We were getting close to the limit on the last one, so time for a new one.

Hopefully the world will shift to a more pleasant meaning for the subject by the time this thread closes...

Has combat ended? What sort of wound are we looking at in regards to target numbers for a Heal spell?

Well, Dr. Al-mansour and Bichu look like they might be about to ramp things up, but so far you haven't identified any external threats.  No need for initiative at the moment.

Dr. Saunders appears to have a moderate wound.

BTW, ZERO stress on pacing. My work schedule was crazy enough. Full-time office/family time has not been helping.

In reply to Hairy (msg # 4):

Here, here.  With all that's going on, free time is at an all time low.  Don't feel the need to push things forward if you're in the same state

I am moving this weekend. Just as a heads up, I will be packing away my desktop computer soon, so it may be up to a week before I can post from anywhere but my phone. Hopefully it doesn't cause any major issues, but I thought I would mention it.

Wishing you sunny skies and COVID-free movers :)

Yeah, have a safe move!

Moving somewhere fun I hope!

Haha, okay, so I’m actually moving this weekend, go figure. However, once I’m back I plan on investing a lot more time into my posts and getting back into this game. I’ve been pretty busy with work, but things have cleared up a bit.

How went the move?

It went well. Thanks for you guys’ patience in allowing me to get my bearings. By the way, small easter egg- Duck was roughly quoting Arnold with that last line- https://youtu.be/1XHItkOOPCQ

Also, personal opinion here, not sure how much longer we have left on this adventure but it seems less complex than the last one for sure. Dreamchipper had all these different elements to it and variables on what we could do, it seemed like. With this one it seems a bit more railroaded? Like the same outcomes are going to happen regardless of what we do and our only real variable here is how many scientists the oompah loompahs drag away. Not a fan of it, personally. I hope we get to do more Shadowrun-type stuff with the next one.

Point taken - it is a bit railroady.  It does allow some variation, but certain key elements sort of happen regardless.  You're getting toward the end.

(And glad the move went well :) )

As someone who recently was railroaded into a new job, am working too many hours and helping two kids with remote schooling... I'm really doing okay with a simple, straightforward plot :P The only other game I'm in is a Call of Cthulhu game (fortunately, also run by exhausted parents). We usually get two game posts and then the poor GM has to restate the whole plot for us.

For those who could use one - Plot summary: Get some fruity things while evaluating whether the jungle or clients are creating more misery... :>

Definitely the clients. :-P

Sorry for being so slow to get a post out - took 2 weeks vacation and took a bit to catch up - but I should have given you guys notice.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 17):

Not a problem, we're all slow to respond these days

You're totally good. The world has turned upside down, the last thing I need is for my fun time to turn into a time-set chore.

How’s everyone doing? Been awhile since I’ve seen anyone post in. Everything okay with you folks?

Im still good. Same as I usually am.

It's been a busy summer of rushed deadlines and endless webmeetings.  I'll be happy once a few more deadlines pass and I can pay attention to things outside work.

Sorry all.  3 weeks of back-to-back (virtual) conferences as well as impending (and unmet) deadlines have sort of been all-consuming.  I'll give Kate 24 hours to declare an action and roll initiative and then I'll move things along.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 23):

Sorry things have been so busy for you DX. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m happy to. I am glad to see you guys are all okay though.

If you know any time magic, that'd be awesome.  Other than that, unfortunately not much anyone can do to assist.  I'm fine - just uber-busy. :)

Thanks for the poke though.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 25):

I learned the magic of Delegation.  It's a 8th level spell and makes things so much better!

I'm using it where I can :)

I'm going to wait for Hairy's reaction before my next so that I can decide how severe Kate is going to react to "Troga" and the shot.

Yeah, being an adult sucks some times, although it looks like my 'game-sense' is still running strong! Kids started school-at-home. 11am today that meant finding out why one was still in bed, and the other was watching the Office.

I'll give a few more days for people to say what they're doing and will try to post an update this weekend.

Okay, Kate is pissed and going to cast Wreck Gun (this round).  Can I get a a ruling on the Object Resistance?  The rule book (pg 182) says low tech objects are a 5 and high are an 8.

Definitely an 8

Hairy has complete faith that Duck is going to wreck this guy. (As a player, I have faith Kate will, but Hairy hasn't quite seen her in action yet.) So Hairy's goal is to hoist the doctor and dash into the jungle, putting as few holes in both of them as possible.

Well shucks, Duck DOES plan on wrecking the guy...thanks for your vote of confidence, haha.

Been awhile since we’ve had a good ol combat. Question- is my combat pool refreshed this turn? I forgot all about that mechanic and I’d like to dump some points into my next attack.

Yes.  It refreshes each combat turn - but not each action phase.

Okay cool, wanted to make sure this was a turn and not a phase.

There's only one target. Drop 'em!

The note that Kate's having a hard time with the mana in the area, what does that mean?  Harder target numbers, fewer dice pool, that annoying feeling when things are too humid and you're trying to sleep?

Definitely the third, but also a background count of 2.  Impacts you, but not Caduceus for some reason...

Darn spirits and their not wanting the jungle to burn to the ground.  So selfish.

It's not as though they'd ever had any negative experiences with fire...

Let's see how this fireball situation resolves before I make my post.

It's not obvious to me that you'd be able to see what Kate's about to do White Duck?  In general all actions get declared simultaneously and resolved in order of initiative.  If you had an IC reason to coordinate, you could hold action.  Otherwise, tell me what you're up to :)

Oh, it’s not so much action timing as not wanting to have to make a post punching the guy if kate’s hit downed him. I see your point though, will post when I can.

Just a friendly keep-alive.  I hope everyone's doing just that...

No worries about slow posting rate.  This is crazy season at the best of times, and this year ups 'crazy' by an order of magnitude.  Just get one in when you can.  (I believe we're waiting for WD and Kate?)

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 46):

I didn't know you were waiting for me.  I'll put an update.

Happy Holidays everyone.  Sorry for going AWOL for most of December.  Work hit a peak and when that was done, I had some heavy-duty work to do in Minecraft to prepare some promised in-game gifts for my boys.  I should now be back to a more regular posting schedule.  (Totally ok if you guys aren't yet.

Hope all of you are enjoying a bit of downtime right now.

Happy New Year all.  Hope you got a bit of a mental break over the holiday season.

+2 Karma to get everyone off to a positive start.  (This year seems deserving of a boost some-how...)

At the moment, primarily waiting for next actions from White Duck and Caduceus.  If Hairy and/or Kate want to do anything other than just keep walking, feel free to post that too, though I don't know that either of you really have a clue where you're trying to go other than "try to follow the river, don't get too close to the river, and try not to step in or meet anything overly nasty..."  If you have any other intentions, holler.

No pressure on responding, just figured a keep-alive post was in order.

Duck is weighing whether or not to ambush them or if Cadeuces can levitate us again. After I find that out I’ve got my post(s) ready. Thanks for the karma!

