[Herr Brackhaus]

I've never quite understood Slicing The Pie; you forego your +2/+4 for a variable +X? Is that it?

I think Small Unit Tactics is very thematic, especially if we've worked together before and you have leadership (Eddie would likely look up to someone more experienced), so I could go either way.

[rednblack]

Yes, my understanding is that you forgo your cover bonus, as the book states, "Defensive bonus to the searchers only based on number of successes. . ." (Emphasis mine).  With a well-trained team beating a +4 Full Cover bonus shouldn't be too hard, and should also allow multiple team members to be positioned to return fire, which isn't as likely for a team just making their way through a warehouse, for example. 

Still, I don't think it's worth it in this case, even if it is thematic. 

Hope to have char sheet finalized today. 

[Tecumseh]

It sounds like we have a sneaky group, on the whole, which is great. rednblack is sneaky, Herr Brackhaus is very sneaky, Raiderjoseph is a clumsy bull in an overstocked china shop so he's an exception but still. We have the start of a good trenchcoat team.

With that in mind, I'm moving away from a "chip-on-her-shoulder" combat mage and toward an illusion/manipulation mage that can better support the team's goals of getting in and out unseen and unheard. I'm trying to pick spells that I think will complement the team structure. Physical Mask, for example, could pair very well with rednblack's Impersonation skill. Trid Phantasm and Manascape (if I'm reading/understanding Manascape correctly) can be used to help keep us out of sight and out of mind while we're on-site. Petrify and Opium Den can be used to distract and non-lethally remove potential combatants. Levitate can be used to prevent Raiderjoseph from tripping over his own feet.

She's not done yet, but I wanted to get a draft up for review and feedback. She still needs contacts, knowledge skills, plus finalized karma and nuyen spending.

[spoiler]== Priorities ==
Metatype: C - Dwarf
Attributes: C - 16 Attributes
Special: A - Magician
Skills: C - 28 Skills/2 Skill Groups
Resources: E - 6,000¥

== Attributes ==
BOD: 3
AGI: 3
REA: 3
STR: 3
CHA: 3
INT: 5
LOG: 2
WIL: 7
EDG: 2
MAG: 6

== Derived Attributes ==
Essence:                   6
Initiative:                8 + 1d6
Astral Initiative:         10 + 2d6
Physical Damage Track:     10
Stun Damage Track:         12

== Limits ==
Physical:                  4
Mental:                    6
   Audio Enhancement [+2] (Only for audio Perception)
   Vision Enhancement [+3] (Only for visual Perception)
Social:                    7
Astral:                    7

== Active Skills ==
Assensing                  : 6 [Aura Reading]       Pool: 12 (14)
Automatics                 : 1 [Submachine Guns]    Pool: 4 (6)
Counterspelling            : 6 [Combat]             Pool: 12 (14)
Etiquette                  : 1                      Pool: 4
Navigation                 : 2                      Pool: 7
Perception                 : 3 [Visual]             Pool: 9 (11)
Sneaking                   : 3 [Urban]              Pool: 8 (10)
Spellcasting               : 6 [Combat]             Pool: 12 (14)
Summoning                  : 6 [Guardian Spirit]    Pool: 12 (14)
Survival                   : 2                      Pool: 9
Tracking                   : 2                      Pool: 7

== Knowledge Skills ==

== Qualities ==
Addiction (Mild) (Stimulants)
Focused Concentration (Rating 2)
In Debt IV
Magician
Mentor Spirit (Cat)
Perceptive I
Perfect Time
Phobia (Uncommon, Mild) (Large bodies of water (e.g.lakes, oceans))
Resistance to Pathogens/Toxins
SINner (National) (Sioux)
Thermographic Vision

== Spells ==
(Tradition: Sioux, Resist Drain with WIL + INT (12))
Chill                      DV: F-1
Flame Burst                DV: F+1
Heal                       DV: F-4
Ice Storm                  DV: F+1
Increase [Attribute] (INT) DV: F-3
Levitate                   DV: F-2
Magic Fingers              DV: F-2
Manascape                  DV: F-2
Opium Den                  DV: F-1
Petrify                    DV: F-2
Physical Mask              DV: F-1
Trid Phantasm              DV: F

