Virtual Scream - a 2072 story arc, Recruitment thread Options

[Notsoevildm]

A while ago Aria put up a post for some GM assistance in the 2072 thread. I've got a few characters running across a number of threads but until now hadn't got around to GMing one. However, to give Aria a break and maybe a chance to play some of her own characters I am stepping up to the plate.

I do have many years of tabletop GMing experience across a wide variety of roleplaying games from D&D to Traveller to Shadowrun from 1st to 3rd edition - yes I am that old. However, I have only limited player experience with 4th edition and no GM experience, so expect a few goof-ups.

Character creation will follow the 2072 rules:

• 400BPs standard. All books, all races as long as it’s RAW
• Cha x2 in free contacts
• Starting characters all get a +10 karma bonus. This karma can be swapped for nuyen on a 1 / 2500¥ basis

Alternatively, if you have a character that was in another thread that has died, post that up and I'll consider it. As long as it's not a 500 karma monster, you should be good.

I do prefer black trenchcoat to pink mohawk style but am open to any and all interesting concepts (the weirder the better). Story arc will perhaps favour deckers / technomancers / detective concepts initially but as the plot develops there will certainly be options for mages / physads and street sams to shine.

I will occasionally bend the rules for story reasons but won't screw you over. Shadowrun can be very deadly enough on its own.

I am thinking of keeping this thread for character sheets/descriptions/current gear/etc. but will check with Aria how she wants to handle the bookkeeping.

We will start once we have about 3-4 players signed up. You don't need to know each other initially. In fact, I almost encourage you not to.

Finally, a little something to whet your appetites. This will be the first post in the IC thread once we get started.

---

The room is dark, lit only with the soft glow of trid screens and LEDs from the banks of equipment surrounding its sole occupant. Even in the limited light, he seems pale and, if not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, one would think him dead. His painfully thin body floats in a bath of dark fluid, gently supported by a web of cables and tubes.

Two figures stand on the other side of the one-way glass that is the only window into the room, speaking in hushed tones.

"… you see here and here", says one "These memory areas are flagged as corrupt by the system but there is activity there that is bypassing the control software."

"Same as the others?" asks the other.

"Yes" admits the first.

"You have a replacement ready?" asks the second.

"The hardware has been installed and the operating system loaded. It’s just a matter of transferring the data" replies the first.

"Then do it" orders the second.

"And this one?" asks the first.

"Take him apart. Find out what went wrong and see that you fix it before we need another replacement" orders the second, turning abruptly on his heel and walking away.

[Slacker]

Sounds interesting. I've been wanting to player a hacker but never got around to doing it. When are you wanting character sheets?

[ChromeZephyr]

Sounds fun. I'll claim a spot if you'll have me, I'd be playing a P.I.

[Aria]

And as I am a glutten for extra work I'll submit a character too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) In terms of book keeping I can link characters from here or the main OoC thread, whichever works best for you.

Virtual Scream sounds intriguing! I've got an AI that might be a possiblity or perhaps a TM (although there seem to be lots of those in the Tribes thread so perhaps not...hmmm

<<Goes away to ponder...>>

[Notsoevildm]

Okay, so three victims...er, volunteers so far. I'll give it a couple of days to see if any more sign up and if not we will start anyway.

To keep things moving, I'd like character concepts in the next week - a line or two is enough for now but ideally the full 20 questions. I'd like character sheets for the week after, but these can be changed around some if something doesn't work in initial play (I nearly always regret some chargen decision myself).

Link character sheets here for now as it will let me find them back easily. Aria can cross-link them to the 2072 OOC thread when we get going.

@Aria: An AI is welcome. Would tie in nicely to the 'plot' as far as I have one. Plus I have yet to see one in play. Not sure if that is because they are sub-optimal or difficult to play in normal groups.

@ChromeZephyr: PI will certainly be useful in beginning.

@Slacker: Hope you know the matrix rules better than I do.

[ChromeZephyr]

...in the beginning. Wow, I've already got the Most Likely to Catch a Bullet award? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Notsoevildm]

...in the beginning. Wow, I've already got the Most Likely to Catch a Bullet award? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

Oh don't worry, I'm sure you wont be the only one. I'm very generous when it comes to bullets! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Aria]

<<Gossamer>> here's the standard 400BP version (without +10 karma and 2xCha contacts)

She eVolved from a MetaAide drone and now spends most of her available time online except when her compulsion to be with humans drives her out again. More background to come (it's in my head and not yet on paper!). She's essentially a hacker (as far as I can tell) but probably won't equal a metahuman one...will be interesting to see.

