Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Oh no, that's fine. I dislike things like that in my shadowrun game, but that's just a personal thing. Though it certainly validates the character even more in this case given the situation. Now it's not even clear that *all* it does in enforce the contract in front of them.
On a rules basis, I'm against that sort of thing only because shadowrun has very clear established rules for magic. A spell that does that doesn't really exist. Masking can do it, but given that that's *one* initiate power out of a dozen, the odds of running into one of the very few people in the world that can do that is...low. Not impossible, but low. And I tend to lean against NPCs throwing around high level magic just to make them look powerful or cool. Auras are very obvious, and an establishing "thing" in the setting is that magic is obvious to every awakened. You can erase your signature, but that takes time and effort. But you can't erase the spell or hide the spell. Meaning you also can't cover it with something else. If you roll around with sustained spells, *everyone* knows it. Not to say this doesn't happen. In fact, it's expected. (And since grounding isn't a thing in 3rd edition onward, it's even *more* expected.)
Not to say that this isn't a valid GMing thing or can't make a fun game! It's just not my cup of tea. Again, this is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but everyone has their own style. The benefit of pbp is that you have much more choice over the games you run and play in!
But yeah, on that note, I'd never ask (or want) the GM to say exactly what's going on out-of-character. But I do appreciate when they give me all the information I should have in-character. In this case, it probably would have been beneficial to explain exactly what was going on. (My character, after all, *is* actually an expert on magic.) But that's really a tough thing to find the right balance out of the gate. I certainly don't hold it against GMs, especially GMs that don't know me or how much setting knowledge we share, and definitely expected at least something like that to happen here.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Ashley frowns and shrugs, Lady, I offered you a chance. Three of them, in fact. And you've decided to double down each time. His shrugs is almost...sympathetic. I've given my advice on the matter. Anyone willing to catch someone in a magical contract without telling them ahead of time isn't to be trusted. My advice? Walk away until this Johnson has time to rethink their plan and methods. Maybe they'll be back, maybe they won't, but whatever this is can't be worth your life.
He leans back again, Now, I'm going to finish this drink. Then I'm going to stand up and cast sterilize. And then I'm going to leave. I'm telling you this so you know, when my spell is countered, I'm going to consider it a threat.
The magician finishes off the last of his drink and stands. He straightens his jacket, looks around calmly, then waves his hand almost as if blessing what remains of the meal on the table.
Casting Sterilize. Using three spell pool dice on casting and three on drain.
Sterilize F3, TN4:9d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 5, 5, 1, 1, 6, 6, 2) = 366 Successes. Effect maxed out at +6 to use material. Drain, TN2 M:9d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 1, 4) = 378 Successses. No Drain.
He'll wait briefly outside for Red or anyone else if they're coming, but then heads out for the evening.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Well, this escalated fast.
I too, am of the opinion that asking for blood is *way* out of line. I remember some of the original modules that asked for blood and they since walked back on that *hard* because it makes absolutely no sense. I'd make some comments about the writers, but at least one has gone on to be a guy whose work I really like. ;)
If you're willing to give your DNA to someone completely unknown, you wouldn't be a shadowrunner. You'd work for a corporation. And, keep in mind, that Mr. Johnson's are unknowns. So you *could* be giving your blood to a corp...*any* corp. (This is the main reason the designers started to realize, after many players pointed out to them, that giving up blood was *really* bad.) It's true that Johnson's will want insurance. And 'runners will want to find out the Johnson's motives. This is pretty much what the game is all about and what lines both sides will push. But in the end, you hire runners because they're deniable assets that keep their mouth shut. Your assurance is that they don't know who you are. As a runner you take a job not knowing who its for. You've already taken on all the risk. Taking on more would be nuts! (Though there are plenty of circumstances where even *that* might be worth it.)
With that said, I don't mind NPCs asking for it. That just marks them, to me, as completely unprofessional and unfamiliar with dealing with criminals. Maybe someone used to working through legal means? There are plenty of reasons.
My only real concern is how magic is being handled. Magic items don't really exist in shadowrun, so I'm guessing that this is a foci of some sort? Maybe with a sustained spell? Given Listener's successes on assensing it, he should have more information than "it's powerful". With magic being thrown around so much, I'd like it to be a bit more...precise? If that's not possible, that's fine. I don't mind pulling out of the game if our preferences clash. I'd prefer you get to run the game you want to run. :)
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Listener chuckles as he carefully puts down his drink. Look, Wraith is it? I get it. You unzipped, pulled it out, and laid it on the table. You're trying to establish that you're an experienced runner and I'm the new guy. But, this is what you brought me for. He leans back casually, I'm sure that some amateur with magic-y symbols copied off some cheap trid told you that they were having you sign a magical contract. But I can damn near guarantee that they were feeding you a pile of drek.
He sighs, though he doesn't seem angry or even frustrated, just...accepting. Look, I get it. Magic is weird to mundanes. The trids make it seem like it can do anything and it's all over the place. So any random guy with a cool outfit and some bone necklace can come along and lie to you. I get it. But that's why you bring someone like me along. There, now we're both unzipped and on the table. Measuring sticks are out and it turns out you are more experienced with running than I am, and I am more experienced with magic. You can take my advice or not, but if you don't trust me now on this, there's no sense in working with me.
As to this contract, you might want to read it again before signing even if you're hell bent on it. So, here's what magic can do. It can compel you to tell someone what we talked about here today. And then you'll knowingly have done so. And/or is an exclusive construct, not an inclusive one. And that's just magical methods, not to mention the myriad of mundane ways to make you talk about what's about to happen here. So, if you want to sign that contract, you go right ahead. You've been warned. He takes another sip of his drink and waits.
When the woman speaks about taking blood Ashley almost splurts his drink all over the table. Are you people insane? Who would ever do that? What kind of idiots do you hire? Do they ever have magical advisors? Look, I get being discrete, seriously, I do. And you're right, I'm new to this. But apparently what you meant by shadowrunner was 'unprofessional dirtbag that doesn't know the first thing about magic'. So, all kidding aside, you ain't helping your case here. I'm new, I'm not an idiot.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Listener looks much less angry and, in fact, breaks out into a laugh. It is full and hearty. I haven't done this before? Look, lady, you should have moved on without the insults. That probably would have worked a little bit better. I think you really misjudged the situation. Maybe take a few minutes, have a drink, relax, then try again. This isn't working out for you. He continues to laugh and seems to have trouble stopping. Eventually he composes himself and continues. What world do you live in where it's common to enforce contracts with magic? Look, I went to college to study magic. There were a lot of people there who were awakened. A lot. But out in the real world? We're one in a hundred. Do you have any idea how many of those could enforce a contract with magic? Less than a percent. Do you know how many could craft the quality and amount of spirits in this room? Less than that. Do you know how many can mask their signatures as you, or whoever you work for, has done? Even less than that. I'd put the odds as a dozen people in the world, none known of publically. So, no, I'm not the one that needs to rethink my position here.
He steps back to the table and sits down, Now, I'm going to finish this drink. You are going to say something that makes us want to stay. Preferably something without insults or threats. Not because I don't think you can follow through on your threats, but because, in my experience, people like those gathered here respond really poorly to them.
Thank god this drink is strong. This is ugly, but hopefully salvageable. I just need to keep myself from shaking long enough to help even this out.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Listener's smile gives way to outrage and he stand abruptly, staring down the small creature. Don't. You. Dare. He shifts his perception back.
Roy, Ashley begins, his voice as cold as ice. Do not touch that pen. Not before she tells you exactly what it does. The mage straightens his jacket and he turns his gaze towards the woman. Are you insane? I don't mind signing this agreement, nor do I think any of these people would mind. But, did you not think this was worth disclosing? You don't subject people to such things without their knowledge. His tone grows angrier as he speaks. I don't really mind that you're hiding what you are. I do mind that you're doing it as if I'm a complete moron. And then you have your pets set to attack anyone that catches you in your little trick? What game are you playing at here? What did you think would happen?
He turns to the group, This woman, is attempting to bind you with magic. I assume this is why you brought me along. My guess is that she doesn't mean to be as ridiculously insulting as she's being, but I'll leave that up to you all. I'm just going to wait over here and try to stop being angry before I do something...irrational.
Well, it's a good thing they brought me along. I think had they found out another way, one of these mundanes would have done something...deadly. I certainly hope this directs their annoyance at me rather than her. This stunt could have blown the whole job and I *need* this.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Assensing:
Ashley will, of course, assense both the woman and will examine the pen. Assensing Mr. Johnson:6d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 1, 5, 4, 2) = 22 Aura Reading:6d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 5) = 28 7 Sucesses.
Assensing the pen:6d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 5, 3, 1, 1) = 20 Aura Reading:6d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 5, 5, 2, 2) = 22 5 Successes if it's magical. Only 4 successes if it's just a normal old pen and I'm doing a regular perception test. ;)
As the woman enters Ashley leans back in his seat casually and smiles. Interesting, he whispers. His perception shifts as he examines the woman. With a nod of respect he satisfies his curiosity. Almost unconsciously he finds himself smoothing out his shirt. When he notices he stops himself with a quiet chuckle.
Listener watches the exchange between the troll and elf with amusement. When Bartholomew retrieves the pen from his pocket, Listener's senses shift again. Interesting pen. Let's see what we might have here...
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
I'd wait on mdt to say what I get, if anything, but I don't mind people writing up their own auras. As long as all the info that's supposed to be in there is in there (pg. 172). :)
Haunt my dreams? The mage gives the young woman a long, appraising look, and a playful smirk, Yes...I'm sure you will.
He turns to those at the table and sets his flute down carefully in front of a seat. Other than the sip to test the drink at the bar, he's hardly touched it. So, Roy, Listener nods to the older man, HepCat, and, I'm guessing here...Suki. He says with a smirk and a nod to the well dressed Japanese woman with her back to the wall. And... He pauses as he reaches Cloudy and waits for an introduction.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
As I understand it: Redline, Wraith, Suki, Cloudy, and Selachii all know each other. (This was discussed briefly in the recruitment forum.) Redline is bringing Listener in. Wraith is bringing HepCat and Cowboy in.
Edit: Apparently Suki decided that's not what's going on? Hrm. I kind of wish that had come up prior to the game starting. Even the original idea, prior to the fiction, was that the established runners knew each other. Why change that now after the game has started and people have introduced themselves?
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
The mage frowned slightly in amusement as he looked across the street. Someone is paying quite a bit for this meeting. Clearing out Arnaud's and even putting up a ward. Interesting. His head tilted as he called out gently to his floating servant. Little one. Stay in this area. Look for anyone watching that building there...the one with the ward. Report to me when I come out. He smiles as he finishes his instructions. Thank you, little one. If anything or anyone bothers you, let me know.
Ashley smiles as Redline walks up and indicates the restaurant with a hitch of his thumb. All quiet so far. Some are already inside waiting. His chuckle is lighthearted as he continues, Your friends don't like to be late.
Running his hand through his hair, Listener follows Redline in. He pauses at the door to admire the decor on both the astral plane and normal. Bartholomew, a pleasure. Sizing the Troll up, he gives the man a charming smile and a nod of respect. Shortly afterwards his head tilts to the side as if he is surprised by something and a quizzical and amused look forms upon his face. Ashley stops himself from laughing aloud, but only barely, before speaking softly, My apologies little one. I didn't mean to surprise you. The magician turns back to the large Troll. Sorry, your friends are...playful.
French seventy-five, please. As Listener waits for his drink, he shifts his senses again and scans the room, pausing to examine each of the people at the table as well as the spirit in the corner. Red...you've got some mighty interesting friends. The drink takes some time to prepare, but the man doesn't seem to be in much of a rush.
Listener looks to be a man in his early twenties. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was still in college. Clean shaven, with his hair in a classic short cut, he looks like he walked out of the local soycaf shop. He's wearing a simple white t-shirt and some old jeans, along with a well worn brown jacket, almost certainly armored.
When his drink finally arrives he picks the flute up and nods to Redline, Mind introducing me?
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
I expect that movies haven't gotten any more accurate in the next 50 years. And given that only 1% of the population is awakened (and less than that can even astrally perceive) I'm not sure there's a whole lot of them advising on movies. Not that there aren't *any*, but I expect that the vast majority of those are hacks.
Even today there's no shortage of people who have law enforcement experience or military experience. The percentage of those that have seen actual combat is ridiculously low but still high enough that some of them consult on movies. And yet, movies can't manage to handle even that moderately accurately. Because the truth is less interesting. And that's about as *exciting* a thing that can actually happen. Nevermind the boring stuff like paperwork, training, etc. I'd expect that magic is no different in this regard. There are sorcerers that can make special effects that look like *anything*. There are almost certainly movies about time traveling and teleporting wizards. I'm confident that there are movies about wizards that bring the dead back to life. (Horror and science fiction are *absolutely* still genres in the 2060's.)
So sure, while I don't doubt there are "accurate" portrayals of magic in shadowrun media, there's no way they're consistently accurate. And, just like now, there's zero chance that the average person can tell the difference. (Have you *seen* a movie/tv show about lawyers, doctors, or cops that even get close...ever?)
This isn't to say that people don't know what a glassy-eyed stare is. I just expect that there are a lot of misunderstandings by the average person as to what it means or if it means anything. People like our characters aren't the average person by a long shot.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
I'd be very skeptical that there are any trids that portray magic and magic use accurately. Though now I'm picturing an almost oscar-winning performance by a 100-year old Leonardo DiCaprio with the "most realistic portrayal of Merlin ever!"
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Oh, I agree that it's useful. It's just that it's impossible to stop. So being insulted by someone doing it is like being insulted if people don't turn off their cybereyes. You can't get upset if people don't go out of their way and just use the expertise they have available. If you don't want to be assensed, get someone that can control their emotions or don't invite mages. If you allow mages at a meeting, expect to be assensed...because that's why you're allowing them in the first place.
(It actually can't tell if people are lying. Explicitly really. There's also a spell for that exact thing and it's resisted.)
To me it's a matter of expecting people to do their due diligence. You don't hire mages that don't assense people. Because if they don't, they aren't professionals and they aren't being careful. Now, with that said, people that aren't used to dealing with careful people might find it odd or even be insulted by it. Though it is difficult to imagine a mage being insulted. Again, it's one of their natural senses. Not impossible though. Humans are often irrational. ;)
Oh, and I agree that it's obvious when a mage is doing it even to mundanes. Unless, of course, those mundanes have *very* little knowledge about magic. Like *maybe* average every-day wage slave. Maybe. But I certainly expect every professional shadowrunner or anyone that has anything to do with this sort of stuff would know.
Suki: As before, I have no objections given Listener isn't included in person. As long as I've got no contact with anyone but Redline prior to this meeting, I'm good to go.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Fair enough. I get not wanting to bypass the wards normally, but with the room filled with spirits it seems sort of odd to object to someone else doing their due diligence. Though if that's the impression I'm getting, I'll just write it off as a personal thing for this particular guy/gal.
As for Assensing, I get that some people wouldn't like being assensed. I just have a hard time imagining someone that doesn't expect a mage to assense. Or, for that matter, would hire a mage that *doesn't* do what is pretty much their only job during a meeting. Though again, I'll write that off as this is probably someone that doesn't deal with professionals often. (At least not professionals that aren't his security team or direct subordinates.)
Just wanted to make sure I got the right impression from what's going on. Thanks again!
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Suki: I'm under the impression that Redline is bringing Listener and he hasn't met anyone else as of yet. Which is part of why he's waiting outside.
mdt: In response to the Assensing: The reason he has 5 successes on the first test is because his TN is 3. (Perceptive). He should have 4 successes on Assensing and 3 Successes (which add just one more) on the Aura Reading test. It's nice of them to make Assensing as complicated as possible. ;)
Also, I expected that there might be a ward. (It's why I shifted senses while still outside across the street.) They're expensive to do permanently, but since apparently someone here is *at least* a conjurer, that's not too surprising. I assume I find this out while watching from across the street? If so, I'll be happy to talk to my little companion and give her different instructions.
Is there a reason why the watcher would be annoyed with a mage assensing in the area? Given the place is either run by an awakened, or has one on staff, I can't imagine they'd believe another awakened *wouldn't* use astral perception to look at the place, or find out what's in the place. (I'm also guessing, due to it's age, that it's actually rather beautiful in the astral.) It can't possibly be considered rude, it's just how people see.
I could understand them objecting to me conjuring a spirit or bringing an elemental into the building. Do I think they would object to summoning a watcher while inside? Given than it's both legal and normal, and even the highest force watcher can't really break anything, I would expect that it's rather common. Or maybe this place is abnormal in that regard? Or, being across the street still, do I not have enough of an impression of the place to know? Mainly I'm just trying to guess what a place like this *would* object to. ;)
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Arnaud's? Yeah, I know it. Ashley picks up his shirt off the cot as he talks on the earphone. Pulling the t-shirt on, When? Yeah, I'll be there. He chuckles as he shrugs into his jacket. Arnaud's? Not quite what I expected. Been about what, six years...no...seven, since I've been in there. He runs his hand through his hair. Not what I'd normally wear, but it'll do. Grabbing his holster on the way out, he straps it to his back and knocks the light off as he leaves his cramped one-room apartment.
Walking down the street, Ashley stops about a block away, enjoying the night air. He smiles as he whispers to the air. The palm of his hand held up in front of him,
Conjuring TN1:6d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 4, 4, 1, 4) = 184 Successes, though I only want three hours. Force 1 Watcher. Drain Resist, 4L:6d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 1, 4, 6) = 203 Successes. No Drain.
Hello, he says to the small sprite that appears in his palm. Shimmering with blues, and reds, and purples, that fit in perfectly with the New Orleans night around them, the frail child of a spirit looks up at him expectantly. I have a task for you. Listener speaks gently as he explains to the spirit, I am about to attend a meeting at Arnaud's. I'd like you to observe the meeting and report to me what you saw afterward. If anyone other than myself performs magic, or astrally perceives, you should come and tell me immediately. Be discrete and quiet, but do not worry overly much if someone sees you. Do you understand? The mage smiles as the creature gives a meek, silent not. Good.Using the Bug Task.
Continuing on to the restaurant, he looks curiously. Now, where is Red? He whispers to the night air. The mage shifts his perceptions and looks across the street at the bar.
Assensing:
Barring any massive evil Spirits chilling in the area to jump a random mage, Listener is going to be using Astral Perception to check out the meeting place. He'll also be Assensing each person at the meeting. I'm happy to spoiler these so they don't fill up the entire thread. I'll take care of those that are here now and the others as they come? Unless you prefer some other method.
TN3 due to Perceptive Edge. Rolling Intelligence (6) with Aura Reading (6) as a complimentary skill.
I suppose I should roll for having Assensed Redline at some point in the past as well? Assensing, Redline:6d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 2, 2, 6, 4) = 19 Aura Reading:6d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 5, 1, 4, 6) = 18 4 Successes.
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
Cowboy and HepCat are tied together, not Cowboy and Listener. There was some discussion about tying all three together, but Listener is coming in through Redline (via a friend of Redline.) But the same idea works there to bring Cowboy in.
Oh Attentive is from "TSS", which is The Shadowrun Supplemental. It's a fan-made magazine for Shadowrun. I think you can still find them all on dumpshock if you're interested in them. (I think it's where Cowboy found Gunslinger's Honor?)
I think you might have made some sheet alterations since this, but here are a few notes from your profile:
Reaction: It's your Quickness+Intelligence divided by two, rounded down. So, in Wraith's case it should be a 7(11 w/ Wired Reflexes).
R/W: Your starting R/W is equal to half (rounded down) of your language skill. So your English and Japanese are both 2.
Armor: When stacking armor you take half of the lowest (as usual rounding down) and add it to the highest. When determining penalties you add them together. So, your coat is a 4/2. The FFBA is a 4/1. That would make your armor 6/2 (prior to shawl (+1B), bone lacing (+1B), dermal sheath (+1I), and forearm guard (+1I*) modifiers.) With those your armor would be a 8/3 (4I vs. armed and unarmed melee attacks).
Suprathyroid Gland: Did you include the increases in your Attributes? I'm guessing so since Quickness is listed as 8. Should it be 7(8)? Which means your Strength is 2(3) [4 in the arm]?
Cyberlimb: The base Strength and Quickness for it is 4. As mdt noted, you'll need to increase its Quickness so it doesn't slow you down any overall.
@All - Beta grade cyberware and cultured bioware are available at the start. You just have to pay the price. Remember, the Availability goes up though for both, so some things might not be available.
I think this is where the confusion might have come in. Remember that the availability on Beta is +5! And that's if this wasn't a typo on mdt's part (which it seems it might have been.)
Armor (B: 7, I: 3, NC: 1) // REA: 5 INIT: 1d6 // Pools: Combat (8), Spell (6), Astral Combat (9) // Social: CHA 6, Etiquette 6, Good Looking and Knows It
I'm pretty strongly against posting in-character for other people. Especially before they've found a "voice" of their own. Though, of course, as my character isn't represented, I have no real objections.
I'm all for establishing some working relationships and how people will interact before the game starts. With that said, I caution against one person establishing them. Usually these things grow organically and it'll be tough to maintain one person's idea longer than the first "real" interaction. But, as noted, I don't have a stake in this, so I'll leave it up to the other players.
I'll double-check Selachii, and will be posting him soon.
Don't forget to buy a skill to use that Shock Hand!
Along with the recommendation to fill out Edges and Flaws (along with spending the rest of your build points):
I think Connected and Good Reputation are good fits. Good Rep probably isn't all that great an advantage given you're not the main social character (though given that, it does make what few social challenges you make *much* easier). Connected is quite good. And if you choose something like "Programs" you can save and make a bunch of money. If you can go as broad a "Decks/Progs" that's even better. A lot of people pick "cyberware" which gets ridiculous fast. But it's also kind of gross. Your mileage may vary.
Just a last note, calling a 2000 nuyen great coat a "duster" or "longcoat" is just a tad misleading. Also, the Venetian Line is quite varied between shawls and scarves. I'm confident that they have enough between them to go with just about anything.
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised to see a guy rolling around in FFBA (with no actual clothes over it), a long coat, and an armored venetian line scarf. If he called himself Chance and collected old comic books, I'm pretty sure he'd fit right into Shadowrun setting just fine.
Also, hold up...I just finally noticed that Wraith is wearing that shawl with a Mortimer greatcoat? Seriously? *That* is an issue? A high class shawl worn with a high class greatcoat? Now I really don't understand the problem.
I blame the picture that you posted being laughably misleading. Rather than my inability to read, of course. ;)
I'm unclear why there's a thought that this is even an argument. It's fashion. I think it's a cool look. I get that you, and I'm guessing your character, don't, but I'm not sure why that is an argument rather than a, apparently very strong, opinion.
There are a significant amount of cool looking longcoat styles that a shawl will go with well. I'm no expert on NO fashion (or any fashion really), though I, by sheer coincidence, had someone over the house this evening that happens to be. ;) (I swear, it was a surprise to me too!) She grew up and went to college in the area and the response to my description "A hyper-expensive shawl worn with a rather trashy old longcoat", was "Sure, why not? That's not even weird."
But the fact is that NO fashion really is "be eccentric". I'm pretty sure subtle is what's going to get noticed more than a little bit of flair. (Also, this is shadowrun, unless you really try hard, an armored long coat looks more like one from the Matrix than one from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.) I really don't understand what the issue is here. In fact, I don't think it'd be weird for a man wearing an Ancien scarve in NO fashion. That just seems par for the course.
And while high-fashion shawls would definitely fit in in NO, I have a tough time imagining it 'fitting in' when spread over the back of a western duster. I suppose it might get used as a head-scarf ...
Really? I feel like that is *exactly* what I'd expect in NO. A super-expensive high fashion accessory thrown over what is essentially garbage is like their trademark. Eccentric is the status quo, and that's about as weird as it gets. ;)
To be fair, Ashley will be rolling around in a beat up Saints cap and torn up jacket. But, I do think it's a cool look.
"Oh, honey, if you think that this mega-happening sub-chill shawl is gonna get replaced for your pedestrian bright yellow hard hat. Oh. Honey. Girl." *snaps fingers twice*
I feel like high fashion shawls are exactly the type of thing that *would* fit in in New Orleans. It's been a while since I've been back down that way, but my memory of NOLA has always been a high fashion kind of town. (And I wasn't exactly spending times in the nicer parts of town.)
