Armor, stats, and predetermination

Been a while.

Ultimately, there are three kinds of armor in PS:

• Light Armor: The standard-issue EMPIRE gear. Conveniently fits humans. I expect most players will be wearing this. Good protection, almost guaranteed to stop pistol shots. Little loss to Sneak.
• Heavy Armor: ... Duh. It's heavy. Good protection against most things. Big hit to Sneak, and possibly Sleight of Hand. But, honestly, there's not going to be many Sleight checks in here.
• No Armor: The lightest, stealthiest, most vulnerable armor possible. Definitely for rogue-type characters who want to get their Sam Fisher on. I'm thinking of dropping the EMPIRE troops' observation skills to make this more appealing. But, that said, the last thing I want is five people in pajamas assassinating their way across the sands of OHS-817, despite how funny it is to think about.

Stealth will be useful in the tunnels under the catch pad, as well as Hellhammer fight (which I'm having serious thoughts about changing).

Considering the variable number of players in this- and any- campaign, the stats for EMPIRE will be modified with this algorithm:

Number of players = X

1D6 + 7 - X = base

Base + 0 = patrols
Base + 1 = bunker population
Base + 2 = Hellhammer population

The basic idea behind this was that as they destroy bunkers, each one will be progressively harder. The grunts on patrol will have absolutely no idea what they're about to be hit with. The people in bunkers will have a slightly higher warning, and anyone in Hellhammer is just hardcore. The players will get XP after their desert wanderings, as well as clearing a bunker, so it only seems fair.

With that math, a single player (starting at 210 XP or so) will be fighting D6+8 grunts in the last bunker. Holy crap. That would be a fight to enjoy.

Finally, I've been thinking about the mentor-figure they start the campaign with, on board the Brahma. He is going to die. No matter what is attempted, or decided, he will not survive the crash on the surface. He is pre-determined, in a way. For dramatic effect, I'll even roll a die after the players decide whose capsule is going into the rift.

Colin Porter, Ph.D.

The first hour of gameplay is going to be character creation, building atmosphere, and endearing Dr. Porter as hard as I can. The campaign doesn't truly begin until he dies, which I hope will be a really heart-wrenching moment.

I'm going to make a character sheet for Colin. It's a good example for the players, and it makes them think he'll be joining them on the surface. Most of his skills are going to be Speech and Education. It's a dump stat in Project Sunburn. I'll make sure the players know that "he's got it covered." I really hope my micro-expressions don't give it away. I'd also feel really bad if a player actually tried to play that angle.

If any of my players eventually start reading this... I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry.