[rednblack]

We'll run OOC conversations here, instead of cluttering up the main Deep in the Shadows of Texas thread.

Go ahead and post your char sheet here as well, just for ease of use.

[Zweiblumen]

Sniffles
METATYPE: TROLL CHANGELING
B 5, A 2, R 2, S 5, W 6, L 5/6, I 5, C 2, ESS 5.1375, EDG 2, R 5
Condition Monitor (P/S): 11 / 11
Armor: 13
Limits: Physical 6, Mental 10, Social 5
Physical Initiative: 7+1D6
Matrix Initiative: 11+4D6
Active Skills: Automatics (Machine Pistols +2) 3 (4), Compiling 6, Computer 6, Cybercombat 1, Cybertechnology 1, Electronic Warfare 1, First Aid 1, Hacking (vs. Hosts +2) 6, Hardware 1, Perception 3, Registering (Machine Sprites +2) 6, Software 6
Knowledge Skills: Area Knowledge (DFW) 1, Combat Biking 1, Gambling 1, Matrix Design 2, Matrix Security 4, Resonance Realms 6, Urban Brawl 1
Languages: Aztlaner Spanish 1, Chinese 1, English 6, German 1, Japanese 1, Korean 1, Lakota 1, Or'Zet N, Russian 1, Spanish 1
Metatype Abilities: Armor (+1), Enhanced Senses: Thermographic Vision
Qualities: Allergy, Common (Mild): Pollution, Bioluminescence, Code of Honor: Like A Boss, Cold-Blooded, Illness (Mild/Monthly/-1) (10dicepool (3)), Impaired Body, Impaired Strength, In Debt (Borrowed 75,000¥, Owes 112,500¥) (15), Metagenetic Logic Improvement, Metagenetic Willpower Improvement, Mood Hair: Base Steel Grey, Otaku to Techomancer, Overclocker, Prototype Transhuman: Allergy, Common (Mild): Pollution, Reduced (smell), Technomancer, Weak Immune System
Complex Forms: Diffusion of Firewall, Editor, Misread Marks, Resonance Veil, Transcendent Grid
Augmentations:
. . Cerebral Booster (Prototype) (1) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Cyber Lower Arm (Obvious) (Used) (Main Hand) w/ Cyberlimb Agility (5), Cyberlimb Strength (5)
. . Datajack
. . Mnemonic Enhancer (Prototype) (2) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Reflex Recorder (Prototype): Automatics w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Sleep Regulator (Prototype) w/ Prototype Transhuman
. . Smartlink
Gear:
. . Certified Credstick, Standard x5
. . Concealed Quick-Draw Holster
. . Datachip x10
. . Ear buds (3) w/ Audio Enhancement (2), Select Sound Filter (1)
. . Gas Mask
. . Goggles (6) w/ Flare Compensation, Vision Enhancement (4), Vision Magnification, Electronic
. . John Doe w/ Fake License: Concealed Firearms (4), Fake License: Cyberware (4), Fake License: Firearms (4), Fake SIN (4), (1 month) Squatter Lifestyle
. . Lined Coat w/ Concealable Holster, Medkit (6)
. . Micro-camera
. . Novacoke
. . Psyche x2
. . PULSE Wave w/ Increase a Matrix Attribute: Firewall, Modify the Firewall Attribute: Data Processing
. . Securetech PPP Arms Kit w/ Decrease Social Limit by 1
. . Securetech PPP Legs Kit w/ Decrease Social Limit by 1
. . Securetech PPP Vitals Kit w/ Decrease Social Limit by 1
. . Security Tags x10
. . Stealth Tags x10
Weapons:
. . Remington Suppressor [Machine Pistol, Acc 9, DV 7P, AP -5, SA/BF, RC (1), 15 (c)] w/ (45x) APDS, Folding Stock, Personalized Grip, (30x) Regular Ammo, Silencer/Suppressor, Sling, Smartgun System, Internal, (5x) Spare Clips
Contacts:
Slim (Connection 3, Loyalty 3)

[spoiler]
Lemme know if you need me to put the dice pools here. HL is a PITA in that the statblock doesn't do pools, and the only other option for output is PDF.
I can re-do this block to be more like how I've got Doc in the old Tabula Rasa game.
[/spoiler]

