Merry Christmas! Thought I would get this out, in case any of you are looking for something to listen to on this holiday.
In this episode, the group stakes out the house of one of their kidnappers, trying to gather information and decide on what to do next. One of the players was a little confused about Triad/Yakuza involvement, perhaps forgetting past interactons, so after the credits is a conversation that was had towards the end of the game.
Hope you enjoy.
In this episode, options are discussed involving Fireblossom’s possible HMHVV infection. The group talks about getting their stuff, and what they might possibly want to do about the Yakuza.. and then they go and.. no.. make a deal with a dragon? Hmmm, maybe not. Or maybe there’s just always a dragon.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Eric L, our newest Patreon supporter!
In the epiode, the group recovers from their previous ordeal, and begins to plan a bit of revenge. . .
Car accidents can be a dangerous thing, and this is still true in Shadowrun. However, the way the actual crash rules are written out, you are in for more danger if you are in a big rig that slams into a Smart Car, while the passengers in the Smart Car are likely to walk away uninjured. Makes total sense, right? Nah.
So, I am going to try to come up with something might make sense here, toss the idea around, see if I can get others to comment, contribute ideas, and maybe we can refine it to something that is acceptable to many GMs and Players.
First, Crashes usually involve the impact of a vehicle with another vehicle, or physical object. For the sake of Crash damage rules, we are going to address a vehicle hitting a solid object, or Barrier. And a vehicle hitting another Vehicle.
Next, lets address the different attributes of a Vehicle. Body represents the structure of the vehicle, and Armor represents the ability of your vehicle to shrug off damage.
So, in the instance of hitting a barrier, lets start with the assumption that a vehicle that hits a fragile object is not going to cause much damage. It really doesn’t matter how fast a vehicle is going, running into a pane of glass is just going to break the glass. So if the Body of the vehicle is higher than either the Armor or Structure of the barrier, assume it passes right through undamaged. If either value is higher, then it might pass through with little to no damage.
So for instances like this, I propose that one consults the speed chart for the vehicle, and if the resulting “damage” is higher than the Armor of the barrier being struck, then the GM may rule that the vehicle destroys the barrier with little to no damage to the car. Examples, if a Honda Spirit (Body 8, Armor 6) travelling at 51-200 m/turn (Body x2, or 16DV) hits an Armored glass pane, or other “Reinforced Material” (Armor 12, Structure 8), then the vehicle is going to bust right through. However, in this case, since the structure is higher than the armor, I might call for the car to resist a DV equal to the difference in DV of the Vehicle and the Armor of the target. In this case, 4DV to the vehicle and Passengers, but since the DV is not higher than the Armor of the vehicle, the damage is STUN, and the passengers get to utilize the Armor of their vehicle as well. Note, the -6AP mentioned in crash damage resistances applies to personal armor worn, if any, not the added armor of the vehicle passengers are in.
In the next instance, one of the vehicle hitting tougher objects, in which both the Armor and Structure of the target are higher than the Body of the Car. I might recommend figuring the DV that ramming vehicle will inflict, and having the vehicle resist half that amount. As for Passengers, it makes little sense for the size of the vehicle they are in increase the damage they are taking. So for instances like this, I recommend a flat rate of 10S, modified by the speed of the vehicle. Normal Crash rules for damage resistance apply (resisting with Body + Armor -6AP) I also propose adding in the Armor of the vehicle (or perhaps it structure) as sort of the “crumple zone” impact safety feature of the vehicle.
So for example. If that same Honda Spirit runs into a brick wall or other “Structural Material” (Armor 16, Structure 10), at the same speed of 51-200m/turn. The vehicle would be inflicting 16P against the wall, and would be resisting 8P DV. If this damage is lower than the armor of the vehicle, the vehicle shrugs off all damage. The Passengers all have to resist 10S normally, but they get to add the vehicle’s 6 Armor to their roll.
In the case of vehicles hitting other vehicles, I would propose similar numbers as those with vehicles vs structures. First, consider the speeds of the vehicles If a faster vehicle is hitting a slower vehicle int he same direction, just take the relative speed. If the relative speed is 1-10m, then the Damage being inflicted by the ramming car is Body/2, which is not likely to much more than force a Crash roll, but still compare DV of the ramming vehicle with the Armor of the rammed vehicle to see if any damage is caused (less DV than Armor means no damage).
But lets assume a large or fast vehicle hits one that is not so large, or it’s a head-on collision with a high relative speed. Two Hyundai Shin-Hyungs travelling 110m/t head on collide, The DVs based on these speeds are Body x2. You could take the Relative Speed, and have it Body x3, but since both vehicles are travelling the same speed, it’s easier I think to just have them each inflict the same damage to each other. In the case of the Passengers through, I would modify the flat 10S by the Relative Speed, so all passengers are resisting 30S, and might possibly die in this impact once you consider the extra stun rolling over into Physical at a 2:1 rate.
So, Two Hyundais are impacting head on. They are both Body 10, Armor 6. Each is inflicting 16DV to the other vehicle, which is higher than the armor, so each will have to resist the damage. The Passengers have to resist 30S with Body+Personal Armor (-6AP) + Vehicle Armor. So if they had Body 5, Armor 12, they’d be resisting with 17 dice (5+6+6). Assuming average results, each is likely to be taking 20+ Stun damage, resulting in unconsciousness, and possibly death.
If Anyone has any comments, suggestions, etc, I would greatly appreciate hearing them. This hasn’t been play tested. I basically came up with this as I was sitting here typing it, so it may not fairly address vehicle or passenger damage in crashes.. but it seems like it would be better than the crash rules as presented in the Core Book.
We are not podfading. But the mic problem mentioned in the previous episode just increases the amount of needed editing. Some chunks are just taken out completely, so if you hear a few things that seem like they are missing something, it might have been one of those places where the audio was just too bad to leave in.
In this episode, a new player, and a new character joins us. Meet Kinect, Decker Adept…
In this episode, we just back to Teddy, Lightning, Zero and Doctor Jones. They are exploring the boundaries of their captivity, as well as the pair of ghouls who seem to be their wardens. Will they survive a meeting with their captor? Or will they be mist?
As a favor of a friend, I am giving him a shout out for his new Rehearsal Studio. If you are in the LA Area, and looking for a place to rehearse, the location is 2300 S. Reservoir St, #313 Pomona Ca-just off the 60 Freeway. You can get in touch by sending an email to electricsoundrehearsal@gmail.com
This episode is a little longer, since the session itself was a little on the shorter side. Pretty soon we will be reaching a point where we cut back to the main Team for a bit, while some information is learned.
(The following is a brief telling of an event that happened in the game. the aftermath of which was heard in Episode 15)
Augmented Reality windows flickered with scrolling information as Eve Donovan researched the information she was being fed. She liked to be very thorough and often times took a direct hand, along with the Runners she hired, to make sure the job succeeded. If your teams didn’t succeed, you found your job opportunities drying out. And she didn’t want to be forced back into Running for a living, Fixing was much more her style.
The Eurocar Westwind, after a quick command over DNI, pulled away from the Gravity Bar and soon turned south onto 1st Ave. The Arcology filled the view beyond the windshield, but Eve was still scanning the AR windows, not even noticing the occasional squeak of the wipers sluicing water off the glass.
“Yes, I understand. I should have a team for you within the hour.” Her eyes flickered to the rear view mirror as the voice acknowledged, “My usual fee shall be observed. Very well,”
Eve sat back and let the car drive while she began to open windows that displayed info about some of the Runners she regularly dealt with. For this job, Black Hat and his team would do, so she made the call. It was answered a moment later, and she smiled at the image of the Top Hat that filled her visual display.
“Eve, I take it you have a job.” said the distorted voice through the commlink.”
“I wouldn’t disturb you at this time if I didn’t.” She trailed off as she noticed that the same headlights were still visible in the rear-view. “Hold that thought a moment,” she said as she assumed manual control of the car, and took the next turn a little too quickly. “I’ll have a job for you, but I’ll have to send you a message with the info on the meet.”
“Everything chill?” There was a note of concern in the vocal distortion, “do you need assistance?”
“I should be good. I just need to make another call. I’ll be in touch.” Eve took another turn, her commlink already trying to connect on another signal.
A gruff voice answered, “you finally noticed?” The owner of the voice didn’t wait for her to respond, “they’ve been following you since you left the Gravity Bar. I don’t think they are aware of us. Get on the interstate as soon as you can. It will be better if we can make it to Renton.”
“Indeed,” said Eve, “the last thing I want is some sort of conflict here downtown. Have any of the others been alerted?”
“Yeah, some more are on the way to meet us. Just need to hold out till they arrive.”
Several minutes later, the westwind was screaming through Tacoma. Whoever they were, and she had counted four vehicles so far, they were trying to direct her some place out of the way. If only it was the same place she was trying to get to. She turned east onto Milton Way, hoping that she could make it to Jovita. Instead, she found herself forced south onto Meridian instead.
“They are doing a very good job of herding me,” she growled as she opened up the throttle on her westwind.
“Yeah, but if you can stay on Meridian, you might be able to hit the 167. There’s several Crimson coming up from Puyallup, 10 more minutes.” Just past 36th, Meridian went into some hairy curves, and Eve lost control on the wet roads, sliding into the wooded area on the side of the road. Four vehicles screeched to a halt, a fifth one hydroplaned and slammed into her westwind.
Head spinning from the wreck, Eve didn’t notice the figured walking up from behind her vehicle. She was still dazed as an arm reached in, severing her seat belt with a knife before the other arm yanked her out of the broken window by her hair, Suddenly alert and screaming from the pain, her eyes narrowed on the person in front of her.
“Ah, ah ah,” it said in a calm voice, cutting her off before she could say anything. “Don’t make this any harder than it is. We want something that you had stolen.”
“I’m a Fixer,” she spat. “I arrange to have many things stolen. You’re going to have to be more specific.” Then gunfire erupted, and she tried to pull away, but stopped when she realized that he still had a firm grip on her hair.
The human who held her pulled her around behind the westwind, ducking and pulling her down into cover. “Perhaps, but here isn’t the place.” He was wearing tactical armor of some sort, and dark goggles obscured his eyes.
Just then a grenade went off on the other side of the car, and she took the opportunity to pull herself away, leaving many strands of her hair. Standing, she quickly turned and ran. Right into a troll that had come up from the other side. Reacting quickly, she drew her Browning and shot the troll in the stomach. He simply grunted, armored too well for the pistol to cause much harm, and then he grabbed her. One hand on her shoulder, the other on her wrist, he pulled. She heard the metal of her cyber arm giving way as the troll separated the hand from her body.
It was just metal, but the troll still squeezed the meat portion roughly. Eve screamed in pain, and tried shooting the troll again, but he back-handed her before she could get the shot off. She lost her breath as she spun and impacted the ground face first, but then she heard the sound of many cycles roaring closer.
“Sounds like the cavalry has arrived,” she said as she turned to look at the troll. The sight of the troll swinging a sledge hammer towards her wiped the grin off her face. Hurriedly, she scrambled back, just enough to that the hammer smashed through her left leg. Her cyber leg. Then the flash bangs began popping, and she was knocked out before she was able to see the two dozen members of King’s Crimson arrive and begin to slaughter her attackers.
I would like to thank our newest Patreon supporter, The Arcology Podcast. Thank you Mr. Johnson and Vox.
I would also like to thank Zaran Black for giving us our second 5 star review at iTunes. Feedback of any kind is nice to hear, and I agree with your point. I am trying to encourage my players to do just that.
In this episode, our group learns what it is like for the NPCs, when they find themselves on the receiving end of a set of spurs. . .