[Poindexter]

Are there situations when it is better to subvocalize than text?

1- If you lack a DNI and actually have to type things into the comm in order to text, it can be faster to sub-vocal.
2- If you fear hacking.

EDIT: Of course, if you fear hacking, and you run the sub-vocal through your commlink, i suppose it can be hacked just as well.

[rednblack]

@Tecumseh,

I think we're going to keep the stats as listed unless someone in the Gear thread I posted supplies some better arguments for lower Accuracy, damage, etc.  So far, it seems that the particularities of it are not being addressed in the responses I've received.  I think Accuracy 5 is fair, and the Personalized Grip -- I have 100¥ as the cost as well -- will bring it up to Accuracy 6.  Like you, I have a hard time seeing a Polearm as having higher Accuracy than a baseball bat, but I guess it comes down to the fact that the latter is an improvised weapon, while the former is specifically designed for knocking off hoops.  With reach, I think 1 is right, but if you wanted a longer model, I'd allow reach 2 at the cost of making it an Accuracy 4 weapon, as it would need to be wielded in a way much closer to a Combat Axe or Polearm at that size.  As for the cost of the item, that hasn't really been addressed.  I know it's high, but I figure that the craftsmanship that goes into it, as well as the materials involved, will keep the GC properly weighted and effective.  A +2 Concealability modifier sounds right to me, as it's shorter than a sword, and will actually probably be right around the size of a machine pistol with the folding stock extended. 

As for your Improved Senses, I think they're fun, and I know the temptation is to simply get a bunch of other sight-based senses, so rest assured I'll find some situations in which improved smell and hearing will come in handy.

@All, if it's electronic it can be hacked.  Subvocal, text, email, is all fair game. 

The Chameleon suit is a full-body suit, so you can wear your Ballistics Mask underneath it.  Of course, it won't be visible, so no bonus to social tests, but the whole point is that you won't be seen, right?  I'm not sure how to handle gear when you're wearing a Chameleon suit.  It's not covered in the rules as far as  I can tell.  I would assume that most people running around in a chameleon suit are armed, but there's a huge difference between having a hold-out stashed on your person during an insertion and running around with an LMG while doing the same.  Anything that fits in a Concealed or Concealed Quick-draw holster will be covered by the chameleon suit.  I'm inclined to let Tecumseh have a Concealed Holster for She-Who-Dodges-a-Lot's Gunstock Club, similar to how people in the trids run around with their katana strapped to their backs.  If a PC, or NPC for that matter, is running around in a Chameleon suit with a weapon in hand, I'd say the bonus to limit and sneaking test is +1 as opposed to +2.  Seem fair?

@8-bit, the dangerous area is a mixed bag.  On the one hand, it's nice to be away from the eye of the law, but you don't want your shit stolen every 6 months either.  As for maglocks, that's also a mixed bag.  It'll make it harder for someone to break in, but if you're in a crappy part of town with rating 6 maglocks on every door and window, the gangers are going to know there's some sweet gear in there.  That said, I think storing stuff in a less-than-reputable part of town is a good call, and I'm not inclined to penalize you over it.  It may be smart to stash your stuff under false floors, or in false walls, but there's no added cost for doing so.  Just consider it RP fodder.  Getting to and from the place will be another matter, and it is entirely possible that once the game starts your actions may pique the interest of corner hoppers on up, so you'll want to be sure to either keep a low profile, or build contacts with the gangers in your area.  I'm sure they'd be amenable to keeping an eye on the place if you pay your taxes or otherwise provide services. 

Anyway, the tl;dr version is no, no major problems.

I think I covered all the major bases with recent responses, but let me know if I missed something.

[Tecumseh]

Quick reply before I hit the road.

I never played Assassin's Creed III. Well, that's a lie - I played about an hour. But I never played the character with gunstock war club and didn't know that it was in the game. I just grabbed photos from a Google Images search.

I was hoping for a sheath like a katana might have, yes. Thank you. A negative modifier to Sneaking while running around with the club exposed is more than fair.

Are the contacts you listed earlier group contacts or do we have to purchase them? Looks like Duncan Abbey was free but I wasn't sure about the rest. I know 8-bit and Poindexter have already picked up several of the others.

Any recommendations for making the character male or female? I often go female but in this case I'm leaning male. But it's very flexible. The backstory is well underway. Same for the contacts. Is there any desire for us to fill out the 20 Questions?

[8-bit]

@rednblack

All right, that's fair. I might get a contact with a gang leader in the area; that would actually work well with area knowledge as well as "security".

I am tempted to free up some funds for some Bioware from War! In case you don't have the book, these are the two I'm looking at. If you will allow them, of course.

Bioware
Adrenal Regulator: These modified adrenal medullae modify the hormones produced during panic situations. As a result, the augmented character is less subject to the physiological effects of stress and panic. This effect translates into a reduction of the threshold of all Composure tests by 2. While the adrenal regulator reduces the panic a person might have, it does nothing for the shock of the experience. It does not alter the effects of a glitch or critical glitch during a Composure test (p. 136).

Cultured Bioware
MPC Bridge: This network of cultured neurons bridges the medial prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus to give these parts of the brain more control over the amygdala. This grants the user a +1 dice pool bonus when resisting Intimidation and other emotional manipulation. Additionally, the user may ignore normal glitches when making Composure tests and may treat critical glitches as normal glitches.

Bioware    Essence    Availability   Cost
Adrenal Regulator     0.1    8     9,000¥
MPC Bridge    0.1    10    14,000¥

[rednblack]

Duncan Abbey is a free contact at Loyalty 1.  You can pump the loyalty with points or karma if you'd like. 

@Tecumseh, As for a male v. female character, I don't really have a preference.  In general, I think that women that underrepresented in tabletop gaming, and by extension in the game worlds themselves, but play whatever you're most interested in.  it won't really make much of a practical difference.  My understanding of the SR world is one in which racism has been replaced by meta-racism, and the gender and sexuality questions that plague our world are largely non-issues.  Of course, there are notable exceptions.  The one suggestion I have, and one that I use when making my chars, is to figure out what would be a good death for this PC.  It's a very OOC way to look at a char, but I find it helps me figure out more about them.  No need to fill out the 20 questions, per se, but I find that most of those are fleshed out in good back stories.  I'm usually particularly interested in what a character's goals are.  Part of the extra knowledge points were given for precisely the purpose of character development as well.

@8-bit, don't feel obligated to buy a contact, though you're certainly welcome to do so.  It would provide a good in-world explanation of how Stake gets by in the area, but it is by no means necessary.  I'm not in the habit of robbing from my players unless there's a good story reason to do so.  I'm amenable to the bioware that you list in your last post.  One thing to note about Composure tests and vampires, it will be nearly impossible for a vampire to feed on you in the heat of combat, at least if you're able to make the vampire fear for its life and you've got teammates nearby.  The feeding process is a long one and best done when the vampire is in control of the situation -- something not likely happening in combat.  Of course, they may opt for less-than-lethal tactics so you can be dragged back to their lair and feasted on later.  I mean, that's what I would do if some nosy shadowrunners came knocking at my door.  Composure tests will absolutely come into play when coming into contact with vampires, though when the team is not in control of the situation.  These are scary, nasty, creatures, and it's next to impossible to know what they're capable of until they do it.  Even for seasoned pros, going into the hunter's maw can be terrifying. 

As for Run Faster, I don't have that book yet, so I'm not sure how keen I will be on including any content from it.  But, I would like to know, what kinds of things for the Infected are there?  I'm hoping Santa might bring it to me, so there's a chance I'll be able to digest it before we get started.

[Kincaid]

Sorry for the interruption, I've been enjoying the characters in this thread and wanted to keep an eye on updates more easily.  I really hope Sister Rebecca's grenade launcher gets a chance to say, "By fire be purged!"

[rednblack]

No worries, Kincaid.  Happy lurking!

[8-bit]

@8-bit, don't feel obligated to buy a contact, though you're certainly welcome to do so.  It would provide a good in-world explanation of how Stake gets by in the area, but it is by no means necessary.  I'm not in the habit of robbing from my players unless there's a good story reason to do so.  I'm amenable to the bioware that you list in your last post.  One thing to note about Composure tests and vampires, it will be nearly impossible for a vampire to feed on you in the heat of combat, at least if you're able to make the vampire fear for its life and you've got teammates nearby.  The feeding process is a long one and best done when the vampire is in control of the situation -- something not likely happening in combat.  Of course, they may opt for less-than-lethal tactics so you can be dragged back to their lair and feasted on later.  I mean, that's what I would do if some nosy shadowrunners came knocking at my door.  Composure tests will absolutely come into play when coming into contact with vampires, though when the team is not in control of the situation.  These are scary, nasty, creatures, and it's next to impossible to know what they're capable of until they do it.  Even for seasoned pros, going into the hunter's maw can be terrifying.

