Android GM ToolsShadow of the Beanstalk

While the citizens of New Angeles live in a corporate-run world dominated by pursuit of profit, some still seek to improve life for the downtrodden. Civic brigadiers join vol- unteer organizations to install and maintain essential ser - vices, such as water and power, in the undercity or to build greenspaces, schools, and community centers. 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 01 218 --- PAGE 219 ---

Skills: Athletics, Driving, Knowledge (Soci - ety), Mechanics, Melee.

Abilities: Community Volunteer (may use Knowledge (Society) instead of Charm, Coercion, or Negotiation during social interactions with undercity residents).

Equipment: Titanium shovel (Melee; Damage 5; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Stun 2), hard hat (+1 melee defense), PAD, toolkit.

At and just below the plaza level, nightclubs, bars, and dis- cotecas are where a lot of secret meetings and clandestine business dealings occur. This makes many club owners de facto power players in the undercity, whether they directly involve themselves in these illegal goings-on or not.

Skills: Charm 3, Cool 3, Deception 2, Knowledge (Society) 2, Perception 3, Streetwise 3, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Clever Retort (once per encounter, may add Threat Threat to another character's social skill check), Customer Service Experience 3 (after making a Charm check, may suffer up to 3 strain to cancel an equal amount of Threat).

Abilities: Threat of Ban (while in club owner's establish - ment, may spend Threat from checks targeting club owner to have character making the check suffer 2 strain instead of 1).

Equipment: Stun baton (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3, Stun Damage), PAD, bouncers.

A segment of youth culture in New Angeles is preoccupied with sports and adrenaline. Generally male, the "diesel bro" is obsessed with "traditional" displays of machismo. This includes a great deal of high-risk and sometimes violent behavior. Rarely career criminals or streetbangers, most diesel bros are just angry kids hopped up on way too much energy drink. Still, violence often erupts after a mob of bros runs into someone wearing the wrong team colors.

Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Coercion, Melee.

Talents: Berserk (as an incidental, until the end of the encounter, may add Success Advantage Advantage to all melee combat checks, but cannot make Ranged attacks; enemies add Success to all combat checks targeting a diesel bro or group; when this talent is used, suffer 6 strain at end of encounter).

Equipment: Baseball bat (Melee; Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 2), diesel can, PAD.

Disenfrancistos live off the grid in New Angeles’ undercity, and are everyone from homeless panhandlers to those who choose to live a life away from the corporate controlled world that exists above plaza level. Many disenfrancistos tend to get by on odd jobs, scavenge the undercity for valu- able finds, and sleep in disused transit tunnels, clone bar - racks, bioroid warehouses, and other squats.

Skills: Melee, Resilience, Streetwise, Survival, Vigilance.

Equipment: Utility knife (Melee; Damage 3; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]), backpack of personal goods. 2 2 3 3 2 5 2 12 16 00 3 2 1 2 1 2 3 6 00 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 5 11 --- PAGE 220 --- DISENFRANCISTO

Disenfrancistos live off the grid in New Angeles’ undercity, and are everyone from homeless panhandlers to those who choose to live a life away from the corporate controlled world that exists above plaza level. Many disenfrancistos tend to get by on odd jobs, scavenge the undercity for valu- able finds, and sleep in disused transit tunnels, clone bar - racks, bioroid warehouses, and other squats.

Skills: Melee, Resilience, Streetwise, Survival, Vigilance.

Equipment: Utility knife (Melee; Damage 3; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]), backpack of personal goods. 2 2 3 3 2 5 2 12 16 00 3 2 1 2 1 2 3 6 00 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 5 11 --- PAGE 220 --- DISENFRANCISTO

In a megapolis as polarized as New Angeles, there is never a shortage of salacious scandal, corruption, or murder to write about. Referred to as “news-nosies, ” reporters spend their days tracking down stories, often in the less-than- safe undercity.

Skills: Charm 2, Coercion 3, Cool 3, Perception 3, Skulduggery 2, Street - wise 2, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: In the Know (whenever this char- acter learns a Motivation of another character in the encounter, this character may have that character suffer 2 strain and may heal 2 strain), Leading Question (once per encounter, may spend a Story Point to learn one Motivation of any one other character in the encounter).

Equipment: PAD, camdrone, monocam, press credentials.

Since New Angeles is a city on the cutting edge of research and development, plenty of researchers and scientists work in laboratories across the metropolis. While these labs are usually affiliated with a company, most of the researchers are contractors with uncertain long-term employment. More than a few of them would be happy to do some off- the-books research work for a few credits.

Skills: Discipline 2, Knowledge (Science) 3, Negotiation 2, Medicine 2, Perception 3.

Talents: Applied Research 1 (once per session may use Knowledge (Science) and Intellect when making a check instead of the skill and characteristic the check would nor- mally require).

Abilities: Research Team Member (when providing skilled assistance, may reroll up to two of the dice in the pool before resolving the check).

Equipment: Networked PAD, holodisplay, lab coat. 3 2 2 3 3 1 3 12 11 2 2 3 3 3 1 2 10 00 1 2 4 2 2 3 2 11 01 --- PAGE 221 ---

Many wealthy risties are collectors, often of something rare and expensive. This might include art, ancient artifacts, vehicles, unique old technology or code, even androids or drones. The collector is willing to go to extreme lengths, even resorting to underground markets, to get vital pieces for their collection. Price is no object for a rare find. While the ristie collector may live in a lavish condo-hab or villa, they go wherever the hunt for that crucial next piece of their collection takes

Skills: Cool 1, Knowledge (Society) 4, Negotiation 3, Per - ception 3, Streetwise 3, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Haughty Demeanor (other characters add Threat to social skill checks targeting ristie collector).

Abilities: Shrewd Negotiator (when making an opposed Negotiation or Streetwise check to purchase or sell an item, may suffer 2 strain to add Success to the results), Let’s Make a Deal (if this character knows an opponent’s Desire Moti - vation, when they inflict strain on the opponent, the oppo- nent suffers 4 additional strain).

Equipment: Heavily encrypted PAD, several credsticks.

The Starlight Crusade is a religious order that utilizes technol- ogy to stimulate parts of the brain its members believe to house the soul in order to have religious experiences. Templars are strict adherents to Starlight Crusade tenets. They take it per- sonally when outsiders sully the church’s reputation, defending their beliefs with a sometimes violent righteousness.

Skills: Brawl 2, Coercion 3, Discipline 3, Knowledge (Soci- ety) 1, Ranged (Light) 1.

Abilities: Values Enforcer (when making any social skill or combat check targeting an opponent of the church, add Success Threat to the result), Templar Cybernetic Implant (once per encounter as a maneuver, may make a Simple (–) Disci - pline check to heal 1 wound per Success).

Equipment: Fletcher pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Pierce 2, Vicious 2), heavy jacket with Crusade logo (+1 soak), PAD.

Many risties who live on inherited wealth seek pleasure, which might take any form, including live entertainment, food, unique tailored experiences, and adrenaline rushes. Anyone who navigates the social scene in New Angeles has had to deal with more than a few belligerent (and often intoxicated) young risties looking for fun—or trouble.

Skills: Charm 2, Coercion 1, Cool 1, Coordination 2, Knowledge (Society) 2.

Talents: Proper Upbringing 2 (when making a social skill check in the company of fellow risties, may suffer up to 2 strain to add up to Advantage Advantage to the check).

Abilities: I’ll Tell My Parents! (when this character inflicts strain using a social skill check, they inflict 2 additional strain).

Equipment: High-end wearable PAD. CRIMINALS Criminal groups range from small streetbanger gangs to mas- sive orgcrime syndicates. In addition, a wide range of indepen- dents sell their skills on the street or hunt for a big score.

Criminal runners come in all types: some are cocky upstarts taking on jobs out of their league, while others are cold pro- fessionals saving up for retirement. But for each of them, at the end of the day it's all about the paycheck.

Skills: Computers (Hacking) 4, Computers (Sysops) 2, Cool 3, Deception 3, Knowledge (The Net) 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Skulduggery 3, Streetwise 3, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target once), Distinctive Style (may add Success Success Threat Threat to any Computers (Hacking) checks before rolling; Threat Threat triggers the I Know You! option in Table 3–2 on page 130).