What he looks like
While still giant for a human, he's very small for a troll.  At 2.35m Tall (7f8i) and 225kg (500lbs) he's a veritable shrimp. An Amerind, he's got the dark tan/redish skin, that happens to glow in the dark, and sharp features.  Though those have been rounded out by his trollishness  somewhat.  His horns are a deep ebony and curl around long, thick, dreads that are usually steel grey.  His tusks are well cleaned, though he has an almost constant sniffle and thus a bit of mucous usually around his large nose.  He has sharp black eyes that end up being a bit rheumy from having a constant cold.
He dresses in synth-leather pants with big cowboy boots and button-up usually left open over a wife- beater with a long coat and a cowboy hat on top.  His clothes aren't the cleanest as he rarely has access to clean them, but they aren't filthy either.  He's no more than a couple of hours away from being presentable most anywhere, but generally looks like he's from the wrong side of the tracks...  which he is.  His right forearm and hand are obviously cybernetic as there's no synth-skin to cover the chrome.  It's a newish model without being bleeding edge.  And it's in meticulous condition and the chrome gleams.  A final affectation would be that he can almost always be found rolling poker chips through his chrome fingers.

Some history
[Spoiler]
Lumenogix Bioinformatix was a small biotech informatics company that started just after the Awakening in Sante Fe.  They specialized in making data available researchers, but in 2021 when the founders both goblinized they started specializing in data on orks and trolls.  While fairly small their research was interesting and Evo eventually ended up buying them up.
    In the late 2040s the founders started getting into more bioengineering.  Evo was happy to fund this as they had shown good results in the past, and all of the work was aimed at metas, specifically orks and trolls, but metas in general.  As the years went on, the founders started straying into areas of research that Evo was less comfortable with.  The bioengineering they were doing ended up being of less interest to Evo, something about there being no profit in it.  The founders started embezzling funds from other projects to work on their personal goals in early 2050, using the distraction of Buttercup being revealed to be a free spirit.  They were working on making the perfect meta, strong fast and smart.  For several years they were unable to produce any viable candidates, but they started introducing changeling genomes into equation in early 2054.  They finally had a viable candidate survive gestation.  Unit T-1283, using the changeling genomes and blending several pieces of bioware into the troll genotype they finally had a fetus come to full term.  When T-1283 turned 5 they discovered he was Otaku and implanted a datajack in his head.  Right about this time someone in accounting discovered the embezzlements.  With all of the research being done off book, Evo had no idea what the money was being used for so they sent a crew to "clean" the small company.
    They came in and simply firebombed everything during business hours as the insurance write-off would cover most of the embezzled funds.  The 48 employees and 2 founders were all listed as victims of the "accident."  Almost nothing survived, that is except for a small room that was hidden in the basement since it was off-books it wasn't even on any of the floor plans for the building.  In this room was a young troll nursemaid-come-nanny and experiment T-1283.
    Not knowing what else to do the nursemaid, a SINless troll from the projects, fled the scene with the child and ended up raising him as her own.  T-1283, or Sniffles as she called him, lived on the shitty side of town in the late 50s and early 60s.  His "mom" ended up getting killed by a stray bullet during a gang initiation gone wrong, or right depending on who you ask.  Sniffles spent his pre-teen and teenage years living on the streets in downtown.  After Crash2.0, he was lucky to survive but he'd learned to be a pretty good hacker at that point.  He mostly did matrix work for a street doc that paid him in the meds to deal with all of the genetic problems he had.
    Then he found poker, and at first this was a good thing.  He was making *way* more money and was able to just pay his bills.  Matrix poker meant his dripping nose or comparatively large physique wouldn't cause any problems.  Then he got into sports betting, which was a big mistake.  He had a home-town bias for the Combat Biker team The Thunderbirds and wound up in fairly deep trouble.  In what happened afterwards he found himself down half an arm and running from town.
    Calling in a favor from a poker friend, Slim, he made his way to the DFW area.  Turns out Slim is actually a local bookie for the wage slaves in Dallas and gives Sniffles a place to crash for a few days until he can get on his feet.  Slim has a lot of contacts in the area since he covers the bets for so many.  Lots of people end up owing him favors.  Slim got him set up with a street doc to replace his arm with a much improved model.  He was already reasonable at shooting, but with an augmented arm he moved up to being pretty damn handy with one.  That and glowing in the dark can help quite a bit with intimidating debtors.  Sniffles starts doing some odd jobs that come this way and soon he's able to get a shitty place of his own, but that's better than owing a bookie even more.  Even if, or especially if, he's your omae.  With a decent source for his meds and something, if not a steady, source of income Sniffles starts to feel at home outside of the big city.  Just starting to get everything sorted and then it happened.  He emerged.  All of his memories from being otaku came racing back but with everything wireless now it was even more encompassing.
    With everyone going crazy over the fear of Technomancers, Sniffles is even more glad for his chrome as they usually don't have any.  Something about the chrome tends to interfere with the Resonance.  His datajack and cyberarm help keep the heat off, and his ever present commlink.  Even if all the commlink does is run his PAN, it's enough to keep the causal observer comfortable that he's not even more of a freak than they already think he is.  There are special snowflakes, and then there's Sniffles.  Created from birth to be different and cursed with just about every freak gene there is, he does his best to make ends meet and live another day.
[/spoiler]

Personality
Considering his background, he's really friendly.  Just generally a nice chummer that the 6th world has shit mightily on.  You know, just like every other bloke out there.  He'll crack a joke with anyone, and is always willing to take a risk.  And Ghost forbid someone brings up a wager.  Nothing will perk Sniffles up faster.  If you've got his back, you can be sure he's got yours.  He might be the most cuddle-y of trolls out there (How many cuddle-y trolls are there?  Wait, don't answer that.), and a bit cool to the touch, and he'll sneeze on you.  But other than that, he's a steadfast friend and ally.

[Zweiblumen]

Also "I see your ... and raise you ..." won't fly in a real game.  Other than that, great opener!  I'll play out a hand before the floor calls me to Slim.

Looks like a fun little matrix run

[Zweiblumen]

And this is where it sucks to be a socially inept troll

He's got no negotiation skill, but he *does* have gambling knowledge and matrix design knowledge.  He's likely to know how big this will pay off for Slim.  I'm hoping that having some facts will help with the numbers.  Also, he know's he has to aim high to get *anything* here and just went for round numbers on his debt.  He borrowed ¥75k, owes ¥112,500, and his monthly is ¥11250.  He figures stealing even 1/4 of the competitors books will net a cool ¥500k.  Of course, he doesn't know which competitor he's talking about yet, so his numbers could be (are?) completely off.

[rednblack]

Also "I see your ... and raise you ..." won't fly in a real game.  Other than that, great opener!  I'll play out a hand before the floor calls me to Slim.

I thought checking and then raising another player's bet was standard practice?

[Zweiblumen]

Nope, if you say "I call ... " or "I see your bet..." that is the action that holds.  So to say "I call your bet and raise you fifty" would count as a call.  You can only bet once per round.  Same thing applies for putting chips in the pot.  If the bet is 25 and you put a 50 chip in there without saying anything you've just done a min-raise.  If you'd thrown a 100 in there it would have been a raise as well.  However if the bet was 35 and you toss a 50 in without saying anything then you just called, and the dealer with give you 15 back even if you intended to raise.  The only exception here is if you say "Raise" first, then put the original bet in, you can then think about how much to raise.  But again, that raise has to be a single action.

Anyway, getting off into the weeds of gambling etiquette here.

Sniffles will take the job!

[Zweiblumen]

Lets get some info here

Search on House (Int 5 + Comp 6 = 11): 11d6t5 5
This is on background info on House.  Then I'm gonna do some cyber snooping and grabbing an MP on the Casino's host.
MP on casino (Int 5 + Comp 6 + TM 2 = 13): 13d6t5 3
Not great, but he really just wants to know the Rating, FW and Attack ratings.  It's a place to start, he'll get the rest when he goes to do the actual run on it.

[rednblack]

Mr. House runs a series of casinos across the south.  Some focus exclusively on VR matrix games.  If he's not involved with the mafia or the yaks in the DFW, that would be a change from some of his other holdings, which appear to be protected by the Dixie Mafia in Montgomery AL, and Jacksonville FL.  He's known for being brash and a bit of a braggart, but also a shrewd businessman who generally avoids trouble.  It appears as though he lives in the DFW and keeps a condo in Montgomery.  Aside from street betting, Mr. House keeps a tight lid on his enterprises requiring word-of-mouth to find real-world locations and invitations to locate hidden hosts.

Sniffles is able to spot the host, and get its rating, which is 4. 

