Cross-posted from Dumpshock forums. I like making characters, so I am trying to make some amnesiacs that GM's can use for a player that takes the 8-point version of the negative quality. When I have enough of them, I will start collecting them (in GM's Toolbox, maybe?), like I did for my PACKS. I will post the individual amnesiacs here, though, for feedback and suggestions, especially any problems with the backstory. Here is the first one:
PC material:
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Waking Up -
(GM: run this part rather than making it part of player handout).
First there is a jumble of memories. Being held down while an emaciated-looking man, eyes gleaming with fanaticism, approaches her with a syringe in his hands. The sound of gunshots and the smell of blood, and a voice screaming "Run, Autumn, run!" Jumbled impressions of flight, of riding some kind of commuter train or monorail, of hiding in an alleyway.
Suddenly, the present. A wave of dizziness and disorientation, ruthlessly fought through to attain clarity. An assault of light and sound - she is in some kind of nightclub. Despite her confusion, a mask of composure seems to settle around her like it is second nature to her. The club goers are a riot of extreme fashions and bodily modifications, but don't seem threatening - they smile and act friendly in her presense.
There are two exceptions to this, though. A thin man with close-cropped hair and an intense stare, in a long coat that is slightly too big for him, seems to be trying to work his way through the crowd to her. Right after that, she sees three men in poorly-fitting suits talking with the bouncer at the entrance. One of them pulls out a credstick, meaning they will probably be waved through shortly. None of the suits have even seen her yet, but somehow she knows they are after her.
(GM): the other runners will be here, either right after meeting a Johnson or contact, or just hanging out. Hunters from both True Gene and Autumn's former corporate masters (Transdyne Eugenics Labs) have found her. For the wild-eyed True Gene soldier, use ganger stats. He is wearing an armored long coat and has a Remington Roomsweeper heavy pistol loaded with hollow-point slugs. He is also hopped up on Kamikaze. He will fight to the death (mainly because of the Kamikaze - if somehow taken alive, he will crumble under interrotation, although he doesn't know much). The three TEL goons, use corporate security stats. They are wearing actioneer business suits, and have shock gloves, and Fichetti Security light pistols with a clip each of gel and frangible rounds. They are not expecting backup and will try to flee if outmatched. At this point they will try to be soothing to lure Autumn back, since they believe she wandered off drugged and confused, rather than defected. Note that both groups see each other as enemies - they won't cooperate, and clever players could even get them to expend more effort attacking each other than against the PCs.
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Taking Stock (Player Handout) -
You seem to be a female elf, with an attractive face (full lips and high cheekbones, the sultry look softened to a more innocent-looking one by a button nose and large eyes) and a slender but well-proportioned build. Your skin is an olive green, your eyes are an amber-orange hue, and your hair is a swirl of red, orange, brown, and blonde - the overall look is reminiscent of Fall leaves.
You are wearing a stylish business suit that you can somehow sense is armored, even though it is as comfortable as regular clothing. It has slacks rather than a skirt, but is still subtly feminine in cut. A concealed shoulder hoster holds a slender pistol, loaded (and a similarly loaded spare clip of ammo is found in another pocket). Somehow, holding the pistol (apparently a "Browning Ultra-Power"), you feel no doubts about its stopping power - or your ability to use it. You can't tell what kind of ammo you have, but you suspect it might be something with a bit more punch than regular ammo.
You have a pretty basic Sony commlink, although you are relieved that it has a mapsoft of this unfamiliar city. You have a SIN that looks a bit dodgy to you - it might get you into a nightclub or taxi, but you woudn't trust it to get you into a more secure or upscale area. Plus, it may or may not be compromised already. But it includes a gun license, driver's license, and a concealed carry permit - and right now, it's all you have. Your commlink doesn't show any bank accounts. At first all you seem to have is a certified credstick with 300 Nuyen on it, not enough to really go very far. However, you find two more hidden certified credsticks, one with 1,000 Nuyen on it, and another with 3,000 Nuyen on it. No apartment or vehicle keys - just a key card to a safety deposit box at some place called Rick's Lockboxes.
