GURPS Shadowrun [IC] Under the Dragon's Tooth

ADVENTURE #1: QUEEN EUPHORIA
December 12th, 2053 in the Seattle Metroplex.



[sblock=THE RUNNERS]
Jaeger – Elf Face/Dog Shaman (played by Jago)
Juno – Human Street Samurai (played by Shayuri)
Tharg – Troll Physical Adapt (played by Deuce Traveler)
Beowulf – Orc Dragonslayer Shaman (played by HowHeavyThisAxe)
Master-Blaster – Human Combat Decker (NPC)
[/sblock]

OOC Thread
Rogue's Gallery

[sblock=House Rules/Setting Rules]Assumptions and Expectations for this setting…

• Arcane Magic vs. Cyberpunk Technology: In a world were both magic and cyberware exists, they don’t coexists peacefully. Those who rely on magic have a harder time with technology, especially invasive technology that they implant into the bodies. Technology also tends to not accept a lot of magic.
• Fractured Power: The Sixth World is one of fractured power. It it’s filled with nations, sovereign corporations, criminal syndicates, powerful individuals of myriad of origins, dragons, and secret magical groups. All of them want what any powerful entity wants: more power. But of the last few years these struggles have not only been bloody and often unprofitable, but some have been very embarrassing.
• Corporate Espionage and Conspiracies: The world of Shadowrun is not a peaceful world of the future but one fraught with hidden and obvious dangers around every corner and behind ever smile.
• “Denialable” Accesses: In this caldron of struggling powers, espionage and conspires there is a need for access that cannot be tied back to these entity; maybe because of embarrassment, exposer, hidden dangers, public scorn, competition, etc. These access, often nonpersons (SIN-less), free-agent criminals, called Shadowrunners. They can be hired and discard with little evidence linking them back to the source.
• Eldritch Horror: in the early editions of the game there was an idea introduced that with the rise of magic, some dark evil forces from deep in Astral Space where rising out of the darkness to threaten the world. Except some of this to come up in a lot of the adventures I run in this world.

Goggle Doc site for GURPS Shadowrun conversion.

The Game starts in the morning of December 12th, 2053 in the Seattle Metroplex.
Basic Assumptions: TL9, Western Culture Familiarity, Cityspeak (English)
Base Rules: GURPS 4^th ed. (B), GURPS Marital Arts (MA), Ultra-Tech (UT), High Tech (HT), Low-Tech (LT), Magic (M), Thaumatology (TA), Powers (P) and Matrix rules from Pyramid #3/21 Cyberpunk (P/CP). Some additional items from Action! 1 & 2 (A!1 and A!2), Dungeon Fantasy 11 – Power Ups (DF11)
Fate: All character begins each game session with 2 Fate Points. Fate Points allow the character to re-roll any one Skill or Attribute roll during a game. The Advantage Luck is reworked to grant +3 Fate Points (for a total of 5), Extraordinary Luck grants another +3 (8) and Ridiculous Luck grants another +4 (12 total!!).
Initiative: for the 1^st round of combat, roll 1d6 + your Base Speed for order (keep fractions, minus load, etc.)
Cinematic Rules: Extra Effort in Combat (B357), TV Action Violence (B417), some ideas from MA.
Magic: All Spells are purchases as “No Spell Requirements”. You must meet the Magery level, IQ or DX levels, etc. All spells now require Magery 1. Only Fatigue Point and Time are reduced from Magic Rituals (M8-9), one must still speak a few works and make a gesture or two no matter their level of skill. Also most ranged attack spells do not require Innate Attack. See Magic for a full explanation.
Multiplicative Modifiers (P102): for whatever reason, my brain just works with numbers better this way then standard GURPS modifying system.
Wealth (B25-6): To make Wealth matter after character creation, your Wealth level determines the ‘base’ level you can sell looted items to your contacts (Dead Broke 0%, Poor 10%, Struggling 20%, Middle 30%, Comfortable 40%, Wealthy 50%, Very Wealthy 60%).
Skill Specializations: Drive (B188), Hazardous Materials (B198 plus Magical Waste), Mechanic (B207 and Vehicle types include Drones), Melee Weapons (B208 but no Force weapons), Pilot (B214 but no counter-gravity), Shipbuilding (B220 but no Starships), Submarine (B223), Survival (B223).

