I wonder if my character's going to survive this. It seems incredibly stupid to bend over the pool of water and stick your hand in it but it's exactly what he'd do.

Test for Chemical Analyzer:
10 05 04 09 01 02 02 01
Complimentary Chemical Skill Die:
11 01 01 04 01 07

I

Moonstone, I sent you a PM. Please reply at your earliest convenience

Ancient Languages: 3 1 4 4 2 4 7 5 20 (this dice roller is insnae)
Theoretical Cryptography (Complimentary [Math SPU]): 2 3 5 4 2 3 5 1 [ 4 3 10 2 4 5 3 5 2 ]

Also note that he's copying all of the symbols into his memory just as before. I doubt if it takes up 13,000 Mp but if it does, he'll start compressing it in 1,000 Mp chunks.

just for the record, I second the "incredibly stupid" thing...



@ leowulf...
would you quit it with the assumptions, man? it's kinda irritating. for your information, Ran hasn't let her guard, or her sword, down at all.

Well cripes, my money was on Cosmo biting the big one first. But with Torque going around shoving his hand blindly into pools in the middle of alien temples, well... just cripes.

It also just dawned on me that we have two characters named Chase and Ran. There's a joke waiting to come out there, I just know it.

Hey clock, there are no trolls in the party, nore are there any orks either I belive.

Just, Hu-mans, elves and a dwarf.

I know. It's an "inside" joke.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that, in a violent fit of mindless randomness, I decided to change my username. Again. Sorry for any inconveniences.

Sincerely,
The Artist Formerlly Known as A Clockwork Lime

Roll for a History Test to see if Torque knows anything about similar temple interiors.
02 06 04 01 01 07

Cool nick, Rodent.

**checks back** still no "I'm a Troll" sign...

Welcome aboard/back/whatever Rodent. Glad you're still with us.

Thanks Tziluthi, Kevyn...

I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this but again, it's probably better that it has. Since I am -clearly- unable to maintain a regular availability, I'm going to pull out of this run. I won't hold you up any more. Good luck, everyone.

Morhanna, check your PM's...

Hey Tzi, what was that about Chase getting his wires back? I don't get it.

I think he was being sarcastic about you turning your gun on a teammate for no apparent reason.

seems to me chase is "borrowing" a little OOC stargate info...

what reason would he have to believe torque's not himself, regardless of the safety of the water?

(ps.. clock--dammit, I'm not going to call you RODENT--it's pronounced "ron"... ;)

I dunno. If the Mad Hatter wasn't snoozing, he'd probably be barking similar concerns at Cosmo, too. First, Torque being a "professional" medic (who apparently has no concern about strange, alien fluids), shoves his hand blindly into a pool of what he had no idea was actually going to be water. In a heavily warded temple. Protected with advanced technology, including a perpetual air conditioner. With no life whatsoever anywhere outside. With a seal warning of a great and powerful alien lifeforce the slaves referred to as a "devil dragon-king."

Second, he "slips and falls," then quickly recovers, but not until he had a sudden epiphany about a secret underground lair with a cache full of "coordinates," even though Cosmo just finished saying he found 'em. Then, without consulting anyone, he starts marching off to find it... all the while acting unusually and angrily barking at or acting uncharacteristically sarcastic towards anyone who does anything to slow his assault on this cache that, only after shoving his hand into a pool full of alien bacteria, he "suddenly" remembered.

It's even more odd since no one said anything about possession, yet he got all defensive about it.

I'd say there's plenty of reason to be suspicious. Dunno if it's gun-drawing suspicious, but it is pretty suspicious all around.

And woman, you will call me Rodent. <hefts up his shotgun and does the cool sound-effect ch-chink thing with it>

aRoUS. its

Kevyn: He said to get your wires retuned, not returned.

Passive Sensors Test (assuming the signal got out): 1 5 2 5 1 2 4 2 5 3 1 5 5 2 1

Ahhhh, well that clears it up. Pretty damn clever, too.

Consider that line officially stolen Tzi!

