[rednblack]

Well, that didn't take long.  Knowledge Skills have been purchased.  Here's what I did:

Language Skill: Brahmin (Bostonian elite dialect): 2 + Spoken Spec = 5 karma
Area Knowledge: Boston: 3 = 6 karma
Shadow Community: Boston: 2 + Personalities Spec = 5 karma
Business Specialization: Finance = 2 karma
Alcohol Specialization: Wine = 2 karma
Fashion Specialization: New York Scene = 2 karma
Total: 22 karma

I'll make the changes to my sheet if/when I get the ok.

[Tecumseh]

Looks good.

[rednblack]

James' 6 hits wins. You may pick your name, age, and nationality/corporate affiliation.

So, I'm thinking of how to play this.  James will be pursuing the Nately angle, and will likely take the cover of an independent businessman looking to build an even brighter future for himself.  The Joseph Shimko SIN should be great for this, as it's pretty clean, and a PCC SIN would seem to fit for a man of means without great familiarity with the who's who of UCAS old money.  That pretty much leaves this new SIN as a solid fall-back and incognito identity.  I'm leaning toward UCAS for it, but James will also want to know what Illeana thinks.

APDS check: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 6 hits

No APDS yet. You can make about a dozen of those checks, with the warning that there will potentially be more attention each time. Your math is correct on the price.

Blast it!  Those are some hot dice you're throwing there, Tec.  I'm a bit worried about this "more attention" thing.  Let's give it one more go, and hope this isn't a GOD thing where you only need to hit 15, or something like that.  Of course, it could be even worse.  Throwing another 16 dice at the problem.
Negotiation APDS: 16d6t5 5

Illeana needs some reagents. They are Availability 0 but James has the group nuyen. Binding is expensive - basically ¥500 per force point - and she's not that good at it so she should be careful. Let's start with 250 reagents for ¥5,000.

She can always juice her MAG with all 12 of that Essence she's rocking.  Probably not a bad way to spend a few points.

Please deduct ¥5,000 + ¥16,000 + ¥3,200 = ¥24,200 from the group nuyen for Illeana's purchases.

Doneskies. 

[Tecumseh]

APDS: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 4 hits

You finally got it.

Illeana would probably suggest that a UCAS SIN offers the most flexibility and could potentially be a badge of honor among Minutemen types who favor country over king or corporation. Of course, the UCAS has been adulterated by the presence of Canadians, so isn't the CAS the only true America that's left? (They would tell you that in the CAS but the Bostonians might feel differently.)

For gameplay reasons, I'm going to try to avoid spamming the game with bound spirits. One bound plus one unbound seems like a reasonable number to handle. Illeana is also too frugal to spend ¥3,000 on every F6 spirit.

[rednblack]

APDS: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 4 hits

You finally got it.

Yay!!!  I haven't subtracted any jing for James' purchases yet.  I'll get a running tally going once I figure everything out and post it up.

Illeana would probably suggest that a UCAS SIN offers the most flexibility and could potentially be a badge of honor among Minutemen types who favor country over king or corporation. Of course, the UCAS has been adulterated by the presence of Canadians, so isn't the CAS the only true America that's left? (They would tell you that in the CAS but the Bostonians might feel differently.)

Funny you should bring this up.  I have a similar internal monologue going for my first IC of the new chapter.

[rednblack]

I'm going to buy the stuff I outlined earlier:
For shopping, here's a list of stuff that doesn't require any test that I'd like to pick up.
Tracker Rounds (Sniper Rifle) X1 = ¥150
Tracker Rounds (Light Pistol) X1 = ¥150
Capsule Rounds (Assault Rifle) X2 = ¥10
DMSO (¥50) + Narcojet (¥50) for above X4 = ¥400
Gas Mini-Grenade + DMSO + Narcojet X5 = ¥700
Thermal Smoke Mini-Grenade X5 = ¥300
RFID Tag X10 = ¥10
Miniwelder X1 = ¥250
Microwire X2 = ¥100

I'm adding to that the 2 Rating 6 Stim Patches, since they didn't need a test.  That's an additional ¥300.

The Rating 4 SIN comes to ¥16,000 + Fake Licenses for Concealed Carry Permit and Restricted Cyberware License, for an additional ¥1,600

The 80 rounds of APDS comes to ¥1,728

Grand total is ¥21,698.  I'm subtracting that from my char sheet, and updating it to reflect the Knowledge Skill purchases.  Including Illeana's purchases, the pair netted ¥12,982 after expenses for the Fight Milk acquisition and sale.  Not bad, honestly. 

Training a new guy today, so I may or may not get an IC in before Tuesday.  If you feel like pushing things forward, James will be keen on meeting with Doc.  Otherwise, my IC is going to be mainly flavor, and I can put that in whenever.  It appears that they haven't made their way to Boston yet, correct?

[Tecumseh]

For RP reasons, Illeana needs some Shade. It's ¥1,000 a hit. She would want to use it once a week but she would be wary of becoming addicted. Of course, there's the question of whether a vampire could become addicted, but it's a magical compound instead of a normal drug so I'll say yes, it is a risk, especially since the addiction is psychological instead of physiological. That means she can only use it once a month. I'll say that should bought three doses: one for July, one for August, one for September. She hasn't used the September dose yet.

Please deduct ¥3,000 from the group nuyen for the Shade.

As for knowledge skills and Contacts, I'm still penciling that out for Illeana. I'm thinking Dragons 3 with a Great Dragons specialization, then maybe Immortal Elves, also at 3. I'll pick up a couple contacts, maybe a talismonger and the aforementioned Guild of Corrupt Morticians.

No rush on James' IC post. As long as you're willing to meet with Doc, I can post again to cover that meeting. I was just giving you an opportunity for James' internal monologue.

[Tecumseh]

Alright, a long IC post is up. NOW it is your turn to respond.

A few things you need to cover:
1) What James is packing, and
2) What SIN James is broadcasting

Your James Anderson SIN is for Ares. You may chose the nationality/corporate affiliation for the Josh Adams SIN. Both come with relevant fake licenses of equal rating.

[rednblack]

Meta-gamey I'd like the Josh Adams SIN to be a Saeder-Krupp SIN to match Illeana, but James has had that one since he woke up in Tabula Rasa, so I don't see that as being likely for IC continuity.  I'm not sure if James was planted in the drug company in Denver as James Case, or if he would be using the Josh Adams SIN.  If he was working at the drug company as James Case, his supplemental SIN would most likely be PCC, UCAS, CAS, Sioux, or one of the megacorps that operate in Denver: Saeder-Krupp is supposed to be big in Denver, which might make a case for it.  Considering that James bought a PCC SIN shortly after the events of Tabula Rasa I think we can knock out PCC or Sioux SINs for Josh Adams, and we can do the same for UCAS, since James recently bought/will buy a Rating 4 UCAS SIN.  Of course, this is all assuming that James doesn't think the SIN was provided by Ares and is currently burned, or at least flagged.  Let's go with CAS, and I'll be adding more Licenses than James has with the other SINS -- partly to reflect its higher rating, and partly to reflect my assumption that it was provided by Ares, and so would likely be fairly robust with contingencies. 

I'm going to try to throw up an IC before I do any updating of the char sheet. 

Load Out:
Joseph Shimko SIN (PCC) +
Rapid Transit Suit +
Hermes Ikon +
Defiance EX-Shocker +
Arm Slide for same+
Stealth Tag X3
Endoscope
Rating 6 Stim Patch X1

All gear with a "+" is running either Wireless On, or publicly broadcast and linked to the Hermes Ikon.  All Cyberware is slaved to the implanted Leviathan Tempest, and is running Wireless Off.  And, as always, James has his Redline in the smuggling compartment.  While running the PCC SIN, James is assuming a private "consultant" status, and he'll mock up some ARO business cards with one of the companies from Illeana's portfolio, say Phoenix Biotechnologies to complete his cover.

ETA: IC in.  I also wanted to say hell of a job on your last IC post.  I especially liked the bit with the toast-obsessed RV.  Nice touch. 

[Tecumseh]

Thanks. I meant for the toast to be a slower burning joke, but I reached a crescendo rather quickly by writing three posts in a row.

I like the train of thought on the R5 SIN being CAS. Since he "woke up" with it, James might reasonably conclude that it is from Ares (it being involved in his Denver cover story is an excellent hypothesis). However, it is also possible that it is something that the old James set up for himself as a contingency, just in case he ever needed to jump ship. There's no particular reason to think so, other than James imagines his old self to be one to cover all contingencies.

Using the PCC SIN isn't a bad idea, especially with the Phoenix Biotechnologies angle. Illeana will approve, saying that it is an unrated corporation and therefore be primarily hiring PCC citizens.

Let's put the SIN to the test. Straight rating (not x2) versus the rating as a threshold. This is a high security neighborhood but not peak security.

Checking Joseph Shimko: SIN Scanner: ?d6t5 ?? hits

Something is happening as a result. Two Knight-Errant patrolmen are on an intercept course, less than 50 meters away. They are walking very quickly and will be to you in about 15 seconds. (Water is to your right, they are approaching from your left.) You are still on the promenade, about 500 meters from the water taxi. Let me know how you wish to respond. James' Social Stress negative quality will apply.

This will be a distraction, I am sure, but let's not lose the interesting angle of what would happen to James' psyche if he were to transform into a vampire, especially considering his Cyber Singularity Seeker and Redliner qualities.

[rednblack]

The next step is dependent on whether or not James thinks the pawns noticed that Illeana and he noticed that they are being approached.  I want to go ahead and get an IC in, so I'm going to roll Composure to see how likely James is to "act" guilty, and just make a judgment call off of that.  If I judge wrong enough, and James would know, let me know and I'll edit the IC to reflect a different tactic.

Composure: Composure: 12d6t5 5
He's keeping it together.

I'm sure an Etiquette and certainly a Con test are forthcoming.  I'm sure the NPCs are Suspicious (-1) but James has Plausible Evidence (+1-2, most likely 1) but I'm not sure what other mods would apply.  I sincerely but unfortunately doubt that James Redline counts as an Ace (Holt) in the hole (+2).  Looks like close enough to a straight test that I'm going to go ahead and roll it.  If Illeana wants to Assist that'll be swell, and you should feel free to roll those dice to see if that ups James hits at all.

For Etiquette I have: CHA (5) + Etiquette (4) + Corp Spec (2) = 11 dice.
Etiquette: 11d6t5 4

For Con I have: CHA (5) + Con (6) + Fast Talk Spec (2) = 13 dice.
Con: 13d6t5 5

I feel pretty good with both of those rolls.  At the very least it doesn't look as though James committed any faux pas.  The Con roll is solid, but definitely has the potential to be beat by a pair of seasoned officers.  Neither has enough 1s for Social Stress to get me. 

All this is assuming that they don't open up with stick-n-shock right away.

[Tecumseh]

James does not think that the beat cops noticed him noticing them. He can act innocent as they approach.

Composure roll is solid. As you say, James is keeping it together. There is no penalty for being "obviously nervous, agitated, or frenzied."

I'm going to say the specialization for Etiquette would not apply. However, you have left off your Tailored Pheromones so that's a push. Illeana is your plausible-seeming evidence.

Etiquette defense test: Charisma + Perception + Modifiers + Second Cop: ?d6t5 7 hits, their Social limit is 6 so they lose a hit.

Wow, these two are on the ball. Something about James doesn't sit right with them, so they move from Suspicious to Prejudiced.

That drops a die from the Con roll since we were presuming Suspicious before. The cops also have time to evaluate the situation so that drops another die from the Con roll. Losing two dice results in losing 1 hit, so James has 4.

Con resist: Charisma + Con + Second Cop: ?d6t5 4 hits

Tie goes to the defender .James isn't off the hook yet.

Note on the IC: they actually say "Excuse me!" instead of "Halt!" James doesn't look out of place and they know the scene will be scrutinized by those passing by, many of which could be their superiors at Ares. They will be polite but firm until they have a reason not to be.

Most of this exchange will be between James and the cops, unless James asks Illeana to intervene. She knows she's not much of a liar. She can use magic to manipulate the situation, but the cops will have been trained to detect its presence. How effective that training is remains to be seen.

RP-wise, James should be feeling his Social Stress, even if it's not showing up in the rolls yet. James knows that an R4 SIN will pass a cursory inspection but will crumble under too much scrutiny. To that end, it would be best to resolve the situation as quickly and cleanly as possible.

Go ahead and roll Con again if James does some more lying.

[rednblack]

Tailored Pheromones on initial Con test?
Tailored Pheromones: 2d6t5 1
Not sure if it counts, but we'll see.

IC will be up sometime tomorrow. Need to get the hunter IC in first.

[Tecumseh]

How much it counts depends on the IC response. Good luck!

[rednblack]

Let's see how James' explanation fares with his understanding of Business.  I'm going to include the Megacorp spec with the reference to Corporate Court doctrine, as that's mostly what I'm interested in.  I have: LOG (4) + Business (5) + Megacorp Spec (2) = 11 dice.
Business (Megacorp): 11d6t5 4
So, he's probably not making a fool of himself there.  Lots of ways to play this.  1. Pure flavor. 2. 4 hits is probably enough to know that there's CC doctrine on the subject, but definitely not enough to quote line and passage.  A KE officer in this area probably has a fairly good grasp of extraterritoriality, which could push things in James' favor, though if one officer knows exactly what's in paragraph 20 that could count against him.  3. An opposed test here might turn James' evidence into really plausible (+2) if he wins, or turn the pawns hostile (-3) if he doesn't.   

For Con I have: CHA (5) + Con (6) + Fast Talk Spec (2) + Tailored Pheromones (2) + Plausible Evidence (1) - Prejudiced (2) - Time to Assess the Situation (1) = 13 dice.
Con: 13d6t5 5
Boy that's a lot of 2s, but only 1 1.  I'm going to use Edge to re-roll failures
Edge Re-roll: 8d6t5 3
8 hits total.