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

[Dantic]

Dantic + Whipstitch

Twiggs:
Stats check fine, takes are done. By my count (and yes I counted twice) you've got $400 more to spend in gear. My only concern is in parts of Twiggs' background. There are a lot of one-liner answers there that I would LOVE to see fleshed out to get a better feel for how Twiggs operates. Things like questions 8 and 9 about where he got his skills and gear... the possibilities of grand stories of just how he stole something out from right under the owner's nose and the like... How did he scrounge and steal his gear, it makes for an interesting read if there's more there. Same for his thoughts on Magic... he just think's it's "Wiz" and that's it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Thanks guys for all your work, it shows and we appreciate it!

I'll work on detailing some of the questions more, but I have to stand by my magic takes, Wiz stuff I guess, sums it up realy well, that's exactly what he thinks, his exposure to magic has been limited to say the least, it's subject to change of course, but for now, yeah. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Eyeless Blond]

Should we bother building our contacts? And, if we do, do they follow the same BP/Availability limits?

And does anyone have a good BTL dealer that I can pilfer? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Dantic]

Hey! I've got 400 more (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) to spend (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

[WinterRat1]

I'll work on detailing some of the questions more, but I have to stand by my magic takes, Wiz stuff I guess, sums it up realy well, that's exactly what he thinks, his exposure to magic has been limited to say the least, it's subject to change of course, but for now, yeah.

Why is magic wiz? What in particular does he think is wiz about it, magic is quite diverse after all.

Does he say 'wiz' in an enthusastic way, or in a 'blah, I don't really care' kind of way?

If his exposure to magic is limited, does he even know what it can really do, or only what he thinks it can do because he saw it on the trid?

Describe his exposure to magic, however limited and the effect it had on him. If he has limited exposure yet thinks it's wiz, it must have made an impression. If he really hasn't had much exposure but thinks it's wiz anyway for no real reason, that also reveals something about his character and personality.

You don't have to answer all the above questions, they're ideas to get you started.

What they should demonstrate, however, is just saying magic is 'wiz' is like saying you think a particular girl is 'cool'. Well...what does that mean exactly? It could have any number of meanings for any number of reasons, in fact so many that your answer essentially is a non-answer. That is why Vegas is asking for more detail. A couple sentences to a paragraph or so will suffice, but it has to actually tell us something, which your current answer does not.

Does that make sense?

Should we bother building our contacts? And, if we do, do they follow the same BP/Availability limits?

If you want contacts for your character, why would you not build them?

If you don't want contacts for your character, then obviously you don't have to build them.

If you do build contacts, they have certain BP/Availability limits specified on the wiki.

[Dantic]

Why is magic wiz? What in particular does he think is wiz about it, magic is quite diverse after all.

Does he say 'wiz' in an enthusastic way, or in a 'blah, I don't really care' kind of way?

He never said magic is wiz. It said, Magic ? Wiz stuff I guess ? He has no real exposure to magic. it is meant to be flippant and short, it conveys exactly what he thinks on the subject, he Guesses it is wiz stuff, he doesn't actually know. I really don't understand why this one question is such a sticking point, I don't want to beat a dead horse (had enough of that) or be difficult, it's just how I picture him responding to such a question, he is a notorius smartass after all, so if there is ever any doubt as to what kind of way Twiggs would say anything, just go with sarcasm. I'll try and explain it further, but I'd realy rather it remain as was. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/question.gif)

[Slipshade]

Dantic - Maybe this will help a bit.

When I did Baby's takes and background I had some of those same issues. So what I did is give Baby's short one line answer and then dropped in a break line and just talked about it like I would normally describe in.

Example:

6. What are your character’s physical quirks?

“Do you think I look fat?�

Baby is pretty short and at first look you wouldn’t place her as a gang member. Maybe one of their little sisters or girlfriends. Her slightly round face and cheeks make her look soft. Something that she has had to prove over and over again that she is not. It may be part of the reason she took such a risky job in the gang, to prove that she has edge like the rest.


So in essence you could write it something like:

"It's wiz stuff I guess."

Twigg has never been around magic and only knows it by what he sees on the trids. I thinks that it would be cool to be able to sling spells and all, but since he can't he really doesn't much care. If he really saw someone sling a fireball it would probably scare the crap out of him..etc...etc....


