CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE-Sample Adventure-The Suspects

CYBER-PULP FANTASY CORE

© Jerry Harris 2013

Published here as Open Game Content.

(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Overview Index 

Adventure Index

The Suspects

If a suspect is confronted at an encounter, here’s some info to help role play it.

Milo Sanders

--Motive: Vengeful ex.  He was monitoring her research.  Milo waited until she’d had some sort of break through and then had her killed.

--Method: Lila was using equipment stolen from Milo’s company, U-tech.  He had a backdoor into her system and used neural feedback to kill her while she was jacked in.  He had his security chief, Randall, go in afterward and take the Soul Crystal.  The police have been bribed to cover it up.

--Alibi: Milo was still pining away for her and hoping for a reconciliation.  When he heard about Lila’s death, he put Randall on the case to find the killer.  Wants Virtual Lila as a memorial, to preserve her.

Man-Zero

--Motive: Jilted lover.  Lila had used him to get the Soul Crystal and then stiffed him on handing over the access codes for the Black Ice he wanted.

--Method: Used a contact poison that caused brain death that was activated by electrical contact (jacking in).  Using a Stealth Cloak, he grabbed the Soul Crystal and has tried to sell it back to Ophidian, whom he actually stole it from.  (Where did he get that poison?  Sounds like a Drow concoction.  Something to perhaps follow up on in another adventure.)  He’s convinced that Lila was withholding the activation codes from him and that they’re out there somewhere (like Virtual Lila).

--Alibi: Man-Zero was on the run from Ophidian’s agents for the theft, or was caught, interrogated and released by him. 

Neural-mancer Meat-Puppet

--Motive: Professional revenge.  Lila had used him for information to find a Drow Soul Crystal and stole a Black Ice program from him.   

--Method: Used an experiment “Soul Gun” and a Time Stop device to kill her and take the Soul Crystal and her research.  (Time Stop is a spell that the real Neural-mancer knows.  The Soul Gun is one of his current projects.  In game terms, it damages people’s negative hp and leaves them soul-less, but with their bodies unharmed.)

--Alibi: The Puppet was more worried that the Neural-mancer was going to find out about his screw-up and was hoping to pass off his relationship with Lila as a collaboration.  Her death has had him scrambling trying gather whatever he can from her research.  He’d especially like to get Virtual Lila, but even having the Soul Crystal may be worthwhile. 

Ophidian

--Motive: Punishment.  Lila used Man-Zero to steal the Drow Soul Crystal from Ophidian’s private collection (sounds like the kind of adventure the characters would want to be in on).  A capture and a terse interrogation of Man-Zero, lead Ophidian to Lila as the real culprit.  Her research intrigued him as well.

--Method: He killed her via a sympathetic magic ceremony.  Man-Zero, with his Stealth Cloak, grabbed the Soul Crystal and her research for him.

--Alibi: Ophidian didn’t find out Lila was behind the theft until she was already dead.  He still wants his Crystal back.

Supreme (Subordinate AI)

--Motive: Reaction.  Lila hacked the AI to get enough processing power to do her upload. 

--Method: The AI detected it after the procedure and killed her via neural feedback.  Hacking her system, the AI became interested in her research.  It sent one of its goons, Smack, to her apartment to get the Soul Crystal.  The AI looped all the detection devices there to hide the theft.

--Alibi: Didn’t track Lila down and hack her system until after she’d been killed.  It’s interested in retrieving Virtual Lila.