cndblank
Aug 7 2008, 07:09 PM
QUOTE (Scope_47 @ Aug 7 2008, 01:39 PM)
Jane would be basically a get-away driver and mostly a face... so-so in combat, but fairly squishy (style over substance, so she'd be just wearing a bomber jacket for armor, giving her 3/3... 4/5 with her aviator's helmet)...
One word for Jane.
Form Fitted Armor.
Second Word
Expert Skill Wires (can spend Edge to reroll). Cause there is nothing like just downloading the skill you need.
One the Face side, we do need a Vamp. It would be a good secondary for Jane.
I'm not spot wielded to being a Face. Easy does have a good Charisma but he could just be good with leg work.
I just one to make sure that we are clear on who the primary face is.
Scope_47
Aug 7 2008, 07:12 PM
Hmmm... I had another idea... maybe Jane isn't a 'has-been' at all and is still globally famous (with the fame quality)... (disguised during runs of course) so she'd be like Face-Man from the A-team and use her fame (though Face-Man impersonated famous people) to bypass security moving the team through national borders:
Security: "Miss... Miss... you can't... oh my... I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."
Jane: "What's wrong, hon, we've got a shoot in an hour... can't you hurry this up?"
Security: "But... those people... and... and machine guns?"
Jane: "What? The stunt men and props? I could tell you, but you'd have to file with the studio and sign an NDA... and if you delay shooting, the director will..."
Security: "Oh no... go on through... move along..."
ROFL
You think that that could work?
-Scope
BlackHat
Aug 7 2008, 07:15 PM
I didn't see any other rigger ideas proposed, so I don't think there is a lot of overlap with the stunt driver. I don't think there is any with Sarge, either - except that depending on which PCs people decide on, we have as many as 5 combat-characters (no idea who is ranged and who is melee spec'ed).
Of course, with 9 PCs, there is bound to be some overlap. I'm not too worried about it. In fact, it'll be kind of fun if we had a group that had multiple mages, or more than one hacker (since those are the guys usually flying solo). You can never have enough combattants, either.
Oenone
Aug 7 2008, 07:19 PM
Yes indeed. Form fitted armour is awesome.
Even Weaver can use some and she only has a body of one. (Got to love the rounding down part of the rating score).
Incidentally given that PBP games are likely to be slower (unless you plan to give downtime gaps) I suspect you might want me to change Weavers In Debt flaw for something else?
(It can always be used as a source of additional trouble if you're okay with it, like angry men wanting to have 'words' with her if she's out of the city too long).
I ask as I don't want it to seem like a load of free BP and Nuyen because of the way the PBP game format works. (She was origionally planned for tabletop game, where the flaw would be less open to abuse).
I can change it fairly fast by dropping a lot of gear and shifting a few odd points about. So if you'd like me to just say the word.
Edit - And the film star idea might work, it might not (depends on the guards and the fake ID's I guess) but either way it would be great from an RP point of view!
cndblank
Aug 7 2008, 07:22 PM
That would be different.
Runners using a Simsense Production as cover.
We can be the independent "Arty" production company the Janes uses to make "real" art, after doing a Mega Block buster to line her Cred account.
Thing is most runner would run away from a big Star because of all the media attention.
How about she looks like a famous star. REALLY looks like her.
Easy.. would be easy to change so play who you want.
Ears
Aug 7 2008, 07:32 PM
@Scope_47:
Yeah, I think Jane sounds like a real cool member of the team and that fame idea sounds like an even cooler addition. As for vehicles, in addition to 'acquiring' vehicles a 9 person team should always have enough ways of renting them from shadowy sources if we all have contacts in more than one city.
Perhaps Jane herself could know one mechanic-type character with further ties to vehicle-mad persons both in America and Asia?
cndblank
Aug 7 2008, 07:59 PM
Just to throw a few ideas out....
In 2070, it is all about SimSense experience. Does your simsense recording make a strong impression with sharp clear sensations and do your emotions feel real? That part can't be faked. That part means more now than just being one of the beautiful people.
The Studios can take someone who can record a very Sharp SimSense experience with all the right emotions and make them look like who ever they want. Add skillwires and entensive training and you too can be a star.
Maybe Jane started as a stunt woman and was discovered?
Perhaps a Starlet disappeared/was extracted and they took her stunt woman and did her up so that she could fill in for a few days doing appearances while they tried to retrieve their Star.
Perhaps she turned out to be more talented than the original. Or maybe the Studio decided to bluff it out with their new discovery.
Oenone
Aug 7 2008, 08:03 PM
I'm going to go with Weaver as my choice then, if no-one objects?
Mainly as her background makes travelling around a lot more likely than for Fornax, who has city specific revenge issues in mind.
If anyone has any advice on a better set of complex forms for a Networker to use then I'm open to suggestions! (This is my first Technomancer build attempt).
Below is the short background for her. This time done in Spoiler tags which should work.....
[ Spoiler ]
Cassandra 'Weaver' Jones.
Sometime during the crash of '64 Weaver's older brother Simon, who was the talent behind the family detective agency, vanished. Trying everything she could to track him down Cassandra spent less and less time on work, building up massive debts with the local loan shark known on the street as 'The Tooth'.
As the debts mounted she decided to take drastic measures, torching the office for the insurance money and paying for her SIN to be erased. Desperate for the money she turned to shadow-running, hoping to turn her talents with the matrix into nuyen to fund her search.
In terms of appearance Weaver is 5'3" with dark red hair, green eyes and the kind of pale skin you only get from spending far too much time indoors. She favors the combination of faded black jeans and long sleeve t-shirts for her general clothing.
Oenone
Aug 7 2008, 08:06 PM
Ooooooooooooo Am I the only one who thinks SimSense recording equipment would be an excellent excuse for someone to bring along one of the PAB units from Unwired?
Hook it up to some geniune SimSense gear we'd need to have kicking around and we can have all kinds of fun.
Nothing like portable brainwashing gear to make life interesting.
cndblank
Aug 7 2008, 08:09 PM
Yeah, we can brainwash the more visible member of the team so they don't know they are shadowrunners.
BlackHat
Aug 7 2008, 08:57 PM
QUOTE (Oenone @ Aug 7 2008, 04:03 PM)
If anyone has any advice on a better set of complex forms for a Networker to use then I'm open to suggestions! (This is my first Technomancer build attempt).
Depends on what you want the technomancer to be good at. I think the common-use CFs you took are good. You pretty much can't live without those. I wouldn't leave home without stealth and exploit, either. Spoof is useful. ECCM is also useful for technomancer, if you expect jamming (with a signal rating of 3, a mediocre jammer could dumpshock you). Attack and Shield look like good picks if you want to be able to hold your own in cybercombat (which I suspect you do). Other technomancer builds I have seen would opt to thread those as necessary, and cross their fingers that they don't get into cybercombat much (really, cybercombat comes when your stealth or exploit programs fail you).
I personally rally like the simrig CF option in Unwired, but I dunno if it would be worth dumping any of your existing choices. Its easy to thread. I've also liked the idea of a TM who has a tacsoft CF (with SimRig) - which Unwired suggests is possible.
if you wanted to focus on any one aspect of hacking, there are maybe some changes I would make, but in general, those picks look solid.
Oenone
Aug 7 2008, 09:03 PM
Cybercombat is pretty important as none of the Networker Sprites are able to fight. Which is the main downside of taking it.
The point about ECCM is noted, I suspect I'll have to thread it whenever I think jamming might be a risk. :/
I didn't know you could do Simrigs or Tacsofts, but I'll keep them in mind. Again for threading when needed.
If they're solid looking I might stick with the ones I've picked then, as I wanted the flexible approach. Able to hack systems, obtain data and suchlike. But still able to defend herself without taking all the drain in the universe.
