Atomic Rocket Games's page

Update on the game going into hibernation over here on the discussion forum.

After discussing with the players, and due to the current pandemic issues causing stress and anxiety among the general community, we're going to archive the game for the time being.

The game and the playtest are not as important as people maintaining their mental and spiritual health during this time.

The playtest will continue, just without the need for such frequent posting from the players.

For anyone who's been following along with the game, if you've been interested in what we've been doing, I hope we'll see you when the full game is finally released.

I'm sorry, I was looking at the wrong character sheet.

These last few weeks have been pretty awful for focus, even for me.

The answer is still "no, Perception was what was called for." Deduction is a modifier for specific tasks. I apologize for the confusion, though, and I'll make sure there's an edit done on the rules to ensure that doesn't happen again.

No, Perception is what was called for. You're good with what you've got right now. If you WANT to pick up Deduction, you can, but it's not necessary.

All of those look fine. You might want to increase Monkeywrench as it's part of your character's defining traits over Athletics, if you have the points.

It's okay to need more time. There's enough going on in the world to worry about.

Thanks for the heads up. :)

Question for the GM - have we accrued any Reputation Points? The book says we gain points similar to XP when we interact with different groups, and those specific points are what we use to up our Reputations. I believe we interacted with 2 groups in the first chapter - the Law and possibly which ever group the junker with the device was part of.

Yes: As well as gaining Reputation Points when you interact with another group, every 1XP also nets you 1 Reputation Point. This is spent in exactly the same manner as you would spend to improve an Ability, meaning that it requires 4 times the new rank to improve.

Purchasing a new Reputation costs 4 points, for example (to get to +1), while raising an existing Reputation from 3 to 4 would cost 16 points (4*4).

The Law and Flashbacks are the two groups in question, and your interactions earned you 2 points each, so you have a total of 64 Reputation points (60 XP + 4 Rep) to play with.

Both are zero, but I get it, I should've chosen one, not to mention defining which was INT and REP. Let's go with the Media in this case. Sound okay?

Sounds good.

"Hmmm…Caitlin Moss…"

[dice=Reputation Check]2d6+8

Please remember to mention which Reputation you're rolling against, as it will impact what information you receive. Also, your check is INT + REP + 2d6, remember to delineate those in your dice rolls.

I would like to propose the following improvements for Avryl:

Monkeywrench (ability): from +1 to +2: 8 pts
Adv. Tech (H): from +2 to +4: 21 pts
Programming (H): from +1 to +2: 6 pts
Security Systems (H): from +1 to +2: 6 pts
Electronics: from +2 to +4: 14 pts
TOTAL: 55 pts

That leaves 5 pts remaining.

Howzzat?

Looks good!

For those wondering why Avryl's Advanced Tech skill costs 21 points to go from +2 to +4, the answer is simple: Raising a Hard Skill by +1 costs 3X the new rank, and she has to buy the skill in +1 increments. So that's 9 points for +3, and an additional 12 points for +4, or (9+12), 21.

Looks good!

As it happens, the package does have a return address, but like most of your packages, it is picked up from the Postal Pylon. The sender and the return address don't have to be the same person, however.

Its return address is a private postal box in the Chicago Metro.

The name on the return address is listed as "Caitlin Moss." It is packed in a plain, anonymous brown box, like most packages. It was specifically requested to be delivered by BART.

Both Avryl and BART can make a Reputation Check against Socials or The Media to know who Caitlin Moss is (that would be INT + the appropriate Rep + 2d6), but she's certainly not anyone that Avryl knows.

What was the official word and what Emily can and can't broadcast immediately? I am assuming nothing relating to the case, but want to check. She's going to need to make something up and make it sound GOOD if they want her to pretend nothing happened. She's missed a ton of live stream time...

Nothing about the case. You're cleared to talk about anything but the case. You can't even say that you were in police custody. Agent Eteki suggests that you be vague and let your numbers climb thanks to conspiracy theories.

You picked up 30 in this post.

IT's too late to edit my original post, but you have also earned an additional 30 from finishing the first chapter, so you're at a total of 60.

Detective Eteki, along with Agent Axelrod and his team, take note of BART's observation, but beyond putting a flag on the preacher's POS-ID, there's not much they can do with him beyond bringing him in for questioning. Axelrod makes mention of having to do a lot more CCTV research, so as to compare incidental faces against known registered clergy, and being grateful for automatic systems, since he sure as hell doesn't want to put in the OT.

After a good, long period of incredibly boring waiting, the agents and Eteki finally accept that they can't identify anyone who looks like they're hanging around your places of work or residence that shouldn't be there.

