Well, does anyone else have a silenced long-range weapon?



With the number of opponents there, I think we shouldn't be too far away to begin with, so we can quickly join the rest when going indoors.

We should leave the surveillance of the area to the drones then.

Bye
Thanee

It doesn't really matter where you set up, but you need a good vantage point. In any case, 900 meters can be covered in a vehicle in no time. The reason the majority of the team is going on foot is so we have the element of surprise on our side. We'll lose that by running engines and driving through rugged terrain with headlights on. And we'll REALLY lose it if we try that with guards in those towers.

900 meters shouldn't be too bad if you use your Take Aim action to focus on one guy, but I really wouldn't get any closer than 500 meters.

Looking through the available weapons, I think the only silent ones apart from my sniper rifle are Requiem's pistols.

Maybe our mage could help out with a Mana Bolt?

Bye
Thanee

@Pragma: I'm afraid I'll have to say no, the Stormcloud wouldn't make it to the top of the tower quick enough, the thing is really slow for an aircraft. It'd just get spotted by the landing plane anyway. There are certainly bushes behind the hangar, but in order to use the laser mic you'd have to go back to the roof and beam at the skylights again, though thankfully you can keep it low to the roof so as to avoid getting spotted by the ground crews.

@Yoippari: Sure, you can buy hits, but ONLY during calm situations when there's nothing at stake. So yes, you could buy hits with that spell, but you cannot buy hits in combat, or while sneaking, or healing wounded, etc as the situation is not calm or there is something at stake.

@Everyone reading Abs' plan: Anyone who volunteers to tandem snipe with Lynx should remember the ranges of their weapon. Sniper rifles have a max range of 1500m(which means Lynx can shoot anyone in view from the trench), Battle and Sporting rifles have a max range of 750m, and assault rifles have a max range of 550m, so ya'll need to be in range to do the deed. And for the record, distance can make an unsilenced gunshot harder to notice, so think about that.

Also, because I've held off explanation long enough, a little exposition on your Redshirts.

The reason you have redshirts is to allow for big battles without making them too lengthy. I admit that I should of chose a better name, but they do die with little fanfare on bad rolls so you don't have too. Redshirts have their own little mechanic when facing off against groups of regular mooks, and thus follow different rules in those situations. I won't tell you the specifics of how they work so as to keep it mysterious, but rest assured this is all done with a roll or two, so it's not just me being mean if you lose a squad in one combat turn . Rule of thumb is that numbers and/or experiance count as much as luck in winning battles.

So in short, if you want to whittle down a huge group to manageable size, redshirts are a good way if you don't got airstrikes to spare. They also do other stuff, but I'll get to that when it's relevant.

The easy way to make your redshirts more effective is to guide them into a situation that is more advantagous, such as having them spring ambushes. Conversely, if they get into a bad situation(such as facing tanks without AT weapons), they'll be less effective.

The more reliable way to make redshirts something to be feared is through use of the Leadership skill. As of the War! suppliment, Leadership can be used in four ways to help out your allies, and it's shockingly the only skill I've seen that makes use of different stats for different tests. These four ways have similar, but more profound effects on redshirts. They are:

Command(Strategy spec.)
With a Leadership + Logic test at a threshold equal to half the men you are commanding(rounded up), you anticipate the flow of battle, giving everyone a +2 to their Init score on a successful test. This bonus stacks with any other.

w/Redshirts?: Instead of affecting their initiative, this allows a group of redshirts to make their key roll in a Redshirt vs. Mook fight twice, keeping the higher result.

Direct Fire(Tactics spec.)
With a Leadership + Intuition test at a threshold equal to half the men you are commanding(rounded up), you can give advice for more effective ways to hit the target, giving everyone a +1(+2 under my rule, otherwise it's too lame) to their attack roll on a successful test against the designated target.

w/Redshirts?: When used on redshirts, this temporarily causes their experiance level to increase one tier(such as Green to Regular), consequentially making their attack much more effective vs Mooks. This is not limited to one target, but whichever group they are engaged with at the time.

