Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

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Colonel_Tetsuya
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

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.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

Vaderlike wrote: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. 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?

Technically the TW can use magic in 3 ways:
-cast regularly with penalties
-cast temporarily through an appropriate object to avoid penalties
-"enchant" object for a spell effect, and with things like secondary spells get unique results

VaderLike wrote: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?

There aren't to many new rules specific to TW, and while the construction "rules" look complicated, they are more guidelines and actually pretty basic to implement. Where it gets complicated is working out what spells are need for the desired effect.

It depends on what you mean by "good fortune", and how the player actually plays the class. When it comes to Gems, a requirement to build TW devices, you ultimately decide what is available so you can be as generous as you like, but should consider that gem availability is something that makes the class work to its fullest extent.

Vaderlike wrote: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.

That they do, but then you could say that about most classes.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

VaderLike wrote:Great post. Very informative.

Can you give an example if broken early-game TW options?

I want to start the campaign very small and personal and ideally evolve into a grand sweeping saga later on.


Working on my kitchen renovation right now. Ill try to get back to this later.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Daniel Stoker »

Really we should get Mack to post here as he's showcased some GREAT stuff you can do to use (and abuse) TW'd in Rifts.


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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

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. 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?


Nope.
They're one of the very few mage classes capable of creating magic items.
Moreover, they can create magic items that do things that spells normally cannot, which means that if you don't have a good GM, they can quickly become a pretty broken class.
Also, they can repair TW items, which most classes can't do. That could be an important plot point in any number of adventures.

Is adding a techno-wizard to the party just adding a bunch of complicated rules i’ll have to learn enough to teach?


Mostly.

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.


It depends on how you have fun, and how the player does.
A lot of people like to design and create their own magic items, and a lot of GMs like using TW component items/spells as quest-fodder or special rewards.


Also, keep in mind the RMB version was much different.
They could cast spells without any gadgets/items, but at like 1/2 effectiveness or something.
They could build TW items, and they could adapt tech items to run off of PPE, but there were never any rules allowing them to design and create new inventions from scratch.
Back when Rifts was grittier, when fewer GMs just gave away e-clip recharges for free, and when charging stations were fewer and farther between, the ability to make a gun (or other tech gizmo) that ran off of PPE could be an invaluable asset. Techno-Wizards didn't have to count their shots like most grunts did, and they didn't have to budget their PPE for spells the way most mages did.
So they were a pretty cool class.
They still are, just in a different way.
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Colonel_Tetsuya
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

Killer Cyborg wrote:They could cast spells without any gadgets/items, but at like 1/2 effectiveness or something.


They still can.

They could build TW items, and they could adapt tech items to run off of PPE, but there were never any rules allowing them to design and create new inventions from scratch.


Well, there was a rule, it was "work it out with your GM", but your intended meaning (there were no "game mechanical rules") is valid.

Back when Rifts was grittier, when fewer GMs just gave away e-clip recharges for free, and when charging stations were fewer and farther between, the ability to make a gun (or other tech gizmo) that ran off of PPE could be an invaluable asset. Techno-Wizards didn't have to count their shots like most grunts did, and they didn't have to budget their PPE for spells the way most mages did.
So they were a pretty cool class.
They still are, just in a different way.


There still cool for those reasons too, as well as some new ones.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Colonel_Tetsuya wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:They could cast spells without any gadgets/items, but at like 1/2 effectiveness or something.


They still can.

They could build TW items, and they could adapt tech items to run off of PPE, but there were never any rules allowing them to design and create new inventions from scratch.


Well, there was a rule, it was "work it out with your GM", but your intended meaning (there were no "game mechanical rules") is valid.


That rule was never stated.
No need to derail this thread over it, but nothing in the RMB stated or indicated the ability to invent new TW devices, only to create the listed devices.

