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[5E OOC] The Further Adventures of James and Illeana

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #540 on: <02-14-17/1757:59> »
Using the CFD boost right before the Alle is fair.

That said, there is a Drain component that doesn't seem to have a soak roll. "After this time the head case suffers a number of boxes of Stun damage equal to the hits on the NV roll." An argument could be made that this is simply the technological equivalent of an adept's Attribute Boost and therefore should have a Drain roll as well, but that's not written nor even implied.

However, in this case it pays off. The boost allows James to dodge.

Wilhelm defense: Defense + Parry: ?d6t5 6 hits, parried

Now we're at the end of CT2. James' boost expires.

Wilhelm initiative for CT3: Initiative: ?d6+? 21

CT3 IP1
James: ? (one cut, one Edge spent)
Wilhelm: 21 (one cut)

rednblack

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« Reply #541 on: <02-14-17/1819:04> »
Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 35
Not bad.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #542 on: <02-14-17/1828:10> »
90th percentile. Action to James.

rednblack

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« Reply #543 on: <02-15-17/1112:25> »
The metagame here is getting pretty interesting.  James can play it a little more safe, going with Pre-Emptive Parry and Reading the Defense this pass, or he can attempt to capitalize on his higher Initiative by going with a straight up attack, and forcing Wilhelm to burn some Initiative with Parry or Riposte.  The latter will almost certainly result in a hit by Wilhelm, and his next attack would likely hit as well, if James forgoes a Parry Interrupt.  That worst-case scenario would have Wilhelm up 3 cuts to James 1, but would leave James with two extra passes to capitalize on, 3 if Wilhelm uses Pre-Emptive Parry or the Parry Interrupt following a Riposte.  He'd need to hit with both to break even, and that would almost certainly require at least 1 more use of Edge.  Going the safer route has James with 1 extra pass, or possibly 0 if Wilhelm forgoes the use of any Interrupts, which isn't likely.  Hmm.

A question: if James splits his attack dice, will those attacks count for Wilhem accruing -1 penalties?

Using the CFD boost right before the Alle is fair.

That said, there is a Drain component that doesn't seem to have a soak roll. "After this time the head case suffers a number of boxes of Stun damage equal to the hits on the NV roll." An argument could be made that this is simply the technological equivalent of an adept's Attribute Boost and therefore should have a Drain roll as well, but that's not written nor even implied.

I'm a little confused.  This post mentioned a Soak/Drain roll for the CFD powers: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=23135.msg464171;topicseen#msg464171

I don't think we should be locked into that, but I want to make sure we're on the same page.  Are you saying that James takes Hits Stun Damage at the end of using the Attribute Boost power?

In other news, my favorite SR podcast did an interview with this metal musician who's set up a "band" based in the SR universe.  If you like that kind of thing, you should give it a listen: https://johnnynuclear.bandcamp.com/album/atomic-heart

I think I'm going to split the difference here, and have James use both an Attack and the Pre-Emptive Parry.

CT3 IP1
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

James Initiative is dropped to 30.

He has: AGI (11) + Close Combat (7) + Touch Only (2) - Called Shot (4) = 16 dice.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 10
Capped at 7 for Accuracy.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #544 on: <02-15-17/1324:27> »
What would splitting his attack dice accomplish? The "only one attack per target" rule is still in effect. Splitting dice pools is for attacking two separate targets.

Well, well, it looks like the old me was feeling generous about the CFD boost. Good find. Ace's nanites will be treated the same as Achak's midi-chlorians. James gets a soak roll but only soaks one of two boxes. He's at 1S.

The current me understands the desire to keep the attribute boost mechanic the same for simplicity, but would prefer some flavor differences. For example, the CFD boost is supposed to be a surge to keep (or get) the host out of danger. As such, lasting a handful of combat turns is hardly effective. I'd like it if it lasted (Hits * Minutes) but with guaranteed stun. Drugs would be the precedent instead of adept powers.

CT3 IP1
Wilhelm can't use pre-emptive parry and must burn initiative to parry James' ferocious attack. He's at -1 for a second defense.

