Body | Agility | Reaction | Strength |
5 | 6(11) | 4(7) | 6(8) |
Charisma | Intuition | Logic | Willpower |
5 | 5(9) | 4 | 5(7) |
Edge | Magic/Resonance | Essence | Initiative |
5 | - | 1.01 | 9(16) + 1d6(4d6) |
Composure | Judge Intentions | Lift | Memory |
12 | 14 | 13 120/80 | 11 |
Physical l. | Mental l. | Social l. | Astral l. |
10 | 8 | 6 (8) | - |
Physical box | Stun box | Overflow | Reputation |
10/10 | 11/12 | 0/5 | ? |
Name | Karma | Notes |
Ambidexterous | 4 | - no penalty for using "off" hand |
Agile Defender | 3 | - Use Agility in place of WIL for Full Defense |
Biocompatibility (Cyberware) | 5 | - Essence costs reduced by 10% |
Cyber Singularity Seeker | 12 | - + 2 WIL |
Exceptional Attribute | 14 | - AGI |
Juryrigger | 10 | - +2 dice on juryrigging tests |
Redliner | 10 | - +2 AGI and STR |
Perfect Time | 10 | - Extra Free Action each IP |
Name | Karma | Notes |
Cyber-snob | -12 | - Betaware and better only |
Social Stress | -8 | - Ares Employees |
|
Body | Agility | Reaction | Strength |
5 | 6 | 4 | 4 (8) |
Logic | Intuition | Willpower | Charisma |
5 | 6 (10) | 6 | 5 |
Edge | Magic | Essence | Initiative |
5 | 8 (6 ED) | 4 | 4d6 + 18 |
Physical l. | Mental l. | Social l. | Astral l. |
6 (9) | 8 (9) | 10 @ 12 Ess. | 8 (9) |
Physical box | Stun box | Overflow | |
0/11 | 0/11 | 0 |
Name | Notes |
Astral Chameleon | -2 to read her astral signatures |
Focus Concentration VI | can sustain F6 spell with no penalty |
Guts | +2 to resist fear and intimidation |
Mentor Spirit | Fire-Bringer. +2 Alchemy, +2 Manipulation |
Perceptive II | +2 Perception and Assensing |
Perfect Time | Extra Free Action, always knows the time to the minute |
Carromeleg | Counterstrike, Iaijutsu, Imposing Stone, Riposte, Shadow Block, Stagger |
Name | Notes |
Amenesia | doesn't remember much before February 1, 2075 |
Emotional Attachment (Mask) | -1 if not using this gear |
Infertile Infected | not Infectious |
Faceless | -2 on Social tests unless disguised or concealed |
Records on File | Saeder-Krupp |
Wanted | Black Lodge offering ¥75,000 |
Skill Group | Rating | Notes |
Enchanting Skill Group | 8 | +2 Alchemy focus, +2 Mentor Spirit |
Sorcery Skill Group | 7 | +2 Manipulation from Mentor Spirit |
Stealth Skill Group | 6 | Traceless Walk, Vampire Stealth spell |
Conjuring Skill Group | 4 | |
Athletics Skill Group | 3 | Celerity, Hang Time, lack of buoyancy |
... | ||
Skill (Spec) | Rating | Notes |
A.ssensing (Aura Reading) | 8 (10) | +2 Perceptive II |
Astral Combat (sword focus) | 7 (9) | +2 weapon focus |
Blades (Swords) | 7 (9) | +2 weapon focus |
Arcana (Foci, Initiation) | 6 (8) | |
Throwing Weapons (Blades) | 6 (8) | |
Intimidation | 6 | +2 limit from mask |
Artisan (Carving, Cooking) | 5 (7) | |
Perception (Hearing, Smell) | 5 (7) | +3 Vision from Mask, +2 Perceptive II, the "specializations" are vampire enhanced senses |
Tracking | 4 | |
Armorer (Blades) | 3 (5) | |
Unarmed Combat (Bite) | 3 (5) | |
Con | 3 | |
Etiquette | 3 | |
Instruction | 3 | |
Animal Handling (farm animals) | 2 (4) | |
Computer | 2 | |
Navigation (celestial) | 1 (3) | |
First Aid | 1 | |
Negotiation | 1 |
Area Knowledge | Rating | Notes |
Area Knowledge: Romania | 6 | |
Area Knowledge: Czech Republic (Prague) | 4 (6) | |
Area Knowledge: Allied German States | 4 | |
Area Knowledge: NAN (PCC) | 3 (5) | |
Area Knowledge: UCAS | 3 | |
Magical | Rating | Notes |
Magical Theory | 6 | |
Magical Traditions (Wicca) | 4 (6) | |
Magical Societies | 4 | |
Magical Threats | 4 | |
All Others | Rating | Notes |
Finance (Personal Investing) | 6 (8) | |
The Infected (Vampires) | 6 (8) | |
History (Medieval, Post-Awakening) | 4 (6) | |
Pre-Modern Peasant Life (European) | 4 (6) | |
Recipes (Romanian) | 3 (5) | |
Economics | 3 | |
Politics | 3 | |
Religion | 3 | |
Fashion (Women's) | 2 (4) | |
Hematology (Metahuman) | 2 (4) | |
Literature (European) | 2 (4) | |
Music (Baroque) | 2 (4) | |
Underworld (Street Docs) | 2 (4) | |
Art (Gothic) | 1 (3) |
English | 6 |