[Zweiblumen]

I thought I get a question for each hit on the perception, and that you could automatically spot hosts?

Definitely want to do more digging into the DM connection and make sure I'm not getting Slim into extra trouble, or if I am, that he knows about it

[rednblack]

I thought I get a question for each hit on the perception, and that you could automatically spot hosts?

The Host is Running Silent, and since Sniffles wasn't offered a pass, he had to search for it.  He got 1 Net Hit, hence the 1 piece of info.

Definitely want to do more digging into the DM connection and make sure I'm not getting Slim into extra trouble, or if I am, that he knows about it

Cool.  You're looking at "Hidden" info there, so 12 hours for the search as a base time.  Speaking of which, what's your impression on Matrix Searches as Extended Tests? 

[Zweiblumen]

I thought I get a question for each hit on the perception, and that you could automatically spot hosts?

The Host is Running Silent, and since Sniffles wasn't offered a pass, he had to search for it.  He got 1 Net Hit, hence the 1 piece of info.

Didn't know there were rules for hosts running silently, would love to know more about this.  Guess it's a private casino?
Either way, he'll do another perception check on it then:
MP on casino (Int 5 + Comp 6 + TM 2 = 13): 13d6t5 3 wtf?  oh well, just takin' time at this point.

I don't know how silent hosts work, does it get to defend every time or are they like any other icon that once spotted I know it's there until it takes the hide action?  And how often to Hosts hide?  Would that be every IP since the host doesn't have any other action they can do, though I didn't know hosts could actually do actions.  The whole concept it screwy to me.  Anyway, Sniffles is going to keep looking until he learns what the ASDF traits are for the Host.  Lemme know if you want 10 rolls or something like that.  Sorry for my ignorance

Definitely want to do more digging into the DM connection and make sure I'm not getting Slim into extra trouble, or if I am, that he knows about it

Cool.  You're looking at "Hidden" info there, so 12 hours for the search as a base time.  Speaking of which, what's your impression on Matrix Searches as Extended Tests? 

I think that makes *way* more sense, and I think it should be tied to logic not intuition.  Perception I can see being intuition (kinda), but searching in the matrix is a purely methodical thing that reeks of logic to me.  I'd set it up something like this:

General: Threshold 1-5; Interval 1CT
Limited: Threshold 6-12; Interval 5min
Hidden: Threshold 12-25; Interval 1hr
Protected or Secret: Find the host

Either way, he'll do that search from his doss in the comfort of VR (extra dice ftw!)

[rednblack]

Didn't know there were rules for hosts running silently, would love to know more about this.  Guess it's a private casino?
Either way, he'll do another perception check on it then:
MP on casino (Int 5 + Comp 6 + TM 2 = 13): 13d6t5 3 wtf?  oh well, just takin' time at this point.

I don't know how silent hosts work, does it get to defend every time or are they like any other icon that once spotted I know it's there until it takes the hide action?  And how often to Hosts hide?  Would that be every IP since the host doesn't have any other action they can do, though I didn't know hosts could actually do actions.  The whole concept it screwy to me.  Anyway, Sniffles is going to keep looking until he learns what the ASDF traits are for the Host.  Lemme know if you want 10 rolls or something like that.  Sorry for my ignorance

There aren't many rules for Hosts running silent, though it's mentioned in the CRB.  As with any other opposed test, they roll Host Rating for mental Attributes and ASDF as required.  I hadn't thought about how often a Host hides, but I wouldn't guess it's particularly often.  Or hell, maybe it's every CT, but that wouldn't be any fun, so we'll forgo that little thought experiment.  Yes, it is a private casino, as Sniffles would have gotten the gist of with his MS on Mr. House.  Once he enters the Host, everything is back to biz as normal.

It's a Rating 4 host with A:5, S: 4, D:6, F:7 

I think that makes *way* more sense, and I think it should be tied to logic not intuition.  Perception I can see being intuition (kinda), but searching in the matrix is a purely methodical thing that reeks of logic to me.  I'd set it up something like this:

General: Threshold 1-5; Interval 1CT
Limited: Threshold 6-12; Interval 5min
Hidden: Threshold 12-25; Interval 1hr
Protected or Secret: Find the host

Either way, he'll do that search from his doss in the comfort of VR (extra dice ftw!)

