In the United States, thirty two years of corrupt government and financial destabilization resulted in a nation divided. An atomic bomb and a massive war between Megacorporations, known as the 4th Corporate War, ravaged the few vestiges of civilization that would be familiar to people in society today. The year is now 2045. It is the Time of the Red.
Cyberpunks are survivors in a tough, grim world, faced with life and death choices. They're heroes in a bad situation, working to make it better whenever they can. Whether it takes crime, defying authority, or revolution, they are rebels with a cause. They follow three concepts: Style over substance, Attitude is everything, and Live on the edge.
As a Cyberpunk, you grab technology by the throat and hang on. You're not afraid to check out the newest in enhancements, cybertech, and bio-engineering. You're got interface plugs in your wrists, weapons in your arms, lasers in your eyes, bio chip programs in your brain. You become the car you drive, the aerodyne you fly, the guns you shoot. You dive headfirst into computer systems, using your mind to hurtle at light speed all over the new network of micro-nets, Data Fortresses, and Artificial Intelligences. With cyborg fingers, you pick computer locks, with enhanced senses, you see into the Future.
The Cyberpunk world takes place in the future. It's a violent, dangerous place, filled with people who'd love to rip your arms off and eat them. The traditional concepts of good and evil have been replaced by the values of expedience - you do what you must to survive. This is especially true in the Time of The Red, when an atomic bombing and a massive war between Megacorporations have ravaged the few vestiges of civilization that would be familiar to people in society today.
ITS ALWAYS PERSONAL
The rule is it's always personal. Survival is personal - and the hallmark of these dark times. Cyberpunk characters are survivors in a tough, grim world, faced with life and death choices. How they make these choices will influence whether they end up as vicious animals roaming a ruined world or retain something of their basic humanity. Cyberpunk characters are the heroes of a bad situation, working to make it better whenever they can. Whether it takes committing crimes, defying authority, or even outright revolution, the quintessential Cyberpunk character is a rebel with a cause.
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE
It doesn't matter how well you do something, as long as you look good doing it. If you're going to blow it, make sure you look like you planned it that way. Normally, clothes and looks don't matter in an adventure, but in this world, having a leather armor jacket and mirror shades is a serious consideration.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
It's true. Think dangerous, be dangerous. Think weak, be weak. Everything on the 2000s is carrying lethal hardware. Each character in this world is playing a part - a face that person projects to the outside world as the real thing. Never walk into a room when you can stride in. Never look at someone unless you can make it your best killer look. Don't sit around the flat or cube waiting for the next job - get out and hit the clubs and hangouts. Make sure you're where the party starts.
LIVE ON THE EDGE
The Edge is that nebulous zone where risk-takers and high-riders go. On the Edge, you'll risk your cash, your rep, and even your life on something as vague as a principle or a big score. As a Cyberpunk, you want to be the action, start the rebellion, light the fire. Never drive slow when you can drive fast. Throw yourself up against danger and take it head on. Never play it too safe. Stay committed to the Edge.
Even after a massive war between Megacorporations followed by an atomic bombing, the world of Cyberpunk is a combination of savage, sophisticated, modern, and retrograde. Fashion model beautiful Techs rub shoulders with battle-armored road warriors, all of them making the scene in the hottest dance clubs, sleaziest bars, and meanest streets this side of the post holocaust. There are nine Roles in Cyberpunk Red: Rockerboys, Solos, Netrunners, Execs, Techs, Lawmen, Fixers, Medias, and Nomads.
Rockerboys: Rock and roll rebels who use performance and rhetoric to fight authority. Solos: Assassins, bodyguards, killers, and soldiers for hire in a lawless new world. Netrunners: Cybernetic master hackers of the post-NET world and brain burning secret stealers. Techs: Renegade mechanics and doctors patching up meat and metal alike. Medias: Newsmen, media stars, and social influencers risking it all for the truth. Lawmen: Maximum lawmen patrolling the mean streets and road warriors highways beyond. Execs: Corporate power brokers and business raiders fighting to restore the rule of the Megacorps. Fixers: Deal makers, smugglers, organizers, and information brokers on the post-war streets of the future. Nomads: Transportation experts and ultimate road warriors.
The mechanics of Cyberpunk are stupid silly easy. The game uses d10 and d6. Here are the basic game mechanics to Cyberpunk Red, the rest I can explain as we play:
INITIATIVE To roll for Initiative, roll 1d10 and add the number of your REF attribute. (Initiative: REF + 1d10)
YOUR TURN On your turn, you can perform a move and an action. Since this is pbp, move will be abstracted. Here are a list of actions you can perform for your action: Attack, Grab, Choke (someone in a grapple), Throw, Get Up, Run, Use a Skill, Use an Object, Use NET Action (when hooked into Cyberspace).
RESOLVING ACTIONS WITH SKILLS There's two types of ways to resolve skill resolutions: against someone else, or against a situation. To resolve an action against another living person, here is the mechanics formula: Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Defender's STAT + SKILL + 1d10.
To resolve an action against a situation, the mechanics formula is the same but you're trying to beat a difficulty number establish by the GM: Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Difficulty Value (DV)
A DV can be anywhere from 10 to 30 - the number you have to beat. (Defenders win if there's a tie.) The GM can also add modifiers to the DV to make it easier or harder to beat, like -4 for unfamiliar tools, -3 if it's really complex, or +3 for advantageous gear. The DV stays the same, you subtract or add the modifiers to your roll. So, in summary:
For skill checks, you roll: Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Defender's STAT + SKILL + 1d10. or Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Difficulty Value (DV)
For ranged combat, you roll: Attacker's REF + Marksmanship + 1d10 vs Defender's DV (which is based on range)
For melee combat you roll: Attacker's DEX + Melee Weapon Skill + 1d10 vs Defender's DEX + Evasion Skill + 1d10
Critical Success and Critical Failure: When you roll a natural 10 on your d10, you've scored a critical success! You get to roll another d10 and add it to your total. When you roll a natural 1 on a d10, you roll another d10 and SUBTRACT that number from your total.
Here's a combat test example:: Misha, a Solo, pulls out her heavy pistol and fires at Devilboy, a Nomad. Misha has a REF of 10, Markmanship of 6 and rolls a 7 on a d10. Devilboy is 13m away so that's DV of 20. For Misha, that's REF(10) + Marksmanship(6) + 1d10(7) for a total of 23. She scores a hit and rolls 3d6 for her damage - the damage for a heavy pistol. She rolls a 15! Devilboy is wearing Body armor with a soak value of 10, so Misha does 5 points of damage in total.
Here's a skill test example: Misha is chasing after Devilboy and has to scale a very high wall. The GM calls for an Athletics check, and we see that under Misha's character sheet, her Athletics is DEX + 5 + 1d10. The GM assigns the DV to be 14. Misha has a DEX of 7 so here's the formula: DEX(7) + Athletics(5) +1d10. She rolls an 10! That's a critical success, so she rolls another 1d10 and gets a 4. That's a grand total of 7 + 5 + 10 + 4 = 26 vs the DV14! AMAZING! Misha's athletic ability is still awesome after all these years.
