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Jack_Spade
Fix is hot garbage - you can fix something only once and you need all parts to be present - against object resistance.
Tecumseh
Yes, object resistance can be a steep hill to climb.

I guess I never put much weight on the "thereafter may not be repaired again by this spell" line. I usually treat it more like Heal, wherein a single instance of damage may only be Fixed once. The "never can use this spell again" doesn't really sync well with the rest of the lore, nor the mechanics of any other spell.

I thought it would be convenient in this case because it could repair the broken glass, since you have the broken bits and it doesn't weigh that much.
Gilga
I'd say a busted tire or a broken window seem like nice ideas for the Fix spell. I'd use them if she had it in the meantime they'll need to fix the windows the old-fashioned way which may motivate her to get it in the future. AM can reach 19 dice for manipulation spells so I think object resistance can be tamed. I like the interpretation that the same damage can only be healed once like the heal spell otherwise I'd prefer the mundane fixing.

Jack_Spade
That would make a lot more sense - if we are using that interpretation in this game I'm all for it.
Tecumseh
Well that's how I'll GM it. I'll leave it up to the other 3 GMs to decide for themselves.
Beta
QUOTE (Tecumseh @ Dec 27 2021, 09:56 PM) *
Well that's how I'll GM it. I'll leave it up to the other 3 GMs to decide for themselves.


I'm good with that interpretation, it makes more sense to me.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rolls as needed (because in spanish they have limit of 6, for his spanish skill)

Negotiation (to get them to cooperate)
negotiation (for family to help remember people): 13d6t5 3

Leadership (to help their memory)
leadership (to help family remember details): 13d6t5 4
Gilga
Fix it is. I must say that it took me a while to understand how to read the response to Beta's post to understand the severe reaction Manny's parents had.
Jack_Spade
Yeah, that part about getting mutilated could have been left out wink.gif
Tecumseh
Gilga, I don't think your Erika is actually listed on AM's sheet. Can you add that, along with a stat block for Trouble?
Gilga
I added Trouble and recopied the equipment from Chummer. Both are listed there but somehow did not transfer to the export.
Beta
I finally got Jawsey's character sheet updated. Upgrades since the last time discussed include Focused Concentration 4, spell formula for Heal and Manascape, learned Manascape, has now bonded his upgraded (R2) weapon focus, and he has paid for R5 lodge material but not aquired them from 5-Finger Gao yet (those are to take home with him when he returns)

==================================

On a more philosophical/navel-gazing note, I have some thoughts about social interactions in RPGs in general and about Jawsey and I in particular that nobody needs to read, but that I needed to get off my chest.

[ Spoiler ]


In summary:
- I love your characters
- I love the game,
- but I've come to dread posting as Jawsey.

Hopefully once he's gone I'll recover more of my joy in playing SR.
Jack_Spade
Interesting. I always wondered why Jawsey appeared to be somewhat shy despite his skills (I always had the impression that getting him mildly inebriated would turn him into a party animal)

One of the main reasons, I tend to build characters around intimidation as their main social skill (beside the fact that many negative qualtities make an exception for it), is that you can't really do it wrong. You either manage to appear threatening, or you don't. Fear is an emotion that everyone understands - and that's much easier to evoke.

Charismatic doesn't mean, someone is relatable or that you want to hang out with them. It's force of personality. Terry Pratchett described it as being able to modulate your "Me-Signal" that allows you to either get served first at a bar or to vanish into the background.

But yeah, the nature of SRs character advancement makes it incredibly painful to recover from mistakes in creation.

So I'm happy to see your new character - but maybe Jawsey will come back at one time - angry and ready to force the world to shut up and listen wink.gif
Tecumseh
Oh, I think every RPer has had the thought, "How can I roleplay X when I myself am bad at X?" If we have above-average Logic, can we accurately RP low-Logic characters? (Or, in fairness, vice versa?)

There are also reasonable questions around roleplay vs. rollplay. Obviously we like to emphasize roleplay, but you also want to make sure that your character's mechanical abilities are accurately represented, because you've invested in them at the opportunity cost of investing in something else.

In this case, I'm sensitive to the fact that Jawsey is still around in this chapter at my request. But Mato's fate would have been of little consequence to Tamarind, so I wanted Jawsey around to see how he would react.

As for the Aztlaner family, I dropped hints about their pride (when Jawsey mentioned money) and them doting on their son. As for pouncing on Jawsey's misstep, in my mind there is no real consequence. These people are of little significance in the scheme of things, both our game and the Sixth World. Their opinions are not consequential.

However, let's make this easier on Beta. I can't help with Jawsey's voice, but if trying to RP his social graces is causing Beta dread then let's sidestep it and boil it down to a couple of rolls. Perhaps Assensing to read the room, then use that as a Teamwork test for the social skill of Beta/Jawsey's choice. Beta could just describe Jawsey's approach but wouldn't have to write it out in Jawsey's voice. Would that help abstract things and make it easier to proceed?
Gilga
Just some thoughts...

I played Marco a super charming elf with insane social dice pools, and I eventually grew tired of him. Anytime I did not know what to do I just rolled the dice and wrote intentions figuring out that Marco knows how to be the light of the party. Even if I do not, and he always has something funny or interesting to say even when I don't.
The GM usually placed things in his mouth when I couldn't and it worked. The dice were good so he was always charming. When I did invest in writing well - it was hit or miss because eventually, the result was how my writing was read.

However, writing intent did not really solve my problem with Marco as he was too different than me. I don't identify with the somewhat low logic, uneducated very charming elf that gets away with anything because of his perfect social graces. AM on the other hand is more relatable because she is smart but not genius-level smart, and she is social but not exceptional. I can place myself in her shoes. I imagine her as the average elf socially - which makes her above average for humans but nothing out of the ordinary- many elves can do what she can socially. I can imagine myself doing the things she can do, and it makes it easier for me to channel her.

Beta
As is sometimes the case, just writing that out has helped. It helped me clarify my feelings to myself, and having explained to all of you makes it easier to write, knowing you better understand. Hence me relaxing enough that Jawsey is planning on making a decent dinner (to be honest I couldn't think of anything to drive the plot forward just then, so thought I'd set something up for later).

Something I realized after posting yesterday's IC post, I've been compounding my issue because I was procrastinating posting for Jawsey, making many of the posts rushed and written when I'm tired. Recognizing that, I'll try to avoid that behavior, which hopefully gives me a better chance of picking up on cues like the family's pride. (although no promises there).

@Jack_Spade Yah, the character background I'd come up with really would have better matched higher charisma but lower social skills, to represent how he'd not actually been around people in person for most of his life (or possibly still higher skills but made up some quality?). But mechanically it just didn't make sense to further hobble his only fairly general purpose strength. (and of course if I'd actually expected this game to go for more than one or two runs I'd have built something different. I'd just thought "this will be fun for a one-off type of game"). Our original GM of course had talked about a longer running game, but I'd never had a lot of faith there. (and my other high charisma character, Forty, tossed 16 dice in intimidate (18 with ballistic mask) but had 1's in her other social skills, and was an incredible blast to play. Full endorsement of the intimidating but not socially adept character)

=============================

A quick reminder, since I was recently re-reading the house rules again, officially Artisan is replaced by knowledge (or 'knowledge' since all the professional and interest skills are in knowledge skills, even if they are more practical/applied). I don't remember if anyone invested in Artisan, forgetting this? Anyway, by the house rules, Jawsey's cooking 4 does let him roll 9 dice on preparing dinner. (also I'll mark 100nY off for this, to make a round number -- maybe there was some cheap wine involved too.)
Tecumseh
I also built Mato with a one-shot in mind. If I had known we were going to be sitting on 280 karma after 3 years and 4 months, I would have made one of my usual Awakened. Probably Ichante because she's prickly and for some reason I find that fun to RP.

(Side note, I just made my first social character that's strong in Intimidation. Game just began a week ago so I haven't gotten to Intimidate anyone yet, but hopefully I'll get to browbeat someone soon.)

I often reflect one what makes a game thrive or tank. Obviously engagement is key, both for GM and players. I have GM'd multiple games that have lasted 4 years, but this it the longest campaign that I've been in as a player. In this case I think the rotating GM role is key. 5E is so mechanically cumbersome that it benefits GMs to regularly rest and recharge.

As for Artisan, I remembered that rule for Arcana but had forgotten that it applies to Artisan as well. I will refund 1 karma to Mato (JACKPOT!) and spend a point of knowledge karma on Artisan instead. I bought it three years ago specifically for cooking but I don't think I've had Mato cook once in all this time.
Jack_Spade
Still a few hours at my end, but: Happy New Year everyone smile.gif
Tecumseh
Happy New Year to everyone too!

In a bit of a time crunch today so I just posted Lysander's reply. I'll get Sabrina's reply and Cutty's reply up later this weekend.
Beta
Happy New Year everyone. Maybe third time will be the charm for the 2020s!
Tecumseh
Jawsey said he wanted to cook for people "tonight". Right now, after the trip to the home improvement store and some repairs, it's probably late morning, say 11:00 or thereabouts. So there's nothing stopping Jawsey from participating for the next six hours.

Ideally he would come along to keep the PCs together, but that's an OOC consideration. ICly Jawsey can do what he wishes.

