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[5e OOC] Sunt Venatores Venationem

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Poindexter

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« Reply #15 on: <01-06-15/2109:39> »
This is actually perfect, as I Poindexter, have NO knowledge of how shadowrun vampires work, how they got that way, what they can do, how to kill them, etc. If anyone wants to fill me in on the basic moron on the street level info about vampires, I'd greatly appreciate it. I think it'd be fun to have Becca go into this with a few misconceptions about things.
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Poindexter

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« Reply #16 on: <01-06-15/2112:30> »
So, how does that sound to everyone? If it sounds good, what WAS she told about this job? What is the reason her group was called on to provide a heavy hitter/support like herself for this job?

Sounds good to me, and I would also be interested in emphasis added.  It may be the same reason why you guys are hitting this club/apartments at night, as opposed to knocking out the windows in the middle of a Monday afternoon.

Perhaps I'm needed more in a healer role than in a heavy hitter role as this doesn't really sound like the sort of job that NEEDS a heavy hitter. Maybe the group anticipates some civilian damage and I'm here to mitigate that with healing, barriers, etc. eh? She IS rocking 19 soak dice without any barriers or armor spells up, so she'd be pretty good on the bystander defense job, now that I think about it.

EDIT: Regardless of how it all goes down, or what the plan is, consider the entire party to be under her counterspell dice at all times such a thing is possible.

EDIT 2: Also, would she have had time to summon and bind a spirit before the job? She may need to sustain a few different spells and not wanna lose a TON of dice from it.
« Last Edit: <01-06-15/2121:25> by Poindexter »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #17 on: <01-07-15/0154:56> »
Stake's the boss and probably made the call, but Achak would want someone like Sister Rebecca around for 1) assensing, and 2) counterspelling. Spirit support would be the icing on the cake.

Basically all vampires are Awakened, so counterspelling is something Achak would feel vulnerable about. He can dodge well, and he can soak what he doesn't dodge, but spells are a complication.

Achak was explaining some of this in my last IC post, but here's some of the high-level crunch on vampires:
1) dual-natured
2) can rob essence from their victims (and can go up to Essence 12), then turn that essence into temporary attribute boosts
3) regenerate damage once per combat turn, but not magical damage (like from a weapon focus) nor damage to the head/spine, nor while in contact with an allergen
4) can use Mist Form, but not while in contact with an allergen
5) allergy to sun and wood

There's more but we can chalk that up to her lack of understanding.

Achak would not particularly want a grenade launcher in play, given the possibility for a crowd / collateral damage, so he would suggest she stick with the sword. (STICK WITH!! GET IT??)

I suppose rednblack is asking all the good questions we should be asking. Probably fair to wonder if this is really a Yak-owned club. Maybe it is, although if so we should probably be charging them - or at least earning some significant favors - instead of just doing it for the bounty. Maybe it's not, and it's a Triad/Mob/independent club they have designs on.

I don't know why we're going at night instead of the middle of the day. Maybe we just found out and we're trying to save one or two people who might get gobbled up tonight. Or maybe the Yaks want us to do it at night so that there's a big commotion that makes someone else look bad. Maybe there's so little sun in Seattle in December that going at 22:06 isn't significantly different than going at 10:06. (This isn't really true - December can often be bright and pretty here - but this is rednblack's world, not mine.)

rednblack

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« Reply #18 on: <01-07-15/1219:43> »
So, how does that sound to everyone? If it sounds good, what WAS she told about this job? What is the reason her group was called on to provide a heavy hitter/support like herself for this job?

Sounds good to me, and I would also be interested in emphasis added.  It may be the same reason why you guys are hitting this club/apartments at night, as opposed to knocking out the windows in the middle of a Monday afternoon.

Perhaps I'm needed more in a healer role than in a heavy hitter role as this doesn't really sound like the sort of job that NEEDS a heavy hitter. Maybe the group anticipates some civilian damage and I'm here to mitigate that with healing, barriers, etc. eh? She IS rocking 19 soak dice without any barriers or armor spells up, so she'd be pretty good on the bystander defense job, now that I think about it.