Does anyone know if Shield works out better than Armor? From the rough math I did in my head I think it might just be a little better, but I'm not 100% sure.
crizh
Aug 7 2008, 09:31 PM
City?
I'm easy, Seattle or Hong Kong.
Voodoo was built for Seattle, Granny was built for Seattle but shoe-horned into Hong-Kong and actually fits kinda nice there.
Granny is a Dronomancer who avoids 'meat' stuff almost entirely, I was actually thinking of having her move up to the full-immersion lifestyle when she could afford it. So, technically, she could be based in Hong-Kong but still participate in runs anywhere she can buy a drone or have one shipped to.
The group seems pretty Matrix heavy ATM although that could work in our favour. Matrix is boring because one PC can hog the action for ages but with three or four hackers/TM's working together it might actually be quite cool.
We do seem pretty Mana-light though. Voodoo is a fairly heavy possession-summoner who might round out that side of the team nicely.
Depends on what you guys think really.
On the subject of a 9 man team. It strikes me that a team of that size is actually starting to move into mercenary company territory which could be quite interesting.
cndblank
Aug 7 2008, 09:45 PM
QUOTE (crizh @ Aug 7 2008, 04:31 PM)
On the subject of a 9 man team. It strikes me that a team of that size is actually starting to move into mercenary company territory which could be quite interesting.
Yeah it is, but there are real advantages to a larger team.
Various members might be part timers supplementing their income, if they are not totally in to the Shadows.
Any time you split up, it is nice to make sure each subteam has a face, a rigger, a hacker, a mage, and enough muscle.
Having enough muscle to properly keep an out perimenter or prevent the mage, hacker, or Rigger from getting fragged while busy else where is always worth while.
The one real advantage PBEM has over Face to Face besides not needing to be face to face is that a GM doesn't need to keep the group together to keep the pace going.
Oenone
Aug 7 2008, 09:49 PM
And you don't need to struggle to find enough chairs, dice and table space for everyone playing. Which is always a bonus.
Scope_47
Aug 7 2008, 10:15 PM
I'm working on statting out Jane now...
Right now, I have her with actual skills for Athletics,Influence,Disguise, and Intimidate. I used the Gear quality from RC so that she could buy Move-By-Wire 2 (Mainly for the reaction bump and skill-wires 4), and gave her some personalized/Pluscoded rating 4 skillwires for Pilot(ground,water,aircraft), Pistols, and Exotic Weapon Monowhip. Also gave her all the social-oriented bio/cyber that wasn't forbidden (no Tailored Phermones... she pretends to follow the rules). Gave her the expert system and a 3 edge as well.
So, she's actually got (not taking fame into account at all) a 14-dice pool for all the social skills (except intimidate, that's only 13), 11 dice with her pistols, 15 dice for those three pilots (counting +1 AR) so long as she is driving 'in the meat', and 16 dice to gymnastic dodge. Add to that the leather jacket and personal armor, and she has about a 6/6 armor rating (nothing to write home about, but okish). She still only has a 3 body and 2 willpower though.
Problem is, I ran out of money for vehicles (even after using the 'Born Rich' quality to heighten the BP for gear cap)... so I'm trying to figure out whether to make her less of a face, or just try to rely on borrowing or leasing vehicles from contacts (or con-jobbing for them as needed)
Oh, and two contacts - The Producer (haven't named him yet - but the idea is that he produces her Sim-series, but figured out that a better emotive track could be produced if he put her in actually dangerous situations and merged those emotive tracks with her actual acting in post-production... so he's kind of her fixer) L5, C6. and Prop-Man-Stan, a production logistics manager (after all, action-movies based on shadowrunners need almost the same types of gear that actual shadowrunners need... just don't forget to replace the blanks with real bullets and you're good LOL) at L 4 or 5 and C6.
Ok, thoughts, comments? Think I'm going the wrong direction, or am I on track?
- Scope
BlackHat
Aug 7 2008, 10:30 PM
I really like all of that. Make sure she's got the licenses for all of that jazz . Reminds me of a scene in Chasing Amy.
"Well this right here - she full of blanks, okay. And Opiate gets all sorts of legal clearances before I go on."
"Your publisher condones these theatrics!"
"Condones? Honey, they insist. I need to sell the image to sell the book ."
crizh
Aug 7 2008, 10:35 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 7 2008, 11:30 PM)
I really like all of that. Make sure she's got the licenses for all of that jazz . Reminds me of a scene in Chasing Amy.
"Well this right here - she full of blanks, okay. And Opiate gets all sorts of legal clearances before I go on."
"Your publisher condones these theatrics!"
"Condones? Honey, they insist. I need to sell the image to sell the book ."
Aw, hell, now I have to break out the DVD's and have a Kevin-Smith-a-thon....
Scope_47
Aug 8 2008, 12:01 AM
@Gremish
Do you allow second-hand bio/cyber at character gen? RAW is unclear on whether it would be allowed or not.
- Scope
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 12:09 AM
Okay I just spotted I'd got some of Weavers gear wrong. So I decided to do a quick edit, I've also dropped the Infiltration skill entirely because with a DP of 6 (only in Urban areas) she wasn't going to be fooling anyone. Instead I've bumped her ability to Compile Sprites for added Matrix potency.
Also added are a whole bunch of sensors to aid with her Private Investigator history. (Oh and to generally be useful too)
[ Spoiler ]
Cassandra 'Weaver' Jones.
Stats and Metatype BP
Human 0
Body 1 0
Agility 3 20
Reactions 3 20
Strength 1 0
Charisma 5 40
Intuition 5 40
Logic 5 40
Willpower 5 40
Edge 2 0
Resonance 5 40
Initiative 8
VR Matrix Initiative 11
Skills Ranks BP Description
Cracking Skill Group 4 40
Electronics Skill Group 3 30
Influence Skill Group 1 10
Compiling 6 24
Dodge 2 10 Ranged Specialization
Pistols 2 10 Light Pistol Specialization
Perception 1 4
Infiltration 1 4
Knowledge Skills 30 - Free
Operating Systems 5
Matrix Security Procedures 5
IC Identification 4
Matrix Theory 4
Data Havens 4
Public Transport Routes 2
Local Coffin Motels 2
Local Dive Bars 1
Language Skills
English – Native
Japanese 2 Matrix Lingo
Qualities BP
Technomancer – Networker 5 Fading: Charisma + Resonance
Sprites: Code, Courier, Crack, Data, and Sleuth
Paragon 5 Alias - +2 to Spoof tests and +1 to Sleuth Sprites
Lost Loved One -5
In Debt -30 Gives 30000 Nuyen but must pay back 45000 with interest going up by 4500 per month.
Complex Forms 50BP Total
Attack 5
Analyse 5
Browse 5
Command 5
Exploit 5
Edit 5
Scan 5
Shield 5
Spoof 5
Stealth 5
Living Persona. Firewall 5, Response 5 (+1 in Full VR), Signal 3, System 5 and Biofeedback Filter 5.
Gear 30000 Total from Flaws
Equipment
Fichetti Security 600 1925 Concealed Holster, Electronic Firing and Built in Silencer.
Spare Clips x 3 15
Normal Light Pistol Ammunition 800 400 Rounds
Stick-n-Shock Light Pistol 480 60 Rounds
Form Fitting Body Armour 2000 Shirt Only – Ballistic 3 Impact 0. With Chemical Protection Rating 6
Street Clothing 300
Suit 500
Hardware Tool Kit 500
Tag Eraser 150
Radio Signal Scanner 150 Rating 6 – Micro Sized Sensor
Optical Tap 100
One Metre of Fibre-Optic Cable 1
False-Bottomed Attache Case 300
Plastic Restraints x 9 9 Each Bundle contains 10 disposable restraints.
