Down in the Gutter: OOC, The Nuts and Bolts of Staying Alive Options

[adamu]

Yikes - I go away from keyboard for two lousy weeks and it turns out to be the busiest this thread has ever been.

So Winter, the post I want to do is a lot of catch up, and since I hope it will span from Grack's last IC appearance at 03:45 to the present, thought I'd run an outline by you for approval.

* Leave Thumper, prowl streets till almost daybreak.

* Sleep in sewer until noon.

* Two hours training (Astral Combat or Assensing) involving a lot of running around astrally, and culminating with eavesdropping astrally on the big powwow.

* Answer Thumper's message about clean water.
I have a basic three-die pool for Industrial Mechanics and then two dice for Home Ground. On top of that five I have a level two in Sewer Mechanics - can I add half of that as complementary? Answer to Thumper will depend on my roll/your answer.
Thing is, no dice with me and don't want to waste a post cycle - could you roll that for me?

* Run into Bocks as he enters My World. I am sure we will get along fine.

Oh, and I haven't taken any damage since the last time I completely healed, so no worries there.

Let me know if above is cool.

[WinterRat1]

Yikes - I go away from keyboard for two lousy weeks and it turns out to be the busiest this thread has ever been.

That’s usually the way it goes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

So Winter, the post I want to do is a lot of catch up, and since I hope it will span from Grack's last IC appearance at 03:45 to the present, thought I'd run an outline by you for approval.

* Leave Thumper, prowl streets till almost daybreak.

* Sleep in sewer until noon.

* Two hours training (Astral Combat or Assensing) involving a lot of running around astrally, and culminating with eavesdropping astrally on the big powwow.

* Answer Thumper's message about clean water.
I have a basic three-die pool for Industrial Mechanics and then two dice for Home Ground. On top of that five I have a level two in Sewer Mechanics - can I add half of that as complementary? Answer to Thumper will depend on my roll/your answer.
Thing is, no dice with me and don't want to waste a post cycle - could you roll that for me?

* Run into Bocks as he enters My World. I am sure we will get along fine.

Oh, and I haven't taken any damage since the last time I completely healed, so no worries there.

Let me know if above is cool.

The above is cool.

Re: Thumper’s message about clean water: 2 6 3 1 4 1 = 1 hit.

And in case it needs to be said (although the roll above technically answers your question), yes, you may use half of your Sewer Mechanics as a complementary skill, which was already factored into the dice roll above.

[pragma]

This stuff is on the wiki, but now it is also here.

Healing Time
Healing Roll: - Made by WR1 as an example -- I couldn't find the specific results -- had 3 hits.
Hours it takes to heal 1 box of physical: 8
Time Spent Resting:
Nov 1: 07:00:00 - 11:00:00 = 4 hours - crashing in temp HQ before meeting with heartbreakers and demons
Nov 1: 18:00:00 - 00:00:00 = 6 hours - crashing in new HQ while waiting for gang to arrive
Nov 2: 4:00:00 - 10:00:00 = 6 hours - sleeping in new HQ

Thumper started with 2 boxes physical and now has no damage.

Training Time
Training Time – Pistols Skill (0->1)
Cost: 2 karma
Training time: 2 karma x 5 hours/karma = 10 hours
Improvement Test: Agility 6 + Pistols 0 # dice 6 :: 2 6 5 2 4 3 -- 2 hits
Total Training Time = 5 hours

Improvement
-IC Date Trained
-Time Spent Training
-Time Remaining
Pistols Skill
-11/02/2070 (2 AM)
-1 hours
-4 hours
Pistols Skill
-11/02/2070 (10 AM)
-4 hours
-0 hours

I've listed the improved skill on the wiki. I'll pull it if that's necessary.

[Slipshade]

Baby has 7 boxes of physical damage and no stun damage.

[grendel]

Healing Roll: (Body x 2) = 6 (5, 3, 5, 3, 5, 2)
24 hours / 3 hits = 8 hours / box

Time spent resting = 05:00 to 13:30 = 8.5 hours = 1 box healed

Legion is at four physical / no stun.


I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that it's been a real pleasure playing in this game. The character interaction has been superb. I'm looking forward to the fruition, and frustration, of all our future plans.

[Slipshade]

Everyone - Just to help you guys with IC posting. Baby's face is still really bruised and swollen, she isn't exactly looking like her usually cute self at the moment. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[pragma]

Edited out what must be the most recent and egregious error regarding Baby's physical condition.

[Meriss]

Lessse. Damage. Hmmmmmmm...... None I think. Wait there was that razor boi who tagged me in my attempt to be a pimp. I'd say 1 Physical? Which Ink taped up and has prolly semi healed by now leaving me with a big itchy scab.

[adamu]

The above is cool.

Re: Thumper’s message about clean water: 2 6 3 1 4 1 = 1 hit.

And in case it needs to be said (although the roll above technically answers your question), yes, you may use half of your Sewer Mechanics as a complementary skill, which was already factored into the dice roll above.

Winter - thanx for making the roll. But the reason I asked you to make it for me was so you would have the result so you would know what answer to give me. As in, Hey Winter, I got one hit on my Industrial Mechanics test, what does Grack know about hooking up some clean water?

[WinterRat1]

Adamu, Rob, Pragma – I uh, I knew that, I was just waiting for you to ask me what the roll meant so I’d feel needed and have something to post! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Grack’s roll indicates that it is possible to restore water to the building.

Fixing the plumbing is going to be an extended test. Teamwork can be used. If teamwork is being used, I need to know the ‘leader’.

In order to set the task time and difficulty, I need to know a couple things:

1. Do you have any plumbing-appropriate tools available?

2. What level of water quality are you shooting for? There’s a difference between water that’s sanitary enough to shower in (but not much else) vs. water that’s sanitary enough to drink w/o requiring a Save vs. Poison…er, Body roll each time. Describe the general purposes you want to use the water for and its quality level. This will determine the ‘Repair’ level on the Build/Repair table (SR 4 pg. 125).

For your information:

Situation Modifiers
- Working Conditions = Poor/Bad = -2/-3 (this will be influenced at least in part by the Repair level on the B/R table, since it will determine how extensively you need to work on the infrastructure)

- Tools and/or Parts = TBD (Most likely you will need at least some parts, you will probably need some tools as well)

- Plans or Reference Material = None Available (unless you can somehow figure out a way to get your hands on some)

- Working from Memory: Penalty equal to –(5 – Leader’s Logic), unless you manage to get your hands on Plans/Reference material

I never thought I’d see the day, but for once, you’re in an SR game in which plumbing/water availability is a material enough factor that you have to actually take the time to do an extended test for it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Adamu - Does this answer suffice?

[rob]

Um... Wow, going quicklier than expected. I had a plan, I just haven't gotten to it yet.

Issue number 1: Box is not in the sewers, he's in the basement, looking at the pipes that lead out of the building to determine if there is a problem within the building itself. His 'crack open the sewer pipe' escapade was simply color posting, because he has no idea what the hell he's doing, save for the following assumptions: 1. Water goes through pipes. 2. If there's water going through one of the pipes in the building, but not to the water faucets, the problem is in the building. 3. If there's not water going through the pipes in the building, the problem is outside of the building, and he will have to track it through the sewers until he finds where the water stops and starts.

In general, the water company would have shut off water to the building at some point in the sewers where the water main connects to the company's line. Unless there's a break in the pipe closer to the building (downstream), simply going to the main water pipe and moving the valve, whcih may require a breaker bar or pipe wrench, which he wil shoot someone in order to get, will fix the problem. If there are further problems downstream, then turning the water on will reveal them. Then he will turn off the water, assess the problems (i.e., count the wet spots), and either fix them or start finding a plumber and threating his family.

Under this foolproof logic, and the willingness to start shooting people randomly until a plumber steps forward to staunch the bloodshet, box will proceed.

[WinterRat1]

The Plumbing Crew – Very interesting post/plan. Is this Bockscar’s knowledge or your knowledge?

Either way, you can assume the B/R Extended test uses at least some of the hits to diagnose the problem. So if you just want to diagnose the problem I’ll lower the threshold required since all you want to do is figure out what’s wrong, which as you point out, is much simpler than actually fixing the problem. From there, you guys can decide to either fix it yourselves or threaten…er, persuade someone else to do it for you.

I still need to know the water quality you’re going for, as your methodology only obtains the water. My thinking is most likely the pipes leading into the building or in the building itself have degraded, thus lowering the quality of water by increasing its exposure to pollutants even if you are able to get some in the first place. Additional measures may have to be taken to purify the water which is another component of the B/R Extended Test.

Note that all this is strictly my perspective as a GM; that’s why I’m having you guys roll and not telling you exactly where the problem is or going into more depth about the process of getting water. I am attempting to fit the situation into the preexisting game mechanics.

I am not a plumber and don’t know that much about it either, so if my reasoning is hideously flawed go ahead and point it out, but if I’m not totally off base then let’s not make this into an in-depth expose on plumbing and focus on the gameplay/dice rolling mechanics aspect of this process, since I don’t really want to increase my Industrial Mechanic (Plumbing) skill. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Although I will give you guys a bonus on your dice rolls if someone has a good plan or methodology, like the one Rob laid out above. I figure possessing such RL knowledge (especially if your character has the appropriate skills) is worth something. After all, it’s not every day you get to use your knowledge of plumbing to benefit your SR characters!

[rob]

Short answer: Diagnose the problem, fix the easy bits, persuade some help for the hard bits. Desired endstate: Water that goes out of taps. No more, no less.

Box is simply trying to get the water running into the pipes, and then the pipes running enough to get water to the faucets. He will tap out at that - he is strongly of the opinion that once they get the water flowing out the taps his job is over, and anybody who wants fancier shit can buy a fucking Brita ™ filter.

