OOC: SRM04-00: Back in Business, OOC thread for Back in Business Options

[Dak]

If someone else wants to pay the kid and roll that way, its fine - I'm just having a role playing hangup here. No way in hell Mr. White is going to pay him 100% up front. He could have "Super Honest!" tattoo'd on his forehead and White would still tell him to get stuffed.

Otherwise, I'm inclined even to negotiate with a local street gang to get someone to guide us.

For anyone interested, the problem that Mr. White has with this arrangement is

[ Spoiler ]

that the kid is holding all the chips. If we pay him 100% up front, he has every reason in the world to just ditch us and take our money. Why wouldn't he? Even the threat of violence against him is moot. Assuming we could harm him before he got away, what would we do then? "Hey look over there, a bunch of topsiders just shot Pip the ork boy from down the street. Whatever should we do in response?" And he has less reason TO get us to our destination in one piece. If he just ditches us, he can pick up the next bunch of suckers right away, and without having to go all the way across the underground, or he can just sell us to a local gang for even more profit! Unless we are to believe that every young entrepreneur is completely honest and would never cheat their topsider customers, we can only assume that he would cheat us given the chance. Sorry, its a soapbox, but that's why Mr. White ain't gonna pay him 100% up front.

[ChromeZephyr]

Totally get where you're coming from. Suppose we could grab him, get some blood or spit, and tell the little fucker that if he's not upfront and either ditches us or leads us into a trap we'll just melt his brain with ritual magic later.

[Slacker]

If someone else wants to pay the kid and roll that way, its fine - I'm just having a role playing hangup here. No way in hell Mr. White is going to pay him 100% up front. He could have "Super Honest!" tattoo'd on his forehead and White would still tell him to get stuffed.

Otherwise, I'm inclined even to negotiate with a local street gang to get someone to guide us.

For anyone interested, the problem that Mr. White has with this arrangement is

[ Spoiler ]

that the kid is holding all the chips. If we pay him 100% up front, he has every reason in the world to just ditch us and take our money. Why wouldn't he? Even the threat of violence against him is moot. Assuming we could harm him before he got away, what would we do then? "Hey look over there, a bunch of topsiders just shot Pip the ork boy from down the street. Whatever should we do in response?" And he has less reason TO get us to our destination in one piece. If he just ditches us, he can pick up the next bunch of suckers right away, and without having to go all the way across the underground, or he can just sell us to a local gang for even more profit! Unless we are to believe that every young entrepreneur is completely honest and would never cheat their topsider customers, we can only assume that he would cheat us given the chance. Sorry, its a soapbox, but that's why Mr. White ain't gonna pay him 100% up front.

Mr. White is so untrusting. What more reason does Pip need to keep his word than simply it being his word? I'm shock I tell you, down right hurt even that you might suggest he has anything other than truth behind is words. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

In all seriousness though, you are welcome to try asking the surly locals for directions, or try finding another guide from some gang or otherwise, or just start wandering the tunnels on your own, or Gardner can call up another Spirit to try sending it off to look for Fiona again. These are all listed as options in the Mission. Pip is just the one it throws out as an easy suggestion to get you through quickly.

[Slacker]

I assume somebody is going to try keeping track of the path Pip is taking you through?

Also, feel free to give me a few perception rolls anybody that is concerned about their safety with all the horror stories Pip is regaling you with.

[Dak]

Can't our commlinks track the path?

Perception test: 5D6E5 => 2

Was Gardner going to do some healing checks? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Slacker]

Can't our commlinks track the path?

If you have a Mapping program, yes. If not? No.

[Dak]

Lol.

2012 Smartphones > 2072 Commlinks.

[Slacker]

Lol.

2012 Smartphones > 2072 Commlinks.

Your iPhone creates a map of underground tunnels without any program at all? That's amazing. I had no idea.

[ChromeZephyr]

1. Don't have Tracking, Navigation, or any software to assist so TW is unfortunately stuck with following the guide.

2. How many Perception rolls do you want? TW is going to be paying close attention to their surroundings, even without Pip's stories. As far as he's concerned he's in enemy territory and could be ambushed at any second.

[Slacker]

1. Don't have Tracking, Navigation, or any software to assist so TW is unfortunately stuck with following the guide.

2. How many Perception rolls do you want? TW is going to be paying close attention to their surroundings, even without Pip's stories. As far as he's concerned he's in enemy territory and could be ambushed at any second.

Just throw a couple out there. The trek is going to take a while its a little over 20km from the Tourist Highway to the Pirate's Cove, and that's if it were a straight line. Going through winding tunnels adds a good bit more distance to the journey.