Actually the fluff rules of the chemical analyzer state that only a minute amount is required and even testing poisons won't harm the user, only things like super-corrosive acid can affect you through a fingertip pad. "Shoves his hand in" is an extreme exaggeration over testing the surface with a fingertip.

As for possession, exactly what else would you think it is in a world like shadowrun that has possession? Torque also mentioned spirits despite nobody else doing so.

No one said anything about possession at all. There was a quick "check his aura" comment which could have been as much medical as it was to see if a spell or something was on him, but there wasn't even a hint about the word possession until Torque got defensive about it within nanoseconds.

Like I said, it probably wasn't gun-pointing suspicious, but all of that happening within a short time frame certainly should raise some eyebrows if it was in ordinary circumstances. Considering we're on an alien planet, inside an alien temple, with supertechnology (both magical and mundane) that screams "we're not primitives and we know what we're talking about" followed up with a big warning sign on the door... it's not that big of a stretch to imagine a few more paranoid characters would react like that, too.

EDIT (upon reading the IC thread): Plus there's the whole law that states "the impossibility of a lie is in direct proportion to how many words it takes to cover it up." Err, that's paraphrased, of course.

Stupid connection. . .

A fast "Check his Aura" comment that could have been medicinal, while he was also aiming an SMG at Torque? Unless Chase's SMG fires capsule rounds filled aspirin to deal with headaches that notion just doesn't fly Rodent.

Frankly I find the level of paranoia here absurd. We've found nothing hostile anywhere except a single defensive ward, which is unmanned. We already found out the drones weren't damaged by an enemy, there is no hostile life, and the temple is empty. And our group should be hot, covered with sand in every crevice, exhausted from a multi-kilometer walk in the desert, and ready for a nap. Activating Wired Reflexes and pointing SMGs everywhere seems absurd to me.

I probably was overly wordy in my last reply but I was trying to deal with way too many questions and posts at once. We just have to wait until Ghost Dragon finally shows up again to do his Aura reading so we can settle this, he already determined that there was nothing in the water but bacteria but he hasn't told us that IC so we don't know it.

I am going to give Leowulf till tomorow mornign to post, then (I hate to do it) will post for him. Gotta keep the game alive.

I'm just sayin'...

If Torque had just slipped and fell, that wouldn't... shouldn't... have caused much commotion. Maybe a little concern, but that's about it. It's the fact that as soon as he was back on his feet, he spouted out a completely amazing revelation and then proceeded, strongly, towards the cache with gusto that set of the red flags. The fact that he snapped at Cosmo, which seems very uncharacteristic of Torque up until that point, when he was just pointing out that he found the coordinates just added fuel to the fire.

Note that the stomping off towards the cache at full speed with a total disregard of anyone else's input on the subject (including looking for any traps or the like) is the big deal, not the total disregard of universal precautions or the fact that he tripped and fell.

Pulling guns was a bit extreme, that much I admit. But I don't think it's extremely overboard given all the circumstances.

Its really not a stupid a connection.

And don't get your panties in a bunch, pal. As long as there's no snake in your head Chase won't have use that "special" ammo to relieve your headache

I think there's been a pretty good case for how Chase (over)reacted. Truth be told, after I reread my post today I almost hoped someone would throw down on him. Then we could have a standoff thing going on...

Either way, Torque did something quite foolish. Then slipped on the dust. Then "remembered" there's a secret room. Did I mention the warnings on the sealed door? So far in canon SR absolutely nothing out there likes (meta)humans. Why would it be different on a planet other than earth. Where the only structure is a pyramid...designed to hold some demonic entity...with a pool of "water"...that Torque stuck his finger in. Starting to see the pattern?

Its not a shot at you. You should know better.

IRL, I would react the same way that Chase did--go figure. Would you feel better if I had given him a knowledge skill in "B Horror Sims"?

And we all know that the "check aura" thing was to determine if anything is "effecting" Torque's judgement. If GD's scan comes up bad for ya, maybe Chase'll just narcojet ya. (Cross those fingers...)

