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  • Locked thread
mikemil828
May 15, 2008

A man who has said too much

Kanfy posted:

Well sure, but considering someone cared enough to blow up an entire production facility and it's the only remaining sample of the stuff they need to avoid potential bugocalypse, you'd think he'd at the very least talk in some kind of code instead of explicitly spelling out both the thing and where he keeps it.

A code decipherable by a normal human would likely be useless in the world where you can have military grade decryption hardware installed in your head.

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chiasaur11
Oct 22, 2012



mikemil828 posted:

A code decipherable by a normal human would likely be useless in the world where you can have military grade decryption hardware installed in your head.

Well, not with a one-time pad.

But the point of a code in this case would be to have something that could just as easily pass for something innocuous. "I had to go to the exterminator today. You'd be surprised what can hide in the top floor of some of these old places. You talked to your cousin about her tenement lately? I think my guy could get her a discount." as opposed to "So, you've got an infestation of demonic space bugs. And I think some of our top executives are working with them, including some of your family. We should probably kill them."

It's not about hiding things from decryption once someone knows something's up. It's to convince any random intruder on a different run that they aren't missing anything interesting.

mikemil828
May 15, 2008

A man who has said too much

chiasaur11 posted:

Well, not with a one-time pad.

But the point of a code in this case would be to have something that could just as easily pass for something innocuous. "I had to go to the exterminator today. You'd be surprised what can hide in the top floor of some of these old places. You talked to your cousin about her tenement lately? I think my guy could get her a discount." as opposed to "So, you've got an infestation of demonic space bugs. And I think some of our top executives are working with them, including some of your family. We should probably kill them."

It's not about hiding things from decryption once someone knows something's up. It's to convince any random intruder on a different run that they aren't missing anything interesting.

A paranoid chief of security wouldn’t likely be e-mailing the ceo about a personal pest control problem on company e-mail. That in itself would be suspicious.

mikemil828 fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Oct 21, 2017

FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012

Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

Him whining about how letting the bug guy run around is dangerous would work.

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.
Part 28 - Duty Above All










It's not looking like a solid breakfast and a warm shower are in the cards for this particular morning either.



You know he's lying because everyone else has repeatedly made it clear that we look like tired trash, and recent events can't have improved that much.

You better have a good reason for locking me in here overnight.

Given Mr. Silverstar's paranoia about security, we could not get into his office in a straightforward manner last night. However, thanks to the mayhem created by you and your shadowrunners, a situation ripe for exploitation now exists.

Ripe for exploitation, eh?



On the same day, Building Maintenance reported installing the artwork in his office at the same time as a piece of equipment purchased from Fuchi Corp. Although they attempted to obfuscate its use, I believe it is the safe.

I don't really do safes. But I bet you have a plan.

Wouldn't necessarily bet on it being a good plan though.

Indeed! Mr. Silverstar is personally conducting the investigation into last night's break-in. He is interviewing personnel who may have pertinent information. You need to be one of the personnel he interviews - in his office! Once you are inside, you will need him to leave so that you can find a way to get the sample.

So I tell him I have evidence so I can get inside his office for an interview.

Close! You will plant evidence of your own creation. There are three matrix emergency power junctions on this level. If we add some commlink chips to them, it will make last night's run appear to be preparation for a larger run. It will bring the attention of Telestrian security.

I can handle it. But I'll need a way to get around the building without attracting attention.



This plan assumes some immense gaps in the security procedures of this building in addition to remarkable incompetence from its personnel, so it's clear Samedi has at the very least done his research.



I like that our new mission objectives include "don't gently caress things up". It is in fact possible for us to blow our cover, but it takes some doing.





For now we grab the by now familiar janitor overalls and the commlink chips from the locker and head on out.



Upon exiting the locker room, wherever it was, we once again find ourselves in front of the elevators on the first floor. It's a little messier than last time though.

Before we get to do anything, an elf in a suit walks up to and addresses us. Let's see if we can get through at least one conversation before the bodies start piling up again.



drat, guy's getting roasted by his own descriptive text before he even gets to open his mouth.



Cleaning up other people's messes is what I do.

The drones, standard janitor equipment of course, are for especially hard-to-remove cases.

You'll have your hands full. There was some sort of break-in last night! Some people were... um... just get things cleaned up on this floor. And listen - people are going to be on edge today. So try to stay invisible and don't get into any trouble. Otherwise, they're going to call me, and I'm going to have to reprimand you and put a note in your file.

