Seeking Seattle runners…, Recruitment thread for a PbP game in Seattle, 2072 Options

[Kerenshara]

After a good bit of poking and prodding, and not a small amount of encouragement, I have decided I'd like to test the waters for interest of me running a PbP game here on DumpShock.

Here's the basic idea, and an up-front list of house-rules / options I would go with:

All optional dice caps will be used:

• The maximum Hits (NOT Net Hits) from a Skill Test that you may apply are equal to your relevant [Skill x 2] or 1, if defaulting. Skills are supremely important in my view, and it helps encourage rounded characters.
• The maximum positive Dice Pool Modifiers you may apply to a Skill Test roll are equal to your relevant [Attribute + Skill]. No matter how favorable the conditions, you can only take advantage of so much if you're a novice or ungifted.
• You may never roll a final Dice Pool of greater than 20 dice on any single Skill Check. This keeps things from getting silly and broken. With 20 dice, you may in theory buy 5 hits, the maximum on just about every single chart in the game.
• NOTE: Use of EDGe negates the above caps for the roll where a point of EDGe is used to boost the initial dice roll.

Now, if that sounds a bit harsh, there are some things going the other way to balance things out.I will be using KarmaGen, as presented in Runner's Companion, with an initial pool of 750 Karma for character generation + 50 Karma pos-creation. The cost of statistics will be 3 x New Rating, since they haven't erata'd the thing yet, with the initial pool of 750 Karma. If you wish to use the extra 50 Karma to improve a stat, you need to pay 5 x New Rating as normally written in SR4A.

IF you choose to play a Technomancer of an Awakened character, I DO NOT count the cost of the Qualities directly related to those abilities against the 70 Karma limit on Qualities. That would include:
• Technomancer
• Paragon
• Wild Technomancer
• Adept
• Mystic Adept
• Magician
• Mentor Spirit
• Aspected Magician
If you have another quality you feel should be added to that list, I will listen and approve/disapprove on a 1-on-1 basis. Latent Technomancer and Latent Awakening still both count against the limit.

I do NOT consider the "Martial Arts Qualities" from Arsenal to be subject to the 70 Karma limit.

I WANT to see more (non-elf) metahumans in this campaign, and I may "incentivize" any character created that is a dwarf, ork or troll, but it will be AFTER I see a background, character sheet, and answers to (at least) the 20-questions.

I WILL be adding a couple contacts to each character, but that's going to be a surprise. I MAY decide to offer extra "points" of contacts based on Stats and Skills, but I haven't decided that yet.

You WILL be allowed to take FREE Knowledge and Language skills equal to [(LOGic + INTuition) x 6]. Remember, these are Skill Tests, so your Hits (not Net Hits) will be limited to [Skill x 2].

I do NOT include MAGic / RESonance and EDGe under the (50% + BP Cost of your Metatype) limit on Attribute purchases.

IF you wish to purchase a Metavariant whose BP cost is greater than the base Metatype's cost, you must pay that difference x 2 in Karma. Please contact me before selecting any Metavariant.

SURGE is allowed, but again, you must run the chosen qualities by me ahead of time.

Starting Funds are limited as normal, but you may purchase additional post-start funds with the 50 Karma extra at a rate of 2,500¥ per point of Karma, no limits. You must still acquire any equipment whose Availability is greater than 12. Talk to me about it.

<Darth Vader Voice> "No Gauss Rifles!"

IF you plan to play an Awakened / Virtuakinetic character with cyber-, bio- or geneware, please talk to me. The exact cost of the "lost" magic point will depend on your history and my evaluation of your character sheet, but it will probably be less than the full nominal cost for the last point.


OK, now that we have covered the CrunchyBits^TM, and frightened off the majority of readers unless I miss my guess, on to my "world" rules and "flavor".

First: Drain / Fading can not be "healed" by any means except natural rest.
Second: First Aid does not "heal" damage, it merely counteracts the wound modifiers, making it much easier to make it through to where you CAN rest and recuperate. Combined with the cap on DP modifiers, good First Aid and Medicine skills become very important skills for SOMEBODY on the team to have. Remember also that the maximum number of boxes "treated" by First Aid is equal to the First Aid skill rating.

Those are the BIG ones for me. I won't make healing slower, but I don't like it to be trivial, either.