Back when Rifts was grittier, when fewer GMs just gave away e-clip recharges for free, and when charging stations were fewer and farther between, the ability to make a gun (or other tech gizmo) that ran off of PPE could be an invaluable asset. Techno-Wizards didn't have to count their shots like most grunts did, and they didn't have to budget their PPE for spells the way most mages did.
So they were a pretty cool class.
They still are, just in a different way.


There still cool for those reasons too, as well as some new ones.


RUE doesn't give them the ability to convert tech like the originals had.
It can be house-ruled or grandfathered in, but anybody starting with RUE won't know that it even existed.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

VaderLike wrote:Great post. Very informative.

Can you give an example if broken early-game TW options?

I want to start the campaign very small and personal and ideally evolve into a grand sweeping saga later on.


Some of this is only "broken" in that it can VASTLY simply the party's repair and supply lines and ability to hang in combat, by outfitting other party members with valuable, low-level TW gear.

At even 2nd-4th level, anyone who can power an Armor of Ithan (10 PPE or 20 ISP) in the party can have that built into their armor. Thats 20-40 Ablative MDC that can be renewed. That means your real armor takes way less damage, particularly in short fights, lowering repair costs and allowing more monetary gain (which can really help the tech-oriented classes get their new toys faster).

Invisibility: Simple (often called "Lesser", as well) is a GIGANTIC power differential. Unlike Invisibility: Superior, it does not drop when you initiate combat, meaning unless your enemy can see the invisible or has high-tech sensors that can see through Simple Invisibility (infrared and heat detectors, mostly) can see you, even if you're shooting at them. This makes then Minus Nine To Hit You. Its only 6 PPE or 12 ISP to activate. Any party member who has this in their armor and can use it has a huge advantage of just not getting hit as often.

Impervious to Energy is also game-breakingly good (and TWs start with it) at ANY level. 90% of bad guys are armed with energy weapons... which you are now totally immune to. Its a bit harder for non-casters or major/master psychics to use (20 PPE or 40 ISP), but can single-handedly end an encounter. Even at high level. When only six or seven guys in that platoon of CS soldiers can even harm you, things get a lot easier.

And that's just stuff a TW can pass around to others who have the PPE/ISP to use them; he can also do all of those things himself/in his own armor. And then there are stat buffs like Superhuman Strength and Speed (Supernatural PS of 30 from SH Str, Spd of 44, +2 to parry and +6 to dodge from SH Spd) - both of which are only 10 PPE each. Build some gizmo-boots with those in them. Add Magic-Adrenal Rush when you learn it, for two more attacks per round (its a bit pricy though, in terms of PPE).

Eyes of the Wolf, See the Invisible, and a few other vision spells (Eyes of the Eagle) can be used to create TW Optics (there are a few already-made versions in various books).

Energy Field is an amazing spell that can provide instant cover and has a great PPE-to-MDC ratio (10 PPE, 60MDC bubble shield); build them into grenades to provide throwable cover.

Grenades with Carpet of Adhesion in them can end entire fights instantly.

None of those are particularly high level spells.

If you have access to it, Mercenary Adventures (Adventure SB5), has the excellent Combat Magic spells (and the extremely mediocre/bad Combat Mage class that goes with it) - which are actually just Invocation Magic that any Invocation caster can learn. There is even a school (more than one, but one is explicitly stated to exist in Merctown) that teaches all the spells.

They are actually -extremely- good in a lot of cases for TW items.

