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Method
Status: [CLOSED]

Undisclosed Location, 12 February 2070, 21:37

Hiroshi Tada gripped the pistol in his hand as tightly as he could and tried to remember how many rounds he had fired. He knew that if he dropped the weapon he would never find it again in the dark. Stumbling around his office he collected the scattered papers that constituted his journal and made his way toward the back wall. He set the pistol down on a nearby file cabinet and produced a small screwdriver from his pocket. Breathing heavily he set to work.

Somewhere outside a noise shattered the stifling darkness. He heard footsteps in the hallway and lunged for his pistol, knocking it to the floor. His mind raced as he listened to the gun skitter across the linoleum and into the all-consuming blackness. A panic swept over him and his thoughts became muddled and confused. He dropped to his knees and frantically began groping in all directions to no avail.

Without warning he felt a presence nearby in the darkness. Terror gripped him and he stood deathly still, hoping whatever it was couldn't see him. Just as the thought passed through his mind he became aware of a faint light. It was subtle and soft and lacked any real source- more of a glow than a true illumination. It grew brighter as he sat peering into the shadows and waiting for his eyes to adjust. With each passing moment a calm settled upon his mind, and his panicked thoughts left him.

"Daddy?" The word pierced the fading darkness like a musical note, bright and melodic against the deafening silence. There, amongst the papers and debris of his disheveled office, stood a little girl.

"Sumiko!" He straightened himself, forgetting the gun altogether in his joy.

"What are you doing, daddy?" She stepped forward, moving closer to where he was kneeling and touched his face. A profound sense of relief washed over him and he gathered the little girl up in his arms. Sobbing he held her and rocked gently in the dim glow. "You don't need that gun daddy."

"I know, little one. Everything is better now!" The words seemed to roll of his tongue without effort like the tears streaming down his face. "There were bad people here, but they're gone now." He glanced over at the gun, somehow ashamed that he had ever thought he needed it.

"Don' cry, daddy,"said the little girl softly, the way a child parodies her mother "I'm here now." She hugged him tightly around his neck and buried her tiny head in his chest.

Suddenly a strange thought occurred to him. It surfaced in his mind like a ripple in a tranquil pond, and threatened to disappear as quickly as it had come. He struggled to retain it, forcing his mind into focus, but his thoughts felt heavy and unwieldy. With great effort he grasped at the fleeting memory before it could vanish.

"What are you doing here, Sumiko?" The words felt awkward in his mouth and sounded strange, almost as though he were hearing someone else speak them.

"What do you mean, daddy?" She gazed into his teary eyes with a tortured look.

"You... you died 7 years ago!?"

"It's okay daddy, I live down here now." Her grip tightened around his neck. "We all live down here now."
Method
Since my last three PbP games have died slow deaths I think I'm going to bite the bullet and run one myself. For this game I'm going to recycle the premise of a failed PbP game that died some years ago, which was in turn based on an adventure I wrote many many years ago. This will be my first attempt at running a PbP game, but I've been GMing SR since the first edition so we'll see how it goes. Before I get to the details:

A Caveat
[ Spoiler ]


What I'm looking for:
- 3-4 players
- A reasonable commitment to post at least 2-3 times per week in either thread (IC or OoC) while the story is advancing
- People willing to stick it out if the game gets put on hold a little here and there

I'd like to keep the group small to minimize wait times and schedule conflicts. I would maybe consider taking a 5th player if there are character proposals I like and I'm reasonably convinced that said player is committed to sticking around. That is a very big maybe...

Some preference will be given to certain players from Fenris' "Dancing within the Void"� or "Reflections of a New/Old Moon" games that might want to join this one. After that it I'll be looking for characters that are a “good fit'�. Unfortunately it's hard to say exactly what that will look like until I see some of the proposals.


Game Overview
[ Spoiler ]
Method
Players:
- Blackhat: Joseph Carter
- OneRonin: Desmond Connelly
- Crizh: Petit Petwo
- pragma: Guy Freebird
- Direradiant: safecracker / mechanic / infiltrator
- Lidralyn: some thing secret.... muahahaha....

Backup Players:
- Dakka: deckhand / mechanic / jack of all trades
- Mickle5125: bounty hunter / tracker
- Nigel: ?

Character Builds:
(Please note that any limits I have added to chargen are intended to help you design the kinds of character I envision for this campaign.)

