GM SFounder's "Murder in Metal City" (Inactive)

Game Master Chris Marsh

See you on 3 Arodus 325 A.G.

We can slow roll the intro as people return from GenCon.

It's a pretty relaxing day, and you're just finally getting caught up with some minor tasks and ready to spend some time relaxing. That's when you get a message on your comm that shakes up the otium.

Open Unread Messages

Air pumps exhale swirls of sickly fog that cling to the feet of skyscrapers and rub against windows like affectionate squoxes. The silhouettes of floating towers are dimly visible through the fog, hovering ponderously over busy thoroughfares as they parade across the megaplex cities, circling the planet’s surface in a monotonously predictable path. Agile maintenance bots skitter up and down skyscrapers’ slick angular surfaces, gleaming silver in the faltering sunlight. Crowded into a niche on the first two floors of one of dozens of lofty towers lining the streets of downgrid Striving, Analog is a boxy cafe with an overhanging roof and a two-story patio constantly shrouded in thick, swirling gases.

The gases are thick but safe to breathe. They’re produced by the nearby air pump, part of a terraforming effort to make the city habitable for organic residents and visitors who might otherwise struggle to acclimate to Aballon’s thin atmosphere.

Introduce yourself, describe your method of transport to get here, and set the stage for your character... Once everyone has posted, we'll begin properly.

A large khizar sits, their vines sprawled, in a corner booth nearest the air pump. A small wide-spectrum lamp is set up on the table before them, and several vines lie draped on the table, their tips submerged in the array of various beverages on the table before them.

Did the professor know I was on my way to see them? Why didn't they say so in their message? Very strange, as is this business with the pass code. 'Incredulous static', indeed.

Old-Growth Wildfire was already three days into a four-day hike from the ice well that is their home to downgrid Striving when the message came. They had planned to drop in on the professor for one of their sporadic discussions about the state of the galaxy. Instead, they find themself here, waiting to meet strangers at the professor's behest, a situation with which they are decidedly uncomfortable.

A slightly scruffy, and incredibly nervous, ysoki slides into the cafe. His trip through downgrid Striving had been a *long* one - multiple switches between railcars, at least one hire cab, and several stretches of simple walking, all in a desperate attempt to avoid anyone following him, and realising that he is connected, however tangentially, to Tier-99-Professor.

Momentarily alarmed by the sizable plant at the bar, he quietly slips into the shadows, waiting to see who else shows up.

A kasatha enters the bar, using one of her four arms to lift her shades, revealing wide eyes that flicker around the place. It's not immediately clear if she's anxious or excited, but her posture indicates more of the latter, as if everything is new and unexpected.

She turns back for a moment, as if she were leaving, but instead merely nods to the taxi driver whose services she hailed to bring her here. Yes, this was the right place.

A look of confusion crosses her face as she doesn't recognize Professor Tierny in the bar. Shrugging, she heads toward a human woman and asks, "Incredulous static?" Getting no response, she shrugs and taps her earpiece, trying to make it seem like she was wondering if the other woman was experiencing the same problem.

An android in a leather trench coat walks along dreamily. She enters the cafe, seemingly listening to something that no one else can hear. She greets everyone she sees with a smile right on the border between friendly and creepy.

She observes the kasatha for a moment, and then comments "It truly is incredulous static today," tapping her own ear. She then takes a seat at a table.

A mighty vesk wearing a yellow jumpsuit walk in, having come from the nearby shuttle station. He looks around and then speaks a loud, deep voice, "Is this the meeting place for the professor 99's job?"

The professor was concerned about communication being intercepted a voice like the creaking of ancient tree limbs says in the vesk's mind. Perhaps we should be more discrete.

Out loud, the khizar in the corner nods to the android and replies "Incredulous static here indeed. Perhaps the walls of this place are too thick."

A purple Skittermander fronts up at the table and looks around supprettitiously "Hello nufriends! Are you having problems with static?"

The professor was concerned about communication being intercepted a voice like the creaking of ancient tree limbs says in the vesk's mind. Perhaps we should be more discrete.

”Oh right.” The vesk says to himself as he realizes how noisy he is.” [/b]

Analog’s interior is tastefully shrouded behind panes of frosted glass the color of a sky at late dusk. Inside, a sleek silver console beeps with a friendly tone, inviting the PCs to add their names to the wait-list, check the average wait time (10 minutes and 16 seconds), or claim a reservation. It looks like your six names names are included in Tier-99-Professor’s reservation: a roomy, private table near the back of the tavern....

Once checked in, green arrows in the floor faintly pulse in the direction of the reserved table. The arrows lead you through the glitzy front room; it’s packed with a mix of mostly organic customers and synthetic waitstaff. Guests eat and drink at tables crowded around a sculpted synthwood bar at the center of the room where a skilled android bartender, mixes cocktails and takes orders.

The arrows turn and lead through a low archway into a smaller, quieter dining space sparsely populated by guests—mostly anacites* engaged in intense but silent interactions*. Most don’t have any food or drink on their tables. The reserved table sits in an alcove along the back wall, secluded enough to allow for private conversation but close enough to watch the people coming and going in the next room.

*Imagine highly varied robotic life in the aesthetic of the machines from the Matrix. You may know more with a Recall Knowledge (Crafting) Check, which should be blind in the event of crit fail.

Your host isn't here yet, but once settled a customizable server hologram appears at the center of the reserved table, and their pleasant voice instructs the guests to complete the dining algorithm using a comm unit to Let the chefs know about any allergies or other dietary needs." Food and drinks are delivered to tables by conveyor belts discreetly hidden in the walls. Each table contains a holoprojector at its center with three modes: ambience, off, and vid play.

The chef’s organic special is a "celebration of seasonal flavors sourced from the local Ice Well, served as a four course meal consisting of snow cress salad, cave cricket bisque, moss-smoked albino eel, and frost berry strudel— all of which are painstakingly prepared, beautifully plated, and delicious." A vid about the Ice Wells plays at the table, projecting serene scenes of frozen underground forests.

"Synthetics may opt in to enjoy enhanced features of the vid that are transmitted directly into your minds. Let me know if you opt in The rest of Analog’s holovid library is available to patrons who ask, and you can order just about anything on or off-menu on Tier-99-Professor’s generous tab.

"Oh, well, that sounds delicious!" Jaedana exclaims, snagging a crouton from the khizar's plate and popping it into her mouth, apparently oblivious to having the exact same dish plated in front of her.

"I'll try the enhanced features!"

"How can I say no to this spread?! Bring it on!"

Lunar-17 nods her agreement to the enhanced features as she takes a glass with a purple cocktail.

Can anyone opt in to the enhanced feature, or only synthetic life forms like our android friend?

Wildfire feels a moment of homesickness as the scenes from the ice well flash past. If the professor isn't here, maybe I should just go home.

Nitpick is already on-edge enough without having stuff beamed directly into his mind, so he settles for some calming herbal tea, and a low-sugar nutrient bar to settle his stomach.

When is the Professor going to show up? I hope he hasn't told these people anything about me...

Only android types. You can if you have a jack installed as an anhancement.

You're there long enough to clear what's in front of you. The holograms have cycled more times than you can count, and Tierny doesn't show. Eventually, the bartender, Ghellon, kindly asks if you need help getting home, saying she’s "friends with a local autocab and can get you a good rate."

A sinking feeling washing over him, Nitpick checks his comms to make sure he hasn't received any further messages...

Nitpick's heart sinks a bit more when he sees the No new messages. He catches a worried look on Ghellon's face.

The purple skittermander sticks with the 'special' but equally shares concern that the meeting has been missed.

"I'll take the local autocab, maybe just do a few laps of the neighbourhood and pop back soon if that's ok? You 'gree?"

Ghellon responds, "Sure buddy. I got you. I'm guessing someone was a no show?" Will let others check in too.

"Yeah, and I have a bit of Static in my fur, I'm a bit incredulous as I thought I put the anti-cling shampoo in it"

I apparently misunderstood synthetics. :D But that works for Jaedana. She's been sheltered.

"Are we sure we're in the right place?" Jaedana whispers to her new companions. [smaller]"Is Professor Tierny often this late?"[smaller]

"Wait.... You're looking for Tierny?" Ghellon chimes in while pulling up cab service for Tapkey, the glowing circuitry in the Ghellon’s eyes rotates with a tic reminiscent of a camera lens zooming in and out as she processes the data.

Nitpick favors the bartender with a wary look.

"Hypothetically speaking, if we were, what would it mean to you?"

"Professor Tierny," Jaedana corrects the bartender. She wants to make sure he doesn't think they're talking about a different Tierny. Though she does wonder for a fleeting moment whether he should be using the code phrase too.

"I guess it means.... well, okay, you've been tossing the pass code around since you got here... so I guess...umm... Tierny said that if they weren’t here to meet you in person, I should give this to you.”

Ghellon hands over a holovid.

After much soul-searching, Nitpick reluctantly takes a look at the holovid.

This does not bode well...

Running as intended which means... For engaging with the scene and dropping the code without prompting, each of you earns 10 XP.

"Which pass code?" Jaedana asks, wanting to test this unexpected contact.

"Static, you know the one. Tierny's a regular customer, but it feels more significant than that. They started coming here about ten years ago during a blackout, and they’ve been a regular ever since. Well, semi-regular.”

Watching the vid where Ghellon can see too?

"Ten years? Drift." The Skittermander thinks on that for a moment "...don't suppose he said if something was troubling him? Asking the bartender to make it a double all of a sudden lately - assuming that wasn't already the existing order"

"Nothing! Plus who would they have beef with? Everybody liked Tierny. Even their rivals!” Question stands on the holovid audience.

Lunar-17 moves around to where she can see as well.

If it was trusted to Ghellon in the first place, it doesn't seem like the contents need to be secret from her.

Ghellon locks eyes with each of you, “Tierny gave me this a month ago. I haven’t seen them since.” Brining Ghellon in for this and having someone to question earns you each 10 XP.

Jaedana fires up the vid...

Tier-99-Professor appears as a ghostly hologram speaking in a crackling approximation of Tier-99-Professor’s voice:

“Greetings, former companions. If you’re watching this, it’s because I have experienced an unexpected shutdown— in organic terms, I am dead. I propose you enjoy a meal on my prepaid tab and seek emotional support."

“My shutdown is within the normal range of variability, however it has occurred prematurely and left many of my tasks incomplete. In fact, the reason I invited you out tonight was to share a new theory with you: I am being pursued by a clever adversary who intends to shut me down permanently. I had planned to ask for your protection in exchange for payment. But the scenario has evolved."

“As I no longer have need of protection, I have an alternative proposal for you: solve my murder.”

Suddenly a laser streaks through the window, passing directly through the center of the holographic anacite’s head in a hard light copy of a kill shot. The image explodes in a frenzy of light and static!

You briefly catch a drone, but it engages adaptively camoflage. Thankfully, it's not actually invisible, and you think you may be able to follow it... if you're quick.

Describe how you react via prose, then roll the skill that best matches your reaction. If nothing flavorful comes to mind, choose Perception.

Vorza quickly comes alive and becomes photon attuned as a wave of sparkling energy surrounds himself and his solar hammer! He draws it and prepares to pounce!

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Wildfire draws their weapon, then stares, unmoving, waiting for the next burst of movement to reacquire the target.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Nitpick screams and dodges out of the way!

He then uses what he knows about robots in general to help identify the idiosyncrasies of the would-be assassin!

Robot Lore: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10.

Lunar-17 tries to follow its flight.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 (+1 more if this is also an initiative roll)

Will wait for the final 2 to post before advancing.

Tapkey gets after the drone!

Computers 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

The skittermander tries to recognise anything they might know about the drone, but the feet are what matters mostest!

Will advance tomorrow if still waiting. This is about to be a chase scene, so I'd like everyone to be prepared.]

"Professor Tierny!" Jaedana cries, forgetting for a second that it's just a hologram and not the real Tierny being murdered -- that apparently happened some unknown time ago.

She thinks for a second about vaulting through the window -- she's seen enough vids where that looks amazing -- but realized it likely won't break easily and she can't pass through it like a laser can. Ducking behind cover for protection, she pulls her rifle and tries to spot the offending attacker.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

STOP THAT DRONE! I actually really enjoy chase scenes... at the table. While I think the new rules are great, they're hard to pace on PbP. I'm always open to suggestions, but here's my thought (especially since there may be PF1 memories interfering with new rules.) You need a specific number of points to overcome an obstacle, but in this edition (like PF2) if you earn enough points mid turn, you automatically move to the next obstacle. SO, I'll tell you straight out what the skill DCs are. I think the loss of immersion of not knowing is smaller than the befit of feeling faster pace in the mind's eye. To keep the challenge though, let's see if we can post in initiative order...

...The flying drone equipped with an underslung laser pistol positioned like a wasp’s stinger hovers nearby, then flickers as it activates its cloaking module.

CLOAKED!
Points: 0/2
You've got to pick up the trail!

Nitpick attempts to ID the drone's electronic signature.

Computers: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12.

"Where did you go?" Lunar-17 says softly.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12