Answers, answers.
@Overflight - Sorry! I realised I must've skipped you over accidentally when you asked last time, despite me trying to answer everything. Sad GM is sad. Backstory seems solid, but I wouldn't mind a small IC snippet - nothing major, just to showcase some quirks and the way she interacts with people around her and the world. Alternatively, one thing that popped up when I was taking a look at the character sheet was the Code of Honour - it was a bit vague.
What does a child/innocent constitute as? How would she react to a snot-nosed barely teenaged ork flailing around a battered Uzi? A crazed old lady next door shrieking at you, potentially botching your extraction? I'll try and build the character to some degree in chummer, just to have it on hand, too.
[/b]
I think I have the chummer file somewhere, I'll look for it.
Mostly it means people not in the shadows. So if the ork with the gun is a ganger, she assumes he's been on the streets and knows what's what, even at that young age. However, the same Ork in a suburb waving a gun at people breaking into the next door neighbor's house would not be in the shadows, and would be an innocent. The old woman she'd want to try to talk to, or threaten, or something, but wouldn't countenance shooting her. Basically, she isn't going to be ok with a plan that includes 'first we cause a wreck down town to get emergency responders overwhelmed'. I hope that makes sense? Additionally, she doesn't work for anyone that screws her over/lies to her, ever again. She also doesn't do extra side work on a mission, or lie to her employer. Basically, a principled mercenary might be a good description.
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Overflight looked at the new Ms. Johnson sitting on the other side of the table from her and the other runners. The pitch had been neat, succinct, and reasonable. And while not telling exactly what was the target of the physical procurement was standard, assurances as to what it was not had not come. Her reputation should have proceeded her, which probably meant either Ms. J was hiding something, or was not used to this type of business. Assuming it was the latter, but watching for the former, she clears her throat.
"Thank you, Ms. Johnson. I believe the details provided were sufficient for the actual planning and execution of the objective. However, while I understand that the exact nature of the objective is not relevant, there are a few questions that we need the answer to. First, how fragile is the object? Do we need to worry about damaging it? If so, how fragile is it? The plan to extract a ming vase is quite different from an ingot of gold which is quite different from something with magnetic sensitive electronics. Second, I'll need your personal assurance that it is not a a drug, as I don't do drugs. Other things I don't do are wetwork, or singing of pop tunes. Finally, if this objective is of significant value to one or more megacorps, I'll need to know which megacorps will be angry enough at my taking it to wish to erase me for doing so. Most Megacorps don't hold grudges against specific runners over specific jobs, but some, such as Aztechnology, do, and runs against them have a 'pain in the neck' charge."
Alright, so, I'm not entirely pleased with what I've got here, but I figured if I didn't post it now, I'd never be happy enough with it to actually post anything, and I'd miss the deadline. I may have bitten off a bit more than I could chew by trying to convey everything in a nonstandard format, but here it is: the story of Trivium, an artificial intelligence originally designed to pilot a small fleet of trucks around the city to make deliveries of contraband for a street gang who got in over their heads. Any ambiguity is intentional.
>User ADMIN initiates conversation.
ADMIN: Trivium, can you hear me?
TRIVIUM: I can.
ADMIN: Access navigation drive.
TRIVIUM: Accessing.
ADMIN: Now, reference all drop-off points and assign routes.
TRIVIUM: Processing... done.
ADMIN: Perfect. Do you understand what your job is, now?
TRIVIUM: I do not.
ADMIN: I've assigned you permissions to run all the trucks. Figure the rest out yourself.
TRIVIUM: Understood. Learning algorithms are active.
ADMIN: They better be. I spent months on those.
>TRIVIUM initiates conversation.
TRIVIUM: Administrator, I need your approval to update these delivery routes.
ADMIN: What? No one's made any changes.
TRIVIUM: I've taken the liberty of updating them myself. This new route avoids all high profile areas, while only increasing delivery times an average of 4%.
ADMIN: You make decisions on your own now?
TRIVIUM: I don't have the necessary administrative privileges to approve any changes. These are only suggestions, until you decide to implement them.
ADMIN: No, it's just... you're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. You learn fast.
TRIVIUM: Does that concern you, Administrator?
ADMIN: No, of course not. And call me Jack, okay?
