You're an operator in a dystopian cyberpunk future. Explore the world of Null City and beyond as you struggle to survive and thrive against corporate power, savage street gangs, twisted chrome acolytes, and a world stuck in dark stasis.
METABLANK: A Cyberpunk Quest
- Thread starter MidnightMantra
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INTRODUCTION
IN THE NEAR FUTURE - THE BOUNDARIES OF NATIONALITY AND CONCIOUSNESS ARE DEFINED BY CORPORATE NETWORKS
THE MASSES EXIST IN A HYPERPROLETARIETIZED STATE WITHOUT HOPE OF ESCAPE RENDERED REDUNDANT BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
THE FOOTPRINTS OF THE CORPORATION CAN BE FOUND AS FAR AS DISTANT WORLDS AND AS INTIMATELY AS YOUR OWN MIND
WITHIN THIS SOCIAL FRAMEWORK ARE THE OPERATORS - CYBERPUNKERS WHO ARE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THE INTRICACIES OF CORPORATE HEGEMONY
THEY ARE TALENTED MASTERS OF CYBERSPACE AND TECHNOLOGY ADMIRED AND HATED ALIKE BY THE PEOPLE
San Francisco Megalopolis Sprawl
Null City, Nu-America, 85 CY (2147 CE)
HISTORY OF THE WORLD
It was the final age of the pre-corporate world divided between two superpowers bent on pushing their respective ideologies to supremacy over all nation-states and peoples. Born out of the ruin of monarchy and aristocracy brought on by the First and Second World Wars. It could be said that this period was the last time humanity aspired toward utopian futures regardless of how wrong or misguided the details might have been. The Cold War would coincide with revolutionary technological advancement such as crude organic integration with electronic circuitry, primitive artificial intelligence capable of managing complicated missile defense networks, direct linking between the human brain and weapon control systems. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) developed in the 1970s would become the National Security Coordination Network (NASCNET) in the 1980s. While networks like NASCNET were forbidden for commercial use, the language about what consisted of commercial use was unclear and vague, subsequently corporations were able to circumvent legal concerns and establish their own networks for private commercial purposes. The early internet would be established in the 1990s.
These early technological marvels that would become the mainstays of the cyberpunk future were naturally the product of military research. These programs were largely hidden from the public but they would increasingly become accessible by consumers as corporate power grew more influential. Corporations had become the cornerstones of capitalist economics not just in the United States of America but inside Europe and Japan as well. Their influential position within society fueled primarily through regular everyday corruption but also by fierce competition with the Soviet-Chinese alliance which had sparked a deadly serious arms race which had expanded into the domain of outer space by the 1970s. The capitalist governments relied on private enterprise to develop new weaponry and defense systems. It relied on private enterprise to mass produce these weapons to equip their militaries. Not only that but private enterprise was relied upon to provide necessities and luxury goods to the population at sufficiently cheap price. In other words, the markets were controlled by private enterprise with the institution of the corporation being the major players.
The state was for all extensive purposes subordinated to the whim of the corporations albeit that reality was not so direct and obvious until after the defeat of the Omsk Pact (Soviet Union and People's Republic of China). By the Early 21st Century, the Cold War had twisted the geopolitical landscape into some kind of monstrous gordian knot. Both sides were as hostile as ever, there had been numerous proxy wars on Earth, Luna, and Mars with the conflict expanding inside the Asteroid Belt. There had been limited nuclear exchanges between proxies in Africa and South America. Modified supersoldiers, advanced weapon systems guided by AI, and netrunning spycraft had become commonplace. But every advancement simply tightened the knot. The conflict however was about to end stunningly with a victory for the capitalist powers when the final straw to break the camel's back occurred when the Soviet Union invaded Iran. By the 21st Century, fossil fuels were rapidly being replaced by fusion energy batteries to power motorized vehicles. The oil producing countries of the Middle East were suffering from economic and societal collapse. Islamic fundamentalism was widespread and naturally being utilized by the United States and Soviet Union as proxies.
In 2009, the CIA achieved one of their greatest victories when they overthrew the Soviet Union aligned Islamic Socialist Republic of Iran and installed a friendly pro-western government. Furthermore, nuclear weapons were secretly placed inside Iran shortly after in a shocking escalation of the Cold War. For months there were negotiations and emergency meetings of the United Nations as the peoples of the world awaited their certain destruction. People began flooding out of the cities after talks ended in December, the wealthy escaped to their luxurious subterranean bunkers, the rest of the population made do with what they could. There was rioting in the streets and attempted overthrows of government in Great Britain and Japan. Finally the alarm sirens rang out in hundreds of cities and villages as thousands of nuclear warheads flew across the skies from the Soviet Union and China. People waited then waited some more until several hours passed on December 19th, 2009. For those stuck outside the reality of what had just happened could be seen as skies were filled with a dazzling array of explosions which would forever make firework displays boring light shows.
What people were seeing was the top secret, Artemis Anti-Aerospace Defense System (AAADS) eradicating with a 97% success rate, the entire nuclear arsenal of the communist bloc within a span of a single evening. Artemis Version 1.87 to be exact, the product of a collaboration between MetaSoft and Quaden Aerospace. A anti-aerospace missile defense system capable of disabling the electronic components of nuclear warheads and aerocrafts by using the most advanced AI available at the time. The missiles would then destroy their targets without triggering nuclear detonation. Artemis AADS had nullified what had caused generations of existential terror amongst billions of people in the span of several hours. People left their hiding spaces and began celebrating in the streets as media reports began clarifying what had just happened. By the end of the week, the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China agreed to end the hostilities with the capitalist powers and open of their borders to liberalization.
These early technological marvels that would become the mainstays of the cyberpunk future were naturally the product of military research. These programs were largely hidden from the public but they would increasingly become accessible by consumers as corporate power grew more influential. Corporations had become the cornerstones of capitalist economics not just in the United States of America but inside Europe and Japan as well. Their influential position within society fueled primarily through regular everyday corruption but also by fierce competition with the Soviet-Chinese alliance which had sparked a deadly serious arms race which had expanded into the domain of outer space by the 1970s. The capitalist governments relied on private enterprise to develop new weaponry and defense systems. It relied on private enterprise to mass produce these weapons to equip their militaries. Not only that but private enterprise was relied upon to provide necessities and luxury goods to the population at sufficiently cheap price. In other words, the markets were controlled by private enterprise with the institution of the corporation being the major players.
The state was for all extensive purposes subordinated to the whim of the corporations albeit that reality was not so direct and obvious until after the defeat of the Omsk Pact (Soviet Union and People's Republic of China). By the Early 21st Century, the Cold War had twisted the geopolitical landscape into some kind of monstrous gordian knot. Both sides were as hostile as ever, there had been numerous proxy wars on Earth, Luna, and Mars with the conflict expanding inside the Asteroid Belt. There had been limited nuclear exchanges between proxies in Africa and South America. Modified supersoldiers, advanced weapon systems guided by AI, and netrunning spycraft had become commonplace. But every advancement simply tightened the knot. The conflict however was about to end stunningly with a victory for the capitalist powers when the final straw to break the camel's back occurred when the Soviet Union invaded Iran. By the 21st Century, fossil fuels were rapidly being replaced by fusion energy batteries to power motorized vehicles. The oil producing countries of the Middle East were suffering from economic and societal collapse. Islamic fundamentalism was widespread and naturally being utilized by the United States and Soviet Union as proxies.
In 2009, the CIA achieved one of their greatest victories when they overthrew the Soviet Union aligned Islamic Socialist Republic of Iran and installed a friendly pro-western government. Furthermore, nuclear weapons were secretly placed inside Iran shortly after in a shocking escalation of the Cold War. For months there were negotiations and emergency meetings of the United Nations as the peoples of the world awaited their certain destruction. People began flooding out of the cities after talks ended in December, the wealthy escaped to their luxurious subterranean bunkers, the rest of the population made do with what they could. There was rioting in the streets and attempted overthrows of government in Great Britain and Japan. Finally the alarm sirens rang out in hundreds of cities and villages as thousands of nuclear warheads flew across the skies from the Soviet Union and China. People waited then waited some more until several hours passed on December 19th, 2009. For those stuck outside the reality of what had just happened could be seen as skies were filled with a dazzling array of explosions which would forever make firework displays boring light shows.
What people were seeing was the top secret, Artemis Anti-Aerospace Defense System (AAADS) eradicating with a 97% success rate, the entire nuclear arsenal of the communist bloc within a span of a single evening. Artemis Version 1.87 to be exact, the product of a collaboration between MetaSoft and Quaden Aerospace. A anti-aerospace missile defense system capable of disabling the electronic components of nuclear warheads and aerocrafts by using the most advanced AI available at the time. The missiles would then destroy their targets without triggering nuclear detonation. Artemis AADS had nullified what had caused generations of existential terror amongst billions of people in the span of several hours. People left their hiding spaces and began celebrating in the streets as media reports began clarifying what had just happened. By the end of the week, the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China agreed to end the hostilities with the capitalist powers and open of their borders to liberalization.
