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[OOC] ShadowLand [CLOSED]

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sway

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« Reply #30 on: <09-03-12/0610:43> »
DireRadiant, you should go ahead replace me with one of your alternates. I didn't think there would be this much PvP focus, and that's not really for me.
« Last Edit: <09-03-12/0751:42> by sway »

WhackedMaki

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« Reply #31 on: <09-03-12/0637:58> »
Yeah, it does feel a bit set up that way. I do hope that we progress to something soon. I'm not really trying to start fights with people, my character just has no grasp of anything social (what, smashing bottle is wrong?). Because of his bias, he just kind of dislikes some of the people, at least until they're proven themselves as useful to him (one of the problems with starting like we did, there's no real way to say for certain whether or not someone proved themselves useful or an above average thinker).
« Last Edit: <09-03-12/1703:04> by WhackedMaki »

sway

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« Reply #32 on: <09-03-12/0703:16> »
Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything devious. I simply meant that given that folks that were still adjusting things/posting their characters, making PvP treats and plots was even more senseless this early on. My apologies if that came across wrong (should never post after 3 A.M.).

Edit: To avoid additional unnecessary misunderstandings, I edited the prior post to the bare-bone essentials - the game has taken on bit too much of a PvP focus too quickly for my taste and so I should be replaced with an alternate.
« Last Edit: <09-03-12/0757:34> by sway »

bmoham

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« Reply #33 on: <09-03-12/1012:18> »
Hey guys. I suspect some of the PVP comment is about me. Jumping fully out of character for a minute, I don't actually intend to go against the characters in any meaningful way. My hope was that the back and forth with Exile would give some insight into my character generally - not descend into actual backstabbing. He's not one to take challenges lightly (which is what he took Exiles disagreement for - the bottle breaking I took as an exclamation) . Jack's main social ability is intimidate and he has the vindictive quality.

Whacked - exile would kick Jacks ass, i have no doubt. Jack doesn't even really doubt it if the fight is even remotely fair. But I think of high intimidate (at least is Jacks case) as a willingness to make fighting jack cost the other guy so much it wouldn't be worth it - even when the other guy could beat him.

The collecting access IDs thing is also not my character trying to steal from you (which is why I mentioned it's something he does all the time). In character, Jack would think of it as insurance (especially in Exile's case) OOC it was more to bring up the whole issue of spoofing life (which I assumed we were using, but won't kick and scream if we don't) and bring up what sort of matrix security people would or wouldn't have. It's an issue that my tables generally gloss (even in my home game) but I was curious as to what sorts of precautions various players would have for their characters. Adding a spoof chip to a comm link is an cool one (that I never thought of, but is clearly legal).

More broadly, a social interaction with a group that has very low social skills is going to be tense - which I actually think is another interesting aspect of the game that rarely gets explored.
Given Mr. Smith's social skills he's probably going to have to act as the glue that holds the lunatics together - at least for the first couple of runs. We have no reason to actually trust him any more than anyone else but with his social skills that doesn't matter.
With Jack you know what you're getting (local fame) which is someone who's a really good hacker, solid in a fight, takes no crap from anyone, but never, ever, breaks his word or tries to cheat anyone.

As for the run, I think we should assume that everyone pulled their weight.

Also, there's no reason why some characters can't know eachother from before. A bunch of people live or work in the same area of seattle so they could certainly have come across eachother. Previous ties might also smooth out some of the tension - if people are worried about it.

DiscoDwarf

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« Reply #34 on: <09-03-12/1203:24> »
I didn't take anything that was posted as potentially PvP. This is was our first run as a team, and given the fact that it was notoriously easy means we didn't have heavy hardships to pull us through that would have created a bond. This could also mean that everyone did his part awesomely well. I hinted at IC-ly that Jack must have edited everyone's presence off the cameras and done a great job at it because he's a more-than-decent hacker. Exile should take that kind of thing into account, which is why I put it out IC: if he intends to make 'runs, he'll need someone to clean up his presence on the cameras because he stands out so much. Looking at all the PCs' stats, we likely all had our time to shine. HB is really good at wading into a melee (especially with his martial arts that let him quickly disarm dangerous opponents if they don't have a 6+ Str) and providing support/suppressing fire if needed (High Velocity Assault Rifles are fun). He acknowledges that people are immensely better than he is in some things (he can jam and decrypt communications, but hacking is beyond his reach), and thus these people are great assets for the group. But why would the others stick together? Let's try to see what your characters could see.

Exile might be a douche, but he has the Combat Tactics knowledge, and thus knows the importance of having varied specialist, combat is no longer done merely on the physical side when the opposition can summon Spirits that ignore anything below a Panther Cannon or hack into our smartlinks to make our guns eject their clips lock up. He's also a heavy hitter, a melee specialist that can beat a lot of people to a pulp with his bare hands. And he doesn't feel pain. In short, he's a train.

Jack is making a big show, he's skilled at making people scared, but he should know that some people react to fear by lashing out. Intimidation without the means of backing it up is a sword that can cut both ways. Having a bunch of heavy muscles like Exile, HB and Benny however would mean he has the insurance that if things backfire, he might actually be able to get some people to help him. His hacker skills make him invaluable at bypassing security though, and cleanup is critical, especially for those of us stuck with the Distinctive Style quality.

Saint is a magician, the only one we have.  As such we can't afford not to have him around in the team on the off chance that someone or something Awakened pops up. Having a magician also opens up  more job opportunities for runners since we can now tackle supernatural cases. In a pinch he can heal us, knockout guards silently by merely glancing their way, and if some direct combat is needed, he's a decent gunner with the ability to increase his reflexes to the level of a wired street sam.

Benny is a decent backup negotiator and an expert in hand-to-hand, with the added benefit that he can hit for Stun rather than Physical (unlike HB and Exile that only break bones). He's also the guy with the highest Perception pool in the group if I'm not mistaken, which means he's the guy we need to spot traps and hear incoming guards. Tripping on monowire is never fun.

Mr. Smith, finally, can see that whole bunch as a wonderful opportunity. He's the only one with the skills to negociate prices, and if we had to roll, he could probably convince us all that he should have an additional cut for himself. Mr. Smith could aim to become a fixer himself some day, and having a team of runners that he knows well enough would certainly help. Like Jack, he might also profit from having some people he can call upon if needed: he's had beef with S-K, and Loftwyr's minions are not known for being the forgive and forget kind.

Oh and Jenever is our wheels and drone support. Can't really do a run if half the group is on bikes and the rest on foot. Well we could, but then we'll know who's going to get caught up.

Just my two canadian cents, try to see what your characters could see in the others. I'm not saying we should join hands and be a happy family, but we should at least be able to grudgingly accept the others are useful to us.

Gaius

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« Reply #35 on: <09-03-12/1540:05> »
@DiscoDwarf pressing the like button :D  (you forgot that Jenever is a decent medic as well... just to describe his value to the group with some more words...)

IMO it went well until now. No shoot out and we agreed to possibly work with each other again. Since our characters are runners and therefore in a business you canīt be to careful with making friends it was no surprise to me that there was an aggressive tension in the air.  That will change with the time and runs our characters will spent together.
« Last Edit: <09-03-12/1622:13> by Gaius »

WhackedMaki

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« Reply #36 on: <09-03-12/1702:00> »
Yeah. Believe me, Exile never intended to pull Jack out of his seat and beat him up. Even if he did, all Jack has to do is say "boo" and Exile would back off. From his backstory, he's also not one to know much compassion, ever, in his life (going from being a clone to make cyberzombies to the harsh streets doesn't give you much in the way of knowing friendship), so he's really bad at actually acting friendly.

I do wish you'd stay sway, at least for one actual mission, to see what it turns in to. If you wish to go though, see you around then.

Necrogigas

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« Reply #37 on: <09-03-12/1846:52> »
I have yet to receive the confirmation email from the dice roller site, anyone else having these difficultes? 
"Speech" *Thought* <Matrix> ~Astral~

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bmoham

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« Reply #38 on: <09-03-12/2017:05> »
This could also mean that everyone did his part awesomely well.

I like that idea. I'm thinking this is one of those runs where everyone's character performed the way you'd like them to perform - which doesn't always happen once you start rolling dice. This way even if someone glitches on the next run we've seen their potential and are less likely to boot them right off.

I'd also like to think we didn't need a medic - though maybe you stabilized an NPC one of our hitters took down? Or Jenever might just advertise first aid training IC?

On an unrelated note, Whacked - how does exile know/decide if someone is augmented? Do you have a cyberware scanner in that eyeband? Do you just work off of visible cyberware (so a cyber arm that looks normal or bone lacing  wouldn't count)? Do you actually ask people? I'm just curious.

Haven't tried to register for the dice roller, but will let you know if I have trouble.

sway

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« Reply #39 on: <09-03-12/2100:51> »
Well, I suppose I could have just gotten the wrong impression. It just sort of felt like the discussions were becoming a series of one-up-menship posts, which in my experience tends to devolve into negative play long-term. Unless the GM says otherwise, I guess I'll stick around and just keep my fingers crossed. 

For what its worth. Benny has one commlink in public mode currently, connected to his Eli Evans SIN. He also has another commlink in hidden mode. This would be true most of the time (its the suggested standard operating procedure in Unwired, if I'm not mistaken), though his public mode commlink may vary between missions (its a burner and he currently has two, one for each fake SIN). I actually don't have any problem with Jack looking for his access ID, I mean, he is a hacker, that is something he does. However, given that his burners only have Signal 1 and the Underground (where he spends most of his downtime) has sketchy Matrix connectivity, it may not always work down there and thus may not be trackable (if it can't make a Matrix connection because of no signal, then it can't be tracked via the Matrix - but its really the GMs call when/where this happens). His hidden mod runner commlink is Signal 3, so its much less likely to lose connection even in the Underground, so that should be more trackable. As for "spoof chips", I wasn't aware those existed for commlinks as they only seem to appear under vehicle gear. If versions of those exist for commlinks (GMs call, I guess), then yeah... Benny would definitely be looking to purchase one (besides dedicated hackers, who wouldn't?).

Another note, just for other character's "recollections" of the prior job. Benny tends to travel-light on missions and follows the "rule of five". He may have twenty or more grenades, knives, clips, whatever on his sheet... but he generally he carries no more than five of any one item per mission (5 knives, 5 clips, etc.). So, he wasn't walking around with a massive grenade rack or anything during the last job.

DireRadiant

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« Reply #40 on: <09-03-12/2136:35> »
I have yet to receive the confirmation email from the dice roller site, anyone else having these difficultes? 

Yes. When I tried to reactivate my account it never sent me emails. I got in eventually, but I never received an email from invisible castle. Slightly different problem then yours. Did you check the spam folder?

All4BigGuns

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« Reply #41 on: <09-03-12/2142:49> »
Been keeping track of the thread just in case, and I thought it might be a good idea to bring up that you don't actually have to have a log-in for that site to use it.
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Necrogigas

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« Reply #42 on: <09-03-12/2146:19> »
I have yet to receive the confirmation email from the dice roller site, anyone else having these difficultes? 

Yes. When I tried to reactivate my account it never sent me emails. I got in eventually, but I never received an email from invisible castle. Slightly different problem then yours. Did you check the spam folder?
Yes, of course.
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DireRadiant

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« Reply #43 on: <09-03-12/2153:58> »
Thanks everyone for keeping calm and talking with each other. The purpose of the first scene is to get our feet wet and see if we can work with each other. After all, we are a bunch of total strangers on the internet trying to coordinate a bunch of criminal nut cases into working as a team.

There will be a few more GM posts this week from me to get things moving along to the next scenes. I need a tiny bit of time to review the IC thread and resolve anything I need to.

Tension creates drama. :)

However, if I was to do anything, which I don't intend to right now, I think that Exile as a character is the biggest item for the team to deal with. Think of Exile as a giant loaded gun that can go off at any time. You should all realize that all social tests that Exile is involved in are completely uncontested by Exile (mechanically the way Exile is constructed he cannot even roll any dice). Just like you all mention protecting your cyberware, commlinks, and heads from Matrix and Magical hacks. You need to protect Exile from any Social Hacks.

DireRadiant

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« Reply #44 on: <09-03-12/2202:46> »
Okay. I was just making sure that it would only cost me 50 to get. Just to confirm, if I skinlink the implanted commlink, I can then slave the other things to it? Or would it require me to get skinlink on them as well. Haven't used it in any of my other campaigns before, so not sure exactly how it works.

50 nuyen to get.

Skinlink is a way of connecting things. Think of it replacing a wire or wireless connection between two devices. Also note that almost all implants come with DNI, which is also a way of connecting things.

You need to figure out what Device and connections maps work for your gear.

Commlinks <--> DNI|Skinlink|Wireless|Cable <--> Implant|Gear

 

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