No worries - out of curiosity where are you moving to?

And, by the way, if you want, you can always post something in the OOC thread and I'll put it in the IC thread with the right format But no big deal either way

Down the street! Actually, a few miles, but not very far. I had to travel out of town to empty out a storage unit; thats why I've been MIA the last few days.

I'll keep the ooc/ic idea in mind!

Huh, I think I just realized that Jack and Grease didn't (IC) tell the rest of the group about the probably-dead-inside-the-apartment-potential-witness they just came across. Oops...

I know what Jack is proposing Amy do is mechanically unlikely (someone in the crowd is almost certainly going to resist), but Jack doesn't.

Hmm - with regards to the first part, you technically haven't even told the group that you found a human and a troll had followed them.

How do you want to handle that?

One way would be for us to write something up here, and I can insert it in the IC posts from when you came home.

OR, after you finish planning, you could do a "oh by the way" or "I can't believe this slipped my mind" type things.

OR - you could just not tell them.

And for the 2nd part - yes, the problem is going to be that with several hundred people there, the odds are several of them are going to resist.

Wait; didn't I message them with the description of the troll and human? Or did I not explicitly say they were followed?

Scratch that - I went back and looked - you did message them about the tails, just not the dead witness.

Probably the "Oh by the way..." bit. When we got back, they were both fully engaged in activities and we were probably getting spooled up for the event by the time they got done. (ETA: With reference to the probable dead body probably caused by their probable tails).

Can you describe the stage? Is it covered, does it only give a good angle from certain directions? I thought there were suggested rules for handling large groups, but I can't find them. It may just only be for social tests.

Honestly, I think the biggest problem is going to be convincing Chomsky or Greeley to modify anything without a specific threat. We're just guessing (with really no evidence) that they are going to be attacked.

It is a mobile one the can drive up and drop, and then setup. I put a picture in the dropbox - it might be a little bigger in game, but this gives you the general idea.

Well, I think the argument there is that it's better safe than sorry, we're professionals, and it wouldn't hurt too much to change things. They lose next to nothing, and gain added protection that is incalculable.

-DrZ

I'm looking forward to seeing charismatic elf versus charismatic elf on this one. LOL. I'm of the opinion that the actual professional security company is probably going to object, as well as the organizers who planned everything with an eye toward crowd control, lighting, sound, etc. With that said, it doesn't hurt to ask.

ETA: Thanks Lobo, that's what I had kind of imagined. Based on that setup would we be able to determine if it would be any better or worse to move the stage? Seems relatively open from any point.

You are correct - it provides a little shelter from overhead, but from the front, back, and sides is pretty open.

Hadn't red OOC before posting IC.. I had figured that the illusion idea wasn't so great. I think they'd want to genuinely be in front of the crowd. Getting them to move things could work, but it's getting very late for that. If you want to try it, better make it on site immediately and get things rolling there.

Once there's an identified threat, there are many things Amy can do that can be helpful though: make the target invisible, confuse the shooter, make something appear that threatens the shooter, attack the shooter (maybe through the spirit), etc.

BTW - you guys just let me know when you are all done IC, and I can do whatever you need to transition you to the park.

I am not rushing you at all - I'm just chiming in with support - the IC conversation between all of you is great.

If everyone else is okay with the slightly slower pace, I would like to let DrZ get his ducks in a row so that he can do whatever he needs to do to cover his sidejob and respond to what we're asking of him.

I think I'm covered. I just need to show up and keep an eye on things; I feel like I'm able to do that pretty well given the circumstances. We can proceed!

Ok - unless anyone has any objections, I'm going to put a post to transition you there.

I will assume you are going in the BMW, and that Rhex will be in the trunk.

When you make your first IC posts there, please include your equipment.

ETA - It is like 2:30 in the morning here, I'm going to get some sleep, and then put up the post sometime in the AM tomorrow - I'll check here first, so if there is something you want to do before I post, just let me know.

I am set, ready to transition to the next scene.

Oh - sorry - one other thing - when do you guys want to arrive? (Its about a 10 minute drive) Its only 5:30, I can skip forward as far as you want.

I think we probably want to get there as early as possible, maybe grab some dinner first?

Yes, why not get there early. Especially if we consider the possibility of asking them to move some stuff around.

I think we're all on right now. Anyone want to take the lead in talking to Chomsky?

Oh sorry, I just did without waiting for the others first. But you can all pitch in with whatever your character wants to say. It just felt natural to respond immediately.

No, that makes sense. I figured Amy would be our interface given their connection. Just wanted to make sure that everyone wasn't waiting on someone else to answer.

Ok, well if you want me to speak for all of us, let me know if there's something important that you think my character would bring up. I was thinking the following:

1) T-shirts
2) Inspect setup, talk about if some details can be changed so that angles would be different, prevention against snipers.
3) Crowd control stuff, not sure what there is to do here other than ask if Amy and Jack can stay close to the stage.

