"City of Dreams - No More" (Cyberpunk 2077) - Interest check

[Raven Rawne]

Nicely done, a fully original take on a rockerboy. No metal arm or paranoia about Arasaka, phew!

That being said, L.A. is about 6 hours away from NC (it's roughly between RL Santa Cruz and Monterey) depending on how long they spend on the border crossind to Southern California. I know it makes sense for him to seek the nearest large port on the West Coast, but he's reaching his destination in 2 days top if they get intercepted by one or both of the execs goons and need to find a way through. if you're in for a shorter ride, that is totally fine by me. I'm just bringig it to your attention.

Also, if I go back to the Trauma Team girl, does she have any document for the implant she is smuggling? Even fake one, like purchase receipt? If it's worth the risk to steal and then haul to DC it must be some powerful tech nd it could come up in border crossing scans, for instance.

[AltVie]

Also, if I go back to the Trauma Team girl, does she have any document for the implant she is smuggling? Even fake one, like purchase receipt? If it's worth the risk to steal and then haul to DC it must be some powerful tech nd it could come up in border crossing scans, for instance.

Yeah I was thinking she had false papers for it. I was thinking perhaps she was approached for a side gig, given the job to retrieve stolen implant from a coworker. Unfortunately, the grunt has family ties to higher up in the corp or something of the like. 

Or something like that. Lots of potential for things going wrong along the line. She would have papers to pass borders, or at least they should be good to pass the borders. 

[Raven Rawne]

That's the thing - she could have some paperwork but is it looking legitimate enough? Maybe the serial number doesn't match, or there is a big clue for any customs officer that will spot it immediately. We don't have to settle on anything just yet, just bringing that part to your attention since she is hauling cargo in a bag, and not installed on her person I imagine.

[AltVie]

Sounds good, yeah she will have a bag with her that has the paperwork in it. It will not be installed on her. 

[shengami]

Nicely done, a fully original take on a rockerboy. No metal arm or paranoia about Arasaka, phew!

That being said, L.A. is about 6 hours away from NC (it's roughly between RL Santa Cruz and Monterey) depending on how long they spend on the border crossind to Southern California. I know it makes sense for him to seek the nearest large port on the West Coast, but he's reaching his destination in 2 days top if they get intercepted by one or both of the execs goons and need to find a way through. if you're in for a shorter ride, that is totally fine by me. I'm just bringig it to your attention.

Do people really do that? Just make Johnny Silverhand as their own character? That seems deeply boring.

I was aware that the distance to L.A. was short. I had assumed it didn't really matter where they were headed as things were going to get derailed. But if a longer distance is needed, Seattle/Vancouver works as well. Hell, even SouthAm works. Any west coast port city works with his family background. Junji was more focused on getting out now than the details of destination. He can arrange a pick up by his family or other Sea Rats anywhere really. So even D.C. works.

[Raven Rawne]

Derailment is a guarantee, yes. Otherwise it wouldn't make much of a story! I'm fine with L.A. since I can do a lot of interesting content around the State border that will no doubt make the trip way longer. Still, your character would vacate the seat early since the other passenger is headed to DC but if that's fine by you, it's fine by me.

Perhaps AltVie could be willing to change the destination for her character. What if the implant is one of a kind and the buyers are Soviets, or Japeneese? Meeting in a port city makes sense in that scenario. Although given that the Pacific Ocean is full of rogue AI killer subs that make cross Pacific shipping by sea virtually impossible, the ports in 2077 are more accustomed to boats going along the coast... Farthest we can reasonably go is Seattle up North and San Diego down South.

[AltVie]

I'm totally game for changing details like that. Selling to soviets or Japanese can be easily managed. 

I rather have characters more involved than a short run where we lose characters due to actually reaching destination safely. lol

[Raven Rawne]

Thanks AltVie. The details are yours to decide on, naturally, I was just trying to be helpful with the reason for a particular destination. So we narrowed it down to a port city on the West Coast, progress!

[AltVie]

I'm good with anything, the character story is still pretty flexible in my mind, I'm just excited to write something cyberpunk. Plus it makes me get creative on how things work in background creation. :) Seattle or Vancouver would work fine with me 

[shengami]

Well, Seattle/Vancouver is all but one things at this point, yeah?

I'm not as up to date as I thought. I've read RED, so I know up through 2045 on big events. Blah. I'll have to do some more exploring. Any convenient timeline wikis? LOL.

Anyway, yeah, Seattle/Vancouver makes a good choice. Bit longer than to L.A. but fewer borders as long as the Pacifica Confed is still around? We could even 'extend' the trip at that point if we want via Junji's family or something? I leave that up to GM-sama. But I'm game. Night City to Vancouver area makes for a bit of a trip though.

Uhmm, I thought there was a third but they seem non-communicado. sooo?

[Callie Del Noire]

The Kraken
Name: Sinclair ‘Syn’ Dane
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Affiliation: Ganger Musclegirl
Weapons: Malorian 3516 pistol, Ceramic Saber
Noteworthy implants:
Kiroshi Optics;
Self-ICE;
Subdermal Armor;
Implanted musculature
Implanted Linear frame with Heavy metal plating armor
Smartgun Link

History: Sinclair was born in the Northside of Night City her father was a dockworker and her mother was a temp worker. Growing up with minimal parental supervision she fell in with the animals as a youngster and fell into the Gangster life. She jumped into the workout/musclehead faction of the Animals.  Adopted by Sasquatch, she was mentored by the massive leg breaker. Sasquatch provided her with access to the best cyber docs in the city and advised her on the gear to try out.

She eventually moved on to working freelance for one of the street docs. She let him experiment with black tech. Eventually getting a linear frame from an old corporate warehouse she enjoyed being able to life cars and tear thru steel sidings. She started working hijackings and thefts. Till she stole some Militech tech from a warehouse shut down by a union strike.

Over night she found the mystery tech was too hot to fence and her group of gang members started vanishing. One night she fought off a team of three Miltech commandos. Standing over their bodies in her garage she packed her frame and gear and tapped into her bank account to buy a ticket for any destination not in Night City.


OOC: thinking she snatched some experimental tech and Militech tried to get it back. Like the Canto cyberdeck from Phantom Liberty?

[Opale]

Would the game be open for one more passenger ?


Backstory:

Nina "Sparrow" Moreno was a rising star in Night City's underground scene, captivating crowds with her gravity-defying dance moves and untamed charisma. She lived for the pulse of the music and the freedom of self-expression, but that freedom was stolen when she crossed paths with a corpo-backed trafficking ring specializing in black-market cybernetic experimentation.

Abducted and stripped of her autonomy, Sparrow was outfitted with an array of experimental cybernetics to turn her into the perfect remotely controlled "entertainment unit" for the elite. They sought to erase her spirit, but something went wrong during the process—a glitch in the control chip left her with fragments of her free will intact. Using her wits and raw determination, she escaped the facility, leaving behind broken chains and shattered glass.

Now a fugitive in her own city, Sparrow fights to reclaim her body and identity. She dreams of fleeing Night City for the uncharted expanses of the Badlands, where she hopes to find a ripperdoc brave enough to remove the invasive tech without killing her. But the cybernetics she despises have become both her shackles and her tools for survival, pushing her to walk a razor-thin line between freedom and submission.

Name: Nina "Sparrow" Moreno
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Occupation: Former street dancer, now fugitive and survivor.
Reason to leave Night City: Escaping from a black-market cybernetics ring that outfitted her with experimental implants and seeks to recapture or eliminate her.
Desired destination: The Badlands, where she hopes to find freedom and a ripperdoc capable of safely removing her implants.
Any known enemies/pursuing parties: A powerful corpo-backed trafficking syndicate and their mercenaries; bounty hunters hired to retrieve her.
Noteworthy implants:

NeuroCage™ Control Chip: Experimental neural override for remote operation, currently glitching.
Venus Veil Mk.V: Syntheskin with extreme sensitivity and embedded holographic projection capabilities.
Cerulean Eyes: Stream live video and record interactions.
Chorus Vox™: Enhanced vocal cords for mimicry and sonic attacks.
BioAmp Reflex Enhancer: Boosts physical performance but drains stamina.
PulseLine Synaptic Lattice: Stimulant injector synced to her heartbeat, risking addiction.
Syntheskin Sensitivity Augmentation: Artificial skin designed for heightened tactile sensitivity, making her vulnerable to overstimulation.
Remote Vibrating Device: Discreet implant controllable via remote signal, designed for "client use."

[Raven Rawne]

Both would most likely become one city, if not for the US/Canada border. So as far as I can tell it makes little difference,  the only one being if they want to risk showing up on border crossing logs and potentially being arrested based on made up charges added into the border guard database.

Now we have 4 applications and 3 seats... I suppose the back could be retrofitted with a couch for an extra seat, at the cost of cup holders (somewhere a Bald Eagle shed a tear). The Merrimac is pretty wide so it wouldn't be a terrible experience with 3 slim passengers.  We could do that and simply have more breaks during travel.

Back to the characters. I am having trouble imagining the linear frame Kraken is using. It's an exoskeleton of sorts, but with extra armor plating? Also, is she taking the tech with her? Does the fixer know she smuggling?

Sparrow sound interesting,  if super dangerous should the chip glitch the wrong way. Would she allow the fixer to "seal" her remote access ports, or at least try to so she won't show up like free wifi on any remote frequency scan?

[Opale]

Both would most likely become one city, if not for the US/Canada border. So as far as I can tell it makes little difference,  the only one being if they want to risk showing up on border crossing logs and potentially being arrested based on made up charges added into the border guard database.

Now we have 4 applications and 3 seats... I suppose the back could be retrofitted with a couch for an extra seat, at the cost of cup holders (somewhere a Bald Eagle shed a tear). The Merrimac is pretty wide so it wouldn't be a terrible experience with 3 slim passengers.  We could do that and simply have more breaks during travel.

Back to the characters. I am having trouble imagining the linear frame Kraken is using. It's an exoskeleton of sorts, but with extra armor plating? Also, is she taking the tech with her? Does the fixer know she smuggling?

Sparrow sound interesting,  if super dangerous should the chip glitch the wrong way. Would she allow the fixer to "seal" her remote access ports, or at least try to so she won't show up like free wifi on any remote frequency scan?

Oh, She'd nearly accept anything to get rid of it, but that might backfire on her of course :p

[Callie Del Noire]

Yeah kit based armor plate modules. Intended to block cops and security teams not elite troops. It’s a slip into and jack in rig. Her guys would bolt it on her after she got rigged in.

And yeah she’d take the mystery tech with her

[Raven Rawne]

Alright, Mark 1 Iron Man armor! Just... bring a blanket to spare the seats! I reckon she would have it on in the car, since you know, the trunk is big but it's full of supplies snd their belongings.

Thankfully it's an American car, with American grade suspension for American weight passengers...

[Callie Del Noire]

Alright, Mark 1 Iron Man armor! Just... bring a blanket to spare the seats! I reckon she would have it on in the car, since you know, the trunk is big but it's full of supplies snd their belongings.

Thankfully it's an American car, with American grade suspension for American weight passengers...

Will do. I’m sure she’d not wear it out in the open.

[Raven Rawne]

Maybe it will fit in the back then, somehow...

[AltVie]

It sounds like we got a bunch of high value tech and a runaway rockerboy stuffed into this care! Ought to be interesting!  For trouble following us, should I change some of my aspects to change up type of baddies following or merge into a same type of baddie as one of the other techies to create a common enemy? 

Just thinking of what would be best for the story. I can always change to a netrunner running after selling p info to if its too much tech in the car. 

[Raven Rawne]

I think this combo will work. 

We have a rockerboy who is being quietly hunted by N54 - meaning things like fake NCPD criminal charges to bring him in, likely they also tapped into border control etc to find him. Actual armed goons are unlikely, at least until his location shows on their radar.

The Trauma Team smuggler is a higher value target, since we have actual theft, and from a Platinum client no less. Same as above but totally expect an AV with "medical personel" in pursuit once she is found.

The Joytoy is a massive security risk, since she is like a Bluetooth speaker, just waiting for someone to plug in. Not to mention her tech is glitching. Even if the madmen that chopped her up won't get a lead - unlikely given her peculiar implants and omnipresence of security cams - she herself is a risk to the journey.

The Animal is by far in deepest shit, since she stole from Militech. And those guys have unlimited access to military tech like satellites and whatnot. Even if the group manages to stay away from Police, Border control etc, Militech can still nail them.

Aside from that, as soon as they leave he city proper it's the Nomad land. And that Merrimac is looking like some preem income...

My main trouble is that I gotta put a Bag of Holding in the trunk to fit the Iron Man suit, which shows how little is actually going bad for me.

That being said, let's get into specifics. Does "Light" cover our needs, or we need a more serious section? I am not planning for, say, Wraiths to capture and (REDATED) anyone but I'm asking if anyone feels the need to set the bar higher.

Posting speed, once a week minimum seems fair? I know we are heading into the Holidays real soon so obviously Xmas week is whatever we manage is fine.

For clarity's sake, we are going third person, past tense. 

Is there is anything I missed, and you would like to discuss, don't hold back with Chippin' in, either in here or PM.  

[shengami]

Light works depending on the level of violence you're planning. Based on the mix of passengers, I don't expect much for spiciness. But that wasn't part of the application process, so I may be surprised. But everyone seems like they'd be focused more on saving their metaphorical bacon than getting laid. Heh. That and Junji is gay, so his interest in the four women he's traveling with is non-existent.

Once a week is cool by me. With the caveat for Xmas and NYE coming up, for sure.

Hrmm, as to the suit, is it stored 'whole' or does it collapse down a bit like plate armor might? Pieces can stack inside other pieces?

[Callie Del Noire]

Thinking it collapses down to fit in a cube like container about the size of a mini fridge.

[AltVie]

I think once a week barring holidays sounds good

Sounds like we will have a fun bunch in the car. Do passengers get to choose the music?

[Callie Del Noire]

I’m good with a weekly posting rate.

[Raven Rawne]

Sounds good so far. The guy will be riding at the back, cause well, he's not the biggest passenger and the couch would be way too crammed if he took the front seat. So at least he won't be distracted eing flanked by two women.

Only Sparrow is kinda spicy, meaning she may not want to bu her glitching tech may cause things, based on what I was told. 

Does an occasional occurence of human based decor on Wraith vehicles warrant Extreme tag? I may go that route just to be safe and give Sparrow the overhead room for shenanigans.

Overall, I will start somewhere this week. Just gotta get a bit of free time is all. I'll post a link to the IC and OOC in this thread.