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[5e OOC] Tabula Rasa, Chapter IV

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #15 on: <05-31-15/0227:31> »
Four OOC posts in a row for me.

Casting Physical Mask @ F4 because Katsina is worried about drain: Magic 6 + Spellcasting 6 - 2 Wounds: 10d6t5 1 hit, rolled too many dice due to sustaining Mana Bind, but both the first two and the last dice dice are misses so we'll go with 1 hit

Soaking 3 drain: Willpower 6 + Intuition 6: 12d6t5 5 hits, no drain

(You don't have to publicly announce your karma spending; I'm just doing it here so you don't see these new skills and spells coming out of nowhere.)

Katsina has taken Instruction 1 for 2 karma. I'm going to wait to roll that until she shakes off some negative modifiers so that her dice pool can be greater than 0.

Katsina now knows the Control Emotions spell, which she is trying to avoid at the moment but will use if Sam gets threatening.

Zweiblumen

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« Reply #16 on: <05-31-15/0309:42> »
Doc bought Go Big or Go Home from Data Trails, and a few knowledge skills.  Character Sheet is updated.  I didn't know about the house rule for purchasing qualities, so he's got another 6 karma to spend still.
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rednblack

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« Reply #17 on: <06-01-15/1211:14> »
Hunting Test:

Ace Sneaking: Sneaking Test: 12d6t5 6

Ok, so the post about hunting said 3 hits would do it, but didn't specify what to roll, so I'm going to say that Chino and Ace are successful here, unless one of my other rolls just really frags things up.

Spooking Game (INT + Outdoors): 6d6t5 1

Lower than average.  I'm going to say that Chino spooks game, but it goes a little off the hoped-for path, so Ace will be looking at an Extreme Range shot from his machine pistol.

Ace can only benefit from 2 sequential Take Aim Actions, so he's looking at: AGI (9) + Firearms Group (4) + Smartlink (2) + Take Aim (2) - Extreme Range (6) = 9 dice.  Good thing he should be hitting target Unaware.  Let's see how he does.

Shooting from blind: 9d6t5 5

That'll do.  Base 7P 0AP, staged to 12P should put down a bobcat no problem.  I also think that due to Ace's sharp shooting, we won't lose any meat to Ace hitting the intestines or stomach.  Yay for Sam!  I think we're still in early-ish AM, which would make sense for a bobcat.

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #18 on: <06-01-15/1448:25> »
@rednblack That should be plenty to get the job done.

Some internet research suggests that bobcat is actually pretty good. (Oh, the places I go in the name of research. I wonder what Google thinks.)

I'll leave it up to Poindexter if he wants to attack any of you.


Malevolence

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« Reply #19 on: <06-02-15/0013:34> »
Before I go down this rabbit hole in IC, let me make sure this behavior is intended. Ohanzee has been watching Sam change throughout most of his ordeal as has Katsina, including watching the aura. The nanites are gone and the aura - other than the signs of Infection - is still identifiably Sam's. Sam still has all his memories, etc. So, we have fairly definitive proof that the nanites are not responsible for our current personalities. We are fairly certain that the obelisk took or old selves but we have been working under the possibility that the nanites stepped in to create our new personalities to fill that void (hence why we aren't drooling husks), which we now know is not the case, at least for Sam. We also have pretty good evidence that they affect the parts of the brain that determine such things (higher brain function), so it is reasonable to assume that they very well could take over in the future (OOC we "know" it's CFD and that it does not end well). As such, should we be seriously considering all getting Infected in order to save our current "selves"?


The irony is that the one with the best capability to observe and determine for sure that the nanites have this capability and are making it happen is also the most far gone and will therefore be the first to succumb (if he hasn't already).


One final possibility is that the CFD was responsible for the new personality, but that it actually rewrote the brain so that the personality remained even though the CFD was wiped out. If my other assumptions above are concerned, I'll probably see if Doc wants to look into this possibility.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #20 on: <06-02-15/0216:43> »
I'm not sure how much I can comment on without revealing IC information. Without agreeing or disagreeing with any of the conclusions, I will comment on the strictly factual premises:

1) You have pretty good evidence that the nanites affect higher brain functions.
2) The nanites are gone from Sam;
3) Sam has his memories of the last few days, but hasn't recovered anything from before the amnesia (other than the dream sequences some of the PCs have been having);
4) Sam still has his personality of the last few days, even in the absence of the nanites; and,
5) Sam is not a drooling husk.

Whether or not your PCs want to ICly consider Infection as a way to save their current personalities and stave off the nanites is up to you the players.

rednblack

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« Reply #21 on: <06-02-15/1125:45> »
Ok, so my OOC thinking here is that we should send a few party members to negotiate the hand-off in person.  We want to keep a low matrix profile in order to stymie the investigations of the other interested parties, and by speaking with Jäger in person, we reduce the risk of others in DIMR from being potential leaks as well.  That leaves the question of how to get in a room with her.  I'm thinking the direct approach.  We send a comm of the quicksilver pic -- which I understand can't be assensed -- to her comm and make note of the cover organization we will call ourselves by.  Then we show up in person asking at the front desk to let Ms Jäger know that the Representatives from Nately Enterprises is here, and would she like to look at the original? 

Then they come and pick up the obelisk, we live happily ever after in our retired runner utopia, and the last time a firearm was fired in the game was to hunt a bobcat. 

So, there are probably things that rednblack the player doesn't get that Ace the amnesiac corp-bot would, so let's break out the dice.

