Game Report - Dystopian Universe Beta Playtest - Session 2

Another mission of La Resisténce - New characters… New Challenges… New problems!

• GM: Fábio Emilio Costa
• Players:
• Luis Cavalheiro as Jean-Jacques Le Blanc (Type: Le Exilés/Natural);
• Paulo "Meirense" França as Remy Fayat (Type: Le Cityoéns/Hacker);
• César Hitos Araujo as Camille Desjardins (Type: Le Societè/Blueblood);
• Silas Marques de Lima as Martin Marteau, Le Marteur (Type: Le Societè/Officer);
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First we started recapitulating the Session 1, when Remy talked with his mentor, Carpe, about the Project ET-01, a clue I put in the last mission, and Jean-Jacques was looking for his beloved Juliette (part of his Hostage secret). After this, I presented the new characters, both Societé, Camille Dejardins (A Blueblood), and Martin Le Marteur (an Officer). Camille was called for the mission by Florian, his secretary. while Martin received it as a AR pop-up while he was practicing shooting. Jean-Jacques and Remy received paper notes, all of them. All of them with the same text “Moulin Rouge, 8pm”.

So, they got at the Moulin Rouge, after the start of La Silénce, and the PCs sees Leandra and Said playing with a rugby ball (I didn’t described as a ball for the PCs) and Remy and Jean-Jacques had a sharp words exchange… Leandra stops to play and start to talk about the mission (Corporate Espionage) and said about Project ET-01 (that is the wheat on Corporate Espionage). I called the Scandal Government Aspect about the AR/VR addiction, as a way to put the idea of the wheat be involved with this and with La Transformation de la Terre. The mission was simple: just get into Sun System Biotech HQ and take all the information and the sample of ET-01. Just get in, do the mission, get out.

The feeling between Jean-Jacques and Remy were still uneasy, and the fact that Leandra and Said were playing was a great uneasiness for Leandra was talked by Jean-Jacques, but they also had their problems.

With this, Jean-Jacques asked Leandra about information involving Sun System Biotech HQ, and Leandra gave some general descriptive information.

This done was started the prep scenes, and the players was clever enough to buy the Training Archive Access, after all the stress:

• Martin Le Marteur did one of the men of his military group (the Marteur de La Paix - Hammer of Peace) do a investigation on Sun System Biotech, saying he “to searching for La Resistance agents” (oh, the irony!!!). With a Success with a small cost because a tie, I gave him the Security Structure Aspect with a boost. I put the Cost on hold for future uses;
• Jean-Jacques worked the idea that the cleaning and other dirty and hard work is sometimes made by Naturals and worked a way to Infiltrate and he used a point from the Supply to reinforce his roll and generated the Aspect with a boost, just for himself;
• Camille had used the idea she’s involved into some Intrigues and worked her way with some middle-level security manager and by this way, to obtain some Insider Information as a way to understand what could be expected them. And as Martin, she had obtained a Success with a Small cost, she had put an Visitor’s Access Aspect with two boost (Camile has the deal in favors Stunts)
• Remy did the big bet: she asked for the Duke’s favor. We did the roleplay and she asked for things that would help her to do her hacking show easily, and The Duke provided her with a Pack of Codes and Meta-data. But Carpe advised her to not get into contact with the Duke, but Remy got the Scandal Aspect to justify. Remy and The Duke encountered themselves into one of Duke’s Warehouse and asked the favors. We elaborated a Level 8 Equipment as the Pack of Codes and Meta-data. The Duke’s smile when Remy asked the Equipment made clear: she was into the wasp’s nest.
• To finish, Camille used the last supply to remove her cost and put some extra boost in the Security Structure, and Leandra gives them some Fake Meta-data to provide a Disguise;

Then, we started the mission: first of all I created a table with Disguised and Revealed for the PCs (all started as Disguised)

They easily passed Checkpoint A, thanks by The Officer that, even Disguised, appealed by his Authority by expressing his distraught with the frail security (as they came with a Security Specialists disguise). Jean-Jacques did a way to ease the invasion by “unintentionally” drop water into some circuits and Short-circuit some of the Security Systems and creating a Diversion, so Remy could jack herself into some of the good terminals and create a Fake Reunion so they could get away some of the next Checkpoints. The Fake Reunion was created and good enough for get through Checkpoint B. They got an elevator to the Labs.

Before getting into The Labs, the PCs (beside Jean-Jacques, that got through a Service Access) had got through the Checkpoint B. Jean-Jacques was the first to note about the infrastructure and security. Martin give the idea and Remy talked about a potential system failure that could do problems. For the waiter, I used the SecSpec template, with the Bored Aspect. They used the Fake Reunion. They tried to find a connection point for obtaining extra information about the ET-01. They discovered that the access to the Storage Rooms (changed into a Biohazard Lab) is cleared by orders signed by some Meta-data sent to the system. Remy had some of them and used the Fake Meta-data provided by The Duke. Remy was able to fake an Access Clearance Order with two Boost as Success with a Style, looking like a little old-fashioned parchment into the A/R.