Defense: Attack + Parry - Second Attack: ?d6t5 9 hits, parried

Wilhelm CT3 IP1
He doesn't have a second Free for Called Shot so he'll do the Reading the Defense approach again.

Free: Pre-emptive Parry
Complex: Reading the Defense

Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 7 hits, defense read

CT3 IP2
James: 20 (one cut, one Edge spent)
Wilhelm: 6 (one cut)

How long do you want to wait on Jaeger? Did you ping him yet?

rednblack

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« Reply #545 on: <02-15-17/1512:44> »
What would splitting his attack dice accomplish? The "only one attack per target" rule is still in effect. Splitting dice pools is for attacking two separate targets.

Ah, I thought you could split your pool to attack the same target twice.  A quick look does not make this appear to be the case.

Well, well, it looks like the old me was feeling generous about the CFD boost. Good find. Ace's nanites will be treated the same as Achak's midi-chlorians. James gets a soak roll but only soaks one of two boxes. He's at 1S.

The current me understands the desire to keep the attribute boost mechanic the same for simplicity, but would prefer some flavor differences. For example, the CFD boost is supposed to be a surge to keep (or get) the host out of danger. As such, lasting a handful of combat turns is hardly effective. I'd like it if it lasted (Hits * Minutes) but with guaranteed stun. Drugs would be the precedent instead of adept powers.

Just to be clear, I am fine with having no Soak/Drain roll for the CFD powers; I just wanted you to be aware of how it's functioned in the past.  Hits * Minutes with guaranteed Stun would be one way to handle it too.  Unless James is shooting, and can use Simple Actions to attack, I don't see him using the CFD boost much, though the extra REA dice probably pay for themselves in Stun damage over the long term. 

How long do you want to wait on Jaeger? Did you ping him yet?

I pinged him this morning.  I'm not sure how long I want to wait, as we're on a good roll, and I want to see how this shakes out, but I also don't want to alienate him if he shows back up to see that he's been passed over.  Thoughts?

That Adept Accuracy boost is killing me.  I wish the Smartlink worked for the epee.

CT3 IP2
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack.

For playing slash the adept, James has 16 dice.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 6
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #546 on: <02-15-17/1528:10> »
Give Jaeger 24-48 hours from the time you e-mailed and then declare for him. The question is that I legitimately don't know what he would do in this situation. Would Achak running past him undermine his confidence, or would he step up and start fireballing? (The advantage of fireball is that you could potentially catch a target in the AoE without unduly exposing yourself to suppressive fire.) Maybe a Composure test to settle the matter.

Let's keep the CFD boost drain-free for now. I don't want to get into bookkeeping about how long the drain lasts vs. how long the break between cuts lasts, etc.

Balancing this encounter was interesting on paper. Both Parry pools are much higher than the opposing Attack pools. Wilhelm's Accuracy advantage may (or may not) be counterbalanced by James' Initiative advantage. Seems balanced so far, given that it's 1-1, but I'll warn you in advance that I'm going to set a limit of 15 CTs, by which point I think we'll be full of Attack + Parry rolls.

Wilhelm defense: Attack + Parry: ?d6t5 10 hits, parried

Wilhelm CT3 IP2 attack: Attack + Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 7 hits, no Edge necessary to Parry

CT3 IP3
James: 10 (one cut, one Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 0 (one cut)

rednblack

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« Reply #547 on: <02-15-17/1647:15> »
Let's see if James can manage an average Parry roll.  He has: INT (9) + REA (7) + Close Combat (7) = 23 dice
Parry: 23d6t5 9

So, is James better off Reading the Defense for the ending this CT and then attacking with a +3 first pass of next, or is he better off attacking twice, and pegging Wilhelm with a -1 next CT.  The +3 to James is much more meaningful than a -1 to Wilhelm, but really I need him to make a poor Defense roll against a strong attack roll.

I'm going to opt to swing.

CT3 IP3
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

James has 16 dice again.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 4

Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 33
Adjusted to 28 with Pre-Emptive Parry
Assuming that James goes first, he will:
CT4 IP1
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

James has 16 dice again.
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 3
Tough luck. 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #548 on: <02-15-17/1709:22> »
CT3 IP3 defense: Defense + Parry: ?d6t5 10 hits, parried

Initiative for CT4: Initiative: ?d6+? 21

Wilhelm is going to punish James for his weak offering with a martial arts Riposte (as opposed to an adept Riposte).

