[Shadowrun] The Third Great Matrix Crash

[Silk]

Forgot it was 'street level play' so will have to change my characters Negative Qualities

Edit: Took off 'Astral Beacon' & 'Spirit Bane(Dragonslayer)' and added 'Gremlins (Rank 1)' and I added a PDF character sheet to Torgot's add.

[FatherDondo]

Forgive a potentially dumb question, but is this Matrix as in "The Matrix," or something unique to Shadowrun lore?

[Silk]

If I've read it correctly the Matrix is a form of wifi Internet. "A lot" more advanced then what we have now.

[Zazaq]

Thats about right Father, its 2090 I believe, everything depends on the matrix grid, which dumbed you can just think of as the internet. Internet suddenly went away, vast majority of electronics just became a lot less useful.

[AximusLokar]

I should have a bit more later, just wanted to get this out there for now.

Arashi Name: Nui Londalt / Arashi ('嵐' aka Tempest) Meta: Elf Intended Role: Healer, Samurai   A: Attributes B: Magic (Mystic Adept) C: Metatype (Elf) D: Skills E: Resources Attributes Very High Agility and Reaction Good Intuition and Willpower Moderate values elsewhere Mystic Adept (6 Magic / 6 PP) Health/Manipulation spells, focused on healing and buff. Adept powers focused on increased speed and reflexes. Nerve Strike and Spirit Claw rounds out lethal, nonlethal, and spirit combat options. Skills High Unarmed/Blade and Spellcasting skill Good Perception/Assensing Decent spread of utility, mobility, and medical skills. Resources Remington Supressor (w/Laser Sight) and Katana Highly modified armor, including an EVO Hel Suit, Forearm Guards, and Custom Ballistic Mask. Modifications include ultrasound sensor, mapping agent, and improved trid projector for building location maps. Mask has a suite of cameras that feed visual data inside, including thermal imaging and a built-in infrared flashlight. Description: In her everyday life Nui could pass for a fairly mundane second year med student. She doesn't like flashy fashions, rarely parties (who has the time?!), and has a weariness in her eyes belying far too many late nights. Of course, anyone that notices the sword at her hip or the slight bulge at the rear hem of her shirt quickly thinks twice about their plan to jump a potential drug source. Her elven and japanese features give her a sharp beauty, albeit often completely undermined by her intense glare or cutting tongue. On the job Nui wears a full-body armored suit, along with an overlayed gi, as well as a mask to conceal her identity. The sword at her hip completes the appearance of a modern day samurai, and when violence inevitably breaks out her abilities confirm those assumptions. Background: Damned if you SIN, damned if you don't. Throughout their lives Nui's parents found that the convenience of their SIN had the consequence of their lives being dictated by government and corporate interests. Her mother was a fairly talented programmer while her father was a special forces agent for nearly twenty years. Before Nui was ten years old they emigrated to the U.C.A.S. along with her paternal grandmother, Janui Londalt after whom she was named, to seek a more peaceful life. Unfortunately Imperial Japan isn't one to let valuable assets stay out of play for long. When they tried to re-enlist her father for another mandatory military tour, and made it clear that either he could return to japan himself or see his entire family brought back by force, he left. As did her mother. Nui's grandmother took the now fourteen year old into hiding, and a week later received confirmation. All relevant records of surviving Londalts had been scrubbed from the Imperial Archives. Nui was given false UCAS records for 'Jenna Neuman' and raised by her grandmother. Her parents never returned. Nui awakened as a mage at sixteen, and quickly found her talents to lie in the medical field. Lacking funding for expensive cram schools to catch up to the requirements for medical school Janui tutored her granddaughter on what aspects of magic she could, having a slight aptitude as well, and prayed she could make up for the difference in raw talent and effort. And with an exorbitant amount of the latter, she did. She took what basics she learned into the streets, practicing with those that couldn't afford to seek professional medical attention whether due to finances or the wrong questions being asked. This is where she met Kirus Onazi, a dryad that took a stray bullet being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and by extension his older sister Falk Onazi. At the time already a ranking lieutenant, Falk and Nui became both fast friends and mutually beneficial partners. When Falk made a play for control of her gang, a successful albeit bloody maneuver, Nui's proximity was the only reason she didn't bleed out trying to get to a black market hospital. And when Janui was killed by a ganger raid trying to claim territory from the new local leader Falk was able to find the dreck responsible and accompanied Nui in claiming blood for blood, eschewing her normally preferred nonlethal skills and relying entirely on the arts, and blade, passed down to her. The blade normally mounted in the living room that Janui would never again take down for lessons. Despite setbacks Nui did succeed in qualifying for medical school. The only problem was, of course and always, money. Financial institutions looked too closely at SINs for loans on the level of what she would need. Despite her position Falk couldn't exactly afford to bank roll her friend, and she was too stubborn to accept the idea when it was floated anyways. They found a workable middle ground though. Falk would vouch on a loan to acquire a decent loadout, using Nui's past success at 'keeping peace' in the neighborhood to keep accusations of favoratism at bay, and Nui would use this new hardware as an investment to leverage her skills in the shadows. While initial outtings were spotty, and finding a balance between completing jobs and studying for exams threatened to drive her mad more than once, nearly two years later this arrangement hasn't gotten either of them killed yet. Unfortauntely medical school only gets more expensive over time, not less, and small time jobs breaking up two-bit gangs won't even shave off the interest for next year. It's time to find a bigger payout.   Name: Falk Onazi Archetype: (Connection 4) Head of the Tanarii Gang Metatype: Elf (Dryad) Loyalty: (Loyalty 5) Close Friends Connection: Falk and Nui met over her little brother's bleeding body, and forged a bond keeping each other alive. While neither is in a hurry to die for the other, they'll certainly risk taking and doling out grievous bodily harm for each other. Description: The Tanarii gang isn't particularly large, but what they lack in numbers they make up for in ride-or-die attitude. This is because while most gangers are fighting for fun or profit, these are protecting their homes. In particular Falk's symbiosis with the area gives her a vested interest in keeping the place safe, and after years of suffering the effects of ambient violence took it upon herself to force her neighborhood into compliance. The Tanarii are mostly street-level magicians and adepts, and have few augmented members due to Falk's disdain for (and physical reaction to) the practice. Benefit: (Networking) In addition to her leadership role Falk is a ruthless negotiator. Her tongue isn't silver, it's mercury. And while she doesn't have many in's with the big corporate Johnsons she knows enough people that know enough people that, when a job is in the ether, she can pick up the trail. Personal Life: (Single) While there has been some light flirting neither Falk nor Nui have an abundance of free time with which to explore a relationship, the former working to secure her gang's position while keeping her little brother safe and the latter juggling school with life-risking shadowruns. Preferred Payment: (Services) When Falk has a problem within Nui's skill set Nui resolves it, and vice versa. They are close enough that no official 'tab' is being kept between them, although she is quite rigorous in debts and balances with others.

