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

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #30 on: <01-27-16/1800:24> »
The Bulls-Eye Double Tap/Burst got errata'd, although I didn't know that until just now.

Quote
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.”

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.

rednblack

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« Reply #31 on: <01-27-16/1820:22> »
The Bulls-Eye Double Tap/Burst got errata'd, although I didn't know that until just now.

Quote
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.”

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.

If it's an AP increase it would be Base AP (6) + [Base Weapon AP (2) X Shots Fired (3)] = -12 AP.  That's certainly not -24, but it seems reasonable.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #32 on: <01-27-16/1837:31> »
Let's do that. From a game design perspective, it makes sense. You're giving up 4 dice on the called shot so the AP change should at least be 4 at a bare minimum, but 5 or 6 would be more appropriate to compensate for the increased chance of missing and/or glitching. The same concept already applies to flechette and hollow-points, so there's good precedent too. Going from -6 AP to -12 AP sounds about perfect to me.

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.

Juggernaut dodge: Reaction + Intuition + Running: ?d6t5 4 hits

Base DV is 11P staged up to 15P -12AP with net hits.

Soaking: Body + Armor - AP: ?d6t5 8 hits + 3 auto-hits from Hardened Armor still remaining = 11 hits = 4P.

The juggernaut is unaccustomed to being injured (by anything) and is now even angrier than it was before. Congratulations: you have it's undivided attention.

No ETA on the IC post yet.

rednblack

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« Reply #33 on: <01-28-16/1213:51> »
The -2 to dodge definitely won't apply since the called shot is no longer a wide burst, by definition of the called shot.

Yep.  I wasn't thinking about that.

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.

The "you can't take any other action" bit has always confused me when it comes to Called Shots.  Comming a teammate, or even switching firing modes -- including through DNI -- makes sense to me, but Called Shots seem like exactly the kind of thing you're taking aim for, especially to hit the "aim small, miss small," description.

It doesn't appear as though Walking is considered an action in SR, though I do agree that it's odd to think of a char making use of Take Aim bonuses while advancing forward, though the house rules in this game make the rates much more believable. 

Another round of spending 1 IP to Take Aim and another To Call Shot, Take Aim and fire a Called Shot: Bulls-eye Burst.  I'm going to roll the Take Aim bonuses separately in case you don't want to include them.  Also, James the char is going to put all he has into this one, and rednblack the player is going to trust in the dice gods despite their fickle nature.  I'm going to pre-Edge and hope to bust right past my limit.

I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group (8) + Edge (5) - Called Shot (4) = 20 dice.
Called Shot v. Juggernaut pre-Edge: 20d6h5 3
Damn you, dice gods!  I burned reagents of fine tobacco in your name and you forsake me.
Ok, well, let's see how my Take Aim X 3 goes.
Take Aim: 3d6h5 3
While surprisingly good, it feels like paltry compensation.  That's 6 hits total.

Base damage is 11P -12AP
Ace is at 36/42 Alpha (APDS)
Ace is at 8/10 Shock Hand
Ace is at 3/5 Edge
« Last Edit: <01-28-16/1451:00> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #34 on: <01-28-16/1427:13> »
I was only going to give you one IP but I'll let you keep the Take Aim hits since you didn't take the bonus for shooting a target the size of an RV. (Of course, whether size bonuses should apply to the Bulls Eye called shot is a different question, which I'll completely sidestep for time purposes.)

Juggernaut dodge: Reaction + Intuition + Running - Damage: ?d6t5 5 hits, oo! good thing you kept the extra hits

Soaking 12P -12 AP: Body + Armor - AP: ?d6t5 8 hits plus 3 auto-hits from Hardened Armor equals 11 hits, so 1P of new damage. It's now at 5P.

The juggernaut is going to jump at James with murder in its eye. James is about 20 metes off the ground. The Juggernaut is 14 meters long with Reach 4, so it needs a couple hits. Jumping is an Agility test, not Strength, which is lucky for you since it's Strength attribute is literally 7x higher than its Agility. Also lucky for you: no Gymnastics skill.

Juggernaut jump: Agility (defaulting) - Damage: ?d6t5 0 hits, phew. If the juggernaut were a social creature it might be embarrassed, but for now it just appears even angrier than before.

Off to a meeting.

Tecumseh

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« Reply #35 on: <01-28-16/1553:09> »
Illeana is going to cast Magic Fingers @ F6 to add a bit of extra oompf to James' levitation.

Casting: Magic 6 + Spellcasting 7 + Mentor Spirit 2 - Sustaining 2: 13d6t5 6 hits

Soaking 4 drain: Willpower 6 + Intuition 10: 16d6t5 7 hits

Illeana is now at -4 for sustaining.

The juggernaut is using the Fear power. It is resisted with Willpower + Logic.

Fear: Magic + Willpower - Wounds: 14d6t5 4 hits

Illeana defends: Willpower 6 + Logic 5 + Guts 2: 13d6t5 5 hits, she ain't scurred

Next
Roll to defend against Fear
James IC post

rednblack

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« Reply #36 on: <01-28-16/1614:57> »
V. Fear: 11d6t5 5
James ain't skeered either.

I'm really torn about sending the RV off now, or continuing to pop the Juggernaut until it either gets bored and hurt enough that it wants to go to ground.  The danger with sending it off now is that the Juggernaut may shift its attention and charge the RV.  The danger with waiting is that once the Juggernaut figures that it can't get to James or Illeana that its sniffer directs it elsewhere and it charges the RV.  I'm not sure if James would have a better idea than I would, but if something about their nature would give him a clue that 7 hits would uncover, let me know.  Otherwise, James is going to comm Illeana and get her bead on it.  Also, while he's not directly affected by the Fear power, I'd imagine that James would rather put more APDS downrange sooner rather than later, so he's going to forgo any Take Aim actions on his next IP.

Free: Called Shot: Bulls-eye Burst
Simple: Speech: "You ok?  Should we send the RV out now?"
Simple: Fire Called Shot

That's a bit long for one IP, and James is going to check in on Illeana's welfare before bringing up the RV, so maybe he'll need to take 2 passes to get that covered.

I have: AGI (11) + Firearms Group (8) - Called Shot (4) = 15 dice.
Called Shot v. Juggernaut: 15d6t5 5
Not bad. 

Before I post ICly, can James comm the RV in this zero matrix environment?  Is it close enough?
« Last Edit: <01-28-16/1723:19> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #37 on: <01-28-16/1645:46> »
The RV is close enough to comm directly. I generally give commlinks anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 km range, independent of the Matrix. Given that there are absolutely zero obstacles in this terrain - no rocks, no trees, just grass - and that you have a top-of-the-line commlink, reaching the 1km range shouldn't be difficult at all.

Illeana will be highly in favor of sending the RV to safety while the juggernaut's attention is on you. She is protective of the RV and would probably cry if it got eaten. She would send the RV away sooner rather than later, then scaring off the juggernaut once the RV has a safe head start.

Juggernaut dodge: Reaction + Intuition + Running - Wounds: ?d6t5 6 hits

Shots miss.
« Last Edit: <01-28-16/2129:08> by Tecumseh »

Tecumseh

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« Reply #38 on: <02-01-16/1502:08> »
Before I forget, there's a thread discussing the concept of Ace. They're are trying to do it by RAW chargen rules and are doing reasonably well.

I think the book's description of how much juggernauts weigh is off by a factor of 2x-3x. The largest African elephants can weigh as much of a juggernaut, and African elephants are - at the very most - only half the size of a juggernaut. Of course, being wrong about weights is a long and proud tradition in Shadowrun. A long time ago (2000) someone did an in-depth analysis of how much trolls should weigh, given their fluff descriptions. The answer was closer to 1,100 pounds, instead of the 500 pounds the books mentioned. I love trolls, but they are problematic from a lot of realism standpoints. And I don't mean "trolls don't exist", but more "how can 1,100 pounds be sneaky" or "how can this vehicle operate at full capacity when one of the passengers weighs as much as the five others combined"?



One of Ryo's recent OOC posts described Illeana as, "far and away, bar none, by every stretch of the imagination and possibility of description, the most beautiful woman you have ever seen, or could imagine seeing." Ryo is, of course, semi-canon for our game, but we have some flexibility. Illeana's beauty is important for her backstory - it's the reason why the vampire changed her, because he couldn't bear the thought of her growing old - but in my mind it is more important that Illeana be a unique beauty, rather than some unparalleled Helen of Troy.

How heavily we emphasize this is somewhat up to you. James has seen her with her mask off, which few others have, but she certainly doesn't walk around looking radiant. For starters, she now has the Faceless quality and never wants to appear as herself in public. Part of this is for backstory reasons (not that she can remember any of them), but also she doesn't want to draw unnecessary attention to herself. Her Charisma score is meant to reflect the fact that she doesn't walk around looking like Grace Kelly, nor is she naturally charismatic. Again, for backstory reasons she is probably too subservient to have really forged her own charming personality. She's doing better now, post-mindwipe, but old habits die hard.

We're approaching the end of this scene. I'll have at least one more IC post for Illeana. You can reply if you like or we can move on. I just need to pick the setting for the next post. (The events are not location-specific.) Is there anywhere in the CAS that you and/or James want to visit?

rednblack

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« Reply #39 on: <02-01-16/1620:53> »
Not terribly surprising that the weight would be off for juggernauts.  Ditto for trolls.  I've toyed with the idea of imposing either dice or Limit penalties for sneaking tests depending on the terrain, but largely I just hand wave that stuff.

I see James being torn on Illeana's beauty.  He's definitely taken by her, and would probably prefer to see her unmasked more often, but I've also been running under the assumption that he knows her back story, or at least knows that it's her beauty that ended up getting her infected, and considering that she's not terribly enamored with being a vampire, he thinks that constantly telling her how beautiful she is would wear pretty thin pretty quickly.

I'm not too terribly picky about where to hit next in the CAS.  Oklahoma City or Tulsa are the nearest spots, and I live in OKC.  If the juggernaut didn't put too big a damper on things, the pair could also cross down through the critter-infested Texas pandhandle, and see what kind of frontier town Amarillo has ended up becoming in the sixth world.  But really, it depends on whether or not Illeana and James have any previous plan(s) that they're looking at. 

Despite his interest in juggernauts James probably isn't going to want to go back for it.  I have thought about James and the weird kind of morality that he has.  He's probably still sore at Nately Jr., thinking the kid got his poor parents geeked, and he may have it in his head that the right thing to do would be to divest Nately Jr. of his wealth before killing him.  There's also the Rhodes angle if James has a bead on any potential locations for him, or for known associates and home bases.  Either of those might pull Illeana and James more toward Houston -- a big hub of Ares -- or Atlanta -- where Ares has their CAS headquarters.     
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #40 on: <02-01-16/1642:31> »
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.

rednblack

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« Reply #41 on: <02-01-16/1722:07> »
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 yeah, that's right.  Got it.  I'm not sure that James would go there on his own.

Swinging north sounds just fine.  I think in that time, James would do some investigations into Nately Enterprises and Nately Jr. specifically.  He's probably not going to want to bring it up to Illeana until he has something actionable that he can "sell" her on.  Not sure how you want to run the crunch for something like this, but let's start with a simple Computer test.

I have LOG (4) + Computer (4) = 8 dice.  Not spending Edge or anything until I hear how you want to play it.
Computer Test on Natelys: 8d6t5 4
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #42 on: <02-01-16/1814:22> »
Hold the thought on that computer test. We'll pick it up in a day or two.

For the record, I had us a further north, closer to I-70. Not terribly important, but I figured that was where the border crossing would be.

You're at the border now. Give me an Etiquette roll, and Con roll, and tell me which SIN and/or licenses you are crossing with.

rednblack

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« Reply #43 on: <02-01-16/2036:56> »
Etiquette: CHA (4) + Etiquette (4) = 8 dice
Etiquette at border crossing: 8d6t5 2
Let's Push the Limit.  It's one less die than re-rolling failures, but maybe the rule of 6 will come to my aid.
Edge Push the Limit: 5d6h5 3
That's 5 hits total.

Con: CHA (4) + Con (4) = 8 dice.
Con at border crossing: 8d6t5 2
Ugh, these low side of average rolls are killing me.  I'm going to see how this plays out with the solid Etiquette roll before I commit to any more Edge expenditures. 

James will be running his Joseph Shimko SIN (PCC), including the Restricted Cyberware and Concealed Carry Licenses.  The Predator will be in the glove box, loaded with regular ammo, and he will inform the border guard's of its presence as soon as he rolls down the window and lets them run his SIN.  I'm under the impression that the firearm is legal where they were coming from and where they're headed to, and that it might appear suspicious for them to be traveling without any protection in a place as dangerous as the sixth world.  Is that correct?

The Hermes Ikon will have his SIN and the firearm slaved to it, running Wireless On.  All other commlinks, including the one in his head are turned Wireless Off.   

I'm a little pressed for time tonight, so probably no IC.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #44 on: <02-01-16/2059:25> »
You're talking to the guy in person, so your Tailored Pheromones apply.

The Ares Predator is Restricted, so it's legal when properly licensed. We'll call the license Rating 4, to mirror the SIN.

Smartlinks are restricted in the PCC, but the UCAS guy won't care about that. Presuming the guard is a patriot, he'll probably turn a blind, patriotic eye to Ares products more frequently than he would to foreign products.

Border guard vs. Etiquette: Charisma + Perception: ?d6t5 3 hits, so you're fine there
Border guard vs. Con: Charisma + Con: ?d6t5 3 hits, better come up with an extra hit there

SIN check vs. Joseph (R4): SIN Check: 6d6t5 3 hits, close but you're fine
SIN check vs. Illeana (R6): SIN Check: 6d6t5 0 hits, she would have been fine with her Ivana Kutchukokoph SIN, apparently
Check vs. firearms license: Firearms License Check: 6d6t5 1 hit, no problem

Straighten out your story a bit (perhaps with pheromones) and you might get through this just fine.