Seattle Olympics 2076, Hell on Earth, Part 3 - Running in the Shade of Brackhaven

So how do you get your players involved in all of this? Let us break Brackhaven's Campaign of Evil into easier to digest bits. Thing One, the 2057 election cycle. Thing Two, Brackhaven's buying up of the Barrens. Thing Three, the 2070 election. And Thing Four, Olympic shenanigans. And lastly, Thing Five, the aftermath and repercussions of the Temporary Housing Facilities (THF's).

So first up, you could run through the elections, either Kennie's run for UCAS President, or his run for Governor. The first was covered in Super Tuesday, and is still an excellent book for covering unethical elections. The second was talked about in Runner Havens and Emergence. If you or your players never played through Super Tuesday, then grab it up, scrub the names clean, and serve it up for the Party. Perhaps in your campaign, Brackhaven's hidden past (and racist present) never came out. And 2070 is the time to discover it. Or the 2074 election. Choose the one that fits best for your players and your campaign. In any of these scenarios, a political contact may call up a character for a favor. Or perhaps MoM (or ORC, or Sons of Sauron if the players are a bit more hard-core) get in touch. Give those characters who have more than a street doc and an armorer contact some love. Remember that if the Crew exposes Brackhaven, they will be in his Book of Grudges. This could lead to Runs to Nowhere (runs where the Crew is not supposed to succeed, but either provide a distraction, or just plain get frakked), opposing teams showing up at Meets/Runs/Swaps (especially Swaps), or approaches from really shady Fixers/Mr. Johnsons. And of course, if your Crew is full of racists, perhaps they get hired by Brackhaven to Run the opposition.

Gittes: A memorial service was held at the Mar Vista Inn today for Jasper Lamar Crabb. He passed away two weeks ago. 
Mrs. Mulwray: Why is that unusual?
Gittes: He passed away two weeks ago and one week ago he bought the land. That's unusual.

So on to Thing Two. Brackhaven starts forming dummy corporations and begins to buy up the Barrens. This is all a bit more subtle, but there is plenty of room for player interaction, especially if the Crew is more of the Hooding bent. This all starts small. Perhaps a finance contact mentions that someone is creating a full hosts of shell companies. For a more concrete lead, have that contact turn up dead, with the proverbial Dead Letter drop for the character. Okay, a Dead Disc drop. But the characters end up with the tropey "I'm dead and find out who killed me" disc and an incentive to go do it. Or go a little closer. One of the characters (who lives in the Barrens) is approached by his landlord, who informs the character that next months rent is to be paid to Universal Properties LLC. And the rent (and his lifestyle) is going up 10%. Or the gang that watches the neighborhood and informs the character about strangers asking for him (you know, the one the character has as a contact? He does have one as a contact, right?) tells him that they are leaving, as they can't afford to pay both the next gang up and Universal Properties LLC. Maybe the character can do them a favor and check this new company out? Have some paranoid players? What is Mr. Black saying, of course you have paranoid players. So the above landlord comes in and tells the above character that no more rent is needed, as the landlord just came into money and is leaving. Whether the power and water stays on is of course up to you. (Mr. Black says turn that stuff off, and have the characters Lifestyle drop to Street level or lower. Maybe his neighbors start OD-ing at a frightful rate (they're blowing all that extra money on drugs) or getting robbed at a frightful rate (the above gang realizes that they all have extra money to steal.) Perhaps, they will start checking around to find out what is going on.

The key here is to start things small. Give the players a taste of something wrong. An appetizer of Evil. The main course is still to come. Let the Crew invite themselves to the upcoming banquet. You want them to do the inviting. Then when the dinner turns full-Red Wedding, they have only themselves to blame.

"But my players have no social conscious!" you say. "They would never go hooding!" Well, then make them. You heard Mr. Black, force them to get involved. Someone took the Dependent Negative Quality right? Or Day Job? Put those Qualities to work for you and not the Crew. So Night Striker has an aunt/sister/etc. he helps out. Now is the time for old Aunt May-san to move to the Barrens so she can have the above problems. Or their Day Job moves. The bar they are a bouncer at moves to take advantage of the great real estate deals. And now they are on the front line. Does someone have Wanted/Enemy? Then turn up the heat every where but the Barrens. Give them one place to hide out, other than the Ice Caves of Snohomish.

