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Part 09 - Ten Ways to Move Up in the World .jpg)  This place has seen better days. Or maybe this is just how they design their apartment buildings in Seattle, I've never been. Incidentally, the couch over in the corner there has a bad case of reference infestation.    A hellhole full of junkies. Looks like Stevie-J's gets their rent money AND their drug money. If Coyote's here, we have to hurry. She's good but... well... these BTL guys pay to stay well informed. They may have known she was coming.Soon after we enter, one of the female residents beckons us to talk with her.  You look like you could use a break. All you need is a few nuyen for a Better-Than-Life chip, right? Yes, yes! I just need another BTL to get through the day. Something pretty. Something... soft... Sure, I get it. Have you seen a woman come through here today? Armed and looking for trouble? Maybe I can cred you.And saying "you" doesn't count, that'd be cheating. Yes... no! Hell, what do you want me to say? I'll tell you anything. Everything... Pleeaaase?[She drops to her knees, pleading.] Ah, man. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. You should leave this place if you can. Well that was depressing. Moving a little further in, we see an old but more lucid-looking man eyeing us and mumbling something to himself.  You have quite the vantage point here. Bet you don't miss much. Seen anything special today? Yeah, everything in this body has gone to rust, 'cept my eyes and ears. Bit of a commotion upstairs, earlier. Stevie's men are twitchy. This young thing came through earlier, snooping around like you two are. I could tell she weren't here for BTLs. Don't know how she got upstairs... but there was a lot more gunfire than there usually is this time of day.I hate it when my neighbors exceed the standard amount of daily gunfire, no respect at all for their fellow tenants. That's not good. Did you see her come back down again? Nope. Couple of Stevie's men came round, asking what anyone saw. Kept my mouth shut, I did. Where's Stevie holed up? He's got the whole top floor all to himself. Fancies he's the king around here.Figures, it's always the top floor or the dungeon's deepest chamber or whichever place is the biggest pain in the rear end to get to. Sounds like Coyote's run went sideways for her. Hey old man, you know how to get upstairs? You've been right friendly... but I can't get on the wrong side of Stevie J. I'm sure you understand.There are actually quite a few different ways to gain access to the upper floors. Here are our first two, either threatening to snap the old man's bones with a Strength check of 4 or guilt tripping him with a Charisma check of 4, which we happen to have. Look, we're here to save her. Do you really want that girl's fate on your conscience? Easy enough.  Alternatively, walking past the old man leads us to an old dresser concealing a small hole in the wall. He'll tell you to stop snooping around but won't actually do anything. Moving the dresser out of the way (no check involved) and looking through the hole reveals the stairs and presents us with the third method, namely sending a drone through the hole. This obviously requires that you have one with you.   The fourth method and my personal favorite is also related to this spot: With a point in Spirit Summoning, you can see a summon spot on the other side of the hole. Using it summons a spooky spirit to scare the hell out of the resident on the other side of the door, causing her to rush out.  The fifth method is to talk to the old man after having seen the stairs through the hole. This allows for an easier Charisma check of 3 which has you tell him that such a clever man should be working at a corporation instead of being here.  Having said all that, there's still more to be done on the first floor so we won't be taking the stairs just yet.  Going further in, we come across two men having some kind of a disagreement.   The thuggish man lands a hard punch on the pleading guy. 4 damage, in case you were curious.  Get your rear end back in your squat before I break something else. I'll send him upstairs instead. You want me to give him to Stevie? Maybe after he kills that girl we caught... You pig! Give Zipper back now or...Who the hell names their son "Zipper"? Or "Symp" for that matter? ...or you'll bleed on me? Zipper's gone. Get yourself a new kid. [He covers his face with his hands.] Oh God, no. Please no.This place is really something else. Ryker walks off to a room in the south while Symp stumbles to the apartment in the north.  We follow him in, maybe he'll tell us what's going on.  What was that all about? Why do you care? ...it... it's my son. That bastard took my son! Who took your son? One of Stevie J's goons, Ryker. He runs that filthy BTL squat across the hall. My son, Zipper... he's not a strong boy. And Ryker knows it. Lured him in with those drat chips. "Better Than Life"? HA! What life?!?"HA! What life?!?" happens to be our motto over at Death and Bleach, it works on multiple levels and everything. Did I mention that we're pretty cool? And now they're TORTURING him in there! Why would they do that? He's being literal by the way, a Simsense recording allows one to fully experience something from the standpoint of the person who was originally recorded as if they were really there, sharing all of their sensations. Amazing for porn and what have you, and the ones in commercial use have limiters in place to make them safe to use and to stop them from being dangerously intense. Of course when the aforementioned person is being tortured to death instead and we're talking illegal recordings with no such limiters or other safety measures, well... That must be Coyote. They've got her up there! Keep it together Paco. She's still alive. Stay frosty. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I'll be okay. What about MY SON?! I'll see if I can save your son while we're saving our friend. Thank-you, thank-you. First things first though, we find and liberate some Jazz (the drug, not a music CD) from a shelf inside the apartment.  While Kamikaze and Nitro are decent but not particularly amazing, Jazz is arguably the best item in the game. The Quickness boost is already pretty nice but +1 AP for five full rounds with no drawback is an incredibly powerful effect in a game where you'll usually have 2 or 3 AP total. Back to the hallway.  The elevator here is our other and more obvious route upwards. If you've ever played Final Fantasy VII you know the deal, the stairs are the quiet way and the elevator's the loud way. This thing's locked with a keypad however, and it also comes with an intercom. The sixth way to get upstairs is simply to use the intercom here and say that you're coming to gently caress everybody's poo poo up.  This'll bring both the elevator and an angry guy down to the ground floor, leading to a fight against him and Ryker. We however head back and through the door Ryker went through earlier.  There we come across a computer set of some kind, but Ryker stops us from fiddling with it.  Behind him is where his "customers" hang out, deep in their brain-frying escapism. And we're not talking World of Warcraft here.  [A scream echoes through the pipes of the rotten walls. Hard to tell where it came from.] What was that sound? [He smiles with his mouth but his eyes say "predator".] Who knows? Could be anything. Probably someone riding the wrong end of a Yakuza execution BTL. We get all kinds. I can hook you up, if you're interested.Once again we have several different options pertaining to both getting access to the elevator and rescuing Zipper. The seventh and eighth ways to get upstairs are available with an Intelligence check of 3 or the Street etiquette (they give identical options), and involve either telling him that you're going to kill Stevie-J but promising to let Ryker himself live in exchange for the elevator code and Zipper...  ...or alternatively tricking him by pretending that you want to get in with Stevie-J and offering to deliver a BTL to him. This lets you deceive the person on the other side of the elevator intercom by acting as a delivery person.  We'll take a different approach though. I heard you're in the middle of a recording session... Sure am. My gear is state of the art if you can believe it.Charisma check of 3 here. I'm looking for something very... special. Something... violent. Look around... clearly, I'm not going to be offended by ANY idea you can come up with. I want to kill someone... and record it.[The thug looks like he's thinking hard for a moment.] Wow, you're one sick bastard. I like it. Perfect timing too, I could use a trigger man for a little project I've got going. Come with me! Show me the way.Ryker walks on ahead to the recording room, which gives us the opportunity to take a look at the computer.  Here's yet another way to progress, a Decking check to access the elevator controls which also includes the passcode. The Recording Studio option allows you to reboot the studio software to reach Zipper in case you couldn't fool Ryker, or to download the BTL currently being recorded with a Decking check of 2 which again lets you deceive the intercom guy by telling him you're delivering it to Stevie-J. Finally, the BTL library option allows you to change the BTL the junkies in the adjacent room are experiencing, either to "Happy"  "Sad"  Or "Violent" which causes them all to take some damage.  Anyhow, let's not be late from our recording session.  The final way to get hold of the BLT recording is to simply grab it from the machine on the wall next to Zipper.  This lady here has... exotic tastes. She wants to help us out and is willing to pay for the privilege. That, and a copy of the recording. Well... as long as Mr. J gets what he needs, I see no reason we can't make a little extra at the same time.I should've known The Joker is up to his old tricks again. I think young Zipper here is just about spent. Now... just give me a moment to hook up a recording rig to our friend here and she'll have quite the BTL for her personal collection.Alright, this has gone on long enough. Y'know what would make a great BTL? What? What I'm gonna do to you. .jpg) (This isn't even a real fight and we're almost at the end of this part, but it's been a while since the last combat theme so I'll throw it in here anyway.) I usually go for the diplomatic non-combat method when given the choice, which in this case would've been making a deal with Ryker, but gently caress these people. Our double drones combined with the fact that Tickler is pretty much a non-combatant with 10 HP practically makes this fight a 3v1 so there's little for me to cover. In fact, not even Paco gets the chance to act because Hello World and Murphy instantly wipe the floor with these assfaces. Observe our beautiful babies in action:   They grow up so fast.  You got lucky today, kid. If I were you, I'd play it safe from now on. You don't get lucky twice. Oof. I don't think I can move... can you at least tell my dad?We do so, informing Symp that Zipper is alive but pretty messed up.  The grateful man runs off to reunite with his son. He doesn't even pretend to consider giving us a reward of any kind, but I guess we never thought to ask for one either. Of course we also have our own reunion to attend, and so we head for the stairs behind the old man's apartment. Hopefully we'll finally get to meet this elusive Coyote person, next time. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 07:46 on May 10, 2017 |
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May 9, 2017 19:53
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I appreciate that the murderin' was properly prefaced with a good one liner.
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May 9, 2017 20:29
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Man, the level of choice in these encounters is pretty good; I only ever found a couple of those options... and I didn't know it was even possible to deal with the BTL guys in a violent manner, so I know what I'm doing next playthrough! (On a personal note, the SR games do a stellar job of portraying BTL chips and the addiction it creates as both understandable and legitimately horrifying, like any good drug should be, and portraying their dealers as the worst kind of fuckers imaginable, so kudos to HBS for making it so good to shoot them in the face.) Also:  I have never played a rigger before, and I see now that that is a mistake.
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May 9, 2017 20:36
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resurgam40 posted:Also: One rigger is rad. A double rigger on a team is even radder. Two riggers is peak radical, and also peak death. At that point, you don't even need to really worry about things like "not pissing everybody off during a run" because who cares, you've got three death robots on top of everything else on your team.
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May 9, 2017 20:44
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H
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May 9, 2017 20:57
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Death by robot!
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May 9, 2017 21:12
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resurgam40 posted:Also: A lot of rigging stuff can accomplished with having one point in rigging and a drone following you around to go poke in holes for you. As a bonus, the drone gets shot at a lot instead of you, so it's free hp. Just beware of grenades....till hong kong  You can do something similar with spirits....just having enough to get a totem is enough to, well, have a totem (which is an amazing thing unto itself, and get's better with each game) but will also provide you with a fair amount of solutions to problems you otherwise might not be able to take care of. My point is that in this iteration of shadowrun, it pays to diversify a bit. That's not really the case in the p&p version though. mauman fucked around with this message at 03:08 on May 10, 2017 |
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May 10, 2017 03:02
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quote:He's being literal by the way, a Simsense recording allows one to fully experience something from the standpoint of the person who was originally recorded as if they were really there, sharing all of their sensations. Amazing for porn and what have you, and the ones in commercial use have limiters in place to make them safe to use and to stop them from being dangerously intense. These are things in real life? Well then
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May 10, 2017 03:20
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One thing ive really noticed is that these games are pretty good about having checks on a variety of stats and skills. Its not just pump charisma for 90% of all checks.
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May 10, 2017 03:22
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Nissin Cup Nudist posted:These are things in real life? Well then Sadly not yet.
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May 10, 2017 04:28
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FoolyCharged posted:One thing ive really noticed is that these games are pretty good about having checks on a variety of stats and skills. Its not just pump charisma for 90% of all checks. Yeah, they really do a good job of letting your character be a unique toolbox when it comes to solving problems. As someone who tends to pump charisma regardless of archetype it feels *right* to come up against problems that it can't solve, especially when the game lets your teammates step up occasionally. Makes you feel like a member of a team rather than just the Main Character running around and doing everything.
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May 10, 2017 04:58
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Kanfy posted:
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May 10, 2017 06:57
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The sad thing is, we may not have been wrong. You get wired enough and your boss will sell your snuff reel and your corpse.
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May 10, 2017 07:48
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Tiggum posted:Dying for a sandwich? I know that feeling. Haha, I left that there on purpose to see how long it'd take for someone to catch it. (No I didn't, stupid fictional abbreviations. Fixed) Kanfy fucked around with this message at 08:07 on May 10, 2017 |
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May 10, 2017 08:02
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You've mentioned that you don't pay much attention to misplaced custom avatars, but I really feel like the non-combatant bereaved father could have had the wicked-cool katana handle removed from his portrait.
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May 10, 2017 08:17
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Xander77 posted:You've mentioned that you don't pay much attention to misplaced custom avatars, but I really feel like the non-combatant bereaved father could have had the wicked-cool katana handle removed from his portrait. Well, I said I wouldn't specifically point out backer portraits in general. I don't think they feel out of place very often though, I'd imagine the character concepts were mostly figured out before they did the art for them. Plus it was up to the devs to decide where the backer portraits would go and what exact shape they'd take. But I agree, for whatever reason Symp's portrait stands out as more ill-fitting than most.
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May 10, 2017 08:47
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Night10194 posted:I appreciate that the murderin' was properly prefaced with a good one liner. Once I saw where the scene was leading, I was totally hoping for that.
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May 10, 2017 13:19
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It's more evident in Dragonfall and Hong Kong, but I think they overall did a good job giving personality to the player character despite them being a completely blank slate. While it obviously depends on what you pick, I find that many of the best lines in these games are spoken by the PC. Heck, just shooting poo poo with your childhood buddy between missions in Hong Kong is one of my favorite parts in the whole series because of how natural they manage to make it sound. Fallout New Vegas is another game which left me with the same impression, with the Courier feeling like a character of their own instead of being just a dialogue robot.
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May 10, 2017 14:01
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Kanfy posted:It's more evident in Dragonfall and Hong Kong, but I think they overall did a good job giving personality to the player character despite them being a completely blank slate. While it obviously depends on what you pick, I find that many of the best lines in these games are spoken by the PC. Heck, just shooting poo poo with your childhood buddy between missions in Hong Kong is one of my favorite parts in the whole series because of how natural they manage to make it sound.
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May 10, 2017 14:17
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Xander77 posted:You've mentioned that you don't pay much attention to misplaced custom avatars, but I really feel like the non-combatant bereaved father could have had the wicked-cool katana handle removed from his portrait. If you think that's a katana handle I just... I don't... I know this is probably a trap but... come on... that's obviously not a katana handle it's obviously some kind of Braveheart FREEDOM handle. Alright, I feel like I need to buy a waifu pillow now.
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May 10, 2017 16:27
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Yeah but its still funny that this totally rad swordsman sprite is given to a normal bloke powerless to save his son.
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May 10, 2017 18:51
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Kanfy posted:Heck, just shooting poo poo with your childhood buddy between missions in Hong Kong is one of my favorite parts in the whole series because of how natural they manage to make it sound. You liked that guy? I hated him and never took him on missions.
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May 10, 2017 23:31
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Hey, come on, he ain't so bad. Though I will admit that HK has some, eh, flashier and significantly more ra...d-er people to bring along.
