ALL THE BRICKS - Prologue: What Rough Beast

[title]The Game[/title]
ALL THE BRICKS is a cyberpunk action adventure play-by-post RPG set in the dystopian near-future of our own world. It uses the 5th Edition Shadowrun rules by Catalyst Game Labs. The campaign is set primarily in New York, beginning in 2078. In the future everything is owned by megacorporations, super powerful private entities pitted against one another in an eternal shadow war. The player characters are shadowrunner mercenaries working for and against the megacorporations. I, TillForPie, am the Game Master and our current cast of players consists of GlassEye, Mosier, Rubberneck, and Shayuri. Please don't post to this thread if you're not a current cast member - commentary should go in the OOC Thread.

Current Game Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2077

ALL THE BRICKS Table of Contents
OOC Thread
Game Thread
Prologue: What Rough Beast

[title]Expectations[/title]
Everyone's enjoyment will be maximized if there's a certain amount of buy-in with regards to both the setting and the expectations of the game itself. My job as GM is to be the PCs' biggest fan and to portray the world in a serious way. The players' job is to take the world seriously and to portray their characters as if they were real. It's the job of the entire group to help everyone have fun.

The game will work best if players with priority (priority refers to the player whose turn it is in combat, or to all players when not in combat) try to post an average of once per day. Let me know if you're expecting an absence. When posting try to make it obvious which character you're playing and which text represents actions, thoughts, or speech. When possible specify which game actions you're taking and refer to rulebook page numbers if reasonable - this makes it all a lot easier on me. You can use whichever fonts and colors you like but I may ask you to make changes if your submissions are difficult to read. Try to keep OOC chatter in this thread to a minimum.

[title]Gameplay Notes[/title]

• I handle dice rolling for ALL THE BRICKS. Players are more than welcome to suggest dice pools for their actions (in fact, it's encouraged) but I'll take care of the rest.
• Edge can only be burned (which is permanent) or spent to use Push the Limit (which must be declared prior to rolling the dice) and Dead Man's Trigger. When Pushing the Limit you receive an additional die to roll (so if you have a base pool of 10 and an Edge of 5 you'll be rolling 16 exploding dice when Pushing the Limit). See pages 56-57 of the SR5 rulebook for information on using Edge.
• Karma is awarded at the end of runs as described on page 376 of the SR5 rulebook. An additional d6 karma is awarded when someone turns it up to 11 - this karma goes to everyone in the group. Being awesome makes everyone around you awesome, too. Karma can be turned into cash: 1 karma is worth 2,000 nuyen, just like in character creation.

[title]The New York Sprawl[/title]
New York is a sprawl, a modern mega-city with over 50 million inhabitants. It's officially a part of the UCAS (United Canadian and American States) and many of its residents are Canadian-American citizens, but the real powers in New York are the megacorporations. All of the largest corporations in the world have a significant presence in the city. The corporations pay lip service to the ideals of cooperation through Manhattan, Inc., a council with little actual authority. The truth is that New York is a battleground.

The megacorporations are in a constant state of war with one another. This one wants to steal trade secrets from that one. Megacorp A is trying to weasel in on Megacorp B's business. One here is going to sabotage one there. This means New York is rarely quiet and there's always something happening somewhere. When the megacorporations aren't threatening the stability of New York the gangs pick up the slack. The Triads (Chinese), Yakuza (Japanese), Vory (Russian), Mafia (formerly Italian - now something of a melting pot), and countless smaller street gangs (populated primarily by the SINless) stir up constant chaos in the city.

That's all you really need to know. What follows is a primer on the specifics - it's not really written with entertainment or style in mind. It's more for keeping everything straight. You might want to read the description for the part of the city your character lives in, or where your character is currently running, but whether you read the whole thing is up to you.

[sblock=A Tour of New York]ALL THE BRICKS takes place primarily in NYS and its surrounding areas, though there is the potential for runs to occur anywhere in the world. New York has eight boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Yonkers, Jersey City, and Newark.

North of New York is the Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone - a large region walled off on all sides and populated by desperate SINless. It's the unfortunate result of nuclear experimentation gone wrong and its perimeter is patrolled by Knight Errant in order to keep people from coming in or out. To the northwest (just southeast of the PCZ) is the Clifton Barren. Clifton's residents are all SINless and though unapproved traffic is illegal, smuggling (of people as well as goods) both in and out is common.

To the east of New York, in western Long Island, is the Hempstead Arcology (an arcology is a self-contained mini-city). It's run by Aztechnology. Beyond Hempstead's residential compounds and production fields is the Long Island Barren. The people of Long Island are cut off from New York and every month a group of SINless Long Islanders are caught trying to make their way across the water to the mainland.

The nearest cities are Morristown and Edison City, to the west and southwest of New York respectively. Both have strong cultural ties with New York and commuting between them is common.

For the most part locations occupy similar borders in 2078 as they did in 2016. But you shouldn't assume - many things have changed, particularly when it comes to specific neighborhoods. When in doubt, check with the GM.

[sblock=Manhattan]Manhattan
Lifestyle Cost: +50%

The island of Manhattan is the jewel of New York. It's heavily fortified, constantly patrolled by Knight Errant officers, and totally off-limits, omae. Oh, I know what you're thinking: You're a badass and if you want to run in Manhattan you'll damn sure do it. Runners ten times as talented as you have died trying.

Six of the ten largest megacorporations in New York have their headquarters on the island. Five million people live here, most of them wageslaves. But some of them are among the wealthiest in the world, the executive elite of the most powerful organizations to ever exist. Manhattan is overwhelmingly populated by humans, with a good number of elves and dwarves. Orks and trolls are both extremely rare in the borough.

Uptown Manhattan
The poorest part of Manhattan - though that isn't saying much. The majority of those wageslaves living in Manhattan are here, many of them valuable specialists or low and mid-level management.

Central Park, at the heart of the borough, is a massive commercial center (the park itself no longer exists). The upper east side and the upper west side transition into Midtown. Harlem in the north is the residential core of Uptown. Ares Macrotechnology has its New York headquarters in the upper west side.

Midtown Manhattan
Midtown is the wealthiest region of Manhattan and thus the wealthiest region of New York. Every street here has at least three levels and the sky is choked with delivery drones and Knight Errant patrol craft.

Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Broadway form a cluster of commercial centers in Midtown. Roosevelt Island, in the East River, is home to Neonet's New York headquarters - it's known as the Roosevelt Arcology. Horizon, Renraku Computer Systems, and Shiawase Corporation also have their New York headquarters in Midtown.

Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is wealthier and busier than Uptown and many of the city's wealthy residents keep apartments here. There is a disproportionate number of elves here.

Greenwich Village in the north is often what people really mean when they refer to Lower Manhattan and contains a great deal of residential complexes. Union Square, in northern Greenwich Village, is the region's largest commercial center. Chinatown in the south is under the complete control of Wuxing, Inc. - the Triad is rumored to have a presence here.
[/sblock][sblock=The Bronx]The Bronx
Lifestyle Cost: +25% in the South Bronx

The Bronx is a diverse borough where the middle and lower classes rub shoulders. The majority of wageslaves who commute to Manhattan island to the south live somewhere in the Bronx. A significant number of Japanese and metahumans live in various neighborhoods throughout the Bronx.

The West Bronx
Occupying the northwest quarter of the borough, the West Bronx is one of the poorest and most ethnically-diverse areas of New York. Riots are a regular occurrence in certain neighborhoods and travelling through some areas can be dangerous for commuters of the wrong race, nationality, or gang affiliation.

Morris Heights, thought of as the most dangerous place in the borough, is a goblin ghetto on the border of the South Bronx. Morris Heights is famous for its gang activity and shootouts on the streets aren't uncommon. East Tremont, on the border of the East Bronx, is a working-class neighborhood with a significant Spanish-speaking population.

The East Bronx
The East Bronx is a middle-class region home to the largest dwarven enclave in all of New York (though humans remain the majority). Lone Star and NYPD, Inc. work to keep the area safe from the gang activity found in the west.

Trogg's Neck is a dwarven enclave in the southeastern corner of the East Bronx. Bronx Park, near the West Bronx's East Tremont, is a large commercial center. The megacorporation Saeder-Krupp runs an arcology (as well as its New York headquarters) on City Island, just offshore.

The South Bronx
When people from other boroughs visit the Bronx they typically come here. The South Bronx occupies the lower half of the borough and is largely populated by middle-class wageslaves. A significant number of Manhattan workers commute from the South Bronx. Lone Star, NYPD, Inc., and Knight Errant all have contracts here and the competition between the three of them can become quite fierce.
In the north, on the edge of the West Bronx's Morris Heights, is Little Tokyo. Centered on Yankee Stadium, Little Tokyo is a major Japanese (and Yakuza) enclave and home to Mitsuhama's New York headquarters. Lone Star patrols the neighborhood's northern border. Hunts Point in the east is a notorious red-light district and the poorest neighborhood in the South Bronx.[/sblock][sblock=Brooklyn]Brooklyn
Lifestyle Cost: +25% in Sunset Park

Brooklyn is one of New York's most densely-populated boroughs, behind Manhattan and Jersey City. Most of the Russian-speaking residents of New York live and work in Brooklyn and the Vory has a strong presence here. There's a large number of metahumans of all kinds in the borough, though of course humans remain the majority in most places.

Crown Heights
The northeast quarter of Brooklyn is known as Crown Heights. Crown Heights is generally lower-class, with a great deal of ethnic diversity. It has the greatest density of orks and trolls on Long Island.

Bushwick is a working-class neighborhood in northern Crown Heights with a high Spanish-speaking population. The Brownsville Barren, in the east, is populated almost entirely by orks and trolls. Violence in the Barren is commonplace and its walled border is patrolled by NYPD, Inc. forces. Flatbush, in the south, is another ork/troll enclave, but much safer than Brownsville.