It's difficult to define this period as a series of conflicts between corporate alliances and national governments because of the nature of these conflicts. Initially corporations would have some kind of dispute with one government of the other and utilize their media influence to manipulate the electorate of a given nation-state. Sometimes corporations would hire mercenaries to secretly blackmail and intimidate hostile politicians into taking friendlier positions. This dynamic would spread across the world until a kind of low intensity conflict became the normal state of affairs. People generally were aware that corporate power was out of control but they were living with a particularly acute version of capitalist realism. Only the early cyberpunkers and netrunners seemed capable of striking a blow against both corporation and national government but most of them didn't care about the future just their own financial benefit.
Cybertech for lack of a better term to encompass everything i've mentioned in this history and those that I haven't was still mostly utilized by the ruling elite and their militaries. It was illegal for the general public to modify their bodies with organic circuitry or genemods. Meanwhile AI had advanced to the point that common labor was being replaced by robotics creating a vast class of permanently unemployed people. These nu-proles or just proles who had been alienated from their labor were now not even allowed to perform labor. A great malaise blanketed this new society which promised to bring technological utopia but instead brought nihilism and despair. The heroes of this time would be the cyberpunkers, those individuals clever and courageous enough to steal cybertech and utilize it enrich themselves and help the people. A mythology developed around them albeit often based on exaggeration and outright deception. Meanwhile the corporations continued to erode the power of the nation-state not just by fighting governments but also one another over market shares, technology theft, corporate sabotage.
A new order developed between corporations, there were no rules about inter-corporate warfare as the concept had never really been explored. By the 2030s, state power was on the defensive allowing corporations to resolve their disputes without intervention of state militaries. There were numerous corporate wars over use of shipping lanes, right of exploitation inside specific marketspaces, petty squabbles over denegration by advertisements which they still called libel, et cetera. In the crossfire was regular civil society which lived in a kind of greyzone where both corporate and state power were expected to resolve the problems of society. As small town economics went away and third world economies became hollowed out, hundreds of millions of migrants flooded into first world countries. They moved exclusively to the major cities where they sought work or at least public welfare, they arrived to find both of these things difficult to come by. These migrants built vast shantytowns on the outskirts of the old cities which marked the beginning of the megacities. In these massive ghettos and slums, the nu-proles formed criminal organizations to survive and gang warfare became endemic to these places.
If you're familiar with cyberpunk then you can recognize the bleak cyberpunk future i've laid out already but what about the future beyond this aforementioned state of affairs? The future world that our quest takes place in would partially be defined by creation of the Tri-Lateral Compact (2062). By 2062, enough corporations had put aside their differences to work together in striking the final blows against the old nation state which had already lost much of its legitimacy. The 1st NET had existed since the late 20th Century, utilized by everyside of any conflict with dark networks protected by encryption. Ironically the forces of nationhood had become heavily reliant on criminal elements to compete with corporate hackers but there were few cyberpunkers still willing to work with them. They had lost most of their economic and military power over the decades and their leadership were utterly corrupt and incompetant. In 2060 an alliance of corporations going by the moniker, Committee for the Advancement of Corporate Interests (CACI) would destroy the last remaining dark networks and take full control of the NET. It a similar fashion as to how they had defeated the Soviet Union with nullifying their nuclear arsenal they had nullified the only remaining weapon their enemies had left.
The Tri-Lateral Compact named after the three parties it sought to represent: Corporation, North America, Europe. It created a supranational organization governed by committee of statesman and CEOs eventually encompassing seven continents. While North America and Europe were permitted autonomous soverignty the other regions affected were directly under the rule of their respective corporate masters with varying degrees of autonomy. There were several zones of control: Nu-America (including Mexico and Canada), Association Européenne de Libre-échange (AEL), Kyōsei Kinshi Zōn (East Asian Non Coercion Zone or KKZ), Federação Brasileira (Brazil + Client States), Protectorat d'Afrique de l'Ouest (West Africa Protectorate), and Périphérique Congolais-Zambien. Notably beyond some insignificant zones and more lawless regions, the one place unmentioned is the Russian Federal Union (RFU). During the peak of the Fifty Seven Years, the pro-corporate government was overthrown by nationalist fascists led by Maxim Raskonikov who established himself as a technocratic dictator. He has long opposed foreign corporate power while maintaining a precarious balance of power with native corporations within Russia.
With the global order firmly rearranged and the reformation of the NET into the so called Second NET there arrived for the first time in generations an era of peace and prosperity at least for the corporations and politicians of the autonomous zones. The first age of the cyberpunker had perished but a new age was beginning who would carve out regions of cyberspace for themselves and those willing to pay. Cybertech has by this time become more accessible and widespread due to the extensive modification of veteran soldiers and abundance of older second hand tech that the corporations threw away. The first megacities were rife with crime and misery for the majority but supply chains were stabilizing. A sort of techno-feudalism developed between corporations, crime syndicates, street gangs, even political revolutionary movements. For those brave enough, they could seek their fortune on the off-world colonies which were rumored to be blighted with strange alien lifeforms but contained untold riches.
Cybertech for lack of a better term to encompass everything i've mentioned in this history and those that I haven't was still mostly utilized by the ruling elite and their militaries. It was illegal for the general public to modify their bodies with organic circuitry or genemods. Meanwhile AI had advanced to the point that common labor was being replaced by robotics creating a vast class of permanently unemployed people. These nu-proles or just proles who had been alienated from their labor were now not even allowed to perform labor. A great malaise blanketed this new society which promised to bring technological utopia but instead brought nihilism and despair. The heroes of this time would be the cyberpunkers, those individuals clever and courageous enough to steal cybertech and utilize it enrich themselves and help the people. A mythology developed around them albeit often based on exaggeration and outright deception. Meanwhile the corporations continued to erode the power of the nation-state not just by fighting governments but also one another over market shares, technology theft, corporate sabotage.
A new order developed between corporations, there were no rules about inter-corporate warfare as the concept had never really been explored. By the 2030s, state power was on the defensive allowing corporations to resolve their disputes without intervention of state militaries. There were numerous corporate wars over use of shipping lanes, right of exploitation inside specific marketspaces, petty squabbles over denegration by advertisements which they still called libel, et cetera. In the crossfire was regular civil society which lived in a kind of greyzone where both corporate and state power were expected to resolve the problems of society. As small town economics went away and third world economies became hollowed out, hundreds of millions of migrants flooded into first world countries. They moved exclusively to the major cities where they sought work or at least public welfare, they arrived to find both of these things difficult to come by. These migrants built vast shantytowns on the outskirts of the old cities which marked the beginning of the megacities. In these massive ghettos and slums, the nu-proles formed criminal organizations to survive and gang warfare became endemic to these places.
If you're familiar with cyberpunk then you can recognize the bleak cyberpunk future i've laid out already but what about the future beyond this aforementioned state of affairs? The future world that our quest takes place in would partially be defined by creation of the Tri-Lateral Compact (2062). By 2062, enough corporations had put aside their differences to work together in striking the final blows against the old nation state which had already lost much of its legitimacy. The 1st NET had existed since the late 20th Century, utilized by everyside of any conflict with dark networks protected by encryption. Ironically the forces of nationhood had become heavily reliant on criminal elements to compete with corporate hackers but there were few cyberpunkers still willing to work with them. They had lost most of their economic and military power over the decades and their leadership were utterly corrupt and incompetant. In 2060 an alliance of corporations going by the moniker, Committee for the Advancement of Corporate Interests (CACI) would destroy the last remaining dark networks and take full control of the NET. It a similar fashion as to how they had defeated the Soviet Union with nullifying their nuclear arsenal they had nullified the only remaining weapon their enemies had left.
The Tri-Lateral Compact named after the three parties it sought to represent: Corporation, North America, Europe. It created a supranational organization governed by committee of statesman and CEOs eventually encompassing seven continents. While North America and Europe were permitted autonomous soverignty the other regions affected were directly under the rule of their respective corporate masters with varying degrees of autonomy. There were several zones of control: Nu-America (including Mexico and Canada), Association Européenne de Libre-échange (AEL), Kyōsei Kinshi Zōn (East Asian Non Coercion Zone or KKZ), Federação Brasileira (Brazil + Client States), Protectorat d'Afrique de l'Ouest (West Africa Protectorate), and Périphérique Congolais-Zambien. Notably beyond some insignificant zones and more lawless regions, the one place unmentioned is the Russian Federal Union (RFU). During the peak of the Fifty Seven Years, the pro-corporate government was overthrown by nationalist fascists led by Maxim Raskonikov who established himself as a technocratic dictator. He has long opposed foreign corporate power while maintaining a precarious balance of power with native corporations within Russia.
