[Shadowrun] [6E] Stormy Waters: Dark Nights

[Arialles]

Following on from my current game Stormy Waters: Free Seattle I am seeking players to join the current crew for a dangerous rescue mission during the sudden and inexplicable black out of Toronto…

I’m keen to find anywhere between 3-8 players (some of whom will hopefully be continuing from the previous game) who want to push the action along in an ‘Anarchy’ esque playstyle rather than waiting for GM input on everything. It’s more challenging for the player but I think more rewarding overall and makes for a more interesting read for anyone lurking! Essentially, I will handle the main plot line but welcome and encourage collaborative IC from the players, adding depth to the story, exploring PC motivations and adding the odd plot wrinkle.

Recruitment will initially be open for 2 weeks until 23rd November

GAME NAME [6E] Stormy Waters: Dark Nights

GAME SYSTEM Shadowrun Sixth Edition

GAME THEME Toronto in the blackout… loosely inspired by the published 30 Nights campaign and the events in Cutting Black

GAME TONE More Mirrorshades rather than Mohawk, with PCs posts strongly influencing the action Anarchy style

GAME PLOT Toronto has disappeared off the grid and Silk’s teenage daughter was there on a cultural exchange (of all things) and is now lost somewhere in the growing anarchy of a city gone dark. Silk wants her back safely, and of course, as an infobroker, any intel you can glean about why UCAS cities are going dark will be well rewarded. Excerpt from the opening IC post:   Night 01 [Late Evening, Wednesday 30 October, 2080; Bus somewhere in Toronto] The bus wound through the late evening Toronto traffic away from the theatre. It was filled with the sounds of elated but tired teenagers ramped up on too much adrenalin and praise. Aria sat back in to her seat and let it all wash over her, smiling over at her cousin Charlotte with silly grins on both their faces. It had gone so well… she’d been grumpy at first when her mum had insisted the older girl accompany them on the trip, stating that she didn’t need a babysitter… none of the other dancers had a minder after all. But actually she’d discovered Charlie was good fun and she’d enjoyed her company! Tires squeal. One squeal is long and loud, and ends in a solid thunk. Voices cry out. Horns honk—first a few, then more. Then, abruptly, they’re silent. Everything is silent for a second or two. Long enough to hear the noise build, starting distantly but rolling closer and closer. It’s not quite thunder—it’s deeper and more insistent. It is felt distantly, a tremor in the well of the bus as the noise grew, becoming a full-on shaking at the same time the noise became deafening. They felt it, whatever it was, pass right through them in a surge that rocked them in their seats. There is a bright flash, then darkness. Then the noise fades. The horns are quiet. There is no engine noise from the street. No light from anywhere. No interior lights, no streetlights, nothing except the light of the moon and stars. The silence is brief, as yells and then screams rise from the streets. Doors open. Footsteps walk, then run nearby. Something has happened. But what? Adapted from 30 Nights

CHARACTER CREATION Standard priority generation, although I am happy to accept Sum-10* provided only one Priority A choice is taken. Don’t worry about fitting a specific team role, we’ve potentially got a lot of bases covered by existing players and I’m more interested in people playing a character that inspires them than filling a niche. Toronto natives are certainly an option but I am assuming that most PCs will come from Seattle. Just in case it's useful to anyone I've created (with a lot of help) an Excel character generator for SR6 which can be downloaded from here: <<CG6.xx>>. It’s a WIP and I regularly put out updates as new source info is added and bugs are discovered. A note on power level: dice pools are considerably reduced from SR5, particularly for the mooks you are likely to be facing so bear that in mind when creating characters, there’s no need to have huge pools of dice, although nobody is going to stop you if that’s your thing. I tend to prefer characters who don’t seem to have been massively min/maxed. Our Obsidian Portal campaign page is here: Stormy Waters. There is lots of useful information here, contacts, locations etc. Let me know your OP username and I can invite you to the campaign page. OP formatting can be found on my Excel generator or you can just use text if you prefer. * Sum-10: each priority choice is worth a set amount and you can have any combination up to 10 (although only one ‘A’ choice). A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, E=0

RP & Posting Expectations We all have busy lives so I don't expect a fixed number of IC posts but please consider whether you can maintain the moderately gentle pace of 1-2 IC posts per week? Any less and the game is likely to falter. Thankfully RPGCrossing tracks who has posted in each thread so there’s no need to do so manually (see rewards below) SR can be pretty bleak, and I tend to run it that way (with enough rays of hope to prevent it becoming too depressing). That should still be possible within the constraints of the PG13 rating for this platform, let's keep descriptive violence without too much gore. Themes will be aimed at an adult audience and I try to sometimes present players with uncomfortable moral dilemmas but that is hopefully what you are signing up for. We’ll use SR swear words, eg drek and frag(ger) rather than their Anglo Saxon equivalents.

DICE ROLLS Mostly for the benefit of any non RPGCrossing veterans the coding is (dice=what the roll is)xxd6smch5(/dice) using square brackets

HOUSE RULES These are subject to change and I will keep this list updated with any new additions ‘2075’ PbP rewards – see below You get a variety of freebie contacts at the beginning of play including an influential fixer troll fixer ‘Feather’, a major Seattle Infobroker ’Silk’ and a weapons and tech dealer ’Cannon’. All have Connection 6, Loyalty 1 (loyalty can be increased with your contacts points). There may well be others later. Contacts’ connection rating is capped by Charisma+2 rather than Charisma Foci can be bound at character gen initiation / submersion can be undertaken at char gen Humans may purchase an additional quality above the normal limit of 6 for normal karma cost (might make them fractionally more attractive mechanics wise) Impaired Attribute can only be taken once per attribute (unless with explicit GM consent so PM me if it’s central to your concept) Stolen Gear will have some additional rules (based on the draft SRM FAQ) which apply damage before any run starts – PM me know if you want to consider this quality Abilities that grant edge for a single roll don’t count towards the max 2 gained / turn Grenades/explosives do half the listed damage in the CRB (still more than a Panther Assault Cannon at point blank but no longer tac nukes!) Toxins are half power from that listed in the CRB You get a minor action for every initiative D (so 6 max rather than 5) You get one move/sprint action per turn as normal but this does not preclude actions like hit the dirt or take cover Please feel free to point out house rules that you want considered! Note the following were House rules that have been clarified in the second printing: Adepts lose power points from essence/magic loss Adepts (not mysads) can use adjustment points to buy up magic at char gen and get the resulting power points Adepts (not mysads) can raise magic with karma at char gen and get the resulting power points

STORMY WATERS REWARDS Because pbp is notoriously slower than tabletop play I run a reward system slightly different to that advocated by the CRB which pays out based on sessions played. Obsidian Portal Input +1 karma Character Sketch +1 karma Character Description +1 karma Character Background +2 karma Runs pay out nuyen as ‘normal’ and are subject to the negotiating skills of the PCs 1 karma and 1 Mark is given per 2 IC posts (or contacts and locations write-ups on OP) Every Mark is worth approx. 2K nuyen…these are intended for big ticket items ie decks, cyber, vehicles, foci… GM approval is required and it is likely that these will pay out between active runs. Karma can be spent in downtime within the run if it seems reasonable to do so. Gaining an extra point of firearms may be reasonable, suddenly learning Latin from scratch might be a bit of a stretch!

APPLICATIONS Applications Player Character Name Character Concept Background Stats estradling Mark Brunn “FX” M Orc Illusionist Detective TBC TBC BetaBeta Addie “Echo” F Human Techno Yes Yes Hiruma Kohaku TBC Face/Networker TBC TBC Alrician Dr. herm. John Uther Grand “Porterhouse” M Elf (human looking) Aspected Mage Yes Yes SalmonMax TBC Sam/Adept TBC TBC TADHG Linda "Bones" Campbell F Elf Aspected Medical Mage Yes TBC Ghrimm Jacob Blackcloud “Knighthawk” M NAN Human Shamanic Conjurer Yes Yes

New players (or existing players with new concepts) please make any initial applications in the following format, stats can follow later (pictures are encouraged!):

Applicant Bio Name/Handle: Race: Sex: Specialization: Description: Personality: Background: A couple of paragraphs outlining how you got to be where you are Story Hook: Any particular hooks that you would like to explore, I will try and make the action as PC driven as possible

Writing Sample A short example of a scene involving your character

[Arialles]

Reserved for useful information...

[Ericg1s]

How does 6th ed change from 5th?

[Arialles]

It’s simpler and more streamlined (with enough crunch that it still feels like SR). The fundamental difference is in Edge, it’s more fluid and replaces lots of modifiers etc (my excel generator has a tab with all the current edge actions on it). A main sticking point for some is that armour doesn’t add to damage resistance, although damage codes are lower, some people have struggled with that idea... having just completed a combat heavy encounter I personally think it works as intended...

[Ericg1s]

What DOES armor do then? I think I should pass-you are using a different rule set than ,me.

[estradling]

Expressing interest...

