An SR5 actual game report Options

[Psikerlord]

Great post OP, I'd like to know what happens.

Not sure about the quickdraw grenade thing, doesnt seem to apply on my reading. There used to be a rule i think in SR4 about picking up skittering, bouncing grenades, what happened to that? I imagine you could catch and throw back a grenade with a readied action too (taking the risk of it blowing up in your hand!)?

The bit abuot the brawler and kicking the gun out of the dude's hand makes me want to play an adept, hahaha!

[Aaron]

Yes, data spike. He had 1 or 2 Marks on his rifle already, so he got like 3 net hits, base damage 5, +4 from the marks, so one-shot bricking. That impressed got the Player hacker's attention, by the way. The sniper has not shared with the rest of the team the fact he has powerful Enemies, so the hacker asked him "just who the fuck did you piss off?"

Technically it was a two- or three-shot bricking, assuming the marks weren't invited, ne?

[cndblank]

Here's the trick: That Neo-@ hacker doesn't get to just keep making rolls until he succeeds. Every time he fails, he's getting marked or eating unresisted Matrix damage. You'd have to be a pretty ballsy decker, or a seriously skilled one, just to try. And with limits in play, he's doubly relying on his being lucky and the other guy being unlucky at the same time. Really, it all depends on what the benefits of running the helicopter wirelessly even are... Remote operation is about all I can think of.

It would have to be some bonus, to risk someone taking remote control of the aircraft.

Nothing says he can't sign off, reboot, and log back on some where near by.



For that matter is the hacker even on the matrix if he is trying to take over or brick a wireless device directly?

Looking at Rainbows and Rooftops fiction before the matrix section, the decker is on the matrix and keeping an eye on her Over-watch Score.

But I got one question.

Why would a military grade transport Chopper ( Nissan Hound) have an ejection system that could be remotely locked down?
So you can remotely make the captain go down with his chopper?
Why would an ejection system even be on the matrix?
Wouldn't you be afraid someone could remote in and eject your rigger?
Shouldn't an emergency ejection system have a manual override?

[Aaron]

For that matter is the hacker even on the matrix if he is trying to take over or brick a wireless device directly?

You mean he's connected via a cable? That's the only direct connection in SR5 that I've seen.

[Blhaze]

Wonderful post; I am going to be running my first SR5 game this weekend and I feel inspired by your work.

[Backgammon]

Technically it was a two- or three-shot bricking, assuming the marks weren't invited, ne?

Oh, well, he did some Hack-On-the-Fly beforehand to get Marks, but that wasn't noticed. Then - BAM - spiked it.

[Aaron]

Oh, well, he did some Hack-On-the-Fly beforehand to get Marks, but that wasn't noticed. Then - BAM - spiked it.

Nice.

[Patrick Goodman]

This was so much fun to read...thanks, Backgammon!

[Skynet]

So.. If the hacker already had 2 marks on the rifle/smartgun, couldn't he just wait until he eventually has one of his (the snipers) teammates in his sights and trigger a shot? (Probably only an option if the fighting had not startet yet.)

I'd not know what to roll for though (since it's only relying on chance/opportunity).

[Remnar]

So.. If the hacker already had 2 marks on the rifle/smartgun, couldn't he just wait until he eventually has one of his (the snipers) teammates in his sights and trigger a shot? (Probably only an option if the fighting had not startet yet.)

I'd not know what to roll for though (since it's only relying on chance/opportunity).

Why on earth would a sniper ever put his teammates under his gunsite? That's like.. rule 1 of firearms handling; never point it at anything you don't want to kill.

[Sendaz]

Why on earth would a sniper ever put his teammates under his gunsite? That's like.. rule 1 of firearms handling; never point it at anything you don't want to kill.

Maybe if the hacker also spoofed a message from the sniper's girlfriend to pop up on his AR telling him she was dumping him for this buddy on the ground? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[saiyanslayer]

For that matter is the hacker even on the matrix if he is trying to take over or brick a wireless device directly?

You're both still on a grid. Any illegal activity generates OS with RAW.

[Redjack]

You're both still on a grid. Any illegal activity generates OS with RAW.

At this point you could simply log off of the grid.

[Remnar]

Maybe if the hacker also spoofed a message from the sniper's girlfriend to pop up on his AR telling him she was dumping him for this buddy on the ground? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Brilliant!!