EDIT: Regardless of how it all goes down, or what the plan is, consider the entire party to be under her counterspell dice at all times such a thing is possible.

I think you need line-of-sight, but that works for me.

EDIT 2: Also, would she have had time to summon and bind a spirit before the job? She may need to sustain a few different spells and not wanna lose a TON of dice from it.

Yes, Sister Rebecca had time to prepare for this job, so anything you can think of to do before hand is allowed up until the moment you guys step inside the apartment building IC.

As for vampires, Tecumseh hit most of the high notes.  Vampires suffer from HMHVV I, or IA.  They can't eat food, and will suffer nausea within 1 hour if they do so.  They must drink metahuman blood, but they get most of their sustenance from draining metahuman essence.  They need a strong psychological link with their victim to do so, and that link can either be ecstatic or terrifying, so vampires will either seduce or frighten the beejeezus out of their victims, respectively.  You probably don't want to get vampire blood anywhere near your soft tissues, or an open wound.  Baby vampires, like the ones you think you'll be up against, probably don't have any aura masking abilities, so assensing can be one of the best ways of telling who is a vampire, and who's just a pale clubber.  Of course, if one of the vampires was a powerful magician before s/he was turned, that's off the table. 

There are all sorts of rumors about garlic allergies, aversions to holy symbols, and the rumor that vampires can't enter a place unless they've been invited, nor do they cast a shadow or reflect in mirrors.  It's up to you how many, if any, of those things Sister Rebecca believes. 

Oh yeah, and they sparkle in the daytime.  Which is to say, they are severely allergic to sunlight, and will burn away to nothing if exposed, but that's kind of the same thing, right?
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Poindexter

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« Reply #19 on: <01-07-15/2336:55> »
ok, so they didnt ask for a heavy hitter, they asked for counterspell support, cool!
That makes things really easy, ok. Why HAVE we decided to do this during the night anyways?
Maybe we're trying to prove a point?
Maybe we want them to be able to escape in hopes of following them somewhere we havent been able to find by other means?
Maybe they're too locked down during the daytime?

just a couple ideas.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #20 on: <01-08-15/0048:16> »
Another question might be why are there three newborns at the same time in the same place? Were they consciously created? I would imagine vampires are cautious about creating newborns, both because they represent more competition and more attention. Perhaps a victim is occasionally transformed accidentally, but surely not three all at once.

And why are they congregating together? Is it camaraderie in their new form, or did they know each other from before? Were they wannabes - perhaps the type of victims who found ecstasy is supplying essence - who found someone to convert them? But why would someone convert them and then leave them alone with no oversight or training?

If we have one wounded and pinned down with wooden flechette, it might be worth the effort to "massage" them for answers. Stake has a pretty sick dice pool for that.

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« Reply #21 on: <01-08-15/0240:28> »
Stake's the boss and probably made the call, but Achak would want someone like Sister Rebecca around for 1) assensing, and 2) counterspelling. Spirit support would be the icing on the cake.

I'm assuming Stake has worked with Achak before, so Stake knows his limitations. Stake probably made the call for a getaway guy and someone who can assense. Counterspelling is high on the list, but assensing is really useful to help identify any Infected, should they try to disguise themselves. Although, again, counterspelling is huge against Infected.

I don't know why we're going at night instead of the middle of the day. Maybe we just found out and we're trying to save one or two people who might get gobbled up tonight. Or maybe the Yaks want us to do it at night so that there's a big commotion that makes someone else look bad. Maybe there's so little sun in Seattle in December that going at 22:06 isn't significantly different than going at 10:06. (This isn't really true - December can often be bright and pretty here - but this is rednblack's world, not mine.)

That makes things really easy, ok. Why HAVE we decided to do this during the night anyways?
Maybe we're trying to prove a point?
Maybe we want them to be able to escape in hopes of following them somewhere we havent been able to find by other means?
Maybe they're too locked down during the daytime?

I would also hazard that the apartments will be mostly unoccupied of any normal people that might become collateral. Assuming the Yakuza's information is good, the vampires aren't going to be roaming tonight, and they might be lulled into a false sense of security at night, when they are probably most powerful.