If she's not appropriate I've got a string of other characters I'd like to give a go (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[ChromeZephyr]

Errrm...where are the 20 questions you mention upthread? I've got the concept down, filling in details as I write the character up, and I'd like to give you something while I fine tune.

[Aria]

Errrm...where are the 20 questions you mention upthread? I've got the concept down, filling in details as I write the character up, and I'd like to give you something while I fine tune.

There's a copy of them in the background tab of Gossamer's sheet linked above.

[ChromeZephyr]

Danke.

[Notsoevildm]

Thanks, Aria! BTW, Gossamer looks good. I'll need to dig into the rules on AIs when I get a chance, or failing that make it up as I go along.

For the rest, if you can't access or are too lazy to open Gossamer's character sheet, here's the list:

20 Questions
1) What's your heritage?
2) What would your parents say about you?
3) What historical events does your character remember?
4) How did you get into shadowrunning, and why?
5) What is your living space like?
6) What are your beliefs / convictions (if any) and why do you hold them?
7) what do you think is your most annoying / worst trait?
8) What megacorp do you like the most? the Least? Why?
9) How did you come to know your contacts?
10) What do you do on a day off?
11) How did you come to learn your skills at your present proficiency?
12) Are there any moral limits on what jobs you take or things you'll do?
13) How do you view magic / technomantic abilities?
14) How do you view augmentation / implantation?
15) What do you think of ordinary life and those who live it?
16) What would be a bad nightmare for you? Any deep-rooted fears? Why is it so frightening to you?
17) What is your 'sacred object' or 'close one', and how did they become so important to you?
18) What did you want to become as a child, and what are your goals now?
19) What does your character look like, and what inspired her choices?
20) How did you get your street name?

[Slacker]

I'm still working on my hacker, but I can answer some of these right now
Streetname: Dubstep
20 Questions
1) What's your heritage? Amerind; both parents are natives of the Salish-Shidhe
2) What would your parents say about you? His parents are traditionalists who shun technology and are disappointed with their son's obsession; they feel it is a weakness in him and a failing for themselves as parents that they could not show him the true path
3) What historical events does your character remember?
4) How did you get into shadowrunning, and why? At an early age he was attracted to all things tech, AR in particular sucked him down the rabbit hole; often he would travel to Council Island with his parents (his Grandfather is a member of the council) and there he caught glimpses of the wider world of tech; in his later teens he befriend a corporate envoy you routinely traveled to Council Island and when he finally left home to escape his parents' techno-phobia he ended up working for that same corporation. Their rules were too rigid for him now that he was finally rebelling against his upbringing. And so he turned to the shadows
5) What is your living space like? While working for the corporation, he adopted all things city; his clothes are all corporate oriented leaning towards suits rather than business casual. He hasn't been that successful as a runner, so his apartment isn't in the best of areas, but he always keeps it trendy and impecably clean and minimalist in decorations
6) What are your beliefs / convictions (if any) and why do you hold them? He's young at 22 and still learning who he is; considering his history; his convictions that technology is everything and the traditions of the past are worthless overrules most everything else in his life
7) what do you think is your most annoying / worst trait? the oversized headphones that he constantly wears even when at business meetings is probably what most annoys people about him. listening to music on these headphones was his first introduction to music and it still holds his attention; in fact, it's where he gets his streetname from; he's constantly listening to music, bobbing his head to the beat, tapping his foot when he sits, putting a bit more motion in his steps as he walks
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) What megacorp do you like the most? the Least? Why? haven't decided which corporation recruited him yet, i'll have to get back to you on this
9) How did you come to know your contacts?I'll have brief descriptions of this for any contacts he has once i'm done creating the character
10) What do you do on a day off? he mostly hangs out at underground clubs at night, listening to the music while he surfs the 'trix
11) How did you come to learn your skills at your present proficiency? all his spare time/energy while living with his parents was dedicated to learning about tech, learning the ins and outs of the Matrix once he was able to get his hands on a commlnk, he was further taught by the corp he worked for once he left them
12) Are there any moral limits on what jobs you take or things you'll do? haven't figured out how much combat training he'll have but mostly he will be a pasifist; he wants everybody to be allowed to be what they want to be; ending life would put a stop to that; so he would refuse any sort of wetwork
13) How do you view magic / technomantic abilities? he has great disdain for magic, sees it as an extension of the traditions his parents tried to push on him. technomancy is another thing though. He wishes he could become part of the technology the way technomancers can
14) How do you view augmentation / implantation? augmentation is a wonderful thing; it's a "seamless" integration between flesh and tech
15) What do you think of ordinary life and those who live it? ordinary people are cool with him, he just knows that kind of life isn't for him. but if that what floats your boat, go for it
16) What would be a bad nightmare for you? Any deep-rooted fears? Why is it so frightening to you? his deepest fears would be to be denied access to tech; to be banned from the Matrix; to be forced to live the traditional life of his parents
17) What is your 'sacred object' or 'close one', and how did they become so important to you? his headphones even more than his commlink are sacred to him. As I mentioned it was his first introduction to tech and he's kept them in perfect working ordering over the years, whereas he's constantly tinkering with his commlink, upgrading it, formatting it to put in new OS/software
18) What did you want to become as a child, and what are your goals now? he wanted to become a techno god! yeah he knows that childish, but he still wishes it could be so. he doesn't have much of a long term plan/goal he's just working to keep food on the table and concert tickets in his pocket
19) What does your character look like, and what inspired her choices? think i already went over this with his living arangements, he tends to dress rather well, especially considering his circumstances; though he is never without his bulky headphones that are somewhat worn with age
20) How did you get your street name? already described this earlier

[phlapjack77]

4th and last spot?

2 hackers and a p.i....hmmmm. How about some muscle? A street sam with a very small side-line in rigging? I have a character from another thread that didn't last very long that would be interesting to play.

[Notsoevildm]

@ChromeZephyr: Overall concept looking good, some nice hooks in there. Go ahead and work up the character sheet and complete the missing questions later.

@phlapjack77: I'm sure the PI would be happy to have another bullet magnet on the team. Got a link to the existing character?

With four signed up, we have enough to get started. I'll keep this thread open until we have the characters more or less ready to roll, then I'll get things going on the main 2072 threads.

[phlapjack77]

@phlapjack77: I'm sure the PI would be happy to have another bullet magnet on the team. Got a link to the existing character?

Dante

I'd like to make some changes, probably mostly small ones, also change from human to ork, some of the equipment needs / should be changed. But the gist is there.

[Notsoevildm]

@phlapjack: On a quick scan through, I had a couple of issues with the arms. First was how do you conceal a MP with a 30 rd clip in a cyber forearm. It seems just a little bit of a stretch for an average strength human/orc. I'd accept either a shortened 20 rd mag, or a normal pistol. Second was the internal air tank - just how does that work?

I am also definitely keen to know how he lost his forearms!

The only other thing that stood out was the contacts and background being set in Asia.

@all: Phlapjack's background got me thinking about location. I was defaulting to Seattle (as it's the one I am most familiar with), but am open to shifting to another city - Denver springs to mind. Thoughts?

[mister__joshua]

Don't know if I'll submit yet, see what time I've got, but I have what I thought was quite a cool idea for a severely 'reality impaired' technomancer who believes the whole world is like in the film The Matrix and he's the only one that sees it. He may occasionally try to do completely impossible things, but he can never break reality enough to actually achieve them.

EDIT: Oh, and if you want black trenchcoat, I could dress him like in The Matrix (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Aria]

@all: Phlapjack's background got me thinking about location. I was defaulting to Seattle (as it's the one I am most familiar with), but am open to shifting to another city - Denver springs to mind. Thoughts?

Don't have a huge perference although I know more about Seattle from the books than anywhere else - would be quite easy for Gossamer to be new in town with the background I have in mind.

Somewhere on the east coast might be interesting? Boston, Manhatten? Denver would be cool too...or perhaps Calfree? Lol, more options than answers

[ChromeZephyr]

@ChromeZephyr: Overall concept looking good, some nice hooks in there. Go ahead and work up the character sheet and complete the missing questions later.

That's Slacker's character.

Here's mine, still tweaking the crunch. Hidden behind a spoiler tag to avoid screen dump.

[ Spoiler ]

1. What's your heritage?: Italian-Canadamerican

2. What would your parents say about you?: If he'd just found a good Catholic girl and gotten married this never would have happened. At least he's still working though, and not for those slant-eyes or pointy-ears. (Mama and Papa have gotten a…little…racist in their dotage.)

3. What historical events does your character remember? Every major world event from the dissolution of Fuchi on.

4. How did you get into shadowrunning, and why? Not quite shadowrunning, as he's still got a SIN and a legit career as a private investigator. Having an affair with your captain's married daughter isn't the brightest move, and when the changeover from Lone Star to Knight Errant happened every chance of switching companies went up in smoke when the captain got there ahead of him and poisoned the waters. So, hang up that shingle, and get to work. Still finding people and answering questions…just "Who's my husband fucking this time?" rather than "Who shot them, and where are they now?"

5. What is your living space like? An apartment. A good one, in a nicer area, but still an apartment. Tastefully, if a touch modestly, decorated. Organized, but not neat. The flavor suite for the soy is filled with a variety of world flavors, and the music player is mostly filled with opera and pre-20th century classical.

6. What are your beliefs / convictions (if any) and why do you hold them? Catholic, but only attends Mass on major holidays. It's been a while since his last confession, something Mama is constantly harping on him for. He was born into it, and still believes in Heaven and Hell…it's just harder to figure out how to get to one and not the other.

7. what do you think is your most annoying / worst trait? Tends to think with his johnson. Not a sex addict, but easily swayed by a pretty pair of…eyes. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

8. What megacorp do you like the most? the Least? Why? Likes: Ares. Mom, apple pie, and traditional values. Plus, a gun that doesn't fail when you pull the trigger is always a good thing. Loathes: Saeder-Krupp. Didn't St. George slay them? And now one runs a megacorp? Hint: He didn't vote for Dunkie, either.

9. How did you come to know your contacts? I always flesh them out in the spot I stat them.

10. What do you do on a day off? Days off?

11. How did you come to learn your skills at your present proficiency? Good school, hard work, and time on the beat. Made detective as a mix of ability, charm, and being able to see and investigate the astral. Beat cops don't do that, detectives do.

12. Are there any moral limits on what jobs you take or things you'll do? No wetwork. Kill only in self-defense, but no "shoot to wound." If you're pulling the trigger, make sure what you're shooting at isn't going to shoot/stab back. Feel bad about petty theft, but do it if the bigger picture requires it. Need serious convincing on grand theft.

13. How do you view magic / technomantic abilities? He's an adept, and the Pope says it's cool (In Imago Dei), so it's cool. Doesn't quite know what to make of the technomancer phenomena, and Rome is still quiet on it.

14. How do you view augmentation / implantation? "Bully for you, I'll stay the way God made me, thanks."

15. What do you think of ordinary life and those who live it? "I, uh..do live a…somewhat…normal life. And stop casting aspertions at my neighbors, thank you very much."

16. What would be a bad nightmare for you? Any deep-rooted fears? Why is it so frightening to you? Being one of the people the cops hunt. They don't treat ex-cops nicely in jail. Deep rooted fear: Well, I did say he thought with his johnson, right? Fill in the blanks.

17. What is your 'sacred object' or 'close one', and how did they become so important to you? Mama, Papa, and Bobby, his kid brother. They might be a little disappointed in him, but they're still family.

18. What did you want to become as a child, and what are your goals now? Policeman. Keep the apartment, maybe find a lady that can keep his eyes from wandering.

19. What does your character look like, and what inspired her choices? Still working on this.

20. How did you get your street name? Uhhhh….still working on this.

As for the location, I'm good with anywhere. If it's not Seattle, I'll change the security firm he was employed with and some knowledge skills around and I'll be fine.

[Notsoevildm]

@ChromeZephyr: Oops, already getting my players mixed up. Not a good start! 20 questions looks okay.

@all: I think I will probably stick with Seattle as base location as it's familiar territory. Makes GMing a little easier too. However, I may add some travel into the mix just to spice things up and keep you all on your toes.

