Shadowrun 5E PM005 Jumping Ship (Prime Mission)

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© 2017 The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Shadowrun and Matrix are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC. Writing: David Ellenberger

Art: Colby Stevenson

Missions Logo: Jeff Laubenstein, Matt Heerdt Shadowrun Missions Developer:

Ray Rigel

Shadowrun Developer: Jason M. Hardy Layout & Design: Matt Heerdt

Art Director: Brent Evans

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CRASHING THE PARTY

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CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

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PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

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HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

CRASHING THE PARTY

Extract Mr. Samuels from the Ares Orchard or from an off-site party at one of the local clubs: it was a no-brainer.

Now it was the night of the party and it felt like noth-ing had gone right. Our attempts to infiltrate the night-club found they weren’t hiring. The only good thing was that Chameleon, our face, learned that Jack McBride was the head of security. The bad news was he was for-mer special forces, so he knew his stuff.

Four Bytes, our hacker, had a Fly-Spy up and had been doing surveillance since about noon. The cater-ers showed up at four, right on time, and started setting up. I wondered which ones were security plants as we watched. I know that’s what I would do, but they were all pulling their weight and doing a great job. An hour before the party was to start, the security forces showed up and started sweeping the building for bugs. Four Bytes pulled out his Fly-Spy at that point so it wasn’t de-tected, so we’ve been blind to what’s happening inside. About ten minutes ago, Mr. Samuels and his group showed up to the party. We’d decided on Chameleon bluffing his way in and getting Mr. Samuels out, with Walks Through Walls backing him up and the rest of us providing support if needed. Four Bytes told me he thought he found out where Ares’s security was being run from. He pointed out the GMC Bulldog the Fly-Spy was watching. Chameleon was headed for the door. We listened as Chameleon’s bluff was shot down and the bouncer held steady. After ten minutes of arguing, he finally gave up and headed back. Roadblock looked at me and asked, “Is it time for the loud option?”

“Walks, what do you have?”

Silence greeted me in reply. He must be somewhere he couldn’t answer. Chameleon circled the block and was almost back to the front door when Walks Through

Walls said “Showtime.”

Chameleon headed for the front door.

Four Bytes swore. “The Fly-Spy just went dead. I think the jig is up.”

I heard the fire alarm, and saw smoke billowing from the door when it opened.

“Oh frag. There’s covert security too. We’re coming out hot,” I heard Walks Through Walls say right before the feedback drowned out our communications.

I looked at Roadblock and nodded. He threw open the back doors of the van, his Ares Alpha assault rifle looking small in his hands. Psychard followed him out, and I moved up to the driver’s seat.

The door opened and Mr. Samuels exited with an-other person following. I knew they were security from the way they moved. Before I could warn the team, the guy leaped into a flying kick. I thought he was going to hit Mr. Samuels in the back when he hit the air, and with a start tumbled to regain his balance. I wondered what happened before I spotted the blurred image of Walks Through Walls. He was between them, and had taken the kick.

Chameleon reached out, and the guard’s head jerk-ed back from the kinetic punch. I heard the thump of a grenade launcher and knew Roadblock was creating confusion. Psychard motioned for Mr. Samuels, who ran to the van. Chameleon and Psychard piled in behind him and Roadblock jumped in the side door. Walks Through Walls had disappeared into the crowd.

I gunned it and pulled out into traffic, horns honk-ing as I cut off other cars. When we got three blocks away, Four Bytes activated the nanopaint. The logo on the van’s side disappeared to a plain blue.

Now we just had to get in touch with Ms. Johnson and get paid.

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INTRODUCTION

3 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

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SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

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PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

Introduction

PM-01: Jumping Ship is a Shadowrun Missions living campaign adventure. Full information on the

Shadow-run Missions living campaign is available at

facebook.

com/SRMissions/

and includes a guide to creating Missions characters and a regularly updated FAQ. All maps, player handouts, and other playing aids are found at the end of this document.

Preparing

the Adventure

PM-01: Jumping Ship is intended for use with Shadow-run, Fifth Edition, and all character and rules information

refers to the fifth edition of the Shadowrun rules.

Adventure Structure

PM-01: Jumping Ship consists of several scenes. These

scenes form the basis of the adventure, which should be completed in approximately four hours. If you are running short on time, you should streamline each and be a little more generous with clues, target numbers, and other requirements to aid in guiding the players through the adventure.

Each scene outlines the most likely sequence of events, as well as how to handle unexpected twists and turns that inevitably crop up. Each one contains the fol-lowing subsections, providing gamemasters with all the information necessary to run it.

Scan This provides a quick synopsis of the scene’s

ac-tion, allowing you to get a feel for the encounter at a glance.

Tell It to Them Straight is written to be read aloud to

the players, describing what their characters experience upon entering the scene. You should feel free to mod-ify the narrative as much as desired to suit the group and the situation, since the characters may arrive at the scene by different means or under different circum-stances than the text assumes.

Behind the Scenes covers the bulk of the scene,

de-scribing what’s happening, what the non-player charac-ters are doing, how they will react to the player char-acters’ actions and so forth. It also covers the setting of the encounter, going over environmental conditions and other properties of the location as well as providing any descriptions of important items.

Pushing the Envelope looks at ways to make the

encounter more challenging for experienced or power-ful characters and other ways you can add some “extra spice” to the scene. This subsection should usually only be used for home games, or games where time is not a factor. At most convention and Open Play events, gam-emasters should omit this information. It adds to the scene, but does not contain important information.

Debugging offers solutions to potential problems

that may crop up during the encounter. While it’s impos-sible to foresee everything that a group of player char-acters might do, this section tries to anticipate common problems and other suggestions for dealing with them.

Running the Adventure

Gamemastering is more of an art than a science, and every gamemaster does things a bit differently. Use your own style when it comes to preparing and run-ning the adventure and do whatever you feel is best to provide the best Shadowrun game you can for your players. Shadowrun Missions adventures are designed to run in a standard four-hour convention time slot.

Please keep this in mind when running the adven-ture. You should leave at least 15–20 minutes at the end of the time slot to complete any necessary paperwork and pass out the players’ Debriefing Logs. (Make sure that you have enough copies of the Debriefing Log for this adventure to give one copy to each player after run-ning the adventure.) This section offers some guidelines you may find useful in preparing to run PM-01: Jumping

Ship (or any Shadowrun Missions adventure).

Step 1: Read the Adventure

Carefully read the adventure from beginning to end. Get a feel for the overall plot and what happens in each scene. That way, if something different happens, you won’t be caught off guard and you can adapt things smoothly.

