I may be slow on the posting for a bit (probably the next 3-4 weeks). I'll try to post when I can - just a bit more irregularly than normal.

BishopMcQ - Oh, are you grabbing all the foci? I just didn't see anything but the belt in IC

Umaro - No problem. As a note, I have been doing a little more reading on free spirits, and I realized you should know automatically the location and number of all copies of your spirit formula. We could call it a weird roleplaying thing that you don't, or just give you the information and play it out that way...how did you want to handle it?

All - As a note, NotSoEvilGM has apparently dropped out of all of his threads for a little while, so I'm looking for another player or two. I'd prefer to start with recommendations from people I know and trust, so if you know one or two people that you think would do well in this kind of thread, please send me a PM with their name. I'll talk to them individually.

If we can't find one or two from that pool, I'll open up a separate recruiting thread. I'll probably get prospective players to post a character idea and a 'day in the life', and get feedback from current players to make the decision.

Huh, I didn't know that either.

I'm fine with whatever you think will work best plot/RP wise. If you do think it's better to write it off as a quirk that Boots doesn't - maybe go with once he finds one copy, he knows from then on where all of them are?

Fenris--Yeah, in the IC post, I just grabbed the weapon earlier. Buddha and I were talking about grabbing the other things OOC but I hadn't gotten there yet IC.

Ok back and deadline was met so I get my life back for a bit.

I agree we are taking commlinks, foci, and the car(s)? Did they come in more than one vehicle?

BishopMcQ and Buddha - I realize I forgot to set scene outside, since mnost of the action was happening inside. There were two black SUV's, Land Rovers by the symbols on then. One of them was knocked on it's side and pushed into the street by the explosion. The other has scratches and dings along it's side and a number of spiderweb cracks in the windshield, but looks otherwise intact.

Umaro - That works! It's sort of a weird and quirky game

Bishop and Buddha - You can give me Judge Intentions if you want to dig deeper into what's going on with Amy's reaction, or just take it at face value.

I would like a complete list of exactly what you are taking with you here in the OOC thread. I'm assuming the foci, but I'd like to know what else.

Salvageable:
[*] 2 Hermes Ikon (Iris Orb, Firewall 5, System 5, Skinlink, subvocal mic, Browse 3, Edit 2, Command 2)
[*] 1 Fairlight Caliban (Custom OS, Firewall 6, System 6, Browse 5 ergonomic, Agent 4, Stealth 4 ergonomic, Exploit 4, Attack 4, ECM 4 ergonomic)
[*] 24 Stealth RFID tags (12 camera rating 1 + Visual Enhancement 2, 12 directional mic rating 1 + Audio Enhancement 2)
[*] 2 Goggles (Image Link, Visual Mag, Flare Comp)
[*] 3 earbuds (Audio Enhancement 3, Select Sound filter)

This is what Ama is taking from the list and Mato is taking the foci he saw from the astral. Ama is going to take the one that is still is on its wheels.

Judge Intentions
12d6.hits(5)=3

I'm taking the foci, and whatever suit of armor/gear Samael is wearing. (Not stripping the ghoul to let the gangers get a couple hundred nuyen worth of gear at the risk of contracting HMHVV)

Foci:
Belt - Weapon Focus, Rating is lower than your magic, and you'll recognize it's aura if you see it again.
Astral 1 (Wrist) - Force 4 Anchoring Foci with a Health spell currently locked in it
Astral 2 (Ear) - Anchoring Foci, and you'll recognize it's aura if you see if again.
Astral 3 (Back) - Weapon Focus, rating is lower than your magic, and you'll recognize it's aura if you see if again.
Astral 4 (Back) - Force 4 Quickened Health Spell, and you'll recognize it's aura if you see if again.

Buddha - Behind the frustration and everything else is fear - a deep-seated one that obviously runs deep.

Thank you both for the gear list.

Samael had one of the salvageable suits of form fit, and his suit was armored, but was unfortunately destroyed in the blast. The Fairlight was also his, along with one set of the earbuds that survived. You can add the following items to the list (forgot about Sam's extra pieces):

PPP Forearm Guards
PPP Vitals Protector
PPP Shin Guards

Amy's taking a full suit of form fit, one of the armored vests, and the Ares Predator IV, along with 4 extra clips for the pistol, the medkit and refill, and the stim patches.

