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

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rednblack

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« Reply #330 on: <07-17-16/1648:03> »
For Navigation I have: INT (6) + Navigation (4) + Teamwork Test (2) - Wound Modifiers (2) = 10 dice.
Navigation: 10d6t5 3
Not bad.

Fatigue and environment rules are crazy harsh.  I think it's odd that by RAW you're better off being naked in a very hot environment, while in the real world there's a reason why the Bedouin wear long tunics.  I'd ask if the wind was any benefit, but let's be honest, while wearing a Globetrotter Jacket and Ballistic Mask, there isn't much of James' skin exposed to feel the wind through his hair.  Rolling 3 dice twice.

Fatigue V. 1 S: 3d6t5 2

Fatigue V. 2 S: 3d6t5 1
James takes 1 additional box of Stun.

As for the air boat, James will want to discuss that with Illeana.  He can see a few possibilities. 

1. leave a few HE grenades taped together, armed and set to Motion Sensor under a seat or some drek like that.  It's expensive and wasteful, and probably doesn't offer any actual game benefit or tactical advantage.  Plus, there's the chance that the air boat isn't found tonight, and some kids or a passing Lonestar officer finds it instead.
2. Sink the air boat.
3. Give the air boat instructions on piloting itself to a quiet spot off solid land and then power down.  James and Illeana can come back for it later.

Mana Surge stays with us all the way until we get on solid ground, eh?  Weird.  Per James' earlier roll -- or I can make a new one if you'd prefer -- does that mean anything to James?  Does that seem more or less likely to make it a manufactured event?  James will reach out to Illeana on this point as well.  Probably the first thing he's going to say to her is, "They were all possessed, weren't they?"

As for the goal of the trap, James will probably respond with some quote from Machiavelli: "'Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.'" Or from Damien Knight himself, as quoted in one of his poli-sci textbooks: "'Pacification should be pronounced, complete, and timely, for governance shall be judged in honey and wine once the host has quit the field.'"

Basically, James will be worried that unless they leave Louisiana soon, or find out exactly what the capabilities of this group are, they may have some trouble again somewhere down the line.  The fact that the anti-magic capabilities they brought to the table were so impressive gives James pause to wonder if they had some foreknowledge of Illeana's capabilities.  It won't be hard to convince James otherwise, though.  Bed's sounding really good to him about now.

OOCly, I'm interested in this group and their capabilities.  Part of me was almost hoping that they'd get overpowered to see what was gonna happen with James and Illeana in their custody -- assuming that they wouldn't be summarily executed and become behemoth food.  Which is basically to say that I found this whole encounter terrifying and really exciting.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #331 on: <07-18-16/0028:44> »
Illeana will claim that she didn't ever seen them (as she was face-down on the bottom of the boat most of the time) and so doesn't know if they were possessed or not. The exception might be the sniper who started the encounter, but that was just the briefest glimpse. To the best of her knowledge, the sniper was not possessed, but it is also possible that they were possessed and were using Masking.

Illeana would vote for #3 with the airboat. She thinks it is likely that a swamp dweller will eventually run off with it if James and Illeana don't retrieve it, but it would be good to have it as an option for another day or two.

James' earlier, strong roll for Magic Theory still stands. The mana surge lasting until they are on land suggests that the surge is coming from the river/swamp itself. Given the duration and the size of it, Illeana will suspect that it was a natural phenomenon, inconveniently timed, rather than the intentional product of their opponents.

Conversely, James, with his good roll, will know that it is possible for geomancers to trigger ebbs and surges. See "sheng effect" from p. 36 of Street Grimoire, for one example. However, these are time-consuming rituals for powerful initiates. Presumably someone with that sort of power would have other magical ways of kicking your ass all over the place. However, potential exceptions include:
1) a magician that was good at geomancy but not necessarily good at summoning spirits or casting combat spells, or,
2) someone who was aware of Illeana's temporary Magic rating of 12 (or 18 or whatever she was posing as) and didn't want to fight fair.

James will also wonder about the combat tactics. Why all the flechette suppressive fire, but then a sniper not firing flechette? Or was the sniper firing gel, or capsules, or something else intending to disable but not kill? (Illeana will suspect not, given the damage the sniper was able to do to a powerful spirit, but James would remind her that a sniper could reload with different ammunition type as the situation changed.) Why the less-than-lethal grenades?

