gomiville

"Illegals" are cheap labor. They want the job, the employers want to hire them. Free market labor.

But if the blood is a lie, that would require local PD to keep shtum.

I would agree that the brothers could have had federal assistance. Even help that wasn't intended to create an actual event, like a federal snitch who abetted them in order to get them to incriminate. It gets out of hand, and BOOM.

That requires more evidence though.

The picture of him getting out of the boat is hard to determine. There's a optical illusion were we interpret still images as extended stillness, rather than split second snippets of time. Look at a lot of pictures of celebrities in mid-grimace or "derp" face, where the camera caught a momentary facial expression, and we see it as a longer expression. So, when he has two hands on the boat, is he catching himself for just a second before continuing (and maybe grabbing his neck)? Or does he really not need to grab his neck?

Plus, "throat wound" doesn't mean "gushing blood." Damage to his trachea, vocal cords, etc, could cause him to lose speech, without needing constant holding.

The statement from their mother might be a tad biased, you're right.

Twitter displays tweet times relative to the reader, not the poster. Adjusted for that, the Globe posted that tweet after the bombing, referring to the bomb squad detonating a suspicious package (probably just someone's abandoned backpack).

Not to mention that these would require a few dozen cops and first responders to maintain the lie. Not top secret special agents or black ops ninjas, but basic patrol officers and EMTs. I don't think that's happening here.

The government could be lying, but this evidence doesn't seem compelling enough, to me.

If it's publicly verifiable, then you can provide sources so we can see this too.

I think only the older brother went back. I'm guessing he was the radical one.

These guys strike me as similar to your basic school shooter, teenage angst kind of killers. The one brother posted something to Facebook about not having any American friends, not understanding them or they not understanding him.

Grow up in a warzone, flee as refugees, come to the US and be outsiders. Throw in the angst-ridden kind of fatalism that resulted in Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, and mix to online manuals for bomb making from AQAP's Inspire magazine, and these guys are the product.

It doesn't excuse them, but it's like a hybridization of self-radicalized homegrown terrorists and basic, down-home spree killers.

Like I wrote above, my actual game "laws" are pretty comprehensive, covering not just firearms, but non-lethals and armor as well. Autonomous systems like robohounds are covered too (since I'm a little hound-happy).

I admit, I also use this as a GM tool, as much as flavor for my game world. Like using overheating rules with heavy armor, or strictly enforcing weapon availability codes. Ways to limit trigger-happy players and make them be creative.

That's true, if the government's weak, gun control, even if on the books, is unlikely to be enforced. But if the corps are stronger, I agree they'd want gun control in their favor (and could probably get the laws passed that they want). End result is still strong gun control with some kinds of cops coming after the players.

And if neither gov't or corps are strong enough, then it's likely either the combat zone or nomad territory, full of well armed and tightly knit groups, seeking defense in numbers.

Emphasis on the DARK future, where a bully is either trying to keep you unarmed, or forcing you to be armed or die. You against the world.

Why aren't carriers licensed?

 

What is even the point of licensing individual weapons?

 

If you are going with a system something like automobile registration you still need to have operator permits in addition of proof of insurance, ownership, license of the vehicle and an operators license.

 

That's entirely too cumbersome and only exists in the real world because such things are a nice source of tax revenue.

And in a dystopian future, Big Brother won't want tax revenue?

Edgerunners are, nearly by definition, illegal, and, very often, well armed. Strong gun control can be a perfect complication for them.

Well, you go from 1/10th chance each of special success or failure, to 1/36th chance each, so the top and bottom become much more rare.

Also, 2/3rds of all rolls will land between 5 and 9, so those numbers become much more likely, compared to the canon thresholds, which assume 2/3rds will be between 3 and 8 (roughly).

At the same time, while there's an equal chance of hitting a 2 as there are hitting a 5 or a 9, using a 1d10, the odds of a 7 are higher than all other numbers, using 2d6.

Basically, far less chance of special results, skewed odds of most numbers, and a probability curve, rather than a straight line.

My personal sub-universe doesn't have the full government collapse of the canon universe. More a corruption. But, as a result, law and order is still pretty well maintained, even if some groups have the money and influence to bend those laws to their own order.

So, I use a pretty comprehensive system of gun control laws, including edged weapons, body armor, implanted weapons, etc. I have possession licenses (have it in your house, the range or for hunting), carry licenses (the main things players deal with) and dealer licenses (restricting who they can buy from legitimately). Then, within each of those categories, there are levels of permission.

Carry level 1 is allowed for non-violent felons, including light handguns and no body armor. Carry level 2 is for general citizens, allowing medium handguns and SP10 armor. Carry level 3 is for bodyguards and edgerunners, allowing all handgun caliber weapons (including SMGs) and semi-auto shotguns, with SP14 armor. They need to pass a test (Weapon Skill +3, Gun Law +1) to get this license, and renew it regularly. Carry level 4 is for most security companies, allowing SP18 armor and pretty much all small arms. Besides a skill test (Weapon Skill +5, Gun Law +2), an applicant needs verification of corporate employment (for liability, doncha'know?). Carry level 5 pretty much covers everything except missiles and bombs, including STR25/SP50 ACPA and autocannons. Used only by the biggest security firms, it has all the same requirements of level 4, plus federal dispensation (meant to keep them on a government leash, but used by lobbyists to keep up-and-coming corps out of the club). Companies of "critical infrastructure" get automatic CL5 authorization, in case the players ever find themselves penetrating the local power company or railway line.

Possession licenses range from the basic "hunting rifle and shotgun" level, up to the "hobbyist machine gun" level. Dealer licenses range from "selling to general citizens (CL2 and PL1)" to "selling to security firms (CL4, etc)." Chemical agents, from pepper spray to lethal agents, are covered, as are edged weapons, from pocket knives to mono-edged katanas.

Basically, its a way for the police to harass players for weapons violations, forcing players to stay on their toes. There's also a "Federal Terror Watchlist" that denies all weapon licensing, so players don't want to attract big government attention (or the attention of rich people with a Senator's ear). The corporations also use it as a club, and the criminals pretty much ignore it.

And, as always, there's a healthy black market in guns and armor, but players need to use that Streetwise skill to get anything from an unlicensed polymer one-shot to a "fell off the truck" third-hand Militech Ronin (let alone the really powerful stuff).

In the end, players have to be discrete and clever, to carry more than a 10mm handgun, or maybe an SMG, legally.

To me, TECH has always been a combination of intellect and dexterity. It's knowing music, but also how to pluck a guitar strings. Knowing electricity, but also how to handle a soldering iron. You could maybe split those skills into two (INT Music and REF Play, or INT Electronics and REF Solder), or use a combination stat (average INT/REF), but having a TECH stat makes it simpler, I think.

Plus, a great technician isn't necessarily a great athlete (high REF) or intellectual genius (high INT).

Really, if CP had both REF and DEX, as full body reflexes and manual dexterity, then it would be easier to split up TECH into a combination of INT and DEX.

In my games, I've always kept the levels of chips low. But then, I pretty strictly enforce a penalty for an unskilled roll (-3 or -5 depending). So, a +1 chip skill may not sound like much, but it's actually a 40% or 60% increase in success.

I use the memory compression skill package chips a lot, like a +1 Handgun, +1 Arasaka-Te and +1 First Aid combat chip. Take a complete novice, slap that chip in them, and they have a chance to defend themselves.

Another popular choice is an "operating manual," with +2 operating skill (Drive, Rifle, Pilot, etc) and +1 maintenance skill (Basic Tech, Weaponsmith, Aero Tech, etc). Some of those are specific to a given model, which gives a bonus for that model, but far less useful for other models. Like a manual for a Ronin rifle that gives +3 Rifle and +2 Weaponsmith, only with the Ronin, but only a +1 Rifle for other rifles. Commonly packaged with a new piece of military hardware.

Using the same math, there are some hyper-specialized skill chips that provide a +5, but only for a given weapon or vehicle, providing +1 otherwise. Not super expensive, but not common and available only from the manufacturer with special package deals. Rarely make it to the Street.

(That math is 150%, round-up, with the specific model, and 50%, round-down, with everything else.)

For me, it depends on the sensor. For example, while I figure anti dazzle and level damper are automatic, thermal imaging and amplified hearing have to be turned on, replacing their usual sense. "Overlays," like targeting scope or radio link can coexist with any sense input, while "enhancements," like image enhancement or sound editing, have to be activated to provide their bonus, but otherwise work with the chosen input (so you can enhance either a regular image or a thermal image, for example).

So, the information the player receives depends on what they're using at the time. If they don't decide to briefly activate thermal imaging to check the residual heat of the parked car's engine, they don't get that data. But, ultimately, their sight is just like everyone else's. They just have built-in options, rather than wearing goggles. No "extra eyesight."

Soviet Design Philosophy: It's not necessarily the best or the coolest, but it's able to be mass produced, durable and suitable for nearly untrained, illiterate, scared conscripts. When your team has no real support and is filled with eager but unskilled peasants (y'know, your basic insurgency), not a bad way to go.

I have MaxWake and the MaxMet on the High Seas rules from the end of the NeoCity sourcebook. But I could have sworn someone had done detailed rules just on RIBs. Were those the ones on Thumper's site?

A while back, I remember seeing rules somewhere for creating RIBs. Maximum Metal kind of stuff, for Zodiac boats.

Anyone remember those? Know where they might be found again?

Thanks.

Excellent! Thanks, Wisdom, I've been looking to grab a full copy of IU at some point.

All the PDFs and JPEGs loaded for me, no corruption.

Oh of course I would type it wrong. Frack me. Sorry, you are correct, I forgot to divide H by two.

 

(M - 1.5 A + N/2) * (H/2) = Damage

M = 30

A = 10

N = 5

H = 14.5

 

(30 - 15 + 2.5) * (7.25) = 126.875 dmg

 

During the process of making this equation I made a spread sheet that does 1,000 actual attacks (it rolls a ton of dice and takes upwards of minutes to run each time), this fancy spread sheet gives me an average roll of 129.48 dmg. So the equation still holds (once I put in the right numbers... )

126.875 total damage still seems like a high number. Before armor, that means a total die roll of around 267 (126.875+(14*10)=266.875, rounded up). That's nearly within the top 5% of all total die rolls, statistically.

The top 5% of all die rolls would result in damage 129 or higher, and the top 25% would result in damage 115 or higher. In fact, 90% of all rolls of 70 dice (that's 14 hits of 5d6 rounds) fall between 269 and 221 total result. After SP10 armor, that's 81 and 129 damage. Only 5% of all rolls would lie beneath 81, and only 5% would fall above 129.

But you did the iterative calculation too. Wonder why the numbers are different? I'd have to think on it more. It must come from the variation of each bullet value in relation to the armor, which changes the 140 I'm subtracting from the statistical dice roll. Using 140 is assuming a normal distribution of the results, which it should be (meaning, as many rolls as come out low, there should be a comparable number that come out high, evening out the result).

Lethal as hell (and an elegant equation), but these numbers seem awfully high to me.

Taking example 2, for example, that's 14 hits (rounding down) with a 5d6, against SP 10 armor.

My estimates for the die roll put ~97.7% of all possible combined die rolls under 274, or about 20 per bullet. That's two standard deviations (14.289=sqrt((5*14*6^2-1)/12)) above the average (245 = 14*5*3.5). Versus SP10 armor, that's 140 damage after armor (14*(20-10)). And that's in the top 2.3% of rolls of 70 die (70=14*5).

But your equation gives 254 damage, in that scenario.

Granted, using standard deviations to estimate large die rolls is not perfect, but the difference in values is over 100 points.

What value changes per number of rounds fired? Or is this damage done per 10 rounds?

It is pricey for the space, but, at $1500, it's below average for the city, and even below average for SoMa, which is mentioned as a likely location for them.

And, in high rent cities like San Francisco (or Boston, my hometown), 1/3 monthly income is a pretty common rule of thumb for rent. At that rate, these apartments are suited for someone making between $54k and $72k (from 1/3 to 1/4 monthly income). And, in the SoMa area, the median per capita income is somewhere around $60k.

I think, rather than affordable housing, these are meant as high density housing for middle to high income singles. Twenty-something yuppies, between college and the real upward swing of their career.

That aside, I meant this more as a conceptual floorplan and idea for the game, than the real life economics of real estate. Even so, given the above analysis, maybe this is something better suited for young corporates, techies and netrunners than the usual edgerunners.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-...p#ixzz2EmRx6hFQ

Bed down

Table down

Without the techno-magical hidey spaces in the walls, but with the same dorm-room aesthetic as Fifth Element. Just the place for a mid-level runner to call home.

That's rules-as-written I fully agree that the stabiliser should help mitigate the modifiers while on the move (not ncessarily negate them altogether) and be of little consequence when stationary.

I suspect that either the original text or the Polish translation have a most unfortunate choice of words, and nobody had corrected it in time.

I would be happy to say "-3 if movin'n'shootin with no stabiliser, reduced to -1 if you get one". But frankly, I didn't had a need to use these rules for years....

I've always figured that the +2 counts against the -3, only when moving. So, a stabilized weapon is more accurate than an unstabilized one, but both are less accurate than a stationary weapon.

Actually, I hadn't even considered mass sterilization in terms of genocide, like Atta said. That just makes it more unlikely, frankly, as Israelis can be a little sensitive to genocide, as one might imagine.

Not to say the Mossad isn't capable of despicable action in perceived defense of the homeland. While I sometimes disagree with their politics, I've always admired the Israeli method of self-defense and retribution (see their reaction to Black September, biblical justice meets modern black ops). If they saw it as the way to solve the "Palestinian Question" (irony intended), the Mossad or another Israeli agency might take such drastic steps.

However, it would be a small, rogue faction, since the majority of the Israeli establishment would probably react with disgust at such a plan as mass sterilization/genocide. And, as a small, rogue faction, they wouldn't be able to get that much done, especially in secret.