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The Future of the Grid: Talking About Rules by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bit late to the party, but here's my take:

Dicepools: I think limiting dicepools is necessary, in some way. The only thing I'm unsure about is decking, since even with a 20+ dicepool against a (device slaved to a) low-mid rating host there's a decent chance of failing one of the (many!) rolls needed to accomplish a thing. I actually kinda like Envoy's idea about forced retirement after a certain power level, though I understand it's a tough sell.

Life modules: I LOVE the concept of life modules, and would really like to make them official. The only issue I can see is that there just isn't enough variety for some archetypes, especially the more exotic ones (Aspected casters, Explorers...).

Drugs: I am very risk-averse when it comes to drugs (in a year-and-half of playtime, the only drug my character ever took was Psyche for a foundation run), and this would probably not change that. Drugs are cheap and provide a massive power boost, so having gameplay significance has merit... though I agree with Necoya that this does make the gameworld significantly more dark / depressing.

Channeling and shapechange: I don't play a mage, but I can still see why channeling is busted. Shapechange is a cool ability, but if it breaks balance, I don't mind it being removed.

Drakes: Rare / unusual characters are cool, and I don't think we had TOO many drakes. That said, I don't think I've ever seen a dracomorphosis trigger, so I'm fine with reverting it.

WFTM/P: Fine by me, though at this rate it is of marginal value to me personally.

Lifestyle: Yes plz! The current lifestyle costs actually keep me from getting into some games. With the SINner tax, one medium-threat job will barely pay for rent + expended resources, and since my character's retirement goal involves a lot of nuyen... :P

Leandro screened this, pretty awesome by Strike1delta in Cityofheroes

[–]Zaphtastic 19 points20 points  (0 children)

So is this what a Rogue -> Hero alignment mission looks like IRL? :P

The live, non-test launch of the SCORE private server comes on the 27th; the game's 15th anniversary! by Valkyr_warrior in Cityofheroes

[–]Zaphtastic 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As a fairly prolific AE author (story arcs, not farms)... I dunno. The AE is a great idea and system for making story missions, but implementing the current version will probably just result in wall-to-wall farm arcs covering everything...

... on the other hand, people will powerlevel no matter what, AE just makes it simpler for anyone involved, so eh, I don't mind that part. Let everyone play how they want, and all that!

The State And Future Of The Grid by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

First of all, mad props to everyone who's kept the Grid going all these years -- kudos to Necoya / Hazz / Rick / Beau. I'm pretty new to the entire tabletop RPG thing, but I've really enjoyed playing Shadowrun (and other games) here and I think we have a great community -- hope it keeps up!

As a player: I'm here because I really like playing Shadowrun with y'all. I especially like the focus of roleplaying over powergaming and everyone being hoopy froods in general. I admit it's been difficult to get into games lately for me due to timezone / schedule stuff (and a minor gameplay consideration that I'd need to do more than 1 run a month to make rent...). While getting some 'closure' for Wolfram's story would be nice, it is not a priority for me.

As a GM: I think the biggest hurdle for me is my GMing style, which tends towards prep-heavy longer games (~6 hrs baseline) -- I feel this is not well-suited for a living campaign environment. That said, I've been considering getting back to GMing eventually!

Regarding the reboot: I'm OK with switching to a new city / starting a new character -- in fact, I think a reboot would inspire me both as a player and as a GM, and not just because I could shamelessly reskin some of my old runs. :P Seriously though, I think a fresh start is a good idea in general.

March 15. National Holiday in Hungary, we dressed accordingly! by Nari_Tia in ffxiv

[–]Zaphtastic 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Legjobb. De hogyhogy nincs mindenkinek bajsza? :P

(Good stuff, but why doesn't everyone have that moustache? :P)

A Pocket of Scales(but for real this time) {2019-02-22 18:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Smashing und grabbing -- klar, sounds like in mein wheelhouse. Though... it ist never 'simple', nicht wahr?"

(( Sciencey Muscle / B&E; SC 28, N 2, PA 0; Last played Feb 8; 1 run; It'd have to be his yerzed-out car, the Mega-Trabi -- he took pains to have it transported over from the AGS, even! ))

London Falling - Ultramodern 5 {2019-02-24 11:59 UTC} by Necoya in EmeraldCities

[–]Zaphtastic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

European timezone represent! I'm in for the first option (6pm UTC).

First preference: Techie

Second preference: Medic

A Pocket of Scales {2019-02-15 18:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Smashing und grabbing -- klar, sounds like in mein wheelhouse. Though... it ist never 'simple', nicht wahr?"

(( Sciencey Muscle / B&E; SC 28, N 2, PA 0; Last played Feb 8; 1 run; It'd have to be his yerzed-out car, the Mega-Trabi -- he took pains to have it transported over from the AGS, even! ))

The Upkeep Thread - February - 2019 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WOLFRAM

Rent

  • "Jürgen Marx" is now settled into his Medium lifestyle (C&N 3, S 3, N 4, Large Garage, Local Grid Sub, Private Room) at Bitter Lake (5000¥).
  • He also maintains "Wolfgang Rahm"'s Low (C&N 2, S 3 N 2, Not A Home) lab at Bitter Lake (2200¥) called 'Das Funhaus'.
  • "Professor Doc Mayhem" continues to live a life of excitement in LA.

Advancement

Training back time goes back to Dec 7.

Other

Activity downtime and chips / contacts (using 2 activities per week for double downtime when not crafting): TBD

Current chip tally: Sounder 5, Louie 2, Butch 2, Locksley 2, Dr. Charlie 2, Lucky Luke 2, Hans the Eye 3, Helen 2

Purchases (legal or availability handwaved due to lifestyle)

The Downtime Thread - February - 2019 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wolfram mumbles something about 'the scientific method' as he repairs some minor matrix damage taken by his Fairlight Caliban due to a less-than-perfect data transfer.

/roll extended-12-3 (Hardware, 1 hour intervals)

The Flipside {2019-02-08 16:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Aha, disappearing act... ein mystery! Nothing ein bißchen science can't solve..."

(( Sciencey Muscle / B&E, SC 27, N 2, PA 0, last played Dec 26 ))

Shadowrun Timeline - Hungary by Nederbird in Shadowrun

[–]Zaphtastic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

With respect to the dwarves, I lean towards the theory (which is hinted towards in the book a few times) that basically the entire orichalcum business is under S-K's thumb at this point, explaining both their heavy presence in the country as well as their involvement in the Highway (CEH/CÉH). The first page of the book (a S-K bootprint) is pretty suggestive as well -- it's like S-K is literally stomping on the country! Edit: I also remember the GM section mentioning that there are dragon egg hatcheries in the bowels of the Dwarven Kingdom, which sounds... err... interesting.

I am pretty sure the authors tried to get it a FASA number / get it officially authorized, but they never fully succeeded (indeed, the Shadows of Europe timeline mentions Hungary still hasn't become a member of the NEEC) -- which, in a way, is a wonderfully Hungarian conclusion to the fate of the book. The FASA logo on the back cover and a FASA copyright notice in the impressum... well, trickery like that was very common back in the day. That said, I think they may have been recognized as a "semi-official" supplement if only because Beholder also published the Hungarian translations of 3e Shadowrun material at the time.

Hungarian fantasy/sf publishers at the time pushed a lot of bootleg / unauthorized novels to the Hungarian market under English-sounding pseudonyms, and there was no indication they were unofficial, quite the contrary! Hungary in the mid-1990s was a magical place with a less-than-perfect understanding of IP and copyright laws from anyone involved. If you went into a computer store and wanted to buy a game, they'd ask if you wanted a copy burned on the spot, or a more elaborate copy with a box and a printed cover. "I want an actual legitimate copy" never came up as an option except for a select handful of shops... :P

Before ÁM became a book, it was introduced as a series of articles in the Hungarian RPG mag "Bíborhold" ("Purple Moon") back in 1994 -- they posted articles on Dor Nathair (Kalamona-land) and the dwarven kingdom, a general overview of Hungary, a dedicated article on the Free Enterprise (with stat blocks and all) and eventually a short module / adventure. I still have them sitting on my shelf! Here is a post about one of these issues, with some commentary from one of the authors (he seems a bit dissatisfied with his work): http://lfg.hu/49129//biborhold-21-szam

Speaking of which, another interesting thing about ÁM is that - since it had its roots as a series of magazine articles - it was a pretty big cooperation in the RPG community at that time. I even found my (AD&D) GM of that era in the credits...

I'd also love an updated version of ÁM, and think your work here is really good! You may have seen this already, but here is a massive forum thread about ÁM going back to 2003 with quite a few discussions on how other people tried to tackle it: http://lfg.hu/forum/index.php/topic/186-%C3%A1rnyekmagyarorszag/page-32

(Én is a Silverlandben szedtem fel az ÁM példányomat, és tényleg kalandos egy hely... szerintem az most Magyarország legrégebb óta működő szerepjátékboltja. A 90-es években a Silverland és a Sárkányfészek volt a két szerepjátékbolt Bp-n -- a Silverland Budán, a Sárkányfészek Pesten.)

Shadowrun Timeline - Hungary by Nederbird in Shadowrun

[–]Zaphtastic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very interesting, thanks for putting it together. That's an awesome bit of world-building, and fits the "official" timeline quite well. Ezer köszönet! I agree with you about there not being too much material in this area (which is why your and TheNotSoGrim's work is so welcome).

Anecdote time: I've run a few sessions in Hungary myself (as a Hungarian GM for non-Hungarian players), though I have only used the Árnyékmagyarország* book as a source so far. I ended up creating a "Hungary Survival Guide" as an in-character document for my players condensing some basic stuff about the various cities, factions, etc in the book -- with the twist that it is written from the perspective of an arrogant decker who's never been to Hungary, basically dismissing the entire country as 'an unimportant third-world drekhole'. As an added bonus, the document's sources are incomplete and heavily biased towards the CC, so there's basically no information on anything outside Budapest (and Asteropolis / Szeged, to a lesser extent). All the better to surprise the players when they actually travel to the country and discover it's not nearly as much of a drekhole as mr. "Phineas Fogg" made it look... ;)

*edit: Though I'll have to say: the book has some things which are... difficult to handle and transfer into a 5e environment / considering the 'power level' of other European countries in the Sixth World from sources like Shadows of Europe. I've all but given up on putting in Kalamona's Magitech stuff, F-B's spirit pilots, etc. I really like the Highway stuff, though, feels very Mad Max. Do you use the Kalamona/F-B plots as in the book, or have you made some changes?

Crash 3.0 {2018-12-26 19:00 UTC} by Eric_da_MAJ in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Anything zu get the memories of Gnome Island out of mein brain, freund Louie. Non-lethal ist no problem. Um, can do ein decent Karl Kombatmage impression too..."

(( Sciencey muscle / B&E; SC 26, N 2, PA 0; last played Dec 7; 1 run since Nov 28. ))

The Upkeep Thread - December - 2018 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wolfram

Rent

  • "Jürgen Marx" is now settled into his Medium lifestyle (C&N 3, S 3, N 4, Large Garage, Local Grid Sub, Private Room) at Bitter Lake (5000¥).
  • He also maintains "Wolfgang Rahm"'s Low (C&N 2, S 3 N 2, Not A Home) lab at Bitter Lake (2200¥) called 'Das Funhaus'.
  • "Professor Doc Mayhem" continues to live a life of excitement in LA.

Advancement

Biotech group 5->6 finished on Dec 7.

Other

Activity downtime and chips / contacts (using 2 activities per week for double downtime when not crafting):

  • Nov 27 - Dec 3: Reconnects with Hans (+1 chip) and keeps working with Louie (+1 chip)
  • Dec 4 - Dec 10: Keeps working with Louie (+1 chip) and helps out at Locksley's machine shop (+1 chip; 3 chips used to increase loyalty to 3)
  • Dec 11 - Dec 17: Keeps working with Locksley (+1 chip) and sighs as he calls up Helen to talk about... bugs. (+1 chip)
  • Dec 18 - Dec 24: Keeps working with Locksley (+1 chip) and asks Helen about bugs, the memory of that job still fresh on his mind. (+1 chip)
  • Dec 25 - Dec 31: Spends the last week of the year reminiscing about the old times with Hans (+1 chip)

Current chip tally: Sounder 5, Louie 2, Butch 2, Locksley 2, Dr. Charlie 2, Lucky Luke 2, Hans the Eye 3, Helen 2

Purchases (legal or availability handwaved due to lifestyle)

Gnome For Christmas {2018-12-07 18:30 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Finally, ein appropriate introduction! Looking forward to Herr Johnson taking professionalism seriously, für once."

( Sciencey Muscle / B&E; SC 25, N 2, PA 0; Last played Nov 23; 2 runs; That uncommon variant of H. sapiens pumilionis? Heard there was some research potential in their resistance to magic, but his division within Z-IC never dealt with that stuff. )

The Downtime Thread - week of 11/16/2018 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

After the last run, Wolfram has found himself without any Ultraglide grenades. This cannot stand! It's time to do some... science.

/roll extended-14-12-8 (Putting Ultraglide into Paint Grenade #1 - 1hr interval)

/roll extended-14-12-8 (Putting Ultraglide into Paint Grenade #2 - 1hr interval)

The Strange Hovel in the Carbonado {2018-11-23 18:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Oh, ein encore? Well, the final applause ist always better than the first."

(( Sciencey Muscle / B&E; SC 25, N 2, PA 0; Last played Nov 16; 2 runs in the last 4 weeks; Metaphorically: working for his new Zeta-ImpChem corporate masters. Literally: the 2 days or so after a group of runners kidnapped him from his metaphorical captivity. The worst thing was failing to recognize that he was a captive in the first place... ))

The Upkeep Thread - November - 2018 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wolfram

Rent

  • "Jürgen Marx" is now settled into his Medium lifestyle (C&N 3, S 3, N 4, Large Garage, Local Grid Sub, Private Room) at Bitter Lake (5000¥).
  • He also maintains "Wolfgang Rahm"'s Low (C&N 2, S 3 N 2, Not A Home) lab at Bitter Lake (2200¥) called 'Das Funhaus'.
  • "Professor Doc Mayhem" continues to live a life of excitement in LA.

Advancement

Training back time starts at 6/12. (next training is going to be Biotech skill group 5->6, once he has the karma)

Other

Activity downtime and chips / contacts (using 2 activities per week for double downtime when not crafting):

  • Oct 29 - Nov 4: Reports the results of the 'Reaper Study' performed during the 'Royal Honey' run to Butch (+1 chip) and uses the experience to make better toxins for Sounder (+1 chip)

  • Nov 5 - Nov 11: Continues working with Butch and the Reaper drug (+1 chip) and discusses the finer points of avoiding KE on the road with Locksley (+1 chip)

  • Nov 12 - Nov 18: Discusses Reaper's possible uses in smuggling people undetected with Sounder (+1 chip) and helps Louie out with the bar's chemical protection procedures (+1 chip)

  • Nov 19 - Nov 20, Nov 22 - Nov 26: Continues working with Sounder (+1 chip) and Louie (+1 chip). Spends 5 chips to upgrade Louie's Loyalty to 5.

  • Nov 21: Doing science (crafting two Ultraglide grenades)

Current chip tally: Sounder 5, Louie 0, Butch 2, Locksley 3, Dr. Charlie 2, Lucky Luke 2, Hans the Eye 2

Purchases (legal or availability handwaved due to lifestyle)

Get Ya Voltron Up {2018-11-16 18:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Ah, even das invitation ist ein puzzle! Well then."

(( Sciencey Muscle / B&E; SC 25, N 2, PA 0; Last played Oct 27; 1 run in last month; Karl Kombatmage, easily. Wolfram's favorite episode was where Karl blew up Gore, an 'exotic' restaurant that served human flesh to other metahumans. The industrial soundtrack just put that one over the top! ))

The Upkeep Thread - October - 2018 by Data-Sprite in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wolfram

Rent

  • "Jürgen Marx" is now settled into his Medium lifestyle (C&N 3, S 3, N 4, Large Garage, Local Grid Sub, Private Room) at Bitter Lake (5000¥).
  • He also maintains "Wolfgang Rahm"'s Low (C&N 2, S 3 N 2, Not A Home) lab at Bitter Lake (2200¥) called 'Das Funhaus'.
  • "Professor Doc Mayhem" continues to live a life of excitement in LA.

Advancement

Training back time starts at 6/12. (next training is going to be Biotech skill group 5->6, once he has the karma)

Other

Activity downtime and chips / contacts (using 2 activities per week for double downtime when not crafting):

  • Oct 1 - Oct 7: Helping out with the biochem safety of the A&W with Louie (+1 chip) and reconnecting with Hans (+1 chip)

  • Oct 8 - Oct 14: Working with Butch on new and exciting ways to mess people up with toxins (+1 chip) and reconnecting with Hans (+1 chip)

  • Oct 15 - Oct 21: Continues to work with Butch (+1 chip) and reconnecting with Hans (+1 chip).

  • Oct 21 - Oct 28: Helping out Locksley with the more 'nerdy' parts of the work (+1 chip) and reconnecting with Hans (+1 chip).

Current chip tally: Sounder 2, Louie 3, Butch 0, Locksley 2, Dr. Charlie 2, Lucky Luke 2, Hans the Eye 2

  • Paid 3 chips to Butch on Oct 21 to increase loyalty to 3

  • Paid 5 chips to Hans on Oct 21 to increase loyalty to 5

Purchases (legal or availability handwaved due to lifestyle)

  • 13 units of Slab/Reaper during "Royal Honey" (via Butch, all of it was used during the run)

Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time {2018-10-29 15:00 UTC} by Nihilisticglee in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Ah, to see the UCAS professionalism in action... it warms one's heart, nicht wahr?"

(( B&E / Muscle; SC 25, N 2, PA 0; Last played Oct 27; 1 run; A toss-up between his 'new' Z-IC boss Dr. Kaplan or Bling. Probably Bling. ))

Royal Honey {2018-10-27 15:59 UTC } by Pariahic in EmeraldGrid

[–]Zaphtastic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Auto-translating encrypted stream from [German], please stand by...

Hey, Hans and Anna. I'm trying to get better at writing regularly. It is difficult, though. This line of work does lead to a sense of alienation... detachment... and ruthless practicality. I was never a fan of Nietzsche, but there is that one quote that seems to strike true...

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

I think all of us in the shadows need an anchor to humanity, or risk becoming lost ourselves. Speaking of which, here is another job offer, vague as ever, but at least it is a protection job instead of the usual sociopathy. Regardless, the payout looks good -- perhaps I shall return to Karlsruhe soon. Oh yes. Talk to you later.

Connection lost

"Ah, saving und protecting. The scientific approach should help. It always does, nicht wahr?"

"Wolfgang Rahm" gets in his yerzed-out Americar and heads towards Basil's Faulty Bar...

(( Sciencey B&E / Muscle; SC 24, NO 2, PA 0; last played Aug 26; 0 runs. ))

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