[FatherDondo]

Ah. I need to rework my app then. I had a brainfart and thought it was a Matrix game under this particular ruleset, idk why.

[FatherDondo]

Name / Alias: Rupert Carmichael / Knecht Ruprecht
Metatype: Troll
Intended Role: Adept
Description: Knecht Ruprecht is a little lean for a troll, with black hair and silver eyes, and a sickly cast to his skin that belies his manic energy in combat. He has a tattoo of green and red harlequin motley on his neck, and is the last surviving member of the Jesters.
Background: Rupert had been sickly all his life due to a congenital deformity of his spine, and was teased mercilessly for it. It was particularly embarrassing for a troll. Most of that teasing came from his older brother Teage. After joining the Jesters gang, Teage started learning from an older member, Bron. Bron was an adept who used a mix of drunken boxing style, mocking dance moves, and dirty street fighting. Bron allowed Rupert to join as a lookout, because you would suspect a crippled boy? Rupert would watch his brother's training sessions, though he himself couldn't do much more than exercise. Teage thought it was a pathetic display and found it entertaining, but Rupert saw it as not giving his brother the satisfaction of watching him atrophy.

One day, a raid on a rival gang-member's apartment went sideways. Teage left him holding a bag of stolen goods before Lonestar showed up. Even though it was a blatant attempt to shift blame onto him, and his brother was probably bleeding out in an alley, Rupert considered it the first gift his brother had ever given him. He ducked around a corner, slotted up as many credsticks as he could, then hobbled off with some gems in his pocket and left the rest. One operation and some new cyberware later, Ruprecht was ready to do everything he never could before. He blew money on a tailored suit, booze, and his own apartment, which is when the money ran dry. Using the rest on lessons to refine his unpracticed skills, Knecht Ruprecht has to build himself up from nothing, but he's undeterred; his new rock bottom is far higher than his former best.

[Silk]

Edited Torgot's RP example now that I removed the 'Astral Beacon' & 'Spirit Bane' from his Negative Qualities.

