Recruitment - First Run (4th Edition), Open to one and all! Always recruiting. Options

[Digital Heroin]

IIRC it's called Chrome and Spells. It's got a lot of good reads in it, very nice collection of stories. It's out in paper as well.

Also, progress is being made on Frankenstein, despite my lack of books or power to my netbook. I may be hideously mis-remembering what Type O does, though...

[Thanee]

Type O makes all Bioware effectively deltagrade concerning Essence costs.

Bye
Thanee

[Digital Heroin]

I knew I was thinking wrong... gah... was thinking it was cyberware for some reason.

Well, Frankenstein'll just be a low essence monster...

[Thanee]

Heh. It would be pretty crazy if it did that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[J. Packer]

I knew I was thinking wrong... gah... was thinking it was cyberware for some reason.

Well, Frankenstein'll just be a low essence monster...

Aw, and here I was thinking he was going to be a low essence monster who got that way exclusively using bioware. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Digital Heroin]

Well I was going for a street grown build, so bioware might be involved, but it will be fairly minimal... oh god, a Type O with near zero essence... how much would he have crammed in there? :O

The idea behind Frankenstein is that he was an up and coming pugilist, fighting his way through the bar circuits to a semi-legit league, complete with TV deals and the like. Just when he was starting to get well known, in stepped a manager with a really nice Italian suit, who offered to take all of the stress out of things for a little cut. The legitimate manager type gets him a few choice fights, and lines him up for a championship fight, but tells him he's got to lose. He is swayed to take a dive, but in the round he is supposed to drop his opponent lands a low blow, and Frankenstein snaps. The round ends with his opponent being on food through a straw and blood coming out red country, and him the winner of a championship belt...

...then it comes to light that his opponent had been doped, and set up to lose by a rival legitimate business syndicate. The blame gets pinned on Frank's manager, and by extension Frank. Frank finds himself stripped of his title, and one night in a dark alley a couple of his manager's associates come up to the limo they are riding in, smash in a window, and drop in a firebomb. The manager is killed in the ensuing fire, and everyone assumed Frank was, too, but someone finds him, and gets him to a street doc. The doc replaces half the Troll's body, with whatever he's got lying around, and when he has recovered recruits Frankenstein as his personal debt collector.

We're left with a cybered to the teeth troll who has a pretty decently connected syndicate looking to finish the job they tried to do to him, who is just too damn stubborn to die. Safe to assume he's been around for a while after the accident, enough time to round out some skills, but he's most dangerous when people get in reach of his big metal hands.

[Digital Heroin]

Double

[Digital Heroin]

Triple... and posted after I was viewing the double on the thread, and had edited it to say double. That and the somehow split double make this computer all manner of strange/win.

[Belvidere]

Wow, interest kicked up before I even got a chance to log on. Well, I've got a few character concepts in mind. I know there is no spot open at the moment, unless you're willing to go above that four mark. If not, can I have a reserve spot on "whatever is needed"? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

I make lots of characters, so I've got anything the group needs on file somewhere.

[WearzManySkins]

Wow, interest kicked up before I even got a chance to log on. Well, I've got a few character concepts in mind. I know there is no spot open at the moment, unless you're willing to go above that four mark. If not, can I have a reserve spot on "whatever is needed"? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

I make lots of characters, so I've got anything the group needs on file somewhere.

I will yield/give up any spot I may have, I am active in one game here, to let someone play who is not in a game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

[J. Packer]

I will yield/give up any spot I may have, I am active in one game here, to let someone play who is not in a game. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

As will I. I'm happy to be on the waiting list, if someone else wants the slot who has no game to play. I've got my fingers in many, many games, and it doesn't pay to be greedy. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seth]

Type O makes all Bioware effectively deltagrade concerning Essence costs.

IIRC Type O makes Basic Bioware deltaware. Most of the really good bioware (cerebral boosters and the equivalent of wired reflexes) are cultured bioware and not covered.

