Initiative in Cairo.

Initiative on Cairo Tarmac (9d6.hits(5)=3)

9+3=12

Dartha's Initiative

REAction 3 + INTuition 5 + Improved Reflexes 2 = 10

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2289977

2,2,2,4,4,5,6,6,6,6 = 5 Hits = Initiative Total: 15

Cairo Tarma Initiative Round 1.

First IP:

Attacker: Goes first (Spending edge). Initiative pass of 11.
Hodder: 16
Dartha: 15
Ms. Johnson: 13 (Goes before Jack because of Edge tiebreaker.)
Texas Jack: 13
Hawkeye: 12 (Ahead of Vera because of Edge tiebreaker.)
Vera: 12
Dexter: 10


Second IP and the following third and fourth if neccessary.

Hodder: 16
Dartha: 15
Ms. Johnson: 13 (Goes before Jack because of Edge tiebreaker.)
Texas Jack: 13
Hawkeye: 12 (Ahead of Vera because of Edge tiebreaker.)
Vera: 12
Attacker: 11
Dexter: 10

Damn. I forgot to include the Increase Reflexes sustained spell. I'm as rusty as Hodder! Luckily, in this turn it doesn't matter. Kerenshara will be back online soon and catching up to the posts.

Hodder has called his bound Fire Spirit and assigned it a task. So I guess I get to play two characters for a moment or two. The Fire Spirit has an Astral Initiative of 6 and 3 IPs. I assume one of those IPs was used up in the calling and instructing. SincereAgape, do you want to do the spirit in spoiler boxes or PM?

spirit initiative: 6 + [successes (6D6) = 4 hits! This is why Hodder is getting eaten alive by these things!!! ] = 10

Hey Pete.

That's fine. I'm still on the hedge on whether or not this will effect your ability to 'rest' and heal by the time you reach Accra.

-Ken

OK, couple of things...

The moment she saw the possible hostile, didn't get anything withing 250 meters AND realized the tower was further away, Dartha dropped Detect Enemies, Extended and cast Deflection on Jane. That's under a second. Then she was going to cast the same spell again on HERSELF, if there was time before the shots came, but that part's going to be up to SincereAgape. I think, from the descriptive text, that she had time to get both spells off before the shot given the time we had to banter and screw around; I was just away from my lapop doing that "real life" thingie.

OK, so here we go:

Deflection (Physical), Force 5 - Target: Jane
MAGic 5 + Spellcasting 6 + Specialization 2 + Specialist Sorcerer 2 + Focus 3 = 18 Dice
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290228
(1,1,1,1,1,1,2,3,3,4,4,4,5,5,5,6,6,6) = Max Hits for F5 = 5 Hits
Drain = [Force ÷ 2] + 1 = 3S
Drain Pool = 12 Dice;
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290224
(1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5,6,6) = 5 Hits, No Drain

Next up:

Deflection (Physical), Force 5 - Target: Dartha
MAGic 5 + Spellcasting 6 + Specialization 2 + Specialist Sorcerer 2 + Focus 3 - Sustained Spell 2 = 16 Dice
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290229
(1,1,1,1,2,2,2,3,4,4,5,5,5,6,6,6) = Max Hits for F5 = 5 Hits
Drain = [Force ÷ 2] + 1 = 3S
Drain Pool = 12 Dice;
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290231
(1,1,1,3,3,4,5,5,6,6,6,6) = 6 Hits, No Drain

That's all Dartha would have done prior to the shots being fired. Now she's ready for her first combat round. On her IP:

Power Bolt (Direct), Force 5 - Target: Control Tower Window (OR 2/3 depending, need SincereAgape to rule on materials)
MAGic 5 + Spellcasting 6 + Totem 2 + Specialist Sorcerer 2 + Focus 3 - Sustained Spell(s) 4 = 14 Dice
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290245
(1,1,2,2,3,4,4,4,4,5,5,6,6,6) = 5 Hits = IF (OR Threshold = 2) THEN 3 Net Hits; IF (OR Threshold = 2) THEN 2 Net Hits
Damage to the window is either 7P or 8P, depending on OR Threshold.
Drain = [Force ÷ 2] + 1 = 4S
Drain Pool = 12 Dice;
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290258
(1,1,2,2,2,2,3,3,3,4,5,6) = 2 Hits, 2S Drain Damage

OK, that hurt a bit, but here's what it means:

Dartha and Jane both have +5 dice to REAction to dodge physical ranged attacks (though Dartha loses 4 dice due to concentration for a net +1).

