Yeah, I'm a bit fuzzy on what he'd actually need to do (it's been a while since I hacked in SR5). I think the options are:

LOS to target, hack it directly
Hack into the host the target is in, get at it that way.

Either way works, I think; and he can hack into the host from anywhere (subject to noise penalties). If he's got a direct connection to the host, there's no noise penalty. This probably qualifies as a "spam zone", I would think.

Isn't Overkill heavily armed? That might make it more difficult for him to get in.

At any rate; let's see what Overkill wants to do / suggests, then we can respond IC. I'm fairly confident in being able to walk up to the guy and getting him to talk (once we figure out which guy he is). I can play it without knowing ahead of time, but it makes it harder.

-DrZ

Well, I'd call that a critical glitch on my Computer roll. I've added the information from the second page to the map. I wish I had noticed this before, it opens up a lot more connections. Wish I still had access to Analyst's Notebook, I could make a link diagram, association matrix, and everything!

Good point about the jacket, wasn't really considering the weather, lol. I will go with a lighter leather duster for this occasion. (and edit accordingly)

I can always check my guns at the door of the club, if they are a problem.

Hacking would be much less noticeable if I got inside and could go VR, so I would prefer to actually get inside QXT, I will leave dealing with the gorillas at the door in your capable hands.

Ok, so to clean up any misconceptions on how the Matrix works now in 5e.

He will be able to see the icon for the camera if it is not running silently with no test at all. Since, realistically, it IS going to be running silent, he will have to make Matrix Perception test.

Now, if he is outside and can't see the camera, he has to sift through all of the silent icons in the building, of which there will be many. If he can actually see the camera, that narrows down his search, (although he still has to successfully make the test.) Note he will have no problem seeing the icon for the Host - in fact all 3 of you see it hanging in the virtual sky above Denver.

If he wants to hack the camera, he has several options.

1) actually run a wire from his deck to the camera - at which point there is no noise, and it uses Device rating x2 to resist.
2) hack it virtually, in which case he does take noise penalties (both from distance and spam zone) and the camera uses the Host to resist.
3) hack the host, taking no noise penalties for distance, (but he does take them for the spam zone), at which point he can enter the Host, and then be considered directly connected to the camera.

From the way I understand it, he can automatically spot all icons within 100m that aren't running silently. The cameras are probably running silently. If we spot the cameras physically, he can roll a Matrix Perception check to see if he can find camera device icons running silently. Once he spots them, he can start hacking them. I think there is still something of an unresolved question about whether devices can be inside a host or have to be outside the host to be slaved to it. I figure Lobo has his own take on it. If they are slaved to the host, Overkill can hack them remotely (in which they defend using the host values) or try to hack with a direct connect (which might be challenging to do given the obvious nature of it and they may be out of reach).

Probably, although they may have a lockbox for weapons. The bar I worked at in my early 20s had one.


Fo' sho' I can think of an elicitation method that might do it, but I think that gets close to OOC planning of actual techniques that Lobo wants to avoid.

Glad to see Jack and I are on the same page with decking

Here is my thought. You can plan all you want OOC and then talk it out IC while you are standing on the corner. Once you've decided on a plan, then from that point on, it should all be IC, so that if one of you deviates from the plan, or an unexpected hitch occurs in it, you have to deal with it IC "spur of the moment" and without knowledge on how the others will react.

Good point. I'm cool planning IC.

IC post is up. I'm presuming Grease is getting into line and waiting til they're at the front.

-DrZ

Cool. I was basically going to suggest that we get in line. Once we get up to the bouncers, one of us could say that we're surprised they're so busy given the murder the other night. One of the others could even throw some bad info/ego boosting thing like saying that he had heard there would have been more bodies if it weren't for the bouncer working the door. Then keep a close eye on them and see if either one of them reacts.

FYI: Invisible Castle is back up (for now).

Looking for Security Cameras Outside Da Club: Perception (4) + INT (3) + VE (2) = (9d6.hits(5)=5) (Limit increased to 6 due to VE (2), so all 5 hits count).

<GRUMBLE> Actually, what's the Spam rating of this place? If it's over 2, almost none of our standard electronics are going to be providing their wireless bonus, in which case I lose one success.

Love the idea of getting them to talk about the shooting by making it sound like we think they were heroes;

Brilliant!!!

Would it matter if we found a camera on the outside versus the inside? Since they are likely connected on the same network, I figure it would be better to wait until we are on the inside to find a camera there I can access.

In the long run, it doesn't really matter. We're probably going to want to get access to all of them and they're probably going to be slaved to the host. So you're probably going to want to hack the host itself. With that said, you can basically hack the host by hacking the camera. If you can get a mark on the camera, it puts a mark on the host, so you can then enter it, at which point you have direct access to any other device slaved to it.

I just wanted to know if there were cameras outside since the murder happened outside. If there aren't any cameras, that's going to be a dead-end for what you can turn up in the host.

Ok, so:

1) The spam zone is a 2 (Downtown sprawl)
2) You are successful in spotting a camera above the door, it points towards the line of customers.
3) I put up an IC post to set you guys up for your next IC.

Thanks, so that means that most personal electronics should work okay. With the IC post, can we wait until DrZ can post before the bouncers respond? I'm sure he would jump in if he felt we were working the grift the wrong way.

Sorry - jumped the gun - left a spot for me to fill it in after Grease posts.

Didn't frak things up jumping in there when I did, did I?

Was just hoping to help lead you guys into that...

Not for me - and I think you were going along with the plan in action.

I jumped the gun, if anything.

No, I think it all works. We managed to identify Paul, so Grease can now try to do his thing. I would just put the post back up as it was. DrZ can then react to that whichever way he wants. The way I read it, Grease could easily jump in front of Overkill while the decker is standing there with his arms out. He could then work his magic and also facilitate getting Overkill in the door with his gear, if that's how we want to play it.

P.S. Given the fact I have one of the most concealable handguns in the game as well as it being in a concealable holster, I'm not going to volunteer that I have a firearm. If he finds it, I'm going to try to talk my way through it, bribing him if necessary.

Oh good. Gonna be AFK for a couple of hours, gotta go help my Dad with something around his house. Don't want to hold everyone up, so if you need to leash me along a bit to keep then IC RP going, please feel free. I will pretty much just be
working on hacking the club's security cameras to get the footage we need, or if you need some intel on Paul Candle or Emily Saunders, let me know.

You can either wait for me to get back to make the rolls; or if it is really holding up progress, just go ahead and make the rolls for me in my stead.

In any case I will be back ASAP. Don't do anything Overkill wouldn't do...

Wait... that's carte blanche for doing anything...

Forget I said that.

Ok, so the Ork Bouncer spots the holdout pistol Jack is carrying

2d6.hits(5)=1

That is 7d6 normally, -4 for the size of the gun, -1 for the non-wireless concealable holster.

So go ahead IC your response.

Haha, oops. I meant to leave the concealable holster as wireless on/running silent (although that seems like it would kind of defeat the purpose of a concealable holster against anyone with a reasonable Matrix Perception ability). Not that it would matter since he got the hit on the first die thrown. To the IC thread!

ETA: Let me know if I need to roll a Negotiation or Etiquette test. Assuming he is routinely bribed for this sort of a thing, I figure it shouldn't be a huge deal. As long as the bribe/cover is reasonable, I'm not going to bother nickel and diming it.

Con check.

As always, feel free to truncate / add dice to the back end as you feel is appropriate per modifiers.

Charisma 7 + Con 5 + Pheromones 1 = 13 dice (limit 8 ).
13d6.hits(5)=7

[That went well!]

-DrZ

EDIT: Grease is going to need to get a specialization in fast talk / bulldrek ASAP.

That went very well

His roll, not so much

6d6.hits(5)=2

No need - this isn't exactly something he isn't used to, so no roll necessary. Plus, from his perspective, a hold out pistol only sort-of counts as a weapon

LOL, I was going to add that, but I figured it was getting too long of a conversation for a quick "wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more" kind of thing. Also, I updated my initial post in the Hub with my skillsoft layout. Not much need for Pilot Aircraft once we're on the ground.

ETA: If only dampers came in an earbud configuration, I would have them.

An FYI - inside the club the additional AR strobing and other effects designed to enhance the performance, the effective spam rating inside the bar increases to 3.

OK, that's going to dump all of my wireless bonuses from gear and my skilljack. Redoing my skillsoft, I'm going to slot: Sneaking (4) & Unarmed Combat (4).

Also, are there any tables/booths in the main room?

Have we decided to give each other our commcodes? It's probably going to be easier to communicate in here via text over shouting.

-DrZ

I was going to actually post that, but that's a good question. Amy gave out her commcode to everyone who didn't have it previously. I don't think any of us did, though, which I forgot when I texted all of you the camera ARO earlier. I can edit that post if needed.

Ok, so you guys have my commcode.

Perception test to find a good meeting spot:

Intuition 3 + Perception 4 + 1 (Novacoke) = 8 dice, vs. Metal Limit of 4

8d6.hits(5)=3 hits.

-DrZ

If you picture you coming in from the south, the bar is on the east wall, and there are booths on the north and west walls. the staircase and elevator to the 2nd floor is located to your right, on the way to the bar.

As for a good spot, it depends on what you are looking for. The booths on the north wall would give you a good view of the bar, but it would be difficult to see the entrance across the dance floor. if you are on the west wall, you can see the entrance, but not the bar.

Would a sub-vocal mic work in these kind of conditions? I would rather use talk-to-text software than have to type this shit out on my commlink.

If Grease points them out, Jack would opt for the west wall booths so they could see the front door (unless someone wants to let loose a drone to monitor the door, in which case he would opt for eithe the north wall or check to see if there is seating upstairs).

I need a tiny bit of retroaction here. Amy will stick around the bar for another 15-20 minutes after Chomsky leaves, thinking about life, before she can come up with something else she can try. So she'll pay the bill at that moment instead.

Unfortunately, no - the noise is too loud. Fortunately for them, the DNI provided to Overkill and Grease by their datajack and control rig allow them to utilize their commlink without typing. Perhaps an upgrade for Jack is in order after the run

I have trodes in my helmet, I'm not too worried about it at the moment. A texting he will go... although the noise reduction would be nice, assuming it applies to slaved devices as well.

Grease is going to release a drone on his next IC post, and boot up his RCC.

Essy Motors Dronemaster (Device Rating 3)
Programs / Noise Reduction / Autosofts (Max 3 total):
Signal Scrub Program (+2 Noise Reduction)
Noise Reduction 1
Wrapper Program (Fly spy isn't going to look like a fly spy any more).

I presume there are lights, strobes, speakers, etc. flying around on drones in here. I want to mimic the device icon of my fly spy to match.

Amy - no problem about your post.

Grease - no problem, your drone's icon now looks like a speaker icon.

Grease and Jack - are you doing anything else IC before the time Paul is supposed to come back in?

I just posted a quick IC post. The only action was a Perception test.

Observing the bar for lookie-lous and/or Paul: Perception (4) + INT (3) [Mental+VE(2) 6) = (7d6.hits(5)=4)

You can deduct if you think Jack scoping out the ladies is enough for a destraction penalty (probably). I did not include dice for the vision enhancement wireless bonus, but did include the limit bonus for the VE.

Also, LOL at Amy saying she didn't learn much (probably just the name of the drug).

So, here is my thought. Why don't we take a break for a little bit from Grease and Jack, as Grease and Overkill are not signed on right now, and I am about to take a 4 hour car ride to visit some friends for some military miniature gaming this weekend. I will probably have access to the internet late tonight, and then I will be away from the computer all day tomorrow (except perhaps for the early morning and again late at night) and the same again on Sunday. After that, I will be back at work (yawn) and able to post with my usual frequency.

Overkill has to figure out whether or not he is going VR or staying AR, and what he plans to do - this may affect how Grease and Jack behave, and if one of them stays behind to sit with him while the other talks to Paul, or if they invite Paul back to their booth.

I wanted to say thank you to all four of you, we have managed a massive 126 IC posts (not to mention another 238 OOC posts) in 5 days. I am very happy with how the storyline is progressing, and each of you has a nice, distinctive character with contacts that I've hopefully been able to help weld together to form a backdrop for the story to play out against.

This, to me, is how PbP should feel, and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I

I concur. Although now I'm sad as I'm working tomorrow and was looking forward to some PbP action to get me through the drudgery of Saturday work. But have fun on your trip! Have fun storming the castle!

Good catch! I hadn't realized that only Amy had been told the actual name of the drug. I guess it only makes sense that she forgot to mention it on the first occasion she's had. It remains to be seen if the name matches the pills we have in our possession.

Just a heads up to the GM, Amy's next course of action will be to go hit the streets hoping to buy some Crimson Fire, or alternatively some pills that look like the ones she has on her already. She'd probably have to go in an LM neighborhood, given what we know, and go see some street vendors. She'll try to get the word on the street about that new drug to learn what she can about it, if everything else fails. I bet she can figure out the right area and the right etiquette for all this to happen, whereas I just have no clue personally. Here are relevant skills and dice pools: Sprawl life 4+5, Area Knowledge: Aurora Warrens 3+5, Denver Street Gangs 2+5, Street Drugs 1+5, Etiquette 2+7.

I'll let you decide how you think we should go about it, including where it fits within the timeline. We've done a pretty good job so far keeping the same pace and maybe you want to keep that going. Oh and if Amy thinks it's dangerous for her to go try this by herself, she'll preemptively summon a spirit for the evening, so let me know.

@Lobo
It's been really great. The pace we've had this week is incredible. I've had a lot of fun playing out the story so far, and I feel that it's very organic and that the story flows smoothly. Looking forward to continuing next week (and slowly through the weekend).

Me too. We could figure out ooc what we want to ask Paul; our we can have those conversations ic. Either is fine by me. Thanks for running things lobo, this seems to be running smoothly so far. The first pbp I've been in that got past the Johnson!

DrZ

At this stage in the investigation, I'm not sure how much we really have to ask him about other than what he saw the night of the murder.

Things we should probably firm up:
What time did it happen? (Could help Overkill zero in on the video we're trying to grab)
Was he killed before he went in the club or when he was leaving? Was anyone else around who may have been a target?
What did the murderer(s) look like? Weapons used? How many?
How did the hit happen? (e.g. drive-by, execution, sniper)
Where was Emily Sanders in all of this? Did she come to the club with Mitchell or did they meet here?
Is he aware of any drug dealing in the club? (Probably a touchy subject...)

I would say that given her background and her knowledge skills, it shouldn't be a problem for her to find LM territory - although it isn't her usual stomping grounds.

I would say that it would be extremely dangerous for her to walk around at night on her own in a gang's territory who have no ties to her - a young, extremely attractive elven woman on her own would be a prime target for an assault.

Sorry I can't oblige

Made it to Baltimore safe and sound - not so much storming the castle as a hypothetical invasion of Khuzestan, Iran sometime in 2014 with the 2nd Marine Division. Still fun though... now if only I had a holocaust cloak!

All right, hearing you loud and clear. She can handle herself though, obviously, especially if she plans for it. Is it worth it to even try it though, according to her own judgement? She'd go in as a junkie who heard rumors about the latest new drug that came out. I would think that drug dealers want to make good business, and assaulting their clientele is very poor planning, unless it's worth more to them of course..

Awesome week of gaming everyone. Lobo is right, this is what PbPs should feel like.

Drave is hoping to go full VR on this; not sure how bad this Spam rating in here is going to mess up my hacking, so I imagine the bonus of going VR could be crucial. But if you would prefer me to stay in AR while you bring Paul over to our table,
I could also help question him, and no one would have to watch me in VR to see that I go undisturbed. (though I am more than sure that Jack and Grease could handle questioning the bouncer without me.)

Perhaps Amy could hold off on trying to pick up the drugs this evening, but I am also unsure as to how long it will take Jack, Grease, and myself to finish at the club. Don't want you to just have to sit there and wait for us to get back.

Whether or not it is worth it is dependent on what she is attempting to accomplish. Also bear in mind I'm not sure how you are implementing her 2 Logic. Given your rp so far, she certainly is intelligent, so it could be she lacks impulse control, or doesn't see the full ramifications of some of her actions. (note I'm not asking you to cripple your character, or rp her as "stupid" at all - just that a logic of 2 makes her near the bottom of the good decision making scale.) I'm sure that the Intuition of 5 helps her mitigate this, i.e. her low logic might make her not think about the consequences of her actions, but the 5 intuition might give her a "gut check" so to speak So depending on how that balances out, she might not be concerned about strolling around the Warrens at night on her own.

Now, as far as bad business for them to assault you, I'm not saying that the Los Mags will shoot you as soon as you cross into their territory. However, bear in mind that this woman is a 5 or 6 charisma and you are a 7. It is common for dealers to trade product for erm... favors from some of their clients, and junkies to trade favors in order to get their product - and that is for non-supermodels.

Again, is it a situation your character couldn't survive? No, with the help of a spirit and your spells, you are far more dangerous than a normal junkie would be. But nothing is certain where dice are concerned, and they will be armed, so since your character's background would make her well aware of the situation, I wanted to make sure you are too.

@Overkill,

Depending on how you want to do your IC posts for your decking, you may want to come up with a list of what your persona and your various actions/programs look like.

For example, my PnP decker that I gm for has a persona that looks like a citizen of ancient Greece, so his Data Spike action looks like a sword thrust, his Edit File action looks like him taking out a stylus and clay tablet, when he defends a shield appears, etc.

Since you're our only decker, I would go full out on the decking stuff. I have a few ranks in face skills, so I can possibly help Grease out with talking to Paul, if we bring him over to the booth. Also, you're probably going to want to go Hot-Sim VR. The noise in the club is 3, which shuts down wireless bonuses from basic cyberware, including your datajack. If you're running Signal Scrub, that's going to knock it down to 1. You still have the Public Grid penalty to deal with, even in a host, so you probably want to grid hop to get rid of it. So going VR would put you at +1 on your matrix actions once you hop onto whatever grid the QXT host is located.

Since Grease has a drone up and is sharing its feed, you can have a window open in VR showing what it is seeing in case things go pear-shaped. With that said, I think information from the interview is going to be mostly one way. Paul tells us what he saw, Grease can DNI text message you what to look for, you check the video feeds (if there are any) and see if what he is telling us is on the up and up. If you spot anything extra, you can send a message to Grease to ask Paul about that item.