[Looking for Players] Ace in the Hole (SR3) [Closed]

[Charybdis Richelle]

Oh. I should mention that, in my SR universe, smoking is illegal. Mostly because at the time I was first GMing SR, that seemed to be the way tobacco legislation was headed.

However, tobacco use (at least in the UCAS) is treated a lot like alcohol was treated in the USA during Prohibition. Everyone pretty much ignored it. There are underground members-only places to go smoke. The local Lone Star officer, preacher, and school teacher are just as likely to be there as a street punk.

I will make a House Rules File and add these two items...

If anyone has a flaw that they would like that is not in the rules, PM me. We can probably work it out. This is especially true of Flaws from 2e that did not port over or Flaws in later editions. But it can be ones from other game systems or just a real-life flaw you think worthy of adding.

[Juramenta]

I need to see how much I need to adjust (both mechanically and background), but I'm inclined to repurpose a character I had made for a short lived attempt at trying out SR6 with my tabletop group. While that edition is.. not good, the character turned out well. She's a street shaman con artist/cat burglar/thief with a focus on illusion/deception type spells (and Levitation for the cat burglary).

I'll save the long version of her background for her actual write-up, but the short version is she's an elf, the result of a fling between a rather charming Salish elf father and a driven Japanese mother working for Yamatetsu. She very much takes after her father and spent as much time with him as possible, but she was mostly raised in daycare and later as a latchkey kid by her largely absent mother in Bellevue. At 18 she had a bitter split with her mother when her father died: while he died of cancer, she blamed her mother for not paying for his health care. She left with as much as she could carry with her and as much nuyen as she could get away with, using that to start a new life in Tukwila, where she's been using her talents for the last year or two to steal whatever she can from the corps she hates.

I imagine she'll need a fake SIN with that kind of background. The conspicuous lack of a name is because I want to think up a new one for her. I originally named her Jinx, but with the release of Arcane* a couple of years ago I'd like to come up with something else. (*Great series on Netflix by the way)

As for dice rolling, if we don't use the dice roller here I like orokos.com. It's very flexible once you get the hang of it. Every once in a while (I think it's happened 2 or 3 times over the years) the site breaks though.

A cat burglar you say?
Great! I was having trouble with room for adding more skills for B&E.
That means I can just focus on stealth and assist you when you are breaking in.
I'll focus on disabling people when you work your magic on disabling locks

[archolewa]

The character's starting gear will be very limited due to the low-powered nature of the setting. For the Ace in the Hole campaign, no starting character may begin with Resources higher than 90,000 nuyen. In addition, you may not choose any gear with an Availability higher than 4 or a Street Index higher than 2. Beginning characters may not start with gear rated higher than rating level 4.

I'm looking at the weapon table, and I don't see anything about a "rating" level. I see Availability and Street Index, but no rating. Is that not a thing for weapons? Also, I think somewhere in the FAQ, I remember something about us "not having access to military hardware" or some variation. Again, I don't see anything in the weapons table about what is considered "military." Is an Ares Predator considered military for example?

[Charybdis Richelle]

I need to see how much I need to adjust (both mechanically and background), but I'm inclined to repurpose a character I had made for a short lived attempt at trying out SR6 with my tabletop group. While that edition is.. not good, the character turned out well. She's a street shaman con artist/cat burglar/thief with a focus on illusion/deception type spells (and Levitation for the cat burglary).

I'll save the long version of her background for her actual write-up, but the short version is she's an elf, the result of a fling between a rather charming Salish elf father and a driven Japanese mother working for Yamatetsu. She very much takes after her father and spent as much time with him as possible, but she was mostly raised in daycare and later as a latchkey kid by her largely absent mother in Bellevue. At 18 she had a bitter split with her mother when her father died: while he died of cancer, she blamed her mother for not paying for his health care. She left with as much as she could carry with her and as much nuyen as she could get away with, using that to start a new life in Tukwila, where she's been using her talents for the last year or two to steal whatever she can from the corps she hates.

I imagine she'll need a fake SIN with that kind of background. The conspicuous lack of a name is because I want to think up a new one for her. I originally named her Jinx, but with the release of Arcane* a couple of years ago I'd like to come up with something else. (*Great series on Netflix by the way)

As for dice rolling, if we don't use the dice roller here I like orokos.com. It's very flexible once you get the hang of it. Every once in a while (I think it's happened 2 or 3 times over the years) the site breaks though.

