[Volker]

Hoi, omae!

I hereby ceremoniously open the recruitement for a new Shadowrun theme adventure. Before I go into any details I will admit that I copied the idea from inca1980 (The Jungle). I was intrigued by the idea and say thanks that he lent it to me/us.

So, what's it about?

Theme

We are not playing shadowrunners, but street scum. We are a group of four to five youths with hardly any equipment and little skills. We are no professionals and don't claim to be. We will most likely never see a corp inside (more like the inside of a corpse, though) and we're not going to change the world.

Requirement for players

In terms of experience, none is required. If you don't know the universe, I will ask you to read the basic stuff. You should know your rules or somebody who can help you. Of course, I will always help you if need be. Although I haven't played a lot of e5 myself. Feel free to tell me off if I misbehave.
In terms of character, I want everybody to be friendly and respectful. You all know how RPG/pbp works and I ask you to play nice and fair. Ah, and I'm not a native speaker, so feel free to tell me when I make any mistake (I appreciate it, if it doesn't come as mocking).

What's more important: This focusses on the feeling of imminent danger, the survival on the streets in the year 2075 and the need of relying on each other in a hostil world, not on being a powerful character. We're not; don't try. Please don't min-max your characters or invent strange backstories so that you can collect whatever benefits you can think of. Take the change to create an amazing character, fill him/her with life and let us share this unique experience.

Special rules

We play SRe5. To symbolize we're nothing more than scum, these rules apply in addition to other rules:
You can only use the priorities B, C, D and E. The resources automatically are capped to 1.000 nuyen. In addition, we will have 2000 nuyen as a group pool from which we can take as a group. Everyone has a free squatter or street lifestyle (you choose as a group) for the first month. Don't buy additional months for the future.

All gear you could aready find in SR3 is half the price.
All gear that was available in SR4 is normal price.
All gear that is new in SR5 is 40 % more expensive.

Availability is capped to 8 instead of 12.

You can take no skill higher than 4. On the other hand, no matter which Priority you use for skills, you will get one additional skill point for every 5 full points, so the table will be:
B: 42/6
C: 33/2
D: 26/0
E: 21/0

Everyone gets 20 free Karma to spend on knowledge skills from the Interest section.

I would appreciate if no more than 1 player plays an Awakened character (including Technomancers). Choose wisely!

Note that this setting favors metatypes with physical bonuses since there's no way you have any augmentations save for spurs or so. This is totally okay since orks and trolls are the ones you would most likely find on the streets.

What I need from you

Please post:

• A general description of your character.
• His/Her background story (the better the better ;-)
• Many Questions (a questionnaire I will provide you with)
• stats

How often we will post

I want to ask everybody to post at least 5 times a week. If for any reason you can't please say so in advance.
My own schedule will leave me little time to post from March 8th to March 16th. This will be the time where you can spend evenings to flesh out your characters.
I will be on a trek from April 2nd to April 12th. I will give you time to get to know you fellow comrades in this time before we start the actual game in the middle of April.

How you can join

First come first serve. Two rl friends are already in here, so I look for two to three more players. Those who solemly vow that they have read and understood the conditions, will be in. Except they have ever insulted me or my mommy.

What you can decide

There are still some things you can decide. You can here discuss and agree on

• What kind of group are your characters (a gang, a family landed on the street, the left-overs of a burnt-down orphanage, a group of migrants in a strange country, ...).
• Where do we play (Seattle, Kathmandu, Linz, Athens, Scotland, ...)
• basically everything else that has not been set above.

[gilga]

Hi, I want to play a face.
I have an awakened build but I can convert to non awakened it is not combat oriented in any way so do not expect any kong fu or fireballs or anything like that.
It is what I planed for jungle game - with a face.

[Volker]

@Novocrane

They've not yet registered but they will soon post. I guess that they will suggest whatever they want to suggest here to discuss it with you. To be honest, I haven't talked about this with them because I want you to discuss with the same amount on info or proximity to the GM.

Street scum minotaur sounds interesting

I haven't considered Lagos yet because I've never heard about it. But if there is any way you provide me the infos I'm willing to give it a go if you players decide to play there.

@gilga

What exactly do you mean with a "face"? We're going to play street rats. If you mean a socially skilled street rat, hop on board!

@all

Maybe it makes sense to first decide on the setting, and then on the characters, not the other way round ^^

[luckace]

Aloha omae,
I'm one of the two mentioned players. Since this is my first shadowrun I don't have any real suggestions concerning setting etc, I'd like to leave that mainly to the players with more experience. About my character: still working on it, maybe some sort of facial gunslinger. But I think Volker is right, it's probably for the best to agree on things like setting and the definition of "street rats" first, before we present our characters.
Hope I left nothing out, looking forward to the street struggle!

[Jack_Spade]

Well, than time for payback: I'd love to be a part of this. (I even have a mundane human concept in mind)

So, which city are we from than?

Edit: For easier reference, here my character on the first page:

So far I have created a juvenile delinquent with a big mouth that worked as a courier until someone stole his bicycle and now is in serious danger to give up and loose his life to drugs and bad decisions:

Riker (or Rajkumar, but only his mother called him that) is a 16 year old street rat from the dumps of Kathmandu. Born as the bastard son to his native mother and a some westerner, he learned early two important lessons: Nothing in life is free and on the street your particular life is exactly as much worth as you can fight for tooth and nail. This philosophy was reinforced through his obsessive fascination for combat biking. For the past four years Riker kept a job as a bike courier to support his mother and little brother Priya as well as saving up to one day own his own motorcycle. In his circle of friends and acquaintances he is notorious for being reckless, relying on luck and chutzpah, even if a minute of thinking could have provided a better result. "Learning from mistakes is just another word for quitting."

That was the case until last week: Someone stole Riker's most precious possession: His 18 gear mountain bike. Now he is not just a bit desperate but positively homicidal. Worse, the local go-gang thugs are recruiting. Now he is seriously tempted to take part in their brutal initiation ceremony, just to have a shot at riding again...   

== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Riker
Movement: 10/20
Human male Age 16
Composure: 5
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 7 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 5

== Priorities ==
Metatype: D extra - Human or Elf (1)
Attributes: B - 20 Attributes
Special: E extra - Mundane (0)
Skills: C extra - 33 Skills/2 Skill Groups (2)
Resources: E extra - 1,500¥ (0)

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 5
REA: 5
STR: 4
CHA: 2
INT: 6
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 5

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                11 + 1d6
Rigger Initiative:         11 + 1d6
Astral Initiative:         
Matrix AR Initiative:      11 + 1d6
Matrix Cold Initiative:    6 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative:     6 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         10

== Limits ==
Physical:                  6
Mental:                    5
Social:                    5
Astral:                    5

== Active Skills ==
Blades                     : 4 [Knives]             Pool: 9 (11)
Con                        : 4 [Fast Talk]          Pool: 6 (8 )
Etiquette                  : 1                      Pool: 3
Gymnastics                 : 4                      Pool: 9
Leadership                 : 1                      Pool: 3
Locksmith                  : 1                      Pool: 6
Navigation                 : 2                      Pool: 8
Negotiation                : 1                      Pool: 3
Palming                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Perception                 : 1 [Visual]             Pool: 7 (9)
Pilot Ground Craft         : 4                      Pool: 9
Pistols                    : 4 [Semi-Automatics]    Pool: 9 (11)
Running                    : 2                      Pool: 6
Sneaking                   : 4                      Pool: 9
Survival                   : 2                      Pool: 5
Tracking                   : 2                      Pool: 8

== Knowledge Skills ==
Area Knowledge:            : 4                      Pool: 10
Combat Biking              : 4                      Pool: 10
English                    : 3                      Pool: 9
Firearms                   : 1                      Pool: 3
Gangs                      : 4                      Pool: 10
Hindi-Urdu                 : 1                      Pool: 7
Magical Threats            : 2                      Pool: 4
Or'zet                     : 2                      Pool: 8
Parazoology                : 2                      Pool: 4
Street Drugs               : 2                      Pool: 8
Syndicates                 : 2                      Pool: 8

== Qualities ==
Agile Defender
Daredevil
Dependent (Nuisance)
Did You Just Call Me Dumb?
Ex-Con
Hawk Eye
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker)
Quick Healer

== Armor ==
Armored Clothing            6
Helmet     2

== Weapons ==
Combat Knife
   Pool: 9 (11)   Accuracy: 6   DV: 6P   AP: -3   RC: 2
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 6   DV: 4S   AP: -   RC: 2

== Commlink ==
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1)

== Gear ==
Respirator Rating 2
Survival Kit

reliable                    little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
curious                     little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O    very much so
social                      little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
loyal                       little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O    very much so
disciplined                 little   o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
authoritarian               little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
violent                     little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
proud                       little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
easily hurt                 little   o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
careless                    little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O    very much so
self-confident              little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
conceited                   little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
honest                      little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
self-disciplined            little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
playful                     little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so
determined                  little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
calm                        little   o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
exhibitionistic/open-minded little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
diligent                    little   o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
trusting/naive              little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
good-hearted                little   o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o    very much so
helpful                     little   o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o  o    very much so
sensitive                   little   o  o  o  o  O  o  o  o  o    very much so
polite                      little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
patient                     little   o  O  o  o  o  o  o  o  o    very much so
a morning grumpiness        little   o  o  o  o  o  o  o  O  o    very much so

Questions

What’s his reason to be a shadowrunner? Poverty with no perspective of a better life otherwise
What would make him end his career as a runner? Having to loose his brother and mother
Would he ever kill? For what reasons? Yes, self defense and revenge
Would he rob an old lady or a beggar? In what situation? If it was the difference between starving and surviving or if someone forced him to do it
How does he appear to strangers? A gangly juvenile with a loud mouth
What kind of relationship does he have to:
… animals? Likes them, either as pets or as a meal
… orks/trolls? Has no problems with them, most of his friends are ones. He even speaks their language a bit
… dwarves? Hasn't met many, but doesn't mind them
… elves? Same deal
… women? Are you kidding? He is a straight, 16 year old hetero male. He would love to have a relationship with them... lots and lots of relationships...
… foreigners? Usually good for a job but not to be trusted
… men? Some are role models, most are concurrents or threats
… other people in general? He doesn't spend much time thinking about other people besides his friends and family
… his own religion? My what?
… other religions? Would take any religion as long as they give out free food.
… his family? Very, very important
… magic? Spooky shit, best avoided
… his friends? Almost equally important to family
Which kind of social ties are there? His friends, his acquaintances and his small family
When would he call someone a friend? If someone shares with him - no matter if it's pain, food or fun
Is he prejudiced? In what way? In one thousand small ways against almost everything (16 year old, remember?)
Are there some important events in his past? The day he acquired his bike and got his first paying job
Is he in love? Constantly, but usually with some unattainable face from the latest holovid
Is he in a partnership or even married? no
What frightens him? Loneliness
What’s his greatest ambition? To become a professional combat biker
What drives him on? Caring for his brother and mother
What his greatest advantage? His fearlessness
What his greatest disadvantage? His rashness
What’s his Achilles heel? Being an adrenaline junky
What makes him furious? Injustice
What does he love? Speed
Which kind of persons does he fancy? Good looking women
Name 5 (±2) persons who matter in his life + a short description! His mother (Once beautiful, now a very depressed single mother with no perspective in life beyond menial labor and an early grave), his brother (Smart 10 year old who regards his brother as an lovable idiot. He is the one who has the best chances to escape poverty, since he is a real prodigy in temple school), and also his friends Lucky, Scipio, Hari etc.

