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MagusofStars posted:The couple times I played through, it felt like the game gave me exactly enough cash to keep the PC up-to-date in armor and weapons, but not a penny more. Playing a punch-adept helped a lot since I didn't need to buy weapons.
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Jan 22, 2021 15:35
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habeasdorkus posted:Playing a punch-adept helped a lot since I didn't need to buy weapons. You were missing out on some damage, then. There's a dude that sells punch weapons, it's the adept shop guy.
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Jan 22, 2021 15:42
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habeasdorkus posted:btw, if Manhattan had the same population density of peak Kowloon Walled City, it'd have 74m residents. Really gives you an indication of how off sci-fi writers are when talking about world-spanning cities. Asimov biffed this hardest, he had Trantor's peak population at 40 billion. Star Wars apparently has Coruscant at 1 trillion, which is much closer but even at just Manhattan density Earth would have 13 trillion (covering oceans) or 4 trillion (just land area). I got curious and ran the numbers for a planet-spanning (land + ocean surface) KWC and it clocked in at almost one quintillion people.
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Jan 22, 2021 15:49
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Ghost Stromboli posted:Riggers and Deckers seem to be the most money-hungry since you're spending nuyen on your main gadget (be it a drone or two or a cyberdeck and all its additional goodies), cyberware, guns, and armor. Guns may take a backseat priority-wise but there's still quite a bit to grab. Yeah, tell me about it. My first character was a Rigger/Decker combo because "hell yeah I want 8-9 clicks per turn !". I never got around to buying a second combat drone because just keeping the first up to date, plus my deck & programs, plus my armour, plus my token peashooter, plus the chrome had me on my knees. Phys adepts though ? About 4000 grabs all your go-to spells (that don't really get meaningfully upgraded, unlike wizzard or shaman ones), there are a bunch of good 'nuff free melee weapons to be found while you're waiting on the opportunity to buy the good-good go-fast sword, and another 4-ish thou covers your armour upgrades throughout the game assuming you're not getting each and every last one. That's about it. Beyond that of course you could want some +stat magical trinkets, maybe a couple cyberarms and/or the shockingly good (HA.) electropunch but it's all surplus to requirements, running laps around the endgame type stuff. The baseline already reduces most everything to finely sliced meat.
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Jan 22, 2021 16:43
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habeasdorkus posted:It should be noted given the earlier conversation that SRHK does try from the jump to explain why Kowloon Walled City is so bad, which at least heads off a few problems with exoticizing a poor area.
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Jan 22, 2021 16:47
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You can fudge those numbers a little; for instance Trantor or Coruscant have to have enough photosynthesis going on to keep the air breathable, have to have enough waste management to handle all the excrement for instance. How much of the planet city would have to be taken up by vertical farming or giant digesters breaking down waste, instead of housing for people, is an open question. The numbers are still way off, but a hypothetical planet-city would have needs that no city resting inside a functioning biosphere would have.
Servetus fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Jan 22, 2021 |
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Jan 22, 2021 17:05
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Hell yeah! Just finished binging the previous two Shadowrun LP you made, glad I caught up, actually never played Hong Kong so I'm going in blind in this one, so far it looks quite good
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Jan 22, 2021 18:01
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argosaxelcaos posted:Hell yeah! Just finished binging the previous two Shadowrun LP you made, glad I caught up, actually never played Hong Kong so I'm going in blind in this one, so far it looks quite good That's a whole lot of shadowrunning to binge through, welcome. We're only getting started here so take a rest and join us around the digital campfire, we've got a real long tale ahead of us and those are always best enjoyed in good company.
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Jan 22, 2021 20:11
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habeasdorkus posted:Star Wars apparently has Coruscant at 1 trillion, which is much closer but even at just Manhattan density Earth would have 13 trillion (covering oceans) or 4 trillion (just land area). They do explicitly admit that one trillion is only the official residents of fixed address, and that the real number is at least twice that before you get into the indigent populations living in the undercity.
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Jan 22, 2021 20:34
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Stroth posted:They do explicitly admit that one trillion is only the official residents of fixed address, and that the real number is at least twice that before you get into the indigent populations living in the undercity. So that’s who is buying all those death sticks.
