I can't find the time to play in person, so I've decided I'll run a game online. This seems to be a fairly lively community of SR4 players, so I'm opening up the discussion here.
You: reply with a brief description of the character you want to play. Do not worry about overlapping with someone else at this point, as I expect we'll have enough volunteers to allow me to pick a crew that covers the bases. Include enough info so that I can get a feel for the sort of game you're after as well.
Me: I wait until I've got a few folks on the line, ask probing questions, and eventually pick out a team of 4-6 runners. It will not be a case of first come, first served.
We: discuss how the team came together, what relationships will be in place prior to the start of the game, and get down to actual numbers. Oh, and come up with a name for the game, based on what everyone wants to do with their alter egos.
I will say that I'm likely to use some alternative rules, but they're ones I've seen in common use in other threads, for the most part, and will post a list of them when I get home (posting this from the office, over lunch, and forgot my thumb drive with the document on it...) That shouldn't matter too terribly as we get started, however, as I don't want to see a single statistic mentioned in your descriptions.
So, lay it on me. One sentence to several paragraphs - who do you want to be today?
Full Version: Rec: <dark, dangerous title goes here>
Tony Moran, alias "Kohai"
The concept here is a young street samurai who was being trained by a more experienced partner, possibly even a prime runner. One of the mentor's enemies finally caught up with the pair, and the mentor held him off while the student escaped. Now the enemy is hunting Kohai, too, wanting to wipe out the mentor's legacy.
The concept here is a young street samurai who was being trained by a more experienced partner, possibly even a prime runner. One of the mentor's enemies finally caught up with the pair, and the mentor held him off while the student escaped. Now the enemy is hunting Kohai, too, wanting to wipe out the mentor's legacy.
Alias: Heater (from HTR-High Threat Responder)
Real Name: Jimmy Granger
Metatype: Ork
Jimmy was in the Academy before the Crash, training to be CATCo. HTR. He was middle of the class, struggling to make a name for himself, to get good marks and to get a good posting after graduation. He even sacrificed a slice of his magical potential to get ahead, spending a lot of his savings to get top of the line cybereyes, neural enhancements, and sleeker bio-muscles. His scores improved dramatically, and in turn his motivation waned. That was probably the best thing that could have happened for him, because he was running late to class on the day of the Crash. The whole class was reviewing scenarios on the Matrix that day, and when he got there, most of them were bleeding from their ears, eyes, and noses. His friends sat there in silent screams, bleeding, and he was helpless to aid them. He tried for hours to get a hold of anyone to help them, to try to help them himself. He was unable to do anything. He did the only thing he could think of, he took what he could from the Academy and ran to save himself. He grabbed a couple of foci, some armor, and guns. He took what he thought would help him survive. He found out in the weeks after that he was now SINless. At first he liked the idea of being free, surviving on his skills and what he could get paid for them. It has now become his calling, an outlet for his reckless youth and the calling on his mentor spirit, the Dark Goddess. He is now a small time runner, a combat medic and mage, still trying to make a name for himself and thriving in the small shadows he has delved into.
Real Name: Jimmy Granger
Metatype: Ork
Jimmy was in the Academy before the Crash, training to be CATCo. HTR. He was middle of the class, struggling to make a name for himself, to get good marks and to get a good posting after graduation. He even sacrificed a slice of his magical potential to get ahead, spending a lot of his savings to get top of the line cybereyes, neural enhancements, and sleeker bio-muscles. His scores improved dramatically, and in turn his motivation waned. That was probably the best thing that could have happened for him, because he was running late to class on the day of the Crash. The whole class was reviewing scenarios on the Matrix that day, and when he got there, most of them were bleeding from their ears, eyes, and noses. His friends sat there in silent screams, bleeding, and he was helpless to aid them. He tried for hours to get a hold of anyone to help them, to try to help them himself. He was unable to do anything. He did the only thing he could think of, he took what he could from the Academy and ran to save himself. He grabbed a couple of foci, some armor, and guns. He took what he thought would help him survive. He found out in the weeks after that he was now SINless. At first he liked the idea of being free, surviving on his skills and what he could get paid for them. It has now become his calling, an outlet for his reckless youth and the calling on his mentor spirit, the Dark Goddess. He is now a small time runner, a combat medic and mage, still trying to make a name for himself and thriving in the small shadows he has delved into.
Wow, I really expected more than just two of you. Maybe the holidays are getting in the way.
I'll sit tight this weekend and see where we're at on Monday.
I'll sit tight this weekend and see where we're at on Monday.
I hope this game gets off the ground; Kohai's been kicking around in my head for a while now, and I'd like to get the chance to play him.
QUOTE (Tanegar @ Dec 17 2011, 09:01 PM) 
I hope this game gets off the ground; Kohai's been kicking around in my head for a while now, and I'd like to get the chance to play him.
Even if we only get the two of you, I'll see what I can do to make things work. I've done solo campaigns before, so a pair of players ought to be easy enough to manage.
I've put together a list of some rule changes I'd like to try out. I'd like to get opinions on them as well from potential players, so tell me if any of these are deal-breakers for you:
[ Spoiler ]
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 18 2011, 01:14 AM)
Medical kits scale up in size and down in portability with rating. The rating is not used to replace first aid skill, but if the individual using the kit doesn't have first aid, they do not take the -1 for defaulting. Rating 1 is entirely portable, fitting into a pocket. R2 and 3 are small scale kits, the size of a cigar box. R4 and 5, picture a large tackle box or toolbox. R6 kits are actually on casters, and only portable in the loosest sense of the word, being the size of a small chest of drawers or a full-sized tool chest.
I am okay with this one, sounds more realistic to me.
QUOTE
Hacking and computer based skills are Skill + Ability to determine the dice pool, with a limit to hits (not net hits) of the rating of the appropriate program. You have to know how to hack to succeed, but you have to have the right tools to do well at it.
I like this too, might try it out in one of my own games.
QUOTE
Armor of any kind adds it's full B or I (whichever is higher) to the total comparison against encumbrance. Even form fitting body armor adds it's full value to the calculation. Compare this to 2xBODY to determine encumbrance.
Then what's the point of Form Fitting Body Armor? Also, how does this effect things like helmets, shields, and PPP armor?
QUOTE
Stick n Shock rounds are available only for shotguns, but remain at 6S(e) damage, versus half Impact armor. Any AP that the shotgun might normally have is disregarded in favor of this halving of Impact armor. Net hits do not improve this damage like normal ammunition would. Note that while electrical damage normally would affect spirits, SnS ammo, and Tasers, do not, as they require a physical contact to transmit the electricity, as opposed to a lightning bolt.
I can understand not effecting spirits, by I don't understand the shotguns only rule. There are taser darts, meant to be fired out of things smaller than your regular pistol, but this only works as a slug? I have always preferred ruling that it decreases the range increment of the weapon it is fired out of, to represent less propulsion capability as well as a little more weight in the package being delivered.
QUOTE
Contacts at the start of the game can not exceed a total value of Contact and Loyalty greater than 8. Contacts are a two-way street, and you may be called upon by a contact to help them for free, just as you'd expect them to help you for free in tough situations, or see the loyalty rating drop on you.
Magical skills may be defaulted (rating 0, with a -1 for defaulting) for anyone who has a Magic score above 0
Every character starts with (Cha + Int) points in extra contacts for free
Magical skills may be defaulted (rating 0, with a -1 for defaulting) for anyone who has a Magic score above 0
Every character starts with (Cha + Int) points in extra contacts for free
All reasonable as well.