I think the character concept is great, and she should fit into the campaign I have in mind very well. This group seems to be coming together nicely.

[Charybdis Richelle]

The character's starting gear will be very limited due to the low-powered nature of the setting. For the Ace in the Hole campaign, no starting character may begin with Resources higher than 90,000 nuyen. In addition, you may not choose any gear with an Availability higher than 4 or a Street Index higher than 2. Beginning characters may not start with gear rated higher than rating level 4.

I'm looking at the weapon table, and I don't see anything about a "rating" level. I see Availability and Street Index, but no rating. Is that not a thing for weapons? Also, I think somewhere in the FAQ, I remember something about us "not having access to military hardware" or some variation. Again, I don't see anything in the weapons table about what is considered "military." Is an Ares Predator considered military for example?

Not all gear has a Rating. If it doesn't have one, don't worry about it. If it does, 4 is the max at startup. The permitted-required, police, military, etc. ratings are done by Legality Codes. See p. 272-274 in the BBB for details. IMHO, the chart on 274 is the easiest to process.

The Ares Predator is rated 6P-E, which means it requires a permit. E just means it is a pistol. The 6 is a police officer's TN to notice/need to deal with a weapon if they do notice... It's all explained in those three pages. Basically, the lower the number, the more likely that Lone Star will catch you with it and the harder they will throw the book at you once they do.

[archolewa]

Not all gear has a Rating. If it doesn't have one, don't worry about it. If it does, 4 is the max at startup. The permitted-required, police, military, etc. ratings are done by Legality Codes. See p. 272-274 in the BBB for details. IMHO, the chart on 274 is the easiest to process.

It was that chart on 274 to help interpret the legality that I missed, thanks.

Here's a preliminary sheet for Baby Blue, without anything purchased yet. Nuyen might be a bit low, might have to rejigger things. I included the total BP for each sub category, and then broke down BP by specific (so a total of 40 BP for attriubtes, spent 8 BP on Body).

When I said I was going to be a "Street Samurai" I didn't realize "more chrome than Darth Vader" was a key part of that archetype's identity. I was thinking more "non magical fighting lass." So she's probably a bit closer to a weapon specialist. Since I wasn't planning on going crazy with the chrome just yet (if ever), I figured I might be able to get away with a smaller amount of Nuyen, in exchange for some fun looking edges.

Haven't done hobbies, Knowledge skills or contacts yet, but those don't use BP.

Basically, she was a street kid, somehow caught the eye and got adopted by a guy who volunteered at a civic center where she sometimes hung out. Turns out that guy is a bit more powerful and influential than she realizes. Their relationship is stormy, but affectionate. He named her Dawn. She calls him Sir Stuck-Up, except when things are serious, in which case she'll bust out the big D ("Dad"). He managed to pull some strings to get her a SIN, and even into a good high school, so she's surprisingly well educated. School even included some combat classes that she did quite well at. But then the smug, arrogant son ("Mr. Smug") of some guy with more social capital then even her Dad hit on her. She turned him down. He ran her out of the school (and may have tracked down and sicced some old rivals from her street kid days on her, or that unpleasant encounter might have been unrelated).

Not long after, some old friends got in contact with her about an opportunity to get back at Mr. Smug. She took it. Turned out to be a setup, and she got caught redhanded for assaulting him and thrown in jail for several years (but not before breaking his jaw and making him cry like an elf in a slag heap).

She got out of jail about eight months ago, and has taken to the shadows, figuring any hope of an "honest" life is gone now.

She's a petite girl of Chinese descent, five feet tall, around 100 pounds, but fit and wiry, and she knows how to use what strength she has. She keeps her straight black hair short. Despite Chinese stereotypically having dark eyes, hers are a bright blue. She's exceedingly quiet and goes out of her way to avoid being noticed. The exceptions are with people she trusts (a VERY short list), and when on the stage singing her heart out. But she's intelligent, observant, and always watching.