Of course, there's a little more rules and other things you can do, like punching and kicking, and attacking with blades in your arms, etc, but mechanically, it all works the same and the GM will explain it as the situation arises.
ARMOR Armor is rated by it's Stopping Power, or SP, which is how well it can stop damage. It can be worn on your body and head, and it's advised that you do both. When you are hit while wearing armor, you subtract your SP from the damage you took. If the armor soaks up all the damage, nothing else happens and you don't get hurt. If you do take hits, you take the difference in damage. Each time your armor is hit, your armor permanently gets reduced by 1 SP until you repair it, for example.
HIT POINTS, WOUND STATES, DEATH, HEALING Hit points are a measure of how much damage you can take before you die. As you take damage, you deplete your hit point total. For now, you have Hit Points equal to 5 x BODY. As you take damage, you reach certain Thresholds eventually becoming impaired. They are: Lightly Wounded, Seriously Wounded, Mortally Wounded, and Dead.
Lightly Wounded: Less than full HP, no other effect, but it's a DV10 First Aid to get you healed. Seriously Wounded: Less than 1/2 HP, -3 to all checks, DV13 First Aid to get you healed. Mortally Wounded: Less than 1 HP, -5 to all checks. Make a Death Save at the start of every turn or die. DV15 to get you back to 1 HP. Dead: One failed Death Save.
At the start of every turn you are mortally wounded, you must roll a Death Save. Roll a d10. If you roll under your BODY, you live, and can take your turn as usual with the -5 penalty. Future Death Saves are made at -1 each round that stacks until someone saves your ass with First Aid. If you fail a single Death Save, you die.
First Aid on a target or yourself depends on what wound state they are in. First Aid takes an action, like all other Skills, and is rolled: TECH + First Aid + 1d10. Once successful First Aid has been received, the target will heal a number of Hit Points equal to their BODY for each day they spend resting. Remember, a Mortally Wounded character who receives successful First Aid is immediately healed to 1 HP.
Jenna startled awake in her bed, sitting halfway upright on her elbow. She waited a moment for her heart to stop pounding in her chest - a strange dream. This one was more detailed than other dreams she had. She was in a far away land, a strange and magical land, long ago. On a team, with people she didn't know. The craziest thing was - she could assume the guise of any humanoid she saw. In a panicked moment, she was ambushed and was being dragged away violently to some unknown fate. It was all so fuzzy. She blinked and mentally shook it off. Silly dream.
She looked at the clock. 4am. She sighed and detected movement on the floor to her right. On a small round pet bed, was Quacky looking at her very groggily, as if her bark had awoken him - which it did. "Sorry, Quacky."she said. "I had a crazy dream." Quacky honked once and lowered his head, going back to sleep.
Wearing panties and a thin t-shirt, Jenna got out of bed and into the bathroom to wash her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. Jenna had long straight pitch black hair that was usually made into a loose ponytail. Her lips were full and eyebrows were as dark as her hair. Her jawline was defined, her skin was tan and slightly scarred in places, and her slender athletic figure showed evidence of regular activity. What was most striking about her was that her real eyes were replaced years ago and were now cyber yellow, almost candy colored.
Jenna was what they generally called a lawman, but more specifically, in truth, she was a bounty hunter. Quacky, her pet duck, helped out Minjee, their friend who was a damn good Netrunner. Jenna had a few more friends too, like Pierce. Misha had introduced Jenna to him years ago. In fact, Jenna used to be in law enforcement like Misha, in the same building, even, until Jenna decided to strike out on her own after..the incident. **** the MegaCorps. Jenna and Misha remained friends, however, and that's when the Russian introduced Jenna to like minded individuals - Cyberpunks. Misha and Jenna never worked together - but she knew her well enough. Misha, impossibly strong, like stone, red, and with that accent - Jenna was more quick, catlike, limber, and clever. When the day finally came and Misha said she had to go, Jenna would miss her. The Russian's ignorant charm had an affect on everyone.
Jenna finished cleaning her face and walked over to her closet. Inside, on one half, were casual clothes. The other half had rows of the same type of outfit: a tight gray female business suit, thinly armored, and form fitting, easy to move in, professional looking. Black dress shirt, gun holster, and a spot on the inside vest for throwing knives - just in case. Closing the closet, she made sure not to step on Quacky as she looked out the window of her apartment. A beautiful vista of Night City was displayed through the glass. Business building, towers, lights, neon signs - it was like an electronic world that never slept, like Old Las Vegas before the Fourth Corporate War blew everything up.
Getting back into bed, she curled up and tried to go back to sleep.
"Stop squirming," Kat said briskly to the Netrunner on her table. "It's just a little maintenance and stitching, you'll be fine." She scanned the long gash in Kinsie's leg with her datapad, taking in the damage to both the metal cyberleg knee and meat thigh. Checking the readout on her cyberarm screen, she nodded. "Over in a second. Where'd you jack in to get this? On second thought, don't tell me." She smirked as she pulled out her tools and got to work, sealing up the cyberleg and stitching the meat gash. "There, all done. Shoo."
With a word of thanks, Kinsie was out the door and gone, and Kat settled down on her couch, settling in to watch some videos while she finished printing a part. That was when the door crashed open, and two young men stumbled in. Without missing a beat, Kat picked up the shotgun from the table next to her and pointed it at them. "I don't have time to deal with a couple of guys too drunk, high, or just plain dumb to figure out which door they walked into - or who're trying to cause trouble. Get out."
Both men put their hands up, and one nearly collapsed on the spot with the movement. "Need help," he gasped. "Ty said...could help."
Kat gritted her teeth for a moment, then swore and put the shotgun down. "Table. Now. And you," she pointed at the other man, "sit down somewhere I can see you and explain. No sudden movements."
The injured man nearly fell onto the table, and Kat got to work, cutting his shirt open and taking a look at the bullet wound in his side. "We're Steel Vaqueros," his friend explained. "Ran into an Iron Sight. It...didn't go well."
"No kidding,"Kat said dryly as she disinfected the wound, ignoring the hiss of pain from her patient as she got to work stitching. "And how the hell do you know Ty?"She tied off the thread. Please don't say he was there, the idiot.
"We met him a few years back, our caravans crossed paths. When he heard we were headed back here, he mentioned he had a sister in the city."
Well, that's just like Ty. Volunteering me for helping people without asking. Kat sighed. "Of course he did." She bandaged the wound quickly. "Stay low for a few days so you don't pop the stitches."
Her patient dropped off the table, wincing slightly with the movement. "Thanks."
"You can pay me back by keeping the boostergangs off my shop for the next few weeks," Kat said seriously.
"We'll see what we can do."
With the pair gone, Kat nearly collapsed on her couch with a huff. "**** you, Ty," she muttered. "Dragging me into this shit." But she knew he'd done it with good intentions. "But stop making decisions for me," she snipped to the air before making a face. It was high time to go to bed. The young woman rolled to her feet and climbed up the ladder to her loft bed and tucking her pistol under the pillow as usual. Kat closed her eyes and had her Agent pull up some peaceful music as she drifted off to sleep.