Does that help?

[Dantic]

Dantic - Maybe this will help a bit.

When I did Baby's takes and background I had some of those same issues. So what I did is give Baby's short one line answer and then dropped in a break line and just talked about it like I would normally describe in.

Example:

6. What are your character’s physical quirks?

“Do you think I look fat?�

Baby is pretty short and at first look you wouldn’t place her as a gang member. Maybe one of their little sisters or girlfriends. Her slightly round face and cheeks make her look soft. Something that she has had to prove over and over again that she is not. It may be part of the reason she took such a risky job in the gang, to prove that she has edge like the rest.

Ok, thanks, good idea, I can do that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[Slipshade]

Cool. Really all the things you have been using to justify your one liner is what you should be adding. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

If you are in need of inspiration take a look at what others have done on the wiki.

[Eyeless Blond]

Can I have it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Re: enemies. How do we run these? SR4 doesn't force you to take enemies based on resource level (which IMO was always a stupid rule); do we necessarily need to start with specific enemies, especially ones we don't get BP for?

[WinterRat1]

Dantic - In fairness to you, I didn't actually read your answer, I was simply whipping out a quick reply during a break to try and give you a different perspective on it. If Slipshade succeeded where I failed...well great!

[Whipstitch]

Cuervo:
He's pretty much good to go. Stats and gear check fine and you've got the takes done for all the characters with enough info up to write anything about them and the background seems pretty solid.

Sounds like a good sign, although I do have one last li'l request to make: I don't suppose I could swap 1 point of Strength to Body and switch the fancy jacket to an Armored Jacket and 10 more hits of novacoke, could I? (the costs match up exactly the same and I only bought the Victory Globetrotter 'cuz I couldn't think of anywhere else to blow the cred). I forgot that you round Strength up when determining melee damage (I'm notorious for forgetting this fact while GMing too; my players find it really convenient when suddenly a lot of my NPC trolls turn out not to hit so hard after all (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif) ). Besides, I imagine Cuervo as more fit and supernaturally healthy than muscular anyway, I was just loathe to lose that extra point of damage. Just give me the word and I'll happily do it myself, and after that I swear I'll be done tinkering! I've just been rather excited at the prospect of getting in the game so it's been tough to leave things alone.

If ya guys don't wanna see any changes this late in the game that's cool too though. I may be an incorrigible tinkerer, but I can always console myself with the idea of maybe someday scrounging up the resources to go up a Magic point and then burning it on Muscle Replacements (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) .

[Spike]

I found the wiki first so I'm waiting on a provisional acceptance of my Notional Character, Maus from PM's.

Since I doubt He'll fly I'm reluctant to post anything concrete that might require extensive reworking later. I'm a pessimist, I know.

Still, I guess I should open up (Hi, my name is Spike and I'm a....) a bit and post the idea:

[ Spoiler ]

Maus half Kyrgiz half who knows what bastard son of a Vory whore, left abandoned on the streets where he grew up in a feral street gang. When his street pack was demolished by an ork gang known as the Dog Boys, who ran dog fights among other forms of entertainment, he was forced into the ring to fight for his life against his brothers, against wild animals, and as he grew, even grown adults. The rest of his life was spent in a cage, just like the champion fighting dogs he lived with.

'freedom' from the Dog Boys came with Lonestar busted the gang following an investigation into the murder of a few corporate citizens who had been slumming, and Maus (his childhood nickname) spent the next three years in a Lonestar Pit prison, fighting inmates for his life or the amusement of the guards. He spent six months of that in 'solitary' after he killed a fellow prisoner for trying to shank him, the hot SIM psychotherapy is the only reason he is able to function as a human being at all.

On his release, complete with RFID implanted barcode tattoo of his shiny new criminal SIN on the back of his right hand, he fell in with the (nominially) LoCoS, who put him to work in a chop shop tearing down cars. He also was also sent up to do muscle work for the local vory, mostly because he spoke their language, for them he did body disposal, home invasions, knee breaking and a host of other unsavory tasks. For the gang, when he wasn't tearing down stolen vehicles he collected 'the rent' from the hookers and drug dealers on their turf.