Another question might be why are there three newborns at the same time in the same place? Were they consciously created? I would imagine vampires are cautious about creating newborns, both because they represent more competition and more attention. Perhaps a victim is occasionally transformed accidentally, but surely not three all at once.

A cult? Overzealous blood-drinking? Another set of 3 Vampires that all needed to feed? A Vampire that just doesn't care? Could be any or all of the above.

And why are they congregating together? Is it camaraderie in their new form, or did they know each other from before? Were they wannabes - perhaps the type of victims who found ecstasy is supplying essence - who found someone to convert them? But why would someone convert them and then leave them alone with no oversight or training?

That's a good question. Presumably they were created together and probably knew each other somehow. New-born Vampires don't exactly play nice with others; I was under the impression they were nearly feral until their first feeding. The only thing that would hold them back, I would think, would be some sort of comradeship. Even if they didn't tear into each other, they probably would have parted ways if they didn't know each other. Very few people are that logical that they would stick together for survival only with nothing in common.

As for being wannabes, well, it depends on the Vampire. If they maintain a sliver of humanity, they would either refrain or train them. If they truly don't care, they might get lost in the feeding and just leave them to fend for themselves.

If we have one wounded and pinned down with wooden flechette, it might be worth the effort to "massage" them for answers. Stake has a pretty sick dice pool for that.

It depends on if we find out how well-fed and magically empowered they are. If they are bloated on Essence, we are going to take them down without even thinking about it. I agree though, it would be nice to get some answers, if only to find out if there are more Vampires for more of a bounty.

Of course, all of the above is dependent on how reliable the Yakuza's information is.



@rednblack

Do you want us to do planning OOC or IC? I'm planning on asking 3L1 some questions to help coordinate this attack, assuming he's not entirely occupied with driving. Oh, and Gear Loadout.

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Poindexter

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« Reply #22 on: <01-08-15/0944:22> »
Stake's the boss and probably made the call, but Achak would want someone like Sister Rebecca around for 1) assensing, and 2) counterspelling. Spirit support would be the icing on the cake.

I'm assuming Stake has worked with Achak before, so Stake knows his limitations. Stake probably made the call for a getaway guy and someone who can assense. Counterspelling is high on the list, but assensing is really useful to help identify any Infected, should they try to disguise themselves. Although, again, counterspelling is huge against Infected.

I had assumed Stake and Achak were members of a longstanding team that had recently lost a member or two.


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Poindexter

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« Reply #23 on: <01-08-15/0956:27> »
I just wanna make sure I have the situation correct in my head before we start and I go messing things up.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #24 on: <01-08-15/1107:07> »
That is how I am playing it. Stake is the veteran, Achak has been in the game a few years (under Stake’s leadership), and Sister Rebecca is needed to replace ”Yohan", whose death Achak blames himself for. There could have been other recent losses on the team too, reflecting the dangerous nature of the work and the high attrition rate.

rednblack

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« Reply #25 on: <01-08-15/1140:01> »
That makes things really easy, ok. Why HAVE we decided to do this during the night anyways?
Maybe we're trying to prove a point?
Maybe we want them to be able to escape in hopes of following them somewhere we havent been able to find by other means?
Maybe they're too locked down during the daytime?

I would also hazard that the apartments will be mostly unoccupied of any normal people that might become collateral. Assuming the Yakuza's information is good, the vampires aren't going to be roaming tonight, and they might be lulled into a false sense of security at night, when they are probably most powerful.

Those all seem reasonable.  Going with emphasis added, maybe the contact doesn't know exactly where they bed down, or Stake might disbelieve the idea that vampires, even newly turned vampires, would willfully bed down above ground like that.

Another question might be why are there three newborns at the same time in the same place? Were they consciously created? I would imagine vampires are cautious about creating newborns, both because they represent more competition and more attention. Perhaps a victim is occasionally transformed accidentally, but surely not three all at once.

This is a great question, and I've been loving the spit-balling going on around it.

New-born Vampires don't exactly play nice with others; I was under the impression they were nearly feral until their first feeding. The only thing that would hold them back, I would think, would be some sort of comradeship. Even if they didn't tear into each other, they probably would have parted ways if they didn't know each other. Very few people are that logical that they would stick together for survival only with nothing in common.

