Recruiting: Down in the Gutter - Second Phase, Life in Redmond's Newest Street Gang Options

[Bearclaw]

Hey guys, got room for one more?
I'm thinking of an ex-con bike mechanic with a drug problem and dreams of Combat Biker stardom.

[Vegas]

Actually, dropping to 66 a day saves me 220 over 5 days, so I dropped the cost, and spent the money on drugs, and had 5 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) left for a beer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Yeah.. another round lost to the plague and NyQuil. Math skillz, I haz them! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I give up.

Sorry guys, I'll be back in a couple of days (I hope) I honestly can't concentrate enough to put the same time and effort into this right now that we're asking all of you, which isn't fair to you guys. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bearclaw
Go for it! We can always make more room. Give us a bit more in concept and initial background and start thinking about fleshing him out stat-wise and we'd love to see it. In this case as we keep saying, more is better! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

WR + Slip
Feel free to call me if/when you need anything concerning the recruiting since emails may not get checked in a timely manner. I'll likely be holding down the couch and watching L&O Spinoffs.

[lkim]

Hey all, it's been a while since my last post. I have changed whole lot of stuff from the previous post that this is like brand new character. Well, it is.

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Alex Cole
Street Name:
Sex: M
Age: 18
Race/Metatype: Human, mix of Black and Asian.

Alex was born and raised in Auburn, an area runes by small ganger known as Blood Brothers (mixed races of ethnic group of Blacks). His parents, blue-collar workers in the local factory were poor, but loving and caring. The problem, however, was that they are human. Back then, and still is in the present, Auburn has disproportionate amount of metahumans, and many of anti-meta humanis groups were stirring problems to escalate conflicts. His parents were framed to be one of humanis group member, and they are responsible for the recent violent death of young Ork girl. They were killed week after they got framed, and Alex was taken cared by the Blood Brothers at the age of 7.

The Blood Brothers, taught Alex know-how of surviving in the street over the course of next few years, knowing that Alex cannot stay in Auburn for what his parents may or may not did. When Blood Brothers taught simple and basic, but essential knowledge and skills to survive in the street, he was sent to Redmond. If he survives, maybe there is hope and place for him. If he doesn't, well, that's what you get for being son of humanis club.

Alex was left alone in the streets of Redmond Barren, at the age of 9. For the next couple of years, he made these harsh streets as his home, moving one place to another constantly dodging out of cold grip of death that's everywhere. Because he was constantly on the move, he has been almost everywhere in the Redmond, except couple of places like 162s and Black Plague's turf.

In 2065, at the age of 13, after long and hard 4 years living in the streets of Redmond, he made mistake of trusting one of street prostitution, and ended up losing next 5 years of life and his identity. He was sold to Yak's Bunraku pallor, modified to meet their taste and amusements then used.

About a week ago he woke up in the room of coffin hotel at the intersection of NE 132nd ST and Totem Lake Blvd NE. Without the memories of last couple of years, he's not sure what have happen to him, except he's now a girl.

So basically he's a man traped in women's body. Literally.

I'll put some numbers later. And tell me how this is. Thanks

[Bearclaw]

OK, here's the basic background for Rico:

[ Spoiler ]

Enrico Chang
Ork biker/mechanic/enforcer

Rico's dad was a member of the Black Rain before the big bust up with the ancients a few years ago. He survived, missing an eye and a hand. The family migrated from the Payalup barrens up to Redmond, to avoid any future "misunderstandings". Rico was 12 when his dad went straight and started trying to turn a wrench for a living.
Rico's older brother Matt was already a big 14 year old orc running with the Tin-tins, dealing BTL's and battling for a 10 block patch of barrens in Loveland. His mom, Lucy, was drunk most of the time, and showing what 30 years of existing in the barrens does to you. His sister Leticia was 11 and already getting hassled by some of the younger gangers. Oscar was 8 and had never been to school, even though he was clearly very smart and might be able to make something of himself.
Rico was working with his dad, trying to help get food on the table, when the local gang started hassling his father for protection money. When his father agreed to pay, Rico stepped in and tried to chase them off. He got his butt kicked by four of them before his father could break it up. Angry, Rico walked out, swearing he wasn't going to get pushed around any more. After another severe ass-kicking Rico was a Top Dollar. He took to the BTL business like he was born to it, and in three years he worked his way up from look-out to dealing with the supplier. He spent three years in prison when a buy got busted and he was left holding the bag. He got respect from the Yaks and the gang by keeping his mouth shut and doing his time.
By the night of the big rumble he was a lieutenant with maybe enough backing to take a shot at being the boss. Now, with only a few members left, the Top Dollars are no more. He's got nothing but a hog and a few connections left, but he's OK with starting over.

