The firmest desire is to drop to t ground in a temper tantrum.
Avoiding that bit of immaturity, I will instead ask if your interpretation of killing hands doing physical damage applies to the breaking of barriers as well?

Well, technically, Angel hasn't heard anything said by the agents and their leader since she's been in VR the whole time. A couple of names have been mentioned but context would leave anybody that heard them to believe they were in reference to the agents outside themselves and not to the troll.

To intercept communications, you need to do a Snoop roll; Elelctronic Warfare + Intuition [Sleaze] vs. Logic + Firewall.

Sure, I'll let you punch a hole through the van door if that's what you want to do.

Ok, than that part is out.



Snoop -> 4 hits

Bye
Thanee

Hmmm... well Invisible Castle no longer likes this guy at all. He got 0 hits.
So, you have no problem snooping in on his communications. You were able to catch his message to the commlink located at the back of StufferShack, along with the response: "Damn, I really thought we had something this time. Saving the world will have to come another day." There's a brief pause in the comm signal before the agent continues. "Alley's clear. Ready for pickup at the northeast corner."

Actually, I was thinking the driver side window might yield with a considerably lower threshold.

I would like to try that. (and for the record, the tantrum was meant in jest)

Well, aiming for the window specifically sounds like a called shot, but the rules no longer support doing a Called Shot to avoid armor. Aiming for "vitals" instead increases the DV +2 (at a cost of 4 dice). Is that what you want to do?

And sure....just keep telling yourself the tantrum was meant in jest...

Um.. sure.

Edited to:
Charging Attack[8]: Unarmed(6) + Specialization:MA(2) + Agility(7) + Charging(2) + Wounds(-2) + Called Shot(-4) [2,1,4,2,1,5,6,6,4,4,4,6,5,6,2] = 3 hits
DMG: Str(5) + Critical Strike(4) + Called Shot(2) + Net Hits(?)

Any pluses for target size or a stationary target?

No bonuses for size or being stationary, but at it's not dodging your punch to reduce your hits at least. So, I believe your unarmed attack here would be 14P damage (STR 5 + Critical Strike 4 + 2DV for Called Shot to vitals + 3 net hits), right? One hell of a punch!

Unfortunately, you have only managed to startle the driver who instinctively punches the gas pedal down (doesn't go into effect until his pass in the new combat turn) because the van rolled 15 hits on damage resistance.

-------------------

Everybody can roll initiative for the new combat turn now.

The window got the benefit of the full structure & full armor despite the called shot?

4d6 + Initiative(12) + Wounds(-2) [3,5,4,4,10] = 26

As I mentioned, SR5 rules do not allow for you to avoid armor with a called shot. It only increases the damage value. So instead of penalizing the vehicle's damage resistance test, your damage was increased.

Even if I were to bring back the SR4 option to call a shot to avoid armor, you would have been sufferring a -12 dice pool penalty which would have left you with 0 hits anyway.

Alrighty then.

Ok Slacker - in thinking about a new character, I feel like I didn't explore the new SR5 magic rules like I had planned to do with Swims. And with the team not having a mage, it seems to make sense to build another mage.

So my concepts so far are a re-skin of a character from an older SR4 game (aspected-Earth troll mage) or a human mage specializing in magical preparations and general handiness (thinking kind of like Whistler from the Blade series, with magic). Any preferences?

I kind of like the Whistler of Magic idea just to explore the magical preparations more.

Cool. I'll work the character up in the next few days.

I take it we are about ready for the next turn?
As I take it, with the van racing away, there is no one left out front?

Well, currently, you are the only one that has given me an Initiative roll for the new combat turn. So we are waiting for rolls from Angel, Sledge, and Flowers.

That being said, Takako will be going again before the Lieutenant (van's driver). So, the van has not sped away from you yet and Takako can try to do something else to it if he wants to.

And to answer your question, the van attempting to drive away is the only movement Takako sees out in front of the building.

New combat turn's Initiative (as of now):

Init 26 Takako
25: Angel's Sprite
23: Angel
20: Mako
15: grenade goes off and Flowers continues to try to run away from it I would guess.
14: Lieutenant (van's driver)
13: Sledge
11: Agent 2
9: Shi-Thead (child alone in the stock area with the troll who just killed her parents)
7: Bob the supervisor cowering under his desk

Init Rea + Int -1 = 9 + 1d6 (9 + 1d6=15)

You'll be moving on the same init as the grenade. So I'll count some of your movement for this pass towards getting further away from the blast. Hopefully that will help some.

