Marwynn
Sep 19 2009, 03:14 AM
That's no problem milk ducks, gotta go with what you feel.
I'll reorder my character a bit, I'll try and get Improved Reflexes in there. Is BaronKen a mage as well?
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 03:21 AM
Define CQB?
budoka05
Sep 19 2009, 03:29 AM
Is it Close Quarters Combat?
BaronKen
Sep 19 2009, 03:36 AM
QUOTE (Marwynn @ Sep 18 2009, 09:14 PM)
That's no problem milk ducks, gotta go with what you feel.
I'll reorder my character a bit, I'll try and get Improved Reflexes in there. Is BaronKen a mage as well?
No, mundane doctor and cook.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 03:39 AM
QUOTE (budoka05 @ Sep 18 2009, 10:29 PM)
Is it Close Quarters Combat?
I mean... what does he mean by CQB specialist? I can drop a fair amount of dice on my shotgun, and I'm sure someone in the party is playing up the monofiliment/vibrosword samurai trope.
milk ducks
Sep 19 2009, 04:02 AM
CQB/CQC is Close Quarters Battle / Close Quarters Combat. I'm working up the character right now, and I'm looking at qualities like Poor Self Control: Thrill Seeker and Adrenaline Surge relating to his mentality, and SINner and Records on File: Lone Star relating to his official application to join the squad several years back. In terms of combat specialty, he's shaping up to be a "hit first and hit last" kind of character right now. I'm favouring certain shotguns now as well, due to their high damage output and burst-fire capabilities; but I'm also looking hard at several SMGs and Assault Rifles. I'm thinking heavy use of Flashbangs and (thermal?) smoke grenades to cover fast entry into a combat zone. I'm going to build him up to be a decent melee attacker, but his focus is really more of a short-ranged shotgun blitzer at this point.
-milk.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 04:45 AM
Sweet, we can call ourselves "Team Shotfun."
Marwynn
Sep 19 2009, 04:58 AM
Okay I dropped Catalog for Improved Reflexes. We're all going to hafta be a little bit more perceptive if we're chasing down loot, hehe. I can't just read it off with a spell, but I think it's a fair trade.
Looks like I'm your Magic support guys. But my character is slanted towards spellcasting, not summoning. Will have a write up soon, been busy sorry.
milk ducks
Sep 19 2009, 06:01 AM
QUOTE (MusicMan @ Sep 19 2009, 12:45 AM)
Sweet, we can call ourselves "Team Shotfun."
What are your opinions on Flechette ammo? Is it worth the AP penalty? If anyone knows the math involved in this, it'd help me out a lot.
-milk.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 06:05 AM
Smart-gun with ammo skip, and load both?
budoka05
Sep 19 2009, 12:52 PM
What about modding the gun with an additional clip? I believe these are auto-shotguns. One clip for flechette, and other for regular/whatever.
CollateralDynamo
Sep 19 2009, 06:17 PM
Hate to let down the team, but my character isn't proficient in longarms. He does, however, have a pistol made out of ceramics and reduced in size to have the concealment modifier of an RFID tag. I have gills and a knife for underwater close encounters.
Marwynn
Sep 19 2009, 06:23 PM
Ditto. I'm using Automatics at the moment, discarding Pistols and Longarms. He's there either to suppressive fire or to cast spells really, and SMGs are more flexible in that regard.
milk ducks
Sep 19 2009, 06:53 PM
This is shaping up to be a pretty solid team, I think; can't wait to see it in action.
-milk.
budoka05
Sep 19 2009, 07:03 PM
wait, do we have anyone on longarms/sniper rifles?
CollateralDynamo
Sep 19 2009, 07:08 PM
Sounds like Ducks and Music are going the "Team Shotfun" route. So thats the longarms skill. Nobody has mentioned anything about rifles. Since they already have the appropriate skill, I would recommend that at least one of them pick up a sniper rifle, it shouldn't break the bank.
