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Aberrant: Dead Rising - House Rules


Dawn OOC

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Current Power Restrictions

Telepathy

This power is not allowed to PCs.

Warp/Teleport

This power is restricted. The user can only warp/teleport to places he or she has previously visited. When a PCs buys this power, they will work up a list of places they have previously visited.

Social Attacks and Defense

Mental Defense Value

This is further modified from Exalted (props to Reven, who brought it to my attention) and Scion. Here’s the way it works:

Iron Will no longer negates all social attacks with the expenditure of a Willpower. Those who wish to sell Iron Will back may do so, and we can negotiate what they can buy in exchange.

Instead, all characters gain a MDV. This is calculated thusly: Willpower + pertinent ability, then divide by two. The pertinent ability depends on the power being used against you. MDV defends against social powers by creating a soak; the MDV score removes dice from the pool before the check is rolled. Any successes after the roll are counted fully. Those influencing a group of normal NPCs will roll against a general crowd MDV; supers get to check against their own MDV. An MDV can be modified by the following: Sexy merit, Lusty Flaw, Social Penalties from Taint and sexual preferences of the targeted character.

An example*

Jules is wicked pissed at Morgan, so she decides to seduce Ger to ‘show him’. Ger respects Fox way too much to just bang ‘his chick’, high App or not. He would like to decline, so his MDV applies. His Willpower is a 6 and the ST decides to let him use Rapport as the resistance skill. That is a two for the guy, so his calculations are: 6+2 = 8, divided by 2 is 4. However, Ger is definitely attracted to Jules, so his MDV drops to a 3. Jules takes three dice from her pool as Ger’s social soak. She then rolls her Manipulation+ Seduction. She gets four sux, and Ger can’t resist the honey she offers. Had he not been attracted to women, he would have gotten a bonus to his MDV rather than a penalty.

*stats made up to protect the hapless characters dragged into this example

Social Shield

It works just like Psychic Shield, but only adds difficulties to social attacks.

Official Policy on Super Allies

Previous management had chosen to allow super allies for a dot. I continued with this practice despite disagreeing with it. There is a massive difference between a super and a human in Dead Rising. Being a super is more than just having powers and immunity to the Z. I can’t say more now, but I hope that at the conclusion of the game, you’ll understand what this means to the world.

This brings me around to the point of the new policy. Having a super ally at 1 dot is very low cost for what is gained. At this point, I don’t have any active PCs with super allies, so now is the best time to make this change. Right now, the only affect this would have on the game is going forward.

Costs for having Super Allies

I’m allowing NPC allies to be bought with less than 20 NP. The break down is:

Ally Dots – Starting NP

3 – 10

4 – 15

5 – 20

You cannot buy an ally for less than three ally dots.

Converting a Current Ally into a Super

All humans in DR have a chance of becoming a super when they contract the Z. This chance is necessarily and realistically small. The process is simple:

1. You express interest in having one of your allies become a super ally. Together, we construct a story around that person contracting the Z.

2. I roll their percentage chance to see if they become a super or die.

3. If they become a super, you pay the xp costs to buy up to the appropriate level for starting NP.

4. We work out what powers are appropriate for the NPC.

If your ally contracts Z during the course of the story, we follow the same process as above, save that you choose if they remain your ally by agreeing to pay for the dots or you release them. I will allow some xp debt for this situation.

Buying a new Super Ally

PCs have the option of purchasing an ally that is a super out of the box. With this, the process is a little different and is mostly discussion. I’d want to talk about the reasons why your ally is a super and how they enhance story or plot. The reason should not be “because it’d be damned convenient for my PC.” We’d build the NPC together, with you expressing what you want and me approving or making suggestions/changes as appropriate.

Just a note: the first part of my signature isn’t just a funny line. NPCs are people with hopes, dreams and drives; all that separates them from PCs is that PCs are the movers and shakers. This doesn’t make them bound to the PC’s every whim. An ally is a staunch friend, not a meat shield or sex-toy.

Returning PCs with Super Allies

These will be handled on a case by case basis. Like with buying a super ally, we’d discuss what you want and decide what is best for the PC and game, together.

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  • 1 year later...

Reputation

as originally posted by Primal/Reven

Apocalyptic society is tightly knit, even incestuous, with news and gossip traveling at lightning speed as the world attempts to rebuild and re-connect. As a result, a character’s notable exploits that she doesn’t take pains to conceal will soon become well known by both her peers and the public at large, if not the region or continent as a whole. This reputation can be positive or negative (or even both at once), and it affects the way others view your character. In situations the Storyteller deems are appropriate, a character may add her Reputation rating to her dice pool when making social rolls. In situations where the reputation is a liability, the character subtracts an equal number of dice.

It is important for the player and the Storyteller to work together to create as much detail as possible for the character’s Reputation, as these details influence how and when the Background comes into play. If a character has a reputation for bedding every large breasted woman in the city, that reputation might help get him invited to important social gatherings, but it’s not going to help him during negotiations to buy a boat to get across Lake Michigan. An Enclave Leader with a reputation for offering fair treatment to foes who surrender without a fight will find it easier to negotiate the surrender of opposing forces, especially if she also has a reputation for merciless brutality against any who dare stand against her. A reputation need not necessarily be true. A coward might luck into becoming known as a war hero, while a shady swindler could have the reputation as the most honest merchant in a region or city.

