The Found Arcana - Eighth Interlude [OOC] Options

[Tecumseh]

Here’s what we currently know about our neighborhood: https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.c...is/touristville

Here’s our shared lifestyle: https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.c...gative-services

Chapter 1: Sunday, September 18, 2078
Chapter 2: Monday, September 26, 2078
First Interlude: Saturday, October 1, 2078
Chapter 3: Monday, October 10, 2078
Second Interlude: Sunday, October 16, 2078
Chapter 4: Sunday, November 6, 2078
Third Interlude: Wednesday, November 23, 2078
Chapter 5: Thursday, November 24, 2078
Fourth Interlude: Sunday, November 27, 2078
Chapter 6: Thursday, December 22, 2078
Fifth Interlude: Sunday, January 1, 2079
Chapter 7: Friday, January 20, 2079
Sixth Interlude: Wednesday, February 1, 2079
Chapter 8: Sunday, February 5, 2079
Seventh Interlude: Wednesday, February 8, 2079
Eighth Interlude: Tuesday, February 14, 2079

[Tecumseh]

I think I'm going to have things start out with a call from Razak.

@Beta, Tamarind's sheet says, "Her military service let her pursue her interest in vehicles and drones, and when she left there she provided ground support to various smuggling enterprises for years, initially in the Sioux, then in the Front Range Free Zone. Now in Seattle she is still looking for steady work." [emphasis added]

This is convenient because The Complete Trog (p. 53-56) talks about Ghostwalker evicting everyone from the UCAS, CAS, PCC, and Sioux Nation in February 2079 unless they swear fealty to him. (The Shadowrun wiki gives this date as February 10, 2079, which would be the night of the dinner party.) So I'm thinking about making Tamarind an exile from the FRFZ who ends up in Seattle. How does that sound?

[Thanee]

Hey guys!

Just popping in to see if you are interested in adding another player into the fold. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Beta]

First: Tamarind's google sheet, which is more or less readable, is at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-T3...dit?usp=sharing

I've not got the Obsidian Portal sheet updated yet.

She still has a bit over 30k nuyen and about 170 karma to spend, but it doesn't necessarily all need to be spent right now, some could be saved. (and some of the karma is going into edge and charisma, I just haven't put that in yet). I have applied all of the bonus knowledge skills and so on, other than that I've not chosen a martial art yet. Anyone know one that would make it easier to land a touch attack with shock gloves?

===================================

As for her time in the 'Front Range Free Zone', in her 'extended background' it talks about how her body was picked up while she was in VR, and she spent quite a bit of time in a Denver prison on suspicion of being a Sioux spy, before eventually being released for telling all that she knew about the smuggling operation. This is currently somewhat important to her story, as it is the source of two of her negative qualities:
-'big regret' --she broke the informal code of not talking to the man, probably resulting in the arrest of other smugglers, so she has a hard time facing anyone from her time with smuggling groups
- AVRSE (won't go into VR unless body is very safe) -- due to having been captured while in VR the one time

And I've given her a bunch of Seattle street skills from her supposed time in Seattle.

ON THE OTHER HAND, that timing is a wonderful coincidence, so I want to make it happen! I'll just need a day to re-think her negative qualities and what different knowledge skills to take.

Perhaps her betrayal of others was in the Sioux? Could be the same qualities from an earlier capture.

[Gilga]

@Thanee since there is no clear hierarchy in this game. We'll get to you soon.

@Beta, Tecumseh Always exciting how things connect.

[Gilga]

.

[Jack_Spade]

@Thanee

As you see, this is a very long running game with lots of build history - so getting into the story as a player isn't the easiest thing to do.
For my part, I'm always open for a try, but be aware that I (and likely we) expect the same commitment from all participants. That means continuous, long-term posting and regular stints of GMing (to do that successfully you also probably should read some of the previous chapters)

If that is something you want to commit to I for my part would welcome you.

[Thanee]

Hey!

Yeah, obviously, you have been at this for a while now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'm always in for the long run, and I love long-running games with actual development.