Penta
Sep 19 2009, 07:36 PM
Okay, a quick update:
CollateralDynamo is done. I just need to figure out, should he post character here, or in a new thread, before he posts it.
I'm seeing a lot of characters with military backgrounds. This is okay, just remember to take skills like Etiquette (Military). Not just the shooty skills.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 07:38 PM
QUOTE (budoka05 @ Sep 19 2009, 02:03 PM)
wait, do we have anyone on longarms/sniper rifles?
That's me. My char is good with a shotgun, but excellent with a rifle. I wanted something kinda balanced in that regard. He kinda sucks with pistols though...
milk ducks
Sep 19 2009, 07:52 PM
QUOTE (MusicMan @ Sep 19 2009, 03:38 PM)
That's me. My char is good with a shotgun, but excellent with a rifle. I wanted something kinda balanced in that regard. He kinda sucks with pistols though...
Sounds perfect. My character's basically the opposite; good with a rifle (4), but excellent with a shotgun (specialized). Should be a solid mix. As far as character creation goes, I'm very nearly finished. Just have to finish up my contacts, write up his gear and a bit of backstory, and toss it Penta's way. Could probably hammer it out when I get home from work tonight.
-milk.
Ears
Sep 19 2009, 07:56 PM
I'm still pushing stuff this way and that way, but my guy's prolly gonna use mostly machineguns. Guess that qualifies him for a backup-sniper role.
Penta
Sep 19 2009, 07:58 PM
I've now started the IC and OOC threads.
Until everybody's posted their approved characters, please keep the chatter to this thread. Keeps things easier to find.
---
I'm wondering everybody's inclinations as to post formatting. Suggestions welciome, if there's a format you prefer, post it up here.
---
Campaign notes are started, yay.
---
Please, someone, start figuring out what kind of ship you want and the mods and common gear you want for it.
I was silly in checking CD's sheet and forgot to apply avail limits to chargen.
Hence I'm not going to apply them - not strictly, anyway. Instead, we're going to use a more general reasonableness standard. If it makes sense to me, I'll let you have it. If not, not.
Which means no lasers.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 09:26 PM
QUOTE (Penta @ Sep 19 2009, 02:58 PM)
Which means no lasers.
Can I have a gauss rifle and a ballista?
Penta
Sep 19 2009, 09:41 PM
From the sky comes a resounding
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......................."Then, there's a great THUD as a cow lands on MusicMan.
---
This ThorCow brought to you by blatant stupidity.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 09:44 PM
QUOTE (Ears @ Sep 19 2009, 02:56 PM)
I'm still pushing stuff this way and that way, but my guy's prolly gonna use mostly machineguns. Guess that qualifies him for a backup-sniper role.
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take gunnery at more than 2... We're on a ship, ships have weapons emplacements, emplacements require the gunnery skill...
budoka05
Sep 19 2009, 10:42 PM
I've been thinking about the ship, and I realized that most of the current real world pirates have a mother boat will hosts a variety of smaller raider vessels to board and pillage. While that is one possible alternative, the other is get a general use boat that will be big enough to live on and fast enough to intercept the common cargo ship.
I'm personally leaning toward the mother ship idea, simply because we get can a smaller craft that can catch up to smuggler craft if needed.
Penta
Sep 19 2009, 10:52 PM
Most of the mother ships used (say by Somali pirates) are captured freighters.
You, as of yet, don't have that option.
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 10:56 PM
QUOTE (budoka05 @ Sep 19 2009, 05:42 PM)
I've been thinking about the ship, and I realized that most of the current real world pirates have a mother boat will hosts a variety of smaller raider vessels to board and pillage. While that is one possible alternative, the other is get a general use boat that will be big enough to live on and fast enough to intercept the common cargo ship.
I'm personally leaning toward the mother ship idea, simply because we get can a smaller craft that can catch up to smuggler craft if needed.