Dust was sitting at a work bench in the corner of the garage, his pistol laying just in front of him as he groaned while staring at the newspaper in his hands. Yet another day without his name in the headlines, hell, there wasn't even a single article...not that he could blame anyone, there weren't any interesting jobs lately and he had been kicking back as he waited for Arcadia and old bum to finish the repairs to his ride. "Thinking of which....Oi! You two, how's Alice?" His gaze snapped over to his ride, a sleek black ground car that was held up on a lift as it's hood stood popped open. From under it, the soot filled locks and grease covered skin of his two roommates and friends looked at him in mild annoyance. "Shiv off idiot/punk."" After each of them unanimously made their retort, they went back under, returning to work on whatever it was they had. "Sounds like progress, I'll take it."
Chuckling, Dust stood up from his seat, grabbing his (very) heavy pistol before holstering it to his hip. He then nabbed his jacket of the rack and walked up the stairs just outside of the garage door, calling back to the two workaholics, "Head up if you need me." He threw the worn leather on his back and walked up the steps of the building, passing the entrance to their shared "house". He arrived at the roof and popped open his communicator, looking to see if anyone from the "team" was online to shoot the breeze. He lit a smoke and lean back into a old busted lawn chair that was nailed to the roof, his gaze followed the first puff of smoke as it rose into the clouded polluted skies. Where the 3 of them lived wasn't comfy or safe, but it was cheap and kept business coming in for the 2 in the garage, and people looking to hire for him. Dust was a good looking dude, athletic looking in a lean sense, and tied up brown hair that matched well with his stubble beard. His blue eyes, even without the glowing electronics of the lenses over them, seemed magnetic. His arms, both replacements from his original ones, were under his jacket sleeves and curled his fingers over the light of the cigarette as he puffed out another cloud.
Dust was what many called a Nomad, a form of drifter as it were, a man of the open road, trapped in an urban maze...the irony never really left him. He made his work as known as possible, priding himself in his driving and combat abilities. Ultimately, he joined up with some other Cyberpunks and began working with the likes of Jenna, her pet duck Quacky, and her friends...it was a weird group, but he felt they would allow him to reach new heights, plus, crazy went were crazy be, right? Even if they didn't lead to anything, something would find them soon enough, all they had to do was wait. He would take stay up on the roof for another half hour before snuffing out his smoke and heading back down to clean up in the garage, having heard the pair down there drop something. He rolled his eyes as he went down to do what he could.
Jenna got dressed. Even on her day off - and being self employed that could be anytime, never, or sometimes - she looked professional when she went outside. She holstered her heavy pistol, and shoved some small metal throwing knives in her waist brace. Buttoning up her vest, she grabbed her suit jacket and went into the kitchen. Quacky was there, and honked at her sitting someone impatiently on the counter.
"Coming up."she said in response, and proceeded to warm up in a small bowl, some peas in warm water. When the microwave dinged, she took it out, and placed it on the counter, where Quacky proceeded to gobble them up in a very messy and rapid fashion, splashing somewhat.
She checked her phone and her schedule while he ate. Yup. Nothing to do today. No jobs, no contracts, just an empty, clear day. Perfect. Might as well go see Min Jee and the others. She patiently waited for Quacky to finish his meal before he quacked again.
"Yeah. Let's go."she confirmed, and he waddled off the counter and followed Jenna to the apartment door as she left and locked it, a large metal bolt thunking to indicate it was secure. They took the elevator down and walked into the underground parking structure where they both got into the car. Quacky didn't have hands so he always just hopped onto Jenna's lap from her door. She started up the engine and pulled out of the structure, heading to Min Jee's apartment.
"****, we're almost out of coffee again." He said we, but really he meant he, since he was always the one who ended up buying coffee for the group. And they had been going through it faster since the new people showed up. Not long after Misha left, Jenna showed up, saying that Misha pointed her towards them. And then two others showed up as well. Pierce didn't particularly ask too many questions about where they came from. People come, people go, that's how things work.
Except Min-Jee, but it wasn't like she was going anywhere since she owned the apartment that he lived in. She was a good landlady, didn't ask too many questions about how he got rent every month, didn't have too many rules, was generally much more pleasant than his former landlords. So when some corporate ******** tried to blow up the apartment, he made sure to fight them off. Pro bono.
Pierce poured the last of the coffee mix into the coffee maker and turned it on. He'd have to go buy some more later. Perhaps he'd have enough money saved up to buy and extra large thing of coffee.
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
Kat looked around the apartment. She was still a little nervous. Was it really a good idea to start living somewhere new? People knew where to find her old place, and that was bad and good. She scowled and shook her head. She'd left a message that any Nomads Ty sent her way would understand, telling them where to find her new place. Her usual customers knew where she was. The rest...they'd figure it out, sooner or later, and the Inquisitors had started to get a little too close to her old spot. The apartment looked a little empty, since her stuff was from a smaller space, but she'd filled it up pretty well.
Kat was a serious looking woman, her long brown hair back in a high ponytail and glasses (for show, of course, not out of necessity) framing her dark blue eyes. She wore a silvery jacket over a black shirt and pants, glowing blue lights indicating the location of her less subtle tech. Her left arm had been mostly replaced with a cyberarm with a blue screen built into it, linked to her glass and metal scanner. A pistol rested in a sheath at her hip, and her Agent was visible curving around her left ear.
Regardless of how unpacking was going, it was time to attend to a few final responsibilities. Kat snagged the money for her last deposit from the table and headed out the door, locking it behind her. Time to stop by Min-Jee's place to drop this off. Maybe she'd meet some neighbors too.
The coffee was ready just in time, as a visitor showed up to Min-Jee's place. Pierce poured one cup for himself, as well as Min-Jee, and then poured another one for the stranger. Pierce was a man in his 30s, with a fade haircut and a bit of a beard. He was wearing a blue casual dress shirt with a black jacket over it. Nobody really asked Pierce about it, but he preferred to dress in a manner where he looked reasonably professional, but also wouldn't be burdened by his clothing in a fight, or look like some blueblood that you could jump in the streets.
Of course, the pistol that he kept at his side also helped to dispel the impression that he was someone you could jump in the street. As well as the knife that he carried on him. And while his rippers were concealed in his cyberarm, they would also dissuade anyone who didn't get the hint the first two times. None of those things were as deadly as the assault rifle in his bedroom, but they were good enough to keep him safe when he wasn't doing a job.
"Name's Pierce." He says to the woman. "Got coffee for you. You'll have to ask Min Jee for cream and sugar. That's hers."
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
Jenna and Quacky entered Min Jee's building from the front door, taking the elevator up. The apartment building was one of the few remaining in a modern corporate sector, and not too long ago, Min Jee, Pierce, Misha, and Oliver had to literally fight for their lives in a terrible night of a failed corporate takeover from WorldSat in their attempts to..vacate..the building to put up a new communications tower there instead.
Turned out to be a bad move on WorldSat's part.
Min Jee's building was also about four blocks away from Night City's Combat Zone, a commercial and residential geographical area where things were not so safe compared to the Corporate quadrants on the other side.