He was out 'working' when the LoCoS, and the chop shop he worked at, were torched, and he's survived, barely, by continuing the rituals that occupied him when he wasn't heaving Engine blocks around. Maus, you see, is virtually unable to function without the presense of an authority figure to order him around. He is learning, but it is a slow and painful process for him.

Maus is huge for an unaugmented human. Able to look a full grown Ork in the eye, muscular enough to stand up to one in a fair fight. His movements are highly economical, almost machinelike in their control, though this is mostly an affectation. Maus doesn't move unless it is necessary. Regardless of the weather, the environment, or even incoming fire, he never wears a a shirt. In fact his entire outfit is unchanging, he owns several pairs of identical heavy, baggy jeans that are carefully pressed, identical black leather belts, and a couple pairs of identical black leather work boots that he works to a high shine. Thanks to prison dilapidary treatments (voluntary) he is incapable of growing hair at all anywhere on his body. On occasion, if he is 'working' he'll add a pair of thick work gloves to the ensemble, and he often hides his eyes behind mirrored shades, even at night. With the exception of a few faded scars, his sculpted musculature is only marked by the prison barcode on his right hand and a cyrillic tattoo on his left forearm that expresses his disdain for the Vory. Unless speaking in Russian, his sentences are extremely clipped, regardless of if its English, spanish or spanglish cityspeak, but in all languages he speaks with a very measured pace. He is often seen carrying a truly antique duffle bag, gone black with age, grease stains and other less savory things. The bad is mostly empty, containing a few baseball bats and a micro-chainsaw he uses when necessary. Depending upon who asks, its primary purpose is 'Disposal'.

[Eyeless Blond]

Er, use [ SPOILER ] tags, Spike. Actually type them in; the board for some reason likes to use that blackout stuff if you don't.

Oh, and you may want to reconsider the Vory contact. The early stuff, sure, but the part where he is a part-time enforcer? If the guy's good enough for the Vory, he's probably too good for this gang. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


Okay, Drip's pretty much ready. The 30qs are up, the charsheet is up, the gear... isn't pretty, but it's all there. GMs may want to take note, there are a few surprises in there, especially:

the Genecrafted Edge and the Used vehicle modifier. Contact me if there's a problem.

I'll pretty everything up and do some more sanity checks this weekend.

[Bearclaw]

OK, my character sheet is mostly up. I'm working on the thirty now. Any feed back is appreciated and will be accepted in the spirit it's offered (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I really need help with the contacts. I didn't want to flesh them out at all, so you guys can fit them into THIS world.

[Vegas]

Bearclaw

My best advice to you is do SOMETHING with your contacts. Because if the GM gets the "privilege" to flesh them out.. you might not like the end result. Ok, you will MOST likely not like the end result (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'll take a peek, but I'm just giving you a heads up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

EDIT: ok, the ones you didn't flesh out are the BTL suppliers, which WR said he'd more or less take care of the BIG details, but you can still give "life" to them by giving them a name/street name, quirks, etc. And it won't hurt to add more details to the guys you did come up with. The more you do, the less we can screw you over on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/vegm.gif)

[WinterRat1]

I really need help with the contacts. I didn't want to flesh them out at all, so you guys can fit them into THIS world.

My best advice to you is do SOMETHING with your contacts. Because if the GM gets the "privilege" to flesh them out.. you might not like the end result. Ok, you will MOST likely not like the end result

EDIT: ok, the ones you didn't flesh out are the BTL suppliers, which WR said he'd more or less take care of the BIG details, but you can still give "life" to them by giving them a name/street name, quirks, etc. And it won't hurt to add more details to the guys you did come up with. The more you do, the less we can screw you over on

If it’s something I said I would flesh out (e.g. the BTL suppliers) then you have no need to worry. Vegas is correct though, at a minimum you should at least have a name/street name. I can live without the fluff quirks, but if you can give me something to help clarify your picture of them in my head, that would be really helpful too.

