Hello all,

I'm recruiting for my online game. I've PM'd a few people, but I'm looking for 4 more to round out the team.

Setting: Upper end street level to lower end corporate runs. Setting will be Seattle, with possible runs stretching in Denver and CalFree State.

Time: April, 2064. If you want your character to be SURGE'd, I'll roll it. If you don't want to be SURGE'd, you won't be. For every benefit mother nature tosses out, there is a draw back. On the bright side, SURGE'd characters won't have to pay build points for their edges. On the dark side, there are drawbacks.

Build: Priority System, Sum to 10, Build Points (125), or BeCK's.

Additional: Add 50 karma and 250,000 (Money spent after chargen is with street index)

Karma for cash: 1 karma=5000 and vice-versa

Throw in any character concept you want, as my table top players know, I'm more interested in making sure everyone's having fun then playing a strictly cannon game. However, keep in mind that even metahuman's are prejudiced against the metavariants, so if you want to play a night one, expect people to stare, gawk, and remember you very clearly. Also, if you're going to play a Ghoul, keep in mind similar things. You smell like dead meat all the time, you have overly pale skin, you're blind, and it's uncomfortable almost to the point of pain to be in the sun. Bred Drakes, you'll have all that and more, including the whole automatic 6 point automatic Dragon Enemy. The only thing worse then dealing with dragons...

Since the characters are established, you can have custom gear. Just make sure it's detailed out.

I prefer the HTML or XML files that NSRCG spits out, but I'll take text files if I have to. Place character concepts in this thread, and I'll let everyone know who's in.

Here's a new twist: I'm requiring all the characters playing together to know each other and have at least a modicum of professional respect. At 50 karma you're all established runners, and I don't want any game destruction due to conflicting character types. I'm only looking for character concepts and backgrounds at this point, and I'll choose who I want in the game based on that. You guys, the players, will be expected to communicate via eMail, PM's, or whatever medium you feel appropriate and develop intermingled character backgrounds, skills, etc. Everybody knows everybody, everybody has a pretty good idea of what everyone can do, and you have to have run with at least 1 other character. Bonus karma may be awarded for exceptionally interesting or detailed backgrounds, but keep in mind that the backgrounds have to be created jointly, so you'll have to work with at least one other person to get it.

I'll be posting at least once a day, and I'll expect all my players to adhere to that, for the most part. Jobs, significant others, and dead grandmothers may get in the way, but I expect that to be the exception, not the rule.

Also, I'm taking a clue from a friend of mine running games on these boards, and I'll be bumping the storyline. If it's lagging or if things are moving too slowly, the thread will be bumped. I will always try to make sure I'm not interrupting valuable roleplaying, but I will keep the game moving.

No special house rules.

By the way, I'm God, and I don't have to be nice. If you're doing something I don't like, there will be 1 warning. Just one.

Color me there!!

You know my penchant for investment and weird characters so I will toss out a hermetic magician (earth aspected) bred drake. Bring on the strangeness. I will be taking the option of Dragon Patron (6 pt edge) with ties to the Draco Foundation as her benefactor. That's the rough sketch, let me know if it will fly.

IM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EDIT: My character is a Quadrapelegic albino elven hermatic mage who never goes on runs in his physical form he goes astrally and has his ally spirit handle most physical things that would come up during a meet like taking credsticks and such. He is an orphan from age 3 and grew up in a catholic mission. Im debating on weather or not to make him a Jesuite like the man hes named after, Francis Xavier.

EDIT AGAIN: anyone interested in getting together on a background please PM me.

Hrm, sounds absolutely intriguing. Looks like we've got a nice cabal of wizards and the like here already, so I'll try something else. I'd do a Rigger, but frankly the vehicular combat rules scare the begeezus out of me, so maybe a decker. But a *normal* decker would be so *boring*... how about an adept? It would require a bit of, er, rules massaging, but it might just be possible. I'd need at least one of two little rule-tweaks:

1) The option to take Improved Ability in Technical skills (namely Computers.)
2) A way to Center while decking that doesn't conflict with a RAS override (a +8 modifier on the Centering roll would make it pretty worthless.)

If I can't get either of those maybe I'll make him an Otaku, about a year or two away from Fading. Either way, his name is Mallory Guliver, and his past is mutable, depending on who I talk to and the reaction I see in the recruitment thread.

