OOC: "A Case of Identities", Seattle to Aztlan 1 truckload at a time Options

[onlyghostdancesw...]

RECRUITMENT OPEN

This is the OOC thread for the SR4 Campaign: "A Case of Identities"

The IC thread can be found here.

A word about my prior campaign (in the eye of the beholder):

I had to go awol unexpectedly for a very extensive amount of time and for that I apologize to the following players who I believed would have enjoyed said game:

Gobogen Panjandrum Seth Thanee Gortrek Leyline7 Wearzmanyskins Apertur3 J. Packer Digital Heroine

That said, I have no intention of leaving this game any time soon and have also extended the deadline for posting in order to make sure that there is a continual pace to the game.

Posting Requirements: Must post within 5 days of your last post or your character will die. Players in good standing are welcome back any time should their schedule open up again.

The basic premise of "A Case of Identities" is that all the members of the team have had some (or even a decent amount of) experience in the Seattle Shadow scene circa 2072 but have also had background in trade up and down Cal Free and the Rim of Fire in general. There are many movers and shakers in this rough and tumble region, and identities (or lack thereof) can be made and broken in an instant. As the saying goes, "It's not what you know; it's WHO you know." The often misunderstood corollary is that you can know or be anyone when the nearest a whole nuyou is just about to open on the corner a block away." The characters will be heavily involved in a wide range of interaction within the flow of identity information as well as human rights concerns etc depending on their moral outlook on life. Be wary though, as big fish swim in this incredibly small pool so characters favoring the pink(er) type hairstyle games will end up very much abbreviated.

This campaign will lend itself well to contacts, as such, for each character that writes a fully detailed background to their character as well as how they got their contacts (and spends at least 25 BP of their own 400 pts on contacts, will recieve 40 FREE BP (BP SYSTEM ONLY ACCEPTED, NO KARMA GEN TOONS PERIOD) in contacts to be spent as they wish; keep in mind however anything 4+ in contacts loyalty and connection WILL be explained in your backstory or they will not be allowed. Same with level 6 skills (though there are no current plans for a dicepool cap) if you have 5+ in any skill you MUST explain them as part of your backstory.

NOTE: Please, in your character background, include your general moral outlook etc.

Characters: 400BP + Bonus 40BP free contacts should the backstory merit it.

Under no circumstances will PVP be allowed, this is a team oriented game, and while you may injure each other if the RP calls for it, no lethal action will be condoned.

Please pay attention to basics, your characters are to be scaled so that they are decently experienced shadowrunners NOT FOtB, characters that do not have basic operational necessities (except if explained in the backstory and condoned by myself) such as commlinks (with security programs etc), rations, lifestyles etc will find that their character will soon learn the error of their ways (or just plain die off).


This will be an R-rated campaign, and focuses on survival and life on the mean and bitter Rim of Fire/ West Coast beginning in Seattle just prior to the elections. While I will not be gratuitous, I will not hold back in my portrayal of harsh (but very real) circumstances on the streets. Starvation, murder, abuse, addiction, prostitution, exploitation, rape, organlegging, and other potentially uncomfortable topics have a very good chance of showing up in the course of the campaign. Players should be willing to role-play the daily moral dilemmas and difficult questions that arise in the course of attempting to survive life in the mean streets of Seattle. Only those who play smart will be capable of attaining goal #1: Surviving to see tomorrow. Please understand that death happens and sometimes it happens through no fault of the player. I do not go out of my way to wipe out a character, their actions tend to either help them live or get them killed all by themselves, but I dont shield players that make a dumb mistake. (had to add this in after reading the thread about perception pools and some of the retarded comments there).

To quote an excellent GM on these forums, it IS ‘I need to commit petty/major crime X so I can put gas in my bike, have enough to eat today, and if I’m really lucky, go out and get trashed with my homies tonight’.

Thanks to all who show interest; I will work hard to develop character concepts in tandem with you that will work for this campaign.

When posting in OOC please follow the following rules for rolling:

Please use Invisible Castle and use your exact in game character name, (you need to create an account to log the rolls to our campaign log), the campaign name is:
"A Case of Identities" just copy paste as it is case sensitive. Here

When you roll something Post your pool (aka how you are getting to the total dice pool). I will add or subtract dice from the right hand side at all times to reflect modifiers etc. You will then have to wait for me to post in the OOC so I can tell you the results of your actions and allow you to roleplay them out in your IC post. Please also include the link to your roll, rolls not in the campaign log will count as auto-failure


A word on writing style; please keep this readable (when posting in IC thread) just as you would a book. We are working to make a story not just a number generator and it helps when you keep that in mind. Please no sigs in the IC thread.




Anyways that's my spiel. Hope someone or a few are interested in this game. I will be out tomorrow but should be back to post late sunday night PST if I see that I have interest in the game.


Current Roster:

BlackHat - Nym (Technomancer)
Panzergeist - Owen (ex-Irish Rights enforcer-cum shadowrunner)
Pragma - Koan (Ex-mafia bodyguard/teamster freshly awakened)
Seth - Jens (Hacker/mage in search of his soul)
Branmac - John Around Him (character sheet) Amerind Smuggler/Rigger For Hire

[BlackHat]

The pitch is definitely interesting, and it sounds like you've got a good idea of what you're looking for.

Whether or not I can find the time to put a character/background together may be another matter, but if I do, posting at least once a week should be no problem.

At the very least, I might be able to make myself helpful by suggesting a couple of questions that always seem to come up in the first few posts:

1) Which books are allowed
2) Any restrictions on metatypes (particularly those from RC)
3) Know how many players you're looking for? (Your previous game had 10?)
4) Any idea when you plan to end recruiting and start the game? (How long do people have to come up with backgrounds?)
5) Are you thinking the PCs would be an established team? or a bunch of independents who get put together for this job?

Also, the AWOL-apology is a nice touch. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) These things happen, and we all understand that, but its still nice to see a GM take responsibility when it happens to them.

[pragma]

My eye has been caught.

I swear interesting campaigns always show up at the worst time though. I'm in a similar boat to Blackhat: short on time but kind of compelled.

I guess the two relevant character concepts I've been kicking around lately are a retired bodyguard/chaffeur type and a smuggler with a semi tractor-trailer. Details to come as I come up with them,

[onlyghostdancesw...]

The pitch is definitely interesting, and it sounds like you've got a good idea of what you're looking for.

Whether or not I can find the time to put a character/background together may be another matter, but if I do, posting at least once a week should be no problem.

At the very least, I might be able to make myself helpful by suggesting a couple of questions that always seem to come up in the first few posts:

1) Which books are allowed
2) Any restrictions on metatypes (particularly those from RC)
3) Know how many players you're looking for? (Your previous game had 10?)
4) Any idea when you plan to end recruiting and start the game? (How long do people have to come up with backgrounds?)
5) Are you thinking the PCs would be an established team? or a bunch of independents who get put together for this job?

Also, the AWOL-apology is a nice touch. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) These things happen, and we all understand that, but its still nice to see a GM take responsibility when it happens to them.

Unwired, Aug, Street Magic, SR4 (not 4a as i dont have the anniv edition). Arsenal, Running Wild, RC, Runner Havens are the books Ill allow. I intend to recruit for a week or till I get 5 players max whichever occurs first. The pcs will be part of an established team with free joint contacts once I weave your backstories together.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

My eye has been caught.

I swear interesting campaigns always show up at the worst time though. I'm in a similar boat to Blackhat: short on time but kind of compelled.

I guess the two relevant character concepts I've been kicking around lately are a retired bodyguard/chaffeur type and a smuggler with a semi tractor-trailer. Details to come as I come up with them,

That would work perfectly as human trafficking will indeed have a possibility of showing up in the game along with the other fun criminal activities.

[BlackHat]

I guess the two relevant character concepts I've been kicking around lately are a retired bodyguard/chaffeur type and a smuggler with a semi tractor-trailer. Details to come as I come up with them,

I think I may have time this weekend to put a good background together. I've been considering a couple of concepts, maybe OGDWD has a preference?

The first idea might touch a little too closely with what you have planned (if you're looking for typical runners who get swept up in the sorts of jobs you've mentioned) or it might fit great (if you were hoping the runners would be geared to these sorts of jobs). The character would be an identity thief (just a pinch of con-man, with a large helping of hacker). He's a bit paranoid, prefers to live "off the grid" and moves from ID to ID often, burning his old SINs and either forging new ones or spoofing the details as necessary. Might go with a technomancer with the Alias paragon, or make him mundane. Depending on if you'd allow the forgery rules in unwired, he might be handy at burning IDs or forging new ones, himself, but if not, his network of contacts could help him, (assuming I make room for the 25+40 points). In any case I expect his contacts will be elbows-deep in exactly the sort of underworld activities you've described, for better or worse.

The other idea is much less obviously suited to the game, but might be preferable if you're looking for more general shadowrunners, for whom these sort of jobs would be a change of pace. This character would be a digital artist - with his primary medium being making art out of elegant software (built for looks, not function - and generally background fluff since it takes so frakking long to write code in shadowrun). He would be quite a bit more face than hacker, but would probably be able to pull his own weight as the team hacker. I would consider making him an Artist's Way adept, but I could probably achieve similar results with an augmented mundane (and that would probably result in a better overall hacker), but the idea is a hacker who is well known - not for the awesome hacks he has done - but as an artist, who writes truly inspiring code. He would be fairly well known for his avant-garde approach to software design and some of the bizarre programs he released to the public (for example, an encryption algorithm that encodes the data as fractal images, or procedurally generated AROs). He's certainly not the BEST hacker you could hire for a job, but he will do the job with style (though if it involves hacking or writing new software, he'll leave his signature all over the place - which might cause a lot of customers to keep looking for someone more qualified).

[Tanegar]

Just out of curiosity, what's your beef with karmagen?

[onlyghostdancesw...]

Right just got back to interwebs again.

I think I may have time this weekend to put a good background together. I've been considering a couple of concepts, maybe OGDWD has a preference?

The first idea might touch a little too closely with what you have planned (if you're looking for typical runners who get swept up in the sorts of jobs you've mentioned) or it might fit great (if you were hoping the runners would be geared to these sorts of jobs). The character would be an identity thief (just a pinch of con-man, with a large helping of hacker). He's a bit paranoid, prefers to live "off the grid" and moves from ID to ID often, burning his old SINs and either forging new ones or spoofing the details as necessary. Might go with a technomancer with the Alias paragon, or make him mundane. Depending on if you'd allow the forgery rules in unwired, he might be handy at burning IDs or forging new ones, himself, but if not, his network of contacts could help him, (assuming I make room for the 25+40 points). In any case I expect his contacts will be elbows-deep in exactly the sort of underworld activities you've described, for better or worse.

The other idea is much less obviously suited to the game, but might be preferable if you're looking for more general shadowrunners, for whom these sort of jobs would be a change of pace. This character would be a digital artist - with his primary medium being making art out of elegant software (built for looks, not function - and generally background fluff since it takes so frakking long to write code in shadowrun). He would be quite a bit more face than hacker, but would probably be able to pull his own weight as the team hacker. I would consider making him an Artist's Way adept, but I could probably achieve similar results with an augmented mundane (and that would probably result in a better overall hacker), but the idea is a hacker who is well known - not for the awesome hacks he has done - but as an artist, who writes truly inspiring code. He would be fairly well known for his avant-garde approach to software design and some of the bizarre programs he released to the public (for example, an encryption algorithm that encodes the data as fractal images, or procedurally generated AROs). He's certainly not the BEST hacker you could hire for a job, but he will do the job with style (though if it involves hacking or writing new software, he'll leave his signature all over the place - which might cause a lot of customers to keep looking for someone more qualified).

I like the first option, especially the techno part as they cant really get you so many times. Built for the campaign like that looks great.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

Just out of curiosity, what's your beef with karmagen?

I find it makes certain archetypes too powered up and leadings to munchkinizing approaches.

[Panzergeist47]

Hi there. I've played Tabletop RPGs for about a year, but am new to Shadowrun. (Was going to join a campaign IRL but GM couldn't run it due to IRL issues). If that's not a problem, I'd love to apply for this game, and will come up with a concept or two over the weekend.

[BlackHat]

I like the first option, especially the techno part as they cant really get you so many times. Built for the campaign like that looks great.

Sounds good. I've been working on it, and i think a basic background and draft of a CS is almost ready (not sure if I'll finish before calling it a night, but it should be posted tomorrow). Mostly just need to come up with some details (and names) for a few more contacts and work them into the background in a way that they stand out.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

Hi there. I've played Tabletop RPGs for about a year, but am new to Shadowrun. (Was going to join a campaign IRL but GM couldn't run it due to IRL issues). If that's not a problem, I'd love to apply for this game, and will come up with a concept or two over the weekend.

Heya Panzer, Im down for it as long as you put in the work. This isnt generally new player friendly as it leans on alot of player wide game knowledge that their characters would have but if you are willing to work on it then post a couple concepts up here and I'll try to work with you as much as possible.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

Sounds good. I've been working on it, and i think a basic background and draft of a CS is almost ready (not sure if I'll finish before calling it a night, but it should be posted tomorrow). Mostly just need to come up with some details (and names) for a few more contacts and work them into the background in a way that they stand out.

Sounds like a plan to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .


@Pragma: Where do you stand currently?

[Panzergeist47]

Heya Panzer, Im down for it as long as you put in the work. This isnt generally new player friendly as it leans on alot of player wide game knowledge that their characters would have but if you are willing to work on it then post a couple concepts up here and I'll try to work with you as much as possible.

If by that you mean knowledge of the setting, that's not a problem - though the Matrix was a bit tricky to wrap my head around, I've got a decent/working knowledge of the worlds (as presented in the 20th Anniversary Edition rulebook), but of course, any help a more experienced player can give me would be greatly appreciated, and I'll do my best to reciprocate. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Got one semi-fleshed out concept at the moment, and two others that are still barebones (Ork Way of Silence Adept and Human rigger/pilot/medic). I'll edit the other two into this post after lunch:

The first one is an human street samurai, of Irish+Welsh descent and bearing a grudge towards Elves for "taking my homeland" (former Humanis Policlub member; though that's now part of a "Big Regret", he still has a Prejudice against Elves{He was not born in and has never been to Ireland}). He's an adrenaline junkie, two parts ranged combatant, one part face, with maybe some minimal hacking thrown in. Since leaving Humanis Policlub (by way of acquiring a fake SIN and new identity, and moving to the other side of the continent), he's simply been trying to make ends meet and have a good, fun time doing so.

[BlackHat]

... but of course, any help a more experienced player can give me would be greatly appreciated, and I'll do my best to reciprocate. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Always happy to help out. One thing to consider (that I might suggest to any new player) is the "Common Sense" quality, from runner's companion. For 5 BP, whenever the GM thinks you're doing something foolish, he is supposed to warn you. Whether that kind of fax-paus insurance is worth 5 BP or not is up to you, but if you want to spend the 5BP elsewhere, you can always rely on asking the other players or something.

I like the details in the street-sam concept, so far. I *suspect* that the fact that he left one identity behind, and has picked up a new one on the west-coast, will put him in a good position for the upcoming jobs OGDWD has in mind. Maybe he still owes the people who get him his new SIN some favors, or maybe in the process of getting his new life set up he made some contacts in the business of matching people with new identities.

[BlackHat]

Name: “Nym” aka “C-Squared”, “Middleman”, “Shadowman”, “The Arsonist” and a long long list of other aliases - some of which he “borrowed” from other hackers/runners. He’s likely to be going by a different name by the time any of you meet him.

Concept: ID Thief, Tin-hat Wearing Conspiracy Theorist, SINless and Proud

Background: (A bit long and rambley, but I tried to touch on everything in the CS)

[ Spoiler ]

The man who now goes by the handle “Nym” lost his real identity in the Crash of ‘64, and never managed to gain another one - at least not for very long. His emergence as a technomancer began manifesting itself as unusual glitches with routing of information related to him, and he found it nearly impossible to hold onto a SIN - or any other form of identification - for more than a day. He seemed to constantly slip between the cracks of the system and, as a result, learned to simply live with the reality of being SINless. In the 8 years since, he has learned to control (or, rather, influence) these abilities, but has also come to an understanding about the new life he had been given, and his place in the network of personal information flowing around the cities. This unusual understanding of connections between people comes with a few disadvantages, however. To many, Nym would seem afflicted with irrational paranoia, often directed at corporate and government entities, and the people who further their agendas. He isn’t comfortable around people he doesn’t know well, and the people he gets to know well tend to be similarly eccentric loners (Some would say tin-hat wearing lunatics and dangerous anarchists).

Other than the various members of Black Cross and Black Crescent, the person Nym has worked with the most is an information broker who calls himself “The Directory”, and specializes in the trade of personal information. However, the mutual respect of their relationship only goes so far. On multiple occasions, The Directory has attempted to maintain a file on Nym (who went by the handle “Middleman” at the time), on his own secure database, only to find the data missing days later. He chalks this up to expert hacking skills on Nym’s part, and while he doesn’t appreciate the intrusion, he respects that the only data that was tampered with was Nym’s. The situation does make for uncomfortable negotiations, however, as neither party really trusts the other. Through The Directory, Nym was once put in touch with a hacker who goes by the handle “The Phisherman”, who specializes in online scams. The who talked trade over a meeting once, but neither one has really had need of the other’s services, since.

Nym did a few jobs for a “freelance” ID Manufacturer who called himself “Mr. Bornagain” (Nym went by the alias “C-Squared” at the time, after the chemical “Cleaner Cleaner”, as he was contacted to clean up burnt SINs). Through these jobs, he met a smuggler (who dabbled in human trafficking and unauthorized border crossings) who called himself “Bryan Hyder”.

While Nym has participated in a few Shadowruns, in the last few years, he usually didn’t stay in contact with any other other Runners he met. One Runner, an Eco-Shaman called “Howls-By-Day” though, caught his attention, because is eco-activist ideals lined up nicely with Nym’s own paranoia and anarchistic tendencies. They still message one another on occasion, but have not worked together since that job. Online, Howls-By-Day introduced Nym to a human-rights activist called “Moxie” who needed a hand with some legwork digging up leads on a human traifficking ring that she intended to expose. Nym helped her out, as a favor to Howls-By-Day, and although he still follows her activities when her activism gets the attention of the media, he hasn’t gone out of his way to contact her since.

Nym has also found (on his own) an anarchist blogger who goes by the handle “Ramshackle Red” whose daily rants make for entertaing reading (and fuel the fires of Nym’s anti-establishment prejudices). He has posted a few times (anonymously) to Red’s blog, but that is pretty much the extent of their relationship. Another online contact he has made is Lola Lightshine (known as Loony Lola Lightshine, by almost everyone) who operates a pirate trideo station which moves up and down the cost, and broadcasts the craziest conspiracy theories to anyone who cares to listen.

Nym considers himself one of the “good guys” working against (and around) an unjust system designed to exploit people, which is a little hypocritical because his scams often have the potential to ruin people’s lives. He justifies this to himself by claiming that by ruining their credit or compromising their SIN he has somehow helped them unshackle themselves from the corporate prison they were previously in. That is not to say he won’t take jobs of questionable morality, but when he has a choice in the matter, he is inclined to take jobs that ruin the lives of people he considers to be part of The System. He avoids confrontation, particularly combat, whenever possible - both because he knows he isn’t any good in a fight, and because he doesn’t like the idea of hurting people that directly.

For the last few years, Nym has been working in the West Coast Shadows - from Seattle to Aztlan - not because he needs the money, nor because he wants the reputation (he doesn’t), but because he understands how networks work, and it is important to him to maintain a network of like-minded contacts. His network includes a number of Anarchist Black Cross and Black Crescent cells running up and down the coast who are often in the market for someone with the skills to fake identification or to make someone disappear. Despite having helped these organizations on numerous occasions, Nym doesn’t have much of a reputation in the Shadows. This is partially by design (not wanting people he doesn’t know to know too much about him) and partially because of his tendency to switch identities even when it comes to Runner aliases. He has gone by a number of other names, and even gotten a few jobs by impersonating other Runners, but he doesn’t tend to stay in any one place long enough to make a lot of friends or to establish himself with a team. So, although Nym has quite a few contacts in the shadows, many of them know him by different names, and few of those relationships are particularly strong.

These days, Nym lives outside of the System while living off of it, borrowing or forging identities as they are needed, and wearing his SINlessness as a badge of honor when they are not. Nym travels light. At a moment’s notice, he wants to be able to toss his disposable commlink, or leave behind an empty apartment, along with whatever identity he was using at the time. When he enters a new sprawl, it rarely takes him more than a day to get himself set up with the bare necessities. His current safehouse is a simple inconspicious one bedroom apartment, unconnected to any SIN, and forgotten or lost in most residential databases. His particular unit is “off the grid”, leeching power and matrix access from neighbors. The records for the address have also been altered to make locating it in the matrix difficult. This has resulted in a number of mis-forwarded matrix messages, commcalls, and missrouted deliveries, which - while inconvenient - serve to further confuse anyone attempting to unravel the tangled web of digital misdirection Nym has spun around himself.

Character Sheet [400/400]

[ Spoiler ]

Metatype (0)

[ Spoiler ]

- Human (0)

Attributes (140)

[ Spoiler ]

- Body 2 (10)
- Agility 2 (10)
- Reaction 2 (10)
- Strength 2 (10)

- Charisma 5 (40)
- Intuition 3 (20)
- Logic 4 (30)
- Willpower 2 (10)

Secondary Attributes (65)

[ Spoiler ]

- Edge 2 (0)
- Resonance 6 (65)

Tertiary Attributes

[ Spoiler ]

- Essence 6
- Initiative: 5 (7)
- Initiative Passes (Matrix): 1 (3)

Living Persona
- Firewall 2
- Response 3
- Signal 3
- System 4
- Biofeedback Filter 5

Positive Qualities (25)

[ Spoiler ]

- Technomancer (5)
- - Networkers Stream (Cha+Will Drain, Code, Courier, Crack, Data, Sleuth)
- Paragon (5)
- - Alias (+2 spoof, +1 Sleuth, MUST spoof lifestyle)
- Analytical Mind (5)
- - +2 Software and Data Search (and Logic or Puzzles)
- Erased (10)
- - Unwanted Data is burnt withing 24 hours

Negative Qualities (-35)

[ Spoiler ]

- Pacifist (-5)
- Paranoia (-10)
- Prejudice (Corporate, Outspoken) (-10)
- Prejudice (Government/Law Enforcement, Outspoken) (-10)

Active Skills (142)

[ Spoiler ]

- Con 1 (4)
- Electronics Skill Group 4 (40)
- Electronic Warfare 3 (12)
- Etiquette 1 (4)
- Forgery 5 (Fake IDs +2) (22)
- Hacking 5 (Spoof +2) (22)
- Negotiation 1 (4)
- Perception 1 (4)
- Tasking Group 3 (30)

Knowledge Skills

[ Spoiler ]

- Conspiracy Theories 3
- Personal Info Databases 4
- Matrix Scams 4
- Police Procedures 4
- SOTA Identification Technology 3

Complex Forms (36)

[ Spoiler ]

- Analyze 6
- Browse 6
- Decrypt 6
- Edit 6
- Scan 6
- Sniffer 6
- Spoof 6
- Track 6

Contacts (25 + 40)

[ Spoiler ]

- “The Directory“ (Personal) Information Broker (C4 / L2)
- - Nym has worked with the most is an information broker who calls himself “The Directory”, and specializes in the trade of personal information. However, the mutual respect of their relationship only goes so far. On multiple occasions, The Directory has attempted to maintain a file on Nym (who went by the handle “Middleman” at the time), on his own secure database, only to find the data missing days later. He chalks this up to expert hacking skills on Nym’s part, and while he doesn’t appreciate the intrusion, he respects that the only data that was tampered with was Nym’s. The situation does make for uncomfortable negotiations, however, as neither party really trusts the other.

- “The Phisherman” Hacker (Scam Artist) (C3 / L1)
- - Through The Directory, Nym was once put in touch with a hacker who goes by the handle “The Phisherman”, who specializes in online scams. The who talked trade over a meeting once, but neither one has really had need of the other’s services, since.

- “Mr. Bornagain” ID Manufacturer (C3 / L1)
- - Nym did a few jobs for a “freelance” ID Manufacturer who called himself “Mr. Bornagain” (Nym went by the alias “C-Squared” at the time, after the chemical “Cleaner Cleaner”, as he was contacted to clean up burnt SINs).

- “Bryan Hyder” Smuggler (C3 / L1)
- - Through the jobs Nym got through Mr. Bornagain, he met a smuggler (who dabbled in human trafficking and unauthorized border crossings) who called himself “Bryan Hyder”.

- “Howls-By-Day” Shaman (Eco-Activist, Runner) (C3 / L1)
- - While Nym has participated in a few Shadowruns, in the last few years, he usually didn’t stay in contact with any other other Runners he met. One Runner, an Eco-Shaman called “Howls-By-Day” though, caught his attention, because is eco-activist ideals lined up nicely with Nym’s own paranoia and anarchistic tendencies. They still message one another on occasion, but have not worked together since that job.

- “Laura (Moxie) Maxey” Radical (Human Rights) Activist (C2 / L1)
- - Online, Howls-By-Day introduced Nym to a human-rights activist called “Moxie” who needed a hand with some legwork digging up leads on a human traifficking ring that she intended to expose. Nym helped her out, as a favor to Howls-By-Day, and although he still follows her activities when her activism gets the attention of the media, he hasn’t gone out of his way to contact her since.

- “Ramshackle Red” Anarchist Blogger (C2 / L1)
- - Nym has also found (on his own) an anarchist blogger who goes by the handle “Ramshackle Red” whose daily rants make for entertaing reading (and fuel the fires of Nym’s anti-establishment prejudices). He has posted a few times (anonymously) to Red’s blog, but that is pretty much the extent of their relationship.

- “(Loony) Lola Lightshine” Female Pirate Trideo Broadcaster (Conspiracy Theorist) (C2 / L1)
- - Another online contact he has made is Lola Lightshine (known as Loony Lola Lightshine, by almost everyone) who operates a pirate trideo station which moves up and down the cost, and broadcasts the craziest conspiracy theories to anyone who cares to listen.

- (Group) Various Anarchist Black Cross Cells (Connection 5 (16), Loyalty 1)
- - <1000 members, National Area, minority magical, broad matrix presence
- (Group) Various Anarchist Black Crescent Cells (Connection 5 (16), Loyalty 1)
- - <1000 members, National Area, minority magical, broad matrix presence
- - - Nym has made a lot of contacts (and done a lot of minor jobs) up and down the west coast for various Anarchist Black Cross and Black Crescent cells. However, he often was going by a different identity in each case, causing him to never develop much of a reputation within either organization.

Gear (2 = 9,950 / 10,000)

[ Spoiler ]

Lifestyle:

- Spoofed Lifestyle (Squatter/Low, 7LP) (1,100)
- - Comforts, Low (2)
- - Entertainment, Street (0)
- - Necessities, Low (2)
- - Neighborhood, Low (2)
- - Security, Low (2)
- - Qualities
- - - Free Access (+1)
- - - Inconspicuous Housing, Matrix (+2)
- - - Green Plan (-1)
- - - No Forwarding Address, Physical (-1)
- - - No Forwarding Address, Matrix (-1)
- - - This isn’t Bob’s Autos (-1)

- Back-Up Spoofed Lifestyle (Squatter/Low, 7LP) (1,100)
- - Comforts, Low (2)
- - Entertainment, Street (0)
- - Necessities, Low (2)
- - Neighborhood, Low (2)
- - Security, Low (2)
- - Qualities
- - - Free Access (+1)
- - - Green Plan (-1)
- - - No Forwarding Address, Matrix (-1)

- Fake SIN, Rating 1 (1000) - “Charles Abram”
- - Stolen identity with mostly inaccurate information. Won’t stand up to scrutiny, but might pass casual inspection.

- Fake SIN, Rating 1 (1000) - “Travis Hartman”
- - Fabricated identity, but hastily done. More details are accurate, but more details are missing.

- Armored Clothing (4/0) (500)
- - Gray Hoodie, with a Black Cross on the back, Jeans, and Combat Boots

- Defiance EX Shocker (150)
- - 8S(e) -half SS - 4(m)

- Disposable Commlink (300)
- - Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

- Disposable Commlink (300) - Backup
- - Response 1, Signal 3, System 2, Firewall 1

Dodge Scoot (Scooter) (3,000) [4,500 total]
- Handling +1, Accel 10/15, Speed 60, Pilot 1, Body 4, Armor 2, Sensor 1
- Accessories
- - Morphing License Plate (1000)
- - Spoof Chip (500)
- Modifications
- - (-) Improved Economy

[Panzergeist47]

Always happy to help out. One thing to consider (that I might suggest to any new player) is the "Common Sense" quality, from runner's companion. For 5 BP, whenever the GM thinks you're doing something foolish, he is supposed to warn you. Whether that kind of fax-paus insurance is worth 5 BP or not is up to you, but if you want to spend the 5BP elsewhere, you can always rely on asking the other players or something.

I like the details in the street-sam concept, so far. I *suspect* that the fact that he left one identity behind, and has picked up a new one on the west-coast, will put him in a good position for the upcoming jobs OGDWD has in mind. Maybe he still owes the people who get him his new SIN some favors, or maybe in the process of getting his new life set up he made some contacts in the business of matching people with new identities.

Haha, thanks for the nod about Common Sense, but I trust myself enough to not herp a derp and go into every situation guns blazing xD.

Glad you like the Street-Sam so far. I try to put in a couple of hooks when I make a character. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (speaking of which I think I'll stick with this guy unless OGDWD dislikes him)

[onlyghostdancesw...]

If by that you mean knowledge of the setting, that's not a problem - though the Matrix was a bit tricky to wrap my head around, I've got a decent/working knowledge of the worlds (as presented in the 20th Anniversary Edition rulebook), but of course, any help a more experienced player can give me would be greatly appreciated, and I'll do my best to reciprocate. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Got one semi-fleshed out concept at the moment, and two others that are still barebones (Ork Way of Silence Adept and Human rigger/pilot/medic). I'll edit the other two into this post after lunch:

The first one is an human street samurai, of Irish+Welsh descent and bearing a grudge towards Elves for "taking my homeland" (former Humanis Policlub member; though that's now part of a "Big Regret", he still has a Prejudice against Elves{He was not born in and has never been to Ireland}). He's an adrenaline junkie, two parts ranged combatant, one part face, with maybe some minimal hacking thrown in. Since leaving Humanis Policlub (by way of acquiring a fake SIN and new identity, and moving to the other side of the continent), he's simply been trying to make ends meet and have a good, fun time doing so.

As black hat has said, please play up your new identity, when doing your backstory provide the MO to get into identities and other more... shall we say... unsavory aspects of life in the biz. btw I dont have the adept mini book so keep that in mind. I like the street sam/face combo though and it sounds like a start; just need to hear more on what makes him tick.

[pragma]

Sounds like a plan to me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) .


@Pragma: Where do you stand currently?

I have a background and mostly finished sheet for the bodyguard/chaffeur concept. I've included a character portrait/pitch and a link to the sheet below. I'm just trying to decide on some finishing touches and whether I want to go for the 25 points of contacts; shaving off another 17 BP would be painful but I might yet bite the bullet.

The trucker is slower going mostly because I realized that buying a big rig would suck down more than half of my starting cash and I lacked the willpower to finish the character thereafter. I'll take another stab at it soon.

However, I need to warn you my schedule is bad this week and will be miserable next week. Things should clear up after that, but I have all these pesky deadlines in the near future.

Koan character pitch:

[ Spoiler ]

Koan wanted enlightenment so badly that he could almost taste it -- he imagined the flavor of celestial lemonade -- which, of course, was the problem. He purged his thoughts and started over, an empty vessel, a controlled mind ... and was pulled out of his trance by an imagined snicker from the yogi. The old man was a great friend, but remarkably unsympathetic to uncontrolled thoughts No! Don't think about him.

