Question regarding stat increases & skill effect

Greetings all, I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend. A couple questions if I may.

1->If a character burns an item that increases stat(s) during the character burning process and the stat increase would have an effect on skill level(s), are the skills recalculated to refect the new stat number?

2->Same question except if the character acquires a stat increase after play either through a device or experience. Are the skills recalculated based on the new stat number.

Thanks mates,
Rogue Robot 308 (it’s Luke’s fault - :stuck_out_tongue: )
###########

No on both counts. The second is explictly addressed in BW, but not in BE as far as I can see with a quick browse.

o7 Thanks Stormsweeper!

There are devices that can increase your stats? Devices that give you bonus dice I know about, but actually boosting the base stat – wow. Where is that? I only have Burning Empires, so this may be a BW thing I’m just missing.

p386 mate. Actually, there’s not much you can’t do (make). The book gives some guidelines and sets you free. Up to GM to hold down the ludicrous I guess.

Ah. I haven’t thought about using those rules that way, but on re-reading, yeah, you can buy a stat advantage and explain it as cybernetic, which means it’s always with you, I guess. Hrm.

It’s still advantage dice, though, not really changing the base stat. If you have a Helm of Intellect (+3D to Perception) and a Perception of 5, you still will be gathering the tests to advance that 5 to a 6, not an 8 to a 9.

For example. I’m trying to sell to the GM that my ‘Bright Mark’ is a ‘Bright Mark III’, an advanced implant version that gives a bonus to stats & skills, like Will & Psychology skill. If I feed him enough cookies maybe he’ll go for it. Actuallly, I like to ask for the best and comprimise my way down. Also, I think it helps if you can explain in game terms, how you obtained said item.

Lance Ironforge was awarded the Bright Mark III upon successful defeat of the Theocracy invasion force on the planet Turin, thereby saving from destruction the Circle of 10,000 foundations elite school.

Stormie’s right on this one. Bonuses to stats from tech don’t affect skill roots.

And don’t jockey for dick-tech with your GM. State what you want and the cost to the whole group. So long as it doesn’t break the parameters set in the WB and you can afford it, you can buy it.

-L

State what you want and the cost to the whole group.
->I get the state what you want part but not the cost to the whole group part. If your character is better than the group is better as a whole.

As far as burning and affording go, most characters can get quite a bit. It wouldn’t be to hard to build implants, exoskeleton, or nano tech to boost all your stats. If your stats are higher then I can’t see it not benefiting the group. Heck, you can even build a pretty decent butt kicking AI mecha. Forget grav hopping when you can do flight or even teleport and yeah, it’s all printed in the z book.

Making your character the best he can be is what many players seek to do. Having kewl tech is a good part of that. It’s like the DnD holy avenger and vorpal blade. If they print it in the manual then of course the players are going to want it and heck, why not. A good GM just adjusts the challenges appropriately. Most notable novels have characters with special weapons and items which make the character that more notable and memorable. Most importantly it’s FUN. The fun factor trumps all others. I encourage all players to build characters with kewl tech that they will enjoy using to enhance their roleplaying and gaming experience.

What you want and it’s cost (in terms of resource rolls) should be stated to everyone at the table. I believe it’s called a peer review, but that might be a BW term. Everyone can toss in their $0.02 and praise or mock the tech being added to the game. Importantly, the players have a say in the tech introduced, and if they don’t think it’s fun for them, they can raise concerns. Then you talk about it and come up with a reasonable compromise.

Understood and agreed. Getting tech goodies should not be at the expense of someone elses or the groups enjoyment.

However, I try to assist players with their wants staying within the rules and GM approval. I’d rather bring everybody ‘up’ with neat stuff then strip everybody of what they want so everybody feels ‘equal’. I encourage players to dream big and lets make that happen for each player.

I’m a raw, shiny newbie at this point, but I think the idea here is that you want to avoid “well, I talked it over with the GM, we agreed, so it’s finished” (or, worse, “I passed the GM a secret note…”): Everyone in the group should hear about anyone’s tech (or whatever) and feel free to say “cool!” or “wait a sec…”

Yeah man, marry your agenda to the group’s. There’s really no need to hide stuff when you’re starting out in BE. And there’s certainly no need to secretly tweak to get an edge.

The effect of this type of behavior seems like it would ruin surprises in play, but that’s old think. Surprises in BE emerge from the mechanics – from the consequences of roleplay (color and interstitials), the results of builders and the effects of the objectives of Duel of Wits and Firefight.

As for making your character the best he can be, go for it. This game deliberately provides those tools. I want you to do that. But I want you to do it because it’s part of your character concept and because it’s cool for the world. Not because you feel like you need to protect yourself against the GM’s secret plans.

Why? Because the GM has the same freedoms for tech and tweaking that you do. But more than that, the tech rules really won’t save you when the time comes. They can’t stop you from getting cornered on a bad compromise or something like that. Trust me. They’re cool and useful, but they cannot prevent the awesome twists and turns you are about to undergo.

-L

The thought strikes me that BE is “competitive” between players and GM in the same way a football game is, or a medieval battle where the heralds arrange the time and place beforehand: You go all out to win, but within a certain set of parameters, and it devalues your “victory” if you win by pulling out some resource nobody else knew about or by exploiting other people’s confusion about the rules. It’s not “competitive” to the degree that, say, stabbing your roommate in an alley and then framing your girlfriend for the crime is a form of competing with them over who’s got the best GPA this year.

What’s wrong with framing your GF so you can save face with the wife? :stuck_out_tongue:

I realize the game is more than the ‘pluses’ but I strive to make everybodies character the best they can be. The GM can do whatever he wants as long as we, the characters, have a reasonable chance of winning. That’s all that really matters to me. I’m certainly not thinking of ‘getting over’ on the other players, especially since there are only 3 of us and we will most likely have to work together if we are going to succeed.

I would also say, if during play, you come up with a great idea for building something to help your character and/or the team to win and make it happen, you shouldn’t be criticized for it. Also, if one guy has a +2 plasma cannon and you don’t because you decided not to buy one, that’s not his fault either. Don’t complain about it, just go buy/build one for yourself next opportunity. Since I built all the characters minus the beliefs, instincts, & stuff, I know each character is equally a kick butt character. Let’s burn baby.