Does the Threat of Imminent TPK Define Cyberpunk Gaming?

This is it. Tonight should conclude the Chicago arc for Shadowrun Missions at my FLGCS.


After playing four seasons of the Chicago arc, roughly five to six modules per, tonight those of us who've been playing the same character for years will play those characters for the final time tonight. Except as Prime Runners in Prime Runner-only mods - ideally... Next month, we create brand new characters for the Neo-Tokyo arc.


Sure, we received forewarnings the final season would be rough and the conclusion BRUTAL. As we began playing season 8, it certainly HAS. While previous seasons contained rough patches, overall there was sense of coasting. Season 8 has been 'will this frag my character?'


The visuals of each encounter have become quite the sight too! Like how some of the photos turned out too. While I was planning on blogging the session events sooner, I will actually blog them chronologically. Will be a fitting memorandum. Telling the adventures of Nox the Combat Mage and Co from their beginnings to their fiery end.


Cause I don't know if, let alone how, our PCs will survive the final module. Heck, the entire module feels like you're in the drek now. May you not get fragged.


If we were playing a level-based game, we'd just run away or avoid until we level up to confront the threat. Or we'd be level appropriate. In a storytelling game, this would be climax. Will our protagonists emerge victorious?


In Shadowrun, or any cyberpunk game, it's pretty much  you're hip-deep in drek. Accomplish your mission chummers and don't get fragged in the process. Oh, by the way, some poor PC will get geeked (i.e. killed). Can't have a dystopic future without PC deaths. Plus, TPK (total party kill) does fit the neo-noir vibe of Shadowrun.


Without the TPK vibe. If the gaming experience was more rose-colored, it wouldn't be cyberpunk.


Honestly, I wouldn't have realized this important revelation about cyberpunk gaming if I didn't feel my Shadowrun Missions Chicago PC along with the other PCs would ride into the sunset after tonight.


Now excuse me. I've got to update my player character.


Happy gaming!


Next time.

Final Shadowrun Missions Five Take Aways of 2018

Every last Tuesday of the month at my FLGCS there's a Shadowrun Missions organized play event. Looking back, 2018 has been a horrible month for it. In a perfect world, Season 9 (Neo-Tokyo) modules would be starting next year. Instead, two or three mods remain of Season 8 (Chicago). Unfortunately, too many events were cancelled. We already know December won't work out. The last session of the year would have fallen on a holiday, chummer. So tonight was now or never.


We didn't have the full compliment; but we decided to game on once there were four players in attendance, myself included. Alas, the pre-game discussion led to the conclusion that tonight was the final Shadowrun Missions session at my FLGCS for the year. Ergo, this is my final Shadowrun Mission Five Take Aways of 2018 too.


As always, our infrequent Shadowrun gaming meant we were rusty throughout the evening. Hopefully, we can remedy the rules rustiness during 2019.


Reagents + Edge re-rolls Is Powerful Combo when casting some spells
Yeah, I've covered using drams of reagents to augment spells here before. However, I never used to Edge to re-roll failures. Furthermore, I hadn't used them to augment to limit of spells where Force didn't matter mechanically except for drain if the limit had been increased. Tonight, I verified reagent-amplified direct combat spells backed by Edge failure re-rolls fulfills what I have felt combat magic has been missing in fifth edition. Combat magic simply doesn't possess the knockout punch it had in prior editions. This combo solves that.


GM forewarnings and clues improved game quality substantiallyThere are times we can be quite destructive as a group. Due to GM hints we avoided several nasty ramifications throughout the module. Considering Shadowrun Missions hasn't been established despite running several years at my FLGCS, I feel this was a wise course of action. Plus, this was easily the best Shadowrun Missions session of the year; and without these I don't think everyone would have enjoyed it as much.


Loot!
Over in Adventurers League, there's much gnashing of teeth over loot. Shadowrun Missions doesn't really have a hard fast rule over plunder. Was your group lucky enough to acquire some? Do you keep it all? Do you sell it? SRM turns a blind eye; and the campaign is better for it. On the side, we've gotten better regarding to time management fencing it.


Prepped visuals and narrative enhanced and improved game flow
One benefit of the delays is the GM had plenty of time to prepare visuals and decide how narrate some portions of several mass combats. Either that or experience is paying off as Season 8 has required many combat encounters to be narrated in order to speed the game along. I'm a theater-of-the-mind guy but I have to admit miniature use made the session.


Use of the full complexity of first aid/heal spell rules were used
First aid rules have been glossed over quite a bit too the point we often forget tables exist. We also haven't had too many encounters where magical healing was significantly needed afterward. Not so tonight. Really did impact the game.


That's all. My remaining Five Take Aways will be D&D 5E related.


Happy gaming!

SRM Combined FAQ ver 1.2 Is Like an Ad for Kill Code and Other Thoughts

After Tuesday, the next Shadowrun Missions Organized Play event at my FLGCS is mere couple weeks away. Chicago arc is winding down for us. The Neo-Tokyo rapidly approaches for our group. Catalyst released a Shadowrun supplement or two. Oh, the latest Combined FAQ released today. Among its highlights is enabling players of both the Chicago and Neo-Tokyo (yes, folks are playing Season 9 right now. We're a tad... behind.) arcs to incorporate the new combat and matrix splatbooks, Street Lethal and Kill Code, into their PCs.


For those who want to take a peek, here's Combined FAQ Ver 1.2. Since shared courtesy of Google Doc, I have no idea if they update the location with a different PDF. For all I know, my previous FAQ entry links to this version as well...


Thoughts


Reading the Kill Code section does a great job encouraging me to pick up a copy of the book. Or download as it's a mere ebook at the moment. Plus, it's not just for deckers and technomancers too. Wonder how cyberware such as Wired Reflexes is enhanced by something from a matrix book?! The prospect of  Technomancer groups similar to magical groups is pretty cool too.


Other changes of note...


The FAQ does point out Missions must deviate from Core Rules from time to time.


There's Shadowrun dice?! Sweet, my physical books count as NERPS!!! Awesome. Will come in handy in two weeks! Hmm, our group should make our own Shadowrun shirts...


Palming is addressed. Glad it's default-able in Missions.


Ways don't cost double Karma once play starts? Good change since PCs are confined to specific arcs.


Finally, PCs do have a specific list of chemicals they can use. Considering Neo-Tokyo's no gun policy the list may receive much use...


There's an errata for a Season 5 module too.


A nice incremental change here. Nothing earth-shattering but does expand options.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Five Take Aways from Shadowrun Missions on 9/25/18

Huzzah! After months passing without playing my Shadowrun Missions character Nox, tonight on Tuesday Night Game sessions at my FLGCS we finally did so. We were a little rusty especially with a couple of relatively new players. Yet, not as rusty as we've been after past the hiatus or two. The eighth and final season of the Chicago arc is definitely heating up. If the next mod or two were to begin In Media Res (start with action), I wouldn't be surprised. Learned the hard way that not preparing for any eventuality leaves my character at a disadvantage. Well, I am kind of exaggerating there as only my play style was impacted...


If you read yesterday blog entry, I did use reagents quite a bit this session. My combat mage did attempt to bind a couple elementals spending a Middle lifestyle's worth to do so. The one elemental played a pivotal role... Boosting spell limits with reagents had a moderate effect. Nothing too earth-shaking; but the original limit imposed by the spell's force was exceeded on both occasions.


Now the follow-up to yesterday's blog entry is out of the way AND the focus is off me, here's five take-aways from tonight's session of Shadowrun (5E) Missions.


Never leave home without grenades or an ambulance-rigged with autodoc - If you ever saw the series Firefly/movie Serenity, there's a scene involving Reavers when Jayne says to Mal 'Don't you wish I brought some grenades!' Shadow runs involve discrete missions. Setting-wise, grenades are a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. However, once again, without one of PCs carrying grenades (and a lot of C4!) we wouldn't have gotten far in the module. A different PC's character drives a converted ambulance equipped with autodoc (a device that's kind of like bacta tank from Star Wars), which helped quite a bit and could've helped more.


So if I attack an opponent while moving past, my opponent can't attempt to strike me and halt my movement?! - As D&D 5E rules, we're well aware of opportunity attacks when opponents moves by. Furthermore, some abilities grant the ability to halt movement. Shadowrun has an interrupt action called Intercept whereby a character can spend a portion of initiative to melee strike the moving character and potentially halt their progress. We've used that to great effect against NPCs as have NPCs done so to PCs. Well, there's a loophole to that rule. Very first sentence states that if a moving character doesn't attack them then... Major revelation.


If a blow knocks me prone, my wounds can prevent me from standing?! - Speaking of another rule we discovered tonight, we learned the potential difficulty inherent in standing prone when injured. After a PC was knocked prone by a sniper's bullet, we learned not only is it an action to stand but an attribute test modified by wound penalties is required to stand! Really affected the tempo of the scene...


A one-two combo of spending then later burning the same point of Edge leads to a heroic feat - One of the new PCs had to spend a point of Edge in order to carry a downed NPC out of a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, due to the Intercept interrupt action, said PC was placed subjected to a potential attack which would have impeded his progress with the hapless NPC. The player burnt the PC's spent Edge point to NOT be hit by the attack. By the game mechanics, the PC would not have evaded the attack otherwise. Very cool indeed.


Narration is a great way to speed our progress through the module - Its hard to tell if our rust and/or experience is what slows our progress through modules. Coupled with increasing epic scope of Season 8 Chicago modules, our table simply won't complete a module within a four hour time limit. The GM bypassed many encounters by narrating the outcomes based on input given by us. We'd easily spend multiple sessions if we played out every last scene. Not an option for us.


Once I actually blog my game reports, I did something new. Using my smartphone, I took photos of some of the combat scenes as we weren't using theater of the mind. Really should have snapped pictures sooner as describing the action can be a pain otherwise.


