The Found Arcana – Interlude [OOC]
-
The Found Arcana – Interlude [OOC]
Alright, IC post is up!
Apologies about the extended delay. I delivered my report yesterday and it was well-received so now I have some breathing room.
I also spent an embarrassing amount of time researching the current and previous editions for information about Touristville. Some of it contradicts itself, not in an “updated canon” way but in a “the new author didn’t read the old author’s work” kind of way. I’ve done my best to interpret things to produce an intelligible result.
Here’s what you currently know about your neighborhood: https://stormy-waters-2075.obsidianportal.com/wikis/touristville
This is not meant to be all-inclusive. There are many additional rumors, secrets, and details that we can uncover as we play. I thought about posting the information in the OOC thread but it turned out to be more than I’d want in a single post, and putting it on the wiki means that it can be a living document that we can all add to and subtract from as our understanding improves and as the situation changes.
Next steps, please either post an updated sheet to this thread. A link is fine too if the sheet lives elsewhere. As previously mentioned, I put Mato on Obsidian Portal.
Some FYI about how I GM
We’ve all played together but I haven’t GM’d for you before, so here’s a quick primer in the spirit of transparency.About Me: Shadowrun player and GM for 26 years. I have played PbP for 8 years now. I have successfully GM’d four (4) PbP games to completion, the longest of which took four years, plus two short one-shots (Food Fight) for new players. I am almost exclusively PbP these days as I have a highly active toddler at home. PbP is something I can do during lunch at work or at night after he’s gone to bed. I’m from Seattle proper – I’m writing this not far from the Aztechnology Pyramid – so the setting is near and dear to my heart.
How I GM: I keep a firmer hand on the wheel in terms of the world and how it responds to PC actions. That said, this is very much an open-world game; I don’t have a destination in mind and going off the rails is entirely possible.
In terms of the game world, I skew black trenchcoat, grim and gritty. My motto is, “I’m not trying to kill you, but I’m not trying to save you either.”
As far as the rules are concerned, I’m more collaborative than antagonistic. I like surprising players with story revelations but I’m not trying to play gotcha with the rules. I do my best to stick to a canon Sixth World when it comes to history/events/conditions, etc. If you have any questions about my interpretation of how the Sixth World works, or rule interpretations, feel free to ask. I am reasonable according to everyone in the world but my wife, so if your perceptions are different then we can discuss things and try to find a shared understanding. That said, the GM wins any disagreements by default.
This is not a tactical simulation. I am not a computer, nor a game designer. I have a lot of experience but not every encounter will be perfectly balanced. I aim for transparency but Shadowrun is complex and I will occasionally miss things. If I slip, feel free to point it out and I’ll correct it. I don’t really do retcons unless I’m at fault. I don’t cheat and I never fudge rolls, either in favor of the players or the NPCs.
Speaking of which, I check almost every roll on Orokos, so don’t reroll until you get the desired result. I also spell out situational modifiers fairly explicitly. This works both ways: it’s not meant to be beneficial or detrimental, it’s meant to be accurate, so that everyone (PCs and NPCs) is operating under the same rules and conditions.
Let me know if you have any questions. Game on!
-
56 Replies
-
All sounds great!
Jawsey (for now): https://brexbasicbackups.obsidianportal.com/characters/jawsey
Thanks for setting the date so clearly — with our debts this matters more than usual! (also: you chose my wedding anniversary, so at least I’ll remember when this one started). Do we have the date clear on when we started out the campaign? (I want to mark off lifestyle and debt payments on character sheet).
Thanks also for the work on more firmly anchoring the setting. That will help all of us as players and when running things.
-
The exact date/time/weather is a good example about how I try to be fairly specific about the conditions so that you can have a decent understanding about what’s going on around you.
Normally I’m not quite so exact about when payments are due, but since being in debt is a key concept of each of our characters I wanted to put a spotlight on some of the mundane processes behind life in the Sixth World, like bills and expenses.
