Posted a forced move due to player absence/non-response.  This pretty well leaves everyone waiting on me.

Expect those posts after I try to grab some sleep here.

Just a heads up that posts are coming, most likely tomorrow.  Time has been an issue this week with work priorities among a few other things.

No worries! With the new year finally underway (work-wise) it's been busy indeed.

I talked to Fearless Leader the other day. He hit a rough patch of Real Life(tm). He hopes to over it and back to posting here soon.

Good news! Well, not the rough patch of RL, but that the game would be continuing.

Two weeks have passed. Any news?

He's workin' on it.

It got a lot rougher after that unfortunately.  I am still committed to this game but it is going to be on a bit of a back-burner for awhile as I go in for surgery next week on my throat.

There are a number of things going on that have sapped my energy and creativity to the point where I considered dropping Rpol entirely but I tend to be stubborn.

I hope to get a set of posts out later today after my doctor's appointment but after today there is a good chance I won't be posting again until after the surgery.

So if you can bear with me awhile longer I promise the game will continue.  If you are fed up with it I entirely understand and will remove you from the game if you let me know.

I can't guarantee there won't be breaks like this again especially given that in all likelihood I will require more surgeries but I will post when I can and presuming this eventually settles certain health issues and I can finish a few other real life battles posting will eventually return to something reasonable.

I've waited this long. What's a few more weeks? Not like I'm going anywhere.

I'm fine waiting a bit more. Take care of yourself and your health. While I'm looking forward to continuing, your health is a higher priority.

Surgery? Holy shit. Take care mate. I'll be here.

Be well... health is more important than a game.
I'll be around.

Aye.

I'll be around.
Take care!

Still here!

I'm back and about to get caught up.  Posting will likely be slow as I want to ease back into it.

As some of you know already the surgery was postponed a week and then had to be stopped mid-procedure as continuing placed my life in jeopardy.  As it stands we are now looking at other options which will be finalized at a later date.

It took a couple of days to recover but oddly the results seemed to have cleared off most of the malaise I've had of late and I've started really getting back into a number of things.  Nothing like nearly dying to clear your head I guess.  ;-)

I'm still a little foggy due to the overall body trauma and get tired really easily so if I screw something up or mix up a rule or an edition please forgive me in advance.  Just bring it to my attention and I will adjust.

Queries or posts are out to all threads.  In the case of one query it is simply because I don't want to boot up the desktop just to check for one detail at this time and my memory isn't pulling it up.

Karma awards have gone out as either belated presents or bonuses for patience.

Don't know what to say other that I'm glad that all went well for you in the end. Sort of, at least.
Ah, crap, I'm bad with words.

No worries Skye, I know the intent.

It all worked out after a fashion and the day I can't see the humor in something dark and find something good about it...

I am sorry for my own absence.  I have had a nasty cold that laid me up for the last week.

Posts are up on some threads.  The rest will follow later this morning as they are much longer and will have far more detail.

It looks like we've lost one or two players so I may look at moving them out of play and replace them or bring in someone to take over.  Not sure yet.

It's Tabletop Day, and Drive-Thru Stuff is giving away a free bundle.

No SR stuff, but still some good stuff.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/...-BUNDLE?src=salepage
This message was last updated by the player at 23:24, Thu 03 Apr 2014.

In reply to Dwight Oakhurst (msg # 22):

WooHoo! Thanks, Dwight!

Sorry for not reporting in sooner. Still alive. Just taking time to sort myself out. Have not forgotten you all.

We thought we'd lost you.

Hell no. I am a stubborn arse if anything. Still, I am dealing with some personal issues that are intruding in on my creativity. That and I am having to move in the very near future too. Still, I am around. Just kinda distracted for now.

I posted a longer message but just accidentally deleted it all.

Short version: I was misdiagnosed.  I don't have pervasive cancer and I won't require a series of surgeries that are fairly risky and would mean spending the rest of 2014 either in surgery or recovering from it.

I have a new specialist.  Gee I wonder why.  I still need one procedure which once they have those results may change a few things but I no longer have an urge to just shut it all down and walk away.

You can actually thank Dwight in part as there were a few times I almost did just that and he talked me down so to speak.  It killed everything in me besides trying to get a second opinion, research my options and come to a decision until this morning.

I may still require a surgery but I won't know that until after I get the results on the 5th of June when they take a series of biopsies.

The block on my creativity and desire to game is lifting but I am going to keep this game shelved until after the results just in case something is found.

This is the first time since I was told about the "cancer" that I really could talk about it and honestly only because my mind is now at ease or at least more at ease.  I am still off and probably will be for awhile while I process it all.

All I can say is when you have a medical issue, I really wish there were more dedicated and good doctors out there.  I had a poor one and he put me through a ringer to cover his own fuck up and thereby was more interested in his own ass.

Shaman:

I hope everything goes well. My prayers are with you... Be well!

And mine as well. Stay strong.

Not cancer is always a better diagnosis.

Feeling like a patient on an episode of House when your doctor isn't a medical genius isn't so cool.

Holy crap, that's awful. Hope things pick up for you!

I hope everything goes well for you, Shaman!

It does not feel like it has been two months since I was last here.  However, I have some great news pending one last exam and its results.  Everything has come back after getting a third opinion for a tie breaker.  I was clearly misdiagnosed and while I do have a few things that need to be monitored, I am in better position than I was originally lead to believe by my former specialist.

While we still have to clear the last test mentioned, it should be all behind me by the beginning of next month.

Also taking an extensive break from gaming seems to have done wonders to rejuvenate me in that area as well.  The joy and interest is back across the board so to speak.

So I would like to get a call out to see who is still here and with the plan to put a summary up of where things stand around the end of the month to give everyone a chance to weigh in and see if we are all ready to continue.  Then as I am presuming that I still have my most faithful here in this game we will go active at the beginning of August and move on through to the conclusion.

I plan to finish the current runs but after that I am likely going to be rearranging the teams and removing players who have left the game rather than maintain three distinct teams.  It will require reworking the plot arc some but it will be better for all of us.

This is the only 4th edition game that I am going to maintain as a GM presuming there is still enough interest and players remaining.

Thank again for your time, patience and support.

You know I'm still here.

Glad to hear from you and with such good news :)

I'm still here.

[looks up from the dungeon]

I'm back whenever I get an rpol post notification.

I'm in for now but I may have to withdraw from Rpol if I get this new job.  I'm not sure I will have much free time.

I am glad to hear you are doing far better and secondly the game goes on.

I'm still here, and I'm glad you're doing better.

Cheers (again)!
Still around and glad you are too.

Redline, checking in. Going to have to look over my sheet again though.

Still kicking and ready.

Not stating a preference, but more of a curiosity, has there been any thought to converting this game to SR5?

It is under consideration just to keep my own head straight but will not be for awhile if I do decide to switch over with the players blessings of course.

I'm still waiting to see a SR5 Cybertech book to decide if once again the cyber individuals get the shaft compared to Physads again. After seeing Street Grimoire, it's not looking good.

I'm in!