• Armoury includes Body Armor, Heavy Arms, Melee Weapons, Missiles, Small Arms, Vehicle Armor.
• Beam Weapon includes Laser Rifle.
• Current Affairs includes Corporations, Policlubs, Simsense, Sports, Travel, and Trid.
• Electronic Operations includes Communication, Electronic Warfare, Scientific, Security, Simsense, Sensors, Sonar, Surveillance, and Trid.
• Engineer includes Artillery, Biotechnology, Combat, Drone, Electrical, Cybernetics, Materials, Mircotechnology, Mining, Nanotechnology, Small Arms, and Vehicle (type-Automobile, Ships, etc.)
• Gunner includes Assault Cannon, Cannons, Machine Gun, and Missile/Rocket Launcher.
• Guns include Grenade Launcher, LAW, LMG, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, SMG and Taser.
• Hidden Lore includes Corp Conspiracies, End-Of-The World Groups, Magical Crimes, Magical Group Conspiracies, Magical Foci, Magical Theory, Magical Writing, Matrix, Metaplanes, Paracritters, Policlub Conspiracies, and Spirits Lore
• Savoir Fair Corporate, Dojo, Government, Mafia, Military, Police, Policlub, Tir/Elven, Triad, Yakuza
• Weird Science includes anything you might want plus Magical.

Cultural Familiarities (of the World):

• Western (covers Jewish, Christian, and post-Christian cultures of Europe, Israel, and Western Europe)
• Native American (First American cultures like Sioux, Navajo, etc., as well as the reinvented Aztlan)
• Elven (covers the newly-"discovered" elven culture)
• Middle Eastern (covers the Muslim world in Africa, Middle East and Asia)
• African (sub-Saharan Africa, Central Africa and South Africa)
• East Asian (covers "oriental" cultures such as China, Japan, Korea, etc.)
• South-East Asian (India, Bangladesh, Thailand, etc.)
• Pacific Islander (Philippines, Fiji, Hawaii, etc.)
• Australian (Aborigines)
• Arctic (Inuit, Siberian, etc.)
• Papuan (New Guinea)
• Central Asian ("Steppe" cultures like Mongolians)
• Amazonian (Native peoples living in the Amazon Basin)

Most Common Cultural Familiarity (of Seattle):

• Western (covers Jewish, Christian, and post-Christian cultures of Europe, Israel, and Western Europe)
• Native American (First American cultures like Sioux, Navajo, etc., as well as the reinvented Aztlan)
• East Asian (covers "oriental" cultures such as China, Japan, Korea, Philippines, etc.)
• Elven (covers the newly-"discovered" elven culture)

Languages: all most common of human languages are still spoken somewhere by someone, plus add Sperethiel (Elven), Or'zet (Orkish), and Aztlaner Spanish (a mix of modern Spanish and Aztec ‘lingo’).

Lingos: these specialized jargons and sub-languages are treated as Perks; one point conveys the same level of fluency as the speaker's Spoken level in the source language. Note that lingos are offshoots of their source languages and should be noted as such: for example, Cityspeak (Japanese) is not the same thing as Cityspeak (English). Someone who could only speak English trying to converse with someone whom only spoke Cityspeak (English) would suffer a -1 to 2 Comprehension levels between them (a Native speaker would be considered Accented at best and probably broken when speaking to each other).

SESSIONS/FATE POINTS/XP

• For a PBP game we can’t really use the regular rules for Luck, etc. about every hour so a ‘session’ is generally going to run on average 1 month of real-time. A session might end early but I will try not to run them more than 1 month long.
• Fate points (luck) reset at the end of each session.
• XP awards will be at the end of each session generally 2-4 points each session end. Players can spend these points as soon as they gain them.
• At the end of each adventure I will also award some additional XP (not sure how much yet, let’s see how the game goes).

[/sblock]

[sblock=News and Rumors in Seattle]At present Seattle is in the middle of cold rainy storm that blew out of the north a few days ago.
A string of murders has been happening over the last week or so in Touristville (the 'safe' part of the downtown Redmond Barrens where a number of wage-slaves like to go to pretend they are 'street' and tough, but don't really want to be in danger). At present four corp middle management drones have had their throats cut and different vital organs removed from their bodies. Lone Star has made no official comment other than they are investigation but the rumors (that the news is more than happy to reports) is an Organ Donner racket.
There was a fire in the Azetechnology Downtown building. While a company spokesmen confirmed the first he said that it was minor and cause no significate damage. Magically aware witness say that they saw something huge and black rise up out of the skyscraper but the company has denied this as burn-out chip user ravings and completely false.
The Governor's Race next year is really heating up between Marilyn Schultz and a new comer Mitchel Brackhaven. Experts think it is going to get ugly. One of the major issues is Brackhaven's promise to replace the Lone Star police contract with Knight Errant.
A new dragon by the name of Geyswain who recently purchased a business by the name of Lachlann Reality in Tacoma and is busy purchasing land on the cheap in the Puyallup Barrens.
In celebrity news, the singer Euphoria is set to releasing and a new album (the first in 3 years) and Marla Mercurial is singing at a sold out concert in the King Dome II next week[/sblock]

You woke to the sound of your com chirping away in the darkness. Your head was pouncing and your mouth felt like something between cotton and sandpaper. You have a dim memory of a bartender with metal teeth who called himself The Earl and served you neon-sake lattes into the wee hours of the night. You think to yourself that next time you paint the town, you’ll practice some restraint. Hah!!!

Palming the answer button, an AR image pops up in your view of a human male in an expensive suit. His black hair is slicked back and his green cybereyes glow faintly in the dark.

“Greetings chummer” he says “I got your number from a fixer friend of yours and I’ve got a job that I think fits you and some others…if you’re interested…”



“Your contact will meet you at Pier 36 in Tacoma at eleven am this morning. Don’t be late and be sure everyone is there, out in the open… street causal. Nothing heavy. You should have some time afterwards to pick up your regular gear. The Johnson doesn’t want to risk an appearance in an unsecured area I’m afraid. You know how it works…”

After a short pause he adds “The comp should be good considering the fee they paid me upfront to locate a group. A total of four* if you are wondering. Not sure if any of the others have worked with you before but you all have a solid rep.”



The fog is thick down here on the docks and the rain from last night makes the area a damp wet chill that reaches down to the bone. There are few civs in the area, mostly dock workers at the next pier over, but you can barely make them out in the mist. Maybe the sun will breakout later today, but the weatherman was not too hopeful.

Jaeger was the first of you too arrive, followed shortly Jaeger. You both had barely made introduces to each other when the troll Tharg arrived. As you were speaking, Master-Blaster arrived and told you he was a decker and then Beowulf made his appearance. Only basic information was exchanged by all, and you compared notes on the fixer Whitecastle (which wasn’t much).

Right at eleven the sound of a deep bike’s engine rumbles towards the pier and a large human male riding a big Harley Scorpion urban combat bike swung onto the pier and slowly started riding towards you. The razorboy looks to be Latin and is decked out in black syntheleathers. The razorboy’s eyes roam the area taking in everything around him but the man seems like a pro. He parks the Scorpion a few meters away and gives the each of you the once over with metallic cybereyes.

After a few seconds of this silent standoff you see his mouth moving but he is making no sound as he appeared to be talking into a subvocal mic or implant phone. After a short conversation he folds his arms and says “It will just be a moment chummers.”

Less than a minute later a night blue Toyota Elite with opaque, tinted windows pulls into the street along the docks. It cruises silent up the pier, stopping behind the Latin’s idling Scorpion. The drive gets out and walks around to the rear door closes to you and opens it. A sharply dressed human male steps out of the limo and starts walking towards you.

None of you have seen the Johnson before but he is like a hundred other corp posers – smooth, perfectly style hair, a clear complexion and implant perfect teeth.

“Gentlemen and lady, shall we talk business?” the man smiles broadly, but you get the distinct impression he would rather be anywhere but here right now.

“You may know the simsense starlet Euphoria will be making some public appearances in a few days to promote a Strice-Foods™ product called Amber Gel. The interests I represent would prefer not to see such a talented and popular young lady promote such a subpar product. Therefore, something must be done to prevent this tragedy. That’s where you, um, chummers, come into the pictures. We’d like you to escort Euphoria away from public view for a few days and entertain her long enough that she misses her scheduled appearances.

“Of course, we are all great fans of Euphoria, and so we would not want to see her get hurt in any way. Treat her like royalty. All you do is, um, kidnap, um detain, her and hold her for three days. I’m prepared to pay you up to 10,000 nuyen each. Half when you get Euphoria and the other half after she misses her last appearance. What do you all say?”

Jaeger and the Johnson haggle a bit, while Juno throws in her two cents, when he man smiles and claps his hands. “How about this… 1,000 nuyen upfront, 5,000 nuyen when you have kidnapped… ah detained the young Euphoria and another 6,000 nuyen when the job is completed and you release the young lady safely and unharmed to some safe location? More than fair don’t you think?”

Beowulf drew on his cigar, two tattooed fingers curling over the burning tobacco to pull it from his lips. He exhaled in a cloud. The gathering had already begun, a keeb shaman, another trog, and a breeder had arrived already. He nodded at the others and introduced himself quickly, as the Johnson had pulled up.

"Beowulf."

Sig was getting restless, and so he pulled his flask from the inside pocket of his long black lined coat. He had owned this flask for years, steel wrapped in vinyl painted with St. George's cross. The cheap scotch within helped quiet the ancient spirit. He scratched his chest as he put away his flask, the holster for his Ruger occasionally itched. He looked down and noticed how tarnished the buckles on his boots were getting, then shrugged the thought away. The Johnson had told them that the job involved kidnapping that starlet Euphoria, and Beowulf chuckled.

Sure thing, chummer, we'll get right on that.

Despite his initial misgivings, the deal seemed sound. He would have turned it down if it involved hurting her, but a little grab and hold wasn't so bad.

Plus, last job's money is almost gone already.

Sig seemed to chuckle in the back of his mind.
Yeah, yeah, I know.

The elf was chatting up the Johnson, seeming to be angling for a better deal. Beowulf decided to let him, elves were good at that sort of thing.

Three days. For some reason she'd been thinking they were asking for more, but...three days.

They could probably do three days, Juno decided. As long as there was a mage around to block location hoodoo. Tag erasers and duct tape could do the rest.

"As long as we've got someone who can keep mages off of us, I'm in," she said.

Tharg shifted impatiently as the negotiations dragged on, his sneakers squeaking while his red leather longcoat brushed against his dark jeans. He kept the coat closed for the most part, though a savvy observer would notice the pistol he had holstered to his side and that some of the pockets bulged with other gear. Although the troll was content to let others do the talking if it meant more money, the inane chatter was making him twitchy and wanting to break something.

~ Hm.

It wasn't much. Maybe about 2,000 Nuyen extra, but there was extra up front, and that spoke volumes. Cash in hand was always better than cash promised.

" I believe this is acceptable, then." Jaeger clasped his hands together to signify the end of the negotiation, as his comrade's comments seemed to indicate that the fee was appropriate to the job. Well. It was never appropriate, but it was probably the most the Runners were going to get, and that was something.

The Elf adjusted his simple, green jacket, pulling it a little tighter around his body. The sound of the sea behind him still sent shivers up his spine, and the rainy, wet weather of Seattle was never good for his Central European senses. Hundgeist was less interested in the water, though, and more in Sig: the two spirits had certainly sensed one another, and Jaeger's was quite pleased to see such a noble being as The Dragonslayer lending his support to the nascent Shaman. Though he did not slide open his Third Eye, Jaeger knew he could count on the Ork in response to Juno's question.

" I believe Beowulf can handle magical security, and he'll have my assistance if he requires. Blaster, naturally you've got Spider Hunter detail. And Miss Castle and Mister Tharg would be more than enough for any ... Ehr, altercations that may arise."

In fact, the team assembled was rather well-balanced. Their Fixer certainly knew his contacts.

However, Juno had mentioned a concern that he shared too, and she was right to bring it up.

" Now that we're accepting the terms," he continued, still keeping his accent as generic as generic could be, in only the way the media could train someone to speak, " Juno mentioned assistance in terms of storage and the like: we cannot exactly keep Euphoria in any of our haunts and we're not spending our nuyen on some roke Sinner Hotel. You said you could provide a solution, Mister Johnson?" ~

“Excellent” he says. "Here is the first 1,000 nuyen each" as he comlinks over a secure number where you can access the cash*.

“Tomorrow is Saturday. Euphoria’s appearances run Monday through Wednesday. So you should take Euphoria by tomorrow night, but no later then Monday morning. I’m sure she’ll be in her penthouse until her first appearance. She is rather reclusive, you know.”

“Euphoria’s place is on the twenty-first floor of the Pacific Towers on Ward Street**. The whole floor is hers. Here is a keycard to a flat that I’ve rented for you to hold Euphoria. Its’ in the Redmond Barrens and the address is on the keycard. You are registered under the name John Smith, room number 812. You will received the first half payment on Monday at the flat once I am sure Euphoria has disappeared. The other half will be delivered Wednesday after her last scheduled appearance comes and goes. You should release Euphoria then.”

Mr. Johnson gives each of you a long look. “Do the job well, and everything will run smoothly. Remember, no harm to the girl.”

He turns and walks back around the other size to get into the blue Elite. It pulls away and disappears into the fog. The samurai on the Harley nods to you. “Good luck chummers. If you need to contact us, my comlink code is 55-Chrome-Glow-89.” He grips the handlebars and the bike roars to life. Taking off down the road, he follows the limo out of sight.

"We've got to pass some time anyways. Might make sense to check out Ward street first, then the rented flat. Get a decent feel for the routes we might need to be taking, and the neighborhood we'll be staying at for a bit," Tharg suggests, eager to get on the move.

~ " Ja, ja, good idea, Tharg," Fredrick agreed, " My place is actually close to Touristville, so The Barrens are familiar enough to myself, but Madison Park could be tricky. We may be able to get close enough to Euphoria, but getting her out of such a neighborhood ... Tricky. Very tricky."

Doable, he did not feel he had to add. Jaeger had worked his way from just another Sarariman to a bona fide Shadowrunner, and he wasn't going to let his new reputation go sideways over some pop star.

" Besides, breakfast sounds good. As well as some of your vaunted Seattle kaffee, if ever any still exists." He sighed in longing, still pissed that he was out of the fresh grounds: they had cost him a pretty penny, but it was certainly worth it. Jaeger still remembered true coffee, real coffee. His father had drank it black, he recalled.

Before the Outbreak.

" But, ah ..." Jager hummed while giving a nod to the slight indications that his new coworkers, and himself, were armed in some way, " We may need to drop the pieces. Strolling into a Double-Aeh zone while packing isn't exactly the best way to get on the good side of the sheriffs." ~

Juno shrugged at that.

"Lets check out Woodinville first," she suggests. "We can drop equipment there before heading over to Ward that way. And I'd like to get a look at where we're meant to be holding her. Do a tag sweep and so on."