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Size difference and gear?

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Sun, 2014-03-30 16:16
#1
Urthdigger Urthdigger's picture
Size difference and gear?
So, I prefer to play as a scurrier, since usually the small size comes in handy. However, the DM of a game I've recently joined has been making a few judgement calls on problems due to it. So far I've been unable to pilot a cycle, but more annoying is the question has come up about my pistols. The rules don't say small morphs can't use standard weapons AFAIK, but it does make some sense... even if I'd rather not turn into a non-combatant. So, what are everyone's thoughts on this? Should they cost more? Deal a little less damage? Can they not even make guns that small? Or can I just use guns as normal?
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Sun, 2014-03-30 18:13
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
so yes your pistols will need
so yes your pistols will need to be scaled down in size. this can be done in a couple ways. reduced caliber which will reduce the dimensions overall while minimizing the reduction in magazine space. reduce the magazine space and maintain caliber. or reduce both. if you wind up reducing the caliber then you will have to adjust damage recoil and ap values. cost if anything should be reduced since there is now less raw materials involved but expect a blueprint of this to cost more since it is not a common item.
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Sun, 2014-03-30 18:33
Urthdigger Urthdigger's picture
Of those, I'd most likely go
Of those, I'd most likely go with reduced magazine size. If only to be able to say "Six bullets, more than enough to kill anything that moves." Well, more 24 since I'd likely be doing the whole four-armed death god deal.
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Sun, 2014-03-30 22:13
Chernoborg Chernoborg's picture
First, kudos for the Metal
First, kudos for the Metal Gear quote! I've recently dusted off my copy to show my daughter, my skills are SO rusty! As for weaponry, it depends on many different factors. For a pick up weapon, you could have some problems holding the grip ( the -20 from Transhuman ) . For custom weapons I'd just bump up the price a bit. Modern weapons have all sorts of ways to get around recoil and the morph isn't so small that bullet or magazine size would make a difference. A friend of mine once compared firing an M-16 to a toy from the lack of recoil and that deals plenty of damage. EP level tech makes things even easier to get around any design issues. Just lay off the retro/replica firearms and you'll be fine.
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Current Status: Highly Distracted building Gatecrashing systems in Universe Sandbox!
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Mon, 2014-03-31 00:41
ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture
I am the GM in question. The
I am the GM in question. The problems to both are related: a Scurrier is the size of a raccoon, and built like a flying squirrel. It can't be very massive, and when piloting a vehicle which weighs not more than you do but at least one order of magnitude more than you do and is steered by shifting your own weight, that's a problem. With modern firearms, recoil isn't going to be a problem for most shooters; it states very clearly in the corebook that modern weapons have active recoil dampening systems, though this would, I imagine, only go so far. Those systems keep the barrel in line when the shooter weighs many orders of magnitude more than the projectile, and at least one more than the weapon system, but when he doesn't, there's problems. Moreover, the question is how does something the size of a raccoon fly and carry a firearm? Any pistol he could one-hand would be laughably puny. I figure that he'd need a weapon with basically the form factor of a battle rifle, compared to him, to fire a heavy pistol bullet, and at least something the form of an SMG to fire a light pistol. And of course, ammunition is going to be an issue. Still, I don't want to arbitrarily call him a complete noncombatant, either. When shit meets fan, Firewall agents need to be able to fend off at least a few street thugs.
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Skype and AIM names: Exactly the same as my forum name. [url=http://tinyurl.com/mfcapss]My EP Character Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/lbpsb93]Thread for my Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/obu5adp]The Five Orange Pips[/url]
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Mon, 2014-03-31 01:01
bibliophile20 bibliophile20's picture
This is when I would suggest
This is when I would suggest Treecat-Blitz. Six limbs, cyberclaws on each, and get your speed up to four and make called attacks to the eyes. :)
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"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -Benjamin Franklin

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Mon, 2014-03-31 08:13
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
Don't forget the Async
Don't forget the Async Abilities Biblio :P ok in my judgment apart from magnum loads i think anything below 9mm can be handled as a normal pistol get above that and you will need to operate it as a rifle. to get around the lower damage amounts you can say you use super dense materials like tungsten and uranium to get AP and and a bit more oomph back. oh and .22 long rifle rounds can still be very deadly. they have enough power to penetrate a human skull but not exit it :)
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Mon, 2014-03-31 08:17
Undocking Undocking's picture
bibliophile20 wrote:This is
bibliophile20 wrote:
This is when I would suggest Treecat-Blitz. Six limbs, cyberclaws on each, and get your speed up to four and make called attacks to the eyes. :)
Laser pulsers or stunners. Even scaled down, it is still the same laser mechanism, and the ammo would remain the same due to ubiquitous batteries (even half ammo wouldn't inconvience anyone).