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Jan 22, 2021 20:51
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Kanfy posted:That's a whole lot of shadowrunning to binge through, welcome. We're only getting started here so take a rest and join us around the digital campfire, we've got a real long tale ahead of us and those are always best enjoyed in good company. You say that, but you had Blitz around your last campfire. I ain't judgin', and I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'.
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Jan 22, 2021 22:33
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my rule of thumb is that nobody who writes for a living grokked exponents except martin gardner and greg egan ive been proven wrong but only like 4 times
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Jan 23, 2021 18:01
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I picked this game up in a Steam sale some godawful long time ago and never got around to it; good LP has inspired me to give it a shot. I'm up to the first major branch and running into something of a bugbear of mine, party selection. I've gone in on charisma/int for a hybrid face/shaman/decker so I can cover as many roles as I can. But incidental NPC dialog is ofttimes the best part of an RPG. Something about characters reacting to the world around them makes them likeable, fleshes them out far more than having an endless face-to-face dialog tree. So having to leave NPCs behind really irks me, as I almost never have the patience to play an RPG twice. One of these missions clearly has Is0bel as a lock but all the rest don't seem to favor anyone. If there's no mod to expand the crew capacity (and hopefully up the difficulty to compensate), are there any spoiler-free hints about who has the most to say on any given mission? Or am I severely overthinking this and the NPCs don't have in-mission reactions?
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Jan 24, 2021 00:09
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they have absolutely tons of in mission rxns including some of the best content in the game and you will miss like a fifth of the game guaranteed no matter what you do i just played twice
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Jan 24, 2021 00:18
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Grayshift posted:Or am I severely overthinking this and the NPCs don't have in-mission reactions? Exactly the opposite problem actually.
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Jan 24, 2021 05:00
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Yeah, I'm legit looking forward to seeing all the stuff I missed in this game when we get to it in this LP. It's been a long time, but I definitely remember a number of reactions both for party members and for other characters that absolutely depend which characters you bring.
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Jan 24, 2021 05:28
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if you want nonspoilers dealio, do whampoa and finish it w/o violence, there is absolutely a way to finish w/o violence.
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Jan 24, 2021 06:37
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There is no real catch-all solution no, though of course this LP will strive to cover any interesting party comments/interactions as usual so if you stick around long enough you're likely to see most of that. Eventually.
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Jan 24, 2021 09:05
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I'm personally looking forward to seeing the dialogue of the party members we haven't seen yet. The ones we met already were basically my default party going through this. I wish I knew about Duncan's zip-tie ability, my Shuriken troll had a habit of accidentally stunning clusters of people sometimes. For whatever reason, I'm really bad about using the party member's specific abilities in general in the Shadowrun Returns games. Like, I did Blitz's mission, he tells me about this neat new special ability he gets, then I subsequently forget he has by the next mission and never used it. It's something about the interface or my personal dumbassery, but I keep missing people's abilities (I never used Gobbet's poison cloud either on that same principle). I guess I'd also like to know if I was missing anything big from the other party members too, because I was seriously unimpressed with them mechanics-wise.
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Jan 24, 2021 12:20
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We'll leave any deeper talk about as-of-yet unmet characters until we actually meet them (hint hint thread, keep it in for a little while longer) but as was alluded to in the OP one of them was rather badly bugged in the base game with a number of their core skills working only partially or not at all. It's one of the more egregious bugs to have been left in the game, but luckily it's also one fixed in the community patch we're using. Of course any lineup can still do any mission just fine, especially in an unmodded game. Also I believe there's no direct in-game indication that Poison Fog is even unique to Gobbet unless you check the shaman spell selection at a store and realize it's not on there, so avoiding it is probably more a consequence of it sounding like some junky status effect spell rather than what is practically a direct damage one. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jan 24, 2021 |
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Jan 24, 2021 14:07
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One of the great promises of any Shadowrun game: meet interesting people, get betrayed, go on a killing spree in nondeterminate order.
