Shadowrun 5th Edition (Inactive)

Game Master psionichamster

Cavan shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.

"Couldn't see too much, I heard 'em talking in there. Although the place is dead quiet right now, but I have no idea what kind of security they have set up. Seem to have an Aztlan accent, and some kind of generator in there. This Simon fella works at a terminal the entire time, we did catch a silhouette, but nothing too much. Now, we are being paid a bit for this, you are being paid a bit for this, what if we pool together our earnings and split is all up? You get a cut of ours, we get a cut of yours. "

We can count chickens after they hatch.

What say we make our way into the church. The front door seems to obvious. I say we make our way in through a window that leads to the basement.

Al, do you have any scanners or means to determine if this place is wired/trapped?

@Cavan: it has a couple of spires over angled roofs. The primary one along the central ridge near the back wall has a small cupola, possibly 2m square and 1.5m tall.

"If it sends a signal, it's on the matrix. Besides us there are 11 other devices running silent within 100 meters. Consolidating those to the 5-6 dinks on the inside is a best case scenario. I can take a look at each one - but if any one of those doors is set with string, a match, and a pound of C4... I wouldn't leave it up to the guy with corrective lenses to find it."

GM: Forgot to ask, were those devices on the public grid?

Out here, there is only the public grid, unless you have some sort of sat-link or repeater device.

Kerrah's Metalink is certainly in the public grid, and struggling to get a good signal.

The hidden icons are unknown for the time being, although the one active and not silent device with the guns is in fact on the public grid. Best guess on that one is a Sony Emperor or similar link. Rating 3, stock model, basically.

Cavan thinks a bit about the comment about the C4.

"It would take a bit more than a tripwire for C4 to work like that, a simple frag grenade would be much better for something like that. It also keeps costs down. But the principle is the same."

He scraps the idea he has, blowing the doors would be really bad.

"So your Johnson wants you to off this "Simon" fella. Well, mine only wants me to figure out as much stuff as I can. If we can find out some more information we might be able to pick up a second job. Now how do you think we should get in? Front door and windows are an option, but so is the truck loading area."

I either need to reign in the hyperbole or spend some time with a matchbook and C4 - I'll make a pro/con list later...

"Recovering what's left of the goods is part of it, too. Besides, on the loading dock we'd be walking into a wide area with vague cover options that I'd be reluctant to shoot through. Front door might as well be the same. Windows seem best. If one of you wants to check out our possible entryways I may be able to see what some of those icons are; maybe wreak some havoc beforehand."

NB: there's no proper "loading dock" to the church. The closest approximation is a metal bulkhead door along the back, right up against the wall.

Al: Matrix Perception if you'd like to know more about the hidden icons. You do know the location of one non-silent icon, the Sony commlink with some trodes, an HK 227, glasses and earbuds attached.

Anyone else who's trying to scope out entrances or other bits of interest, roll Perception.

Kerrah will buy 3 hits to sneak around the church again, looking for easy access points and bits of interest.

Perc: 9d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 3, 1, 3, 4, 6, 6, 1) = 30

She will report back what she found if anything.

Kerrah: the front doors, the side doors, and the bulkhead door all appear to be functional entry points. There are several open window-frame areas about 2-3 meters up the side wall, plenty big enough to fit through.

On the roof the only spot that looks large enough to fit through is the aforementioned spire with its 1.5m × 1.5m square "footing".

You don't notice any motion or further activity inside the building.

"Whelp, I guess Dora volunteered. Watch my back, Diego."

After finding a discreet alley corner, Al jacks in under Hot-Sim to check on that Sony Commlink.

Hot-Sim +2 dice should negate the public grid -2. (Deck Setup 3A/6S/5D/5F)

If necessary. matrix initiative: 4d6 + 3 + 5 ⇒ (4, 3, 1, 2) + 3 + 5 = 18

I’ll attempt to place a mark on the device

Hack on the Fly: 11d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 3, 6, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5) = 46

Sony Emperor defense: 6d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 2, 4, 1, 5) = 22 - 3 hits vs Al's 6, Al net hits: 3.

Al has 1 mark and may ask up to three questions regarding this device (You already know the commcode, the fact that it's a Sony Emperor Commlink, and has those other devices slaved to it.)

GM, is a window open? or is open window-frame a description of a style of window?

What would Kerrah need to do to get through the window?

I thought there were windows looking down into basement? Am I wrong about that?

Cavan stands guard over the apparent decker. Using this opportunity, Cavan finds a trash can to sit on and checks his gear.

"Sure thing Al, I'm not very good with computers myself but maybe I have a trick that can help you out."

Firearm check, spare clips check, explosives check, timers for explosives check. All good, let's try listening in a bit.

By any chance would the spell increase reflexes affect Al's Matrix initiative? If yes then I cast it. Just Force 2 to give him +2 and +1d6, then buy the successes and buy off the drain. Because I don't want to take any drain before any of the "shooting and the fire and the oh god you do what" happens.

Window frames is exactly what it sounds like: open frames where stained glass windows used to be.

Basement windows are approx 10cm × 45cm and set into the stone foundation just above the pavement.

Re: increase reflexes, I will have to check when I'm home with my books.

Kerrah will report back to Cavan and Al that we have a way in when we are ready.

"Murph, can you use your magiks make us invisible or help with sneaking into the church?"

She'll wait and continue to watch the area while Al looks checked out.

Does anyone besides myself have marks on the commlink? What was the last Matrix action performed and when? And are there protected files?

Depending on the answers I'll probably try another hack on the fly. Would I roll another initiative check first? (Not sure how pronounced the rules are on play-by-post for rounds)

"I've already told you Bobbi, I don't do invis. That stuff still gets you picked up on cameras anyway. I'm working on something with the decker, but I don't have too much sneaking spells."

Re: VR initiative - increase reflexes will not add anything of bonus. If in AR, yes, increase reflexes will work just like normal.

Al: there is a mark on the commlink. It looks like a red crosshair, you do not recognize it. Last matrix action (and ongoing) is to log into Miracle Shooter. The data files for the commlink are protected in the usual fashion for a Sony 'link.

If you want to achieve a thing, let me know your goals. Matrix speed is super fast so going round by round via PbP is not too feasible.

I realize I have combat sense and improve reflexes, I probably should have taken something else like hot potato or gecko crawl, but oh well. I can pick those up later. Along with physical camouflage.

Al sends a quick message to his cohorts comms "I think we have someone fond of playing games while on guard duty. Trying to track him down."

Then I will go for Mark #2 this time around

Hack on the Fly: 11d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 5, 1, 2, 5, 6, 6, 4, 2, 3) = 41 (4 hits)

6d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 2, 4, 3, 4) = 21 Defense. Mark 2 acquired.

Going to Push the Limit with a point of edge.

Trace Icon: 7d6 + 5d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 1, 6, 3, 6, 3) + (3, 1, 1, 1, 5) = 34

re-roll: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10 (4 hits total)

4d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 3, 1) = 15 Defense vs Trace Icon (2 hits, 2 net to Al)

Al: The Sony commlink is about 45m away from you, and you'd guess about 3m underground. Given what you saw and triangulating with your own persona & a known location, you have a very good idea that the 'link is in the church basement. Probably near the back wall, give or take about 2m.

Going to Push the Limit with a point of edge.

[dice=Trace Icon]7d6+5d6

[dice=re-roll]2d6 (4 hits total)

Not that you need it, but when you Push the Limit, you re-roll ALL the 6's that come up, whether they are on the original or on any re-rolls.

Al switches his input to AR with a meaty grin and mutters to himself "Keep goin for that highscore, nothin to see here."

"Got a distracted guard in the basement with an HK-227. We have an entry point?"

"There sure is," Kerrah says as she attaches the silencer to her Ares 70.

With a f%%+-it grin, she continues "Follow Bobbi this way.

Kerrah will buy 3 hits on sneak as she moves back across the street to the church.

When ready to go, Kerrah will lead the two over to the basement window near the back of the church, near where Al indicated the 'distracted guard' is at.

She will peer in and try get a sense of the floor plan from that window's perspective.

Perc: 9d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 5, 2, 5, 4, 5, 4, 5) = 37 5 hits

"It will be a bit of a tight squeeze, but this looks to be the closest entry point," Kerrah whispers.

You have found a way in, know where at least one of the baddies is, and have a few icons in the area running silent.

What's the plan?

BTW, heard from Hawatari's player - they had some IRL troubles, but hopefully should be joining us soon.

No idea, Cavan is... pretty dumb tbh. Low logic and intuition. He's not a plan guy, he's a talky talky guy. But I would recommend knocking out the guard, maybe we can mess with his game and while he's distracted take him out real quiet like.

We got a plan, just waiting for everyone to respond in a timely manner.

"Alright, gonna put the finishing touches on our good friend kind enough to ignore our B&E."

Al momentarily switches back to VR and attempts a 3rd mark.

Hack on the Fly: 11d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 2, 4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 6, 6) = 44 (3 hits)

6d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3, 6, 2, 4) = 27 defense

0 net hits.

grr...lets try that again.

Hack on the fly: 11d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 6, 6, 4, 1, 1, 6, 1, 4, 2) = 42 (5 hits)

The Japanese elf fem - who has, to be entirely honest, looking over the church with a vaguely abstracted air as she switched out the standard rounds out for the sub-sonics, screwed on Predator V's silencer, then pulled on a complete gecko-tape set - sniffs faintly at 'Bobbi' and her intent on simply sliding through the joint. She tosses a thought off to Ahlwin via the hacker's quick VPN (which, granted, currently consists of only the two of them) to say, Get into cover, stay back some - don't get distracted by the gunplay. We know the name of the church now; run a parallel search for old images of the inside, maybe find an old floor plan or blueprint - a lot of places used to have basic maps on their sites for the public, so it'd be a place to start. Meanwhile, it'd be good to start hunting down those others running silent. Locations first.

"Not that I haven't simply walked into a place and shot everything living before," she murmurs (whispers are harsh, carry further, and are more blatantly 'someone trying to be sneaky', while a murmur might be just noise) as she moves smoothly along behind 'Bobbi' and 'Murphy', double-checking the presence of her gel round clip, "but let's make sure to not kill Mr. Simon, shall we?"

When the three - or four, presuming Alhwin trails some - get in close view of the 4" tall basement windows, her expression goes a little disgusted. "Not fitting through that," she murmurs quietly as she tries to get a line on any humanoid- or critter-shaped heat signatures through those windows. "Let's quiet our watchman first, then pick a side - plenty of big open windows to choose from. Wish I had a dentist's mirror. And some rope...

She glances at 'Bobbi's' two pistols, Light Fire and Super Warhawk. A twitch of a smile graces her lips, but she doesn't say anything.

Re: climbing through the first floor windows - not a problem. They're long since devoid of glass, and only about 75cm-1m off the ground.

Re: basement window, you have what you believe is a form in LOS, possibly human, sitting in a chair. He's about 2-3m away from the window and against the rear wall.

6d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 2, 6, 6, 3) = 20defense vs hacking (Al has 3 net hits)

Welcome back, Hawa!
GM, Is the basement windows smashed or covered by glass? What is the threshold to get through basement window?

Kerrah points to her Defiance taser and types out, For Mr. Simon

Kerrah, happy to have an experience leader, will continue to type out on her comm, What's the plan for guard? I'm a pretty good shot. Or I can get inside, wait. What's plan for entry once we get floor plans?

Thanks for the pointers. I'm used to the Sneak skill covering whispering/murmuring/low talking vs opponents Perception when trying to be quiet. If this is not the case in this game, let me know and I'll follow suit.
The Warhawk and Steyr are in concealed holsters and the Remington is broken down in a case.
Also, I only have the core SR5 book, so I dont have access some of the other neato items.

Cavan sets up a clairaudience spell centered on the guard to know exactly what he says if he gets hit with anything, matrix or bullet related.

"Here, I'll listen in to our distracted guard, if he says anything I'll relay it. sound good? A blasted pun, I didn't mean that."

Planning stage, I'll go with a simple force 5 and buy off the drain.

"Check. Prepping to brick the guards comm. Suggest something quiet before he starts to b*tch and moan about losing high score. Floor plans momentarily.

format device: 10d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 6) = 43 (6 Hits)

Assuming that works...