[Godwyn]

Why on earth would a sniper ever put his teammates under his gunsite? That's like.. rule 1 of firearms handling; never point it at anything you don't want to kill.

They are not in his target, it is in his general field of view since he has an overall look at the battlefield. Especially if he is providing cover fire for them from opposition that is nearby.

[Backgammon]

Why on earth would a sniper ever put his teammates under his gunsite? That's like.. rule 1 of firearms handling; never point it at anything you don't want to kill.

I am pretty sure he meant that the opfor hacker would wait until the Player sniper had an opfor runner in his sights to brick it.

And, well, this is exactly what he did. The opfor wants to capture the sniper to bring him back to the Fallen in Quebec. The Fallen has accumulated some information about the sniper and his friends, but visibility isn't perfect. The opfor runners don't really know what to expect. They didn't want to outright show themselves and negotiate. They figure they might just get shot, and they like being alive. So they positionned and sent a Watcher spirit to do some of the talking. That didn't work out so well, but they didn't expect much. As soon as combat began - and not before - the opfor hacker bricked the sniper's rifle. At this point (and this is what will happen next game) the opfor runners just hope to beat the Player runners into submission, and then try for another round of negotiations. They aren't dumb, killing the entire team but somehow keeping the sniper alive is a tall order. If things don't work out, they are going to pull back and try again later. They will be patient. They will not throw away their lives, and ultimately they are pretty sure they can cut a deal eventually, so they also don't want to piss off the player runners too much either (shooting at them is just business, nothing personal)

Besides, from a GM perspective, this is just a sideshow. The runners still need to get on with the actual mission and they have a LOT of shit heading their way later on.

[cndblank]

They are not in his target, it is in his general field of view since he has an overall look at the battlefield. Especially if he is providing cover fire for them from opposition that is nearby.

A separate online gun camera could do that with having to have your smartgun connected to the matrix.
Likely wouldn't even take up a slot on the weapon (side mount on the barrel maybe?

I bet you could slave the gun camera to the smartgun with a one way feed so that the gun camera would match what ever commands (Zoom, focus, vision enhancement) were given to the smartgun.

[Redjack]

Likely wouldn't even take up a slot on the weapon (side mount on the barrel maybe?

While I agree in concept, we do not yet have weapon modification rules, correct?

[Backgammon]

Another game last night.

So, the continued scene with the Opfor Shadowrunners bogged down a little bit, taken longer that I would have liked, but overall the combat rules still feel fluid. The opfor street sammy covering the PC Troll and sniper kept them pinned down, initially missing. The PC Troll switched to his grenade launcher, but the first shot went wide. The sammy returned fire and hit the Troll square in the chest with APDS rounds, causing 8P and knowcing the Troll down. However, the sammy caught a Glitch, so I had him reload his gun, and change position.

Meanwhile, the PC Adept is having a fight with an opfor Gun Adept by some bamboo scaffolding. The opfor Gun Adept tries to riddle the PC Adept with bullets while the PC Adept smashes the scaffolding, trying to make the opfor runner fall. This actually stays in a stalemate the entire combat, neither being able to hit/hurt the other. However, the advantage goes the PC, as all that knocked down scaffolding forces the Gun Adept to retreat back inside the building and change position.

At the other end of the battlefield, the PC Elf, who if you remember narrowly dodged the shotgun of a opfor Troll Bounty Hunter, does one of the smartest things I've seen a player do, and surrenders. She actually rolls Performance to make it stick. The Troll goes for it and spends a few turns securing her. As the PC Face put it, the Troll is effectively out of combat for a few turns, which is by far the best result the Face could get.

So things come to a head as the PC Troll sammy gets back on his feet, waits till the opfor sammy pops back out, and land a grenade launcher shot square on him. Boom. But, the Troll lifts the PC Face as a human shield and orders everyone to drop their weapons. After some hesitation, everyone complies, and in a surprising move, the PC Sniper offers to come quietly if they let her go. Things are tense as the Sniper approaches. The Troll lets the Elf go, and they cross as the Sniper comes towards the Troll. As they cross, the Face sees the glint in the Sniper's eyes, and cries out "No! Don't do it!".

