New chat room entered at 6/2/2005 8:49:34 PM.
You are now in chat room “sotsw060205.”
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CirclMastr has entered the chat room.

MilesMk1 (8:51:02 PM): Evening.
Umbrafer (8:51:06 PM): Benton/Scavengers will be absent today, he just got word that a good friend of his is going up the river for a few months for reasons that are, if he represented them accurately, dubious.
Thematrian1 (8:51:18 PM): going up the river?
MilesMk1 (8:51:26 PM): Jail, I'm guessing?
Umbrafer (8:51:35 PM): Nine months in prison, apparently.
Umbrafer (8:52:00 PM): As a result, he has other things on his mind tonight.
MilesMk1 (8:52:44 PM): Huh...
Thematrian1 (8:52:57 PM): ...oh. Gotcha.
Umbrafer (8:53:42 PM): Anyway. I must step out for a minute, but I'll be back and then we can get started.
CirclMastr (8:55:26 PM): *writhes in agony*
CirclMastr (8:55:29 PM): Well, not really.
CirclMastr (8:55:52 PM): But I am injured.
MilesMk1 (8:57:04 PM): Fallout from putting "The Art of Seduction" into practice? ;P
MilesMk1 (8:57:18 PM): What happened?
CirclMastr (8:57:24 PM): Heh, actually I've only gotten through the introduction of that so far.
Umbrafer (8:57:36 PM): I return.
CirclMastr (8:57:49 PM): Work injury, probably a combined result of my worn-out shoes and too-healthy frame.
MilesMk1 (8:58:27 PM): Ah. Are you going to sue them and make millions?
CirclMastr (8:58:57 PM): The only way I could take anyone for millions would be the state through Workman's Comp.
CirclMastr (8:59:08 PM): And, I don't feel like going through all that shit over a twisted ankle.
Umbrafer (8:59:27 PM): You don't feel like making millions over a twisted ankle?
CirclMastr (8:59:42 PM): If it was as easy as calling a lawyer, I would.
CirclMastr (9:00:00 PM): But this would be a bunch of lawyers, and a bunch of doctors, and a bunch of lost time.
CirclMastr (9:00:11 PM): And it probably wouldn't work.
Umbrafer (9:01:39 PM): In any event.
Thematrian1 (9:02:40 PM): we'd negotiated 100k or so for a job that needed to be done, like, instantly
Umbrafer (9:03:13 PM): And just picked up MacLeod, who was playing vagrant.
CirclMastr (9:03:23 PM): And need to tell me what's going on.
Thematrian1 (9:03:50 PM): that's right
MilesMk1 (9:05:15 PM): I suggest Gem fills MacLeod in while I study the chip the J provided us with.
Thematrian1 (9:05:21 PM): That sounds like fun
Thematrian1 (9:05:38 PM): (I forget, is it only MacLeod who doesn't know what's oging on?)
MilesMk1 (9:05:55 PM): (Yeah, we didn't pick up any of the others.)
Umbrafer (9:06:11 PM): (Scavengers and Gustave are also in the dark, but may or may not be getting called in anyway)
Thematrian1 (9:06:14 PM): (I meant, does Dave need an explanation, or just MacLeod?)
CirclMastr (9:06:35 PM): (Dave needs one)
CirclMastr (9:06:39 PM): (I came in late, remember?)
CirclMastr (9:07:10 PM): (I arrived in time to see the price war, but not the details of the actual run)
Thematrian1 (9:07:26 PM): oh
Umbrafer (9:07:27 PM): (You saw the important parts ;) )
Thematrian1 (9:07:37 PM): "Some of the details are still obscure; Glitch is checking that out now."
CirclMastr (9:08:03 PM): "...Okay, so what's the general gist of it?"
MilesMk1 (9:08:30 PM): *starts reading*
Thematrian1 (9:08:31 PM): "Here's what we know. By sundown tomorrow, we need to enter a facility, make some changes to the hardware there, and get out cleanly. Security is light."
CirclMastr (9:09:05 PM): "I'm guessing they aren't the sort of changes that can be made with a katana."
Thematrian1 (9:09:45 PM): "More, the kind that matrix knowledge helps with."
Thematrian1 (9:09:52 PM): "Speaking of, how's your new deck working out?"
CirclMastr (9:10:56 PM): "Not so good, everyone's too busy to actually show me how to use it."
Thematrian1 (9:11:37 PM): "That's too bad. Who's 'everyone'?"
Thematrian1 (9:11:47 PM): (What does Glitch find out? I needs me some hard data to go with all this paranoia)
CirclMastr (9:11:56 PM): "Eh, just some friends of mine."
MilesMk1 (9:12:07 PM): BTW, is it sundown? I thought we had until sunrise.
Umbrafer (9:12:22 PM): Sundown.
Thematrian1 (9:12:35 PM): (Less than 24 hours, remember? ::grumble:: )
Thematrian1 (9:13:00 PM): "Fair enough. The time limit makes me think we're picking up someone else's mess."
MilesMk1 (9:13:09 PM): (Heh... I thought we had like, 8 :))
Thematrian1 (9:13:19 PM): (Oh. That sunrise)
MilesMk1 (9:13:38 PM): (I like it just fine your way, though.)
CirclMastr (9:14:05 PM): "Doesn't surprise me. If nobody made messes, we'd be out of work."
Thematrian1 (9:15:11 PM): "So true. I meant specifically, another team. Probably the security is still riled up, but as I said there wasn't much of it."
MilesMk1 (9:16:25 PM): (So, what do I find out?)
CirclMastr (9:17:08 PM): "They're easy to take care of. Or do they want no fatalities?"
Thematrian1 (9:17:26 PM): (Actually, I don't remember. What were the cleanliness limits on this job?)
CirclMastr (9:17:39 PM): (God will sort the dead!)
Umbrafer (9:17:50 PM): There were none specified. Well, not hard limits.
MilesMk1 (9:18:01 PM): (The limits are, the things we plant have to stay in place undetected until that Sundown... right?)
Umbrafer (9:18:10 PM): The soft limit is that your modifications have to have been undiscovered by that Midnight
MilesMk1 (9:18:22 PM): (Ah, right. Midnight.)
CirclMastr (9:18:36 PM): (Corpses can't discover them!)
CirclMastr (9:18:42 PM): (The modifications that is)
MilesMk1 (9:18:59 PM): (But others can discover corpses.)
Umbrafer (9:19:00 PM): (If you want to stay in the building and wait for anyone who might show up, feel free)
Thematrian1 (9:19:07 PM): "It was "strongly recommended" that we show up before sundown. The changes have to stay in place until midnight."
Thematrian1 (9:19:17 PM): "If you're thinking this is weird, well, so am I."
CirclMastr (9:19:34 PM): "I'm mostly wondering what happens at midnight, and if we can find that out before sundown."
Thematrian1 (9:20:27 PM): "A worthy question."
Umbrafer (9:21:33 PM): The place is on the outskirts of town. The information contained within is very basic, but suggests that there isn't all that much to the facility.
Umbrafer (9:21:41 PM): What it monitors isn't specified.
MilesMk1 (9:24:27 PM): What are we to plant? And where?
Umbrafer (9:25:12 PM): There are a few small electronic devices
Umbrafer (9:25:19 PM): And a pair of datachips
Umbrafer (9:25:28 PM): There are wiring diagrams for the devices
Umbrafer (9:25:49 PM): Directions for where they should be spliced in. Two of them actually get inserted into a cut fiberoptic cable.
Umbrafer (9:26:24 PM): And the chips contain unknown code with the suggestion that it could be useful to plant them somewhere on the server where they might get triggered.
Thematrian1 (9:27:49 PM): Uh huh. When/if Glitch relates this: "I'd like a look at that code, then."
MilesMk1 (9:28:36 PM): *hands the chips over*
CirclMastr (9:29:00 PM): *looking out the window* "I remember when drive-thru places had real food..."
Thematrian1 (9:29:23 PM): (to MacLeod) "Great. If I start smelling like burned meat, unjack me please."
Thematrian1 (9:29:28 PM): ::slot, examine::
MilesMk1 (9:29:37 PM): Does it say what kind of fiberoptic cable? Does it seems like the sort they'd notice being cut? If so, do I know of ways of... I dunno, putting in a bypass, cutting, splicing in and reconnecting?
CirclMastr (9:29:57 PM): *hand on slot to unjack*
Umbrafer (9:30:30 PM): There's not really a good way to do that. You're not sure how noticable the cut will be, but doing it fast might be a good idea.
Umbrafer (9:30:47 PM): Computers (Programming) to examine code.
CirclMastr (9:30:47 PM): "Hey Glitch, where do you usually eat?"
MilesMk1 (9:30:54 PM): Does it say what line I'm supposed to cut?
Umbrafer (9:31:25 PM): It does specify, but does it by reference to what it connects to. You'd guess it's the matrix feed to the monitoring stations themselves.
MilesMk1 (9:31:57 PM): "Uh... Mr.Woo's Noodle Palace or RealBurger, but they're expensive."
MilesMk1 (9:32:14 PM): "Why?"
Thematrian1 (9:32:44 PM): Computers (Programming):
Thematrian1 (9:32:49 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 6 1 1 4 6 4
Thematrian1 (9:32:55 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 3 2
CirclMastr (9:32:58 PM): "I dunno. Just got food issues, I guess. You have no idea how much it sucks to not eat in months but be physically incapable of starvation."
Thematrian1 (9:33:02 PM): 9 8 4 4 1 1
MilesMk1 (9:33:30 PM): "You haven't eaten in months?"
CirclMastr (9:34:07 PM): "Nah, it was back during the riots. Night of Rage, around that time."
MilesMk1 (9:34:41 PM): "Ah... Still, I'd imagine it does beat being able to starve, no? In the long run...?"
Umbrafer (9:35:22 PM): The code's pretty obfuscated. The entire thing is wrapped in a fair bit of AresScript, with the two main payloads being in what looks like Renraku Teng and HoloLISP. You're not entirely certain that you know what it does
CirclMastr (9:35:39 PM): "Yeah. Though that's starting to get unnerving as well. Haven't met anyone in... at least twenty years. At this point I'd feel better even if they wanted to kill me."
Umbrafer (9:35:45 PM): As far as you can tell it just sends some packets around and does some funky memory allocation.
Thematrian1 (9:36:01 PM): (vaguely) "Who wrote this nonsense? Right, someone who didn't want to be figured out..."
Thematrian1 (9:36:05 PM): Where's 'around'? Or can I tell?
CirclMastr (9:36:36 PM): *looks at Gem briefly*
Umbrafer (9:36:42 PM): All of it's based on subnet-only identifiers. It's pretty clearly crafted for the job.
Thematrian1 (9:37:13 PM): "Whoever wrote this had intimate knowledge of the network we're cracking."
CirclMastr (9:37:29 PM): "So somebody botched an inside job?"
MilesMk1 (9:37:54 PM): "Well, they clearly know what they want with the wiring, too, but are being short on background there too."
Thematrian1 (9:38:19 PM): "Maybe. Or it's supposed to look like one, or it's an inside job that got subcontracted..."
Thematrian1 (9:38:22 PM): "Glory"
MilesMk1 (9:38:35 PM): BTW - the devices that aren't going into the cable, are going where?
CirclMastr (9:39:31 PM): "Hey Glitch, anyone ever try to kill you?"
Umbrafer (9:40:16 PM): They get spliced in in various other points of the machinery. One actually gets partly soldered to a board somewhere, and another replaces an integrated circuit somewhere. There are eight pieces, all told.
MilesMk1 (9:43:34 PM): Can I tell if those are indoors or out?
CirclMastr (9:43:45 PM): "...."
Umbrafer (9:43:55 PM): They're all listed as being part of equipment that you wouldn't want to put outside.
MilesMk1 (9:43:57 PM): "Uh... Yes, actually. Why do you ask?"
CirclMastr (9:44:02 PM): "What happened?"
MilesMk1 (9:45:06 PM): "Umm... I can't really talk about it. Let's just say I got downsized."
CirclMastr (9:45:26 PM): "Oh, business?"
Thematrian1 (9:45:39 PM): "It's usually not pleasure, once it reaches that stage."
CirclMastr (9:46:03 PM): "Well, business as opposed to personal."
MilesMk1 (9:46:28 PM): "Yeah, they thought it was just business..." *gets a wistful look*
CirclMastr (9:47:19 PM): "I see..."
MilesMk1 (9:47:21 PM): *briefly rubs his temples and gets back to looking over the data* "Why, has anyone tried to kill you lately?"
CirclMastr (9:48:13 PM): "No, but I wouldn't mind it."
MilesMk1 (9:48:58 PM): "What? Why? Feel a real bad need to get some realistic practice?"
MilesMk1 (9:49:39 PM): "Besides, it hasn't been that long since someone did try. Remember? In the lobby?"
CirclMastr (9:50:08 PM): "Practice would be nice, but nicer would be meeting someone like me again. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather they were friendly, but I just want to know I'm not wasting my time."
MilesMk1 (9:52:05 PM): "Wasting your time? Waiting for someone... like you..., you mean?"
Umbrafer (9:52:51 PM): Remind me where this discussion is taking place?
CirclMastr (9:52:57 PM): "Yeah."
CirclMastr (9:53:00 PM): (In the van)
Thematrian1 (9:53:00 PM): Glitch's car, IIRC
CirclMastr (9:53:03 PM): (Yeah)
Thematrian1 (9:53:06 PM): (right, the van, nevermind)
CirclMastr (9:53:15 PM): (In some private vehicle)
Thematrian1 (9:53:25 PM): (Not a public thoroughfare)
Umbrafer (9:53:26 PM): Anyone looking out the window roll Perception.
MilesMk1 (9:53:32 PM): (Well, my Land Rover since Scavengers isn't here...)
Thematrian1 (9:53:35 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 2 6 1 2 1 3
CirclMastr (9:53:36 PM): CirclMastr rolled 4 6-sided dice: 4 4 5 6
CirclMastr (9:53:38 PM): CirclMastr rolled 1 6-sided die: 2
Thematrian1 (9:53:40 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 2
MilesMk1 (9:53:42 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 1 6 3 1 6 3
CirclMastr (9:53:43 PM): (8 5 4 4)
MilesMk1 (9:53:45 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 4 6
MilesMk1 (9:53:49 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 6
MilesMk1 (9:53:55 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 6
MilesMk1 (9:53:57 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 2
CirclMastr (9:53:58 PM): (And Glitch pwnz)
Thematrian1 (9:54:25 PM): (sheesh)
MilesMk1 (9:54:27 PM): (26,10)
MilesMk1 (9:54:39 PM): (Still far from the current record.)
MilesMk1 (9:54:56 PM): (I guess I found my missing Tuesday 6's)
Umbrafer (9:54:57 PM): Anyone with one eight sees a flash of light in the sky. Anyone with two or more eights notices the light is coming from a large bird flying overhead.
MilesMk1 (9:55:29 PM): Is the flash directed at us, lightning-like?
Thematrian1 (9:55:53 PM): "Hey, did you guys see that?"
Umbrafer (9:55:59 PM): It's lightning-like, but not directed.
MilesMk1 (9:56:07 PM): If it looks threatening, I take appropriate evasive action.
CirclMastr (9:56:16 PM): "The hell?"
Umbrafer (9:56:54 PM): It looks like it could potentially be threatening, but it's about eighty meters up and just circling. Whether or not it's circling you is difficult to tell.
MilesMk1 (9:57:04 PM): "It came from a large bird... Thunderbird?"
MilesMk1 (9:57:26 PM): *drives somewhere else, keeping an eye out to see if the bird follows*
CirclMastr (9:57:30 PM): "...Since when is a Thunderbird anything but an old car?"
MilesMk1 (9:57:38 PM): "Over there." *points*
Thematrian1 (9:57:39 PM): I summon a Watcher, Force 7
Thematrian1 (9:57:44 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 1 5 6 2 5 3
Thematrian1 (9:57:50 PM): Drain:
Thematrian1 (9:57:53 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 7 6-sided dice: 6 3 5 6 3 6 1
CirclMastr (9:58:03 PM): "I've never been up on all the magical animals that keep popping up..."
Thematrian1 (9:58:21 PM): Once Glitch pointed the bird out to me, did I spot it?
Umbrafer (9:58:27 PM): Watcher: *Watches*
MilesMk1 (9:58:28 PM): "I think it *used* to be an old Indian myth, but they're real now. I think. Not my field."
Umbrafer (9:58:31 PM): Yep
CirclMastr (9:58:54 PM): "Figures. Maybe I'll make up a myth about people worshipping me, and wait fifty years for it to come true too."
