Shadowrun 4th Edition Campaign - [registration closed :( ]

[Sophina]

This is going to be an espionage and corporate intrigue-focused campaign. Infiltration, investigation, escape, and evasion will constitute a lot of the gameplay. Combat should not be neglected, but skills will probably work out to be a hair more valuable in this game.

If you are interested, please feel free to post a character concept or sheet below. We're using the standard point-buy system with 400 BP. No trolls, but all other races are allowed. My only real rule with characters is that I request people abstain from min-maxxing or otherwise twinking: this is supposed to be fun for everyone, and powergaming usually isn't a whole lot of fun for everyone else. Other than that, use your creativity and have fun!

A few notes about our campaign
Nothing here effects what you can or can not do, this is just some information and friendly suggestions for players to consider.

• The group will initially come together on a single contract from a corporate contact- it seems as if she needs outsiders to get something done. Therefore, be careful about writing in strong pre-existing allegiances with other corporations- the contacts you derive from such might help you, or it might hurt you. Either way the politics of the situation are murky at best, and it might be safest to try and retain neutrality until you and your teammates have a better look at the big picture.
• Knowledge is power here, and you never know what kind of knowledge will come in useful. Your group will find themselves thrown into a lot of uncertain situations with a ticking clock counting down the hours (or minutes!) until an objective becomes unobtainable, and the more flexible and capable of improvisation your team is, the happier they will be. I'm not suggesting everyone become a glass-cannon or a nerd, we'll need a lot of more-ahem-applied skills too, but if you're looking at a couple of left-over BP toward the end of chargen, you could do worse than buying yourself some random Knowledge in an area you think might be useful.
• There will be quite a few vanilla humans in the places you will find yourselves in, at least at first. Players who wish to play as dwarves, elves, ghouls, orcs, or anything else (besides Trolls) are completely free to do so, they should just be advised that they might find themselves having to work harder on disguises or face extra diligence from bystanders that might effect their ability to sneak away or do something nefarious in plain sight.

And that's about it. If you want to play, please post a short character summary and/or a character sheet with your character's backstory. If you have questions, comments, or criticisms feel free to post them here or PM me!

[Kunoichi]

Absolutely. ^^ It's not something that gets run often around here, so you should find plenty of people willing to sign up.

[Sophina]

Oh good! I've been itching to run one for a while, so it would be great if we have enough interest. ^^

[Kolbrandr]

I'd be interested sure, depending on the notion for the campaign. You should probably get a fair bit of interest here anyway.

[Sophina]

Regarding the notion, I was thinking that the game will begin with a corporate espionage plot, and while there's room for it to expand in different directions depending on what the party does, it will largely focus on corporate conspiracies, betrayals, and generally filled with paranoia. ^^

[Kolbrandr]

Sounds fine. Were you thinking to starting characters in over their heads and pulled about in the dark? Elite operatives who can be mired in the corporate world more fully and interact with the fullness of a conspiracy? Other?

[Kunoichi]

Hmm.  I do have a Street Sam character I've been wanting to play...  Assuming standard 400 BP char-gen and that you don't mind a Ghoul character, said Street Sam is pretty much ready to go. ^^;

[Sophina]

Well the manner in which they'll be pulled into things will differ a bit depending on the party's eventual makeup and I obviously want to keep some things secret, but in general I was thinking of starting on an innocuous mission that quickly spun out of control, and depending on how the party handles it either results in their being outright fugitives who need to work out what's going on while on the run, or in their becoming part of the conspiracy.

And Kunoichi, that should be fine! I'm absolutely using 400 BP for all characters, and I don't mind a Ghoul, just be advised that as the party will be interacting with a lot of humans there's a chance that you'll  be of limited usefulness should a mission require infiltration. However, no race (other than perhaps Trolls) is inadvisable- just keep in mind that some will have to worker at some junctures than others. ^^

[Hikari]

I wouldn't mind playing a magician or a hacker, depending on what ends up being more immediately needed.

[yuna0417]

This sounds fun, though i've never played Shadowrun before.  I am more familiar with Cyberpunk 2020 from R. Talsorian, so any assistance in making a character would be greatly appreciated.

[Sophina]

Hikari, both would be welcome! Right now you might find that a Hacker would end up being more useful to the group, but I'll make sure that either one has stuff to do!

And Yuna, you're more than welcome to play! I'll PM you to help with character creation ^^

[yuna0417]

Thanks!

[Ashes]

If you're still looking for more players and don't mind someone new to the forums and playing by post I'd be interested. I know a bit about the setting but I don't know the rules. An adept would be fun but I could try something else if the group needs something else.

[Sophina]

You're perfectly welcome! And yes, this will be play-by-post, but I will most frequently be using the rules to do skill, physical and perception checks and the like, and to run combat, so I don't think your lack of familiarity will be a problem.

I would be fine with an Adept, I would just recommend that you take care to give her a couple of non-combat powers if that's the route you take, since this campaign is going to be very heavily focused on skills.

Do you know enough to make your character? I'm happy to help via PM if you'd like some assistance. ^^

[Ashes]

I would be fine with an Adept, I would just recommend that you take care to give her a couple of non-combat powers if that's the route you take, since this campaign is going to be very heavily focused on skills.

Do you know enough to make your character? I'm happy to help via PM if you'd like some assistance. ^^

It won't be a problem having some non-combat powers. I should be able to do a first rough draft for the character but any advise or assistance is always welcome.

[Sophina]

Alright, that sounds good then! The only real advice I would have (and this is only advice- feel free to ignore it!) would be to consider adding some skills to make your character into a greaseman of sorts: gymnastics, climbing, swinging, rappelling, that sort of thing. I could imagine the party running into some situations where having a mobility expert would really simplify their problems.

[ReijiTabibito]

Yes!  More SR, and I've had a pair of characters that I've been wanting to run out and try...

Soph, what do we have so far, in terms of character concepts?

[Sophina]

People are still free to change their minds as we're pretty loose, but right now we tentatively have a street samurai, a hacker or magician, an adept, and I'm working with Yuna right now to nail her concept down but it's looking like she'll be our demolitions expert, either a gunslinger or a rigger.

[ReijiTabibito]

Well, I'm very familiar with Kuno's Ghoul Street Sam (we've known each other a while), and I know she's been dying to play her, but all the GMs have been "Ghoul!  Yeep!" and such.

I currently have a triad of character concepts that I've been wanting to play.

1 - An Adept Weapons Specialist, street name Ghost.  I've had chances to test him in an RP situation, and he's kick-ass.  Can pull quadruple duty: combat heavy, combat medic, group weapons monkey (he has an Armorer shop, and a Firearms specialty, plus an Arms Dealer contact), and part-time wheelman.

2 - A Changeling Street Doc, street name 'Doc.'  Also an Adept, but his powers focus more on boosting his non-combat capabilities (he took the Analytics power, for example), but he's capable in a stand-up fight.

3 - Human Technomancer.  Only real problem I find with Technos is that, without the advanced ruleset for them, it's much easier to play a mundane Hacker, since you can just buy most of what you need from the get go, and then do so more later.

[Kunoichi]

Alright, now that my dental appointment is finished and I've got some free time, here's my character sheet:

Karma: 0/0

Notes:
1.55m Height, 82.3 kg Weight


*Notoriety: 3

*Street Cred:

*Street Name: Dancer
*Age: 32
*Metatype: Human -0

*Condition Monitor
-P [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] ~ [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-S [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

*Body: 7 -20
*Agility: 5(7) -40
*Reaction: 7(9) -40
*Strength: 4 -0
*Charisma: 3 -20
*Intuition: 3 -20
*Logic: 3 -20
*Willpower: 5 -20

*Essence: 5(0.775)
*Magic: 1(0) -0
*Initiative: 10(12)
*Init. Passes: 1(3)
*Edge: 4/4 -20


*Maneuvers: -4
Full Offense: +2 dice pool modifier on the next attack test, but may not defend against any melee attacks until her next Action Phase.
Kick: +1 Reach on Unarmed Combat tests when making a Kick Attack.

*Positive Qualities: -60
Biocompatibility (Cyberware)
Ghoul
-Powers: Enhanced Senses (Hearing, Smell), Natural Weapon (Claws: DV STR/2+1P, AP 0)
-Weaknesses: Allergy (Sunlight, Mild), Dietary Requirement (Metahuman Flesh).  Ghouls can only digest raw meat; cooked meat makes them sick and causes Nausea (see p. 245, SR4).
Made Man (Tamanous)
Martial Arts (Capoeira; +1 die for Gymnastics Dodge)

*Negative Qualities: +35
Astral Beacon
Bad Rep (Organlegger)
Dependents 1 (Local Ghoul Den)
Poor Self Control (Combat Monster)
Incompetent (Swimming)
Infertile Infected


*Active Skills: (-114)
[Agi] Blades 3
[Log] First Aid 1 (+6 Medkit)
[Agi] Gymnastics 4 (+3 Synthcardium, +1 Gymnastics Dodge)
[Agi] Infiltration 1
[Agi] Palming 1
[Intu] Perception 2 (+3 Visual Enhancement, +2 Enhanced Hearing/Smell)
[Rea] Pilot Ground Craft 1
[Agi] Unarmed Combat 3
~[Agi]Firearms 4~
-Automatics
-Longarms
-Pistols
~[Cha]Influence 1~ (+2 Emotitoy)
-Con
-Etiquette
-Leadership
-Negotiation

*Knowledge Skills: (18 Free Points)
~Street Knowledge[Intu]~
-Local Area Knowledge 2 (+2 Ghoul-Friendly Meeting Spots)
~Academic Knowledge[Log]~
-Anatomy 2 (+2 Pricing)
~Professional Knowledge[Log]~
-Organlegging Procedures 3 (+2 Tamanous)
~Interests[Intu]~
-Dance Styles 2
-Ghouls 3

*Language Skills:
English N
Spanish 3


*Contacts: -14
~Hazmat(Street Doc)~
-Connection 3
-Loyalty 4

~Moreau(Fixer)~
-Connection 4
-Loyalty 3

~Tamanous(Organlegger Syndicate)~
-Connection 2
  -Membership +4
  -Area of Influence +2
-Loyalty 4


*Gear: -43 BP (215,000 - 215,000 = 0 ny)
Combat Axe [Reach +2 | DV: STR/2+4P | AP -1] -600
Shock Glove [Reach -- | DV: 5S(e) | AP -half] -200

Hammerli 620S [4P | AP -- | SA | RC 1 | 8(c)] -650
-Extended Clip [1] -500
-Improved Rangefinder [1] -1,000
-Silencer [2] -400
-Skinlink [1] -50
Concealable Holster -75
5 clips Regular Ammo -105
5 clips Stick-n-Shock Ammo -345

FN P93 Praetor w/Electronic Firing [5P | AP -- | SA/BF/FA | RC 5(6) | 50(c)] -850
-Additional Clip [2] -250
-Gas Vent 3 [2] -400
-Lanyard

• -10
  -Skinlink [1] -50
  -Integrated Smartgun System [1] -850
  5 clips Regular Ammo -525
  5 clips Gel Ammo -775
  
  Walther MA-2100 [7P | AP -3 | SA | RC (1) | 10(m)] -5,000
  -Lanyard
• -10
  -Personalized Grip [1] -100
  -Silencer [2] -400
  -Skinlink [1] -50
  50 Regular Ammo -100
  50 Gel Ammo -150
  30 EX-Explosive Ammo -300
  
  Armor Vest [Bal/Imp 6/4] -600
  Lined Coat [Bal/Imp 6/4] -700
    -Rating 2 Chemical Protection -500
    -Rating 2 Insulation -300
  -Form-Fitting Body Armor (Full-Body Suit) [Bal/Imp +6/+2] -1,600
    -Rating 5 Nonconductivity -1,000
    -Rating 6 Radiation Shielding -1,200
  -Helmet [Bal/Imp +1/+2] -100
  -Securetech PPP System Forearm Guards [Bal/Imp +0/+1] -200
  -Securetech PPP System Leg and Arm Casings [Bal/Imp +1/+1] -350
  -Securetech PPP System Shin Guards [Bal/Imp +0/+1] -150
  -Securetech PPP System Vitals Protector [Bal/Imp +1/+1] -200
  
  Novatech Airware Commlink [R3/S3] -1,250
  -Iris Orb OS [S3/F3] -1,000
  -Skinlink -50
  -Basic + Common Use Program Suite -400
    -Rating 3 Analyze
    -Rating 3 Browse
    -Rating 1 Command
    -Rating 3 Edit
  Rating 4 Fake SIN (Alex Klein) -4,000
  Rating 4 Fake SIN (Alex Fisher, Bounty Hunter) -4,000
  Rating 4 Fake License (Bounty Hunting, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Combat Axe, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Concealed Carry, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Dermal Plating, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Hammerli 620S w/Modifications, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Muscle Toner, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Shock Gloves, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Smartlink, Alex Fisher) -400
  Rating 4 Fake License (Wired Reflexes, Alex Fisher) -400
  
  Certified Credstick -25
  Rating 2 Emotitoy (Clipped to Commlink) -200
  -Skinlink -50
  Micro Sensor Package (Clipped to Commlink)
  -Geiger Counter -50
  -Skinlink -50
  Rating 6 Medkit -600
  4 Metal Restraints -80
  Monofilament Chainsaw -300
  Rating 6 Respirator -150
  10 Scent-Masking Cigarettes -100
  Voice Mask -500
  
  Fiberoptic Hair -450
  Datajack -500
  -Skinlink -50
  Radar Sensor (Alphaware) Rating 4 -24,000
  Cybereyes Rating 3 -1,000
  -Eye-Recording Unit
  -Flare Compensation -750
  -Image Link
  -Low-Light Vision -1,000
  -Smartlink -1,000
  -Thermographic Vision -1,000
  -Vision Enhancement Rating 3 -4,500
  -Vision Magnification -1,000
  Dermal Plating Rating 2 -10,000
  Wired Reflexes (Alphaware) Rating 2 -64,000
  
  Clean Metabolism -2,500
  Synthacardium Rating 3 -30,000
  Sleep Regulator -10,000
  Muscle Toner Rating 2 -16,000
  
  Thundercloud Contrail [Handl +1 | Accel 20/40 | Spd 180 | Plt 1 | Bod 6 | Arm 4 | Sens 1] -5,000
  
  Advanced Infected Lifestyle: 2 months (2,600 ny/month) -5,200
  -Comforts: Low
  -Entertainment: Low
  -Necessities: Low
  -Neighborhood: Low
  -Security: Medium
  Positive Qualities:
  -Easy-Going Landlord [+1]
  Negative Qualities:
  -Crash Pad [-1]
  -Worse Neighbors (Ghoul Den) [-1]

[Anathanasia]

If there's still room I'd love to get in on this as well (I see a few names in here I'm at least somewhat fond of playing with, for one thing... ;) ).

My Shadowun is very rusty, like Yuna CP2020 was always a bigger draw in my gaming circles, and I've only ever glanced at the 4e version of it, but at least I'm familiar with the world. I'm not entirely sure what I'd like to play, though maybe a physcial adept if such a thing still exists in 4e? Something hand to hand focused, at any rate. I'm really digging on the melee lately!

So, still got room for one more, Sophina?

[Sophina]

I do Anathanasia! I think I'll have to close the doors after you, since this is about as big of a group as I think I can manage, but welcome to the party!

Physical adepts do definitely exist, you might want to include at least some social skills in your character. We have some hackers, a street sam, a magician, and a demolitions expert, but we're very sparse on the social side of things and while a pure Face isn't necessary, I'm thinking the party might find some things easier if they used social engineering.

Of course, that is only a suggestion- if you all want to run, gun, and boom your way through the mission like there's no tomorrow, that is perfectly fine! ^^ It will just attract more attention, and probably require some fancy footwork to keep away from the law.

[Sophina]

You're looking good Kunoichi! I love the concept, and I think she'll fit perfectly into the game. ^_^

[Ashes]

Alright, that sounds good then! The only real advice I would have (and this is only advice- feel free to ignore it!) would be to consider adding some skills to make your character into a greaseman of sorts: gymnastics, climbing, swinging, rappelling, that sort of thing. I could imagine the party running into some situations where having a mobility expert would really simplify their problems.

Humm, it's an interesting concept. It's a shift in what I was thinking but I'll try that with a Mystic Adept with a mentor spirit (idealy a racoon, so I think trickster for that?), if that's an ok way to go.

[Anathanasia]

I do Anathanasia! I think I'll have to close the doors after you, since this is about as big of a group as I think I can manage, but welcome to the party!

Physical adepts do definitely exist, you might want to include at least some social skills in your character. We have some hackers, a street sam, a magician, and a demolitions expert, but we're very sparse on the social side of things and while a pure Face isn't necessary, I'm thinking the party might find some things easier if they used social engineering.

Of course, that is only a suggestion- if you all want to run, gun, and boom your way through the mission like there's no tomorrow, that is perfectly fine! ^^ It will just attract more attention, and probably require some fancy footwork to keep away from the law.

Ah, hrmm, okay, I'll try to find some rules online and see what I can sort out, but I could even perhaps make a proper Face (I was steering away because I figured someone more up do date on the setting might be better suited to that role). I'll see what I can do. :-)

[Sophina]

Ashes, that would be fine, but only go that way if it's really what you want to play: I am perfectly happy with any characters, so a more combat-focused adept would also be wonderful. ^_^

And Anathanasia, I look forward to seeing what you come up with! I'll make sure to tailor the campaign to fit the party's skillsets, so if you find a concept for an adept or anything else that sounds like more fun than a Face, you should feel free to pick whatever sounds most fun! But you're also free to work on a Face for the party.

Either way, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about 4th ed or the chargen process! ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

To any and all participants who do not have access to the books, and/or need help constructing their character,


I am available.



On another note, Soph, what could we use right now?

[Sophina]

Ooh, thanks for volunteering Reiji!

Right now we have a street sam, two adepts, at least one hacker, a magician, and possibly a Face, so I think if we were going by the numbers the party probably needs a Rigger, but it's ultimately up to you. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

How about a Street Doc?  Someone who can patch people up, and all that?  I've never really built a Rigger before, but if I did, I could probably build an Adept Rigger...


EDIT: Also, I had a possible Quality I wanted to ask you about...

[Sophina]

Oh, a street doc would actually be really useful!

A rigger isn't essential, so I wouldn't sweat it. ^^ In general though, riggers don't make good magic or tech users: they need a LOT of BP to go into their gear and hacking skills, so giving them resonance or magic in addition tends to force you to really cut corners somewhere else.

[Xerial]

Someone just made me grin ear to ear, because it has been ages since I tried a system game here... and Shadowrun is something I have spent countless hours of my life thinking of/plotting for/working numbers on.

Scarily enough, I may think about SR more than sex...

...ok, that's pushing it.

If there is room, I am game. I'd be inclined to make a stealth oriented character, possibly a Social/Invisible Way adept, light on combat, heavy on being a ghost within the system. Whatever you need, however, I can fill the role.

[Anathanasia]

I'm looking over the 4e core book now, and I'm leaning on a PI/detective sort of take on a Face (always liked getting a good spot or Noir in with the Cyberpunk...Blade Runner and all, y'know?). I was thinking about trying to marry that with a hermetic mage, if it can be done nicely, so any tips/pointers/supplements I should really take a look at that the more experienced Shadowrun players could direct me too would be greatly appreciated.

[Sophina]

Sorry Xerial, but we're about at the limit of what I think I can DM effectively. :(

Consider yourself on the sub list, though- if anyone has to quit or loses interest, you'll have the first open slot.

[Sophina]

Oh, that sounds perfect Anathanasia! I was just worrying about our lack of social players, and that sounds pretty ideal. Ashes is looking at running a kind of tracking/greaseman/maneuverability specialist, so between the two of you our physical information gathering needs should be really well set. ^^

[Xerial]

Well curse my timing, eh. First day, and the interest has surpassed my ability to spot the game quick enough. Reserves I will happily sit on.

[Muse]

Oh my lord, Sophina, you just turned a horrible day into a beautiful and shining hopeful night!!! 

Name:   Angela Quade
--Alias:   Tessa Conner
--Alias:   Marion McVie
--Alias:   Lace

Karma   0/0

Agility      3   Charisma      4
Body      3   Inituition      4
Reaction      3   Logic      5
Strength      1   Willpower      4

Edge      4
Magic      4

5   College Eductation
5   Linguist
15   Magician
5   Mentor Spirit: Wise Warrior

10   Day Job:  Works 20 hours a week at the Municiple Library, earning 2,500 NY monthly.   
10   Diminished Sense of Sight: Neurological
5   Distinctive Style: Clockwork, Corsette, Lace, and Goggles. 
5   Lost Loved One: Her father Adrian Quade, Consulting Magician
5   SINer




Arcana         1
Assensing      1
Astral Combat      1
Blades      (Swords)   1
Counterspelling      4
Dodge         1
First Aid         0
Pilot Ground Craft      0
Ritual Spellcasting      4
Spellcasting      4

Athletics         0
Conjuring         2
Cracking         1
Electronics       1
Influence         1
Stealth         0


4/2   Hermetic Academic
3/2   Paramed Shaman
3/2   Talismonger


50,000 NY    Power Focus Force II, Attuned: The Nightstone
20,000 NY   Force II Weapon Focus Rapier (Attuned)

Force 6 Magical Lodge
Force 3 Spirit Binding Materials X2
Fetishes:  (Combat Spell) Lightning Bolt: Tessla Fork
   (Manipulation Spell) Influence: "Mesmerist's Watch"
2 Vanshon Island Steampunk Armored Outfits 4/4:  Corsette, Blouse, and Skirt. 

Novatech Airware Comlink with Iris Orb Stock Operating System (3/3/3/3)
--Force 3: Anaylyze, Brouse, Comand, Edit, Encrypt, Reality Filter, and Scan programs. 
--Force 3: Armor, Attack, Biofeedback Filter, Decrypt, Exploit, Medic, Sniffer, Spoof, Stealth, Track
--Kid AR Gloves
--Biometric Reader
--SIM Module
--Skin Link
--Sub-Vocal Microphone
--Electronic PaperX4
--Standard RIDF Tags X10
--Stealth RIDF Tags X2

Kit of Hardware Tools

Rating 6 Goggles
--Image Link
--Vision Enhancement +2
--Vision Manginfication
Earbuds Rating 2
--Sound Link
--Audio Enhancemnt +1
--Select Sound Filter +1   

Tag Eraser
Force 3 White Noise Generator
VR Games: Amazons and Athenians, Dunklezhan's Quest, Legend's of Third Gaia
Data ChipsX10

Fake SIN: Marion McVie: Librarian
Liscenced to own a Power Focus.

Fake SIN: Tessa Conner: Rave-Hopping Wall Flower
Lisenced to own a Power Foucs. 

1 Month Pre-paid at Cobweb Manor: Acomadates one extra occupant.  (4,840 a month.) 
+4   High Comforts
+3   Middle Entertainment
+3   Middle Nesecities
+2   Low Neighborhood
+4   High Security

+5   Aspectd Domain
+1   Easygoing Landlord (Bottom line, who else is going to rent this creepy old shack.) 
+1   Homegrown Farming
+1   No Neighbors (They avoid the freaky old house.) 
+1   Workplace
-2   Black Hole
-1   Green Plan
-4   Haunted
-1   Houshold Gremlins 1 Dice
-2   Lax Security
-1   Poor Condition






Spells:   Combat Sense
   Heal
   Improved Invisibility
   Improved Reaction
   Influence (Fetish)
   Lightning Bolt (Fetish)

[Sophina]

Aww, sorry Muse, but I'm going to have to put you on the waiting list- we already have 6 PCs, and I don't think I can manage more without the quality of the game suffering. :(

You and Xeriel are both on the sub list though, so if anyone bows out, you guys will be the first two I talk to.

[Anathanasia]

Oh, that sounds perfect Anathanasia! I was just worrying about our lack of social players, and that sounds pretty ideal. Ashes is looking at running a kind of tracking/greaseman/maneuverability specialist, so between the two of you our physical information gathering needs should be really well set. ^^

I think we have a mage already? I think I'm going to drop that aspect from my character. After taking a first pass I don't think I'd be able to afford to fulfill either role well trying to do both, so I'll just go back to investigator/Face and drop the magic part.  :P

[Sophina]

That sounds like a good idea, Anathanasia. We have some pretty good mages, adepts and combat specialists, so having you as a pure face/investigator will add a lot of utility to the group. :)

[Muse]

Sadness. 

*hugs*  Good luck!   

[Hikari]

Sophina: did someone else step in to play a mage, or were you counting on me for that?  Otherwise, I'll go with a hacker as you initially recommended.

The core concept I'm running with right now is an ex-paramilitary hacker.  As a field officer, she was often called the Conductor for her ability to orchestrate complex and finely-timed plans through a combination of conventional leadership and net-overwatch; she was regarded by many as a genius when it came to tactics and a master of fieldcraft.

Unfortunately, she got outfoxed on a mission and was left holding the tab for a potentially disastrous international incident.  Not seeing any other options, she went to ground and turned to the shadows, both as a means of survival day-to-day and in the hopes of finding out who it was who set her up--and more importantly, beat her in their private game of "human chess".

Strong points: Hacking, planning, good all-around military skills (firearms, athletics, etc.), leadership.
Weak points: Heavy/prolonged combat (that's never a part of a good plan!), street knowledge, ribcage sometimes opens to reveal glowing orange heart.

[ReijiTabibito]

@Sophina:  What Hikari asked.  B/c I've got a Mage character that I drew up a while back, and then went over for this particular incarnation.   I know we've got a couple of Adepts, but I wasn't sure if we had a full Magician.

EDIT: Soph, I had a question about a modification found in Arsenal for firearms.  The Improved Cylinder mod increases the capacity of a revolver's cylinder from 6 to 8.  Problem is, there's a revolver - the Cavalier Deputy - that has a capacity of 7.  So, if we buy this mod for the Cavalier, does it increase the capacity to 9 (following the +2 rounds line of logic) or to 8 (following the print in the book line of logic)?

[Sophina]

I don't believe we have a full Mage-we have several Adepts, but no Magician. Would it work if ReijiTabibito played the magician and Hikari went with your hacker concept?

And ReijiTabibito, I would rule that expanded cylinders always add +2 unless it's getting ridiculous- that's the entire point of the weapon, and ruling otherwise negates the Deputy's advantage. So a Deputy fitted with an improved cylinder will have a capacity of 9.

[ReijiTabibito]

Yes!  Alright!  Good to know that I don't have to swap out my weapon, then.  ^_^

And I am more than willing to play my Magician character (a Mage of Phoenix), even though about the only thing he's highly proficient at from the get-go is casting spells.  But then, most Magicians are that way.

EDIT: Something else from Arsenal I thought of, the Armor section.  The Victory Globetrotter Line of Camouflage clothing (check Arsenal, page 46-47).  Would it provide a Camouflage bonus, or no?

[Sophina]

I think that should be fine. I am going to design a lot of the combat parts to be easier if the party employs a lot of strategy, so having a highly specialized character should be in your favor. ^^

[Hikari]

I probably would have just ended up playing a diabolical illusionist/mentalist mage, which I imagine would have gotten old faster than I would have liked--there are some control and memory-alteration spells that are just nuts in proper application--so I don't mind if Reiji has something in mind he'd like to play.

[ReijiTabibito]

Well, considering he can (if you allow that sort of thing), spam Force 6 Stunbolts without suffering drain (if you do the automatic hits thing), I think he'll be fine.  He's got a lot of magical resources, though - Magical Knowledge Skills up the...you choose an orifice, and a very potent Magical Group Contact.

And my Phoenix Mage is being played as a General Specialist right now (to use a doctor term), but he might develop along the lines of Health (given Phoenix), Combat (if the group needs firepower), or Detection (given his 'investigator-ey' concept).

[Sophina]

That should be fine! ^_^

[ReijiTabibito]

???  I'm afraid I'm not understanding your thing here.  Could you be a little more specific?

-The Ares Globetrotter Camouflage thing?
-Buying hits on Drain Test thing?

...Something else I didn't think of?

[Sophina]

Well it's up to you, but I think that if you can combine the stunbolts (to give the party some crowd control) with Detection, you'll be the most in keeping with our campaign concept, but all three of those proposals should fit in nicely-I'm simply recommending Detection because it will give you the most to do during the campaign.

[ReijiTabibito]

Not a problem.  The Magic-related skills I have in that area - specifically, Active Skill Arcana and Knowledge Skill Spell Design - both carry a Detection Spell Specialty.  ^_^  Plus, he's got a pair of Detection Spell Formula...though he might end up with more by the time I'm done tweaking him.

[Sophina]

Alright, that sounds good. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Yep.  ^_^  I don't know how much longer you're going to be on, but I think I should have my character tweaked and updated within a couple of hours, if you'll still be here, then.

[Sophina]

I don't know if I'll be on or not, but feel free to post it when you have it finished! ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Okay.  I will.  ^_^

Soph, question for you, something I've been puzzling over for awhile.  Do you need to buy a Shop in order to have a Magical Lodge, or do you just need Magical Lodge Materials?  Because I don't really remember that too well.

Maybe Kuno can help answer, too...

[Sophina]

All you need are the Materials, which cost 500 nuyen per force point to assemble and set up.

[ReijiTabibito]

I thought so!  Which begs the question of why I bought a Shop in the first place...I know I need Shop space to set up a lodge, but not a Shop itself...hm.

And to be sure, it is okay that all my guy is able to do, for the most part, is magic?  I know we've got 6 people, like Kuno's Street Sam (who is a beast in combat), 2 Adepts, a Face, a Hacker, and myself...but I just want to be able to rest easy knowing that I've got my niche, and the group isn't going to suffer for it.

[Sophina]

Oh no, you're perfectly fine being a pure magician. We're going to have a demo specialist as well, just as soon as I get around to finishing Yuna0417's sheet and posting it. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Okay.  We have, so far, IMS:

Kunoichi - Ghoul Street Sam, aka Dancer
Hikari - [Metatype] Hacker, aka Conductor
Anathanasia - Elf Face/PI, aka [Unknown]
Yuna - [Metatype] Demolitionist, aka [Unknown]
Ashes - Completely unknown

And of course, myself: Human Mage of Phoenix, aka [Unknown].


*looks at list*

Oh god.  Not again.

[Sophina]

*blinks* not again?

[ReijiTabibito]

Yours is the second Shadowrun 4E game that I have had the distinction of playing.  In the previous one (in which Kunoichi was also a player), there were originally two male players.  However, partway through an adventure, the other male player got banned, leaving me as the sole male of the party...

...and so, here we go again.

Do we know anything about Ashes' character?

[Sophina]

That makes sense. ^^

I'm working on Ashes' character with her. She's an Adept who is focusing on movement skills over combat. She's basically shaping up to be a melee fighter who specializes in tailing people.

[ReijiTabibito]

Okay, so she'd be taking Physical and Stealth Group skills, and powers like Flexibility, Great Leap, Wall Running, stuff like that?

[Sophina]

Oh, that's a good idea, she should consider that-she had been focusing more on the perception powers, but if you're going to be using a detection specialist she can afford to specialize more in that direction.

[ReijiTabibito]

Well, it all depends on how much Magic she has to work with at the very beginning...but if it were me, I'd take the following:

One of the Improved Reflexes Powers - she may not be a group combat heavy, but having extra actions is never a bad thing.
Two Improved Senses - I usually take Low-light and Thermographic Vision, but she could take any two special senses, to cut down on the need to buy them, or to be redundant.  Fancy Goggles tricked out with half a dozen vision modes can't help you if you're not wearing them.

That's either 2 or 3 Power Points right there - depending on if you take Improved Reflexes I or II, respectively.

All the remaining points I have, I put into whatever my character's magic focus is.

Also, keep in mind...it's never bad to have redundancy.

[Sophina]

Yuna0417's character is below- Yuna0417, feel free to modify it however you want! This was just my best effort to translate what you described into game terms.

Character image: http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=cyberpunk&order=9&offset=48#/d2rrk5x

BOD 3, AGI 5, REA 4, STR 3, CHA 2, INT 4, LOG 5, WIL 2, INI 8

Heavy Weapons 4 (Grenade Launchers +2)
Pistols 4
Throwing Weapons 5 (Lobbed +2)
Demolitions 5 (Commercial Explosives
+2)

Armorer 4 (Explosives +2)
Dodge 4 (Ranged weapons +2)

Industrial Mechanic 4
Auto Mechanic 4
Forgery 3
Cybertechnology 4

Language: English N
Language: Japanese 3
Language: French 3
Knowledge: Military Demolitions 5
Knowledge: Commercial Architecture 3
Knowledge: Civil Engineering 3
Knowledge: Industrial Chemistry 4
Knowledge: Punk music 2
Knowledge: Seattle club scene 4

Gear
Fichetti Security 600 light pistol (regular ammo, 5 clips)
Ares Antioch-2 grenade launcher [airburst link, gas-vent 2, gyro stabilization]

Grenades
Flash bang 10
Fragmentation 20
High Explosive 5
Smoke 10
Thermal Smoke 2

Explosives
3kg Commercial
Detonator cap 3

Armor Jacket

Meta Link commlink, Vector Xim

Toolkit
Tool shop
Miniwelder
Monofilament Chainsaw


Contacts:

Leslie Nakamura: Fixer: Met way back when she dropped out of college.  She was the gir on campus who knew it all, knew what clubs were hopping, who was here, what to get, where to get it and who to get it from, and who needed what, but most importantly, where to get rid of stuff for a decent price (minus a commission).  Now, she's past the campus and on the streets with wide reaching fingers into many pots.  She's morally ambiguous, and in D&D terms, would be deemed as Financialy Neutral.

Connection: 2
Loyalty: 3

Jason Lacroix: Street Sam: Met during a shootout.  She was smart enough to dive behind the right car, he was lucky enough to have a gun jam, and even luckier to have it handed back in perfect working order after it was thrown down.  After that, she became a source of explosive for what he needed, and he became a little muscle and knew enough people to get stuff when she needed.  Not around a lot, but still knoes the redhead when she calls.

Connection: 3
Loyalty: 2

<I need a name>:Public Investigator: Ex-cop, and knoes Jessie's bomb signatures, but likes her too much too much to turn her over for her past crimes.  Off the firce after punching his superior and breaking their jaw cause of a little misunderstanding concerning an investigation.  Now a ver gruffled and good PI.  Still with buddies on the force, and in the streets.

Connection: 4
Loyalty: 2

Gear 6 (30,000)
Middle apartment (5,000)

[Sophina]

And you should feel free to PM Ashes or discuss her build with her here, I'm sure she would appreciate the feedback. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Not a problem.  I didn't see her on, so I'll talk to her later.  Also, because I happen to be weird like that, I'm putting Yuna's character into the character maker program that I have for 4E, see if she spent the whole 400 BP, or if she can buy other stuff.

[Sophina]

That's a good idea, I'm fairly sure I missed a few points somewhere. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Indeed you did.  First up, Yuna's Initiative is wrong.  It should be 8, not 7 (Initiative is Reaction+Intuition).  Also, this may or may not be covered on the sheet, but there's 6 BP left of points to spend.  Now, I noted that you had Gear (30,000) on the character sheet.  I'm thinking that that's the 6 BP still left, yes?

Also, couple of other things.  The Armor Jacket is nice, but unless you subscribe to the '1 piece of armor = no encumbrance' houserule, she's better off getting a setup like what I have.  I just want to know if you use that rule.

[Sophina]

I don't use that rule, so feel free to advise her about whatever setup you feel is best. And the remaining 6BP are indeed her Gear and Lifestyle.

[ReijiTabibito]

Mkay.  I'll do that when she comes around.  ^_^

Now, before I have to help at least two other people...I need to figure out how to spend 2 more BP...

[yuna0417]

That looks great, I still need to name her and get a name for that contact (taking suggestions) and I do have some ideas for a more specialised explosives and eequipment...that will need to be either made in game, or procured somehow.  Fun times for those.  Trust me.

[ReijiTabibito]

Yuna, I've gotta ask...that avatar of yours, where's it from?  I get the vaguest feeling that I recognize it from somewhere.

Also, I have some potential advice for the remaining 30,000 you've got left to spend, too.

[Kunoichi]

It's Kim Possible, Reiji. :P

I've got a name suggestion for that last contact:  Nick Charles. ^^

[Sophina]

I should probably make a starting thread where we can post finalized character sheets- which forum do you folks think this would be most appropriately filed under?

[yuna0417]

Reiji: Binary explosives, time release medical patches,mason jars, disposable cells, wires, nails from walmart, beer/soda cans, ball bearings, plastic tubing in varrying circumferences w/endcaps?

Also yes, it's Kim Possible and Shego in my favorite fan art of them.

[ReijiTabibito]

I should probably make a starting thread where we can post finalized character sheets- which forum do you folks think this would be most appropriately filed under?

It depends on what kind of sex you plan on having in the game.

[Sophina]

Yuna, if you want to take that approach, please be sure to change the Commercial Explosives specialization under your Demolitions skill to Improvised Explosives, so you get the dice bonus.

And I suppose that is a matter for everyone to discuss and decide upon. I would be fine with anything ranging from no sex to outright debauchery, so it's up to what the players want. ^^

[yuna0417]

I don't know.  x.x  I'd like to do a mix of Imrov and regular, or is that possible?

[ReijiTabibito]

Sadly, it's not.  This isn't 3e, where you can have multiple specialties.  You only get 1 in 4E.

[yuna0417]

I more meant, could she use both improvised and commercial styled demolitions techniques?

[ReijiTabibito]

You mean, could she use a homemade pipe bomb to blow up one thing, and then C4 to blow up another?  Sure.

[Kunoichi]

She'd just be rolling more for one than the other.

[yuna0417]

I'm fine with that.

[Ashes]

Okay, so she'd be taking Physical and Stealth Group skills, and powers like Flexibility, Great Leap, Wall Running, stuff like that?

I'm droping Enhanced Reflexes to 1 and had planed to work some Great Leap in. I hadn't seen flexibility or Wall Running but I like the sound of them! What's the cost/benefits for those?

And you should feel free to PM Ashes or discuss her build with her here, I'm sure she would appreciate the feedback. ^^

Any or all help is greatly appricated. I found a character generator to save myself from having to work out BP costs myself, so I'll post the basics of the character after I've played around with it a bit more.

[ReijiTabibito]

I'm droping Enhanced Reflexes to 1 and had planed to work some Great Leap in. I hadn't seen flexibility or Wall Running but I like the sound of them! What's the cost/benefits for those?

Okay, first thing before I say anything on costs.  What is your character concept?  Is she, or is she not, meant to be a combat heavy?  By which, I mean, she could be the type to take on three guys by herself and win?  Answer me that first, before you go changing anything.

Flexibility essentially lets you do all those crazy contortionist things that people in the circus do.  Each level gives you a +1 to Escape Artist tests, and costs a quarter of a Power Point.

Wall Running is just like it sounds - you can run up walls or other surfaces.  It costs a whole point, though, and what it lets you do is make a Strength+Running test, and then run up the wall for as many meters as successes you made on the test.

Any or all help is greatly appricated. I found a character generator to save myself from having to work out BP costs myself, so I'll post the basics of the character after I've played around with it a bit more.

That's a relief to hear...I do need to find that link for the 4E Chargen maker...

[Ashes]

Okay, first thing before I say anything on costs.  What is your character concept?  Is she, or is she not, meant to be a combat heavy?  By which, I mean, she could be the type to take on three guys by herself and win?  Answer me that first, before you go changing anything.

Nope, she's more focused on getting into places or following people. I want her to be able to do some combat but in her mind three guys are better avoided then fought! Thanks for the info on Flexibility and Wall Running, I particularly like wall running. I'll have to see if I can work that in... then again I'm saying that a lot.

That's a relief to hear...I do need to find that link for the 4E Chargen maker...

I'm using http://www.dobberisms.com/sr4cg.php It seems good to me but then I'm a Shadowrun novice!

[ReijiTabibito]

Nope, she's more focused on getting into places or following people. I want her to be able to do some combat but in her mind three guys are better avoided then fought! Thanks for the info on Flexibility and Wall Running, I particularly like wall running. I'll have to see if I can work that in... then again I'm saying that a lot.

Okay.  Just checking.  How many points in Magic does she have?

[Ashes]

Okay.  Just checking.  How many points in Magic does she have?

6, putting 4 into Adept and 2 into Spells. I'm thinking of spells like Phantasm and Masks.

[ReijiTabibito]

Wait.  So you're a Mystic Adept, not just a straight up Adept?  Okay...Improved Reflexes 1 costs 1.5, so what're you doing with the other 2.5?

[Ashes]

Yeah with a Trickster Spirit Mentor to help those illusion spells. Adept points would be Enhanced Reflexes 1, Astral Perception, Improved Sense Scent, Improve Sense Low Light Vision and maybe Wall Running.

[ReijiTabibito]

If you're focusing on Illusion Spells, take my advice - go with Moon Maiden instead of Trickster.  Moon Maiden gives you the same +2 to Illusion, and a +2 to Negotiation instead of Con, and replaces that compulsion you need to overcome with a simple -1 to all Combat Spells, which it sounds like you're not doing.

And why exactly are you buying Astral Perception...?  It's not really worth the whole point.

[Anathanasia]

I should probably make a starting thread where we can post finalized character sheets- which forum do you folks think this would be most appropriately filed under?

Well, I'm interested more in the because of some of the people I saw who'd posted before me and because it's a Shadowrun game. I'm happy to play whether or not the game gets at all sexy, really.

That said, I do like possibilities to be open, and I'd be lying if I said that having my character raped repeatedly and often by strange critters isn't also appealing, hehe. My vote is for NC: Exotic, "just in case".  ;)

[Kunoichi]

I suppose I wouldn't be averse to NC: Exotic myself, though I don't see Dancer being raped by anything.  Maybe being the one doing the raping, but she tends to get enough of people screaming and begging her to stop during her 'day job' that it's a bit of a turn-off for her.

Still, it sounds like 'just in case' is a good option for me. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Ana asked me for this in a PM, and given that part of our group are newbies, I thought it better to post here:

http://daegann.free.fr/page.php?id=241

That's the character generator that I use to make my 4E characters.  It's not perfect, it's missing some stuff from other books, but it's got a lot.  And I make a lot of notes, anyway.

[Sophina]

Alright, I made the game thread at https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=84200.0 I put it in bondage because I thought that would be the most extreme thing anyone might want to implement- if it is more or less extreme, we can have a moderator move it later.

Lets keep this thread for OOC, but once you have finalized your character sheet, please post it in the main thread. When we have everyone's we'll go. ^^

[Ashes]

And why exactly are you buying Astral Perception...?  It's not really worth the whole point.

Purely for the concept of the character being a sort of mix of an adept and street shaman (I was thinking Racoon there, which let to the trickster, Moon Maiden does have a nicer drawback though). I might drop it, would give me some points for great leap and other fun adept stuff and free up some BP from Assensing, which would be a help.

[yuna0417]

Well, I'm interested more in the because of some of the people I saw who'd posted before me and because it's a Shadowrun game. I'm happy to play whether or not the game gets at all sexy, really.

That said, I do like possibilities to be open, and I'd be lying if I said that having my character raped repeatedly and often by strange critters isn't also appealing, hehe. My vote is for NC: Exotic, "just in case".  ;)

That's what I like about you! *.*

Personally, i'm fine with alot of stuff happening to my girl, plus, look at the picture, doesn't she just look like stuff needs to happen to her?

[ReijiTabibito]

Purely for the concept of the character being a sort of mix of an adept and street shaman (I was thinking Racoon there, which let to the trickster, Moon Maiden does have a nicer drawback though). I might drop it, would give me some points for great leap and other fun adept stuff and free up some BP from Assensing, which would be a help.

That's probably for the best.  Especially since Soph has gone on record saying that she's running an Eigen Plot, basically.  You're better off, if you ever get that at all, waiting until you've gotten a grade of Initiation.  Which personally, I'd spend on the Magician aspect rather than the Adept aspect.  Plus, that whole point gets you 4 levels Great Leap.

[Kunoichi]

*posted her character sheet in the thread*

I'm actually thinking my own character probably looks a bit like a man, mostly because this article got me thinking about what her dermal plating looks like.  If flat-chested women are able to wear men's body armor without trouble, then a flat-chested woman would probably settle for men's dermal plating, as well...

[Ashes]

4 levels of Great Leap or 2 and 2 of Flexibility?

[ReijiTabibito]

4 levels of Great Leap or 2 and 2 of Flexibility?

That depends on you.  If you have Escape Artist, then Flexiibility is a possibility to look into.  If you don't have it, go Great Leap all the way.

[Ashes]

A quick post of what I have so far;

Zoe Raglan
Sublime

Human

BOD 2, AGI 4, REA 4, STR 2, CHA 3, INT 5, LOG 2, WIL 3, INI 8, MAGIC 6

Qualities: Mentor Spirit - Moon Maiden (5), Mystic Adept (10), SINer (-5)

Skills:
Athletics 3
Stealth 3
Diving 1
Parachuting 1
Locksmithing 1
Pistols 2
Dodge 3
Perception 3
Spellcasting 2
Blades 1
Con 1

Knowledge
Back Alleys 4
Parkour Routes 4
BASE Jumping 2
Street Gangs 4
Security Design 4
Police Beats 2
Urban Brawl 1

Adept Abilities: Enhanced Reflexes 1, Improved Sense Scent, Improve Sense Low Light Vision, Wall Running, Great Leap 4

Spells: Phantasm, Masks

Contacts: 15 points put aside to spend on them, haven't decided yet

That should leave me 9 BP to spend on money and lifestyle or spend on something else if I'm left with any after that. I don't see her carrying too much in the way of weapons and looking at the list, they'll like be pretty cheap. I could see her having a small backpack with a few different pieces of equipment in it, so any/all sujestions for that or anything else are very welcome

[ReijiTabibito]

@Ashes: You might want to consider picking up the Character Creator I linked to earlier.  It has a whole slew of Negative Qualities that you can take to offset costs of stuff.

Also, I have recommendations for economical weapons for you to use, too.  ^_^

[Ashes]

@Ashes: You might want to consider picking up the Character Creator I linked to earlier.  It has a whole slew of Negative Qualities that you can take to offset costs of stuff.

After looking at it, can add dependent 1.

Also, I have recommendations for economical weapons for you to use, too.  ^_^

Sure! Any or all sujestions are welcome :-)

[Sophina]

Mith moved the main thread for us, it's at https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=84200.msg3672045;boardseen#new now. ^^

[Kunoichi]

Seeing as it's a system game, though, I'd think it would need to be on this board, instead... ^^;

[ReijiTabibito]

Okay.  I noted that you've got the Pistols skill (which, personally, I think should be higher, but you can do that with Negative Qualities).

The top 3 most economical pistols are all light pistols.

1 - The Colt American L36.  It's very cheap, and thus easily modifiable for little money.

2 - The Fichetti Security 600.  It's moderately expensive, but it's got a clip size at least twice that of all the other standard pistols (30 rounds!).

3 - The Hammerli 620S.  It's got a small clip size, but it has recoil compensation, smartgun built in, plus it uses Heavy Pistol ranges instead of Light.

[Sophina]

Seeing as it's a system game, though, I'd think it would need to be on this board, instead... ^^;

Oh, good catch! ^^ Mith was awesome and moved it to https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=84200.0 .

[yuna0417]

My girl is posted!  Woo!

[Sophina]

I'm glad this looks to be coming together. ^^

[Kolbrandr]

Blarg, got busy for a day and missed out again *snaps fingers*

[Hikari]

Sorry it's taking me a bit, just having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around a few of the...  "interesting" design choices.  (Logic is near-useless for a Hacker, factoring into their Matrix actions even less often than Intuition and being arguably less useful than Willpower?  Really?)  Even so, I think I should be done fairly soon.

[Sophina]

Alright, no problem Hikari- feel free to post here if you want any help or feedback on your character build! Just post it up in the main game thread whenever you finish. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

Sorry it's taking me a bit, just having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around a few of the...  "interesting" design choices.  (Logic is near-useless for a Hacker, factoring into their Matrix actions even less often than Intuition and being arguably less useful than Willpower?  Really?)  Even so, I think I should be done fairly soon.

Just where did you hear this?  Logic is perhaps the most important attribute for a hacker.  Granted, in the Matrix, you don't get to use attributes (the rolls are usually Skill+Relevant Program), but nearly every skill that the Hacker needs to use (the Electronics and Cracking Group skills) is linked to Logic.

[Hikari]

Just where did you hear this?  Logic is perhaps the most important attribute for a hacker.  Granted, in the Matrix, you don't get to use attributes (the rolls are usually Skill+Relevant Program), but nearly every skill that the Hacker needs to use (the Electronics and Cracking Group skills) is linked to Logic.

That's, uh, kind of the thing.  You don't use most of those skills outside of the Matrix--what exactly are you Hacking that you're not using the Matrix to do it, really?--so the fact that you use Hacking + Program for them when "in the Matrix" means you always use it for them.  The only practical value of Logic for a Hacker is writing their own programs, and since you can't write programs before play begins and you're going to be a pretty poor hacker if you spend your first half-dozen runs without them...

...  it's an incredibly illogical design, basically, and the designers have both admitted that Logic is near-useless for Hackers and stated that it's that way by design.  Anyone's supposed to be able to "plug and play" as a "script-kiddie" Hacker if they've got the cred and skills, it's not supposed to be as exclusive/exclusionary as magical skills or technomancy...  it's more like combat skills, you can hyper-specialize in it, but just about anyone should be able to do it moderately well with a decent expenditure of effort.

However, I've found a few toys that fit my concept very well even within this bizarre set of circumstances (TacSofts!) so it'll all work out.  I'll probably just end up being much better at hacking than I had originally expected.

[Ashes]

A quick question, the character generators seem to be putting adept enhanced reflexes cost at 2 (for rank 1) and 3 (for rank 2) but the rule book says 1.5 and 2.5, which is right?

[Sophina]

My rulebook lists it at 2 for rank 1 and 3 for rank 2, so that's what I would use.

[ReijiTabibito]

That's, uh, kind of the thing.  You don't use most of those skills outside of the Matrix--what exactly are you Hacking that you're not using the Matrix to do it, really?--so the fact that you use Hacking + Program for them when "in the Matrix" means you always use it for them.  The only practical value of Logic for a Hacker is writing their own programs, and since you can't write programs before play begins and you're going to be a pretty poor hacker if you spend your first half-dozen runs without them...

...  it's an incredibly illogical design, basically, and the designers have both admitted that Logic is near-useless for Hackers and stated that it's that way by design.  Anyone's supposed to be able to "plug and play" as a "script-kiddie" Hacker if they've got the cred and skills, it's not supposed to be as exclusive/exclusionary as magical skills or technomancy...  it's more like combat skills, you can hyper-specialize in it, but just about anyone should be able to do it moderately well with a decent expenditure of effort.

However, I've found a few toys that fit my concept very well even within this bizarre set of circumstances (TacSofts!) so it'll all work out.  I'll probably just end up being much better at hacking than I had originally expected.

Well, Logic isn't as important for a mundane hacker as it is for a Technomancer, since for Technos, Logic determines their Living Persona's System.  But I built a hacker character who was part hacker, part tech expert - he was the guy that copied keycards and did whatnot with maglocks and so on and so forth.  So, while I would agree that having Logic 5 isn't critical to a Hacker, you should probably have Logic 4.  I personally don't see a Hacker having Logic less than 3.

[Ashes]

Unfortunitly some stuff has come up that's going to severly limit my time to be online. It's probably a good idea to offer my spot to Xerial.

[ReijiTabibito]

@Sophina:  Regarding Adept Improved Reflexes and the cost (1.5 vs 2 & 2.5 vs 3).

In the original SR 4E book, the costs for Improved Reflexes were 2, 3, and 5, depending on level.  This cost was carried over to Street Magic, and is commonly used in character creators.

However...

When the 20th Anniversary Edition came out, the costs were reduced to 1.5, 2.5, and 4.  The creators have gone on record saying that anything in the original 4E corebook is surplanted/replaced by what's in the 20th Anniversary corebook.


EDIT: If you have the 20th Ed book, check the Gunslinger Adept for math.

[Anathanasia]

I'll hopefully finish up today myself, or perhaps tomorrow, so anyone else still working on it can just know they are not alone!  ;D

I'd also like to put one more thing out there, group dynamic wise, for everyone to consider: even though I'm playing the Face, I really don't want to play the team leader here if I can avoid it (I know they aren't the same thing, but as charismatic roles they kinda fit together nicely). It's something I find myself doing without thinking about it a lot in games (I get impatient and express it by putting my foot down and making 'Leader' type team decisions), plus I'm doing that in another RP here on Elli, and I'm a little worried the characters will blur together a little if I don't try to ensure that I won't have to play that role here too. So someone else please make concerted effort to step up and be the leader!  :-)

[Sophina]

Thanks for the information, I guess we should go with the updated figures, so use the 1.5, 2.5 4 progression Ashes.

[ReijiTabibito]

Thanks for the information, I guess we should go with the updated figures, so use the 1.5, 2.5 4 progression Ashes.

That's the irony, isn't it?  Ashes is saying that we should probably talk to Xerial (Yay! Nother guy player!) and have him submit a character...

[Sophina]

Aww, poor Ashes, Okay, I'll PM him.

[Xerial]

I hadn't expected this to happen, so I'll need a short while to write up a character, but the concept is still in my head.

Hopefully whatever came up is not the bad kind of stuff, Ashes. Sorry it made you have to drop.

I'll be working up an infiltration specialist, light on the face, since we've got that bit covered, heavy on the stealth and quiet take-downs.

Edit: Tonight I'll have him done up.

[Sophina]

Alright, that all sounds fine! If it isn't any trouble, you might want to consider taking some points in Locksmith as well- we have a B&E specialist, but stealth isn't her strong suit and there might be times where we want to open a lock without alerting the occupants. ^^

[Kunoichi]

Actually, in the 2070s, most of the locks one is likely to find are going to be maglocks, which are taken apart using the Hardware skill.  Locksmith will come in handy every now and then, but Hardware is where breaking and entering is at. ^^;

[ReijiTabibito]

Plus, you can use the Autopicker, which is essentially a lockpick gun, in place of Locksmith.  1200 nuyen rarely gets you a +6 to a skill, after all...with two notable exceptions.

[Anathanasia]

Plus, you can use the Autopicker, which is essentially a lockpick gun, in place of Locksmith.  1200 nuyen rarely gets you a +6 to a skill, after all...with two notable exceptions.

