[Lorebane24]

Wouldn't you need to maintain line of sight on a spirit to sustain a spell on it, tho?

[gilga]

I'll need to touch it to cast the spell, but I don't know of a LOS limitation afterward.

In any case, if it is allowed: (the first one is the spell, the second is drain) So the spirit would get +4 intuition, no drain.
Improve intuition, drain: 2#10d6t5 5 3
Search is an extended test of magic + intuition so it should help.

Though, I feel like we should find approximately where to look (rather than give it the entire city) especially with our very modest spirit powers.

[Tecumseh]

There's no requirement to maintain LOS on a sustained spell, unless that's a house rule under consideration.

The most common example is Invisibility: the spell shouldn't stop working as soon as the magician casts it on someone just because the magician can't see the target anymore.

An exception might be Levitate, where you need to maintain LOS if you want to move the target around. But, in general, no sustained LOS is needed.

[gilga]

So I assume that the first places to look are some matrix research (then we can go talk to people).
I placed a post up, of Amy Maka searching. If anyone is skilled enough to help her, it would increase the limit - and thus the number of successes. Her problem seems to be the limit. 

Her deck has max attribute of 4, +1 DP from a program, a total of 5.  She has 4 noise compensation (signal scrub + vectored signal processor). Full deck configuration is:
1. Program module: VM - Toolbox + signal scrub.
Deck slot: Browse (reduce search time by half).  4 Data processing, 3 firewall, 2 sleaze, 1 attack.


P.S If you have other direction for matrix research feel free to shout.

[Beta]

Jawsey could help on the matrix search, but you'd have to hold off until after his astral expedition.

I don't know if Seattle 2072 changed it, but in the original Seattle book the Halloweeners were downtown's own special darlings.  Nova Rich are listed in Bellevue in Seattle boxed set.  Both of which are good -- background count in Redmond would penalize the spirit and weaken the spirit, really gimping the search dice.

[Lorebane24]

So those are like, really good search results, so before I do the IC post (I'll get to it soon, but I gotta head to work in a few and gotta check in on things there first), I want talk about the search action a little and how I interpret it so it doesn't seem like I'm being too unfair with the results.  Basically, I see search as 2080 googling.  I mean it's a little more involved than that, and AM will certainly dredge up some stuff, but generally search won't give you info that isn't openly displayed SOMEWHERE on the matrix (or that can't be reasonably inferred from something that's openly displayed on the matrix).  Some information would require you to hack into the right host or device to get, and some stuff just isn't on the matrix.  So in the interest of giving you, y'know, SOMETHING for 5 hits on search, I'll broaden the search parameters a smidge and you'll get a bit of more general information on these topics.

That's been my understanding of search, at least, but if you guys have done it differently, or if it is supposed to work differently by RAW, let me know and we can talk about it.

[Tecumseh]

Mato is decent at Matrix Search, although it sounds like we might be maxing out the results anyway. Perhaps he can search on a different topic, like any mention of cards that would be active/visible on the astral:

Intuition 6 + Computer 1: 7d6t5 4 hits

I suspect that this information would be Obscure for -2, but even if we subtract the last two dice that still leaves him with 3 hits which is enough for "Limited Interest or Not Publicized" information. He'll spend 30 minutes on it before moving on to other things.

As for the search results, I will note that only the GM knows what's actually available, so the difference between what we're told and what's available to be found is only known to the GM. In other words, we're not much of a position to criticize the result if they seem underwhemling; it's entirely possible that's all that's available.

I trust the GM to give us enough of a lead to follow, but not to completely unfold the plot or to uncover every secret there is to be found.

[Beta]

For what it is worth, in the Shadowrun Missions series, the matrix search threshold for information is generally 50% higher than from contacts, and only has about three-quarters of the information available to it (not always the hardest to find stuff, often it might be something like 3 hits with a contact tells that Firehand has had a mysterious houseguest lately -- info not available on the matrix -- while 4 hits with contacts or 6 in a matrix search finds that Firehand used to be a security mage for Renraku.

And I would say that matrix search is more than being good at google search terms.  Throw in knowing how to access public trid feeds, run image matching with various parameters, running tools to look for correlations between different data sets, etc.  So when looking for halloweeners there will be various simple searches (computer 1 level), but then searching feeds of cameras with tools set to look for full face paint or the 'weeners black and orange colour scheme, matching up noise complaints with image matches of motorcycles with reports of public mischief with data you gathered yourself from public cameras about new graffiti in the past couple of months .... Of course some of this is processing power and memory intensive type of work, which is why your data processing limit comes into play; your metalink can't handle much more than running google type search terms.

[Lorebane24]

Alright, I see where you're coming from.  I think I was doing responses while your wrote this post, so pet me know if that info seems too scant (I kmow the tarot info is appropriate cuase I got a bool twlling me how much each hit can get you)

[Tecumseh]

Regarding the Halloweeners, they are officially/technically a Downtown gang and have been that way since the beginning. (This was actually a huge plus for me when I first started playing 25+ years ago, thinking, "How punk/noir is that: the corpers rule during the day but then at night the psycho pyromaniac anarchists come out to play.")

That said, there are plenty of references to them being active in Redmond as well. For example, one of their prime hangouts, The Jackal's Lantern, is in Redmond, about a block north of the border with Bellevue. (This is maybe 5km south of Touristville.) There are also references to their annual tradition of terrorizing Redmond on Halloween night.

In other words, it's perfectly reasonable for them to be either Downtown or in Redmond, or - given their recent aggressive expansion - wherever else the GM wants to put them.

Update: While I was writing this, the GM posted ICly and said most of the same things. So, yay!

[gilga]

First, understand that my goal is to push the plot forward and get us some people to talk to, and places to visit.  I see SR searches are much more involved than Googling. First, they require massive processing power (Data processing), and a professional level skill rating (6 in computers).


I see SR world as very much different than our own,  with everything online, and even the most secure systems are hackable in under a minute given some good roles/edge. It means that almost everything has some influence on the matrix. If you are a professional shadowrunner you might be more careful then the average joe. The matrix is just another world, unlike our internet. VR and AR are fundamental, and vision devices are widespread. Every idiot may have eyes that record stuff and upload it to the matrix. These can be hacked and posted somewhere. Some people post their feed openly, others do not change default passwords.  The information is there, the problem remains analyzing it, finding what you are looking for.


On the other hand, the matrix is not some magic 8 ball, and some of the information is unavailable in the matrix. Though, I see it as something with plenty of raw data, if you are willing to sift it out and are skilled enough to crunch it and reach meaningful conclusions.  All that is nice and dandy, we are learning you and you are learning us, so feel free to give what information you feel comfortable. Again, it is an excellent tool to advance the plot.

[Jack_Spade]

sorry, I've been out and about. Bobby's scouting was supposed to happen while you all are busy with your thing. As it is now, he does it just when the info about the bar came in. 

[gilga]

@Lorebane24 You are aware that 'oversummon' is F3 yes? - but we can do the same with F2 really.
@Beta BGC would reduce a bit, but improve intuition is solid. F2 spirit would give us 3 intuition + 2 magic = 5 dice, 9 dice before modifiers.

[Tecumseh]

Let's talk a bit about timing and sequence of events.

The meet ended at 17:30. Per the book, I figure Mato needs 30 minutes to do his searches. Given her Search program halving the time, I don't know how much time AM needs to complete her searches. 15 minutes each, so 45 minutes total? GM call there.

Once we have some results on the Halloweeners we can go to The Jackal's Latern. If we left right away we could go around 18:20 and be there around 18:30. Sunset at this time of year is 19:20 so it's still light outside and the bar might be on the quiet side. Still, I figure we have time to kill until the Nova Rich's street race tonight, which sounds optional. Plus, there's no guarantee that anything happens at The Jackal's Latern, especially this early; we're just in watch-and-see mode for the moment.

Mato will drive there, per Bobby's instructions, and will sit and watch. I'll just buy hits again.

Perception (Visual): Intuition 6 + Perception 5 + Specialization 2 + Visual Enhancement 3 = 16 dice = 4 hits for visual
Perception (Audio): Intuition 6 + Perception 5 + Audio Enhancement 2 = 13 dice = 3 hits for audio
Perception (Scent): Intuition 6 + Perception 5 + Olfactory Sensors 4 = 15 dice = 3 hits for smelling (not that I really expect to smell something at a distance)

Here's what Mato is bringing with him:

On Person
Armor Jacket
Grenade: Flash-Bang x1
Grenade: Gas (Pepper Punch) x1
Shuriken x5
Contacts R3
Earbuds R3
Glasses R4
Micro-Transceiver
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch ×1
Slap Patch, Stim Patch R6 ×2
Slap Patch, Tranq Patch R6 ×2

In Car
Ballistic Mask
Autopicker R6
Bug Scanner R6
Jammer, Area R4
Lockpick Set
Medkit R6
Miniwelder
Restraint, Plasteel ×5
Sequencer R4
Tag Eraser
Tool Kit (Hardware) for maglocks

In Car, Smuggling Compartment
AK-97 (smuggling compartment) loaded with APDS + spare ammo
Ingram Smartgun X (smuggling compartment) loaded with stick-n-shock + spare ammo

[Lorebane24]

So yeah, I know that oversummoning in this case would be F3, but I also feel like that's one of the drawbacks of having a lower magic score.  That being said, the way testing the leash works is that a spirit rolls its force x2 against the magician's drain resistance, which is typically a bit higher even on a low force mage, so it's generally easier for a Magic 2 magic to keep control of a force 3 spirit than it is for a magic 6 mage to keep control of a force 7 spirit.

Can Mato also give me a Pilot Ground Craft + Intuition check to see how successfully he drives inconspicuously during his stakeout?