Building Bash
(Lost? Rewind to Part 1)
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It was about two days days after the incident in Northside before the edgerunner crew spoke to each other again. They went through the motions: repairing gear, getting much-needed rest, and tending to themselves in the ways that suited them best.1
Maven was the first to make contact: “Chooms, I got another ping; megabuilding in Arroyo. It’s showed up a couple of times hasn’t moved from the area. You guys wanna meet at the Afterlife first?”
"Yeah, I’ll catch you all there," Thorn said. Hardpoint’s face nodded in agreement from her own box on Maven’s holo: “See you there.”
***
Hardpoint and Maven arrived first, but the doors to the merc bar were still closed to them.2 The two grabbed drinks from the vending machines outside while they waited for Thorn.
The rockerboy turned up fashionably late, but not alone. Accompanying him was a woman with olive skin and short, dark hair, dressed in vintage-style, military chic, including a canvas sling bag with a stenciled, red cross.
“We bringing our significant others now? She doesn’t look like your type.” Maven had developed a little edge since Northside, but her eyes widened - well, one did while the other adjusted its focus when she recognized the new person’s striking, hazel ones. Hardpoint recognized them too: “That’s not Thorn’s new mainline. Back at the self-storage; the REO gonks. The one Wrench let go." The solo’s hand started to reach for her sidearm until she realized where they were.3 The hustle, not to mention every ‘runner in the place, would ice them in minutes if they were gonk enough to start anything. The Afterlife was neutral ground, and highly enforced.
The woman frowned. Thorn laughed nervously and glanced at her while rubbing the back of his head, then back at Maven and Hardpoint. It was funny how different he was when not under the influence of booze, Hardpoint thought. It seems the wild rockerboy was put back in his cage.
“Hehe…it’s not like that,” the rockerboy said. “Remember that bar I went to in the Badlands the other night? I ran into her. We had a good talk over drinks. Err…she did the talking, I did the drinking. Turns out, she knew Wrench. Well, actually, Wrench’s people. She spent some time with them before working for REO.”
The woman nodded and spoke: “That’s right. I was not with Meatwagon for long, but I needed stable work in the city. I knew something was off when my team leader went to talk to a man in a leather coat while we were getting coffee. Our lead then made us turn off our radio and drive to that self-storage place. That’s how we…err…met. I quit Meatwagon after that and took some downtime outside the city as a precaution. I recognized your friend when he went to see a ripperdoc I was assisting,4 but I hung back. I was not sure how he would react if he saw me; probably go for his iron just like you were just about to do.” She looked at Hardpoint, who raised an eyebrow with something like grudging respect for the woman’s attention to detail. Hardpoint had also noticed the woman carried a submachine gun concealed between her medical bag and jacket from the moment she came into view.
“Thorn told me you lost your friend. I’m sorry about that, truly. I didn’t know him, but I know the Aldecaldos. They’re good and honorable people, and your friend let me go when he could have just flatlined me. I think I owe him for that. You know what I can do, and I’d like to help you, especially if things go sideways, God forbid. You can consider me your personal insurance policy.”
Thorn addressed the edgerunners: “What do you think? Hardpoint considered the medtech for a moment and nodded. Her mind had already been made up earlier. Maven brightened, despite her mood: “What do we call you?”
“I hadn’t thought about it, honestly," the medtech said. "I know most of you don’t use your real names. I don’t really care. I’m...”
“Insurance!” Thorn interrupted her with a smile. “Welcome to the crew!”
Insurance smiled back and nodded.5
***
Thorn had another reason for being late to the crew’s meeting at the Afterlife. In addition to bringing Insurance, he did a little legwork. He found out through his music scene contacts that there was a secret party happening on the roof of Megabuilding H4 that evening. He was sure that Dalton would be there, since according to Maven, the ping in the area never really stopped. Hardpoint wasn’t as skilled a driver as Wrench, but they made it to Arroyo from Watson quickly.
The rooftop party was packed with crowds of people dancing, drinking, and indulging in other vices; not a single, BD gonk among them, though. This was real living: raw, unedited; maybe a little unsafe: the way Thorn liked it, but he was on the job, and the sporadic memories from his own bender a couple of nights ago still made him feel ill.
The rockerboy started a group call with the crew over the holo, so they would be able to communicate with each other over the thumping music. “Split up. We have a better chance of finding Dalton that way.”
Thorn navigated the crowd. He thought he saw a flash of yellow, but a caressing hand on his shoulder and chest stopped him in his tracks. It took a moment to recognize who it was in the strobbing, multicolored lights, but the dual-toned, high-volume hair jogged his memory.
“You didn’t call me!” It was the “groupie” from the other night. What was her name? Gina? No. It was a little longer, more exotic. Giella, Gianella?
“Ah…sorry. Been busy with work…composing. Sad song; needed the space,” he yelled back over the loud music.
“I’ll cheer you up! Let’s dance!” she took a sip from the small, glowing straw in her drink and moved her chromed, dancer’s body closer to the rockerboy’s, swaying to the music. The chromatic lights highlighted, silvery EMP line patterns on her face. It was going to be difficult to extricate himself from this; for a number of reasons. Shit.6
***
Insurance scanned the crowd from the safety of the impromptu bar near the DJ’s booth. No sign of a yellow jacket; not that it would be easy to spot with the dance lights. Still, something was off. The people were off. There was a lot of sweating, which was normal for such a crowded party, even though it was outside. The weather was warm. She noticed a lot of pale faces, too; even the ones with darker skin; and coughing, lots of coughing. There’s something going around, and it isn’t just the alcohol, drugs, and potential STIs, but that last one was in the right category: sickness.7
The group call interrupted her thoughts. It was Maven. Hardpoint was next to her, game face on, searching the crowd. Thorn’s image was shaky, showing a jumble of moving body parts that didn’t necessarily belong to him, and…was that giggling? His face appeared, but his expression looked distressed. Maven yelled: “We found Dalton! He’s…”
“NCPD!” The dance music and lights turned off suddenly, leaving only harsh, maintenance lamps shining over the area. The crowd looked like compromised cockroaches under a flashlight.
The amplified, authoritative voice continued: “This building is under quarantine! Everyone go back inside in an orderly fashion! Do not leave the building!”
The edgerunner crew managed to reconvene in the crowd’s confusion, as far away from the NCPD officers as possible. They lost sight of Dalton, though.
“What do we do?” Maven whispered. Hardpoint was still searching for Dalton in the crowd. Insurance looked nervous.
“Over here!” Thorn said. He was standing next to a maintenance grate by a nearby vent. The rockerboy was able to lose his new input in the crowd somehow. “I was a megabuilding rat. We used to gonk around in maintenance tunnels like this all the time. Maven, you got a multitool with you?”
“Yeah! Duh!” she replied.
“Great! Help me open this.” he said.
***
The edgerunners wandered the megabuilding's labyrinthine maintenance tunnels for almost an hour. It was stuffy here. The fans just seemed to recycle the stale air, and they were all sweating; Insurance more than the others. Hardpoint glared at Thorn: “I thought you knew these maintenance vents.”
“I said I was a megabulding rat. I didn’t say I grew up in this one.” Thorn was a little confused. He was sure these megabuldings were cookie-cutter; they certainly looked it, but the layout was different from what he remembered. 8
“What’s wrong Insurance?” Maven asked. “Are you ok?”
The medtech sighed. “This is probably not the best time for this, but I may be a...person of interest in NCPD records,” she said. “It would be best for everyone involved if we didn’t have an encounter with them.”9
“Preem.” Hardpoint said sarcastically.
“That grate right there should lead to the parking garage.” Thorn grinned. “Told you I knew my way around!”
***
The crew followed a vent that ended in another maintenance hatch with a view of the parking garage. The lights were dim, but flashes of blue and red light could be seen from an NCPD vehicle parked to block the way for any vehicles attempting to leave.
From their hiding place, the edgerunners could see two officers talking to each other beside the vehicle. But one, a young rookie from the looks of it, was patrolling the parking garage itself. Not close, but within sight of their position if they emerged from the maintenance grate.
“Shit!” Thorn whispered. “There’s the stairs out, but we have to make it past those cops.” He pointed towards the far end where a green “EXIT” sign existed above a door.
“I got an idea.” Maven whispered back with uncharacteristic resolve. “I’ll keep the cop busy while you sneak behind the cars to the door.”
“Are you sure?” Hardpoint whispered with concern. Insurance nodded with even graver concern. This might not be the best course of action...then again, they didn't have any better ideas; at least not ones that wouldn't involve flying bullets.10
“Don’t worry, sister. Trust me,” Maven said. She mussed up her hair a little, tied her jacket around her waist, and adjusted her “Melting Hottie” top to show some skin. The tech emerged from the group’s hiding place while the patrolling cop's attention was turned elsewhere, and activated her own, tribal-meets-Asian-style light tattoos (the crew had no idea she had those.11) Maven affected a drunken stumble reminiscent of Thorn’s from the other night. It was a pretty good impression. Thorn was a little embarrassed.
"Hahaha! Heeey! Whoops!" Maven deliberately tripped and stumbled onto the young patrolman. He didn’t go for his service weapon, though; extending his arms to catch the drunken laser-raver Maven pretended to be instead.
“Ah…sorry, officer.” Maven brushed her multi-color hair away from her cybereye and looked up at the young cop. He was cute, and his aftershave smelled good. If circumstances were different, she would have asked for his detes. Hah! Who was she kidding? She’d be too shy to. “Eyes on the prize, Maven!” she thought. “Pretend it’s one of your gonk romance virtus.”
The young rookie was unsure how to act, but he wasn’t necessarily alarmed, or repelled by Maven. He composed himself and became professional. His colleagues might be watching: “Miss, you can’t be down here.”
“Ah...I’m not from here, and I lost my friends,” Maven said with a pout. Shit! One of his colleagues was watching! She tried to move in a direction away from her crew so the cop would turn towards her and his back to them (the other cops’ eyes to her as well.) The edgerunners took advantage of the opportunity and began to creep from one car to another towards the exit.
“There’s a shopping center and food court two floors up. You can take the stairs. The elevators have been disabled.” The young cop pointed with his thumb behind him in the direction of the stairs. “You might not be able to get to your friends just yet, but you can get in touch and maybe wait for them there.” Maven could see that her crew had made it all the way to the end of the parking and through the exit. She stumbled to leave: “Thanksh, offisher! You’ve been preem helpffful!” Ok, you’re overplaying it now. Tone it down! The officer stopped Maven. Her blood froze in her veins.
“Uh…sorry Miss, but...ah...do you like Melting Hottie? I went to their concert at Riot last month; real preem. You wanna…talk about them over coffee sometime? Sorry if that’s inappropriate.” The rookie had a puppy-dog look to him that was not unlike Maven’s; like a mirror image of each other.12
“Uh…wha? Hahaha! Yeah! Sure!” Maven’s nervous tension deflated. "God! That sounded cringey," she thought, but her excitement dispelled her self-consciousness. The blue LEDs in her custom cybereye flickered as she passed the young cop her detes.
“Thanks!” He smiled. “Listen, go straight to the floor I told you about upstairs. Don’t go all the way downstairs. There are more of us at the bottom floor. We have the building locked tight.”
One of the cops by the car yelled suddenly: “Schmit! Quit gonking around! Stuff it on your own time!” It was either the rookie’s partner, or superior. The one next to him glanced at Maven and the rookie briefly with a smirk under his stereotypical cop-stache before turning back to talk to a female cop in the NCPD vehicle’s driver’s seat.
She said: “Aw! Leave him alone, you gonks! We don’t get a lot of time for romance. Let him have it while he can.” Her smile faded as she stared past the windshield and muttered: "Plenty of time for disappointment later..."
Maven’s gait was more skip than stumble as she left for the exit. The rookie returned to his patrol, but he was skipping inwardly as well.
***
The information from the rookie cop came in handy, as the edgerunner crew avoided the bottom floor and used another maintenance tunnel that took them to the sewers and away from the megabuilding. They emerged from a manhole cover next to an empty lot where they had parked their van.
“Well, that was a bust. Sorry, chooms.” Thorn said.
“No, not exactly.” Hardpoint said, producing an Arasaka submachine gun with a pink skull design from inside her jacket. “Dalton dropped it on the floor when he spotted us. Plus, we know where he is now, and unless he’s familiar with megabuilding vents, he’s not going anywhere for a while.” Hardpoint grinned wolfishly. “And even if he did, all we have to do is wait for him to move, then follow him, and pounce.” The solo started the van. It seemed to Thorn that Hardpoint's quiet intensity was a little frightening sometimes.
“Preem! Maven, you’ll keep us posted on the tracker, right?” the rockerboy said.
“Uhh…sure!” Maven was sincere, but her mind was somewhere else. It smelled faintly of aftershave and good manners.
***
As the edgerunner van faded into the distance, a refurbished, ARCH Nazare cycle with Valentino colors revved up. Spike got a good deal on this one – a reward from Maria for having tracked the edgerunners to El Coyote Cojo, and continuing to do so. She watched them leave through the neon-lit visor of her helmet, then sped off from a construction site across Megabuilding H4, and towards Heywood. She activated her holo to make a call.13
To be Continued...
Game Notes
1 This part's downtime was strictly healing, repairing, and buying/selling gear. Nothing significant to report.↩
2 Since the beginning, I thought of this group as members of a figurative rejects table in a high school cafeteria. The GM oracle confirmed this by giving me a hard “no” when I asked if they could go inside the Afterlife. They're just not "cool" enough...yet.↩
3 Technically, Hardpoint doesn’t have a sidearm on her sheet, just the assault rifle and Mantis Blades, but it seems in character for her to have one. In the video game, V has a Unity pistol during cut scenes no matter what their weapon loadout is. I’ll remedy this discrepancy by buying a sidearm for her later.↩
4 I rolled up a few medtech "friends" for this crew for some reason. It wasn't much of a stretch to imagine Wrench and Insurance knew the same one, given their nomad connection.↩
5 When I considered another pregen to replace Wrench, I thought it would be good to have a “cleric” – someone that could fight, heal, and help prevent or mitigate casualties. I got a “yes” from the GM oracle when I asked it whether Insurance was the REO paramedic that Wrench had spared in the first encounter. I’m also leaning on the “cleric” bit by making her straight-laced, maybe even religious. The lifepath I rolled for her is pretty interesting. She’s a definitely multi-dimensional character, and not necessarily what she seems, or the personality she presents to others.↩
6 The adventure suggests that a fixer or rockerboy can easily find a contact or fan here, but I was tired of the same, "Hi! I'm a fan!" type of encounter, so I asked the GM oracle if it was the "groupie" from the downtime encounter before, and got an exceptional "yes."↩
7 According to the adventure, a medtech doesn't even need to roll to notice this. Choosing Insurance is already paying off!↩
8 I failed the necessary roll with Thorn, badly, which was pretty funny, considering his background. ↩
9 Part of her lifepath results, of course (Family Crisis: "Wanted")↩
10 According to her lifepath, Hardpoint values “family,” but she has none, and lost the closest thing to it (twice!) I imagine that she is like a rescue dog that has lived on the streets for too long. Overly cautious and even vicious, but with the right “family,” they can become loving and loyal, not to mention a fierce protector of their “pack.”↩
11 Me neither. I found them on her sheet while I was trying to figure out how to make it through this encounter without a firefight. I was a little...err...gun-shy after the Northside ambush.↩
12 I believe this was an interrupting event after asking the GM oracle a question about whether the crew was good to go (even though they succeeded with their Stealth rolls.) I interpreted the result as the cop asking Maven out, but it seemed weird for him to do that without having something in common. Therefore, I figured they’re of similar age and demeanor, and now “Melting Hottie” has become a band in my personal, Cyberpunk head-canon. I also made a mental note of this event. The cop could end up becoming a contact or even a lawman PC at some point.↩
13 I made this up (with the help of the GM oracle) to explain how the Valentinos found the PCs at El Coyote Cojo (and later.) I asked the GM oracle about the motorcycle (the one at Tom’s Diner) and it “lied” with a “yes.” Reading through the adventure again later, I realized it’s actually a Brennan Apollo, so it couldn’t be the same bike Jackie gets (and V inherits.) I’m rolling with it, though; my campaign.↩
Bonus: Megabuilding Encounters (1d10)
Here are some potential encounters that could occur while players are wandering around one of the many megabuildings in Night City. Some of these could turn into short adventures themselves.
- Locked Out! A distressed tenant is banging on their own apartment door, pleading to be let back in; they've been locked out due to unpaid rent. The tenant will offer the players some eddies to help them bypass the door (doesn’t get paid til next month, though, and what will they do about rent then?) Opening the door requires a DV13 Pick Lock, or Interface Check. A DV15 BODY Check to force it open the door with brute force is also possible. However, failing either roll or going the physical route activates security bot(s) for that floor (one per PC.) Security Bot: HP 30, SP: 10 (all); MOV 4, WILL 4, INT 3; Combat Skills: Brawling 10, Evasion 7, Shoulder Arms 10; Weapon: Power Assault Rifle (5d6 DMG, Ammo 24).
- Domestic Dispute. The players can hear shouting down a hallway or open apartment. A couple is in the middle of a heated argument (roll 1d6): 1-2: one is yelling at the other, who huddles in fear; 3-4: the aggressor is actively violent; 5-6: they are both yelling at each other and throwing things. They may both attack if the PCs intervene. Use boosterganger “mook” stats for the aggressor(s).
- Extortion at the Noodle Shop. Members of the local gang (one “mook” type per player) are shaking down a shop owner at a convenience store or eatery inside the megabuilding. The gangoons are collecting their “protection fee” for the month, but the owner can’t pay and is on the verge of getting brutalized. The gangoons have backup (half again the number of gangoons, round up) watching from the shadows, with a DV13 Perception check for the PCs to notice them. The PCs might have to consider whether it’s worth stepping in.
- Grizzly Crime Scene. The area is cordoned off with NCPD holo-tape, but the PCs can see it looks bad (blood splattered on the walls and such.) It could be the standard, Body Lotto number, a gang hit, serial killing, or worse (see “Join Us…” below.) The cops seem tense, keeping anyone from the area without a good reason. A curmudgeonly Lawman is smoking while grimly observing the scene nearby (could be a friend from a PC's Lifepath.) No potential witnesses will to talk to the detective, so she might need “private contractors” to assist her with this case.
- Cyberpsycho or Victim? Someone has barged into one of the apartments, yelling and carrying on, terrifying the resident(s.) Roll 1d6: 1-2 – they are just a troubled person, drunkard, or junkie (incl. BD,) and can be talked down or convinced to leave, 3-4 – it’s an edgerunner freaking out and on the run after a gig gone wrong (“Game over, choom!”) What happened, and are the PCs now involved?; 5-6 – they *are* a cyberpsycho, and they’re about to pop (some heads!) Regardless of the result of the roll, MAX-TAC has been called.
- We Can Replace Your Meat Wholesale! Graffiti indicates that an unlicensed ripperdoc works out of an apartment here (DV9 Streetwise Check to notice.) Roll 1d6: 1-2 – they have amazing deals (“half off!”, “BOGO!”,) but the cyberware malfunctions at the worst possible moment, such as a critical failure. If the PCs return, the ripperdoc has pulled up the tent stakes and moved their scammy business elsewhere; 3-4 – the ripperdoc has a custom item that is better than the standard version for double the cost (Sandevistan prototype, anyone?) Of course, someone is likely looking for it; 5-6 – They work with scavengers. In fact, one or more of the PCs are now marked for “restocking.”
- The Jumper. Someone has had too much of this dystopia and they are considering jumping to the courtyard several floors below. There are a few curious bystanders, but sadly, no one seems to care. Can the PCs talk them out of it? Whichever Social skill(s) they use to do so, they need to succeed at three attempts at DVs 9, 13, and 15. Each success also means that they can get closer to the jumper without them freaking out (and jumping.)
- The Cleaner. An automated cleaning drone (roll 1d6): 1-2 – is overperforming and believes the PCs to be "dirty…bzzt…dirty…bzzt…dirty"; 3-4 – is malfunctioning and causing mayhem with tenants on this floor, but is otherwise harmless. If they can stop or fix it, the thankful tenants may assist the PCs with something they need, such as information; 5-6 – it has been hacked by Voodoo Boys and it is about to murder a target marked for a hit; like "The Jumper" above, but the victim is about to be involuntarily “suicided.” Why? Megacorp secrets, most likely. Cleaning Drone: HP 35, SP: 5 (all); MOV 5, WILL 3, INT 2; Combat Skills: Brawling 10; Weapon: mechanical arms (2d6/2d6 DMG.)
- You Do Not Talk About [Censored.] It’s fight night! There is a group gathered in an out-of-the-way or gym area within the megabuliding, watching two combatants about to go at it. Roll 1d6: 1-2 – players can place bets; 3-4 – players can participate in the fight (roll 1d6: Even – “mook” stats, Odd – “lieutenant” stats;) 5-6 – bets are fixed by local criminals or gang. Their fighter is a ringer that looks like a “mook” but has “mini-boss” stats. Even if the PC wins, the gang may target them for ruining their scheme.
- Join Us... The PCs have come across a gathering of religious people inside the megabuilding. Roll 1d6: 1-2 – they’re weird, but nice; some of them are even attractive! If a PC is friendly, they get a free, prepack snack and a drink, plus daily, religious spam over the holo from then on; 3-4 – they're unfriendly, and get in the PCs’ faces about their “unholy and profane” chrome; 5-6 – as 1-2, but they’re a dangerous cult, and may be associated with “Grizzly Crime Scene” above.
This material based on the Cyberpunk Edgerunners Mission Kit is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.
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