Autopicker 1200 Rating 6
Vacuum Seal 600 Rating 6
Ares Low Intensity Laser 1250
White Noise Generator 300 Rating 6
Hand Held Sensor 1
Camera 100 Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 1
Ultrawideband Radar 2000 Rating 4 - Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 1
Hand Held Sensor 2
Non-Linear Junction Detector 600 Rating 6 – Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 2
Cyberware Scanner 450 Rating 6 – Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 2
MAD Scanner 225 Rating 3 – Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 2
Hand Held Sensor 3
Directional Microphone 50 Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 3
Laser Microphone 300 Rating 6 – Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 3
Olfactory Sensor 3000 Rating 6 – Fitted to Hand Held Sensor 3
Gas Mask 100
Glasses 275 Flare Compensation, Thermographic Vision and Vision Magnification.
Backpack 250
Meta-Link Commlink 300 With Vector Xim OS
Programs 400 Analyse 2, Browse 2, Encrypt 2 and Edit 2
Disposable Commlink x 3 900
Sub-Vocal Microphone 50
Data-Chip x 5 5
Cred Stick x 3 75
Mesh Tags x 20 40
Emoti-Toy 600 Rating 6 - Immobile
Fake SIN 5200 R4 with R4 Private Investigators License, Concealed Carry License and Light Pistol Licenses.
Fake SIN 4000 Rating 4
Squatter Lifestyle 500 One Month Paid in Advance – Representing Pre-Spoofed accommodation.
Contacts 3 + 10 Free
Fixer -The Tooth Seattle Connections 2 / Loyalty 1
The Manse Virtual Connections 3 (+2 Membership and +2 Broad Reaching Matrix Resources), Loyalty 3
General Technomancer Social Network
If that's okay I'll write up a bit more detail for the background and flesh out the contacts a little. Consider any mention of Local in terms of knowledge skills to relate to whichever city we begin in.
I've done a quick edit to sort the contacts out on this sheet. The info for them will also go in with the extended background.
This should now be totally complete as of the 8th of the 8th. (I fixed the Virtual contact to include an area and drop the resources a bit). Again with another edit. This time to change Registering for something more useful.
And the very last edit. (Unless I need to change In Debt) in which I re-adjust the virtual contact to it's final form.
Scope_47
Aug 8 2008, 02:00 AM
Ok, I've got Jane statted out... let me know what you guys think. I'll finish a full backstory in a bit...
This version assumes that its OK to use 2nd hand cyber/bioware at char-gen
[ Spoiler ]
Metatype: Elf (I decided it worked better)
Body 3
Agility 5
Reaction 3 (9)
Strength 2
Charisma 7
Intuition 3
Logic 3
Willpower 2
Edge 3
Initiative 6 (12)
IPs 3
Essence 0.92
Athletics Group 4
Influence Group 4
Disguise 4
Intimidation 3
Knowledges
Sim-Sense Production 4
Stunt Production 4
Elven Rock 1
Languages
English N
Sperethiel 3
Japanese 3
Creole 3
Positive Qualities
Fame (Global)
Born Rich
Restricted Gear
Negative Qualities
Day Job (10hrs a week, 10,000 salary a month)
Poor Self Control (Thrill-Seeker)
Records on File (Horizon)
SINner
Moderate Uncommon Allergy (Cats)
Gear (500 nuyen left over):
Monofilament Whip
2 Cavalier deputy pistols (smartlink, personalized grip)
Aces High Jacket
Actioneer Business Clothes
Form-Fitting Full Body Armor (see-thru)
quick-draw holster
hidden gun arm slide
100 heavy pistol rounds
4 speed loaders
Goggles with smartlink and thermographic
Contacts with flare comp, vision mag, and enhancement 3
Earbuds with enhancement 3 and select sound filter 3
Response/Signal 3 commlink
Firewall 6
System 3
Ergonomic Optimized (3) Analyse 6
Browse Optomized (3) 6
Command 3
Edit 3
Ergonomic Optimized (3) Encrypt 6
Mapsoft 6 (local city)
4 datachits
Pilot Groundcraft personalized skill-soft 4
Pilot Aircraft personalized skill-soft 4
Pilot Watercraft personalized skill-soft 4
Artisan personalized skill-soft 4
Infiltration personalized skill-soft 4
Pistols personalized pluscode (2) skill-soft 4
Exotic Weapon: Monowhip personalized pluscode (2) skill-soft 4
Fake Sin 4 (Juliana Dupree, Stunt double)
Smartlink license 4
Move-by-Wire license 4
Cavalier Deputy license 4
Cavalier Deputy license 4
Concealed Carry license 4
Suzuki Mirage: modded with pimped ride 1 (the fiberglass japano-bike crap stripped off, made to look more like a chopper), nitrous injection, turbocharger, and Engine customization: Speed
Move-by-Wire 2 (used Restricted Gear quality)
2nd hand Synthacardium 3
Balance Augmenter
Alphaware fiberoptic hair
alphaware Breast Implants
Simrig
Skillwire Expert System
2nd Hand Enhanced Phermone Receptors 3
2nd Hand Vocal Range Enhancer
Reaction Enhancers 2
Alphaware fingertip compartment
- Scope
Vice, stated out.
Stats
[ Spoiler ]
Subrace: human (0BP)
Attributes (200BP+14 karma)
Body: 4 (5 for damage resist tests)
Agility: 4 (6)
Reaction:5 (9)
Strength: 4
Charisma: 4
Intuition: 4
Logic: 2
Willpower: 2
Initiative: 9 (13)
Essence:0.25
Edge:2
Positive Qualities (10BP)
Biocapatibility (Cyberware)
Negative Qualities (-15BP)
Mild Addiction: Vice has been a social drug user since he was 15.
Mild Addiction: Vice is fighting a stalemated battle to overcome his sex addiction.
Standard SINner: As a legitimate citizen of the CAS, born in a corporate hospital and raised by corporate employees, Riley Travis was issued a SIN at birth. His SIN was destroyed in Crash 2.0, and replaced by the CAS because he was on active duty at the time.
Skills
[ Spoiler ]
Active Skills (128BP+51karma)
Athletics Skill Group - 3
Infiltration - 3
Influence Group - 4
Pistols - 4
Automatics - 5
Intimidation - 4
Unarmed Combat - 3
Perception - 1
Palming - 1
Pilot Ground Vehicles (Car) - 1(+2)
Knowledge Skills
Background: Small Unit Tactics – 2
Street Drugs-2
Corporate Security Procedures-2
Gambling - 1
CAS Army Procedures-3
Language Skills
English-N
Spanish-1
Japanese-2
Cantonese-2
Resources:
[ Spoiler ]
:nuyen:250k, 50BP
Vice’s bone lacing, biomonitor and data jack were installed by the CAS army.
Sensory systems, reflex boosts and attention coprocessor were installed by Saeder-Krupp.
He added the bioware himself when he went underground.
