Charm City [OOC] Options

[pbangarth]

Dammit, sunnyside! Made Willie be charitable, didn't you?

[sunnyside]

I'm back. I'll be working some overtime for a while, but this could be a nice break.

Anyway as a spoiler the bit with the nutri pack isn't a main plot arc thing. Just the ecology of dystopia. Kinda like having a lake full of fish at the bottom of a dungeon to explain how the creatures are living down there.

You could keep RPing with folks. But perhaps having the group feel they need to call Brewster could be an excuse to disengage if that's what you'd rather do.

Seth, could you post your character in this thread somewhere so I can link it?

I think I'll do the thing where Willie is split off in case Flatline arrives.

[Koekepan]

It actually makes a lot of sense if you think of the economics of it.

Societies with starvation are deeply unstable. The wheels come off because the people suffering are running very short on reasons to respect any kind of rule of law. Any kind of authority in the area with the wherewithal to feed them, however basically, has strong incentives to do so.

[Thanee]

Way cheaper than what you need to prevent unrest. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Seth]

Just letting people know I am still around if asleep.

Can I ask how long the sleep will be for? (Game time not real time)

[pbangarth]

Just letting people know I am still around if asleep.

Can I ask how long the sleep will be for? (Game time not real time)

I don't understand. Have I missed something?

[pbangarth]

I think I'll do the thing where Willie is split off in case Flatline arrives.

More I don't understand. Help ...

[sunnyside]

Just letting people know I am still around if asleep.

Can I ask how long the sleep will be for? (Game time not real time)

Not enough time for natural stun healing, but as far as I can tell first aid can be used on fading stun. Tubesnake has the skill. If you decide your char needs to get fixed up maybe they can whip up their special soycaf brew and a massage from a large brisket.

[Thanee]

What time is it when Brewster calls?

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

Oh. OK. I didn't realize Willie had gone off with Flatline. I think I am in the loop now.

[sunnyside]

Willie hadn't gone off as of the beginning of that call, but that's the direction of things.

It's around noon.

[Seth]

So colour me 'not played SR4 for a very long time'. What should I do to 'find stuff out'

[pbangarth]

So colour me 'not played SR4 for a very long time'. What should I do to 'find stuff out'

Hacking is far and away my weakest skill in this game, so, yeah.

You could look for video feeds showing a vehicle with visible license plate bringing these people, or check payment info for names, if you can get a timestamp for something bought at the table.

[Thanee]

Well, hacking depends a lot on how the GM is handling it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

"By the book", you do that probing for a couple hours, so you will only get a single roll against you from the system, to see if you can get in undetected.

You want security access at least (which needs +3 hits), or admin (+6 hits), but those only add time, when you do the probing approach.

And then you go looking for stuff that happened around the time the picture was taken...

- security footage from cameras
- registration logs
- payments for drinks and whatnot

And anything else that can help putting names to faces.

Bye
Thanee

P.S. No clue how your Sprites and other Technomancer talents can help you with that, I only ever played regular hackers in SR4. And even that has been a while. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seth]

Well the GM told me that Technomancer >>>> Decker. But I have to admit I am not feeling that at the moment. Perhaps if you know how to find the uber uber combination and get precisely the correct build it is. At the moment I feel about 1/2 as good as a decker.

Thank you two for that advice. Hmm... I don't think I know how to do this. I will wait for advice from the GM or someone. Because posting 'I do something but don't know what it is' doesn't feel very good

[sunnyside]

First off with Hacking in particular I'm actually relatively open to stating what you want your character to do and I can advise or just take it from there. My last hacker really didn't want to get into all the details and would just say what they wanted to achieve and I'd take it from there unless they hit a decision point like whether they wanted to jack out or get into cybercombat.

Either way you're often free to throw a bunch of dice towards what you want to do.

For example if you wanted to hack into the hidden node of some guard you know you need to sniff for it, and then would need to hack in at a certain security level. You could do multiple rolls for both instead of doing them one at a time and waiting to see if you get in.

For browsing you could dust of your knowledge of factorials from high school math.

You could also indicate how high priority something is. Technomancers are more complicated in that regard. Hackers are relatively quick, dirty, and straightforward, especially if they use skill groups and programs of the same rating.

Technomancers have access to abilities hackers simply do not, and can generate dice pools and stealth ratings far in excess of anything in the rules for non-technomancers. However doing so tends to require threading, sprite services, and registered sprites. All of which make for fading.

On the other hand with things like boosted stealth or alert suppression, you might not have to deal with alters and cybercombat the way a hacker would, or at least not for a while.


The main issue is that increasingly you need to be onsite to get at anything particularly juicy. Well, I suppose getting the decker to a cyberterminal deep in some facility has been a staple since the beginning.

[pbangarth]

Hey, sunnyside. I have a few questions about Bongo’s Adept Power Enthralling Performance.

Bongo’s strongest Skill (most dice thrown) is Artisan, with a specialization in percussion. For a regular performance he has Artisan 12 + percussion 2 + INT 5 for 19 dice. Basically, one of the best drummers that ever existed. As I had pointed out earlier, Artisan is a ridiculously broad Skill, encompassing specializations from carpentry to painting (SR4A p. 126). With Artisan 12 and INT 5, Bongo is still one of the best in the world at all those things! I guess he really is this age’s Renaissance Man. Only his contrarian dislike of authority and rules keeps him from getting into the highest circles of society.

