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[Retread]

Willpower is used as the dice rolled for the attack. Charisma is the power of the attack. Damage code is always Moderate. Weapon has no effect save for the reach, therefore, grab a spear and go bug-hunting.

I made a mundane spirit hunter who specialized in using spirit weaknesses and will-fighting.

I imagine a GM might allow players to make a Spirit Fighting skill that uses Willpower as its base.

[Ruski]

Could do that. I'd let it in my campaign, but he wouldn't be able to find anyone to train him with that, he'd have to go up in skill points on his own. (at a slight additional karma cost)
if he started abusing it; I'd just up the cost to learn the next level. no big deal.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

Probably just easier to allow the player to develop massive Willpower levels but require them to do some whacked out drek in order to achieve it. Like train with some super-duper specialist. I imagine at some point the player would be forced to be taught by some force 10+ spirit or dracoform in order to raise their willpower any higher. Or perhaps have some strange magical event whereby the player becomes a semi-Awakened spirit hunter.

Then force the player to make an alignment choice between a defender against spirits or a brutal destroyer who seeks to rid the world of ALL spirits. Use certain places that act as Astral Gateways for finding True Names and such, might be pretty interesting...

[Ruski]

interesting for that one PC perhaps, but if he's in a group; it's going to get dull fast.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

Eh, in all my games I keep track of a calendar and players have to train their skills and plan out their availabilities. So, instead of "oh, okay we'll do this run now" they have to plan their schedules and get in all their character development in between. Personal actions take the place as turns, so you simply switch off between characters.

[Ruski]

still; as a skillset, a specalised 'ghost hunter' is going to be a one trick pony... if you have a run, or a group of runs that isn't always masterminded by yet another evil ghostlike entity, they aren't going to have much to do. and whereas they will be happy to whump on spirits untill the end of time, most of the other PC's will probibly get tired of it.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

(that's the problem I always had with letting Otaku into the group too)

[Retread]

Otaku are a developmental character. The idea behind them in a group of runners is for the runners to "adopt" the Otaku and teach them to act more like normal people. Get them to spend some of their Karma on non-Matrix tech and then maybe a combat skill or such.

[Ruski]

and how is that diffrent from someone who put every last charichter point and karma into their willpower and 'ghost fighting' abilities?

-RuskiFace the Pirate

other than willpowering themselves past the display of 'nerps' at the stuffer shack, how else is a high willpower going to help in game? it's a one trick pony.

[Ingo Monk]

Resisting mana spells?  Some of my group still hasn't learned that trick.

[Ruski]

Well, to be fair; Otaku are also handy at opening locks most of the time, and ocasinally at repairing your car when it's all shot up.

still, it's a very specific ability range. people who are very specalized... in my experence, are good for like one or two runs tops. after that, they get boring, and when you try to branch out their abilitys, you'll find that you've sacrificed so much to make them amazingly good at one thing, that they can't keep up in the 'average' range with any other methodology. your willpower guy will have problems getting his pistol skill above 3. and if you try to start shooting things, he won't be able to keep up with the decker. or, if he pisses off his team-mates because he trys to dis-apperate any ghost he sees, even if it messes with the current run, and finds himself trying to find work on his own... he's going to be hard up to get his negeotion skill up high enough to convince people to pay him to fight ghosts...

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

Well, the implication is that the spirit hunter is also handy enough with weaponry to double as a Samurai. There's nothing in the statement that says they can't get cyber or good weapons. They simply specialize their knowledge skills towards identifying spirit-types and have equipment that focuses on closing the distance gap quickly to engage in Will-fighting. You'd be surprised what an extendable staff and a set of hydraulic jacks for your legs will do...

Remember, willpower is also calculated in combat pool, spell resistance, critter power resistance (never fought a barghest or siren before?) stun damage recovery, drug addiction resistance, torture, etc. So having an amped willpower is more useful than amped strength. Additionally, you could also take the Magic Resistance edge and play it off as a sort of "disbelief" whereby the character is anti-magic because he refuses to believe it has power over him. There's lots of ways to play it off, really.

[Ruski]

You can make the same argument for a high intelegence that deckers posess. and you could argue that otaku deckers would be able to use their skills to pilot drones, and use supressive fire that way to help in 'combat' situations that are outside of there element.

I'm just saying; that under the new rules, I'd rather have a team mate that got two stats at 5, rather than one stat at 6.

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

New Rules Poo Shmules!

I stand behind my archaic min-maxery.

[Ruski]

well, Let's see how it carries over to the next generation!

-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Retread]

I don't have the time or the money to go and learn a new set of rules that compromise the fine understanding of what I already know. I can guarantee that all the new sourcebooks that come out will be just as bad about giving players a bucket of dice to use and now with no target numbers, that bucket will be even more munchkin than before.