450 BP
Except where noted below all limits in the BBB apply (< 225 BP in attributes, Rating 6, Avail 12, etc).

- No limit on negative qualities but you only get BPs for the first 35
- I don't give “free” build points for Incompetent, Allergies, Addictions, Phobias, etc. If you are taking such a flaw I reserve the right to ask you where when and how you envision it affecting the character.
- I am of the crowd that thinks the modal (most common) human attribute or skill rating is around 2 and most NPCs are inferior to a good shadowrunner. Don't worry too much about min-maxing your dice pools. DPs between 10 and 16 will likely be quite functional and reasonable. I'm not going to impose any hard caps, because I trust you guys.

Contacts:
Free contact points equal to base Charisma x 4
Additional Contacts may be purchased with BP as usual.
Give me a brief character description for each contact including:
- Name and Alias
- Basic concept
- The nature of the relationship (including modes of payment)
- What they’re good at / what kind of stuff they know
- How your PC generally contacts them (including where they hangout)
Nigel
I'm fairly interested in this, but I'm not sure I can devise a character. Are you all right with accepting a moderately new player? I don't know a whole lot about the fluff, but some, and I know a fair bit of the rules (along with having all the PDFs for all editions accessible at home). You should look at my posts in Greenhorns if you want an example of my usual posting style and so on.
BlackHat
I saw you left a placeholder for character building rules - did you intend for people to throw up their concepts first, and then reference the rules when it is time to stat them out, or would you rather we wait until you've gotten that post up (I suppose it depends on how different than standard they will be).
Dakka
Place holder till I return from class, but am looking at a Weapon specialist built along the lines of a SEAL or very much like the SR1 &2 Nercenary that was light on cyber (toys) and heavy on skills.



Really interested!
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (Dakka @ May 23 2008, 08:34 AM) *
Place holder till I return from class, but am looking at a Weapon specialist built along the lines of a SEAL or very much like the SR1 &2 Nercenary that was light on cyber (toys) and heavy on skills.



Really interested!



If you don't mind doubling up on the number of former SEALs characters, I would love to play an underwater demo specialist. In fact, Dakka's character and mine could both be buddies from the same unit.

Dakka, not sure if you are interested, but Special Operations is a RL hobby of mine, and I have tons of resources on those types of people/operations. Let me know if you want to tap any of that while creating your character.

TheOneRonin

I could have an idea for a former SAS CT guy that could work really well too, if you don't want the characters having extremely similar backgrounds.

crizh
I have a whole bunch of ideas and am also a bit frustrated with games that don't seem to go anywhere.

What would be a good fit?

I've a got some ideas for a TM but I'm not sure that's ideal for The Abyss meets Cthulhu. I have another concept I'm working on in another thread revolving around using Shapechange as an infil/exfil-tration technique that might fit the bill here. I spent all morning reading about Eels on wikipedia for that one which is why I'm late to this thread even though I knew it was coming.

You'd be surprised how interesting the breeding habits of Eels turns out to be....
BlackHat
QUOTE (crizh @ May 23 2008, 09:33 AM) *
You'd be surprised how interesting the breeding habits of Eels turns out to be....


o.O *disturbed*

I had some ideas for a rigger (probably a smuggler, salvager), which sounds pretty useful in a setting like this. Pulling the details together while I go through some meetings this morning. I am thinking this is the direction I will go, but don't let that stop anyone else from posting similar ideas.

Since it sounds like crizh is interested in a mage, if you don't have access to the Cyberpirates sourcebook from 3rd edition (or is it older than that, 2nd edition?) I'll repost a couple of tips I thought were useful (and not immediately apparent). Remember that LOS attack spells are a million times more useful on the sea - both for us, and for our enemies. With a good pair of optical binoculars, you would be able to see, and attack accurately, farther that most PC-available weapons can fire. Maybe that is obvious, but I don't play a lot of mages, so when I read that, I was like, WOW. smile.gif Also, if we go with a smuggling or piracy background for the team, a couple good masking spells, or a spirit's concealment power would hide our vessel better than any vehicle mod we can start with, and the movement power would make travel times a breeze. *shrugs* some things to think about besides shapechange - which I also think is a good idea.
DireRadiant
I am thinking of a speed thrill addicted ork Eurotrash Socialist Socialite street sam babe. The result of high class childhood indulgent political activism taken to the active extreme. After the incident involving some embarrassing, but profitable, simsense recordings hitting the the most popular euro child education boards involving three education ministers and a few members of a now ex communicated Greek Orthodox sect she's had to renounce her name and abdicate her title and wander the world outside of Europe. In the intervening years scrounging around for work, she's begun to appreciate just how much she's given up in leaving the world of regular cost of living payments from 500 year old trusts.
Lidralyn
Hey method, I got your PM, I will edit this later, headed to work right now at a job I can't get to a computer from, soon as I get home I will post more. I am going to make some form of mage, but I read over your overview now and will decide exactly what kind as I work.
TheOneRonin

