bottled demon

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FASA CORPORATION1990


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SHADOWRUN and MATRIX are trademarksof FASA Corporation. Copyright 1990FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved.PrInted In the United States of America

2 BOTTLED DEM ON

BOTTLED DEMON

/ ~BOnLED DEMONWriting

James D. LongDevelopment

Tom DowdEditorial Staff

Senior EditorDonna Ippolito

Assistant EditorKent Stolt

Production StaffArt Director

Dana KnutsonProduction ManagerSam LewisCover Art

John ZeleznikCover DesIgn

Jeff LaubensteinillustrationTim Bradstreet

Rick HarrisJoel Biske

LayoutTaraGallagher

Published byFASA CorporationP.O. Box 6930Chicago, IL 60680


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BOTTLED DEMON

TABLE O F CO N TENTS.ON J A W S : A ptOl.OGlIE. 4INRODUCTION 6Gamenaaster's Notes 6How To Use ThIs Book 6

Plot SynopsIs 7THE . ADVENTURE. 9Into The Night 9Going To The DevIls 11Junk Yard Dogs 13Pandora's Box 16Tumed Out. Tuned In 18Old Dog, New Tfix 19Lone Star Country 21ChIldren In The SUeets Z4Penthouse Suite 30Different Dragon 33Tooth And Claw 35LEGWORK 39Contacts 39

Corporate 42CASTOf CHARACTERS 43Geysw.tn 44GrlssIm 45BlKkwlng 46Tundra 47Harper 48Adeesh 49PICKINGUP THE . PIECES 50After The Adventure 50Awarding Karnaa 50PlAYINGWITHDARKNE.SS 51E.x.1mlnlngThe Idol 51Using The Idol 52BreakIng The Influence 53Desire For The Idol 53PlA Y E . R HANDOUrS 54

MAPS 58

BOTIllD DEMON ).


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captain Grlsslm took one long, last drag on his nlcostlckand tossed the glowing butt across the empty parking lot. Hewatched Idly asIt arched briefly and skittered to a stop, sendingasllesand sparks dancing across the asphalt. Itwas kind of prettythe way the sparks died out one by one. Grlssim leaned backagainst the sloped hood of his Cltymaster, enjoying the surpris-Ingly dear, moonl it night. Behind him, he could hear one of hismen approach. He glanced again at the pale orange glow of hlsdying cigarette.

"[ust llke tonight," he mused aloud. "Watch 'em die, oneby one."

"captain?"Grlsslm absendy rubbed the two-day growth of beard on

his chin and neck as he turned to stare contemptuously at whathis superiors referred to asan aide. From what he could tell, theguy was little more than some lop-eared techie with a dataJack.Freshout of the academy, with no more sense than some drek-headed dreamchlpper. In only six short hours, Grissim hadgrown to despise the young E U . How, he wondered for thehundredth time, was hesupposed to make a soldier out of suchrot? He rolled his eyes in a silent plea for mercy, or maybejusdce.

"What is It, trooper?" he asked."Banes, onTac-Z, sir. His men are in posItion on the far side

of the junk yard-"Grlsslm smacked the trooper's cheek without consciousthought. Damn kids. They didn't know anything."Across the what, Trooper? Across the what? Why do you

think we make up those cute lit tle codes back at HQ? Forthe funof It?" Grlsslm whacked him again, though he was sure the Elfhad already realized the error of his ways.

"I thought you daisy-eaters were supposed to be tuned toall that magical mumbo jumbo. I thought you knew aboutmagical spying. Iguess Iwas wrong. Was I wrong, trooper?" Inreality, Grlsslm wasn't really worried about someone overhear-Ing his alde's mention of their target. The pair of wage magesattached to his force had given him the all-dear signal fiveminutes ago, and they would have noticed if someone wasabout to try something tricky. Still, it paid to be careful.especially because no raid on Black's JunkYard had ever goneaccording to plan. Besides, the Elf had to learn sooner or later,and Grisslm enjoyed this part of the training.

"S-s-sorry, sir.""Yeah, right. Sorry. Well, If you're sorry, then it must be

O.K. Think, boy. You've got to be thinking all the time. Nowwhat Is It?"

"Banes is in position. The target Is quiet. The new groupappears to have moved Into position and seems to be waitingon their contact. They are scanning, both magically and physi-cally, but they are not searching this far out. Both our squads are

4 BOnUD DEMON

ready to move In.""Good. trooper. That's real good. Now, back to your post.

Tell the boys to saddle up. We move when I give the word."Grisslm adjusted his field Jacket and watched the Elf climb

Into the depths of the Cltymaster. Feeling the hairs rise on theback of his neck, he could tell that ItWOUldn't be much longer.Time for a payback, and everybody knew how painful that couldbe.

Grlssim headed for the command couch of the Cltymasterand considered his good fortune. Only eight hours ago, one ofhis larks had spotted his old nemesis Bloodwlng leaving theSnohomish Sheraton In a rush. Among the handful of peoplealive who could ID the notorious Elven hltman, Bloodwing'sJoyglrl was one and Grlsslm was another. The Joyglrl was alsoGrlsslm's lark. As luck would have It, the captain was only a fewblocks away at the time of the tip, and arrived on the scene Ina matter of seconds.