CT4 IP1 defense/riposte: Reaction + Blades + Adepty Bonuses + Yielding Force - Second Attack: ?d6t5 7 hits

James earns a zip across his chin for his efforts.

That leaves Wilhelm at Initiative 14. He'll spend 5 on Pre-Emptive Parry and the remainder on Reading the Defense. Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 3 hits, read

CT4 IP2
James: 18 (two cuts, one Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 0 (one cut, Reading the Defense for next attack, although it's a bit goofy to carry this over between CTs when there will be a medical break)

rednblack

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« Reply #549 on: <02-15-17/1747:07> »
CT4 IP2
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

16 dice for the attack
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 3
Blech.

CT4 IP2
Complex: Reading the Defense

Reading the Defense is a little wonky between medical breaks, but there's always plenty to watch.  They could be finding stylistic deficiencies, etc. which tend to be a part of the way a fighter fights.

For Reading the Defense, James has: INT (9) + Close Combat (7) = 16 dice.
Reading the Defense: 16d6t5 8
That'll do.

Initiative: Initiative: 16+4d6 34
Dropped to 29 with Pre-Emptive Parry

CT5 IP1
Free: Called Shot
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Complex: Melee Attack.

This time James has: AGI (11) + Close Combat (7) + Touch Only (2) + Reading the Defense (3) - Called Shot (4) = 19 dice.
Melee Attack: 19d6t5 6
Well, it's a lot better than the last couple, I guess.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #550 on: <02-15-17/2104:33> »
CT4 IP2 defense: Defense + Parry: ?d6t5 11 hits, parried

Medical break following CT4. James is tended to. I suppose I should do an IC.

CT5 IP1
Wilhelm: Initiative: ?d6+? 23

He'll parry to drop him to 18.

CT5 IP1 defense: Defense + Parry: ?d6t5 5 hits, zing! James connects.

He will not pre-emptive parry. He will attack.

CT5 IP1 attack: Attack + Reading the Defense bonus: ?d6t5 5 hits

CT5 IP2
James: 19 (two cuts, one Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 8 (two cuts)

rednblack

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« Reply #551 on: <02-15-17/2319:46> »
On phone so this will be brief. James will attack during both of the next passes. 16 dice per attack.
Melee Attack: 2#16d6t5 6 4
IP2: 6 Hits
IP3: 4 Hits.

Initiative: 16+4d6 25
James might not actually be going first.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #552 on: <02-16-17/0050:25> »
Edit: James still needs to defend against the 5-hit CT5 IP1 attack.

CT5 IP2
Wilhelm will use the Parry interrupt: Parry: ?d6t5 7 hits, parried but barely

He will then do the Pre-Emptive Parry / Reading the Defense combo for his turn. Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 5 hits, successful

CT5 IP3
Defense: Parry: 25d6t5 8 hits, parried

Medical break following CT5. Wilhelm is tended to.

CT6
Initiative: 3d6+12 21

James: 25 (two cuts, one Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 21 (two cuts, Reading the Defense bonus)
« Last Edit: <02-16-17/0110:02> by Tecumseh »

rednblack

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« Reply #553 on: <02-16-17/0704:12> »
CT5 IP1: Parry: 23d6t5 8

CT6 IP1
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Free: Called Shot
Complex: Melee Attack

16 dice for the attack
Melee Attack: 16d6t5 5

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #554 on: <02-16-17/1437:06> »
CT6 IP1
Wilhelm will attempt to Riposte the incoming attack. This costs 7 initiative. I'm not going to include the Reading the Defense bonus, which will expire.

Riposte: ?d6t5 8 hits, riposte successful

James takes a cut.

Wilhelm @14:
Free: Pre-Emptive Parry
Complex: Reading the Defense: ?d6t5 4 hits, successful

CT6 IP2
James: 10 (three cuts, one Edge spent, 1S)
Wilhelm: 0 (two cuts, Reading the Defense bonus)