Thanks all.  I am pleased to see so many still hanging in there.  :D

I am just waiting to hear from Crispy, Gate, Goliath and Lock to know where they stand but it looks like I won't be needing to rework things to any great level as I was not initially certain what level of player attrition may have happened.

I just realized that I play Dwight sort of like Yonder from Wander Over Yonder...only Dwight is not that damned optimistic nor does everything work out perfectly for him.

I'm still with you Shaman. I'm just on vacation until Monday and have limited ability to post.

Cool!  Thanks for touching base.  I was not sure how many I'd catch doing that. ;-)

Enjoy it Gate!

When you handed out xmas and patience karma in March, you said something about karma spend after wrapping the scene.  Does that mean we could do some spends now at the the start of the move?  Same for a bit of gear acquisition.

bottom here link to a message in this game

For your arc Radar, yes.  Though when I posted that I had intended to have all three arcs at end of scene so I will be getting them caught up shortly if all paces well.

I'm done for the night.  Remaining posts will go up this evening.

Welcome the new player of Lock to our wonderful little band.

It may take him a day or two to assimilate all and get into the swing of things but it is all good.  Thanks for coming in and taking him over.

 Hola amigos, have i got a deal for you. I will go over what he has worked in the group to do and bring myself up to speed.

I also am present.
Will post soon.

Glad to hear back from you Crispy.

I am looking forward to continuing with you all.

Today turned significantly busier than I had anticipated so I have not yet gotten ton a few posts as I planned.  I'll deal with them later today.

No worries... my job gets busier and busier the closer we get to the end of the Federal Fiscal year (Sept 30).

It extended through the weekend unfortunately.

I will be getting caught up though and posting later tonight.

Please remind me what a 'surprise test' is ...
and how do I know if I have 'awareness' ?

The surprise test is Initiative dice + anything from awareness (Perception test). Since we know who's coming and where he is, we're getting 3 dice for awareness to the test.

Thanks Ell for answering that.  It's turned into a busy week.

Working on getting some quick posts out for everyone.

Yes, thanks Ell.   Sorry, I had meant to say so earlier.

No worries...

Sorry, post got eaten.  Jack is looking for a target.  Is there a light fixture I can shoot out, or is they guy my best target?  Do I even see him from my position?

There are no working lights around the condo.  Most of the street lights have been shot out and it is fairly early yet for any of those that do work to be on.  So in effect the guy is currently your best target if you still intend to take a shot.

Worried about their exit avenue... Ell is taking her shot at the window dressing.

Have in-game posts drifted into the OOC chat?

Not really.  There may be an issue with CFD though.  :P

CFD?

How long are you giving a player to respond to a post?

Cognitive Fragmentation Disorder.

Depending on my own speeds I do tend to like to give people a bit.  Usually no more than week.  However since we are coming off a large absence of my own and speed really picked up, I will give until Saturday for absent players to post.

Thanks.  I will need to look that up.

 I know that Lock is not in charge of making deals here for the team, so just want to be sure, his thought of talking it out as a group is out of bounds for the team?.
 He was just fitting the image to the situation. Radar is a good 'Face' for the team but maybe each member could have a word to drop about the mission...though i dont think we really have a choice, regardless of what they said.

I'm out of town for the weekend.  I should be able to resume posting come Monday.

In reply to Lock (msg # 73):

In the current situation, all team members could jump in with their thoughts, and those that want to stay more out of the lime light could just add their 2 cents on the private chat for Radar to bring up.  Radar did mention in that last post monitoring the private chat.  That chat is about as private as the team is going to get, and Extra information about the job before/during the discussion would be good.  Unless I slipped, Radar was making no commitments yet.  Just asking for more details about what the team would be up against.

As far as choice, meta-gaming, even if Cheryl is willing to let us walk, it could end up being difficult getting to see the big H.

 Yes, if we can even do the mission requested. Like you mentioned, how big the object is?, how far we have to transport it. So, payment should be equal to the risk..and having either or both groups pissed off at us, does not sound enjoyable.

Sorry had a live demo game at a local game store tonight and just got in a little while ago.  Posts will be out at some point between now and Monday as I have another demo on Sunday.

Since the sun is almost coming up here, I'd like to be unconscious before that happens.  That said, there is a post coming in answer to Lock's initial question which I just did not have time to get to with last minute prep for the event.

PM

I'll be out-of-town after tomorrow. Going to GenCon this year.

 Hmmm, ok. Seeing as we are being offered the job(like the godfather..I am going to make you an offer you cant refuse). What are they offering as inducement to do their dirty work and being a possible scape goat if it goes wrong.

 Once we find out where it might be or is hidden, then yes i can get into the location, i have found that getting in is often the easiest, getting out is another story.

 I trust the others to have a very rapid means of moving the object to where it needs to taken to and to be acknowledged as having done the quest.

 Small question, are we to throw suspicion onto another leader of the other native group?, i ask knowing that we are trying to stop a turf war in Cheyenne.

That's why we're waiting for Fearless Leader to respond with more info in character.

As it sounds, we just need to get whatever it is back. We let the locals wonder who did what.

And leave town before somebody annoyed figures it out :)

Enjoy! Give us a rundown when you get back!  :D

I sense drek about to hit a fan somewhere in the known Verse.

Whoopsie, work was hectic for a while, forgot all about this. Posted in the relevant thread now and I promise to monitor RPOL more closely :)

 Just looking over the fence to the neighbors to see what is going on and when we are going to begin the restart again?.

This happens, Lock. You have to be patient.

Fearless Leader has offline commitments and occasional medical issues.

I poke him every now and again to make sure he's still alive and kicking.

Well, as long as he IS alive and kicking that's what's important. We'll be here when he gets back... well, I will anyway.

Hopefully he won't be kicking us, though.

Dwight, I found an IRL app for Tonto’s commlink

http://www.utne.com/food/app-e...or-transparency.aspx

Tuned to red flag anything AZT related.

Cute, but I see Dwight more just reading Texas Ranger reports and remembering what not to buy.

I might use it though.

Here in a few hours, I'm going in for an outpatient surgery to have a tube shoved up my nose to deal with a clogged tear duct.

I don't know what condition I'll be in afterward, so I thought I should let it be known.

In reply to Dwight Oakhurst (msg # 91):

Something for Radar’s link then, to remind her not to support AZT, at least in front of Dwight :)

Home from having a tube shoved up my nose. I'm recovering, but I look like some busted me in the left eye.

I think I'll feel better when I have the pain meds filled.

How are you doing now Dwight?  Tubes are never fun.

I am back but in a limited capacity.  A bunch of personal stuff including the passing of two people I know has kept me occupied for the last few weeks.  Posts will be going out but probably expect updates only once or twice a week for the next bit.

Had an infection over the weekend. Looked lovely.

Infection has been dealt with, and I'm on the mend.

Fearless Leader, did you miss Dwight's question or are you still posting?

I was still replying at that point.  I like to break up the responses some as things can get lost in super huge posts but that may be just my bias.

Glad to hear you are on the mend.  Infections suck.

All threads have been posted to.  Some minimal, some not so much.

We have any Edge back on our thread?

I will post an Edge Refreshed notice thread so that can be tracked.

I was certain I had mentioned it for your group that at the end of last scene, edge refreshed and karma could be spent.  However, any edge spent in your current edge is still spent as you are not at a refresh point.

I've not spent any for a while. It's why I was asking.

No worries.  I wasn't planning to go back tonight and double check the scene but I did not recall any being used so far in this scene.

Radar did, when she got 'angry' with the perceived situation, and who seemed to be calling the shots.  When calling Owl.

I should have clarified that was in relation to Dwight.

If you have not seen the movie "Lone Survivor" and you can stomach graphic scenes it is well worth watching.  It's been distracting me from actively posting for a couple hours.

General Question for all players:

We all know I am the worst one for absences and while I cannot say with certainty the future may not hold more I also hope that it does not as I am really geared to see how this all turns out.

That being said, I want to be fair to absent or non-responsive players.  I've been generally giving players a week from their last time on-line/post if there is something that needs their response before I do a GM move.

Is that fair or do you think it is too long given that others are having to wait in turn for things to potentially move forward?

That works for me.  The notifications let me know when there is something new to look at.

Except when something was broken on my end that prevented the notifications from getting through.

^ That's been happening to me quite a bit the last few months.

The lack of notifications Redline?

 Ummm, since i am fairly new to the game i will hold off on stating my opinion.

All opinions are valued.  For the most part this really should not affect players that often but it is a measure I desire to have in place that is acceptable to everyone or at least the majority.

Yeah. Sometimes it's a complete lack of notifications, and others it's notifications for posts already viewed. Weird.

 I will go along with the others, if someone needs time to get a machine back up and running or get their service restarted then a weeks time or more to get orders in is fine, beyond that i would think that letting the DM move the missing char forward and getting the team moving once more.

 Just my thoughts.

One week is acceptable.

Week works for me.

One week sounds good.

Giving us a week is fair.

Still need a few more to weigh in on the time question for GM forced moves posted above tentatively set at a week.

Just wanted to give a heads up that today is one of my few private game days.  So posting response will be a bit slower than it has been for the last few days.  I may or may not get around to responding after it is over.

In a couple of threads I am waiting on responses before I can proceed.  I do like the pace we've been proceeding at.

A week is fine, and a bit more forgiving than I am in my game. Shadowrun is pretty heavy though. There is a lot of information for anyone to wade through, no matter your concept, 4th Edition especially.

 Ummm, ok, we should have a tasking of objectives for each, like who deals with the muscle?, who goes after the object..(which i am still not sure what it is), Is there other task's that our chars should be doing as secondary?.

 I dont see my main job as muscle, i am the quick in and out person. So what are should we be doing once we get there?.

Pretty sure Redline is the designated muscle, though how effective she is, I have yet to see. I can be stealthy if necessary, with several blades at my disposal. I'm pretty sure firing explosive rounds around what I'm assuming is a fully fueled plane is going to be a bad idea.

But but ... big boom!!! lol.

That's why Redline used to get paid the big bucks. =D

Redline is our designated Rooty-Tooty Point & Shooty.
I'm the magic.
Radar and you are our techies.

Do chaos in your own way and try not to get shot.

Break time for supper.

This brings up an interesting point.  Do you as players want a thread for a "Tactical channel" where you can discuss such things OOC/OOG if there is a question to be had about the team?

I can run with it either way?

Partly that depends on how much 'bleed' you want between your different scenes.  Could do it here.

 I would like to know if the gangway/hatch to the corp jet is open?. If so then i would like to attempt to get on board with a small distraction to draw their attention. If nothing else then i might find out what is inside and or seal the aircraft and even move it away from the fire fight coming up?.

Careful with moving the Jet.  Normally those would be towed out of the hanger before the engines were started.  Starting them inside might be a good way to eliminate anyone inside, and maybe the hanger itself given the description of its construction.  It did not sound that 'reinforced'.

If the door is not currently open, maybe one of the maintenance data access ports could change that.  Radar has a wireless adapter that could be plugged in, so she would not need to be right there to do the work.

Also would like to know where it is in relation to other things in the hanger, and which way it is pointing.  Radar has not been asking that kind of question, because so far she does not have eyes inside.  From context, I presume that Lock does now, and she should be able to open that sensor feed through her link to Lock’s commlink.

One on the things on Radar’s mental to do list, is hack the vehicles, to see if she can use their sensors for eyes inside.  Locking their doors, or even telling them to drive off, could help keep everyone (else) on foot.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:57, Sun 21 Sept 2014.

I think I will set up team discussions threads.  It will keep things more organized.  I'll answer the outstanding questions later today once I've set them up.

I'm okay with the absence thing. A week seems fair. I don't mind that I've been NPC'd to move things along. Seems fine. This month is craziest for my line of work and the end of gov't fiscal year coming.

Whoa now. There's a Way of the Samurai book and I didn't know about it?!

Yes.  It is an ebook Redline for 4th.  It mostly brings some of the material from the 1st edition Street Sam Catalogue up to 4th and gives some fluff for specialization.

Serious aka longer posts will go out later today.  As a general rule though keep in mind not to get too fixated on every last and little detail as that really can slow the game down particularly for what should be a quick scene.

Going to work on getting a 2050 4th Ed game going, so the Way of the Samurai looks like a big help.

Cool.  Posts are up for now until I get a few responses back, I am in a holding pattern.

Are the rules for redlining cyberlimbs available?

I don't remember that being in 4th unless you can quote a source.  IIRC though that was from 3rd edition Man and Machine.  I'll double check WotS in a bit in case it is in there.  That's not a source I took a hard look at mainly because I was transitioning to 5th for the public demos.

Pg 44 of SR4: Augmentation

In Summary: Take a Simple Action to redline a single attribute of a cyberlimb, increasing its value up to double, even surpassing the Augmented Attribute limit. However, the user takes Stun damage equal to twice the added value due to torn ligaments, overheating, etc., resisted with Body.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:30, Tue 23 Sept 2014.

That's allowed.  If you really need to go to that extreme. ;-)

Sometimes you need to choke out a Troll one handed or punch with the force of a flying frozen turkey.

"True story, as heard on the "Late Late Show with Tom Snyder" 3/3/97:
Scientists at NASA have developed a gun for the purpose of launching dead chickens. It is used to shoot a dead chicken at the windshield of airline jet, military jet, or the space shuttle, at that vehicle's maximum traveling velocity. The idea being, that it would simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl, and therefore determine if the windshields are strong enough to endure high-speed bird strikes.
British engineers, upon hearing of the gun, were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high-speed trains. However, upon firing the gun, the engineers watched in shock as the chicken shattered the windshield, smashed through the control console, snapped the engineer's backrest in two, and embedded itself into the back wall of the cabin.

Horrified and puzzled, the engineers sent NASA the results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield, and asked the NASA scientists for any suggestions.

The NASA scientists sent back a brief response: "Thaw the chicken."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Tue 23 Sept 2014.

I heard that.

In reply to Redline (msg # 139):

LOL - OMG that is too funny. Thanks for the laugh.

Additional posts will go out after the game this evening.

Watcher spirits.  Oh how they amuse. ;-)

Has Drover done something?

Not yet.  *grin*

Oh boy.

*chuckle*

I just had a thought about mixing Paranoia with Shadowrun.

On a more serious note does anyone here read German fluently and perhaps have access to some of the German-only Published Materials?

Not me, but my wife is fairly good with German.  She occasionally goes through some German sites.  Learned as a kid, but not used a lot.

Um, ich weis nicht.  Had it in school but so little retained... sad really. Withered with lack of use.

Mein Deutch ist nicht so gut.

Well, as a German I can read German rather well :D
Englisch liest sich aber schöner :)

I learned it in high school as well but it withered with age and serious lack of use.  Though I maintained a fair portion of being able to read it up until a few years ago.

I went on the German site that is supposed to have new material for Berlin about a week ago and that is when I realized it had degraded further.

Like Fearless Leader, all the German I learned was two years in high school, and that was over 20 years ago.

Mind doing a little research for me Skye please.

No this does not mean anyone is heading to Berlin. Laugh.

Sure, just tell me what you're looking for Shaman.

Berlin is overrated anyway :D
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 05:04, Sat 27 Sept 2014.

lol I had a lot of fun in Berlin back in the day.  ;-) (2nd edition) Dragonfall is interesting so far as well which is probably the reason for my curiosity.

www.shadowrunberlin.de

The first question would be how much detail does the site go into that is relevant and applicable to Shadowrunning in Berlin of 2075.  Though the site is set in the year 2076.

Wow, that's a very interesting site with a lot of information.
There are a lot of possible plot hooks in the news section, some referring to events back in 2075 (and 2074) that can easily be the result of some shadowrunner's work. And other things that might annoy shadowrunners pretty much, as more frequent controls of matrix activity since 2075 - and heavy protests following this course of action. There's even a killer running around since somewhere before December 2075, killing off celebrities.
... and that's only what I've read on first glance.
There's a section of locations, too, if one has the need to have a neat bar/nightclub/restaurant ready in almost no time, including some ShadowTalk and other background information.
Most things could be placed back one year without any great consequences, I'd guess. I don't know the official Shadowrun timeline of Berlin, though.

The official timeline for Berlin gets a little dicey as it varies based upon source.  As all material published in German is official for Europe through Pegasus but because some sourcebooks are unique to only the European market not all of that material is official published elsewhere.

I'm still curious though as I will use things if they are cool enough for my liking.  :P

Hm. If it's only for the published material I'm certain I could find a way to ship it to you. If it's available here somewhere, that is.
If it's about digging out the cool stuff from the mentioned website... I fear I need a little more information on what you're looking for. News, people, locations...? I could offer to translate some of the stuff I consider interesting, but that doesn't have to be the kind of stuff you're looking for...

That's the problem I often don't know what I am looking for until it catches my eye.

However, the history of the region and Berlin if they have both and the timeline up to their current year is a definite.

A sample of what you find interesting and one of each (News, Person, Location) would be great.  Thanks.

I think mainly besides that I am interested most in its transition from the Flux State in the 60's up through the Crash 2.0 into what it has become today.

I'll see what I can do :)
Though the official timeline of Berlin seems to be hidden in a rulebook that's out of print. One could still buy it via amazon, but they want at least 40 euros for it.

You might be able to find it as a PDF.

One other note is that the German German SR sourcebook will conflict and contradict somewhat with the US German SR sourcebook.

Seems the Germans didn't like so much of German becoming a toxic wasteland ala SOX, so they had FRANCE become more of a toxic wasteland.

Both France and Germany did become toxic as per the S.O.X. As published in the original material but they did go on to publish two special sourcebooks with campaign scenarios in them about the S.O.X.

If I recall correctly the German S.O.X. sourcebook was done by the company that had the license prior to Pegasus and another company was given permission to do a special sourcebook with campaign detailing the France side of the S.O.X.  Each written in their native tongue.

They also published roughly a score more novels before that stopped after the license expired for novel publishing in the Western hemisphere for SR.

There are a number of discrepancies between the publications and a fair amount special material added in the European versions of a number of the core and source materials that they had permission to add for that customer base.

Depending on which company did the publishing it varies in quality from extremely bad to awesome for the fluff and usually uber-munch for the gear.

I've considered at times about getting the special books in pdf.  I'd have to bone up on my German again.  Main reason I've delayed is I could see it being an "Ooohhh Shiny" distraction. Laugh.

I don't know if I will be posting much tonight.  However for those waiting on posts from me I promise to respond to them tomorrow at the latest.

For those I am waiting on, please post away.

Just as a point of interest; FotP now has the most posts of any active SR game on Rpol.

Woot! Woot!

As a reminder to all spellcasters, I am using the optional rule that increases the drain on damage spells by every net hit applied.

I thought I had a rules thread up but apparently I am thinking of one of my other games so I will be posting one shortly and adding to it as I recall which options are in use.

So does that mean we could choose not to apply the net hits to the damage and therefore reduce Drain?

Damn, dude.
That optional rule is garbage. Drain on direct damage spells needs to be significantly reduced if I'm going to get hammered for getting a good roll on my Spellcasting test.

Yes.  You can choose not to apply the net hits beyond the one required to succeed at casting.

In my experience using the rule it just changes the style and choices focusing more on the use of force initially.

No it doesn't. It just means combat mages decide to get better with guns and grenades!

I know you've never mentioned this rule here since I joined the game. If you had, it would have set me off like it is right now.

I might be OK with this rule if this were tabletop, but on RPOL with the dice roller, that rule is a deal breaker for me.

Good rolls are few and far between to start with and rarely on things you need them on. Now if I manage to get a good roll when I toss off a Stunbolt or Stunball, I'm penalized for it by getting more drain and hoping that the dice roller won't choke on me? Nope.

Keep in mind it is net successes and you do not have to apply all of them.

In play it changes the casting of most spells by 1 or 2 points of force to compensate for the choice not to use all net hits.

I'm with Dwight here on this one. It penalizes spellcasters for doing well. We designed the characters to fill a specific niche and then this rule makes playing in that niche less fun.

And it doesn't really make sense. Casting a spell exceedingly well should not harm you more. That's essentially what a high number of hits means. Its feels like penalizing characters for playing their characters.

This is where I enjoyed 2nd Ed spellcasting where aoe spells couldn't be 'shaped around friendlies, and your radius was dependant on your Force x Successes. Really made mages think twice about where they're placing their center, as well as how much Force they put in.

I need to trade in my Stunball spell for stun grenades and Stunbolt for a Narcojet pistol. I get to apply all my successes on both without any penalty.

Now if I cast a Force 6 Stunball, I have base Drain of 4. If I max out and get 6 or more hits, and one target chokes and gets no hits on resistance why am I getting screwed by either eating 10 Drain or reducing my hits and thus my degree of success?

All that rule does is make all direct combat spells absolutely worthless and removes any magic option of nonlethal combat.

What prompted this sudden change of heart with regards to this rule?

Only if you use all net hits.

I've used this rule since it came about in 4A for a number of reasons and I will go back through and check but I am certain I mentioned it at some point.

Magic is supposed to be rare and is supposed to be draining.  Without this rule unless you blow it a mage casts all day long and owns all combats.

