OOC: TANGO DOWN! (pre-game thread), Azerbaijan: SpecOps/Merc work... Options

[TheOneRonin]

Greetings all, and welcome to the TANGO DOWN! pre-game thread. As you can tell, I'll be running a Merc/SpecOps game that's going to start out in Seattle but mostly take place in Azerbaijan, circa 2064.

What I'm looking for here is a bunch of players who are interested in building a team from scratch, not simply a group of individuals who happen to work well together. I'm encouraging discussion amongst interested parties about who in the team should fill what role, etc.

Character generation for this game will be handled a little backwards...I want to see character backgrounds/histories before I assign build points...and if your background is good enough and thorough enough, I might just give you a few extra BP.

I'd like to see some skill-heavy characters, with lots of experience in either a military organization or corp para-military unit.

Anyone who is interested but needs some help sculpting your character, please PM or e-mail (chris.louviere@ieminc.com) me. I would be more than happy to help you guys along.

[Grey]

Sounds interesting. Question though.... Where the hell is Azerbaijan?

[TheOneRonin]

Azerbaijan is on the Caspian sea, bordering Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran.

I picked it because there really isn't any info about it in all of the SR sources for me to screw up, so I can pretty much have free reign with the country without contradicting anything canon.

For the lowdown, check this link: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbo...ok/geos/aj.html

[A Clockwork Lime]

Ooh, this does look promising.

Beyond just mercs/special ops types, do you have any personal preferences that you'd like to see? What I mean is, what would your dream team consist of (ability-wise)? Should we focus on specialists, or generalists who can double-up on several abilities in case one or more go down? Magic heavy or light? Culturally and racially diverse? etc.

Or is this up for prospective players to decide?

[Grey]

Being that I usually play sneaking spec-op characters.... I want a Troll Heavy Hitter slot. :)

[A Clockwork Lime]

I'm tinkering around with the idea of ork who's some kind of electronic warfare specialist or a combat mage of some type at the moment myself. It usually takes me a few days to come up with a solid idea, though. :)

[Grey]

Yeah, I'd like a better idea as to what you are looking for. Troll with Max-Gyro mounted LMG or something a little more subtile. I'm still real flexable and may end up dumping the Heavy Hitter idea all together depending on how things go.

[Beast of Revolut...]

I'd like to play an adept. A stealthy close combat type with pimped-out sword skill. I'll have a background in a day or two.

[Grey]

Holy crap man! I'm reading through the document for this country and its concidered to be one of the worst polluted areas in the world. Umm... Time to change to an idea I've had for a Toxic/Bug hunter. :)

[Panzergeist]

Does the CIA website also say that Azerbijan has WMDs? :twirl: I would like to play as well. I'm thinking of a shaman, probably thunderbird or shark or some other combat-oriented totem.

[TheOneRonin]

You know, I know what I would like to see as the "perfect team", but I really don't want to railroad anyone in to playing what I want them to play. Let's see if I can put together a few guidelines.

1. The characters should have military/para-military experience. I would prefer people with Elite backgrounds (Delta, (U)CAS Army SF, SEALs, Wildcats, Ares Firewatch, etc.). However, I would be more than willing to work with someone who wants a bit different background. I would even be willing to have people with Intelligence Community background.

2. It's good to have specialists, but everyone should be able to do more than one thing. A good frame for a team is the Special Forces A-Team (http://sf.goarmy.com/alpha.htm). Of course, I don't want to try to run 12 players, 6 would be ideal, so here are the bases I think we need covered:

Team Leader (any combo of skills/specialties + good social/leadership skills)

Weapons Expert (someone who knows guns/grenades/weapons systems of all kinds, plus can pull sniper duty)

Communications Expert (this could be decker/rigger double duty, or anything in between)

Engineer Expert (primariy to handle demo and electronic security)

Magical Expert (Your full Hermetic/Shaman, customized for field work)

Medical Expert (Think DocWagon HTR medic...)


