True but I'm sure they only serve cheap beer. It is hell after all.

*OOoooohhh! Bitter beer face!*

I'm all about $1.50 PBR's as long as there is some loud, shitty music to go along with it. Oh yeah and the place has to smell like B.O. and day old urine.

Well, if SR spirits are any reference we all need to steal some .50 cals and assassinate the Adversary and rule hell on earth.


Chris

Ok we need to make room for Chris. He's obviously a self motivator with a "can do" attitude!

Hi all,

Well, someone's about to be VERY happy. Unfortunately, life has reared its ugly little head and I need to withdraw from the game. I wish I didn't but ... what are you going to do? Anyway, I've already let Doc know so feel free to now pester him endlessly about taking my place.

Ciao.

~Plan B

That sucks. I hope everything is alright.

Everything is fine. Not a health issue (for once). Just a "mom-to-three-demonlings-with-homework-and-clubs-and-potty-training" kinda thing.
Besides, I'll hover around and make comments from the peanut gallery.

Glad to know that everything is good on the home front. Have fun with the potty training thing. We are working on that here too.

Disappointed as I am to see you go, real life always takes precedence.

That leaves us with one open slot in the game if anyone is still interested. A dedicated magician of some sort would be best. If you have a cool concept along those lines, please post it here over the next day or two so we can see about filling the void. If not, it's cool, we're still one player over my original goal.

Note that I will still post the next part of the character creation guidelines tomorrow night as promised. We'll play catch up with the replacement player if any are to be had, so no worries there. I mostly wanted to do it this way so that I'd know how to balance everyone against everyone, and that will be easily done with replacements.

Thanks again for everyone's patience.

I'm still lurkin if that counts. But you may want someone with more exp. I'm an old school TT player with minimal computer experience. But I'll work on my comcept just in case. <crosses fingers>

I certainly don't mind that at all. Always nice to help someone get into this style of gaming.

Cool I'll have some thing for you to look at tomorrow.

Sorry about having to back out Plan B. Thankfully I finished with the whole potty training thing a year or so ago. Not a place I'd like to go back to. Stupid roommates drinking themselves back to the age of 3....


Anyway, since I seem to have made some fans I'll come up with something in the next couple of hours and throw my hat in the ring. I'm pretty sure I qualify for the posting requirements, you guys just can't get me to shut up now that I'm here.


Chris

Hey Doc, do you want char stats PM'd to you?

Sure, that'll work at this stage.

