[Malevolence]

Technically, the brain fragging only lasts a short time, and from what I've seen, once the spell is up, people KNOW they've been fragged with. Influence works better here as it is permanent (until they are directly confronted with evidence to the contrary) if well crafted. Someone all masky and sharp thing wieldy has that spell...

[Malevolence]

Upon reading the details, apparently Influence fades after a few minutes as well, and it doesn't mention that they are automatically aware of the influence once the spell fades (for either Control Thoughts or Influence), so Control Thoughts might be the better option after all.

[rednblack]

8-bit is correct. They still do use license plates. I was wondering that myself but then I read an explicit reference to them just a day or two ago. I think it was in Stolen Souls, in the long section about extractions. Presumably there are lots of RFID tags too.

Ohanzee has Control Thoughts, but that has its own consequences. Brain fragging is still a major no-no.

@rednblack, I will PM you with recipe tips tonight. If anyone else wants them, let me know.

There's also a morphing license plate you can buy for your wheel man chars. I'm not sure what book that is in, except that it's one I don't have yet

And thank you.

[8-bit]

8-bit is correct. They still do use license plates. I was wondering that myself but then I read an explicit reference to them just a day or two ago. I think it was in Stolen Souls, in the long section about extractions. Presumably there are lots of RFID tags too.

Ohanzee has Control Thoughts, but that has its own consequences. Brain fragging is still a major no-no.

@rednblack, I will PM you with recipe tips tonight. If anyone else wants them, let me know.

There's also a morphing license plate you can buy for your wheel man chars. I'm not sure what book that is in, except that it's one I don't have yet

And thank you.

Stolen Souls and Arsenal have them.

[Malevolence]

So, cheese - Control Thoughts the owner of the RV (gotta figure which one it is), command them to transfer ownership of the RV to Chino. Knock them out (sleeping pills?) before the spell wears off. Clean up all evidence of magic (a few combat turns) and drive off in our new RV. They should be out for a few hours before they can wake up and wonder what happened.


This gets into the weeds with ownership. Even though they "voluntarily" transferred ownership, presumably there is still a paper trail leading to Chino (or a false ID that he doesn't have) and probably some sort of unique ID for the RV (besides its license plate) that would make it traceable. In other words, short of making them disappear (killing/kidnapping/tying  up) once they report it stolen it can be traced if online, even if we have transferred ownership.


Unless we do it non-legitimately. My assumption about the hours long process (as opposed to the couple second action) to transfer ownership is that you clean the item of any identifying information that can be linked to its previous owner - serial numbers, paper trails, etc - and give it counterfeit ones that are just as good as real ones.


If we do a legitimate transfer of ownership (by Puppeteer or Spoof Command or mind control/coercion) then it can still be reported stolen and tracked. If we do it the illegal (and thus riskier) way, then it is ours free and clear with no discernible connection to its prior owners.


But that's how I interpret the rules. If compelling the device to legitimately change owners provides us with a clean device, then my cheese above could be the plan. Otherwise, like Zweiblumen, we need them unconscious for a few hours so that we can get out of Aspen and park somewhere "safe" and spend the time to take ownership.


Or dead. Per IC thoughts, Ohanzee would be opposed to this unless no other option was available. What kind of stuff does our "host" have in his medicine cabinet - or could we juryrig something from our medkit supplies? It seems simple sleeping pills should be fairly easy to come by.

[8-bit]

So, cheese - Control Thoughts the owner of the RV (gotta figure which one it is), command them to transfer ownership of the RV to Chino. Knock them out (sleeping pills?) before the spell wears off. Clean up all evidence of magic (a few combat turns) and drive off in our new RV. They should be out for a few hours before they can wake up and wonder what happened.

This gets into the weeds with ownership. Even though they "voluntarily" transferred ownership, presumably there is still a paper trail leading to Chino (or a false ID that he doesn't have) and probably some sort of unique ID for the RV (besides its license plate) that would make it traceable. In other words, short of making them disappear (killing/kidnapping/tying  up) once they report it stolen it can be traced if online, even if we have transferred ownership.

