16.1 NPCs

Following are descriptions of various NPC's and some of their equipment. A general rating of their capabilities labeled Threat Level is included to allow the GM to customize the challenges to the cell's abilities and are defined as such:

Very Low – At this level of opponent skill, the characters won't even break a sweat. This is your typical 6 year old human with a plastic baseball bat and a temper tantrum.

Low – This level of threat is one of the more common levels of competence and can be dangerous if not taken seriously. This is the common civilian with a CAF and an attitude or maybe a Carnivorous Pig.

Moderate – This level of opponent is equivalent to the characters in skill and ability. An inexperienced or new Slop is a good example.

High – This level of opponent should be tackled carefully and is superior to the character's ability. An experienced Slop or a manchine are good examples.

Very High – This level of opponent is well above the character's abilities to handle and must be approached with a great deal of caution. Examples would be a lone Darkfinder, very experienced Slop squads, or Necanthropes.

Extreme – This level of opponent far outmatches the character's abilities and should be avoided. Good examples are a squad of Darkfinders and War World Criminals. There are no opponents in this adventure of this level.

16.2 NPC Listing

Sour Blood Stand-in (aka Mark Croix)

Mark Croix has always tried hard at everything he does, just he never found anything that he was particularly good at. He failed at being a model (no grace), tried work as a PR agent (too shallow), then finally got into Meny and passed the Media training by clinging to the bottom of the lowest rung on the achievement ladder.

After he graduated and ended up in a desk job, someone noticed that he bore an uncanny resemblance to Sour Blood and he got offered a sweet PR contract. Now he makes his living doing boring public appearances while the Contract Killer takes on more challenging assignments (like healing up from the most recent ass-kicking he took). Mark is beginning to become fed up with the job and wants to do something more exciting that will let him grow as an artist and a person. He was shallow before taking on the role and has only gotten worse since he now lives in character.
Threat Level: Moderate
Equipment: Custom Blitzer with HESH rounds, Chainaxe, Custom armor.

Sergeant William "Billy Boy" Ross

Sgt. Ross is a outstanding example of a brown-nosing, backstabbing, upwardly mobile example of Mort's Society. He is fairly shrewd, but his overwhelming ambition has cost him dearly in the past. On a personal level, he is mildly insecure and overcompensates by attempting to intimidate those around him. Most Shivers under his command have a grudging respect for him because he is an effective leader while being a complete bastard.
Threat Level: Moderate
Equipment: FEN 603 (illegal), standard Shiver armament.

Mark Watson, ex- Monarch cop and arms dealer

Mark Watson is a potential rising star within Mort's Arms Trade who is mildly handicapped by a lack of ambition. He isn't lazy, just unwilling to put a great deal of effort into things that don't immediately catch his interest. For that reason he is only a minor partner to several smart businessmen who run the Hancock weapons ring. Watson provides intelligence, streetsmarts, and has been gradually spending more time helping to build up the business. Recently they ran into a minor disagreement with KACK/HARDCORP and he intends to fire the first shot using the characters.

Currently he is fixated with the idea of controlling the soldiers of a soft company and it has his full attention. He is always shadowed by at least two bodyguards, but will be accompanied by up to six if trouble is expected. These men are considered to have a Threat Level of High and have access to SLA quality weapons.
Threat Level: Moderate
Equipment: FEN 603 with HESH ammo, cell phone, other weapons as needed.

Jamie and Paul McClain (Pablo's Peddlers Bike Couriers)

Jamie and Paul McClain are simple managers/operators of the Bike Courier shop. They are fairly amiable people when they want to be and make a good brother and sister team. In general, they don't care one way or the other about SLA or Darknight as long as their deadlines are met and no one messes with them.
Threat Level: Low
Equipment: CAF Steel Death, harsh language (3 dialects worth of curses!).

Tony Lau – owner of Lau's Fast Mail courier service

Mr. Lau is a hardworking member of Mort's society who regularly works over eighty hours a week to keep his business running.
Currently there is strong competition from other courier services and he has been losing the price war. If given a chance to shut down some of them (like Pablo's), he would jump at it.

Above all else, Lau is a family man who is suffering from a terminal case of boredom. He has tried spicing up his marriage with infidelity, played with minor theft, and several other pursuits without filling his need. If given a chance to do something exciting (like joining DN), he would jump at it and probably pull several of his family members into it also.
Threat Level: Low (can curse a person out in two languages and three dialects!)
Equipment: Nothing

Brent Harkins – Owner/operator of "The Brewery"

Brent Harkins has had an exciting career as both an ex Slop and ex DN Interceptor. After getting tired of both sides of the war, he decided to work the middle ground and now supplies information and weapons to various buyers. Because of his past associations, he has connections on both side of the law and a great deal of influence. In actuality, he is a deep cover Cloak Operative and is fitted with a finance chip.
Threat Level: Very High
Equipment: Anything he needs whenever he needs it.

Capt. Jacob Leary, Monarch Station 534 commander

Captain Leary has served the Monarch Police forces loyally for fifteen years and claims to have never taken a bribe. In actuality, he is in the pocket of at least two factions of the Skin Trade and one gang (KT) and is well connected. His death will not be taken well by any of his friends, but there won't be much investigation into his disappearance.
Threat Level: Moderate.
Equipment: CAF Cold Shadow SMG.

Marcia Cox – waitress at Pancake Nirvana

Ms. Cox is a chain smoking forty-ish bleach blonde with a heavy downtown accent and borderline personal hygiene. Considering her lack of morals, it is surprising that she didn't take Watson up on his offers, but then she doesn't like cops. Something about smelling like the bacon she throws on the grill…
Threat Level: Low
Equipment: Can of Mace/Pepper Spray, stilleto, various STD's.

Hard Knocks Squad:

The Hard Knocks Squad is the roughest opponent that the team will run into during this adventure and only a basic description is given of their general abilities. The team consists of the following members: Nick Estanza (Human Team Leader, I & I), Ash (Female Brainwaster, DeathSquad), N'Kth S'tth (Shaktar, I & I), Badass (Chagrin, Kick Murder), Brian Caldwell (Human, Scout/Sniper), and Burp (Malice Stormer, Death Squad). They specialize in trashing DN cells and will gladly mop the floor with any Interceptor team that they run across then torture the left over pieces. They are very skilled and any one of them could make it on their own as an independent gig.
Threat Level: Very High
Equipment: Anything they want within reason. Expect heavy weapon customization, at least one Power Reaper, Karma implants, and various hand cannons. Ash has a high formulae, but is nowhere near getting close.

16.3 KACK Weaponry

KACK/HARDCORP offers low budget, rugged weapons produced to meet the needs of the growing soft company. With the exception of the RPG-40, all KACK weapons are chambered to fire standard SLA or DN rounds. While these weapons are standard for soldiers within the Skin Trade and some gangs, they have not caught on with mainstream civilians primarily due to cost. Some of the items such as the RPG-40 have not hit the streets yet and represent a new direction for the company.

KACK- 10 Submachine Gun

The KACK-10 is a rugged, compact design that is packs a decent punch for a reasonable price. The weapon's setup is easy to use with a cocking lever on the top and a safety/fire select on the left side. The small size of the weapon makes it uncontrollable on full auto, but a grip below the short barrel and a collapsible stock greatly improves its accuracy. The entire package is under 56 cm in length when the stock is folded. (Think MAC-10 and you have the idea).
Blackmarket Cost: 3000
Clip: 30
Caliber: 9mm
ROF: 5/3
RCL: 8/4
Range: 15m

KACK-12 Submachine Gun

The KACK-12 is simply a version of the KACK-10 that has been chambered for the heavier 10 mm SLA round.
Blackmarket Cost: 4000
Clip: 30
Caliber: 10 mm
ROF: 4/2
RCL: 9/5
Range: 15m

KACK –50 Boomer Pistol

The KACK-50 Boomer is a heavy revolver obviously ripped off from the BLA Blitzer design. These weapons are chambered for the 12.7 mm round like the SLA version, but do not offer nearly the same quality or reliability as the original. It has a heavy kick, but options such as recoil baffling is not standard on new manufactures.
Blackmarket Cost: 6500
Clip: 5
Caliber: 12.7 mm
ROF: 1
RCL: 8
Range: 20 m

KACK-4040 Light Machine Gun

The KACK-4040 is a new release from HARDCORP that is just beginning to show up on the streets. Utilizing either 10 mm boxed ammo or belt, the unit is ready to hit the streets to chew up gangbangers and operatives alike. There are two main drawbacks to the weapon: One is that the barrel may overheat if fired continuously and two is that it tends to suffer serious jams if not maintained regularly. While this weapon is not as rugged as the rest of the HARDCORP line of weapons and a pale imitation of a Power Reaper, it can hold its own in most situations.
Blackmarket Cost: 25,000
Clip: 50
Caliber: 10 mm
ROF: 10
RCL: 10
Range: 20 m

KACK-RPG40

The KACK-RPG40 is a rocket propelled grenade system capable of penetrating light armor on Shiver APC's using an 85mm explosive round. The main drawback is the backblast, which can seriously injure people behind the firer. It is expected that SLA will come down hard on anyone using this item, but so far none have been used on Mort.
Blackmarket Cost: 45,000
Clip: 1
Caliber: 85 mm HEAP round
ROF: 1
RCL: 3
Range: 100 m
Pen (Direct Hit): 30
Blast Rating: 15
Pen (from blast): 8

KACK- 38C Roombuster Fragmentation Grenade

Intending to improve upon the fragmentation grenade manufactured by SLA Industries, HARDCORP has modified the design to increase the weapon's power by a good 25%. The drawback of the increased payload is that the thrower is often caught inside the burst radius along with the intended target.
Blackmarket Cost: 250
Blast Rating: 11
Pen: 8

KACK – 202 "Binga-banga-boom" Concussion Grenade

Continuing the HARDCORP tradition of trying to improve upon what SLA Industries manufactures, the need for a good defensive concussion grenade was addressed next. This item has been manufactured also with an increased payload, often to the detriment of the thrower.
Blackmarket Cost: 150
Blast Rating: 2
Pen: -4

16.4 Playtesting notes and final comments

Some of this is loosely based upon a campaign that I ran a while back, but the new material (and adventure) hasn't been run through yet. I believe that the old group I was with would probably end up being hunted by both SLA and DN after killing the dependent on camera, most of Ross's Shivers, the Sour Blood impersonator, and nearly every bike courier on Mort. At the end they would probably have a disagreement, try to sell each other out to Cloak/SLA, then die in a John Woo standoff (the one where everyone has a gun on everyone else). Here's hoping that your groups work out better.

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