EDIT: After a couple days fighting Overgrown Cubicles for vine resin, I never had any combat encounters with Parasitic Vine active.

Then, after using Vile Fragrance, I got the 2x Faceless Worker combat "Faceless men in suits corner you among the cubicles. You can't read their expressions, but it's obvious they're not coming to talk… if they can talk." next turn, still have Parasitic Vine active. Maybe Vile Fragrance counts as anti-office worker effect?

13 Stealth Power is not enough to get a trimming without a fight.
Switchblades do not work (option doesn't show up at all).
22 Stealth Power is not enough to get a trimming without a fight.

You go to town on the lock with your blowtorch. It takes a steady hand and you eventually have to stop when your hands cramp up.

The lock's hot to the touch, but it doesn't seem to have gotten any softer. You're simultaneously glad you don't have to make armor out of it and conscious that it would probably make pretty good armor.

You've earned 4 XP in Reflexes

Amusing:

You weld the armored figure for 2 fire damage.

You dive for cover.
The scientist dives for cover.

You punch the scientist for 10 melee damage.
The scientist sprays a noxious mist at your face, but your air is safely filtered.

You hammer the scientist unrelentingly, dealing 14 melee damage.

You sneak up behind the scientist and punch him square in the kidney for 8 stealth damage.

Unless there's some randomness involved, it looks like high Will can overrule the security outfit check, you only get the corp plant result with low will AND security outfit.

• thorny vine: +2 Melee Power indoors and outdoors
• sprouted vine: +2 Melee Power indoors and outdoors
• Nothing from designer vines or vine spear.
• No change to implant seed with Urban Growth.

• vine bracelet: +2 Etheric Power indoors and outdoors.
• Parasitic Vine: +2 Etheric Power, but does not stack with Vine Bracelet. I wonder if the Vine Bracelet counts as a "vine effect"? Can the bracelet give Vine Eye?
• Parasitic Vine + Vine Husk: +2 Etheric Power, no extra stacking
• Parasitic Vine + Vine Husk + vine bracelet: +2 Etheric Power, no extra stacking

Edit: It does look like having this skill causes Parasitic Vine or Vine Husk to add an additional +2 Etheric Power. Have not tried both at once.

Cutting through that chain isn't going to be an easy feat, even if you had the right tools for the job.

Second try, with blowtorch and ecofuel flamethrower equipped (5 Fire Power).

Although a blowtorch seems like a fine tool for getting through a chain, the actual results frustrate you. Perhaps you need more practice or just steadier hands.

Third try, with steady hand:

With practice and care and steady hands, you're able to cut through the chain with your blowtorch. They clatter to the ground, now little more than scrap metal.

Unfortunately, even with the lock out of the way, it seems like this elevator isn't working anymore. Given some time, you might be able to repair it.

You found: steel ingot

You've earned 8 XP in Perception

New run:
First try, with 23 perception, utility blowtorch equipped, and 6 copies of Weld in my deck:

With practice and care and steady hands, you're able to cut through the chain with your blowtorch. They clatter to the ground, now little more than scrap metal.

Unfortunately, even with the lock out of the way, it seems like this elevator isn't working anymore. Given some time, you might be able to repair it.

You found: steel ingot

You've earned 8 XP in Perception

Two wall turrets dropped 2 polysteel.

Nothing obvious with Dynamite, Nitro, NitroX, Live Grenade, Microrocket.

It doesn't craft with empty injector.

EDIT: killed 6 poseurs, which is consistent with giving +3 points per kill, 15 needed.

• Wave of Protesters: "Join in" — to get protest sign
• Wave of Protesters: "Depress them" w/sign: "As you finish, a few protesters break off from the crowd and wander back towards their dorms." (5 Will)
• Wave of Protesters: "Depress them" w/sign: "As you finish, a few protesters break off from the crowd and wander back towards their dorms." (5 Will)
• Wave of Protesters: "Depress them" w/sign: "As you finish, a few protesters break off from the crowd and wander back towards their dorms." (5 Will)
• Wave of Protesters: "Depress them" w/sign: "As you finish, a few protesters break off from the crowd and wander back towards their dorms." (5 Will)
• Crowd is gone.

SEE ALSO http://metroplexity.wikidot.com/forum/t-185646/wave-of-protesters#post-8331804

You lay into the vines, but they twist and writhe away from your blows. As you reconsider your strategy, they lash back at you with a counterattack.

You chop at the cubicles with your axe for 20 melee damage.

You bury a sprouting seed beneath the ghostly lights. It takes root easily, spreading vines across the cave.

No change to planting seed in Exec pumpkin garden.

Same result from pleading favour of apparition with vine equipped:

One of the vines around her reaches forward, coiling around you and depositing some seeds in your outstretched hand.

You found: 2 sprouting seeds

Parking garage, check the seed:

Where you planted the seed, vines are now twined around the mushrooms' hyphae and the chunks of broken concrete. Although their rate of growth is exceptional, the vines themselves seem thin and fragile.

Well, they can't possibly be getting enough sun down here and if there was any nutrition in the concrete, it probably went into those giant mushrooms.

Still, it's growing and that's pretty cool.

You've earned 2 XP in Will

EDIT: No change planting 12 seeds in the call center cavern / explore the cave / etc.

No obvious change to Implant Seed with vine whip equipped.

I will admit I was tempted to add the ones from the Slags and so forth too, but thought better of it once I saw the list.

Cheers!
Kinak

Not really related — it feels like there should be some way to hack the facial recognition scanner on exec floor, but the server we need to hack is locked behind the facial recognition scanner… hmmm.

Hmmm. Feels like it might be worth another shot since I was in there tinkering with stuff anyway. No promises, though.

Cheers!
Kinak

Cheers!
Kinak

If somebody doesn't get to it sooner I can work on getting recipes and item details put out tomorrow, it's getting a bit late to do it now. Not too hard to figure out most of the recipes from the names, I think.

Oh, and the Crossbow Bolt technique may just be for using ranged techs with a crossbow. I had Single Shot, Explosive Shot, Precise Shot, and Clustered Shot in my deck. Got it in a combat where I only used Precise Shot and Clustered Shot, though. Looks like a pretty hard hitting technique, but either the next technique in your chain following it (or the next time you use Crossbow Bolt later on in the fight, if it was originally a closer) gets replaced by reloading.

• You can't see what badge you have equipped when you get the elevator encounter. With various badge switching / deactivation, I often have the wrong badge equipped. (Weird workaround — you can ask someone in chat to look at your profile.)

• There's a 5 turn delay if you walk away from the elevator, once I realize I have the wrong badge on, it sucks knowing I need to waste 5 more turns there.

• Consequences of having the wrong badge on can be a long delay (eg. if you meant to go to from maintenance to call center but accidentally went to lobby, you either need to unlock lobby elevator for the day or go back parking garage->maintenance elevator — extra ~15-20 turns).

• Naked conduct run not currently possible — I think the ID card for elevator is the only thing preventing this. (Or train conductor hat equipped.)

• You need Executive ID equipped to ride elevator to that floor, but then can present any ID card to the guards at the desk, which is a little odd.

It would be nice to swipe any ID badge at the elevator encounters. It feels okay to have to wear a badge to get in the front door. There would still be consequences for wandering around the offices without appropriate ID badge.


Not really related — it feels like there should be some way to hack the facial recognition scanner on exec floor, but the server we need to hack is locked behind the facial recognition scanner… hmmm.

2 View + 2 Attack works as well.

• Little Eddie's back room
• Zaibatsu store
• Face of the dragon quest
• Mushroom trader in the sewers.
• Eurasian arms dealer gave me In the Jungle and then no other new items.
• Deep hunter trader for shark teeth

Trying some hacking as well.

Kinak says: "Yeah, they're definitely on the sneaky side, but I'm confident you'll start finding them :)"

Smuggled in a basic weapon with equal ranged and stealth power, just got a roomsweeper.

Tried intercepting some Silver Courier drone shipments. Got the antique results for the needler, fragile blade, watch, coat, and pants. No sign of an antique crossbow so far.

Raised a ruckus on the Executive Floor, no signs of any new opponents or crossbows up there. Wasn't really expecting it, since it doesn't seem quite a Midgard security thing, but thought I'd give it a try.