Security Design: 9d6t5 2

Security Tactics: 9d6t5 5

Basically, I'm wondering: 1. does this seem at all plausible to Ace, and 2. knowing what little he knows about DIMR from what the group has told him, would he expect to be able to get inside and have Jäger's office directly called?

Area Knowledge: Denver: 5d6t5 1
I can't remember if we have Jäger's address, but if so, does Ace know the general neighborhood?
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Zweiblumen

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« Reply #22 on: <06-02-15/1145:50> »
Assuming Ace shares this:
Lets see if Doc knows her adderss any better: Area Knowledge Denver (AKD 3 + Will 5 = 8): 8d6t5 2
Perfect roll to glitch on!  Guess Doc and Ace get into a bit of an argument over where it is until someone breaks out a map?

I'll roll Corp Security to see if he can help with wether that plan will work, and if not, what will:
Corp Security (CS 3 + Log 9 = 12): 12d6t5 7 (limit 9)
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rednblack

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« Reply #23 on: <06-02-15/1157:20> »
Assuming Ace shares this:

Once I know what I know Knowledge Skills wise, I'll make an IC post with Ace's plan/amended plan.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #24 on: <06-02-15/1510:32> »
Doc is reasonably sure that he consulted on the security design for DIMR, or hacked DIMR, or did a run against DIMR, or otherwise acquired a complete and thorough understanding of what DIMR does for its corporate security.

Ace's Security Tactics roll is also excellent, so between the two rolls you have a good grasp of what they would do.

From previous Matrix research, Doc already knows that the DIMR is in the UCAS sector of Denver. I'm not really sure how to apply his glitch, or if it matters. Almost any conceivable error he could make could be easily corrected by Ace or by the Matrix.

Also from previous research, Doc knows that the DIMR's presence in Denver is a modest regional office (~350 employees). DIMR shares space in an office building with the Draco Foundation and the Astral Space Preservation Society (ASPS). While technically one building, it might be easier to think of the building as two connected towers. The two towers (~7 stories each) share a lobby and reception area on the ground floor. The Draco Foundation has one tower (the south one) while the DIMR and ASPS share the other tower (the north one). There is a parking garage under the building. The building is a sleepy suburb, surrounded by apartments, condos, and other similarly modest office buildings.

Because they share the same space, the organizations can pool their security resources. Doc strongly suspects that the Host rating would be 6, the Firewall rating 9. Because of the ASPS, the organizations collectively have a strong relationship with the spirit world. They even employ Free Spirits, sometimes for security. Astral security will be a nightmare.

Physical security is where they will be weakest. That's not to say weak; it just won't be the horror show of the astral and the Matrix. In addition to professional receptionists and security guards in the lobby, Ace thinks they will have a small (~8 person) HTR team available at all times to respond to physical intrusions, capable of splitting into two teams of 4, with another 1-2 HTR teams on-call that could arrive within 10 minutes if things get out of hand. The astral security (spirits) may be used to supplement the on-site HTR team if necessary.

Walking in and getting an immediate meeting with Jessica Jäger isn't going to happen unless you get lucky. You'd have to talk your way past reception into speaking with someone who can assense the quicksilver photograph. That person would then have to believe that you're worth dealing with and that Jessica should be bothered. You'd also be taking the risk that they wouldn't just bop you over the head and try to magically extract the location of the artifact out of you. That's what Ace would do, but this is the DIMR and not Ares. It's unlikely that they'd do that, but do you want to take the risk? You'll be outnumbered and on their turf.

As for sending a non-assensable copy of the photograph to Jessica in advance, it's unclear whether that message would get to her or her secretary, and that a non-assensable copy would be intriguing enough to clear time on her schedule.

Let's roll to see how many good copies of the quicksilver photograph you have:
Quicksilver Photography (defaulting): 5d6t5 3

Katsina's an accidentally good photographer. You have three good copies to work with.

Malevolence

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« Reply #25 on: <06-02-15/1608:46> »
The artifact itself is physically impressive, so I think that a standard picture of it would be enough to peak interest. From there, we could place one of the Quicksilver plates at a dead drop near their building (close enough that they aren't concerned about it being a trap and aren't overly inconvenienced, but far enough that we aren't picked up by any of their security while placing it) and have that location attached to the message we send with the regular photo, along with contact info (the remaining burner?). Ohanzee could craft a suitable message to go with the photo, contact info, and dead drop location that stresses the importance and legitimacy of the communication and helps increase their general level of interest (the "hook"). This should (if successful) tempt them enough to at least send a spirit to take a peek at the plate, which would then almost certainly convince them to escalate.


If we don't hear from them within 24 hours, we will try another contact, either DF or ASPS. If they're tight, they might all work together anyway, but if not it gives us the ability to use the threat of competition.


Also, if we haven't done so already, Ohanzee is burying the artifact at least a couple feet underground to make sniffing it out astrally virtually impossible.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #26 on: <06-02-15/1615:10> »
This outline strikes the security-focused teammates as plausible.

Go ahead and RP the artifact burial.

Poindexter

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« Reply #27 on: <06-02-15/1622:29> »
Sam is saving all his Karma until I find out what he awakened as.
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Malevolence

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« Reply #28 on: <06-02-15/1819:19> »
Go ahead and RP the artifact burial.
I'll do this after we're done with our conversation just to keep the flow.  Or, maybe, if Sam is curious about spirits Ohanzee can use it as an excuse to summon an Earth spirit to dig the hole while they continue the chat.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #29 on: <06-03-15/1529:27> »
Someone chuck an IC post up there. Everyone should have something to contribute at this point. Grab some of the OOC info and make it your own.