Oh man, I should have gotten the Rockford Files. Truth is, I remember very little from it. I could hum the theme song, though. :/
I know I don't have a vehicle. I assumed I took the bus or CyberpunkUber or rode a bicycle or something.
It's useful to have a way to get around, as Shadowrunners have a tendency to go places where public transit isn't the best (generally places with either super-high levels of security or the polar opposite) - so having a car or bike is pretty normal, but not necessary, per se.
Of course while bikes are cooler, they offer less protection and usually have way less autonav - so it's much more about your drive skill. ;)
That said, it's not uncommon to boost a vehicle to do runs (or grab something meant to be disposable) - established groups will sometimes pool on a van (often eventually armouring and arming it) -- but all that presupposes a skilled driver rather than running thousands of Nuyen into a wall.
I thought we might be able to get Vespas and form a fearsome scooter gang, but I can't even afford a Dodge Scoot. :/
Jay's got about 19,500 spare cash. With Tilnar's approbation, I could ditch a safehouse and buy a Ford Americar.
If you hotwire a car, it can't be traced back to you after a run.
I threw hotwiring into the post for flavor. Jay's got a few skill points in driving cars, and so he's got a point or two of background knowledge in cars. Not sure that actually gets him practical skills in hot-wiring.
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Electronics, most likely, unless you're stealing an antique.
Especially since you'd need to be able to override the autodrive and GPS so the car doesn't take you to the nearest law enforcement station the moment it's reported. ;)
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It makes sense for Raptor to have something like a motorcycle, so he now has one (unless Tilnar objects to that edit), but that doesn't answer how the rest of the team gets around.
Boosting a car definitely works for sensitive missions. It seems like a questionable choice for every run to meet a contact or go shopping, though.
If you had the funds, there are bikes in SR3 - better that than losing your starting cash.
I'll take a peek at Riggers 3 to see if there are more economical choices.
An excellent point -- which means they're spotty in the Barrens (I wouldn't count on it working anywhere near Glow City -- although most electric vehicles have some battery capacity so it's not totally lost) -- but Pullyap would be even worse than Redmond and without plugging in somewhere, you'd be likely to run out the battery.
Not that's you're going to Pullyap.
That you know of.
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Ok, so:
- A tiny 1-seat 3-wheeler (like we see in Europe) such as the Volkswagen Electro or the Peugeot 401 is about 8k ¥
- A tiny 2-seater with at least a luggage rack like the Leyland-Zil Tsarina is about 12K ¥
- A more normal 2-seat/rear bench subcompact like the Nissan Jackrabbit or Ford Swift run $15.5k¥
- Small sedan like the Americar is 20K¥.
A cheap sports car like a Ford Mustang or Honda-GM 3220 is about 28K¥ - it's faster and nicer than the Swift, but not really any better for a back seat.
For anything but the tiniest 3-wheelers your battery is good for at least 75 klicks -- you have infinite mileage while on the grid, but the grid won't recharge you while you're moving. The Americar comes in a gas variant, and all sportscars are also petrol or multi-fuel (there were no Teslas in the 90s when 3e happened)
Sorry folks, I apparently never posted the updates I meant to.
I'm usually better than that.
Cash leftover from chargen gets slashed dramatically (divided by 10) [which is why I recommend that people should spend it all, even if it's just prepaying lifestyle] -- but then you do get 3d6 x 100 as starting money.
In terms of the cash from Guardian, I think Jay's holding the credstick.
In terms of the cash from Guardian, I think Jay's holding the credstick.
... and Jay bought drinks for Stretch. >_<
Yep. Jay had the credstick and it's all gone now. (Off hand I think it's about 1800 now. I'd have to check the bartab post to be sure.
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Oh! Didn't know (or remember?) about the confiscatory discount on chargen cash. I hadn't spent about 20k (again I'd have to check my notes) . I had been thinking that I'd get to keep it all and could possibly bankroll the party if we needed a big ticket item.
Had I known or remembered, I definitely would have worked harder to spend the money.
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Happy Goblinization Day, Everyone! May your tusks be even and your dermal plates not itch!
"...born with horns"??? Ow ow ow ow ow.
OK, I've been putting off this prep that should have been done long ago, but I was too chicken. This is something 0nyx would have done over time in the past, since elementals don't expire.
I don't see any problem with concentric hermetic circles, so I envision 0nyx making two pairs of concentric rings under the floor of the building she shares with Raptor's dojo.
Fire and earth: 6 m
Air and water: 5 m
If I'm reading this right, she can't add dice because she has no foci, and she doesn't need to set aside dice to resist Drain. I spent the nuyen for 4 F6 elementals, so she'll have some material left over from the F5s.
I need to roll a Conjuring skill test (Conjuration 6) for each elemental (alpha order for dice neutrality):
Air:
Earth:
Fire:
Water:
So if I read this right, I have an air elemental owing two services, an earth elemental owing 2 services, no fire elemental, and a water elemental owing 2 services.
I am out 22k nuyen of material, including the 6k for the failed fire elemental.
Q: Does this look right?
Q: Can I conjure lower-level elementals inside a larger circle, i.e., could I have conjured a F4 fire elemental and had 3 successes using the 6m ring? If so, could I take my remaining 2k material and try for a 2F fire elemental?
Shoot. Somehow I missed Danny's post on April 28. Jay still would have accepted Tai. He doesn't want to get into a pissing match with these guys. We'll just have to marginalize him.
OK, I've been putting off this prep that should have been done long ago, but I was too chicken. This is something 0nyx would have done over time in the past, since elementals don't expire.
Well, you could build your rings with starting cash (before the 10:1), but permanent rings cost money to put into place in a way that drawing them as you need doesn't. (Of course, it's a valid use of starting cash, as is pre-paying your summoning materials) -- so that works.
Also, don't forget that you need to have bought a conjuring library of at least force 6 to make this work.
I don't see any problem with concentric hermetic circles, so I envision 0nyx making two pairs of concentric rings under the floor of the building she shares with Raptor's dojo.
That's possible - the rule is nothing can disrupt the circle's pattern, but having a larger circle outside (or smaller one inside) won't do that -- as long as only one is active (so you can't hide inside layered circles).
If I'm reading this right, she can't add dice because she has no foci, and she doesn't need to set aside dice to resist Drain. I spent the nuyen for 4 F6 elementals, so she'll have some material left over from the F5s.
Sorcery pool doesn't apply, so, yes, in the absence of a Spirit or Power focus, all you've got is your Conjuring test. And yes, materials are per elemental type, but not level-controlled -- you just use less to make less powerful elementals.
So if I read this right, I have an air elemental owing two services, an earth elemental owing 2 services, no fire elemental, and a water elemental owing 2 services.
Technically, you'd probably not be doing this in the same day, given the time it takes to summon, and the fact that you're facing conjuring drain for each attempt -- though, as I said, we can hand-wave the drain because it's not enough to knock you out and since you did this off-camera, you'd just spend the rest of the night with your cold compress on the head and move on. But, based on the rolls, that's:
- a Force 5 Air with 2 services;
- a Force 6 Earth with 2 services;
- a headache and a lot of burnt materials where the fire elemental should have been; and
- a Force 5 water elemental with 1 service.
Q: Does this look right?
Yup, it checks out. Once you pay for your circles and conjuring library, anyway.
Q: Can I conjure lower-level elementals inside a larger circle, i.e., could I have conjured a F4 fire elemental and had 3 successes using the 6m ring? If so, could I take my remaining 2k material and try for a 2F fire elemental?
You could. The rating of a circle represents the upper limit of what you can use it for -- as per the rules:
The mage needs a Conjuring library and a hermetic circle of the correct type, both with ratings at least equal to the Force of the elemental to be summoned.
Which means you could "safely" and reasonable conjure a handful of lower-level elementals for utility/powers -- it's less costly in terms of the time and money, especially since they're more likely to owe you more services.
(That said, there is that hard limit to the number of summoned elementals [i.e. - one's charisma attribute] so you can't have an army of force 2 folk)
Oh yes, I bought the conjuring library of F6 and paint enough to make the circles (not expensive, but not permanent).
OK, so retrying for an F2 fire:
that's 4 services?
It'll be a bit until I figure out elemental economies.
It is. And the drain is trivial (2L) - I mean, you'd need the rule of one to miss that.
Hey Tilnar, I just realized that I might have misread your post from mid- December about biotech skills. (On or before Dec 18) I was assuming that first aid came under the heading of bio-tech so Jay took 4 points mostly to get the first aid with a little bio-tech savvy on the side.
True? Or can I rebuild Jay with 2 First Aid and 2 biotech?
First Aid does come under Biotech (but not biology) -- what I'd recommended was that since you're unlikely to take up cybersurgery, you could get the First Aid Specialization rather than the Biotech general skill. ;)
I'll change Jay's sheet to reflect the specialization. The specialization is a better fit for the character anyway.
OK, I think I deciphered the rules enough to summon a watcher spirit properly. If not, let me know!
I'll be away for the long weekend, which for us Canucks, begins today. See everyone Monday.
Have a good time, Tilnar!
Enjoy the long weekend :)
dead flesh guy ???
Jay might not know, but you've got my attention.
"There was a fair amount of equipment stashed there, though most of that is replaceable.... but only most of it... and one of the irreplaceable things isn't mine, but something that I was holding for a friend."She pauses there, as if deciding whether or not to say more, then shakes her head and chuckles, "Obviously, I can't just call the Star on this, and so, chummers, the run is getting it back. Even better, get more of my missing stuff... Best possible outcome, figure out who did this so I know if it's someone coming after me, coming after my friend, or just a random smash and grab from a pack of chipheads who got lucky."
She looks around the table, "Pay's 20k Nuyen to recover the primary item. 10K bonus for the paydata of who the frag's behind this. Total, not each. And, in terms of the rest of any of my stuff, I'll give you a 25% recovery fee... But the deets, and any leads I might have, that comes once you've taken the job."
She leans forward and slides slides a golden disk across the table to Onyx, about 30mm in diameter and maybe 3mm thick. "That coin has an astral signature - it was part of the Big D's hoarde, ... there were 50 of these in the safehouse, and 100-year-old golden coins aren't terribly common... The sort of thing that would stand out if someone were looking for a buyer... and ones with a dragon's astral imprint are probably even harder to come by." The coin bears the image of a human woman wearing a crown (marked Queen Juliana) on one side, and a tulip bud and the year 1952 on the other....
She then slides a pistol across the table to Raptor, "I know it looks mostly like a Colt Manhunter, but that's by design. It's a custom-built weapon, internal smartlink, extended clip, and heavy bore -- that is to say, more stopping power than most heavy pistols -- and sculpted grip to my hand. There was one of those in with the backup combat gear. A drekking chiphead would probably trade it for a beetle to get his fix, and someone who recognized its value would either sell it for a decent price or be looking at someone to swap the grip."
She smiles, "I'll, uh, need that back before you go. It's part of my evening wear for my prior engagement."
She slides a small object to Jay, "Here's the actual key to the place, address is encoded on it... it's only a few clicks from here, still in Redmond. I'd been paying a local gang -- the Chromed Skills -- to do a bit of security, but after a year of building tension, they've been in all out gangwar with the Silver Ring Triad. I've still been paying, mind, but I'm thinking they've been busy. Still, one of them might have seen something."
She sighs, then says, "An important bit of information, though -- the gang -- and everyone else associated with that safehouse thinks it belongs to the shadowrunner Fallen Star.... ..."
Guardian nods, then shakes her head, "The coins, the guns, the grenades, the handful of credsticks -- those are all things I'd like to recover, the stuff I'll give you a recovery fee if you bring it back... and the coins and gun are distinctive enough to maybe be traceable through one's contacts. Just like how the Chromed Skulls might be able to tell you something."She takes a breath and says, "The missing item -- the irreplaceable one -- is a statue of a black-haired, silver-winged angel, about a half-meter tall. It's primarily alabaster, with chips of obsidian, lapis and turquoise to make the robes, hair and eyes. The halo is platinum, the wings are a mix of feathers of platinum and from a real thunderbird. Like the coins, the statue has an Astral signature -- but it's not Dunkhelzan's. That's what's worth the payday."
Petrichor -- excellent word! (I had to look it up. )
Petrichor -- excellent word! (I had to look it up. )
Me too! I knew it existed, but couldn't remember the word itself. Google... so much easier than staring at a dictionary, trying to figure out how to find an unknown word from a known definition.
Ok everyone,
I'm about to head off for two weeks - I was hoping we'd be at a solid point to do that, but it doesn't look like it.
Rather than trying to GM and post meaningfully from a place with spotty internet at best and having people wonder what's up, I'm instead going to press the giant "pause" button here -- though you can feel free to do some RP to "close the scene" -- including deciding what you're going to do with Tai.... and/or the remaining stuff in the apartment.
That said, on Monday the 16th, the pause button gets removed and we'll try to pick up the pace -- who knows, maybe you'll even be in a firefight or something?
Can I use Aura Reading or Assensing skills as knowledge checks about whether Mr. J would be likely to leave an astral signature on guns?
I'm back. I'll try to catch up and post by tomorrow night.
Almost forgot. I'm visiting my parents this weekend. So you won't hear from me til Monday.
Sorry I've been out of touch. Visiting friends, personal stuff and work getting in the way of gaming.
I'll make a minor retcon for Jay to grab some stuff and then be ready to move on.