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[5e OOC] Tabula Rasa, Chapters II and III

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #765 on: <01-08-15/1337:22> »
Looks great. Katsina would have voted for at least one snowmobile, as all of our likely destinations are covered in snow at this time of year. (I presume we're not going to Aztlan.)

IC post coming. Next step is to figure out a destination or, perhaps more importantly, a route out of town.

Malevolence

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« Reply #766 on: <01-08-15/1348:44> »
That still leaves us with the decision of where to go. My thoughts on this (as well as the ATV/snowmobile decision) are here. In broad strokes, going north takes us through Carbondale, which may be where their search is concentrated if my earlier ruse was successful. If they discover we were in Aspen, all of the folks in Carbondale might head there - passing right by us on the road. Going south leaves us few turnouts, etc and therefore makes it easy to set up checkpoints that we couldn't avoid. Staying in Aspen risks being found as they perform a search starting from the Moran house, since one of the best protections from the critter/spirit Search power is distance.


I think north through Carbondale might prove the best option, with a boon-docking stop off before we get there. This gives them enough chance to divert many of the resources from Carbondake once they find our old hideout in Aspen, gives us enough distance to ensure the Search power fails, and prevents us from running into the troop movement from Carbondale to Aspen. We have options to avoid roadblocks/checkpoints as there are more turn out options, and we should be able to skirt Carbondale (or at least stick to the outskirts as we pass through) once we get there.


I'll do an IC with similar arguments from Ohanzee, but thought I'd bring them up here as well.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #767 on: <01-08-15/1356:09> »
Katsina is going to agree with a lot of that.

Going to roll Katsina's Area Knowledge: PCC skill for backroads and alternative routes. She'll have a high threshold since her knowledge skill is at a pretty general level: 6 hits, yeah, suck it, GridGuide!

Katsina's recommended route is going to look something like this: http://goo.gl/maps/DV4L4. Trying to avoid 82 as much as possible, since that where her Detect Enemies spell picked up a hit.

Zweiblumen

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« Reply #768 on: <01-08-15/1433:10> »
Doc is gonna get ready for the worst.  Load up his arm and reconfigure his deck.

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rednblack

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« Reply #769 on: <01-08-15/1514:40> »
I'd like to make a knowledge test to see what Ace thinks little Nately's response would be if we contacted him as kidnappers who either wanted a ransom or were going to have Mr. Nately make good on a previous debt.

LOG(4)+biz(Megacorp)(5) kidnapping SOP: 9d6t5 5

Holy shit, I guess it makes sense that Ace would be intimately familiar with just this kind of case.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #770 on: <01-08-15/1545:32> »
Yes, it seems that this is Ace's specialty. I might have given Ace some bonus dice, given how perfectly tailored this is to his area of expertise, but he has already hit his Mental limit.

The junior Nately sounds very young, maybe 19-20. How familiar he is with corporate protocols is an open question. (The age difference between the elder Natelys and the younger Nately is also significant. It's possible Nately III is a grandson rather than a son, or perhaps the Natelys were wealthy enough to afford the medical attention to conceive at age 50+, but not so wealthy as to afford leonization. Or maybe there's a weird nano-molecular disease going around that has people nervous about gene treatments.) If Nately III is "halfway around the globe", Ace would guess that he is attending university abroad, or perhaps on a Grand Tour, but is probably not involved in day-to-day life at the corporation yet.

The old man is still on the Board of Directors, having stepped down as CEO 10+ years ago. While he probably provides strategic vision and oversight, his involvement is decidedly more removed. While having your Chairman kidnapped is certainly an embarrassment, it's not a threat to the day-to-day operations of a firm.

The young Nately's response will probably be to contact corporate security first. Depending on their local resources, corporate security may or may not contact local authorities for assistance depending on the perceived threat to the corporate asset. Nately Enterprises certainly wouldn't want this to become public if they could help it, but PCC's SecForce is a formidable and valuable resource if the corp doesn't have local operatives of their own. SecForce would not respond kindly to kidnappers in Aspen. In another situation they might de-prioritize it as an extraction attempt - the usual corporate shenanigans - but nobody's dumb enough to think that the Chairman of the Board can be extracted from the firm that bears his family name.