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May 10, 2017 23:36
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He's loaded with anti-ap options, so if you build him right he can keep a considerable part of the enemy forces locked down for most, if not all of a fight.
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May 11, 2017 00:19
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I just wish there were instances where using his "non-lethal takedown" would reflect in the narrative.
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May 11, 2017 00:22
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UnwiseTrout posted:I just wish there were instances where using his "non-lethal takedown" would reflect in the narrative.
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May 11, 2017 00:26
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It's not a katana, it's a fashion accessory.
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May 11, 2017 00:58
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UnwiseTrout posted:I just wish there were instances where using his "non-lethal takedown" would reflect in the narrative. I can think of two instances where it is reflected, though not in particularly important ways.
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May 11, 2017 01:01
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Hypocrisy posted:I can think of two instances where it is reflected, though not in particularly important ways. Must have missed them, good to know that they're in there though!
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May 11, 2017 03:56
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Slaan posted:You liked that guy? I hated him and never took him on missions. Sure, I like almost all of the companions from both of the games. Of course it helped that he was one of the most useful ones in combat. Also apropos of nothing, but I forgot to point out something in the previous update. Namely that this part here Kanfy posted:The seventh and eighth ways to get upstairs are available with an Intelligence check of 3 or the Street etiquette (they give identical options) is to my knowledge the only instance where the Street etiquette comes up in the entire campaign. Street is not a very good etiquette.
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May 11, 2017 07:34
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The fact that there's no way of knowing which etiquettes will be useful is probably my least favourite thing about these games.
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May 11, 2017 09:44
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Charisma and Etiquettes get much better in the next couple games. Still has the problem of having no way to know which Etiquettes will be useful, but Charisma in general gets a lot of utility in Dragonfall.
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May 11, 2017 09:55
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Dragonfall does make much better use of charisma and etiquettes, but even so, there are trap choices. For example, while the 'Street' etiquette comes up much more often than in Shadowrun Returns, the 'Shadowrunner' one has the same problem as 'Street' has here: As far as I know, it's only ever checked for ONCE, and even that's an optional thing. I do think that they figured out how to balance things properly in Hong Kong, because before that you could just coast through with Academic/Security/Corporate.
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May 11, 2017 14:28
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Honestly, etiquettes aren't really required and should probably be considered bonuses. I looked at them as a way flesh out the PC more than anything.
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May 11, 2017 14:30
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I dont know posted:Honestly, etiquettes aren't really required and should probably be considered bonuses. I looked at them as a way flesh out the PC more than anything. Corporate and Security are great for entering restricted areas without having to resort to violence - Sometimes, they're the only way to do it. You're definitely right about Academic, though.
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May 11, 2017 14:58
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In Dragonfall, if you wanna put points into something purely for dialogue, do Int. There's a lot of raw int checks, and more than a few Decking checks. (Plus, playing a decker means you don't have to bring Blitz.)
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May 11, 2017 15:08
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As the person who ran a 4 year long SR campaign on these forums, I have a feeling that Universal Brotherhood bit is going to bite us in the rear end. I just know it. I also regret not picking this game up when I had the chance to.
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May 11, 2017 16:25
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/\/\ Don't worry, steam sales are coming soon. They've been named as a faction in game and are a cult and more than just that: a shadowrun action. There's no way we're not at least getting a job or two on the side poking at them. Actually is there any faction in shadowrun that isn't a bunch of pricks in a systemic way? Apart from irrelevant tiny powerless groups?
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May 11, 2017 16:32
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SIGSEGV posted:/\/\ the flux-state 
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May 11, 2017 16:34
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 03:22 |
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SIGSEGV posted:Actually is there any faction in shadowrun that isn't a bunch of pricks in a systemic way? Apart from irrelevant tiny powerless groups? Dunkelzahn was pretty cool, I think. I suppose a Great Dragon counts as a faction.
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May 11, 2017 16:36
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