Farseeing can be added to a TW vision item to allow it to see three times further. Nightvision and Infrared Vision exist as spells as well (at 4 and 5 PPE).
Mystic Marksmanship could be added to a weapon to give it good to-hit bonuses.
Quickstrike can be added to a TW weapon to make it more accurate (at the cost of more actions). ANd will layer with Mystic Marksmanship.
Stealthwalk can be combined with various Invisibility spells to make you silent.
Superhuman Agility gives a huge dodge bonus (+5) and gives you Auto-dodge at +5. Combined/layered with Superhuman Speed, thats +11 to dodge (normal). And then add the -9 to be hit from Invisibility: Simple.
Fighting Spirit provides +2 more attacks per melee, parry, strike, and dodge bonuses, crit strike on 18-20, paired weapons, and a few other benefits. (And it will stack with Magical Adrenal Rush for +4 total attacks).
Invisibility to Sensors makes you invisible to sensors of all types other than the Mk1 Eyeball.
Mystic Invisibility makes you immune to/invisible to mystic and psionic means of detection, including Dog Boys and Psi Stalkers. Both Invisibility to Sensors and Mystic Invisibility will layer with Invisibility: Simple and Superior. You can literally be totally invisible to everything and inaudible.
Blast Shield is an INSANELY good spell that can stop an entire barrage of long-range missiles in its tracks. I build these into little landmine-like shield generators. Pump in the PPE, throw it at the ground, POOF, Blast Shield.

No spell i listed above is above level 8. (Which means even according to RUE, they should be available on the market, just might be "very expensive" once you get up to 7, 8, and 9th. The Combat Magic spells are straight up available for purchase at the school, though the GM determines the price.

Now, while a regular Mage (Line Walker, Shifter, any Invocation caster and most Mystics who can choose invocations) can do all these things too...

They actually have to cast the spells to do so, and quite a few of these are above the 1-action threshold of 5th level. And there are a lot of instances where you can't cast, but you can activate a TW item. If you get ambushed, immediately pop Invisibility: Simple and move off a few feet/find cover/start activating other TW buffs, for instance.

And, when your TW creation skill is high enough and you have enough money/resources to get the gems needed.... you can create PPE batteries into the items themselves so you dont even have to spend your personal PPE to activate the items.

Add that to the ability to repair and build almost anything (given skill choices), and that you can still have H2H basic (anyone can take it - its available as a Secondary Skill) + WPs, you're not a "slouch" in combat.

There really is NOT a lot of power delta between H2H basic, expert, and Martial arts early on. Commando and Assasin are a different story and outliers, but those are a bit more rare.

And when you want to get absurdly busted...

start layering similar spells. I dont typically do this because i think that while it is 100% legal as written, its.... poor taste/gamesmanship unless you're in a campaign where everyone else is high-MDC beings/giant robots/etc and youre just a regular dude....

But..

TW Armor with:

Armor of Ithan (10 MDC/level)
Armor Bizzare (15 MDC/level)
Invincible Armor (25 MDC/level)
Impervious To Energy
Energy Field

Turns you into a walking fortress. At mid level (lets say 6th), you're walking around in 60 +90 + 150 MDC (300 total), are impervious to about 80% of the weapons you're likely to face anyway, and can pop an extra 60 MDC bubble whenever you need it. You can literally wade into melee with a lot of bad guys and just carve them up (a TW Flaming Sword + Fencing + Power Weapon (a spell you can get later) and you're swinging 6D6 MD per swing. Or a Lightblade (TW or hard-cast) + Fencing + Power Weapon for 1d4x10 + 1d6 + 1 MD/level +25% more damage from Power Weapon (at high enough levels, the +1 MD/level can actually alter how much Power Weapon would add...) at low levels, call it 1d4x10 + 15 + 1d6 (5th level) MD per swing.

Or you can hang back, invisible multiple ways (simple and superior stack/layer, or add invisibility to sensors so the few high tech sensors that see through simple no longer work) and snipe at people to your hearts content with high dodge bonuses, multiple extra attacks, and a giant penalty for anyone to even hit you.

TW's can be nuts.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

Killer Cyborg wrote:RUE doesn't give them the ability to convert tech like the originals had.
It can be house-ruled or grandfathered in, but anybody starting with RUE won't know that it even existed.


Indirectly it does.

the Techno-wizard creation skill allows you to make anything that exists already by either learning it, getting schematics for it, breaking it down and trying to copy it, etc.

