(4) New Orleans by Night (Shadowrun) (Inactive)

Game Master mdt

@All - Beta grade cyberware and cultured bioware are available at the start. You just have to pay the price. Remember, the Availability goes up though for both, so some things might not be available.

Made some major changes went less kung-fu and more gun-fu and charisma/ contacts. Total Cost 123= (Attributes 60 + Skills 33 + Adept 25 + Wealth 5)

I appreciate any comments or ideas or changes. If I am making a big mistake let me know. Can a contact also be a dependent?

Oh, that's right. In order to cover my embarrassing lapse there I'm going to blame Catalyst and their references to elves/dwarves changing in the 2012 event. (Though as I b+*@~ed about that with a friend he reminded me that they walked back on that themselves and so I really have no one but myself to blame.) ;)

Though at 48 he'd still be old enough for the Texan invasion if you wanted. And there were some surge babies that changed. So if you wanted to be *slightly* older, you could be. Though there's really no reason the character *needs* to be old unless you want him to be. People in CAS like their guns. And a lot of them inherit old guns and like old guns. They tend to be reliable and if she ain't broke, no need to fix 'er.

Cloudy:

Commanding voice is in State of the Art 2064. Given it's an adept power it may still be okay, but that'll be up to the GM.

As for the change to gun-fu, this is, indeed, something that Adepts do *really* well.

1. The main downside to no 'ware is that smartlinks are *crazy* good. -2 TN is *huge* and there's no way as a straight adept to lower TNs. Not saying that you have to, but I'd strongly consider losing a point of Essence and Magic to fit in some minor stuff. You'd be surprised what you can fit into one point. Then again, if your plan is to go full meat, that's a solid concept and I'm all for it. Just keep in mind that while metal detectors aren't going to stop you, anyone with astral perception will know exactly what you are. It's good to be 'ware-less, but any situation that they're not letting a guy with cybereyes, some muscle toner, and a datajack in, they're probably not letting in an unknown adept either. That guy with cyberarms, muscle replacement, wired reflexes, and bone lacing is another story altogether.

2. Your advantage as an adept is the ability to get extra dice to roll. Improved Ability Stealth/Athletics are *steals* at .25 each. Even Improved Ability Pistols at .5 is nice. As a social character, improved social skills is also a steal. (Though I might stay away from those as I *think* our Cowboy is leaning that way?) Being able to roll 8-9 dice (or 10 with a specialization and sizable investment) is big. Most experts here will be rolling 6 dice at things. Lowering TNs tends to be more efficient, but there's no substitute for throwing a ton of dice at something.

3. TNs get bad fast with pistols. Especially range TNs. One way to deal with this is to grab some enhanced senses. I recommend Improved Senses Vision Mag 3. It'll get rid of those range TNs at the very least. Flare Comp is also always good. But any improved sense is fun.

For the most part, I'd suggest looking for a way to add in some improved senses and improved skills. Those really set you apart from the standard street sam. In general, Adepts start out a little weaker in the "putting bullets on target" side of the things, but have cool extras and can eventually keep pace. There are a lot of cool things in cyberware *and* magic, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! ;)

As it is, I think you have a pretty solid character there. I'd suggest hashing out with Cowboy just how social the two of you will be. But you've got a guy that's no slouch in a fight, can talk his way out of (or into) one if he wants, and know his way around NOLA. A solid addition to any team.

I like the idea of a cyberarm containing the remote control rig...as well as signal boost. That will still have the VCR-2 in my head....still not sure that a VCR-3 might not be worth it....but it is very expensive and uses up a lot of essence....

I am still very flexible, to be fair. I can easily go more shooty or more social, and I'm not even decided on whether I'd go adept, cyber or none at all.

Which I should figure out.

Right now the two ways are 'really old human adept' and 'elf with some 20's cyber gear'. Leaning more towards the first, but if I might step on some toes, I can work with the other.

Is there any GM advice/guidance on character power? Since I'd hate to overshadow someone just as much as I'd hate to be overshadowed. I'm fine with the survivalist skills being situational, though.

Ah, I guess I'll present the two builds in q couple of days and see what you think.

Lion I am pretty flexible myself so no worries. With a group this size there is going to be some redundancy anyway. I like your human idea better myself. I think with the point buy system it sort of keeps the playing field level. There might be some edges that are off limits but mdt does a really good job of keeping players on an even power level.

@ Aptnuviel thanks for the great advice. I'll start working in some of the suggestions. I do have a question; I thought anyone could use a smart gun with smart goggles (pg281)?

There is no way to go wrong having multiple ways to talk - or shoot - your way out of a situation.

Personally I prefer the older human. Either with some adept abilities, or with some really old cyberware (non-beta, and probably glitchy to start out with).

