The Sixth World, as it is called, can be both a wonderful and dangerous place if you are not careful. Magic has returned, and with it came Metahumanity, elves, dwarfs, orcs, trolls, and other supernatural races. Fantasy has became reality, but with all change, there is both good and bad. In this new world, mega corporations have risen in power to the point that they are on par with nations. Nations have collapsed and reformed into something new. New diseases such as the HMHVV or the Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus that turns people into flesh eating monsters of legend.
A lot has happened since the beginning of the Sixth World, and there are many stories but our tale focuses on a group of shadowrunners(elite criminals) that have been approached by the head of a minor corporation for a task. For this person has recently discovered that his daughter, who died years ago, might somehow be alive. The task is simple, locate the daughter, and if it is her, then bring her home.
A task that, while it seems simple and maybe a bit hard. It will get more complicated than they think, and locating the daughter is just the beginning.
Rules: 1. Expected to follow standard site rules 2. No godmodding or powergaming or etc... 3. No OP characters 4. A max of two characters 5. Minimum of one paragraph 6. This is a cooperative roleplay, so no backstabbing and try not to kill each other
Hello and welcome to the rp. Set in early 2075, players will be playing as shadowrunners that have accepted a job by a Mr. Johnson to find the head of a minor corporation's daughter, who may be alive, and if it is her, then to bring her home. Unwillingly, finding themselves in a more complicated situation than a simple, find the girl job.
The rp will start on a plane that is in route to the last known location of the daughter which was Lisbon, Portugal. The characters having already accepted the job to find the girl.
So, in regards to archetypes and races. For this rp, I will be limiting the races to humans, elves, dwarfs, orcs and trolls. All of their variants are allowed. For archetypes, while I have listed what they are, you have free reign to mix them if you want. Just limit it to, say, a mix of two archetypes.
If anyone has any questions, then feel free to ask.
Deckers can slide like a whisper through the databases of giant corporations, spiriting away the only thing of real value—information.
Street samurai are enforcers for hire whose combat skills and reflexes make them the ultimate urban predators.
Riggers can manipulate vehicles and drones for a variety of purposes.
Mages, those rare folk who possess the gift of wielding and shaping the magical energies that now surround the Earth, are sought after to spy on the competition, heal and buff their allies, sling spells against an enemy, commit magical sabotage, and any other purpose that their employers can dream up.
Shamans are specialized mages whose attunement to the natural magical forces allows them to support themselves and fellow shadowrunners with a variety of defensive spells, as well as summon spirits in combat.
Physical adepts, who use the awakened magical energies to refine their bodies to the point of absolute perfection and become the ultimate fighting machines.
Technomancer metahumans who have expressed the ability to affect computers directly, without terminals or intermediate devices of their own, as an act of will.
Name here
Street Name
street name here
Metatype
metatype here
Gender
gender here
Age
age here
Appearance
appearance here
Awakened
(Do you have magic?)yes or no here
Archetype
archetype here
Cybernetic or Bioware
cybernetics or bioware here(If any)
Personality
personality here
Equipment
equipment here
Background
background here
Useful Guide
Ares Macrotechnology - Owners of Apple, General Motors, and the Knights Errant, as well as hundreds of other subsidiaries and divisions, Ares Macrotechnology is the largest corporation in the United Canadian and American States and the leader in weapons manufacturing and defense contracting. The big, scary, patriotic corp that arms half the world, it is known for involving itself with clandestine operations quite frequently through the use of its private army, the corpsec poster children, the Knights Errant.
Aztechnology - Former cartel union turned corporate backers to the superpower that is Aztlan, Aztechnology dominate North America as the second largest megacorp in the world. Specializing in the magical industry and consumer goods, Aztech gear can be seen across the world, and their goods fill metahuman cupboards more than any other company. They are known in the shadows for their horrific, gruesome magical and genetics experiences, where many runners have disappeared to after crossing the megacorp.
Aztlan - Aztlan is a country covering all of Central America, between Rio Bravo and Nueces River and the Andes. The dominant power in North America, Aztlan is a corporate state like any other, ruled by Aztechnology through a puppet government. It frequently wars with the Native American Nations, which it was once a part of, the Confederate American States, and Amazonia.
Body shop - A body shop is an establishment offering cyberware (and bioware) implants. Legal body shops usually operate as part of hospitals. Illegal body shops, sometimes known as as "chop shops" for the low-quality establishments, or "black clinics" for the higher-end ones, often attached to similarly illegal street clinics, are operated by street docs.
Chummer - A word meaning friend in common runner lingo.