== Lifestyles ==
Ork Underground  1 month

== Armor ==
Armor Jacket                        12
   +Chemical Protection 3
   +Fire Resistance 3
   +Insulation 3
   +Nonconductivity 3
Helmet                              2
   +Trodes

== Weapons ==
Ingram Smartgun X
   +Concealable Holster
   +Smartgun System, Internal
   +Sound Suppressor
   Pool: 4 (6)   Accuracy: 6   DV: 8P   AP: -   RC: 4
Unarmed Attack
   Pool: 2   Accuracy: 4   DV: 3S   AP: -   RC: 2

== Commlink ==
Renraku Sensei (DP: 3, FWL: 3)

== Gear ==
Ammo: Explosive Rounds (Submachine Guns) x40
Ammo: Flechette Rounds (Submachine Guns) x40
Ammo: Gel Rounds (Submachine Guns) x40
Ammo: Regular Ammo (Submachine Guns) x40
Ammo: Stick-n-Shock (Submachine Guns) x40
Contacts Rating 3
   +Image Link
   +Flare Compensation
   +Low Light
Cram x5
Earbuds Rating 3
   +Audio Enhancement Rating 2
   +Sound Link
Fake SIN (UCAS) Rating 4
   +Fake License (Mage License) Rating 4
   +Fake License (Automatic Weapons License) Rating 4
Flashlight, Infrared
Jazz x5
Monocle Rating 4
   +Vision Enhancement Rating 3
   +Vision Magnification
Psyche x5
Reagents, per dram x20
Slap Patch, Stim Patch Rating 6 x2
Slap Patch, Trauma Patch
Subvocal Mic
Survival Kit
Sustaining Focus Formula, Health Rating 4
Trodes[/spoiler]

[Herr Brackhaus]

Manascape is very GM dependent; at my table I allow magicians to use it as a poor man's masking technique, where a signature can not only be changed (allowing a magician to alter his own aura to appear mundane) but hidden entirely (like an astral version of Invisibility). I counteract this by requiring the magician to have line of sight to the target as well as expending a complex action per combat turn to move the area of effect along with the team members being covered.

Other GMs have different interpretations of the spell, ranging from only being able to change active auras such as those from foci or sustained spells and not those of people, to somewhere in between.

Physical Mask + Disguise/Impersonation + Manascape = one heck of a social infiltrator. Manascape + Concealment + Stealth/Sneaking = potent physical infiltrator.

I think that's an excellent choice for synergy, Tecumseh, and the sheet looks good. I would personally pick electricity attacks over cold for the secondary effects, but that's mostly just personal preference.

[Tecumseh]

The way I read Manascape makes it sound like Phantasm/Trid Phantasm for the astral world. I think the restriction you suggest about spending actions to move the AoE is reasonable.

Herr and I are on the same page as far as synergies are concerned. I was even trying to work in Silence to cover the sound aspect too (in addition to visual via Trid Phantasm and the astral via Manascape) but I was having trouble finding the spell slot for it. I'm already at 12 spells, having purchased 2 extra via karma. Alternatively, Concealment from a spirit could help dampen sound.

I was also trying to take spells that I haven't used / played with before, just to avoid falling into old habits. A couple of them are from Shadow Spells and are really interesting:

Chill - A Direct damage spell that includes a secondary effect that reduces the target's initiative.
Flame Burst - A sustained combat spell (the only one I know of) that sends out a wall of flame every Combat Turn. A spell for desperate times, but very badass.
Ice Storm - Does traditional AoE damage but also creates an ice sheet as a secondary effect. Good for getaways!
Petrify - Resisted only by Body + Counterspelling, knock someone out of the fight (maybe even preemptively) without killing them.