Inspire(Morale spec.)
With a Leadership + Charisma(1) test, you can give your allies a +2 to bonus to Composure tests. Since I don't expect to be throwing these at you every ten seconds, this isn't too terribly helpful for fellow PC's.

/w Redshirts?: This causes redshirts to be much harder to spook, which can happen if they face overwhelming odds or end up having a good number of their squad killed in one go. Goes without saying that panicking redshirts are ineffective ones.

Rally(Gut Check spec.)
Leadership + Charisma(2) test. A successful use of this allows NPC's and PC's alike to retake a failed Morale or Composure test.

/w Redshirts?: Pretty much the same as the standard. If they freak out, just use this test to bring them back into line.

Who says social skills are out of place in war? One thing to keep in mind, though, is that all these uses take one Complex Action to use(it counts as a Use Skill (pg. 148, SR4A) action), while the Command and Direct Fire actions only work for the same combat turn they are used. Once that turn is up, you have to do it again.

A little GM hint for ya'll: Your redshirts are Green, which means they aren't terribly effective in small groups. Use of the Direct Fire order can allieviate that easy . Oh and don't feel cheated if you want to use these bonuses but lack the Leadership skill; I'm to blame for not warning you about it's potential usefulness. However, I am giving out a good amount of karma after this little 'tutorial mission' is over, so you can fix that if you want.

Loony will work on splitting his hacking efforts - one to shut down the plane, which he'll load Saint Crispin into the node armed with a Black Hammer and order him to smack any account that logs on save his own. Then he'll lockdown that truck that Tshombe is driving.

the rest of this that was here doesn't matter -he's going with the assault team.

I don't recall if I need to roll to find the plane's wireless signal or not, so I'll roll an EW to find the signal, then an Exploit to get to work.

9d6.hits(5) → [5,5,1,1,1,5,2,2,6] = (4)

Four to find it...

9d6.hits(5) → [4,6,2,4,4,2,4,3,6] = (2)

Two to hack it? I don't think so. Edge roll!

7d6.hits(5) → [5,1,2,1,2,2,6] = (2)

Four to find the plane, four to crack the plane. Directional Smart Jammer is available at rating four. It's an evening for fours.

And to keep going.

8d6.hits(5) → [1,1,2,4,1,1,1,4] = (0)

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF I need to save the edge so

7d6.hits(5) → [3,1,3,3,3,6,4] = (1)

That makes five, and

6d6.hits(5) → [3,5,3,1,3,3] = (1)

Si-man, fuck this. Logging out, stopping the hack, and I'll capture the access ID of the pilot tomorrow.

I need to post but have some errands to do. I'll post later this afternoon/evening.

Ok, I'm not going to try a post with color and bold stamps from my phone but the intent is offer the use of manabolt wherever its needed. Then move forward angling around to the side with bravo. I'll offer a couple words of encouragement with the leadership rules just posted too while we are still far enough away not to be heard.

Hey, I'm just pointing out how silly it is to not want an alarm while at the same time making loud gun shots.

If it is just that you want the two guys taken care of, because they have the best fire position from up there, that's a whole different story.

Bye
Thanee

Gunshots really do carry, especially over open terrain. And they are distinctive. Go hunting and listen to someone shoot from a mile away in wooded hills. No problem hearing it, albeit a few seconds later.

Per the IC, acquiring target lock on one of the tower sentries. I assume you'll use the unused laser mic and infiltration checks from my last post, but please prod me for new tests if you'd prefer.

Sensor 3 + Perceiption 1 + hot sim 2 = Sensor lock on the tower guard. (6d6.hits(5)=0) = 0 extra dice on gunnery attacks against him.

(RAW is a bit fuzzy on this, correct me if I'm making the wrong test.)

I believe I need a Perception (vision) test and a Direct Fire test.
So Leadership first Leadership 1 + Intuition 3 (4d6.hits(5)=2)

And Perception. Perception 2 + Intuition 3 + vision enhancers 3 (8d6.hits(5)=2)

When I came up with the original plan, I wasn't aware that we were lacking the necessary equipment. I was having to thumb through about six character sheets and hope that I didn't miss anything. Apparently we were short on certain things, but I think overall the plan is still good.