Selachii: You might want to grab a skill to use that shock hand. Looks like you might have dropped it in an edit? And yeah, a couple of extra contacts to write some programs or hardware guys and gals might be good investments. Heck, some non-hacker people might be good for him too, but I don't know how social he is outside of that "world".
Any nice person that would take in a stray good looking college boy type guy for a few nights will do. They'd be on good terms now and she'd have helped him find a cheap place in town of his own. They don't have to be a shadowrunner (or a criminal in any way), just someone that knows that a guy with magical skills might be useful to Redline sometime.
She also probably doesn't know *that* much about Ashley. Just that he's a nice guy, seems really smart, and needs a job. Not that he'd lie about his background or anything, just that he's better at listening than talking. Redline would probably know the whole story? She doesn't strike me as someone who wouldn't ask questions and wouldn't want to make sure he's legit. ;)
The clothing is picked since I can have both the clothes and the long coat on at the same time, for 7 Ballistic. Any more and I get penalties, since I got a quickness of 7. (Git darned elves.)
Note that when stacking armor you take half (rounded down) of the "lower" set of armor. Stacking armor has odd problems unless you're stacking on top of Form Fitting Body Armor. Given your Quickness, the armor you have wouldn't actually bother you, but you'd only get a Ballistic of 5 out of it. A Jacket and FFBA would get you to 7/3. A Jacket and Vest would get you to 6/3 as well without any problems given your Quickness rating.
Alrighty, character should be all done. Only thing remaining is hooking up with the group. If either Redline or Wraith are up for that previous idea (Ashley hooking up with a friend of theirs and being made acquainted by happenstance) that'd be great!
If you have at least a 3 you are fluent. However, if the other person isn't, you may need to make language checks. If something is highly garbled or badly mangled (written text) you may have to make a check. If something is complex and you don't have a skill in it, you might need to make a check.
If you're trying to communicate something complex in a time critical manner, you might have to make a roll.
Perfect. More or less as I've seen it run.
As to my other question, may we spend knowledge/language skill points on increasing R/W? The program doesn't let you during character creation, but I know of no reason why it shouldn't be possible.
In either case, I'm going to shift around a few points now that I've seen the rest of the characters. I'll have it all done tonight and send you the copy with the list of alterations. (They'll all be very minor, like a skill point here or there to fit with the rest of the group.)
Armor
Actioneer Line: The suit jacket and long coat can't be worn together (at least not without the armor stacking rules). That's what the * indicates.
Forearm Guards: The impact armor works against melee and not ranged attacks. I'm sure you know this, but you might want to note it somewhere in your armor area. It's an easy rule to miss in the "heat" of fighting. Not that ranged impact comes up often. ;)
Skills
Looks good to me. I think the group is rolling in negotiation and etiquette, which is never bad. I'd recommend more Athletics but you have minuses to TNs there, so you're fine. Knowledge skills are always personal for me. I don't see anything glaring that you're missing.
Gear
Your gear looks like my usual character's gear list. :)
The only thing I noted was that's a serious amount of gear to be rolling in on a daily basis. Two pretty visible blades, one shorter (though still not tiny), two pistols, and a half dozen grenades. It's not *bad*, it's just a lot of stuff. It's just tough to imagine carrying it all in a way that doesn't constrict movement. But if you can, that's really all that's important.
Heh, yeah, that doesn't exactly help me now with a character that would be better than the average person with reading and writing skills. Do people not normally allow R/W to be bought just like any other knowledge skill?
Mdt: May I buy up R/W from the 'half language' value that it gets set to with starting knowledge skill points? Also, what do *you* consider fluent in a language? (There's a little bit of table variance within the group at the moment.)
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For the licenses etc., I guess for some reason I was thinking you had a maxed-out Hunted. Are you going to stay a SINner?
Reviewing my sheet and speaking of languages, did anyone else have problems with increasing their R/W skill independent of their languages? I was interested in having a high R/W skill in English, but the program wouldn't allow it.
Skills: I'd personally knock down Aura Reading by a point or two, and use those to supplement your physical combat skills. Very nice on the rest of it.
