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Are ghouls able to eat cooked flesh though? Some of those cadavers are only good for hamburger.
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Dec 4, 2023 17:41
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By popular demand posted:Are ghouls able to eat cooked flesh though? Nope, has to be raw. I guess cooking it somehow causes the Essence to leak out? Frankly having a ghoul on your team just makes clean up that much easier. No more corpses left behind! And a particularly bloody mission means Gaichu has food for days!
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Dec 4, 2023 17:45
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I hope he's got a nice big freezer, there's no shortage on the horizon.
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Dec 4, 2023 17:49
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The Lone Badger posted:Some of those corpses don't have much meat on em though. Too much metal.
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Dec 4, 2023 18:18
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The Lone Badger posted:Some of those corpses don't have much meat on em though. Too much metal. So, two sharks meet, talking about their week. "Ate a diver yesterday. Was quite tasty, but afterward I had terrible gas!" "You idiot! You need to peel them first!"
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Dec 4, 2023 18:33
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By popular demand posted:Are ghouls able to eat cooked flesh though? Cooked no. Prepared yes. Gaichu has a talk where has says that anything above a certain temperature ruins it for him so he does a low-temperature soup-vide to tenderise tough meat. The Lone Badger fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Dec 5, 2023 |
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Dec 5, 2023 04:32
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The Lone Badger posted:Cooked no. Prepared yes. Gaichu has a talk where has says that anything above a certain temperature ruins it for him so he does a low-temperature soup-vide to tenderise tough meat. It's in one of the first updates where he appears. If memory serves, he makes sahimi out of them, which normally takes raw fish but in this case takes raw meat. So he can have some fun in the cuisine while still keeping it raw enough for him.
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Dec 5, 2023 10:22
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Mindopali posted:It's in one of the first updates where he appears. If memory serves, he makes sahimi out of them, which normally takes raw fish but in this case takes raw meat. So he can have some fun in the cuisine while still keeping it raw enough for him. Sashimi is one method but it requires good meat. He discusses slow-cooking here: Kanfy posted:
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Dec 5, 2023 10:48
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Perhaps ironically, hunting with my father is how I learned to prepare raw meat. Strange to think that such activities served as training for my current state of affairs.
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I stand corrected. Nice to know that even in the cut-throat world of Shadowrun, you can take a few minutes to discuss cannibal cuisine and the intricacies of ghoul culinary preferences.
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Dec 5, 2023 13:04
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Those little things are probably all that stands between humanity and complete beastial amok for a lot of 6th world people.
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Dec 5, 2023 21:58
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The Shadowland BBS equivalent of GWS is likely a nightmarescape (affectionate). Like, even more than we've seen with Gobbet's restaurant recommendations.
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Dec 8, 2023 12:26
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SkinneyBaby89> Okay you guys, last few nights were CRAZY and without saying too I now have several dozens kilos of meat completely stuffing my freezer to capacity. You all know I already had some problems with too much pork hanging around so any help would be appreciated. HungryLad> Hi I'm new here but I already supply enough locals that I can take the freezer away and return it SCRUBBED clean, talk to MissSkweaky34 for verification and details (using of course the secure channel). SkinneyBaby89> Well this is fortunate and you can even keep the freezer, I'm a bit of a hygiene freak. anyone know where I can find black candles and red chalk around the wharf district?