Placeholder as I work out my character's details

Applicant Bio Name/Handle: Mark Brunn / FX Race: Orc Sex:Male Specialization:Illusionist Detective Description: WIP Background/Personality: In the underground an orc child breathed heavily from his exertions. He had just out run the local bully and he was feeling it. He made a metal note that one of these days his mouth was going to get him into trouble that his legs couldn't out run. "Yes... Yes it will." the unexpected voice hissed at him in answer to this thoughts. Marc looked up startled... Had he been followed? Looking around he saw no one... Just the cat that wasn't really there. Marc had been seeing the grey striped tabby with the all too human grin around for a while. He had learned the hard way that no one else could see or hear it. He thought it was kind of cool at first... but the thing was equal parts creepy and annoying. And right now annoying was winning. "You know... You could try being helpful for once" Knowing that no one else was around Marc felt safe talking to what wasn't really there. The cat found a high spot to perch and grinned down at him. "Oh believe me I am trying... But there isn't much to work with here" It took Marc a moment to realize he had just been insulted. Before he could respond the cat continued. "You need to get an education." It was in a tone of absolute authority. So naturally Marc rebelled "Oh sure... Someone is going to give a kid, like me, an education" his voice was full of derision and mocking as only a pre-teen can. The cat's smile never faded but his eyes lit up... "Give... Oh no I would say not. You are going to have to take it" That made no sense to Marc and so he blurted out "How do you steal and education?" The cat began to fade from view, clearly pleased. Until only the smile was left. "Now you are asking the right questions" Then the smile was gone too. Marc looked where the cat had been. "Stupid useless figment of my imagination." Then mockingly "Now you are asking the right questions." He rolled his eyes and began walking home. But the seed had been planted and it began to take root in Marc's thoughts Story Hook: They say curiosity killed the cat... so what is it going to do to the cat Shaman? FX wants to learn more about magic then he could from the locals in the underground.. But he has never been a learn in the saftey of a class room type, but rather though the school of hard knocks.

Writing Sample They were pinned down by the local corp security. They had been cut off. There only path forward was through an intersection that was set up as a killing field as one of their members had already found out. "We need a distraction.. FX can you?" the team leader voice came over the com. The Ork nods "When you see them duck for cover... Run". He then takes a few seconds and appears to step out of himself. His illusionary stun double boldly steps out into the intersection appears to be lost in concentration. The bullets from the security guard rain down on the illusionary orc and they follow the path physics has dictated to them. However one they hit the boundaries of the spell they 'appear' to bounce off a magical force field. The duplicate begins a magical power up sequence that would fit right in with the latest Suki Redflower trid. Fire surrounds him. Then yelling "BURN!" the mage sends the fire down the hallway toward the guards. The guards see clearly see it coming and find discretion to be the better part of their salary. They dive for cover. The team snaps into motion. Grabbing the wounded they haul out of there. FX coming up last to maintain the illusion of fire as long as he can. Then it goes and he tells the others "Keep running cause now they are going to be really pissed.... "

 

Race C Attributes B Magic D Skills A Resources E

Attributes Body: 5 ( 5 ) Agility: 2 ( 2 ) Reaction: 3 ( 3 ) Strength: 3 ( 3 ) Willpower: 5 ( 5 ) Logic: 2 ( 2 ) Intuition: 5 ( 5 ) Charisma: 2 ( 2 ) Edge: 5 Magic/Resonance: 6 Essence: 6.00 Initiative: 8+1D6 Matrix VR Initiative: 6+2D6 +1D6 HotSIM Astral Initiative: 7+2D6 Phys CM: 12 Stun CM: 11 Surprise: 8 Composure: 7 Judge Intentions: 10 Memory: 7 Lift/Carry: 90kgs Defense Rating 9 Bonus D Damage Res 0

Qualities / Racial Bonuses AR Vertigo -10 Built Tough [Orc] 0 Focused Concentration 12 Incompetant (Skill) -10 Low-light Vision [Meta] 0 Mentor Spirit 10 Spirit/Sprite Bane -12 White Hat -10

Skills Astral 5 ( 11 ) Athletics 1 ( 3 ) Biotech 0 ( / ) Close Combat 0 ( 1 ) Con 5 ( 7 ) Conjuring 5 ( 11 ) Cracking 0 ( / ) Electronics 0 ( 1 ) Enchanting 0 ( / ) Engineering 0 ( 1 ) Exotic Weapons 0 ( / ) Firearms 0 ( 1 ) Influence 0 ( 1 ) Outdoors 0 ( 4 ) Perception 5 ( 10 ) Piloting 0 ( 2 ) Sorcery 6 ( 12 ) Stealth 5 ( 7 ) Tasking 0 ( / )

Spells / Complex Forms Analyze Device Chaos Clairaudience Detect Life Heal Improved Invisibility Physical Mask Trid Phantasm

[Classic Gamer]

Is this a single mission run or an ongoing campaign?

[estradling]

Originally Posted by Ericg1s

What DOES armor do then? I think I should pass-you are using a different rule set than ,me.

6th Edition is a different rule set.. So yeah.

It is a very good question... I had it myself. "What does armor do?" Having just finished a 6th Ed combat with Arialles here is what I found.

