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Stormcrow At Behan's question, the mage quirked an eyebrow and gave him a look that seemed to say, "You saw him on the plane, does this really surprise you?" He was feeling a lot better that morning. His muscles still burned like he'd been hit by a taser, but rest and his morning purification rituals had removed most of the genuine fatigue, enough that he felt up to some high-stakes business negotiations. He was glad for it, actually. It took his mind off the troubling thoughts about the skull fragment. He'd brought it with him in his pocket, for no other reason than he wasn't sure he felt comfortable leaving it somewhere where he couldn't keep his eyes on it. It didn't feel safe, not watching after it. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, exactly. It was a skull fragment. It wasn't like it was going to grow into another bug shaman. Probably. But he didn't feel safe leaving it alone. "Natalya's told us the basics of your offer. Seems reasonable," Stormcrow said. "That's why this is the part where you tell us what the catch is." He paused, letting his words sink in. "A big shipment, yet it's lightly guarded, an easy score. And somehow you found out about it, yet you don't have the connections to get back up from a runner team you know well. We're probably the best drat operators on this island, but you don't know us or our work well enough to make the call on that account," he said. "There's three possible conclusions here. Either the score's not as big as you're saying, or it is that big and the opposition is going to be heavier than you're letting on. Or everything is as you say, and there's something else you're not telling us." "In any case, let's get everything out in the open before we discuss the particulars of our partnership, shall we?" Opening negotiations: 8d6t5 2
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Oct 28, 2013 21:17
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Stormcrow "My apologies," he said. "It's just that ever since we landed on this island its been one job with unforeseen... complications... after another. I was hoping we could start with a reasonably complete picture of what we're up against for once." "Noise could disable those trackers, I don't doubt. But that way we need to set two ambushes, and they need to be swift and decisive. We can't afford either the truck or the plane team radioing out about what's going on. Actually, could we jam their communications for the duration of the run?"
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Oct 31, 2013 18:53
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Stormcrow Stormcrow sighed. First it was a couple green recruits, now it was a couple green mages. Just what the gently caress was so important on that transport that they'd put two spellslingers guarding it when a couple of warm bodies with guns would normally suffice? If the police force was as strapped for resources as they probably had right to be, why would they concentrate their magic in this way, recruits or no. No reliable fence either. Cargo, likely useless to him. This job was beginning to look like more trouble than it was worth. He kept it to himself, however, and he somehow managed to keep the irritation from showing on hia face. He'd do it for the sake of team unity and the off chance he could find a buyer for his cut down the road. Stormcrow was nothing if not professional. "Mages. For the record, Behan, that falls under the heading of complicating factors that I'd like to hear about before talking terms. But you told us eventually, so you get a pass this time. That makes it harder. Not unmanageably so, but harder." "I'm going to work from an assumption that their magic support is not completely inept, which means they will likely have spirits on hand to provide support. Now, if it was me, I'd have watchers sweep the airfield for ambushers just prior to landing. Complicates our approach somewhat, but those sort are easily confounded, so I think one of my daitengu can protect us from that eventuality. Probably need another on standby to run interference if anything bigger rears its head, we'll see."
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Nov 4, 2013 08:54
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Stormcrow The mage shrugged. "Kill them, don't kill them. It makes no difference on my end, although leaving them alive means an extra round of memory wipes so we don't inadvertently get made down the line. It's a small island, after all," he said. I'm going to want to pick up some rating 6 Stimpacks for this mission, let's say 4. I also want to get a Force 2 sustaining focus for illusion magic, but I don't know that I'll be able to find one of those before this mission and it's not something I'm likely to use in any case.
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Nov 4, 2013 21:40
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Stormcrow The mage smiled a little sadly at Noise's comment. "Nothing is ever easy on this island. I'm starting to understand how it got its Japanese nickname."
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Nov 6, 2013 19:44
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Stormcrow After the meeting, Stormcrow would try to summon and bind a spirit for the evening's mission. It didn't go so well. Back on dry land, the island's curious resistance to his magic was back like never before, and he still hadn't fully recovered. He messed it up. Didn't have the sacred objects in the right geomantic arrangement, flubbed the purification, let the island's corrupt influence seep in. Dangerous. It was all he could do to get the spirit under control, and even now it took too much of his concentration to placate it for him to risk calling another. It would serve to hide the ambush, but they'd be on their own once the shooting started. It had been some time since he had felt this weak. Failed the binding roll rather spectacularly, so I take 6S drain and start with an unbound Daitengu with only one service. Great.
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Nov 10, 2013 06:07
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Stormcrow ::This is fascinating and all, but maybe we should move on the tower? We need to be pretty well dug in by the time the plane lands.:: Stormcrow was slouched up against one of the greenhouse's rotting support beams a short distance away, arms folded, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He was trying not to show it, but he was in a foul mood. His Daitengu stood nearby in the astral, its presence felt by him as an irritation on the level of a buzzing fly. He'd barely pulled the thing through the veil, and his binding had dashed itself apart against the resistance that seemed to be this island's defining feature. His control was weak. Even now he could feel the collective scorn of the island's dead settling on this spirit like a weight, threatening to squeeze it out. It would serve to hide them from prying eyes in both the astral and physical realms, but he'd have to call up another one if he needed a spirit to fight. If he even could, he thought. He frowned. Stormcrow nodded to his spirit, and a thin mist began to spread from it, invisible to all but those who could see in to the astral, and even then subtle, not easy to notice. Their forms faded and blurred. Having the spirit use it's hide power on the group as we move into position. I'll keep it up until we spring the ambush on the plane and then banish the daitengu in case I need to summon another spirit Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Nov 12, 2013 |
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Nov 12, 2013 20:10
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Stormcrow Once the shooting stopped, Stormcrow casually walked out of the bushes, regretting, not for the first time, never learning a spell for taking people down non-lethally. When you could call down lightning with a wave of your hand, stun spells felt sort of superfluous, but it was hard to argue that they were necessary sometimes. And they were easy, supposedly. With the island kami's resistance to his Japanese magic, maybe easy was good. "Hide the bodies, set up for another ambush. The kami's power holds, so they shouldn't know we're there," he said. He slid the adhesive backing off of one of his stimpacks and placed it on the back of his neck, feeling the weariness go out of his muscles and his heart rate quicken as his skin absorbed the drugs. He felt like himself for the first time that night. ::I'll do us one better:: he said, kneeling by one of the thugs. ::The last thing we need is more surprises.:: It's Mind Probin' Time! Mind reading: 12d6t5 5 And just to make it extra mind probey Edge reroll for extra mind probiness: 7d6h5 1 6 successes And drain Drain: 12d6t5 7 Soaked! Questions: Who are these guys? What are they after? Who are they working for? Any nasty surprises in store for us?
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Nov 20, 2013 20:48
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Stormcrow ::They're Huks:: Stormcrow said, standing. ::I think they're from Vincent's cell, but they're not under his command. Might want to dump one of them off on Nigel to be interrogated. I can almost guarantee they know nothing of importance, but they seem to know enough that it'd convince him we're making progress in our 'search.' Might even give us a bonus for the intel:: He frowned, motioning to their Irish fixer. "Behan, a word, if you will." As the runner drew closer, he said, as mildly as he possibly could. "These men weren't expecting a shipment of cyberwear. They were expecting a shipment of mages." It wasn't an accusation, or a threat. It was just a statement. He let the words hang for a second. "How reliable is your intel, would you say?"
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Nov 21, 2013 10:09
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Stormcrow Stormcrow swore in Japanese as Natalya explained the score to them. "He isn't even here! How does he manage to create this chaos?" He paused, teeth gritting. His shoulders visibly relaxed. The stims were putting him on edge. "If he shoots that plane down, our chances of making a big enough score to make tonight not a complete waste of our time drop dramatically."
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Nov 22, 2013 20:04
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Railgun vs. Nuke Mexican standoff. This game, man. This game.
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Nov 26, 2013 20:35
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Stormcrow The mage was leaning up against one of the police vans, a thin line of smoke trailing from the cigarette in his mouth. He'd dismissed his spirit, seeing as the need for stealth had been obviated. He arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow at Natalya as she drew close. "The infighting is even worse when you're part of the establishment, if you can believe that," he said. "At least we can choose to go on lucrative jobs like this one without politicking against each other for choice assignments. I do not miss my corporate days. Speaking of which..." He flicked his cigarette away, and then hefted the inert body of the rebel onto his shoulders, grunting under the weight. "Help me get this guy secured in the van," he said. "He knows enough about Coll's whereabouts that we can probably negotiate a bonus with Nigel for him. I'm not leaving tonight empty-handed, regardless of what happens with that cargo." Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Dec 2, 2013 |
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Dec 2, 2013 21:11
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Stormcrow Stormcrow nodded sympathetically at the traffic controller. "Sorry. Bet they don't pay you enough for this poo poo," he said. He gestured, and the guy's commlink beeped, registering a 500 nuyen transfer from an unlisted number. "For the trouble," he said. "I know you aren't about to go describing our faces to the authorities, because you realize that would end very, very badly for you and everyone you care about. But still. Hopefully that sees you compensated for the silence."
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Dec 6, 2013 11:18
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Stormcrow The Japenese mage sighed as Noise identified the pilot. "Not my proudest night as a shadowrunner," he muttered, making a mental note not to do business with Behan again. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but his intel was among the worst they'd had since they'd come to the island, and that was saying something. Once they'd given the neurostun time to vent, he surveyed the assorted jumble of bodies in the astral, trying to determine if any of them were the mages Vincent was willing to risk nuclear annihilation over. Assensing the victims! Assensing: 5d6t5 2
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Dec 6, 2013 20:39
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Stormcrow "The answer to that question is, extremely," Stormcrow said, coming out of the plane. His arms were full of the talismans he'd relieved the mages of. He wasn't sure any of them would be compatible with his tradition, but waste not want not, and it would be good for them to not be armed if the neurostun happened to wear off earlier than expected. "Bug shamans are a living conduit to whatever hosed up astral plane the insect spirits come from. They're like a door. When they die that door closes, but it doesn't go away. We don't know enough about how their magic works to say for sure that it can't be opened again. Just touching that thing... well, you're putting yourself a lot closer to the insect world than you probably want to be." Nevermind his own indiscretion, which was practically humming in his astral awareness from being this close to the whole. "When I was... before I entered the shadows, our security policy for something like this was Level 5 astral quarantine. You probably shouldn't even be in the same room as it."
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Dec 10, 2013 20:44
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Oh my god, those icons are bitchin' Stormcrow While the others busied themselves with bringing Noise's girlfriend up to speed, Stormcrow excused himself. Outside the greenhouse, the jungle was quiet. Peaceful even, muted and still in the silver half-light of the moon. It was a scene out of travel trid — exotic, ripe with the promise of mild adventure, but containing no real horrors. "What a lie," Stormcrow said, lighting a cigarette. Reaching the car, the elf found the air traffic controller waiting patiently where they'd left him. He probably didn't trust them, still, but the cash gift had won him over enough that he hadn't run screaming for the treeline the instant they stepped out. Probably figured he was better off with dangerous folk who hadn't shot at him yet than the aswangs that were undoubtedly waiting beneath the treeline to snatch up the unwary. At the very least, people didn't usually pay you before they killed you. Well, normally, Stormcrow thought, fingering his scar. "You. Let me see your hand," he told the man in his broken, Tutorsoft Tagoloug. When he complied, Stormcrow gently placed one of Natalya's stun patches on the man's inner wrist, right above the pulse point for extra dispersion. "Sorry about that," he said in English as the man started to lose consciousness. "You're caught up in a lot of poo poo you never signed on for now. But if it's any consolation, you won't remember any of this later." Editing us out of the man's memories. His version of events is that the Huks showed up, hacked the plane to bring it down, and then took the cargo in one direction and the mages in the other. They let him go, and he accepted the money not to reveal their identities. Memory Wipe: 13d6t5 7 Drain: 12d6t5 3 2 Stun
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Dec 28, 2013 00:36
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I "liberated" some magical foci from the mages before we handed them over to Vincent. Can I attune/fence any of this and if so what are my options?
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Dec 30, 2013 01:39
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Stormcrow ::He doesn't. I read his mind, remember? He's got some intelligence that might be useful but nothing especially so. He's part of the same cell as Vincent but doesn't work closely with him... I think they move around a fair bit and the grunts don't get much intel from the higher-ups, so he knows their current bunker and maybe some of the alternates but he's not so clear on exact locations. I get the sense that Vincent is more of a free agent, anyway... he might not even be in the same area as the rest of the cell. In any case, if any of that gets Newport a little closer to Vincent I'm fine with it. It'll show our employer our worth, and if Vincent is dodging hit squads hopefully he'll have less time to get in our way. :: The mage, it seems, had finally gotten around to buying himself some more appropriate clothes, sometime between parting with the rest of the group and showing up this morning, waving off the coffee in favor of a thermos full of tea he had brought. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a cabana shirt — not as protective as his customary suit, but he wasn't expecting much action this morning anyway. "Yes," he said. "An associate of ours tipped us off that Vincent's group was planning a raid on a group of mages Ares was bringing in to pinpoint the location of the Huk base. We were... too late... to do anything for the mages, but we did manage to clean up their force and capture our friend here. It's probably best you don't know more than that... None of our activities should get back to Ares but every bit of deniability helps." I'm going to donate all of my share of the hall to the captain AI's body. +6 Karma Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jan 6, 2014 |
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Jan 6, 2014 17:59
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Stormcrow The mage stood looking at the burned bodies for a long time, a small muscle in his jaw working. He said nothing. There was nothing to say. Had he misjudged? You could trust a psychopath to forward their own best interests. They were like the megacorps in that, actually — Endlessly corrupt, sure, but also endlessly, restrictively self interested, their ends monstrous, but logical. Predictable. Cause and effect. A slashed throat, blood on the ground, a rapidly cooling body. A hole in the head. The end stage of a cost benefit equation. In the end, these were all just business. Properly managed, a psychopath or a megacorporation was one of the few things in this world you could trust. But what was this? 3 lives taken, bodies burned, lungs downed. What interests were being forwarded here, and for whom? "I'm sorry we weren't able to do anything to prevent this," he told Newport before he left. Once away from the desal plant, Stormcrow searched his commlink for a few minutes before settling on one he'd received a few days ago. ::Hello. This is Stormcrow. I'm the Kanushi you met a few days ago while purchasing supplies? I've got some free time coming and I was wondering if I could take you up on that drink:: Sorry, I've been having computer issues for the past few days and couldn't post. The plan that's shaping up sounds good to me.
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Jan 16, 2014 23:11
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Stormcrow The elf nodded at Dingo as he walked in. Did he ever leave the bar, Stormcrow wondered. "Yes. As long as Newport's credits remain good I'll be there to do his dirty work. But I am here meeting a friend, Dingo. Perhaps we can talk later?" he said, brushing past. Mara Wilson looked about as he expected her to look -- tired. This island did that to a person, and her job couldn't be giving her many sleepful nights if she was the one tracking Vincent, as he suspected. He sort of envied her that -- at least when Vincent was being his normal pain in the rear end she didn't have to hear about it directly from him. He wondered what he must look like. Probably about the same, really. Stormcrow had considered giving himself a magical charisma boost before this meeting, but he'd decided against it. He wasn't dealing with a mundane, or an amature. Showing up with the charm dialed to 11 would be about as subtle as a street sam bringing an assault cannon to a knife fight. "Hello Mara," he said. He flipped the booth's white noise generator with a nonchalance that made it seem almost accidental. "How is the island treating you? And if you say anything besides 'like total drek' I will be very much surprised."
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Jan 27, 2014 07:17
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Stormcrow "No. I hadn't heard of it, until I came to this island," he said. "I know what you mean, though. It's not a background count... It's like the jungle itself resists you. Have you tried summoning a spirit? It takes at least twice as much effort as it should. At first I thought it was just the local kami objecting to my particular brand of magic... the island has a long memory, you see... but now I'm not so sure." "Ares was bringing in a team of mage for some kind of ritual to address this. Well, that didn't turn out so well for them."
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Jan 31, 2014 21:05
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Stormcrow The mage swirled his drink. "Yeah, alright. This isn't entirely a social call, although I must say its nice to meet a mage that's not trying to burrow some tentacles into my brain. How close are you to tracking Vincent? And how would you like some help?" The white noise rushed to filled the silence as he looked her directly in the eye.
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Feb 11, 2014 01:21
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Stormcrow "Vincent is..." How best to put it? "...A virus. A plague. He breeds chaos wherever he finds a foothold. I have no proof, of course, but I would suspect he's behind the recent uptick in hostilities with the Huk. Vincent affects the pose of the schemer and the opportunist, but really I think he's just a psychopath. He'd kill everything in a fit of pique if he could, and then he himself would die because there'd be no more corpses to feed off of. You can't do business with a person like that. Not for long, anyway. Do you take my meaning?" He took a sip of his drink. "What I'm proposing is we share resources. Combine our intel. Granted, you're technically my team's competition and this current state of events benefits us quite nicely. But I don't want to stay on this island forever. And before I leave, there's a few situations I want to see in hand. Vincent is one of those." Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Feb 12, 2014 |
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Feb 12, 2014 01:12
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Storm row "Excellent," Stormcrow said, smiling. "This island is an unfriendly place. Best to have as many friends as possible, no? I'll let you know the instant I have anything on Coll, and I expect you'll do the same. Until then, keep your head down. Got a feeling things might be about to get ugly." He stood, wiring her enough Nuyen to cover both their drinks. "It is nothing solid, merely a feeling. But I am still breathing because I trust feelings like that. A pleasant evening to you, Miss Day."
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Feb 14, 2014 06:13
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Well, hopefully its the moment we kick the poo poo out of Ares YET AGAIN and then end up very pissed off at you. At this rate we'll have Ares and Newport Group in open war with each other within a week.
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Feb 14, 2014 23:03
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Stormcrow The mage chewed his lip, wishing he'd had the presence of mind to pick up some more of those foul Chinese Marlboro knockoffs that seemed to be the only thing you could get at a decent price on this island. Tasted like a trash can fire, but they at least contained something approximating nicotine, and this whole thing was starting to make his gums itch. "Does seem a bit like a trap," he said. "Although I'm not sure how much Huk support he could even bring to bear for an opp like that... He's only been with the rebels a short time so I doubt he has much pull. Probably if they were splitting for an attack the forces would be spread thin... enough that you could probably hold the fort here with a small team, if they were good enough. Sending everyone for the attack... well, kind of overkill, isn't it?"
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Feb 20, 2014 09:32
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Stormcrow "True. Pissing off everyone he comes into contact with is his normal MO."
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Feb 20, 2014 10:05
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Stormcrow "Let's take the most direct route we can while still being somewhat stealthy. The last thing we need is to get held up in an alley or something. I can set up some watchers as a diversion on the other route. They're not good for much but they can make some noise."
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Feb 23, 2014 01:21
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If in had a nickel for every RPG session interrupted by projectile vomiting... Take care of yourself CO
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Feb 26, 2014 04:04
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 Drink lots of fluids! I'm not sure if that will help, but I'm told the secret to health is fluids.
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Mar 8, 2014 00:45
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Stormcrow Stormcrow circled around the building to his right, crossing into the narrow alleyway between the boarded up remnants of a roller rink (Really? A children's attraction in this neighborhood?) and the wall of a building so heavilly festooned in graffiti that it looked like the random blit pattern of a dead viewscreen, the tags of defunct street gangs blending into each other, telling the story of the rise and fall of influence in this area like a tree's rings tell the story of its age. He flattened himself against the wall, trying his best to blend into the shadow despite the garish backdrop. If needed he'd be ready to jump into action, but he didn't want to tip their hand too early. Infiltration: 2d10t5 1 Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Mar 19, 2014 |
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Mar 19, 2014 20:52
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I'm here, sorry. I kind of thought this had died off and it's been a pretty busy time for me. It doesn't help that I'm not sure what I can do to help in this instance. You guys seem to have things well in hand and I don't want to get closer due to my lovely sneak skill likely bungling our ambush.
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Apr 22, 2014 08:12
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Stormcrow Stormcrow dropped into a low crouch and sprinted toward where Noise was, mumbling a ritual prayer for cleansing and pulling mana from his gut as he did it, the spell already taking form in his aura as a blue-white arcs of electricity that played between his fingers. He released the energy just as he reached Noise, letting the accumulated thunder play over his skin, wiping away the worst of the laser burn. Healing Noise: 12d6t5 4 Going to Heal 3 and spend one hit to reduce the duration so I only have to sustain it for 2 turns. Drain: Healing Noise: 12d6t5 1 2S suffered in Drain.
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Apr 30, 2014 08:51
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I THINK that's how it works. That's how I've rolled with it in the past, but Shadowrun is confusing with regard to non instant spells.
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Apr 30, 2014 21:23
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Stormcrow Huddled beside Noise in the warehouse, Stormcrow's chanting changed tempo and his voice dropped another octave as he began to pour power into a summoning spell. Better to hold nothing back. If they did, they probably wouldn't make it out of this. Summoning a Daitengu and then having it attack whoever's closest. Suimmoning Daitengu: 10d6t5 4 Spirit Resists summoning: 6d6t5 1 Drain: 11d6t5 4 No drain
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May 5, 2014 10:08
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Stormcrow Stormcrow's Daitengu strode toward him, frost already forming on the ground and the boxes of old fireworks in the warehouse as the thing's aura of preternatural cold began to wash out over them. The white haired elf made a small gesture of respect and gratitude to the spirit, before gesturing through the window at the Ares agents. "I need you to kill all of the ones with the metal boxes on their backs. Be as swift and as brutal as you need to be." The spirit nodded, and then unsheathed its sword, vanishing from mundane site as it stepped into the astral to attack the nearest agent. He shrugged at Noise. "It takes as long as it takes. I'm calling on divine power to rewrite the primal order of the cosmos so that your flesh knits itself back together. Does that sound like something you want rushed?" I don't see anything that says I have to maintain touch for the whole time the spell is being cast. There's something in the spellcasting section about moving sustained spells that have an area of effect, but nothing about touch spells. I think we're good as long as you remain in eyesight for the next turn or so? Baby Babbeh fucked around with this message at 23:51 on May 11, 2014 |
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May 11, 2014 23:49
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No worries thanks for running it. This was a super fun game and it went off the rails in the best way possible.
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May 31, 2014 00:25
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