Augmentation:
Attention coprocessor-3
Bone lacing (plastic)
Cyber safety
Muscle toner-2
Wired reflexes-2
Enhanced articulation
Datajack
Reaction enhancer-2
Biomonitor
Orientation system
Cybereyes-4
-Flare compensation
-Low light vision
-Smartlink
-Thermographic vision
-Vision enhancement-3
-Vision magnification
Cyberears -4
-Audio enhancer-3
-Balance augmenter
-Damper
-Increased sensitivity
-Select sound filter-4
-Spatial recognizer
Cosmetic Modification:
-His bosses at Saeder-Krupp slightly tweaked his facial features to closer fit the idealized classic German face. Surgeons strengthened his jawline, sharpened his cheekbones, narrowed his nose and reduced his nostrils
Gear:
Survival Knife
Ares Predator IV
-Concealed holster
-Quick draw holster
-Silencer
-5 spare magazines
-Skinlink
FN-57C
-Internal smartlink
-Concealed holster
-9 spare magazines
-Gas vent 3
-Improved range finder
-Skinlink
-Personalised grip
FN P93
-Internal smartlink
-Shock pad
-Sound suppressor
-5 spare magazines
-Improved range finder
-Skinlink
-Personalised grip
480 rounds explosive ammo
300 rounds SMG
120 rounds machine pistol
60 rounds heavy pistol
110 rounds stick’n’shok
80 machine pistol
30 heavy pistol
4 Flash bangs
4 High explosive grenades
1 High explosive mortar round. Dud. Souvenir from mercenary work in Vietnam, kept on coffee table as conversation piece
4 Auctioneer Business Suits
Armor Jacket, Âľ length gloss black leather
Armor Vest
Lined Coat. trench coat cut, khaki
Form-fitting body armor, shirt
GPS
Fairlight Caliban
-Custom OS (System-6, Firewall-6)
-Satellite link
-PAN kept in Hidden Mode
Renraku Sensei
-Renraku Ichi OS
-Decoy commlink kept in Passive mode
White Noise Generator, rating-4
Tag Eraser
Common Use Programs:
-Analyze-3
-Browse-3
-Command-3
-Edit-3
-Scan-3
-Encrypt-6
-Agent-3
Designer sunglasses with wireless adjustable tint
Sensor software
-Empathy-4
-Facial recognition-4
-Lie Detection-4
-Weapon Watcher-4
Mapsoft-6 * 7 (Hong Kong, Seattle, Neo-Tokyo, Miami, Los Angeles, Macau, Hanoi)
Plastic restraints, 10 bundles of 10
Metal restraints, 5 sets
Monofilament chainsaw
Rappelling gloves
Survival kit
Grapple Gun
Catalyst Stick
3 100m spools of stealth rope
Maglock passkey-4
Biomonitor
Medkit-6, 20 restocks
5 Stimulant patch-4
5 Tranq patch-6
2 Trauma patches
Drug stockpile
-Asia, 10 doses
-eX, 25 doses
-Novacoke, 25 doses
-Zen, 10 doses
-1 can of Hurlg that someone left in his fridge.
-Galak, 15 doses
Combat load vest
Fake SIN-4
-Dalton Xavier Zachary
-Private security contractor with Proactive Security Solutions, a Macao based security company that operates in China, and south east Asia.
-fake license-4
--wired reflexes
--heavy pistol
--machine pistol
--SMG
Fake SIN-4
-Tyrone Draft
-Independent simsense industry military consultant
-fake license-4
--wired reflexes
--heavy pistol
Chrysler-Nissan Skyline GTR
-Hyundai Shin-Hyung competitor w/High Amenities. I priced this at :nuyen:17000 (base cost of a Shin) + :nuyen:1000 (for the High amenities vehicle modification).
-Gunmetal grey paint
-Spoof chip
High Lifestyle, 1 month
-Vice lives in an apartment on the 46th floor of a skyscraper in Central Hong Kong.
Assets:
:nuyen:16500
(4d6 + 12) * :nuyen:500
1d6=6, 1d6=4, 1d6=5, 1d6=6 Contacts:
[ Spoiler ]
5BP, plus 8 points from Charisma * 2
Vincent Cocetti - Fixer (L:3/C:2)
Vinnie C grew up in the San Fernando valley, surrounded by wiseguys. After going to college and business school, he got into the “olive oil� business rather than the corporate world. As a mob finance man, he was able to avoid the hail of gunfire when the don went to war with a yakuza clan. When his capo and don were slain, Cocetti expanded his operations beyond organized crime staples and expanded into contract corporate espionage. When he got sick of LA, he moved to Hong Kong. After several productive years, an old acquaintance who’d gone into the mercenary business put him in touch with a former company man looking for work, and he’s handled Vice’s shadow career ever since.
Mai Li - Executive Personal Assistant (L:2/C:2)
Mai Li grew up a corporate brat in a nice, quiet part of Bellevue. While she was in high school, she and her friends began sneaking into Redmond to enjoy the orxploitation movement firsthand. In college, she got an internship with a startup record label called Rhymin’ and Stealin’. The VP of marketing offered her a job as his personal assistant when he discovered she had grown up on the fringes of the world that the company was selling albums about. Now, she offers her perspective on artists, picks up his dry cleaning, and drives his daughters to ballet lessons. Mai met Travis doing tai chi on a Sunday morning in a park in Renton while he was in Seattle to extract someone. She quickly figured out what he does, and after spending all day working with studio thugs, loves the giddy thrill of associating with a serious criminal when he’s in town.
Hokato Ota - Arms Dealer (L:2/C:2)
Ota grew up in the slums of Osaka and fell in with a Starved Wolf gang. Eventually, he caught the eye of the Snakeheads who saw the advantage of having a native Japanese member in their operation in the port city. Over time, the smugglers moved him to their Neo-Tokyo operation, to handle arranging bribes to the more racist officials who wouldn’t deal with an outsider. The gang specializes in kidnapping young girls from mainland China and Vietnam and brings them into Neo-Tokyo to be sex slaves, and smuggling small arms and munitions back into the warzone to fuel the ongoing conflicts. The gang is also a pipeline that smuggles opiates into ultra-conservative Neo-Tokyo. Vice and Ota met when he was in Vietnam working for PSS, a Macao based mercenary company that the Snakeheads’ opium growers had hired to protect their processing sites.
Edit: 07-Aug-2008: Consolidated Social skill points into Influence Group and Intimidation.
Edit: 08-Aug-2008: Fleshed out contacts and reformatted list for readability.
Edit: 08-Aug-2008: Added Records on File negative trait and Biocompatibility trait. Reduced cyberware to standard grade. Added Orientation System, more Actioneer suits, and some completely random odds and ends like a single mortar round, a chainsaw, and a 40oz bottle of Hurlg that someone left in his fridge.
Edit: 11-Aug-2008: Adjusted background to put character in Seattle.
Edit: 11-Aug-2008: Relocated character back to Hong Kong. Traded 32BP for karma, removed Record on File quality, and increased Intuition from 3 to 4.
Glyph
Aug 8 2008, 03:25 AM
Looks good. I was worried that she sounded too much like Dancer, but they are actually different enough to function on the same team. I was leaning more towards Dancer, because the other awakened characters seemed to all be mages or mystic adepts, so a good close combat adept would be a good fit for the group.
Dancer is close to (re)done. I tweaked her a bit, reducing her dancing ability (which even in the L.A. game was overkill) and adding some of the goodies and options from Arsenal. All I really have left to do is add the freebie contacts that we are getting.
@Gremish:
I have a quick question about the monowhip skill. When I took it, I assumed that you could use a monowhip to parry like any other melee weapon. I see it as whirling the weapon around defensively, just as I see people parrying against a monowhip by blocking the attacker's forearm, batting the tip away, etc.
I want to be sure that you agree with that, though, because if she can't use her monowhip defensively, she has a huge hole in her defenses (gymnastics is really only any good against ranged combat), and I will have to drastically re-work the character.
Glyph
Aug 8 2008, 03:31 AM
@DWC:
Cool character, but for the exact same cost as Con: 4, Etiquette: 3, and Negotiation: 3, you could buy the Influence skill group at rating: 4. That would raise Etiquette and Negotiation by 1 each, as well as giving him the Leadership skill at 4 (which would fit someone with an armed forces background).
