[Kot]

What about my spell? You've handled it as an aimed spell (I know SR names are different, but this way it's easier to discern), just like a ranged attack. And Powerbolt doesn't work that way. It needs only Line of Sight, and is resisted with Body(+Counterspelling) in a all-or-nothing effort. Either the target gets enough hits to nullify the spell altogether, or he can only lower the amount of net hits (and damage, if they're used for that). In this case, the ork spellslinger needs 5 hits to resist my spell. If she doesn't get that much, she gets 4P damage. If she gets 5 hits, she takes none. At least that's the way it was described in the SR4A.

[inca1980]

@Kot:
Naw, I did it like you're saying there.  Here's the post.  I did resist with Will though, but her Body is 4 also so it's the same.  She got 5 hits, and you'll see that Visibility and Cover modifiers affect ALL LOS spellcasting, not just indirect spells.  Look at the beginning of pg. 160 SR4A, it clearly says that cover applies to LOS spells.  This is a REALLY crucial part of defending against magic....you wanna always find cover. 

@Everyone:

Ok you guys can do some wrap up posts about what you do after the drop off....there's no more danger, Wagner's roll made it safe for everyone.  Then after that I'll give out Karma.

[Kot]

Oh. So I was basically useless. Those rules suck. Bah...

[inca1980]

@Kot:

No, i think those rules are great because then they actually give you a chance against direct spells and allow you to strategize against them.  You weren't useless at all, you took out the tire of the Sports Car and brought it's handling from +3 down to zero.  Sichr would have died cuz he got just the exact amount of hits to beat the 4 hits the ramming test got.  With the +3 Handling, Sichr would have eaten pavement.  with the +3 handling, they could have gotten 1- 3 hits more on the dodge to the called shot Wagner made and it would have given them 1m scatter and it would have just been a normal grenade attack.  You could definitely say that your powerbolt to the tire is hugely responsible for the success of the mission.

[Kot]

But they take away the edge that Direct spells have over Indirect. And this rule isn't logical. You always have a chance to resist a Direct spell, especially if you also have Counterspelling. Cover should apply to normal attack spells...

[Sichr]

lets say that loud:

HIGHFIVE!!!!

[Teyl_Iliar]

lets say that loud:

HIGHFIVE!!!!

HIGHFIVE!!!!BBQ!

[inca1980]

@Kot:
Direct spells still have a HUGE edge over indirect spells.  First of all, their drain is less.  Second of all there is NO damage soak....like you said, it's all or nothing damage.  But I really like the idea that LOS is not just something you get automatically when you say "i'm gonna make sure i can see him".....it should be something that's also rolled for because LOS can get broken by obstacles and anything that impairs your clear line of sight to the target.  So this is included in the Spellcasting test....that test is a mix of how well you know your craft, how powerful your magic is and then also whether or not you're able to acquire LOS on the target along with other external conditions which affect your performance.  If a spell fails, the GM can explain it be just saying the guy ducked and moved out of LOS at the wrong instant. 

I feel the biggest issue with people liking or disliking certain rule mechanics usually has to do with it just not fitting in with the mental picture they have of a given test.  Of course, if you imagine someone to be "behind good cover" then you imagine a piece of them sticking out and LOS should just be a given.  But the problem with that then is you get a whole bunch of logical fallacies when you treat the mental image of combat as this kind of "frame by frame" motion.  The nature of table-top games of courses forces us to play out the die rolls in a frame-by-frame way, but this is just a necessity of table-top gaming where us humans need some time to calculate die rolls and their effects.  But the assumption is that no matter how realistic a given rule may be and how well it fits in with how we perceive a given action, nevertheless is an abstraction.  But the mental image should have the ruled "state" of something as more just a guideline.  Being behind good cover might mean "being behind good cover most of the time"....you see what i'm saying. 

So when I judge a rule, ultimately my goal is to see if it kind of captures the level of "influence" of a given factor....and if a rule leaves out or overplays a certain influence then maybe I stop liking a rule.  I feel SR does a pretty good job of this and it's system is built on trying to include the effects of a variety of complex influences and allow that to affect a story-line.  I mean, think about it, the amount by which you messed up a dudes tire was quantified and played itself out in so many ways. 

@Everyone:

High five

[Xzylvador]

High five and a BBQ? Sounds good.
Any Karma? :p

[inca1980]

UB4 Finished -- Karma & Loot
Base for everyone is 4 for just going on the run, and 4 Karma for a completing the main objective for a total of 8 Karma.  To reiterate for Xzylvador, I'm not gonna be doing the usual Street Cred = Total Karma Earned/10, since because we're on PbP total Karma earned is skewed to account for the length of realworld time it takes to do a shadowrun.

@Brick:   +1 for the change of route plan which changed the dynamics a good deal.
             Total= 9 Karma
     
@Stryker: +1 Karma for staying true to your character's good nature even when it's inconvenient. 
                  +1 For what we mentioned in personal messages about the jammer.
              Total=10 Karma

@Zach:  +1 For the being honest thing we talked about in personal messages.
             Total= 9 Karma

@Xzylvador:  +1 for just it being your first time and gel'ing with the team so well
                        +2 for the INSANE roll along with the idea of calling it inside the sunroof ftw.
              Total= 11 Karma

So you can use this to train whatever attribute you want and this doesn't take up time.  To train skills, make an instruction test like it says in SR4A and make sure to pay a lifestyle cost for every month that it takes.  Zach has to make a survival test for each month.  All damage accumulated from failing a survival test stays with you and you start with that much damage for the run.  This reflects your general lack of health for living completely on the streets.  If you buy a higher lifestyle for a month, then you don't have to make a survival test that month.   

That's 2500¥ each. 

[Sichr]

what was that about the money???

[inca1980]

Sorry, accidentally posted before i was ready....now it's edited.

[Sichr]

I thought so

[Teyl_Iliar]

I figure wagner has things he'll need more money on this time around so I'm willing to shave 500 off my share (plus the team meal) so he can get those things done. otherwise I remember being owed a bit from zach so i figure he'll pay me back whatever he owes in the end. my share will look like 1850 after everything I just said. anyone have an issue with that?

[inca1980]

So don't forget to update your character sheet with your current nuyen, current karma, and total karma earned.   Once the next UB gets underway, whatever is on your character sheet is what your character has and tough luck if you didn't write it down. 
 
@Xzylvador:

In order to keep track of BP vs. Karma changes, leave the original character creation value you have for the character and then mark the new values in brackets {} next to the original value.   Another thing which would help is if you record how much karma you spent on what at the bottom of your character sheet.  This just saves a lot of detective work when something is a little strange or we wanna go back and check.