Originally posted by DaveOfDeath:

Yes. But each of those custom gearsets need to be determined, added, and removed. Only to requip you two scenes later with Jake's safe. The problem is balancing. If you put one point I to rifles, shotguns, decking, rigging, and magic... Those scripts would need to decide what your character was trying to be. Otherwise you end up with a cyberdeck, a drone, a rifle, a scattergun, and an armload of spells. Then you sell off what you don't want, and effectively start with 10x the cash of any other build.

I am unsure of how custom gearsheets work. If you can set the minimum threshold to any number, then it seems like having a threshold of 3 (as in if you have 3 skill in,for example, close combat you get a machete instead of an smg) would keep people from gaming it too badly. I mean in that example that would cost 12 karma.

Here's what I was trying:

Human
BD 5
ST 4
Close Combat 4
Melee Weapons 3
WI 2
Spellcasting 2
CH 3
Conjuation 2
Spirit Summon 3 (for totem Leopard or Cobra)

I'm pretty sure that took my full amount of templateless points as a human (mostly because I had trouble with getting BD 5 and snagging a totem with an elf). I can understand not getting any spells. Maybe I was a baby adept 3 years ago; it would be easy to sell them off for cash, etc. But not getting a melee weapon and/or powerball I kind of makes for a messy (but still pretty easy) fight. It just feels clunky.

The problem with it is the same. You need a set of logic filters to try and figure out what character you're trying to build.... And since we bumped the starting karma from 34 to 55, now all the sudden you have many more possibilities. The equipment assignment from the safe uses a nearly identical system to HK's original campaign... But it too is flawed. It doesn't work very well for hybrid builds. Adding a melee weapon conditional instead of a firearm is doable. Adding a a melee weapon, and checking for your conjuring abilities, and/or spellcasting/chi casting is where it gets dicey.

The triggers need a specific set of requirements, and basically we'd need to write a set of triggers for every hybrid possibility. A catch-all "more than 3" system is flawed too, for a character who's a jack of all trades, but only has a 2 in everything. That guy would get nothing. Early Access to vendors that will let you correct your characters loadout to the play style you have in mind is really the least terrible option. Basically anything else would be opening a can of worms for "what about my adapt/rigger/decker? Why doesn't he get everything, if a melee spellcaster got a custom loadout..."

I don't think your build is uncommon by any means... But the trigger setup to build a gearsets for your character would be something like:

If (ranged combat < melee combat) AND (if conjuring > spellcasting) AND (conjuring > chi casting) THEN give (bat) + (acid bolt + fog)

Even that would be dicey... Because what if your ranged and melee matched? How would it decide which item to give you.. or you character has conjuring and spellcasting. Do you get power bolt and acid bolt?

That's why we kept the simplistic starting gear... Tried to keep them fairly close in value, and early access vendors to correct it. The flashback, the muggers, and the halloweeniers aren't exactly cutting edge "white knuckle" combats... And then you'd have the option of correcting gear. Jake does give you a choice in primary weapons "party favors"...

It's always been weird that there's not a starting gear store during character generation. Especially with the clumsy ways DMS, Dragonfall and HK all tried to deal with the issue.

I definately prefered Dragonfall's answer to the others, but come on, these are supposed to be professional runners. Having a store with a merchant inventory fusing basic gear for the player to choose from before the game starts seems like an easy solution.

Originally posted by DaveOfDeath:

The problem with it is the same. You need a set of logic filters to try and figure out what character you're trying to build.... And since we bumped the starting karma from 34 to 55, now all the sudden you have many more possibilities. The equipment assignment from the safe uses a nearly identical system to HK's original campaign... But it too is flawed. It doesn't work very well for hybrid builds. Adding a melee weapon conditional instead of a firearm is doable. Adding a a melee weapon, and checking for your conjuring abilities, and/or spellcasting/chi casting is where it gets dicey.

Yeah, I figured it was more complicated than it seemed. Honestly, I am probably muddling things by not starting out with points in Qi Casting, but there's not too much that'll do a sword adept much good until you can buy Stride from Aljernon.

Edit: What I was really hurting for was a weapon to pommel strike with. Early on you are on cc duty while your ranged picks the enemy apart.

Originally posted by wave.of.atla:

It's always been weird that there's not a starting gear store during character generation. Especially with the clumsy ways DMS, Dragonfall and HK all tried to deal with the issue.

I definately prefered Dragonfall's answer to the others, but come on, these are supposed to be professional runners. Having a store with a merchant inventory fusing basic gear for the player to choose from before the game starts seems like an easy solution.

I'd seriously love a choose dialogue with your closet, that big cabinet thing whatever that just gave you the same choose your weapon options as Jake.

Perhaps going forward, we can make a store to 'auto-equip' the player.

Are we suposed to every wrap up things regarding Glint and Marrow? I got the feeling we were going to eventually question Dresden about Glint, but I don't see anything so far. It seems you'd wrap that up at the end of the run on Mercy and just after and before the funeral, which is when I get the option to go back to Organ Grinders. Or are they just more of an easter egg nod for people who read the anthology?

I don't honestly know the answer to this one. The Glint/Morrow thing wasn't really on my list of "value adding" enhancements. L0g41n seemed to be hell bent on adding it... And I wasn't paying much attention to it.

Maybe he'll weigh in and she'd a little light on this aspect.

Could we get a "Let Violet Jack In" option out of combat at that first decking jackpoint in Telestrian Industries? You know in case your phys adept stunlocks all the guards and your team chews through them before your decker gets to it. :-)

The downstairs telestrian matrix? Yeah, I think we can work with that.

Marrow is actually outside the Mercurial concert before you go into the UB. The idea was getting to give him a story like he wanted, and you do have the option to question Dresden before the Funeral (which is why that was included). There is currently no resolution for the plotline, although I do intend to add a short conversation with Marrow, and have a resolution with Dresden at the finale. This is future state, after I get the crew conversations working correctly.

Question re:Aztechnology side run: Are there plans to change it up? I notice Violet chimes in about wanting to go because Charlse had notes about it, but then it is basically the same as always. I didn't notice anything Violet / Charlse related. I love the idea of building out and hooking all these stray things into the crew and important npcs. I can't wait to see all the additional stuff.

Originally posted by L0g41n:

Marrow is actually outside the Mercurial concert before you go into the UB. The idea was getting to give him a story like he wanted, and you do have the option to question Dresden before the Funeral (which is why that was included). There is currently no resolution for the plotline, although I do intend to add a short conversation with Marrow, and have a resolution with Dresden at the finale. This is future state, after I get the crew conversations working correctly.

Great! I'll have to kep an eye out for Marrow next time I hit the UB.

Originally posted by desorto:

Question re:Aztechnology side run: Are there plans to change it up? I notice Violet chimes in about wanting to go because Charlse had notes about it, but then it is basically the same as always. I didn't notice anything Violet / Charlse related. I love the idea of building out and hooking all these stray things into the crew and important npcs. I can't wait to see all the additional stuff.

There's an interaction in the matrix part of the scene where you learn something about Charles. It opens an alternate ending to the scene.

Matrix is availble only during the combat in the room with the security mage, but I might be able to work out an after combat entrance.

Originally posted by wave.of.atla:

Originally posted by desorto:

Question re:Aztechnology side run: Are there plans to change it up? I notice Violet chimes in about wanting to go because Charlse had notes about it, but then it is basically the same as always. I didn't notice anything Violet / Charlse related. I love the idea of building out and hooking all these stray things into the crew and important npcs. I can't wait to see all the additional stuff.

There's an interaction in the matrix part of the scene where you learn something about Charles. It opens an alternate ending to the scene.

Matrix is availble only during the combat in the room with the security mage, but I might be able to work out an after combat entrance.

I'll have to be more careful about getting my deckers to the jackpoint in time. :-)