death tribble

Gen Con threatens the governor it will leave the state over Indiana's controversial SB 101
 

The final burial of Richard III.
 
http://news.yahoo.com/english-car-park-king-richard-iii-gets-final-041014841.html

Florida Manatee count is record high

Plane Crash in the French Alps

Having neatly bypassed the vast bulk of the last adventure, Astronauta Peligroso and his gringo allies wait for the other boot to drop. If whatever is on the disk is worthy of multiple shadowrunning teams, death threats, and multilevel encryption, it seems certain that there will be ramifications. Especially since Oracle copied everything on the disk so he can decrypt it later. On the other hand, the pay for the job, and the bonus selling backdoor entry to Nabo's phone, is enough to tide us all over for another month (the other big difference between this campaign and the 2050 one is the GM isn't making the same mistake with huge paychecks – we really will be living hand-to-mouth). But we do check how that other team react when they learn how they were duped – they've left town in a hurry. This is somewhat worrying – evidently our actions have annoyed somebody dangerous. But hey, at least we have good music to listen to while we wait. The Carrion reference on the disc might refer to a major recording studio in Seattle. They were very big in the 40s. And the artist Jet Black and Loomis' dad were in one of the top ten bands ever to come out of the city (Weldun suggested The Butterfly Effect – Begins Here as the kind of thing on the disc, and the GM agreed).

Supper at the Ork with the Gold Tooth Tavern, named after a particularly recalcitrant poster in the front window. They do a good egg-and-spam flavoured soy.

Ripper K: *sings* Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, SPAAAAM wonderful spam

Ocelot gets a call – we've got another job lined up! An urgent rescue of another team who are under siege a few blocks away.

GM: It's six minutes away
Oracle: F**ck it, I'm driving.
Ripper K: This is Seattle 2070 traffic, it's probably six minutes on foot too.
Oracle: You're assuming I'm staying on the roads.

GM: You roll up to the co-ordinates.
Ripper K: nooo, we roll up to the corner of the block and cautiously look around.

But the abandoned residential area is deserted. There WAS a battle here, judging by the totalled vehicles and storefront. Perhaps not surprising – any competent shadowrun team could trash a neighbourhood in 60 seconds. Or, as Boots observes, 6. But weirdly – the inside of the vehicle and the actual store are pristine. Not a drop of blood to be seen.

Ripper K: This is weird
Astronauta: I want out.

But before we leave the obviously unnatural scene, the luchadore gets a hissed message from a ghostly figure asking us to wait. The ghost soon realises that it's dead and freaks out.

Ghost: I'm sorry, this is my first time being dead.

Apparently the ghost wants us to finish the job his team just got killed doing. Find a missing woman. Although most of the information they've found so far is still inside their late decker's head.

Ripper K: I'm not feeling a very great motivation here.

The ghost has about 6 hours before he disperses.

Ocelot: Time enough for revenge.
Astronauta: 'Let's see how many spirits I can summon in 6 hours' ' I really hated that guy – time to f**k him up'

Astronauta: Of course we have to help him! He asked for help!
Ripper K: Ah, of course. The Luchadore Code.

At least we have a few clues, including the clean-up team that so rapidly cleansed the site of evidence and bodies – the shadow company Discrete Disposal. Hopefully we can find the body of the dead team's hacker, and get the pay data they had stolen out of her cranial circuits, before the bodies get sold to the organleggers or something. The front for the 'waste disposal' company is a nearly featureless concrete cube out in one of the industrial parks. That complicates things, as does the horrible psychic atmosphere of the place.

Ripper K: So, do they have anything set up for corpse disposal on the premises? A pig pen, or giant woodchipper?

Van's character Giant Dad has been replaced by a more rounded Boots, a son of Labrat, who used to be the face for the Ork Underground to keep the underground safe and the inhabitants from killing each other.

Oracle OoC: By 2070 the Ork Underground is part of the Seattle tourist scene.
Ocelot: So, good job!
Astronauta: And then you got bored and took up shadowrunning.

Boots, Ocelot and Ripper head in to have a polite chat with a building full of 'clean-up guys', while the other get ready to hotwire one of their disposal trucks and ram the door. Their director of operations - Mr Black -seems a bit suspicious that we're there for an inspection. Perhaps because of the late hour, but probably because he's already paid off everybody involved. Oracle's empathy software, monitoring the camera feeds from our gear, notes that the director isn't sweating. Or breathing. He doesn't have a pulse, either.

Oracle: Percentage chance Zombie, percentage chance Xombie, percentage chance Shadim …
Ocelot : Percentage chance F**k If I Know

Back we do talk our into an inspection tour, while Astronauta and Oracle pour over the feeds looking for holes in their security. Which is rather formidable, at least on the physical plane. The door to the basement incinerators, for example, is massively over-engineered, and guarded. And the guard alarmingly is happy about letting us in to look around....

Ripper K: I brace myself for the sudden and inevitable betrayal.

Ripper K: Bit dark in here, isn't it?
Mr Black: I'm afraid my biomass-processing employees have issues with bright lighting
Ripper K: And that doesn't sound ominous at ALL.

What Mr Black doesn't know is that we can see the piles of body parts and feasting ghouls perfectly well. And our associates outside are poised to strike the moment the door gets slammed behind us.

Ripper K OoC: Have you finished hotwiring the truck?
Astronauta OoC: Why? I'm just going to walk in.
Boots OoC: That's probably equivalent to driving a truck through the wall.

And if Astronauta Peligroso IS the star of this luchadore flick, then waiting until his allies are in trouble and then bursting in through the door is entirely in character. Just wait until he starts bursting in through skylights!

Mr Black is immune to bullets, but happily is not immune to being punched in the throat by Ripper.

GM: He was standing there laughing off the gunfire, and then gets sucker-punched by the orca. If he was a mundane, you probably would have punched his head clean off.

Ripper is reluctant to punch the ghouls however – it's common knowledge ghoul bites spread HMHV virus.

Ripper K: I don't want to punch one in the face and then have to pick his teeth out of my knuckles.

Oracle sends in his drones, running the Thunderrun script – i.e. Shoot everything that isn't a friendly, then escort the friendlies out again. Boots and Oracle back up and shoot as many ghouls as they can, until Oracle's drones can get here to open the door.

Oracle: *facepalm* It's now painfully obvious where most of my data comes from – one of the bodies in your Heads Up Display lights up with a Miracle Shooter objective marker.

Oracle throws up inside his own helmet when he gets a RL look at the pile of half-eaten human remains. The rest of us are pretty green too. But at least we can find the bodies we're after. Or the heads at least. The amulet we're after is in here too, but searching for it is a exercise in horror. Sadly, Seattle is one of the few cities that DOESN'T have a standing bounty on ghouls. And Mr Black ghosted out while we were preoccupied. Boots walks up to the reception desk, stinking of blood and death, where the receptionist is cowering. She was just lucky the drones when in through the hole Astronauta made, and thus she didn't fall victim to the Thunderrun script.

Boots: I find this establishment unacceptable. You might want to start sending your resume around.

Oracle is rather alarmed to learn that the data in the cranial circuitry pertains to Project Icarus, a medical program with a 30% success rate – and 70% fatality rate. He debates whether or not to tell the others.

Oracle: If there were any secondary files I'd be burning them right now!

Oracle: How well do I know you guys? Do any of you play Miracle Shooter? Because I got banned for bringing Tac-net ware to matches.

Oracle is most concerned because he was a designer baby that came from the same line of research – hence all his gibbering as he went through the files. If somebody figures out he's involved in this job, they might come after HIM. The invoice for over a thousand body bags, and two genetic stabilisers, is also worthy of incoherent comment. Especially since the address attached is a high school closed in the 40s. It's also suggestive that the woman we're tracking down is pregnant, and both she and her husband, the original client, are magically active. Magical Mr. Johnsons?

Boots: They have magical johnsons.

The old school doesn't have any of the power supply a secret lab might need. Oracle's drones search for heat plumes – and there's a big one coming out from one of the roof vents.

Oracle: If you don't mind I'll stay in the van.
Boots: Just send in your drones Betty and Veronica
Oracle: What?
Boots: Your drones, Minnie and May
Oracle: I've told you before – Tweedledee and Tweedledum
Boots: Yeah, that's right – Dick and Tracey.

We kick in the door and a promptly overwhelmed by a sensation of Imminent Doom. The scent of unpleasant chemicals, IV fluids, and discarded mediware doesn't help.

Boots: Hey Oracle... just thought I should give you the heads up – I'm on the edge of losing my shit here.
Oracle: Yeah, I can tell from your biomonitors.

We turn to find a young elf girl with long black hair hanging over her face.

Boots: WeHaveALuchadoreYourArgumentIsInvalid!!!!!! Nacho boy, punch her through a wall!

Now most of us are overwhelmed by a desire to protect her. This is probably a Very Bad Sign. Ocelot sprays the room with shotgun taser pellets.

Ripper K: The f**k??
Boots: Ocelot, Jesus!
Oracle: Jesus Chr- wait... what was I thinking about?

Oracle, now the girl is well and truly unconscious, is now rather alarmed that the girl is some kind of force-aged clone of the foetus, or something, is relieved to see no resemblance to the parents.

Ocelot: That WOULD have been difficult to explain...

Boots wants to drop the young girl off at Greenlight's home - 'Aunty Sam's place'. The roomful of drugged expectant mothers is considerably more distressing, especially with the evidence of experimental surgery, and wouldn't fit in Aunty Sam's flat, either. Oracle refills his helmet.

Oracle: I didn't think I had any more to give! *dry-heaving noises over the TacNet.*
Ripper K: So, do we tell the police about this????

Even more fucked up, the set-up is designed to turn magically inclined children into Toxic Shamans, of the kind patronised by toxic spirits like Mr Black. Shamans like the invisible one in the ward, who hits us with a Panic spell, steps on a test tube, and gets a positive hail of bullets for his pains. A pity he's just a kid too, but since he's invisible, how could we tell? Dozens of women pregnant with toxic mages, and possessed children, is WAY beyond our pay grade. Boots calls a relative at the Draco Foundation.

Boots: Hi Uncle Inkubus, it's your favourite nephew.
Inkubus: Be more specific.

Oracle calls his own fixer, the one that called in the rescue.

Oracle: We found her. She's hooked up to a Valkyrie unit.
Ulysses: What the fuck did they do to her?
Oracle: I know, you don't want to know, and the Johnson needs to know.

Oracle warms up one of his custom drones – a Knight Errant high speed pursuit drone that he's turned into a one-man ambulance. That still has a tire-damage strip ejector. Knight Errant, who recently took over the Seattle Police contract from Lone Star, will be quite pleased to clear up all these missing persons cases, and hopefully forward any other rewards our way. The reward is substantial – and well-deserved. For one thing if we hadn't been very lucky in which party members were where, half of us could have been killed at four different places in the mission. For example, Oracle and Boots wouldn't have got out alive from the ghoul room, if Ripper hadn't been a Physical Adept. But what if Black comes back?

Boots: If he keeps starting shit I'll call Uncle Inkubus and we'll summon the ultimate Spirit of Man – Captain Planet.
Ocelot: But we'd need to summon five lesser spirits first.
Boots: Wind! Water! Chrome!

Black Crusade : The Thirteen of Thrones
The heretics continue their scheme on the bankrupt planet of Sinophia - the scheme being "convince the Governor's son to enact a daemonic ritual against his father, get the now insane Governor to close the starport out of fear of retribution from the sector capitol, and then have the Sinophian nobility impeach the Governor and have him replaced by his son". On most planets, this plan would be insane, but Sinophia is so utterly hopeless that the Imperium has pretty much given up on the place, and minor political situations like this change of power probably won't even draw comment for decades. Of course, if anybody figures out heretics were involved then they certainly WILL draw comment, that comment being in the form of assassins, inquisitors, and battleships.

Discussing ways to stop Skerrit from getting the group in trouble again.

Digna: We must keep him under supervision at all times.
GM: Or possibly one of those child harnesses, with a leash.

The decide to make their final play against the heir during one of the interminable services at the Basilica, after finagling an invitation to the Governor's family box overlooking the huddled masses praying the Emperor below.

GM: So... you're going to seduce Evandus Junior to Chaos... during a church service. Slaanesh WILL be pleased.
Eniek OoC: 'I need a wheelbarrow.' 'Why?' 'For my balls'

GM: The constant rain drips through the ceiling of the cathedral, onto the supplicants beneath. That's because somebody stole the lead off the roof.

Lord-Captain Daniels is puzzled by a conversation between tech-priests.

Daniels: 'I'm going to taint your sample pool'?
Digna: I love it when you talk dirty.

Digna also prods the Mechanicum into political activity. Getting them to agree that fitting the governor with mind-control implants is a good idea is not necessarily heresy - it's merely a reflection of the poor opinion the Priests of Mars have of meatbags.

Tech-priest: +++ The Government. Of This World. Is Inefficient. It Is. Most Vexatious. +++
Digna: +++ Perhaps if the Governor were fitted with with Volitor Circuits? +++
Tech-priest: +++ Yes. +++ That would remove. Many. Of the. Inefficiencies ++++

But with the heir convinced, and getting him to come out to Digna's base alone (despite the objections of his bodyguards) the ritual is enacted. Governor Evandus is doomed to a spiral of insanity, with everything around him causing fear. It might taken a while, but Archimedes feeding him nightmares of Calixian Commissars coming from the sector capitol to investigate his failures are unlikely to help his mental equilibrium. Time to start turning up the heat, by planting rumours among the populace.

Digna: It's a pity none of us are barbers – they gossip to ANYBODY

Eventually they hear that the Governor has gone to his retreat in the highlands, until the balance of his humours can be restored.

Digna: 'in my considered medical opinion – he be crazy, yo.'

The shielding of the governor from his increasing paranoia means they'll have to go up to the highlands themselves to keep up the telepathic pressure. Since the retreat is surrounded by a huge hunting reserve, they can always lean on the heir to get them an invitation. Digna acknowledges that this plan has merit, and promptly assumes it for her own.

GM: 'That was an excellent idea of mine you just had'

Of course, it being midwinter, there isn't much to hunt (and if Skerrit is right, somebody is psychically hunting THEM).

GM: Put fox ears and a tail on Skerrit and hunt him.
Digna: Nah - he'd just outrun them.

Archimedes: How long should we keep this up for?
GM: *gestures at Skerrit* Just ask the pasteboard princess to read the cards for you. He is the party's precog, after all.

The hunting lodge is as comfortable as might be hoped, but not as luxurious as the mansion proper.

GM: And you only have five servants to assist you.
Daniels: Yeah – roughing it.

But even after the Governor shuts the starport, the nobility won't play ball. They're too proud to admit that anything is wrong, even though the closure affects them far more than it affects the underclasses.

Noble: Sinophia has weathered worse than this.
Digna: It's good that you're showing solidarity with the common man.
Noble: *splutters with outrage, and goes off to push a motion of censure against the governor in the Clockwork Court.*
Digna OoC: The Sir Humphrey Appleby School of Ministerial Management >

The plan a success, what next? Perhaps get involved in the logistical side of the Fringe War, against the Severian Dominate separatists? Bringing back regiments of troops from the front, to furlough on Sinophia, is a good way to make yourself important, as well as an excuse to bring lots and lots of heavily armed men to Sinophia. And even the front can't be that dangerous to experienced characters, surely?

Daniels: I can see their general from here – his pauldrons are three meters high

The new governor releases the material required to get Daniels' ship repaired and under way again. He didn't take much persuasion.

Digna: Not only under our thumb but very eager to see the back of us.

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Griffin  (NPC): a street samurai; using the Jack the Ripper dreamchip
 
Dreamchipper - Hooker, Line & Sinker
This module was previously described by Drhoz (here).
 
In order to find Griffin (and the Jack the Ripper dreamchip), the team searched through the information provided by the Lone Star records clerk....
 
Six joygirls and joyboys had been murdered in one small Redmond neighborhood. One the first night; two the second; three the third.
Byte Force: "So he's either going to kill four or five tonight."
Eye Spy: "Five?"
Byte Force: "It might be a Fibonacci sequence."
Eye Spy: "I have no idea what you just said."
 
The murders had all taken place in the same small neighborhood in the Redmond Barrens. The victims had been primarily human, but also one ork and one dwarf.
 
Dent: "No elves or trolls?"
Happy Jack: "Other than the dwarf, it matches the racial and economic demographics of Redmond." (pause) "It seems that Griffin is just hitting targets of opportunity."
Eye Spy: "So we finally found someone in Redmond who isn't racially biased ... a serial killer."
 
The murder weapon was always cybernetic hand razors. First the throat was cut, then the bodies were swiftly dissected.
 
Audacity Jane: "Messy."
No-Step: "You don't approve."
Audacity Jane: (shrugging) "I don't particularly care. I'm not the one cleaning up after him."
 
Eye Spy: "We don't even know what Griffin looks like."
Dent: "Yes we do. I used Mind Probe on Tee Hee, Cooperman and Val."
No-Step: "That's wonderful. So what does he look like?"
Dent: "Human, average sized or maybe a little smaller, brown hair, black cybereyes, normal looking otherwise."
Audacity Jane: "That's reeeally helpful."
Dent: "I'll recognize him when I see him."
No-Step: "That doesn't help much if one of us sees him."
 