Corpsec - Corpsec, or corporate security, is a slang term for the various armed, militarized companies and private armies that exist to enforce the will of the megacorps. Ranging from the police contractors Lone Star, to the highly militarized Knights Errant, to the infamous and deadly Renraku Red Samurai, corpsec is the normal adversary to any experienced runner who has moved past fighting security guards and gangsters.
Evo Corporation - Largest Russian corporation and the leading figure in bio- and nanotechnology, Evo has transformed their home of Vladivostok into a technological Mecca.
Fixer - The intermediate between the shadows and other parts of the society. Fixers have numerous contacts, and some also have secondary specialties, such as smuggling, fencing, and so on. Fixers often know many powerful secrets, like the real identities of Mr. Johnsons, the runners, and such. Fixers, however, will not easily part with this information, as secrecy (plausible deniability) is part of the services they provide.
Hoi - A common greeting in the shadows, rooted in Dutch.
Horizon Group - Horizon is a media and public relations conglomerate based out of Los Angeles, in the Pueblo Corporate Council. Only a recent company that came to the surface after Crash 2.0, Horizon has fought its way to the limelight as a media giant, but hides a sinister streak just beneath the surface.
Matrix - The Matrix is the virtual reality wireless network that connects the Sixth World. Working with symbols and graphics, the wireless Matrix ensures that anyone with a comm or deck can connect through NeoNETs grid.
Mitsuhama Computer Technologies - Mitsuhama, or MCT, is primarily a computers and robotics developer, but also deals in magical goods and multimedia as part of their diverse holdings. Leading in the Simsense market and following S-K in industry and Aztechnology in magic, MCT is a giant in Asia, perhaps because of its close Yakuza connections.
Mr. Johnson - The anonymous corporate employers of Shadowrunners call themselves. It is a nickname like the names used by runners to conceal his true identity and the one of the corporation he works for.
Nuyen - Nuyen, often abbreviated as nu, is the official currency of the Imperial State of Japan, and the leading global currency in the Awakened world. Officially adopted and managed by the world's largest bank and taken on officially by several countries, including the Native American Nations that surround the UCAS, it has become the standard for international trade over the past half century, accepted anywhere with a Matrix link.
Omae - A common word meaning "best friend" among runners. Can often be used sarcastically to refer to someone you dislike.
Renraku Computer Systems - The fifth largest corporation in the world and among the largest in Japan, Renraku has weathered a thousand storms and retained its status as a leading megacorp in computer technologies. The home of the dangerous and fanatical Red Samurai, they are a force in the shadows, known to outsource their espionage efforts to runners for a decent wage. They have recently survived the Arcology Shutdown, in which their massive worker city was locked down by a rogue AI, torturing its residents for two years before being defeated.
Saeder-Krupp - Owner of BMW and largest corporation in the world, it functions as the personal hoard of the Great Dragon Lofwyr, who is the company's sole owner and CEO. With divisions responsible for everything from firearms to aerospace, S-K has their hands in everything, and through their wealth and power Lofwyr is able to play the strings of fate to his will.
Shiawase - A family owned business from Japan and eighth largest megacorp in the world, Shiawase has eked out a profitable existence by remaining under family control. It was only recently forced into internal conflict when the Empress married an Otaku member of the family and started off the Shadow Wars, with her allies and the directors board fought for control of the company.
Simsense - Entertainment media that allows the user to experience the senses and feelings of another person within a prerecorded setting. While used legitimately to showcase detailed shows or experiences that can be felt "first hand," an illegal market exists for so called Better Than Life or BTL, which lack the inhibitors placed on legal simsense. They can range from illegal porn to thrilling gunplay to gruesome murder.
SIN - A SIN, or System Identification Number, is the virtual footprint of an individual who is the citizen of a Global SIN Registrant country. Part birth cert, part passport, part social security number, SINs are how the government keeps a track of its population in the Awakened, wired world. Almost all legitimate citizens have them, and those that don't are usually operating under fakes.
SINless - Being "SINless" is the state of not having a SIN, either because you were not registered at birth, or your destroyed anything that might connect you to that old identity. Most SINless are the poor, immigrants, or otherwise outcasts from society who are prevented from participating in society by denying them a SIN. Others, namely runners, "burn" their SINs to prevent the government from tracking them or their crimes.
Street clinic - a street clinic is an illegal medical establishment, where SINless, criminals and shadowrunners can obtain medical services (often, through not always, emergency). The medical practitioners in those establishments are known as street docs.
Soy - Genetically engineered soy is used as a replacement product for many meats, as well as other products on the food market. Soybeef is now the main protein component in many establishments for use in items from burgers to burritos, while soykaf has dominated the beverage market for decades.
Wuxing, Inc - The largest Chinese corporation and based out of the corporate city state of Hong Kong, Wuxing is focused primarily on shipping and consumer goods, but since achieving worldwide AAA status, has expanded rapidly into other fields. It has a unique interest in spirits and their connection to magic, and is among the strongest new megacorps to take the field following Crash 2.0
I do love that pretty much everyone PM'd me; just to make a blanket statement, nobody pitched anything that seemed to me to be off the wall or excessive in any capacity. I'll be delaying my own personal musings until everyone else has ironed out their ideas so as to help people better.
Shouldn't be too crazy if that's the conversion. It's mostly just 'drop the numbers' and 'emphasize the vibe'. What in particular do you think is a wonky conversion?
Shouldn't be too crazy if that's the conversion. It's mostly just 'drop the numbers' and 'emphasize the vibe'. What in particular do you think is a wonky conversion?
Lack of a long bio, lack of a personality paragraph to fill the personality section, and just lack of fluff in general.
Mystic Adept (Magician + Physical Adept; yes, it's in the Tabletop)
Cybernetic or Bioware
N/A
Personality
He cannot fix everything, but he can fix some things. He cannot save the world, but he can save himself. But did he deserve salvation after failing everyone?
It technically was not his fault. He was just fifteen three years ago. The Flux State was floundering by then, sapped by attrition from the Corporates until its days were numbered. But he was an Awakened, damnit! He should have held out a little longer and fought a little harder. If he had... Maybe his parents and brother would not have died.
That prison he was taken to after defeat and captivity doubled as a laboratory. The tests, the torment, the wearing down of his sense of self until he accepted that he was not going to get out - He had given up.
Then, his rescue was by the reconstituted and reinvigorated Anarchist Black Cross. He's being given enough to survive as a shadowrunner. His' finding a home, in Madrid, working for the very Corporations he detested, and at eighteen, trying to drown out the memory of his dead past with... Vices.
Desperately seeking a purpose in life, hoping, but not set, on it being 'moral'. He won't hurt others for the fun of it or because of malice, but while he wants to help others... He'd seen where that led. But maybe, hope isn't necessary to survive, after all.
All Reinhard had ever known was the Flux State in the East of Berlin. His parents were Shadowruners who focused on doing some good and sticking it to the Corpos. In the Flux State, Anarchism somehow worked and conventional economic and political wisdom did not apply. He had a baby brother; a Technomancer. They were all happy, despite the storm clouds that were drawing near as the Corporations decided to take what remained of Berlin for themselves.
When the final Corporate assault on the Flux State came, Reinhard had already Awakened as a Mystic Adept and was in the early stages of training how to fight. He and his parents fought to defend the neighborhood they lived in, but at the end of the day, the Corporation forces - And their Artillery - Were just too strong.
Only he had survived the bombardment that had taken down his street's crude defenses, taking down several Corpo footsoldiers before being captured and, after his show of magical force was assessed, put in a black van to vanish into the Corporates' prison systems, which also doubled as unethical laboratories and labor camps. Despite being only fifteen then, he was deprived of all rights and legal existence as his person, and what he went through... He still wakes up screaming from that, and one of his fears is that he will never truly be free of it.
The worst thing he could admit to himself was that they broke him. They made him plead for mercy, promise his obedience, promise to do everything they wanted if they would just stop torturing him, pleading that he knew his place, that he was their property now. And he wasn't lying.
But they continued. He was just young, just lost everything, but they didn't care. They could do anything they wanted to him without his permission, and what they wanted was to extract every bit of information/toil/profit that they could from experimenting on him, and there was sadism in the mix as well. Then, there was an explosion, followed by a raid. During the years of his captivity, the Anarchist Black Cross had reconstituted themselves and began launching raids to free the survivors of Berlin.
Not that it would bring back the Flux State; those days had sailed. Nevertheless, Reinhard accepted freedom, albeit without hope. He accepted safety, sanctuary, and enough training to survive in the outside world without immediately giving himself away to corporations, criminals, and the remaining nations. Eventually, he became a Shadowrunner in Madrid.
Reinhard made a name for himself as 'Tenno', doing minor jobs and occasionally risky ones. He stayed away from ones too close to Corporate and National politics, though, not wanting the tragedies of his life to repeat themselves once more.
Not that he was the only one who suffered. It's not like he was the only one who will suffer in the future. But for now, he was done chasing hope that wasn't there.
He wants to survive; as he sits on the plane heading for Libson, he knows he needs to survive.
Standing 1.8 meters tall, Nadya has a lithe build, with subtle cords of muscle hidden beneath a graceful form. Fair skinned, she is ambiguous in terms of ethnicity, and it is hard to place where she exactly she is from. She has soft brown eyes set in almond-shaped frames that dance with curiosity. Her brown hair is wavy, cut with her own claws, and never reaches past her shoulders.
Gifted with a catlike elegance, Nadya moves with the steady ease of a predatory creature. Swathed in silence and shadows, she possesses an exceptional ability to move unseen and unheard.
Of two minds when it comes to fashion, Nadya alternates between corporate chic and punk styles dating from the Fifth World. Her day-to-day outfits are a rotating selection of second hand armored business suits, dress shirts, leather dress shoes, and expensive ties. For more relaxed settings, she does her best to capture an older spirit of punk through the heavy use of black jeans, torn band t-shirts, leather jackets, combat boots, and far too much black eyeliner.
Awakened
Yes
Archetype
Physical Adept
Berserk Berserker's Rage Combat Sense Counterstrike Critical Strike (Unarmed) Killing Hands Light Body Pain Resistance Rapid Healing Wall Running
Nadya is a student of the Yielding Way, more commonly known by runners as Jujitsu. This martial art is particularly useful for Nadya when she is faced with armored and armed opponents. Using the force of her foes against them, she is able to defeat such advantaged enemies even without any weapons. Her techniques center on subduing, throwing, and disarming her opponents.
- Called Shot (Disarm) - Chin Na (Catching and Locking Joints) - Clinch - Sacrificial Throw - Sweep - Throw Person
Bioware/Cyberware
Claws (Retractable) - Courtesy of her corporate creators, Nadya sports ten fingeres worth of razor sharp claws, much like those of a cat, that can be retracted or extended at her whim.
Synaptic Booster (R3) - As an experimental product, a prototype in almost every way, Nadya's entire nervous system has been heavily modified by Evo Corporation scientists. To permit lightning fast reaction times, the nerve cells of her spinal cord have been broadened and replicated with proprietary bioware, facilitating a neural bandwidth several times higher than that found in the unaugmented.
Personality
A tranquil sea in an ocean of violence, Nadya is one of the friendliest Shadowrunners that you will meet. She is a cheerful figure who will offer a smile and a polite nod, even as she prepares to cut you into smaller ribbons with her sharpened claws. Full of hope, Nadya bristles with a wild curiosity, a reckless desire to see and do more that drives her straight into the arms of fresh trouble.
Raised to serve as the personal servitor and bodyguard to high-ranking corporate executives, Nadya commands the full range of social talents required to hold such a position. She is a capable conversationalist, demonstrating a wide range of knowledge across cultural, historical, and political domains. A corporate education has subtly modeled her, permitting her to move easily through corporate and high society. She is warm, empathetic, and outwardly exhibits few of the characteristics of a vat born ninja.
Steeped in Zen Buddhist philosophy doled out by her corporate overlords, Nadya maintains a matter-of-fact approach to violence. She shows little remorse for her opponents and happily dispatching anyone that stands in the way of her objectives. However, there is a quiet honesty to her, a sense of unflinching moral strength and loyalty. She is who she is and makes no effort to pretend otherwise.
Having built a new life, Nadya cares deeply for Frost and aggressively maintains that the troll is her older sister. Arguments suggesting otherwise, no matter how well-intentioned, are liable to be very poorly received. Beyond the strength of her personal ties, Nadya is deathly afraid of being captured and returned to Evo Corporation. As a result, she will react violently and with complete abandon to any attempts to restrain or imprison her.
Qualities
Ambidextrous - Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter all that much to Nadya, she's learned to use each of her two hands as well as the other, particularly when it comes to combat.
Biocompatibility - Designed from the ground up to be a bioware test bed, Nadya's doesn't just accept bioware implants, but slots them in seamlessly as if they were always a part of her body, lessening the impact such scientific meddling has on her to the point that it is no longer noticeable outside of exploratory surgery.
Catlike - Nadya sleeps like a cat, moves like a cat, falls like a cat, and scratches like a cat. She's stealthy. She's scarily silent. And even unarmed she has claws that HURT.
Prototype Transhuman - A walking, talking fairy tale, Nadya is a whispered story come to life. An genetically crafted, experimental post-human prototype cooked up in the deepest, darkest depths of an Evo Corporation's laboratory. Built better than a baseline human, her body has been tastefully enhanced with discreet, bleeding edge bioware that would make a back alley street doc sing with glee. The downside to such improvements is that Evo Corporation is keen, very keen to reacquire their lost arcane wonder.