Just consider the above as suggestions. Like I said, I don't want to railroad you guys. I will be flexible...and I'll let you guys know if your team is missing any needed skills.

[Grey]

I'm up to take either Team Leader or Weapons Expert. Hmm... I'm seeing a good background for a Weapons Expert/Sniper, so I think I'll go that route.

[TheOneRonin]

I like what I'm seeing so far guys. Keep up the brainstorming.

Here's a few more details:

I'm looking a bit more for SF types than Line-Infantry types. Combat will most likely consist of lightning fast raides and guerilla warfare. I'm not totally against trolls, but they aren't the most inconspicuous people.

Of course, everyone should be at least a half-decent shooter...even the mages/deckers/riggers.

Also, your characters need to have some experience in Middle East/Eastern Europe theaters.

One thing I was thinking about for linking the characters together is having them all having been a part of some joint corp/multinational task force for a big op somewhere in the middle east. You guys worked together and bonded before returning to your respective services. Then, after that you all hooked up again to become "Civilian Contracters" in high threat theaters.

As a side note, all of you have SINs and are legal citizens. You can have all the permits you need to legally acquire (no Street Index, yay!) your gear...but I would advise against using it in your native country.

[Grey]

Does that include Mil-Spec armor?

Oh, and I already nixed the Troll idea. I'm going Human.

[TheOneRonin]

I'd rather stay away from the Mil-Spec armor in CC. You guys will need maximum mobility and the ability to blend in with your surroundings.

You should be avoiding any prolonged firefights anyway.

You will also most likely be required to interface with the local population at some point or other, so walking around looking like the terminator would probably make that impossible.

I would also ask that no matter what your background/personality, your character work well with others and be a good team player. Please, no brooding/anti-social types.

I have some house rules that I use, but I won't post them until we get the character concepts together. Also, I treat Raygun's site as canon for my games, so it's good to check it out if you haven't already.

[TheOneRonin]

Hey Clockwork, I dig the EW Ork idea. I happen to LOVE the EW rules in R3, and use them whenever I can in my games. An EW expert can also handle Commo and Rigger duties. However, don't feel like you HAVE to play that sort of character.

[Shadow]

Ok I wasn't going to submit an idea.... but this seems really cool. I have an Ork sniper who was on the fast track to Special Forces.

I actually made the character for another game, but I really like the concept so I stuck with him. I will email you history and you tell me if you like it or not.

[BGMFH]

Dibs on Commo Man!

I got a *nice* Cranial Rigger who could handle this kind of stuff easily.

[Panzergeist]

How many build points are we talking here? Just a general range. And will you allow drakes/shifters/cultured/betaware/stuff with availability higher than 8? If we are mercs, it would make sense for us to have a bit heavier firepower than runners. I'm not sure quite what I want my shaman to be.

[Shadow]

I think Ronin's ID is that your history determines your build points. You could probably safely assume that it will be at least 123 pts.

They Ork I submited, Downtown, was active in Eastern Europe and the middle east throughout his 8 year military career.

I love the idea of us all being Army buddies who banded together post service to work for our selves.

[A Clockwork Lime]

[TheOneRonin]

[TheOneRonin]

[A Clockwork Lime]

That works for me. :) I was just offering up a suggestion, hoping to spur some more from others. :D

Out of curiousity, approximately how long will we have been working together since our official team-up?

[TheOneRonin]

I'm thinking a year or two, through 3 contracts...all with Ares Arms.

You guys work together, train together, and drink together. In fact, I'll even let you guys use hand and arm signals for most of your LOS communication...you all know how to talk to each other without saying a word.

[Panzergeist]

Where can I find this Raygun's site you mentioned?

[Grey]

Working for Ares? Cool! My guy is all true blood American and stuff. I'm also going with a Catholic theme for him. His call sign is Azreal (the Angel of Death).

[Grey]

[Grey]

Ok, so no Milspec Armor, but what about Anti-Matériel Rifles from Raygun? :evil:

Well, I guess it all depends on if we are going up against people or tanks.