Name:
Dr. Thomas L. Wilson
Profession:
Medical Doctor – Specialization in Diagnostics.
Author of several research papers and studies, most notably “Metahuman Anatomy and the Effects of Rising Mana Levels� and “Metahuman Physiology and the Spiritual Possession�.
A Dwarven Qabbalistic Magician, as well.
Background Summary:
At a mere thirty years of age, Dr. Thomas Wilson is doing very well for himself. Born into an with little monetary means and far too many children he was singled out at a young age as a brilliant student and magician. However, at age 12 his mother developed a strange illness that no one could diagnose. She went through test after test, and doctor after doctor just wasting away till one day Thomas, in desperation, had an elohim of healing possess her body. In the same way that the disease presented, after the 8 hours of possession were up she was healed. This sparked a voracious interest in the metahuman body and the effects of magic, disease, and spirits upon it. This obsession carried him through his college years at MIT&T and through his doctorate at Charles University in Prague(kudos Frank, you lucky hardworking bastard.). After medical school he went back to his Alma Mater and worked mainly on research in the fields of spiritual possession and modern medicine and the effects of raised and lowered mana fields on the metahuman body and discovering that many formerly risky procedures could be made safe with the addition of a spirit to the medical proceedings. However, this inspired envy which struck in a moment of strength oddly enough. One night as he was driving home from work to his solitary penthouse, he came upon a massive wreck just as it happened. Slamming his car to a stop, he hopped out to see if he could help any of the many inhabitants. As he shifted into astral sight to see who was still clinging to life, he noticed a Master Shedim above open an Astral Gateway. Unable to handle the 20 or so shedim that poured through the rift, Thomas searched for and found a way to protect the group. Using the blood of the victims of the wreck he erected a temporary ward surrounding, the runes drawn with the only available ink, the blood of the car wreck victims. He then used the same ink to personally ward every body and every living person there. He managed to stave off the shedim till DocWagon and KE arrived and chased off the shedim, but in an underhanded move one of his subordinates at the school had his medical license pulled for the practice of blood magic-which he did not do.
Reason for Recruitment:
After a little research DIMR figured out that there was no proof of blood magic one way or the other, once investigators got there the magical signatures were all gone. After a very thorough interview, and a voluntary Mind Probe spell, DIMR figured out that instead of practicing blood magic Dr. Wilson was actually a hero. However, even with the charges cleared his name still had a stigma attached to it and it was killing his practice. When DIMR had an opening for a magician/medic/investigator they asked Thomas if he would be interested thanks to his quick thinking and effective repulsion of the shedim. He jumped at the chance to get away from the sniping and backstabbing of the university for awhile and for a chance to see new magical diseases and interactions with metahumanity firsthand.
Background Quality(Compulsion):
Aseptic technique is a very important part of the laboratory research environment, however, Thomas may take it a step too far. Before performing any kind of medicine or ingesting anything himself Thomas has a need to Sterilize the people and objects involved. Wil+Cha(3) to stop himself.
Random Flaw(Mild Addiction):
Escapist video games and books. With a job so serious Thomas NEEDS to relax on a regular basis by just not having to be himself, whether this is through the online MMORPG Shadowrun or a book Thomas has a compulsive need to lose himself in something on a regular basis.

-OR-

Random Flaw(Temper Tantrums):
With a photographic memory, years upon years of medical and magical training and a lot of paranormal experience under his belt, Thomas does not react well to being accused of being right. He rarely puts forth an opinion without thorough evidence, but once he has posited on a subject he will go to nearly any lengths to defend it. Wil+CHA(3) to accede that someone else is correct in any given situation where he has already given a counter argument.



Had a little trouble with the Random Flaw, don't know if those will work. Let me know if you like/dislike whatever.


Chris

It is only funny till you clean poop off the bathroom floor from where some jackass put one cheek on the tub side and the other on one side of the toilet and let go.

God.... I hated living with him. After he moved out his brother still lived here and he got so drunk he peed in his brother's closet thinking that not only was it a bathroom, but that it was a completely different house entirely. When we convinced him it was a closet not a toilet he still believed he was at the other guys house who apparently "Man, this is Mack's closet.... he don.. he doesn't care. I swear man, he won't mind. It's no big... no big.... no big deal, dude."


GAH!


Chris

The real issue here is why YOU cleaned poo off the floor when you weren't the one who put it there. If the dude was drunk enough to shit on the floor, he should have been drunk enough to sleep next to it, so he could clean it up in the morning, hang over or no. Thats what would have happened if he were my roommate.

I cleaned it off the floor because I wasn't willing to leave it there for about 3 days. He left that morning on a road trip with some friends and didn't clean it before he left. I'm sorry, my principles draw the line at poop on the floor for 3 days.

I mean, I beat the living hell out of him when he came back(I actually only hit him like 4 times, and not in the face or head, he's my friend). I made it clear if he did it or anything like it to me again I would treat him like the animal he was acting and rub his fucking face in it.


[/rant] Apparently, I'm still pissed about it. Go figure.


Chris

Well, who wouldn't be?! I'm irate for you!

Friend or not, if he left for 3 days after pulling something like that, he would have found a little "surprise" waiting for him under his pillow when he got back. In addition to an ass kicking. I knew a guy who got all drunk and decided it would be hilarious to shit into tube socks (no, I have no idea how he got it into multiple tube socks) and hang them off of a bunch of peoples bedroom doors, and then brag about how funny it was the next day. He didn't think it was so funny when we strapped him to a picnic table bench with duct tape and slapped him about the head and face with the socks he had hung off of our doors for about an hour. Then we made him clean it all up. I'm about a crude bastard, which anyone here who knows me can tell you, but even I draw the line at playing with poo.

