Daedalus:"speech content from paragon".

Sprite:"speech content from sprite".

NPC:"voice from NPC".

NPC:<<comm from NPC>>

NPC:<<text from NPC.>>

@remember:longer remembrances context information to fill in background and context

@remember:

[ Spoiler ]

longer remembrances context information to fill in background and context

QUOTE (Aria @ Oct 23 2012 07:56)

QUOTE (Machine Ghost @ Oct 22 2012, 05:05 PM)

If they do, and Sprogget finds out, he is going to be wangling for VR visiting rights! Just to feel the resonance. For most things, that gives the same bonus as "In Tune", but when away from home, bouncing in there to compile a sprite sounds so good! Maybe for submersion too?
Good job the tribes are friendly isn’t it?
Friendly, right ... I wonder if there is a young fem TM over there that wants to come visit. It may not be quite the same, but my In Tune workspace means you do not need to be full VR to get the benefits. Note Sproggets listed age At least he has wheels for transportation, although fitting 2 onto [into] an enclosed monocycle is going to be serious 'cozy'.

The question was not about spending karma after instruction tests. It was about using the tutor sprite with skillsoft and proficiency power to assist in a specific task. Say Sprogget has 1 point of Demolitions skill and wants to use a tutor sprite to do a better job of blowing a hole in a wall without taking everything down.
Let’s look it up if the situation arises. We try and stick to RAW as much as possible so no doubt there’s a reading of that, but it sounds reasonable to me…
Another one to put out in the forum about rules then. I posted it initially because RAW does not seem to cover the scenario. Proficiency sprite power

QUOTE

"Tutor sprites possess skillsofts that grant them an understanding of one or more Technical, Vehicle, or Knowledge skills, chosen upon compiling. While it can teach these skills to any person, like an instructor or interactive tutorsoft, it can also use this skill to assist a person in AR or VR as some kind of virtual assistant, with a proficiency power similar to a medkit’s autodoc program or an autosoft for humans. When the sprite guides a user through a complex task (not necessarily only the technomancer) who does not possess the skill in question, the character may perform the skill test without any modifiers, counting half the sprite’s rating (round up) as the level of the skill. Since the sprite acts as a kind of smart tutorial and teacher, assisting someone in this manner is usually more time-consuming than the normal test would be, and therefore requires an Extended or Complex Action depending on the situation (gamemaster’s call)."

That covers using the sprite without the matching skill. It does not seem to cover boosting an existing skill.

QUOTE ( @ Oct 23 2012, 01:17 AM)

Mentioned in another post that I have been doing some playing with adding content to goggle earth. Turns out trivial to take that content and add it to the goggle map. Just need to export each object as kml, then import it to the map. I had to manually break the Puyallup border though, because the shape I had it in 'auto selected' every time I clicked inside it.
Glad you understand all that lol
IRL I have a background in computer programming, including web sites and some GIS (Geographic Information Systems = map plus database). You've seen my previous posts here. Can you say OCD to the MAX

I moved the existing crime mall marker from 136ave at 122st to 136st at 122ave.
Doh, ah well, I’m not an American if that’s any excuse?
Neither am I actually, although closer than you I have noticed that the posting time stamps show up in local time. Makes things a little strange when quoting, since the time displayed for the quoted content is the quoted post time converted to local time for the person doing the quoting. Time traveling posts From that, I deduce that you (Aria) are 7 timezones west of me. I'm UTC-7 (Mountain time, Canada), which should put you in UTC+10. That provides a few options. Getting out the crystal ball, I am going to guess east coast of Australia. See how simple electronic tracking and profiling can be? Assuming I did the math right. :evil grin

Also, would you like to provide a bit of a color key, to help with consistency?
That would be a good idea, it’s starting to fill up…I’ll have a go at rationalising it if I get a chance.
How about:
Key Locations/Groups: Cyan+black dot
Key Locations/Individuals: Cyan
Run Targets: Red+black dot
Encounters: Red
Runner Pads: Blue+black dot
Contacts Locations: Blue

• Given the way selection seems to work in Google maps, larger boundaries should be lines instead of areas. That means no area fill though, so its a trade-off
• Some contacts will not have a known home location. Street people move around a lot. May need to use a 'center of probability' location. That is what the mobile contact is for. For Matrix only contacts, put [near] somewhere convenient that has a solid matrix connection, and the symbol shows that it is a 'virtual' location
• I have extended the 'Key Locations' keys based on the information source. Just in case details exist to be looked up. Initial variations here based on information from 4-1-1: Seattle 2072, New Seattle, The Seattle Sourcebook, and Dumpshock itself. Seven different colors available for the dotted bubbles should give room for quite a lot. Combine with area of interest as needed. Some exist in multiple references. Could place multiple icons, or just the oldest one. A quick scan on dumpshock looks like older references mostly carry forward to new books.
• If have a way to additionally categorize the information [corps, gangs, tribes?] infrastructure and interest coloring could be expanded.
• I 'switched' run specific information to yellow instead of red. Caution flag, but opportunities too, instead of red for danger. I like to use red for stop / danger / 'known hazards'. Which is what I used for the Barrens boundaries.
• Opacity is typically set low, to still be able to see what is 'underneath'. For some things, like the Aztechnology pyramid that have no analogue from current day, it is reasonable to set opacity to 100% (unless other map features need to show through, like ACHE and Ork underground)
• Ork Underground is an SR4 Area, but GM could extend it locally for runs, with as little or as much detail as desired, as a general location area of interest, or as Campaign Infrastructure
• Additional symbols could be added for additional information. I was thinking the green 'washrooms' icon for meta friendly. Could use something else where only specific metatypes are welcome. The food, drink, bed icons are easy extras. Maybe the green building with flag for private meeting spaces? Yellow happy/sad face mask for nightspot/club.
• Wi-fi range map from dumpshock 4-1-1
• Reminder from RAW: being inside one of the matrix circles from the dumpshock map is not enough to get wireless access. Your commlink needs to be within *its* signal range of a device that has a matrix connection, and that device needs to be within the devices signal range of your commlink. If your commlink has a high signal, then the circles are pretty much where you will have reliable access. If the commlink signal rating is less than the signal range of the matrix infrastructure, you are limited by the signal range of the commlink. That is not the same as 'no signal'. You still have signal, if someone else in your commlink signal range has enough range to get a signal. In high population density areas, you get solid matrix access with low signal, because the connections jump from commlink to commlink [unless hidden mode], until they get to a 'real' matrix connection.
• All of the symbology can be changed after items have been placed, so until major amounts have accumulated, it is fairy easy to adjust
• Did I mention OCD?

• Key Locales: Oxford, London, Paris
• Key NPC Groups: Ordo Nobilis (an Old Boys network dedicated to maintaining the status quo) headquartered in Oxford
• Key NPC:

• Given the way selection seems to work in Google maps, larger boundaries should be lines instead of areas. That means no area fill though, so its a trade-off
• Some contacts will not have a known home location. Street people move around a lot. Or a 'flat-foot' that can only be meet on his 'beat'. May need to use a 'center of probability' location. That is what the mobile contact is for. For Matrix only contacts, put [near] somewhere convenient near the associated character home, and the symbol shows that it is a 'virtual' location.
• I have extended the 'Key Locations' keys based on the information source. Just in case details exist to be looked up. Variations here based on information from 4-1-1: Seattle 2072, New Seattle, The Seattle Sourcebook, and Dumpshock itself. Seven different colors available for the dotted bubbles should give room for quite a lot. Combine with area of interest as needed. Some exist in multiple references. Could place multiple icons, or just the oldest one. A quick scan on dumpshock looks like older references mostly carry forward to new books.
• If reasonable categorization groups can be specified, [corps, gangs, tribes?] infrastructure and interest coloring could be expanded.
• I 'switched' run specific information to yellow instead of red. Caution flag, but opportunities too, instead of red for danger. I like to use red for stop / danger / 'known hazards'. Which is what I used for the Barrens boundaries.
• Opacity is typically set low, to still be able to see what is 'underneath'. For some things, like the Aztechnology pyramid that have no analogue from current day, it is reasonable to set opacity to 100% (unless other map features need to show through, like ACHE and Ork underground)
• Ork Underground is an SR4 Area, but GM could extend it locally for runs, with as little or as much detail as desired, as a general location area of interest, or as Campaign Infrastructure
• Additional symbols could be added for additional information. I was thinking the green 'washrooms' icon for meta friendly. Could use something else where only specific metatypes are welcome. The food, drink, bed icons are easy extras. Maybe the green building with flag for private meeting spaces? Yellow happy/sad face mask for nightspot/club.
• Where extra information is available, include in the text description for the map marker. For example, a 'border' could be marked with the known security
• Wi-fi range map from dumpshock 4-1-1
• Reminder from RAW: being inside one of the matrix circles from the dumpshock map is not enough to get wireless access. Your commlink needs to be within *its* signal range of a device that has a matrix connection, and that device needs to be within the devices signal range of your commlink. If your commlink has a high signal, then the circles are pretty much where you will have reliable access. If the commlink signal rating is less than the signal range of the matrix infrastructure, you are limited by the signal range of the commlink. That is not the same as 'no signal'. You still have signal, if someone else in your commlink signal range has enough range to get a signal. In high population density areas, you get solid matrix access with low signal, because the connections jump from commlink to commlink [unless hidden mode], until they get to a 'real' matrix connection.
• All of the symbology can be changed after items have been placed, so until major amounts have accumulated, it is fairy easy to adjust (with a messy final step).

• [Time/location stamp] in bold and orange
• “speech” (cyan optional)
• <<comms>> (yellow optional)
• first time your character’s name or key NPCs are mentioned in a post in bold

• comms 'channel' [speech, [voice] comm call, text messaging / instant message, tac-net / private electronic channel, internal [verbalized] thoughts, remembrances, telepathic [sprite/spirit]
• source [PC, NPC / spirit / sprite]

QUOTE (Aria @ Oct 26 2012, 06:27 AM)

QUOTE (Machine Ghost @ Oct 25 2012, 08:38 PM)

Would a public IC post about some of the 'features' of the Mechanicals turf [lifestyle] be a good idea. Could be done as Tourist Info, Welcome Wagon, Realtor report, View from a resident, or Jackpoint report with comments [fun but take awhile to get all the pieces lined up]

I like the sound of this. Perhaps we ought to compile it in the OoC thread so that anyone can contribute 'shadowtalk' and then post it up as a single post. Anyone that contributes will get corresponding bonus karma to make it worth their while smile.gif

• added spoiler tags around each block of comments, to give this closer to the 'look' of a report with 'sidebar' comments. Where the main article is readable directly, but the comments can be popped up. Not as good as I would like, since the spoiler tag needs its own line. Should be just an inline marker symbol.
• Test using Acronym tag to embed OoC details

QUOTE (Machine Ghost @ Oct 27 2012, 04:35 AM)

I like the sound of this. Perhaps we ought to compile it in the OoC thread so that anyone can contribute 'shadowtalk' and then post it up as a single post. Anyone that contributes will get corresponding bonus karma to make it worth their while smile.gif
Here is a start for this.

This is the first in [hopefully] a series of posts, to create a JackPoint style 'report' on Seattle urban tribes, starting with Mechanicals and Fre∑dom. Contribution encouraged [and rewarded]. Additional 'report' content welcome, as are 'personalty' side comments to be inserted. Even good handles to associate with the comments. I'll edit some 'in place', then create a new updated post when it seems warranted. I'll keep embedded post links to reference contribution sources for GM to use when assigning points.

Jackpoint handles scavenged from quick reference searches:
/dev/grrl, 2XL, Aufheben, Axis Mundi, Baka Dabora, Beaker, Black Mamba, Butch : doctor, Cerberus, Clockwork, Cosomo, DangerSensei, Dr. Spin, Ecotope, Ethernaut, FastJack, Fatima, Fianchetto, Glitch, Goat Foat, Green Peace, Hannibelle, Hard Exit, Haze, Icarus, Johnny No, KAM, Kat o' Nine Tales, Kay St. Irregular, Kia, Marcos, Mihoshi Oni, Mika, Monkeywrench, Mr. Bonds, Nephrine, Netcat, Picador, Pistons, Plan 9, Puck, Reality Czech, Red Anya, Rigger X, Riser, Slamm-O!, Smiling Bandit, Snopes, Sticks, Sunshine : [investigative] news report, Traveler Jones, Turbo Bunny, Winterhawk, Wyrm Watcher

This is starting to look pretty good [to me, if I say so myself ], needs something similar for Fre∑dom. I think there is more IC history for them, so someone familiar should get it started.

Few tweaks from me...oh and I've anglosized it so feel free to change the spelling back to a more American influence as appropriate (sorry, force of habit!)...

• AI's are people too. Puck.
• Oh, pleeeze. Clockwork.
• New forum rule: Only real people are allowed to post. Available specimens of Hobgoblins do not fit my definition of people. Someone want to remove the time bomb? Sticks.
• Maybe the Mechanicals can recycle him. They are into obsolete tech. Snopes.
• Slot off. Clockwork.
• Children. [waves admonishing finger]. Stop bating the clock. Stop making it so easy. FastJack.