Either way, today was Jenna's day off, it was morning, and time for some coffee. Hopefully, before the headache.
Quacky honked a few times while in the elevator. "No, I don't."Jenna admitted. "But I imagine we'll get to know her well enough. I'm sure she's very nice." Quacky tilted his head and if a duck could give a human a skeptical look, there it was. She chuckled. "I'm sure she's not some 'elder god worshiping demon in disguise'." Quacky looked at her as deadpan as a duck could. Jenna snorted and shook her head. "Honestly, where do you come up with this stuff? Let's behave and play nice, ok?" Quacky honked feebly in a forced affirmative and the elevator doors opened. "Look, if i'm wrong..i'll buy you a new bed."Jenna agreed, holding back a smirk. Quacky made a noise.
Jenna let herself in, knocking on the door while walking inside. "Hello! Min Jee? I'm here!" Then she saw Pierce and Kat. "Hey Pierce. Oh wow, that smells good."she said, looking at the cups of coffee. She turned to Kat. "Hi there."she said, extending her hand. "I'm Jenna."she nodded to the duck next to her. "This is Quacky."
Wrapping up the cleaning in the garage, Dust helped his friends get to bed before heading back down to the garage. He brought down his car from the lift and began washing her down, giving her a nice polish that he was rubbing in when he got the notice from the team. Apparently they were getting together, ".....not really my kind of thing....eh, blaze it, why not." He tossed the towel onto a tool rack and got into the driver's side of his car.
"Alice", as Dust called her, was a 6-seater ground car with a lot of mileage on her. Originally stolen off an Oregan Radiation Blitzer, she was modded to match most standard police vehicles for speed, even when fully loaded with 6 people...unless of course said people were all packing some heavy heat....which in his line of work, was more often than he liked. Add to that a titanium bumper & sythn weave tires, Alice was a classy girl who got where she needed to be. And at the moment, that was MJ's place. "Think if we should grab some drinks on the way?" The engine roared as the car started up, and Dust chuckled, "That's my girl~"
Almost an hour after having received the message, Dust pulled up and parked just beside MJ's apartment. He got out and gave the car an affectionate pet before locking her down, holstering the crate of beet over his shoulder as he went up the front door and up the elevator shaft.
Arriving at the front door, seeing that it was already open, he simply bumped it open the rest of the way with his shoulder and announced himself, "Yo! Which one of you wants to get wasted?" He would then move the crate to the kitchen, setting it down on a counter. Only then did he turn around and actually see and address the people, "Oh, hey Stripes (Jenna), Duckling (Quacky), see you two got here before me."
"It's like, 9:00. It's way too early to get drunk." Pierce enjoyed a good drink, but not getting drunk. Drunkenness dulls the senses and worsens ones aim. And he preferred sweeter drinks anyway.
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Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
Kat accepts the cup of coffee from Pierce with a word of thanks, then turns with a faint look of surprise as three more people walk into the apartment. Wow, this place really gets busy in the mornings, apparently. She shook Jenna's hand. "I'm Kat, I just moved in," she introduces herself. "Came up to give Min-Jee my last deposit." While she talks to the others, her eyes are jumping around the apartment in a mix of curiosity and natural watchfulness, taking in everything from what everyone's packing to the furnishing of the space. Her gaze sweeps out the window for a moment to take in Alice again, and she gives Dust a nod and a smile. "Nice ride. What's her name?"
"Alright."she told the duck, and it went into the bathroom. Somehow, he managed to close the door.
Jenna took a cup of coffee and drank some. She made a very pleased face. She also saw the booze Dust brought in, and for a moment, considered it. She turned to Kit. I mean, Kat.
"So. Just moved in?"she said. "Do you like it? What do you do?"
The scent of freshly made coffee wafted into her room, causing the small korean woman to wake up from her light slumber. She groans a bit, cracking an eye open to see the time... only to frown at how early it damn was. The hacker spent the whole night raiding in World Of Warlords, and she expected to be up by probably 2PM the latest, but her keen sense of smell simply wouldn't allow that at all. It was sad how she already knew who it was in her apartment, not even needing to check her security cameras to make sure it wasn't some WorldSat *****es or something worse. That passing thought only made her frown more, remembering the attack on her building some while ago, forcing her to up her security tenfold... "Ugh."
Her rubs her eyes and lays there for a few minutes longer, wanting to see if she closed her eyes and simply laid there, she would be back to sleep. Then she heard voices. Pierce... Jenna... Quacky... Dust... and the new tenant maybe. What the ****? Was there a party happening at her place and she wasn't invited? Didn't she tell the chick to come later in the day, damn it!? "Nugungaleul jug-ilgeoya."
Min-Jee gets up from her bed and throws on a robe before exiting her bedroom, getting a gander at who exactly was here. Her enhanced hearing didn't fail her, it seemed. "With the exception of my new friend here, why the **** are you guys here so early in the morning? Seriously, who willingly wakes up the early?" She shakes her head and grumbles something in Korean as she makes her way to the cup Pierce had poured her, taking out the sugar and cream from the cupboard and fridge respectively. After having poured a ton of sugar in her coffee, followed by loads of cream, it was almost a wonder how she managed to stay so thin. Her diet consisted of all the bad things, with little of the good, and very minimal workouts sprinkled throughout. High metabolism, she'd say!
She turns to face the group, leaning back on her counter and sips on her sugar and cream filled drink before speaking up again. "You guys miss me that much, huh?"
Aeydof the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm /ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
"I'm a mechanic and doctor, from-" Kat starts to explain to Jenna before Min-Jee comes out, cursing in Korean. She senses Min-Jee's mood from long experience with all-nighters, and settles for sliding her new landlord the deposit money, making sure her metal fingers don't scrape up the counter.
Jenna was listening to Kat until Min Jee emerged. Jenna smirked, and made a comically surprised face. "We sure did."she said. Off in the bathroom, a toilet flushed, and the faucet turned on. Then, after a few moment, Quacky came out of the bathroom and honked at Min Jee.
"How does that duck know how to use the bathroom?" Pierce whispered. He shrugs when Min-Jee asks how he's able to wake up so early. "Waking up early is how I stay fresh." It was true. Pierce didn't have all of the alterations and drugs that other Solos did. He knew that he was putting himself at a disadvantage, but he also knew what the drugs did to your mind. So he worked to keep his awareness and reaction time at a high level, so that he'd be able to cut it. "And it helps that I didn't stay up until 4 am raiding."
In the United States, thirty two years of corrupt government and financial destabilization resulted in a nation divided. An atomic bomb and a massive war between Megacorporations, known as the 4th Corporate War, ravaged the few vestiges of civilization that would be familiar to people in society today. The year is now 2045. It is the Time of the Red.
Cyberpunks are survivors in a tough, grim world, faced with life and death choices. They're heroes in a bad situation, working to make it better whenever they can. Whether it takes crime, defying authority, or revolution, they are rebels with a cause. They follow three concepts: Style over substance, Attitude is everything, and Live on the edge.
