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AtroposReborn
Oh crap, it's been so long since I've posted you all probably think I'm dead and gone. The holidays have me swamped with work and going on vacation with my wife. I'll be off all next week so that I'll get some breathing time to setup my vacation so until then Ellesar will remain in the trees and watch to see if anyone tries to sneak up on the group that's meeting by the river.
pbangarth
Oh, great! Sure. Leave me all alone to deal with vindictive witches. Thanks.

wink.gif
Tecumseh
I haven't dropped dead either. I've been dragging my heels, secretly hoping that Atropos would reemerge.

I'll post ICly soon to kick things along.
pbangarth
My hope, too.

EDIT: Damn! After that last speech by the river, I might have to raise Stogie's CHA a point.
pbangarth
Stogie happens to speak Or'zet. Any chance he knows what Ellie said? I suspect it's something along the lines of "They are dead meat, anyway.":D
pbangarth
Don't know if Ellesar will be able to participate, but it would be good to know if the troll survived.

Should be interesting what the opposition does now.

Stogie definitely will want to go back for the magician, to either retrieve him or bury him, and to see if there is anything on him the Awakened can use.
Tecumseh
Stogie does have Or'zet but at a rather low rating. Let's see what he can pick out of the conversation:

Intuition 5 + Or'zet 1 = 2 hits

Results have been posted ICly. You can Edge that if you want.

Given Ellesar's Pacifist quality, it seems likely that he would try to stop the troll from bleeding to death:

Logic 4 + First Aid 3 + Emergency Field Dressing 3 - 2 working outdoors - 1 troll essence loss = 2 hits

The troll lives but is in pretty terrible shape. And good luck moving him.
pbangarth
*chuckle*

Those hints are enough to confirm Stogie's suspicions. Hmmm. This will take some thinking to pull any survivors out.
pbangarth
OK, Stogie looked for the right kind of words to connect with Gunny, and the military code gave him a hint. So I'm trying Etiquette to find those right words.

This could be critical, so I'll throw in Edge:

CHA 3 + Etiquette 2 - damage 1 + edge 4 = 8 dice exploding 6s ==> 1 HIT




Oh fuck! wobble.gif

Guess I'm gonna have to think up plan B.
Tecumseh
Driving to Idaho tomorrow to spend Christmas with the in-laws. I'll try to get an IC post up before I go. Internet access comes and goes up there so I might be slow.

Merry Christmas! Maybe Atropos can rejoin us in the new year.
pbangarth
QUOTE (Tecumseh @ Dec 20 2014, 02:00 AM) *
He points to the larger of the downed men. "That's LT, or Lima Tango. I think it's for lieutenant. He was Stogie's right-hand man on the op. Ex-mil."


Should that be "Gunny's"? smile.gif

Merry Christmas to you, too. Enjoy the drive.

Idaho. Do you get much snow there, or is it in the rain-shadow of the mountains?
Tecumseh
QUOTE (pbangarth @ Dec 20 2014, 09:53 AM) *
Should that be "Gunny's"? smile.gif

Merry Christmas to you, too. Enjoy the drive.

Idaho. Do you get much snow there, or is it in the rain-shadow of the mountains?

ZOMG, I let the secret slip out after 3+ years!!! Stogie IS Gunny!!!

I corrected it in the IC post.

This is only my second time here in the winter. I am told that there is usually tons of snow (we're at 5,000 feet / 1,500+ meters) but so far there's only about 6 inches on the ground to the great consternation of the locals. Evidently the ski resort only opened a day or two ago. The last time I was here in the winter it was sunny and warm to the point of wandering around in a tank top because of the sun reflecting off the snow. That's fine with me. I generally associate fierce winters with bad roads, which I would just as soon avoid.
pbangarth
Yeah, I learned to drive in winter, and did so in some pretty nasty weather. Over the course of my life I've been grateful for that experience.

There's a joke about us Canucks. You're not truly Canadian till you can drive looking through a two inch square open patch scraped on your windshield.
Tecumseh
I don't think that's a real joke. How would a true Canadian know what an inch is?
pbangarth
We switched to metric decades ago, but old habits die hard. So lots of people keep the sayings alive.

Besides, it's easier than saying "5.08 cm square." Eventually, it may become "5 cm square", but that would be marginally more difficult. smile.gif

Of course, with the climate changing at full throttle, soon we may not have to worry about it all that much. At least not in the south where I live.
pbangarth
Still alive.
Tecumseh
No worries. It's the holidays.
Tecumseh
Happy New Year, just so I don't forget to say it.
Tecumseh
How are we doing, Pb? It's been a month since you last posted. I saw your updates in Post or Die so I know what's up.