The window took a pretty good hit of damage, probably enough to shatter it, giving clear Line of Sight to anybody wanting to shoot back. At least, that was the general idea.

Dartha took 2 Stun of Drain Damage for her efforts.

Well, if Dartha did get her spells off before the shot, I wouldn't have burnt edge on the defense roll, and it would have come out exactly the same thanks to the deflection.

By the way, is dropping to a prone position any kind of action? Free, super free, part of movement, a simple action or what?

Edit:
P.S. Hawkeye would be the obvious target actually, so it is fitting that he went after her. Hawkeye is the only one showing a weapon capable of reasonably reaching the attacker.

She wasn't protecting YOU; She was protecting JANE... you know, our employer? *grin* You mundanes can look out for your own selves, thank you very much, you and your "augmentations".

Heh, I have a 'Jane' in another game, so got mixed up. Guess my edge expenditure stands, though it doesn't seem to have been needed given how well I rolled. Oh well, better safe than having a giant hole in your chest.

Free Action
SR4 BBB, page 135

Also let you get a dodge roll at all, since technically you hadn't acted in this combat yet... just saying.

I thought that was only relevant if surprise had been done. Besides, Agape told me to do a dodge roll.

Now we just need to find out what the OR of the window is/was and what (if any) effect my attack had on it.

I just don't see even safety glass being able to stand up to that, but we'll see when SincereAgape gets back to us.

If it had the desired effect, either somebody is going to get him, or when I go next, I'm gonna Stun Bolt their ass clear to Mars.

Hi. That is fine. Just post a in character post for everything you did.

Not a question of surprise; If you haven't acted in the combat yet... unless I mis-remember or something changed in SR4A. But if he said you get a roll, that's all good with me. And under sniper fire of any kind, EDGe use is a Good Thing IMHO.

OK folks, I'm running on less than two hours of sleep here last night, and four the night before, so I am going to take an hour's power-cat-nap and check back in when I have a little more charge on the internal power supply.

Combat Turn 1, IP1

Free Action: Pep talk to Hawkeye

Simple: Sprint towards the tower
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290322/
Hits: 4, +8 meters

Simple: Sprint towards the tower
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290323/
Hits:1, +2 meters

Base Running Speed: 25m/turn, +10m added by sprinting
Modified Running Speed for combat turn 1: 35m/turn, 11.6m/IP

Yes. Dexter is running out in the open to draw fire....
He and I are really hoping Hawkeye can make the shot

Max Sprinting Time for combat
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2290340/
Hits: 4
Dexter can sprint full on for 9 combat turns.

Already done, Daddy. *impudent grin and then sticks out their tongue*

So, what happened to the window? Did I just give the sniper seven years bad luck?

(Any chance it was just tempered glass and they get cut by flying shrapnel? Hey! I can dream! Besides, it'd be COOL!)

I believe direct combat spells have no affects against barriers. Page 158 of BBB. (Dont' have 4.5 on me). Unless 4.5 negates this, the spell just splashse against the window with no effect.

Also: Can you see at a range of 400 meters? You can hit the window, but unless you see at 400M, you wont' be able to see the sniper.

Anytime a character is attacked, they get to roll a reaction roll. Karoline used Reaction + Edge which is totally legal. If she is attacked a second time this combat turn, she suffers negatives to her reaction pool. If she performed a full dodge then she forfeits her attempt to attack this IP.

Yada yada yada.

Here's the quote from SR4A, p. 205

I think the window is a 'non-living target'.

Yeah, didn't want to get hit, and so considered doing a full dodge, but then I figured I was the only one who could really take the guy out, so edge would be a good use.

Powerbolt

This spell channels destructive magical power into the target, doing Physical Damage. It affects both living and nonliving targets and is resisted by the target's BODy.

I'm going to see if I can find something saying it WON'T affect a "barrier" because that makes no bleeding sense. It can affect a non-living target like a car - what's the difference between a pane of glass and a car?

If it turns out it won't affect it, then I picked a bad spell first off, and she would have had the skill(s) to know that (I took it expressly for situations like this) and consequently would have done something else, negating the Drain Damage.

Let me see what I can find.

Ah okay. Thanks. The window shatters then.

Worst comes to worst.... it'll only take Dexter 11 combat turns to reach the tower

"OK, this is where the fun begins" - Han Solo

OK, Dexter has acted, so it looks like it is Hodder turn again. The Fire Spirit's Initiative is 10, so after the attacker acts again (if he's alive) I'll do the spirit. It may have been a waste to call it, but you never know for sure.

Whoa slow down big fella.

Karoline, Vera, and Texas Jack (DigitalOYABUN) have to act.

OK, so, "Can I see the sniper?" is the important question of the day.

I know there are penalties for range, and maintaining spells, and so forth, but they don't have the window's glare to help them now. She has low-light vision. Essentially, it's all a dice roll. She's not looking for any level of detail at all; a figure pointing something at them will suffice for target discrimination, and that is ALL spellcasting requires, ESPECIALLY with Direct Combat spells. "I see a moving speck on the horizon... I Stunbolt it!"

Let me know what the mods are and I'll make the roll. I just need one success.

400 Meters is between a quarter and half a mile. You see a dot at best. Unless you have some kind of range enhancer that has been paid for with essense.

Out of curiosity, how do you keep all the initiatives passes straight?

What about vision magnification on your goggles:
SR4A, p. 333

OK, I'll wait. I'm just eager to play, dammit!

Well, I don't mean to argue, but IRL I have awful vision, and I can see a person at a quarter mile.

At 55 MPH, it takes you 16 seconds to cross that distance. If you couldn't spot a pedestrian at 1/4 mile, you'd never have a chance of stopping.

The only thing that Image Magnification systems do is reduce the effective range penalties.

More to the point:

The US Marine Corps makes every Marine qualify by engaging man-height targets with iron sights at 500 yards, well over 400 meters.

I won't argue I'm going to have a LOT of penalties, but they're a lot bigger than a "speck" at 400 meters.

Using the tables in SR4A on P. 136:

Threshold is 2 for a person. The MIGHT be obscured, though I don't know. That would raise it to 3.

"far away" is -3
"actively looking for" as opposed to seeing casually is +3
"Pointing a scoped rifle at me from a control tower window" probably counts as "sticks out" for +2
It's unlikely they were "hiding" since they had the window to obscure them from sight.


It looks like I would be rolling:

INTuition 5 + Perception 3 + Improved Perception 1 + Actively Looking 3 + Sticks Out 2 - Far Away 3 - Sustained Spell(s) 4 + Edge 3 = 10 Dice looking for at most 3 Hits.

She has Image Enhancement in her Contacts, but there's nothing saying one way or another if that's optical or digital. I'm assuming digital for the sake of this example.

Any other mods? I can't see them having worn a sneak suit inside a control tower, but it's always possible. I also doubt they were "sneaking" from behind the glass...

>>EDIT<< OK this time I'm seriously going for an hour-long nap. There's people in the sequence before I go again, so I anticipate there's enough time for that. See you around 5 PM.

A little trigonometry tells me that a 2 m tall person standing 400 m away would look about as tall as my 2.5 cm eraser at 5 m. Still a fair bit more than a speck. Now, lay him down, or put him behind cover, and that drops to about, what, 0.5 cm at 5 m. More specklike, but still visible.

Sort of my point.

Um, incidentally, ever SEE a trafic control tower inside? Hard to go prone inside, by design. *grin* But I'm not really worried about cover. That's why I was thinking the threshold might be a 3 vice a 2.

And I KNOW they're there, and I have a VERY small area to be looking in to find them...

So much fuss for so little

Come on, I haven't played with trigonometry in months. I needed my fix.

Meh. I think overall we shouldn't debate this. The game has a gamemaster for a reason; to make calls like that.

Well, you can't neutralize what you can't see, so there IS a little bit of a point to this. I'm not discounting that it's going to be difficult in the least, just that I should have a chance. Dartha's secondary role(s) are Perception and Socialization.

Okay. It's not a matter of the rolls or perception test. It's do you have the ability to see this person?

Kerenshara. Imagine you are at the Lincoln Memorial, looking out towards the mall at the Vietnam War Memorial. Sure you can see a few heads or bodies in the distance, but can you actually make out their features and who they are?

400 meters is a lot to actually see a person.

I always thought spell casters actually have to make out their targets in order to cast something at them. It's apart of the manipulation of mana and the emotional aspect of casting magic that makes it so un-defined.

Otherwise, Mages are just walking sniper rifles.

I'm not trying to argue here, I'm just having fun playing with this idea while I wait for my next turn. SincereAgape, your example regarding making out the face of someone in the distance is interesting, but what if there were only one person? Would you be able to identify that it is a person, and tell where the head is?