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Jan 24, 2021 14:13
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Kanfy posted:We'll leave any deeper talk about as-of-yet unmet characters until we actually meet them (hint hint thread, keep it in for a little while longer) but as was alluded to in the OP one of them was rather badly bugged in the base game with a number of their core skills working only partially or not at all. Weird, I don't remember one of the companions having mostly bugged skills, and I cycled them around fairly often. I guess my memory for this game isn't as good as I thought it was.
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Jan 24, 2021 18:24
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my 1.0 experience revolved around a piece of equipment being hilariously broken in the player's favor and it was amazing, so the ability issue we're all talking around was less of a problem. but more on that when we get there. ...am I reinstalling this game right now, probably. Kanfy which patch are you using or would suggest? I'm seeing several community patches and different people's takes on community patches. I don't think I want the enemy to have unshackled AP but a good solid bugfix sounds good to me. I did a ctrl-f on 'patch' and didn't see you post but if you've linked it already, sorry for not seeing it. Psion fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Jan 24, 2021 |
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Jan 24, 2021 22:09
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Ah sorry, I wasn't actually intending on asking about the unmet characters abilities right now, but looking back at my comment, it certainly looks like I am. Whoops. The weird thing is that I don't even remember seeing Poison Fog's on Gobbet's ability list at all. I can't really explain it, I used her like all the time but like Duncan's take-down, I was just never even aware of it. Hence my comment about personal derping.
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Jan 24, 2021 22:30
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Psion posted:my 1.0 experience revolved around a piece of equipment being hilariously broken in the player's favor and it was amazing, so the ability issue we're all talking around was less of a problem. Hong Kong Bugfix Compilation by noqn, mentioned in update 1 but not linked. also there was a warning that the changelog has spoilers (which won't matter for you of course, but it's good to remind other folks!)
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Jan 25, 2021 02:41
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Ah, thank you. That's what i get for searching patch and not 'bugfix' i suppose!
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Jan 25, 2021 03:52
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The last time I played this I had a weird crisis of conscience and used Duncan's zip tie on every enemy I could. Man I love this game.
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Jan 25, 2021 07:22
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Hypocrisy posted:The last time I played this I had a weird crisis of conscience and used Duncan's zip tie on every enemy I could. Man I love this game. It didn't come up in the update but this policy can actually be beneficial during this run as even if you do end up in a fight with the Yellow Lotus, it is still possible to fulfill the "no triad kills" objective if they're all defeated with Subdue instead of lethal damage.
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Jan 25, 2021 11:15
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Kanfy posted:It didn't come up in the update but this policy can actually be beneficial during this run as even if you do end up in a fight with the Yellow Lotus, it is still possible to fulfill the "no triad kills" objective if they're all defeated with Subdue instead of lethal damage. Huh. Did not know that ! Talk about adding insult to multiple gunshot wounds.
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Jan 25, 2021 20:09
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I found a lot of use for subdue in my playthrough. There are a number of fights with folks who don't really deserve to die. I don't ever recall using poison fog, tho. Maybe I'll reinstall...
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Jan 25, 2021 20:24
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Yeah there's one fight in particular later on that I'm really glad I had Duncan around for because it involved someone who was utterly unrelated to the investigation and didn't deserve death.
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Jan 25, 2021 20:39
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Am I the only one who saw Poison Fog and laughed that it was just the matrix Firewall program for real life? (and I guess in a fixed shape, but the rare occasions that I used Firewall I usually just put it into a block anyway.
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Jan 25, 2021 20:50
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Akratic Method posted:Am I the only one who saw Poison Fog and laughed that it was just the matrix Firewall program for real life? (and I guess in a fixed shape, but the rare occasions that I used Firewall I usually just put it into a block anyway. The Barrier line of shaman spells which have existed since the first game are probably the closer equivalent. They haven't come up in use very often since Dietrich didn't have any of 'em, but we did have Falk making use of Fire Barrier way back when.  The standard Fog spell has been around from the start too, it's just the damaging version that's new.
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Jan 26, 2021 10:04
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Ah, I never did any shaman-ing of my own -- to be honest I was always lazy and just did "more bullets, until dead" for a "strategy" --so any of their skillset that the NPC summoners didn't show off I never really learned about.