As to smart guns, antique weapons wouldn't be able to mount a smart link, not without damaging their antique value, so it's unlikely they'd have been modified.

Smart goggles can be used by anyone. The difference is they don't provide as good a bonuses as an internalized smartlink.

Shadow Old Hands:
Cloudy - Gaming Ranger - Male Human - Physical Adept Martial Artist/Connected Man - maybe Street / Criminal (OC) etiquette?
Selachii - Me'Mori - Human Male - Neo-Anarchist Decker / Electronics, Matrix Etiquette
Redline - Lessah - Female Human/Elf - Gunbunny Chaos Girl, ARs and heavy & launch weapons, perhaps street etiquette
Shugyōsha - Wyrm - Female Elf - Tactician Street Samurai (Run & Gun), Pistols & Edged Weapons, Backup Face, Backup Rigger; Corporate Etiquette
Wraith - Atlas - Female Human - Street Samurai Cyberzombie Wannabe, SMGs & Sniper, maybe street / gang etiquette.

New To The Shadows:
Cowboy - Lion Cleric - Male Human/Elf - Cowboy Anachronism Survivalist, general face
Listener - Aptinuviel - Male Human - Former Government Wage Mage, probably Etiquette (Magical)
Roadster - Daniel Stewart - Male Human - Rigger, maybe military etiquette?

Got a question regarding permits.

In SR3, there isn't really a 'restricted' category; everything that isn't outright legal either requires a permit (such as most pistols) or is completely illegal (like most explosives). If we want an item that has a legality rating with a 'P' in it (such as the Predator-III's 6P-E, or the Synaptic Accelerator's 5P-Q), are you requiring us to have either a legal SIN and purchase a permit (5% of the purchase price to own, such as for the synaptic accelerator, 10% to carry, such as for the Predator-III) for it, or to have a Rating 6 Fake SIN (because by SR3 p274, 'a fake ID ... must beat a Rating 6 verification system in an Opposed Test,' and to beat a R6, it's best to have an R6 or better) and buy the necessary permit(s)? Because that'll chew up a lot of cash for some people, since a R6 fake SIN will go for 36,000¥ alone, and 5% of 200,000¥ is another 10,000¥ ...

If you want to walk around with Permit only items, without getting arrested, yes, you'll need either a SIN and a permit, or you'll need a fake ID + Permit. The fake ID doesn't have to be a level 6, but it sure doesn't hurt. A lower rating one will work, just not as reliably.

For those who have lots of illegal toys, they should have the cash for a fake ID. In general, you'd want at least a R4 fake ID if you're walking around with permit weapons. If you're not, a R2 would work (they probably won't even scan it if you're not hip deep in ammo).

Now, Bioware is a lot harder to find short of being in a full on clinic (and if they're running that level of scan, you're hosed anyway). Cyberware on the other hand is easy to find.

Basically, it depends how far into the shadows you want to go. If you're packing 800K worth of P and Illegal mods, you aren't likely going to want to be anywhere near the light. If you're a physical adept, and sporting no mods, a relatively cheap fake ID works for you.

Oh, and campaign set up.

Note, the game is in the CAS, so the rules on what's illegal are slightly different than the base game. Weapons tend to be a lot looser (at least, non fully automatic. And even some anti-vehicle weapons they overlook if it's on a swamp buggy (given the number of truly horrific things in the swamps).

Also, you won't be going through border crossings all the time, like in Seattle. You'll be in the heart of the CAS, and so the only time you'll need ID is going into corporate compounds or government buildings, or the occassional 'liqour stop' where they are looking for drunk drivers.

Need to go through the books and find the legality codes for my gear, then. Blah. :P

I'll post it as soon as I find my PDF.

Well, the NSRCG has them for Cyberware, at least. It won't be hard, just tedious. ;)

Cool! I'll work with the old boy then. How's shotguns in Shadowrun? We got no one using them and they're a really cowboy weapon to use. Flying later tonight and will present the build tomorrow.

Boomsticks aren't bad. Automatic chokes..

I'm a *huge* fan of sports (hunting) rifles, myself. Shotguns are also fine. It's really just a matter of how close you want to be and how precise. But either fit in really well in CAS.

@Gaming Ranger: Yep, as the GM said anyone can use smart goggles. However, they're slightly less effective. Still a fine compromise if it comes down to it. A -1 TN is still pretty good. It's really just that -2 is *insane*!

Also, as noted, outfitting the weapon with a smartlink tends to mean that the weapon is new-ish. (Or the person modifying the weapon is a master at it and essentially built a new weapon that just looks like an antique.) Which shouldn't be an issue in Cloudy's case but may be an issue for Cowboy.

@MDT - Were you able to get my NSRCG file? For some reason if I save to the default folder it disappears, but if I drop it anywhere else it is fine...weird!!

Ok, I am going to try and finish up my character. Note: His runner name now is HepCat, and not Roadster (which was his call sign in the CAS Cav). Will get an alias up and add to it as we go and confirm stuff.
@Lion Cleric: Want to be an old buddy of my pa's? Would give us a connection..you can looking for him and somehow discovered me...just a thought.

Did you send me a link to it? I may have missed it.

will update and try again...was having some trouble before

Working through my character's gear, I have to say that going with ridiculously low starting cash was a lot more fun than I expected. I've made a *lot* of characters in SR3 and very rarely have I ever gone low on resources. Trying to fit in a lifestyle along with a gun and some armor was surprisingly amusing.

Sorry everyone, been busy (had to work late last night on an emeregency).

So, I couldn't find my notes on the CAS differences, so I'll list them here. I don't think the character creator can handle them, so, just keep track of what you spent in the character creator, and you can add 10% of the cash difference onto your character after finalizing them as spending cash.

Non-Automatic Pistols do not require a Permit.
Non-Automatic Rifles and Shotguns do not require a Permit.
Weapons that require no permit cost 10% less than book price.
Light-Anti-Vehicle (LAV) weapons can be purchased with a permit if you have proof you live in a non-urban/suburban area (such as the swamp).
Cost of living index is 10% below the book rate (that means your lifestyle costs are reduced by 10%).

Again, take the difference as cash after you finalize the character.

MDT, do you have Canon Companion? (I assume so, I just want to ask before I start buying stuff from it.)

Light-Anti-Vehicle (LAV) weapons can be purchased with a permit if you have proof you live in a non-urban/suburban area (such as the swamp).

Ah, yes - the delights of living in an area where an Awakened alligator is almost as tough as a main battle tank. God bless the behemoth!! ;)

Yep

Hey there, guys! I think I'm done with a preliminary build of Cowboy.

I'll use Gaming Ranger's way of presenting the character sheet (thanks, Gaming Ranger!)

For weapons, I was looking at the Colt Manhunter or the Ruger Super Warhawk as a gun. What's the difference between SS and SA? I'm sure one is Single Shot and the other is Single Action, but don't know the ingame effects, advantages or disadvantages. This is pretty much the weapon I'm imagining him to use.

For shotguns, I'm trying to find something that's lever-action. If not, I'd like some guidance as to what's relatively reasonable to be re-fluffed as a cut-stock shotgun. Either that or a double-barreled one. I'm hoping the Nimble Fingers would aid with this, but I'm not sure.

Going to put out the question of getting a horse, but more like a tongue in cheek.

EDIT: Lifestyle. I'm assuming that this is paying for rent in town and whatnots. What are the options?

Hi Lion Cleric!

For a sawed-off shotgun, I think I can help there. If we look at the gun design rules in the canon companion, we can start with a stock shotgun($650), give it Barrel Reduction(+$40), Improved Concealability (level 1)(+$100), and Increased Power (level 2)(+$800), will make it:
10M, SA, Conceal: 6, Ammo: 5(m) for 1590 nuyen.
Whoa. So you've got a gun that will shred open combat orks with the concealability if a hold-out. =)

It'd be nice to have, but mdt has made weapon design unavailable until after game start and we can get a hold of someone who can do it or acquire it for us. (That's why I got the contacts I did. ;) )

That said, however, the Remington 990 (from the Cannon Companion, p. 23) could easily be interpreted as a lever-action. It also has a sawed-off version; stats are as follows:

For SS/SA - SS is indeed Single Shot; SA is Semi-Automatic. Both are fired using simple actions (which you get two of), but you can fire a SS weapon only once an initiative pass, while you can fire a SA weapon twice.

To get the best 'Cowboy feel', though, go with a revolver - Ruger Super Warhawk, or again out of the Cannon Companion, the Cavalier Deputy.

The Remington 750 and 950 are also bolt action hunting rifles. Which are pretty much redneck staples.

Cowboy: Character looks good. The only recommendations I have is to go with improved senses (any two) over blindfighting. fighting while blind is always bad, but if you pick lowlight and thermo you'll rarely have to worry about fighting in the dark anyway.

The second is to take a hard look at two-weapon shooting. Even with ambidexterity, the +1 TN (for the "off-hand"), with no way to reduce TNs, is *rough*. Especially with pistols where TNs add up really fast. It's a good look, but not hitting anything gets old and frustrating fast. If you are going to go that way, I *highly* recommend getting improved ability (pistols). If you're going to have high TNs, the only way to deal with that is to throw massive amounts of dice at them. :)

Alas, I need to concur with Aptinuviel about 2 weapons shooting. I tried -very- hard to get Wraith to be able to shoot twin guns, but the numberz...they do not like it. Taking out the smart-gun bonus combined with the resources it take to get rid of the +2 intrinsic penalty is just nuts.

