StarSIEGE: Sonic Screwdriver

Eletarmion · Post by **Eletarmion** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:40 am

Hey folks,

I just purchased StarSIEGE and am playing around with trappings. My first attempt: the sonic screwdriver of Doctor Who fame. So, does this a sonic screwdriver make:
Sonic Screwdriver: R0 S1 T10 V12, Automatic, +2 Mechanics Skill Bundle, +5 Repair, Stun, Telecommunications, Ban (wooden objects), Ban (dead locked seals)

This isn't much different than the Mechanics Tool Kit found under Gear in the Field Manual. It is, however, pocket-sized and has a few extra features. The sonic screwdriver can be used at range, which feels like something that should be purchased, but I guess not, since all trappings start with a base range of "close." The Doctor doesn't normally use the sonic screwdriver as a communications device, but I purchased telecommunications as an effect because he has used it in this capacity on occassion (to communicate with the TARDIS, for instance). The Doctor doesn't normally use the sonic screwdriver as a weapon, but he has on rare occassions used it to amplify sound to stun enemies, hence the Stun effect.

What do you think?

Best,

Eletarmion

Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:41 am

Except the Sonic Screwdriver is part of a repair kit, not a repair kit in and of itself. Granted, the Sonic Screwdriver can do some pretty amazing things, being of Gallifreyan origin and all, but in the end it's still only a screwdriver, albeit an exceptional one. Not being overly familiar with StarSiege I can't tell you for sure how to put the Sonic Screwdriver into game terms. However based on what I remember from Doctor Who of old, I'd remove the mechanic's skill bundle bonus and reduce the repair bonus.

The rationale is very simple: while the Sonic Screwdriver can make it easier to remove a screw, it can't teach you how to fix a car.
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Eletarmion · Post by **Eletarmion** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:55 pm

Hi Traveller,

Thanks for your reply. You have a point about the sonic screwdriver being part of a repair kit. In at least one Tom Baker episode, it was mentioned alongside several other tools in that kit (and I believe we actually get to see the kit).

I'm cool with reducing the Repair bonus (or actually removing it altogether, as Repair is part of the Mechanics Skill Bundle), but I think keeping the Mechanics Skill Bundle is in order. This allows the sonic screwdriver to grant a bonus to all of the following Specialties: Computer Operation, Craft, Disable, Repair, and Sensors. The Doctor routinely uses the sonic screwdriver for all of these functions. Alternatively, I could also drop the Mechanics Sill Bundle and just buy up bonuses in those particular Specialities. I did that originally, but it felt like cheating, since doing so comes out cheaper than buying up the Mechanics Skill Bundle and those are the only five Specialties specifically listed under the Mechanics Skill Bundle in the rules. Still, the rules do suggest that the bundles have wider applicability than the Specialties suggest (essentially, that the GM and players can come up with more Specialties), so maybe it's okay to go with this construction.

So, which one works better:
Sonic Screwdriver: R0 S1 T10 V7, Automatic, +2 Mechanics Skill Bundle, Stun, Telecommunications, Ban (wooden objects), Ban (dead locked seals)

OR
Sonic Screwdriver: R0 S1 T10 V5, Automatic, +2 Computer Operations, +2 Craft, +2 Disable, +2 Repair, +2 Sensors, Stun, Telecommunications, Ban (wooden objects), Ban (dead locked seals)

I'm still not 100% sure about the Stun and Telecommunications functions. I wouldn't have assigned those to the sonic screwdriver of old, but the sonic screwdriver of the current series is more versitile (see the wiki article on sonic screwdrivers). IF it's applicable, the Stun function should probably require a Mechanics role to jury rig into effect, but I'm not sure how to do that.

One last thing about trappings in StarSIEGE. There is currently no way to assign sensor capability to a device. You can apply a bonus to sensor operations, but you can't turn a device that has no sensor capability into a device that is a sensor of some sort. For now, I'm assuming that buying a bonus to sensors means that the device automatically gains sensor capability, but the long-time HERO System player in me wants to say that this is a wrong assumption to make. What do you all think?

Best,

Eletarmion

Traveller · Post by **Traveller** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:06 pm

Stun could have been applicable with the original Sonic Screwdriver, presuming of course that the right frequency to disorient the target could be discovered. Telecommunications though is a different animal all together. I personally wouldn't allow a Sonic Screwdriver to be used as a transmitter/receiver combination. I can't answer how to implement it in game terms, but since stunning capabilities were not a feature of the original Sonic Screwdriver, I would say that an activation roll for the stun feature would be required.

As for HERO System muddying your thinking, if you want something to gain sensor capability when you purchase a bonus to sensors, so be it.
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NOTE TO ALL: If you don't like something I've said, PM me and tell me to my face, then give me a chance to set things right before you call a moderator.
My small homage to E.G.G.