The more I think about it, the more I want to go with the SAS guy. In fact, the is gonna be former SBS instead of SAS. Demo and Maritime expertise, big-time gambler and treasure hunter type. Fiercely loyal to his team (considers them family), but doesn't really handle authority well outside of that. And ALWAYS seems to be getting himself in over his head. I also have some very good ideas about his reasons for leaving (involuntarily) the service and working in the shadows.

BTW, I'm not having a lot of luck putting him together with 400 BP. My skills alone are over 300 BP, and I don't have a single one above rating 4 (not counting specializations). PLEASE tell me you are willing to work with us on that...

crizh
QUOTE (TheOneRonin @ May 23 2008, 04:28 PM) *
BTW, I'm not having a lot of luck putting him together with 400 BP. My skills alone are over 300 BP, and I don't have a single one above rating 4 (not counting specializations). PLEASE tell me you are willing to work with us on that...


Tell me about it. Trying to build a well-rounded mage on 400BP is nigh impossible, I almost always end up cutting corners in a way that usual ends up with somebody claiming that having any stats at 1 is akin to satanism...

pragma
Interesting game. I'm somewhat entranced by the idea of a treasure hunter and I'd like to play a hacker -- maybe some kind of board shorts and buzz cut type from LA, southern California incarnate, who has made some modicum of fortune with underwater salvage in the flooded area.

I expect to be pretty free over the summer and I can usually post a few times a week.
crizh
QUOTE (BlackHat @ May 23 2008, 02:51 PM) *
o.O *disturbed*


I think I eventually decided newts are more interesting.

Not least for the obvious Pythonisms...
Mickle5125
This sounds interesting AND usable for one of my concepts!

I've been playing with the idea of a bounty hunter/tracker type orc, and I think I can adapt it to fit this game nicely.

Only problem is: Starting on tuesday, I'm not going to be able to post until around June 7, which sorta messes with the whole "starting the game" situation.
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (crizh @ May 23 2008, 11:49 AM) *
Tell me about it. Trying to build a well-rounded mage on 400BP is nigh impossible, I almost always end up cutting corners in a way that usual ends up with somebody claiming that having any stats at 1 is akin to satanism...



Yeah, I ALWAYS run into this problem when trying to build anyone who is former special forces. Here's what I have so far, and it ends up being 308 BP!

Group-Athletics: 4
Group-Close Combat: 3
Group-Outdoors: 3
Group-Stealth: 4

Automatics(SMGs): 4(+2)
Pistols(SemiAutos): 3(+2)
Longarms(Shotguns): 3(+2)
Demolitions(Breaching): 4(+2)
Dodge: 4
First Aid(Bullet Wounds): 2(+2)
Diving(SCUBA): 3(+2)
Pilot Ground(Auto): 2(+2)
Pilot Water(Motorboat): 2(+2)
Parachuting: 3
Perception: 4
Etiquette(Street): 2(+2)
Con(Fast Talk): 2(+2)

That's a well rounded list, and includes just about everything an SBS guy would be trained in. I don't even having anything at rating 5 higher. But yeah, that's 308 BPs...

BlackHat
Yeah, that's the thing about making a jack-of-all-trades (master-of-none). smile.gif You end up with a lot of skills at rating 2 or so, and a lot of specialties. I certainly wouldn't mind if Method decided to go higher with the BP, but I'm going to assume its standard character creation for now. You could shave 100 points off of that character by going with skill ratings of 2... but I assume the picture you have in your head is of someone who is pretty skilled at those things.

Probably won't get the details of my concept solidified until I get home tonight (but the ones everyone else is coming up with sound great) - but the good news is the wife works tonight, so I can devote the whole night to character creation.
Mickle5125
QUOTE (TheOneRonin @ May 23 2008, 11:13 AM) *
Yeah, I ALWAYS run into this problem when trying to build anyone who is former special forces. Here's what I have so far, and it ends up being 308 BP!