[Ericg1s]

Street level play raises one problem: non-magical characters get less money and skills, but magical characters still get their full list of spells known and their bonus ranks in magic skills. It penalizes cyberpunks too much, and they are already at a penalty due to the fact that magic is REQUIRED to defeat certain foes (beasts with non-magical weapon immunity.) We could simply not use those monsters.

[Silk]

Well, hopefully Zazaq won't be throwing the magical beast's with the non-magical weapon immunity's at us if no one has any magical attacks

[Zazaq]

Yeah magic might have a slight edge in street play over standard, for me its just incentive for players regardless of role to focus on skills/stats over fancy gear. That's what I'm going for anyway, also I just like the idea of completely new runners trying to build a practice.

[Beychaliban]

Originally Posted by Ericg1s

Street level play raises one problem: non-magical characters get less money and skills, but magical characters still get their full list of spells known and their bonus ranks in magic skills. It penalizes cyberpunks too much, and they are already at a penalty due to the fact that magic is REQUIRED to defeat certain foes (beasts with non-magical weapon immunity.) We could simply not use those monsters.

As the one intending to play a mundane human I know that even the build rules are against me
But I am quite certain that Zazaq know what he's doing.

[Beychaliban]

My app is finished. Yay.

[Ed Starwind]

This is my first foray into Shadowrun, so any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated/




Name / Alias: William Skyhawk / Libra

Metatype:Elf

Intended Role: Face

Description: Libra has the height and slender build of an elf, but his face is similar in tone to a human's. He will usually be seen wearing a flowing trenchcoat and fedora with his hair adjusted to hide the tips of his ears. The only things that make him physically appear different from a normal human are his eyes that have a pale blue color that almost seem to shimmer on their own and the flowing grace in which he walks.

Background: William was trained by the Lone Star as one of their operatives. He wasn't particularly strong, but his natural grace gave him a fighting style akin to the original Samurai. Combat is an art, a dance that can be mastered to eliminate your enemies. Even with this grace, William was better at fighting with words than with swords. He had a natural charm that Lone Star taught him to use. One day, he was performing a covert operation for the Star. When he returned, it was a different story. While he was on the mission, politics changed and the man he was working against suddenly became their ally. so when he returned after a job he had thought was well done, he was tipped off by a friend that he was now going to terminated for a job they had sent him on! His friend gave him a name in Seattle (which had recently been transferred out of Lone Star territory) from which he could find work as a Shadowrunner. William adopted the code name Libra as he dodged the train he was supposed to board. He looked on as the train, its' guards, and his life-saving friend were all permanently retired, and it didn't take a scholar to figure out who retired them.

Roleplaying Example(Optional):The commlink buzzed as William picked his way through the woods towards the station. He always made a habit of ignoring the front entrance to the station. There were too many people around that could see him. Besides, he kept himself looking at the prettier side of the tulips be being overly cautious. This way he could scope out the train before he boarded. Who would be contacting me now? He thought as he answered in his best Scottish brogue that he had been using on his latest mission.

MacPherson here.

A brief pause as he recognized the voice of his friend and colleague. The conversation slowing his walk through the woods behind the Depot.

Hey, why are you..? What? Slow down. What happened?

His eyes grew and he found a chill floating down his spine. One of his worst fears was coming true. He had not been discovered, but the situation had changed. The landscape that he was sent into had changed and the man he had been sent to silence, the man who had agreed to take an early retirement at the bottom of the ocean was a key player in a corp that suddenly decided it wanted to play ball with the Star. His mission had now put that contract in jeopardy. In retribution, Lone Star was going to send William to an early retirement.
His friend spoke quickly, telling him to leave, and gave him a name, Clank. Clank was a fixer. He could help William to squeak out a life in faraway Seattle. William was now living out the life he had spent years trying to fight. He was becoming a Shadowrunner, that is, unless he wanted to put the ancient tales of God and Heaven to the test right now.

Thank you, my friend. I owe you more than a drink next time we meet. Farewell.


William walked away and made a bee line to the nearest bank. He withdrew all the NuYen he could, tipping the banker well for his discretion. He gave his train ticket to another man before pulling his coat tight around him and walking back into the crowd. A few minutes later, as the 11:40 back into the city blew its departure whistle, there was an explosion that took out the train, his friend, and everyone else who was at the station. He was on his own now.

[Ericg1s]

I made a trivial edit to my application to indicate which items I will gain as we establish ourselves rather than starting with,