MilesMk1 (9:59:30 PM): "That works best after you die, which is a problem in your case..." *continues driving, watching to see if the bird follows*
CirclMastr (10:00:04 PM): "Nah, I'll just wait for the Awakening to make people worship me, with magic! or something."
Thematrian1 (10:00:17 PM): "Go to that bird-like creature. Observe it closely. Return and tell me everything about it."
MilesMk1 (10:00:56 PM): ("The bird like creature is dual natured and AAAAH! THE PAAAAIN!")
Umbrafer (10:01:03 PM): The bird swoops about in a large enough pattern that it's still hard to tell if it's following you.
MilesMk1 (10:01:20 PM): I'll drive for a few minutes to make sure.
Thematrian1 (10:01:29 PM): "If it eats my Watcher, we'll know it's magic." ::glum::
CirclMastr (10:01:40 PM): "...It might not be?"
MilesMk1 (10:02:30 PM): "Maybe it's just a vulture with a flare gun..."
Umbrafer (10:02:44 PM): Actually, Matt's comment is more or less exactly what it comes back with. The Watcher looks badly pecked.
CirclMastr (10:02:44 PM): "Riiiiight..."
Umbrafer (10:02:51 PM): Umbrafer rolled 15 6-sided dice: 6 3 4 5 3 5 6 4 5 2 4 5 5 1 4
Umbrafer (10:02:54 PM): Umbrafer rolled 15 6-sided dice: 5 1 5 6 6 4 1 4 1 6 6 5 6 3 5
Thematrian1 (10:02:57 PM): Was it followed?
Umbrafer (10:02:58 PM): Umbrafer rolled 2 6-sided dice: 6 3
Umbrafer (10:03:03 PM): Umbrafer rolled 5 6-sided dice: 2 4 1 4 3
Thematrian1 (10:03:07 PM): And come to that, can I Assense from this distance?
Umbrafer (10:03:11 PM): The bird appears to still be content flying about in the air.
Umbrafer (10:03:15 PM): You can give it a shot
Umbrafer (10:03:17 PM): Umbrafer rolled 1 6-sided die: 6
CirclMastr (10:03:19 PM): (Don't make it mad!)
Umbrafer (10:03:21 PM): Umbrafer rolled 1 6-sided die: 1
Thematrian1 (10:03:23 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 1 2 5 5 6 5
Thematrian1 (10:03:26 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 3
Thematrian1 (10:03:34 PM): (TN 5!)
Umbrafer (10:04:37 PM): Awakened, Essence higher than you, healthy and playful.
Thematrian1 (10:04:57 PM): (yeah, but my essence sucks)
Umbrafer (10:05:07 PM): (Them's the breaks :) )
Thematrian1 (10:05:20 PM): "It's feeling playful. Probably not a threat, even if it didn't like my watcher."
MilesMk1 (10:05:35 PM): "Well, let me get a little farther away..."
CirclMastr (10:05:43 PM): (brb, dinner)
MilesMk1 (10:05:48 PM): *drives until he's sure the bird isn't following*
Umbrafer (10:06:25 PM): You drive for a little while.
Umbrafer (10:06:44 PM): You start to get pretty sure that the bird actually is following you, though it's made no move to get closer.
Thematrian1 (10:09:13 PM): I know it well enough that I can command Watchers to search for it later, right?
Umbrafer (10:09:28 PM): Yep
MilesMk1 (10:09:43 PM): "Ok, does anyone else think that damn thing is following us?"
MilesMk1 (10:10:15 PM): "We need an mall with a big underground garage, or something..."
Thematrian1 (10:10:35 PM): "Indeed, or get me into the open air and I could try driving it off with a sky spirit."
Thematrian1 (10:10:51 PM): "If it's really marked us though, the question is really 'who sent it'"
MilesMk1 (10:11:06 PM): "Yeah... But I doubt we can ask it."
MilesMk1 (10:11:22 PM): "Where's that damn Voodoun when you need him?"
MilesMk1 (10:11:37 PM): "Let's try to lose it first, if that doesn't work..."
Thematrian1 (10:11:57 PM): "Passed out, that's where he is. Where's Ghede?"
Umbrafer (10:12:11 PM): What steps are you taking to lose it?
MilesMk1 (10:13:27 PM): 1. Pick up speed - hoping this thing doesn't go as fast as the legal speed limit. 2. Head for somewhere with a large underground garage, or tunnel network where I could conceaivably disappear from sight and change direction
MilesMk1 (10:13:40 PM): - or just park in there, out of sight, and call a cab.
Umbrafer (10:14:32 PM): Roll Seattle area knowledge or some reasonable facsimile.
MilesMk1 (10:15:47 PM): (sorry, RL delay)
Umbrafer (10:16:18 PM): (No worries)
MilesMk1 (10:16:50 PM): Hmm... Apparently, the closest thing I have is Safehouse Locations.
MilesMk1 (10:17:11 PM): I think I meant to buy it on chip and forgot. >_>
MilesMk1 (10:17:29 PM): Or was I just going with the whole "New to Seattle" angle?
Thematrian1 (10:17:41 PM): that's it, it was deep-laid planning
Thematrian1 (10:17:44 PM): me too
Umbrafer (10:17:59 PM): MacLeod? You're their last home.
Umbrafer (10:18:02 PM): *Hope
MilesMk1 (10:18:33 PM): Default to INT? :)
Umbrafer (10:18:48 PM): Sure, go for it.
MilesMk1 (10:19:05 PM): With or without encephalon? (we really need to figure this out sometime)
Umbrafer (10:19:16 PM): Um. With.
MilesMk1 (10:19:21 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 8 6-sided dice: 5 6 2 4 5 6 4 2
MilesMk1 (10:19:26 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 6 4
MilesMk1 (10:19:31 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 2
MilesMk1 (10:19:43 PM): Yeah, found my missing 6's, all right.
MilesMk1 (10:19:57 PM): 14, 10
Umbrafer (10:21:11 PM): Well, there are some malls nearby. There's also a tunnel a few miles southeast, and you could always try heading for Downtown—they don't take giant electricity-firing birds that well closer to SeaTac.
MilesMk1 (10:21:49 PM): Tunnels tend to be a little predictable when it comes to the number of exits... I think I'll try downtown.
Umbrafer (10:23:05 PM): You head in that direction.
Umbrafer (10:23:13 PM): Umbrafer rolled 8 6-sided dice: 5 3 5 4 3 1 5 6
Umbrafer (10:23:19 PM): Umbrafer rolled 1 6-sided die: 1
MilesMk1 (10:24:08 PM): I'll drive quickly, but legally.
Umbrafer (10:24:11 PM): You get closer to downtown when a largeish helicopter starts heading your way.
MilesMk1 (10:24:47 PM): I make sure to just drive like I had a destination in mind and wasn't running away from a giant bird.
Thematrian1 (10:24:56 PM): (All hands to battle stations!)
CirclMastr (10:25:16 PM): (Back)
MilesMk1 (10:25:22 PM): (I'm hoping it's actually heading birdward, not for us.)
CirclMastr (10:25:24 PM): (Shit, I missed a lot)
Umbrafer (10:25:39 PM): Roll driving-like-you-have-destination-in-mind-and-aren't-running-from-giant-bird.
MilesMk1 (10:25:50 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 8 6-sided dice: 2 6 4 6 6 5 4 4
Umbrafer (10:25:53 PM): Willpower, maybe?
Umbrafer (10:25:57 PM): Hehehe
MilesMk1 (10:26:10 PM): I rolled Car, but... Should I roll Willpower? ;)
Umbrafer (10:26:19 PM): Go for it.
MilesMk1 (10:26:28 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 4 6-sided dice: 4 2 6 4
MilesMk1 (10:26:32 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 1 6-sided die: 5
Umbrafer (10:26:52 PM): You keep things steady as they go.
MilesMk1 (10:27:07 PM): (anyone who brings up what I said to Dragcrell about Will gets evil thoughts sent towards their internet connection)
CirclMastr (10:27:09 PM): ("Keep your distance Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance." *Roar!* "I dunno... fly casual!")
Umbrafer (10:27:24 PM): The helicopter draws nearer and suddenly emits a plume of something. The bird squawks indignantly.
MilesMk1 (10:27:53 PM): "Hah... That'll learn him."
Umbrafer (10:27:58 PM): Another plume and the bird decides it's had enough.