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Dec 8, 2023 14:12
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Part 35 - Means of Escape  Continuing from last time, our usual Heoi rounds have brought us to Ten-Armed Ambrose's clinic. Reliable Matthew asked us to pick up his medication from here, and there's a couple of topics from last time we're interested in hearing more about too.   The IJN? The Masamune? What are you talking about?  The Imperial Japanese Navy. They've parked the carrier Masamune's battle group in Hong Kong for a visit, trying to intimidate the city. Nobody's having it though, not even the Japancorps. It looks like it's being driven by some sort of weird internal Japanese pissing match. The imperial militarists want to cow Hong Kong and bring it under the umbrella. However, almost every megacorp - including all the Japancorps - want Hong Kong to remain independent. Tensions are high. Do I have anything to worry about? Yeah: don't go into a bar full of drunk Japanese sailors with a "Free San Francisco" T-shirt on![Ambrose snickers.] This whole IJN drama is gonna go on like it always does: the Japanese Navy will eventually realize no one is even paying attention. Then they're gonna steam off in a huff, and maybe blow a few smugglers out of the water. Happens all the time. Is there any chance that Japan will take over the Hong Kong Free Enterprise Zone? They're a bunch of square-haired idiots with muscle cars, revving at each other. Just stay out of smuggler hulls. The IJN likes to go on sprees of blowing them up, to show how "well protected" HK would be under the yoke.[Ambrose snorts in amusement.] Those "honorary flyover" fighters had live ordnance loaded! Ridiculous! But say what you will, though... that Kensai multirole fighter is a sweet bird.[Ambrose ogles a close-up of one of the sharklike jets, on the wall screen.] Twin Mitsubishi double-aught-delta turbofan engines, ramjets, thrust vectoring, generation four fight-by-wire... Hey gorgeous.Think we have one "turbofan" here already, let's change the subject before things get uncomfortably combat plane horny in here. So about last time, you came here as a runner, and now you're a busted-up doc... what happened? [He stops giggling, and cocks a sober eye at you.] Seriously, though... that's some heavy poo poo. It'll take awhile to tell. Do you really want to know? Yeah, I do.[He appraises you, quietly.] Well... you're doing good, Taz. I feel okay about telling you this. A run went bad.[Ambrose spits on the floor, emphatically - in clear defiance of his own prominent "SANITARY SPACE - NO SPITTING" sign.] *Real bad.* We did shadowrunning, armed robbery, office invasion, underworld hits, antibranding... just about anything, as long as we could make money and hide our tracks. (Shadowrunner) Antibranding? That's usually a euphemism for attacking someone's image with false-flag terrorism. Yeah, it is. Look, I was a real rear end in a top hat in those days. I'm not proud of the jobs we did. A lot of our work was high profile. Real violent. We dumped a lot of bodies in the harbor. Then, we had this one job.[Ambrose pauses. He takes a deep breath.] Hey, I can sum this up real quick. Otherwise, I tend to get long-winded. What do you want? Ambrose... is there anything you need? Are there any actionables that will come out of this? Hey, I appreciate your asking, Taz. I don't need anything... just BS'ing, since you asked. Don't let me hold you back from paying work. I don't want to take up your time.(Alternatively...) quote:
Give me the full story.Really, that's the one thing everyone in this town should know about us by now, it's always the full story or nothing. Accepting summaries is a sign of a weak spirit. We were breaking into an R&D facility. It was a vanilla job: cheap rent-a-cops, flawed security system. No problem. It was going like clockwork. I was out in the command van, on overwatch... [Ambrose falls silent. He seems to be somewhere far away, in his mind. The seconds tick by.] Ramble on, Captain Boring...[Ambrose busts out laughing.] Oh man, Taz... you can really shake hot sauce in the eyes of a heavy moment. I like that about you... the world needs more of that. Soon your pain will end! Where was I? Oh yeah... When I woke up again, I was in pitch darkness. I could hardly breath. I was being burned, by hot metal. The pain was... indescribable. There was a shrieking, like the metal was screaming around me... and sparks - someone was cutting through the wreck. A huge pressure lifted off me. There was a blinding light.[Ambrose gives a tense sigh. He's trembling.] It was our glove woman, Karen. She pulled me out of the wreck. Wrenched four tourniquets on me. Shot me up with drugs. Stuffed me in a security car she'd shot up. Karen jacked me in. I couldn't even hold my head up, I thought my spine was shattered. Once I was rigged in, though, the pain in my meat didn't matter. I drove us out of there. I stayed conscious just long enough to get us to a friendly clinic. By the time I got us there, Karen was going down with brain swelling.[Ambrose's eyes seem to clear, as if he's returning from far away.] We got barn-stomped right proper. Slaughtered. They crushed the command van with a front-end loader and left me for dead. Everybody but me and Karen got wiped out. They hit you with a construction vehicle? Yeah. It shoved the van right into a plascrete wall.[A nearby robot arm equipped for heavy mechanical work emphatically snaps its vise-like claw.] Crushed it like a beer can. I learned something from that, tell you what: how to *seriously* slot someone's day.[Ambrose gestures with his chin towards the clinic's false ceiling.] I've got an articulated backhoe boom up there, with a demolition claw. Hell with guns... anyone ever fucks with Chrome Alley, they'll learn what "high-powered hydraulics" really means.Huh, kinda curious how that'd look like in action. Maybe we could lure Law in here somehow? Who ambushed you? I still don't know. Best I can figure out, it was some sort of counterintrusion team. Maybe the whole run was a setup. How did Karen escape? Karen was carrying the first haul out, when the assault team hit us. She jumped into a koi pond, and lay on the bottom for about five minutes doing her woo-woo qi-centering thing. They dropped a flash-bang grenade into the pond, to clear it. That messed her up good. Burst her eardrums, gave her a concussion, ruptured the blood vessels in her eyes, nose, mouth... knocked the air out of her lungs. She stayed on the bottom for another *couple minutes.* I once asked her what that was like. She just said, "Painful." That was Karen. Stoic like a concrete block. You're wrecked, Ambrose. How did you survive so much trauma?[Ambrose taps the side of his head.] Cowardice and job security. I was always real scared of getting hurt. I'd kludged up my tactical computer with some healware and my headware radio. As soon as my vitals went screwy, my trauma protocols kicked in, and my radio started broadcasting my heartbeat. Karen couldn't drive. She homed in on my beacon, and cut me out of the wreck with our demo saw. Shot me up with enough adrenaline, PMO4, and morphine to reanimate a corpse.[Ambrose shivers a little, at the memory.] And she put *three* trauma patches on me in a row... It *shredded* my renal system.[He taps his chair.] That's why this little hot rod has an artificial liver and a dialysis machine in it. Anyway, uh... that's how it all went down. By the way... Ripshot is dead. Let's keep it that way. Please don't say that name to anyone, okay? Karen was an *artist* at faking deaths, and she made sure we both vanished.[Ambrose shakes himself, and rubs his eye anxiously.] Listen, Taz... this is a stressful subject for me. We can talk more about the past another day. For now, I'm spent.He sure did beat the odds, not ending up in a coffin after a hit like that. Got out of shadowrunning alive and managed to build a new life, not the prettiest story but not the bleakest ending either. In that case, tell me about essence. Sure, what do you want to know?[Ambrose taps his wheelchair with his three fingers, eagerly.] It's fascinating stuff. What exactly *is* essence?[Ambrose gives an exaggerated shrug, pursing his lips.] Wellll... I'm not sure. It's life force. *Sort of.* Essence is like the ability of the spirit to recognize and stay connected to the body. Augmenting the body reduces our essence. When our essence is exhausted, the spirit quits the body - and we die. There's this popular idea that essence is disrupted when we attach nonhuman things to our nervous system, but that's only kinda true. If you install a datajack or a bionic arm, that's definitely a lot of neural interface. However, if you get bone lacing, or dermal armor, those don't have much neural interface, right? But they're still murder on your essence. The body still recognizes them as alien, and invasive. So... there's something more to essence than just a neural interface. There are all sorts of weird theories about essence as biospiritual integrity and stuff. I've tried to read some of the medical papers, but it was like trying to drive a go-kart through a blackberry thicket. Hell if I know what it really is. Is there any way to restore lost essence? Nope, but there's a ton of research going into it. Like, hundreds of millions of nuyen a year. The person who figures out how to restore essence is going to change the world. Think about it: we might be able to achieve full biological regeneration, or even resurrection of the dead. I wouldn't need replacements parts, I might just be able to *grow* my own body back! That'd be something else.There's actually a guy living in our basement who's really into this subject, although he wants to go all in on the replacement parts instead. Speaking of that... Can I install cyberware below zero essence? No, no, no. You drop below zero essence, you DIE.[Ambrose shakes his head emphatically, face grim.] Every hardcore street soldier asks that. Trust me, there's no way to do it. However, it seems like people *can* cultivate the ability to carry a little more cyberware. Theorists think it's really just making the essence you've got go further. Hell, there's even some convincing evidence posted by runners that these experiments exist... but no credible medical entity has ever recognized proof. If that tech is out there, it's *light-years* beyond anything you'll find on the streets. Do I think the corps are doing the research? Of course! Why not? But does it work? I've got no idea. Why don't you get some cloned limbs? Those don't take essence. I've got "the aches." ACHiS: Acquired Cybergenetic Hyperimmunity Syndrome. My body rejects all sorts of mods and biotech. My body now thinks the chrome is legitimate, and everything else is an intruder. I've got a list of over *seventy* things I'm now allergic to, including bio-implants. So, no cloned limbs for me. Kind of a bummer. No horseradish either. No carrots. No barbiturates. Man, I used to *love* horseradish. How is essence measured? Oh, there are a zillion different systems for