I'm also certainly capable of GMing here and there, and have run whole SR campaigns in the past, though never with SR5 (not that that is much of a difference). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Beta]

Hi Thanee, we are huddling off-thread sorting out how we'd want to do this. A few points that we are agreed upon, to help you think about how this would work for you, are:

- The game is not about "Shadow Runners". We are partners in a small private detective agency based out of Touristville, Redmond (with a spook from the Sioux as our silent partner). We are certainly on the shadowy edge of society, but many of our clients have been regular citizens.
- All the characters* have a connection to the Sioux council and have native backgrounds
- The game started with a focus around the 6th World Tarot -- recent adventures have explored other topics more, but they'll be baaaack
* I just said good-bye to my original character and had just about finished the final math on the replacement. My original was born in Tsimshian but spent a bit of time in the Sioux Council, my new character is, like the other three, born in the Sioux Council. Exactly how this transition plays out in terms of the partnership we were about to play out.


A couple of points that have made the game a bit off kilter from the typical:
1) the original GM (who had to depart after two runs) had his own set of house rules. I captured them in google docs. We are discussing to what degree they need to be maintained, but I figured it doesn't hurt to let you look at them and see what you think.
- General House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Slr1ojz...rue&sd=true
- Magic House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ceehS4h...rue&sd=true
- Technomancer House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nuy6yM8...rue&sd=true
- Contacts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ve8IrPa...rue&sd=true

2) for whatever reasons, all of us did something a bit different than the standard stereotypes when we made our characters. My original character was mostly an astral duellist (who happened to be charming and had some very weak magic), Gilga's character is an aspected caster/decker, Tecumseh's is seeking better living through cyber-enhancements (a small and sickly orc now pumped up with cyber-limbs), Jack_Spade's is an adept who makes devastating use of the the ShapeChange spell and associated qualities. My new character is a drone user who does not have a control rig and is adverse to using virtual reality. It would not be a requirement that your character also be off-angle from the usual archetype, but it would be something to consider.

[Tecumseh]

Sioux Nation, just to clarify. (As opposed to being from the Salish-Shidhe Council.)

~~~

Beta, I don't think that we need to scrap Tamarind's background. She could have been making Seattle-Denver smuggling runs ("The Big Dance" in rigger parlance) which would explain the familiarity with Seattle.

She got caught in Denver and has been doing time there. But when Ghostwalker wants to evict folks, he doesn't necessarily want to the expense of keeping his prisons full. So Tamarind is paroled on the condition that she doesn't come back.

[Thanee]

Thank you! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I will have to read up a bit to get a fitting character idea, of course. But I'm sure I can come up with something.

@Beta: Those links don't work. Looks like you copied the shortened display links (with the ... in there), instead of the full links. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Tecumseh]

Ha! He did indeed. Try these:

- General House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Slr1ojz...rue&sd=true
- Magic House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ceehS4h...rue&sd=true
- Technomancer House Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nuy6yM8...rue&sd=true
- Contacts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ve8IrPa...rue&sd=true

We're coming up on our fourth anniversary (at the end of August) and are on our third PbP site.

We're not powergaming. We're mostly in the gutters with the gangers, but there are a couple dragons in the background. There's been a fair amount of collaborative world-building. I'm trying to stay close to canon personally but, as always, the GM is in charge. It's a sandbox environment with a world that reacts to the PCs' actions. Chapter 8, for example, was fairly experimental in the sense that there was no mission; there was a specific event and then the PCs responded to it as they saw fit. I wouldn't try that with a group of strangers but it worked for us (in my opinion, at least) since we had an established track record both with the PCs and the players.

Lots of RP. Whole chapters go by without combat. Think about options that will have plenty to do during downtime, or dice to roll outside of combat.

To recap the current roles:

Jack: Adept shapeshifter
Beta: Drone rigger user
gilga: Sorcerer/Decker
Tec: Cyberlimbed mundane

That's a pretty complete team when we're all together, but for the most part we're not all together since one of us is GMing at any given time. In other words, there's probably flexibility to play what you want since we're used to both 1) overlap and 2) someone being missing at any given time.

[Beta]

"Drone User" maybe, since "Rigger" kind of implies having a control rig. Tamarind is all Direct command and use of the swarm program. (Having 'recently' played a decker, an astral duellist, and a technomancer, I absolutely wanted this character to stay in one world. No more limp noodle bodies!)

And sorry about the links -- I copied them from another place that I'd pasted them, without looking at how they came through, sorry.

[Thanee]

And sorry about the links -- I copied them from another place that I'd pasted them, without looking at how they came through, sorry.

No worries! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)


How do you do new characters Karma/Resource-wise?

Bye
Thanee

[Tecumseh]

Hi again.

We've been discussing that in the background. Part of the challenge is that we have four GMs so everyone is in charge (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

We'd like to extend an invitation to join the game. The goal is to create someone who would fit in at an investigative agency in Seattle (that has secret ties to the Sioux Nation).

1) Chargen is Sum-to-10. I have a personal preference for only one Priority A but this isn't a firm rule.
2) A free Contact of Captain Razak of the Sioux Defence Force at Connection 4, Loyalty 1. You can buy his Loyalty up to L3 if you like. He will be your hook into the group.
3) Up to 20 bonus karma for completing the 20 Questions or some version of a background that accomplishes the same. (There are a few different versions of the 20 Qs. The precise ones you pick aren't terribly important.)

We all created our characters using the House Rules that were posted earlier so please treat those as the default. In some cases they are more generous than the baseline rules (e.g. Arcana is now a knowledge skill, Adept Ways are less expensive) and in some cases they are more restrictive (e.g. no Ares Alphas, spirit types must be learned separately). Occasionally they are flexible. For example, if you prefer the standard Firearms skill group skills (Pistols, Automatics, Longarms) to the modified ones (Small Arms, Long Arms, Heavy Weapons) then that's something we can discuss. If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Min-maxing isn't necessary. When it's done we'll likely round out the character with some additional professional skills or hobby/interest skills for fun and flavor. You'll earn accelerated karma awards as we play so keep in mind how you would like to progress over time.

We'll try to introduce both your new character and Beta's new character (Tamarind) during the Eighth Interlude. Captain Razak will be providing referrals to the agency to help backfill the departure of Jawsey (Beta's previous character).

[Thanee]

We've been discussing that in the background. Part of the challenge is that we have four GMs so everyone is in charge (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Of course.

We'd like to extend an invitation to join the game. The goal is to create someone who would fit in at an investigative agency in Seattle (that has secret ties to the Sioux Nation).

Thank you! I will see what I can come up with. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

We all created our characters using the House Rules that were posted earlier so please treat those as the default.

Still have to read all of those to the end, only skimmed through so far. Some of the texts seem like summaries of the rules or general chargen explanations, so it is a bit tricky to find the actual house rules there.