As for the unknown groups that may or may not be in pursuit, welcome to Tabula Rasa. This has been James' and Illeana's experience for the entire duration of their new lives. Illeana will say that they either live on the run and "suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them." Of course, she means kicking some goons in the nuts, not committing suicide, but James may not know what Hamlet was really suggesting by the line.

Go ahead and toss your IC up and we can go from there. You can advance things as far as you want, up until the point where James passes out.

Tecumseh

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« Reply #332 on: <07-18-16/1511:10> »
Really great IC post. Excellent summary of all the OOC back-and-forth.

Illeana will say that she's is done in Louisiana and that she's ready to migrate north toward Boston / Salem / MIT&T.

If James wants to potentially intercept potential targets at the airboat rental place, we can do that.

If James is also done in Louisiana, then that would bring us to the end of Chapter II. We would do karma and then pick-up the story down the road. We can also check in on what parts are fun, what parts are less fun, and goals for Chapter III.

rednblack

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« Reply #333 on: <07-18-16/1602:06> »
Let's move things to the northeast. 

I'm looking forward to some of that sweet, sweet karma.  That said, I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet.  Buying First Impression will definitely be useful, but it's awfully expensive too.  Tracking is likely to see a boost too, if our locale offers some rural environs.  Otherwise, I don't know whether or not I just just try to spam Edge.

As for the game as  whole, I'll let you ask any specific questions you may have, but I'm still having a blast.  High points for me so far have been trying to survive in the swamp, the behemoth babies, and all that went along with that.  I like the continuing development between James and Illeana, and I'm looking forward to this new trip to MIT&T.  Combat has been diverse and exciting, and I think you've made great use of the rules for Navigation, Survival, and Fatigue to get across that the world is an unforgiving and scary place. 

In combat, I'd like the opportunity to makes James' tactical knowledge shine, but that can be difficult with theatre of the mind.  Going in on planned ambushes or defending against ambushes in picked locations, it'd be nice to have some avenues for progress, egress, etc.  For example from the last combat, options like: you can take this highly wooded path for cover against X number of shooters, but your progress will be reduced by Y meters, or you can take this avenue to keep yourself open and make full progress, etc. 

Other than that, moving onto this next chapter I'll really be looking for a plan, or plans, of action for James and Illeana, as well as some concrete goals for them to accomplish.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #334 on: <07-18-16/1722:33> »
Given the nature of the game, my intention (up until 15 minutes ago) was to divide the karma equally. However, upon further review, I have decided not to divide it at all and that we will both earn the full amount. Since we are playing a high-powered game and our dice pools are already high, it means that purchasing higher ranks of skills and attributes is more expensive than it is in a traditional game. I don't want progress to be slower than it usually is simply because we started at a higher point. Karma for Chapters 1 and 2 comes to 56 total, plus 28 knowledge karma. By and large, an extra die or two won't be a significant change to many of our dice pools. This karma award will provide us with more meaningful progress after six months of playing.

New contacts are an option for the knowledge karma, but note that many will be specific to a given geography. Anything up to Connection 3 is fine; 4 or higher will require approval.

We have 1,200,000 Carib League doubloons. You can keep this as foreign currency or you can convert it to nuyen for a 2% transaction fee. Net proceeds would be ¥58,800. Either way, please add the amount to your IC sheet.

As for additional equipment, with James' Charisma and Negotiation he can find anything up to Availability 8 (Restricted or Forbidden) over the next couple months. Anything higher will require rolling with potential consequences. Additional dice may be purchased per the rules in SR5.

The fate of James' rating 3 SIN is unknown but it would be safest to presume that it is burnt. If the proprietor reports the Waveskipper missing, it will burn the SIN. If unknown forces get the proprietor first and make him unable to report the loss of the Waveskipper then it is possible that the SIN will remain active. It's also possible that anyone investigating the proprietor's disappearance would check the books and see James' rating 3 SIN, which would make James a person of interest. Or maybe nobody will investigate the fate of the proprietor, either because nobody will ever report it or because people go missing in the swamp all the time.