Way of the Warrior - Way of the Warrior - Nadya has run, she's fought, and she's fucking bled. She's spent her life turning her body into a lethal weapon. She's got that shit. That shit that keeps her going, long after she's got no reason to."
Big Regret - Deep within her psyche, Nadya has buried a series of corporate missions. Successful in every way, they trouble her, not due to the final outcome, but rather because of what she did.
Driven - Nadya wants answers. She wants to know when she was born. She wants to know where she was born. She wants to know where her genes came from. And she wants to know what happened to her friends. This obsession drives Nadya, sometimes propelling her headfirst into danger.
Addiction - Nadya is mildly addicted to stimulants. Lacking easy access to corporate combat drugs, she relies on a carefully paced dosing and use of Cram, Jazz, Kamikaze, Novacoke, and Psyche. She is particularly fond of recreational usage of Bliss, designer Novacoke, and pharmaceutical grade Psyche.
Wanted - Having spent no small amount of money to design, develop, and train Nadya, Evo Corporation is very interested in "recovering" their lost prototype transhuman.
Equipment
Steyr TMP - Aiming to suppress enemies long enough to get up close and personal, Nadya favors a Steyr TMP loaded with 30 rounds of FMJ. To allow some volume of fire, she keeps three spare magazines tucked on her person. She stores the machine pistol in a concealable holster worn in the small of her back, helping to ensure it remains hidden from prying eyes. Given her distinct lack of a datajack or smart link capable cyberware, Nadya utilizes the built-in top-mounted laser sight to help her hit her targets. For discreet missions she has purchased a removable silencer.
Defiance EX Shocker - Acknowledging that sometimes dealing out death isn't the right choice or alternative, Nadya carries a Defiance EX Shocker, a wireless taser capable of putting down even an adult troll.
Pepper Punch Grenades x 2 - To resolve desperate situations or to buy some needed space, Nadya finds pepper punch grenades to be just the thing.
Armor Jacket - Nadya's most prized possession is a reproduction United States Air Force A-2 flight jacket. Created from ballistic fiber weave, Nadya has had the jacket modified to suit her personal tastes, affording greater protection from electrical, fire, and chemicals. Emblazoned on the back of the flight jacket is the text Flying Tigers, a squadron insignia showing a cartoon Bengal Tiger with blue wings leaping in between two blue rays, and below that the text American Volunteer Group. When asked, Nadya says that the jacket was a gift from her older sister, Frost. [Concealed Pockets] x 2 - Large enough to store a holdout pistols, commlink, or other similarly sized objects. - [6 Non-conductivity] - [4 Fire Resistance] - [2 Chemical Protection]
Auctioneer Business Clothes - Nadya owns several pairs of used armored suits that she has had tailored to fit her. She makes good use of the concealable holster discreetly sewn into the jackets. - - [4 Non-conductivity] - [2 Fire Resistance] - [2 Chemical Protection]
Gas Mask - Tucked on her person, Nadya keeps a compact but effective gas mask. It's hard to avoid eating her own Pepper Punch grenades otherwise.
Transys Avalon - Keen to avoid being hacked or jammed, for proper comms, Nadya owns a competitively priced Transys Avalon commlink.
Meta Link - Nadya has two cheap Meta Link commlinks intended only to be used as burner phones.
Micro-Transceiver - For missions, Nadya has a set of ear buds and an adhesive subvocal microphone to allow hands-free communication. Critically, the Micro-Transceiver permits voice communication via good old radio waves for when broadcasting live on the Matrix is not an advisable option.
Trodes - Uninterested in a datajack, Nadya keeps a pair of wound up trodes, for those rare times where she needs to connect to the matrix or pop up her own DNI.
Bliss x 2 - Racked by nightmares, guilt, and a host of unresolved issues, Nadya keeps a stash of Bliss to help her hit new levels of calm. It's hard to feel bad when you are floating on clouds and feeling only the warm fuzzies. The pain resistance afforded by Bliss is merely a happy side effect as far as Nadya is concerned.
Cram x 2 - Sometimes even a souped up super soldier needs an additional edge on a run and Nadya makes no bones about adding amphetamines to her arsenal.
Jazz x 2 - One of her oldest friends, Nadya turns to Jazz when she needs to turn up the noise up a notch from the usually delightful Cram fueled rush.
Kamikaze x 1 - Nadya's last resort on a run is a quick shot of Kamikaze that she keeps on her person. Dangerous in any dosage, the tailored combat drug is the closet replacement Nadya has managed to acquire to the proprietary drugs that Evo Corporation supplied her with.
