Sona, so far we've been using Control Machines to cover any hacking in a single roll. The Sprawl is a PbtA cyberpunk hack that has very interesting rules relating to the matrix and hacking. Basically, the matrix is a digital yet physical representation of a system. When hacking you move through and interact with a system in a sort of 3D VR. I think stealing those rules could make your hacking stuff more interesting and make combat more varied. Version 0.2 beta is available with a quick Google search. Check out the chapter on the matrix and the hacker playbook and let me know what you think. I'd probably say Synth=INT and Mind=Wis.
Read the chapter on the matrix, and I'm intrigued. Sona is already set up as a fairly strong dominate or flee hacker (using CON to jack out) I'll have to think about how I'd like to implement programs or decks in the fiction, Sona already has so many toys it would almost be unfair for her to have access to another whole set.
I would propose squeezing it into the build robot operation, since in the fiction we've established that software was the main hurdle there. I'll have to read more about programs when I have more time.
Hey, I'm getting more and more weapons. At some point my chassis is going to run out, but until then...
Retzack can continually set up more and connection, to the point where killing him would destabilise the known universe.
Picket knows exactly what Picket wants.
Why not more fun-yay-science-hacking?
I'm not too worried about giving you another tool because I'll let anyone get these moves by buying gear if we decide to implement it. I was more worried about stepping on your toes with your hacking.
The programs are much simpler than I expected. I was thinking in terms of Shadowrunner. If Sona can be said to have a "deck" as part of her technician tools, it would have 4 Processing (Manipulate, Alert, Eject, Defend) because Hardening is for code kiddies who don't know the right end of a soldering iron.
I would also assume Jamee has similar equipment, though he's probably more of a breaker than a controller.
If we need to buy the equipment, we can take it out of the TERRA job.
Haven't been able to find the beta, but it sounds from the chatter like a streamlined, PbtA version of Shadowrun hacking, and that is most certainly my jam. Picket isn't even remotely a hacker, but everybody should know how to use their commlink, so I'll probably just pick up a copy of the rules if we decide to use them.
Alright, looks like this sequence has worn out its welcome. Should we smash cut to:
1) Ambushed outside Harvus restaurant;
2) Job already turned in and getting next job;
3) Deep in the s#@@ in the next job; or
4) Something else entirely?
Chained up in a cell somewhere, interspersed with flashbacks to figure out how and whose fault it is that we're in this mess? :P
I kid. I'm attracted to the idea of the ambush, but I feel it would be a disservice to Jamee's recon, so probably 2 or 3 has my vote.
Ambush, and call in air support. Bonus points if there are no civilians in range when 2BR lands. Even more bonus points if 2BR lands on something/something important.
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The way I see it, there are a few things that need to go on during our three day stay at Shan City.
1. Horvus - The miners need to be returned, and we need to get our reward. The TERRA recruits need to be explained in the fiction, which I think we've started on. We should also hear Horvus's reaction (or non-reaction) to the Flesh.
3. Sona needs to fix all of the things. Downtime is critical to the Technician class.
4. The looming threat of Lodestar should be acknowledged, whether we're rolling to murder them or rolling to sneak away, they're an obstacle here.
5. We should have a chance to see how our destructive and very public encounter was swept under the rug. The best part of the traveling band of smugglers is seeing how things have changed when you return to a location.
I think we can start in the rendezvous point, get our creds and intel, then plan as a group how to deal with the possibility of being spotted on our way out. Realistically, we'd want to do that on the last day, so we know we can escape the planet. In true PbtA style, let's just lampshade the three days of prep until we run into something we could have prepped for, then just retcon-flashback that prep. (or, hey, just give us actual Preparation and we can literally do the preparation thing)
Edit: By the way, do we each roll Outstanding Warrants?
When you return to a civilized place in which you’ve caused trouble before, roll+Cha. On a hit, word has spread of your deeds and everyone recognizes you. On a 7–9, that, and, the GM chooses a complication:
• The local constabulary has a warrant out for your arrest
• Someone has put a price on your head
• Someone important to you has been put in a bad spot as a result of your actions
No worries Retzack. In a bit of a lull at the moment. It will pick up soon though.
