Looping the Hen Games

Good idea on making a backup character, T. Yeah, I've noticed that characters are very mortal in Shadowrun, no matter how much body they have. Will many of our opponents or guards be carrying stun weapons? (Gel rounds, stick-n-shock rounds) I've been thinking of buying some of those just to lower the body count.

Oh yeah, another thing I wanted to mention. I found this interesting rule in the book about knockdown that I hadn't seen before. It says that if anyone takes damage from a single hit that is equal to or greater than their body attribute, they are knocked down. And, if anyone takes 10 damamge from a hit, they are knocked down, regardless of body. That might add a bit more... "flavor" to the game. (I know there are a few times when I would have been on my ass).

Also, I noticed in the combat section about Quick Drawing a weapon, and I thought that was really cool (One simple action, draw and shoot, roll Pistols + Reaction (3) to perform). I was wondering, however, if you think that might be used to surprise someone who isn't necessarily expecting you to pull out a weapon. Perhaps a con check would be required first (or might simply improve the chances of surprising). A la the classic stumble and when they're wondering what the hell is going on... BLAM BLAM. Anyways, i just thought that would be a cool thing to add, let me know if you think the quick draw could be used like that.

I hadn't seen the knocked down rule, we can definitely add it. It will sure make life difficult for those 2-body people. After the grenade it is likely the guards could have finished you off if everyone was knocked down. Is it both Stun and Physical damage that knocks down?

Stun weapons are definitely available, I just haven't introduced them yet. You are welcome to buy and use them, and it will certainly have less people after you for killing their family members and friends.

On that note, part of standard shadowrunner code is that you do not kill another person you know to be a shadowrunner unless it is what you are getting paid for. (Most Shadowrunners will respect you and yours the same way) Obviously you can and sometimes accidents will happen, but ticking off the shadowrunner community might be more dangerous than ticking off your average corp.

Standard security personnel might have gel rounds, but using stun batons and things effectively might be beyond them. Elite security patrols or paramilitary/police will likely have both stun and standard weaponry at their disposal.

I saw the quickdraw thing, but would make it something reaction or agility based. I'd probably make it an opposed test with the person drawing first getting +1 dice or so.

As far as the quick draw, I was thinking more along the lines of pulling a weapon on someone who really isn't expecting to be attacked, and doing it quickly enough that they might suffer from surprise. In that case I think it would be good just to use the standard surprise rules (Opposed initiative checks, which is fitting, since that's Reaction + Intuition). So the person who did the surprising would get an extra combat turn on their opponents (unless their opponent has extra initiative passes, then they just lose one of those).

It would work kind of like the sleight of hand drawing of a weapon you can do in D&D to make your opponent flat-footed.

And by the way, I really like the idea of interacting with other Shadowrunner teams (Be it in coordination or opposition). We need to have a name for our shadowrunning team.

And the knockdown is for both stun and physical damage. It's not too terrible, from what I can tell, because it doesn't stop you from acting (being supine imposes a -2 on attacks, i think) and I assume that standing up would be a simple action (So you could stand up and still shoot once). But still not fun to have it done to you. I think that it really brings a lot more balance to the body attribute (which isn't nearly as useful as D&D's Constitution, since the range of condition monitor boxes you can have is only from 9-15).

Also, since we're not playing this weekend, I was wondering if Shopach could spend his two weeks working with my arms dealer contact, whose alias is Zephyr, to open up supply lines for APDS rounds and/or Frag Grenades. I'm not sure if I could do anything useful for him during non-play time, but if I can, then great, and if not, then you know what I want to do when we play again :)

Just thought of another question (Sorry for length of post). If we want to upgrade our implants, can we do that just by adding to what we already have, or do they have to implant an entirely new system for the higher rating?

Frag grenades are readily (well semi-readily) available so Shopach can work on setting up a supply line for them and can have at least a half-dozen by the next time we play.

ADPS rounds are something I will only allow to be gotten during a run or during play by some heavy black market rolls. They will typically only be available in 6 or 12-round bundles, as they are the most sought out and dangerous ammunition available (and you hear rumors of specific arms cartels that eliminate outside productin of these). In general, having ready access to these consistently will be very, very difficult.

Also, for implants, yes, you have to replace them from scratch and they can't be upgraded (unless they are something like skillwires or cybereyes with spare capacity in the unit).

Ok, that sounds fair. Those APDS rounds are pretty pimp.

I made the backup character that I'm going to go with, I think. He's a Sniper with Longarms(Sniper Rifle): 7 (+2), Reflex recorder (Longarms) (Gives a +1), Smartlink, Agility 8.

His Motto is (Can you guess?) "One shot, One kill"

(That's right, that is a dice pool of 20)

He also has incidental knowledge of Demolitions (His father worked for the city of Seattle's demolitions team), can con, etiquette, and infiltrate a little to get him past guards so that he can get a good position, And he has a lined coat (That's the trenchcoat style) that is specially designed (with your approval) to conceal and holster his Remington 990 shotgun. (his sniper rifle can be found in his briefcase).

(Don't worry, T, he has combat paralysis and a 2 in Body, and he's a loner type)

Oh yeah, and he dabbles in hacking and has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering.

Hey T, I talked to VioGanni (As he calls himself) and he said he's up for a game on saturday, as am I and Britta, so let me know if you're available. I don't know about Eric yet.

My backup character, whose name is Armant, originally comes from Seattle. His father worked for the city demolitions team and his mother left them when he was very young. As a young man growing up, his father's discipline was such that Armant came to understand that as long as he did not get caught, anything was alright. He left home to attend college at MIT, where he stayed until he recieved a doctorate in Electrical Engineering, and a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering. Upon leaving MIT he sought work in the Engineering field, but found that there were very few jobs to be had outside of the Megacorps that would pay what he hoped to make (And he refused to be a wageslave) So it was that when he had a chance encounter with a Shadowrunner named Bartholemew (A weapons specialist) he quickly found himself on the other side of the law, and loving the pay.

Bartholemew belonged to a Shadowrunning team known as the Ravens, consisting of five members (after Armant joined). They specialized in demolitions jobs and breaking and entering. Upon witnessing Bartholemew neutralize a whole security team from a distance with gel rounds and a Ranger sniper rifle, Armant fell in love with the long range weapon and had Bartholemew teach him its use. It was during this time that Armant met Shopach, who was doing some contract work with the Ravens at the time and did not have his own team. After a time, Armant established several contacts of his own, and began doing a few solo jobs in the wetwork field.

As time passed and Armant established quite a reputation in his field for never missing a target, the Ravens decided that they did not want to share Armant's reputation for (what they saw as) dirty work, and asked him to leave.

Armant left Seattle at that point and moved to Denver, where he set up a legitimate Engineering facility with his savings. However, the call of the dark side was ever upon him, and when he learned that Shopach was living in the Denver area, he sought him out. Shopach helped Armant to establish contacts in the new area, and soon he was back in the business. He hired a couple of undergraduate engineers to run the facility when he was not there (Paying them very handsomely with the entire earnings of his facility, and living off of the money he made running in the Shadows). They almost surely know that Armant is involved with illegal dealings, due to some of the projects that Armant has worked on in his facility, but what kind and how much they have no idea, and they keep their mouths shut because they could not hope to make more money anywhere else at their current level.

Armant is generally a loner, though that isn't to say that he is without charm when he needs to be, he just doesn't really like people much. Unlike Shopach, Armant is a planner, examining all angles of a job before even considering executing a mission, and he is a crack shot with a sniper rifle.