I bought one at +4, because I don't have Lock Smith but I did think it might it come in handy. ;)

[Anathanasia]

My character is up in the other thread! Yay! And whew.

I'm still thinking about a street name, so if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to share. No reasonable offer refused! ;)

[yuna0417]

I'm still thinking about a street name, so if anyone has any ideas, please feel free to share. No reasonable offer refused! ;)

What about flirty and fun while slightly unreasonable offers?

[Anathanasia]

What about flirty and fun while slightly unreasonable offers?

That's a matter of taste, so go ahead and share any you might have. :-)

[Hikari]

RE: Logic.  I actually still plan on taking Logic 5, because it fits the character concept.  The difference is, originally I planned on making a Logic-heavy Hacker who didn't have much in the way of programs to fall back on--so she would have been 'average' overall, by my estimation.  This isn't really possible, of course, so instead I made a Hacker with kick-ass program suites but little to no Software/Hardware skill.

I also tripped across Cyborgs while doing this, which would've been a lot more fun for my character concept, but they're completely impractical to create as characters as-written.  (They need like 120 BP worth of gear just to exist!)

RE: Leadership.  At the moment, my concept includes a full suite of 'senseware' (tricked out cybereyes/ears, orientation systems, etc.) and a TacSoft program that allows her to run a Tactical Network out of her commlink.  The only thing other characters need to do to participate in it is subscribe to her node and link in whatever senseware/detection devices they have (mostly cyber-sensory stuff, but even a completely mundane biomonitor or ultrasound sensor can be linked in), and they basically get to share information across the network (things like her ability to map an area and detect invisible targets or targets behind obstructions by sonar/radar, target data from smartlinks, pheremone detection, status of other team members via biomonitors, and any information she can add from Hacking--local camera feeds, grid-guide ETA on incoming police, and son on--etc.).

I should have a good first draft done here in a couple of hours.  I'm just doing finicky bits right now (weapon mods, ammo, etc.).

[Kunoichi]

Ooh, a TacNet. ^^ Dancer will be able to add in a Radar Sensor, her tricked-out Cyber-Eyes, and probably any of the Smartlinks in whatever gun she has on her, if I'm recalling how these things work correctly.  Also a low-rating Emotitoy and a Geiger Counter, which may occasionally come in handy...

[Hikari]

A Geiger Counter, huh?  Planning on trying to become a Glowing One?

[yuna0417]

*bounces* I want to start playing!   Ready to blow something up!

[Kunoichi]

A Geiger Counter, huh?  Planning on trying to become a Glowing One?

Nope.  But the only Street Doc Dancer could find who would operate on a ghoul is this guy called Hazmat who runs a clinic out near Glow City in Redmond, treating those with no other options.  So she also bought a geiger counter and some radiation shielding for her Form-Fitting Body Armor, just to be careful.

[Anathanasia]

Nice on the tacnet.

I've got my own cybereyes some handy softs for facial and voice recognition, plus that smart area jammer will come in extra handy now, won't it? I just grabbed it to help ensure privacy when meeting clients!

[Xerial]

I'll see what I've got left to buy in on the tacnet, but I'm going to be fairly cash poor, save the 15k in debt my guy's got.

Working the gear now, and contacts. This shadow is going to be a disguise/sneak based type, with a little bit of electronics and influence for a pinch, and non-lethal combat techniques. He's a pacifist, due to events in his past. He's not a fan of wetwork, but he is not about to stop anyone from killing. Call it a moral imperative, but not an evangelical one.

[Hikari]

Nope.  But the only Street Doc Dancer could find who would operate on a ghoul is this guy called Hazmat who runs a clinic out near Glow City in Redmond, treating those with no other options.  So she also bought a geiger counter and some radiation shielding for her Form-Fitting Body Armor, just to be careful.

Well, as long as you don't go all Ghoul Reaver on us.  Those guys are such jerks.

Nice avatar, by the way.  Halloween, yay!

[Kunoichi]

Thanks. ^^ And don't worry, Dancer prefers to get her weekly dietary requirement of human flesh from a refrigerated truck, even if hunting it down personally is more fun.  After all, receiving a neat little set of meat cutlets lets her play tricks on the neighbors...

[ReijiTabibito]

'Kari?  What level tacnet is Conductor going to be carrying?  I think my character can manage a level 2, maybe a level 3...since the requirement is level*2 sensory channels

[Sophina]

By the way, Reiji, Xerial, do you guys have an estimate on how long it will take you to finish your sheet? I'm not in a hurry, I'm just trying to decide whether to start an informal "you all meet at a tavern" kind of opening to give everyone an excuse to socialize IC until you two arrive, or to just wait and stay OOC until everyone is ready. ^^

[ReijiTabibito]

I have about 1500 nuyen left to spend on my character (which looks like it'll be taken up by getting sensor channels for 'Kari's Tacnet), and then I'm ready.

[Xerial]

I have a few points to shuffle about, and a quickie backstory to write. Should be a matter of, an hour at most... DR2 is causing some lag...

[Sophina]

Alright, that's perfect, I'll wait until everyone is ready. Unless anyone has some good ideas or objections, I'm going to assume that nobody has met before, and that you were all cobbled together for the meet by different fixers through somewhat murky channels.

[Hikari]

'Kari?  What level tacnet is Conductor going to be carrying?  I think my character can manage a level 2, maybe a level 3...since the requirement is level*2 sensory channels

She's carrying Level 4, but as far as I know there's nothing stopping you from running a Level 4 as a Level 3 (just the lower "bonus cap", of course) if that's the most the members of your team can manage.  Though, for most non-mages running 8 sensory channels is pretty easy (for a mage you might need to do something weird like run with a simrig active, which would provide your 5 meat-senses as channels).  As a reminder, some of the common and inexpensive things that can act as channels:

*Smartgun Links
*Biomonitors, including the 300 nuyen non-implant version
*Practically anything you can put in cybereyes.  The recorder that comes free with them counts as one, as does Vision Enhancement, Vision Magnification, Low-Light, and Thermo.  They don't specify whether or not Microscopic and Eye-Lights count.
*Practically anything you can put in cyberears.  Again, in addition to the ear recording unit itself, the Select Sound Filter, Audio Enhancement, Improved Sensitivity, and Spatial Recognizer all apply.  Not sure about the Balance Augmenter (it is technically a sensory upgrade, and I suppose it could tell other TacNet users what body position/orientation the person is in).
*Ultrasound sensors (non-implant or cybernetic)
*Radar sensors
*Olfactory boosters
*Orientation systems
*Drone sensors of all kinds (with each drone potentially be a different set of channels)
*Guncams, or for that matter, normal non-implant cameras linked to your PAN
*Recording devices, including radio scanners built into your PAN
*Geiger counters, chemsniffers, MADs, etc.

There's also the option (especially for mages) of not trying to participate at the level necessary to count as a subscriber in the network (ie, provide Rating x2 channels) but to just provide a few basic channels for pure data purposes.  (The biomonitor being probably the most important one.  If nothing else, everyone subscribing to the network will be able to see if you get shot, and hopefully we know where you are!)

[Xerial]

And posted in the character thread.

Blank, as he is known, has become both an infiltrator, and a spy. Also not too shabby with the Breathtaker grenades.

[ReijiTabibito]

I think I might be able to run level 4.  The Phoenix has equipped on his goggles Low-Light, Vision Magnification, Thermographic, and Smartlink.  He's got Flare Compensation, too, but I don't know it that counts.  He's also got a handheld sensor outfitted with an Atmospheric Sensor, a Laser Rangefinder, and a Motion Sensor.  One of his guns (his new primary) has an Improved Rangefinder mod attached to it, as well.  Plus, he's carrying an Emotitoy, which counts as a drone for sensor channel purposes, and it has a Sensor rating of 3...even if you discount the Improved Rangefinder mod, and his Astral Perception (Which he gets being a Magician), if everything on his goggles, his sensor package, and the Emotitoy counts, he's got 10 channels.

[Hikari]

Nah, pretty sure Flare Comp./Dampeners don't count.  The restriction is that it has to provide some sort of usable data--it doesn't necessarily have to be useful data (for example, 99 times out of 100 a Geiger counter is going to read negligible background radiation), but it has to be capable of providing some sort of information.

The reason I'm not sure if a Balance Augmenter counts is because I'm not sure how much information it can draw about the body's somesthetic senses, in particular the otolith organs and semicircular canals.  If it actually has full-reporting capability for information from them, it's immensely useful.  (Imagine that your AR HUD has a little 'ragdoll' 3D model of your fellow runner showing his posture and body position; you could easily tell whether or not he was crouching and aiming his weapon--and thus able to provide covering/support fire--or standing and running--and thus needing covering fire--without even being able to see him.)

You can't add Astral Perception, of course, because as far as I know there's no way to encode it as data or for non-magicians to interpret it as meaningful information.  The closest would be astral-photography, but that's extremely slow-developing stillframes only, and doesn't really have the same depth of information as Astral Perception.  I'm afraid you're still going to have to let us know about any weird auras, spirits, or other magical matters the old-fashioned way!

[Xerial]

Emotitoys make baby Dunkelzahn cry.

Blank has:

- His base six (low-light) thanks to a Simrig;
- Earbud enhancement (Spatial Recognition);
- Contacts (Enhanced, Image Link, Thermo)

He's got enough, but he's only got Tacsoft of 2.

