[Shadowrun] Zero Zone: The Last Run

[AlphaZ]

I'm guessing Rambo III happened outdoors, rather than inside a secure facility? There's not a lot of places to hide in a place like this... Are there?

[Maghnuis]

Originally Posted by AlphaZ

I'm guessing Rambo III happened outdoors, rather than inside a secure facility? There's not a lot of places to hide in a place like this... Are there?

Lots of places to hide. Each with a camera, microphone and possible pressure plates.

[Preacherwolf]

Originally Posted by AlphaZ

I'm guessing Rambo III happened outdoors, rather than inside a secure facility? There's not a lot of places to hide in a place like this... Are there?

To be clear if it helps, the Zero Zone is an entire forested island. There are both indoor, outdoor and underground facilities.

[MarlyBlackwater]

Name: Andrej Kortsonis
Handle/Street Name: Mason Grim
Metatype: Troll (Minotaur)
Role: Muscle/Samurai

Personality: Andrej is a professional shadow soldier. Get in, do the job, get out. Leave no one behind. He doesn't have a whole lot of "friends" outside the job, given his sense of humor is flat and he has a hard time relating to other people who aren't chock full of artificial parts. He can be friendly, but he can also be standoffish or outright solitary in a crowd. Every now and again, he gets shakes, mostly in his hands and arms but they are noticeable.

Background: Andrej grew up in a mostly Greek community in a low-rent portion of the Atlanta Sprawl. Life in the CAS for a non-human, of course, included a lot of pronounced racism. Naturally, being nearly 7 feet tall by the time he was seven, helped keep most bullies away. He was the eldest of three sons to a CrashKart medic and a diner waitress. His brothers, Nikolos and Mathias, both have their own jobs at this point. The former working for a rental car place, and the latter following in dad's footsteps working as a Kart rigger.

Street life being tough is an understatement for a lot of people, and Andrej took to one of the few things that he really could apply his natural talents to. Crime. I'm talking about crime. By the time he was fully developed, around 9 years old, Andrej was just a hair over 3m tall (horns included) and pushing nearly 140 kg. Needless to say, getting in with the street crowd became a little easier when he had expressed an interest in handling jobs for some of the local gangs in exchange for cred, and honestly, a little respect. He'd seen how most humans would look at him. Of course, this all changed once a rather large and influencial Seoul-pa family moved into their district and quickly moved to shut things down for everyone not with them.

Andrej'd made a true street name for himself in his Atlanta hood as a street tough and muscle for hire. Given his imposing nature, he'd become a mark to be dealt with by the Jab-Jong family. One late evening, when he was sixteen, he'd been walking home in the late evening when several people clad in black jumped from the shadows to attack him. He'd managed to punch one of them out with a haymaker, but the rest, armed with stun batons and gloves, quickly wore him down until he was unconscious. He'd had several strange dreams, a hazy recollection of seeing through a haze. He remembers smelling copper in the air. Hearing the clank of metal on metal. There was.. an emptiness in his gut. Not metaphysically, but literally. He couldn't move, and he knew he heard people around him speaking Korean but he'd quickly pass out. The last thing he remembered, there was a loud crash that had somewhat pulled him from unconsciousness. There was shouting and the sounds of a struggle somewhere nearby. Before slipping back into the darkness, he heard a soft voice whisper in his ear, "Don't worry, we've got you."

The minotaur was in an induced coma for nearly a month. He awoke to find himself in a rather large hospital bed. He felt strange. Like, as if he just wasn't himself. That's when he'd pulled his gown up to look down and see his torso covered in surgical dressings. Throwing off his sheet, he finds his legs in a similar situation, as well as his arms. This is when the panic started to slowly kicked in as the image link in his eyes came live, as a remote connection activated his new implants taking readings from his biomonitor. A few minutes later, a doctor as well as an ork in a rather sharp suit entered his room. The doctor droned on a bit, and Andrej let his head rest back on the pillow as he went through everything that they'd done to him. He found out that he'd been taken to a back alley chop shop to be sold for parts. The suit, a man only known as Solomon, explained that he had a vested interest in finding him. A mid-level security executive for the Horizon corporation, he'd offered Andrej a future that didn't involve street living. With the promise of being able to move his family with him, he'd been relocated into the UCAS, coming into Horizon's corporate enclave in Seattle.

