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[5e] Vampire Hunters Planning Thread

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rednblack

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« on: <12-08-14/1329:53> »
I'm getting close enough in my head to warrant a thread for this campaign.  So, I guess the questions are: 1. given your other PbP responsibilities are you still  up for another game?  2. what's your character and 3. let's discuss mood/house rules, etc.

Players

Poindexter: Sister Rebecca: http://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=18544.0
Tecumseh: Sir Dodge-a-Lot or She-Who-Dodges-a-Lot
8-bit: Alejandro Circo (Stake)

Setting

The PCs are hardened vampire hunters.  This line of work has served them well over the years, but as the population of vampires has declined, so too have the easy paydays.  And now a further complication: other teams of vampire hunters are turning up dead or missing.  Will the PCs unravel the mystery before they too become prey?  Only time and good decision-making will tell.

I'm still considering where this campaign will be set.  Contenders are Manhattan, maybe somewhere in Germany, or possibly in one of the more northern territories of UCAS.  It would also seem well in the realm of possibility of having this as a globe-trotting campaign, given the line of work.

As for the overall feel of the campaign, I'm wanting to maintain something fairly gritty.  With the exception of Sister Rebecca -- who is also probably the most recent addition to the team -- we're not dealing with soldiers on the side of light for this.  These are scheming mercenaries who have chosen vampires as their prey because they tend to very wealthy and have no legal recourse.  Our runners will still be operating from the shadows.

Gear

I'm thinking of some cool anti-vamp specific additions to the arsenal already available in SR5, Run and Gun, and Gun H(e)aven 3.  I want to stay away from UV light ammo, as I've always found that to be kinda cheesy, but weaponized sawdust grenades and shotgun rounds will exist.  What would you like to see? 

House Rules

Under construction. 

Please post your character ideas below, as well as any general discussion comments/requests/questions you have.
« Last Edit: <12-15-14/1108:11> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #1 on: <12-08-14/1403:30> »
I think I can swing a game as a player. Given that I'm already GMing three games, I'm pretty sure I'm tapped out as a GM.

How many players are we thinking? The three or more? Trying to figure out how many people we'll have to cover our roles. Sister Rebecca, for example, has a great Charisma (presumably for Drain) but no social skills.

Part of the decision also depends on power level. Standard or Prime or custom? First draft, I'm inclined toward an adept (perhaps augmented) that specializes in called shots to the head and maybe a weapon focus, both to bypass a vampire's Regeneration power.

Interesting what Poindexter did with Sister Rebecca. When the campaign was first mentioned, I was thinking of a character with underlying Christian principles to complement their profit motives.

For setting, I would vote for one of the more northern territories of the UCAS (or even NAN). And gritty. We all like grit.

For custom weapons, the best I can come up with are Ares laser weapons that have been customized to mimic the sun's spectrum. Scientifically this is probably BS because sunlight has strong spectral radiance at many different wavelengths while lasers - almost by definition - are focused on a single (nanometer) wavelength. So unless there's only a very narrow band of wavelengths that vampires are actually allergic to, this isn't terribly realistic (as much as anything involving vampires 60+ years in the future can be described as "realistic").

Poindexter

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« Reply #2 on: <12-08-14/1409:36> »
Of course, I vote for Chicago as location, but i can go either way.

I'm also thinking of tweaking her a tiny bit, as the more i think about it, the more i kinda DO want summoning. Angels of mercy coming to my aid and all...
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JackVII

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« Reply #3 on: <12-08-14/1413:22> »
Bummers all around. I already PMd R&B, but we've implemented a new process of work and I don't think I am going to be able to dedicate time to another game at the moment, beyond those to which I've already committed.

For reference, here was the character I was going to play. She was Sister Sin, so probably would have gotten confusing, LOL.