In the role breakdown, we seem to be completely missing an income.
We've got a bunch of people who know whores, and at least one who has access to large amounts of BTL's. If we add in whatever Doc is cooking, we've got plenty of business. We just need to organize.

[Fresno Bob]

Doc's on extended vacation in the grey bar hotel.

[Neuntöter]

@WR, Slipshade and Vegas:
don't worry about it, i actually appreciate it. Thanks to that the concept got a lot better.
I am working on a few of the question in the background quiz right now in order to get a better feel for William before working over the background, but i might not be able to post much till after the weekend, since i have to take care of some university stuff.

[cREbralFIX]

I'll spend some time working on Moe this weekend.

[lkim]

Ok, here's some numbers to represent Alex, it's way different than before.

[ Spoiler ]

Name: Alex Cole
Street Name:
Sex: M
Age: 18
Race/Metatype: Human (0 BP)

Stats (150 BP)
Body: 2 (10 BP)
Agility: 3 (20 BP)
Reaction: 3 (20 BP)
Strength: 2 (10 BP)
Charisma: 4 (30 BP)
Intuition: 3 (20 BP)
Logic: 4 (30 BP)
Will: 2 (10 BP)
Edge: 2 (0 BP)

Active Skills (160 BP)
Close Combat Group
-Blades 1
-Clubs 1
-Unarmed Combat 1
Dodge 3
Firearms Group
-Automatics 1
-Longarms 1
-Pistols 1
Athletic Group
-Climbing 1
-Gymnastics 1
-Running 1
-Swimming 1
Perception 2
Stealth Group
-Disguise 2
-Infiltration 2
-Palming 2
-Shadowing 2
Influence Group
-Con 2
-Etiquette 2
-Leadership 2
-Negotiation 2
Cracking Group
-Cyber Combat 3
-Electronic Warfare 3
-Hacking 3
Electronic Group
-Computer 2
-Data Search 2
-Hardware 2
-Software 2
Forgery 2 (+2 Counterfeiting)

This adds up to be 310 BP. I have not pick on any Qualities or Gears yet, but I have some in mind. I'll be posting in a couple of hours for those.

[Slipshade]

Bearclaw - Having dealings with the yakuza may be a little much, as would respect from them. I would guess that they don't deal much with third tier gangs. I'll let WR1 be the final arbiter on that. The other thing I noticed was your addition of another gang that was wiped out. Have you looked over the feeder gangs on the wiki? It may be an easier transition to have Rico come from one of those gangs instead of bringing in a new gang that doesn't have an established place in the events of Red October. Just some thoughts. I like the BTL dealer/supplier angle though.

If you haven't looked over the wiki, please do so. There is a ton of background information there.

Ikim - I'm not sure what to say about your concept. Definately unique. LOL!

[lkim]

Thanks, Slipshade. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Any ideas you can give me to tie Alex and the Raven? I was thinking that since he's not him self anymore, he feels vulnerable to the Redmond streets and actually seeking a gang to join.

[Bearclaw]

If it makes it easier, I can just edit the gang membership to match. I hadn't read the wiki when I made up the background, I just kind of started writing and that's what I came up with.
He's got two supplier contacts, one from the Yaks and one from the Azzies. They're both 1/3, so they'll gladly burn him if it'll make them a better profit than selling to him, but so far, everyone is making money. So he doesn't really deal with THE YAKUZA, he deals with one bottom rung guy. If there's other groups that smuggle and distribute large volumes of BTL's I can change my contacts.