I will be using armor degradation and the personally fitted armor rules from Arsenal, but FFBA (Form Fitting Body Armor) is already considered to have benefited from them. I will also be using some custom numbers for some of the firearms in the game. If you want a custom Mentor Spirit or Paragon, talk to me; You will find me surprisingly flexible. If you have an interest in the "deep" Mentor Spirit rules I presented months back, talk to me.

Now, here're the big "Flavor" ones:

This game will have some elements for the Pink Mohawk crowd, but if you expect your characters to survive - much less thrive - they'd better have a pair of Mirror Shades tucked away somewhere. Creativity and curiosity will be rewarded, but acts of blatant... rashness will get your character killed. You don't need to be perfect to make it, you just have to try.

I take skill ratings VERY seriously. I VERY much subscribe to the "fluff" descriptions of the Rating levels in the main book; Nearly anybody can take levels 1 or 2 as hobbies or secondary competencies, but if you have a 3 (Professional), that's good enough to make a living with and I'd like to know why/how your character has it. 4 (Veteran) represents a LOT of effort on the part of somebody, so make sure you explain that in your background.

You will be starting out in Seattle during 2072. I am not currently planning to have this campaign span the globe, but after the first 'run(s), that's going to depend on you folks.

One last thing for now:

I plan to run significant portions of this campaign (anything you want to handle off-screen or 1-v-1 with me) via Yahoo! Messenger. It's free and quick to install (http://messenger.yahoo.com), and I'm almost always on my BlackBerry^TM, so you can usually reach me easily that way. That should save a LOT of turn-around time. It will also mean people can communicate with each other off-screen and that usually helps build cohesiveness. Just make sure if a 3rd party would be interested reading about it in the IC thread that you put it in there after you're done.

That's it. If you're still interested after slogging through that Wall-o-Text, post and let's see if there's enough interest for this to get off the ground. I'd like a minimum of 6 players, and I think we could handle up to 8, depending on specializations. Remember: rounded, somewhat generalized characters are going to have an easier time; Specialists who can't do anything outside their laser-like focus will have a rough time. And as a hint: it's usually the one you didn't see that gets you, so smart 'runners have decent Perception.

• Screen Name...... | Character Name........ | Gender | Race. | Main Role........ | Special..... | Scondary Role..............

Active Characters

1. Karoline......... | Tempest............... | Female | Human | Close Combat..... | Mystic Adept | Infiltration...............
2. BlueMax.......... | Orb................... | Male.. | Troll | B & E............ | Technomancer | Driver.....................
3. JoelHalpern...... | Mach.................. | Male.. | Troll | Knife Fighter.... | Adept....... | Heavy Weapons..............
4. milk ducks....... | Tasunke Luta.......... | Male.. | ..... | Face............. | Mundane..... | Infiltration & Fire Support
5. Adamu............ | Al Guthrie............ | Male.. | Human | Generalist....... | Mundane..... | ...........................
6. Marwynn.......... | Moses "Moe" Kennedy... | Male.. | ..... | Sorcerer......... | Magician.... | Rigger (Xport & Drones)....
7. Embers........... | Jordan Oakleaf........ | Female | Elf.. | Combat........... | Adept....... | Stealth....................
8. Dr. Funkenstein.. | Magnus MacManus....... | Male.. | Dwarf | Conjurer......... | Magician.... | Investigation..............
9. Generic_PC....... | ...................... | ...... | ..... | ................. | ............ | ...........................
10. Trench........... | ...................... | ...... | ..... | ................. | ............ | ...........................
11. OPEN............. | ...................... | ...... | ..... | ................. | ............ | ...........................
12. OPEN............. | ...................... | ...... | ..... | ................. | ............ | ...........................

Backups:

• PBangarth........ | Stardust.............. | Male.. | Human | Defense Magic.... | Magician.... | Healing & Repair Magic.....
• OPEN............. | ...................... | ...... | ..... | ................. | ............ | ...........................

>>EDIT<< This already came up, so I will touch on it now. Initiation / Submersion. You MAY purchase up to one (1) level of Initiation/Submersion with your starting 750 Karma. I have placed NO restrictions on the spending of the extra 50 Karma (if you want to use it to buy additional qualities, talk to me first), but I have ONE limit at character creation on Initiation/Submersion: your Maximum MAGic score may not be more than one point above your actual MAGic score. So, to take level 2, if you have no 'ware, you MUST have purchased MAGic/RESonance 7 either with starting Karma or the extra 50. This means that if you did purchase both the Initiation 1 and MAGic 7 with the initial 750 Karma, you COULD get up to Initiation 2 and MAGic 8 if you took an ordeal and a group. I reserve the right to approve ordeals and groups, of course.

