[Tecumseh]

A few more questions have popped up now that I've started writing the IC:

Would a Fly Spy fit through the HVAC grate on the roof? If not, is there an external route to the roof that one of us could take to cut a hole in the HVAC grate for the Fly Spy?

If so, has Nori identified any security on the roof or in the HVAC system that we would be mindful of?

Is a Fly Spy sufficiently quiet to fly around the ventilation ducts without being detected? I don't know if the ducts would act as a giant echo chamber, or if the flow of air through the vents would somehow disrupt a Fly Spy. Looking for a GM opinion on "how do things work in 2074".

[rednblack]

Would a Fly Spy fit through the HVAC grate on the roof? If not, is there an external route to the roof that one of us could take to cut a hole in the HVAC grate for the Fly Spy?

The Fly Spy would not.  You could certainly cut a hole for the Fly Spy to enter.  Even a combat knife could probably pry a big enough spot through the grate.  There's a service ladder for the roof, but it's one of those jobs that starts like 3 meters up.  It's on the right side of the building, so more cover there. 

If so, has Nori identified any security on the roof or in the HVAC system that we would be mindful of?

None that she can tell.  She did another Matrix Perception for Silent Running Icons, at a one die penalty, and nothing comes up.

Is a Fly Spy sufficiently quiet to fly around the ventilation ducts without being detected? I don't know if the ducts would act as a giant echo chamber, or if the flow of air through the vents would somehow disrupt a Fly Spy. Looking for a GM opinion on "how do things work in 2074".

Interesting question.  I'm going to say no echo chamber effect.  Air flow could prove problematic.  If there's a fan just inside the air exhaust it could pop the drone, or simply stop its advance.  If the system is currently running -- it's probably mostly off at nights, given the area, but Sunrise could have turned it on with people about -- the drone will probably need to make some Piloting tests with low thresholds to not get knocked around and into the duct work, which would cause noise.

[Tecumseh]

Very reasonable. Achak doesn't know a ton about drones or their operation so he'll defer to Mercer on the matter. I suppose a small spirit could serve as a spy too.

It occurs to me that Mercer can't even drive, let alone pilot a drone. Such is life in 2074.

I'm assuming that there has been a certain degree of knowledge sharing during our downtime so that everyone has an understanding of what everyone else's skill set and abilities.

Achak has had his say. At this point he'll look to Mercer and Sister Rebecca to chime in.

[Tecumseh]

Achak is hoping Sister Rebecca can summon something with Concealment. Movement would be an added bonus, but Concealment is his primary goal.

I forgot to list my glasses under my load out, so I'm going to add those in if it's not too late. I'll edit the relevant post.

Achak sneaking up to the fire exit: Agility 5 + Sneaking 6 + Urban 2 + Catlike 2: 15d6t5 7 hits, limit 7, sneak sneak sneak!



Perception: Intuition 6 + Perception 6 + Hear 2 + Vision/Audio Enhancement 3: 17d6t5 8 hits, limit 8, perceive perceive perceive! Technically that's for hearing, although if we drop two hits for the specialization it's still 8 hits for vision/scent. Or I can roll separately for those.

Magic Sense (60 meter range): Magic 6 + Perception 6: 12d6t5 6 hits, oye, ¡estoy en fuego! I'm guessing the Astral limit applies here, so my limit is 6. Three rolls, three results right at the limit: I got a hot streak going!

[Poindexter]

Sorry yall. I been caught up with other shit. I'll get something up tonight or tomorrow, promise.

[rednblack]

@Tec, wow!  That makes up for some of Achak's performance at the yak club, I'd say.  Glasses can be added to the load-out no problem.  So, let's take these in order.

Sneaking: That's hella sneaky.  If it ends up being combined with a Spirit's Concealment power, then that's just nasty.  Nobody jumps out at him on the way over.

