New Schticks

Here are some new Schticks. Created by Ben Wright (chthonic.games@gmail.com) 2002, 2003.

Cavalcade of Carnage - Driving Schtick

Some drivers have the ability to knock one car off course in just the right way to cause a huge pile-up behind them. Whenever you make a successful driving roll that forces someone out of a chase, you may try to force someone else out of the running with a shot cost of 2. You can continue to make these rolls at a reduced shot cost until you fail to put someone out of the running. Each additional schtick decreases the shot cost by one, to a minimum of 0. This means with three schticks in Cavalcade of Carnage you can continue making driving rolls at zero shot cost until you fail to scupper someone.

Cowardice - General Schtick

You have the knack of looking feeble in combat. As long as someone still fighting on your side has a higher combat AV than you, enemies will overlook you as a target. However, should you take any role in the combat, or make any overt action that your attackers would be interested in, the effect ends for that scene.

Damage Immunity (Revised) - Creature Schtick

If, like me, you don't care for the Damage Immunity schtick as it stands, use this one instead. Rather than becoming totally immune to the chosen form of damage, add 10 points to your toughness for each schtick in that category. For high-toughness characters this tends to add up to the same thing, except that there is still the chance that a good hit will cause damage.

"Fire In The Hole!" - General Schtick

You automatically succeed at any rolls to avoid large explosions, collapsing ceilings or other similar cataclysms. This does not necessarily stop you from taking damage, but you may take less damage than normal as if you has successfully rolled a stunt to escape. You must, of course, shout the name of this schtick for it to be effective.

Out of the Blackness - General Schtick

When you are successfully using your intrusion skill to escape notice, your movement rate is doubled. Each additional Schtick doubles your movement speed again. You must be actively avoiding notice in order to move at this faster rate, which limits its range severely.

Springbok Leg Enhancement - Hardware Schtick

Take two huge springs, some magnetic rams, and a willing subject. Result -- cybernetic jumping legs. Most models use backwards-facing knees (which makes them even harder to conceal) and have over-large feet for stability. The Springbok system allows the user to jump twice their Move rating as a one-shot action. In addition, the user can spend up to four shots charging the rams before jumping. Each shot spent charging increases the distance they can jump by their Move attribute, for a whopping maximum distance of six times their Move rating. However, once the charging cycle has begun it cannot be stopped except by activating the rams. The user also subtracts their Move rating from any falling damage (in addition to their Toughness). Should the user wish to employ the legs as a weapon, they do Str+4 damage, plus an extra point for each shot spent charging. They also have the entertaining side effect of flinging the target an impressive distance.

Transformation - Hardware schtick

You are more than meets the eye. When you take this hardware schtick, select an existing hardware schtick and a new one. Transformation allows you to swap between those two schticks as a standard action. You cannot use both at once. Some schticks (particularly those that affect mental attributes) are not appropriate for use with transformation. The transformation may be as simple as a trick hand, or it may involve a full-body change. Each additional schtick in transformation allows you two more such schtick swaps when you transform. Schticks which are currently swapped out cannot be identified by enemies, although of course it is still obvious you are part machine. For schticks that gain better effects as you buy more schticks, the power varies depending on how many schticks are available for that form. As an example -- Lemur Bean is a jammer with a minigun, a flamethrower and tank tracks. He takes transformation once and becomes able to swap his tank tracks out for jet engines. He takes it again and swaps out his existing weapons for one more schtick in Flight and a missile launcher. He then buys a Flight schtick as normal. Now, in his normal mode he has limited flight (1 schtick), a minigun, a flamethrower and tank tracks. When transformed, he has superior flight (3 schticks) and a missile launcher.

Visions - General Schtick

Your character is known to experience visions. They may be of past, current or future events, and you may be an observer of the event or see through the eyes of the participant. However, the visions are always relevant in some way to your current task or some future task. You should work out exactly what form the visions take with your GM. The visions usually occur at your GM's discretion, although you can force a vision on yourself once per session for each schtick in Visions you have. While experiencing a vision, you are unaware of your real surroundings, suffering -5 impairment, and unable to take normal actions. You might, of course, sleepwalk during your vision and place yourself in danger or attack comrades. Magic Cops can take this schtick at character creation by sacrificing one of their Magic schticks.