Recruitment: Vengeance of the Heavens, Looking to start a new game Options

[Redjack]

This group definitely makes for a great tie to pull the characters together as a team.
So to kick out some details about my proposed character: He is a nearly 40 elven initiate grade shaman who has masking/ext masking and makes heavy use of Physical Mask to move about and blend. He doesn't have a mentor and a quirk about him is that he has been seeking the call of a totem, without success for over two decades. I'm still working on his personal motivation to hate the Yakuza. I could see his initial draw to the group being in support of eco-terrorism against corporations.

[Whipstitch]

Tradition as always is the trickiest part for me to decide since it's so integral to the magician's outlook. I'd kill for a materialization tradition with Task Spirits, but such an option is conspicuously absent from Street Magic. Most likely I will be a Nahuali with the Adversary Mentor which is represented by his spirit twin the jaguar.

[Buddha72]

The group looks fine and its structure allows for the characters to be diverse but still have a unifying theme or goal, works for me.

[Cthulhudreams]

I really like that initiatory group as well, and am rethinking the characters motives and morals to align with it.

I've nearly finished my character design, but I am running two points of karma over because I forgot the 5 points of karma to join an initiatory group :( And I'm slightly too poor to afford all the programs I need to be an effective hacker.

The basic concept is for an ally spirited up dual initiate hacker/rigger/conjurer who believes that elementals are 'old skool' (sic) and god truly comes from the machine. I sort of initally envisaged him as a technomancer, but I cannot really make that fly, so went back to a mage. Possibly going to try a custom tradition so I can ditch the elemental spirits and empower drones with sprites, but could also drop some of that language and use chaos magic.

[Karaden]

I'm assuming joining the group doesn't cost Karma if the character in question isn't awakened yes?

Anyway, unless we find ourselves in need of a good hacker (I'm looking at you Cthulhudreams) I'll be running Hads (Previously called Jack), who is a heavy weapons expert, as well as demolitionist. I'll have to figure out why exactly he would be in the group or hate the yaks, but I think it will work out well.

Oh, and a quick question: are we allowed to use phobias/manias? I've already given Hads pyromania (Couldn't find the term spesificly for explosions, so that will have to do) but I can take it off if you want.

I'll also write up my hacker, just in case we find we need him. (And because I'm curious as to how he does with 300 karma and 200k :nuyen: put into him.)

[Cthulhudreams]

edit: Argh I forgot first aid. Gragh.

Edit: It looks like I'm going to have to throw the traditional rigging (jump into a steel lynx with a gunnery score of a million and blow things away) overboard, I am struggling to make the character stretch that far. I'll still have drones though, just not gunnery and a high pilot score :)

Edit2: The rigging is back with gunnery 6 and the ballistics spec and pilot 4, and I managed to find points for biotechnology group 1! :D

[Whipstitch]

[Redjack]

To some degree we should also have some common contacts, at least for runs. To that end I submit for your approval. I am flexible on the connection rating [4 or 5] and am looking for guidance from Buddha72 on that. I was inspired to Victor given the description of Black Star.

Fixer [R4] Victor Legos
Victor has been a fixture in the Seattle Shadows for the better part of a decade, growing his network each year. He specializes in runs against corporations and given the details some rumor his primary clients are in fact more governments than other corporations.

[Karaden]

Much as I think having the same contacts makes sense from an in game perspective, from an out of game perspective it is alot of points burnt in order to have everone know the same person.

I mean, why should each person in a 7 memeber group spend the 7 points to have this guy as a contact, when only one could have him, and the other six could all have 1-3 other contacts. Thus for 7 points per member we could either have 1 guy we can all turn to individually, or we can have 7-20 guys we can turn to as a group, though it would take different team members for each guy.

Now, do keep in mind that contacts can be made in game too. So maybe the one guy who spends 7 points to get this guy, can then introduce everyone else to him, then we all get him as a loyalty 1 contact. Same can be done with other contacts to some degree.

[Toras]

Whiskey
Concept: Pistol Adept. Former Hong Kong Police Officer turned Neo Anarchist Shadow Runner.

Background: Whiskey used to be one of those self diluted investigators, working for Mitsuhama. He was good at what he did, a little too good in fact. It was in the last days of Mitsuhama's hold on security. He was working on the Yakuza Squad, working to pin back the influence of those criminal organization. He really believed that he was doing the right thing and went home to his wife and child each night a happy man.

It all changed one night, as he was sitting down for dinner. His house was stormed by thugs, and while he managed to kill a number of them he was still shot down. As he lay bleeding they ended his world in front of his eyes. Ares had made a deal with the Yak's, giving them the names they needed in return for them causing enough trouble to get them the Security contract.

A neighbor who had been a combat vet managed to save him and got him treatment. He came to later to find that he was out of a job. Abandoned by everyone, his neighbor took him in. He was the introduction to Black Star. Whiskey would begin again, not for hope but rather for revenge.

[Redjack]

@Karaden
My intent was from a story perspective, not from a point counting one. I'm willing to sacrifice points to intertwine backgrounds. Not a problem if we don't.