[DigitalOYABUN]

I'd like to say I'm interested in this.

[Kerenshara]

I'd like to say I'm interested in this.

Great!

So far, I have a probable TM who's more of a "thief" lined up. What sounds fun to you DigitalOYABUN?

[DigitalOYABUN]

I'm looking more edgy than anything else. I'm thinking along the lines of these two concepts, but can change.

First, (as you can see by my game thread, I love the Halloweeners) I have a formerly incarcerated Halloweeners member that's looking to break into shadowrunning to fund his move up in the Halloweeners.

Second, I have a slightly daper ork type from the Blood Brothers gang in Auburn.

[Karoline]

Can't wait to see what you come up with Keren! I'll certainly have to experience it first hand. No idea what kind of character I'll make though.

[Kerenshara]

I'm looking more edgy than anything else. I'm thinking along the lines of these two concepts, but can change.

First, (as you can see by my game thread, I love the Halloweeners) I have a formerly incarcerated Halloweeners member that's looking to break into shadowrunning to fund his move up in the Halloweeners.

Second, I have a slightly daper ork type from the Blood Brothers gang in Auburn.

First blush, of the two, the second sounds like a better fit. Put together something and drop me a line. I'd like to have a look at it.

[BlueMax]

Color me interested.

My interest is in playing Troll Technomancer. I will post something of a framework as soon as possible. As I do not normally use the Karma system, I suspect it will have errors.

BlueMax

[Kerenshara]

Not a problem, BlueMax. You know where to find me with questions. Welcome aboard!

[pbangarth]

Kerenshara! You're flipping to the other side of the table. Good for you! It would be wonderful to see your calm, even-handed persona in the driver's seat.

I have never used the karmagen system and would love to try it. Allow me to throw a tentative hat into the ring while I check out my Runner's Companion.

[JoelHalpern]

I would be very interested in joining this.
My first preference is probably a Magician.
I have a couple of thoughts, as to tradition / style, with details depending upon how you want to handle various aspects. (An Intuition tradition Ork, if we can find / craft a combination that works, is something I have toyed with.)

Having said that, if it looks like something different is needed, I am flexible. I have a Troll Knife adept that I like the design of, that I could use as a starting. (I think I have tried to use him in three different PbPs that have collapsed, so maybe he is jinxed.)

I prefer not do a a face largely because it seems to me that should be done with better writing than I can usually manage. (I am an excessively experienced engineer who does standards a lot, so I tend to write rather to crisply.)

Yours,
Joel M. Halpern

[Kerenshara]

I would be very interested in joining this.
My first preference is probably a Magician.
I have a couple of thoughts, as to tradition / style, with details depending upon how you want to handle various aspects. (An Intuition tradition Ork, if we can find / craft a combination that works, is something I have toyed with.)

Having said that, if it looks like something different is needed, I am flexible. I have a Troll Knife adept that I like the design of, that I could use as a starting. (I think I have tried to use him in three different PbPs that have collapsed, so maybe he is jinxed.)

I prefer not do a a face largely because it seems to me that should be done with better writing than I can usually manage. (I am an excessively experienced engineer who does standards a lot, so I tend to write rather to crisply.)

All present some possible merrit. Two trolls in a party... well, that's "meta"all right; If I was looking for it, I've got it in spades.

[milk ducks]

I'm running a game of my own at the moment, using a gritty alternative ruleset similar to the one you're using, but I've got enough free time to juggle another ball if there's room for me. Pink Mohawk with a dash of Mirrorshades is pretty much right up my alley. Like some of the others, I haven't had a chance to use KarmaGen yet, but this might be a good opportunity to test it out. I'm also a very skill-oriented player / GM; I tend to make characters with broad and versatile skillsets as opposed to really focused ones, and like you, I'm also pretty serious about having in-character reasons for high skill ratings.

