Consumables

 

Mass Consumption

For today's blog, we are going to tackle the consumable item concept and explore how House of Eidolons handles consumables. This will be a shorter blog but will give a glimpse into our thoughts around consumables and how we handle them.

First, let me say flat out, that there will be NO ammo counting. No fretting about the ammo count in your clip, the arrows in your quiver, or anything like that. We believe that ammo counting is an antiquated system that seems interesting at first but just becomes a major headache for most people for a pen-and-paper game tabletop. If you are really into that sort of thing, by all means, add it back in but our system is really not built to have to fuss about ammo count, we feel that is an anti-fun system and one that works against a player's power fantasy.

However, we are playing in a Cyberpunk universe where consumerism is rampant and a part of everyday life and many items in the game do get consumed upon use. Before we jump into what these are and how we handle them let's look at the issues with consumable items in TTRPGs and explore our thoughts around them. 

The Problem with Consumption

So, the classic problem with items that you consume is that you spend money for an item that has one or a few uses and then is gone. It is not like a weapon or armor that sticks with you. So naturally, to be spending money on something that doesn't last means it needs to be useful or essential enough to justify the cost and temporary nature of it. This is where consumables usually live and die. They are either not good enough to justify the cost or too good that they are required and just become a sort of tax on the character. 

In either situation above, consumables become an anti-fun mechanic and often find themselves on an endless roller-coaster of adjustments to try and make them just right. In House of Eidolons, we avoid much of this tumult through the general Plug-&-Play design philosophy. Consumables are allowed to be powerful but ultimately do not make or break a character unless you want them to be a key element of the character. 

Second, consumables like special ammunition types get consumed upon use but stay active and usable for the entire mission. This allows the player to get the most out of their purchase without having to count bullets, it's just assumed that enough was purchased to last you the single operation. 

Lastly, classes with ability trees that focus a bit more on consumables, like the Chem Chef tree of the Sprawl Doc, have abilities that greatly increase the capacity to purchase and manufacture consumables that the class likes to use making it a much more economically friendly endeavor and ramping up the power for those consumables. 

What We Consume

So what are the consumable items in House of Eidolons?

Firstly, there is what we call Special Ammunition. Special Ammunition is a kind of ammunition that can be loaded into any normal ballistic firearm and shot. It provides some sort of bonus damage or effect helping increase the versatility and lethality of your firearm weapon of choice. An example of special ammunition would be Incendiary Rounds. This ammunition type applies the [Burn:2] tag to enemies hit by the rounds, effectively starting them on fire. As mentioned above, special ammunitions are consumed at the start of a mission execution and last for the entire mission. This way, we circumvent bullet counting and you can just enjoy catching your enemies on fire with napalm bullets, yay!

Second, are explosive ordinance. There is a nice array of, primarily, grenades available for purchase that can really help in combat, both offensively and defensively. Grenades are one-use thrown weapons that explode in all kinds of fun and destructive ways and are a great choice for any character who finds themselves in combat regularly. They are especially effective at dealing with mobs and helping control the board. A grenade in the right situation can be a game-changer. In our last mission, for example, one character tossed out a poison gas grenade right as a major security unit came out of their room. This de-buffed the entire unit making them much easier to contend with and ultimately making a substantial difference in the team's ability to deal with the major threat. 

Finally, pharmaceuticals are the last consumable in the game. These are all the colorful drugs you can inject into yourself or another for a wide range of effects. Drugs, like explosives, are one-use items that substantially buff or hinder the target they are injected into. They can range in effect, from adding bonuses to skills or attributes, granting bonus edge dice, or even healing back hp. Drugs, like all the other consumables, are just additional systems you can choose to interact with and spend money on. They can have a significant impact but by no means are essential. In the right hands though they can be extremely powerful. 

There are a few other general items in the game that are consumed but, generally speaking, the above three categories are the only consumables in House of Eidolons. They are fun additions that help round out a character or add some extra “umph” and are powerful enough to warrant the costs but by no means are necessary. They also open up character and class options that hinge on their consumable items making for a fun and powerful play option that does manage resources, if that is what the player doesn't mind doing. 

Like everything in House of Eidolons, the agency is given to the players to determine how they play and what they want to deal with. Consumables are just another option that some will love and others will dislike but either way, the choice is the players and either choice is good and powerful in its own ways. 

Thanks for joining this brief foray into House of Eidolons' consumable items! 

Until next time, Eidolons.