Step 2: Take Notes

Take notes for yourself while reading through the ad-venture that you can refer to later. Possible things to note include: major plot points (so you can see them all at a glance), the names of various non-player char-acters, possible problems you notice, situations where you think a character can shine and other things you’ll want to keep in mind while running the adventure.

Step 3: Know the Characters

Prior to the start of the adventure, examine the PCs’ record sheets and Debriefing Logs for your reference and have basic information about their important abil-ities handy so you can refer to it during play. Also, go over the characters and keep their previous events list-ed on the Debriefing Logs in mind when determining non-player character actions in various scenes if such a dynamic has been included.

Step 4: Don’t Panic!

Gamemastering involves juggling a lot of different things. Sometimes you drop the ball and forget

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some-INTRODUCTION

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CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

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PICKING UP

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DEBRIEFING

LOG

thing or you just make a mistake. It happens, don’t worry about it. Nobody is perfect all the time and everybody makes mistakes. Just pick up from there and move on. Your players will understand and forget about it once you get back into the action.

Step 5: Challenge the Players

Gamemasters should challenge the players, but should not generally overwhelm them. This is not to say that games cannot be deadly. If the characters die through their own actions and repercussions of those actions, then so be it. But the idea is to challenge the players and their characters, not to overwhelm them. If the enemies and challenges are too light for the characters present, then increase them. On the other hand, if the characters are badly outmatched by the enemies, then tone them down. Make things difficult but not impossible.

General

Adventure Rules

Shadowrun Missions adventures use the rules

present-ed in Shadowrun, Fifth Edition (SR5). Standard rules such as success tests, glitches, critical successes, and other common mechanics are described in SR5 and are not repeated in this adventure.

Please keep in mind when preparing for the adven-ture, that the PCs will not necessarily be comprised of a balanced party. It’s entirely possible that the party will be made up entirely of technomancers or back-to-nature shamans. If the characters run into a brick wall because of such complications, show flexibility and use your best judgment in how you lead them back to the plot.

Non-Player Characters

Non-player characters (NPCs) are essential to any ad-venture. They are the allies, antagonists, and back-ground characters in the adventure that interact with the player characters. NPCs in this adventure have al-ready been created and can be found throughout the adventure.

Minor NPCs are found in the individual scene that they appear in, and generally have a brief write up, not-ing only their important skills and the gear they are car-rying.

Major NPCs can be found in the Cast of Shadows at the end of the adventure, and have more detailed write ups, and include most of the skills and the gear they have access to.

The NPCs in this adventure should generally stand up to the average player character but may need some adjustment to suit a group of characters, especially a more experienced and powerful group. The scenes and NPC descriptions offer tips on adjusting the NPCs to suit

the abilities of the characters in your group. To adjust the power level of an NPC, refer to Helps and

Hindranc-es (p. 378, SR5). Take the player characters’ abilitiHindranc-es into

consideration when assessing the NPCs in this adven-ture and modify them accordingly.

Mission Difficulty

Gamemasters are encouraged to use their own judg-ment, and to adjust the difficulty of the encounter to consider the abilities of the players. If the players have no magical support, replace magical defenses with mundane ones. If the players are weak on combat, re-duce the number of enemies by one or two. Converse-ly, if they’re steam-rolling the opposition, add one or two enemies to the fight. Missions should be difficult and something of a challenge, but should not be insur-mountable.

A simple method for adjusting difficulty is to simply increase the dice pools and Professional Ratings of the enemies. A simple +1 or +2 to all combat and defense tests gives enemies a minor boost in power, while a +3 or 4 will make them truly formidable. Adding to their Professional Rating will give them a larger group Edge pool to draw from, and gamemasters are encourage to use this Edge when logical.

Often a combat scene will tell you if it’s supposed to be challenging or is simply there to serve as filler or a minor obstacle that the players should steamroll through. When possible, use this as a guide to know when to tweak the enemies and encounters. If it doesn’t say, assume the scene should present a challenge to the power levels of the players.

A Note on Loot and Looting

Gamemasters should be careful what they allow play-ers access to, because they can and will try to steal everything not nailed down (and even then, they often have pry bars and claw hammers to deal with those nails). Shadowrun Missions operate under the assump-tion that two players who have run the same missions will have roughly the same amount of resources avail-able to them (give or take some negotiation and a little bit of minor loot fenced), so when players are able to steal and fence a lot of gear or are able to get their hands on high-priced vehicles, cyberdecks, or foci, it can unbalance the game and make it unfair to players who didn’t have the opportunity to get those items. Gamemasters should avoid letting the players get into a position to do high value looting whenever possible.

Paperwork

After running a Shadowrun Missions adventure, there are several important pieces of paperwork that need to be filled out.

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SCENE 0: GETTING TO SAN FRANCISCO

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DEBRIEFING

LOG

The first is to make certain to distribute a copy of the adventure’s Debriefing Log to each player. As the gam-emaster, please make certain to fill this out and sign off on it for each character. In the interests of time, you may have each player fill out the sections, with appropriate values that you give them. Please consider the PCs ac-tions in the scenario when providing Reputation modifi-ers, per those rules (p. 372, SR5).

The second is to make sure that all players have up-dated their character’s Mission Calendar. PCs are al-lowed to go on one run per week. The calendar is used to track the character’s monthly lifestyle expenses, ad-ventures, and their downtime exploits.

Mission Synopsis

Ms. Johnson (Gloria Weathernight) hires the runners to extract a willing executive from an Ares R&D facility for a job with Wuxing. They must extract Rick Samu-els and get him to a safe house. Once there, they’re to hold on to him for a couple of days while Ms. Johnson finalizes everything. When the time is up, they learn there is no job with Wuxing and Rick Samuels is out in the cold. The runners can either cut him loose at this point or help him find a new job now that he has burned his bridges with Ares. The mission breaks down into four sections.

1. Planning 2. Extraction

3. Holding on to Rick Samuels and keeping him safe

4. Finding Rick Samuels a new home

The characters have two potential options for the extraction. They can either do it at his location in the Ares Orchard where he lives and works, or at an ex-ecutive party at The Golden Microchip, a high-end restaurant and club, in three days. It doesn’t matter which one they do, or if they try one and then the other (though security is more alert at the second attempt). This allows the characters to make a plan to best com-plement their talents.

Scene 0:

Getting to

San Francisco

Scan This

This scene gets the runners to the San Francisco area from their current location. It is a quick scene to let them know where they are for this run.

Tell it to Them Straight

It wasn’t a normal request, but your fixer has never steered you wrong before. He said he had an associate in San Francisco who needed talent and would pay you to just listen to the pitch. They’ve arranged for you to get through security and customs with all your equip-ment. Hopefully everything will be as smooth as they claim it will be.

Your flight into San Francisco International Airport goes without a hitch. You hope your fixer’s contact is as good as he told you in getting your gear through cus-toms without any problems. At least it’s the California Free State, not Aztlan or Tir Tairngire. You make your way to the nondescript hangar off the cargo building after clearing customs. A fair-skinned, red-haired wom-an who looks like she would burn in five minutes in the California sun greets you at the counter. You tell her the name on your fake SIN and she smiles, leading you to the back. After a minute, your gear is brought to you and a quick check shows you it’s all there. You head out to make your meet and hope the rest of your stay in the City by the Bay goes this well.

Behind the Scenes

This scene is to bring the characters into the San Francis-co area and let them know where they are running for this mission. It shouldn’t be anything more than giving them information and leading them into the adventure. If they want to bring vehicles, this isn’t a problem and the contact gives them plates and a registration for the vehicle in the CFS so it doesn’t attract attention.

Gloria Weathernight is bringing out-of-town talent in because she is known in the local shadow community, and doesn’t want to risk the team realizing she is behind a run against her own megacorp when she hires them to hit Ares.

Pushing the Envelope

There shouldn’t be anything that can go wrong here; it just gets them along their way and sets the scene.

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SCENE 1: THE MEET

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CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

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SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

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HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

Debugging

Unless the characters start a fight with security or don’t listen to their fixer and bring the equipment they need, there shouldn’t be anything to debug in this scene. It is just the setup to get the characters into San Francisco

Scene 1:

The Meet

Scan This

Gloria Weathernight (see Cast of Shadows) meets the characters at The Sandwich Shop, a high-end sub shop featuring real meats as well as the normal soy options. She hires the characters to help with a willing extraction of Rick Samuels, a high-end executive with Ares R&D. If pressed, she tells the runners the new job is for Wuxing.

Tell it to Them Straight

The building looks like the rest of the strip mall. It was probably built quick and cheap, more than likely during

the San Francisco rebuilding project last decade. The AR sign brags that the Sandwich Shop features real meat selections as well as soy for the discerning pal-ate. The graffiti, both AR and real world, are minimal in the area. What graffiti there is seems to be from the SJ Cruisers, a local go-gang whose colors appear to be grey and maroon. The smell of roasting meat wafts to you as you walk up.

You go inside and discover the eatery is a long dining room just wider than the aisle leading to the ordering counter. The chairs and tables are molded plastic. You wonder if they can support a troll or heavily chromed individual. You don’t see anyone at first, and then the dwarf steps up on a stool behind the counter and asks, “What can I get for you today?”

When you ask for Ms. Johnson, he nods to a door on the right. “She’s in the main conference room down the hallway, first door on the right.”

You enter the hallway and see there are three doors. You open the first door, revealing a faux oak conference table that takes up much of the room. Eight high-backed synthleather chairs are spread evenly around it.

Ms. Johnson has long black hair and a dark com-plexion. Her two dangling earrings feature the yin and yang symbols. She stands as you enter, and motions for you to have a seat. Once everyone is seated, she says,

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SCENE 1: THE MEET

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“Thank you for meeting me. I am in need of your talents. There is an executive who is no longer happy with his current employer. I would like you to help him get out of his current employment and deliver him to my asso-ciates for his new job. I can pay 20,000 nuyen each. Are you interested?”

Once they agree, read the following:

“Good. I’m glad we could come to an agree-ment. An Ares California R&D executive, Rick Samuels, has decided that a competitor’s posi-tion has greater growth potential for him. You need to help him escape Ares and get him to his new employers. He lives and works in the main high-rise in the middle of the Ares Orchard. Se-curity there is heavy, but not impervious. There are several people coming and going at all times of the day. Also, Mr. Samuels will be at-tending a party at the Golden Microchip, a local restaurant and club, in three days. He will have a security detail with him, as he does whenever he leaves the high-rise. Since he is a willing par-ticipant in the extraction, we’ve set up the code phrase, ‘The sun rises in the East.’ He will reply with ‘and sets in the West’ if everything is OK. If he replies with something else, you must de-cide if the potential danger means aborting or continuing, even though he has concerns. There is also a 10,000 nuyen bonus if no one is killed in the extraction. Once you have Mr. Samuels, you can contact me at this number and I will arrange the exchange from there. Are there any questions I can answer?”

Behind the Scenes

Ms. Johnson (Gloria Weathernight) is an Ares R&D ex-ecutive herself. She wears a disguise and got five hits on her Disguise Test. Gloria is impersonating a Wuxing Ms. Johnson, Jenny Cheng. To pierce the disguise is still a Perception + Intuition [Mental] (5) Test. If they fail the test, or don’t bother trying to see through the disguise, any checks into Ms. Johnson lead to Jenny (see

Leg-work). This further strengthens the story of Mr.

Samu-els going to Wuxing.

If they pierce the disguise, they get the following description. “While she is trying to look Asian, it be-comes apparent she is actually of Italian and Native American descent.” With a successful Judge Intentions [Charisma + Intuition (3) Test] the character figures out she is lying about who she works for. By assensing

Glo-ria, the characters can also gather some information. One hit tells them she is confident, angry, and suspi-cious. With two or more hits, they know she is lying about something in what she told them.

Gloria is head of the Sunnyvale R&D facility. She was passed over in favor of Rick Samuels. Rick got the promotion by taking credit for a project she saved. She made friends with a couple of Mr. Samuels’s assistants, one of whom overheard Mr. Samuels was potentially looking for a new position. Gloria decided to manufac-ture a position for him to take. Mr. Samuels thinks he is going to Wuxing, to lead their R&D throughout the California Free State.

Gloria is familiar with the Ares high-rise and Orchard security since she goes there on a fairly regular basis. She is reluctant to give the characters too much infor-mation. This isn’t because she doesn’t want the char-acters to succeed, but because she is afraid it will raise questions on how she obtained the knowledge. Any information she passes on, she says is from what Mr. Samuels told her. If asked how accurate she believes it to be, she says, “That’s what he told me, and I don’t see why he would lie.” Not being a security expert, she isn’t aware of all the security measures employed. She knows the following:

1. RFIDs unlock the doors into the lobby any time of day.

2. During working hours, the front door is un-locked.

3. All visitors must sign in with the security desk. 4. Everyone goes through a security checkpoint in

the lobby.