We don’t have a precise date for when the campaign started. According to Lorebane, Chapter 1 began in “mid-September” and Gilga said that Chapter 2 began “about a week after the first paying job”.
Chapter 2 happened on a weekday, although I’m not sure if we were specific about which one. In my head it was a Monday but it’s possible that I made that up. With that in mind, I would propose the following:
Chapter 1: Sunday, September 18
Chapter 2: Monday, September 26
Interlude: Saturday, October 1The understanding being that the precise dates for Chapters 1 and 2 aren’t terribly important.
From our original sheets, it looks like most of us prepaid 1 month of lifestyle payments during chargen. I was thinking that would cover September expenses and the action so far. Then, at the end of this Interlude, we would make our first out-of-our-pocket lifestyle and debt payments, which would cover us for the month of October. From a cash flow perspective it’s slightly unrealistic in the sense of all the payments happening all at once (as opposed to certain expenses, like food, occurring throughout the month), but the IC justification is that we all throw money into the budget which Mato distributes accordingly for things like rent/utilities/groceries/protection/security/etc.
-
The monthly lifestyle payments have always been artificial, but …. thank goodness?
-
Bobby „MadCat“ Walker (Amerindian)
Karma Spend/Total: 33/62 (5 from Starting Karma)
Chapter 1: 8k reward turns to 6800 after taxes – all that goes to reduce the In Debt quality down from 30.000 to 23.200
Spending 4 Karma to reduce the quality down to In Debt II. (End of the month the debt will still rise by 2320 Nuyen to 25.520 Nuyen)
10 Karma go to Flesh Sculpter quality, 15 Karma go to Taboo Transformer, leaving me with 1 Karma
Spending 4 Karma to buy off In Debt IIChapter 2: 10000 Nuyen payout, 8500 after taxes. 1850+150 ear marked for lifestyle share, reducing debt by 6200 to 17.000,
End of the month increases it to 18.700 Nuyen. Rest goes to money in handInterlude:
Karma: 2 karma, enough to buy off a rank of In Debt if you can afford it
Contact: Katsuo “Andrew” Musai, Yakuza sergeant, at Connection 4, Loyalty 1
Knowledge Skills (general): 3 points to spend as you please, to either buy new knowledge skill(s) and/or to add to existing knowledge skills, the goal being to advance things that are often afterthoughts. Spend these the same way you would in chargen (e.g. a specialization costs 1 skill point).
Knowledge Skill (specific): Sioux Sign Language at rank 1. This is from Native American Nations, Volume 1. It’s good for secure, non-verbal communication when wireless is unavailable or inadvisable. Granted, this was much more common in 1E-3E than it is now, but I think it’s something that Bobby might be able to mime while in some of his animal forms.Attributes:
BOD 5
REA 2(5) (10 Karma)
AGI 2 (10 Karma)
STR 3
CHA 4
INT 6
LOG 3
WIL 5
EDG 2
MAG 7
ESS 6Limit:
Phys 6
Ment 6
Soc 6(7)Qualities:
Exceptional Attribute MAG 14
Quick Healer 3
Agile Defender 3
Mentor Spirit (Beast aka: Shark) – Mentor‘s Mask 5
Taboo Transformer
Flesh Sculpter ISuper Human Psychosis -2
National SIN (Sioux) -5
Did you just call me dumb -3
Impassive -7
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker) -4Skill groups:
Stealth 6
Outdoors 4Skills:
Unarmed (Tooth and Claw) 6(8 ) +3
Spellcasting (Manipulation) 6(8 )
Gymnastics (Dodge) 6(8 )
Perception 6
Intimidate (Mental) 6(8 )
Armorer (Armor) 1(3 )
Piloting Ground 1
Pistols 6
Assensing (Aura Reading) 4(6 )Knowledge Skills:
English (N)
Lakota 6
Sioux Sign Language 2
Arcana 6
Magical Threats 4
Underworld 3 (Yakuza)
Zoology 5
Military (Sioux) 3
Marketing 1Fighting Styles:
OKICHITAW
+ Sweep
+ CounterstrikeContacts:
Talismonger (Bill Wildwater) 5/2
Captain Razak (SDF) 4/3
Lysander (Info Broker) 3/1
Livewire (Neo-Anarchist hacker) 3/3
Contact: Katsuo “Andrew” Musai, Yakuza sergeant, at Connection 4, Loyalty 1Adept Powers (Sioux Tradition):
Killing Hands
Increased Reflexes 3 3,5
AGI Boost 0,25
BOD Boost 0,25
Astral Perception 1
Adept Spell (Shapechange, Fetish) 1
Heightened Concern 0,5
Critical Strike 0,5
Elemental Strike (Electricity) 0,5
Demara 0,5Equipment 26000
Fake SIN 2 -4000
Armored Jacket -1000
+ ShockFrills -250
Critter Armor 12 -600
+Electrical Insulation 6 -1500
+Chemical Protection 6 -1500
Critter Googles R6 -300
+Persona Mod (2 Electronic Packs) -500
+Flare compensation -250
+Low Light Vision -500
+Visual Enhancement R3 -1500
Comlink R1 -100
Trodes -70
Respirator R6 -300
Survival Kit -200
Fetish -2000
Livestyle Medium (Shared) -1900
1/4 of the Team Car -4000
Reagents 50 -1000
Stealth Tags 30 -30
Medkit R3 -1500
Miniwelder -250
Defiance Ex Shocker -250
+Laser Sight -125
+Quickdraw Holster -175
+ 20 Taser Darts -100
+Peronalized Grip -100
Luggage (good) (Backpack) -100
+ Roll of duct tape -5
Amorer Toolkit -500
Microtransceiver -100Money on Hand 2225
Background:
Recruiting Interview with Specialist Robert Walker:
Son of War Shaman Yanni “Dark Crow” Walker and Environmental Engineer Elisabeth Miller (official resident).
Born August 12th 2051 in Cheyenne.
Developed strong physical magical talent during highschool, was recruited into Sioux Defense Forces at age 17, recommended for special training at 18. Completed tour of duty at [Classified] and [Classified], talent for infiltration and scout duties. Recommended for special operations, recommendation rescinded due to disciplinary problems.
Barred from further promotions, honorable discharge in 2073. Assessment by Shaman Bill Whitewater indicates severe totemic influence over personality and/or corrupted totem (Hunger/Wendigo classification).
Self employed tourist guide, private detective and suspected mercenary work.
Currently in debted to the Tiošpaye.Assessment: Ready for recruitment
Cpt. Razak: Mr. Walker, how are you? It’s been a while since we met.
Robert Walker: Yeah, long time no see… Could be better, could be worse. Anyone still alive from the 16th?
CR: The 16th never dies – though no, no-one you’d know is still around. I heard you had some trouble recently? Something about a lost consignment for the extended Family?
RW: You looking for trouble? Cause asking stuff like that is a quick way to getting digested by coyotes. I’ve got nothing to do with those assholes since Charlie took over.
CR: Fair enough. But you are still looking for gainful employment, aren’t you? See kid, I always had a week spot for you and your abilities. A real shame that those pencil pushers couldn’t overlook that little scuffle you had with Seargent What’s-his-name.
RW: Ha. Asshole deserved it.
CR: Well, maybe you didn’t have to turn into a Chimpanzee, knock him out and throw your own feces at him.
RW: Didn’t have to – wanted.
CR: *Sigh* – Just for your information, it took me considerable effort to prevent them from just throwing you into prison and losing the key. The honorable discharge was the best I could do for you.
RW: And my eternal gratitude it has ensured. What do you want? I’ve got a child’s birthday party to entertain and need to get into character soon.
CR: How would you like to work for a real PI agency? In Seattle. A regular income, no troubles with the NAN authorities, interesting jobs and a new start?
RW: Yeah – what’s the catch?
CR: From time to time you’d be approached by someone who gives you a job you can’t refuse – still payed of course.