HOLY SHIT!

I just can't get over just how massively deadly explosives are. A single frag grenade will cover the entirety of the Stuffer Shack building, including all employee sections (if the walls don't hold up to the blast). At least this is going to be flechette damage which gives +5 AP to boost damage resistance tests.

For instance, I'm saying the wall between Angel and the blast is made of Average Material [Structure 4 Armor 6]. The wall is 6 meters from the blast origin. So it would be resisting 12P damage. The wall does get +5AP from the blast being flechette, but it still only gets 7 hits on it's 15 dice. which means it takes 5P damage which exceeds it's structure rating, causing a whole to be punched right through it and into Angel. The grenade's DV is reduced by the Structure of the wall. So Angel will be looking at resisting 7P +5AP damage from the shrapnel.

Sledge will be a bit luckier with how far he got away from the blast, he actually has a couple walls between him and the blast. So, he's safe.

Flowers is a bit less certain. I'm thinking I may adjust his movement to have as many of the store shelves as possible between him and the blast. That way the cheap material can accumulate enough damage over the distance to keep him relatively safe. Even then, he will be getting hit with 8P +5AP damage (5P from initiative blast wave + 3P reflected off the back wall).

Even Takako out front needs to worry as the blast is going to shatter the ballistic glass windows at the front of the store and spread out into the night to hit him (and the van) with 6P +5AP damage.

Oh and l guess the troll and child in the back area also will get hit with about 5P damage. And I'm just going to say the heavily injured store manager hiding in his office gets killed by the blast.

But all of that doesn't happen until init 15.

Everyone behind a destroyed barrier should get the armor of the barriers between them and the source of the blast as well.

That said, in the first combat, during a surprise action, in my first SR5 test scene I killed 3 of the 5 team members and maimed the other two. They got caught in the open by an air burst grenade.

Can you tell me where in the book it mentions that people on the other side of a barrier get the benefit of the barrier's armor rating? Because everything i've read (including the example for shooting through a barrier) only mention that the DV is gets reduced (by 1 in the case of a bullet shooting a whole in a door or by the barrier's structure rating should the barrier be destroyed).

The information about explosives and barriers seems to be pretty scattered. So I could easily have missed something about getting to add armor rating to your defense. (the Projectiles section of the Combat chapter, the Barriers section of the Combat Chapter, and the listing for explosives in Street Gear which is the only place that lists the line "if an explosion destroys a barrier, it creates a cloud of deadly shrapnel that threatens an area far bigger than the actual blast - the shrapnel blast has a DV equal to the explosives DV minus the structure rating of the barrier, with a Blast of -1/m")

Ok. Double holy shit. It appears that someone(s) decided to totally discount the diminishing effect on the initial blast of the barrier in question. I don't have an issue with the secondary blast, the primary blast not being affected by the barrier is a frustrating oversight.

Actioneer Business Clothes 8 + Cyberarm armor 2 + 5 AP + Body 3 = 18d6 versus 8P (18d6.hits(5)=

It looks like in all cases the fundamental approach that the explosive energy is "used" by going through a barrier applies?

I think it's meant to be along the lines of:

18DV explosion encounters a 6 Structure 8 Armor and destroys it 12DV gets through to affect whatever is on the other side. However this is mitigated by the fact that at least 6 DV needs to get past 14D6 resistance test, otherwise the barrier stops it completely. Hard for 14 dice to stop 12 DV, but as the armor rating goes up you can see it happening. It's is also mitigated by the fact the Unresisted damage is what goes through. So just using average rolls.

18 DV resisted by 14D6 becomes 14DV which overcomes 6 structure. so 14 - 6 = 8 DV gets through.

I think.

I have some catching up to do! I will try to read up tomorrow from work, or Wednesday on my day off. If Sledge lives...

Here's an initial take on my new char. I'll update in place here as the process moves along. Slacker, I'm going to be trying to do..."things"...with the preparation rules, like prepping a bullet with the Influence spell perhaps. You've been warned...

Zeug
Stefan Traurisch
Male human alchemist

At first glance, it looks ok.