Looks like we are making good progress on backgrounds and even character sheets so we may be able to start sooner. I am aiming for a posting schedule of at least once a week.

[Slacker]

That sounds good to me. I always do Seattle by default just because it is so common for people to be familiar with Seattle in game terms.
I'll likely have my character sheet and the rest of the background questions done tonight. Just been too busy at work to find the time for doing it.

[The Big Peat]

Notsoevildm, have you stopped taking submissions, or is there space if I'm really quick?

[Notsoevildm]

@Big Peat: Clock is ticking but if you get your concept/20 questions in quick, then you have time to follow up with character sheet.

[The Big Peat]

Whoop!

Note - Ok, done.

Concept - Uller is an elven Bounty Hunter who relies on a mix of charm, sneakiness and a shotgun. He grew up in rural surroundings, the child of wealthy lawyers who commuted, and was headhunted by Lone Star thanks to his adept powers. However, he found police work boring, and quit early to go work as a Bounty Hunter. However, he recently lost his partner, and Uller really likes having back-up

20 Questions
1) What's your heritage? Caucasian from CAS who can bore anyone with which parts of Britain his many times great grandparents came from.
2) What would your parents say about you? He'll get it out of his system sooner or later - hopefully he'll have done nothing stupid before that!
3) What historical events does your character remember? Six year old Uller thought that Hestaby repelling an entire army was pretty cool and he was at a holiday camp when he heard about Dunzelkahn's death. He quits Lone Star in the year of the Emergence, smelling money, but soon decides it's all hocus and goes after other targets.
4) How did you get into shadowrunning, and why? It was a very logical next step from Bounty Hunting.
5) What is your living space like? Uller likes to keep things tidy and decorates the place like a hunting lodge.
6) What are your beliefs / convictions (if any) and why do you hold them? Uller believes in justice, in behaving like a man, in tolerance to others and that violence can totally be a-ok. Justice comes from growing up in a house with lawyers, behaving like a man and violence are a combination of southern and police academy, and tolerance comes from being a magic using elf in the South.
7) what do you think is your most annoying / worst trait? Uller has a tendency to assume everyone else is as interested in collision sports and hunting as he is.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) What megacorp do you like the most? the Least? Why? Most - It used to be Ares, but Uller's moved on to Evo these days, as he looks their whole pro-Metahuman pro-tolerance schtick Least - Aztechnology. Turns out they're heavily involved in Atzlan, and Uller would be one of the first to sign up if CAS were to take Texas back.
9) How did you come to know your contacts? I'll say when I pick them!
10) What do you do on a day off? Uller likes to go skiing and shooting, but as he can't always afford to do that, there's always drinking and watching the nearest violent sport
11) How did you come to learn your skills at your present proficiency? Uller grew up hunting, then was occasionally allowed on the mean streets between bouts of Extreme Paperwork, and then learned the rest Bounty Hunting.
12) Are there any moral limits on what jobs you take or things you'll do? Uller has a strong if skewed sense of justice and is reluctant to take jobs against those that don't deserve it - which so far hasn't really impaired him ought.
13) How do you view magic / technomantic abilities? A natural part of the world/Some proper creepy shit, but most of them seem ok... most of them.
14) How do you view augmentation / implantation? Tempting... shame he's worked so hard for all that magic.
15) What do you think of ordinary life and those who live it? Pretty damn boring.
16) What would be a bad nightmare for you? Any deep-rooted fears? Why is it so frightening to you? Apart from a fear of not succeeding, a bad childhood experience with a neighbour's python left Uller with a distinct phobia of snakes
17) What is your 'sacred object' or 'close one', and how did they become so important to you? The closest thing Uller has to this at the moment are his younger brother and sister, who are both at college. They're the closest family link Uller has, and that's important to him.
18) What did you want to become as a child, and what are your goals now? Uller wanted to be an all action hero who fights crime! Uller is the lucky man who's doing what he wanted to be doing, more or less. He's aware he should want more though, and keeps thinking about what that would be.
19) What does your character look like, and what inspired his choices? His dress style is very much horses for courses - smart for the city, rugged for the country, something he got from his parents.
20) How did you get your street name? His bounty hunting partner was an old Ork Magician who called him Uller after the ancient Norse god of Justice and the Hunt. He'd be lying if he said he didn't approve of the comparison.