Back in Business (Beta Run) [Shadowrun 4E]

Game Master CloakedInSmoke

It's an ordinary, rainy day in the metroplex known as Seattle. You are all going about your daily routines when at about noon you receive a chirp on your commlinks. The Matrix icon that appears is of the traditional smiley face, colored red with jagged lines (what you can only assume are orc tusks) running up from the mouth.

Upon answering the call, the icon is replaced by a grinning ork face. His hair and beard are sprinkled with grey and a pair of golden datajacks line his left temple. Strangest of all are the wire-rimmed glasses on his face: not tinted mirrorshades to make you look badass, or AR goggles, but real, honest-to-goodness reading glasses, the kind long made rare by ubiquitous laser surgery or cybereyes.

Hoi, chummers! he says, still grinning. I hear tell you might be interested in a bit of biz. If you're interested, head on over to Underworld 39 tonight at 7. There's a small concert going on. Let the doorman know you're there to meet MacCallister, and he'll get you good seats. After the show's over, we'll have a chat and I'll tell you a bit more. Interested?

Rick agrees that he is interested, downloads the location and time and sets about to finish up what he is doing, clean up and head out at the appropriate time. He also checks into the club, discovering what kind of place it is so he can dress appropriately.

About time some work comes my way. I wonder who this MacCallister is, though.

Knowledge: Seattle Area (how shady is the area the club is in, and how well armed should I be?) 6d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2) = 22 3 hits!

Knowledge: Bars & Clubs (any particularities about Underworld 39, ways to stand out/blend in/be seen as a "regular"?) 6d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 3, 5, 6, 2) = 26 4 hits!

Reaching out to Ricardo, my Orc Bartender contact & Marco, my Dwarf Fixer contact (both are Connection 1/ Loyalty 1): <Hey, there, it's Spook. Wondering if you'd ever heard of a Johnson named MacCallister? Maybe works out of Underground 39. Let me know if there's any scoop, eh? Regular fee, of course! Thanks, omae!>

Adam waits to hear if he should go corporate, full-on "Junior Mr. Johnson," or a more urban style, preparing his equipment before the meet.

He also throws a quick & easy Matrix search up, looking for news-articles, blogs, and the like featuring the keywords "MacCallister", "Johnson", "runs", or "shadow"

Realizing he forgot to invest in civilian copies of Browse, Scan, and the like, his search is basically "Using Google" Data Search:3d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 2) = 9 1 hit!

Unfortunately, Rick, the Matrix floods you with results varying from information about Greek mythology to Anton François, #39 of the Denver Minotaurs urban brawl team. You will need to roll an Extended Data Search + Logic Test in order to sift through the results. (Adam, you will need to do the same for your search for MacCallister.)

Time isn't a factor (if you guys ever need Matrix Searches in the middle of a run I'll look up what the interval actually is). Keep re-rolling your Data Search + Logic Tests, with a cumulative -1 on each roll, and give me your total number of hits. (So Adam, you would roll 3d6+2d6+1d6, for example.)

10d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 5, 3, 6, 3, 2, 2, 3, 3) = 34 Charisma + Ettiquete + Loyalty 3 hits!

Data Search: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 4) = 9 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7 1d6 ⇒ 4 2, then 1, then 1 hit!

EDIT: Just double check if you've posted within the hour of my post. I've been editing it because I keep forgetting little stuff, like your data search being about MacCallister and not Underworld 39.

<Thanks Marco. I'll buy you a drink next time we're out!>

Adam Gears up in his Urban Explorer Jumpsuit with its helmet, fires up the bike, and heads out, expecting to be early for the meet.

Packing the Predator & spare clips, as well as the Steetline Special and his Shock Glove. Also taking along a thermal smoke grenade.

Along the way, will ping Underworld 39 on a general matrix search and see who Mercurial is.

3d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 6) = 14 2d6 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5 1d6 ⇒ 4 general matrix search. 2 hits, 1 hit, 1 hit

Oh? I thought 4+ was good. If its 5+, that's good to know.

Rich shakes his head at all the gobbly-g!@~ he gets from his search and logs out. I will just have to play it by ear..., he thinks as he throws his coat on and heads out the door to his Harley. He jumps on, kick starts the engine and roars off to the address he was given.

I dont know why, but the wood gobbly-g$+@ comes out weird....