Actually, that sounds pretty interesting. They can still report it stolen, and it probably can be traced, but there will be legitimate records within the Matrix database saying "Transferred ownership". The authorities might just chalk it up to dementia or memory loss on the old people's part. Or they'll think we were minor car thieves or something. I don't know, it's still risky, but I think it would be less risky.

Unless we do it non-legitimately. My assumption about the hours long process (as opposed to the couple second action) to transfer ownership is that you clean the item of any identifying information that can be linked to its previous owner - serial numbers, paper trails, etc - and give it counterfeit ones that are just as good as real ones.

My impression was that you had to hack databases and the hardware itself to convince the system that the ownership was changed.

If we do a legitimate transfer of ownership (by Puppeteer or Spoof Command or mind control/coercion) then it can still be reported stolen and tracked. If we do it the illegal (and thus riskier) way, then it is ours free and clear with no discernible connection to its prior owners.

But that's how I interpret the rules. If compelling the device to legitimately change owners provides us with a clean device, then my cheese above could be the plan. Otherwise, like Zweiblumen, we need them unconscious for a few hours so that we can get out of Aspen and park somewhere "safe" and spend the time to take ownership.

Or dead. Per IC thoughts, Ohanzee would be opposed to this unless no other option was available. What kind of stuff does our "host" have in his medicine cabinet - or could we juryrig something from our medkit supplies? It seems simple sleeping pills should be fairly easy to come by.

Even that is risky. No idea if the sleeping pills will overdose them, or if they have medical conditions, etc. Anything we juryrig is unlikely to be medical standard, so we have no idea what effects it might have. Definitely less messy though.

[Zweiblumen]

Even that is risky. No idea if the sleeping pills will overdose them, or if they have medical conditions, etc. Anything we juryrig is unlikely to be medical standard, so we have no idea what effects it might have. Definitely less messy though.

Doc would probably qualify as an experienced doctor/surgeon.  I'm sure he'd be able to safely knock them out.  Medicine/FirstAid of 6 and logic of 9, he'd be able to figure out the right thing to do there.  A little risky, but he's qualified.  I'm just worried about having enough time, and how thin we are spreading Doc.  Really missing APB right about now.

[Tecumseh]

Doc has Logic 9 + Biotech 5, so, yes, he's a pro. Ace and Katsina just bought medkit supplies so there are sedatives available. The host also has a standard medicine cabinet, including sleeping aids. And, yes, Doc is getting spread thin in APB's absence.

@Zweiblumen, you don't have to retcon what you revealed about Gloria Winters earlier. Most of that would have emerged in the first hour or two of searching. Doc has not yet "completed" his search on the obelisk, but he knows that he's several hours in and hasn't come up with a single hit, which is telling in itself.

Ownership is not well defined by the current rules. How does a device know who its owner is? Your guess is as good as mine. Biometrics? Magic? Resonance? That said, transferring ownership of a vehicle is a legal process and cannot be done quickly. And, even if it were done under magical manipulation, the law certainly accounts for transfers made under duress. If you want to "own" the vehicle you will have to do it via the Hardware extended test from p. 237.

There probably aren't any risk-free options for the current situation. Everything has a price.

In other news, here's a photo I took of tonight's sunset from the Seattle waterfront. The sky is being reflected off a puddle on Pier 62/63. Elliott Bay is at the end of the pier; the Olympic Mountains are out-of-focus on the right. Suck it, losers!

[8-bit]

Holy cow Tecumseh. That's an awesome picture. Now I'm jealous 

[Poindexter]

So, cheese - Control Thoughts the owner of the RV (gotta figure which one it is), command them to transfer ownership of the RV to Chino. Knock them out (sleeping pills?) before the spell wears off. Clean up all evidence of magic (a few combat turns) and drive off in our new RV. They should be out for a few hours before they can wake up and wonder what happened.