Koan rolled his shoulders and started again. Of course, the real things he was trying not to think about were the hardest. The car bombs he'd planted leaving delicate flecks of brain on the wall -- like Lovecraft had a Roccoco phase of interior decorating. What it was like to see an assassin's aura -- he understood the aura's twisting colors, so black they were eye poison, through the lens of Vedic vibrations now -- and then shoot the twisted poisonous thing dead. What it was like to have that aura.

But that was then. Now he hadn't killed anyone in a while, several weeks. He mostly drove them places -- transportation was a sacred thing to him. Escaping your past should be a fundamental right. And shooting people who impeded that wasn't a sin ... he hoped.

No! this isn't thinking about nothing.

The yogi snickered. Koan rolled his shoulders and rubbed his eyes. He took a deep breath and started again.

Character Sheet (mostly done)

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@black hat.

I really like the character thus far but am edgy about the erased quality. Imo RAW makes it way too powerful even if it somewhat fits with the character. I would be willing to let it stand so long as you understand that someone somewhere is doing the erasing and that they may come home to roost one of these days. Another thing that snagged my attention, Im assuming the Black Cross is just a Secular NA version of Black Crescent? Also, just wanted to say that youre constant loner status may impede your ability to work as a close team so you might want to write something in that allows for team-centric rp. Maybe found/join an anarchist commune so there's a good segue for you to care about something?

[BlackHat]

@black hat.

I really like the character thus far but am edgy about the erased quality. Imo RAW makes it way too powerful even if it somewhat fits with the character. I would be willing to let it stand so long as you understand that someone somewhere is doing the erasing and that they may come home to roost one of these days. Another thing that snagged my attention, Im assuming the Black Cross is just a Secular NA version of Black Crescent? Also, just wanted to say that youre constant loner status may impede your ability to work as a close team so you might want to write something in that allows for team-centric rp. Maybe found/join an anarchist commune so there's a good segue for you to care about something?

I'm happy to remove the erased quality if you would prefer, otherwise I'm fine with saying it is some awesomer-than-me technomancer, AI, or other resonance entity that took an interest in Nym when he took "Alias" as his Paragon. I basically imagined it would be some (supernatural?) force constantly trying to erase him from digital existence (whether he appreciates it or not) since his emergence... sort of forcing him to keep jumping from identity to identity, in keeping with Alias's desires.

Black Cross was listed in the groups contact section of RC as an example (anarchists who help people on the run get new identities and escape old ones), and mentioned Black Crescent was similar, but gave no details about it, so I wasn't that sure what Black Crescent was, actually. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) I tried googling it and found some shadowrun wiki stuff that basically made them both sound like the same thing, but however you want to rule it, I can roll with it.

I think I want to keep the loner aspect (since his paragon and paranoia force him to move around a lot and not trust people), but I'll work on adding something in to help give him a reason to connect with this particular group (who, hopefully, will be moving around a lot, too). Shouldn't be too hard.

[onlyghostdancesw...]

I like the chauffeur just surprised at how low your reaction is, not as pro a driver as I expected. Also if you look at your magic column you overcharged yourself (it should cost 40 because the 1st point is included with being a magician) so thats 10bp right there. The legal sheet looks good but the contacts one looks confusing.

[BlackHat]

I'm happy to remove the erased quality if you would prefer, otherwise I'm fine with saying it is some awesomer-than-me technomancer, AI, or other resonance entity that took an interest in Nym when he took "Alias" as his Paragon. I basically imagined it would be some (supernatural?) force constantly trying to erase him from digital existence (whether he appreciates it or not) since his emergence... sort of forcing him to keep jumping from identity to identity, in keeping with Alias's desires.

Also, as long as it remains a POSITIVE quality, I'm fine with you handling erased however you like (or I can remove it, or just replace it with Obscure or something). If it will become In Debt or some other negative quality, then I'd rather have the points back. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I think I want to keep the loner aspect (since his paragon and paranoia force him to move around a lot and not trust people), but I'll work on adding something in to help give him a reason to connect with this particular group (who, hopefully, will be moving around a lot, too). Shouldn't be too hard.

Let's say Nym as a loner by circumstance more than by choice. His lifestyle and mental handicaps don't afford him a lot of real-life friends, and he prefers the anonymity of the matrix, in general. He's prone to packing up an disappearing on short notice, which makes him a little unreliable (as teammates go), but he gets lonely when he has to start over with a new life somewhere, and if he found a team of runners with a similarly nomadic lifestyle (rather than a team who wants to pick a single sprawl and build a reputation in the shadows there), then he would be happy to work with them until given a reason to leave... at which point, he can disappear without leaving much of a trace behind. Of course, being a paranoid guy, he would probably always have one foot out the door, but unless something spooks him, or gives him a push, he understands the usefulness of having friends and contacts in the Shadows.

Also, in general, Runners are the sort of people he's likely to identify most with. They universally live under assumed identities, and live off of The System while trying to live outside of it. He may have strong opinions about particular jobs (for example, accepting a job from a corporate Johnson would advance the corporate objective), but I've already said he's a bit of a hypocrite, and he can probably justify it (for example, accepting a job from one corp to sabotage another, might be acceptable, especially if it may result in sparking more inter-corporate conflict).

Sound better, or are you looking for something more concrete (like a trusted contact with higher loyalty)?

[Panzergeist47]

Character Sheet

Background:

[ Spoiler ]

Owen Walsh was born Matthew Ryan, in the Philadelpha Sprawl on the 5th of March 2038. His father was a first-generation immigrant from the former United Kingdom, fleeing the island formerly known as Ireland after it was rechristened Tir na Nog, and his mother was a student at a local university.