This is a very good point.  Your contact has given you the impression that the trio has been staying there about a month, so they're at least that old, but that kind of time isn't near enough to develop the kind of self-control and other survival skills common to older vampires.  Also, it does nothing to explain why they'd be bedding down together.  Emphasis added is probably really sticking in Stake's craw.

@rednblack

Do you want us to do planning OOC or IC? I'm planning on asking 3L1 some questions to help coordinate this attack, assuming he's not entirely occupied with driving.

Once you get a good idea of how the plan should go, let's have Stake give it to the team as a once-over before things get hot.  We'll assume that the plan -- and possible contingencies -- were given ahead of time.  That is the professional thing to do, after all.  You're all free to discuss OOC to get to that point.

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #26 on: <01-08-15/1314:29> »
Floors 1 & 2: club, dance floor, side rooms (floor 2 looks down on floor 1)
Floors 3 & 4: apartments, 17 units each
Floors 5 & 6: penthouses, 4 units each

1 main entrance (to club)
2 back entrances
1 sub-basement entry by the dumpsters

We have more entrances and exits than team members, so I imagine we'll have to use the drones to cover them. The drones are a bit large to be flying around indoors anyway. Perhaps the Optic-X2 circles above the building while the Roto-Drone covers the alleyway (presuming there is an alleyway).

Achak would want to circle the building to see if he gets lucky with Magic Sense. It won't detect the vampires themselves but it would detect foci, spells, wards, spirits. Vampires these young might not have any of that but he would want to check. It might give an indication of where to start looking.

Achak's instinct would be to start at the top and work his way down. Any prey he doesn't tag can be flushed out toward Stake and Sister. Newborn vampires - full of new strength, new senses, and new magical power - are probably overconfident to an extreme. Their egos probably tell them to occupy the penthouse units, even if they have to black out the windows. I suppose that's something the drones circling the building (or Achak) can look for: completely blocked-off windows.

An argument could be made to start at the bottom (in the sub-basement), where a smarter vampire might reside, and drive them up and away from the crowds. I'm guessing that with the rainy weather there's enough of a wind to discourage them from going into mist form and disappearing into the night, but as I said earlier they're probably much too arrogant (as newborns) to run when confronted with a threat.

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« Reply #27 on: <01-08-15/1419:55> »
What compliment of drones are we looking at? From what I can see, he has an Optic-X2 and a Roto-Drone. Any Fly-Spys or smaller variants? It would be greatly beneficial to have a smaller drone do a preliminary scouting to try and find where exactly the Vampires are located. Not having super accurate intel is really annoying Stake. It would be nice to know if any of the lower levels are occupied by awake inhabitants.

Achak's full body armor is both a blessing and a curse. It means that he will probably be safe for clearing rooms, but it also means he will be conspicuous trying to climb to the top of the building. Fortunately, it is unlikely that anyone in Redmond will stop him because of it. Taking this into account, Stake would actually be more inclined to start from the bottom and go up. He doesn't 100% trust the Yakuza's information, and even so, that way we can actually secure exits. If we clear the sub-basement, it's a reasonable assumption that they are staying up high. We can clear the remaining bottom floors. Assuming we don't find any Vampires, that means they are cornered on the upper levels; even a Vampire is unlikely to survive a 30+ foot fall.

Once all of that is clear, it's simply a matter of having the Optic-X2 keep an eye in the skies for any suspicious activity it can notice, while the team works it's way up through the building. Achak should probably lead, since he is the most armored of all of us. I am not sure whether Sister Rebecca should be in the back, where she is likely safest (although an attack from behind will leave her vulnerable), or in the middle following Achak (where she can Assense the room and remain surrounded by defenders). 3L1 is going to stay in the vehicle, providing drone overwatch and the like. Stake will take up whatever position he needs to; whether that's defending someone or convincing someone to let us through.

I'm not under the impression that there is a sense of urgency. While it might get nerve racking or boring to be thorough, we have some time to kill. I'm assuming to clear the entire place, it will take a max of 3 hours, probably less.



