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

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rednblack

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« Reply #510 on: <02-01-17/1231:45> »
* 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. 

Basic plan in the fencing salle is to be snobbish, charming, strong, and quick.  James' dice pool should match or exceed most serious fencers, who likely pale against his AGI but make up for it with a Spec in blades and some higher Skills.  Serious adepts may give him a run for his nuyen.  In between bouts he'll visit with the other fencers, and will casually express an interest in Mensur, or academic fencing.  It's an old tradition, which "civilized" dueling in the 1800s.  Student Corporations -- the German equivalent of fraternities -- host Mensur bouts, and members are expected to participate in 2 duels before graduating. 

Basic etiquette when visiting a fencing club is that usually visitors fence for free, but I'm guessing their would at least be a guest pass price at a higher class institution.  Open fencing is pretty open, and will be conducted with all three weapons (foil, epee, and saber) though fencers usually specialize in one weapon and use it exclusively. 

If Salomen has a fencing space, James will figure it's probably for general use as well as Mensur.  This angle may turn up nothing, and I won't be bothered if it doesn't.  Just figure it's worth a try.

If nothing comes of it, James will be keen on abducting the Baron.  Since Marie is not necessarily at Salomen currently, he's the best lead on her present whereabouts.

I'm going to make a general Etiquette test.  Let me know if you want some sort of test for Fencing.

James has: CHA (5) + Etiquette (4) + Tailored Pheromones (2) = 11 dice.
Etiquette: 11d6t5 5
That should hit the right notes.

In case the Corporate Spec qualifies: Corporate Spec: 2d6t5 1
 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #511 on: <02-01-17/1332:42> »
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; he was just happy to get home to his wife and kid(s). He was shadowrunning to pay the bills and support his family. Getting shot like that was the nudge to get him out of the game, which his wife didn't approve of anyway. I figured he'd be so grateful to DocWagon - who got there with less than a minute to spare and stabilized him with a trauma patch - that he'd try to go to work for them. If I remember correctly, he was the driver (control rig, gearhead) with enough skill to lay down effective suppressive fire. Probably make a good ambulance driver.

See what goes on behind the scenes that nobody ever sees?!

Who are you etiquetting? One of the open clubs? If so, 5 hits is enough for James to insinuate himself seamlessly. (Corp spec does not apply.) No guest fees.

For fun, give me ten (10) AGI+Blades rolls and ten (10) REA+INT+Blades rolls, as I presume parrying is the default.

rednblack

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« Reply #512 on: <02-01-17/1424:39> »
Yeah. The guy doesn't hold a grudge;

Well, that's good to know.  I appreciate a little behind the scenes action, as someone who comes up with unnecessarily extensive backgrounds for some NPCs. 

Yes, the Etiquette test is to get in the club and get a general sense of how out-of-place he seems/acts.

For attacking James has: AGI (11) + Close Combat Group (7) = 18 dice.
Fencing: 10#10d6t5 2 1 4 4 0 2 3 7 3 2
James is not looking particularly impressive.  He must be tired.

For Parry, James has: REA (7) + Close Combat Group (7) = 14 dice.
Parry: 10#14d6t5 7 6 6 4 6 6 6 3 4 4
His defense is much more solid.  He might feel a little intimidated by the quality of fencers here, and isn't really committing to his attacks.

James doesn't do failure very well.  I'm going to roll Composure to see how he handles things.
Composure: 12d6t5 3
Meh.  I guess he's holding it together ok, but I think he took the voudon in the swamp better than this.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #513 on: <02-01-17/1430:32> »
You left Intuition out of your defense rolls. That said, odds are good that you'll be maxing out your weapon's Accuracy anyway.

What do we think, Accuracy 7? Or different by foil, epee, and saber?

rednblack

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« Reply #514 on: <02-01-17/2001:34> »
If anything, saber would be a little lower, as most of the action is done with the wrist rather than the fingers, but they're all probably mechanically the same.

Also, I completely spaced on telling you that I'd updated my IC post this morning. 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #515 on: <02-01-17/2033:32> »
Add ten (10) Intuition rolls when you get the chance.

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?

Tecumseh

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« Reply #516 on: <02-02-17/0038:20> »
I'm going to say that the first duel is épée, mostly because I think the lack of right-of-way is easier to abstract at a high level. We'll say the Accuracy of the sword is a 7.

Intuition 9: 10#9d6t5 1 5 2 2 5 2 3 1 2 6

The gives James the 7 hit max for all rolls except #4 (6 hits) and #8 (4 hits).

Ties... should ties go to the defender or to the attacker (for perhaps scoring a glancing blow)?

The man who is fencing midday on a Thursday is an accomplished amateur but not a professional. Let's see how he fares:

Amateur Attack: AGI + Blades + Spec: 10#?d6t5 4 2 4 5 5 6 2 2 5 4

He utterly fails to hit James a single time.

Amateur Defense: REA + INT + Blades + Spec: 10#?d6t5 4 2 4 2 6 7 6 4 7 3

James hits twice (#4 and #8) with a possible third time (#3) depending on which direction ties go. It is a defensive battle, as all épée bouts are, but James emerges victorious and untouched, much to his opponent's frustration. Between that and his Etiquette, he has impressed someone enough to warrant attention.

If we do a more rigorous bout, we'll do some Initiative rolls and break things up a little more so that James can benefit from his speed. That will make it more tactical too, in terms of using Interrupt Actions and the like.
« Last Edit: <02-02-17/0100:23> by Tecumseh »

rednblack

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« Reply #517 on: <02-02-17/1123:16> »
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?

Saber would make sense with the Mensur comparison.  Today, someone James' age would almost certainly only fence epee, as foil and saber rely too much on speed and reflexes that begin to degrade in one's 20s.  Given the tech of Shadowrun, I imagine this trend will have reversed. 

James brought his own gear.  He would have purchased it from the gym in Prague.  Today, a basic kit would probably cost $350-400 for gear that wouldn't look out of place at a club like this.  It's bad enough that his jacket and knickers won't have his last name and nationality/corp on them.  I'm going to say that between receiving the SINs and leaving, there wasn't enough time for that.  Add another $300 if he's buying all 3 weapons. 

Ties should probably go to the attacker, possibly with the exception of Saber, which won't score a touch if the defender's blade grounds the opponent's with a parry.  We can just say that ties go to the attacker for ease.

James will usually be better off going Full Defense than using the Parry Interrupt Action, dice pool wise.  The cost of that, which was discussed some when I role-played James' fencing lessons is that he's relying more on his speed than his skill, i.e. it'll look ugly.  James would probably want to preserve the appearance of his training, so he'd be more likely to rely on Full Defense only in the event that someone is besting him. 

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #518 on: <02-02-17/1337:26> »
Go ahead and deduct the dollar-equivalent amount of nuyen ($1 = ¥1) for James' fencing gear and add it to your sheet.

The Wikipedia article you sent earlier calls Mensur an "épée / rapier fight" and also says "flinching or dodging is not allowed". To that end, both Full Defense and Dodge do not seem like valid options. Even for a traditional match, I'd be highly skeptical of allowing Full Defense since the piste is not wide enough to allow for lateral movement.

Illeana could probably sew Arthur's name onto his jacket or knickers, or use a Fashion spell to accomplish the same. Since the spell is Permanent, it won't show up to someone assensing.

If it sounds fun to IC the fencing, please do. I don't feel sufficiently knowledgeable to do it justice. If that sounds like a chore to you, we can skim past it.


rednblack

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« Reply #519 on: <02-02-17/1440:26> »
I'll deduct ¥700, and have James get all 3 weapons. 

Mensur is tricky.  My understanding is that you're correct, for a Mensur bout no dodging is allowed, and I'm unsure if it's even fought on a piste.  I think the fencers are placed toe-to-toe and basically start whacking at each other.  Parries are allowed, but footwork is out, so I agree with your assessment that Full Defense is probably out for James. 

I was thinking that James would only be fencing on this day, as Mensur would probably not be allowed at the club.  James' hope is that he's impressive enough that after casually mentioning an interest in trying Mensur, some corp type would invite him to Salomen for a bout.

To that end, James is going to keep a close eye out for anyone with AG Chem or Frankfurter Bankenverein written on their gear, those being the top candidates for finding a Faustus member. 

James will definitely have Illeana put his name on his gear. 

If James finds a good match, I'll RP that out.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #520 on: <02-02-17/1517:04> »
Right, I'm not saying that Mensur is happening right now; I'm just laying the groundwork for if it emerges in the future.

The ease with which James dispatches a top amateur, combined with his social graces and his superbly (magically) tailored clothing, is enough to earn him attention from some corpers on their lunch break.

It's Thursday (10/17/75) right now. James receives an invitation to attend a match the following (Friday) evening. (Although tell me if evening matches are unheard of, or if anything else is nonsensical.) It is not at Salomen but there will be many society-types there. It is reasonable to think that the Baron will be in attendance, and possibly even Senio if she's making public appearances.

For a change of scenery, it will be in the Botanischer Garten Frankfurt am Main (botanical garden), in the Mittelmeerhaus ("Mediterranean House"), a giant glass conservatory in the garden.

Let me know if you want to do the next IC or if I should.

rednblack

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« Reply #521 on: <02-02-17/1602:26> »
Go ahead. I probably won't be able to post again until tomorrow due to sick kids and work craziness
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rednblack

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« Reply #522 on: <02-03-17/1204:22> »
I had some time so I posted ICly.  Now off the movies.

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #523 on: <02-03-17/1458:56> »
Good IC post. Better than I could have done.

There are some hours Thursday evening and Friday during the day if there's anything else to accomplish. If not, I'll just move things along so we don't get too tied down in hour-by-hour proceedings.

What movie did you see? I watch a lot myself, although fewer now that there's a little one toddling around.

rednblack

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« Reply #524 on: <02-07-17/1840:23> »
James will want to buy some Stealth tags before the event.  They're 7R, so a CHA + Negotiation test may be in order.  James has: CHA (5) + Negotiation (5) = 10 dice.
Finding Stealth Tags: 10d6t5 4

In case Tailored Pheromones Count: Tailored Pheromones: 2d6t5 2
If they do, somebody really likes the way James smells. 

Basic plan is for Illeana to work the room, and see if she can put eyes on Marie Senio.  James is going to mingle with Adelard, and see if he can score an introduction to the Baron.  Preferably, this introduction would come late in the night, after the fencing.
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