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[Shadowrun3] [Session 3 7/28] Stealing magical prototypes for fun and profit
piL
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
"The past is past, the future unformed. There is only the moment, and that is where he prefers to be." -William Gibson
This thread is an interest-check for a game of Shadowrun, third edition. Given the interest I've seen in Shadowrun before, I think it should work. First thing's first, I plan to run this game, via irc, from 6pm EST to 10pm EST on TuesdaysThis is the new time, is this good?. We can discuss this a bit, but that's about the timeframe I'm looking for. If you cannot make that time, fret not and read on! Alternate participation details will follow.
Shadowrun is a pen-and-paper role-playing game set in the middle of the twenty-first century. The world is controlled by corporate interest, and the return of magic has altered the world forever.
Thank you.
Shadowrun is a pen-and-paper role-playing game set in the middle of the twenty-first century. The world is controlled by corporate interest, and the return of magic has altered the world forever.
Links for more information: Wikipedia. Official Webpage (fourth edition). Dumpshock's Sixth World Wiki. Shadowrun Third Edition on DriveThruRPG.
Game Structure
The game will have three major sections.
The IRC session - Probably considered the primary section of the game by the core players, this is a point where we will meet, and take care of the biggest section of the game: The Shadowrunning itself. I will be making a room on Slashnet, and the core players will log on and participate in the dealing, the run, and the action itself.
I also intend to include some sort of anonymous vote-for-MVP or best roleplayer award, but no details yet.
Homework - I wish I had a friendlier word for this, but basically once a week, I intend to give an assignment to the players. Maybe I'll ask you to flesh out some contact details, or detail your lifestyle. Nothing too strenuous, but something that doesn't quite fit into the actual IRC session itself.
Downtime - Downtime will take place between sessions via PBP in a PBP thread. Different players may participate different amounts, and that's fine. The goal here is to allow core players to seek things, pursue leads, and work with contacts.
This leads into the next aspect of the game
PlayersThe IRC session - Probably considered the primary section of the game by the core players, this is a point where we will meet, and take care of the biggest section of the game: The Shadowrunning itself. I will be making a room on Slashnet, and the core players will log on and participate in the dealing, the run, and the action itself.
I also intend to include some sort of anonymous vote-for-MVP or best roleplayer award, but no details yet.
Homework - I wish I had a friendlier word for this, but basically once a week, I intend to give an assignment to the players. Maybe I'll ask you to flesh out some contact details, or detail your lifestyle. Nothing too strenuous, but something that doesn't quite fit into the actual IRC session itself.
Downtime - Downtime will take place between sessions via PBP in a PBP thread. Different players may participate different amounts, and that's fine. The goal here is to allow core players to seek things, pursue leads, and work with contacts.
This leads into the next aspect of the game
I'm shooting for four to five core characters, but this is open to both fortune and discussion. Players will need to present concepts, and I'll probably go over them this weekend and make a decision. There will be a limit of two mages, or one mage and one adept. Restrictive? Yes. But there's a lot of roles in this game, and the last time I saw a game start up, it seemed like a huge magic-party. Lets avoid that.
As for concepts, being unique is cool, but don't forget that unique and silly straddle an uncomfortably thin line. I'd like the game to run somewhat iconically if it at all can.
As for people who aren't core players, whether that's because you don't want to be, you aren't lucky enough to have been chosen, or you can't make the meet time, you can still participate in the PBP section! This is something I want to try out, so you'll have to bear with me, and it might get axed if it becomes all-together too annoying, but Ive been toying with the idea of player-controlled contacts. Leave a concept for a contact, work with players if you'd like, and we'll try to work you into the game. I might give the players some free player contacts if there are enough. I'll have to work out something for stats, but I should be able to stat up most any concept for you.
QuestionsAs for concepts, being unique is cool, but don't forget that unique and silly straddle an uncomfortably thin line. I'd like the game to run somewhat iconically if it at all can.
