Following is the adventure for the Skin Trade. Again it is strongly recommended that GM's restrict their players from reading the scenario or greatly modify it to keep them on their toes. Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated as always.
The players take the roles of civilians and others trying to survive in the daily battleground run by the Skin Trade. Unlike the Darknight scenario, none of the characters in this organization can be considered "good guys".
A note to GM's: This scenario is a little darker than the DN scenario that I included with the previous project. A number of mature themes including kidnapping, slavery, sexual assault, and torture may be upsetting to some players, so it is suggested that the GM not push mature themes further than the players are comfortable. Others may want the game to go darker than it is written, but I stayed with a middle gray tone to make the most people happy. Tweak the tone of the game as you would the character stats/skill levels to best fit your group.
Like the previous scenario, this one is also written to be wide open on player options. The goal is more nebulous and character motivations are more crucial as the characters to survive, make a profit, etc. as they rise through the organization. NPC's of course have their own agendas, several of which are hazardous to the characters and will have to be defended against. There are a number of notes on the individual NPC's at the end to help the GM think on his/her feet if the team goes off on a tangent.
The setup places most of the players in the roles of members already on a Skin Trade truck crew and the remainder as new recruits who are added in the first scene. One of the PC's needs to be assigned as the Truck Boss and has one truck for every four characters. The remaining slots should be filled out with NPC's from the first scene or of the GM's creation.
Several of these are repeated from the DN release.
Part of the team is composed of experienced characters that have been with the existing crew boss for some time with the rest being new recruits added in the opening scene. The truck boss (one of the PC's) had just received a promotion and is now over several trucks (enough to seat all characters and an NPC or two). There are some inter-crew problems that have to be ironed out if the team is going to become a functional operation for the upcoming festival season, but things look promising.
As the festival start nears and the new recruits are tested, another crew boss declares war on the team's boss and starts hitting trucks. Realizing what is happening, the Dock Manager orders a truce and assigns Hit Team members to accompany both groups, but the conflict only goes into low intensity. Casualties continue to mount and it is left up to the characters to decide who has their loyalty and how to take out the enemy before they get taken out.
The day before the festival starts, the headman of one of Mort's major gangs is the victim of a failed assassination attempt and a bloody civil war breaks out between rival factions. Downtown is turned into a war zone making the normal risky job far more dangerous as gang factions declare open season on nearly everyone else. The character's loyalty, greed, and survival instincts are tested as they try to reap the biggest haul of their careers and avoid the bullets and blades of the gangs, their rivals, and a turncoat amongst them.
Most of the characters start within the organization and are present at the recruiting proceedings to replace their recent losses. Their Crew Boss is a woman named Kyra MacGregor who has been in the Skin Trade for over ten years. She has assigned the truck boss (one of the PC's) to run the questioning to detect any undercover Slops and take the pick of the new recruits. A medic named Krychek is assigned to run the finance chip scanner and lie detector and is known to be a creepy son of a bitch. A recruiter named Penman is also here, but he works for Parson a rival Crew Boss. Relations between MacGregor and Parson have been getting worse over recent claims of truck jumping and it is only a matter of time before shots get fired.
The meet is set in the isolated lower level of a downtown parking facility that is partially lit with flickering overhead halogens. After a few moments of silence, the rats scatter and the first of the Hit Team vehicles pull in. They are here in full force and quickly spread out to secure the area. Any vagrants that are found are shot or held to be loaded onto a truck later. Once the squad leader gives the ok, four other trucks pull into the garage and come to a halt with their lights on. Established employees (including the PC's) exit from the trucks and wait while a final truck pulls into the parking structure and backs into the ring of vehicle lights.
After the truck halts, the doors are opened to reveal a dozen or so people who are blindfolded with heavy black hoods and cuffed. They are pulled from the truck and led in front of a heavy wall. The concrete behind them is stained with graffiti tags, dark stains, and plenty of pock marks from past executions. Once Krychek has the equipment ready, the interviews begin.
The procedure for evaluating potential employees is to lead one of the potential recruits away from the others. They are asked a series of questions while subjected to a polygraph style test and review by a chip scanner. Lies detected by the polygraph do not necessarily eliminate the recruit at the interviewer's discretion but if the chip scanner goes off, a nearby Hit Team member puts a 10-mm HESH round through their skull. If they pass the tests and meet the standards of the interviewer, the blindfold is removed and the new hire is led to a waiting area to watch and wait.
Following are a list of sample questions, but the PC's running the interview are encouraged to come up with some of their own to fill out the list. The tone of the questions varies greatly and is setup to throw off the recruit's concentration. Usually the Hit Team member who is aiming at the person will loudly flip the safety, cock the weapon, etc. to make them more nervous.