But to answer the original question, corporate negotiators would reach out to make contact and try to gather information, including a list of demands. Corporate security would model the potential cost of an operation to retrieve the asset versus the stated demands of the kidnappers and the likelihood that the kidnappers will keep their end of the bargain. Whether or not the firm takes it personally (since corporations are people, don't you know) that you've kidnapped the patriarch, and whether or not that changes the equation or their response, is an unknown. Maybe they are cold-blooded bean counters willing to let the mostly-retired Nately III drift in the wind, or maybe they'll unleash hell, looking for vengeance against anyone who would tarnish the family image. In either instance, they would try to make a deal, but who knows whether they would play it straight or if they'd really just be buying time to get their assets in place to murderize the team.

rednblack

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« Reply #771 on: <01-08-15/1715:02> »
Given all the negative CON modifiers we're facing, I think we should go straight intimidation.  Also, Ace is willing to do any of things if it comes down to it, and it keeps the team safe.  If Ohanzee and Ace -- possibly others -- did this together, could we make it a teamwork test?
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #772 on: <01-08-15/1718:48> »
Sure, good-cop bad-cop is a classic. Only now it has the additional nuances of magic-cop Robo-cop too.

Poindexter

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« Reply #773 on: <01-08-15/1742:12> »
Would someone mind giving me the stats on that rifle Sam picked up as well as reminding me how much/what kind of ammo he's got for it?
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Poindexter

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« Reply #774 on: <01-08-15/1746:09> »
In either instance, they would try to make a deal, but who knows whether they would play it straight or if they'd really just be buying time to get their assets in place to murderize the team.

Seeing as how all we're really trying to do with this is buy US some time, I'd say that works out well, eh?
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rednblack

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« Reply #775 on: <01-08-15/1750:57> »
Pioneer 60. I'm unsure about ammo, but I believe it's flechettes.

As for buying time, yes but ransoming means more people on our tail and the Buffalo being a liability.
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Malevolence

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« Reply #776 on: <01-08-15/1758:49> »
Sounds good. I think Ace should lead. I'll heal Mrs. Nately and use Leadership to support his plan.
Heal Spell on Mrs. Nately (F3, centered) [Magic 6 + Spellcasting 5 + Power Focus 2 - Wounds 3): 10d6t5 3
That heals all 3 boxes of physical damage she has. I actually should have went force 6, since at F-4 drain and minimum drain 2 there is no reason not to, but it didn't make a difference anyway. I am dropping the illusion prior to casting so I only have the Wound penalty.
Resist Drain [WIL 6 + CHA 6 + Centering 1]: 13d6t5 5 vs. 2 drain, so no damage sustained.
And the Leadership test for the Intimidate Teamwork:
Teamwork test for Intimidating Ed III [CHA 6 + Leadership 6 - Wounds 3]: 9d6t5 2
Subpar, but at least I'm not the primary on this...
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #777 on: <01-08-15/1833:23> »
Ammo for the Pioneer 60 is flechette. Quantity, we'll say 20 rounds. There is are regular rounds and hollow points for a heavy pistol too. See here:

http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=18749.msg334806#msg334806

Base stats for the Pioneer 60 are Acc 5, 10P, -1 AP, RC 2, SS, 5(m). Comes with a shock pad. Add flechette modifiers to that.

Ace bought shotgun slugs at the sporting goods store but no hunting rifle ammunition.

<<Display most recent 48 hours firing record for XM30.>>

I am skeptical that a shadowrunner would keep logs of their illegal firearms usage, but this is just too creative to pass up. Also, I want to applaud the effort of trying to piece together last night's events. Let me do some math and I'll post the results ICly.

Poindexter

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« Reply #778 on: <01-08-15/1836:04> »
<<Display most recent 48 hours firing record for XM30.>>

I am skeptical that a shadowrunner would keep logs of their illegal firearms usage, but this is just too creative to pass up. Also, I want to applaud the effort of trying to piece together last night's events. Let me do some math and I'll post the results ICly.

I'm not even sure that's a thing that a smartlink DOES. But it seemed like a good idea. If nothing comes of it, then so be it.
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rednblack

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« Reply #779 on: <01-08-15/1837:33> »
Well, guys, I tried

CHA(+4) Intimidation(+1)-NPC hostile(-3) Desired result advantageous to NPC (+1) Imposing (+1) Outnumber (+2) Weapon (+2) Leadership (+1) Edge(+4): 13d6h5 2

Awful, awful roll.  Hopefully, I missed some modifiers, or I get some bonus dice somehow (fraggit, there's no bambi eyes emoji)

I probably should have saved the edge to re-roll failures, but that would've dropped my pool to 9, and I was hoping for some exploding 6s. 

ETA:

<<Display most recent 48 hours firing record for XM30.>>

That's awesome.  Even if nothing comes of it, good thinkin'
« Last Edit: <01-08-15/1840:58> by rednblack »
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