Five Take-Aways: Shadowrun (5E) Missions 3/27/2018

Once again, the final Tuesday of March came meaning my FLGCS hosted its monthly Shadowrun Missions event as part of Tuesday Night Gaming. Furthermore, tonight my FLCGS Shadowrun Missions group began the first installment of the final season of the Chicago arc. An apocalyptic beginning it was. So without further ado, here's the third Shadowrun Missions Five Take-aways of 2018.


My Epiphany from yesterday was more prophetic than I thought - Yesterday, I blogged about how PCs possessing both vehicles and vehicle skills is a must in Shadowrun Missions. This Tuesday night we learned that lesson in spades. Either a gearhead or vehicle rigger would've been much appreciated tonight. Thankfully, the GM didn't impose a crash test as a consequence of the one failed role.


Learned when auto damage occurs when critters Engulf - My combat mage's summoned and bound spirits have Engulfed opponents several times. Until tonight, I must've glossed over the portion of the text that states during each action phase until escape. Otherwise, the spirits were inflicting engulf damage on their turns. May want to brush up on the exact definition of action phase...


We play SRM mods as if they were D&D 5E AL mods: This Tuesday really brought home the realization that we've been playing as if we were playing in Adventurers League. In Adventurers League one can shamble along without any significant consequences. Not so with the eighth season of Shadowrun Missions. The final season of the Chicago arc will burn you hard for it. We've been lucky so far.  Spoilers, we succeeded but at cost to our PCs storyline-wise (and for some point-wise too).


Background count, drain, and my slow learning the process regarding 5E magic rules have hindered my proficiency playing a magician - In hindsight, quite a bit would've developed differently if I played my combat mage like I role-played my magician characters in third edition. Admittedly, I developed character quirks that make my combat mage less effective so that's part of it. However, astral rules elude me. Just don't have the confidence with them that I used to. Granted, the combat mage template doesn't jive well with the astral rules either. In third edition, drain was mitigated much easier. I'm lucky when Nox doesn't take drain damage during an entire session when he would resist drain. Background count has also deterred me from taking actions that I may otherwise try. And my PC has Cleansing metamagic too!


During Season 8 expect the possibility of PC death at anytime during a mod - Previous modules from earlier seasons of the Chicago story would follow a pattern. You never had to worry about an encounter potentially killing your PC during the beginning. Sure, some combat could have gotten nasty but nothing too bad. Tonight, we avoided our a TPK during what we thought was a role-play encounter. We're talking early in module.


Thus ends my latest edition of Five Take-Aways.


Until next time I game on Tuesday.

PCs Possessing Vehicle Skills and a Vehicle is a Must in Shadowrun Missions!

All table-top role-playing games have some measure of verisimilitude built into them. Some games such as D&D incorporate as per DM fiat. Other games such as Shadowrun incorporate realistic elements as part of its basic design. Runners operate in the shadows cause how else will they make ends meet? Sure, D&D PCs can own horses. However, horses aren't quite essential when the PCs are within a dungeon. For ease of play, horse ownership is optional. Thus, the DM will fudge travel at times.


Not the case with Shadowrun. Shadowrun has characters that can become one with the vehicle, ie the rigger. Unlike D&D, Shadowrun uses intricate vehicle rules that depending on the edition can be difficult to master. While I much prefer fifth edition vehicle rules to third, I wouldn't call myself proficient with them.


So it's safe to say, modules may very call for some fancy driving or piloting of some kind especially when the drek hits the fan. Self-driving cars or an unskilled chummer won't do either.


Shadowrun is also reflection of modern, well near-future modern anyway, life within a vast urban sprawl. No runner is hiking through the sprawl carrying a grenade launcher without attracting attention. So a vehicle transportation is needed. Particularly when time is of the essence.


I've been lucky to play Shadowrun Missions modules with a relatively stable group of players and PCs. Luckier in that at least one PC owns a vehicle and skilled enough to pilot it when self-driving vehicles won't do. Heck, I made a Smuggler (vehicle rigger) for that very reason! They're like the walking bandages cleric from D&D in that way...


However, at conventions and within my own group, that may not always be the case. Not everyone wants to play the PC that provides transportation to the rest of the group. The group simply could be too large.


As such, my simple advice to any new Shadowrun Missions player is create a PC that owns a vehicle and has at least a rank of one in the respective piloting skill.