Group-Athletics: 4
Group-Close Combat: 3
Group-Outdoors: 3
Group-Stealth: 4

Automatics(SMGs): 4(+2)
Pistols(SemiAutos): 3(+2)
Longarms(Shotguns): 3(+2)
Demolitions(Breaching): 4(+2)
Dodge: 4
First Aid(Bullet Wounds): 2(+2)
Diving(SCUBA): 3(+2)
Pilot Ground(Auto): 2(+2)
Pilot Water(Motorboat): 2(+2)
Parachuting: 3
Perception: 4
Etiquette(Street): 2(+2)
Con(Fast Talk): 2(+2)

That's a well rounded list, and includes just about everything an SBS guy would be trained in. I don't even having anything at rating 5 higher. But yeah, that's 308 BPs...



drop the specializations and that should cut a fair number of BPs off...
pragma
I think you'd also do a lot better buying up the firearms group than going with the separate skills and specializations. You'd lose some dice, but firearms at 3 would save you 16 points. Firearms at 4 would save you 6.
Method
Wow, great response so far. I like some of the character concepts- though its looking a little combat heavy. Not a problem necessarily except I'd feel obligated to make things more combat oriented, and that does tend to bog down on this medium. I might have to reconsider my player limit...

To answer a few questions:
- Blackhat: I'll post build guidelines when I have a better idea about who and how many are in. I don't want people to spend a lot of time and energy number crunching if I can't fit them in. Characters should be close to standard (but see my comment below regarding BP). For now I want this to be a discussion of how you guys want the team to look, feel and operate.

- As a general comment: a mercenary-type team would fit the adventure as well but I'll leave that up to the final players to decide.

- TheOneRonin: I'd be willing to wiggle a little on the BP (maybe 450?) in order to facilitate *well rounded characters* (which seems to be the goal, so thats good).

- Nigel: I am willing to take on a new player or two, so long as you understand what you're getting in to. As I've stated my main concern is finding people who are in for the long haul.

- Mickle5125: That could be tough... You wouldn't miss much of the actual game, as we will likely just be starting the IC/OoC. But there will be a lot of preplanning that will be taking place in that time frame, and I think thats pretty crucial to getting everyone involved. If we can work something out I'll let you know.

In terms of timing, I am happy to report that I just took my last final for my pre-clinical years ( rollin.gif ) Starting next week I will be studying hard core for the boards, but should have time to read here and there and post nightly. I'd like to get the ball rolling with IC/OoC in another week or two.

I'll leave this [Open] to submissions for another day or so and then [Close] it so we can see what we have on the table and how it all fits together. Actually, reading through the summary, we already have about twice the number of people I was hoping to fit in. I'm going to put things on hold so we can see how this might fit together. If people drop, loose interest or just don't fit I'll consider opening it again.

Also- I had an idea that might allow me to fit in another player. Basically converting an NPC to a plot driving PC. It might be a good role for one of the newer players, but we'd have to talk. If anyone is interested let me know.
Nigel
I hate when people skip out, and I can't stand letting down the rest of the party like that. Also, I enjoy RPing so I'm definitely going to be staying in, if I come up with a concept. That NPC-PC idea is sounding pretty good, as I have a lot of difficulty making a character that isn't ueberfocused.
BlackHat
QUOTE (Method @ May 23 2008, 01:49 PM) *
- Blackhat: I'll post build guidelines when I have a better idea about who and how many are in. I don't want people to spend a lot of time and energy number crunching if I can't fit them in. Characters should be close to standard (but see my comment below regarding BP). For now I want this to be a discussion of how you guys want the team to look, feel and operate.


Sounds good. I was mostly asking because if there were some restrictions or house rules (no items over availability 10, for example), it might impact what resources we have available. We might come up with a good idea, and find it doesn't work - as long as its pretty much standard, I should be able to get a picture together.

As far as the look and feel of the group, since we've been told the adventure will revolve around a deep-sea rescue and salvage mission, I think an established team with a reputation for that sort of thing (Ex-Navy SEALS, totally useful for rescue ops, treasure hunters is probably experience with salvage operation, etc) would work out better than a team known for piracy, smuggling, etc - except that, I assume that since shadowrunners are being sent in, this is sort of an off-the-books mission - so some of those skills might still end up being useful.

I could see us being sort of an A-Team of the Sea... for the most part, doing treasure-hunting and salvage (and keeping would-be pirates at bay), but occasionally doing a mission for somebody, or picking up a distress-call and rescuing someone. Seems like, if someone had a rescue mission, that would be the sort of team they would want... rather than criminals-of-the-sea who would be as likely to steal whatever they're supposed to salvage, as return it.

