Deselect wrote:

Decivre wrote:

That said, there may be conditions in which an added penalty to fray might be warranted. A person in a cramped space doesn't exactly have much room to dodge, so that might be a scenario in which they should get a penalty. Also, note that you only get to roll fray when you are aware of oncoming attacks (not necessarily aware of that attack specifically, but aware that you are in a combat situation). Someone who is sitting down and having a latté at their favorite restaurant isn't going to be prepped to dodge a sniper round coming through the window.

You are right. But under "normal" circumstances (not every nsc is creeping up on the group) it is possible for a character not to get hit once in a combat encounter - with a high enough skill, of course. That is pretty hefty. :|

Possible, but not very likely. Given an equally skilled attacker and defender, the attacker is still going to hit their target fairly often. Remember that, during a fight, if both the attacker and the defender succeed, you compare MoS to determine the outcome. And because the defender in a gunfight only gets half their Fray skill to roll, the attacker will generally have a higher chance of getting a higher MoS. Eclipse Phase combat is fairly deadly. Even when you munchkin up as high a Fray as you possibly can, you still do not want to get into an extended gunfight. You will end up being shot.

Deselect wrote:

You are right. But under "normal" circumstances (not every nsc is creeping up on the group) it is possible for a character not to get hit once in a combat encounter - with a high enough skill, of course. That is pretty hefty. :|

All things equal, in melee combat with a skill of 60 (in the attack and fray skills equally), the attacker can expect to hit 42.395% of the time, assuming no bonuses at all. In that same context for ranged combat, you are looking at closer to 51.545% likelihood to hit. Again, this is assuming no bonuses. Down the line, this actually favors the attacker, not the defender. In that same melee scenario when both characters have a 98-99 in the skill (and thus only fail on a 99), the attacker can expect to hit 49.995% percent of the time... almost half. On the other hand, a ranged attacker can expect to hit 73.755% of the time... almost three quarters of the time. Plus, while it might seem that you are more likely to miss, it should also be noted that this is assuming two characters with equal skill. Most combat characters will likely be more skilled in attacking than fray, and it should also be noted that smart rounds, weapon enhancements and other such niceties grant attackers an obvious advantage. Plus, there is the initiative advantage; if I happen to wound you before you wound me, it is now statistically harder for you to harm me, and statistically easier for me to harm you. Combat starts out attritional in nature, but quickly devolves into a deathtrap for whomever took the earliest blows (hence why first strike advantage is so damn useful in modern warfare).

A couple of alternatives: The surefire way of not losing your morph is not to have one in the first place -- play as an infomorph. If you need to interact with the physical world, jam an expendable drone of some sort. Another cheap option is to have a basic morph that isn't terribly enhanced. Then your backup insurance fully covers you in the event that you lose it.

Apologies for the multiple posts- Since "Fray" is halved when using it to dodge Ranged attacks, does using "Free Running" get halved against Ranged opponents as well?

By the by, EP is not the game for people who love the number-crunching (well, mechanically, at least. The setting absolutely is.) If you want an invincible character, it's pretty easy; bone up on armor, and make a fork running all the time with very high Infosec skill (if you're a synth). The reaper, which is a starting morph, really is a game-breaker when it comes to combat. I've seen the reaper sample character from the book literally *sleep* its way through combat.

Hyup, its very, very difficult to make a character who cannot be killed by a determined enemy. If someone knows that you have a Reaper, they should know to bring out the big guns. Someone with a Plasma Gun can do stupid amounts of damage (72 avg. damage a phase, if they hit with the first SA attack), and if they bring a Disposable Launcher you can usually bring one down. Armor only looks like a problem if you restrict yourself to light kinetic weapons, and generic beams. Granted, not everyone has a HEAP missile sitting around :D

Decivre wrote:

CodeBreaker wrote:

Hyup, its very, very difficult to make a character who cannot be killed by a determined enemy. If someone knows that you have a Reaper, they should know to bring out the big guns. Someone with a Plasma Gun can do stupid amounts of damage (72 avg. damage a phase, if they hit with the first SA attack), and if they bring a Disposable Launcher you can usually bring one down. Armor only looks like a problem if you restrict yourself to light kinetic weapons, and generic beams. Granted, not everyone has a HEAP missile sitting around :D

To be honest, encountering a reaper in EP is not much different from encountering an M1A1 today. The average footsoldier doesn't generally have the firepower to take one down. It's just a feature of the setting more than anything; if you want to take down a cutting-edge weapons platform, you have to do so with cutting-edge anti-vehicle weaponry.

Or play smart. Is your opponent's Puppet Sock protected? How good are your exploits? Is his firewall top of the line? Even in straight up combat, I could come out ahead without AT weapons- just lie in wait in heavy cover, hope your initiative is amazing or spend MOX. With my dual wielded custom SMGs and Max Speed I'm fairly certain I could take down a stock Reaper in short order. Now, for you GMs- I'm guessing each articulated weapon limb of a Reaper may wield a 2H-Weapon without penalty? Otherwise the Octopi morph is superior ;p

Decivre wrote:

NewAgeOfPower wrote:

Now, for you GMs- I'm guessing each articulated weapon limb of a Reaper may wield a 2H-Weapon without penalty? Otherwise the Octopi morph is superior ;p

It has four weapon mounts and four limbs... so it could theoretically hold 6 two-handed weapons assuming no added arms and mounts (two in each of two hands, one in each mount).

Interesting. Aren't you limited to 5 Positive Traits during character creation? Or using weapon mounts doesn't require Ambidexterity? Then you'd only have to take it 3 times... Also, hilarious image of a reaper's "legs' holding Sniper Rifles, and it sitting on its butt, pivoting using its thrusters... utterly hilarious. And deadly. Again, thanks for the succinct and swift reply.