QUOTE
If you have a legitimate SIN, you may purchase a license for restricted items that you own under that name for 10% of the cost of the item, with a minimum of 50 nuyen. It will be associated with your real SIN, however and if it is found to be used in a criminal enterprise, it will lead right back to you. Fake SINs are fragile enough that any attempt to get a legal license associated with one will trigger red flags on that SIN.
Can I buy FAKE Licenses to go with my Fake SIN?
Also, all of the rest sounds good. Is it standard 400BP build, karmagen, or possibly (my preference), BP with a small amount of karma to play with after creation?
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 18 2011, 12:14 AM)
Armor of any kind adds it's full B or I (whichever is higher) to the total comparison against encumbrance. Even form fitting body armor adds it's full value to the calculation. Compare this to 2xBODY to determine encumbrance.
This is really the only red flag for me. Not a dealbreaker, but I second Trigger's sentiments.
Richard Knowles (AKA Leapfrog) is a young SINless, new to the shadowrunning scene. He's a mediocre shot, has almost no use for his commlink, and is magically mundane. What he brings to the table is his athletic ability, and the gymnastic experience of someone who's spent a good portion of his life leaping from building to building to avoid KE patrols. He's furtive, quiet, and used to situations where being the one not seen is the best. Lately, he's been looking to move up in the world. Running packages for the local gangs and serving as a lookout just doesn't pay enough. Maybe if he can make the cred, he can move out of his basement apartment in the Sprawl. Maybe see what living large is all about.
Leapfrog is a short human, with curly black hair and brown eyes. His build is best described as wiry. Being too close to a concussion grenade on one of his first jobs cost him the use of his ears, which have now been replaced by cybernetics. He's bland. An average man, with an average build. Being forgettable is important when you work in the shadows.
(This is my first online RP, as well as my first SR4 character. Please tell me if I do anything wrong.)
Leapfrog is a short human, with curly black hair and brown eyes. His build is best described as wiry. Being too close to a concussion grenade on one of his first jobs cost him the use of his ears, which have now been replaced by cybernetics. He's bland. An average man, with an average build. Being forgettable is important when you work in the shadows.
(This is my first online RP, as well as my first SR4 character. Please tell me if I do anything wrong.)
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 17 2011, 03:20 PM)
Wow, I really expected more than just two of you. Maybe the holidays are getting in the way.
I'll sit tight this weekend and see where we're at on Monday.
I'll sit tight this weekend and see where we're at on Monday.
I was hoping to respond to this over the weekend, but I had family in from out of town (for an early xmas) and didn't have the time. I'll try to get a few sentences together tonight.
Ryuuji was an enforcer for the Yakuza, until one day, during a collection run, he was faced down by a gaggle of ghouls protecting the storefront. He was infected with HMHVV during the ensuing fight, which he didn't learn until he returned to the syndicate, badly beaten, but alive. He was then ejected from the Yakuza on account of being infected; after recovering from the wounds they gave him, he cut all ties and went into the shadows to start a new life for himself.
I would be interested in this game, although I am going to be gone from this coming Wednesday until the next Wednesday, with limited internet access. My ready-made characters tend to be muscle (such as Brazil, a laconic street merc, or Spazz, a flamboyant martial artist), although I have some of my old face builds that I could tweak if the group needs a negotiator.
What kind of character creation rules will you be using? I know you just want concepts, but the numbers make some concepts viable, and others problematic.
What kind of character creation rules will you be using? I know you just want concepts, but the numbers make some concepts viable, and others problematic.
Glad to see some more comments!
I will revisit my armor ideas. I'm not sure what to do with them, aside from the fact that I don't want every character to have full FFBA under whatever's clever - if everyone has it, it loses it's flare and style! - but I'm flexible in that regard.
I'm thinking BP for builds, 400 as normal, with the addition of the bonus BP for contacts. I've got, and will be cool with, SR4A, Arsenal, Augmentation, Runner's Companion, Unwired and Street Magic.
Oh, and don't worry about downtime over the holiday. I'm sure I'll have some as well as we do family things as we get closer to the 23rd. It'll be a time for shaking down the character stories, weaving them together, and getting a party put together. So please, give some details if you're interested in a game that'll really start after the holiday proper has passed.
I will revisit my armor ideas. I'm not sure what to do with them, aside from the fact that I don't want every character to have full FFBA under whatever's clever - if everyone has it, it loses it's flare and style! - but I'm flexible in that regard.
I'm thinking BP for builds, 400 as normal, with the addition of the bonus BP for contacts. I've got, and will be cool with, SR4A, Arsenal, Augmentation, Runner's Companion, Unwired and Street Magic.
Oh, and don't worry about downtime over the holiday. I'm sure I'll have some as well as we do family things as we get closer to the 23rd. It'll be a time for shaking down the character stories, weaving them together, and getting a party put together. So please, give some details if you're interested in a game that'll really start after the holiday proper has passed.
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 18 2011, 10:44 PM)
I will revisit my armor ideas. I'm not sure what to do with them, aside from the fact that I don't want every character to have full FFBA under whatever's clever - if everyone has it, it loses it's flare and style! - but I'm flexible in that regard.
Well, surely we can just agree that FFBA isn't an everyday piece of kit. I'm perfectly fine with saving it for situations where we expect heavy combat.
QUOTE (Tanegar @ Dec 19 2011, 01:32 AM)
Well, surely we can just agree that FFBA isn't an everyday piece of kit. I'm perfectly fine with saving it for situations where we expect heavy combat.
I only plan on having an armored jacket for a while. This character is not the sort to run around in full body armor if the situation does not demand it.
I'll dust off an idea I had for a mage that I liked but never got a chance to use. I have tons more (as I'm sure most Dumpshockers do) but if I was choosing in a vacuum, this would probably be the guy I'd choose to play next:
Longer back-story available if you're interested, but here is a short description:
"Vice" is the street name of an up-and-coming runner with an (unhealthy) obsession with the addictions and vices of the people around him and just enough magical talent that most Shadowrunners he's worked with can overlook his occasional lapse in judgement. His mentor spirit (the Seductress) has lured him down darker paths of magic, and by proximity into the darker Shadows of whatever sprawl we find ourselves in (Seattle?). In addition to taking on the occasional Run as magical support, he has a day-job attending to the vices of others as a "party mage" in a (morally questionable) club - where his magic is put to use for the "entertainment" others, and where he can surround himself in debauchery and sin. Whether his clients want to get drunk, high, off, or simply to keep partying well after they should have OD'd or passed out, it is his job to facilitate that and Vice has taken to that role with a passion that often rolls over into his other career (occasionally earning the annoyance or gratitude of his teammates). He is more interested in enabling the vices of others than indulging his own (although not by much), and is usually up for joining just about anyone in just about anything - as long as everyone is having a good time.