[Thanee]

Yep, though I thought "basic" means as opposed to "used, alphaware, betaware & deltaware". But you could be right there.

Bye
Thanee

[Panticles]

@Thanee - I'm kind of fiddly on bringing house rules into the game but that one doesn't seem to bad. I'm going to put it to the vote. If enough players are ok with it then it's in, if not then it's not allowed. Plus thanks for the spoiler info!

@WearzManySkins - Lamia is approved. I'm intrigued by her and how she finds life in Seattle. The one thing I want to know though is she a recent arrival to Seattle or has been there for a while? Plus no need for you to give up your place. I've got a max of 8 spaces open for players. It just means that I've got to have a lot of stuff going on for everybody if we reach that limit!

@Seth - I'm very happy with the new Cindy aka Hard Candy. APPROVED! Shift your redone character sheet over to the OOC thread.

@Digital Heroin - Intriguing character background. Plus what's this Type O business and which book is it in? Get your character sheet finished and I'll have a looksee and we'll go from there.

@Belvidere - Come up with the character you'd like to play and we'll go from there. I let some guy play a naga with arms so you know I'm pretty freaky. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Ok Thanee has proposed that we use the House Rule - Free Starting Contacts (BP=Charisma x2). I'm ok with it but want everybody who is playing to vote whether or not they are keen. Currently there are 5 approved players and 2 players pending. One vote each, Yes or No, no abstaining. Please post your vote when you get a chance, unless there is some kind of voting thing?

Also I should mention that if we hit my upper limit of players for this game, which is 8, and more players want to play I will simply start up another game using the same exact game module but using the players that have expressed an interest. Players that drop out of this game will not be replaced unless we hit my minimum limit of four, or if somebody has a waiting character ready to go and the current players approve.

[J. Packer]

I have used the "free contacts" rule in other games, and have not had any issues with it. As a GM, I would say "2xCHA in free BP towards contacts, with no rating, contact or loyalty, higher than 3 (or 4 with a great back story)" or otherwise be prepared to reign in something that could be game-breaking, but my vote is "Yes."

[Seth]

Thanks for agreeing to Cindy. I have moved her, and am looking forward to playing!

You asked a few questions:

• With regards to Thanee: I think that bioware / cyberware should be as good as magic: otherwise we would be playing magicrun. So anything that makes starting non magicians better I am for!
• I vote for the free contacts as its is all win for the players and for the GM. Just be sure that we have to stat and name the contacts (I still need to do that)
• Type O is from augmented its one of the new positive qualities: 30 pts as I recall it (I am AFB at the moment). All basic bioware can be considered as delta ware for you. It means that a load of the bioware thats out there came from you. Perhaps you escaped from a lab. You are of course the universal donor, so if anyone needs a new heart in a hurry, you are always available...

[Thanee]

With regards to Thanee: I think that bioware / cyberware should be as good as magic: otherwise we would be playing magicrun. So anything that makes starting non magicians better I am for!

Not entirely sure what you refer to here... the "basic" bioware thing?

My reading (basic = not used, alpha-/beta-/deltaware) is more lenient than yours (i.e. it also covers cultured).

So I am a bit confused what you actually mean. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wobble.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Thanee]

...with no rating, contact or loyalty, higher than 3 (or 4 with a great back story).

Limiting Loyalty is alright (even down to 2). But limiting Connection Rating doesn't make much sense, since it fully depends on the kind of contact. Some contacts simply are more connected than others.

i.e. you cannot know a Show Biz Agent with Connection Rating 1, since that combination would not exist. Being well-connected is the bread and buttor for such a contact, and that is what the Connection Rating reflects.

Bye
Thanee

[WearzManySkins]

Lamia only recently has come to Seattle.

When traveling around in more public locations she uses her magics to restrict the number of beings that see her true form.

I vote yes for the house rule.

