[gilga]

Anyhow let's gain some insight:

Hack camera: 13d6t5 5
Camera resist: 7d6t5 2

The first camera hacked.

Hack camera: 13d6t5 4
camera resist: 7d6t5 2

The second camera hacked.


We also gained mark on the host which means she can spoof commands to slaved devices.

[Jack_Spade]

@Locks

I wouldn't fiddle with lockpicking: Microwelders do 25P DV. On any structure below Bunker level you'll only need a complex action to cut the lock out.

[gilga]

@GM, the first step before we gear to action, would be to verify that the prisoner is indeed who we think he is. Is a mark on the camera enough or should I do something extra?

[Lorebane24]

I just wanted to say I'm still here.  Been pretty busy with class deadlines the last couple of days, but I've been mulling over Gilga's post and I should be pretty active again on Monday.

[Beta]

re: the cats.

As a player I have some ideas, ranging from 'that could complicate things' to 'terrifying'.  I used the majority of Jawsey's knowledge skill points to load up on languages and neglected to take anything relevant here. He's in blissful ignorance so far.

[Jack_Spade]

Could be anything from awakened to emergent critters. Sadly, my char only specced in zoology and not parazoology
If the GM allows, I'd like to make a roll with a -3 for a related topic:

Zoology -3: 5d6t5 1

[Tecumseh]

I actually haven't got a clue what the cats are, which is both rare and kind of cool. Lorebane mentioned that they're in a sourcebook, and I have just about all of them from every edition, so it means I missed something.

@gilga
As for your post, I'm not quite sure where you're coming from. You're the one who said earlier, "It's a digital dice roller,  just tell me how many times".

Perception checks - physical, astral, and Matrix - are problematic in Shadowrun and I could talk about them at length. Even if we're just buying hits, we have to be mindful of the forum. We can't expect the GM to crank out thousands of words to describe everything we could see or detect over even a short interval. A balance has to be struck between giving the players useful information and spoon-feeding us to the point where we don't have to think for ourselves. Personally I feel that it's going well so far.

In the current situation, I'm not even sure where the concern is coming from, given that the GM called for hacking rolls, not Matrix perception.

I'm also not quite sure which side gilga was taking when he mentioned that the building is old... should it be publicly available through county records or is it gone after a Matrix crash or two? I would argue the latter. I don't think we're going to get the building layout unless we go raid the apartment office for ancient blueprints, and maybe not even then.

@GM, gilga
What Mato would like, and hopes that AM can eventually provide, is a layout of the unit where the prisoner is being held. A map, or even a sketch, would be hugely helpful. Location of walls, the hellhound, the hellhound's chain, especially in relation to the exterior doors, etc. The location of the prisoner might have to be inferred if he isn't on camera, but even that will be very useful.

[Beta]

If we assume that Jawsey somehow did see what was described (broken window?) He can sketch a lot of that, at least the walls, barrier, and living beings locations.

[Lorebane24]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HuB-Z8J-jg-Fpxz-XOGoXlsUxoxAehWM/view?usp=sharing

The map!  Sorry it took so long.  Been stressed to the point where just drawing a simple floorplan seems like a mountainous task - may start looking for a new job with reduced hours and just eat the student loans.

In any case, here's the thing.  IC description following shortly.  I think Gilga makes a good point about a floor plan being publicly accessible, but so does Tecumsah, because this is exactly the sort of shit that would get lost in the crash.  As far as the details go, I actually think what you did above would work very well when you have to roll, with a couple of contingent rolls listed (I think the PbP format might actually make this easier, since this sort of chain-rolling that comes along with matrix shit (especially marks, which, well... I had an idea and want to know what you guys think) can all be taken care of in one post).

Remember though, that for this game, stuff that is being "passive," like a camera during a stakeout, is going to buy successes on its oppossed test, effectively making these threshold tests which can be easier to gauge (and once you know the rating, you can figure whether you can succeed just by buying success yourself).  However, the Matrix is EVERYWHERE.  In astral it's easy to note what's there because it tends to stand out, but there is just too much going on for me to list literally every piece of information - I still need to know what you want to dig into.

Anyways, AM easily able to hack the camera in the room, revealing the floorplan above.  You've been staking it out enough that you can put together a reasonable estimate of what the layout will look like (this is for the fourth floor.  The elevators for the two southernmost appartments rise out of the one-story office unit, and the others go down to ground level).  I was an idiot with the scanner so it cuts off just at the edge, but there aren't any surprises there, just the fire escape.

EDIT: It seems this particular camera has been jury-rigged.  This is not a camera placement that seems to be standard in all of the apartments.

[Tecumseh]

Thank you for the drawing.

Can we get a key for some of the shapes?

- What's the half-oval at the bottom?
- What's the circle and squiggles toward the top?
- What's the rectangle?
- Do the cubicle walls go to the ceiling?
- Is there a bathroom or a kitchenette it anything like that?

[gilga]

I'd figure there is no one to rob for a physical copy... as nobody maintains it, and that the building is old as nobody would build a new building in SR Redmond. There is no legitimate economy, and no one with a bank account would want to live there.  Contractors would not want to go there as they might be shot upon, and heck even the police is reluctant to go there.  At least this is my interpretation.

As for matrix perception, I think there are endless details in the astral and in the physical as well. These do not give us much trouble. I don't see why matrix should be different.

[Beta]

oops, I'd meant to post about the possession fears in this thread, but since Gilga already responded in the IC thread I've edited my post there to be IC (I'd been going to play Jawsey as being ignorant of shedim, but to make it an IC I changed that to being he has heard vague rumours.  I need to buy some points in Arcana, soon!)

[Beta]

@Lorebane, belatedly thank you for the drawing. 

But the real point of this post:  Take your time to evaluate how your time is going to be.  I think that this game has a lot of promise, and am certainly looking forward to it -- but you need to do what is right for you.  If the load of school and work is going to be too much to also run the game, I'd rather see you make the call than just slowly fade out.  Or if you think you can do it, but will need to slow things down a bit or whatever, that might work too, but let us know your plan.  Life sometimes does get in the way of games, however much we'd rather it didn't, and we all understand that.

[Lorebane24]

I actually really like the game - being able to post from my phone when I get some time at works helps me keep going sometimes - and I've got a general outline that runs pretty far (I've set aside the first ten cards that I plan to come up and have ideas on what most of the runs will be and how they fit together).  Its mostly been when I need to get to a sketch and an upload before the game can progress - this last one I had a couple brief windows to put up earlier, but its been after I just spent some hours on homeowork or something and after that is all done, sometimes I just end up getting distracyed by a video game or something.

[Lorebane24]

So yes, by and large, this is a game Ivery much want to keep going with - the point of doing it as a PbP (I had been planning the campaign for about a year) is so I can get it done in the increments when Inhave time.

It's work more than anything.  I know people who can hold down a full time job and do their master's, but I dont think I'm one of those people, so I think imma look for somethig a little more part time.