Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for January 21, 2020, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Dell and Hollywood worked hard to provide triage and first aid to members of Kaur’s Farm.  Meanwhile, Clutch rallied some of the tech-savvy of the people and began tearing into the generator with aplomb, discovering it would take several hours of work.  The group got more information from Singh and Donnie and decided to go south to investigate a squatter settlement that no one had heard from in a week.  The team drove a rust bucket pick-up truck down there and found a scene of horror.  Dead animals were everywhere, and the camp was filled with dead people. 

The group used a forensics kit provided by Donnie Hua to investigate and spent about three hours gathering information.  They learned the people died from a combination of animal and human/metahuman injuries.  Oddly, only the bodies of males and women over 50 were found among the dead.  Several bodies were obviously missing as well.  Around the camp, they discovered bait stations that would draw in predatory animals close to the settlement.  They also found mountain bike tracks all around.  Hollywood made the horrific discovery that the bodies had been partially eaten by human-like bites, but pains had been taken to cover up this fact by mutilating the bodies. 

They returned to Kaur’s Farm to report their findings.  In the meantime, Clutch had fixed the generator.  Dell was able to discover some bait stations around the farm as well, and they matched those at the settlement. 

The group went north to the microbrewery to investigate the scene where the first body that had drawn Hua out here had been found.  There they discovered several more bodies and pieced together more clues.  Several key pieces of evidence pointed to a Gabriel hound as being the culprit, but some of the facts did not add up.  Ballyhoo was able to sense that some sort of spirit had been involved, and its residual aura did not match the magic he had sensed on the corpses of the dead animals back at the farm.  The group also found that one of the sprawl gangers had unloaded a magazine into “something” that flattened the rounds.  Perplexed, the team got back into their truck to return to the farm. 

Game summary for January 14, 2020, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team landed the stolen chopper on the Ares ship and made the exchange, collecting their fee.  They then remotely called in Clutch’s boat and abandoned the helicopter, letting it crash into the sound.  Then they took a two-week vacation to the California Free State to lay low a while. 

After returning to Seattle, they received an early morning call from Fast Freddy who got them in touch with Donnie Hua, a retired Lone Star officer.  He convinced them to accept a run to the Redmond Barrens to investigate some deaths, some strange animal attacks, and to bring in needed medical and mechanical supplies.  However, they had to leave in 3 hours to get generator parts to Kaur’s Farm before nightfall. 

The group gathered their gear and traveled to the infamous Crusher 495 bar to meet up with a Crimson Crush convoy hired to take them to the farm.  They met Arona, a female troll member of Crimson Crush.  The team watched the various riffraff and desperate denizens of the Barrens negotiating passage on the convoy.  The trip was mostly uneventful; the Crush disabled one IED, but otherwise were not harassed. 

Once they arrived at the farm, they found piles of dead animals and lots of tired and wounded people.  The gear was unloaded, and Hollywood went off to help tend to the injured.  Clutch was asked to help with the generator repair.  Octane and Ballyhoo accompanied Donnie and Chaaya into the compound to meet with the patron of the farm, Bhagat Singh.  They discovered him to be a massive troll armed with a sweeping curved sword.  They exchanged some pleasantries for a few minutes while Hollywood and Clutch were doing what they could to help out. 

Game summary for January 7, 2020, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team piled into the elevator as both Dell and Clutch tried desperately to hack it.  Finally, they succeeded, and it ascended to the 55th floor.  The group piled out, and Octane used his foam explosives to blow up the stairs in the two stairwells before the guards could make it to the top while the others jammed the elevator doors open with office furniture.  Octane then rigged the elevator to blow in case they needed it to.  The group then went out and hid under the helipad awaiting the chopper.

The helicopter landed, and two armed men emerged obviously having trouble with their comms with building security.  VP Muller was quickly ushered off the roof and into the stairwell.  The team emerged and hijacked the helicopter from the pilot.  They plunged off the roof right as one of the guards returned and opened fire.

The group cheered as they began to speed off into the night.  However, one of the building windows exploded outward as a western dragon burst forth and took up pursuit!  It lashed the chopper with flaming breath, badly damaging the vehicle, but Clutch was able to keep it aloft.  Octane threw open the door, and the team unleashed a barrage of bullets and spells at the dragon.  Some struck true, others bounced off its thick scales.  Ballyhoo hit it with magic as Clutch began to outpace it.  Out of range of its breath, the dragon hurled spells of its own.  It knocked Dell unconscious and rocked the chopper.  Again Clutch’s expert piloting skills kept them airborne and moving.  With some impressive maneuvering, he dodged around buildings and left the dragon far behind!  The group then headed out to sea to rendezvous with the Ares vessel to make the drop. 

Game summary for December 17, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Dodger (Human Veteran played by Preston Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Lefty (Ork Sprawl Ganger played by Parker Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Dodger and Lefty stepped off the elevator as more Stoddard Security mooks showed up, and more gunfire erupted.  Most of the Stoddard team were armed with Browning Ultra-Power pistols, but one held a Defiance shotgun and began blasting away.  The team opened up with full-auto bursts from Clutch’s drone and Dodger’s AK-97.  Lefty gunned down one of the opposition with his Ruger Super Warhawk. 

Meanwhile, the team tried to prop Dell up and keep him going with magic and stim patches.  He struggled in the Matrix but was finally able to get a mark on the host and start browsing files.  Dodger and Hollywood stood at the ends of the hallway shooting out cameras and blasting suppressive fire toward the security guards coming up the stairs.  Clutch ran into the elevator with Lefty and attempted to hack it but only succeeded in alerting IC.  Ballyhoo and Dell moved toward the elevator as Dodger hurled a grenade down the hallway.  It bounced off some walls and only went about halfway down before exploding.  It knocked out part of the floor, and Dodger tried to throw another.  It exploded prematurely and blasted him down the hallway like a ragdoll.  He careened off the walls and flopped about, finally coming to a battered and unconscious rest near the elevator.  The rest of the team looked on, somewhat stunned, as he rebounded around the hall. 

Game summary for December 3, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team piled into the elevator and headed toward floor 10 as Dell tried to hack the elevator and obscure where they were going.  In the process he triggered some Marker IC, but it suffered a glitch and crashed.  The doors opened, and the team poured out into the hallway looking for the right room.  Around a corner were two Stoddard Security guards who quickly drew firearms. 

Octane charged around the corner swinging a monofilament chainsaw!  The guards opened fire as Ballyhoo rounded the corner and started hurling spells.  Dell started trying to hack his way through the server door security while Clutch sent a drone around to engage the guards.  Ballyhoo blasted one guard to death with his magic, and Clutch sent another running in a bloody retreat after a full-auto burst from his drone’s assault rifle.  Meanwhile, Dell was unable to open the door, but Hollywood was able to by-pass the maglock with a passkey.  Inside stood two more guards.  Hollywood tried to con his way past them, but the fact he was wearing a mask made him a bit suspect.  They tried to taser him.  Dell ran into the room and got blasted with tasers!  Hollywood fired burst after burst of stick-n-shock rounds as the rest of the team converged, and he rendered one unconscious.  Octane moved in and drew his knife.  He and the other guard went toe-to-toe, in a quick and epic exchange.  The knife flashed once.  Twice.  Blood flowed.  The well-trained guard threw hands, but Octane was far more skillful.  He blocked the blows and drove the blade into the man’s temple, ending the fight.  Dell moved to the host and got a mark, preparing to try and get the paydata! 

Game summary for November 26, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Chase (Troll Tank played by Kaliegh Averdick), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs), and Thay (Elf Street Shaman played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The group gathered on the roof of the Space Needle with their Ares-provided nightwings and launched toward Brackhaven Investments.  They had been told a protest riot had broken out around the building, and they hoped that might provide some cover for their activities.  As they swooped in, Clutch put his nightwing on autopilot and jacked into the Matrix.  Ahead, he saw the fortress representing Brackhaven Investments and its patrol IC marching around.  He hacked on the fly and got a mark!  He was able to issue some commands to the anti-aircraft turret and get the team past it before jacking out of the Matrix.  On the roof the team found several infrared trip lines and some cameras.  Clutch jumped to the BI grid and marked the camera.  He was able to turn it off while Chase stepped over the trip line to swipe a maglock passkey.  She dropped it!  As she bent to pick it up, she tripped the alarm! 