Dakka
Instead of paying complete attention I wandered off an began pondering the concept of an old Merc (still could be a former SEAL) that has been Leonized to go back into "the game".

Blackhat does make a good point and why not smoke cubans and sip on mojitos in the Carib League between missions/salvage ops.
DireRadiant
QUOTE (DireRadiant @ May 23 2008, 09:10 AM) *
I am thinking of a speed thrill addicted ork Eurotrash Socialist Socialite street sam babe.


Read that as Face. I can slide some of the BPs around the Social, Contacts and Combat focus as needed. Right now I'm looking at dice pool ~11 + in a couple charisma linked skills, one kick ass combat skill, and 20+ BP in contacts. Toss in some skill wires for as you need them back up skills to round out anything we can plan ahead for. Good on the physical and active skills, light on the technical.

Think along the lines of a student revolutionary who got in a little too deep, and is now stuck on the dark side... or unable to convince herself to go back legit...

What kind of group tone are people interested in? Long time working together, recently known each other, known or met each other professionally on and off over the past few years?

What people know about Cinzia Astarte
---------------------------------------------
At first this physically attractive and charming ork might appear to be a teenage example of her metatype, but closer attention will reveal that in fact she is a mature specimen in both appearance and demeanor. Her precise North American English betrays it origins in matrix learning of some kind, especially in contrast with her native parisian. When not acting as a representative for various parties in negotiations that are too risky for the participants to involve themselves directly, she has been seen acting as a professional escort to social events(most likely a cover for her acting as part of a security detail), and occasionally more explicitly as part of bodyguard teams.
pragma
While we're on the subject, a more thorough introduction of my character thus far might be in order:

What people know about Guy Freebird:
-------------------------------------------
This self-named new-wave yet old-school surfer, hacker and treasure hunter has lived his life for a very long time without a care in the world. He goes to great lengths to avoid becoming 'locked in' to long haul work and values his freedom and 'peace of chakra' a great deal, as he will readily tell you. His growing years might make him seem like a vulnerability on a Shadowrunning team, especially in a role as fast moving as hacker, but his age also attests to his matrix talent and his willingness to get dirty in a gunfight.

-- may be a little bit more to come
DireRadiant
QUOTE (Method @ May 23 2008, 02:15 AM) *
- Direradiant: Eurotrash speed-freak sammy girl


The socialite bit = Face skills. Really Face/Martial Arts/Pistol/any chipped active of physical skills + Contacts.
Lidralyn
Ok back from work now.

My character would be an ork mage, long story short (will flesh it out more if I get picked *hopes*) Well he was abandoned as a child and has learned to hate his parents, his mentor spirit through its influence basically raised him. He has always struggled to fit in so he is overly trying to find friends, finally he found this team and is trying to enjoy life again. He ran into a lot of problems with BTLs in his youth until he finally had a breaking point when his mentor turned his back on him until he quit. He is on a revence fest looking for his parents, he is part mage/part face/part infiltrator-assassin. He tries to gather all the information he can and then kill in one silent spell. Overcasting almost everything because physical pain can no longer compare to the pain felt in his heart and the hate towards his parents.

His parents were "treasure" hunters on the sea and thats what brought him to this part of the world.....if he ever finds them, they will surely die, or he will die trying.

Will flesh it more and get more specific once I know more about build and exactly whats going on.

Matt
Method
DireRadiant: ah sorry. I missed that in my quest for brevity. Quite a complex character. How do you see her fitting in with the "buzz cut and grey-camo" crowd? Up dated the summary...

Lidralyn: could be interesting. Has a real Luke Skywalker close to the Dark Side feel to it. I'd like to hear more though. Is he just in the salvage/treasure hunter/smuggler/cyberpirate scene to look for his parents?
Lidralyn
For the most part yeah, he has only recently (last year or so) learned about what they do for a living and so he came looking, (He still doesn't know there names), and he met the team he is running with now. He shadowruns for information and nuyen to spend to better himself and to get more information on his parents. He really doesn't have a long term goal...he is blinded by hate at this point. If he ever finds them and finishes what he has started he will hit a wall of reality of (what do I do now syndrome.) But he is established into the team so he would more than likely just stay with them and continue helping them, he has always been shunned by society being sinless and an ork without a family, so having something as close to a friend as he can get (a team) he will cling to it for all its worth.

A lot of it is hard to detail since I don't know all of your details lol, I am leaving a lot of it open to you, if they are there or not, could be an interesting hook for you to run with, if not then no big deal, its all backstory then. Either way he should be interesting.
DireRadiant
QUOTE (Method @ May 23 2008, 04:16 PM) *
DireRadiant: ah sorry. I missed that in my quest for brevity. Quite a complex character. How do you see her fitting in with the "buzz cut and grey-camo" crowd? Up dated the summary...


Well the poor souls did their stint with the "man" and since they no longer serve L'Etat, they obviously are on the path to enlightenment to being fellow socialist revolutionaries. Besides, people in uniforms always look sharp and Cinzia can't help being attracted to them. Her first mis step was dating that fascist right wing death squad corporal in secondary school and getting into the socialist revolutionary cell on the rebound from that relationship. It was a nice shiny uniform!
Dakka
I actually see my weapon specialist in a bright Hawaiian shirt and shorts lol.
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (pragma @ May 23 2008, 12:19 PM) *
I think you'd also do a lot better buying up the firearms group than going with the separate skills and specializations. You'd lose some dice, but firearms at 3 would save you 16 points. Firearms at 4 would save you 6.



Firearms Group 3 would be woefully inadequate for Ex SBS operator. Honestly, according to the book, his firearms skills should be in the neighborhood of 5. But since I'm not really trying to be the group's "street sam", I think what I picked was a decent compromise. Though it looks like I may HAVE to do something like Firearms 4 to save on some of the points.
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (Method @ May 23 2008, 12:49 PM) *
- WoundedRonin: I'd be willing to wiggle a little on the BP (maybe 450?) in order to facilitate *well rounded characters* (which seems to be the goal, so thats good).


Wrong "Ronin". cool.gif Though I do post a lot too, and WR and I think alike, so confusing us is normal. smile.gif

I'll try to rebuild with 450 and see how it comes out. It's just tough to properly build a real SpecOps guy with the canon rules...at least if you are trying to stay within 400 BPs.

So what do you think about my concept? Scottish demo/diver/treasure hunter/former SBS guy that attracts trouble but is tottally unflappable and always makes jokes and wears a smile. Sorta patterned (at least physcially) after Desmond in "Lost", but with much more of a military background and much more jovial.
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (Method @ May 23 2008, 02:15 AM) *
Character Build guidelines to follow...

Summary of Proposed Characters thus far:

- OneRonin: Former SAS SBS (Special Boat Service) operator


(did I miss anybody?)



Little clarification...
TheOneRonin
Second attempt:

Group-Athletics: 3
Group-Stealth: 3
Group-Firearms: 4

Demolitions(Breaching): 4(+2)
Dodge: 3
Diving(SCUBA): 3(+2)
Pilot Water(Motorboat): 2(+2)
Parachuting: 3
Perception: 4
Etiquette: 2
Unarmed: 3


Awefully neutered for ex SBS, but I shaved over 100 BP off skills.


Dakka
Hey, skills atrophy when you sit around fishing from the boat, smoking cuban cigars and sipping on rum. I'm in the position you are with skills.
BlackHat
Like 90% done with my write up for this character, but its late, so I will put it up tomorrow.
Method
QUOTE (TheOneRonin @ May 23 2008, 03:59 PM) *
Wrong "Ronin".

Er...sorry. I knew that looked wrong when I typed it but I couldn't figure out why. Fixed.

QUOTE
I'll try to rebuild with 450 and see how it comes out. It's just tough to properly build a real SpecOps guy with the canon rules...at least if you are trying to stay within 400 BPs.

Yeah, in my experience you can't really put together a solid SO in anything close to a standard game. It basically has to be a high powered game (500+) to do them justice. Thats not quite what I'm shooting for here though.

QUOTE
So what do you think about my concept?

Concept-wise I like the character and he would fit nicely in the story I'd like to tell. Plus I think he's easy to combine with some of the other characters proposed (especially other ex-military) without too much suspension of disbelief.

-----------

All: I can see this is going to be a really tough decision. I like all the concepts thus far, although some seem to fit my particular vision better than others.