Novacoke x 2 - Cast into high society, albeit as a servant, Nadya nonetheless has warm feelings concerning social drugs like Novacoke. A stimulant to keep her awake, keep her moving, and to help the good times flow seems like a wonderful thing to her.
Psyche x 1 - Purely for pleasure and to solve occasional puzzles, Nadya seeks out Psyche.
Zen x 1 - When meditation fails her, Nadya turns to Zen to enter trance-like states.
Silver Credstick Standard Credstick 2 Stim Patches (Rating 6) 1 Trauma Patch 1 Tranq Patch Medkits (Rating 3) Medkits (Rating 6) 10 Stealth tags 10 Data Chips 10 Standard tags Chisel/Crowbar Mini-welder Metal Restraints 10 Plastic Restraints
Background
"Yeah, I've heard the rumors. So what? We all have. They're just stories. You think the Megacorps could keep it under wraps if they had pulled it off? If they had managed to create something new? Something different? Something post-human?"
"Nah, don't make me laugh, Chummer. There isn't an army of super soldiers squirreled away in some bunker and kept on ice."
- Pr1nce$$
The dwarf appeared out of the shadows, ambling confidently through the crowd. In his hands were two glass mugs slopping over with beer. He made no greeting as he put down the mugs. Beer spilling with every inevitable shift of the wobbly table. He pulled out a battered pack of cigarettes with a shrug, taking his time. He had learned decades earlier to enjoy the small moments. Holding a cigarette lazily between his lips, he extended his right index finger, a small flame setting it alight. Smiling, he took a long pull, embers moving towards him as he inhaled, and then exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. His grey eyes lingered on the woman sitting in front of him.
"Let me tell you a story..."
"It starts in the Ural mountains. In an underground research facility. Yamatetsu Corporation. Course' they call themselves Evo Corporation now. There was always this idea. This pipe dream that the corporate scientists couldn't let go of...Transhumans."
"I'm told that the pitch went something like this: "What if we could build our own army? What if we could force the next evolutionary leap? What if we could go beyond humans and metahumans? What if we could create real post-humans. Our own genetically crafted soldiers. Patented, of course. No cumbersome cyberware, but bioware, special organs grown into them from their inception. Awakened, fully powered spellcasters. The perfect synergy of augmentation and magic. No weaknesses and no flaws."
"The execs ate that shit right up. And I'll give the bastards credit. It was successful. As far as corp wonder-weapon projects go, anyways."
"Most of the subjects weren't viable. So they were recycled. Turned into spare parts. Or just tossed into the blender and thrown back into the vat as fresh genetic material. Turns out it's not easy to paste together a grab bag collection of genes. Who would've thought?"
"Those that made it...let's call them potential candidates, were spirited away to a corporate creche. Raised by corp caretakers. Minded by corp minders. And watched by corp security. SOP for a serious outfit. What was a smidge more novel was running their subjects through a training program designed by some half-mad AI to maximize the rate of Awakenings."
"That was the only real hiccup. You can't force Awakening. Even the best and the brightest researchers couldn't crack that nut. So instead, they brute forced it. Probably best not to ask how many times they had to start over. How many bodies they chopped up to end up with just one Awakened. Some of the lucky failures were repurposed, stuffed with chrome and used for corp ops. The rest...ah...well, I don't need to spell it out for you."
"The successes. The vat born that Awakened were spirited off to a string of corporate academies. Finishing schools, if you want to think of it that way. They were taught how to act. They were taught how to blend in, how to fit in among the rubes and the elites. They were taught how to fight. They were coached by trusted physical adepts. They were instructed by vetted mages. They were turned into corporate weapons."
"Hard to tell though, innit?" The dwarf said, pausing to take a long pull of beer. Draining most of one mug, he grinned, nudging the other mug towards the woman. He raised a hand in her direction as he continue, "How do you know? How do you really know if you're sitting across from a souped up physical adept bristling with bioware worth more than a small mountain of credsticks?"
The woman tensed, her hands tightening into fists, and the dwarf could see the violence in her eyes threatening to travel to rest of her body. She was quicker he knew. Far quicker than he had ever been. Even in his prime, long decades ago.
"That was the point, obviously. Corp execs and socialites like to be discreet. And who doesn't want their own vat born ninja?"
"How do you know all of this?"
"Trade secrets, I'm afraid," the dwarf said with a wink, "But I don't need to convince. You know it's all true, don't you, Nadya?"
"Yes."
"How'd you get away?"
"Field ops in Beijing. A high value extraction. We were guarding a turncoat scientist willing to come over from the Big A. We were compromised. They located our safehouse. Some hotshot Azzie decker pinged it and vectored a Azzie kill squad. Most of my team was wiped out, including my handler. There didn't seem to be much point in fighting after that. The mission was a failure. And I had a chance. So I ran."
"Still, you knew they had to come looking. There was no chance they wouldn't notice you weren't dead."
"Yes, but I had a head start."
"You did! And you caused quite a ruckus. In truth, I didn't think you'd make it."
"I got lucky. Found a boat. Made a deal. Got off the mainland. And made some friends."
"Oh, I know all about your friends, particularly your large friend. And incidentally, the cannon she has pointed at me right now. I don't think she'll miss at this range. Shall we call it 1.5 km?" the dwarf said, flashing a golden smile. The metal gleamed in the half-lit darkness, as he waved nonchalantly across the beer garden.
"She won't miss," Nadya agreed.
"Wonderful! However, as I said, you needn't worry. We are on the same side."
"There are no sides. Only runs. Only corps to be avoided. And you...who are you?"
"Grimjack, my dear Wildfire, call me Grimjack."
"Why are you helping me?"
"Call it an investment."
"Who are you working for? Ares? Aztechnology?"
"Goodness, no. I serve no master, save myself, of course."
"Flux State?" She asked, reaching backwards across the years in search of motivation.
"Ha, no, they were children. I've been at this game longer than that."
He could see she had made a decision. He could sense the shift in her aura. The dwarf raised both his hands, holding palms facing forward, "Hey, hey, relax! I told you, we're on the same side."
"Hmph! You keeping speaking of sides. What side is that?"
"The only side worth fighting for, razorgirl, you just don't know it yet."
Wildfire's totally sister, here! Still working on finishing it up.
Jackie "Frost" Hara
Street Name
Frost
Metatype
Troll (Fomorian)
Gender
Female
Age
28
Appearance
Large and imposing, though not quite as large as baseline trolls, Frost is still hard not to notice. Standing in close to 8 feet in height, and weighing somewhere around the ballpark of 400 lbs, Frost is built like a brick shit house of bone and brawn. Despite her stature, Frost actually has a notably soft step and a surprising amount of deft given her size. Though lacking the dermal deposits present on baseline trolls, her pale skin is still hardened like leather hide, and her light brown hair is usually kept short and out of the way, and a crown of short horns circle the edge of her skull. Frost almost always dresses in what could be described as mil-chic. An appropriate mix of techy/edgey style and military utilitarianism.
Awakened
No
Archetype
Street Samurai
Cybernetic or Bioware
Wired Reflexes
Orthoskin
Cyberarm - Right
Titanium Bone Lacing
Smartlink
Datajack
Personality
In a word, frosty. Frost is a prickly, cold, foul mannered bitch, and couldn't give a damn about the opinions of strangers. Pessimistic and realistic, Frost is well aware that this is a dog-eat-dog world, and given a choice, Frost eats, every time. Frost is blunt as a boulder and tells things exactly how she sees them, and her bedside manner is lacking. Still, she is not without morals, and has lines even she won't cross. She keeps collateral damage to an acceptable amount and doesn't like to get 'innocents', particularly children involved in runs.
Like a blizzard, Frost bounces between calm and fury as the situation dictates. Far from emotionless, Frost keeps her passions close to the chest, and outside of snarky or sarcastic quips during runs, keeps things like her explosive temper in check for when she is in a relatively safe place. She has a notable soft spot for her adoptive sister Nadya, and is extremely protective of her. When involved with people she is close to, Frost is notably warmer, though still somewhat grumpy and standoffish.
Equipment
A bit of a gun nut, and a veritable walking armory, the vast majority of Frost's income is spent on guns, and gun accessories, and she typically has something for any given situation. While physically incapable of carrying all the guns she owns at once, Frost regularly tailors her kits for the expected threats on a run- typically a primary, one or two secondaries, and occasionally a heavy weapon if the potential situation demands.
Ares Alpha (Primary) - A best seller for a reason. Powerful, accurate, reliable, and comes with a grenade launcher and smartgun link. What's not to like? Frost's is additionally fully kitted out with an imaging scope, laser sight, suppressor and sling.
Ingram Smartgun X (Primary) - Another classic. SMG fitted out with a gas vent system, smartgun link and suppressor.
AK-98 (Primary) - Reliable, durable, replaceable. While one of the less expensive weapons in her arsenal, Frost regardless takes good care of it. Fitted out rather simply with a sling and extended magazines.
Panther XXL (Heavy) - The big, mean troll's pet cat. An assault cannon firing tank ammunition, and comes standard with a smartgun system. Frost has additionally kitted her's out with an imaging scope, bipod and sling.
