 To Catch a Mockingbird, Operation Dissonant Cadance |
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 Sep 26 2007, 06:06 AM
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#176
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Immortal Elf  Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890  |
Basically. It can't be controlled wirelessly (by you or anyone else); it's just a baseline commlink set up to transmit and receive standard information as found on the SIN module. All input has to be done manually and it has no connection at all to your PAN.
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Sep 26 2007, 06:10 AM
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#177
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328 |
Okay, gotcha. |
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Sep 26 2007, 08:43 AM
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#178
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
I thought about that, but with the cargo involved, I figured it would be better to have a live body in each vehicle ... just in case.
Um ... no. One use of the Power would cover everyone/thing. At most, you might need two Spirits for the two separate groups (scouts and main party). |
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Sep 26 2007, 08:46 AM
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#179
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
I took a vest (why not), but note that Ash did not take any big guns whatsoever. There's no point, and would just attract unwanted attention. That is why Ash suggested stashing that type of thing in the car if Ivan wanted it for the meet. |
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Sep 26 2007, 09:36 AM
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#180
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328 |
hehe - that was addressed to the guy with the shottie ;) I was being tongue in cheek as well, that remark was not intended to be taken seriously. |
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Sep 26 2007, 10:05 AM
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#181
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Almost none of my comments are meant to be taken seriously. :D
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Sep 26 2007, 02:25 PM
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#182
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
It looks like you guys are ready to go.
Here are some things to keep in mind: 1.) You probably finished up the briefing with Cmdr. Haney and the vehicle/gear prep somewhere around 0530 hours (Eastern). The drive from Atlanta to Baton Rouge is in the neighborhood of 8 hours. The meet is schedule for 1800 hours (Central). That means, even if everyone stops for breakfast before getting on the road around 0600 hours (Eastern), you'll be getting to Baton Rouge somewhere in the neighborhood of 1300 hours (Central). That gives you 3 hours, give or take, to get ready for the meet.It also puts you getting BR well ahead of rush hour traffic. Using Spirit Movement shouldn't be necessary unless you guys get held up in traffic or something while on the way. 2.) Bourgeois is looking to meet you guys tonight (Wednesday), and pull off a job tomorrow night (Thursday). While finding places to stash your vehicles and rack out are good secondary plans, there is no guarantee you will be in Baton Rouge any longer than it takes to do the job. If you pull the job off like the pros you are, he might have more work for you. If you fuck it up, it will probably be a while before he calls on you again. Either way, I wouldn't be signing any apartment leases, at least not until after the job is done. 3.) On the topic of the "Morphing Eurocar Blackwind"... A.)From what I've read in the fluff, Eurocar is a consortium composed of companies like BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc. And yes, BMW makes Motorcycles. B.)My original intent was to have the BMW HP2 fill the slot for the requested off-road bike. However, when Fortune mistook it for an auto, I happily retconned it to be another car. C.)And my retcon was summarily ignored. Which is fine. I'm okay with it being a bike like I intended, and I don't want to ask Fortune to re-write his post again. However, I'd really like for you guys to do a better job of reading my posts before progressing on. Attention to detail is going to be very necessary if we are going to do this right, and while I don't mind a retcon here and there, it gets very frustrating for everyone if we have to keep going back and re-editing posts because of stuff we missed. And likewise, if you aren't sure about something I've posted, PM me or ask in the OOC thread. I'll answer it as swiftly as possible. 