I'm not sure how that would help, but I'll think about it.
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Gear &C.: Personally, I would eliminate all your permits; they're costing you cash and with your Hunted and Hung Out To Dry, you're a wanted man anyhow - a permit is just a flag to be waved to your Hunted. Get a Secure Jacket, switch the expendible fetish in Healing to reusable, and galumph on.
I agree that the permits are a bad idea for the character to have. But that's also part of the point. I thought about not having them for his spells, but they're definitely appropriate. Also, note that he's not actually "Hunted". His family has powerful enemies that have cut off his resources, but otherwise don't much care about *him*...for now. He's not really in trouble with the law. At least not officially. Certain officials may be taking money to make his life more difficult, but that's just life.
As for a Secure Jacket, it would slow him down. Hence the FFBA and Long Coat. I originally had the Jacket because I kept waffling between Body/Quickness. If I switch that to a 4/4 instead of the 5/3 (which is tempting and I may do as it fits my idea of the character) then I'll switch back to the Jacket. In which case I might switch around a few of the fetishes as well (to free up money, of course.)
Oh, that's just from the description of Knowledge skills (pg. 98). Dedicated is the description under level 3. Whereas 4 is Well-rounded (and probably someone that pays actual attention to grammar rules rather than just knowing usage.)
To be fair, there is a massive disconnect between description of skills and mechanics. but that's true in any game. In general, I tend to handle knowledge skills as the level telling me what you know, with only specific/obscure knowledge having to be rolled for. But, to be clear, that's just how I handle it. I don't know how mdt will. I'm happy to switch my language skills around based on however he runs it.
But beyond that, the average Intelligence is three and languages key off Intelligence. So having a higher than 3 language skill will be rare for the average person. (Not that shadowrunners are even a little bit average.) ;)
On the language note, 3 is fluent. Knowledge skills are a little weird like that. A 4 in a language would be that person that occasionally corrects people's grammar. Though, I should note, that as someone who works in a very technical field Selachii would probably want at least a 4 in whatever language he normally works in.
When you dot a thread, you can delete the post and the thread will remain dotted. Just so we don't have any random "dot" posts cluttering up threads. (Hopefully you see this in time!)
So, I had an alternate idea for falling in with the group. I was thinking that perhaps Ashley hooked up with a friend of Wraith or Redline's when he was looking around for a place to stay for a bit. A couple of nights later they helped him look for a crappy apartment to hole up in for a while. His money's running out so they mentioned him to you as a guy that could possibly help out.
I think it sets up his "newness" well and also his ability to fit in. That, and it establishes a little bit of his charm. :)
I've played in games with people with combat aptitudes. On a character with a smartlink, vision mag, and specced out to shoot it can get ridiculous. But it's not that bad on characters who aren't stacking TN minuses.
Sorcery is a bit different because of the nature of spells. The lower TN would then apply to a wide variety of things. I've never seen it in practice, but my expectation would be that it would be very powerful. Conjuration would be less so. I've seen someone with an aptitude in Conjuration and it worked out fine. There aren't many ways to reduce TNs there and it's the difference between a couple extra successes. And it has discrete uses that don't come up constantly.
Computer skills is along the same lines. It's a general skill that covers a massive variety of uses, it's crazy! This I've seen and it was nearly impossible to make something appropriate for the decker that would be reasonably within the range of the missions we were doing. It just came up on nearly every roll they made. (Or at least very important one.)
Oh, Ashley definitely didn't go to school locally. (I'm not solid on where I want him to have gone just yet, but it definitely wasn't NOU, and it might not have even been in the CAS.)
He's been out of town for a bit and only grew up here. I'm really hoping to run into one of the other characters randomly and get caught up for the ride, so to speak. Anyone up for that?
Oh, I've altered gear a little bit. First, to make the character's armor work better and second to get permits for some spells. I'm working on the spell permits being 10% of how much the spell formula would be? (That's generally how I handle it, but it's never specifically stated in the book so I figured I should double-check.)
I've sent you the "final" copy of the character with the updated gear.
Put some more info in the character sheet. Also tried out a few formats for stat lines. I'm sure someone could find a way to make it more efficient and look better. Just let me know how you want it and I'll switch it up right away.
