[X] My Assistant

[ravensmuse]

This has allowed me to introduce all sorts of locations and NPCs to the group, and they seem to like it -- from riverboat casinos in Europe to Chinese classical steampunk in Vancouver, to watching a Amerindian sentai program in British Columbia done as a take-off of the X-Men while relaxing in an Elvis-themed restaurant in the northern Rockies (actual place!) before heading to Devil's Gate.

Tashiro, please continue to tell stories about your games. These all sound like great times and I'd love to hear more (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Tashiro]

Tashiro, please continue to tell stories about your games. These all sound like great times and I'd love to hear more (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Thank you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
In Paris, the group encountered a master thief / hacker, who was taking street children and turning them into thieves serving under him. He was providing them food and shelter, but would punish them if they failed to provide him with anything good on their rounds (isolation in a room without food), and reward them if they did well.

One of the PCs confronted him, while two of the others snuck towards the location - he had information they wanted. The PC confronting him didn't realize he had a cranial commlink, so while they faced off, the hacker silently contacted his team, who began to sneak towards the location.

Well, combat started happening. The hacker calmly walked to his car to drive off, with his 'best' thieves, and the PC called a spirit to hold the car in place. One of the PCs (a gunbunny L.A. media 'runner') spotted two street samurais approaching, so called the Adept to go in and help out. The Adept did - though the gunbunny missed the sniper in position. The Adept cleaned the clock of one of the sammies, then took a bullet to the noggin. The gunbunny wiped out the sniper, then called their DocWagon-esque group for an emergency pickup. (The Adept wound up permanently blowing an edge to survive...)

They cleaned up the bad guys, and the 'DocWagon' showed up. Capturing the hacker, they brought him along with them for interrogation later. The 'DocWagon' took them to a medical facility, connected to a megacorp they have good relations with. There, they handed the hacker off for interrogation, while the group waited for their friend to recover. The gunbunny started a relationship with one of the ERT medics who had picked them up, while the technomancer more or less laid low, and the guy who got the PC put in harm's way mostly did her own thing.

This is mostly about the Adept, though. He had amnesia in his background, so while in Paris, he had met with an ex-military contact of his who had provided him with information on a prior run -- they had uncovered a crystal in Africa, in a weird 'shallow' of Astral space which had manifested in the physical world. The place got shelled to hell, and the crystal exploded. A fragment was imbedded in the Adept's head - which is what awakened his magical abilities - he was a mundane before that event. The Adept and his merc team had been preparing to collect this as part of something involving a run on Aztechnology (and every time I mention a run there, the PCs tend to panic... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) )

Well, after the meeting, the informant's home went 'boom', so the PCs were wondering what to do - so I had used the hacker scenario to provide a distraction, while I laid down a few more threads. When the Adept woke up from the brain-shot, he found he had another 'voice' in his head (He took 'Mentor Spirit' as an Advantage at this point, as well as Spirit Ally). This mentor informed him that he had a 'path' to walk, and that he needed to find a balance between his magical side and the technological world around him (the imbalance manifested as the Gremlins disadvantage).

(So, to represent this, I used a tarot deck. He had to become the 'archetype' of each of the tarot cards in turn, performing a deed related to each card. Once he'd finished his 'path', he'd be sent off to train in a magical order, which would result in the 'end game' for the whole campaign.)

While he was convalescing, the technomancer and gunbunny are approached by a strange looking woman. Attractive, bright green eyes, and gossamer wings. She introduced herself as 'Rumour Mills', and had a docket for them concerning information related to the Aztechnology run, and some of the Adept's background. They were absolutely befuddled about her, and didn't know what to think - until she asked them to get in touch with Pixie Stix - a pixie Adept they knew in North America - that's when they sort-of figured out she was a faerie Fixer contact.

The Adept woke up, and decided he needed to go on an astral quest. To do this, he headed out of the medical facility, and walked out into the countryside. He found a faerie ring deep in the woods, and meditated there. This allowed him to go into the 'hollow' there, and meet with the Horned Lord and his court. Behind the Horned Lord was a shadowy figure with a mask, who indicated that he would be confronting the Adept later on. The Horned Lord himself and the Adept had a conversation - alluding to things from the Adept's past, and the future. They performed a series of tests on the Adept, allowing him to progress on his path - and the Adept was informed he would, if he succeeded, have a confrontation with the Painted Man.

He came out of his meditation, and rejoined the group. They put their information together, and realized that they had a lot to do in the near future. At this time, it was discovered a shadowrun team had been hired to break into the medical facility to gather information they had, so they decided instead to 'break out', 'stealing' the information (plus a few required things) that the facility had (with the manager's permission), while making it look like a daring nighttime escape (so that the gunbunny would get good ratings on her 'reality show' that she's near-constantly broadcasting to her LA fans). The group performed their daring escape, even going so far as to steal the vehicle the shadowrun team was coming in with, and headed to their next destination point - Iceland.

(Where they would meet kobolds, an ice giant, the remnants of a toxic shamanistic cult, find an orichalcum mine, and make semi-friendly contact with an old, free Blood Spirit they had made dealings with in the past, and make good connections with a Norse-themed magical order that hunts ancient creatures in the far north...)

---

That help for storytelling? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[nezumi]

Hmm. For one of the games I designed, combat is done as such:

That sounds really cool! I'd love to try it out.

[Tashiro]

That sounds really cool! I'd love to try it out.