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Jan 26, 2021 18:55
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Part 07 - Unrelenting Grip  As we resume our search for a way into the sub-levels to make use of our newly acquired Door Code From Beyond and reach Strangler Bao, we bump into some locals having a loud confrontation on one of the roofs south from the triad compound.    This isn't *enough.* You've got two options, old man: you can find a way to pay me ALL the money, or you can drag your bony rear end deeper into the Wall. Find a spot for yourself there, with the pimps and the predators. They should find a nice use for you. Your choice. [The old man wails.] It's not fair! I can't just pack up and leave! I've been living here twenty-two years, and I-- Is this how it's going to be?[He rolls his burly shoulders.] Fine by me. The thug then boots the old man in the face and walks off. What lovely people we've had to throw in our lot with.  Looks like he'll live at least, which makes him luckier than some others we've met who pissed off the triad. Which clearly doesn't take much more than being in their line of sight at the wrong time.  There's a small tire fire nearby, both an apt symbol for this place and also one of the three items the student woman from earlier asked us to fix. Just gotta find something to put it out with, not gonna ruin our shoes on this.  This should do the trick. And hey, there's the way downstairs we've been looking for too. Or upstairs, whatever.  We've caught word that you are ruining the local feng shui, tire fire. And for that, you must perish.    Hard to say if this'll make anyone's life better. Never heard of anyone complaining that there just isn't enough burning rubber around for their liking though.  With that out of the way, let's head down these cramped stairs clearly not designed for anyone troll-sized and see what we'll find.  Things aren't looking any less rickety down here, but at least it's more dry.  In a small space nearby we happen upon the tough guy from earlier. It might be smarter not to get involved in the local business life, but since we're all gathered here now and everything...  What do you want? Step away, rear end in a top hat - right now. I thought I'd relieve you of the burden of currency. Credstick, please. I've got a better idea. Think I'll take *your* money instead.[He licks his lips.] Give me your credsticks, or you'll get what the old guy got. I'm not playing around.Big words from a man who can't even look us in the eye without craning his neck. You gonna try and take a swing at us, or do we have to give you a lift so you can reach? (Strength 4) Well *I* feel like playing. And I know a lot of fun games we can play.   You got what you came for. Now get out, yeah? I got a date in an hour, and I don't need you messing it up. ...Is it too late to switch to unarmed adepting? Guess it's your lucky day, but you can be sure that we'll be seeing you again in the Extras section. Hard to mess up a date with a simsense chip.[He waves you off.] Yeah, yeah. Get out.Whether from the burn or the good deed, we walk away from the exchange with +1 Karma and the old man's credstick. We could keep the money of course, but that's a little too desperate even for this situation.  Before we head back up to see if the muggee has come to, there was one more item on the feng shui errand list to take care of which is located in a dead end to the southeast.  This old thing looks like it can put up a bit of a fight.  Luckily we happen to be a bit of a fighter, though Duncan would have the muscle for the job too.  Finishing all the repair jobs nets us another +1 Karma. Keep 'em coming, balancing fighting and talking skills as an Adept takes some investment.  Back outside on the roof, we find the old man on his feet again. I don't want any trouble, boss.[He exhales sharply.] Please. Just leave me be. [Hand him back his credstick.] Here you go, man. Got this back for you. [He cradles his credstick in a pair of gnarled hands.] Thank you so much... this is everything I have in the world... Sorry for your troubles. I'll leave you alone.Living out on the streets is rough enough without someone trying to kick you even deeper into the curb. Let's hope for his sake that the meathead won't decide to come back for a second round later.  We've returned from our noble quest with success, student lady. Can't saying anything looks to be flowing any better than before though, unless you count that leaky pipe we fixed. [The young woman startles at your approach, fumbling for something in her pocket. When she recognizes you, she relaxes.]  Is it done? It's done. Thank you. Thank you so much.