ETA: I actually posted exactly that IC. I figure Amy's a bad planner and tends to forget the fine details of things like this, so I try to play her like she is, mostly intuitively.

Oh crap... I hadn't thought about Drave not being able to carry his sidearm... He has a holdout pistol, but he doesn't actually have the Pistol skill, so him shooting it in a crowd is a dubious prospect at best.

Think Security could be persuaded to turn a blind eye on my Crusader loaded with Stick & Shock?

That depends on whether or not you can convince Greeley. After all Cruz is contracted by her company, if she says its ok, you could be carrying a bazooka.

P.S. I am correct in assuming that Overkill still has the burner link that Ramirez will use to contact your team, yes?

That was my assumption, although I think we were leaving it "OFF" most of the time. Turning it on once every few hours to see if there were messages. Seemed like the safest move...

ETA: Could either of the elves wear Jack's vest? He would offer his if they seemed like they could wear it.

Ok with regards to the commlink.

With regards to the vest, they could wear it but it would be comically large on them.

OK, my vest is probably out then. I mean, height wise it shouldn't be a problem, but I would guess the extra 50 kilos or so in weight differential would probably be challenging, LOL.

WRT my t-shirt, WTF is up with this meta-discrimination? Is this some secret elf pride group that they don't have ork or troll volunteers? LOL, whatever, he'll just start giving directions to everyone (I's OVER THEEEEEEREEEE *flex*)

One thing that is still prevalent, at least in my Shadowrun universe, is that there are still anti-metahuman prejudices around, and trolls especially (and orks as the second runner-up) feel the biggest effect of it. In some cases it will be as little as not having stuff in your size. In others, you might not even be let into the place (or in nicer areas, you might have the cops called on you more frequently).

One of the interesting questions about world building is how much do you hit the players with all at once? We haven't really touched on this so far in the campaign (barring the one Tribune article), but it will be a recurring theme - although again, sometimes it might just be annoying, sometimes a real problem, and some people aren't prejudice against you at all (notice that so far you haven't really had any problems).

Just as a reminder, my micro-skimmer has this in it's sensor suite: "Camera, omni-directional microphone, ultrasound, motion detector, radio signal scanner, cyberware scanner, Geiger counter, olfactory sensor"

The cyberware scanner may be handy to zip around the crowd and tag potentially dangerous observers.

ETA: If I'm running the drones from my car, how much noise am I going to encounter? I just want to plan out my program loadout.

Thanks,
-DrZ

Oh yeah, it was mostly a joke. I would certainly expect a lot of individuals and organizations to still harbor metahuman prejudices (and I've actually benefited from that already in the game if you recall the ork bouncer at QXT). With that said, I would find it strange for an organization whose premise is helping the impoverished to not have have protocols to recognize and address the large population of husky-sized metahumans that fall under that category (possibly even a plurality of the impoverished if ork population growths are as rapid as suggested in previous editions). Maybe RT only cares about certain kinds of poor, LOL. Then again, it could just be a money issue. Most of the non-profits I've worked with that put on events rarely order shirts larger than an XL due to issues of cost.

It's probably actually something that would be better to react to IC. Jack doesn't really care all that much, one way or the other.

Good to know about the cyberware scanner

With regards to noise, it would be -2 for the Warrens, plus -2 for the Public Grid, plus any for distance.

I am gonna help Jack check out the stage, and not bring up that I am carrying my Crusader, as the Cyberdeck I am carrying is just as Restricted as the gun.(if not more.) I am also gonna keep my eye out to see if Cruz set up a control booth.

I am gonna help Jack check out the stage, and not bring up that I am carrying my Crusader, as the Cyberdeck I am carrying is just as Restricted as the gun.(if not more.) I am also gonna keep my eye out to see if Cruz set up a control booth.

Okey Dokey:

1) Despite Perception checks from Grease's drone, Overkill, and Jack, you fail to spot a bomb underneath the stage. I'm sorry, did I say despite? I meant you just don't see any. You can go ahead and post the IC response to that - plus anything else you want to say to Chomsky.

2) There will be a message from Ramirez on your commlink the next time you turn it on - realistically when would that be? (once you tell me, I'll send the message to Overkill via PM).

1) Cool. I'll post up something.

2) I think that's up to Overkill.

ETA: Post up. Do Germans still use the phrase mein Fuhrer? Has distinct Hilter overtones to my ears, but it just means leader as far as I can tell.

I don't know if they do, but I am laughing either way.

I was like, "did he seriously just have Overkill call Chomsky mein Furher?!?"

Thanks for posting

I would say that no, I don't think you can say that anymore without hearkening back to the Nazis. What is probably less potentially offensive is "Chef" which is "boss."

I know you meant Hitler, but you wrote "Hilter" and my mind went here

I'll have an IC post up leading you to the Ops Center.

Realistically, he would check every hour or two, so I would just say he will check it at 7 (1900) to keep it simple.

I think you are right; Germany has gone through extensive efforts to sever all ties to the Nazi period. (who can blame them,) Nazi paraphernalia is completely banned within the country (if you shoot a WW2 movie there, you need to bring it all in with you and remove it all immediately after filming). The only modern Neo Nazis there came from East Germany during Soviet Occupation while the Iron Curtain was still up, where rebellious youth stuck to it as a last vestige of national identity. Even the German military carries the burden, and specifically trains officers to act on conscience if they ever receive orders that they believe to be immoral.

Furher is still the word for leader, though, and I had to stop and think if it actually would still be used, so no fault Jack. But it's not likely used much anymore.

Just a quick rules announcement

So - Jack has kindly posted a question on how tracking through astral signatures works, and it does appear that you can actually trace someone's real world location via their astral signature - even when the spell is no longer being sustained.

So - for the purposes of the game, Amy will have had time to wipe the signature of her spell from the park - but bear in mind that in future, it can be used to track you down. (of course, you can do the same)

The one limitation it seems to have is that it must be done in Astral Space, which would mean you would need to have Astral Projection to be able to do so.

Also, if you rolled really poorly, or you had a bad Assensing skill or Intuition, it might take so long you couldn't complete the search, as you might be in danger of being in the Astral longer than your Magic Attribute x 2 in hours.

So I've been away most of the day, but it was great to read through it all. I'm perfectly happy with Amy not having done much past the introductions, this kind of planning is really not her cup of tea. She'll have just followed around but won't have much to add really. She'll be more or less on her own for magical security, and also won't get involved very much in anything else.

Ok, I get it, thanks for the clarification. My understanding is different however, I think you can track only while the thing with your signature is still active. Barely being able to recognize someone's signature doesn't seem to be enough to look for the mage at a later time. At least that's how I read the following:

It says that you track an astral link between caster and spell/spirit/focus/ward/whatever he creates. And it mentions that "active spells are linked to their casters". So I disagree with your interpretation that barely knowing someone's astral signature can make you find them at any moment in time, you actually need an active link.

That was my initial interpretation as well. However, if you look on page 315, one of the modifiers to Astral Tracking is :

Each hour passed since astral link was active +1

So, it means that lets say they have your astral signature from a spell. Even if they trace it right away, it will take them 5 successes to find you, and a minimum time of one hour.

If 5 hours pass from the time the spell was cast, they need 10 successes.

If 24 hours have passed, they need 29 successes.

Basically they need to either get you right away, or not at all.

Motherf(*^()^

I responded. Then my computer are it.

TLDR
- I won't post until tomorrow (well, later today)
- Changed the Nazi sounding stuff to Chef as Lobo suggested. Like I said, it sounded all Hitlery to me...
- I asked the question about astral signatures as it related to an intro run I wrote, rather than something related to this game. However Lobo wants to run it is fine with me, I had just never heard anyone interpret it differently, so I wanted to check. (ETA: I would argue you can only track them as long as the signature exists. So if it only has an hour left before it fades and you don't get your 5+ hits that hour, tough titty.)

@Jack - no worries, I'd rather run it the way the rules say (as long as it isn't totally unbalancing).

What Jack just pointed out is also super important.

Assume Amy casts a Force 3 spell.

If they try to track it immediately (or at least within 1 hour of it being cast), they need 5 hits on their Astral Tracking test. Every time they roll the dice, it takes 1 hour. If they get all 5 hits, they found her. Let's say they roll poorly and only get 2 hits. They still need 3 hits on the test to find her. However, one hour has now passed, and the strength of the link is fading, so it increases the threshold by 1, so now they need 4 hits to find her. Lets say they get another 2 hits, leaving them needing 2 more hits - but, another hour has gone by, so that brings the threshold back up to 3. They roll one more time, and only get 2 hits again. They have not met their threshold, and now, since 3 hours have gone by, the signature has faded, and they can no longer track her.

Does that make sense?

Considering how fast Drave could take out his entire security network with the Cyberdeck under his OTHER arm, that Crusader should be the least of Herr Captain's concerns about Mr. Steiner.

I did mention I was providing Matrix security.

I think this makes sense. The rules I quoted are very clear and make sense, so normally I'd hesitate before changing them just because of an entry in a table, which I think should never supersede clearly written rules (especially in this poor SR5 first edition). But I think this interpretation reconciles the paragraph rules and the table entry in a reasonable way. The paragraph does mention that active spells have a link, but perhaps the leftover signature also does while it lasts, and I think this is interesting from a gaming and a setting point of view. So, yes I agree with that interpretation.

Where I disagree is in your earlier post, where you said "If 24 hours have passed, they need 29 successes." This seems to imply that you can try at any later time to track an astral signature you've identified, at a penalty of -1 per hour (unless you meant that the spell was force 24..). I think that as you pointed out last, you need to rule out any form of tracking once the spell signature has disappeared. I like that you track a link that is actually active, and we just have to include leftover signatures from cast spells to the list of active links.

Has internet delivered in a box ever worked? Getting the cable guy out tomorrow. Apologies again for being MIA.

Thanks,
DrZ