measuring essence... but everyone on the street just uses the "Rule of Six." The rule says the body has an index of six essence, and all augmentations can be loosely scored on how much they reduce that number. It was originally the Medvev-Durac Bioholism Index, after two early researchers. They figured that the body had six parts, and they observed that replacing a limb with an early cyberprosthetic took around one sixth of a person's capacity. They developed a theory that cybercapacity was based on body regions. Each region could have up to 100% cyber, and the whole body added up to 600%, which written as "6." Turns out the whole theory was flawed. And body region doesn't matter much for essence cost... but the Rule of Six was easy and intuitive. It stuck. So we still use it.So for all we know it's some bullshit the powers above threw in for the purposes of some inscrutable cosmic balance without really thinking that deeply about how it all works in practice. Figures. Thanks for talking about essence, Ambrose.[Ambrose gives you a crooked smile, eyes glittering.] No problem. It's fun to talk about. Essence is cool stuff... cool stuff. At the end of the day, I don't know *what* is. I just know I'm almost out of it. Before I go... Reliable Matthew asked me to pick up his medicine.[Ambrose's brows rise in surprise for a moment.] Really? Well, okay... Here you go.[The arm gently sets the cylinder in your hand.]    Feels like we've seen this kind of thing somewhere before, but nothing comes to mind right now... What are these? Sorry, Taz... I can't discuss a patient's treatment without permission. Confidentiality and Hippocratic oath and all that stuff. (Academic) That's not what the Hippocratic oath is about. Yeah, whatever... it's a crock of poo poo anyway, right? Point is, I can't talk about a patient's treatment. Alright, I get it. Thanks, Taz. He'll be happy to get those. Happier than he seems right now at the very least. Let's not keep the man waiting.  Yes, I did. Really? That's... that's great. Give it to me... What is this stuff? It's my medicine. It makes me feel better.[He waves weakly at the drone lot.] It makes all this okay. Here, give it to me. Hey, there's a delivery fee. Uh... wha-what? I already paid Ambrose. Could be an opportunity to replenish our lost savings some... but it's maybe a little below us to take advantage of the guy like this, even as low as we already are. Four nuyen, so I can buy a cup of soycaf.[Matthew gives you a ghost of a smile.] Sure, okay... buy me one, too, if you think of it.   Boy, am I glad to be back! The day was a little dreary there, for awhile... but now I'm back, and I'm in fighting shape![He pulls a fresh cigarillo from his pocket, and twists off the auto-lighter tip with gusto. It ignites with a faint crackle.] Time to push some tin! You just slotted a synthetic personality... No sirree, beautiful! This puppy's authentic. *Genuine* authentic! Authentically AWESOME! *Whew!* Wow! Smell that fresh air! Feel that victory![He cracks his knuckles loudly.] Some lucky soul is gonna get a GREAT deal on a drone today, Taz. All thanks to you!Not gonna get anything out of him like this. Let's try with Ambrose instead and leave him to enjoy his fresh batteries. Rock it, Matthew. High five! [Ambrose is staring at footage of fighter planes on the wall-mounted trideo monitor. He looks sheepishly your way, then grins.] I can't help myself... they're just such beautiful machines! That IJN Masamune has one helluva flight deck... Let's talk about Reliable Matthew.[Ambrose sighs. His expression suggests that he's had this conversation before.] What about Matty? What's his deal? He's a shy, sensitive guy who's had a rough life. Now he's got a poo poo job, selling people the thing they love to hate![Ambrose shakes his head in exasperation.] That poor guy... he wouldn't harm a fly, but if there's someone who should have "failure to adapt" tattooed on their forehead, it's Matty. Sounds like he's in a bad situation with his suppliers. Matty is *always* in a bad situation with his suppliers. He's a terrible businessman, and used drone selling... that's a brutal business. You always have a lot more metal on the lot than you can afford, and the commissions are a pittance. Matty doesn't want help to do something else, though. He wants to hole up with his little drone buddies, and be left alone.[Ambrose thrusts his chin out defiantly.] There ain't nothing wrong with that.Yeah, we took a peek into his trailer at one point, quite the crowd in there. Suppose it's not the worst kind of company you could keep in a town like this... Why are you giving him BTLs? Why am I giving him BTLs?[Ambrose bristles.] So he doesn't have to get cheap poo poo that's going to fry his brain from a street dealer, that's why! Those cool blues are *pharmaceutical grade.* Their tracks run clean and clear as live opera.[He catches himself.] Patient confidentiality... I've already said too much. He's medicated. God knows he deserves it. Fair enough. Sounds like he has a medical need.Not really our business anyway, whatever gets you through the day. That he does.(Alternatively...) quote:
Can I have some BTLs? They look pretty awesome. Sorry, Taz. I'm not a drug dealer. I only handle 'em for people who need them for medical reasons. Well, psychological. Medical. Because they already have the habit. Whatever. I've heard enough. Let's drop this subject. Good. [Ambrose makes a mock toast with his arm.] To Reliable Matthew... hold true, little buddy. There's a rest for you at the end of the tunnel. To Reliable Matthew. May he hang in there. All right, let's talk about something else. This is just depressing. Time for me to go anyway. Since we already paid a visit to Spider Shen, stopping by Club 88 and the Ka Fais is the last thing on today's schedule.  If you're into this sort of thing... That's just it, I'm really not. It's fun for a while, I guess. Hey, all this stuff around here... it's all just fluff, anyway. You know that. I know you know that. You’ve got the eyes. Doing what you do, you know what’s what and what ain’t. We’re the same, you and me. People in here may look the part, but it’s different with us. We’re legit. We’ve got that edge. Everyone else is just a poser....Not sure which one of us here is more confused about what any of that was supposed to mean. Have you done anything other than bouncing? It’s not about what I’ve done. It’s about what I can do. I’ve got potential. I just need to prove it, and show my Ba that I can do what he used to do. All we've seen in that guy is a depressed sailor having trouble figuring out his place in the world and in his family. His wife mentioned a small-time smuggling operation, but that's still ways off from being a pirate of any rear end category. Gotta be the same with you, right? Can’t ever see yourself going back to a normal life. Shadowrunning is where it’s at. You fancy yourself a shadowrunner? I want to be... something. Shadowrunner, sure. I see you and your types roll up, hard-edged like you are. I can see myself doing that. But there’s also the triads. Lots of guys get their start that way. Work their way up, some of them starting out as regular gangers. I’d be looking to jump a few rungs right off the bat, of course, considering who I am and who my Ba is. But I think my Ba would be most proud if I followed in his footsteps. Join up with a pirate crew. Be a scourge of the open sea. I know it’s in my blood. I just need to let it out. I'll leave you be.  Another new face at the bar, one we've seen on the hireable runners list before. And maybe in some past life before that.  Maybe, maybe not. What's it to you?[He shrugs and folds his arms across his chest.]  I'm looking for work here in Hong Kong, but I don't have my own team. I asked around who the players are here in Heoi. They said to talk to you. Call me El Ducé. I'm a street samurai - good with shotguns, close combat, and I've got a bit of medical know-how on top of that. My rates are reasonable, unless it's a run against Shiawase. In that case, it's completely free. You live here in Heoi? No. Chungking Mansions, down the way. Near Hung Hom. It's a real hellhole, but nothing like the Walled City. Still, I come up here because this is where the work is. Lotta smugglers coming in and out, and a lot of freelancers needed to solve problems.[Gesturing toward the rest of the bar, Ducé surveys the dingy interior with an uncritical eye.] Places like this exist all over the world - dives where cops won't come in except with riot gear. Where people like us gather around and try to figure out how to make our next nuyen. Find the right one, you can find any kind of work you want. Why run for free against Shiawase? Because the sons of bitches killed my wife and stole my son. [Ducé's voice is hard and flat.] Anything to screw them over, I don't need to get paid for. Okay, I can understand being upset about that.[Ducé nods in satisfaction.] Good. The bastards were in it for a cheap payday - just another body to add to their assembly line. You ever heard of a Type-O immune system? (Biotech 2) That's a universal donor designation, isn't it?[Ducé nods.] That's right. And it's not just blood, either. If a company wants to produce bioware on the cheap, they use SINless Type-O bodies as templates to grow the 'ware in. Human factories, basically. Sick stuff, but it's not like we can complain to anybody. Officially, we don't even exist.[Shaking his head, Ducé looks away.] Let's talk about something else, okay? Have you been a shadowrunner your whole life?[Chuckling, Ducé shakes his head.] Nope. Originally, I was in IT. You know - tech support. That's a hell of a jump to being a shadowrunner. Yeah, well... Having your wife gunned down and your kid stolen tends to focus your attention. Sounds like a bad action sim, doesn't it? Still, that's how it happened. One day, Shiawase's getting a reckoning. Well, see you later, Ducé. You too. Keep safe, all right? Callum's mug is a familiar one by now. He seems like the sharper of the two brothers, but not much happier working in this club.  I see your memory works fine when you're clearheaded. I suppose it does. And I need that clear thinking tonight. What's going on? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. Could be a way out of this pit. A way to do something more with my life than sell cheap thrills in cheap pills. Is it really so bad here? You’ve been here long enough, you should know better by now. Most people figure it out in the first few hours. Heoi is a way station. Halfway between something better and something worse. You stay here, you’re just accepting the fact that you’ll never amount to anything. You’re agreeing that all you care about is keeping your head above water. It’s four good walls and three square meals, at its best. Some people pass through on their way down, before bottoming out in the Walled City or as a floater in the harbor. Others pass through on their way up, to places like Taikoo Shing or Aberdeen. That’s how I intend to go. So what’s this way out you mentioned? I met a man. Or rather, a man sought me out - and went to all the trouble to set up a meet, and get into Heoi. That takes guts, for someone corporate. He said he’s a recruiter. Like a talent scout for one of the big corporations. And they’re interested in me. *Me.