[The young woman sighs with relief. She opens the flap on her satchel, reaches inside, and produces a plastic sheaf.] I'm not magically active, so I can't *see* the flow of qi in the area. But I've got test strips... little sheets of paper embedded with qi-sensitive bacteria. It's a close relative of FAB, but it doesn't see much use outside of Hong Kong.FAB stands for Fluorescing Astral Bacteria which reacts to astral forms and as a result can be used to detect them amongst other things. Hear tell that a variant's even been used as a weapon against the insect spirit business happening back in the UCAS. Glad we're far away from that whole mess at least.   Maybe you're doing it wrong. I've followed the texts... done everything right. It *should* work. The qi here is rancid, that's obvious... but I swear, it's even worse than it *should* be. No wonder this place is so disgusting. I get what you mean.Maybe Raymond's interest in this sorry place had something to do with the uniquely bad qi here? If only the old man had bothered explaining himself properly in that stupid phone call... [The student coughs and rests her head in her hands.] That's it. I'm getting out of here... in a little while. Gotta tell my advisor about this. Thanks for the help. Hope you don't stay long... I sure as hell won't. As nice as it would be to leave this place behind right away, we still have a job to do here. Back in the sub-levels we come across a code-locked door, but it's not the one we're looking for and we will not in fact be opening it at all.  A little further in is another one, and it's this one we do have a code for. You might recall that the spirit told us to keep an eye out for a red graffiti, but that was bogus information as there is no such thing in sight even if you'd crank the brightness up.  The editor reveals that there is supposed to indeed be a red graffiti on the door though, so it seems likely that wall decorations just don't show up properly on them. Anyway, let's finish exploring this area before heading on in.  Mm-mm, get your extra proteins right here folks.  At the end of the tunnel we come across a shack belonging to a weapons salesman.  Show me what you've got. Beyond the smuggler's selection from before he carries a couple of low-tier shotguns and the AK-97 rifle, but the only item of interest to us is the good ol' M79 Grenade Launcher. While not as fancy as Is0bel's, it's cheap and easy to use so it makes for a solid sidearm option for someone like Duncan whose empty weapon slots are just going to waste anyway.  Anything else? Bao know you're selling guns in his area? Got Bao's permission to sell weapons in this stall. Been sellin' a lot of 'em - even more than usual.[He grins.] That's good for me. Ever heard anyone say, "Prosperity is in the Walled City"? [He snorts his reply.] If you're an organlegger, or a gunrunner, or a triad, there sure-as-poo poo is. Otherwise, you're looking at a hand-to-mouth, meal-to-meal existence here. How do you stand it here? Business is good here, woman. Real good. Yeah, it's disgusting, but you go where the market is. We're definitely not looking to set up a shop here, so it's high time we made our way into that compound.     That did it, and we're once again 1 Karma richer as a result.  Oop, got some guard dogs here too. Hellhounds are a familiar sight from the previous games and attack either by biting or launching small fireballs that leave the target(s) burning for a few turns. Ongoing damage like that really messes up with healing spells since they only heal the previous instance of damage.  There's also a summoning spot (also known as a spirit shrine) in the room, and seeing as we did bring Gobbet with us, we might as well take this opportunity to show off some elementary action. This particular point calls up the air spirit, Tempest.  Let's go over spirit summoning a bit here, as some of this is new even if you've read the previous LPs. Most notably, elementals conjured up from summoning spots are different and work differently from those that materialize from using summoning fetishes. If we use air as an example, the Tempest is what is called a "Shrine Spirit" which are summoned from a predetermined spot in the environment (and also look cool as hell in this game).  Standard spirits on the other hand are conjured up using the consumable Elemental Fetishes, the air version of this being the Wind Dancer. The differences between these two types are thus: 1. Shrine Spirits are generally stronger and come with different/more abilities than normal ones. 2. Shrine Spirits always exist for 2 turns and cannot break free in that time. Standard spirits can exist for longer, but have an increasingly high chance to go out of control every turn. 3. Shrine Spirits have and start with 4 AP (for a total of 8 over two turns). Normal spirits start with only 1 AP on the first turn, after which they can be given 1-4 AP with higher amounts joined with higher odds of them breaking free:  The escape chance increases pretty quickly over time and if a standard spirit goes out of control, one of three things can happen: It might disappear, go berserk and turn hostile to everyone, or turn hostile to the summoner and start attacking them. All in all spirits are very useful and Shrine Spirits in particular are quite powerful as there's no risk involved with them beyond getting relatively close to the summoning spot after which they immediately start doing 4 AP's worth of work without the need to "warm up" for a turn like standard spirits. All spirits do reduce the shaman's usable AP by 1 though, same as with riggers and their drones. Anyway, the level 2 Tempest has an accurate ranged attack that deals both HP and AP(!) damage, Haste I, and Ball Lightning I which deals both immediate and ongoing HP/AP damage (and which we couldn't even normally cast as it requires 3 AP).  