Plan A - Working from the ground up and assuming the Yakuza's information is accurate.

1. Do a preliminary scout of the outside of the building to make sure we have the layout and exits confirmed.
2. Clear the lower levels, starting with the sub-basement. Stealth is not absolutely required here, as it is unlikely that anyone is down here.
     2a. If 3L1 has a smaller scout drone, quickly, and discreetly do a preliminary check of the lower levels before we send in people. We don't want to alert anyone, but it would be nice not to fly in blind.
     2b. Have Achak and Sister Rebecca enter the sub-basement together (Rebecca slightly behind) while the Roto-drone covers the exit that Stake will enter through. This goes through even if we can use 2a.
3. Once the sub-basement is cleared, move onto the first floor. Attempt to remain stealthy, we do not want to startle a normal person or Vampire that will set off an alarm.
     3a. Confirm with small drone that there are no people who are out, as well as a preliminary check.
         3a.1 If there are people, Stake will go first to try and get them out of there; having Rebecca follow behind to Assense them to make sure they aren't a Vampire
     3b. Same as 2b, except we need drones covering the back exits and Stake will enter from the Main entrance; Achak and Rebecca go up through the basement (?)
         3b.1 Since we are going to keep Matrix communications open at all times (I assume everyone has commcodes and commlinks on them), repeat 3a.1 if we come into contact with people
4. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 3 for Floor 2
5. Move towards Floors 3 and 4. Take the greatest care here when going through the rooms; they are probably close together and we don't want to inadvertently alert anyone.
     5a. If we can scout with a drone, do the normal preliminary check of the rooms.
     5b. Achak takes point with his armor, while Sister Rebecca and Stake follow behind him. Alternatively, we can speed things up by having Achak clear one room, while Stake takes point with Sister Rebecca in another room.
        5b.1 Keep the Optic X-2 scouting from above, and the Rotodrone on standby for quick movement to cover the bottom floor entrances.
        5b.2 Also, if there are fire escapes etc, then have the Rotodrone cover those while the Optic X-2 does a general sweep of the building
6. Rinse and Repeat all steps of 5, but stick together as a single group this time, instead of opting to split up. These are probably sound-proofed, and we most likely eliminated the other rooms. Stealth is not absolutely required.
7. At any point if and when we encounter the Vampires, put them down with extreme prejudice.
    7a. If there are innocent bystanders nearby, try to protect them, but do not go soft on the Vampires, if necessary.
    7b. If we manage to catch one by surprise and are able to incapacitate, but not kill it, then we can interrogate it for some information.



That's a first draft of Plan A; I'll get a Plan B up soon. Any thoughts or revisions are welcome.

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« Reply #28 on: <01-08-15/1442:44> »
Wow, I'm glad 8-bit is team leader.

Let's not forget that Sister Rebecca will have some spirits. Those can do recon even if we don't have small drones available, especially since a small drone would likely have a difficult time distinguishing a vampire from a metahuman, doubly so in a crowd. (Unless the vampire is in full berserker mode.) The spirits can look for dual-natured entities and can sweep the building astrally much faster than we can physically. Downside: the spirits will probably tip our hand to the dual-natured vampires.

Achak's full body armor is not subtle, but it is the Barrens. When confronted with full body armor, I'm guessing most locals will come down with a severe case of shutthehellup. (The full chemical seal is also useful for keeping vampire juices at bay while I'm cracking skulls at close range.) The idea of starting at the top and working down was partly a function of not alarming the club clientele by walking in the front door in full riot gear. Even if we clear the basement first - which is a perfectly fine idea - Achak will probably leave floors 1 & 2 for SisterStake.

Sister Rebecca has a solid Sneaking dice pool but we are up against vampires with Improved Hearing. Achak would want the rookie to keep her distance so she doesn't crimp his Catlike Traceless Walk style, but close enough to counterspell. (I should rename my Catlike quality to Doglike to reflect my mentor spirit.)

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« Reply #29 on: <01-08-15/1452:52> »
Sister Rebecca is not squishy by any sense of the word. She'll be fine if left alone for a bit. I only worry bout the counterspelling.
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