Well, I've been looking for a fresh game, so you might see my semi-corperate ork face. We'll see.

Sounds like an opportunity to finish up that decker I was working on

I'll throw in my Human gun-adept if you spell-slingers want some fire support.

As far as concepts go, try to imagine every Hong Kong action movie stereotype piled onto one adept. Assault rifles, pistols (a must), and grenades with wild acrobatics all over the place. The quintessential adept, yes, but a fun guy to hang around with.

Hey Fenris, you got somewhere specific you want these sheets sent to or something?

It's soooo tempting *8-> I'll have a think over the weekend and see what comes up *8-> Probably either a rigger or a merc-ish type....

I'll throw my hat into the ring, if someone wants to have worked with a japanese human sneaky pistol-sam. (not that wierd, but hey it'll be playable)

Kaneda Marutestsu, former corporate 'jump-man'. Basically a corporate in house black ops specialist whose contract was dropped as a way to save face by a corporate oyabun (he saved the man's life and took a demotion to hide the cause of the danger, saving the honor of the executive. as a repayment, he allowed the runner to leave the service of the company without the usual disarming.)

if anyone wants to work have worked with him, give me a pm

I'm in if possible, Mine is the gun toting meat wall, kills things dead. Troll, My body is well over ten. I'll mail the character to you as soon as i can.

Street name: Raton
Concept: Decker

Background summary: Raton is a slight and unimposing latino human. He grew up on Seattle's mean streets and turned to wit and usefulness to keep himself out of the gunsights of the local gangers. As time went on, he got a cheap skillwire system from a street doc and picked up some very low rating softs. With the skills this offered him, he eventually made enough money to upgrade, and that brought the cash to upgrade farther.

After a while of working on stereos, trids, and just about anything else imaginable, he scraped together the parts to make himself a cyberdeck. By this point, he was barely into his teens and used some of the technical knowhow he'd been gathering in the background while watching the skillwires work on things to good use. Without a skillchip, he was forced to learn to deck on his own, but before long he found that he had a natural talent for it.

Since then, he's turned a better and better living running bigger and bigger rackets and services. Most recently, he's been running Matrix work for local shadow teams.

I think I would like to play a mage. I haven't decided on a name yet, but he would be a dwarf crab shaman. Stubborn, very grumpy, and argumentative, but despite talking like a jerk, he always acts like a team player. He's just grumpy like a stereotypical dwarf. He used to be a corporate wagemage, working in a cubicle at a typical soul-crushing corporate job in Newark, never doing anything that wouldn't have to be done again the next day or the next week. He was getting sick and tired of the nihilism of corporate culture, and when his 8 different bosses ragged on him 8 seperate times for not putting the new coversheet on his TPS report, that was the last straw. He burned the office building down, and skipped town to go to Seattle, where he started shadowrunning because he wanted some excitement in his life. Although he is presumed to have died in the fire, he does have a legal SIN, though he hasn't been using it since moving to Seattle. I think I'll give him the blandness edge to minimize this problem.

Let me guess, Talisman Geasa: Red Swingline Stapler?

I've got a total pacifist phys-ad, path of the mage racoon shaman B&E specialist I've been dying to play. His magic only works when he's got his Racoon paint on, but the stealth and sense improvements always work. He's been to prison, South of Vegas, but a deal got him "dead" in exchange for services rendered. So long as he doesn't show up alive in Vegas, he doesn't have any extra flaws for it.
He loves getting into stuff he's not supposed to, and the better the security, the more he has to try and beat it. To add extra problems, he also has a 2 point compulsive flaw (steals small shiny objects). So, watch out if you're in the jewelry store with him.

excuse me.....I believe that's my stapler....

I'll burn down the building, I'll do it this time, excuse me, there seems to be a problem with my paycheck, I did not receive last week and Margaret said I could lpay my radio between the hours of 8 and 11 as long as I kept the volume to a reasonable level so I don't see why I shoul dhave to turn off my radio.

Meanwhile a coyote shaman is chanting "Corporate accounts payable, Mina speaking, just a moment" over and over...

Steel Lotus...a haunted woman with a mysterious past and a pair of katanas. She has her own goals, which she only reveals to a select few trusted compadres, but she's happy working in a team setting and is nice to have on your side in a fight. She likes swords, guns, her motorcycle, and the rush she gets from her enhanced cyber speed. A simple woman who likes the simple things in life, like kevlar bone lacing.

