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Project Imago doppelganger and bunraku
mcv:
I decided to take this here instead of https://forums.shadowruntabletop.com/index.php?topic=33059.msg549666;topicseen#msg549666 in General, which is a somewhat related discussion.
I intend to run the Project Imago adventure from Corporate Intrigue, but I've got some issues with it. Part of it is that it starts in a bunraku parlor, which sounds like a poor choice for a Mr Johnson to meet Shadowrunners, considering the ethical implications (if my players figure out there are people forced to become sex robots, I suspect they'll burn the place down).
But the adventure also features a doppelganger, which as far as I can tell, is either a robot with real skin dressed up and programmed as the person the doppelganger is meant to replace, or a clone of the target, programmed (bunraku-style?) to behave as much like the original as possible, in order to infiltrate the lab. I'm not entirely sure which, but I'm currently leaning towards the clone. The fact that the doppelganger has an essence of 1 is a big hint that it's not an actual robot.
Part of me wonders if that doppelganger isn't far more interesting than whatever it's meant to spy on. If Renraku can create such a perfect doppelganger of someone, why aren't they everywhere?
At the same time I wonder how good that doppelganger must be to fool her co-workers. Especially anyone assensing her aura should notice the high amount of cyberware, as should any medical check-up.
Back when I thought that the doppelganger was basically a flesh-covered robot (like the Terminator), I wondered if I should move the meet to a location with similar, cheaper flesh-covered drones (like the i-Doll), to show the players that this technology exists.
On the other hand, if the doppelganger is indeed a clone with bunraku-gear, I guess the bunraku parlor makes better foreshadowing after all. At the same time, I don't want them to refuse the job or burn down Mr Johnson, so I'm now thinking maybe I shouldn't make it too obvious that this is bunraku, and at a much later stage, the runners are approached by a rich family whose child was abducted and modified for a bunraku parlor, and they want the players to free or and if at all possible, burn the place down. That would be nicely cathartic.
So I'm looking for other thoughts and ideas on these issues: both on the doppelganger, and the bunraku parlor. Do they make sense? How do I make them make sense? How do I make sure the doppelganger doesn't seem to be more interesting than the lab it's meant to infiltrate?
Reaver:
Ok... This is going to take some time to fully explain, and I don't really have the time to type it all out at my key-peck typing skill, so I am going to try to be brief...
Not sure how familiar you are to Shadowrun, or where you "jumped in" (as in what edition). But basically, Project Imago is a 4ea book, and deals with both tech and ideas that have been retconned out of Shadowrun for 5e and beyond.
For most of the tech and what not, you will need the 4e books to follow along. but in a nut shell, lets go some objections you bring up.
Bunraku parlour:
The Silver Screen Dream Massage has a write up in the Seattle book from both 3e and 4e, so look there for more info. but basically, its a typical "bodyrub" place, but the girls are all bio-sculpted and Sim-rigged to act like famous stars from the 1960s to the 2010s... more then that, research :D
Why a Bunraku Parlour for a meet?
1: Well, its private, but public... get it? There will be people around to stop the runners from being "stoopid", but not so "around" as to see and hear what they are talking about.
2: Idiot meat shields: If the runners really do get "stoopid", then the meat-puppets in the room make great bullet sponges and partial cover... but won't remember a single thing once the persona program ends... So they won't be able to rat out the Johnson... (The runners have other problems)
3: Connections and clout: No Johnson is going to go somewhere that leaves him vulnerable. So he will arrange meets in places his Corp owns. OR a place a Subsidiarity of his Corp owns. OR a place that is allied to his Corp (IE Mafia place that is loyal to his Corp.) More then that.... Time to Research the Corps... and there Cultures :D (and be careful of the rabbit holes!)
4: They are legal (mostly) business establishment... so that means Law Enforcement coverage, and depending on the area of town... that could be as little as 30 second response time! (time to look up city zones and security!)
The Doppelganger:
Yea.... this was a great big can of worms when this info was originally published... and didn't really lead to good places for the community. Which is why it was one of the retconns that came about in 5e with the "dissolvement" of nanotech.
Basically, the Doppelganger is exactly genetic duplicate of an original person (a clone), that is forced grown/aged in a vat, then "hatched"... and what you get is a person that is a blank slate. No personality or knowledge, that you then train to be what you want them to be..... (in this case, they are trained to be an Infiltration Operative.)
As to why they are not everywhere... well Time for one. Money for two. (which is the weakest part of this adventure)
Without pulling out the books: to grow a clone that is intellectually viable takes around 2 years. To train that clone takes.. well... forever. (blank slate remember?) As in 5 to 10 years. (have to start with the ABC's and 123's, before you can get into the complex stuff you know...). So all said, they had to plan to retract this Doctor 7 to 12 years in advance for this whole scheme to work...
The reason the doppelganger has 1 essence is the giant list of bioware and cyberware it has installed :D
As to the Aura: Auras are always unique to the individual, so much so that even clones have their own aura. But they covered this in the write up for the adventure... (a one line "metamagic technigue to change her aura to match the real Dr. Sayrs" without saying how, or what technique.... That 2 points against this adventure for you keeping score :D
Now, if your Runners are thinking for a little "Free Willy" style adventure with the doppelganger... they better think again... That thing is more "Tech" then person, and 100% loyal to its Corp. Its just as likey to slit the Runners throat for fucking up the mission as it is to ratting the runners out... This isn't some "poor brain washed, delusional child"... this a device made by a Corp, raised by said Corp, trained by said Corp. and loyal to said Corp. Functionally its a walking, talking Corp drone.
cantrip:
If you want to go further down the rabbit hole, check out the 2e adventure Imago; it's where a lot of this story begins...
I've always felt Mr. Johnson's are to Corps like runners are to the rest of the shadowrun universe. Since they hire deniable assets, they are often viewed as a deniable asset as well; and since they are a rather arrogant lot, I run them in a way that they see themselves as outside the (Corp) law. As long as the trail doesn't lead back to the corp, they do as they wish. e.g. They meet at the illegal Bunraku Parlour :)
edited to clarify
mcv:
--- Quote from: Reaver on ---Not sure how familiar you are to Shadowrun, or where you "jumped in" (as in what edition).
--- End quote ---
On and off since second edition, but my current campaign (5e but in the 4e time period), is the first time we're getting deep into the metaplot. Previous games were just a single adventure that frequently got stranded. The current campaign has been going for a couple of years, has mostly focused on the SRM season 4 missions, especially the Orc Underground part, but we've also done parts of Dawn of the Artifacts and a few unconnected adventures. I haven't really done all that much with corporations yet, which is why I'm looking at Corporate Intrigue to flesh out that aspect of the world.
--- Quote ---But basically, Project Imago is a 4ea book, and deals with both tech and ideas that have been retconned out of Shadowrun for 5e and beyond.
--- End quote ---
I did not know that it had been retconned, although I'm not entirely surprised, considering my struggles to make sense of that doppelganger.
So which parts exactly have been retconned? Clones don't work this way at all? (So how do they work?)
That said, it's also kind of the start of the 5e CFD plotline, isn't it? I don't know yet what I'm going to do with that whole chunk of metaplot (we're still far removed from that), but I thought some foreshadowing would be nice.
--- Quote ---Bunraku parlour:
The Silver Screen Dream Massage has a write up in the Seattle book from both 3e and 4e, so look there for more info.
--- End quote ---
I've only read the short write-up in Runner Havens. I'll check out the other books.
--- Quote ---but basically, its a typical "bodyrub" place, but the girls are all bio-sculpted and Sim-rigged to act like famous stars from the 1960s to the 2010s... more then that, research :D
--- End quote ---
According to Runner Havens, the front is a massage parlor, but special guests are allowed into the bunraku part. So that aspect might be less well known, although there's also suggestion that the bunraku part is actually fairly well known.
From what I understand, the Yakuza is a big player in bunraku, though I have no idea if the Silver Screen Dream has Yakuza ties.
--- Quote ---Why a Bunraku Parlour for a meet?
1: Well, its private, but public... get it? There will be people around to stop the runners from being "stoopid", but not so "around" as to see and hear what they are talking about.
2: Idiot meat shields: If the runners really do get "stoopid", then the meat-puppets in the room make great bullet sponges and partial cover... but won't remember a single thing once the persona program ends... So they won't be able to rat out the Johnson... (The runners have other problems)
--- End quote ---
This is a very good point.
--- Quote ---3: Connections and clout: No Johnson is going to go somewhere that leaves him vulnerable. So he will arrange meets in places his Corp owns. OR a place a Subsidiarity of his Corp owns. OR a place that is allied to his Corp (IE Mafia place that is loyal to his Corp.) More then that.... Time to Research the Corps... and there Cultures :D (and be careful of the rabbit holes!)
--- End quote ---
On the other hand, they also often want to hide who they work for, so they might avoid places owned by their corp. Still, a connection between Renraku and the Yakuza sounds plausible.
--- Quote ---4: They are legal (mostly) business establishment... so that means Law Enforcement coverage, and depending on the area of town... that could be as little as 30 second response time! (time to look up city zones and security!)
--- End quote ---
But they're not so legal they want police snooping around where they might find abducted girls.
--- Quote ---The Doppelganger:
Yea.... this was a great big can of worms when this info was originally published... and didn't really lead to good places for the community. Which is why it was one of the retconns that came about in 5e with the "dissolvement" of nanotech.
Basically, the Doppelganger is exactly genetic duplicate of an original person (a clone), that is forced grown/aged in a vat, then "hatched"... and what you get is a person that is a blank slate. No personality or knowledge, that you then train to be what you want them to be..... (in this case, they are trained to be an Infiltration Operative.)
As to why they are not everywhere... well Time for one. Money for two. (which is the weakest part of this adventure)
Without pulling out the books: to grow a clone that is intellectually viable takes around 2 years. To train that clone takes.. well... forever. (blank slate remember?) As in 5 to 10 years. (have to start with the ABC's and 123's, before you can get into the complex stuff you know...). So all said, they had to plan to retract this Doctor 7 to 12 years in advance for this whole scheme to work...
--- End quote ---
That's one of the parts that seems implausible to me. I've been wondering if an Adept with the right set of powers and some Masking wouldn't be more plausible. Although such an infiltration mission is also unbelievably risky of course. It might well be a suicide mission if the infiltration gets discovered.
But there's another problem with Renraku replacing a researcher with a doppelganger: they already have the researcher! They could just question her about what's going on instead. And according to her description, this isn't exactly her first extraction, so her loyalty to NeoNET might not be that great anyway.
--- Quote ---The reason the doppelganger has 1 essence is the giant list of bioware and cyberware it has installed :D
--- End quote ---
I did notice that. So I guess an unmodified clone still has an essence of 6, despite not having much of a personality. (I guess that's not necessary to be human.)
--- Quote ---As to the Aura: Auras are always unique to the individual, so much so that even clones have their own aura. But they covered this in the write up for the adventure... (a one line "metamagic technigue to change her aura to match the real Dr. Sayrs" without saying how, or what technique.... That 2 points against this adventure for you keeping score :D
--- End quote ---
The adventure also says it's not perfect, which again sounds risky. It sounds like someone assensing her cold easily discover it. And it's a lab of a Great Dragon... so maybe her mission was never meant to last very long.
--- Quote ---Now, if your Runners are thinking for a little "Free Willy" style adventure with the doppelganger... they better think again... That thing is more "Tech" then person, and 100% loyal to its Corp. Its just as likey to slit the Runners throat for fucking up the mission as it is to ratting the runners out... This isn't some "poor brain washed, delusional child"... this a device made by a Corp, raised by said Corp, trained by said Corp. and loyal to said Corp. Functionally its a walking, talking Corp drone.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, but also retconned, and fairly implausible even without that.
Thank you. This is a much more thorough explanation than I dared hope for.
So now my dilemma is: do I keep the doppelganger anyway? Make the doppelganger less defined, and leave the players wondering without ever explaining? Replace the doppelganger with something else entirely? Or drop the entire adventure? (I'd rather not do the last one; it seems kinda cool, even if it is a bit railroady.)
Reaver:
So, you have some lore knowledge, but with big gaps (good to know), well I would encourage you to dig into to the Lore, it's pretty vast, twisted and deep!
I'll tell you right now, Renraku and the Yaks have a long, deep and strong relationship..... time to do your homework to find out how and why :D
Most of the retconning from 4e to 5e has to with nanotechnology. Basically, Nanotech was removed in an event known as the "great disovlement" (covered in like 2 paragraphs), as everything made from nanotech turned into goo.. And along with it went some pieces of gear, cyberware/bioware... and genetech that was only possible thanks to nanotech. And part of that was cloning, to a degree.
While individual organs could be grown by the "old methods", the cloning of full bodies and advancement of said clones was lost (more or less). So basically no more doppelgangers (in their core structure was a nanohive that kept them functional. when that melted down, all the clones also imploded). Oh, and they attempted to "de-glitter" HMHVV...
Now that is not to say all genetech is gone, but if you compare what we have in 5e to 4e, you'll see there is a shift in pricing, and function, as well as some options are gone...
You're not far wrong in that an adept (or even better, a Mystic Adept) could replace the doppelganger. In fact, that could work just as well with an initiated (mystic)adept. A Physical Mask Spell, Masking metamagic combined with Flexible Signature could hide and change the Adept's aura to that of Dr. Sayr's just fine. Still a change of being seen through, but there are always risks.
Auras confuse people. Remember, anything that is alive has a Aura. From the potato plant in the field to a Blue whale in the ocean. Even vat grown life like a Whimp has an aura... In and of its self all an Aura means is that something is "alive"... it has no bearing on size, intelligence, or even thought. However, Auras are also astral finger prints, in that no two auras are the same. Even identical twins will have separate auras. Now some meta magics will allow you to "copy" an aura, but a skilled observer may be able to spot the copy and see the real aura under it...
I too got CFD vibes with the talk about Eghosts, and other bits, so its a good bit of fore shadowing for the CFD plotline that is coming up, should you decide to explore it...
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