On 5/14/2016 1:29 AM, Kelly St. Clair wrote:
> IMO, an important thing to remember about the "dying during character
> generation" is that it's not just there as flavor.  Rather, the
> survival roll is there as a potential check to everyone staying in the
> service(s) until they muster out as highly-skilled, wealthy Generals
> and Admirals with knighthoods - "super" and/or high-level characters,
> in the terms of this game. It turns the process into gambling,
> essentially:  do you cash out now to keep what you've won, or keep
> rolling and hope you don't get snake eyes?

I'll be contrary...

If that's the case, then the system is flawed and this is a poor attempt
to "fix" it.  If the players aren't supposed to be able to attain
something such as high rank or social standing, then the rules should
reflect that from the get-go and the player, who may be on a streak,
shouldn't be penalized.

In one game I ran there were 5 PCs.  All of them were their career's
version of a flag officer and all of them mustered out with a SOC of 12
or higher.  We looked at the characters and I quickly retooled the
campaign...All of them were from the same planet (two were even
siblings) that had just had its version of the French Revolution. The
rumbles of the revolution started prior to them mustering out and by the
time they arrived home the revolution was in full swing. Consequently,
they had what they had; their patents of nobility and anything they
mustered out with.  Oh...and recurring bounty hunters who wanted to
bring them back for a People's Court and likely execution, and, one
world class grudge against the ringleaders of the revolution (who
happened to be in the pay of a megacorp who wanted the mineral rights to
one of the continents that had been exclusively for the aristocracy.

It was a damned good campaign and perhaps one of the best I've been
involved with.

--
Kurt Feltenberger
xxxxxx@thepaw.org/xxxxxx@yahoo.com
“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not
living enough." - Me