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Message no. 1
From: Blackadder blkadder@****.net
Subject: Deckers As Vital Members of Shadowrun Teams.....[Was Re: Note To Mongoose]
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 21:51:52 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Berman <jberman@*****.com>
so... well... i dunno, what would a merc team need with matrix
overwatch in
|the middle of madagasgar?
|and most of the time my PC's end up just using there "Freelance
Decker"
|contacts anyway.
|i dont see much need for deckers in my campaign, although if i were
playing
|in a standard SR2 campaign i mayve put more stock in them


-----BlackAdder Adds-----

You're not thinking in broad enough terms.
In a truly coordinated team.cel, the decker can perform the
function of The Comm Hub, the focal point of the camera eyes and mike
ears, as well as maintain a tracer for each member of the cell. Since
he's not in the middle of the action, and is receiving information
from all the participants, he's able to see the bigger picture, and
plan and improvise more efficient strategies, as he's able to detect
any plans the opposition is mounting, and design counters for them, so
his people don't fall into any traps such as pincer movements and the
like. Things the guy in the field wouldn't easily divine as he's too
busy trying not to get his head shot off.
Also if a member goes down, the decker pull up topographical
plans of the terrain, whether urban or country, and advise the others
the best routes to take to retrieve them, or to head for extraction.
This also applies to ingress and egress from a target, alerting his
cel mates [depending on if he's able to tap into the security system,
or has several powerful cameras mounted on a mobile command van aimed
at the target area] steering them around knots of resistance, cause
thew name of the game [usually] is 'get & gone'.
Even better if one of the members is rigged for simsense, that
way the decker also gets any sensory data that person is experiencing,
little things that might escape their notice like odd smells, and
advise reactions to them before it's too late.
All this requires alot of software to simultaneously sift and
analyze all incoming data, and a competent decker to make sense of it
all, possibly even with leadership skills.
I know this is what my more experience, elite paramilitary units
utilize, much to several of my players regret <EGMG>.
Message no. 2
From: Jim, Mary-Louise & Charles redmen@*****.com
Subject: Deckers As Vital Members of Shadowrun Teams.....[Was Re: Note To Mongoose]
Date: Thu, 04 Mar 1999 22:12:52 -0500
I have to agree with Mr. Berman
Deckers are worthless
they come 10 cents for are six pack
as soon as one dies you just shake and open a new one hand them a radio
shack special slap them over the head and then pick them off the floor
and till them what you need
if they complain about black ic tell them that your foot will hurt alot
more
i personally see them as npc's (decking takes to much time if done by a
pc)

note:
this is supposed to be funny so have a good laugh...
please



just feel the dabu man (if you dont know you dont know)




Blackadder wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Berman <jberman@*****.com>
> so... well... i dunno, what would a merc team need with matrix
> overwatch in
> |the middle of madagasgar?
> |and most of the time my PC's end up just using there "Freelance
> Decker"
> |contacts anyway.
> |i dont see much need for deckers in my campaign, although if i were
> playing
> |in a standard SR2 campaign i mayve put more stock in them
>
> -----BlackAdder Adds-----
>
> You're not thinking in broad enough terms.
> In a truly coordinated team.cel, the decker can perform the
> function of The Comm Hub, the focal point of the camera eyes and mike
> ears, as well as maintain a tracer for each member of the cell. Since
> he's not in the middle of the action, and is receiving information
> from all the participants, he's able to see the bigger picture, and
> plan and improvise more efficient strategies, as he's able to detect
> any plans the opposition is mounting, and design counters for them, so
> his people don't fall into any traps such as pincer movements and the
> like. Things the guy in the field wouldn't easily divine as he's too
> busy trying not to get his head shot off.
> Also if a member goes down, the decker pull up topographical
> plans of the terrain, whether urban or country, and advise the others
> the best routes to take to retrieve them, or to head for extraction.
> This also applies to ingress and egress from a target, alerting his
> cel mates [depending on if he's able to tap into the security system,
> or has several powerful cameras mounted on a mobile command van aimed
> at the target area] steering them around knots of resistance, cause
> thew name of the game [usually] is 'get & gone'.
> Even better if one of the members is rigged for simsense, that
> way the decker also gets any sensory data that person is experiencing,
> little things that might escape their notice like odd smells, and
> advise reactions to them before it's too late.
> All this requires alot of software to simultaneously sift and
> analyze all incoming data, and a competent decker to make sense of it
> all, possibly even with leadership skills.
> I know this is what my more experience, elite paramilitary units
> utilize, much to several of my players regret <EGMG>.
Message no. 3
From: Kyoto the Angel dann1@********.erols.com
Subject: Deckers As Vital Members of Shadowrun Teams.....[Was Re: Note To Mongoose]
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 23:23:25 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim, Mary-Louise & Charles <redmen@*****.com>
To: shadowrn@*********.org <shadowrn@*********.org>
Date: Thursday, March 04, 1999 10:10 PM
Subject: Re: Deckers As Vital Members of Shadowrun Teams.....[Was Re: Note
To Mongoose]


>I have to agree with Mr. Berman
>Deckers are worthless
>they come 10 cents for are six pack
>as soon as one dies you just shake and open a new one hand them a radio
>shack special slap them over the head and then pick them off the floor
>and till them what you need
>if they complain about black ic tell them that your foot will hurt alot
>more
>i personally see them as npc's (decking takes to much time if done by a
>pc)
>
>note:
>this is supposed to be funny so have a good laugh...
>please
>
>
>
>just feel the dabu man (if you dont know you dont know)
>
>
>
>
Oh my....finally got around to getting on the list did you?

Confirm my suspiscions....is Mr. Berman....Justin?

Kyoto the Angel
AIM: AngelKyoto
ICQ: 29713335
Message no. 4
From: Marc Renouf renouf@********.com
Subject: Deckers As Vital Members of Shadowrun Teams.....[Was Re: Note To Mongoose]
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 14:56:59 -0500 (EST)
On Thu, 4 Mar 1999, Blackadder wrote:

> From: Michael Berman <jberman@*****.com>
>
> > i dunno, what would a merc team need with matrix overwatch in
> > the middle of madagasgar?
>
> You're not thinking in broad enough terms.

What he said.

> In a truly coordinated team.cel, the decker can perform the
> function of The Comm Hub..

I too am running a campaign in which my players are playing
mercenaries (only in Southeast Asia as opposed to Madagascar), and this is
effectively what the deacker has become. In addition to being the comm
specialist, he's basically their electronic warfare expert, and has
expanded his role within the team. He's saved their butts a few times.
The thing that makes the difference is how the character was
created. Far from being an electro-weenie with no useful skills, he's a
B&E (that's "breaking and entering" for the jargonally impaired)
specialist with significant experience. The party once staged a break-in
of an office building that involved crossing a drag-line from one building
to another. They were concerned about how the "weak, useless" decker
would get across - until he showed up with his own well-worn rope and
rapelling gear, that is. He can pick locks, bypass keypads and
cardreaders, rappel, climb, and parachute. He has the second highest
Stealth skill in the party (the highest being their physad point-man).
His typical modus operandi is to gain physical entrance to a facility in
order to gain console access, making his decking much more effective.
He's a crack shot with an HK-227.
Because of his experience and his wide variety of skills, he is
far from useless, even in a mud-eating, bush-crawling, ammo-wasting
firefight deep in a Vietnamese jungle.

Marc

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