Terracotta ARMS AM-47 (Heavy) - A troll sized sniper rifle for troll sized problems. Only slightly less obtrusive than the Panther. Comes standard with an imaging scope, bipod and smartgun link.
Ares Predator V x2 (Secondary) - The iconic runner pistol, with a built-in smartgun system- and about as small a weapon as Frost can handle. Frost's pistols are fitted out with laser sights, gas vent systems and concealed quickdraw holsters.
Remmington Roomsweeper x2 (Secondary) - Sawn-off Shotgun in a heavy pistol frame. For when a room must be cleared, with little concern about collateral damage. Fitted out with laser sights and smartgun links.
Knucks (Secondary) - Notable, one of the only nonlethal weapons Frost carries in her arsenal- well, as nonlethal as a giant troll punching you in the head can be. For when a mere fist is not quite enough.
Alongside her chosen weapons, Frost has a set of equipment she'll typically take with her:
Survival Knife - a handy knife with a suite of extra functions including multitool, micro-lighter, GPS monitor and ARO maps built into it. The blade is coated with an inert chemical than can be activated to shine light. Frost's knife has a little charm from Nadya hanging off the handle.
Form-fitting Body Armor - basically a second skin, Frost never leaves home without it. Modded to be thermal dampening.
Armored Jacket - Troll sized heavy jacket. Fitted to be nonconductive and fire resistant.
Full Body Armor - When social restraints are not present, or when heavy combat is expected, Frost drops the jacket for a full set of body armor and helmet. Chemically sealed, nonconductive and fire resistant. The helmet has flare compensators and noise dampener.
Goggles - For 'light duty' purposes. Comes with magnification and flare compensators.
Respirator - For use in conjunction with the goggles in place of a gas mask.
Commlink - A gift from her younger sister, a supposedly hack and jamproof Transys Avalon comm link. Frost also owns a set of Micro-Transceivers for them as well.
Fake SIN
Weapons License
Concealed Weapons License
Cyberware License
Miscellaneous Gear
Silver Credstick
Standard Credstick
Stim Patches x2
Trauma Patch
Medkit
Background
Born and subsequently orphaned on the streets of Hong Kong, there weren't a whole lot of prospects for a Sinless Troll other than fight, rob and steal. So that's what she did. Jackie's earliest days were spent struggling for survival. Stealing food from stalls, or mugging the people that caught her. Strong for her size, but still a child, it was a miracle Jackie made it to adolescence without becoming a statistic.
After attempting to rob the wrong- or maybe the right people, Jackie found herself taken in by a small band of paramilitary operators, the 22nd Flying Tigers, a former UCAS marine unit turned mercenary outfit operating out of a small shipping boat out and around the South China Sea. Being a small unit, they found work for her almost immediately. From cleaning and maintaining gear, to sneaking around and scoping things out with binoculars and a commlink. Soon after began the weapons training, rifle drills and target shooting; which Jackie proved to be rather apt at. Jackie was as big as a grown man by the time she was 15, though she never participated in more than light duty until she turned 18, when she became a full fledged member of the unit.
Unfortunately, the story of the Flying Tigers was ultimately cut short. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. A series of missions gone south, dwindling resources, casualties and defection and eventually the Flying Tigers were down to but two, Jackie and the Old Timer that picked her up to begin with. By the time she was 20, the 22nd Flying Tigers were effectively defunct.
It was around then Jackie took her first steps into the world of shadowrunning. Despite her youth, Jackie was still a troll- and a fomorian at that, and therefore more acceptable to the more conscientious eye. With what connections the Old Timer had, Jackie first found work as a hired muscle for rich chaebols out of Korea or independent Chinese businessmen, before graduating to wetwork, gun running and more lucrative bodyguard posts.
A few years into this new life and Jackie- now Frost was met with a strange but familiar circumstance. Like herself years before, someone tried to steal their boat. Finding a kindred spirit in the would-be boat jacker, and also finding a need for more hands on deck, Frost and the Old Timer would adopt Nadhezda, who was quickly renamed Nadya. Frost and the Old Timer would take a hiatus from work to spend the next year or two getting her up to speed, not with the skillset of a rifleman, but of a shadowrunners, and soon they were back in business.
Now 28, Frost has quite a few years of running with Nadya, and a few more years on top of that under her belt. Experienced and well versed in the life, nearing but not quite a seasoned veteran just yet, Frost has had her ups and downs, successes and scrapes. Hoping to break another, dreadfully familiar streak of not-quite-successes, Frost and Wildfire's next job takes them to Portugal to hopefully turn their luck around. While Frost is wary about working for such a small Corp, money is money, and there are bills to be paid.
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