[Shadow]

Hey Panzer, click on my sig for a ton of cool SR sites, including the aforementioned Raygun!

BTW, Raygun is Dumpshocks resident firearms expert.

[Grey]

I found this pic for my character. I'm totally gunna base my character off that guy from Saving Private Ryan.

Shadow: Two snipers is never a bad thing, right? Besides, I'll also have pistols, launch weapons, and demolitions to round it out.

[Shadow]

Yeah and my guy isn't anything really but a sniper/stealth expert. He can shoot a AR or a pistol, but he shines with a riffle.

Downtown

[Grey]

Hey guys, what about BattleTac? Is the Rigger/Team Leader a tactics kind of guy? We could all have Cyberlinks to make it all kinds of nasty.

[TheOneRonin]

As far as equipment goes, don't worry about it right now. Some stuff will be available, some won't. Some equipment will be your personally, some will be issued to you by whomever offers you your next contract.

Try not to build your characters around any specific piece of equipment. Sure that AMR might be avabilable to you right off the bat, or you may end up having to find what you can once you are in country.

Gear should be totally secondary to what the characters themselves can do.

[Grey]

Oh, I know, I just start getting ideas and all sorts of things pop up. I'm just throwing around ideas right now.

[TheOneRonin]

Let me throw up one of my house rules now, as it should help you guys get a feel for things when it comes to firearms in my game.

In my games, the FIREARMS skill is a general skill that covers all small arms except for what I classify as machine guns. It has two specializations, LONGARMS and HANDGUNS. Longarms covers anything remotely rifle-like that is fired from the shoulder. Handguns covers anything pistol-like. Machineguns now fall under the GUNNERY skill, and I've abolished the HEAVY WEAPONS skill.

[Shadow]

Ronin, you meantioned using Rayguns site as canon... Do you use his alternate rules for RoF and ranges?

[A Clockwork Lime]

So assault rifles falls under Firearms, while an LMG is Gunnery? Just making sure. I was going to go with an LMG anyway, so it'll save some future skill points that way. :D

[TheOneRonin]

[TheOneRonin]

[Panzergeist]

If you're sufficiently big and strong, and the LMG has hella low recoil for an LMG, which the SAW does, then it can indeed be used as a big assault rifle. The M249's recoil borders on witchcraft. It kicks less than a lot of SMGs and assault rifles.

[TheOneRonin]

I agree. It CAN be used like an assault rifle, although it's much more effective in its intended role as a machinegun. Like I said, my rules have more to do with use than function. The WAY you generally use a SAW is different than the way you generally use an M-16. Now, if you really want to nitpick, I'd probably let you default to LONGARMS with maybe a +1 for using a SAW like an assault rifle.

[CardboardArmor]

Good evening,

I'd be interested in taking the slot of the Communications Specialist for your game, if at all possible. As per your request, I can have a character description/background forwarded to you through PM within twenty-four hours. I am, however, curious. When do you intend to start this game?

[TheOneRonin]

[CardboardArmor]

Perfect. Thank you.

[Panzergeist]

Hey, since we are all from such different locales, we need to choose a common language for all of us to get. My character is from Japan, so he'll have to know Japanese, but he'll have enough intelligence to get one or two other languages. I suggest we all take one language in common, and then try to know as many languages as possible between us all. Also, we need a name for the outfit. I suggest we be called The Spartiates, because that's a badass name.

[Beast of Revolut...]

My character will have Chinese and Japanese, but I can get one more. And the Spartiates does sound like a great name. The Spartiates: Born to fight.

[A Clockwork Lime]

Considering we're all speaking English, that would be my suggestion. :)

I'm designing a Russian ork, CWO Vladimir Rozhenko, originally from the Spetsnaz Unit Vympel (an anti-terrorist special forces group) prior to becoming a Merc. His specialty is electronic warfare and communications, but he's also an expert in drone reconnaisance and piloting (read: rigger) in addition to being an "old school" style greasemonkey. Born only a few dozen kilometers north of the border of Azerbaijan, Rozhenko has an intimate familiarity with much of the local terrain and customs, so he should be able to help the team use the land to its best advantage.