Nope, Adam, only 5's or 6's are hits. Rick, do you mean gobbledygook? And are you going to roll your Data Search + Logic Test? Without it, you have no idea where the club is, unless Adam told you. I just said that you found irrelevant crap to signal the need for a Data Search to sift through the results.

Data Search: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5 no sucesses..no real surprise there..lol

With her typical Irish brogue Chelsy nods to Mr. Johnson, "work be welcome. Tell yer guy t' stock ale."

Once the call has disconnected, she switches tracks, and starts doing her own digging.

I think I have this right, bars and clubs @6 6d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 4, 3, 6) = 22, so 2 hits

Can you post the number of hits needed to get the same info?

Ok, so with no successes in data search, does this mean I cannot find the place?

adam already made some rolls and you posted what he found, knowing that 3 hits would provide the same information would let me know what my character knows without you needing to retype all of it, or reply that I had learned it, just thinking of ways to streamline the meta-knowledge. I figure all of us would be doing some research into the same things. Assuming each of us was contacted separately...

Not inclined to dance around the issue, Chelsy gets herself dressed up, from a streeter point of view, and heads to the club about an hour ahead of time. She spends most of this across the street, someplace where she can get a vibe for the evening's attendee's before she sautners over herself, 15 minutes before the meeting time.

Nodding to the bouncer, she gives him a quick once over muscle, easy meat. "I'm here for MacAllister, I'm expected."

Unfortunately, you rolled lower than Adam, so I had to type your results separately. Rick, yes, that means you can't find the club. You guys are supposed to be a team, remember? Talk to each other :) Share your knowledge :)

right, team, my bad.

<Rick, Chelsy, Digital Dragon, hope you got the same message I did. Got biz at Underground 39, some new Johnson named MacCallister. I'm on my way (here's the addy), and sporting the urban chic style. Def come hot, not sure exactly what we've go here. Let you know more when I get there. Btw, someone named Mercurial's playing tonight. Might be worth looking into, too.>

Adam keeps the (poorly worded) matrix search running in the background while en route to the club. Wonder just who this band is, anyways

<Ah...thanks Adam!! Was just gonna give you a buzz. See you there my firend.>

<Null sweat. You heard from DD? I have a feeling my matrix skills will not be up to the challenge for anything...important. See you at the club.>

Chelsey thinks back to the conversations with her partners earlier that evening...

<I didn't find out much about the club, looks like a bit more upscale than a typical meet, but it's what the johnson wants. I'm heading in early for a look-see. Met you there.>

Interesting, we've run enough operations together that most johnson's know we're a group, so why call each of us individually?

Chelsey makes a call and meets with a supplier she knows, "I need another SIN, 'bout the same as the last, better get me a cheap onesy as well."

The new Id's wouldn't be ready soon, but if this Johnson was trying to make a point of know all their current ID's then she had no choice but to consider this one burned.

Alright, I'm just going to press on. We'll assume you've all shared info with each other so you can all find the club. Just remember you are all a team :)

When you all arrive at Underworld 39, you are struck by its unassuming appearance: it looks like your typical ferrocrete warehouse, with a simple steel plate hanging over the entrance with the club's name. This is just in the meat world though. It's much more impression through AR, which uses neon lettering for the club's name along with the club's logo, Charon steering a speedboat through the river Styx. The club's geotag informs you that the club was, at one point, the spot for the "who's who" of Seattle. While the fickle tastes of the younger generation have moved on, the club still has a reputation as being a place to see the hottest music of yesterday and today. Jetblack, Shield Wall, CrimeTime, DarkVine, Blitzkrieg, the Psychedelic Phlegm. All have graced the stage at Underworld 39 at one time or another, and now it looks like another big name is hitting the stage tonight.

A sizable crowd is gathered at the crowd, and the line to get in surrounds the building. A pair of intimidating troll bouncers in expensive tailored suits stand guard at the door and ignore the large majority of the crowd like they weren't even there. They only let someone in after consulting an actual paper list on a clipboard. That's one way to make the guest list unhackable: just write it down. An ARO in front of the building explains the crowd: Mercurial is playing an unannounced concert at 7:30 tonight.

What do you all do?

Adam walks up to the trolls like he owns the joint.

"O'Reilly. I'm expected."