RW: So black ops on forreign soil? Eh, what the hell, I’m in. At least it can’t be as boring as the shit I do right here… -
So just to be clear: Bobby used the money from Chapter 1 and 2 directly to pay off part of his debt before the first payment was even due to reduce the total interest he had to pay. As far as amortizement is concerned he should be in clear for the first repayment – having delivered ahead of schedule.
-
AM’s sheet:
== Personal Data ==
Name: Amy Maka Green Alias:
Elf, Female
Movement:10/20 (2m/hit)
Swim:3 (1m/hit)
55, 170 Composure: 10
Street Cred: 5 Judge Intentions: 10
Notoriety: 0 Lift/Carry: 3(15 kg/10 kg)
Public Awareness: 0 Memory: 10
Karma: 55 Nuyen:9,360¥
Age: 30 Skin: white
Eyes: Green Hair: Blonde
Primary Arm: Right== Priorities ==
Metatype: A,4
Attributes: B,3
Special: C,2
Skills: D,1
Resources: E,0== Attributes ==
BOD: 2 CHA: 5
AGI: 5 INT: 5
REA: 4 LOG: 5
STR: 1 WIL: 5
EDG: 2 MAG: 5== Derived Attributes
Essence: 6.00 Initiative: 9 +1d6
Physical Damage Track: 9 Rigger Initiative: 9 +1d6
Stun Damage Track: 11 Astral Initiative: 10 +3d6
Physical: 3 Matrix AR: 9 +1d6
Mental: 7 Matrix Cold: 7 +3d6
Social: 7 Matrix Hot: 7 +4d6
Astral: 7== Active Skills ==
Assensing (Aura Reading) Base:0 + Karma:3 =3 Pool:8(10)
Automatics (Machine Pistols) Base:0 + Karma:6 =6 Pool:11(13)
Computer Base:0 + Karma:6 =6 Pool:11
Counterspelling Base:0 + Karma:5 =5 Pool:10
Disguise Base:0 + Karma:3 =3 Pool:10
Electronic Warfare Base:0 + Karma:5 =5 Pool:10
Etiquette Base:0 + Karma:4 =4 Pool:9
Hacking (Personas) Base:0 + Karma:6 =6 Pool:11(13)
Hardware Base:0 + Karma:3 =3 Pool:8
Impersonation (Human) Base:0 + Karma:1 =1 Pool:6(8)
Leadership Base:0 + Karma:4 =4 Pool:9
Negotiation Base:0 + Karma:4 =4 Pool:9
Palming Base:0 + Karma:3 =3 Pool:10
Perception Base:0 + Karma:5 =5 Pool:10
Pilot Ground Craft (Wheeled) Base:0 + Karma:6 =6 Pool:10(12)
Ritual Spellcasting Base:0 + Karma:5 =5 Pool:10
Sneaking Base:0 + Karma:3 =3 Pool:10
Software (Data Bombs) Base:0 + Karma:1 =1 Pool:6(8)
Spellcasting Base:0 + Karma:5 =5 Pool:10== Knowledge Skills ==
English Native
Lakota Base:2 + Karma:0 =2 Pool:7
Sperethiel Base:2 + Karma:0 =2 Pool:7
Arcana Base:6 + Karma:0 =6 Pool:11
Area Knowledge: Seattle Base:4 + Karma:0 =4 Pool:9
Art Base:1 + Karma:0 =1 Pool:6
Gaming Base:2 + Karma:0 =2 Pool:7
Music (Classical) Base:2 + Karma:0 =2 Pool:7(9)== Qualities ==
Aspected Magician
Big Regret (Not saving boyfriend)
Code of Honor (Harmoney with Nature)
Focused Concentration (5)
In Debt (7)
Low-Light Vision
Mentor Spirit (Spider (Alt))
Phobia (Common, Mild) (Rats)
Poor Self Control (Thrill Seeker)== Tradition ==
Shamanic,Resist Drain with 10== Spells ==
Fling (Limited) DV: F-4
Growth (Limited) DV: F+1
Heal DV: F-4
Increase [Attribute] (INT) DV: F-3
Increase [Attribute] (LOG) DV: F-3
Increase [Attribute] (CHA) DV: F-3
Influence (Limited) DV: F-3
Levitate DV: F-2
Makeover DV: F-3== Lifestyle ==
(Street)1 Month
+ Grid Subscription (Public Grid) [+50¥]== Weapons ==
Throwing Knife
Pool: 4 Accuracy: 3 DV: 2P AP: -1 RC: 2
Unarmed Attack
Pool: 4 Accuracy: 3 DV: 1S AP: – RC: 2
Urban Tribe Tomahawk
Pool: 4 Accuracy: 4 DV: 3P AP: -1 RC: 2
Walther P118
+ Advanced Safety System, Basic
+ Electronic Firing
+ Extended Clip
+ Gas-Vent 2 System
+ Safe Target System, Base
+ Smartgun System, Internal
+ Trigger Removal
+ Weapon Commlink
Pool: 11 (13)Accuracy: 5 (8) DV: 7P AP: – RC: 5== Commlink ==
Erika MCD-1(ATT: 4,SLZ: 3,DP: 2,FWL: 1)
+ Sim Module, Hot
+ Universal Connector Cord (Meter)
+ Commlink Functionality [Camera, Micro, Chip Player, Credstick Reader, Earbuds 1, GPS Guidance System, Micro Trid-Projector, Music Player, RFID Tag Scanner, Shock- and Water-Resistant Case, Touchscreen Display]
+ Edit
+ Encryption
+ Search
+ Signal Scrub
+ Toolbox
+ Exploit
+ Decryption
+ Wrapper
+ Smoke and Mirrors== Gear: Equipped ==
Browse
Fetish (Earring)
Govi Rating 6
Program Carrier (Virtual Machine)
Reagents, per dram (shamanic)
Stealth Tags ×10
Throwing Knife ×2
Trodes
Urban Tribe Tomahawk
Vectored Signal Filter== Contacts ==
Bau Chou (Renegate Triad),(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 3)Cheng Mu Chou (Triad boss),(Connection: 6,Loyalty: 1)
Fagin (Black market delivery),(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 1)
Five Fingers Gau&Fenghuang (Talismonger),Talismongers(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 2)
Janet Dime (Infobroker),(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 1)
Jhonney Morad (Arms Dealer),(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 3)
Kira Benson (Black) (Decker-Shadowrunner),(Connection: 3,Loyalty: 2)
Tom Jones (TJ) (Mafia Collector ),(Connection: 1,Loyalty: 1)
I went with the technical progress because I really have no time to remake her 😉
-
@Jack_Spade
Understood about the debt payments. RP it how you like. You got a receipt for last week’s ¥6,000 payment, right??@Gilga
AM will need to open the window to assense. Result were given (preemptively) in my IC post. With 3 hits you can confirm that he’s not Awakened and that his Essence and Magic are lower than yours. He doesn’t have any active spells affecting him, nor are there any spirits or unusual astral activity in the vicinity.The crowd looks cold, wet, afraid, helpless. That’s the average state of affairs in Redmond so it’s not enough to raise the background count (yet), but seeing it packed so tightly together is unpleasant.
Lucky for you, Mato is footing the bill for some of the fancy subscription from Cutting Aces that nobody wanted to pay for. AM might be interested in:
MonaLisa: facial recognition software, gives +2 on a Computer (Matrix Search) test to identify an unknown individual
Thermal Mood Reading: +2 on Judge Intentions to read mood, although your Assensing already covered this
Vocal Tension Lie Detection: +2 on Judge Intentions -
Can we all use these programs?
-
Yes, that’s why I’m mentioning them.
-
@gilga
I presume you’re sustaining Increase Charisma with Focused Concentration.This is Andrew’s “Etiquette defense test” as it were:
Charisma 5 + Perception 4: 9d6t5 4 hits
You might want to roll Etiquette instead of buying hits. In the off chance you get 7 or more hits (via Edge or otherwise), Andrew will move from neutral to friendly. That will give you +2 in interactions going forward.