His early years were not particularly happy – his father was already embittered over what he saw as the loss of his homeland, and an inability to find meaningful work drove him to alcoholism and taking out his frustration on his wife and son.

His racist ranting against Elves rubbed off on his son, though. Never above average in school, the young Owen was soon caught up with local Humanis Policlub elements, finding solidarity here that he lacked at home. As soon as he was able, he left his family behind, and hasn’t made contact with them since.

In particular, an older man, ‘Robbie’ Sanford took him under his wing, finding him employment (if not totally legal) and a sense of purpose, even if it were simply as a thug.

However, over the years he spent as a crony of Robbie, he found himself becoming more and more disillusioned with Humanis Policlub – though his animosity towards elves remained, he justified it to himself as a result of their actions, not their mere existence. The acts of metahuman violence he committed never brought out the same joy or satisfaction the rest of Robbie’s group felt, and in the mid 2060’s, he decided to leave.

Not that that would be simple – Matthew Ryan had a reputation, even as one skinhead amongst many, and Robbie wouldn’t appreciate a defector. Desperate, Matthew bartered with an ex-corp (Mssr. Paul Barrois) with a specialty in Biotech and contacts outside of the UCAS – agreeing to do ‘odd jobs’ in exchange for a new SIN and passage out of Philadelphia.

Thinking that this would be easy work, he readily (and naively) agreed, but this ex-corp was far from benevolent, and as he performed minor surgery to change his features to something not immediately recognisable, he slipped a cranial bomb into Matthew’s skull, cheerily informing him that their business relationship would be extended, and any attempt to run to the authorities would result in a swift and messy death.

Despite the experience, this did teach Owen the benefits of appearing polite, calm and contrite even when all he wanted to do was strangle the hacker, skills he would use later in life.

His first taste of running the shadows was thus not entirely voluntary, but he found he had a skill for it, and though he worked solely as the “arm” of Barrois, and was paid only in further involuntary modification at his hands, until a job went wrong – leading to the death of Barrois. Owen took the opportunity to head as far west as possible, but the trigger for his cranial bomb still exists, in unknown hands.

The western coast of North America, a morass of conflicting regional powers, was a perfect fit for his new persona to get lost in, and in time, excel. One thing he was determined to do was ensure he had connections – that he wouldn’t be dependent on another Barrois figure. Among his work there, he made two contacts in particular that he keeps to this day.

"Big Al" Karataev is a surly Street Doc and former member of the Vory from Vladivostok, currently based in San Francisco. His services are essential for Owen to maintain his cyberware. Karataev likes to work under the radar, which suits Owen just fine, even if it means overpriced work compared to Karataev's skill.

I-N-Sky, on the other hand, is an opportunistic blogger that he's never met in the flesh, but provides a useful source of information, especially anti-corporate info. (s)he maintains a legitimate blog on social conditions in the California Free State, in addition to his/her other activities.

The knowledge that he could any day be executed by a person he doesn’t know, and who doesn’t even know he exists has instilled in Owen a somewhat unfettered attitude towards life – making him less likely to care about consequences – if random chance could lead to his death at any time with no way to prevent it, why not spend every day the way he wants to?

Contacts:

[ Spoiler ]

Alexei "Big Al" Karataev:
Big Al knows very well what it's like to be on the run - the Vory do not take desertion lightly. As a poor Ork child raised in the slums of Volgograd, he was enamoured with the chivalric ideal of the Noble Thieves the Vory claimed to be, and favoured that over a life working in his family's clinic. In the role of a Shestiorka, he performed adequately, but not enough so to be promoted to Bojevik or Gruppa. In the end, he and several others became more of a liability to the Vory than an asset, and under the guise of "Establishing a presence in North America", were sent on a suicide mission - a direct collision course with established White Vory members in Seattle.

Alexei did the only sensible thing he could - bail on the operation before it killed him. That's still betrayal in the eyes of the Vory, and though the Red Vory's reach does not yet extend to the Americas, he's not taking any chances. Calling upon what he learned from his extended family, he set up shop as a Street Doc, healing minor ailments and maintaining Cyberware.

Big, even for an Ork, Al looms over patients and would-be thugs alike at 7'2, and if size alone doesn't intimidate them, a cyberpistol integrated into his cyberarm often does. A devout Orthodox Christian, Al gives often to charity and attends church every sunday without fail - in his spare time, he teaches basic repair skills at a local community centre. Though he is based in San Francisco, he is known to leave his shop to an assistant and travel (within reason) to nearby cities in the California Free State if paid an additional fee.

I-N-Sky:
Bloggers are a dime a dozen in the '70s, and I-N-Sky isn't anything special. Looking for the latest scoops before more traditional Journalists can find them, half of what (s)he says is as much fiction as fact - sensational eye candy and ludicrous conspiracy theory over anything of substance. However, their more down-to-earth stories are surprisingly accurate. I-N-Sky never meets its contacts in the 'Meat World', but instead purely in the Matrix, giving out tidbits of information and links to jobs in exchange for 'favours'.

[pragma]

I like the chauffeur just surprised at how low your reaction is, not as pro a driver as I expected. Also if you look at your magic column you overcharged yourself (it should cost 40 because the 1st point is included with being a magician) so thats 10bp right there. The legal sheet looks good but the contacts one looks confusing.

The contacts one isn't done, still in flight on trying ot find those 25 points. Might not go for it. I'll keep you posted, also let us know if there's a deadline for finished sheets.

The low driving pool is a shame; the concept has been a bit of a moving target so points are spread thin. I'm looking into it, but rigging wasn't at the heart of the build.