Note: The player running the interrogation is encouraged not to terminate the PC's who are being interviewed out of hand. If they recruits are not able to successfully answer the questions, give too many sarcastic answers, or happen to be a chipped undercover Slop, go ahead and blast them.
During the interrogation, Krychek is anxious to see blood spilled or somebody lose it under the pressure. He is more than a closet sadist and lives for these interrogations and his work as a Chop Doc. Human life isn't worth much to him, but pain and suffering go a long way towards making his day. His hands are visibly shaking as he attaches a contact to the person's arm, chest, and neck then links the wires to his polygraph.
If he gets bored or overanxious, it isn't hard for him to fake the readings since he's the one looking at the panel. The hand held polygraph he is using doesn't show jumps in heart rate and temperature on paper, but shows it on a displays that is too small for anyone else to see. The chip detector however, lets out a loud beeping when a finance chip is found and triggers an immediate attack by the Hit Team soldier. It isn't impossible for Krychek to trigger one of these either, but he won't do this unless all the recruits are looking like they are about to pass. There is a definite advantage to going through the interview first (especially if you are a PC) since at least two of the recruits are going to die because of this maniac. Each time the soldier pulls the trigger, Krychek giggles and watches with glee. If the GM decides that the PC running the interview isn't hard enough on the interviewees, feel free to have Krychek say "You Lie like a Rug" to every question that is answered or trigger the chip detector to beep. That should liven things up a bit.
The following NPC's are among the recruits present for the interviews. Each has their own secrets and quirks that may come out during the interrogation. Alternately, if any of the personalities interest the GM or players, the roles can be played as PC's.
Mona Vaccaro is a tough, small-framed, Hispanic woman who doesn't flinch to any question, but she will smart off. She grew up as one of the favored "little sisters" of a Kiesta "brujo" who was killed two weeks ago by Luis Corado, one of his rivals. Since then, she's been on the run from Corado's people and ran into a recruiter who hooked her up with the interview. The army style jacket she is wearing covers her gang tatoos, and she knows it's useless to deny that she used to be in one.
Notes: She has no compulsion about killing in cold blood, but is terrified of sexual assault. She knows that will be the least of what is done to her if Corado or his people catch up to her.
Paul Ischer is a thin, mild mannered man that looks like he's never seen the outside of his apartment on Fargo block. Dressed in casual dress clothes (including a tie), he's very nervous and tries to give answer that he thinks the interrogator wants to hear. Overall it seems like he isn't cut out for heavy work, but the hard work of loading trim into the truck might do him some good. He warms quickly and manages to be anxious, enthusiastic, and friendly.
Notes: Despite his small frame and mild mannered attitude, Ischer is an efficient cold-blooded killer and sociopath. He has seven kills to his credit, each one attributed to a known serial killer. He is quite capable of giving any answer on the lie detector without it ringing false and is in complete control of himself. This one will come back to haunt the interviewer and needs to be included in the crew as a complication (Section 19.13).
Dewitt is an undercover Cloak Slop who is considering going native. Unfortunately, he is chipped and Krychek makes him straight off. He's popped immediately by the Hit Team, although it takes a number of rounds to drop him due to his enhancements and the fact that he fights back. His sole purpose is to add atmosphere to the interrogation.
Jules Bazin has only avoided failure because of his greed. For a while he was a Shiver, but the pay and graft didn't meet his needs and he quit. For a day and a half, he was a numbers runner in Sector 2 but got rolled and beaten half to death by Johannas since he was in their turf. He figures that he could make a good living at this if he survives.
Notes: Bazin's major motivations are greed, followed by selfishness and he has little regard for anyone. He is a slick operator, a good gambler, and a sharp operator that can run a scam on the best. If recruited, he will make a good hookman but his ambition will probably get him or those around him killed.
Eric Hines is a hunted man. He was involved in a riot four days ago and ended up fighting the Shivers and the Slop squad that was dispatched to quell the disturbance. By sheer luck, a Browbeater round deflected off a brick he was throwing and caught Mason Storm, the leader of the "Men in Black" squad in the throat, killing him. After he was identified on one of the security tapes of the fight, a termination warrant has been issued for him and the squad has picked up the BPN. He began to run immediately and is smart enough to take precautions. He shaved his head, hocked his possessions, dumped his clothes, and hit downtown. He hopes that he can hide in the Skin Trade and make a living.
Notes: Eric Hines real name is Eric Shaver and if recognized, he might accidentally answer to it. He is a desperate man and even though he has never intentionally killed anyone, he is prepared to if it will save his life.
Not all of the recruits will make the cut even though they aren't terminated on the spot. Those rejected are loaded into the truck that they came in and are terminated and dumped or taken to the facility and sold. Those that passed are gathered for a quick debriefing as the Hit Team kicks the rats away long enough to pack any bodies into garbage bags.
The PC who gave the interview usually gives the debriefing and explains the job to the recruits, but Penman steps up and tries to take over. He is a pushy son of a bitch and thinks of himself as superior to "truck grunts". If the PC's let this go, he delivers something like the following speech. Penman seems to enjoy his voice and half-laughs at his own in-jokes during his speech.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate all of you on passing your interview. I have to say that I'm impressed and am really looking forward to working with you. As of now, you're part of an elite, non-SLA organization that is very involved in the customer satisfaction venue. We aren't a soft company, although we are treated like one by Slops and gangs. What we are is a family and we look out for each other.
My name is Randolph Penman and I am a recruiter for a division of the Skin Trade. In the next day or so, I'll speak with each of you to find a place in our family for you that best meets your needs and ours."
If the PCs let Penman take charge, he'll snag the best recruits for his boss Parson and this will piss MacGregor off to no end. For their sake, the crew needs to stand up to him or be prepared to take the worst of the new recruits, pull a lot of dead weight, and take a serious chewing from the boss. It is important that the PC's end up working for MacGregor at the end and this is easily arranged by either Penman disliking the PC recruits, or the PC truck boss successfully standing up to him. No matter what the outcome, Penman is irritated by the PC's and reports the event back to his boss.
Once the introduction is out of the way, the recruits are loaded into a single truck again and transported to the base of operations. The entire event was completed under thirty minutes and the area is again dark and silent after the cleanup team pulls out.
The faction of the Skin Trade that the PC's are part of is based in the old South Hampton Train facility. This area was abandoned in favor of the newer Uptown facilities and was quickly overrun by Carrien. The nearby Leopold block community pleaded with SLA to have the vermin exterminated and the facility cleared, but their requests fell on deaf ears. The community took it upon itself to hire Props and attempted to reclaim the facility for use as a civic center, but failed miserably. They didn't have the money to hire the sort of firepower they needed and finally gave it up, blocking off the area. The Carrien numbers increased and they periodically preyed upon the nearby residents for food.
A few years later, a Trade Scout heard about the facility and gave it a look over, finding it to be suitable for their needs. A small army of well equipped Props and Hit Teams converged on the area and ran a two week Sweep and Clear operation that slaughtered over eighty Carrien including several giant specimens. Immediately, clean up and reconstruction crews began to work to create a new home for the growing organization.
The nearby community was elated when they thought that SLA was finally clearing the site out for them, but then they realized that company had nothing to do with it. Shocked to see a powerful soft company on their doorstep, the community leaders met in council to decide what to do. Before they could report the event to SLA, representatives of the Trade entered the council meeting and offered them a lucrative deal. In return for the community's silence and support, the organization would offer money and protection. The council was persuaded to accept (after all, what had SLA done for them?) and has experienced a greatly improved quality of life. The Trade did indeed fulfill its promises and now provides many jobs for the locals in addition to regular patrols. Once the Skin Traders had moved in, they put up a sign that reads: "Welcome to Hope Inc. We Believe in Strong Family Values". The Trade was now open for business.
The Hope facility includes the original terminal area, several of the abandoned subway tubes, and a number of the surrounding buildings including a converted warehouse that is used as a sales arena. The occupied area is comparable to a medium size airport terminal, but not all buildings are connected. Security is good and infiltration by outsiders would be difficult since the local community easily recognizes strangers.
The majority of the critical operation areas such as administration and communication are contained within the fortified offices of the train terminal core. Security is very tight and the primary garrison and armories are within shouting distance. So far there has not been an attack by Slops, but regular drills are run to maintain combat readiness. There are nearly a hundred combat troops stationed at the facility, but only about a quarter of them are on duty at any given time.
Structures near the train terminal, but not enclosed include warehouses that house the machine shop, vehicles, and medical facilities. Accommodations are far from Spartan for employees (and include a restaurant and a bar called Marla's), but are subhuman for the prisoners who are referred to as stock. These unfortunates are housed within the sealed underground tunnels and escorted to the sales arena as needed. There are thermal charges set in these areas that can be used to incinerate the victims if the facility comes under attack.
