Small Sample Plot:
Ground Work/Prep -
-information needs to be leeked out on certain individuals who are in the know who will be nessecary to move things along.
1) The first being an NPC snitch named DeWalt. DeWalt works for Shinohara Industries in 'Robotic Control Systems'. He's your typical wage slave programmer stuck in lower Middle management, slaving away in a 7*8ft cubicle for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. His boss makes him come in on weekends. He has no wife, no girlfriend at the moment. �Lonely, depressed. Earning just enough to scrape by in a lower class appaartment on Green. Been at the same possition for far far too long, and now wants a bigger cut of the pie. He's got a key element and access to good stuff in the Robotic Control Systems division. Good stuff indeed.
2) DeWalts drinking buddy, Dash. Just some guy from the Robotic Balance Control Systems division, one floor up in the Shinohara building. Dash has a girl, but she's at home tonight as they go out drinking on Red for a bit of adventure.
3) Word on the NLM boards and over the TV about the upcoming release of the new Shinohara Robotic Control System, and how it will be revolutionary to how large labours and robots will function in the construction/manufacturing industry. Stock speculation on Shinohara is up a good 2% as shareholders anticipate this new Shinohara release.
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Okay, basically DeWalt and Dash are sitting in the Drome, soaking up the atmosphere of Red, drinking cheep beer and eating soy-a-nauts, well on the way to being hammered. Tounges get loose and talk shifts to the biggest parts of there lives, work. They yammer on, DeWalt talking about how unhappy he is, stuck in the same dead-end spot for way too long. How he wants to get a bigger cut of the pie. Talk wanders off to some slutty chick that walks by. �All this overheard by a few in the room (PC's, NPC's, ect.) setting up DeWalt as a possible in-point to the Robotics division of Shinohara.
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Now hopefully any PC's in the room will pick up on this. If not, a repeat performance may be needed. Similar things, differant setting (Carnal perhaps). It should spike some interest, DeWalt will have yacked and bragged drunkenly about his portion, his key element, to the new Shinohara Robotic Control System Code, or SRCS Code. (Pronounced Source Code). Anyhow, an opprotunity for the players to actually talk with DeWalt will arise, and he'll express 'intrest' in getting some chyen for lofting his portion of the SRCS Code because he is sick and tired of slaving all day and having his boss bitch at him. (His boss is an overbearing Oriental woman.) As the discussion goes along DeWalt drops his cell number, then tosses back another boilermaker, and is basically done for the evening, and stumbles out, presumably off to the Red Canary.
-- Days pass.
One could only hope that players actually -call- the cell number. �DeWalt picks up. Talk about the previous evenings words picks up, and DeWalt is jumpy as hell, must be at work. Anyhow, he says to call back later that evening. (If it is evening, he'll be more receptive.)
Players can easily goad, but not -threaten- the wavering DeWalt into giving up a bit more info, if they toss some chyen his way (we are talking a real ammount here. 10-20k depending on the pc's time in the game). Or something else of value (DeWalt -loves- all things Japanese. Like a katana, or a really fancy Tanto, or a hand-painted Japanese wall scroll). A meeting can be set, for a face to face. The meeting will be in some corner on Red, and DeWalt will be nervous and a bit worried, but there. As money changes hands, DeWalt feels much better. DeWalt fills the Players in on exactly what his portion of the SRCS Code is. It's a small tack-on to the main SRCS kernal that controls heat-sink temperatures when below redline stress conditions. He'll yammer out some technical jarggon, drop a few ideas on how it works, and it's actual worth to -OTHER- robotics companies. He talks about how he occasionally has access to the main kernal. Happy with his new found wealth, DeWalt wanders off to spend his loot or play with his new toy.
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Now, certain players now have a person on the inside of Shi, be it a lowly one. A smart player would concider that this DeWalt guy has some kind of low level security access to the Shinohara Computer Database/Systems, making DeWalt a potentially useful guy to know. A player not thinking would probably write DeWalt off as a lost cause. Or rat him out to Shi for a reward.
A player that tries to take DeWalt out, getting there money back will then have Shinohara quite angery at them. Programming on the SRCS Code will be delayed a good 4 days now, cutting into Shinohara's profit margin on this project a full 0.025%. Shareholders worry about things like that.
Worse case, the players don't pick up on it, and DeWalt commits suicide one day, sad with his life. It makes the news on the NLM boards and on the TV because DeWalt swan dives off an office tower slamming into his bosses car, totalling it, but failing to injure anyone else. Programming on the SRCS Code will be delayed a good 4 days now, cutting into Shinohara's profit margin on this project a full 0.025%. Shareholders worry about things like that.
Either way it opens the door for future things. DeWalt can be used later to get access via the Matrix into Shinohara Databases. Info there can be worth gobs to Shinohara's competion. Of course, Shi will prolly catch those responsible. If players Rat DeWalt out, he can get bitter and the players have an enemy. Shinohara will prolly be keeping an eye glued to these good citicens for turning in DeWalt, as any good paranoid corp should.