This challenge was solved with concealed microcams which would feed pictures to Dent, allowing him to confirm Griffin's identity. There were, however, other problems to be solved.
 
Audacity Jane: "There are a lot of other joygirls and joyboys in the area. We could put out bait for a week before we catch him."
No-Step: "What if we warn them to stay off the street? Tell them it's too dangerous?"
Happy Jack: "Many of them will need to eat or feed an addiction. They will be out anyway, hoping for the best."
No-Step: "We could offer to protect them for free. Get them all in one place. That would make it safer."
Happy Jack: "That's a good idea ... except they would be too suspicious of 'free' protection. I'll charge them 10 nuyen a trick for protection."
Dent: "Jack's going to be a pimp."
Happy Jack: "Yep. I'll blend right in."
 
As one of the best hand-to-hand combatants, Jane was the obvious bait. No-Step would use his Physical Mask spell to conceal the amount of armor she was wearing.
 
No-Step: "I can make her the best-looking joygirl in the neighborhood."
Happy Jack: "Make her one of the ugliest. Griffin doesn't seem to care about looks, but potential customers will."
No-Step: "Right." (suggestively to Jane) "What are you going to do with actual customers?"
Dent: "Service with a smile!"
Audacity Jane: "No. I'm going to give them the Sprawl Special."
Dent: "As I said, service with a smile."
Audacity Jane: (ignoring Dent) "That's where I knock them out, tie them up, rob them, then dump them in the alley behind me." (grinning evily Dent) "And after doing that, I will be smiling."
Eye Spy: "Hey Dent, do you want to be her first customer?"
 
Dent would wander the neighborhood invisibly, using the city sprit's Search power to look for Griffin.
 
Eye Spy: "What if Griffin sees him?"
Dent: "Nobody is going to see me."
Byte Force: "Griffin is going after joygirls and joyboys. Dent looks homeless."
Dent: "I do not look homeless."
Happy Jack: "Well, you smell homeless ... and it will just take a quick wardrobe change to make you look that way too."
 
Eye Spy and Byte Force would cruise the neighborhood, letting the real joyboys and joygirls know where Jack was providing protection.
 
Eye Spy: "What should we do if we spot Griffin?"
Audacity Jane: "Vehicular homicide."
 
It was a dark and foggy night.
 
Dent: "Why can't we get this kind of weather when we're pulling a B&E job?"
 
Life as a working girl....
 
well dressed pedestrian: "Hate to bother you, but are you going my way?"
Audacity Jane: "Honey, I may be a streetwalker, but I don't actually go for walks with people." (pause) "Are there any other services you're interested in?"
 
Life as a pimp....
 
potential customer: (as Jack peered at him so the microcam could take a picture) "Why are you looking at me that way?"
Happy Jack: "I memorize your face. If you damage joyboy, I know who to collect damages from."
potential customer: "Collect damages? Like in court?"
Happy Jack: "Like ripperdoc bill, lost wages."
potential customer: (giggling nervously) "I don't carry that kind of money with me."
Happy Jack: "That okay. You have headware. I just sell used headware."
potential customer: (scoffing) "It would take a skilled surgeon and a clinic to remove my headware."
Happy Jack: "Nah. I take your head to techie. He remove headware and clean it off. No damage to headware."
potential customer: (aghast) "That would kill me!"
Happy Jack: "Well ... don't damage joyboy ... unless you can afford damages."
 
The team members patrolling the neighborhood had sent a number of joygirls/joyboys over to Happy Jack's block. They had also run across the cooling corpses of two girls who hadn't accepted the offer of protection.
 
man with glowing cybereyes: "Nasty night. I hate this weather. Don't know why I put up with it."
Audacity Jane: "Because you live here." (pause) "But I'm sure you didn't come out here just to talk about the weather."
man with glowing cybereyes / Griffin: (popping out hand razors and slashing at Jane) "Die. Die, Tramp. Die!"
Audacity Jane: (punching Griffin with her shock glove) "Not a tramp.... Not going to die."
 
After Dent had arrived at the scene...
 
Audacity Jane: (pointing at Griffin's glowing cybereyes) "You said his cybereyes were black. Do those look black to you?"
Dent: (looking at the shiners appearing under Griffin's cybereyes) "Yes. Yes they do."
 
After Griffin had been subdued and the dreamchip removed....
 
Eye Spy: "I'm not entirely certain, but I think Griffin's going to be permanently catatonic."
Happy Jack: "This leaves us with an ethical dilemma."
Audacity Jane: "What ethical dilemma? We sell him to the organ leggers."
Happy Jack: "Alternatively, we could recruit more informants by delivering him to the joygirls and joyboys. I'm sure they want to celebrate his capture ... and every good party needs a piñata."

Some of you (ok, three tops) may have been wondering what's going on with my name. If you're not one of them, this is going to get boring. You can skip ahead. If you are one of them, this is going to get boring.
 
My real name is Logan. With recent events in my life, I'm finding that I have a very strong urge to simplify things in my life, trim the odd edges. I always wanted a cool nickname. I believe it was part of the reason I used to like GI Joe, all the cool code names. I never got one, though. I always liked the name Logan, though, so not a big deal. Friends would call me Logey, mostly, or Logarino, Logster, or even Logurt upon occasion, but none of those really counted. Log was the closest I had, and it was mostly accidental.
 
Then along comes the internet and I can have any nickname I want. I tried a variety of cool sounding (I thought) words or combos: Hermes, DeadPumpkin, Madstone, etc., but nothing stuck. None of them were really me. I was trying way too hard. I thought about just using Logan online, but that was ruled out almost Immediately because, unlike my real life, Logan was not uncommon on the net. I could have been Logan<random number> but I hated that idea. So after a time, I adopted the identity of Log here. Stupid as it sounds, I never really liked the single syllable aspect, especially with the short ŏ rather than the long ō. Wow, that sounds really pathetic as I read it. So, I evolved to Log-Man for a couple reasons. First, it had a superhero feel and seemed right for a site that had such a heavy superhero theme. Second, it was actually fairly unique, so I could use it other places and maintain a singular identity.
 
Here's where that all falls apart. When I got the name, Ren & Stimpy was very big so people were generally amused. Today's crowd doesn't know Log, though, and in other places I get called everything from a big d*ck to a piece of sh*t because people think they're being clever. Let's be honest, that's what a log is to most people, and that sucks for me. So it's time for another change. Thing is, I like the single ID I can use in multiple places. I needed to come up with something unique again. And it's somehow got to say "me." (I don't want to use my real last name for a few personal reasons.) I wish I could just use Logan, but we're back to the original problem. So I added a seemingly random number to the end. Ironic, huh? Why is it ok now? I noticed that it's still used very often. So much, in fact, that it's pretty much invisible. I never read or say the numbers after one's name anymore, I just skim on by. And I have a feeling I'm not the only one that does that. So here I am as Logan, the 8th one or so on the Hero forums. Or the 1179th, take your pick.
 
I consider you deviants my friends, so you can still call me Log, or any other well meaning variation. And of course Lord High Commissioner, as appropriate. Thank you for your patience.
 
 
 
 
tl;dr...I'm having a semi-existential crisis. 

... Yessir.

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
Val (NPC): a rigger; using the Cleopatra dreamchip
 
Dreamchipper - Party Crashing
This module was previously described by Drhoz (here).
 
The team had determined who was in possession of the dreamchips ... but finding them and recovering them was a more difficult task. One dreamchip had been recovered, but two more remained.
 
Happy Jack: "Val has started dating Booker Pengrave, a junior executive at Hollywood Simsense Entertainment."
No-Step: "And she'll continue dating him until she meets a senior executive."
Happy Jack: "Are any of their senior executives trolls?"
Byte Force: (checking the Matrix) "No."
Happy Jack: "So ... that rules out Plan A."
 
Happy Jack: "Pengrave is holding a big party at his penthouse tonight. Jane and I can go in there, scope out the place, then figure out the best way to break in later."
Audacity Jane: "How are we getting in there?"
Happy Jack: "We'll deliver a few cases of expensive wine. That should get us all the way to the bar. If we need to do more scouting, we can come back again a few hours later as part of the cleaning crew."
Dent: "How much is all that expensive wine going to cost us?"
Happy Jack: "Maybe 100 or 200 nuyen."
Dent: "Per bottle?"
Happy Jack: "No. For a few cases."
Eye Spy: "Uh ... Jack ... that's not expensive wine."
Happy Jack: "I know. We're going to dumpster dive for expensive wine bottles, fill them with cheaper wine, then reseal them."
Byte Force: "The attendees might be too drunk to notice the difference."
 
Astral recon at Pengrave's party was not an option.
 
No-Step: "There are at least four security mages patrolling in astral space."
Dent: "Either that, or they're peeping Toms watching the orgy upstairs."
 
No-Step: (to Jack and Jane) "We can't even put any spells on you without risking making the mages suspicious."
Happy Jack: "That's okay. We're disguising ourselves as menial labor. That doesn't require much effort."
 
The wine delivery went without a hitch and provided useful information for a later break-in. At the end of the party, Jack and Jane would reenter the apartment disguised as part of the cleaning crew. Once the extra magickal security departed, Jane would climb up onto the roof with her gear. After everyone left (and Pengrave and Val went to bed) she would sneak back down, abduct Val, then rappel both of them down to the street.
 
Of course, the plan hit a snag shortly after the duo inserted themselves in with the cleaning crew.
 
Eye Spy: (over the radio link) "Val and Pengrave are leaving the building. They're getting in a limo."
Audacity Jane: "That's perfect. Because we're kind of stuck here."
 
Eye Spy managed to use her drone to tail the limo to the marina, while the rest of the team (except Jack and Jane) followed the limo at a discrete distance.
 
Eye Spy: "If they leave in a boat, we'll have no way to follow them."
Dent: "We'll just have to make sure they don't get on a boat."
Pengrave and Val were well down the pier, heading to a boat, so Dent summoned a sea spirit, then sent it to use it's Fear power on Val, making her afraid of the water. As Val turned and ran back towards the team, Pengrave chased after her ... until Dent commanded the sea spirit to use its Confusion power on Pengrave. Pengrave immediately ran off the side of the pier and fell into the water.
Eye Spy: "If only I had caught that on video."
 
No-Step: (disguised as a marina security guard) "Are you okay ma'am?"
Byte Force, concealed by No-Step's city spirit, snuck up behind Val and shot a narcojet dart at her ... but he missed her and hit No-Step. No-Step collapsed. As Val stared at No-Step in alarm, Byte Force shot another dart at her ... with much greater success.
Byte Force: "At least I'm batting .500."
Dent: "Remind me to always stand behind you when you're shooting."

Our group now alternates between my Champions game and a D&D-4 game.  However, the D&D DM texted me a few days before our normal game day asking if I could run instead.  I didn't really have anything prepared, so I threw something together.  But I did take the time to put together a weekly news page.
 
One article mentions the "newly-formed team of superheroes, as yet unnamed".
 
Nexus:  Does that mean we have to come up with a team name?  You know we suck at that.
(That's true -- past team names have included THEM (The Heroes of Eastern Michigan) and S-Squad (because all the team members names began with "S")
GM:  If you don't come up with a team name, the editor of the Heronet Herald will give you one.  This is the same guy that came up with "Earth-818" for the alternate world.  So, not very creative.   You'll probably end up with something like Boston Area Super-Heroes.
Maker:  BASH!  I like it!  You know, that's actually the kind of name we'd come up with.
 
Maker's player looks through the prior week's news, which included a Name That Dimension contest,with appropriate hokey prizes, to come up with a better name than Earth-818.  She then passes the GM a note:
 
"Maker wants the Foxbat inflatable punching bag and submits Ogygia for Earth-818."
 
Another article in the current news talks about Pops taking down a misshapen creature attacking a supermarket, so I started the night off with that encounter.  Pops is on his way home to get ready for a hot date.
 
Pops:  Why are you picking on me?  You know that if I saw something happening, I'd probably just teleport the other direction.
Nexus:  Hey, at least you know up front you're going to win!
 
The creature is a star vampire, which is normally invisible but becomes temporarily visible after feasting.
 
GM:  As Pops teleports into the store, he sees a badly maimed person lying on the ground, with several other people apparently fighting something invisible, which tosses them aside like gnats while it sucks blood from the maimed guy.  As Pops watches, the creature becomes visible as the blood it's drinking circulates through it's body.  (Shows Pops a picture of the creature.
Pops:  Okay, that's just wrong.  I don't do tentacles.  I don't even like anime.  That's more Honey Badger's or Circe's thing.
 
After a few phases of combat...
 
GM: You notice that, as the blood it drank is being absorbed, the creature is starting to fade away.  You figure it'll be invisible again by the end of the Turn.
 
The creature grabs Pops and latches a tentacle onto his throat to begin sucking his blood.
 
Pops:  Well, at least it'll be visible a bit longer.
 
Pops eventually defeats the creature and turns it over to PRIMUS.  He then pays a visit to his teammate Malarky.
 
Pops:  You know that healing thing you did while fighting the Boston Commons?  Could you do that to me?  (points to his neck)  I have a date tonight, and I don't want her to see this hickey.
 
The heroes investigate, and discover that odd-looking creatures have been popping in and out of existence all over town.  Some pop up in the afternoon, but most show up from about 9 pm to 2 am.  None are reported between 2 am and noonish.
 
Shadowboxer:  I map out all the appearances and look for patterns.
GM:  You actually see two groups -- the afternoon appearances are in one part of town, near some apartment buildings and warehouses converted into condos, that sort of thing.  The late evening/early night appearances are in a different part of Boston.  Most of them have been pretty close to a number of lower-grade bars and other dives.
Shadowboxer:  That would explain the appearances ending by 2 am.  That's when the bars close up.
Malarky:  So basically, we're looking for a drunk summoner.
 
(More to follow)

Boston Champions - Songs of Summoning (cont.)
 
The heroes learn that most of the summoned creatures didn't do much more than scare a few people before popping back to wherever they came from.  Curious about the one that Pops fought (which had specifically targeted the grocery store manager while ignoring pretty much everybody else around it), some go to the hospital to see how the mauled man is doing.  Unfortunately, he's still in a coma. After establishing that they're working with the Boston PD...
 
Malarky (to the ICU nurse):  Can I maybe try a wee something that might help perk him up?
Nurse Ratchet:  I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to touch my patient.  (walks away to treat another patient, but keeps an eye on Malarky)
Nurse Nice:  (walks up)  You're one of those new supeheroes, aren't you?  I saw something about you in the news.
Malarky:  Aye, that's us.  I'm Malarky, a bit of a junior mage.
Nurse Nice:  Magic, huh?  So, you can heal him, with one touch?
Malarky (realizing his Healing spell is Area of Effect):  That I can.  Don't really need to touch him, though.  (pauses)  Say, do you mind if I stand over there in the corner for a bit?  Won't be a bother.  (smiles impishly)  And if you should happen to move any really sick patients within, oh, a dozen or so meters of me in, say, five minutes time, who's to say what might happen?
Needless to say, there was some miraculous healing that day in the ICU at Mass General.
Malarky:  Wonder if I can get a date with that nurse...
 
Other heroes go to check the mauled man's apartment.
 
Honey Badger:  Maybe he was dabbling in the black arts...
Enters the apartment to find it a mess -- furniture trashed, possessions destroyed, walls sliced as if by claws, and overly large maggots squirming all over the place.
Honey Badger:  ... and it got away from him.
 
Circe tries reading the man's mind, but he's just as clueless as they are.
 
Mr. Goodman (walking around a mental construct of his trashed apartment):  Would you look at this mess?  Why me?  What did I ever do?  I'm a law-abiding guy, try and keep the peace.  Serve on the neighborhood watch.  Try and keep things nice in my neighborhood, call the police when people aren't being civil.  And this is what happens?
 
Unfortunately, they didn't catch the clue and so they didn't ask if he had made any complaints against neighbors lately.  Instead, they start checking out the bars near where some of the creatures appeared.
 
Malarky:  You guys realize I'm not allowed in a bar, don't you?  I'm only 18.
Pops:  Wait, don't you use booze for one of your spells? 
Malarky:  That's different.  It's not alcohol, it's a spell component.
 
Shadowboxer listens in on a few conversations between patrons.
 
Guy #1:  Hopefully they'll have a better band tonight.
Guy #2:  Yeah, those guys last night were horrid.  I mean, their early stuff was alright, I can dig some good metal, but then they started on their 'new' stuff.  Talk about dark and depressing...
Shadowboxer:  Excuse me.  Couldn't help but overhear.  Do you remember what the band who played here last night was called?
Guy #1:  Something like Road House, wasn't it?
Guy #2:  No, it was Road Kill.
(players groan in agony.  Ah, the lamentations of players are like nectar to the GM!)
 
Circe:  That was the band that tried out at my club last week, wasn't it? (smugly)  Good thing I refused to book them.  They won't be trashing my club.
GM:  Funny you should mention that... (pulls out the game map and begins laying it out)

Finishing up Songs of Summoning:
 
In my games, I ask each player to provide at least 5 NPCs to flesh out their own world a bit.  These aren't DNPCs; the only dangerous situations they get into are typically off-screen.  I allow the PCs to use them as pseudo-Contacts, just like you would any friend or family member.  And I use them to advance the plot at times.
 
Nexus and Circe each provided way more than 5 NPCs, and Nexus (who plays and sings in a band) decided that her four bandmates were all low-level supers. (The band is named Paranormal.)  If she was trying to get her own mini-super team to help fight crime, she's going to be disappointed...
 
Nexus arrives at the Paradise Rock Club, approaching the back door, and sees her bandmates running away down the alley/street, screaming in terror.  She stops the last one.
 
Nexus:  Stop!  Calm down!  What's wrong?  What's going on?
Bandmate:  We showed up to set up... and they were there already!  He... he's huge!  I thought he was going to rip my arms off!!!  (screams in terror and runs off)
Nexus:  (shakes her head sadly)  My band is a bunch of pansy-boys.
 
Circe walks in the front door to see the patrons of the club all standing around staring at Road Kill up on stage as they launch into their hit song (topped the charts at #546), "I Say Screw You."
 
GM:  What they lack in quality, they make up for in 'loud.'
Circe:  (turns one of her regular club patrons to face her)  What is going on here?
Misc. Person:  (drooling slightly)  Band.  They good.
GM:  (OOC) Game-wise, you're looking at the effects of an area-effect Drain of INT, EGO, and PRE. 
Circe:  So that's how they get fans.
GM:  Which might also explain Nexus' bandmates running away when Ted glared at them.
Honey Badger:  Running away like pansy-boys.  (When Nexus glares at him)  Hey, you're the one who said it.  I'm just repeating what you called them.
 
Pops teleports to the Paradise Rock Club, sees that only half the team there, and disappears to collect the rest.  He starts with Malarky, who is riding his bicycle there as fast as he can pedal.
 
Pops:  I appear next to Malarky, grab him off the bike, and teleport both of us back to the club.
Malarky:  Hey!  What about my bike!
Pops:  Oh, boo hoo.  If it gets stolen or wrecked, I'll buy you a new one.
 
Honey Badger arrives at the back of the club.
 
Honey Badger:  I pick up the guitar one of Nexus' pansy-boys left behind.
Nexus:  Hey, that doesn't belong to you!
Honey Badger:  It does now.
 
As Road Kill finished up their song, to scattered applause from the brain-numbed audience, Honey Badger walks up to the stage with the guitar in hand.
 
Screech:  Hey, we already told you twerps, we're rockin' the Paradise tonight!
Honey Badger:  Oh, Honey Badger doesn't play.  Honey Badger was wondering if you guys would sign this guitar.  Road Kill is one of Honey Badger's favorite bands.  (under his breath)  To beat up.
 
The band members are all more than happy to sign the guitar for a fan.  (Well, Ted just puts a big "X" on it.)  It works as a nice distraction so the rest of the team can start herding out the audience and reduce the number of innocent bystanders.  But before too long...
 
Heavy Metal:  Aright, folks, we're going to do one of our new numbers, we're sure you're going to like it.  It's called The Bazaar.
(The band launches into a haunting, vaguely creepy song.)
Shadowboxer:  Watch out, everybody.  It was during their new songs that creatures started popping up.
(The heroes redouble their efforts to get the audience outside.)
 
GM:  Is anybody attacking Road Kill?
Honey Badger:  Not yet.  We want to get the people out of here first.
GM:  Which way are you sending them -- out the front, or out the back?
Malarky:  Out the front.  We don't want to take them past Road Kill.  (getting suspicious)  Why?  Do I see anything out the front windows?
GM:  No.  But anybody toward the back of the club will hear screaming from outside.  (pulls out 5" tall cardboard character standup with a picture of a Flying Polyp printed on it, setting it on the map outside the club's back door.
 
The heroes begin attacking the members of Road Kill, even though the summoning is complete.
 
GM:  Anybody going outside to deal with that?  (points at the Flying Polyp)
Pops:  Hell no.  I already fought one of those.
Circe:  No, you fought one of these.  (picks up normal-size character standup of the Star Vampire)  That (points to the Flying Polyp) is Big Momma, wondering what happened to Junior.
 
Pops teleports Axeman outside, where the guitarist is promptly picked up by the creature.  Screaming in terror, Axeman hurls his guitar/axe at it, somehow managing to miss it entirely.  The creature responds by trying to stuff Axeman down one of its sharp-toothed maws.
Malarky:  He prooooobably should have kept that.  Might have been useful.
Pops:  Well, now the beastie has a chew toy.
 
(Drat.  Work interrupts.  Will try to finish tonight or tomorrow)

Finishing off Songs of Summoning (for real this time)
 
Maker is outside, worried about taking on the creature.
 
Shadowboxer:  (points to a series of arced lines on the map)  Just hide under one of these balconies.
Malarky:  Those aren't balconies.  They're curved walls.  (turns his PC around to show a satellite overhead view of the back side of the club and smiles at the GM.)  Don't you just love Google Maps?  (proceeds to get the street view from that alleyway)  Here, Maker, this is what you see back there...
 
Circe goes outside and tries mind-blasting the creature, exposing her to its Insane Thoughts (a mental damage shield that drains her EGO and PRE).
 
Circe:  Ewwww!  You would not believe what is going on in that thing's mind!  I am not doing that again!
 
The creature grabs Maker and Circe with its tentacles, but before it can try to eat either one, Pops teleports them back into the club.  Maker begins flying back outside to confront the creature.
 
Pops:  Remember, just one save per person!  Go back out there at your own risk.
 
Back inside, Screech had put up a force barrier around the stage, with himself, Ted, and Heavy Metal inside, protected from the heroes' attacks.
 
Nexus:  We need to get past that barrier.
Honey Badger:  Easy.  (Makes rude gestures and disparaging comments at Ted, who proceeds to smash a hole through the barrier to take on the hero brick.)  See?  Problem solved.
 
Once most of Road Kill was down, the heroes were trying to figure out what do to against the creature.  Most of their attacks were bouncing off.
 
GM:  (to Nexus)  Aren't you going to try attacking it?
Nexus:  If Honey Badger throwing a dumpster at it didn't hurt it, my puny elemental magic blast isn't going to do much.
GM:  (looks down at creature's character sheet, where the Damage Reduction has the limitation "Doesn't work vs. Magic" and shrugs)  Your choice.
 
Nexus finally blasts it, causing it to scream in agony.
 
Nexus:  Hey, guys!  It's vulnerable to cold!  Should I try fire next?
Several other heroes:  NO!!  Freeze the #$&@!&@#!
 
The heroes figure out that someone gave the "lyrics" (summoning incantations) to Heavy Metal, and they try to figure out how to keep Road Kill from unintentionally summoning more other-worldly creatures in the future.
 
Malarky:  Could Circe mind-control them not to play those songs ever again?
GM:  Maybe.  She does have a Mind Control with Cumulative on it.  But they're contrary enough that dropping those songs might not be something they're inclined to do, so the control may break at some point.
Malarky:  Any way I can alter the magic so the summoning just wouldn't work?
GM:  I suppose Circe could mind control Heavy Metal to "fix" some of the lyrics...
Malarky:  (smiles)  Yeah.  "Those new songs are good and all, Heavy Metal -- but couldn't you come up with better lyrics on your own?"

The shadowrunners were an ork/troll group. Against stereotype, they specialized in stealth, subtlety, bluff, illusion, deception and misdirection.
 
Cast of characters: 
Dent: ork, rat shaman
No-Step: ork, snake shaman, healer
Byte Force: ork, decker, chemist
Eye Spy: ork, rigger, drones, paramedic
Audacity Jane: ork, combat, stealth, security systems
Happy Jack: troll, combat, disguise, negotiator
 
Dreamchipper - Interlude (information gathering)
This module was previously described by Drhoz (here).
 
Happy Jack: "I'm going to go talk to the Lone Star records clerk that Byte Force and I recruited."
Byte Force: "Well ... he doesn't know that he's been recruited."
No-Step: "How do you recruit someone without him noticing?"
Happy Jack: "We bribed him."
Byte Force: "... but he doesn't know that he's been bribed yet."
No-Step: "Why is he going to do something for a bribe that he doesn't know about?"
Happy Jack: "Because I'm going to use that bribe to blackmail him."
 
Chester, the records clerk: (answering his apartment door) "How may I help you, patrolman."
Happy Jack: (disguised as a Lone Star patrolman) "Are you the owner of a gold 2046 Ford Americar in the parking garage?"
Chester: (alarmed) "Why? What happened to it?"
Happy Jack: "There was a minor collision. Would you mind coming and looking at the damage?"
They took the elevator to the parking garage.
Chester: (looking at his car) "Where's the damage?"
Happy Jack: (handing Chester a piece of paper) "Actually, I wanted you to look at this bank statement of yours."
Chester: (barely glancing at it) "This isn't my bank."
Happy Jack: "True ... but it's your daughter's account. It has your daughter's money in it. That money has been used to pay your daughter's medical bills. And since your daughter is too young to work, that looks rather suspicious."
Chester: "Wait! What?" (slowly dawning realization) "Are you saying that I'm a dirty cop?"
Happy Jack: "No. I'm saying that you're being framed."
Chester: "Oh..."
Happy Jack: "Because I'm the one who is framing you."
Chester: "WHAT?!?"
Happy Jack: "So you can either give me the information that I want, and continue to pay your daughter's bills, or you can explain to your superiors why you accepted my bribes for three months before mentioning anything to them."
Chester pulled his gun and shot Jack. The armor jacket stopped the bullet.
Happy Jack: (smacking the gun out of Chester's hand) "Attempted murder. That's very illegal. More illegal than bribery. Good thing we caught that on tape."
Eye Spy: (over the radio link) "We didn't catch that on tape."
Audacity Jane: (to Eye Spy) "Chester doesn't know that."
 
Chester: "What do you want from me?"
Happy Jack: (handing Chester a burner phone) "I want to know about every joygirl, joyboy, escort or other sex trade worker murdered since Saturday."
Chester: "Why?"
Happy Jack: "I've been hired to catch the person committing the murders."
Chester: "You're blackmailing me into helping you stop a murderer? But that's something I don't mind doing."
Happy Jack: "See. It's your lucky day. You're getting paid to do a good deed."
 
The gunshot had attracted the attention of the building security.
 
security guard: (running up with a drawn gun) "What's going on here?"
Chester: "Uh ..."
Happy Jack: "Chester dropped his gun and had an accidental discharge."
Chester: "..."
security guard: "..."
Happy Jack: "I wrote him a citation for that." (pause) "Better be careful with your gun, or I'll be writing a second citation."
security guard: "..."
 
Later...
 
Happy Jack: "That went perfectly."
Dent: "Perfectly? You paid Chester for that information, and you probably could have gotten it for free."
Happy Jack: "I didn't want to get it for free. I wanted him to take the nuyen."
Dent: "WHAT?!?"
Happy Jack: "This morning, it only looked like Chester was taking bribes. Now, he is knowingly taking bribes. That means we're making progress in our relationship."

This was copied so much by children at the time that it was banned as it ruptured people's eardrums. It was changed to something else by the marketing people in response to this.

German Biologist Who Denied Measles Exists Ordered To Pay More Than $100,000
 

Rip-your-gonads-offa-you-if-you-cross-them lethal.

Looks like Saudi Arabia has stopped issuing Visas to Swedes as part of that escalation 

Can You Help This Poor Man Find His Moose Roasts?
 

NERDIST PRESENTS: GAME OF THRONES MEETS TAYLOR SWIFT IN “BLANK PAGE”
http://www.nerdist.com/vepisode/nerdist-presents-game-of-thrones-meets-taylor-swift-in-blank-page/