It was no surprise, though, that his lark had already van-Ished and BloodwIng was nowhere to be seen. The hotel deskclerk was extraordinari ly helpful, with a little motivation fromthe Ares Predator Grlsslm brandished under the clerk's nose.Directed to Room 6 t 6 on the sixth floor, Grisslm found every-thing Justas he had expected.

Bloodwlng had been typically effldent, kil ling the room'sthree occupants with three precise shots. By the looks of them,they were "back-to-nature" Elven runners: The scene was asclean, almost sterile, asone would expect one ofthe town' sbestElven hitmen to leave It. But under the body of the third victim,Grlsslm found a shattered pocket secretary. He wondered Ifthehitman had truly Intended to klll the woman and shatter therecorder with the same bullet. Itwould have been a tricky shot,butthe klnd for which Blackwingwasfamous, Whatever the Elfsintent, the shot had trashed the pocket secretary. ThatWOUldn'tstop Grlsslm, however. A lot of people owed him some bigfavors.

As It turned out, he only had to cash In one favor to get apartial reconstruction of the dead Elfs last conversation. Mostof It was still garbled except for the words, "Four A..M. fl and"Black's Junk Yard."

Snapping out of his reverie, the captain ducked into thespacious Citymaster and leaned Into the command couch. Fromhere, he could oversee the entire operation. Strapping on theheadgear with one hand, he used the other to flip a bank oftoggle switches. Lights began to flash. Good. Grlsslm liked a lotof lights. He glanced at the amber display to his left, double-checking the Cltymaster's readings. He confirmed what hisrigger RonnIe already knew; everything was ready to roll. Whena certain red light flashed on the console, Grlsslm hit the Switchand listened.

"Group Two moving Into posit ion, sir. five or six addldonaJ


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IRON lAWScontacts. Total eight/nine In the net. "

Grlsslm grinned. The terrorists with whom Bioodwing wassupposed to link up had showed. FIne.He'd take them all downtonight.

"That's a roger. Keep the astral boys flying. We're on theway. W Grlsslm keyed the open channel. "ThIs IsIt, campers. BlueOne, move out. Gold One, !'ollow my lead. Ronnie, take us In.B

Grlsslm could reel the big Otymaster roll I'orward as therigger sl ipped Into gear and pulled away from the attendantpatrol cars. He glanced at the I'orward-mounted security cameraas a side gate to Black's swung Into view. He knew, no matterwhat happened next, that It was gotng to be a blast.

The Otymaster tore through the gate with a crash, imme-diately encountering a column of crushed cars. Without pause,Ronnie swung the beast to the right and began to charge downthe narrow lane.

- ~ - .. .:.:.

~BlueOne, this Is Leader. We are In the perimeter. Ronnie,gtve me ETA."

"ETA thirty seconds."Grlsslm glanced at the monitor. You heard the man. Get

a move on, Blue. You're going to miss the excitement," Grlsslmwatched several cameras astheCltymaster flew past theandentwalls of rust. His mental t imer counted down the seconds ashisadrenaline pumped wildly.

"Swope, take the water cannon. Hose them down good.We'll sort It out back at the station. W Behind him, Grlsslm heardhis assistant climb into the cupola, the glamour slot on theOtymaster. Though he wouldn't admit It, Grlsslm hoped the kidwould do well. HAny grief, Swope, and hose them with lead. ft

Ronnie's chIpped voIce ftlled his headphone.~ETAIn ten, nine, eight. All passengers, prepare r o r Imme-

dIate Impact. five, four. Blue reports Ini tial contact. One.lmpactl"

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Bottled Demon Isa roleplaying adventure set Inthe worldof Shadowrun. The year Is 2050. Advances In technology areastonishing, with Humans able to blend with computers andtravel through that netherworld of data known as the Matrix.Even more astonishing Is the retum of Magic. Elves, Dragons,Dwarfs, Orks, and Trolls have assumed their true forms, whilemegacorporatlons (rather than superpowers) rule much of theworld. Moving among it all like whispers In the night are theshadowrunners. No one admits their existence, but no one elsecan do their secret work.

This story takes place In the streets, sewers, and shadowsof the Seattle metroplex, now an urban sprawl encompassingsome t 600 square miles on the eastem shore of Puget Sound.Yet even this vast megaplex is but an endave set amid evenlarger states ruled by Native American nations and othersovereign states ofMetahumans and Awakened Beings.

6 BOTILED DEMON

GAMf.MASTERS NOTESBottled Demon usesa dedslon-tree format. meaning that

the players' team could arrive at the same encounter via variousdifferent routes, dependIng on choices they make during role-play. They could also Justas easily mIss a planned encounteraltogether. To run the adventure, the gamemaster needs athorough familiarity with the contents of this booklet, as well asa working familiarity with the basic Shadowrun rules. Thecontents of this booklet are for the gamemaster's eyes only,except for certain Items earmarked ashandouts for the players.Everything needed to roleplay Bottled Demon IsInduded here.Bottled Demon Is designed for a team of four to eIghtplayer characters. The group should contain a variety of talent,indudlng one or more Magldans. At only one point In the storywould a player-c.haracter Decker be needed. so a non-playercharacter could H I I his role, If necessary. Note also that combatskills are vel)' Important to this being a successful run.

ThIs adventure combines several approaches. Some en-counters are thoroughly planned out and described In detail.Others merely set the scene and remaIn open-ended. Hints forgamemasterlng the various situations are included with theindivIdual sections that make up The Adventure.MAKIN G SU CC ESS T ES TS

During the course of the adventure, the players will makea number of Unreslsted Success Tests using a skill and a givenTarget Number. These Unreslsted Success Tests will be Indi-cated by the name of the appropriate skill and the targetnumber. For example, a Stealth (4) Test refers to an UnreslstedStealth Success Test, with a Target Number 4. Sometimes It Isnecessary to make die rolls against atable that Indudes differentInformation for dlfferentTarget Numbers. Ifthe roil Issuccessful,the character obtains all the Information for that target aswell asfrom all lower Target Numbers.HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Aside from the basic Shadowrun rules, this book Includeseverything needed to play this adventure. The gamemastershould read through the entire module before beginning thegame. Some Important plot developments will not becomeapparent until well Into the adventure. but the gamemaster willhave to lay the groundwork much earlier on. He canonly do thatby being familiar with the storyline.

The garnemaster should alsoexamine the maps, plans. anddiagrams found Inthe adventure. especially the maps for Black'sJunkYard and Geyswaln' s lair. Where appropriate, the maps arecoded with letters and numbers to link anarea to Its descriptionIn the text.


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INTRODUCTIONThough this book tries to cover all the IIkely---and even

unllkely-thlngs that can happen during the adventure, It IsImpossible to foresee everything. The gamemaster may ftndthat sometimes It Isa good Idea to Justlet the unexpected leadwhere It will.

The Plot SynopsIs Isa fairly detailed summary of both thestory background and the course the adventure Is Intended tofollow.

The Adventure begins with the section entit led Into theNIght. Following this are a number of short sections describingeach of the encounters that the players will face or are likely tor a c e In the course of roleplaying Bottled Demon.

Most of the encounters begin with a text entitled TeD ItTon.em Str"ght. This Is Intended to be read, verbatim, to theshadowrunners. It describes where they are and what Is hap-pening to them as though the player characters were actuallythere. Anyspedallnstructtonstothe pmelDUter are printedInboldface type.

Next comes the Information entitled IIehlnd The kenes.This Is the real story, for only the gamemaster knows what Isreally going on at any given moment In an adventure. If thereIs a map needed to play this encounter, It Is Induded In thissection. Non-player character stats needed to roleplay thesection are usually Included here, too.

Rnally, each section Indudes hints enti tled Debualng.These notes could Indude suggestions for getting the story backon track If things go too fa r wrong. For example, most game-masters will not want the characters to get too discouraged orkilled off too easily. The gamemaster Is, of course, always freeto Ignore these hints and to let the chips fal l where they may.

Lepork contains the Information the player characterscan obtain through their Contacts or through the public datanets.

Cast Of Characters Includes pre-generated player andnon-player character descriptions and stats.

Plddns: Up The Pieces includes tips on Awarding Karmaand contains newsnet Items for handout to the players, depend-Ing on the outcome of the adventure.

PlayIng WIth Darkness provides gaming Information forthe mysterious Idol at the center of this adventure.

The news Items are for handout to the players, dependingon the adventure's outcome.PLOT SYNOPS IS

Pletr Regeton owns and operates The Guiding Hand, asmall tallsmonger/lore shop In the Redmond District. Morepopularly known as TopaI, he Is a small-time magldan, an un-assuming person In a not-so-unassumlng world.

His life changes forever the day an old friend comesbursting through the door of the shop. The man appears to bescared out of his mind, deliriously mumbling strange wordsabout a dlscovery he has made In the South Padftc. A batteredbriefcase Is chained to his wrist. His health Is obviously fai lingand hedlessoonthereafter,leavingTopaI to uncover the secretsof the black case.

Inside the briefcase Is an ornately carved wooden box.Topal opens the box and gazes upon a talisman, a vaguelydemonic-looking Idol carved from deep-red stone. The object'seyes are glowing, as Is the pinkish ball It dutches to Its chest.

Strange symbols and markings are etched Into the stone.Though he cannot fully understand their meaning, Topa! doessense a power In these symbols. Touching the stone, he feelstremendous energy surge through him. The world of fa r greatermagic than he has ever known has suddenly opened up for him.

Topa! cannot resist the temptation to explore the strange,new powers, but as he does, his own physical body starts todeter iorate. Then terrlrytng dreams begin to haunt his sleep,telling of death and darkness. Only by a supreme act of willishe able to see that this Idol Is too dangerous, too evIl-forhimself or for anyone. Meanwhile, his shop has burned to theground as a result of his tampering with the Idol. Topal Hnallybreaks free of the oblect's power and puts out the word that hewants to sell It.