Longer back-story available if you're interested, but here is a short description:
"Vice" is the street name of an up-and-coming runner with an (unhealthy) obsession with the addictions and vices of the people around him and just enough magical talent that most Shadowrunners he's worked with can overlook his occasional lapse in judgement. His mentor spirit (the Seductress) has lured him down darker paths of magic, and by proximity into the darker Shadows of whatever sprawl we find ourselves in (Seattle?). In addition to taking on the occasional Run as magical support, he has a day-job attending to the vices of others as a "party mage" in a (morally questionable) club - where his magic is put to use for the "entertainment" others, and where he can surround himself in debauchery and sin. Whether his clients want to get drunk, high, off, or simply to keep partying well after they should have OD'd or passed out, it is his job to facilitate that and Vice has taken to that role with a passion that often rolls over into his other career (occasionally earning the annoyance or gratitude of his teammates). He is more interested in enabling the vices of others than indulging his own (although not by much), and is usually up for joining just about anyone in just about anything - as long as everyone is having a good time.
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 18 2011, 01:14 AM)
Hacking and computer based skills are Skill + Ability to determine the dice pool, with a limit to hits (not net hits) of the rating of the appropriate program. You have to know how to hack to succeed, but you have to have the right tools to do well at it.
Just had a thought on this last night.... How does this effect being a technomancer and complex forms? It makes Threading useless as written.
My thought on how to fix the problem without changing the system too much (and thus possibly unbalancing the game in unexpected ways) is to limit skill progression by the rating of the linked attribute. So, if you have Logic 4, it is costs the regular amount to raise your skill to 4, but it would cost more to raise it higher. This keeps your hacker from having Logic as his dump stat, and makes attribute placement more important, IMO. What are your thoughts?
QUOTE (Trigger @ Dec 19 2011, 09:52 AM)
Just had a thought on this last night.... How does this effect being a technomancer and complex forms? It makes Threading useless as written.
Not useless, but a lot less useful (it WOULD raise the max # of hits you could get). I was wondering the same thing, though - despite not submitting a TM.
Similarly, does this rule affect programs that only use the program's rating? For example, stealth's rating still sets threshholds without using logic or hacking, right? If you rolled to intentionally hide a file I suppose you might roll logic+hacking limited by stealth, but most hackers use it passively.
TMs have a slight advantage in that their program ratings can start higher than 4, but unless they are chucking more than 12 dice (hard with a TM, but not impossible) they're unlikely to notice or appreciate it.
TMs have a slight advantage in that their program ratings can start higher than 4, but unless they are chucking more than 12 dice (hard with a TM, but not impossible) they're unlikely to notice or appreciate it.
If everyone's going to be cool, we may not need any house rules at all. Admit it (I will) - most house rules are a direct response to power-gaming and brutal, blatant min-maxing of characters. If we're all agreed that we'll play characters who are interesting first, and only badass as a result of how interesting they are, many of my concerns would go out the window.
You're right that my hacking changes are to prevent a Logic 1 hacker from still kicking ass. I could get behind the idea that hacking skills can not exceed the related attribute. Are there other areas I've not considered where the associated attribute isn't useful, like hacking skills?
Blackhat, would you be considering taking a huge number of mental command spells? I've been toying with another idea I saw, of assigning added Notoriety to a wizard who relies heavily on such spells - what do you think about that?
You're right that my hacking changes are to prevent a Logic 1 hacker from still kicking ass. I could get behind the idea that hacking skills can not exceed the related attribute. Are there other areas I've not considered where the associated attribute isn't useful, like hacking skills?
Blackhat, would you be considering taking a huge number of mental command spells? I've been toying with another idea I saw, of assigning added Notoriety to a wizard who relies heavily on such spells - what do you think about that?
I admit, that I tend to play hackers with logics of 7/8 when ever I can. Mostly because I play my hackers as information brokers, and programmers. Programming is Logic+ Programming, and knowledge skills tend to be logic+skill.
programming, hardware, mechanic skills are all logic+skill. The logic 1 hacker is a script kiddy, who can't create custom programs, and can't do any customization work on his own rig. He has to hire other people to do it. People you hire can be compromised in all sorts of horrible ways. Do you really want your life literally depending on your loyalty 2 contact from not screwing you when he installed the hotsim override?
programming, hardware, mechanic skills are all logic+skill. The logic 1 hacker is a script kiddy, who can't create custom programs, and can't do any customization work on his own rig. He has to hire other people to do it. People you hire can be compromised in all sorts of horrible ways. Do you really want your life literally depending on your loyalty 2 contact from not screwing you when he installed the hotsim override?
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 19 2011, 10:07 AM)
Blackhat, would you be considering taking a huge number of mental command spells? I've been toying with another idea I saw, of assigning added Notoriety to a wizard who relies heavily on such spells - what do you think about that?
I wasn't planning to use them. My preliminary spell list (which I might tweek a bit before all is said and done) looks like this (spoiler'd just to limit size of post):
[ Spoiler ]
So mostly health spells, with only one mental manipulation (and no direct mind-control).
I wouldn't mind such a rule, though, if you insisted. I would point out a couple of things, though:
1. Mental manipulation spells are not the only thing mages can do that could deserve a bad reputation. While it makes sense that average Joe Citizen should (rightfully) fear mages (particularly unlicensed criminal mages), because he has almost no way to protect himself or stop them from doing whatever they want, that should probably be handled more as a prejudice or paranoia on his part than as a bad reputation on the part of the wizard, just because he uses one subset of magic. There are a million other aspects to being awakened that are just as unfair to the unawakened that singling out mental manipulation spells is probably just the tip of the iceberg. For example, almost all mages can summon spirits that can instantly go anywhere in the world and invisibly spy on you. If you don't have some magical protection, Shadowrun is a very scarey place to live. Really, it seems like any "misuse of magic" could be considered worthy of a bad reputation - as far as the masses are concerned.
2. Notority is typically your *professional* reputation in the Shadows, and not so much your public reputation among the masses. As long as you're not messing with the minds of your teammates or the Johnson (and casting unwanted spells on them is never professional behavior) then I'm not sure it should be considered "unprofessional" to use them to get the job done as long as they are used with care. Killing people is bad form, so using mental manipulations to avoid having to kill them seems fine as long as you don't go overboard and force them to do horrible things to themselves or one another. It is probably to the teams benefit to have a mage who can control the minds of those around them and, frankly, it makes things a lot safer for the poor rent-a-cops who are otherwise in the way.
Also, for a run where you need to get information out of someone, a mental manipulation spell is awesome, and for a lot of situations, those spells are the most efficient way to get the job done without causing any collateral damage... it just isn't fun for the poor bastard who has to do what you say for a few seconds. From a "personal" standpoint, I can see why you might dislike someone who shows a disregard for the personal space of others (not to mention breaking laws by doing so), but from a "professional" standpoint... that is what Runners are for... to break the law in order to accomplish the mission with as little muss and fuss as possible.3. I fully acknowledge that mental manipulations make things tricky for a GM - but that's a separate issue and shouldn't have anything to do with Notority.
Also, everything I said about the world being scarey and unfair for people who have no magical defenses is equally true of those same people who have no cyber-defenses to stop a hacker from spying on them, stealing their information or identities, and so on. A hacker who runs around being a jackass hacking into your stuff and using your information against you is probably just as worthy of your dislike as a mage who is a jackass.
Notority is fine if you're being a jackass to your team or the people who hired you (whether you're a mage, a hacker, or anything else, really), or if you're jeopardizing the job by going nuts with it, or being unnecessarily sadistic. In that case, though, its the sadism that is worth the notority, not the special skills you're using to do it.
Notority is fine if you're being a jackass to your team or the people who hired you (whether you're a mage, a hacker, or anything else, really), or if you're jeopardizing the job by going nuts with it, or being unnecessarily sadistic. In that case, though, its the sadism that is worth the notority, not the special skills you're using to do it.
