Downtime 2

Chougou

While Chougou is certainly taller, scrawnier and more well proportioned, his face is still the same. Those who knew him before probably wouldn't be able to pick him out of a crowd, but at least recognize him when he walks over to them. When he goes to see Momo Saito, she laughs and says, "You are beautiful daaahling! I will not have you walking around in some hobo suit you got from me. I have a reputation, daaaahling. Come now! Come! Come! Come! Let's measure that magnificent new form of yours!"

Before Chougou can say a word, she has a measuring tape and is measuring every square centimeter of his body and quickly sketching up a piece of custom armor that she plans on making for him. Momo doesn't do cheap. She does fabulous. She does seem rather excited to make the piece and offers to do the job at cost. The final sketch is essentially a full body armored trenchcoat with a hidden holster, handy pockets, special impact absorbing gel packs and a special lining to protect against inclement weather and any other nasty chemicals that might splash on the wearer. The final cost is 4,500 nuyen.

((it's got a base armor rating of 12, +2 from the gel packs, so 14 total. Also has a built in holster, gear access (which reduces the action to retrieve any particular piece of gear by 1 step) and rating 6 chemical protection))

As she sketches the trench coat for Chougou, he receives an anonymous e-mail. It reads:

>>>> Looks like the dog changed its skin. Worry not, you will always be the same dog inside.

As with the previous message, there is nothing there that would help Chougou track down the sender.


Torpor
Shopping around, Torpor finds a place that specializes in skillsofts. The activesofts are pricy, ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 ((for ratings 1-3)). Linguasofts on the other hand are much more reasonable, ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 ((for ratings 1-6)). Knowsofts are somewhere in the middles and run about 2,000-12,000 ((for ratings 1-6)). The shop also offers a monthly subscription to their network, which runs somewhere between 2,000 a month for their basic package, all the way up to 20,000 a month for their platinum package.

((For comparision:
basic: rating 1 know/linguasofts = 2,000
silver: rating 1-2 know/linguasofts and activesofts = 10,000
gold: rating 1-4 know/linguasofts and 1-3 activesofts = 15,000
platinum: rating 1-6 know/linguasofts and 1-4 activesofts = 20,000))

How much does ichigo have pay for setting up the firehouse and what is my lifestyle is going to be since ichigo is living in the firehouse?

((@Ichigo I believe that information is in the OOC thread Post Mission 2 Wrapups here: https://gilon3010.forumotion.com/t84p25-post-mission-2-wrapups#4685 ))

Thank you Sam I missed that

With the subscription, I can only have one skill, more or less streaming at a time, correct? As the load and switch time is much slower than regular chips. 
Or could I load up say 4 rating 2 skills ahead of time for use in a run?

Also I take note of the place and chat up either the owner or manager and see if trading in older chips when I buy higher levels might be a thing. Maybe work on adding them as a contact.

((what's the name of the shop?))
I got them up in conversation, "I am looking for a rating 1 computers chip, if I decide to later say get a rating 3, do you accept trade ins of the old chip, if bought here?"

The shop's name is The Skill Zone. The employee at the counter is a 20 something young man wearing glasses, a blue and white button up shirt and black slacks. The name tag on his shirt reads, "Eiji Hideki". He says, "Yes sir, we do trade ins. Provided the chip is in good condition, you are given 50% store credit towards any other purchase here or at any of our other locations."

(ooc:. Yikes.  Just read what's in the core book for technomancers.  Not seeing alot in the other books for them.  It's... Interesting.  They went after them with a vengeance compared to 4th edition, now they are basically poor Decker's with some extra tricks)

(Threading isn't what it was.  They basically kept the word but completely changed it's meaning.  The nature of programs and software changed in 5e.  As far as I can tell Technomancers aren't even mentioned in Data Trails, so that was no help)

(You can emulate programs, but it's now an option to take per program when you submerge in place of an echo.  This is largely because programs no longer have ratings they are just weird bonuses to matrix actions.  No help there in making up skillsofts.)

(On the other hand...there may be a way for you to get the benefits of having a subscription to skillsofts without the cost.  Find someone with a subscription and get a single mark on their persona, then use the Spoof action against the subscription service to pretend to be that user.  Takes a bit of legwork, though if we run against a Corp that uses skillwires/knowsofts with their employees that could be a useful trick.  Spoofing isn't what it used to be, but it's not too bad- you don't need any marks against what you are trying to fool, and only a single mark on what you are pretending to be.  This assumes that the service can be considered the equivalent to a device or agent of some kind... the matrix rules are a bit murky when it comes to details.)

(Thus the legwork.  You find some shmoob who maintains a subscription and just keep that info on tap,
and then if the need arises for a skill you don't have you jaunt over on the matrix, tag him with a mark and then spoof the service with his access, and voila!  You now know how to speak Klingon.  Not perfect, but maybe saves you a huge fee for access, and at the very least keeps you from burning a fake SIN should things go pear shaped in the wrong orifice.)


(This is more prep for an emergency workaround for a really unusual need, more than a permanent solution.  The permanent solution is probably much more expensive-- finding a shadow service run by the Yakuza or something... and even then I would not want to trust it.  Anything important you are going to want to buy... say Demolitions, or Killa-Karate 3.3 so that you aren't relying on a wireless connection.)

((that's awesome Wujen, thanks for the legwork. Sounds like if we need something in a pinch that's great. Even silver for any rating 2 skill is 10k per month, it would be better to purchase a rating 2 per month even if not needed then get basic for know softs as needed.))

(It relies on GM kindness.  Spoof specifically only works on Devices or Agents, not IC, Hosts, etc.   Like I said though, the actual end-use details are pretty fuzzy.

If he allows it for use in a pinch though, it can be helped greatly by a Sprite with the cookie power.  In your legwork you have the sprite cookie your target, and it gathers info on all the matrix activity your target does...  thus you can know your schmoob spends his evenings at home or what have you.  Mr.Schmoob better not have much going on in the matrix department right now though, until you bring up your Hacking skill.  Later if you learn complex forms you will want a lot of the Software skill too)

((by the by. Kill code, has all the technomancer stuff in it. Not sure if it's out for sale yet though))

(I think you can get it now...  I read up on what's in it and it's still pretty cut down from what they were in 4th edition.  Things like Skintrodes were awesome, and I'm not seeing that now.  In a way, they have given what made Technos powerful to deckers- flexibility.  Decker's can reconfigure their deck on the fly, Technos are fixed to their stats.  Previously it was programs that mattered, and threading allowed you to either increase what you had or just create them on the fly.  In exchange hackers could use endless armies of agents and didn't melt their brains on a bad roll.)

(Edit: Good point on IC...  I don't keep as close a track to stuff on my phone, my bad)

((Technomancers in 5E get a lot of buffs from the technomancer core book errata which gives them better gen points as well as the new Kill Code sourcebook.  They do play very differently than deckers.  Typically the best way to play a techno is some combination of Petnomancer (sprite wrangler) and/or heavy use of Resonance Veil (Illusionist) or Puppeteer (Enchanter) and Editor (file access hax) (though Kill Code has some more interesting options) ))

((Now that he has new sharp duds, finally Sato notices Chougou's transformation for the first time))
"The 5 Elements Community Center is definitely coming together...time for a well-deserved break," Sato thought to himself as he walked across the large ground floor space.  The only trace of several hours of work was his suit jacket hanging from a wall peg and the rolled up sleeves of his perennially crisp white button-down shirt.  He was still cool as a cucumber with no trace of sweat.  

He sat down at the administrative desk, smoothly lit a cigarette, leaned back in the creaky chair and put his feet up on the desk to survey the results of the group's morning effort.  The others had gone upstairs to fetch some beers, so he was briefly alone with the space.  The high ceiling-ed brick-walled fire truck garage stall was now mostly converted into a dojo, complete with exercise equipment, a few newly hung heavy bags a padded sparring area and repurposed lockers for equipment.  

The large garage door was partially rolled up to keep the workspace cool.  Sam had promised that later this evening, he would paint it with a vibrant mural to serve as the community center's sign.  Periodically, a curious neighborhood passerby would peek under the door and Sato would respond with "sorry, we're still under construction, but we'd love to see you next week."

A few minutes passed and Sato started nonchalantly blowing smoke rings into the expansive space, watching them expand to huge size as they traversed to the distant corner of the room.  He was so preoccupied with blowing the perfect ring that it took him a few seconds to notice that someone had ducked under the door and was walking towards him.

"Hey sorry, we are still closed," he drawled, still looking at the last smoke ring...nearly perfect.

The man kept walking towards him and he recognized the distinctive sound of expensive wooden-heeled shoes which made him properly focus on the newcomer for the first time.

His cigarette fell from his mouth onto the floor.

"Good God, Chougou, what happened to you?" Sato's voice cracked with amazement.

"More importantly than that, who is your tailor?"

Chougou buys the trenchcoat and also something to go under it ((He's not *that* proud of his new body yet ))

He gives Momo's contact info to Sato and looks down at his new frame and threads. "Demon's wishes, huh? I wouldn't a thunk it possible, I thought I had just as much chance to die with her "wish" as I did to get...this."

After some pleasantries he seeks out Sun to ask if he can show him some moves. ((I like the idea of getting a new name Sun, I'd leave the naming up to you, but Yaogou is pretty cool.))

Sato

Sato visits the university and his contact Ichiro Doumeki. He says, "The only way to know what deed your inugami would want you to perform is to commune with your inugami. I have a... special concoction that I can whip up for you. Once you have finished it, your inugami will let you know what it is it wants of you. Strictly speaking, I may not technically be legally allowed to give you this concoction and the main ingredient is quite expensive. But I suppose if one were to provide a 1,250 nuyen donation to the university to help pay for the ingredients, perhaps they might overlook things, right?"

Back in the dojo, Sun checks Chougou's way of moving for anything that's the result of him not being used to his new form. Once that's cleared out, he starts teaching him some basic stances meant for stability, flexibility and leg strength, along with basic kicks and how to throw a proper punch. During all this, he keeps an eye on how Chougou handles them, checking for strong and weak points.

Before I forget, I purchase some humane catch traps (need to know cost), maybe 2. Set them in the garage area to catch some rats it such to feed the spiders. Then I ask the guys for any information on when they think may be interested in our spiders. I also try out new friends from AID to see if they are interested in one of them. As well I check the internet for any information on them, if they exist in the data base already.
((I also check my knowledge, if I know anythig about them))

((Magical threats 3+ int 6 total 9 dice))


Torpor carried out 9 launched of one d6 :

, , , , , , , ,

Ichigo will help out as much as possible with the renovation during witch he will seek out sun and ask "Hey sun you mind if I watch you teach chougou some moves."

Torpor
Torpor has no trouble finding some rat traps, humane or otherwise. The building isn't particularly infested with rats though so the traps don't turn up much of anything. Even if they did, it probably wouldn't be enough to feed this many spiders.

Contacting A.I.D. and explaining what exactly you have, they say they will take the specimens off your hands as their webbing seems to be of particular interest for study. When asked what they are, the voice on the commlink says that they are not certain until they get the chance to study them, but they believe they are a species of spider long thought to be extinct called a "Ghost Spider".
Long hunted for various uses in spell components and other magical applications, they are dual-natured spiders that supposedly feed primarily on non-corporeal and astral beings (though they'll eat anything they can catch in a pinch). The ones you have are extremely weakened from hunger and captivity or they would have been a lot more dangerous than they were. A.I.D. will pay you 1,000 nuyen for each of them.

WuJen would be willing to sell some of the spiders if for no other reason than to reduce the overhead for feeding them.  However, he will want to keep at least a breeding pair both for study (he has an interest in parazoology and parabotany, though he lacked the skill points at chargen and just went with Magical Threats), but also it seems like a great way to gather natural reagents and telesma.

(I assume that I don't have to summon sapient spirits to feed the things, and there's some kind of astral critters these things normally eat?)