The shopowner Iscontacted by a group of Elven scholars,and a meeting Is arranged. What Topal does not know Is thatnews of this strange object has spread throughout the EJvennation ofTIr Talmglre, attracting the attention of another Inter-ested buyer. This IndMduai hires an Elven team, led by thenotorious hltrnan Blackwlng, to obtain the talisman by anymeans necessary.

Blackwlng moves qukkly, conveniently disposing of theElven scholars before the arranged meeting. Topa! has, how-ever, taken the prudent step of hiring the team of player char-t acters asbodyguards. With them at his side, hegoes toBlack'sJunk Yard to meet the buyers for the Idol. Seeing an unfamiliarElf Instead of the one who contacted him, Topa! hands the blackbriefcase over to a player character before stepping out Into theopen. Uttle does he realize that the strange Elf ts Blackwlng.

As this Isgoing on, the forces of Lone StarSecurity prepareto move In. TIpped off by Informants, captain Grlsslm has alsocome to Black's JunkYard, leading a detachment of Lone Starstreet cops. They want Blackwlng for the murder of the Elvenscholars, and as yet know nothing at all about the talisman.Grlsslm sees Topel and his team In the yard and Immediatelyassumes that they are assodates ofBlackwlng. Grlsslm gives theorder and the troops move In. In the ensuing ftreftght, Topallskilled. The player characters, however, escape with the Idol.Blackwlng and his team also make It out al ive.

Now the adventurers are In possession of somethIng theyl ittle understand, except for knowing that at least one man haslost his life because of I t. What they Hndout soon enough Isthateveryone Isafter them. Lone Star stili thinks they are hooked upwith Bloodwlng. Bloodwlng hImself wants the Idol. False ru-mors are drculatlng on the street that the team killed theiremployer to obtain the Idol, and for such a dishonorable breachof contract any squatter or runner may be willing to tum themIn. Rnally, there are Topal's friends, a ragtag group of wizardsknown asthe Children ofSophodes, who are out to avenge hisdeath.

The ftrstthlng the team must do IsHnd out all they can aboutthis strange artifact. They hear of an old woman, a Dog shamannamed Trixy, who has been having recurrent dreams ofJustsuchan object. They bring the Idol to her. She takes one look at thesymbols and knows It Is evil . She tells the team that It must bedestroyed, and that only a Dragon has both the power and thewisdom to do so. Trixy warns them thafnot every Dragon whocan destroy Itwill actuaIlywant to. The temptation of possessingsuch power, she says, may be too strong. The team Istold to gosee the Dragon Geyswaln.

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INTRODUCTION

Geyswaln lives In a huge, arid penthouse on the top floorof the Lothlann Center, his realestate Investment corporation InTacoma. The team arrives and gives Geyswaln the talisman.bel ieving that he wil l destroy It. What the player characters donot know Is that Geyswaln Isonly a Dracoform who has not thepower to destroy the Idol, even If he wished. Indeed, he Is sotempted by the object's power that he will say or do anythingto possess It.

The runners arenow rid of the Idol, but the danger Isfarfromover. Lone Star and Blackwlng are stil l out there. The team'sreputation remains as tainted as ever. It Is then they meetArleesh.

Arleesh Isa Great Feathered Serpent, one truly possessedof Immense magical abilities. Right away she tells the team thatthey made a grave mistake Ingiving the Idol to Geyswaln. Shealso Insists they must help her to get the Idol away fromGeyswaln because It Is their fault he has It. The team has nocholce.

Together, Arleesh and the team go back and break Into theLochlann Center. The astral plane surrounding Lachlann Isteeming with spirits and elementals, whJle Inside the buildingeverything Isquiet. Too quiet. Arleesh goes on ahead, sendingthe team to check out security. All the computer systems aredown. All the security guards are dead. Something terrible hashappened here.

After hurrying to meet Arleesh In the top-floor lair ofGeyswaln, they find the Dragon feeding on a corpse. his bodynow covered with hideous sores and weeping scars.The powerof the Idol has consumed him. Someone comes staggering outof the darkness. It IsBloodwing. He and his assassins trailed theplayers' team here the f irst t ime they carne to see Geyswaln atLochlann, then they made the fatal mistake trying to seize theIdol from Geyswaln.

Now Lone Star reenters the picture. Following up onstrange reports that Lachlann employees were not returninghome after work, captain Grlssim has surrounded the buildingwith his men. Grlsslm Isready to move In, but the fact that thisIs private property prevents him from doing so. He walts andlets the others fight It out.

With Arleesh cloaked In an Invisibility Spell, the playercharacters loin up with Bloodwlng to engage Geyswaln Inbattle. E.ventually the runners are able to seriously wound thedracoforrn to the point where he can no longer fight. Arleeshthen reappears, snatches the mysterious Idol from Geyswaln'sgrip, and uses al l her strength and power to defuse It.

Bloodwlng Is Immediately arrested. but because he hasdiplomatic Immunity (he shows proper Identlflcatlon as anAssociate Ambassador from llrTalmglre), Grlsslm must let himgo. He takes with him the mysterious talisman and returns to hisnative nation. It takes some talking. but the team Isflnally ableto clear their reputation and retum safely to the shadows.

