Hey guys, sorry it took so long to get a discussion up. Now to look through builds. Also, there's another OOC I mistakenly posted in the PBP section, ignore it and it will go away soon enough.
I'd been meaning to sit down and do some serious writing for Neko's backstory, and I finally got around it it. It's a little disjointed, I basically started at the top of my character sheet and worked my way down. Just let me know if anything needs revision or clarification...
Kenta Takahashi has always been on the scrawny side, for an ork. He came from a stereotypical orkish family- dirt poor, the youngest of seven siblings, everyone working some dead-end job that only existed because nobody had figured out how to automate it into obsolescence yet. One of a hundred families crammed into some half-forgotten urban renew complex. Earlier generations might have had the option of rooftop farming to fill in the gaps, but it had been decades since this part of town had seen any sunlight so they did the modern equivalent- they stole. Protein paste from delivery drones, power from industrial hookups, scrap from condemned buildings.
This kind of life style forced people to develop a certain level of technical expertise just to survive. Eventually, someone would get a little bit of money and spend it on classes to learn more about the nitty-gritty details of manipulating the matrix. They'd teach their pals and the pool of knowledge would grow, until eventually a rather bohemian atmosphere began to flourish in the Tribe. There was never a lot of money, but for once there was enough to go around. They took the menial matrix jobs that offered a bit of money to live on, and for a while things were good... then the gangs noticed their 'prosperity'. Violence, extortion, and drugs hit the community hard.
Kenta was never particularly interested in the matrix, all the advertisements made him dizzy and all he really used it for was to get the latest sims. Instead he explored and he watched, and he got angry. He was a hotblooded teenager and one day he decided he wasn't going to put up with a bunch of lowlife go-gangers shaking down his friends; he got his hands on a rifle (a cheap AK97 knockoff) and tried to do the vigilante thing. If it wasn't for Neko-sama he probably would have gotten himself killed. He had one of the a#!$#+#s in his aim, the sights tracing figure-8s in his inexperienced hands, and was about to pull the trigger when he felt hot breath on the back of his neck. He slowly looked over his shoulder and found himself eye to eye with a 600lb tiger. The tiger told him to put the gun down and follow her. One does not argue with a 600 pound tiger.
Cat led Kenta on a sort of vision quest across the city, his shamanic right of passage. She gave him wisdom that he wouldn't come to understand for years along with more practical lessons- Cat showed him how to touch the Wild, how to hide, how to hunt, and how to kill. Indeed, the last lesson in his initiation had him cross the path of a ganger and his drunken buddies riding home from a late night of clubbing. It was the same one Neko had in his sights earlier. A pounce carried him out of the darkness- the leap carried the low-life off his bike and the landing broke his spine. With a parting growl at the other two he fled into the night and eventually found his way home.
Over the years Cat always looked out for him, appearing in other guises to teach him a new spell, give a word of warning, or demand a service. Eventually Kenta embraced his role as a shaman and protector and took the name Neko. People knew to come to him if there was a problem with outsiders and he'd 'take care of it'. He chased away the riffraff and left a strong message with organized crime in the area so that for now the Tribe is mostly left alone.
Contacts
Tsushima Mino is Neko's agent. He's a human in his early 40s who's solidly 'plugged in', having almost completely removed the need for sleep with various cyberware and bioware modifications. He's always looking to cut a deal and is one of the guys gambling on UCB being the next big thing. He's lined up a few sponsors for Neko and some top-notch gear, but needs to see some returns before the guys higher-up get tired of waiting. He has solid connections amongst various media concerns throughout the Tokyo prefecture, and a few friends in the national media. Neko has a number of business ventures that he'd like Mino to promote, but the agent has been leery of his idea for a simsense serial. He much prefers handling Neko's contract trid work and knows that he can count on the ork to deliver top-notch special effects.
Usami Seika is Neko's mechanic, and one of the few people that he trusts to work on his bike. She's the most well-ground, methodical, unflappable person Neko knows- it's almost spooky. Her craftsmanship and reliability are what most endeared her to him most; part of it might have been her nature as a troll but she had this aura of deliberateness to her actions... a sort of solidity about her- and it didn't hurt that she could lift the bike without the aid of her drones, should the need arise. Her shop likes her too; one of the services Neko would provide is to rouse the spirit of the garage and have it watch over her work when she was doing something particularly important. She has a solid grasp of the software and hardware side of modern mechanical engineering and can usually figure out how to install any interesting part Neko manages to get his hands on. The only real downside to working with her is that she doesn't like surprises or disruptions to her routine and isn't particularly tolerant of no-notice jobs or requests for rush work.
The Tribe
Concept: Self-sufficient slum with a bohemian atmosphere. Population is 90% orks, most people do technical or artistic work in the matrix.
Resources: Generally well-educated (online schools), unusually reliable matrix connection (no static zones), a few technomancers and skilled hackers. A rough militia with access to home-made and second-hand weapons.
Qualities
Fame: Neko is most known for his flashy style in UCB, but also has a professional reputation as a special effects artist. Locally, everyone in the tribe knows who he is.
Day Job: Neko pulls in about ¥3,000 per month making illusions for trid productions. He specializes in gory stuff- blood and guts and the like. His agent keeps trying to talk him into taking more contracts, but Neko values his free time and generally does takes just enough work to pay the bills... he would consider it a good fallback career if UCB doesn't pan out.
Media Junky Mild: Neko likes to keep current with the trends in the industry and spends a fair bit of time watching entertainment trids. At first he told himself that he was only watching the soaps to keep up with the latest special effects, but eventually he admitted that they had become a guilty pleasure.
Weak Immune System: With all the crap that gets dumped into the lower levels, its amazing Neko was only sick every few months growing up. Sheer orkish hardiness is probably the only reason he survived all the childhood fevers.
Allergy(Severe - Silver): After he became a shapechanger, Neko found that silver didn't agree with him. None of the specialists he talked to could ever come up with a convincing reason, they just pointed out a lot of research and correlations and assured him that it wasn't too unusual for awakened beings. Neko's fairly careful about the stuff after a bad reaction with honest-to-God silverware at a classy restaurant.
Frowning she turns her gaze to the ork. Neko was it? He looks tough; a little on the scrawny side for an ork but that just means has to be twice as tough as everyone else. How does he handle a bike though?
I took the local the 'local fame' drawback, so at somepoint Neko made headlines in the UCB league. I think it is a logic+intuition (1) test to have heard of him... I don't have the book in front of me right now.
Yeah you're right; it's Int+Log (1) - I didn't think of that at the time. Perhaps those drinks are stronger than they look ha ha ha. She'll make the connection by and by though the next good chance I get to slip in a roll. Incidentally she has that very same Quality so Neko may have the chance to recognize her as well although she has as much (or more) rep for being a over the top bike courier and sometime tough for hire as she does cred in the formative UCB league. She hasn't likely made any UCB headlines but may be known by other UCB members as a fairly solid biker with a penchant for thrill seeking and high risk stunts.
I've been looking into concepts for my bike... I figure it's a big armored beast of a vehicle that looks like it's built top-down for combat on the streets. Posting some of the reference artwork here so I can put it into a coherent description later.
I realized I was misreading what a flexible weapon mount represented and switched to fixed. That opened up a slot on my bike, so I ended up changing a few things. I decided to cut the nitrous system and work in a turbocharger; this brought me into overmodding by one slot. I paid the appropriate nuyen cost, but please look it over to make sure it's OK. I also added a description of what the pimped ride mod on the bike and the custom look mod on the gun represent.
I forgot to list the sustaining focus that I had paid for in the original draft of my character, so I dropped a rank of the perception skill to pay for that. Everything should be where it needs to be now, this should be the last time anything changes until we get some karma to spend.
@Deidre: I had a look at your character sheet while writing my last post and noticed a few things:
You listed English and Japanese languages at 1 rank each, but no native language (which you get for free). I assume English is the native language, which would let you buy Japanese past the "where is the bathroom" and "please pass the beer" level...
You took 'Blades (Cyber Implants): 3 ranks' but don't have a blade listed as part of your cyberarm.
Ooops; ha ha ha - yeah it has implanted razors; I factored that in as part of the cost of the arm but must not have actually listed them. Good looking out Neko I'll make those changes now. =)
Common Chat Standards:
I was thinking about this while reading through the postings - it might enhance readability if we all adopt the some style "rules" for our posts. After a quick scan I find that Neko/Ryuko's style seems to be the clearest and most readable. What would everyone think about keeping to the following guidelines when posting:
[1]Scene blocking (describing what your character is doing) in standard, un-modified text.
[2]Thought bubbles (what your character is thinking) in italicized text
[3]Speech bold and in double quotation marks "Like this"
[4]OOC is well...
It might make reading posts easier and faster because we'll always know what is what.
That's how I generally run it. I forget to mention it sometimes, but yes, format your posts as D-Frag says.
Somehow the description of Deirdre's tattoos got lost when I posted her description into the character profile...I distinctly remember that being present when I dropped her description into the recruitment thread. In any case I've corrected her description with a "Distinguishing Marks" section under Description.
LOL; Willpower Roll: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10 = 0 successes.
5s are successes...
Arg sorry! I've read the book plenty but this is the first SR4 game (or SR game of any kind really) that I've been able to play for years. Very very rusty still. XD
At least that does make it easier; either someone will say something to calm her down or my next post I'll just have her come down non-violently on her own since she actually succeeded her willpower roll.
This is why I should finish my first cup of coffee before writing these in the morning heh heh heh...
I'm sorry I never mentioned this before, however I had MEPS this past two days. I am back but I'm going to be out for most this weekend as well (convention) after that I should be back and regular again until Boot Camp in July.
Thanks for the heads-up.
If you don't mind me asking, which service are you joining?
Army.
SHAMELESS SELF-PLUG!!
Since I can't seem to get anyone interested otherwise.
Some things I came across while looking over the vehicle rules... posting here for quick reference.
When driving a vehicle, a driver may use the sensor attribute instead of Intuition when making perception tests and other intuition-linked success tests.
A vehilce may attempt to move a greater distance than their acceleration rating by making a vehilce test. Each hit adds 5 meters to the movement rate
Vehicle test = Reaction + Skill + Handling + other modifiers
Augmented reality link (being subscribed to the vehicle's computer) gives +1 to vehicle tests if you are physically piloting the device.
Drivers must spend a complex action each turn to drive their vehicle (unless their vehicle can drive itself) or it will go out of control at the end of turn
Vehicle maneuvers (except for tests to avoid a crash) require a complex action
Firing a vehicle weapon requires a complex action
Ramming a vehicle counts as a complex action, ramming rules are on page 160.
Using sensors or other simple objects couts as a simple action
Firing handheld weapons is at a -3 penalty while on/in a moving vehicle
Passive targeting allows you to use the vehicle's sensor attribute to substitue for agility when rolling gunnery.
Active targeting uses a sensor test simple action (pg239) to lock in, net hits are added to subsequent gunnery tests
Crud I forgot to add the handling rating on my bike to that race roll; ha ha ha - glad I scanned over this.
@Ryuko: that looks interesting but this is probably the only PBP I've got time for; and I already spend too much of my work day trolling this one. If I join that one I won't get any work done at all! ;D
I built my own bike since I got Arsenal this weekend:
Contrail (31,000)
Handling +1 Accel 24/48 Speed 212 Pilot 3 Body 6 Armor 12 Sensor 1
Upgrades: Armor (12) Anti-Theft, Engine upgrade (speed and accel), Fuzzy Logic, Motorcycle Gyro System, Personal Armor (4) (overmod), Smuggling Compartment (overmod), Pilot Upgrade (3)
I think I got everything right -- the mirage is a great bike but I figured Alan would go for something with more upgrade room -- the fuzzy logic, pilot upgrade and motorcycle gyro system means the bike can keep upright and going while he does his spells too, so that's good news!
Also I put all of Alan's Stats up in his profile too.
Attribute Boost: Magic(6)+Power Focus(1)+Attribute Boost(1) = 8d6 = 8d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 6, 5, 5, 4, 5) = 33 = 4 hits
I don't think this power works like that. I was thinking of using it with Neko so I could boost body to shapechange into bigger forms, but it only lasts a few seconds and only gets to use the portion of your magic attribute that you've dedicated to adept powers, so for kid that's Magic(1)+Focus(1)+Attribute Boost(1), and it lasts for 6 seconds (2 combat turns) per hit generated. Every time you use it you also have to resist drain.
Cost: .25 per level
You can call upon your inner strength to perform amazing feats beyond your normal abilities. Attribute boost must be purchased for a specific physical attribute: Agility, Body, Reaction, and Strength (separate Attribute Boost powers may be bought for different attributes). It cannot be purcahsed for a mental or special attribute.