"None of this means that you're all safe, or that you're in the clear," Axelrod mentions. "We still have a serial killer out there, and the fact that he's sent you hard proof that he's responsible for Ms. Mendez' murder means he wants something from at least one of you. Most likely you, Ms. Carter, but... we still don't know what that is."

"So we're going to give you all panic buttons. Anything - and I mean anything - out of the ordinary happens, you tap that icon on your AR and we'll be on your doorstep within ninety seconds. There will be at least one agent watching you at all times, until we're sure that this isn't just some kind of misdirection."

With, you're all released from what amounted to temporary protective custody, and let loose to go back to your lives (with the obvious caveat, of course, that you can't leave the city without supervision). And, for a time, things to back to normal. In fact, they even accept that you aren't being actively tailed, and - with the possible indication that another Spiller dying an "unusual" death in the New York Metro showing that the killer has potentially moved again, it appears that you're all - for now - in the clear.

A week goes by.

And then another.

Feel free to spend the XP you've been earning all this time, but remember to mention what you've purchased or improved in the Discussion forum.

Midway through the third week after your observers are pulled off of your details, BART is given another delivery.

This time, it's to be delivered to Avryl.

Evil Robot Games and I released a day one campaign guide for our setting "A Broken Sky", which you can buy in PDF here on the Paizo site, or in both PDF and print-on-demand softcover on Drive Thru RPG.

We just received a 5-star review, plus seal of approval and buy recommendation from Endzeitgeist in his review, as well! I'm very pleased. :)

We also have two (with more on the way) Recall Knowledge products (one each for Dragons and Fiends), similarly available here on Paizo or on DTRPG.

Our next campaign guide will be for either an Against-The-Alien-Invaders Mecha Fantasy or Hidden/Hollow World style Sword-and-Planet setting. We're debating the merits of each right now.

It only takes a few moments for BART and Zerin to isolate the people they see who appear to be wearing feedback suits under their civvies: between them, there are a total of five individuals who are wearing suits.

As each individual is highlighted, their faces are projected into a separate feed, where their features are played against POS-ID databases. Almost immediately, hits come back, identifying the individuals and stacking up their POS-ID particulars against one another. A librarian, a sanitation worker, a junior-level manager of a protein reclamation company, a lifestyle and fashion blogger, and a cab driver. No known connections between any of them, though they all subscribe to two of the same Social-casts - which isn't saying a lot, as both of those casts are incredibly popular - and they all live in a six-square block section of Mid Town.

There was a sixth individual, but he moved out of the observation area before you caught the connection. Rewinding the feed he appeared in, recognition against POS-ID shows him to be a member of a local chapter of The Church Of The City, a fairly well-known and innocuous street preacher/counselor who spends his days distributing sandwiches and water to those in need.

If there's a connection, here, it doesn't appear to be immediately obvious.

If you have anything to respond to at this point, here is where you do it, otherwise, we will advance the story several hours. Everyone gets two posts to do their thing.

The game will resume after the New Year, never fear!

The GM has had some life issues in the form of a sick cat, the next post will be soon!

Answering Zerin first.

Is it possible to do a check to see if the folks in the feedback suits look like they're armed?

As you're viewing this remotely, via surveillance equipment, and viewing it via a secondary feed, and are not moving in among the crowds where you can see things like weight distributions and bulk displacements that would come from concealed weapons. You don't see anyone carrying any obvious, open carry weapons, however. Most folks who do have weapons licenses only have open carry permits - concealed permits are much more expensive and require a lot of scrutiny that most people don't want to submit to. In general, there isn't much in the way of weapon checks going on in any of the monitored areas.

B.A.R.T. points to a couple of figures in the feed and turns to the detective. "You running any people with feedback suits, Detective?"

Eteki cocks an eyebrow and shrugs. "As I've said before, I'm not running this show. But the best of my knowledge? The Feds, aren't doing that, no."

Over the communication's channel, the voice of Agent Axelrod chimes in.

"We aren't," he says, his tone carrying the up-tick of a man whose interest has been piqued. "Do us a favor and start isolating them on your end in the feeds. They'll repeat back to us and we'll start running recognition on them. The sooner the better, if you please. Agents Ridley and Moore, start multitasking as soon as you get the first hit back from our friends in the white room."

Eteki chuckles. "Well, raise your hand, who thought this was going to be boring."

He opens the feeds up to interactive mode. The images wait for your input.

The GM will have an update sometime this weekend, as life is eating his face.

I've finished work on "Boundless Horizons," the free bonus content for A Broken Sky, and made it available for free on my Patreon!

I hope you like it!

You can get it here!

Sorry for the post delay. As you know, I'm working on getting Bonus Content out for A Broken Sky and working on revising the Power Core mecha rules - which are seeing a good playable revision, and will impact BART and other Puppeteer's in a very positive way - so I'm a little behind here. I do apologize for keeping you waiting. Everyone take 30 XP out of petty cash to make up for the delays lately.

As the four of you lend your eyes to the observation of the screens, all of you except for Emily (sorry, your rolls were just shy of what you needed) begin to pick up on some patterns in the human traffic around your homes and places of work. Nothing sinister, that you can determine, but you definitely recognize several of the more common faces: people you've seen every day, even if you don't know their name. You recognize locals, regulars, and hang-abouts. The people who should be there, who clearly know their way around as evinced by their casual, almost psychically casual methods of avoiding obstacles in their paths as they deftly navigate their way around the promenades and pedestrian paths while engaging in conversations with their friends, or splitting their attention between AR apps and the real world, and so on.

(Emily, you notice absolutely nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. It all looks perfectly normal.)

While none of you got the requisite Very Difficult DC 28 result, a couple of you got the Difficult DC 23 result, so...

Zerin and BART both catch sight of two or three people at random points in the feeds who all appear to be wearing feedback suits under their normal clothing. A tug at an uncomfortable neckline, perhaps, or grabbing at the cuff line at the wrist and pulling to help stretch the sleeve to a more comfortable fit. They look like they're waiting for something.

Could be anything, though. You only see them once or twice, and feedback suits aren't that uncommon.

Sure.

If, when you roll 2d6, you roll two 1's, you have critically failed. You roll an additional 2d6 and subtract the result from your original roll.

If, when you roll 2d6, you roll two 6's, you have critically succeeded. You roll an additional 2d6 and add the result to your original roll.

When using Action Points, you're rolling 3d6 instead of 2d6.

In this case, you only critically fail when you roll three one's on your dice, but you critically succeed when you roll two sixes on any of the three dice.

And there you have it.

Quick reminder to ask questions about rules in the discussion thread going forward, but let's put this here. Also, remember to close tags so your text shows up properly. I know it's been a while for these things. No worries.

No, Deduction does not enter into this.

A question was made offline about the use of Action Points.

Let's see what the rules say:

Action Points – Action Points are your inherent luck, karma, or blessed nature. They can be used to perform minor edits on the outcome of skill or combat checks (but not damage), increasing the result by 1d6 for every AP spent. Starting AP are equal to (FOR + 1). Only heroes, villains, and special creatures posses AP. To use an AP, you must announce that you’re spending an AP on your roll before the roll is made. When making their check, you roll an additional 1d6, and add the result to the check. When rolling a check after spending an AP, you can only critically fail if all three dice come up 1. However, you can critically succeed if any two of the dice (including the AP) come up 6.

You may spend AP to alter you check after you’ve made it, but before the GM has announced the result of the check, and you must spend 2 AP to gain that additional 1d6. Any one check may only have an additional 1d6 added to it, regardless of how many AP are spent, or when. AP generally replenish at the end of every adventure, though the GM may allow them to replenish at the start of every game session.

Zerin, go ahead and reroll your Perception checks using the proper brackets so that the forum engine gets that you want to make a roll. Don't forget to use "Preview" if you're not sure!

We're going to go ahead and roll the game forward a bit, as digging into some of the minutia that Emily and the rest are asking about would take us rather a long time and require many more weeks of conversation. I'll summarize the answers to your more pressing questions below.

Regarding Zerin's question of "around or in" your places of residence: Around. They need your permission to do that, and will do so if you really want them to, but that will take time and be a lot more obvious than their efforts to make it look like regular maintenance and replacement of various objects.

Regarding BART's snark: Absolutely not. The Feds can prove a large number of items on their list - which is why they're on the list in the first place. Hanging you out to dry doesn't enter into it: you're already targets, and you're better off with their help than without it. Why you're targets, who knows. But you are. And the attitude isn't going to make it any easier, so maybe cool it for a while until such time as they can make this easier for everyone.

Regarding Emily's request to see the reports or talk to the profiles: that's not going to happen any time soon, and Eteki doesn't like that any more than you do, but at this time, the Feds are adamant that it's better that none of you meet them face to face. It'll happen, but they're in the field right now, coordinating the surveillance operation. As far as the facial recognition goes, well, the Feds and MetroSec have a lot more leeway on that sort of thing than you Socials do - your livestreams and whatnot are not necessary for public safety, and so are subject to things like Terms Of Service and Consentual Opt-In. Theirs aren't. That being said, all of the available public safety video has been reviewed, and the Feds haven't been able to find anything that you're talking about. And, as you may have guessed, no, you can't see it. Eteki is working on that, however, since it directly affects the lot of you.

