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Thread: Modifications

  1. #1

    Modifications

    I've got some questions (and possible suggestions) on modifications in the SWADE ruleset. I've been messing around with building weapon attachments as modifications but I'm a little unsure on the actual functionality of how modifications themselves work, and if I'm thinking of using them in an intended manner.

    First off, I'll ask if there is some documentation for the modification sheet that I haven't found. I've been using the information at https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassia...Worlds+Ruleset but I don't see any real info on modifications. So to get on with what I'm currently trying, I'll use a bipod (shown below) as an example.

    Bipod.png

    Most of the sections there seem pretty straight forward, although in my limited testing with adding modifications to weapons they seem more informative than functional. An example of that would be "Weight" doesn't change the weight of a weapon this modification is added to. I'm not sure what the "Mods" section is supposed to be used for. I do know that if I were to add the [> Ignore #Recoil] coding into the "Notes" section it will automatically transfer that effect onto the weapon when equipped, which is great for some situations but not necessarily for a modification like the bipod that can be activated/deactivated.

    Which brings me on to the suggestion/wishlist portion of my post. I think it'd be great if the "Weight" section of a modification would transfer to an item it is attached to. Also, I think that having some kind of functionality to toggle a modification on/off from an item sheet would be great for certain types of modifications. Maybe something like a little checkbox (similar to how I have "Magazine" checked in the below image) to the left of the bipod modification? When checked, it means the modification is deployed and would apply any effect coding. When unchecked, the effect is not applied.

    Rifle.png

    If I had more knowledge of how to do such things, I'd work on making this as an extension myself. Since I don't, I wanted to post here to see what others may think or if anyone has suggestions on a better way to do what I'm trying to do.

  2. #2
    YggBjorn's Avatar
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    Weight, I believe, is only handled by the Inventory tab and only for Encumbrance. If an item has weight and is carried or equipped it is tallied for Encumbrance.

    Weapon modifications are briefly mentioned in the SWADE core book. The stats are listed in a table on page 68 of the book. There are only three listed. If you would like to get expanded rules on weapon modifications you should check out the Gunsmithing 101 pdf.
    https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...unsmithing+101

  3. #3
    I have that PDF and I am trying to figure out way to do those as modifications. I want to use them in my cyberpunk game.

  4. #4
    I apologize if my original post isn’t very clear so maybe I should try and state my questions about the modifications in a better manner.

    1) What is the intended usage of modifications within the FGU SWADE ruleset? Are they intended to be able to add modifications or “attachments” to weapons or other items?

    2) What is the “Mods” entry in the modification item sheet meant for?

    I do have the PDF mentioned above as well and am using it as part of what I’m doing (a Shadowrun conversion of sorts, coincidently). My problem isn’t coming up with the items, it’s more understanding how modifications are designed to work within the FGU SWADE ruleset.

    I mentioned weight and suggested having it add to an item for the cases of adding something like a bipod (or suppressor or whatever else) to a weapon and reflecting that weapon’s total weight for encumbrance purposes. Not a terribly important feature but one I thought could be useful if it were possible.

    The more useful feature, in my opinion, would be the way to toggle the modifications on and off for effect purposes. Say the character sets their rifle up and deploys the bipod, they’d then be able to toggle the effect. Same thing with turning on a weapon light, or attaching a suppressor. These are things that I’d imagine being able to add to the weapon as a modification, but they aren’t necessarily constantly active effects.

    The only other ideas I have for making them work in that manner would be to make them as regular inventory items (not modifications) and toggle them from carried to equipped to activate the effect. Alternatively, I guess I could set up a bunch of sub-attacks for different configurations but that seems like it could lead to a lot of clutter.

  5. #5
    YggBjorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by miked2681 View Post
    1) What is the intended usage of modifications within the FGU SWADE ruleset? Are they intended to be able to add modifications or “attachments” to weapons or other items?
    Currently the 'MODIFICATIONS' tab is only used for vehicle modifications. If you unlock a weapon record you can create a Modification on the record itself. It doesn't seem to store that anywhere but the record entry. That may not be intended. I tried creating a Modification and dragging it to the weapon record but it wouldn't accept it.

    Quote Originally Posted by miked2681 View Post
    2) What is the “Mods” entry in the modification item sheet meant for?
    I am unsure.

    Quote Originally Posted by miked2681 View Post
    The only other ideas I have for making them work in that manner would be to make them as regular inventory items (not modifications) and toggle them from carried to equipped to activate the effect. Alternatively, I guess I could set up a bunch of sub-attacks for different configurations but that seems like it could lead to a lot of clutter.
    I believe that is how most people handle it.

  6. #6

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    You can use modifications on weapons to add effects, like [>Damage +2] and [>Parry +1].
    On armor it does things like give it defense against damage types, like [@Acid Damage -2], or more protection, like [Armor +4].
    On gear, it creates rings of quickness [Agility +1d, Pace +2, Run +1d] and strength [Strength +2d, Load Strength +2d].
    Pathfinder for SW uses mods to create magic items, as does the Fantasy Companion.
    I use it in my sci-fi games to create cyberware and xenotech devices.
    Even mods that don't include effects are useful to remind players (and gms) what special qualities gear has and how tricked out the item is.

    Since the mods tab was unlocked, you can add mods for things other than vehicles. I created a fair number of mods specifically for weapons, armor, and items, in addition to new vehicle mods.

    The mods entry is for how many mod slots that mod takes up. Vehicles and power armor display the current and remaining mod slots, but no other items do (yet). You could still say that weapons have only 5 mod slots and total them manually.

    It would be nice to have a toggle for the mod, as well as have the mod effect multiplied if you take the mod multiple times. This will take a bit of development to make an extension, since you'll have to tap into the rules code that calculates weight and applies mods from equipped gear. I don't know if those are functions that can be intercepted. It would also be nice if adding and removing mods auto calculated the current and remaining slots. These are certainly worth adding to the wish list.

    I hope this helps.

  7. #7
    I appreciate all of the feedback. The modifications as a whole are a great feature, it just seems in certain use cases of modifications that aren’t always active I’ll need to do something different.

    I’ll make it work since writing an extension to add these functions is beyond my extremely limited ability to muddle through lol.

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