I will do my best to get a post up within the next 24 hours. Caduceus can probably use Levitate on at least one target, but probably can't levitate everyone. It also restricts what else he can do if he needs to concentrate on the spell. For instance, he wouldn't be able to conjure additional spirits.

I'm curious about those Minecraft gifts!

Things have been a little topsy-turvy here in the DeeCee suburbs. Glad to hear people are still doing well (if a little swamped).

Presents constructed of slime blocks and redstone blocks ribbons and lapus block bows containing chests with various goodies.  (Which involved building a slime farm and a bunch of other work.)  They were happy :)

2021 does look like it's trying to ensure it's at least as memorable as 2020 was...  Stay safe.

WD, Caduceus has posted, so I think we're waiting on you :)

Yep, sorry, moved this week. Will be posting first thing tomorrow, sorry for the delay folks.

Moving's a good excuse :)

Enjoy your new place!

Think we're just waiting on Hairy.  If I haven't heard by end of week, I'll assume he goes along with Kate's plan.  (Though I'm not totally clear on Kate's plan - stash them where/how?)

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 57):

You're assuming she's thinking of more than in a bush nearby...

Still waiting for clarification on White Duck's actions and decision from Hairy & Kate.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 59):

Hairy talked to the clients and asked what they wanted to do.  Still waiting on them

Wanted to share a Kickstarter that may have appeal for some of you :>
https://www.kickstarter.com/pr.../dungeon-alchemisttm

I'll try to get out a post before end of weekend.

These private messages are confusing.  Hairy just replied to Kate with information but I didn't see the GM's message to Hairy so I'm out of the loop.

Can we make sure that private messages from the GM are to all the people in that group?

Also, can Kate be included in the last message to Hairy?

Ooh.  Sorry about that.  You *were* actually included, but apparently my syntax was wrong.  I separated names with commas, and apparently RPOL needs semi-colons.  Unfortunately, the RPOL behavior appears to be to ignore everything after the comma.  I've updated and flagged the posts that I changed.  (White Duck may have missed some info too.)

I did not get anything new up over the weekend as planned and the way the week is going, probably won't until mid-week.  Let me know if the new info changes anything you say or do.

Sigh.  That took much longer than planned.  Sorry all.  Appreciate your patience.

Apologies are never necessary on that count ;) I will regularly have a few weeks of non-stop chaos, and when things slow down the last thing I want is to feel guilty because of a game! I appreciate this being a game paced by working adults (except when I am not working, then everyone should feel guilty for not posting immediately :P )

I was accidentally given the private message for both White Duck and myself. May want to fix that so White Duck knows what happened to him.

That would have made responding a bit harder :)  At least now you know you're not the only person having a good time...

Two things, 1. how far am I from the combat mage (if I can tell)? 2, what did Hairy say?  I can't read the message and I should be close enough to hear.

Are you referring to post #167?  Hairy sent that as a PM to you.  I checked the formatting and it looks good, so you SHOULD be able to see it.  (He wants you to toss a grenade and he's about to lay down some covering fire.)

Provided that White Duck hasn't moved from where you left him, he's probably about 60 meters or so down the winding trail.  Presumably the 'combat mage' is close to that point.  Whoever's shooting at Caduceus is about 10 meters away and is between you and where White Duck was.

Grenade?  Like she has a grenade...

This message was deleted by the player at 14:23, Wed 05 May 2021.

Sorry I know this all probably comes across as grouchy as hell, but honestly the pandemic has left me feeling helpless as it is- I've lost loved ones and work both. The whole reason I roleplay is to have an *escape* from the rigors and challenges of reality, which can often make a person feel helpless, as I have been made to feel many times due to this. So, it's gotten personally frustrating for me to "escape" into a character that's in a similarly helpless situation.

It seems like all of these events that occurred between NPCS- hostile words, shootings, etc were gonna happen regardless of what we do, and it's really obvious to me as a player AND my character that something's up with this fruit and that's why people are dying. I mean, I've had Duck inspect the fruit and seemingly nothing's wrong with it but the wording has been so vague so that I am only guessing the reason nothing seems wrong with the fruit is to enhance the surprise of when it grows teeth and bites us or whatever the hell is the problem with it.

Guys, I'm still here, but FFS this is just playing out like a horror movie with too many jump scares in the first fifteen minutes, and we're an hour and a half in. I can only flinch so much, I can only jump so much. Can we please get back to playing Shadowrun? Pink Mohawk or Black Trenchcoat, I don't care, as long as it stops being a jungle themed 80's slasher flick I might be able to finally enjoy playing with you guys again.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:23, Wed 05 May 2021.

Before I respond in detail, a few things:
- grouchy is *ok* - the past year+ has royally sucked and it's not obvious that it's all going to magically snap back to "all better again".  I'm very sorry you've lost loved ones and that it's impacted your work life too.
- I'm not offended by anything in your most recent post nor your deleted post.  I'm willing to be called out when necessary and I acknowledge that it was necessary.
- thank you for telling me that you need things different
- I'm genuinely sorry you're not having fun.  The whole point of this is for everyone to have fun and it's my job as GM to foster that feeling for everyone.  I'm obviously not doing a great job.
- This isn't the first time you've shared that things felt somewhat sucky.  The fact things haven't gotten better means I haven't been putting enough energy into making them better and checking in with you more to ensure that things actually felt better.  I will commit to checking in more and working on the game until it feels enjoyable again (and stays that way).

I'll admit that I've been playing things out from a "logical consequences of situation and actions" perspective as opposed to a "what's going to have the players excited and coming back for more" perspective.  Intellectually, I know the importance of the latter, it just takes more work in a play-by-post environment and I haven't been putting in the work.
 I will change focus.

Personally, I find being in a nigh hopeless situation to be one of the attractive things about the Shadowrun space.  The world sucks, and it does its best to kick runners in the nads on a frequent basis.  Sometimes, despite best efforts, you're going to come out on the short end of the stick and survival itself counts as a major victory.  That can't be the *only* way it ever turns out or no-one would play.  But the fact there's always a real risk of failure makes the occasional victory that much more sweet.  Sometimes the sweetness just comes from pulling yourself into a standing position and spitting in the world's face.

However, it's increasingly obvious that that ethos probably works best in a faster paced game where the "I'm about to die sensation" is a reason for adrenaline to kick in and drive interest, rather than be dragged out over 6+ months where the adrenaline fades and survival turns into a very un-fun slog.  I wasn't paying attention to the impact of the pace of the game on the 'feel' of the game.  Again, my failure.

Please know that I *don't* get off on torturing PCs or watching you scurry like ants.  I want you to succeed - whether that's with a major victory or a skin of your teeth avoidance of catastrophe that leads to you promising to find your Johnson so you can carve out his liver with a rusty spoon.  I try not to fudge dice rolls, but won't kill someone unless their actions are genuinely begging for it.

For what it's worth, I don't think you're all going to die, though you're coming a bit closer than expected.  Fukuhara dying and a patrol showing up was railroading (i.e. a scripted point in the module).  Everything that's happened since is just natural consequence of player actions and reasonable actions of a jungle patrol.  Agree that it *is* a tough scenario.

The module is essentially a horror trope in a Shadowrun setting - complete with jump scares and harsh slog to survive.  I completely get that the fit of it isn't playing so well in the current Covid environment.

If we *do* play it out, I expect this particular combat will last another 2-3 turns.  At our current rate, that's probably a month and half or so.  Once that's done, there are no major significant obstacles to you finding your way back to civilization and getting healed/rested/cleaned up a bit, then on to home.  That'll probably take another month to get you on a plane and a bit more to get home.  (That said, my ability to estimate timelines sucks in all things, gaming related and not, so take that with several tablespoons of salt.)

At this point, we have a few options:
- if everyone else just wants this over with, I can simply narrate how the rest of this plays out and the rest of you can narrate how you deal with the outcome and we can close the book and move onto something different
- if a few people would like to play it out, I can try to accelerate things a bit and aim to have everyone out of the jungle in the next 2 to 3 weeks
- if most players aren't comfortable with acceleration (time is still a precious commodity, I know), I can temporarily NPC "White Duck in the jungle" (your character won't die) and run a short side-car adventure in a different thread and different timeline so that WD the player actually has something to look forward to when there's a new RPOL email in his inbox.  That offer extends to anyone else who's feeling similarly to Duck.
- I'm open to other ideas as well.

Papa/Hairy started this game almost 18 years ago and I've been playing for 15 of those.  I want it to continue and to continue to be fun for those who play.  I can't promise a whole lot more time, but other than that, I'm willing to change whatever's necessary.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 73):

Aww no DX, I REALLY don't think this is you. I don't know what module this is or where it's come from, but I really think my beef lies with it. I've been behind the screen plenty of times and when you run a module sometimes everyone can get pissed at you personally when you're just reading the script on your end.

I really LIKE the danger in Shadowrun. Building and developing a character in this game really means something when you have to put that character's well-being at risk. One of the things I like about making decisions as Duck is at times watching him say or do something I wouldn't do personally, but I think the thrill of danger comes from that risk being voluntarily and entirely of their own making at times, like the characters forgetting to cover a crucial element of a heist and then having to make a dramatic getaway. I think you're onto something when you talk about this particular module being a horror trope, as in this instance, instead of the troubles being mostly of our own make, it seems like nothing can be planned for, and whatever plans can be made are somehow ruined or foiled by either the environment of the completely uncooperative NPCs, who have seemed from the beginning like the cast of people who die in a horror movie. The module itself seems to be designed to make the players feel hopeless and worried at times. Problem is these PBP games happen in slow-mo compared to tabletop speed. Problems come up for me when I see Hairy, Cadeuces, and Kate, all characters I've come to like, in that cast while I'm realizing as a player that this is more and more becoming horror-themed. As for Duck, I play a hot headed guy who punches things to death in a setting with laser guns, magic, and dragons, so as much as I am fond of Duck, I know he's probably going to die at some point. I DO hope it's in a blaze of glory, not confused and wandering in a jungle.

So, a few thoughts:
I recently lost my aunt to COVID, had a real struggle with getting my mom vaccinated, and since we started this particular mod a few months BEFORE the pandemic, I can see why it would be kind of a cool, if tense, change of pace, but I think two factors played in-

1. COVID
2. The inherent delays caused in PBP games that can cause a module that would take up maybe three tabletop sessions in person to take about a year to play through in this format.

That said, I'm really sorry if I at all came across like my frustrations were with you personally. It's definitely not the case. Those two factors have just sort of worn me down. I'm not *happy* to play the rest of this out but like I said it's already been an hour and a half jump scare fest, I sure as hell am going to deal with the last thirty minutes of it just to get to the end of the film, but it's the module, not you at all, that's making things like ripping off a band-aid.

I am very glad to know it'll be over soon. Looking forward to finally spending some of my karma. Sorry my morale is flagging, but I'm not planning on going anywhere. I'd like to make a suggestion though- can the next run we do incorporate our character's skillsets to some extent? Objectively we are probably the most ill-suited team of contractors to hire for a jungle run, save Cadeuces who is apparently like some kind of superhero out here:P
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Wed 05 May 2021.

By the way, I just realized that I’ve been around roleplaying with you guys for nearly six years. You guys have been around through by far the toughest times of my life. I want y’all all to know that I appreciate the hell out of all of you.

I am sort of looking forward to a couple of years from now when your characters have just come off a major run and one of your fixers suggests a simple run in the jungle as a way to relax... :)

I did not hear any criticism of me personally.  But I'm happy to take ownership of my responsibility for ensuring everyone's having fun.  I'm always happy to learn what I can do better (or just have my attention called to things that I already have/should have learned but am not delivering on well).

This module was definitely designed to throw most runners well outside their comfort zones.  We can definitely ensure that the next module gives all of you more of a chance to shine.

I'll give it a few days for other folks to chime in with their perspectives.

(And hoping the next six years are much less tough.)

I'm the new kid on the block so I can't speak to the past 6 (or 15) years.  THis is a very different kind of SR campaign and I must admit that had I known it would be a jungle adventure, I probably wouldn't have played a fire elementalist.

That being said, the game has been fun for me and I only blame COVID for the "slogging" aspect. I think that if we hadn't been overwhelmed with work and family crisis, this would have been a fun module.  I think that if we get some semblance of normality back in our lives, we can get this back in the fun section of the gaming life.

For now, I think any module we play will have a harder time getting us engaged, simply because it's hard to switch from "life is a panic" mode to "game time" mode, at least for me.  So, while we fight off yet another incursion on our borrowed turf, I'm still enjoying this.

At least Kate got to set fire to something....

Yeah I think this is just the gaming equivalent of me asking "Are we there yet?"

Speaking of, GM, given your last post in the IC clarified a few things for me I'd like to amend my post, if that's ok?

Another question: I have enough Karma to initiate twice? Three times now? Not sure if you want to start prepping an ordeal for that or what, but that's the bread and butter of playing a physad, so I'm certainly looking forward to having some power points to play with.

Also, Duck is going to be extremely jealous if you guys have grenades, but probably would be throwing them very efficiently at plants right now.

Amend away.

You guys had formed your magical group - and managed to get Hairy tied into it.  I think an astral quest might be an interesting thing to embark on once you guys get home and recover.  Did you pay your karma cost for the creation of the group?  Because if so, then yah, you're certainly sitting on a shitload of karma...

Inefficiently throwing grenades at plants seems to be a thing...

Inefficiently throwing grenades for the win!

I haven't really had any big problems with this adventure yet, although as White Duck pointed out, Caduceus is basically a superhero in this place. However, it has felt like we haven't been given much chance to avoid any of the obstacles that have come up though. Like the scientists running off, or the creatures that attacked the boat, or our guide turning on us. Which I guess fits the sort of theme the module was going for, now that I know it was supposed to be horror-film-like.

I think my biggest issue has been the game system itself though. Even after playing in this Shadowrun game since January 2014, it has never really felt very intuitive for me. I still find myself having to study the rulebook every time I cast even a simple spell. Which is one of the big reasons it often takes me a while to get a post up (I do not have as much free time to study rulebooks as I did back in 2014). I still love the setting and the flavor of Shadowrun though.