Let me know what you're up for. We can resume, we can go into fast forward, we can wrap things up.

Atropos, if you're still alive you can chime in too.
pbangarth
OK, post is up. Assuming Ellesar doesn't need help, I will carry on with doing Pain Relief on the three men.

Here are three rolls for OC, then R, then LT. It is MAG +AGI, but I won't Boost AGI, because the power takes minutes, not combat turns, and there's no way either one of us wants to do that kind of dice rolling, huh?

10 dice - 1 damage = 9 dice ==> 2,4,4 HITS

So these get Stun damage back, 2 for OC in 10 minutes, 4 for R in 20 minutes, and 4 for LT in 20 minutes. Probably spread the way they should be. Better part of an hour to do this.

Once Stogie goes back for the magician, he will want to search the man for anything the magicians can use, like foci, reagents, etc. The ladies have a point.
Tecumseh
Unfortunately the effect is less than that. Pain Relief is a threshold test where the net hits determine the amount of Stun healed.

Here's how net hits and thresholds are defined on p. 63 of SR4A:

QUOTE
The more net hits a character scores (the more hits exceed the
threshold), the more the task was pulled off with finesse and flair. So
a character who rolls 4 hits on a threshold 2 test has scored 2 net hits.

So there's no effect on OC, but R and LT recover 2 boxes each.

This is enough to wake up R and LT so that they are conscious. CO is still at 7S + 6P.

Stogie finds the following on the dead magician:
Lined Coat
Magical Lodge Materials (Force 5)
Magesight Goggles (10m)
4 Stimulant Patches [Rating 3]
Novatech Airware Commlink [w/Mangadyne Deva OS and Sim Module modified for BTL/hot sim]
Programs [Analyze 3, Browse 3, Command 1, Edit 3]
Simrig
Katana
Yamaha Sakura Fubuki [w/Quick-Draw Holster and 200 rounds of Regular Ammo]
pbangarth
Damn! I always forget that Threshold. Sorry.
pbangarth
Yeah, OK, Attribute Boost for REA, then AGI. The two together take one Combat round.

MAG 7 + Boost 1 - damage 1 = 7 dice ==> 0 + 4 HITS ... at least no Glitch!

So, no faster but lots more accurate: REA 3 and AGI 7. Fortunately, if they are crazy enough to attack the one guy who can keep them alive, they too will be really slow.
Tecumseh
Nobody makes any crazy moves during the duration of the boost. Go ahead and soak the drain.
pbangarth
WIL 4 + BOD 4 - damage 1 = 7 dice ==> 1,1 HITS

Just what he needed.
Tecumseh
Cool. Go ahead and post ICly when you have the opportunity.
pbangarth
QUOTE (Tecumseh @ Jan 27 2015, 02:43 PM) *
LT makes no sudden moves. If anything, the status report seems to ground him in reality. His looks around, sees the motley remains of his crew and accepts the facts of the situation. He looks deeply troubled at the news that Gunny ran off, borderline disbelieving, but doesn't openly comment about it.

He slowly rises to his feet, his joints protesting. He's fighting the aches and pains of being put through the wringer by the Sisters, especially the water spirit that tried to drown him before Gunny punched it back to the astral plane. His clothes are still wet and Stogie can see that his skin is pale. It's the first sign of frostbite: the freezing of skin and the body tissue just beneath it. LT moves instinctually to the fire, pushing forward so closely that Stogie wonders if he's going to step into it.

LT looks up at Stogie. "It seems like we owe you, stranger. Lucky for us that you stumbled by." Stogie realizes that LT has no idea that Stogie was involved in the fighting. LT seems to be wondering how Stogie knows about Gunny and their vehicle, but is logical enough to realize that he must have been unconscious for a while, giving time for R or CO to fill Stogie in. He looks to R and CO.

"We need to get BH," he says, seeming to refer to the troll. "What about WS? OI?"

"MIA, sir," R answers. "Presumed KIA." Oh, these military folks and their acronyms.

"Let's not presume, let's know," CO responds. "R, do you have anything left?"

R looks sadly at his drone in the middle of the river. "Just the Kanmushi, sir," he says, producing a small, bug-like microdrone from his pocket. "Certainly not suitable for searching such a wide area."

CO nods, gritting his teeth. He turns to Stogie.

"Stranger, I don't know what a travois is but I presume it is some kind of sled. I agree that we should get BH - our troll - soon. Along the way we may stumble across OI, who was also stationed in that direction." He points to the west, not far from where Jake found the troll.

He stands, shivering but cognizant of the work that needs to be done. He looks to Stogie for direction about his "travois" suggestion.

I'm assuming these are actually LT, not CO. I know, the term CO should be the boss, and so it is easy to get them confused. Otherwise, are you giving me a clue that CO is actually "the" CO, as well as covert ops?
Tecumseh
No, you're right, I mixed them up. I was thinking CO for "Commanding Officer" instead of Covert Ops. It should be LT instead of CO. I will make the changes in the IC post.
pbangarth
OK, I edited the IC post to actually be ... IC.
Tecumseh
Ball is in your court.
pbangarth
Just put in an application for a great job. Back on this job tomorrow.
Tecumseh
Phew, busy February. It's been a month since I last posted ICly so certainly time to post again.

Some personal news: my wife is pregnant with our first child! I believe she is 14 weeks along today. The current due date is the end of August or the beginning of September, so exactly six months out.

I mention this both because it's an important personal development - this game started six months before we were even married - but also because it puts a very real time limit on the how long I can effectively GM for. Granted, I could probably keep up with our current pace of a few IC posts per month, but I'm guessing that I will have other distractions that will keep my attention diverted even more than it is at the moment. Ideally, we will accelerate our posting rate and finish this off before the end of the summer.

The current action is to Stogie. If he wishes to draw and fire, we will roll Initiative. If he wishes to communicate with the spirits - which can then relay what was said with their summoners via the spirit-summoner link - then we can RP for a bit more. The spirits don't look like they are there to talk though.

R has an HK MP-5 TX. CO is unarmed. LT has the Ruger 100, so CO could grab the Mossberg that's on the ground, but there's no guarantee that 1) he knows how to use a shotgun, or 2) he can use it effectively with only one arm, since the other is tightly bandaged.

How did the job application go?
pbangarth
They didn't get as many applications as they wanted, so they extended the deadline.

sarcastic.gif
pbangarth
Sorry. Answered late at night and only replied to the first part.

Awesome news about baby-to-be! I'm both glad for you and know what a great adventure you are about to experience... and sad to hear you may need to bow out. I really like this game!

I don't actually know whether the other two players are still in this run, so I guess it's up to me to direct the process. So ... let's see what this does. In a way, I'll put the others in the play as well. And probably bring the game to a close right now!

biggrin.gif biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

So, if Stogie's challenge buys him some time, he will Boost his STR and AGI. I have no recollection whatsoever whether Stogie has any Edge left. Can you remind me, Tecumseh?

Attribute Boost: (STR, then AGI for two Simple Actions)

MAG 7 + Boost 1 - damage 1 = 7 dice (pathetic!) ==> 2, 4 HITS

So, STR 5 for 4 Combat Rounds, AGI 7 for 8 Combat Rounds

Initiative if and when needed, 8 -1 damage ==> 1 HIT

So, Initiative 8.

Tecumseh
I'm glad to hear that you're still enjoying the game. I certainly don't intend to end it prematurely. We still have plenty of time to make good progress.

There's been enough of a break in the action that Stogie's Edge has refreshed.

Action is to Stogie, although there's nothing specific that he's being asked to do. He can respond to the situation or continue to make camp or do whatever he likes. If there's nothing on his agenda, then we'll fast-forward a bit and move into the overnight action.
Tecumseh
Alright, it's been four weeks. Gimme something to work with.
pbangarth
Sorry, guys. My granddaughter gave me one hell of a cold/flu. I've been laid up for nearly two weeks. Give me a chance to catch up again and I will post.
Tecumseh
It's been another couple weeks. Let's either wake this up or officially put it to bed.

I'll give it another week. That will mark two months from the last IC post, as well as the 42-month anniversary of the game.

If we haven't got a new IC post up by then, plus some OOC assurances that regular posting can resume, then I'll close up shop and write the epilogue.
pbangarth
Sorry man, I've had a string of medical issues that have blown me away. I will get onto this right away.
pbangarth
OK, here we go. I don't know if the others are around. Got any ideas? Find new players? Change the direction of the campaign? (Though Stogie and Jake seem suited to this one, and I would like it to continue.)
Tecumseh
It's been 5 months since Atropos posted OOCly and 7 months since he posted ICly, so I think it's just you and me.

The reality is that we are 99% done with the campaign that I originally had in mind. The primary question was whether the runners would hear the Sisters out and side with them or if they'd geek them and claim the bounty. A more direct/trigger happy group would have been done in six months.

Having sided with the Sisters, I was intending the battle with the runners to be the grand finale. The slow pace of the combat (April to October) robbed it of some of its pace and drama, but the results are in. Stogie has heard the arguments of both sides and decided who to fight for.

Our proximity to the end of the arc is why I was moving toward tying things off. Obviously an open-world sandbox game could go on indefinitely. I can go another couple months but at our current posting rate that's only a handful of posts. Given that we're 1,086 posts into this, I'm not sure if we'll add much that's meaningful to the story, other than to put a slightly tidier bow on it.