[gilga]

Volker : Yes I want to play a socially skilled Drag queen, dreaming of going bigger. With two personalities also, a restraint male personality and an out of control female personality. when the mask goes up the limitations goes down.  I was thinking an awakened so he can change personalities quickly either with physical mask or with critter form [human] - but it can also be an hour in the custom room. Not everyone get to access their inner lady - so quickly.


Should be very charismatic, and skilled in performance arts, singing, dancing and so on.  If he ever survive long enough to be an established runner he'll be a face.

[Volker]

Welcome on board, Jack! That's a nice surprise!!

@gilga

The idea behind this thread is to represent the everyday struggle for life in the sprawl or so. So, while I don't have any problems with amazing characters, I want them to stay everyday characters in principal. So please don't roleplay multiple personae, schizos, or stuff of that kind.
We are cool, but we are a normal kind of cool. At least, that's the idea of the plot.

@everybody

I'm absolutely fine with Lagos if you agree on that. Just choose. I think good possibilities are: Seattle, Lagos, Linz, Kathmandu, Athens. Open for new stuff as well.
Second, agree on a setting: orphans, gangers, families, migrants, etc.

[Jack_Spade]

I'd be for families and gangs: Underprivileged kids whose only perspective is to join a gang.

Personally, I'm more for a less exotic setting, since I have absolutely no clue about Laos and what's special about it (But of course, if someone could post a summary with the most important infos, I'd be more than happy to try it)

[luckace]

I like jack's idea of streetkids and gangs as a (more or less) future.
I would find it interesting to play in a region with social problems, either a poor country (Lagos sounds fun)  or maybe some sort of sprawl (I heard Saeder-Krupp polluted large parts of germany and central-Europe, how about that?).
 Open for any idea!

[gradivus]

Personally I think you guys should do Hong Kong.... I haven't seen a game set there yet.

[gilga]

I meant for a very polite person that is only able to speak his true mind behind a mask. But never mind that

[Volker]

I meant for a very polite person that is only able to speak his true mind behind a mask. But never mind that

XD Okay, I got this terribly wrong. Still, I think a transvestite wouldn't survive ten minutes in the setting we're going to play. Also, there'd be no mirror (let alone backroom) where you could do your make-up

[Jack_Spade]

So far I have created a juvenile delinquent with a big mouth that worked as a courier until someone stole his bicycle and now is in serious danger to give up and loose his life to drugs and bad decisions:

Riker (or Rajkumar, but only his mother called him that) is a 16 year old street rat from the dumps of Kathmandu. Born as the bastard son to his native mother and a some westerner, he learned early two important lessons: Nothing in life is free and on the street your particular life is exactly as much worth as you can fight for tooth and nail. This philosophy was reinforced through his obsessive fascination for combat biking. For the past four years Riker kept a job as a bike courier to support his mother and little brother Priya as well as saving up to one day own his own motorcycle. In his circle of friends and acquaintances he is notorious for being reckless, relying on luck and chutzpah, even if a minute of thinking could have provided a better result. "Learning from mistakes is just another word for quitting."

That was the case until last week: Someone stole Riker's most precious possession: His 18 gear mountain bike. Now he is not just a bit desperate but positively homicidal. Worse, the local go-gang thugs are recruiting. Now he is seriously tempted to take part in their brutal initiation ceremony, just to have a shot at riding again...   

== Info ==
Street Name:
Name: Riker
Movement: 10/20
Human male Age 16
Composure: 5
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 7 (60 kg/40 kg)
Memory: 5

== Priorities ==
Metatype: D extra - Human or Elf (1)
Attributes: B - 20 Attributes
Special: E extra - Mundane (0)
Skills: C extra - 33 Skills/2 Skill Groups (2)
Resources: E extra - 1,500¥ (0)

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 5
REA: 5
STR: 4
CHA: 2
INT: 6
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 5

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                11 + 1d6
Rigger Initiative:         11 + 1d6
Astral Initiative:         
Matrix AR Initiative:      11 + 1d6
Matrix Cold Initiative:    6 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative:     6 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         10

== Limits ==
Physical:                  6
Mental:                    5
Social:                    5
Astral:                    5

== Active Skills ==
Blades                     : 4 [Knives]             Pool: 9 (11)
Con                        : 4 [Fast Talk]          Pool: 6 (8 )
Etiquette                  : 1                      Pool: 3
Gymnastics                 : 4                      Pool: 9
Leadership                 : 1                      Pool: 3
Locksmith                  : 1                      Pool: 6
Navigation                 : 2                      Pool: 8
Negotiation                : 1                      Pool: 3
Palming                    : 1                      Pool: 6
Perception                 : 1 [Visual]             Pool: 7 (9)
Pilot Ground Craft         : 4                      Pool: 9
Pistols                    : 4 [Semi-Automatics]    Pool: 9 (11)
Running                    : 2                      Pool: 6
Sneaking                   : 4                      Pool: 9
Survival                   : 2                      Pool: 5
Tracking                   : 2                      Pool: 8

== Knowledge Skills ==
Area Knowledge:            : 4                      Pool: 10
Combat Biking              : 4                      Pool: 10
English                    : 3                      Pool: 9
Firearms                   : 1                      Pool: 3
Gangs                      : 4                      Pool: 10
Hindi-Urdu                 : 1                      Pool: 7
Magical Threats            : 2                      Pool: 4
Or'zet                     : 2                      Pool: 8
Parazoology                : 2                      Pool: 4
Street Drugs               : 2                      Pool: 8
Syndicates                 : 2                      Pool: 8

== Qualities ==
Agile Defender
Daredevil
Dependent (Nuisance)
Did You Just Call Me Dumb?
Ex-Con
Hawk Eye
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker)
Quick Healer

== Armor ==
Armored Clothing            6
Helmet     2

== Weapons ==
Combat Knife
   Pool: 9 (11)   Accuracy: 6   DV: 6P   AP: -3   RC: 2
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 4   Accuracy: 6   DV: 4S   AP: -   RC: 2

== Commlink ==
Meta Link (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 1, FWL: 1)

== Gear ==
Respirator Rating 2
Survival Kit

[gilga]

Hi, took a while but I finally did it.  Here is the story:

Lucky, yes this is my name.  You got that right, just Lucky no family name because have no family no point in faking it. I live  in the streets where I play my guitar all day and make enough money to find something to eat.

 I want to become a great performer but honestly I’ll settle on making it to my next birthday. I am 17, I still carry a necklace that was abandoned with me. I want to know what happened to my parents and why they left me to die on the street. I survived because an old Samurai took me under his care and brought me to an orphanage and kept visiting me.

I call him ‘pops’ because one of his cyber eyes is so old it keep ‘poping’ out. pops was once a shadowrunner, a great warrior but he put so much metal in his body it is impossible to hug him, hold his hand or look into his eyes. There is a real person in there, I am sure. ‘pop’s never talk to me more than one word. ‘eat’... ‘take’ but he is involved in my life ever since I can remember myself. He is very sick, and his augmentation barely function anymore, he barely makes it on his own yet he never forgets my birth day.

I hate myself for thinking it, but sometimes I wish ‘pops’ would find my parents and use his implemented shotgun to blow their heads out...  This is not like me, I have a teaser - I am not stupid but I could never bring myself to kill anyone - this is how you become messed up like ‘pops’.

physical description
Lucky is a young male human of average height he has long dark hair and dark eyes. He is skinny but relatively healthy.  he wears a worn down leather jacket and a matching hat. If you see’s lucky without his guitar - you know something terrible must have happened he protects his guitar with his life. He has a star shaped necklace that he never takes off - and he usually also has a teaser on his right hip - trying to deter gangers from messing with him.


Contacts:
‘pops’ - his guardian angel in the shadows, pop is a shadow of his former glory but he is still more dangerous than the average ganger. People should know not to mess with Lucky.

Jake - Jake runs a local gang that control this neighborhood. He always asks for little services and Lucky cannot refuse otherwise he cannot play there. Jake pays nuyen that is usually enough for a few weeks of a warm meals and cold showers - Lucky loves being clean.

Tammie is the local copper, she likes Lucky and tries to get him to stay out of trouble. Tammie obviously treats Lucky differently. Lucky is among the few in the streets that agrees to talk to her. She also always brings something hot to eat. One of the times, she even gave lucky two front row tickets to a rock concert. It was the best day of his life.

Here is the crunch:

[Volker]

Whoa! You go to bed, you get up, and there are two full-blown characters.
Still, I think it's a bit to soon to build a character before we have decided on the continent, don't ya think?

So far we agreed, if I got that correctly, on a group of juveniles on the street.
I'm note sure whether we agreed on the matters, if we are

• part of a gang
• part of the same family

Have we?

Okay, although I think it's a bit to soon, some remarks to your characters:

@Jack_Spade:
Fluffwise, I'm going to ask for a lot more info but I guess it makes sense to wait until the setting is defined.
Rulewise, your character seems to be absolutely okay.
Have you already included the free 20 Karma for Interest skills?

From which sourcebook(s) did you take your Qualities?


@gila:
Fluffwise, I love your story and this character definitely is going to last longer in the street ;-) As soon as we have devided on a setting, I assume you should adjust the background to our setting, but elsewise I like Lucky.

Rulewise, I'm not as happy. Maybe I am used to very unusual groups, but this build reminds me of what you'd probably call min-maxing in Anglo-America.
Here are some of the points which lead me to this belief:

• All skills are either 1 (min) or 4 (max).
• You have AGI 5 und STR 1. I think that's very unrealistic. If you're well-trained and fast you cannot be weak at the level of a broken old granny. If you have hardly any muscles at all, you cannot be quick, dextere and accurate.
• You are a 16 yo old male street kid with STR 1.
• You chose Exceptional Attribute in a low-power-nothing-extraordinary-group.
• You chose Weak Immune System in a group that is restricted to take no (hardly) any augmentation anyway. That's a bit like forbidding whale fishing in the Czech Republic if you catch my meaning.

Thus, rulewise I'd ask you to rework your character before we get started. This really should be about fun, a realistic character and plausible interactions, not about power.




Actually, I intended to give a list of "unwanted" Qualities before we build but you two surprised me with these quick builds. In order to prevent any other disappointments, I'll do it now:

So, these Qualities are either changed or banned:
Aptitude: Allows to take a skill to the level of 5. Costs: 12 (instead of 14)
Bilingual: If we play in a typical bilingual setting (e.g. South America) it's only 3 Karma.
Catlike: costs 5 instead of 7
Exceptional Attribute: banned
Gearhead: costs 14 instead of 11
High Pain Tolerance: costs 6 instead of 7
Home Ground: free for everyone
Juryrigger: 12 instead of 10
Resistence to Pathogens/Toxins: 3/6 instead of 4/8

Addiction: +1 additional karma per level of addiction
Incompetent: banned
Prejudiced: +1 additional karma per level of addiction
Scorched: banned, unless you have a really awesome backstory
Sensitive System: banned
Simsense Vertigo: 2 instead of 5 Karma
Sinner: banned
Uncouth: 16 instead of 14
Uneducated: 12 instead of 10
Weak Immune System: 8 instead of 10


These changed rules are designed to favour Qualities that are most likely found in the streets, and disencourage others. I hope you find it to your liking.