Regarding getting Avryl fed: they can bring in a pizza or three if you really want it. There's a great little place just two floors down that does a pretty kickin' Quattro Fromaggio.

***

Some time passes, as it always does, and pizza is delivered, as it always is. They can even get BART a charge on his mechbody's powercell (as you only have a 24-hour charge on that thing) and some nutrient-paste, so none of you are without sustenance.

Shortly after the food is delivered, word comes in that the surveillance network is up and running, and a few minutes after that, a connection between the field command post staffed by the Federal agents is established, with a series of images being relayed to the conference room you're situated in.

The feeds show your respective home areas - not directly fixed on your front doors, but the general areas around where you're known to make your business (or most of it) - randomly cycling through a total of four arcs, flowing through them in order to provide as much coverage as possible.

A voice from the other end of the feed speaks up.

"This is Agent Axelrod," a man's voice says. It's an even, practiced recitation of the official surveillance drill. "Beginning multi-target surveillance operation. All field operatives, check in."

Three other voices reply, two women and another man, identifying themselves as Agents Ridley, Howland, and Moore.

Eteki replies, introducing you all in turn.

"Thank you for your cooperation on this operation, everyone," Axelrod says. "We're going to do a series of facial recognition runs for the next thirty minutes, to ensure that we don't have anyone hanging around or coming back through these areas more than a usual traffic pattern would suggest. While we do that, I'd like you all to pay attention to the feeds that Detective Eteki is about to direct to your personal AR streams. You'll be seeing directly what we're seeing. If you spot anyone that looks suspicious, I'd like you to focus on that for a three-count. That'll trip the software's sensors and we'll log that for refinement."

At this point, I'd like you all to make three (count them!) Perception checks. Remember that if you want to use Action Points to improve your roll, you should announce that as you make the roll.

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say that the next game update will be coming this week.

I've been working on getting "A Broken Sky" ready for Print, as well as updating some of the rules in the Power Core RPG to correct a few issues with game balance.

None of these changes will affect the playtest, but the playtest (specifically the example character builds) have affected these changes.

Some of the changes are:

*Abilities can now only be purchased to a maximum of 6 ranks, as this means they are adding +6 to a total of 3 other skills, thus giving them a grand total of 18 points of influence across a character.

*The starting cost for Abilities has been increased.

Again, these don't affect the playtest characters. We can proceed as normal for now. But the changes are in the next draft of the rules.

The next update from me should be out by the end of the week, Sunday at the latest.

Hi again!

I wanted to make an update on the Print On Demand version:

It's cleared Pre-Media checks and we have proofs on the way for final review. I'd estimate another week, tops, before we're ready to push the button on making the POD live.

For folks asking me about the bonus content (oddly, no one's hitting me up here, but rather on my other social media... strange...), I've got a poll running on my Patreon. You have until midnight (Pacific Time) on September 8th to put a vote in.

Thanks for playing in A Broken Sky! We appreciate it!

Hi everyone!

Jim Milligan, here. I'm the author of "A Broken Sky," the first Condensed Campaigns product from Evil Robot Games, and I thought I'd start this conversation thread up just in case any of you Pathfinder Second Edition folk have been looking at our product and wondering what it can offer you (you know beyond what it says on the tin).

I'd love to answer any questions you've got, or even just provide info-dumps for folks who've picked up the book (or are thinking of doing so), so as to help drum up interest and understanding about what it is we're doing, here.

(If you'd like one of my first bits of exposition, about getting around in A Broken Sky, just click that link to go to the ERG site, where Paul compiled one of my Twitter threads.)

(For a thread about the Avalar in A Broken Sky, and how the world shattering has affected their people, here's another link)

You can get the PDF version here on the Paizo site (just follow link on the page!), and we will be offering a Print On Demand from Drive Thru RPG just as soon as the files clear Pre-Flight.

I'll also be offering some bonus content on my Patreon for subscribers!

I hope you enjoy our product, and I'm really looking forward to bringing you more in the days to come. Look for something that may or may not be fantasy mecha in our next Condensed Campaign book. :)

Detective Eteki looks between the lot of you, arches an eyebrow, and nods.

"Fair question," he replies. "That's usually something we discuss once we actually hit the planning stage, but, sure. Fair enough."

"The department is already working on installing discreet surveillance around your dwellings and workplaces, where they can. We've got a complete, around-the-clock coverage schedule. I can't tell you more than that, because I don't personally know. It's compartmentalized, to prevent any one person from getting compromised and letting the suspect in on the full plan. Not that it'll ever come to that."

Eteki leans back in his chair as he continues. "As to more direct recompense, all of you have some manner of... let's say 'legal misgivings'... in regards to who you are and what you do or have done in the past. I'm told that the Feds are already working on removing several of those from your collective records. It's not going to get Ms. Grimaldi a travel visa back to Off-World, but from what I hear, a good number of indiscretions, fines, and travel restrictions are being expunged as we speak."

"It's no Get Out Of Jail Free card, but it's something. And it's what I know they're offering. Beyond that, if you ever run in to one of them, you can ask them what else they're doing. Like I said. Compartmentalized."

Evil Robot Games & I have released A Broken Sky, a 56-page campaign sourcebook set in a world of endless skies, floating islands, airborne seas, and encroaching darkness.

It's not on the Paizo store yet (though we've submitted it, so expect it soon), but you can get it right now from Drive Thru RPG. It's in PDF format right now, with a POD coming as soon as we're confident with the print proof.

I put an info dump about it in this thread right here on Sunday if you're curious. :)

I hope folks like it!

Evil Robot Games & I have put together the first of our Condensed Campaigns products, A Broken Sky. Think of it as a 56-page toolkit for building your own campaign in a new and fantastic setting.

It'll be available here on the Paizo store once they get back from GenCon, methinks, but you can also get it On Drive Thru RPG if you're so inclined.

What is A Broken Sky?

From the sales page:

In the remnants of a broken clockwork world, an ancient evil approaches. Threatening to drown the world in an endless, frozen night, the Nightfall Lords return to finish the job they began centuries ago. You and your allies must convince the cities of the Seven Shards to meet the threat head on, or all is lost. Strap on your buzz wings, take up the fight against the hidden agents of the Nightfall Lords, and prepare to take flight as you fight to defend your home among A Broken Sky!

A Broken Sky contains all of the basic elements a GM and players need to make the world of A Broken Sky their own, including…

… and more!

It's PDF only, right now, but a Print-On-Demand version will be available Real Soon Now.

I've been doing a bunch of info-dumps about it on Twitter, many of which are compiled here.

I hope you love it as much as we do.

The GM once again apologizes for the delay - holiday, plus freelance projects, have been killers.

Detective Eteki nods at Avryl and BART, sighing yet again and reflecting on the conversations at hand.

"Why any of you, I don't know. The guy's a serial killer, and I'm not a profiler. But," he says. [b]"I do know and work with profilers, and they're suggesting that it doesn't matter to him that you're off the air right now, Ms. Carter. Or how long. You're known for - as Mister Transit has said - sticking your nose where it's not wanted. You air out other people's business. That he's handed you a clue means that he's starting with you the same way he started with Kane."

He holds up the fingers of both hands and ticks them off one by one.

"Kane was known for getting into trouble. She was given data that she encrypted using a key made by Ms. Grimaldi, here. We can't get into it, because we don't have the master key she was using. We suspect that the reason Ms. Grimaldi's here is because he knew that both you and Mr. Transit both knew her. He's been laying clues and sending bread crumbs, and he's done it before. He's targeting people who use feedback rigs to give their viewers chills and thrills - why? We haven't figured out yet."

"Other than that he's a psychopath who gets off on it. The profiler has some suspicions, and I have to say I'm not happy about them. I mean, put it together. Targeting Chillers? Specifically Chillers who use feedback suits? Able to tap their comms and their feeds for who knows why? I mean..."

Eteki pauses and takes a deep breath.

"It's almost as if he's running his own show."

Eteki pauses to regard all of you, takes a slow sip from his coffee, and sighs.

"I'm afraid that you won't be showing anything to anyone, Ms. Carter, because everything you have regarding this case is classified as evidence, and therefore is now under the auspices of Metro Sec as well as Federal Investigations."

He regards the rest of you with the same tired, "I'm too old for this" look he had when you all walked in.

"And furthermore," he says, looking to Avryl. "None of you are leaving the city, let alone the planet, any time soon."

"With the exception of... your legal name really is BART, isn't it... with the exception of BART, here, I'm not sure you all grasp the seriousness of this situation. One or more of you has been targeted by a serial killer, who is specifically targeting a distinct group of people, who do very specific things with their lives."

He again points at the documents floating in the public AR space.

"Only he hasn't targeted you as his victims, but... based on what we saw with Ms. Kane's murder, and the fact that he dropped a video file off to you, Ms. Carter, by way of a specific courier... That's you, Mr. Transit... rather, he's targeting at least the two of you as his next Big Show. There's evidence to indicate that Kane had come up with as many as five other Chiller murders, but we're still attempting to decrypt her files. They were locked up tighter than we expected, and it's taking us more time and energy to crack them than I care to admit."

He flips one of the files through the air toward Avryl's AR space, pausing for a moment to let her get a good look at the file.

"You might recognize that," he says. "Considering that's your work. Ms. Kane was using an encryption program that bears your submit tags all over it. We haven't been able to crack it, because we don't know the master key she was using on her end. That died with her. We've gotten a few of the files to give us their names, but that's about it."

Eteki sighs again.

"The killer, whoever he is, wants publicity. Or documentation. Or something. We don't rightly know. But he appears to have given Kane something to run on. Something that got her looking into past murders. Something that provided her with enough information to get herself in to a situation that... for whatever reason... got her killed. A Federal profiler made the suggestion that if she hadn't been wearing that feedback suit, she would have been fine. Or at least made it out alive. He's killing people in the suits, that much is clear. And he wants to make a spectacle of it, maybe, or he wants to have the why's and wherefore's documented. Hard to say at this point."

"But one thing we do know, is that he has very carefully put all of you together in this room. He put Mr. Transit and Ms. Carter together, and he put you on this, Ms. Grimaldi. And you as well, Ms. Taro. A courier and a media figure? And the one person who could easily crack the encryption on previous case files? And a merch trader who would know exactly where to get the tech to play that old SD card? Once is circumstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times?"

Eteki finishes his coffee and regards you all coolly.

"That's enemy action."

"So, no. I can't let any of you leave the city. And I can't allow any of you to broadcast any of this, not yet. Not until we've come up with something that lets us put you back out there, to draw this jackwad out of his hole and let us get a Special Response sniper lined up on his skull. He's probably out there tracking his next victim right now, and you know what? I want to try and do something about that, if I can. The question is – other than Ms. Grimaldi and Ms. Tarin, here – why specifically the two of you? Why you, Carter? Transit? What makes the two of you so special that he'd pick you? It can't just be that you know Ms. Grimaldi. There are thousands of ways to get her involved."

"So why you?"

"If you have the schematics, I could probably set up the T-cog changes in a few cycl... I mean hours."

"My Transformation Cog and I are on good terms... I don't think I'd need external help, but thank you, Skitter. That's very kind of you."

Redshift pauses to contemplate for a moment.

"I wonder if we couldn't find a way to get you more stealthy mode of operation... How are you on active camouflage?"

Detective Eteki regards Avryl and Emily's answers with a bit of a piqued eyebrow, and visibly relaxes when BART finishes his reply. He seems pleased with the recounting provided to him by the Puppeteer, and nods.

He looks at Zerin. "I take it you have nothing to add to any of that?"

Assuming Zerin says no.

Eteki picks up his coffee, takes a sip, and sets it back down. "Can I get any of you anything while we do this? There's some good sandwiches in the canteen. Coffee's good today, too."

You don't need to answer, just assume that if you want something, you can get it, and it's brought in during this confab.

Eteki flips a couple of files into the public AR space of the room, enabling you all to see the images of two people, both of whom you've recently come to understand are involved in all of this.

"Dwight Kaplan," Eteki says. "And Carrie Mendez. Both Thrillers, both dead from seemingly environmentally-related accidents. Except, as you've clearly been made aware, there's evidence to show they weren't accidents. Kaplan's gear didn't fail, and Mendez didn't slip. They were murdered, and we think we know who did it."

Eteki pauses, shaking his head sadly.

"Except for the fact that we don't know who did it."

Pause for reaction.

"Let me explain," Eteki continues. He flicks five more files up into the public AR space. "Joshua Taussig, age 30. Portland/Vancouver Metro. Thriller. Died when his wingsuit failed after what was an otherwise completely successful Thrill-Dive off of the Rose City Spire. Yolanda Strauss, age 25. Mexico City Lowrise. Spiller. Died of an apparent overdose after going off-the-air following a livecast of a staged 'random hookup' in the men's room with her boyfriend, who is also dead. And here he is: Emilio Garcia, age 35, Thriller. Had just finished a city-wide parkour run, finishing in the men's room of the club he and Yolanda had their last little love-fest in. Died of what appear to be cardiac problems moments after he left the men's room. His death ended up distracting the authorities from finding Yolanda's body for nearly an hour. Security camera feed shows him leaving the men's room tucking his junk back in his pants, taking four steps, and falling over dead. Coroner said his heart looked like someone had pumped it up and popped it like a balloon."

Eteki pauses, sighing, before continuing on to the last two.

"Margaret-Anne "Candy" Kane, Spiller with a side of Thriller. Age 29, Los Angeles/San Diego Metro. Investigative reporter meets fashion model. Former extremely high-class escort. I didn't know they went that high, honestly, but there we are. Died investigating the death of this young woman, our final contestant of the night. Daphne "Miss Mystery" Jeong, age 31, and here's where we're now getting into familiar territory... Chiller. Daphne called herself the "Sorceress of Spook" and the "Chatelain of Chills," among other things. Whatever a Chatelain is. Like Dwight and Carrie, here, Daphne was all about rigging up a sensory induction bodysuit to her feed, so that all the fun little shivers and jump-vibes she'd get doing her creepy-crawly routine could get shared out to her followers."

He pushes two coroner's reports up so that you can all see them. "The same type of sensory suits that Kaplan and Mendez were wearing. The same kind all of them were wearing. Different brands, sure, but the same basic suits. Same effects."

Eteki pulls all the files back down and considers you all for a moment.

"So, basically," he says, finally. "What we've got here is someone killing Socials, with a decided emphasis on Chillers. There are a handful of other cases, but we can't confirm that they're related. It took us nearly six months to put these connections together. The killer's good. The killer's real good. Makes it look like accidents, unless you know what to look for."

He nods at Emily.

"Or unless you get a video file like that one. The same kind Candy Kane got. The same kind that got her killed."

Your turn, kids.

I mean, you could if you wanted to, but given that you're in City Central, in the Homicide Department, surrounded by cops, in an interview room with a man whose ID is openly displayed on a lanyard around his neck... it's likely that he is who he says he is.

Now that the GM has tackled all of the Real World issues facing him, let's move the plot along a short bit, here.

The MetroPD cruiser that picks you up is a multi-passenger model, larger and more comfortable than the standard patrol models, with their small, compact frames and hard plastic seats. Unlike the average MetroSec/MetroPD cars, this one is clearly designed around the idea of transporting persons other than a pair of officers and a single-occupant on their way to a detainment facility. The cruiser exists somewhere between those "rolling handcuff" models and the large, crowd-control trucks that are deployed when the press of humanity becomes too much for some to bear, and panic spreads in waves through the promenades.

The cruiser's driver is a young man, who waves you all in to the back of the vehicle before taking his seat and guiding the cruiser out of the streets surrounding Zerin's shop and back onto the AutoDrive lanes of the roads that run parallel to the pedestrian promenades. His MetroPD uniform is well cared for, although it shows signs of wear and tear, and his web-gear vest (which bears the name "Renaux") is kitted out with the standard variety of non-lethal armaments. Locked away in a secure container between the seats in the front of the cruiser, a single-barrel concussion launcher rests, its multi-stage security system waiting for a biometric and verbal confirmation before it will open.

Renaux turns in his seat as AutoDrive takes over, and greets you.

"Officer Christian Renaux," he smiles. "Detective Eteki sent me to pick you up and give you a heads up."

"You're not being taken to the local Precinct House," he continues. "We're going to be swapping ident-tags when we hit the Mission/Central mainline tunnel, where another cruiser is waiting to take our place. I'm taking you to City Central. Detective Eteki will explain more when we get there."

Pause For Reactions From The Players.

You never see the other cruiser, but Renaux let out a long, slow breath of relief as a small display just under the windshield blinks rapidly for a few moments, then lights up green. The cruiser cuts out of the lane that would take you to the local Precinct, and winds rapidly through the lanes until it finds its way to the road leading to City Central. A few short minutes later, and you're pulling in to a secure garage, well out of the view of any public eyes.

The cruiser opens up and Officer Renaux escorts you to a secure elevator, which delivers you to a floor marked "Homicide & Forensics." Arrows, one red, one blue, point left and right, respectively. The red arrow leads to Forensics, while the blue leads to Homicide. Officer Renaux steps out of the elevator and motions you to come with him, walking down the blue-arrow hallway.

After a few short meters, the hallway ends at a security door, with a checkpoint window built into the wall. Behind that, an officer - looking vaguely bored, but who perks up at your approach - sits. He demands Renaux's clearance, which is quickly given in the form of Renaux passing his hand over a reader. The door opens, and Renaux leads you into a bustling room, full of desks, most of which are occupied by a variety of men, women, and others - some Puppets occupy desks here, as do a few AR projected Remote Workers - almost all of whom are either talking to one another, or to individuals (informants, field officers, or concerned parties) over AR and voice-only lines.

Renaux leads you in to a conference room, whereupon he and another officer take up positions guarding the door, after you've entered.

Sitting in the room is a man who must be Detective Eteki. In his mid-50's, Eteki's dark skin is contrasted by the almost white shell of his hair, which is pulled back into a wiry ponytail behind his head. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing the well-muscled forearm of his right arm, and the old, well-worn artificial skin covering a cybernetic prosthetic limb taking the place of his left. The lids and brows of his eyes are heavy, carrying the weight of a man who has been on this job for far too long. The top button of his shirt is undone, and his tie is loosened. A fresh cup of coffee rests by his right hand, having just been put down as you entered the room.

Eteki looks up at you all, and gives a look somewhere between gratitude and resignation.

"Emil Eteki, Homicide, MetroPD San Francisco," he says, waving you all to the various seats around the table. "I know who you all are, thanks to your POS-ID scans in the cruiser. Legal introductions are out of the way. Have a seat. Tell me what you know. I'll do the same."

Aaaaaand GO.

The GM has been dealing with getting his novella prepped and available for sale on multiple sites, as well as tackling interviews for a job, and has been a wee bit behind in his posting.

I'll try to have a plot advancement post up sometime tomorrow.

You get one more full round of conversation between yourselves before your ride arrives, so make good use of it.

"Certainly," the Officer nods. "We have your location and I'll dispatch a vehicle now. It will be arriving via auto-drive shortly. Once you've entered the vehicle, you'll be put in contact with a Detective who will begin the process of reviewing your information, and when you arrive at the Precinct, the Detective will escort you from the vehicle to their offices. If the vehicle does not arrive within the next five minutes, please call this address again, with priority code Seven Five Five Nine. Thank you, and have a nice day."

With that, the Officer ends the call, leaving you in the front office of Zerin's shop.

You are now free to talk amongst yourselves until the car shows up.

The Homicide Officer listens to your statement, nodding along until you mention ties to another death.

At that point, he cocks an eyebrow, and you can see the motion of his shoulder, indicating he's typing something as you speak. When you finish, he begins reading off of a prepared questionnaire:

"Are you currently safe? Are you in any danger? If the answers to these questions are, in order, 'Yes,' and 'No,' please answer the following question: are you able to report to the Precinct Offices to speak directly to a Homicide Detective? Do you require escort or transport? Are you, or any members of your party, injured?"

The GM has been having some difficult life issues lately, and would like to apologize for the delay. We now return to our regularly scheduled game.

The AR-view image of officer on the other end is a young man, probably early 20's, in a crisp, freshly pressed uniform. The SF METRO PD pins on his collar are shiny and probably new. His smile fades as you tell him you have evidence for two murders.

"I'll... um... I have your information here, Ms. Carter," he says. "Let me... let me get you through to Homicide."

The Homicide desk is staffed by another young man, also probably in his early 20's, whose uniform is also relatively new, but not nearly as crisp or shiny.

He asks, matter-of-factly, what he can do to help you, who you believe was murdered, and what evidence you believe you've found.

Discussion threads are highly useful for making sure that we can be clear on rules, etc. for when things get weird.

Minor note, the GM has been pointing out that the gear in Dwight Kaplan's case was most likely sabotaged or ruined ON SITE, just as Carrie Mendez was clearly murdered ON SITE and made to look like an accident. That the PC's are assuming it was in his home, but if BART would like to put 2 and 2 together about that and correct them in character, that's fine, too.

The GM needs to take a moment and ask the players if he's being too vague in delivering the action and updates to the players.

Zerin has pretty handily explained that the only way that Mr. Kaplan's gear could have "failed" is if it was tampered with ON SITE, which would map to the supposition that Ms. Mendez didn't "fall" so much as "had her neck broken deliberately."

This further ties back to the group concluding that there's a serial killer out there, and that something must be done, even if that something is alerting the authorities.

I'm not entirely sure why these revelations led to the need to break open the card reader, obtained from a trusted source, and look for tracking hardware?

If I'm not being clear enough, please let me know.

I don't want to get SO clear, however, that I'm just handing you all the answers, as that kind of goes against the point of the game, y'know?

Let me know what's what and I'll try to adapt.

The GM isn't sure why you guys are so concerned about the card reader, considering where it came from and the fact that it was Zerin's idea to talk to Jagger in the first place, and Zerin made it clear that while Jagger's kind of a jerk, he's also trustworthy, but who am I to argue...

The card reader is easily disconnected from the computer and torn down in the space of about three minutes.

It's completely clean. Exactly as one might expect of an antique, collectors-item piece of technology.

When put back together, it still works, but whatever warranty it had left is now void, due to what remains of the "Quality Seal" having been broken.

GM, please. We don't use trademarked titles here.

And, yes, according to your sheet, you've got a +13 to your Basic Technology roll, making you quite adept at your job.

OOC Note for Zerin: Access to their homes, or, more simply, the gear didn't fail, and someone actively caused the problem. Based on the video from Carrie On's SD card, the latter is more likely.

If anyone's interested, The Headmaster's Primer - the GM's Guide for I Want To Be A Wizard! is now up and available at Drive Thru RPG for the very reasonable price of $4.99.

Full color map (including a separate download with full key), adventure generator, and more! :D