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Mon, 2014-03-31 17:16
Chernoborg Chernoborg's picture
Yeah, I was mostly thinking
Yeah, I was mostly thinking of a "noisy cricket" scenario with the guns. I agree on the cycle...unless it's one of those tiny ones I've seen on occasion :). At this point I think most everything he'd get would look like a Steyr AUG to fit the morph properly. Gliding would undoubtedly be hampered by ANY load so I'll default to ...ummm... smart materials! A smart material sling that holds the firearm on his back( or front) , I think these kind of exist already. Great, now I'm seeing a scurrier with the smart rifle setup from Aliens!
Undocking wrote:
Laser pulsers or stunners. Even scaled down, it is still the same laser mechanism, and the ammo would remain the same due to ubiquitous batteries (even half ammo wouldn't inconvience anyone).
You beat me to it! He should be prepared to deal with lots of pokemon jokes if he goes with the stunners!
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Current Status: Highly Distracted building Gatecrashing systems in Universe Sandbox!
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Mon, 2014-03-31 18:00
ORCACommander ORCACommander's picture
ah yes i keep forgetting
ah yes i keep forgetting about lovely lasers. they cane b greatly scaled down and still provide the same punch. however as you miniaturize it heat becomes an issue and the components less robust. This will mean a greatly reduced ROF
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Tue, 2014-04-01 02:09
Urthdigger Urthdigger's picture
Well, I would like to clarify
Well, I would like to clarify I already have a highish unarmed skill and eelware, so the stunning and blitz are an option. Still, I've learned in past campaigns that being melee only kinda sucks. I would like something with an option to use standard ammunition if possible. As was mentioned before, carrying capacity for ammunition will be an issue. At least if I use the same type of ammo as whoever I'm facing, that should be somewhat alleviated though, I hope. Also, as far as carrying things and still being able to glide, I planned on using a couple skin pockets for that, though I do realize if my only option is "they're 2h size to you" I'd need another option or possibly homebrew something like "double cost skin pocket can hold a medium sized item."
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Tue, 2014-04-01 11:27
Hoarseman Hoarseman's picture
Strap it to the Morph
Could you modify the design so that the weapon is basically strapped to the morph? As small as your characters body is it seems like it should be able to move and and aim much faster with a body mounted weapon than a human size morph with a weapon strapped to its shoulder.
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Sun, 2014-04-06 15:16
Urthdigger Urthdigger's picture
The more I look at this, the
The more I look at this, the more I'm surprised this isn't covered in the rules somewhere. We do have size differences for melee and strength checks, but the game sorta seems to assume if a piece of gear exists, you can obtain a perfectly usable version for your morph.
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Sun, 2014-04-06 23:50
ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture
Well, if you're larger than
Well, if you're larger than expected, it's not hard at all to build an up-sized launcher for a weapon for you. It's the smaller sizes that prove problematic. And since making a person small is easy in EP... They really should have accounted for that.
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Skype and AIM names: Exactly the same as my forum name. [url=http://tinyurl.com/mfcapss]My EP Character Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/lbpsb93]Thread for my Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/obu5adp]The Five Orange Pips[/url]
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Mon, 2014-04-07 00:15
Urthdigger Urthdigger's picture
Yeah. There's more than a few
Yeah. There's more than a few morphs out there with the small size trait (Neotenics, Hypergibbons, and Scurriers at the least), not to mention the possibility of morphs that just aren't aged as far (I believe that's an option anyhow...)
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Mon, 2014-04-07 03:29
ShadowDragon8685 ShadowDragon8685's picture
Neotenics and Hypergibbons
Neotenics and Hypergibbons are still a lot larger than a Scurrier. It's like D&D size classes - if a normal adult is Medium, a Tenic would be Small, and a Scurrier would be Tiny.
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Skype and AIM names: Exactly the same as my forum name. [url=http://tinyurl.com/mfcapss]My EP Character Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/lbpsb93]Thread for my Questionnaire[/url] [url=http://tinyurl.com/obu5adp]The Five Orange Pips[/url]
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Mon, 2014-04-07 04:04
Googleshng Googleshng's picture
I'd be inclined to say any
I'd be inclined to say any equipment in the book is generally designed with human sized and shaped users in mind before anyone else, but if you have a morph that sees a lot of use, someone's going to manufacture most things in appropriate sizes and configurations, within reason. If it were me, I'd say the way to go would be to say standard kinetic weapons are out, but tiny models of at least most railguns and beam weapons are fair game. Maybe with smaller batteries that hold fewer charges, the size is still going to be somewhat awkward. Weight isn't really an issue, there's enough exotic ultra-light materials around. There's a reason carrying capacity isn't tracked in EP and all. Since you don't have an explosion propelling things, you wouldn't really need to worry about your tiny rodent arms not handling the jolt from firing any of these. But of course, if you're in a zero-G environment, or close to it, sending any mass away from yourself at a high speed has some comedic potential to worry about.
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