[Eyeless Blond]

Still working out how to convert Drip to a hacker/rigger-type character. A few questions though:

1) There are no listed Availabilities for "stock" commlinks and OSes. Are they considered freely available, or do we use the Availability for their components?

2) Regarding "used" vehicles, most of the rules for them pretty much amount to "GM discretion". Would, for example, this be okay for a car/drone combo:

Honda Spirit(Subcompact)* +1 10/20 80 1 8 2* 1 - 11,550¥
* Used (-30%: has Gremlins level 1, plus decaying bodywork -4 Armor)
Includes rigger-adaptation (2,500¥), SunCell mod (4,000¥)

GM-Nissan Doberman(Medium)** 0 10/25 75 3 3 6 3 6 4,900¥
**Added: AK-97 (500¥),
-modified with Gas Vent 3 (400¥) and ammo drum (100 bullet capacity, 1,000¥)

Yeah, I know that last one's probably a bit powerful; it'll mostly be a guard-dog setup for whatever doss the gang ends up in.

3) The one Avail-12 item; does this mean one program? or one loaded-out commlink? One drone modification, or one modified drone? Just trying to get a sense of the limits here.

[lkim]

I think we still use the rating of the commlink and the OS for the gear limitation. So "best" commlink/OS is Transys Avalon + Novatech Navi (Response 4, Signal 4, Firwall 3, System 4)

[Jaid]

3) The one Avail-12 item; does this mean one program? or one loaded-out commlink? One drone modification, or one modified drone? Just trying to get a sense of the limits here.

if it's anything like the 410 crash one way back when, it means only 1 thing, period =S

then again, that was tinkergnome, so who knows (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

i expect i'll have a more in-depth look at blade up later today, btw.... since it looks like eyeless blond is going forward with the hacker/rigger character (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

and i only asked which character you guys would like to see because feedback was given on other characters, so i thought they had been looked over as a group (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Eyeless Blond]

Oh if you want to rig go right ahead; in a cast of over a dozen we can certainly find room for more than one rigger/hacker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I just want to play the crazy kid who talks to toasters and hacks vending machines; the rigging part's just so I'm not a complete drag on the group. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Jaid]

Oh if you want to rig go right ahead; in a cast of over a dozen we can certainly find room for more than one rigger/hacker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I just want to play the crazy kid who talks to toasters and hacks vending machines. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

nah, that's fine... i've had a lot of ideas coming to me for blade, not so much for mask. i therefore assume that at this point, i subconsciously wanted to play blade more than mask (which is odd, because i'm usually all over the drone army thing... but then, maybe it just felt weird to have such high resources in a gang game...)

[Slipshade]

Jaid - Well since you can only use the modified Resources from the wiki, a lot of resources really isn't much. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I have a little bit of a problem with the whole gremlins thing. That could become a real issue with the gang and keep Blade from a lot of things. Maybe you could curtail that a bit and have his personal belief be that lots of moving parts is a bad thing. Maybe give him a Phobia of High Tech? That way it is still good role playing, but not so detrimental to the gang as a whole? What do you think?

[Vegas]

Ok.. I'm back for the most part at least (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Couple of things off the top: (bear with me, it's long but IMPORTANT)

Eyeless Blond
The particulars of the vehicles would have to be cleared via WR when/if you get wiki-access and start building a sheet. Right now I'd rather learn more about Drip conceptually as you're changing him from a TM concept into a Hacker/Rigger.. how is that going to change what you've given us already?