I think the guards in the tower still need taken out before Alpha and Bravo get close, otherwise we're going to get spotted. I'm not worried so much about their firing position. Between their distance modifiers (consider both horizontal AND vertical distances), night-time lighting conditions, and any general cover we may have, it's not so much that they're in a position to shoot us so much as they can say over their commlinks, "We got ten guys coming in from the east in two squads, get into defensive positions and hide Tshombe!"

If we have to ruin the surprise, I'd rather it be "I think we're being shot at, but I don't know where they're at!" than what's above.

That said I think we'll be investing in some armaments and general equipment once we get Tshombe. Let's get him alive so we have more money to throw around.

...and steal the plane!

Seconded.

The only option I see to take them out without making them aware, will be the sniper / manabolt combo. Those are the only weapons we have available for silent takedowns (with decent range).

Otherwise, once we fire those first shots, it should not take too long until storming the hangar, if we don't want to give them too much time to hole in there.

Bye
Thanee

I could lob a grenade in there.

That's right people, your redshirts DO have names! Or more accurately, one-word callsigns. The current ones are as so:

Fireteam Alpha:
Jools
Jops
Stoo
RJ

Fireteam Bravo:
Ubik
Tosh
Mak
Windy

I'd come up with individual backstories and personalities for each one just to guilt the lot of you should any of them die, but I am not Tarn Adams and this is not Dwarf Fortress.

Well, that's a little inconvenient, but it is how it is.

Have the messages Ace picked up been sent to the rest of us, too?
Maybe it would be a good idea to send someone capable into the plane to take care of the pilot personally (Requiem would be a logical choice for this).


Either way, I would go into that hangar right now, while they are moving up onto the roof.

Once the tower is taken care of, I will see, that the guards out there in the open are taken out, then head towards the tower myself, looking for a fire position to take that hangar roof under aim. So much for the theory, anyways.

One question... the tower is probably the highest point... other than that, is the hangar roof or the mansion roof higher?

Bye
Thanee

So there is a sniper/spotter team in the tower? So far I thought they were just watchouts. I will have my aim on the sniper then, of course.

Here's a Perception (visual) roll to observe the tower in detail: 6 hits

Bye
Thanee

Will be out of town for the next few days -- Ace will snipe out a tower guard using the drone if both aren't down on the first initiative pass. Immediately thereafter he will accelerate the blimp straight up to keep it out of the line of fire. It will also, hopefully, take out the marksman on the hangar roof from above or at least provide information about the marksman's location to our own snipers.

If the firefight begins in earnest before my return then he'll shuttle people around using the van and car and drive the doberman close enough to lob grenades and/or suppressive fire at emerging threats.

Defaulting on Infiltration (Agility) 3 (2d6.hits(5)=1)

Bad Luck Roll (1d6=3) - So Bad Luck doesn't haunt me today

Defaulting to Agility, adding Edge in beforehand. 4 - 1 + 3 = 6 dice.

Infiltration Roll + Edge (6d6.hits(5)=2)

Not that it makes a difference here, but just FYI, you can also use...

hitsopen(hitmin, reroll) – roll the dice and count the hits, adding an extra die for any value equal or greater than “reroll”
i.e. 6d6.hitsopen(5,6)

...when using Edge like that.

Bye
Thanee

@Thanee: Yes, the tower is the highest point nearby. Yes, Ace's recordings are being trasmitted. They were before and that's how it will remain even when being set on GM autopilot.

@Yoippari: I was going to have you do a dodge test, but nah. I'll give you a free pass just once and only once, besides I'd rather things get in gear already.

Also, I noticed Doc Chase never bothered to make his Infiltration roll, so I made it for him. Ironic how I aced a 3-dice test for him when he crit-glitched at 8 dice on his own.