His languages will most likely include Russian, Turkish, Arabic (though just barely), and English, but he'll also be able to slot just about any language necessary via a Chipjack and a nice selection of Linguasofts dependant upon the mission.

[TheOneRonin]

Okay...here's my last post for this evening before I hit the sack.

#1: Languages. It would be ideal for English to be the common language amongst the players. Also, you should all plan to speak at least a little of one or two middle eastern/eastern european dialects. Don't worry about how many points you have for languages...that decision is up to me in the long run.

#2: Location. Sorry if I didn't make this clear from the beginning, but you guys will be officially based in Seattle. You all met during a joint op in the middle east, and will be doing an op in Azerbiajan, but you don't call the middle east your home. And I haven't decided exactly where your other contracts have taken you, but not all of your ops are centered in the middle east.

#3: Background. For me to make a decision on how many BPs to give you or what skills to assign to you, I need some pretty detailed background on your character's training. For example, "he was in the Army" doesn't give me much, but "he served 8 years in the UCAS Army Thaumaturgical Corps, and spent most of that time assigned to a recon company" gives me a lot more to go with.

#4: I need all of the characters to be airborne qualified. That means at least a parachuting skill of 3.

#5: What...no former SAS guys? Hmmmph...I'm disappointed. :(

#6: Spartiates. How in the HELL do you pronounce that???

[Limping Jacob]

I could have a good time with the Medic role, I believe. I'll send along a background in the next day or so. Sound good, boss?

[Panzergeist]

Spar-tee-ates. The spartiates were the upper class of ancient Sparta. But in Sparta, upper class didn't equate to a cushy lifestyle. HELL NO! All spartiates were required to join the military at the age of seven. That's right, seven. They learned to fight, march in formation, and run 40 km a day by the time their balls had dropped. They were such kickass warriors, that 300 of them held off a 100,00 man Persian army at Thermopylae, the Gates of Fire, for 3 days, killing thousands and so thoroughly bitch-slapping the rest that the Persians gave up a few days later. Then they conquered Athens and half of Greece. If he survived long enough, a Spartiate might graduate to a support role by the age of 70. How kickass is that?

Also, where are the parachuting rules? And does fast-roping from a chopper use the parachuting or athletics skills?

[CardboardArmor]

How about we brain out the team name IC so some of us can express our innate displeasure with the name.

Dun get me wrong, though, I love the Spartans. Thermopolyae, yo. But it seems a little too pretentious, ya?

Anyway, check out CC for drop rules. Fastroping and stuff falls under Athletics, I think.

[Digital Heroin]

*peers in, wondering what, if any, roles are still free*

[Beast of Revolut...]

I think a little boastfulness is expected of a merc outfit. Of course, we could always be the Roughnecks. Rico's Roughnecks!

[Limping Jacob]

I have no problem if we use the name Spartiates...as long as we never ever again discuss the descending testicles of seven-year-old boys.

[Beast of Revolut...]

I can promise you that, with the exception of the possibility that we may someday play a run involving the Catholic church.

[CardboardArmor]

This has to be a record. The game hasn't started yet and people are already balls-ing things up.

Ah, I hate myself. Stupid, stupid puns...

[Limping Jacob]

[Grey]

That should mix well with my Catholic sniper. :)

[toturi]

Hmmm... I would like to play too. Maybe the British Royal Marine Commando SBS or some obscure Asian unit. Remember there are no Canon Asian Spec Ops units yet!

Probably point man or scout, specialising in maritime work. Azerbaijan is close to the Caspian SEA!

[Digital Heroin]

For the record, I was thinking of playing a former Tir Ghost specialized in silent kill, projectile weapons, throwing knives, unarmed... and, as is my tendancy, he/she would be an adept...

