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By popular demand posted:Dietrich as an individual may by no more but the Dragonslayer is eternal, the Dragonslayer remembers. Dietrich goes down in a blaze of glory that is remembered in legend. 
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Jun 20, 2023 18:21
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Fighting Trousers posted:Dietrich goes down in a blaze of glory that is remembered in legend. Im sure that to those who were born in the fall of the Flux State, Dietrich is the Dragonslayer they follow.
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Jun 21, 2023 00:36
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By popular demand posted:Blitz is pretty much the only non-rich person who accepted the "move fast and break stuff" business strategy into his heart and stuck with it after the first series of trainwrecks. blitz is immune to consequences simply by virtue of being too much of a mess for the results to stick to him
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Jun 21, 2023 01:11
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Kith posted:blitz is immune to consequences simply by virtue of being too much of a mess for the results to stick to him He's like Mr Burns with all of his diseases. He's so dysfunctional that all of the consequences can't get through the door all at once.
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Jun 21, 2023 01:30
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Dietrich was convinced by his friend to fight more metaphorical dragons rather than punching up until he got punched down. The dragonslayer quietly snickered at that moment because the metaphorical dragon was run by a literal dragon and nothing actually changed from the pc's feel good talk.
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Jun 21, 2023 05:58
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I want to believe that Dietrich ended up going full Beowulf. The dragon got him in the end, but not before he got it. Eiger and Glory run an orphanage together with Dante as a guard dog.
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Jun 21, 2023 10:37
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habeasdorkus posted:I want to believe that Dietrich ended up going full Beowulf. The dragon got him in the end, but not before he got it. Unfortunately for him, both SK and Lofwyr are still around. Doesn’t mean he didn’t get a lesser dragon or something though!
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Jun 21, 2023 12:50
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JustJeff88 posted:He's like Mr Burns with all of his diseases. He's so dysfunctional that all of the consequences can't get through the door all at once. He somehow managed to get on every dragon's shitlist, but every time they try to have him killed their own plots end up accidentally foiling each other's while Blitz is none the wiser.
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Jun 21, 2023 12:53
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BisbyWorl posted:He somehow managed to get on every dragon's shitlist, but every time they try to have him killed their own plots end up accidentally foiling each other's while Blitz is none the wiser.
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Jun 21, 2023 13:24
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MagusofStars posted:I assume he’s on every dragon’s shitlist, but all of them see him as a useful agent of chaos to point at someone else so they don’t bother actually sniffing him out. Not sure exactly what’s going to happen to the enemy I’m throwing him at, but I’m sure it’ll wreak havoc over there. You don't throw Blitz at your enemy. You convince Blitz your enemy is a great guy, should look into the job opportunities they offer, pay's great lots of bennies and bragging rights.
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Jun 21, 2023 13:58
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Kobal2 posted:You don't throw Blitz at your enemy. You convince Blitz your enemy is a great guy, should look into the job opportunities they offer, pay's great lots of bennies and bragging rights. "Oh no! I will get you for headhunting this great decker that I thought I had kept a secret and was going to offer a top notch job to but you beat me out with your offer!"
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Jun 21, 2023 14:19
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habeasdorkus posted:"Oh no! I will get you for headhunting this great decker that I thought I had kept a secret and was going to offer a top notch job to but you beat me out with your offer!" "Lofwyr will never see my secret weapon coming.", I confidently answer the CorpNews interviewer as I paste Blitz_Contact_Info.txt into the SECRET/ASSETS/EMERGENCY folder of my public network, the one protected by lots of sliiightly outdated black ICE.
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Jun 21, 2023 14:53
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One last Blitz comment. Combine him with Gobbet, and then for a mythic path level crossover, Wojiff from Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous. Oh my god, the multiverse would break.
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Jun 21, 2023 16:34
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Hey, Pathfinder WotR allows custom characters. Not sure Shadowrun does. We can see that campaign to a degree. Play Pathfinder WotR, base a protagonist on Gobbett or another character as you desire. Add in a mercenary based on Blitz when possible. Then cycle Woljif and other entertaining characters in and out of the party when you feel it appropriate. I wonder- if Blitz and Nenio were in the same room, whose head would explode first? Could Ember remain serene in such an environment? What would Dietrich think if he were to suddenly be placed in the party by a player with DragonSlayer level powers? Hmm. Stopping the imagination sideshow for now. This isn't my LP.
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Jun 21, 2023 21:29
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I just noticed that of all the three games, Hong-Kong is the closest one to pick up the Knight of the Old republic 2 method of letting your character give his own backstory organically through answers during normal dialogue instead of filling it up before the start of the game. Like, the important parts are set in stone, but you get choice of many details in there. It's both seamless and works its way well into conversations, yet few RPG's do that I feel.
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Jun 25, 2023 19:59
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Part 29 - Waterside Chats (Part 2)  Our tour around town continues on. The last time we talked to the local "roctor", the topic of him having some wild-sounding history as a vehicle rigger in Chicago came up. Maybe the old veteran can enlighten us some today.   Have you been having dreams, Ambrose? Nightmares?This is just how we say hello to people these days, think nothing of it.  Nightmares? Hell, Taz... that's my life! I curl up with a bottle of vodka and a handful of pills every night. But if you mean the "toothy hunting horror" dream... yeah, I've been having it. poo poo, it's just one more nightmare.[Ambrose drops his voice, and leans forward a little in his wheelchair.] Lemme tell you, though: I've been doing a *brisk* business in sleep aids. Just today, someone asked me for some ketamine. Ketamine! That stuff is a horse tranquilizer. What the hell made them think of that? Can I have some ketamine? Hell no! If I had ketamine, I'd take it myself![He chuckles.] But seriously... it's not something that's good to self-prescribe. You eat a bunch of ketamine, it's not going to make you feel well rested. Can you think of any medical reason we'd all be having the same nightmare? Nope. Even if we were all *doing* something similar, intensively, it shouldn't happen. Our experiences are all too different. I've heard of mages and shamans who are somehow connecting to each other sharing dreams, but that's all.[Ambrose waves his hand dismissively.] Hell, what do I know? I'm not a doctor, I'm just a guy who subscribes to "Psychological Modernista." If you want to know about dreams, ask Crafty. My formal diagnosis is that something fuckin' weird is going on.With worsening symptoms and no chance for sick leave either. Of all the places in the world to get stranded in, we sure know how to pick 'em. Thanks anyway, Ambrose. No problem. Just doing my part to tamp down the crazy. You're pretty banged up. Why haven't you installed some bionic limbs?[Ambrose taps his temple with one of his only remaining fingers.] Because I'm already chromed to the gills. I want to keep my last essence. I've come to like my humanity. I don't want to turn into one of the walking dead. The walking dead? Oh come on, you know the names, right? The Walking Dead. Toasters. Chrome-Outs. I don't want to be one of those lug wrenches who cyber themselves to within an inch of their lives, and stop feeling normal emotions. I'm familiar. There are worse things than feeling nothing, though. Truth. I'm close to the line, though. I don't want to feel nothing. At least, not yet.[Ambrose scratches himself ostentatiously with a robotic arm.] Listen, I like talking about my chrome more than the next guy, but not right now. Besides, it's kinda a personal subject. You looking for something, today? Well, last time you mentioned that you were a Hong Kong shadowrunner... [Ambrose yawns and stretches, straining his leg stump and scarred arm in opposite directions.] Man, that feels good. So, there's a particular way this kind of conversation goes. I don't know if you're familiar with it... We've got some ideas floating in our head, but if we wanna keep it all professional and stuff... (Shadowrunner) Yeah: we orbit around each other for awhile, then tacitly agree to speak in only the vaguest of terms.[Ambrose looks at you approvingly.] The grapevine says it's your first rodeo, but I'm not sure I believe that. Listen: I'm circumspect about my past. And you're a new, active runner, so I don't want to know *any* of your story. It's only a liability to me.[Ambrose props himself up, painfully, and leans forward a little. His living eye has an intelligent gleam to it.] So let's make this conversation useful. I'll cut the BS and give you some down-low on Hong Kong, from an expat runner perspective. In return, you don't dig for my jobs list. Deal? Deal. Rock solid. So Hong Kong's a good lily pad for a derby crasher like yourself, Taz. The shadows are deep. The money flows. It's friendly to foreigners - and there's no *real* government. The whole place is run by corporations and syndicates. However, as fresh meat off the boat, you've got to decide who you want to be. Foreign runners follow three career paths in the Kong: they assimilate, they burn their bridges and get out fast, or they die. The Hong Kong shadows *grind* through expendable runners, who are loaded up with bad face and then dumped in Victoria Harbour. So whatever you do, watch your back. Anything I can do to mitigate the risk? Just keep your head on a swivel. If you're only planning to be here for a couple months and then vanish, cash in big... but if you want a life here, you've got to play by the rules.Kinda hard to imagine a life in Hong Kong right this second, but we have at least managed to hold our own here so far. Now a death in Hong Kong, that one's definitely still in the cards. Trying pretty hard to avoid drawing that one. So Kindly's keeping us around for her untouchable work, huh. Yeah, most likely. You're not just deniable, you're disposable - and she can hire that out. So: this isn't Seattle. Decide who you want to be.[Ambrose shrugs - a lopsided gesture, with the stump of his missing arm bound in scar tissue.] The other thing to remember is that Hong Kong is a really complex place. It's one of the great global cities, with enclaves of every major megacorp. It's a syndicate town. It's a refugee magnet. And it's Guangdong. At some level, anything goes here... but, uh...[He takes a deep breath, and continues in a tone of low appreciation.] When in doubt, assume that old Hong Kong tradition rules. I say that as a loudmouthed bastard: be polite. Be modest. Honor favors. Maintain face. Give respect... and always treat people's time as valuable. You seem pretty into this, Ambrose. Hong Kong fascinates me. I used to hate it here. Now I love it.[He takes a big breath, and sighs - contentedly.] I've found a nice little peace. If you survive, maybe you can, too - and you sure do seem like a survivor. People know who I am, but only in the network. Kindly runs this neighborhood like a separate country. You paddle a boat across the canal, and no one's ever heard of me, and never wi--[Ambrose suddenly stops himself, as if he realizes what he's saying. He finishes lamely.] Anyway... it's private. Guessing something went sideways, back in those runner days that you don't talk about. [He sighs.] I kinda like you, Taz, in spite of your choice moments. But well, that's my wisdom.[Ambrose breaks into a chuckle.] Wait, what am I saying? My wisdom is you can never be too low profile, too lawyered up, or too well armed.Wisdom indeed. That's all for the chit-chat, so let's take a look at what new cyberware Ambrose has added to his selection since last time.  Hold on, gonna need two images for this...  So yeah, if you're into body part replacement (and have the Cyberware Affinity points to equip them), you're basically looking at Christmas. The adult kind, where you have to pay for everything yourself even though you really can't afford it. But at least you get to play with all the shiny toys yourself instead of giving them away to some selfish kids who have never worked a day in their lives and probably couldn't give an extra thyroid its proper appreciation anyway. You could spend the whole update breaking down this list, but a few noteworthy picks from these 22 new items: The Monofilament Whip can be picked up for the first time here, wrapping up the new cyberweapon types. There's also the Auto-Loader Cyberarm which eliminates the need to reload weapons and adds a nifty +1 Quickness on top for cheap, allowing you to go hog wild with weapons normally balanced out by AP-costly or frequent reloads like grenade launchers or say, a minigun. And a mention should definitely be given to the Shiawase Magnet Arm, arguably the best-known piece of cyberware in the game which automatically tosses all grenades (thrown or launched) back to their recipient. This is a very powerful ability to have as a passive particularly against the AI, and for example enables the strategy of purposefully baiting out grenade attacks by keeping your team stacked up. There's also a pair of 0 Essence bioware parts here, the Tailored Pheromones (+1 Charisma) and the JoltAlert (automatic stun recovery), so we could equip them without an Essence penalty even without any points in Cyberware Affinity. Not gonna do so right now because we're on a budget, but worth keeping in mind. Plus if we ever do invest in Cyberware Affinity, we could install some small amount of "real" hardware without an Essence penalty as well.  He's also updated his medical supplies with the second tier stuff, which is welcome since basic medkits are hardly worth the AP it takes to use one. Advanced medkits are reasonably priced too, so we take this opportunity to replace our old ones, just in case we end up with some personal leaks to patch up.  Let's check the local night life next. "Freddy" stands watch over the hallowed gates of Club 88 as usual.  My ears have been burning... I've actually seen that happen. A little lighter fluid and FWOOSH! But that's another story entirely. I want to know about these rumors. I heard you might’ve killed some guy. Or maybe a couple dozen guys. Maybe even that you’re a terrorist. Not sure that one fits, but you do look like a heavy-hitter. The heaviest. Knew I liked you for good reason. And you’re in the right company with me. You know they call me the Untouchable? Never taken so much as a scratch. Of course, my snot brother says it’s because people are afraid to hurt me, else they might lose face with our parents. As if that would ever stop some of these punks, am I right? Not a scratch.[He pulls up his taut T-shirt, revealing a thick layer of form-fitting body armor below it.] Of course, things that get stopped by this stuff don't count as scratches. Handled some rough customers, have you? It’s what I do. Think about it. Inside, my brother sells the kinds of things that would make a Buddhist monk turn psychotic. And then in back, my Ma is selling enough firepower to blow the roof six times over. In other words, we sell petrol and matches. And yours truly is the firefighter. But this firefighter ain’t never been burned. No, not once. Pretty impressive, right? You just let me know if you’re needing some additional muscle. You can call on Mr. Untouchable to get the job done. Tell me more about this family of yours. You may think I’m impressive. And sure, my brother Callum and my Ma both work hard to keep this place afloat. But people don’t realize things about my Ba. He’s not just some old sailor. You want to know the secret? You ask him about it, and he’ll deny it. I’m sure he’s made enemies over the years. Gotta play it smart. Keep his past a secret. But I figured it out a long time ago. He’s a great man, my Ba. That’s why I gotta be strong, to live up to his example.A pirate, huh? Didn't really seem the violent sea criminal type, but guess it's not always that obvious. How much do you bench press anyway, Frederick? I don't bench press. I do dumbbell presses. They're more functional. The bench press artificially stabilizes things too much. But to answer your question, when I do bench, I max out around 700 kilograms.[He grins confidently.] That's double the current world bench-press record for unmodified humans, by the way.  That's enough jabbering with the machismo gargoyle at the door. Inside the club proper, a particularly merry-looking ork stands out from the usual crowd.  Do I know you?[Extending his hand, the ork shakes his head.]  No, but you might want to - at least if you need a shaman on your crew. Kiluminati Alabrad, at your service. Haven't had a chance to get established in Hong Kong yet. Maybe you can help change that. How do you know I'm a shadowrunner? Are you kidding me? Everybody around here knows about you. I guess they don't get a lot of foreigners who move in and immediately start cozying up to the local Yellow Lotus straw sandal. The rest of us have to show up here and hope somebody needs a hired gun.Seems we really have been gaining some fame around here. Could end up being both an asset and a problem, depending on exactly whose ear our name ends up tickling. So what kind of shaman are you, Kil? The kind with a shotgun and a penchant for bad luck?[He lets out a roaring laugh and slaps a hand against his leg.] Ahh, I kill myself. Seriously, though - Coyote guides me. Yeah? What's Coyote like? He's happy-go-lucky, willing to take life as it comes. You gotta ride the waves, and the universe will take care of you, y'know. Can't fight what's fated to be, but you can bend the rules if you're smart. Coyote likes shamans that are like that - like me. Things being what they are, I decided making some *real* money was in order. I ditched the gang, and started hiring myself out to whoever offered the most nuyen. It's all I've ever done, but I'm good at it. You're not likely to find many better, in fact.The sales pitches are kinda wasted on us since Gobbet does the shamanism more than well enough for our team, and more importantly for free. Free in the monetary sense, anyway. Rather not think of what the real cost might end up being. Your accent sounds North American. Sure is. Born and raised in Federal Way, Seattle Metroplex. Not as bad as the Redmond Barrens, but still a total hellhole. Kinda miss the big gray northwest, but I guess being swamped by monsoons here in the FEZ is pretty similar. Less acid in the rain, though. Why'd you leave? Things were getting pretty heavy for me - there was a big blowout with the Universal Brotherhood, and a lot of bad magic going on. I decided it'd be better to lay low out here until things calmed down. I think I might be here longer than I expected, though. Cash isn't coming as fast as I'd like. And what do you think of Heoi? Frankly, I hate it. The Walled City gives me the creeps, big time. Something is seriously wrong with that place, and I don't mean in that 'it's a slum' kind of way. Watch your step, if you have to go in there. What kind of wrong do you think it is, then? Talk to you later, Kiluminati. Keep safe, okay? You know where to find me. Callum, he's the... one who sold drugs, right? The older brother? Hard to keep up with these big families sometimes.  Be it ever so humble... Humility has no place around here. Sit down, if you’d like. I could tell you tales... Tell me a story, then. You ever hear the one about the phantom sailor? They say he was once a good man. Provided for his family. Loved his wife and children. He spent many lonely days out on the sea, working hard to make their lives better. True story.Yeah, kinda gathered as much. Thanks for the story. Tell me about this family of yours, then. First chance I get, I leave it all behind. Mark my words.Everything seems to be going just fine with the Ka Fais, so let's move on to shopping.  We've seen all of Callum's merchandise before, but he has gotten a new shipment which we scoop up the most of. Might not end up using everything, but drugs are easier on the wallet than most things in this town and these three are all useful for an Adept.  Next is the captain of this slightly dysfunctional-sounding party boat.  Love you, too, Henry. I'm sorry. It's just unexpected. Even unprecedented. Most people leave me be. They don’t know me, except maybe by name. They certainly don’t know what I do here, so they have no cause to speak with me. I don't need a reason for a friendly chat. You may be the only one. It seems I go days without speaking to my own family. But I’ve gotten used to being the forgotten one in this place. Ermine and Callum are the faces of our business. Freddy is the face of our law, so to speak. I’m no good unless I’m out on the water. Guess the skills of a sailor don’t really translate to club ownership. My father wouldn’t have lasted a day in this life of mine. The world’s just moved on from what he knew, and what I knew. I miss those simpler times. Got any good stories for your days at sea? Stories? An old sailor always has stories. In my early years, working the fishing boats. I swear, it seemed like every day we caught something in our nets stranger than the day before. Sometimes it was cargo, either lost or thrown overboard by panicking smugglers. Sometimes it was bits of ships wrecked by those Super Typhoons they say the geomancers cause. We’d haul up the occasional body. Figure some of them were refugees, either from the mainland after the civil war, or the Philippines after that whole mess. Human trafficking. Pirates. Lots of bodies in these waters. The big ones...[He shakes his head in disbelief.] A lot of times, we had to cut loose the net. Nets cost a fortune, but when the whole boat shudders and you see three-meter spines or tentacles or something break the surface, you know it's not worth saving the net. Those were good times, though. Simpler times. It got more complicated as I got older, and as the seas got ever more fished out. It's even more complicated now that I’m stuck on dry land.Might be that one day we'll reminisce of these as the "simpler times" as well, with the way things look to be progressing. Now there's a disturbing thought. Thanks for the stories. I'll leave you be. The boss lady and weapon mom Ermine is the last Ka Fai we have left to visit today.  This place ever empty? Almost never. The residents of Heoi have many problems, and they come here to deal with them. People like easy solutions, and they will pay good money for them. Guns are one way. Booze and drugs another. This is why we sell what we sell. My son Callum doesn’t understand this. He thinks he would be happier as some corporate drone. But I’ve been there, and I can say for certain that it’s just a longer path to where we are now. It all ends with drinking, or sometimes killing. At least we’re direct about it.Playing a pretty familiar tune here too. Maybe they need to add a family therapist or two to their clientele? What’s the problem with Callum? There is no problem, so long as he remembers his place is here. There are too many ideas in that boy’s head. Too much ambition. And ambition like that never leads to a good end. I wish he realized this. I try to make him understand, but it only seems to drive him further away. I worry that if I try too hard, I will lose him to his ambitions. How’d you end up selling guns out of here in the first place? Back when my husband worked for Wuxing, he had a little side operation, smuggling weapons right under the corporation’s nose. Strictly small time, and barely worth the risk. But it brought in a little extra money, which we desperately needed. In time, we didn’t even need Henry to babysit the shipments. Our influence had grown strong, and now we run everything safely from dry land.A little too safe and dry for some, by the sound of it. But let's take a glance at the new "guns" or whatever they're called that have popped up here since last time.  The new weapons available are largely just higher tier versions of the older stuff, although we can again see the higher variance of the Pistol types with twice as many new options as the other categories, including the nostalgic Savalette Guardian which was the gun of choice of a certain clawed medic. There's also the second of the two grenade launchers, the ArmTech MGL-6, which packs a lighter punch than our M79 in exchange of having actual ammo capacity. There are no new grenade types we haven't seen before this time around.  The usual pair of outfits are there though, to be shown off in the Extras section.  Back out in the rain, our final and most important shop stop is that belonging to Spider Shen. This is where the Adept goods are, so it's the most likely resting place of our hard-earned nuyen.  [The elf nods, tilting his head back with a mischevious grin.]  Leave it to me. I have some friends in the customs house, and between that and their shoddy record-keeping, I'm certain I can get your snakes out of quarantine. It'll take a day, maybe two. If it takes longer than that, it's because someone specifically doesn't like you.[At long last, Shen seems to notice you.]  Hold on, Yang. I'll call you back. Got a customer here.[Putting down the commlink, Shen bows.] Hello again. What can Spider Shen do for you today? Getting some new pets in?[Shen frowns dourly.] They're not *pets* - they're an investment. I can make antivenom serums from them, or I can use the raw venom to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be too messy and loud. A job where venom makes things more clean and quiet huh, guessing we're not talking babysitting this time. Well, technically it would accomplish the job there too, but you might get some negative reviews from the parents afterwards. Wait, you're an assassin? It's like this: yes, I can hurt people. But I can also heal them. I learned to heal with my medicine before I learned to hurt. When you learn how the body works, you learn how to break it, as well as fix it. It's like a mechanic and a car engine: if you know how to fix it, you know how to disable it. And who's the good looking elf? He's my lawyer, Yang. *Our* lawyer, I should say, since he's another Blue Lantern, and is part of the same crew.[Shen lifts a thin Chinese sword, turning it over so that the light glitters along the edge.] I don't do a lot of things that are legal, in the strictest sense. It helps to have a good lawyer, you know? For most shadowrunners, getting caught is the end of their career. Well, see? There you go. If you had a good lawyer, that wouldn't be a problem.[Shen grins, chin tilted upward.] Saves you a world of trouble, woman. Most of the time, caught means 'dead', for us.[Shen is unmoved by this information.] Well, then your lawyer can make sure your inheritance goes to the right people, eh? [Shen chuckles quietly.] Turns out, he'd used a decker contact to make sure to swap a bunch of public recordings, so that traffic cameras would conclusively show us somewhere else and arriving at the last minute. He also made sure the vice squad that arrested us was cited for failing to file the proper paperwork on a bunch of previous cases. The squad got canned. We got let go. It was a thing of beauty. That does sound pretty awesome. Speaking of, let's take a look at what's available on the web today.  Remember when Shen mentioned those highly exclusive custom-ordered magic swords? Yeah, we could totally buy some of them now. The Ardent Phoenix is somewhat middling for a literal flaming sword though, it has low base damage for this stage of the game and its 6 damage per turn crit effect is unexciting. The better prize here is definitely Distant Storms Foretold, which is both stronger and has a cool AP-reducing critical hit effect. It's almost overkill really, a normal critical hit with the blade at our Strength level already deals 2 AP damage anyway, so even one crit with stormy boy here can really lock enemies down. It's worth mentioning that the magic swords are in practice Adept exclusive as they have both Close Combat and Qi Casting skill requirements. In fact Distant Storms Foretold is so Adept exclusive that we literally can't equip it yet, because we don't have the 5 Qi Casting required. We're not far off though, and 5 Qi Casting is where the Adept party really starts taking off anyway, so we'll get back on this later. Shiny swords aside, we can also see the higher tier throwing weapon Shuriken available now. I mostly mention this as a reminder that it should not be confused with Gaichu's "Throw Shuriken" skill which, as mentioned back when we picked it, is a completely different thing, although for a man who can't aim guns due to his blindness, he is quite good at throwing these shurikens too.  Here's some more of the good stuff, or at least our stuff, new Adept spells. First off, we can only actually equip Stride and Quick Strike with our current Qi Casting level, Counterstrike and Martial Defense require 5 and Mystic Armor requires 8 (which is honestly way high for its effect), but as a quick overview: Martial Defense essentially gives crit immunity for 0 AP activation cost which is obviously excellent particularly as melee has trouble positioning behind cover, Counterstrike is a little clunky on melee but can potentially let you do some pretty wacky stuff if you combine it with a powerful ranged weapon, and Mystic Armor is a spell that exists, if you're a very high level Adept anyway. Relevant to us right this second, Quick Strike at a glance seems like free damage (and who doesn't love free damage) but it's actually weaker than it looks. First of all it's in practice a melee-range damage spell, meaning it's completely separate from things like your weapon or Strength, and doesn't for instance deal AP damage on crits. Also a 0 AP melee attack is more difficult to use consistently compared to a 0 AP ranged attack. For example if you have 1 AP left and your next target isn't literally next to you, a Move+Attack on a different target within movement range will cost 1 AP regardless, so you might as well use a stronger attack that you get for "free" with your movement. There's also the fact that the first real powerhouse Adept skill costs 2 AP, which makes it particularly difficult to get Quick Strikes in for as long as we have 2 base AP to begin with. But more on that when it's relevant. Stride on the other hand is as core melee Adept spell as they come. Actually casting Stride is more of a "don't have anything better to do with my AP" play a lot of the time, but +2 movement as a passive makes a huge difference when you're melee-locked. And there's not that much competition for Adept spell slots anyway, unless you're doing something unorthoox.  New outfits here too, same as usual.  For the time being we'll settle on just buying Stride, Quick Strike isn't bad to have, but it's not that important either and this together with a 6 Armor outfit already cost most of our money on their own.  That's the whole town covered, let's go find some work.   Is0bel is still waiting for us to pick up her personal request, but we need to prepare a bit more for that one, so instead we'll pick up this one. We spent all of our last run in a dusty monster-ridden museum, a party sounds like a good change of pace.  Oh, the client's in town, even. Guess we'll be heading to Swift Winds after all.   This guy has a decidedly Dr. Shenyang kind of vibe to him.   Why are you named after a city? I'm a doctor, and I'm from Shenyang. You slow or something? You're a doctor? Absolutely! Doctor of cosmetic dentistry, courtesy of Shaoguan Correspondence University. Two thousand nuyen well spent, let me tell you - the "doctor" in front of my name adds a little whaddyacallit... panache! Now, you gonna shake my hand, or what? (Shake his hand.) Sorry. Didn't mean to leave you hanging. I'm, ah... lookin' for a little... "outside help" on a problem I've been having. Ordinarily, I'd handle it myself or have some of my friends see to it, but it's kinda... delicate, you know? My guys'd be noticed before they made any headway on my problem. So I figure, hey, I hire contractors all the time! Might as well get some contractors of a different stripe. Lasting friendships are made through favors exchanged. I'm all ears.Let's just keep it on a vocal level from here though, we're still not completely over the sheer discomfort of that handshake. I run a little film studio, Southern Crown Films. We mostly do trid work, but we record some sims, too. Maybe you've seen some of my stuff... "Space Mongols from the Moon"? "The Flavor of Pomegranates"? "Ultimate Kill Squad"? No, but I like the sound of "Ultimate Kill Squad." How much killing do they do?[He offers you a chipped-toothed grin.] A lot. There's this one scene where two trolls gang up on an elf, and they... well, I don't wanna spoil it. But believe me, it is *glorious.* I'll send a copy over to Cheng so that ya can take a look. ...And so, you want something to happen to Ms. Wong? Hang on, I'm gettin' there. So about six months ago, Neville was out in Guangzhou for some hoity-toity party. He's on the road, probably drunk, a semi comes outta nowhere, and POW! Wrecks his fancy new Eurocar Westwind. Bad luck for Neville, good luck for me. I figure, hey, that's the end of him for the year, and I start plannin' some new stuff he can't compete with from inside a hospital. You follow me so far? Lemme guess. He found a way to compete with you from the hospital. No, worse. The bastard is *out* of the hospital. He's back in the game, bringin' out season two of "Promises in Moonlight." I need that show off the air, one way or another. And that, my friend, is where you come in. Tough break. Maybe the wreck wasn't that bad? Recovery time like that means that one of two things is goin' on. Neville could've found himself a silent partner... someone willin' to pay top dollar for cutting-edge care. I don't think it's likely, but it coulda happened. If it ain't that, the smart money says that he's been skimmin' off the top of Yellow Springs' earnings and not reporting it to the other shareholders. Tell me how I fit into this. I need you to go get me something to blackmail Neville with. Find out how he could afford to get outta the hospital so fast. He works out of his penthouse most days, so search his computer, closet, sock drawer, whatever. There's gotta be something incriminating in there. Where is this penthouse? You might also wanna hit up the party if you can bluff your way in - everyone close to Neville will be there, and most of 'em will be three sheets to the wind by the time you get there. Some discreet questioning might get me the dirt that I need. Just remember, if you go to the party, don't use your real name. Go with "Argyle." Should be safe enough, there's nobody in the biz out here with that name, so nobody'll ask any questions about how your work's going. Couldn't you just make a better show? It's not just a better show. It's Penelope Wong, too. I get her, I get all her fans, too. They'll watch anything she's in. Listen, it's like this... A little blackmail never hurt anybody, all right? Well, except the person you're blackmailing. It's just how things work in the industry. I don't dislike the guy, but I gotta stay on top of the business. Now, the blackmail material is what I need more than anything. But if you can get Penelope Wong outta her contract, I'll pay you *extra,* got it? I want that star power on *my* side. And one last thing... I don't want you starting a scene while you're there. You interrupt his party, make a mess, or trash his apartment, and I'm not paying you. We clear on that?Hey, just because we swing a big sword doesn't mean we can't scale down to the subtlety of a scalpel if need be. We're clear. Good. I can't have Ma knowin' that I'm after him. In my business, everybody's got dirty tricks, but if you make it public you're using 'em?[Dr. Shenyang draws a finger across his throat.] That's it. My career's as dead as the People's Republic of China. Nobody'll work for or with me ever again. So don't embarrass me, hey? No mess, no guns. Got it. Oh, you can pack heat. Just don't kill anybody at the party or in Ma's apartment... you gotta fight, you find somewhere else to do it. If security gets on you, do what ya gotta - I'd rather explain a few bullet holes than a pile of dead shadowrunners. Got me? Yeah, got it. Good. If you pull this off, I'll recommend you to all my friends, too. You don't seem like you deal with shadowrunners much. Shadowrunners, moonlight prancers… Who gives a crap? I got money and a job, and I don’t care who does it as long as the price is right. What's more, I got a lotta friends around town, and a lot of 'em run in your circles, too.[He looks up at you, eagerness in his eyes.] So what, we got a deal? You gonna do it?Fancy parties aren't really our scene, but the idea of infiltrating one to find dirt on some rich idiot does sound kind of fun, even if it's in behalf of this greasy lump. We have a deal.  Nothing to it but to get going while the going's good.   It was the summer of '23 and the people voted, and as a result the crew heading for the party will consist of Gaichu, Is0bel and Gobbet, the same faces we brought with us to the museum last time. People also voted for our next outfit upgrade from the new 6 Armor choices (because upgrading to a 4 Armor outfit is kind of pointless) so we bought and will be donning the Kunai Ninja Suit (kunais sold separately) from here on out, perfect for an infiltration mission. See the Extras section below to see how that one looks. A magical troll ninja, a ghoul samurai, a reclusive decker and a nigh-omnivorous rat shaman walked into a party... But will the punchline land like it should, or is it all going to bomb? Let's find out, next time.  Firstly, today's fashion show for the outfits available in the remaining shops we visited.         The two alternate responses to Ambrose I know someone would ask for anyway (the Security etiquette one isn't that interesting): So, there's a particular way this kind of conversation goes. I don't know if you're familiar with it... We show each other our butt tattoos?[Ambrose snickers.] Where the hell did Kindly dig you up? Wait, don't answer that...-- We GOSSIP![Ambrose gives you a completely level, calm gaze. No expression.] I'm... going to interpret that as wit.--- Kiluminati's introduction changes if he's been brought to a run before... Maybe, at a glance the trigger for it seems tied to a different runner. Hey there, Taz! Welcome to the party.[Kiluminati pulls a bottle of beer out of each of his jacket's pockets, offering you one.] Hope your night's going well. Have a drink with me. (Take it) Can't refuse a free beer.[Popping the top off, you clink your bottle together with Kiluminati's and take a long drink. He smiles broadly and claps you on the shoulder.] That's the spirit! What good's life, if you can't unwind now and again? It can't always be gunfights and heists.--- He also has a slightly different reaction if the player character has Coyote as their totem. Ahh, I kill myself. Seriously, though - Coyote guides me. (Totem: Coyote) Really? Me too, actually. No kidding? I knew I liked you for a reason! [Kiluminati take a long swig of his beer, watching the foam swirl around in the bottle as he lowers it.] Always like it when my hunch about somebody ends up having a reason behind it.
Kanfy fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Jun 28, 2023 |
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Jun 26, 2023 18:09
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This is a less "official" vote, but we could use better armor too, so feel free to throw in your opinion on which of the 6 armor options we'll be wearing for a while. Here's the full set as a reminder:   
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Jun 26, 2023 18:09
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Is0bel, Gaichu, - dunno who's louder, the cop or the murder drone, so free slot. Arms ain't worth protection, I gather.
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Jun 26, 2023 18:45
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Is0bel, Gaichu, and Racter are my votes!
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Jun 26, 2023 19:04
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Is0bel, Gaichu, Gobbet. Most of the armors tend to look overly bulky on trolls, but the Ninja Suit actually looks pretty sleek on them, so that gets my vote too.
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Jun 26, 2023 19:28
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For the party: Is0bel, Gaichu, and Gobbet. I particularly want to see the filth-diving Rat shaman at a fancy celeb party. Could be hilarious. The Kunai Ninja Suit looks slightly less ridiculous than the others, but it's the best of a bad field IMO. Actually for looks alone I like the Street Brawler, but the stats aren't there. I particularly appreciate how Ares made gear for their top-tier operators that features a face mask that is obviously designed to go with a helmet, then didn't include one.
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Jun 26, 2023 19:34
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Lemniscate Blue posted:I particularly appreciate how Ares made gear for their top-tier operators that features a face mask that is obviously designed to go with a helmet, then didn't include one. Let's pretend they just couldn't figure out a troll helmet, those individually unique pattern horn growths are an armorer's nightmare.
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Jun 26, 2023 19:37
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I did appreciate the expanded pistol selection in HK, because among other things they added the revolvers. You can see the intent - high damage without letting you have cool special moves. I found those somewhat useful as a backup weapon and/or to really lean into the cowboy runner character archetype, though I don't know if I ever did that or just thought about it.
Psion fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Jun 26, 2023 |
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Jun 26, 2023 19:38
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Is0bel, Gaichu, and Gobbet, of course. And I vote for the Shiawase StreetWare. I love turtlenecks.
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Jun 26, 2023 19:51
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Gaichu and Gobbet going to a big fancy party seems like the comedy option here
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Jun 26, 2023 19:58
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Is0bel, Gaichu, and whoever. Kunai Ninja Suit Glad you chose to do one of my favorite runs next here.
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Jun 26, 2023 20:12
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GhostStalker posted:Glad you chose to do one of my favorite runs next here. The initial plan was actually to do Is0bel's run here, but on a test attempt I realized we were still missing a little something something, so a party it is.
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Jun 26, 2023 20:40
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JT Jag posted:Gaichu and Gobbet going to a big fancy party seems like the comedy option here Agreed. Maybe take along Duncan for maximum awkwardness? Quackles posted:And I vote for the Shiawase StreetWare. I love turtlenecks. Aw, it kind of reminds me of Monika's big weird collar. RIP Monika.
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Jun 26, 2023 21:04
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Is0bel, Gaichu, and Gobbet.
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Jun 26, 2023 21:11
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Id0bel, Gaichu, Gobbet. Ares gear.
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Jun 26, 2023 21:39
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Is0bel, Gobbet, Duncan Ninja suit
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Jun 26, 2023 21:49
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I'll add another vote for Is0bel, Gaichu, Gobbet, because taking a ghoul to a fancy party could not be funnier. Also the Ninja Suit is decent.
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Jun 26, 2023 22:15
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Is0bel, Gaichu, Duncan, because I can’t think of a less appropriate group to bring for a low-key infiltration gig. Shiawase cowl, because I’m a simpleton easily pleased by pouches.
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Jun 26, 2023 23:35
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e: i already posted this, brain problems today
Psion fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Jun 26, 2023 |
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Jun 26, 2023 23:38
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To be fair, only Racter and kinda Duncan are appropriate to bring to any sort of fancy party. And even then only if Racter and keep his drone hidden nearby somehow. And Duncan would only really blend in by posing as security or a bodyguard.
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Jun 27, 2023 00:13
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IthilionTheBrave posted:To be fair, only Racter and kinda Duncan are appropriate to bring to any sort of fancy party. And even then only if Racter and keep his drone hidden nearby somehow. And Duncan would only really blend in by posing as security or a bodyguard. And that's why I voted for everyone else. 
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Jun 27, 2023 00:54
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Is0bel, Gobbet, and Gaichu for the party, team Partycrashers. Also voting for the Shiawase StreetWear Cowl, it's the best looking of the lot. I just played this game to completion lately, it was an amazing and fun ride from start to finish, I went through it with an Elf Decker PC. This LP has been fun to read as well!
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Jun 27, 2023 01:15
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I'll defer to others on team comp, but I'll vote StreetWear for the armor.
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Jun 27, 2023 03:39
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Is0bel, Gobbet, Gaichu, and the Ninja Suit.
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Jun 27, 2023 05:01
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Is0bel, Gaichu, Gobbet.
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Jun 27, 2023 07:05
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