I'll write up an IC post to cap off Chapter II. I will then do a separate post to start off Chapter III. I don't know when I will get to these. I'll announce this in the other games but I will be traveling from Wednesday evening through the end of the month. My overall availability to post should be similar, although I might lose a day here and there while I am in transit. This is our first extended trip with a baby so it will be a learning experience.

Randomly rolling Illeana's Essence at the beginning of Chapter 3: Random Essence: 2d6 12

Man, that's what I rolled at the beginning of Chapter 2 as well. Evidently Illeana likes to walk around juiced. Wonder who the donor was.

rednblack

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« Reply #335 on: <07-19-16/1233:55> »
I'm debating between two separate options for all purpose karma.  Option 1 is to try to shore up some of James' relative weaknesses by raising Con to 6 (22 Karma) and  buying a Specialization in Fast Talk (7 Karma), and then raising CHA to 5 (25 Karma).  That comes to 54 Karma total, leaving James with 3 unspent Karma, including the 1 Karma he's been holding onto.

The other option I'm toying with is still raising CHA to 5 (25 Karma), but then raising Edge to 6 (30 Karma) for a total of 55 Karma, and leaving the skills as they are.  This option leaves James less skilled overall, but with greater potential -- not that Push the Limit has served me particularly well in this game so far. 

I'm going to chew on this for another day or two before I decide to commit.  If what lies ahead is more social politicking and the like, the former is probably a smarter choice.

Let's transfer our doubloons into nuyen.  I've updated my sheet.

How do you feel about house-ruling some anti-insulation?  I'm thinking SolCool technology that utilizes xylitol to produce a cooling sensation when the wearer sweats.  Crunch is basically the same for Insulation: Availability: 6, Cost: RatingX250, and each point reduces the effective Armor rating when calculating Fatigue damage from the heat.  I figure it won't be useful much in Boston, but James may want to buy some before the next summer rolls around, and they end up back in the CAS, or Amazonia, or Asamando. Looking at the Armored Jacket from the CRB as an example, James could shell out an additional ¥1,500 to have an Armor 12 jacket that would count as Armor 6 for resisting Fatigue.  I'd also considered using the Rating as a positive dice modifier, but that seems too good, as I would roll BOD (5) + WIL (7) + SolCool (6) - Half Armor (6) = 12 dice, vs. BOD (5) + WIL (7) - [Armor 12 - SolCool 6]/2 (3) = 9 dice.  And now that I've written all this out, I went and looked up the Desert Suit from Run and Gun, and it just seems way too good.  Hmm.  Let me know if you have any ideas.  ETA: I've decided that I don't like this.

For shopping, here's a list of stuff that doesn't require any test that I'd like to pick up.
Tracker Rounds (Sniper Rifle) X1 = ¥150
Tracker Rounds (Light Pistol) X1 = ¥150
Capsule Rounds (Assault Rifle) X2 = ¥10
DMSO (¥50) + Narcojet (¥50) for above X4 = ¥400
Gas Mini-Grenade + DMSO + Narcojet X5 = ¥700
Thermal Smoke Mini-Grenade X5 = ¥300
RFID Tag X10 = ¥10
Miniwelder X1 = ¥250
Microwire X2 = ¥100

Higher Availability gear I'll be looking for.
Rating 6 Stim Patch X2
Rating 4 SIN X1
APDS (Assault Rifle)
Platinum Credstick (unless we still have one of the Ebony credsticks from Tabula Rasa.)

To be continued.
« Last Edit: <07-19-16/1236:14> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #336 on: <07-19-16/1349:00> »
Boosting Charisma is a good idea.

Whether you want to lie better or raise Edge is up to you. Edge is more flexible, but it is also a finite resource. Do you think of James as a smooth operator who can pour honey in someone's ear, or does he have that inexplicable element of luck that keeps his hoop out of the fire?

Stim Patches aren't illegal so finding R6 is just a matter of time. As you have months to spare, that isn't a problem.

You still have the ebony credstick from Tabula Rasa, so you can use that functionally the same way as a platinum credstick.

The SIN and APDS will require rolls. May the odds be ever in your favor. You can spend your one remaining point of Edge at which point it will refresh and you'll be working against your Chapter III pool of Edge. A single roll will cover up to 8 boxes (80 rounds) of APDS.

Per the house rules - did I ever post this at the top of the thread? - an R4 SIN will be 4 * 4 * ¥1,000 = ¥16,000. It will also be much more reliable than an R4 SIN from the book. (The rating will be the threshold for the scanner to beat, not the opposing dice pool.)

rednblack

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« Reply #337 on: <07-19-16/1546:28> »
Ok, let's give it a shot.  I'm going to lock in the Karma purchase for CHA, and include it in these rolls.

Let's try for the Rating 4 SIN first.  Going up against Availability 12.  I have: CHA (5) + Negotiation (4) + Tailored Pheromones (2) = 11 dice.
Negotiation: R4 SIN: 11d6t5 3
Not great.  We will Edge this test.
Edge Re-roll: 8d6t5 1
4 hits total.  An average opposing roll will tie, and James is fine with waiting.  An above average roll will mean no shiny new SIN for James. 

Next let's look at the APDS.  James is willing to spend ¥180 a box, so that'll get him another 2 dice.  I have: CHA (5) + Negotiation (4) + Tailored Pheromones (2) + Extra Jing (2) = 13 dice.
Negotiation APDS: 13d6t5 5
James is ok with the extra wait time here as well, if the rolls tie.

You do not have the house rules for SINs on the first page, but I was able to find it no problem.

For new contacts I think I'm going to buy a Connection 3 doctor contact and a Connection 3 arms dealer.  The doctor has obvious benefits, and may be able to keep Illeana in blood when we don't need to re-up her Essence.  The latter may be able to provide some neat toys from time to time.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #338 on: <07-19-16/1613:52> »
Where are you thinking that the doctor and arms dealer will be located, geographically? They will both start at Loyalty 1.

I'm split on allowing Tailored Pheromones for the Availability tests. I'm going to say that you can include them but that ties will count as non-success.

SIN: R4 SIN = Availability 12: 12d6t5 5 hits, the SIN wins

Per the rules, you can try again after 2 weeks. I'm going to say that you can make 3 more tests if you want. You don't have to subtract a die for each since they are opposed rolls, but I will say that there will be a devious mechanic working in the background that makes it more and more likely to draw unwanted attention each time.

APDS: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 6 hits, no APDS for you

APDS you can try again after 4 days. Alternatively, if you purchase the arms dealer contact then you can add his/her Connection rating to your roll. (Technically the arms dealer should have stats of his or her own but I'm trying to be reasonable about the amount of bookkeeping we do.) Given the Forbidden nature of the ammunition, there will be a 30% markup for using the dealer. This is cheaper than adding 1 die for 25%, but you can still do that too to further increase the odds of success. The additional percentages will be additive, not multiplicative.

rednblack

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« Reply #339 on: <07-19-16/1619:11> »
Were going to be in the greater Boston area, correct? Also, our timeline is before Boston Lockdown and all that?
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #340 on: <07-19-16/1628:45> »
Correct, and correct from a canon standpoint. We'll be there September 2075 while canon Lockdown is September 2076.

No promises from an evil GM standpoint. But James, as a headcase, should fit right in.

rednblack

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« Reply #341 on: <07-19-16/1654:52> »
Sorry for the weird short posts but I'm on my phone atm.

Are Knowledge Skill specs still 7 karma?
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #342 on: <07-19-16/1703:01> »
Nah, let's do 2 karma for a knowledge skill spec. This was the SR4 cost for specializations, which was overly generous but is reasonable for knowledge skills.

rednblack

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« Reply #343 on: <07-20-16/1310:10> »
Where are you thinking that the doctor and arms dealer will be located, geographically? They will both start at Loyalty 1.

I'm pulling some knowledge from Boston from here: http://www.urbin.net/EWW/RPG/SV/SRUN/BOSTON/boston.html
Information is probably out of date, but I figured it's a starting place.  Let's put the Arms Dealer in Newton, a B-D security rating area that's slid down the economic scale in the last 50+ years.  Let's put the Doctor in Natick, which seems like a popular spot for corper shopping and fun.  James would intentionally try to make nice with a higher-end doc.

I'm split on allowing Tailored Pheromones for the Availability tests. I'm going to say that you can include them but that ties will count as non-success.