If we are looking to get done with this adventure more quickly, perhaps we can post what we expect our characters to do for the next several minutes or something. Then put them on "autopilot" until a significantly unexpected event occurs that requires more player decisions.

Shadowrun definitely has a lot of crunch.  I'll admit that I have to hit the books every time I make a post.  But I also get excited thinking about probability curves.  If you're concerned about figuring things out too much, I'm happy to figure out that stuff for you.  And if you ever have questions about "based on the rules is this a smart thing or not so smart thing to do", I'm happy to advise on an OOC basis what the considerations are and what has reasonable odds of success vs. not.

An insight from your comment, this particular run has been quite light on 'typical' Shadowrun flavor, which may also be impacting enjoyment.  There's definitely a shortage of joyboys, go-gangs, soy noodles and smog out here.  (The humidity's about the same, but delivered in a different form... :>)

Oh geez... now I really feel old... Did you mean 1.5 years?

I'm doing fine with the current game. I don't mind changing it up either. All I really look for is a break from capital planning and IT tickets and quarterly anything. Also, not having to remember what I said last week :P So this has been a good way to escape here and again, remember what I was blasting, blast it, and then, unfortunately, dive back into work.

I recognize that GMing it is really tough. I definitely could not do it right now. And I recognize that this is a game designed around throwing a few hundred dice just to resolve three seconds of action. And that's tough for players too. So where-ever the compromise is on that spectrum, I'll be okay with it.

This is a good group. I'm enjoying my time with it. And I definitely appreciate the GMing sweat, DX.

Sorry for slow movement.  Kate, I'll give you a couple more days to post an action, then I'll make up something appropriate for you.  WD, I'm going to assume you're holding tight unless you say otherwise.

I don't know if it was, but if that last IC PM was meant for me, I am unable to see it.

Edit: Ignore. I thought DeusEx made the post, but it was Kate.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:15, Wed 09 June 2021.

A general heads-up: I'm on vacation from the 12th to 20th at a place with no internet and poor cell reception.  I'm hopeful my phone will still have internet and I'll certainly occasionally be in places with access, but my response rate may be lower than usual.  I probably won't get up a big post until I'm back, but I'll answer questions and move things along incrementally as I'm able.

Have a great vacation!

You can send me your turns by mail and I'll post them for you.

Have a great time!! Hopefully not too many bugs!

Anyone have any helpful suggestions on how to deal with the boatman? These are the potential options I could see working:

Cast Influence, telling him to go far away for a while.
Cast Trid Phantasm, probably making an illusion of the Force 11 river spirit he managed to conjure a few nights back.
Conjure a spirit. Forest, wind, and river all seem like potential options.
Use a different spell? Below are the other ones he knows. He also has an Expendable Spell Focus 2(Illusion) and an Expendable Spell Focus 2(Manipulation).

---

Mindlink - 2
Mind Probe - 6
Clairvoyance - 3

Healthy Glow – 2 (Exclusive, lowered cost)
Heal – 6
Stabilize – 4 (Exclusive, lowered cost)
Resist Pain - 2 (Exclusive, lowered cost)
Antidote - 2 (Exclusive, lowered cost)
Cure Disease - 2 (Exclusive, lowered cost)

Physical Mask – 6
Trid Phantasm – 6 (Exclusive, lowered force)
Stealth - 4

Influence – 6 (Exclusive, lowered force)
Levitate – 4
Magic Fingers – 2

Kate is really badly off on strain so the simple act of blowing up a boat would take all of it but if that saves us, she can blow all her dice.

Blowing up the boat could be the answer, as long as it has a good chance of working.

Another though I had was that I could conjure a river spirit and have it use its Engulf ability. I've never done that before, and it sounds like it would be fun. :-) Or at the very least, it would be extremely distracting to the shooter on the boat.

That's a better solution as it doesn't rely on accuracy ...

I'm back.  What's everyone doing?

I am thinking that conjuring a river spirit may be the way to go. How big of one would I probably need to conjure to realistically expect it to threaten an Engulf maneuver against the boat operator? Also, is it safe to assume that Caduceus would be able to reach a piece of the river without being seen in order to enter the river domain for conjuring purposes?

It shouldn't be hard for Caduceus to zoom, to a place where you could get to the river domain without being in the line-of-sight of the guard on the boat.

The spirit will be rolling its Force in a Melee attack.  Your spirits seem to be a bit more powerful here than what you actually summon.  If you want to just scare the guy and make him bug out, force 3-4 is probably enough to convince him to get out of dodge.  River water trying to force its way down your throat when you don't have any terribly effective way of fighting back and the rest of your team is non-responsive isn't great for morale.  If you want to ensure he gets knocked out so you can commandeer the boat, you probably need a net 5 or 6.

A boat would be nice! I'm not in the best shape for shooting, but I do have a lot of bullets available to compensate.

I hadn't considered the possibility of taking their boat. I like that plan! I will try to conjure a Force 5-6+ spirit. I hope to have time for a proper post later today.

FYI, my new baby son was just born a couple days ago, so I might be a bit sparse with my posting for a bit. Especially since I will need to post from my phone for a week or two.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! :)

Enjoy this special time.


Kate, White Duck - are either of you doing anything?

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 100):

Congrats Cadeuces! Awesome news! GM, will get in time for a post tomorrow morning, still mid-move here, apologies for the delay.

No apologies needed.  Just didn't want to move on before folks had a chance to say what they wanted.  This game moves at a slow amble with frequent pauses :)

*laughs in parent*

Congratulations though, it's a trip! My eldest is entering her senior year in high school. I can't say I envy those first few months, but right around 3 it gets to be a lot of fun and just keeps getting better.

There are plenty of bright spots in even those first few months.  They (usually) smell better, are far easier to carry, and are happy to cuddle for far longer :>

Sorry, all, I was presenting at a conference all week.

Kate is just going to rest until something attacks and see if she can shed some of this "exhaustion"

How's it going everyone? Are we about ready to continue our adventure? Things finally seem to be becoming less hectic here at home. Still a little hectic, but not bad.

I'm finally out from under enough to start it back up!

Sorry for the slow response.  I'll try to get a post up on Wednesday, or maybe even sooner.

What happened to alive-guy? Did we leave him behind? If so, alive or dead. Would it have been worth using Mind Probe on him for intel?

Up to you.  No one declared anything about him, so I assumed you'd want to bug out and left him where he was, but if you wanted to stay and probe him or bring him with, both are options.  So's slitting his throat, for that matter...

What do you think crew? I think it would have made sense to stow him on the boat, unconscious but stable, and Mind Probe him for info. Specifically because I figured we could expect someone to reach out via the radio, and it would be helpful to know names, protocol, potential-types-of-threats-that-will-come-barreling-down-on-us-when-we-screw-up, etc.

But I am fine doing whatever everyone else wants to do with him.

