Some areas of the rules have been overhauled, some still need it. So here are my suggestions for areas that need attention;

• Firearms - re-consider the ammo limit rules, at present AFAIK they only apply to certain kinds of guns. However dont make the limits too low, this isnt Riftworld (not a criticism of Rifty which is a game I love, just an observation that its a different kind of game)
• Medical supplies. At present when you buy 'source of medical supplies' you get 3 units per point spent. I'm using the word unit solely to distinguish between them and character points... Every potion or drug costs 1 unit - so a 'heal every wound everywhere' costs the same as a poultice. I consider this broken, as there is no incentive to buy the lower level healing items. I think that  this should be changed, make the lower level 1 point items (medpacs and poultices) cheaper, and the really powerful healing items more expensive.
• Use of specialisms to do unusual things - may need some more expansion

Anyone got any other suggestions?

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 Some sort of balancing on the related combat skills seems appropriate too - Marksman for example needs a three second lead time before taking affect, but at the same time it needs a real /hit/ to make up for the shots you've lost by using it - as it is it's far, far more powerful than other abilities of its cost - especially when all you hear in a fight is Marksman Headshot Through, Marksman Headshot Through, Marksman Headshot Through, Marksman Headshot Through.

 Healing is blindingly fast - I would go so far as to say far too fast... I was put down three or four times by one thing or another and was invariably upright again in minutes like some sort of green-and-white yoyo. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all ungrateful for that - but again, as someone used to the Blood Red Roses 'scream and bleed and limp all day' approach it was something of a shock to the system - and mostly seemed independant of the considerable skill of the PC medics, since it was coming from trauma packs and doses of wierd chemicals.

 There needs to be some sort of increased distinction between the technology types - from the 'herbal medicine' of the Dagdans to Cybel nanotech and Oonym bioware to the other sorts I've probably not seen yet... I mainly encountered medicine, but it seems that (for example, though it could be shuffled) Cybel equipment should work faster, Dagdan should be more readily replaced/refreshed and Oonym be capable of more extensive repair at a given level... You know, making each distinct approach work a little differently.

 Oh, and for heaven's sake, can we agree that any blow unmodified by a call is a 'single' and stop shouting 'single' every time we swing our swords like some kind of demented militant maccaw? ^_^

 I'm sure more things will occur given time... but for the most part the system hung together well and was good fun... Especially the gunfight, the machine-gunning and the molotov on Saturday night. ^_^

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When I want your opinion, I'll read it in your entrails.

Cybel internal nanites take 5 minutes to restore 1 hit. Medpacs or poultices take 1 minute to do the same. I think they should be extended to 5 minutes to match the nanites.

I dont think there should be different rules for different types of healing because it gets too complicated in play and access to different methods is not restricted (so Cybel can use herbalism if they want to). I think that 1 hit should take 5 mins, 1 location 10, and the 'total heal' (which should be made expensive) should take 15 to take effect; whether using pharmacological or herbal methods. That would remove the bouncing player issue.

AFAIK any blow without a call is 'single' so I've no idea where all the calls came from!

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I suggest those with the skill get clip tokens, they get two to start off with plus one per extra point spent, this means you can have all the ammo you want if that's all you want from your character. Policing ammo and reloads will have to be down to trust

Marksman.

Limited use, once per combat or aiming time, slow count of three. For example "Marksman..3..2..1..Leg!" This should stop those snapped head shots. (credit to Dougle for this idea.)

Dagdan edge.

I suggest a fee dodge every combat to represent superior physical training. Less unbalancing than giving them extra damage as was suggested to me.

Weapon calls.

I'm with Paul on this one, calls for guns are needed as they dont go bang properly. However all single handed swords do one point of damage unless otherwise called so the call of single is really redundant and breaks the mood. lets stop it if we can.

Dare i say it... SPPOOOOOONNN!!!.

Blood Red Roses: Core plot ref

Waypoint: Tech Sgt. Tolsov

Energy damage should also not be affected by Jhaerag natural armour or kinetic shields. However, I did notice that Russ was not calling 'energy' as he should have been when calling his 'double throughs' as the cyborg and James did mention that he found it difficult to hear the damage calls from players sometimes when the mask was on so both of these issues may simply be 'crew not hearing/making the calls properly'.

Marksman is a hideously expensive skill to take (it is 6 points in addition to the firearms skill you take so that makes it 9 - 18 points in total depending on whether you get it as part of ancient, modern or hi tech firearms. That is a significant chunk of your starting skill points (more than half to use modern weapons at 12 points and almost all of your starting points to do 'marksman double through' not including the costs to also buy the weapon itself and the powercells to power it) and the 'double range' thing is less useful than you might think as is the 'locational calls' since beyond certain ranges no one can hear your call anyway unless you have a really loud and clear pronunciation and you don't actually gain anything in rules terms for hitting the head than the torso (it just looks cooler - you do the same damage and the same chance of a kill shot). So I do not see the benefit in limiting it even more if someone has persisted in spending a hell of a lot of points to be 'really good with guns'. And none of that really takes into account heavy weapons (an extra 6 points on top of firearms to do maybe double or global damage for which location calls are even less useful). It has been said many times that the academic and technical skills are plotwise more important in the game than combat skills it is just that the combat skills keep you (or your mate who has these skills) alive long enough to actually get to use these skills.

An adjustment which may make sense may be to state that you can 'snap fire' (i.e, NOT use Marksman) while moving but have to be standing still and 'bracing' the weapon in order to use Marksman. That may make a big difference in the dynamics of combat as it stops those with marksman running around (thereby avoiding being in a position to be attacked) and still gaining the advantage of the skill.

I've already said that I am not willing to consider a system which obsessively counts ammunition mainly because I have seen what a headache this causes Martin and Sal (Fain and Fain's Minion) in admin for events and I do believe that it detracts from the flow and enjoyment of the event. It was agreed that Waypoint has different combat dynamics to Rifty and an emphasis more on the plot and discussion of plot than the acquirement of 'stuff' and combat. It is easy to do in single shot/ancient firearm/flintlock systems, especially when you have reload times but in modern firearms systems it can get complicated and leads to lists of different guns and clip sizes and reload rates and firerates and so on. Given that modern firearms costs 4 more than (or three times the cost of) basic weapon, allows you to do no more than single damage which is affected by armour at range and all full auto/armour piercing/knockdown/supression effects are costed and limited I don't see how it unbalances things too much.

What may need to be done is to emphasise the fact that firearms damage is no different to melee damage unless a different call is made (supression fire, full auto, knockdown. through etc) and make sure that all players and crew are aware of this.

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The Whispering God is your friend... trust the Whispering God...

Ruins of Empire

1st - 3rd Feb, 2008, Gladstone scout centre, Chester

 At least I think it was a player - I honestly never saw the guy making the calls.

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When I want your opinion, I'll read it in your entrails.

I may fiddle this a little and think about some figures for making the damage calls easier...

For example, I may make it so that auto weapons of any type penetrate armour (i.e. do thorugh) and knockdown only if on full auto setting which means you use a clip up. More or less what they do anyway on full auto. If yoiu are not calling full auto then they do normal damage.

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The Whispering God is your friend... trust the Whispering God...

Ruins of Empire

1st - 3rd Feb, 2008, Gladstone scout centre, Chester

It is not a competition. It is a web forum.