While I'm at it, I think everyone will be rather pleased that the "superninja commandos" are here if the staff weapons come out.

As far as OOC knowledge, I dont have any that applies to this.

I dont remember an SG1 episode or section of the movie that involves water taking someone hostage.

However, if this had been our RL personalities in our SR characters, I'd have shot Torque with my arm gun while appearing to talk Chase down.

Sorry, I let my character restrain me.

Actually, there was an episode where microbiological organisms took several hostages. It was the first Russian use of the Gate.

I don't really think that Torque got possessed by something in the water but there always seems to be go'oulds in those pools and was holding his head. The bacteria in the pool could sustain the go'oulds and effectively camouflage the snakes from Ghost's sight. Theroetically.

Nobody's getting Angry Kevyn, we're playing a game, our characters are in disagreement. It's not personal, it's the nature of the game. And if your character kills mine, or (unlikely event) vice versa, it's a game, not a personal attack OOC. Remember that if Torque puts a DMSO/Cyanide Slap Patch on Chase later for threatening him.

I disagree with many comments so far. Unless you draw on OOC Information Torque hasn't done anything suspicious, or even particularly stupid. It's very stupid if you draw on OOC information (Which I did, in the OOC thread) but Torque doesn't know that, nor should anybody else.

1) Ten minutes ago, everybody was worried about running out of water. As I already mentioned, everybody should be thirsty, sandy, and hot and the environment is enemy #1. Not each other.

2) Torque finds a pool of water, not a pool of slime, not a pool of biohazardous waste. Water. And he has a means to test it to see if this can fix the problem that everybody was worried about (IC) ten minutes ago. Anybody would test the water then, it's just that Torque's the medic/chemist equipped to. Being afraid to break the water is fragging silly.

3) The only threat so far is the "Demon Dragon King" sign on the front. Every pyramid ever has a warning that there's a demon inside who will kill you if you desecrate Pharaoh's tomb, any history student (Who isn't drawing on OOC knowledge that this is a Shadowrun and things Will go horrible wrong) will take that as seriously as a little kid's bedroom with a sign saying it's protected by the Power Rangers.

4) Torque snapped at Cosmo. Torque also just fell and bumped his head, which means he's feeling at least some pain and he's also just looked foolish. Most people will get angry at snap at that point.

5) BGMFH, if you shoot someone every time they remember something I can only assume you're playing this game from prison.

Nope, I work for a private security firm.

And I just read that, and caught the SR connotation. LoL.

1. Not everyone was worried about running out of water. Most people don't seem to get the part about a constant stream of incoming supplies through that big hoop outside and are worrying over nothing in that regard, especially since they've never had any trouble opening the gate. But that's another rant.

2. We had no idea that it was water. That was a foolish assumption on Torque's part. His sticking his finger in, despite what the Chemical Analyzer allows, is a vagrant disregard for the Universal Precautions all medical-related personnel have drilled into their heads. But apparently, it's not so universal as to apply when dealing with alien fluids on alien worlds inside alien temples that are nothing like those found on Earth. (I'm aware that you're reference to a "Dracos Ziggurat" is completely IC, but I've never heard of anything like that myself and I'm a huge fan of mythology and archaeology, but that's all OOC information on my part.)

3. No, not every pyramid has a warning about a demon dragon-king. Many have warnings about curses and the like, but none have ever had a huge-ass super-ward let alone ultratechnology protecting it. High tech + high magic = not very ignorant natives trying to scare people away.

4. It was still very uncharacteristic of the character, and it's only a very minor point that simply added to the whole. It wasn't the trigger.

5. Once again, it's not the fact that Torque "remembered" something, it's the circumstances leading up to his remembering AND... this is the most important part... his hardcore, determined marching towards the alledged location while snapping or acting uncharacteristically sarcastically to anyone who put up any possible attempt to slow him down. No consultation, no worries about traps (which "any history student" would be concerned about in a standard archaeological pyramid on Earth, let alone ones with supertech and supermagic inside), nothing. Just straight to the prize.