[toturi]

Maybe the name could be Wild Card Inc

or Global Executive Resources and Management (GERM) for a more corporate feel

or simply Soldier of Fortune Inc :D

[Callidus]

Very interested in this, I'll try and get some background in tonight.... I'd be going for either magical support (seeing as the medic slots gone) or a gun bunny, although that's gone to *8-> so mage it is.... Got a nice human lover shaman kicking her heels so I'll get the background put together and over to you as soon as I can ronin *8->

Oh she'll be ex UK para's so the parachute bit shouldn't be a major biggie *8->

[CardboardArmor]

[TheOneRonin]

Wow...I didn't expect to get this much interest in this game. That's good, though.

So far, I have 11 charcter requests. Here's what I've gotten so far:

Sniper/Wps Expert, Catholic ala saving pvt ryan (Grey)
Sniper/Stealth, Ork (Shadow)
Combat Decker/Commo, asian female (Cardboard Armor)
EW + Commo, Russian Ork (Clockwork Lime)
Medic (Limping Jacob)
Sorcerer, Japanese Korobokuru (Panzergeist)
Combat Rigger, human UCAS (BGMFH)
Jap Imperial Marine + SF Adept (Beast of Revolutions)
Silent Killer Adept, Tir Ghost (Digital Heroin)
Royal Marine/Asian SpecOps (Toturi)
Magic Support (Callidus)

I'm no stranger to SR, having been GMing since the early 90's, but this will be my first PbP game, so I don't want to over burden myself. I think 11 players is too many, but I'm not sure. Any veteran dumpshock gamers out there that can tell me anything about the logistics of running an 11 person PbP game?

Also, none of the slots are really taken. I've only officially approved 1 character so far, and I'm okay with some overlap. I just want to make sure that we don't end up with two characters who have the exact same skillsets. However, I am willing to work with you guys to make sure your characters cover the bases.

For now, my limit is 8 characters. Since I've only approved 1, that means there are seven slots left. For those of you who end up missing out on this game, I promise you I will do another one soon after this one, and you will have priority for game slots.

I'm going to set the deadline for character submissions at Tuesday, April 6th. And even if it seems that someone has already claimed a slot that you want, submit your character anyway. If your background/history is more fitting than the other character's, you might get the slot.

And on a final note, you can never have too many SHOOTERS in an SF team. ;)

[toturi]

So do we send in the character background write up first, then we go do the stats or do we send both in at the same time?

If we send in both simultaneously, how many BPs do we use?

[TheOneRonin]

Here some things that may help you guys when putting together your character concepts.

The Team Leader can be from any background, and can have skills that duplicate another characters, as long as he has a good charisma, and high leadership/SMUT/social skills. But if you take on that role, you need to be ready to LEAD/COMMAND.

Looks like the Commo slot is the hot one right now. Some suggestions on how to divide it up. First, one person can focus on the actual radio/satellite communication and EW part. Secondly, someone can be a Cryptography expert. Third, someone can be the surveillance/counter surveillance/intelligence expert. There will be some skill overlap, but each of you would have your indepentant focus.

Also, this will not be entirely a field mission. There will be parts where you will need to interface with the local populace. Perhaps a character who's specialty is dealing with indigenous populations would be a good concept. Of course, he/she would be SF trained (maybe CIA or NSA as well) and well rounded. In fact, such a character might well be the most valuable in the whole group.

Active skills are going to be very important, but Knowledge skills will be your bread & butter. Most likely, I will give your characters extra BP for knowledge skills. Also, you will likely have more than the Int x 1.5 in language skills.

And to round out your characters, I'm thinking everyone will probably be in their early to middle 30's. Ork players, don't fret...I don't buy into the whole "orks only live until 50" crap. At worst, and ork with a good standard of living might have 90-95% the lifespan of a normal human. So no middle age penalties. For height and weight averages, download The Shadowrun Supplemental #13 and use the charts in there...they are much more realistic.