Fenris--

If there's still an opening, I'm in.

Jake--Combat Shaman, he's one of Carvaggio's boys. I'll send you the full bio via PM.

Edit: Or if we have too many mages, Fixx would be fun.

Nah stay all mage-like my friend but with so many submissions for mage types I will throw out the action decker Iblis into my choice tree.

Hey Fenris!!!

Give out some GM guidance - are you looking for a balanced team or a team built along a certain theme or skill set?

Hehe, yep, I did indeed watch Office Space last night, though the character is intended to be more like Ron than like Milton. I'll give the shaman the demolition skill, maybe rating 4 or so, and an intense hatred of cubicle farms, people who say mmm, mmkaaay a lot, and guys named Lumbergh. Also, I think I'll make his centering skill complaining if I initiate him. The linked skill would be english, but instead of chanting like most language centering skills, he would have to gripe about something to center. Add in the gesture geas so he sticks out his middle finger when he casts, and what you've got is basicaly a proffessional asshole. Although, the possession metamagic is something I've been dying to try. I think I'll name him Wally, after the guy from Dilbert. Still working on a street name though. And what was that movie with Charlie Sheen as the deranged office worker?

A few questions Fenris. Can we buy cultured bioware with chargen money (as opposed to the extra 250k, which I assume we can buy anything reasonably available with, factoring in street index), can we avoid using street index for stuff bought with the extra money if we have a contact who could reasonably procure it for us, such as a soldier who could pilfer a bit of c-12 from his base, and if we use the karma to initiate, what prices do we use? IE, do we assume we had an initiatory group or underwent an ordeal? And what about karma pool, does the 50 include it, is it in addition to karma pool, or o we start with a karma pool of 1?

Fenris,

Creche and I have an idea for a duo. I PM'ed you the details, I hope that was ok.

My understanding is that based on the basic backgrounds, he is going to chose four people to be in the game. At that point everyone will build their characters together along with their backgrounds. An integrated team from scratch.

That's also my understanding, Shadow. Which is why I posted a background sketch instead of a background

I know but I wanted to razz him a little. He gives me lip all the time so it seemed fair to return the favor, albeit through a different medium.

I have a character concept I would like to try as well. The character is an otaku, in high school, probably a sophomore. His tribe is a new one, having been founded only 5 years ago, and as such it has only 3 adult members, the oldest of whom is only 21 and has not yet begun to fade (passed his first fading test.). Since there are no elders in the tribe, the character is a senior member, and has a dependents flaw to represent his tribal duties. The tribe is fairly well-off in spite of it's age and membership, and maintains a low or middle group lifestyle. The character is also, like many high-school aged boys, desperate to get laid. He'll hit on just about any hot woman he sees, even if he knows he is way too young for her. He has been a scrawny wimp most of his life, but has recently been working out to attract girls. Also, he used to have a SIN, but managed to get it erased from all computer records, having run away from his abusive parents a couple years ago. Probably still a paper record of his SIN in a storage room in Washington DC. He'll have a low-level hunted flaw to represent his parents looking for him, though Lone Star has given up, not to mention forgotten he existed. He looks a bit different from when he ran away, but former close associates such as his parents would still recognize him.

I should clarify that. The character is not attending school, but he would be a sophomore if he was. I'd say he's 15.

I know it might be getting a bit crowded, but if there still is room:

Pez, a shaman initiate (totem likely Horse) that races cars as a hobby/job. A basic wheelman with a Bulldog plus a somewhat sporty car. He as VCR-2, datajack, and map imaging cyber with the magic lose countered by a geas that he cannot so much as touch an object whose's primary function is a weapon (firearm, sword, x-bow, bow, polearm, knife, etc.) or he loses his casting/conjuring for 24 hours. "Touching" includes remote operation of a turret with a weapon installed.

He'll likely also have an Ally Spirit. I'll have to see how the cash/karma plays out tonight when I put him together shortly.

To match the passing trend, I'm just going to post Jake's bkgd here.

Born and raised in southern Italy, Jake fled the matchmaking attempts of his mother and got as far as Sicily before his parent's filed a missing person's report and authorities came to try and take him home. During the pressure of his flight from the cops, his magic came to him and sent him off into the realms of Astral space. The first being that found him, identified itself as Mars and told Jake that the war hasn't yet begun and to return home and with those words Jake woke back up in his body. Jake spent the rest of his teenage years living with his uncle in Snohomish--banished from his family for disrespect. Together the two exiles ran a small grocery store and Jake learned how to weave the strings of mana around himself to protect their corner of the world.

Jake got caught up in the glories of shadowrunning initially to make extra money. After seeing what money did to his companions though, he started to look for a higher purpose. When he heard of the Tower of Light, something struck a chord, and after attending enough finishing school to pass for one of the beautiful people, he joined Mr Carvaggio's coterie and works in the third circle as one of Carvaggio's Boys.

Edit: More details to be added later if I'm in.

I, of course, will make up a much more detailed background if I am picked. Oh, and it's been about 2 years since Wally left Newark and started shadowrunning.

I PMed you my character outline.

I'm assuming the 50 karma and extra money was to be used as though you were playing the game and advancing?

where do you want we should send these?

Tsuru came to north america seeking that which he could not find in Japan: Honor. Raised in his homelands most ancient martial traditions, at first it seemed there was no place for him here either. Then Tsuru met a few shadowrunners, who showed him that the way of the honorable warrior was still alive somewhere in this changed world. Since then he has joined a dojo of the like-minded and attained something he didn't even know he sought, the first step towards enlightenment through bushido.

Just an idea i've been knocking around. I was looking at making an adept that can compete with a street sam, and decided why not a real samurai? I felt the concept was easily playable in SR, and many a GM would welcome a player that adds a more honorable factor to the group. He's a PhysAd build around samurai legend, history and cinema.

I'm sure it's been done before, but i'm a little new and it seemed a fun character in terms of both RP and play.

Send what? We are just stating concepts for now right? As I understand it, we give brief descriptions, he chooses who he wants, then we make the actual characters.

Cardboard, Don't send any actual characters anywhere. I'm still tossing around backgrounds.

I'll give everyone the weekend to finish submissions. The character concepts I've recieved so far are just fine. I'm actually considering expanding the initial membership a bit. Just a bit, mind you, and still considering. Let me try and answer the questions that came up.

tisoz, The 50 karma and money are used as if you were playing. So, if you have a Mneumonic Enhancer, skills paid for after chargen are 1 point cheaper. If you pay to initiate in a group, then you initiate as part of that group. If you're part of a group, I need the strictures and some general notes on the membership of that group.

Joker, For awakened characters, I'm allowing one free astral quest. Becuase of the restrictions of the medium, astral quests can't be played as intended. That means if you use the astral quest to reduce the karma of buying a spell, you can't astral quest for initiation. In addition, only one deed for initiation.

Blond, Improved Ability, for everything I've found in the books, only applies to combat skills. Adding it to decking would mean you'd somehow be able to focus your magic in your body while not really being in control of your body (RAS override). However, I would allow centering, assuming that the linked skill was something creative you could do while jacked in (perhaps Algorithims, or Fractal Patterns?)

Also, keep in mind that I require that everyone work out a background involving at least one other character that I choose, and that everyone together have gone on at least one run before. I will not be choosing any characters directly created as anti-social or crabby. It violates my intention of having a smooth running party, regardless of how you're going to play him. Feel free to submit as many character concepts as you like.

I'll be looking to have a fairly well balanced team, but that's why I'm choosing everyone first and then having you actually build your characters. I assume you'll work together to come up with a balanced team. While I will not always play to your weaknesses, neither will I always play to your strengths.

Panzer,Yes, you can buy cultured bioware at chargen, assuming the availability works. The only way to avoid paying street index for gear or cyber/bio ware purchased after chargen is to have the appropriate connected flaw. I mean edge.

You'll have 50 karma to spend. Humans will have a karma pool of 6, metahumans will have a karma pool of 4. Since I'm hoping to keep the group together for awhile, I heavily encourage the investing of team karma.

The duo idea is fine, not guarantee's you'll get picked but if I do pick you Eccy, I'll pick you and Creche both.

Beast If your character is obnoxious about hitting on every girl you meet, keep in mind that this may affect your relationship with the team.

Blakkie, Concept seems fine, just remember that you'd need a geas for every point of essence you're going to loose to keep your magic rating.

McQuillian, Either character is viable for consideration, just make sure before you get into this that neither of them would have a problem working with a group, or rather, the group the players will be forming.

Any additional questions?

Ok I have done a little reworking to francis's background and an initiatory group is part of it so im going to make a list of members and the rules for the group. So you can expect a resend of Francis background. Ok so lemme get this straight we are all submitting seperate backgrounds and then explaining hwo they came together as a group?

Oh, hey, quick idea: if we've got so many magic guys here, why don't we just have all of 'em start their own group? As we're shadowrunners, it should be something completely innocuous-sounding, like "The Group." What it's built around would require each character's input, so that should definately be held off until the characters are chosen.

I've got a large troll, Irving, he was born and bred into the military, while there he experienced extreme prejudice against him. He left the military to try to find a more lucrative and less prejudiced employer. He found one he has been a body guard for mages and deckers who need to be on site. He provides extrordinary amounts of firepower and is able to soak up bullets instead of having his employer hit. He does however tend to turn into a bit of a beserker in combat (impulsive, and Combat monster Flaws), but has an extreme tolerance for pain, as well as high resistances to magic. He embodies the ideal of a bodyguard, making it possible for me to write him a background compatible with anyone who is making a slightly "squishy" character (aka mages and deckers).

Fenris--Jake is a professional runner, as is Fixx. If they've worked with a group a few times, then its for keeps and there won't be any problems.

Eyeless--If I was to guess, I'd say the Deckers and sammies would be approved for the custom gear that Fenris menitioned. Programs and Ceramic guns would probably just need to be run past him when people are chosen.

Kaneda is used to working in a team, actually prefers it.

Joker and I are trying to work in some sort of a history.

Street Name: Veja Du (The feeling you've *never* been in this situation before)
Concept: Covert Ops.

Background: Veja Du has always known the art of going unnoticed. As a boy, his family threw him around UCAS, never staying in one place too long. He would only be known as the "new kid." No teacher ever called on him and no one noticed when he was gone. The skills he picked up from city to city helped him realize his eventual career: getting in, doing something without anyone seeing him do it, and leaving.

After a few simple runs around the country, Veja Du settled in Seattle. He picked up some better gear, learned how to deal with those he was working for and against, and is slowly evolving into an important cog in the shadowrunning machine.

Veja Du is currently looking for a team that could use his skills and talents.

Er, don't you mean Jamais vu?

Game set and match, Eyeless.

Oh, Wally is a team player. He just grumbles a lot. I think I'll give him an ally spirit, so he'll have someone who actually gives a damn about his whining. And of course, it will have the body of a crab. Wally is a bit of a neo-anarchist; he hates corporations in general, cubicle farms and uniforms in specific, and has a strong distaste for the governments that allow them to exist. He'll also look for any opportunity to blow up corporate property, though I don't think I'll make him compulsive about it, since I've done that twice before.

Well, I suppose I could confine my flirting to young girls around my own age.

Confine his loathing and destructive tendancies to fax machines. To quote myself from a thread over on the Shadowrun board:

Why do people always blow my character concepts out of proportion? I specifically said he will not be compulsive. If I wanted it to be a problem, he would be compulsive. All I'm saying is, he'll enjoy inflicting property damage on corporations. If he sets off some c-4 as part of a run, he'll chuckle while doing it, that's all. I specifically said that he would not blow shit up just for the hell of it.

I still kinda like this idea. If my character could use his arms I think id give it to him.

Anyone that needs time for stuff, including deckers, mages, or riggers, can assume 6 months of active downtime before the run starts. I'm calling this the culmination of downtime since you started running.

Panzergeist--I think it was blown out of proportion as you say, due to the way you worded your initial statement. Enjoying property destruction is different from "looking for any oppurtunity to blow things up." The first is quirky but doable, the second is dangerous not only to the runner but to the reputation of the team as corporations often hunt down teams that do large scale destruction or murderous rampages. Building a new research facility is as expensive as, if not more than, death benefits for a security team. Ask yourself how you would react as a corporation if the prototype you just spent $5 million on is gone, your lead scientist is missing, and the runners dropped the building into the Sound--I'm guessing you would want the runner's heads on platters.

If you were just making a light hearted joke, that's fine but it didn't translate that way via text on a screen. If not, then you need to remember that this group is being set-up to work as a team and that the rest of the team can be held accountable for your actions.