Sounds good! We'll get to those orientation trids another day.

I hope they get whoever did this. Only a fool would attack a Telestrian Corporate office and think they can get away with it! Anyway, start heading from room to room and clean what needs cleaning. Good luck, and welcome to Telestrian.



The first panel we're looking for is in the computer room to the northeast, the same one we previously used to hack the elevators. Looks like it's occupied though, and we can't really afford any eyewitnesses.



So, there's actually a sort of ... I guess you could call it a dialogue puzzle here. All three power junctions we're looking for are watched over by someone, and we need to get them to leave so that we can plant the commlink chips. In each conversation with the person present we're usually given three dialogue choices; One "correct" choice, one "incorrect" choice and one Charisma check which solves the situation.

Each time we pick a "correct" dialogue choice, the Charisma requirement decreases until it's gone completely, like so:


So ka. I get it. You never get the straight dope around here.

[He lets out a big sigh while shaking his head in agreement.]

I get it.



The Charisma requirement has dropped from 4 to 2. However each time we pick the "incorrect" choice, the requirement goes up instead:

We're all responsible for what happens at this company.



Oops, the requirement has now jumped up to 6 which is out of our reach. If at this point we again pick the "incorrect" choice...

And your responsibility is to stop badmouthing our execs. I bet they might be interested in hearing some of the garbage you've been spewing.



...he'll get pissy and run off to complain to our supervisor Steve who will then chew us out. If this happens with all three people watching the power junctions, it's game over due to him taking our badge and then realizing we're not an actual janitor. That said it's usually incredibly obvious which choice is the good one and which one's the bad one, and failing all three conversations by accident is so unlikely that I honestly can't imagine anyone who has played this game has ever managed to do so.

Anyway, let's go back one choice and pick the right one.


Sorry! They've forced a double shift on me and told me to be happy with the overtime.

[He rolls his eyes.] Typical. It's gonna be a hell of a morning with all this investigation drek going on.

At this point the choices are reduced to a Charisma check of 1 and a "correct" choice, making it impossible to fail the conversation.

Do you think you could duck out for a smoke or something? It would be easier if I didn't have to clean around you.

Oh sorry. Yeah, no problem. Just another day in paradise, right?



The elf walks off never to be seen again, and we get to work on the defenseless power junction.



No checks or anything required here. We get 2 karma for each chip we plant, adding to the sizeable pile we've already accumulated since entering this place.



We're not quite done in this room yet as this busted-looking LAN rack, which somehow got riddled with bullet holes even though no fighting of any kind took place in this room, has something of interest for us.





We have absolutely no reason to grab this stuff beyond the fact that we can do so, but it's not like that's a first.



Our next target is in the small conference room to the southwest, the one our drones briefly visited using air vents. Two security personnel are staring into one of those vents and shaking their heads.





It's good to see Officer Kuprik getting new work so soon after presumably and justifiably getting fired from Lone Star.

Just get in there and take another look. I have got to go upstairs and report.



After the armored guard is out of sight, we chat up the miffed-looking man.



From what I can tell, it looks like our guys got hit pretty hard.

[He shakes his head.] Yeah, they chewed through those guys pretty good. Must've been pros.

Probably good-looking too.

Look, I know it's "Duty Before All" around here but I just want to get things cleaned up.

Despite sounding a bit forceful, this is actually the "correct" choice here.

[He lets out a sigh.] Duty ABOVE All. It's Mr. Silverstar's favorite. I can't believe anyone can spout Telestrian Corporate Values when a bunch of our guys were geeked a few hours ago.

If there's nothing in the vent, let's just get this over with. Unless you really want to go back in there.

Not really. There's just as much nothing in there as the last time I checked.

Luckily both of our drones can fly or else there might've been some conspicuously bloody track marks up in there.

Wiz. I'd like to get this room clean and move on.




In case you're curious, here's how you don't handle things here:

quote:



Yeah, I can't believe the intruders got up to the top floor.

[Something trips in the guard's mind. He looks at you very intently.]

How did you know they made it to the executive level?

I'm headed up there after this.

[His brow furrows. He's got the feeling that something is wrong.]

That's not right. The executive level is on lockdown. I'm going to call your supervisor and double-check your instructions.




That's two out of three.



Our third and last target is in the larger room to the southeast where we confronted a loud mage and his three buddies. An employee appears to be having an argument of some kind with one of the guards.





