Ah well. I wasted 4 spell points binding an air elemental an chargen, but then realized that it doesn't give me any services and I would need a conjuring library+materials to actually use the thing. Stupidest part of the rules in my opinion - why would anyone waste spell points on an elemental that doesn't give you any services to start with so is basically useless?
I fell for it...

He's probably running around the astral plane laughing his ass off at the stupid mage that gave him free karma.

By the way, were there any MAD systems to detect weapons that Mason could see?

Just in case we do decide to go with the sneaking in the front door route it would be good to know that before hand.

Since you think a helicopter would be too loud and hiring a mage to levitate us up too risky, it looks like that may just be our best bet.

Hey if you can trust the mage, fine. We can offer to pay him a percentage of our cut so he has an interest in keeping us alive, but mages willing to help criminals do crime for money aren't exactly trustworthy.

Hey, wait a second. You're a mage. Does that mean we shouldn't trust you?

Hehe.

Anyways, I wasn't criticizing your assessment of the situation. I am just trying to get a discussion going as far as what our strategy will be.

Since we haven't seen any movement of security or cleaning crew to or from the building, do you think we need to watch it more and/or keep watch from other points?

....


mama mia!

...her too.

...

papa pia!

so do we have a plan? more leg work?

I was trying to wait and see if Bastard(Hooter) or Hahnsoo(Boo) had any opinions on the subject.

I tried sending hahnsoo a pm last week, but he never responded, so he may be out of it now...Actually I just did a quick search for any posts elsewhere on the dumpshock and it didn't find anything more recent than 5/10, so who knows what's happened with him.

My main concern with the going in the front door plan is that we don't currently have a way to defeat the cameras. From Mason's description they my be spaced sparsely enough that we could sneak past them, but I don't know if that is actually the case.

I also pm'd him on aim and didn't get a reply, but that doesnt mean it was actually him signing on to aim either.

I mean, I guess we could try the helicopter thing...but that seems like it'll be a little pricey. Frickin I was gonna get the levitate spell but I was all "Nah, I'll try something different for once." Same with invisability...what were the chances I'd need to use it?

hmmmm....where are those guys?

"Have you seen Boo?"
"No, I was just hangin' in his truck."

i didnt take either of those spells either

I say chopper...or suction cups!

I take it you don't like the idea of just walking in the front door and hiding out inside somewhere until after most people leave.

Sounds good...where are we going hide a big ork?

You mean you can't fold yourself up into something the size of a small paper weight that could fit in my briefcase?
What's up with that?

Kidding, of course. I believe FrostyNSO was proposing that we go in during the day, do a little window shopping (keeping an eye out for appropriately sized hiding places), hide ourselves, wait until after closing time, and then sneak around as best we can.

A large orc might have difficulties finding a hiding spot (if Boo ever comes back it will be even harder for him to hide as a troll), but I wouldn't think it impossible. At the very least you could hide in some bathroom stall. When stores shut down they rarely bother to do even a cursory check of bathrooms. Security guards plus locked doors and gates would be between any would be thieves and the exit, so its not that big a concern. When they do check, it is typically only to make sure no customer accidentally gets locked in.

So right now we have a few choices.
1) Hire a rigger to get us to the roof-THis would seriously cut into our profits though and may be too noisy for what we want.
2) Hire a mage to get us to the roof-Again this would cut into our profits. There are also some safety/trusting issues.
3) Suction cups or other climbing gear-The supplies wouldn't be too expensive, but it would be a rather time consuming process with all of us being very exposed on the side of the building both from the outside and the inside.
4) Head into the shopping area during the day, hide until after closing and then sneak inside as Frosty suggested-This has no additional costs to us, but there is some concern about the orc's ability to be hidden (along with Boo the troll's ability if he comes back).
5) Do more legwork/observe building from other locations to find out more info on the comings and goings of the security and cleaning crew in the hopes of being able to infiltrate them in some way-It's possible that they live on-site so this may be pointless and the longer we stay around the area the more likely we will be noticed.

Given these options I would say 4) is the best one. What do you guys think.

1. Probably the most reliable as far as safety is concerned. With noise concerns, not so much.

2. This wouldn't be too bad. Definately a trust issue. Would need to find a mage with some serious rep.

3. Exposure issues, and maybe some problems getting our lines hooked up.

- We could have one person go inside and head up to the roof, where they could rig the lines and (hide) wait until we're ready to go, then toss them down for the others.

4. Size Issues.

- We could hide on top of the elevators? Or Hideout on the roof?

Yes, I agree that Wormwood would be the guy to get the rigging set up if we decide to go the route of climbing.

I guess the on-top of elevator wouldn't be so good, according to what slacker said. I agree on that point.

I can try yes, but if anyone is "up" to doing two (and i'll keep the decking light) it'd be helpful

Honestly, I have never played a decker before, but I'd be willing to play Boo if you would send me a copy of his character sheet.

Ok, I've looked over Boo's character sheet and with what hahnsoo last said he was going to do in mind, here is what Boo will be doing:

1) He will call Jacob his Corporate Broker buddy to see if this company is a subsidiary of something bigger.
ettiquette Test

2) He is going to do a standard general Matrix search to find out info on the group that came overnight. This level of search would find personal information (name, occupation, SIN, etc.).



I went ahead and put the info on the TN in the spoilers because I think I remember you mentioning at one point you wanted us to do that if we know the TN. Also, it kind of helped be keep straight what I was doing.

If you want him to do multiple searches because he has pictures of multiple people he was looking up, just tell me.

I may have him do some other searches to try getting specifics on the building layout and such later, but I need to read up on the rules for it first.

Boo will contact the rest of the group when he is finished with his Matrix search. He will tell them what he found out. He'll also send whatever data he found on the girl to anybody that has a way to view (Like Wormwood's pocket secretary or home telecom) so they can see it for themselves.

ok, so everyone finds out what Boo did, primarily, that aside from one being a disappeared porn starlett, this group of people that came in late doesn't seem to exist.

So Bastard does Hooter agree with the plan to have Wormwood infiltrate the building, sneak up to the roof, and let down enough rope for the others to climb up?

Aku tell me want you want me to roll for Boo's decking into the Building Permits host I just mentioned IC.

Boo will print out a copy of the building's blueprints to give to Wormwood

By the way, does there seem a separate staircase that starts on the 21 floor also?
Also, can Wormwood see anywhere he could hide once inside and/or get into the ventilation system (preferably around the 20th floor or so)?

There are vents on every level, and in many of the rooms as well;whether or not they are accessible can't be seen however.

There are no additional stairwells either, the one continues all the way up, and the doors are indicated as opening only out of the floors, except on the ground floor.

Almost forgot that we still haven't found and bought the stealth grapple line we need.

After Boo gets the blueprints and the group meets or while we were waiting for that, Wormwood will try to find somebody to sell it to him.

Wormwood will call his fixer for this.
etiquette test vs. Availability Code (Base TN=3)
That should be 5 successes unless you deem it to be more difficult to get for some reason. So he can find it in 14.4 hours (72hrs/5successes). Ouch that is going to take a while. Guess it may be more than just another day before we do the run. Next Wormwood tries to negotiate the price down. Currently it is 255 (85 legal price * street index 3).
[Edit:] LOL, I just realized that I was looking at the Conceal instead of Availability for this item. The actual base TN is 6 so unless you are feeling generous it is going to take 36 hours to find it. [Edit:]

Opposed Negotiations Test (Base TN=Seller's Intelligence):
That is probably three, maybe four successes. So at -5% in price per net success, I can only reduce the price by at most 20% and that is only if the Seller makes no successes. Tell me what the price is and I will subtract it from my credstick.

Everybody else might want to buy a climbing kit, if they don't already have one, to make the climb up easier. They're legal so that shouldn't be a problem.

Mason will go to Big 5 after the group splits and buy some climbing gear for everybody. Gimme the price and I'll deduct it from my stick.

Don't forget to buy the catalyst stick for that line too.

Oh yeah, the person I get stealth grapple line should have a catalyst stick too but here is a new set of rolls in case you want me to roll separately.
Ettiquette Test (TN=6)
Negotiations Test (TN=opponent's Int)

you only get one net success on the line. for a 5% discount. I'm not familar, really, with the line or the catylast, are they normally sold together, as one unit?

No they are sold separately, but anybody that would have the stealth grapple line would have the catalyst stick. Without a catalyst stick, the stealth grapple line is the same a plain grapple line.

How much does Big 5 charge me for 4 climb kits <1 extra> (Ascent Descent Harness)? Are they having a sale?

In that case, you get a 5% discount on the line, but we break even on the catalyst

Edit: so by my math, that's 242 for the line, plus... 240 for the stick, for a grand total of 482 for that part of it...

Mason, going to the store to buy 4 kits... the climbing gear sale ended last week, so that's 300:nuyen: for those.

Damnit! And I got that sale ad in the mail and just threw it away too!

Ok, Mason'll buy the 4 kits and show up at stuffer shack at noon. Also, I'm gonna pick up some energy and protein bars incase we get stuck in the building for some reason (or just get the munchies waiting for Wormwood).

Actually you only need to buy two kits, both Wormwood and Boo already have climbing kits.

Sounds right Aku, I subtracted it from my character sheet.

Got it. Two kits, but I'm gonna grab a third, just in case. Never know when gear will crap out, especially from a retail store. So, only 225 ?

ywp, 225 then

and as an FYI, like i'm sure most of you, my time will be scarce this weekend, so don't expect much happening until monday or tuesday.

so whats the plan then?

I already posted it in the IC thread, but here it is again: Once Wormwood gets the stealth grapple line and catalyst stick, we meet at noon; look over the night's tape to check for more suspicious activity; Wormwood then heads inside; hides until night; makes his way to the roof; and lower's the line down to the rest of the group; once everybody has climbed up, we search the top 3 floors for the targeted data and prototype equip; Once we get it we head back to the roof; climb down; and destroy the line to prevent any pursuit from that direction.

I just thought of something. Does it look like the windows on the 20th floor can be opened from the inside? (If you think we haven't gotten close enough a look at them thus far to tell, Boo will send the blimp to get a closer look)

Once inside, Wormwood could open one, lower the rope down to the others so they can meet him there and we could go onto the lab floors together. Or if we still want to come in from the roof, we can also get a grapple gun in he can fire it up onto the roof from the 20th floor.

Bastard, FrostyNSO, what do you two think?

Let's stick with the original plan. No need to complicate things at this point.

Ok then. Let's get this run going.

As soon as Wormwood finishes up getting the stealth grapple line and catalyst stick, the group meets up and reviews the tape from the blimp.

Did it catch anymore late night surprises or other suspicious activity?

Here's an Etiquette (Corporate) Test for Wormwood's ability to blend in with the actual employees -note: technically I believe Stealth (Hiding) is supposed to be used for blending into a crowd, but I would think Etiquette (Corporate) is more appropriate here, tell me if you want me to do a stealth roll instead-

He will also attempt to hide his face from any camera's Mason had spotted when he went in, though he would emphasize blending in more than completely hiding it.
Stealth (Hiding) Open Test:

Wormwood is trying to spot things like hiding places, places to install his dataline tap, ventilation duct access.
Perception Test (if needed):