Initiative Roll (9d6.hits(5)=4)

Initiative 13, 2 Initiative Passes

Rastus: When appropriate and/or relevant, give me a description of where I am and what goons me and my fellows see.

Initiative 5 + improve reflexes 1 (6d6.hits(5)=0)

Initiative 6, 2 Passes.

Ouch.

Is my group just behind some bushes or are we near the hanger?

edit: Oh, right, ubik is one of "My" guys. I guess that means just a shrubbery between us and bullets.

Initiative 11 + 4 = 15 (2 IP)


Assuming that I'm going before the guys in the tower, here's my first IP already...


Kerrigan has been taking aim at the sniper in the tower for a while already (Called Shot (+4 DV), Take Aim, Take Aim, Take Aim, Delay...), so the first Simple Action is to release the prepared shot.

DP is 15 + 6 for 3x Take Aim with Bipod - 4 for Called Shot (+4 DV) = 17

SA: Shooting the sniper 6 hits (Base DV 12P with AP -3)

EDIT: 2nd shot against the spotter removed, because that target wasn't available at this time.

Bye
Thanee

P.S. I think Requiem is also aiming at the tower as per the original plan (at the spotter then). Ace's stormcloud is also trained on that one. So, I guess there is no need to use Edge at this point. If Requiem is NOT in position to shoot at the other tower guard (but rather sneaking up on the plane or somesuch), I will use Edge, but waiting on Aria for now.

Ah well, so much for that plan . Requiem was heading along the runway towards the plane and I had assumed headed out a bit before the others so he’s now approx 50m from the plane when the sh*t hits the fan?!? That makes him how far from the tower 100m ish?!? I was intending to double tap the hatchway guards with silenced pistols but it seems the assault rifle is going to come in to play instead…

Target priorities for Req:

1. Tower spotter assuming he’s still standing?
2. The guards by the hatchway (unless the patrol is closer?!?)
3. The plane pilot (after going inside the plane!)

Initiative: 12d6.hits(5) → [1,6,5,6,4,4,3,1,2,5,6,3] = (5) therefore Ini = 17Here
IPs: 3

So if you can confirm what the hell is going on around Req he'll actually shoot someone

I made a quick and rough sketch of how I believe things might look like.

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1196/airstrip.png

Does that somewhat match your mental picture, Rastus?

EDIT: here is Rastus updated map: http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5826/altairstrip.png

Bye
Thanee

Well, let's see if IC likes me any more today.

Rolling initiative, flipping on the smart jammer - Rating 4.

10d6.hits(5) → [2,5,6,3,1,3,2,4,6,2] = (3)

Going on a 13, three passes.

That's close, but here's a more accurate representation:
http://img522.imageshack.us/f/altairstrip.png/

Should of used a map in the first damn place.

Yes Aria, you are about the stated distances you mentioned. Also Thanee, I'm not sure you're completely within short range if you're trying to aim up at the tower and expect an unobstructed shot, but whatever it's only a minor penalty so no matter right now.

Anyways, without further ado the init tally for this combat round.(I did pragma's init roll for him)

------
First IP: Requiem(17)-> Lynx(15) -> Loony(13) -> Cor(13) -> Plane guards(12 each) -> Ace(12) -> Redshirts(10) -> ChinesePatrol(9) -> T-Sniper/Spotter(8) -> Hatfield(6)

Second IP: Requiem(17)-> Lynx(15) -> Loony(13) -> Cor(13) -> Plane guards(12 each) -> Ace(12) -> Hatfield(6)

Third IP: Requiem(17)-> Loony(13) -> Ace(12)

Fourth IP: Ace(12)
------

And with that, numbers are set and it's time to rock with Aria up first.

Ready? Action!

Now that I think about it, it totally makes sense to have the hangar at the side.

Thanks! It's quite helpful to have a map (even a rough one) at this point.

It would also be good to know where the patrol is currently (if we can see them).

The other opposition (apart from a large number of guys in that hangar) are easy enough (2 in the tower and 2 near the plane).



I think I can just zoom to close range, anyways, with my vision magnification / scope, thus ignoring range penalties. So that shouldn't be much of an issue.



