 Starting a Game, Online even. |
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 Nov 20 2007, 05:29 AM
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#76
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Moving Target  Group: Members Posts: 249 Joined: 2-November 06 From: Bozeman, MT Member No.: 9,762  |
I don't really see top shelf commandos. Certainly most people posted to mars will be higher echelon personnel in their usefulness, but it could also be seen as a backwater posting for security personnel (actually I think that was the reason Doom's protagonist was on Mars). So I see definite needs for: highly skilled Thurmatugical/Magical (cause that's one of the primary researchers, and Matrix defense specialists (I am assuming that the station has a link to the wider matrix, as well as some VERY secret data on its networks. Of course there would be a time lag on outside attacks, but still the threat would be appreciable, things like agents only need to transfered once before they start working in realtime.) also talented security would be needed (risk of physical attack is rather low, but reinforcements are a LONG ways away) Highly skilled riggers (they're just really useful when short on manpower), of course fusion reactor engineers and research station managers would also be necessary although they make less intriguing PCs.
The primary survival concern in Hellas Planitia would be the low level of atmosphere. Mars is actually much more habitable then other extraterrestrial objects in that you could actually survive a short period of time unprotected during the nice part of the day. I'm guessing form the fact that the atmosphere is about 1% of sea level (at the bottom of Hellas)earth atmospheric pressure and that it is only 0.2% oxygen that you would asphyxiate long before you froze. I'm guessing that the next biggest threat to survival is the lack of pressure in the thin atmosphere. It would probably cause Ebullism which would probably be fatal. Much later you'd freeze. Oh, one more thing. The only ShadowRun books I have are SR4 and Street Magic. That won't be a problem will it? EDIT: This won't be like doom in that switches in one place open doors several hundred meters away will it? Who the heck designs facilities like that anyway? |
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Nov 20 2007, 06:37 AM
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#77
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
Bleh, we'd be company men? I must have skimmed that part... I won't be playing a mage in that event. The mage concepts I have floating around in my head atm just wouldn't really fly with that. I have a neat li'l designer baby samurai in mind though that would make sense as company man though.
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Nov 20 2007, 07:28 AM
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#78
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328 |
Agents are not a feature of Frank's rules for 'trix stuff.
Onto more serious stuff - don't multiple corps have bases on mars? If you are working on a top secret project, you might want to be able to fend off the others if they get wind of it. The top shelf commando in doom is actually the guy that is body guarding the 'review team' leader. But you do make some really fair points. (Also, I'm still keen for treasure hunters too guys) |
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Nov 20 2007, 07:52 AM
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#79
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
Frank, I was thinking of taking some genetech but noticed that the prices in the book don't all match up. Would you prefer us to use the prices listed in the chapter or the prices listed in the back of the book? Provided you really want us screwing around with Aug at all, of course.
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Nov 20 2007, 07:59 AM
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#80
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
That's possible. But remember that the difference between having a spirit with movement and not is huge for an airplane or freighter. Corps will put up with amazing amounts of crazy from mages that they would never accept from a more replaceable mundane.
Not especially. There is stuff you can use in Augmentation, but pretty much all it says about the thaumaturgical research station is that it exists.
Doors generally speaking are designed with manual systems on site. The master computer can also open and close doors, and it is about 200 meters from some of the more distant doors. So for example, if one room gets punctured and starts depressurizing, the computer can respond by bringing down doors to cut that area off and the rest of the base will remain pressurized until someone can fix the hole.
The place is likely outside the high density signal range of anyone. But the risk of someone sending a drone or a small team to take the research data is very real. The research team themselves are also considered to be a security threat because a lot of them are magicians (who talk to invisible friends) or have had several previous employers, or both. If you want to play one of the secondary research staff, that's certainly doable. The primary research group is about 10 people. The rest is support staff. The support team has a number of people with different positions:
And yeah, your character could be nominally any of those people. If your core skills are Perception and Demolition and you want to be one of the Engineers, that's entirely plausible.
Yes. This was apparently first rolled out by Shiawase which is why they are a megacorp and why the Empire of Nippon kicked so much ass.