It makes sense to have the contact. I did the numbers, and I didn't really have to drop any of the others anyway. Also, good to know that the bioware is good. Time to do some math to fit them in 

As for Run Faster, I don't have that book yet, so I'm not sure how keen I will be on including any content from it.  But, I would like to know, what kinds of things for the Infected are there?  I'm hoping Santa might bring it to me, so there's a chance I'll be able to digest it before we get started.

It has rules about countermeasures against the Infected mistforms. It also has rules about how Infected Allergies play out, as well as Essence Drain addiction (both the drainer and drainee). Other than that, it's mostly for Infected PCs, which they state are different from NPC Infected (meaning they start out weaker and can buy all their abilities with Karma).

Overall, I like the book a lot, and definitely think it's worth the money. The Infected section doesn't give much for overall use though, mostly just what it means to be a PC Infected. It does have some nice fluff though.

I also don't feel the need to get anything from Run Faster for this character. I like the way he's currently set up.

[Tecumseh]

@8-bit: I was planning on taking a gang leader as a contact because it ties into my backstory that I am formulating. I was also planning on either a very simple (Low) lifestyle or a safehouse (Squatter) in gangland. I was thinking that our characters, having been on the team together, could conceivably share a team lifestyle, or at least coordinate our lifestyles and contacts so that they don't overlap too dramatically. Let me know what you think.

@rednblack: Thinking about what would be a good death for the character is an interesting question. I haven't heard that one before. I think I have the answer for this character but now I have to go back and re-examine my last 20 years of PCs.

As for Run Faster, there is a quality I was thinking about. I call it the "gold watch from Pulp Fiction" quality:

EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT
BONUS: 5 KARMA
The character has an irrational emotional attachment to a piece of gear. The character will always use this item,
even if presented with a “better” option. Furthermore, if lost in some manner, the character will do everything in
his power, up to and including risking his life and that of his teammates, to retrieve his item. If the piece of gear
is irretrievably lost or damaged, the player must either immediately spend Karma to buy off the quality or suffer
a –1 penalty on all tests that would have used that piece of gear for a six-month period. After that time,
they learn to love a replacement piece of gear, and the quality transfers to that item.

I was thinking of applying it to the Gunstock War Club, which might be something that the character carved themselves. (Someone else would have done the enchanting though.) I was going to use this to replace a bogus Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) quality that was going to be mostly BS.

There might be a couple good ones for Sister Rebecca too, depending on her degree of asceticism:

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN
BONUS: 10 KARMA
The character has survived on the streets for so long that anything else makes them distrustful and suspicious.
The character will not choose to stay in accommodations above Squatter. If, for example, the team
elects to spend the night in a Middle Lifestyle hotel, or even a squalid Low Lifestyle motel, the character
will walk out and find a comfortable alley to sleep in rather than bear this “luxury.” If forced to stay somewhere
above Squatter, the character will be at –2 to all his Mental attributes as he becomes confused, erratic,
and agitated until such a time as he is able to spend a day in a Squatter or Street lifestyle to rezone himself.

PIE IESU DOMINE.
DONA EIS REQUIEM.
BONUS: 2 KARMA
The character is a flagellant, believing in causing himself pain to serve a greater good. Perhaps they seek
clarity through pain; perhaps it is a constant act of contrition for their deeds. Whatever the reason, the
character gains High Pain Tolerance 1 but always starts the day with 1 box of Physical damage. This box can
be healed, but the character will seek to cause himself another box of damage as soon as possible. Note that
the character’s wounds may cause questions in certain social settings, should anyone notice.

[Tecumseh]

Sample contacts. List incomplete. Mostly just getting some ideas out there.

Rusty - Gang Leader (Troll), Connection 4
Rusty is a terrifying badass who earned his position and his reputation the old-fashioned way: with pure physicality. His parents were killed by gang violence when he was young, forcing him to survive on the streets from an early age. Survive he did, with an aggressive "if I don't have a gun I'm going to pick up a  rock" attitude that served him well and left his neighborhood largely devoid of rocks. Rusty cites a preference for them over firearms due to his large hands  and his inability to get his index finger through the trigger guard. He will reluctantly wave around a shotgun if he must, but he disdains it. The rock lets him think of himself as both David and Goliath, a notion that he rather likes.

