To Chain The Beast
| To Chain The Beast | ||||||||||||
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| Part of To Be Announced | ||||||||||||
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| Factions Involved | ||||||||||||
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ShadowHaven Black Lodge Charon | Urubia | Reality Hackers | Crimson Crush | Cutters | ||||||||
| Halloweeners | ||||||||||||
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Wraith Heracles Brunhilde Ty Vallynn |
Decker Promea Shaman Jangjemba Adept Eustace | Security Spider Gangers | ||||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||||
| 3 points of Edge burned, Brunhilde's shell was wrecked completely, Heracles and Ty went into critical condition. | ||||||||||||
Summary
Urubia's attacked by a team of runners sponsored by the Black Lodge; they take out the cornerstones protecting the dragon in her stronghold, allowing a bolt of lightning to smite her from the skies.
Background
Fully cognizant that Knight-Errant and Lone Star are squaring up to try and shake up the security contract for Seattle, the local Seattle lodges of the Black Lodge take advantage of the increasingly warhawkish police force management and reward them for arresting key gang figures in an accelerated amount of raids into E-rated security zones like the Redmond Barrens. The strikes target various influential gang members associated with the two dragons of Redmond, Urubia and Kalanyr. After being hit with Ares' warhead in the events of The Great Wave, Kalanyr's influence is already waned in recent times. Urubia's only grown bolder after subduing the West Coast Monolith's continuing assassinations, resulting in the Lodge's hatred targeting her specifically. Now that the gang connections she has have to be rebuilt with the vacant positions, there's opportunity for a killshot.
The Meet
The gang's invited to Charon's penthouse for discussing the finer details. She showcases that KE's increased aggression's allowed her to finesse a way of infiltration for runners into the trio of funhouse buildings that wouldn't previously have been palatable for almost any team. She elaborates dossiers on the three cornerstones Urubia's draconic protection ritual hinges on. These are blood bonds which, if eliminated, will open the dragon for a direct strike.
- The Malaysian shaman, Jangjemba, who previously operated as a Huk pirate but appears to be fulfilling some kind of blood debt to Urubia by serving under her.
- Decker Promea, an Ares SINner who's run operations in Chicago previously during the infestations. Heracles' research shows her to be a Monad that Ares allows to work under Urubia. Notably has survived MCT assassinations before.
- Troll Eustace, a supposedly mundane or physical adept troll with a Mitsuhama Kuro cybersuite installed. Unknown where he is in the building, only that he's the most durable muscle around.
The gang's offered a six figure bounty in exchange for this gig, and after some trepidation they agree, getting a hotel room in Downtown to plan their assault from.
The Plan
Identifying during legwork that Halloweeners are providing supportive mages to Jangjemba and Reality Hackers are tertiary spiders for Promea, the team performs a long con to slip Ty and Heracles in as low level gangers sent to help the local newbie managers. They'll approach from the basement where the Crimson Crush is situated mostly, then head upstairs and locate targets, then have Wraith and Brunhilde assassinate them through walls after they're Tagged! by Heracles. Good plan all around; Eustace is a wild card due to his wandering nomad nature, but they prepare C4 charges as an ambush in case their assassinations of the other two alert him to move upstairs.
The Run
Infiltration goes well and Heracles prepares almost everything with Ty; they get to their respective floors, tag both Jangjemba and Promea through walls and line up killshots. Jangjemba is instantly dead from a sniper shot after Ty uses Mana Static to deprive her sustained spells and protections with a Looking Glass spell. He activates sprinklers with a lighter, causing the fire elementals guarding the floor to flee.
Promea is a tougher nut to crack. She survives the surprise attack and Heracles' attempt to dismount the monad personality fails, causing him to get data spiked into overflow oblivion in the staircase. Alert is raised and Wraith and Brunhilde clear the rooftop of Red Hot Nukes to head downstairs. Ty gets bursted down by an automated rotodrone security and the Halloweeners begin hauling him off for interrogation when the street samurai and rigger interfere. Urubia's enraged roar shakes the building as a fire spirit appears to intercept the infiltrators. Brunhilde's thrown off the building all the way down to the main party floor by the great pillar of fire while Wraith tries to extract the unconscious, dying Ty.
Heracles manages to sneak online after waking up thanks to a novocaine injection and activates Ty's nanites remotely, causing him to rouse from slumber. Having survived the fall as a cyborg, Brunhilde slams her C4-loaded shield at the spirit and blows it to kingdom come, allowing her to climb back up with her digging claws. Reunited, the party heads back to the decker floor where a preliminary Blackwagon ghoul's devoured most of the Reality Hackers (Heracles convinced her that Heracles would get her the augs in Promea's body if she did this). Promea's pinning the party in the stairwell with a ceiling turret, but Heracles manages to data spike the host-slaved turret, allowing Ty and Brunhilde to charge her for a one-two Lightning Bolt and C4 hug. This destroys the cyborg's body as well, but she made the sacrifice knowing how incredibly durable the monad decker was. Wraith charges in with Stick n Shock flechette to make sure the nanite clumps are fully fried and the whole party retreats as the Lodge's red lightning smite crashes down, drilling a burning hole through every floor in the building.
Aftermath
Having suffered serious damage, the party's in no position to double tap Urubia and retreat on their helicopter toward Downtown. Thanks to Charon's whitelisting and strings pulled, they're not shot down by Seattle's air security and are given free escape from the Funhouse. She later congratulates them on work well done and intends to watch the chance for Redmond's future improvement and development. Urubia discreetly retreats to an unmentioned hideaway lair with dozens of obfuscation wards somewhere in the Salish Sidhe Council, weakened to the point of death. Her absence becomes apparently noticeable as the Queen of Redmond's throne becomes vacant and gangs start grabbing for power one after another. The power vacuum grows in violence and is only held in place initially by KE's aggressive raids and arrests of criminal elements.
Rewards
- 100,000 Nuyen (50 RVP)
- 2 CDP
- May purchase gear for: Betaware augs, electronics (decks, RCCs, components), vehicles
- Mundane Ascension for Wraith and Brunhilde, Initiation Ordeal for Ty, Submersion Ordeal for Heracles
- May upgrade Charon's Loyalty by 1 (for 1 RVP) or take her as a contact (for 16 CDP or 8 RVP) as an 8/1.
Run consequences
- Urubia's crippled by a bolt of crimson lightning drilling through one of the three towers of the Funhouse. She flees Seattle to an unknown lair to recover in a paranoid frenzy, leaving Seattle's gang landscape completely embroiled in chaos. Seattle's Ex-Mayor Sonya Scholl openly declares this a great opportunity for Redmond to begin growing as a borough.
- Knight-Errant takes this opportunity to sweep in and make over 20 arrests of various notorious gang members in E-rated security zones. Public opinion of KE's aggression is generally positive.
Tailored Gear Rewards (max. base Avail 24)
- Charon offers Ty R14 Lodge Materials. He pays off one of two favors to Crescent-Slash.
- Brunhilde's given the option to acquire weapon mounts of any scale to her helicopter as well as lifestyle modifications for landing helipads in any security rated area in Seattle at Gear Rates.
- Wraith can keep Eustace's Pocket Cannon, a TA AM-47 w/ Stock Removal, Short Barrel, Custom Look, Improved Range Finder & a 300-round Extended Maker Mag (Total price: 82,320 Nuyen, half with Gear Rates). The Maker Mag is coded to +DV Handload APDS.
- Heracles is offered a gamut of deck materials and gear discounts on literally any skillsoft he wants.