Also, to clarify the chargen rules it is ONE Availability 12 item period. Not an overall drone/commlink etc. Can't get a couple of Avail. 8 items and cram them into something that only has an avail. 12 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Build up a list of GM-specific questions and PM them directly to WR once the concept for Drip (or another character if you choose that route) is approved. I know CS + gear specific questions can get caught up in the concept creation of a character, but until the concept is approved, the CS + gear is rather moot (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Jaid
Blade is a concept we can work with in game and the "low-tech" melee weapon making is an interesting twist, but know that you're not going to be creating uber fancy weapons with out there mods or high tech (obviously). Also keep in mind that making these things is going to take TIME in game. If you're not willing to RP it out or at least spend a lot of time as "Blade's off in the corner playing with his little toys" you're not going to be producing results IC'ly. Also, none of us are keen with the "gremlins" idea to be honest.

Bearclaw
If you're willing to scale back the concept of the character to fit into a third-tier gang (i.e. no Yak/Mafia/Syndicate connections) and change the gang he originally ran with to one of the feeder gangs (as we will NOT be introducing any NEW Kingsgate feeder gangs) we would be willing to extend to you pages on the Wiki to build out your character. You will have to apply for membership to the wiki first, I'll approve you and then I'll build your basic pages that you can edit. If you're not wiki proficient, some of us are happy to help get your character up for approval and stat checking, you'll just have to PM one of us for help.

Neuntoter
Congrats, you've got the Mage position. Same rules apply as for Bearclaw above: You will have to apply for membership to the wiki first, I'll approve you and then I'll build your basic pages that you can edit. If you're not wiki proficient, some of us are happy to help get your character up for approval and stat checking, you'll just have to PM one of us for help.

Ikim
Here's the situation. The concept is just too out there and doesn't make rational sense from an in-game perspective. Why would a Bunraku parlor go through the trouble (and expense!) of turning him into a woman when they could easily snatch up a number of women and get the same results without the hassle? Also, what makes him an asset to the Ravens as he/she is? Really there's not a lot there in the concept that would have the gang want him. They're not going to accept him out of the goodness of their hearts, he's another mouth to feed. I think he has potential if you drop the whole changing him into a chick thing... leave him as a male bunraku puppet if you wish to have that in his history.

CRebralFix
Keep working on Moe, I know you mentioned you'd work more on him this weekend, this is just my encouragement to do so as we want to see more from you about him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

ALL - THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART, DON'T SKIM THIS

Guys, we keep stressing this over and over and over.

CONCEPT FIRST!!!

Jumping ahead and building out the character is cool and all and could eventually save you more time in the end, but if the concept isn't there enough for us, or you give us 1-4 lines to make a decision off of, I can pretty much guarantee you you'll have done the statting for nothing and wasted your time. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Keep in mind that this recruiting phase is different than the initial game set up (which we all put months of work into). You guys are in effect, competing for a place in this gang. The Ravens have a solid base and are trying to build up their numbers with people in the ranks that can HELP them grow, make money, not get killed, etc. They're not looking for a drain on their limited resources, someone they have to babysit and the like. Bring something to the table that would make the gang WANT your PC to be a part of their organization.

Also remember you guys aren't making shadowrunner characters. You guys are making bottom of the barrel third-tier GANGERS. Do they have potential to become something more, sure. But it's going to take a lot of hard work and effort not to mention just staying alive long enough to get there. Think about what being third-tier gangers really means. We're "Small Potatoes" at best (in terms of gang hierarchy in Runner Havens) and the Ravens are gonna be small even within Kingsgate standards, we're the up-and-comers. This means NO connections to organized crime (no Vory, no Mafia, no Yakuza, no Triads). Can your fence contact have also fenced some gear for a low-level syndicate member at some point in his/her career, perhaps.. but in no way do YOU have access to the syndicate directly.

Also keep in mind that this is a VERY self-driven game. If you're expecting this game to be a runner-type game where you move from job to job or event to event you'll likely be disappointed here. Right now the gangers have a LOT of time on their hands to kill, or do things that they're tasked to do by Legion or hell even show initiative by doing something to benefit the gang on their own (find a source of income, help with building/fortifying the HQ, yadda yadda yadda) while dealing with their own vices and selfish needs and issues. Yes, WR has over-arching plots and will throw events at us from time to time, but he will NOT hand-hold your PC to fill all that down time. The more you post and find the things in game that drive your character (outside of surviving to see the next day) the more "fun" you will likely have with this game. Having this many PC's in the game gives everyone a number of opportunities to create RP opportunities for yourself and each other.

