Oops...made a mistake about the way rifle rounds affect armor. To quote raygun's website:

I'd guess that the Ares Alpha chambers the, as far as I see, standard 5.56mm NATO round then? Other than that I don't really use bullets *8-> Grenades yes, Missiles yes.... *8->

[edit]Hmmm shoulda checked that link before this post *8->[/edit]

BTW, I'm a huge gun buff, and I have a ton of firearm pics on my computer. If anyone would like to peruse through them (for flavor purposes), just shoot me an e-mail (chris.louviere@ieminc.com). If you see something you like and want it for your character, just ask...I have stats for everything.

One more thing...for those of you with AIM, you can message me if you have questions/comments, or just want to BS. My screen name is TheOneRonin. I am usually online from 7am CST to 4pm CST (1pm-10pm GMT).

Danny Townsend is an ork, 5'10, 180lbs, sand brown hair he keeps fairly short. He prefers to go buy his handle, Downtown. He walks, breaths and lives... quietly. The ork does not make noise, not in the parking lot, at the ball game, in the bar.He spends an hour every morning meditating, followed by an hour of running up the many hills in Seattle. He trains with his HK MSG90A daily by shooting quarters at 500 meters. When relaxing he enjoys listening to classical music, while cleaning his riffle. Recently he has been seeing a women who works at the Zales counter in the Westlake center. They see movies together and go to ball games. He has yet to invite her out with the group. It has seemed to soften his personality a little. He is from Georgia, though he tries hard to not speak with an accent. In stressful situations he has been known to say 'yall'. He is friendly but not overtly so.

For clarification, that's Georgia the state in the CAS, not Georgia the country.

Following Ronin's comment about AIM my screen name's Callidus9 I'm not on too often but I'll try and remember to leave it open in the evenings (18:00 til about 23:00 GMT) although I'll probably on Horizons most of that time *8->

Oh hell, I may as well post mine, too. Feel free to bug me as Necrotic Monkey on AIM. While my name is often on, I'm not always around so don't be shocked if it takes me a while to respond sometimes.

Okay, here's some more details about your previous work and lifestyle, etc.

Over the past two years, Ares has paid your team about 2.5 million nuyen. This has been enough to pay for a high standard of living for all of you, and put 50k in the bank. The rest has gone to expenses absorbed over time. You have your own house/townhouse/penthouse and whatever personal vehicle you would normally drive. You also have all the required permits for the gear you own.

Feel free to fluff your lifestyle however you want, as long as you stay within reasonable boundries. And i'm not letting anyone skimp on their lifestyle to get more starting cash.

As for starting equipment, you guys really haven't needed to buy much of your own stuff at all. The way the contracts with Ares have worked, they provide all the mundane gear you request for the mission, just as long as you give back what you are issued when the contract is up. Also, you are allowed to keep any mission savalge you acquire while on contract, as long as it isn't Ares equipment.

This has worked well, since the logistics involved in shipping drones, vehicles, gear, etc. from Seattle to your operational area would cost a fortune.

Now that you guys are fully independant, you might want to consider pitching tent in the middle east, instead of Seattle. Although, you'll have more than enough time to think about that after you finish the mission.

Drop me a line on AIM, since we're all doing it, at BambooMug. I'm on all the time, except when I'm not.

While we're all at it, let's do a Know. skill soundoff in relation to the middle east so we don't end up ass-backwards once we show up on site, right?

I'm grabbing Regional Politics for the ME and Eastern Europe at 4, taking Middle Eastern Culture at 4 too. Probably a little broad, but it'll help if we need broad strokes of the area as opposed to specifics, in which case I'll probably be caught up the creek without a paddle. Which is a bad place to be caught, I think.

Nikolai is familiar with most of the smuggler routes and havens within the Slavic regions, has a few contacts in the Middle East (including an Arms Dealer), and is intimiately familiar with the Black Market and the Russian Mafia, both of whom should have a strong presence in the area. He's also "pretty good" (translation: understatement) at intercepting local radio and trid broadcasts, so he can keep the team up to date on immediately current affairs if not doing anything else at the time.

Still working on my submission, was a bad night last night for thinking.

It's that time in every young (hey, thirty is pretty damn young for an Elf...) Decker's life, the time when they build the deck that will probably end up either saving or screwing over their team-mates.

So, in an effort to increase bonding between us or something, I'm asking you guys.

What sorts of nifty peripherals should I add to the deck? Satlinks? Cellular Uplink? CD-Burner/DVD-ROM combo drive? A cup holder? Suggestions would be nice.

It's entirely up to you. You should be able to function in the field and be able to access anything we come across, so all of the various uplinks are a "must," including Maser and Laser Links. Everything beyond that depends on your choices.