* Can you believe that? Even way down here in Heoi, they heard of me. They see potential in me. Callum Ka Fai. One of the big shots at this corp wants to be my benefactor. It’s amazing, right? Even Li Ka-Shing needed mentors, and he became one of the most successful men in the world. This is my start. This is my break. This recruiter wouldn’t tell me the guy’s name, or the name of the corp. It’s all still very preliminary. This was just a first step, you know. But a first step toward walking out of here.There's enough red flags in there to supply a medium-sized game of Minesweeper, but who are we to trample on someone's dreams. Let's hope it all works out the way he thinks.  We literally have to sell our (old) clothes to buy this Cram. Maybe not our finest hour, but if there's ever a time when we actually use all this stuff, well, that one just might be.  And how's the grounded sailor dad doing today?  Not the kind of headshots I'm used to.[Henry lets out a deep rumbling chuckle.]  No, I suppose not. These are what pass for celebrities here in Heoi. We get the occasional simsense star or athlete, surrounded by an entourage of muscle and photographers. It’s all for their image, you see. They want a stack of carefully staged photographs that seem like paparazzi shots in a "notorious underworld hideout and arms bazaar."[Henry smiles sardonically.] If we were really all that, the HKPF would have bombed us by now. Club 88 is a neutral zone, and Ermine deals mostly in small arms. We clear the joint. Let them stage things however they like. Throw a few tattooed-out Blue Lanterns in the background. In exchange, we get a big stack of nuyen and a glossy face on the wall to show how popular our club has become.Wonder if we could adapt the idea, bet there's some people who'd pay for a photoshoot with an armed but relatively chill ghoul. Kindly locks all Heoi down for the visit. Those fame bunnies are safer here than they probably are in their penthouses. It's all my wife’s idea, of course. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Callum’s lucky he got her brains. I’m afraid Frederick takes after his old man. But wasn’t it you who first started running guns through here? Heard about that, did you? Loose lips... But yeah, I took a turn as a small-time smuggler. Less excitement than you might think. Never really made all that much extra money doing it, either. Had it been riskier, I never would have bothered. But our boat’s engineer was a good friend of mine, and he was in on the deal. He could tuck away those crates in the engine room where only he knew they existed. I just had to shepherd them on and off the boat. Probably could have negotiated better deals, but I just wanted to be rid of the stuff as fast as I could. Didn’t want Wuxing to find out, and I especially didn’t want Ermine to find out. But find out she did, though she surprised me with her reaction. Thought she would throw a fit, but the only thing she was mad about was my profit margin. And so she took over. Tell me about you and Ermine. She and I grew up together, here in Heoi. We were childhood sweethearts. But how often do such things last? Then, back in ’21, when we were both eighteen and unsure of our futures, we both goblinized. The world was turned on its head. People said it was a disease or the result of a biological weapon. There was panic everywhere. But Ermine and I saw it differently. We saw it as a sign that we were meant to be. It didn’t matter if we were lepers, because we were lepers together. Wish I could say she was the first and only love in my life. But there will always be another. I heeded her call for far too long, before finally settling down here with Ermine. Even so, that call is always there. Tempting me to come back. To be lost forever. Worse ways to go, I suppose. I do my best to resist. Try to focus on what Ermine has built here for us. I'll leave you be. The builder herself wraps up our grand Ka Fai tour for today.  Has it gotten like this before? Once or twice, in the ten years we've owned the place. Usually when it gets this way, it's for obvious reasons. The death of someone beloved in Heoi, or a terrorist attack hitting too close to home. This time, I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. When spirits are down, people drink. When spirits are high, people drink. We make money either way. I just prefer knowing which way the winds are blowing. Comes from being an old sailor’s wife. You said before that you worked in the corporate sector? Oh, yes. I was with Baihu for many years, before the boys were born. I started as low as one can get. But I was always good with people, and I understood the politics better than most. Being a troll in the corporate world is very hard... there's a lot of bigotry. However, I turned it to my advantage in every way I could. People underestimated me. I used that in every way I could - and sometimes, being able to project raw, contained power is very useful. Slowly, I climbed the ladder. Sometimes I wonder what might have been, if Callum hadn’t come along when he did. But there’s no changing the past... Are things with Callum any better? No. He’s become even more distant of late. More secretive. I saw him talking with someone the other day. The kind of person who doesn’t belong in Heoi, and shouldn't even be here. I don’t know who they were or what they wanted, but Callum is clearly trying to hide it from me. I have a bad feeling. The same heavy feeling that hangs over this place. Something is wrong. Something bad is coming for my son. And I don’t know if I can stop it.Obviously that shady-sounding recruiter or whatever. It's not really our business but we might as well keep our ears open, people like to open up to us about these kinds of things anyway. I'm sorry, I shouldn't bother you with my worries. Surely you have more important business. We do indeed, so let's get back to our boat and get on with said business. And our business is crime, of course.   Is0bel's had a run lined up for us for a while now that's been keeping her preoccupied, so let's finally try and help her out.   If you're watching this, you've decided to listen to my job offer. That's a good thing. I wasn't convinced that you would. Our target is a local decker - a former Whampoan. In the Matrix, his handle is "Rhombus." He has the software that we need. Unfortunately, he's unassailable from the Matrix, and nobody knows where he lives in meatspace. But I know where he's going to be. Rhombus is going to be there, and that gives us an opportunity. We're going to hit the convention, find him in meatspace, and get the software away from him... and we're going to do it quietly. Enclosed you will find a copy of the plan that I've worked out for the run, presented in bullet-point format. Everything should be fairly straightforward. quote:* I will provide you and one other runner of your choice with visitor passes for the convention.  See? It's a simple plan, just like I said. We should be able to get through it without firing a shot. So. Will you do it? Will you help me to get the software I need?For a "simple plan" there seems to be more than a few moving parts that could easily turn the wrong way at an inopportune moment. This is definitely more Is0bel's scene than our own though, so guess we'll just have to trust that she knows what she's doing.    A convention hall full of sweaty tech nerds raving about overpriced gadgets isn't our ideal image of fun, but it never hurts to broaden your horizons and all that... and surely at least this time we're not going to have to deal with basement mummies or amateur vampires or anything of that sort. Right? They can't all be like that!   There was a thread vote here but it's gone now, and ultimately the people resisted making the obviously not sensible choice of bringing an armed ghoul into a convention center for kicks in favor of bringing an armed drone very intimately connected to Racter instead. Probably does him some good to get out of that dark engine room every now and then. So, this is the duo who will be hitting the DeckCon with us, next time.  A relatively trained rigger can make an additional comment on Ambrose's story. (Drone Control: 4) You were the team rigger... How did a construction vehicle blindside you?[Ambrose looks uncomfortable.] Well... we thought it was a milk run. I, uh... our overwatch wasn't what it could be. You weren't doing your job, were you?[Ambrose is silent for several seconds.] I'm not proud of all my choices. I was a different man, back then.--- Meeting one of the requirements for identifying Matthew's BTL when Ambrose hands it over provides some extra information about it. quote:The symbols printed on it suggest the cylinder contains Better-Than-Life chips. These disposable chips create a synthetic experience. Specifically, these are "slow-burn" BTLs, which are less intense than usual BTLs but last for a long time: usually eight to twelve hours. Slow-burn BTLs don't overwhelm someone's connection to the real world, they just skew it, creating a false experience of the real world. --- Matthew will neither take it well or forget about it in the future if you bring him his BTL, but refuse to give it to him. Not making the delivery at all is fine though. Matthew, I can't let you have this. Wai-- What? No! It's medicine, I'm not well without it.[Matthew looks like he's getting agitated.] No. I... I... I need it![He seems to fold in on himself. He trembles a little, and looks doggedly down at his feet. He seems to be on the verge of crying.] (Walk away.) Sorry, Matthew. You need to kick the habit.--- While you can get away with asking for 50 nuyen for the delivery, brutally overcharging him likewise earns you his animosity (and 127 nuyen). Three hundred nuyen. Medicine ain't cheap. Three hundre-- what? I... I can't pay that. I already paid Ambrose. I don't have that much...[He withdraws a handful of crumpled bills and a disposable credstick from his pocket, and looks down at them.] This is all I've got until I make another sale. Then give me what you have. No money, no medicine.[He looks like he's about to cry, but he gives you the handful of money and the credstick.] Kanfy fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Dec 12, 2023 |
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Dec 9, 2023 16:57
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Kanfy posted:Alright thread, unlike in the previous game, dedicated personal runs aren't automatically just with the person in question. We get to bring one other companion with us to DeckCon, so this is a simple
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Dec 9, 2023 18:42
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vote for one person
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Never don't take Gaichu to a social event. Especially a Decker's convention.
