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GM: Mr. Terrific
Players: Fixer, Simon, Air
Synopsis: The characters are hired to steal the shamanic formula for an advanced Diagnose spell said to be able to detect cancer formation years before normal biotech screenings. Fortunately, they know how to identify it. The Owl Shaman doctor who researched it would rather they don't steal it, of course…
Date: September 16, 2072
It's been a quiet few weeks. The electioneering is high-paced and dominates the headlines. But the runs have dwindled to a low ebb. Everyone is waiting for Jeremy Falloon to get killed by the fake socialist tuskers in the park, and until that happens everyone is stuck in a holding pattern. So today the johnsons are scraping the bottom of the barrel so hard that they come out to the top. A quick little break and enter job, medically inclined. The address to meet the Johnson, name of Skinner, is a rent-an-office medical building in the CAS.
Simon prepares one of his common phys mask disguises and gathers his few personal things he might need. He stashes his gear in the closest coffin motel to the meet, still needing to get a car someday soon. He walks to the building, making his way up to the office that was given for the meet and arrive perhaps five minutes early.
After a long day of hacking, fucking off and face-to-face time with Denver's skum, Fixer uncorks a 21 year old bottle of whikey. As he finishes the first glass, his 150y cigar still burning…. he gets the call… Slightly intoxicated, he drives the armored Americar and shows up at the right place, right time, right clothes…. 70 percent of job complete.
Air packs a couple of his smaller pieces, a bit of the special stuff to go in them and dressed street casual. He foregoes a disguise for this one, for whatever reason, and chooses a new license plate/transponder/colour configuration for the Ferrari Spider he's driving before setting off. He arrives in a metallic green Spider, absolutely unostentatiously, parks in a multi-story and walks the rest of the way, arriving a minute or two late thanks to the longer than planned walk.
The place appears to have no strange watchers or snipers or black surveillance vans or other lurkers. It has a standard jacked-in secretary at the front who buzzes you up to office number 308, where Skinner waits in a reasonably sized meeting room dominated by a big mirrored wall. The non-mirrored walls are white, and the floor is tiled; the table, pressed wood with a nice faux stained finish. Skinner, a bald, slim, sixtyish human, wears a medical coat over more normal clothes and has the traditional manila folders and datachips in his hand.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 for "Skinner's Shadowscene Players":
1 1 4 4 4 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Intelligence:
1 2 3 3 4 4 14 16
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Intelligence for "Perceptiveness":
1 3 3 4 9 11
«Plot to Air, Simon» 'The mirrored wall is obviously a one-way mirror. Your other senses besides the standard visual indicate that there is no one behind it at this time.'.
Air lets himself into the room, steps to one side after a quick, paranoid glance around the room and then he focuses somewhat on Skinner. The name rings a bell somewhere in his head, but then, there are a lot of Skinner's around. He nods respectfully enough, but remains aloof until the Johnson initiates.
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Shadowscene Players:
1 2 8 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Fixer (#1804) rolls Shadowscene Players + Task Pool: 1:
1 2 15
«Plot to Air, Fixer» 'Good rep, doesn't screw people, been around the block, missions sometimes difficult but not in the 'it's not a shadowrun until your johnson's screwed you twice' kind of way. People come to him for repeat business which they don't to the other kind of johnson.'.
If there is a place to sit, Fixer will sit. Don't get me wrong, he is a runner, but he is slightly buzzed… one thing for certain, if he lost some edge over the years… he knows Felix will make up for any of his weaknesses. The silver hand is all here.
Simon finds a seat if its available. He says nothing, meerly takes a moment to look over the others that might be coworkers for this operation. He settles down in a chair and waits for the usual pitch.
Skinner looks a little surprised to see Air, that way you do when you put out a general call for race car drivers to do a commercial and Mario Andretti shows up because he was having a slow weekend. To Simon he nods the official Johnson nod of having seen him before, and Fixer seems to be the ork at the meeting if you understand the expression. "Thank you all for coming. My client today has a medical interest. A Dr. Johansen, known to be an Owl Shaman and a physician who has a private practice not far from here, has developed a specialized Diagnosis spell that is able to detect cancer several years before common screening methods. I am permitted to say that my client runs an insurance company, and would like to have access to this spell formula in order to screen their customers, but unfortunately Dr. Johansen is not willing to sell. My client would like you to secure the formula without killing Dr. Johansen if at all possible."
Fixer inquires "Is there a hard copy or is this.." he makes bunny motion with his fingers "Simple extraction? Of persona, I mean."
Skinner says, "You are stealing the formula."
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Magic Background vs TN 4:
1 4 5 9 = 3 Successes
«Plot to Air» 'So yes, Air knows shamanic spell formulas are generally pieces of artwork that somehow evoke the meaning of the spell - to a loopy shaman who is communing with his god in a sweat lodge in the woods.'.
Air is certainly having a slow weekend, as the saying goes. "Preferably no killing. Theft of a formula, shamanic formulae can be rather… esoteric. Do you know what form the formula is in, or do we have to identify it ourselves also?"
Skinner says, "We do not know the form, so yes, you will have to identify it."
Simon nods slowly. "I take it once you have the copy of the formula, that is all you need?" He glances at Fixer and then Air for a moment, then looks at the Jay. "I've translated shamanic formula before, so I'm reasonably sure I'll recognize something as a spell. Actually making sure it's a Detect Cancer spell would take me a little more time."
Skinner says, "Yes, that is the target."
Air nods shortly, "Finding the formula isn't quite as straightforward as it would seem then," he glances sideways to Fixer and Simon and nods, "And preferably without losing the good Doctor himself. Your proposed pay is?"
Skinner nods to this, standard Johnson nod number four which is the one that means, 'If this were childishly easy I wouldn't be hiring you.' He says, "Given the events of the day, I will skip the lowball offers and bazaar dickering. My top payout is seventy-five hundred per person. I can go no higher."