As for people who aren't core players, whether that's because you don't want to be, you aren't lucky enough to have been chosen, or you can't make the meet time, you can still participate in the PBP section! This is something I want to try out, so you'll have to bear with me, and it might get axed if it becomes all-together too annoying, but Ive been toying with the idea of player-controlled contacts. Leave a concept for a contact, work with players if you'd like, and we'll try to work you into the game. I might give the players some free player contacts if there are enough. I'll have to work out something for stats, but I should be able to stat up most any concept for you.
This section will remain for questions that others ask, or that I think of. I'll start.
Why did you choose third edition?
The main reasons are that I've never actually played fourth edition, and that I also own way more books for third than for fourth. There are some flavor things I like better than third as well, although that's mostly minor to be honest.
I've never played before. Halp!
There are pre-generated characters to be found in the core rulebook, and I intend for the first session to include some NPCs to help new players get a feeling for the game. Additionally, I'll help to make characters, or tweak precons for interested newbies.
Who gets the mage slots?
I intend to hand them out based on concept, so if you're looking for that coveted spot, you might want a back-up. I've also sort of told INNS he could have one, although it better not suck!
Setting?
I'm thinking during Year of the Comet, since there's a lot of news around that time, which should help draw players into the world that's happening around them, I hope.
Right now, I just want to gauge interest, figure out what people want/need to know about the game and what people think. Then we can move onto the details. I hope to have the game up and running by next Wednesday. Let me know if you're interested, and start drumming up ideas for characters or contacts!Why did you choose third edition?
The main reasons are that I've never actually played fourth edition, and that I also own way more books for third than for fourth. There are some flavor things I like better than third as well, although that's mostly minor to be honest.
I've never played before. Halp!
There are pre-generated characters to be found in the core rulebook, and I intend for the first session to include some NPCs to help new players get a feeling for the game. Additionally, I'll help to make characters, or tweak precons for interested newbies.
Who gets the mage slots?
I intend to hand them out based on concept, so if you're looking for that coveted spot, you might want a back-up. I've also sort of told INNS he could have one, although it better not suck!
Setting?
I'm thinking during Year of the Comet, since there's a lot of news around that time, which should help draw players into the world that's happening around them, I hope.
Thank you.
Edit 1 6:50EST 07-08-2009: Whoops I forgot that I'll have fencing class Wednesday nights when classes start in late August. Either we can use the time I listed for a while, or we can change the time. Either one will have to wait until after I get back in tonight.
Edit 2 5:43EST 07-09-2009: Tuesdays good?
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Actually, I might be a shaman.
We'll see.
Edit: there's a w in shadowrun
You saw nothing.
(I am assuming a 'no' but I always ask!)
Does Shadowrun have dark elfs?
Yes, they're kind of neat. They're covered with a fine fur that's dark colored (black bluish or purplish), and they're super rare. They have a natural allergy to sunlight; I think it's weak, but I can't recall for sure. I don't know if there were any major plots involving them, but I think it could have been pretty cool, and I can't think they're anything but a response to dark elves.
Man, Bear is all about healing and protecting, and his Disadvantage is, roll well or kill your team.
What the fuck, Bear.
Here's lol: forcing Ghouls (and nobody else) to roll to see how their stats turn out at character generation. My ghoul with 6 int, 6 cha, and 6 wp comes out with 2 int and 2 charisma because on 8 dice, i scored 0 successes.
I will post my mage or shaman concept shortly ... ghoul mage clearly wasn't in the cards.
That worked out alright for Esther, and she was able to save the company lots of money, and save branches of Aztechnology's interests that may have failed otherwise. She got bored, however, when she reached what she found to be a ceiling in the company: convinced she was uneducated and lacking in important skills, the company was content to leave Esther where she was, terrifying employees into action.
Esther left to pursue other ideas. Somewhere in here, she falls in with a shaman and Awakens as a Shark shaman.
Now she is a shadowrunner, because 'take what I want' seems to be what works best for Esther, and she is no longer terribly interested in doing dirty work for anyone but herself.
The problem with this first one is that it doesn't have much spiritualism flavor. Maybe not ideal. It might be best to scrap the Shamanism part altogether, and just make her a mean angry mage.
Looking at Ghoul, it's very, very difficult to make a useful a ghoul mage (since ghoul+mage eats up 40 points out of 105, it's hard to get reasonable attributes as well as skills.) Perhaps fill the same 'role' by making a bruiser type character with guns instead of magic? I don't know. There's so many options with Shadowrun. Hm.
He changed that kind of, he has fencing untl 9:15 Wed.
Probley best if you give him when you're available as I already have.
Not sure how many of the 3rd edition books I'll still have, so I'll chime back in later to let you know.
Concept: A smooth, Cybernetically-enhanced fixer elf, with a focus on Charisma and dexterity. Whatever he can't charm his way into, he can sneak off with. Focus on having a lot of friends and a lot of resources, but not a front line fighter.
INNS: Aztechnology is pretty evil on it's own. If you're willing to do what other branch managers aren't, then
illgottengains: We're still hammering out the time. In my mind, Tuesday at around the same time seems even better, but I'll have to see what people can do still. Does back mean earlier or later?
Romantic Undead: I love cov-ops and I love faces! Sounds good to me.
Well, the concept was that she was pretty much ethically bankrupt and just did whatever it took to get things running smoothly. Her only social skill was Intimidate (Physical) 5/7. She was less involved in actually doing management than she was in carrying a giant shotgun around and ensuring other branch managers that if things didn't start going smoothly, she'd set things right.
Hm. Chroming out a ghoul is tough... what about bioware? I'm not sure they've got any particular limits in that realm...
I might have to rewrite some of the shaman's background, or just make her into a mage because I'm not fitting much mysticism into the concept beyond the 'embody shark's ideal of CONSTANTLY EATING' (which I re-imagined in this case as constantly trying to acquire material things.) Hm hm. Let's see what I can do with a ghoul.
His life would be quite unremarkable until everyone started to change.. His brother Ito underwent a strange transformation. Growing several feet and probably a hundred pounds Ito became a tusked ork. And, after plastic surgeries failed to mask the change Ito was cast out of his family home. This made Yoshima very sad for he and his brother were very close. So, instead of fishing, as he pretended to do, he would make daily visits to his brother. Then, one day, his brother simply was not home, and did not come home all that night. His place was a mess, it was like a fight happened here. The door had been kicked in. There were a lot of JIS police cruisers and vans that night. It was 2021. Ito had been rounded up and shipped off to to Yomi island, where the Japanese had attempted to hide their mutahuman population.
One year later Yoshima had noticed some changes of his own. He could alter peoples emotions, change his appearance in the minds of others and many other things... A great serpent came to him in visions while he sat alone in his rowboat swaying from side to side. The Serpent tols him many things.
Yoshima never returned home from that fishing trip. He'd been paying some friends of his, friends that could delve into the matrix with more effeciency than he, to find out about his brother Ito. That calm spring day Yoshima began to row for Yomi island.
He spent nearly two years there searching. Witnessed unbelievable things. He saw such horrors there that he swore an oath to never intentionally harm another being. Yoshima survived those two years by making himself useful to a group of individuals who called themselves "Shadowrunners." He found them huddled over a body in an alleyway. Their friend had been terribly wounded. The one that tended to their wounds now lay dieing on the ground. Yoshima at once aided them, and managed to save the woman's life. But she needed time to recover. The runners sent her back to UCAS and asked Yoshima to stay with them. They never quite told him what it was they were doing there, but they agreed to help him search for his brother when they could, and they offered him protection in return him doing what he could to assist them.
In the end though, Yoshima never found his brother Ito. Bernie, the group's decker, showed him a file on government records "Watanabe Ito Deceased." It was as close as he would come to finding an answer. He left with the group, sneaking into UCAS this time as he no longer wanted to remain in JIS where he would always be reminded of his brother, and the injustices Ito endured...
what kind of spells are you taking, then? i'd spread my mage out to be a generalist, but hey, if i can focus on blowing stuff up exclusively, i'm pretty cool with that.
One thing I wonder is when did Snake come to you? Is that something you wanted to happen in game, or to have already happened (your character is about 50 years old when this game begins, something I think is awesome). You talk much about what Yoshima did, but what did Snake do for Yoshima?
The other thing, and you can do what you will with this (or nothing) is that I found this link http://books.google.com/books?id=gqs-y9R2AekC&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=snake+in+japanese+mythology&source=bl&ots=QZ3I_5nzfl&sig=qkwnI99yd94MNopEnuFkoZFXuDo&hl=en&ei=4LFWSuqWNNKgmAeqsI28AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6 about snakes in Japanese mythology. You might want to think about taking some of those roles on yourself, or applying some of those roles to Snake. Or forgetting about it all entirely and letting your own mythos serve. Just thought you might be interested.
Edit: I was hoping we could kind of get characters in around Saturday or Sunday to see how that works.
The way Im looking at is Yoshima used to be this sort of, well, he was a slacker, and mostly useless before his encounter with snake. He knew he wanted to do something to help others, although his focus was on his brother at the time, but he didn't really have the means to do much. Snake was a sort of door opener, a gentle hand to show him the way. I picture Yoshima on his rowboat sort of just thinking about stuff with a hook in the water when a water snake creeps up toward the boat, slithers up and sort of standing the way cobra's do (although his snake is not a cobra) and sort of start talking to him. Snake tells him that he has more important things to do and guides him to Yomi. Snake then conceals the boat and themselves, showing Yoshima this magical technique. And so Snake aids him on Yomi, which is sort of a training ground for him, before slithering off one day just a quickly as he came. Yoshima and Snake don't hang out as much any more but they do sit down for a chat on occasion.
As for the mythology aspect I think that's pretty cool, snakes thought of as lesser dragons, and could maybe be worked in.. the only thing is that dragons tend to be thought of as all powerful, and terrible things, where as snake is a wise and gentle healer... the imagery works quite well though.
Snake Shaman
Age - 54
Sex - Male
Race - human E
Magic - Full Shaman A
Home country - JIS
Lifestyle - Low
Nuyen - 8,440 D
Totem
Snake
Snake is wise and knows many secrets. She is a good
councilor, but always exacts a price for her advice. Snake
shamans are pacifists; they only fight to protect themselves
and others. Snake shamans are obsessed with learning secrets
and take great risks in order to do so. They trade their knowledge
to others for whatever they can get in exchange.
Environment: Anywhere on land
Advantages: +2 dice for detection, health and illusion
spells. As a wilderness totem, +2 dice for any one spirit of the
land (shaman’s choice). As an urban totem, +2 dice for any one
spirit of man (shaman’s choice).
Disadvantages: –1 die for all spells cast during combat.
Attributes B
Body - 5
Strength - 2
Quickness - 5
Charisma - 3
Intelligence - 6
Willpower - 6
Essence - 6
Magic - 6
Reaction - 5
Initiative - 1
Pools
Combat - 8
Spell - 6
Control - 5
Astral Combat - 7
Skills C
Athletics 3
Stealth 4
Aura reading 6
Etiquette (street) 3
Conjuring 6
Sorcery 6
Negociation 3
Interogation 3
Knowledge Skills
Sushi Places 6
Fishing 4
Dive Bars 5
Japanese Fencing 6
Snakes 6
Japanese Punk Music 3
Spells
Analyze Truth 2
Detect Individual 2
Mind Probe 2
Antidote 4
Heal 4
Imp. Invisibility 3
Mass Confusion 4
Influence 4
Stuff
Conceal Reach Damage
Knife 8 - str L
3 Gas Grenades 5 10m radius 5S stun (At end of round)
Conceal Ballistics Impact
Secure Jacket 9 5 3
Respirator
Biomoniter Rating 2
Basic DocWagon
Shamanic Lodge Rating 6
Tres Chic
Low Lifestyle
Contacts
Sushi Chef (bartender) lvl 1
Fixer lvl 1
Yushima is a pacifist. He will never (perhaps even in death) harm another person. However, he has no qualms about commanding a person to harm himself. Yushima just can't manage to do physical harm to another with his own hands. Bad nerves or something. He is a trader of secrets and a magical healer. He uses detection, illusion, manipulation, and healing spells. In combat he uses mass confusion to debuff his enemies, then one by one Influences them to run away, shoot allies, or throw themselves out windows.
He is an older looking fellow with salt and peppered hair that he keeps in a short professional cut. He wears narrow rimmed eyeglasses and might be confused for a history professor if it weren't for the many colored tattoo's mainly of snakes and naked women.
A) Esther Smith, elven street mage. She's a smart, capable mage who specializes in breaking things. She's fairly young, having Awakened fairly early in life (during high school specifically), and only recently graduated from the Dunkelzahn Institute, having transferred there upon its opening in 2057 from MIT&T. She majored in Destructive Thaumaturgy with a minor in Modern Anthropology.
She's also something of a criminal, now. Tuition at MIT&T and the Dunkelzahn Institute wasn't cheap, and Esther had agreed to join the UCAS military and put her combat magic to use for the Government in exchange for their help in covering her student fees.
After a year in the field, lots of training followed by a bit of actual field experience (where Esther learned to be a little more comfortable with a firearm), Esther decided she was unhappy with the life that laid before her, fighting as cheap labor for the Corporations that held most sway over the government.
During a brief leave in the UCAS, Esther made herself disappear, escaping to Tir Tairngire for several months before donning her present pseudonym (you didn't think Esther Smith was a real name, right?) and moving back to the UCAS' territory in Seattle.
She's been in Seattle for about six months, and her funds are drying up: she's starting to get desperate, and putting her magic to use on the street seems about her best option, here.
Edward wasn't a great student - he was bright, but not a genius, and he had trouble keeping up with a lot of his peers at MIT&T - which wasn't a huge problem, because he really got into the school on a football scholarship, anyway. More reliant on performance on the field than in the classroom to retain his position, Edward resorted to abusing 'ware to keep up in a football league dominated by huge orks and the occasional troll.
When he was spotted throwing a troll four feet taller than him to the ground with his shoulder, he was ousted from a game, tested, and found to have been using illegal bioware ... he lost his scholarship and was expelled from the school.
Which is for the best, really, because there's a reason that used Bioware is so cheap, and street docs are so expensive: the illegal bioware still carried the Krieger strain of the HMHVV from it's previous host, and Edward began to suffer from it's effects not long after leaving the school ...
(okay, so that one's not terribly complete, but I like it, and they both feel more natural than the shark shaman. also, i want piL's OK for the ghoul before i finish too much more on him... he's got something like 11 quickness, 11 strength, and 9+2d6 init, so he's kind of whacky... he also uses a ton of bioware (for +5 str and +5 qui) to get around the 5-essence-and-double-costs of ghoul cyberware.)
Zellpher: Too bad. I offered to let other people play contacts during the downtime, and if you're into that, you can, but it doesn't look like all too many people are, so I might scrap that idea.
INNS: Both look fine to me, so it'll be up to your choice. I'll end up coming up with notes for either, but that's just how I operate.
Spork: Good to hear; looking forward to it.
RU: Good stuff, I'll check it out once you got it.
Looks like everything's on track to start on Tuesday. Looking forward to it!
Does that mean you get demoted to ablative meatshield then? :P
Fine, I'll just have to make sure I'm not wearing my expensive Armani on those days :P
Armani? Is that some continental word for bandage? :P
Are you using any of BlackJack's houserules?
Anyway, throwing together a few characters. Troll mechanic(Contact), and a few variations on the theme of former corporate security.
Whatever that file is, it does not exist.
and NSRCG is awesome.
Man, piL had actually talked me into wanting to do this.