As for the sprawl hacking, apparently they took down the link to the beta right after Sona accessed it and I forgot to save it to my computer. I still like those mechanics though.
Google still has it cached, but I'm not really comfortable using that if the creators don't want the beta publicly available anymore. I'll just pick up a copy on Drivethru if we're incorporating the rules (which it sounds like we probably are?).
Also, agree with everything Sona said.
Added bonds. Playbook-provided ones didn't really fit, so I just wrote my own:
Sona is both my junior and my senior; need to find a balance.
Tuber only understands battle; maybe I can teach him about war.
I don't understand Retzack's angle, and that needs to change.
Also fixed my gear section, as I forgot about Load. I just kind of ballparked that a hoverboard would weigh 2, I don't have any stats for one.
I think that's 3 hard moves we're up to for these next few seconds. I hope Jamee's Batman prep is appropriately righteous. :P
Enjoy your vacation, Atlas!
Sorry Sona, I just assume that attacks are meant to be lethal unless otherwise noted. Did you want to retcon that you were only targeting the weapons?
I was trying to keep the encounter non-lethal until one of ours took damage. I do understand that disarming isn't something I had mechanical agency with, but I was outlining my optimal intent for the purposes of negotiation. I assumed you had decided I just didn't have the accuracy to hit the guns only. Sona expects perfection regardless.
Ok I see the problem. When you said "I'd like to shoot as many guns as possible" I thought you meant the guns in your arsenal (that's why the death blossom scene popped into my head). That's a clear case of GM misinterpreting PC action, and I'll be retconning it.
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Greetings all. I had to step away for a bit, but I've been able to get things back together and find time for some DW fun! Anyone mind giving me a rundown of what I missed?
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The police we were just fighting are our bosses, and the cowboys we fought just before are fighting us outside of the pizza place where we were headed. We just got paid for the mission we were going to go get.
Everything in between is just science noises.
Pork you should be lvl 3 now.
Oh! Well that's good. More smashing for me!
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Excerpt from On Vampires, by Dr. James Tallard:
It could be said with no amount of hubris that no species benefited more from the social paradigm change brought about by the so called "Quantum Age" than the species known as "Succo Lamia" or the Blood-Feeding Vampire.
Revolutions in artificial blood has allowed many families to forgo consumption of blood from living vessels almost entirely. Indeed, many would, but it seems that going for too long without the act of feeding from a living thing destabilizes a Succo Lamia to a point of catatonia. Other clans have entered into symbiotic relationships with various communities, wherein feeding is monitored by medical professionals, and the entire process is much like the old-fashioned act of "giving blood".
...
The previous examples of openness of Lamia not withstanding, Vampires are, by-and-large, as yet unknown to the general public. There simply remains a popular "disbelief" of any such phenomenon, and this has resisted steadfastly in the face of public, even famous, incidents wherein undeniable and definitive data of their existence has surfaced.
As modern media and the choices therein have multiplied, so have vampires at large seem to have become more careless in maintaining any "Masquerade" that they do not exist. This has lead to an increase in undeniable evidence, which has taken on a "Inoculating" effect in the general populace. To wit: The more vampires seem to exist, the more willing the public at large has dismissed them and attributed their behavior to other more believable, and even more plausible, origins.
In the famous "Moscow Incident" wherein over two dozen individuals were slaughtered by a Lamia who had been driven mad by a decade of feeding on, ironically, artificial blood, much of the rampage was caught on video, by sources both private and public. Just as it seemed the public was ready to accept the existence of vampires, a large cybernetic firm, Sarif Industries, fed rumors that it was caused by shoddy implants from a competitor, VersaLife. VersaLife of course tried to disprove the attack, but that only seemed to solidify their guilt in the court of public perception. VersaLife took took a hit, there was a recall of some neuru-implants, and that was the final threat to widespread acceptance of vampiric existence.
Indeed, on the planet Skylar IV, 400 years ago there was a Vampire elected to high public office, and part of his platform was open acceptance of his clan. However he was assassinated by a rival clan, and within a century the public had dismissed Vampiric existence again. It seems several millenia of believing that Vampires are folklore has "hardwired" thinking in that direction.
Ever since, every confirmed incident of Lamia existence has only been met by public agreement that it was either an effect of pharmaceuticals, or cybenetics, or some combinations therein.
[end of excerpt]
Retzack, per round doesn't really work in DW. Maybe per GM action post?
2BR, you still with us?
Pork, Rotgut can explode onto the scene at any time.
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2BR hasn't posted in my campaigns for a long while either. I hope nothing happened to her.
Exams have happened! Or rather, are in the process of happening. In exactly one week this set will be done. At this point, I think I still need to take some damage and murder some people. Feel free to bot as neccessary. I will return in 7 days, but will probably keep an eye on proceedings on all three games I'm in.
Happy to hear it! Good luck. I'll bot 2BR with a focus on indiscriminate mayhem and destruction.
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Hello, everyone. I am not really happy to do this, especially mid-scene, but I think I'm going to have to bow out of the game, for the following reasons:
I made Picket as a man of peace. Would not mind violence breaking out despite his preferences to the contrary--in fact, I expect it, and like it as a good source of drama--but we've got Tuber and Retzack who are kind of remorselessly evil and have killing people as a big part of their shtick. I've got no problem with that character style, but with a character like Picket on board it's too much unresolvable tension, and not the fun kind. I've turned it over a bunch of times, and I just can't see anything good coming out of it in the long run. Rule number one is even if we're not friends we need to be able to work together, and I can't make that happen, so I've gotta go.
Since it's full disclosure time, that interaction with the woman in the diner also felt a lot like I got railroaded into stealing a precious memento from a fellow war survivor, and that left a really sour taste in my mouth. I know there were a couple of hard moves on the table, but that's like tricking a paladin into violating their oaths; I felt like my agency was undermined, and that's not really cool in my book. Especially since that was the first complication that Picket was really faced with. It was just a one-time thing, the rest of your GM'ing has been awesome, and the long-term issues above are why I'm leaving, but I wanted to clear the air. Roses and thorns, and all that.
I've got no bitter feelings about any of this, and I hope that goes both ways. Just wanted to hand in the towel on honest terms, and if we could come together on more level ground I'd enjoy playing with any of you again in the future. Until then: I hope you all have a lot of fun with the rest of the game.
Where is Bone during these shenanigans?
EDIT: Woops, missed seeing that I can jump in anytime. I'll get right on it!
Thanks Picket, I'm sorry to hear it but I understand. I was once running a Star Wars game and had a Jedi guardian join a campaign in progress with a group of thieves and scoundrels. It didn't work out.
On the amulet (which was meant to be the useful item from the carouse with a complication), once I realized that you did not want to take it, I wanted to present you with a difficult choice: help the party or pursue the woman. I'm sorry the execution left much to be desired.
By the way, my DM in another DW PbP game I play in just opened recruiting for another DW campaign. Here is the link.
Nothing like a big explosion to mark me getting back into the game, and to start my morning!
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Sorry guys, it's been a rough couple of days with very limited access to my laptop. While I've found a phone is fine for PC posts, it just doesn't work for me for GM posts for some reason.
I'll be updating tomorrow as I want to make sure that Sona's first entry into the matrix doesn't fall flat.
I did some google foo to try and see what stat would best apply with what I was trying to do.
This scene I basically what I am trying to describe Bone doing vs the mech
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xuM47tjCbow
It's the Hulk 2 scene where Hulk and Abomination rush at each other. I was torn between Strength and Con for the roll, but since it feels like Bone is trying to overpower the mech and not just endure a blow, I went with strength.
Lemme know if that makes sense for a DD roll. I try to RP being an Ogre as best I can, but at the same time I know some things might be unrealistic
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I'm also willing to allow anyone to act and roll as 2BR until he is able to return to play.... Horvus stick his head out the door. Let's go people! He gestures for you to return to the restaurant.