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Dec 9, 2023 18:52
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Gauche was funny as a wrong choice at the dinner party but Racter will probably be fun at a tech convention and sounds like the “right” pick
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Dec 9, 2023 18:54
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Take Racter along to the convention.
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Dec 9, 2023 18:57
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poisonpill posted:Gauche was funny as a wrong choice at the dinner party but Racter will probably be fun at a tech convention and sounds like the “right” pick
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Dec 9, 2023 20:08
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BraveLittleToaster posted:Take Racter along to the convention. I never tried that, YES
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Dec 9, 2023 20:26
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Gimme Racter in anything tech related! I love that insane bastard!
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Dec 9, 2023 20:41
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I think Racter makes the most sense--- he's not a decker, but he'll probably have insight into the tech that Is0bel would normally provide but can't because she'll spend half the run elsewhere.
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Dec 9, 2023 21:13
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Voting for Gobbet just cause she’s sure to know some dirt on the deckers at the con.
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Dec 9, 2023 21:18
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Is0bel's run is the bestBraveLittleToaster posted:Take Racter along to the convention.
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Dec 9, 2023 21:50
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Racter, because he's great and I would like to see more of him!
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Dec 9, 2023 22:14
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Gaichu must be brought to all social events, and this one's a real winner for him. There are no right or wrong options here, incidentally. Except for taking our boring brother, because he's boring. I mentioned that Hong Kong wasn't done talking about Essence, and we have another big winner here with Ambrose. Ambrose by his own admition has near nothing left of his Essence...and yet, Ambrose is anything but emotionally unavailable and cold. While I don't think Ambrose was intentionally set to be a character discussion on Essence, I think he still serves as one - and serves as a very important note on how much community matters. And speaking of community, that also brings us to Reliable Matthew. I was pretty surprised first time I played that the game pushed that yes, he is talking these drugs for medicinal reasons, and trying to hold them away from him is distinctly the morally wrong option, akin to trying to shake him down for a few bills. Ambrose makes it clear that he's not getting Matthew his BTLs as a drug dealer - he's doing it as friend and doctor. Pretty big difference from how they were treated in the original core game!
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Dec 9, 2023 22:33
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Gotta be Racter, Iz having to chaperone two tech-illiterate goblinoids through a nerd convention is probably a bad call.
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Dec 9, 2023 22:40
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Racter gets my vote. During my playthrough I refused to give Matthew his BTL, regretted it for the rest of the game. poo poo's rough.
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Dec 10, 2023 00:32
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I admittedly vote for E: changing my vote to Gaichu Quackles fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Dec 10, 2023 |
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Dec 10, 2023 01:11
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as funny as Gaichu would be, i would also like to see more Racter
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Dec 10, 2023 02:08
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Gaichu I think I took Gobbet. The mission is a lot of fun. Also, being a dick to Matthew should be a guillotining offense. Poor guy.
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Dec 10, 2023 04:55
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Racter.
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Dec 10, 2023 06:00
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Duncan 
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Dec 10, 2023 06:21
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Racter, but don't...let him get too far out of sight.
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Dec 10, 2023 06:55
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As much as I want to see what our musclehead brother thinks of all these nerds (especially since he'd be able to sell "security escort to VIP" better than anyone else), Racter for sure.
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Dec 10, 2023 08:56
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Kanfy posted:
Mathew made me sad back then when I played the game the first time, he still does now. I recognize parts if myself in him. Props to the writing team, and here's to all the Mathews trying to find a place they fit in. I'm going to sit this vote out. We've seen the type of interactions Gaichu is about to have, but I don't recall Racter having a lot of stuff to say. Either way works for me. Mindopali fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Dec 10, 2023 |
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Dec 10, 2023 09:53
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Gaichu
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Dec 10, 2023 10:00
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Racter. When I played, I took Gaichu, and I want to see different interactions.
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Dec 10, 2023 15:30
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Racter I’ve seen plenty of Gaichu, let’s take our sociopath buddy to a Con!
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Dec 10, 2023 16:22
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Racter will probably actually enjoy this little trip.
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Dec 10, 2023 16:48
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Let's take Duncan, our meathead brother actually does know how to run protection and extract a target.
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Dec 10, 2023 18:11
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