[Bearclaw]

Bearclaw
If you're willing to scale back the concept of the character to fit into a third-tier gang (i.e. no Yak/Mafia/Syndicate connections) and change the gang he originally ran with to one of the feeder gangs (as we will NOT be introducing any NEW Kingsgate feeder gangs) we would be willing to extend to you pages on the Wiki to build out your character. You will have to apply for membership to the wiki first, I'll approve you and then I'll build your basic pages that you can edit. If you're not wiki proficient, some of us are happy to help get your character up for approval and stat checking, you'll just have to PM one of us for help.

Who should I change his suppliers to? Having a couple of different reasonably stable connections for BTL's is what this guy is bringing to the table. That and the skills to run a retail operation on the street. I figured if his contacts were gang related, they just got blown up, so I went a step higher. I'm happy to change his background around to fit the overall story, if some one can give me a little direction.

[Eyeless Blond]

Concept for Drip will be (mostly) the same: neglected, spindly, socially-maladjusted kid, inheriting his parents' addiction to BTLs, surviving on the street because he just so happens to be a technological genius. Talks to machines, treats drones like pets, hacks vending machines for food, and is outright distrustful and even afraid of "natural" things; he'd probably be more disgusted at the thought of eating an apple than eating an unidentified soy cube, and would look at a tree the way most people would look at a Borg. Kept around because he still is a genius, and a decent kid besides.

I'm just trying to gauge how much leeway I'll have for drones/vehicles at chargen; a (small) stable of quirky drones will be perfect for a quirky character. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Pilot programs are going to be interesting though; any chance of adding a "Bug-ridden" modifier for decreased Availability? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/love.gif)

[Neuntöter]

well, this certainly makes coming back from a two hour drive more enjoyable.
i'll have a look later to see if the pages are up and if i can make heads or tails out of them.

in related news, apparently my campus is a dump.

[WinterRat1]

Who should I change his suppliers to? Having a couple of different reasonably stable connections for BTL's is what this guy is bringing to the table. That and the skills to run a retail operation on the street. I figured if his contacts were gang related, they just got blown up, so I went a step higher. I'm happy to change his background around to fit the overall story, if some one can give me a little direction.

Does it really matter who his suppliers ultimately are? I presume you plan on having a couple contacts that represent your sources for BTLs, correct?

If that’s the case, just leave it at that.

Your PC doesn’t need to know who really is the source behind his contacts, and frankly, both sides are probably happier that way. Maybe it really is the Mafia/Yakuza/Triads/mysterious syndicate X who is the original supplier of BTLs, but by the time your PC gets his hands on them, the chain’s gotten so convoluted it’s impossible to say for sure.

All your PC really needs to know for certain to be a BTL dealer is he knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who…(you get the idea) can reliably provide him with BTLs. Beyond the reasonable certainty of a stable supply, he doesn’t need to know much else about the higher levels of the operation, and for purposes of this game (and probably his continued good health as well), he’s better off not knowing.

Thus, just make your contact as normal (Loyalty/Connection, description of them, etc.), but leave out any concrete description of where they get their stuff from and omit any concrete affiliation with any syndicates. Maybe they’re the tenth guy down the chain, so far down any claims of syndicate ties would be laughed right out of a courtroom. Or maybe he’s the oyabun’s little brother. Doesn’t matter. In this game, you don’t need to know or worry about that, so don’t include it. I’ll decide who they ultimately are, and make their true connections relevant (or not) as is necessary for the game.

For your purposes, you’ll have your reasonably stable connection(s) to obtain BTLs, and in the end, that’s all you really need.

Does that suffice for providing direction?

[Bearclaw]

That's exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

[WinterRat1]

I'm just trying to gauge how much leeway I'll have for drones/vehicles at chargen; a (small) stable of quirky drones will be perfect for a quirky character. Pilot programs are going to be interesting though; any chance of adding a "Bug-ridden" modifier for decreased Availability?