Sunset Park
Occupying a central-western slice of Brooklyn is Sunset Park, a diverse middle-income region with a notable population of elves and dwarves (as always, humans are the majority). A significant population of Modern Orthodox and Hasidic Jews exists in Sunset Park, as does a large number of Irish and Italians. Russian remains the most spoken non-English language. NYPD, Inc. holds the majority of contracts in Sunset Park.

In north Sunset Park is St. Michael's, a lower-class neighborhood with a notable Mafia presence. Conflict between the Mafia and the Vory in St. Michael's is not unheard of. Bath Beach, in the southwest, is a large Hasidic Jewish enclave. On Sunset Park's eastern border is Prospect Park, Brooklyn's largest commercial center.

Sheepshead
Making up the southern third of Brooklyn is Sheepshead. Sheepshead is home to a huge number of eastern Europeans and it is known as the Vory capital of New York.

Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in south Sheepshead - the Vory presence here is so strong that the neighborhood has no need for private security firms. The gang polices its own territory. King's Plaza in the east is second-largest commercial center in Brooklyn (behind Prospect Park) and home to Evo Corporation's New York headquarters.[/sblock][sblock=Queens]Queens
Lifestyle Cost: +50% in Astoria

Queens is perhaps the most economically-diverse borough in New York. Nearly all Chinese New Yorkers not in Manhattan's Chinatown live in Queens and the Triad has a death grip on the poorer neighborhoods.

Astoria
Astoria makes up the westernmost quarter of the borough and is often seen as an extension of Manhattan. Astoria is an extremely busy area famous for its shopping centers, concert halls, theaters, art galleries, and skyline amusement parks. Astoria is the most expensive place to live in New York outside of Manhattan itself.

Steinway, in central Astoria, is the area's primary residential neighborhood. Ravenswood, on the west shore, is the busiest commercial center in Queens (and one of the busiest in all of New York). Long Island City in south Astoria is a mixed residential-commercial neighborhood that blends into Brooklyn. LaGuardia Airport, in the north, is the primary point of entry for visiting executives arriving in New York.

Falasheng
The northeastern third of Queens is known as Falasheng. Falasheng is a massive Chinese enclave, the largest in North America, and is utterly dominated by the Triad.

College Point Peninsula in west Falasheng is both an industrial and lower-class residential area where factory wageslaves sleep in the shadows of their smoke-belching workplaces. In the southeast is Murray, the only neighborhood in Falasheng not dominated by the Chinese. The Mafia have a significant presence here and conflict between them and the Triad has been common in the past. In the north is Whitestone, where the wealthiest of Falasheng live and work. Meadow Park in the southwest is a dazzling commercial center catering to Chinese-speaking consumers.

Jamaica
The southern third of the borough is Jamaica, peopled by the poorest of Queens. Smog from the factories of Falasheng to the north and the Hempstead Arcology to the east makes Jamaica one of the most polluted regions of New York. Jamaica is ethnically diverse but overwhelmingly human.

Briarwood, in the west, contains the majority of Jamaica's middle-class residents. Elmont, on the border of Aztechnology's Hempstead Arcology, is the poorest region in Jamaica and home to a large number of orks and trolls. JFK International Airport, in south Jamaica, is a large commercial center and the primary point of entry for immigrants.[/sblock][sblock=Yonkers]Yonkers
Lifestyle Cost: No modifier

Yonkers is quite suburban as far as the boroughs go. It's occupied by a mix of middle and lower-class residents, with the population tending to grow poorer the further north one goes. The Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone to the north keeps Lone Star and Knight Errant on their toes.

West Yonkers
The west half of Yonkers (occupying the entirety what Yonkers was known as earlier in the century) is the most densely-populated part of the borough. There is a decently-sized population of Native Americans throughout West Yonkers - the highest concentration of them in the sprawl.

Hastings-on-Hudson, in the northwest, is a poor but highly-fortified region thanks to the presence of the nearby PCZ. In the northeast is Crestwood, a small dwarven enclave. In the south is Getty Square, the borough's busiest commercial center.

East Yonkers
Far less densely-populated than the west half, East Yonkers (occupying what was formerly known as New Rochelle) is a place of contrasts. Neighborhoods alternate between opulence and poverty. Knight Errant is the primary security provider of East Yonkers, patrolling the border of the PCZ.

Mount Vernon is a field of gated communities and middle-class housing complexes in the west. New Rochelle, on the northeast shore, is the poorest neighborhood in the borough. In the central-north is Bayberry, a heavily-militarized area and the primary entrance to the Poughkeepsie Contamination Zone to those with proper clearance.[/sblock][sblock=Staten Island]Staten Island
Lifestyle Cost: No modifier

The most suburban and least populated of all the New York boroughs, Staten Island is one of the few places for miles where one can find traditional housing. The island is almost entirely human and overwhelmingly English-speaking. The Mafia is the dominant criminal organization in Staten Island, though Vory activity here is not unheard of.