You cast at Force with your spellcasting pool of x dice where x is often 8+ dice.  The Force is your base damage.  You cast at Force 6 and succeed with 1 net hit that is 7 damage that cannot be resisted.

The resistance test is on the spellcasting test.  Most NPCs will resist a stun spell to use the example with 3 or 4 dice and maybe counterspelling if a mage is around so odds are the spell succeeds.  The NPC takes 7+ damage.  A ball spell will generally put everyone close to on the ground if not on the ground within its radius.

Every other test for damage gives you both the ability to dodge it and then absorb it.  Spellcasting unless it is elemental combat usually does not.

You get one or two spellcasters with increased reflexes and there is no point in ever having any other combat types as the combat is over before the true specialists ever get a chance.  In SR Missions I have seen that time and again as have a number of other Agents.

I don't run every encounter with ways to counter it so that everyone gets a chance to participate or boost the numbers to the point where a team is fighting a platoon just to do the same.  But many were.  I tried that on tabletop to put in certain counters as many players were unhappy that the battle was over before they ever hit their first action. I was left unsatisfied because then I had the mage players bitching at the table because they couldn't just drop everyone with a flick and multi-cast spells and I really disliked having to build in stop-gaps to give six other players a chance to enjoy themselves.  Until this rule came in and even then mages still devastate and usually rule the field.

I am not one of the proponents that will ever be convinced that mages, techno's or adepts are too weak as they are.  They like 1st edition monks and bards from D&D build into their power with no built in cap.  Every other profession has a cap limit in Shadowrun so they balanced that with an attempt to allow them to shine with the introduction of that option in 4A.

However, I clearly did not lay this out or it may have been forgotten so I will withdraw the clarification.  We will leave this option out.  That said if it turns out that the situation plays out like it usually does then I will put things in place to give others a chance to be a part of the combat.

The problem with that rule is that it essentially punishes the player for rolling well.  It doesn't stop some of the other cheap tricks open to direct spells either.

What I've found works better is to simply increase the base drain on direct combat spells.  Instead of Force/2, use straight Force. This is more transparent to the player, and allows them to see how much drain they're facing in advance.  The extra successes = extra drain rule is a bit of a blindside, which is why a lot of players didn't like it.

I found mages to be irritating as a GM simply for their versatility and the player's creativity. So not irritating in a bad way so much as just not being able to keep up with several different character concepts at once. They introduction of Mystic Adepts, and the crazy amount of power levels now open to Physads in 5th Edition has me shaking my head however.

Really, keeping mages rare needs to start at character creation with a higher cost in Build Points/Priority, and that's been more on the designers themselves than any one GM. Mages are breaking the laws of physics and should be powerful. But it's also why I tell myself why I don't play them often.

Mystic adepts, in SR3 and 4, were not so terrible.  Having to split your magic was a big cost, and needing double the skills was a huge setback.  In 5e, they're insane, even with the errata.  (Without the errata, they're flat-out overpowered.)  I'm thinking the designers stopped wanting Shadowrun and started wanting Magicrun, especially with some of the tricks from Shadow Spells and Street Grimoire.

The extra drain only applies if/when the castor chooses to add the net hits to the damage.  No blindsiding that I can see there.  Roll the spellcasting pool, and specify the maximum number of net hits you will use.  Even put that limit right in the comments for the dice roller.  Specify 0 added hits, and you will know exactly what the drain will be.  For any specified number of net hits used/allowed, you can tell what the maximum drain will be, if there are actually that many net, because the target rolled poorly.

@Shaman, I am unclear though how this should work with an area spell that has potentially many targets, each with their own resistance roll.  If one glitches, and another completely resists, what 'counts' as net hits, since there is only one drain for the spell?

Public demos one cannot turn any build away as long as it is legal.  So you can end up with seven plus magicians at a table.

I have and can work around that but it gets a bit old after awhile especially given some player types.

In 4th and now 5th edition the current design structure is the belief that these professions are under-powered because no campaigns go longer than six to eight months on average and players should be able to power up quickly.

The problem with that is after only a short time then all other professions are (if you play by the numbers which you have to in public) in the dust.

If you're planning on playing characters for a short campaign or a couple sessions before creating new ones, I'm sure everyone is relatively balanced. Playing characters with any sort of longevity though, Mystic Adepts are the creme ala creme. Casting spells, physad abilities, initiation, enchanted tattoos, 20 Larma a power point, and then throw in some cyber to cover what few bases are actually left and you're pretty much god-like.

With wireless rules, sammies might as well hang up their katana because you'll never compete. Essence caps, availability, and being flat out hacked aren't worth the benefits.

Best to use an example.  Cast a stunball with 3 hits on the spellcasting test.  Mook #1 gets 0 hits resisting.  Mook #2 gets 1.  Magician can choose to use all three net hits gaining +3 drain to his drain resistance and on a Force 6 spell causing 9 stun and 8 stun on the targets respectively.

Or he decides to apply 1 net hit so the drain test becomes +1 more hit effectively using 2 of his three hits to get the one net hit but both mooks take 7 stun.

You see those character types start outstripping the others within twenty-five karma especially in 4th where the focus was on ultra-specialization where previous editions focused more on a certain amount of generalization.

As a GM I can push the focus to encourage players to generalize and often do.  It prolongs players from building the power kings and queens often seen in 4th.  5th remains to be seen to some degree but I suspect that it will work out much the same.

Not in 5e.  Adepts start out more powerful than almost every comparable mundane, and only get worse from there.  Because you can trade metamagic for PP, an adept can choose which option is cheapest at any given time, so they advance very quickly.

The problem with the increased damage = increased Drain rules is that it encourages overcasting.  If I recall correctly, overcasting a stunball at force 10 only increases the drain by 2, while casting at 5 and adding 5 successes raises the drain by 5.  It just causes an escalation, and doesn't fix anything.

It's an escalation from a different approach though which usually causes players to pause and consider whether or not to cast or save it rather than solve everything by dropping a ball on it.

5e embraces the concept but maintains a level of management that works better so far in play.

I agree on the adepts though that little ability may be errata soon regarding the whole double up they get.  We will see.

I doubt they're going to fix it, they've had enough time to reflect, and with two magic books out they've had plenty of chances.  Fixing mystic adepts was likely as far as they'll go.

But as far as stunballs go, you'll just see more overcasting.  By throwing it at force 10, they face less drain and a more certain chance of dropping enemies.

Possibly not but errata is an ongoing thing that usually takes far longer to be finalized than one expects.

I've actually found in the last year or so that the average force level on a spell has only changed by one or two points as the drain system encourages magicians to cast at a higher force level but the players are more restrained about going big.

*shrug* I am sure it varies based upon each community.

The 5e errata is already out, and due to be incorporated into the next print run.  It's not going to change, even though they did fix mystic adepts with it.

See, I was a proofreader for 5e, and while I'm under an NDA for specifics, I can say that there are a fair number of errors in 5e that we caught.  For some reason, none of our corrections actually made it to the finished product.

Errata is an ongoing thing.  This I know as I have had NDA's with FASA, FanPro and currently with CGL.  It is also why I have been vague in the discussion.