4.) Fortune's post about the weapons loaded into the vehicles and trailers + the ones he has modified is spot on. I'm sorry about all the confusion. The effect I was trying to achieve was one of having to react to the unforeseen. The life of SpecOps is full of crap like that...sometimes they tell you have a week to prepare, but then it's boots on the ground in 12 hours. Other times they tell you that you will be deploying in 12 hours, and you sit around for a week waiting. The point was, you thought you had prep time, but you ended up not getting it. It sucks, but that is the sort of shit that is going to be happening throughout this campaign. You need to be ready for major upsets to your plans. And I apologize if it pissed off those of you that put a lot of work into what your characters would be doing during that week of planning. But I will say, this isn't the last time this sort of thing will happen in my game. Be ready for it. 5.) Armored vests. Basically, my description of them is fluff. I have not statted out the mechanics on protective vests being spotted, but a good rule of thumb is what Cthulhudreams mentioned. Level II and Level IIIA vests are concealable, and won't normally draw attention. However, a trained observer (one who wears such a vest regularly, or knows how to spot one) will have a chance to notice that you are wearing a vest when not actively looking for one. A Level IIA vest, however, is the most concealable, and a trained spotter is not very likely to notice it by casual inspection, and still isn't very likely to notice it when checking for it. Of course a pat-down will reveal all three types of vest to anyone who isn't a total moron. 6.) The actual meet. I don't know if anyone has checked it, but I posted satellite photos of the parking lot where the meet is supposed to take place. You can see streets, surrounding buildings, other parking lots, and other shopping centers. Please, if you can, take a look at the images so you have a feel for what the terrain looks like, and can plan your side of the meet accordingly. 7.) Hit Location system. I'm still ironing out the major kinks. I won't use it until I've posted it for review, and I won't post it until I'm satisfied with it. If you guys are all set, I'll plan on posting the scouts arrival to the parking lot in the IC thread sometime tomorrow morning. |
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Sep 26 2007, 02:51 PM
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#183
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
It's hard to know which "fact" we're supposed to know is the actual fact if you're giving two completely different ones. :( |
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Sep 26 2007, 03:31 PM
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#184
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
It was just a poor assumption on my part. I read Eurocar Blackwind, and associated it with the Eurocar Westwind, only a different model, so I didn't bother googling it like I did the others.
I failed to see any retcon. You didn't bother to correct me on the matter in either thread or via PM (which would have been a simple matter), nor did you mention your retcon at any time in the OOC (which also would have been a simple matter). I think it is quite unfair to single me out about not paying attention, when if you read back over the thread you will clearly find that I am one of the few people that actually is reading what you write. I have no problem making edits ... I have nothing better to do. If you see a mistake being made next time (and I am sure you will see some), a simple mention in the thread would probably work wonders in alleviating the confusion such a mistake can cause if left unchecked.
I think 'pissed off' is the wrong phrase. Confused is more like it? I put in quite a few hours work on the list that you demanded that I submit, as did Doc I am sure, only to have that 'homework' summarily dismissed out of hand. I don't understand the whole rationale behind assigning 'homework' in the first place (especially to only two of us), instead of just making an equipment list yourself and saying 'here is your stuff'. You seem to think I am always bitching in some way about your GMing style (you have mentioned it several times now). This was not true in my case, at least until now anyway. You have been somewhat hostile in response to quite a few questions, even innocuous ones concerning your posts, which can tend to make people not want to ask questions. Then when they do (or at least when I do), I get labeled as being 'pissed off' or 'bitching'. If you are not happy with my presence in this game, I will withdraw so that no further conflict will arise. |
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Sep 26 2007, 03:34 PM
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#185
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
Okay, let's see if I can clear this up.