Abilities: Direct Access (when jacking in from within the same building as the target server, automatically succeeds when making an access system check).

Equipment: Submachine gun (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Auto-fire), skulljack, portable rig with Femme Fatale (page 137) and Corroder (page 136)—protected by Shinobi (page 135), fake IDs. 2 2 4 3 1 3 2 10 15 00 3 2 1 2 1 2 4 14 00 1 2 2 2 1 3 1 10 00 2 3 3 4 2 2 2 14 16 00 --- PAGE 222 --- LOS SCORPIONES

Los Scorpiones controls much of the illicit drug trade in New Angeles with the help of their cascares, or enforcers. Under the leadership of Lívia Teixeira and Miguel Moreno, the cascares have become a team of brutal and bloodthirsty enforcers who eagerly get their hands dirty engaging in human trafficking, gunrunning, and organ grinding.

Skills: Coercion, Melee, Ranged (Light), Streetwise, Vigilance.

Equipment: Armor-piercing submachine gun (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Auto-fire, Pierce 2), machete (Melee; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 1), aviator glasses.

Most orgcrime outfits tend to have a number of heavily armed and well-trained enforcers. While the muscle in an organization runs most of the day-to-day criminal enter - prises, the heavies take over in situations where violence and armed combat are expected. When they're not shoot - ing up buildings and busting heads, heavies tend to work as bodyguards for orgcrime bosses.

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Discipline 2, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Resilience 1, Streetwise 3, Vigilance 1.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target once), Street Fighter (when dis - orienting or knocking a target prone, the target suffers 3 wounds).

Equipment: Fletcher (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 4; Criti- cal 2; Range [Medium]; Blast 4, Pierce 2, Vicious 3), power gauntlet (Brawl; Damage 8; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Concussive 2, Knockdown, Prepare 1), light armor vest (+2 soak), oversized suit with hidden holsters.

Whether Tri-Maf, yakuza, 14K, or Los Scorpiones, all org- crime outfits have their mid-level lieutenants. Lieutenants typically either manage a single location, where they engage in multiple criminal activities, or a single operation that spans multiple locations. Lieutenants answer to a boss, and they often have numerous muscle and some heavies under their command.

Skills: Coercion 3, Cool 4, Deception 3, Knowledge (Soci - ety) 2, Leadership 3, Ranged (Light) 3, Skulduggery 2, Streetwise 4.

Talents: Adversary 2 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice), Forgot to Count? (when targeted by a ranged attack, can spend Threat Threat to cause attacker to run out of ammunition).

Abilities: Tactical Direction (may spend a maneuver to direct one friendly minion group within medium range; that group may immediately perform a free maneuver or add ■ to its next check), You Thought You Were Out… (when making a Coercion check to maintain a favor after calling it in, the check is an Average [ ◆ ◆] Coercion check instead of an opposed check).

Equipment: Gold-plated laser pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Short]; Accurate 1, Burn 1), gold chains, nice suit.

All orgcrime syndicates fill their lower ranks with cheap, tough, and somewhat disposable muscle. The job of these enforcers is to stand around and look dangerous, and back up their bosses in a fight.

Skills: Brawl, Coercion, Ranged (Light).

Abilities: Threatening (when providing assistance on another character’s Coercion checks, add Success to results for each minion in the group beyond the first).

Equipment: Brass knuckles (Brawl; Damage 3; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3), fletcher pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Pierce 2, Vicious 2), cheap padded suit (+1 soak). 3 2 2 2 2 1 4 7 00 4 3 2 2 1 2 6 15 00 2 2 3 4 2 3 2 16 13 00 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 5 00 --- PAGE 223 ---

Principled runners want to make the world a better place, and they run in service to an ideal. They seek to expose government and corporate corruption, often leaking pri- vate data to the press or spreading it all across the Net. Prin- cipled runners see themselves as sentinels keeping an eye on those with great power to ensure they are using that power responsibly.

Skills: Charm 1, Computers (Hacking) 3, Computers (Sys- ops) 3, Cool 2, Knowledge (Science) 3, Knowledge (The Net) 4, Perception 3, Ranged (Light) 1.

Talents: Burn Through (after making a successful check to override a piece of ice, may suffer 3 strain to attempt to override a second piece of ice on the same system as an incidental), Natural (once per session, may reroll one Com- puters [Hacking] or Knowledge [The Net] check).

Equipment: Synap pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Crit- ical 6; Range [Short]; Disorient 4, Stun 3, Stun Damage), armored utility vest (+1 defense, +1 soak), BMI, big rig with Athena (page 136) and Y og.0 (page 138)—protected by Hawk's Eye (page 134) and Fire Wall (page 133).

The only truly secure data never touches the Network, and as a result, some data transfers rely on physical couriers. Mem- bers of the so-called “sneaker net” transport data on mem chips via hopper, Metro, or even their sneaker-clad feet. A sneaker net courier needs to be fast, alert, and able to defend their package from someone trying to run an intercept.

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Coordination 2, Driving 2, Pilot- ing 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Stealth 2, Streetwise 2, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Swift (does not suffer penalties for moving through difficult terrain).

Abilities: Catlike Agility (once per turn, may spend a Story Point to move to any location within short range as an incidental, including locations that are vertically distant or have no easy access route).

Equipment: Palm stunner (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 2, Slow-Firing 2, Stun Dam- age), good running shoes, encrypted datasticks.

Street gangs collectively control most of the undercity, though rarely does any control more than a few blocks. Bra- vado, loyalty, and a skewed sense of honor are their virtues. While some terrify and extort those within their turf, oth - ers are the only justice and protection their neighborhood has. Some even hire out as armed guides for reporters and humanitarian workers.

Skills: Brawl, Coercion, Melee, Ranged (Light), Streetwise.

Abilities: Threatening (when providing assistance on another character’s Coercion checks, add Success to results for each minion in the group beyond the first).

Equipment: Pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Medium]), mono-switchblade (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 2), synthleather jacket (+1 soak), extensive tattoos and piercings.

Street gangs collectively control most of the undercity, though rarely does any control more than a few blocks. Bra- vado, loyalty, and a skewed sense of honor are their virtues. While some terrify and extort those within their turf, oth - ers are the only justice and protection their neighborhood has. Some even hire out as armed guides for reporters and humanitarian workers.

Skills: Brawl, Coercion, Melee, Ranged (Light), Streetwise.

Abilities: Threatening (when providing assistance on another character’s Coercion checks, add Success to results for each minion in the group beyond the first).

Equipment: Pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Medium]), mono-switchblade (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 2), synthleather jacket (+1 soak), extensive tattoos and piercings.

In an age of cybernetics and g-mods, many people seek a shortcut to improved or personalized selves. Since going to a legitimate doctor for an enhancement can cost a lot of money and leave a record trail, some disreputable citizens prefer relying on the work of a street doc. These are once-re- spectable surgeons who lost their license to practice or med-school dropouts with questionable ethics. Now, they patch up criminals and perform back-alley augmentations on anyone with the credits.

Skills: Deception 2, Knowledge (Science) 3, Mechanics 3, Medicine 3, Negotiation 2.

Talents: Surgeon 3 (when making Medicine checks to heal wounds, heal 3 additional wounds).

Abilities: Questionable Hygiene (when making a Medicine check, must spend Threat Threat Threat or Despair to decrease the target’s strain and wound thresholds by 2 each until the end of the current session).

Equipment: Shotgun (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Short]; Blast 4, Knockdown, Vicious 2), 4 slap-patches, various cybernetics, emergency medkit, portable toolkit.

When blackmail and bribery fail, an oyabun—leader of the yakuza—can call in one of their syndicate’s assassins. These highly trained killers can get into the most heavily guarded structures and eliminate their target without being seen or heard. A yakuza assassin can use subtle poisons to make a death appear accidental, or they can use their katana if the oyabun wants to send an unmistakable message to their foes. Their penchant for infiltration means that most yakuza assassins have also learned

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 4, Computers (Hacking) 3, Cool 4, Coordination 5, Discipline 2, Melee 4, Perception 2, Skul- duggery 3, Stealth 5, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Adversary 2 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice), Archaic Arms Master (while armed with a Melee weapon, may make an Average [ ◆ ◆] Melee check to force one engaged target to drop one weapon or move one range band in any direction).

Abilities: Quiet Code (when making a Computers [Hack- ing] check, Threat may not be spent to alert other users to the assassin’s presence), Subtle Death (when making a Brawl check, may spend Advantage Advantage or Triumph to apply a dose of contact poison to the target; the target must immediately make a Hard ( ◆ ◆ ◆) Resilience check as an incidental; if they fail, they suffer 5 wounds plus 1 wound per Threat; Despair means they must make the check again at the start of their next turn, as the poison remains in their system).

Equipment: Charged crystal katana (Melee; Damage 6; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Defensive 1, Pierce 3, Rein - forced), fists and feet (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 1, Knockdown, Stun 5, Stun Dam - age), optical camouflage suit (+2 defense), climbing gear, pocket rig with one-shot icebreakers (spend a Story Point to add Success Success Success to a successful check to break ice). CORPORATE EMPLOYEES While drones have been reducing human labor require- ments for the last century,

Corporate mission statements and ideologies vary from corporation to corporation, and it is the job of the middle manager to ensure the prevailing corporate philosophy trickles down to the workers and androids within their pur- view. Many middle managers worship upper management and executives with an almost religious reverence in their struggle to get ahead, which sometimes makes them obliv- ious to simple realities obvious to those underneath them. Thus, their personal attention on an underlin

Skills: Charm 1, Computers (Sysops) 1, Deception 2, Knowledge (Society) 1, Leadership 3, Negotiation 2, Perception 2.

Abilities: Corporate Oversight (when performing the assist maneuver, add Success Threat Threat to the result instead of adding ■).

Equipment: Smartsuit, PAD. 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 10 00 3 4 2 3 4 1 3 15 15 22 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 9 00 --- PAGE 225 ---

To protect themselves from all manner of Netcrime, corpo- rations hire sysops (system operators) to oversee and main- tain their security programs. Most sysops can react to an intrusion and work to lock out a runner, while the best sys- ops can track the intrusion back to its source and initiate some sort of retaliation.

Skills: Computers (Sysops) 2, Knowledge (The Net) 2, Mechanics 1, Perception 1, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: Reinforce (as a maneuver, may increase the strength of one active piece of ice by 1 until the end of the corporate sysop’s next turn).

Equipment: PAD, corporate ID, snacks.

A majority of New Angelinos get their news from anchors working for one of NBN’s programming lineups. NBN field anchors embed with the NAPD during undercity sweeps, stand on Manta Beach during hurricane threats, and report from virtually any location that might have even a tangen- tial connection to a story in an effort to give viewers a sense of conditions on the ground. The older and wiser ones sim- ulate doing all these things via digital manipulation, trust - ing that most viewers can’t tell

Skills: Charm 3, Coercion 2, Cool 4, Deception 2, Knowl - edge (Society) 2, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Clever Retort (once per encounter as an out-of-turn inciden - tal, may add Threat Threat to a target’s social skill check).

Abilities: Leading Question (once per encounter, may spend a Story Point to learn one Motivation of any one other character in the encounter).

Equipment: Light "bulletproof " undervest (+1 soak), camdrone, PAD, satellite uplink system, cheap and stain-resistant suit.

Melange Mining relies on Henry clones to perform the hard, dangerous work of lunar helium-3 extraction. This means their overseers have plenty of time to serve as Melange’s unofficial enforcers, bullying the locals and rival He-3 oper- ations, and contributing to the megacorp’s unsavory reputa- tion. While Melange Mining personnel live in Heinlein, they rotate down-Stalk for at least six months’ gravity leave after every year of work. The clones, of course, remain behind.

Skills: Brawl 2, Coercion 3, Driving 2, Knowledge (Science) 1, Leadership 3, Mechanics 2, Perception 2, Ranged (Light) 1.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target once).

Abilities: Lunar Off-Roading (add ■ ■ to any Driving or Survival checks made on the lunar surface).

Equipment: Retrofitted strength-augmenting gauntlet (Brawl; Damage 7; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Concus - sive 1, Knockdown), laser pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Critical 3; Range [Short]; Accurate 1, Burn 1), reinforced mining space suit (+2 soak), lunar megarover, PAD. 1 1 3 2 2 3 1 9 00 2 2 2 3 1 3 2 11 00 4 2 2 2 2 1 6 12 00 --- PAGE 226 ---

Execs live a romanticized lifestyle in the highest floors of elite arcology buildings, where they enjoy the absolute highest standard of living the planets have to offer. How- ever, boardroom competition is fierce, and it can some - times even be lethal. To survive the cutthroat environment, executives have to be tough and ruthless, as comfortable managing teams of prisec mercenaries as they are negotiat- ing multibillion-credit deals.

Skills: Charm 3, Cool 3, Deception 4, Discipline 2, Leader- ship 4, Negotiation 4, Perception 3, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target once), Proper Upbringing 2 (when mak- ing a social skill check in the company of fellow corporate employees, may suffer 2 strain to add Advantage Advantage to the check).

Abilities: Let’s Make a Deal (if this character knows an opponent’s Desire Motivation, when this character inflicts strain on the opponent, the opponent suffers 4 additional strain), Ominous Reputation (when an opponent targets this character with a check, the opponent suffers 2 strain).

Equipment: Expensive suit with built-in PAD, credstick with unlimited funds, teacup giraffe, personal assistant.

The Space Elevator Authority's first and most visible line of defense are the “yellow jackets, ” private security personnel in their distinctive garb. Working in teams to perform pas- senger and cargo security scans for all contraband, yellow jackets tend to have the same jaded demeanors as any other customer-facing security officers.

Skills: Coercion, Knowledge (Society), Ranged (Light), Vigilance.

Abilities: Uncomfortable Inspection (when searching a character or their possessions, that character suffers 2 strain).

Equipment: Synap pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5, Critical 6; Range [Short]; Disorient 4, Stun 3, Stun Dam - age), bright yellow jacket (+1 soak), security PAD, 2 snap locks.

SYNC designed the most important network protocol on the planet: the framework for the Network, which most modern technology relies upon. When the SYNC’s sysops encounter irregularities they don’t understand, they kick them up to highly paid Globalsec agents whom SYNC keeps on permanent retainer. Globalsec has the tools and experience to investigate glitches, track down skilled run- ners, and close breaches with extreme prejudice.

Skills: Computers (Hacking) 2, Computers (Sysops) 3, Knowledge (The Net) 4, Mechanics 2, Perception 2.

Talents: Net Warrior (when using a BMI, may make an opposed Computers [Hacking] versus Computers [Sys - ops] check targeting one character accessing the system; the target suffers 1 strain per Success, and if they are using a BMI, they also suffer 1 wound per Success).

Abilities: Sniffer Programs (add ■ ■ to any opponent’s checks made on a system the SYNC Globelsec agent has control of), Swordbreaker Programs (may make a Hard [ ◆ ◆ ◆] Computers [Sysops] check targeting one opponent on the system to damage one of their active icebreakers one step, plus one additional step per Advantage).

Equipment: PAD, BMI, and custom offensive rig with per- sonal icebreakers (Gordian Blade [page 137] Battering Ram [page 136] and Garrote [page 137]). CREATURES AND VERMIN One might be forgiven for thinking that a megapolis like New Angeles doesn’t have much in way of wildlife. In fact, the myriad levels of the city host multiple microcli - mates and miniature ecosystems, where life has grown and evolved to live in the cracks of civilization.

As more and more people have modified themselves with cybernetics, they have taken to enhancing their best friends as well. Dogs can receive cybernetics once they’re fully grown, and most breeds adapt to them surprisingly well.

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 2, Perception 2, Vigilance 2.

Talents: None. 2 2 3 3 4 5 2 12 18 00 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 6 00 1 2 5 3 3 2 2 10 15 00 3 2 1 3 1 2 4 8 00 --- PAGE 227 ---

Abilities: Cybereyes (may see in infrared and may remove up to ■ ■ added to this character’s checks due to darkness), Silhouette 0, Takedown (as an action, may make an Aver- age [ ◆ ◆] Athletics check targeting one engaged oppo- nent; if successful, target is knocked prone, suffers 4 strain, and may not stand from prone during their next turn).

Equipment: Electrified metal jaws (Brawl; Damage 6; Crit- ical 3; Range [Engaged]; Stun 4).

The citizens of BosWash like to brag about their giant mutant crocodiles in the sewers, but in truth, every major metropolis has its share of monstrous creatures. So-called “g-modstroc- ities” likely started out as a lab experiment gone terribly wrong. Now a potent blend of dozens of genomes, they roam the depths of the undercity, avoiding Animal Control sweeps and preying on anyone unlucky enough to get in their way.

Skills: Brawl 1, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Indomitable (once per encounter when incapaci- tated, may spend a Story Point to use this talent; then, this character is no longer incapacitated [and cannot become incapacitated] until the end of their next turn).

Abilities: Adversary 2 (upgrade difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice), Bone-Chilling Roar (once per encounter, may suffer 3 strain and spend a maneuver to force all other characters within long range [or within earshot] to make a Daunting ( ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆) Discipline check as an out-of- turn incidental. If they fail, they must use their maneuver to move farther away; if they fail with Threat, they must also down- grade their action to an additional maneuver to move even farther away. If you’re using the fear rules found on page 243 of the GeneSyS Core Rulebook, this can be a fear check instead.)

Equipment: Distended jaws and oversized claws (Brawl; Damage 12; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Ensnare 3, Sunder).

The undercity is awash with illegal waste dumps from facto- ries, labs, drug dens, and illicit pharmaceutical cooperatives, combined with the sewage of half a billion people. This cock- tail pushes the vermin population into an accelerated evolu- tionary cycle to survive, and two-kilo sewer rats with the disposition of a wolverine are one of the undisputed suc- cesses of this genetic arms race. When they swarm, they can strip a full-grown human down to bones in minutes.

Skills: Brawl 3, Coordination 2, Stealth 1, Resilience 3, Survival 3.

Abilities: Swarm (halve the damage dealt to this charac - ter before applying soak, unless the weapon has the Blast or Burn quality [regardless of whether the quality is acti - vated]), They’re All Over Me! (enemies who start their turn engaged with this character lose their free maneuver).

Equipment: Bite (Brawl; Damage 3; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown, Vicious 2, gains Pierce 5 against prone targets).

Originally designed in the Jinteki concepting labs as a practi- cal joke, the tiny giraffes (and the joke) got out of hand one evening and started wandering the halls of the research facil- ity. Before the staff could round up their wayward animals, one stumbled into the division manager—and her five-year- old daughter. Immediately, the daughter had a new pet and the nervous jokers had a promotion, and six months later, Miranda Rhapsody had an adorable teacup giraffe gifted to her in a purse. Th

Skills: Charm.

Abilities: Too Cute (when any character makes a check to recover strain while engaged with this character, they recover 2 additional strain), Way Too Cute (when an oppo- nent targets this character with a combat check, they suffer 4 strain), Silhouette 0.

Equipment: Tiny head nubs (Brawl; Damage 0; Critical 8; Range [Engaged]), gentle doe eyes. 5 2 1 4 1 1 7 25 15 00 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 30 11 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 00 --- PAGE 228 ---

These small wild hogs are the only pigs originally native to South America, and just like their European cousins, they have proven incredibly resilient and hardy. Herds of pecca- ries wander the less-developed (or more-abandoned) por - tions of New Angeles, living on a hearty diet of trash, plant matter, and discarded fast food. Most people dismiss the comical-looking animals as harmless, but in truth, herds can contain dozens of the beasts, and they’ve entirely lost their fear of humans. If eno

Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Survival.

Abilities: Mob Mentality (add ■ to all checks this charac- ter makes if part of a group of three or more minions).

Equipment: Tusks (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 1). GOVERNMENT In a megapolis as politically complex as New Angeles, it takes thousands of agents, regulators, and lawyers oversee- ing the vast bureaucracy to keep the gears of civilization turning. The NAPD is the most visible face of government in New Angeles, but it’s understaffed and barely able to maintain the status quo let alone make progress on cleaning up the undercity. ASSISTANT DISTRICT

When the NAPD makes an arrest, district attorneys keep the criminals behind bars as long as possible. DAs are pub- lic figures who have made long lists of enemies, and they often find themselves on various orgcrime hit lists. DAs don’t last long unless they accept NAPD protection, invest heavily in self-defense training, or succumb to corruption.

Skills: Charm 3, Coercion 3, Cool 2, Deception 1, Knowl - edge (Society) 2, Melee 2, Negotiation 3, Perception 2.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target once), Natural (once per session, may reroll any one Coercion or Negotiation check).

Abilities: Full Weight of the Law (when making a Coercion check to inflict strain during a social encounter, inflict 2 additional strain).

Equipment: Concealed stun baton (Melee 2; Damage 4; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3, Stun Damage) legal PAD, expensive suit.

First responders typically work for the city or for a private hospital, operating out of medevac hoppers to transport the ill and injured to better facilities while providing on-scene or in-transit emergency medical care. Responding to emer- gencies in the undercity can be difficult and even danger - ous work, due to both the natural hazards of crumbling buildings and deteriorating bridges and the risk of violence from gangs and locals. Many EMS techs carry Gandhi guns so that they can protect t

Skills: Athletics 1, Knowledge (Science) 2, Medicine 3, Perception 1, Piloting 3.

Talents: Combat Medicine 2 (before making a Medicine check, may use this talent to add Success Success to the results; after this check is resolved, the target suffers 4 strain).

Equipment: Synap pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 6; Range [Short]; Disorient 4, Stun 3, Stun Dam- age), medkit, medical scanner PAD, 2 slap-patches. 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 7 00 2 1 3 3 2 3 2 10 00 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 11 11 --- PAGE 229 ---

There are thousands of detectives in the NAPD spread across several divisions,. The greatest numbers of detectives belong to Homicide Division, the Personal Abuse and Modification Division’s Vice Unit, and the Gang Unit. Some detectives also moonlight as private eyes.

Skills: Charm 3, Coercion 3, Cool 2, Knowledge (Science) 2, Perception 3, Ranged (Light) 2, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Good and Bad Cop (may spend Advantage Advantage from a Charm, Coercion, Deception, or Negotiation check to upgrade the abil- ity of an ally's social skill check targeting same character once).

Abilities: Lawful Authority (add Success to the results of any social skill checks made when interacting with residents of New Angeles).

Equipment: HHI M-3 pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 4; Range [Medium]; as an incidental, may choose to apply one of the following qualities before making an attack: Blast 4, Pierce 2, Stun Damage), 2 snap locks, pocket flask, NAPD PAD.

Jinteki’s blue-furred police dogs are a recent acquisition for the NAPD. They are fast, hyperintelligent units capable of sniffing out drugs, bombs, and fugitives much more effec - tively than their K9 counterparts, with flexible tails they can communicate with via a specialized sign language. Their bite secretes a paralyzing venom.

Skills: Brawl 3, Discipline 1, Perception 4, Resilience 2, Survival 3.

Equipment: Fangs and bite (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown, Stun 5).

NAPD hoppers patrol beats regularly for visibility, but the camdrones and seccams monitored by a station AI are what generally trigger a police response. NAPD patrol officers spend most of their time clearing away streetbangers and disenfrancistos and securing crime scenes.

Skills: Athletics, Coercion, Leadership, Melee, Ranged (Light), Vigilance.

Abilities: Lawful Authority (add Success to the results of any social skill checks made when interacting with residents of New Angeles).

Equipment: HHI M-3 pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 4; Range [Medium]; as an incidental, may choose to apply one of the following qualities before making an attack: Blast 4, Pierce 2, Stun Damage), stun baton (Melee; Damage 5; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3, Stun Damage), reinforced uniform (+1 soak), NAPD PAD, 4 snap locks.

When protests or demonstrations get out of hand, the NAPD sends in its big guns: specialized riot-control units equipped with fully powered armor. Most of these units’ equipment is sourced from Huang Heavy Industries. In the wake of the Clone Riots, this now includes a high-tech suit of padded power-assist armor with a powered gauntlet. The NAPD riot shield features a spotlight and built-in transpar- ent PAD display window.

Skills: Athletics, Brawl, Coercion, Melee, Vigilance.

Abilities: Disperse! (once per encounter, as an action, may force all non-NAPD characters within medium range to make an Average ( ◆ ◆) Discipline check as an out-of-turn incidental; those who fail must spend their next turn mov- ing away from this character or minion group and attempt- ing to leave the encounter if possible).

Equipment: Electrified power gauntlet (Brawl; Damage 8; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Concussive 2, Knockdown, Prepare 1, Stun Damage), riot shield (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Defensive 2, Deflection 2, Inaccurate 2), riot armor (+2 soak), smoke grenades, 4 snap-locks. 2 2 3 3 2 2 2 14 00 2 3 1 3 2 2 3 10 11 4 2 2 1 2 2 6 7 22 2 3 2 1 2 2 4 4 00 --- PAGE 230 ---

The best, most combat-capable officers in the NAPD undergo rigorous tactical training to become members of the Emer- gency Services Unit (more commonly known as the SW AT team). SW AT gets called in when regular patrol officers are overmatched, to handle hostage situations and barricaded shooters, and to serve high-risk search or arrest warrants.

Skills: Athletics 2, Coercion 2, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Stealth 2, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: Lawful Authority (add Success to the results of any social skill checks made when interacting with residents of New Angeles).

Equipment: HHI scoped Gauss rifle (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 10; Critical 2; Range [Extreme]; Cumbersome 3, Pierce 5, Slow-Firing 1, reduce difficulty of combat checks at long range or greater by 1) or HHI SP-10 shot - gun (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Short]; as an incidental, may choose to apply one of the following qualities before making an attack: Blast 5, Knockdown, Stun Damage, Vicious 2), backup fletcher pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Pierce 2, Vicious 2)

City Hall has a small army of regulators who inspect all manner of locations, practices, and operations. These bureaucrats are convinced that most arcologies would fall into the undercity without their constant vigilance against corporate corner cutting. That said, many are open to being financially incentivized to overlook minor offenses.

Skills: Discipline 2, Knowledge (Science) 2, Knowledge (Society) 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 3, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: Red Tape (during social encounters, may spend Threat Threat Threat generated by an opponent to discover [or invent] a legal violation that requires a fine, fee, or additional authorization form that the opponent must complete before accomplishing their goals).

Equipment: Inspection PAD. PRISEC AND SOLDIERS While state-run militaries still exist, many nations and all corporations contract private security to fight their wars for them, or to augment their forces in a combat theater. CYBERMOD BOUNTY

The NAPD has one of the largest urban jurisdictions in the worlds, and it is hopelessly unable to field enough officers to cover it. Bounty hunters pick up the slack, serving sum - monses and warrants and taking fugitives off the streets, especially in the undercity. Relentless trackers and fierce combatants, bounty hunters tend to favor concealed or cybernetic armaments that allow them to approach their targets without alerting them.

Skills: Athletics 4, Cool 2, Coordination 1, Deception 3, Melee 3, Ranged (Heavy) 4, Perception 3, Streetwise 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade the difficulty of all com - bat checks against this target once), Hamstring Shot (once per round, may perform a ranged combat check against one non-vehicle target within range; on a success, halve the damage inflicted [before applying soak]; the target is immobilized until the end of its next turn).

Equipment: Shotgun loaded with stun rounds (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Short]; Knockdown, Stun Damage), stun baton (Melee; Damage 5; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3, Stun Damage), concealed buckyweave clothing (1 defense, +1 soak), sub-dermal armor, enhanced reflexes, cybernetic lungs, 3 snap locks, PAD full of warrants.

The Electronic Warfare Service is the United States’ cyber warfare division, and the Raiders are elite operatives who embed on the front lines to provide drone air support and Network security, degrade enemy networks, and generally dominate the cyber battlefield. Raiders are some of the most dangerous militarized computer operatives around, and a veteran of the EWS has no problem finding work in the world of corporate espionage. 3 3 2 3 3 2 6 15 00 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 8 00 3 2 2 4 2 1 5 16 11 11 3 3 4

Skills: Computers (Hacking) 3, Computers (Sysops) 3, Gunnery 2, Knowledge (The Net) 3, Perception 2, Piloting 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Stealth 2, Survival 2.

Talents: Adversary 2 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice).

Abilities: Drone Master (this character may control up to two drone rivals or a minion group of four drone minions; may spend a maneuver to allow each rival or minion group under their control to perform an action and a maneuver during this character’s turn), Pit Trap Programs (may make an opposed Computers [Hacking] versus Computers [Sysops] check targeting another user on a system; if suc - cessful, that user is staggered for one round per Success).

Equipment: Laser pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 6; Crit- ical 3; Range [Short]; Accurate 1, Burn 1), skin suit (2 defense, +2 soak, +2 wound threshold), up to four drones of various types, encrypted suit rig with BMI interface with Corroder (page 136) and Crypsis (page 137 ) —protected by Archer (page 134) and Ice Wall (page 134).

The wealthy often retain a security detail, which is as much a status symbol as anything. They may request that their bodyguards dress in classy outfits, and even coordinate their appearance. G-modded bodyguards are the elite members of the private security world; they are strong and fast, but they also tend to look good and really fill out their subtly armored designer suits. Prisec corporations often keep them on retainer for their most valued (and wealthi - est) clientele.

Skills: Brawl 2, Cool 2, Medicine 1, Piloting 2, Ranged (Light) 2, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Body Guard 1 (once per round, may perform the Body Guard maneuver to guard an engaged target; suffer 1 strain to upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks tar - geting that character once until the end of this character’s next turn).

Abilities: Enhanced Strength (may suffer 1 strain to add Success to Athletics or Brawl checks).

Equipment: Synap pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 6; Range [Short], Disorient 4, Stun 3, Stun Dam - age), stun-knuckles (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Stun 3), concealed light armor weave (+1 soak), sunglasses with HUD display, 1 slap-patch.

Major conflicts like the Lunar Insurrection and the Martian Colony Wars, as well as the ceaseless skirmishes in their aftermath, have created a generation of war veterans. While at any other point in history, these grizzled warriors would be past their prime, g-mods and cybernetics let them bring nearly two decades of combat experience to a body more capable than ever. Many contract out to elite private mili - tary contractors for high-risk, high-reward special combat operations, often to pay of

Skills: Athletics 1, Cool 1, Melee 3, Ranged (Heavy) 3, Ranged (Light) 2, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Adversary 2 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice), Quick Draw (once per round on this character’s turn, may draw or holster an easily accessi- ble weapon or item as an incidental), Rapid Reaction 2 (suffer up to 2 strain to add up to Success Success to any Vigilance or Cool check this character makes to determine Initiative order).

Equipment: Bullpup carbine (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 7; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Accurate 1, Auto-fire), 2 monofilament grenades (Ranged [Light]; Damage 7; Crit- ical 3; Range [Short]; Blast 7, Limited Ammo 1, Vicious 1), custom combat knife (Melee; Damage 6; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Vicious 2), light body armor (+2 soak). 3 3 2 1 1 3 4 14 00 4 4 3 3 3 2 6 16 14 00 HAAS-BIOROID LOSS PREVENTION AGENT Haas-Bioroid’s Android Loss Prevention Program (HALPP) officially doesn’t exist, because bioroids never

While there are plenty of prisec corporations out there, Glo- balsec is one of the largest and the best example of a milita- ristic PMC. It can run nearly any sort of military operation, from invasion to counterinsurgency ops, and its people pro- vide security and escort duties, as well as handle trouble - shooting operations. Globalsec contractors (usually) behave professionally, are well equipped, and are backed up by a cor- poration that has its own (albeit small) air force and navy.

Skills: Discipline, Ranged (Heavy), Vigilance.

Equipment: Assault rifle (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Long]; Auto-fire), plasteel carapace (1 defense, +2 soak).

An exosuit on the loose in a metropolitan area like New Angeles is the kind of threat that keeps police commission- ers up at night. While the largest exosuits are basically walking tanks, even the smaller “person-sized” suits used by Company A in each SXC battalion can turn a single sol- dier into a fast, well-armored, and highly lethal threat. They can deploy either as infantry support units or en masse as an armored line, and they can even drop from orbit.

Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Discipline 3, Gunnery 3, Resil - ience 2, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: High-Altitude Drop (when falling any distance, may make an Easy [ ◆] Discipline check as an incidental; on a success, this character does not suffer any damage from falling and lands on their feet).

Equipment: Heavy fletcher (Gunnery; Damage 6; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Blast 6, Pierce 4, Vicious 3) or laser cannon (Gunnery; Damage 10; Critical 3; Range [Long]; Accurate 1, Burn 1, Cumbersome 4), power-augmented exosuit fists (Brawl; Damage 7; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown), SXF X1.a exosuit (1 defense, +3 soak, +1 Brawn, +5 wound threshold, allows wearer to operate underwater and in vacuum for up to 4 hours).

The question “Hey, you sexy?” has led to plenty of misun - derstandings and brawls in bars across the worlds, but for members of the Space Expeditionary Force, it’s a sure-fire way to spot another vet. Drawn from the ranks of the U.S. Air Force and Marines, SXC troopers train to fight in the most unforgiving conditions imaginable: zero-G and hard vacuum. They are some of the most adaptable and self-reli- ant soldiers around, operating on battlefields far beyond the reach of any other military br

Skills: Athletics, Discipline, Melee, Ranged (Heavy), Vigilance.

Equipment: Laser rifle (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Accurate 1, Burn 1), monoblade combat knife (Melee; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 2), environmentally sealed plasteel carapace (1 defense, +2 soak), disposable zero-G maneuvering pack. DRONES Drones are a constant in New Angelinos’ lives, but most people don’t even notice their existence. From the ubiqui - tous courier drones that make deliveries, to the small and unobtrusive camdrones used by security firms, the

Most camdrones are simple disks built around one or more electromagnetic hoverfoil rotors and studded with cam - eras. Everyone from the NAPD and the military to private citizens uses drones for reconnaissance and entertainment.

Skills: Perception, Vigilance.

Abilities: Early Warning (adds ■ to its operator’s checks to determine Initiative), Flyer (can fly; see the Flying sidebar on page 100 of the GeneSyS Core Rulebook), Mechanical (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins), Silhouette 0, Telepresence (can operate independently, or can be controlled directly by an operator via wireless link; if being controlled, the camdrone counts as having ranks in any skill equal to the controller’s ranks in that skill).

Equipment: None.

Combat drones usually deploy defensively to watch an infantry unit’s flanks or forward as scouts. Though not well armed or armored, they are agile and more disposable than a human soldier, and in groups they can be lethal.

Skills: Perception, Ranged (Light).

Abilities: Flyer (can fly; see the Flying sidebar on page 100 of the GeneSyS Core Rulebook), Focus Fire (when mak - ing a combat check, add Advantage to the results for every other character in the minion group), Mechanical (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins), Silhouette 0, Telepresence (can operate independently, or can be con- trolled directly by an operator via wireless link; if being controlled, the combat drone counts as having ranks in any skill equal to the controller’s ranks in that skill).

Equipment: Light fletcher (Ranged [Light]; Damage 4; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Pierce 2). 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 20 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 5 20 TABLE 5–1: DRONE PRICES AND RARITIES Item Price Rarity Camdrone 150 2 Combat Drone 750 (R) 3 Hunter-Killer Drone 10,000 (R) 5 Maintenance Drone 300 2 Retail Drone 100 2 Toy Drone 90 2 DRONE OPERATIONS Drones are not “smart” enough to operate on their own unless they are following a specific set of prede- termined instructions or are working within the param- eters of a simple da

The NAPD has one of the largest urban jurisdictions in the worlds, and it is hopelessly unable to field enough officers to cover it. Bounty hunters pick up the slack, serving sum - monses and warrants and taking fugitives off the streets, especially in the undercity. Relentless trackers and fierce combatants, bounty hunters tend to favor concealed or cybernetic armaments that allow them to approach their targets without alerting them.

Skills: Athletics 4, Cool 2, Coordination 1, Deception 3, Melee 3, Ranged (Heavy) 4, Perception 3, Streetwise 3, Stealth 3, Vigilance 2.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade the difficulty of all com - bat checks against this target once), Hamstring Shot (once per round, may perform a ranged combat check against one non-vehicle target within range; on a success, halve the damage inflicted [before applying soak]; the target is immobilized until the end of its next turn).

Equipment: Shotgun loaded with stun rounds (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Short]; Knockdown, Stun Damage), stun baton (Melee; Damage 5; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 3, Stun Damage), concealed buckyweave clothing (1 defense, +1 soak), sub-dermal armor, enhanced reflexes, cybernetic lungs, 3 snap locks, PAD full of warrants.

Boxy, spider-legged maintenance drones roam New Angeles in swarms, picking up trash, cleaning streets, and repairing infrastructure. Maintenance drones are not designed to be teleoperated. Instead, they operate independently while under the general guidance of Public Works’ operations AI. This means there are significant limits to what a maintenance drone can do, even when hacked by a young, bored runner.

Skills: Athletics 3, Mechanics 3.

Abilities: Mechanical (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins).

Equipment: Manipulator arms (Brawl; Damage 4; Critical 6; Range [Engaged], Inaccurate 1), integrated construction and repair tools.

Decades ago, in an effort to cut down on floor labor, most big-box retailers shifted to service and delivery drones to serve customers. Today’s small, floating retail drones bear only a passing resemblance to their ancestors. With weak AI, the drones interface with a customer's shopping history to offer dynamic coupons or sales to maximize spending per visit. The drones also deliver goods from store floor to door.

Skills: Athletics, Perception.

Talents: Big Guns (this character has an encumbrance capacity of 12).

Abilities: Flyer (can fly; see the Flying sidebar on page 100 of the GeneSyS Core Rulebook), Mechanical (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins), Telep- resence (can operate independently, or can be controlled directly by an operator via wireless link; if being controlled, the retail drone counts as having ranks in any skill equal to the controller’s ranks in that skill).

Equipment: None.

While cloned pets are all the rage, edu-toys have carved out a small market share. These weak-AI drones nanny and educate infants and toddlers. Most resemble dogs or popu- lar children’s entertainment characters, providing a fun ear- ly-education experience, often in singsong. Edu-pets have full PAD functionality, with robust parental blocks ensur - ing only child-friendly content is accessible. This link also generates ads and wish lists of toys, classes, and activities the child gravitates tow

Skills: Charm 2, Knowledge (Society) 3, Knowledge (Sci - ence) 3, Knowledge (The Net) 2, Medicine 1.

Abilities: Edutainment (when assisting with or making a combined Knowledge check add ■ to the check [informa- tion added typically comes in the form of a song]), Mechani- cal (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins).

Equipment: None. 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 15 10 3 1 1 1 1 1 5 8 00 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 4 10 1 2 2 2 1 3 3 4 00 --- PAGE 235 --- CLONES Jinteki genetically designs each android clone line to fulfill a very specific labor niche.

The Desai line of tutor clones are high-end models designed for the children of the ultrawealthy. Desais are capable of teaching almost anything, from conceptual mathematics to late-twentieth-century literature, and from biology to Tai Chi. Their calm, authoritative demeanor means most parents feel comfortable leaving their kids in these clones’ care. How- ever, Jinteki has found that their powerful intellect has resulted in a higher number of Desais "going rogue. ”

Skills: Charm 3, Coordination 2, Discipline 3, Knowledge (Science) 3, Knowledge (Society) 3, Leadership 3, Medicine 3.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target once).

Abilities: Expert Instruction (when this character per - forms the assist maneuver, upgrade the ability of the check once instead of adding ■).

Equipment: Bonsai tree, instructor’s holodisplay with full suite of lessons.

Henry clones are designed to work long hours under pun - ishing conditions. They mine He-3 on the lunar surface for Melange Mining and labor in many of Quinde’s factories. Their bodies are stronger than those of any human in his - tory, and their psyches have been adjusted to feel com - pletely mentally fulfilled by a hard day’s labor.

Skills: Athletics, Mechanics, Resilience.

Abilities: Air Filter Implant (immune to inhaled poisons and toxins).

Equipment: Durable clothing (+1 soak).

Mother Molloy’s is an Irish-themed gastropub that was among the first to adopt clone staffing. Both genders of Molloy units appear vaguely Irish, and they present a cheer- ful, smiling face to whoever walks in the door.

Skills: Charm, Cool, Resilience.

Abilities: Comfort Food (after eating a meal prepared by this character, a character heals 2 strain).

Equipment: Order PAD.

The Omoi is a new clone line, marketed as a replacement for human security guards. Although Omois are condi - tioned to avoid human injury and equipped with stun weaponry, they still are uncomfortably close to the line of "androids fighting humans." So far, this line has only seen limited release, and mostly at Jinteki facilities.

Skills: Athletics 1, Brawl 3, Cool 3, Driving 1, Perception 2, Ranged (Light) 3, Vigilance 3.

Equipment: Synap pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 5; Critical 6; Range [Short], Disorient 4, Stun 3, Stun Dam - age), Palm stunner (Brawl; Damage 5; Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Disorient 2, Slow-Firing 2, Stun Damage).

Serving as drivers and pilots, the Tenma line is one of the most popular lines in Jinteki’s catalog. While most vehicles function on autopilot, a Tenma clone can fly a vehicle faster and safer than any pilot program on the market. Many companies utilize them as chauffeurs or high-value couriers.

Skills: Driving 3, Mechanics 2, Operating 3, Perception 3, Piloting 3, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Knack for It 2 (remove ■ ■ from any Driving, Operating, and Piloting checks).

Equipment: Cybernetic eye implants. 2 2 4 2 3 2 2 12 16 00 4 2 2 2 1 1 5 7 00 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 12 00 2 4 2 2 1 2 2 8 00 2 2 2 1 1 3 1 5 00 --- PAGE 236 --- BIOROIDS Some may make the mistake of thinking of “robots” when they think bioroids. In reality, Haas-Bioroid has created marvels of mechanical systems: artificial and mechanical beings that are stronger, faster, smarter, and (most impor - tantly) more obedient than most humans. ADAM INDUSTRIAL

The Adam line was the first large-market bioroid success. Adam units perform hard physical labor with the kind of strength, speed, and precision only a machine can achieve. While Jinteki's Henry-model clones have begun to bite into the Adam market, Adams are still commonplace in Quinde factories and on construction sites across New Angeles.

Skills: Athletics, Mechanics.

Abilities: Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poi - sons and toxins; and cannot knowingly endanger humans).

Equipment: None. ADONIS AND EVE

Pleasure bioroids are an attempt by Haas-Bioroid to move their products into the entertainment markets. Unlike most bioroids, Adonis, Eve, and to a certain extent, the cheaper Kevin- and Lisa-models, are built to appear as human as possible. Many nightclubs and other high-end social spaces employ luxury-model Adonis or Eve units to “entertain” their customers, while in seedier areas of New Angeles, pleasure bioroids sate humanity’s basest instincts.

Skills: Charm 4, Cool 4, Coordination 2, Deception 3, Knowledge (Society) 3, Perception 2.

Talents: Natural (once per session, may reroll any one Charm or Cool check).

Abilities: Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poi - sons and toxins; and cannot knowingly endanger humans).

Equipment: Fuzzy restraints.

Designed for basic corporate and office work, corporate bioroids handle many customer-service, customer-support, and first-tier sales calls, as well as jobs juggling data work and preparing reports. Unfortunately, when early adopters tried to flood departments with the initial "Janice" line, employees and customers found them unsettling in their sameness. The Janice line now has a number of related models, including Brad finance units, Sally overseers, and Greg customer-ser- vice units. What HB

Skills: Charm 2, Computers (Sysops) 2, Knowledge (Soci - ety) 2, Negotiation 2, Perception 2, Vigilance 2.

Abilities: Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poi - sons and toxins; and cannot knowingly endanger humans), Office Drone (when this character makes a social skill check, they add Success Threat to the result).

Equipment: Corporate PAD. REX SEARCH AND

Designed to take over high-risk search and rescue missions, the Rex line has submodels that specialize in all manner of extreme-environment rescue. In New Angeles, Rex units ride alongside first responders and are the first inside burn- ing and collapsed structures. Rex units can extract casual - ties and protect them until help arrives, and the image of a heroic Rex pulling a young child free of a burning building dominates Haas-Bioroid ad campaigns.

Skills: Athletics 4, Coordination 2, Medicine 3, Perception 4, Resilience 3.

Talents: Swift (this character does not suffer the penalties for moving through difficult terrain).

Abilities: Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poi - sons and toxins; and cannot knowingly endanger humans).

Equipment: Spotlight, climbing gear, O2 tank, medkit, 2 slap-patches. 4 3 2 1 1 1 6 6 00 3 3 2 1 1 4 5 10 00 3 1 3 2 2 2 5 10 00 5 3 2 1 1 4 7 15 00 --- PAGE 237 ---

Home to the ten-credit triple latte, YucaBean is populated with Seth bioroid baristas. The Seth-model is known for sar- castic, dry wit, often with a bent as dark as the coffee they serve. They also enjoy wordplay with names, misspelling them intentionally in an effort to brighten a customer’s day.

Skills: Charm, Knowledge (Science), Perception.

Abilities: Too Clever (when interacting with this charac - ter, characters may spend Advantage to recover 2 strain, and GMs may spend Threat to inflict 2 strain), Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and under - water; is immune to poisons and toxins; and cannot know- ingly endanger humans).

Equipment: Order PAD. RABBLE ROUSERS AND REVOLUTIONARIES Underneath the bright and shining surface of the biggest megapolis in the worlds seethes anger and outrage. Plenty of people have a problem with the way things work in New Angeles. While many of them rely on protest or petitions, quite a few feel driven to more violent methods.

Not everyone believes in following the rules or being part of society. Anarchs take this a step further, hoping to get the rest of the worlds to join in on the chaos. They expose the rich and powerful, working to show everyone else how powerless they really are and how none of their rules mat - ter. Anarchs are known for large-scale pranks, like hacking major broadcasts to transmit obviously forged images of officials committing sexually explicit acts, and the like.

Skills: Athletics 3, Computers (Hacking) 2, Cool 4, Knowl- edge (The Net) 2, Skulduggery 4, Streetwise 3, Vigilance 1.

Talents: Distinctive Style (may add Success Success Threat Threat to any Computers (Hacking) check before rolling; Threat Threat triggers the I Know You! result in Table 3–2 on page 130).

Abilities: Burn It Down (this character adds Advantage Advantage to the results of checks they make targeting authority figures).

Equipment: Fletcher pistol (Ranged [Light]; Damage 4; Crit- ical 2; Range [Medium]; Pierce 2, Vicious 2), Molotov cock- tail (Ranged [Light]; Damage 7; Critical 4; Range [Short]; Blast 7, Burn 3), skulljack, portable terminal with Crypsis (page 137)—protected by Hadrian's Wall (page 133).

Human First is a radicalized group of anti-android activists. Best identified by their sledgehammers, most Human First members are working-class people who've lost their jobs to androids. They destroy clones and bioroids from time to time, though NAPD treats their crimes as property damage.

Skills: Coercion, Melee, Vigilance.

Abilities: Mob Mentality (add ■ to all checks this charac - ter makes if part of a group of three or more minions).

Equipment: Sledgehammer (Melee; Damage 6; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Knockdown), durable clothing (+1 soak).

Humanity Labor seeks to preserve human employment in a world where android labor is taking over. Humanity Labor reps tirelessly meet with corporate and government leaders, appear in news feeds, and plan and attend protests and marches (often alongside members of the radical Human First movement, though they deny any overt association).

Skills: Charm 2, Coercion 2, Negotiation 2, Streetwise 2.

Talents: Scathing Tirade (use this talent to make an Aver- age [ ◆ ◆] Coercion check; for each Success, one opponent within short range suffers 1 strain; for each Advantage, one affected opponent suffers 1 additional strain).

Abilities: Rile Them Up (Once per encounter, may make an Average [ ◆ ◆] Charm check targeting a group of bystand- ers or other neutral NPCs at medium range; if the check is successful, one of the bystanders [plus one per additional Success] becomes a Human First extremist; these NPCs form a single minion group and join the ongoing encounter. These NPCs may have been regular people convinced by the rep, or they may have been members of Human First all along.)

Equipment: PAD. 3 1 2 3 2 2 5 5 00 2 3 3 3 1 3 2 10 00 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 5 00 2 2 2 3 1 3 2 12 00 --- PAGE 238 ---

The Liberty Society is an advocacy group seeking to pro- vide clones with human rights. Its members work tirelessly with the Simulant Abolitionist Movement to find test cases they can bring to court, and they meet with liaisons from Jinteki, government organizations, and news outlets to advocate for clone rights.

Skills: Charm 2, Cool 1, Knowledge (Science) 2, Knowl - edge (Society) 3, Negotiation 3, Streetwise 1.

Talents: Clever Retort (once per encounter, may add Threat Threat to another character’s social skill check).

Equipment: Legal PAD.

Despite what City Hall claims, the Lunar Insurrection still looms large in the minds of Heinlein’s citizenry. Many Loo- nies bear an asteroid-sized grudge against Earth for the lives lost during the War and the brutal crackdowns that followed. Groups of former insurrectionists and revolu - tionaries still gather in out-of-the-way places like the Docklands, plotting raids and acts of violence against Heinlein’s administration and the corporations that dominate lunar life.

Skills: Cool 2, Leadership 3, Perception 2, Ranged (Heavy) 2, Skulduggery 1.

Talents: Inspiring Rhetoric (may make an Average [ ◆ ◆] Leadership check as an action; for each Success the check generates, one ally within short range heals 1 strain; for each Advantage, one ally benefiting from Inspir- ing Rhetoric heals 1 additional strain).

Equipment: Scavenged industrial laser rifle (Ranged [Heavy]; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Medium]; Burn 1, Inferior), armored space suit (+2 soak). OPTICON FOUNDATION

While a number of watchdog organizations currently work to combat corporate and government overreach, the Opticon Foundation is among the most successful. It listens to and protects the identities of whistleblowers, victims, and runners in an effort to build court cases and news stories to keep cor- porations in check. Some even go undercover to catch corpo- rate directors and executives making damaging statements.

Skills: Computers (Hacking) 1, Cool 3, Deception 2, Knowledge (Society) 1, Perception 3, Skulduggery 2.

Talents: You Owe Me One (once per session, you may spend one Story Point to have one other character in the encounter owe this character a small favor for past services performed by this character or their organization).

Equipment: Discreet monocam, camdrone, fake idents, encrypted PAD.

Some people look at New Angeles and instead of a city, they see a plascrete and steel landscape full of opportunities for exploration, adventure, and extreme sports. Urban adven- turers treat New Angeles like an untamed wilderness, going 1 1 3 3 2 3 1 9 00 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 10 00 2 2 4 3 2 2 2 9 00 --- PAGE 239 --- "caving" in abandoned sewers, free climbing starscrapers, and diving off arcologies with wing suits. All of this is highly illegal, contributing to their reputation as troublemaking radic

Skills: Athletics 4, Coordination 4, Cool 3, Driving 3, Knowledge (Society) 1, Piloting 3, Ranged (Light) 1, Stealth 1, Streetwise 4, Survival 4.

Talents: Daring Aviator 2 (before making a Driving or Piloting check, may add up Threat Threat to the check to add an equal number of Success), Natural (once per session, may reroll one Athletics or Coordination check).

Equipment: Auto-fletcher (Ranged [Light]; Damage 3; Criti- cal 2; Range [Medium]; Auto-fire, Pierce 2, Vicious 2), climb- ing gear, flashlight, powered wing suit (+1 soak, can fly; see the Flying sidebar on page 100 of the GeneSyS Core Rulebook). TRUE ODDITIES Life in New Angeles encompasses so many cultures and lifestyles that there is little citizens haven’t seen before. However, in a place so big and populous, there are always things that defy reason and explanation—things that most people would say sho

Ares is a secret Haas-Bioroid project designed to test the viability of combat bioroids (as well as a flagrant violation of international law). Almost equal to an infantry platoon, the Ares is effectively immune to small-arms fire and is also flame, radiation, and blast resistant. It has integrated 360-degree radar, infrared, and low-light sensors that constantly monitor the battlefield, and it has a variety of integrated threat-response options. Overpowered servos allow units to carry the heavi

Skills: Brawl 4, Coercion 5, Coordination 2, Discipline 3, Gunnery 4, Survival 3, Vigilance 3.

Talents: Adversary 2 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target twice), Grenadier (when making a combat check using a weapon with the Blast quality, may spend one Story Point to trigger Blast instead of spending Advantage (even if the attack misses); in addition, treats grenades as having a range of medium).

Abilities: Combat Bioroid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink; can survive in vacuum and underwater; is immune to poisons and toxins), Enhanced Auto-Bracing (using the Auto-fire quality does not increase the difficulty of combat checks; each time the Ares triggers an additional hit, it suf- fers 1 strain).

Equipment: Integrated rotary cannon (Gunnery; Damage 10; Critical 3; Range [Long]; Auto-fire) or integrated heavy Gauss rifle (Gunnery; Damage 10; Critical 2; Range [Extreme]; Breach 1, Slow-Firing 1), integrated micro-missile launcher (Gun- nery; Damage 12; Critical 4; Range [Long]; Blast 10, Guided 3, Limited Ammo 3), armored fist (Brawl; Damage 8; Critical 4; Range [Engaged]; Concussive 1, Knockdown, Sunder).

While there is no official proof that hellions exist, they are an open secret among some circles of Netcriminals. No one is certain if these small, cat-shaped robotic constructs are drones. However, some disenfrancistos have claimed to see hellions chasing hyperrats or spending hours batting at holo- graphic signs, which suggests an autonomous (and animalis- tic) operating system. Other criminals have come back to supposedly safe crash pads to find their gear and possessions shredded, chewed on,

Skills: Brawl 3, Cool 4, Coordination 2, Perception 2, Stealth 5, Vigilance 4.

Abilities: Mechanical (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum and underwater; immune to poisons and toxins), Impressively Flexible (may spend a Story Point to gain access to a formerly secure room or other location through a previously unnoticed vent shaft, slightly open window, or similar entry point), Catlike (may make a move maneuver to move normally up and down vertical surfaces, across ropes, and over otherwise impass- able structures), silhouette 0.

Equipment: Titanium claws (Brawl; Damage 3; Critical 2; Range [Engaged]; Pierce 3, Sunder).

Jinteki’s “Project Nisei” is a top-secret program that is hard at work designing the perfect clone, according to specifica- tions known only to senior project personnel and Chair - man Hiro himself. Some of the rumors surrounding the Nisei project are absurd to the point of humor: Nisei clones are telepathic, Nisei clones are intended to entirely replace the human race, there are Nisei clones who have escaped Jinteki and gone rogue, and so on. There is only one known Nisei clone publicly deploye

Skills: Athletics 2, Coordination 2, Discipline 4, Driving 2, Melee 3, Ranged (Light) 3, Piloting 2, Perception 3, Street- wise 2, Vigilance 5.

Talents: Adversary 1 (upgrade the difficulty of all combat checks against this target once).

Abilities: Apparent Precognition (once per encounter when making a combat check, may use Discipline and Willpower instead of the normal skill and characteristic), Psychic (as a maneuver, may make an Average [ ◆ ◆] Vigilance check to learn the surface thoughts of all other characters in medium range), Broken Nisei Conditioning (when inflicting a Critical Injury or Critical Hit, roll twice and choose the more severe result).

Equipment: Auto-fletcher (Ranged [Light]; Damage 3; Critical 2; Range [Medium]; Auto-fire, Pierce 2, Vicious 2), micro-waterknife (Melee; Damage 8; Critical 3; Range [Engaged]; Prepare 1, Sunder, Unwieldy 3, Vicious 3). 1 4 1 3 1 1 3 9 22 2 3 4 3 5 2 2 12 20