There is plausible use for both actually. -Frank |
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Nov 21 2007, 07:26 AM
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#81
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
Speaking of the movement power, how do you handle the whole "within terrain it controls" portion of the text? It's pretty cut and dried with the elemental spirits, but pretty vague with stuff like Guardian and Beast spirits (most Spirits can take Movement as at least an optional power). Frankly, if you ruled that the Movement power is essentially useless for such Spirits outside of their home plane, I could hardly blame you. Movement is a great power, and with a strict interpretation, it makes Hermetics/Chaos Mages into unparalleled masters of terrain instead of merely being saddled with a fairly redundant Spirit selection. On the other hand, that'd still leave me puzzled to just what exactly it is Beast Spirits are supposed to be good for if their movement power is crappy (animal control is alright, I guess, although Guardians can get it too, for some reason).
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Nov 21 2007, 08:25 AM
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#82
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
"Within the terrain it controls" is flavor text. In previous editions, some spririts (notably Nature Spirits and Loa) were limited to specific terrains while using their powers. But Elementals always controlled the terrain wherever they happened to be. Now all the spirits do that.
-Frank |
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Nov 21 2007, 05:03 PM
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#83
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
Are there any wacky things about summoning spirits on mars that we should know about?
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Nov 21 2007, 07:06 PM
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#84
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
Mostly it's the background count issue. Much of the planet's surface is covered with a -3 Mana Ebb. In some places (especially around Olympus Mons) it goes up (down?) to -4. At that extreme point, no uninitiated mage can summon a spirit. A Magic of 6 is reduced to 2 and the maximum Force you could overcast would be 4, which is not enough to avoid being auto-disrupted. Also note that Watchers cannot be summoned in Mana Ebbs of any kind for much the same reason. And of course, Binding a spirit requires a lodge, and you'd have to bring your own supplies (because Evo corp doesn't know or care what goods are important to your personal conjuring techniques). You can set up a lodge, there is space for that sort of thing. But obviously enough wherever your lodge is, it is going to be in a specific part of the base - it's definitionally not in some abstract part of the world. Spirits you conjure and Bind ahead of time on Earth can in fact be brought over through the metaplanar shortcut. You just snap your fingers and there they are. On the other hand, if you leave them at home, you can telepathically communicate with them. -- Finally, traditions which summon regional spirits (like Shamanism) will note that conjured spirits occassionally look pretty weird. Nothing special happens to them game mechanically however. -Frank |
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Nov 22 2007, 04:18 AM
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#85
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 249 Joined: 2-November 06 From: Bozeman, MT Member No.: 9,762 |
What I meant was that it doesn't make sense if the ONLY way to open the door is 200m away. In real life I have yet to encounter any door which was intended to be operated and had no means of opening it within 3m. If someone doesn't want you to be able to open a door easily generaly they lock it (or maglock it). Your system does sound eminently reasonable though. On a compleately different note: what equipment do the janitors on the station use? Do they still have mops? And yes, for some reason I want to play a Janitor. |
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Nov 22 2007, 06:35 AM
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#86
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
The only way to get to the roof of the WTC was to call them and have it unlocked from the security command center 60 flights below. This was after you reached it via an electronic access controlled door. Which kind of sucked when a 757 destroyed the cabling and the fire contaminated the air inside. |
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Nov 23 2007, 01:25 PM
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#87
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
I honestly don't know what that's about. For now, just use the higher cost and if it turns out that it gets rectfied down (which I consider unlikely) then we'll give you an immediate retcon rebate.
Water is recycled, and the recycling tanks are near the surface. Even so, a fraction of water is unrecoverable, and the black sludge is put in containers and dumped in a pit on the ground some distance from the base. Mops are used, as are pressurized tanks of cleaning fluid which are used through a spray nozzle. The mops themselves are hollow titanium poles with absorbant rags on them which change conformation and become extremely slick when an electric current is passed through them. The base is fairly concerned about germs and there are about a dozen disinfectants which are used in succession. Standard practice is to use one kind of disinfectant for three days and then switch to another type, and in this way combat the creation of MRSA style growths on the base. Janitorial staff overlaps slightly with the mechanical technical staff. -Frank |
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Nov 26 2007, 12:30 AM
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#88
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
So I sent my (mostly finished) reactor engineer in to Frank and was wondering if anyone else had actually put together and submitted a character?