I've had a character floating around in my head for about a week that might fit. He's an Aztlan/Peublo-area gunslinger/musician. Being a young man still, the character grew up in a culture that rose up and broke away from the UCAS with violent revolution, so he's got that mindset that you can accomplish anything with enough conviction and firepower. Like I said before, he's a musician; multi-talented, which sort of gives me an in-character reason to have some low-rating Wired Reflexes and whatnot. I figure he's a pretty staunch believer in stuff like animal rights, and has run in the past with groups of "eco-terrorists"; you know, the kind who break into labs, set all the monkeys free and stuff the scientists into cages? That kinda stuff.

I had originally imagined him as a human, but I was considering making him an Ork with the Human-Looking quality. If you're interested in bringing in more meta-types, I can certainly go with the Ork idea. Doesn't change the character a great deal either way.

Anyway, it's a pretty vague concept at this point. If there's room for me, I can start working on him tonight.

-milk.

[Kerenshara]

Pink Mohawk with a dash of Mirrorshades is pretty much right up my alley.

OK, so I'm clear: Professionals in Mirror Shades will fit IN best and probably have an easier time, but you don't have to be a cheap CIA-wannabe Men-In-Black knockoff either. The appearance of punk and some of the style as long as you can ACT the professional at need... if that makes sense.

Anyway, it's a pretty vague concept at this point. If there's room for me, I can start working on him tonight.

-milk.

Still room for now, and that's an interesting concept. The musician part could be... interesting down the road.

[BlueMax]

OK, so I'm clear: Professionals in Mirror Shades will fit IN best and probably have an easier time, but you don't have to be a cheap CIA-wannabe Men-In-Black knockoff either. The appearance of punk and some of the style as long as you can ACT the professional at need... if that makes sense.

Sounds like Mirror Shades with Pink Trim when you put it that way.


BlueMax

[Kerenshara]

Sounds like Mirror Shades with Pink Trim when you put it that way.

No, that's not right, either. I guess it's going to come down to the players, but I can say with some certainty (I wonder why I might have an idea about this?) that an inability to act in a professional manner, regardless of personal style, will make it much harder in the long run. What you look like is mostly an inconvenience; Acting like a teenage power-gamer with a small-k knife and some second-hand 'warez isn't going to carry the day.

[BlueMax]

No, that's not right, either. I guess it's going to come down to the players, but I can say with some certainty (I wonder why I might have an idea about this?) that an inability to act in a professional manner, regardless of personal style, will make it much harder in the long run. What you look like is mostly an inconvenience; Acting like a teenage power-gamer with a small-k knife and some second-hand 'warez isn't going to carry the day.

Please describe professional manner.
There is a Pink Mohawk code of professionalism too. At some point, acting like the dude who doesn't know any better than to threaten everyone may be the best option.

"Nobody move and nobody gets hurt!"

BlueMax

[DigitalOYABUN]

I'll be throwing you few concepts that in my opinion are edgy, of them is an Ork Mystic Adept (of the Chaos mage) tradition, who is by best definition an 'Orientalist'. He has a geas of ritual use of 'mind expanding/natural drugs' to maintain his magic. He'll also be styled in the Steampunk line and a student of Bartitsu.

[adamu]

This game sounds very promising for a number of reasons.
And not too crowded yet!
Plus, actually playing might make me more diligent with my DS GM duties.

All that said, I would be unable to send anything substantial until 48 hours from this post.

I would be most inclined to play a sort of salt-of-the-earth fella - older - sort of a lifelong sailor, roustabout who has accumulated a wide range of knowledge and skills in his travels and now finds himself plopped into Seattle
It's an existing character, but I would be happy to rework the concept per your rules.
If you want a quick look, you can dig up the now-defunct Working Nights game.

Basically, I reckon a lotta folks may be responding, so I will check back on Monday and see if it still seems worthwhile to do more of a proper submission.

[Kerenshara]

Please describe professional manner.
There is a Pink Mohawk code of professionalism too. At some point, acting like the dude who doesn't know any better than to threaten everyone may be the best option.

"Nobody move and nobody gets hurt!"

BlueMax

I guess my problem is the number of people who have basically thought that Pink Mohawk equates to the great big Troll ganger with the "baseball bat" (I say "railroad tie", but you know how THAT goes) and an assault cannon, who regards subtlety and planning as anathema. Teamwork? They're the original "army of one". Secondary skills? That's what high explosives are for.

See my concern here?

[Karoline]

Secondary skills? That's what high explosives are for.