I am currently a playtester for 5th.  I have playtested and proofed for 3rd and 4th and done a brief amount of work on 2nd.

I was a FanPro Commando and am currently a team leader for the CDT demo program.  I have also written for Missions.

I have a similar set with Battletech.

Karma awards have been posted as we just passed our Three Year Anniversary since I rebooted this game.

Karma spends will be allowed after the end of all current scenes as each team is a tad busy at the moment.

I had a funeral to attend yesterday.  Posts will be out later today.

This weekend is going to be fairly busy so posting will likely slow down until Monday but I will see what I can do to keep our pace.

So how many Friends in a Melee does this guy have?

Happy Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone who is celebrating this weekend had a great one.

Posts are out for what I can respond to.

I have seen this done in other games so I am curious would anyone want to have their own blog/diary thread to post to about events?

Worth exploring at least.  I assume you mean the wiki that rpol added awhile ago.  Or did you mean obsidian portal?  It should also make a good place for scene elements.  Like the information that Radar was collecting from the legwork.  Some things might be able to be collected together, and appended to over time as additional information is acquired.  For the raw data, it might be a better place than in the main posts.  The post just needs to say what, the wiki could have the details for reference.  If it is practical to link from post to wiki page.

For rpol, the regular character blog/diary has been mostly included in the posted thought stream.  I started a diary for some of the table top event, but ended up dropping it.  To often, I do not end up with enough details in my notes to properly create it after the fact.  Here, the details would be in the posts, so that part would be much easier.

The wiki I am still debating whether to use it or not to share public data and other material.  As that would be yet one more page that would need to be referenced.

I was considering more just a new thread within this forum that people could post to as a personal character blog.  With the possibility afterward of unveiling the blogs after this arc is over.  Some players like to do that so I thought I would check for interest here.

Granted that's in the future.  At what point depends on the posting rate.

As some of you know most of the games I run are games I have picked up the mantle from a GM that has dropped the game.  Rarely do I run a game that is purely my own.  One of the very first games I ever did this for was a Wheel of Time Game.

It began 11 years and just over 7 months ago.  I took it over with another a short time later and then took it over fully about a year after that.  They too have dealt with my absences from health and other issues over that time and the players stuck with the game.

I am very proud to say as of this evening that campaign came to its climactic conclusion with the original characters reaching between 18th and 19th level at the end.  Newer PCs reaching between 17th and 18th level.

This is the first campaign that I have been involved in that has reached a conclusion instead of just being dropped so please forgive me if I brag a little with the players of what is my second most successful game overall and my most successful game that is my own originally.

I hope to be able to say that about this campaign one day.  Though possibly not with the same period of time required to come to completion.  ;-)

Congratulations, Fearless Leader.

At least for forum based games.  LoL!  I did have one purely by email game make it to its climax and conclusion.

Good news indeed!

Posts tomorrow.  I just got in from running a rather long ATOW demo that was awesome!  Planning to go do that silly sleep thing now.

In reply to Shaman (msg # 201):

Nice! Congratz, must be a good feeling to see it come to a full conclusion of the campaign. That doesn't happen often (live or online games).
This message was last edited by the player at 12:52, Fri 17 Oct 2014.

It does.  Gives me additional motivation for my other games.

Between work and SRO, tonight has been rather distractedly busy but in a very good way.

Definitely if you are not already in on the testing for SRO, get it when it goes public in 2015.  :)  It just keeps getting better and better.

Ironically in roughly an hour will be when I originally started this game in 2009.  It was shelved in its first iteration until earlier this month in 2011.

I am very proud of how this game has since turned out and how it is now progressing.  Thank you all for being a part of this second iteration.

Already a backer for SRO, still waiting for my minis and Boston sourcebook.

I shared some of the artwork for Lockdown on my Facebook page awhile back.

Most of the physical benefits will come after the official launch of the product in 2015 Q1 if I recall the newsletter correctly.  However, the Lockdown book may be sent out shortly after completion, there are some things that need to be ironed out before then so there are no guarantees.  I e-mailed Cliffhanger Support about this very thing after the last newsletter and that was their response regarding Lockdown.

Posts will go up later tonight now that the weekend is over.

Posts will have to wait until tomorrow.  Some stuff came up tonight that I have been dealing with.

Hope nothing too serious.

And happy halloween folks!

Serious enough.  Family situation.  It is going to be at least until Tuesday before I can focus on being creative with posts.

Sorry all,

Things blew up further since my last post and needed to be dealt with.  Time kind of got away from me and I need a couple of more days to deal with the backlog at work.  I'll be back by the end of the week at the latest.

It's been a month to put it politely.  I haven't had much energy except for the few nonsensical things that help keep my sanity in place but things are calming after a fashion.

Hey, between holidays and real life it's always a hectic but you've got a full plate. Be well and get back to us when you're ready. (Ell & Cherri... ;-) )

Playing catch up now.

Though I suspect I will be finishing tomorrow.

Getting caught up on the rest this evening. I unfortunately did not have time this afternoon as I had hoped.

I believe I have covered everything now except for Sideswipe's most recent posts.  The new chapter is up for Jack's group.  I think we have the ball rolling again.

Thanks everyone.

With the holidays now basically upon us.  I do not expect heavy traffic on the site and a slow down to occur, most likely until the New Year.  If you can post that's cool.  If not, we all understand.

As it stands I likely will not be able to post again until Sunday.

The one holiday season when I have all the time in the world... :D

I am the Enterprise NCC-1701 no bloody A, B, C, D or E!

(As the Geek Flag flies.) Laugh.

Good episode. I especially like the conversation between Data and Mr. Scott at the bar.

Indeed.  It was the first thing I thought of when I saw that my next post would be 1701.

Posts are up though they don't cover all things as certain points right now are fluid.  I don't expect too much by way of response for the next few days but if you have the time and the motivation, take a crack.  ;-)

Try to do something nice, and eat 9 Drain. Playing altruistic characters is very difficult some days.

*Chuckle* Yes, it can wear you out.

Merry Christmas folks!

Merry Christmas Lars!  Though it is a bit early for my time zone.  May I ask what time zone your in?

Merry Christmas, Lars... and everyone else too!

Enjoy the holidays all!

Merry Christmas all, early or active.  Happy Holidays.

GMT but I celebrate Christmas more on the 24th than on the 25th.

Grin. That works.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

As noted elsewhere you have received a little Christmas karma from the Fixer Santa's little Elvish running team.

Each active player has received +5 Karma as a Christmas Present.  Spending will however need to wait for a bit unless noted privately in your tactical threads.  ;-)

If you are not already doing so can you please track your total karma spent in the game on your character sheets.

I picked up a head cold Boxing Day that had filled my head with cotton and mired my thought processes in a bog.  Today's the first day I'm feeling half-ways decent so I will be catching up on posts shortly.

However, I make no guarantee that something may not turn out quirky so if I do post in an odd manner that is not understandable please ask for me to clarify it.

Happy New Years, everyone!

Happy New Year Everyone from MST.  I hope 2015 is an awesome year for you all and I look forward to seeing how this game/story develops in the year to come.