QUOTE (Glyph @ Aug 7 2008, 11:31 PM)
@DWC:
Cool character, but for the exact same cost as Con: 4, Etiquette: 3, and Negotiation: 3, you could buy the Influence skill group at rating: 4. That would raise Etiquette and Negotiation by 1 each, as well as giving him the Leadership skill at 4 (which would fit someone with an armed forces background).
Nice catch, thanks. I was trying to fit Leadership in there, but was having issues with finding the points without gutting core skills.
Intro
Aug 8 2008, 04:10 AM
So, here's background on wilderness guy. He's almost statted out, just have to juggle the last few BPs around. The description got rather longer than I expected - I guess I just had a lot to write for this guy. In terms of role, when he's not out in the wilderness, he's a longarms-focused shooting adept. I haven't quite decided on whether he should be sport rifles or shotgun specialized - close-to-medium range or long?
[ Spoiler ]
Abraham Lincoln Ramirez
Male Ork
Physical Description: Height - 2.0 m. Weight - 105 kg. Abe Ramirez has deeply tanned skin, with dark brown/black eyes and hair. Slightly taller and more slender than the average ork, he has a close-cropped beard, and wears his hair relatively short. He tends to wear loose and unrestrictive clothing in light colors, the better to deal with desert heat, even if he's nowhere near the desert.
Born in CalFree in 2042, the son of a Latino ork father and a baseline human Anglo mother, Abe grew up in the East Bay sprawl during the years of the Japanese occupation.
In 2059, Abe began to study biology and parabiology at UCLA. During his time there he became in increasingly uneasy with living in a society where every government, every corp, could track your movements, habits - everything. He fell in with a group of fellow students and others from the student body who felt the same way, but he never had the aptitude for the programming skills needed to spoof RFIDs and Matrix access IDs that many of the others possessed.
After college, he continued studying biology in graduate school. He did field work in Utah and Arizona, and while the other academics in his research group felt uncomfortable at the separation from the rest of the world, relying on a slow sat connection to the Matrix, Abe felt the opposite. He appreciated the openness, and the space, and not being under surveillance every moment. As a result, even after his initial data collection was complete, he began to spend more and more of his time in the area, ostensibly doing research, but in reality mostly just enjoying the distance from the rest of metahumanity - climbing mountains, riding horses across the desert, and just watching the desert fauna go about its life without viewing it from a scientific perspective. When the Matrix crash of '64 happened, he didn't realize it for days, when he arrived back at Provo. When he found that he and his personal data had been erased from most systems, he jumped at the opportunity to distance himself further from his roots in a technological society.
After '64, for the most part he lived in the semi-nomadic traditionalist Amerind communities that dot the area around the former Ute/PCC border. He also often went on extended camping trips out into the wilderness by himself. Given the presence of magic-rich areas in the desert, he practiced daily with rifles and shotguns in order to deal with the occasionally severe threats that presented in the hostile environment. Ideally though, he would just be able to spend time watching such creatures. During this time, he also gradually noticed his senses becoming sharper and his reflexes becoming quicker. He originally thought it was just his lifestyle making him more fit, but when he began to see into the IR spectrum, he realized that the magic in the desert was changing him, as well.
During this time he supported himself by occasionally acting as a guide for clueless but well-meaning tourists - as long as they weren't destructive of the environment - and he also assisted with some smuggling between Ute, Sioux, and the UCAS (Pueblo's border being much harder to cross illegitimately). This lifestyle maintained itself for several years, but for the past couple Pueblo has been attempting to assert authority over the newly-absorbed Ute Nation. Their border security was vastly better than Ute's had been, and their technological advantage meant that the kept a much better watch on the internal population. As a result, he started venturing further and further afield as part his jobs, escorting smugglers across most of the countries of North America. Some smugglers try to lose themselves in population centers, but some take largely untraveled routes away from most metahumanity. And this was what he enjoyed - dark nights under the stars, traveling through new ecosystems, finding spots overlooked by a hypertechnological society.
(And that brings us to the present. If we start in Seattle or Detroit, he could be there having escorted a smuggler there. If we're in Asia, he could be there as part of a connection to another character. Alternately he has a contact in Tokyo who could ask him for help with something.)
Contacts:
MCT Hacker (Tokyo): While Abe was at UCLA, another of the students who were were interested in subverting a panoptical society was a young Japanese student whose parents worked with MCT in San Francisco. While the Japanese were generally not warmly welcomed in the rest of CalFree, he and Abe struck up a friendship, having complementary personalities and both strongly driven to find ways to experience freedom. After leaving UCLA, the friend eventually returned to San Francisco and then Tokyo, going into a respectable post at MCT due to the influence of his parents. While he is not able to use his position to promote freedom of information - as he would almost surely be found out - he continues to use his skills in a variety of ways once off work: forging documents, writing specialized programs, and being active on Japanese shadow nodes in Japan.
Smuggler (Detroit): Specializes in getting proprietary Ares tech from Ares out to all the other people who might desire it. Rather impressed with Abe's knowledge of back routes as well as his weapon skills during a couple of runs with him, he'd be willing to put him in touch with certan specialized suppliers and contacts that he has.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 11:29 AM
If you're going Wilderness I'd say take the Sport Rifles. Most of the shotguns which are 'better' in terms of doing damage aren't really the sort of thing you'd take out hunting (and thus have a convincing fake license for).
You can always take something like the Defiance T-250 along for a back up weapon, it's the short barrel shotgun from Arsenal. Carry it with a sling under a lined coat and people are actually at a penalty (of either -1 for ready to use or -2 for unready) to see it (and it does a nifty 7P with solid shot with heavy pistol range).
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 12:28 PM
First draft of Malloc.I (name might change, but its the best I could come up with). Will flesh out the background (all 18 months of it), and reword the concept, a little later. Might rearrange some resources.
[ Spoiler ]
Concept: I would be interested in playing, if available, a metasapient AI evolved from a complex dataworm program. Having emerged recently (a few months ago), the AI does not yet possess much of a background, worth detailing - although, given a day or two, I could probably put together a pretty decent summary. It would, however, be very good at getting into systems, undetected, and punching holes in their security for others, and doing the same sort of malicious things a Shadowrunning team usually wants a hacker for. I imagine it spending its non-running time collecting innocuous data, perhaps habitually (media junkie flaw), and see the program's primary motivation for making its services available to others being along those same lines (trading in paydata, exploits, backdoors, etc, collecting programs, particularly knowsofts). Also, as almost all worms possess the ability to replicate, but the AI's recent evolution has made it so complex that it can no longer do so, another long-term motivation would be for it to learn more about AIs, and perhaps find another means of reproduction (a powerful "instinct" leftover from its original programming). Mostly, I want to try out these new rules, and see how they feel, in practice.
Race: Digital Intellegence (110)
Attributes (185)
- Wil 5 (40)
- Cha 5 (40)
- Int 6 (65)
- Log 5 (40)
- Edge 1 (0)
- Rating 6
- Matrix Initiative (Usually 11, 3IP)
- System 6
- Firewall 5
- Matrix Condition Track 11
Skills (50)
- Electronics 1 (10)
- Hacking 6 (Exploit 8) (26)
- Electronic Warfare 1 (4)
- Cybercombat 1 (4)
- Artisian 1 (Edit Program 3) (6)
Knowledge (33 free)
- Street
- - Spider Security Companies 2 (2)
- - Artificial Intelligences 4 (4)
- - Data Havens 4 (4)
- - Piracy VPNs 4 (4)
- Academic
- - Mathematics 4 (4)
- - Matrix Theory 2 (2)
- Professional
- - Security Design 6 (Matrix 8) (7)
- - IC Recognition 1 (1)
- Interest
- - Media Trivia 1 (1)
- Languages
- - Matrixese (Natural)
- - English 1 (Matrix-Lingo 3) (2)
- - Japanese 1 (Matrix-Lingo 3) (2)
Inherent Programs
- Reality Filter 5
- Analyze 6
- Stealth 6
- Decrypt 5
- Exploit 5
- Browse 5
Qualities
- Rootkit (10) (-6 to matrix perception tests to detect)
- Code Flux (5) (Access ID changes often)
- Authority (10) (-2 threshold for higher level access)
- Photographic Memory (10) (-1 threshold for memory tests)
Negative Qualities
- Combat Paralysis (20)
- Media Junkie, Moderate (10)
Virtual Contacts (17)
- Warezhouse 24 (3(+2+6+1)/5) ~85 members, global influence, active matrix presence.