[CardboardArmor]

Shoulda been more specific with old Flattie's skill focus, ah well, regrets and all.

Where could we find SS #13, for reference?

[TheOneRonin]

[CardboardArmor]

Let's hear it for uniqueness. Woo.

I'll get the official add-on to the given write-in later today, I was just going to add in specifics on what she did within the Ghosts, specifically just junk on cyberwarfare and whatever other things she did for them. I might make a grab for Crypto/CounterIntel along the way.

[TheOneRonin]

Here's a little background on your team's history together.

February 6th, 2059: Tblisi, Georgia

In a bloody coup, national radical Giorgi Gachechiladze takes hold of the Georgian capital. Several MegaCorps (including Ares) as well as several national governments have a significant presecence in Tblisi because of their vast telecommunications infrastruture, and the fact there are no laws regulating any data/information flow. This has resulted in the creation of SEVERAL datahavens, used extensively by the Corps and Governments alike.

After the coup, Gachechiladze declared all data and hardware in the Georgian Telecom network to be property of the new Georgian Government. Of course, the corps and countries were scared shitless...they couldn't have this madman in control of their data. So several countries and 4 MegaCorps assembled a multinational task force who's aim was to topple Gachechiladze and restore the former Georgian regime.

This is the operation in which the characters met.

One of the Corp experts attached to your team was a Texan by the name of Deke Cantrell. Deke worked for Ares, and handled much of the coordination and planning of the missions you guys did. He was a really friendly and straightforward guy, and was well liked by the whole team. After the operation was over, Deke offered the whole team a job working for Ares. Of course, all of you declined, preferring to return to your respective branches of service.

Deke understood, but gave you his contact info if you should ever change your minds.

A couple of years later you got disillusioned with your current service and decided to contact Deke. As usual, he came through for you.

Deke worked up a contract where Ares basically "bought out" the rest of your term in your chosen service. They also reimbursed your government/corp for the cost of your implants, as well as providing you with the legal permits to possess said implants. The terms of the contract required you to go through a 4 week "Civilian Contractor" training course and committ to a 2 year retainer with Ares. After that two year period, you would be completely independant, but still have the option of picking up Ares contracts if you wanted. Ares would also provide discount housing in their Seattle Townhouse Tower.

It was at the beginning of your first contract that you met up with the rest of the people you worked with in Tblisi. Apparently Deke knew talent when he saw it, and it was his goal to get you guys together this whole time.

Your first contract was in Indonesia, second in Pakistan, and most recent in the Ukraine. Your 3rd contract finished up right around your 2 year mark with Ares, so you guys are now totally independant. Over the past two years, your contract work with Ares has earned the entire 8 person group about 2 million nuyen. That's easily covered your cushy standard of living, plus given you plenty of money left over for savings/investments and gear purchases.

The start of this game will be early February, 2064...right around the 5 year anniversary of the Tblisi coup. All of you are living in Seattle, and in the second month of R&R from the Ukraine operation.

[Callidus]

Nice lead in story Ronin.... one question, where'd you want the backgrounds and character outlines to go?

oh.... second question.... can we initiate at char gen and if so is from the starting spell points? or are we going to do it a different way?

[Shadow]

[Grey]

FYI to everyone. Because Shadow is putting up a Sniper as well, I've decided to change my character from Sniper and I'll be throwing my hat in as the Team lead. He has a CIA and Intel background. Primary focus will be social, second is small unit tactics, with a few combat skills to back him up. He'll also be a master linguist. I'm still sticking with the same general personality and background, I'm just reworking the skill set.

[Grey]

Is there an item of cyberware or bioware that could make slight changes to a persons facial features and skin tone? I've a great idea that my character has something along these things, plus a voice modulator that makes it very easy for him to blend into just about any culture around the world.

[A Clockwork Lime]

Sadly, no. But Disguise is an active skill as of State of the Art: 2063. You can get a Disguise toolkit (multiplier 1 if memory serves) to aid with it. More details forthcoming.