I gotta run now, but I'll do some thinking and post some specific feedback for each character tomorrow. In the mean time if any of you want to write a more detailed character background and toss it up it might help me envision the character better. Sounds like BlackHat is already on that.

bishop186
Bah, sounds like I'm too late again. :/

Well, if you do need someone else out there, I was thinking of a eccentric, hallucinating troll treasure hunter/adventurer who is tired with land adventure and looking for a change of pace. I think I'd play him as a greedy Don Quixote.

A side note: Hallucinations is probably my favorite neg-qual because of how open it is and how often it could be played (in that one could just stumble from one hallucination to another, making a winding path between the true and surreal).
crizh
Petit Petwo.

The origins of this shaven headed, dark skinned dwarf are a mystery and inquiries are met with a disconcerting toothy grin or Creole riddles. It is safe to say that he was probably born on Haiti but his accent is subtly wrong to those familiar with the region.

Whatever the reasons for leaving his homeland it is clear that his true home is the sea. Agwe's voice sings in his mind and he is powerless to resist. He can often be found on the bow of the ship, singing softly in French or Creole in a murmuring tenor voice, his arms spread wide in ecstasy and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Whatever his eccentricities, it is safe to say that no-one understands the moods of the ever changing Agwe better than Petwo. Many an expedition has returned to port in blue skies minutes before the weather changed and half a dozen vessels were lost. Those with experience have been known to track the vessel that 'PeePee' has signed on with, if they could not entice him onto their own crew. Strangely when 'PeePee's' vessel returns to port early he is rarely aboard and those that know why rarely talk about it. He always reappears within a few days to collect his gear and usually rewards those that have looked after it for him with some sort of valuable trinket.

Mostly he works on fishing vessels and asks for little other than to be on the sea. When one vessel comes back to port he will immediately hire on with another that is about to leave. Occasionally, however, he hires on with salvage expeditions. Such expeditions have a suspiciously high success rate and Petwo always asks for the same payment. One item of his choice from the wreck that isn't on the cargo manifest. Usually such treasures are valueless or bizarre but occasionally they have been items of enormous value or significance whose presence in the wreck is universally mysterious.

Despite his initially appearance, he strongly resembles some sort of terrifying obsidian idol with alien symbols engraved all over it's surface, he is a friendly, jovial man with a deep booming laugh with a love of cooking and story telling, pastimes that are often welcome aboard ship. When not chanting to the Loa he likes to belt out Gilbert and Sullivan and it is rumoured he has even performed in amateur productions, although such stories are clearly madness or tall-tales of his own invention.

[not done, more to follow, must sleep...]
Dakka
Okay ran into this "snag" as I'm writing my background. Since we are a team and it sounds like we have a boat or access to it, this brings up these questions. One, can we all contribute to the purchase so, that one is not burdened by it? Two, where do we make port? New Orleans, Havana in the Carib League, Miami, Key West (the list is length) or even the Tortugas? lol (or are we difters, which necessitates a fairly large craft)

I believe those questions are important for background and character build, but forgive if i'm over reaching.

Also, I have no idea how much a saltwater fishing kit costs but will go online to find out, can I use the price I find?
TheOneRonin
Wow...I just tried to write a preliminary background for my guy, and it came out quite long. Spoiler quotes for the sake of those who don't feel like reading a novel:

[ Spoiler ]


Please consider this a work in progress and not a final draft.
Dakka
If we're both picked I see us as close chums
BlackHat
Everything subject to change, especially if he gets picked, and we others want to tie our backgrounds together.
But his is my current idea.

-----------------------------------

Captain of an unimposing, but well-kept, fishing vessel, Odyssey, Joseph Carter "officially" made his living by taking tourists on sightseeing voyages, deep-see diving expeditions, or even taking rich businessmen, or college-girls on spring break, out for various off-shore recreational activities. While was is all true, his real income came from the fact that, for a price, Joseph Carter would take his client, and whatever luggage they brought with them, quietly out of the country, with few questions asked. He had even been known to bring anything, from guns to drugs to people, back in with him, and put them into the right hands. Carter developed connections with various criminal entities, and enjoyed his exciting adventurous lifestyle.

Through his illegal activities, he had made quite a bit of money, which he used to improve his ship, as well as buying a number of nautical drones, diving equipment, and to finance a number of treasure-hunts. His expeditions often resulted in little more than scraps of wrecked vehicles, which he repaired or sold for scrap, but he did occasionally recover valuable goods that had been lost to the sea. He also had a number of run-ins with pirates, smugglers, and similar threats that required he take on a small crew to protect him, his ship, and his cargo.