I think the mothership idea is going to be the way to go. I had an idea for a mothership, and I'll post it up and let everyone tear it apart...
MusicMan
Sep 19 2009, 11:12 PM
Our most magnanimous GM has given us a budget of 500K to buy our base ship with.
I think we should start with a Classique III (Arsenal pg. 111), that's 235K. Then we should buy a Sylph (same reference) for an additional 40K. The Classique will be a good base of operations and the Sylph is frakking fast. Now, our epic GM of awesomeness says we can take a downgrade on the Classique to Middle Class amenities and recover 10k.
So, that leaves us at 235K.
1100 a month for weather service... so, we should go ahead and prepay 6 months, that's 6600.
Then 6 months of middle-class food (for 10 people), 15k.
500 liters of fuel (a full tank) then another 200 for reserves, 3500
This leaves 209,900Y.
The Classique has 24 mod slots, I suggest (as a start),
ECM 5 (1 slot, 5k)
Rigger Adaption (1 slot, 2.5K)
Smuggling Compartment, Normal (1 slot, 1.5k)
Valkyrie Module (2 slots, 2k)
Grapple (1 slot, 1k)
Improved Sensor Array (1, 1k)
Any suggestions? I'm not quite sure what all to throw into the sensors though...
I think that, at this point, we can eschew weapons emplacements. I feel like if we are in a situation where we need anything more than small arms, we should be running away. That's just me though.
budoka05
Sep 19 2009, 11:51 PM
QUOTE (Penta @ Sep 19 2009, 03:52 PM)
Most of the mother ships used (say by Somali pirates) are captured freighters.
You, as of yet, don't have that option.
Shall we start with a fast craft, like a Colorado Craft Sylph (Hydrofoil) on page 111 of AR?
MusicMan
Sep 20 2009, 12:37 AM
Check the post before yours.
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 12:42 AM
Keep in mind:
You need to spread out the budget over more than the ship. It also covers any "common equipment", such as dive gear.
budoka05
Sep 20 2009, 02:44 AM
QUOTE (MusicMan @ Sep 19 2009, 04:37 PM)
Check the post before yours.
Must have missed it when I hit the reply button... Thanks
For additions, I would also suggest Chameleon plating. It reduces the ability for the craft to be detected visually. If there is one for radar, I'd suggest that too.
One other thing: I've uploaded my current Char Sheet to SHAREBEE.com. Here is the link:
http://sharebee.com/01a1d081If you have trouble reading, please let me know.
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 03:28 AM
I'm going to make some quick rulings:
The Sylph is a big ship, and needs a separate crew from the Classique. Consider carefully whether you want that.
I'm working in
another thread to stat up Zodiac boats for you all...Feel free to jump in and say something.
You would then use grappling line or similar to get aboard (since gecko gloves don't work on wet surfaces) your target.
---
Also, please keep in mind that Improved Sensor Array is physically bigger than standard sensors, and comes without installed sensors, per Arsenal pg 138. In other words, it changes the profile of the ship.
---
I'm going to very rarely question your choices here. Just keep in mind that with a body 24 yacht, the mechanical grapple only has a length of 2.4 meters.
Marwynn
Sep 20 2009, 04:16 AM
I like the Mothership idea, but I do believe the Sylph might be a tad too personnel-intensive. I also wouldn't mind having the means to haul the Proteus Lamprey (Sea Sled) since we could use some limited underwater capability.
A few SeaDoo Bolts for common use? I like the look of those Zodiac boats too. Are there any submersible SeaDoos? Now those would come in handy...
The Classique is big enough to house us all but are there any faster alternatives? The alternative to the Mothership idea is a Flotilla. Two or three Sylphs, we'll make grabbing a mothership a priority.
The Crest (which I think is pictured as the Vista) seems like a good compromise. Two of these equals the Body of the Classique, so I guess it can house us all rather comfortably. The CO and XO are on different boats, and our rigger will juggle two if he's up for it. We have backup pilots right? The Crest has a top speed of 80, more than twice that of the Classique and only 20 less than the flimsier Sylph.
Perhaps a mix.
Or are you guys all for a mothership?
budoka05
Sep 20 2009, 04:33 AM
A flotilla is not a bad idea! If we get found, we go to ground by each taking a boat and lay low! Plus we the flexibility of different vehicles for different operations.
However, then the problem is that most of us will need to take on some sort of nautical piloting. Plus, if we make away with any big stuff, there may be the problem of transporting it off the ship we raid.
Despite the problems, I vote for flotilla for the flexibility.
MusicMan
Sep 20 2009, 04:35 AM
I have a sniper rifle and a Lockheed Sparrow that I bought with BP for my own PhunTime .
I think we really need a base ship, and I like the RIB idea.
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 04:38 AM
I....vote against Flotilla, because I want you guys to start with one ship plus Zodiacs. Not two or twenty.
The ship will become as much a character as any of you guys, remember.
Hence, I want the...whatever it gets named...to be special.
Knight Saber
Sep 20 2009, 04:55 AM
My thought was to have a ship like the Striker (Ar 115), stripped of all its weapons and then sold to my character as surplus, then somewhat rearmed after the fact. Might have some lower stats for its age, have an GM Light Cannon (Ar 124) at most weapon-wise. It's big enough to carry everyone and some cargo/extra vehicles as well.
MusicMan
Sep 20 2009, 04:59 AM
I wanted to get a MiG-67... but meh.
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 05:03 AM
Strikers are way past anybody's budget, either in BP or employer funds. Even demil'd.
budoka05
Sep 20 2009, 05:05 AM
If we're going with mother ships, then the Striker would be a good option. It is more maneuverable than a large cargo ship, it has the capacity to hold us, store our gear, and has potential for storing some of our swag!
Just realized, if we want to sell all or most of the cargo from a big ol cargo ship, we'll have to pilot the thing to sell it or tug it with the Striker.
MusicMan
Sep 20 2009, 05:10 AM
We can get a Classique III for 10k under cost if we take it with middle class amenities rather than luxury. I think that'll be the best option.
milk ducks
Sep 20 2009, 05:28 AM
Right on - CQB specialist Alan "Albatross" Brass has been sent to Penta for final approval. Okay, going to bed now; see you guys in the morning.
-milk.
CollateralDynamo
Sep 20 2009, 06:32 AM
Alot of good stuff has been considered today. I agree, the Classique looks good. I've been looking over mods and I have a few thoughts.
We've been talking about boarding other vessels, this is going to be very difficult to do. Zodiac boats might have the ability to get us in close, but actually getting up the level deck of any real vessel is going to be a serious problem, especially if we are taking enemy fire. As such, here is my proposal for general boarding/defeating of opponents:
1) Have our Classique yacht standing as if stranded out in the ocean near where we know our target is going to be. From here we can either
a) send out an SOS and hope that our fake permits and heir of legitimacy with our classy yacht will get the other ship come to us or
b) we actually have everybody who will be boarding the enemy craft in a zodiac boat some distance away with a fair forced tri-d phantasm
2) get in close to the enemy vessel using STEALTH. We won't be able to get into a real dog fight with pretty much anything we run into. We need to get in close and finish off hostiles quickly. This involves NOT rushing them with jetskis, we want to keep alarms low.
3) As we prepare to hit the deck, fire off every jamming device known to man. Ideally we have spotted this craft far enough away that our resident hacker will already be in their system and could help us a great deal with this.
4) Eliminate hostiles above decks, capture bridge. The capture bridge part may actually be obsolete, if we already have our hacker in place as admin, he should be able to re-route commands through himself.
5) Be damn sure of exactly what it is we are going to find downstairs: how many hostiles, what floorplan, what cargo.
6) Take lower decks quickly, systematically, and with as little bloodshed as possible. Perhaps even give the crew one last time to surrender and get dumped on a life boat.