Regarding making a preparation on something like a bullet...I don't see anything in the rules that say you can't do that. But keep in mind that would mean you have to set the trigger as Contact which means the next living being touched activates it. This would include yourself were you to be pulling out a specific bullet to load into your gun. Though I guess with the super warhawk being a revolver you could set up the bullets in a particular order in the cylinder and then only be touching the cyclinder and not the bullet for selecting which you are going to use.

Also of note would be that should the target's armor drop damage down to stun instead of physical, the bullet wouldn't actually be in contact with a living being, only the armor. Therefore the spell would not be triggered.

A saving grace of preparations looks to be that they don't take that long to prepare. I was thinking of something like having the speedloader for the ruger full of prepared bullets, so no touching required to load the gun. Same idea for a clip for the holdout. Having said that, I'm not sure how effective putting preparations on bullets is going to be - I'm curious to find out in game

I wish I had more spells to choose from, but aspected mages get screwed big time. Having made a few characters now in SR5, I've come to absolutely loathe the priority system.

Sledge Initiative: 15 minus my mods again... sorry been a long couple of weeks, and I have forgotten what they are.

Are we there, yet?

But I guess, I can make my Damage Resistance roll, already...

Body 3 + Armor Clothing 6 + AP 5 = 14 dice -> 6 hits - leaves 1P damage

Bye
Thanee

Sorry. I blabbered on and didn't even make a resistance test.

Body(4) + Armor(9) + Mystic Armor(2) + AP(5) [6,4,2,4,3,4,4,4,5,2,1,1,3,4,6,6,4,5,2,1] = 5 hits = 1 box physical [7 total]

Ok, I've really been slacking too much lately. I don't really have an excuse. So I'll just apologize and get right back into the action.

Ok, the complete init list for the new combat turn is:
Init 26 Takako
25: Angel's Sprite
23: Angel
20: Mako
15: grenade goes off and Flowers continues to try to run away from it I would guess.
14: Lieutenant (van's driver)
13: Sledge
11: Agent 2
9: Shi-Thead (child alone in the stock area with the troll who just killed her parents)
7: Bob the supervisor cowering under his desk


So, prior to the grenade going off at init 15, Takako could take another action against the van that is still next to him for the moment.

Angel also has her first pass before the grenade goes off. Was she going to do anything on the Lieutenant's deck?

For Mako's pass, those within the Stuffer Shack can hear the high pitched squeals of the little girl that is currently alone in the back area with the the berserker troll....

Then the grenade goes off and it seems to largely be ineffective against you guys only doing minor damage though the StufferShack itself is largely demolished. Two thirds of all the shelves have been knocked over and spilled debris everywhere (difficult terrain throughout the shopping area of the store). You hear a renewed bellow of rage from the troll, louder still than anything previously, though anybody that has eyes on the troll can see that the shrapnel harmlessly bounced off his thick hide.

An instant later on init 14, the van lurches forward a bit hopping the curb of the sidewalk in front of the Stuffer Shack before the Lieutenant can get control of it after the shock of Takako coming out of nowhere to try smashing the driver side window. He's got control of the van now with it pointing to drive out of the parking lot, but currently its only 7m away from Takako and 2m away from the front entrance to the store.

Now it is Sledge's turn. He's currently halfway to the back of the store. Dust is coming down out of the ceiling panels after a grenade just went off behind him at the register area. What's he doing now?

Well, she has been listening in on the communication, but since it does not make any sense to her right now, she will continue to do so for the time being.

Bye
Thanee

Ok, some cursing might be sent out, but no real content is being communicated currently.

Ok. Next IP Angel will check on his rifle and figure out some way to hinder him from using it, I guess... just in case he thinks about shooting someone she knows with it.

Bye
Thanee

I completely forgot that I'd said his AK-97 was slaved to the cyberdeck. Technically it's the rifle's smartlink, not the guy itself. And you could definitely shut that down next pass. Keep in mind the mechanical trigger on the gun would still function, shutting down the smartlink would just prevent him from getting it's bonuses.

Another idea would be to edit the smartlink's friend/foe mechanism to make it think all of you are friends, just keep in mind that the guy would surely realize that he'd been hacked if he tries to shoot somebody and his gun tells him not to.

You have earned your Handle.

Is there an upated drop box map? Once I locate the troll, I can try and pull him to me, run back through the hallway if it exists, then blast him to little itty bitty troll bits. My charge on the inner wall may no longer be directed correctly, but the far west wall charge is hopefully still set perfectly.

