Very slick word-work on AM's part, Gilga!

Note that Andrew isn't saying that this is the only way. It is just the safest way.

You're certainly welcome to track her down outside of official channels, but then you're speaking with a homicidal maniac who may not want to be speaking to you. Or maybe she and Bobby hit it off great. Hijinks ensue.

@Beta - thanks it is a fun scene to visualize.

Sorry for keeping a bit quiet, RL is difficult. In a good way of back to routines but a lot of things that got neglected in the war and became urgent.

Anyhow, I hope things clear for me in the coming days.

Very understandable, given everything going on.

Also, happy belated Hannukah!

We're definitely in the holiday season here. My son is out of school so I have to juggle that for a couple weeks. I might be moving slower than usual myself.

Anyone heard from Thanee? Her profile says she's online but she hasn't posted in a couple weeks.

On the other hand, I finally handed off today this project that has been eating my brain for the past months, and I start vacation on Wednesday, so I should hopefully be posting a bit more at length soon. (although I know my son is eager for us to put hours into our home game, too)

@Gilga I'm glad that you are getting something closer to normal. Doesn't always mean easier, but I hope that at least routine will make things a bit easier soon.

=================
ETA: Not overly expecting a difference in policy's just more a matter of leaving no stone unturned.

@Gilga
Hang in there - some day that madness will be over again

Posted something ICly to get us to the animal clinic.

This has the potential to be another pivotal scene, so let's be very precise in what everyone is doing and what's going on.

One idea being floated earlier was for Bobby to pose as AM's dog to accompany her. However, there will be a sense of much tighter security than the day before.

We'll have Raven on overwatch, since that was her stated intention. I presume Tamarind will be too, but I'll leave that up to Beta.

Gilga, please list out what AM would be bringing with her. She's been warned that there will be a security check, including a SIN check.

She does not bring much, a comlink and a purse with chocolate-flavored energy bars, a bit of cosmetics, and paper towels. No guns or anything remotely illegal.

Alright, moment of truth. We'll be using the "Checking a Fake SIN" rules from p. 364. I think this is about the second time I've used these in the last decade.

AM's R4 fake SIN will be subjected to an R4 scanner. I'll roll rating * 2 vs. a threshold of 4.

R4 * 2: 8d6t5 4 hits

Boop!

"If the threshold is reached but not exceeded, the system reports that something seems “odd” with the SIN and will recommend that the operator investigate further."

Iktomi smiles.

***

Edit: Gilga, please roll Composure.

In addition, feel free to roll Etiquette or Con or whatever else seems appropriate for the approach that AM will take.

They're suspicious, so that will be a -1 to start.

If going the Con route, then there will be the "subject has time to evaluate situation" modifier of -1.

Depending on the quality of your Composure roll, you might be at -2 for Etiquette for "Character is obviously nervous, agitated, or frenzied."

As for composure composure: 11d6t5 3


Ettiquete-1: 10d6t5 3
I think it is worth edging - since it has the potential to go sideways.
edge: 7d6t5 2

Defending Etiquette: Charisma 3 + Perception 4 + Spec 2: 9d6t5 3 hits

AM wins on net hits. Not quite out of the woods yet though.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sorry! I am around, but have been very busy with end of year work and stuff.

Should be better now. I will get up to speed today.


Merry Christmas!

Bye
Thanee

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone ☺️

Merry Christmas!

Thanee, good to hear from you. Glad you're back.

~~~

Gilga, let's get another round of Composure and Etiquette rolls, pretty please.

I only read the OOC after I posted;

I also want to say that I feel that AM has the conversation going where she wants it to go. Her endgame was to play the sympathy card with Corrine after being interrogated by two overly zealous coppers that got her to expose her most vulnerable side without any compassion. Which I was proud of myself because, in my mind, it was a brilliant move that turns a lemon into lemonade. I guess it reads like she is messing up the whole thing, but I don't think she is intimidated by them not buying into the spell-slinger secretary thing. I sort of anticipated it would raise an eyebrow.

Anyhow,
Here are the rolls. Composure: 11d6t5 3 the same.

The etiquette roll is terrible though. She is much less polite now (should I edit the post to reflect it?)

Ettiquete: 11d6t5 1
I wanted to edge it, but it remains one hit. There was no glitch, though. 21 hits with a single hit.
Ettiquete: 10d6t5 0

Well here's where we find our balance of narrative and mechanics.

Obviously narrative writing is the lifeblood of play-by-post and so you want to reward that, but at the same time we have dice and game rules that allow Iktomi to introduce an element of randomness into our encounter.

We'll see if we can split the difference.