Char will be PM'd in the next hour or so

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...

All right, as promised, here's the remaining guidelines. As always, if you have any questions or would like clarification for anything, please ask it here so that everyone can jump in to help and/or benefit from the responses.

For purposes of these guidelines Irisa Rosselini's replacement and Vincent Figuroa are considered dedicated magicians, while Gabriel Vaughn and Heather Hutchense-Geldof are secondary magicians. Bill Barnes and John Preston are non-magicians.

Note that when I use the term "unmodified" in regards to an attribute or skill, I'm refering to your base rating before apply any implants, initiation grades, specializations, and so on and so forth. Additionally, Mystic Adepts must split their Magic attribute between their adept and magical abilities as per the normal rules, using them as seperate attributes as appropriate.

And congratulations, Fortune, on your complete and total lack of patience.



[ MAGIC ]

If you are playing a non-magician, you can skip this section.

Initiation: Dedicated magicians may start the game with an initiation grade as high as Grade 5, while secondary magicians may begin as high as Grade 3. Each grade grants two abilities, each with two options as seen below.

1. One metamagic technique OR a +1 to your maximum Magic rating.
2. One metamagic technique OR a +1 to your Magic rating.

You can mix these abilities up however you want for each grade you decide to take. For example, you could gain two metamagic techniques on your first grade, a metamagic technique and +1 to your base Magic rating on your second grade, and then +1 to your base and maximum Magic ratings for your third grade. The choice is yours, just make sure you tell me what you chose to do somewhere on your submission.

Also remember that your maximum initiatory grade is equal to your current Magic attribute. So if you only have a Magic of 2, you'll need to raise it before you can initiate to grade 3.

Ordeals: For each grade of initiation you underwent, you had the option to take an ordeal. Since Karma isn't an issue during character creation, each initiation ordeal instead grants you your choice of either two additional spells (see below) or 0.5 points worth of adept powers. The spells or adept powers you select must be related in some way to the ordeal you undertook, however. If you take this option, be sure to list which ordeal you took and what benefit you gained by doing so. If the ordeal required some sort of price, such as the lowering of an attribute rating, you must pay that price normally.

Magical Groups: You are free to join a magical group of your choosing or even of your own creation. Both the DIMR and MIT&T should have one or two groups that your character would have little problem getting into, though you can just as easily join some other group as you see fit. Just make sure it's either well-referenced or detailed on your character sheet as per the rules in Street Magic.

If you do decide to create your own magical group, and it's one sponsored by the DIMR or MIT&T, please post it here so that everyone who might be interested in joining it can participate in its creation and/or join themselves.

Note that groups with an Exclusive Membership restriction would probably be frowned upon as they limit your ability to infiltrate other groups. It's not a requirement, of course, but it is something you might want to keep in mind as you look around or create your own group.

Spells: You may begin the game with a number of spells equal to twice your unmodified (Spellcasting + Magic) ratings. If you chose to take an ordeal as part of your initiations (see above), you receive two additional spells per ordeal. Additional spells cost 30,000Â¥ from your personal savings account (see Equipment below).

Adept Powers: Follow the normal rules for determining how many adept powers you have and their maximum ratings. If you chose to take an ordeal as part of your initiations (see above), you gain an addition 0.5 Power Points to spend per ordeal.

Ally Spirits: If you are capable of conjuring an ally spirit, you may begin the game with one... at a cost. You must purchase the Ally Conjuration metamagic and sacrifice one additional metamagic technique in order to do so (two metamagic techniques total). See the Equipment section below for more limitations. You will also need to have the Binding and Arcana active skills in addition to everything else.