Handle: Sister Sin
Name: Mary Sue Hayes
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Role: Close Combat Specialist
(Priorities - A: Resources, B: Attributes, C: Skills, D: Race, E: Magic)

ATTRIBUTES (20/20) (10 Karma)
BOD 4 WIL 3
AGI 6 (8) LOG 2
REA 4 (6) INT 4
STR 4 (6) CHA 2
EDG 5 ESN 2.7
Initiative: 10 + 3D6
Limits (M/P/S) 4/8/4
Monitor (P/S) 10/10

SKILLS
Active (28/28 // 2/2)
Combat: Blades/Swords (6), Pistols (4)
Physical: Athletics SG (2), Perception/Visual (4), Sneaking/Urban (2)
Social: Con/Fast Talk (2)
Technical: Computer/Matrix Search (2)
Vehicle: Pilot Groundcraft/Motorcycle (2)

Knowledge (12/12)
Interests: Religion (2), Fashion (2)
Professional: Protective Detail TTPs (4)
Street: Organized Crime (2), Shadowrunners (2)
Language: English (N)

QUALITIES (25 – 7 + 0 = 18)
Positive: Ambidextrous, Quick Healer
Negative: None

CONTACTS & REP (6/6) (8 Karma)
Tasmin Archer, Female Elf Fixer (4/3)
Mike O’Malley, Male Human Mafia Consigliore (5/2)
Current Karma (0), Total Karma (0), Street Cred (0), Notoriety (0), Public Awareness (0)

GEAR (Current Nuyen: 1,995)
Horizon-Flynn Rapier: 500 Short Cougar Fineblade: 350
Fichette Executive Action [Regular] w/CQ Holster, Integral Smartlink & Spare Mag [Regular]: 947
Savalette Guardian [Regular] w/CQ Holster & Spare Mag [Regular]: 1,193
90x Regular Light Pistol Ammo: 180 (18)
18x EX Light Pistol Rounds: 144
18x Gel Light Pistol Rounds: 45
60x Regular Heavy Pistol Rounds: 120 (12)
12x EX Heavy Pistol Rounds: 96
12x Gel Heavy Pistol Rounds: 30
Armante Dress w/MAD Scanner & Scabbard: 2,800
Bike Racing Armor w/NC (5) & Scabbard: 1,750
Forearm Guards w/Tag Eraser & White Noise Generator (6): 1,050
Ballistic Mask: w/AE (2), Respirator (6), SSR, & Ultrasound (2): 2,650
Transys Avalon (6) w/Sim-Module: 5,100
1x MCT Eye Spy w/ EW (6) & SA (3) - (AS, CM [LL, TG, VM], DM, LRF, MS, ODM, OS, &RFF): 6,250 (W)
1x Trauma Patch: 500 (W)
Yamaha Rapier: 8,500
Fake SIN (4) [Alicia Masters]: 10,000
Fake Licenses (4) [Augmentations, Concealed Carry, Firearms, Sword, Vehicle Operation]: 4,000
1-Month Medium Lifestyle: 5,000

Cyberware & Bioware (396,800) (3.3)
Cybereyes (3) [Alpha] w/FC, IL, LL, SL, TG, VE(2), & VM : 33,600 (0.32)
Damage Compensators (4): 8,000 (0.4)
Datajack [Alpha]: 1,200 (0.08)
Muscle Augmentation (2): 62,000 (0.4)
Muscle Toner (2): 64,000 (0.4)
Orthoskin (2): 12,000 (0.5)
Reflex Recorder (Blades): 14,000 (0.1)
Sleep Regulator: 12,000 (0.1)
Synaptic Booster (2): 190,000 (1.0)

Description: Lithe and deadly, Sister Sin stands about 1.85 meters tall and weighs about 70 kilograms.
Her long blonde hair is typically braided into a tight ponytail, to keep it out of her face. Not
conventionally beautiful, her features are rather plain, with the exception of her matte gray cybereyes,
but she maintains a high level of fitness. When Sister Sin is on the job, she wears black, unadorned bike
racing armor along with a pair of white densiplast forearm guards and a black, ballistic mask painted
with a white cross across the face. She carries a Horizon-Flynn Rapier in a breakaway scabbard custombuilt
into her armor and a short Cougar Fine Blade in her left boot. She keeps a Fichette Executive Action
holstered in her right boot and a Savalette Guardian concealed at her right hip. An MCT Eye-Spy drone
hovers at her shoulder constantly. Iconography: Black, bloody angel with tattered wings and a cracked halo.