So, my thoughts for what we should do are as follows:

• Bring the unconscious guy onto the boat and make sure he is stabilized, but unconscious. Can always use a hostage, or dump him later if he becomes a problem.
• Use Mind Probe on the unconscious guy to learn info. (see below)
• Learn: If there is a way for their headquarters to know what happened to their people. (cameras, tracking devices, cybernetic heartbeat monitors, etc.)
• Learn: What exactly they came to investigate.
• Learn: Names, pass-phrases, ranks.
• Learn: Threats the party will face if they are found out.
• Learn: Blind spots in security they might be able to slip a boat through.
• When the radio messages start coming, Caduceus can use Physical Mask to change his voice (and appearance, to get into character) and impersonate whoever would answer. He would use names and info that only the enemy crew should know. Like the prized pipe and who has kids, etc.
• He'll try and stall them or lead them astray. Maybe say the enemy crew is searching for a straggler, or say they went off in a different direction? Maybe even waiting for a herd of those big river-beasts to get out of their way? Whatever makes most sense based on the info they find out.
• Disguise the boat with Trid Phantasm if it becomes necessary. Would disguising it as their old sunken boat be a good idea or a bad idea?

I'm all for leave him behind and get the hell out of here.  The more time we spend with these people, the more likely trouble will find us.

I like how Caduceus's mind is working here. Really, I see a few options;

1) At some point, there's a final fight & flight as we dodge the military
2) We go on a completely circuitous route and probably someone gets eaten by a hippo
3) We convince this guard that we don't intend any trouble, we're just here to steal things, and if he helps us back to the airport he can go back to his wife and kids after.

Botching #3 leads to #1 anyway, so sure, why not?

Caduceus speaks the local lingo (Portuguese), as well as Latin and Sperethiel (all at skill level 2). I'll have him disguise his voice and reply on the radio. I will try to get a post up sometime today.

Oof. I probably shouldn't have used that spell at max power. Oops. Oh well. Live and learn. Out of curiosity, is there a reason the target number for the drain test was equal to the spell's force instead of half its force like normal? Is it because the target was unconscious?

I messed up.  Even so, you only got 4 successes, so you're at light stun.  I'll update the post.

Sorry Duck’s been verbally paralyzed over the last couple months or so. Things are so hectic on our end with renovations in the home that I just haven’t found the time. Hoping to get zapped back into things soon.

No worries.  Reno's can definitely be time consuming :)

So guys, what is the plan now? Are we doing anything besides driving the boat back to where we need to be and trying to keep as low of a profile as possible?

We should hopefully have a bit more time to rest now. Caduceus will do his best to have his spirits/spells help keep them hidden and safe.

We're all strained and likely low on ammunition.  Time to get the surviving members of this contract home and collect what we can.

Agreed. Any additional thoughts on how we can accomplish that task without further losses? Or, I am also fine with glossing over the rest of the actual trip and just doing the rest in recap. GM, will there be any more notable obstacles to overcome?

Step 1 - get to and past the border without being intercepted (and ideally without triggering an international incident)
Step 2 - go find your airplane and rigger and convince him to fly you home.  (The scientists should be able to help with that.)
Step 3 - chat with the Johnson, pass on the fruit, get paid and thank him for the opportunity.

Step 1 we can probably handwave at this point between Caduceus's ability to man the radio and conceal the boat, I can make a couple of rolls and determine if you successfully make it across.  Is anyone doing anything other than catching up on sleep and perhaps using the shower to wash off some of the grime?

That sounds good to me!

K.  I'll give a few days for anyone to share anything else they want to do on the water, then I'll move us along.

How far is it from Letecia to the air field? And are we able to ensure our ride out is hot and ready to launch?

Maybe the best route is to park the boat close by, ditch it, and walk out the air field. We want to go as long as possible without being noticed, to avoid any planes chasing us.

Right now, you've got short-range radios and the long-range radio on the boat.  No phones.  One of the scientists will have a number for the rigger.  The nearest part of the aeroporto is about 1 klick inland.  Terminal, etc. is a bit farther.

If we get really desperate, Caduceus could astrally project all the way to Seattle to get some long-distance help from their contacts there. For example, maybe have Julia call the rigger's number to ensure things are ready.

I would not recommend it though, since by my estimation it would probably take at least four hours to fly that far and back. And that would be four hours Caduceus couldn't conjure spirits, cast illusions, or translate Portuguese. Not to mention he would need to track down his own body when he flies back since it definitely would have moved quite a distance along the river in those four+ hours.

It might be worth projecting to the airport itself though if we know someone Caduceus could manifest directly to.

So - what's your plan? :)

Great question. I have been wondering the same thing. Team, what should our plan of action be?

In reply to Caduceus (msg # 130):

Eight hours of rest, then explosions... lots of explosions.

I'm not sure those two plans are entirely compatible. ;-P

You could always blow up your own plane... ;)

We could cause a large diversion by blowing up other people's planes while we quickly boarded ours.

Nothing can go wrong with this plan!

I assume we can tune the radio to other channels. Does the scientist know how to contact that rigger?

Also, I seem to recall astrally projecting characters can still manifest as ghosts? Am I misremembering? If so, Caduceus can just go to the airport, ghost around until he finds the pilot, and be like 'yo, spin 'er up'.

You can get a phone number from Al-mansour.  Unfortunately, you don't have your phones.  You can certainly change radio channels.  There's not a whole lot of folks on the air out here though.  You could probably faintly pick up some channels from North of the border.  Tell me what you're looking for and make a roll.

And yes, astrally projecting is an option.

I had considered the astral projection option, but I didn't think Caduceus would know who he should be speaking to. However, if he does know at least one of the people safe to talk to at the airport, I think projecting ahead is a decent option.

You've seen the rigger.  They didn't have a lot to say and spent most of their time "up front", but you know what they look like.  And if they're like every other rigger you've ever met, when their 'baby' is out in potential harms way, you have a pretty good idea of where they're likely to be...

Cool. If he was on the plane on the way in, Caduceus got a look at his aura while he was snooping around the plane in astral space. Which means he should be able to recognize him from astral space.

So team, should Caduceus fly ahead and contact the rigger? If so, at what time, and what should he say?

Poke :)

Anyone have any thoughts on this yet?

I think as soon as we're in range and tell him/her we'll need an emergency extract.  And to start the engines the second we come into view.

My understanding of the plan so far is:
- Ghost up the river under spirit cover on the far side past the border 'town' of Letecia, possibly at night
- When you get close to Iquitos, send Caduceus astrally to scope things out and tell the rigger to get things warmed up
- Ditch the boat close to town and make it to the airport on foot, get on the plane and leave
- At some point, have some gratuitous explosions

Any refinements/clarifications/additions?

That sounds like a good plan to me. I would probably also mask the boat in illusion as we pass the town though, as an extra layer of protection. Disguise us as some floating brush or a herd of those croctohippos or something.

I do like the explosions part!

Happy late Turkey Day you guys! Hope you all had a good one.

Thanks for the poke.  Sorry for being slow.

You could have posted as much as you wanted, you wouldn't have gotten a response from me! The last two weeks were prepping the house and prepping the office, and then recovering!