-- Time Passes
Players end up in the drome one night, drinking away. And low and behold, who's there? DeWalt, enjoying an ice cold lager. DeWalt tosses a sidelong glance there way, and motions them over. Apparently DeWalt spent all his money -real- fast on cheep whores and booze, and is looking for more...he's a bit desperate. Sounds like he may have a gamboling debt to someone willing to break knees. Set up another meet in a quieter location for players to chat. Turns out DeWalt is willing to sell off a portion of the SRCS Code. Or more precisely, a small back-door into the SRCS Code Database that a clever decker may be able to exploit. With that he heads off, looking around as he walks.
Now, if the players are interested, DeWalt asks them to call him late one night, and they can discuss prices. Or the players may be able to get him to do it in this meeting. It'll be fairly steep. DeWalt isn't a fool, just a bit desperate. Players may be able to get him to take a cut once they re-sell the info to a rival corp. DeWalt can't do it himself, he'd be busted for sure, but he -can- use the players as middle-men. DeWalt says he'll get back to the players within a few weeks with the actual package should the players decide to go with this. If they do not, DeWalt will be a little mad. Little scared, and more than willing to find someone else. This info, a back door into the Shinohara Database is worth big money.
If there is a decker in the group, he/she should be -MORE- than willing.
-- A few weeks later
DeWalt calls up one of the players. Sets up a meeting on Gold somewhere. They all hook up, and DeWalt hands them a RAMCard with the data on it. The path into the Shinohara Database through a small back door that is gaurded only by light Ice soft. Nothing deadly, just stuff that'll lock a deck, not fry the decker. The agreement is that DeWalt gets his cut as soon as the sale goes down. If at any time he feels screwed, DeWalt will report the back door to his supervisor, and the RAMCard will be worthless.
Players go off in search of a buyer. Lotta options here. Various NPC's could provide leads, Rat Pack, any game deckers with the money. This thing is -HOT- and needs to move fast, before Shinohara finds the back door, or DeWalt feels screwed, or Shinohara catches DeWalt.
Anyhow, once the players find a buyer, the Card can move hands. The players -could- try to copy the card and keep the back door. Anyhow, once it is gone, it is gone. It is active for only one month, after that the backdoor will be lost. If the players are not careful, they will have all sorts of trouble heading there way. Shinohara, DeWalt, angery Deckers. All ops for later activity. If all goes well, the players will pocket a nice chunk of chyen, and get some street rep as a group of people who can get things done.
-- Later
After the players pay DeWalt, he goes back to work on a new project. He's kinda hush hush bout it, but it looks like he may have gotten a bit of a promotion. Moved into a 10*10 cubicle, got more pay, better job hours. A protoge to do his bidding. But he's been bitten by the sell-out bug. the extra chyen is looking good to him, and he is probably willing to do biz at a later date. maybe in a few months when things are cooler.
If the players sell to a rival corp, the rival corp will most likely ransack a portion of the Shinohara database. Very news worth. Stock will fall, maybe a full 2-3%. Shinohara will be most upset, and looking for a target. DeWalt, players, rival corps. Depending on how cautious the players have been, it may never get back to them. If they have been dickin around, talking over SIC about it, bragging on the streets, well. All hell will break loose.
If the players sell to a PC decker, the decker will try to get in. Here someone will have to set up some info for the decker to get. Could be juicey, could be lame. depends on the decker and how willing they are to go against ice further in the system.
If the players sell to a gang like RatPak, there will be all sorts of interesting things. I imagine a group like RatPak could do all sorts of wicked things. In the end it would be similar in effect to a rival corp sacking the database. Stock falls, people pissed. RatPak would most likely take credit, pulling heat off players. Or RatPak could dump all the heat at the players feet. Depends on how the players acted.
Resources Needed:
Old NPC's - Rychek, Avery, Amy, ect. All for atmospherics, connections, and what not.
2 New NPC's - DeWalt and Dash. Dash is pretty superficial, but may be used later. DeWalt will be somewhat rounded out.
1 Cell Phone (DeWalts)
RAMCard with backdoor location and soft.
Backdoor to a portion of the Shinohara Database. And a Shinohara Database for that matter.
A couple postings on the NLM Boards and a few TV broadcasts.
a bit of chyen for dewalt and dash to go drinking with.
A buyer. This could be a rival corp (NLM, ZMI, whatever.) A PC Decker. A gang that has access to a decker who would need somethign like that. (RatPak?) This buy will need whatever chyen the players are asking, within reason. I figure up to 1000k. or so.
Misc. things that pop up as things are won't to do.
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Players involved: Fairly few, prolly 2, maybe three. any more than that and DeWalt will just bolt. Of course, if players are blabbing about all this on the streets, in clubs, ect, there will be more. Plus concequences. Big corps have eyes and ears all over the place.