The flip side to all of these is that they are relatively high drain, which is going to keep their Force levels down. To that end, I've been considering learning some of the spells as Limited Spells that require a fetish. I haven't done that before as a PC so that could be something that's interesting and fun too.

[gwilym]

Working on my char, but I've lost this weeks lunch times to auditors and a pregnant assistant. Managed to start draft one tonight. Will have something to rip to pieces (&reasdemble tomorrow)

[CraterShip]

No worries gwilym, you've got time still.

Manascape to me sounds similar to what you guys have already been talking about. My initial inclination is to have it cover a static area, determined by force that is sustained, and can be centered anywhere within LOS of the mage, if you wanna move it, you'll have to recast the spell at a new location. However, since that isn't in the rules, and forcing the mage to face that much drain over and over seems a bit too far on the d-bag gm scale. So I'll go with Herr's version, cast once with area determined by force, and the mage may move at the cost of his complex action for the turn (since that's what you would normally have to use to cast a spell). If the mage desires to resize, however, then it'll be a whole new cast, hindered by the previously sustained one, unless the mage drops the first. Sound fair to everyone?

[Tecumseh]

Yes, that sounds fair to me.

CraterShip, do you have any other personal preferences / habits / house rules when it comes to GMing magic? Examples include:

1) Do you restrict spirit services to the type of spirit they are for that tradition? I find that this can get boring, as it's the same spirit type summoned over and over again, especially for combat. Personally, I like the flexibility of having a couple different options, depending on the situation, which helps keep some of the flavor. (I've been wanting to experiment with Guardian spirits but they're not going to get much attention if I can only use them for Manipulation services.)

2) Do vision enhancements in contacts/glasses/monocles affect a mage's LOS for spellcasting?

I'm also comfortable with gentlemen's agreements on certain topics. I'm not building a hugely optimized character nor am I intending to abuse the rules; I'm aiming more for a support role here.

Separate question: This dwarf comes from the Sioux Nation, so I figure that she's from the Great Plains and is a bit intimidated by large bodies of water, hence her phobia. Given Seattle's geography - Puget Sound, Lake Union, Lake Washington, etc. - would this qualify as a common phobia or an uncommon one? I'm also happy to broaden the phobia definition to include any "deep" water (deep meaning deeper than she is tall, so 1.4 meters or so). Let me know what you think.

[CraterShip]

Still pretty new to GMing, so I'll make the calls as needed about most things, I've never seen any rules about the spirit thing you are talking about, I'm inclined to let a spirit do just about anything a normal person could plus their powers. Aside from some of the obvious things like being a face or piloting a vehicle...

As for vision enhancements for mages, so long as you don't abuse it (like using a telescope to fireball the moon) I'm pretty ok with them not interfering.

For the phobia, I would say uncommon, even though there are quite a few bodies of water, it's pretty easy to forget that fact inside buildings and city centers. I'm ok with the description as large or deep, since in real life those are usually interchangeable.

[Tecumseh]

Noted. I'll work with that.

#1 is from a throw-away line buried in the middle of a paragraph in Street Grimoire. In my opinion, it is way too hidden (and not at all discussed elsewhere, in fluff or in crunch) to be a rule I put much weight on. Other GMs use the rule as leverage if their tables are turning into MagicRun or SpiritRun, which can happen with powergamers. (I GM'd a player like that about five years ago and it was admittedly a headache.)

Fluff-wise, you can't fireball the moon because the Earth's manasphere doesn't extend that far. Presumably the fireball would fizzle once it reached low Earth orbit. For our purposes, I was thinking more about preserving some Perception bonuses from gear rather than turning into a magical sniper blowing things up from kilometers away.

You'll form more opinions as you GM and get neck-deep in the rules. Just let us know if anything is irking you and we can figure out a compromise. We want to be effective, but not overpowered.

[gwilym]

If I have a question can DM you or does it all need to be open forum?

[CraterShip]

gwilym, I'll assume you meant PM, and that's fine. Open forum is also fine, as all the runners are being treated as if they have met before. No real need to hide anything from anyone, and some of the others may have more insight about certain rules than I do.