We'll try to introduce both your new character and Beta's new character (Tamarind) during the Eighth Interlude. Captain Razak will be providing referrals to the agency to help backfill the departure of Jawsey (Beta's previous character).

Sounds good!

Bye
Thanee

[Beta]

At a really high level, some of the house rules in terms of how probable they are to impact your character creation:
- you get some bonus contacts See the contacts house rule file (basically a list of C4 contacts of various types, you get 3-5 loyalty points that you can spread among them as you wish)
- there is a bit of skill consolidation/re-organization (you can probably use whatever character maker/spreadsheet that you have around, and just re-map this at the end. Mostly matters is you were taking multiple gun or multiple melee skills)
- more knowledge skill points (logic+intuition)x3
- fake IDs cost 2000/level instead of 2500
- as mentioned, for magicians spirits have to be bought like spells are (still very worth it)
- priority table for magic is changed, and some different rules for conjuring and mystic adepts (and a few other minor changes) -- read before deciding to depend on spirits or building a mystic adept
- Technomancers get a substantial overhaul, likely making them a lot more playable. Read if being a techno interests you.

[Thanee]

Thank you! That is very helpful. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

- Technomancers get a substantial overhaul, likely making them a lot more playable. Read if being a techno interests you.

That is one thing I am very certain, it's not gonna be. I have literally no clue about Technomancers in SR5, that would take forever. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Definitely leaning towards Magic here (also, because my one other character on here is a cybered mundane; Gilga and Jack both know her).

Maybe something with Alchemy.

I also like charismatic characters in general, and social skills.

Bye
Thanee

[Beta]

@Thanee the team just lost a charismatic magic character with social skills (my former character the astral duellist with some weak magic), so this would be an obvious niche for them to recruit to fill. And of course in a detective based game, social skills play a key roll.

They even have a shamanic lodge and an initiatory group. .

ETA: if you will be using alchemy and spells, do look at the alchemy section. There is something in there about reduced karma cost for learning spells in the second style once you already know it in the other (i.e if you have Heal as a sorcery spell you don't need a new formula to learn it as an alchemy spell and the karma cost is lower). I don't think straight enchanters get anything different, other than the revised magic priority table.

++++++++++++++++++

An interim update on Tamarind's spreadsheet to match the parameters we agreed on is here.

Still have several thousand nuyen to spend, and one change I'm still mulling is ditching most of her perception skill and having her rely on using electronic warfare skill through her drones for perception. I'll decide for sure on the weekend and then get her character sheet updated on Obsidian Portal. I've updated her background to align with the timeline we agreed on for her, taking her to the moment that she calls up Captain Razak and says she'd come back to Seattle and refuses to return to Ghostwalker's territories, and to her surprise instead of being made he says that he might have a different job for her.

[Beta]

Tamarind updated on Obsidian Portal (both character sheet and background) https://brexbasicbackups.obsidianportal.com...acters/tamarind. Some sheet re-organization will be coming, but I think I have all of the pieces there now.

May yet do some minor tweaks tomorrow (still have a bit of money left, still considering moving perception to almost purely through drones and move a bit of skill points and money into something else, I'm just not sure what the something else is yet.)

[Tecumseh]

Thanee, how much time do you think you need for an initial draft?

Beta, can we get professions for Fagin and Livewire? Are all the Contacts in the Seattle Metroplex?

If you have plenty of cash, do you still want In Debt? Setting aside some nuyen for a kit/shop for the drones is probably a good idea too.

[Thanee]

I will see how far I can get tonight. I should have some characters, that I can base this off, which should make things a bit easier. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Beta]

@Tecumseh Fagin and Livewire are two of the free contacts in the house rules (contacts file). Fagin is essentially a delivery service for lower availability rating gear. Livewire is more-or-less the designated hacker contact in that set of contacts (there wasn't a rigger one).

Her drone Stitch (a Proletariat mechanic's helper) comes with an automotive kit, I'll make sure to note that. And she did buy another kit, I may have missed getting that into OP, I'll check. I figured she wouldn't have a shop, having just left the FRFZ with what fits in her van.

She also only has engineering at 1, but Stitch has pilot 4 and an R4 autosoft and Toothless has pilot 4 / autosoft R1 (and some lifting /bending/holding ability) so they can teamwork onto Stitch.

There are good uses for the remaining nuyen. I. Just hit analysis paralysis so figured I should make use of the time to get her character sheet put together. It could be a secondary RCC to leave a swarm doing a secondary task, some extra drones to fill out swarms, upgraded autosoft, or a bit more stuff to enable secondary hacking. or if I de-focus perception and get rid of related 'ware then it is enough to do something more substantial, but I don't know if I feel that ambitious.

[Gilga]

If I recall correctly Fagin is the hyperactive elf courier that delivered us the drugs we needed for Huge.

[Thanee]

One thing I am a little unsure of... how many points can be spent for Positive Qualities in total? 25? Or is that before any extra Karma investions from the free Karma (i.e. 25 + 20 for the 20Q)?

Are the Mastery Qualities from Forbidden Arcana included in that limit? IIRC, there was some useful stuff for Alchemy there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee