Episode 2: Movin' In

Episode Summary

The Troubleshooters try to break into the home of a Violet-level citizen. They learn why this is a bad idea.

Encounter One: Missed Directions

The coordinates listed on the envelope from Ko-V-ERT/Tee-V-GDE directs the player to a dank alley between two large buildings in MTE sector. The only feature of note is a round air grill at the player's feet. The envelope contains two pieces of paper (JBYPE2N1 and JBYPE2N2); hand them to your players.

Looks simple, yes? No room for misinterpretation, yes? Easy enough, yes?

You must be new here.

Knowing the general ineptitude of Troubleshooters, Ko-V-ERT tried to make everything as goof-proof as possible. He gave them clear instructions, armed them with R&D devices that are actually useful, and sent them to break in at a time when he knew everyclone was out at work. Unfortunately, due to a snafu with the office copier, the map is reversed; Walla-V-MTE's quarters are actually in the upper-left corner of the map.

Of course, the players won't know this. They'll open the grill and crawl through the air vents without a second thought. The vents are one meter tall and wide, so all movement, agility, and dexterity rolls will have to be made at one-half.

Fairly soon, they'll find the room indicated, break in ... and realize they're in the wrong place. Maybe personal items have someone else's name on them, or maybe the room is not Violet, but Indigo (it's a mixed residential block). In any case, let the Troubleshooters know they've screwed up.

Maybe they get lucky and head for Walla-V's quarters immediately. More likely, though, they'll panic, then explore the other rooms until they find the right one. To keep things interesting, throw out some of the random encounters listed in the sidebar:

Game Stuff: Ventilation Encounters

Bots in the Vents. Even ventilation systems need maintenance. Scrubots clean things, Repairbots fix things, and Guardbots handle vermin. The players will probably first run into a Scrubot or a Repairbot. Guardbots are only sent to investigate problems (like destroyed bots or random explosions). As the PCs destroy Guardbots, more quickly show up to deal with the intruders.

Bugged Rooms. Trustworthy citizens are quickly exploited and would never survive long enough to live in this dorm. Paranoid residents will have their quarters booby-trapped and/or wired in some form or another. Pick one or more of the following:

Monsters in the Dark. The Computer may not allow pets in Alpha Complex, but tell that to the critters. Give the players rabies or something.

Oops! Someone in Power Services goofed and accidentally redirected an experimental nerve toxin into the system. Nothing horrible. Just enough to knock a player unconscious for 1-10 turns if he fails an Endurance roll. Sending out some bots or critters while the players are out is unfair, but fun. Or change the contents -- maybe a mild hallucinogen, or a flood of waste water from the reactor (boiling hot and mildly radioactive). Go to town.

Do Not Disturb. The party stumbles across a secret society meeting in one of the rooms. Obvious treason! Do they behave like loyal clones and stop the fanatics, or do they turn the other cheek and do nothing? Remember, failure to report treason is treason.

Another twist might be that the society members are using the vents to travel to/from their meeting. An armed firefight in a dark, cramped circulation network sounds like fun to me. And maybe the racket draws some Guardbots (see above) or residence guards (see below) to investigate.

Time's Running Out. Remind the players that their orders required them to finish by a certain time. If they have been taking too long, this should give them a panic; that might cause them to make more mistakes...

Truly crafty folks may want to search these high-clearance residents for any interesting souvenirs. Feel free to let them find a few useless trinkets; it'll only get them into more trouble later.

Encounter Two: Can We Go Home Now?

Eventually, the players will find Walla-V's quarters. All they have to do is hide the copy of "Soldier of Fort-U-INE" somewhere in the room; in a closet, under the mattress, behind the vidscreen -- somewhere. Just let them drop it and leave.

If the PCs want to be overly cautious, don't discourage them. Are they secretly being taped by The Computer? Is that picture on the wall hiding a bank of lasers? Do they want to sweep the room with a set of tweezers looking for traps? G'wan, indulge their paranoia (that's the name of the game, after all). Maybe some of their fears are even true.

Encounter Three: This Looks Familiar

When the players are done in Walla-V's room, they can head out through the vents. This should be just like Encounter One all over again, except this time they know where they're going (we hope). Ideally, they'll emerge from the maze fairly intact, then return to Ko-V-ERT.

If the Troubleshooters are actually dumb enough to try and leave through the front door, punish them. Put armed Indigo guards along the corridors. The sight of Red- and Orange-level clones in an Indigo- and Violet-level dormitory is obvious treason. Mow down the players and drag them to Episode Four.

As you may have guessed, this episode is merely a warm-up to get your crowd limbered before they land in really hot water. Feel free to vary the pace to fit the mood of your group. If things are going slow, give the players more encounters and complications. Or, if everyone wants to move on, clear the obstacles and hustle everyone to Episode three.

Other Endings

If the PCs plant the magazine in the wrong room, they return to Ko-V-ERT and get sent to their next mission. It'll take a while for him to find out that they goofed (a "raid" on Walla-V reveals nothing), but by then, the Troubleshooters will be in a bigger mess.

If they can't plant the magazine at all (maybe it got destroyed or stolen, for instance), send them back to Ko-V-ERT. He berates them for failing to do the job, but sends them on their next mission anyway (good work is hard to find). See Episode Three for details.

If the players get caught, lock them in shackles, bludgeon them unconscious, and go straight to Episode Four.