OOC: TANGO DOWN! (pre-game thread), Azerbaijan: SpecOps/Merc work... Options

[TheOneRonin]

Oops...made a mistake about the way rifle rounds affect armor. To quote raygun's website:

[Callidus]

I'd guess that the Ares Alpha chambers the, as far as I see, standard 5.56mm NATO round then? Other than that I don't really use bullets *8-> Grenades yes, Missiles yes.... *8->

[edit]Hmmm shoulda checked that link before this post *8->[/edit]

[TheOneRonin]

BTW, I'm a huge gun buff, and I have a ton of firearm pics on my computer. If anyone would like to peruse through them (for flavor purposes), just shoot me an e-mail (chris.louviere@ieminc.com). If you see something you like and want it for your character, just ask...I have stats for everything.

[TheOneRonin]

One more thing...for those of you with AIM, you can message me if you have questions/comments, or just want to BS. My screen name is TheOneRonin. I am usually online from 7am CST to 4pm CST (1pm-10pm GMT).

[Shadow]

Danny Townsend is an ork, 5'10, 180lbs, sand brown hair he keeps fairly short. He prefers to go buy his handle, Downtown. He walks, breaths and lives... quietly. The ork does not make noise, not in the parking lot, at the ball game, in the bar.He spends an hour every morning meditating, followed by an hour of running up the many hills in Seattle. He trains with his HK MSG90A daily by shooting quarters at 500 meters. When relaxing he enjoys listening to classical music, while cleaning his riffle. Recently he has been seeing a women who works at the Zales counter in the Westlake center. They see movies together and go to ball games. He has yet to invite her out with the group. It has seemed to soften his personality a little. He is from Georgia, though he tries hard to not speak with an accent. In stressful situations he has been known to say 'yall'. He is friendly but not overtly so.

[TheOneRonin]

For clarification, that's Georgia the state in the CAS, not Georgia the country. 8-)

[Callidus]

Following Ronin's comment about AIM my screen name's Callidus9 I'm not on too often but I'll try and remember to leave it open in the evenings (18:00 til about 23:00 GMT) although I'll probably on Horizons most of that time *8->

[A Clockwork Lime]

Oh hell, I may as well post mine, too. Feel free to bug me as Necrotic Monkey on AIM. While my name is often on, I'm not always around so don't be shocked if it takes me a while to respond sometimes. :)

[TheOneRonin]

Okay, here's some more details about your previous work and lifestyle, etc.

Over the past two years, Ares has paid your team about 2.5 million nuyen. This has been enough to pay for a high standard of living for all of you, and put 50k in the bank. The rest has gone to expenses absorbed over time. You have your own house/townhouse/penthouse and whatever personal vehicle you would normally drive. You also have all the required permits for the gear you own.

Feel free to fluff your lifestyle however you want, as long as you stay within reasonable boundries. And i'm not letting anyone skimp on their lifestyle to get more starting cash.

As for starting equipment, you guys really haven't needed to buy much of your own stuff at all. The way the contracts with Ares have worked, they provide all the mundane gear you request for the mission, just as long as you give back what you are issued when the contract is up. Also, you are allowed to keep any mission savalge you acquire while on contract, as long as it isn't Ares equipment.

This has worked well, since the logistics involved in shipping drones, vehicles, gear, etc. from Seattle to your operational area would cost a fortune.

Now that you guys are fully independant, you might want to consider pitching tent in the middle east, instead of Seattle. Although, you'll have more than enough time to think about that after you finish the mission.

[CardboardArmor]

Drop me a line on AIM, since we're all doing it, at BambooMug. I'm on all the time, except when I'm not.

While we're all at it, let's do a Know. skill soundoff in relation to the middle east so we don't end up ass-backwards once we show up on site, right?

I'm grabbing Regional Politics for the ME and Eastern Europe at 4, taking Middle Eastern Culture at 4 too. Probably a little broad, but it'll help if we need broad strokes of the area as opposed to specifics, in which case I'll probably be caught up the creek without a paddle. Which is a bad place to be caught, I think.

[A Clockwork Lime]

Nikolai is familiar with most of the smuggler routes and havens within the Slavic regions, has a few contacts in the Middle East (including an Arms Dealer), and is intimiately familiar with the Black Market and the Russian Mafia, both of whom should have a strong presence in the area. He's also "pretty good" (translation: understatement) at intercepting local radio and trid broadcasts, so he can keep the team up to date on immediately current affairs if not doing anything else at the time.

[Digital Heroin]

Still working on my submission, was a bad night last night for thinking.

[CardboardArmor]

It's that time in every young (hey, thirty is pretty damn young for an Elf...) Decker's life, the time when they build the deck that will probably end up either saving or screwing over their team-mates.

So, in an effort to increase bonding between us or something, I'm asking you guys.

What sorts of nifty peripherals should I add to the deck? Satlinks? Cellular Uplink? CD-Burner/DVD-ROM combo drive? A cup holder? Suggestions would be nice.

[A Clockwork Lime]

It's entirely up to you. You should be able to function in the field and be able to access anything we come across, so all of the various uplinks are a "must," including Maser and Laser Links. Everything beyond that depends on your choices.

And getting the case as hardened as you can, including Dikote, is a "duh." :) Maybe some photovoltaic paint (it's in Sprawl Survivor's Guide for things beyond vehicles) with a number of different camouflage patterns available would be a good idea, too.

[Shadow]

A hidden compartment with a .50 cal pistol in it.

[CardboardArmor]

[TheOneRonin]

Another update folks. Here's what you all know about Deke Cantrell.

Deke looks to be in his 40's, stands right at 6', has a moderately athletic build, and short, sandy blonde hair. He's fond of denim, cowboy hats, big belt buckles, and snakeskin boots. He always has a can of dip handy, and great big smile beneath his handlebar mustache. To strangers, Deke looks like your typical dumb texas cowyboy wanna-be. To those who know him, however, Deke is as sharp as they come. The "cowboy" routine is a cleverly crafted facade, used to get people to underestimate him. During the Tblisi crisis, he showed himself to be a brilliant mission planner, constantly coming up with unconventional methods to accomplish his goals. He believes in ALWAYS having the upper hand in EVERY situation, no matter how he gets there. He also understands the value of well trained, highly skilled operatives, and what they can do for his company. Having worked with him in Tblisi and on three other contracts since then, you guys have grown to trust him, and he's never steered you wrong.

None of you are sure about Deke's background...and according to official CAS databases, there is no one by that name who fits Deke's description.

NOTE: There's probably a bit more that you guys know about Deke, but it's early in the morning and my descriptive skills aren't at their nominal levels yet. Feel free to ask me any questions about him, and I'll give you what detais your characters know.

[Panzergeist]

No shield utility?

[TheOneRonin]

Okay...just about all the characters have been given the green light. Once the last bit of updates have been approved by me, we will be ready to begin.

I'm hoping to throw up the first IC post by friday. I would, however, like for everyone who hasn't yet to post a short blurb about your character so that the rest of the group can get to know you and your abilities.

Once the game starts, I will pretty much abandon this thread, and start a new OOC thread for Tango Down. All in game posts should either be put there, or in the Tango Down IC thread.

Again, if anyone has any more questions, just let me know.

[Grey]

Michael Walker

From his accent you can automaticly tell that he is from Boston. You know he used to do SpecOps for the UCAS, though you don't know if he was NSA, FBI, or CIA. Later on he went on to a head up a Delta Squad. He is a devout Catholic and is known to quote the bible durring combat situations... in latin. A few of you may have even seen the effects of his faith, as sometimes you'd sware you saw a firey angel come down from the skies to smite down Michael's enemies.

He is a master tactician and leader. He has all the social skills under the sun and knowns how to use speech to get more things done than you would have imagined. Between his skills with disguise and his voice modulator, you have a feeling he could blend into any culture. He is also a excelent marksman, adept with the pistol he keeps stored in his cyberleg, or the assult and snipper rifles that he makes use of. He also is good with grenade launchers and has one in his personal collection that can launch a grenade at sniper ranges.

As for cyber, you all know that he has a cyberleg, though it is synthetic to help him blend in. He has a Tactical Computer installed in his, along with a cyber holster. He has some ammount of reflex enhancers, though not much. Lastly he has a very wide range of senseware.

[Panzergeist]

I'm still waiting for you to PM me the absorbing rules so I can decide if that's the metamagic I want.

[A Clockwork Lime]

I can already tell you that you don't want them. They suck, and suck they do. You're far better off with Reflecting (if you want to catch a spell and hurl it back) or Shielding (for raw defense). Absorption is just laaaaaaaame.

[TheOneRonin]

Yes they do. Shielding, Reflecting, Masking, Quickening, and Psychometry are all way better for this character. And since Ophelia (Callidus) already Shielding+Reflecting, you are probably better off with the others. I happen to like Psychometry, and it would likely come in very handy in this particular game.

[Panzergeist]

What book is psychometry in? And, could you at least tell me the rules for absorbing, so I can make the decision myself?

[Grey]

SOTA.

Btw, too all the awakened people, I'd like to make a request that you take Masking so that you don't show up like a beacon in the Astral.