Shadowrun Play-By-Post Community

Wraith has been in Seattle barely even a year (and active in the shadows maybe six months), and doesn't have too many friends either (at least among shadowrunners - not on purpose). However she's quite professional generally (I nearly took the Consummate Professional trait), and will make efforts to be able to work with any team - it takes a lot for her to not want to work with someone, and they tend to be more villainous traits. Wraith's also become fairly good at compartmentalizing personal feelings vs professional, by necessity.

In short, don't worry about her not acting as part of a team; while she has some 'lone wolf' personality traits, they are traits much more likely to come up outside of a mission rather than within - her extensive training was all team-based.

Mulpa has been on the streets of Seatle all of his life, but is a relative newcomer to the Shadows. As a Made Man in the Vory, he has spent most of his time in the Barrens taking care of their business, and that is also where he normally lives... in one of the better places available in the Barrens (Middle Lifestyle, Dangerous Area). He is used to working in a team with fellow Vory members that he does not like, and is a team player.

I can see him helping people in his Vory controlled areas from... unauthorized... crime. He is a good conman but if he cannot talk his way out of a problem, he has no problem throwing down with his fists. Tulpa has used him as a contact for his Debt Hindrance with the Vory, and others who take that Hindrance can use it too... he commonly works in debt collection. As someone who grew up on the streets, Mulpa commonly banded with others for protection and for assistance, though the majority of his little gang growing up were taken in by the Vory as well. I can see Mulpa bringing fellow Vory members for medical assistance... or being brought for medical assistance... as another way to be introduced.

Mulpa is loyal to those who help him, but merciless to those who betray him... again a holdover from growing up on the streets. As long as the GM does not use his membership in the Vory to drive a wedge between Mulpa and the other team members, he will not be the one to betray the team. Even with Tulpa, if he has to get... physical... due to debts, he will do it professionally, and with the minimal amount of damage warranted.

To go into more detail with Shrike, he is a Seattle resident from birth, born with a SIN and from a middle class family. He is ex military though quite why nobody seems sure as he is now one of the SINless.


He has been in the shadows for the past few months, starting to earn a reputation. He does not have a standard crew but could have worked with anybody else.

To get to the root of what I think our gm wants:

Concerning party dynamics:
I think Tulpa would make a good face for the group; he can be convincing when he needs to be. Diplomacy is not a specialty of his, but his stats and high iq lend him to having some skill in it. He is obviously a skilled decker and has the techie niche filled for the team. He plans to get a little into rigging but not much. So Matrix actions are where Tulpa will shine. Combat wise outside of the matrix he does not bring much to the table. He has a machine pistol which he knows how to use. He also has a grenade which he is saving as a 'get out of shit with a bang' card. He is also skilled at gunnery. So turrets and vehicle weapons are a way he can currently contribute to a firefight effectively.

Concerning Party relations:
Mulpa:
Mulpa and Tulpa have already worked out a little of their backstory: Tulpa is in debt and Mulpa is in charge of collecting it. To build on that: I'm thinking the two grew up in the same neighborhood. While Mulpa found a job with the Mob, Tulpa slacked off in the matrix and developed a minor drug habit. I'm thinking they have known each other since they were teens one way or another. Maybe not friends but alway rotating in the same circles. Mulpa sees Tulpa as a lowlife who never got out of the hood, and Tulpa sees Mulpa as just another thug for the mob- both thinking the other made the wrong choice. While he would never admit it, Tulpa probably has a descent amount of respect for Mulpa and is a little envious of his position within the mob, even if he actively denies it.

Wraith:
I'm drawing little inspiration in figuring out any past relations between the two. They live in different circles. Maybe Wraith had some small gig that needed a decker unrelated to the yakuza at some point? I don't think this angle needs to forced. Not every pc needs a deep backstory if every other one.

I think they will get along for the most part. Tulpa is also a professional when on the job- barring his habits. If those prove to be a hjnderance I can see wraiths opinion of Tulpa to degrade, if they aren't already affected by his habits.

Shrike:
If we were to have any sort of past, I'm thinking it may have gone like this: Tulpa might have been that 'bad influence' on shrike when they were young- before shrike left the city. Maybe Tulpa got shrike into drugs, or a gang, or just breaking and entering for (drug)money. When Shrike returned tk the city, Tulpa was the one to help secure paperwork somehow: shrike knew Tulpa was a 'bad kid' but probably the type of bad kid that could get what was needed for a SINless.

This post will probably come across as long-winded, I apologize in advance... a lot of the first two sections I've had the opportunity to think on a whole lot, thanks to having Wraith around as a preferred PC for nearly a decade!

Party Role
Wraith's primary MOS would be infiltration and reconnaissance, with strong investment in stealth, B&E and the like; secondary MOS would be 'overwatch' sniper - though her Longarms skill isn't "elite" it's sufficient for a starting-level character. I guess the combination of skills would lean her towards the 'scout-sniper' concept. Is *not* social for an elf (with Impassive further hurting that), but is multi-lingual which can be helpful in many ways, allowing her to act as a translator as well as augmenting her role as a scout (hopefully).

Preferred Work: After a hard-fought battle for independence (which is still ongoing, yay background!), Wraith leans towards work that is helpful to non-organized crime/non-corporate interests, especially if it opposes the drug-trade or people-smuggling. However, she's practical enough to know that working for either of the two above groups is impossible to avoid altogether, and so only actively avoids working for Aztechnology, Monobe International, any of the Seoulpa rings, David Cartel or some of the Triads; additionally, she will actively work against those mentioned, with a very heavy preference for opposing Monobe.

On the flipside, Wraith will be reluctant to work against MCT or Knight Errant /Lone Star but not totally unwilling - just depends on what the job is; of the three, the latter two are motivated by self-interest rather than some sort of loyalty. Lastly, she will outright refuse to work against the Shotozumi-gumi Yakuza, though doesn't show any preference on working for them.

Wraith doesn't have any moral issue with accepting wetwork contracts (unless it falls into one of the no-goes from above), but doesn't seek them out - if it falls into her lap, well... the money is usually good!

Concerning Party relations:
Overall: Only been involved in the local Seattle-region shadow community for roughly six months, having relocated here roughly ten months earlier from the LA area; I should add that LA isn't her place of birth, just the area that she lived in (for longer than six months) most recently. This short time period does limit how well she'd know the others, probably only having worked with any one of them once or twice at most.

Mulpa: Wraith implied in an early IC post that she and Mulpa were at least familiar with each other, though not with any specifics. Doesn't have any particular opinion on organized crime either way, but at the same time wouldn't commit to working for any one group as a priority over the others (and if she did, it would be the Shotozumi yakuza, due to family ties). As such, she could have worked with Mulpa previously through this, so long as whatever the job was, wasn't in direct support of the drug-trade or people-smuggling. Wraith does find Mulpa's prejudice (regardless of how overt it is) to be confusing, as if the whole idea of prejudice being foreign to her; if they end up working together more often, she'll eventually seek to find out why, and maybe even work towards reversing it somehow.

Tulpa: So far in IC posts Wraith hasn't recognized Tulpa, I was thinking that this could well be the first time working together - assuming she trusts (or... at least, doesn't distrust) Mulpa, she'll not have any problems with the hacker to start with. As for habits, for the most part she won't really care unless it seriously affects the job in a negative way; sure she will work against the drug-trade, that generally doesn't trickle down to taking it out on the end-user.

Shrike: With both of them being "newbies" to the Seattle shadow-community, it seems reasonable to think that they could have worked together once or twice previously - possibly more so than the others; are there any particular types of work he leans towards, or groups that he has a preference for working against?

Wraith wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:56 am Concerning Party relations:

Mulpa: Wraith implied in an early IC post that she and Mulpa were at least familiar with each other, though not with any specifics. Doesn't have any particular opinion on organized crime either way, but at the same time wouldn't commit to working for any one group as a priority over the others (and if she did, it would be the Shotozumi yakuza, due to family ties). As such, she could have worked with Mulpa previously through this, so long as whatever the job was, wasn't in direct support of the drug-trade or people-smuggling. Wraith does find Mulpa's prejudice (regardless of how overt it is) to be confusing, as if the whole idea of prejudice being foreign to her; if they end up working together more often, she'll eventually seek to find out why, and maybe even work towards reversing it somehow.

Mulpa has worked security for meeting for the Vory in situations where the security has to be discrete and weapons are not allowed. We could have met professionally during one of those type of meetings... even if you were just brought in as a freelancer... or the Vory have hired you in the past and Mulpa was included in the assignment. Mulpa's prejudice against Elves is based on the standard Fantasy trope... and maybe will become a friendly rivalry with Wraith in the future.

Mulpa's preferred jobs... he isn't too concerned, other than not working against the Vory's interests. Wet work is not his specialty, but he can do it when needed. He is a fast talking conman when needed, and is tough enough and capable enough in combat to handle himself when his fast talking is not enough or when it is the wrong response. He usually infiltrates a location as a Dwarven technician and can then let the others in.

For Gnat, maybe his debt is also to the Vory... and Mulpa has visited him some times for picking up the payments. Another option is perhaps your vehicle was being messed with in Vory territory... without permission. Mulpa would have then run off the culprits and we could have met that way.