5. Visitors are given a visitor’s badge. 6. The Ares Orchard has a manned gate.

7. Inside the Ares Orchard, everyone is required to continuously transmit their SIN.

8. Mr. Samuels’s normal schedule, his office num-ber (1917), and his living suite (33G). She also gives them his commlink number, but warns them not to call him unless necessary, since Ares often monitors conversations.

9. She can get his schedule for a day if they ask for it, but doesn’t have immediate access.

The party at the Golden Microchip is an all-Ares party that will include many of the California Free State Ares ex-ecutives as well as Mr. Samuels. Ares will have a security presence in addition to the Golden Microchip’s normal security. Ms. Johnson doesn’t know any details about the security or who was invited. She knows it is supposed to start at 7:00 PM and will run late into the night.

To increase the team’s pay requires a Negotiation + Charisma [Social] versus Negotiation + Charisma [So-cial] Opposed Test. Each net hit increases the pay by 2,000 nuyen per person up to a maximum increase of 10,000 nuyen.

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SCENE 1: THE MEET

8 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

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PICKING UP

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DEBRIEFING

LOG

Ms. Johnson tells the runners to contact her once they have Mr. Samuels, and she will arrange the ex-change at that point.

Gloria can put the runners in touch with a forger who can provide fake SINs for a price. He can provide a SIN up to Rating 5 for any of the megacorporations for 4,000 nuyen per Rating.

If the characters ask, she suggests they use the Speak-Easy Motel as a base of operations. It is a no-frills seedy motel a few kilometers from the Ares Orchard. She gives them the name of the manager, James Simp-son, to contact for rates. It is 200 nuyen per night for a room.

Pushing the Envelope

As the group starts the meet with Ms. Johnson, a cou-ple comes into the Sandwich Shop. The lady shrieks with delight and rushes over to their group. She smiles at the character with the highest Public Awareness and says, “I’m your biggest fan. Can I get a selfie with you?” and then without waiting for an answer starts to lean over and pulls out a trideo camera. If the character acts violently, it causes a –1 die penalty for the Negotia-tions test with Ms. Johnson. If the character manages to politely prevent the selfie, the characters receive a +1 die bonus for Negotiations. If the “groupie” is seri-ously injured or killed, halve the initial offer from Ms. Johnson. Any other actions don’t affect the Negotia-tion tests.

Debugging

The biggest problems here are if the characters decide not to take the job, or if they see through Gloria’s dis-guise and eventually trace her as an Ares employee.

The pay is good so that shouldn’t be the reason the characters hesitate. If the characters don’t have a good feeling, Gloria pours on the charm and tries to convince them their fears aren’t warranted. If it is fear of a dou-ble-cross, she offers to put the payments in an escrow account for them.

If they see through her disguise, this isn’t automat-ically a disaster. The characters may not look into who she really is. If they do and figure out she’s an Ares em-ployee, Gloria tries to con them. She tells them “Gloria” is a long term cover she has used for recruiting assets and she infiltrated Ares for the purpose of doing this. Now that they have exposed her, she has to burn the identity unless the characters are willing to look the oth-er direction and forget what they learned for a bonus of 5,000 nuyen each.

JACKPOINT SEARCH PROFILE

SPEAK-EASY MOTEL

The Speak-Easy Motel is a no-frills motel. It is in the East Palo Alto area of San Francisco. James Simpson manages it. The cost is 200 nuyen per night for a room. Mr. Simpson asks no questions about who is staying or why they need a room. Parking for the motel is one large parking lot in front of the building and visible from the street. The rundown building does have running water, air conditioning, and heat, but not much more. Clean rooms are a bit of a stretch.

HOST: SPEAK-EASY MOTEL

Rating Attack Sleaze Data Proc. Firewall

4 5 4 6 7

Installed IC: Blaster and Patrol

Slaved Devices: Cameras, POS system, locks for the

building

Spiders: none

Sculpting: A hotel lobby with a bellboy who talks to

everyone as they come in.

Security Procedures: In case of an alarm, the host will

launch Blaster. It will relaunch either IC if it is crashed in the next round after it was crashed.

Paydata: There are data files on the host which have 50

nuyen value per player.

HOST: THE SANDWICH SHOP

4 4 5 6 7

Installed IC: Blaster and Patrol

Slaved Devices: Cameras, POS system, locks for the

building

Spiders: none

Sculpting: It looks like a commercial kitchen with the

patrol IC taking on the persona of the head chef. There are jars of “spices” on the shelf behind the stove that represent the available information and devices.

Security Procedures: In case of an alarm, the host will

launch Blaster. It will relaunch either IC if it is crashed in the next round after it was crashed.

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SCENE 2: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN

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INTRODUCTION

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SYNOPSIS

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Scene 2:

Sounds Like

a Plan

Scan This

This scene is for planning and legwork. The first thing the team needs to decide is at which location they want to attempt the extraction. After that, they must formulate the extraction plan.

Tell it to Them Straight

You have the job; now it’s time to plan the where, when, and how.

Behind the Scenes

The characters can conduct Matrix searches or use their contacts to get information. Use the tables in the

Legwork section to tell them what they learn. If they

do physical recon of the Ares Orchard, refer to Scene

3A: Breaking into the Tower for the information. If

they do physical recon of the Golden Microchip, go to

Scene 3B: The Golden Microchip for the information.

The characters need to plan the extraction. They have two choices on where to perform it: either the Ares high-rise in the Sunnyvale Orchard, or at the Gold-en Microchip. They don’t have the exact time he will be arriving at the party, but it would be easy to time the extraction with his leaving or arriving at the party.

Basic information about the Ares Orchard and high-rise tower isn’t hard to find on the Matrix (see Ares

Tow-er Public Knowledge). Investigation into the high-rise

tells the characters they first need to get onto Ares Or-chard without sounding the alarms, or it will be difficult if not impossible to get to Mr. Samuels and then back out with him. The Orchard is a twenty-block gated facil-ity and sub-cfacil-ity of its own, with its own securfacil-ity force.

There are pedestrian gates as well as vehicle access. For the pedestrian gates, a pass must be presented to gain access and the person must pass through a MAD scanner.

For the vehicle entrances, access depends on wheth-er the vehicle has an RFID for the Orchard. Vehicles that have the RFID open the gate automatically. The guard watches and looks for anything out of the ordinary, but does not stop the vehicle if everyone in it is broadcast-ing an Ares SIN. Without an Orchard RFID, you apply for a visitor’s pass and state your business for coming to the Orchard. It is possible to get onto the Ares Or-chard without an Ares SIN. You must have a valid reason for coming in, and apply for a visitor’s pass. A visitor

pass broadcasts its location continuously, along with the SIN associated with it. If the SIN is a non-Ares SIN, it is tracked via the drones that are active around the Orchard.

While on the Orchard, all people are required to broadcast a SIN at all times. There are Ares versions of the Fly-Spy and rotodrones patrolling the compound at all times. The Fly-Spy drones do most of the observing and SIN checking, with the rotodrones called in when there is a discrepancy or disturbance.

ARES TOWER

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

LAYOUT OF THE HIGH-RISE BY FLOOR

FLOOR FACILITIES

1: Lobby

2-4: Commercial/Retail (open 8AM to 7PM) 5: General Cafeteria

6-9: Mid-level management and commercial workers’ quarters 10-20: Offices

21: Executive Dining Room

22-25: Upper-middle level management quarters

26-34: Upper management quarters 35: VIP suites

Roof: Helipad

FLY SPY DRONE

HAND SPEED ACCEL BODY ARM PILOT SENS SEATS

4 3 2 1 0 3 3 0

Programs: Clearsight 4, Maneuver 4

ROTODRONE

4 4 2 4 4 3 4 0

Upgrades: Upgraded sensor suite

Programs: Clearsight 4, Maneuver 4, Targeting (Ares

Alpha) 4

Weapons:

Ares Alpha [Assault rifle, Acc 5(7), DV 11S, AP –1, SA/ BF/FA, RC 2, 42(c), w/ gel rounds]

Grenade launcher [Grenade launcher, flash bang, Acc 4(6), 10S (10-meter blast), AP –4, SS, RC —, 6(c)]

(10)

SCENE 2: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN

10 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

There are two response teams on standby in the se-curity office on the thirteenth floor (which doesn’t show on the elevator pad).

Rick Samuels lives and works in the Ares Tower and only leaves the Orchard once or twice a year since it has everything he needs. These trips are planned well ahead of time and asking to make an unscheduled addi-tional trip out raises security’s suspicion and isn’t an op-tion. For this reason, the party at the Golden Microchip is a rare opportunity to extract him without having to go into the Ares Orchard.

The Golden Microchip

A high-end club and restaurant that also hosts VIP par-ties in its exclusive back room. It is in the middle of a AAA neighborhood and SFPD response times put them on-site within fifteen seconds of an alarm sounding. The corporate limousines line up outside when a major event is happening. Security for the building is led by Jack McBride, a former special forces operative, who has trained his security team to top levels. The build-ing has state-of-the-art camera and surveillance sys-tems throughout. The back room can be locked down in case of an outside assault. The Golden Microchip is in what used to be downtown San Jose. It has been renovated, and is a very upscale area.

En route from Ares Orchard

to The Golden Microchip

Another option the characters may decide upon is to extract Rick Samuels en route from the Ares Orchard to the Golden Microchip. The drive takes about fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the exact route. Almost all the guests at the party come from the Ares Orchard; most of them are in Ares Aristocrat limousines (the Ares equivalent of the Mitsubishi Nightsky) with one-way windows to prevent anyone seeing into them.

The two most likely ways Ares protects the execu-tives are to use undisclosed routes, so setting an am-bush is hard; and by not announcing who will be in what vehicle by using code names for all the executives.

Pushing the Envelope

As the characters start to gather information, they draw Ares security’s attention.

If at the Ares Orchard, security calls in a High Threat Response Team to capture the runners. The runners can make a Perception + Intuition [Mental] (3) Test to see signs that something isn’t right. For example, the streets are suddenly less busy and empty, they get stares from people as they approach, or they get an uneasy feeling they are being watched.

HOST: ARES HIGH-RISE

10 12 10 11 13

Installed IC: Acid, Black IC, Crash, Jammer, Marker, Patrol,

Probe, Tar Baby, Track

Slaved Devices: Cafeteria equipment, cameras, locks,

office terminals, retail POS systems, safes

Spiders: 1 on duty and two more on standby for an

emergency

Sculpting: A large office building filled with cubicles

(general services and security systems) and offices (each floor is an office which is filled with cubicles of what is on that floor)

Security Procedures: Patrol IC runs at all times, as well

as the on-duty spider patrols. Once alarmed, the IC launches in the following order: Probe, Jammer, Black IC, Crash, Tar Baby, Marker, and Track. If an IC is bricked, it takes the next Combat Turn to reboot the IC rather than launching the next one.

nuyen value per player

TOWER SPIDER

(1, 2, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

B A R S W L I C ESS

3 2 3 3 5 5(6) 4 2 5

Initiative: Physical 7+1D6; Matrix 13 + 3D6(4D6) Condition Monitor: 11

Limits: Physical 4, Mental 6(7), Social 5 Armor: 10

Skills: Computer 7, Cybercombat 8, Electronic Warfare

7, Etiquette 4, First Aid 3, Hacking 8 (Personas +2) 8, Hardware 7, Pistol 4, Software 7

Augmentations: Muscle replacement 1, wired reflexes 2 Gear: Ares Defender cyberdeck (use Sony CIY-720 DR4

7654 programs 4), dress uniform (fire resistance 3, non-conductivity 5) and helmet (+2 with built in headset, mic, smartlink), medkit (Rating 6), Plasteel restraints (3 pair), 3 Tranq patches (Rating 7)

Programs: Browse, Configuration, Encryption, Virtual

Machine, Armor, Biofeedback, Biofeedback filter, Defuse, Fork, Guard, Hammer, Mugger, Wrapper

Weapons:

Ares Predator V [Heavy Pistol, Acc 5(7), DV 8P, AP –5, SA, RC —, 15(c), w/ APDS ammo]

Defiance EX Shocker [Pistol, Acc 4, DV 9S(e), AP –5, SS, RC —, 4(m)]

(11)

SCENE 2: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN

11 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

HOST: THE GOLDEN

MICROCHIP

8 10 9 8 11

Installed IC: Acid, Blaster, Crash, Jammer, Patrol, Scramble Slaved Devices: Cameras, locks, and point of sale systems Spiders: see below

Sculpting: An oasis with tents that represent the different

systems and functions

Security Procedures: Patrol IC is constantly running. In

case of an alert IC launches in the following order: Scramble, Blaster, Acid, Crash, and then Jammer. If a IC is bricked, the host reboots it instead of continuing on through the list.

nuyen value per player

GOLDEN MICROCHIP SPIDER

(1, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

3 2 3 3 5 5(6) 4 2 5

Skills: Computer 6, Cybercombat 8, Electronic Warfare

4, Etiquette 4, First Aid 3, Hacking 8 (Personas +2), Hardware 7, Software 5

Gear: Actioneer business clothes, medkit (Rating 6),

Renraku Tsrugi (DR3 6553 3 programs)

Programs: Browse, Configuration, Encryption, Virtual

Machine, Armor, Biofeedback filter, Blackout, Defuse, Fork, Guard, Hammer, Mugger, and Wrapper

Weapons: none

PERSONAL INTEGRATED

TACTICAL NETWORK (PI-TAC)

Level 1: Real time GPS, universal image and audio link

that can access any image sources in the network, team biomonitor, and weapon status indicator (ammo count, operational conditions). +1 to all Perception Test including audio and visual.

Level 2: Host unit enhancement: one half the Device

Rating can be used to enhance either the firewall or processing ratings of the host device. Trauma module: can be loaded with one dose of any drug of the users’ choice. +2 to all Perception Tests including audio and visual. +1 to all Sneaking Tests. Enhanced leader coordination: team leader can coordinate combat maneuvers as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action. Combat mode: +1 to one of the following combat skills of the player’s choice: Armed Combat, Automatics, Longarms, Pistols, Unarmed Combat. Can switch to another skill as a Simple Action.

Level 3: Upgraded host enhancement: full Device Rating

can be used to enhance both the firewall and processing power of the host device. Enhanced Team Leader Coordination(upgraded): team leader can coordinate combat maneuvers as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action. Can transfer ten points from their Initiative score to one team member on the network or five points to two team members. +3 to all Perception Tests including audio and visual. +2 to Sneaking and Tracking Tests. Combat mode: +2 to one of the following combat skills of the player’s choice: Armed Combat, Automatics, Longarms, Pistols, Unarmed Combat. Can switch to another skill as a Simple Action. Remote and limited access to vehicles and drones linked into the network. As long as the units are operational, simple commands such as “go to this location” or “attack this target” can be issued in the event a rigger is rendered unconscious or dead.

(12)

SCENE 3A: BREAKING INTO THE TOWER

12 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

If they are at the Golden Microchip, Ares security isn’t sure if the runners are going to be a problem during the party or if they are just in the neighborhood. They fol-low the character(s) back to their base to set up physical surveillance. The test to follow undetected is Sneaking + Agility [Physical] versus Perception + Intuition [Men-tal] Opposed Test. If Ares Security successfully follows them back to their base, they call in a surveillance team who uses mics and microdrones to determine what the runners are doing.

Debugging

The biggest problems are if the runners tip off Ares se-curity, or worse yet cause a security incident. The good news is with two potential locations for the extraction, the characters can just switch to the other location. If they are locked into going after an alerted location, re-mind them there are other options. This shouldn’t com-pletely derail the run, though it causes complications. Even knowing something is up, the security teams won’t know exactly what.

If the characters trip an alarm and start to panic, re-mind them they have options. If the alarm is tripped at the Ares Orchard, this doesn’t affect security at the Golden Microchip unless the characters mentioned Mr. Samuels or leave some type of clue connecting the alarm to the party in a couple days or to Mr. Samuels. If the characters ask specific questions about the party or any Ares executives, or show Mr. Samuels’ picture around, the security teams are good enough that this tips them off something is going to happen and puts them on alert.

Scene 3A:

Breaking into

the Tower

Scan This

This scene has the security details for the Ares Orchard and Tower. It is used for serious recon of the site or if the characters decide to attempt the extraction at the tower.

ARES ORCHARD

HIGH THREAT TEAM:

FIRE SUPPORT

(5, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

B A R S W L I C ESS 5 5(8) 3(6) 3 4 3 5 3 1.1 Initiative: 8(11) + 1D6(4D6) Condition Monitor: 11

Limits: Physical 6, Mental 5, Social 4 Armor: 21

Skills: Automatics 8 (Assault Rifles +2) (+1 for reflex recorder),

Club 4 (Batons +2), Gymnastics 5, Heavy Weapons 5 (Grenade Launcher +2), Perception 5 (Visual +2), Small Unit Tactics 6, Throwing Weapons 5, Unarmed Combat 4

Augmentations: Muscle toner 3, platelet factory, reflex

recorder (automatics), and wired reflexes 3 (alpha)

Gear: Medium security armor (chemseal, non-conductivity

6, fire resistance 4), full helmet (+3, with headset, mic, smartlink, ultrasound sensor), 6 Neurostun VIII mini-grenades (in Ares alpha grenade launcher), 2 flash-bang grenades, Transys Avalon, Pi-Tac level 2

Weapons:

Ares Alpha [Assault Rifle, Acc 5(7), DV 11P, AP –6, RC 2, 42(c), w/ APDS ammo]

Grenade launcher [Grenade Launcher, Acc 4(6), Neuro stun, Power: 15, Speed: 1 Combat Turn, Penetration: —, SS, RC —, 6(c)]

Stun baton [Club, Acc 4, Reach 1, DV 9S(e), AP –5] Flash-bang grenade [Grenade, DV 10S, AP –4, 10m radius]

ARES SECURITY

(4, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

B A R S W L I C ESS 4 4 4(6) 3 3 3 4 4 4 Initiative: 10+ 3D6 Condition Monitor: 10

Skills: Clubs 4 (Batons +2), Con 2, Gymnastics 5, Law

Enforcement (Professional Knowledge) 3, Perception 4, Pistols 7, Throwing Weapons 4, Unarmed Combat 5

Augmentations: Wired reflexes 2

Gear: Armored jacket (fire resistance 6, non-conductivity

6) and helmet (+2 with built in headset, mic, smartlink), medkit (Rating 6), 3 flash-bang grenades, Transys Avalon, 2 directional mics capacity 6 (audio enhancement 3, select sound filter 3), omni-directional mic (audio enhancement 2, select sound filter 2, spatial recognizer)

Weapons:

Stun baton [Club, Acc 4, Reach 1, DV 9S(e), AP –5] Flash-bang grenade [Grenade, DV 10S, AP –4, 10m

radius]

FLY SPY DRONE

4 3 2 1 0 3 3 0

(13)

SCENE 3A: BREAKING INTO THE TOWER

13 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

This scene gives the following information: 1. Ares Orchard security

2. Ares Tower security 3. Ares reaction to extraction

Tell it to Them Straight

The Ares Orchard

The three-meter-high chain link fence is topped with monowire. The twenty-block complex is completely self-sufficient, but you see vehicles coming and going. A sign by the gate reminds people they need to broad-cast their SINs at all times while inside the complex.

Read the following when

outside the Ares tower:

The thirty-five-story skyscraper is the tall-est of the high-rises in the Ares Orchard. The black steel and reflective glass building looms overhead as you approach. Even the Ares wag-eslaves on the street seem to look at the build-ing in awe.