Sperethiel | 6 |
Romanian | 6 |
Czech | 5 |
German | 4 |
Hopi | 2 |
Zuñi | 1 |
Spanish | 1 |
Japanese | 1 |
Name | Cost | Notes |
Adrenaline Boost II | 0.50 | +4 Initiative (free action), soak 2 drain |
Cloak II | 0.50 | +2 to oppose Detection spells |
Critical Strike (Blades, Unarmed) | 1.00 | +1 DV |
Enhanced Accuracy (Blades) | 0.25 | +1 Accuracy |
Precision Throwing III | 0.75 | +6 Strength when determining range |
Hang Time | 0.25 | +1 climbing, can adhere to walls for 5 minutes |
Linguistics | 0.25 | Intuition+Logic vs. Threshold (6 hours) |
Missile Mastery | 1.00 | +1 die, +1 DV, can throw non-weapons for (Str)DV, Acc 3 |
Nimble Fingers | 0.25 | +1 Palming, some Simple Actions now Free |
Sustenance | 0.25 | Only needs one meal per day |
Traceless Walk | 1.00 | -4 Perception checks to detect with hearing |
Spell Name | Category | Range | Type | Damage | Duration | Drain | Default | Source | Notes |
Powerblade | Combat | Special | M | P | S | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | HT, p. 192 | Damage = Force, Accuracy = Force, Range = 1 |
Analyze Truth | Detection | T | M | N/A | S | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | SR5, p. 286 | General knowledge > major details > minor details > detailed information |
Astral Clairvoyance | Detection | T | M | N/A | S | F - 3 | F6 / D3 | SG, p. 106 | Range = Force * Magic |
Detect Enemies (Extended) | Detection | T | M | N/A | S | F | F3 / D3 | SR5, p. 286 | Range = Force * Magic * 10 |
Alleviate Allergy (Sunlight) | Health | T | M | N/A | S | F - 6 | F6 / D2 | SG, p. 109 | Every net hit reduces the allergy level by one |
Alleviate Allergy (wood) | Health | T | P | N/A | S | F - 6 | F6 / D2 | SG, p. 109 | Every net hit reduces the allergy level by one |
Oxygenate | Health | T | P | N/A | S | F - 5 | F7 / D2 | SR5, p. 288 | breathe underwater, hits = extra dice to resist suffocation, strangulation, etc. |
Stabilize | Health | T | M | N/A | P | F - 4 | F6 / D2 | SR5, p. 289 | Force must equal or exceed the overflow damage already taken |
Vampiric Speed | Health | S(A) | P | N/A | S | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | SSP, p. 20 | +1 meter per hit walking/running rate, +1 Initiative per hit |
Vampiric Stealth | Health | S | M | N/A | S | F - 3 | F6 / D3 | SSP, p. 20 | +1 Sneaking per hit (max 5) |
Dream | Illusion | LOS | M | N/A | S | F - 3 | F6 / D3 | SG, p. 111 | Craft a dream sequence (including visuals, sounds, emotions, etc.) |
Foreboding | Illusion | LOS (A) | M | N/A | S | F - 3 | F6 / D3 | SG, p. 112 | –1 modifier per net hit, >WIL incapacitated |
Physical Mask | Illusion | T | P | N/A | S | F - 1 | F4 / D3 | SR5, p.291 | change physical characteristics |
Catch | Manipulation | LOS | P | N/A | I | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | HT, p. 191 | Force = kilos, Range = Magic |
Control Emotions | Manipulation | LOS | M | N/A | S | F - 1 | F4 / D3 | SS, p. 21 | "conducting actions opposed to the emotion invoke a –2 dice pool penalty" |
Fashion | Manipulation | T(A) | P | N/A | P | F - 1 | F5 / D4 | SG, p. 115 | tailors and repairs clothing |
Fling | Manipulation | LOS | P | N/A | I | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | SR5, p. 293 | (Force) kilograms, Spellcasting = to hit test, Strength = Magic, standard grenade ranges |
Ignite | Manipulation | LOS | P | P | F - 1 | F5 / D4 | SR5, p. 293 | vs. Object Resistance, or vs. Body+Reaction (if living) | |
Influence | Manipulation | LOS | M | N/A | P | F - 1 | F4 / D3 | SR5, p. 293 | "a powerful post-hypnotic command" |
Levitate | Manipulation | LOS | P | N/A | S | F - 2 | F6 / D4 | SR5, p. 293 | Hits * 200kg, Force = meters per Combat Turn |
Mana Bind | Manipulation | LOS | M | N/A | S | F - 2 | F5 / D3 | SG, p. 114 | Every net hit reduces target's Agility by 1 |
Magic Fingers | Manipulation | LOS | M | N/A | S | F - 2 | F5 / D3 | SR5, p. 294 | Hits = STR and AGI |
... | |||||||||
