VaderLike wrote:Hello!
A quick opening paragraph about myself:
I had RIFTS books when I was a kid. I’ve always loved the setting. I’ve never actually played a campaign, but i’m going to be running my first for five tabletop RPG first-timers.
In anticipation, i’ve rekindled my childhood collection and purchased about 30 books since January. (Yikes)
It’s a lot to absorb, but i’m trying.
Anywho, techno-wizardry.
I understand class balance isn’t a consideration or goal here. The world and lore exist to satisfy itself, and not to act like the players World of Warcraft quest-hub. Dudes in giant mech-suits are what they are, and so are rogue-scholars dressed for light travel.
That said, is the techno-wizard just a gimp mage? Where the Ley Line Walker can simply
‘See the Invisible’ with an incantation, the techno-wizard needs to have binoculars or glasses on hand.
No he doesn't. He just gets half duration and range.
RPG elements stripped aside, is the techno-mage ultimately (or at least initially?) a gimped mage who can do what the other Mages can, just with extra steps?
No, he's just as powerful as most mages at level 1. No one is using spells to deal damage at level 1, not seriously. (and honestly, not seriously much later either, as the spells with competitive damage and range will gut your PPE in just a few casts).
He can do everything a regular mage can, and gets a MUCH better selection of starting spells (Impervious to Energy, Energy Field, Superhuman Strength, etc) than a lot of casters, and with just a little extra cash after starting, he doesnt have to cast any of these. He can just spend an action and activate them. If your GM isn't a butt about it (and the player needs to not be a butt either), you can kit yourself out pretty well, and never have to actually cast. Fairly inexpensively, because the basic stuff like adding Impervious to Energy to your armor isn't that expensive.
Build a set of magic optics on day 2 (that has ALL of your detection spells in it); build a set of armor with two or even three of the armor spells in it. Activate them all in sequence, pop Impervious to Energy on top, and by 4th level you've got the MDC of a light power armor and are impervious to 80% of the weapons you're facing.
Oh, and on top of all that? WIth the right skill selection you actually shoot guns better than some men-at-arms, and you can act as the party repairman. You dont need an Operator if you have a TW (though having one wont hurt, as the Operator special abilities are cool too).
Depending on how stingy your GM is will later spells (or if you have other spellcasters in the party you can trade knowledge with), you can do some seriously heinous things without ever casting (such as Superhuman Speed or Agility, i forget which, which gives you 2 more attacks, and the Combat Magic spell that adds two attacks and gives you auto-dodge... and Superhuman Speed or Agility (the other one) gives huge bonuses to dodge - put all those in some souped-up boots...)... and, oh yeah.. the most important thing?
You can create PPE batteries. When other spellcasters start whining about not having PPE to keep casting? You can just keep casting.
One of my best friends is going to be in the party. I want him to have a good time. I think he will, but I also think he would thrive as a Man-of-Arms and he’s really liking the techno-wizard.
I’m trying to talk him out if it, but at the same time the RPG fan in me feels a sense of guilt.
If he takes Hand to Hand Basic (take it as a Secondary skill, not OCC related), hes just as good as any Man-At-Arms. Same number of attacks as most, not counting boxing. Take a few WPs (Sword + Fencing as an OCC related skill + a TW Flaming Sword (which you can start with) = 5D6 damage per hit in melee) and you're fine.
The actual difference between most men-at-arms classes and everyone else is usually.. an attack or two, and maybe more WPs on the men-at-arms.
If I isn’t going to be a problem, he should choose what he finds most inspiring.
I know from playing FPS’s with him that he would thrive and instinctively take to certain combat classes. I want him to be able to be aggressive and decisive, like a tabletop vet, and that’s where I think he’ll do it. More over, new players, perhaps more accustomed to video game RPGs, don’t really have any conceptual idea of how tabletop RPG Mages need preparation and foresight and planning to really thrive.
Is adding a techno-wizard to the party just adding a bunch of complicated rules i’ll have to learn enough to teach? And what’s the payoff? I mean do I just need to throw good fortune at him right away for the class to be fun? Because that isn’t my style.
Yes and no. The creation rules in Ultimate Edition are ultimately "optional". They can be -easily- abused. I find the fairest way to start with a TW is to be like "if the item exists in a book, then you can definitely make it (provided skill rolls, etc). Anything else, run by me."
Even just limiting yourself to what is proven can be done in book is plenty powerful. Armor and Invisibility/stealth spells in armor, strength and stat enhancing spells in armor. Invisibility and stealth spells in cloaks, TW optics systems, hell, there is even TW Power Armor. Arzno even has TW body armor that spellcasters can use (Ironwood).
The other rules that might be a problem would be vehicle creation and enhancement, which are... "what the GM says you can do" for the most part.
I feel like the class in general makes for a much better NPC/enemy, where TW items and weapons can be cooked up purely for effect, story, style and loot.
But despite decent familiarity with the setting, I’ve never actually played. I’m sure I’m wrong?
Personally, i find them to be one of the most powerful spellcasters, mid-to-long term, and they are totally viable early-game as well, as they can hold their own just fine in combat, have a good selection of spells, and can TW-enhance a ton of low-level stuff for the party to help out.
If anyone with any ISP or high PPE reserve (other spellcasters, some civilians that have high PPE pools and were trained to u se TW items while young - see Arzno) can be given low-level Armor of Ithan and Impervious to Fire/Energy in their armor. Cuts down HUGELY on party repair bills. He can fix everyone's armor (given materials, or eventually, if he can learn the spells, with magic), repair vehicles, robots, and power armor, soup up and repair weapons, add weapons and armor to vehicles, create field fortifications (if you take that skill - its worth it, and if you learn the spells Create Wood and Ironwood, you can create some truly impressive fortifications), and drive almost anything (the Vehicle Armrorer skill, which is a must-have for any repair-type-guy (TW, Operator, Technical Oficer, etc) IMO, lets you drive any of the military ground vehicles in the game at the base percentage.
And he can still pack a good-old reliable energy rifle and pistol and partake in combat just fine.
The thing i might be worried about if i were you would be more that he's going to come up with all sorts of creative stuff that is totally rules legal that you might not want to allow just because it can seriously break the game. When i play my current character (who is sort of a roaming "cameo" character in several campaigns as im not close enough to any of them to play regularly) who is a (Space) Wolfen TW, i have to be cognizant of the power level of the game im going into and make sure im not using items that can just bust encounters.
Last time i played in one, i deliberately toned myself down because i could have solo'd the entire encounter of CS troops that ambushed us fairly easily with -basic- TW equipment.
So as long as he can realize that maybe he shouldn't make a given item no matter how rules legal it is for the betterment of the game as a whole, and is OK with that..
I dont think youll have a problem.