Ensues a Surprise test. The PC team does well, everyone passing, while the Opfor don't do so well. The Sniper reaches out for a knife and lunges at the Troll Bounty Hunter, attempting to disarm him. Copious Edge is rolled, but he fails to disarm. The PC Adept charges in, while the PC Troll sammy launches a grenade at the Opfor Gun Adept who had positioned himself in a support position. Boom goes the Gun Adept. The Troll attempts to fight everyone else, but the combined might of the sniper (who is very handy with a knife) and the PC Adept is too much. The Adept finishes the Troll with a Killing Hand jab to the throat, opening up the Troll's artery. He slumps to the ground, blood gurgling out of his mouth.

This "distraction" done with, the team resumes their quest for the Coin of Luck. However, the Sniper is freaked out about the counter. The Troll Bounty Hunter had told him that his Uncle was the one who sent them. Now, the Sniper believes his Uncle is an evil man that wiped out his entire family and is now trying to kill him. In fact, it is the Fallen, which are alse interested in the Sniper and who have ceaselessly deformed the truth about the Sniper's past that had hired the runners. But, the Sniper believe his Uncle found him, and so, in a panic, turns to the Fallen and gives them his coordinates and tells them to come get him. The Fallen are delighted by the turn of events their lies have created, but, well, they don't really have anyone in the area. They can't damn well send the same runner teeam that just attacked. So they say they'll need a few hours to get agents to him.

Meanwhile, the team progresses. Their spirit guide tells them the Coin of Luck is in yonder dilapidated 1930's building. The team warily enters the building, and are greated by strange residents who are obsessed with "collecting all the treasures". The treasures are pieces of twine, rocks, etc. Junk. The runners warily check things out, and gather there is a "king" on the top floor. They head over there, and find one giant room with huge double doors. The Face and Sniper (the latter feeling bad about the whole hostage thing earlier, so he says he wants to protect the Face) enter the room, and meet The (Yama) King. An incredibly corpulant Greater Deamon of Nurgle kind of guy. The King greets them in a friendly matter and immediately offers them the Coin of Luck, explaining it "alter's one fate". The sniper takes it, and immediately discover a Sniper Plasma Rifle. The Yama King warns though that losing the coin is far worse, and, indeed, when the sniper hands it to the Face, he discovers all of his gear immediately rusts and crumbles to uselessness. The rest of the team becomes similarly affected. Whomever holds the coin gets an incredibly boost in power and might, but as soon as the coin passes to someone else, the player degrades to shit. The Yama King says there is only one way to beat the curse, and that is by collecting all the "treasures" in the building.

I'm delighted to say the Players kind of go for it. If there's one thing players understand, it's rules like that. In reality, this is all an illusion. The Yama King did not give them the coin of luck. He is simply maintaining all of this as a complex illusion. But, the players really aren't sure. Things seem to make sense. They started hashing out plans to collect all the "treasures" in the building, to the great plasure of the Yama King. They figure, of course, that they could attack the Yama King, but he hasn't been mean with them, and they figure that, with their equipement rotten, only 1 person would have the correct gear to fight him at a time, so they aren't sure about that. Maybe collecting the treasure IS the best thing to do... MUAHAHAHAHHA.

We left it at there for the night. What should happen next game is, at some point, they'll attack the Yama King, discovering everything is a lie. Their equipement will function just the same as it always has, neither super nor crappy. In theory they should be able to defeat the Yama King, though it'll be quite a fight, and then find the REAL Coin of Luck, and move on to the next phase of the mission. To be continued....

[Backgammon]

Been a little while, and in fact I'm skipping ahead, but last night we had quite a combat scene.

So, fast forward, the runners now have the Coin of Luck and, hunted by [i]the entirety[i] of the Red Dragon Associates Triad in Hong Kong, went to ground in a warded brothel in an effort to stay low. The toll sammy promptly Critical Glitched his Alcohol Addiction resistance test, and went on a scotch-drinking orgy and that's the last the team saw of him for 24 hours. Rest of the team bunkered down in a 10k VIP package of booze, whores and warded bedrooms.

In the morning, the offers for the Coin started pouring in, every one trying a "sugar" rather than "stick" approach. Sharon something-something, wife of Wuxing's CEO, made an offer for 500k Nuyen. Then the Great Dragon Lung made an unspecified offer of "lavishing them with gifts" but with a clear undertone that the runner certainly would give him the coin if they new what is good for them. Lastly, the runner's original employer, Wuxing's CEO, repeated his original offer.