FYI - started a recruitment thread to grab a few more players to help keep things moving and interesting - Recruitment Thread

In my IC post, I was assuming the ward was around the exterior of the apartment building (ie, it is one big ward, so Boots would be able to go into the apartments of Block's neighbors) rather than every individual person's apartment having a separate ward. If that is wrong let me know and I will edit.

Umaro - It was the former instead of the latter, unfortunately One specific ward on his apartment.

Umaro - Do you want to give me some specifics on what you're looking for in the astral? Any applicable skill rolls or anything like that?

Lingering auras for sure, if he can tell if this place is inhabited recently (ie, if someone comes here daily/nightly, or if it's furnished but uninhabited), pets, anything with strong auras?

Okay, Boots' only theoretically relevant skills would be SINless communities and Parazoology, in case he sees evidence of either squatters or paracritters, but I think both are highly doubtful. Just in case his rolls would be Intuition (5) + Skill Rating (4,6, or = 9d6 (for SINless), 11d6 (for Parazoology), 13d6 (for Spirits), rolling them below:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4210090/ SINless (1 hits)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4210091/ Parazooology (5 hits spirit or not).

I'm also editing the IC post.

By "Planning ahead, he also looked for something inside the apartment that was less dull and dead than most of it and would be easier to access from the Astral" I mean "Boots is looking for something with a low-ish OR inside the apartment that he can possess if he needs a vessel." Something like vermin or flowers would be ideal, but something made of wood or otherwise not-that-heavily processed would also work.

Fenris how do you want to work using the cars? I have no idea how secured they are or how locked up the commlinks are. Let me know Boss Man!

Umaro - Only living thing in Block's apartment is the painting. Everything else is synthetic or dead. Other apartments have a variety of living items, including pets, plants, and people.

Buddha - Somewhere, authentication has to be given for the SUV to start. It's currently unlocked, and you have the associated commlinks (probably). You could hack the commlink to be able to send the appropriate command, hack the commlink to get the AccessID and then spoof the commands to the car, hack the car to just start, or physically hotwire the car by pulling out wires, etc.

Any hacking attempt is going to start with getting into the node, so it would be an Exploit + Hacking (Target's Firewall, Complex Action) extended test for either the commlink or the car. For physically hotwiring the car, Hardware + Logic in an opposed roll against the car's Rating X 2.

Cool thanks! I am going to raise my Electronics Group from 1 to 2.

Lacking some key elements for hacking the commlinks (like programs) I'm going to go with hardwiring the car itself.

Hardware + Logic
8d6.hits(5)=1

So my incredible skill of 2 was clearly not as impressive as hoped.

Boots next move is going to be simply waiting to see if anyone comes back to the apartment - probably visiting it again the next day if not, and seeing if there's any signs anyone actually lives there.

Is Block an orc or a fomori? I thought you said fomori earlier in the OOC thread.

Let's go with Fomori I may have slipped up and not written that down right in my notes XD

Boots is going to Assense all three of them in detail, and then is going to continue eavesdropping and see what he can learn.

Assensing(4)+Intuition(5) = 9d6, http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4244095/ 5 on Block, 3 each on his buddies.

Umaro - Assensing results:

Block

• Has genetech present throughout his body
• Has nanotech present throughout his body
• He's currently experiencing the effects of Bliss and hard liquor
• Not a technomancer
• Essence is 3.26, Magic 0, Force 0
• Has cybernetics in his head, nervous system, and hands.
• You recognize his aura
• Subject is mundane
• Subject is happy
• Subject is slightly ill

Hammer - Male Orc

• Seems to be under the effect of at least two different toxins
• Essence and Magic is lower than yours
• Subject has alphaware implants in his head and nervous system
• You will recognize the subject's aura if you see it again
• Subject is mundane
• Subject is happy
• Subject is slightly ill

Ishataki - Male Human

• Seems to be under mildly under the effect a single toxin
• Essence is equal to yours, magic is lower than yours
• Subject has no cyberware
• You will recognize the subject's aura if you see it again
• Subject is Awakened
• Subject is generally happy but slightly tense.
• Subject is in good health

Boots can make a Judge Intentions (Int + Cha) to gather more information on the men's reactions and relations, if you'd like.

Indeed he would. Intuition(5)+Charisma(5) = 10d6, http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4247489/ 4 hits.