But happy thanksgiving all :) Hope you had a good one.

Everyone in the main thread is asleep except for White Duck, right? So there isn't much for the rest of us to do quite yet?

Caduceus would have conjured a wind spirit or two for protection at take off, but I assume we have long since flown beyond their territory. For future reference, would conjuring new ones be more difficult at higher altitudes?

If someone else wants to wake up too, that's fine. :)

Awesome. Would conjuring new spirits be more difficult at higher altitudes?

You're not outside the gaeasphere, so you're not going to go crazy or anything, but the life up here is pretty low density, so it'll be a bit more challenging - a +1 to TNs.  And you're pretty much limited to spirits of air.

What is the current weather the plane is flying through?

You're above thirty-thousand feet.  Weather is clear.  A few scattered clouds far below.  If you had to guess, you're probably nearing California.

I'm going to be completely offline from Dec. 24-31 as our family does our annual "un-plug".  So I'm going to wish you all Happy Holidays now.

And for making it to another Christmas, surviving another year of Covid and still showing up, +3 Christmas karma to all!  (I promise there'll be a chance to spend it soon :>)

Happy Christmas, all!  I hope you get safety and health!

And a happy James Webb Space Telescope launch, for those of you who celebrate :)

Can the Influence spell be cast on non-metahumans? Like, would Caduceus know if it would be reasonably possible to cast it on creatures like the spider-things? I am thinking about going all-in like Kate to try and get one of them to go open the cargo door for us.

And if that fails (and Caduceus is still conscious), I might have Caduceus try opening the side door even if it means getting sucked out of the plane himself. Even with his levitation, I am sure it is extremely risky to exit a high altitude airplane like that...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Influence involves linking your mind to your target's mind to a certain degree.  Doing that with a non-human might have 'side effects'.  Also, your influence would have to work within the level of understanding and motivations of the creature you're influencing.  Conveying "Pull the red lever" to something that doesn't share your concept of color or understand what a 'lever' is will be quite challenging.  As will providing a motivation that would justify it wanting to do that that would override its current motivation (whatever that might be).

In short, possible but tricky and you'd have to do a great job with the framing of your 'suggestion'.

As an example - influencing a hellhound "You haven't marked your territory recently.  That post with the exposed wiring looks like a good spot" could possibly work (if the hellhound isn't currently in combat) - though you might find yourself with the urge to scratch for flees occasionally thereafter.

Ah, ok, makes sense. I probably will NOT try that trick then. Maybe if the group wasn't in combat, Caduceus wasn't suffering from stun, they weren't so high in the manasphere, and oxygen deprivation wasn't a real issue. Basically, if conditions were perfect, he might try it. But conditions are far from perfect.

I'll probably try conjuring a spirit instead.

Would opening a side door still suck everything out of the plane?

Less of an issue right now, as the door at the back of the plane is already open so things are largely experiencing depressurization through the compartment door and the partly open ramp.  If White Duck managed to get the door between the two sections closed, then opening the door to the outside could cause some issues if there'd been some time for the compartment to re-pressurize.

Once I get a chance to post from a computer instead of my phone, I am going to have Caduceus (try to) conjure the most powerful wind spirit he can muster without passing out (between 5 and 9), then have it use confusion on as many bug-critters as possible. Hopefully we can take care of them before the plane flies out of the wind spirit's territory.

Unless... The pilot doesn't happen to live in the plane, do they? And if so, would the plane also count as a Hearth domain? Like a flying motorhome? Because I get bonus dice for conjuring hearth spirits. I know it's a long shot, but figured I would ask anyway.

White Duck, any actions from you, or are you just holding the door?

Sorry, just saw this. Not sure what Duck's options really are. I'll want to have him continue to try and hold the door, since it seems to have some pretty terrible consequences if he lets go willy nilly.

No worries.  I'd actually written the post at the same time you posted here.  I figured kicking something was aligned with both your style and your IC mood :>

I’ll back cadeuces with melee but maybe taking on an oxygen mask, barricading the door, and freezing them out would work? I’m no scientist but…maybe?

I just have to say, since DeusEx and I seem to have hit a perfect posting sequence... This month I flew to Hawaii, caught up from flying to Hawaii, got sick, did too much training. Last night I started to feel guilty I hadn't checked on RPoL for a while, and definitely everyone is waiting on me, and isn't a game supposed to be FUN not an obligation. And no, we are 100% in sync!

(And I get the sense other people in the group have similarly hectic lives!)

Oh yeah, definitely. My family is getting ready to move from Minnesota to Florida in less than two weeks. I think that qualifies as hectic.

Wowza! We moved from one side of the city to the other side and it was a huge ordeal. I can't imagine cross-country.

Didn't want to completely close the run without giving you a chance to express your pleasure to the Johnson - and maybe get paid :)

Sorry for taking so long to move things forward.  (And for letting this tail of the run drag on as long as it has.)

We can accelerate through the final scene too if people prefer.  Let me know your thoughts on continuing the game, and if you want to keep going, what you'd like to see next.

Now that we are talking with the Johnson again, could you remind me again what exactly we were hired to do? Also, who is still alive among the people we were supposed to protect?

Mission was to protect the three scientists while they retrieved some biological specimens.  You have one of the three scientists, though he's a little loopy.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 172):

Not exactly a overwhelming success...

Would Caduceus have had time to recover his five boxes of stun damage during the remainder of the flight? Were the expensive feathers he collected still inside the plane when they landed?

Probably one or two, but not all 5.  The excitement happened over California.

I believe you'd seen where they were pinned earlier.  Nothing's significantly shifted since then.

Nuts, we should have hung onto those corpses. Maybe we could have gotten at least half-pay for them?

@Duck: had a good laugh reading that. I'm fine lighting up the Johnson if they get too fussy. I live in a trash can anyway, Hairy fears no consequences.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:51, Thu 14 July 2022.

Haha yep, been thinking about paying the team off with Duck’s own funds the minute things started to go sour with the run. Had nothing I really needed to spend it on for the character, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than purchasing myself the option to tell this guy “fuck you in particular”, lol.

Haha! That is quite a super power!

How’s everyone doing? Seems like we’re wrapping up this particular adventure, and I’m wondering what’s next. Also wondering if you guys would be interested in running things round-robin if you wanted to dust off Copperhead’s old character sheet and have me run us something to avoid burnout. I’ve been running online tabletop sessions for my friends from back home, and hell, it’s been a lot of good years we’ve been playing these characters, so I can try to tell an exciting story for a little while. Aren’t two of you guys good buddies in R/l or something? You guys should get a chance to play together! Anyway, just throwing that idea out there. What do y’all think?

Thanks for the poke.  I just looked at the date of the last post, and *I SUCK*.  I'm so sorry for letting things hang for so long.

I'm certainly more than open to swapping GM roles.  I'd have to think about whether I should bring Copperhead back or someone new.

In the meantime, let me move things along.

I have been having a lot of fun in this game and the characters I have created here. That said, I was actually planning on retiring Caduceus after our current mission. He would likely become a shadowrunner contact rather than continue being a shadowrunner himself. Maybe make illegal spell foci in his spare time or something.