I assume box and I have the same relevant knowledge of plumbing - knocked around and swearing about pipes and shit, replacing shower heads, cleaning and tightening up busted drains - basically, the kind of stuff that a person can learn watching his dad, who refuses to hire help when he thinks he can do it himself, try to figger stuff out. I am a bit more conversant about sewage systems engineering (and the problems thereof) due to my time in Iraq. Box is much more conversant about jerry-rigging solutions to home water problems, due to his time in Redmond.

I'm moving through it in stages, because I want to see how Box and Grack interact for the first real time, given the abortive drama of their last interaction.

[pragma]

Thumper's rough plan is to tag along, help out, and yell at anyone who complains about the smell. Whether or not that's worth teamwork is up in the air. Figure I'll wait for Grack to IC.

[adamu]

Okay - game stuff answers - just my vote.

Even Grack needs water when he can't get hurlg. So I vote for shooting for potable water.

Dice-wise, as we know, Grack has a base pool of six dice for this thing, so if that's highest he can be the official "leader" for this job, and the others can throw in teamwork dice.

On the other hand, he will be disinclined to do manual labor for more than about an hour at a time, although there are probably ways to motivate him.

I will write my catch-up IC now.

[grendel]

Keep in mind that even if all we can get is non-potable water, we can take low-tech steps to purify, namely boiling and recondensing. Or, if we can locate materials, we can install inline filters for the pipes. I wonder about the effectiveness of hydroponically grown plants to filter water. Perhaps we could kill two birds with one stone, although we'd need to install light vaults in the basement or pipe the water to the upper stories of the building in order to provide sunlight to the plants. Does one of our drug czars want to start a hydroponic hemp garden?

[adamu]

Damn, might as well get a job!
All that is too much work for poor Grack.

But seriously, point on the non-necessity of potable water well taken.
rob & pragma?

(The last four posts have been from players with uncapitalized handles - lower-case madness!!!)

[rob]

honestly, I'd rather RP out the whole debate on what's necessary - determining the values of the gang is something the gangers, not us *entirely uninterested* spectators, should do.

For example, the "holy ****, that's a lot of work" argument is a valuabe one given the nature of the people we're talking about.

Rolls for the sniff and scan:
Scan: 5d6 → [2,3,6,3,4] = (18) 1 hit
Sniffer: 7d6 → [2,4,1,1,5,1,4] = (18) 1 hit, glitch, damn near critical glitch...

[WinterRat1]

honestly, I'd rather RP out the whole debate on what's necessary - determining the values of the gang is something the gangers, not us *entirely uninterested* spectators, should do.

For example, the "holy ****, that's a lot of work" argument is a valuabe one given the nature of the people we're talking about.

Very good point Rob. Feel free to RP out the debate.

To everyone else, sorry about the non-posting the past few days. Comcast has been giving my internet at home some problems (surprise surprise), making it tough for me to post. Expect something from me in the next day or two.

[Bearclaw]

My 2 cents on the work thing.
You can't just "go get a job". No one will hire you because you're sinless. It is against the law for them to hire you.
This isn't a time and place where ANYONE can improve their station. If you were born sinless in the barrens, you can't get the famous job at McDonalds and work your way up to manager when you're 26. That may be early 21st century USA, but it's not the Redmond barrens in 2070. Everyone, hard working or lazy, got dealt the same hand.

Rico is not a lazy ass. I picture him as much more hard working than me, in fact. But, given where he's started, this is the best he can do. That being said, he'd be a happy guy if he could stay blasted all day and bust a couple of heads to pay for it, but he'd still spend half his day in a garage swinging a wrench because that's what he does.

PS, what happened to Dantic. I thought we had some crime to do.

[Vegas]

Hey guys...

I made it back safe from the clutches of TX (before the hurricane) and have somewhat settled back into "normalcy" at home. Expect a post in the near future from me, though it won't be anything anyone should be waiting on since Nevada needs a few more hours of sleep before she's back to normal and ready to cause trouble/get work done or whatever.

[adamu]

Heya pragma - reviewing the threads, I can't quite tell if Thumper went with Bocks to the manhole or not. Are you about the come down and join us, or are you off doing something else?

[rob]

Grack would probably notice box is an ork when he smiles, if he's looking.

[pragma]

I'm planning and IC right now. I was figuring that Thumper would take a minute to yell at people to assert his new position then try to catch up and firgure out what's going on. I thought that Grack and Bockscar meting eachother would be more fun without Thumper's intervention.

[WinterRat1]

Condition Monitor Update

OK Everyone, here is everyone's updated condition monitors as of 14:00:00 November 2, 2070. Only people who needed to update their condition monitors are included below, so if you are not on the list below, it means you already had 0 Stun and 0 Physical and that has not changed.

Legion - 0S, 0P
NOTE: You did not need to re-roll your healing roll. According to the earlier healing roll I made for you, you only needed 4 hours to heal 1 box of Physical. Additionally, you only had 2P to begin with since your last healing roll, so 8 hours of rest was enough to bring you down to 0P

Thumper - 0S, 0P

Bockscar - 0S, 3P

Aziz - 0S, 3P

Felix- - 1S, 0P

Baby - 0S, 7P

If anyone has any questions, let me know. IC posts are in process now and should be up shortly.