Behind the Scenes

The characters are going into the Ares compound ei-ther to do recon on the tower or to make the extraction. The Ares compound, known as the Ares Orchard, is twenty blocks square and completely self-sufficient. However, it is usually open to traffic (both vehicular and pedestrian) around the clock. The exception is during a major security incident.

A three-meter-high chain link fence topped with monowire surrounds the compound. In addition, it has an electronic field through the fence to detect if it is cut or breached. To detect it is either a Perception + Intu-ition [Mental] (4) Test or a Hardwire + Logic [Mental] (3) Test. Once it is detected, to bypass it requires an elec-tronics kit and a Hardware + Logic [Mental] (4, 1 min-ute) Extended Test.

About one hundred meters back from the fence line are cameras on the buildings to provide trideo of the fence. A Perception + Intuition [Mental] (3) Test is required to find the cameras and determine which one is covering the fence at a given location. A Security Knowledge skill gives the player a +2 dice pool modifier for the test.

The gates are manned by a three-man security team. If a vehicle has the RFID tag, the guards just wave them through as long as everyone in the vehicle is transmit-ting an Ares SIN. If not, the characters need to make a Con + Charisma [Social] versus Con + Charisma [Social] Opposed Test to convince the guard they have busi-ness on the Ares Orchard. The guards also remind the

characters they are required to broadcast their SIN at all times while inside the compound. The guard issues a visitor pass to the characters, which he logs in conjunc-tion with their SINs. If the characters fail the Con Test the guards won’t let them into the compound.

There are also pedestrian entrance gates. These are each equipped with a Rating 6 MAD scanner. Three guards are posted at each of these gates. One monitors the MAD scanner while the other two talk with the characters, check their SINs, and remind them to broadcast them at all times while on the Orchard. To see if the scanner detects a fer-rous weapon requires a dice pool equal to the Rating (6) and requires just one hit to detect the weapon.

There is a Force 6 spirit of earth in astral space look-ing for any active spells, foci, or auras. When it sees one, it manifests and lets the gate guard know so he can check the SIN for the proper identification and licenses.

ARES ORCHARD GATE GUARDS

(3, PROFESSIONAL RATING 0)

4 4 4(6) 3 3 3 4 4 4

Initiative: 10+ 3D6 Condition Monitor: 10

Skills: Clubs 4 (Batons +2), Con 4, Gymnastics 5, Law

Enforcement (Professional Knowledge) 3, Perception 4, Pistols 7, Throwing Weapons 4, Unarmed Combat 5

Augmentations: Wired reflexes 2

Gear: Dress uniform (fire resistance 3, non-conductivity 5), Fairlight

Caliban, medkit (Rating 6), 3 flash-bang grenades, helmet (+2 with built in headset, mic, smartlink)

Weapons:

Flash-bang grenade [grenade, DV 10S, AP –4, 10m radius] Stun baton [Club, Acc 4, Reach 1, DV 9S(e), AP –5]

SPIRIT OF EARTH

(1, FORCE 6, BOUND, 3 SERVICES)

B A R S W L I C ESS M

10 4 5 9 6 5 6 6 5 5

Initiative: 11 + 2D6 Movement: 10/20 Condition Monitor: 13

Limits: Physical 11, Mental 8, Social 8 Armor: 18H

Skills: Assensing 6, Astral Combat 6, Exotic Ranged Weapon 6,

Perception 6, Unarmed Combat 6

Powers: Astral Form, Binding, Elemental Attack, Fear, Guard,

(14)

SCENE 3A: BREAKING INTO THE TOWER

14 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

Throughout the Ares Orchard there are Ares ver-sions of the roto-drone and Fly-Spy drones patrolling, taking trideo and checking that everyone is transmit-ting their SIN. The drones check only if there is a SIN transmission; they aren’t running a check on the SIN. To get through the Ares Orchard undetected requires a Sneaking + Agility [Physical] (4) Test. If the character transmits a SIN, it is just a record of their passing unless they openly carry weapons, in which case a High Threat Response Team investigates. If the character isn’t trans-mitting, a security patrol investigates and reminds the characters they need to transmit their SIN at all times. Weapons are only allowed with a license tied to an Ares SIN, or by the Ares security personnel.

During the day people come and go throughout the compound, and the characters can blend into the crowd as long as they don’t openly carry weapons. At night there is only occasional vehicle and foot traffic, but the charac-ters can walk the streets without attracting attention.

Security for the compound is run from the Compound Security Center. This houses the response teams as well as additional drones. They monitor the cameras for the perimeter of the compound as well as key locations and major buildings, like the Ares Tower. The Compound

Se-curity Center is two blocks west of the Ares Tower. A Force 5 spirit of man patrols the Orchard looking for any active magical effects or spells. If it finds any, it tells the summoning shaman in the compound security center so he can alert security, and a decision is made if it is a potential issue. The shaman does not leave the compound security center for any reason.

ARES ORCHARD HIGH

THREAT TEAM: FIRE SUPPORT

(5, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

5 5(8) 3(6) 3 4 3 5 3 1.1

Initiative: 8(11) + 1D6(4D6) Condition Monitor: 11

Skills: Automatics 8 (Assault Rifles +2) (+1 for reflex recorder),

Club 4 (Batons +2), Gymnastics 5, Heavy Weapons 5 (Grenade Launcher +2), Perception 5 (Visual +2), Small Unit Tactics 6, Throwing Weapons 5, Unarmed Combat 4

Augmentations: Muscle toner 3, platelet factory, reflex

recorder (automatics), and wired reflexes 3 (alpha)

Gear: Medium security armor (chemseal, non-conductivity

6, fire resistance 4), full helmet (+3, with headset, mic, smartlink, ultrasound sensor), 6 Neurostun VIII mini-grenades (in Ares alpha grenade launcher), 2 flash-bang grenades, Transys Avalon, PI-Tac level 2

Weapons:

Ares Alpha [Assault rifle, Acc 5(7), DV 11P, AP –6, RC 2, 42(c), w/ APDS ammo]

Grenade launcher [Grenade Launcher, Acc 4(6), Neuro stun, Power: 15, Speed: 1 Combat Turn, Penetration: —, SS, RC —, 6(c)]

Stun baton [Club, Acc 4, Reach 1, DV 9S(e), AP –5] Flash-bang grenade [Grenade, DV 10S, AP –4, 10m radius]

ARES ORCHARD HIGH

THREAT TEAM: MAGE

(1, PROFESSIONAL RATING 6)

3 2 3 2 5 4 4 4 6 6

Initiative: 8 + 3D6 Condition Monitor: 10

Limits: Physical 7, Mental 6, Social 4, Astral 7 Armor: 18

Skills: Assensing 7, Astral Combat 8, Automatics

5, Banishing 7, Binding 4, Blades 6, Conjuring 6, Counterspelling 8, Spellcasting 8

Qualities: Magician (Hermetic)

Gear: Medium security armor (chemseal, fire resistance

6, non-conductivity 6) with full helmet (+3 with built in commlink (Transys Avalon) and mic), PI-Tac level 2, reagents (20 drams)

Spells: Agony, Detect Enemies, Hot Potato, Manaball,

Manabolt, Mass Confusion, Powerbolt

Bound Spirits: Spirit of fire Force 5 (3 services) Weapons:

Katana weapon focus [Blades, Acc 7, Reach 1, DV 5P, AP –3, Rating 4 weapon focus]

Yamaha Raiden [Assault rifle, Acc 6(8), DV 12P, AP –3, RC 1, 60(c) explosive rounds

FLY SPY DRONE

4 3 2 1 0 3 3 0

Programs: Clearsight 4, Maneuver 4

ROTODRONE

4 4 2 4 4 3 4 0

Upgrades: Upgraded sensor suite

Programs: Clearsignt 4, Maneuver 4, Targeting (Ares

Alpha) 4

Weapons:

Ares Alpha [Assault rifle, Acc 5(7), DV 11S, AP –1, SA/ BF/FA, RC 2, 42(c), w/ gel rounds]

Grenade launcher [Grenade launcher, Acc 4(6), SS, RC —, 6(c), flash bang]

(15)

SCENE 3A: BREAKING INTO THE TOWER

15 COVER

CRASHING

THE PARTY

INTRODUCTION

MISSION

SYNOPSIS

SCENE 0

SCENE 1

SCENE 2

SCENE 3A

SCENE 3B

SCENE 3C

SCENE 4

SCENE 5

PICKING UP

THE PIECES

LEGWORK

CAST OF

SHADOWS

PLAYER

HANDOUTS

DEBRIEFING

LOG

The thirty-five-story structure is the center of the Ares Orchard. It is a residential, commercial, and of-fice building all in one. The lobby is the building’s main security checkpoint and not much more. The doors are opened via RFIDs in the passes for everyone who works or lives in the building. Visitors can buzz to be let in outside normal working hours. During work hours, the door is unlocked. The door is secured with a Rating 6 maglock. A character can bypass the lock with a Locksmith + Agility [Physical] (12, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test. There are security cameras on the doors and locks which are monitored in the se-curity room in the basement. To pass through unno-ticed requires a Sneaking + Agility [Physical] (3) Test (several people are always monitoring the cameras, especially the entrance). It is impossible to stay off the cameras while defeating the locks since there are cameras aimed right at the pad.

The lobby has a Rating 6 MAD scanner, used to screen everyone coming into the building. If the person has an Ares Tower pass the results are com-pared to what is on record for the person. Any ab-normalities cause the guard to stop the person for questioning and put security on standby. The lobby has three security guards on duty around the clock and two additional guards during peak hours (7AM-11AM and 4PM-6PM).

Anyone who doesn’t have a SIN identified with the tower must sign in at the desk visitor log, and gets a visitor pass (or the Orchard visitor pass is up-dated to include tower access). The visitor pass:

•

Has an RFID chip for tracking.

•

Is cleared for the floor(s) the visitor is sup-posed to visit. If the person goes to another floor it alerts the security office.

•

Operates the elevator to the appropriate floor. If multiple floors are cleared, it gives an AR display of the authorized floors.

•

Opens the doors on the floor(s) they are

vis-iting.

To pass through the lobby as one of the people who live or work in the building requires the follow-ing:

•

A way to transmit the appropriate SIN.

•

A disguise to look like the person.

•

A successful Impersonation + Charisma [So-cial] versus Perception + Intuition [Mental] Opposed Test.

The lobby has four security cameras that are monitored in the security center on the 13th_floor

of the tower as well as at the compound security center.

There is a bank of six elevators that go from the lob-by to all thirty-five floors. In addition, a stairwell goes

SPIRIT OF MAN

(1, FORCE 5, BOUND, 2 SERVICES)

6 5 7 3 5 5 6 5 5 5

Initiative: 13+ 2D6 Movement: 10/20 Condition Monitor: 11

Limits: Physical 7, Mental 7, Social 7 Armor: 10H

Skills: Assensing 5, Astral Combat 5, Perception 5, Spellcasting 5,

Unarmed Combat 5

Powers: Accident, Astral Form, Concealment, Confusion, Enhanced

Senses (Low-light, Thermographic Vision), Guard, Influence, Innate Spell (Detect Enemies), Materialization, Movement, Sapience, Search

HOST: ARES HIGH-RISE

10 12 10 11 13

Installed IC: Acid, Black IC, Crash, Jammer, Marker, Patrol, Probe, Tar

Baby, Track

Slaved Devices: Cafeteria equipment, cameras, locks, office

terminals, retail POS systems, safes

Spiders: 1 on duty and two more on standby for an emergency Sculpting: A large office building filled with cubicles (general services

and security systems) and offices (each floor is an office which is filled with cubicles of what is on that floor)

Security Procedures: Patrol IC runs at all times, as well as the on-duty

spider patrols. Once alarmed, the IC launches in the following order: Probe, Jammer, Black IC, Crash, Tar Baby, Marker, and Track. If an IC is bricked, it takes the next Combat Turn to reboot the IC rather than launching the next one.

Paydata: There are data files on the host which have 500 nuyen value

per player

TOWER SPIDER

(1, 2, PROFESSIONAL RATING 5)

3 2 3 3 5 5(6) 4 2 5

Skills: Computer 7, Cybercombat 8, Electronic Warfare 7, Etiquette

4, First Aid 3, Hacking 8 (Personas +2) 8, Hardware 7, Pistol 4, Software 7

Augmentations: Muscle replacement 1, wired reflexes 2

Gear: Ares Defender cyberdeck (use Sony CIY-720 DR4 7654 programs

4), dress uniform (fire resistance 3, non-conductivity 5) and helmet (+2 with built in headset, mic, smartlink), medkit (Rating 6), Plasteel restraints (3 pair), 3 Tranq patches (Rating 7)

Programs: Browse, Configuration, Encryption, Virtual Machine, Armor,

Biofeedback, Biofeedback filter, Defuse, Fork, Guard, Hammer, Mugger, Wrapper

Weapons: