[Reminder]

I am looking to start this for two reasons mostly - to come to a better understanding of the 5e system and to run something in the African arena which  has always interested me but, unfortunately, is largely underdeveloped in official source material. My choice of the African setting is fourfold: Life is grittier in many areas (yes, even grittier than Shadowrun normally is), it offers the opportunity for a wider variety of settings to be incorporated, the influence of non-corporate factions offers a greater importance of choice (if developed), and the previously mentioned lack of development for the continent allows for more individualized adaptation of the setting without possibly offending someone with strong knowledge of the timeline or previous experience (Some people expect certain things when running Seattle given previous campaigns for example, and my overall knowledge of Shadowrun history is moderate as opposed to comprehensive).

General Rules:
If you cannot post frequently, particularly during combat situations, you may not be a fit for this game. I fully realize that people are not on 24/7 (I certainly am not) but when days lag without previous warning, PbP games die fast. In combat situations, your action should really be taken within 24hrs, and not much more than two days should pass in social settings (one players input, unless it is in reply to "ready to go?" is less likely to hold things up). Real life happens, so if you foresee a situation arising when you may not be able to participate frequently, say so ahead of time and you will likely be put on autopilot. If you foresee these situations frequently arising, again, this may not be a fit for you.

GAME INFORMATION

System: Shadowrun 5e

Books allowed: As the core rulebook is the only published resource at this time, you are limited to that. Anyone wishing to purchase a vehicle, let me know and we can work to adapt what is available to the setting if necessary.

Number of players: Four or five

Setting: Starting in Kenya. If campaign develops (see below), may move into other areas of the continent. The initial encounter will begin out of Mombasa. (Some general info on the setting will appear in the next post for those unfamiliar with it.) Timeline is August of 2076 (realize the equator runs directly through the center of Kenya, so there is not that much seasonal variance.)

Duration: I am committing to a series of three missions. If the game is progressing well, the decision may be made at that point to extend the campaign.

Gamestyle: Will partially depend on progression. I intend to start out in more of a trenchcoat style, but the setting (see next post) is dangerous in certain areas. So there will be moments, particularly when outside of the major cities, that may have less ramifications if you shoot first and don't ask questions. It is unlikely an entire job can be solved this way however.

Chargen: DO NOT POST SHEETS IN THIS THREAD Priority based, using modified street level rules. Also use the hotpatch errata here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12034805/SRM5%20Hot%20Patch%20Errata%20v1.0.pdf. This is intended to be a gritier game, especially at the outset. That said, the massive changes in nuyen affect certain classes in a way that may impact their ability to function in the setting (hackers/riggers). Instead of using the listed street level amounts of nuyen, divide the amounts given on the chart in half, except for priority e which is -1000. So that makes the nuyen amounts by priority as follows: A: 225k, B: 137.5k, C: 70k, D: 25k, E: 5k. Secondly, maximum karma on any one contact is 6 (instead of 7). Everyone will, however, receive one free fixer contact (L1, C3). Other than these two changes, all other street level chargen rules apply, including the maximum of 5 karma to nuyen.
Also, as a bit of a carrot, characters which fit the setting and are developed in a logical fashion (not just speaking of backstory, but using skills, etc, that fit the character well) will receive one additional free 3 karma contact or one rank2 knowledge skill of their choosing.


For now, feel free to indicate general interest, ideas, or questions in this thread.  All I am looking for right now is character concepts (which can go in this thread.) If you want to do more, that is fine but anything more specific (character specific questions, backstories, character sheets and whatnot) please send via PM.

[Reminder]

Basic overview of Kenya in 2076:

Tropical along coastal region, while growing more temperate or arid inland.
Official languages are English and Kiswahili. Many other languages are used, included several commerce languages and numerous tribal.
Fairly well developed, in the populations centers at least, when compared to much of Africa.
Major commerce center.
Rich in natural resources.
Outlying areas are truly wilds in many areas. Expect to encounter greater spirit or paracritter activities outside of population centers.
There are areas without wireless. That being said, the runs will have things for a decker/techno to do, if someone chooses to make one.
Despite a population of only 53 million, Kenya contributes a full 1/5th of the UN Peacekeeping forces.

Major Cities:

Nairobi:
- Capital
- Houses the corporate Court.
- Services the Kilimanjaro Mass Driver
- Contains the African UN headquarters
- Fairly well developed, but with green space. Extensive slums boarder the city.

Mombasa:
- Port town of ~1 mil residents
- "Downtown" is on Mombasa island, with semi restricted access to the rest of the city on the mainland.

