Charm City [OOC] Options

[sunnyside]

I'm not sure how much I'll use Lenny and Flatline in the future. I might make them regulars since I've bothered with them.

In any case a streetdock with mojo is a good contact. And Lenny might be solid backup if anything happens to angel.

[pbangarth]

As Bongo weaves the magic into his percussion he perceives perhaps a complication of using this ability, at least this close up. Rose normally seems like the energetic type. At least she'd be active, maybe cheering, at least checking the camera feeds. However as he gets going she seems pretty zonked out, staring at him but more blankly than focused and with a little bit of a slack jaw.

At this point it's up to Bongo how long he wants to string this section out (OOC: There is a chax10 minutes limit on using the ability. A little fuzzy on how long it takes to reset that. )

I'll go with whatever way you decide. I will make one stab at a countering view.

From the description of the mechanics, particularly about perception tests being affected, I had thought the perceiver(s) would be focused on the performance. If it is more the way you suggest above, then it would be difficult for an artist to do their thing in conjunction with others. Their performances would suffer. I believe sometime earlier we had talked about Bongo doing such a performance on a run, and we had decided that those who had been warned ahead of time would be able to resist the effect.

Does that make sense to you?

[sunnyside]

I think the distinction is they have to avoid becoming the audience. That actually makes it work RAW. If someone is forewarned to avoid getting sucked in, especially if they have a potentially life or death task to do, I'm assuming they can manage. At worst an easy will roll.

That also means if there's someone sufficiently focused on something else within earshot they might not get sucked in. Most people wouldn't know the potential risk to just stopping a while to listen, but if somebody was diffusing a bomb with a timer counting down they should have a decent chance of staying on task without penalty.

The ability doesn't talk about people stopping tasks, because I think it's presumed an "audience" isn't actively doing something else but are instead paying attention to whatever it is. But maybe somebody walking along could keep walking while paying attention and just have the risk of walking into a fountain due to not paying enough attention.

In any case Rose was actively trying to get into the groove. I also presume the audience isn't zonked out exactly, but is overly paying attention to the performance. As in they'd remember it in detail. They just might not remember anything else happening at the time.

[pbangarth]

Got it. Thanks.

[sunnyside]

Not sure how to respond to Willie's post. Maybe you just need a bit to decide on things. There isn't a requirement to do stuff, especially since you have two characters.

[pbangarth]

Not sure how to respond to Willie's post. Maybe you just need a bit to decide on things. There isn't a requirement to do stuff, especially since you have two characters.

Yes, I need some time to think about what Willie wants.

[pbangarth]

(OOC: So I've been thinking about this, and I think the intent might be that the magic just helps guide movements into something that happens to hit metahumans as hypnotic. So it translates through recordings, just with generally a reduced effect depending on the medium. I'm not sure about hard and fast house rules, but maybe a couple hits off for a cheap holo. Still, that's enough for a pretty significant effect on most people. I'll give you a bit of leeway in how it affects Bongo. Though his higher perception dice pool might make a difference compared especially to people whose pool goes to zero. )

I see your point about the magic affecting Bongo's movements. However, I'm a little scared of this.

It could turn into an analogue of Anchoring, where Bongo leaves audio recordings to ensnare / slow down / distract at a distance. These could be activated by a mechanical booby trap or by Angel electronically. This seems like a power multiplier to me. Imagine a recording of a performance in which he uses Edge to get 10+ hits. In off time, use up left over Edge to keep trying till he gets one that is 15 or more hits. Then have infinite copies of it. Have Angel seed the intercom system of a facility that feeds the audio to the whole building. For CHA =6 X 10 = 60 minutes, everybody in the building gets 15 - "a couple of hits" = 13 dice off their Perception rolls. That would bring even someone like Bongo to near zero!

I'll take it if you give it, and I'll use it as well as I can.

In that line of thought, however, limiting the effect to metahumans might be too limiting. I am thinking of the snake charmers in India who mesmerize their pets with music. Or the way some male spiders calm the female at the center of her web with rhythmic plucking of the strands of the web.

[sunnyside]

There is a simplifying aspect to interpreting it as simple magic. I could easily see a GM ruling that it's a magical whammy on everybody with LOS like some other effects. It really isn't worded that way, but it avoids essentially figuring out house rules for efficacy through other media. I have a hunch it didn't get playtested much.


In terms of letting it work through other media there are still the aspects that it requires an essentially voluntary audience, only affects perception tests, and has explicit stuff about breaking out of it. It isn't useful as some kind of musical flash bang.

Also I'm inclined to use some of the limits you see in some other rules in limiting efficacy based on what something has to operate through. For example language skills or various hardware capabilities. Since I wouldn't want separate rolls it makes more sense to limit hits than pools.

Audio in particular would carry a smaller portion of the effect. Maybe a two hit limit for that? Ramping up to bigger numbers as you get closer to VR. Maybe a standard 1-6 threshold ramp, which is what most of the game is based around, and then higher numbers for exceptional cases like a Las Vegas sphere type venue or an ultraviolet host or whatever those are called in this edition? Getting the full effects of dice going crazy would have to be in person. Sometimes you do just have to be there.

How does that hit people?

[Thanee]

Magic and electronic do not usually mesh very well in Shadowrun. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Koekepan]

I would also dull the range in terms of background count, at the least. As stated, I think that everyone in line of sight is a bit much.

[pbangarth]

In Bongo's case, it is explicitly auditory, so line of sight might be too much. The description makes the Power too broad, as it applies to the whole Artisan Skill, and that in turn subsumes everything from music to carpentry. I limited Bongo to Percussion, so as not to abuse the Power.

Yeah, I was thinking along the same lines as Thanee, that magic and tech are like water and oil. I see sunnyside's point about the magic affecting Bongo directly and the audience indirectly, which then would allow his improved performance to be recorded.

I would vote that the 'audience' has to be present to the performance, not separated by tech. It might seem trivial, but my last post only scratched the surface of the evil ways I could think of to use this Power.

Maybe I am just overcautious because of the bad experience with Quick Willie in the previous campaign. One small change, in that case to make the GMs life less complicated, pretty much ruined the game.

[sunnyside]

I think with the device limits it wouldn't be that much of an issue. But for a power like that I can defer to the "it's magic" option.

In that case I may cut even more slack in terms of Bongo being able to put the whammy on people.

In that case you could make an IC post responding to the holo just having the performance without the extra.

[sunnyside]

Maybe I am just overcautious because of the bad experience with Quick Willie in the previous campaign. One small change, in that case to make the GMs life less complicated, pretty much ruined the game.

Coming back to this, it occurs to me that's the first time I've ever heard of someone breaking the game with a non-magical character. Sometimes on day one a sammie can be the star. But it doesn't take long for the mages to learn how to compensate.

Granted that issue was because of a house rule, quite contrary to RAW. I'm surprised they didn't just revert back, unless the whole point of the game was to experiment with the mechanic.

[pbangarth]

Yeah, I don't know why the campaign ended so abruptly. They do, sometimes.

[pbangarth]

So, I think Willie needs to study a bit before he can pick up his first level of Leadership, but practising to build up his Blades skill should work. I would like to spend 8 karma points to build his Blades Skill from 3 to 4.

[sunnyside]

I wish I could do more with Thanee, but I think folks are starting to get close to moving onto the next mission?

By forum etiquette should I make a new thread?

[pbangarth]

(OOC: I'll roll that stuff up later. I'm not sure if you want to mess around with him trying to avoid getting into trouble with his manners and AK in the kinds of places with real steak. I might let you freeform some of that if you'd like. )

That's why he chose the HK, not the AK. The HK is undetectable by magnetic detectors.

I think you can just carry on in the IC thread with a new run.

[pbangarth]

So, I think Willie needs to study a bit before he can pick up his first level of Leadership, but practising to build up his Blades skill should work. I would like to spend 8 karma points to build his Blades Skill from 3 to 4.

Can this happen before the next run?

[Thanee]

By forum etiquette should I make a new thread?

I don't think there is any "etiquette" about this, but it might be better simply for keeping things a little more cohesive.

Bye
Thanee

[sunnyside]

Sorry for the delay. The whole area lost internet last night.

Can this happen before the next run?

Yes. That won't be a problem.

[Thanee]

Does it look like one of the spirits is guarding the entrance (i.e. looking away from the door), while the other is with the crowd that is getting inside (i.e. facing the door)?

Bye
Thanee

[Koekepan]

I figure 9 dice in a pool - 5 from Logic, and 4 from his mechanic group, doing industrial mechanic skill.

Fabricating the hatch: 9d6o6 63

Results 9d6o6: 63 9d6o6=19, 17, 11, 1, 3, 5, 2, 1, 4

This is akin to any pressure vessel inspection hatch; fitted hatch panel, and dogs/bolts to hold it in place. A pretty standard outcome.

[pbangarth]

Sorry for the delay. The whole area lost internet last night.

Yes. That won't be a problem.

Thanks.

[sunnyside]

If it's correct we're getting to the next adventure it'd be good for other folks to put in for what you'd want to get in terms of gear or karma spending.

I guess initiation can get a bit more complicated.

[Thanee]

Luckily, initiation is too expensive at the moment. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I guess, the first step should be finding a magical group, anyways.

Other than that, Selina might raise her Perception and/or Assensing a little bit. Maybe learn a new spell.

She also has some binding materials, so she probably would spend some time using those.

How are we going about Edge used outside of run? i.e. would Edge we spend now during downtime (it does make a lot of sense to use Edge on binding) be back at the start of the next run?

Bye
Thanee