While AP damage that isn't enough to outright stun a target often doesn't do anything, ongoing AP damage like that from Ball Lightning always "sticks" (as its dealt on the afflicted target's own turn) which can actually make it a fair bit more effective, in particular against these modded enemies who'd otherwise spend all they have.   At any rate, there's so much AP damage going around that the duo don't actually get to do anything at all and Tempest nearly takes them out all on its own. AP damage on a standard ranged attack is super strong to the point it's making us feel a touch inadequate here. Unfortunately Duncan's Subdue doesn't work on Hellhounds, but we did just buy a new blade and it doubles as a hot dog slicer just fine.  We pick up a credstick worth ¥70 from the bench and head up the ladder to Bao's nest.   We're very close now, just gotta hope we don't bump into anyone along the way since we don't really have any good excuse prepared for wandering inside a triad compound unannounced.  Nearby is where we would've entered had we managed to make our way directly through the front.  Those guards are still out there, Shin... the same guards that Kindly doesn't want us killing. We should probably go out the way that we came in. Nothing in the rules about pocketing goodies we find, so this ¥53 credstick comes with us. There's a very slight amount of randomness in most money pickups, this for example could've been anywhere between 52 and 68 nuyen. Really rolled low here.  Continuing our explorations, in the northeast corner we come across a simsense machine.    Who knows what's on this if anything, but it's not like you can lose when you play with someone else's money.  There's also a bathroom nearby, and on a table there we find...  ...Bao's door code? Odd choice for bathroom reading, but we'll take it. Certainly simpler than having to summon the vengeful dead every time we need to punch some numbers in.  We've seen all there is to see in this small area, so we'll put it to good use right away.   The door opens, and within we find the little rebel we've been looking for. Also his giant teddy bear.  [He doesn't talk so much as emit. A low rumble.]  I don't know how you got in here, but you've got my attention. Candygram for Strangler Bao. Much love, Kindly Cheng. You're funny.[His eyes get a stony look.] I don't do funny. So you have some sort of message from Cheng? I can't wait to hear you mangle it. You speak Cantonese so well.[He chuckles to himself.] But before I hear it, I have a little message for her, too. You think you can tell her that, errand girl? Should I write it down for you in English?You weren't wrong, you clearly don't do funny. It's also clear that neither of us is exactly happy that we're here, so let's just get this done so that we can move on with our miserable day, please. [Hold out the data stick.] Just slot the stick, listen to the message, and I'll be gone. Okay? I don't get to hear you butcher the message? I'm sad. [He grabs the small plastic drive from your hand. Slots it into his trid player.]    I know where your money is coming from. I know that you have friends working for Straw Sandals like myself. They have been siphoning funds from their organizations. I know about the noodle shop that you launder the money through. I have tasted their broth and found it wanting.[The old woman becomes flinty hard.] You have been stealing from the Yellow Lotus - glorifying yourself with revenue that *we* have earned. And I have files to prove it. Now... in light of our recent conflict, you might be wondering why I am keeping this information to myself. Why I haven't exposed you so you could be dragged from your "Lotus Den" by the balls and slowly roasted on a rotisserie spit. In truth, I respect your ambition. You have a lot to learn about candor - and loyalty - but I believe that you still have value. I am still willing to work with you. *However,* in order for that to happen, we need to come to an understanding about the nature of our partnership. But if you continue your little rebellion, I will mail tiny pieces of you to your children and take their picture as they open the package.