melanikus wrote:Looking them
This confused me as a new GM, too.
If you look at the rules for 'bots on pg. 195 of Eclipse Phase, you'll find that "robots" are basically just synthmorphs being controlled by AIs. This means that the skills and aptitudes of a 'bot are determined by the AI controlling it. Then if you flip over to pg. 331 you'll find the stats for a generic Bot/Vehicle AI:
REF 20. Skills -- Hardware: Electronics 20, Infosec 20, Interests: [Bots/Vehicles] Specs 80, Interface 40, Research 20, Perception 40, Pilot: [appropriate field] 40.
Aptitudes not listed default to 10 (this is also mentioned on pg. 331).
So, with that in hand, you can now flip back to pg. 346 and look at the stats for the Automech:
Movement 4/8 (wheeled/vector-thrust), Max Velocity 8, Armor 4/4, DUR 30, WT 6. Enhancements: Access Jacks, Electrical Sense, Extra Limbs (4), Headlights, Magnetic System, Radiation Sense, Utilitool, misc. tools.
Combine the two and you'll have the full stats you need for the 'bot.
Alternatively, for Continuity you could decide that Hans has downloaded delta forks of himself into the robots and then forgotten the instructions he gave to "himself". (Played right, this could make things even creepier.) In that case, grab the stats for Hans and combine them with the stats for the 'bot you're using.
I don't think this is a mistake. The robots don't really need to pose a threat -- just be an unpleasant bit of creepiness. In fact, let the players get comfortable with these lightweight opponents. When the real bad guys show up, it'll provide a nice contrast.
But it also works the way you've modified it, too.
This appears to be a problem with most/all of the pregenerated adventures I've seen for Eclipse Phase. I ran into it with Ego Hunter, too, and eventually just handwaved away the requirement for Exploit software for the purposes of that adventure.
I think I may end up just dropping the idea of "required" software altogether and instead have software that grants a +10 bonus (or more) to associated checks. YMMV, but I want my players to have a fast-and-loose relationship with the mesh.
—
The Alexandrian
Thu, 2013-02-28 08:01
#5
melanikus
Hiya Justin,
Hiya Justin,
Thanks for your comments. I had pretty much figured out all of the robot stuff myself, but you are right that they should be just a little spooky addition to the main attraction. I like the idea of using Hans' stats as the AI, but I think I am going to keep the default (all 10s) one to keep the threat low. The only ones I may beef up a bit are the Dwarf Drones on the docking ship. These are inactive unless the Infomorph hidden on the ship activates them to defend it. I think that these should be a little more of a threat. They break apart asteroids and comets after all, and having one of these come crashing through a wall to get at you should be a shock. Plus the players have a chance to deactivate them before they go rogue.
I think that this is a pretty good idea, although I might spin it that hacking without the Exploit software imposes a -20 (or maybe just -10) penalty, more to put emphasis on the fact that they 'should' have this software. Then it still becomes a required piece of kit for hacking, but hacking is not impossible without it.
Fri, 2013-03-01 15:11
#6
Undocking
Cornucopia machines do not
Cornucopia machines do not need to be hacked to make basic stuff, you just need to use the Programming skill to make the blueprints you want. Interacting with most devices on the Kepler only require Engineering (Industrial, Electronics) or Interfacing. There are only two instances when the characters need Infosec is to hack a fabber or crack the encryption on Hans' previous files; both of those things are not required to succeed, and you don't even have the time to make anything worth while. The weapons presented are enough to deal with the threats, though the pistols may need more ammunition.
Mon, 2013-03-04 13:58
#7
nezumi.hebereke
melanikus wrote:
Hey, I'm glad you enjoy Continuity. I run this a lot at conventions. In my experience, for most PCs the robots are a sufficient threat without actually making the robots combat-capable. The PCs are naked, unarmed, and oftentimes getting sucked out of the airlock. In the last game I ran, the robot mostly just wandered around cutting ropes and cables and opening doors. That resulted in one PC getting spaced, and another nearly following (this all in the first hour of the game - hopefully PCs survive until at least hour three!)
The other issue is that the dwarfs have such high durability and armor that many groups find they just don't have any way to effectively destroy them. Normally I have to tone the robots down because of that.
If your group is really on the ball though, making the robots an actual combat threat (rather than an environmental threat) is probably a good tweak.
As undocking mentioned, most of these don't require exploit software. This is the PCs' equipment, after all! They already know its functionality and passwords, so they just need the appropriate skills to make the test. For other tests (such as on the Istari), I generally let the PCs make hacking attempts with a penalty for not having exploit software (and a bonus for the Istari's software being so out of date). Ultimately though, the goal with a lot of that is to waylay the PCs long enough for them to get infected; not to require they have a particular piece of equipment.
Fri, 2013-03-08 08:22
#8
melanikus
Well, I have run the game and
Well, I have run the game and I think that it went pretty well. I know I probably didn't get every rule right and there was a little looking up of rules and equipment as the game went on, however the small group of 3 players really enjoyed it, and got the hang of the basics pretty quickly. One of the players had read some of the Sci-Fi books that form the basis of the game, so he already got the concepts of resleeving and cortical stacks.
The players (the Titanian Explorer, Jovian Spy and Anarchist Techie) did not end up leaving the station, and most of the game was spent trying to get the Kepler under control. By the time the Istari turned up they had pretty much accepted that they were screwed. They took quite a while to realise that the cold and low pressure was due to one of the airlocks venting atmosphere, and they insisted on getting equipped before doing anything. One of them (the techie) had his Muse infected and when he accessed a fabber in the med bay his Muse started production of the Nanoplague. They encountered two of the 3 exsurgents and then detonated the station's fusion reactor.
In the end I only used one rotbot (the one welding the airlock open) which was pretty combat ineffective and only made them roll infosec when they tried to break the programming of the docbot, Hans' core memory server and when they tried overriding medical fabber to make it manufacture weapons.
We all had a great time and I have been asked when we are going to play it again. I don't know when yet, but will probably run them through "Glory" next followed by "Think before asking".
Thanks to everyone who helped me work out the issues that I had.
Fri, 2013-03-08 22:11
#9
nezumi.hebereke
Sounds like a great game!
Sounds like a great game! Glad you guys enjoyed it, and thanks for posting the recap. Yeah, that mission is pretty deadly. A friend and I run it a lot for conventions and between the two of us, the kill-rate is generally about 85%. My favorite was the guy who got one of the spiders in his suit, then got locked in the airlock for the next hour of gametime (with that spider crawling around somewhere with him).