Other points of interest:
Kilimanjaro mass driver - currently the most cost effective method for delivering bulk shipments into orbital and extraorbital space, it is located on Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was installed over the protests of most of the local populations and involved the elimination of the numerous spirits that resided on the mountain. Increased spirit violence is common in the area.

Political/Corporate Climate:
Has a president elected to a six year term, but it is questioned if he has any real power or if the office more or less serves at the whim of the megas.
All of the members of the Corporate Court have adjoining towers.
Government is very Pro UN and pro Corp.
Active Tribal resentment towards most corporate activities, including terrorist and eco-terrorist (at least as defined by the corps) activities.

[Reminder]

General Chargen Advice

The setting is a mix of developed areas, slums, tribal lands, and true wilds, and it is unlikely that your activities will be limited to just one or two of these areas. So while your character may derive from one of these general areas, the rest of the team may not, so before making an extremist rather than someone who may have inclinations in one direction or another, consider how well they play in a group. You may be an adept that was raised by a pack of hellhounds who hates all things civilized, but that might conflict really heavily with the groups decker who grew up in Nairobi (GMs note, your character was not raised by a pack of hellhounds, no matter how well you write the backstory). That doesn't mean I am opposed to characters that are not going to the best of friends. Just avoid anything in your character concept that makes them a zealot to the degree that the chances of them functioning in a group are slim. Also, realize things also are not going to always have clearly defined choices, or outcomes.

Some of the character skills which may not come into play so much (survival skills, parazoology, parabotany, etc) in the urban settings you may have played in the past may come into play, at times, given the setting. Even in the cities, things like dealing with the heat may come into play at times. That does not mean that I expect that every character will incorporate these skills, but give them some thought if they fit your backstory. Also, realize there some areas without wireless. If no one in the group has any navigation skills, you may find yourself hopelessly lost. At the same time, they will not come into play every mission, if for example you take a job to go recover stolen plans for a corp, you may find yourself functioning primarily along more traditional mission lines.

Also, while I am not going to mandate that a rigger be part of the group, it is likely the team will need some form of transportation to use outside of urban areas at some point. Your Johnson (sidenote, I'll have to figure out a term for an African Johnson) may provide something at times, but it is not a solution to rely on long term. What you can drive down the street in the city may not work outside it as well, and vice versa.



Non-campaign related things: Qualities, both positive and negative are interesting, and consider including a few that may have an effect on your character. They add flavor to the story. That means don't take try to take a cheese negative quality just for karma and never have it come up in game play. At the same time, it doesn't mean I am going to try to make you suffer overmuch based on your negative qualities, just know they will come into play occasionally (Note, if you take an extreme allergy to sunlight, it is not the GMs fault when you go nova and die 37 seconds into the first run).

Also, note if you were looking to play say a decker (or other character type that depends on steady nuyen), and did not stop after reading the street level tag, realize that I know that having less nuyen means buying a slightly lower end unit and challenges will likely scale accordingly to start with.

There may be more to come here as I see directions players are deciding to go

[JackVII]

Absolutely interested.

I'm thinking of a tribal native "eco-terrorist"/counter-poacher shaman.

For clarification, do you want us to submit Character Sheets via PM or are you picking people based on concepts and then submit character sheets?

[Reminder]

Absolutely interested.

I'm thinking of a tribal native "eco-terrorist"/counter-poacher shaman.

For clarification, do you want us to submit Character Sheets via PM or are you picking people based on concepts and then submit character sheets?

Right now, I am mostly interested in character concepts, but if you want to start with sheets already, that is fine. I just know that for some it will be "out of the norm" and may take a bit longer, so I will likely wait 3 or 4 days before I start to review them, and will mostly just answer any general questions until then.
That being said, I will be giving priority to more solid character concepts, with those that apply earlier given preference.

So, if you want to attempt a charsheet already, go ahead, but include at least a general backstory (I definitely don't need a book).

Also realize, as things develop (the first mission will be more general as characters meet each other) whether the group takes jobs that follow corporate or native interests (or some combination of the two - they don't have to take sides) will likely be a group decision. The corps might pay better in some circumstances while supporting the locals may have other benefits that are less clearly defined, so that is choice players will have to make. And it may not even always be clearly defined between the two groups (what is shadowrun without shades of grey?).

[Crunch]

I'm definitely interested. I'll try to get a char sheet in by tomorrow night.

[Bewilderbeast]

Thanks for posting in my thread and bringing this to my attention. I'm definitely interested, but not sure what I will play (since any characters I have made up were for standard priority system, not street level). I'll have to brainstorm character ideas, but consider me in.

Character will probably be a foreigner, just because I honestly don't know anything about Africa and that seems like a good way around it. What are the major corporate powers in this area? That might factor into the character background I'm formulating.

I'm fond of Face type characters and mages, but I'm willing to adapt and try to find something that fits the needs of the group.

[Reminder]

Thanks for posting in my thread and bringing this to my attention. I'm definitely interested, but not sure what I will play (since any characters I have made up were for standard priority system, not street level). I'll have to brainstorm character ideas, but consider me in.

Character will probably be a foreigner, just because I honestly don't know anything about Africa and that seems like a good way around it. What are the major corporate powers in this area? That might factor into the character background I'm formulating.

I'm fond of Face type characters and mages, but I'm willing to adapt and try to find something that fits the needs of the group.

I wouldn't worry too much about lack of a knowledge of the setting. The choice was made with the assumption that that would be the case no matter what character someone made (The corps might hire a guide to run their big game hunt knowing they don't want to get eaten by some paracritter, but at the same time, don't expect him to know how to setup corporate security just because he has a gun).  So I am hoping for a variety of backgrounds. That being said, don't force a character into the setting if you would be more comfortable playing in a North American or Euro setting instead.

If you decide to run with it, this is a general overview of the corp situation:
Given the presence of the mass driver and the corporate court, all of the Megas have at least some influence in the area, with those with spacebased interests having a stronger foothold. Other than that from the resources I have, Novatech and Regulus have interests in the area as well.

As I mentioned in the intropost, there is not a lot written about the continent in general, so if you have something that you want to use, send me a PM and I am certain we can make it fit, since the lack of an abundance of published specifics on the nation makes it easier to fit something in. The other option of course is just to go with a AA as opposed to a AAA corp background and then really anything that makes logical sense can be worked in.

if you have ideas, send me a PM and we can see what will fit.

[JackVII]

Thanks for the feedback and the note on the skills. I had already put together a small suite of active and knowledge outdoors type skills related to the character's role. I think I am going to retain the nativist background but probably working as something of a contracted game warden. The character will probably harbor some resentment of the corps and what they are doing to the area, but the main focus is on countering poaching which has been going on for centuries at this point in time.

As the character is being developed, I'm leaning toward an aspected conjuring shaman. Never tried a summoner focused character.

[Reminder]

Thanks for the feedback and the note on the skills. I had already put together a small suite of active and knowledge outdoors type skills related to the character's role. I think I am going to retain the nativist background but probably working as something of a contracted game warden. The character will probably harbor some resentment of the corps and what they are doing to the area, but the main focus is on countering poaching which has been going on for centuries at this point in time.

As the character is being developed, I'm leaning toward an aspected conjuring shaman. Never tried a summoner focused character.

Yeah, the comment wasn't directly aimed at you, but that might work better. Extremists (aka my way or the highway) don't tend to work outside of singleplayer games, not that I am saying that is what you intended, but it is better to solve potential problems, rather than actual ones.

As far as the aspected mag, I would avoid it since I think the chargen system gimps them beyond what it should. It seems to penalize them beyond just restricting them to one area of magic. That isn't to say you can't go that way if you like, but playing a full magician and focusing primarily on spirits is another option (and actually better at some priority levels karma wise, which is why I dislike the treatment of aspected mages in 5e, so far at least). Also take a look over the alchemy rules, maybe. While not as powerful as straight up spells, there are a whole lot of potential options there if you want to do something different with a mage. (not that focusing on spirits would be bad, and does fit the setting, as long as it doesn't get cheesy).

[JackVII]

Thanks Reminder, I'm going to put together a PM with some thoughts and comments so as not to take up too much of this thread.

[Crunch]

My pitch is Francois "Frenchy" LeFebvre - Down on his luck Physical Adept Wheelman and Smuggler. Character sheet submitted.

[Silence]

Half-tempted to toss Siouxsie's hat in the ring, but he'd be more of a stranger in a strange land and a bit of comedy as he reacts to the situation in Africa (mostly bad) than a character for a gritty campaign.  Also, I believe you might want to check out the Sixth World Almanac.  The info may be dated, but there aren't any rules in there you need to update.

[Reminder]

The two pages (some are less than that, once you account for the big pictures and text boxes) in the Sixth World Almanac comprise half the source material for some of the nations on the continent sadly.

[Bewilderbeast]

I just submitted The Tourist, an Ares ex-pat and social adept.