Preparation Name | Category | Range | Type | Damage | Duration | Drain | Default | Source | Notes |
Destroy Groundcraft / Aircraft (preparations) | Combat | LOS | P | P | I | F - 3 | F6 / D3+2 | SG, p. 103 | Use Command trigger |
Fireball (preparation) | Combat | LOS (A) | P | P | I | F - 1 | F4 / D3+2 | SR5, p. 284 | Use Command trigger so you don't KO yourself |
Knockout (preparation) | Combat | T | M | S | I | F - 6 | F6 / D2+2 | SR5, p. 284 | Use Command trigger so you don't KO yourself |
Combat Sense (preparation) | Detection | T (preparation) | M | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F + trigger | F3 / D3+1 | SR5, p. 305 | Hits = +1 Reaction on Surprise tests, +1 Defense (melee or ranged) |
Heal (preparation) | Health | T (preparation) | M | N/A | P | F - 4 + 2 | F5 / D1+2 | SR5, p. 288 | Hits = boxes healed |
Increase Intuition (Preparation) | Health | T | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F - 3 | F6 / D3+2 | SR5, p. 288 | |
Increase Reflexes (preparation) | Health | T (preparation) | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F + 2 | F3 / D3+2 | SR5, p. 288 | Each hit adds +1 to the target’s Initiative, and every two hits adds one Initiative Die |
Increase Strength (preparation) | Health | T (preparation) | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F - 3 + 2 | F4 / D1+2 | SR5, p. 288 | Force must equal or exceed base value. Hits = bonus |
Euphoria (preparation) | Illusion | LOS | M | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F - 3 | F6 / D3+1 | SG, p. 111 | |
Physical Camouflage (preparation) | Illusion | LOS | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F | F4 / D4+1 | SG, p. 111 | |
Catfall (preparation) | Manipulation | LOS | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F - 3 | F6 / D3+1 | SG, p. 114 | |
Physical Barrier (preparation) | Manipulation | LOS (A) (preparation) | P | N/A | (Potency) minutes | F - 1 + trigger | F4 / D3+1 | SR5, p. 294 | Structure = Force, Armor = Force+hits, Light Fog, Structure regenerates each Combat Turn |
Contact | Profession | C/L |
Daria | Wiccan | ?/? |
Oh, and unless you say otherwise I'm going to assume that James always has the Ares Redline in his smuggling compartment.
The juggernaut is an unstoppable force that strongly resembles a dramatically enlarged specimen of its mundane relative, the common armadillo (Dasypus praegrandis). These specimens can exceed 14 meters in length and weigh well over 7,000 kilograms. A shell very similar to that of the mundane armadillo protects its enormous body, and it shares that animal’s poor eyesight. While the juggernaut’s claws are shaped for digging, their 110-centimeter length leaves them quite effective as weapons.
A juggernaut’s metabolism is complex and amazing. These animals are capable of digesting virtually anything, including complex inorganic compounds. These mammals constantly devour everything in sight, including seemingly random swaths of earth.
A consequence of this unique metabolism is that a juggernaut can function for several hours without air. This permits these terrors to hunt a stream or lakebed even though they are incapable of swimming due to their bone density. In the absence of fresh air, juggernauts do operate more slowly; however, their size and strength often seem to more than compensate for this limitation.
In spite of their inherently flexible dietary needs, juggernauts remain diurnal, territorial predators. They are extremely aggressive and determined in their hunting but not at all selective in their prey choice. Essentially, any motion that they sense is enough to whet their appetites. Once a juggernaut has selected a target, it will pursue aggressively for hours, relying upon its sensitive smell to follow a trail for up to 15 kilometers. Along the way, the juggernaut will continuously feed and leave a rampant trail of destruction. Only an environment that is rich enough in prey to assuage its hunger will distract a juggernaut from its original target.
