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[5e OOC] Tabula Rasa, Chapter IV

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Tecumseh

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« Reply #450 on: <09-29-15/1942:16> »
It sounds like things are in motion.

Cannon lingers for a second in case you need to tell him anything else.

Separately, the team in the RV has a chance to talk amongst themselves and/or make additional stops on the way back to the campsite, if they want. It's late so there might not be a ton that's open other than quick serve restaurants and/or Apex stores.

If they don't want, we can merge the team back together at the campsite.

The next steps are to give Cannon the meet details and to make whatever arrangements you want before that time. It's now late on Tuesday the 5th. Per Cannon's comments, he won't be ready before tomorrow night at the earliest.

Next
1. IC posts from Malevolence/Zweiblumen/rednblack to announce and/or discuss the deal
2. OOC posts for anything you want to do on the way back to the campsite
3. IC or OOC planning for the meet

rednblack

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« Reply #451 on: <09-30-15/1405:32> »
Just wanting to check in. Digging the way this is playing out -- all those pesky and frightening questions included -- and I've really been digging the interplay between Sam and Katsina here lately.

Today is a bit hectic so I'm not sure that I'll be able to get an IC up, but one is coming.
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Poindexter

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« Reply #452 on: <09-30-15/2003:07> »
How long has the RV team been away from camp by the time they get back?
And how much of that time has been AFTER Sam and Katsina's conversation and initial tutoring?
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #453 on: <09-30-15/2014:16> »
I'll answer these in reverse.

Sam and Katsina's conversation could have taken place either Monday or Tuesday. The conversation's posts align with the Tuesday posts of the rest of the group, but that's more for OOC reasons (namely the days of Poindexter's posting) rather than for any IC reason. If Sam would have initiated the conversation sooner, the conversation would have taken place on Monday.

In either case, the current IC time is about 9:30pm on Tuesday. The team with the RV will get back to camp around 11pm.

If the conversation with Sam took place on Monday, then Sam and Katsina have had all day Tuesday to practice assensing, counterspelling, and play in the snow.
If the conversation with Sam took place on Tuesday, then the two of them will have 8+ hours between the time the conversation concludes and the arrival of the away team back at camp.

Malevolence

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« Reply #454 on: <09-30-15/2021:17> »
So, the RV complicates things a bit. We have to allow for travel time for a large, slow vehicle, but they could also (and will likely) deploy some assets aerially. So we will have to have them meet at a rally point near the actual meeting place before giving them the final meet location so that the discrepancy in travel times doesn't significantly impact the operational security of the meet.


I'll get some of this up in IC, but I just wanted to mention it here since it might be some time before I can get one up.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #455 on: <09-30-15/2029:13> »
Which RV are you talking about: the one you rented (and are driving in now) or the Winnebago you're expecting them to bring with them as part of the payment?

In theory, Doc is chilling out in the Prometheus at some remote location to provide Matrix overwatch and to act as an escrow agent. That can be as close or as far away as you like.

For reference, your campsite is maybe 30 minutes outside of Rifle.

Zweiblumen

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« Reply #456 on: <09-30-15/2116:01> »
Sorry for the radio silence.  I sprained my wrists on monday and typing is a bitch.  I'll get necessary IC posts up, but they'll be on the terser side of things.  :/
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #457 on: <10-05-15/1756:45> »
Hi team. It sounds like we're closing in on the final meet so let's talk tactics. I'm going to paint a picture in broad terms about your current location and situation. Other locations are possible but previously you indicated a desire to use this location so that you can create an avalanche to cover your escape and/or avenge your deaths, if necessary.

Your current location is on a road in a valley. Rifle is to the south. The road continues further up the valley (north) but your location is as far as your non-winterized vehicles can push given the snow and ice. The road eventually dead-ends deeper in the wilderness so you don't have to worry about vehicles coming from that direction (north) unless they are snowmobiles and/or inserted aerially. As such, you are at a functional dead-end and have a chokepoint to work with. Conversely, this will make escape very difficult unless it is on foot.

The valley is 50 meters wide at the base. On each side of the valley (east and west) you have relatively steep slopes. For range purposes, the high points on each side of the valley are about 500m away in each direction. In both cases the high points are about 350 meters above your current position. The steepness of the slope and the volume of the snow on the hillside will make for a fairly effective avalanche, should you trigger it. The tree cover (see below) will slow the avalanche down, which may provide some opportunity to climb trees and/or race up or down the road to escape, but once the avalanche arrives anything in the valley will be buried. Vehicles will be damaged but may or may not be destroyed depending on their durability. Trees might be knocked over so be careful if you choose to climb one. Unprotected metahumans will be buried. If you cannot hold your breath for 1-3 months, or at least long enough to dig yourself out, you may wish to be elsewhere. Doc calculates that it will take 5 to 7 Combat Turns for the avalanche to reach the bottom of the valley. (Yes, I did the math.)

There is tree cover most everywhere but the road. Anyone who is not exposed (i.e. near the road) will have Good Cover from any observers above the treeline. The trees provide astral cover as well as visual cover. The hillsides are also covered in shrub brush, although this brush cover is largely buried in the snow.

In the valley, it is dark from 6pm to 7am. It will be Full Darkness if it's cloudy, or Dim Light if the moon is out. An hour before those given times the light will be Partial Light to account for sunset/sunrise. The current forecast is for passing cloud cover overnight for the next few nights. There is no precipitation in the forecast, although it could be windy, which in turn could kick up snow and create a "Light Smoke" penalty (which could mess with the DV of Ace's laser weapons). Being under the tree cover will make the conditions one level darker than the non-covered conditions.

That's what I can think of off the top of my head. If you have specific questions about the situation, go ahead and ask. Let's get some OOC and IC discussion rolling.

Malevolence

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« Reply #458 on: <10-05-15/1952:08> »
Our odds of survival are slim if they decide to start shooting. We could find some abandoned building in town and set the meet for there, providing easier egress, but also more ingress to cover, and it puts more civilians at risk when/if the artifact goes "boom". Ohanzee still can't imagine the artifact is world ending, but he figures the affected area could easily be measured in kilometers. Hence his partiality to the current plan.
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #459 on: <10-05-15/2040:34> »
Katsina has provided an outline of a plan for discussion. It is definitely not "the GM says this so we're doing it this way". Rather I'm trying to get the ball rolling on what can be a sprawling discussion.

At this point I'm looking for IC posts from everyone to contribute on their areas of expertise. OOC posts are also welcome if you want to chime in on things that are outside of your PC's traditional specialty.

Next steps
@Poindexter An IC post from Sam regarding small unit tactics and fire support.
@rednblack An IC post from Ace regarding corporate security tactics and/or small unit tactics and fire support.
@rednblack An IC post from Chino regarding kicking down trees and what Ace Holt or Neil the Ork Barbarian would do in this situation.
@Malevolence An IC post from Ohanzee regarding magical support, including spirits, counterspelling, and offensive spellcasting. Additional thoughts on the sequence of the meet - i.e. the face components - are also welcome.
@Zweiblumen An IC post from Doc regarding Matrix overwatch, potentially covering drone support as well (although anyone can chime in on this).

rednblack

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« Reply #460 on: <10-06-15/1206:47> »
Does Ace see any glaring holes in the plan? Security Tactics (Rapid Response): 11d6t5 2

As for Chino, I'll try to get something up today, but I'll be out of town this Thursday through Monday, so I'm putting out a lot of fires here work-wise to get ready for my absence. 
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #461 on: <10-06-15/1704:56> »
Ace isn't sure how well the buyer would respond to a "no copters, one drone" provision. He knows that Ares would have laughed at anyone who made those demands. The DIMR and ASPS, being rather less paramilitary than Ares, might agree, or they might decide that they don't like the risk of driving into a dead-end that only has one direction of escape.

The same is true for the "wait half an hour before you leave" request. To Ace, that would scream "ambush" or "someone else will be along shortly to relieve you of the multimillion nuyen artifact I just unloaded on you". That's almost certainly a non-starter, and the only reason they might agree to it is because it's also largely unenforceable.

Ohanzee, based on his negotiations with Cannon, thinks that the ASPS won't accept any provisions without receiving their own in return.