Lets do a general search for any public floor plans, only for 1 minute.

Matrix Search: 7d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 4, 4, 5, 1, 5) = 25 (3 hits)

Hawatari shrugs and, while keeping cover, lifts the smartlinked, silenced weapon and engages its electronics. Unlike most of the other runners' gear, her internal router and linkages allow her to use the weapon's capabilities without needing to make her commlink shout to the world its location. "I'll take the shot," she murmurs so that the others can hear - if barely. To 'Bobbi' she adds, "Remind me to talk to you later about proper gear ..." She then takes careful aim on her target's head while trying to keep her own profile as low as possible, ready to make her PV give a couple of gentle coughs - but not before the form responds.

GM,
If the basement window is not an option to squeeze through (i.e., the threshold is 3 or more) Kerrah would have had her climb gear out and ready to go through the nearest church window while using her 3 hits for sneak.

Also, did the 5 hits on perception (from the Friday May 20th post) reveal anything more about the layout of the basement or church floor through either window? Did she hear anything before the shot?

Yeah, the basement windows are not big enough to squeeze through. Climbing gear is unnecessary to get through the first floor windows - they are old stained glass windows, long since broken, and plenty big enough to scramble through.

Re: perception, I missed that. You notice the guy sitting in a chair, you can easily make out the shape of a SMG propped next to him, mag in the mag-well, and notice he is clearly in the posture of someone deep in AR usage. You also notice a small, very well hidden device, about the size of a AA battery, stuck in the upper corner of the door leading into the basement room.

I will resolve the pistol shot & Al's format device tricks when I am back home tomorrow morning and have my books.

Assuming we are ready to begin the assualt, here goes!

Al issues his command to format the guy's commlink 6d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 3, 2, 4) = 22 handily. All it will take is a simple reset and that 'link is good as toast.

Hawatari holds her pistol ready and aims at the dude sitting still in the corner. A soft cough from her pistol sends a couple of rounds through the dirty glass window and drills the guy hard.

DV 10 + 6 hits - 2 shooting through barrier = 14P, AP -1.

Resisting damage = 12+3-1= 14d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, 6) = 41 vs 14P damage. He soaks 1 and drops to the floor, bleeding heavily from a head wound.

Cavan: your spell hears the thump of the dude hitting the ground and the tinkle of breaking glass, but not much else.

Kerrah will move up and through the window as soon as 'Hawa' fires her shot.

Gymnastics: 13d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 5, 6, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 3, 5) = 39 3 hits
Sneak + urban: 13d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 6, 1, 1, 5, 6, 5, 4, 5, 2, 5, 5) = 48 6 max hits

Once inside she will survey the inside area and wait for Al to give her layout directions on her comlink.

What's inside?

Inside the ground floor at this side of the church, Kerrah sees a largely ruined sanctuary. What was once a sizeable area of pews has fallen into piles of rubble and scrapwood. Along the wall to the left, a couple of doorways stand dark, the wooden doors long since gone.

Kerrah can just make out a faint light from those doorways, probably cast from the link of the (now bleeding and unconscious) distracted guard below.

At the far end of the church, the main doors stand open, and plenty of window frames offer access along the other walls.

Church is basically a large rectangle, with a smaller one attached to one of the short legs. You've entered at the SW corner opposite the main entrance. As far as you can tell, no-one has any idea you're there.

"He's down, no vocals. Let's get moving."

Cavan slowly climbs through the window to get inside. Dropping his clairaudience spell he tries to sneak in.

Stealth: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 1, 3) = 11 1 hit... better than nothing

Kerrah will quietly make her way towards the doorways, avoiding the broken pews and debris best she can.

Always mindful of trip wires and sensors, she will peer into the doorway and quickly pull back.

Her Ares light 70 is out and in hand and she will wait while the rest of the team comes in.
Let me know if you need any other skill rolls.

Through the doorway you see the glow more obviously. A dim light, almost surely the indicators and screen of a commlink.

The stairs lead down and end at another open doorway, perpendicular to the stairway. The opening in on the right had ing downstairs.

After a long pause to make sure the target is down and staying that way, Hawatari turns and moves to follow the others through the gaping window.