| NEW MEXICO COPS, SESSION ONE a Cyberpunk 2020 game run by Gary Astleford |  |
NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE OUTLINE #1 Ok... this first episode we gotta introduce the characters. What we got going for us is:
Kat won't be here until 10 (or after), and we still have to do her equipment. Brant and Amy still have to finish their equipment, too, and I'll take care of Joe when he gets here. They get called in one morning to the Captain's office. What should her name be? Captain Evelyn Morris. She's a nice lady, blond going to gray. Not attractive, but not repulsive, either... plain. Blue cyberoptics, interface plugs, and a chip socket. As it is, the NMSP have restricted their operations to the northern half of the state. Since the collapse, funds have not allowed law enforcment to be spared to the desolate wastes of the south. With no population or property to protect, it was both a waste of time and money. However, during the collapse (and shortly after), Biotechnicia purchased large tracts of land in the south-eastern part of the state. It was hoped that these areas could be used in later farming efforts. Lately, the corporation has supplied extensive irrigation to the areas, as well as providing land grants to capable individuals seeking their fortune in farming the hardy grains and animals supplied by their benefactors. If the experiments work, Biotechnicia will move in and create another cornucopia of the southwest. All that the farmers have to do in order to keep their land is sell their produce to Biotechnicia exclusively. However, it's not as simple as it sounds. The areas to the west of the Biotechnicia-held properties are primarily U.S. Military-controlled. The deserts provide the army with a wonderfully huge testing ground, where new and interesting weapons of mass destruction can be tested without attracting too much attention. There have been some incidents between military units in the area and local "Settlers", as the Biotechnicia farmers are known, which usually end with the military on the winning side. Incidents have so far been on a low level of intensity, with very few shots (if any) being fired. Individual military units will march in, throw their weight around, and leave. Sometimes an aircraft will do low-altitude bomb runs (practice, of course) on the settler towns. As always, it seems mostly harmless, but it is frightening. Biotechnicia has called upon the state of New Mexico to do something, since its citizens are being terrorized. The state first contacted the military, explaining the situation and the grievances involved. The military high command was seemingly unaware of the problem, and promised to look into it. Under pressure from the corporation, the governor of New Mexico has ordered small groups of police to be sent to settler towns in order to see that law and order is maintained. It is the state's intention to utilize existing structures for police housing in order to cut costs. Evelyn will explain most of this to the players. They've probably heard something about it in the screamsheets, etc. The group is ordered to go to a once-tiny-now-nonexistent town and recon the area, esp. the old police station. They are to check the structure out, and report on its condition via radio. If it is in good enough shape, they will be delivered some bare essentials (desks, bunks, etc.), as well as a couple of "professional" estimators, electricians, and of course, plumbers. COMING DOWN On the way down, about fifteen miles from the station, the surrounding desert will give way to signs of life... scrub, etc. As they near the station, they will find that they can see irrigated farm land in the distance. They'll pass through the town proper, which is made up of about five or six old buildings that have been restored. These consist of some residences, a hotel, a bar/restaraunt, and a general store. Matt Sneed runs the "Tumbleweedd Bar", which is a cozy little place that serves up home-made grain spirits and the usual fare of soy products, SCOP, krill, and kibble (if you're really hungry). They also serve up genuine bio-engineered steaks that farmer Miller sells him under the table for an arm and a leg, if you can afford the stiff bill (around $30, not including side orders). Sneed is an imposing man with a yellow streak down his back a mile wide. He's bald, brown-eyed, and loves telling made-up war stories. Wyatt Combs runs the general store. He sells farm and camping equipment. Anything he doesn't have he can get within a week or two if the shipments get through. He usually wears bib overalls and openly displays a very large, very ugly-looking revolver in a hip holster. He's about 36, handsome in a down-home sort of way, and his wife would kill him if he looked at another woman cross-eyed. He has two kids, Tommy (8) and Rebecca (17). Rebecca works as a waitress over at the Tumbleweed. The hotel is a rickety old building with "HOTEL" painted on the front in big black letters. The manager/owner, Lloyd Turner, is an honest man who is scared to death of nomads, indians, and wild animals. He is around 34, brown-haired and brown eyed. This session was mostly introductory, to get the characters and some of the major NPCs introduced, as well as showing us the station. However, some strange things did happen in the first game: WHAT CAN I HIT THEM WITH? 1) Mutilated Cows Some of Farmer Miller's livestock are dissected in his field. It's happened a few times this month, with a loss of about four cows. There are no footprints, no marks in the ground; nothing to indicate human or animal involvment. The animal's organs have been laid out in a pattern reminiscent of an autopsy. Nothing was seen or heard the night before. This was just plain weird, and was a suitable introduction for the Twilight Zone meets Mayberry atmosphere which permeated the entire game. Basically, we all ended up standing around the neatly dissected remains of a giant genemod cow, scratching our heads. Totally bamboozled. Bright lights in the west, over the mountains, in the direction of White Sands and Alamagordo. Again, something we JUST DIDN'T UNDERSTAND (spooky music plays). On To Session Two |