Umaro

Ishataki: Ishataki Resist Judge Intentions (8d6.hits(5)=3)
There is a certain amount of tension in Ishataki's interactions with the men - he seems to be holding himself apart to a certain degree.

Hammer: Hammer Resist Judge Intentions (4d6.hits(5)=2)
It is obvious that Hammer is a yes-man, a sycophant, and basically a hanger-on. He reacts in an almost exaggerated fashion to everything Block says, never disagrees with him, and treats every comment like sage wisdom. You get the impression that he's very consciously hooked his wagon to Block's, as the expression goes, and is willing to accept a certain amount of verbal and emotional abuse to maintain his position as a desirable lackey.

Carp. Sorry Umaro, totally spaced the extra add-in that I wanted to provide. Updated the IC post, please review.

Boots is going to keep listening and wait until Hammer separates from the others (he's planning to jump Hammer and mind probe some information out of him).

Sorry for the mini drop-off but back now and posting.

Fenris--was the "Astral 4 (Back) - Force 4 Quickened Health Spell, and you'll recognize it's aura if you see if again" a tattoo type of Quickened spell, or something removable like it was quickened on Samael's wallet?

Bishop - Heh. Technically, you guys have no idea, since the aura burned with the body and you didn't check. You searched it, of course, so unless you missed something...but yeah, it was a tattoo

Well, I figured that Mato removed all of the items that had auras, so he would have seen it as a tattoo and he left it or it'd be something he took...

Oh, that's right! I forget you're dual natured! Yeah, so definitely would have noticed the tattoo. Took up most of the back of his shoulders, a large bird done in shades of black with bright red along the edge of all of it's feathers.

I think one of the weapons was a Victorinox memory blade (from the descriptions) what was the other weapon? What physical form do the anchoring foci take? (earring, bracelet etc)

• One weapon focus was a Victronix Memory blade.
• Other weapon focus is a kris blade, about 9 inches long
• Focus in his ear is a small stud with an odd, golden-silvery material instead of a stone
• Focus at his wrist is a small flat silver bracelet latched with a chain, bearing an enameled blue caduceus

I will see if I can get someone to fix the eight posts the hiccup on my computer caused.

Ok back after the hell week here and post up ICC. My short term plan is see what we can sell and keep from the loot then get to work on the ghoul henchman's commlink to see if we can move up the food chain.

Boots is going to wait until morning, then talk to Sean and Elinee. I wanted to check with you before timeskipping.

I'm assuming getting the wheelchair over is something Boots can do without needing to roll it out (he would possess any of the dogs and then just push it with his nose/paws), but let me know if you do want rolls.

I realized I should clarify a bit about what exactly Boots does/doesn't know here. I refreshed my memory on the Free Spirit rules. Forgive the massive Q&A, but I figured it was best to make sure I'm on the same page as you about both how Free Spirits work and how much Boots actually knows about this.

• Is Block infused with Boots True Name, or just a copy of his spirit formula?
• Does Boots know that whoever/whatever has his true name imprinted has to have been present when he became free?
• So far as I can tell, there is no direct drawback to not having a True Name imprint on the physical plane. Anyone who has arcana and sees the imprint can make a Spirit Formula copy (and Boots can presumably make copies of his own spirit formula with or without the True Name imprint since he already knows his True Name). So just murdering Block is not necessarily off the table, it would simply mean that Boots would have a much harder time getting help making a spirit formula for himself when he needs one. Am I right/does Boots know this?
• So far as I can tell, Boots needs a spirit formula for the ritual that allows him to accept Karma from metahumans without using a Spirit Pact, but that otherwise he can exist fine with no copies of his Spirit Formula in existence. Again, is this true/ does Boots know this?
• I actually realized something - I think Boots automatically knows where copies of his Spirit Formula are at all times, but this does NOT apply to a true name imprint. This came up earlier. Again, am I right/ does Boots know this/ are there any (other) copies of his Spirit Formula floating around?.
• Again so far as I can tell, you need to destroy a copy of a spirit formula to permanently banish a free spirit, but nothing in particular happens if a copy is destroyed without it being part of a banishing ritual.

Mato is going to make a F6 ward around the box (presuming we can get one)
Warding (Magic 6 + Willpower 4)
10d6.hits(5)=5 -- 5 weeks of life

Drain (Willpower 4 + Charisma 4) 6S
8d6.hits(5)=3 -- Take 3S

Resting (Body 12+ Willpower 4)
16d6.hits(5)=4 - Heal back the stun after an hour.
(Drain can't be Regenerated , otherwise it'd be a lot faster.)