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Breakdown and stats:
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GM Material:
Autumn, female dryad/prototype transhuman adept face
BREAKDOWN (Sum to Ten)
B (3): Attributes (20)
B (3): Resources (275,000 Nuyen)
C (2): Magic (Adept - Magic: 4, 1 rating: 2 skill)
C (2): Metatype (Dryad/3)
E (0): Skills (18)
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10
Free Karma: 25
Positive Qualities: 15
Negative Qualities: <25>
Skills: 27 (etiquette: 3, perception: 2, stealth skill group: 1, unarmed combat: 1, and pilot ground craft: 1)
Resources: 8 (+ 16,000 Nuyen)
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0 remaining Karma
Designer Notes: This build is a dedicated face with decent combat abilities. Suited for moderately high-powered campaigns (normal creation rules, but built with the assumption of a runner team who are pros rather than average Joes). For a player primarily interested in playing a face, as some of the key combat augmentations cannot be upgraded later. Suited for campaigns that are more action movie than heist movie - it doesn't have to be a pure pink mohawk campaign, but one where a distinctive-looking character with glamour and a bounty on her head will cause complications, but not be an instant death sentence.
Possible changes: If her look would be too distinctive, swap the two SURGE qualities out with Flashbacks (7), and give her brown hair and amber eyes. You could even make her a regular elf instead of a dryad, and say that the dryad genes didn't breed true for her (and that she was considered a "success" only after awakening).
Stats:
=Attributes=
Body: 3
Agility: 4 (6)
Reaction: 4
Strength: 2
Willpower: 3
Logic: 3
Intuition: 4
Charisma: 8
Edge: 2
Magic: 6 (5)
Essence: 5.00
Initiative: 9 + 2d6
=Limits=
Mental: 5
Physical: 4
Social: 8 (12)
=Positive Qualities=
Mentor Spirit: Raven
Prototype Transhuman (with Wanted quality)
=Negative Qualities=
Allergy: Silver, Moderate
Amnesia (Full - 8 point)
Striking Skin Pigmentation
Unusual Hair
=Active Skills=
Con/Seduction: 6/+2
Etiquette: 3
Negotiation: 6
Perception: 2
Pilot Ground Craft: 1
Pistols/Semi-Automatics: 6/+2
Stealth Skill Group: 1
Unarmed Combat: 1
=Knowledge Skills=
Languages>
English: N
Japanese: 6
Other>
Corporate Politics: 4
Psychology: 4
=Contacts=
N/A
=Adept Powers=
Authoritative Tone: 3
Cool Resolve: 3
Kinesics: 2
Traceless Walk
Voice Control: 1
=Augmentations (Prototype Transhuman)=
Cosmetic Biomods, Minor (2,000 Nuyen)
Muscle Toner: 2
Tailored Pheromones: 3
=Augmentations (Normal)=
Clean Metabolism
Nephritic Screen: 2
Reception Enhancer
Sleep Regulator
Synaptic Acceleration treatment
Tetrachromacy
15,000 Nuyen for gear.
=Lifestyle=
Street.
Starting Money: Standard Certified Credstick with 240 + (1d6 x 20 = 60) Nuyen, Standard Certified Credstick with 1,000 Nuyen, and Silver Certified Credstick with 3,000 Nuyen.
=Equipment=
ID/Credsticks:
Fake ID (Rating: 2) with Fake Gun, Concealed Carry, and Driver's Licenses (Rating: 2); 2 Standard and 1 Silver Certified Credsticks (see Starting Money).
Weapons:
>Browning Ultra-Power with concealable quick-draw holster, 1 spare clip, 20 rounds of APDS ammo (gun and spare clip are fully loaded).
Armor/Clothing:
Zoe Executive Suite, 300 Nuyen of accessories (shoes, belt, intimate apparel, handbag with a few toiletries/cosmetics).
Commlink/Software:
Sony Emperor Commlink with sim module, trodes, and mapsoft (Seattle).
Other:
Key card to a safe deposit box. This can be a plot point or a red herring depending on what the GM wants to do.
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Description and Background:
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Description -
Autumn is a female dryad, with an attractive face (full lips and high cheekbones, the sultry look softened to a more innocent-looking one by a button nose and large eyes) and a slender but well-proportioned build. Her skin is an olive green, her eyes are an amber-orange hue, and her hair is a swirl of red, orange, brown, and blonde - the overall look is reminiscent of Fall leaves. Between tailored pheromones, glamour, and a social adept's powers, her presense can seem a bit overwhelming at times.
Background -
1) Give a brief overview of the character's life and vocation before the amnesia happened, leading up to the event(s) preceding/causing the amnesia itself.
Autumn was "born" in Transdyne Eugenics Labs, engineered from eggs taken from a dryad who had no idea that it had happened (she was lured there by to promise of a free health screening). She was one of only three subjects that bred true to the dryad gene (the other two were Sara and Winter), and the only one of her "sisters" to awaken.
The idea was to create the perfect femme fatales, trained to seduce, subvert or blackmail Evo's enemies. They were trained in social engineering, as well as given opportunities to further improve themselves. Winter showed an aptitude for computers, Sara learned covert ops skills to supplement her social abilities, and Autumn spent time at the firing range until she was extremely good with her pistol.
However, while the individual trainers were good, the lab staff failed to sufficiently indoctrinate the three girls. It was the Peter principle in action - scientists promoted to administrative positions, who botched the handling of the subjects. They taught them to be cunning and self-sufficient, but punished them harshly (and often unfairly) for infractions, breeding resentment rather than loyalty. Sara was the first one to defect, escaping during a supervised outing. Autumn was vexed - now she would have to wait to make her own escape, until the suspicion towards the remaining two died down.
She made some preliminary preparations, but her plans were derailed when True Gene attacked. Transdyne was surprised by the attack, operating as they did in secret, and many levels of deniability from their parent corporation of Evo. But one of their own researchers, Dr. Aiden Cartrell, had tipped off the True Gene, due to a stalker crush he had on Autumn.
2) How did the amnesia happen?
True Gene, supposedly an eco-terrorist group opposed to metahuman cloning, bioware, and geneware (they are actually more motivated by larceny), launched an attack on Transdyne Eugenics Labs, who were betrayed from within by Dr. Aiden Cartrell. Dr. Cartrell only asked that the innocent experimental subjects not be killed... and that Autumn be turned over to him, so that he could personally keep her "safe".
True Gene agreed, figuring that after they wiped the memories of the subjects, they could be sold to the Yaks or the Vory to fund their ongoing "crusade". They managed to get in with the duplicitous doctor's help, and to inject Autumn with the memory-wiping drug, when Transdyne security counterattacked. Autumn wandered off in the confusion, and dazedly went through with her plan to flee.
True Gene was beaten back, then both groups eventually went after Autumn, Transdyne to get their property back and True Gene to tie up loose ends (they don't care about their deal with the doctor any longer).
3) Describe the plots and/or consequences of the amnesia.
The main player is Transdyne, who will come after Autumn to take her back. At first, they will try to coax her, assuming she is just confused. If she refuses, they will try to abduct her forcefully. If their in-house forces repeatedly fail, they will reluctantly offer a 50,000 Nuyen reward for her, stressing that she needs to be alive and relatively unharmed.
In the meantime, several others (described below) will have their own agendas. Dr. Cartrell is still obsessed with Autumn, Winter will play mind games, Jed Scudder will be digging for dirt on the others, and Ouroboros will be grasping for a way to atone for his failures.
Transdyne will be tenacious, since they consider Autumn their breakthrough. There are at least two ways they can be made to back off, though. They are very shy of publicity for obvious reasons. The threat of exposure will either make them back off, or dismantle and scatter to the winds. If Winter turns against them, they will abandon, or at least seriously re-think, the project. It's not a viable experiment when ALL of your successful subjects turn against you, after all.
4) Describe the people who know (or will claim to know) the character.
Dr. Aiden Cartrell (Transdyne scientist, on the run):
A bland, nondescript man in his mid-thirties with a deceptively kind-looking face. He was able to hide his involvement in the attack just long enough to flee. Right now, he is hiding in an old warehouse, mixing up betameth for a small-time ring of Tacoma drug dealers.
Dr. Cartrell still has a stalker crush on Autumn. If he learns of her amnesia, he won't hesitate to lie to her (they were lovers, he was helping to plan out her escape, etc.). Right now, he is a virtual prisoner of the gang and is actively being hunted by a number of pissed-off people. That could change, though; he is a slippery little weasel.
Winter (clone-"sister" to Autumn):
A dryad who is strikingly similar to Autumn in appearance, although she is an albino rather than having Autumn's exotic coloration. She is more cerebral than Autumn, less focused on combat and more on hacking. The only one still loyal to Transdyne, although that is only because she is more interested in eventually staging a power coup, rather than fleeing.
Winter wants Autumn back, mainly due to having a twisted crush on her clone sibling. She has recordings of Autumn being "trained" in the arts of seduction, getting thorough physical exams, and even being punished - she enjoys watching them. She is a lot more intelligent than Miles, but he distrusts her and discounts her insights. So she will play cat-and-mouse games with Autumn using her hacking and social engineering abilities, and her small personal security detail.
Pre-amnesia, Autumn would not return her affections, thinking of her more as a sister. If amnesiac Autumn responds to her flirting, Winter will be uncharacteristically flustered. The prospect of an actual relationship with Autumn is one of the few ways that Winter could be turned against Transdyne. Having Winter as a lover comes with its own problems, though...
Miles Marcos (Transdyne security chief):
A lean, crew-cut man with a military bearing and a perpetually sour-faced look, he deflected most of the heat for the break-in onto Dr. Cartrell and Jed Scudder, but he still wants to redeem himself in the eyes of his bosses.
He is in charge of the efforts to apprehend Autumn. He is a precise and meticulous man, but a very conventional thinker who is not good at dealing with unorthodox tactics. His underlings are even less imaginative.
Jed Scudder (scapegoated and embittered ex-Transdyne security decker):
A surly dwarf with an abrasive manner and questionable hygiene, he had no friends at Transdyne. After the break-in, he was unfairly blamed and unceremoniously fired. Big mistake. He absconded to the Puyallup Barrens, with a cobbled-together deck and all of the sensitive data he could steal. Some Matrix gang buddies of his have him set up in a safe house, leaving a bored dwarf with plenty of time to wreak Matrix mischief and plot revenge.
Jed hates Dr. Cartrell, Transdyne, and True Gene, so he is digging for dirt on all of them, as well as selling Transdyne secrets to pay back his benefactors. He doesn't care one way or another about Autumn, but will try to turn her against Dr. Cartrell and Transdyne out of spite.
Ouroboros (True Gene's mysterious leader):
A balding, portly man of aloof academic mien wearing old-fashioned glasses (not needed for vision, but they have some mods). He is not especially charismatic. He leads True Gene because he provides guns, cybernetic augmentations (to the inner circle), and logistical information about their targets. The rank and file believe in True Gene's professed goals, while the inner circle is motivated more by greed. Only he knows their true purpose, to target smaller labs that are competitors to his corporation - Evo.
The attack on Transdyne was opportunistic rather than ordered from above. He is allowed a certain level of independent action, but in this case his bosses are very upset with him - since Transdyne is also a subsidiary of Evo. He is scrambling to get back to the good graces of his superiors.
The other test subjects
Seven of the other subjects did express the dryad metagene and were considered "failures". They were trained like the other three were, but were given far less priveleges and treated even more harshly. Needless to say, they feel no loyalty to Transdyne, although they have learned to keep their heads down and act docile while waiting for a chance to escape. Winter has been cultivating them as a possible power bloc, but while outwardly grateful for her calculated acts of kindness or protection, they don't trust her.
5) Describe any other potential complications from the character's past.
The original genetic donor is unlikely to ever find out about the project. Sara has well and truly vanished, at least for now. She could show up later, as either an ally or an antagonist. Either way, she will likely be in charge of some kind of criminal enterprise.
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