Eletarmion · Post by **Eletarmion** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:19 am

Hey Traveller,

Thanks for your continued feedback. The more I think of it, the more I think you're right about the Telecommunications piece. The new sonic screwdriver acts well beyond its basic concept, so my decision has nothing to do with the logic behind the technology. That being said, the Doctor simply doesn't use it like a communicator. He HAS used it to remotely activate systems on the TARDIS, or to intercept teleportation beams, but not as a device for routine communications. I figure keeping the Mechanics Skill Bundle bonus will allow it to act in the versatile ways I just described without having to purchase the Telecommunications effect.

As for the stunning effect. It does make sense for the sonic screwdriver to act in this fashion, and the Doctor has brandished it as a weapon several times in his 10th incarnation. I'll chalk up the fact that he's rarely "pulled the trigger" to his own aversion to violence more than to a limitation of the device.

SO...my final version looks like this:
Sonic Screwdriver: R0 S1 T10 V4, Automatic, +2 Mechanics Skill Bundle, Stun, Ban (wooden objects), Ban (dead locked seals)

Traveller wrote:
As for HERO System muddying your thinking, if you want something to gain sensor capability when you purchase a bonus to sensors, so be it.

You know, it probably IS as simple as that. I just want to make sure that's the official answer or the original intent behind the game. I can always implement house rules later, but right now I'm trying to learn the actual rules.

Again - thanks for letting me bounce ideas off of you. It's helped a lot.

Best,

Eletarmion

cheeplives · Post by **cheeplives** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:11 pm

Hey! Let me first say that the Sonic Screwdriver looks great!

As far as an "official" ruling on Sensors... I always thought of ships having necessary sensors. Additional Sensors would just add a bonus...

If you wanted to "codify" it more and satisfy the HERO-player in you... Assume all craft have "basic" sensor package for free. This package covers all Ranges up to Long. Adding additional Range Increments cost 2 BP each.
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Eletarmion · Post by **Eletarmion** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:56 pm

cheeplives wrote:
Hey! Let me first say that the Sonic Screwdriver looks great!

As far as an "official" ruling on Sensors... I always thought of ships having necessary sensors. Additional Sensors would just add a bonus...

If you wanted to "codify" it more and satisfy the HERO-player in you... Assume all craft have "basic" sensor package for free. This package covers all Ranges up to Long. Adding additional Range Increments cost 2 BP each.

Hi Cheeplives!

Thanks for chiming in, and thanks for your kind words concerning the sonic screwdriver. Let ME say that I love StarSIEGE and can't wait to play it! Kudos on a very sweet system!

As for your insight on ships: I don't particularly need to satisfy the HERO-player in me, but I do sometimes have to overcome my HERO-habits when getting into new systems. I just wanted to know what the assumptions were behind StarSIEGE.

It seems to me that some assumptions can be made on sheer concept. Using your example of a craft, the mere fact that the concept IS a craft means that it has sensors by default. A submarine would probably have sonar. A starship would have more sophisticated sensors necessary for navigating space, etc. Both would have life-support systems as a default. Both would probably have on-board communications systems as a default as well (intercomms, etc.). All of this is just assumed just based on concept.

I can apply the same logic to other devices. If I'm building a Star Trek tricorder, for instance, I don't have to buy sensory capabilities. I can simply assume that it has these capabilities based on the concept for the item. I don't have to specify that it can do geological analysis, chemical analysis, scan for life signs, or any other function. All I have to pay for is any bonuses that the tricorder might grant to Spock when he does a sensor sweep. The concept, of course, is hammered out through dialogue between GMs and players.

Is this what you intended? If so, then I can totally run with that. I just want to make sure that I understand the original intent.
I have a busy schedule, but I intend to spend some of my free time designing stuff for StarSIEGE. I'll make sure to post these as I go, both to share and to receive feedback.

Best,

Eletarmion

cheeplives · Post by **cheeplives** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:36 pm

Eletarmion wrote:
Hi Cheeplives!

Thanks for chiming in, and thanks for your kind words concerning the sonic screwdriver. Let ME say that I love StarSIEGE and can't wait to play it! Kudos on a very sweet system

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad to hear people enjoy the game!

As far as the sensors, you've pretty much got it right when you wrote:

Eletarmion wrote:
It seems to me that some assumptions can be made on sheer concept. Using your example of a craft, the mere fact that the concept IS a craft means that it has sensors by default. A submarine would probably have sonar. A starship would have more sophisticated sensors necessary for navigating space, etc. Both would have life-support systems as a default. Both would probably have on-board communications systems as a default as well (intercomms, etc.). All of this is just assumed just based on concept.

I can apply the same logic to other devices. If I'm building a Star Trek tricorder, for instance, I don't have to buy sensory capabilities. I can simply assume that it has these capabilities based on the concept for the item. I don't have to specify that it can do geological analysis, chemical analysis, scan for life signs, or any other function. All I have to pay for is any bonuses that the tricorder might grant to Spock when he does a sensor sweep. The concept, of course, is hammered out through dialogue between GMs and players.

I look forward to seeing more of your designs!
_________________
discreteinfinity.com -- my little corner of the internet.

Author of StarSIEGE: Event Horizon -- Available now from Troll Lord Games!