They had some difficult to see if they could pass a message to Jean-Jacques to go and alert them to take something to put ET-01, and Martin talked directly, but sneaky, as a way to pass the message.

They had got splitted by a lab wall, where all characters are under another side, and Jean-Jacques had to deal with a SecSpec totally out of this world. And as the SecSpec didn’t saw Jean-Jacques as a menace, he was taken out, and as it was a Success with Style, I opted out to NOT receive blowback (it was a great result, anyway). They were decontaminated, except Jean-Jacques, that would need to be decontaminated before, but he needed the help of the others, when he found a Card-based access, and found two cards into the SecSpec, almost equal. But for the other with A/R, they saw the information about Which card to use and passed the card information on how to get through the Access for Naturals. After being decontaminated, Jean-Jacques provided the other card to enter the Lab. They had saw lots of A/R banners with all the experiments. While Remy used the Duke’s Codes to filter the A/R information. I invoked Martin Small Cost, by wake up the SecSpec, but without extra reason to call it against the PCs.

Remy was able to clean the A/R banners to find the correct one for ET-01, and before they catched it, Remy spoofed to say that ET-01 was still there. This time, cosed to use Uncovered Motives and put another Aspect related with the Scandal called Project Name: Simuta (robbed this from Dune). I got 8 Blowback by almost revealing herself, and by robbing the sample. Camille lectured the SecSpec on about the “security flaws”, and as the SecSpec lost the cards (took by Jean-Jacques), he needed to get into the lab via the other elevator, giving time for the players to hide the ET-01 into the cleaning cart Jean-Jacques had.

While the SecSpec get into the lab via the elevator, Jean-Jacques do the transfer of ET-01 and then the other PCs got out the lab and the building. But the Service Elevator is locked and the SecSpec looked to Jean-Jacques suspiciously, but Jean-Jacques was able to hide the sample in the cart. The SecSpec plugged his A/R to see what happened and unlocked the elevator and Jean-Jacques got also out after his janitor shift ended.

And so, the mission ended, very smoothly as in the Session 1. And the debrief started with Jean-Jacques very suspicious with the elevator “prank” and with Remy holding secret about Project Name: Simuta. After Jean-Jacques gives the ET-01 package for Leandra and Said, he started to ask about the Service Elevator’s prank and Remy snapped that Jean-Jacques would accuse someone as spy. And again we have some accusations: Jean-Jacques has suspicious again with Remy, as he was under life risk and the mission would be compromised, and Jean-Jacques and Remy snapped some bad words against each other again.

Jean-Jacques also saw that Remy liked to put him into trouble. So, I used Said and the Romantic Ties Remy revealed in the last mission as a Treason Accusation (from a NPC). Remy cried, but this was not enough to comove Said, that as an Armiger has an Aspect called “Leandra, my last humanity anchor/tether” as his Who accepts you despite your intimidating presence? Aspect, which forced Remy to reveal her Rivalry against Jean-Jacques Secret, even after Jean-Jacques tried to be a good guy with her.

Remy was still stubbornly holding the knowledge about Simuta and mocking Jean-Jacques, doing a prank that almost compromised the mission, but after Said going really angry against her, she revealed the Simuta. While Remy was crying about trust, even after doing two pranks that almost compromised their missions and being so distrustful, and I forced the Remy’s Citoyén Aspect as a way to press Jean-Jacques, and it was the time she took as enough and accused Jean-Jacques as Traitor. Jean-Jacques revealed that he has a Girlfriend as LaFleur’s Hostage (his secret). In fact… an ex-Girlfriend, as Juliette decided to leave Jean-Jacques (as she died). Three Government advances… A nice haul after they did everything right in the end…. :)

To finish, I made the accounts for La Resistance and Government.

They obtained an Advance for La Resistance impressively, they did a clean work and achieved all the Resistance Goals for Corporate Espionage, as they did in the Session 1! They bought Web of Informants.

But for me… I had 4 Advances for the Gov (two Secrets revealed + the “dying” of Juliette + some points I pushed from the Bank to do an complete Advance - yikes!!!!)…

And there’s still the Duke’s favor to be asked back. And they are feeling the paranoia on the Advances they give to the Gov…. And they are feeling the Purge coming… But not for now, at least.

As a last note, below is described Pack of Codes and Meta-data the Duke provided to Remy:

• The Duke’s Codes and Meta-data Pack (Cost: 6):
  • +2 to avoid being searched into the Datasphere with Maneuver
  • +2 to Resolve an Obstacle while involving orders into the Sun System Biotech with Manipulate
  • +2 to Gain an Advantage by signaling digital documents with orders using Manipulate
  • +2 to Resolve an Obstacle while passing through Physical Zones with Manipulate
  • +2 to Gain the Advantage when people checks his identity against authorized people with Manipulate
  • +2 to Gain the Advantage using the security systems with Manipulate