Nonetheless, our records show this terminal was left unsecured in direct contravention of Telestrian corporate policy. You failed in your duty.

Funnily enough we didn't actually get anything useful out of this guy's terminal. It was the slip of paper with the door code under his keyboard which allowed us to proceed further in. Which when you think about it was probably an even bigger security issue.

I know it's "duty above all" for you security types but I am the victim here, I swear.

Perhaps when Mr. Silverstar gets his next promotion that will become a value for you data pushers as well. Right now it seems your value is "clock out early and ignore my responsibilities". Don't go anywhere, I need to make my report to Erik.



Perhaps we can help this poor chap out, and maybe get him to temporarily relocate somewhere else in the process.



Looks like you're in some real trouble, chummer.

Buzz. Unless you can clean up a shattered career, leave me alone.

I came across some items that might help you out.

[He shakes his head.] I doubt it. You know the guy who said, "Life isn't fair"? He was talking about me.

Oh boo-hoo.

Heh, me too. I used to be in Accounting a few floors up. A few too many drinks at the Christmas party and look at me now.

I mean I didn't want this to happen! I mean, hell! Who would?

You're totally right.

Most of the time, I don't know if the cred I earn is worth it. But, it's better than being one of those SINless scum - like the ones who did this!

Security's bullying you, my friend. But I could make it look like your terminal was tampered with and no one would be the wiser.



It's a good thing we picked up some random electronic junk earlier.



This'll probably deceive absolutely nobody, but we'll be long gone before that becomes an issue. For us.

Thanks so much, I won't forget this when your review comes up.

Hey no problem sir, just glad I could help, would you mind clearing out of here for a while? There is a lot to do.

You bet, just remember to keep this just between us.


Again, here's one way to muck things up:

quote:

[He shakes his head.] I doubt it. You know the guy who said, "Life isn't fair"? He was talking about me.

I hear you. Let me tell you about all the crap I have to clean up!

You don't have to tell me. In fact, I'd prefer if you didn't tell me anything. Just buzz.

No need to get excited, chummer. There'll be plenty of blame to go around.

It's just so unfair! They have no right to take me down for something security should have caught!

Well, from what Security said, it sounds like you made a bad thing worse.





With the third and final power junction all chipped up, it's time to proceed to the next part of the plan.



We could've talked to this guard watching the elevators earlier already, but he would've just told us to leave.

What can I do for you?

Hey, I found all these chips on some of the Matrix switch boxes. Is that important?



Mr. Silverstar wants to see you in his office immediately.



Things have gone unusually smoothly so far. Let's see if our luck holds out upstairs as well.







Silverstar's office is right around the corner, and this time the doors are wide open to us.



The man himself is waiting for us inside.



Well it's "Duty above all", right?



Uh, can you repeat that? Occasionally you come across dialogue which was very obviously written hastily and never double-checked, and Erik here is probably the worst case of that.

Alternatively he simply talks like a caffeinated chipmunk, which is definitely the funnier interpretation.


Thank you, sir.



Thankfully we're spared from witnessing any further butchery of innocent punctuation, as the head of security decides to leave us alone in his office together with the invaluable sample while he heads downstairs. Which raises the question, why did he ever invite us up here in the first place? Wasn't he supposed to interview us?

It definitely feels like this part was supposed to be more fleshed out, but for some reason or another ended up rushed.






There's no safe or sample in sight, but the five paintings on the walls can all be interacted with. Pushed, in fact. It's looking a lot like we have a bona fide puzzle on our hands!

There's also a liquor cabinet which we can look at but not interact with.



In any case, the descriptions of the paintings from left to right are as follows:


1. A small lighthouse in intense storm at night perched on a rocky outcropping. Its light stabs out into the darkness. The plaque reads "Vigilance".

2. A wild mountain landscape with clouds ringing lofty peaks. The plaque reads "Independence".

3. A photo-realistic painting of five massive harvesters in Telestrian colors in a staggered formation cutting a swath across a rippling field of wheat. The plaque reads "Unity".

4. A clock tower at a train station in downtown Portland in the Tir. The plaque reads "Efficiency".

5. A profile of three elves in Telestrian security uniforms looking upwards at a flag flying the Telestrian logo. The plaque reads "Duty".


We need to push three paintings in the correct order. Can you figure it out, dear reader?