And getting the case as hardened as you can, including Dikote, is a "duh." Maybe some photovoltaic paint (it's in Sprawl Survivor's Guide for things beyond vehicles) with a number of different camouflage patterns available would be a good idea, too.

A hidden compartment with a .50 cal pistol in it.

Another update folks. Here's what you all know about Deke Cantrell.

Deke looks to be in his 40's, stands right at 6', has a moderately athletic build, and short, sandy blonde hair. He's fond of denim, cowboy hats, big belt buckles, and snakeskin boots. He always has a can of dip handy, and great big smile beneath his handlebar mustache. To strangers, Deke looks like your typical dumb texas cowyboy wanna-be. To those who know him, however, Deke is as sharp as they come. The "cowboy" routine is a cleverly crafted facade, used to get people to underestimate him. During the Tblisi crisis, he showed himself to be a brilliant mission planner, constantly coming up with unconventional methods to accomplish his goals. He believes in ALWAYS having the upper hand in EVERY situation, no matter how he gets there. He also understands the value of well trained, highly skilled operatives, and what they can do for his company. Having worked with him in Tblisi and on three other contracts since then, you guys have grown to trust him, and he's never steered you wrong.

None of you are sure about Deke's background...and according to official CAS databases, there is no one by that name who fits Deke's description.

NOTE: There's probably a bit more that you guys know about Deke, but it's early in the morning and my descriptive skills aren't at their nominal levels yet. Feel free to ask me any questions about him, and I'll give you what detais your characters know.

No shield utility?

Okay...just about all the characters have been given the green light. Once the last bit of updates have been approved by me, we will be ready to begin.

I'm hoping to throw up the first IC post by friday. I would, however, like for everyone who hasn't yet to post a short blurb about your character so that the rest of the group can get to know you and your abilities.

Once the game starts, I will pretty much abandon this thread, and start a new OOC thread for Tango Down. All in game posts should either be put there, or in the Tango Down IC thread.

Again, if anyone has any more questions, just let me know.

Michael Walker

From his accent you can automaticly tell that he is from Boston. You know he used to do SpecOps for the UCAS, though you don't know if he was NSA, FBI, or CIA. Later on he went on to a head up a Delta Squad. He is a devout Catholic and is known to quote the bible durring combat situations... in latin. A few of you may have even seen the effects of his faith, as sometimes you'd sware you saw a firey angel come down from the skies to smite down Michael's enemies.

He is a master tactician and leader. He has all the social skills under the sun and knowns how to use speech to get more things done than you would have imagined. Between his skills with disguise and his voice modulator, you have a feeling he could blend into any culture. He is also a excelent marksman, adept with the pistol he keeps stored in his cyberleg, or the assult and snipper rifles that he makes use of. He also is good with grenade launchers and has one in his personal collection that can launch a grenade at sniper ranges.

As for cyber, you all know that he has a cyberleg, though it is synthetic to help him blend in. He has a Tactical Computer installed in his, along with a cyber holster. He has some ammount of reflex enhancers, though not much. Lastly he has a very wide range of senseware.

I'm still waiting for you to PM me the absorbing rules so I can decide if that's the metamagic I want.

I can already tell you that you don't want them. They suck, and suck they do. You're far better off with Reflecting (if you want to catch a spell and hurl it back) or Shielding (for raw defense). Absorption is just laaaaaaaame.

Yes they do. Shielding, Reflecting, Masking, Quickening, and Psychometry are all way better for this character. And since Ophelia (Callidus) already Shielding+Reflecting, you are probably better off with the others. I happen to like Psychometry, and it would likely come in very handy in this particular game.

What book is psychometry in? And, could you at least tell me the rules for absorbing, so I can make the decision myself?

SOTA.

Btw, too all the awakened people, I'd like to make a request that you take Masking so that you don't show up like a beacon in the Astral.

Yes, Masking is all but a requirement for a mercenary magician. Psychometry is Astral Perception on crack coupled with divination of the past. Definitely one of the better metamagics in the game.

Absorption is basically like Reflecting, except you take Drain while keeping the magic inside you (and using it as a complimentary dice pool) rather than turning the spell back on the caster immediately. There's more to it, but not much.

Psychometry allows you to hold an item and get psychic impressions of its past.

Does reflecting work against elemental manipulations? And, can a target be protected by both shielding and reflecting if 2 different mages are doing it?

Ok on the topic of meta magic...

Downtown initiated three times.

1: Centering (Athletics)
2: Centering (Stealth)
3: Centering (LongArms)

My understanding is that I have to center on stealth and athletics first before I can center on anything else. Unfortunately that doesn't leave room for masking. So I am going to have to come up with some alternative ideas for hiding his aura. Perhaps there is something that can be worked into his ghillie suit.