[ChromeZephyr]

Intuition 4 + Perception 3 + Vision Enhancement 3 + Actively Looking/Listening 3 (2 rolls) = 4 hits, both times.

Also, 20+ km? That's a long trek, especially in unfamiliar territory. As in, long enough that we should have brought gear to stop overnight as necessary. How is that chair powered, Legs? Does it need recharging daily? Weekly? Onboard nuke plant? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Kiirnodel]

Was Gardner going to do some healing checks? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Yes, I'm going to do some healing. But I don't have my character with me right now so I'd rather not mess stuff up. I'll be able to roll it when I get home from work in a few hours. (Sorry I forgot to do it yesterday.)

Can't our commlinks track the path?

If you have a Mapping program, yes. If not? No.

Does a Rating 6 Mapsoft of Seattle help at all? I figure at the very least it might be able to tell us where we are in relation to the aboveground geography, and maybe leave a trail if someone keeps an eye on it? If we can do something like that, I'll throw the datachip with the program on it over to one of our techy people.

Also, 20+ km? That's a long trek, especially in unfamiliar territory. As in, long enough that we should have brought gear to stop overnight as necessary. How is that chair powered, Legs? Does it need recharging daily? Weekly? Onboard nuke plant? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

20 km is about a 4 hour walk, so maybe 6 hours with curves and crowds and everything? I think the battery time on a drone is 6 hours baseline. So Legs might need a recharge station if he didn't install something that lets him go longer without a recharge (there are several upgrades that help with that...)

[Slacker]

Intuition 4 + Perception 3 + Vision Enhancement 3 + Actively Looking/Listening 3 (2 rolls) = 4 hits, both times.

Also, 20+ km? That's a long trek, especially in unfamiliar territory. As in, long enough that we should have brought gear to stop overnight as necessary. How is that chair powered, Legs? Does it need recharging daily? Weekly? Onboard nuke plant? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

It's less than the distance of a marathon. Surely active runners like you can handle that?
Actually, every once in a while the path Pip is guiding you on comes across a "town". Alternatively, you guys could rent bicycles or maybe scooters to travel around, there are even a few ancient Segways available. Prices vary depending on the conveyance and where/when you're planning to return them 50-250nuyen per runner.

[Slacker]

Yes, I'm going to do some healing. But I don't have my character with me right now so I'd rather not mess stuff up. I'll be able to roll it when I get home from work in a few hours. (Sorry I forgot to do it yesterday.)

If you have a Mapping program, yes. If not? No.


Does a Rating 6 Mapsoft of Seattle help at all? I figure at the very least it might be able to tell us where we are in relation to the aboveground geography, and maybe leave a trail if someone keeps an eye on it? If we can do something like that, I'll throw the datachip with the program on it over to one of our techy people.



20 km is about a 4 hour walk, so maybe 6 hours with curves and crowds and everything? I think the battery time on a drone is 6 hours baseline. So Legs might need a recharge station if he didn't install something that lets him go longer without a recharge (there are several upgrades that help with that...)

A Mapsoft, won't be that much help. It could show you where you are in relation to the regular city, but the "path" Pip is leading on goes up and down multiple levels of terrain, sometimes seems to circle back on itself, and so on.

I'm just planning to handwave the drones' battery. So don't worry about that.

[ChromeZephyr]

Sorry, I don't normally do 12-13 mile hikes carrying gear in unfamiliar territory, so I figured it would take longer than 4-6 hours. Carry on, then.

[Slacker]

Intuition 4 + Perception 3 + Vision Enhancement 3 + Actively Looking/Listening 3 (2 rolls) = 4 hits, both times.

Guess I could post some reactions to your Perception tests. About an hour into the trek, you are thoroughly lost about how you got there or where exactly you are but you are keeping sharp lookout for any treachery. As you are moving forward, you begin to feel a rumbling in the ground and a moment later you can hear an accompanying sound from up ahead. And are those voices you hear?

You gesture for everybody to be silent and listen. A flash of panic comes over Pip as his head starts swiveling around to hear better.....
After a few moments of confusion where you try to tell him what you are hearing it suddenly dawns on him. He tells you that's just the underground river up ahead and the "voices" are some harmless creatures that live down here.

20 minutes later Pip suddenly stops ahead of you. You can hear some chittering sounds down the tunnel you were heading down. Pip's eyes are wide when you start ask what that sound is he quickly covers up your mount with his tiny hand. Shaking his head and gesturing for silence. He looks around and then gestures for everybody to climb up into a tunnel that is set a couple feet off the ground. He quickly leads the way up trying to be as quiet as possible. Gardner has to pickup Legs drone and all to get him up the 3 or 4 feet to the tunnel's opening. Seconds after you guys make up a short distance you look back down the tunnel as a massive swarm of countless devil rats go through the tunnel you were just in.

A minute passes as you just huddle in the enclosed space. A couple stragglers come up, sniff at the tunnel entrance before heading on to join the rest of their pack.

Pip waits a solid 5 minutes, slapping at anybody that tries to speak or even move before climbing back down and then leading you off in a completely different direction than you were going before.

Things like this seem to happen with some frequency. You can always tell when Pip is leading you through an uncertain area because his constant flow of stories slows down and he starts paying closer attention to the tunnels you pass.

[Kiirnodel]

First Aid on Gardner: 3 Hits (Capped at 2)

First Aid on Tundra Wolf: 1 Hit

First Aid on Mr. White: 2 Hits

Heal Spell on Tundra Wolf: 1 Hit

Drain Resistance: 3 Hits (0 damage)

Heal Spell on Mr. White: 5 Hits

Drain Resistance: 1 Hit (0 damage)

Gardner Heals 2 Boxes of Stun Damage

Tundra Wolf Heals 2 Boxes of Physical Damage

Mr. White Heals up to 7 Boxes of Physical Damage


Gardner will also Summon a Force 6 Plant Spirit to use in the near future.

Summoning Test: 4 Hits

Drain Resistance: 4 Hits

Perception test: 2 Hits

[Slacker]

First Aid on Gardner: 3 Hits (Capped at 2)

First Aid on Tundra Wolf: 1 Hit

First Aid on Mr. White: 2 Hits

Heal Spell on Tundra Wolf: 1 Hit

Drain Resistance: 3 Hits (0 damage)

Heal Spell on Mr. White: 5 Hits

Drain Resistance: 1 Hit (0 damage)

Gardner Heals 2 Boxes of Stun Damage

Tundra Wolf Heals 2 Boxes of Physical Damage

Mr. White Heals up to 7 Boxes of Physical Damage


Gardner will also Summon a Force 6 Plant Spirit to use in the near future.

Summoning Test: 4 Hits

Drain Resistance: 4 Hits

Perception test: 2 Hits

The Spirit rolled 2hits. So it owes you two services and you resisted the drain.

Your two hits on perception didn't get you much. At one of the towns you stop at, you spotted the gang colors of the Skraacha, but nothing comes of it.

[taeksosin]

Hey guys, sorry I've been silent, finals week coming up. Odds are my time popping in will be a little spotty at best. At this point, well, everything that's happened is fine by Quixote. He'll take the rear of the group following the kid, gonna try and be all sneaky-like while I'm at it in case we come up on some trouble. Might be handy being able to get the drop on something.

Infiltration, folks are at a -4 dice pool (away from book, please double check number, SR4A 326) to their perception checks to spot me due to the chameleon suit

Infiltration (3) + Agility (7) + Enhanced Articulation (1) (11d6.hits(5)=3)

Couple of perception checks for giggles

Perception (1) + Intuition (3) + Vision Enhancement (3) (7d6.hits(5)=3, 7d6.hits(5)=4, 7d6.hits(5)=4, 7d6.hits(5)=2)

[ChromeZephyr]

Damn, you were actually able to get hits on that spell for TW? Awesome, figured his fragged aura would have made the spell fizzle. So, no more dice penalties for TW (until he gets shot or stabbed again, natch).

[Slacker]

Sorry for the delay. I've been rather busy with work and being sick lately. Anyway, I suppose iIve gotten even Perception tests from everybody.

Nobody scored well enough to spot the Ghost Gator that has been stalking you for the last several minutes now. The beast is completely silent as it strikes at Quixote who was bringing up the rear and it is quite difficult to see.

As this is a surprise attack, Quixote can't defend against it, but you can still roll Impact Armor + Body to resist the 10P -2AP damage from the bite.

And everybody can roll Initiative. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[taeksosin]

The gator did well enough on its perception to spot me? *awe*

8d6.hits(5)=2

Dang...so that's 8P damage to me. Bastard gator.

[Slacker]

The gator did well enough on its perception to spot me? *awe*

8d6.hits(5)=2

Dang...so that's 8P damage to me. Bastard gator.

Ouch indeed! And yeah, it smelled you following behind everybody with its enhanced senses and quite excellent Perception rating. Figured you would be the easiest target behind the large group. Just be glad it only scored 2 hits on its attack.

[Forces In Motion]

Legs Initiative (9) = 3 hits - Initiative total 12, 1 pass

Rover Initiative (6) = 1 hit - Initiative total 7, 3 passes

[taeksosin]

Quixote Initiative: Reaction (2) + Intuition (3) + Improved Reflexes (2) - Wound Modifier (2) (5d6.hits(5)=1)

Total of 6, 3 passes