So if you've been paying any kind of attention, you can probably tell what's going on here. The three paintings we need to push correspond to Silverstar's three corporate values, of which "Duty Above All" in particular has been repeated over and over and over again. Amongst his incoherent ramblings Silverstar also mentioned that the third value is "vigilance". What's left is the second one which is a little trickier than the other two, as I believe it was only mentioned once by the bald elven tech worker back in the computer room.

Of course since we're talking corporate values here it's not hard to guess that the answer is "efficiency". And guessing is a perfectly valid strategy here, because while there's a limit to how many times you can get things wrong before Silverstar comes back with security which leads to a game over, it's a pretty generous limit.



Pushing the paintings in the order Duty -> Efficiency -> Vigilance causes the nearby bookshelf to slide out of the way, revealing a secret room.



Cool painting. More importantly we finally reach the long-sought safe, which however turns out to be locked by a DNA scanner.

The answer for this conundrum can be found on the liquor cabinet we looked at earlier, from which we can now pick up the cigar.



We simply take this, put the moist end on the DNA scanner and voila!



Seriously though, this has to be the most garbage-rear end lock system in existence. A rusty latch would've put up more of a resistance.

But in the end what matters is that we at last have our precious sample.



The executive elevator isn't the one we used to get here, but rather the one the group of four guards used to enter back when we were hacking the CEO's computer terminal. So that's where we're heading.



I don't believe there's any time limit here, but we don't have a reason to dawdle either. We get some complaints as we make our way to the CEO's office, but the complainers are smart enough not to try anything.



There's nothing new in the office itself, so we go straight through the next door...



...and reach the elevator to freedom. Against all odds everything has somehow gone according to plan. We're home free with the Aegis sample safely in our pocket.

Time to head back to the Union and figure out our plan of offense against those darn bugs.

















Um.



Aw, crud.

Good morning, Detective McKlusky. It's a fine day for police corruption, isn't it?

[The smirk broadens.] That's right, dummy, keep flapping your jaw. That sort of thing will be perfect for where you're going. Mr. Telestrian wants to meet you in person. He wants to chat about last night's fun an' games. You can come along quietly or you can meet him in a body bag.

Guess we now know the identity of the mystery person who's been pulling McKlusky's strings.

[He smiles wolfishly.]

Come on, drek-for-brains. Make the wrong choice.

We do not in fact have a choice here.

I'll opt for a stand-up conversation.



Goddamnit, we just can't catch a break it seems like. What have we done to deserve all this? Okay yeah there were all those crimes I guess but come on, we're long overdue for a turn for the better by now.

I suppose all we can hope for now is that Mr. Telestrian is in an understanding mood.

Kanfy fucked around with this message at 12:09 on Dec 6, 2017

Andyzero
May 22, 2009

I used to spoil, I'm sorry.
....REALLY?
Baron Samedi didn't notice the fireteam waiting there? By camera, or listening to their comms, or whatever?

If this isn't some kind of "In Mysterious Ways" thing where he wanted you to get caught so you could do something; I'm going to be very disappointed; and so are the other Loa.

GunnerJ
Aug 1, 2005

Do you think this is funny?
I have to say though the general system for that dialog puzzle is neat.

I dont know
Aug 9, 2003

That Guy here...

GunnerJ posted:

I have to say though the general system for that dialog puzzle is neat.

It reminds me of the kind of puzzle that would show up in a Silent Hill.

The first time played through as cybered to the gills troll with an axe, the second an elf rigger. I could decide which was funnier, posing as a janitor with 2 tons of obvious chrome or the janitor that inexplicably has a pair militarily grade drones following him like puppies.

FredMSloniker
Jan 2, 2008

Why, yes, I do like Kirby games.

Andyzero posted:

....REALLY?
Baron Samedi didn't notice the fireteam waiting there? By camera, or listening to their comms, or whatever?

If this isn't some kind of "In Mysterious Ways" thing where he wanted you to get caught so you could do something; I'm going to be very disappointed; and so are the other Loa.

It might be that he wanted you to get caught so he could do something. Giving you enough rope to hang yourself and all that. We shall see.

FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012

Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

Huh, so you have to fail all three dialogue trees to actually have consequences? This section is a lot more generous than I thought it was.

girl dick energy
Sep 30, 2009

You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?
What does happen if you fail all three? Straight game over, or do you have to fight your way out?

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.

PMush Perfect posted:

What does happen if you fail all three? Straight game over, or do you have to fight your way out?

The supervisor gets angrier each time and after the third it's an immediate game over, there's no avoiding it at that point. Here are the full conversations for each failure in case someone was wondering:

quote:

Look, I told you to watch yourself. Unless you want to be transferred to the Telestrian stables for shovel duty, you better get your act together.

Sorry, boss. Crazy day! I was just hoping for some time to learn my job...

I know it's crazy. The break-in has everyone on edge. Just learn quicker.

quote:

I really don't need this drek. One more problem and your first day with the Telestrian Corporation will be your last.

I'm not really a "people person". That's why I normally work the night shift. I'll be more careful.

You do that. And work on those people skills. You'll need 'em to get along around here.

quote:

That's it, you're out of here! Give me your badge.

[He looks down at your badge for the first time.]

Wait, that's just a Visitor's badge. SECURITY! SECURITY!


The worker harassed by the guard is probably the easiest one to screw up by accident because he's very eager to (as the game puts it) assert his position in the corporate pecking order, meaning it's possible for him to run off to the supervisor immediately if you pick the wrong choice even once.

painedforever
Sep 12, 2017

Quem Deus Vult Perdere, Prius Dementat.

*Gasp*! It's Optimus Prime!

God, this mission. I like the dialogue section of it, but I really hated the picture puzzle. There's an actual timer, so you have to rush through the descriptions of each of the pictures, and then figure out which to push first. It's a pain in the backside, and you don't expect it to happen in what has been a mostly turn-based game.

I mean, I had to stick to the stupid "turn-based" thing when I was making my way through the clinic, even after I'd smashed everyone on the ground floor. Couldn't give me a pass then, could you? I had to drag everyone's lazy rear end to the exits one by one. You bastards.

Okay, so it's not really that bad. The time limit is somewhat generous, but you can't screw around too much. And there are generous autosaves in the game, so even if you get it wrong, you just need to chat with Mr. Middle-Management Bootlicker for a little while because the autosave is just after you exit the elevator.

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.

painedforever posted:

*Gasp*! It's Optimus Prime!

God, this mission. I like the dialogue section of it, but I really hated the picture puzzle. There's an actual timer, so you have to rush through the descriptions of each of the pictures, and then figure out which to push first. It's a pain in the backside, and you don't expect it to happen in what has been a mostly turn-based game.

I mean, I had to stick to the stupid "turn-based" thing when I was making my way through the clinic, even after I'd smashed everyone on the ground floor. Couldn't give me a pass then, could you? I had to drag everyone's lazy rear end to the exits one by one. You bastards.

Okay, so it's not really that bad. The time limit is somewhat generous, but you can't screw around too much. And there are generous autosaves in the game, so even if you get it wrong, you just need to chat with Mr. Middle-Management Bootlicker for a little while because the autosave is just after you exit the elevator.

As far as I'm aware there's no actual time limit and you can look at the descriptions for as long as you want. You're limited to 10 pushes of the painting frames (technically 11 but the 11th one leads to a game over even if it opens the door), each of which causes time to "pass".

But yeah, if you missed the earlier mentions of Efficiency and Vigilance and are only working with Duty being first, it's very possible to fail at least once since the whole thing resets upon making the wrong choice. If you know two out of three it's much easier.

Kanfy fucked around with this message at 12:34 on Oct 26, 2017

The Lone Badger
Sep 24, 2007

Kanfy posted:

We're not quite done in this room yet as this busted-looking LAN rack, which somehow got riddled with bullet holes even though no fighting of any kind took place in this room, has something of interest for us.

IT came round afterwards and put a few rounds into anything more than four years old. Brand new kit and it'll go on Security's budget, not theirs.

OAquinas
Jan 27, 2008

Biden has sat immobile on the Iron Throne of America. He is the Master of Malarkey by the will of the gods, and master of a million votes by the might of his inexhaustible calamari.

The Lone Badger posted:

IT came round afterwards and put a few rounds into anything more than four years old. Brand new kit and it'll go on Security's budget, not theirs.

...that's actually a smart move on their part, and I could totally see that happening.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
Just goes to show. When you get the chance, always jump off the roof.

AriadneThread
Feb 17, 2011

The Devil sounds like smoke and honey. We cannot move. It is too beautiful.


i don't think it ever really clicked for me just how terrible samedi was at his job until i saw it all laid out like this

Fighting Trousers
May 17, 2011

Does this excite you, girl?
To be fair, he's just a kid trying to impress a girl.

AriadneThread
Feb 17, 2011

The Devil sounds like smoke and honey. We cannot move. It is too beautiful.