@Toras
Very close to a concept I was working up. My shaman favors masking to obscure his identity and has been known by a number of street names. When his girlfriend and child were killed by the Yakuza (she was Japanese) for reasons as yet unknown to him he took a new street name, Godzilla. Hunting Yakuza is his primary method of grieving.... and he has a lot of grief to work through.

[Karaden]

[Whipstitch]

I don't think black star is really -that- organized. They're secretive neo-anarchists, after all. They're affiliated but I imagine there's likely a lot of different goals.

[Cthulhudreams]

I don't know about you, but my character is shaping up to be so hardcore that we are likely to be the chapter leadership for black star, and as such we'd probably want to know several fixers between us.
Edit: This character that was here is now dead.

[JDragon]

@Buddha72... Just wondering if you got my PM on the group I was looking to use?

Thanks

JD

[Karaden]

Fairly cool, but two quick questions:

1. What do you mean by having your hacking tasks 'backed up by another 12 dice'?

2. Well, more of a statement, but drones can't mount HMGs, unless I've missed something perhaps? Would be really handy to be able to do though.

[Cthulhudreams]

[Karaden]

Ok, I suppose I'll go ahead and put what I have on Hads, though I know his background needs a bit more fleshing out.

Hads - human heavy weapons expert.

Hads was an experiment by Ares in creating soldiers. Not the generic type you may think of from old flatvid movies like star wars, but the kind that are spesificly good at something, and good at working with a small group of similar individuals. Special forces teams, perfected from birth and before to work together, to each be good at spesific tasks, for a team to be able to handle absolutely any situation that came their way.

Hads was picked from his parentage, had his genes modified before birth. His role was that of heavy weapons and demolitions. Even his name reflects this, Hads is actually an acronim (Heavy Assult and Demolition Specilist).

Unfortently, if anything, the experement went too well. Each member of the group was a true mast at what they did, always able to support one another and able to work in perfect harmony. The conditioning they had gone through made them enjoy their work too much however. After Hads took down half a building to eliminate his target, Ares decided that the team was getting out of control. Ares set up their team to take a fall at the hands of the Yakuza.

Providing their team with plenty of false data, and the Yakuza with all the right data, Ares was able to ensure the destruction of their team.. almost. Hads alone managed to survive, though it cost him his left foot, a large explosion of his own design catching him, though it managed to secure his escape.

Having lost his team, and his support by Ares, Hads didn't know what to do on his own. Being SINless and never having learned how to operate in 'proper' society, he only had one true option, to sell off his weaponry skills to those who would pay for it. Eventually he was found by Black Star, his often reckless methods seeming to have drawn them to him. He quickly proved himself among them, his methods often over the top, but always effective. It may not be nice and quiet, but if you wanted to ensure someone died, Hads was the one to call.

There you have it. I'll send in the sheet as soon I've shored up his stats a bit (Strength came out lower then I wanted) and spent about 40k on ammo :P

[Karaden]

[Redjack]

Here are the notes I made looking it over. I would definitely be interested to see your point break down.

[Cthulhudreams]

PM your email address I'm mail you the sheet - its in excel with my karma advancement plan in the 'margins'

I'll fix the incompetences, thanks, I forgot that. Edit: Fixed.

You're correct about the summong pool, I goofed because I'd added gunnery, and taken the points of conjuration, but forgot to change my highlights scream sheet. But you missed I had a power focus, so we're both wrong! Whoops.

It's actually 13 to cast and conjure with 14 points of drain resistance. I'll go fix that.

Edit: Fixed.

I've taking the maximum magic hit and then initiated 3 times to compensate, so my max magic goes down 4, (while, because I've cheesed it, my current magic goes 2 -> 1 -> 2 -> 1 -> 7, hence my question about advancement), then back up to 7. I'm not sure what the best way to represent that is (or even fi I am allowed too), magic 7 seems like an issue.

Edit: Outstanding still.

Sheet offer still stands, but my BP breakdown

Build Points
Stats 70
Race 25
Edge 0
Magic 29
Skills 234
Know./Lang. Points 26 /-27
Positive Qualities 25
Negative Qualities -35
Resources 50
Contacts(House Rule) 4 /-2
Total 400 / 400

And my Karma Breakdown

120 advancing stats other than magic
178 advancing magic, initiating and my ally spirit
2 points for specing ballistics

All the cash is on the equipment, if you want price lists, fire me your email.

[Redjack]

[Karaden]

I guess I've lost my ability to read. What ware do you have?

*edit* I mean seriously, how can I be missing 4 essesnce worth of ware on your character?

[Cthulhudreams]

Yes I have paid to advance my magic stat to make up for that loss - a total of 178 karma has gone into magic on this guy ;)

Karaden: This is why I post my sheets for early critique! I've forgotten to add it, it is

Control Rig
Pain Editor
Platelet Factories
Cerebral Booster 3
Datajack
Cybereye Rating 3
-Thermographic Vision
-Vision Enhancment 3
-Smartlink
-Flare Compensation

I'll update the first post. Thanks for the shout out. (it's only a bit under 2 essence though :)

Edit: Redjack the sheet is in your box.

[Redjack]