Welcome to the Data Haven

Hello chummers. 

My name is J, but I also answer to Insomniac.  This blog will soon be the home of all my Shadowrun stuff that I have scattered around the Net.  Primarily a place to grab run notes, I plan on reviewing sourcebooks, posting fan fiction and perhaps even commenting on the game itself.

If you’re not familiar with Shadowrun (in the P&P RPG style, rather than the video games), it is a near-future, dystopian, cybernetic future game where fantasy elements have been re-introduced to the world causing an interesting blend of magic and machine.  The storyline is in-depth and there are so many things going on at once that Game Masters should have no shortage of material.  However, if you find yourself short on material, hopefully some of the future posts on this blog will help with that. 

While I will occasionally pipe up like this, the bulk of my posts will likely be “in-character” as my grumpy, sleep-deprived sysop alter-ego, Insomniac.  He runs a board in the Seattle Matrix where shadowrunners can look for work.  He’s a no nonsense kind of guy, but he does welcome some discussion.  So if you’d like to comment on run notes, feel free to do so in character and become part of the dialogue.

Well, I think that’s it for now.  Hopefully, you’ll check back from time to time.

J.

>>Oi!  Who’s grumpy?  Anyways, I figured I’d step up and introduce myself.  The handle’s Insomniac and I run my own little corner of ShadowSea.  If you need work, I’m your guy…assuming legality ain’t a scruple you tend to have.  If you think the shadows might be the place for you, then loiter for a bit and see what’s around.  Who knows…maybe you’ll be the next best thing round here.  Or maybe you’ll end up as the next red stain on the asphalt.  Either way, these should be interestin’ times, omae.  Perhaps I’ll see ya round.
>> Insomniac
“The shadows never sleep, so why should I?”

Fractured History

This adventure was run at Phantasm in April.

The team is contacted by Judge for a retrieval job. Mr. Johnson wants to meet with them directly at the Alabaster Maiden for 7PM.

The Alabaster Maiden is a magician’s bar with a narrow clientele. With the exception of the magical runners in the party, the others will definitely seem out of place. To those who have never set foot inside the club, the place looks pretty dead for a club, but that’s because all the action is happening on the astral plane. In a warded private room in the back, their client waits.

The man is of Hispanic descent and has done little to hide his elven lineage. Mages that assense the man will see that he is an initiate of some clout. “Thank you all for coming. Please, sit. I have a business proposal for you. There is a historical artifact that I would like you to procure for me. It is a Spanish Doubloon with some unusual traits to it. I believe it may have some mystical properties, but without possessing it, I cannot say for sure. It has traded hands a few times, but I have tracked it down to a pawn shop here in Seattle. Normally, this would not pose a problem, however, the establishment is run my the Mob and they and I are already on poor terms.”

“Therefore, I am willing to pay you 15,000¥ apiece to acquire this coin and deliver it to me. I do not have full knowledge of what safeguards they have in this pawn shop, though I do know that their vault is warded. I can pay you in cash, or use some of the funds to see you safely out of the city, should things go poorly with the Mafia.”

The hiring party is a runner that that goes by the alias of Carnicería (Spanish word for Carnage). He is a well established mage from New York. The rumours on the Matrix tell that he is obsessed with his heritage and ensures that anything to further his power is rooted in Spanish Lore.

Mr. Johnson is willing to negotiate only a little on his offering price, but may be convinced to offer a cash advance, or other services in lieu of payment.

Once the runners are on board and begin their investigation of the pawn shop, the quickly learn that it’s in the heart of the O’Malley family’s turf. Local contractors have recently installed automated weapons to bolster the defences of the building, given the nature of the stolen goods they move through the building. However, all their plans unravel when they go for physical reconnaissance of the building and find that the place was hit in a blitz attack.

Knight Errant is on the scene when they arrive and if they want answers as to what happened, they are going to need to get inside the building. The camera feed recorded the faces of some of the attackers and it’s pretty obvious that the vault was hit in the raid. One of the officers has an inventory of the items that had been stored inside and given the state of the vault, that list is likely the easiest way for the runners to learn that their quarry was kept here and has now been taken, amongst several other worthwhile finds.

Using the camera data, the runners can see a woman enter the pawn shop and begin browsing the jewelry in the glass case in the middle of the store. As the attendant of the store comes over to try and close the deal, several men smash their way into the store and open fire. The woman hits the deck, but when the store clerk pulls out a shotgun from one of the display units, she grabs a hold of him and hits him with some form of spell that kills him instantly (mages might recognize the Death Touch spell). They then begin a smash and grab, but the woman blasts the ward protecting the vault, picks the lock and begins going through the vault for anything worth value. One of the thugs tosses a makeshift bomb into the vault after they’re done stealing and leave. The camera system goes offline when the bombs detonate.

Using the camera footage on the thugs or the mage woman shows them to all be prominent members of the 88′s, though this operation is way outside their usual operational range. With some quick research via matrix or contacts, they can find out that the Triad operates out of the Everett waterfront area.

Through investigation or brute force, the runners can learn about the Triad involvement. A few things will become clear. This smash and grab job was an independent opportunistic action, rather than anything organized by the Triad. No one has seen the Sze Kau since. Some of the higher ranking members of the 88′s (who don’t want open war with the O’Malley’s) may be persuaded to out the group’s usual safehouse.

Once again the runners appear to be one step behind the opposition. En route to the safehouse, they see the Triad getaway car riddled full of bullets and the Triad lay dead all around the vehicle. The goods stolen from the Mob have been emptied onto the ground and the Doubloon taken.

Using cameras and eye witnesses directs the runners to an old office building that has been warded and fortified. A team of runners is setup here after the delivery of the Doubloon to their hiring party, going back to remove evidence of their involvement. The firefight that follows should be intense, as the opposition aren’t merely stupid mooks.

If the runners can get one of the runners to talk, they can learn that they were hired by an antiquities dealer from Europe, named Castillo. He is currently in a vacation property on the Eastern side of the Metroplex. In case of double-cross, the team researched their employer and may be willing to cough up the intel, depending on how the runners conduct themselves.

The estate house that Castillo calls home is large and elegantly furnished, though it looks barely used, save for the security detail that monitors the house. There is a hidden elevator behind a wall panel in the living room that takes the team down to the collectors inner sanctuary.

The basement level is immense, at least six stories tall. The wall is covered in lavish teak wood with display cases set into the wall. An elaborate conveyer/hoist system allows a person to skirt the outer part of the room and see the goods up close with a commlink command. Opposite the elevator on the very far side is a small study-like area, where Castillo sits, reading a book. He seems unaware of the intrusion at first, but the runners are noticed before long.

He is willing to engage in small talk for a while, but will rapidly tire if they try to interrogate him. Assensing him reveals nothing, but once the runners agitate him enough he shows his true stripes, expanding in all directions to reveal himself as a Western Dragon. Covered in smoke-grey scales, Castillo locks down his inner sanctum and forces the runners into a him-or-us battle.

Should the runners prevail, they have their pick from the dragon’s hoard, including the artifact they were hired to retrieve.

>> Oh joy, retrieving some other piece of history for some rich guy who needs his status symbol…
>> Burn

>> Rumour has it, this job’s been started by a runner.  At least there’s a slightly lower risk of double-cross, if it’s true.
>> Wrench

>> As an FYI, this job may be a local one, but there’s quite a bit of international interest.  Be prepared for outside interference.
>> Anonymous

Contraband by Nature

The runners are contacted through their usual channels for a meet with their fixer at 9PM.  The meet is on the third level of Dante’s Inferno.  If pressed, he explains that the job is a “discrete destruction” mission.

Dante’s Inferno is its usual hotspot and if the runners show up too close to the meet time (and aren’t willing to grease the palms of the bouncer), they will be late.  The third level is the first of the elite tiers of the club and is far less busy than the two upper levels of the club.  They find their fixer sitting at a corner table awaiting their arrival.

“Glad you guys could make it.  I have a job that said it is a rush job that requires some discretion.  Don’t worry, I’ve already negotiated the price up from the initial offer, due to the short timeline and restrictions.  Those of you who did business with the whole tempo debacle may remember a company called KondOrchid.  They’re primarily a shipping company, but in light of the whole tempo business, they’ve been trying to clean up their image and have branched off into a few other ventures.  They’re in a business partnership with a health food organization called Nature’s Bounty.  Apparently, someone has taken offense to their latest product, Tropical Crunch and wants you to destroy the first batch.”

“The trick is, the product has already been shipped and is available at the Northgate Mall.  They’re attempting to see what their market demographic is, but the only ones really able to afford organic foods are the upper class.  The Northgate Mall is a ritzy mall with designer clothing stores, three nightclubs and fine dining establishments, open 24/7.  Nature’s Bounty has set up a sales kiosk in the main thoroughfare.  You’re being paid to destroy all unsold Tropical Crunch bars, as soon as possible, to minimize market demand.  The client is willing to pay each of you 7500¥ plus incidental expenses for this task.”

The job is being sponsored by Amazonia’s DMAIC.  KondOrchid secured plants from the rainforest that are protected by the nation’s government as belonging to the Native tribes of the rainforest.  They’ve thrown false information out that the job is being sponsored from within KondOrchid, as several of the plant materials used in the product have not been properly approved by local food administrations.  It is posed to look like an internal struggle.

Negotiations in the early stage are fairly rigid, as the job (on paper) is fairly straightforward, though there will be room for further negotiations afterward in the face of any complications.

The kiosk is brightly lit and in the center of a wide hallway between stores.  It is manned at all hours by one or more people and mall security is always on the lookout for troublemakers.  The mall security system is redundant and state of the art, making the Matrix here saturated with advertising.  The security system has very limited wireless access (high level countermeasures, unless with a pre-registered commlink).

Security personnel are not allowed to bring their work commlinks or ID badges home, only being allowed into the security room with a visual scan by security and an astral check by the local security mage.

To complicate matters, Nature’s Bounty have handed samples of their product to local shops in the mall to be handed out as a business draw.  Those products will need to be destroyed as well.

Mall security’s first response to anything abnormal is to notify Knight Errant and since the mall is an AAA security area, they will arrive quickly.  The runners will need to complete their task quickly and quietly to avoid becoming blocked in by the security forces.

The kiosk are manned by three different teams at all times (rotating in 8 hour shifts).  Each team is a combination of Nature’s Bounty salespeople and KondOrhcid reps.

Morning Shift (8AM-4PM)

The brain child of Tropical Crunch bars is Ernesto Nunez.  He mans the booth during the morning shift with his wife Elicia.  They are consummate salesman, knowledgeable about the product and genuinely good people.  They are joined by an elven woman named Reona Westgate, a number-cruncher from KondOrchid, who is tracking sales progress of the product, to see if the joint venture is worth pursuing beyond the opening push.

Afternoon Shift (4PM-12AM)

The main salesperson on the floor is a gorgeous Latina elf named Felicity Dias.  She’s had several professional surgeries to augment her already natural elven beauty and she uses her winning smile and ample curves to draw in would-be buyers.  Her counterpart is a dwarven man named Richard Evans.  Richard works the kiosk while Felicity works the crowd.  He ensures the displays all always stocked and is pleasant as he rings in all purchases.  KondOrchid has sent a senior manager (Corey Fedesma) to oversee the operation of the kiosk.  Rumours suggest he is sleeping with Felicity and judging by how much time he spends studying her backside, there may be credence to the rumours.

Overnight Shift (12AM-8AM)

There are only two people in the kiosk overnight, as mall traffic is much lower (and what passes through is often stoned or drunk from the nightclubs).  Nature’s Bounty have employed James Roth, an actor currently out of work, who spends the majority of his shift, applying for bit parts and watching porn.  His associate (Hiroshi Uchikatsu) is supposedly a KondOrchid “efficiency specialist”, but he is an initiated adept, hired as an extra security measure.  KO knows that there are things about the new product that some back home would not be happy with and his job is to ensure that nothing threatens the business venture in the overnight period.

If the runners try the product for themselves, it is a little dry, but has a pleasant flavour.  An hour after consumption, they benefit from +1 Perception and +1 to Fatigue tests, from the Awakened seeds pressed into the bars.

Legwork

KondOrchid
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2)

0 – That some kind of plant?
1 – A shipping company out of South America.  They handle a lot of shipping out of Aztlan, Caracas and Amazonia.
2 – Company nearly folded after their ties to the Olaya Cartel and Tempo were revealed.
3 – They’ve been desperate to clean up their image to remain in business.  They’ve been making deals with local companies, sponsoring their products in exchange for handling distribution exclusively.
5 – Word has it, KondOrchid still has operatives working in the rainforests, bringing out goods that are under Amazonian protection.

Nature’s Bounty
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3)

0 – Sounds like a hippie movement…
1 – An organic food company out of Cajamarca, Peru.  With the poor so rampant in that part of the country, the Shining Path took it upon themselves to turn the farming into a corporate venture.
2 – The company sells the product with North American and European clients in mind, but the workers see little of the money.
3 – Seeing it as a match of convenience, the disliked Communist party agreed to work with KondOrchid in order to open up shipping options to their target market.
5 – While most of the ingredients of their new product are grown locally, some were supplied by their new business partners.

Tropical Crunch
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3), Consumer Goods (2)

0 – That some new Latino rave group?
1 – Marketed as a healthier alternative to granola bars, the bar is made of nuts and grains from South America, formed using locally created honey.
2 – The company that manufactures it has taken flak from environmentalists of the region, for including products not supposed to be sold outside their own borders
3 – On top of being all natural, it is supposed to have extra health benefits.
5 – Some reports say that Awakened plant life was used in the manufacture of the snack.

Ernesto and Elicia Nunez
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2), Consumer Goods (2)

0 – Who?
1 – The owners of Nature’s Bounty and creators of several locally-inspired organic products.
2 – They’ve invested a lot of their livelihood in the company, so they take a very hands-on approach to the sale of their products
3 – They are well-respected in the community and give a lot back to the farmers that make their products’ ingredients.
5 – Shining Path appears to be bankrolling their company and if they don’t tow the communist line, they may lose everything.

Felicity Dias
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Media (2)

0 – News anchor, right?
1 – Felicity Dias is the screen name for a porn star in Bogata.
2 – Her real name is Lisa Tavares.  She is the daughter of two farm hands in the Cocaine plantations surrounding Bogata.  She was spotted by one of the Cartel members and sold into the porn industry.
3 – Despite it being forced upon her, she loves the level of celebrity she enjoys and has used her fame to wriggle free of the Cartel’s grasp.  She is now freelancing outside the porn industry as a model and spokeswoman.
5 – The Cartel still feels they own her.  She has been sending money to her parents to help them out, but the Cartel is trying to back trace the money to reacquire they’re grip on her.

Hiroshi Uchikatsu
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2), Shadows (3)

0 – He hosts one of those weird game shows.
1 – Hiroshi is a freelance security specialist from Kyoto, Japan.  He arrived during the JIS occupation of Peru.
2 – He made a name for himself for seeing a corporate spy and first responder to anti-corporate threats in Lima.
3 – He chose to remain behind and aid the Shining Path instead of assisting the reconstruction of Japan, though it is unclear of his reasons.  The leading theory is that money speaks louder than nationalism.
5 – Hiroshi is an adept of some level, but his skills have stagnated of late.  Some speak of a tempo addiction that held him back for a while.

>> Seriously?  Why would I stake my rep on destroying hippie food?
>>Burn

>> I’m gathering there’s some atypical food stuffs in it that someone doesn’t want on the street.  Given the whole tempo thing, do you really want to chance that this isn’t something similar?
>> X

>> Hell, if nothing else, destroying these foodstuffs could open the door to stealing some real high end stuff from the mall.  Might pick up some nice lingerie for my girlfriend… can’t afford to spend that kind of money on so little fabric, but if it’s just sitting there… then I just need to get her to model it for me.
>> Reaper

>> Keep dreaming, chummer.
>> Malys

Carnage and Lies

The runners are contacted by their fixer in regards to a sudden job that has occurred from a recent headline that has been all over the news over the past 12 hours. A large commercial freighter, while sailing into Seattle, suddenly sank without warning, spilling its contents into Puget Sound. Environmental crews are scrambling to contain any potential environmental catastrophe, but in direct conflict with these efforts is the investigation into the disaster.

News Article of the Busan Maru

Their fixer asks the team to meet with their employer at the Gray Line Restaurant at 9PM to go over the details. The meet is in the lower level during high tide, allowing the runners to see into the murky depths of Puget Sound, this portion of the Pacific thus far unharmed by any spillage from the freighter disaster. Mr. Johnson is an Asian man in a suit and square-framed black glasses. When he speaks, his English is perfect, speaking with little trace of an accent. “I’m glad you were able to come. Please, we have business to discuss and time is against us.”

An array of appetizers sit on the table as the team settles in and Mr. Johnson gets right to the point. “I’m sure if you’ve been watching the news, you’ve heard of the accident with the Busan Maru. There is still no indication as to why she sank without warning. Because she was sailing past Fox Island, there is a lot of finger pointing at the Salish Nation and GreenWar has claimed responsibility for sinking her, though there has been no indication by naval tracking buoys of any kind of explosion that would have taken her down. My superiors want answers as to the nature of the accident, however, due to the presence of nearby corporate facilities and the high likelihood that magic of some sort was used, the DIMR have been called in to oversee the investigation. We fear that they will conceal the true nature of the accident and there will be insufficient evidence to make a proper claim on the loss of the vessel.

“Therefore, I have been authorized to hire privately, to ensure that the information we receive is accurate and complete. We are prepared to authorize the payment of 7500¥ each for the documentation as to why the Busan Maru sank and who is responsible.”

The runners should be able to piece together quite easily that Mr. Johnson represents Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, the shipping company that owned the Busan Maru. With the DIMR already researching the wreckage, time is against the runners and if they choose to re-negotiate on price, the tight timeline will work in their favour.

If the team agrees, Mr. Johnson grins broadly. “Excellent. I have some data for you that I hope will aid you. It contains the Busan Maru’s course, shipping manifest and personnel list. If there is anything else you require in aid in the investigation, you can contact me on the provided commcode.”

Investigation on the runners’ part can learn a few things: the area the freighter went down is crawling with ships. Some are for the expedition and the others are to repel would-be intruders. DIMR has also set up shop on Fox Island to compile the data they’ve retrieved as well as watch the locals for signs of involvement in the accident.

Going over the personnel files with a fine-tooth comb will reveal that a disgruntled member of the crew, Takeshi Sakamoto, had been approached by GreenWar to sabotage the vessel in exchange for a sizeable amount of money. Sakamoto was a low-level mage, who used his gifts for ensuring nothing got on board without their knowledge. Nothing on his file indicates he was powerful enough to even remotely damage the ship.

At the DIMR diving site, rumours already abound that the first diving expedition was lost as they explored the hull of the ship. Whether the team decides to investigate firsthand, or wait until DIMR uncovers something will be up to them.

Eventually, they will find a small carving out of bone that appears to be a wolf-like totem covered in Asian script (an analysis of the letters will show it to be Mongolian and very old). Aside from being a valuable historic artifact, a magical analysis at first reveals nothing, but eventually reveals that the item is the host for a potent Trickster Free Spirit. Upon being discovered, it opens an astral window and pulls the team inside the metaplanes.

The team finds themselves in the middle of a vast and near-featureless desert. Nothing here behaves the way it should: the sun rises and falls in random parts of the sky, the day is cold and night is hot. The spirit on its home turf will constantly antagonize the runners. The edges of the desert never draw nearer, they are unable to find water, and whenever they try to sleep they find themselves under attack…

When the team stop responding to the perceived threats the spirit gets frustrated and will finally emerge to engage the party. If the team looks ready to vanquish the spirit, it pleads with them to let it live, reminding them that they have no way back to their home plane without it. The team will need to bargain with the spirit to get home and hopefully not yield too much in order to secure their escape.

Once free of the metaplanes, they need to bring any evidence they’ve amassed back to their employer in order to get paid. If they’ve filmed their experiences or stolen research data from DIMR, it will be sufficient enough evidence.

Legwork

Mr. Johnson
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2)

0 – You’re kidding, right?
1 – His name is Date Uchimatsu. He is a senior executive with Mitsui Shipping North America.
2 – He’s not typically a recruiter for Shadowrun, though Mitsui has hired runners before to investigate mishaps on their ships.
3 – Despite shipping for several of the megas, they’ve managed to maintain their independence by their reputation and history alone. They like a dynasty of the old Japan and no one wants to mess with the way it works.
5 – Mitsui has been caught shipping refugees and contraband on occasion, but each time they get off for having enough “presented ignorance” to get off on a warning. Maybe this accident was a result of that?

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2), Smuggling (2)

0 – Sounds Japanese. What do they make?
1 – A company founded in the 19^th Century in Japan. They’ve been shipping all sorts of goods around the world for nearly 200 years.
2 – They were nearly wiped out a couple of times by economic crises. Each time they rebound stronger than ever.
3 – Even though they’re a Japanese company, they are an equal opportunity employer (orks and trolls make good physical labourers). They’ve recruited people from the megas to help them make better business decisions to survive in this cutthroat age.
4 – Their fleet is one of the most ecologically sophisticated, though there are rumours of forged credentials and illegal smuggling, to help make the bottom line.

Takeshi Sakamoto
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3)

0 – Who?
1 – Takeshi is a near-washout from the University of Tokyo’s magic program. His gift was weak and he struggled to complete the basic requirements.
2 – Being magically active, Mitsui offered him a job aboard their fleet, telling him he would see the world and make a difference by ensuring safety on a vessel.
3 – He has lodged several complaints about being undervalued. He was trained to use spells like Translate and Catalog, to ensure they weren’t being duped into carrying anything unregistered and he styles himself a security mage.
5 – Phone records show, that he has been contacted by GreenWar, offering him the option of being trained in combat, if he helps them deliver a message to the shipping industry.

>> You know, I’ve been shot at, stabbed and attacked by angry spirits… but there ain’t no way you’re getting me underwater.  God only knows what might be living in the waters of Puget Sound…
>> Havik

>> Whatever made that ship go down would have to be pretty big… what are the odds it might still be down there?
>> Kurrupt

>> I’d wager not very high… what could sink a ship that size and still remain intact?
>> Page

Pinocchio Part 4 – Soul

Once again the runners are called upon by their fixer for a job.  The employer is allowing him/her to handle the meet and has indicated that time is of the essence.  They ask to meet them at Club Infinity around 9PM to discuss the job.

Infinity is its usual self:  packed with a line-up around the block.  Thankfully, dropping the fixer’s name at the door gains them access instantly.  The club’s claim to fame, their state-of-the-art sound and holograms are in full swing and the modern décor is a big change from the bulk of the places the team usually conducts their business.  Inquiring at the bar will see them directed to the private rooms at the back.  He/she seems to have gone the extra mile and sprung for a Ultraviolet room, which sported the best anti-reconnaissance measures in the building.

Inside the well-furnished room, the décor was tasteful and comfortable, but all connection to the matrix beyond the room was cut off the moment the door closed.  “Glad you guys could come.  You guys need anything before we get started?”

The fixer will order from the bar anything the runners feel they need and wait for the food and/or drinks to be delivered before proceeding.  “All right.  I’ve got a line of work that was directed solely toward you guys.  In recent memory, you guys have done an assortment of jobs for Horizon.  Someone is trying to connect the dots on this one and wants you guys to hit Horizon and steal a data file from them that they believe will answer the question as to what’s going on.  They are concerned with the disappearance of Allison Draeper and the death of Marcus Hale, but all indications point that even that one was an inside job.  Mr. Johnson has allocated enough funds at the start up for 10,000¥ apiece.  He is unwilling to pay an advance or negotiate up front on the price, but if you can complete the task without alerting anyone within Horizon, the price can certainly go up considerably.  What are your thoughts?”

The team will likely not be amused by the lack of flexibility in the price, but the fixer will hold firm on the offered price, even if the team threatens to walk away.  Mr. Johnson is Gepetto, using an anonymous identity to try and throw the runners off his tail.  The data file they are going to extract is he himself, in an attempt to escape Horizon and find a home in the liberated drone they stole for him in Part I.

If the runners are on board, he/she nods.  “All right.  I’ll let him know.  The file is on a server in the central Horizon building Downtown.  It’s a rather large case study called ‘A Study on Robotic Sentience’.  Horizon has been offering safe haven to AIs since the whole technomancer reveal and it appears that they’ve been doing a case study on what makes them tick.  Your employer would like to see what they’ve learned.”

Raiding the primary Horizon building may seem like a daunting task.  Normally security would be at its peak at a facility like this, but Gepetto is working to unhinge the security grid a little to give the runners holes to exploit.  Being in control of the drone grid, he is adding deliberate holes in the patrol grid and, if the runners are really careless, suppressing the alarms when they stumble into the technological sensors of the building.  There are spiders in the system, but Gepetto aims to keep them in the dark as much as possible.  Of course, once he’s been extracted from the system, the runners are on their own.

The Horizon tower is a sleek, modern pillar of sculpted glass in the heart of the downtown.  The latest in ARO technology drapes the exterior, conforming to the Emerald City motif, yet injecting some of their own media flair into the hologram.  The grid responds to nearby commlinks, showing ads for Horizon trideo shows that the user has watched, advertising movies that fit their profile and even tailoring avatars to gender and racial preferences of the person, tailoring all advertisements by using the image of custom generated people that the user would find attractive.

The tower is 110 floors.  The lowest three floors are a large rectangular, open-concept space, filled with billboards and serving as a base of operations for Horizon’s media conglomerates.  Every employee here has some acting experience and is either naturally beautiful, or has had cosmetic work done to make them so.  The next five floors are smaller than the media floors, but not yet part of the undulating glass pillar above.  This is Horizon’s conference center and broadcast area.  Sound studios for local programming, advertising agencies and board rooms for negotiating new programs and time slots dominate these floors.

The upper reaches are divided amongst divisions and projects.  Some blocks of floors are allocated to movie production, script appraisals and sound editing.  Others are devoted to PR, contract negotiations and deal making with Horizon’s subsidiaries.  Due to Horizon’s constant internal shifting from the P2.0 Rating system, these floors also seem to be in a state of flux.  Layout is identical on each floor, so that as departments shift, internal organization remains constant.

Commlinks inside the building are assumed to be running Active and any who aren’t will be immediately detained by security and questioned.  If the users do not own a copy of P2.0, they will be offered a trial copy while in the building (if deemed that they are supposed to be there).

The file that Gepetto is using as the bait for the runners does actually exist but is a small document, stored on one of the servers in the upper levels of the building.  As the runners get close to the target Gepetto will embed himself in the document and encrypt it (making it practically unbreakable for the players, unless one is a technomancer).

Horizon has all the resources available to an AAA megacorp, so technological and magical sensors are all throughout the building.  The runners will have to do some serious planning to figure out how to get inside without raising any alarms.

Horizon Seattle System

Sculpting:  Modeled to look like one of their ultra-clean lobbies, the architecture is done up in a modern office-chic appearance.  There is always a window looking out over the Seattle skyline, with the sun setting over the ocean in the distance, with the Horizon logo emblazoned on the glass.
Hardware:  10 MCT Sentinel II (Persona Limit 10, Processor Limit 60) that serve as the employee hubs.  A highly customized Evo Mobile Terminus (Persona Limit 20, Processor Limit 50) serves as the security hub.
Authentication:  Employee Nodes – Passkey, Security and Admin – Alchemical Passkey
Priviledges:  Standard
Attributes:  Employee Nodes – Firewall 5, Response 5, Signal 4, System 6
Security and Admin – Firewall 7, Response 8, Signal 2, System 8
Spiders:  A team of two trained Spiders to oversee system maintenance and 3 security specialists
IC:  One MCT Bloodhound 5 per server, One Rumpelstiltskin 5 per server.  If the security/admin system detects a breach it loads a Renraku Oniwaban 6 to try and take down the offending hacker.
Resident Programs:  Analyze 6, Encrypt 6 on all systems
ARC:  Scramble Security Hackers
Topology:  The system is broken down across numerous individual nodes, each one corresponding to a specific series of floors for the different teams to use.  Information can be shared across nodes on the same servers with ease, but divergent projects are typically stored on separate servers.  The Security and Admin servers have one-way SANs into each of these systems, so they can respond quickly to any perceived threat, without betraying any means of accessing the security system.

Regardless of their planning and how they plan on conducting themselves, as they are about to go into the building one of the runners receives a call on their commlink.  The heavily distorted voice on the line tells them to walk away from this one.  They offer no reason as to why and keep the call very brief to avoid any attempt to trace them.

The mystery caller will call again mid-job, as they near the objective and tells them that if they don’t turn back and walk away, they will alert security to their team’s presence.  If the runners still refuse, he makes good on his promise and the alarms go off, telling security where each individual runner is in the building and kicking any who are logged into the network out, dumpshocking them.

The mystery caller is Pulsar, the AI spokesperson of Horizon.  He has learned of Gepetto and his bid for freedom, about the team’s involvement and the ultimate fate of Allison Draeper.  He knows that if Gepetto gains freedom and acts as Pulsar expects, it will be a potential PR nightmare for Horizon.

With security alerted, any previous access point to the network sealed off and their objective in sight the team will need to decide whether to cut their losses and run, or press on and grab their objective.

Should they complete their task, they have heavy leverage to increase their pay and Judge will make sure they get it.  The runners are given instructions to deliver the file to a man in an office at an old industrial park.  Once the runners deliver the file, Gepetto is transferred down the street to the complex where his new body awaits.

>> OK, going straight into the Regional HQ of one of the Big Ten is just ridiculous.  Count me out.
>> Felix

>> It might not actually be that bad.  After all, who’s insane enough to try?  It’d be the last thing they’d expect.
>> Crazy Carver

>> Has anyone taken a step back to look at the last handful of jobs out of Horizon?  Anyone else disturbed by what it shows?
>> Wraith

Distorting the Design (Shadowrun)

This was the third and final event I ran during the 2012 Convention Season.

The runners are contacted by their fixer about a job in the South Pacific.  The employer will cover all travel costs and promises a decent wage, given the remote location and potential hazards.  If they are willing to hear more, the fixer will ask to meet them at Matchsticks at 8PM.

Matchsticks is a popular jazz club in the downtown core.  Paying the modest cover charge (or not so modest if the runners don’t conform to the nightclub’s dress code), the team gets in the door to take in the deep wood-tones and brass accents.  A deep-voiced ork woman croons out songs from the last century to a collection of brass, strings and an energetic pianist.  The team’s fixer is at a table in the rear of the club, where the music doesn’t pierce as deeply and allows for conversation.

As usual, he offers the runners food and drink on his tab before he gets down to business.  “Thanks for coming, guys.  I realize this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m just going to lay it out there.  The job is on a remote island North of Java on the Indonesian Islands, called Karimunjawa.  Apparently, it used to be a resort island chain before the Awakening.  When the Indonesian government fractured, the island was practically forgotten, save by a handful of corporations.  The resort was left to rot and the Javanese Empire turned the island over to Biogene, a bioengineering company with few moral scruples.  Biogene stopped using the island after the Crash, but there were no recorded reasons for the change.”

“Rumours have been surfacing from the survivors of an expedition into the heart of the largest of the Karimunjawa Islands.  They mentioned a geyser at the island’s centre, who’s water is supposed to have some unique properties…they say anything from triggering SURGE to curing cancer.  My client wants soil and water samples from this geyser to see if the rumours have any bearing on the truth.  He’s betting on the expedition paying off, I guess.  He’s offering you 8,000¥ apiece, plus travel to get him a decent sized water sample and mud from around the geyser.  It will be negotiable on whatever resistance you encounter.”

He has little room to negotiate initially.  The job, as it stands on paper, is an easy task.  The area is a mystery though, so he will really urge the runners to negotiate after the work is done.

If the runners agree to take the job, the fixer smiles and nods.  “Great.  I’ll tell Mr. Johnson he has a team.  Since you aren’t familiar with the area, if you feel you’ll need it, I can get you a contact to meet you at your destination.  He should be able to help you with acquiring equipment and local customs.  His name is Koonjahn, a former Moluccan Pirate.  He knows the waters around the Indonesian islands quite well and can hopefully be of some use to you.”

The runners are flown into Dili, East Timor to meet with Koonjahn and start on their job.  The main language in the area is Portuguese, but many of the local dialects are still spoken as well (Bahasa, Japanese and English are the primary dialects here).  Koonjahn is a man who has seen quite a few winters.  His right arm is heavily augmented, he walks with a limp and is missing many of his teeth.  Nevertheless, he is well spoken and is obviously quite comfortable in the area.  He explains that the Karimunjawa Islands are part of the Javanese State and protected by the military junta in charge there.  Getting near the islands whether by land or sea will be problematic.

East Timor is almost entirely under the grip of Portuguese corporation Lusiada.  They want the secrets of Kurimunjawa for their agricultural industry, but can’t be seen stepping all over BioGene’s toes to get it.  They hope to be able to replicate the properties of the geyser in their labs.  If blackmail material against BioGene can be found, all the better.

By Air:

If the runners entertain the idea of flying out to the island, Koonjahn does tell them that there is an airport on the island, built during the days as a resort and restored by BioGene.  However, he doesn’t know the condition presently, as it has barely been used in the past eight years.  Finding a pilot willing to fly out there will also be an issue.  And if they do find a willing pilot, there is the chance they’ll be shot down and be stranded on the island with no means of escape (assuming they survive the crash).

By Sea:

The seas around Karimunjawa are unpredictable.  While they have a reputable guide in Koonjahn, he recommends more than mere pleasure-craft for making the trip.  Renting or “borrowing” a fishing trawler might work, if they want something durable and innocuous to try and slip past Javanese patrols.  If they really want to annoy the locals, they could steal a patrol ship, though they are easily tracked and, if travelling alone, quickly targeted and attacked by Moluccan Pirates.

The Island:

The largest of the Karimunjawa Islands was the only one of the islands in the archipelago that had permanent settlements on it.  Smaller islands housed resorts, but as the Javanese economy plunged into the abyss, these tourist based businesses dried up.  The homes here have fallen into obvious disrepair, as the monsoon seasons and at least one major hurricane has dealt a lot of damage to the area.  The area south of the Bandar Udara Dewandaru Airport was re-allocated by BioGene, during their tenure here, but even these houses have fallen onto hard times.

Following the shattered roads south for a few kilometers takes the runners to the ruins of one of the large resorts that resided here.  Despite decades of neglect, the building looked as though it had offered grand luxury in her day.  Enough of the infrastructure was intact, that the main building was claimed by BioGene, using the nearby Sinak Airfield to airlift supplies, though this bush airfield is now long overgrown.  The Resort had consisted of a central building with several restaurants, medical clinics, ballroom, conference center and all the managerial offices.  The coastline is dotted with impressive villas on stilts, to account for high tide.  The villas have fallen into vast states of disrepair, with a few having collapsed under years of neglect.

The central building was converted for BioGene’s purposes.  The offices were made Matrix v1.0 compliant, but there is little wireless communication here.  Many of the guest services were converted to medical labs.  Many of these labs appear to have been abandoned, smashed or some combination of the two.  While most of the items here are of little use, there are still a couple tranquilizer rifles here, which may come in handy for what they are going to contend with (though GMs should decide just how many darts are available).

Tapping into BioGene’s database shows that they had been experimenting with the genetics of potential “warbeasts” at the facility.  When the Crash of 64 came along, many of the containment protocols went off line and the creatures escaped into the wild and into the compound.  They had discovered a location they had dubbed “The Fountain of Creation” and were investigating the properties of the site when things went off line.  There are GPS coordinates for the Fountain on the server.

With everything running loose on the island, the runners are likely to run into some of the altered creatures on the island.  These included modified variants of:  Sumatran Tigers, Komodo Dragons, Orangutans, Fire Ants and indigenous birds.  The runners may also encounter shedim-infested corpses of the BioGene researchers who didn’t get off the island in time.

The geyser at the island’s heart is a volcanic heat-fed underground spring with Awakened bacteria in a high concentration in the soil.  As animals consume it, it distorts them further, making them more dangerous and less stable.  On top of animals defending their waterhole, the ground near the geyser is treacherous and can hold pockets of volcanic gas.  They will need to be careful as they trudge through the muck to collect their sample.  For an added twist, the bacteria that gives the water its mutagenic properties could exert a compulsion on nearby creatures to want to drink the water.  If a runner comsumes the tainted water, nothing will happen initially, but as they are trying to escape, they will be wracked with horrific pain as their body begins to mutate.  Feel free to select a random metagenic trait from the Runner’s Companion (positive or negative) that they suddenly manifest.  In line with the rules for mutation, if they drank a lot of the water, feel free to give them multiple mutations and remove a point of Intuition, which is a permanent loss.  With samples collected, they will need to get off the island and return to Seattle before they can collect their pay and likely negotiate in the face of the hardships they faced.

(See the Stats for the Komodo Dragon (under Alligator) in Running Wild)

Mutations:  +2 Agility, +2 Reaction, Lightning Reflexes, Frog Tongue, Albinism, Uncontrolled Metastasis, -2 Essence, -1 Intuition

This mutated Komodo Dragon (Karimun Dragon), is faster than its typical peer and is able to snare targets with its long adhesive tongue, dragging it back to be consumed.  Keeping one’s distance is less of a defense against this creature as it is a faster runner and can snare at range, but its bite is just as venomous as usual.  However, the mutation is unstable, causing its scaly hide to be paler, prone to sunburn and often has cancerous patches.  It typically sits in shaded areas, conserving its energy until prey comes too close, when it launches a lightning fast attack to take them down quickly.

(Use the Stats for Great Cat found in the Shadowrun Core Book)

Mutations:  +2 Reaction, +2 Strength, +2 Climbing, Night Vision, Toughness, Arcane Arrester, Sensitive System, Nocturnal, -4 Essence, -2 Intuition

Once a Sumatran Tiger, this already endangered species was transformed into a hunter of the night.  Dubbed a Javanese Panther by the technicians, these cats have taken to the trees and are active only at night.  Their fur is mostly black, with the orange now being the secondary colour.  Aggressive and strong, they aren’t afraid to take on larger prey, so long as they can attack from ambush.  Due to the mutations, they are little more than instinctual creatures and lack a sense of self-preservation.

(Use the stats for Orangutans (under Baboon) in Running Wild)

Mutations:  Bone Spikes, +1 Body, +1 Strength, Tough as Nails 2, -4 Essence, -2 Intuition

Only the Orangutans near the geyser have this affliction.  Their fur, which is more red than orange, and spiked protrusions have seen them dubbed Red Devils.  They are resilient and tough and more feral than their more docile cousins.  They typically hunt in packs, using their body’s natural defenses to take down foes quickly.  They still have enough presence of mind to recognize when territorial disputes should yield to survival.

(See the stats for Fire Ants in Running Wild.  Treat the Colony as a Rating 8 Swarm)

Mutations:  Defensive Secretions, -1 Essence

The Fire Ants in the area are part of massive colonies and will attack anything that threatens their home.  Crushing the ants releases an acidic paste that, in sufficient quantity, can weaken armor.

The runners may get a hint as to the shedim presence should they explore the compound in any depth, as there are many “perfectly preserved” corpses, despite the fact that the compound was abandoned years ago.  The shedim will take stock of the runners and move to block their escape.

The fire ants have had years to spread throughout the island and with their Gestalt Consciousness, they have amassed enormous colonies that run throughout the island.  The old paths through the jungle are overgrown, but still there.  Have the path blocked by an enormous series of anthills, or have the ground give way from under a runner’s foot and unleash the horror of a fire ant hive.

The Karimun Dragons hide away in the shade, often on rocks or fallen tree branches to not stir up any ants beneath the surface.  It will snare a runner as they pass by and drag them through the underbrush to be eaten.

The Red Devils will follow in the trees, unseen but perhaps giving the runners a rustle every once and a while.  When the runners fall under attack by other creatures, any runner that stands back away from the action, will find themselves set upon by a pack of these mutant orangutans.

The Javanese Panthers are few in number and will hunt in a pack to try and grab a runner and drag them up into the trees to be eaten.  If they are attacked, they launch into a frenzy and will try to kill anything nearby.  Potentially, have one possessed by a shedim (a bullet-riddled corpse) to add an extra element of fear.

Legwork

Koonjahn

Thresholds – Matrix (2), Shadows (3), Pirates (1)

0 – Who?!

1 – He was a pirate that ran mostly in the seas of the Indonesian Republics.

2 – Stole form Java and Singapore and sold it his wares to the highest bidder.  The junta in charge of the Javanese Republic still has a bounty out on him.

3 – Retired from piracy after a close call with the Javanese Army.  Lost his ship and a lot of his crew.

5 – Rumour has it; he threw in with Lusiada and lives in East Timor as a nautical guide.  He uses the corporation as a shield between him and his old foes.

Karimunjawa

Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3)

0 – Bless you…

1 – An archipelago of islands north of Semarang in Indonesia.  Not much happening there these days.

2 – Used to be a haven for resorts…white sand and blue water.  After the Crash, many of those resorts folded when their finances vanished.

3 – After Indonesia collapsed, control moved to the Javanese Empire.  Since the resorts all folded, pirates had taken to using them as bases for their raids.  The Junta swept in and purged all the islands, destroying most of the old buildings.

4 – The only island with infrastructure in place is Palau Karimun.  The government sold the island to a local firm for research purposes.  The company is called BioGene.

5 – BioGene has abandoned the island for a few years now.  No explanation was provided as to why they walked away after so much investment.

BioGene

Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2)

0 – Wasn’t that some action hero a few years back?

1 – A Biotech company who work for the Javanese government out of Jakarta.

2 – They applied for membership in the PPG but were turned down, due to their flagrant disregard of the Copenhagen Accords.

3 – Now receives most of their funding from the Military regime in Java.  Many speculate they are designing new military drugs for use in the field.

4 – Ran a genetic modification lab in Karimunjawa.  Animal activists were in uproar over the fact that the company was testing on animals…even endangered species.

6 – BioGene had an accident at their Karimun facility that caused the entire facility to be shut down.  Recent expeditions have recorded several new species, that are potential creations by BioGene.

>> So, someone’s willing to send a team of runners to an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere to get water and mud?  What’s the catch?
>> Percival

>> Think ‘Island of Dr. Moreau’…
>> Revenge

>> Who?
>> Percival

>> My God… read a book once in a while, you ingrate…
>> Revenge

>> With the weird shit we see every day, who needs to read fiction?
>> Percival

Risen Legend (CthulhuTech)

This is another of the 2012 Convention Series of games, and likely the last of my CthulhuTech material (unless I can spark interest in my players).  As usual, the game is designed for a team of elite mech/engel pilots with skills beyond piloting.  This mission is similarly constructed to the mission in the Quick Start book.

The squad has been recalled back to the Capital of the NEG in Chicago, for a protection detail for a recently recovered artifact that the Occult Scholars in Europe have deemed a potential Class 4 Relic (very dangerous in the wrong hands).  Their commanding officer, unwilling to broadcast the information over potentially intercepted transmissions, explains the mission in their London office.

A recent expedition was begun when diviners in the employ of the NEG saw a site beneath the English Channel.  With an armed escort to fend off possible Dagonites, they dredged the southern channel and found the remains of an island, destroyed by some unknown means hundreds of years before.  On it were signs of an old English-style castle and a sizable tomb.  Excavation and carbon dating shows the buildings to have been from around the supposed age of Camelot and the heraldry in the tomb gave indications that might indicate the man buried within was none other than King Arthur of legend.  The island was dubbed Avalon, the fabled burial place of the Great King of Briton.

What furthered this suggestion, though unknown to the public masses, is that a forged blade was unearthed in the tomb as well.  Immediately named Excalibur, the sword is inscribed with a language that is a blend of Celtic Gaelic and Tsath-Yo and those who can read the inscription have the ability to control the minds of those he speaks to while carrying it.  The scholars now fear that Arthur, rather than being an actual king, may have used this blade as a tool for conquest, smoothing his way forward by sorcerous means and making himself into a bloody tyrant, rather than anything noble.  The squad is charged with acquiring Excalibur from its keeper in Chicago and delivering it safely to NEG headquarters, where it will be studied and quarantined.

Act I – Artifact in the Wind

The location provided to the squad by their CO is the Chicago dockyard.  The men charged with the artifact’s safety, rather than travelling in comfort or in plain sight, came across in a sealed cargo container, with food and water to sustain them for the journey across the Atlantic by sea.  When they arrive, all they have is the container number.  Contacting the harbormaster, he walks them over to where the container is being stored.

Right away, there is evidence of trouble.  As they get to the container, they can see that the door has been forcefully pried open, blood and bullet holes riddle the area and even claw marks for something much larger.  The men that made up the security detail all show signs of overkill and the artifact is gone.  Several of the harbour’s defence force fell prey to Excalibur’s influence and quickly turn against the team, opening fire from various locations.  A couple guards in power armour attack, as well as two Falcata mechs submerged in the harbour (for additional challenge, the GM can add in a Khopesh, if the team is well equipped).

Dockyard Soldiers
Attributes:  Agility 6, Intellect 6, Perception 6, Presence 5, Strength 6, Tenacity 7
Secondary Attributes:  Actions 1, Orgone 11, Reflex 6

General Skills:  Athletics – Novice (2), Communications – Novice (2), Law Enforcement – Adept (3), Literacy – Novice (2), Observation – Adept (3), Pilot – Novice (2), Security – Adept (3), Surveillance – Novice (2)

Combat Skills:  Dodge – Novice (2), Marksman – Novice (2)

Weapons:  AR-25 Assault Rifle, 30/75/200, +1 DMG, 60 round clip
CS-44 Enforcer, 12/25/45, +2 DMG, 15 round clip

Vitality:  11
Armor:  SentryTech Mk-V Hvy Personal Armored Vest – +1/+1
Fear Factor:  0
Movement and Speed:  11 mph (27/6 ypt)

Stats for the Falcata and Khopesh mechs can be found in Vade Mecum.  The stats for the Gale Nazzadi mech (I chose this mech for the power armoured guards) are in the Core Rules.

Upon settling the dispute in the dockyard, NEG Special Forces arrive and whisk away the players before the public catches wind of what’s going on in the capital.  Upon hearing the players’ issues at the meet location, their CO believes that one of those few people who worked on the mission has betrayed key information to the enemy.  While the NEG will apply pressure to artifact brokers in the area to see if anyone has seen anything resembling Excalibur, the players are tasked with investigating the three people in Chicago who knew anything about the sword coming to the Capitol.

Act II – Unwilling Traitor

There were only three people who knew the particular details of Excalibur’s transit:  Jessica Matheson, Gunya and Peter Harper.  The squad can choose to meet whomever they want first, but Jessica is under a tight time constraint…

Jessica Matheson is a consummate businesswoman.  She is married to her job as the head of the shipping company (United Haulage) that the NEG uses to move around sensitive merchandise.  They can find her in her office, rapidly packing as many personal effects as she could.  When she becomes aware of the PCs, she spins and levels a shaky handgun at them.  “What do you want?”

If the players explain that they are NEG Special Forces, she breathes a heavy sigh of relief and stashes the weapon.  “Thank goodness… is it true?  The team is dead and Excalibur’s been taken?”  When her fears are confirmed, she resumes packing.  “There so few of us left that know about the sword… the government has told me to go into hiding and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.  Lord knows I have enough vacation days saved up…”

If the characters pass a Challenging Observation test, they may notice Jessica’s head being marked by a laser sight.  Any who notice the red dot can make an Initiative roll.  If they exceed 12, they can tackle Jessica and shove her aside before the shooter makes his shot.  Otherwise, her head explodes in a spray of blood and gore.

If Jessica survives the assassination attempt, the shooter flees.  She knows nothing about the other two people, but she urges them to hurry before fleeing the building to leave the city.

Gunya is a Nazzadi male.  He is a historian, focused on English/Celtic culture and an Occult Scholar.  It was him that was going to receive the sword and study it to unlock its secrets.  His research is missing from his office and when they visit his home, they find him nailed to his fridge by a kitchen knife slammed through his eye socket.  The blood is still dripping and fluid, saying that this kill was recent.

Searching his residence finds a diary where he detailed his suspicions about the sword and he references the ritual his planned on using to access the sword’s “memory”.  There is no sign of the records at his office.

Peter Harper was the man who found Avalon and Excalibur.  He was to be present as his discovery was unravelled and understood.  If the artifact was safe, he could present it to a museum and credited with its discovery.  If the weapon was found to be dangerous, he was to be generously compensated.  He also carried extensive visuals from the bottom of the English Channel and those images are the only reason he is still alive.

If the squad visit him early, they find him at work.  He is evasive and uncomfortable under questioning and swears he knows nothing about what happened.  Even under duress, he refuses to talk.  If the PCs physically harm him, he will finally break down and confess that he had no choice but to tell them about the project, as men took his wife and kids hostage.  He breaks into sobs, as he adds on that they promised that if he spoke, they’d kill them.  The players will find his family dead if they tail him later.

If the PCs don’t strong arm him into submission, or if they come to see Peter last, when they arrive at his house, they see him being escorted out by a group of men.  Peter doesn’t seem very pleased to be going along and he tightly hugs a briefcase to his chest.  If the players intervene, they will try to fend off the players while shoving Peter into the car and fleeing.

Chrysalis Fire Team (as per Ancient Enemies)
Attributes:  Agility 6, Intellect 5, Perception 7, Presence 5, Strength 6, Tenacity 7
Secondary Attributes:  Actions 1, Orgone 11, Reflex 6

General Skills:  Athletics – Novice (2), Criminal – Student (1), Hobby – Student (1), Literacy – Novice (2), Observation – Novice (2), Regional Knowledge – Novice (2), Stealth – Novice (2), Trivia – Student (1)

Combat Skills:  Armed Fighting – Novice (2), Dodge – Adept (3), Fighting – Novice (2), Marksman – Adept (3)

Weapons:  SM-14 Submachinegun, 10/20/40, +2 DMG, 30 round clip
CS-44 Enforcer, 12/25/45, +2 DMG, 15 round clip
Composite Combat Knife, +1 DMG
Survival Kit

Vitality:  11
Armor:  SentryTech Mk-V Hvy Personal Armored Vest – +1/+1
Fear Factor:  0
Movement and Speed:  11 mph (27/6 ypt)

Interrogating one of the soldiers, or shadowing the fleeing car will lead them to where the men are holding Peter’s family.  Any survivors in the building (or if there are none, Peter’s wife) tell the PCs about a planned ritual in the sewers beneath the capitol buildings.

Act III – United We Fall

The sewers in Chicago are extensive and the tunnels closest to the capital are sealed by military personnel, but the power of Excalibur allowed a small army of the Children of Chaos to slip inside the perimeter and find a service room large enough to accommodate the ritual.

The squad can use Survival or Engineering to try and navigate the labyrinth of tunnels to try and track down the enemy.  When they finally find the chamber, combat breaks out almost the moment they burst in (they’ve barred the door on the inside, so it will take brute force to open the door).  Soldiers, cultists and a couple Dhohanoids stand guard on the inside.  The ritual circle has a barrier erected around it to prevent it from being disrupted.

See Fire Team above for soldiers.  Cultists stats can be found in the Core Book.  Elib and Gelgore Dhohanoid Stats can be found in the Core book or the CthulhuTech Quick Start book.

If the leader of the ritual notices his team is losing, he will unleash Excalibur on the PCs.  If they’re targeted by the sword, they will need to resist with a Challenging Tenacity Feat check or join the enemy until they can pass the test (or the ritual is stopped).

Studying the ritual circle that had been erected, they are attempting to unleash Excalibur’s power on the entire city, so they can take over the government.  With the NEG under control, they would quickly escalate the return of the Old Ones.

Taking on the Behemoth (Shadowrun)

This is the first of my convention season adventures that I’ve run over the summer/fall of 2012.

The runners are contacted for work by their fixer, who is looking to hire a team of runners for a high-profile job.  The work promises to be lucrative but messy.  If the team is willing to meet the employer, they have a ways to travel, heading out to the Enumclaw Moneymaker Hotel on the outskirts of Auburn.  The meet is at 10PM, so the runners should have plenty of time to get there, despite the remote location.

Enumclaw is a cubicle hotel that rents by the hour and the wide variety of prostitutes available here tells them that it would be the most popular option.  The most Charismatic (or desperate-looking, in the absence of a face) male runner is approached by a joy-girl and she leans in close, giving him a healthy dose of her subtle perfume.  “I think you’re looking for someone special… I suggest you try this one out…”  She hands him a business card with an address just down the street.  The address turns out to be an abandoned store front, done up to look like a members-only brothel.  Inside has little to do with sex; instead it is covered in maps, guns and AR-blocking paint.  A woman sits behind a table, her feet up on the table and flanked by four bodyguards.  She’s wearing combat pants and boots, but a well-weathered t-shirt on top.  Nearly half of her head is shaved bald, but the length of the remainder nearly masks it.  Her cybernetic eyes and her hair are both Crayola red.  Her one arm is obviously cybernetic and much of her exposed flesh is scarred by blade or bullet.  She’s obviously seen some action.  It isn’t until she drops her boots onto the floor that her hair falls away enough to reveal the tips of pointed ears.

She rounds the table and gives each of the runners a firm handshake, though her bodyguards remain stoic.  “Glad you could come.  Grab a chair if you’d like… we’ve got serious biz to discuss.”  Once the team has settled in, she leans on the table and peruses the team before her.  “I was once on the same side of this table that you’re on presently, so I’m going to just lay everything out here in the interests of full disclosure.  I need you to destroy a company.  I can’t tell you which company unless you’re on board, but the company must be totally dismantled.  Think you’re up for it?”

The woman is Alicia Webber, cell commander of the anti-corp group Attack!  She is looking to deprive one or more of the megas from obtaining data after investing heavily in the target company.  Her cell is too small to handle it, but she’s hoping that the small company will pose no issue for the veteran runners.

If they want to know the pay for the job, she is offering 15000¥ apiece for the job, with a third of that up front to cover expenses.  Once they sign on, she elaborates further.

“Excellent.  The company we’re targeting is a small med-tech corporation called Paulson-Karchev NanoTech.  They’re not even an A-level corporation, but they have received funding from Mitsuhama, Evo and Wuxing.  With the money they’ve invested in the company, the company’s research is starting to bear fruit and all three of those corporations are looking to pounce and purchase the company outright, acquiring the end result and steal the toys away from their competitors.  While they engage in their petty bidding war, we want to deny them their prize and smash the company entirely.  We want prototypes destroyed, data erased and key personnel assassinated.  There will be nothing left for these companies to gain and they’ll be out millions of dollars.  Due to the nature of the job and its extent, I will find a neutral meeting ground in Salish lands to meet with you once the work is done.  When those corps scramble to figure out who did the job, I don’t want to be anywhere nearby.”

Ms. Johnson will answer any questions she knows the answers to honestly.  She can provide the runners with the address of the corp and a short list of employees who need to be exterminated, as they know the most about the research they were conducting.

Paulson-Karchev Nanotech

This small med-tech company has just under 50 employees, but some of their staff are some of the most gifted and unorthodox medical and technology minds on the market.  Their radical approach has allowed their company to fly below the radar for the most part, but a few of the AAA Megacorps decided to invest in the pipe dream of the company.  They sought to correct genetic abnormalities in patients by injecting the patient with a sustained colony of nanites that could correct the disorder at the chromosomal level.

Within the past month, they had their first breakthrough.  Their most recent batch of medical nanites were able to create a synthetic lysine that the body didn’t reject as a forgery.  Any disease they tested on lab animals that was caused by inert chromosomes saw the disease reverse and disappear entirely in mere months.  Work has begun on reversing the process, but shutting down chromosomes that cause disease, but this initial success has generated a lot of interest in the nanotech community, but thanks to the money offered up by the Megas, those patents are a measure of some debate as to whose funding fueled the breakthrough.

Wuxing wants to attempt to use the technology to activate the X-factor that creates mages.  Similarly, Mitsuhama wants to unlock the secrets of what makes a technomancer.  Evo wants the technology so they can re-write the human genome to make them more adaptable to life in space and on Mars.  The inherent possibility that this technology can be weaponized by the megacorps is entirely possible as well.

The company is run by the two minds behind the idea:  Curtis Paulson and Elsa Karchev.  These two, plus the chief technologist Yang Xin are the targets of the assassination portion of the mission.  If the runners handle the assassination early on in their assault, they may be able to get the three employees together and take them out collectively, but if the company has fallen under attack already, the AAs invested in the company will do their best to keep them apart, for (justified) concern over their safety.

Physically, the PKN building is a three story building of tinted glass, surrounded by trees in Tacoma.  Not benefitting from extraterritoriality, their in-house security would be laughable, but they have benefit from the funding and support of the megas.  Wuxing has provided minor magical support, Mitsuhama has upgraded their Matrix and drone infrastructure and Evo has funded for the addition of a basement level not shown on the blueprints, where the produced nanites are being stored.

These blueprints reflect the original purpose for the building.  The ground floor is the medical lab portion of the facility.  Patients receiving regular injections are admitted here, including those undergoing the first human tests for some of their projects (thankfully for the runners, the new project has not been approved for testing on humans yet).  Some of the observation rooms have been modified for testing on animals rather than on humans.

The second floor is where the bulk of the staff work.  Many of the workstations are empty and several offices are being used as temporary storage or team meeting rooms, while the company expects to rapidly expand.

The third floor is normally empty, but with the increasing involvement of the AAA’s, this space is being used by liaisons for the three interested parties.  The tension here is much higher and the northeast offices have been converted to security offices, though the police in the building cannot use lethal means, they carry tasers and stun batons to deal with any threats.

Matrix Node Structure:

Sculpting:  A hospital ward, with various rooms off of the main foyer.  IC and Personas manifest as doctors and paramedics.
Hardware:  One MCT Sentinel II (Persona Limit 10, Processor Limit 60) – Third Floor IT room
Authentication:  Passkey
Privileges:  Standard
Attributes:  Firewall 5, Response 4, Signal 3, System 5
Spiders:  1 System monitor during business hours (system offline during off hours)
IC:  Anesthetician 5 – (Track 5, Nuke 5), BabySwarm 5
Resident Programs:  Analyze 5, Encrypt 5
ARC:  Shutdown
Topology:  The main node is only accessible through one of the workstations in the office.  All drones and cameras are slaved to the main node.  If the credentials of a user are ever in question, the system will attempt to boot the user by using the protective measures (IC) and if the IC is taken offline, the system begins a system-wide shutdown.

Any attempt by the user to access the R&D stores will trigger the Analyze program and should they be detected, the node is encrypted and IC is deployed.

If the runners employ overt force to flatten the building or inflict obscene collateral damage, Knight Errant will arrive quickly and the runners will have to escape the police.

Assassination

The take-over bid will go through in a week’s time (a joint bid by Evo and Wuxing as voices within the PPG will win if things aren’t redirected).  If the runners hit the company during normal business hours and the alarm hasn’t been raised yet, they can catch all three people inside the building.  After hours, each employee has their own life to live and will need to be tracked down.  If the alarm has been raised, they will be guarded by corporate security, in hopes of protecting their investment.  See Legwork for their personal schedules.

With the brilliant minds gone, nanites destroyed and data erased, the runners can send a message to Ms. Johnson about the job being complete.  She directs them to a rural area in Salish lands, just East of Auburn, where they first met her.

The area is a gravel pit, set in the foothills of the Rockies.  A perimeter has been erected by Attack! And Ms. Johnson is all smiles when they arrive.

“You guys really impressed me.  We could use some talented guys like you in our organization… any thoughts about joining the ranks of an anti-corporate league like ours?”

Whether the runners express any interest or not, as she is about to pay them, one the Attack guards fires his weapon briefly before being cut down by gun fire.  Corporate soldiers belonging to Mitsuhama enter the valley from all available sides and a wirelessly-disabled attack helicopter flies overhead, firing armor piercing rounds into anything that moves.  The Attack! members will fight with the runners to try and defeat the security attack force.

Any survivors get paid and have completed the mission.

Legwork

Ms. Johnson
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Terrorist Organizations (2)

0 – Not a clue…
1 – Her name is Alicia Webber.  She leads one of the local cells of Attack!, an anti-corporate terror cell.
2 – She has military service in her past with one of the corps.  Ares, I think.
3 – She served in the Desert Wars, but something went wrong on her tour.  She holds the corps responsible and was willing to take her desire for payback to an extreme level.
4 – While she favours jobs against Ares, she is an opportunist and will exploit any opening to take down the corps a notch.

Attack!
Thresholds – Matrix (1), Terrorist Organizations (1)

0 – Sounds like someone plays too many strategy games.
1 – They are a terrorist organization who loathes the megacorps.
2 – Most members have been burned by the corps, but the leaders typically have combat experience.
3 – Rather than being one large organization, they operate as a series of decentralized cells that simply carry the name.
4 – The local cell has been silent for a while… they must be planning something big.

Paulson-Karchev Nanotech
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3)

0 – That a law firm?
1 – A small medical supplier company.  Been in business for five years or so.
2 – Used to be called just Paulson MedTech and supplied hospitals with nanites.  When they hired on Karchev as a vice-president they expanded into R&D.
3 – There has been a lot of interest in the company’s project in the medical community.  Their progress has also grabbed the attentions of a few of the megas.  Something about re-coding DNA…
5 – Rumour has it that their chief technologist is actually a plant by one of the megas, so they can get a leg up on the competition in acquiring their product.

Curtis Paulson
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (3), Medical (2)

0 – He was that guy… with that band… right?
1 – He is the owner of a medtech contracting company.  He specializes in the production of nanite hardware.
2 – He is rumoured to be a lenient employer who puts emphasis on family.  He refuses to let his job intervene in his family life and helps the families of his employees.
3 – His company was failing and he considered a means to jumpstart the business again.  He heard about Elsa Karchev and offered her a job.  Their partnership has proved promising, as sponsors kept the business afloat.
4 – Despite that he is the CEO, Karchev is the brainchild of the project that jumpstarted the company.  He has been benevolent in the public eye, but supposedly begrudges having fallen to be second fiddle in the company.

Elsa Karchev
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2), Medical (1)

0 – Russian Figure Skater, right?
1 – Ukrainian biologist who is considered to be one of the brightest doctors out of the Ukraine in years.
2 – She was employed with ZetaImpChem for a number of years, helping to make their products more environmentally friendly.
3 – After some form of internal debacle, she was fired from ZIC and no one else seemed interested due to her being blacklisted.  She dove at the chance to work with Paulson when he came knocking.
4 – Apparently, her breakthrough is close to infringing on the work she was doing with ZIC, but she has managed to exploit loopholes to bring the technology out.  She doesn’t care for the spotlight on her, but is happy to rub her former employer’s faces in the dirt, it seems.

Yang Xin
Thresholds – Matrix (2), Corporate (2), Medical (3)

0 – Not a clue…
1 – Yang was hired at PKN shortly after Karchev signed on and began her research.
2 – His portfolio shows him to possess a degree in biochemistry and software design and Karchev’s vision could not have worked without his skills.
3 – There has been discussion between Paulson and Karchev about Yang’s publicity.  Paulson wants to give the technologist some credit in the work, while Karchev has claimed it as her intellectual property.  Yang has yet to state whether he wants credit.
5 – Yang Xiu is also known as Fu Wei, a bioneticist from Wuxing, Inc.  He was groomed for this position when Wuxing learned about the project.  They hope that he will bring his expertise from working on the project back to the parent company, even if they don’t acquire the company.

Curtis Paulson’s Daily Schedule

6AM – Wake Up
7AM – Leave home
7:30AM – Arrive at Work
9AM – Tour Workshop and Clinic
11AM – Review Product Manifest with Thomas Wainright (Production Foreman)
12PM – Lunch
2:30PM – Project Meeting
4:30PM – Review Next Day’s Production Manifest
5PM – Return Home
6PM – Dinner with Wife and Kids
8PM – Kids go to bed
10PM – Curtis and Heather go to bed

Elsa Karchev’s Daily Schedule

6AM – Wake Up
6:30AM – Leave home
7AM – Arrive at Work
8AM – Review all test data from previous day
10AM – Talk to Genetics Team about results and any genetic aberrations
12PM – Lunch
1:30PM – Meet with Genetics Team to decide on new test cases
2:30PM – Project Meeting
4PM – Infuse new nanite colony with new programming
6PM – Head Home
6:30PM – Dinner with Husband
8PM – Walk the Dog
10:30PM – Charles and Elsa go to bed

Yang Xin’s Daily Schedule

7AM – Wake Up
7:30AM – Leave home
8AM – Arrive at Work
9AM – Review Lab Results from previous day
10AM – Begin Program Recalibrations
12PM – Lunch
2:30PM – Project Meeting
4:00PM – Review Recalibration from the morning
5PM – Add Elsa’s Recalibrations into Programming
7PM – Begin New Test with daily changes
7:30PM – Head Home
8PM – Dinner
9PM – Calls family back in China
11PM – Goes to bed

All schedules may change if the plot to destroy the company becomes knowledge.  Security details will sequester each technician and prevent them from physically gathering and will move the families to secure locations if deemed necessary.

For the Ambush at the gravel pit, use Ares CityMasters at both entrances to bring in the Corp Security (with soldiers on the hills surrounding the pit).  The Helicopter is an Aguilar (Arsenal).  For the Dump Trucks use the Ram Industrial (SOTA 2073).  Use the Morgan for the ATVs.  Dozer and Backhoe stats may follow…

>> Whoa whoa… taking out a whole company?!  Little overzealous, don’t ya think?
>> Burn

>> Not necessarily.  It’s not like you’re trying to take down Aztechnology or something.  It’s a small time company with a singular business focus.  A few crippling blows and they’ll never recover.  Many of us are getting pretty good at this sort of thing.
>> Havik

>> Perhaps you haven’t looked who today’s target is brought to us by?  Several of the big players have sunk money into this tiny company.  They’re on the brink of going global.
>> Burn

>> Judging by who’s hiring, I’m thinking the risk is a little high for the pay scale.  These people rarely think twice about using runners as fire-and-forget weapons.
>> Wraith