CYBERPUNK RED: RETURN TO THE RED
COMING IN JUNE
SOUL AND THE NEW MACHINE
As a Cyberpunk, you grab technology by the throat and hang on. You're not afraid to check out the newest in enhancements, cybertech, and bio-engineering. You're got interface plugs in your wrists, weapons in your arms, lasers in your eyes, bio chip programs in your brain. You become the car you drive, the aerodyne you fly, the guns you shoot. You dive headfirst into computer systems, using your mind to hurtle at light speed all over the new network of micro-nets, Data Fortresses, and Artificial Intelligences. With cyborg fingers, you pick computer locks, with enhanced senses, you see into the Future.
The Cyberpunk world takes place in the future. It's a violent, dangerous place, filled with people who'd love to rip your arms off and eat them. The traditional concepts of good and evil have been replaced by the values of expedience - you do what you must to survive. This is especially true in the Time of The Red, when an atomic bombing and a massive war between Megacorporations have ravaged the few vestiges of civilization that would be familiar to people in society today.
ITS ALWAYS PERSONAL
The rule is it's always personal. Survival is personal - and the hallmark of these dark times. Cyberpunk characters are survivors in a tough, grim world, faced with life and death choices. How they make these choices will influence whether they end up as vicious animals roaming a ruined world or retain something of their basic humanity. Cyberpunk characters are the heroes of a bad situation, working to make it better whenever they can. Whether it takes committing crimes, defying authority, or even outright revolution, the quintessential Cyberpunk character is a rebel with a cause.
STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE
It doesn't matter how well you do something, as long as you look good doing it. If you're going to blow it, make sure you look like you planned it that way. Normally, clothes and looks don't matter in an adventure, but in this world, having a leather armor jacket and mirror shades is a serious consideration.
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
It's true. Think dangerous, be dangerous. Think weak, be weak. Everything on the 2000s is carrying lethal hardware. Each character in this world is playing a part - a face that person projects to the outside world as the real thing. Never walk into a room when you can stride in. Never look at someone unless you can make it your best killer look. Don't sit around the flat or cube waiting for the next job - get out and hit the clubs and hangouts. Make sure you're where the party starts.
LIVE ON THE EDGE
The Edge is that nebulous zone where risk-takers and high-riders go. On the Edge, you'll risk your cash, your rep, and even your life on something as vague as a principle or a big score. As a Cyberpunk, you want to be the action, start the rebellion, light the fire. Never drive slow when you can drive fast. Throw yourself up against danger and take it head on. Never play it too safe. Stay committed to the Edge.
ROLES
Even after a massive war between Megacorporations followed by an atomic bombing, the world of Cyberpunk is a combination of savage, sophisticated, modern, and retrograde. Fashion model beautiful Techs rub shoulders with battle-armored road warriors, all of them making the scene in the hottest dance clubs, sleaziest bars, and meanest streets this side of the post holocaust. There are nine Roles in Cyberpunk Red: Rockerboys, Solos, Netrunners, Execs, Techs, Lawmen, Fixers, Medias, and Nomads.
Rockerboys: Rock and roll rebels who use performance and rhetoric to fight authority.
Solos: Assassins, bodyguards, killers, and soldiers for hire in a lawless new world.
Netrunners: Cybernetic master hackers of the post-NET world and brain burning secret stealers.
Techs: Renegade mechanics and doctors patching up meat and metal alike.
Medias: Newsmen, media stars, and social influencers risking it all for the truth.
Lawmen: Maximum lawmen patrolling the mean streets and road warriors highways beyond.
Execs: Corporate power brokers and business raiders fighting to restore the rule of the Megacorps.
Fixers: Deal makers, smugglers, organizers, and information brokers on the post-war streets of the future.
Nomads: Transportation experts and ultimate road warriors.
GETTING IT DONE - GAME MECHANICS
The mechanics of Cyberpunk are stupid silly easy. The game uses d10 and d6. Here are the basic game mechanics to Cyberpunk Red, the rest I can explain as we play:
INITIATIVE
To roll for Initiative, roll 1d10 and add the number of your REF attribute. (Initiative: REF + 1d10)
YOUR TURN
On your turn, you can perform a move and an action. Since this is pbp, move will be abstracted. Here are a list of actions you can perform for your action:
Attack, Grab, Choke (someone in a grapple), Throw, Get Up, Run, Use a Skill, Use an Object, Use NET Action (when hooked into Cyberspace).
RESOLVING ACTIONS WITH SKILLS
There's two types of ways to resolve skill resolutions: against someone else, or against a situation. To resolve an action against another living person, here is the mechanics formula:
Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Defender's STAT + SKILL + 1d10.
To resolve an action against a situation, the mechanics formula is the same but you're trying to beat a difficulty number establish by the GM:
Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Difficulty Value (DV)
A DV can be anywhere from 10 to 30 - the number you have to beat. (Defenders win if there's a tie.) The GM can also add modifiers to the DV to make it easier or harder to beat, like -4 for unfamiliar tools, -3 if it's really complex, or +3 for advantageous gear. The DV stays the same, you subtract or add the modifiers to your roll. So, in summary:
For skill checks, you roll:
Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Defender's STAT + SKILL + 1d10.
or
Attacker's STAT + SKILL + 1d10 vs Difficulty Value (DV)
For ranged combat, you roll:
Attacker's REF + Marksmanship + 1d10 vs Defender's DV (which is based on range)
For melee combat you roll:
Attacker's DEX + Melee Weapon Skill + 1d10 vs Defender's DEX + Evasion Skill + 1d10
Critical Success and Critical Failure: When you roll a natural 10 on your d10, you've scored a critical success! You get to roll another d10 and add it to your total. When you roll a natural 1 on a d10, you roll another d10 and SUBTRACT that number from your total.
Here's a combat test example:: Misha, a Solo, pulls out her heavy pistol and fires at Devilboy, a Nomad. Misha has a REF of 10, Markmanship of 6 and rolls a 7 on a d10. Devilboy is 13m away so that's DV of 20. For Misha, that's REF(10) + Marksmanship(6) + 1d10(7) for a total of 23. She scores a hit and rolls 3d6 for her damage - the damage for a heavy pistol. She rolls a 15! Devilboy is wearing Body armor with a soak value of 10, so Misha does 5 points of damage in total.
Here's a skill test example: Misha is chasing after Devilboy and has to scale a very high wall. The GM calls for an Athletics check, and we see that under Misha's character sheet, her Athletics is DEX + 5 + 1d10. The GM assigns the DV to be 14. Misha has a DEX of 7 so here's the formula: DEX(7) + Athletics(5) +1d10. She rolls an 10! That's a critical success, so she rolls another 1d10 and gets a 4. That's a grand total of 7 + 5 + 10 + 4 = 26 vs the DV14! AMAZING! Misha's athletic ability is still awesome after all these years.
Of course, there's a little more rules and other things you can do, like punching and kicking, and attacking with blades in your arms, etc, but mechanically, it all works the same and the GM will explain it as the situation arises.