I love the game and the setting, but the system itself never really imprinted permanently in my mind. And I no longer seem to have the time and mental bandwidth to compensate like I did when I first started.

Well damn, it’s been a few years. Would hate to not have a chance to play with you anymore. I’m down to change up systems a bit if you guys are. Whatever keeps us in touch really. By the way, if anyone wants to look me up outside of here I’m ZomboRobo over on Steam.

Although the game was a little slow, I enjoyed playing my first adventure with you all.  I'd love to play again and would be interested in any system you feel would be good.

I too am open to a change of system.  (I'll admit that I spend an hour wading through the rulebook for each combat post - so definitely not in my head either.)  There's a Savage Worlds adaptation of Shadowrun which is a bit more rules-light, but keeps the same world/feel.  I haven't gone through it in detail, but it'd be an option.  I'm certainly open to play something else too.  I very much enjoy this group of players.

Well if changing the system is on the table, I am fluent in Dungeon World, Pathfinder, and am decent with 5e Dungeons and Dragons. I don't think any of those translate super easily to a shadowrunner setting though (I might be able to make Dungeon World work fairly well with a bit of effort), and I definitely wouldn't expect a system change just for my sake.

Ahh, well Deuces, you might be in luck, because I’m wondering how comfortable everyone would be using 5e rules. I’ve worked a lot in this mapping tool called Talespire and they just came out with a cyberpunk set. I have entire city blocks already mapped out, can provide us all with some graphical representation. Being able to run it in 5e if everyone was down for such a change would be the cherry on top.

In reply to White Duck (msg # 186):

That sounds really cool.

I would definitely be up for trying it if everyone else is.

Haven't played 5e but I know AD&D 2e and just learned pathfinder, so I can probably figure it out :)

Okay, sweet. Well, there are a few tools we can use for free that’ll make this easy. I’ll create a campaign in dnd beyond and send out invites to you guys this week- I have a bunch of content unlocked and character creation is really user friendly and you’ll all have access to whatever source materials are in my library. I’m thinking this last run would put our characters out to mid-level but we can start wherever you guys like. I kinda like the idea of porting over familiar faces though, but that’s up to y’all. I have a really awesome idea in mind for the overall plot of thisun too, so it should be fun!

Oh, one last thing- Talespire and Heroforge (custom mini tool) are compatible and I have an ample amount of digital tokens, so feel free to make a mini representation of your characters and link em to me, I’ll port em over.

Hmm.  If we're sticking with our magic-centric party, then Firefox would probably be a better fit than Copperhead.  (Copperhead's pure rigger.)  That said, Firefox is a fire elementalist and the fire tosser role is currently already filled by Kate.  Perhaps it would be best for me to create someone new?  If so, what sort of character would help balance the party - in particular for the types of drek we're likely to get ourselves into soon? :)

Hmm, well, Duck wpuld probably translate best to Monk but I kinda feel like any SR build can be sort of cosmetified into a 5e character. As for balance, this edition doesn’t seem to need as much of a balanced team as other editions I’ve run. A wizard, sorceror, or warlock would fit into the mage category where shamanism would be druid/cleric/divine caster, for example. I know the system well enough to cater to a party of all the same class if you guys want- so play what you’d like to play :)

I've got it easy, I just make Kate a fire elemental adept.  Likely an (half?-)orc sorcerer.

What level would we be considering?

I’d say we’d probably be around levels 6-10. Not sure if those of you unfamiliar with the system would need to start lower.

I think Caduceus would be a Circle of the Shepherd Druid.

Are you thinking we shouldn't allow spells that don't have SR equivalents?  Any other limitations to keep the SR feel?

Hmm, well, that’s up to you guys. What do y’all think?

How do cyber, matrix and things like foci work?

Cyberware and foci would probably just be categorized under magic items. I’d say that spellcasting classes would be buying and attuning to foci whereas cyberware and bioware would be the equivalent to your non-caster classes. If anyone has a particular piece of cyberware in mind we can work out stats for it. Cyberware would serve the function of magic items to most consumers but would permanently take up an attunement slot if they have it installed. The matrix I don’t know- I was thinking it could just be something simplified to a skill check or few skill checks. I’m thinking that proper device disabling, fancy matrix shit, etc would kinda fall under your standard thieving rules, or maybe we can have deckers make up two seperate character sheets and run the proper matrix with metaphorical representations of stuff in the matrix and sort of get esoteric with it. Would require some creative application of the rules but I can think up some pretty trippy stuff :)

What do you guys think?

In reply to White Duck (msg # 200):

That sounds really good.  I mean it's like an astral adventure but using decking so you could bend the astral rules to fit.

Great! Yeah I was thinking something like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeroF...&utm_name=iossmf

Its kinda funny because all the old novels try and make the matrix seem like its this vast rpg within an rpg and we’de using basic rules to get there. Could be kinda fun!

I'm game. I love the group, and the posting rate works. I won't have bandwidth for intense mechanics unpacking until the new fiscal year (mid-October probably, and I say that knowing it's definitely not true, I'll be on some new project again).

I'll also say, posting frequently has been a struggle for me and I know some people want a game that well, moves. If the preference is that I step back, or just post 'as I can', I have zero ill-will about that. I've considered dropping out a few times just because I know I'm flaky.

We're all flaky in our own ways...  You started this.  You're not allowed to leave! :>

I won't really be able to focus on char-gen for about 2 weeks, but I'm game after that.  Considering a sneaky assassin type, which I guess would be a Rogue?  How are we handling firearms?

Presumably we'd just need to get Big Brother to change the default dice roller settings and have White Duck tell us where to set up accounts and we could be good to go.

Sounds good to me. Since Caduceus would likely be a druid (or possibly cleric), I think it would be pretty easy to reflavor the class's existing abilities to a Shadowrun flavor. Summoning spells/wild shape would be conjuring, a bow and arrow is a gun, spells are spells, leather armor is a fancy biking jacket, etc. Most stuff can use existing stats and mechanics. You just need to slap a different name on it. And certain spells that really don't fit can probably just not be selected.

If anyone needs help reflavoring something, I may be able to help brainstorm additional ideas.

Looks like I have an option to reconfigure default dice roller settings. I'll go ahead and make White Duck a GM?

I don't have any strong preference on character types yet. I definitely lean towards lateral thinking type characters, but obviously Hairy didn't fall into that category :P So whatever the need is, happy to fill.

In reply to Hairy (msg # 206):

I'd love to see you make Hairy as an artificer.  Big Guns are needed.

https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/33776703487483450

There's the D&D Beyond Campaign Link. I'm going to go ahead and create Duck and use my next couple posts in walking through how to make your characters.

Step 1. Click on the link above.
Step 2. Click Create an Unassigned character.
Step 3. You're brought to the character builder, which is mostly self explanatory. After completing one section, you have to regard the right and left hand sides of the screen to navigate from one page to the next. Comes in handy.