[She produces one of her thin black cigars. Lights it. Holds the smoke a long time.] You have twenty-four hours to return to the fold. If you aren't here licking my heels by then, the information will be released and you will become food for fish. Your choice, Bao. Twenty-four hours. drat! Suddenly having to deal with this woman and trying our luck against the entirety of HKPF doesn't seem like such an obviously lopsided choice after all. Get out. I will. Thank you for your time. Go. Just... just go. Glad we're not in that guy's flip-flops right now. But go we do, and we don't need to backtrack all the way to where we started from either as there's a convenient exit down in the sub-levels.  Well, that was a thing. Never thought I'd be shuttling messages between criminals in a Hong Kong syndicate. I can't imagine what Raymond would've wanted in the Walled City. This place just *feels* wrong. Looking for more stray kids to take in? After us, I don't think he wanted any more.[He rubs his head in confusion.] Seriously, why did Raymond want to come anywhere near this place? It makes you feel like your life has no value. Like there's just no point to *anything.* [He sighs and looks at your companion.] Great life you have here, runner.[Gobbet ignores the barb. Scratches her head.] I can't believe it. We actually delivered the old lady's message without anyone dying. I've had enough of triads. Let's get out of this pit. I'm with you, Gun Show. I don't need to see this place ever again.  And so with Gobbet and Gun Show in tow, we start making our way back to Heoi. Hopefully we've succeeded in making a good first impression to Kindly Cheng because being on her bad side sure doesn't seem to make for a good time. That lesson could be another reason why we were sent here to deliver this message, come to think of it. Whatever the case, here's hoping she won't be sending us to do any further errands in this cursed slum anytime soon.  Retrieving the old man's credstick from the mugger can also be accomplished by bluffing with the Shadowrunner etiquette: (Shadowrunner) Shaking down a shadowrunner isn't a good idea, sweetheart. Give me the old man's stick before I put a hole where your head is.[He comes up short, frowning. His eyes shift from you, to Duncan, to the assault rifle on Duncan's back.] I... ah... oh, to hell with it. There's nothin' on this old stick anyway.--- As we saw, another option is to get physical: You got what you came for. Now get out, yeah? I got a date in an hour, and I don't need you messing it up. (Unarmed 4) Hold still.  [Gobbet glances down at the limp body of the unconscious triad soldier.] Gotta admit, there was a certain poetry to that.or:  I don't offer a lot of compliments. Not my style. But that... that was a thing of beauty.If none of the three options are available, talking to the Enforcer automatically leads to a fight which inevitably fails the "no triad kills" objective unless he's taken out non-lethally using Duncan's Subdue ability. --- If the Forlorn Spirit was summoned and convinced to take revenge on the triad, it makes a second appearance outside Bao's office where one can choose to fight it or try to convince it to chill:    <BAO! SHOW YOURSELF!> That spirit is out for blood. Buckets of it! What should we do? Let's try to communicate with it. <MORE... MORE BLOOD...>[The spirit's claws slice the air.] <...NOW *I* AM THE BUTCHER, BAO!>[Gobbet watches the spirit thrash.] Okay, we've got a problem, kids. Once a spirit gets this single-minded, it's hard to get it to heel. If that thing kills Bao, we're as good as dead, too. That old lady doesn't play around.Either Charisma 3 or Intelligence 3 is required here to proceed without a fight. (Intelligence 3) Shopkeeper! Spirit of the once-proud shopkeeper![The spirit's claws hover motionless for a moment. It turns its murderous gaze on you.] Uh, you've got its attention.Here it's either Willpower 5 or Spirit Control 3 if one wants to avoid ghostbustin'. (Willpower 5) You have had your vengeance. Enough! Rest now.[The spirit looks down at its long bloody claws. Looks back at you. It lets out a mournful sigh and drops them to its side. Its eyes become soft and indistinct again.] <...Without vengeance... I am nothing...>The spirit then vanishes.  Taking down the spirit with its unusually stubborn dialogue icon in battle is not difficult since you get the first turn and can likely bring down its 40 HP right away, but it will throw basic fire spells at you if it gets the chance.  For extra style points, Duncan can arrest the disorderly spirit for its ghost crimes. He's really good at his job. --- In a decision internally labeled as "ChengCanGoToHell", one can provoke Strangler Bao which leads to an extra fight (and likely some dead Triads): You think you can tell her that, errand girl? Should I write it down for you in English? Aw, c'mon, Strangler! Can I call you Strangler? We just want to hang out. Play some video games. Do triad stuff.  Oh poo poo, he's seen through the veil! But how?!   He calls in a couple of bodyguards, but they're complete cannon fodder and he doesn't bother joining in at all. Afterwards... [His voice comes out in a growl.] No more games. No more dead soldiers. Why are you here, and why did you leave me alive?