Cause when you're entering the fourth and final season of a Shadowrun Missions storyline, you're not going to want to detour from any character advancement plans to buy some vehicle skill ranks for your PC. Maybe if your PC isn't a magician or a technomancer it's an option to spend that karma on though. Still costs karma, time, and nuyen though...


Buying a vehicle shouldn't be a problem nuyen-wise on the bright side...


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

My First Order from Palladium in YEARS Part 2

Three nights ago I blogged about placing my first order from Palladium Books in years. If not a decade. As a Robotech fan, I desired to acquire all the new wave of Robotech RPG books before the license expired at month's end. Plus, books being liquidated at 40 - 50% off helps quite a bit too. Since Genesis Pits was sold out and Palladium mentioned New Generation Sourcebook was nearing sell out status, I wasn't quite sure the latter book would still be available when they processed the order.

As of this morning my jitters were place to rest as my package was delivered. With a little too much fanfare for my liking but everything seems fine.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I took pics!



The cover for the deluxe Gold Edition of Shadow Chronicles. Looks pretty.

As Palladium normally doesn't produce hardcovers, this inlet is quite the sight!

Palladium stated less than 50 copies were available so this being the 457th out of 500 is extra special.

Here's the Masters Sourcebook (Southern Cross) and the UEEF (or UEF) Marines Sourcebook (from flipping through the pages it looks like an updated Sentinels book)

Macross Sourcebook and New Generation Sourcebook. The website states New Generation is sold out now. Lucked out.

Needless to say I am quite pleased everything I ordered arrived and intact sooner than expected. Expect reviews in the future. Would be cool if I could play a game too...

Haven't decided whether or not to order a copy of Robotech RPG Tactics or not. Buying a copy of RRT at 40% is awfully tempting as a Robotech fan. However, I am less likely to play that and fret of any thud damaging the contents inside. Won't be able to replace any damaged contents...

Next time.

My First Order From Palladium Books in YEARS Part One

Tonight, I did something I have not done in years. About a decade, I believe.


Remember back in December when I blogged about the very first Digital Palladium Books Digital Christmas Grab Bag? Well, there were other sales occurring as well. Among those sales were half off on Robotech RPG books (the post 2000s). Missed the Robotech sale. Oh well, maybe next sale. After all, the books were published years ago. Not like I was playing the RPG anyway. Then, would miss both the physical and digital Christmas Grab Bag because I couldn't remember my how to log into my old store account. Weirdly enough I could log into the message boards...


Flash forward to the beginning of the month and the news began to trickle in. Robotech RPG Tactics didn't go the way everyone thought it would. Doubted I did. But I thought it would just be typical Palladium delays. Not the cluster it actually became. However, the sordid tale of Robotech RPG Tactics is best told by others. What's even worse was that once again Palladium Books lost the rights to Robotech.


Robotech is among my favorite anime. Okay, Americanized anime. Big fan of the old line of RPG books Palladium released years ago (late 80s to mid 90s). During New Year, New Game on Drive Thru RPG, I purchased PDFs of all the old Robotech RPG books despite having access to the physical copies.


With the news the Robotech license expires at the end of the month and Palladium liquidating the Robotech RPGs books of the relaunch, the time to buy was now.


So I visit the site and suddenly my old log in pops into my mind. Yes, the same log in that eluded me back during the X-Mas grab bag. Eluded me for hours before giving. The very same log in dawns on me in a Eureka moment and I am greeted by a familiar account name.


Yes, after years. Maybe a decade. Not since I ordered the manga edition of the Robotech: Shadow Chronicles RPG and a couple years of grab bags, did I place an order with Palladium Books. Whatever Robotech RPG (not Tactics - still too rich for me) book from the relaunch (pretty much all of them) I ordered.


Overall, Palladium's "new" storefront is much more intuitive than the old one. Although, it appears everything needs to be manually re-entered with each order like the old store front. Won't know until I order again.


Since today's order is my first order from Palladium Books in years, it feels like I am ordering for the first time. As such I dub this part one. Will blog about how everything works out.


Next time.

SR5: Safer to Crash on a Motorcycle Vs a Van?!

Every time I played Shadowrun 5th edition (SR5) if a crash occurred it was while PCs were within a van. Scratch that. The Shadowrun Missions group I play with had their sole crash while the PCs were riding inside a van. Before my time. My fuzzy memories of the crash rules in Third Edition were that crashes were bad, m'kay. Ergo, all crashes were bad.


So when I skimmed the crash section in the core book, I didn't notice what the damage value is based on. Cause all crashes are bad.


Recently, I learned that wasn't the case. Learned from another gamer on social media that crashes while on motorcycle were different from being in a van.


The crashes are safer.


Yep, a motorcycle crash is less horrendous than a van crash per Shadowrun 5th edition rules.


Don't get me wrong. A van crash is bad. However, one normally doesn't consider a motorcycle crash to be ho hum.


Turns out the SR5 rules base the damage value of a crash based on the vehicles body.


A motorcyle's body will be about the same as a typical shadowrunner. Meanwhile, a van's body is greater than that of the troll tank in the group. Ergo, PCs can conceivably shrug off a motorcycle crash. Van crashes not so much...


Now there's three ways around that:


1) The GM can refrain from invoking the crash test rules, or at least the damage tests, more often in regards to occupants within a van. The occupants probably shouldn't need to make a damage resistance test when ramming some poor chummer...


2) The installation of passenger protection systems, ie seat belts and the like, from Rigger 5 which bolsters damage resistance die pools.


3) Leave the driving to the professional such as those with Control Rigs installed...


And that is new SR5 rule tidbit I learned this week. Kind of bonkers really. However, as a Shadowrun Missions player a rule my group can't easily brush aside...


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Five Take-Aways: D&D5E Adventurers League March the 6th

Finished my second Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition session in the organized play campaign of Adventurers League for the year at my FLGCS tonight. So without further ado, here's the second D&D installment of my Five Take-Aways!


Don't often spend as much time discussing PC builds as playing a module - I'm fond of paraphrasing Boromir in that one does not simply an Adventurers League module in the time allotted. Two hour modules simply aren't completed within two hours. Ditto with four hour modules. Tonight's module was a rare exception. We finished the module within two hours. I'll repeat. The module ended after two hours of play. Quite astonishing! Was going to call it a night. Instead, another player and myself spent roughly another two hours providing advice to a new player on relatively unique PC build. Unique to me anyway as I've never encountered such within AL. Granted, I haven't played many Tier 2 (levels 5 - 10) and up modules so that may be my limited experience.


A New Respect for Ray of Frost - Prior experience with the cantrip Ray of Frost didn't involve opponents with very low speeds. Tonight, we encountered such and repetitive use of Ray of Frost locked the opponent down. Changed the tempo dramatically.


Witnessed my first extensive use of  the spell Witch Bolt - Prior to tonight, Witch Bolt would occasionally be used. However, I've never seen anyone base their entire battle strategy upon it. Frequently, the spell would be disrupted or the player would drop concentration. Also, the PC rarely moved around. As such, I didn't know there was a tether-like effect limitation. Gained a new appreciation of the spell.


Never knew Kobolds had a grovel ability nor how it worked! - I've sat at tables with kobold PCs before. Pack Tactics is the bomb. Don't recall ever seeing the ability groveling used. Perhaps it was because the kobold PC at the time was busy using its action to attack. Thus, too busy to grant others advantage? Difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2? The PC was also first level too...


Think every Ranger I make whom uses Xanather's will prep Zephyr Strike... - Bought a copy of Xanather's Guide to Everything shortly after the book came out. During that time, I barely looked at spells. As Ranger hasn't been a class I've anticipated creating a PC in the near future, ranger spells certainly haven't been on my radar. As such, the spell Zephyr Strike escaped my radar. After witnessing the spell used to devastating effectiveness tonight, the spell is a must for pretty every ranger I would make that uses Xanather's as its +1. My very first exposure to the D&D ranger was Drizzt Do' Urden from Salvatore's novels. Highly mobile rangers, especially front-line rangers, is how I view the class. May revist my Drizzt clone now haha!


Gibbering Mouthers can be used in creative and evocative fashion - I remember Gibbering Mouthers since the days of the AD&D 2nd edition Forgotten Realms box set. While quirky, I never quite got them and considered the monster bland. After tonight, not the case. Not only can they used in a unique and creative manner, such as a wall, but convey a more epic ambience from their utterances.


That's my Five Take-aways from Tuesday, March 6th playing my second D&D AL session of 2018.




Oops, lost track of the number take-aways! Provided six take-aways and not five. Got carried away I guess!


Happy Gaming!


Next time.