To Panzergeist:
Yes, and yes.

Clockwork makes a good point with Masking. Although I think it is a bit more important in the Shadows than in the Merc world. Just realize that without it, ANYONE who spots you from the Astral will know you are a mage. Of course, once you start flinging lightning bolts, that's all moot. But it does help when you have to be sneaky and keep your opponents off balance.

I really think it would be a good idea for you to coordinate with Callidus. That way you guys could make sure you cover all the bases with as little overlap as possible.

To Shadow:
You have the mechanics right. And like I said, your Aura doesn't necessarily stand out any more than anyone elses, it's just obvious to astral perceivers that you have magical potential. Masking wouldn't make your guy any less visible in the astral...just he would look mundane instead of awakened.

@Shadow

Actually, thats wrong. When you Center the first time, you do it for Physical Skills (all of them in one chunk). Then you can do either Ranged Combat or Melee Combat.

So you could do Centering (Physical), Centering (Ranged), and have one more left over for whatever.

Right, adepts take Centering with skill groups, not individual skills (let alone specializations). Physical is required as your first one, but after that you could take any of the following: Ranged Combat, Melee Combat, Social, Vehicle, Technical, Build/Repair, Magical (if you have Aura Reading or whatnot), etc.

Ah cool. Ronin if that jives with you I would like to make a small change to the metamagic he took on the third run.

I saw this in my Gate thread and I remember reading it in someones history here.

Elves and Dwarves are born, you don't become a elf or a dwarf at puberty. Trolls and Orks goblinize at puberty or are born to troll and ork parents. There is the rare case of an elf or dwarf being born to other races, but according to SR3 it is very rare.

Masking is the next metamagic I'm taking but for the first two her personality would pretty much have her try to defend her squad first and formost so.... Plus shielding is soooo good and I've wanted to try reflecting for a long time *8-> Oh and Panzer if you want to take shielding that'd be cool as I can only cover 2 people with it at the mo. although the rest will be getting reflecting cover..... (I'll never be using spell defence again *8->

As for masking for a spy type probably highly necessary, for a ghost type pretty superfluous as they should see you at all to assense *8-> and I'm kinda move of the battlefield mage where you're not really assensed... ever... 'cos well.... "Crap that guy just threw a lightning bolt!" "Right that'll be a mage then" *8-> So it'd be useful... defineately if nothing else to mask any spell your sustaining and/or any foci but hey I'll be grabbing it soon *8->

Another fun one would be Invoking, although it does tend to hurt on the drain, getting spirits to cross domains (shaman) and the other bonuses like armour upgrades and so on (both) is pretty nice *8->

Anchoring..... probably not much use... bit of a downtime metamagic *8-<

Centering is pretty cool for resisting drain.....

Divining would be pretty sweet..... "Where will the target be tomorrow......" hehe

Possessing.... meh....

Quickening.... pretty cool especially if your carrying the increase stat spells *8->

Tatoo Magic..... ooooo quickening on steroids but also requires an active skill and damn some biiiiigg tatoos *8->

Not got SOTA so not sure what the extra metamagics are like but I kinda remember thinking up a *really* cool use for absorbing.... was probably in an absorbing, shielding and reflecting spell defence stack. Oh and Ronin MiTS doesn't say that you can't stack reflecting and sheilding on a single target using one mage, just thought I'd check with you whether you're willing to let that run.... the wording isn't very clear..... it does say you can't stack sheilding and spell defence on one target and that reflecting is *like* spell defence but does say anything about reflecting and sheilding together..... it's a bit of a GM call type wording *8-< so I thought I'd check with ya *8->

Oh and unfortuneately I'm away until Tuesday although I'll be able to post at work tomorrow (thursday) I hope I'm not gonna hold up the game... if so Ronin I'm quite happy for you to carry Ophelia through til tuesday as an NPC type thingy and get her to do what you want *8-> Otherwise I'll defineately try and get a big post in on tuesday to cover what she'd been doing... *8->

Illian Blackwater is a strikingly handsome elf, with deep green eyes and long black hair, which he usually keeps tied with a simple black cord. Despite his appearance, he seems to have an uncanny knack for blending into a crowd. While operational, Illian is a spectre. He speaks rarely, communicating through handsignals before radio. Anyone close to him, however, while scouting, may hear him speaking in a strange tounge beneath his breathe. He dresses military almost all of the time, wearing black fatigues, combat boots, and a pair of polarized lens sunglasses.

Illian makes no pretense of gloating about his past acheivements, and in fact refuses to speak of them. Flatline, however, will see in him the telltales of Ghost training. His attitude towards her is perhaps the strangest amongst the team. While he is friendly with the others (having overcome many of his past prejudices), he seems protective of her in particular. Why this is remains a mystery.

George Maxwell is the team engineer. He is a male good-looking (aren't they all?) elf from the spec. forces of the UCAS. Everyone generally calls him only Max in the team.

Knowledgeable, cultured, clever, Max always has a fuuny comment or an interesting fact to point out. You sense in him the spirit of a leader, and you know that he is accostumed of filling that role. His suggestions are generally cunning and he often has good tactics and strategies to offer. In general, he is very sociable and talkative, although he can still be very serious and professional during missions.

Knowing everything about electronics, demolitions, engineering, and chemistry, Max clearly had a long college education which prepared him perfectly well to become the reliable combat engineer he is.

Max is a very good sharp-shooter. He has good social skills and knows a lot about the Middle-East, so he is good at interacting with locals. Max has quite a lot of cyber and bioware, including a datajack, two chipjacks and skillwires, for you know that using chips, Max can drive efficiently any vehicle whatsoever. Max has a full body armor covered with ruthanium, which lets him become almost invisible when it is activated (+8 TN to see him when walking). Of course, he generally carries a reasonable amount of explosives.

I'm assuming you guys aren't like that all the time, right? Cause that'd be creepy.

I'll go with shielding. Divining would be neat, but it would require a whole new active skill and a knowledge skill, and I don't have extra active skill points. As for the shielding rules, you can allocate both shielding and reflecting to the same target, but you can only choose one of them to use up against a single spell.

No, he's not the creepy stalker kind of protective, just protective on missions.

...

Okay...we're getting really close people...looks like we should meet our SP time of Friday.

@Shadow: Yeah, go ahead and make the chance. It's been a while since I've reviewed the metamagic rules for adepts. Looks like I need to spend some time with my nose buried in my books.

@Callidus: I don't know how far we will get before next tuesday, but I'll NPC Ophelia for you. She'll be sleepy and hung-over from the night before, so I don't have to play up her personality any. Hopefully you'll be back before any of the planning/action takes place.

@Panzergeist: Thanks for the rules clarification. One less thing I need to refresh myself on.

@ALL: Some clarifications about Lifestyle

-As I've said already, all of you each have your own "high" lifestyle. Merc work has paid really well, and you all live comfortably, be it in a house, condo, or apartment tower. Feel free to setup whatever you like in terms of living arrangements/vehicles (civilian)/etc.

-Consider that that the money from the last job has your living expenses paid up for the next three months. Of course, since you will be out of the country, it won't cost quit as much to pay bills, but I'm not going to be that picky. Your expenses for the length of the upcomming contract are covered.

Oh, and one more comment about gear:

Try to limit your "owned" gear to what you can cram into a couple of suitcases/duffles/carry-on bags. So far, you haven't had to buy much more than that because it's been provided to you. And honestly, in the 2+ years that you've been out of military service, you haven't really earned enough money to buy a ton of operational gear. That's why you've always required "gear coverage" be part of your contracts. Now, any gear you acquire and can get shipped back to Seattle is yours to keep from this point on. Just remember that if you guys decided to go completely solo, it might start getting expensive to ship your shit all over the world any time you get a contract.

On a final note, I'd like to ask you guys a favor. A few of the questions I've been getting have been answered elsewhere on this thread by me already. I know 12 pages worth of posts is a LOT to go through, but please try to review what I've posted so we all end up on the same sheet of music. If I get some time today/tormorrow, I'm going to go through and pull all of my game details specific posts and put them in a text file, then send them to whomever wants a copy. I especially need you guys to be familiar with all of that before the actual game starts.

Flatline's done and ready to go, ya. All systems green and everything.

We are just about 100%!

Here's who's completely done:
Callidus
CardboardArmor
ClockworkLime
Grey

And I'm wating on tweaks/updates from the following:
Digital Heroin
Panzergeist
gobogen
Shadow

My target for the first IC post is tomorrow morning, or, failing that, tomorrow evening.

I'm doing the family thing for Easter this weekend, so I don't expect to have a lot of time to post. Expect things to get rolling full force on Monday.

Also, I'm going to open the OOC thread first, and it will have the posting rules for the IC thread.

I sent my character sheet. It should be complete, just give me your final ok.

Look good guys. Gobogen, only minor change is your guy left the Army as a Captain, not a Major. Besides that, everything looks squared away.

Lets get this show on the road then, eh?

It's a good thing we're working for Ares and not one the megacorps that does serious, dead-on biological research.

Cause then the parallels to Resident Evil would just be silly and more than likely lethal. To us, anyway.

Was that sarcasm? 'Cause if not, I know at least one sourcebook you don't have.