Regarding Ace's weapon situation, don't forget that you still have all the weapons you've been hauling around with you. These are listed at the bottom of Katsina's sheet at the front of the OOC forum. For example, you have:

1 Defiance T-250 shotgun + 20 rounds Stick-n-Shock ammo (I think from the goons you did battle with when you flipped the RV)
1 Pioneer 60 + flechette ammo (from Mr. Moran's cabin)
1 Springfield 1911M + regular + hollow-point ammo (from Mr. Moran's cabin)

I also have it that you kept the hunter's weapons from the night you woke up. I can't remember what all of those are but I think they are three shotguns and one rifle. (Namely, the rifle that Ace used to shoot down the Nissan Hound.) I can go back and look if you want to know. So Ace does have some longer-range options other than his Redline weapons.

rednblack

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« Reply #462 on: <10-06-15/1808:18> »
Ace isn't sure how well the buyer would respond to a "no copters, one drone" provision. He knows that Ares would have laughed at anyone who made those demands. The DIMR and ASPS, being rather less paramilitary than Ares, might agree, or they might decide that they don't like the risk of driving into a dead-end that only has one direction of escape.

I don't think much of the bolded text either.  It's one of the reasons I'd prefer a meet in a city.  One avenue of egress does mean that neither side would want to sabotage it, though. 

While the funds held in escrow is good security, I'm not convinced the buyer wouldn't have cause to gas our group from above, collect the bodies and the artifacts, and perhaps sell us off to one of the many interested groups.

The same is true for the "wait half an hour before you leave" request. To Ace, that would scream "ambush" or "someone else will be along shortly to relieve you of the multimillion nuyen artifact I just unloaded on you". That's almost certainly a non-starter, and the only reason they might agree to it is because it's also largely unenforceable.

Is the plan, as it stands, then for us to hunker down at camp while they load up and make their getaway?  That seems potentially problematic.

Ohanzee, based on his negotiations with Cannon, thinks that the ASPS won't accept any provisions without receiving their own in return.

Once they're in route I'm not sure how much other provisions could potentially hurt us, or what they'd be likely to ask for.  I may not be thinking it through well enough, though.

Regarding Ace's weapon situation, don't forget that you still have all the weapons you've been hauling around with you. These are listed at the bottom of Katsina's sheet at the front of the OOC forum. For example, you have:

1 Defiance T-250 shotgun + 20 rounds Stick-n-Shock ammo (I think from the goons you did battle with when you flipped the RV)
1 Pioneer 60 + flechette ammo (from Mr. Moran's cabin)
1 Springfield 1911M + regular + hollow-point ammo (from Mr. Moran's cabin)

I also have it that you kept the hunter's weapons from the night you woke up. I can't remember what all of those are but I think they are three shotguns and one rifle. (Namely, the rifle that Ace used to shoot down the Nissan Hound.) I can go back and look if you want to know. So Ace does have some longer-range options other than his Redline weapons.

Sam called dibs on the Springfield.  I had forgotten about the shotgun.  That might prove useful.
« Last Edit: <10-06-15/1810:34> by rednblack »
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Tecumseh

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« Reply #463 on: <10-06-15/1845:39> »
Sam has the Pioneer 60 listed on his sheet (along with DV and AP adjustments for the flechette ammo) so I think the took that instead.

I went back and looked up the hunters' weapons. You have a PJSS model 55 (shotgun) and a Springfield M1A (rifle). Deets:

PJSS Model 55: 11P, -1 AP, Acc 6, SS, RC 1, 2(b)
Springfield M1A: 12P, -1 AP, Acc 6, SA, RC 2, 20(c) --this had an external smartlink but it was poached to add to Ace's Redline rifle. It's also the rifle that Ace used to shoot down the Nissan Hound, which happened while Ryo was NPCing Ace prior to rednblack's arrival.

The Springfield 1911M is a handgun and an antique at that. While it could be used as a personal sidearm, it was intended to be a piece to pawn to a collector.

Ace is free to suggest meeting in town instead. Katsina had been hoping for something flatter - maybe a flat piece of forest - that would make it harder to be bottled up and/or surrounded, but she's deferring to the tactics experts here. I believe Sam is the one who like the current location, primarily for the avalanche option.

Zweiblumen

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« Reply #464 on: <10-08-15/1802:05> »
That IC took WAY too long to write.  Sorry folks, I'm still gimpy and I'm at a conference all week as well.  I should be back to my normal postings next week.

Matrix Search for drone drop spots (Comp 5 + Int 4 + Ganglia 1 = 10): 10d6t5 5
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