Salted Wounds [IC], a Deep Black Sea game Options

[Volker]

bnc dives right through the forums, indeed soaring from one thread to another, reading and taking in information with superhuman speed. All of a sudden, she stops. For a heartbeat she looks at the young woman that fell victim to bnc's false lead. Another heartbeat, she was unable to scroll down. Frozen, she stares at it for another couple of seconds.
It's not your fault. You didn't do this.
Without you meddling into their posts, she would still be up and healthy.
According to stochastics, your strategy will prevent many more deaths than it causes. Don't let your mind get clouded by primitive emotions. The fact that you don't hace pictures of those you saved doesn't mean that they count less. Focus, bnc.
According to stochastics, she'd probably have a baby, a boyfriend, one or two parents and to a certain probability a sibling who are now all mourning for her.
It's-
Don't try to rationalize this. You can't logic away a person whose life you ended.
Empirics clearly indicate that emotional responses, especially visual-based ones, are unreliable sources of estimation. Grow up, bnc. You're not a toddler anymore.

bnc swallows and moves on. For some reason, however, she first downloads the picture to her cyberdeck. Shortly after that, she decides to quit following the forums but also not to return to the others. Instead, she downloads a hot-sim experience where she'd be some brute who kicks ass and keeps punching his victim over and over and over. And over again, until bnc feels empty and exhausted. Only then she returns to meat space, drained and ashen, not only because of that girl but also because of what else is troubling her conscience.
Wherever you go, bnc, people suffer.
"What counts is what you do - for yourself and for others. And You, girl, are an abuser. You abuse yourself and others. You don't seem to hold any regard for the happiness of others. Seeing the kind of drunk you are, likely not even for your own happiness."

[ Spoiler ]

Addiction check: 12d6t5 4

Blinking, she awakes again, staring at the others with haunted eyes. Quickly, she snatches a packages of silvery patches and puts it into Anna's hands. "Keep them for 120 minutes, then return them to me.", she says quickly, summoning all her resolve. She then inhales and turns her face outside the window, remaining mostly silent for the rest of the drive.

Once the mages are back, bnc chimes in. "I'll now send in my flies. I'll provide you with livestreams. Give me three minutes, then we go."

First, the young decker checks any icons on the graveyard, also searching for hidden ones. She does this using her commlink, while the deck is still turned off. Afterards, bnc then sends out her three Noizquitos, systematically flying over the graveyard.

[ Spoiler ]

Matrix Perception: 15d6t5 3
Perception: 13d6t5 7

[Luckace]

On his return, Wraith had brought a backpack with him, along with a classic armor jacket, which he now put on before leaving the van. Underneath he wore his concealed quick-draw holster and his Ares Predator, loaded with gel ammo - although he had some regular bullets in his pocket.

He didn't have a mask, but he wore his helmet to hide his face and protect him against the cold.

Ha nodded with appreciation after Anna took to scout the graveyard and opened his third eye as well. His gaze didn't turn to the yard, but instead he checked the nearby houses, that would have a clear view on the graveyard, for any austral or dual-natured activity. He didn't directly assense every single person he finds, but checks for magical auras visible from the astral plane.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 10d6t5 4

[Jack_Spade]

Setting the drones free, bnc noticed almost immediately that the small flyers were heavily outclassed by the severe wind. There little dog brains showed warnings that they couldn't maintain speed and altitude and were in danger of crashing.
It looked like she would have to pilot one and do it while avoiding wind and snow as best as she could. Their target was about 650 m away, so it wouldn't be a quick thing either - at least there wasn't much noise around to complicate things further.

Meanwhile, Raph had time to look for threats on the other side of the street. But since this was a more rural part, the only thing within a 100m that was high enough to act as a vantage point was a building of the AG Chemie, and he didn't see any magic auras there, unless you counted the slight toxic tinge hanging around the building.


Anna meanwhile moved across the astral further into the cemetery - and immediately found herself confronted with a dark entity, slowly revolving in space. She could count twenty tentacles on a slimy looking cephalopod...

[ Spoiler ]

@Volker
If you want to pilot a drone in this weather, you have to contend with Strong Winds (-6 dp)

@gilga
You can make a Int+Stealth check to avoid the thing
And I'd recommend a Knowledge Check Astral Threats

[Gilga]

[ Spoiler ]

Magical threat: Magical Threats: 6d6t5 1
Stealth: intuition + stealth: 12d6t5 1

Anna is alarmed by the *thing*... whatever it is - it seems dangerous, and she wants to get back.

[Jack_Spade]

Anna could only make out the obvious: It was a dark extraplanar creature and likely dangerous. Right now she wished she could remember more from that one lecture, but then, she was in luck as she would be able to gain first hand knowledge in just about a second as the thing seemed to have noticed her...

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 9d6t5 2
Ini: 15+4d6 27

[Gilga]

Her mind was racing, and she was excited and terrified.

[ Spoiler ]

I assume that the lighting reflexes quality applies in the astral (I saw you said that you'd rule like that, I'll edit if you changed your mind).

Astral initiative: 13+4d6 26

Creepster goes first

[Jack_Spade]

The creature seemed to sniff Anna for a moment and then shot past her into the direction she had come from...

[Gilga]

Anna responds with a mana barrier, trying to encompass the beast within a globe of mana. She remembers, that even if they are easy to get out of, it takes time... Her goal is to slow the beast down so that she can get into her body.

[ Spoiler ]

took 2 dice off due to BGC.
Mana Barrier F5: 11d6t5 7
drain: 11d6t5 3

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

good thinking (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Manifesting at 27
Attacking Barrier at 17
Attack: 10d6t5 1
Barrier soaks 10 P
Barrier: 10d6t5 2
Attack: 10d6t5 3
Soak: 10d6t5 3

The thing needs three complex actions to get out

The maneuver worked: The creature had manifested to attack the barrier with it's physical body, allowing Anna to reach her body before it had a chance to get near.

[Gilga]

Anna rushed to her body, but unaffected by her own barrier she used the opportunity to sling a couple of stun bolts at the beast. To say the least, she was not confident with her magical combat abilities - but she hoped that it would at least make the now physical spirit cry in pain, or make some other noise which would alert her friends to the danger.

[ Spoiler ]

I think that once the spirit is manifested, it should be visible to the rest of the party right?

Also: If I understand correctly, Anna is not affected by her own barrier so that she could snipe the beast inside with stun bolts?
If the barrier stops Anna's spells - or she cannot do it and run. I'll rethink that combat turn or we can just skip to the next where she is in her own body.

If it's alright then:
Initiative 16:
Stunbolt F5: 11d6t5 5
Drain: 11d6t5 4
Initiative 6:
Stunbolt F5: 11d6t5 2
drain: 11d6t5 8

(next combat turn).
She opened her eyes and cried loudly "Dark spirit!... Draw Guns!", she exited the van and tried to establish visual of the spirit.

[ Spoiler ]

What is the range of the spirit - if it is in range Anna would fire at it.

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

The encounter happened about 200m away from the parking lot, so no line of sight to the spirit

Soak: 5d6t5 4
Soak: 5d6t5 3

The stun bolts did little more than enrage the spirit. Still Anna reached her body an instant later while the beast still tore at it's cage some 200m away.

[SquirrelDude]

[ Spoiler ]

Should we assume that this thing is only visible in the astral so only Wraith and Anna are able to perceive/combat it?

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

Nope, you just aren't close enough to see it yet.

Right now you have Anna waking up and going: "Whaaa, shoot it!"

[Thanee]

Nova turned towards Anna, as she regained consciousness and immediately voiced a warning.

"Got a gun right here. Where is that beasty? I can't see anything..."

Of course, now she was on guard and headed out of the van as well, watching the surroundings. From past experience she knew, that spirits could appear just about anywhere, so she did not just focus her perception towards the cemetary, but also in other directions.

[Luckace]

Wraith had just returned to his real body, still blinking his physical eyes and was about to inform the others, when Anna awoke and alerted them to the spirit. "No magical threats behi... WHAT? Frag!"
He got out of the van as well, but oddly enough, he didn't reach for his gun - instead, he touched the little necklace he was wearing, as well as the silver cross he wore on a wristband, murmuring a soft "Steh mir bei!".


He looks concentrated and raises both his hands, apparently getting ready for some kind of spell or incantation.

[ Spoiler ]

Anna might feel a weak fizzle in astral space as the foci activate.
Any civilians / lit windows etc. in the close peremitre that might be watching the incident?

[Volker]

[ Spoiler ]

Okay, thanks. How many hits would I need to just stay on course? 1?
Also, just out of curiosity: Would things like heavy rain not also affect the limit? It would make sense, but I've never seen any rule in this regard.
Anyway, in this situation I'll first wait 'til the big bad monster is killed and then let the spy-drone fly.
How do the winds affect flying and shooting the huge roto-drone?

Initiative: 4d6 7

I'm actually unsure what the initiative will be like Jumped Into a drone. Is it still Intuition + Data processing? Then in my current config, it would be 20.

I will swap Data processing to 8, increasing my initiative by another 2 points. My first Complex Action is Jumping Into the roto-drone. If the spirit doesn't show up in the first combat round, I'll delay a shoot action to anything that pops out of the astral nearby or amidst the group.

I found contradicting infos about how many bonus dice I get when Jumped in. In the hacking section, it says +2. In the rigging section in the English CRB, it says +1, in the revised German version it's also +2. Is it +2, then?

bnc quickly commands the little drones back when she experiences the winds. She has just Jumped Into a Noizquito, when she hears Anna's warning call. Frag, what the heck am I supposed to do against a god-damn spirit? Well, if she wants guns, guns is what she'll get!

bnc leaves the drone and Jumps into the sniper drone. She sends it up into the sky, watching her comrades under her, ready to shoot anytime.

[ Spoiler ]

I guess the skill Magical theory would not cover dark spirits, would it?

[Gilga]

She replied with a sense of urgency "Direction hideout, 200 meters... It can be here any second.",
She drew her taser, and looked alert.