The maximum Force of the ally spirit is limited by your unmodified Magic attribute. You will then receive the equivalence of four times your unmodified Binding + Arcana skills in virtual Karma with which you may purchase any additional forms, attributes, skills, spells, or powers for your ally spirit. If any of the forms you give your ally spirit are unusual (such as a motorcycle or katana), your ally spirit will take up both of your signature items instead of just one. See Equipment below for more information.

For example, if you a Magic of 4, Binding 5, and Arcana 5, you could begin with game with up to a Force 4 ally spirit that has 40 Karma worth of additional abilities.

Formulas: It is assumed you own all the associated formulae for any spells, ally spirits, and foci you begin the game with. These can be in any format you like, but are typically digital.

Tweaking the Rules: The following optional rules found in Street Magic (p. 31) will be used in this game: Arcana, Adepts and Geasa, Magic Loss, and Ritual Magic.



[ IMPLANTS ]

Dedicated Magicians: Dedicated magicians may begin with the game with only Alpha or Standard grade implants as appropriate. More than one or two points of implants will be frowned upon, but this is not an actual restriction.

Secondary Magicians: Secondary magicians may begin with up to two Beta grade implants whose total value do not exceed 400,000 nuyen each (which includes any accessories or upgrades the implant may have). Any other implants must be of Alpha or Standard grade as appropriate.

Non-Magicians: Non-magicians may begin with up to four Delta grade implants whose total value do not exceed 1,000,000 nuyen each and up to four Beta grade implants up to 600,000 nuyen each. These values include any accessories or upgrades the implant may have. All other implants are limited to Alpha or Standard grade as appropriate.

If you are having trouble rationalizing how or why your character might have such valuable or high-grade implants, assume they were special rewards and/or compensations granted to you by the DIMR for exemplary service in the past.

Brand Names: Recently, I've found myself thoroughly enjoying the act of giving my implants a unique brand name. It's an easy way to add a lot of color and style to a character, and it's something I'd like to see everyone do for this game as well. This isn't to say that you have to cook up a name for every little accessory, but I would like to see one for any major implants you have. Some examples follow.

• Ares OpenThrottle II (Move-By-Wire 2) [Delta; 1.50c]
• Evo Mind Lynx (Datajack) [Delta; 0.05c]
• Genetique Chrome-a-Zomes (Adapsin Enhanced Protein) [Genetech; 0.20b]
• Spinrad Industries Clearview v.306 (Image Link) [Beta; 0.07c]

Please note that you do not have to list any financial costs on your character sheet, only the grade and total Essence cost for the implant and its accessories. Regarding notation, append a lowercase "b" to the end of the Essence cost of bioware/genetech implants and a lowercase "c" to end of the Essence cost of cyberware/nanocybernetic implants. See above for examples of how I'd like to see them noted. Additionally, round all Essence costs up to the nearest two decimal places (a modified implant costing 0.125 Essence would instead cost 0.13 Essence).

Tweaking the Rules: The following options rules found in Augmentation (pp. 22-23) will be used in this game: Second-Hand Implants, Limiting Nanoware, Limiting Nanocybernetics, Symbionts for Everyone (one only), and Injecting Enhanced Proteins. Note that the optional rule for Cosmetic Surgery found here is not an option.



[ CONTACTS ]

The DIMR will often have you traveling abroad and, as such, will often supply you with a name or two of local contacts who will assist you in your missions. These contacts typically assist you by putting you in touch with "friends of a friend" type contacts with whom you can choose to foster a closer relationship with as time goes on or forget about them as soon as the job is complete. In other words, like most important aspects of your job, the DIMR will be taking care of all the little details for you.

However, there will be times in which having your own network of contacts will be invaluable.

Personal Contacts: Everyone may begin the game with up to five free contacts of choice ("up to" not "must have"). These contacts should include immediate family, spouses, children, or partners with which you've had a very close and intimate relationship with over the years. They should be in the Loyalty 4-6 range, though their Connections rating will probably be low if not non-existant altogether. If you have an ally spirit and/or magical group, they count as one of these contacts (give them a Loyalty of 4-6 and Connection rating equal to their Force or Resources as appropriate).