The last sentence under the Effects sub-header should be changed from
“The attack results in an AP increase equal to the base AP multiplied by the number of bullets in the burst with a maximum modifier of x3”
to
“The attack results in an AP increase equal to the base weapon AP multiplied by the number of bullets in the burst with a maximum modifier of x3.”
The Bulls-Eye Double Tap/Burst got errata'd, although I didn't know that until just now.QuoteThe last sentence under the Effects sub-header should be changed from
“The attack results in an AP increase equal to the base AP multiplied by the number of bullets in the burst with a maximum modifier of x3”
to
“The attack results in an AP increase equal to the base weapon AP multiplied by the number of bullets in the burst with a maximum modifier of x3.”
See here: http://cdn.shadowruntabletop.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/E-CAT27002E_RG-Errata.pdf?4713c7
I understand the desire to curb the called shot, but in our case it makes it no better than a regular shot with the Alpha and APDS since it's -6 both ways. Perhaps they overcorrected. By my reckoning, that means there are about 4 guns in the entire game - all sniper rifles - that this called shot would be useful for. And even for those the AP benefit would be modest, and likely not worth the -4 called shot penalty.
It might make sense if APDS ammo wasn't required - if this could work for normal ammo too - but in the new form it's largely worthless.
Let me see if I can think of a happy medium.
The -2 to dodge definitely won't apply since the called shot is no longer a wide burst, by definition of the called shot.
I'm skeptical of the Take Aim because both James and the target are moving. (I thought the rules clearly said that either one or both had to be stationary but it looks like I made that part up.) But the rules only say that you can't take any other action. Technically the Called Shot itself is a Free Action which would negate the Take Aim, but that's both overly fussy and illogical in this case so we'll ignore that.
James and Illeana don't know any of her backstory prior to February 1st. (Hey, today!) It might be reasonable for them to guess that her beauty is why she was Infected, but that would just be conjecture rather than something they know for certain. She doesn't mind looking pretty for James, but she does have a near anxiety attack over the thought of going out in public looking like herself.
The next stop will probably pick up in early July. I imagine them crossing most of the CAS in that time. Illeana would be wary of Atlanta because of the Atlantean Foundation, which is probably not pleased with you. But nor does she want to go to the coast because water makes her nervous. (Vampires have zero buoyancy and swim like stones.) You'll be swinging north after that.
Oh wireless bonuses. So do they actually need to talk to the global Matrix or do they just need to talk to James' commlink and the vast sensor array that is James' body? We'll take a liberal reading in this case.
So we've had a lot of back-and-forth here. Just to be clear, which direction are you jumping?
Her distraction means that James is largely on his own as far as movement is concerned, as she can't divide her attention well enough to pilot James' floating.
Is James' plan basically to wait for momma and then orphan her adorable offspring?
Congratulations! You're alive... in a swamp... in sweaty sticky full body armor... with no transportation... and water-logged supplies... and witches...
Your current situation is a bit like a staging of Waiting for Godot. If that means anything to you. The world is very sparse.
Here's what you brought that wasn't on your person:
1) Ares Desert Strike
2) Monofilament Garrote
3) Medkit (rating 3)
4) Medkit (rating 6)
5) Slap Patches (rating 6)
6) Trauma Patch
7) Survival Kit
Going to roll 1 die for each. A hit means it's okay with a bit cleaning, a non-hit means it's non-functional until fixed, and a glitch means it's ruined.
Mud and Muck (http://orokos.com/roll/379587): 7#1d6t5
1) 1 hit
2) 0 hits
3) 0 hits
4) 1 hit
5) 0 hits
6) 0 hits
7) 0 hits
What was your major in college?
Before we get that far, the question is "how does James want to get around". In theory one of the spirits (presumably the water spirit) could just push the raft without it being levitated, but it will be slower and noisier. Also, the raft will be quite obvious, even if James is semi-invisible.
Wireless bonuses in the wilderness are funny. From a game balance perspective, I go back and forth as to whether you just need to have wireless on and talking to your commlink (if not the Matrix) so that you are available to be spotted wirelessly and/or hacked, or if we should follow the semi-absurd fluff descriptions of how wireless bonuses work and not apply them when Matrix access is unavailable.
First things first, if you turn wireless off on your commlink, you're going to be giving up your Firewall 7 that's protecting your various wireless components.
#6 - female dwarf
She is alarmed by the turn of events and decides to give James a taste of his own medicine. She uses the grenade launcher on her Ares Alpha.
The suppressive fire is coming from the female dwarf (#6) on the airboat. James does not know what the ork on the conning tower (#4) is doing, other than the ork does not seem to be firing at him.
Reprinting the list of combatants here so I can keep better track:
#1 - male elf sentry standing lookout on one end of the sub, assault rifle#2 - female human sentry standing lookout on the other end of the sub, assault rifle + Horizon Flying Eye drone above her#3 - ork male standing on the conning tower, pulling up packages out of the sub via rope, no visible weapons but there might be something within reach that's out-of-sight
#4 - same as #3 7P
#5 - male troll in one of the airboats, loading packages for transport, an LMG within reach
#6 - female dwarf in the other airboat, also loading packages for transport, carbine within reach 1S
#7 - air spirit on patrol
Dodge Movement: I will put James at Meter 11, protected from #6, exposed to #4, and potentially exposed to #1. Since he's still in Predator mode, hopefully #1 will at least need to make an Observe in Detail to be sure of his location.
I still owe you an IC post.
ETA: Since the Air Spirit has been tagging along with James this whole time, should it Dodge/Soak some of the grenade that was thrown his way?
I was playing it that your dodging of the bullets (from #4) and your melee/skewering of #1 had brought your far enough north to be within the LOS of #6.
. . . As the air spirit is still in his face, he also will have a -3 Attacker in Melee Combat penalty. The hatch is probably large enough that we don't need a separate Called Shot penalty.
I'm going to claim that unused Simple action to represent James' vertical jump. It's likely that the rules say a Complex is needed since it is a Gymnastics test but I think a Simple will suffice.
I also don't think that the rules allow you to split up two Simple actions, i.e. using one and then holding the other. It might be realistic to be able to do so but I think the game designers wanted to keep things flowing, and various people all holding Simple actions could mess with initiative order and the overall pace of combat.
I don't recognize all the limits on the Gymnastic test but I'll trust that you've looked them up. 4 meters is more than enough to get above the conning tower (which is more like 2 meters) and have a clear shot at the hatch. That's the good news; the bad news is that the hatch is closed! Ork #4 is gone and must have ducked inside and shut the hatch with his last action. James doubts that he's had enough time to seal himself inside, unless that can be done electronically. (James is uncertain if it could be sealed wirelessly, as any system that could be hacked to release the hatch at a inopportune time would be a major liability. On the other hand, if the submarine is at depth then the water pressure would help keep the hatch sealed even if it were unlocked wirelessly. So, he doesn't know.)
I'll give James a straight Reaction (3) test to avoid throwing the grenade at the now-closed hatch. Unless he wants to anyway just in case it pops back open.
Reaction test to avoid throwing grenade (http://orokos.com/roll/402202): 7d6t5 2 hits, not enough, James throws the grenade and it detonates upon its perfect impact on top of the hatch.
I'm reasonably sure that Air Spirits have a sensitivity/vulnerability to Earth and are especially resilient (via fluff if not crunch) to aerosol attacks like a CS/Teargas grenade, but I could get back to my books and find out that I have that exactly backward.
Not having my books, I can't remember if the vector is Contact, Inhalation, or both. James internal air tanks protect him from Inhalation but he doesn't have any Chemical Protection from the Contact vector that I see. If CS/Teargas even has a Contact vector, which I don't know. (Nor do I know what the exact effects of CS/Teargas are, and which effects might be pertinent to which vector(s).) Nor do I know what the Speed interval is. 1 Combat Turn? So this may not have an immediate impact in any case other than James now has a visibility modifier of some sort that I will determine once I remember what the various stages are. Let's call it -1 for IP3 and then -3 for IP4 unless James explicitly gets away from the air spirit.
James is up again! You walk toward the elf's body - is there somewhere specific you are trying to be regarding sight lines? As the airboat moves further away from the submarine, it may begin to have an angle on the north side of the sail / conning tower if it drives (floats?) west.
Spirit dodge: Reaction + Intuition - Wound - Third Defense (http://orokos.com/roll/403030): ?d6t5 6 hits
21 - #7 - air spirit
Another Engulf attempt.
Engulfing James: Agility + Unarmed - Wounds (http://orokos.com/roll/403035): ?d6t5 7 hits
20 - Illeana's air spirit
Let's figure out where the Illeana's air spirit is. James told it to get the Desert Strike at CT3 IP1. It's running rate is 12 meters per turn. Here are some running tests to cover CT3 and CT4 IP1:
Spirit sprinting: Strength 0 + Running 3 (http://orokos.com/roll/403032): 3#3d6t5 0 hits 1 hit 2 hits
So we will say that the spirit traveled astrally during CT3 IP1 with a Free, materialized with a Simple, then grabbed the Desert Strike with its other Simple. It's flight to James begins on CT3 IP2, at which point we may resume using the previously made rolls. At the end of CT4 it will have covered 48 of the 110 meters.
#7 - air spirit
The air spirit will attempt to Engulf again. James' magical intuition tells him that the air spirit's tactics have shifted away from "kill" and to "delay".