Concept: Former missionary, had plans to become a nun, captured by religious terrorists, assaulted and
abused, eventually released, unable to forgive her captors, approached by a secret order of Catholic
Order who stoked her desire for revenge, brainwashed and outfitted with bioware to make her an
assassin, completed a few missions before breaking her programming and fleeing, realized the Order
largely consisted of corrupt priests, lost faith and turned to the Shadows to survive.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #4 on: <12-08-14/1421:29> »
For the record, I have no objections to playing a Sister. Could have been unique team, although somewhat at odds with rednblack's vision of us as scheming, opportunistic mercenaries.

rednblack

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« Reply #5 on: <12-08-14/1431:47> »
Power Level: Standard, with 10 extra points to put into knowledge skills for character rounding purposes.  To reflect that you've been at your job for awhile now, I'll also add somewhere in the range of 10-15 karma to put into your character post-gen.  For running purposes, each PC will be outfitted with 1 rating 4 fake SIN, with matching Bounty Hunter License (rating 4) and Weapons or Magic License (rating 4).  It would still be advantageous to have another fake SIN or two for other purposes.

I'd like to keep this group fairly small so that the story can continually move forward.  Whichever role(s) are not filled by players will be covered by NPCs.  I could see us going as high as 4 players, but definitely not higher than that.  I could also see us moving forward with 2, but it's probably more wise to have at least 3 PCs.

I'm considering doing away with the Automatics Skill, having Pistols, Longarms, and Heavy Weapons cover all of your firepower needs.
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Poindexter

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« Reply #6 on: <12-08-14/1603:21> »
Power Level: Standard, with 10 extra points to put into knowledge skills for character rounding purposes.  To reflect that you've been at your job for awhile now, I'll also add somewhere in the range of 10-15 karma to put into your character post-gen.  For running purposes, each PC will be outfitted with 1 rating 4 fake SIN, with matching Bounty Hunter License (rating 4) and Weapons or Magic License (rating 4).  It would still be advantageous to have another fake SIN or two for other purposes.

I'd like to keep this group fairly small so that the story can continually move forward.  Whichever role(s) are not filled by players will be covered by NPCs.  I could see us going as high as 4 players, but definitely not higher than that.  I could also see us moving forward with 2, but it's probably more wise to have at least 3 PCs.

I'm considering doing away with the Automatics Skill, having Pistols, Longarms, and Heavy Weapons cover all of your firepower needs.

Naw, keep automatics. Automatics is great.

And i dig the 10-15 extra karma after char gen too.
I'll spend 10 and if it turns out to be 15, ill spend 5 more.

here she is, as she stands with the 10 knowledge karma and 10 post gen karma

== Info ==
Street Name: Sister Rebecca
Name: Annabelle Shuster
Movement: 14/28
Karma: 20
Street Cred: 2
Notoriety: 0
Public Awareness: 0
Human Female Age 27
Height 5ft11 Weight 192lbs
Composure: 10
Judge Intentions: 8
Lift/Carry: 9 (75 kg/50 kg)
Memory: 7
Nuyen: 400

== Priorities ==
Metatype: E - Human
Attributes: A - 24 Attributes
Special: C - Adept, Magician, or Technomancer
Skills: B - 36 Skills/5 Skill Groups
Resources: D - 50,000¥

== Attributes ==
BOD: 4
AGI: 5 (7)
REA: 4
STR: 5
CHA: 5
INT: 3
LOG: 2
WIL: 5
EDG: 2
MAG: 4

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                7 + 1d6
Rigger Initiative:         7 + 1d6
Astral Initiative:         6 + 2d6
Matrix AR Initiative:      7 + 1d6
Matrix Cold Initiative:    3 + DP + 3d6
Matrix Hot Initiative:     3 + DP + 4d6
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         11

== Limits ==
Physical:                  6
Mental:                    4
Social:                    7
Astral:                    7

== Active Skills ==
Arcana                     : 1                      Pool: 3
Assensing                  : 5                      Pool: 8
Astral Combat              : 2                      Pool: 7
Banishing                  : 4                      Pool: 8
Blades                     : 6 [Swords]             Pool: 13 (15)
Computer                   : 1                      Pool: 3
Counterspelling            : 4 [Combat]             Pool: 8 (10)
Disenchanting              : 2                      Pool: 6
Gymnastics                 : 2                      Pool: 9
Heavy Weapons              : 2 [Grenade Launchers] Pool: 9 (11)
Navigation                 : 3                      Pool: 6
Perception                 : 3                      Pool: 6
Running                    : 2                      Pool: 7
Spellcasting               : 6 [Health]             Pool: 10 (12)
Summoning                  : 2                      Pool: 6
Survival                   : 3                      Pool: 8
Swimming                   : 2                      Pool: 7
Tracking                   : 3                      Pool: 6