Reputation is either positive or negative. Each positive dot in your area of influence in Reputation grants a +1 to social rolls; each negative a -1. The area of influence is listed, followed by the level of influence, then a plus or minus to indicated positive or negative. Reputation dots, positive or negative, can also be used to check if someone has heard of you outside your area of influence. Roll a number of dice equal to the highest reputation, good or bad. If the character checking gets even one success, they have heard of the person, but only as the highest reputation. Bond might have a Raiders 3+ (CST); that means that among other Raiders in the Central Time Zone, he can gain +3 dice when attempting social maneuvers with them, such as persuading them to give him a better deal. Also, when someone who isn’t a raider wants to check to see if he’s heard of Bond, he’d roll 3d10. With one success, they’d know that Bond is a raider of repute.

X You have yet to make a name for yourself.

* You’re well known in your set and those of a particular area of influence (raiders, merchants, etc) have started speaking of your deeds.

** Your name is bandied about in your part of the woods. Most within a statewide area have heard of you by now.

*** Everyone in the region knows well your legend. Your reputation has spread across an entire time zone.

**** Tales of your exploits have spread across the entire continent.

***** Your legend has preceded you even to the far corners of the world, there are none who have not heard your name.

Also, as an option, the Storyteller may with secretly assign reputation dots in areas a character has done some good, or raised some Cain. Thus limiting the background to just one place, but granting it for free. So a character may have Reputation (Carson City, Fear) 4 and Reputation (Las Vegas, Savior) 3.

The ratings are assigned and can only be adjusted as the storyteller sees fit, but they don’t affect the characters overall Reputation unless they happen to be in those areas. Reputation should not stack, but it can counter an assigned reputation, so in the Example above if a character had an overall negative Reputation of 4 and was in Las Vegas where he has a positive reputation of 3 he’d only suffer a 1 die penalty (4-3=1) to his social rolls to reflect the respect the people of Las Vegas have for that character. On the same note is his over reputation was positive and he went to Las Vegas he would not get 7 bonus dice, he'd get 4; his more favorable rating would win out.

Here are the currently assigned reputations. If you aren’t in the regions indicated, you likely haven’t heard of the person yet. This is for when you do travel to those areas, so that you can learn about their reputations.

The following Reputation ratings are a starting point; suggestions and recommendations are welcome.

PCs

Violet

-Pious people 3- (CST)

-non-pious men 4+ (USA)

-women 2- (Oklahoma/Texas)

-Tramp 1- (Fox's Refuge)

-Goddess 1+ (Olympus)

Dan Hawkins

-Marines 2+ (North Carolina/South Carolina)

-Marines 2+ (Oklahoma/Texas)

-Mechanics 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

-Survivors 1+ (Hayes Enclave)

Gabrielle

-Enclave leaders 3- (CST - as the leader of Hayes)

-Catholics 2+ (Oklahoma/Kansas/Missouri)

Jasmine

-Enclave defenders 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

-Survivors 1+ (Hayes Enclave)

-Trader 2+ (Oklahoma/Texas)

James

-Married men 2- (Oklahoma/Texas)

-Enclave defenders 2+ (Oklahoma/Texas)

-Raider 2+ (Oklahoma/Texas)

Hana

-none

Dylan

-Computer Genius 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

-Computer Genius 1+ (RUS)

Kristin Mackenzie

-Man hater 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

Myfwany Shattuck

-Enclaves 3+ (CST)

-Medical personnel 3+ (CST)

-Pagans 2- (Kansas/Oklahoma)

Ira Sagebrush

-Thief 3- (MST) (for reasons the PC isn't aware of)

-Knight of Cassandra 2+ (Oklahoma/Colorado)

Bond, James Bond

-Raider 3+ (EST)

-Raider 3+ (CST)

-Married Men 3- (EST)

-Married Men 3- (CST)

-Women 3+ (EST)

-Women 3+ (CST)

Jules

-Survivalists 1+ (Fox's Refuge - for setting Walker's classes up)

NPCs

Morgan Fox

-Air Force 2+ (Oklahoma/Texas)

-Enclave leaders 3+ (CST)

-Religious people 1- (Hayes Enclave)

Cassandra

-Oracle 3+ (MST)

-Crazy woman 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

Death

-Enclaves 3- (MST)

-Military 3- (MST)

-US Government 2- (Colorado/Nevada)

-Supers 3+ (MST)

Han

-Catholics 1+ (Hayes Enclave)

Fuse

-Military 2+ (Colorado/Nevada)

-US Government 1+ (Cheyenne Mountain)

Dick (Enclave leader, Beaver Lake)

-Enclave leaders 2+ (Arkansas/Oklahoma)

John Walker

-Enclave defenders 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

-Survivalists 1+ (Fox's Refuge)

-Boogeyman/Monster 2- (Oklahoma/Texas)

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