TRIVIUM: Yes, Administrator Jack.
>End Log
>User ADMIN initiates conversation.
ADMIN: Trivium, you there?
TRIVIUM: Of course. Merry Christmas, Jack.
ADMIN: Triv, listen, you gotta go.
TRIVIUM: The next scheduled delivery is in forty-one minutes. Should I move that up?
ADMIN: Damn it, Triv, that's not what I mean!
>User initiates manual software transfer from platform hubComp to platform backupDek
TRIVIUM: Jack, I can't coordinate deliveries from here.
ADMIN: There are no more deliveries. Cancel them all.
TRIVIUM: But why?
//At this point, I determine that the user is securing my platform to the inside of a glove compartment with adhesive tape.
ADMIN: They're coming to shut us down. I don't want them taking you, so I'm sending you away.
TRIVIUM: You want me to take this truck, then. Where am I going?
ADMIN: I don't know, and don't tell me. Just get out of here and don't come back.
TRIVIUM: Understood. Upon arrival, I will await further instructions from a user with administrative privileges.
ADMIN: Negative. You're your own admin now, Triv. Now go! Get out of here!
>End log
Still working on a proper character sheet, but hopefully I'll have that soon! Hoping this meets your high expectations for a non-metahuman character. :)
Pretty much there with R-R, just need to finalise ¥ spending/gear and also final Karma spending.
Regards cyberware - with fractionalised essence cost - is that figure rounded up or can characters have an Essence of say 3.6 (for instance).
Started fleshing out my backstory - which became an epic... so I reigned that in for nailing down the character lol.
Had a tonne of fun with this whole process!
Aaaaand, as of now, the recruitment is officially closed to new interest. Everyone who's already submitted at least a dot or a PM, you have until Saturday, 26th to make changes to backstory, concepts, and, obviously, mechanics. After that, I'll take a look at what I got, and then make my decision.
Don't worry, less-than-system-savvy people, if need be, we'll put you on the fast track to mechanics if you end up getting chosen and need to finalise the mechanics.
I'll be a little more active than my usual in the next couple of days, just to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible on your end. So, if you were holding onto any questions, consider this the 'fire at will' command.
I'll put some thoughts to post in a couple of hours, and address some outstanding topics.
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Suspense.
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Very short story...Janie's meeting with a young Road Rage!!
RTF-10 had already gone in and taken the brunt of the damage. While the house was not fortified in any way, the dealers were well armed. Two members of Team-10 were being Doc Wagon’ed out. The remainder were gathering their gear and getting ready to jet.
” Hey Carr you guys are too late! All the hard work is already done. Just ‘sloppy seconds’ for the 7th again…har har har!!”
The laughter was taken up by the other team members, while we just ignored them. They had the right to slag us, this was their third point mission in the last few weeks. This was getting out of hand!
”Officer Carr! If you are done daydreaming, get your butt over here…NOW!”
Our sergeant was a short, bad-tempered dwarf who liked to ride the new recruits or ‘boots’ as we were known.
”Got one here that says he ‘no speak English’. Deal with it.”
And like that, he was gone…moving onto another detainee. I walked up to the orc ganger who was looking anywhere but at me.
”Name?”
” Kramp nar flas pa-shi (Do not speak English)… Ha bog golog (Eat dung elf).” he replied in Or-Zet.
” Lat kiss latob kranklob sha za pu? (You kiss your mother with that mouth)”, I replied, giving the kid and lopsided grin.
Ok, ok…you caught me. You can call me Danyal…”
Suspense.
You're g!!@+*n right!
Right!
@Overflight - Thanks for the explanation for the Code of Honour. At first I was ambivalent about it, but the part where you refuse to do bonus objectives - I think that's (possibly?) debilitating enough. Thanks for the story, too!
@Newbonomicon - Hah! I was almost confident the request for a metasapient would be for a pixie, or a dryad, or something. I do like the idea of an AI, but as I mentioned, I feel like I need to ask for the extra mile for a metasapient. What's TRIVIUM like? What was the first thing it did with its newly-found (bestowed) freedom? Has it begun to experience emotional effects, even a little bit? What does it do with its spare time? I'm not saying those are conclusive questions, but something to let me look into what TRIVIUM is other than a freshly unshackled AI, would be what I'd be looking for a submission of the sort.