With the global order firmly rearranged and the reformation of the NET into the so called Second NET there arrived for the first time in generations an era of peace and prosperity at least for the corporations and politicians of the autonomous zones. The first age of the cyberpunker had perished but a new age was beginning who would carve out regions of cyberspace for themselves and those willing to pay. Cybertech has by this time become more accessible and widespread due to the extensive modification of veteran soldiers and abundance of older second hand tech that the corporations threw away. The first megacities were rife with crime and misery for the majority but supply chains were stabilizing. A sort of techno-feudalism developed between corporations, crime syndicates, street gangs, even political revolutionary movements. For those brave enough, they could seek their fortune on the off-world colonies which were rumored to be blighted with strange alien lifeforms but contained untold riches.
For most of human history, cultural change took centuries and one's identity was molded into stone by a few brief childhood years. In this world the old ethnic groups either faded away or merged into one another to form something new. A century of migrations had made new ethnic identities but they were relatively unimportant compared to what class and subculture you belonged to. Corpos taking meetings in their glittering towers, street proles inhaling some new designer booster drug in an alley way, nomads roaming the desolate countryside stealing whatever they can from the corporate supply chains, scavengers kidnapping and ripping people apart for their chrome, mutated horrors hiding away underground or in designated ghettos, new age cyberpunkers riding the waves of the Second NET serving the highest bidder, strange techno-cultists worshipping old and new gods waiting for some alien starship to come pick them up, drugged out vagabonds naked on the street begging for help, children orphaned by poverty or petty warfare, pop idols swaying their hips to one of their new lazerpop tunes, reality television more crude and decadent than ever. This was the world of the late 21st Century or the first years of the Compact's dominance over Earth.
It truly was the End of History as nothing significant geopolitically would really happen. Everything the Tri-Lateral Compact built would run like one of their automated street sweepers. Even the dirt and oceans would be touched by the almighty hand of the corporations with the expansion of cities along manmade built peninsulas, hills, plains, and islands. The climate which had been damaged by industrialization would be saved by the move to nuclear fusion energy but the utilization of nano-weapons in some petty squabble or the other would paint the skies ethereal colors. Environmental sabotage could bring biblical flooding to otherwise cutting edge metropolises. There was of course the first contact with civilized aliens which saw the first xeno-tech introduced to human spaces. It appeared to us that alien civilization was just as grim and despotic as human civilization. The An'tak Empire, Trag Supremacy, and Pral Union of Incorporated Merchants (PUIM) have been our only contacts with all of them fairly hostile but incapable of breaking down the vast array of AI defense networks protecting humanity. To the fortune of humanity our information technology has proven far superior to that of the aliens.
So where does our quest start? The year is 85 CY and we begin at least in what is officially known as the San Francisco Megalopolis Sprawl or what is commonly referred to as Null City. Null because other then it sounding cool, it also operates as an autonomous corporate city within Nu-America meaning that outside law is invalidated here. It is the third largest city on Earth. The first being, Shanghai or Blue Gate City or Lán Mén Chéng, the second being Lagos or the Neon Lagoon.
It truly was the End of History as nothing significant geopolitically would really happen. Everything the Tri-Lateral Compact built would run like one of their automated street sweepers. Even the dirt and oceans would be touched by the almighty hand of the corporations with the expansion of cities along manmade built peninsulas, hills, plains, and islands. The climate which had been damaged by industrialization would be saved by the move to nuclear fusion energy but the utilization of nano-weapons in some petty squabble or the other would paint the skies ethereal colors. Environmental sabotage could bring biblical flooding to otherwise cutting edge metropolises. There was of course the first contact with civilized aliens which saw the first xeno-tech introduced to human spaces. It appeared to us that alien civilization was just as grim and despotic as human civilization. The An'tak Empire, Trag Supremacy, and Pral Union of Incorporated Merchants (PUIM) have been our only contacts with all of them fairly hostile but incapable of breaking down the vast array of AI defense networks protecting humanity. To the fortune of humanity our information technology has proven far superior to that of the aliens.
So where does our quest start? The year is 85 CY and we begin at least in what is officially known as the San Francisco Megalopolis Sprawl or what is commonly referred to as Null City. Null because other then it sounding cool, it also operates as an autonomous corporate city within Nu-America meaning that outside law is invalidated here. It is the third largest city on Earth. The first being, Shanghai or Blue Gate City or Lán Mén Chéng, the second being Lagos or the Neon Lagoon.
TRONEK SLUMS; a half-abandoned slum jungle built by heartland refugees fleeing economic despair and nomad scavengers, there was an effort to integrate this place into the greater sprawl economic system with limited success, its streets have long been dominated by gangs organized around strongpersons who were able to offer protection and economic stability to those living in their neighborhoods
NEO-VERSAILLES; the paradise of rich vagabonds, cutting edge artists, nihilist dead-eyed gossip girls and boys with nothing better to do then get boosted and fuck with nu-proles like they were their personal play-things, it was once part of the working class zone that consisted of Wire City before gentrifying upwardly mobile corpos moved in three generations ago
NEO-VERSAILLES; the paradise of rich vagabonds, cutting edge artists, nihilist dead-eyed gossip girls and boys with nothing better to do then get boosted and fuck with nu-proles like they were their personal play-things, it was once part of the working class zone that consisted of Wire City before gentrifying upwardly mobile corpos moved in three generations ago
SISTER ABIGAIL'S; a dive bar where operators, fixers, and low-lifers from Tronek Slums congregate to let off steam and do biz, it was named after a catholic nun who took her vows after working as an operator during the Third Great Migration in the 20s CY
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BASIC MECHANICS
Skill checks are used whenever the PCs are attempting some feat of skill that doesn't involve combat. You roll 2d6 then add your skill and attribute bonues (when applicable) then compare the result to a predefined Difficulty Rating. If you equal or go over the DR you succeed.
Saving throws are rolled when heroes try to dodge some dire fate like poisoning, cyberware hacks, stumbling plunges into fathomless pits, and diving for cover against an exploding grenade. You roll 1d20 and try to equal or exceed one of the four saving throw targets listed below. These saving throw targets are dependent on your level, the higher your level the easier it is to succeed.
Physical saves are made when your PC tries to resist poison, endure exhaustion, fight off a physical effect, or withstand bodily suffering. You subtract the better of your STR or CON modifiers from your Physical save target.
Evasion saves are made when your PC tries to pull back from a yawning pit, dive out of agrenade blast, catch a plunging comrade, or otherwise use quick reflexes to avert some catastrophe. You subtract the better of your INT or DEX modifiers from your Evasion save target.
Mental saves are made when your PC tries to resist neurological hacking, fight off mental effects, or avoid psychological harm. You subtract the better of your WIS or CHAR modifiers from your Mental save target.
Luck saves are made when only blind luck can influence the outcome of a danger and your only hope is that death is looking for someone else. No attribute modifies your save target.
Hit Points represents your physical wellbeing, if you reach 0 HP then you're either dead, dying, or helpless depending on the kind of harm inflicted. Starting HP is determined by rolling 1d6 then adding your CON modifier.
Normal Attack Bonus is determined by level and modifies attack rolls. Level 1 characters start with a +1 Normal Attack Bonus.
I'm not going to write out all the rules here but I will mention briefly how Combat works. There's a number of scenarios that determines who gains initiatives which I wont get into. However making an attack at its most basic level follows this formula: 1d20 + attack bonus + weapon attribute + relevant combat skill + gear modifiers + special situations.
I will introduce mechanics as they become relevant and provide the best combat actions instead of having players choose. Obviously quests are more about storytelling than mechanics, you're playing a game sort of but it's a choose your own adventure rather than actual tabletop roleplaying.
Saving throws are rolled when heroes try to dodge some dire fate like poisoning, cyberware hacks, stumbling plunges into fathomless pits, and diving for cover against an exploding grenade. You roll 1d20 and try to equal or exceed one of the four saving throw targets listed below. These saving throw targets are dependent on your level, the higher your level the easier it is to succeed.
Physical saves are made when your PC tries to resist poison, endure exhaustion, fight off a physical effect, or withstand bodily suffering. You subtract the better of your STR or CON modifiers from your Physical save target.
Evasion saves are made when your PC tries to pull back from a yawning pit, dive out of agrenade blast, catch a plunging comrade, or otherwise use quick reflexes to avert some catastrophe. You subtract the better of your INT or DEX modifiers from your Evasion save target.
Mental saves are made when your PC tries to resist neurological hacking, fight off mental effects, or avoid psychological harm. You subtract the better of your WIS or CHAR modifiers from your Mental save target.
Luck saves are made when only blind luck can influence the outcome of a danger and your only hope is that death is looking for someone else. No attribute modifies your save target.
Hit Points represents your physical wellbeing, if you reach 0 HP then you're either dead, dying, or helpless depending on the kind of harm inflicted. Starting HP is determined by rolling 1d6 then adding your CON modifier.
Normal Attack Bonus is determined by level and modifies attack rolls. Level 1 characters start with a +1 Normal Attack Bonus.
I'm not going to write out all the rules here but I will mention briefly how Combat works. There's a number of scenarios that determines who gains initiatives which I wont get into. However making an attack at its most basic level follows this formula: 1d20 + attack bonus + weapon attribute + relevant combat skill + gear modifiers + special situations.
I will introduce mechanics as they become relevant and provide the best combat actions instead of having players choose. Obviously quests are more about storytelling than mechanics, you're playing a game sort of but it's a choose your own adventure rather than actual tabletop roleplaying.
You take on the role of an operator completing missions for money and sometimes other reasons. MISSIONs generally affects the primary storyline in addition to giving you money and possibly loot. GIGs are like side-missions that also gives you money or loot but doesn't really affect the primary storyline. INTERLUDEs are moments that take place outside of the actual MISSION or GIG that can add to the storyline or character development. GIGs are usually automated meaning you don't have to cast a write-in vote for it. I will simply come up with a plan of action and roll dice to see if you succeed or not.
MISSIONs and GIGs come with TASKs that act as guidance as well as things to accomplish in order to close out the MISSION or GIG. MISSIONs typically have multiple tasks while GIGs just have one or two. It's important with this quest's format to ask questions and think creatively about accomplishing tasks. Generally voting sessions will deal with only one TASK at a time unless otherwise stated. Voting is write-in based where players are encouraged to come together and develop a plan of action. Sometimes these are simple plans but often they will require complex execution. Write-In votes themselves should not be longer than five to ten sentences each written as a single paragraph.
MISSIONs and GIGs come with TASKs that act as guidance as well as things to accomplish in order to close out the MISSION or GIG. MISSIONs typically have multiple tasks while GIGs just have one or two. It's important with this quest's format to ask questions and think creatively about accomplishing tasks. Generally voting sessions will deal with only one TASK at a time unless otherwise stated. Voting is write-in based where players are encouraged to come together and develop a plan of action. Sometimes these are simple plans but often they will require complex execution. Write-In votes themselves should not be longer than five to ten sentences each written as a single paragraph.
To give a basic rundown, every system has a Security Rating which you have to beat to access the system. You also need the right combination of PROGRAM SUBJECTS + VERBS. For example you can't Blind a Datafile. Subjects are broad categories of things like security cameras, doors, et cetera and Verbs are what you're trying to do to them.
Hacking requires a skill check unless it's mundane. You roll 2d6 then add your INT modifier then add your VERB modifier. The easiest Security Rating is something like a regular person's private home network which is 7. You can see how it works at the basic level. I need to add in your VERB modifiers now that you ask the question.
Hacking requires a skill check unless it's mundane. You roll 2d6 then add your INT modifier then add your VERB modifier. The easiest Security Rating is something like a regular person's private home network which is 7. You can see how it works at the basic level. I need to add in your VERB modifiers now that you ask the question.
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CHARACTER UPLOAD (updated 8/16/2024)
ACQUAINTANCES: Patricia Hardwick (Middle Manager at Auralife), Karl Ramirez (Experienced Vehicle Mechanic at AutoQuik)
CONTACTS: Ossian O'Reilly (Fixer in Tronek Slums)
CONTACTS: Ossian O'Reilly (Fixer in Tronek Slums)
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INTERLUDE - SLUM TOURISM
INTERLUDE - SLUM TOURISM
DATE: 07/12/85
LOCATION: Tronek Slums
The holopavement glitches back and forth like the sleepy eyes of a street vagabond. You round the corner of Gibson and Laury passing through your old neighborhood. You see young gangers affiliated with your old gang, the November 9th Society watching you from a distance although they cannot possibly know who you are. You left the gang five years ago which is longer than most of them would manage to survive on the streets of the Tronek Slums. Not that it would have been an issue, the man you're going to meet is an old compatriot who has survived by letting other people die for him instead of dying for others.
A ganger kid spits on the ground next to your feet and raises the crooked nine. You think about how quickly things can change on a global scale while neighborhoods like these can remain the same as they were five and ten years ago. You remember stories your uncle told you about the old neighborhood and how the holopavement glitched even then. That street prostitution and gang warfare were traditions followed by generations of families. You glance inside an old television shop blanketed by neon light, some of these people still watch television rather than experience VR simulations. They gotten more immersive than the old school braindances nowadays and are all the rage most everywhere else.
You arrive at the office of Osian Reilly an old friend of yours and one of his ganggoons escorts you upstairs. If you didn't know who this guy was you would look around at the clean air freshened office and think he was some corpo middle manager. He notices your look of surprise and says, "I've tried giving the office a professional makeover, it makes the corpo agents comfortable. Have a seat."
"The gang working for corpos now or just you?" you ask
"Just me and really the gang has worked with corpos in the past just not in your time. Which actually gets to why I requested your services."
He takes out an inhaler and gives himself a boost. "A new variant on Madeleine, my synapses are bit numbed out, needed a new chemformula, stimulates the memory centers like the first hit."
"You mentioned something about bougie rich kids hanging around a nightclub on the north side of Tronek?" you inquire
"Yup, not just any rich kids, straight up neo-aristocrats from Versailles. Kind of unusual for those kind to move around these parts but fucking hipsters amirite?"
"But you don't think they're just hanging out, you think they might be doing biz?"
"Oh I know they're doing biz which wouldn't bother me, not our territory, didn't pay it much attention until I got some more intel on what's been happening on the northside."
"Dead Head Mafia's kingpin about to kick the bucket I hear." you say
Osian laughs, "You always kept your ear to the street. You're correct of course. Albert Fish XXI, notorious creep and scumbag, ruler of the northside for seventy two years, guy remembers the days of the old United States of America. Turns out no amount of chrome can prevent death from old age granted it extended his lifespan to one hundred thirty two years."
You respond, "Ok so you have a bunch of neo-aristocrat punks running around the northside doing some kind of biz at the same time that Albert Fish is on his death bed. How're they connected?"
"Well turns out that one of those neo-aristocrats probably the leader of the bunch is genetically related to the old kingpin. It also turns out that this kid has legal paperwork certified by some corpo entitling him to Albert Fish's entire estate. Of course just the legal businesses but we both know they're fronts to the Dead Header's criminal activities. One of the Dead Headers, a lieutenent by the name of Carmen Ruiz is supposed to be line for succession but if this kid is crawling around the place then she'll be out on her ass. She wants somebody to kidnap the guy and get him to relinquish rights to the estate to her. That's where you come in."
You rub your cranial jack and smile, "And what's the payment old friend?"
"Let me be direct, I know you have fifty bucks to your name after that botch over in Wire City. Not your fault, we all get fucked but you owe me $10,000 for the equipment I loaned you. I don't mean to impolite but I can't let that fly. But for you, I will do this favor and have you do this job for me, i'll even cut you in for $1,000. After you complete the job, i'll consider us square. What do you say?"
"I have no problem paying back a friend, consider me on the job."
tl'dr: a group of neo-aristocrat hipsters have been moving around Tronek Slums
-> northside crime kingpin is dying and leader of neo-aristocrats is related to him ->
neo-aristocrat has legal paperwork entitling him to kingpin's estate -> Carmen Ruiz is set to succeed kingpin and wants you to kidnap neo-aristocrat and force him to transfer over property rights
|||||||||
MISSION TASKS:
1. Collect INTEL by asking questions around town and cyberspace. You probably want to set up surveillance at the Apex Mirage Motel.
2. You're going to need at least $3,500 to hire the bare minimum crew for this job. You'll need to do a side-job or maybe ask your acquaintances for a loan.
3. Hire 1 Getaway Driver and at least 1 Muscle. Use your acquaintances or the NET to find these people. A driver will cost you $2,500 and 1 Muscle will cost $1,000 each.
4. If nothing else comes up then proceed with the kidnapping of Tarby Dybek.
5. Get Tarby Dybek to relinquish his rights to the Dead Hand Mafia's legal businesses.
[ ] WRITE-IN
Voting should be done by typing up a single paragraph of no more than five - ten sentences indicating what your plan of action is. Do not use plan format but give your vote a name so that others can easily identify it. This is a pretty straight forward mission so that we can get use to how the quest will be played. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK ME.
DATE: 07/12/85
LOCATION: Tronek Slums
The holopavement glitches back and forth like the sleepy eyes of a street vagabond. You round the corner of Gibson and Laury passing through your old neighborhood. You see young gangers affiliated with your old gang, the November 9th Society watching you from a distance although they cannot possibly know who you are. You left the gang five years ago which is longer than most of them would manage to survive on the streets of the Tronek Slums. Not that it would have been an issue, the man you're going to meet is an old compatriot who has survived by letting other people die for him instead of dying for others.
A ganger kid spits on the ground next to your feet and raises the crooked nine. You think about how quickly things can change on a global scale while neighborhoods like these can remain the same as they were five and ten years ago. You remember stories your uncle told you about the old neighborhood and how the holopavement glitched even then. That street prostitution and gang warfare were traditions followed by generations of families. You glance inside an old television shop blanketed by neon light, some of these people still watch television rather than experience VR simulations. They gotten more immersive than the old school braindances nowadays and are all the rage most everywhere else.
You arrive at the office of Osian Reilly an old friend of yours and one of his ganggoons escorts you upstairs. If you didn't know who this guy was you would look around at the clean air freshened office and think he was some corpo middle manager. He notices your look of surprise and says, "I've tried giving the office a professional makeover, it makes the corpo agents comfortable. Have a seat."
"The gang working for corpos now or just you?" you ask
"Just me and really the gang has worked with corpos in the past just not in your time. Which actually gets to why I requested your services."
He takes out an inhaler and gives himself a boost. "A new variant on Madeleine, my synapses are bit numbed out, needed a new chemformula, stimulates the memory centers like the first hit."
"You mentioned something about bougie rich kids hanging around a nightclub on the north side of Tronek?" you inquire
"Yup, not just any rich kids, straight up neo-aristocrats from Versailles. Kind of unusual for those kind to move around these parts but fucking hipsters amirite?"
"But you don't think they're just hanging out, you think they might be doing biz?"
"Oh I know they're doing biz which wouldn't bother me, not our territory, didn't pay it much attention until I got some more intel on what's been happening on the northside."
"Dead Head Mafia's kingpin about to kick the bucket I hear." you say
Osian laughs, "You always kept your ear to the street. You're correct of course. Albert Fish XXI, notorious creep and scumbag, ruler of the northside for seventy two years, guy remembers the days of the old United States of America. Turns out no amount of chrome can prevent death from old age granted it extended his lifespan to one hundred thirty two years."
You respond, "Ok so you have a bunch of neo-aristocrat punks running around the northside doing some kind of biz at the same time that Albert Fish is on his death bed. How're they connected?"
"Well turns out that one of those neo-aristocrats probably the leader of the bunch is genetically related to the old kingpin. It also turns out that this kid has legal paperwork certified by some corpo entitling him to Albert Fish's entire estate. Of course just the legal businesses but we both know they're fronts to the Dead Header's criminal activities. One of the Dead Headers, a lieutenent by the name of Carmen Ruiz is supposed to be line for succession but if this kid is crawling around the place then she'll be out on her ass. She wants somebody to kidnap the guy and get him to relinquish rights to the estate to her. That's where you come in."
You rub your cranial jack and smile, "And what's the payment old friend?"
"Let me be direct, I know you have fifty bucks to your name after that botch over in Wire City. Not your fault, we all get fucked but you owe me $10,000 for the equipment I loaned you. I don't mean to impolite but I can't let that fly. But for you, I will do this favor and have you do this job for me, i'll even cut you in for $1,000. After you complete the job, i'll consider us square. What do you say?"
"I have no problem paying back a friend, consider me on the job."
tl'dr: a group of neo-aristocrat hipsters have been moving around Tronek Slums
-> northside crime kingpin is dying and leader of neo-aristocrats is related to him ->
neo-aristocrat has legal paperwork entitling him to kingpin's estate -> Carmen Ruiz is set to succeed kingpin and wants you to kidnap neo-aristocrat and force him to transfer over property rights
|||||||||
MISSION TASKS:
1. Collect INTEL by asking questions around town and cyberspace. You probably want to set up surveillance at the Apex Mirage Motel.
2. You're going to need at least $3,500 to hire the bare minimum crew for this job. You'll need to do a side-job or maybe ask your acquaintances for a loan.
3. Hire 1 Getaway Driver and at least 1 Muscle. Use your acquaintances or the NET to find these people. A driver will cost you $2,500 and 1 Muscle will cost $1,000 each.
4. If nothing else comes up then proceed with the kidnapping of Tarby Dybek.
5. Get Tarby Dybek to relinquish his rights to the Dead Hand Mafia's legal businesses.
[ ] WRITE-IN
Voting should be done by typing up a single paragraph of no more than five - ten sentences indicating what your plan of action is. Do not use plan format but give your vote a name so that others can easily identify it. This is a pretty straight forward mission so that we can get use to how the quest will be played. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK ME.
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WE'RE OPEN FOR BUSINESS
PLEASE ASK ANY AND EVERY QUESTION YOU MIGHT HAVE
PLEASE ASK ANY AND EVERY QUESTION YOU MIGHT HAVE
afreaknamedpete
High-Dimensional Overseer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
Okay, to clarify, how good is DC at his job, or more saliently how far can we push hacking?
Like, say, if one were to hack into the target's car, lock the doors, and drive it to the landfill— would that be trivial? Or almost impossible?
Could DC set up surveillance on his target through hotel security, or would that be considered difficult?
Maybe another question would be this: we have Level 1 in a few skills. Namely, Level 1 Shoot, Level 1 Stab, Level 1 Connect, Level 1 Notice, etc.
How does that compare to the rest of the world? If everything is Level 1 are we as good of a hacker as we are a stabber or a marksman?
Does Level 1 Shoot mean that DC reasonably expects to be able to hit a moving target, or does it just mean that DC knows which end of the gun the bullet comes out of?
Does Level 1 Connect mean that DC is a moderately experienced NetRunner or is he flying by the seat of his pants?
I'd advocate the first step, before even gathering a crew, is to have a modicrum of an idea who we're dealing with, both DC's capabilities, and the target's. The target has 5 goons, and presumably some business in this part of town, it'd be good to know their general capabilities before any mass recruitment spree occurs.
Like, say, if one were to hack into the target's car, lock the doors, and drive it to the landfill— would that be trivial? Or almost impossible?
Could DC set up surveillance on his target through hotel security, or would that be considered difficult?
Maybe another question would be this: we have Level 1 in a few skills. Namely, Level 1 Shoot, Level 1 Stab, Level 1 Connect, Level 1 Notice, etc.
How does that compare to the rest of the world? If everything is Level 1 are we as good of a hacker as we are a stabber or a marksman?
Does Level 1 Shoot mean that DC reasonably expects to be able to hit a moving target, or does it just mean that DC knows which end of the gun the bullet comes out of?
Does Level 1 Connect mean that DC is a moderately experienced NetRunner or is he flying by the seat of his pants?
I'd advocate the first step, before even gathering a crew, is to have a modicrum of an idea who we're dealing with, both DC's capabilities, and the target's. The target has 5 goons, and presumably some business in this part of town, it'd be good to know their general capabilities before any mass recruitment spree occurs.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ANSWERED #1
He's still early in his career, I'd say he's a cut above the rest but marginally so. To give a basic rundown, every system has a Security Rating which you have to beat to access the system. You also need the right combination of PROGRAM SUBJECTS + VERBS. For example you can't Blind a Datafile. Subjects are broad categories of things like security cameras, doors, et cetera and Verbs are what you're trying to do to them.
Hacking requires a skill check unless it's mundane. You roll 2d6 then add your INT modifier then add your VERB modifier. The easiest Security Rating is something like a regular person's private home network which is 7. You can see how it works at the basic level. I need to add in your VERB modifiers now that you ask the question.
I would say hacking into the target's car, locking the doors, and driving it to the landfill would have a SR of 7. At Lvl 1 this will be a fairly easy task that you still have to try at. This leads me to something else. Most everything is divided into analog nodes that you have to jack into. There is some tech that you can hack into stuff at 30 feet away but that's it. Now you CAN hack into one node then enter cyberspace and go from there but yeah.
Most regular people don't have these skills at all or maybe they might have Lvl 1 in one or two skills maximum. So as I said, you're early in your career and you're a cut above the rest but marginally so. Leveling maxes out at 10 so use that as the standard level which we become Johnny Badass.
Level 1 means you're an experience profession in the skill and better than most. Skill Levels max out at 4 which is when you're Johnny Badass at that particular skill.
This requires conducting some surveillance as neither Carmen Ruiz or Ossian Reilly can give you those details. I suggest asking around town and the NET, maybe even set up near the Apex Mirage Motel and see what you can gather.
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afreaknamedpete
High-Dimensional Overseer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
I guess I'll start with a skeleton plot.
[X] Surveillance
Take your 50 bucks (hopefully enough), rent a room in the hotel under a false name. Attempt to access penetrate the hotel's security network to conduct surveillance. Seek out the following information if possible:
1) How long is the target staying in the Hotel?
2) What are the general strengths of his guards (goons off the streets, mercs, or scary people)? The goal is to estimate how much Muscle DC thinks he needs if shit goes sideways.
3) Does the target every end up in the hotel alone (goons go home, etc), or does ever travel with a smaller group, or even alone?
4) When does the target tend to leave and return every day?
5) Does the target have any obviously exploitable habits (ie, takes drugs at night, a VR addiction that would mean there are periods of time when he's in sensory deprivation, a habit of hiring sex workers)?
6) What is the target's 'biz'?
[X] Surveillance
Take your 50 bucks (hopefully enough), rent a room in the hotel under a false name. Attempt to access penetrate the hotel's security network to conduct surveillance. Seek out the following information if possible:
1) How long is the target staying in the Hotel?
2) What are the general strengths of his guards (goons off the streets, mercs, or scary people)? The goal is to estimate how much Muscle DC thinks he needs if shit goes sideways.
3) Does the target every end up in the hotel alone (goons go home, etc), or does ever travel with a smaller group, or even alone?
4) When does the target tend to leave and return every day?
5) Does the target have any obviously exploitable habits (ie, takes drugs at night, a VR addiction that would mean there are periods of time when he's in sensory deprivation, a habit of hiring sex workers)?
6) What is the target's 'biz'?
I went ahead and changed the Mission Intel to Mission Tasks which I think will give better guidance to the players.
FYI voting is open up until I actually post an update. So more than one person can offer up a vote/plan.
SURVEILLANCE - SLUM TOURISM
SURVEILLANCE - SLUM TOURISM
DATE: 07/14/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: North Side Tronek Slums, Apex Mirage Motel
Apex Mirage Motel, North Side Tronek Slums
DATE: 07/14/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: North Side Tronek Slums, Apex Mirage Motel
Apex Mirage Motel, North Side Tronek Slums
The rancid stench of the Apex Landfill penetrates your nose as you approach the Apex Mirage Motel. In this place the direction of the wind is a common topic of conversation. A dense wilderness of apartment buildings, seedy nightclubs, brothels, and illicit pharmacies surround you. For you this is normal, in fact you feel like you're home. Delinquent youth with laser edged blades and modified firearms patrol their territory, all Dead Headers. They roll their eyes back as if they were corpses, that is their sign of brotherhood. Eventually you see the Apex Mirage Motel, a scattering of dust heads, pimps, and poverty cases congregate at the entrance. It's exterior tattooed with bullet holes and explosion burns.
You enter without incident and manage to get a room for the night at $45. The room smells of stale booster fumes and thousands of burned cigarettes. It has a bed but you're weary of its sheets and the bathroom only has a standing shower like some third world backwater. Black stains line the wall, probably blood stains or maybe a guy got lucky with an exceptional joytoy. You quickly begin searching for any kind of node to jack into but you only find the wires to the television. You're going to have to find the manager's office which is probably behind the front desk area. It's not the hardest of tasks, you're not a shinobi but you have plenty of experience sneaking into apartments and houses from your past life.
It's after midnight when you decide to sneak your way past the front desk clerk. The clerk is inattentive and sleepy but sneaking past the front desk clerk that is so close to the manager's office is somewhat difficult. You have a plan though, you realized you need something to distract the clerk and take him away from the desk. You see a lighting node on the far end of the lobby away from the prying eyes of the clerk, there are security cameras at this motel, it would be a waste of money anyway. You jack-in to the node and DEACTIVATE MACHINE.
(2d6 = 5 + 1 (INT MODIFIER)) + 1 (DEACTIVATE VERB MODIFIER) = 7 VS 5 DR = SUCCESS
The lighting inside the lobby goes dark and the clerk sighs and says, "God fucking damn it, I just wanted an easy fucking night." She walks down the hall presumably to check on the electrical fuses. You wait until she's gone and come to the door to the manager's office and open it without issue. Inside are old rusted lockers and desk with computer, you run to the computer and jack-in. The security system is crude and easy to crack. You break in and access security camera footage and download it into your cyberdeck. You log out and exit the manager's office and return to your room.
For the next few hours you analyze the footage. You recognize Tarby Dybek and count five local street youths running shifts in front of Room 307. You figure they're outcasts, probably fuck-ups who were too young to get flatlined looking for work. There's a man and women wearing designer clothing, Dybek's rich-kid hipster friends. You see that the unaffiliated street thugs are only carrying rudimentary blades and light pistols with nothing special when it comes to armor protection. The rich-kids are carrying Light Pistols but not armor protections, stupid fuckers. Tarby Dybek is the same as his friends, go damn amateurs, you're surprised they haven't been flatlined yet.
5 Unaffiliated Street Thugs each with 5 HP and 10 Armor. Armed with Light Pistols (1d8 dmg) and Knives (1d4 dmg).
2 Neo-Aristocrats each with 5 HP and 0 Armor. Armed with Light Pistols (1d8 dmg)
Tarby Dybek has 5 HP and 0 Armor. Armed with Light Pistol (1d8 dmg).
Now that you know what you're up against, you study their behaviors. The thugs are relaxed and inattentive which is to your advantage. Tarby Dybek and his two friends are erratic with their schedules, over the previous week they have mostly appeared intoxicated and jovial. All three of them however inevitably return to Room 307 sometimes with company, most likely joytoys. This sort of behavior isn't unexpected from neo-aristocrats, they're known as decadent shitheads. Tarby Dybek though is clearly the most focused and kept together of the three, the other two just seem along for the ride. Otherwise, you see nothing that could be exploited to blackmail the target, it looks like you're going to have to use straight violence on this mission.
||||||
[ ] Write-In
Refer to the Mission Tasks, what is your next plan of action?
This is the extent of what surveillance can get you. It's clear you will need more than 1 Muscle. The next task is to gather up the money to pay for that muscle. You can hit up your acquaintances or search the NET to see if there's any side-jobs available. Side-jobs are as intensive has MISSIONS, they're usually pretty easy, and require a single IC post by me.
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afreaknamedpete
High-Dimensional Overseer
- Location
- Above the Sequences
- Pronouns
- HE/HIM/THEY
How detailed or how many tasks do you want covered per write in? Like literally just target the next step or give a fully detailed breakdown of everything? As in do you want write ins that try to be comprehensive (ie, you want a plan for hiring, a plan for surveillance, a plan for the mission, etc.) or just the immediate next step?
Um, first blush thoughts. 5 Low Level Goons and 2 Hanger-ons. Essentially nobody professional, nobody who's truly loyal. Which means I'd argue our best bet is an intimidation ploy. Rolling dice in a shootout with 7 people is just asking for RNG to fuck DC over.
I see two immediate ideas.
Plan A: Hire a BIG MUSCLE dude. He doesn't need to be competent, he just needs to look competent and look intimidating. The plan is to brazenly barge in, tell everyone else to get lost, and count on the fact that the target has no true loyal minions. It's cheap, it's more likely to be effective than engaging in a shoot out in the middle of a hotel with a bunch of goons, and we could probably get away with only hiring one guy.
Plan B: Try to catch the target in the car and hijack it into the landfill, then use Muscle waiting at the landfill site to beat up whoever is in the car with him.
Tentative plan to try for:
[X] Saving 2500 Bucks
Find their car, wait for it to be unattended, attempt to penetrate security. If we can hack in a remote control module, great. At the minimum see if we can do a hack 'hotwire' to see if we can implant a program that lets us take control of the car at a later date, even if we have to be in the steering wheel. Also to rip off Phantom Liberty, see if we can control the car from the trunk. The intent is this: have DC assess if he can use the target's car as a getaway vehicle rather than hiring an entirely separate crew member.
Second, have DC see if the car possesses GPS data. Find out where the car is going and for how long.
Thirdly, see if the car has camera data. If we can see where he's going and who he's talking to all the better.
Maybe as an alternative plan, something like this?
[ ] Ask Daddy O'Reilly
You have a personnel problem. Fixers deal with personnel problems. DC's main goal here is to square his debt with his fixer without breaking the bank. If we're spending 3500 to gain 1000 that's a raw deal anyways, so it just makes sense to have the Muscle's 'payment' just be our part of the cut. DC gets paid in being squared away with O'Reilly. Fundamentally O'Reilly is a local Fixer, so he should know who we need. Just ask for someone LOCAL (ie, cheap), someone BIG AND SCARY (maximum intimidation), and if we can get away with it, ideally someone ARMORED. We need less bang and more staying power and intimidation.
I see no reason not to do both, but I'm not sure how much you want us to go into detail with for a plan. Do you want more or less from the write ins? A few examples or pre-fab voting options of what you are looking for would go a long way.
Um, first blush thoughts. 5 Low Level Goons and 2 Hanger-ons. Essentially nobody professional, nobody who's truly loyal. Which means I'd argue our best bet is an intimidation ploy. Rolling dice in a shootout with 7 people is just asking for RNG to fuck DC over.
I see two immediate ideas.
Plan A: Hire a BIG MUSCLE dude. He doesn't need to be competent, he just needs to look competent and look intimidating. The plan is to brazenly barge in, tell everyone else to get lost, and count on the fact that the target has no true loyal minions. It's cheap, it's more likely to be effective than engaging in a shoot out in the middle of a hotel with a bunch of goons, and we could probably get away with only hiring one guy.
Plan B: Try to catch the target in the car and hijack it into the landfill, then use Muscle waiting at the landfill site to beat up whoever is in the car with him.
Tentative plan to try for:
[X] Saving 2500 Bucks
Find their car, wait for it to be unattended, attempt to penetrate security. If we can hack in a remote control module, great. At the minimum see if we can do a hack 'hotwire' to see if we can implant a program that lets us take control of the car at a later date, even if we have to be in the steering wheel. Also to rip off Phantom Liberty, see if we can control the car from the trunk. The intent is this: have DC assess if he can use the target's car as a getaway vehicle rather than hiring an entirely separate crew member.
Second, have DC see if the car possesses GPS data. Find out where the car is going and for how long.
Thirdly, see if the car has camera data. If we can see where he's going and who he's talking to all the better.
Maybe as an alternative plan, something like this?
[ ] Ask Daddy O'Reilly
You have a personnel problem. Fixers deal with personnel problems. DC's main goal here is to square his debt with his fixer without breaking the bank. If we're spending 3500 to gain 1000 that's a raw deal anyways, so it just makes sense to have the Muscle's 'payment' just be our part of the cut. DC gets paid in being squared away with O'Reilly. Fundamentally O'Reilly is a local Fixer, so he should know who we need. Just ask for someone LOCAL (ie, cheap), someone BIG AND SCARY (maximum intimidation), and if we can get away with it, ideally someone ARMORED. We need less bang and more staying power and intimidation.
I see no reason not to do both, but I'm not sure how much you want us to go into detail with for a plan. Do you want more or less from the write ins? A few examples or pre-fab voting options of what you are looking for would go a long way.
Generally just 1 task per write-in unless otherwise stated. Once we get momentum we can start doing multiple tasks at once I think.
Yes, fighting these goons directly with just David Cervantes might not be wise although could still be possible. It's why I strongly recommend hiring some folks to help you out.
As for the Field Sleuth option, I will say that nothing in there could damage his reputation. Remember that Tarby Dybek is a rich kid fucking around in a very poor area of the city. Rich people are doing futuristic Jeffrey Epstein shit all over the place and unless he possessed secret documents or tech that could damage a big player, then he probably isn't getting in trouble. I'll go ahead and say that isn't the case in this situation.
freakypete, I'll go ahead and merge your plans together and come up with an update. The obstacle here is that you need money if you're going to hire muscle which you don't have. You're going to need to do something to get money. You've played Cyberpunk 2077, you know how Padre or Regina Jones would hit you up and have you steal a car or kill somebody? That's what we're going to do for some scratch. I'm already working on a Gig update.
Update is coming later tonight. I've been busy.
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GIG - ROB DRUG DEALER
GIG - ROB DRUG DEALER
DATE: 07/15/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: Central Tronek Slums, Sister Abigail's (OPERATOR BAR)
Places like Tronek need their own folk heroes. Their lives imagined or otherwise lives on inside the imaginations of the people. Giving hope that if somebody from their neighborhood could make it out and prosper then maybe the could too. You look at one of these people or at least their photograph which hangs on the wall of their namesake, Sister Abigail's. A legendary bad-bitch from the migration days of the twenties and thirties. An operator that managed to steal one of the original prototype Yomiguchi Neural Switch-Boxes before the first one went on the market in 34 CY. A woman described as nu-trad reformed catholic who retired, took her vows, and bought an old dollhouse that she would convert into Sister Abigail's, the main operator bar in the Tronek Slums.
Portrait Of Sister Abigail
You're waiting for a guy you don't know, somebody the bouncer linked you up with for a gig. He says the guy is reliable, his cousin from around the block, jacked animal who just back into town from doing a five year prison bid. The gig itself isn't too complicated, rob a local drug dealer of his stash. The drug dealer you learn goes by the name PacoX and he's a small timer really, unaffiliated which doesn't bode well for him around these streets. He says if you flatline him, he'll pay you an extra grand. The bouncer's cousin shows up around 9 PM. He looks about thirty years old, minimal chrome, only a cranial jack but he looks every bit of 6 Five, 280 pounds that his datafile description said he was. Probably boosted over the years with at least ten gallons of muscle juice both legal and illicit.
GIG - ROB DRUG DEALER
DATE: 07/15/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: Central Tronek Slums, Apartment Block 567
He gave his name as Hayawan, an alias undoubtedly. The two of you drive an hour to Apartment Block 567 during which there is talk of prison violence and how to get along in prison. Despite his appearance, Hayawan is affable and you question whether or not this guy could have ever been locked up for five years. His face carries the scars and tattooing of a lie of crime and violence. His stories are made believable by the emotional weight that burden the Nu-English gutter language he tells them with. Eventually you reach the apartment block, an old city project covered by patchy neon light. The sound of the street market is subdued and the persistant beat of some new aged trap music can be heard on the air.
With light pistols in hand, the two of you take the elevator to the thirty fifth floor. Hawayan takes charge of the plan, it turns out he knows PacoX, they were cell-mates on Alcatraz Island.
"I'll talk to him, he thinks we're buddy buddy but I know he's the motherfucker who ratted me out, got me three more years on the island. He's expecting to sell a pound of Glitch Supremo to us, that's our story. This is a straight run and gun, his two goons are junkies with knives, he has a submachine gun but I doubt the dumbfuck even knows how to use it. After we take them out, I need your cyberdeck to break into his closet, that's where he keeps his stash. Then we get the fuck out. You good?"
You nod and the elevator door opens. PacoX opens the door and smiles, his teeth a set of golden stones. "My old friend! The finally let you out of your cage." he lets out a sardonic laugh, "I hope we're ok about what happened, the warden had me on another drug possession, was gonna give me ten more years."
Hayawan replies, "Sure, I understand, they had us by the balls on the island."
"Now, about this pound of glitchy. It's good shit primo and i'll give you a discount." He motions for one of the junkie thugs to bring out the package. "Don't fucking spill it like last time, it better be fucking wrapped nice for my friend here or i'll have you gutted fucker!"
You examine the blue powder and ask for a taste. "I have demanding clients, only want the best." you say.
PacoX says, "Suuure, suuure. I only fuck with the best primo. Got this straight from the source!"
You dab a bump on your finger and inhale.
Skill Check For Examine Blue Powder
(2d6 = 8 + 1 (INT modifier) + 1 (Lvl 1 Notice) = 10 vs 7 DR = Success)
A miniscule rush of euphoria passes through your body, you see PacoX's hands teleporting while he speaks before stabilizing. Glitch comes with waves of euphoria but also spatial hallucinations specificially the teleportation of objects and body parts. You took only enough for a brief rush. You turn to Hayawan and say, "good quality, doesn't feel cut"
PacoX replies, "Of course it's not cut, you're my first buyers for this batch, trying to make a name, can't be cutting my product, not yet anyways. So are we doing this?"
In the corner the two junkies are half-distracted staring at teleporting musical notes coming from the trap music outside. It's clear they've been skimming from Paco and are not in any condition to fight anybody let alone two armed operators. Hayawan notices this and pulls out his light pistol and shoots one of the junkie thugs in the head. The other junkie barely notices as he nods to a melody only he can hear.
COMBAT HAS STARTED
DC: HP 3, 10 AC, Light Pistol (1d6 dmg)
Hayawan: HP 7, 10 AC, Light Pistol (1d6 dmg)
PacoX: HP 5, 10 AC, Submachine Gun (1d8 dmg)
1 Junky Thug (1 HP, 10 AC, Knife (1d4 dmg)
1 Junky Thug (1 HP, 10 AC, Knife(1d4 dmg)
Round 1:
Hayawan surprises 1 Junky Thug. Hayawan fires Light Pistol at Junky Thug and kills him.
1 Junky Thug does nothing due to drug stupor.
DC pulls out Light Pistol.
PacoX jumps behind couch and retrieves submachine gun.
Round 2:
PacoX wins initiative roll and emerges from behind couch and sprays bullets at Hayawan. PacoX rolls 1d20 = 3 + 2 (ATK Bonus) + 5 (weapon dmg) = 10. He just barely succeeded at his roll. Trauma Die roll 1d6 = 5. Hayawan's Trauma Target Number is 6 (typical) and by the skin of his teeth he avoid's losing HP.
DC fires his Light Pistol at PacoX. DC rolls a Natural 20 (not bullshitting you) and his bullets strike PacoX. Trauma Die roll 1d6 = 6. PacoX's Trauma Target Number is 6. This means that DC rolls his weapon dmg die and get's a 5. PacoX has 5 HP and has been killed by DC.
1 Junky Thug (living) has snapped out his stupor and is cowering in the corner begging for his life.
COMBAT OVER.
The exchange of bullets happens quickly and suddenly PacoX and one of his thugs are dead on the floor. Hayawan goes over to the cowering junky thug and executes him. He says, "No loose ends. Alright, DC, need you to get that closet door open. You step over the corpses and make your way to the closet. You realize it's not anything too challenging and crack the keycode without issue (no roll required). Inside there's fifteen bricks of glitchy all wrapped up, turns out the junkies were reasonably good at their job, at least the wrapping part. Probably didn't want PacoX to notice anything missing from his stash. Both of you begin throwing bricks into backpacks you find in the bedroom. Furthermore, you loot Paco's submachine gun and one of the knives from the thugs. You also find $500 on Paco's body and split it with Hayawan before leaving.
+1 Knife (1d4)
+1 Submachine Gun (1d8 dmg)
+$250
+$3,000 for completing gig tasks
GIG CLOSED
DATE: 07/15/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: Central Tronek Slums, Sister Abigail's (OPERATOR BAR)
Places like Tronek need their own folk heroes. Their lives imagined or otherwise lives on inside the imaginations of the people. Giving hope that if somebody from their neighborhood could make it out and prosper then maybe the could too. You look at one of these people or at least their photograph which hangs on the wall of their namesake, Sister Abigail's. A legendary bad-bitch from the migration days of the twenties and thirties. An operator that managed to steal one of the original prototype Yomiguchi Neural Switch-Boxes before the first one went on the market in 34 CY. A woman described as nu-trad reformed catholic who retired, took her vows, and bought an old dollhouse that she would convert into Sister Abigail's, the main operator bar in the Tronek Slums.
Portrait Of Sister Abigail
You're waiting for a guy you don't know, somebody the bouncer linked you up with for a gig. He says the guy is reliable, his cousin from around the block, jacked animal who just back into town from doing a five year prison bid. The gig itself isn't too complicated, rob a local drug dealer of his stash. The drug dealer you learn goes by the name PacoX and he's a small timer really, unaffiliated which doesn't bode well for him around these streets. He says if you flatline him, he'll pay you an extra grand. The bouncer's cousin shows up around 9 PM. He looks about thirty years old, minimal chrome, only a cranial jack but he looks every bit of 6 Five, 280 pounds that his datafile description said he was. Probably boosted over the years with at least ten gallons of muscle juice both legal and illicit.
Find and Steal PacoX's Drug Stash(+$2,000)
(SECONDARY) Kill PacoX(+$1,000)
(SECONDARY) Kill PacoX(+$1,000)
GIG - ROB DRUG DEALER
DATE: 07/15/85
DISTRICT: Tronek Slums
LOCATION: Central Tronek Slums, Apartment Block 567
He gave his name as Hayawan, an alias undoubtedly. The two of you drive an hour to Apartment Block 567 during which there is talk of prison violence and how to get along in prison. Despite his appearance, Hayawan is affable and you question whether or not this guy could have ever been locked up for five years. His face carries the scars and tattooing of a lie of crime and violence. His stories are made believable by the emotional weight that burden the Nu-English gutter language he tells them with. Eventually you reach the apartment block, an old city project covered by patchy neon light. The sound of the street market is subdued and the persistant beat of some new aged trap music can be heard on the air.
With light pistols in hand, the two of you take the elevator to the thirty fifth floor. Hawayan takes charge of the plan, it turns out he knows PacoX, they were cell-mates on Alcatraz Island.
"I'll talk to him, he thinks we're buddy buddy but I know he's the motherfucker who ratted me out, got me three more years on the island. He's expecting to sell a pound of Glitch Supremo to us, that's our story. This is a straight run and gun, his two goons are junkies with knives, he has a submachine gun but I doubt the dumbfuck even knows how to use it. After we take them out, I need your cyberdeck to break into his closet, that's where he keeps his stash. Then we get the fuck out. You good?"
You nod and the elevator door opens. PacoX opens the door and smiles, his teeth a set of golden stones. "My old friend! The finally let you out of your cage." he lets out a sardonic laugh, "I hope we're ok about what happened, the warden had me on another drug possession, was gonna give me ten more years."
Hayawan replies, "Sure, I understand, they had us by the balls on the island."
"Now, about this pound of glitchy. It's good shit primo and i'll give you a discount." He motions for one of the junkie thugs to bring out the package. "Don't fucking spill it like last time, it better be fucking wrapped nice for my friend here or i'll have you gutted fucker!"
You examine the blue powder and ask for a taste. "I have demanding clients, only want the best." you say.
PacoX says, "Suuure, suuure. I only fuck with the best primo. Got this straight from the source!"
You dab a bump on your finger and inhale.
Skill Check For Examine Blue Powder
(2d6 = 8 + 1 (INT modifier) + 1 (Lvl 1 Notice) = 10 vs 7 DR = Success)
A miniscule rush of euphoria passes through your body, you see PacoX's hands teleporting while he speaks before stabilizing. Glitch comes with waves of euphoria but also spatial hallucinations specificially the teleportation of objects and body parts. You took only enough for a brief rush. You turn to Hayawan and say, "good quality, doesn't feel cut"
PacoX replies, "Of course it's not cut, you're my first buyers for this batch, trying to make a name, can't be cutting my product, not yet anyways. So are we doing this?"
In the corner the two junkies are half-distracted staring at teleporting musical notes coming from the trap music outside. It's clear they've been skimming from Paco and are not in any condition to fight anybody let alone two armed operators. Hayawan notices this and pulls out his light pistol and shoots one of the junkie thugs in the head. The other junkie barely notices as he nods to a melody only he can hear.
COMBAT HAS STARTED
DC: HP 3, 10 AC, Light Pistol (1d6 dmg)
Hayawan: HP 7, 10 AC, Light Pistol (1d6 dmg)
PacoX: HP 5, 10 AC, Submachine Gun (1d8 dmg)
1 Junky Thug (1 HP, 10 AC, Knife (1d4 dmg)
1 Junky Thug (1 HP, 10 AC, Knife(1d4 dmg)
Round 1:
Hayawan surprises 1 Junky Thug. Hayawan fires Light Pistol at Junky Thug and kills him.
1 Junky Thug does nothing due to drug stupor.
DC pulls out Light Pistol.
PacoX jumps behind couch and retrieves submachine gun.
Round 2:
PacoX wins initiative roll and emerges from behind couch and sprays bullets at Hayawan. PacoX rolls 1d20 = 3 + 2 (ATK Bonus) + 5 (weapon dmg) = 10. He just barely succeeded at his roll. Trauma Die roll 1d6 = 5. Hayawan's Trauma Target Number is 6 (typical) and by the skin of his teeth he avoid's losing HP.
DC fires his Light Pistol at PacoX. DC rolls a Natural 20 (not bullshitting you) and his bullets strike PacoX. Trauma Die roll 1d6 = 6. PacoX's Trauma Target Number is 6. This means that DC rolls his weapon dmg die and get's a 5. PacoX has 5 HP and has been killed by DC.
1 Junky Thug (living) has snapped out his stupor and is cowering in the corner begging for his life.
COMBAT OVER.
The exchange of bullets happens quickly and suddenly PacoX and one of his thugs are dead on the floor. Hayawan goes over to the cowering junky thug and executes him. He says, "No loose ends. Alright, DC, need you to get that closet door open. You step over the corpses and make your way to the closet. You realize it's not anything too challenging and crack the keycode without issue (no roll required). Inside there's fifteen bricks of glitchy all wrapped up, turns out the junkies were reasonably good at their job, at least the wrapping part. Probably didn't want PacoX to notice anything missing from his stash. Both of you begin throwing bricks into backpacks you find in the bedroom. Furthermore, you loot Paco's submachine gun and one of the knives from the thugs. You also find $500 on Paco's body and split it with Hayawan before leaving.
+1 Knife (1d4)
+1 Submachine Gun (1d8 dmg)
+$250
+$3,000 for completing gig tasks
GIG CLOSED
Last edited:
I did some housekeeping with character stats and a few district descriptions.
QM NOTE
Now with some scratch, you will be able to hire some NPC muscle. You could hire some muscle and have one of them dive the getaway car but they will have weaker driving skills then a notable getaway driver. It'll save you money which isn't bad at all. I'm coming up with a list of NPCs to hire which will be posted later tonight.
I'd figured as much, still figuring out his path to his favrout place is handy for a ambuh.