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 19 2011, 10:07 AM)
If everyone's going to be cool, we may not need any house rules at all. Admit it (I will) - most house rules are a direct response to power-gaming and brutal, blatant min-maxing of characters. If we're all agreed that we'll play characters who are interesting first, and only badass as a result of how interesting they are, many of my concerns would go out the window.
Hopefully everyone is cool, but I don't think there are any deal-breakers in the house-rules so far. Changing the rules just gives min-maxers another facet to consider, it doesn't suck the min-maxiness out of them. I think your idea of asking for character descriptions, first, is probably the best move to dissuade min-maxy behaviors, and you're already doing it.
QUOTE
You're right that my hacking changes are to prevent a Logic 1 hacker from still kicking ass. I could get behind the idea that hacking skills can not exceed the related attribute. Are there other areas I've not considered where the associated attribute isn't useful, like hacking skills?
There are probably a couple, but the hacking subsystem is the most notorious for deviating away from the attribute+skill system. Another option would be to leave the dice-pools as skill+program and limit hits by logic (or resonance for TMs). Then your logic 1-2 hacker could download whatever bleeding-edge software he wants and fire it up, but because he doesn't really know what he's doing, he's only going to be able to make so much use of the results - and threading stays as useful as before.
I've got four characters who have been in games here on DS that have turned belly up.
Bongo Slade: (Adept)
Brash, young drummer. Performance, perception, memory, missiles, languages. Looking to find the "Heartbeat of Gaia" so he can play it.
Vignette:
Yazata: (Magician)
Magician of Zoroastrian Tradition. Believes himself (up to GM as he has Amnesia) to be an angel from the hosts of Ahura Mazda, banished to Earth for some unknown transgression. He believes he must redeem himself through lots of 'smiting' of evil, especially demons, in order to be allowed back. Basic Spellcasting and Conjuring, including Banishing.
Professor: (Adept)
A rising career as an archaeologist is cut short when Professor is framed for murders and theft of an artifact that may have clues to a past age. He dodges the charges but is shunned out of the profession. He enters the shadows to find the one who framed him. (No, the guy is not missing an arm.) Just missed him once, but made an Enemy. Analysis, languages, memory, flexibility of function through Living Focus.
Hodder: (Mystic Adept)
A young student of the Qabballa (Possession Tradition) shuns the life of study and contemplation for the thrill of life as an art thief. Multi-talented infiltrator, thief, (a bit of) mind control. Hmm... just noticed he is 400 BP plus 50 Karma. Well, he's available.
Vignette:
Bongo Slade: (Adept)
Brash, young drummer. Performance, perception, memory, missiles, languages. Looking to find the "Heartbeat of Gaia" so he can play it.
Vignette:
[ Spoiler ]
Yazata: (Magician)
Magician of Zoroastrian Tradition. Believes himself (up to GM as he has Amnesia) to be an angel from the hosts of Ahura Mazda, banished to Earth for some unknown transgression. He believes he must redeem himself through lots of 'smiting' of evil, especially demons, in order to be allowed back. Basic Spellcasting and Conjuring, including Banishing.
Professor: (Adept)
A rising career as an archaeologist is cut short when Professor is framed for murders and theft of an artifact that may have clues to a past age. He dodges the charges but is shunned out of the profession. He enters the shadows to find the one who framed him. (No, the guy is not missing an arm.) Just missed him once, but made an Enemy. Analysis, languages, memory, flexibility of function through Living Focus.
Hodder: (Mystic Adept)
A young student of the Qabballa (Possession Tradition) shuns the life of study and contemplation for the thrill of life as an art thief. Multi-talented infiltrator, thief, (a bit of) mind control. Hmm... just noticed he is 400 BP plus 50 Karma. Well, he's available.
Vignette:
[ Spoiler ]
pbangarth, I've read your stuff while I was still just lurking, and am honored you'd want to play in my game.
That said, do you have a preference for which of the four characters you have suggested? I've got a number of folks interested in playing people new to the career, if not to the seedier side of life, and I wonder if you'd want to play a mentor role, perhaps with the Professor, or if you'd prefer to come at it from more of an equal place?
Blackhat, I may be misusing Notoriety. I think the stats need to be broken down a bit better. Something to differentiate raw success at your chosen field versus a negative or positive reputation for the kind of person you are, etc. I'll keep it on the back burner. Your spells don't seem likely to cause much concern there.
I'm seeing your proposed character as kind of like the DJ at a rave, turned orgy. I think it fits the world nicely.
We'll discuss where the game takes place once we get a core team together. I've got source books for Denver, Seattle, and the Feral Cities guide for Lagos and Chicago. Or we could go balls-out and just pick a town that's not been done in SR canon and create it from scratch.
That said, do you have a preference for which of the four characters you have suggested? I've got a number of folks interested in playing people new to the career, if not to the seedier side of life, and I wonder if you'd want to play a mentor role, perhaps with the Professor, or if you'd prefer to come at it from more of an equal place?
Blackhat, I may be misusing Notoriety. I think the stats need to be broken down a bit better. Something to differentiate raw success at your chosen field versus a negative or positive reputation for the kind of person you are, etc. I'll keep it on the back burner. Your spells don't seem likely to cause much concern there.
I'm seeing your proposed character as kind of like the DJ at a rave, turned orgy. I think it fits the world nicely.
We'll discuss where the game takes place once we get a core team together. I've got source books for Denver, Seattle, and the Feral Cities guide for Lagos and Chicago. Or we could go balls-out and just pick a town that's not been done in SR canon and create it from scratch.
QUOTE (Castigari @ Dec 19 2011, 12:13 PM)
Blackhat, I may be misusing Notoriety. I think the stats need to be broken down a bit better. Something to differentiate raw success at your chosen field versus a negative or positive reputation for the kind of person you are, etc.
Maybe I am, as well.
I think Notoriety could make sense for both of those if it is that your character has a bad reputation in the Shadows because of HOW he does his job, even if he's successful... but the how would have to be unprofessional. If a mage uses mind control all the time to do things like make a security guard enter his password and open a security door, then handcuff himself inside the janitor's closet, that's probably not notoriety-worthy, that's just using magic to get the job done easily. If a different mage uses mind control to make a security guard enter his password, and then transfers all of that guard's personal money to his off-shore account before having the guard shoot himself in the head... well, that mage probably deserves notoriety - but not because he uses mind control, but HOW he's using mind control.QUOTE
I'm seeing your proposed character as kind of like the DJ at a rave, turned orgy. I think it fits the world nicely.
Kind of. I was definitely thinking of him like the guy at the rave handing out Ecstasy to everyone, and using magic to make sure its a strong clean high.
Thanks, Castigari.
All my suggestions are new to the shadows, including Professor. He is perhaps the most 'fish out of water' of the lot, though he has some adept powers chosen, just as he was entering the shadows, that are meant to fit him in better. All of them force me to work hard, at least once in a while, to extract usefulness out of their non-shadows-born skill sets.