The team made things easy for me and decided to cleverly say "yes" to everyone, and told them all to meet at the same place, at the same time (the mission as written has this happen anyway, so I had no objections)

The runners arriver first on an abandonned beach outside Hong Kong. They set up in good positions. Lung's Triads were the first to arrive, 3 boats with 15 guys. Talks started, the Face basically buying time. Sharon's team then made their entrance, coming in hard in a helicopter laying down suppressive fire into the amassed Triads while a heavily armed-and-armoured strike team (they have 28 dice to soak damage, for fuck's sake) rappelled down and started moping up the Triads.

So, at this point, the runners actually decided to give the coin to Sharon, so they open fire on the Triads as well. Casualties are initially light.

Not long into the fight, however, things change. The third party, Wuxing's CEO, sends a party of 3 Spirits. One materializes right next to the Sniper, one in front of the Face (who is running to safety) and one inside a ficherman's hut, where the team Mage is slinging spells from.

Things get a little dicey from this point on. The mage gets Engulfed by the fire elemental, and sadly, that's it for him. He burns to a crisp. Then the hut burns down around him. Uh oh.

The Troll, who is using his favourite toy, the Grenade Launcher, lobbing round after round into the Triads, finally learns that being Threat #1 is not always good as he takes 10DV from a manabolt and goes flying off his feet. He's a little more quiet after that.

The Face does extremely well and one-shot kills the spirit in front of her using her trusty mono-whip. Nobody expected that and we're all impressed, but she promptly simply resumes running away from combat.

The Sniper gets stuck in the fight against his Spirit. He realizes the danger he is in, and uses copious Edge. He manages to avoid all damage, and even point-blank shoots the spirit, dealing an enormous amount of damage, but not killing it. The fire elemental finishes torching the hut and comes help in the combat against the Sniper. Now, it doesn't look too good for the sniper.

At this point, however, the Hacker detects an incoming vehicule. He can't detect exactly what it is, but he figures at this point, one more party is the last thing they need, so he attempts to Spike it. His first hint this is incoming trouble is when his 6-success Spike fails to do any damage. His second hint is then he realizes it moved 300 meter in a combat turn. He promptly abandons ship, jumping out of the car he's hiding in and heading for the bushes, having learned a previous lessons that attack crafts turn cars to slag pretty quickly.

So, when we left off, the mage is dead, the Troll is severly injured, the Triads on the beach are almost all dead, Sharon's Strike Squad is doing well, securing the beach, the Sniper, who HAS THE COIN, is being sandwchiched by two spirits, and the vehicule the hacker detects turns out to be... a LAV coming in hot, packing the Bounty Hunting team, injured and angry as fuck from their last encounter with the team, here to capture the Sniper.

TUM TUM TUUUUUMM....

[Chrome Head]

A very good read. Keep posting more updates as they come along! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[binarywraith]

Partially yes, but also, I wasn't sure the RIFLE could be bricked. You can only brick Matrix Devices, right? The rifle *itself* is not a matrix device, is it? I mean, for example, if you take a revolver without a smartlink, there's nothing to brick - it's already fully mechanical. So killing the smartlink seemed to be the limit of what could be done. I think maybe I could have been more cruel and said a smartlink modification is so invasive that if it's disabled the gun can no longer fire until the smartlink is taken out, but, yes, that'd be a little mean towards the Player.

That would make sense.

The rules do not support sense.


We all know that firing a cocked rifle is just a mechanical catch letting lose of a tensioned spring to let the firing pin slam forward.

Apparently physics are hackable via wireless. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif)

[RHat]

Non-throwback firearms do have wireless functionality, specifically this functionality mimics much of the action economy of a smartlink.

[mrslamm0]

This sounds like you have an awesome game going, with some great players. I am curious though, how did you convert them? Did you use the conversion guide? Or did you just rebuild them and added the karma gained from privous editions? My group and I are still on SR4 but are pondering jumping to 5, we just have a lot of old chars we have played over the years and wanted to bring them along for the ride of the new edition.

[Dolanar]

rebuilding old characters from SR4 can be complicated, I rebuilt my main character & had to change so much that he barely looks like the same character.