Aye, happy new year indeed!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  May we all find success in our runs.  May the dice roller hear our pleas and grant mercy to us.

*chuckle*

I don't even want to hear this noise the way I've rolled lately. 2 successes on 14 dice WITH EDGE and a 3 on a d20.

There are reasons I curse the RNG of this site.

Happy New Year everyone!

And I'm right there with you Dwight.

I find once I have gained five levels in a d20 game the dice roller evens out. I have not figured out the trick yet for a SR game.

Though to date, my worst success was one five on 27 dice with Edge.  Hence the chuckle above.

Possibly my worst roll has to be botching a 22 dice soak roll with a mokele vs aggravated damage in an oWoD game. It was fatal, and the GM vastly overestimated my character because his damage was nowhere in the same zip code as his Soak.

Ouch.

Yeah. The thing attacking me was a gargoyle using the GM's own rules (he's a big time fan of Disney's Gargoyles and has no concept of play balance) which could basically spend Rage to increase Strength, and the game was a one-shot, so no one really acknowledged my character's death as a lot of people liked that character of mine.

It was a horrid roll though.

Hopefully the GM at least learned from it.

I have a documented string of fumbles in Shadowrun.  Every time I GM Shadowrun, I fumble at least once a session.  This is an unbroken, witnessed chain, going back to 1989.  Back then, you needed to roll all 1's-- the smallest was on 3 dice, the largest was on 13.  When 4.0 came out, I started fumbling more often, several times a session.  The new record was 21 dice-- not all 1's, but still a critical botch.  The players developed some new math to predict how often I'd fumble-- even when the odds were millions or more against, they could guess when the next fumble was coming.

So, in my games, million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.  :P

*chuckle* Nice.  That's helpful for the player group in theory.

No, he didn't. He doesn't ever take away anything worthwhile from much of anything.
It's sad really.

Before I stopped making the drive to game with him, he was falling into old bad habits again as a GM.

That's too bad.

 Lock is searching at the moment inside the jet, for what he is not sure but his sense of wrong is up and he would like to get out of here as soon as possible.

So ours is not the only team feeling paranoid.

I can think of a game I am in that is hitting the paranoia button a lot harder.  I'm fully expecting to die in that game.

In case it is not apparent yet I run a dynamic game.  Certain things happen at certain times unless disrupted and other things are ongoing which happen in the background that may or may not have an impact on any one team's current situation.

Also as a friendly reminder, scenes range in challenge from the simple to the difficult and there can be times where the danger is significant even lethal.  Death is a possible outcome at any time and a team's or individual's choice can play a large factor in whether that becomes a finality.  Those situations in theory should be rare but as I have recently witnessed in another game, a team's choice to buck the odds and try to deal with the escalating security rather than run when they had the chance I thought it would be good to be clear on the matter.

That said it may not hurt to read over Burning Edge and the Hand of God rule as I do allow my players to make use of that but if they do they will be scarred in some manner by the near death experience.   This could be the loss of a limb, being assigned a negative quality or some other thing that is appropriate to the event.

This will be posted in the rules thread as well.

This is not foreshadowing, just a measure of spelling it out before we are in the thick of it to avoid what is now happening in that other game.  I am not the GM or a player just a lurker in that game.

While no one wants a character to die Shadowrun is a game where death is a very distinct possibility.

Posting is done for tonight.  Time to see if sleep cannot finally remove this illness once and for all.

Posts are up.  Though in some cases I am waiting to see how you proceed before I can post again.

I'll post when I can.  At the moment it is entirely electric.

Well at least someone is getting a charge out of your situation.  ;-)

Congratulations everyone!  We hit 5000 posts tonight.  Every active character has received 5 karma for hitting this awesome benchmark.  You will be able to spend it after the end of your current scenes!

Thank you all for participating!!!

Cool!

My cable company still hasn't fixed the cable, 24 days and counting, and they decided to screw Internet access too. I'm on iPhone until further notice.

Not fun.  Time to kick some ass with your provider.

Good luck Dwight.

I will be getting caught up tomorrow.  Today has not been what I had hoped for with respect to time for Rpol.

My Interweb access is back for now.

I posted last night from the local McDonald's...and then my car battery died. It was only 7 or 8 years old.

Not fun.  Sorry to hear that Dwight.

Wasn't that bad. One of my local friends saw my post on FB. We tried boosting it, then when that didn't work, he gave me a ride home.

I gave the guy that sold me my last battery grief for selling me a bum battery (when he worked for a local auto parts store that went out of business years ago) and got a new one.

Problem solved.

Good.

Still a pain in the ass.

FYI This is the semester start and I'm swamped at work. I will be slow in responding for the next couple of days.

Thanks for the heads up Gate.

It's been an interesting series of posts to read tonight all.  Thanks for the entertainment.  I am going to call it a night though.

I may not get much in tomorrow as I have family coming to visit and I need to post in my other games.  I am quite happy with our progress.

 Looking over the char sheet he does have a control rig but i am thinking its for the spy drones.

 He does have a suv(not here) but not a bulldog.

A control rig will work with any rigger enabled device.  Drones normally are enabled.  Vehicles can be.  Buildings can be too.  That is what a spider works with.

I / Radar did not check if any of these are.  If not, it will be commanding, instead of 'wearing' the vehicle.

GM?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:46, Thu 15 Jan 2015.

I am not entirely sure what you are asking here Radar but if it is whether or not they are rigged I will give you that from your previous rooting around in their systems rather than make for an in-game check.  None of the vehicles here are rigged.

Also, discussions like this would be better served posted in your team's tactical threads as that is partly why they are there.  Otherwise we are searching multiple threads.

Please post such team specific discussions in those threads so we can avoid cluttering the bandwidth of the general threads.  Besides certain discussions may reveal information to other teams that could be possible spoilers.

Posted where I could.  Waiting on some PC tests or posts for actions.

Just a reminder, please track your expendables.

I want to say thank you all.

This game has been rebooted only once.  Though it has had its ups and downs as well as its delays.

But I realized today that I was feeling good about all my games here and wanted to say thank you for helping bring back the magic.

I am considering changing the game rating to Mature given some of the concepts the various teams are exploring.  Would anyone here have an issue with that change?

I think all SR games should be Mature myself.

Shrug.  Doesn’t mater.

Fine with me. I just prefer to avoid Adult.

Yeah, same.

I'm all for Mature, but for some reason, Adult here seems to be code for "let's do graphic sex scenes for no reason whatsoever."

It's kinda stupid.

And that's why I avoid those games.

It's also about extreme graphic violence and while I can get descriptive I don't go to that level as it often involves torture and worse.

I'm okay with mature.

mature is okay with me.

Whatever suits, my friend. I care little.

I'm okay with whatever. Work's got me pinned down for a bit though.

Question is, if my baby (2 months old) is with me at the computer, is he allowed to read it when it's rated mature? ;)

Good to know Redline.  I was beginning to wonder about your silence.

If your baby has the intelligence and capacity to read what is written and understand the material at hand ... well, it is still your call as the parent whether he is allowed or not.  ;-)
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:57, Sun 25 Jan 2015.