[ Spoiler ]

Initiative:
Initiative: 14+2d6 24

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy's outfit from the previous run was only slightly altered, he had thrown a black balaclava ski mask on under his ballistic mask. It hid his hair slightly, kept him warmer, and meant that he could eat in the presence of others when this was over.*

[ Spoiler ]

*Whether wearing a balaclava ski mask is enough to fulfill the code of honor is up to Jack

He stepped out of the vehicle, slinging his bow and quiver over his shoulder, blinking to activate his smartlink and begrudgingly clinching his fists to start the mojo flowing.

[ Spoiler ]

Initiative: 3d6+11 20
Killing Hand Activated
What impact is background having?

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

@Luckace
No civilian buildings - the only ones who might conceivably see you are homeless if they dare to venture outside their makeshift barracks. Right now it's too cold and windy for anyone showing their face.

@Volker
The bonus for Hot Sim VR is +2. Environment effects do not diminish your limit, just your dp. 1 success is necessary on a piloting test. You have to spend one complex action every combat round to not crash. Normally you wouldn't have to make a test every round, but in these conditions it is necessary. But if you have 4 or more dice left you can just buy that one success to speed things up. Otherwise I wouldn't recommend flying the drone in this weather.

Ini is based on INT+Dataprocessing of the device you have build your persona on - in this case your deck. If you have slotted the multidimensional co-processing module you have 5 Ini dice to work with in hotsim, otherwise just the regular 4.

Be also aware that shooting will be influenced by the wind and that smartlinks can reduce the penalty

You can roll magical theory albeit as if your skill was three points lower

The team stood still, watching for the spirit to appear while bnc brought out the larger drone. Unfortunately this one had the same problem with the strong wind, so she had to personally jump in to avoid it crashing immediately.

Time ticked by when suddenly, the team saw a small dot of light about 50m away and close to the ground. Through the wind and snow no details could be seen, but it seemed to flash SOS.

[Luckace]

Someone needs help!
- I can't just run in there with a shadow spirit roaming around. That's suicide!
I wish you'd show the same concern for the lives of others. The Raph I knew would have never risked others falling to their death just to start a distraction.
- There was no other way. I can't save every single one.
Perhaps that's what I have to admit as well. That I can't save you. Not from this path you're taking, away from every value you once held so dear.
- oh come on!

Hands in the air, Wraith started a loud prayer: "Lord,your servant calls upon you once more: send aid in our time of need!"


The mage's hands were shaking, he staggered sidewards a few steps until he regained his composure. Despite the cold, he breathing heavily and was sweating underneath the helmet - whatever he was trying to do seemed to be quite taxing.

[ Spoiler ]

Resisting the call for help (Mentor Spirit) Mentor Spirit: 11d6t5 2 not resisted
Summoning a Force 6 Spirit of Air to his/her help Summoning air spirit: 16d6t5 4
Spirit's resistance-rollAir spirit resist: 12d6t5 5 Son of a...
Edit: As only the first six hits are legal, it's 3 hits, not 5.
Drain: 12d6t5 1 ugh, the god of the dice is not with me today...
Reroll with edge: Reroll drain: 11d6t5 1 seriously?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Two edge spent. Four stun damage taken. Currently at 6/11 (one damage taken at the BMW Museum).

Oh, and the translation from the last post : steh mir bei =stand with me

[Gilga]

Anna followed toward the dot of light, with her taser in her hands ready to respond to an ambush, she switched on thermo vision hoping to see better.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception + 3 visual/audio: 15d6t5 3
How is the thing looking in thermal vision?

[Thanee]

Nova noticed the immediate reaction by Wraith. "You also saw that? Woah! You okay?"

[ Spoiler ]

Gee, did you just got like 8 points of Drain? Ouch! :o -- Good thing, though, that First Aid can remove stun damage.

"I will investigate. Maybe someone needs help, and we gotta deal with that thing one way or another, anyways."

With that, she slowly moved into the direction, where the light had been, watching for any threats, especially of the dark spirit type that Anna mentioned. She really expects some kind of trap, though. Why would anyone use a flashlight to signal SOS in such heavy snow...

[ Spoiler ]

Perception (visual) 6 hits

[Gilga]

Anna said to be seen "I' am coming with you..."

[Volker]

[ Spoiler ]

Magic theory (-3): 10d6t5 1 Awesome

Frag!!
I'll check it out. Stay where you are. Mages, focus on the spirit thing."

Now not steering, but being the drone, bnc soared towards the light as soon as fast as she can without losing line of sight to her comrades.

[ Spoiler ]

If you allow the mods in the ooc thread, I'll have thermo and low-light. Also: Perception: 14d6t5 4
I will try to fly in an angle that allows me to keep an eye on my chummers. Depending on where the external sensors are, I assume that wouldn't be that big a problem.

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy followed to the right of Nova, standing a few paces away to make sure they had space to work. "Can someone please make the bad thing apparently hurting everyone visible?"

[ Spoiler ]

Electroception: 10d6t5 5 Good rolls, but it's probably too far away or doesn't put out an electrical field

[ Spoiler ]

Perception: 10d6t5 5 Opps, forgot the Perception Contacts/Earbuds Bonus: 3d6t5 2 so 7 for audial/visual