Or just hire them. This could be a "find my sister/brother who has disappeared in the Barrens", or a more social-oriented hire. Perhaps the Plastics Gardens needs help. And what Crew couldn't use a healing hide out? Or maybe their ganger contact needs some help. With the streets starting to run red, who couldn't use a little Runner muscle? Better yet, if the Crew helped MoM/ORC/Sons of Sauron etc. out on one of the elections, that organization is calling again. Too many meta-humans are being dispossessed. And they want eyes on the ground to find out what is happening. And search for the many missing people. Or maybe the Crew has a contact in the banking/construction/real estate businesses who wants to know what is going on, or why they didn't get a government contract. Or a reporter checking into all the above. Better yet, a reporter that needs bodyguards while investigating the Barrens. This way a combat-oriented Crew can get in on the action, and a sneaky-sneaky Crew will have real headaches trying to keep the reporter alive.

Just remember that this is a low key stage of Kennie's Evil Plan. This part is perfect for investigative, Matrix and Face types. There will be lots of record checking and following up and questioning of people. It is not for every Crew. But even if the players don't want to get involved, you can start to lay in the groundwork for the next part of the Plan. So start now, and prepare your players for Armageddon.

Next time we look at Things 4 and 5, Olympic Shenanigans and the THF's.

10 in Ten, The Rigger Triumphant Edition

One of the members over at the ShadowGrid forums, captduck, asked for help with giving his player's Rigger character more to do. After offering some suggestions, Mr. Black gave it some long thought. The problem was not so much about what else the character could do, but that most GM's and players tend to pigeonhole the Rigger into not much more than a glorified chauffeur. (Mr.Black knows, he has done it too!) This is very wrong, but may require a paradigm shift for most players and GM's. Really, we GM's should try Runs where different members of the Crew get to shine, especially the Rigger. The trick is to make the Rigger the reason the Run is going on-he needs to drive something away for Mr. Johnson. As a starting point Mr. Black offers the following 10-in-Ten, the Rigger Triumphant Edition, to help push that gear-shift. Enjoy, and use at your Rigger's grace and your Crew's peril.

1. Let's start simple. The Crew needs to get into a very tall building. From the top. Perhaps the elevators don't go all the way to the roof, or maybe the top 30 floors are not accessible by Wi-Fi. And the other 100 floors are a bitch of a security nightmare. Whatever. Time for the Crew to get out of the Van, and into a helicopter, which our poor benighted Rigger gets to drive. And maybe fire machinegun shots into those top 30 floors. And then make a high speed aerial chase across the skies of Seattle. Bring extra shenanigans by having the Crew make an high-speed emergency evac off that roof. You know the one, where that last member of the crew has to make a jump off the 130th floor onto a skid or a dangling rope. Don't make it to hard for the jumpee; you want him dangling when the chase starts. You know, for that extra-cinematic feel. And the grin on your face as the Crew's spends all their Edge to keep him from falling off...
2. Mr. Johnson wants the Crew to recover a large shipment. It is loaded on 3 freight cars, and Mr. Johnson wants the Crew to steal the whole train. Which is where the Rigger comes in. While the Hacker goes in and changes the routing, the Rigger is going to play engineer! Again, someone else will have to drive the Van. The rest of the Crew can provide security, and really, who doesn't want to have a fight on top of a train?
3. One of the Big Ten has a new prototype. Only this time it is not some little piece of electronics. It is a frakkin' tank (or a Riot Control Vehicle, or an APC. Something big, armored and armed.) And Mr. Johnson wants it driven to the Swap point. Try Ash City/Glow City, or maybe the stolen train above. Anyways, the Crew needs to get into the testing grounds, get the Rigger into it (only Riggers can drive this advanced prototype), and then jander off into the night. And somebody else will have to drive the Van this time; hope somebody has Pilot: Ground Vehicles above Rating 1. Oh, and throw in an awesome chase, perhaps with attack helicopters firing AP missiles, and lots of car crunching fun.
4. Try the above Run differently. Mr. Johnson is perhaps a collector of expensive, high-speed automobiles. And one of the major corporations is testing their new prototype $500,000+ sports car. Once again, the Crew needs to get into the testing facility and have the Rigger drive it away. Which should lead to a high-speed, high octane (should that be high ozone in 2075?) chase across the city. Channel all your Fast 'n' Furious 1-7 into this; stealth should not be an option. Heck, go super-stupid and have the Crew helo insert into the top of the above Very Tall Building and then go full Furious 7 on them! If you are wizzer lucky, then maybe the rest of the Crew will also be able to drive and have some fast vehicles. 'Cause that stodgy Van just won't be able to keep up this time. For extra shenanigans, ensure Mr. Johnson puts a "no damage" clause in the contract.
5. You could change up #4 by making Mr. Johnson a very vindictive person, who has a beef with Jackson Pedley. Seems Ol' Jackson should have paid his gambling debts/kept his hands off someones wife/etc. And Jackson is driving the Number 37 Omega Fizz car in the Seattle 300 this weekend. And Mr. Johnson wants that number 37 car retrieved during the race on national TV. Once again, make sure there is a big chase, lots of fireworks, and lots of embarrassment for Ol' Jackson.
6. Mr. Johnson needs a job done on Lake Washington. The bottom of Lake Washington. Seems he lost a clandestine shipment on a boat that sunk and he wants the Crew to recover it. Whether they use a mini submarine or a Lamprey is up to you and your Rigger. The rest of the crew will probably need to take scuba lessons, a good way to get them to spend Karma on something other than guns, spells, and Matrixy stuff. Need to add shenanigans? Toss in pirates or sea-beasties. Better yet, throw in a rival Crew and recreate the end of Thunderball. Hell, go all out and make them a HTR team that parachutes in. You can amp up the fun by having Mr. Johnson work for one of the OCO's (Organized Crime Organization) and the shipment, well, drugs and let you players take a walk on the Dark Side.
7. And why fight on top of a train when you can fight on top of a high speed monorail? Think Wolverine or Mission Impossible: I. Mr. Johnson wants a diplomatic extraction (or Elimination!) on the LA to Seattle monorail. Once again our Rigger takes center stage and hijacks the monorail while the crew goes to work. Or reverse MI:1 this, and have the Rigger drop the team on the train. If you thought have a Crew member jump off a 130-story building was crazy, deploying on top of an object going 200+ miles per hour is even more nuts.
8. Nothing says alternate history like a Zeppelin. Just ask Kenneth Hite. Or these. So it is now time for your Crew to join the future and hijack a Zeppelin. Perhaps there is an item in the hold, or a person that must be extracted, but whatever it is, there is not enough time to get on, grab it/him/her, and get off. Just enough time to get aboard and then start doing Legwork. Oh sure, the crew could just wait for it to land, but that item is too big to just walk with, or the target is too well protected, or more likely, the original destination is someplace the Crew definitely doesn't want to be. So hijacking is the better option. Now the Rigger has to engage in a low speed chase, and maybe fire some ordnance,  all while the rest of the Crew sits around monitoring the hostages and babysitting the MacGuffin. And make sure the Crew channels their inner Archer!
9. Mr. Johnson desires protection. Oh, and an escorted trip to the western shore of Salish lands. Has a place to be, and people to meet. Nothing more than a day trip, he says. Well, in a regular boat, and it must be a boat to stay off of radar, it is a day or 2 trip. Which is why Mr. Johnson has acquired the services of a high-speed weaponized boat. Maybe it is just super-high performance cigarette boat (Think Black Lagoon), maybe it is a hydrofoil. But it will take a Rigger with nerves of steel to drive Mr. Johnson out to that shore, cutting through all the little islands in Puget Sound, in the dark and/or fog, while staying out of the reach of Salish patrol boats/helicopters, startled smugglers, large sea beasties, and the guards at all those strange, unknown, uncharted research facilities the Big Ten have hiding out there. Good luck and good sailing!
10. While we have talked about many many large vehicles, maybe it is time for the Rigger to go small. Like flying ultralights into facilities. Or racing motorcycles through Seattle. Or scooting Jackrabbits through the sewers loaded with gold. Or cutting through the woods in ATV's or those armed dune buggy things special forces love so much. Something small enough that the entire Crew can't fit in, so the Rigger-driven vehicle is the Alpha vehicle, and the rest of the Crew is another vehicle praying and spending Edge to keep up with him. Let him be the star for the night, so he doesn't go suicidal the next time he just sits in the Van.

So to repeat, make the Rigger the reason for the run, or give him more to do than wait in the Van again. Give him a chance to shine, and make him the star of the Run every now and then. Even if your Crew decides not to hijack the MacGuffin in say #3, maybe using a cargo helicopter to steal the tank, the Rigger is still doing the heavy lifting. And you may get lucky and have the rest of the Crew riding on the back of a tank dangling from a cargo helicopter 500 meters above the ground, all while a small attack wing of Wasps/large attack wing of drones show up and start spraying everyone down. Now go and enjoy!

10 in Ten - the Magical Edition

While going through the ShadowGrid forums, poster Pariah3J asked for some ideas for magic-based runs. Mr. Black threw some together very quickly and then thought,"Hmm, this could be a good for a series of regular columns." So he did one. The idea is 10 run ideas in a very quick format, no stats or numbers, just enough to get a GM going, and easy to drop into a game. So here is the first one. And thanks Pariah3J, for the push.

1. The Mage’s Talismonger is having trouble getting supplies. He asks the Mage if he and his “friends” would mind riding shotgun on a smuggling transfer of much-needed reagents, telesma and such over on the Seattle-Salish border. Magical eco-terrorists/NAN Rangers decide to stop the transfer, and shenanigans ensue.
2. A scholarly mage desires to recover reagents for study from a location full of magical badness such as a mass murder site or some other nasty event leaving an astral scar. He wants the Crew to protect him while doing this. He is a scholar, not a fighter, and somewhat absent minded (or is he?!?). Spirits show up and shenanigans ensue.
3. Lou (or Selena) of Lou’s Tattoos in Downtown Seattle needs a certain telesma for his magical tattoo ink. He contacts the Crew to get him some. It involves gathering a particular type of kelp out in Puget Sound. The area, close to NAN lands, is home to water spirits, selkies and other magical water creatures, not to mention other kelp gatherers and corporate goons looking for the same/hunting the gatherers, and ever-present danger of Salish Coast Patrol boats.
4. Someone or something is haunting/disrupting the 5^th Avenue Theatre’s production of “Waiting for Jet Black”, and it is definitely magical in nature. The Crew is hired to find out what is going on and end it. Tracking magical auras and astral signatures of spell aftermaths. Is it (once again) spirits? Is it a disgruntled mage? Is it an insurance scam? A magical gang looking for shakedown money? A producer looking for free publicity? The Crew will have to work quickly to find out, as the curtain goes up in just four days, and famous actor Bywythe Merriweather is making his Seattle premier…
5. A friend of a friend has a problem. Her dairy farm in Snohomish is having strange problems with the cows. They are not giving any milk, and the vet can’t find a reason. The farmer’s daughter (she’s 8, get your mind out of the gutter!) has been talking to her imaginary friends in the woods though. Is there something to it? Spirits? Or maybe some Fae/pixies have taken up house nearby. Can the Mage negotiate a truce? Not much of a payday, unless you like fresh milk and cookies.
6. Mr. Johnson calls. He is trying a power play at his Corp and wants a rival’s artwork stolen. However the piece in question is magical. And it will take a Mage with forgery and artisan skills to leave a duplicate. Or not. Perhaps the Crew will keep the piece; it is worth quite a bit (like more than YOU will pay them in a year). If they do, others will want it. Now they have a vindictive Mr. Johnson, a vindictive victim, and several opposing Crews after them, not including the Corp and various OCO’s looking for their cut (their cut being all of it unless the Crew has very good connections in the OCO, it which case it is 60%).
7. There is something on the loose down in the sewers-a Protean is loose, and someone with Astral Perception is needed to hunt it. A city official (cop, government worker, politician, garbage man, etc,) is calling in a favor, before word gets out of a shape-changing magical serial killer that strikes out of the toilet gets around. Trudging through narrow, water- (and diseased)-filled tunnels single-file in the pitch-dark should be good for a laugh. Throw in the fact that the Crew can’t trust their eyes down there and shenanigans should ensue. Think John Carpenter’s The Thing in sewers rather than the snow.
8. Not quite ready for the above? Try it with Firedrakes, Afancs, Incubui, Icedrakes, or any other beastie you like. Perhaps a tribe of murderous Troglodytes. (Hmm, a huge tribe of white-skinned murderous freaks striking from the shadows with rocks and sewer-covered sharpened pieces of rusty metal should be huge fun. Umm, stealing my own idea right now, will be back in a minute.) NERPS! GET YOUR NERPS! (Okay, back!) Astral Perception should be a huge asset down in those twisting passageways. And feel free to use any beastie from outside their normal range. Finding out why they are in the Seattle sewers should lead to new adventures.
9. Something is going wrong at the Space Needle’s observation deck. Instead of inspiring awe, it seems to be inspiring dread. Despite their precautions, several people have committed suicide this week, and dozens have been wrestled down off the safety fences. Is it a spirit? A specter? A mage causing fear? The crew will need to investigate. And what kind of shenanigans can ensue 185 meters up with a fear-causing entity? The kind that need a parachute or Levitation to survive…
10. Someone is playing tricks in the Seattle Art Museum. Several accidents have taken place and between broken pieces and broken bodies their Chief Security Officer is concerned. Enter the Crew. Tracking astral signatures for a week while dodging patrons, scared guards and the Ghost Haunters™ trideo show crew (The CSO didn’t have it her own way; the Media Relation officer saw an opportunity for free advertising…) should make for some good role-playing times. Throw in a fatal accident and shenanigans should ensue. It may well be a spirit or some other human agency, but Blackberry Cats have Accident powers too. Maybe the Crew will need to bring a saucer of milk to lay this beast?