Umbrafer (10:28:14 PM): It squawks again and starts an aggressive dive away from the helo.
MilesMk1 (10:28:39 PM): ...and not towards us, right?
Thematrian1 (10:28:47 PM): (I can't remember what you said to Dragcrell abou...oh, right)
CirclMastr (10:28:57 PM): (I can't remember.)
CirclMastr (10:29:02 PM): (I probably wasn't there.)
MilesMk1 (10:29:06 PM): (Well, you weren't there.)
Umbrafer (10:29:16 PM): Not towards you, no.
MilesMk1 (10:29:32 PM): (BTW, we never did get Karma for our last job... I knew there was a reason why I hadn't boosted it.)
Thematrian1 (10:29:34 PM): (Sorry Dave, Matt's good thoughts can bring up my wireless connection. I fear what his evil thoughts might do.)
CirclMastr (10:29:58 PM): (I don't remember EVER getting karma in this game.)
MilesMk1 (10:30:38 PM): (You got the deck, we got the karma.)
CirclMastr (10:31:10 PM): (I know that wasn't the first run)
Umbrafer (10:31:14 PM): (Hm, you're right. Seven karma apiece sounds about right in this case)
CirclMastr (10:31:18 PM): (Rather, we had at least two runs)
MilesMk1 (10:31:53 PM): (First one was nine.)
Thematrian1 (10:32:00 PM): (Yeah)
MilesMk1 (10:32:15 PM): (So you should have 16 now.)
Umbrafer (10:33:22 PM): The bird flies away, rather sodden and unhappy-looking.
MilesMk1 (10:33:34 PM): (And I'm officially spending 10 of it to boost my Willpower, so I'm no longer in quite as abject a fear of mages.)
MilesMk1 (10:33:59 PM): (Hmm... Or perhaps not. I'll think about it.)
MilesMk1 (10:34:03 PM): (Sorry.)
CirclMastr (10:35:00 PM): "So, what now?"
MilesMk1 (10:35:25 PM): "I guess we should probably take a look at the place."
MilesMk1 (10:35:32 PM): "Discretely."
Thematrian1 (10:35:35 PM): (16 karma...welll, once I find that initiatory group I'll be able to spend some, maybe)
Thematrian1 (10:35:47 PM): "Sounds good. MacLeod, did you bring your deck?"
CirclMastr (10:35:49 PM): "Well, nobody ever suspects the 12 year old."
CirclMastr (10:36:01 PM): "Uh, no..."
Umbrafer (10:36:16 PM): (I'm sure the Black Lodge would love to have you join)
Thematrian1 (10:36:39 PM): (Who're they?)
MilesMk1 (10:37:00 PM): "We can make a couple of stops to get gear. I should get my scanner, ultrasound detector and laser mike."
Umbrafer (10:37:06 PM): (Bad news.)
CirclMastr (10:37:35 PM): "I don't think anyone has time to give me a crash course in modern decking."
Umbrafer (10:37:54 PM): (No, but we can give you one in postmodern decking)
Thematrian1 (10:38:02 PM): "I was thinking more, research on this company."
MilesMk1 (10:38:34 PM): "Oh. Yeah, that too."
CirclMastr (10:39:36 PM): "I could rustle up some tears and say my dog ran through the fence, and see if they let me look around inside."
Thematrian1 (10:39:58 PM): "Haha. What do you think, Glitch? Crazy enough to work?"
Thematrian1 (10:40:05 PM): "For myself, I like it."
CirclMastr (10:42:32 PM): (*pokes Glitch*)
Thematrian1 (10:42:53 PM): "Well, whatever we're doing, I'd like some fast intel on the building."
Thematrian1 (10:42:58 PM): (We have the address, right?)
CirclMastr (10:43:18 PM): "Let me try it. Not like they can kill me."
Umbrafer (10:43:21 PM): (Yes. Kinda hard to get the job done without it)
Thematrian1 (10:43:56 PM): (Heh, fair point)
MilesMk1 (10:44:00 PM): "I don't know... We can try it."
Thematrian1 (10:44:28 PM): Ok. Search via Computers on that address. Building plans would be awesome but I'm not holding my breath, history would be great, current owners and information thereon would be good times as well.
MilesMk1 (10:44:31 PM): "As long as the fence isn't electrified and mined."
Thematrian1 (10:44:31 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 4 5 3 4 2 3
Umbrafer (10:46:06 PM): You find some basic information. It's owned by a company name of Janus Monitoring Services, PLC.
Umbrafer (10:46:22 PM): They're recorded as owing a few similar installations about the city and in a few other cities, but not much other information.
Thematrian1 (10:47:02 PM): Nothing on the address/building?
Umbrafer (10:47:51 PM): It was built in 2046, but no plans are on record. There is mention of it being granted extraterritoriality via agreement with Shiawase.
Thematrian1 (10:48:26 PM): well, that's good to know
Thematrian1 (10:48:35 PM): "The area has extraterritoriality, guys."
CirclMastr (10:48:51 PM): "Under which corp?"
Thematrian1 (10:49:01 PM): "Shiawase"
Thematrian1 (10:49:39 PM): "Could be worse, I guess."
CirclMastr (10:49:40 PM): *keeps silent re: hopes of hot Japanese secretary* "Well, they still can't kill me."
MilesMk1 (10:51:09 PM): "Is that unusual for a place that small?"
MilesMk1 (10:51:35 PM): "I guess you can try the dog thing... Of course, it'd be more convincing if you had a leash, or something."
Thematrian1 (10:51:42 PM): "You tell me; this sort of thing doesn't happen on the open water."
CirclMastr (10:51:50 PM): "Doesn't matter. Renraku could make a portapotty extraterritorial if they mark it."
MilesMk1 (10:53:08 PM): "...although saying it was a cat or something might be more credible, if it's a decent fence. But then you have to explain why you were taking a cat for a walk..."
Thematrian1 (10:53:24 PM): "Maybe it escaped, and he saw it running this way?"
CirclMastr (10:53:29 PM): "Yeah, little dog works better."
Umbrafer (10:54:13 PM): (I will point out that the maps indicate that this facility is somewhat out-of-the-way, off a smallish highway to the border)
CirclMastr (10:54:17 PM): "Maybe puppy."
MilesMk1 (10:54:30 PM): (Ah.)
MilesMk1 (10:54:56 PM): "Although that leaves the question of why you'd be out there with a dog."
CirclMastr (10:55:12 PM): "Rest stop on a trip to... whatever they're near the border of."
MilesMk1 (10:55:27 PM): "Maybe say you're lost, or some bigger kids drove you out there, beat you up and left you, and you want to call your parents?"
CirclMastr (10:55:49 PM): "They'd probably have a phone at the guardhouse by the gate, though."
MilesMk1 (10:56:12 PM): "Well, we won't know the best approach once we get a look at the place, I guess."
CirclMastr (10:56:34 PM): "True. Let's get going, then."
MilesMk1 (10:56:37 PM): (Am I actually going to get some use out of that Wilderness Survivial chip I bought, never expecting to use it?)
MilesMk1 (10:56:57 PM): (Guess it depends on how out of the way it is.)
Umbrafer (10:57:11 PM): (Doubtful on this run. Unless you count the Barrens, you don't get much wilderness until you cross the Salish-Shidhe border
Umbrafer (10:57:13 PM): *)
MilesMk1 (10:57:28 PM): (Just as well, I guess.)
CirclMastr (10:57:55 PM): "Hey, either of you have an old set of keys?"
MilesMk1 (10:58:03 PM): *makes a stop to get his snooping gear, and heads for the monitoring station*
MilesMk1 (10:59:05 PM): "I can probably dig something up..."
CirclMastr (10:59:18 PM): "Can you get 'em? I had an idea."
Umbrafer (10:59:32 PM): Perception
Thematrian1 (10:59:34 PM): "Er, yes. What for?"
Thematrian1 (10:59:37 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 6 6 1 3 1 1
Thematrian1 (10:59:41 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 4 5
MilesMk1 (10:59:43 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 2 4 1 1 5 5
Umbrafer (11:00:03 PM): Everyone who gets one or more fives spots a cluster of fliers for a festival at Council Island.
Umbrafer (11:00:11 PM): It was plastered on one of the walls you passed.
Umbrafer (11:00:33 PM): The festivities apparently began yesterday and continue all week.
CirclMastr (11:00:56 PM): "I take the keys and throw them through or over the fence, at the back or something, after Gem punches me....