As for inviting him inside, go ahead and roll Negotiation. Technically this would be the Diplomacy specialization. The modifier is -1 for “character’s desired result is annoying to NPC”.
-
@Tecumseh/Receipt
I should think so – I paid good Karma too to buy off In Debt 😉 -
I am waiting for Beta to roll Jawsey out, I guess if he is busy we can say that he was doing something away from the office when the situation happened – as he is the real face. AM would be more comfortable as the side-kick or assistant. She mainly went out to prevent things from escalating.
I’ll roll etiquette then. ettiquete: 12d6t5 4 – not close to 7- even edging it is uncertain, I’ll keep my edge to the negotiations.
So I rolled the negotiation already to speed things up.
Negotiation (help Jawsey): 12d6t5 6 -
Alright, Beta, bust out that Japanese 6. Or don’t, since maybe this guy doesn’t speak it and you might make him feel bad.
-
Sorry, when I got back online last night I posted in the other two games first then fell asleep with the laptop on my lap before doing this one. I’ll get to this soon.
-
Not sure if I struck quite the right note in the IC, but don’t have a lot of time to mull and edit. He’s trying to cast this as asking Musai-san in for tea is the team showing him respect, as opposed to treating him as a petitioner. Jawsey realizes that the man has to conserve his status with the crowd in general, and is trying to show recognition for the nice way the man has arranged the scene and make it clear that he is not going to undercut him in public.
etiquette:
etiquette: 13d6t5 5
edge to re-roll fails
edge re-roll fails: 8d6t5 2Takes it up to 7 successes.
-
It was a good post, Beta. I liked it a lot.
As I understand it, the Yakuza often have a ritualized almost “debate” when first meeting each other about who must have the honor of ____ (speaking, entering, being served, etc.) first. It’s a back and forth of deference like:
A: “You must go first.”
B: “No, the honor must be yours.”
A: “I cannot, the respect is due to you.”
B: “Impossible.”And so on. It would quickly wear out the patience of many but the Yakuza see it as the height of manners, and I think your post captures that spirit.
Andrew now likes Jawsey, so you get a +2 to interactions going forward. That said, we still need Jawsey to make a Negotiation (Diplomacy) roll. You get +2 for Andrew’s new favor and +6 from AM’s Teamwork test.
-
Nice insight about the Yakuza!
I’ll roll it to speed thing up 😉
Negotiation: 21d6t5 8 -
Thanks, Gilga.
Unfortunately, a slight correction: Jawsey’s Negotiation skill is 5 so that’s the maximum number of dice he can accept from AM’s teamwork test. Dropping the last die of Gilga’s roll, that costs a hit, leaving Jawsey with 7 hits. His Social Limit is high enough to keep them all, especially since AM’s participation raises it to 10.
Andrew’s defense test: Charisma 5 + Negotiation 6: 11d6t5 4 hits
Looks like you’ve convinced him.
It’s late for me now but I’ll try to write up the IC in the morning.
-
Thanks for the roll, Gilga.
It was a long weekend here, loaded with family stuff as well as ‘first long weekend of Summer’ outdoors stuff, so I’ve barely touched the computers the last several days. Sorry about lagging behind. I should be something like back to normal this coming week, and I’ve dropped from Forbidden Aegis to make it more likely that I’ll be timely in the other two games that I’m in.
-
Understood, and thanks for letting us know.
For what it’s worth, I rarely post on the weekends either. I have more time during the work week when I’m sitting at a computer all day than I do on the weekends when it’s full-time daddy duty.
In my other games I usually have a rule that I give someone 24 hours to post ICly or OOCly (not including holidays or weekends) because otherwise you just never know if the player has disappeared and aren’t coming back. But I think this group has played together long enough, and have been reliable enough, that we know that someone isn’t going to dip out without saying something first.
Log in to reply.