Earning and spending Edge is a major driver. Edge is gained when circumstances favor you.. (or by the bad guys when it favors them)

Armor add to your character's Defense Value. The Defensive Value is compared to the Attackers Attack Value to figure out who has the better circumstances. Thus Armor can help you generate Edge or keep your attacker from generating Edge. That is it, that is what it does. That is really how most of the gear works in Shadowrun 6th Edition now.

This does change things a bit. If you like putting a Troll in heavy armor and having them walk through heavy machine gun fire... well I understand that appeal... some times I like that kind of game myself... but 6th Edition does not really support that. Thus it being "More Mirrorshades rather than Mohawk."

The edge you spend can be used to turn hits into misses, or misses in to hits on all kinds of rolls. So having the right skills, right gear, setting up the circumstances, and spending edge wisely, in combination is what gets you through. Rather then any one being clearly superior.

At least that has been my experience so far

[SalmonMax]

Oh wow, 6E at last!

Okay...uh...hmm...I do want to try this. I have that shiny new book and no game to use it on...

[Hiruma Kohaku]

@Arialles

I don’t think I’m going to run Double Tap in this one too. I’m going for a Face networking type. I read the blub about the intro post. It might be helpful for everyone if we knew how hindered techie characters like deckers and riggers will be in a city where the Matrix and most tech is shutdown. How feasible is it to have a local PC instead of one coming into the city. I was thinking about ‘that guy’ that knows everybody when he walks in the bar and has his usual drink.

[Arialles]

Originally Posted by Classic Gamer

Is this a single mission run or an ongoing campaign?

It will start as a single mission but probably over a longer timescale than normal (potentially 30 Nights but I doubt that ). After that it has the scope to be extended easily if players are enjoying it!

[Arialles]

Originally Posted by Hiruma Kohaku

@Arialles

I don’t think I’m going to run Double Tap in this one too. I’m going for a Face networking type. I read the blub about the intro post. It might be helpful for everyone if we knew how hindered techie characters like deckers and riggers will be in a city where the Matrix and most tech is shutdown. How feasible is it to have a local PC instead of one coming into the city. I was thinking about ‘that guy’ that knows everybody when he walks in the bar and has his usual drink.

Technically if you were in Toronto at the time of the ‘event’ then your tech, including cyber, is dead... that said that probably isn’t a very enjoyable character to play so we can work something out... anyone come in to the city afterwards isn’t affected so you can bring tech with you. The infrastructure for the matrix is fried and so deckers and technos would have to be creative about their role but if anyone is desperate to play one rest assured I will make sure there’s scope for your skill set to be useful!

[Arialles]

Originally Posted by Ericg1s

What DOES armor do then? I think I should pass-you are using a different rule set than ,me.

Fair enough, it’s not for everyone perhaps... if you wanted to see some combat examples in play you could read from the middle or so of this thread: https://www.rpgcrossing.com/showthread.php?t=198004

[Betabeta]

I would like to play, and would bring along Echo from Free Seattle

Name/Handle: Handle: Echo (name: Addison, Addie for short)
Race: Human
Sex: F
Specialization: major: Technomancer, supporting: athletics, con

Description: Early 20s, fairly athletic build, a smidge above average height for her class background (so tall compared to many sinless), golden blonde hair and the sort of skin that comes from growing up in wealth. A smile that makes you want to believe she is sincere.
Personality: Tends to take care of others, as an escape from the battle between perfectionism and the crushing realization of her own inadequacies

Background: Half a dozen years ago she was the golden haired daughter high achieving parents, busy with student council in an exclusive school, babysitting gigs for other wealthy families, and trying to live up to her Mother's expectations. Then her life quickly spiraled off the golden path, culminating in spending a few years in experimental, brutal, matrix simulations. It was only after she had escaped the experiment (due to the interference of a group of shadowrunners) and had her new life also crumble away, that she discovered that she was a technomancer and learned to start controlling the aspects that had been tearing her apart. She has been trained recently for life in the shadows, and has started earning a living there (see previous Arialles games Run! (part of the simulations) and Forbidden Aegis (where she was one of the experiment subjects released), and Never Frag a Fixer (where she gets her first proper shadowrun))

Story Hook: She has a contact in Toronto, one of the other simulation experiment subjects. 'Dot' (Dorothy Walker) is a late-20s troll working as a trid script writer for one of the Ares Entertainment subsidiaries. Addie has an address, and would try to make contact once in Toronto. Having survived the experimental sims together had created a deep loyalty.

Additional note: I realize that matrix may not be a big part of 30 Nights. I'm OK with that. She does have decent dice pools in Athletics (including throwing weapons) and Con, so at the least can be a support to other characters. And she has the skinlink echo where she can direct connect to matrix devices she touches, which could come in useful at points.

[SalmonMax]

Is there a list of known PCs already in the game? I see that there are some characters from an earlier game coming across into this one. I'd like to propose a character that doesn't step on any toes.