Rodent pretty much said everything I was gonna say.

Except: I thought it was pretty clear that I wasn't angry. The whole "Its not a shot at you..." part.

And there's no need to go threatening people with cyanide slap patches. Play nice.

Ok, Leo hasn't posted so I can only assume he is incommunicado for now.

So I am going to post for him, sorry Leo.

Sorry about not posting yesterday. I was extraodinarily busy and had no time.

And crechebaby, Ghost Dragon's assumptions are all part of his character. I won't stop.

Astral Perception for looking at Torque:5, 2, 8, 10, 4, 3
Astral Perception for looking at the pool: 3, 10, 4, 3, 5, 7

Okay, so it got a little heated back there but look at the bright side:

That was one hell of an IC scene. We got teammates pointing guns at eachother, a tense standoff, the arrogant mage tossing his two yen in and for comic relief we have Cosmo standing there like Gimli when Eomer and his men draw on Legolas. Picture the face. It made me laugh.

I think it came off pretty cool.

Yeah, a little tension never hurt anybody. Almost in ours but not quite.

Nothing annoys me more than someone introducing their "arrogant bastard" character into a team, and then whining "Oh, but it's just my CHARACTER" when someone calls them on it.

I wouldn't mind your "Character's" assumptions, leo, if he had the guts to speak them out loud and deal with the consequences. Evidently, he hasn't got that much spine, however.

You may have a point Crechebaby, and of course everybody's entitled to their opinion, but wouldn't you expect most Shadowrunners to be rather arrogant? After all, even at Chargen a Shadowrunner is already elite among criminals, superior by an order of magnitude to gangers or most rent-a-cops.

Edit: Yet another Chemanalysis
04 05 03 02 03 01 02 06
Complimentary Die
04 02 01 01 02 02

I guess it depends on the individual. Some people let their ego get the better of themselves, whereas others maintain some control over it. But considering that these people often start out as criminals of a more garden variety type, then you'd probably get a few more antisocial personalities than usual.

I'd accept your logic if it weren't for the fact that, for the most part, Shadowrunners work as a team. Unless you are truly amazing at EVERYTHING, and I haven't met anyone (real or otherwise) who is, you can't do the job alone.
In my opinion, someone working the Shadows would either gain the knowledge that one must make their enemies carefully, or they'd be dead.
... besides.. I only have to point to almost every character history I've ever read to demonstrate that most of us here aren't petty thieves.

You can work in a team and still be an antisocial personality, but you'd probably grate more on the others than they'd probably like. I'm using 'antisocial personality' as more of a psychological definition, as in someone who is an arsehole, rather than the general use of the word 'antisocial', as in someone who avoids socialisation.

Although, on your last point I have to agree with you, most of these people do have a background either working for the military or the corps, rather than starting in the gutter.

I think most runners have strong personalities that tend to manifest as arrogance in a lot of cases. Mages and mecha-sams tend to be the worst. Its a superiority thing.

Of course if Ghost had pulled that stunt while visible, Chase would've given him the Bertuzzi treatment.

Aww, c'mon. Everyone knows a shadowrun team is supposed to be chock-full of paranoid lone wolves willing to kill or ensorcel their teammates at the drop of a hat. If you can't do everything on your own, you're not a shadowrunner. You're just some... uhm... okay, I have no idea where I'm going with this so I think I'll stop right about... now.

You're clearly looking for a fight, crechebaby. Look somewhere else. I'll play my character however the hell I want.

Speaking his assumptions out loud isn't Ghost Dragon's way. If you have a problem with that, piss off! If you would consider that cowardice, then you are just as ignorant as you are naive. Tune in another time and watch me in a different character. Might I suggest watching me as Biomage in Death of Dragons, provided that the thread is revived?

*ahem* (BGMFH)

Or perhaps my pacifist female decker, Blackjack, who is overly nice and outgoing to everyone?

It's called roleplaying. If you don't understand what it is, ask.