senior officer Mikael van Atta

4 hours ago, Cybernetic Jesus said:

Well, they opened up again, but as a pantry, in another city and not as a soup-kitchen.  I'd rather feed families than Heroin-Henry, but pantries have sprung up all over the city since the pandemic and there's really no need for an another one, but there is need of providing cooked-food and showers; I'm a fan of people taking showers. 

Purely out of curiosity, and kinda off-topic, but - what do you mean by "pantry"?

I know this word in a context of a "the room for food storage in a house" only. Looking to broaden my vocabulary here  

(if I were to guess, I'd assume you meant something along the lines of a community fridge - as we're talking about charity organizations - but since I can ask...)

Let's bring in the Swede. He's qualified for the Viper. He'll be taking the same loadout as 8-Ball (except for the melee weapon, if possible: he wants an axe. Befitting a Viking, y'know. If that is not an option, he'll take whatever there is, likely a nightstick).

Plus, with all respect to Crusher, this is a Whyte Hat op. 

Yeah, I forgot we had the bigger, 14,5mm rifles. My bad.

17 hours ago, Allen1 said:

 One solvable problem is that the ONI uses a slightly different round than the standard 10 gauge (4d6+3) and it is a Borg weapon generally used with shot which is suggested in the weapon's description, so Whyte Hat will have to make some in their workshops.  Angel will need to design and supervise.      

Ah. Well, I was believing the "4d6+3" was a typo, as this doesn't fit into the 10ga description in the books... But - GM's call is GM's call. Roma locuta, causa finita.

We don't have time to start making (effectively custom) ammo for the weapon, Angel is going to have his hands chock-full with handling explosives and outfitting the ACPAs. ONI falls from the list.

I guess 8-Ball will take one of the 12,7mm rifles (I can't come up with anything else that would make more sense in the given situation, since the Oni is effectively not going to work, and heavy ACPA guns are likely to bring too much devastation. Not to mention, they aren't that easy to come by). However, he'll point that with non-AP rounds these are going to be of limited effectiveness against personnel in MetalGear-grade or better armors. Therefore, his loadout is going to be:

• 2 flashbang grenades,
• taser nightstick
• sidearm: 14mm pistol
• a single breaching charge
• 12,7mm assault rifle (unless something else comes up) as main weapon

No, Angel is not going to stay on the roof with supplies. For two reasons:

1. He'd have to defend that rooftop position against GOK what (and he isn't much good in a fight. Even should he be wearing a Viper). 
2. Going back upstairs and resupplying would take ages from the combat perspective. We won't have time for that. 

We have to succeed with what we bring in. Extra supplies can ride in with the Whyte Hats infantry platoon, should we end up needing, say, more breaching charges to get rid of some opposition who barred heavy doors behind them. That, however, would be in the mop-up phase.

Oh. Also, 8-Ball wants the infantry platoon to bring in a competent field medic and adequate supplies. Because while Jamal is going in with us, I guess he won't be hauling his medkit with him - and besides, we need to take into account a situation where it is Jamal who needs medical help.

The Oni is a 10ga automatic shotgun.

Since distance is not much of an issue (main problem for shotguns usually), and is has a voluminous ammo feed with 180 rounds, I guess we can load these with slugs (that's 5d6+3 damage, effectively AP vs. body armor, though damage penetrating hard armor isn't halved). Yes, we're going for room-sweeping here.

If we aren't going against ACPA and/or vehicles, I suspect it would work fine (I'm expecting folks in Metal Gear or equivalent, inc. implant armors). Better, in fact, than a service rifle with AP or DP ammo. This means 8-Ball can carry the weapon as his "longarm". 

Assuming the entire penthouse is reinforced, we should be able to keep damage from spilling out. Which a 12,7 or 14,5mm "assault rifle" would be potentially doing. And a 12'7mm is potentially quite long. Oni might be bulky, but I guess it is rather stubby.

Yes, yes, I know: I'm mistaking hunting humans for meat grinding (that's a GitS reference ;)). Unless something in 8-Ball's professional knowledge is telling him this is a bad idea?

Of course, anyone's weapon choice is a matter of preference.

Apart from that, I'd suggest:

• copious amounts of flashbangs,
• maybe some smoke,
• some gas grenades.
• Taser nightsticks (that we used for the operation in Nevada), should hand to hand prove necessary. 
• Sidearms (the 14mm pistols).
• Breaching charges. We have to expect a number of locked, reinforced doors even an ACPA won't be having an easy time kicking down. Tai's Standard-C ACPA could do fine as a breacher, though. Since he's - I assume - a professional in the ACPA field, I guess he doesn't need advice there

As for the plan: 

• Explain to me, please, why is Suzy intending to get into the panic room? To lock herself inside and thus deny it to Big Al?
• Request for our netrunners, low priority (i.e. if they can get that done, great, if not, it doesn't really hinder us): can they take over internal speakers / public address system of the penthouse (I assume there is one) and set it out to blast a repeated call for surrender? It won't presuade everyone, but it can persuade some.

5 hours ago, Cybernetic Jesus said:

In the Max.Met. rules, a Vulcan-cannon wouldn't provide any benefit by firing 100 rounds per round unless it was at close-range; at worse, it would add a penalty at medium-plus;  I don't think an aircraft would need to roll athletics for suppressive-fire. Given an air-to-air battle two planes firing 20mm ACs would be about the same as if they were firing at a higher ROF.

Except realistically, you are fring those Vulcans ar relatively close range. If we talk about a dogfight between two jets maneuvering at high subsonic speeds, the window of opportunity for landing a shot gets pretty narrow. Why do you think guns were relegated to effectively backup role post-Korea, i.e. once jet fighters became default?

Why were late WW2 fighters packing six, eight or even (if memory serves me regarding late versions of Hawker Hurricane) 12 machineguns?

Also, mechanically you are only half-right. Sure, increased ROF doesen't make you hit more reliably over long distances - but makes your hits more devastating. As per Maximum Metal rules, in vehicles combat, with RoF 30 - every point of success in burst fire means 5 bullets hitting the target. With RoF 100, 10 bullets per point of success. 

Well, defintiely I can't.

And from there, do you see any other admins on this site...?

Have fun, guys, and let me know afterwards what went on

Guys, sorry, but I'll have to skip the Saturday 26th game. 

One work-related thing just popped up. 

If you're willing to have a go at it without me, that's fine

10 hours ago, Snowyn said:

So . . . what is the scoop? What happened here? Miscommunication?????

Apparently.

So, @Allen1- where are we...?

9 hours ago, TigerGuard said:

The good guys? As we share table with Arasaka and Big Al?

Do we share a table with Big Al...? Somehow that didn't catch my attention. As for Arasaka - from what we've seen so far, they're just another corporation out there, basically. Not the Big Bad Boys In Black Taking Over The World Maximum Mike liked to paint them as (with Militech being the counterweight in offical material. Not necessary goodie two shoes, of course). I don't recall the Arasaka pulling anything spectacularly nasty in our game.

You want me to point some pretty nasty folks we've been not only at the table, but, so to speak, in bed with? CIA. Sure they do all those nasty things for the greater good, and that there were several cases when things needed to get done. I'm aware that intelligence services and the like don't play nice, because there's no room for that in their activities. 

I'm speaking about the Whyte Hats though. We need to take care that- while we go against bad guys, and work with folks some people also do consider bad guys - we won't turn into bad guys ourselves...

Nah, that should do. 

Have Jamal bring adequate medicine to get the guy under control. Even if he's packing stuff that'd make him highly resistant.

Do we have a chance of getting our hands on some form of a truth serum? 

I have another problem, though. It seems to me like we got to the point where we grab whoever seems to be responsible, and squeeze the answers out of them. Which often essentially means - torture. And it is becoming our default approach. Even if it is Suzy who gets her hands literally dirty, and even if she doesn't have any problem with that. Weren't we meant to be Whyte Hats, the (essentially) good guys...?

Yes, that would mean a limitation to our effectiveness. Not being able to follow the path of least resistance. 

8-Ball understeands that things on the street aren't all sunshine and daisies. That in the heat of combat, you sometimes are forced to do things. But there's a difference. 

That's back from the dead in my eyes.

Though on the other hand, "cyborgs don't die - they malfunction"

CyberJunk didn't pick up his PM, in fact he wasn't around since July 19th. 

I'm afraid that's where we are. 

Yup. It is an expired security certificate. 

Still, something only CJ can handle.

I got to change my browser to get here.

Let's try contacting CJ from there. The last e-mail address I had for him is not accepting mail...

Forgive me, but I fail to follow the sense behind that explaination.

1 minute ago, Cybernetic Jesus said:

As one Porteño, in Iguazú, once told me after I complained about all the crime and bullshit in Buenos Aires, "Where there's people, there's problems; no people: no problems; look at the countryside; no problems". 

I have worked for a small (i.e. lowest level) local government for a moment. 

Still problems, still bullshit. Although, true, seemed there was less of it. 

Unless the guy meant countryside without people at all. Dunno, we don't have that here.

Having watched it to the end - I'm much of the same opinion. 

I keep wondering, though, if it wasn't what Maximum Mike had in mind when he invented the game, though... Luckily, we aren't bound by his ideas, whtever they were  

Politics is bullshit.

Fixed that for you. 

I'm working for them politicans, for years now. On a different level (our administrative division system doesn't translate well into US terms, but I'm working for the local government), but still: I keep seeing them doing stuff that doesn't really make (much) sense. Not that they mess up everything, but they do it often enough. 

Well... there was no seaborne assault in Ukraine. Exactly because of anti-shipping missiles, apparently: the Russains weren't able ot win air superiority, and the Neptun missiles were bound to mess any incoming naval force. As the case of Moskva shows, they aren't to be underestimated.

The last major amphibious opposed landing I can recall was at Inchon. In 1950...

Out of curiosity, why?

I'd say this limits the game ot short campaigns or even one-shots, if the scenario is set late in the year. Eg.. there was a Screamsheet scenario in the 2020 rulebook set on Christmas 2020. 

I'm not saying that playing one-shot games is wrong on its own, but it is not for me. Inventing and developing a character takes time and effort: I don't like to make such an investment on a character that'l be discarded / retired after a handful of games.

Although I can see where you're coming from: the background rules - in RED more than in 2020 - suggest making characters quickly, so they would be easily replaceable. 

So, it's out. Took us... 20+ years, but we have an official-ish TV series.

Sure, it is anime, and I mean not only the visual technique, but also the overall style. Not a problem with that, to be honest - just an observation.

Sure, it's 2077, so it is based on the CDPR ideas.

But still, IMO, worth a watch.

Well, "utility knife" can be a plethora of things. From a boxcutter, though various folding knives, to some smaller fixed blade designs.

Though given Jamal's speciality, I'd expect to see a multitool (most likely, an US Military-issue Leatherman) on him. Or, perhaps, a Swiss Army Knife - actually Victorinox makes a specific model dedicated for paramedics and rescue services. 

8-Ball's go-to wardrobe will be his Formal set (Businesswear, Good Quality, with SP 14 jacket and trousers, plus SP 12 shades and hat). 

He'd call to his Colombian and Caribbean experience (assuming that weather in Venezuela is... comparable. And having enough South American Spanish under his belt to have an idea on the general culture in the area, I hope), too. If basing on that he thinks his Country set - which he bought to fit in Nevada - will fly in Venezuela (even though it'll likely look terribly gringo...), he'll bring that along, too. It is Generic style but Good quality, with SP 14 pants & "cowboy" boots, SP 18 leather jacket and SP 12 shades & hat.

As for other equipment & electronics:

• his trusty Swiss Army knife,
• smartgoggles (antidazzkle, thermograph, image enhancement, low-lite)
• sleep inducer
• type 1 phone (sanitized contact list, as per the iuggestion)
• a pack of strip binders (as he's the bodyguard, and he may need to secure someone till that person can be handed over to proper authorities)
• mastoid communicator
• his laptop, if it is okay - confirm it with Suzy (it has a bug detector, bug jammer, voice stress analyzer, lie detector, a modem and an EXPERT skill program on Library Search)
• as much of his first aid backpack as legally doable.

Regarding the cyberware, well, I guess his neuralware package is pretty obvious, but also pretty vanilla, as well as the biomonitor, and, I guess, Wearman mk.3. You'd need a sensible scan to find the autoinjector (but it is loaded with TraumaTeam medicine),  and nasal filters. An even better scan can pick the vein clips and Skinweave, as well as the contraceptive implant. The rest is nanoware or bioware, so I guess they wouldn't find it wothout serious lab work.

...Wythe Hat doctors have an extensive file on 8-Ball's health & implants, given Rue brought him back form the dead a couple times already...

Edit: he'd also love to have a spare Formal set (perhaps coordinated with the one he has, so they could be mixed in-between - 8-Ball's Wardrobe & Style is sufficently high to know what would and what would not go together), too. Provided there's time to buy one, in Good or Very Good quality and effectively equivalent to what he has. The last one was made for him by Bob Waite back in NC, so if Bob could make a rush order (which I doubt, actually) and get it delivered to wherever we can grab it on our way, that would do great. 

I'm not sure if buying off the shelf would work for 8-Ball. If it would, well, this remains an option. Then again, if the Grand Cayman Island is where the jet-setters go, there is a chance they do have that kind of stuff in the boutiques there.

So it ticks close enough to a weapon box to count as a no-go.

Got it.

...uh, it took me shamefully long to connect the dots, but there's one more weapons-related question 8-Ball should ask Suzy:

• in the legal / Venzeuelan job context, does his Bearcat composite bow tick the box as a weapon (which he isn't cleared to bring along), or as a piece of sports equipment no-one is going to give a damn about (which means he defintiely should bring along - as it gives him a weapon he's pretty decent with, and which has the range of a submachinegun and stopping power of a rifle). 

Obviously, it'll spend most of the time being packed away (I assume carrying it around all the time would turn waaaay too many heads!), but as the pun goes, to have a dollar and not to have a dollar, that makes two dollars already!