Charm City [OOC] Options

[Thanee]

The "award by number of posts" thing isn't meant individually, but just as a guideline. In one group here, the Karma award for everyone is simply based on the total number of IC posts (divided by some fixed number) at the end of the run/scenario. The idea is, that the amount of posts correlates fairly well with the amount of stuff that has happened overall.

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

Ah, got it.

[sunnyside]

Wow. While it didn't get started right away with that first post, it will have been a whole year tomorrow.

I start doing awards via PM as things go along like in some other non SR games I've run instead of exclusively at mission completions.

Any history somewhere on going rate for karma per posts? In the meantime you've got some downtime. With in person games I've found that to be a lot of fun.

[Thanee]

I don't think there is a "going rate". This is probably done very differently in different games. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

The one I know is using 1/10th of the number of IC posts, but that is quite a lot of Karma.

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

I don't think there is a "going rate". This is probably done very differently in different games. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

The one I know is using 1/10th of the number of IC posts, but that is quite a lot of Karma.

Bye
Thanee

Well, that would put the four who saved Sophie at about 13 karma each, and Willie et al at about 4 each, for a shorter run. (Though they have to make it through the night and back past that thing in the water yet!)

[Thanee]

Karma isn't divided among the team, hence the "quite a lot". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

Karma isn't divided among the team, hence the "quite a lot". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Wow! 54 per PC? That's about what all my DS PCs combined earned over my 20 years here.

Of course, many of the games were a slow, agonizing fade into oblivion, sometimes after years, sometimes shortly after character generation.

[sunnyside]

Alright, I think I'll do something roughly like a double award. It should come out to about those levels since this wasn't a high threat level job. I'll probably also do the Brewster thing on top of that, making things a little rich.

Also just to get through what I'd like to, I think I'll compress things a bit from what I was originally planning.

[sunnyside]

I don't think you're all Americans, but happy 4th if you were.

I'm back after some family holiday stuff and should be able to post more frequently for the coming week I think. But the next week I'm on a work trip. I'll probably say active on my phone, but there might be some short replies.

For the IC thread there's the question of how much you guys want to have some downtime RPing or interactions versus diving into the next thing.

You've got lots of options if you indicate what you might like. But for example Mike would probably want to take Selina back to the club when he hears they're giving something else a try on the third floor and wants to support the change.

Bongo is supposed to call Ruby. Angel would want Tubesnake to show her around town.

Brewster might want the team, or at least Angel, to do the training thing to be able to function in the world with stealth and speed.

This also might affect Pbangarth's choices in the other IC thread, in that he could choose to wrap things up and get Willie back, or keep at it.

On that note, the team might do well to use some cash for some stealthy and non-lethal weapon options.

[pbangarth]

Flatline looks grim. "Ugh. If we weren't going to make a play we could have just gone back and I'd get to sleep in my own bed. Either that or be saving lives at the clinic. But maybe we're just not equipped"

Kenny looks relieved at first, but then gets an idea "Hey. Wait. Willie looks pretty tough! This could be like one my games. If something pops up we just tank and spank it! Willie being the "tank" and my stun gun and Flatline providing the "spank". Flatline is a healer too even. "

Flatline gives Kenny a look and says "I can help those guys because they're pretty poor or at least very back to basics. Almost no chrome on any of them. Not having chrome or mojo makes 'em awfully vulnerable to Phoenix's as we've seen, but it means they're easy to patch up. Someone clueless trying to work on a mage with a medkit can be a potentially horrible sitaution, and trying to mojo someone chromed head to toe really sucks.

In case you haven't put it together. I'm the mage, Willie is the one chromed from head to toe, and that narrows the last one down."

Kenny gives a little jolt at that last bit, looks like he might do something aggressive for a half second, and then changes his mind.

"Well, if Willie is full of cool stuff maybe he can hold his own up close to a critter anyway. And I guess we could get loud and bug out if we get over our heads. We don't even know if there's anything out there. Their warnings sounded a whole lot like clickbait pop up AROs to me. "Come see our holos of dangerous nighttime critters. The seventh will amaze you! " And if there was something out for metahuman flesh why wouldn't it just cross the bridge, or sniff us out and head down here?"

Kenny gains more confidence as he goes on, his desire to be right in a discussion overcoming his usually overstrong survival instincts.

(OOC: For Willies part, he actually has some interesting skills to bring to bear like survival and tracking.)

Actually, Willie doesn't have Tracking Skill, though the current enterprise suggests to him that it could be useful.

Willie hasn't been on the receiving end of a smackdown in a while, so he is interested in getting some more payola, but considers the other two (about whose resilience and staying power he knows little) as almost as vulnerable as the locals. "Sorry, Brewster, the other two didn't make it back," is not something he would like to report. The other team members would be wary of him from then on.

I too am curious about that place at the end of the trail. At the same time, I would like to get the whole team on the same timeline. Seeing as you have been playing Lenny and Flatline for a while, sunnyside, I sort of guess that their players are out of touch / out of the campaign now.

Unless things have changed dramatically, the trail in question is reachable by road in a roundabout fashion, without passing by the settlement or the church, so Brewster's curiosity could be satisfied at a later date with the whole party together. Assuming he is willing to risk his rep with the locals.