RUE itself references Book of Magic, where a ton of converted vehicles that run on energy are (and a section about converting vehicles to run on PPE), and there are more in books published afterwards, as well as items that produce power and electricity from PPE/ISP.

But if all you have is RUE, then no, you wouldn't really know that was an option.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Colonel_Tetsuya wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:RUE doesn't give them the ability to convert tech like the originals had.
It can be house-ruled or grandfathered in, but anybody starting with RUE won't know that it even existed.


Indirectly it does.

the Techno-wizard creation skill allows you to make anything that exists already by either learning it, getting schematics for it, breaking it down and trying to copy it, etc.

RUE itself references Book of Magic, where a ton of converted vehicles that run on energy are (and a section about converting vehicles to run on PPE), and there are more in books published afterwards, as well as items that produce power and electricity from PPE/ISP.

But if all you have is RUE, then no, you wouldn't really know that was an option.


We're close enough that there's no point in arguing.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Shark_Force »

Killer Cyborg wrote:
Colonel_Tetsuya wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:RUE doesn't give them the ability to convert tech like the originals had.
It can be house-ruled or grandfathered in, but anybody starting with RUE won't know that it even existed.


Indirectly it does.

the Techno-wizard creation skill allows you to make anything that exists already by either learning it, getting schematics for it, breaking it down and trying to copy it, etc.

RUE itself references Book of Magic, where a ton of converted vehicles that run on energy are (and a section about converting vehicles to run on PPE), and there are more in books published afterwards, as well as items that produce power and electricity from PPE/ISP.

But if all you have is RUE, then no, you wouldn't really know that was an option.



We're close enough that there's no point in arguing.
:ok:


the tk-flyer is pretty much a direct conversion of tech (specifically, flying vehicles) actually. whether or not a new player is going to be observant enough to extrapolate "hey wait, this description mentions that i can TW-convert engines of flying machines and implies that the same can be done for non-flying machines" is uncertain, but it is there. and while there isn't much for most weapons, there are still the TK guns.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Blue_Lion »

I love TW.
I see TW as "toy makers" they are builders and tinkers. They may be less good at casting, but they still can cast and do so much more.
By combining Technolgy and magic they can do things no other mage can.

Why because they not only have spell chains but technology affecting how the spells work.

A TW with spells and a heavy weapon can work with a GM to come up with a way to cast COA 3000 feet away.

A TW can protect or hide vechiles with built in spells, imagine chasing a vehicle that activates a TW impoved invisitiblty hiding it and the crew from you.

The one using the TW device needs not be a TW so they can give there magic to others mages and psi without teaching them the spell.

One thing never directly addressed is TW device activation time. As they are not casting the spells I treat activating each TW feature (whole spell tech chain) as a standard combat action. But that is my house rule.(but then I also have extensive TW house rules for my games, because the tw building guide in RUE did a bad job at addressing how the tech affected the magic or magic powering tech.)

Might be worth asking others how they feel about activation time.
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by sanka »

Ruling out main classes isn't my style. I would not do it.

And I like the TW way to much. And the TW creation rules in one of the rifters clarefy a lot imho.


Just give the guy what he needs, not nessesary what he wants..
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Colonel_Tetsuya »

sanka wrote:And I like the TW way to much. And the TW creation rules in one of the rifters clarefy a lot imho.


Those are the rules that got used for the basis of the rules in RUE.

They are... workable. But they are VERY abusable. They require a firm GM hand to be like "yes i know its legal, but no you cant do that", or you can create some extremely silly items. Very expensive, to get the gems to create them (to get the level lower and PPE requirements down), but silly and broken. (Annihilation Grenades are fun).
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Re: Feelings on Techno-wizards as player-characters?

Unread post by Mack »

Daniel Stoker wrote:Really we should get Mack to post here as he's showcased some GREAT stuff you can do to use (and abuse) TW'd in Rifts.