• Too right <us against the world example> <all good neighbors example>. Traveler Jones.

• Discount the capabilities of a group, just because it is classed as an urban tribe at your own risk. Plan 9

• They have converted and renovated several empty industrial buildings around 43rd ave SE. No one seems quite sure when they started. Seems to be about 2060. At the time, those building were nothing more than squatter hangouts. By 2062 though, they had a solid presence, and were successfully defending the space. Not that there was initially much pressure on them. The space they were defending was of no special interest to other groups. It was easier to go somewhere else just as good, than to contest the tribes claim to the area. That has been changing slowly. The improvements that have been made, including significant rooftop farming, have been attracting covetous eyes from other groups, including various local gangs. Sunshine.
• Not mentioning that they are less than a km from the barrens. On 2 sides. Almost in typical commlink direct signal range. Kay St. Irregular.
• They initially moved in as squatters, quietly displacing existing residents, then made improvements, starting with defences to discourage poaching. They have been careful to keep the ‘value’ of the improvements less than the ‘cost’ to take the space over. Riser.
• The Mechanicals leader is a Rat Shaman. That could help account for their success in keeping their gains. Dr Spin.
• Spindle’s a canny bastard. He’s got his totem’s desire to run and hide in the face of conflict but he wouldn’t have held on to any measure of power without an understanding of how to motivate others to do things for him. He’s a consummate politician, in the worst use of that word. Winterhawk
• Could also be the leaked information that the whole place is mined. If someone really pushed hard enough to oust them, BLAMM! No useful resources to take over. They’d rather run than fight but they are prepared to defend what’s theirs. Glitch
• Smarter [group] opponents will know that it takes skill to keep that operation running. They do not need to mine it. Even if the whole tribe just walked off, someone moving in would not get much benefit without the skill walking away with the tribe. Those facilities are built from a patched together jumble of mismatched equipment. It would fall apart without their TLC. It would as likely eat a stranger, as provide an liquid assets, or much in the way of ongoing benefits. They are good enough to keep out the idiots, and most of the 'smart' individuals. Cerberus
• Which is just another way to mine it. DangerSensei
• Yeah! Better to continue to trade for what they are willing to offer, so have something next month or year too. Reality Czech.

• Not all of their output is strictly [or even close to] legal. They also sell interesting things at the Crime Mall made from the salvage. Rigger X.
• Try scavenged as well as salvaged. My intel says some of that is also ‘re-appropriated’, though they do seem to keep that to a minimum. Would not do to have other groups angry at them for more than existing. Reality Czech.

• They do a fair amount of work around the Barrens, seemingly pretty good at avoiding active attention from the gangers and such. Netcat.

• Yeah, they’re good at turning gomi into usable tech. In some very creative ways. Pistons.
• That ‘comfortable lifestyle’ is misleading. How well each member lives depends on how much effort they put into helping the tribe, and how much extra time and skill they have to upgrade the individual units. The tribe has not done full apartment renovations throughout. Only the needed facilities are totally a group effort. You can be sure that the shop space used to process the salvage is going to be up to date, but the same cannot be said of basic living units. The members will have a roof over their head, and food to eat, but beyond that, improvements are done on your own time, or based on your usefulness, productivity, and street cred within the tribe. Sunshine.
• Yep, there are ‘fringe’ members and hangers on that are effectively squatters. Glitch.
• Although they work extensively with technology, on a very small scale, they are mostly recovering resources that are already well past the 'use by' date. They have to be very efficient with their resources. Their whole tribe is a recycling centre. Their farming operation uses fairly high tech, but they are also trying for organic output. I'll give them a {grudging} A for effort on ecological awareness and support. EcoTope.
• Why Grudging? Haze.
• They do not really care about the environment. Efficiency and minimal waste are just the best way for them to get the most out of the resources. EcoTope.
• That says a bit about them, but what are they like? Haze.
• I was interested in how the operation worked awhile back, and did a bit of research. Here’s my take attachment. 2XL

• Peer pressure she says. The power goes off to your pad, suddenly no extra tomatoes from the greenhouse. No one available to fix the broken SPU. Yep, that’s peer pressure. Hard Exit.

• Since the area they are claiming is abandoned industrial, with no in place amenities that they do not provide themselves, it is usually not difficult to convince the squatters to look of another crash pad, when the new neighbours become too noisy [or nosy], applying a bit of incentive to move on. The non-tribal hangers-on are normally willing to move a bit further away, to stay in the good graces of their meal ticket, of before they become surrounded by ‘un-friends’. Some of that expansion is from hanger’s on becoming a member, expanding the territory by default. Monkeywrench.

• Family and community is important to them too. They provide decent education for the kids, and training resources to members. Those that are willing to make the effort to learn anyway. Home schooling, and a lot of virtual classroom stuff, but what isn't now? Snoops.
• They do emphasize practical skills, not completely matching public curriculum. Just passing through their node, I noticed an upcoming seminar posted "Building a Crossbow from Common Construction materials". /dev/grrl/.
• Passing through? They are at the south edge of Puyallup, next to the barrens. Where could you have possibly been passing through to? Slamm-O!.
• Privileged Information. /dev/grrl/
• You could reasonably accurately compare them to nomadic hunter/gatherer societies from centuries ago. With modern transportation capabilities, they do not need to move the 'home lodge' while gathering the salvage that is the food fuelling them. With the dross being expelled by the larger sprawl, there has been no problem with over hunting, and needing to move to a new range. Some would compare them to old style wind powered pirates with an island base. That would not be accurate. While there are cases where members would have picked up 'salvage' through questionable means, in the main they work from discarded and abandoned materials. They do the work themselves, not taking from the effort of someone else. Historian.
• Salvaging from empty buildings is still theft. Somebody still owns it. Wyrm Watcher.
• Pretentions of morality? Practicing for a bar exam? Marcos.
• Maybe owned on paper. Sometimes. Given what the crash did to records, ‘who’ is often unclear. They mostly avoid places where someone with a ‘legitimate’ claim is showing continued interest. In a lot of cases, the ‘owner’ should thank them. Any future ‘official’ interest in their targets is likely to start with a wrecking ball. Mr. Bonds.

• A first cut tribal evaluation is done before the initial invite. Whoever proposes a new member will do so internally before the prospective member knows anything about it. The invite may or may not come from the member who proposed the new person. They may never know who initially proposed them. Kat o' Nine Tales.
  Trial memberships may be offered to those without much in the way of directly useful skills, if someone sees enough potential for the future. There does not seem to be a simple evaluation checklist. 2XL.

• And for ‘protection insurance’. Smiling Bandit.
  That farming is pretty hi-tech. Good use of some of that salvage. Turbo Bunny.

• That’s for sure. I picked up this crazy looking holo projector from them one time. Totally ancient 2D flat screen look, with moving mechanical linkages, but when activated, holo pops up just fine. Pistons.
• The style is called steampunk. Turbo Bunny.

• Right, Basically ‘protection’ payments. Icarus.
• It does help cut down on the competing protectors. The devil you know. Black Mamba.
• Or is that keep you friends close? DangerSensei.
• The low population density, is due to all of the shop space they use for processing the salvage, and to build the ‘toys’ found at the Crime Mall. Seems like every other member has some sort of shop. Monkeywrench.

• I’ll say. Had a target suspected to be hiding on their turf one time. Did some research to see what a hard extract would take. Found out there could be fixed checkpoints, armed roving patrols, spirits, mages, roving sensor and combat drones, building sensors with spider and patrolling IC. The could be is because it keeps changing. Typically there are only a couple of items active from that at any one time due to the available resources and limited population to pull from. The roving patrol might be a couple of kids with squealers, or it could be heavily cybered combat veterans. The spirit could be a watcher, or major fire spirit with a flaming chip on its shoulder. The spider could be a kid in AR watching the cameras manually, or a professional that would qualify for work at a triple-A. The drones might be a simple repurposed garden weeder, or a heavily customized combat drone. It all depends on just when, and which particular building you are interested in. If your luck holds on the timing, null sweat, but if the lady figures your karma needs some payback, you might wish it was just a corp fire team. Turned out we did not even need to try. One of their ‘concerned citizens’ spotted the gong trying to steal from a greenhouse. They escorted him out [with bruises], leaving a beacon on him inviting any interested parties to collect the little drek. A little reminder for others. Monkeywrench.
• The matrix resources, not part of but available, to the group have recently increased. They are on friendly terms with the Fre∑dom tribe that took over the South Hill mall just north of them earlier this year. Common Interest in tech, but not competing for resources. FastJack.