My action (right after Requiem) is as posted above.

If there is some penalty involved still, just remove dice from the back to compensate.

Bye
Thanee

Well Req will delay action until Lynx fires (if that's possible in this edition of SR?!?)...and then take a shot at the spotter in the tower...will roll tomorrow though as sleep calls!

Yes, of course you can delay your action.

Bye
Thanee

What timezones are being represented here btw? I'm gmt-8 so I would probably be the last to reply timezone wise.

Pure GMT here, so good morning

Narrow Burst +2DV
Shot 1: Agi+Firearms 11D +2 Smart -1 Range -2 target partial cover(?) no recoil no vis mods
Shot 2: Agi+Firearms 11D +2 Smart -1 Range -2 target partial cover(?) no recoil no vis mods

10d6.hits(5) → [1,1,3,5,5,4,6,1,5,5] = (5)
10d6.hits(5) → [3,4,5,3,3,3,4,3,4,2] = (1)

Base Damage 6P AP –1

Hopefully that spotter is toast...will post IC when I hear back on this

GMT+1



You do not need to modify your attack dicepool for cover... it's a bonus to the defender's dicepool.

Also, Base DV should be 8P (modified by the Narrow Burst).


Since Requiem is waiting for Lynx to make the first shot, I have posted my action in the IC now.

Bye
Thanee

Hmmm...it's on my list of ranged modifiers from the GM screen pdf (may be SR4 rather than 'A')...!?! Ah well, I trust that 5 hits on top of 8P will be enough to do some harm! I can always roll some more dice if needed...

I know I'm taking a bit of a liberty here but I hope it's not too out of order

Heh. Yeah, I suppose so.

I will edit an appropriate message into my last post, once we have confirmation.

Bye
Thanee

I'm going to allow it this time, but in the future I'd prefer you guys not put forgone conclusions into your IC actions regardless of just how good you think you've rolled, otherwise it makes my resolution look weird.

Doc, it's your turn. Shoot somebody!

Edit: Oh yeah, and to answer Thanee's question, the patrol is between Alpha and Bravo teams position on my map.

Speaking of which... it would be good to know what the actual result of our shots is.

Bye
Thanee

I was thinking more that it's Req's arrogance that he assumes his shots killed the target

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

Free Action: Changing the jammer's mode to Active.

Simple Action:
Narrow three round burst on one of the two on patrol with the FN 5-7C, Automatics 3 + Laser Sight 1 + Agility 4 = 8 Dice, recoil modified to zero
8d6.hits(5) → [3,5,4,6,4,2,3,6] = (3)


Power is 4P, bumped to 7 on successes, bumped to 9 on burst DV.

Complex Action:

Narrow three-round burst on the second of the two on patrol with the FN 5-7C. -1 dice due to recoil modifier (current RC is 4, -2 for first burst)
7d6.hits(5) → [6,6,4,6,6,1,3] = (4)

That'll boost it to a full 10P assuming they fuck up their dodge.

Free Action: Hand signals. Ordering troops to halt their advance and spread out.

Complex Action: Direct Fire Leadership roll. Intuition 5 + Leadership 6 + Empathy Software 2 + Kinesics 3 = 16

Direct Fire (16d6.hits(5)=7)

7 hits ought to do it.

Back in the saddle. (At least until Friday; a lot of travel at the start of this year for some reason.)

Going to hold off on declaring exactly who to kill until we get some feedback from rastus, but I can at least put some priorities, rolls and questions up; rereading the vehicle rules has raised some entirely new issues in my understanding of how to handle drones in Shadowrun.

Questions:

1. Do I need to spend a complex action "driving" the blimp to prevent it from going out of control?

SR4 p. 160 (don't know SR4A page) suggests that drivers need to spend one complex action per turn driving a vehicle to prevent it from going out of control.

If I jump out of the drone, does the pilot make that test automatically? Does this apply to rigged vehicles as well (I'd assume yes)? If a pilot program is driving a vehicle does it apply then too (I guess yes)? What if the pilot receives an order in the last possible IP of the turn, is it then forced to spend that IP controlling itself rendering it unable to act next turn (I also guess yes)? If I'm jumped in, spend a complex action to drive a drone and then jump out would the pilot have to expend a separate action to drive the drone (I guess no)?

2. Drone initiative

Speaking of which, can drones that I issue orders to only act on the first 2 IPs (I think yes)? What would happen if I issued an order to the drone in my 4th IP (I guess it waits until the first IP of the next turn.)

3. Is vehicle motion "free" in the same way that character motion is (I think so)? That is, does it require a "driving action" to move a vehicle each time, or is does one driving complex action per turn allow vehicles to move like PCs (I'd guess the latter)?

4. This is more on the comment side, but I'd totally overlooked the fact that all vehicle combat tests are complex actions ; a semi-automatic weapon can only fire one round per pass from a drone.

5. Are drones considered to have image magnification? If I wanted a drone rifle with image magnification would I add it to the weapon's scope or the vehicle's camera (I think the camera)?

6. Would a sensor lock action include activating vision magnification (I think no)? Does it require separate actions to actively target and to take aim (I think yes)?

7. Does the attacker in a moving vehicle ranged combat modifier affect drones (I think no)?

Actions:

Assuming all of my above assumptions are correct, spend a complex action piloting the blimp straight up at walking rate to get it out of the plane of the roof (and hopefully, thus, out of sight). Try to locate the roof access hatch that Tshombe mentioned in preparation for bushwhacking the marksman he mentioned (but I don't have an action to spend on observe in detail, so if it's not easy to see then I may miss it this pass).

Rolls:

None needed yet.

Jump forward to the rigging section. Drones are different than vehicle and I think a rigged vehicle acts the same as a rigged drone. If you are physically driving a drone as if it were a car then it is a complex action. If you are jumped in then the drone acts as a character. No driving, just moving. It is a character in the way it moves. The pilot program moves on it's IP with the same simple and complex action list that regular characters do. So if you issue a command on your IP then the drone will act on that command when it has the chance.







I'm not seeing anywhere that it specifically says they have any image enhancements. Arsenal has a bit about the different sensors vehicles and drones have but it just includes base items like cameras and laser range finders but I don't see any stats about the cameras.

Okay, that took longer than it needed to. Damn shiny things, so distracting.

@Doc Chase: You forgot to add the switching targets penalty to your second shot. Doesn't matter right now though, would of still got 4 hits.

@Pragma: Nice to have you back, though usually people bring a souvenier from their trips instead of questions.

Do this real rapid-fire like:

1. No, as Yoip said you are rigging. Besides, even if RAW said so I would just handwave it no. It's a goddamn blimp, it floats gently in the air. Unless you were trying to fire a naval cannon from it, it wouldn't exactly go anywhere if control was lost.

2. If you issued a drone an order, it'd obey that order on the next IP or the next combat turn. So if you were to tell your assortment of vehicles and doberman to drop by on IP4, they'd start moving on IP1 of the next round.. If there is a next round.

3. Unless you're doing crazy stunts, evasive manuevers, or going at high speeds than no I don't think driving really requires anything special. Consider it free, no test needed.

4. I'm willing to allow double taps from semi-auto weapons within the same complex action. Just use the result from one test for both shots.

5. No, drones do not come with any special add-ons that are not mentioned. Though considering all scopes are somewhat electronic(unless specifically not, for mages sake), so you could easily plug in the rifles scope to the drones camera sensors.

6. Locking on pretty much is Take Aim for drones. And I suppose activiating different visions would require different actions. Of course, if you've got multiple cameras what's to say all visions aren't active?

7. No, that's strictly for firing unmounted weapons out of vehicles, says so in it's description. So I don't think you'll be suffering any of that unless you try to do drivebys or have a drone run around shooting unmounted guns via mechanical arms.

@Rastus: You probably missed that Requiem delayed after Lynx before shooting, but I guess it doesn't really matter for the result.

Bye
Thanee