You have whatever leeway the character creation rules say you have. If it is acceptable under the guidelines then you don’t need to ask, if it doesn’t fall under the guidelines, then there is no leeway, unless it’s an issue of you not understanding/the rules not covering the issue in question.

If you want to improve the pilot ratings beyond what’s allowed by the guidelines, you’ll have to do it in game. On the bright side, it’ll certainly give you something to do with your free time.

This isn’t LITS, where I make various exceptions to allow people to best play their particular concept in question. These are the cold, hard streets of Kingsgate, where the world doesn’t give a damn about what you want. If it did, you probably wouldn’t be scraping for survival down here in the first place. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Bearclaw]

OK, changed a few things in the background:

[ Spoiler ]

Enrico Chang
Ork biker/mechanic/enforcer

Rico's dad was a member of the Black Rain before the big bust up with the ancients a few years ago. He survived, missing an eye and a hand. The family migrated from the Payalup barrens up to Redmond, to avoid any future "misunderstandings".Rico was 12 when his dad went straight and started trying to turn a wrench for a living.
Rico's older brother Matt was already a big 14 year old orc running with the Tin-tins, dealing BTL's and battling for a 10 block patch of barrens in Loveland. His mom, Lucy, was drunk most of the time, and showing what 30 years of existing in the barrens does to you. His sister Leticia was 11 and already getting hassled by some of the younger gangers. Oscar was 8 and had never been to school, even though he was clearly very smart and might be able to make something of himself.
Rico was working with his dad, trying to help get food on the table, when the local gang started hassling his father for protection money. When his father agreed to pay, Rico stepped in and tried to chase them off. He got his butt kicked by four of them before his father could break it up. Angry, Rico walked out, swearing he wasn't going to get pushed around any more. After another severe ass-kicking Rico was a Corsair. He took to the BTL business like he was born to it, and in three years he worked his way up from look-out to dealing with the supplier. He spent three years in prison when a buy got busted and he was left holding the bag.
By the night of the big rumble he was a top guy with maybe enough backing to take a shot at being the boss. Now, with only a few members left, the Corsairs are no more. He's got nothing but a hog and a few connections left, but he's OK with starting over.

and did a first draft of the character sheet:

[ Spoiler ]

Enrico Chaing
Metatype : Ork
Long black dreadlocks, jeans boots and biker jacket, with premanent grease stains on his hands and most of his jeans.

Attributes:
Body: 6
Agility: 3 (5)
Reaction: 4
Strength: 5 (7)
Charisma: 4
Intuition: 3
Logic: 3
Willpower: 3
Edge: 1
Initiative: 7
Essence: 3.7

Knowledge Skills
English : N
Spanish : 2
Or'zet : 2
Seattle Gangs : 3
Smuggling routes : 1
Street Drugs (BTLs) : 2
Business : 2
Local Junkyards : 2
Sports (Combat Biking) : 2
Economics : 1

Active Skills
Pilot Ground Craft (Bike) : 2
Automotive Mechanic (Wheeled) : 2
Intimidation (Physical) : 3
Etiquette (Street Gang) : 2
Negotiation : 2
Leadership : 1
Unarmed Combat (Cyber-Implants) : 2
Perception : 3
Dodge : 2
Pistols (Revolvers) : 2

Positive Qualities
Home ground (free)

Negative Qualities
SINner Criminal (-10)
Addiction, mild, BTL's (-5)
Incompetent, con (-5) (he's a really bad liar).

Cyberwares
Muscle Replacement (Rating 2)
Spur (Retractable)

Stuff:
Ruger Super Warhawk
Armor Jacket
Harley Scorpion (Chopper)

Contacts:
Matthew (Brother, Ork ganger) (L:5 C:1)
Fence (L:2 C:3)
Syn (Orc street sam)(L:3 C:2)
BTL Supplier 1 (L:2 C:2)
BTL Supplier 2 (L:1 C:3)