I added a note to Bongo’s Enthralling Performance Power that it only works with his specialization of percussion. I believe you go along with that sensible restriction. I’m trying to figure out how this Power works in conjunction with actions of Bongo’s teammates.

The description of the Power (Street Magic p. 176) says hits on a Skill + Magic Test (20 dice) “serve as a threshold modifier for any Perception Test his audience might make during the performance.” So, even using the 4 dice = one hit quicky, Bongo gets 5 hits to add to a threshold. With a dice roll it could be more. Add EDG into the mix and it could easily be 10!

Perception Tests (SR4A p. 135-6) are given some sample thresholds to which this number could be added. The other way a Perception Test might be influenced is when there is an Opposed test between a Stealth Skill and a Perception + INT test to notice.

So here are my questions:

1) Are the hits made on a Stealth Skill attempt to be considered the ‘threshold’ to which Bongo’s hits are to be added? For example, fellow runners are trying to sneak past a guard, and Bongo is over on stage drawing the attention of the guard with an Enthralling Performance. I think this is how it works, but am checking.

2) Are fellow teammates considered part of the ‘audience’? Will Bongo have to remind them, “Do all your looking before I start drumming, because once I do you won’t notice shit.” I fear this is the case.

3) Are there ways the team members can insulate themselves from the effect of this Power? For example, could they wear noise cancelling earplugs during the Performance?

More questions might come up after these questions are answered.

[sunnyside]

I think it would be fair to have it work to a high degree with other sorts of music.

Throwing in some singing would seem very reasonable. And maybe some applicability if working through something with AR, but yeah, the skill....well I still hold they just never really thought about it.

In terms of enthralling performance I think RAW you could rig them to have some sort of appropriate distraction should they get enthralled. But I think with a plan they could have an option to opt out of being an audience by actively not paying attention in the first place.

[sunnyside]

Though it occurs to me perhaps a better question is how does enthralling performance work on spirits on astral patrol.

I think I'll take at least the position that it's relatively hard magic to notice, even harder to tell from your more typical skill boost adept abilities, and doesn't count something cast on the audience but rather something that affects the performance itself.

In terms of other things, Selina could cast fashion at a lower force, but probably can't bring herself too. Still, she has plenty of time to rest.

Angel could attempt to hack any of the people who have been using the public website as they have their comcodes from the logs. Though I think what they might like better is to register a sprite. Maybe not too big a one so it doesn't take to long or hit them with much fading, but it's a nice thing to have in pocket for a technomancer. Heh, I guess they could also put Bongo down as the headliner, but that would cause a lot of chaos.

If Angel shared the pictures they've located that would help out Tubesnake if they wanted to do something with drones. Though, being on the list, the team ought to be able to just walk inside.

[pbangarth]

I think it would be fair to have it work to a high degree with other sorts of music.

Throwing in some singing would seem very reasonable. And maybe some applicability if working through something with AR, but yeah, the skill....well I still hold they just never really thought about it.

OK. He'll be a generally enchanting musician. Pick up a guitar at the folk festival and wow them all. Thanks.

In terms of enthralling performance I think RAW you could rig them to have some sort of appropriate distraction should they get enthralled. But I think with a plan they could have an option to opt out of being an audience by actively not paying attention in the first place.

Oh. Yeah. Just ignore Bongo. He'da never thunk of that!

Maybe just pinch each other if they hear him playing.

[pbangarth]

Though it occurs to me perhaps a better question is how does enthralling performance work on spirits on astral patrol.

I think I'll take at least the position that it's relatively hard magic to notice, even harder to tell from your more typical skill boost adept abilities, and doesn't count something cast on the audience but rather something that affects the performance itself.

Weeeelll, we happen to have a spirit in our midst on whom Bongo could experiment! Waddaya think, Thanee?

[Thanee]

In terms of other things, Selina could cast fashion at a lower force, but probably can't bring herself too. Still, she has plenty of time to rest.

She would use F5, which has a DV of 2S. That should be fine. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

Bongo would have commented on the fashion mod, but I don't think we know how well Selina did, do we?

[sunnyside]

Angel hasn't seen anything on weapon policies at the club, which might strike some folks as odd.

Th eclub doesn't open until 9, and while you can get a table, it's mostly about drinks, though they sell some appetizer and dessert type foods (comments talk up the speakeasy spinach dip).

However there are a lot of places around. Many of what used to be homes are now a bar of some kind.

[Thanee]

I can certainly make some rolls for Fashion. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

F5 Fashion for Bongo Slade: 7(5) hits (no Drain)
F5 Fashion for Selina 3 hits (no Drain)
We can do better than that... 3 hits (no Drain)
... 6(5) hits (1S Drain) -- finally, she can be happy with the result!

In hindsight, I probably do not even need to roll here, since I can buy 5 hits with Spellcasting (Manipulation) (and some help from Fiona), and 2 hits on Drain Resistance. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Bye
Thanee