To Gain the boost, make a Magic + (Attribute Boost) Test. Each hit on this test boosts the attribute by 1. The boost lasts for a number of combat turns equal to twice the number of hits generated.
When the boost runs out, you must resist Drain equal to the Attribute Boost rating using Willpower + Body; each hit reduces the Drain Value by one. Attribute Boost Drain is Stun damage.
Also, my numbers for your bike come to a price of 34900, did you remember to pay double for the overmods? I'm looking forward to seeing how racing actually plays out. Fuzzy logic is an interesting upgrade that I didn't really give much thought to while I was designing my bike. If I end up relying on my vehicle's pilot system for much, then the fuzzy logic could definitely be worth buying with the prize money.
I can actually see Neko getting fairly attached to the artificial personality in his bike, and buying all sorts of upgrades for it...
My understanding was that you use your magic rating, and you resist drain after the boost runs out (which would be 8 rounds in this case if I did it right -- 2 rounds for every hit).
I'll double check it though because what you are saying makes sense too.
Contrail (10 slots) 5,000
Armor 1 slot 2,400
Anti-Theft 1 slot 2,000
Engine Upgrade Speed 2 slots 5,400
Engine Upgrade 2 slots 3,000
Fuzzy Logic 1 slot 2,500
Motorcycle Gyro Stabilization 1 slot 1,800
Personal Armor (4) 2 slots 2,000
Smuggling Compartment 1 slot (overmod 1,500x2) 3,000
Run Flats 0 slots 500
Pilot Upgrade 0 slots 3,000
And then I had rounded up for good measure.
For future upgrades I'm looking at a sensor package, and pilot upgrade to level 6 -- that would give the bike a 9 dice pool for driving itself, instead of its current 6. Maybe a sidecar with some goodies in it much later on.
I think it is really cool how you guys have named your bikes; I'm going to have to come up with a name for Deirdre's as well. What a great idea; I can't believe that didn't occur to me - it's totally something that bike enthusiasts would do!
I think this is where the difference is:
Anti-Theft 1 slot 2,000
Engine Upgrade 2 slots 3,000
Personal Armor (4) 2 slots 2,000
Anti-theft is 2 slots and costs body*200 = 1200
Engine customization (acceleration) costs accel*body*25 = 180*6*25 = 6000The personal armor you had written as an overmod originally, so I calculated it as 4000.
Your total is 12/10 slots, if you count the anti-theft system as your overmod instead it will drop the overall price to 34,000 (I think).
Pilot Ground Craft:16d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 2, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 2, 6, 1, 1, 6, 3, 3) = 60= 6 hits
Slide is one hell of a biker! I think you could actually have 17 dice though, if you used gearhead for the handling bonus instead of acceleration:
Pilot (bike)(7) + Handling(2) + Reaction (6) + AR(1) + Gearhead (1)
Hm... The Contrail has an Acceleration of 20. 20*6=120*25=3,000.
I'm not sure why you are using the speed in the acceleration slot for that.
However it should be 31,800 if I double the anti-theft instead of the personal armor (which does make since -- I simply went down the list of options).
This will work out okay since I had left about $1,000 for overrun (beyond what I spent on my starting wealth roll) on the sheet.
Found what I was looking for on the magic side of things:
...For every point of Magic invested in physical abilities, the character gets one Power Point that she can use to purchase adept powers. Every point of magic invested in mana-based abilities grants the character one point to use with magic-based skills. For all other purposes, including the determination of the maximum level for adept powers, the character's full Magic attribute is used.
So I only get power points for the magic I invest in adept powers, and I only have a magic score of 5 for spells but for the use of my adept powers I use my full magic score (since that's something other than spells or power points).
Cool. Nice find on the magic reference, I wasn't sure where to look for that.
Hm... The Contrail has an Acceleration of 20. 20*6=120*25=3,000.
I'm not sure why you are using the speed in the acceleration slot for that.
The 180 was a typo, I meant to write 40. I seemed to recall reading that you always used the running value for acceleration when calculating prices (e.g. the 40 in 20/40) but now I can't find that anywhere. I guess that means I get to free up some money for a few other gizmos on my bike...
Had a thought -- if we find out we have a dice pool wrong do we want to just drop the dice on the end or drop a hit altogether (if we overstated the dice pool)?
Seems like a good time to get this hammered out rather then when serious stuff is going on.
I have a program that ran the price the same as I had so thought I had it right (not to say I do though -- just that I think I do).