--- Is0bel's dialogue in the mission is not dramatically different from Gobbet's, and there's in fact slightly less of it as a non-caster she has no input on the qi business and isn't very talkative overall. Here's her version of the initial arrival conversation: ...Why the hell would Raymond want to set one foot in this place?  Sorry to have to drag you back.[Is0bel looks around her. Closes her eyes.] You could've brought Gobbet instead. I would've been cool with that.[She peers up at the catwalks and sky bridges that connect the rotting tenement's sagging architecture. Frowning, she points to a spot in the distance.] There was a market over there when I was a kid. Might not be a bad place to start. The primary difference with bringing Is0bel is that she (like a decker PC) can open that one door we passed with a Decking 3 check which leads to a different entryway to the Lotus Den. No guard dogs on this path, but it necessiates a Matrix run to unlock the entrance.   We're not going to go to detail about the Matrix in the Extras section, but this route can net some extra paydata that can later be cashed in for 270 nuyen. --- Lastly, some bits of alternate dialogue for other mission outcomes at the exit, not particularly different between Gobbet and Is0bel. If some triad died but not by the spirit's hand: ...Great life you have here.[Gobbet ignores the barb. She breathes a sigh of relief.] Look, we're done, aren't we? We got into - and back out of - the Walled City, and we're still in one piece. Whining ex-cops aside, I'd call that a win. [The cords stand out on the sides of his neck, but he keeps his voice calm.] I'm not whining, rat-girl. Duncan Wu doesn't whine. Yeah. Whatever you say, Gun Show.--- If the spirit was summoned, urged to violence, and then killed: We're lucky that we were able to stop that spirit before it killed Bao. I don't think Cheng would have appreciated losing one of her best enforcers right after losing some of her best runners. Hey, how about a new rule - no more summoning spirits?[Gobbet drops a hand to her hip.] Sorry, Gun Show. Not gonna happen. I'm a shaman. Summoning's a big part of the gig.--- Same but if the spirit was talked down instead: Well, we got the job done, but a couple Yellow Lotus members had to be put down to do it. Hopefully, Kindly Cheng will understand that she had to lose a few to accomplish her goal. I don't know which is worse - mucking around in this pit or trying to talk a spirit down from a homicidal rage. I'll take talking to lost spirits over this place.[She looks around. Shudders.] Every time.
Kanfy fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Feb 1, 2021 |
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Feb 1, 2021 13:11
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I haven't been keeping track, is it possible to mess up your stats and party sufficiently such that you have to go lethal? I know in later missions, they give you nonlethal options but despite your best efforts, if you've got the wrong build then it's time to start the shooting and stabbing.
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Feb 1, 2021 13:32
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Kanfy posted:
Alright, this is amazing.
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Feb 1, 2021 13:38
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bewilderment posted:I haven't been keeping track, is it possible to mess up your stats and party sufficiently such that you have to go lethal? You'll always have either Gobbet or Is0bel with you, so you can always get the door code or climb into the Matrix.
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Feb 1, 2021 14:00
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Right, the main task is actually incredibly straightforward if you ignore everything else going on. Gobbet or Is0bel can secure a way inside the compound through the sub-level, and aside from that all that's necessary is jogging to Bao (picking up his door code from the bathroom if need be) and then leaving with no dialogue or skill checks inbetween. So long as you don't try to invite him to play video games with you, obviously.
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Feb 1, 2021 14:03
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This mission is just fantastic at establishing Kindly Cheng's power. Most stories would just tell you "hey this person is a total badass, don't mess with her" and leave it at that, but here the game lets you clearly see it. A hardened gang lord criminal who lives in the roughest slum on the planet is sent one taped message and immediately turns into a rabbit who can't even meet your eyes while saying he's sprinting to pay homage. It just clearly sends the message that holy hell, we might be miles over our head in dealing with Cheng.
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Feb 1, 2021 14:23
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