Gear (43=211690/215,000)
- Fake SIN 4 (4,000) "Alec Aeshon" "American Media Mogal - Currently residing in Tokyo, in emersive lifestyle"
- High Homeground Lifestyle (10,000) (Device Rating 6)
- Premium Matrix Services (Black MSP) (100)
- Extra Money +12 (1200)
- Physical Lifestyle (Warehouse along Japanese Media MSP Backbone) (20=10,000)
- - Comforts, Street (0) { Large empty rooms. No furniture, no household drones. }
- - Entertainment, High (4) { SOTA entertainment technology, exclusive online entertainment, standing reservations at exclusive matrix clubs}
- - Necessities, High (4) {Only exceptional circumstances cut power, two parking spaces, food-prep drones (for security) }
- - Neighborhood, High (4) {corporate sector}
- - Security, High (4) {Metahuman security team, spirit patrol, security camera, armed patrol drones, wards on one room, remote spider}
- - No privacy (Physical, Astral) (-6) {thresholds for physical/astral perception -3}
- - Workplace (1) {750 square meters of space}
- - Quiet Neighborhood (1) {crime half as often}
- - Privacy Screen (Matrix) (3) {extreme network traffic, thresholds for matrix perception +3}
- - Feng Shui (5) {+3 technical, artisian}
- - Network Bottleneck (-1) {extreme network traffic, -2 response in this area}
- Software
- - Common Use
- - - Command 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - Edit 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - Encrypt 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - Scan 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - Purge 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - Browse 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - - Ergonomic (300)
- - - Analyze 6 (600)
- - - - Optimization 5 (500)
- - - - Ergonomic (300)
- - Hacking
- - - Attack 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - - Disarm 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - - Exploit 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - - - Ergonomic (2250)
- - - Stealth 5 (5,000)
- - - - Optimization 4 (3,000)
- - - - Ergonomic (2250)
- - - Sniffer 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - - Spoof 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - - Medic 3 (3,000)
- - - - Optimization 2 (1500)
- - Special
- - - Mapsoft 6 (30)
- - - Virtual Person (150)
- - - Datasoft 6 x100 (6000)
- - - Programming Environment 5 (5,000)
- - - Telematics Infrastructure 6 (4,800)
- - - Agent 3 (3,000) {Usually loaded with replicate, decrypt, + stealth, exploit, analyze
- - - - Unrestricted (600)
- - - - Replicate, Autosoft 3 (600)
- - Malware
- - - Viruses
- - - - Splice 4 (4,000)
- - - - Swiss Cheese 4 (4,000)
- Leased Daiatsu-Caterpillar Horseman w/ Drone Module
- - +1 10/20 80 1 4 4 1 4 (Free from lifestyle > 20 LP)
- Roving Hub (Medium Wheeled Drone)
- - 0 10/25 75 3 3 2 3 6 (13,000)
- - - Special Equipment (Nexus)
- - (1) SunCell (1500)
- - (1) Improved Sensor Array (1,000)
- - - 2 Cameras, front and back (STOCK)
- - - 1 Microphone, (50)
- - - 1 Motion sensors, top (STOCK)
- - - 4 Radio Signal Antenna 6 (600)
- - (1) Satellite Communication (500)
- - (1) Rigger (Nexus) Coccoon (1,500) (Armor 20, Structure 10)
- Nexus (Home Node)
- - Response 3(6) (9000)
- - System 6(9) (Persona Limit 24) (7200)
- - Firewall 6(9) (Processor Limit 60) (18000)
- - Signal 5(8) (1000)
- - (1) Armor 6 (300)
- - (1) Customized Interface (250)
- - (1) Hardening 6 (150)
- - (1) Optimization, Analyze (500)
- - Response Enhancer 3 (6,000)
- Nexus (Backup)
- - Response 3 (9000)
- - System 6 (Persona Limit 24) (7200)
- - Firewall 6 (Processor Limit 60) (18000)
- - Signal 5 (1000)
- - (1) Armor 6 (300)
- - (1) Customized Interface (250)
- - (1) Hardening 6 (150)
- - (1) Optimization, Analyze (500)
- - Response Enhancer 3 (6,000)
- Repeater Drone
- - +1 3/15 15 3 1 0 2 6 (3000)
- Micro-Tapper Bug
- - +1 2/10 10 3 0 0 1 8 (1,000)
- - (1) Gecko Tips (300)
- GM Mr. Fix-It 2071
- - 0 5/15 15 3 3 2 3 4 (6,000)
- - -Hardware BR rating 3
- - -Hardware Toolkit
- - -Mechanical Arms x2 (Strength 4)
- Renraku Manservent-3
- - 0 5/15 15 3 3 0 2 - (2,500)
- - (1) Satalite Communication (500)
- - Directional Antenna 6 (150)
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 01:22 PM
Okay. I've done the background and contacts for Weaver. I've updated the character sheet to include the new and updated contacts info. Although that's mostly just a case of putting the numbers in for the Virtual Contact. I also tied the In Debt flaw into her contacts, to make it a bit more of a disadvantage to her.
[ Spoiler ]
Long Background
Born in '51 Weaver never really knew her parents. Her mother died in childbirth and her father left when she was six. Most of her life was spent with her older brother Simon, who had taken over their dads PI firm. Her free time was split between helping around the office and attending a virtual school, as the schools in her neighborhood wasn't up to much.
When the crash of '64 hit she was stuck online, working on a school computing project. When she finally regained consciousness her brother had vanished. Unsure of what to do she tried tracking him down, following what little clues she could find around the agency. It was around this time that she noticed she had somehow gained the ability to affect machines with her brain.
The next few years were spent juggling school, faking the existence of a legal guardian being around and searching in vain for clues about her family. Money management never being her strong point Cassandra sunk further and further into debt with 'The Tooth' a loan shark with a nasty reputation for selling people who don't pay up to organ leggers and a side line in working as a Fixer.
With no other options left Weaver collected up everything of value she could find, then burnt her family home for the insurance money. Using the cash to placate The Tooth and make her SIN disappear.
Contacts
The Tooth Ork Fixer.
Acting as a Fixer is more of a side line for The Tooth, but one he follows up on through sheer greed. He's always ready to lend a little cash to help his Runners (usually ones too desperate to find anyone better to work with) out, providing they're willing to pay his interest rates that is. Then again so long as his 'investments' are paying him he's usually not willing to sell them out, after all a dead Runner pays no debts.
Connections 2 / Loyalty 1
The Manse General Matrix Virtual Contact (And Online Technomancer social site).
With a small membership made up entirely of technomancers, ranging from newly emerged to veterans of the matrix, the Manse is a small but global self help group where members can swap tips and provide support dealing with life as a technomancer. They also share information about interesting sites, software and generally weird things on the 'trix.