I paused on this as well, but ended up deciding that any kind of searching/asking around was likely done face-to-face, as electronic communications are rarely safe, and this is the best way to size up whether or not somebody is a pawn. 


SIN: R4 SIN = Availability 12: 12d6t5 5 hits, the SIN wins

Per the rules, you can try again after 2 weeks. I'm going to say that you can make 3 more tests if you want. You don't have to subtract a die for each since they are opposed rolls, but I will say that there will be a devious mechanic working in the background that makes it more and more likely to draw unwanted attention each time.

Well, that's lovely.  Let's give it another shot.  Like the last roll, I have 11 dice.
Negotiation: R4 SIN: 11d6t5 6

I feel confident about that, but James will try once more if it doesn't pan out.
Negotiation: R4 SIN: 11d6t5 5

APDS: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 6 hits, no APDS for you

APDS you can try again after 4 days. Alternatively, if you purchase the arms dealer contact then you can add his/her Connection rating to your roll. (Technically the arms dealer should have stats of his or her own but I'm trying to be reasonable about the amount of bookkeeping we do.) Given the Forbidden nature of the ammunition, there will be a 30% markup for using the dealer. This is cheaper than adding 1 die for 25%, but you can still do that too to further increase the odds of success. The additional percentages will be additive, not multiplicative.

Do you mean that I take the base extra nuyen, in this case 60, take the 30% surcharge, in this case 36, and add that to the base ¥120?  James can do that. It comes to ¥216 per box.  James has: CHA (5) + Negotiation (4) + Tailored Pheromones (2) + Extra Jing (2) + Contact's Connection Rating (3) = 16 dice.
Negotiation APDS: 16d6t5 6
Looks good.  James will buy 80 rounds for ¥1,728 if he succeeds.

Correct, and correct from a canon standpoint. We'll be there September 2075 while canon Lockdown is September 2076.

No promises from an evil GM standpoint. But James, as a headcase, should fit right in.

I've been wondering about that.  Has Illeana been keeping up with James' aura.  Has she been keeping him apprised of any changes in the nanites?

I have locked in my All Purpose Karma purchases as: Con 4-6, + Fast Talk Spec and CHA 4-5.  That leaves me with 3 unspent All Purpose Karma.

I'm hoping to finalize my Knowledge Karma spending today, and I'll post here when I do so.
« Last Edit: <07-20-16/1328:17> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #344 on: <07-20-16/1410:56> »
As for geographic location, I just meant Boston vs. Providence vs. Cape Cod, etc. But, since you've gone to the effort of identifying neighborhoods, we can use those.

SIN check: R4 SIN = Availability 12: 12d6t5 5 hits

James' 6 hits wins. You may pick your name, age, and nationality/corporate affiliation.

APDS check: APDS = Availability 12: 12d6t5 6 hits

No APDS yet. You can make about a dozen of those checks, with the warning that there will potentially be more attention each time. Your math is correct on the price.

Illeana needs some reagents. They are Availability 0 but James has the group nuyen. Binding is expensive - basically ¥500 per force point - and she's not that good at it so she should be careful. Let's start with 250 reagents for ¥5,000.

Illeana doesn't have a lot of material needs, but if she were smart she'd probably pick up an extra SIN herself so that she doesn't raise eyebrows as a Saeder-Krupp employee hanging out with a non Saeder-Krupp employee.

We'll use James' dice pool.
James: CHA 5 + Negotiation 4 + Tailored Pheromones 2: 11d6t5 5 hits
SIN: SIN = Availability 12: 12d6t5 2 hits

Illeana gets a shiny new SIN too for ¥16,000. Let me know what you pick for nationality/corp affiliation so that Illeana can match it.

Ugh, there's the separate question of licenses. We'll say that the ID forger can add up to four (4) R4 fake licenses, just to save ourselves a lot of rolling. Those are ¥800 each. You can add these as well.

Please deduct ¥5,000 + ¥16,000 + ¥3,200 = ¥24,200 from the group nuyen for Illeana's purchases.

No rush on the knowledge karma spending. I've hardly started the process of thinking about Illeana's.

As for the nanites, that's an interesting question. We'll have to do more with that during Chapter III.