== Knowledge Skills ==
Fashion                    : 1                      Pool: 4
Literature                 : 2                      Pool: 4
Magical Threats            : 4                      Pool: 6
Religion                   : 3 [Christianity]       Pool: 5 (7)
Small Unit Tactics         : 3                      Pool: 6

== Contacts ==
(3, 4) smuggler
(4, 1) cult member
(2, 2) beat cop

== Qualities ==
Astral Beacon
Code of Honor (Fundamentalist Christian)
Mystic Adept

== Spells ==
(Tradition: Christian Theurgy, Resist Drain with WIL + CHA (10))
Armor                      DV: F-2
Heal                       DV: F-4
Increase Reflexes          DV: F
Mana Barrier               DV: F-2
Stabilize                  DV: F-4

== Powers ==
Astral Perception
Danger Sense Rating: 1
Empathic Healing
Enhanced Accuracy (skill) (Blades)
Improved Physical Attribute (AGI) Rating: 2

== Lifestyles ==
On the streets  homeless

== Armor ==
Armor Jacket                        12
   +Chemical Protection 4
   +Fire Resistance 4
   +Nonconductivity 4
   +Radiation Shielding 3
   +YNT Softweave Armor
   +Biomonitor
   +Trodes
Helmet                              2
   +Flare Compensation
   +Respirator Rating 6
   +Vision Enhancement Rating 2
   +Vision Magnification

== Weapons ==
ArmTech MGL-12
   +Extreme Environment Modification, Level 1
   +Gecko Grip
   +Spare Clip
   +Weapon Personality (Zealous Evangelist)
   Pool: 11   Accuracy: 4   DV: Grenade   AP: -   RC: 2
Minigrenade: High Explosive
   Pool: 9   Accuracy: 0   DV: 16P (-2/m)   AP: -2   RC: 2
Sword Focus
   +Gecko Grip
   Pool: 18   Accuracy: 7   DV: 8P   AP: -2   RC: 2

== Commlink ==
Hermes Ikon (ATT: 0, SLZ: 0, DP: 5, FWL: 5)
   +Sim Module
   +Bug Scanner Rating 6
   +Micro-Transceiver
   +Tag Eraser
   +Datasoft (Daily Bible Verses)
   +Datasoft (Parafauna Update)

== Gear ==
Certified Credstick, Standard
Climbing Gear
Contacts Rating 1
   +Thermographic Vision
Fake SIN (Emily Sothering, Charity Worker) Rating 4
Fake SIN (Samantha Billingsly, Bounty Hunter) Rating 4
   +Fake License (Bounty Hunter's License) Rating 4
   +Fake License (Heavy Weapons License) Rating 4
   +Fake License (Focus license) Rating 4
Minigrenade: High Explosive x18
Monofilament Chainsaw
Reagents, per dram x60
Survival Kit
Weapon Focus (Bonded Foci) (Sword) Rating 3

It should be noted that the Smuggler is a close personal friend and HE holds the grenade launcher most of the time, as she doesn't walk the streets with that thing and she doesn't have a place to sleep right now.
« Last Edit: <12-08-14/1716:34> by Poindexter »
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saithor

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« Reply #7 on: <12-08-14/1819:52> »
I might join, depends on how much spare time I have. I'll start hashing together a character.
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Malevolence

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« Reply #8 on: <12-08-14/1829:08> »
I'll toss my hat in as well.


I'm thinking either cyber heavy combat monster or rigger, depending on how the house rules on riggers shake out.


Though I'm still leaning toward killing machine. A wooden club counts as wood for allergy damage right? And worst case I can get all pointy with the stakes. Buffy's not taken yet, is it? :p
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #9 on: <12-08-14/2011:05> »
I am penciling out a couple different approaches. Poindexter, do you have any background for Sister Rebecca other than Sixth World Paladin? I was thinking about referring to her in my backstory, maybe have her be an influence over the direction of my PC. Unless it is canon that Sister Rebecca is the newest member of the group?

rednblack

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« Reply #10 on: <12-08-14/2048:43> »
@saithor and @Malevolence, this is a planning thread, not a recruitment thread.  Should I open this up to recruitment I'll post in "Looking for Games", and I'll look forward to seeing what you have to offer. 

@Poindexter, can you elaborate on what "Code of Honor: Fundamentalist Christian" means to you, besides don't shoot the fetus?
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saithor

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« Reply #11 on: <12-08-14/2103:38> »
Ok, misunderstood the nature, it's good.
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Poindexter

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« Reply #12 on: <12-08-14/2321:23> »
can you elaborate on what "Code of Honor: Fundamentalist Christian" means to you, besides don't shoot the fetus?