~~~

Thanee: Yes, that was a plot point from one of the short stories from the anthology Into the Shadows. That was the first Shadowrun book I ever read as a teenager and I absolutely loved it. Read it multiple times cover-to-cover.

The plot point is that the Japanese boss was pouring tea into a guest's cup four times. (The word for 'four' is a homonym for 'death' in Japanese. Both are pronounced 'shi'.) It was a warning about the consequences of failure. One of the protagonists picks his cup up after the third pour as a non-verbal retort.

I am sure that AM will praise the Trickster one way or another. So, no hard feelings about that.

I feel like SR mechanics are less intended for playing legitimate people. It's as if I have no idea how to keep playing her if we burn her SIN. She can't just change SIN and tell everyone that she is now someone else entirely. Perhaps it was an option when living in Redmond and telling a story about gangs and criminals. On Bellevue, it seems a bit odd to be someone else suddenly. We can't just change an identity and continue as if nothing happened. So AM is Emily Miller in this story, and once we kill that SIN, she must skip town (I think). I don't see her continuing under a new identity in SIS as if nothing happened. Do you see it differently?

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to even go there, as it will put SIS on their radar now.

Might be a good idea for AM to volunteer there a few more times in the future, just to keep up appearances.

Fake SINs that do not tie us to SIS directly, could be useful in the future.

That is definitely on the to-buy list for Raven, as she has none. Everywhere she goes where security is tight, she has to go "officially".

Bye
Thanee

I was planning to volunteer there the moment Tecumseh described it as a "safe" place. Figured out she'd like that.
Probably would have been best to send Tamarind as she would draw the least scrutiny and is new in town. (so the first time makes more sense).

@gilga
Don't worry too much about that - AM would get a criminal SIN after that. Then there is bribery, getting lawyers and all the other things, an upstanding citizen has access to. Not to mention asking contacts for help.

Alright Thanks for your perspective, Jack. Nice to know it is not 'game over'.

Well just to be clear, the SIN isn't burned. The rules give GMs a lot of leeway on ties. In this case I decided to chalk up the alarm to AM's literal growth, which is a plausible explanation under the circumstances.

So she can still be Emma Miller. And I don't see why a fake SIN couldn't be upgraded, as you pay someone to add more history, make the biometrics match, etc.

(Tangent: I don't love the fake SIN rules. I don't care for the linear increase in costs, and I think it's too easy to have them get burned. If I were rewriting it, I would change it to make the price Rating * Rating * ¥1,000 so the cheap ones are really cheap but the expensive ones are really expensive. But I would also make it so that the scanners only roll Rating instead of Rating x 2, which would make the expensive fakes much more robust. So a R6 fake against an R6 scanner would succeed 99.9% of the time instead of 82.2% of the time. Of course there are separate questions about how often an R6 scanner would really be employed, but if I'm forking out for an R6 SIN I definitely don't want it getting burned within the first five or six robust scans. End tangent.)

~~~

Jack, if you're going to slip inside then go ahead and roll Sneaking.

AM, you can roll Software to address Ifeoma's question. One hit will identify the issue and two hits will resolve it.

~~~

Well gilga isn't the only one with questionable dice. Raven gets to see something she wasn't meant to see.

Bobby turns into a weasle (ferret template)

Body Boost: 10d6t5 3
Shapechange F6 Ferret: 17d6t5 3
Resist Drain: 10d6t5 3
Shapechange F6 Ferret: 17d6t5 5
Drain Resist: 10d6t5 4

Taking time to erase my spellcasting in the astral

Investing 3 points into AGI and 2 in STR

Sneaking

Sneaking: 11d6t5 7

Limit 3

I remember, could be from SR4, though, that mobile scanners can be no higher than R3, and are likely only R2 or so. R6 should be really high-end, for secure facilities and such.

But, of course, as usual, the prices and other difficulties to get stuff like that do not really reflect this.




I havn't read the IC, yet, so... curious as to what that could possibly be.

Bye
Thanee

Oh, wow! Now that is certainly interesting. Guess, that point of Edge was well-spent there.

Bye
Thanee

Jack, is the Physical limit for the weasel really 3? If so, you might want to spend a point of Edge to Push the Limit and get those missing hits. Otherwise you'll be spotted:

Intuition 7 + Perception 7 + Actively Looking 3 - Far Away 3 - Interfering Sights and Sounds 2: 12d6t5 4 hits

I'm going to assume that's what Bobby does unless you tell me otherwise.

If you're in the janitor's closet then you'll need to make another Sneaking test, or something else to avoid detection. (Also, let's be mindful of Bobby's fetish. I'm presuming the elastic is tied around his chest or one of his legs. If he transforms, it will stay in generally the same location.)

Actually it's 2, but I boosted STR

That's the problem with the SR rules - they break down if you apply them to animals. An elephant with his giant physical limit can sneak much better than a ferret with it's low STR score.

There should be a size factor in there (being lighter reduces the strength necessary to control your footfalls, etc.)

And yes, spending edge if necessary.

An elephant can walk by without noise, but no mouse is getting past me.

You know, that's a good point about the Physical Limit not really making sense under those circumstances. By that logic, a mouse would never be able to keep more than 2 hits. That doesn't make much sense.

Alright, without trying to formulate a rule for the entire animal kingdom, let us say that Bobby maintains his untransformed Physical Limit (6) regardless of size. That works in both directions, both shrinking and growing. In this case that saves a point of Edge.

That reminds me of the rule I always think of when comparing things that don't make sense. (There are lots of examples, but this is the one that always comes to mind first.)

If an object has an aura, it resists Detection spells with Force x 2. So let's say you have Detect Magic (which several of my PCs have had) and you want to know if something is magical or not. By the logic of the rules, the giant dragon-killing piece of Fourth World arcana would look like a chunk of rock while an F1 focus would scream "I'M MAGICAL!!!"

The Limit of summoning being set by the Force of the summoned spirit is another one, as it makes it harder to summon an F1 spirit than an F3. But I think we houseruled that one.

~~~

Technically Bobby needs five Complex Actions to wipe the signature of an F5 spell. But Bobby gets an average of 3 initiative passes per combat turn, so it would only take 5 or 6 seconds to scrub things fully. But keep it in mind if there's a chase sequence and time is tight.

Attribute Boost might need to be scrubbed too, since it's an activated power, not a constant always-on power.

An just so we're on the same page, a Body 4 New Caledonean gecko is going to be pretty big. Creating a distraction is a good idea, but anyone glancing at it will definitely notice it.

I'm using the Gecko for two reasons - it can move along the ceiling and it has limited color change abilities, making it harder to spot (depending on the color of the ceiling of course)

Just a quick note to say that I'm following along and enjoying all of it, just haven't seen a need to have Tarmarind say or do anything (no complaints, just confirming that I'm around!)

Beta, thanks for checking in. All of my games are moving slowly due to the holidays.

Jack, don't forget to have Bobby erase his astral signature. As I said, we're in a sequence of events where we need to be very specific and precise since the potential consequences are so high.

Speaking of consequences, what is Bobby hoping to accomplish by getting over to the other wing? I just want to make sure that we're on the same page about the utility of an approach, especially one that carries so much risk. Let's ensure the (potential) reward is worth it.

Bobby doesn't know where the target will work, but knows that she likes dogs. So hiding there is his best chance to assense her in detail.
And yes, erasing the spell signature is the next step, but I didn't want to put too many actions in my post.

Speaking of vent covers - are they secured with hex nuts or with Philips screws? Nuts I could theoretically get lose if I turned into a strong crustacean - or is the vent wide enough for a roach to squeeze through?

@Jack, I admire your attention to detail.

Happy New Year everyone - may 2024 be better than 23

Happy New Year!

Bye
Thanee

Happy New Year, everyone!

~~~

Jack, is there an advantage to assensing Potter in here rather than when she's out running, at a campaign event, or crossing the street? It feels like Bobby is walking into the lion's den, a relatively confined space with heightened security and limited escape routes if things go sideways.

I was thinking that the vent covers were Phillips screws. (Mostly because that's how the vent directly above me looks.)

A roach could fit through the vent grating but I doubt Bobby's fetish would stay attached. If the elastic was sized to fit Bobby as a weasel then I don't think it would still fit as a roach. Perhaps Bobby could shove the fetish through the grate first (presuming he has the dexterity to do so) so that the fetish won't fall to the floor, then transform and climb through, but then the elastic loop would still be detached so he'd be dragging it around.

Happy New Year (belatedly).

Oh right! New years. May 2024 be way better than 2023.

Good question - getting wrapped up in old plans when the situation changes is always a danger in such situations.

Still, there are two objectives that Bobby has (though of course the plan didn't account for that level of spirit protection)

- Assensing her from a close distance over a longer period of time to pierce whatever protection she has (that one was already done by Rachel, though Bobby doesn't know that)
- Getting another DNA sample that definitely belongs to her (what we found in the bath could be from anyone)

As for the fetish - it's a humming bird feather
https://i.redd.it/ttkvrra5cbb51.jpg

So the most problematic bit will be the elastic band. Shoving it through will be the hardest part. (But palming is part of the stealth group, so Bobby should be able to manage that)
For movement, I'll change back into something larger like a tarantula to cross over to the right part of the building.

Anything I haven't considered?

Right, it's the elastic band that's the complication, not so much the feather itself. (You wouldn't want to drag the feather through, say, a puddle of acid, but there aren't any of those around at the moment.)

Okay, just want to make sure we're on the same page. Feel free to transform and slip through the grate then.

As for other things to consider, there are other ways to get DNA. It can be exchanged via a handshake, although that can be complicated to isolate. Runners are also known to spit frequently. And the campaign event could allow for a prolonged assensing.

(Interesting question: how do future politicians handle assensing? When their emotional state can't be concealed, and their truthfulness is readily apparent.)

I'd assume that dystopian politicians in a world with spellcasting would rely much more on digital media.
As for public appearances, they likely must have some sort of mana barrier surrounding them for security otherwise any mageling can use mental manipulation on them only needing line of sight - but even optical telescopes work for spellcasting. If you accept my theory about people of influence being wrapped in a protective mana barrier during public appearances then assessing them is also very difficult as a side-effect.

Though I'd feer foreign influence more than assensing.

Maybe that's what certain prominent officials get. I probably won't go that far for candidates.

I think the direction I'll go is that the candidate is always being observed astrally, either by a spirit or a projecting magician, both to keep tabs on magical threats but also to be aware of any spellcasting. The guardian spirits will always have Magical Guard running.

You cannot actually assense truthfulness, though, or can you? You can certainly get some hints via emotional state, but there is no "he or she is lying" straight away.

Also... "some mage claims this politician is lying" isn't that much different to anyone else claiming the same thing, which surely happens today all the time as well.

Bye
Thanee

Though it's pretty trivial to have a spirit of man around that can cast Mana Barrier, if you are going to the effort of having spirits around.

If we can get her to make a personal appearance, that would be great. But for now, Bobby hasn't seen anything to abort his mission (he also doesn't know that AM has been relegated to admin duty at the front desk)

Yes, aware of the mismatch in IC understanding of the situation. That's understandable.

As for Bobby's situation, imagine the clinic in a pi shape, or a horseshoe with a flat top (instead of curved). Bobby is currently at the southeast corner. He wants to get to the western arm of the building. The watcher is currently walking north, away from Bobby's position. It's not clear when it will turn around.

I didn't know Bobby knew Physical Mask. Great spell. Has he ever used it before?

Alright, let's have folks regroup in the cars (or at home). Raven can share what she saw with Bobby, or he can find the message once he's reunited with his commlink.

It's now Sunday evening with just a few hours left in the day. Anything folks want to do before Monday? You're expecting a call back about the DNA sequence and about the campaign event. It's also possible to visit the printing office at the University of Washington, if that's of interest.