Five Take-aways: Shadowrun Missions 2/27/2018

The 27th of Tuesday, was the final Tuesday of the month. Final Tuesdays are when Shadowrun Mission events are held at my FLGCS. So with another Shadowrun Mission session out of the way, here's the second Shadowrun installment and third overall installment of my Five Takeaways.


Shattershield is an awesome spell - My combat mage only knows spells from the core book. As such I am mostly familiar with those spells. While own a legal PDF of Street grimoire (SG), my knowledge of the spells is minimal at best. Tonight,  a new player played a mage with the spell Shattershield from SG and used it to phenomenal effect. Really elevated the spell in my eyes.


Spirits are what make magicians formidable opponents - Spirits played a pivotal role in two combats. Two combat encounters would've ran different otherwise.


Hard to see a bound spirit go - After three SRM seasons, the final service of the fire elemental bound to my combat mage was finally used tonight. Rather touching. On the other hand, the fire elemental went out on a high note.


The seasons of Shadowrun Missions end on an epic note - Every season ends on a bang. We finished the 7th season and wowza!


Mana barriers don't affect living things unless something magical is about them - Actually learned we may not have been running mana barriers correct this entire time. Really changed the outcome of one battle.


That's it for this session.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

SR5: Sleaze Only Applies to Control Device When It Applies

Since as I understand it, the next Shadowrun Missions (using 5th edition rules) session is this Tuesday at FLGCS. What better way to enter the proper mindset than some blogging about how the Sixth World works, eh chummer? More to the point, how a particular rule works.


As I have mentioned before, Shadowrun Missions only occurs once a month. Any gamer will tell you that learning a game system proceeds at a slow pace if you don't play it frequently. Heck, I've stated I don't read the rules all that much between sessions. Doesn't help during the game session when the drek is hitting the fan and you need to reference a rule.


The rule could be staring you in the face and you miss it as if you glitched on test. (In SR5, if you roll more 1s than half your die pool, you glitch.)


So after last session, I decided to peruse ye olde core rule book. For a lark, I was looking at Matrix actions when my eyes happened upon the Control Device action (pg 238). There's two limits. One of them is Sleaze.


During the heat of the moment, my natural tendency would be to go with Control Device is a Sleaze action then.


Works right?


Nope.


See, Control Device is what a rigger uses to remotely direct via commlink a vehicle. Commlinks don't have a Sleaze rating. Neither does a Rigger Control Console (RCC).


So then a rigger couldn't do so. Except the description of the action says a rigger can.


Disclaimer: To be fair, part of what would could my initial confusion is that Electronic Warfare is the skill used in the Sleaze test.


Electronic Warfare is a skill riggers are recommended to have. Perusing the Matrix Actions section, it's difficult to understand why as pretty much all actions have Sleaze as the limit. Ergo, I am like the proverbial dog chasing its tail.


What is the other limit you may ask? Data Processing. Both the commlink and RCC have a Data Processing rating.


Furthermore, Sleaze is only used when the Sleaze rating is used as the limit or no test is associated with the action. Firing a gun, Sleaze not required. Opening a sliding door, yes.


Thus, Sleaze impacts the Control Device action when it does.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Belated 5 Takeaways from 1st D&D AL of 2018

On the first Tuesday of February 2018, I participated in my first D&D 5E Adventurers League (AL) module, and first D&D session, of the year. So this second Five Take-away, but first for AL, is being blogged much, much later than planned. In my defense, I was busy...


Wait, Bards Rely on Being Heard?! - In hindsight, Bards relying on their targets hearing them makes perfect sense. Yet, I didn't realize just how much a Bard relies upon their opponents attack spells in order to hurt them until this session. I learned this for reasons I will elaborate upon later...


I Have Access to Night Vision spell, Will Use Torch Instead - My tortle monk whose level 4 follows the Way of Shadow (he is a ninja after all). As such he has access to the spell Night Vision. Once again, he used a torch instead of casting it. Difference this time is I forgot to cast it as maybe only one or two other PC needed light to see. So the ninja was carrying a torch. Made an interesting visual when he tried hiding holding it aloft...