If it’s something I did not say I would flesh out (e.g. random prostitute; I’m making this up, I didn’t actually look to see whoever you or anyone else didn’t flesh out yet), and you’re just trying to make me do all the work, given how utterly swamped I am, I absolutely GUARANTEE you will not like the end result. You’d probably be better off just flushing your BP down the toilet, because at least that way they won’t actually hurt you, unlike a contact you’ve spent BP for but decided to make me do all the work on…

Does that clarify my position? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Eyeless Blond]

In other words, quick! Look for someone else's contact and use him/her too! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Whipstitch]

Yeah, there's an npc page on the gutter wiki that could be rather helpful if you're really pressed for details. That's where I found Vincente Bernanke, and he just made too much sense not to use, since he'd be useful without having an over-the-top Connection rating. I just kinda regret I didn't have the bps leftover to buy up enough loyalty to try converting him to something of a surrogate father figure, which would be kinda fun 'cuz he sounds like an otherwise kinda creepy guy who just sticks to his work. I noticed Adam didn't put down a street or anything for where Bernanke's basement shop would be located though. I just kinda assumed it'd be somewhere fairly near Touristville because owning a business anywhere else is kind of a dicey proposition, but it'd be nice to know the details. I'd hate to have a contact that turns out to be buried deep in the Black Hole. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Plus, as far as our Lawyer Mage is concerned, I think it'd be borderline criminal if he didn't take Max Stuckie as a contact, since he apparently is just dying to work on actual suits for once. Seriously, I don't even care if you have to give the Mage some freebie bps. Throw that poor ol' tailor a bone.

[Neuntöter]

holy hell, i didn't even notice that guy. I was planning on not giving Will any contacts since he hasn't really mingled with the street crowd so far (apart from his late street kid posse) and hasn't dared to contact anyone from his former life, but now i am almost compelled to dig up some Bps somewhere.

[Spike]

I tried typing [spoiler} but for some reason the tags, they did nothing. Maybe a typo.

As for the Vory bit: As I imagine it, he doesn't really 'work' for the vory directly. He's just, to them, one of the many faceless muscles that they use for grunt work. Technically, he only works for a guy who happens to be a Vory, not actually the vory themselves, and that only because originally his gang had him doing their vory scut work for them, not out of any inate ability.

Though, really, I only put that there because I was hard pressed to fill out his contacts. I usually don't think about 'street level' much so its a nice change. How closely the gangs and the OC syndicates work is something I'd need to hear more about from the GMs, I think the book is rather vague on the subject.

I'll go back and edit the tags again. Seems like he's getting a pretty heavy make-over on the rules side, so I'm glad I left out important identifiers that would have been... embarrassing to have to retcon.


EDIT::: changed due to accidental discovery of how to make spoilers work...

[Slipshade]

Spike - 1st Tier gangs can have contacts with the syndicates, but the gang you would be joining would be 3rd Tier. So the syndicates don't even look at us. Really it helps to think of this game as being the lowest of the low. You wouldn't work for a guy in the vory. You would be working for the friend, of the guy, of the guy, of the guy that thinks he works for the vory. Pretty much any contacts that are directly or even close to directly syndicate connected will be shot down.


Dantic - I looked over your number as well and they look good and jive with what Vegas found. We will past it on up the ladder to WR to look at.

[Whipstitch]

Background wise, with Maus you may wanna make him a former Brickhouse Boy, since I think they were more involved in chopping rides than the LoCoS, who are really more of an ethnic niche gang specializing in Novacoke than anything. Of course, the problem there is that the other Brickhouse PCs appear to be on the Inactive list, but I'm there's ways of working with that too. Just a suggestion. Such things are hardly my call. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Spike]

I'll have to look again, I thought the BBs were into RIDING rides... though since I seem to have an extra 50+ points to spend now, picking up a piloting skill isn't out of the question either.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll check it out.


EDIT::: You're right. Don't know how I missed that utterly. I suspect I got caught up in looking for gangs that both had active members and were appropriate across the spectrum. I'll make a note to change it on submission once the kinks are worked out.

[Neuntöter]

another quick question, is there any chance that we can get more than the usual 35 bp points worth in negative qualities?

[Vegas]

another quick question, is there any chance that we can get more than the usual 35 bp points worth in negative qualities?

Nope, 35's the max for Negative qualities. You can freely take MORE negative qualities if you wish, but they will NOT carry a points bonus for doing so.