North Shore
The northern quarter of the borough is known as North Shore and it is the most densely-populated region of Staten Island. All metahumans living in the borough are here and North Shore is where the Mafia holds most sway.

Port Richmond, the northernmost neighborhood of North Shore, is the busiest commercial center in Staten Island. St. George in the northeast is deep Mafia territory and visitors are advised to avoid offending the local crime bosses. Castleton, in the south, is North Shore's most suburban neighborhood.

Midland
Midland makes up the southeastern half of Staten Island and its suburban population is made up entirely of humans, nearly all of them English-speaking. The Mafia is powerful here, as it is everywhere on Staten Island. The Humanis Policlub, a human supremacist organization with chapters throughout North America, has a strong presence here.

Dongan Hills is a neighborhood in the northwest. It's home to the headquarters of the Humanis Policlub's New York Chapter. Eltingville in south Midland is a middle-class residential neighborhood. Blue Heron, in Eltingville, is Midland's only significant commercial center. Tottenville in the southwest is a poor mixed use residential-industrial neighborhood.

Freshkills
The west edge of Staten Island is called Freshkills. It's only lightly-populated, with a large number of research and industrial facilities, most of them patrolled by Lone Star forces.

Freshkills Nuclear Plant, on the northwest shore, provides a portion of New York's energy needs. Fort Freshkills, in the south, is Lone Star's New York headquarters.[/sblock][/sblock]

[title]Paydata[/title]
Our current regular features are Hear-O-Vision and Ancient History. Hear-O-Vision presents the ALL THE BRICKS Official Soundtrack, packed tight with tunes to get you in the mood. Ancient History is an ongoing history lesson providing valuable (or not) insights into the world of tomorrow.

Our Run Hard paydata includes Completed Runs and Turned It Up. Completed Runs speaks for itself. Turned It Up is a collection of the most badass player moments in the story - every time a player turns it up to 11 the entire group gets a karma reward.

[sblock=Regular Features][sblock=Hear-O-Vision]Buy your ALL THE BRICKS Official Soundtrack at fine retailers everywhere!

Side A

• Lazerhawk - Overdrive ^link

Side B[/sblock][sblock=Ancient History]Evo Corporation[/sblock][/sblock][sblock=Run Hard][sblock=Completed Runs]None - yet.[/sblock][sblock=Turned It Up]None - yet.[/sblock][/sblock]

[title]The Pensodyne Run[/title]
Fixers like Big Mac Sexy are a necessary evil for splat jobs like you. Most M&Ms (middle men) aren't willing to throw anything but milk runs and garbage detail at no-rep-having monkeys. So where does a gutterpunk get his start? With a crooked M&M. You don't get to meet Mr. Johnson and you don't know how much flash is really on the table. All you know is the number Mac spits at you and he gets to keep the difference. Half the time Mac doesn't even give you all the details: He doesn't want you to know what a glitchfest you signed up for. You pull one Mickey Mouse job after another hoping that someday he'll toss you something worthwhile. Well - your time has come, chombatta.

Mac's got a run lined up against a big time AAA megacorporation. Well, maybe you're not actually hitting a Big Ten megacorp. You're hitting a Big Ten's subsidiary. Isn't that close enough? A genetech firm called Pensodyne is the target and if you follow its data trail all the way up the ladder you'll eventually find Evo Corporation - the seventh largest corp in the world. Welcome to the deep end. Malka Woodley is a keeb (elf) egghead working for Pensodyne in Newark doing God-knows-what. The break room soykaf must taste like crap because she wants to jump ship after seven years of employment. Unfortunately Pensodyne isn't ready to give Woodley her walking papers - so it's gonna be a bag job. You're infiltrating, grabbing Woodley, and snatching an assload of swag (she's letting you into the vault as her extraction fee for whomever hired Mac). Each runner can expect 5,000 nuyen once the job is complete.

Sleep tight, chummer! You've got a big day tomorrow.

[section]Ancient History: Evo Corporation
Once upon a time the Japanese-built and Russian-based Evo Corporation was the irrefutable king of the court of public opinion. They're easily the most progressive and transhumanist of the Big Ten and no other megacorporation has championed the cause of metahumanity like Evo. The sad news is that public opinion is fickle. A string of recent controversies has put the megacorp on the ropes and Evo's star is falling.

At the center of Evo's troubles is CFD. Cognitive Fragmentation Disorder, or CFD, is what happens when nanoware consumes its host and replaces the poor bastard's personality with an AI. There are tens of thousands of these headcases out there. As the largest producer of nanoware in the world, Evo is facing the brunt of the public relations fallout. Evo's biggest rival - the Boston-based megacorporation NeoNET - isn't faring much better.[/section]
[title]Ten Minutes Ago[/title]
The team consists of Clydesdale, Death Otter, Faust, Herald, Lum the Mad, Lunchmeat, and Y2K.1. It's an oversized team for sure but it's what's needed for the biggest bust-up New York has seen all year. You're rolling in hot on Pensodyne's Newark facility and you're smashing down the door, you're grabbing all the swag, you're digging the RFID tracking tag out of Woodley's arm, and you're booking it. It's all shocked ork and elf faces, hands in the air, "Please don't hurt me!" Some of you wanted a whisper but thanks to Clydesdale, Lunchmeat, and Y2K.1 you got a roar.

