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grendel
This will serve as the administrative thread for the Dumpshock Forums run: SOLAS. As the title suggests, it will be a nautical game, focussing on the characters’ struggles against the unforgiving environment of the high seas as well as corporate and political machinations. I’m accepting up to six characters on a first-come, first-served basis only. That is, the first six character sheets I receive via email will be the primaries for this game. Any I receive after that will go into the alternate queue, which I will turn to should one of the primaries no longer be able to carry on. Any file format is acceptable for your character sheet, but please include it as an attachment rather than in the body of the message itself. You may post your character to the OOC thread if you like, but I’m not requiring it. The deadline for character submissions will be 25 Sep 03.

The game will be run utilizing all 3rd Edition core rules, as well as most optional rules. A listing of my house rules can be found at http://dmp.veldt.org/hrules.html. The game date is October, 2062, although skills and gear from SOTA: 2063 are available.

As for characters, it’s going to be a little different than the usual game run on the boards. I’m accepting characters with between 0 and 50 karma. That is, if you have a character with a couple of runs under her belt, either on the boards or on paper, that will do just fine. If you’re going to create a character from scratch, that works out as well. Both priority and points systems are acceptable, with 125 points being available for the latter. If you are creating a starting character, please don’t feel it necessary to “age” her by 50 karma points. I’ll make the appropriate adjustments to ensure everyone is on a level playing field. Beyond that, I have two specific requirements for characters. The first being a background story. At a minimum the background to your character should answer the basic twenty questions as well as explaining any unique or unusual skills/ gear/ edges/ flaws that he or she might have. The second requirement is that your character needs an excuse to be at the Eleven Eleven Tavern near the Tacoma docks when we begin. It can be as simple as a runner hanging out in his favorite joint, or a short order cook trying to scrape by, a dockside whore looking for some business, whatever. Just so long as your characters are in the bar at 1800 Saturday, 07 October 2062.

Most of the games that work out well on these boards are ones that move along at a good pace. Unfortunately, I currently don’t enjoy the kind of net access as I do at home. I should still be able to check the boards and post daily, but please bear with me if things become a little slow. Ordinarily, this would deter me from organizing a run, but as I haven’t been able to game for the past six months I’m starting to go a little stir crazy and I just don’t want to wait any longer.

Mechanics wise, most success tests will be handled cinematically unless you desire otherwise. If that's the case, detail your test on an OOC post including skill and pool dice used and the results. We're going to be on the honor system here, as I trust any good player to realize that if you cheat, you're only cheating yourself and your fellow players. Also, if it should ever come up that you feel I'm handling a game mechanic wrong or messed up a rules call, make an OOC post citing the incident as well as your reasoning including page number and sourcebook you're referencing. I'll explain my reasoning and we'll discuss it. If it turns out that I made a mistake, I'll adjust accordingly. There's no penalty for questioning the GM when he is wrong. If you question the GM when he is right, prepare to reap the ridicule. Keep me honest, it makes for a better game.

To contact me, you can either use email: grendel@pride.veldt.org, post to this topic, or use the new private message feature of the Forums.

That's all the information I can think to dispense now. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Further bulletins as events warrant.
Street Wyze
Are you full yet? Should I bother sending in a sheet?
Fenris
Possibilities or problems with bringing on a Rigger smuggler? Done to death, but I need the experience with rigging anyway, and the online forums should be an excellent place, with plenty of time to plan and consult books.
HMHVV Hunter
I had an idea a while back for a constable aboard a pirate ship. Do you have room for an ex-constable (a good shot with a gun, but little cyberware as most runners go)?
grendel
Yes, send in your sheets. Yes, to the rigger/smuggler. Yes, to the constable.

(Isn't it odd to hear a GM say yes?)
viper
I'll be interested in playing, will have to try and dig out an old smuggler that I had on paper. Failing that I will look to creating an ex-dockworker/ships hand.
Leowulf
I'd like to join if I could. I will be watching to learn tips on being a GM from you whether you accept me into your game or not biggrin.gif . Forbidden Bridge didn't go like I expected it to, and then people started to quit the game. I'm sure most of that was my fault due to inexperience.

I have a character that might work out well for the run. A troll former bank guard who used to work for Renraku, guarding one of the banks in the mall area of their arcology. He was inside the arcology when it went down, and was forever changed as a person. His reason for being in the tavern is that he is travelling. Travelling helps him to take his mind off of his memories and feel less unhappy. He just happened to be there having a drink.

This is the same character that I was trying to use in Vegetaman's Johnny Blade game. Unfortunately, he seems to have disappeared. I'll send him to you.

By the way, do you or will you ever give us opportunities to acquire custom gear in the game? Do you allow custom gear (NOT as starting equipment for new characters)? If not, what's your reasoning?
grendel
Of course you're welcome to join the game. It would be a pleasure to work with you again. Send in your character!

Also, here is my policy on custom gear:

- A single piece of custom (specialized, unique, etc.) gear is available for starting characters with two important caveats. First, that it is clearly and reasonably explained in the character's background. I don't imagine that too many ex-mechanics end up with an Ares Top Secret Ultra Black combat helicopter. However, an ex-mechanic might end up with a used then rebuilt F1 engine installed in an innocuous looking Westwind 2000 chassis if he used to as a pit engineer for the Ares F1 team before being fired after the second losing season in a row. Second, the character accepts the limitations of that unique piece of gear. The one of a kind ultra compact one-bullet-lethal sniper rifle you're toting around also has an ultra unique ballistics signature. One that's going to stay with you as long as you have the rifle.

As an aside, this policy usually ends up having this effect: brand new character starts the game with custome gear X. Character uses X very effectively for two or three runs. X begins to get noticed by corporate/law enforcement agents. X becomes a magnet for trouble. Character's teammates begin to resent X. Shortly there after either X or the character goes away.

I have had players use custom gear very wisely, though. Usually it involves some heroic sacrifice of the gear in order to save the team and/or complete the mission successfully. I reward appropriately.

- I allow custom gear in game as long as the development and acquisition of the gear is role-played (and often roll-played) to a sufficient degree. For instance, say our aforementioned mechanic has his rebuilt F1 engine in the innocuous looking Westwind chassis, but can't manage to get the full use of the horsepower due to the Westwind's rather mundane and poorly designed transmission. He needs one of those high-speed laser machined F1 transmissions. Being a former pit engineer, he knows that SpeedMax technologies was working on a compact, low-inertia, computer assisted transmission. He gets in touch with his local decker and over a couple of boxes of soy Thai take-out and a nice bribe of three thousand nuyen, convinces her to go snooping around inside SpeedMax's R&D host. After a week goes by, the decker calls back and says "Well, you're in luck. I managed to pull down a 3-D schematic of the new tranny. Here's the file." Great! Unfortunately, the model isn't CAD/CAM, it's just a line drawing. No sweat, our mechanic has handled this transition before. He goes down to his local library and checks out a couple of handbooks on OMC. Then, over a six pack and a couple of extra large pizzas, he goes to work. A week later, success! He now has a CAD/CAM file he can give to a laser forming lathe. Now, where can he find one of those? Well, luckily, he knows a shift manager at Newstadt Tool and Die who owes him five hundred nuyen over a bet on last years Detroit 900. Well, the shift manager hems and haws but finally over a burger and beer and another thousand nuyen he agrees to run the program on a die transfer day, when most of the plant will be down. So, a couple of weeks later, our mechanic gets a phone call to come pick up his new transmission. Success! Ecstatic, he races back home and jacks up the Westwind to install the new part. Except, the Westwind's frame isn't setup to handle such a state of the art piece of gear. Well, after doing a couple of measurements, our mechanic realizes that all he needs to do is cut away one of the existing frame crossmembers and replace them with a couple of transverse mount bars beneath the existing engine block. Simple, eh? Well, now there's the question of finding a vehicle facility that's open at this time of night....

That turned out to be a little bit longer than I expected. I hope I answered your question, though.
=-_RaVeN_-=
Also, here is my policy on custom gear:

- A single piece of custom (specialized, unique, etc.) gear is available for starting characters with two important caveats. First, that it is clearly and reasonably explained in the character's background. I don't imagine that too many ex-mechanics end up with an Ares Top Secret Ultra Black combat helicopter. However, an ex-mechanic might end up with a used then rebuilt F1 engine installed in an innocuous looking Westwind 2000 chassis if he used to as a pit engineer for the Ares F1 team before being fired after the second losing season in a row. Second, the character accepts the limitations of that unique piece of gear. The one of a kind ultra compact one-bullet-lethal sniper rifle you're toting around also has an ultra unique ballistics signature. One that's going to stay with you as long as you have the rifle.

As an aside, this policy usually ends up having this effect: brand new character starts the game with custome gear X. Character uses X very effectively for two or three runs. X begins to get noticed by corporate/law enforcement agents. X becomes a magnet for trouble. Character's teammates begin to resent X. Shortly there after either X or the character goes away.

I have had players use custom gear very wisely, though. Usually it involves some heroic sacrifice of the gear in order to save the team and/or complete the mission successfully. I reward appropriately.

Okay, what about a car? I noticed that the Rigger Black Book (and every other frikkin' SR book) fails to recognize the "antique" and "classic" vehicles... What if a character took something like a Dodge Viper and rebuilt it...? Is it gonna be a magnet fer retaliation every time ya pull it outta the garage? Or are there enough of 'em left to make it difficult to locate jus' WHO iz runnin' a psycho-machine in circles around Lone Star buckets?