Thematrian1 (11:01:10 PM): "I'm not sure I like this plan."
CirclMastr (11:01:25 PM): "Then I go crying to the guards that daddy and mommy were fighting and mommy threw the keys and daddy hit her and then mommy hit me and told me to get the keys."
MilesMk1 (11:02:53 PM): "Um."
Umbrafer (11:03:15 PM): (There are layers of psychoanalysis that could be done here that I can't even begin to get into)
MilesMk1 (11:03:28 PM): "Well, it could work, but are security guards ever that sympathetic? At best, I'd figure they'd offer to get the keys for you..."
MilesMk1 (11:04:02 PM): Is Council Island anywhere near our target?
Umbrafer (11:04:29 PM): Nope. You're on the Southeast part of town, Council Island is Northeast.
CirclMastr (11:04:52 PM): "One way to find out."
MilesMk1 (11:05:34 PM): "I think we should limit our exposure, though... It's ok if they see one of us, but more?"
CirclMastr (11:05:56 PM): "They'd just see me."
Thematrian1 (11:06:54 PM): "No, this isn't good. Even the puppy one was better."
Thematrian1 (11:06:58 PM): ::ponder::
CirclMastr (11:07:07 PM): "Okay."
CirclMastr (11:08:10 PM): "So, lost puppy?"
Thematrian1 (11:08:32 PM): "I'm not convinced it's good. Place is awfully out of the way for that. Riling them up won'thelp us..."
Thematrian1 (11:08:39 PM): What time is it? And have we seen the place yet?
Umbrafer (11:09:42 PM): You're about five minutes away from the site
Umbrafer (11:09:55 PM): As for what time, what time did you pick MacLeod up?
Thematrian1 (11:10:14 PM): Right after the meet, basically
Umbrafer (11:10:46 PM): *Nods* So it's probably edging on midnight, unless I misremember when the meet was. *Checks notes*
Umbrafer (11:11:28 PM): (Probably more like 12:30)
CirclMastr (11:11:52 PM): "Maybe go with I'm lost, then. Or some bigger kids beat me up. But then Glitch would have to hit me."
Thematrian1 (11:13:04 PM): "But still, why there?"
Thematrian1 (11:13:12 PM): What does the place look like?
CirclMastr (11:13:28 PM): "They abandoned me there because it's, abandoned?"
MilesMk1 (11:13:38 PM): "Well, he could always say they dumped him there on purpose because it's so far from anywhere else. Yeah."
Umbrafer (11:13:48 PM): Got a twelve-foot chain-link fence surrounding a small concrete bunker-style compound.
Umbrafer (11:14:14 PM): It may have been a power station in some past life.
MilesMk1 (11:14:17 PM): *drive by, then park out of sight*
MilesMk1 (11:14:37 PM): "No windows. Well, there goes the laser mike."
CirclMastr (11:15:05 PM): "Any guardpost? Maybe they'll bring me inside to call someone."
MilesMk1 (11:15:23 PM): "Let me go out and take a look."
Thematrian1 (11:15:27 PM): What're the surroundings like?
Umbrafer (11:15:52 PM): There's a dip in the terrain a few hundred meters past. You won't be completely hidden, but you think you can reasonably expect to remain hidden.
Umbrafer (11:15:57 PM): The area is mostly empty field.
Umbrafer (11:16:29 PM): There's a disused baseball diamond nearby, but other than that it's devoid of structure.
Thematrian1 (11:16:49 PM): "So if we had a baseball...haha"
MilesMk1 (11:17:13 PM): "Damn, this place is not conducive to sneaking up on. It figures, it makes no sense to have a monitoring station surrounded by obstructions..."
MilesMk1 (11:17:21 PM): "Yeah. And if it wasn't midnight..."
Thematrian1 (11:17:46 PM): "Argh. If only we had one more night..."
Umbrafer (11:18:15 PM): You notice that there's actually been a makeshift addition of a few extra feet of fence on the side facing the diamond, so it probably sees some use.
MilesMk1 (11:18:19 PM): "It looks like I'm going to have to suit up and crawl closer just to get a decent look at this place. Damn."
CirclMastr (11:18:31 PM): "So, we going to let Glitch do his thing, or have me try my thing?"
MilesMk1 (11:18:37 PM): Few extra feet along the top?
MilesMk1 (11:18:52 PM): "Well, I think I should take a look first, before you try anything."
Umbrafer (11:19:04 PM): Yep
MilesMk1 (11:19:30 PM): "If they just have automated defenses and an electrified fence, it might be hard for you to get their attention without getting shot or fried, and getting the whole area on alert."
Thematrian1 (11:20:30 PM): "So you visit the baseball diamond at midnight...no, I just can't see it."
CirclMastr (11:20:48 PM): "See what?"
Thematrian1 (11:21:11 PM): "See a kid visiting this place at midnight."
CirclMastr (11:21:59 PM): "Not even because he was taken out to the baseball diamond to get the shit beaten out of him by some punks?"
Thematrian1 (11:22:30 PM): "That makes even less sense. Glitch, you go first. Your try won't make them nervous, assuming all goes well."
MilesMk1 (11:23:13 PM): *suits up and moves out to get a look*
Umbrafer (11:23:57 PM): Stealth.
MilesMk1 (11:24:52 PM): I hate this part.
MilesMk1 (11:24:57 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 4 5 3 4 3 1
MilesMk1 (11:25:03 PM): And this is why...
CirclMastr (11:25:07 PM): Karma?
Umbrafer (11:25:11 PM): I can see why.
Thematrian1 (11:25:44 PM): how do you Karma an open test?
Thematrian1 (11:25:50 PM): argh, and I forgot to Conceal you
CirclMastr (11:25:59 PM): You roll 1 die (open ended) and add it to the highest die you rolled on the test.
Umbrafer (11:26:08 PM): Strictly speaking, you do it one die at a time.
Umbrafer (11:26:12 PM): No
CirclMastr (11:26:15 PM): No?
Umbrafer (11:26:22 PM): You just reroll one die
CirclMastr (11:26:32 PM): That seems shit-poor.
MilesMk1 (11:26:36 PM): Well, I *did* get a 17, for visual stealth...
Umbrafer (11:26:59 PM): It is.
CirclMastr (11:27:03 PM): Well, you're right. It IS shit-poor.
CirclMastr (11:27:39 PM): I like my way better.
MilesMk1 (11:27:43 PM): So I think I'll not use the karma just now. Still, something better would have been nice.
Umbrafer (11:27:53 PM): It is also neither here nor there. Glitch is as subtle as your average brick, albeit your average brick kitted out with a lot of stealth gear and in significant darkness.
Umbrafer (11:28:15 PM): The only lighting is inside the fence, and barely spills out.
Thematrian1 (11:28:40 PM): "He could use some help out there..."
Thematrian1 (11:28:53 PM): ::invoke an F7, um, whatever domain the ground is in.
Thematrian1 (11:29:01 PM): What domain am I in, on the ground?
MilesMk1 (11:29:05 PM): (Hey, I wasn't that bad.)
Umbrafer (11:29:31 PM): Well, you're on an open field… *tries to remember the domains8
Thematrian1 (11:29:43 PM): well, whichever, I want one
Thematrian1 (11:29:47 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 3 1 3 6 3 6
Thematrian1 (11:29:54 PM): Thematrian1 rolled 7 6-sided dice: 3 2 4 6 1 6 4
Thematrian1 (11:30:03 PM): L drain, 2 services
MilesMk1 (11:30:46 PM): (You know what's really dumb? I figured, Stealth is what my character's really good at, so I didn't get a chipped skill for it, because it'd make no sense a set of wires should be better... But I could have had an 8 in it if I did.)
Thematrian1 (11:31:05 PM): "For your first service, Conceal that guy, whose name is Glitch" <other relevant detail as needed>
Thematrian1 (11:31:17 PM): (Yeah, even capped at 3 the CED leads to some odd results)
Umbrafer (11:31:37 PM): Glitch stops noticing himself.
MilesMk1 (11:31:56 PM): #Did you just do something?#
Thematrian1 (11:32:26 PM): #Yes. Just a little spiritual guidance...#
MilesMk1 (11:32:40 PM): #Ah.#
MilesMk1 (11:32:50 PM): *gets in closer to take a good look at the place*
Umbrafer (11:32:57 PM): Figures.
Umbrafer (11:33:02 PM): It's a Field domain.
Thematrian1 (11:34:17 PM): makes sense
Umbrafer (11:34:22 PM): The thing looks like a miniature farmhand. It's quite strange, or would be if Gem wasn't probably used to it.
Thematrian1 (11:35:01 PM): Well, I don't get into the Fields all that often...
Thematrian1 (11:35:10 PM): (to MacLeod) "There, didn't that help?"
CirclMastr (11:35:32 PM): "Hmm?"
Thematrian1 (11:35:35 PM): (Hah, +7 on your open test. It is awesome. What it does to mechanical sensors is not well defined, though)
Umbrafer (11:35:59 PM): (IIRC it's a Physical power)
Umbrafer (11:36:28 PM): (Though you're right, what exactly the interaction is is undefined)
CirclMastr (11:36:36 PM): "You mean getting us to be alone?" ::grin::
Umbrafer (11:37:01 PM): Glitch gets closer. Perception.
MilesMk1 (11:37:12 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 3 1 2 2 1 1
MilesMk1 (11:37:16 PM): ...
Thematrian1 (11:37:19 PM): (I think +Force to Signature would be reasonable, but simultaneously broken)
MilesMk1 (11:37:22 PM): Karma.
Thematrian1 (11:37:30 PM): ::chuckle:: "Not quite."
CirclMastr (11:37:39 PM): (Not like Improved Invis, which is +infinity to Signature)
MilesMk1 (11:37:48 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 5 4 2 4 6 6
MilesMk1 (11:37:53 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 3 5
MilesMk1 (11:38:07 PM): 11,9,5,4,4
CirclMastr (11:38:10 PM): "Aww... you sure?"
Umbrafer (11:38:42 PM): (It isn't. II is single-sense and thus nearly useless against Sensors) You notice that the place actually does have a few small windows you hadn't seen before.
Thematrian1 (11:38:46 PM): (Depends how you rule it. With Sensors high enough, you definitely do have ultrasound...)
Umbrafer (11:39:07 PM): (Sensors 0 has ultrasound)
MilesMk1 (11:39:22 PM): (Heh. And here I thought I was rolling to see something that was going to see or kill me.)
Umbrafer (11:39:34 PM): (Proximity-only at that level, but still.)
Umbrafer (11:40:02 PM): You also hear footsteps around the building.
Thematrian1 (11:40:08 PM): "Afraid so. All that talk of beating you up was off-putting."
MilesMk1 (11:40:12 PM): (Before we spend a lot of time with me looking the place over, I should probably say that I need to log very soon.)
MilesMk1 (11:40:42 PM): *settles in to watch for a minute, see if the guard comes around*
Umbrafer (11:40:45 PM): (Fair enow)
MilesMk1 (11:41:34 PM): (Goodnight, then.)
Umbrafer (11:41:39 PM): A guard does indeed come around. He's smoking a cigarette and looking out through the fence. He appears to be wearing some variety of NVGs.
MilesMk1 (11:41:48 PM): Doh.
Umbrafer (11:41:54 PM): Perception to get a look at him, then we'll wrap up.
CirclMastr (11:42:00 PM): (pwnz'D)
MilesMk1 (11:42:03 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 6 6-sided dice: 5 3 6 4 6 5
MilesMk1 (11:42:09 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 2 6-sided dice: 1 2
MilesMk1 (11:42:34 PM): #I see one guard outside - he has NVGs, the bastard. I hate it when they're competent...#
Umbrafer (11:42:42 PM): He's got a submachine gun of unknown make slung behind his back and is wearing some variety of light armor.
Thematrian1 (11:42:51 PM): (NVGs?)
MilesMk1 (11:42:59 PM): (Night Vision Goggles)
Thematrian1 (11:43:26 PM): (Ah, nuts)
Thematrian1 (11:44:45 PM): well, goodnight Matt. We'll probably hit them in the next game hour.
MilesMk1 (11:44:59 PM): Hehe... Ok, you guys have fun. ;)
Umbrafer (11:45:14 PM): Take care, sleep well, and I'll see you Tuesday.
CirclMastr (11:45:17 PM): :(
MilesMk1 (11:45:23 PM): *waves*
MilesMk1 has left the chat room.

CirclMastr (11:45:45 PM): Night
CirclMastr has left the chat room.

Umbrafer (11:47:28 PM): Confusion (the Critter power) still scares me.
Thematrian1 (11:47:51 PM): as well it should. I've left it alone out of fear of reprisals
Thematrian1 (11:48:02 PM): F7 confusion ends you
Umbrafer (11:48:28 PM): Indeed. Much like the Watcher Attack Pack.
Umbrafer (11:48:49 PM): Hermetics may be expensive, but when you've got six elementals and six Watcher Spirits bearing down on you for some astral melee action…
Thematrian1 (11:49:21 PM): even just the watchers is sufficient to mess a guy up
Thematrian1 (11:49:41 PM): I'd uncork that on bugs, probably, but not anything else.
Umbrafer (11:50:13 PM): I'd use it in the Arcology, just because you need all the advantages you can get
Umbrafer (11:50:38 PM): Problem is, the Blues can probably use it better than an intruder would be able to.
Thematrian1 (11:50:45 PM): sure, but what is there to attack? Can Watchers go physical?
Umbrafer (11:51:03 PM): No, but Deus has Banded mages under his control.
Thematrian1 (11:51:26 PM): sheesh
Thematrian1 (11:51:46 PM): those'd be the Blues? Yeah, I'd play it against them too
Thematrian1 (11:51:52 PM): but in the arcology, I'd use confusion
Thematrian1 (11:51:59 PM): modded Ares Guardians
Thematrian1 (11:52:04 PM): whatever
Umbrafer (11:52:13 PM): The Blues are Deus' miscellaneous security troopers.
Umbrafer (11:52:25 PM): Some are just elite corpsec-style, some are mages.
Thematrian1 (11:52:29 PM): ah
Umbrafer (11:52:58 PM): I'm not sure if Deus bothers with Riggers that aren't him. I suspect the answer is no.
Thematrian1 (11:53:31 PM): what would be the point? I mean, really?
Umbrafer (11:54:35 PM): Well, if Deus' attention were meaningfully confined, and if the drones weren't themselves already highly advanced robots, it might up versatility slightly.
Thematrian1 (11:55:39 PM): heh. Is it meaningfully confined? I mean, by canon?
Umbrafer (11:55:51 PM): Not that I know of.
Umbrafer (11:56:40 PM): Then there's the stuff on the manufacturing floors
Umbrafer (11:56:52 PM): No, not the manufacturing floors
Umbrafer (11:56:59 PM): The floors with the server rooms
Thematrian1 (11:57:15 PM): ?
Umbrafer (11:57:40 PM): Mobile, flesh-eating grey mist.
Umbrafer (11:58:01 PM): As far as anyone can tell it's probably a cloud of nanites propelled by air streams
Thematrian1 (11:58:12 PM): ...
Umbrafer (11:58:31 PM): There are also a few floors that Deus sucked the oxygen out of.
Umbrafer (11:58:51 PM): The headquarters of the real resistance was one, IIRC.
Thematrian1 (12:00:07 AM): as opposed to the 'give Deus' escapees an alibi' resistance?
Umbrafer (12:00:36 AM): Yeah. These guys were Renraku employees of various levels who actually had some idea what was going on and possibly how to try to stop it.
Umbrafer (12:00:51 AM): That turned out not to be a good thing for them.
Thematrian1 (12:01:32 AM): heh, I should say
Umbrafer (12:01:53 AM): I do wish I could see what the non-toned-down Arcology looked like, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to sleep afterwards.
Thematrian1 (12:02:27 AM): isn't that just the one in Shutdown?
Thematrian1 (12:02:31 AM): OR...?
Umbrafer (12:02:59 AM): RA:S is certainly nastier than canon Brainscan, but IIRC the first draft of it was even worse
Thematrian1 (12:03:23 AM): duuuuude
Thematrian1 (12:03:28 AM): I'm not sure how that would go
Thematrian1 (12:03:55 AM): past a certain point, you just wave a wand and say 'make new characters'
Umbrafer (12:04:20 AM): Indeed. It's hard to see how you could get that much worse.
Thematrian1 (12:04:36 AM): well, you can make everything individually nastier. But yes
Umbrafer (12:06:46 AM): Someday I'm going to have to throw a Renraku Arcology: Smackdown where a team of advanced characters (chargen plus a few hundred karma) tries to survive long enough to do something meaningful inside the Arc.