Fighting Trousers posted:

To be fair, he's just a kid trying to impress a girl.

a capital crime

OutofSight
May 4, 2017
Apparently Telestrian is made up entirely of douchy elves. Maybe Amazon should hand in an application in the near future?

Most runs behave like dungeoncrawls in the shadowrun videogames (and some TT groups). Seeing the aftermath of a run is quite something, although some of the destruction on the map looks like you were playing a troll street sam with an assault rifle. What did those decorative trees ever do to you?

OutofSight fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Oct 27, 2017

Stroth
Mar 31, 2007

All Problems Solved

OutofSight posted:

Appently Telestrian is made up entirely of douchy elves.

It's the corporate arm of Tir Tairngire's government. And they tend to be pretty isolationist. Officially they don't practice racism, but the only person who isn't an Elf that sits on the Council is one of the Great Dragons. So yeah, all the senior management are Elves that know how to play immortal politics.

I dont know
Aug 9, 2003

That Guy here...

Fighting Trousers posted:

To be fair, he's just a kid trying to impress a girl.

I would be fine with this if the game presented it this way. But everyone we chatted with back at the union talked him up as some kind of matrix god. Smash cut to the run going south as a result of his repeated fuckups, half baked plans, and general incompetence.

FoolyCharged
Oct 11, 2012

Cheating at a raffle? I sentence you to 1 year in jail! No! Two years! Three! Four! Five years! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Somebody call for an ant?

I dont know posted:

I would be fine with this if the game presented it this way. But everyone we chatted with back at the union talked him up as some kind of matrix god. Smash cut to the run going south as a result of his repeated fuckups, half baked plans, and general incompetence.

I mean the two aren't exclusive. The matrix stuff he did went fine. The everything else he did was a horrible clusterfuck of bad calls. Hes the sort of guy thats good at his individual job, but should never, ever be put in charge.

frankenfreak
Feb 16, 2007

I SCORED 85% ON A QUIZ ABOUT MONDAY NIGHT RAW AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY TEXT

#bastionboogerbrigade

I dont know posted:

I would be fine with this if the game presented it this way. But everyone we chatted with back at the union talked him up as some kind of matrix god.
Still being alive probably counts for at least half your reputation as a runner.

Randaconda
Jul 3, 2014

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

I dont know posted:

I would be fine with this if the game presented it this way. But everyone we chatted with back at the union talked him up as some kind of matrix god. Smash cut to the run going south as a result of his repeated fuckups, half baked plans, and general incompetence.

That's every Shadowrun PC in every TT campaign I've played in.

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.
One of the short stories in the Anthology is from the Baron's POV and opens up his character a lot more than what's shown in the game, it's one of the two or three I'll probably post before this whole thing's done. Which isn't far from now, since we're pretty close to the end.

Poil
Mar 17, 2007

Randaconda posted:

That's every Shadowrun PC in every TT campaign I've played in.
My TT experiences are usually more like "I roll 500 initiative and cover the entire table with shooting dice from all my guns which auto hit all enemies for thousands of damage and then I use this optional rule, I made up last night, to also cast chaotic world on any remaining enemy so they get utterly crippling penalties to all their attacks, not that they could hit my 10000 dodge dice anyway, and I take four on the drain roll, I can do that with this other optional rule I made up, and suffer no consequences of my spell casting. I win."

:negative:

wiegieman
Apr 22, 2010

Royalty is a continuous cutting motion


The number one skill for any Shadowrunner is being able to kill (or sitck-n-shock, if you really want to) your way out of the consequences of your screwups.

OutofSight
May 4, 2017

FoolyCharged posted:

I mean the two aren't exclusive. The matrix stuff he did went fine. The everything else he did was a horrible clusterfuck of bad calls. Hes the sort of guy thats good at his individual job, but should never, ever be put in charge.

It is hinted, that "Baron Samedi" is Marie Louise's friend. Which puts him probably at the age of a college student. Outside of Stuffershack nightshift he should not any "team lead" experience.
Or is this the grimdark future future and middle managment consists of twenty year old Marc Zuckerberg wannabes?

Yeowch!!! My Balls!!!
May 31, 2006

OutofSight posted:

It is hinted, that "Baron Samedi" is Marie Louise's friend. Which puts him probably at the age of a college student. Outside of Stuffershack nightshift he should not any "team lead" experience.
Or is this the grimdark future future and middle managment consists of twenty year old Marc Zuckerberg wannabes?

