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 How effective is Lone Star, Random musings |
 Aug 31 2007, 01:29 AM
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#26
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Runner  Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328  |
The lonestar cop on the street will be not that tough really, but he is going to call for backup, and the organization behind lonestar can afford to have drones flying around with merely dozens of anti tank missiles on call to explode the heck out of you.
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Aug 31 2007, 02:32 AM
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#27
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 104 Joined: 19-June 07 From: Florida Member No.: 11,950 |
The real issue here is numbers.
One Star sure- easy. But when you've got to brank into a bank to get something valuable out of the safety deposit boxes and the alarm gets tripped and before you know it you're surrounded and they're calling from an outside line and saying words like "sign of good faith" That's when you're in trouble because that's when they're calling the shots. |
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Aug 31 2007, 04:42 AM
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#28
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,269 Joined: 18-September 06 Member No.: 9,421 |
Sorry, I know it was obvious, but I've noticed if you have someone put things in a very easy to read and understand form every now and again it keeps threads from being cluttered with the same ideas and it generally keeps the arguing to a minimum.
Chris |
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Aug 31 2007, 06:29 AM
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#29
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 394 Joined: 19-May 03 From: In your base eating your food. Member No.: 4,607 |
I was actually quite serious, you summed it up nicely. You'll find though that the threads will get cluttered no matter what you say however. The troll bowfest is a good example. Arguing to a minimum? Where's the fun in that? I want to use someone's premise as a chewtoy. :talker: |
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Sep 18 2007, 12:25 PM
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#30
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 573 Joined: 17-September 07 Member No.: 13,319 |
Props to DTFarStar for pointing out the power level factor. Some of us like playing at the level of, say, "Neuromancer" or "Hardwired"; none of the major characters in those stories could single-handedly wipe out squads of gunmen.
LoneStar can, in a single campaign, range from "cheap drones and undertrained guards" to "serious challenge, PCs better run away or talk convincingly", depending on what they're protecting. If no one in authority cares what happens in a low-rent neighborhood, then LS won't bother dispatching their elite forces to that area. But if you cause trouble in front of City Hall, they'll fear the risk to their lucrative tax-funded contract, and they'll make sure that they're visibly effective. Same if you cause trouble at a mall, because the Merchants Association will call the Premium Customer Hotline, and money talks. Have you ever had PCs team up with LoneStar? Bug spirits are bad news for everyone, including the people who pay LoneStar; if the city they work for discovered a hive, they'd have a vested interest in cooperating with skilled, well-armed freelancers, although "after this is over, all bets are off". |
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Sep 18 2007, 04:30 PM
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#31
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,532 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Calgary, Canada Member No.: 769 |
Unfortunatly given the 18 availability of a rating 6 SIN, with say 12 dice in Negotiation+Cha test you're looking at 10 days to get one (assuming you buy sucesses), and that's with a pretty good face. Mr Ugly the troll street Sam with a charisma of 2, negotiation 2 is looking at 36 days. If Mr Ugly doubles the price up to 12000¥ he'd be able to buy 2 sucesses. He's down to 18 days but it just cost him twice as much. It would make sence to me at least for each PC to have to make these rolls on their own. They can't just send the face shopping for them. A SIN, especially one at rating 6 is going to have to be custom tailored to the individual which means that individual is going to have to deal with whoever is making it. Depending on how nasty your GM is I'd also assume a continueing Law Enforcement Crackdown on them since valid SIN's are one of the most valuable tools that law enforcement has. That could increase the cost up to 9000¥. If Mr Ugly still wants to buy the SIN he's looking at either 15000¥ or 18000¥ depending on if you apply the 50% increase to the base price or the modified price. Either way though SIN's can start to get very expensive, very quickly. Of course I'd also allow a player to buy several SIN's at once so that he can have several in reserve. The flip side though is that this would require a pretty good chunk of cash up front. |
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Sep 18 2007, 06:30 PM
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#32
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996 |
In my game world Lonestar is as effective as they are paid to be, meaning there is a very wide range of response. On the general city contract in Seattle the response times are fairly good in good neighborhoods (and in neighborhoods where the association pays a supplement they can be very good indeed) and range down towards response times of "poor", "eventually", "maybe", and "forget it" in poorer neighborhoods. Their armament, training level, and equipment is based on Cost, Loss Potential, and Marketability. The street patrols usually pack enough to stop the average criminal in the area they are assigned to, but serious threats (like Shadowrunners) usually will be an instant call for back up, with the level of response dictated by a risk/reward calculation (I actually have actuaries in the dispatch offices in my game). The business aspect affects assignment too, for example a veteran Human Officer with good training and social skills will most likely be assigned to a AAA to A rated neighborhood and issued new equipment, and will be used equally to serve and protect the more influential taxpayers in those areas. A Metahuman officers, officers with blemishes on their records, and less senior, less socially apt officers will draw suceedingly lower class areas for their assignments.
In short I treat Lonestar more like a business than a police force. |
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Sep 19 2007, 04:06 AM
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#33
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 718 Joined: 10-September 05 From: Montevideo, in the elusive shadows of Latin America Member No.: 7,727 |
funny, I am just returning from a gaming session and oh, the whole group was caught and arrested and now I am thinking about the next session being about "life in the joint". (I'm the Gm)
I am probably going to make a new thread about it so you can chip in and give me some ideas. BTW: It was a run in Boston, so no LS, the runners were arrested by KE Cheers, Max |
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Sep 19 2007, 04:47 AM
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#34
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
"Gentlemen, and I use that word loosely, I have a set of choices for you. You can spend the next 10 to 15 years being Bubba's girlfriend, or you can help us with a little issue we have. . . "
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Sep 19 2007, 06:29 AM
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#35
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,382 Joined: 22-February 06 From: Shadowland Member No.: 8,297 |
I'll second hyzmarca and add the following:
They are as effective as they have to be to hold their contract. |
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