Hodder and Professor are actually cousins, and Professor's professional success and family respect are part of the reason Hodder broke from his earlier role and went rogue. You see, Professor, Nathaniel Jones in his SINner life, is the great grandson of a certain archaeologist famous for his exploits and his fedora. Nathaniel inherited the fedora (which turned out to be a power focus of some strength) and Hodder, Simon Berkoff to his family, festered in jealousy and decided to become a collector of antiquities just like great grampa, and prove that he should have been the rightful inheritor of the fedora and the legacy. It was Simon, whose connections with antiquities dealers around the world, who got the word out that Nathaniel had found something of magical, historical significance in India. The underworld figure who acquired that info stole the artifact and destroyed Nathaniel's career. Now, Professor seeks the underworld boss and restitution, and Hodder seeks fame and fortune.
I wonder if they will ever meet.
In terms of how much I have played the characters, I would say Professor the most, followed in order by Bongo Slade, Hodder and Yazata. Each has his own specific reason for being in the shadows, not related primarily to the typical kind of thing one sees in SR. None is in any way shape or form a 'min-maxed' PC, which is part of their attraction for me.
Professor is best at solving problems, and I am experimenting with him to see if Living Focus and Heightened Concentration together make a useful pair of powers. Bongo is best at noticing and deceiving. Each of those two are very good at memorizing what they experience. Bongo is better in a fight, though not with a firearm but with any missile that comes to hand. A properly hurled cymbal is a cool weapon.
Yazata and Hodder both have magical capabilities: firepower more for Yazata, personal buffing more for Hodder. I suspect that reducing Hodder to 400 BP would make him the weakest of the four, though I am not sure. His continual verbal sparring with his spirits is fun, though.
Each of them has a place in my heart, and I would be happy to play any one of them. Maybe I should wait to see what characters others come up with?
All my suggestions are new to the shadows, including Professor. He is perhaps the most 'fish out of water' of the lot, though he has some adept powers chosen, just as he was entering the shadows, that are meant to fit him in better. All of them force me to work hard, at least once in a while, to extract usefulness out of their non-shadows-born skill sets.
Hodder and Professor are actually cousins, and Professor's professional success and family respect are part of the reason Hodder broke from his earlier role and went rogue. You see, Professor, Nathaniel Jones in his SINner life, is the great grandson of a certain archaeologist famous for his exploits and his fedora. Nathaniel inherited the fedora (which turned out to be a power focus of some strength) and Hodder, Simon Berkoff to his family, festered in jealousy and decided to become a collector of antiquities just like great grampa, and prove that he should have been the rightful inheritor of the fedora and the legacy. It was Simon, whose connections with antiquities dealers around the world, who got the word out that Nathaniel had found something of magical, historical significance in India. The underworld figure who acquired that info stole the artifact and destroyed Nathaniel's career. Now, Professor seeks the underworld boss and restitution, and Hodder seeks fame and fortune.
I wonder if they will ever meet.
In terms of how much I have played the characters, I would say Professor the most, followed in order by Bongo Slade, Hodder and Yazata. Each has his own specific reason for being in the shadows, not related primarily to the typical kind of thing one sees in SR. None is in any way shape or form a 'min-maxed' PC, which is part of their attraction for me.
Professor is best at solving problems, and I am experimenting with him to see if Living Focus and Heightened Concentration together make a useful pair of powers. Bongo is best at noticing and deceiving. Each of those two are very good at memorizing what they experience. Bongo is better in a fight, though not with a firearm but with any missile that comes to hand. A properly hurled cymbal is a cool weapon.
Yazata and Hodder both have magical capabilities: firepower more for Yazata, personal buffing more for Hodder. I suspect that reducing Hodder to 400 BP would make him the weakest of the four, though I am not sure. His continual verbal sparring with his spirits is fun, though.
Each of them has a place in my heart, and I would be happy to play any one of them. Maybe I should wait to see what characters others come up with?
Kohai, first draft
"Moloch" is the name of the mentor's enemy. I'll write a little vignette here shortly to establish him in more detail. Molly Molotov (a contact recycled from a previous character, just because I like her and think she's awesome) is a dwarf street ganger. Growing up in the Barrens, Molly got her name from her weapon of choice. Although very sweet to people she likes, Molly is also an enthusiastic arsonist with more than a touch of pyromania. The gang she's in, the Firehearts, deploy her anytime they need property damage. At 4'8", Molly is tall for a dwarf, sporting (appropriately) flaming red hair and a wide, friendly grin. She favors dark jeans, fingerless gloves, and her treasured vintage bomber jacket with the Firehearts' flaming heart logo on the back. If it's alright with you, I'd also like her to have Spirit Knack (Fire spirits) for flavor purposes. She talks to the flames, and sometimes they talk back.
"Moloch" is the name of the mentor's enemy. I'll write a little vignette here shortly to establish him in more detail. Molly Molotov (a contact recycled from a previous character, just because I like her and think she's awesome) is a dwarf street ganger. Growing up in the Barrens, Molly got her name from her weapon of choice. Although very sweet to people she likes, Molly is also an enthusiastic arsonist with more than a touch of pyromania. The gang she's in, the Firehearts, deploy her anytime they need property damage. At 4'8", Molly is tall for a dwarf, sporting (appropriately) flaming red hair and a wide, friendly grin. She favors dark jeans, fingerless gloves, and her treasured vintage bomber jacket with the Firehearts' flaming heart logo on the back. If it's alright with you, I'd also like her to have Spirit Knack (Fire spirits) for flavor purposes. She talks to the flames, and sometimes they talk back.
Okay, I've got seven players, and I think I'm going to try and run with all of you.
So, if you've posted before this, you're in - now go read the stories of the other characters and start figuring out how you know one another. How did you meet, what have you done before this together, how did the team come together, what's the story?
Think about what you want for your team to do - will you be generalists or specialists. Is there work you won't do? Is anyone a "leader" of the group?
And help come up with a name for our campaign.
So, if you've posted before this, you're in - now go read the stories of the other characters and start figuring out how you know one another. How did you meet, what have you done before this together, how did the team come together, what's the story?
Think about what you want for your team to do - will you be generalists or specialists. Is there work you won't do? Is anyone a "leader" of the group?
And help come up with a name for our campaign.
Okay, I had it pared down to Spazz, Dancer, and Tasha, and decided, in the end, to go with Tasha. Spazz looks fun, but martial arts are a real niche role, and he is a bit min-maxed and limited outside of that role. He would be good in another game as simple muscle, but I don't think he would quite fit here. I like Dancer, even though she has been a jinx in most games I have tried playing her in, but she is a bit too heavy on the muscle side. Tasha is not as tough, but is still a good mix of gunsel and face, with a bit more flamboyance.
Overview:
Tasha/"Deadeye" is a hustler, gunsel, and bike courier from Loveland who is currently in the slightly more hospitable Tacoma. A face who is a good shot, and a daredevil on her racing bike.
First Draft
I will put some thought in to how she could have met the other runners. Looking at the rest of the team, we have two muscle (a young street samurai and a ghoul/former Yak enforcer), two mages (a combat medic and a party mage), and an athletics (and maybe stealth?)-oriented character. Plus whichever one pbangarth picks, and Tasha, who is a face. A lot of the group seems to be either fledgling runners, or recently thrust into the shadows from somewhere else.
Generally, I like playing characters with some lines they won't cross, or at least lines that they will feel bad if they cross. Completely amoral characters can sometimes be as boring as stereotypical "good guys". For a new group, though, they might be thrust into more moral dilemmas than an established group, which can afford to pick and choose jobs a bit more.