Character Options: All sources enabled, optional features allowed, hit points rolled manually (in the dice roller here. reroll ones!). Make sure the character sheet is toggled public. After that, you can leave all of the other stuff set to its default.

Race: Duck is just a human, but everything should be somewhat available to you guys. For the sake of adding even more biodiversity into Shadowrun's array of options, examples of some of these other races might just exist. You guys are going down a voodoo rabbithole and your characters might never come out of this weird alternate world. If you want to play someone already from there and new, keep in mind it might take awhile to introduce you to the rest of the group, and you'll have an alternate starting location and story thread.

If your character geeks it though, feel free to pick nonstandard Shadowrun stuff. Like I said, this is very quickly going to become its own thing. When choosing languages though, feel free to just pick whatever there and we can just change that to whatever Shadowrun world languages your character would know. Duck speaks Vietnamese and Cajun French!

Class: Here's where you work out whatever your character would be, but also set levels. Let's do level ten. Our characters are experienced runners, after all.

Duck is going to be a monk/rogue. Just feels right.
You'll see some of the boxes presented to you highlighted amongst the others in blue. Those are the character leveling options where you have to go in and pick something more specific.

Some of the things are somewhat superfluous, like being proficient in an instrument or artisan's tools, but if you want to really hone in on being good at playing a yartling or whittling or whatever that's fine too. Hidden talent! Others are crucial, but if you're familiar with 5e you should know what options those are gonna be. The level three stuff is always crucial. Duck'll have the Way of Shadow on the Monk side of things because ninja, and  the Tough feat at monk 5 because he's always been one to stand in and take damage, then on the rogue side I'm taking Swashbuckler for Fancy Footwork and Rakish Audacity, to represent his physad-boosted reflexes.

The class screen is also where you manage your HP.
14:23, Today: White Duck rolled 50 using 10d8, rerolling ones with rolls of 5,5,8,2,6,{1}8,5,2,3,6.  Duck's HP.

Now, if anyone would want help with how a specific class or ability would work in this system that you're interested in using, let's collab on it here to make it fit.

Ability Scores: We roll em!

More to come on this later when I get back!

Can we do a "sum to X" for ability scores rather than random rolls?  (Hard to work on a specific character concept if your abilities are random.)

I think I will go with a Circle of Shepherd Druid 8, Trickery Domains Cleric 2. It seems very snake shaman-y. Unfortunately it seems that I will have to input a lot of the class features manually, since only the circle of land and domain of life options are available for free.

Sorry cadeuces, I had to share my resources to the campaign. You should have additional options unlocked now.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Sun 18 Sept 2022.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 209):

They aren't random, you will be able to assign them where you want. You can do point buy instead if that's easier for you, but I find with the way I generate ability scores that people often end up with better numbers.

Awesome! Thanks!

What do we do for rolling ability scores? Also, what sort of equipment do we start with?

Sorry for the delay- on rolling ability scores, roll 4d6 7 times, drop the lowest number from each set of four, then when you have seven numbers, drop the lowest overall. So for example, here's my set one:
08:24, Today: White Duck rolled 10 using 4d6 with rolls of 3,1,4,2.
08:24, Today: White Duck rolled 13 using 4d6 with rolls of 2,3,4,4.
08:24, Today: White Duck rolled 16 using 4d6 with rolls of 5,4,1,6.
08:24, Today: White Duck rolled 7 using 4d6 with rolls of 1,3,1,2.
08:24, Today: White Duck rolled 17 using 4d6 with rolls of 4,5,5,3.
08:23, Today: White Duck rolled 18 using 4d6 with rolls of 4,5,5,4.
08:23, Today: White Duck rolled 16 using 4d6 with rolls of 5,5,5,1.

So my set 1 is 9/11/15/6/14/14/15. Since there are only six ability scores, I'm gonna drop the 6, which leaves me with a pretty good set of stats to distribute. Nothing stellar but it happens! Gonna roll my second set though!

08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 11 using 4d6 with rolls of 1,4,4,2.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 18 using 4d6 with rolls of 6,1,5,6.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 14 using 4d6 with rolls of 6,4,1,3.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 7 using 4d6 with rolls of 2,2,2,1.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 8 using 4d6 with rolls of 2,2,1,3.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 9 using 4d6 with rolls of 3,1,1,4.
08:26, Today: White Duck rolled 15 using 4d6 with rolls of 3,6,5,1.

And that one's much lower than the last one. At this point I have the option to keep either of these sets, or say fuck it and point buy him, OR roll a third set that I just have to keep. Since Duck's probably not going to be a featured character in this story, I'd say why not roll up that third set?

08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 12 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,4,5,3.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 9 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 2,1,3,4.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 14 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 2,6,2,6.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 12 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,4,2,6.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 16 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,6,6,2.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 11 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,2,4,1.
08:29, Today: White Duck rolled 9 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,4,1,4

Noticed a drop lowest 1 box in the dice roller and that did some of the math for me, but 12/9/14/12/16/11/9. Dropping one of the 9's leaves me with an aight set to distribute across my ability scores. Gotta keep it anyway! Could have opted for point buy too but at level 10 and with feats, I should be able to get my ability scores to a more desirable level.

As for equipment, I'm gonna rule that everyone would start off with at least one piece of cyberware of up to very rare quality or one magic item of rare quality. Remember, with cyberware, mundane non-awakened characters can utilize it, but you won't be able to un-attune to the item. Cyberware's going to be dropped one level down on rarity as a result of this, and is probably going to be more affordable than magic items and foci in that regard. If it's an item not requiring attunement, let's just talk out how it would work.

For my first two sets I got 10/11/12/14/15/16, and 10/11/13/13/16/17. I think I will keep the second set, since it is tough to beat a 16 and 17 with nothing below 10.

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09:13, Today: Caduceus rolled 15 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,1,6,6.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 11 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,4,4,1.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 5 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,1,2,2.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 12 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,5,3,2.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 10 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 2,3,5,2.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 16 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,6,4,2.
09:12, Today: Caduceus rolled 14 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,6,4,2.

09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 13 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,4,3,3.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 17 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,5,2,6.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 10 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,1,1,5.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 8 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 2,2,4,2.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 16 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,6,6,3.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 13 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,3,5,3.
09:15, Today: Caduceus rolled 11 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,6,2,3.  Set 2.

quote:

09:51, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 5 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,3,1,1.
09:51, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 14 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,1,2,6.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 15 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,6,1,4.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 10 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 2,4,3,3.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 11 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,2,4,3.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 10 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,1,4,1.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet2, rolled 9 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,3,3,3.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 16 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,2,5,5.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 17 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,5,6,5.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 16 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 6,5,1,5.
09:50, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 10 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 4,1,1,5.
09:49, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 13 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 5,1,6,2.
09:49, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 13 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 1,1,6,6.
09:49, Today: DeusEx, for the NPC Dunno yet, rolled 14 using 4d6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 3,5,4,5.

I think the first attempt of 13/13/14/16/16/17 is pretty respectable :)
I see your point about it typically being better than a Sum to X...

CAn we start a new OOC thread for all this?

Also, I'll roll my character later today