I figured out where I the rule I was misremembering came from :)
In the case of the turbocharger, and only the turbocharger as far as I can tell, the price is based off of acceleration(running) * body * 20 instead of using acceleration * body * 40.
I'd imagine we would just take dice off of the end if we used the wrong pool, although it's easy enough for the GM to tack on penalties if he thinks something nefarious is going on...
Taking dice off the end sounds right. So if your hits are on the end, you'll be screwed MWAHAHAHAHAHA
Yeah I was glad I had the magic thing right on that attribute boost -- I was not looking forward to dropping off the last 5 dice on that test, or 4 dice on the pilot test!
A quick note on UCB: The courses are generally a series of checkpoints, each reachable however you like, which means I will keep the actual courses pretty freeform. Racing to each checkpoint should be fun, and I will endeavor to make each area something interesting, whether it be by civilian traffic, rolling gunfights or gaps in the highway.
For reference, here's a map of the landmarks on the streets of 2012 Tokyo. Please let me know if I got any of the landmarks wrong...
You know I really did want to buy the hovercraft upgrade for my bike too...
How does combat work in UCB? We're shooting gel rounds at each other- is that just for show/bragging rights or are there concrete penalties to getting hit?
Yes; gel rounds convert lethal damage to stun damage. So the penalty is that you could very well be knocked unconscious and suffer a high speed crash if you take too many hits. Even before being knocked out you will start to suffer dice pool penalties from increasing levels of stun damage
Apparently Ryuko is having some internet issues, did anyone have anything else they wanted to handle in the bar?
I think I am good for the moment; should we move to the bridge scene?
I am having some slight issues with my internet. I am hoping to have them cleared up by the end of the week but until I get my net back I'll be on hiatus. No need to worry amd feel free to continue roleplaying your characters without me.
I'm back!
Posting within the next hour or two.
Welcome back!
Woo Hoo! =D
All right, as to the routes.
The racing routes will be pretty free form, each will have a few set obstacles which will have several ways to bypass (including any viable ones you come up with). In between obstacles you will make simple driving tests to keep moving but will not interact with the other cars. The idea is that the obstacles are the "Flash Points" of the race, the areas where thing really happen, and between that is mostly people being stuck behind others without being able to change much. Feel free to describe these areas however you like, but the Flash Points will be the really interesting changes in the race.
So, I imagine most of these landmarks being preserved in a 'scenic' sort of way and featured throughout the architecture of the levels. The actual bridge, for instance, might be a rusted hulk spanning a river of sludge on the ground floor. Each level though would have some sort of tribute to it in the local architecture or recreate it in the area's AR overlay. Same for the towers, they would just be built up ever-higher with new high tech construction techniques and have new entrances and exits grafted on... is that about right?
That's it exactly, though the Rainbow Bridge is mostly unaltered (Perhaps moved a bit higher? *Writes in DM Notes*)
Sorry for dropping out of contact!
I had a business trip pop up unexpectedly and had a much bigger effect on my PbP time than I thought it would. I'm back now and catching up; is everyone still interested in continuing this game?
Regarding the favor from my agent, I had thought this would be a rating 3 favor (access to restricted facility) that wouldn't require a test (loyalty 3, connection 4). Here's my negotiation + charisma if the test is required: = Looks like I'm just getting the introduction...
Contacts will normally agree to personal assistance with a Favor rating equal to or less than their Loyalty rating. If the Favor rating exceeds the contact’s Loyalty rating, the character will need to convince the contact with a Negotiation + Charisma Opposed Test.
So... is this dead?
Pacing can be an issue in Sahdowrun, even at tabletop games. Often there will be two or three sessions of legwork before there is any action, and I suppose that could stretch to months over a PbP so we might have to make some adaptations to speed things along.
I'm really enjoying the concept of this game, is everyone else still interested in continuing?
I found the Matrix overlay for the area near Tokyo Tower. I'm sure this will be a great boon to our planning ;)
I think we can likely call this one dead Neko. It's awesome how much you put into it, and a very cool little thing you found, but I'm afraid you seem to be the only one still interested.
I'm still interested -- I'm simply running low on time and energy -- I have physical training almost daily in addition to kids and the wife was just involved in a wreck this weekend. I've been swamped enough with this that getting a post up just seems like one more obstacle currently than anything else.
Which is really unfortunate because I really love the premise of this game and the characters.