Air spirit dodges and continues its antagonism of James. I suppose the stalemate standoff between the supersoldier and the relatively routine spirit should be instructive, both ICly to James regarding his limits and to GMs conscious of game balance between magic and mundanes. Either that or this shows you what an encounter can be like with high-initiative combatants who use Full Defense liberally.
The earth spirit uses Binding! This is a curious power that doesn't seem to include an attack or dodge roll. Unless I'm misreading or misinterpreting things, the test is to break free. James needs to make a Strength + Body test against the earth spirit's Willpower + Magic. (You're lucky this isn't another opposed test against the spirit's Body + Strength.)
Magic + Willpower (http://orokos.com/roll/406346): 12d6t5 6 hits
The range of this power depends on how the critter binds its targets; it may shoot webbing (Range: LOS), have a sticky body (Range: Touch), or just be good at sticking to things (Range: Self)
I'm not looking at the stacking explosions rules so I don't know what they say exactly, but I'm not sure I would allow the "half of DV" to be infinitely scalable. Otherwise you start to get into some silliness where a few clips of HE grenades could blow up a battleship or knock down a building. I'd probably use an approach that halves the DV for each additional grenade, so something like 20+10+5+2.5+1.25+0.625 and so on. That means a clip of HE grenades is worth 39 or 40 DV, which still seems generous but is certainly less excessive than 70 DV.
In the interests of realism, I've been research this at work. My browser/search history probably looks interesting.
You also have to decide what you want to do with the airboat. You're supposed to be returning one, but you sunk it.
James is as cool as a cucumber stored in the cold part of the refrigerator. His lack of concern for Illeana is chilling. (Alternatively, his confidence in her survivability is uplifting.)
Separately, your IC post mentions the satellite link but it's not mentioned in any of the OOC load outs. You had mentioned it as a possibility on 6/13 but hadn't explicitly purchased it. We need to be consistent about that in the future.
It depends on how you blind fire.
If you stick your Ares Alpha up over the edge of the boat, you'll only be at -3 for "Attacker firing from cover with imaging device". This, in my opinion, is ridiculously generous, but I don't want to come up with something new on the fly.
If you want to try to fire through the airboat and make holes in your own cover, well that's interesting too. That would probably be the regular Blind Fire penalty, although the power of the projectile would be reduced by whatever the airboat soaks before passing the projectile on.
(A very literal interpretation of the rules would say that there's a break here at the beginning of the CT, since suppressive fire only goes until the end of a CT and they technically haven't had an action to resume yet, but they have no intention of letting up so I am ruling that the suppressive fire is ongoing.)
For now, Illeana will spend her actions updating AROs while trying not to vomit inside her mask. James figures that the non-shooters may try to encircle you. If they used something like a Waveskipper then odds are good that they are faster and more maneuverable than an airboat, although maybe they're using something else since they managed to set up their ambush without making too much noise.
You are not aware of all the vision enhancements the shooters may have available. To my knowledge, I have not missed any positive or negative modifiers. You are free to point out any oversights you believe may have been made.
Honestly, I've always found the vehicle and piloting rules to largely be gibberish.
Is this the Sprinting version of a pilot test? If you have Rigger 5, let me know.
For the airboat, I'm using the American Airboat AirRanger from Rigger 5 (lifting the stats from Chummer) as a template, even though I have no idea how comparable they are. (The Body and Armor values are different, mostly because I had to roll for the boat before discovering that Chummer knew of something that might be comparable.) Speed is 4, Acceleration 3. The running rate of Speed 4 is 80 meters per CT, which translates into 96kph or 60mph. I have no idea how realistic that is, but it seems reasonable for our purposes.
To keep things simple, we'll say that you traveled 40 meters during CT2. Earlier I said that the small island with the thick tree was 3 CTs away, but at that point I didn't think that the airboat could accelerate quite as quickly as it actually can. We'll say that it was 100 meters away originally and you have since covered 25 meters of that. You have 75 meters to go.
You are now 40 meters away from your original position, but you don't know how close the shooters were when they opened fire. Presumably you are further away from the 7 o'clock position shooters, but you may actually be nearer to the 4 o'clock position shooters now.
I'm going to say it is limited by Handling because it seems logical that there's some loss of dodging ability between controlling yourself (REA+INT) and controlling a vehicle manually (also REA+INT).
The suppressive fire stops behind you. ICly, James may attribute this to a need to reload, given the 9 seconds of sustained suppressive fire.
There is no suppressive fire. There has not been any suppressive fire during CT3.