Code: Select all

Dawn aka "Baby Blue"
Build Points: 0
SIN
Good Karma: 0
Karma Pool:

Nuyen: 20K - 5 BP

Race: Human - 0 BP

Attributes: 40 BP

Body: 4 - 8 BP
Quickness: 4 - 8 BP
Strength: 3 - 6 BP
Charisma: 1 - 2 BP
Intelligence: 4 - 8 BP
Willpower: 4 - 8 BP

Skills: 27 BP
## Combat
Pistol (Quickness): 4 - 4 BP
Edged Weapons (Strength: 2 - 2 BP
Unarmed Combat (Strength): 2 - 2 BP

## Physical: 7 BP
Athletics: 3 - 3 BP
Stealth (Quickness): 4 - 4 BP

## Social Skills: 1 BP
Etiquette: 1

## Technical Skills: 8 BP
Demolition (Intelligence): 4 - 4 BP
Biotech (Intelligence): 4 - 4 BP

## Vehicle: 3 BP
Bike (Reaction): 3 - 3 BP

# Languages:
English: ? (need to figure out level still)
Cantonese: ? (need to figure out level still) Taught to her by her father

# Edges: 8
Friends in High Places: 2 BP - Her adopted father
Perceptive: 3 BP
Photographic Memory: 3 BP

Reaction: 4
Essence: 6

Contacts:
Deadbeat - Leader of her old street gang. Big, tough Troll, 
named for his favorite way of handling his enemies. Their relationship is 
rather strained these days, ever since she left the gang, but he always had 
a soft spot for her, so he hasn't completely written her off yet.

Physical Damage:
Stun Damage:

Combat Pool: 6

Quotes:
"The streets get ya, they keep ya."
"My code? Mind yo own damn business."
"They see ya? Run. They block ya? Shoot. They catch ya? Go for the eyes."

[shaidar]

I think WIlliam "Rev" Revutsky's family originally emigrated from eastern Ukraine in the 1990's and set up their automotive shop. Since then I think the ethnicity of his family has become a bit of a melting pot, just like Tukwila.

How many points for a mild case of Coulrophobia (fear of clowns?)

No VCR for now, the rating is too high, but one day.

[Juramenta]

@Archolewa
Will you be riding with the orc? He/she (depends on what avatar image I will find that feels most fitting) will be going for a Yamaha Rapier if riding solo.
Could also go for a harley if I have a second passanger.
Let me know if you want her to live in with my character. I will add the costs to my monthly living fee.

@Chary
The prices for vehicles in Rigger 3 are cheaper than the prices in the main book.
Maybe it has a reason I missed somewhere in the pages. Which cost should I use when purchasing a vehicle?

[shaidar]

@Charybdis Richelle

Additional questions:

I see two versions of Rigger 3, the original and a 'revised', which is the version we're using?

Rev is going to be a SINner. I plan for him to have an Ares Predator for his personal defence and protection of the family business from thieves, should I just pay the 10% for a permit? What about a permit for smartlink cyberware (@10%?)? Is that unlikely to be approved for such personal protection use?

He won't be able to buy any tools, due to the availability rating. Are we good to assume he currently makes do with using those from the family business? Does his role in the family business count as a 'day job' flaw?

Oh, and how much for an electric guitar and amp?

[Charybdis Richelle]

Not all gear has a Rating. If it doesn't have one, don't worry about it. If it does, 4 is the max at startup. The permitted-required, police, military, etc. ratings are done by Legality Codes. See p. 272-274 in the BBB for details. IMHO, the chart on 274 is the easiest to process.

It was that chart on 274 to help interpret the legality that I missed, thanks.

Here's a preliminary sheet for Baby Blue, without anything purchased yet. Nuyen might be a bit low, might have to rejigger things. I included the total BP for each sub category, and then broke down BP by specific (so a total of 40 BP for attriubtes, spent 8 BP on Body).

When I said I was going to be a "Street Samurai" I didn't realize "more chrome than Darth Vader" was a key part of that archetype's identity. I was thinking more "non magical fighting lass." So she's probably a bit closer to a weapon specialist. Since I wasn't planning on going crazy with the chrome just yet (if ever), I figured I might be able to get away with a smaller amount of Nuyen, in exchange for some fun looking edges.

Haven't done hobbies, Knowledge skills or contacts yet, but those don't use BP.

Basically, she was a street kid, somehow caught the eye and got adopted by a guy who volunteered at a civic center where she sometimes hung out. Turns out that guy is a bit more powerful and influential than she realizes. Their relationship is stormy, but affectionate. He named her Dawn. She calls him Sir Stuck-Up, except when things are serious, in which case she'll bust out the big D ("Dad"). He managed to pull some strings to get her a SIN, and even into a good high school, so she's surprisingly well educated. School even included some combat classes that she did quite well at. But then the smug, arrogant son ("Mr. Smug") of some guy with more social capital then even her Dad hit on her. She turned him down. He ran her out of the school (and may have tracked down and sicced some old rivals from her street kid days on her, or that unpleasant encounter might have been unrelated).

Not long after, some old friends got in contact with her about an opportunity to get back at Mr. Smug. She took it. Turned out to be a setup, and she got caught redhanded for assaulting him and thrown in jail for several years (but not before breaking his jaw and making him cry like an elf in a slag heap).

She got out of jail about eight months ago, and has taken to the shadows, figuring any hope of an "honest" life is gone now.

She's a petite girl of Chinese descent, five feet tall, around 100 pounds, but fit and wiry, and she knows how to use what strength she has. She keeps her straight black hair short. Despite Chinese stereotypically having dark eyes, hers are a bright blue. She's exceedingly quiet and goes out of her way to avoid being noticed. The exceptions are with people she trusts (a VERY short list), and when on the stage singing her heart out. But she's intelligent, observant, and always watching.

Code: Select all

Dawn aka "Baby Blue"
Build Points: 0
SIN
Good Karma: 0
Karma Pool:

Nuyen: 20K - 5 BP

Race: Human - 0 BP

Attributes: 40 BP

Body: 4 - 8 BP
Quickness: 4 - 8 BP
Strength: 3 - 6 BP
Charisma: 1 - 2 BP
Intelligence: 4 - 8 BP
Willpower: 4 - 8 BP

Skills: 27 BP
## Combat
Pistol (Quickness): 4 - 4 BP
Edged Weapons (Strength: 2 - 2 BP
Unarmed Combat (Strength): 2 - 2 BP

## Physical: 7 BP
Athletics: 3 - 3 BP
Stealth (Quickness): 4 - 4 BP

## Social Skills: 1 BP
Etiquette: 1

## Technical Skills: 8 BP
Demolition (Intelligence): 4 - 4 BP
Biotech (Intelligence): 4 - 4 BP

## Vehicle: 3 BP
Bike (Reaction): 3 - 3 BP

# Languages:
English: ? (need to figure out level still)
Cantonese: ? (need to figure out level still) Taught to her by her father

# Edges: 8
Friends in High Places: 2 BP - Her adopted father
Perceptive: 3 BP
Photographic Memory: 3 BP

Reaction: 4
Essence: 6

Contacts:
Deadbeat - Leader of her old street gang. Big, tough Troll, 
named for his favorite way of handling his enemies. Their relationship is 
rather strained these days, ever since she left the gang, but he always had 
a soft spot for her, so he hasn't completely written her off yet.

Physical Damage:
Stun Damage:

Combat Pool: 6

Quotes:
"The streets get ya, they keep ya."
"My code? Mind yo own damn business."
"They see ya? Run. They block ya? Shoot. They catch ya? Go for the eyes."

This looks great so far. And what you put for your contact is perfect. Think about in what way her father is a bigwig. Is he a high-level corp exec? Is he a politican?

[Charybdis Richelle]

I think WIlliam "Rev" Revutsky's family originally emigrated from eastern Ukraine in the 1990's and set up their automotive shop. Since then I think the ethnicity of his family has become a bit of a melting pot, just like Tukwila.

How many points for a mild case of Coulrophobia (fear of clowns?)

No VCR for now, the rating is too high, but one day.

Mild Coulrophobia would be -2 points. Mild is -1. Clowns are Uncommon, so that is also -1 for a total of -2.

Yeah, I thought the VCR might be too high for this level. But, yeah, let him dream...

[Charybdis Richelle]

@Chary
The prices for vehicles in Rigger 3 are cheaper than the prices in the main book.
Maybe it has a reason I missed somewhere in the pages. Which cost should I use when purchasing a vehicle?

Use the prices in the Rigger 3. The Rigger 3 rules revamped the ones from the BBB.

[Charybdis Richelle]

@Charybdis Richelle

Additional questions:

I see two versions of Rigger 3, the original and a 'revised', which is the version we're using?

Rev is going to be a SINner. I plan for him to have an Ares Predator for his personal defence and protection of the family business from thieves, should I just pay the 10% for a permit? What about a permit for smartlink cyberware (@10%?)? Is that unlikely to be approved for such personal protection use?

He won't be able to buy any tools, due to the availability rating. Are we good to assume he currently makes do with using those from the family business? Does his role in the family business count as a 'day job' flaw?

Oh, and how much for an electric guitar and amp?

I only have one version of the Rigger 3. It doesn't say revised, but I don't know if the revised one does. Mine has a 2001 copyright date listed on the back cover.

Having the permits at the 10% price is fine. Pistols are not hard to get permits for in Seattle. The smartlink is a little harder, but not too much so.

I have no problem with you using your family's tools.

As for Day Job, that depends on how much time you spend working there. If it is enough to potentially interfere with shadowrunning and/or your taking time off to do a run could be problematic, then yes, you may take that as a Flaw. Alternately, you could take your family (or at least a member of it) as a Dependent.

As for the guitar, that really depends on how nice of a guitar you want. I will be using the costs from Shadowbeat (which is from SR1 because nothing in 2 or 3 really mentions musical instruments). A guitar is complexity 3. A poor quality guitar (which limits the Skill level of the musician to a 4 while using it) would be 150 nuyen. An average quality one (which limits the musician's skill to a 6 while using it would be 1500 nuyen. A fine quality guitar (with no skill limit) would be 15.000 nuyen and up.

[shaidar]

Thanks. The revised Rigger book is marked as such and is dated 2003. I'll got for the original version.

[Charybdis Richelle]

Thanks. The revised Rigger book is marked as such and is dated 2003. I'll got for the original version.

Cool. Saves me from having to hunt down the revised one.

I just revised my post to answer the question about the guitar. I missed it on the first read.

[archolewa]

@Archolewa
Will you be riding with the orc? He/she (depends on what avatar image I will find that feels most fitting) will be going for a Yamaha Rapier if riding solo.
Could also go for a harley if I have a second passanger.
Let me know if you want her to live in with my character. I will add the costs to my monthly living fee.

I think it makes sense that she rides with the orc. She keeps an eye out for trouble, while the orc watches the road, and having someone to return fire if things go bad while you're escaping is always good.

Not sure if they'll be roommates or not, though I suppose as an Adept you have almost no expenses, so it might make sense. Let me figure out my gear, which I'll be looking at this afternoon.

[shaidar]

I'll probably go for the medium quality guitar @1500Y.

Vehicle wise I was also going to buy Yamaha rapier and an Ares Roadmaster. We need something for the band to travel in , but I wanted to check if anyone else had plans for a bigger vehicle?

[Charybdis Richelle]

If you do decide to be roomies, remember that as long as one of the tenants has a Middle Lifestyle, the other tenants can stay for 10% of the base cost.

[archolewa]

I'm sure this is somewhere in the rules book, but I'm not finding it easily. What do the letters next to the weapons' damage mean? The number is raw damage, so an Ares Predator and Remington Roomsweeper both do 9 damage. Both are Single Action (so one shot at a time, presumably). But Ares does 9M, whereas the Remington does 9S(f). The Predator is more expensive than the Roomsweeper, but I don't know if that's because it has a bigger clip, or if "M" it "better" than "S(f)" or what.

The Remington 750 Sports Rifle is significantly more expensive than either, does less damage than either, has fewer bullets in a magazine, but has "S." I don't see anything about range, and I'm sure the rifles have better range, do the letters dictate range?

Actually, if anyone has a recommendation for a good pistol for a non-magical fighting lass, I'm all ears. Maybe take a Streetline Special too, so I got something I can sneak into places relatively easily.

[shaidar]

L=LIGHT
M=MEDIUM
S=SERIOUS

The 'f' just means it's flechette damage.

I can't remember exactly why but a higher number is better for the chance to cause damage, but a higher damage level is also better because it's where the damage level starts before people roll to resist and armour comes into play.