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Zereth posted:Also try to avoid using distinctive weapons like assault cannons and be prepared to destroy your guns and repaint and re-ID your vehicles after a run. There are chameleon LCD paintjobs and morphable license plates available for those with less-than-legal occupations. Also, a mage or shaman with the Sterlize spell can be your best shadowrun asset, as it eliminates fingerprints, dead skin flakes, saliva, blood traces, etc from a run and can prevent a material link. Of course, if you're facing Lone Star magic investigation or something similar, they can pick up astal signatures if Sterlize is used. It's best used sparingly.
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Nov 10, 2009 01:42
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McGravin posted:In my experience, runners typically live in areas with Z-level security or close enough to it. In other words, Lone Star doesn't go there on patrol and will laugh at you if you called them to report a crime. In those areas, the closest thing to "government" is whatever mafia or street gang exerts the most influence. Thanks for the tips. In this case I'm deliberately working with the SR fluff to provide a plausible setting for a cops and robbers style game, but maybe I'm off. The PCs aren't working freelance and are rather part of a larger, more troublesome syndicate, for example, and they're also operating primarily along a major, major highway that I assume chaps the rear end of any corp, looking to protect its incoming and outgoing interests, causing them to quietly armstrong local law-enforcement into taking a more active interest in the PCs activities. I kind of wish there was a more detailed fluff section than whats in the corebook, so I had a frame of reference to see if this is keeping with the general spirit of the gameworld. At the moment if feels a bit difficult to write a campaign thats outside of the usual freelance criminals making bank in Seattle. I may just have to fudge a huge amount of setting details to make this work, but I thought I'd run it by the thread to double-check everything before I dove into an unworkable premise for a game.
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Nov 10, 2009 01:48
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Young Freud posted:There are chameleon LCD paintjobs and morphable license plates available for those with less-than-legal occupations.
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Nov 10, 2009 02:01
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Zereth posted:Also try to avoid using distinctive weapons like assault cannons and be prepared to destroy your guns and repaint and re-ID your vehicles after a run. Alternatively, get Easy Breakdown & Plasteel Components for your ludicrously overpriced gun to hide it in the walls of your apartment/hide the individual parts in bulk shipments when crossing national borders.
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Nov 10, 2009 02:28
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Woozy posted:I kind of wish there was a more detailed fluff section than whats in the corebook, so I had a frame of reference to see if this is keeping with the general spirit of the gameworld. At the moment if feels a bit difficult to write a campaign thats outside of the usual freelance criminals making bank in Seattle.
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Nov 10, 2009 03:31
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Forgot to mention Feral Cities, which contains Chicago and Lagos, among others. Good if you want to get your runners into an insect-spirit campaign, or into really interesting exotic locations.
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Nov 10, 2009 07:30
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He's running it in CA so I'm gonna say this despite applying for his game. Start here, read all the cool stuff on it then start hitting random, come out a week later with lots and lots of fluff. Dumpshock wiki is my 2nd favorite wiki to just hit the random button on. Only thing to beware of is that some of the stuff on there is from 1/2/3rd edition and is thus outdated. But the history of stuff is still good.
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Nov 10, 2009 10:07
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In that case Corporate Enclaves has a nice LA chapter. Alternatively, you could go a bit north to set it in the Mt. Shasta DMZ for some border run/"never deal with a dragon" action, OR cross the state line into Aztlan for some REAL government(read: Aztechnology)-induced paranoia.
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Nov 10, 2009 10:12
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YOTC posted:He's running it in CA so I'm gonna say this despite applying for his game. Already read most of the CalFree stuff that's available. I'm actually getting a box of old 3rd edition splatbooks from my brother and I'll take a look through those as well. Just thought I'd mention for anyone else though: there's the dumpshock/sixth world wiki and then there's another one out there called simply the Shadowrun Wiki/SR Wiki. The latter sucks, don't bother with it. The former is great tho.