It is the ultimate multi-tool. Need a door opened? Done. Need an opening in that wall? Done. Need a distraction? Done. Want a bonus to intimidation? Done. Slow down chasers with a crater in the ground? Done. Trouble finding food and a lake? Done.

There is little that a good explosion can't fix (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

That said I think I've settled on my mystic adept concept that I've been talking with you about. (Just so others know what I'm bringing in). Expect some stealth/assassination and a bit of face to be present.

[adamu]

I always thought of pink mohawk as people recognizing that folk choosing or comfortable in the outcast lifestyle of the shadows would be nature be very individualistic - likely very very talented, but equally unfocused - genius balancing craziness just enough to keep them alive.
These will be players that put RP above always doing the "right thing" on a run.

In contrast, I always viewed the "icey pro" group as basically a bunch of power gamers whose characters have little justification for not just being highly paid company men.

Just my bias, of course.

[Kerenshara]

I always thought of pink mohawk as people recognizing that folk choosing or comfortable in the outcast lifestyle of the shadows would be nature be very individualistic - likely very very talented, but equally unfocused - genius balancing craziness just enough to keep them alive.
These will be players that put RP above always doing the "right thing" on a run.

In contrast, I always viewed the "icey pro" group as basically a bunch of power gamers whose characters have little justification for not just being highly paid company men.

Just my bias, of course.

*nods*

Yeah, now that you and somebody else messaged me about it, here's how I view the "professional" angle:

If in your background and gear you establish the character understands the "problems" of running the shadows, and in RP occasionally drops a hint that they're concerned about ID or evidence or whatever, I can happily handwavium that you're doing the needful stuff. Now, if it comes time for a serious penetration of The Target, well, I'd like a BIT more detail of what you're planning. Essentially, Johnson isn't looking for a mook squad, they're looking for people to be paid to achieve an objective... even if it's not the one they told the 'runners about. It can be a fine line. The Ex-CIA Men-In-Black knock-offs are too much of a pain for a GM anyhow. Just make it clear that you're being intelligent "off camera" and I am content to let you just occasionally remind us in text and everybody's golden.

That work well enough for folks?

[adamu]

Sounds like a great balance of necessary vs. unnecessary detail - in other words, brilliant for me.

[Marwynn]

This sounds quite interesting. Lots of new games popping up lately.

So there's the correct way, and the cool and still correct way regarding Pink Mohawks. I'm gonna write out some concepts if you don't mind.

Seems there's two Technomancers (one is a Troll), a dapper ork ganger, an ork mage or troll knife adept, an ork gunslinger/musician, an ork mystic adept, and an ex-sailor. Apologies if I missed anyone, I just scanned through once.

I was thinking of a magical dwarf street doc (think Walter from Fringe... with magic but less crazy). To be honest, I haven't played the typical bruiser Troll either so I may give that a go too. It's a gritty ruleset, which I like. And straight running too. There's also the Skillwired-Face, an ex-salesman/marketing rep with chipped-in sales routines, but those get expensive just at Rating 3 and he'd likely be an Elf or Human.

Now I have been working on a Go-Ganger/Rigger but at 300 BP. Simple and direct: he drives. The personal ride being a Horizon-Doble Revolution (monocycle) with a sidecar occupied by a mashed-up Renraku 3 Manservant with a weapon mount. Wearing a tophat. Dwarf, probably.

I have more concepts but it seems there's enough Adepts, Mages, and TMs so I'll stick with the 'danes for now.

[Kerenshara]

The Troll IS the TM I mentioned - we spoke before they posted in the thread. (One of the people prodding me to try running here.)

Still haven't addressed transportation/rigging in the least. Healing is still open. Not much pure muscle. Lots of room yet. And it's not like some people can't be a little flexible; That's why I love KarmaGen - it allows for effective (though seldom stellar) secondary roles on a given character.

Roles that might be useful: (not in any order)

• Transportation
• Rigging
• Decking
• Infiltration/B&E
• Close Combat
• Ranged Combat
• Full Mojo (incl Astral Projection)
• Healing (Magical & Mundane)
• Face
• Scrounger / Acquisition Specialist
• Armorer / Repair Specialist

There's more, but those come to mind. They don't necessarily have to have somebody DEDICATED to them, but having somebody (or multiple somebodies) cover them at least passably, would be a Good Idea.