Oops, no toolkit is mentioned in it's description, but I imagine that you'd need one for any major changes to your appearance. You might want to get a Voice Modulator with Tonal Shift (from Man & Machine) as well as the Retinal and Fingerprint modification implants if/when you start working on your character, too.

[Shadow]

There is a piece of bioware that lets you change the color of your skin, even your iris, to any color you want!

There is a piece of cyberware, a 'voice modulator?' that lets you change your voice...

I am sure on the bioware maybe 50/50 on the cyber.

[A Clockwork Lime]

The bioware is a one-time treatment. Nanoware (which is cyberware) has a retina modifier that can let you change your iris, but it takes time and itches like a bitch. Pretty useless if you have cybereyes, though. You might be able to talk Ronin into a variation of the Retina Duplication implant for cybereyes that lets you shift colors on a whim, though. :)

I think the Sprawl Survival Guide has a few make-up related items, too, including body dyes and the like.

[Grey]

isn't there a Nanoware that is a tattoo that can be programmed to change from time to time? How about a skin treatment that changes the skin tone?

[A Clockwork Lime]

Okay, here's a quick run-down of what's available now that I got my books out.

Cyberware: Cybereyes (Cosmetic Modification and Retinal Duplication), Dermal Sheath w/ Ruthenium Polymer (way obvious though), Voice Modulator w/ Tonal Shift.

Bioware: Clean Metabolism (helps against pheromone detectors and the like), Hair Growth, Skin Pigmentation (changes your skin color, but only to a single color per operation, and it can treat your iris, too) and Bio-Tattoos (which are just normal tattoos that can move slightly over time).

Nanoware: Fingerprint Mappers (duplicates fingerprints, duh), Nanotattoos (Bio-Tattoos that can change more rapidly, but still requires a lot of time), Retinal Tailors (custom eyes in a jiffy, and more effective than Retinal Duplication cyberware).

[Shadow]

Are you sure on the skin pigmentation? I thought it let you change the color of your skin at will...

[Grey]

Nope, its a one time only thing, I just looked it up.

<shrugs> I can always go with a Disguise skill.

[A Clockwork Lime]

Completely.

[Shadow]

Damn, that's a load of hooey.

[Grey]

Did you just say hooey? Thats so cute! :D

[gobogen]

Hum... I had looked over this thred last night and started thinking and then writing a background for a good group leader.... damn you grey, could you make up your mind ? :P I was thinking that he could have a UCAS/CIA (:() background and that he could basically be a well-rounded infiltrator as well. I thought he would be good at demolition (destroying objectives undercover) and as sort of commando-like missions leader. What we could always do is that my guy will end up being an engineer or that your guy ends up being a relationist of some sort (even though mine could handle that part on his own), but either way, one of our characters would be mad at the idea of not leading .... We'll see how it goes, but the competition is ON !!! :cyber:

[CardboardArmor]

Nobody ever said that slight redundancy wasn't good in SpecOps teams. Besides, the classic idea behind operators in elite units is that they generally don't have to be led; they take the initiative and act on their own if needed. All the team lead is there for is to sort of regulate and direct the talents along a (fairly) linear path on a timetable to achieve maximum results with minimum fuss. Also, they get to call in airstrikes. I doubt we get to play with those, though.

In essence, I see the team lead as more of the face of the team. Not that we all shouldn't make an attempt to be chummy with the locals, it's just that s/he's a better chum due to their knowledge of how people react, cultures, etc.

Still, though, when the op goes to pot (and it will eventually go to pot) the team looks to the leader for direction. Not a responsibility I'd personally like, but then again that's why I'm playing the Trix rat.

Also:

Ronin, any specifics on what hapened post-Tblisi in Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Ukraine? Break-in, wetwork, datasteal, buy the corp exec some milk from the local Stuffer Shack or can we make up as needed and you'll pick whatever story sounds the coolest?