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Nov 10, 2009 16:18
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You could also hunt down Target: Wastelands, for some Desert Wars action in post-nuclear Libya. Cyberpirates is also a decent find, if only because the authors really did their research. The Philipines, even after the JIS recall, and the Ivory Coast of Africa are all pretty major hotspots, even in the 2070s.
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Nov 10, 2009 19:02
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So, question from our rigger: Can a drone "see" things in AR? Seeing as they're files, can a commlink detect AR tags and poo poo (in this case he wanted a drone to fly to the physical location of a specific piece of AR graffitti and log a picture of it.) the way a character with an image link sees it?
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Nov 11, 2009 21:53
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I don't see why not. It's one of those things I mostly hand wave as "Yeah your drone has a lot of basic sensors and poo poo to see what you would see with your own technology." Let them spend the money on more tactical/neat stuff like thermal vision or sonic imaging, but leave the normal stuff (especially since I think it's implied AR is just all over the god drat place in Shadowrun) as easy and basic, fitted to almost any drone.
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Nov 11, 2009 21:59
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After having run Shadowrun games for what seems like an age back in its infancy (1st and 2nd ed), and having picked up the 4th ed material and surprisingly finding it rather awesome, I've been looking for a game. I figure a PBP game would be a good intro to the updated universe, especially given the GM's ability to look up obscure or odd rules between posts. Are there any PBP SR games that are opening soon? I couldn't find any active signup threads in here or in TG itself (be gentle, I'm new here in TG). Similarly, are there any PBP Shadowrun threads that you guys have absolutely loved or enjoy (re)reading? I'd love to see how a great game maturated.
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Nov 12, 2009 18:18
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I only ever had a copy of the 2E core book, but after you guys going on about the production values of the anniversary edition I broke down and ordered a copy - god drat you werent joking, this thing is lovely. I just had a couple of quick questions: does a Commlink have to be tied to a single SIN? like, could I have two different profiles/accounts on one comm? Also, if you were trying to run two Commlinks simultaniously (one via DNI and the other manual) would you be best to slave one to the other or just make a subscription? What about if the master was in Hidden mode and the other in Passive? Would you end up with one icon or two? The situation I'm contemplating is having an implanted "hacker" comm with a fake SIN and then a decoy comm running alternatly a generic cover identity (with fake SIN/licenses), and on the other profile running my actual SIN and legit licenses for "Security Consultant" type stuff. Is this as dumb as it sounds when written down? I figure that all my good hacking stuff would be on my implanted comm and I should just try not to get caught with that as normal, but use my legit SIN for things like renting an appartment and owning a gun - stuff I don't want to have to just throw away like when a fake SIN gets burned. I guess I'm just trying to make the best of the SINner quality, what do you guys recon would be a better idea?
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Nov 12, 2009 23:55
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A fake SIN is basically data, in the forms data can take (datachip, file, matrix stream etc.), and you can have more than one SIN on your commlink. Keep in mind that your link can be hacked and that having more than one SIN visible (by error or interrogation) is a big fat sign saying "breaking the law" above your head.
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Nov 13, 2009 00:23
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FreshFeesh posted:After having run Shadowrun games for what seems like an age back in its infancy (1st and 2nd ed), and having picked up the 4th ed material and surprisingly finding it rather awesome, I've been looking for a game. I figure a PBP game would be a good intro to the updated universe, especially given the GM's ability to look up obscure or odd rules between posts. I'm a complete SR and PbP newbie, but Streets of Seattle is the longest running SR game on the forums and is a great read (it's 3rd edition I think though) http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2270772 There's a Motorcycle gang style game starting soon here http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3224596 There are a couple others floating around that may or may not be abandoned at this point. I seem to get very interested in Shadowrun right after a new game has started, so I've missed out getting in on any of the games posted here. Maybe I'll get something thrown together by early tomorrow for the motorcycle game.
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Nov 13, 2009 04:06
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ltr posted:There are a couple others floating around that may or may not be abandoned at this point.
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Nov 13, 2009 04:24
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ltr posted:There are a couple others floating around that may or may not be abandoned at this point. BUG CITY  ON another note, the best way I've seen to set up comlinks is to have 1 real comlink with a 5 firewall/system/response for your stuff and then buy throwaway comlinks for every run and broadcast your sin on that when in public(shutting it off when on the run obviously). That way if someone hacks your throwaway they get jack poo poo. Or even better, get your hacker buddy to load your throwaway with databombs that explode whenever someone tries to access any of your files on it. YOTC fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Nov 13, 2009 |
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Nov 13, 2009 05:23
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Grim posted:Also, if you were trying to run two Commlinks simultaniously (one via DNI and the other manual) would you be best to slave one to the other or just make a subscription? What about if the master was in Hidden mode and the other in Passive? Would you end up with one icon or two? You wouldn't want to slave them, because the slaved commlink wouldn't really be acting like a commlink - it'd forward everything to the master rather than doing its own thing like you'd want a decoy to do. You'd want to use a subscription, regardless of which mode the two commlinks are running in. If both commlinks have a persona running, both have an icon for the persona. A hacker pretty rarely has just one icon even with one commlink. You have an icon in your commlink's node, and an icon in any node to which your persona is subscribed. Note that you aren't free to pay attention to all your icons at once - see the 'simultaneous combat' section on page 237 of the 4A corebook. quote:Is this as dumb as it sounds when written down? It's specifically advised in the Unwired sourcebook, so you're thinking along the right lines. I'd suggest picking it up if you want to play a hacker. That (and a few early issues of Doktor Sleepless) made the whole wireless thing make a lot more sense to me. YOTC posted:BUG CITY Bug City. Shadowrun PBP. A thread barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the posts. eviltastic fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Nov 14, 2009 |
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Nov 14, 2009 00:05
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McGravin posted:I think there was a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style game, possibly in Let's Play, if I'm not mistaken. That would be the excellent Living On the Edge which definitely merits a read even if it is on hiatus right now. Ice Phisherman is an excellent writer, but is currently only writing on and off because of personal problems. Get well IP! 
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Nov 14, 2009 17:50
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Thanks for the advice guys, I'm kind of having the role of hacker forced on me otherwise I would be picking something less complicated  Are there rules anywhere for reducing the signal rating of a device? I know I can turn the wireless off but I just want to reduce some things to rating 0 (3m range) to prevent hacking while keeping it useful with my implanted commlink. Also I hear the rules for Software Piracy in Unwired are kind of a pain to keep track of - apparently my GM is going to be using those so I was wondering if you guys could give your impressions.
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Nov 15, 2009 09:25
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Grim posted:Thanks for the advice guys, I'm kind of having the role of hacker forced on me otherwise I would be picking something less complicated While not specifically stated in the rules, I would at any point allow deliberate change of signal strength within the device's maximum. If it had not been included in the OS, I suppose your hacker could simply code a program that allowed him or her to do it.
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Nov 15, 2009 14:31
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Grim posted:Are there rules anywhere for reducing the signal rating of a device? I know I can turn the wireless off but I just want to reduce some things to rating 0 (3m range) to prevent hacking while keeping it useful with my implanted commlink.
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Nov 15, 2009 16:30
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Tias posted:While not specifically stated in the rules, I would at any point allow deliberate change of signal strength within the device's maximum. If it had not been included in the OS, I suppose your hacker could simply code a program that allowed him or her to do it. I would say the could use electronics or armorer skills to do it to the physical signal generating device. Or if it has an antenna they could just break it off. But yea software wise would be a good option for things like comlinks. I also remember reading somewhere that you can shut off the wireless on a smartlink and set it to work via skinlink or DNI so I imagine you could jack that code for other things.
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Nov 15, 2009 17:42
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Haha holy poo poo, just finished the game today and while it went well, it did have a bit more combat than usual, although in the end everyone lived. The greatest defining moment was the sniper having a god drat aneurysm over the fact that an opposing team of runners hired for protection from their target had a Gunslinger Adept who use a spell to see astrally. "What!? Bullshit I have my cloak on and jammers on and *insert every drat cloak thing from SR4/Arsenal* there's no loving way he can just see me I didn't see any cyberware what the gently caress buuulllshit!!!" The rest of the team was flashbanged so using all 3 initiative passes from the adept to slug two colt manhunters into the sniper felt sooo good. It was a good game where several times several people were knocked unconscious and only made it out by the barest shred of life thanks to the team's face who had a ton of medkits, drugs, and biotech training.
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Nov 16, 2009 04:38
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Fenarisk posted:"What!? Bullshit I have my cloak on and jammers on and *insert every drat cloak thing from SR4/Arsenal* there's no loving way he can just see me I didn't see any cyberware what the gently caress buuulllshit!!!" That's why you always keep at least two of those Astral Smoke grenades from Arsenal on you. There is no such thing as a paranoid Runner, just a prepared one.
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Nov 16, 2009 05:34
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I have a question for the GMs out there -- how do you keep your Shadowrunning teams together for multiple runs? I figure since it's such a freeform game, there are lots of scenarios. In games I've run and been in previously, either the team discovered they worked really well mid-run, or were already predisposed to each other (having been brought up in the same gang, or military, or whatnot, with some added support in areas they lacked) and so had a reason to stick together. Of course at times someone makes a character whose actions so disastrously spoil the run, and any good vibes the group may have shared, that it's impossible to continue with them, but hopefully these are the outliers. 'Do you find it's more a function of shared experience and character personality, or necessity?,' I suppose, is my question. After all, everyone's willing to give a little if the rear end in a top hat character is drat useful in ways the rest of the PCs aren't.
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Nov 16, 2009 21:10
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I guess my group is really chillax but they could be loving backstabbed by a player and just not give a poo poo and still run together. I started the first run with none of the player characters knowing each other, then thinking that since they pulled off one run they should do more. Then again none of my players are the type who would backstab, steal, or gently caress over other players anyway and enjoy the shared experience vibe.
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Nov 16, 2009 21:14
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FreshFeesh posted:I have a question for the GMs out there -- how do you keep your Shadowrunning teams together for multiple runs? I figure since it's such a freeform game, there are lots of scenarios. If the players don't immediately work well together but you can finagle them into doing a couple runs together, they'll probably form a bond. It's the choice between working with someone you know and don't like versus working with someone you don't know at all. In the criminal underground of Seattle (or wherever your game is), having a complete and total stranger on the team is a huge liability. A couple good ways of forcing them to work together for a few runs are that they all know one fixer, or for some reason a Johnson asks for all of them specifically by name because he's heard their rep on the streets. If that doesn't work, see if you can find some reason to tie each character personally into a run. Maybe each of them has had a friend or loved one who has been hurt in some way by one particular megacorp, and they hear through their fixers that a run is planned against that megacorp, so they all want in. These are all good in-character ways of getting a team to work together, but out-of-character, if a player is saying "my character won't work with these guys because--", just cut him off there and tell him to get the gently caress out of your campaign. If he doesn't want to play with other people, he can go home and play the Shadowrun SNES game.
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Nov 16, 2009 22:17
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404GoonNotFound posted:That's why you always keep at least two of those Astral Smoke grenades from Arsenal on you. There is no such thing as a paranoid Runner, just a prepared one. I was thinking about an organic ghille suit, where the suit provides nourishment for the living plants on woven into the suit. (That's not in the official rules, but I'm pretty sure a decent GM could make the rules for one)
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Nov 16, 2009 23:37
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Young Freud posted:I was thinking about an organic ghille suit, where the suit provides nourishment for the living plants on woven into the suit.
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Nov 17, 2009 00:00
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McGravin posted:Theoretically possible, but it would probably be very fragile and kind of impractical. The mage is still going to aim his powerbolts at the strange bush perched on top of that building over there. True that. That's why you hide in a tree, on top of a rooftop garden, a park or surrounding vegetation. Ghille suits, in general, would be used if you're reconning the Tir border or fighting mages in forested terrain. Would a trench with a sod roof also protect against astral detection? Might be able to pull off something in a city.
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Nov 17, 2009 01:23
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Young Freud posted:True that. That's why you hide in a tree, on top of a rooftop garden, a park or surrounding vegetation. Ghille suits, in general, would be used if you're reconning the Tir border or fighting mages in forested terrain. Hide under an oddly placed bag of rats. All that glowing COULDN'T be a dwarf hiding underneath it!
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Nov 17, 2009 01:23
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Alright, I've got a bit of a problem in my current game. I need the technomancer to keep up with the rest of the party. Now, while everyone else gets fancy gear(really fancy considering they're all gangers), the techno advances soley by karma. So aside from giving him double karma, I really can't think of a way to help him. You guys got any ideas?
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Nov 17, 2009 08:20
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MohawkSatan posted:Alright, I've got a bit of a problem in my current game. I need the technomancer to keep up with the rest of the party. Can't a technomancer use drones?
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Nov 17, 2009 08:57
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Young Freud posted:Can't a technomancer use drones? Yep. But so does the rigger. Who would probably jack them the instant he got the chance. And the have them repossesed by the Yakuza, who he owes a pile of money too.
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Nov 17, 2009 09:49
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You can always give him bitchin internet contacts. Including AI's or Dragons that know tons of stuff but never let on that they do. Just give him a contact and don't tell him the loyalty/connections and say he met them online in X game while bouncing around and they seem to know some stuff about something that's going to relate to the next mission. Thus letting him be stupid useful if he asks the question to his new contact. Also gives you a story hook for the run after that when he has to repay the favor. Also there's that technomancer only area you can do something with... (Seriously this is why I don't play technomancers, you can buy way more stuff for your comlink but your comlink can get smashed. Only real technomancer advantage that isn't a sprite.)
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Nov 17, 2009 09:54
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You could allow Karma/Cash exchange. That tends to help out mage-types, who really need the karma and don't have much use for cash. I think the generally used formula for 3rd ed was 1 Karma->20,000 nuyen and 25,000 nuyen->1 Karma, but that'll obviously have to be changed for 4th with the new currency value and all.
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Nov 17, 2009 19:01
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The same is similarly true of magicians -- at 5 karma per spell, learning a new one is a big deal, especially when that's time and effort not upgrading your stats to help you cast said spell more efficiently, or without as much drain. Magicians can at least pick up unbound foci ... but those can become a karma sink as well, to bond them. It's a balance issue, or rather a solution perhaps, but one that is a sticking point with the players of those types of characters, to be sure. Has anyone found a very large, high-res set of maps for Seattle in the 2064+ era? The old Seattle Sourcebook at least had a lot of the small surface roads in grey relief, but Seattle 2072 doesn't seem to include anything save the main highways, on the small, in-district maps.
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Nov 17, 2009 19:18
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Well, we're playing two more sessions of Shadowrun, enough to do some side runs and at least moderately give some closure to a small time mob that the runners pissed off, and then I was going to give the choice if continuing with Shadowrun or going back to D&D. To my shock one of the players, who is pretty drat good, asked if anyone minds if he tries his hand at DM'ing Shadowrun for a few sessions. I of course was ecstatic and think it's a great idea since I can sort of help the new DM out from the player side as well. Anyway, I'm looking for advice on building a specific character type...Brock Sampson, Shadowrun style. My thought was an Orc, a good amount of bioware, focused on unarmed and hand to hand combat with a way to really take a lot of punishment. I guess and Adept would work for this too but I'm not sure if I want to go that route. Please TG, help me build a character that can stand in the road so when he gets hit by the car he just flies through the windshield into the driver's seat and chokes out the person in the passenger seat, only gun it and run over several more people.
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Nov 20, 2009 00:33
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