Perception: we'll drop dice from the end, so all 8 hits count for hearing/vision/scent.  For hearing, this really shouldn't be possible, but since 4 hits can hear subvocal speech, I'd think that 8 would allow Achak to hear snippets from around the building and through the rain to the parking lot where the three goons are currently stationed.  I'll post that below.  For vision, the ladder looks sturdy, and nothing really appears amiss.  Achak is fairly certain that he can squeeze by the camera's potential feed.  For scent, there's probably too much competing stimulus to get a bead on anything useful.  What he is certain of, is that nothing was so invisible that he couldn't see it but might have the potential to smell it nearby. 

Magic Sense: a question arises: would Magic Sense pierce walls?  I'm thinking no, but let me know if you feel otherwise.  Achak senses the magic of a man by the front of the building, as well as Foci on him.

I'll need a jumping test to get to the ladder.  Or, one can give the other a boost. 

ETA: forgot to list the convo bits Achak is able to hear.

Voice One: ". . . is not pleased that she had to come down at all."

Voice Two: "Ms. Pachis shouldn't have to wait much longer.  We've--"

Voice One: "That backups weren't ready . . .  hours."

A brief pause.

Voice Three: "So, is it true?"

Voice One: "Yes.  Whole team.  Why the frag else would you be here?"

Voice Three: "We were just wondering,"

Voice Two: "Yeah, if, umm,"

Voice One: "Not necessary, I'm sure.  'Sides, you hoops can handle it, eh?  Now quit . . . out there."

Another pause.

Voice Three: Whip's got . . . right up . . . hoop."

Voice Two: "Shut up."

[Tecumseh]

Magic Sense is the adept version of the Detect Magic spell. The rules don't say whether the Detect spells are inhibited by barriers. Detect Magic is described as an "area" sense, like hearing, as opposed to directional (like sight) or psychic (like Combat Sense).

Magic and physical barriers have a complex relationship. Astral forms can zip right through walls, but you usually can't cast a spell at a target on the other side of a wall. For the record, I've always presumed that Detect spells do work through barriers, so that Detect Enemies would pick up goons in a car or helicopter, or on the other side of a door, etc. I would very much hope that other Detect spells like Clairvoyance and Clairaudience also would work through walls, otherwise their utility would be seriously compromised.

If your instincts still say that barriers interfere, then maybe hearing is a reasonable analogy to use in this case. Just as you can sometimes hear voices through a wall, albeit muffled, maybe the same is true for Detect spells.

Achak will relay what he hears to the group. I'll IC that.

As for jumping, I think we decided to go in through the fire exits at the rear. We decided the roof wasn't worthwhile since we couldn't be sure that a Fly Spy would be able to navigate the ventilation ducts on its own. Since there aren't any other entrances on the roof, we're doing the fire exits instead. Let me know if that changes any of the understanding of the situation.

Once at the fire exit, Achak will look to see if it's something he can pick or if it's something that Nori would need to unlock open for him.

[rednblack]

Magic and physical barriers have a complex relationship. Astral forms can zip right through walls, but you usually can't cast a spell at a target on the other side of a wall. For the record, I've always presumed that Detect spells do work through barriers, so that Detect Enemies would pick up goons in a car or helicopter, or on the other side of a door, etc. I would very much hope that other Detect spells like Clairvoyance and Clairaudience also would work through walls, otherwise their utility would be seriously compromised.

Good points.  We'll add magic from inside in that case, specifically coming from Foci and Quickened spells.

As for jumping, I think we decided to go in through the fire exits at the rear. We decided the roof wasn't worthwhile since we couldn't be sure that a Fly Spy would be able to navigate the ventilation ducts on its own. Since there aren't any other entrances on the roof, we're doing the fire exits instead. Let me know if that changes any of the understanding of the situation.

Once at the fire exit, Achak will look to see if it's something he can pick or if it's something that Nori would need to unlock open for him.