In my mind, to pull this off well we need a number of things:
- Our yacht needs to look legitimate from a long distance (proper paperwork and the like that we can hopefully shift around after every job)
- Our yacht needs to look legitimate from a short distance (no obvious gun mounts, gun ports, or armor stapled onto our classy yacht)
- Our boarding vessel needs to be small enough to fit in a tri-D phantasm
- We need a mage with tri-D phantasm
- Our boarding vessel needs to be really fast
- We need to have a wide variety of jamming capabilities (likely we can find all sorts of wonderful jammers and buy them up from our group funds)
- We need to be good enough in boat driving and combat to get to where we need to be and down our hostiles
On top of this it would be nice to:
- Have a yacht that can make a good get away
- Have a boarding vessel that is stealthy without the aid of magic
- Have a land vehicle for when we go ashore (mule a la Firefly anyone?)
- Ultrasound is a good vision mode to consider, perhaps even radar domes, it could give us an edge while below decks
With these things in mind I am trying to work up a yacht at a reasonable cost, and even squeeze in another vehicle or two. Does anyone disagree or have an alternative to how we want to get things done? This is just my concept, I'm definitely open to other ideas.
Knight Saber
Sep 20 2009, 07:21 AM
A fancy yacht just doesn't feel right... they're not working vessels, they'll be conspicuous and the price is high for what you get (I missed the 500K limit). What about the Cutlass from the core rules? It sounds like the Coast Guard's
Island class. The guns are pintle-mounted... you could take them off and stow them easily, or put them in pop turrets. Throw some nets on the back and it looks like a fishing vessel, or stack some empty cargo containers on the deck and and it's a tramp freighter. It has good speed and good sensors.
Piracy tactics include chasing a vessel and shooting it, harrying it with zodiacs into the path of the ship, where it would open up and demand surrender, putting some mines in the path for the same results... and of course, sneaking on to steal or hijack works too.
Knight Saber
Sep 20 2009, 09:07 AM
Filling in the history and personality... She's an ex-Navy SEAL from the UCAS. Here's a current draft so people can get a better idea of what to work with/shore up. I forgot about Etiquette and swapped out First Aid for it.
[ Spoiler ]
Born 2040 in Boston, daughter of a pair of stockbrokers. Captain of her high school swim team. Fundraised for Dunklezhan. While swimming is not a skill that draws lots of corporate recruiters, the Navy was impressed with her high fitness level and made her a good pitch. Thus, she ended up as a Navy SEAL right out of high school, picking up the team name “blah.� Scout/Sniper platoon. Her first term was challenging but uneventful, so she re-upped... just in time for the Year of the Comet. Comet cults wanting to bring about the apocalypse (often with fertilizer bombs) were the least of the things her team was sent out to deal with.
The Crash 2.0 was even worse, desperate struggles against crazed terrorists while the whole world went mad. And when it was over... her parents were dead... the whole apartment block she grew up in had burned to the ground, the fire surpression computers locking the doors and sucking out the air where people were trapped.
With nine years under her belt and a chestful of medals. She realized she was tired... tired of being sent to watch friends get killed from above. Getting promoted wouldn't help... struck out on her own. CIA made her an offer, but she turned it down.Used her inheritance and a lot of favors with navy buddies to get a surplus ship.
