Group in the DC Area, Looking for Players and/or GM Options

[nezumi]

Yes, if you get off at Whiteflint station, head North up Rockville Pike and cross just after Old Georgetown, you're right there. It should be about half a mile. If you and someone else has a cell phone, I'm sure we can arrange a pick-up. I'd do drop-offs, but we barely have enough room in our car to begin with.

[6thDragon]

Sure, let me know what time and I'll be there man. I can pick anyone up or drop anyone off at the metro, just let me know so we can coordinate. Diner's are always reasonably priced, and it should be a problem. I have plans to pick my wife after she gets off work at 8 pm, so could we do it around 5ish? That should give us more than enough time.

[Wandering_D]

I can tentatively commit to that, how is the neighborhood around the metro (I might just walk it if the diner is only half a mile away and the weather continues to be like today).

[PBTHHHHT]

The area isn't that bad. Just be careful with traffic and you'll be fine.

Oh sorry, not meeting any of y'all just sharing the knowledge of Rockville Pike. :-P

[nezumi]

Like he said, no real danger of crime, although there's a homeless fellow he begs around that island pretty regularly. Mostly up-scale, a little construction.

I'm still open to any time, so I'll let people with a timetable decide. 5pm is fine by me.

[6thDragon]

Well, we can't just go to the bar and ask to meet Mr. Johnson. We'll need some way of recognizing each other. I'll try to show up a little early and I assume there is a lobby to wait in. I'm about 6'3", late 20's, and I'll wear a Penn State shirt, I shouldn't be hard to recognize. We can all get seated when everyone is there. Hopefully we can all make it on time. Sounds like we have 4 people total, can you make it Dr_Dro?

[Dr_Dro]

...not sure. I'm probably working on Saturday, so it depends on what time I get off (meaning when I finish what needs to be done).

[nezumi]

It sounds like we will be there, which is good.

We'll be there with the two little kids (6 months and 3 years old). I've got a cammie jacket I've been wearing pretty regularly, I'll wear that until our group has gathered. That said, if I get there first, I will reserve the table in the name of 'Johnson' ;P

[Dr_Dro]

How clever of you ;-)

Could someone who is going to show message me their number and I'll call if I'm coming late - to make sure you're still there or not.

[6thDragon]

I stand corrected, apparently we can walk up to the counter and say we're here for Mr Johnson. I'll see you all there.

[Wandering_D]

I'll be heading over in a couple. I’m 5’6” , beard, black full length coat. See you folks there.

[cREbralFIX]

Hi,

I'm looking for a game to GM or play. Any openings?

[nezumi]

You actually just missed our first 'meet'. We decided we're going with SR4. Since it'll probably be hosted at my house, I'd rather like to meet people in person at a neutral place before giving them my home address. If you're in the area, would you like to meet somewhere?

[6thDragon]

Well, looks like we're good to start playing. Remember make two characters so we can alternate, that way if you make too specialized a character I'll advise you not to play them during certain runs. The only criteria I have so far would be to give each character the same fixer, that way they all know each other through him. Make him 3 connectivity and how loyal he is, is up to you. So we don't end up with too many of the same character types, everyone should post what kinds of characters they intend to create. I'll try to think of the few houserules I play with and post them in a day or two.

[cREbralFIX]

I live in the Centreville, VA area. What is halfway between there and wherever you are?

***

Characters: what does the group need or want? I'm open to creating one character that fills a gap. If that doesn't really matter, I'll probably create a shaman and some sort of physical adept or street samurai. I may even do a physad with some cyberware.

[nezumi]

Half-way between Centreville and Wheaton is 495. I don't really know any particular places in that area. However, the first time we'll be able to socialize again happens to coincide with the Cherry Blossom festival, so we'll be in DC, which is always a nice place to meet people. We could meet in China-town over a plate of live fish and frog legs, if you'd like.

In regards to character types... I was thinking ex-public school teacher (face/techie) and crazy shaman. It's been a while since I've done the crazy shaman.

My wife says she ALSO wants to be a crazy shaman and an adept (or possible mage). I told her she can't be a crazy shaman because *I*'m gonna be a crazy shaman, and there's just not enough crazy to go around. I'll leave it up to the GM as to whether there is sufficient crazy available in this campaign or not. She also says she's going to be a man. So no one else can take the 'man' character type.

[cREbralFIX]

But what if I want to play the bare and barrel chested troll with whirling battleax? Will that mean his testosterone will be sucked out of him in the presence of this character? What will happen to the battle ax? It would be terrible if it were dropped.

Profound questions require profound answers!

[6thDragon]

Well, shamans are suppose to be eccentric or at least not normal. You might also want to consider some of the new traditions or totems from Street Magic. Or if you want to bring over one from SR3 that wasn't put into one of the sourcebooks yet we could talk about that. I should have said something when we met in person, but it slipped my mind. My group in PA recently switched to having the game based out of Phili. It just made sense with so many places within easy driving distance (DC, Baltimore, NYC, not to mention all the rural areas of PA and NY), or the CAS to the south or Europe is just an easy flight away (And I have Shadows of Europe). What do you all think of a Phili based run?
I don't mind there being a few mages in the group, personally I always welcomed them, as long as the group is well rounded overall.

cREBralFIX: Since Nezumi will be hoasting, you'll need his approval to begin play. I think the drive from Centerville will be a bit much, but if you don't mind it... That will make five players, and I don't know how big Nezumi's place is but that might start to push the limits. Plus from past experiences, more than five players begins to be hard to control as a GM.

[nezumi]

Philly is fine with me. I don't have access to Street Magic yet. Should I assume I can glance over your copy? I"ll make my character without it and edit when I get the chance.

BTW, if you add your e-mail to your profile, I can e-mail you through DSF (it won't show your e-mail address). Otherwise you'll want to post it or somesuch.

[Dr_Dro]

yo, 6th, about Awakened, are you going to limit the number of Awakened PCs? i'm wondering because the way I understand SR is that there are Awakened people, but they are rare.

[6thDragon]

As long as no more than half of the PCs are full mages, I don't think it will be a problem. I think mages are supposed to be rare too, but I don't want to limit what kinds of characters you play if I don't have to. That's one of the reasons I wanted everyone to start coordinating what kinds of characters you wanted to play so you could see what everyone wanted and see what you will need. That way you can adjust the characters a little before we begin to make sure you have all the bases covered. I'll let you all see street magic if you don't have it, but I let a friend borrow it and I don't think I'll see it for another week or two. My email address is galbraithas@hotmail.com let me see some of the characters you are all working on when you're done with them.

[6thDragon]

Are your guys ready to start playing next weekend? If so, start emailing characters my way during the week.

[Dr_Dro]

Do you just want character sheets? or do you want us to get a bit deeper in the description?

[6thDragon]

Stats and a brief summary of the character's background and abilities. You don't have to go all out with descriptions.

Here are some of the house rules I promised to put forward.
Drain for banishing is cut in half.
The amount of armor you can wear before being encumbered is liked to your strength instead of body.
Dermal Plating availability is rating x 4
Extra dice from vision and hearing enhancements are limited to skill x 1.5

I'm trying to remember if I've played with any others, I'll try to warn you before the first playing session.

Also, don't forget to post a quick description of the characters you intend to create so we don't end up with a group full of hackers or something equally unworkable.

[nezumi]

I talked with the two other players in the group. They said they're looking at a drone rigger and a gun-bunny, and a vehicle rigger and a melee fighter. They're just now reading up on the rules, so they think they can get something early next week.

Hmm... I can't seem to find the BP cost for making a drop bear character... I guess my Drop Bear Commando character will need to wait for the supplemental books...