I'll post ICly but let me know what you're thinking.
pbangarth
OK, it would be good to finish up with the Sisters. I don't see Stogie being happy with them for long, especially the two ... less self-controlled ... Sisters. And he needs to figure out Smohalla and Ellesar. If you want to speed things up, go ahead.

Once this story is over, then, I guess I'll market Stogie and Jake to see if any other campaign needs them. It's been fun, Tecumseh.
Tecumseh
Don't get sentimental just yet. If we can get back to a regular posting schedule then it's possible that we can make some good progress on the story line in the remaining months we have. My concern was that 1 post/week for twelve weeks wasn't going to advance things significantly. But if we can get a regular rhythm reestablished then we can see this through to a satisfying conclusion.

Go ahead and post ICly. I'll move things along after that.
Tecumseh
IC post is up.

I did the math for the travois. BH weighs about 500 kilos. (The canon weights for trolls are woefully underestimated.) With a pole length of 4 meters and with BH's center of mass 1.5 meters from the tip of the travois, the carrier would need to be able to lift 188 kilos. Shared between two men that's 94 kilos each, which is still hugely difficult. Stogie only has Str 3 so this is a huge stretch for him. He can use Attribute Boost but that will burn him out before long too.

Distributing the weight to your shoulders makes it a bit better but it's still extremely taxing. R could potentially help but, being a dwarf, he can't lift the poles as high as what would be useful. CO is a scrawny wimp and woefully inadequate for the task.

Making the poles longer will reduce the weight but make maneuvering in the forest very challenging. Stogie is also skeptical that longer poles will be able to bear all of BH's weight without breaking or sagging to point where BH drags on the ground.

Dragging BH back to what's left of Greenwater is about 20,000 calories of exercise for each man up front. Stogie's Sustenance power can defray some of that, but this will be a serious trial.
Tecumseh
Let's do some fatigue tests. Extended test for Body + Will (3, 1 hour). Let's do five to start.

Body + Will (fatigue): 5#8d6t5 2 hits 3 hits 3 hits 2 hits 1 hits

LT will take 4 boxes of Stun over the first five hours.
pbangarth
We can take regular breaks (every couple of hours) and have Stogie do his magic touch to relieve some Stun damage ... in the others, anyway.
Tecumseh
Go ahead and roll fatigue rolls for Stogie, plus any Pain Relief rolls you want to make for LT. The others are subject to Fatigue at the same rate.
pbangarth
OK, it takes 5 minutes per point healed by Pain Relief, so working on everyone may slow us down a lot. I suspect Stogie will have to rest after a 5 hour stint for an hour anyway to put his Rapid healing to use. So, I figure a 5 minute break after every hour, then a healing / resting break before continuing. From your example, I assume the Extended Test doesn't reduce dice from Stun taken along the way?

Here are fatigue rolls for Stogie: BOD 4 + WIL 4 = 8 dice

1) ==> 1 HIT *sigh*

2) ==> 2 HITS

3) ==> 5 HITS -- extended, so I can add all of these? That would answer my question above.

4) ==> 4 HITS

5) ==> 5 HITS

So, is this 3 Stun, or none? I'll go with none! Stogie is a beast!

At the break, here's the Pain Relief roll:

MAG 7 + AGI 3 = 10 dice (I don't know what implants LT has, so you will have to adjust the dice accordingly, as per Health spells) ==> 4 HITS, so LT is healed.

I suspect R and CO will have some points of Stun too, so here are a couple of rolls for them, too:

R: 4 HITS
CO: 3 HITS Together these take the rest of an hour of rest for the crew. so, 6 hours have passed.

[Man, Stogie may not be a good shot, but, Holy Shit! What a healer!]
Tecumseh
You are correct that the dice pool does not decrease with each roll. I suppose it's technically not an Extended test, is it? It's just a series of 1-hour tests.

The 5 hits on Test #3 do not apply retroactively to tests #1 and #2, so Stogie incurs 3 Stun. Not bad for five hours of heavy lifting.

I actually misspoke when I said the others incur stun at the same rate. I actually meant to say "much slower rate", so it's only LT that you have to watch over.

Stogie loses two dice when working on LT due to LT's implants. Subtracting dice: 2d6t5 0 hits and Another from wound modifer: 1d6t5 0 hits

Stogie keeps all 4 hits and massages LT back into full health after 20 minutes! Stogie has gone from killer to protector to healer. They sure don't know what to make of you.

Feel free to do an IC post for this. I will be traveling starting tomorrow and will be back at a computer Sunday night or Monday morning.
pbangarth
I'll be back at my computer on Monday.
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