The PC's truck follows the rest of the convoy through the Leopold community and to the barricades of the Hope Facility. After a brief check of the vehicle by security (crew check, review of cargo, underbody check), the truck rolls through and is directed to park in Dock # 15. Truck crews are recognized for their efficiency by where they park and a # 15 is near the bottom of the barrel. If the totals are not improved with a full team, MacGregor will come down hard on the PC truck boss and possibly replace them with another crewmember. There is a runner named Ramon waiting for the truck boss that says MacGregor wants to see the Truck Boss now. The rest of the team is left to get acquainted and relax until the trucks roll out at dusk.
As Ramon brings the truck boss to see MacGregor, he warns that the "Iron Maiden" is in a bad mood. They lost another truck today with a full load of cargo and things are getting worse with Parson. He doesn't know much more than that, but is a good source of rumors and theories about almost anything. Ramon is a seventeen-year-old from the local community that has been with the organization since it opened the Hope facility.
MacGregor is a tough woman who's good looks are quickly offset by the "fuck with me and die" presence she projects. Having risen from a truck bagger to the current position of Crew Boss she now has five trucks under her control and micromanages each. She understands that anyone below her is as much a threat as the other three Crew bosses and sleeps with her eyes wide open.
First of all, MacGregor wants to know what happened at the interviews and needs an idea of the sort of people they got. If she finds out that Penman ran over the truck boss, she will fly off the handle, telling that she is disappointed in them then give them a serious chewing. On the other hand, if the PC managed to stop Penman's recruiting attempt, MacGregor compliments them and files the information away for later. Either way she explains that they've lost another truck and she suspects that Parson hired a Prop to take out the crew. Since that vehicle is still missing, she wants the character to see if any of the Crew Bosses have new vehicles and if so to check them out (they don't). If she finds any evidence that someone hijacked one of hers, she will take care of it herself instead of going to the Dock Manager. The situation is growing tense between the two Crew bosses and it is only a matter of time before the fireworks start.
The PC is told that she wants to meet the new recruits in an hour and sends the Truck boss away to get the members together.
When MacGregor shows up to meet the new recruits, she has on her business face and makes it clear that she doesn't tolerate mistakes or insubordination. She assigns the new recruits to fill out the existing crew with three to four people per truck. Fill out the remaining positions with NPCs such as the ones presented in the Recruiting section.
MacGregor answers any questions that the new recruits have and asks some of her own. If she has any doubts about a recruit or the Truck Boss has expressed any, she will grill them until she is satisfied that they are acceptable or that they are a liability. She makes it clear to the new people that they are under probation and that if they feel like they can't handle it, they should tell her know. Provided there are no problems, she tells the Truck boss to get them equipped for tonight's run.
MacGregor wants these newbies on the fast track to be ready for El Fiesta de los Muertos – Downtown's "Festival of the Dead" celebration. For a solid week, sections of downtown will be choked with drunken revelers and she wants to fill her trucks with them. This is one of the Trade's the biggest opportunities and she can't afford to have it ruined without risking her position. Any Crew boss that is unable to take advantage of an event of this magnitude is facing the end of their career.
Each new member is equipped with the following items if they don't have them already:
Raingear, Utility knife, Small caliber handgun and two clips of ammo, A pack of 50 plastic ties used to secure prisoner's legs, Respirator
In addition, each truck is equipped with the following items that can be distributed between crewmembers as needed:
1 12 gauge shotgun with 30 rounds of ammo
1 heavy handgun (FEN 603, KACK, or DN) with 3 clips ammo
2 Stun guns (Tasers)
2 gel pack stunguns with 3 gas canisters and 30 rounds
4 air hypos
10 syringes
2 stun grenades
200 restraint bands
30 pair of hand cuffs
6 pair of manacles
4 chloroform applicators and cloth
2 cans of Pepper spray
The first run will probably be the hardest for any of the characters that are the least sympathetic to the victims. The older characters keep a business state of mind when hunting and may seem callous to newbies. The target and technique that is used will have to be decided by the Truck Boss or by consensus with the team. Several suggestions for targets are listed below. In general, no real problems beyond intercrew interactions should occur on the first run.
Crowds of teenagers can be found hanging around the theaters talking or
waiting to see the latest gore flick. Many of the groups are
in cliques, but only a minor gang presence is here. The difficult part will
be separating targets from their friends without raising
an alarm and drawing a Shiver response.
Targets: Young moviegoers
Options: Solicitation, Smash and Grab
The hoards of homeless children that end up in these abysmal places are
probably not going to go easily when strangers try to toss
them into the back of a truck. If the crew can quickly subdue the adult
employees without an alarm, the orphanage can be stripped to
its bare bones in an hour. This could be considered a reusable source since
SLA will only dump more children here one they're
available.
Options: Smash and Grab, Home Invasion, Block Party
Choosing a tenement (preferably in a bad area), the crew can break into
various apartments and take the residents by force. This
option is for the more combat oriented crews and has a significant chance of
drawing a SLA response. The key is to hit quickly with
enough trucks and personnel to overwhelm and subdue as many tenants as
possible before Shivers or Slops arrive.
Options: Home Invasion, Block Party
Trolling is the most common method for gaining victims. Manufacturing some
story to lure victims to the truck, they are quickly
overwhelmed and loaded. Good areas to hunt could be near schools,
Mallplexes, or subway stations. Lines that the hookman could use
could include anything from a false arrest by "operatives" to a taste test
of the new Captain Contract cereal.
Options: Solicitation, Special Invitation, Smash and Grab.
This is one of the less lucrative methods to get victims since it usually
involves rolling the homeless. Many of the people the crew
finds are going to be badly malnourished and/or diseased. The advantage is
that there is zero chance of SLA intervention since no
one cares.
Options: Solicitation, Smash and Grab
The roleplay element is especially important for the crew as the individual personalities play out. Mistakes that cost the team victims or raise an alarm can create conflicts between the short tempered people (like Vaccaro) or bring about a reprisal (like Ischer).
The first night probably won't be that productive since the team isn't cohesive yet, and the load is far less than the crew remembers. When the truck pulls in for its final unloading, Penman is waiting for them and waits for the crew to leave the truck.
Penman tries to split up the team and seed dissension any way he can. First of all he puts on his friendliest smile and approaches the new recruits individually. He will begin by asking how the run went, expressing his sympathy, and mention that he thinks they are wasting their time. He offers to help them move to a more productive crew where their talents will be appreciated. If he is spurned, he makes a mental note of it and hits another crewmember later. Once he has gauged the reactions of all the new recruits, he begins to work on the older members but brings a couple of escorts from one of Parson's crews (Tomas and Samson).
Several of the older members (especially the Truck Boss) know him and the kind of person he is. If the PC comes across as particularly loyal to MacGregor, he concentrates on insulting the Crew Boss first and then works up to personal insults against the PCs. If the PC gets violent, Tomas and Samson step in and try to pulverize the character. On the other hand, if the PC is willing to listen to his offer he tries to get them on Parson's payroll and will get back to them with the details (see the section called Serious Complications). MacGregor will not try to turn the Truck Boss, but simply resort to heckling to get a rise out of him/her.
Fighting between crews is frowned upon, but the management never takes action unless deadly force is likely. Their standing orders for Hit Teams are to stop a firefight as quickly as possible and while this means gunning down the most convenient party, they often enthusiastically kill both offenders. Of course firefights and "accidents" outside of the facility are not the management's concern. Complaints to the Dock Manager or evidence of escalating tensions will result in armed guards following the teams around to deter trouble.
MacGregor's reaction to Penman's offer is simple. If someone is going to try to disrupt her crew, she needs to send a message to Parson. She tells the PC Truck Boss to select a few crewmembers and work Penman over when he's alone. No firearms or weapons are to be used, but leave him alive and a mess. She wants to make sure that Parson understands she is serious.
14.1 Visiting Penman
Penman is technically a Buyer and can be found nearly anywhere in the facility. If he is given a reason to expect trouble, two bodyguards will accompany him (provided they aren't on the road). The best times to get him are actually when most of Parson's trucks are out or if the team decides to use a little Home Invasion or Rope the Dope on him. If he is left alive, he will actively plot revenge. In the case that the crew kills him, have another member of Parson's group (Nash) step up to be Parson's Buyer and resident pain in the neck.
MacGregor has her crews gathered for their first debriefing after she has received her nightly report including the newbie performance from the crew chief. She asks each new recruit to see how he or she is feeling and answers any questions they have. Afterwards, she takes her teams to Marla's for drinks on her. During the drinking, she tries to find out more about the newbies for her own curiosity.
15.1 Subsequent Runs
The next few days' runs should go much better than the first and the Truck Boss may be able to see the strengths of the team. In time they will probably be successful, but they only have a week to learn to work together. During the sessions, characters like Ischer try to find out about the PC's personal lives. Review the Serious Complication section for details on why.
15.2 Complications
Following are a list of sample complications that can be thrown at the team during their runs before the festival. Most have opportunities for either good roleplay or gunplay if the team wants to start a fight.
As the crews are working the street or piling out to do a Home Invasion/Block Party, a Shiver APC pulls up and a squad of Shivers dismounts. If the crew doesn't do something stupid (like open fire or start clubbing passersby), a portion of the boys in green begin going from shop to shop to pick up their weekly protection fee. While the team watches, a storekeeper gets smart with several of the Shivers and gets worked over then tossed through a plate glass window (or rather into it since it is reinforced with metal bars). The Shivers then loot the register and hit the next shop. If the truck crew is paying too much attention or packing obvious weapons or Trade equipment, the Shiver team hits them up for a bribe to let them walk.
The worst thing that can happen to a Skin Trader may be that they are made by a gang patrol and that is about to happen. Whether it is the Johannas, KT, or Kiestas, if the crews are visibly taking victims they will come under heavy attack. If the gang approaches the truck while the crew is breaking for a meal, they are hit up for "toll tax" if they want to walk away.
Recently four trucks from the organization have either vanished or been destroyed. The one truck that was found by a Hit Team Recovery squad found that it had been riddled with weapons fire and the entire crew had been butchered. As the team is loading victims, an incredibly well armed War World vet attacks the trucks. He is liable to cut down victims, civilians, and crewmembers without regard. Shortly after his attack, a Red BPN is issued to take him down.
While the crew is patrolling, picking up victims, or preparing a violent takedown an Operative Squad approaches them while working a Blue BPN. If the crew is seen actively capturing victims, the Slops immediately engage and attempt to take down the crew. It will be much more fun if the crew is loitering or preparing to pick up victims and has to roleplay their way out of the problem.
While the crew is on patrol, they have an encounter with a rival truck crew. If the crew is actively bagging victims, the rival crew pulls over and begins competing with them on the spot. Heckling and any sort of interference short of gunfire are possible. If this is one of Parson's crews, things could get significantly uglier.
The tensions break into an outright shooting war with the first violent encounter with one of Parson's truck crews. The attack could start with NPC team trying to run over crewmembers or else a drive by shooting. Alternately, the PC's could instigate the fight, but the results are the same. The war between MacGregor and another Crew Boss has gone from mild sniping to all out war. If the NPC's start this, schedule it a few days before the festival begins.
Once the shooting war starts between MacGregor and Parson, the other Crew Bosses with (the exception of Snow, who quietly supports Parson) try to distance themselves. MacGregor makes sure that all of her crewmembers are packing heavier weapons (including SMG's and heavy handguns) and tells them to defend themselves and their cargoes. If the opportunity presents itself to frag one of Parson's crews, she tells them to go ahead and do it but be sure to take their cargo. The only stipulation is that there is no shooting anywhere around the Hope Facility or the Leopold area. She wants to keep this out of the attention of Ikeda the Dock Boss, but unfortunately he has found out and takes immediate action.
The war between the two Crew Bosses goes on for less than a day before Dock Boss Ikeda summons both Bosses with their surviving crews back into the dock area. With everyone gathered, he states quite simply that as of now the violence is over and intercrew warfare will not be tolerated. Every lost life weakens the organization and he cannot permit further damage. As a precaution, he is stationing an Enforcer with each truck crew to keep the peace and states that violators and the respective boss will be dealt with in a severe fashion.
Note: If one of the PC's bought the farm in the crew warfare, the Hit Team member could be taken on as a replacement character.
Neither MacGregor nor Parson will let this drop, and both decide to keep up the conflict, but with much more subtlety. For that reason, a number of other attack options have to be considered. MacGregor considers the Hit Team members on the crews to be a nuisance, but suggests that the Truck Boss buy them off in the case of problems. MacGregor is open to any suggestions that the PC's have to put Parson's crews out of commission.
17.1 Low Intensity Conflict Suggestions
Following are several suggestions for the PC's and MacGregor. The flip side is that these actions could be done to the PC's and they will have to be prepared for these and anything worse the GM throws at them.
Pay off one of the mech crewmembers to cut the brake lines or put holes in the oil pan of one of Parson's trucks. Alternately, one of the PCs could do this, but Parson's people are watching for them and the mechanics are all over everyone's trucks anyway. The PCs better hope that this isn't done to them.
If the PCs wants a permanent resolution to one of Parson's crew, they can purchase the materials to make a bomb and have it planted on a truck.
The Crew could arrange for the rations for the one of Parson's trucks to be drugged or poisoned.
If the Crew isn't strong on combat skills or doesn't want to risk an outright attack, they could always hire a Prop to hit one of Parson's trucks for them.
The PC's could tip off SLA to one of their rival's truck routes. This has the potential to come back on them if any of the targeted crew is taken alive and talks.
If the PC's think that sending SLA after their rivals, how about tipping the Kiestas or Johannas off about some of Parson's routes?
17.2 Gradual Escalation
The tempo of the fighting continues to escalate until eventually Ikeda realizes that the bosses are still fighting. He sits both Parson and MacGregor down and tells them to stop it or he will kill the one with worst production totals. Considering that neither one knows how badly the other side is being beaten, neither one is willing to risk it and they agree to the truce. This gives them time to think about alternate plans and they consider more direct personal attacks.
The "Fiesta de los Muertos" is a week long festival in Downtown that originated several hundred years ago. The festival is a Mardi Gras-like celebration with costumes and floats that honor the passing of loved ones to another, hopefully better life. Characterized by wild block-wide street parties and cheap alcohol, downtown streets are choked with revelers from all over Mort. Shivers hate this time of year almost as much as the operatives that show up since it is pretty much one long riot with Blue BPNs for decoration. Everyone except Cradle's finest has a great time.
The darker side of the festival is that the celebrations bring out every nutcase, crazy, cultist, and serial killer that normally avoid the public light. In the past four years, unknowns and mere amateurs have easily gotten their 15th kill in a matter of hours in pursuit of fame. Luckily, SLA's media knows how easy that is and never devotes any attention to following these untalented hacks (no pun intended). The true urban predators are also there in the shadows quietly taking their victims without drawing attention to themselves.
The Skin Trade, like many soft companies, takes advantage of the mass confusion. While terrorist groups like Darknight can run more operations under the cover of the festival, it's business as usual for the Skin Trade as it shaves stragglers off the mob's perimeter. Forceful or creative methods are unneeded and a crude sign of "FREE BEER HOT BABES SEX SEX SEX" is often enough to fill a truck. With this in mind, there is no way that MacGregor is going to miss it.
For the purposes of hunting during the festivities, double the previously listed yield values or add a +3 bonus to all skill checks. By the third day of the festival, triple the yield values or add a +5 to all skill checks.
The first day of the festival goes without problems and everyone is too busy bagging victims or thinking of a way to commit murder without Ikeda tracing it back to them. Unfortunately another war just started and the truck crews, civilians, and Slops are caught in the middle.
Yesterday evening, a relatively inexperienced operative squad named "Screaming Jesus" entered the Flamingo Club on Yellow BPN to seize a stolen shipment of BLA weaponry. One of the young Slops got nervous and accidentally fired a round off which penetrated the rear wall and seriously injured a civilian who was entering the club. The man who was struck down was no other than Prince Jasper, the headman of the Johannas street gang who was accompanied by a contingent of no less than thirty soldiers. In reprisal, the Johannas slaughtered everyone in the club and on the street with the exception of two of the operatives who were unfortunately taken alive. His supporters swore that the street would run red with the blood of operatives and the riot continued for four hours with over two hundred people dead or injured. Despite the violence, SLA operatives were permitted to airlift the fallen gang lord to a waiting trauma center.
Prince Jasper has ruled the gang for over ten years and was known for his strength of will and air of invincibility. With him incapacitated and no direct heir named, the gang split into two factions lead by his most powerful lieutenants. With Prince Jasper's status unstable, the lieutenants sat down in council to see who would be the acting headman. All attempts at a peaceful resolution failed and the Johannas are now in a downtown-wide civil war.
Brother Gedda is the more rational of the two lieutenants. A one time Contract Killer, he is widely respected for his prowess and is credited with striking the first reprisal for the failed assassination attempt. He has publicly accused his rival of having been behind it and demands retribution.
Brother Camara is the second of the lieutenants and also claims that his rival is behind the assassination attempt. He states that he has too much respect for Prince Jasper to have attacked him. He also adds that if he wants a man dead, he does it by his own hand instead of taking the coward's way like his rival did. He also demands retribution for his fallen leader.
The result is that the normally "safe" festivities are now dangerous as well-armed gangers hit the streets looking for each other and have declared open season on all enemies. While a rational person would stay inside and avoid the festival, the average Mort citizen doesn't think anything of it and continues to party until they drop. Unfortunately the Johannas' declaration of war means that there is a bullseye on the back of every Skin Trader, Shiver, and SLOP that they find. Characters find out about this automatically on the third day of the festival or on a successful streetwise roll.
Bringing in the mother load of trim for MacGregor has just become a lot more dicey.
19.1 Serious Complications
The added chaos of the festival and the citywide gang war is going to make attacks on any truck crews much easier provided they can be found. Again, complications arise including the following additional possibilities:
During the normal operations of the festival, one of Parson's well-equipped crews has found the characters. They attempt to kill or incapacitate every team member and hijack the truck. In a crowd, they may never see them coming until it's too late.
If one of the PCs reacted favorably to Penman's offer earlier on, the GM should play out a meeting between the two. A lucrative offer is made to bring their loyalties over to Parson, but to cinch the deal they have to perform a few favors. This could include anything in the GM's imagination. Suggestions would be sabotage (provisions, weapons, or vehicle), providing driving routes and stops to Penman, or anything up to an all out attack when Parson's people strike. If this character switches loyalties to Parson, he or she could easily spell the end of the truck crew.
Another option is that Snow, one of the other Crew Bosses approaches the characters with the same offer. How it plays out is up to the GM and the character.
Ischer (or a bored psycho NPC on the crew) has become excited by the crowd and can no longer conceal his primal urges. As the team spreads out and works the crowd, he follows behind a senior crewmember to observe. Provided that no one in the crew is watching he tries to stick a 6" combat knife into the side of the neck and cut their throat. Ischer will appear to be upset when the body is discovered (he's a good actor) and explain that he didn’t see who did it. He will repeat the procedure with other crewmembers whenever convenient, but may employ an ice pick or piano wire garrote for variety. At any time he may decide to fade into the crowd and freelance. At the GM's discretion, he could try to abduct a fellow crewmember and will go after female crewmembers first. See the section labeled "A Man in a Box" for details on this option.
A second possibility is for the "Bored Psycho" to decide to go play with the victims that are hanging in the truck. He may decide to rape, torture, or simply butcher the victims but will become frustrated that they are drugged and don't respond well. His next victim will probably be the unlucky member of the crew that discovers him and he will fight until seriously wounded or killed.
19.131 A Man in a Box
If Ischer manages to abduct one of his fellow crewmembers, he takes them back to his apartment in the Fargo tenements for some privacy. He has collected a variety of torture devices and tools and made a number of modifications to the apartment, including a large tub so that he can easily dispose of the bodies without leaving the flat. Whoever is his favorite playmate of the moment is locked in a chest with a 3" x 3" mesh screen to breathe through and taken out for playtime when he wants.
20.1 The Johannas
By the last day of the festival, Prince Jasper is released by SLA Medical Services and ends the bloodshed by killing his two lieutenants. To those around him, he seems a bit different but they attribute it to his ordeal and expect he will recover soon. Peace sweeps quickly over the Johannas and Prince Jasper continues his rule unopposed.
20.2 Justice?
If it can be proven that Parson has been ordering hits on MacGregor's trucks, Ikeda does not take the news easily and orders him terminated immediately. Parson saw this one coming and jumped ship prior to the Troubleshooters looking around for him. Rumor has it that he went to join another organization and he is not out of the picture. MacGregor knows that she has made an enemy for life and will have to watch her back more carefully until someone finally puts him down. A possibility is for her to assign the PC's to locate and kill him, but the details are left to the GM.
20.3 Moving Up
If Parson is gone, Ikeda is missing a Crew Boss and desperately needs to find a replacement. At MacGregor's recommendation, the PC's Truck Boss (if performance in the war is good) can be promoted to the position. That PC just inherited a new world of complications including recruitment, team building, and watching one's back 24/7.
20.4 On Their Own
If Parson manages to prove that MacGregor has been trying to hack him and his crews and has higher totals, Ikeda will order her terminated. She isn't willing to run and will die in a hail of Enforcer/Troubleshooter gunfire, but she may take some of them with her. If the Truck Crew stands with her, they are also probably cut down. If they distance themselves when the hammer falls, Ikeda appoints the Truck Boss as Crew Chief and business continues as normal. There is always the chance that Parson or his crews may hold a grudge and try to extract vengeance against them for the grief they put him through.
20.5 Long Arm of the Law
If one of the characters is an undercover SLOP, they probably have enough information to take down a large number of people including their coworkers. The question is, do they trust the rumors that Cloak is looking for them or do they stay in and try to get at the people higher in the chain? Where are the character's true loyalties?
20.6 SLA Recruitment
An alternate to the Long Arm of the Law is if SLA considers the crew to be a worthy asset that needs to be acquired. While on a run, the truck is stopped by a well-armed operative squad and pulled in to receive an "offer they can't refuse." The undercover Slop's cover does not need to be blown by this, but he or she will probably come under close scrutiny.
20.7 A Secret Admirer
If Ischer survived, he may feel an affinity to the characters and continue to stalk them. The situation will become personal if he learns that any of the team members have dependents. He has no problem building more boxes.
Every one of Ikeda's Crew Bosses lost trucks and/or personnel and he makes recruitment a priority after the festival ends. This time, all of the previously green recruits watch the events from the sideline as the newbies are interrogated, and possibly interrogated. If a continuing campaign is desired, this is an ideal time to add PC's to the cast.
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