That's all.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

SR5: Drams of Reagents Are Deceptively Expensive

If everything goes to plan, I will play Shadowrun Missions for the first time in months tomorrow. What better way to prepare than by updating my PC, Nox the Combat Mage, right? Yeah, I should've had Nox updated sooner but it beats updating the character tomorrow. How does that relate to tonight's topic?


Part of updating a character is spending nuyen. I've long come to the conclusion that magicians really should use reagents in Shadowrun, fifth edition.


Reagents are magical components by the way, which enhance magic or are required for specific magical skills such as spirit binding.


Normally, a mana-slinger won't need a ton of reagents to bolster spells or aid in summoning spirits. Improving the Force in drams on reagents won't drain the credstick. They're like pocket change, chummer. Spend more nuyen getting dirt from a contact.


Binding spirits, on the other hand, cost double digits per Force of the spirit bound. A magician's credstick won't be worth drek if multiple high force spirits are bound. A Force 6 spirit costs more than a low lifestyle in credits!


The summoner/binder magicians with multiple bound spirits can easily spend a High lifestyle worth of credits in reagents.


Mighty costly considering one dram is 20 nuyen.


Certainly explains why there aren't more than two bound spirits encountered at any given time too.


Definitely won't happen in Missions. Nox can afford it because the PC has been low cost maintenance.


So I have a new appreciation for the value of reagents and bound spirits.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

SR5: So Magicians Can Now Shut Off Other Magician's Foci

We're nearing the end of the month so Shadowrun is on my mind again. After all, Tuesday Game Night at my FLGCS hosts a Shadowrun Missions event. More on that later...


Recently, I read portions of the magic section in the Core Rulebook that I really didn't bother too much with. The Enchanting section in particular. My Shadowrun Missions PC, Nox, doesn't possess any of the skills within the Enchanting skill group. Alchemy was strange, new, and something I wasn't quite ready for. As the Missions storyline progressed (and as I bought modules I had played during DM Day sale at DriveThru RPG...), I learned a magical trap was an alchemical preparation. Quick skimming conferred an Enchanting skill was required to disarm such a trap. My knowledge of Alchemy and Dispelling skills in a nutshell. Then with advent of Season 9 and the Neo-Tokyo reboot I embarked on a deeper dive...


Alchemy is neat but requires too much to worth my combat mage's karma at this stage. Unless there's a spellcaster at the table, I am not confident how well an alchemist would perform in Missions play. Although considering how I consider Sorcery is weakened in 5th edition, I may be overthinking Alchemy's apparent weakness too much.


Using Dispelling to disarm alchemical preparations set up as traps is cool. Much better than relying upon Counterspelling when the drek hits, eh? Can be used to shut off another Awakened's active foci within line of sight...


Can be used to turn off an active focus within line of sight?!


What a nice sustaining focus or weapon focus you have there, would be a shame if someone turned it off...


Yes, there's a contested role. Yes, there's drain involved. Yes, dispelling a focus is only a mere debuff. No, a threat won't be taken out directly.


However, I don't recall Magicians being able to shut off another's focus in prior editions of Shadowrun (Maybe they could in 4th...). Dispelling a focus is a means for a magician to deal with a magical threat in a fashion other PC's can't. You're summoned spirit is whirling dervish of death except against the adept with a weapon foci? The poor chummer better possess the power Killing Hands once you've turned it off. There's a magician with an active foci who has multiple magical effects going on? The sustained spell dissipates once the focus is dispelled. Their spellcasting isn't as potent you've target their power/spell foci.


The prospect of dispelling foci is a nifty enough trick that it's worth pumping karma into for my combat mage who in all practicality only has four more modules of play left. The conjurer PC, well a PC who summons and binds spirits better than my current PC, I am considering for the Neo-Tokyo arc would love to disarm antagonists armed with weapon foci to prolong his/her spirits' longevity.


Honestly, I wish I discovered this particular use of the Dispelling skill sooner. Hindsight's 20/20 I guess.


Back to the reason why Shadowrun is once again on my mind, Tuesday Night's Shadowrun Mission event? It wouldn't cancelled three consecutive months? Yeah... See August 30th marks the beginning of Adventurers League's eight season. As a consequence, all the DM's participating in DM's Quest rewards program have this week to finish up Season 7 modules. One of the players is among that number. Unfortunately, Shadowrun is pushed back another month. Again.


At least, I will be able to play D&D 5E AL again though!


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Five Take-Aways: Shadowrun Missions (5E) 6/26/18

Last Tuesday night organized play gaming event at my FLGCS I attended was back in March. Shadowrun Mission events were cancelled the last couple months. After a two month delay, there finally was another Shadowrun Missions event at my FLGCS. Tonight, not only was able to play Shadowrun, but participate in playing on Tuesday night at my favorite local game and comics store!


Know what that means?


Another installment of my five take-aways!


Experience level gap isn't detrimental - Many among my group of players have been participating in the Chicago for all 4 seasons now. A couple PC's karma totals qualify them for Prime Runner status. Neither of us  (yes, my combat mage is among the two) considers our characters Prime Runners cause of choices made although I could see our characters potentially become unbalancing if they were involved in the Neo-Tokyo arc. There a PC who've been used in multiple modules. Tonight, a new player with a brand new PC not only started this module but thrived. None of the less experienced characters burdened the more experienced ones. Really can't claim that with D&D.


Smoke sucks for human spell-slingers - My human combat mage's attack spells were countered because one combat occurred in a smoke-filled area. Rolling half my dice, or close to, hurt my PC's effectiveness substantially. Unlike previous combat encounters, may character didn't have the time nor was it advantageous to bypass the situation visually by using astral perception.


Couple abilities led to some feel-good impact - Back when I selected the metamagic technique of spell shaping, the table consisted of several close combat fighters. One module afterward and the table shifted to 'bring a gun to a knife fight' crowd. Other circumstances there were too many friendlies. Tonight, spell shaping meant a PC who really couldn't afford any friendly fire didn't catch any. Later on, my hermetic magician used the last service of  his bound water spirit's illusion power of concealment to aid the group sneak by in a tricky situation. The GM adjudicated the power as aiding a test. Otherwise, the situation was written mechanically that the  power's influence was superfluous. Still, the  concealment power boosted our confidence anyway.


Composure was taken for granted - Up until this module, Composure tests were infrequent and the result didn't feel like they made or broke a module for PC or table. After tonight, no more! I suspect Composure rolls will continue to be of importance as the Chicago arc finishes for us. May have to increase the corresponding attributes...


Mages and spirits are truly anime-watch-me-build-up characters - The decker really was ineffective for one pass until he could hop into hot-sim and deal with the more Matrix vulnerable characters. Okay, the opposing decker's failure to mark the decker PC aided substantially so perceptions could be colored. The ranged characters whom are built like snipers lived up to one shot, one kill mantra. Our troll tank could just tank and pull out a LMG to drastically tilt things. Okay, the face adept didn't decisively impact any of the battles but everything meritorious didn't require much time. My magician and summoned/bound spirits required time to buff up so to speak. Visual penalties? Do I have time to spend a pass astrally perceiving? Is it worth the risk? Many spells work best with prep time. Spirits? Did I have the spirit called to me? Is the spirit on the appropriate plane (physical or astral) to engage an opponent in combat? Would the snipers kill the opposing NPCs before I could go through the command protocol or the spirits have time to act? Spell-slinging/spirit commanding magicians are literally like the anime character standing there powering up.


Anyway, those are my Five Take-Aways from tonight's Tuesday Night Game.


Happy Gaming,


Next time.

The Combined SRM (Chicago & Neo-Tokyo) FAQ is Out

Ahoy, chummers!


The end of the month approaches and the next session/event of Shadowrun Missions (SRM) is upon us. Unfortunately, as circumstances dictate, I will not be there. However, Shadowrun is still on the brain. Okay, maybe not as much as if I was playing...


Why?


For starters, the Season 9 - 12(?) arc set in land of the rising sun, aka Neo-Tokyo is on the horizon. New characters. New story. New setting. New rules.


Oh by the way, gamers can still participate in the Chicago arc (Seasons 5 - 8) so rules differences between arcs require clarification.


Fortunately, the recently released Combined FAQ version 1.0 answers all those questions. Highlighted, in shiny green, blue, and yellow colors too!


The dropbox link for the Combined FAQ version 1.0 can be found HERE. You don't need a dropbox account to access the 80 page PDF document.


Quick thoughts:


There are Missions-related rules changes along with some clarifications. Have an Uncouth PC at the table? Well, you won't be able to avoid the drek any social snafu may cause now, chummer!


More of the Neo-Tokyo setting and rules are fleshed out. Very, very important as new PCs are required. Background count seems to be a situational problem. Despite the prevalence of magic, runners must be subtle as eyes are everywhere...


While I used Nuyen for Karma (Working for the People) frequently during the Chicago arc, it'll be much more expensive in Neo-Tokyo.


So far, I like the changes I see. We'll see what future Combined FAQs bring.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

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.

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: 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.

Five Take Aways From 1st Shadowrun Misssions of 2018

Tonight marks four milestones. First, this is the first installment of my Five Take Aways for 2018. Leads to the second milestone, which is first table-top role-playing session during 2018. Today's third milestone is playing fifth edition Shadowrun via Shadowrun Missions (SRM) organized play for the first time during the year 2018.


All leading to final fourth milestone and most important in terms of this blog. What you may ask? Why tonight is the very first Tuesday Night Game session that I have both played and blogged about in years. Since 2010 in fact. Every time I've gamed, it either wasn't on a Tuesday nor was it a part of regular gaming session held on Tuesday. As such, there was no Tuesday Game blogging at all. Tonight that all ends. For the forseeable  future, all organized play events, whether AL or SRM, at my FLGCS will occur on Tuesdays. For me, the Tuesday Game is back. Just in a radically different format.


Moving past all the milestone talk, here are my five take aways from the first Shadowrun Missions session I participated in during 2018.


We are never going to give a SRM module justice within a four hour window
As organized play occurs at a FLCGS during evening hours, we're limited by how long the store will allow us to play. In addition to moving the day to Tuesdays, the store decided it will firmer on how long organized events can run. SRM modules are billed as four events which include extra material for home games. Shadowrun 5th editions is a once a month game. As such, our group and GMs don't possess the mastery of the game to accurately gauge what can be cut, what can included, and what can be sped up. Basic rules mastery just isn't there. Tonight's GM stated he cut several things yet that wasn't enough. Several events toward the end required simplification. Otherwise, we never would have completed the module.


My understanding of the magic and spirit rules weakens magicians 
Frequently, I jest how little my magicians can do under the current rules. I'm starting to suspect much of that is due to both a limited knowledge of the total magic system and regimented interpretation of those rules. My strict interpretation may be too restrictive. Plus, I still need to reference basic rules. Unfortunately, I am the expert within my group. Really think the rules would benefit from more examples.


Need to bring my other rulebooks on either tablet or smartphone
In addition to the core book, I own both Rigger 5 and Street Grimoire as PDFs. However, neither Street Grimoire nor Rigger 5 are accessible on either tablet or smartphone. Only on computer. Which is at home. Not at game. So when I glance at a spell I am not familiar with I pretty much have to guess what it can do. Such as tonight.


Game play didn't suffer until we started rolling dice regularly
Reflecting on tonight's session, the game went much, much more smoothly when we weren't rolling dice as much. More role-playing. Less rules reference. More immersion. Then we started rolling dice and referencing the rules. Game slowed down. Arguments cropped up. We started what I would call the final combat encounter with an hour and half of game time remaining. Most of us got were cracking jokes about how important our characters were once the module was finished. Looking back, I feel the both the rules and dice roll results were a deciding factor in the 'my character didn't do much' perception.


Why not prep the modules as a four hour done-in-one-session home campaign fashion?
Once Lone Star reinforcements arrived (yeah the drek hit the fan chummers), I was like we're done for. Since we were short for time and the GM really didn't like the dancing on razor blades nature of the module, the scene wasn't ran as harsh as it could have been and much was glossed over. While driving home, I couldn't shake the sensation our group would have too much difficulty playing these modules at a convention. You know what's different between our group and a convention? One we play once a month and Shadowrun is an experimental game for us. We're not hardcore fifth edition Shadowrun players. This is once a month for us. Second, our group is fairly consistent and includes roughly the same PC mix. The GM knows the players, their play-styles, and the PCs. GM can adjust in advance for how we'll play and roughly what our PCs can do. As we're a close knit group, the GM isn't going to have the attitude of 'Oops because you didn't succeed at this one roll, you've failed the mission.' If something seems ridiculous to the GM about NPC opposition, then modify or don't use it. Double if the GM isn't sure how something works. On the other hand, failure and PC death/removal from game is a part of Shadowrun...


Those are my 5 take aways from tonight's session of Shadowrun Missions.

Not Quite 12 Days of Blogging: 5 Takeaways from Final Shadowrun Missions Event of 2017

Took yesterday off from blogging but I am back for the second installment of my Not Quite 12 Days of Blogging. Today's won't be Christmas-themed but I never said every post would fit the Yule mold. Tonight, we played our final session of Shadowrun (5E) Missions at my FLCGS. Time for another segment of 'Five Takeways'. Both the first and last for Shadowrun Missions (SRM) during 2017.

• SRM Street cred assisted item availability assumes long-term play - Through the grapevine, I heard the new SRM arc after the Chicago arc will lead to players starting over with new PCs to play non-prime runner modules. However, if you peruse the FAQ, PC can use their adjusted Street Cred to reduce the Availability rating of items. Street Cred mechanic already mandates the PC has been around for a while as it's base equals total karma divided by ten. SRM's adjusted Street Cred used for item purposes rule divides that result by another ten. We're talking runners with total karma in the hundreds here. Prime runners in fact. Going into today's session, I was going to use Nox's Street Cred to reduce the availability of Illusion Spell Formula then buy hits to simplify purchase. Upon discovering the math wouldn't be as simple as I thought, I abandoned the idea.

• Straight Combat PCs suck at non-combat modules - Today's module was pretty much a non-combat module. The parameters of the run were such that any combat would ultimately lead to failure. Both my combat mage and the drone/wheels/decker-assister rigger didn't contribute much...

• Binding Your 1st Spirit in Missions Feels Special - If you've read the rules for binding in Shadowrun 5th Edition, Binding is difficult for PCs well-skilled in it. My combat mage began the Missions with no skill in Binding whatsoever. Going into this session, I finally improved Nox's Binding skill to 5. Before the start of the module, I attempted Nox's very 1st Binding test. He succeeded  Binding a Force 6 spirit. With 4 net hits too!

• Using Spirits in Creative Ways is pretty fun! - Speaking of Nox binding his first spirit, he actually used the spirit this very session. Remember how I said it was a non-combat mod? The spirit wasn't used in a manner where die rolls were needed. Rather intuitively obvious manner too using the elemental's create element power too but one I would never think to do if combat was the option. Other buying a couple minor items that other PCs used to dramatic effect, this was Nox's major and virtually sole contribution to the success of the run during this session.

• A more liberal use of buying hits would have sped up play considerably - Buying hits is basically dividing a PCs dice pool by 4 to acquire one hit. Doing so foregoes dice-rolling speeds up play. Previous SRM sessions generally lasted quite awhile. Ironically, our final SRM session of 2017 was placed under a serious time constraint compared to previous sessions. Plus, we had a late arrival whom required debriefing. Towards the end, the GM started allowing buying hits, which the sped the game up during crunch time. Think our sessions would proceed much faster if our group incorporated buying hits more. Although I suppose less poker face with challenge difficulties would encourage buying hits more often too...

May blog the session recap before the end of the year; but more likely it will come next year.


Happy Gaming!


Next time.

SRM: Oops, I Bungled The Karma for Nuyen Rule Once

On Monday, my FLCGS will host the final Shadowrun (5E) Missions (SRM) organized play event of the year. In preparation, I need to update my PC's character sheet and timeline. Easy, right?


As it turns out, I forgot there's a cap on the Karma for Nuyen rule (working for the people). Which is kind of bad as it throws off total karma, nuyen, and timeline. In SRM, we track the PCs time each week. In a roundabout fashion of course.


After verifying, I had only over-paid for 5 karma over the course of previous modules.


This last module, we only earned 5 karma.


Fortunately, I only need to spend one week of the PC's calendar to rectify the PC, Nox my human combat mage, having 5 more karma than he should. Been managing a huge karma reserve so no hiccups on the advancement end.


Downside, Nox is now an unplanned week ahead on downtime and lifestyle costs. Sigh.


Happy Gaming.


Next time.

SR5: Suppressive Fire vs Cover and PANs

This past Monday was the most recent session of Shadowrun Missions using the Fifth Edition rules at my local FLCGS. As anyone who's ever played Shadowrun 5th ed (SR5) know, the complexity of the rule-set is not for GMs for the faint of heart. As usual, I was a player so I didn't have to contend with the two tricky rule concepts among a group that likes to wade into complex and complicated rulings. Those rule concepts were Suppressive Fire into Total Cover and PANs (Personal-Area-Network).


Suppressive Fire


The suppressive fire was basically a PC firing a suppressive fire arc into the wall of a building. Everything was A-Okay until we realized a key NPC would not only be caught in the crossfire but probably wouldn't be taken action to avoid being hit. So we did review of the rules for suppressive fire and then proceeded to figure out the effects of firing into and penetrating a barrier. As anyone who has tried to quickly consult a rule in Shadowrun could attest it was not a simple process. After much yammering, a ruling was made and dice rolled.


Simple, right?


You'd be wrong.


After the game, I decided to brush up on the suppressive fire rules. Looked at the chart. It read: Duck or Take Cover. Hmm, that's weird. Why would take cover work due to the barrier rules? Read the first page. Everything checks out. Those adjacent and within arc suffer penalties to actions. Ok. Read the next page. Characters behind full cover don't have to make the test to avoid damage. Uh, oh. Meaning the barrier rules don't apply to suppressive fire against full cover.


So we got a rule wrong. Oops. As we're lucky if we play Shadowrun 5th edition once a month, we're still mastering the basics let alone the more advanced rules.




PANs


I must admit we generally take PANs for granted. Is there a decker or rigger present? The rest of runners link key gear to the RCC or deck and don't sweat the small stuff. Well, we ran into the thorny question of what happens when a PC has too much wireless gear; and the appearances of the PAN within PAN trees.


Personally, I view PANs as a rule mechanic for firewalls. Everyone's commlink could benefit from the firewall provided by the RCC/deck's PAN, while any wireless gear would be within commlink's micro-PAN and benefit from the commlink's firewall.


Turns out, my viewpoint was minority viewpoint. Everyone was too focused on the network aspect of a PAN and thus my viewpoint was deemed to powerful. The point of contention was that one of the PCs had wireless grenades. Many felt that it would create quasi-chain of networked items far larger than what the rules allowed. Fair enough.


After the game I got to thinking, all weapons are visible in the Matrix. A PC would have their PAN and every wireless weapon's icon would exist outside the PANs icon within the Matrix. Who the drek would walk around the sprawl with grenades visible on the Matrix. That's asking for trouble.


Solution: Just because an item is wireless doesn't mean it's on the PAN. You're not going to walk around with every wireless item on. As such as, it won't be visible on the Matrix and thus the item doesn't require the protection of the Matrix.


Quite sure that interpretation will foster quite the argument... er discussion. Which I will probably lose as we've had the Bluetooth analogy before.




Happy Gaming!


Next time.

Halloween '17: The Most Halloween-like Shadowrun Mission Module I've Ever Played

Within a couple hours, my local FLCGS will host its once a month Shadowrun Missions event. Unlike last year, as mentioned in the 'was Halloween night trick-or-treat?' blog entry, I don't think tonight's event will be cancelled. As Halloween is tomorrow, here's a game write-up of the module that reflected Halloween the most. At least couple Shadowrun Missions would qualify...


The cast: Truce a human drone rigger. "Snuffles" - a dwarf decker with a fondness for Sesame Street. Umi - Elven Face Adept. Lastly, I played Nox Human Combat Mage.


Thereby Spoilers but I will avoid specifics as much as possible... I'll also switch from 1st to 3rd person quite a bit too.




Our quartet of shadowrunners were hired by a duo familiar to us whose identities will remain anonymous. We're professional like that chummer! Anyway, our job was to find a missing family or two. First, we had to investigate an office. Passkey provided.


So the office, which didn't have an astral barrier, was without power and thus no light. Nox learned the value of flashlights that day. Truce manages to jury-rig the electrical systems and power, lightning, and an electrical discharge zapping Truce comes on. Despite using the passkey, Snuffles still had to bypass the keypad. Footage is accessed displaying kids knocking out the guards with gas grenades. Umi the most perceptive of the runners doesn't pick up a minute clue. The quartet proceed to another office. Nox doesn't perceive any magical auras. Snuffles enters the host node within the Matrix and discovers one of the objects of our search was implanted with bleeding-edge tech! Umi and Truce with Snuffles decker-fu nab a couple of medkits. The runners leave the building with power on and lock up.


The next location is like a palace among the rundown vicinity of the Containment Zone. Upon smelling rotting flesh, gas masks are handed out. Nox scopes out the place by astrally projecting. Finds nothing in either the house or garden. Yet, when he checks out the shed he detects lumps within the ground are moving! Dreading astral combat, Nox beats it. Upon reaching the other runners, Nox informs them of what he finds. While they perform a Matrix search, Nox uses Cleansing metamagic and attempts to summon an Air Elemental Force 4. He gets 3 services.  The quartet then approach the house. Umi triggers a monofilament tripwire, which she edges to dodge. Snuffles proceeds to unlock the house when a shock nets falls on the hapless Snuffles and Umi. Nox manages to dodge the net. Nox sends his air elemental to scope out the shed. Learns that it was worms crawling over what may be dead bodies. As we enter the house, Snuffles enters the house node where a castle motif greets him. After much searching, Truce and Snuffles detect a secret room with a map of Chicago. Umi cooks stir fry and Nox locates another secret room where it's discovered that a boy is an object of a search... The runners leave discovering bike tracks by the shed, which is a chicken coup filled with dead chickens. Snuffles dons a hazmat suit and arranges for a dead chicken and their food/water to picked up by a contact for further analysis. Truce's drone notices female bikers going from house to house; and Truce contacts a female biker contact. Turns out its her group. Small world indeed chummers.


At a homeless shelter, a scene of death awaits. From there, Snuffles triangulates our next stop: a flower shop. As we arrive, it is sunset and the air elemental is freed. Nox astrally projects to discover there's an aura by the door and a mana barrier further in. Truce's drone enters. Upon the runners physically entering the flower shop, Nox has the bright idea to flick the switch from which the magical aura is fixated upon. Boom! Fireball. Nox's spell defense helps the group avoid must of the effects of the fireball. Then, the sprinkers turn on. Contact poison. Knock out gas to be precise. Snuffles wearing a hazmat suit is the only once conscious. Panicking he realizes the other three aren't dead. Drags our comatose bodies into the van and commands the drone to do the same.


When we wake, we buy hazmat suits, gas masks, and flashlights and return to the flower shop. Inside the office, we find a tunnel leading down. Nox with hazmat suit is too big to fit so he takes it off. After squeezing through a tunnel at the bottom, an overpowering stench hits us. No one loses their lunch. Then we enter a room which is pretty much a charnel house. Background Count of 4 aspected toward death! Pictures of human kids along with gore dots the walls. Then phasing out of the mist above us, two vampires appear and attack Nox and Umi! Nox is struck by a sword blow that reduces him to 1 box of physical! Umi uses her adept power of 'Too pretty' to dodge. Unfortunately for her the vampire on her connects with a sword a couple of times. Nox is fortunately missed. They are both saved by the burst fire from both Truce and Snuffles, which kills one vampire and injures another. Appearing outmatched, the lone vampire transforms into mist and escapes through the cracks! After gathering their bearings, the runners discover the remains of the dead kids among the bodies.


The SRM module was Season 06-01 10-57. It wasn't just the vampires that made me feel that this module was the most fitting for a Halloween blog entry. The creeping tension that culminated in a scene of horror, the fear of the unknown, and a feeling of imminent TPK secured the nod.


All Hallows' Eve is tomorrow.


Happy Gaming!


Next time,

SR5 Not Dead Yet Not Same As SR3 Hand of God

Last night while playing a Shadowrun Missions module for Shadowrun 5th edition our table had the rather exciting situation of two PCs caught within the blast radius of all the grenades on grenade belt exploding. One of the PCs is not the subject of today's entry as will become clear once I finally write the session write-up (from a player perspective). Yeah, a plethora awaits.


See, even though role-playing games allow PCs to withstand powerful attacks like a grenade, several grenades exploding at once is still hazardous for one's health.


Fortunately, the other PC had an Edge rating.


Shadowrun 5th edition allows PCs to burn a point of Edge such that they are not dead yet.


For veteran Shadowrun players such as myself who've played third edition, we automatically think of that edition's hand of god.


Except they aren't quite the same.


Sure, both allow a PC to avoid dying from effect that would otherwise spell instant doom. They work differently.


SR3's Hand of God required a PC to spend a point of Karma available within the Karma Pool and then expend all Karma in order to avoid certain death once. Once and only once would the grim reaper of all shadowrunners hand be stayed. Yours truly, utilized Hand of God when my orc street samurai sustained a deadly wound and was tossed near some alligators. Afterwards, he started from scratch karma-wise thereafter. Good times. Good times.


Meanwhile, SR5's Not Dead Yet meanwhile only allowed the PC caught within the exploding grenade chorus to burn a permanent Edge. The RAW (rules as written) don't specifically state said PC must've had a point of Edge remaining within the Edge pool. Apparently, some of the participants learned that was intended as well (RAI).


Plus unlike my poor Orc Street Samurai, said PC can use Not Dead Yet for the remainder of shadowrunning career as long as the PC never burns all Edge and/or buys a new rating of Edge.


Must confess the last caused some cognitive dissonance on my end. Read the passage over and over again. Had a hard time shaking my confusing it with the old rule. Which is why I have taken it upon myself to blog about confusing old rules with new rules. Years ago, when I had started playing third edition Shadowrun, I corrected some old time players that the rules were different now. Flash forward to now, there's been a couple times I slipped back into third edition. Rules arguments are never fun especially when at the heart of the argument is rules differences between editions.


Another thing that came up in reference to Not Dead Yet and burning Edge was one's total Karma earned would be reduced. Don't know if that's rules confusion ala Hand of God or how Shadowrun Missions wants to record it. Shadowrun already has things such as initiation ordeals that permanently reduce both attributes and attribute limits that don't negatively impact a PC's total karma earned. Furthermore, a PC could very well never have raised Edge. If so, karma was never spent on an attribute point which no longer exists. Perhaps it's for record-keeping and determination of prime runner status purposes. Maybe the RAI meant for character's Street Rep to suffer whenever Edge is burnt?


All matters for further research and discussion.


Thus ends the latest installment of rules differences between editions.


Till Next Time,


Happy Gaming!

Shadowrun (5E) Missions: Which Detection Spell(s) to Select?

Last couple sessions that I played Shadowrun Missions, the lack of my combat mage's versatility has been brought up. No hard feelings on my end. The combat mage template basically does combat... and that's about it. Not bad; however, as I have mentioned via earlier posts, combat magic in 5th edition Shadowrun doesn't have the oomph it did in previous editions. So yeah, I've been feeling it alright...


So it's high time my combat mage learns some new spells. Must confess I still haven't fully worked my head around the availability rules Missions uses. So only those spells with relatively easy Availablity will be picked from. Leaves me with the Detection and Heath categories. Health - I am not a fan. Maybe if I used reagents more, and thus boosting limits, I would. But, I don't. Unlike D&D, Health spells, within a Force a caster would normally cast, is weak sauce in Shadowrun.


Detection spells it is.


First, I am holding off on the analyze spells. They're neat; but they require a great deal more thought than I am willing to invest at the moment.


Mind Probe is awesome. However, Mind Probe is very situational. In Missions, I've come to feel every karma counts. As player of a magician exercises the working for the people option to garner more karma, nuyen is much more finite than it otherwise would be. With lifestyle expenses, I have to be very careful how much time is spent training. So I'll save Mind Probe for another wave. Besides, my Combat Mage has been fortunate to run with some very charismatic characters. That'll continue, right...?


Detect Object - is even more situational than Mind Probe is. So probably not.


I absolutely love the potential radar effect for the extended versions of some of the detect spells. However, Shadowrun Missions is currently located in Chicago, which is host to areas with different kinds of background counts. Probably overthinking it though. Later.


Detect Enemies is neat; but my observations lead me to be skeptical of its use in Missions. Everything is either to far away, one can already notice it, or you've wandered into a different background count. Chicago is a bit of a peach that way...


Detect Lifeform is another gem. But I really don't want to specialize.


Really digging Detect Life though. Meanwhile, Clairvoyance is an old favorite of mine. Clairaudience could have came in handy for some of the mods.


If I pick up one spell, it will be Clairvoyance. Like I said, it's one of my go-to spells. Plus, it doesn't have a success table that requires some interpretation on the GM's part like Detect Life. If two spells, Clairaudience will be the second.


And that's just the core book!


We will just have to wait and see how this latest batch of thinking out loud plays out. Which reminds me, there's some session reports that await...


Till next time,


Happy Gaming!