Tried looking through news updates for any clues, but nothing new there.

Searched through both normal and prototype crates in the Midgard Warehouse for a while.

Stirred the hornet's nest in the Records Vault in case maybe crossbows were a less damaging alternative before bringing out the miniguns, but doesn't seem to be the case.

No new stuff added to the wares of the Bum Selling Stuff, even with a watch equipped.

base+FP -> dam
10+0 -> 1
10+4 -> 4
10+5 -> 5
10+6 -> 5* hypothetical
10+7 -> 5* hypothetical
10+8 -> 5
10+9 -> 5* hypothetical
10+10 -> 5* hypothetical
10+11 -> 5* hypothetical
10+12 -> 5
10+13 -> 6

• Doing no damage for a round "the smoke growing sparser" - reduces max HP.
• Doing normal damage "Smoke pours of your body, dealing X damage and joining the cloud around the hands" - increases max HP.
• A containment suit prevents the smoke pouring out of your body from joining the cloud, allowing you to do damage without increasing it.

From data above:

• in containment suit, I did nothing twice (grow sparser x2), then 28 dam was not enough to kill, but 32 was.
• not in containment suit, I did nothing twice (grow sparser x2), then 44 damage was NOT enough to kill.

I'll keep collecting data next run.

You try a different approach, exploiting a new way into Roy's One Stop and opening up new opportunities.

The eyes peer into your programs as though judging you for the Manual Search you have not yet used.

The swordsman program swings at your avatar, its blade burning with pixelated fire. You feel the blade as a strange presence, like an itch in a limb you've never had.

Your vision blurs momentarily and you can see the schematics of your coat, as though they're burning on the inside of your eyelids. There's so much more there than you ever imagined, pouring into your mind.

Roy's One Stop takes note of your actions, increasing the Alert by 2. Without the way you slipped through the system, that could easily have been 2 alert worse.

You upgraded your equipped shirt to coat of masterful circuitry.

I had 1 hardening remaining at the point at which I reconnected here. I did not manage to use [[Forge Blade]] at any point during the connection. I did have 3 instances of Swirling Circuitry in my active deck. I've done a bit of combat using it, but not a huge amount. I used an OJ charge to do the unlock of the coat of defensive circuitry.

Effects:
Industrial Mohawk (9)
Fearsome Visage (9)
Steady Hand (10)
Sugar Rush (15)
Pep in your Step (19)
Frigid Bones (20)
Artist's Perspective (20)
Studious Nature (20)
PowerCode (25)
Limitless Justification (28)
Blue Eyes (48)
Ardent Investigator (98)
Lotus Map (98)
Ocean Sight (111)
Bone Spikes (112)
Burning Vision (112)

Equpment:
Hat: tactical goggles
Weapon: memory sidearm
Offhand: expanded handheld
Shirt: coat of defensive circuitry
Pants: mimetic pants
Gadget: blazing PDA

Programs:
daily tester
intrusive jammer
remote crash script
remote indexer
spectrum crash script
staring blade program

Modifiers:

Power
4 Bonus Power when the Defender has no Technique
11 Etheric Power
3 Evasion Power
4 Melee Power
12 Ranged Power
2 Stealth Power
1 Power to Techniques Using Will
3 Fire Power

Defense
-7 Etheric Defense
-2 Melee Defense
3 Ranged Defense
4 Stealth Defense

Attributes
+3 Perception
-18 Reflexes
+16 Will

Encounters
Moderately Increased Chance of Choice Encounters
Impressively Increased Chance of Etheric Encounters
Slightly Increased Chance of Computer Encounters

Net
8 Code Finesse
5 Hardening
9 Memory
Neural Link
6 Processor
Sight Link: 1
3 Incognito

Other
+2 XP each Combat
2 First Aid

I did have an orange juice charge active, but it seems from previous successful attempts that wasn't necessary. Since after getting the not quite successful message on a previous reset I couldn't seem to make it any further, I didn't want to risk anything and so put on all the effects that seemed potentially relevant from past successes, and making sure I had negative etheric defense. So can't narrow the conditions down too much further, but at least I can provide another data point.

Hat: consort crown
Weapon: antique dueling pistol
Offhand: downtown executive ID
Shirt: office suit coat
Pants: office dress pants
Gadget: retromodern scope
Effects: 6 Pep in your Step, 15 Executive Alarm, 136 Ocean Sight

• The pot's soil is dark and earthy-smelling.
• The pot's soil is dark and smells like a Southside dumpster.
• The pot beneath is filled with stinking mud.

It was still stinking mud today, but the tree image and messaging was healthy. I tossed on antique scope on my equipment, just in case, leaving me with this:

Hat: twitch visor
Weapon: memory sidearm
Offhand: expanded handheld
Shirt: coat of defensive circuitry
Pants: mimetic pants
Gadget: antique scope

And the following effects:
Spectral Curse (7)
Ocean Sight (31)
Limitless Justification (159)
Emerald Gift (239)

No change with either lotus bauble equipped.

No change with Flicker of Peace.

EDIT: Now I am getting "Sniff and glare" without High Brow at all. I have:
Dripping with Gore (46)
Muffled Sight (47)
Same while no equipment. Multiple opponents (Phoenix, Painted Woman, Third Eye Ganger.)

EDIT, I now realize the "normal" form of this is "You sniff and glare at opponent with contempt." But there's a special "sniff" form "You sniff and glare at opponent with unconcealed contempt." Looks like this was a copy and paste error (by me) from a while ago.

You chop the guard for 3 melee damage, but the fiery confusion prevents all of the damage. TARGETING GUARD 1
The guard shoots you for 1 ranged damage.
The guard surrounds you with a jet from his flamethrower.

I thought that could be a feature of all Directional Evasion since Fiery Containment is directional, but it looks like Open Parasol does not defend other opponents.

You shoot the specter for 2 ranged damage. TARGETING SPECTER 1
The specter drifts forward, straight through you. Your entire body is wracked with chills.
The specter opens her parasol towards you.

What do we call this? Wide evasion? Distracting evasion?

Other techniques that could work this way:

• Candle in the Dark — illuminating an opponent reduces stealth ability no matter who trying to attack.
• Clashing Blow - blocks their attack.
• Flowing Glow - blocks their attack.
• Lesson Of Flowers - attack is reduced.
• Light In The Shadow - attack is reduced.
• Moodlight Blinding - attack is reduced.
• Scatter Jacks?
• Smother - attack is reduced.
• Defensive Burn - opponent backs away.
• Defensive Prayer - attack is reduced.
• Flittering Charm - illuminating opponent to reduce stealth.
• Light of the Eye - "area" attack is reduces — check this one.
• Posture - distraction.
• Release The Hounds - maybe?
• Tubegrown Thoughts - attack is reduced.
• Bullet for Ginn - distraction.
• Contempt maybe??
• Owl's Mask (Technique) - attack is reduced.
• Channel The Deep sober - attack is reduced.
• Echo Of Doves - attack is reduced.
• Winged Hunter - the hunter blocks damage.

Some evasion techniques are "dodges", some are "armor" and some inconvenience/distract the opponent as they try to attack. The third category are things that could work no matter who you target.

Of those above, Light of the Eye is the only one really used by opponent in multi-opponent fight.

You wait for a bit, but can't match the patience of the pair already waiting. You have things to do, after all.

You've earned 2 XP in Will

Same result with ancient timepiece equipped, and train conductor uniform, ancient flavor, spectral curse, cowl of the dead, shawl of the dead.

You call out, invoking the twisted hounds that haunt the ether. Your pair of hounds circle the mannequin and tear into it with their spectral teeth for 1 etheric damage.
The mannequin draws runes with its blood, calling a lupine shape to bite you for 8 direct damage.

EDIT:

"Flesh forces, reaching to grab you" shows up vs

• Aid from Above (8, etheric)
• Encased Gaze (7, etheric)
• Fenris Command (7, etheric)
• Microrocket (8, fire)
• Lucky Shot (7, ranged)

"Flesh forces, tearing into you" show up vs

• Explosive Shot (6, ranged)

You urgently recite an incantation from your tome.
The mannequin shocks you with an icy touch for 1 etheric damage, but your incantation blocks no damage.