Awakening Apocalypse - Chapter 2: The End of the Beginning

"I say we take out surveillance first. Sound good? Also what do you need to hack the drones?"

Saint sends out as a message, seeing as that's how everyone is communicating, while lurking down the hallway. He listens intently for sounds of anyone approaching.

Casper nods slowly, distracted by watching a pair of security guards as they patrol past. She relaxes a bit once they're gone.

"Yes. Take out the cameras and alarms. Thanks."

Heartbreak

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[sblock=OOC]
Current Deck stats: Attack 1, Sleaze 4, Data Processing 3, & Firewall 3. Running Virtual Machine with Exploit and Sneak.[/sblock]

Heartbreak is wary of the patrol IC that looks like a referee. It's bouncing between various icons, scanning everything it sees as it gradually comes closer to where Heartbreak is running silent.

The Patrol IC uses Matrix Perception to check for silently running icons in the area. The patrol IC isn't very competent and fails spectacularly, scoring 0 hits and keeping it oblivious to Heartbreak's presence. Heartbreak doesn't even have to roll an opposed test to remain hidden. If the IC had gotten even a single hit, it would have known there is "something" running silent, leading to an opposed roll to detect Heartbreak.

This time Heartbreak easily remains hidden, however this grid WILL eventually catch up to him. It's just a matter of time, and Heartbreak's overwatch score is still (slowly) ticking upward! At some point, Heartbreak's overwatch score will cross a threshold that will make it impossible for him to remain in the shadows of this grid, and he'll be forced into the open. The more sleazy actions Heartbreak takes, the more his overwatch score increases.

The referee whizzes right past Heartbreak and inspects the icons for the door alarm and security camera. It easily notices the marks Heartbreak has left on the devices, however the IC program is too stupid to tell that the marks are not from a legitimate user. It zips away, and Heartbreak breathes a sigh of relief. He will have some time before the patrol IC makes another round and becomes a threat again.

Heartbreak finds the icon for the door alarm next to Skinny and Casper, and shuts it down as easily as the previous one. Next is the video camera. Heartbreak has a bit more trouble with this one. He doesn't fail, exactly, but it's a very close call before he finally sees a minor oversight and corrects it just in time. The camera and door alarm near Skinny and Casper are both disabled (at least for now!). By making a sneak skill test, Skinny and Casper could slip through the door without being seen. The test will be modified by all the commotion in the public areas making it easier to go unnoticed, and the deliberate architecture meant to keep these doors inconspicuous to the public. Once on the other side of the door, the runners will benefit from Heartbreak's infiltration for any further stealth skill rolls.

From this point, I will no longer be providing the number of hits scored by the host or its icons in its opposed rolls vs Heartbreak, as this information would lead to Heartbreak knowing his overwatch score. This information is intended to be looming and vague. It is made available via performing the check overwatch score matrix action, however even this opposed roll leads to a potential increase in the overwatch score, and should be used sparingly. Heartbreak will continue to be provided information regarding his own hits, however. For his previous two actions, Heartbreak scored fewer hits than expected. Against the door alarm, Heartbreak scored 3 hits. Against the camera, he scored 2 hits.

Skinny moves through the door in a yellow blur, attempting to get to the other side before anyone notices.

Burning edge to do so.

Casper slips in through the door at a more sedate, but quiet, pace.

(OOC - Hm, enworld die roller shows totals, not individual die results. Will plug in an inviscastle roll as soon as I get a chance.)

Skinny is using Edge for the first time this campaign. Here are a few notes about Edge, for those who aren't familiar with Shadowrun.

To use Edge, refer to page 56 of the 5E rulebook. You may spend Edge to Push the Limit, Seize the Initiative, Blitz, Close Call, or Dead Man's Trigger. In this campaign, Second Chance will not be available, however it is replaced with Narrative Shift (described on page 1 of the setup thread). Using any of these Edge effects will cause your character to temporarily lose 1 point of Edge, which will be recovered during downtime between runs.

In addition to the above, a character may burn Edge, as described on page 57. This results in a permanent loss of Edge, which can only be recovered by spending Karma to raise your Edge attribute. For Skinny's roll, I have assumed that he intended to Push the Limit by spending Edge, not actually burning it. Please let me know if I have assumed incorrectly!

Skinny's roll - Agility + Sneaking + Edge + (4) Environment modifier = 20 dice: 7 hits. Skinny ignores his limit for this test, and all hits are counted.
Casper's roll - Agility + Sneaking + (4) Environment modifier = 14 dice: 5 hits. This result is below Casper's physical limit, so all hits are counted.

Skinny and Casper easily avoid being noticed as they slip through the emergency exit door. They are now one floor above Heartbreak and Saint. The emergency exit stairs and hallways aren't any nicer on this floor. The same cold concrete and bare steel greet Skinny and Casper here. From here, the two can access doors leading outside (where the hedging obscures the view of the exit doors). On this level they can also access the showroom where the Pow! demonstration will take place, or the prep area next to the showroom where the drink will be mixed prior to the show. More critical restricted areas of CTI industries are below them, in the basement levels.

Casper and Skinny both note how simple it would be to escape through this particular area if the drek hits the fan in this run. There's literally nothing but an unlocked door between them and the bustle of Denver's corporate district.

Skinny is on the market side of the door in one instant and peering over the railing of the stairs to the landing below in the next. "Pick a direction. We need to keep moving." He starts unbuttoning his slicker for easier access to his weapons - though he keeps them holstered for now.

TillForPie said:

Skinny is on the market side of the door in one instant and peering over the railing of the stairs to the landing below in the next.

Click to expand...

Below Skinny is the stairwell landing/hallway where Heartbreak and Saint have just entered, but due to the angle of the view he can't put eyes on them yet. If Skinny spoke in his normal voice, the acoustics of this area would allow the others to hear him. Seeing as how this is just the emergency exit, this part of the building is probably not routinely patrolled, and almost never actually used. As soon as the runners try to access areas that CTI actually patrols (such as the showroom backstage area, the security offices, etc.) the runners will have a harder time going unnoticed.