For all of his physical prowess, Rusty is a family man deep-down, searching for his lost sense of belonging. He found that sense of family and community within the gang, although the irony of one gang killing his family and another gang becoming his family is not lost on him. He serves the gang above all, and does not tolerate divisions or petty rivalries among his "brothers and sisters". He has a fatherly, protective air about him when he's not breaking necks
with his bare hands.

Rusty, never having the opportunities of a normal childhood, is sensitive about his lack of education. He has a skilljack that he uses to slot pirated knowsofts, which he prizes highly. Rusty has also been known to slot BTLs occasionally, although his genre of choice (heart-touching family dramas) would raise eyebrows in some circles. A recent scrape with a Black BTL has left Rusty scorched, meaning that the next Christmas special he watches may
produce some decidedly non-Christmas side effects.

Megedagik, Cascade Ork "Entrepreneur" (Ork), Connection 3
Megedagik is an Algonquin name that means "kills many". He's an alcoholic drug-abuser who looks about five years older than god, but in reality he's just middle-aged. That's what too much sun and a rough lifestyle coupled with being an ork will get you. He appreciates the old Russian adage that "a man who doesn't smoke and doesn't drink dies healthy", and has manabolted enough people to know how quickly and easily the end may come. Plus, he figures that he's either smoking or pickling himself from the inside out, both of which are preservatives so maybe it all cancels out in the end. He's an AmerInd shaman working with the Cascade Ork tribe as a buyer and seller of suspicious goods and information. Mostly he's a hustler but he's charismatic and effective hustler, and he's a good way to keep tabs on tribal lands. He lets ____ keep an old trailer on his property as a bed of last resort, mostly so Megedagik can sleep in it when _____ isn't there.

Megedagik is fatalistic, believing that things happen in larger cycles that are uncontrollable. If it's his role in this world to kill some thug, then he will and he won't lose any sleep over it. If it's his role to be killed by that thug instead, then he won't be in any condition to complain after the fact. If it's his fate to smoke all these cigarettes and snort all these lines of novacoke then that's what he'll do. The Wheel turns at its own pace and Megedagik will turn along with it.

[8-bit]

@8-bit: I was planning on taking a gang leader as a contact because it ties into my backstory that I am formulating. I was also planning on either a very simple (Low) lifestyle or a safehouse (Squatter) in gangland. I was thinking that our characters, having been on the team together, could conceivably share a team lifestyle, or at least coordinate our lifestyles and contacts so that they don't overlap too dramatically. Let me know what you think.

Sounds alright to me.

My current Gang, well, not Leader, because that's way up there, but Lieutenant (I figured he had control of a certain area; good enough?) is part of the Ancients. I could change it, of course, and my character feels no particular loyalty to Elves. Being a spike baby means he grew up as an oddity around normal humans, but there really was no development of comradeship among other elves, because, well, for the first 20+ years of his life there weren't any others.

As for a shared lifestyle, currently I'm rolling with a Middle Lifestyle w/ Extra Secure. At least, for his legal stuff. Everything else is in less reputable parts of Seattle.

Here are my contacts if you want to try and not overlap or coordinate (or however we are going about this).

Duncan Abbey - Fence
Team Contact

Nori Koizumi - Reporter/Blogger
Contact from rednblack's list

William Farn - Arms Dealer

Disgruntled Human who mostly hates people, but loves guns and all kinds of things that go boom. He keeps trying to recommend "the next big thing", which is usually some new weapon he's jumbled together or created and he wants to test out.

Katherine Michelle - Fixer

Retired Elf bounty hunter who was tired of seeing a bunch of others die due to lack of information and/or gear. Although a genuinely good person is a rare thing on the streets, Katherine certainly is close to qualifying. Seems rather vindictive against Ares, although she has never told Stake why.

"Sliver" - ID Manufacter

Retired Human Runner who earned his name due to the enormous amounts of 'ware he has implanted in him and his cold-blooded logical perspective. It's almost as if he has a "sliver" of humanity left. One of his runs went south in the past, and he was barely kept alive with heavy applications of cyberlimbs. He still uses his talents to hack the SIN registries, but his paranoia requires meetings only online, with a proper password, biometric check, and all transfers are made with certified cred.

Alfred Winston - Beat Cop

60 year old Human that's been on the same beat in Seattle for a long time. While he constantly grumbles about his job, he knows the area and knows when something unusual is going down along his "territory" (for lack of a better term).