1.) When I changed the vehicle names so I could give you all pics of what the vehicles generally looked like, I picked the BMW HP2 to represent the offroad bike, and labeled it a Eurocar Blackwind. Unfortunately, I didn't specify in my list exactly what type of vehicle it was. And without doing some google searching like Doc did, I can see how it was easy to mistake it for a car. 2.) And Fortune did just that in his IC post. He figured that it was a car, since the only other vehicle with the "Eurocar" tag in the BBB is a sports car. 3.) After reading Fortune's IC post, I figured it wouldn't hurt to retcon the Blackwind to actually be a sportscar. I preferred to do that than make him edit his post. At 8:47AM yesterday, I posted my retcon and turned the the Blackwind into an Audi sports car. 4.) Several hours after that, Fortune posted an OOC vehicle recap, commenting that he thought the Blackwind was a sportscar. That was fine since I used my magic GM wand to change it from a bike to car. My guess is, however, he missed my post right above him that explained what I did, and even had a link to the photo of the Audi. 5.) Minutes after Fortunes post, Doc pointed out that the BMW HP2 (and thus, the Blackwind) is indeed a motorcycle, and not a sports car. So while Doc was spot on with my original intent, he too missed my post where I magically changed the bike into a car. 6.) Minutes after THAT, Fortune edited his post to reflect that the Blackwind is, once again, a motorcycle. I didn't check the boards at all last night, so when I came in this morning, I noticed the confusion and all the posts that followed it. So this morning, I decided that everyone was on the track I originally intended (Blackwind = Bike), I waved my magic wand and turned the Blackwind back to a bike. So the Blackwind is now, will forever be, a motorcycle. I am aware that posting a description as well as pics (working on that part) would have mitigated all of the confusion. Yes, the Blackwind started as a bike. Yes, I changed it to a car to fit Fortune's IC post, but everyone seemed to ignore that. And Yes, I changed it back into a bike because I didn't want everyone to have to retcon their own posts again. Most likely, next time I will leave things as is and not make changes to fit peoples IC posts. It just seems to create a lot of confusion. |
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Sep 26 2007, 04:01 PM
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#186
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Yeah, I explained my mistake a couple of times above, but I have to admit that I somehow totally missed this post until now.
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Sep 26 2007, 04:03 PM
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#187
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
I figured that the name was really misleading well after I came up with it. And like I said, it was my fault for not being more specific and putting up pictures in the first place. I haven't run a ton of online games, so I'm still learning about the best and most accurate ways to present my ideas. [Edit: I took out the part where I reposted my retcon since it is no longer necessary]
You are right, it is. Singling you out was never my intention. I just wanted to address my concern for what I thought was people getting too excited and missing what I posted. You have my apologies if you feel as though I'm pointing a finger at you.
Exactly. And that's what I thought I did with my post changing the bike into a sports car. But the thread continued like no one read it. Which quite literally might must have been the case. But I can roll with that. I'll probably get better mileage out of letting people know stuff like that via PM.
I can see now how the homework may have been a poor decision on my part. I did want you guys to have some influence on equipment, which you did have. The vehicles that Doc picked out are the same (stat-wise) as he requested, but there wasn't time for all the modifications. The same goes for the weapons Ashley picked out. They are all there, but there just wasn't time for mods. I don't feel like I dismissed the work you guys did out of hand, I just didn't give you time to complete it. My tabletop players are accustomed to me doing things like that as a GM, so I apologize if I assumed that you guys would handle it like they do. I'll try not to make you guys to a lot of work for nothing. I want this game to be fun for everyone, not just me. :-D
Wow...hostile? Man...I have SOOOO not meant to be the slightest bit hostile to any of you. And again, you all have my sincerest apologies if I have come across that. way. I guarantee you that none of you would have thought that if you were sitting across the table from me. I blame my dry typing style (all those years of IT work) for it. The last thing I want to do is discourage questions. Of course, I'd rather not have to repeat myself if I've already answered your question, but I by no means wish to be hostile, or considered hostile by anyone in this game. I have some really neat plans for you guys, I want to see you take this campaign all the way to it's end. And I don't want for any of you to feel like I'm being hostile. If I say anything like that from now on, please let me know (I.E.: TOR...chill, you are being hostile again). Trust me, I am thick-skinned enough to take that.
Absolutely not. I am not the least bit unhappy with your presence in this game, nor do I desire you or anyone else to back out. If any of you aren't having fun or aren't happy with the way this game is going, please let me know. This should be a mutually fun experience, and I would rather build the world together with the rest of you than be a tyrant for the campaign. I really feel like we've gotten off on the wrong foot, and I'd like to rectify that. I'll do my best to remove any perceived hostility from my posts. And I apologize to anyone who may have taken offense at anything I've posted so far. [Edit: yeah, it looks like you end up replying before my long-winded ass finishes a post. I'll just be quiet for now. ;-)] |
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Sep 26 2007, 04:10 PM
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#188
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
Haha...yeah it's complete bizarre! EVERYONE missed it. I don't know...maybe I was using an invisible keyboard or something. 8-) |
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Sep 26 2007, 05:17 PM
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#189
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
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Sep 26 2007, 06:08 PM
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#190
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
I think the 'missed post' thing was a freak incident of the board, since it seemed to happen to Doc as well, so I wouldn't be worried about posting corrections here in the future. As to the rest, well this is the most important part ...
I am not at all complaining about surprises and changes in plan. In fact I expect that kind of thing, and usually take it in stride. I just felt that if you had planned that all along, you made Doc and I spend time jumping through hoops for no reason. I understand the idea of getting us involved, and even think it was a cool idea in a way, but I guess I just took it badly knowing that you knew before assigning the 'homework' (which in itself is cool) that most of the real nuts and bolts (read hours of page turning and calculations) would all be for nothing, or almost nothing (at least for now anyway). I dunno. Maybe you are right and I am bitching for no reason. :( I am otherwise enjoying the game very much ... despite your weird rules. :D Oh, and nice pics (and I had previously checked out the sat photos before you mentioned them again :P). :) |
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Sep 26 2007, 07:48 PM
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#191
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 104 Joined: 12-July 05 From: London, 1870 AD Member No.: 7,495 |
First of all, glad to see all the effort in reducing tension, keep up the good work. I'll abstain from adding my 0.02 :nuyen:, gladly doing the 'innocent bystander' routine (including the 'I didn't see anything, officer' innocent whistle) instead. On the matter of settling down: I think TOR has a point there, might be too early to argue the interior decoration of our comfy suburban house with big garden in Baton Rouge, parking lot for the vans should do the trick until we learn more at the meet.
Don't want to start an argument here, just want to make sure I get that right. You've basically modded them in a way that RAW (as much as I hate the word, as it ignores all the ambiguity present in the rules) doesn't allow, as you seperate between 'wireless for outside connection' and 'wireless for PAN connection', right? Otherwise it'd be 'Commlink (without skinlink maybe, as that would be absolutely useless in this case, although not any more dangerous) featuring a big "DO NOT SUBSCRIBE !" sticker'.
True that. Nothing stops us from riding with the illegal stuff in our trailer-equipped vans though, we can let the smaller cars follow AutoNavically (not loaded with the MilStuff, of course). Not that I mind the 'live body in each vehicle' route, just wanted to point out (as no one did until then) that just because we have enough vehicles for each char to ride his/her own, we don't need them to.
Um ... yes. While an incredible Power otherwise, that's its main limitation. I'll quote the relevant part of the general rules (emphasis mine):
Now the full text for Movement:
Note the absence of the "[Power] can be used on a number of targets simultaneously equal to the critter’s Magic." or similar quip. Barring any kind of mental lapse (commonly known as "brain fart") on my part, that makes Movement 'single target only' like I stated. Although 'target' is admittedly a vague concept rules-wise, I'd say 'van' or 'van with various stuff strapped to it and pulling a trailer' would be an appropriate entity, as opposed to 'group of vehicles'. @TOR I noticed that while it works using the direct link to your vehicles subpage, the corresponding 'VEHICLES' link in the navigation bar of your side seems not to exist on other subpages. You might want to fix that. |
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Sep 26 2007, 08:07 PM
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#192
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
It's modified to transmit data (phone calls, SINs, bank transactions), but not to accept any commands wirelessly. It could still potentially be hacked, but it's not going to grant anyone access to your PAN or anything else as it's a completely separate and individual device. The hardcore commlink is the one that's the hub for your actual PAN, and it's likewise the one that's being secured and used for encrypted communications for the team. |
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Sep 26 2007, 08:30 PM
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#193
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Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,109 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Raleigh, NC Member No.: 5,729 |
Just a tidbit of information here. The most common route from Atlanta to Baton Rouge is I-85 to I-65 to I-10/I-12. All interstate highway, and all major travel routes. It's June...summertime...there are going to be LOTS of people on the road, and a good bit of traffic. Not enough to cause serious delays, but more than enough to mask the movement of a vehicle caravan. You guys shouldn't have to do anything special to hide your travel and subsequent arrival in Baton Rouge. Though, I will say that the guys on bikes are gonna hate it. 8-) When I was at LSU, my roommate was from Atlanta, and would go home to visit his folks a few times a semester...on his Kawasaki Ninja. 8 hours on a bike sucks. And it's much worse if you are on a rice rocket than on a touring bike.