[Drace]

Voting yes for the house rule, mostly since I used that for years thinking it was an errata to the real rules and think it makes perfect sense. And also I think we should limit the connection and loyalty to 4 aswell, anything more can be damn overpowering. And just cause they are an agent doesnt mean they are any good btw;)

Edit* And will have my final draft of the character sheet up by tonight hopefully, or tomarrow morning.

[Seth]

Not entirely sure what you refer to here... the "basic" bioware thing?
My reading (basic = not used, alpha-/beta-/deltaware) is more lenient than yours (i.e. it also covers cultured).

The problem with english language is that its not very precise. I am very happy to go along with which ever interpretation you want to go for. I think 30 pts is a huge amount to pay for a quality, and it should give pretty huge benefits.

[J. Packer]

Yeah, just because you have a contact in Hollywood, doesn't mean it's Spielberg. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[J. Packer]

The problem with english language is that its not very precise. I am very happy to go along with which ever interpretation you want to go for. I think 30 pts is a huge amount to pay for a quality, and it should give pretty huge benefits.

It is a very pricey quality, and the read I have on it is that it doesn't actually include cultured bioware:

Type O System
Cost: 30 BP
Though exceptionally rare, a few lucky people in the world
have completely non-allergenic “type O” cells, meaning that they
can give organ transplants to just about anyone with little chance of
rejection. While the character cannot accept second-hand bioware
at all, their essential cell line is already cultivated as the generic
standard throughout the world. Off the rack, basic bioware is considered
delta grade for purposes of interacting with a type O body
(i.e., reduce Essence Costs by half, though nuyen prices remain the
same). Their bodies are also filled with universally transplantable
organs, so maybe they shouldn’t brag too much about this talent.

"off the rack, basic bioware" says to me that it's not the stuff that had to be grown specifically for you, but the stuff that would work in anyone.

[Thanee]

Yeah, the "off the rack" is kinda telling. True enough.

Bye
Thanee

[Seth]

I thought I would flesh out my contacts a bit:

Barry the fixer

[ Spoiler ]

Barry is 5'6", a 40 year old gay elven fixer. Cindy was lent to Barry(the Yaks owed him a small favour) as arm jewellery on a supposedly safe dinner meeting with a Mr Johnson. The meeting was in fact a trap, and Cindy saved him and the Mr Johnson: Barry is still not sure how Cindy hid the knife and taser: those clothes didn't leave anywhere for them. Not only did the trap fail, and Barry live but the Johnson survived and nuked the opposition with a big fat bonus for Barry. In the aftermath Cindy and Barry got talking, and Cindy's predator side was interested in the whole idea of shadowrunning. You could say "It's all Barry's fault", without him Cindy would stll be just singing.

If we go for the house charisma rules I have a few ideas:
John Plod the Lone star detective L6 C4

[ Spoiler ]

John is that rarity: a capable and committed Lone star cop who actually has a happy home life. When John was much younger, he was working undercover in the cutters. He was made, and the cutters decided to kill him and his pregnant wife. Luckily for him, Cindy's mother rescued him, and killed all the cutters that knew. Cindy's mother asked John (just before she disappeared) to look after her daughter). Cindy calls John "Uncle John", and visits him and family most Thursdays, and twice has gone on Holiday with them for a week.
The Yakuza know about John (who is now a homicide detective). They monitor the relationship, but don't view it as a threat (Yaks mostly don't murder people... and those they do are rarely a concern to Lone Star). Should John move into Vice they would be a lot more concerned.

The 405 hell hounds L4 C3 Size 2 Area of influence 1

[ Spoiler ]

What do you do when you can't sleep? You race with the hell hounds that's what you do. Every couple of weeks Cindy slips away, puts on the helmet, and runs with the hell hounds. Cindy's not really into the cash generation side, its just refreshing to meet other predators that like to go fast!

The Seattle fan club L4 C1 Size 3pts Area of influence 2

[ Spoiler ]

The Seattle fan club meet physically at different bars around Seattle. Cindy turns up every couple of weeks, does some free music and chats to the mostly young adolescent fans.