Human
Age 32
Body 4
Agility 5 (7)
Reaction 4 (6)
Str 4 (6)
Cha 2
Int 3
Logic 3
Will 3
Initiative 7 (9)
Edge 2
Essence 1.46
200 BP
Qualities:
Guts 5 BP
SINner -5 BP
SKILLS: 170 BP
Athletics Group 4
Automatics 5
Blades (knives +2) 1
Diving (cyber-gill +2) 2
Etiquette (Military) +2) 1
Infiltration 5
Leadership (Tactics +2) 2
Outdoors Group 3
Perception (Visual +2) 2
Pilot Watercraft 2
Pistols (Automatics +2) 2
Info Skills 18 points
KS: Maritime Law 2
KS: Smuggler ports 2
PS: Military (Special Forces +2) 3
KS: Matrix Games 2
KS: Maritime history 3
Languages
English (native)
Spanish 3
Russian 2
Gear 41 BP 205K
Bioware (All standard grade):
Muscle Toner (2) 14K .4
Muscle Augment (2) 16K .4
Sleep Regulator 10K .15
Synthcardium (3) 30K .3
.62
Cyberware (all Alphaware):
Wired Reflexes (2) 64K 2.4
Plastic Bone Lacing 10K .4
Cybereyes (3) with Vision Mag, Vision Enhancement (2), Eye Light System, Smartlink, Flare Comp, Low Light 17K .32
Cyberears (1) with Damper 2.5K .16
Cyberfins 7K .24
OXSYS Cybergill 9K .2
Internal Oxygen Tank 1.3K .2
180,800 Cyber and Bioware cost
Contacts 9 BP :
Kevin Roberts, fixer Loyalty 2, Connections 4 free
Leslie Thompkins, CIA officer 2/3
John Gomez, arms dealer 2/2
Gear:
Weapons:
75 Ceramic Knife
300 Survival Knife w/personalized grip x2
1850 Colt M24A3 Water Carbine Smartgun Adaptor Gas Vent 2, Shock Pad, Foregrip, Sling
325 5 clips M24A3 standard SMG ammo
1660 M23 assault rifle w/Smartgun Adaptor, Gas Vent 3, Shock Pad, Foregrip, sling
850 10 clips M23 standard assault rifle ammo
1150 Ares Predator IV, Personalized Grip, Built-in silencer, Quick-draw holster
810 Ingram Smartgun X w/personalized grip, Foregrip, sling
345 5 clips Ingram Smartgun X standard SMG ammo
140 4 clips Predator IV standard heavy pistol ammo
130 2 clips Predator IV subsonic heavy pistol ammo
475 Colt L36 smartgun w/personalized grip, Concealable Holster
145 5 clips 60 rounds L36 standard light pistol ammo
170 2 clips 20 rounds L36 Stick-n-Shock light pistol ammo
900 Armor Jacket
100 Helmet
1750 Dive Armor
8000 Fake SIN (4) x2
800 Fake ship registration (4) x2
400 Fake gun license (4)
100 Survival Kit
200 GPS unit
600 Grapple Gun +200 meters of microwire.
70 Rapelling Gloves
800 Medkit 6 + 4 refills
1700 Renraku Sensei commlink with Renraku Ichi OS & Sim Module
100 2 VR Games – Dawn of Atlantis,
90 3 flash bang grenades
105 3 frag grenades
24,200 gear total
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 02:55 PM
Bits and pieces:
Knight, email me your whole packet - I'll PM my email address. I have the system I put in place for a reason - what you have looks very good, though - as a start.
---
As a rule of thumb, passenger/crew capacity for a ship is 1 person for every 2 body (suggested by JM Hardy at yesterday's chat).
budoka05
Sep 20 2009, 06:06 PM
@CollateralDynamo - I think that is very well flushed out!
One additional suggestion: if we get a t-bird or other VTOL aircraft with water landing or with a ship that with a landing port, we can do air drops onto ships we target. The advantage is that a lot of vessels don't account for air defense. Also an aircraft would be much faster to be in and out for situations where we'd have to operate close to support such as Coast Guard, Navy, Corporate Sec, etc.
Penta
Sep 20 2009, 06:10 PM
Um, your employers will not help you get an aircraft or similar. Especially not a LAV.
Whizbang
Sep 20 2009, 06:23 PM
Sorry I haven't gotten my character sent in yet....work's been a bit busy. But after an open to close tommorrow I should be off for the rest of the week (in theory). So plenty of time to get to work on a character then.
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