Connections 3 (+2 Membership of between 2-19, +2 Broad Reaching Matrix Resources) Loyalty 3 - Cost = 10 Free Contact BPs
Edited to adjust Virtual Contact.... Again.
Intro
Aug 8 2008, 01:36 PM
QUOTE (Oenone @ Aug 8 2008, 07:29 AM)
If you're going Wilderness I'd say take the Sport Rifles. Most of the shotguns which are 'better' in terms of doing damage aren't really the sort of thing you'd take out hunting (and thus have a convincing fake license for).
You can always take something like the Defiance T-250 along for a back up weapon, it's the short barrel shotgun from Arsenal. Carry it with a sling under a lined coat and people are actually at a penalty (of either -1 for ready to use or -2 for unready) to see it (and it does a nifty 7P with solid shot with heavy pistol range).
Well, you'd wouldn't consider them hunting weapons
today, but people might be more lenient about such things when you've got meter-plus scorpions running around. That was my thinking about how an automatic shotgun might fly with authorities.
And yeah, I've got the Defiance already. The short-barreled version only does damage 5P, though - it's basically like a heavy pistol that uses the shotgun skill.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 01:55 PM
QUOTE (Oenone @ Aug 8 2008, 09:22 AM)
Although that's mostly just a case of putting the numbers in for the Virtual Contact.
Did you get the impression that for virtual contacts you didn't have to additionally pay for the area of influence? I read it that way the first time, then looked back at it and thought you might, and now I'm not sure. Given that almost every matrix organization is going to be worldwide, that's a hefty 6 extra points to have to pay.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 01:57 PM
QUOTE (Intro @ Aug 8 2008, 02:36 PM)
Well, you'd wouldn't consider them hunting weapons today, but people might be more lenient about such things when you've got meter-plus scorpions running around. That was my thinking about how an automatic shotgun might fly with authorities.
And yeah, I've got the Defiance already. The short-barreled only does damage 5P, though - it's basically like a heavy pistol that uses the shotgun skill.
Ah, indeed it does my mistake. Still a really nice gun though! Especially if you stick some Shock-Lock rounds in it.
Yeah I guess you could work it that way, I was mainly going off the shotguns all seeming very much military/police in market from the descriptions.
If you're taking the Defiance already then from a DP point of view you might be best taking Shotguns. Because then if you got the shotgun speciality it'lll also cover your back up weapon. So you'd be getting more for your BP's than if you went Sport Rifle.
If funds aren't too limited maybe you could grab one of the cheaper rifles as well? The Remington 950 is pretty cheap and does a decent 8P damage.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 02:01 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 8 2008, 02:55 PM)
Did you get the impression that for virtual contacts you didn't have to additionally pay for the area of influence? I read it that way the first time, then looked back at it and thought you might, and now I'm not sure. Given that almost every matrix organization is going to be worldwide, that's a hefty 6 extra points to have to pay.
Hmmm it's not exactly clear is it.... I was going off this bit from RC
"Make sure to apply the modifiers for the number of members in the network and the Matrix resources of the network from the Group Connection Modifiers Table (p. 124) when calculating the Connection rating"
Which doesn't mention anything about buying the area of influence bits from the group connection modifiers table, implying they don't count for a virtual contact.
If it turns out you do need to spend the extra 6 I'll just ditch the contact and swap it for something like a rigger / technomancer / hacker / blogger in each city. Sort of breaking the group down into a few of the members she knows better.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 02:05 PM
That's the line I read that made me swing hte other way.
The only thing that made me swing back was the idea that you could have a group of matrix users who have a broad matrix influence, but who all physically live in the same city - and the other side of the coin would be a group of similar size, similar matrix power/influence, but those members are spread out throughout the world.
I guess its really a GM call, but I'd like to know the answer too, so I can adjust my virtual contact, too.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 02:29 PM
Yeah it's really not the best bit of RC is it!
I was assuming Virtual contacts give no physical aid. Which would explain why you don't have to pay for the location side.
And yeah GM call would definately help clear it up.
Hmmm checked out the RC Errata thread and found this bit, which I've edited to add in.
QUOTE (Synner @ Aug 6 2008, 02:56 PM)
Warezhouse 24 is missing because it was a late addition intended to complement the material on the Cracker Underground in Unwired and not part of John Dunn's initial writeups.
Warezhouse 24 would be Connection: 3(13) (Base 3 + Membership 2 + Area 1 + Matrix 2) - I've made the Area of Influence limited to the Warezhouse 24 base of operations node hence only Area 1, however, were one to use the Warezhouse to recruit talent or hire botnets Area might even be considered global. As a rule of thumb the Area of Influence of a Virtual Contact should be in line with the group's actual function and effective ability to implement its agenda. This stat should be discussed with the gamemaster when taking a Virtual Contact.
Which probably means that I need to re-do the cost for the network. (I figure as my Virtual contact is just used for advice, information and suchlike rather than botnets and hacking it'd only count as area of influence 1 right?)
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 04:59 PM
Easy
Easy is a utility mage specializing in physical illusions. He grew up in the streets of Detroit. He lost his parents early on.
He and his big brother survived the first part of his life due to a street mission and he still has a fond place in his heart for such places.
They taught him to read and he loved it and the old 2D movies that they kept running in the back room on an old set. Being a skinny kid who like to read meant he had it rough despite the best efforts of his big brother who had to work long hours to support them. Then his brother disappears during the crash. He ran the streets for a while then he awakened at age 13.
An old burnt out mage called LNM saw what he had and taught him the basics for a cheap box of wine each visit. He was a bitter old coot, but liked how easy Easy picked up spells. Easy learned spell after spell while, his mentor told him about working in Hollywood. He especially loved the illusions and dreamed of becoming a special effects mage in Hollywood. He supported them by doing street magic for a while.
Then he got snapped up by a Corp scholarship program to a private school and was all set to get a free ride through college and a cushy job as a wage mage when he graduated. He tried to get LNM to come of the streets, but he refused. So he arranged with an old friend to deliver food to him weekly and to see that his mentor always had a hot meal, a shower, and a bed any time he wanted at the local mission.
Then one night his LNM came to him astrally and told him he had been murdered. They had offered him a nice chunk of cred and a power focus in return for using his special effects magic to help blackmail a senator. Just the thought of being able to touch the magic was too much to resist. His Mentor described the power focus in loving detail The night after the job was done, he had a heart attack but he had been up and managed to go Astral before he died. His “Employers� showed up about an hour later. For what ever reason he decided to hide. They made all the right noises but the way one of them was looking astral and how they took the power focus back, made him suspicious. He decided followed up on his Johnson and had his suspicions confirmed. They poisoned him (so what if an old wino has a heart attack) to clean up loose ends and get the power focus back. He needed Easy to arrange a meeting with a couple of reporters and time was very short. He wanted to clean his slate as much as possible before going to the other side. Easy did it and his mentor warned him to be careful and said good bye. The story caused a couple of bit players to be hung out to dry and the scandal caused the Senator to lose his reelection campaign.
A few weeks after he graduated the private school, he started a summer internship at his sponsoring corp before heading to college. It was mostly a way to get the talent used to the corporate culture, put some cred in there pockets, let them try out a company car, and give them the taste of living in a nice condo in the corporate conclave. While there he passed a major executive and his entourage leaving by helicopter. The wage mage was carrying a power focus. THE power focus. He caught Easy staring at him and the focus. The wage mage was a real shark in a silk suit.
That night he couldn’t shake it. It was like the wage mage knew what he was thinking. Or knew that the power focus was covered in blood and he had something to do with it. The wage mage didn’t have that look of some one who is caught buying stolen goods either. Finally he decided he just had to know.