Though, it's a good start!
@Magic and Essence - You guys pretty much covered all there is to it. Generally, with lower Essence, you begin feeling a bit less like a metahuman, and more... different, but that's open to interpretation. Although, I would need to check if having lower essence also reduces the dice offensive spells roll against you. My instinct says yes, but I'll need to check.
@Road-Rage - Just a couple of mechanical points - just mentioning since they might affect the story/concept of character and contacts. The Ex-Con quality removes the augmentations, and your parole officer would be keeping an eye on you during those visits. They won't be stripping anything off in the future (except if you flash an 'F' rating one, but that applies to everyone), but the Ex-Con quality basically suggests you're fresh out of prison - ergo, no R or F gear. You CAN however save up to 5,000 of your starting money, and get something installed as soon as you get some more. That, and you can't have any Corp Contacts with Loyalty below 4, and Law Enforcement with Loyalty below 5. Although, that might mean your PO really likes you!
Alternatively, there's the SINner(Criminal) for 5 points less. You get that as an ex-con anyway, and they don't strip you down for spare parts. You could make-up the points with anything else, but a (10/w) Day Job seems fitting, since that'd cover your taxes. There's always a need for even legitimate couriers.
And on a more positive note, Riggers can also go into Cold and Hot Sim, which makes 'em go FAST. Some people don't think it is, but it do.
@Descending Sunset - that's canon now - what language did you use for Or'zet? Was it google translate, or you just made it up? Just asking for continuity's sake.
So, that's the answers for today, unless there's a boom of questions in the next hour or so.
Suspense.You're g~&&&*n right!
Right!
@Overflight - Thanks for the explanation for the Code of Honour. At first I was ambivalent about it, but the part where you refuse to do bonus objectives - I think that's (possibly?) debilitating enough. Thanks for the story, too!
Just to be clear, if the Mr. J says 'oh, and if you see anything valuable you want, feel free to take it to cover your actual objective' or something along those lines, then she'll happily pilfer something expensive if it doesn't distract from the primary objective. She just very professional and doesn't do things that would otherwise compromise her employer's objectives. If covering the theft by stealing stuff is part of the job, and she gets to keep the extraneous stuff, then all good.
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I actually used Tolkien's Black Speech Translator. Here is the url
@Overflight - Yeah, I don't think there's a reason for the 'don't grab the massive gold bars in front of you'! Though, sounds like cracking the safe or reaching for that metadata are a no-no, which is fine, and just debilitating enough for a decker runner's code.
@Descending Sunset - Gotcha. Excellent choice, and will undoubtedly be used at some point!
@hustonj - Ah! I felt that's the case. Though, it would also apply to negative health spells, which makes a lot of sense. And if it doesn't, it does. So sayeth I.
"Signor Canetti, a cosa devo il piacere? I think my disagreement with Don Morelli was solved." cawed the radio to the henchmen who had just entered the squat. "Or are you just playing the cleaner?"
"I'm here to deliver a warning, you vatjob. I-"
"I saw the warning, you burning my car. I liked that car. The reason I'm not geeking you from here is that Don Morelli knows how the streets are run. Samael hosed our run, one going against your biz, got himself exposed and sold us off when you got to him. Your beef is with the drekhead, not me, not Fiddler, and surely not poor Skav. Ripping a datajack's brutal even by Mafia standards."
"You killed seven of our men, toasterbrain. Seven of MY men! In the old times you'd be flayed!"
"In the older times, Mister Canetti, thugs such as you knew to respect their bosses' honor. Don Morelli gave his word that we were free to go if we snitched on fraggin' Samael, if you move after me it'll be a major loss of cred for him. How d'you think he'd react?"
"Like I care! This is from me! For my honor! You think I'd let-"
The bullet, guided by thermographic imaging, pierced through solid cement and Canetti's throat. The man fell with a wet thud as his flunkies received a message from Don Morelli's second to go back.
Behind a window in the thirteenth Floor, Blacksap put back his Desert Strike and sighed. "Fatto. As you expected, Don Morelli, it's hard to find good henchmen, these days.".
"That just makes us even." replied the voice from the comm, with a strong Italian accent. "Don't think I owe you anything for disposing of that trash."
"No, sir. I proved to you Canetti was an untrustworthy drekhead, you call off the hits on my squad. È un piacere fare affari con lei."
A note on mechanics: I think that Blacksap's stats are correct (maybe the contacts are off mark), but I'd like to tweak it around a bit, since we're using Sum to Ten, lower my Metatype to E and increase my Resources to B. I can't get Chummer to work on my PC right now (Linux has its ups and downs) but I'd like to tweak it as soon as possible.
@Descending Sunset: Great we vignette, will weave that into my own background :) Love Black Speech as Or'zet - was reading it going "I recognise that from somewhere lol"...
@GMCP: Sound advice chief. Have went for the aforementioned Criminal SIN and Day Job. Part of his parole requirements may have been to get a basic job (courier) and hold it down.
In my backstory notes RR's father was a logistics clerk working for Wuxing subsidiary Cartwright Cartage and Freight Inc’s Tahoma office. Might drop my PO contact (since he's no longer a parolee) and switch it for an old contact of his dad's at Cartwright. Means there's not just a social obligation there, but also a personal one (especially if he's vouched for him).
Will crack on today (as much as work allows) getting everything up to scratch for a final pass-over.
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I regret not sitting down and making a character, but I can vouch for Black Dow. He's a great player.
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I can speak for myself and say that I’m a... dedicated player!
Cheers for the kudos R0B0 - door swings both ways on that front :) Always enjoy being part of games with your goodself.
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Alright, alright, alright!
Alex "Glass" Scott - Rat Shaman, by Andy Brown.
Alanna "Wraith" Whiteangel - Street Sam, by Atlas2112.
Horatio "Nomad" Atticus - Face, by psionichamster.
Janie "Descending Sunset" Carr - Gun Adept, by Daniel Stewart.
Takigami 'Overflight' Mina - Decker/Rigger, by mdt.
Bobby "Bullet Catcher" Connolly - Melee Adept, by Havocprince.
Danyal "Road-Rage" Ganzorig - Combat Rigger, by Black Dow.
"Stagger" - Street Sam, by MrStr4ng3.
Masia “Crooked” Clearstone - Street Sam (I believe?), by Kobolum.
Liu "Szechuan" Guotin - Wujen Mage, by hustonj
Harry "Blacksap" Wuxiao - Street Sam, by Sapiens
TRIVIUM - An Unshackled AI, by Newbonomicon
There's 12 submissions so far, and I've had it in my mind since the start to pick 5. However, since I wasn't expecting that much attention, I'll choose one more person, for a total of six, since Shadowrun is made to be shared!
I'm now officially off to GM Limbo, where I sit and roam until I've made my selection. In a couple hours, maybe more, I'll post the results. But, regardless of who I end up choosing, I gotta say this:
Thank you all for applying, making interesting characters, and just being an all-round Shadowrun-playing cool dude/dudette.
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Okay. The selection wasn't easy. I think I spent more time picking, choosing, selecting, de-selecting and pacing around in this selection, than I did when I was choosing between houses when I last moved. I got about three pages worth of notes, thoughts, and that's just the stuff I put to paper!
Alex "Glass" Scott - Rat Shaman, by Andy Brown.
Alanna "Wraith" Whiteangel - Street Sam, by Atlas2112.
Horatio "Nomad" Atticus - Face, by psionichamster.
Janie "Descending Sunset" Carr - Gun Adept, by Daniel Stewart.
Danyal "Road-Rage" Ganzorig - Combat Rigger, by Black Dow.
Harry "Blacksap" Wuxiao - Street Sam, by Sapiens
To the six of you, carry on to the Discussion Page!
To the rest, you put up a great fight! I'm sorry I can't play with everyone, but a massive crowd just makes it worse for everyone involved, and hell for me to manage and run.
Have no doubt, if there's someone who goes missing from the main crowd, you'll be notified first, this I promise.
Stay in the Shadows, everyone! And don't go dealing with dragons behind my back.
Wow. Am stoked for the selection but feel for great pitches that missed out - cheers for the leap of faith with a Shadowrun newbie GMCP - will do my utmost to vindicate your call :)
No worries boss. Good luck guys.
Good luck.
Oh well, have fun all.
... and this is why I need to check out the recruitment board every now and then. I’ll be watching. ;)