"Please! Allow me! (click)"

Quothe the RaVeN
grendel
Well, actually, it so happens that there exists SR stats for the Dodge Viper. Check this out. And to answer your question, no, not really. Lone Star might begin to notice it, though, after witnesses at three high profile robberies reported a vintage type auto as being the getaway car. It's all about visibility.

Also, for future reference, please enclose any quoted text with the quote tags. Makes it easier to read. Thanks.
Street Wyze
From these recent posts, I take it that the game is not full yet?

EDIT: I re-read your first post, so forget this last one. I'll send you a sheet tonight. Thanks.
Leowulf
Thanks. Glad to hear it.

Your answer about roleplaying and rollplaying to get a piece of custom gear is what I was hoping you would say. I see things the same way, though I do not plan to start with any custom gear, except for a coat that has some small flame protection added (-2) and some form fitting armor that has a slight amount of electrical protection (-1).

I'll send the character to the e-mail address listed on your rules page.
grendel
2 of 6 slots filled so far. Leowulf, Shadow, your characters are accepted. Welcome to the game!
Shadow
Now we just need Smed, Rokur, and Dos and it would be just like old times!
=-_RaVeN_-=
QUOTE (grendel)
Well, actually, it so happens that there exists SR stats for the Dodge Viper. Check this out. And to answer your question, no, not really. Lone Star might begin to notice it, though, after witnesses at three high profile robberies reported a vintage type auto as being the getaway car. It's all about visibility.

Also, for future reference, please enclose any quoted text with the quote tags. Makes it easier to read. Thanks.

Drool!

(wipes mouth)

Hehe! Thanx...
HMHVV Hunter
Give my slot to someone else. That constable idea isn't that well-developed.
Leowulf
Like old times, indeed! It's good to see that everyone hasn't disappeared from the face of the earth! rotate.gif
Fortune
Grendel: I'd be interested in playing, if you'll have me. Give me the word and I'll dig through some of my old characters to see what (or should I say who) would be appropriate.
Tziluthi
Hey, I'm interested in joining this game. I'll e-mail you a character in a moment.
Shadow
Just to give everyone a little background so we don't have to much over lap.

My Guys name is Downtown, and he is The Long Riffle. Sniper, farshot, God, whatever you want to call him. He can take people out form a long, long way aways. He's not to bad close up. He uses a pistol as his back up, and he is good with his hands and a byonet in a pinch. He's alos stealthy as hell.
viper
Grendel just to let you know I am still interested I am just puting the character into electronic format from a paper copy.

King as he is know is a smuggler/salvage worker, will fill in more of his details once I locate his background sheet.
grendel
Tziluthi you're in. That's three of six taken. Fortune, send me a sheet!
Fortune
QUOTE (grendel)
Fortune, send me a sheet!

Working on it. Hopefully you should have it sometime tomorrow.
Tziluthi
In the spirit of Shadow's last post, my character, Os (the latin word for bone, as in Osteoperosis), is a covert ops type with a bit of street sam and mercenary added in for flavour. Medium range to close quarters is his speciality, as well as breaking into places that he should not rightly be in.
Leowulf
I guess since everyone is giving brief character descriptions, I will too. Sam is a street sam. Sam and sam are just coincidenes. Sam is his real name.

The guy is an ex-guard for one of the banks in the Renraku Arcology. He was on duty when it went down, and he was one of the group of people that opposed Deus. Other than that bit of colorful history, which he doesn't make a habit of talking about openly (it kind of messed him up), Sam is just an average guy who collects guns. He is good up close and at range.
grendel
Fortune, I'm assuming Ichiro Kaname is yours. If so, welcome to the game. That's four of six spots taken. I'm just waiting on sheets from Fenris and Morgannah and we can get this show on the road. Or the water, as the case may be.
Fortune
QUOTE (grendel)
Fortune, I'm assuming Ichiro Kaname is yours.

Nope! I've been really slack and haven't even finished inputting the character into NSRCG, let alone sent anything to you. frown.gif

If the game fills up before I do, then that's my misfortune (biggrin.gif), but if it doesn't I should get something to you very soon.

Sorry for any misunderstanding or problems. smile.gif
grendel
No sweat, shows what happens when I make an assumption. Street Wyze, is Ichiro your's?
Street Wyze
QUOTE (grendel)
No sweat, shows what happens when I make an assumption. Street Wyze, is Ichiro yours?

Yeah, He is. I'm sorry, I feel really dumb for not telling you that. Yes, he is mine. Tell me what you think.