If the person is wearing camouflage, even basic camouflage, you will have trouble identifying them at 2 meters or less. Unless the person is moving, most camouflage is highly effective. In short perception to notice.

case and point:
https://rdl.train.army.mil/soldierPortal/at...75/image059.jpg

Looks like all but Texas Jack have acted in the first IP. I'm looking forward to the wonderful way DigitalOYABUN will introduce TJ to the party.

Hmmmm... he can't be the sniper. The attacker has already acted. Hmmmm.

Oh, and since I am awake for the moment and have the time, the actualy weight of the full cartridge on a .50 BMG is around 1/4 pount / 115 grams. Fourteen rounds in a magazine weigh in at 1.6 Kg, discounting the materials of the magazine. So that magazine is a minimum of just under 2 Kg fully charged.

As to weapon weight, recoil is a huge issue in a weapon as powerful as a semi-automatic 9P/-4 rifle simply based on Mr. Newton's basic rules. Now, there ARE many ways to help reduce the effective felt recoil, but ALL of them have to do with either increasing weapon mass for conservation of energy, or some kind of mechanism to redirect the vector of the recoil stroke in such a fashion that it no longer throws the weapon off-target by such a large degree.

Then there's the topic of length: the game essentially says you can shorten a weapon, but to do so costs you 20% of your range at each gate. The idea of a sniper rifle is maximizing range. With a shortened barrel, a sniper rifle loses 300 meters of maximum engageent range. I didn't see that as part of Hawkeye's profile. Worse, there's that pesky hard-mounted silencer

Finally, per SR2 when the Barrett 121 first appeared:

Weight: 10 Kg
Length: @180+ cm/ 71+ Inches (and it doesn't break down easily)

The ammo used to be 200¥ per 10, and as hard to find as the weapon itself.
Each shot had a +2 recoil modifier instead of the normal +1 per round fired, and included the equivalent of 2 points of Recoil Compensation that was essentially part of the chamber design. It anecdotally doesn't break down easily, unlike most sniper system, and usually had to be transported intact.

You can't just call an anti-materiel rifle "Rifle-X" and make it compact and light - to get that extra point of damage and penetration takes a LOT more energy and that takes a LOT more rifle. We're talking order-of-magnitude increases here. More to the point, it should be noted that the next level of "power" is the Assault Cannon, which is essentially a low-recoil 20mm autocannon. Here's an idea of what's involved:

.255 = 6P/-1
.308 = 7P/-2 (20% diameter increase, linear power increase)
.410 = 8P/-3 (33% diameter increase, exponential power increase)
.500 = 9P/-4 (21% diameter increase, logarithmic power increase)
.800 = 10P/-5 (60% diameter increase, logarithmic power increase)

Anyhow, that was me killing time while the brain's in overdrive from sleep deprivation. This has been another episode of "No, I don't have a life".

P.S.: Here are some armor weights:

FFBA Shirt = 0.75 Kg
FFBA Half Body = 1.00 Kg
FFBA Full Body = 1.50 Kg

Thermal Damping did not add weight in 3rd Ed. I still haven't found the original info on stealth polymers but I'm fairly certain they weren't without a weight penalty. Most full-body armors were around 2 Kg. Oh, and another thought on thermal damping: it reduces the ability to disperse heat, which can help you overheat in hot environments... especially at high "efficiencies". To work, it has to cover all of you, too, which means long tight sleeves and tall collars even when the hood and golves are off.

Kerenshara, get some sleep. Of course, I'm not one to talk, what with trig and all.

*thbbbbbbbbbbbbt*

My question for SincereAgape is do you want to jump into matrix rules right away or not? My first action is to seek cover, from there its up to you...physical or matrix preference,

I don't think that is what they meant by "sticks out". I think they were referring to things like a bright yellow shirt in a field of blue. Also, the window wasn't really providing visual cover, as control tower windows aren't polarized.

As for the vision magnification, I wouldn't think you could get optical in a contact lens, because it would have to dig into the eye in order to make the physical adjustment required to create optical magnification.

Also, I haven't gone yet, so stop trying to jump the trigger PB.

Edit: Also, a shell for my weapon weighs at most 50g http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_BMG

Also, as you can see fairly obviously from the youtube video that Mr. J posted earlier, the kick on the weapon isn't all that horrid (Though of course you can't see how accurately the weapon fires) 10kg does a heck of alot to dissipate the recoil from a fired bullet.

I've already talked with Agape about it some via PM, so no worries. I will have to be traveling notably light while toting it around unless I want to suffer encumbrance penalties.

Also, should I do my turn now, or do you want me to wait until Agape can get you an answer?