[Hikari]

You don't actually need the TacSoft program to run it on a centralized network.  (I wouldn't want to run a decentralized network--that would mean all those sensory channels you're providing would be open to outside hacking at all times, with only your own commlink capabilities to prevent it.  Running it centralized means they have to hack my commlink instead, and they're more than welcome to try!)

[ReijiTabibito]

Yeah, I didn't think so. Fortunately, even if you discount Astral Perception, Flare Compensation, and Improved Rangefinder (although the books says Rangefinders count), he's still got 10 channels.

And Xerial, I don't think Image Link or Vision Enhancement counts in terms of channels.

And running a decentralized TacNet is expensive, since it means everyone has to have the software.  It's easier to run a centralized network off the Hacker's commlink, slave everyone else's link to the Hacker's, and let the pro defeat any attempts to hack the network.

[Hikari]

Vision Enhancement does count, and Improved Rangefinder should.  I don't believe Image Link counts, though it's extremely useful for receiving information from the tactical network, since it's the primary way of parsing it.  (The majority of information from other user's sensory channels is made available to you in HUD format as necessary--for example, you can get indicators for when other users are running low on ammo or overlays showing the projected arcs and blast radius of a grenade launcher shot from their smartguns, or red outlines for enemies they can see from their position that are obstructed from your view by obstacles, etc.)

But, yeah.  The decentralized network is resource-intensive and doesn't offer many advantages beyond redundancy.  So if you want to channel the nuyen you spent onto the program into other avenues, feel free!

[ReijiTabibito]

Really?  I did not know that...well, if Vision Enhancement and Improved Rangefinder count, then that boosts Phoenix's channels to 12.  Which is nice.

And now I'm starting to understand why fans of Non-Adept magic are not fans of 4E...

[yuna0417]

Ok, I think I need to go back and spend some of my 40K now. x.x

[ReijiTabibito]

Ok, I think I need to go back and spend some of my 40K now. x.x

That would be goooood...  ^_^

*growls*  Why the hell did they nerf magic so much in 4E?

[Sophina]

Hmm, I'm only going to be around for about two hours today- should I post the opener and give everyone a chance to ask some questions and interact, or would everyone prefer if I wait until Reiji has posted his character so we can all start at once?

[Hikari]

Well, it was insanely powerful in SR3, and it remains extremely exploitable in general.  The gradual, progressive move away from "initiative monster"-driven combat has also done a lot to keep full mages in the game as things have come along.  To be honest, the thing that's shifted the balance of play more than anything is that cyber/bioware doesn't eat Essence as quickly, so cyber/bio characters tend to start play with some Essence still remaining and thus being able to continue advancing quickly for a while.  (I don't think I ever saw an SR3 sammy start with more than 0.5 Essence.)

Even so, Mages still offer the best and most unlimited curve of progression.  Adding a new spell to your grimoire is surprisingly cheap and can boast a far greater increase in versatility and power than anything another character can get for that much karma.  Foci may be slightly "out of reach" with starting resources since the Mage Quality and Magic Attribute burn up so many BP, but they offer a quick-fix of rapid power increase once you get some cred under your belt.  Initiation and Metamagic make sure the sky's the limit as far as progression goes.

Most of the old tricks still work: Stunbolts and Manabolts are insanely easy to blow unfortunate mundanes away with, even without taking Drain.  Levitate still offers incomparable mobility.  Spells like Control Thoughts and Alter Memory have wildly powerful applications that are almost impossible for any other character to replicate.  Heal is still the only game in town when it comes to effective battlefield healing...  and now some of your teammates may actually have enough Essence to benefit from it, too!

Pound for pound, the Mage is still the best all-around show in town.  They just aren't able to beat everyone at their own game, anymore.

[ReijiTabibito]

This, I know.  I'm just bemoaning the fact that since the system turned from a Target Number based system in 3E to whatever you'd call 4E...a Fixed Target Number, I guess...it means that magic isn't the powerhouse it used to be.  Especially since in 3E, you could vary the amount of damage you wanted to do.  Want to incap a target in one shot with a Stunbolt?  You could do that.  You'd have to resist a lot of drain, but it was possible.  The better thing to do was to break it up and do a one-two combo with twin Moderate Damage stunbolts, but still, in 4E, you can't do that anymore.

Plus, now it doesn't matter how much juice you pump into the spell - it can be Force 1 or Force 6, and the number the mook needs to hit doesn't change.

I guess I'm just remembering the glory days of when I took out a helicopter with a single Powerbolt, and seeing that you can't really do that anymore.

EDIT: Soph, I've got my character ready, I'm just down to trying to decide whether or not to make my other Combat Spell Manabolt or Boom (think Lightning Bolt or Firewater, but with the Blast Elemental Effect, which is like an explosion's shockwave).

[Hikari]

The main memory I had of SR3 was how easy it was to make a shaman who could throw Force 6 Manabolts at Deadly damage with casual ease.  Because of the all-or-nothing nature of resistance, characters with less than 6 Willpower had virtually no chance of escaping death from such an attack unless they were Awakened themselves or had an Initiated Mage using Shielding on them.  Even if they did have Willpower 6, it just meant the Shaman would have to shift some Spell Pool away from drain resistance to spell casting--he'd get a little burnt, sure, but it's a small price to pay for a 100% guaranteed kill shot...

You could also do some terribly, terribly min-max-y things with full magicians in SR3.  Probably the worst example was the Trauma Damper: for a reasonable price you could gain the ability to completely ignore Light Drain, meaning instead of budgeting your Spell Pool to negate Drain you only had to calculate in such a way that you would take Light Drain, giving you an extra 4 dice (on average) to throw into spellcasting.  Not to mention you still retained all the other utility of a Trauma Damper, and it left you with quite a bit of "spent" Essence out of that lost point for cybereyes or other quality-of-life 'ware.

The only thing that really gave most mages I knew trouble were vehicles...  but then, Riggers were their own entire pile of potential exploits.  (Ugh, there was nothing I hated worse than the strange juxtaposition of "this drone is completely invincible" vs. "oh you have AV rounds, now it can't even survive a lovetap".)

[ReijiTabibito]

*nods*  That's what I'm talking about.  Kuno knows this, but senior year of high school, I was in a campaign with four of my friends.  My friends were, in order of character concept, a Dwarf Street Sam, Elf Decker, Human Face/Infiltrator, and Elf Street Doc/Bounty Hunter.  I took up the magic end of things with a Human Fire Elementalist.  I was most definitely the newbie to the group and the system (something that became a running gag in the group), but by the end of the school year, when we were all graduating, I was capable of kicking more ass than the Street Sam and the Doc (our top two mundane combatants) combined with magic.

EDIT: Xerial, saw your character sheet over in the thread...Shock Gloves use Unarmed Combat, which I note you don't have.  Considering that you already have a Stun Baton (the AZ-150), you might be better off getting a Collapsible Baton in it's place...just a suggestion.

[Sophina]

Alright, that's it! Everyone has posted their sheets, so I posted the opening section-consider the game started. ^^

[Sophina]

Oh yes, regarding OOC let's use this thread for now- if we end up having a lot of OOC chatter I'll make a separate thread in the system threads section, and of course feel free to use PMs for anything you would traditionally use covert notes to the DM for. ^^

[Kunoichi]

Emotitoys make baby Dunkelzahn cry.

Perhaps, but they're quite a boon to the socially-challenged members of the group. :P It's just that a dedicated face can do terrible, terrible things with them, is all.

(I don't think I ever saw an SR3 sammy start with more than 0.5 Essence.)

Dancer's got 0.775, herself, but then she started with only 5 Essence to begin with.  Admittedly, she can get that missing point back with some rather expensive geneware...  But the fact that it's rather expensive geneware is likely to be a problem. ^^;

*will probably have her opening post up in a few hours*

[Anathanasia]

Perhaps, but they're quite a boon to the socially-challenged members of the group. :P It's just that a dedicated face can do terrible, terrible things with them, is all.

Dancer's got 0.775, herself, but then she started with only 5 Essence to begin with.  Admittedly, she can get that missing point back with some rather expensive geneware...  But the fact that it's rather expensive geneware is likely to be a problem. ^^;

*will probably have her opening post up in a few hours*

I was going to get one, then I saw the empathy software...but where did it go? I could swear I bought! Argh!

[Kunoichi]

Well, if you've got leftover starting nuyen, you don't carry that into the game with you, so perhaps you might have enough to get it now and just add it onto your sheet?

Edit: D'oh!  Forgot my own starting nuyen. ><;

Multiply result by 50 (3d6=7)

So, 350 nuyen in my bank account to start.

[ReijiTabibito]

Soph?  How did you want to handle dicerolls for this particular game?

[Sophina]

It might be too slow (and if it is, we can try something else) but for the moment I would like you guys to tell me when you're trying to use a specific skill or the like. I've been rolling Perception and other checks without telling anyone, but for the most part unless I'm explicitly told someone is using a skill, I'll assume your character is trying to get by on pure social engineering.

[Sophina]

Oh yes, and I don't mind if anyone makes their own rolls and posts them, so long as they use http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/ or some similar form of third-party verification. ^^

[Kunoichi]

Well, at least Rhiannon managed to talk up the price a little for the rest of us. ^^;