P.S.- Do you care if we submit more than one character?
Leowulf
Sorry to have noticed this after sending you my character, but while I was trying to figure out how to eventually include a biomonitor and diagnostic processor in my character's physiology, since I had wanted to put one in, but was unable to afford it, I noticed that I had added the nuyen total for my items up wrong. I first noticed because I saw that I had only put 3,000 in for 100 Mp head memory, which should have been 60,000. I added that in correctly, even though it was listed with the incorrect amount, but once I retotalled, I discovered that I had shorted myself almost 100,000 =Y=! eek.gif Maybe it was just a miskeyed number while I was picking gear. I've checked and rechecked, and can't figure out what happened.

I took the time to reexamine the totals of the other items and ended up making some changes to the cyberware and gear to spend the extra money. I'll send you the new character sheet to look over.
Street Wyze
Grendel, if you have promised the remaining spots to other people, I understand. It would be my fault for not submitting sooner.
grendel
Heheheh. Ooops. Ignore this post. smile.gif
grendel
Not a problem, just confused me there for a moment. Morgannah, Meryth has been accepted to the game. That means we have five of six slots filled. Fortune, Fenris, the race is on. To recap:

Shadow (Downtown)
Leowulf (Sam)
Tziluthi (Os)
Street Wyze (Ichiro)
Morgannah (Meryth)

The racial breakdown we have is troll, ork, koborokuru, and two humans. Magic-wise, we have an illusionist, a shaman, and an adept, with the rest being mundanes. It's a pretty good mix so far. As soon as I fill the last slot the initial IC post will go up and we'll get this game underway.
Shadow
I can hardly wait! Comon guys send in your characters! Ok who wants to lay ods, I give Fortune the favor so 2:1 against Fenris! Any takers?

*Nuyen only!
Street Wyze
Grendel, I forgot to include a reason for Ichiro to be at that one certain bar at that one certain time. Should I post it here or email it to you? Or is it something that will come out IC?



Shadow: I'll put 500 nuyen.gif on Fenris. cyber.gif
Tziluthi
700 nuyen.gif says Fortune wins by a country mile.
Fortune
I'm impressed with the odds, but I'm not sure I'm going to make it. The character that I was going to submit is a Shaman, and since you already have one of those, it probably wouldn't be a good fit. frown.gif
grendel
Don't worry about it Street Wyze, as long as you have a reason that's all that matters. Most likely it will come out in the IC thread.

Fortune, send me your character. One more shaman won't ruin the mix. smile.gif
Leowulf
Grendel, did you get the other character sheet that I sent to you with the changes that I made?

Is it ok?
grendel
Yes, Leowulf, I got your most recent email and your modifications are fine.
Leowulf
Ok. Just checking. wink.gif
Shadow
I can barely stand the waiting, willing...game...to...start!
Tziluthi
Patience, Grasshopper.

By the way, there are already some short descriptions of three of the characters. Street Wyze and Morgannah, would you care to post yours?
Morgannah
QUOTE (Tziluthi)
By the way, there are already some short descriptions of three of the characters. Street Wyze and Morgannah, would you care to post yours?

Well, I guess I could do that. wink.gif

Meryth is a fairly difficult person to get to know and as such, I'm not going to go into too much detail just now. She is a shaman as well as a skilled negotiator and although she has no real 'specialty' besides this, the young ebon haired woman will be able to contribute a certain, how shall we say, 'home surf advantage'....

grinbig.gif I'm really looking forward to playing again, by the way.
Street Wyze
Kaname Ichiro is a koroburuku (Japanese Dwarf Metavarient) who worked as a low-end security man for Novatech before leaving the corp for the glamour and better pay of life in the shadows. He is a Water Elementalist (Illusionist) and also a decent shot with a pistol. But when the going gets tough he likes to whip out double nunchatku and break some heads.

He's a likable and easy-going guy, but don't expect him to take the initiative or any type of leadership position, he's new to the shadows and still a little green.
Street Wyze
COME ON ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


patience, wearing thin...can't, go on, much...longer sleepy.gif
Tziluthi
Make the time pass faster with a few jokes.

An Irishman, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar, and the bartender says, "What is this, a joke?"
Morgannah
That's ony of my favourite jokes, actually. I wish I knew more....

*sits down, hands folded calmly, and appears infinitely patient.*
"Fortune, Fenris, take all the time you need."
Tziluthi
Mickey Mouse is in court trying to get a divorce. The judge says to him, "So, you're divorcing your wife on the grounds that she's insane?"

"No," says Mickey, "I said she was f**king Goofey."
Shadow
The OOC has been up for ten days, I don't want to rush anyone but may I suggest we go as is. Maybe one of the guys can join us half way in or something. This may just me being impatient.

Maybe.

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