An apocalypse happened to the city of Chicago.

The graduates of the Kellog School of Business, A Duly Licensed ARES affiliate, did not notice except for the insulated el line that runs them to and from O'Hare had a breakdown one week, requiring them to use the inferior helitaxi service.

The spawn of corporate executives are raised to become corporate executives in turn, and while corporate propaganda makes a big story out of the occasional employee-of-the-month who gets promoted off the ground floor? By and large, the person your supervisor reports to is a fresh-faced business school graduate or the empty shell that same fresh-faced business school graduate is thirty years down the road.

SIGSEGV
Nov 4, 2010


Randaconda posted:

That's every Shadowrun PC in every TT campaign I've played in.

Some of the funniest and most satisfying runs are when everything goes according to plan, the plan called for stealth, and nobody ever notices the run happened.

wiegieman
Apr 22, 2010

Royalty is a continuous cutting motion


Ze Pollack posted:

An apocalypse happened to the city of Chicago.

The graduates of the Kellog School of Business, A Duly Licensed ARES affiliate, did not notice except for the insulated el line that runs them to and from O'Hare had a breakdown one week, requiring them to use the inferior helitaxi service.

The spawn of corporate executives are raised to become corporate executives in turn, and while corporate propaganda makes a big story out of the occasional employee-of-the-month who gets promoted off the ground floor? By and large, the person your supervisor reports to is a fresh-faced business school graduate or the empty shell that same fresh-faced business school graduate is thirty years down the road.

Furthermore, the upper levels of society have access to incredibly expensive and difficult to access medical techniques, notably the life-extending Leonization procedure. Leonization is a derivative of HMHVV (the Human-Hetahuman-Vampiric-Virus) research and those assholes would probably all cut out the middleman and be vampires if it wasn't "illegal on pain of death by lots of bullets."

SIGSEGV
Nov 4, 2010


wiegieman posted:

Furthermore, the upper levels of society have access to incredibly expensive and difficult to access medical techniques, notably the life-extending Leonization procedure. Leonization is a derivative of HMHVV (the Human-Hetahuman-Vampiric-Virus) research and those assholes would probably all cut out the middleman and be vampires if it wasn't "illegal on pain of death by lots of bullets."

They try pretty often as well, the realy rich part of Seattle that's not even in Seattle because it's full of dirty poors has two gangs, a bunch of old tech tycoons playing chicken with the matrix's overwatch teams and a vampire gang in the business of turning those tycoons when they get too scared of death to resist.

Coward
Sep 10, 2009

I say we take off and surrender unconditionally from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure



.

Poil posted:

My TT experiences are usually more like "I roll 500 initiative and cover the entire table with shooting dice from all my guns which auto hit all enemies for thousands of damage and then I use this optional rule, I made up last night, to also cast chaotic world on any remaining enemy so they get utterly crippling penalties to all their attacks, not that they could hit my 10000 dodge dice anyway, and I take four on the drain roll, I can do that with this other optional rule I made up, and suffer no consequences of my spell casting. I win."

:negative:

Here's a cross-post from the gaming anecdotes thread about what my Shadowrun TT experiences are usually like:

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3460258&pagenumber=52&perpage=40#post408931951

Stroth
Mar 31, 2007

All Problems Solved

Ze Pollack posted:

An apocalypse happened to the city of Chicago.

That actually hasn't happened yet.

Hint: One of the Universal Brotherhood's biggest congregations is based out of Chicago

Manic_Misanthrope
Jul 1, 2010


Randaconda posted:

That's every Shadowrun PC in every TT campaign I've played in.

Difference between Table Top and Video Games is that the Table Top version will allow options to gently caress up in ways video games will never be able to match. Outside of maybe Breath of The Wild physics fuckery.

Kanfy
Jan 9, 2012

Just gotta keep walking down that road.
Hello yes since it's so close by I would like to place an order for two (2) forum posts so as to allow the next update to take place at the top of the next page instead of the bottom of this one.

Thank you in advance~

Vadoc
Dec 31, 2007

Guess who made waffles...


One post as requested, eagerly awaiting newest update.

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Alacron
Feb 15, 2007

-->Have tearful reunion with your son
-->Eh
Fun Shoe
Well I suppose I could jack out of my BTL and deck out some dreck posts on this bbs before my soykaf kicks in.

Nuyen, chrome and other buzzwords and such.

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