I fucking hate freewebs. It's supposed to show up on the link sidebar, but it doesn't, and nothing I do can fix it. Ah well...it's free. If I add any more pages, I'll make sure to give you guys the proper links. |
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Sep 26 2007, 11:30 PM
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#194
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 121 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,325 |
As to the movement power: Err...I blame Ashley.
Seriously, I completely invented and included that "Targets equal to force" clause. I swear it was in there last time I read it! D'oh! ;) My bad. |
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Sep 26 2007, 11:37 PM
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#195
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328 |
*grins*
On of my mates nearly had a really nasty accident doing that - he was coming home from visiting his folks on a 600RR in winter late at night (who live wayyyy out in the boonies), and he went to brake as he came up to a roundabout, but his leg started to cramp so badly due to the cold that he couldn't move it. Was lucky not to splatter himself - managed to avoid any accident at all. Anyway, my lack fof a real grasp on american geography is showing - if they want a lift most/part of the way, lets do that. Or just handwave it ;) |
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Sep 27 2007, 12:37 AM
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#196
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Fair enough. Incidentally, almost everyone I know plays Movement wrong (I blame the older older editions, which contained a specific example of a Spirit using Movement on more than one subject :D). Thanks for pointing that out, as it'll make a difference in future games. :) While you are right though, it is really a moot point, as ..
So we could just use more than one Service (which technically I suggested when mentioning using more than one Spirit earlier :)). |
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Sep 27 2007, 01:50 AM
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#197
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
As for riding the bike ... I have personally done quite a few cross-country trips on a motorcycle (in Canada and the States). Eight hours isn't too bad (much worse in winter ;)), but there is definitely a reason that Ash picked the Ares over the riceburner. :D
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Sep 27 2007, 02:03 AM
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#198
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Immortal Elf Group: Validating Posts: 7,999 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 1,890 |
You may also be using a bastardization of the Great Form rules, where LOS powers like Movement become an area-effect power (with the spirit determining who within that area is affected). It's in the side bar next to Invoking in Street Magic I believe.
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Sep 27 2007, 02:08 AM
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#199
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
It might be that, or maybe I'm just slack and didn't read the damn Power properly and just made a bad assumption. :D
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Sep 27 2007, 02:13 AM
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#200
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 104 Joined: 12-July 05 From: London, 1870 AD Member No.: 7,495 |
Sure thing. Always glad to help with incomplete rules clarifications. :dead: (Should teach me to at least finish reading the section that I quote...) So what's left is the limitation in time-critical situations, as it takes a Complex Action each to get everyone up to speed, except you are an initiate with Invoking metamagic who had the time for some extra draining binding rituals before the run (as the Doc pointed out). And the Force thing of course.
This kind of information is very much appreciated, I'd have to spend quite some time and effort to look up the relevant data otherwise (with a high chance of missing important details), or ignore it and hope my numerous assumptions don't come back to kick me in unpleasant areas. I guess the 'good bit of traffic' sounds like a strong argument against using our spiritual afterburners (should draw some attention at least, might even create some traffic in-or-ac-cidents), what do you all think? |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 4th May 2026 - 03:20 AM |
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