[pbangarth]

Well, to quote Willie, "fuck it."

[sunnyside]

It sure looks like tracking is on his character sheet.

Also I hope we didn't lose Koekepan

[pbangarth]

Huh. It looks like I fined tuned at the start but didn't make my paper copy match. OK, he's got tracking!

Koekepan is around, also running another campaign here. I think there is some travel interrupting access.

[sunnyside]

Let's assume he'll be back at some point. knock on wood.

But time outside of a run is actually an ideal time to be a player down while others do non mission related stuff. Unless it's a serious breach of dumpshock etiquette, I say we just have him drive home, folks get some rest, and you get into some non-mission stuff. I'm betting he'd have been fine with doing that days ago. He can then jump in the minute he gets back. Especially since he wouldn't necessarily have to read any of your posts.

[pbangarth]

Works for me. It looks like we will be doing a bit.more with Willie, anyway.

[sunnyside]

I'd have made a post dropping people off, but he replied to the karma PM. So I'm hoping he's about to post.

[sunnyside]

Seems pbangarth isn't sure what path to take. If it matters I think the last house rule I have that I hadn't mentioned is if you need to burn edge to say alive, the max I charge to get the point back is the cost to go from 2 to 3.

Maybe that would have been relevant to some people in chargen, but I figured things were already confusing enough without the cash for karma and edge buy back stuff . But now we've gotten those out of the way.

Also if you felt like doing something with your characters together, remember that I'm about to take a business trip and may have short replies. I guess we'll see. But whatever I do will have to be via my cell phone as I'm not using my work laptop to go to dumpshock. Probably couldn't even if I wanted to since it doesn't support a secure connection.

[Thanee]

If it matters I think the last house rule I have that I hadn't mentioned is if you need to burn edge to say alive, the max I charge to get the point back is the cost to go from 2 to 3.

I hope, that won't come up too often. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[pbangarth]

Yeah, I was of two minds about what toi do with Willie, both wanting to get the whole team together and satisfying my Willie's curiosity about what is at the end of that trail. Seeing as you are less likely in the next few days to want to start a new run, I'm going for the extended mission.

Besides, I am trying to figure out how Bongo wants to progress. There are skills he can pick up or improve that directly relate to the work he might do with the team, and he has that long range goal about Gaia that will almost certainly require initiations and metamagic. So a little real time down time for him is a good thing.

[pbangarth]

So, there are a few things I would like to run past the GM. Some might be interesting to Thanee as well.

1) Improving a Skill. In the past with other PCs, I have improved Skills that my PC had actually used recently. So, for example, Bongo just used his Locksmith Skill for the first time in a run. Would the GM be OK with him improving that Skill by 1 to 2 without seeking a teacher/trainer. Maybe checking the Matrix for hints/explanations for what he experienced.

2) Gaining a new Skill. Forgery looks kinda cool and right down Bongo's alley. Find a teacher/info through Brewster?

3) For both of those endeavours, there is an Extended Test. Will the team be off duty for at least a week to allow such a test to be done? Can Edge be used for the Test? If so, when is Edge refreshed ... end of run or at the start of the next run? In Bongo's case, he has some Edge points left from the previous run, so when refresh happens is pertinent.

4) Bongo is interested in Initiating. He is not a joiner and bristles at rules and strictures, so joining a Group is not for him. How does a PC go about it on their own?

5) There is an option to do an Ordeal to reduce the karma cost. One option for an Ordeal available to the GM is to create a Masterpiece, which uses the Artisan Skill, This is REALLY up Bongo's alley, and I hope it's OK with the GM.

6) The only place in SR4A I can find mention of complementary skills is in the discussion of Forgery. For example, using the Artisan Skill to paint a painting and using hits on that as a limiter to hits on the Forgery Test. Yet again I mixed up SR3 and SR4 because in chargen I had given Bongo a strong Knowledge Skill in Music Composition, with an eye towards complementing the creation of Masterpieces. *sigh* Nevertheless, there is lots of room to use that Knowledge Skill, especially since Bongo has already met another musician!

7) It looks like Leadership is being 'thrust upon' Willie. He is catching on to the value of that Skill and might start developing it. (As per #1/#2 above.) Because of the Uncouth Quality, he will have to pay double.

That's all for now. More likely to come later.

[sunnyside]

Let me get back to you on the rules questions once I'm back with my books.

Mostly I'm apologizing for coloring. Thumbs are too fat for the phone interface.

[pbangarth]

Off to my first sheep-herding trial of the season. Wish me luck! No! Wish me compliant sheep.

Will be able to contribute again Sunday night.

[sunnyside]

I picked up covid on my trip to LA. But it looks like the rest of you also have summer stuff going on. I should be lifting off for Vegas on Tueaday, when I hopefully will be better. I'm already mostly on the mend.

[pbangarth]

Hah, Been there myself.

Take care.

P.S. The first run of the trial was a disaster. The second won us a ribbon. Watch out, world! We're comin'!

[sunnyside]

Well, I got over covid and I'm back from Las Vegas for the family vacation. I actually have my brother visiting this weekend, but generally I should be a lot more present again.