<Making entrance now. Let's try and keep it low-key, eh?> a quick hardware text to keep the team in the loop.

Adam also triggers his eyes & ears onto record mode, spooling the data onto his 'link for later review.

Rick parks his bike and heads for the front of the nightclub. When he gets to the doormen he says, "Here to see MacCallister."

The bouncer asks for your names, and after they're given, he checks his list and nods. Welcome to Underworld 39. Weapons aren't allowed in the club, so any hardware you might be carrying will need to be checked into the security booth in the foyer there. An escort will be waiting on the other side of the scanners to take you to your booth. Enjoy the show. the troll says dryly.

In the foyer of the club, a large crowd mills around, posing for the press or their me-feeds, or gawking at the signed posters of various bands hanging all around. Two well dressed but dangerous looking bouncers man the MAD scanner.

The security booth is encased in bulletproof glass and guests are handing in their weapons, which are tagged with a number and a paper slip given back.

What do you do?

As Rick is carrying no weapons, he approaches the escorts and asks to be taken to the booth.

Let's see if I can talk my way in armed...

Adam steps up to the security window and waves the "chief rent-a-cop" over.

"Ohaio chummers. I'm Adam, private security consultant. I was hired by the band for emergency crowd control. On-Site-Security Solutions, Inc. You'll probably wanna suppress the alarms while I go in, eh."

9d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 4, 4, 6, 5, 5, 5, 2) = 35 Con 4 hits!

Unfortunately, you need to reroll to account for situational modifiers, which come up to -5 on your dice pool: -1 because the guy is suspicious of you (he's paid to be suspicious of everyone), and -4 because the consequences of him believing you are disasterous

no worries, lets try again.

4d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 6, 6) = 20 3hits! looks like Adam really is one smooth talking mo-fo, after all!

Chief's Opposed Charisma Check 3d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 2) = 10 (1 hit; Adam gets 2 net hits)

Alright, go ahead, sir. Rancorn! he points to one of the other security guards. Show this man backstage, and let the scanners know he's allowed to bring his hardware into the club. I'll phone Mercurial's team to let them know you're coming.

What do you do?

"Sounds good. My contact was MacCallister, would you let him know I'm here please? I also should sweep through the front of the house. I am here for that area, after all. Here's my number, in case you need me, unless you would rather patch me into the security net right off the bat."

Adam shakes the man's hand once he is across the security station.

"Pleased to meet you, let's have a safe, uneventful night, eh."

You are patched right into the security net, and upon logging on are met with a grinning orc face icon.

<Should have known. Runners can never just walk in the front door, can they? I'm running Matrix Security for the show. Enjoy yourself, and try not to cause too much trouble, ok? ;-) -MacCallister>

<Cause trouble? Me? I'm part of your security detail, remember? I'm here, no, we're here to keep trouble from happening. Unless you need trouble started, of course. I'll be at the bar. Flag me when my friends get in, eh.>

To the team: <I'm in. Managed to talk my way in as front-of-house security, kept my gear. Subscribe to my PAN, when you can, so we can keep eyes on one another. I'm at the bar, in my urban ninja outfit.>

Adam orders a bottle of water, and scans the room.

To keep things moving, I'll post the next section. Chelsy, we'll assume, checked her weapons at the security desk.

Past the scanners is a long hallway where the restrooms are located, as well as several spiral staircases and the main bar area. Your escort, an elf woman in her 30's with bubble-gum pink hair and Underworld 39 Staff t-shirt, leads you up one of the spiral staircases, through a series of intricate catwalks which connect the booths hanging over the dance floor and stage. The bar, you can see from the catwalks, is manned by six bartenders and as many tables as they can cram in one area. Every seat is used, and a flock of patrons circle the seating area, waiting to take any seat that is left for even a nanosecond. Towering over the seating area is a 10 meter high, bald, bullet-headed statue. Lasers shoot from the statue’s eyes, smoke billows up around it, neolux tubing running the length of the statue bathes it in an eerie neon glow, and holograms and AR wrap the sculpture in glowing, flashy effects. From its belly, a massive speaker blasts out music.

The stage itself is on the far south wall, and huge video and AR displays provide dizzying imagery for Emerald Cacaphony, a local synthmetal band playing as a warm-up for Mercurial. Bodies writhe to the music on the dance floor.

The elf finally leads you up to your booth, which is open-air so you can enjoy the music. If asked, the elf says that MacCallister is running Matrix security and is planning to meet you after the show. For now, she says, just enjoy the music and have a drink on MacCallister's tab.

After drinks have been ordered and delivered, you enjoy the ambiance of the club and the music of the opening band, which isn't bad. You notice, however, something awry when a man in the seating area, clearly angry, suddenly pulls out a gun and shoot a man who was busy making out with his girlfriend at the next table. The man slumps over, bleeding profusely from a shot to the chest, and the woman screams. The gunman rushes to the woman and puts his gun to her head, screaming incoherently, though it's clear that this woman is now his hostage. Security moves in, but there are so many people around, however, that they can't get a clear shot at him.

What do you do?

Are we above this on the catwalks, or is it happening on 'ground floor'? What is the actual distance from us to this guy, and finally how high up are we (if we are actually suspended above the action).

Your booth is suspended 10 m above the main dance floor, front and center facing the stage. The gunman and hostage are in the bar seating area, about 25 m away. Through the system of catwalks, you could get within a few meters of him, 10 m up of course.

sorry, my paizo connection has been fritzy, we may assume I checked my weapons.

"Well this is interesting. McAllister, this another 'security guard'?" Chelsy otherwise remains seated, though poised for action while she checks out the rest of the club, considering this public of an incident is likely a diversion for something else.

Am I up in the booth or still down by the bar, when this goes down?

Your call. With Rancorn waving you past the scanners, the escort may have missed you, unless you asked her to take you up to MacCallister's booth. What would Adam have done?

Adam would definitely prefer to be in the crowd if possible. With access to the people in the club. Privacy is nice, as is luxury, but he really shines when he can shake hands & kiss babies.

Alright, sounds good. You were in the crowd when this started happening.

<Anyone in position to assist? I'm engaging this psycho.>

Pending any alternative plans, Adam will draw his Predator as stealthily as possible before casually moving closer to the hostage taker. He will try to keep to the enemy's blind side and use the crowd to blend in. Optimally, he makes it behind the man to put his gun to the hostage takers head.

Roll an Infiltration+Agility Test, Adam.

Rick quietly moves to close the distance between him and the gunman.

Infiltration: 7d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 6, 3, 5, 3, 4) = 30
3 sucesses

4d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 6, 5) = 17 infiltration 3 hits!

1d6 ⇒ 1 wrong value, should have Infiltration 2 + Agility 3. Chummer has me encumbered for some reason :(

<Security, anyone got a shot? Sitrep on the GSW vic?>

<Rick, Chelsy, either of you in a position to assist?>

GM: How's the guy look who was shot? Obvious death? Dying but still alive? Can I tell? Also, how's Mr. Trigger Happy look? Tweaked out on BTL? Pissed but scared? Ready to kill? I'm basically trying to figure if I need to headshot him without warning or give him the opportunity to surrender.

<MacCallister, I assume you're seeing this. Rules of engagement?>

The boyfriend is not dead yet, but is bleeding profusely from a gun-wound to the chest and will die within a few minutes if someone doesn't get in to administer first aid and staunch the bleeding.

The gunman does indeed, in your words, look pissed but scared.

Gunman's Perception+Intuition 10d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 3, 6, 4, 3, 1, 1, 5, 3) = 34 (2 hits)

The gunman seems unaware of both Rick and Adam's stealthy approach.

<Yeah, I'm watching. We want the gunman alive for questioning, but if you have to kill him to save the hostage, do it.> Mac replies.

"Drop the gun, slowly, and release the girl. No sudden moves or you die."

Adam materializes out of the crowd, Predator in hand, pressing the barrel to the back of the gunman's head.

<Rick, I'm at his 6 o'clock. Shoot-through is 11-1, avoid his front.>

guess the ninja outfit was the right way to go, after all.

If the baddy so much as twitches wrong, he gets a high-caliber round to the bsck of his skull.

The gunman tenses up at the gun at the back of his head, but neither drops the gun nor moves.

Slitch deserves to die! Cheating, whoring slitch prollly stringing five guys along! Poor slot's better off dead than getting glitched by this slitch... he growls in what you hear now is a drunken slur. The woman is crying, moaning between sobs I'm not her! I've never seen you before! I swear! The gunman shouts more, incoherently, and this seems to be an impasse.