SR4 Recruitment Thread

I’m looking for players for an online forum game hopefully beginning in 1-2 weeks. Apply if you’re interested in playing for a quick 2-3 month stretch, with player posts hopefully every day and big things happening at least every week. No strings attached, although if things go well, the game can certainly continue. The depth of atmosphere, highly developed dialogue, and almost fiction-like end product of forum gaming has enticed me to start this up, so if this sounds like fun, by all means join up!

Premise
The lightly experienced runners enter the gritty, dangerous Shadowrun universe, deftly plying their trade against the powerful, yet clumsy criminal organizations and megacorps. I like a pretty dark and deadly game, heavy on the paranoia and light on the high-flying power gaming hijinks. Not to say that gun bunnies have no place here, but this is a slightly lower level game world. Realism is definitely a priority. Location is Seattle, and the main setting will be in and around the Downtown area.

Players
The max number of players I’ll take is 6. Those who reserve a character concept first have priority, and I can subtly adjust the team before starting if necessary. Look at the roster and see if your character fits in well. Your concept will have to be shared with other players, although character stats and background details can remain secret where desired. At the very least, make sure to post a character name, gender, metatype, and basic concept (“gun bunny”, “combat mage”, etc).

Character Gen
Stock 400BP character with by-the-book rules on most stuff. Be sure to obey availability limits and check the errata here (SR4 Errata) to correct the misprints. Only a couple of house rules affect character creation, and in those cases to fix terribly broken stock rules.

House Rules
I have GM’d an SR4 game already so I have some house rules set up already to fix a few issues I ran into. (House Rules)

Posting Guidelines
These will be stated when I begin the OOC thread, but the usual applies: italicize thoughts, use a different color for foreign languages, date/time/place stamp at the top of posts where necessary, remove sigs from IC posts, use spoiler tags where appropriate, etc. Die rolling will be on the honesty rule, although keep in mind you’re dealing with a statistics major gm who can throw cows from space. I remember the last player who was just a little too lucky…heh heh heh…

More to come after the team begins to coalesce,

Repeat fire for effect,

Brandon Kent
me*(@)*brandonkent.com

Hey, I'm interested in giving SR4 a shot. I've yet to make a character in the new system, but an old (but unplayed) concept of mine should work. The character in question was a hermetic support mage/doctor. Originally, he was a sorcerer, but I'm thinking full mage this time around.

Brief: Nvwati/Human/Male/Doctor

I would be interested in playing.
Name: "A-in"
Gender: Male
Metatype: Human
Concept: "Technomancer"

I'll email you the details tonight or tomarrow morning (or as soon as I can).

I'm interested.

Character concept, "Chiller", Male Ork Street Samurai

Wow, a pretty cool team is shaping up. Here is the current roster:

TinkerGnome - NAMELESS, medical magician
BlackHat - "A-In", male human Technomancer
DireRadiant - "Chiller", male ork Street Sam

Use the character gen spreadsheeet of your choice and post or email your stats when you're ready. I recommend this one from the Dumpshock forums: Here or mirrored Here

I'm interested in joining. I just got SR4, and I put together three character concepts I really like, so I guess you could take your pick on what you think would fit the team best.

First Idea: Link Asteroza, human male, Demolitions Expert

Second Idea: Alex Klein, human male, Mage specializing in astral combat/spirits

Third Idea: "Mr. Scorpion", human male, Adept assassin specializing in unarmed combat

One question: Will the team be starting as an established Shadowrunning team? Like do we already know one another? Or will we be meeting after character-creation?

Sorry, I've got newborn twins and I posted while half asleep

Name: Nvwati
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Concept: Doctor / mage

I'm not 100% on whether I'll be making a mage or a shaman yet. The last time I pieced him together, he was a stag shaman. However, that's been a while.

May I?

Ork ex-military, embezzled his GI bill through a dummy university to invest in something important, namely keeping his own butt alive. Fell in love with the XM30 modular weapon system the day he bought the complete package.

ARKARY
Mr. Scorpion sounds like a cool character. Perhaps you could give him a few social skills as well, as the party is going to need a face of some sort. I won't mandate anything yet, although that would be my first choice. Welcome to the fray.

BlackHat
Entirely up to you guys, I can work with either one. I prefer having you meet for the first time, since it's easier and it provides a bit more "paranoia" material. Feel free to chat with the other players and determine for yourself if you want to share a background with someone else.

MrMiracle
Unfortunately, the XM30 has an Availability of 15F, which is more than the allowed 12 for starting characters. I might normally be willing to fudge, but the XM30 is a very powerful weapon suite. Any of the other assault rifles are fair game and would be logical for an ex-military guy to have around. Also, we already have a male ork street sam, so you may wish to consider making him different in some fashion. Maybe he's pure mercenary, or specialized in demolitions, something like that.

TinkerGnome
Excellent, good character concept and fits the party well.

Ok, the current roster is full, although two are reserved and may be up for grabs later on:

TinkerGnome - "Nvwati", male human medical magician
BlackHat - "A-In", male human Technomancer
DireRadiant - "Chiller", male ork Street Sam
ARKARY - choice of three concepts
MrMiracle - reserved for later details
casarez - reserved for 24 hrs

You can still mark your place for an alternate position if any of the above players drops out. Nothing is final until I receive and approve character sheets.

Check page 87 of the base book for hints on making a background and backstory for your character. I really encourage flavorful roleplay and interesting characters, and a cool backstory will make your runner seem that much more real. Be thinking about this when creating your character and writing the background.

Got two ideas running in my head.

George « Bull » Bates
Male Dwarf
Rigger (probably more vehicle than drone) from the CAS who's crazy about everything western

Patrick Shamus O'Maley
Male Human
Face, with a very high leaning towards some sort of smuggling (like a small time gunrunner or such), no magic, and probably practically NO CYBER AT ALL. I really feel like trying out a 100% mundane runner Oh yea, he would probably have little combat skills.

So... there it is for now. Tell me which one should rather be in the game and I'll start working the numbers.

Name: Josie Ohm
His mother named him after Clint Eastwood's famous civil war era outlaw. Josie grew up in a small, insignificant rural town in the UCAS. He enlisted at the age of 16 after the UCAS passed a bill allowing Ork enlistees to finish their final year of high school education in the military. Josie excelled in his education, and saw considerable favor with his instructors. He made E-4 relatively quickly, but due to his utter ineptitude at instructing and managing other soldiers, his tenure was refused and he was honorably discharged at the end of his enlistment.
Josie loved education, but couldn't abide the notion of going to college, particularly when he was far better at 'book learning'. Josie has an unnatural talent for picking up information simply by reading the right book. The only thing he has never been able to do is pass on his information to anyone else. His mind works in a completely unique manner, and he is unable to explain any complex concept to anyone else.
Josie did some courier work between Detroit and Seattle along the UCAS turnpike for a while. His aptitude for dealing with interlopers earned him the notice of Oso Cosmas, his Fixer contact and arms dealer. Oso helped Josie embezzle his UCAS GI bill money through a dummy university. Josie immediately invested the money in something he thought was worthwhile: his own survival. He bought the best concealable armor available and even managed to get bone lacing and dermal plating. Josie definately leans more towards the mercenary side of things. His cyber isn't nearly as fancy as a Street Sams and leans more towards reliability and survival.

Josie's cover:
Josie's cover is as Mike Baker, salesman for the Super Fun Happy Time Cuddle Bear Corporation (SFHTCBC), a front for Oso Cosmas' operation. The Super Fun Happy Fun Time Cuddle Bear is an actual product, assembled and sold by work-at-home Ork moms. It is an interactive bear intended to teach non-violent problem solving, safety, and tolerance to inner city children. 'Mike Baker' demos the process to said Ork moms as a cover to get around town, and around the country. Josie likes the work (and the moms too)

I had purchaced Josie's gear already, but since he can't have the XM30, I'll have to rework his arms.

Mister Juan
You are the first alternate, since all six spots are currently taken or reserved. I like the 100% mundane character idea, should be interesting. Either concept would probably work in this game though, so take your pick.

MrMiracle
Nice background story. As long as you and DireRadiant feel your characters are unique enough, it's fine with me.

We have a somewhat homogenous group with basically three human males and two ork males. I'm ok with it, just something to consider if you are still wavering on character specifics.

Mister Juan
I just noticed you are participating in the "Initial Shadow Offering" run in this same forum. I read through that last week, and was impressed with your character George. Very good roleplaying, so I will see what I can do about getting you in.

Sweet deal mate, thanks a bunch.
Which character would you rather I play?

Edit: Went way too fast... just saw you before last post
I'll go with my combat inefficient mundane face

I'm having a bit of trouble with the Excel sheet. I can't find a place for integral smartlinks or vehicles. Once those are out of the way, I should be ready to go.

Regarding the Excel sheet, it does not have vehicles or drones on it. It also doesn't have enough space for most people's gear, and is missing some accessory space. Just add additional notes when you email your sheet to clear those up. Leave enough nuyen at the end to cover what you're purchasing/modifying outside of the sheet. Sorry, should have warned you on that one.

ARKARY
I haven't received anything via email yet. My correct email address is me*(@)*brandonkent.com, removing the asterisks and parentheses of course.

ARKARY
I must have been too impatient. Just received a character image, background, and Excel sheet. Will review and get back to you.

Yet another current roster:

TinkerGnome - "Nvwati", male human medical magician (*Sheet Rcvd*)
BlackHat - "A-In", male human Technomancer
DireRadiant - "Chiller", male ork Street Sam
ARKARY - "Mr. Scorpion", male human physad (*Sheet Rcvd*)
MrMiracle - "Josie Ohm", male ork mercenary (*Sheet Rcvd*)
Mister Juan - "Patrick Shamus O'Malley", male human face

A pretty good balance of skills, just kind of weird to see so many male humans and orks. Very interesting. Send in your sheet when you get time, if you have not.

heh, well, I could throw in a troll if ya like! or an elf, or a dwarf....

Just gotta get use to the house rules in question. Seems I may be a tad late in things of course, looks like you've nearly got your gang together.

*hrms* if elf, a mystic adept sounds fine. Dwarf, a gun prof might be something. A troll would end up with a bit of melee violence of course, but I may be creative license in what they're good at, maybe a rigger on the side for those extra eyes.
...probably safer to be male with this group, with any choice...although I think as a dwarf I'd be safe..or a troll. Come on, who's going to pick on a troll woman?

*rolls the dice to decide*

Martha Chetterban aka "Mars" (more for god of war reference)
Female Dwarf, mixed of gunslinger, hobbyist rigger, and explosives expert

Homemade explosives are good for cleaning out the yard, or the neighbors car.

Important General Announcement

The OOC thread for this adventure has been created here. There won't be a lot to do yet, but those with sheets approved can work on their background with other players and get ready for the run. Questions can be posted there or here until all player slots are filled and finalized.

Cold-Dragon
Things are pretty set up for this team, although I don't have all of the sheets in yet. I can keep you on reserve if someone drops out. Don't worry too much about a character yet, as it might make a difference as to which PC leaves.

*nods* understood. I had a little done out, but hardly complete. I'll let it sit for now, just in case.

Sad to wish ill on others, but here's hoping I can be entertaining if I make it. ^-^; *goes to study up rigging and stuff*

thewolf, (Can I call you Brandon? ) I sent you an email this morning, with some questions, but I'm not sure if I screwed u pthe email address or not.

In case I did, let me know and I'll resend

Cold-Dragon
That was a neat character idea. Hold on to it, it might be handy later.

BlackHat
Received and replied. Btw, you may address me as Wolf, Brandon, or "O Captain My Captain"...heh.

I'm a tad busy today, so I'll try to have a sheet sent in before the weekend.

Updated roster list:

TinkerGnome - "Nvwati", male human medical magician (*Sheet Rcvd*)
BlackHat - "A-In", male human Technomancer (*Sheet Rcvd*)
DireRadiant - "Chiller", male ork Street Sam (*Approved*)
ARKARY - "Mr. Scorpion", male human physad (*Approved*)
MrMiracle - "Josie Ohm", male ork mercenary (*Approved*)
Mister Juan - "Patrick Shamus O'Malley", male human face

I pretty much have a bead on everyone here, just waiting for final sheets from two and Mister Juan has already posted.

For those with approved sheets, we're ready to set things in motion. Be thinking about the following and post in the OOC Thread the following:

1. Name and description of the contact who would call you for a job.
2. Daily routine of your character, what they do, where they go, hours when they're awake, etc.
3. Where your character lives, with whom, etc. Be creative here, I don't mind.
4. Whether you might know anyone else in the group, discuss as needed with other characters.

I can make some of this up for you if necessary, but I wanted to give the full opportunity to you to color your character's background and lifestyle. Remember, no rules for posting in the OOC thread, so go wild.

Sent in my sheet.
I'll post on the OOC thread when you OK it

Whoa, that was fast ...

Still, i present my male human ( ) con man, formerly thief.

Just in case someone takes the wrong turn.

Butterblume and Cold-Dragon
Sorry guys, everyone has checked in to the OOC thread and I have approved all six character sheets. I can certainly contact you if any players drop during or after the first run. Until then, keep running the shadows...

All Characters
Every character is approved and ready for play. All other correspondence should be addressed in the OOC thread.