To The Cleverest

2026-02-12T20:26:25Z

Sarcarian:

To The Cleverest

2026-02-12T19:34:12Z

Sarcarian:

To The Cleverest

2026-02-12T19:32:19Z

Sarcarian:

2026-01-27T03:54:04Z

Where There's Smoke...

2025-08-25T06:26:37Z

Sarcarian: Created page with "{{AARInfobox|   |Date=2086-08-24  |GM=Sarcarian  |Location=Ork Underground, Seattle Metroplex <!-- Optional: Any..."

{{AARInfobox|



|Date=2086-08-24


|GM=Sarcarian


|Location=Ork Underground, Seattle Metroplex


|Ally=Seattle Volunteer Fire Department
|Ally2=Eddie Moreno
|Ally3=Ghaz
|Ally4=


|RunnerList={{AARCharacterList|Claw|Colcannon|Gigabite|Triage}}
|RunnerCasualties=


|Threat=High


|Metaplot=
|Metaplot2=
|Metaplot3=
|Metaplot4=
|Metaplot5=


|OppositionFaction=Insect Spirits
|OppositionUnits={{AARCharacterList|Fire Ant Caretaker|Fire Ant Scout|Fire Ant Shaman|Fire Ant Soldier}}
|OppositionCasualties=Fire Ant Soldier x5, Fire Ant Scout x3, Fire Ant Worker 3, Fire Ant Shaman x1


|OppositionFaction2=Fire Spirits
|OppositionUnits2={{AARCharacterList|Fire Spirit|Ignus the Incinerator}}
|OppositionCasualties2=


|OppositionFaction3=The Infected
|OppositionUnits3={{AARCharacterList|Goblin}}
|OppositionCasualties3=Goblin x1


|OppositionFaction4=
|OppositionUnits4=
|OppositionCasualties4=


|OppositionFaction5=
|OppositionUnits5=
|OppositionCasualties5=


|Image=
|ImageSize=
|ImageCaption=


|Notes=
|}}

[[Category:Runs]] 

==Summary==
In which the runners assist with containing a fire in the Ork Underground, and end up stumbling onto a fire ant nest.

==Background==
Six months ago, fire ant shaman Ricardo Alfano arrived in Seattle from the CAS and set up shop in the deepest levels of the Ork Underground to avoid the watchful ritual gaze of [[Wychking]]'s bug scrying efforts. Six weeks ago, he managed to snag his sixth victim. Six days ago, he managed to summon a nymph spirit with the potential to become a queen one day. Six hours before the start of the run, a partial merge managed to escape his caretakeer's... care and start a gas fire which has spreed to a large portion of the Renton OU near [[Ghaz]]'s settlement, who called the [[Seattle Volunteer Fire Department]] for aid. The SFVD in turn decided they could use some extra hands, and having worked with the Haven before they knew just who to call.

==The Meet==
The runners are contacted by their fixers and told of an emergency in progress for which assistance has been requested; each of them makes their way to Renton and the OU as quickly as they can, converging on an underground parking garage with a tunnel leading to the meeting spot. There they find Ghaz speaking with [[Eddie Morano]], the SFVD chief, who explains that a large fire has broken out which they are struggling to contain and that more hands on deck are needed to rescue people stuck in the blaze. As well, Eddie thinks the fire was no accident and wants whoever did it - he suspects thrill gangers or over-zealous infected hunters - found and stopped. The team agree to his terms (i.e. low pay for high risk), with Ghaz agreeing to facilitate some mid-grade fake SINs at Claw's request.

==The Plan==
Rescue people. Find the arsonist. Profit.

==The Run==
Getting right to work, the team (minus Gigs, who is extremely large and elects to use her own fireproof coat, sans respirator) head down into the smoke-filled tunnels to begin their heroics; they quickly find themselves lost in the winding passageways, so Triage calls a task spirit to aid in navigation. Thanks to their keen ears, they're able to locate a trapped dwarf family in a small basement - bypassing burning debris and squeezing through tight spaces while enduring the blistering heat, they manage to get the trio of dwarves out of the burning room they're stuck in. Gigabite offers to return them to safety while the others continue on - concerned for the giant and the risk-taking, self-destructive behaviors she's displaying, the rest of the group advocate for sticking together. However, Gigs remembers the way back and is well-armed, insisting she can handle herself and that others need rescue while they stand around arguing, offering to mark the way back so they don't become lost.

En-route back, Gigs hears a strange noise and, being a veteran shadowrunnr, immediately and without hesitation shoots her assault cannon through a wall at it. The sound turns out to have been an immune-to-fire goblin laying in ambush, so she double-taps it and proceeds to rescue a ghoul ork who's stuck in a room nearby; while escorting the nearly-blind ghoul to safety, she says that she killed a monster and to not be afraid. The ghoul asks if the monster had "weird ant parts", mentioning she heard about people being taken by them, and Gigs mutters a 'shit'.. Elsewhere, the rest of the group are ambushed by a trio of fire ant spirits, who manage to surround them - however they prove to be tougher than they look, and defeat the invae after a brief scrape. Re-uniting with Gigabite, they fill one-another in on things and rightly deduce that the fire ants are likely behind the blaze, resolving to find the source and deal with it as well as rescue their victims.

After rescuing a few more trapped or scared citizens of the OU (with Gigabite playing loud rock music to attract attention and give them something to move towards through the blinding smoke), the group track the ants back to their lair with the help of Triage's spirit. Heading deeper underground, they find themselves in a pipe-filled warren with their path blocked by a burning stream of natural gas, where a group of fire spirits menace them - the leader, a free spirit called 'Ignus the Incinerator', says they should be killed so the invae can't inhabit them. Gigabite disabuses Ignus of this notion with a 12-hit intimidation check, and Triage smooths things over by offering an alternate solution - help them deal with the bugs and he'll return the service in kind; Ignus agrees, if only to save face in the fire spirit community, and Triage agrees to bare a ritual burn mark for a month afterword. Since they need Triage's task spirit to help track th ebugs, in order to deal with the stream of fire Gigs wild summons a spirit of the Metroplex Maintenance Workers Union and offers karma if they turn the right valve to shut the gas off.

Finally they come to the entrance to the ant hive, taking a moment to warn Ghaz of the situation in case they don't come back and steeling themselves for what's ahead before proceeding inside in a traveling overwatch formation; the ants are ready for them however thanks to their hive mind alerting them to the deaths of the scouting party, and have prepared a nine bug strong ambush. The resulting fight against a small swarm of hybrid and true forms across physical and astral planes is a tense one, with Gigabite exploding a large hybrid soldier while Colcannon puts her fists and boots through several workers, Triage repeatedly manages to avoid being the mage who gets geeked by spirits, and Claw (channeling her own spirit) contends with true forms on the astral plane. The runners are however able to triumph, proceeding on to the nesting chamber where the bugs victims have been taken to - they find a hole in the ground leading to a room covered in smoldering bug ichor and cocoon-like cysts in the walls, inside of which humanoid shadows can be seen in various states of metamorphosis. In the pit is a giant caretaker spirit and a man in filthy robes with a chitin mask; forewarned of their arrival Alfano has buffed himself considerably and brought backup.

Claw immediately leaps into action, attempting to cut the shaman in half, but ends up cutting a spell instead as Alfano acts quicker to manaball the group before they can split up; thanks to Claw's harmonious defense-ing, they weather thee powerful spell, though the shaman proves to be too quick to easily sword or punch into submission. Instead the party are forced to contend with yet more ant spirits. Down in the pit, Alfano harries Colcannon with illusionary bugs crawling out of her skin while slinging firewater at Claw, who contends with the biggest threat yet - a nymph spirit on the astral plane. Triage spots this and attempts to banish it, however he ends up knocked out with the resulting drain; Gigabite puts up a valiant fight, chainsawing a soldier spirit in half in defense of the unconscious summoner and firing an RPG down the gullet of the caretaker (with Colcannon redirecting its path at the last second), but ends up knocked out in turn by the combined assault of the worker and soldier ants. Ignus the Incinerator manages to turn the tide when he, well, incinerates Alfano after the shaman's defenses are worn down, and Claw manages to defeat the nymph spirit in astral combat while Colcannon, now freed from the debilitating illusion, stomps the remaining soldier and workers.

==Aftermath==
Breaking open the infestation pods, the group identify which bodies have spirits attached to them and which can be rescued from their fates, pulling out the survivors and bringing back mementos of the dead for their loved ones. They report what happened to Eddie and Ghaz, who provide medical assistance to the victims of both the fire and the bugs, glad to hear the shaman and nascent queen are dealt with. Licking their wounds, Gigabite and Colcannon get into a drinking contest, spirits renewed following the harrowing ordeal, while Claw and Triage go home to decompress.

==Rewards==
8000 nuyen

8 karma

8 CDP

+2 SVFD reputation

+2 Skraacha reputation

May join the Seattle Volunteer Fire Department for 2 karma

Initiation ordeal or Mundane ascension, as desired

Optional Contact: Eddie Moreno (C2/L2 SVFD Fire Chief) for 3 RVP or 6 CDP

Optional Contact: Ghaz (C2/L2 Skraacha Sheriff) for 3 RVP or 6 CDP

Optional Gear Reward: Fake SINs (up to R4) @ 2:1 cost

Optional Gear Reward: Firefighting equipment* @ 2:1 cost

*Firefighting equipment includes but is not limited to: Fire-resistant armor, medkits, wool blankets, self-contained breathing apparatti, lighting and power equipment, portable extinguishers, axes, shovels, picks, ropes, pike poles (extendable, two to six meters long), sledges, battering rams, bolt and wire cutters, hydraulic spreaders, power saws, blocks and tackles, portable exhaust fans, stretchers, resuscitators, life nets, scaling ladders, grappling guns, various nozzles, wrenches, and fittings for connecting to hydrants and gas mains, as well as a complete assortment of appropriate drones and hand tools.,

Narrative Consequences:

-A fire ant hive in the Ork Underground is discovered and purged, with the shaman and nymph spirit both confirmed killed; a dozen infestation victims are rescued.,

-The blaze in the OU is successfully contained, with the victims treated by the SFVD/Triage and re-homed by the Skraacha.,

-Triage makes a pact with Ignus the Incinerator to bare a ritual burn mark for a month (i.e next four runs) in the fire spirit's honor.

==Game Quotes==

{{"Can't believe we followed professional smut just to get to a sphincter filled with cysts." -Gigabite}}

==Player After Action Reports (AARs)==

Sarcarian: Updated 'Bros Before Hoes' aspect to 'Community Connections', per discussion in Thematics

{{Infobox
|title = Gunrunner
|image= [[File:Gunrunner.jpg]]
|header1= [[Profession::Weaponsmith]]
|label5 = Contact Owner
|data5 = [[User:Dusk]]
|label6 = Connection
|data6 = [[Connection::6]]
|label7=
|data7 =
|label8 = Public Contact?
|data8= Yes
|label9 = Archetype
|data9 = [[Archetype::Gear]]
|label10 = Location
|data10= [[Location::Seattle, Redmond Barrens]]
|label11 = Metatype
|data11 = [[Metatype::Dwarf]]
|label12 = Awakened/Emerged
|data12 = Mundane
|label13 = Sex
|data13 = [[Gender::Male]]
|label14 = Age
|data14 = {{Age|
|Month=12
|Day=25
|Year=2048
|}}
|label15= Preferred Payment Method
|data15 = Nuyen
|label16 = Hobbies/Vice
|data16 = Tinkering/Drugs
|label17 = Personal Life
|data17 = Single. Has a brother [[Greasemonkey]]
|label19 = Aspects
|data19 = {{GenerateAspectList}}
}}

==Overview==

Giles Bradley (aka Gunrunner), is a dwarf who's almost always jacked up on drugs. He's an obsessive tinkerer and a master gunsmith. He was a good shot, but couldn't make it big in the shadows as a runner. It doesn't matter though He earns a lot of money with his shop in the Redmond Barrens. You can order any weapon, from an Ares Lightfire to a Terracotta AM-47. He's got it all or he can make it for you. He has an older brother, [[Greasemonkey]], who's an automotive mechanic.

==Aspects==
{{AspectTable|

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Weapons Depot
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving weapons and weapon mods.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Ammo Depot
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving ammunition or fuel.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Gunsmith
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving firearms and firearm mods.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=The Bigger They Are
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving heavy weapons.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Exotic Weapon Stash
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving exotic weapons.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Ok BOOMer
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving explosives.
}}

{{PositiveAspect|
|Aspect=Community Connections
|Description= +2 dice to checks involving networking with other dwarves or arms dealers (does not stack).
}}

}}

==Dicepools==
{{ContactDicepools}}

===Player Characters with this Contact===
{{ContactPlayerConnections}}

===NPC who know this contact===
==Narrative Significant Runs==
{{ContactRuns}}
[[Category:Contacts]]
[[Category:Public Contacts]]

__SHOWFACTBOX__