The group swiped the card again and got access.  They charged down the stairs trying to get in before security could properly respond.  At the elevator, two Stoddard Security guards were surprised to see an armed party awaiting.  The team opened up with tasers and stick-n-shock rounds.  One of the guards popped off a single live round that hit Thay squarely in the chest, but it was absorbed by her armor.  The exchange of firepower only took seconds, and the guards were sprawled out unconscious. 

With the alarm tripped and security engaged, the team knew there was no need for stealth!  Now, it would require speed.  They reloaded as they stepped into the elevator. 

Game summary for November 19, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team arrived in the park, and Dell sent up a drone to scout the area.  He noticed another drone and hacked it on the fly to determine it belonged to Ares.  They waited awhile, and three black vans pulled up.  Eight heavily armed Knight Errant employees jumped out to secure the area, and Karen King stepped out.  The team emerged from their van and handed her one of the commlinks.  A dwarf emerged from the van and verified authenticity.  They then handed her the other commlink, and it was also verified.  She handed them 235,000 nuyen worth of credsticks and a generic commlink.  The two parties departed the park, and the team got on Clutch’s Evo Waterking boat and went to Vancouver to lay low awhile.

The next morning, the Ares commlink rang, and Karen King offered to hire them for another run.  She gave some details but wanted to meet in person.  They rode back to Seattle and met her in an airport hangar.  She offered them a run to steal an insurance policy off a secure server inside Brackhaven Investments.  Karen indicated they had an entrance and exit strategy, would pay 80,000 nuyen, and would provide several pieces of loaner and permanent equipment supplies.  The team debated a minute and accepted.  Octane was immediately taken for cyberware implant surgery to receive some alphaware skillwires, and the rest of the team started building a shopping list. 

Game summary for November 12, 2019, Into The Shadows campaign, Shadowrun 5th Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Ballyhoo (Human Augmenter played by Andrew Renfrow), Clutch (Human Transport Rigger played by Peyton Harmon), Dell (Human Technomancer played by Shane Bradley), Hollywood (Human Combat Medic played by Chris Harmon), and Octane (Elf Razor played by Casey Scruggs). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team drove around for a while as Dell messed with the commlink taken from Dietrich.  He is able to get through the encryption and recover part of a file.  He then took it and combined it with the original file and make one long document.  The team was amazed because it seemed to be proof of Brackhaven’s nefarious dealings.  Dell realized he had probably alerted Overwatch in all his prodding around and shut off the device.  The group continued to drive erratically all over town. 

After a brief discussion, the team decided to sell the commlink(s) to Ares.  They had Dell find a number for her, and they called her.  Upon learning of two commlinks and some negotiation with Hollywood, she upped her price to 235,000 nuyen.  However, she demanded they have both commlinks with them at a meet.  The group told her they would have them in 4 hours. 

The team realized they had to get back into the zoo, so the scoped it out with a drone and realized contractors were coming in and out to do some damage estimations.  They tailed a van back to a warehouse.  Three of the four men left, but one stayed behind.  Ballyhoo cast Mask upon Octane to make him appear as a human who may work there, and he sneaked in and choked out the man, Joe Reynolds.  He left him bound with plastic restraints and gagged with his own underwear.  Posing as Joe, Octane drove the contractor van back to the zoo and walked up to the gate.  The guards were not paying much attention until the wave scanner alerted on Octane’s cyberware!  He was asked to go back through, and the machine must have glitched because it did not go off the second time.  Octane was allowed in, and he went to the locker and got the commlink.  He then walked right out the front door. 

Hollywood called Karen King back, and they agreed to meet in a park north of town in two hours.  While driving there, Hollywood noticed they were being tailed by men on motorcycles.  A little hacking and research later, and Dell was able to learn these were registered to Mitsuhama Computer Technologies.  Dell had earlier figured out the Japanese man to whom they spoke earlier worked for MCT! 

Clutch took off through traffic, and the cycles gunned it in pursuit.  However, Clutch displayed an amazing ability to weave in and out of traffic, and combined with his deployed thermal smoke, he was able to out maneuver and lose the bikers.