Look up Fox Magic on RPGNow. I've half-way finished a spy genre game using the same engine, but I'm having a bit of trouble with it, because I'm not used to writing about the spy genre. I'd really love to hand it off to someone else to go over and complete, so it can get out the door. That's the problem with a 2-person RPG company, where only one's a writer and game designer. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Umidori]

Oh! Oh! Just remembered something I REALLY want!

Rules for jump attacks!

~Umi

[sk8bcn]

Oh! Oh! Just remembered something I REALLY want!

Rules for jump attacks!

~Umi

Uh what?

[Umidori]

There aren't any rules for things like a kung fu master making a flying kick, or a troll dropping off a roof boot-first onto an unsuspecting guard, or a ninja dropping from the ceiling to impale someone with his katana. Which, frankly, is a shame!

I've discussed possible houserules with others here on Dumpshock, but an official way to handle jumping and attacking in the same motion would be very spiffy.

~Umi

[Stahlseele]

And we need rules for Close-Combat with vehicles.
A Troll could very well use a Motorcycle as a Club.
Or he could hold his Halberd out of the window of a driving car.

[Larsine]

There aren't any rules for things like a kung fu master making a flying kick, or a troll dropping off a roof boot-first onto an unsuspecting guard, or a ninja dropping from the ceiling to impale someone with his katana. Which, frankly, is a shame!

I've discussed possible houserules with others here on Dumpshock, but an official way to handle jumping and attacking in the same motion would be very spiffy.

~Umi

Kun fu master doing a flying kick: Character charging +2
Troll dropping off a roof boot-first: Superior position +2 (possible with no defense)
Ninja dropping from ceiling to impale someone with his katana: Superior position +2 (possible with no defense)

It doesn't have to be more difficult to work.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Kun fu master doing a flying kick: Character charging +2
Troll dropping off a roof boot-first: Superior position +2 (possible with no defense)
Ninja dropping from ceiling to impale someone with his katana: Superior position +2 (possible with no defense)

It doesn't have to be more difficult to work.

Indeed... Pretty much how we have handled it over the years. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[_Pax._]

I think I would give the two "drop from above" a special +1DV as well, for the added impetus of gravity. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But otherwise, I agree, it doesn't HAVE to be more complex, in order to work.

[Umidori]

Those are fine houserules for handling things, but they're still just houserules. I would enjoy having official rules, be they complex or simple or (preferably) somewhere in between. Having a solid, undeniable ruling to point to saves a lot of frustration and confusion and whatnot.

That said, I personally feel that a mere modifier of superior position or charging doesn't really fit. Not only does it not convey the extra force that a leap attack possesses, it also fails to factor in the character's skill in jumping, as well as potential Falling Damage.

In my mind, jumping on someone from a height should substantially modify the damage you inflict, be that via bonus DV on the melee attack or merely via separate inflicted "Falling Damage" on the target, akin to the martial arts Throw Maneuver. Jumping on someone should also require a Gynmastics + Agility check, to guage the attacking character's ability to make the leap connect. A untrained troll punker jumping from a rooftop should be far more likely to misjudge or otherwise botch his jump compared to a trained jumper. They shouldn't both receive the same flat dice pool bonus on their attacks, as they have wildly differing skills in jumping. The better jumper should reach their target more often, to greater effect. That's kind of the point of character skills. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

~Umi

[All4BigGuns]

There aren't any rules for things like a kung fu master making a flying kick, or a troll dropping off a roof boot-first onto an unsuspecting guard, or a ninja dropping from the ceiling to impale someone with his katana.

What about the Troll Ninja dropping from the ceiling to impale?

[Warlordtheft]

ninja'd

[Tashiro]

Hell, I built a character completely around avoiding combat. Stealth and silence spells, trid phantasm, plus summoning spirits to provide cover and protection, as well as innate stealth skills, some hacking ability to get past detectors, etc. The entire idea was to get in, fulfill the objectives, and then get out without anyone notice the character's passage.

Some people might find that boring, but I get a thrill at the challenge of trying to cover every contingency, then pulling off a 'flawless' run. This is the character which created the motto in my signature. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) He/She is very good at what he/she does.

[Shortstraw]

Everyone knows that only bear shifters get a bonus on drop attacks - doubled if they are an HMHVV carrier (edited). Also I want awakened versions of these.

[_Pax._]

Everyone knows that only bear shifters get a bonus on drop attacks.

Only Australian Bear Shifters, you mean.

[Elfenlied]

In our games, we've handled the "drop from above" as "both attacker and target suffer the unmodified falling damage of the attacker, resisted as usual" in addition to normal charging rules.

[Umidori]

I've heard that idea tossed around before, although I kinda feel like the person being landed on should suffer more Falling Damage than the person landing on them. Since, ya know, the victim acts as a crumple zone. Maybe something like the attacker takes half the damage the victim does? I dunno.

~Umi

[Dolanar]

I would actually suggest a DP bonus to their Damage resistance test either equal to or half of the defender's Body, as its their body breaking your fall so it kinda makes sense.

[Umidori]

Ooh, I kinda like that idea. Landing on a troll is going to cushion you much more than landing on a pixie.

~Umi

[Dolanar]

& their Body score would show as much, I think adding it makes a bit more sense & gives the person falling on someone the added benefit of extra dice to resist the falling with which could negate the damage.

[Stahlseele]

What about the "improvised throwing Weapon (MEtaHuman Body)" rules?

[All4BigGuns]

I'm really wanting to build that Troll Ninja idea I had now...just not sure how much Intimidate I'd need for the intimidation factor of seeing a Troll suddenly pop up behind your buddy to "Kali-Ma" him from behind.

[Umidori]

I'm leaning toward building an SR version of Burrito Bison myself. Lucha!

~Umi