[TheOneRonin]

Okay guys. Sorry I've been off the boards since this morning...I've had some baby trouble. Newborns have no respect for Shadowrun games. :grinbig:

Let's see if I can answer some questions:

Callidus: You can PM me the character backgrounds, which is what just about everyone else has done so far, or you can e-mail them to me (chris.louviere@ieminc.com). Either way is fine. As for as initiation, I'll allow it, but it will be separate from your BP. I'll most likely give you some karma to spend afterwards, though I doubt I'll let anyone initaite past grade 2.

Gobogen: You can work it out with Grey if you want to fight over leadership, but you can also play second-in-command, and be the bravo team leader if you guys have to split up. Also, no one has filled in the Engineer/Demo expert slot yet, so your character would almost be guaranteed a spot.

Cardboard Armor: You know, I was brainstorming about the contracts that you guys did for Ares in the past, but I think you hit on a great idea. Once the team roster is finalized, I'll let you guys decide what happened in those ops. Probably the best way to handle it is through IC comments and references to those past missions. As long as it isn't too insane, I'll consider it legit.

For those of you working on your character stats, basically the BP assigned will be for everything put gear. Yes, you will need to spend BP for money to cover Cyber/Bio, but don't spend any on gear. I'll give everyone a starting budget for equipment before the game takes off.

[Panzergeist]

Working on character stats? Have some people been assigned BP allocations already?

[Shadow]

[gobogen]

[TheOneRonin]

Well, I'm not so sure if that's a good idea, gobogen. As professionals, you guys understand the importance of following the chain-of-command. And trying to disrupt that will certainly effect team efficiency. I'm okay with you having him be eager to offer suggestions or push for being responsible for planning certain aspects of the mission, but trying to trump the team commander's leadership would cause friction. If it was a real military op and you did that to me, I'd have you transferred out of my unit ASAP.

[Digital Heroin]

Or shot, depending on the military... :D

Going to eat and get a haircut, then will be submitting history for my proposed character.

[Shadow]

Shot lol. There are always 'accidents'.


"I told him not to play catch with the grenade sarge, damn fool wouldn't listen to me..."

[Grey]

<background sent>

[CardboardArmor]

Yo, Ronin, should I figure Deck costs when springing for cyber/bioware or will that cost be drawn from the stippend for 'gear' later on?

[TheOneRonin]

Decks will fall under the "Gear" category and will come along later.

Also, again for those of you who have already been assigned BPs, when picking languages you do not have to spend any points on your native tongue.

[TheOneRonin]

Okay, I'm going to put this here so I don't have to PM it 1000 more times.

The max rating for any skill will be 8. Also, Cultured/Beta ware is totally available. Though if you want Delta grade stuff, you'd need to give me a DARNED good reason.

Here's some details on what I'm trying to accomplish with this. I want the characters to be seriously well-trained and very experienced...the kind of group that's way beyond the scope of normal shadowrunners. My first plan was to say "Just make the characters however you want with as many BP as you need," but I figured that would probably get out of hand. So this way, I get you guys to put 110% into character background, and I can still make sure that everyone has the right skills for their job.

Game balance is not an issue here. You guys, need to be better than everyone else. That's why you get the kind of jobs you do.

Honestly, the amount of BP I'm giving out is probably a good bit less than you need to really make an accurate SF type character. I tried making an SFC Special Forces 18B (weapons sgt.) right after reading the Tom Clancy book on Special Forces and I'll be damned if it didn't take me almost 150 BP.

What I'm looking for is some well put together characters with a good selection of skills and abilities. Honestly I will probably add skills that your characters may or may not have on their sheets. For example. UCAS/CAS Army Special Forces will have the Instruction skill, at leat at rating 4. And I'll probably be dumping a bunch more points into your collective laps for Knowledge skills.

I hope that helps you guys out a bit.

[CardboardArmor]

Edges and flaws, boss? What's your stance on them?

[Panzergeist]

You haven't replied to the latest version of my history yet. Do you want me to revise it any?