His most recent success had cost him a year of his life, unfortunately. After finding a cache of weapons on a sunken airplane, and selling them off before he knew who he was crossing, Carter had to lay low to avoid the attention of the arms dealer who came looking for them. During this time, "Carter" and his ship, had to disappear, so the profit he made went into modifications to his boat, a new name, and a new SIN to go with it. Certer spent the last year moving from place to place, living off of the grid, and taking up a number of jobs (both on and off of land) as a professional problem-solver or Shadowrunner - which taught him a number of new useful skills, made him a little more world-wise, as well as putting him in touch with a new network of contacts - specifically, the other PCs.

He still loves life on the sea, and spends a lot of time on his boat, working on modifications or drones, even when the team is resupplying on land - although, when he joins them, trouble is never far behind. He styles himself a robin-hood of pirates, a treasure-hunter extrordinare, and has still been known to compliment his Shadow-income with the occasional smuggling job.

--------------------------

As far as connecting backgrounds go, if Carter (who I will probably pick a suitable nickname for) end up on the team, he'll have the boat covered and could have easily connected up with any other treasure-hunters. As far as the SEALs, SBSs, and other military types, Carter would have been looking for muscle to protect his ship on such voyages, and would gladly have signed up for transportation for sea-based rescue missions.

Havn't worked out the point totals yet, but while Carter will need to have a respectable commlink, I am thinking he will be mostly defensive (protecting his ship/drones) and only passable as a hacker. Having the treasure-hunting hacker on board seems like a good fit.

I'm hoping he'll be decent in a fight, getting into scraps at port, and occasionally against pirates on the sea. He will probably be reasonably good at getting a hold of things, and selling loot, and can handle modifications to the team's equipment.
TheOneRonin
QUOTE (Dakka @ May 24 2008, 10:05 AM) *
If we're both picked I see us as close chums



Agreed. Prior service guys tend to connect automatically. It happens to me IRL all the time, so no reason why it wouldn't happen "in-game". And both of us having a SpecOps background probably makes us even closer.

TheOneRonin

Here is another question. Assuming we all live on a boat, how do you thing we should handle Lifestyle costs?

Another possibility for the boat is that we could be "leasing" it from a crime syndicate. That way, we have to earn a base amount of cash to keep up payments on the boat, so that encourages us to get work. Also, it allows the team to afford a nice vessel that might otherwise be a huge drain on our resources.

Thoughts?

BlackHat
In the arsenal book, vehicles can have different amenities (default is low, but could be a pimped out yacht, or a low-quality fishing vessel) and I assume you would just pay lifestyle as usual, based on the level of the vehicle you are living on (similar to paying based on the level fo the area in which you want to live).

It would make it so that we all probably have the same lifestyle, though.
pragma
Fleshing out the background a little more as promised above. I think its about done now.

Concept: A man on the run from the past who refuses to admit it to anyone, even himself. He seeks adventure and craves youth, even as both slowly slip out of his life.

What people know about Guy Freebird:
-------------------------------------------
This self-named new-wave yet old-school surfer, treasure hunter and hacker has lived his life for a very long time without a care in the world. He goes to great lengths to avoid becoming 'locked in' to long haul work and values his freedom and 'peace of chakra' a great deal, as he will readily tell you. His growing years might make him seem like a vulnerability on a Shadowrunning team, especially in a role as fast moving as hacker, but his age also attests to his matrix talent and his willingness to get dirty in a gunfight.

Historically, he's operated primarily out of Los Angeles, his hometown. He appeared on the gray, maritime market in his late 20's with a fresh set of clothing and a desire to get to sea, he's stayed there (or on various variants of the water) for twelve years. When asked about his life before that time he is unusually hesitant to give any details, a look that borders on pain marring his otherwise placid face.

It is readily apparent from his work that Guy has a lot of experience as a system administrator, matrix security consultant and even electronic warfare and signals intelligence. His talent for diving, salvage, marine history, gunfighting and tai-chi are fresher, though equally polished. He seems to have had a lot of practice in his ten years in the wilderness.

He's a man who stares restlessly at the horizon. When asked what he's doing and when he'll stop he says that he's searching for peace, or the big score, or whatever else springs to mind that day.

------------------------------------------------

Integrating with team:

I like the idea of this character having worked extensively with Blackhat's on salvage jobs. The two seem like they'd make a decent team.

For dealing with SAS types -- the seas of 2070 necessitate security, and ex-mil is usually where it is provided. He could have run into any number of them that way.
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