First chance to even shower since Thursday. Will catch up when I have time to think. Just carry on.

Ouch.  I'll do a bit of a quick post for you then and you can catch up when time allows Redline.

Well, if he can read he hasn't told me so, yet ;)

*hands Redline a cup of coffee*

*chuckle*  Could be a good secret to keep for awhile.

Mature is fine with me.

I just need to hear from Lock then we can lock the decision in.  ;-)

 Msg #299 in the main thread. Posted this morning.

 As far as Mature rating?, doesn't matter over much to me, i have no intention of going that far..other then blowing apart mech warriors in the most gruesome ways modern warfare can devise.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:57, Tue 27 Jan 2015.

mech warriors?

I haven't heard of that in Shadowrun.

Alright.  Thanks for giving me the option if I feel it is becoming necessary based upon the paths all of you are traveling.

I'll drop a note if I am making the switch.  For the time being it is not yet needed.

Lock, are you in a game of BT/ATOW on here?

Sideswipe, presumably Lock is referring to Battletech and its accompanying RPG though there are other systems that use the term.  At its most basic, it refers to someone who pilots usually a combat vehicle that is often bipedal humanoid in shape and most non-players consider them as big stompy robots.

 Yah, nice Battle tech game, run by Kitten. Good game, sorry for that slip.

No worries.  Chaos and destruction does have its place within certain games.  It's not like SR is a stranger to such things.  :P

RL is very busy, I hope that I'll be able to post on Saturday

Busy. Will post tomorrow.

My router fried itself combined with life getting busy.  I may catch up tonight but it's been a long weekend with far too many gremlins so I'd bet more for tomorrow.

Okay, so I managed a second wind.  Posts are out.

My apologies.  I think I broke the dice roller.

7 hits on 7 dice.

And I thought I was doing good with the threading and Drain resistance.  6 of 10 and 7 of 12.

That's still pretty good given what I have seen from this dice roller.

I think my 2 hits on 14 Dice WITH EDGE (not a single 6 anywhere to be found) is my worst roll so far. It was that much worse that it was to resist 11 Drain.

I don't recall my best or worst.  Hopefully, you don't get any worse Dwight.

I've had better luck here than on the few d20 games I've been in. Unless it was Initiative, I hadn't been rolling over a 5.

I have an unbroken streak going on.  Every time I GM Shadowrun, I critically fumble at least once a session.  We're only a little into 2015, and I've already gotten one in.  This string goes back to the very first time I started GMing... in 1989.  That's right, I have a 26 year streak of bad luck, and it's going strong!

I'm sure the players appreciate it. ;-)

The main updates will be later tonight.  I am heading out shortly to see "American Sniper" and perhaps "Birdman".

Ah! Too many editions in my head!

I know!!! LOL!

Postings will be going out later this evening.  This weekend ended up being focused elsewhere out of necessity.

Anyone else back Shadowrun: Hong Kong?

I tossed in $15. Even if I had the money, I'll never drop a grand on another KS game ever again.
SRR and Wasteland 2 aren't as good as they could have been.

I supported it.  I've spent hours in the original and plan to crack Dragonfalls: DC soon.

I want some of the extras 2, so I put in $35

I didn't have the money for extras.

I couldn't afford much either.  Even if I could I'm not sure I would put a lot of cash down on any KS.

I only went to Fixer.  I couldn't convince myself that above that was worth it.

I was pretty disappointed in Returns and SRO. I put in a bit for Shadowrun Online and it's not quite the concept I thought they were going for. I suppose they're better than the Microsoft game, but... Anyway. Still waiting on my Lockdown book and minis.

 I thought about trying to jump in on the fight but i am truly not a combat machine, and not shooting is most likely a good idea for Redline.

In reply to Lock (msg # 330):

FYI, that belonged in the tactical thread

Lockdown finally went to layout and while it will eventually go into general sales, the plan is to get the book to the KS backers in advance to it hitting the shelves.  I mailed them awhile ago to ask about that.

I cannot speak to the miniatures.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:48, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

I talked to Shaman IRL tonight.  He says RL buried him, but he can see daylight again.  If no new avalanche, he plans to be back on rpol this weekend, or first thing next week.

I can verify this. I chatted with him the other day. He got hammered, but no one was complaining, so I saw no point in bringing it up.

We all know things hit hard around here.

Testing testing test test.

I'm against standardized tests.

Same here. It is far too easy to simply teach for the test. This results in no real learning on the part of the student. I want children to learn how to think critically and understand there is always more to the story.

Just to fill in any blanks, there WAS another avalanche.

Sounds about right.

Fearless Leader can't get a break.

That sucks donkey balls.

Indeed, I can see how RL can get in the way. My oldest son fell off a 200' cliff two weeks ago. A rescue copter had to get him. Not the way you want to make the newspaper. Some people lead a blessed life. He was beat to hell (scraps and bruises galore but none on head) but came out of it with only a hairline fracture in his ankle. Amazing. Truly blessed. He's a Geology major and was looking for rocks & fossils where they were.

Yeah, I ended up being interviewed on the news, because I waS there when this happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER5FZCidL5s

Some people just hate gamers...

but still wow.

Did the guy intentionally ram th store?

No, he was intoxicated.  A cop tried to pull him over, but the guy panicked, accelerated to somewhere around 85 MPH in about one block, then lost control.

OK. He was a dumbass that was drunk which makes him a double dumbass.

More high than drunk, I saw the cops search the car after he wrecked.  They pulled out a sizable bag of weed, but I didn't see any alcohol.

So, he was a cross-faded dumbass.

He was an idiot regardless. I'm amazed no one was killed or injured.

It has been way too long.  I am finally out from under on too many fronts and have energy again including creativity.  I am going through the posts tonight to get back in to frame where we were all at.

I know I lost at least one player and I cannot fault them for that though he left all of RPOL not just my game.  So who is still here?  Some posts will go out tonight but the plan is to get caught up over the week and get moving again.

Thank you all for your patience.  Can you please sound off whether you are still with me or if you are bowing out, presuming you are still lurking.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 05:17, Mon 18 May 2015.

Glad to have you back :)
I'm still here

I've been there.

Glad to have you back.

Here, though senses seem a little dull :)

Oh Radar?

No more posts for me tonight.  I will catch up with the remainder tomorrow.

In reply to Shaman (msg # 354):

Here!

Still here as well.

<grin>
Just think of the environment Radar has been stuck in for awhile now :)

Welcome back Shaman! Hope all is well with you.

Aye.

Struggling with RL issues, but I'll do my best.

I certainly can relate Crispy though for very different reasons.  My thoughts go with you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:24, Mon 18 May 2015.

I'm still with you. Unfortunately this week is going to be slow for me. Work and other things are conspiring to keep me away from RPoL.

Slow is still movement and given my movement for the last few months I am just happy that I am posting again and didn't go the other direction.

Hey, welcome back! Still here, anxious to get back in the groove!

I still need a nap.

That could become a mantra for many Dwight.  :)

Catch some z's Dwight.  Looks like things are under control for now.  If you feel like doing some in game posting, it can be your dreams :)
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Tue 19 May 2015.

That all depends on the timing.  :P