2 things
1) What does Horvus mean by this? Is he just trying to get Retzack to safety? Or implying that this is not his fight? Or is he talking to everyone, implying that it's safer inside?
2)That said, since Retzack isn't terribly effective against assault-class Huntsman Mark 2's, I'll happily take over 2BR for such time as needed.
I won't be able to post with him until tomorrow, but that gives everyone time to digest the implications of an Atlas running a vampire running a mech. *evulz gr1n* =D
Retzack, Horvus seems to be implying that he has another way out of this mess. The invitation was to everyone.
If that aid roll helps Bone, then my choice is for it to be done instantly.
2br has 2 hold defending. Sona is riding his back, hacking the middle mech, trying to get the shield down.
Well, at least our group is efficient when it comes to devouring various folks. Looks like Bone will just have to get used to his meals being a bit dry...
While you were gone we got wind of a big bad called The Flesh, who are like an organic Borg from Star Trek, so there should be plenty of juicy gubbins to go around.
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Did I ever mention how the best way to get a lawful paladin type to do bad stuff is to give them an evil overlord or two? That's how I see Sona. She has the law, then her programming, and the Theta agenda, and then on top of that is every order she's ever been given. I figure, if there's ever any need for Sona to go on a quest of redemption, we just need to give Sona an opportunity to encounter an old owner whose orders she's been blaming for her actions.
For some reason I only just started reading Uncharted Worlds, one of the game books MCKhaos linked in reference to Faction Standing. I was wondering if we could start using Data Points. They seem like they would add an interesting dimension to the game.
I was also reading about the ship rooms. I know we were outfitted at the start with some of those rooms, but I also noticed we're getting a ship overhaul... I think it would make us more invested in the ship if we picked rooms. (I'd probably pick Repair Bay and Holding Cells)
I like the Data Points mechanic. Let's adopt it:
Data Points are small but critically useful bits of information about a subject, which can be leveraged to tip the scales
during a particularly tense moment.
Data Points are earned by making particularly successful Assessments, from certain skills, from Acquisitions or as rewards. There are no limits to how many Data Points a character can have, but they quickly expire if they are no longer pertinent or are rendered obsolete/out-of-date.
Each Data Point concerns a specific topic or subject, and can be spent to grant a +1 to any roll that directly involves or leverages the information in that Data Point. Only one Data Point can be spent per roll, no matter how many would apply.
Also, adding 2 rooms sounds more than fair.
There's three big moves on the net: Controlling (INT) Breaking (WIS) and Jacking Out (CON) they work about how you'd expect.
While on the net, there's ICE, which will try to prevent you from getting into the system, and which are summoned when a system throws up an alarm.
You can have/get a fancy connection to the matrix, and you'll have four points to distribute over Hardening, Firewall, and Processing. Hardening is the physical sturdiness of your deck, Firewall keeps ICE from hurting you or your deck, and Processing is how many programs you can have. Programs make slight modifications to certain rolls and results in the Matrix.
So we have some options here on where to take the campaign. I'd like to ask the players some questions so we can take this somewhere awesome.
I see four current hooks:
1. Grellick's jobs
2. T.E.R.R.A. jobs
3. The Flesh base
4. Lodestar general's hatred of you
5. Political machinations between Kvothan and APGLMI.
So there is some potential for a lot of different paths here. Probably a few I didn't mention.
What would you guys like to see happen next? This is your campaign, what is working, what isn't?
As long as Delshick dies at least one more time, I'm good.
I trust Grellick to put us where we'll do the most, but I don't expect the jobs he gives us to be... transparent in how they will benefit him. Especially with Sona all up in his jock.
I feel like we've had our T.E.R.R.A. episode. I also feel like I've had my fill of typing T.E.R.R.A.
I think the Flesh is something that's going to happen to us, but I don't think we're in a place to take them on.
Lodestar is our Team Rocket. They're mad at us for foiling their piracy.
Personally, the Kvothan/APGLMI conflict is something I'd like to see evolve each time we return to Grellick until Sona gets her signature crusade. I've been playing it as a long game.