She follows the 10 commandments to the letter, however the bits about killing and stuff only apply to meta-humans, not to spirits and whatnot.
I'll come up with something more specific by the time we get going.
« Last Edit: <12-13-14/1251:56> by Poindexter »
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rednblack

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« Reply #13 on: <12-08-14/2335:24> »
@Tecumseh, nothing is really canon other than y'all hunt vampires, and the huntin's been slow. . . and dangerous lately.

@Poindexter, cool, I can work with that.  We can write up the mechanics pretty easily, I bet.  I'll say I'm not a big fan of the lose 1 karma + gain 1 public awareness for not following your code.  The karma I get, but the Public Awareness bit doesn't always make a lot of sense situationally.  I honestly prefer a lot of the drawbacks from the Mentor Spirits section, so I may look there for some inspiration. 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #14 on: <12-09-14/0330:55> »
Very rough draft, awaiting further clarification about how generalized he/she needs to be. Leaning toward combat capabilities because that's how you stay alive while hunting vampires. Not really adding much to Sister Rebecca in terms of social or technical skills. I'm happy to power up or power down depending on the desired level of optimization.

This is an idea I've been toying with for a while, which is a (very) low-Magic character. I don't think I've ever played an augmented adept, although he/she barely qualifies as an adept. Not sure if the Randori (Vitals) technique applies to shooting as well or just melee combat, or if Randori (Vitals) stacks with the Sharpshooter quality.

Character concepts include a Christian warrior (Sir Dodge-a-Lot) or a NAN fighter (She-Who-Dodges-a-Lot). The exact weapon choices are flexible and somewhat dependent on the setting. The draft below features long Reach weapons, the better to keep vampires at bay with.

I picked Dog for a mentor spirit but could go Bear or Wolf too. Weapon-wise, I'd be interested in the HK XM30 modular weapon system to get a sniper rifle (since drilling vampires at a distance seems like a good policy) and an assault rifle in one - especially if we drop Automatics - but it is over the availability limit.

I have only spent 2 of the 10-15 extra karma. I picked up Computer and Etiquette because they seem like something everyone should have, but the dice pools are still pretty pathetic.

== Priorities ==
Resources: A - 450,000¥
Attributes: B - 20 Attributes
Skills: C - 28 Skills/2 Skill Groups
Special: D - Adept
Metatype: E - Human

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 4 (6)
REA: 5 (6)
STR: 3 (5)
CHA: 2
INT: 6
LOG: 2
WIL: 3
EDG: 3
MAG: 1 (2 from chargen, -1 from Essence loss)

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence: 5.01
Initiative: 2d6 + 12

== Limits ==
Physical 7
Mental 5
Social 5

== Active Skills ==
Athletics Skill Group: 1
Outdoors Skill Group: 1

Armorer (Firearms) 2 (4)
Automatics (Assault Rifles) 5 (7)
Blades (Swords) 5 (7)
Computer 1*
Etiquette 1*
Heavy Weapons 1*
Locksmith 1*
Palming 1*
Perception (Hearing) 5 (7)
Sneaking (TBD) 4 (6)

*from karma

== Knowledge Skills ==
TBD

== Positive Qualities (19 karma) ==
Adept
Agile Defender
Catlike
Mentor Spirit (Dog)
Sharpshooter

== Negative Qualities (25 karma) ==
Addiction (Moderate) (Stimulants)
Allergy (Uncommon, Mild) (TBD)
Dependent (Nuisance)
Prejudiced (Specific, Biased) (TBD)
SINner (National) (TBD)

== Powers ==
Combat Sense Rating: 1
Critical Strike (Blades)
Improved Sense (High Frequency Hearing) (from Mentor Spirit)
Improved Sense (Scent) (from Mentor Spirit)

== Cyberware/Bioware ==
Muscle Augmentation Rating 2 (alphaware)
Muscle Toner Rating 2 (alphaware)
Synaptic Booster Rating 1 (beta!)

== Weapons ==
Ares Alpha
Katana (Weapon Focus 3)

== Martial Arts ==
Kenjutsu
   +Iaijutsu
Okichitaw
   +Randori (Vitals)

== Gear ==
Weapon Focus (Bonded Foci) (Katana) Rating 3
+¥130k of stuff I may or may not need