8 BOmEDDEMON


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TELL IT TO TH EM STRAIGH THere you all are, sitting around at Yoshlro's Restaurant and

Bar,enjoying the finer side of a life spent running the shadows.It's only mid-afternoon, but you are already up and movingabout, renewing old contacts, and generally keeping up thegood will that's helped make your team so successful. It's allpart of the overhead, and you know It. You've got to see and beseen In all the right places and Yoshiro's Is definitely one ofthose.

Just as you are about to ease over to the bar, you notice achubby man waddllng toward you. It's obvious from hisgalt andthe look In his eye that you are the ones he Is seeking. He Isdecked out from head to foot Inclothes that would be tres chic,Indeed, If they weren't so much the worse for wear. Manacledto his right wrist Isa black alloy briefcase. Obviously a courier'scase, It seems strangely out of place with this man. He looks atyou with weary, haunted eyes and speaks In a high, crackingvoice.

"Thank the stars. We must talk at once. You can't knowwhat I have had to do to find you. Let us retire to the restaurantand enjoy our midday repast. Come. Time Isof the essence andthere Is business to discuss. M

Ah, the magIc word. Business. Grabbing your drinks, youhead Into the restaurant section of Yoshiro's, where your portlycompanion slides Into a comer booth, his back to the wall. Hehastaken the choice seat, but sowould you Ifhe hadn't done sofirst.

"My name Is Topal, M the man says. "I require the servicesofseveral bodyguards to accompany me to a business meetingtomorrow morning. 1have sought you out because of yourreputation. M Topal lets the praise sink In as he browses themenu. Barely seeming to give It a thought, he orders threeentrees and two desserts.

"The location must, of course, remain a secret, but Ican tellyou It will take no more than three hours of your time, start tofinish. In return for your protection, 1will pay you 5,000 nuyeneach. An excel lent price for such a short piece of work. M Topaleyes each of you In tum, looking pleased with the effect of hisoutrageous offer. As the waitress serves the first of his threemeals, he awalts your response.B EH IN D THE S CENE S

Pletr flegeton, or Topal, Is a man in over his head. Threedays ago, Simon Templeman, an old friend and fellow memberof a mystical fellowship known as the Children of Sophocles,stumbled Into Topal's lore shop, the Guiding Hand, with abeaten-up black alloy briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Simon

was delirious with fatigue and hunger. or so TopaJ thought,Despite Topa!'s best efforts, his friend died later that same day,wracked with paln. To his everlasting regret, Topa! took posses-sion of the briefcase.

looking Inside, he was perplexed to discover an oddlycarved wooden box with a notched cover. The box openedeasi ly. Within. resting gently In the center fold of a richly ern-broidered black cloth pillow, was an Idol. Justover 30 centlm~ters long, It was carved from deep-red stone Into a demon-likeshape. In Its hands was a pinkish globe, and Its eyes glowed.Etched Into the object were strange markIngs. whose patternswere mysterious and yet seemed to TopaJalmost recognizable.Almost.

What he dId recognize was power.The carved Idol was obviously a magical Item ofconslder

able magnitude. Even stranger was the fact thatTopai could usethe Item, though he had not personally created It. After a fewminor experiments, he discovered that It would serve as apower focus to signif icantly augment his own magical abilities.this powerful obJectwas now his, and no one would take It fromhim.

Meanwhile. the coroner attributed Templeman's death tonatural causes, despite his surprise to leam that the deceasedwas only 42, not In his late sixties, as his physical conditionsuggested.

The night after Templeman's cremation, Topal tried andfailed to complete a simple conjuring using the Idol's power. Afew hours later, the dreams began. Images of death and decaycame upon him dark and menadng, but his greed for the Idol'spower made him heedless. Swirling around Topal, the Signstoldhim that the carved object was dangerous, but It was only adirect personal threat that made him see the truth. He awoke tofind his shop In Hames.

The destruction of his shop, the terrifying dreams, and thesudden awareness that his body was deteriorating rapidlyawakened Topa! to the truth. He Hnally reallzed-but only by atremendous feat of will-that he must get free of the Idol.

Using his connections, Topal quickly found a group ofElvenscholars Interested In buying the talisman from him.

During the encounter with the players' group, Topal con-stantly puts one hand or the other (even though one Is hand-cuffed to the briefcase) Into the folds of his coat, where he storesa hoard of Jawbreakers. These he crunches without pause. Afterhis Initial offer, Topal allows the team to set the pace ofnegotiations. Make an Opposed Negotiation Test. for everyadditional success that the team scores, Topal's Hna! priceIncreases by 10 percent. IfTopai manages to beat the team, hisInitial offer stands firm. Topal agrees to pay half the moneyImmediately and the other half upon completion of the mission.He will not tell the team where they are going or the nature of

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the meet. Nor will he reveal whether he Is buying or seiling.Once the team agrees to accept the sketchy assignment. Topalspeaks, all the while bolting down the remainder of his food:

"Good, good, good, ~hesays. W I knew I could counton you.Butdo not be late. That Ismost Important. You must return hereto Yoshlro's before 3:00 A.M. tonight. Bring your own transpor-tation. Iwill be traveling In a separate vehicle. Im counting onyou, and Ineed your help. ~Topal licks the remains of his foodfrom his fingers, then pops another jawbreaker as he turns toleave.

