To be honest, the way stun guns work seems pretty OP and also somewhat non-sensical to me.
The fact that MPs are WIT + EMP means, that e.g. soldiers or strong creatures are much more affected than weak but smart and emphatic characters. It doesn't help that stress ignores armour...
As an example, my group encountered a Nekatra. What could have been a tough fight was cut very short by my PCs by using a stun gun. Nekatra has 11 HP but only 4 MP. Two hits and the beast was down.
Stun weapons are described as affecting their target through electrical pulses. Why should an electrical pulse affect someone's mental state? What's more MP recovery works differently than HP recovery. Why would someone hit by a taser get PTSD or something (at least it should be more likely than when someone is attacked with lethal weapons, right?)?
Any suggestions how to deal with this?
Sorry for the Necro on the post - but I feel this question needs an honest answer attempt, even if it is house rules. The whole concept of "Stress" and Mind Points for me, is more on the lines of mental anxiety, PTSD, Psychotic Breaks, and emotional breakdowns. Supernatural elements and Mind Memes, or even mind-altering drugs could be a candidate to affect MP and cause Stress. Seeing one's buddy gets knocked down in a fight, and seemingly responseless, could hit someone for a point of stress. Getting hit by a real-life stun gun is more akin to being physically "Broken" vs a Mental "Breakdown". Similar to having the "Wind" knocked out of you. I am really rethinking how being "stunned" works in this game. The concept of non-harming damage in Coriolis is already present - if you are physically "Broken" per RB Page 93, that is sufficient. If you suffer a "Breakdown" due to MP going to zero, that is something different.
In conclusion, I change the concept of Stun to mean "Physically Stunned". I expand on existing rules and change some core ones to allow a more reasonable and realistic approach for "physical Stuns", as follows:
- All Stun weapons and grenades do HP damage - a Crit means automatic #11 - Wind knocked out, or #12 - Disoriented - for 1D6 Turns (number of turns stunned can be subject to GM whim based upon type of weapon, etc.)
- Extra 6's cause additional HP damage, not MP damage
I am reserving my "Stress" and MP to be delivered for more narrative reasons - Real Mental Stress.