I like the setup you posted.  We'll keep MS confined to INT, for now at least, and run Limited Knowledge on a 30 min. interval. 

Also, it hasn't been stated, but Skinlink comes free, and if you have the opportunity to Register any Sprites while we're running this side thread, and they continue to owe services, Sniffles will have them for the first run in the main thread.

[Zweiblumen]

Oh, didn't know I had skinlink.  For getting a DC, he was just gonna use his datajack.  I assumed he could use resonance through it since it's bought with essence.  We didn't talk about that, was just an assumption I made.  Either one works for me.  He'd use the datajack for show even if he could just touch it.  Though this brings the point around.  Can he use resonance actions through things paid for with essence?  IE, could he skinlink through his cyber arm since he bought it with essence (and borrowed money ), and/or use the datajack?  Or would he need to fake it with the data jack and touch it with his left hand?  Sorry if I'm wandering off into the weeds here.

What's my target threshold for this test?
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 = 13): 13d6t5 4
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 - trying again 1 = 12): 12d6t5 3
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 - trying again 2 = 11): 11d6t5 5
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 - trying again 3 = 10): 10d6t5 1
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 - trying again 4 = 9): 9d6t5 4
Matrix Search on Mr. House (Int 5 + Comp 6 + VR 2 - trying again 5 = : 8d6t5 4

Okay, that *should* do it, 21 total success in 3 hours.  Somewhere in there should be the right number

Once he finishes the search he'll reg a sprite:
Compile Machine Sprite (Res 5 + Compile 6 = 11): 11d6t5 3
Sprite resist (level 5 = 5): 5d6t5 2
w00t, 1 service
Soaking Fade (Will 6 + Res 5 + OtT 2 = 13): 13d6t5 8 soaked up *ALL* of that fade and then a lot more too.
Now for the hard part, Registering...
Register level 5 MS (Res 5 + Reg 6 + spec 2 = 13): 13d6t5 3 (not a good start)
Sprite resist (Level 5 x 2 = 10): 10d6t5 4
boom, failure, 5 hours down the tubes.  If he thinks he has time he'll do try again in the morning.
Soaking Fade (Will 6 + Res 5 + OtT 2 = 13): 13d6t5 3 takes 5 stun.
Guess he's sleeping that off now:
Sleeping off stun (Will 6 + Bod 5 = 11): 11d6t5 6
Well that's a good roll, first hour and he's all healed up.  (just learned he could have used his medkit to bolster the natural healing, but he didn't need it).

Okay, I'm gonna stop here so we can get some ICs up and not have me running too far out.

[Zweiblumen]

Oh yeah, he has a sleep regulator.  Only needing 3 hours of sleep at night, do you feel he'd have enough time to rest after failing to register the last sprite and try again in the morning?

[rednblack]

Ok, lots to cover here.  Let me know if I miss anything.

Using Resonance actions through ware paid for with essence: is there a rules reference here, either RAW or RAI as you see it?  Regardless, skinlink will work through cyber-arm, I believe.  I don't want to get into "which hand is Sniffles using to hold a commlink," or anything like that.

Matrix Searches: the info you're looking for is Hidden, so 1 hour per search.  That puts Sniffles searching time at 6 hours for 21 successes, or 10 successes for about 3 hours of searching.  The 10 will do.  The Dixie Mafia connection in Montgomery and Jacksonville looks solid, but the mafia there is not in the Chavez family, which runs DFW and most of Texas.  It's very difficult to prove a negative, but it seems the DM in the DFW have their own casinos -- one or two of which Sniffles was surprised to find that he does or has frequented in the past without knowing that connection.  Mr. House could still be small time here; he could have successfully resisted any mergers; he could pay a small protection fee to the DM, or the yaks for that matter; but Sniffles has not turned up any direct and sustained connection between the two, and he feels fairly confident in his google-fu on this point.   

Time: Sniffles spent half an hour getting home, 3.5 hours doing his matrix search on Mr. House, 5 hours Compiling the would-not-be-compiled sprite, and 3 hours sleeping.  That puts him at 12 hours out from IC time, so we're at 06:30 on 21, APR.  Tip-off's at 19:00 CST, but the closer to tip-off that Sniffles does his work the less time Slim has to profit from it.  It is a Sunday morning, so Sniffles probably has a shot at Compiling again before he gets to work.

Oh, and is Slim a man or woman?