Job-wise, this group doesn't look, at least at first glance, as the "infiltrate the corporate complex" type of runners. Not too much in the way of break-in skills (but again, this is just by looking at the vignettes). But as a new team, they will probably get lower-end jobs (bodyguard someone, find someone, trash this place, send a message to these gangers, etc.) at first, anyways.
Overview:
Tasha/"Deadeye" is a hustler, gunsel, and bike courier from Loveland who is currently in the slightly more hospitable Tacoma. A face who is a good shot, and a daredevil on her racing bike.
First Draft
[ Spoiler ]
I will put some thought in to how she could have met the other runners. Looking at the rest of the team, we have two muscle (a young street samurai and a ghoul/former Yak enforcer), two mages (a combat medic and a party mage), and an athletics (and maybe stealth?)-oriented character. Plus whichever one pbangarth picks, and Tasha, who is a face. A lot of the group seems to be either fledgling runners, or recently thrust into the shadows from somewhere else.
Generally, I like playing characters with some lines they won't cross, or at least lines that they will feel bad if they cross. Completely amoral characters can sometimes be as boring as stereotypical "good guys". For a new group, though, they might be thrust into more moral dilemmas than an established group, which can afford to pick and choose jobs a bit more.
Job-wise, this group doesn't look, at least at first glance, as the "infiltrate the corporate complex" type of runners. Not too much in the way of break-in skills (but again, this is just by looking at the vignettes). But as a new team, they will probably get lower-end jobs (bodyguard someone, find someone, trash this place, send a message to these gangers, etc.) at first, anyways.
OK, so here's PC roles I can glean from what's posted so far.
Muscle:
Kohai, by Tanegar
Tasha, by Glyph
Ryuuji, by RelentlessImp
Magic:
Heater, by Trigger (with some tech skills?)
Vice, by Blackhat
Infiltration:
Leapfrog, by Rip the Jackker
Bongo Slade, by pbangarth (see below)
Face:
Tasha, by Glyph
Bongo Slade, by pbangarth (a very secondary role, but one that can improve quickly) (see below)
Looks like Main Magic is well taken care of, so I'll pass on Yazata. Hodder, as a Possession tradition Mystic Adept has a bit of all four, but at 400 BP he would not yet have Channeling, and I don't know if I want to play a schizzy, possessed PC till he does. I don't have a ready made hacker or rigger, the role almost completely missing here. Bongo Slade has a -tiny- bit of Computer skill. I'm kinda hoping Professor's campaign will resurrect somehow, so I will exclude him for now. So that leaves Bongo Slade.
Bongo Slade
Background:
Stats:
Hmmm... I just noticed I will have to rethink the medkit given the size ruling. I'll work on it.
It looks as if Bongo should know Vice, given they travel in similar circles. They certainly are both entertainers. Leapfrog sounds like a kindred spirit. They could have met at one of Vice's 'entertainments'. Maybe this should be the way we all met.
EDIT: Shit! Ninjaed by Glyph. OK, Tasha.
Muscle:
Kohai, by Tanegar
Tasha, by Glyph
Ryuuji, by RelentlessImp
Magic:
Heater, by Trigger (with some tech skills?)
Vice, by Blackhat
Infiltration:
Leapfrog, by Rip the Jackker
Bongo Slade, by pbangarth (see below)
Face:
Tasha, by Glyph
Bongo Slade, by pbangarth (a very secondary role, but one that can improve quickly) (see below)
Looks like Main Magic is well taken care of, so I'll pass on Yazata. Hodder, as a Possession tradition Mystic Adept has a bit of all four, but at 400 BP he would not yet have Channeling, and I don't know if I want to play a schizzy, possessed PC till he does. I don't have a ready made hacker or rigger, the role almost completely missing here. Bongo Slade has a -tiny- bit of Computer skill. I'm kinda hoping Professor's campaign will resurrect somehow, so I will exclude him for now. So that leaves Bongo Slade.
Bongo Slade
Background:
[ Spoiler ]
Stats:
[ Spoiler ]
Hmmm... I just noticed I will have to rethink the medkit given the size ruling. I'll work on it.
It looks as if Bongo should know Vice, given they travel in similar circles. They certainly are both entertainers. Leapfrog sounds like a kindred spirit. They could have met at one of Vice's 'entertainments'. Maybe this should be the way we all met.
EDIT: Shit! Ninjaed by Glyph. OK, Tasha.
Castigari, I would like to point out Bongo's Artisan Skill. I think this is one of the broadest Skills in the game, and Bongo is highly developed in it. I see him as not only a drummer, his specialization, but a general musician, and someone who can go into a facility and actually play the role of an interior designer, or a carpenter. So, when we drive up in the stereotypical white van, he can talk the talk and walk the walk of the guy who came to paint the target's office the latest designer colour.
Of course, his Enthralling Performance power works only for his specialization, percussion.
Thoughts?
Of course, his Enthralling Performance power works only for his specialization, percussion.
Thoughts?
Kohai and his mentor vs. Moloch, the cyberzombie troll:
It's late, so I'll think about how Kohai could have met the other PCs tomorrow.
[ Spoiler ]
It's late, so I'll think about how Kohai could have met the other PCs tomorrow.
QUOTE (pbangarth @ Dec 20 2011, 02:41 AM)
Castigari, I would like to point out Bongo's Artisan Skill. I think this is one of the broadest Skills in the game, and Bongo is highly developed in it. I see him as not only a drummer, his specialization, but a general musician, and someone who can go into a facility and actually play the role of an interior designer, or a carpenter. So, when we drive up in the stereotypical white van, he can talk the talk and walk the walk of the guy who came to paint the target's office the latest designer colour.
If I may offer a recommendation, I've always thought of the "Artisan" skill as a placeholder for a multitude of more specific skills: Musician, Woodworker, Painter, etc. Interior design is pretty far removed from music, and I would have issues with allowing the same skill to be used for both. Obviously, Bongo moves in artistic circles, and it's very plausible that he's picked up jargon from multiple disciplines, but that's not the same as actually being a trained interior designer. Maybe he uses Con and the aforementioned jargon to pass himself off as something he's not; alternatively, perhaps you could shift some points around to actually give him a rank or two in Interior Design skill.
QUOTE (pbangarth @ Dec 20 2011, 01:32 AM)
OK, so here's PC roles I can glean from what's posted so far.
Muscle:
Ryuuji, by RelentlessImp
Muscle:
Ryuuji, by RelentlessImp
This works. Ryuuji is a Possession-based Warrior Mage using spirits to enhance physical attributes and a weapon focus (nodachi) to dish out the damage. He was a heavily cybered bit of muscle during his Yak days, but HMHVV made him awaken (and Regeneration kicked out the 'ware). He's got a bit of a one-track mind, though; once a beater, always a beater.
But given that we're lacking any kind of technical muscle, I submit 'Risk, instead:
Asterisk ('Risk for short) was a street urchin living in the Barrens, raised by his elder sister after their parents were gunned down in an incidental bit of gunfire from a bit of gang violence gone wrong. We'll skip over the kind of things his sister did to keep them fed and homed and skip right to where 'Risk Emerged. He kept it a secret from everyone, until seeing how Horizon was treating virtuakinetics. He surrendered himself to them, earning a corp contract and an all-expenses-paid trip to university and a nice new home for himself and his sister. However, after hearing some dark rumors about just what Horizon's doing with the virtuakinetics, the kid's starting to look for a way away from the corp, just putting his first foot into the shadows.
As for role, he'd be a general decker/hacker, with a minor bit of rigging (he's just now getting the college classes that train a person in maintaining and controlling the things), so... generalist tech.
Let me see if I can do this right. I made the character with the Chummer character creator, so I think it's structurally sound. I stole those 50 questions, though. Hope you don't mind.
I've never done an online RP before, so feel free to throw my character in anywhere you want.
[ Spoiler ]
I've never done an online RP before, so feel free to throw my character in anywhere you want.
Rip, I love the 50 questions, so if that helps you define your character, I'm all for it.
For everyone else, I love the flexibility I'm seeing. Don't worry overmuch about missing roles - we can flesh things out with NPCs if nobody really wants to play a particular role.
I'm going to have to think about Artisan. I think I agree that it ought to be broken into specialties, but many of them might be bought instead as knowledge skills - it's a very gray area. As the rules are written, well, let me reread them.
For everyone else, I love the flexibility I'm seeing. Don't worry overmuch about missing roles - we can flesh things out with NPCs if nobody really wants to play a particular role.
I'm going to have to think about Artisan. I think I agree that it ought to be broken into specialties, but many of them might be bought instead as knowledge skills - it's a very gray area. As the rules are written, well, let me reread them.
The 50 questions are Bull's, not mine, and they were put out there as a game resource for use by everybody.
Artisan, I have always seen as the skill for people with wide-ranging creativity. People with only one area of artistic ability (painting, etc.) would be represented with an appropriate knowledge skill. I think the PC should be able to get a broad spectrum of artistic abilities out of it, just not every artistic skill in existence.
I've thought about how Tasha could have met the others. She could have met Vice and Bongo at one of Vice's entertainments. Despite being almost straight-edge, Tasha does crazy things, stone-cold sober, that most people would need to get wasted for. Her dancing ability might catch Bongo's eye (she has a dice pool of 15 for dancing).
Leapfrog, I'm thinking maybe Renald sent her to help out Knight. She and Leapfrog briefly meet, before Knight sends her out on her racing bike as a distraction, while Leapfrog delivers the real package. They are actually opposite in a lot of ways. Introverted and bland vs. outgoing and flamboyant, bike daredevil vs. incompetence in ground craft, sensory overload syndrome vs. multi-tasking. They should be an interesting mix. They do have high gymnastic ability in common, although Tasha doesn't have the running or climbing skills to emulate a parkour master.
The others (Kohai, Heater, and Risk), I'm not sure. They could have either worked with her on a job, or met her at a bar or a party. Maybe they can think of a more specific vignette.
Artisan, I have always seen as the skill for people with wide-ranging creativity. People with only one area of artistic ability (painting, etc.) would be represented with an appropriate knowledge skill. I think the PC should be able to get a broad spectrum of artistic abilities out of it, just not every artistic skill in existence.
I've thought about how Tasha could have met the others. She could have met Vice and Bongo at one of Vice's entertainments. Despite being almost straight-edge, Tasha does crazy things, stone-cold sober, that most people would need to get wasted for. Her dancing ability might catch Bongo's eye (she has a dice pool of 15 for dancing).
Leapfrog, I'm thinking maybe Renald sent her to help out Knight. She and Leapfrog briefly meet, before Knight sends her out on her racing bike as a distraction, while Leapfrog delivers the real package. They are actually opposite in a lot of ways. Introverted and bland vs. outgoing and flamboyant, bike daredevil vs. incompetence in ground craft, sensory overload syndrome vs. multi-tasking. They should be an interesting mix. They do have high gymnastic ability in common, although Tasha doesn't have the running or climbing skills to emulate a parkour master.
The others (Kohai, Heater, and Risk), I'm not sure. They could have either worked with her on a job, or met her at a bar or a party. Maybe they can think of a more specific vignette.
Realized last night that I had forgotten to allocate Kohai's free Knowledge Skill points. His sheet has been updated.
As to how Kohai knows the other PCs, maybe he's served as bodyguard to Leapfrog and/or Tasha while they made deliveries in dangerous areas. In fact, the more I think about it, the more likely it seems that Kohai has been making ends meet as a freelance yojimbo since Hideo's death. It's relatively low-profile work, while still giving him an opportunity to use his primary skillset. He has enough first aid training to support Heater while still keeping him safe, and he could easily have served as a bouncer at Vice's club, where he would also have met Bongo. That just leaves Ryuuji; maybe they worked together on a bodyguard job and/or at Vice's club.
What will Kohai balk at? As a street samurai, violence is his stock in trade, so naturally he has few qualms about it. He's not above roughing somebody up if the job calls for it, and if he or his teammates are attacked, Kohai won't hesitate to respond with lethal force. He'll take wetwork contracts, but he's picky about them: only if the target is corrupt in some way, hurting or exploiting others, that sort of thing. Basically, Kohai will kill for money as long as he can rationalize it to himself. He won't kill bystanders or anyone he perceives as "innocent," and will raise strong (read: violent) objections to anyone who does. He will not kill children under any circumstances.
As to how Kohai knows the other PCs, maybe he's served as bodyguard to Leapfrog and/or Tasha while they made deliveries in dangerous areas. In fact, the more I think about it, the more likely it seems that Kohai has been making ends meet as a freelance yojimbo since Hideo's death. It's relatively low-profile work, while still giving him an opportunity to use his primary skillset. He has enough first aid training to support Heater while still keeping him safe, and he could easily have served as a bouncer at Vice's club, where he would also have met Bongo. That just leaves Ryuuji; maybe they worked together on a bodyguard job and/or at Vice's club.
What will Kohai balk at? As a street samurai, violence is his stock in trade, so naturally he has few qualms about it. He's not above roughing somebody up if the job calls for it, and if he or his teammates are attacked, Kohai won't hesitate to respond with lethal force. He'll take wetwork contracts, but he's picky about them: only if the target is corrupt in some way, hurting or exploiting others, that sort of thing. Basically, Kohai will kill for money as long as he can rationalize it to himself. He won't kill bystanders or anyone he perceives as "innocent," and will raise strong (read: violent) objections to anyone who does. He will not kill children under any circumstances.
The ideas for working with Vice all sound good to me, so far. I'll try to think up a few more tonight.
One thing that would help might be to think about what sorts of vices/habits those people might have (that they wouldn't keep "in the closet"). He's not really into prying, but if his teammates have things they enjoy, Vice would love to help them enjoy them more often or more deeply. It could be a something obvious, like enabling a teammate with an addiction (giving BTLs to a chiphead hacker), or it could be a more subtle favor - like even someone who isn't an alcoholic might enjoy a particular kind of beer when the team meets at the bar. I see Vice as someone who is pretty good at picking up on that sort of thing, and if its within his ability, he'll take it upon himself to enable indulgences like that. Maybe he buys the next round, or maybe suggests they meet at a bar when a diner would have been just as convenient. He also makes a great wingman, and you don't have to be a nymphomaniac to enjoy a night out where you don't go home alone.
Assuming Bongo doesn't go out of his way to hide his addition to cigarettes (which is probably pretty evident on his aura when he has the first sweet puff of the night) that is a good example. If pbangarth has no objections, maybe Vice already knows this, and keeps a pack of Bongo's favorite brand on hand and makes sure he knows they're available, or occasionally offers other brands to help broaden Bongo's tobacco-palette. If Bongo doesn't mind smoking (lots of people accept that they are smokers, even though it will probably lead to cancer - which is probably even treatable in SR), then it might be a nice gesture, but if Bongo is trying to kick the habit, Vice might seem like kind of a jerk. Either way, it would make for a neat interaction. Also, I'm not sure if pbangarth had a hippie sort of vibe in mind with Bongo, but I could see him associating with the sort of people who are into casual experimentation with mind-altering substances, which could be a lot of fun for everyone.
They don't have to be negative qualities, either. If Tasha gets her rocks off on adrenaline (which I'm inferring from the daredevil stuff) rather than booze, sex, or drugs, that's still "her thing", and Vice would be happy to facilitate that there whenever he can. Maybe that just means hanging out when they go do crazy stuff with her friends, or maybe it would involve using magic to heighten the emotional response, or maybe he could offer a little something (magical or chemical) to help calm the nerves of her less-daring friends. Hell, he could probably call up some sort of spirit to use the "movement" power on her bike to REALLY go fast. It might be a little suicidal, but if that's what she's into, Vice would be all too happy to help.
Just about everybody enjoys something they probably shouldn't - but a lot of the time its something they're not proud of, so I could see the team not necessarily wanting Vice to know what it is.
One thing that would help might be to think about what sorts of vices/habits those people might have (that they wouldn't keep "in the closet"). He's not really into prying, but if his teammates have things they enjoy, Vice would love to help them enjoy them more often or more deeply. It could be a something obvious, like enabling a teammate with an addiction (giving BTLs to a chiphead hacker), or it could be a more subtle favor - like even someone who isn't an alcoholic might enjoy a particular kind of beer when the team meets at the bar. I see Vice as someone who is pretty good at picking up on that sort of thing, and if its within his ability, he'll take it upon himself to enable indulgences like that. Maybe he buys the next round, or maybe suggests they meet at a bar when a diner would have been just as convenient. He also makes a great wingman, and you don't have to be a nymphomaniac to enjoy a night out where you don't go home alone.
Assuming Bongo doesn't go out of his way to hide his addition to cigarettes (which is probably pretty evident on his aura when he has the first sweet puff of the night) that is a good example. If pbangarth has no objections, maybe Vice already knows this, and keeps a pack of Bongo's favorite brand on hand and makes sure he knows they're available, or occasionally offers other brands to help broaden Bongo's tobacco-palette. If Bongo doesn't mind smoking (lots of people accept that they are smokers, even though it will probably lead to cancer - which is probably even treatable in SR), then it might be a nice gesture, but if Bongo is trying to kick the habit, Vice might seem like kind of a jerk. Either way, it would make for a neat interaction. Also, I'm not sure if pbangarth had a hippie sort of vibe in mind with Bongo, but I could see him associating with the sort of people who are into casual experimentation with mind-altering substances, which could be a lot of fun for everyone.
They don't have to be negative qualities, either. If Tasha gets her rocks off on adrenaline (which I'm inferring from the daredevil stuff) rather than booze, sex, or drugs, that's still "her thing", and Vice would be happy to facilitate that there whenever he can. Maybe that just means hanging out when they go do crazy stuff with her friends, or maybe it would involve using magic to heighten the emotional response, or maybe he could offer a little something (magical or chemical) to help calm the nerves of her less-daring friends. Hell, he could probably call up some sort of spirit to use the "movement" power on her bike to REALLY go fast. It might be a little suicidal, but if that's what she's into, Vice would be all too happy to help.
Just about everybody enjoys something they probably shouldn't - but a lot of the time its something they're not proud of, so I could see the team not necessarily wanting Vice to know what it is.
Tasha's loves riding her bike fast, but her love of adrenaline is usually not the "extreme sports" kind. It shows up more in poor judgement - casual promiscuity, wild behavior, an attraction to "bad" boys and girls, and sometimes impulsive decisions. She isn't completely self-destructive or lacking in survival instincts (in some ways, she can actually be a control freak), but she tends to not think things through sometimes. One of the keys to playing her is to underplay it - when she does something crazy, she is casual and nonchalant about it. This version of Tasha is pretty close to the one I played in Origins with Zee.
Hideo Tanaka did his best to instill the whole samurai warrior-scholar ethos into Tony. Kohai will probably never be a true connoisseur, but he has some appreciation for Japanese calligraphy. He also practices, at a very low level, ikebana, flower-arranging. His chief interest is music (something to bond with Bongo over?), particularly ambient electronica, trip-hop, that sort of thing.
QUOTE (Glyph @ Dec 20 2011, 06:47 PM)
This version of Tasha is pretty close to the one I played in Origins with Zee.
Ahh, I didn't her as the same character until you pointed it out. Shame she and Zee can't do a round-two together.
That does give a better picture - and it would be completely fitting for Vice to nudge Tasha towards impulsive decisions, casual promiscuity, wild behavior and so on... should he have the opportunity. He's likely to be just as impulsive.
Hey, I forgot the free Knowledge Skill points. So maybe I'll pack in a few artistic Knowledge Skills and maybe Bongo could use his Artisan Skill as 'broad-based basic knowledge' to add a few dice with successes to the Knowledge Skill roll?
Works fine for me! And yeaaahhhh to mind altering substances! Check out his equipment list!
QUOTE (BlackHat @ Dec 20 2011, 04:57 PM)
Assuming Bongo doesn't go out of his way to hide his addition to cigarettes (which is probably pretty evident on his aura when he has the first sweet puff of the night) that is a good example. If pbangarth has no objections, maybe Vice already knows this, and keeps a pack of Bongo's favorite brand on hand and makes sure he knows they're available, or occasionally offers other brands to help broaden Bongo's tobacco-palette. If Bongo doesn't mind smoking (lots of people accept that they are smokers, even though it will probably lead to cancer - which is probably even treatable in SR), then it might be a nice gesture, but if Bongo is trying to kick the habit, Vice might seem like kind of a jerk. Either way, it would make for a neat interaction. Also, I'm not sure if pbangarth had a hippie sort of vibe in mind with Bongo, but I could see him associating with the sort of people who are into casual experimentation with mind-altering substances, which could be a lot of fun for everyone.
Works fine for me! And yeaaahhhh to mind altering substances! Check out his equipment list!
Here's the sheet for 'Risk.
[ Spoiler ]
Wait, so I don't get it, are some people going to play more than one character?
Also, do you use the rule in Arsenal that says you don't count encumberance for a single piece of armor? I'd like to have something mildly more substantial than a leather jacket, but my body is very low.
Also, do you use the rule in Arsenal that says you don't count encumberance for a single piece of armor? I'd like to have something mildly more substantial than a leather jacket, but my body is very low.
EDIT: Multipost. Please ignore this.
QUOTE (Rip the Jackker @ Dec 20 2011, 10:07 PM)
Wait, so I don't get it, are some people going to play more than one character?
I don't think anyone is. RelentlessImp changed characters from Ryuuji to Risk, and pbangarth hadn't made up his mind until he picked Bongo out of the possibilities.
Right now, it is:
Tanegar: Kohai, street samurai
Trigger: Heater, combat medic/mage
Rip the Jacker: Leapfrog, parkour courier
RelentlessImp: Risk, technomancer
BlackHat: Vice, party mage
pbangarth: Bongo Slade, adept musician
Glyph: Tasha Deadeye, adept gunslinger/face
That clears it up. Thank you.
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