Ah, makes sense. Two guns at the same time is fairly new as a concept. I've changed it for Aptitude-> Pistols and Night Vision. Trying not to go too combat-y.

@Daniel Steward, I'm sorry, didn't see the thing about Roadster Sr. Sounds like a plan. Maybe using the farm as a safehouse from time to time, or arranging for deals with the northern border. Just two things that popped into my mind.

@Lion - really liking your cowboy idea!

Sorry for the disappearing act. Had to pull some extra shifts at work, then I got a head cold that knocked me for a loop. Just wasn't meant to be this time. Maybe next run chummers. Have fun, and stay in the shadows. :3

Here's (mostly) the stats for Selachii. I still have to purchase equipment, and I may be missing a point or so (not factoring in for a light addiction), as well as still being uncertain about the cyberarm (along with the attendant unarmed and ranged perks).

mdt, how much attention should I be paying to the deck and programs? I have access to the matrix book, but how detailed are you going to need me to be?

When you're going real time at the same time as everyone else, very detailed.

When you're doing research or scouting and we're doing abstracted rolls, not very detailed.

@Lion: Where is your farm? As my father and uncle's main base of operation was in Biloxi, Mississippi and they ran moonshine all through the CAS south, it could be almost anywhere I suppose. I was also thinking that maybe HipCat went looking for you. I envisioned him finding his Pa's old 'blackbook' of contacts and, having crossed off a number of them (dead, moved, prison, etc) came across your name, gave you a call and set up a meet in New Orleans. What do you think?
Now who else can we rope in to our little group..lol.

@Daniel Stewart: I like where you're going with this idea. No matter the setting, with Wraith as new in town (and the state) we can end up anywhere. I just start asking around about who has true grit and come up with your name...?

I'm still looking for a way to hook Ashley in. Though it would probably be better if he came stumbling in randomly through either one of the established runners or our Fixer. "Like, hey this guy needs and job and you need someone that can see astral wards." He does have a knack for fitting in where he doesn't really belong and will be pretty desperate for some nuyen.

If Ashley was in DDI, he could have been involved in trying to help the DED (Drug Enforce Division) try to catch Roadster and his relatives selling moonshine, and actually have me him in the course of the investigation.

DSI actually. And I think I'd much prefer if he hadn't run into anyone prior to his current predicament. Mainly because I'd like him to come off now as a completely different person than he used to be. So when former "friends" and acquaintances talk about him, the people in the group would be surprised to learn that he was like that at all.

Ok...here is HepCat minus his equipment....suggestions/corrections welcome!

You're still buying your deck as cyber components (with the Alpha ware). You don't buy them as cyber components in the cyberlimb. They take up space only.

Remote Control Deck : 5 units
IVIS/ICM : 0.5 units per
All other components : 0.25 units per

An obvious cyberarm has 10 units it can absorb of electronics.
A synthetic cyberarm (looks real) has 5 units it can absorb of electronics.
Legs have 20/10.

You would buy the RCD and components as if they were normal deck and components (like you were carrying them in a suitcase). You'll still need a DNI (Direct Neural Interface) to connect to the RCD.

DNI is 0.1 essence, costs 4,500 nuyen

My only recommendation for HepCat is to drop Shotguns and pick up Stealth. It may not come up often for him outside a vehicle, but shadowing people is a thing. And being able to do so with a drone or vehicle could come in handy. The advantage of having both shotgun and pistols is added versatility. But if we're down to worrying about which non-vehicle/drone mounted weapon HepCat needs to pull out, then the group is in serious drek.

I went to the cyberlimb section of the program and added the items from that section....I have the DNI, or do I need one for each item...sorry the program is not very user friendly and it looked like I was purchasing the items for my cyberarm....
SO to fit all the items I want, I could not have a synth arm, as it would be over 5 points of equipment...correct?

I'm thinking Roy's ranch was situated somewhere around the south Texas/Colorado/Arkansas border. There's actually a town named Jefferson in there (as I found out 5 minutes ago), so I'm pretty sure that's the place.

Mkay I'm making some progress on my character. I just have some questions I'd like to bring up:

1) As someone whom is missing Man & Machine - What's the difference between Smartlink and Smartlink II?

2) Can I pick up hydraulic jacks without having actual cyberlegs and/or would lower leg replacements perhaps suffice?

3) Also, max starting skills of 6 and specializations - is 4/6 (as in, specialization at 6), 5/7 (6 'skill points' spent) or 6/8 (ordinary skill at 6) the maximum?