So he very carefully cleaned up his room and left the corporate enclave for a night on the town. He got a friend of his to connect him to a real hacker and paid for some deep research. A little digging and he knew it was no coincidence. Nothing solid, but all the players had too much career advancement at stake, for them to not be behind it. He never went back. The old Easy had a crash and ended up in the Detroit River.
He as an easy mark once, but never again.
Magic is his only edge, so Magic is what he is going to master.
And when he has, he is going to right some wrongs.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 05:02 PM
I trying to do a generalist (except for his spell casting where he is pretty gifted).
Any problem with me trying out the Karma Character building system in the RC for Easy?
It lets you have a lot more rating 1, 2, or 3 skills.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 05:27 PM
According to the RC, the three methods of character creation are balanced, but not equivalent. I'd prefer that Gremish picked one and everyone uses it, but I don't particularly care which one (had been going with the assumption of 400BP). If we have the option to pick which one we use, individually, I think things would get out of hand (and also require a lot more bookkeeping on the GMs part).
I'm not wholly opposed to the idea, though, if Gremish likes it. Starting out with some karma to spend would be great for a lot of character types, actually.
Edit: Major problem with using the priority or karma based options across the board is that not everyoen has this book yet.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 05:33 PM
QUOTE (Intro @ Aug 8 2008, 08:36 AM)
Well, you'd wouldn't consider them hunting weapons today, but people might be more lenient about such things when you've got meter-plus scorpions running around. That was my thinking about how an automatic shotgun might fly with authorities.
And yeah, I've got the Defiance already. The short-barreled version only does damage 5P, though - it's basically like a heavy pistol that uses the shotgun skill.
I have to agree there. The deep wilderness is dangerous. You almost need an auto shotgun loaded with buckshot and a 20mm Cannon to be safe.
When you got some paranormal creature chasing you, you need to be to offer some serious discouragement.
The other option is to get a good semi auto shotgun and have it modified to burst fire. It looks like a hunting weapon but doesn't fire like one. Especially if it won't even admit to burst fire unless you have the right access code.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 05:36 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 8 2008, 12:27 PM)
According to the RC, the three methods of character creation are balanced, but not equivalent. I'd prefer that Gremish picked one and everyone uses it, but I don't particularly care which one (had been going with the assumption of 400BP). If we have the option to pick which one we use, individually, I think things would get out of hand (and also require a lot more bookkeeping on the GMs part).
I'm not wholly opposed to the idea, though, if Gremish likes it. Starting out with some karma to spend would be great for a lot of character types, actually.
Edit: Major problem with using the priority or karma based options across the board is that not everyoen has this book yet.
Some Karma would be nice.
I mean spending 4 BP on a level 1 skill hurst when you could get a level 2 skill with 8 Karma. Same for specialization.
The easy option is let players turn in up to 25 to 50 build points for double that in Karma.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 05:43 PM
I'm looking at the Hermetic tradition and they don't get a lot of love, now that Intitution and Logic have been divided.
The Intitution and Charisma based traditions sure have it better.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 05:47 PM
I'm not sure what you mean. Charisma-based traditions, I get, because they also use charisma for summoning. I'm not sure how intuition-based traditions are any better off than logic-based ones.
Intro
Aug 8 2008, 05:50 PM
QUOTE (cndblank @ Aug 8 2008, 01:33 PM)
The other option is to get a good semi auto shotgun and have it modified to burst fire. It looks like a hunting weapon but doesn't fire like one. Especially if it won't even admit to burst fire unless you have the right access code.
Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I'm at work now so i can't look over
Arsenal, and that's what I'll probably end up doing if I can come up with the right mix of mods.
QUOTE (cndblank @ Aug 8 2008, 01:36 PM)
Some Karma would be nice.
...
The easy option is let players turn in up to 25 to 50 build points for double that in Karma.
Some karma is nice, but that much could be a problem. I mean, mages could initiate a half-dozen times. If you don't want initiated characters and are just mixing the BP and karmagen systems, that seems like it could get a little out of hand. If we want to add some karma to the BP system, keep it 400 BP and then add a dozen karma or so on top of that, so mages could initiate once with an ordeal, or so. I also agree that we shouldn't mix chargen systems. However, if we want to do it based on karma for everybody, it should be easy enough, since karma costs are in the BBB, and there's not too much to it beyond that, if I recall rightly.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 06:03 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 8 2008, 12:47 PM)
I'm not sure what you mean. Charisma-based traditions, I get, because they also use charisma for summoning. I'm not sure how intuition-based traditions are any better off than logic-based ones.
Now a high logic is good for academics and tech skills, but you need Intuition for Inflitrate, Perception, Disguise, and the like.
So the Charisma traditions can talk their out out of trouble. The Intuition traditions can see the trouble coming and hide from it.
The Hermetic.... Doesn't have much options other than trying to bore them to death talking academics and tech manuals.
Before they divided the stats, the hermetic would at least have a good perception which was always useful.
And when only the hermetic could bind spirits, he could at least bring more spirits to the fight, but now the other traditions can do that.
So the poor Hermetics needs to stay in the class room unless he is going astral and can use his logic for a high astral agility.
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 06:09 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 8 2008, 12:47 PM)
I'm not sure what you mean. Charisma-based traditions, I get, because they also use charisma for summoning. I'm not sure how intuition-based traditions are any better off than logic-based ones.
Yeah, insult to injury. Maybe the Tradition stat should determine how many spirits a summoner can bind.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 06:11 PM
Ă´.o
I think you're over generalizing things, but I see your point. There are more "useful" skills tied to charisma and intuition rather than logic, sure. But, I never really saw that as gimping hermetic mages, before. If you're going for being a generalist, I could see how it might (if you were goign to pick up face skills, you'd want to be a charisma-baed tradition, if you're picking up covert-ops skills, you'd want to be a shaman). Unless you're picking up build & repair skills, there isn't a lot of synergy with logic, I suppose.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 06:15 PM
There's a bit about buying your meta-type as a quality (I think for infected and Surge characters only) but yeah it's not too complex. I've tended to find it produces more powerful characters though, at least it did when I tried convert my TM build into it earlier today. (Better stats, higher resonance and complex forms etc).
I personally don't mind whichever way we do it (although as I've finished using the BP system that'd get my vote), so long as it's not the priority system. Which I really really don't like for anything more than giving someone an introduction to making a Runner.
A bit of Karma added on top would be nice, but again I don't mind either way. All depends on the power level we're running at really.
BlackHat
Aug 8 2008, 06:25 PM
I agree with everything you just said. Until Gremish weighs in, I'm going with the assumption that its standard 400 BP character creation (which, he actually called out in the original few posts).
cndblank
Aug 8 2008, 06:40 PM
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Aug 8 2008, 01:25 PM)
I agree with everything you just said. Until Gremish weighs in, I'm going with the assumption that its standard 400 BP character creation (which, he actually called out in the original few posts).
Well I'll ask about stuff, but like the name says I'm easy.
What ever the GM wants is fine.
Oenone
Aug 8 2008, 07:49 PM
Bleh! I really need to stop making last minute edits of things... No more last minute changes for me. (I decided to swap Decompiling for Registering and change area +2 into area +1 and Loyalty 3) Everything is done done now, providing we stick with 400BP
Looking further into the Karma system build and it seems /everything/ gets a bit better except for knowledges which drop a fraction. Boosted body, agility and reactions give 9DP's for ranged combat. More points for the Influence skill group means the social side now has an average of 8DP instead of 6DP. Perception also bumps up a bit and there's enough free points for Infiltration and more Registering.
Yikes.... The Karma system really does let you make obscene characters. I don't even want to think how impressive an AI will end up under these rules without the huge BP cost for being an AI.
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