Invisibility spell anyone? I think we best split them between AM and Raven given sustaining limits.

That is, obviously, an option.

Might not fool the drone, though, depending on what kind of sensors it has.

Bye
Thanee

I can also hack the drone if you prefer but it feels more risky than invisibility + concealment from Trouble.

Have a good trip, Jack!

Thanks, I'm currently getting ready for the bus that takes me to the train that takes me to the airport - ETA in Tanzania tomorrow 1630h local time

Have a great trip and safe travels!

Bye
Thanee

Have fun!

Thanks

I'm about to board my flight - expect radio silence from me for the next 18 hours or so

Alright, arrived safely and recovered from the about 30 hours of travel - lovely weather and culture shock is somewhat tolerable

Great to hear! Enjoy!

Bye
Thanee

I'm glad you made it OK. I hope you are soon immersed in the right combination of relaxation and stimulation.

Yeah, it's been quite nice at my aunt's, but tomorrow the 5 day Safari starts - feel free to post though - there might be wifi at the lodges at night

How was the safari ?

Amazing - I'm currently enjoying the beach of Sansibar

The Safari took us through four parks (Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorogoro and Serengeti) - and it's given me a new appreciation how bad roads can be.

Though I'm happy to announce that we managed to see the big five + loads and loads of other wild animals.

So now we are currently relaxing from the experience

I tossed up an IC post, thinking maybe we can get our approach to getting into the elevator figured out before Jack is back, so that we can get going smoothly.

Feel free to post - I've been back from the safari for a while now.

Though I wanted to share with you some insights about Africa/Tanzania and Cyberpunk/Shadowrun

It took a visit to Arusha - one of the larger cities in Tanzania to see just how much cyberpunk there is in daily life here.

The main factor is the clash of a very poor majority and a thin, wealthy middleclass with even fewer ultrarich. But one point after the other:

- Traffic: Roads are mostly bad and traffic lights are more a suggestion than anything else. If there is a two way lane both traffic and uncomming traffic share the middle lane to get ahead. Motorbikes are ubiquitous here - a mode of transportation that even poorer people can afford (don't ask about the age of the vehicles though). They transport everything, up to and including stacks of mattresses. There are biker gangs - both just youths as well as criminals (not that there isn't a significant overlapp) all over the place. Dust and smog darken the sky (but create pretty sun sets). It's loud and people are crossing everywhere. So called Dalla-Dallas are mini cabs that take the place of short range public transit. There are even weirder forms of transportation in the form of Tuk-Tuks - small, riksha like mopeds that overtake regular traffic left and right.
There is just so much going on in the streets, that it's at all times rush hour.
But of course there are also the huge, mobile bunkers around - mainly Toyota Landcruisers for the Safaris as well as the ultrarich in their armored limousines. They force their right of way due to their shier size and have the suspension to mostly ignore the speed bumps.

- Food: Most people still go to markets and street vendors - that includes fast food with some kind of bbq set up on every corner. Meat isn't cheap, so you are more likely to find a vegetable on it than not - corn is here what soy would be in SR. Cheap sugar is used everywhere - soda is often cheaper than clean water, and it's wreaking havoc with the older people. Add to that, that the water coming from Mt. Meru and Killimanjaro is relatively high in flurorine, bad teeth are quite common in contrast to the typical african smile. But if you are rich, you can just go to a climatized mall and get everything you would find in the US or Europe - just for vastly higher prices. Lifestyle brackets ala SR are a real thing around here.
And people are enterprising: There's a shop selling engine parts by day and having a street bbq restaurant at night.

- Healthcare: It's dangerous here - there is a whole wing in the hospital for headinjuries from motorbike accidents - as few wear helmets and even fewer bother to lock them closed. If you can't pay, you don't get treatment beyond some basic patching up. Local back alley docs are the norm for poorer folks, while the poorest of them all have to rely either on missionary clinics or on folk remedies of questionable provenance. If there is a medical transport coming, expect them to show now mercy on the roads - Doc Waggon could learn from that.

- Diversity: There is a mix of influences here you wouldn't imagine: Chinese businesses have taken over most building jobs as well as importing enormous amounts of goods. Indians have long been here (even before the Europeans came) and are heavily involved in jewelry, banking and healthcare. There are still a lot of Europeans around - running farms or businesses and forming a solid if diminishing part of the middle class. Then there are Christians, Muslims (both Sunnis and Shiits), Hindus and Sikh everywhere, (people are quite pragmatic about that with families making sure that each of their children follows a different religion, so they cover their bets by having them pray for their parents). The different groups stay together and don't really mix. Lot's of racism to go around from all sides.

- Technology: Tech is expensive, but smartphones have come here and thrived. You can do basically anything with your phone and whatsapp - be it getting food delivered, getting yourself delivered, banking, buying a new bike, get married or trade your cows with some Massai tribe from out of town. Everyone has a smartphone and everyone is online, organizing their day. Some kidds build their own laptops from discarded office pcs - piracy is just the normal way to get any software here - you just have to know the right people in the right back street. Different ratings of technology coexist quite easily here - as well as the different internet service plans.

- Security: The mentioned super markets: They all have Askari/guards stationed a the exits and between the aisles - private security is the name of the game. Police are corrupt and/or overwhelmed. Traffic is dangerous enough without shakedowns from the cops. If crimes happen, its more likely they are solved internally or not at all. Again, rich people have to spend their money on protection as well. Poor people can only rely on each other. At least there aren't as many weapons around - people here still prefer everyday tools as bludgeons instead of investing in expensive ammunition and firearms.

- Magic: Yeah, people believe in witchcraft. It's mostly people cursing (i.e. poisoning) other people, but more sinister stuff like trafficing albino people for their skin (supposed to help find you diamonds in the mines if you wear the skin of an albino). Street magic is a part of life here, though again the stores are more a back alley kind of business. At the same times, there are still witch burnings in the backparts of the country.

Loads of people come here, bring their stuff and influences and leave their money and trash behind - not that the locals need help throwing their trash everywhere. Beautiful landscapse, ugly cities, ultra capitalist markets and anarchistic life, cutthroat daily survival and very friendly people. Dust and smog and bad roads. People make do with what they can get - smart when they want to be, but won't bother much about improving anything.

It's the closest I've come to visit Nightcity or SR Seattle yet

Thanks for the observations, Jack! Very interesting.

I have an Aunt who did a couple of years with an NGO in Tanzania back around 1970 or so, I should ask her what her impressions of the country then were, to get a feel for how fast things have changed.

Thanks for taking the time to write that up, Jack. I appreciate the insights. I feel like a schoolteacher who asked Jack to write a "compare and contrast" essay about his vacation, hahaha.

I had lot's of time to think about that while I was stuck in traffic

And as of now, I'm back home - safe and sound

Welcome back! Weather's probably a bit different, if I had to guess.

Yeah, it was summer when I left and now it's pretty much full on autumn

What an adventure you had Jack! Thanks for parsing/sharing about it.

I'd missed seeing that Thanee posted while I was writing my post. She easily dealt with the situation!

(But how do you get 13 intuition?)

10 base from Channeling, +4 from spell, that she had cast earlier to help with perception and potentially defense.

She has pretty crazy attributes at the moment.

Bye
Thanee

Yeah, that does make sense. They got some stuff out of there, after all.

But that was a bit ago, wasn't it? And then they made that teaser that they are on to something big.

Did they go in here a second time maybe? Can we see, whether the latest prints (on top) are going in? Like, if there are three sets of print, not just two.

Bye
Thanee

You are pretty sure it's only two sets.

But her sustained Increase Intuition spell is only F6. Doesn't the Force of the spell need to meet or exceed the attribute it's modifying?

Oh dear, that is true.

But shouldn't have mattered here, at least, since it would still have been the 2 hits needed.

Bye
Thanee

Anyone remember what we are using for rules on chaining matrix objects? Can Tamarind add others to her network and share her noise reduction?

@Channeling

There is another issue: Channeling only increases your physical attributes

@Slaving devices

That only gives you protection against hacking. For noise from distance, it is automatically creating connection to the rest of the network, but in this case you are dealing with spam noise, so unless you create a physical connection, you can't reduce noise for others.

We'll all just daisy chain to Tam's RCC and form a conga line. "Da da da da da DAH!"

Yes, but the spirit's mental and special attributes are used (exception, when resisting mana spells).

Bye
Thanee

AM is pretty much disabled, great job delivering that horror vibes Jack.
I can imagine how stressed she is without magic or tech - and without the high-tech pistol as well.

by the way, what happens when the BGC is over the quickened growth spell? Is AM shrinking back? I don't remember how forceful the enchantment is but she couldn't have made it more than 10.

The BGC lowers the Force of the spell. If it goes to zero, it stops working.



Bye
Thanee

Alright, I see if I wrote somewhere what force I cast the growth spell. She might get out of this place half the woman she was entering it which would create fun RP. I didn't write but since it is drain Force +1 I doubt she cast it at F10- so I'd say the growth spell is gone and she'll notice once she finish hacking.

Looks like you did list it in your character sheet:



And, yeah, unfortunately does not look like it is going to stay.

Bye
Thanee

It was a good ride, I'll write something in my next IC.

Initiative: 9+4d6 20

Thats unfortunate, but she can get all the files in a single combat turn. If she can hold on that long.

She'll use perfect time to end her turn with firewall 5. (due to over clocker).

Initiative 25


I think, my best option against the spirits is to use a service to give control to my spirit, and have them fight in astral combat.

At -9 it's not great, but should still be ok. Defensive does not get the penalty, which certainly helps in that regard.

Bye
Thanee

Logic 5 + Willpower 7: 12d6t5 5 hits

Initiative: 1d6+16 17

Mato has the Battle Hardened II quality, if it becomes relevant.

I know the OOC note says the spirits are the equivalent of F4. Would the Awakened members of the team expect the spirts to be further amplified by being aspected to the background?

Is our "one round to formulate a strategy" the first round of the combat turn, or does initiative kick in when the spirits have materialized?

by the way, I think Initiative should be 21 due to poor self control thrill seeker.

I believe, bonuses are only increased limits. They won't get the penalties, though, which is quite a big bonus by itself.

Bye
Thanee

Correct, it's only limits. And these aren't regular spirits, but more a hybrid between sprite/spirit.



You are in the first round of combat with your opposition not doing anything but materializing.

Edit:

Alright, rolled ini for the spirits:

Ini: 3#8+2d6 18 15 18

Round 1

Raven 25 ???
AM 21 Copying two files (please say which you chose first, in case the terminal is destroyed)
Spirit 1 and 3 18 Materializing
Mato 17 ???
Spirit 2 15 Materializing
Tamarind ?

What do the "???" indicate? Is that just where our actions will go?

So if a couple sprite/spirits are materializing on 18 during the first initiative pass, does that mean that Mato can smash them on 17? Or are you ruling it that the won't be fully materialized until the end of the first initiative pass?

I presume everything is within easy range, but let me know if there are any meaningful distances to take into consideration.

Pretty sure the ??? just means that no actions have been declared, yet.

Not entirely sure how this works, but I think I have to spend my action on 25 to give the task to the spirit (expending one service), and then on the next pass, the spirit will act.
We share the initiative, counting as one being, right? i.e. we do not both get to act, just one of us. That's how I understand it.

So, that is what Rachel will do on her turn. Command the spirit to take over and protect us against the attacking entities.

Bye
Thanee

First action: Lockbox codes, users/password.

Tamarind init: 15+2d6 init: 15+2d6 22

Also, going through her character sheet, it looks like I only bought ammo for her machine pistol, not her Ingram -- definitely an oversight, not a plan. Any complaints if I quickly add (and pay for) a couple of clips of each of normal and stick-and-shock sub-machine gun ammo? I'll edit my IC about the ammo and gun she is using, once that is confirmed.

And what was Mato rolling logic plus willpower for? (I did a quick scan of Jack's posts, but possibly didn't scroll back far enoug, but I don't think I saw an ask for that?)

It was under a spoiler.

Mato has more SMG ammo if you don't want to retcon Tamarind's supply. He can basically give her the same as he did to AM (a mag each of explosive, APDS, gel, and stick-n-shock).