Andrej'd spent nearly ten years working HTR for Horizon, making something of a name for himself within the security division of the company. That was, at least, until he had a fateful encounter with a team of shadowrunners who had infiltrated a secure facility that he oversaw. It was nearly 2AM when the runners had broken in. They'd moved quietly and got deep into the facility. However, when their decker had jacked into the internal host, he'd managed to trip and alarm, and Andrej quickly responded to the call. By the time he'd arrived, two of his men already lay in bloody heaps on the floor, and he could hear the frantic discussion at the end of the hall around the corner. Then it hit him. Struck him really, as he heard.. that voice.. again. That soft voice when he was rescued. Calling out, he tossed his shotgun out into the hallway and stepped around with his hands up. One of the runners put a long burst into his chest, though his natural toughness and security armor soaked up most of the impact. With a shout, a smaller African elf, laid her hands on the other woman's sub machine gun, recognizing the giant of a man at the end of the hall. The two spoke, and in the end, he'd made the decision to let them escape with their paydata.

Naturally, he knew that his career was over. Given the choice between service to his Corp, or repaying a debt he felt he was obliged to, he had no regrets. He'd packed up a few belongings, and managed to talk his way onto a pacific-bound freighter to Neo-Tokyo. Having no cred, no identity (His corporate SIN being burned), no contacts, it was a true struggle to do anything. His only saving grace was his ability to speak Japanese well enough to actually express himself.

Here we are, nearly ten years after that. Andrej, who refers to himself in the shadows of Neo-Tokyo as "Mason Grim", he's made a new name for himself. Unorthodox, to be sure given his metatype, but useful in a number of ways. He has his skeletons, just like anyone else, but you can rest assured. We're all coming back from this.

Why are you taking this job?: Omae, I'm getting old. Like, Troll old. I'd kinda like to live awhile longer, and you know, finally get that big payday everyone dreams about and retire somewhere that has drinks served in coconuts with those fancy umbrellas. That fabled myth of 'living the high life' for a shadowrunner. I'm ready to call it quits after this.

Player Note: I want to be very up front about this, I have yet to participate in a PbP game. I don't think the frequency of posting will be an issue for me, but it may take me a few posts to get comfortable with finding a posting style I'm comfortable with. I figured, if we're going Tomb of Horrors, I'll make a giant beefcake and see where that gets me. Artist credit for picture is Georgia McMillen on Pintrest. @izzamortua777

[The Rat Queen]

Application Name: Akari Yasuda Handle/Street Name: Saigai Metatype: Ork (Oni) Role: Stealth/Close Combat Personality: Honorable, if a bit worn-down and jaded. Though proud and strong, a lifetime of hardship and battle has taken its toll, and she has seen too much death and horror to see the world as a beautiful place any more. Honor is the only thing she has left at this point. Background: Akari was among the earliest of the worldwide "goblinization", during a time when Japan (JIS), along with the rest of the world, was highly suspicious and hostile toward the newly-Awakened creatures. For awhile, Akari's family was able to either hide or protect her from public prejudice and aggression, but after the Yomi Island Decree of '27, the entire family was assigned to Yomi Island. Akari's parents both died there, her father murdered and her mother from scarlet fever, but the young Akari was adopted into the family of a local Koborokuru lord, Daisuke. By the time Emperor Yasuhito rescinded the Yomi Island decree, Akari had already been serving Daisuke for about 35 years. She had learned not only combat with traditional Japanese weapons, but also studied Bushido, art, history, and culture. Though resources on Yomi were extremely limited, she was still exposed to technology such as computers and vehicles, and even managed to obtain limited bioware implants as a top-ranked samurai for Daisuke. Akari had all but forgotten her birth family and no longer considered herself a citizen or subject of JIS or the emperor, and initially refused to leave Daisuke's side, who by that time was in ill heath. However, he tasked her with a final decree to strike out against the nation that had exiled and abandoned them and those like them by destroying their strongest resource...Mitsuhama. Why are you taking this job?: Akari has taken on her master's dying wish, to destroy JIS or harm it as much as possible. However, assassinating the emperor would be an act of extreme dishonor, which Daisuke would not order Akari to do; in fact, she would be unable to comply with such a dishonorable command and would be required to commit seppuku instead. However, Mitsuhama is considered to be an extraterrestrial entity, above and beyond even the power and control of the emperor. Akari, who has taken the name Saigai (meaning 'calamity, misfortune, or disaster') for the mission, could strike MCT without losing honor, and the resulting loss to such a powerful economic and political factor would also punish JIS for their cruelty. It took nearly eight years to find a group brave, crazy, or suicidal enough to attempt such a dangerous mission, but Saigai has finally found her chance for vengeance. She is old and tired, not as strong or quick as she used to be, and her vision is starting to go...this is her last chance. She fully intends to succeed or die trying, as failure truly is not an option.

[The Rat Queen]

What year is it for this adventure, for background purposes?

[Preacherwolf]

Originally Posted by The Rat Queen

What year is it for this adventure, for background purposes?

The year will be 2070, but I also play very fast and loose with the chronology of Shadowrun in my games so if there is a particular event that needs to be brought forward or backwards in time I'm fine with it.

[gwythion]

Application Name: Derek Spade Handle/Street Name: Hoyle Metatype: Human Role: Mage Personality: Carefree and fatalistic, he is a bit too jaded for his age. He readily shares his opinion that people could solve their problems by just caring less, and leaving things up to chance; and he thinks most people are better off than they realize, and doesn’t mind reminding them of it. He leaves important decisions to chance, and lives for the moment. Background: Derek started life with nothing, living with a handful of siblings and a single mom working too hard. Some of them found refuge on the streets, but Derek found it on the matrix. He was addicted to his commlink, a cheap, basic model he got for his 6th birthday. When he wasn’t at school, he was in their tiny apartment, curled up on the top bunk, playing games and surfing the matrix to learn about whatever tickled his curiosity – most things to do with elves, and magic, and supernatural creatures – things that seemed a world away from his dreary existence in the Barrens. He awoke as a teenager, when a passionate private dream was spontaneously recreated as a glorious technicolor illusion in the room he shared with his brothers, while he slept. The shock to his system of the magical energy woke him up, and he saw the illusion fade away just as the dream was fading in his mind. He’d read enough to have some idea what had just happened, and when he tried to do it again, he succeeded. So he started on his path of self-taught magic. Learning from books he downloaded from the matrix, practicing in the abandoned lot behind his house, he got confident enough in his skills to start thinking of himself as a mage. But he had no options – college wasn’t happening, and without that, corporate work was out of the question. He had no idea what to do, so he looked up a group that had published a number of the books he’d read – the Planar Research Society – and was welcomed to their membership. The group helped him become an accomplished mage, but it also changed him. He’s developed a gambling problem. He speaks in a strange language at times. He spends more time socializing with spirits than with people, and he has developed a strange view of the world, as a reflection of the astral plane, rather than the opposite view most magic-users have. Unable to find legal work, he fell into working in the shadows, where a couple of his siblings had paved the way. He’s had a good career as a shadowrunner, in terms of performance. But where most veteran shadowrunners have nice lives, and plenty of money, only taking the good jobs, he's the opposite. His finances are a complete shambles. He lives in a nice uptown apartment, but he never knows whether he'll have rent or not, and his gambling problem has gotten worse; causing him to have to take whatever work he can get, just to service his debts. Why are you taking this job?: The first reason is that his spirit patron, Fortune, respects those who take big risks for big rewards. He’d been thinking for weeks about what next big step he could take in his magical growth, and when he got word about this run he knew that was it. A job that would either set him up on the gravy train for life, or end it? He couldn’t ask for a bigger chance to take, or a better way to strengthen his link to Fortune. The other reason, more practical but less important, boils down to finances. He has a need to gamble, both because he likes it and because he believes it is necessary for his magical growth. Right now, his debts aren’t crippling, but they are bad and getting worse. This job will let him set up a trust, so no matter how bad things get, he’ll never be on the street, and having grown up in the Barrens, that’s important to him. Will he retire and become a full time gambler? Will he keep running in the shadows, but enjoying the massive boost to his rep this job will give him? He’ll decide later. Or he might just leave it to chance.

[Preacherwolf]

There's one week left for everyone to finalise their characters, but it looks like we have a fine batch of runners here.

[Damionovich]

If you still have room for one more.

Tha name is Jack.

Name; Jack All-trades
Street Handle; Stitches
Race; Human
Profession; Mr. Do-it-all (Rigger)

https://www.rpgcrossing.com/showthre...=222840&page=3

Used to be a driver for that Doc-Wagon, till they caught me tryin to go into business for myself. Sure, I was just a worker bee, had they paid me more of what they make on each job I'd be a Mr. Smith too. So, as my name says I'm a Jack of all trades. I drive, play with drones, and heck if you need me ta drop a grenade like an egg..I got some pretties that can turn an office into a pancake mix. What really makes me special though is that to the right group, I can fix a fracture, Castrate a concussion, and toss some fishing line ta close up that gaping wound.

So I got one question for ya. Do ya like me now??

Personality: Casual attitude with a dry humorous personality. He isn't fond of corporate CEOs that exploit the people and that attitude tends to incite him into a rant.

Background: So, why are you wantin to know about me? Are you one of dem Lone Star agents or some chummer got the runs to clip my wings? I won't tell you about me, but I will tell you about a guy that a friend of mine knows. Interesting story actually, the guy views society in Black, Gray, and White. In the black, is the dung of society; poor, homeless, unfortunate, those who couldn't catch a break if you gave them a fishing net to do it with. Then you have gray, where one event can launch you into either of the other two without much more than a blink of the eye. In the gray it's best to keep your head in the sand, avoid everything that gets you noticed, and remain naive in the gray. Then you have the wealthy corporations and CEOs that exploit resources no matter what form that resource comes from. You can't hide in the white, everybody knows your name and the cut throat practices by corporate HRs with lines of smoking guns can snuff a person faster than a fart in the wind after eating those old pork n beans.

Ya see that guy, ya know the one my friend told me about was raised in a middle class neighborhood protected from the streets. He attended a private school, was in athletics, and graduated with a decent grade point average. Then he went to one of those corporate medical schools, to be trained as a surgeon. Got hired on as a trauma surgeon by everyone's
favorite Doc-Wagon, only to find out how much they made on every job compared to the measly check he received. So, that guy began treating runners and just about anyone who needed it on his own. Well, mostly on his own. He used medical supplies and technology by Doc-Wagon. Anyways, he got caught and lost that job. I guess he had enough 'rainy weather' cash to get a few implants and started rigging for a living. Don't know where he is now though.





Why are you taking this job?: I've been doing medical work on the side for too long, practicing with the dung of society in cramped and filthy conditions. I want to make a small clinic and pay a staff to help me take care of these people. Problem is, I've always been a worker for the man and the man hasn't paid me near what my value is. So, it is time to be my own boss, determine my own morality, and send those fancy suit buggers back to the swamps they came from.

[Hiruma Kohaku]

Max Hartley NAME: Max Hartley Street Name/Handle: Upgrade METATYPE: Human ROLE: Technoshaman Technomancer DESCRIPTION: If you seen one wageslave, you’ve seen them all. At least this is what Max wants you to believe. A man in a plain three piece suit that looks like the world has beat him down. Hair well groomed and face clean shaven. Not a button out of place. It’s easy to blend in and hide what you are when you become just another brick in the wall. There is no ‘ware to be seen on the outside, but his eyes are always scanning his surroundings for the AR overlay in his vision. Standing in the elevator with him you would never know he’s already hacked your Commlink just for fun and not left a trace. BACKGROUND: Max Hartley was born into the CorpSec life as the only child of a pair of Ares Cyber Spiders working in CFS, Kevin and Maria Hartley. He learned the ways of the Matrix at a young age especially once he Emerged as a Technomancer. The public fear of his kind and possibility he could become some lab rat of course made him keep his abilities a secret. Max kept a low profile only using his abilities when he was practicing then quickly resetting his persona when things got too hot. It wouldn’t take long for people to figure him out if he didn’t get a decent deck to hide behind. Luckily, his parents got him enrolled in the cyber security division that they worked at as an intern which provided him opportunities to stretch his Matrix muscle behind the guise of tech he didn’t even use. Over time, he secretly got better at his Technomancer abilities even unlocking a special skill to create great form sprites of almost unimaginable power. His skills as a normal Decker improved as well under his parents tutelage. Seven years later, Max worked on trying to create his own host as a safe haven for other Technomancers and had in his possession a Shield Security Cyberdeck that he had stolen from an arms dealer who got busted for selling guns to ex-cons. It was his deck that he could now use to keep the higher ups at Ares from catching wind of what he was capable of. The device was verified to be standard issue with the original programming without coming out of the budget, so Max was allowed to use it after signing a waiver keeping Ares from being held liable if his deck got bricked. Using Resonance, the techno subtly improved his abilities and deck to be better than it really was making all the successes that came with it to be from a combination of innate talent, skill, and luck. Max disappeared into the Shadows after an extraction gone wrong where he was being abducted to be recruited into another corp. The team taking him had destroyed his deck thinking they had all but crippled him. Little did they know, he had sent his whole collection of great form sprites upon them causing them enough mayhem and distraction to slip away. Years in the Shadows garnered him the name Upgrade for his efforts at boosting the output of the gear his teammates had beyond normal limits. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even be hired to go on the run but rather to just upgrade a deck, RCC, or Commlink before the team set out ensuring they could sneak past the Security Spiders. Why take the Job?: Over time, age catches up with ya. Wounds don’t heal as fast. Strength fades. Big runs don’t come around as much anymore. Max is still working on building his own host for a retreat for Techos to come and be themselves without fear or persecution. Building a host takes money though. He’s got a buddy helping him out with the foundation that is in his will should Max die before getting the big payout. All he can do is try to leave a legacy.

[Maghnuis]

Should be great. Wish I had time to jump in.

[Hiruma Kohaku]

Finished updating Upgrade.

[Preacherwolf]

okay, last calls! I'm closing applications at the end of tonight so any changes you want to make (or if anyone wants to jump in last minute) now's your time.

[gwythion]

Do we need to post a build to be complete?