I'm not sure I can get an IC post up today but I'll try. I'll try to strike a balance between keeping things moving but also giving Beta some time to catch up so that he doesn't get swamped trying to cover a million topics with Jawsey.
Gilga
I'll edit to invite him then. I wasn't sure what time it was.
Beta
I'd stayed quiet because I thought the time didn't let him do both, but given the post from Tecumseh, above, I'll send Jawsey along too.

Jawsey can safely summon a Force 5 spirit currently. So around 11 dice of search for Spirit of Man, minus background count. Target number is +5 for non-living, and and extra +1 for each kilometer of distance it is away (that is assuming that Jawsey can provide a clear enough mental image for the spirit). So even if we are within a kilometer, getting six hits (I presume there is a base target of 1), on 11 or less dice is not impossible, but not likely. As I said, Jawsey will try in a localized area, but we shouldn't count on it.
Gilga
I think that this is an extended test.
Jack_Spade
Yeah, extended test with 10 minute intervalls. If you are within 5 km of the target, you find it with 11 dice on average within 30 Minutes.
Beta
Doh! Yes, of course it is extended. My sloppy reading and remembering. Yes, so let's get close to one possible area, then try. Can try again close to the Halloweener headquarters. Although we still have the issue that it will find any car of that type.
Tecumseh
I'm a bit lost on the sequence/timing.

The three of you are going to the auto shop to talk to Huge while, simultaneously, Jawsey's spirit searches for the Elektro?
Jack_Spade
We have to visit Hollywood before we can start the spirit search
The search can be started afterwards (or during).
Beta
As they head out (while still in Touristville) -- summon an F5 spirit of Man to go searching (assume that will be a remote service)

summon F4+1=5 spirit of man: 11d6t5 2
spirit resist: 5d6t5 1
drain resist vs 2: 13d6t5 3

One service, no drain -- just what was needed.

Search rolls: remove dice from the ends as appropriate for background count.
spirit search 1: 11d6t5 4 (no BGC impact)
spirit search 1: 10d6t5 4 (4@BCG 0 or 1, 3@BCG2, 2@BCG3)
spirit search 3: 9d6t5 4 (4@BCG0-2, 3@BCG3)
spirit search 4: 8d6t5 3 (3@BCG0, 2@BCG1, 1@BCG2 or 3)
That should total 9 successes even at BCG 3 -- I got good rolls!
Tecumseh
The Volkswagen Elektro is fairly ridiculous and should be easy to spot.

I don't think this image is canon but it's close enough to what's in Used Car Lot:

http://www.pvv.org/~leirbakk/rpg/shadowrun...are/elektro.gif

It's a three-wheeler, with two in back and one in front.
Tecumseh
@gilga
AM gets a MARK on Huge's commlink.

I'm not sure what the Edit File is supposed to do. AM can see that there is a biomonitor.

She would need to do some additional investigating whether to figure out whether any sort of Dead Man's Switch is either a 'push' (e.g. the biomonitor alerting someone or something that the owner has flatlined) or a 'pull' scenario (e.g. something else listening for a signal from the biomonitor that doesn't arrive).

You don't know if shutting the biomonitor signal down would trigger anything. You could just shoot Huge, because he said that would do it (presuming he isn't lying), but that might rob AM of her poetic justice.

Either way, I'll point out that the assumption is that you are near the garage or perhaps even in it, since Bobby and Jawsey have accepted some beers from Huge. If you wish to trigger an explosion, it would be prudent to remove yourselves from the immediate vicinity so that you don't annihilate yourselves in the process.
Gilga
AM is not going to shoot Huge, she actually does not want him dead. She wants the building gone without being directly implicated. So she'll shut the biomonitor down once away from the building and if it goes off it goes off. If it does not then Huge's dead man trigger is shit. She can live with both consequences, but seriously no way Iktomi is not going to do some Trickstering in this situation. I assume it is almost her religious duty rather than poetic justice or vengeance for Mato.


What should I roll to turn off the biomonitor once we're out at a safe distance?
Tecumseh
Since AM has a MARK on Huge, she could use Spoof Command to tell the biomonitor to turn off. It would be Hacking + Intuition [Sleaze] v. Logic + Firewall. (Although there's a bit of a gap in the rule about why you could spoof this with 1 MARK but the Reboot Device action takes 3 MARKs. Couldn't you just spoof the device to reboot and save yourself 2 MARKs in the process?) You can buy hits to do this if you want.

Fast forwarding a bit, and presuming success, AM will find that turning off the biomonitor won't do anything.

You don't think Huge is lying, based on the astral, so the Dead Man's Switch must work a different way, like the biomonitor sending a flatline signal.

AM could spoof that too but it's a bit more active. (It would also presume that AM either told the biomonitor to reboot, or that Huge manually turned it back on after AM turned it off.) I don't know how passive AM is trying to be with this process.

If AM doesn't want Huge dead, does she want to wait for Huge to leave before potentially detonating the explosives? A building for a building.
Gilga
AM's morality is strange. She selects a trick as a tribute to Iktomi it is not about Poetic justice or anything. She follows the Trickster and feels like the man has earned some mischief. Since shutting down the biomonitor does not blow the building Huge is off the hook for now.


spoof reboot: 13d6t5 4
Tecumseh
What's the plan right now, other than waiting for Grinder to respond? Where are you going to go, what are you going to do?
Jack_Spade
Heading back for the meal - if it's not too much of a detour, we could visit Mato at the Street Doc
Tecumseh
Not much of a detour at all. I was going to have the doc call with an update but that works well as an in-person conversation.

Date night tonight so not sure if I'll get it up before bedtime or not.
Jack_Spade
QUOTE (Tecumseh @ Jan 8 2022, 01:41 AM) *
Date night tonight so not sure if I'll get it up before bedtime or not.


Phrasing!!! biggrin.gif
Tecumseh
hahahaha you got me. Or I got myself, one or the other.
Tecumseh
Bit of chaos at home as school is closed Monday/Tuesday for a COVID exposure. Scrambled today to find some testing and now hoping to get results in time for school to reopen on Wednesday. But I might be a bit scattered for the next couple days.
Gilga
@Tecumesh be safe!

@Jack AM does not have that program is your suggestion still possible?
Jack_Spade
Bootstrap is a common cyberprogramm without availability restrictions, so basically free to buy as a download at any time (compare Data Trails p.56)
Tecumseh
As Jack says, Bootstrap is a "common cyberprogram" meaning that it has no Availability and is a mere 80 nuyen away.

@Beta
It's lunchtime now. Jawsey is still planning on hosting a pasta dinner tonight?

@All
Anything else that people want to do for the next 2-3 hours other than track Grinder remotely? Did someone want to meet Urubia or is that for later?
Jack_Spade
Bobby is to 99% sure that it's the Halloweeners behind the attack, but he won't act until he has 100% confirmation.
In the meantime, he will plan and try to fix the rest of the damage - after eating with the team
Gilga
AM asked Jawsey to introduce her, but other than that she is not going to the fun house demanding audience. So if it happens right now, or next week (or at all) is Jawsey's call.
Beta
And Jawsey doesn't want to expose his aura to all the awakened at the Funhouse (including Urubia) today, unless AM says she needs to do it today.

Anything else anyone wants to do while the only convenient car is headed out for a bit? Jawsey will try to find an opportunity to levitate the link up on top of a cart corral, or under some ornamental bushes, or somewhere similarly away from most people's view but not as likely to be heavily scanned by cameras. If the grocery store is is too busy he'll drive around to a more likely spot, spending some money on purchases, take-out coffee, or parking fees as needed in order not to stand out too badly in Bellevue.
Tecumseh
Beta, go ahead and IC it however you like.

Go ahead and roll Intuition + Sneaking to see how well Jawsey does.

Do any of the books go into battery life and/or charging? Is it assumed that devices use Magnetic Resonance or Radio Reception or some other charging method that works at a distance and is essentially unlimited as long as you're not in a remote static zone?

It's lunchtime now. Cutty and Waylon think they will be busy until 17:00 or so. OOCly, we can fast forward a couple hours at a time if people don't have anything specific that needs minute-by-minute attention.
Jack_Spade
Fast forward sounds good.

If I remember correctly, most devices are good for over 24 hours - basically charging is something for downtime.
Tecumseh
Sounds good. For convenience we'll say that the Sony Angel is good for this chapter, unless this chapter extends itself to surprising lengths.
Beta
I'm pretty sure that I read something about matrix devices being powered from matrix signals, or something to that effect (something I find at best to make sense in major service areas, where grid providers are blasting out enough power that devices can scavenge sufficient power to run, but I find the physics and engineering questionable)
Tecumseh
I believe that would fall under the Radio Reception category I mentioned earlier.

I don't think it's completely out of the question. My understanding is they've designed some prototype devices that work this way. I think it works fine for small chips with limited power needs, like RFID tags, and now they're scaling it up into larger devices. I think it works at the scale of meters - like within a room, maybe even a large room like a warehouse - but it's very inefficient at longer distances beyond that.

I'm also fine handwaving this under "futuristic tech". Always a bit of double-edged sword, as there have been two Matrix crashes which set things back, but still a reasonable way to not get caught up in the argument about what's "realistic".

Same answer as before: this will continue to work for this chapter. Future GMs can rule whether they want the device to still have power, or to have been located, or for Grinder to have switched commlinks or to have caught on, or __________.
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