ARMOR
Armor is rated by it's Stopping Power, or SP, which is how well it can stop damage. It can be worn on your body and head, and it's advised that you do both. When you are hit while wearing armor, you subtract your SP from the damage you took. If the armor soaks up all the damage, nothing else happens and you don't get hurt. If you do take hits, you take the difference in damage. Each time your armor is hit, your armor permanently gets reduced by 1 SP until you repair it, for example.
HIT POINTS, WOUND STATES, DEATH, HEALING
Hit points are a measure of how much damage you can take before you die. As you take damage, you deplete your hit point total. For now, you have Hit Points equal to 5 x BODY. As you take damage, you reach certain Thresholds eventually becoming impaired. They are: Lightly Wounded, Seriously Wounded, Mortally Wounded, and Dead.
Lightly Wounded: Less than full HP, no other effect, but it's a DV10 First Aid to get you healed.
Seriously Wounded: Less than 1/2 HP, -3 to all checks, DV13 First Aid to get you healed.
Mortally Wounded: Less than 1 HP, -5 to all checks. Make a Death Save at the start of every turn or die. DV15 to get you back to 1 HP.
Dead: One failed Death Save.
At the start of every turn you are mortally wounded, you must roll a Death Save. Roll a d10. If you roll under your BODY, you live, and can take your turn as usual with the -5 penalty. Future Death Saves are made at -1 each round that stacks until someone saves your ass with First Aid. If you fail a single Death Save, you die.
First Aid on a target or yourself depends on what wound state they are in. First Aid takes an action, like all other Skills, and is rolled: TECH + First Aid + 1d10. Once successful First Aid has been received, the target will heal a number of Hit Points equal to their BODY for each day they spend resting. Remember, a Mortally Wounded character who receives successful First Aid is immediately healed to 1 HP.
PROLOGUE ONE: JENNA AND QUACKY
"Hh!!"
Jenna startled awake in her bed, sitting halfway upright on her elbow. She waited a moment for her heart to stop pounding in her chest - a strange dream. This one was more detailed than other dreams she had. She was in a far away land, a strange and magical land, long ago. On a team, with people she didn't know. The craziest thing was - she could assume the guise of any humanoid she saw. In a panicked moment, she was ambushed and was being dragged away violently to some unknown fate. It was all so fuzzy. She blinked and mentally shook it off. Silly dream.
She looked at the clock. 4am. She sighed and detected movement on the floor to her right. On a small round pet bed, was Quacky looking at her very groggily, as if her bark had awoken him - which it did. "Sorry, Quacky." she said. "I had a crazy dream." Quacky honked once and lowered his head, going back to sleep.
Wearing panties and a thin t-shirt, Jenna got out of bed and into the bathroom to wash her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. Jenna had long straight pitch black hair that was usually made into a loose ponytail. Her lips were full and eyebrows were as dark as her hair. Her jawline was defined, her skin was tan and slightly scarred in places, and her slender athletic figure showed evidence of regular activity. What was most striking about her was that her real eyes were replaced years ago and were now cyber yellow, almost candy colored.
Jenna was what they generally called a lawman, but more specifically, in truth, she was a bounty hunter. Quacky, her pet duck, helped out Minjee, their friend who was a damn good Netrunner. Jenna had a few more friends too, like Pierce. Misha had introduced Jenna to him years ago. In fact, Jenna used to be in law enforcement like Misha, in the same building, even, until Jenna decided to strike out on her own after..the incident. **** the MegaCorps. Jenna and Misha remained friends, however, and that's when the Russian introduced Jenna to like minded individuals - Cyberpunks. Misha and Jenna never worked together - but she knew her well enough. Misha, impossibly strong, like stone, red, and with that accent - Jenna was more quick, catlike, limber, and clever. When the day finally came and Misha said she had to go, Jenna would miss her. The Russian's ignorant charm had an affect on everyone.
Jenna finished cleaning her face and walked over to her closet. Inside, on one half, were casual clothes. The other half had rows of the same type of outfit: a tight gray female business suit, thinly armored, and form fitting, easy to move in, professional looking. Black dress shirt, gun holster, and a spot on the inside vest for throwing knives - just in case. Closing the closet, she made sure not to step on Quacky as she looked out the window of her apartment. A beautiful vista of Night City was displayed through the glass. Business building, towers, lights, neon signs - it was like an electronic world that never slept, like Old Las Vegas before the Fourth Corporate War blew everything up.
Getting back into bed, she curled up and tried to go back to sleep.
PROLOGUE TWO - KAT
"Stop squirming," Kat said briskly to the Netrunner on her table. "It's just a little maintenance and stitching, you'll be fine." She scanned the long gash in Kinsie's leg with her datapad, taking in the damage to both the metal cyberleg knee and meat thigh. Checking the readout on her cyberarm screen, she nodded. "Over in a second. Where'd you jack in to get this? On second thought, don't tell me." She smirked as she pulled out her tools and got to work, sealing up the cyberleg and stitching the meat gash. "There, all done. Shoo."
With a word of thanks, Kinsie was out the door and gone, and Kat settled down on her couch, settling in to watch some videos while she finished printing a part. That was when the door crashed open, and two young men stumbled in. Without missing a beat, Kat picked up the shotgun from the table next to her and pointed it at them. "I don't have time to deal with a couple of guys too drunk, high, or just plain dumb to figure out which door they walked into - or who're trying to cause trouble. Get out."
Both men put their hands up, and one nearly collapsed on the spot with the movement. "Need help," he gasped. "Ty said...could help."
Kat gritted her teeth for a moment, then swore and put the shotgun down. "Table. Now. And you," she pointed at the other man, "sit down somewhere I can see you and explain. No sudden movements."
The injured man nearly fell onto the table, and Kat got to work, cutting his shirt open and taking a look at the bullet wound in his side. "We're Steel Vaqueros," his friend explained. "Ran into an Iron Sight. It...didn't go well."
"No kidding," Kat said dryly as she disinfected the wound, ignoring the hiss of pain from her patient as she got to work stitching. "And how the hell do you know Ty?" She tied off the thread. Please don't say he was there, the idiot.
"We met him a few years back, our caravans crossed paths. When he heard we were headed back here, he mentioned he had a sister in the city."
Well, that's just like Ty. Volunteering me for helping people without asking. Kat sighed. "Of course he did." She bandaged the wound quickly. "Stay low for a few days so you don't pop the stitches."
Her patient dropped off the table, wincing slightly with the movement. "Thanks."
"You can pay me back by keeping the boostergangs off my shop for the next few weeks," Kat said seriously.
"We'll see what we can do."
With the pair gone, Kat nearly collapsed on her couch with a huff. "**** you, Ty," she muttered. "Dragging me into this shit." But she knew he'd done it with good intentions. "But stop making decisions for me," she snipped to the air before making a face. It was high time to go to bed. The young woman rolled to her feet and climbed up the ladder to her loft bed and tucking her pistol under the pillow as usual. Kat closed her eyes and had her Agent pull up some peaceful music as she drifted off to sleep.
PROLOGUE THREE - DUST
Dust was sitting at a work bench in the corner of the garage, his pistol laying just in front of him as he groaned while staring at the newspaper in his hands. Yet another day without his name in the headlines, hell, there wasn't even a single article...not that he could blame anyone, there weren't any interesting jobs lately and he had been kicking back as he waited for Arcadia and old bum to finish the repairs to his ride. "Thinking of which....Oi! You two, how's Alice?" His gaze snapped over to his ride, a sleek black ground car that was held up on a lift as it's hood stood popped open. From under it, the soot filled locks and grease covered skin of his two roommates and friends looked at him in mild annoyance. "Shiv off idiot/punk."" After each of them unanimously made their retort, they went back under, returning to work on whatever it was they had. "Sounds like progress, I'll take it."
Chuckling, Dust stood up from his seat, grabbing his (very) heavy pistol before holstering it to his hip. He then nabbed his jacket of the rack and walked up the stairs just outside of the garage door, calling back to the two workaholics, "Head up if you need me." He threw the worn leather on his back and walked up the steps of the building, passing the entrance to their shared "house". He arrived at the roof and popped open his communicator, looking to see if anyone from the "team" was online to shoot the breeze. He lit a smoke and lean back into a old busted lawn chair that was nailed to the roof, his gaze followed the first puff of smoke as it rose into the clouded polluted skies. Where the 3 of them lived wasn't comfy or safe, but it was cheap and kept business coming in for the 2 in the garage, and people looking to hire for him. Dust was a good looking dude, athletic looking in a lean sense, and tied up brown hair that matched well with his stubble beard. His blue eyes, even without the glowing electronics of the lenses over them, seemed magnetic. His arms, both replacements from his original ones, were under his jacket sleeves and curled his fingers over the light of the cigarette as he puffed out another cloud.
Dust was what many called a Nomad, a form of drifter as it were, a man of the open road, trapped in an urban maze...the irony never really left him. He made his work as known as possible, priding himself in his driving and combat abilities. Ultimately, he joined up with some other Cyberpunks and began working with the likes of Jenna, her pet duck Quacky, and her friends...it was a weird group, but he felt they would allow him to reach new heights, plus, crazy went were crazy be, right? Even if they didn't lead to anything, something would find them soon enough, all they had to do was wait. He would take stay up on the roof for another half hour before snuffing out his smoke and heading back down to clean up in the garage, having heard the pair down there drop something. He rolled his eyes as he went down to do what he could.
Jenna got dressed. Even on her day off - and being self employed that could be anytime, never, or sometimes - she looked professional when she went outside. She holstered her heavy pistol, and shoved some small metal throwing knives in her waist brace. Buttoning up her vest, she grabbed her suit jacket and went into the kitchen. Quacky was there, and honked at her sitting someone impatiently on the counter.
"Coming up." she said in response, and proceeded to warm up in a small bowl, some peas in warm water. When the microwave dinged, she took it out, and placed it on the counter, where Quacky proceeded to gobble them up in a very messy and rapid fashion, splashing somewhat.
She checked her phone and her schedule while he ate. Yup. Nothing to do today. No jobs, no contracts, just an empty, clear day. Perfect. Might as well go see Min Jee and the others. She patiently waited for Quacky to finish his meal before he quacked again.
"Yeah. Let's go." she confirmed, and he waddled off the counter and followed Jenna to the apartment door as she left and locked it, a large metal bolt thunking to indicate it was secure. They took the elevator down and walked into the underground parking structure where they both got into the car. Quacky didn't have hands so he always just hopped onto Jenna's lap from her door. She started up the engine and pulled out of the structure, heading to Min Jee's apartment.
"****, we're almost out of coffee again." He said we, but really he meant he, since he was always the one who ended up buying coffee for the group. And they had been going through it faster since the new people showed up. Not long after Misha left, Jenna showed up, saying that Misha pointed her towards them. And then two others showed up as well. Pierce didn't particularly ask too many questions about where they came from. People come, people go, that's how things work.
Except Min-Jee, but it wasn't like she was going anywhere since she owned the apartment that he lived in. She was a good landlady, didn't ask too many questions about how he got rent every month, didn't have too many rules, was generally much more pleasant than his former landlords. So when some corporate ******** tried to blow up the apartment, he made sure to fight them off. Pro bono.
Pierce poured the last of the coffee mix into the coffee maker and turned it on. He'd have to go buy some more later. Perhaps he'd have enough money saved up to buy and extra large thing of coffee.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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Kat looked around the apartment. She was still a little nervous. Was it really a good idea to start living somewhere new? People knew where to find her old place, and that was bad and good. She scowled and shook her head. She'd left a message that any Nomads Ty sent her way would understand, telling them where to find her new place. Her usual customers knew where she was. The rest...they'd figure it out, sooner or later, and the Inquisitors had started to get a little too close to her old spot. The apartment looked a little empty, since her stuff was from a smaller space, but she'd filled it up pretty well.
Kat was a serious looking woman, her long brown hair back in a high ponytail and glasses (for show, of course, not out of necessity) framing her dark blue eyes. She wore a silvery jacket over a black shirt and pants, glowing blue lights indicating the location of her less subtle tech. Her left arm had been mostly replaced with a cyberarm with a blue screen built into it, linked to her glass and metal scanner. A pistol rested in a sheath at her hip, and her Agent was visible curving around her left ear.
Regardless of how unpacking was going, it was time to attend to a few final responsibilities. Kat snagged the money for her last deposit from the table and headed out the door, locking it behind her. Time to stop by Min-Jee's place to drop this off. Maybe she'd meet some neighbors too.
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
The coffee was ready just in time, as a visitor showed up to Min-Jee's place. Pierce poured one cup for himself, as well as Min-Jee, and then poured another one for the stranger. Pierce was a man in his 30s, with a fade haircut and a bit of a beard. He was wearing a blue casual dress shirt with a black jacket over it. Nobody really asked Pierce about it, but he preferred to dress in a manner where he looked reasonably professional, but also wouldn't be burdened by his clothing in a fight, or look like some blueblood that you could jump in the streets.
Of course, the pistol that he kept at his side also helped to dispel the impression that he was someone you could jump in the street. As well as the knife that he carried on him. And while his rippers were concealed in his cyberarm, they would also dissuade anyone who didn't get the hint the first two times. None of those things were as deadly as the assault rifle in his bedroom, but they were good enough to keep him safe when he wasn't doing a job.
"Name's Pierce." He says to the woman. "Got coffee for you. You'll have to ask Min Jee for cream and sugar. That's hers."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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Jenna and Quacky entered Min Jee's building from the front door, taking the elevator up. The apartment building was one of the few remaining in a modern corporate sector, and not too long ago, Min Jee, Pierce, Misha, and Oliver had to literally fight for their lives in a terrible night of a failed corporate takeover from WorldSat in their attempts to..vacate..the building to put up a new communications tower there instead.
Turned out to be a bad move on WorldSat's part.
Min Jee's building was also about four blocks away from Night City's Combat Zone, a commercial and residential geographical area where things were not so safe compared to the Corporate quadrants on the other side.
Either way, today was Jenna's day off, it was morning, and time for some coffee. Hopefully, before the headache.
Quacky honked a few times while in the elevator.
"No, I don't." Jenna admitted. "But I imagine we'll get to know her well enough. I'm sure she's very nice."
