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Project Imago

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mcv

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« on: <06-30-19/1444:37> »
I recently got Corporate Intrigue (4th edition) because it details corporate shenanigans during the time of my campaign (2073), and I was immediately struck by Project Imago. I know of course that this project is a major source of the CFD that is to dominate the metaplot later on, so giving my players a taste of that seems appealing. I'm not entirely sure yet what I'll end up doing with the rest of the CFD metaplot; I understand Stolen Souls was a massive disappointment, and some of the bits I've read about how it ends up getting resolved don't seem terribly satisfying, but that's a worry for much, much later. Maybe it's possible to put a different twist on it.

Anyway, Project Imago. The adventure outline is absolutely intriguing, but also a bit thin. As written, it doesn't feel like it's not really going to get the epic mess across that's being created here. I need to beef it up a bit, but how?

Has anyone run this and fleshed it out a bit more? How? Are there other resources that might be useful? Would the old 2nd edition adventure Imago be of any use? (I heard it takes place in either London or Scotland, rather than Wales.)

Edit: I'm resurrecting this old threat because I don't want to start yet another Project Imago thread every couple of months, and this one already has some really good suggestions, so I'd like to turn this into a big thread about how to run the Caerleon infiltration and the e-ghost escape.

A couple of topics I probably need some pointers on:
  • How to make the adventure interesting and not just me narrating the stuff in the book (I'm think it's a tech haunted house, but I need more for the players than just to see e-ghosts everywhere; I need stakes and decisions).
  • Rules for the e-ghosts. They're quite different from what I've done so far in the Matrix, and my grasp on the Matrix rules isn't that firm in the first place. I'm using 5e rules, so it's hosts. I guess there's at least two hosts with the e-ghosts locked into one, escaping to the other, but even that one is not connected to the outside Matrix, so they still need a lift to the outside?
  • Do I need a map of the facility? I haven't been able to find one yet. I've looked at Caerleon on Google Maps, and it looks like it's a small 8000 people village: half gorgeous historical village, half new development that includes the University of South Wales, which is interesting. The lab is probably a rural affair a bit outside the village for security reasons? Though the village itself is nearly swallowed by the much larger town of Newport, so maybe it needs to be in Caerleon, otherwise people would say it's in Newport, right?
« Last Edit: <11-27-21/0508:40> by mcv »

FastJack

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« Reply #1 on: <06-30-19/2103:12> »
The original adventure Imago from Shadowrun, 2nd edition is where the story really starts.

mcv

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« Reply #2 on: <07-02-19/0619:06> »
I'll probably buy the original Imago. But does that already involve e-ghosts? I'll probably have to roleplay the e-ghosts, make them visceral somehow. But how? I think that's the biggest part of giving Project Imago the impact it deserves.

Wakshaani

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« Reply #3 on: <07-16-19/1013:51> »
I'll probably buy the original Imago. But does that already involve e-ghosts? I'll probably have to roleplay the e-ghosts, make them visceral somehow. But how? I think that's the biggest part of giving Project Imago the impact it deserves.

It's where the idea of an E-ghost originated from... arguably. (It depends on what you believe Alice to be. E-ghost? A true AI? The Crash Virus having gained sentience? The jury's still out on that one, even if she's now dead.)

It's a very weird adventure tho. Like, SUPER weird.

As for the AIs from this storyline? Here's the concept: A bunch of minor AIs have been gathered up in a lab for experimentation. No matter what they were before (Nanny program, taxi driver, etc), they've all been penned up and tortured for a great length of time and they all have one thought in common: They want to escape. Once they find a way to do so (using nanites to infect things), they all break out and make a mad scramble for freedom.

After that, it depends on the mindset. NONE want to be recaptured and go back to that torture, so they'll do about anything to stay safe.  Most choose to hide … climb into a Metahuman body and do your best to never attract attention. If They notice you then They will try to capture you again and you can't go through that again. Otehrs figure that there's safety in numbers, so make small groups of two, three, five, maybe even a dozen in an extended family of Monads, helping one another and building their own community, where they can relate to one another over what they went through. Some make bargains about what to do if someone's going to be captured, others say to run away and leave them behind … "One of us HAS to get away. Don't sacrifice yourself!"

And then there are the fighters. These are the minority because it's riskier but they not only want to avoid going through THAT again, but they don't want anyone else to suffer, either. They risk being exposed to get their story out … talk to journalists, talk to Shadowrunners, work to get the corps that were behind it all in a tizzy in hopes that something leaks. They're not willing to sit on their hands and wait to be captured and, if it comes down to it, they'd rather die fighting for freedom than being stuffed in a bottle again.

Lastly are the revengers. Metahumanity HURT them so they want to hurt them back. Most of them focus on the corps in question, killing anyone wearing their symbol that they can manage to hunt down, breaking equipment, whatever. Some have just gone absolutely crazy and are in "Kill all Humans" mode, blaming everyone for the pain that they went through. This last type are, in a way, actually *helping* the corps since they can be trotted out as "what they're all like" and be posterchildren for violent repression and elimination.

So, all you have to do for them is treat them like any PC... figure out what kind of AI they were (in essence, what race), give them a personality, then choose a motivations … hiding, peaceful separation, or pushback, and let 'em do whatever would flow naturally from that position. You can start with some that make sense … this AI was a school searchbot, so is slotted in as a peaceful community sort who regularly regurgitates famous quotes like the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. This one was a medibot, so serves as a community doctor. This one was a child's educational toy but had no way to deal with the pain it went through so stays away from anyone as it defaults to "play hide and seek" and only emerges to take care of vital needs like hunger. This one's a bartending bot, so it knows how to mix drinks, and has added more chemicals to it's list of mixes to make explosives, which it uses to blow up corporate property. (It doesn't want to kill people, just hit the corp in the bottom line.)

You can also flip the script with one every now and then. A former fighter jet pilot that learned what killing really meant so has renounced violence and preaches to the other Monads in its community that they have to turn away from revenge and focus on "flying free". An experimental painter bot that was trying to unlock abstract art that now slaughters metahumans and thinks of how bodies lie in their own fluids as a new type of art. A virtual idol who still has amazing musical talent, and sometimes allows itself to sing in private, but who avoids being seen whenever possible … if anyone finds out that they're still alive, there's no way that THEY won't come for them. They were built to stand in front of a crowd and draw in all the attention but now they just want to hide from anyone and collapse intoa  shivering ball when reminded of what they went through.

So, there ya go … type, personality, goal. ABC. Do this for any important AI and you're ready to rock. (Don't forget some generic background people tho!)


mcv

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« Reply #4 on: <11-27-21/0455:20> »
Resurrecting my old thread, because I'm now finally running this. The players have abducted the real professor, the doppelganger has been inserted, and now they're ready to ship off to Caerleon, and I realize I still don't quite know what to do with the e-ghosts and the lab.

As for the AIs from this storyline? Here's the concept: A bunch of minor AIs have been gathered up in a lab for experimentation. No matter what they were before (Nanny program, taxi driver, etc), they've all been penned up and tortured for a great length of time and they all have one thought in common: They want to escape. Once they find a way to do so (using nanites to infect things), they all break out and make a mad scramble for freedom.
...
So, there ya go … type, personality, goal. ABC. Do this for any important AI and you're ready to rock. (Don't forget some generic background people tho!)
These are all great ideas. Although none of the e-ghosts are actually important AIs. Except Cerberus, obviously; the others are all just colour, victims, or at least not direct actors described by the adventure outline. But I do want to make them feel real, so developing a couple of personalities and events for them is a great idea.

I imagine one might try to take residence in the decker's implanted cyberdeck, for example. (No idea how that works in the Matrix rules, so I'm going to have to figure that out. Are there any resources or suggestions for that?)

On the whole, I feel like it should feel a bit like a haunted mansion of some sort, but with e-ghosts instead of real ones. But I don't think I've ever run a good haunted mansion session, so I'm not entirely sure how to do that. Although one thing seems obvious: the e-ghost who want to escape will probably try to infect any electronic device they can get their ports on, including every single wireless device the PCs are carrying, which will probably start to behave weirdly as the e-ghosts rearrange them into a more comfortable home.

For the most part, that won't be a big deal, as most of their equipment will be Minuteman equipment, but they'll have a few of their own devices, including of course that cyberdeck.

And I do think I need to have something for the players to actually do, and not just see. Well, there's getting out in the middle of the chaos, of course. And the doppelganger will want to be sure they don't blow her cover, which could lead to conflict.

Something I need to figure out is the Matrix rules regarding e-ghosts. Are there any? Can they move themselves onto other devices? What stats do I give them?

An idea: infect someone's goggles/contacts and flash messages in their vision to "get out!" "take us with you", "please set up a matrix connection to the outside", etc. Although of course the e-ghosts won't know that the PCs are outsiders; they'll initially treat them like any other guard. So how will they treat the guards? And how will other guards react? And the rest of the people at the lab?

One other thing I'm worried about is that the game might be boring for our mage. It might end up being too focused on the decker.
« Last Edit: <11-27-21/0521:45> by mcv »

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« Reply #5 on: <11-27-21/1650:08> »
I did a quick look through my 4e book collection for you.

Unwired is the book that you want. Page 170 specifically.

(on the plus side, this book also covers details of other tech you were asking about... like Simsense and what not... )
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mcv

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« Reply #6 on: <11-28-21/1726:39> »
Unwired is the book that you want. Page 170 specifically.
Is Unwired better than Data Trails? I notice Data Trails has a chapter devoted to AIs and e-ghosts, that I'd previously always ignored. (I don't use much out of Data Trails.)

I'm running the game using 5e, although we're in the 4e timeline, which sometimes leads to confusion.

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« Reply #7 on: <11-30-21/1616:54> »
Yea...
the info in Data Trails would be what you want based on the rule set you are playing with.

I keep forgetting the data trails book.. partly because I never really used it, and partly because of how poorly indexed it is..
Where am I going? And why am I in a hand basket ???

Remember: You can't fix Stupid. But you can beat on it with a 2x4 until it smartens up! Or dies.