Clydesdale is the troll with the transparent body armor and nothing but a thong underneath. He's firing his shotgun at the ceiling.

Lunchmeat is a shaved head and a leather jacket and she's driving a wageslave into the vault at the end of a machine pistol.

Y2K.1 is the Jamaican cyber-mage with the metal hands and she keeps spraying blue flames from her mouth. The office is on fire.

[title]Three Minutes Ago[/title]
That rat bastard Lunchmeat is standing over Y2K.1's body with her gun in your face. Her buddies are gripping their weapons real tight while they snatch the swag from the ground at your feet - duffel bags full of paydata and prototypes.

Lunchmeat betrayed you. She had six friends waiting for you to leave the facility. They've killed Y2K.1 and now they're going to kill you. Then they're going to take Woodley - but they're not taking her back to Big Mac Sexy - they say they have other plans for her.

"Lotta metas?" says the fat one in the pig mask. He's got a grenade launcher. It's the ArmTech MGL-12. Damn, it's sweet.

"Nothing but. No more than a dozen humans." That's Lunchmeat talking. "I thought we were the racists."

"They'll all be chunky salsa in about ten minutes." It's the real small one. He's wearing a balaclava and he's aiming his AK at you.

The one with the black face paint and the cyberarms is all smiles. "Big box of Chinese take-out." She's holding a katana. Katanas are so wapanese-of-the-'90s but you don't want to tell her that while she's pointing hers at your throat.

That's when the corporate HTR (High Threat Response) team shows up and hell breaks loose. A grenade detonates. There's tear gas everywhere. A pillar's torn apart by machine gun fire.

Next you're battling your way out the front door and onto the street with the others. Clydesdale's been shot to hell and he can't keep up with you. He's using his shotgun to support himself as he stumbles toward the door. He's asking for your help. A bullet spills his gray matter onto the lobby linoleum. Good night, sweet prince. You follow your team down the street-side steps to the subway terminal.

[section]Hear-O-Vision: Lazerhawk - Overdrive
Insert your ALL THE BRICKS compact cassette on Side A and play Track 01: Lazerhawk - Overdrive ^link[/section]
[title]Now[/title]
The train WHIIIRS loud as thunder. It's gaining speed. A terminal packed with commuters flashes by the windows.

Thank God one of you managed to grab Woodley - with all the swag gone she's your last shot at a paycheck. You're all in the third car (that's third from the front) of a six car train. Lunchmeat and three of her crew managed to break away from the firefight and follow you down here. Lunchmeat, pig mask, balaclava, and cyberarms are in the sixth car (that's the last car). The unfortunate commuters in cars four and five are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The wageslaves from cars three and two are piled up against the locked door of the lead car. "Let us in!" There's no escape for anyone on the train.

Death Otter managed to worm her brain into the train's host and lock the NYS Transit goons into the front car and shut down their terminal. She has the train skipping stops as it speeds away from Pensodyne and the HTR team. She's in control for now but at any moment the system will realize something's wrong and start spawning IC. In minutes or seconds a Transit spider will be joining her and that's when it gets ugly.

Plastic windows shatter and wageslaves scream when bullets come in from the back of the train. "Hand over the sharp and nobody else has to die!" Sharp is slang for elf. They want Woodley.

OOC: Describe your starting positions in car three. Give me a brief rundown of what you have with you - everyone can have as much or as little of their belongings on them as they want (that includes drones, GlassEye). Shayuri needs to decide whether Otter's still in a trance and inside the train's host. Once I have input from everyone we'll be rolling initiative.

Here's a rough map of the train so you have an idea what you're dealing with.[sblock=Train Map] [/sblock]Shayuri: [sblock]So here's the deal - Otter's got the train going fast (really fast) in an attempt to put distance between the crew and the disaster brewing back at the Pensodyne facility.

I’ll give you more information once I know whether Otter is still in the host. For now you get the basic breakdown:

There are two more Newark stops before the train passes under Newark Bay on its way to Jersey City. In round four the train will pass the first station. In round nine the train will pass the second station. Once the second station has been passed it's an additional 18 rounds until Jersey City. That's 18 rounds for the authorities to set up a response on the other end of the bay - probably not good news, but it gets worse: There's another train about to pass the bay in the same direction but at a much lower speed and if both trains continue at their current speeds they'll impact just before arriving in Jersey City.

Otter could have the train change course just before passing either of the upcoming stations. She could have the train weave about endlessly in Newark if she wanted. Downsides? The authorities will be closing in. Oh, and it might be easy to see a single train further up the current track, but it'll be difficult to keep track of the synchronized dance of trains in the entire system. A crash is possible.

A final complication: Otter has noticed another train host about 300 meters back, keeping pace with the runners. It's been commandeered either by pursuing authorities or the remainder of Lunchmeat's crew. Slowing or stopping before losing them would mean them closing that distance.

This is all without mentioning the inevitable IC and spiders. Have fun![/sblock]

Herald scoops a handful of Clydesdale's brain from his face and flings the gore to the floor. The gesture only manages to smear the unfortunate Runner's remains like war paint over Herald's cheek. He's got a woefully inadequate, almost comically small pistol in his hand, and his perfect features are held in a defiant sneer. With his long midnight-black hair flowing as if caught in the wind, his fist menacingly clenched at his side, and his armored trench coat covered in the blood of his fallen comrades, he couldn't have looked more dashing or heroic if he tried (which subconsciously, he probably is). He's even wearing a pair of high-tech fashionable glasses, adding a bit of sophistication to his "noble savage prince" persona. Any Hollywood director who could have seen him now would have cast him on the spot.

The dashing elf glances through the window between his car and the oncoming treacherous runners. He completely ignores the panicked commuters in his current car, putting his back to the wall with the window to his left. Again, he glances over his shoulder through the window, seeing the scummy crew gain ground toward him.

"Cut the lights!" he shouts over the chaos into his commlink, hoping Otter can hear him. These advancing barbarians almost certainly can't see in the dark, but Herald can. He's not so worried about the NYS goons, as Otter seems to have them under control for now. But for the drek-eating dung shoveling backstabbers coming from the last car, this is personal.

His hands and eyes begin to glow an unnatural, unholy red as he begins to chant in what is supposed to be Latin, but would probably embarrass an actual scholar of the language. "Come forth and serve me!" he commands after his short chant.

[sblock=Summoning attempt]Herald is attempting to summon a Force 4 spirit of fire, with the optional power of FEAR (p397).

MAG 4 + Summoning 6 = 10 dice, vs. Force 4 = 4 dice.
Resisting drain at CHA 8 + WIL 5 = 13 dice. [/sblock]

There were two Death Otters right now.

One Death Otter was a blurry, slightly shifting transparent-seeming blob sitting low to the floor with her legs folded. Not much to see there, with the ruenthium polymer covering of her suit activated. A quick glance could miss that something was there to begin with. This was not the important Otter. It was pretty much just there to carry all of Otter's stuff.

The important Otter was in the Matrix, deep in the host that controlled the train. This one seemed to earn her name far more than the physical body she had; appearing to be a cartoony-cute otter that stood like a human being on stumpy little legs. It was mostly covered in cybernetic implants and plates. One of its eyes was a big black adorable beady otter eye, the other one was a glowing red monstrosity of a cybereye.

Death Otter was at play. Glowing panes of information revolved around her persona's icon, telling her details like the train's speed and current location, and readouts on as many of the train's systems as she could find time to bring up. It was like a glorious puzzle game, really. One where, if you didn't solve the puzzle and take the correct sequence of steps, they'd all die in a speeding locomotive.

Which was pretty badass! She devoted a few clock cycles to wishing she could somehow set the train on fire, because that was seriously the ONLY WAY to make the situation more metal than it already was.

Alright, to business. Formulating a preliminary plan only took a second. Preliminary, because things WOULD happen to frak it up, so she couldn't get married to the damn thing.

First, the bullets. She couldn't see or hear the meatworld, but it didn't take a quantum brain to figure out they were prooooooooooooobably shooting at them. Bullets were bad, and even though she was invisible, a random shot could in theory hit her. That would make surviving more difficult. The train did have controls for car lighting though, and she quickly dialed the internal and external lights on Car 3 and 1 'off.' Internal lights in the other cars stayed on.

A quirk of vision...if you were surrounded by light, and everything outside was dark, you couldn't see JACK. Fancy-schmancy light-amplification wouldn't help either. Thermographics? Sure they'd work. Good luck telling their team apart from the giant mass of warm human bodies in the two cars between them.

Oh, and why Car 1? Well, she didn't know if the Transit goons had nightvision augs, but if not this would mess up whatever THEY were planning. And if so, well, now everything was green to them, and green was calming. Guys, just chill out and bask in the awesome, soka?

Now, to prep for phase two. No wait, phase three. Phase two would be to prepare for the host's and/or spider's notice. Order of operations, Otter!

A quick scan of the host's index revealed what she was looking for...the icon for the train's coupling mechanisms.

A slow and evil smile spread over the otter's digital face.

"What happens if I push THIS button?"

[sblock=In mechanical terms]Okay! So it sounded from your intro that Otter has at least one mark on the Host (necessary for her to even be in it) and has acquired enough control over the train to determine it's speed and direction. If that level of control is insufficient to control its lighting as well, then she'll need to take an appropriate action to gain that control, and then change the train's lighting as described. Let me know if a roll is needed for that.

The second thing I describe is a Matrix Perception search for the coupling mechanism's icon...which is most likely automatically successful due to it (presumably) not running silent, and furthermore if she's marked the Host, that mark carries over to any devices that the Host controls, I believe.

If changing the lights is a Simple action, then finding the icon will be a second simple action in the first init pass. If it's not, then it will happen asap.

Oh, one other thing. You've mentioned that Otter can slow the train down, and change its direction. I'm assuming that this is done wirelessly. So even if a particular car of the train is no longer physically attached to the train, she can still use the Host to change its speed and direction. This will become very important, very soon, so do let me know if this assumption is inaccurate.

And almost forgot inventory. She's got all her stuff on her at the moment except her armor vest which wouldn't stack with the chameleon suit anyway. [/sblock]

Lum the Mad

Lum squatted in the corner of the traincar nearest the commuters, hunched over an MCT-Nissan Roto-drone that rested on the floor between his knees. Black hair hung down masking his eyes as he worked feeding rounds from his backpack that lay on the floor next to him into the ammunition feed of the Shiawase Arms Monsoon assault rifle attached to the drone’s weapon mount. He squeezed in one last round, snapped the case shut, and flicked his head to flip his hair out of his eyes.

Those eyes flashed with excitement and implanted cyber as he ran through a checklist, double-checking the drone’s flight capability, and gave it the command to restart itself. Lum turned to his pack, rezipped it, and slung it over his shoulders. He considered unpacking a Fly-Spy and sending it back to see what Lunchmeat’s gang were up to but decided to wait and see what Death Otter came up with first.

He reached back, unholstered a large pistol and physically checked its ammo. ”Ready for action,” he said, though those remaining of the crew were all busy with their own preparations.

[sblock=OOC]The GM box makes the map run off the edge and I can’t see all of the map. I’m not sure I need to see traincar 1 & 2, though.

Location: bottom left of car 3.

Gear: Fly-Spy (x1), Kanmushe (x1), Roto-drone w/ Monsoon (x1) & ammo, armor jacket, heavy pistol & ammo. Other gear as fits in his backpack.[/sblock]

Faust isn't your typical runner. No fancy gear or flashy clothing could be seen. He was painfully human. He didn't even have a single piece of cyberwear and hell most citizens of the Sprawl had some sort of mods done. Any passerby wouldn't even notice him sitting in the train car. A military style helmet sits neatly on top of his brown hair parted to one side, he adjusts his glasses that had slid down the bridge of his nose and brushes some glass off his coat. He's wearing a brown raincoat buttoned from waist up and at the top you can see a white collared shirt and tie that tucked down and concealed beneath his coat.

Instead of sitting in a seat he turns and faces it, placing his back against the seats behind him. He unbuttons his coat and it parts to reveal a bandolier of assorted grenades and ammunition for his weaponry. He places a few spare magazines on the seat in front of him for easy access. He also places his Ares Alpha on the next seat over, plucking a fragmentation grenade from the bandolier and loading it into the launcher attachment.

His hands go behind his back and reemurged clutching 2 Ares Crusader II's and waits for the first unlucky b*****d to come through.

His comms spark to life and offers an acknowledgment followed by a reply of ready. As soon as the lights are cut he will activate the thermals on his helmet.

Initiative: Round One, Pass One
Death Otter - 27 ^link
Faust - 25 ^link
Lum's MCT-Nissan Roto-Drone - 21 ^link
Lum the Mad - 16 ^link
Lunchmeat - 16
Balaclava - 14
Herald - 11 ^link
Cyberarms - 11
Pig mask - 9

[sblock=Combat Rules Refresher]See the combat chapter of the SR5 rulebook beginning on page 158 for a more complete explanation of combat.

The basic rundown is that you get two simple actions OR one complex action per turn. You can see a list of actions beginning on page 163.

Each character has an amount of movement that they can use per round (not per turn), spread out however they choose among their passes (a pass is a cycle in which each character has a chance to take a turn). So a character with a walking movement rate of 8 meters and 2 passes can split those 8 meters among his passes however he chooses. For all the PCs walking speed is equal to [Agility x 2], with a running speed of [Agility x 4], and a sprinting speed of [+2 meters per hit on a sprint check]. Running and sprinting can give you penalties to certain actions - see the combat chapter for more details.

At the end of each pass everyone's initiative is dropped by 10. Whoever has any initiative left gets to participate in the next pass. There are interrupt actions you can perform, mostly defensive in nature, which will further drop your initiative. See the section on interrupt actions, beginning on page 167, for a list of them. For the most part I won't be checking after each enemy's turn to see if anyone plans on using an interrupt - if you'd like to interrupt you'll have to let me know that you're planning to do so during your turn.[/sblock]

[MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION], it's Death Otter's turn.

Death Otter - The Matrix, NYNet, NYS Transit Train 213 Host

The monstrous red cybereye of Death Otter's persona follows the patrolling guard from beneath a bench as he passes. He looks real in his NYS Transit security uniform but Otter knows too well what he is: Intrusion Countermeasures - IC. He sweeps his flashlight across Otter's hiding spot as he goes but his search yields him nothing and he continues on to the next car.

NYS Transit Train 213's host is the platonic ideal of a subway train. It's sleek and spacious, all gleaming steel and spotless plastic. It might be chaos back in meatspace but here everything is quiet efficiency and cold logic. It's a train with no passengers, no noise, and no stops. It won't be long before spiders and more IC arrive but for now Otter is in the clear.

Sounds seep into Otter's thoughts. "Hand over the sharp and nobody else has to die!" It's Lunchmeat. Her voice is left muted coming through the blood-brain barrier of the host and she sounds otherworldly. Gunshots follow her words like exclamation marks. Lunchmeat is still patched into the comms of the other runners, so Death Otter can hear her. But there's no seeing the comm's Matrix presence from inside the host so taking care of that will have to wait.

"Cut the lights!" It's Herald, his voice as muted as Lunchmeat's. He's talking to Death Otter.

[sblock=Matrix Stuff]NYS Transit Train 213 Host - Rating 4
IC Spawned (1/4): Patrol - will make next Perception check in 1d6-1 rounds
Marks on Host: 1
Host's Marks on Otter: 0
Overwatch Score: ???

Shayuri said:

The second thing I describe is a Matrix Perception search for the coupling mechanism's icon...which is most likely automatically successful due to it (presumably) not running silent, and furthermore if she's marked the Host, that mark carries over to any devices that the Host controls, I believe.

Click to expand...

This is not correct. The real purpose of entering a host is so that you count as being directly connected to all devices that are slaved to it - this means you get to attack a device's (likely quite low) defenses rather than allowing it to use the host's (much beefier) defenses as it would normally. It also allows you to hack wirelessly without worrying about noise (NYS has a huge noise issue) as there exists no noise within a host.

In any case, in the OOC thread I had confused myself with regards to the required Matrix Perception checks. None of the following icons are running silent so no check is required to spot them. You can perform Search checks as I described in the OOC thread to learn more information about these icons but it's not required.

Icons you're aware of:
Speed control system
Individual speed controllers (one per car)
Track selection system
Individual track selectors (one per car)
Emergency brake system (will trigger all emergency brakes)
Individual emergency brakes (one per car)
Couples (no unified system - one couple between each pair of cars)
Light control system, trainwide (can turn all on or off)
Light control system, carwide (one per car - can turn all on or off)
Individual lights
Fire suppression system
Individual fire suppressors (gaseous fire suppressors)
Door control system
Individual doors
Individual terminals (main terminal in lead car, public terminals in each car, etc)
Sensor control system (can turn all on or off, etc)
Individual sensors (cameras, fire detectors, SIN scanners, etc)

There are hundreds of icons slaved to the train's host. If there are any icons you think would exist but haven't been listed feel free to ask about them, I won't always be able to think of every possible icon off the top of my head.

You can hack icons with Control Device or Spoof Command:

• Control Device - Requires marking individual icons. Gives you direct control (which would let you do things like look through cameras). Can potentially control icons using simple actions.
• Spoof Command - Only requires you have the host marked. You give orders which devices follow (so you could potentially order that same camera to broadcast its feed to a commlink - though that would have to be a separate command than one which makes it look in a particular direction). Always requires a complex action.

Like the rest of the game, the Matrix rules are a bit of a mess and can be very difficult to interpret. I'll trust you won't try to abuse things too much and give you a lot of flexibility.

About Death Otter's Overwatch score: In reality it would be higher, but I've only rolled the host's defense dice once (once for her marking it, in actual play the speed control system, door, and terminal icons each would have added to her Overwatch score with their own defense rolls each time she sent a spoofed command).

As a final heads-up, Death Otter would know that any moment now (within the next few combat rounds - it's being determined semi-randomly with dice) the host will be alerted by an outside source that something is wrong and start spawning more IC. A spider won't be far behind - he'll likely try to stop the train so that authorities can deal with you and your friends.[/sblock]

Death Otter rolled her eyes...as well as a cybernetically enhanced otter could...and muttered, "Yeah yeah, don't leave a mess on the floor, choomba. I'm on it."

With a quick glance at the Patrolman, she reached out steel-tipped claws and took hold of the icon of the lighting system. Each car had its own separate light on/off control, but there was a master switch that would trigger all of them at once as well. Sadly, just tripping two cars and nothing else would require two commands to be issued. It would be faster and easier just to hit the master control.

Her cybereye lit up green, and sheets of code started traversing over it. The Matrix ID of the host, pilfered when she'd hacked entrance permissions, overlaid on top of the command she created. When she spoke to the icon, it was with the voice of the host.

"Shut down all internal and running lights."

(Spoofing Command. Pool is 11 (limit is 5) vs Device Logic+Firewall (not the host, thank goodness )