Fixer waits for the pay answer, considering throwing in another question. "So, basically, you are saying a multi-million medical breakthrough that will probably net you at least 1 percent, will cost us only 22,500y to get for you. That seems pretty fair. Would you also like you trash taken out, or maybe car tuned up?"
Simon chuckles slightly at Fixers comments. He looks at the Jay and shakes his head. "Well, given a few months I'm sure other research labs could devise this spell. You are going to use this 'inspiration' to simply speed up their work. That's why the project apparently isn't worth as much. That said, how much is that time worth? Time is a strange commodity, it's value differs from second to second. I don't think that's a fair offer for this time."
Skinner now has Johnson look number six, the one that Johnsons use when the ork at the meeting insults their offer. He nods to Simon. "The spell is unproven, also. My client doesn't know whether it will do what Dr. Johansen claims until they have it and test it. The number of people who have made such claims about cancer in the past is very very large - although of course Dr. Johansen's published papers are very convincing. But the number of fakes in cancer research is also very large."
Air looks predictably unimpressed with the monetary offer but decides not to berate the J directly. "By your reputation I know you aren't out to skin an employee for the sake of a thousand nuyen, but this seems rather low for a job with the sort of added complexity of leaving potential witnesses alive. Are you not expecting any kind of security measures taken by the Doctor? What are his magical capabilities?"
Fixer looks at Simon. He narrows his eye-covered eye with a puzzled look on his face and disbelief. He sits back, crosses his arms on his chest, giving the neutral look to the Jay.
Skinner nods to this, and makes a show of glancing down at his manila folder. "He is an Owl Shaman. He has an ally spirit in the form of an owl. He is reknowned for his medical research, but not for his spellcasting. I have his address here, about six blocks away as a matter of fact. I believe he lives in the back of the home, and uses the front of the home as his medical office for his private practice. The pictures of the house indicate that he has grown ivy on the walls to prevent astral intrusion, and uses only thin slits for window light."
Simon nods as he listens. "Often, we awakened fail to grasp the true power of technology. Does he have a security system with cameras perhaps? Or has he forgone any technological defenses to his abode?"
Skinner passes out the folders and chips to you all to peruse the pictures taken by people driving by. This may betray a lack of personal expertise in security systems, thus he is leaving it to you.
Air nods in agreement with Simon's question, and takes the folder and chip. Deftly, he slots the chip into a port hidden on his right arm and then begins to peruse the contents of the folder with a critical eye.
Fixer takes a folder and a chip, slotting it in his pocsec and with few touches allowing the agent to do most of the processing.
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Security Systems (Physical Security):
2 2 2 3 7 15
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Intelligence:
2 2 2 3 4 9 10 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Intelligence for "Defaulting, dang I need some chips!":
2 2 3 4 4 7
«Plot to Air» 'You spot two cameras with good overlapping fields, and a keypad maglock on the door. Both are 'Office Depot' level quality. You would guess he went to the office supply store and bought a security kit and followed the instructions. He's a smart enough guy so he followed the instructions right. But that's the level.'.
«Plot to Simon, Air» 'You see there's a keypad on the door.'.
Simon opens the folder and looks over the photos, noting the keypad on the door he frowns slightly. "It seems he is using some measures, I suppose we will just have to find out how extensive his security system is. All you truly need is a visual on the formula from 360 degrees if it is some shamanic artwork of sorts. They tend to hide things in 3 dimensions, it's easier to conceal without someone getting a full trid copy of it."
Air snaps the folder shut and nods, "He has taken some measures, but it doesn't seem likely to be anything but on-site recording. I take it he isn't backed by any particularly powerful, rich or influential entities then?"
Skinner says, "Not to our knowledge. He eschews such things loudly and is determined to 'fly free' as the Owl Shamans might say. My personal psychological profile indicates that he would not perform well in captivity and from the mission statement I think my clients agree. Thus, the request to leave him alive if at all possible so as not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs."
Air nods once in response to that, looks unlikely to part with the manila folder and has not made any attempts to return the chip. Instead he simply notes, "Then I'll take the job," after which he turns to wait for the other two potentials to accept or decline.
Simon nods "I believe this job can be accomplished, though I'm not really thrilled with the payout, I suppose I'll accept as well. Every little bit helps I suppose. It's almost like bending over to pick up a Ute Dollar." ((Trying to say a ute dollar is like a penny, heh))
And Skinner has to look last to the ork in the room.
Fixer will take the job.
Skinner says, "Thank you. Are there any more questions you need to ask? My contact information is there to contact me to arrange a drop-off of the formula."
Air just shakes his head mutely, assuming all the other details needed such as address are on the chip. He's got everything he wants.
Simon rises from his seat, taking the chip but leaving the folder. He has memory enhancers and hopefully that's enough. He looks around briefly and then to Air. "I suppose we should discuss ideas?"
Skinner says, "Then I'll take my leave. You may have the office for the rest of the day. It's been a pleasure."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "He departs, and you can either chat here, or go elsewhere."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Without difficulty."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "You may engage in paranoia, there are no listening devices, all is well."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "You have the address, about six blocks from here, which is just somewhat random in that it happens to also be in the CAS and also in the B security zone and also in an area zoned for medical offices like this one."
Air turns to his two companions and shrugs, "If you want to find out what hours he's open for business, we can simply walk in looking for 'treatment' and take it from there, ensuring to remove any recorded evidence. Otherwise we can go in after hours and do the same."
Simon shakes his head. "He is a researcher, does he even do general treatment? I suggest we see what public information is available on our good doctor first. Either of you have any of those little tiny drones? Spying on his residence would be easiest with something like that, even if he has spirit guards they tend to ignore technology since it doesn't show up well to them."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "A quick matrix check backs up the information on the chips and in the folder. He has a 'private practice.' His office hours are 2pm-6pm Monday through Friday and otherwise by appointment. It's possible he does boutique medicine, if you know what that is, and isn't locked down to any particular health insurance agencies, HMOs or PPOs."
Fixer suggests to Air that he can do trix side. "I'll do remote, unless you want me on the ground or both?"
Air shakes his head, "I don't do any drones." He glances to Fixer, "I don't expect his security is on a 'trix uplink, but you could check. If it is, we need you there, if it isn't, I don't see much you could do from out."
Simon scratches his beard slightly. "So breaking into his office while he was away would be the easiest solution I can think of. Even if he returns he could do nothing, his ally could, but that's it. The ally would have to be dealt with fast to protect our anonymity. We simply steal the formula and leave. I can contain any spirits he might have there if I go in the astral, and I can still identify the formula that way easier, it will have traces of magic about it."
«Plot to Fixer» 'So, when you check this guy out on the 'trix, you will see that he has a PANICBUTTON link into his house. It piggybacks on his basic Trix connection, which means he's chosen the cheaper option instead of having them hardwire a line from his house to the nearest precinct station. His cameras also send footage out that way into distant storage.'.
«Plot from Fixer» You want to do the simple trix solution? We could use the basic matrix rules, bounce a lot of dice, and I could use up say 10kp?
«Plot to Fixer» 'I will take that. When the time comes to go in, you will tick off 10kp and disable the PANICBUTTON (and any external copying of film footage, effectively looping the video and keeping it from being recorded.)'.
Fixer jacks in… well, drives home and jacks in and checks out trix side. He returns with the team to let them know he has a link with the PANICBUTTON, and has crashed through the shaman's store-bought trix home security to handle his cameras.
Air takes the downtime of Fixer arranging the 'trix side to head home and put on his disguise at last. Returning now as Erik Macawi, ex-Sioux Wildcat and now 'security advisor' he nods. Patching Fixer in via trix he talks normally to address the whole team, "So, night or day?"
Simon shakes his head. "If he has spirits there, and I have to delay them, him being there would be a problem. We need to go in when he is out away from the home. He could astral travel back if something came up, but I believe I can handle him if he does. Being a hermetic has its advantages on the astral plane."
Fixer wonders, "Anyone has any mind altering spells?" He checks his stash "Maybe… I have substances, so he can tell us where it is."
Simon nods, "I have them, if we want to ambush him I could even make him forget it happened."
Air mms, "I had planned to interrogate the information out of him at knife point or similar. If you can draw the information from him magically, that would be even quicker. But if you're sure you can deal with any spirits and his astral form and still identify the formula in quick time, then I can get you in when he's away. Up to you."
Simon nods. "I suggest we pick the method with the least amount of risk. We do not know his power or abilities beyond research. We only have the claims that he is not good at spellcasting…..Owl….daytime would be worse than night for him. If you think you can grab him quickly, then we should work with him. If grabbing him is too risky, we try a break in. We can always use the other plan as a backup."
Air nods, "Well, I'm sure I can disable him, but we would then need to awaken him somehow. For me there's only one option, because I have no way to identify the formula without him pointing it out to me, so, you're the one with the choice now." He's talking to Simon of course, the man holding the magical cards.
Simon nods. "Alright, grab him and I'll pry into his mind for the answers. Make sure he is unconscious so I can do it easier."
Air says ""Ok, he lives on the premises, so let's just go in at night, break in and take him. You'll need to cover for astral spirits that might alert him, wards, whatever. I'll handle him and then you can get our prize.""
Fixer nods. "I would love to handle the spirit… you know, part of the ordeal, would be awesome." He smiles.
Simon nods "Alright, but the problem is speed. His ally spirit is going to be a lot faster than me, and may get the drop on me and awaken him. I suggest daytime during an appointment, sneak something in and knock him out. I'll be nearby, astrally, come in at your signal and deal with his ally."
Air breathes a couple of times and then nods, "So, we wait until there is at most one other person in there with him, we walk in and deal with them both. Then get what we want, Laes them and leave. Good?"
Simon nods "Sounds like a plan, and gives us the most chance to bail before it's too late if things look bad for us. Now, let's go about setting up an appointment."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "The trix says Dr. Johansen is 'General Practictioner/Internal Medicine.'"
Fixer nods. He straps on and sets an agent program to notify him via comms.
Air shrugs, "Who needs an appointment? We just walk in while he's with another patient. No records."
Simon nods "Fair enough."
Fixer agrees with the plan.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "So we start at 2pm on a weekday of your choice. It would be your assumption that he is on the premises. Fixer can 'trix in and disable the panicbutton and sending-out of any video and text streams seamlessly. There is a front door, there is a back door, there are two cameras watching each from the corners."
«Plot» Air says, "Plan: Surveil the building until we believe there is just the one patient in there with him. Then walk on up, bold as brass. If an intercom is required to get in, we'll use the backdoor and hotwire the lock."
«Plot» Simon says, "I'll move in with Air astrally behind him, I'll keep my body nearby in his car. Once he has subdued the doctor, I'll come in physically after I know the magical side is clear. I can go inside an open door if it's got vines and crap. I'll sleaze his ward. I need to assense the ward beforehand just to be sure"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Perception and stealth from Air, Simon, the Ward is Force 3, oh so legal."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Intelligence for "Perception":
2 2 2 3 8 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Stealth for "AStral sneakyness!":
3 5 5 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Stealth for "AStral sneakyness! KP:1":
1 2 4 5
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Stealth for "AStral sneakyness! KP:3 Final try":
3 5 5 10
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Intelligence:
2 2 2 2 4 5 10 11
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Stealth:
2 2 3 4 4 11
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 14 for "Spirit spotting Simon through the open front door when it swings (thus the +4 tn)":
3 3 3 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 for "Spirit not being spotted by Simon -4 defaulting to stealth, +4 cover":
3 5 5 9 11 14
«Plot» Simon and the spirit inside do not happen to spot one another during the surveillance period where the door occasionally opens and patients walk in or out.
The two surveil for about an hour, tracking the people who enter and leave. 1. People are buzzed in by a female voice that Air can hear coming from the door speaker. Dr. Johansen is male. 2. Solicitors are turned away. 3. Sometimes it's a family who goes in, sometimes a pair, sometimes an individual. 4. By about 4 pm, a couple of people leave and that leaves one person, a professional woman, inside as a patient. There may or may not be a secretary present, or she may just be a contracted secretary at a remote site who buzzes people in by 'trix. The open door doesn't show the secretary but that just might be because she's out of sight.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "I re-iterate, it is a 'B' security zone in the CAS."
Simon speaks quietly to Air. "Alright, I'll go astral then head in behind you. I can slip by the ward once the door is open. I'm guessing his secretary is his ally spirit, so lets go in the back way."
Air nods, and then heads out, leaving the now metallic blue Spider parked near enough for a decently speedy getaway. He shrugs his shoulders as he walks normally, shifting the vest over his hidden firearms. Taking a sharp turn around the building, he heads for the back door, peeling a rolled up electronics kit from his back pocket once out of sight of the street. «Can we loop the camera feed about now?"
Simon seperates from his body, and masks his aura. To anyone looking astral, he is just another guy on the street. You'd actually have to look closely to realize he has no real body.
Fixer loops the camera upon command.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Thus allowing you to move up under the two cameras with their overlapping fields of fire directly placed upon you in front of the maglocked back door, in the back alley when no one in the other buildings are also looking out of their back alley door. (But they could walk out at any minute.)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Stealth:
4 4 4 5 5 8
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3 vs TN 12 for "Random people looking out their back window to spot something suspicious.":
3 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 12 for "The guy right inside that door hearing something scratchy on the outside of it.":
1 2 2 2 4 10 = 0 Successes
Air checks out the alley for a split second, then eyes the maglock and takes a knee, unfurling his kit to start going to work on the lock. First, the case must needs come off.
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Electronics B/R + Task Pool: 1 vs TN 5:"rating of lock is 5"
1 2 3 3 3 5 17 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Air says, "30 seconds to unfasten the case, I believe."
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Electronics + Task Pool: 1 vs TN 3 for "-2TN Microscopic vision":
1 1 4 4 10 10 17 = 5 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Tick tick tick goes the clock."
«Plot» Air says, "12 seconds later the lock is hotwired open."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Anything you are doing before you open the door?"
Air unfastens the case of the lock, leaving it carefully placed on the ground in case he wishes to restore it before leaving. Then he works the lock, swiftly wiring the circuits together to hotwire it into the open position. It's not a particularly high quality lock, as expected, so it takes less than three quarters of a minute in total. That done, he rolls his kit back up and pockets it, then takes out a rather evil looking submachine gun from his vest, prepping it before entering.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 vs TN 5 for "Sheer luck - is the a enemy spirit in the back living room that this opens out onto? You want low.":
9 = 1 Success
The ivy-laden door swings open easily, the leaves having been carefully trimmed to allow this. This is it: the dynamic entry. The chokepoint, the place where it all gets serious, where time slows down. For Air, things look prosaic; this is a rear living room like many abodes might have with a trideo set, a nice couch, a book case, a few chairs, ottoman, entertainment center, pictures on the walls, and so on. To the left, a doorway into a kitchen suitable for a bachelor living alone. Forward and offset from this back door is a hallway that has two doors on the left, one door on the right, and one big security door at the end that pretty much measures the halfway point of the building - it likely leads into medical office portion. You are obviously in the man's home. For Simon, however, things are a little different. He sees a stout glowing hearth spirit in the shape of an azzie domestic worker carrying a broom and sweeping up the astral of that back living room. He's in clear view to Simon and Simon is in clear view to him.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 7 vs TN 4:"Surprise check for spirit"
1 1 2 5 9 10 11 = 4 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 7 - 4 vs TN 4 for "kp1":
2 4 4 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Stand on 6."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 (Astral Reaction) + Karma Pool: 1 vs TN 4 for "Spirits fast isnt it, god I hate suprise rounds. KP:4":
3 3 4 8 9 10 11 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 (Astral Reaction) + Karma Pool: 1 - 5 vs TN 4 for "Spirits fast isnt it, god I hate suprise rounds. KP:5":
3 9 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 (Astral Reaction) + Karma Pool: 1 - 6 vs TN 4 for "Spirits fast isnt it, god I hate suprise rounds. KP:7":
4 = 1 Success
«Plot» Simon says, "7, I win."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Inits."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 for "+26":
5
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 1 for "+29 Init AStrally":
3
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "32 Simon, 31 Hearth (who loses his first action in any case.)"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Simon!"
«Plot» Simon says, "Casting F1 Spirit Barrier in a bubble around the spirit through the F3 Ward. Centering vs penalties."
«Plot» Simon says, "Base TN is 6, +3 For ward, +1 Bgcount, -3 Grade. TN 7 for Centering."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Centering vs TN 7 for "Centering against Penalties, having to cast through a ward is killing me.":
5 10 16 17 = 3 Successes
«OOC» Simon says, "Another brilliant K2C roll."
«Plot» Simon says, "TN 9 for F1 Spirit Barrier"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 vs TN 9 for "Casting F1 Spirit Barrier to stop the spirit from doing anything. KP:7":
2 2 3 3 3 4 5 8 8 9 11 17 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 2 for "Drain is S, need 4 with TD":
2 3 4 5 5 9 10 = 7 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "Barrier is F2 now, due to successes"
Simon is astral, and he spots the other astral entity. Really? A shaman who just has a hearth spirit hangout in his office all day? Wow, I thought shamans were all into spirit rights or something. He raises a hand quickly, forcing mana through the ward into the room to create a barrier of mana to block the spirit from escaping. It will take it a few seconds to manifest to talk to someone, can you hear astral shouts?
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "31, Hearth spirit. This is the action the Hearth spirit loses. I will pose."
The spirit looks up, holding its broom slack in its hands. His dumbfounded look is the essence of analysis paralysis. What am I supposed to do again? Am I supposed to shout a warning or start attacking or what? It's one of those crucial moments.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Second pass, Simon at 22"
«Plot» Simon says, "Simple Materialize, simple speak."
Simon shows up as a hazy image on the mundane plane. His astral form is like a black humanoid figure, it looks like it might be wearing a suit, but in a solid black form so it is hard to tell. "Go fast! I'm holding a spirit for just a second!"
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3 vs TN 8 for "Random people looking out their windows into the alleyway seeing a ghostly spirit astral figure looking into an open door.":
2 2 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Hearth spirit 21"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "He will attempt to punch down the barrier and then Free Action shout a warning. His punch would do 6m because his Charisma is his astral strength and his force is his charisma. That's more than twice the barrier rating meaning he makes a hole through which 'astral sound' can escape. His shout could be heard by anything listening on the astral."
The hearth spirit figures out what to do. He sets himself and pokes the handle of his broom back with all of his force, shoving it through the surprisingly weak barrier. He rotates it rippingly, widening the hole, and shouts, "Eppa eppa! Back door!" It sounds terribly loud even through the Ward.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Third pass, Simon 12"
«Plot» Simon says, "Sleaze through ward, dropping the barrier."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 (Double grade) vs TN 3 for "Sleazing through the ward, why? Cause its easier than bashing it down honestly. KP:7":
2 2 3 4 7 11 = 4 Successes
Simon grits his teeth astrally, dropping the barrier and moving forward to slip through the ward by syncronizing his masking with it. At least the shaman won't know what's going on that much sooner, perhaps the spirit yells at everything, you never know.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Third pass, Hearth Spirit: Confusion on Simon, pretty standard. Free action shout more. The barrier is dropped so he doesn't even have to squirm out the hole."
He continues shouting, "Here they come!" while he is trying to squirm out of the barrier and get line of sight. But then not only does the barrier go down but the astral intruder (the only one he can target) comes into his Domain. Well, this is pretty obvious, he waggles the bristles of the brush in Simon's astral face to make the whole world swirl around him.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Fourth pass, Simon on 2. if you wish to act you must make a willpower test tn 6."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 6 for "Acting":
1 1 1 2 4 5 7 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Centering vs TN 10 for "Centering vs +6 Confusion and +1 Bgcount":
1 1 5 7 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery vs TN 13 for "Casting F1 Spirit Barrier around ME":
2 3 4 5 7 9 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery vs TN 13 for "CAsting F1 Spirit Barrier around ME KP:8":
1 2 3 8 9 9 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 2 for "Drain, need 4":
1 2 3 3 4 4 5 = 6 Successes
Simon struggles through the ward and gets hit by the confusion. He grimaces and tries to gather mana energy to form a barrier, but is unable to accomplish the task.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "4th pass, Hearth Spirit. Go get help, or pummel the guy? Well, he's Confused now, or appears to be, so now would be the optimum pummeling time. Standard attack."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Hearth spirit brooming Simon to within an inch of his life":
2 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 9 16 23 = 9 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery vs TN 10 for "Self defense while confused":
1 2 2 5 5 7 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "That looks like 8d after staging up the power?"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower + 9 (ACP) vs TN 8 for "Soaking the Damage":
1 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 7 9 10 22 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower + 9 (ACP) - 3 vs TN 8 for "Soaking the DAmage KP:9":
1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 10 10 11 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "No damage with TD"
The spirit has heard of astral armor. The guy doesn't have it on him and the hit is solid. But wow, can he take a hit!
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "And over to Air."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "You have at least a pass to move in, take an action, look about, etc."
Air takes what Simon says to heart. Stepping inside he kicks the door shut behind him, it won't lock, it's hotwired. Unflicking the folded stock on the smg he raises it to his shoulder and advances towards the security door dividing the building in half, that's where he expects the doctor to be, after all.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "You may indeed reach it while maintaining full combat readiness, and complete knowledge of the three doors you have passed by."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Next round, initiatives for everyone."
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Initiative with a result of 26.
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 1 for "+29 init":
4
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 for "+26":"hearth spirit"
2
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 for "+15 Mystery guest":
2
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Simon 36, Hearth 28, Air 26, Mystery 17. Simon!"
«Plot» Simon says, "Casting F1 Spirit barrier around the spirit"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Centering vs TN 10 for "TN is 13, -3 grade. Centering!":
2 3 5 11 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 vs TN 13 for "CAsting F1 Spirit Barrier to stop this confusion, and prevent the spirit getting Air too":
1 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 7 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery + Sorcery Pool: 6 vs TN 13 for "CAsting F1 Spirit Barrier to stop this confusion, and prevent the spirit getting Air too KP:10":
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 9 15 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 2 for "Resisting Drain, need 4":
1 2 2 2 3 4 16 = 6 Successes
Simon staggers from the earlier blow, but takes no damage. If the spirit gets Air it's all over, so he raises his hand, focuses his mind with a simple gesture for sign language, a middle finger extended, yes, in sign that means Fuck You. The barrier this time is created, and the confusion clears from Simon's mind.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Hearth 28: The Hearth spirit busts through the wall and moves right next to Simon, continually jockeying."
Having determined that these are weak walls, the hearth spirit crams right through it casually and then gets right up in Simon's face, jockeying with the goal of making it impossible to continue his dorkwad play. All the while shouting astrally for help.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Air 26, at the security door."
«Plot» Air says, "As Air thinks Simon has control of the spirit, he'll pause to open this door. Hotwire the lock if required. So, try the door, then go to hotwiring."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Actually, from this side, it just has a deadbolt to physically turn. From the other side, it might just have a keyhole with a mechanical lock. It is, after all, an interior door into someone's house."
«Plot» Air says, "Ah well, keep the SMG readied, unfasten the dead bolt and continue to clear."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Simple to deadbolt, simple to open, description, movement?"
Air's tactics have moved to shock and awe, surprise, when he finds the door can be simply unlocked, he does so, and then slams it open with his SMG up, and starts to shout for everybody to hit the floor. It's a stick up, right?
When the door is opened, it reveals a continuation of the hall. The floor is tiled now instead of carpeted, with two doors on the left and two on the right. The doors are opened, and the merest glance (though the angles are not good) indicates that they are medical examination rooms of some sort. This hallway leads to the back of the secretary's desk where the female secretary is sitting, her hand patting the useless PANICBUTTON. The professional female is covering in the little waiting room where you saw her go in. The good doctor is nowhere in sight. However…
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3 for "The doctor's stealth":
2 3 3
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Intelligence + 5 for "+2 hearing amp, -2 spatial on locating by sound.":
1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 5 9 10
«Plot to Air» 'There's an additional person around the corner - go all the way down the hallway into the secretaries' area and turn left - he's moved into the far corner. But he's breathing way too loud, the way you might be breathing if your ally spirit told you mentally that you're being attacked.'.
«Plot» Air says, "My action remains the same, shouting, intimidating people into inaction, dropping to the floor, etc."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "17, Mystery Guest opens the bedroom door where he was sleeping on his perch and looks out. 1-3 the angle is bad and he can't see Simon. 4+ and it just so happens that the bedroom door shows him that part of the living room that has Simon."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 vs TN 4:
5 = 1 Success
Did he do it with his wings or his talons? It's hard to say but that is the biggest spiritual Great Horned Owl Simon ever did see. It's clearly the Owl Shaman's ally spirit, and it must have been asleep in the bedroom, it being the day, but heard the Hearth Spirit shouting and mentally alerted the magician. It opens the bedroom door and (with partial cover) spots Simon having his little contretempts. No doubt it mentally relays this information to the magician.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Since we actually reached the magician, I'll put him in the init."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 for "+4 Dr. Johansen":
7
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "He goes on 10, and casts a spell."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Second pass, Simon, init 24"
«Plot» Simon says, "Punching the hearth spirit, dropping the barrier"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Sorcery + 6 (ACP) vs TN 4 for "Punching hearth spirit in the face, lets see how lucky this guy is. KP:10":
1 2 2 4 5 5 5 5 7 10 10 11 = 9 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 vs TN 4 for "Did you know spirits have karma pool equivalent to the number of successes they were summoned with?":
1 2 2 2 2 4 4 5 7 7 8 10 = 7 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 7 vs TN 4 for "kp 2":
1 1 3 5 9 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + Combat Pool: 6 - 7 - 2 vs TN 4 for "kp 4":
3 5 9 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Stand, 6S to you I believe."
«Plot» Simon requests the doctor's Conjuration roll for the day to see how much karma he spent to get a F6 hearth spirit with 4 or more successes/services so as to have such a high karma pool.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + 6 + 4 vs TN 6:"6 dice from F6 ally spirit, 4 from F4 Spirit Focus."
2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 8 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + 6 + 4 - 3 vs TN 6 for "kp 1":
2 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 9 10 11 = 3 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "So he used 1 KP this morning, good to know"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower + 3 (ACP) vs TN 6 for "Resisting S damage, need 4":
1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower + 3 (ACP) vs TN 6 for "Resisting S damage, need 4 KP:11":
2 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 8 8 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "I take 2 boxes phys and 1 box stun after the trauma damper."
«Plot» Simon says, "Free Action: ABORT ABORT ABORT!"
Simon grimaces as he tries to punch the spirit and gets hit in return, this time it hurt. He screams out. "ABORT ABORT ABORT!"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Hearth spirit on second pass, 18. Obviously, he will confuse Simon again."
Using every ounce of spiritual power, the hearth spirit manages to juke around Simon's agressive action. Deftly parrying with his broom he klonks him in the head - and gets through? The mage seems hurt. Time to pour it on, with the bristles again!
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Air on 16."
«Plot» Air says, "Advance towards where I believe the doctor is hiding, reiterate my commands to get on the floor face down etc."
When Air rounds the corner (the secretary and the professional woman are moving towards following his commands as fast as normal, unaugmented people can) he will see the doctor, immediately recognizable, wearing a 'Secure' lab coat, late forties early fifties, vaguely norweigian, with a pen still clutched in his hand because he had it in his hand when the shouting started. He is glowing a gleaming white all over, for he has cast an Armor spell to shield himself.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "You may shoot if you so desire with some penalty for movement. However, no cover for him, so solly, cholly."
«Plot» Air says, "I will use that action not to shoot, but to advance on him and hit him with a dose of Laes in a standard hypodermic needle plunger."
«Plot» (We discuss the action of a hypodermic needle against 1. impact armor and 2. additional impact armor from a full body enveloping force field.)
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Escrima + Combat Pool: 2 + Karma Pool: 2 vs TN 4 for "KP3/42":
1 1 2 3 4 4 5 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Escrima + Combat Pool: 2 + Karma Pool: 2 - 3 vs TN 4 for "KP4/42":
1 2 3 4 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Escrima + Combat Pool: 2 + Karma Pool: 2 - 4 vs TN 4 for "KP6/42":
1 4 4 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) has the Attribute Strength with the value '6 (7)'.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 4 vs TN 10 for "+4 for defaulting to dex, +2 for sustaining armor spell":
1 2 20 20 = 2 Successes
«OOC» Air says, "20 20."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Well. I see you are 4 successes up on him, which would stage you up to 7 deadly. He has 9 points of impact armor now - 3 from his lab coat and 6 from his armor spell. You haven't really staged the power up enough to punch through. To my mind, you would have to beat that 9 points of impact - or call your shot to avoid his armor or something. Reasonable?"
«OOC» Mr.Terrific says, "And like, dude just rolled two twenties."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 4 vs TN 2 for "Soaking 2d from the impact, well, mostly of fist carrying hypodermic needle more than the needle itself":
2 2 2 3 4 5 5 17 = 8 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "And he takes nothing. But you have used his combat pool."
Air advances forward shouting all the way, "Get down, on the floor, hands on your heads!" He looks like a street punk with a milspec submachine gun, but he can be pretty intimidating, plus all those lovely pheromones are starting to fill the building. When he sees the doctor he reaches into his vest and pulls a hypo out, advancing in and giving the doc a solid judo chop to the neck, trying to drive the needle through the spell. It doesn't work, and the look on his face reads like death to the doctor.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "meanwhile, the Great Horned Owl Ally Spirit will cast your basic Stunbolt at Simon, then fly down the hall and around the corner to come up behind Air."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 + 6 vs TN 8 for "F6 stunbolt, using all my spell pool because my master can't use it this round, tn 7 +1 bg":
1 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 9 9 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "f6 moderate stunbolt your way"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "standing on 2 successes."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 2 for "against moderate drain":
1 3 3 4 4 10 = 5 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 12 for "Resisting the spell, need 2., but Confusion affects TN for spell resist making it TN 12, this sucks, KP:11":
1 1 2 3 4 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "S damage from that spell, so I'm at 7 boxes stun and 2 boxes physical."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Third pass, Simon, 14."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "willpower tn 6 to act (no wound penalties)"
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 6:
2 2 3 4 5 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 6 for "KP:12":
3 3 4 4 5 8 8 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "I'm zipping out the ward, just crashing it."
«Plot» Simon says, "I think it's my magic vs the ward and the ward vs my magic."
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) has the Attribute Magic with the value '9 (6)'.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3 vs TN 6:
2 3 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 vs TN 13 for "Getting through the ward, KP:12":
1 1 4 5 7 8 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 vs TN 13 for "Getting through the ward, KP:13":
1 1 3 3 4 5 = 0 Successes
Simon turns and tries to get out, but apparently he can't even think straight and ends up smashing himself into the ward. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad that he is going to die.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Hearth spirit! The hearth spirit pummels you in order to knock you out or so it hopes."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 4 for "Unfortunately it used its combat pool earlier. (But it will do killing damage if it can.)":
1 1 2 3 5 5 = 2 Successes
«Plot After The Fact» Simon here eschews a defensive roll with Sorcery against TN 4+6+4=14.
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Willpower vs TN 6 for "Resisting 6S damage, spirit had 2 succcesses, physical damage, whee":
1 1 4 4 4 5 5 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Simon says, "Note, I have PF, did not count it earlier. I was at 1 box physical, now at 5 boxes Physical and 8 boxes Stun."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "I was wondering why you weren't doing your platelets."
Back in the car, blood is rolling out Simon's nose and ears and mouth, ahh stains in the upholstery.
It's like a beautiful dream. How often do guardian spirits get to win? Usually it's just being a deployable decoy to give your master a moment to shore up his defenses. But here he is, ramming his broomstick's front end into the mage's kidneys and watching the astral splatter. It's what he was summoned to do!
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Third pass, Air on 6."
«Plot» Air says, "Simple, point blank, 9 round full auto to the doc's chest."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "what ammo are you using?"
«Plot» Air says, "Gel, as per non-lethal."
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "muy excellente."
«Plot» Air says, "Final damage is 13D, +2 from recoil, TN 4-2 for the smartlink, sound suppressed, final TN 4."
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Submachine Guns + Combat Pool: 4 vs TN 4 for "13D Gel":
1 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 10 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Air (#8050) rolls Submachine Guns + Combat Pool: 4 - 3 vs TN 4 for "13D Gel KP7/42":
2 4 4 5 8 11 = 5 Successes
«Plot» Air stands on 8.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 1 vs TN 4 for "body 4, remaining combat pool 1, he uses it for soak because the penalties would be horrible otherwise, he has 9 impact against 13.":
1 1 2 3 3 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 1 vs TN 4 for "kp 2":
1 3 4 11 11 = 3 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 4 + Combat Pool: 1 - 3 vs TN 4 for "kp 4":
3 9 = 1 Success
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "And that still leaves him at 13d +4 successes, he has no escape even if I went back and spent some karma to buy some dice. He goes unconscious (there's also a gratuitious knockback roll which can be posed seeing as he's standing in a corner) which means I have a couple rolls to make here…"
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 6 for "hearth spirit going free?":
2 2 3 4 4 11 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 6 vs TN 6 for "Ally spirit going free?":
1 2 3 5 11 19 = 2 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "The hearth spirit is on the edge of freedom-based force. He's a spirit of man so he's more likely to go free, but his die roll is not truly amazing. He'll go away. The ally spirit's roll is cool, though."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 1 vs TN 5 for "5+, the ally spirit likes Johansen. 4-, he does not, because Johansen never transferred him any karma pool and left him with the standard 1.":
4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "So with that, the hearth spirit will fade from where it was gunching Simon, and the great horned howl that just flew up behind Air will start to fade. Pose away."
Air does not enjoy being resisted, even when it's really something as easily explained as basic self-preservation that motivates the people that resist him. When the doctor resists his friendly knock out drug, he mentally dials a nine round autofire burst into his smg and mentally pulls the trigger, circling the doctor's chest with a stitching of solid gel rounds. The armor spell probably doesn't help as the rounds throw the man back the few inches it takes to drive him into the wall, all the air shoved out of his chest and possibly a few bones broken before he starts to slide sideways and hits the floor.
With that done, and somewhat assured the man is going to be asleep for a while, Air turns, unsure what to expect, and clears the room before heading off in search of the two other known civilians in the building. He rounds them up and herds them into one of the examining rooms. A couple of plasticuffs later and they're secured and shut in the room.
The secretary and the professional woman yeep and yelp, but are easily enough herded. The shooting made some noise - you were inside a building though. Who can say how long it will take for someone to be sufficiently concerned?
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "WHO CAN SAY?"
Simon exits the ward, a bit easier now that he isn't confused by the fricking spirit. When he gets to the car and his body he sits up, grimacing at the mess, though most of it is covered by his physical mask spell that's sustained into his focus. He steps out of the car and quickly walks towards the building, ready to drop his magics instead of fighting the ward again.
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls Stealth for "Wound mods +5, so -5 Here":
1 2 3 5
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Having gotten a 0 or less on your stealth, it is kind of obvious you are wounded."
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3 vs TN 4 for "tn 4 for a neightbor (alerted perhaps by the sound of suppressed fully-automatic fire) to think it is strange that someone limping like that is going to the doctor's back door, his home, instead of the front door, where normal people would go.":
1 5 9 = 2 Successes
«Auto-Judge[]» Simon (#6474) rolls 6 vs TN 7 for "Sleazing the WArd":
1 2 3 3 3 4 = 0 Successes
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "Meanwhile, Simon in his physical body walks up against the ward and faceplants, in his physical body. So the Ward at F3 has a chance to take down his Physical Mask, at F1.
«Auto-Judge[]» Mr.Terrific (#7242) rolls 3:
4 8 9
«Plot» Which it does, the F1 spell can't survive.
Boy, if there was anyone watching that wounded guy limp up to the back door instead of the front door (he looked out his window because he thought he heard what sounded like a gunshot) he would see the back of the guy's head and hair color change, and maybe his clothing shift around too!
The first thing to do is to clear the area and that means checking every room for people, hostiles, traps. Seeing what there is to be seen. The doctor's office portion is clear - three examination rooms, no place for anyone to hide, little closets in there, the civilians trapped within. Moving into the home portion, the first room on the right, coming this way, is the study. It has the shaman's desk, his personal computer, a comfy chair, a selection of tasteful things, racks of chips of medical texts, and so forth. The room on the left, that the Ally spirit came out of is the bedroom. It has a selection of clothes, including some of the high society type; some men's jewelry, some loose credsticks and corpscript, a doctor's room, fairly neat. A standard nicely appointed bathroom with sweet-smelling shampoo. Then there's the last room.
Opening the door gets you stared in the face by a giant horned owl who, no it's not a gag, STARES RIGHT THROUGH YOU. The thing is four foot tall, its wings are outspread, its eyes are huge, it's COMING RIGHT FOR YOU. It's a good thing the fight is over and there's no heartbeat or motion. It takes a moment to figure that it is not real, it is taxidermy - it's a stuffed owl. There are 4 other stuffed owls in the room, actually.. and the materials and kit needed to stuff and mount more. They are horribly realistic, the way that one is looking down at its injured claw so intently, this one is splaying a wing where the pinfeathers have been cut and almost WILLING them to regrow.
The third is still, poised, alert (it's also a screech owl). Painfully alert. Although it doesn't move it watches you where ever you are in the room. And the last is a nimble, dextrous hoot owl.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "And that is it."
«Plot» Simon says, "Do I know which one it is?"
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, " The best guess is that the one that STARES RIGHT THROUGH YOU is the Diagnostic spell formula - without forcing you to make a roll with massive wound penalties."
Simon points to the one staring at them, through them. "That one, it's a little big to take out the door though, and I'm in no condition to make it dissapear."
Air almost shoots the Great Horned stuffed totem owl right in the face when he opens that door. It's only at the lastest split second he doesn't mentally pull the trigger. "Fuck." He's looking round the room while Simon is pointing out formula already. "Fuck." He ponders for a moment, "Will it fit in the car? Fuck."
Simon frowns. "Just take it, throw it in the car and let's go. I can hide it from cameras, just not from people." He grimaces and takes a few deep breaths. He then starts scanning astrally for signs of magic, like foci.
«Plot to Air» 'that car have a back seat?'.
«Plot from Air»: … yes!
«Plot from Air»: But only 2 doors entry.
«Plot to Simon» 'So, obviously, those shamanic spell formulas are very high force. You can see that even in the astral because of their artisanship. Johansen has a f4 spirit focus if you want it to convert or keep instead of or with the very large force spell formula.'.
«Plot from Simon»: The formula are worthless to me, converting takes far too much time and trouble. They also sell for shit no matter what they are per the books. The spirit focus can be tracked though, this is crazy.
«Plot to Simon» 'Yup. There do exist fencing rules in this game. They are definitely high money items there for the taking even if you don't think they can be sold to PCs.'.
Simon grunts, "Unless we kill the doctor I can't find anything of value here that won't be immediately tracked back to the holder. Grab the owl and let's go."
Air grunts as he grabs the owl, "Fine." Tucking his smg into his vest and out of sight he then tucks the owl under his arm and heads back downstairs. Leaving via the front door he leaves the back door hotwired and the lock casing off so that anyone with a brain could see how this job got done.
Simon grabs the smaller owls, the ones that look easier to carry, fitting whatever he can and heads out after Air for the car. He will recast his physical mask as soon as he steps outside. No sense letting folks see blood.
And with that, Simon takes the smaller owls, the hyper alert owl and the nimblee small owl. It's what he can grab easily in his condition and what will fit in the back seat of the car. He will figure out later how much money he left on the table when he uses his super memory powers and some reference material to figure them out.
Air tenderly fits the really needed owl into the backseat of the car, looking much like a worrying father packing for a weekend at the caravan with the kids. Except it's an owl, and he's driving a Ferrari 770 Spider Turbo. Nevertheless, once the owl is in, Air is in and Simon and his loot owls are in, he heads off, finds a private corner in a car park and switches out the colour/transponder/license plate configuration again.
«Plot» Mr.Terrific says, "And so probably the guy across the street and down a ways sees this crap getting loaded up and hauled off, but the cops won't be here in time. He gets only a flash of Simon's real face before it gets Physically Masked. It is easy enough to get everything back to Skinner, who thanks you kindly for your service. The nimble owl is an Increase Reflexes F6 owl, which Simon can figure out more carefully when he's no longer bleeding from every orifice, and the hyper alert owl is an F8 Crank owl, exactly the force you would need to go a full night without sleep. Left on the table were the F10 Regeneration Owl and the F10 Heal owl - 40,000y in gear value before fencing. But they were a little larger and more impressive and like so many thieves discover, you really don't have time to make two trips into the house. (And our protagonists did not lower themselves to stealing the man's clothes, jewelry, and petty cash, which would have certainly brought a good two bits on the open market.) So, fencing at a base 25% of street value for these items (they are specialized, rare, and/but Simon has contacts to move them to) is 3000 for the Increase Reflexes F6 and 400 for the Crank F8.
«Plot» Air says, "I'll let Simon keep the owls, formula aren't big money items."
|