Professional Contacts: Beyond that, you will have also likely fostered more professional relationships over the years. These contacts will be purchased using a point-based system. You have two pools of points; your Loyalty Pool is equal to your unmodified (Charisma + Etiquette) x 3 and your Connections Pool is equal to your unmodified (Charisma + Negotiations) x 3. For example, if you have a Charisma of 4, an Etiquette of 3, and a Negotiations of 4 you will have a Loyalty Pool of 21 and a Connection Pool of 24 with which to purchase these contacts. Any unspent points are lost. You can buy additional points on a 1:5,000Â¥ ratio from your personal savings account (see Equipment below for details).

Who's the Boss?: Additionally, everyone receives a free contact named Antonio Roccamora at Connections 5 and Loyalty 5. I'll be writing more up on him eventually, but for the most part he's your main boss at the DIMR and middleman to the council. He's a half-black and half-Samoan troll, rumor has it he was a drek-hot decker back in the day, and he is pretty much the "real life" representation of every police chief you've ever seen in an action movie as far as his modern personality goes.

Reputation: The rules for Street Cred, Infamy, and Publicity all revolve around SINless criminals and thus will not be used in this game. I considered creating my own house rules for non-Shadowrunner use, but it was too much work for too little gain. Thus I'm simply not going to use them at all, even for any shadowrunners you may come across.



[ EQUIPMENT ]

Free Shit: As previously mentioned, your monthly salary with the DIMR includes a free High Lifestyle. This lifestyle includes up to two luxury vehicles of choice (up to a sports car or motorboat), a gold Nightingale (DocWagon) contract, plus an expense account for entertainment, food, clothing, and things of that nature. In addition, you also receive 5,000Â¥ per month to do with as you see fit and also have a personal savings account valued at 250,000Â¥.

Most of your standard work gear will be supplied to you on an as-needed basis and will almost always be top-of-the-line. This includes such things as communications, fake SINs and licenses, standard firearms and armor, transportation, surveillance gear, medical gear, and consumables (such as ammunition and binding materials). Basically if it's not vital to your character, don't worry about listing it on your sheet. You'll be well taken care of.

Signature Items: Each character begins play with two (2) signature items of choice. These can be nearly anything you desire as long as it's appropriate to your character's theme. A stacked focus, a custom spell, a sniper rifle, a biodrone, or even something as expensive as a thunderbird are all within your grasp. If the item has a rating limit, your maximum limit for that item is equal to your unmodified attribute rating that most closely matches it (foci, for instance, are limited by your Magic rating).

Ally Spirits: If you begin the game with an ally spirit, your spirit counts as one of your signature items. If they can assume one or more inanimate objects such as a motorcycle or sword, the spirit counts as both of your signature items.

Commlinks: Everyone also begins the game with a tricked-out commlink (Firewall 6/Response 6/Signal 6/System 6). This commlink comes with every Common Use program, one Agent and one IC, and up to three Hacking programs of choice all at a rating of 6 for free. If you are a professional Hacker or Technomancer you receive all of the Hacking programs at the same rating as well. Be sure to give the commlink and its operating system a brand name of your choosing and describe it however you wish.

PANs: I really hate how the Matrix rules work in SR4. For all intents and purposes, ignore the various loopholes that exist in the rules regarding them. Your commlink is -the- central hub for your PAN and anyone who wants to affect your equipment via hacking will have to punch past your commlink first. To combat them, all you have to do is turn the wireless connectivity off. No worries, no hassles, no fuss. Also, assume all electronic gear comes with a Skinlink by default.

Additional Gear: If there's any other special equipment or gear you'd be interested in, you need to spend the nuyen in your personal savings account to buy it. Ignore Availabilities if you have the appropriate contact for the item (they should have Connection 3 for Restricted or Beta-grade gear and Connection 5 for Forbidden or Delta-grade gear). If you don't, you are limited to an Availability of 12 and it cannot be Restricted or Forbidden. If the item requires Karma to bind with it, you must "spend" the equivalence of 10,000Â¥ per Karma on top of the normal cost.

Licenses: If any of your items or implants require a license, assume you have one associated with your legal SIN. If you'd like to have any personal fake SINs that are separate from the DIMR, you'll need to purchase them as well as any fake licenses for it.

I've been working on the character itself, and I will PM you the character sheet sometime in the near future.


EDIT: I'm making a human version of this character instead of dwarven, I made him a dwarf because of the Qabbalistic stuff, but with further though he works better and I just can't see him as a dwarf. It bothers me for some reason.


Chris

Wow! I would love to work for the DIMR in real life. Sadly, I will be too old when it comes into existence.

Does Fortune win a door prize?

Yep! That prize? My boot... up his arse. <angry curmudgeon flailing arm of doom>

*cries in corner* ....I wanna play this game......

You may have missed it, but there's a spot open now. Will be taking (re-)submissions until tomorrow or so.

Ooh...Ooh.....then count my other two back in....and I will come up with another concept tonight.

Do I need to do anything more than the concept part right now for the (re)submissions?

EDIT: Also, woot on the 1000th post on DS, I am now a Running Target

That just means we have to aim more.

I have gotten everything but contacts and a little bit of gear done. I just need to know if Spellcasting/binding foci can be used for drain or not.



Chris

Regardless of the FAQs/Errata, yes it can. Power Foci cannot, however.

Well, in that case I'll be adding two Spellcasting Foci Force 3(Health and then Combat) to my resume.




Chris

Dr. F,

I was planning on the ware et al tonight; however, I had to take care of some other things. I'll work on that tomorrow.

Quick questions: The "limit" for deltaware is 800,000 each?

Therefore, the total bill could be as high as 3.2 million.

Just checking.

Fortune: Sh'up and ask your questions.

DTFarstar: I haven't picked anyone to fill in the last spot yet, but will be doing so tomorrow. I'm only saying this because I don't want to get your hopes up prematurely.

Alex: Yep, it's 800,000 each. So something like Move-By-Wires 2 is feasible, but MBW 3 is not. And yes, the total bill (which you didn't have to pay for and don't have to list on the sheet) can reach that high. Note, however, that you're still limited to only four implants of that grade, even if some of them are only 10,000 nuyen. The 800,000 is a limit, not a credit account.

Shit. I left one house rule out.

Geasa & Magic Loss: You can take a few voluntary Geasa (as per the negative quality in Street Magic) to offset Magic Loss. For instance, if you lose a point of Magic due to the Essence loss of installing some implants, you can get that Magic point back by taking a geas.

Dedicated Magicians may only take one voluntary geas during character creation. Secondary Magicians may take up to three.

Aww... Now I'm said. I knew you hadn't picked a replacement yet, but the fact that you felt you had to come out and tell me that does not bode well for Dr. Thomas Wilson, I do not think. Looks like he may be doomed to asceticism forever instead of just between the time he got fired and the time he got hired by the DIMR.



Chris

This can't be healthy. I think I've checked this thread for an update from someone for about 30 or so times so far today.



Chris

Same here. I also ditched work at lunch. I guess its better than being a crackhead. Oh well back to lurking

I had nightmares about legions of numbers attacking me from all sides last night.

You don't even remotely want to know what I dreamed about last night. First dreams I've had that I woke up and went "WHY IS THAT IN MY BRAIN?!" in years.


I'm still working on my last little bit of gear and my contacts. You guys finished?



Chris

I dunno, crack might make you smell bad and cost you money, but at least it makes you productive. Dumpshock just costs you money and possibly makes you smell bad(depends on personal hygiene at home) while making you LOSE productivity.


Never thought about it like that before. I'm sad now.



Chris

Seriously, I worry about all of you. Now I'm glad I dropped out when I did... maybe now I can stop worrying about DT and DMinor sending ninja's to kill me.
*still paranoid*
(BTW, if you're coming after Ben... he sleeps on the right side of the bed. Just so's there's no confusion. Thanks.)