This gets into the weeds with ownership. Even though they "voluntarily" transferred ownership, presumably there is still a paper trail leading to Chino (or a false ID that he doesn't have) and probably some sort of unique ID for the RV (besides its license plate) that would make it traceable. In other words, short of making them disappear (killing/kidnapping/tying  up) once they report it stolen it can be traced if online, even if we have transferred ownership.


Unless we do it non-legitimately. My assumption about the hours long process (as opposed to the couple second action) to transfer ownership is that you clean the item of any identifying information that can be linked to its previous owner - serial numbers, paper trails, etc - and give it counterfeit ones that are just as good as real ones.


If we do a legitimate transfer of ownership (by Puppeteer or Spoof Command or mind control/coercion) then it can still be reported stolen and tracked. If we do it the illegal (and thus riskier) way, then it is ours free and clear with no discernible connection to its prior owners.

This makes me think we should control em, pill em, and change the ownership as fast as we can while we drive.

[8-bit]

After a good night's sleep, I have another thought that might help.

Chino is pretty good at ripping spirits apart. If I can intercept them before they find us, I might be able to disrupt them and buy us a little extra time. That is, if I can intercept them before they show up at our door.

It's not guaranteed to work, and it might not be feasible, but it's another thing to add.

[Tecumseh]

Chino is a wrecking ball. While reflecting on his ability to pull spirits' arms out of their sockets, he remembers that he can do it on the astral too. Chino has Astral Combat 5.

@rednblack, the house is not run on propane. The city (and the house) is powered by a combination of geothermal wells combined with solar thermal panels designed to take advantage of Aspen's 250 days of sun each year.

@Zweiblumen, I'm not sure Katsina would care if Doc called her Kat. Given that she's only had her name for about 14 hours, it's probably not too critical to her self-identity yet.

If the plan is to destroy the cabin - especially in an explosive fashion - then Katsina would point out that the emergency responders might try to evacuate the neighboring homes. If the firemen and paramedics find an older couple doped out of their minds it is going to look suspicious.

Let me know if I missed any other questions.

[rednblack]

So, cheese - Control Thoughts the owner of the RV (gotta figure which one it is), command them to transfer ownership of the RV to Chino. Knock them out (sleeping pills?) before the spell wears off. Clean up all evidence of magic (a few combat turns) and drive off in our new RV. They should be out for a few hours before they can wake up and wonder what happened.


This gets into the weeds with ownership. Even though they "voluntarily" transferred ownership, presumably there is still a paper trail leading to Chino (or a false ID that he doesn't have) and probably some sort of unique ID for the RV (besides its license plate) that would make it traceable. In other words, short of making them disappear (killing/kidnapping/tying  up) once they report it stolen it can be traced if online, even if we have transferred ownership.


Unless we do it non-legitimately. My assumption about the hours long process (as opposed to the couple second action) to transfer ownership is that you clean the item of any identifying information that can be linked to its previous owner - serial numbers, paper trails, etc - and give it counterfeit ones that are just as good as real ones.


If we do a legitimate transfer of ownership (by Puppeteer or Spoof Command or mind control/coercion) then it can still be reported stolen and tracked. If we do it the illegal (and thus riskier) way, then it is ours free and clear with no discernible connection to its prior owners.

This makes me think we should control em, pill em, and change the ownership as fast as we can while we drive.

I'm amenable to this plan.  It'll buy us some time without going full on psychopath, so that's a plus.

[Poindexter]

If the plan is to destroy the cabin - especially in an explosive fashion - then Katsina would point out that the emergency responders might try to evacuate the neighboring homes. If the firemen and paramedics find an older couple doped out of their minds it is going to look suspicious.

even if we made it look like smoke inhalation was the culprit behind said doping?

[Zweiblumen]

Btw, nice shot @Tecumseh, and while not from last night, I get mornings like this: