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On lowlands where the temples lie The marsh-grass mingles with the flowers, Only the little songs of birds Link the unbroken hours. So in the end, above my heart Once like the city wild and gay, The slow white stars will pass by night, The swift brown birds by day. — Sara Teasdale, Ruins of Paestum No one's sure exactly why, when or where it started, but in time, we called it the Convergence. The night exploded in flames and the stars burned out, the grasses became stained glass and the beaches turned to gold as hot waves of mercury slag crashed upon the glistening shores. Great doors of light tore themselves through reality and unto itself reality charged forth, ten billion demons and beings far worse starting a war of mutual destruction in the collapsing world of humanity. Gods of old rose from their mountains and wielded swords of nuclear fire against alien deities that rode silver chariots of starlight, the dragons fought nation by nation with tooth and claw, a thousand empires rose and fell each second like palpitations of Gaia's heart, and all the keepers of every hell swung wide their gates as the deluge of souls stumbled in weeping, rivulets of tears channeling rivers down their gray faces, still caked in the ashes of life. Some fought back the horror, some were consumed by it, and still others consumed it, and for one thousand days and nights the world ended, and all hope became null. On the one thousandth and first day, it stopped. Kali's terror dance no longer shook the ground, The Morrígan no longer flew beneath the war-scarred moon, and the Urdai knights in their glittering armor laid down their cannons and blades, for the Buhrahti Ka, as they had been known in those days, had become one with lightning, and their battle drums play now only for rain. The survivors peeked from their trenches and cracked their doors, and they found strange birds singing in the dew-soaked trees, and deer grazing in the streets, and earthworms tilling the soil overgrown with wild seeds. In time, they left the walls of their broken castles and fortified ruins and began to pick up the pieces, building a life in the strange new world that lay before them. 11 AC (After Convergence) The smooth sound of music flows from the open windows of the pickup as it rolls down the fresh tarmac, cutting a long black strip through the tall fields of switchgrass and sweet sorghum that blanket the outskirts of the capital. The broken spires of Mannhata City still rise across the East River with tempered pride, the glimmer of UAN patrol speeders buzzing between the old skyscrapers and out over the river, midday traffic heavy with freight barges and passenger ferries. "And that was the always wonderful Neil Young with Razor Love," comes the radio, "off his album Silver & Gold. Gotta love it, folks! You can catch a live version of that classic tune on April nineteenth at the annual Strawberry Fields Music Festival in Central Park, Mannhata City. You know folks, speaking of celebrations, April twenty third marks this year's Naʼídígishí Day, and celebrations are abound in the Yorks for that giant metal beast we all love. Be sure to take the trip down to Fort Hamilton and buy some flowers for our gigantic departed friend— Wouldn't be much left of us without him." The fields abruptly disappear as the urban construction of Brooklyn City proper swallows the truck in dusty air and the sound of heavy machinery. The truck slows a bit and coasts through the ever busy Flatbush market, where brightly dyed stalls display fresh produce and brilliant Jersey furs, repulsor truck beds squat on thier grav cushions, beds stacked high with weaporny and armor, and storefronts reclaimed from the past or built wholly anew feature ogling crowds gazing through the new windows at the latest in luxurious Lenape fashion. Soon it slows to a stop near a large store at the center of the economic sprawl, where a line of more lucrative Yorkers wait impatiently to squeeze into the crowded interior. Those lucky enough to enter marvel at the displays, hundreds upon hundreds of marvelous, alien devices sourced from all across the Earth, each with strange functions and utterly unknown origins. Above the freshly polished windows and scrubbed bricks sits a filigreed sign, black iron with gold English script. quote:KHUTULUN'S CURIOS Khutulun kills the engine and steps out of her truck, grabbing the large white sign from the passenger seat before slamming the door shut. Business is skyrocketing this year, and even with all the mercs she hired to bring in product, the shelves would be dry by Summer with this kind of turn over. She needed full-time runners, people who she can trust to keep supply stocked against the growth of artifact demand. Khutulun walks up to the door, and squeezing by the line, places the white sign against the wood. With a few strikes from her hammer it's sealed, and for the first time since it opened its doors, Khutulun's Curios sports a second sign. quote:HELP WANTED — — — Info & Setting Welcome to Kintsugi, a semi-cinematic, play by post GURPS 4e game. In 2019, Earth was suddenly ravaged by what is now known as the Convergence, where countless realities collapsed into ours. Our greatest nightmares poured out from holes in reality, gods pulled themselves from the earth, the stars exploded in the sky and people died by the billions as the end finally came. After three years of a devastating war for survival, Humanity crawled out of their bloodied trenches to an intently changed world, one dotted with alien ruins, unusual creatures, strange physics and fascinating devices thought to be impossible before the skies broke open. Faced with this new take on their only home, Humanity started again, determined as always to survive.       Eleven years have passed since. The ruins of NYC have become the York Cities, with Mannhata City as capital of the United American Nations, a union of cooperating governments in what was the Northeast US. Still the bastion of culture and trade it was before the Convergence, York has grown into a forefront of technology as well, becoming a key launching point in expeditions for the anomalies that dot post-Convergence Earth. That's where you come in. Regardless of your origin, status or actual job description, you needed work, and Khutulun's Curios is hiring. The relatively small shop is Brooklyn City's premier dealer of artifacts to the common people, and with demand through the roof, she needs supply to match it. Characters  I'm looking for about 4 players with characters built from 120 points and 50 for disadvantages. I recommend you at least have the Basic Set, though the tech books and Magic, Fantasy and Space are good choices as well. If you want to use something from other books feel free, just let me know. TL for urbanites tends to be 7^, while towns and villages are TL 5-6 and 4 respectively. Characters should have at least a few skills related to artifact running— Climbing old buildings, decrypting alien puzzles with Cryptography, Games for when you screw it up and your mind's downloaded into a virtual hellscape of five-dimensional combat, etc. Even plain old archeology can go a long way. Otherwise, go hog wild. Species-wise, I'm open to nonhuman characters, though they require Social Stigma (Nonhuman) at -5. The cooperation of aliens in defending York helped immensely with acceptance in the UAN, but the Convergence is still recent memory and paints a bad picture. As for humans themselves, York is commonly broken down into three reality groups: Yankees, or the peoples originating on this Earth; Algonquians, TL 9^ Indigenous Americans1 who conquered their Earth with technological miracles including Mars colonies and hover tech; smaller stranded groups that, among others, include the magic-weaving Khans, cybernetic Gibsons and the amphibious 'abhuman' Djullanars. Major languages are in order English, Algonquian2, Spanish and Chinese. With all that in mind, be creative! I reward diversity in my games, and I'd love to see players go for that and come up with some really unique characters. 1: Algonquians with a TL under the standard 9^ must take the disadvantage Social Stigma (Kèpchat) at -5 and other Algonquins react at -1, -2 for community leaders and military. 2: The Algonquian language is a mixture of indigenous American languages with a Lenape base and slight influence from Chinese and Japanese, mostly inspiring Algonquian's complex logographic writing system. Equipment  Starting wealth is $10,000 with unused wealth converted into UAN dollars; refer to the "starting wealth" sidebar on page 26 of the Basic Set if you're a proper settled citizen instead of a wandering murderhobo. TL 9 equipment is rare though available in high-end stores. Non/lethal electrolasers and other TL9 beam weapons are LC2, restricted to UAN military use and black market deals. Contragravity vehicles are LC 2 and almost unseen outside of Algonquian military use, with even the manufacture of their batteries kept a government secret. Aditionally, fuel is different post-Convergence. Most equipment runs on solar electricity, switchgrass biodiesel, or for gasoline engines, algae biobutanol. Kerosene is available though uncommon in use. All fuel prices are as standard in High-Tech. All players will be assigned two artifacts of my choice to begin with. Characters can also start with one player-designed artifact, though you must take Signature Gear. Contact If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or hit up #Kintsugi on SynIRC. saberwulf fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 21:27
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 15:39 |
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Dammit, yet another game to suck up my free time. I'll get to work on a concept. chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 23:21
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Sounds good, let me see what I can do.
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Jan 25, 2015 23:48
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Interest post
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Jan 25, 2015 23:53
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Posting for interest!
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Jan 26, 2015 00:02
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Probably going to make a thief with psychometry. He steals stuff that has an interesting past.
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Jan 26, 2015 04:38
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Is GURPS still 4e? I haven't played GURPS in about 5 years, but I still have a bunch of 4e books and this game sounds fun and interesting.
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Jan 26, 2015 06:07
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Bloodnose posted:Is GURPS still 4e? I haven't played GURPS in about 5 years, but I still have a bunch of 4e books and this game sounds fun and interesting. According to sjgames, 4e's 10 years old and counting, so you're good!
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Jan 26, 2015 06:30
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My guy's going to be a pre-Convergence mechanic and ex-gangbanger turned post-Convergence gun runner turned artifact hunter.
chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Jan 26, 2015 |
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Jan 26, 2015 06:39
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Okay, got the profile finished. Let me know if I made any mistakes in my math. Vincent P. King, aka “Champ”  “Champ”, as he’s known in the business, came from a rough and tumble life. The Yankee was born in 1994 and grew up poor in South Bronx. Despite the gentrification of NYC, his neighborhood never reached the heights of Manhattan. He fell in with a street gang by the time he was a teenager, spurred on by the apparent refusal or inability of the city government to do anything to help him or cut down on the racial profiling that victimized his skin color. He was part of the Warlocks, who claimed to own turf from 159th to 176th; they were much tougher on paper than in reality. King carried a .22 through high school and didn’t drop it until he got his GED online. His time in the Warlocks ended when the gang drifted apart around 2012, the founding members growing old and getting out of the game and the kids spending more time with counselors and youth pastors. It didn’t have the majesty for them any more, no sense of power. As with everyone else, everything changed with the Convergence. He was 25 when it happened, working as a mechanic. One of the old Cold War-era fallout shelters in the city became his home as the apocalypse raged on. King maintained the generator that kept the lights on and the air conditioning running, and made sure the dozen or so people with them kept their guns clean and in good repair for the three years of chaos. They made excursions into the war-torn city for food and water, but lost half their number. Sometimes a man or woman would walk into a room of the bunker and simply disappear. Only five members remained when peace returned. King’s newfound family found cars phased through walls, signs in a language they had never seen before, and puddles that reflected another world. Surrounded by more corpses than anyone had ever seen. King quickly found a niche in the strange new world: gun running. Firearms produced in automated factories were almost literally a dime a dozen, and black marketers needed someone to help them push their wares under the noses of their strange new rulers. The most in-demand weapons were Algonquian, high quality and of a technological sophistication that had literally never before been seen in America. He’d sometimes run whole truckloads of mass produced submachine guns at once. He exclusively went by the street name “Champ”, never letting a client or customer learn who he was. The Convergence helped disguise his identity beyond the veil of war and localized reality mergers, and eventually only he would remember who he really was. It all had to end someday, though. King took on a risky deal to move a crate of Algonquian electrolaser rifles, but the heat was too much. He came back from the delivery to find his client’s brain seared out of his skull and not a single dollar waiting for him. Only luck allowed him to walk out of the building without fighting his way through a whole squad of UAN soldiers looking for whoever took that crate. Fearing the worst, he took everything he could load into a pickup and bailed from his safehouse. He got himself a new one across town, but he couldn't risk getting back into the business. So when a new opportunity came knocking for a career change, who was Champ to argue? Champ grew up a criminal, but left the gangbanging life behind. Even so, his switch to gunrunning after the Convergence suggests a predilection for antisocial behavior or less-than-legal methods of income. He’s secretive about his pre-Convergence life, especially his childhood, and won’t even give his real name to his closest allies. He has few people that he would consider “friends”, merely business partners. This has less to do with a poor personality and more to do with his desire for privacy and keeping on the down low from suspicion. -------- Champ is a tall, well-built black man with a short military-style haircut and very dark brown eyes. He’s pushing 40, but he still looks about five years younger than he really is. His usual runner outfit is a tight gray t-shirt and jeans, with his combat gear on top of it and a leather jacket and black knit watch cap for colder weather. He prefers to run relatively light to give him room for bringing back valuables and making climbing, running, jumping, and crawling easier. His typical gear setup consists of a South African Pattern 83 chest rig that was made about 50 years ago, a Mil-Tec assault pack in coyote tan, and a black pistol belt around his waist (with a separate leather belt in the loops of his jeans to keep them held tight). He wears old GI style black combat boots and fingerless black leather gloves. ST 11 [10] DX 12 [40] IQ 10 [0] HT 11 [10] HP 11 [0] FP 11 [0] Will 10 [0] Per 10 [0] Thrust 1d-1 Swing 1d+1 Basic Speed 5.75 Basic Move 5 Basic Lift 22 Languages English (Native) [0] Algonquian (Accented) [4] Advantages Combat Reflexes [15] Fit [5] Signature Gear [1] (FN HAR-59 Battle Rifle and LaMonte Arms Guardian) Disadvantages Addiction (Tobacco, Cheap, Legal) [-5] Secret (Part of the bad electrolaser deal, not yet identified by authorities) [-20] Habit (Never sits with his back to an entrance) [-1] Skills Armory TL/8 (Small Arms) 12 [8] Brawling 13 [2] Climbing 12 [2] Holdout 10 [2] Guns (Rifle) 14 [4] Guns (Pistol) 13 [2] Intimidation 11 [4] Knife 14 [4] Mechanic TL/8 14 [16] Streetwise 12 [8] Urban Survival 14 [16] Weapons Fabrique Nationale HAR-59 Battle Rifle (7.62x51mm NATO): A select-fire battle rifle from a universe not quite Champ’s own. The world it came from never saw the assault rifle revolution due to the development of heavier armor as standard, resulting in battle rifles firing powerful rounds remaining standard. The HAR-59 has a relatively short barrel, Picatinny rails, and collapsible stock and uses standard FN FAL magazines. Damage: 7d-1 pi Accuracy: 5 Range: 900/3900 Weight: 8.9/1.6 Rate of Fire: 11 Shots: 20+1 (3) ST: 10 Bulk: -5 Recoil: 3 Cost: $2500/$31 LaMonte Arms Guardian (10x25mm Auto): The Guardian pistol was developed by a spacefaring human race, building on the centuries-old Colt M1911 aesthetic. Champ recovered a broken one from the post-Convergence ruins and repaired it with parts from his own world, creating a sort of hybrid gun unique to himself. He also had the weapon rechambered by a professional gunsmith to 10mm rounds from his world and capable of accepting Colt Delta Elite magazines to allow him to actually make use of it. Damage: 3d-1 pi+ Accuracy: 2 Range: 150/1600 Weight: 2.5/0.4 Rate of Fire: 3 Shots: 8+1 (3) ST: 11 Bulk: -2 Recoil: 4 Cost: $1000/$27 Tactical Machete: A modern machete designed for combat use as well as utility. The carbon steel blade and rubberized polymer grip are both a dark shade of gray and the blade’s coating doesn’t reflect light. This lightweight chopper is kept in a crossdraw sheath on Champ’s left hip. Damage: sw-1 cut or thr-1 imp Reach: C, 1 or C Parry: 0 Cost: $50 Weight: 1.5 Strength: 7 Armor Boots Location: Feet DR: 2* Cost: $80 Weight: 3 Equipment For rifle Three-point sling ($50) (0.4 lbs) Collimating sight ($250) (0.5 lbs) (XS battery for 250 hours) Compensator ($350) (0.7 lbs) Belt ($10) Military holster ($50) (2 lbs) 1 quart canteen full of water in a carrier pouch ($10) (2 lbs) SADF Pattern 83 Chest Rig ($50) (2 lbs) 6 loaded FN FAL 20-round magazines ($186 for magazines, $96 for ammunition) (9.6 lbs for magazines, 6.72 lbs for ammunition) Bandage ($1) (0.1 lbs) Leatherman Rebar multitool ($50) (0.5 lbs) Pack of cigarettes ($12) (0.05 lbs) Cigarette lighter ($10) Small backpack – holds 50 lbs ($120) (3 lbs) Towel ($5) (1 lb) Portable tool kit – mechanic ($600) (20 lbs) 1 week’s worth of meat jerky ($42) (5.25 lbs) 10 yard length of rope, 3/4” – supports 1100 pounds ($25) (5 lbs) Box of 20 rounds of 10x25mm ($12) (0.84 lbs) Other Wristwatch ($25) Flashlight clipped to chest rig – 10 yard beam ($20) (1 lb) (2xS batteries for 5 hours) Total Weight: 121.60 lbs Combat Load Weight (dropping backpack): 41.87 lbs Total Cost (minus signature gear): $2094 Total Cost (including signature gear): $5594 Spending Money: $7906
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Jan 26, 2015 18:26
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I'm in, I'm thinking a South African ex-mercenary and "problem-solver" who was hired previously by oil companies and such to locate and 'solve' problems. Usually by putting large holes in them from a decent distance. Translating those skills to present day, he's got himself ahold of some high-end Algonquian military equipment and found the Curios folks as a place where he can locate artifacts and put holes in anyone who might be trying to lay hands on them at the same time. Are you allowing any cybernetics? Also, with respect to TL differences is there the usual penalty for using TL9 guns & equipment and such or should I buy up higher-TL to mitigate that? I was thinking of making the guy a technophile who's always looking for the latest and greatest hardware to make his job easier.
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Jan 30, 2015 18:50
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Tell me about Gibsons. Are they just cybered humans, or are they a human subspecies?
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Jan 30, 2015 19:08
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El Spamo posted:Are you allowing any cybernetics? Also, with respect to TL differences is there the usual penalty for using TL9 guns & equipment and such or should I buy up higher-TL to mitigate that? I was thinking of making the guy a technophile who's always looking for the latest and greatest hardware to make his job easier. Cybernetics are allowed, yes. They're actually starting to grow in prominence thanks to the Gibsons, who I'll talk about in a second. The usual penalty applies since TL 9 things not fiercely guarded by their owners are scarce in number, or are actually artifacts, which are still so poorly understood that they can pose plenty of danger. I would recommend upping your character's TL if you're playing a technophile, as the constant use of gadgets and advanced equipment would definitely give them a boost over other people. Epsilon Plus posted:Tell me about Gibsons. Are they just cybered humans, or are they a human subspecies? Gibsons are one of the many alternate realities of mankind, and are considered normal humans, even if half of them have more plastic and wires than flesh. The majority of the people that call themselves Gibsons are from a late 21st century Earth where rapid miniaturization and room temperature superconductors lead to a technological Renaissance filled with off the shelf cybernetics, ubiquitous AR and VR, and after a sabotaged Israeli nuke took out Jerusalem, a third world war that left shattered and bankrupt governments under the command of the megacorps that profited from the bloodshed. When the Convergence happened, one of the largest known chunks of their world to shift through was a red light district in Shanghai (the entire sector is now part of Mannhata City) known widely for its back-alley cyberdocs. Gibsons are almost universally TL 9. In the past two years said doctors have finally gotten to a point where they can do more than just specialty work, and now with manufacturing really building back up and a few precious TL9 3D printers showing up on the black market, everything from cyberarms with hidden gun compartments to lung implants that can let you breath toxic smoke like it's Appalachian air are popping up all over big cities. Thanks to artifacts, weirder tech is also showing up in cybernetics, notably the assassin Mercury, who as the name suggests can turn her body into liquid metal.
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Jan 31, 2015 02:46
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Martinus, the South African ex-mercenary with a big-rear end gun. Please check for sanity in the numbers, more backstory to come when I have some time to sit and type.pre:Martinus Vorster [120]
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Age: 38
Size: +0
TL: 8
Unused Points: 0
Attributes [75]
ST 12
DX 12
IQ 10
HT 10
HP 12
FP 10
PR 12
WL 10
Basic Speed: 5.75
Basic Move: 5
Combat Reflexes [15]
Fit [5]
High TL 1 [5]
Language: English (Spoken (Accented), +2; Written (Accented), +2.) [4]
Signature Gear 4 [4]
Weapon Bond [1]
Language: Afrikaans (Native, -6; Spoken (Native), +3; Written (Native), +3.) [0]
Careful [-1]
Code of Honor [-1]
Dislikes Guard dogs [-1]
Incompetence (Fishing) [-1]
Minor Addiction [-1]
Callous [-5]
Flashbacks (Mild, -2, 2D seconds) [-5]
Bloodlust (CR: 12 (Quite Often).) [-10]
Insomniac (Mild) [-10]
Greed (CR: 12 (Quite Often).) [-15]
Skills [61]
Area Knowledge (York Cities) 10 (IQ+0) [1]
Armoury/TL8 (Missile Weapons) 10 (IQ+0) [2]
Boxing 13 (DX+1) [4]
Camouflage 13 (IQ+3) [8]
Carousing 10 (HT+0) [1]
Climbing 11 (DX+0) [2]
Computer Operation/TL8 10 (IQ+0) [1]
Current Affairs (Popular Culture) 10 (IQ+0) [1]
Driving/TL8 (Automobile) 11 (DX-1) [1]
Fast-Draw (Pistol) 13 (DX+1) [1]
First Aid/TL8 10 (IQ+0) [1]
Gesture 10 (IQ+0) [1]
Guns (Pistol) 14 (DX+2) [0]
Guns (Rifle) 16 (DX+4) [12]
Guns (Submachine Gun) 14 (DX+2) [0]
Hiking 10 (HT+0) [2]
Intimidation 11 (Will+1) [4]
Knife 14 (DX+2) [4]
Knot-Tying 13 (DX+1) [2]
Navigation/TL8 (Land) 11 (IQ+1) [4]
Observation 12 (Per+0) [2]
Stealth 12 (DX+1) [4]
Survival (Plains) 12 (Per+0) [2]
Swimming 8 (HT+0) [1]
Equipment ($18,900, 32.15 lb)
Night Vision Glasses ("Night Shades") Armored, $400, 0.1 lb, x1
Signature Gear, $0, 0 lb, x1
Enhanced Targeting Scope, $8,000, 2 lb, x1
Anti-Materiel Rifle, 15mmCL, $8,000, 30 lb, x1
Tiny Computer, $1,000, 0.05 lb, x1
Targeting, $1,500, 0 lb, x1
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Feb 1, 2015 01:40
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Oh, and on purchasing additional equipment is there any problem with buying TL9 stuff from Ultra-Tech?
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Feb 1, 2015 04:01
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 15:39 |
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Numbers look good to me. As for TL9 tech at the beginning, you'd have to up your personal TL or take the items as sig gear. TL 9 will be available to purchase regardless of TL in play, though. It might just be horrendously expensive and illegal.
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Feb 3, 2015 02:41
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