Quacky tilted his head and if a duck could give a human a skeptical look, there it was.
She chuckled. "I'm sure she's not some 'elder god worshiping demon in disguise'."
Quacky looked at her as deadpan as a duck could.
Jenna snorted and shook her head. "Honestly, where do you come up with this stuff? Let's behave and play nice, ok?"
Quacky honked feebly in a forced affirmative and the elevator doors opened.
"Look, if i'm wrong..i'll buy you a new bed." Jenna agreed, holding back a smirk. Quacky made a noise.
Jenna let herself in, knocking on the door while walking inside. "Hello! Min Jee? I'm here!" Then she saw Pierce and Kat. "Hey Pierce. Oh wow, that smells good." she said, looking at the cups of coffee. She turned to Kat. "Hi there." she said, extending her hand. "I'm Jenna." she nodded to the duck next to her. "This is Quacky."
Quacky honked in a greeting.
Wrapping up the cleaning in the garage, Dust helped his friends get to bed before heading back down to the garage. He brought down his car from the lift and began washing her down, giving her a nice polish that he was rubbing in when he got the notice from the team. Apparently they were getting together, ".....not really my kind of thing....eh, blaze it, why not." He tossed the towel onto a tool rack and got into the driver's side of his car.
"Alice", as Dust called her, was a 6-seater ground car with a lot of mileage on her. Originally stolen off an Oregan Radiation Blitzer, she was modded to match most standard police vehicles for speed, even when fully loaded with 6 people...unless of course said people were all packing some heavy heat....which in his line of work, was more often than he liked. Add to that a titanium bumper & sythn weave tires, Alice was a classy girl who got where she needed to be. And at the moment, that was MJ's place. "Think if we should grab some drinks on the way?" The engine roared as the car started up, and Dust chuckled, "That's my girl~"
Almost an hour after having received the message, Dust pulled up and parked just beside MJ's apartment. He got out and gave the car an affectionate pet before locking her down, holstering the crate of beet over his shoulder as he went up the front door and up the elevator shaft.
Arriving at the front door, seeing that it was already open, he simply bumped it open the rest of the way with his shoulder and announced himself, "Yo! Which one of you wants to get wasted?" He would then move the crate to the kitchen, setting it down on a counter. Only then did he turn around and actually see and address the people, "Oh, hey Stripes (Jenna), Duckling (Quacky), see you two got here before me."
"It's like, 9:00. It's way too early to get drunk." Pierce enjoyed a good drink, but not getting drunk. Drunkenness dulls the senses and worsens ones aim. And he preferred sweeter drinks anyway.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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Kat accepts the cup of coffee from Pierce with a word of thanks, then turns with a faint look of surprise as three more people walk into the apartment. Wow, this place really gets busy in the mornings, apparently. She shook Jenna's hand. "I'm Kat, I just moved in," she introduces herself. "Came up to give Min-Jee my last deposit." While she talks to the others, her eyes are jumping around the apartment in a mix of curiosity and natural watchfulness, taking in everything from what everyone's packing to the furnishing of the space. Her gaze sweeps out the window for a moment to take in Alice again, and she gives Dust a nod and a smile. "Nice ride. What's her name?"
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
"We did indeed." Jenna remarked to Dust.
Quacky honked.
"Alright." she told the duck, and it went into the bathroom. Somehow, he managed to close the door.
Jenna took a cup of coffee and drank some. She made a very pleased face. She also saw the booze Dust brought in, and for a moment, considered it. She turned to Kit. I mean, Kat.
"So. Just moved in?" she said. "Do you like it? What do you do?"
The scent of freshly made coffee wafted into her room, causing the small korean woman to wake up from her light slumber. She groans a bit, cracking an eye open to see the time... only to frown at how early it damn was. The hacker spent the whole night raiding in World Of Warlords, and she expected to be up by probably 2PM the latest, but her keen sense of smell simply wouldn't allow that at all. It was sad how she already knew who it was in her apartment, not even needing to check her security cameras to make sure it wasn't some WorldSat *****es or something worse. That passing thought only made her frown more, remembering the attack on her building some while ago, forcing her to up her security tenfold... "Ugh."
Her rubs her eyes and lays there for a few minutes longer, wanting to see if she closed her eyes and simply laid there, she would be back to sleep. Then she heard voices. Pierce... Jenna... Quacky... Dust... and the new tenant maybe. What the ****? Was there a party happening at her place and she wasn't invited? Didn't she tell the chick to come later in the day, damn it!? "Nugungaleul jug-ilgeoya."
Min-Jee gets up from her bed and throws on a robe before exiting her bedroom, getting a gander at who exactly was here. Her enhanced hearing didn't fail her, it seemed. "With the exception of my new friend here, why the **** are you guys here so early in the morning? Seriously, who willingly wakes up the early?" She shakes her head and grumbles something in Korean as she makes her way to the cup Pierce had poured her, taking out the sugar and cream from the cupboard and fridge respectively. After having poured a ton of sugar in her coffee, followed by loads of cream, it was almost a wonder how she managed to stay so thin. Her diet consisted of all the bad things, with little of the good, and very minimal workouts sprinkled throughout. High metabolism, she'd say!
She turns to face the group, leaning back on her counter and sips on her sugar and cream filled drink before speaking up again. "You guys miss me that much, huh?"
Aeyd of the Dragons || Wood Elf / Way of the Ascendant Dragon Monk
Demetrios Zalaoras || Protector Aasimar / Paladin of Torm
Hawke || Kalashtar / Circle of the Moon Druid
Morticia || Half-Aasimar Rogue
Yvan || Goliath / Path of the Wild Soul Barbarian | Paladin of Helm
/ᐠ。ꞈ。ᐟ\
"I'm a mechanic and doctor, from-" Kat starts to explain to Jenna before Min-Jee comes out, cursing in Korean. She senses Min-Jee's mood from long experience with all-nighters, and settles for sliding her new landlord the deposit money, making sure her metal fingers don't scrape up the counter.
Stella Diamant, Human Rogue 17 (Swashbuckler), The Exploits of Misfit Company
Kat, Medtech, Cyberpunk: Red
Shi, Changeling Bard 4 (College of Spirits), Tyrant's Grasp
Dani, Human Artificer 9 (Armorer), Skulls and Starships
DM, Project Point (Teams Scimitar and Longsword)
Everything Else!
Jenna was listening to Kat until Min Jee emerged. Jenna smirked, and made a comically surprised face. "We sure did." she said. Off in the bathroom, a toilet flushed, and the faucet turned on. Then, after a few moment, Quacky came out of the bathroom and honked at Min Jee.
"How does that duck know how to use the bathroom?" Pierce whispered. He shrugs when Min-Jee asks how he's able to wake up so early. "Waking up early is how I stay fresh." It was true. Pierce didn't have all of the alterations and drugs that other Solos did. He knew that he was putting himself at a disadvantage, but he also knew what the drugs did to your mind. So he worked to keep his awareness and reaction time at a high level, so that he'd be able to cut it. "And it helps that I didn't stay up until 4 am raiding."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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