Rednblack: Just finished looking over the character, mostly looks good. Only things I noticed was that you have a machine pistol (which is governed by the automatics skill) but no points put into automatics. Your light pistol is perfectly fine for pistols skills. Your computer skill is also pretty dismal, although that is probably not going to be something you need to use with a technomancer in the mix. I do worry about your low lockpick skill, you could probably benefit from an autopicker a little more. The only other thing was the light fire 70 silencer on the light fire 75 pistol (I believe that has been updated to reflect the correct pistol, works the same) probably just a typo, but just a heads up. Otherwise, looks fine. You seem to have a pretty good grasp on all the social skills with that high CHA. Someone may know this one better than I, but I did notice you had both school of hard knocks and college educated, are they both allowed on a single character? I seem to recall something about only being able to take one of those... could be wrong though.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Machine pistols can be fired in semi-automatic mode with the Pistols skill, but not sure what a machine pistol adds to an unskilled character that a pistol wouldn't.

And autopickers only work on mechanical locks, unfortunately. Unless we're only running in the deeper parts of the Barrens, I would be surprised if maglocks weren't commonplace.

[rednblack]

Re: Machine Pistols, large capacity is nice.  That said, I got my wires crossed and thought I remembered that Machine Pistols could use the Pistol skill in general, not just with SA fire.  I may switch out the Crusader II for the Salavette Guardian.  It'd be nice to be able to lay down some Suppressive Fire, but I guess Chaim is going to have to rely on Leadership for longer distance engagements.  I don't see this particular face going the Automatics route -- though I was pretty tempted to get my Specialization in Revolvers.  They're just really so bad for stealth characters.

Re: Locksmith, since it's a Threshold test, it's usually pretty safe to have low dice pools there.  This skill will be very secondary for Chaim, as there's no way he's going to be matching Eddie's 14 dice -- 16 against maglocks -- and they should be bringing Scatter on site for most jobs where they'll be up against a high threshold to begin with. 

Apologies that I didn't get my sheet finalized yesterday.  Today doesn't look good for it, but I will see what I can do.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Eddie rolls 14 dice against any lock, not 16; Agility 6 + Locksmith 6 gives a base of 12, and then I get +against key locks because of the wireless Autopicker and +2 against maglocks because of the specialization. The two do not overlap, unfortunately.

As per page 359, there are two main types of locks; key locks and maglocks.

Key locks must be defeated with a Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (Lock Rating, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test, and Autopickers add their rating to the dice pool (or the rating can be used as the skill). Transponder-embedded key locks can be picked the same way, but a Hardware + Logic [Mental] (Lock Rating, 1 minute) Extended Test must be passed at the same time the lock is picked. In this respect, I think a good choice for Chaim would be the hardware skill, which Eddie doesn't have.

Maglocks must be defeated by dismantling the case (a Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (Maglock Rating x 2, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test), followed by rewiring the internals (another Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (Maglock Rating x 2, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test); a third is necessary if you want to put the case back together. Some maglocks also have tamper protection systems, which can be bypassed with a Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (anti-tamper system rating) Success test.

All of that being said; rednblack, you could help both through teamwork or leadership, both of which would be bringing my dice pool up even further. With 14 dice you're looking at an average of 4.67 hits on the first test, followed by 4.33 on the second test, and so on. Even a Rating 6 maglock (Threshold 12) should be doable in 6 combat turns, or 18 seconds). If using the buying hits rule this would increase to 8 combat turns, or 24 seconds for a Rating 6 lock, not counting reassembling the case or bypassing anti-tamper systems. A Rating 6 key lock on the other hand should be doable in 2 combat turns, or 6 seconds. Of course, the bitch goddess of luck may well have something to say about probability and statistical averages

ETA:
Oh, and extended clips are nice for pistols, rednblack. Get a Rating 2 extended clip if you want capacity; that doesn't come with suppressive fire of course, but if we're needing suppressive fire we've probably messed up the trench coat run anyway. In that case Eddie has a full-auto AK-97 with extended clips.