Thematrian1 (12:08:29 AM): I like the title. A couple of awesome mages and riggers, basically?
Umbrafer (12:08:47 AM): Probably. And maybe a Wallhacker.
Thematrian1 (12:09:10 AM): ?
Umbrafer (12:11:28 AM): Troll streetsam who dealt out something like Power 40 before combat drugs with dual cyberspurs.
Thematrian1 (12:12:37 AM): good times. That could touch the drones, but the first bee would finish him
Thematrian1 (12:12:47 AM): those are the biggest threat, from my perspective
Umbrafer (12:13:17 AM): Yeah, the entire team would have to have high Intelligences and Perceptive.
Umbrafer (12:14:16 AM): If you can spot the bees you've got a decent chance of downing them, at least in a group.
Thematrian1 (12:14:22 AM): sooth. Or...how do vehicles do, spotting them?
Umbrafer (12:14:42 AM): The whole spotting them early enough is a problem, though. I don't remember, but I think their Sig is at least 12
Thematrian1 (12:15:38 AM): aw nuts. Hm. Maybe sweep with drone? The bumblebee poison won't hurt them, and then you can blanket the area with shotgun fire or something, that the drone can bounce
Umbrafer (12:17:06 AM): Yeah, 12. Which is somewhat odd, since apparently a normal character with thermo only has a 7 to spot
Umbrafer (12:17:25 AM): The drone's Body 0, though, so any hit pastes it.
Thematrian1 (12:17:42 AM): hm. So perceptive won't help with them
Umbrafer (12:17:57 AM): It will
Umbrafer (12:18:11 AM): For non-Thermo, TN is 10, and there are likely to be other modifiers
Thematrian1 (12:18:30 AM): fair enough. Given that thermo helps, everyone must have thermo
Umbrafer (12:19:41 AM): Oh, that's not so bafd
Umbrafer (12:19:47 AM): *bad
Umbrafer (12:20:03 AM): You only need 96 dice to expect to soak the highest level of damage from the bees.
Thematrian1 (12:21:04 AM): oh, well, never mind then
Umbrafer (12:22:51 AM): All these little details.
Umbrafer (12:28:24 AM): I never cease to be amazed at how SR4 manages to bring out the worst in people.
Umbrafer (12:28:33 AM): You seen the new teaser?
Thematrian1 (12:28:51 AM): no
Umbrafer (12:29:33 AM): http://www.gametrademagazine.com/gtm64_pdfs/GTM64%20-shadowrun.pdf
Umbrafer (12:29:55 AM): Not much new information for us, but the quality of writing is as bad as the rest.
Umbrafer (12:30:22 AM): They specifically advertise making it easy to fudge the system as a strong point.
Thematrian1 (12:31:59 AM): it's loading slowly for me. I...that would not have occurred to me
Thematrian1 (12:33:00 AM): I'm intruiged by the prospect of rule-of-one'ing a successful role
Thematrian1 (12:33:04 AM): wait, no
Thematrian1 (12:33:07 AM): I meant revolted
Thematrian1 (12:33:11 AM): sorry
Umbrafer (12:33:34 AM): Indeed.
Thematrian1 (12:34:35 AM): the really frustrating thing is, I resonate with everything in the unify and simplify paragraph
Umbrafer (12:36:19 AM): I mostly do.
Umbrafer (12:36:38 AM): As mentioned, I am basically opposed to the idea that fudging should be encouraged.
Thematrian1 (12:36:54 AM): heh, fair. I was thinking of the bits discussing SR3 when I wrote that
Umbrafer (12:36:57 AM): It's there if it's needed, but it shouldn't be a strength of the system that it's "easily fudged"
Umbrafer (12:37:00 AM): *Nods*
Thematrian1 (12:42:23 AM): the art is pretty good, though
Umbrafer (12:43:45 AM): I wasn't so sure about the cover
Umbrafer (12:44:14 AM): The dwarf tech-person looks decidedly on the "phat" side for my taste.
Thematrian1 (12:44:33 AM): eh
Umbrafer (12:45:19 AM): (And there were some other things, but I've completely forgotten them in the month or so since I looked at the cover in detail)
Thematrian1 (12:46:07 AM): that's fair
Umbrafer (12:46:56 AM): Still—no zebra-striped pants!
Umbrafer (12:47:03 AM): (I'm still not sure that's a good thing, though)
Thematrian1 (12:47:23 AM): I think I prefer it without zebra-striped pants, in general
Umbrafer (12:48:25 AM): Zebra-striped pants, mohawks, mullets… I'm tempted to put the "punk" back in "cyberpunk"
Umbrafer (12:48:57 AM): Even in the 2050s, the world must still be in a backlash against Disco.
Thematrian1 (12:49:10 AM): haha
Thematrian1 (12:49:19 AM): well, such people certainly exist in the shadows
Thematrian1 (12:49:40 AM): but I'm not sure they go on runs. It seems like they'd lack the skills involved to operate at a high level
Umbrafer (12:50:12 AM): They need no skills. They get by on force of personality alone. If that fails, that's where the mullet comes in.
Thematrian1 (12:50:55 AM): uh...
Umbrafer (12:51:32 AM): Do you doubt the power of the mullet?
Thematrian1 (12:51:58 AM): In faith, I do
Umbrafer (12:52:00 AM): It's strictly business up front, but once you get to the back, it's /all party/.
Umbrafer (12:53:39 AM): Ah well. Maybe I've been reading too much NAGRL recently.
Thematrian1 (12:54:20 AM): NAGRL?
Umbrafer (12:54:40 AM): Neo-Anarchist's Guide to Real Life, a first-edition-era sourcebook.
Umbrafer (12:55:04 AM): With very much the more mullets-and-neon-mohawks, damn-the-man approach.
Thematrian1 (12:55:33 AM): ahhh
Thematrian1 (12:55:37 AM): well, with a name like that...
Umbrafer (12:56:14 AM): I miss the Neo-Anarchists. Captain Chaos was cooler when he was standing up for the Neo-As, not just some guy out there posting stuff.
Umbrafer (12:58:37 AM): Also, I need to do a plotline that involves Juan Atzcapotzalco sometime.
Umbrafer (12:58:52 AM): You familiar with him?
Thematrian1 (12:59:05 AM): not really
Thematrian1 (12:59:12 AM): I read of him in your fan fiction
Thematrian1 (12:59:14 AM): but that's all
Thematrian1 (12:59:17 AM): (good stuff by the way)
Umbrafer (12:59:23 AM): (Thanks)
Umbrafer (12:59:31 AM): CEO of Aztechnology.
Thematrian1 (12:59:38 AM): eesh
Thematrian1 (12:59:46 AM): no wonder the rebels were so upset with him
Umbrafer (1:00:18 AM): Vanished abruptly sometime in the mid-50s, but reappeared for one appearance to pick up a bequest from Dunkelzahn's Will.
Thematrian1 (1:00:30 AM): aha
Umbrafer (1:01:02 AM): There's a decent chance that something bizarre happened to him. IIRC astral scans reveal him to be both Awakened and incredibly powerful now when he was mundane before.
Umbrafer (1:01:17 AM): I think there are also some other oddities about his aura.
Thematrian1 (1:02:23 AM): uh oh
Thematrian1 (1:02:31 AM): did Dunk have anything to say about that?
Umbrafer (1:03:34 AM): IMO it's pretty clear he knew something was up
Umbrafer (1:03:37 AM): Let me grab the bequest
Umbrafer (1:04:42 AM): "To Juan Atzcapotzalco of Aztechnology, I leave the contents of the sealed box held in trust at the Houston Premier Bank. It must be opened on the first day of the next Festival de Muertos to occur in Aztlan (though legally banned,
Umbrafer (1:05:28 AM): we both know the festival still occurs). I swear on my name that the box and its contents pose no danger to you or Aztechnology. Do not disobey these instructions, or the results could be most unfortunate.
Thematrian1 (1:05:36 AM): Yeah, I feel real good about the contents of that box.
Umbrafer (1:05:53 AM): AH's notes: Juan Atzcapotzalco showed up, in person, and accepted the box. He then disappeared.
Umbrafer (1:06:04 AM): I'm assuming that that's not literal.
Thematrian1 (1:06:34 AM): heh
Umbrafer (1:07:06 AM): That may not be a good assumption. *Digs through his copy of PoaD*
Umbrafer (1:09:06 AM): As far as I can tell Aztechnology is also a major suspect in the death of Dunkelzahn in the first place.
Umbrafer (1:10:08 AM): (In the PoaD shadowtalk, that is)
Thematrian1 (1:10:11 AM): heh
Thematrian1 (1:10:28 AM): in reality it was suicide-to-fight-horrors, or somesuch, right?
Umbrafer (1:10:57 AM): Indeed. The more I think about the Dragonheart trilogy, the more it annoys me.
Thematrian1 (1:11:09 AM): ?
Umbrafer (1:12:12 AM): One of the things I always found awesome about FASA Shadowrun was their almost total aversion to giving a straight answer.
Umbrafer (1:12:17 AM): The same did not hold true in the novels.
Umbrafer (1:12:35 AM): It's comparable to the difference between Renraku Arcology: Shutdown and Brainscan.
Umbrafer (1:13:21 AM): PoaD, etc.: "Dunkelzahn is dead! Here are a billion possible reasons and causes." Dragonheart Trilogy: "Oh, yeah, he killed himself to fight the Horrors and is possessing Billy Burnout. I've got his phone number if you want it."
Thematrian1 (1:14:04 AM): hah. Yeah, if you write the metaplot you want to leave as much vague as possible. We GMing types hate being dictated to.
Umbrafer (1:15:01 AM): RA:S: "something took over the arcology, some people say it's a rogue artificial intelligence but no one really knows!" Brainscan: "Yeah, he's doing it for freedom and other easily-understood goals."
Thematrian1 (1:15:29 AM): In fairness, wasn't Shutdown pretty explicit about Deus being behind it?
Umbrafer (1:15:51 AM): I suppose it was towards the later parts of the book.
Umbrafer (1:15:59 AM): Motivation wasn't addressed, though.
Thematrian1 (1:16:11 AM): plus, no other option is anywhere near as frightening
Thematrian1 (1:16:13 AM): indeed
Umbrafer (1:16:18 AM): In the Denver boxed set they spelled things out. Trick is, they spelled it out with three different canon possibilities for each major item.
Thematrian1 (1:16:49 AM): that works too. But it's so much work...
Umbrafer (1:17:42 AM): You know, while the metaplot is still very neat, I'm coming to the conclusion that it's taken a turn for the worse since FanPro took over.
Umbrafer (1:17:51 AM): Mostly due to exactly that tendency to spell things out.
Umbrafer (1:18:05 AM): Only now they don't wait for a second book to come along and ruin things, they do it right off the bat
Thematrian1 (1:19:38 AM): hah
Thematrian1 (1:19:56 AM): and, of course, System Failure
Umbrafer (1:20:31 AM): Yeah. I am having great difficulty believing that they're going to pull that one off.
Umbrafer (1:25:00 AM): Though the art for it was very nifty.
Thematrian1 (1:25:16 AM): hehe
Umbrafer (1:28:00 AM): I think it has become a life goal to use the PowerPC eieio instruction someday, just because it's such a great name.
Thematrian1 (1:28:39 AM): what does it do?
Umbrafer (1:29:01 AM): Forces code to be executed sequentially
Umbrafer (1:29:29 AM): Instructions started before eieio must finish before anything following eieio can start
Thematrian1 (1:31:04 AM): aha. Does that interact with task switching at all?
Umbrafer (1:32:16 AM): I must admit I'm not sure.
Umbrafer (1:32:28 AM): I've read only a basic summary of it when it came up because of its name.
Thematrian1 (1:32:59 AM): heh, right
Umbrafer (1:36:20 AM): So out of interest, how much were you not expecting us to walk into the UB building?
Thematrian1 (1:36:55 AM): I had no plans for it.
Thematrian1 (1:37:00 AM): None
Thematrian1 (1:37:23 AM): if things seemed to move slowly, it was because I was trying to figure out what on earth it should be like
Umbrafer (1:37:36 AM): Understandable :)
Umbrafer (1:37:56 AM): I recently had an event like that in the Saturday game
Thematrian1 (1:38:02 AM): Oh?
Umbrafer (1:38:50 AM): There was a little hole through a pile of rubble that something had come through with enough force to buckle out a reinforced door, and that the team had pulled a severed hand out of, the hole barely wide enough to crawl through.
Umbrafer (1:38:55 AM): And they went in.
Thematrian1 (1:39:14 AM): ...was it still there?
Umbrafer (1:39:21 AM): At least they stopped when they saw the giant tentacle.
Umbrafer (1:39:37 AM): One of the team wanted to keep going.
Thematrian1 (1:39:55 AM): CthulhuRun?
Umbrafer (1:40:03 AM): Sorta.
Umbrafer (1:40:10 AM): That's what this particular run has turned into.
Umbrafer (1:40:14 AM): Oh, there was another moment like that later as well
Thematrian1 (1:40:17 AM): good for them voting him/her down, then
Thematrian1 (1:40:23 AM): yeah?
Umbrafer (1:40:53 AM): They'd gotten down below the factory, down to a ritual chamber with a high-force ward around it, through a purifying chamber and into a large area clearly used for sacrifices.
Umbrafer (1:41:09 AM): And through that into a natural cavern, with a catwalk suspended from the ceiling, barely sturdy enough for one.
Umbrafer (1:41:21 AM): So the same person who wanted to keep going with the tentacle decides to go across.
Umbrafer (1:41:50 AM): As he goes across, the torch he's carrying grows extremely dim and is eventually completely lost from view in under twenty meters.
Thematrian1 (1:42:23 AM): that's not so good. vision mods?
Umbrafer (1:42:48 AM): The party had a range of them. I'm not sure if anyone has thermo, but there was natural low-light.
Umbrafer (1:42:58 AM): He keeps going, gets to a pillar of stone surrounded by pitch blackness. On the stone there's a sacrificial table with red stains on it.
Umbrafer (1:43:19 AM): On the table there are carvings depicting someone walking across a bridge, then lying down on the table
Umbrafer (1:43:30 AM): And then a depiction of a deity taking them to heaven.
Umbrafer (1:43:46 AM): And the player tries to decide whether or not to lie down on the table.
Thematrian1 (1:43:53 AM): ...
Umbrafer (1:44:59 AM): That was pretty much my response.
Thematrian1 (1:45:26 AM): what did s/he decide?
Umbrafer (1:46:09 AM): Well, I'll tell you something and then let you guess.
Umbrafer (1:46:19 AM): Your hint is: he's still playing the same character.
Thematrian1 (1:46:41 AM): hehehe
Thematrian1 (1:47:04 AM): I'm gonna go way the heck out on a limb and call that temporary, though
Umbrafer (1:48:06 AM): Possibly. Despite the lack of a self-preservation instinct, the caracter has survived quite well (though he is the only member of the party to have taken a Deadly wound. He would have died if a contact hadn't rolled two tens on a
Umbrafer (1:48:10 AM): healing roll)
Umbrafer (1:48:28 AM): Though he's cost Adam two Strato-9s.
Umbrafer (1:48:47 AM): (He gets himself in trouble, Adam has to bail him out when his drones are vulnerable)
Thematrian1 (1:49:29 AM): (Figured)
Thematrian1 (1:49:41 AM): 'minds me...how are things for the physad?
Umbrafer (1:51:25 AM): Still workin' on it all. Trying to both add in more things for her to do and maybe try to figure out a way to get her interested in the investigatory portions, but I'm not sure if the latter's going to happen.
Umbrafer (1:51:39 AM): I think she's been more involved recently, though.
Thematrian1 (1:52:13 AM): good times
Umbrafer (1:53:50 AM): As long as the streetsam doesn't get everyone involved killed, things look good. Did I mention that he's quitting the Yakuza?
Thematrian1 (1:54:09 AM): I wasn't aware the Yakuza was the sort of thing you could quit
Thematrian1 (1:54:15 AM): except in a pine box sort of way
Umbrafer (1:54:58 AM): Apparently no one told the character that.
Thematrian1 (1:55:21 AM): should be exciting
Umbrafer (1:55:24 AM): The player knows this and is actively looking forward to it. One of the other characters is actively trying to dissuade this course of action.
Umbrafer (1:56:26 AM): Anyway, I desperately need sleep now. Tuesday?
Thematrian1 (1:56:31 AM): Tuesday
Umbrafer (1:56:51 AM): Here's to a session without a total party kill.
Chat room exited at 6/3/2005 1:57:12 AM.