1. Block is infused with Boots's True Name - you can tell a copy of your spirit formula from the True Name impression, and you got enough successes on your assensing roll.
2. Depends on Boots's relevant Knowledge skill roll
3. No, no direct drawback. I didn't see anything in the book that said Free Spirits automatically know their own name, however, and that makes sense, considering it's an abstract cumulation of concepts brought into existence the moment the spirit is freed. Again, what you know about this is limited to your Knowledge skills. I'm a person, but I can't tell you diddly-squat about neuroscience, despite the fact that everyone has neurons and a brain
4. Again, based on Knowledge skill rolls. OOC, there's nothing requiring you to have a copy of your Spirit Formula on this plane. However, this research did pop up with an issue that I've footnoted below that we need to resolve.
5. Yes, that's the rule, as we discussed about two pages ago in OOC Now that Boots has found his True Name imprint, as we discussed, he's automatically aware of all copies of his spirit formula, and will become aware of any new copies that are created.
6. OOC - correct, as far as I'm aware, nothing happens unless it's part of the Banishing action. IC - back to Knowledge skill rolls.

Okay, the footnote from #4 - I didn't realize that only the Friendship pact allows you to gain karma like a normal metahuman. The rules specifically state that every other pact has limitations on when you get karma, including the Dream Pact. So, since that was my bad, but it feels like too big a rule to completely ignore, so, I think there are two options at this point (feel free to toss out more if you can think of them):

1. Go back and take the friendship pact instead of the dream pact and attach yourself to more NPC's and gain karma normally.,
2. Do more stuff in Sean's body to make up the karma.

Let me know which of these (or your alternative) you'd like to perform.

Karma Spend:
Instruction 0 -> 1
Enchanting 4 -> 5
Arcana 5 -> 6

Relevant skill roll to know the rules of how free spirit names work would be Parazoology (Spirits): Skill (6) + Spec (2) + Logic (2) = 10d6, http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4301386/ 4 hits.

Re: the karma, my preference would be for Boots to be more active in Sean's body. I'd kind of been planning initially - it just wound up working out that so far he's mostly been doing stuff where being Astral was much more helpful, or with Sean.

I was going to suggest having Boots spend nights/mornings where he has no pressing business "out and about" in Sean's body rather than waiting around - would you be able to work with that as a "hook?" I feel like that would make sense as a way to have more experiences and is in-line Dream Pact.

There's also probably going to be more done in Sean's body as things get more active and as Boots has asses to kick where he can't just wait until Sean wakes up.

I actually haven't gotten around to spending karma yet - what did you have in mind for that? I don't have a problem with using the 1/week as the amount that accumulates, but Boots not actually getting/spending it until something interesting happens during Dream Pact time.

@Bishop - Thanks for the update on the skills, would you mind emailing me another copy of your character sheet? I think the one I have is out of date.

@Umaro - I can make you busy while he's asleep, that's not a problem

I'd rather not have to try and track whether or not you were active enough to spend karma this week versus last week, etc. I'm willing to say that as long as you're making a visible effort to be more active during the possession time, that's good enough to just let the karma work normally. I'll just say something if it seems like that's not happening regularly.

Knowledge results: Boots knows about True Name imprints at the time of release, you know the ramifications of having a spirit formula on this plane, and of not having one on this plane, about the ritual for karma, and of the uses for spirit formula, including permanent banishment.

Sounds good to me. I'll put up more IC in a bit.

Heads up - sick at present so posting will be delayed until I can keep something down.

Update all - still here but the being sick segment was followed by a major plumbing issue (think jack hammers, no water and bathrooms being flooded with backwash from the sewer) which I am wrapping up. I will try to post by the weekend but it might be Monday at the latest.

I arise from the ashes of the conquered fowl! Cranberries and biscuits shall flee before my awoken might, across the plains of stuffing their shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Anywho, catching back up after all the Black Friday/CyberMonday prep craziness at work

OP updated with new Karma. Thanks to everyone again for sticking with the game, I think it's been an interesting experiment so far, and I'm very interested in keeping it going in the future.

Back!

Raising Conjuring & Athletics groups to 3 from 2.

Going to try and get some work/trade going to get the commlink hacked and see what we can find inside.