Monks Like Short Rests - I wasn't playing the only monk at the table; and both characters had Qi points. Qi points we used. Qi points we realized we could have would have should have refreshed entering the final battle. At the point I told the new player 'Oh yeah monks regain Qi after a short rest.' Not one of my finer moments as a more experienced player...


Eagle Totem Barbarians Should Not Recklessly Attack When Moving About
As far as I can recall, this was the first AL mod I played when the totem barbarian followed Eagle and not Bear. During combat, the barbarian seemed to follow the strategy of Reckless Attack All The Time. The exception was when he moving past or away from enemies. Considering doing so would negate the ability of Eagle, it makes sense.


Way of Shadow Spellcasting Played a Decisive Role in a Battle!
Much like this was the first time playing an eagle totem barbarian, this was the first time that the Way of Shadow abilities played a pivotal role during a module! As we began our final battle against what he suspected was a spellcaster, my ninja casted Silence upon them. Thus, their spell-casting was neutralized! The DM made it well known the complexion of the battle was altered significantly due to this. Oh yeah, remember the first takeaway about bards? Yeah, this is where I learned that... All worked out in the end. The Bard got to do some cool bard stuff after all. Plus, did we die?


Should be more on time with the next installment of Five Takeaways, which I will blog next week.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Marvel Digital Unlimited Upgrade Saga: The Saga Has Ended

Well, folks. I said I would blog about when the saga of upgrading my annual Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription to a Marvel Digital Unlimited Plus gift subscription was completed. Thus, the saga being over.


Today, I can say my gift subscription has begun!


Okay, technically, it began yesterday but I noticed it today. While in my mind my gift subscription began on Valentine's Day 2018, it began on the 13th. Haven't quite read anything yet as I was more exuberant that I didn't have to keep check if the Plus status started or not. Speaking of which, there's a shiny digital card too! Also, in my defense, today is also new comics day at FLGCS everywhere. Ergo, I went on my comics buying pilgrimage.


A couple observations about the gift subscriptions:


One, it's truly denoted as a gift subscription. An end date is clearly visible; and there is not auto-renewal.


Two, as I stated before, the gift subscription isn't cumulative with an existing annual subscription. Or at least upgrading from a standard to a plus isn't...


Third, delaying activation of the gift subscription by about a month and a half didn't reduce the amount of time the subscription lasts. A full year of Plus membership remains. Okay, minus a day given I didn't notice yesterday...


So, the drama of upgrading my membership has ended. I endeavor to read more of the comics available on Marvel Digital Unlimited than I have in the past. Really haven't read as much as I should which is why losing my old annual membership roughly two months early doesn't sting as much as it should.


Happy Reading!


Next time.

Marvel Digital Upgrade Saga: The Call

Been a month since I last blogged about the saga of upgrading my Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription with gift subscription I received for Christmas.. A month? Sigh... So, I procrastinated over the next installment: calling the Customer Care Center about the upgrade.

Today. I placed that call.

Overall, the call went pleasantly well. Sure, I was placed on hold a couple times. However, the music was decent enough and the hold didn't last too long while the rep was resolving the issue.

The biggest hiccup was the representative didn't know how to upgrade an existing subscription to a Marvel Digital Unlimited Plus subscription with a gift subscription. Basically, my biggest concern and why I procrastinated as long as I did...

In order to make the switch, they had to cancel my subscription then key in the gift code. Reading the gift code out loud wasn't as bad as I imagined.

And bam. My subscription was cancelled and told the gift subscription was pending. Kind of surreal that. Even more surreal is my access was originally supposed to renew in April. Despite the cancellation, I can read comics via digital unlimited still. Once one cancels a Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription, access lasts until the subscription would have ended anyway.

Was told the gift subscription would require a couple days to take effect. So it feels like my account is in a post-cancellation limbo. Hence, why I titled this entry "The Call" and not the resolution due to the pending nature of the gift subscription Plus account.

Anyway, my Marvel Digital Upgrade Saga is effectively ended. Rather pleased with how smooth the transition was. Kind of laughing at myself over how much of a mountain of an ant hill I made of the situation.

However, as the gift subscription is still pending, I consider this the penultimate installment in the saga. Perhaps, I will celebrate the finale with a reading?

As an aside, I wonder what I will do once the gift subscription ends. A thought for another day.

Happy Reading!

Next time.