StufferShack Map has been updated. Grayed out shelves were completely destroyed in the grenade blast and the entire shopping area is covered in debris.
Sledge can make it to the closest corner to see into the area where the troll is. If he does run to that position, he can see the troll glaring at the little girl that he has gripped within his enormous fist.
What are you doing to try to draw his attention?

Sledge is going to fire a round at his right shoulder. Hopefully he is holding the girl in his right hand, because this is the arm I can shoot! While doing so Sledge will yell, "Hey, fat frag." Then run back down the hallway. I need to be able to run before the troll can get me, so if I need to delay my action for a turn, that will have to do.

Semi automatic shot with his Ares Predator V, smartlinked, APDS ammo and unfortunately silenced.
Firearms Skill is 5, Agility is 6, Flash Bang -2 modifier, Smartlink +2 modifier, rolling 11 dice.
Let me know where I screwed that up and I can reroll.
Target 4?
...
[2,4,4,2,3,1,3,4,2,3,5]
4 Successes... I have no idea how to figure out the damage.

In SR5, only 5s and 6s count as successes. So you actually only got 1 hit. If you are trying to do shoot a particular part of the troll, technically you would also be suffering a -4 penalty for a called shot, but I'll ignore that for now and just treat it as a normal shot.

Hell, I'll even be nice enough to say the troll was completely distracted by the child in his grip. So he can't try to avoid the shot. That means he's resisting 9P -1AP. He managed to get 6 hits on his damage resistance. So, he takes 3 more boxes of physical damage and you very much have his attention. The girl's squealing reaches a new pitch that is coming through even the ringing in your ears from that flashbang earlier. The troll roar's in rage as he pulls the girl up under his arm and prepares to charge you.

-------------------

I guess that's it for the first pass. We are back up at the top for the new initiative pass.

init 16: Takako can post actions. The van is still within charging distance, but it has moved into a position that it will be leaving momentarily.

init 13: Angel doing anything else in the guy's cyberdeck?

init 10: Mako charges Sledge. He managed to get 4 hits. Sledge needs to roll Reaction + Intuition - 2 from his stun wounds to try avoiding the attack - 1 for the troll's reach and i'll give you a +2 for partial cover even.

init 5: Flowers can post up his actions.

As said above... I would look into messing with the Smartlink (ideally turning it against him, i.e. making it a penalty instead of a bonus by feeding him false information, if that is doable).

Bye
Thanee

Oh yeah. That's right.

Hmmm.... I think i'll let you use Edit File to edit the data being transfered between the smartlink and cyberdeck. So roll Computer + Logic [Data Processing]. Each net hit will be a negative to his dice pool should he try to shoot somebody.

Oh, I forgot that 4s don't count. Still learning.



I am sorry for being slow witted, but how is the damage figured out there? Still trying to learn.
Damage is 8P + APDS + 1 Success +(-1) AP.
How does the Accuracy come into play?

For clarification. Damage value and armor penetration are handled completely separately. So, base damage is 8P and you add you 1 net hit to make the DV = 9P.
Armor Penetration reduces the number of dice the target can roll on damage resistance from their armor. I totally missed that you were using APDS ammo. Normal Predator is -1AP, APDS would adjust that to -5AP. So, if the troll were wearing say armor clothing the APDS would reduce the armor from 6 to 1. But this troll is completely unarmored, so it's really just a waste of APDS ammo. The only armor you are cutting through his a troll's natural dermal armor of 1. Normal ammo would reduce that to 0 already. There is no added benefit of having AP greater than the target's armor.

Given all that, the troll rolls his body 16 against 9P damage with no benefit of armor, which is where he got the 6 hits to reduce the damage to 3P for him.

Logic:6 + Computer:6 + VR:2 - Wounds:1 [Data Processing:6] -> 4 hits

Bye
Thanee

The deck/smartlink only managed to get 1 hit. So consider yourself quite successful. He'll be suffering a -3 to all shots from the gun instead of getting the normal bonus from the smartlink.

Still waiting on actions to be posted for Takako; defense roll from Sledge for the troll that just charged at him; and actions for Flowers.

Flowers will drop prone and "play" dead when the grenade goes off.

Flowers dropping prone and playing dead. Cha 9 -1 default some social skill - 1 stun modifiers = 7 (7d6.hits(5)=2)