Sounds good.  That works for me.  Nori will need to disable the fire alarm, so it doesn't go off when Achak opens the door.  She'll also open the lock.  Neither poses an issue for her, and she comms Achak when the job's complete.

[Tecumseh]

Sounds good. I've posted ICly. I'll pause here to give Poindexter an opportunity to catch up.

[Poindexter]

Summon Raziel, Force 4 Spirit of Air (Mag 6 + Summoning 2): 8d6t5 3

Resist Summoning (Force 4): 4d6t5 1

ok, so 2 services and 2 drain to soak.

Resist 2S drain (Will 7 + Cha 4): 11d6t5 1

What'd I tell ya bout them big dice pools? MMmmmmm Hmmmmm. So that's 2P and 1S, she's at, right? But I got me an air spirit, force 4 with movement and concealment, the latter of which she WILL burn a service to ask Raziel to use on Achak and herself as they sneak into this joint.

Sneaking (Agi 8 + Sneaking 2): 10d6t5 5

Ok, forget what i said about dice pool size.

Any other rolls I need to catch up on?

[Malevolence]

Mercer has Vera readied, and Stake and Yoki within arms reach but out of sight. If any non-threatening folk (or law enforcement) take an interest, he'll hand Vera back to Nori so she can stash all three weapons in the smuggling compartment. If trouble comes 'round, he'll swap to whatever tool seems most appropriate. Vera is laying across his lap - he's not actively sighting down it to give folks something to be curious about. If he needs to use it, he'll have to switch it wireless on (simple) and ready it (simple), so it'll be a IP before he can fire. The window is down and he is taking cover (seat reclined to limit his exposed profile) while trying not to look too suspicious, like maybe he's waiting to meet somebody or waiting for them to come back from a trip inside the store.


I'd also like to have the other Fly-Spy point the laser  mic at the windows of the second story and make a pass looking for any conversations it might be able to listen in on. If we're within 100 meters of the guys in the front, I'd like to use one of the directional mic sensor tags and see if I can't get a better ear on their conversation. The rain will probably interfere with both of these, but it's worth a shot.

[Tecumseh]

@Poindexter, does Sister Rebecca even have a sheathe, or anything to conceal the sword? I don't see anything on her sheet. I don't know if she considers concealing it to be "lying".

@Mal, any opinion on Bec taking the grenade launcher? Achak is split. On one hand, the idea is for them not to get spotted, so if they succeed in that then it doesn't really matter if she has it or not. On the other hand, if they do get spotted then the 'nade launcher pretty much eliminates any possibility of them talking their way out of it. Of course, if there is trouble then it's nice to have, although the fact that she only has high-explosive grenades makes it a decidedly louder proposition than Achak was hoping for.

[Poindexter]

@Poindexter, does Sister Rebecca even have a sheathe, or anything to conceal the sword?

Yes she does. I guess I didn't list it on the sheet.

[Malevolence]

I'm pretty sure the plan is to  not be seen. Since neither of you are great talkers, getting seen is pretty much game over because you aren't supposed to be there and you are unlikely to con them that you should be (though considering your recent rolls, I probably shouldn't discount this). From this, I think that the GL is fine.


I think that Achak should scout ahead, with Bec staying about 10m behind and moving up only after he signals clear. In other words, Bec is there specifically for if Achak gets discovered. She should be ready to party.

[rednblack]

I've updated the IC from its original post about two hours ago.

@Mal, so the fly spy working on listening in on the conversation in the Sunrise office, and a mic sensor tag from the van to hear what's being said on in the parking lot?  How close would you like the fly spy to get?  Go ahead and make a Perception test for each, and a Sneaking test for the fly spy.  Spotting it will be very difficult considering the light and the weather, but I'd like to see how it goes.

@Tec and @Poin, Achak and Becca are separated by about 25 meters or so.  You've got a sentry who appears to making a round through the second floor, so I need a plan with how to deal with that.