Carl Prane - Street Doc

You never know when you're going to need a doctor in this line of business. The dwarf has some good facilities for fixup and the connections to get everything necessary for 'ware installment, but you gotta pay for it. Stake has left his life in Carl's hands many a time, and Carl has yet to let him down. If there is one thing he's good at, it's patching people back together.

Andre Birno - Taxi Driver

Andre is a tall, grizzled looking Spanish Ork. He's got to be in his late 30's, making him positively ancient. He's got a fairly large family, which is to be expected for an Ork. While he doesn't really have any connections or pull, you would be surprised what a Taxi Driver hears and knows; especially where all the bad parts of town, and any unusual events are.

Sam - Bartender

Human Bartender that Stake knows next to nothing about. He knows his drinks though, and bartenders obviously hear all the juicy gossip and weird information that you could imagine.

Muriel - Ancients Lieutenant

French Elf who runs the Redmond Division. She is authoritative and commanding, good qualities for a leader. Stake keeps up payments for added security and passage through her territory. She also appreciates the fact that he cleans up some of the Infected; they aren't good for business. Infected people don't pay, and they kill others who also then can't pay.

Edit: Sheesh, I took so long to write this that you already wrote something up. Gonna edit this really quickly. Also, not as much of a description as you had, hopefully you don't mind.

[Poindexter]

Marcus, Cult "Johnson" (5, 1)
 Her main point of contact with the church is a cruel and impatient white man, bitter with the cards he's been dealt in life. HE was supposed to be the slayer, not some glorified street fixer, which is what he feels like in the position he actually HAS with the church. He's known Rebecca since they were children and he's only 3 years older than she is, but he's always acted like he's much older and wiser than she is. Perhaps this is why he's so strict and vicious in the penance he doles out to her after each confession.

Nori Koizumi, Blogger/reporter (4, 3)
 Information is the game.  The saying goes, "It's not what you know, it's who you know," and Ms. Koizumi would disagree vehemently.  "Without the 'who,' there is no 'what,' but it's the 'what' that pays the bills," she would say.  And pay the bills it does.  Ms. Koizumi writes for a number of scream sheets as well as a few of the more reputable sources, and she's got the list of clients to back those stories up.  She favors any stories with a hint of the macabre, and it was as long ago as early April when she first opined that something rotten was happening in the shadows of the Infected.  In her early 20s, Ms. Koizumi is plump, gracious, and only slightly over a meter-and-a-half tall, but when she gets a hold of a story, she is tenacious.  Ms. Koizumi is a human of Japanese ancestry.

Raven, Info broker (3, 2)
 A paranormal investigator turned Ghoul, Raven is a go-to source for information about the Infected, their habits, their weaknesses, and certain goings on in some of the more unsavory corners of Seattle.  She stands a meter-and-a-two-thirds tall, is lanky -- as ghouls tend to be -- and has a pair of obvious cyber eyes which help her do most of her work on the matrix.  She is a regular contributor to Grotto1, where she uses the handle "Nevermore."  For those who have never met Raven in the flesh, it is not common knowledge that she is a ghoul.  Raven is one of the self-loathing ghoul types, and she makes every effort to inform the non-infected and infected alike in her life that she only eats scraps that she buys from street docs.

Saahir, Smuggler (4, 2)
 A former member of the Black Panthers, Saahir is a strong minded and profit oriented kind of guy. He's completely self-educated and highly intelligent, never one to let a good opportunity pass him by. He's also one HELLUVA salesman, having saved Beccas life a few times by convincing her to purchase expensive weapon and armor mods, almost against her will sometimes. She doesn't trust his morals or beliefs and tries to convert him constantly, but she trusts his knowledge of weapons implicitly at this point. If he tells her to buy something, she buys it.


Duncan Abbey: Fence: Connection: 6 (Team Contact)
 Should I not take this contact, as Becca aint part of the team?

[Tecumseh]

Getting close on the supply/equipment list. Can I get a clarification on the price of the wooden flechette and silver ammo? Wooden flechette is ¥50 extra per box and silver is ¥150 extra per box. So the question is, what is a box? 10 rounds?

Also, are we using Bullets & Bandages prices and descriptions (i.e. size) for medkits or are we sticking with the core rulebook?

[8-bit]

I assumed that a box was 10 rounds (as that's what you pay for the bullets normally). So, 115 per 10 Wooden Flechettes and 270 per APDS Silver Rounds.

If it's different, I'll need to make some changes to my list.

[rednblack]

Yes, as per SR5, each box of ammo is 10 rounds.

We'll also be sticking with SR5 medkits.