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Nov 26 2007, 01:13 AM
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#89
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,650 Joined: 21-July 07 Member No.: 12,328 |
I'm working on one as we speak - I wasn't totally sure we'd committed to Mars, but I might just get onto it then.
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Nov 26 2007, 03:50 PM
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#90
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
I'd have a character done but all the sheets I keep coming up with are leaving me cold or else would be fairly worthless anywhere near a mana ebb.
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Nov 26 2007, 05:15 PM
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#91
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
Warning, I didn't actually get kzt's submission. I haven't been able to adjust my controls in some time and I don't think I get the emails through the "send mail" button in Dumpshock. My current email is:
ftrollman @ gmail.com (No Spaces). My AIM is: FrankTrollman And sending it to me through either should work. So it looks like we have an Engineer and a Janitor so far. Looks like it's going to be more Half-life and less Doom, which is fine. Once everyone gets their sheet in or at least declares their occupation I put together the whole roster of the base staff. I should be able to have that up by Friday because I don't have an Anatomy test this week. -Frank |
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Nov 26 2007, 05:40 PM
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#92
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
Hmm. I did send it to that address, which looks like the same one from your insane journal. But it's not in my gmail sent folder... Odd.
I guess I'll try again. |
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Nov 26 2007, 08:23 PM
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#93
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
<--- Mage
I've decided to basically just sheet up one character that I could use for either setting; I still favor treasure hunters. I'm also busy trying to figure out just what the hell a 400 bp janitor sheet could possibly look like. |
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Nov 26 2007, 11:03 PM
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#94
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,537 Joined: 27-August 06 From: Albuquerque NM Member No.: 9,234 |
how about a rigger with a PhD in microbiology and several useful PS like Life support systems, plumbing and cleaning. And possibly an unusual, shall we say neuritic, interest in cleanliness. They are unlikely to haul someone to mars who can just clean floors. Even though supervising the cleaning robots might be his main job.
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Nov 27 2007, 12:21 AM
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#95
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
Agreed. I'm just willing to bet that calling the character a janitor will be in many ways akin to saying Jesus was a carpenter.
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Nov 27 2007, 03:43 AM
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#96
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 101 Joined: 30-December 06 Member No.: 10,493 |
Are useful drugs (i.e. cram & long haul) available at the station? It looks like I'm going to play a local netadmin or tech, and therefore also a communications guy, and I'm wondering if the usual combination of programmer drugs will be available :)
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Nov 27 2007, 04:16 AM
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#97
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,883 Joined: 16-December 06 Member No.: 10,386 |
And Psyche! Don't forget Psyche. Gotta have Psyche!
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Nov 27 2007, 06:01 AM
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#98
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 249 Joined: 2-November 06 From: Bozeman, MT Member No.: 9,762 |
Well, as for the Janitor concept I was thinking of taking things like:
Exotic Ranged Weapon (Chemical Spray) and probably a smattering of technical skills. Don't worry, I'll find some way of using all 400BP :D - even if it is just having tons and tons of contacts. |
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Nov 27 2007, 06:16 AM
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#99
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
If you want to call them "sanitation engineers" that's fine. I'm sure that their actual job title is something like that, but in Russian.
And yes, you can get drugs for free for as long as you are on the mission. When you get back to Earth you'll have to pay for any you still want out of your own pocket, which is part of why they do that. -Frank |
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Nov 27 2007, 10:31 PM
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#100
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Prime Runner Group: Banned Posts: 3,732 Joined: 1-September 05 From: Prague, Czech Republic Member No.: 7,665 |
Oh, and something Kzt stumbled upon: If you write up your contacts before the roster gets finalized, then you can grandfather in characters to specific tasks on the base. For example: the cook is named Elizaveta Katenin, and she's from the New Soviet near the Mongolian and Turkestan borders. That means that when left to her own devices she makes Uighur food although she is trained in classical Russain Haute (similar to French Cisine as it happens).
-Frank |
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