Thanks for the endorsement! :ok:

My thoughts on playing a TWizard in Rifts... actually, I believe playing one to its full capability is difficult and that the class works better as an NPC than a player character. Now let me walk through how I came to that conclusion.

[Note – this is assuming one uses the TW Creation rules listed in RUE, which is a cumbersome process. I wouldn’t fault a GM for substituting something simpler.]

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The core ability is creating TW items. Unfortunately, doing so is not easy, nor is it complementary for most adventure parties. To create an item, the TWizard needs:
1. The spells to create it.
2. The gems to create it.
3. A working design.
4. The raw material to create it.
5. A decent workshop.
6. Time.
7. Out of Character Time.

For 1, a new TWizard starting out has an OK spell selection and can learn spells like the Ley Line Walker, but it's going to take a concerted effort on the TWizard's part to build his spell repertoire. Also, acquiring new spells is highly dependent on the GM. Some GMs are easy, others not so much. At low levels, the TWizard may really struggle here.

For 2, collecting the gems for a particular device could be an adventure all by itself. Just because a gem has a reasonable price doesn't mean it actually available. A character could spend a considerable amount of time just collecting the ones he needs. And over time, he'll need to stockpile all manner of stones (even ones he doesn't currently need) just to support his later efforts.

For 3, again, this is highly GM dependent. If the TWizard has a working design to copy, then this step is greatly reduced. If not… Keep in mind that while the TW Creation skill is base 70% +2% per level, there are plenty of negative modifiers that could be applied.

For 4, just like collecting gems, an industrious TWizard is going to need a lot of stuff to build from. If he intends to build a Telekinetic Rifle, then he needs to have a rifle on hand to start with.

For 5, this is not a character who’s going to travel light. No, he’s going to need substantially more than a multi-tool on his belt. A well-equipped workshop is really needed. [For what it’s worth, the MythBuster’s workshop always seemed like a good model since it also contained plenty of organized storage.] Even when traveling, I would expect a TWizard to have a utility hover-truck (at least if he plans to build anything).

For 6, there’s no good way around the time involved in building TW devices. Even something well known like the Flaming Sword requires 138 hours to build. That’s not conducive to tinkering around the campfire while the party rests. And that’s assuming the design is correct to begin with. If several, design/build/prototype cycles are required, then that time could explode.

For 7, this is a class that, unfortunately, requires both the GM and player to invest a considerable amount of personal time to figure out the TW rules in RUE. It’s complicated, and not presented well. Many hours can simply vanish as you try to understand the relationship between the variables.

Based on all the above, a TWizard makes a better “Q” than “Bond.”

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Now here’s how I recommend a player gets around those problems:

Don’t be an independent operator. As part of the character’s backstory, have him be a recently graduated Apprentice from a decent sized TW shop. This will give him access to most everything that was limited on that list.

--Spell knowledge can be learned from the shop’s Journeymen and Masters.
--Gems and material are already in supply.
--Proven designs are available.
--An equipped workshop is provided.
--Other TWizards and assistants can reduce the time required.

Make the character a Field Service Representative (FSR) for the TW Shop. This is someone the Shop sends out to its customers (the player party) to provide on-site service and to learn what type of challenges the customer faces. Then the FSR can recommend what kind of devices the Shop should build and sell. This will also allow the character to use and demonstrate devices from the Shop without having to build them himself.

As for the complicated formulas in RUE, I strongly recommend building them in a spreadsheet to automate the functions. This will allow you to tinker with the variables and optimize the solution. Otherwise you’ll spend hours calculating what a device should be. [Also, beware of the “PPE Storage” option on p131. Because it changes the PPE Construction Cost it often creates a circular reference that’s unsolvable. Finding the balance point that prevents the circular reference is a bear.]


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Overall, I find TWizards to be a great class that definitely adds something unique to Rifts. It’s one of the few characters that can fill a mage slot, psychic slot, engineer slot, or pilot slot. There’s a ton of versatility to use. It just that implementing the core ability of TW item creation brings a host of challenges.
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