Tough spot here, as Illeana doesn't have any Initiative to spend on an interrupt to protect the principle again. You get +2 for Partial Cover and +3 for being in a moving vehicle, but you're at -4 for space constraints (no room to dodge), -5 for a long burst, and -3 for flechette. You've spent your Free Action so you can't drop prone, nor do you have enough Initiative to drop prone as an interrupt action nor go on Full Defense. I think that leaves you about 7 dice to dodge 7 hits.
CT4 IP2
Thing are quieting down. James and Illeana do not hear any active gunfire, although the fan and 60mph wind and the boat crashing through the water do make hearing exceedingly difficult.
Action to James
Note: I'm not seeing a 2nd stim patch available on his load-out for the meet.
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 (http://orokos.com/roll/420584): 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 (http://orokos.com/roll/420587): 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.
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.
James' 6 hits wins. You may pick your name, age, and nationality/corporate affiliation.
APDS check: APDS = Availability 12 (http://orokos.com/roll/420932): 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.
Please deduct ¥5,000 + ¥16,000 + ¥3,200 = ¥24,200 from the group nuyen for Illeana's purchases.
APDS: APDS = Availability 12 (http://orokos.com/roll/420956): 12d6t5 4 hits
You finally got it.
Illeana would probably suggest that a UCAS SIN offers the most flexibility and could potentially be a badge of honor among Minutemen types who favor country over king or corporation. Of course, the UCAS has been adulterated by the presence of Canadians, so isn't the CAS the only true America that's left? (They would tell you that in the CAS but the Bostonians might feel differently.)
IC is up. I tried to cover the results of all the dice rolls there.
And even if you get away, you can assume that K-E will have an APB out that will potentially complicate life going forward.
When Rhodes finishing outlining how great his new life would be at Ares, including financial and housing compensation, James says, "So, the other Agent Case is currently at grade O-6? That sounds like a wiz deal, but isn't it more for the Agent Case currently in Detroit? After all, there is only the one body, but currently two minds which would like to make use of it."
IC is up. James is healed and at full Edge.
We're halving the sprint rate too,
Is James going to tell Illeana to run in a different direction? Is that what you meant by taking off in different headings?
Ileana Anghelescu is far, far older than she seems. The SIN is fake, but the name is one she has had for a long time. She comes from a time before SINs, and even before the Sixth World. She was born in the Ottoman Empire, and lived a fairly normal life as a servant to a noble named Adem. Unknown to her at the time, or anyone for that matter, he was an Immortal Elf and a Vampire [sic, elves are banshees] that had been around since the Fourth World. Much of his power became dormant with the lack of magic, but he took a great interest in Ileana, stunned by her beauty, and disliked the idea of her growing old or dying. So he used what power he did have to infect her. She died, and the lack of magic in the world prevented her from reviving as a vampire, so he had her entombed, and waited for the Sixth World to begin.
When magic returned, Ileana awoke in her tomb, confused and terrified, before the noble freed her. He told her that the world had changed much, and he had many things he would need to teach her. She was horrified by what she had become, but having no idea how to survive in the modern world, she had no choice but to return to her master's service. He taught her what it was to be a vampire, how to fight, and how to hunt.
Ileana stayed with her master for several decades, and in that time she found hope in her mentor spirit, Fire-Bringer, who inspired her to try and hold onto her humanity and taught her in the ways of Wicca. Eventually, she decided she would rebel against her master and try to atone for the things he had made her do. She used her knowledge of Artificing to craft herself a mask, knowing it was her looks that her master coveted, and deciding to seal her face away. She then stole his sword, struck him down with it, and fled. Eventually, she found a coven that would welcome her, and bonded with her sisters. However, by this point she was a very skilled fighter and an expert killer, and the patrons of her coven wanted to use her skills for their own use. Unknown to her, they were the Black Lodge, and she had little understanding of their intentions or the ends they were using her towards for a long time.
Fast forward to current times, and Ileana is unsatisfied with her life and the way she is being used, but also unwilling to break the vows she made to the coven. She is sent out to find James Case, and either convince him to cooperate with the Black Lodge or kill him. She ended up deciding on a third option, abandoning her coven and siding with James.
Adem taught her Carromeleg, as well as most of her spells. She learned her Preparations from Fire-Bringer. There is video footage of Ileana using Magic Fingers to control her sword and decimate a group of combat drones at the research compound.
The main thing to likely come against her is that she has a bounty on her head from the Black Lodge for breaking with her coven. Also, Adem is alive, and still obsessed with her, and kind of pissed that she stole his sword.
STRIVE FOR PERFECTION (12 KARMA)
Excellence in his craft is what this assassin aims for. It is not enough to take out the target; the job must be done efficiently, quickly, and without the slightest misstep. This is what separates the good assassins from the great ones in his mind, and he aims to be one of the greats.
Advantages: The assassin has honed his skills with firearms to the point where shots that would be tough for most people are second nature to him. Halve the cost of all Called Shots, meaning they impose only a –2 dice pool penalty instead of –4. The Called Shot still costs a Free Action.
Disadvantages: The standard “aiming for center mass” shots that most people take are beneath this sort of assassin. He seeks to make every shot count, regardless of how many bullets are in his magazine. The assassin must make Called Shots unless he is providing covering fire or acting in a similar capacity where Called Shots would not be practical.
SHARPSHOOTER (4 KARMA)
Through focus and vigilance it’s possible to hone a shooting skill to the point of an excess of precision. This honing means that specific techniques are trained to the point of perfection, but in that training, other, more basic maneuvers are skipped over. Characters with this quality are more skilled at making Called Shots, but at the cost of their basic shooting skills. Penalties for Called Shots are decreased by 2, while all other Ranged Attack actions suffer a –1 dice pool penalty.
Looks like we're back up on the official forums. I'm going to save copies of the threads now.
I don't have a name for the skinny human yet. Something aristocratic and pompous. He's connected to the Faustus Society. A bit of research will uncover that he's a "legacy" member of the Society, as his father has been a member since the 2050s.
* Did I ever tell you that the guy you shot point-blank at the end of Chapter II (after the RV battle) survived? I rolled it out behind the scenes. James rolled terribly (2 hits) even with the point-blank modifier, and the guy soaked well. He still went into Overflow, but DocWagon was able to get to him in time to stabilize him.
No, you did not tell me that. I can't believe it! I just went a reread that last scene. Cold-blooded.
Yeah. The guy doesn't hold a grudge;
Is James competing in saber then, given the slashing and the head as a valid target? I'm just trying to draw the closest parallel to Mensur.
Are you renting your fencing gear or purchasing it?
"This action allows the character to use the Parry Defense option (p. 170, SR5) for an entire Combat Turn for the price of the normal Interrupt Action by making their defense active instead of reactive."
Huh, will you look at that. I didn't even realize that Pre-Emptive actions were a thing.
I agree that they look rather powerful for just -5 initiative but the rules seem to be fairly conclusive as to their intent. -5 gets you the bonus for the whole turn; the catch is that it's not an Interrupt action and has to be performed on your turn. I don't want to balance house rules on the fly right now so we'll leave them as they stand. Let's figure out something reasonable for the future though, especially since it may come up in Sunt.
Alright, Wilhelm, let's see what you can do about these attacks. There's an open question about whether Parry should apply to both attacks or just one. I've always played it that the Interrupt is active until the player's next IP, but the rules do say "this is a one-time add" which seems to imply that it should only apply to one attack. However, given that Pre-Emptive Parry lasts the whole CT, I fail to see the harm in allowing the interrupt to last for a whole IP.
I knew this question would come up. Do ties go to the defender, as usual, or to the attacker as a touch-only attack? I've been leaning toward the latter. It should help prevent things from dragging on too long so we'll go with ties to the attacker. James zips his blade across the shorter man's parietal bone, removing a chunk of hair in the process.
Have you read this? Mark Twain's description of Mensur: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tramp_Abroad/V Might help with the IC.
Per Stolen Souls, the CFD Attribute Boost requires a Simple action. We can save your roll for an IP that you want to spend on a boost.
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.
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.
How long do you want to wait on Jaeger? Did you ping him yet?
Yes, they do. I've been expecting you to leverage Reading the Defense more regularly in order to boost your hits to limit your susceptibility to Riposte. On the other hand, attacking first forces him to burn initiative via Parry interrupts, as he doesn't have the opportunity to use Pre-Emptive Parry first. Given his lack of a second Free Action, that's really handcuffing his offense as he can only really spend his Complex Actions on Reading the Defense after calling Pre-Emptive Parry.
Interesting idea about becoming a drake, but they don't have the Immunity (Age) power.
Drakes draw their appearance from one of the four dracoforms. In addition, they can be divided into two broad groups: true drakes, who are dracoforms created by Great Dragons; and bred drakes, who are metahumans born with the traits that manifest at some later point (as of SR4 this distinction had been lost until The Clutch of Dragons).
Looks like we have a second lease on life on this one. I have recorded copies of the OOC and IC threads through our pausing point in March. Wow, that was three months ago already.
My wife is taking our son to Idaho for two months starting in early July. I'll be bouncing back and forth between Seattle and Idaho, with two weeks here, two weeks there, two weeks here, two weeks there. I should have more time to post while they are away, as I won't have my regular daddy duties. In theory that should be enough time for us to wrap up our current chapter. As such, we will tentatively resume this in four weeks.
We had PM'd a bit on RPoL about some of the games you were planning. Did you have any additional thoughts on those?