The team may decide to continue relaxing at Yoshlro's, orthey may want to get a little rest before the meet at 3:00 A.M Ifthat Istheir choice, proceed to Going To The DevOs, the nextsection. Ifthe team wants to sniff out some Information on theirnew employer, go to the Legwork section.DEBUGGING

Refusing the job Isabout the only thing the players can dowrong here. If they do not get Into the spiri t of things right away,tell one of the players, preferably a magician, that he Isstrangelydrawn to the shaman. He feels a need to help this obviouslydesperate man.

Ifthat falls,Topal Iswill ing to pay almost anything the teamdemands. Fatigued to the point of collapse , he has begun tol'earfor his l i r e . He may not know the exact nature of the Idol, but hedoes know It will kill him unless he can get rid of It quickly.Unfortunately for Topal, It Isalready too late.

MagicalTheory: 6Negotiation: 3Sorcery: 5

lOPAlTopal was, until recently, the sole proprietor ofThe Guiding

Hand. a small. but profitable tatlsmonger/lore shop In theSophocles neighborhood of Redmond. Business was good andTopalenjoyed agood bit of prestige among the locals. Hlsworldcame crashing down several days ago when an old acquain-tance brought the Idol Into his shop.

Last night, he finally found a buyer for the mysterious Item,an enclave ofElven maglclans. Topal spent the remainder of thenight and most of this morning call ing his contacts for sugges-tions on muscle to accompany him. A mutual contact recom-mended the players' team to Topal.Attributes SkUIs

Body: 2 Car: 2Quickness: 2 Conjuring: 6Strength: 1 Etiquette (Street): 5Charisma: 4 Arearms: 3Intelligence: 4Willpower: 4Essence:6Magic: 6 (1")Reaction: 3

Note: "Ilse this rating ifTopa! is more than 4 meters from the idol. SeePlaying WIth Darkness. p. 5 I .Dlc:e Pools

Astral: IS (t 0)Defense (Armed): 1Defense (Unarmed): 1Dodge: 2Magic: 6 (1')GeuArmor Oothlng (3/0)Colt American L36 Light Pistol [9 (dip), 3M21Mitsubishi RunaboutPocket SecretaryReusableDetection Fetish

TotemRaven

SpellsCombat:

Mana Bolt: 3DetectIon:Analyze Device: 4

lUuslon:

~-- --- r==f--f--f--,_f-- .........f--f- ,............,I-- FMiJ~I-,_~L- F~IIed.

,,_,r--r- r-_,r-'""""'"".-~,r-QII"dcd.,,___

10 BOITLEDDEMON


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TILL IT TO TH EM STR AIG HTIt Is almost 3:00 A.M. As you Idle your vehicles outside

Yoshlro's, a cool breeze freshens your senses. It Isan especIallycalm night, with afull moon shining down from acloudless sky.That could be a bad omen. but then, Ifyou played the odds, youwouldn't be In this line of work.

As an out-of-tune Mltsublshl Runabout rounds the corner.the team Isbathed In halogen lights. Thecar slows down to pullup alongside. The lone occupant leans over, exposing his faceto the street lights. In their harsh glare, the man looks ten yearsolder than he did tnslde the sortly lit Yoshlro's. His face Islinedand wrinkled. and dark circles around his eyes give him an evenmore haunted look. He eyes the group nervously.

"Good, good, good. You brought plenty of weight. Weshouldn't need It. but who knows? Elves can be a tricky lot. Ifyou're ready, we'll gO.M

Without wait ing for a reply, Topal pulls off. hIs groundcarslowly gaining speed. Though his path Is serpentine. he Isobviously en route to the Puyallup Barrens. No wonder hewanted the muscle. Most people wouldn't travel these streetsInbroad daylight, let alone Inthe middle of the night. Followinghim onto Jefferson. you pick up the speed. hoping to avoid thego-gangs that haunt the area.

A squeal of t ires and the f irst cry of a chopped hog tells youyour luck Just ran out.B EH IN D T HE SC EN ES

All unwittingly, Topa! has led the team straight Into theheart of Asphalt Devil territory. Not that Itwould do much goodto try to avoid the Devils. It and other gangs swarm over theBarrens. It the players' group hadn't run Into these gangers,they'd only have run Into another bunch.

this contingent of Devils Is out to protect their stretch ofhighway while the restof the gang Isoffraldlng elsewhere. Crueland vicious, they are bored easily. especially at this time ofnight. If they can run the team off their territory, It would be amoral victory. If they can salvage some spare parts In thebargain, so much the better.

Go to Vehicle Combat. The conflict starts In RestrictedTerrain (Normal Terrain at night), with the go-gang trailing thelast vehicle in the team's convoy by 50 meters. The six go-gangmembers ride Rapiers and Scorpions at an Initial speed of 60.The DevIls will attempt to close with the team, bringing all gunsto bear. lacking mounted weaponry, they are limited to theweapons they carry. Ifthey try to drive and fight during the sameaction, add a +2 Target Modifier to all action attempts. Combatwill lastfor ftve Vehicle Turns.when the team will beout of Devils

territory, or until the team increases Its lead to 100 meters ormore. At the end of every Vehicle Turn. make a Vehicle (4) Testfor any random player character. If no successes are rolled, theteam has wandered Into light Terrain (Restricted Terrain atnight). On the next Vehicle Turn. roll again. If the team st11lhasno successes. the characters remain In light Terrain. At the endof any turn in which the random team member scores 1or moresuccesses, the terrain returns to Restricted.

If the Devils successfully Incapacitate the Runabout or anyother auto, they will stop to loot. If the gangers stop theRunabout, the team should also stop to protect their Mr.Johnson. At this point. normal combat occurs.

Once combat has been resolved, the team can continue onto the meeting described Inthe next section, Junk Yard Dogs.If any player characters are wounded, they have about 20minutes to attempt minor heal lng. Any additional time wouldmake Topal late for the meet. and he will not allow that tohappen.DEBUGGING

lflt looks asthough the players' team IS about to get trashedin their Ilrst combat encounter. the gamemaster may show themsome mercy. Another gang can ride to the rescue, Inadver-tently, of course. Lone Star could even save them. but that Isunlikely. given Lone Star's attitude toward Inhabitants of theBarrens. If the team is really missing their rolls, give them abreak. this encounter Is purely to remind them how tough anddangerous Is life in the Barrens. It should not result Intheir goingto an early grave.

It IsImportant thatT opal remain allve until the next chapter.He needs to get to the Junkyard to get things really roiling.

BOITLED DEMON 1.


12/62

GOING TO THE DEVILSA SP HA LT D EV IL S SWUTSHEILAQ .U lC K K IL L

Always moving. always talking. Quick Kill ishyperactive. Areal wild man .Attrtbates

Body: 4(5}Quickness: 4Strength: 5Charisma: 3Intelligence: 3Willpower: 5Essence: 3.5Reaction: 3 (5)

SIdIIsArmed Combat: 4Bike: 6Firearms: 4Gunnery: 3Throwing Weapons: 3

DIce PoolsDefense (Armed): 4Defense (Unarmed): 1Dodge: 4

Cyberw.ueCybereyes with Low-LightDermal Plating (1)Wired Reflexes (I )

Gear

UnccnscIous ..>_ d e a d

2Of'I"1!nslveGrenades (6M3)Ares Predator 110 (dip). 2 extra dips. laser Sight. 4M2)Harley ScorpionHelmet(lf1)Katana (+ I Reach. 5M3)Lined Coat (4/2)Uzlill SMG [16 (dip). 2 extra dips. laser Sight. 4M3)

Quick Kill's honey. Sheila Is anything but sweet In battle.She screams like a maniac during a light, seeming. oddlyenough. prettier that way.AttrIbutes

Body: 3Quickness: 4Strength: 4Charisma: 5Intelligence: 3Wil lpower: 6Essence: 6Reaction: 3

SkIlls

Armor Jacket (5/3)Heckler & .. Koch HK227 SMG [20 (dip). 2 extra dips. laser Sight.5M3]Harley Scorpion

Bike: 7Firearrns: 4Stea lth: 5Unarrned Combat: 2

DlcePoolsDefense (Armed): IDefense (Unarmed): 2DocIge:4

GeM

O T H ER G A NG MEMBlR SAttributes

Body: 4Quickness: 4Strength: 4Charisma: 3Intelligence: 2Wil lpower: 3Essence: 6Reaction: 3

SldllsArmed Combat: 4Bike:4firearms: 3Unarmed Combat: 4

Dlce PoolsDefense (Armed): 4Defense (Unarmed): 4Dodge: 4

GeM

SIy >-, < - -~.< L J s b I I Y'. . . . . . . . .

_ .- -

_ . = =-=: .=-, .,,=,-.=.:. . _-

Armor Vest with Plating (4/3)Knife (ZLI)UzllII SMG [16 (dip), 2 extra dips. 4M3]Yamaha Rapier

-,- - . _== -- -- ,- .-==._ .._= =

Z B OT IL ED D EMO N


13/62

If.teAm meMber utrdy eJWDInes the meetlns pIKe;You begin your trance, letting the ability that Isyours alonegradually take control. You feel your body rising as you lookabout. At ftrst glance, the meeting place appears empty. Onsecond look, you see three persons, possibly Elves, across thedearing. The ftrst Is leaning against a shape you take for a car.What may be a rifle rests on one side of him, a slim leatherbrtek.ase rests on the other.

The second Individual sits In lotus position atop the talleststack of metal in the area. From his vantage point, he has analmost unlimited view of the dearing. He Is surrounded by afclIntblue aura, the obvious effect of some spell. Twin pulses of

T lLL IT T O T HEM S TR AIG HTYou follow Topal's lead to the gates of Black's Junk Yard.

one of Seattle's legendaJ}' establishments. Beyond the heavysteel gate are mounds of cars and ancient vehicles whose fatehas taken them to a ftnal resting place InBlack's. Topa! stops thecar. illuminated by the lights of his Runabout, he heads for thefencing that runs along the massive Junk yard. Apparentlyoblivious to the danger of standing In the light, he bends lowover a single round rock next to the fence. With a heave of hisshoulders, the portly man rolls the large rock away, revealing atunnel under the fence. It will be a tl.ght ftt for Topal, but heliterally dives In, case in hand. You tum off the lights on theRunabout, glancing around furtively. You can easily hide yourow n vehicles behind the dumpsters In the alley across thestreet. Within moments, you are dismounted and crowdedaround the tunnel entrance. PuttIng aside your massive doubtsand suspicions, you slip Into the dank, grimy opening.

Fortunately, the tunnel widens considerably after the en-trance. After you slide along on your stomach for about fivemeters, the tunnel suddenly turns sharply upward. You crawlout Into the moonlight JustIn time to see Tapal setting the redhood of an ancient Ford LID against a rusting stack of com-pressed cars. The mounds of Junk leaning against the yard'srence effectively conceaJ the tunnel exit. Signaling wordlesslyfor you to follow, Topal heads off between the rows of cars.

You creep through the twisted maze of vehlde parts,forced to retrace your steps several times because of fallenstacks of cars blocking the way. Just when you're wondering IfTopal really knows where he's going, he puts a finger to his l ipsand motions a stop deep within the labyrinthine junk yard.

MGood,good,good. Wearehereatlast,M hewhispers. Youstare out Into a roughly circular dearing. Spare parts l it ter thebeaten grass. The full moon casts shadows along the dearing'sedge, making It Impossible to tell whether the darker spots aretruly openings within the perimeter or If they are a deeperrecess.

yellow light also run across his body, almost asthough playingtag. These lights create the illusion of a secondary yellow aura.In his lap Isa hunk of metal you take to be a gun.

The final figure's astral form floats above and slightly behindthe standing Elf.She, too. Isbathed Ina faint blue aura. As youreyes lock, she nods at you. Your astral vision senses nobody andnothing else of Interest.When the team Is ready for the meet:

Topal peers cautiously Into the dearing. Breathing deeply,he IsJustabout to step forward when a figure appears across theclearing. The other man's left hand Is empty. In his right, hecarries a slim leather briefcase. As he moves Into the l ight, hisdark Elven features are clearly visible. He plucks the dgarettehanging from the comer of his mouth and Hlngs It toward thetunnel opening In a single, smooth gesture.

~Are you ready, Raven-man? I am here for the trade." TheElfs voice Is dear, precise, canylng easily across the distance.

Topa! looks around In obvious fear. "Thls Is wrong. All

BOTTLEDDEMON t3


14/62

JUNK YARD DOGSwrong. Take this. ~WIth a grace and swiftness belying his size,he removes the wrist cuff and quickly places Iton the wrist of thenearest team member. "It wi ll be safe with you. Enter the clrclewhen I say. Not a moment sooner. ~

Topal enters the circle, but after a few steps, he begins towheeze. A few more steps and he slows to barely a walk. Hestruggles his way to the Elfand stands shakily before him. "Youare not the one with whom Imade the deal. Where Isthe other?"

"You deal wlt~ me, Raven-man. J have the oath price.Where Is your part of the bargaln?"B EH IN D TH E SCENES

Have the team members each make a Perception/Intelli-gence (6) Test. Roll also for Topal and the three Elven NPCs.Anyone with Cyberears/Hearlng Amplification active gets amodltter of +1.

to get away, running wildly In any direction. Unless the teamenters the clearing and pulls him tosafety, he wlllbe kIlled eitherby the Elves or by a stray shot from Lone Star.

Lone Star arrives In force, a atymaster on the grounddeploying ten troopers and supported by a pair ofYellowjacketsthat silently descend Into the area via autorotatlon. As theOtymaster comes Into view, the helicopters engage theirengines and spotl ights. A handful of lone Star troopers Is alsoscattered around the junk yard, but these should be used onlyas needed.

As his forces arrive, Captain Grisslm's voice blares out overtheCltymaster's loudspeaker: "All right, Bioodwing. We've gotyou and your terrorist compadres surrounded. Give It up nowand we may only beat the drek out of you. " Fortunately for therunners, Lone Star's first priority Is Bloodwlng.

Once the Elves kill Topal and begin their getaway, therunners are on their own Inattempting to get away . Init ially ,onelone Star street cop bars the way of each team member. Oncethe team member fights hisway past the cop, he can and shouldattempt to flee. Ifcombat lasts for four or more rounds, anothercop wil l move in to assist in the capture. This means that a newcop enters combat at the start of every fifth tum. Impress uponthe team that this Is a major raid, designed to capture thepartldpants of the predawn meeting. If the runners stay andfight, they will be overwhelmed by numbers alone.

When team members attempt to flee, have them make aReaction (5)Test. Apply the following results.

Suc:c:essesoREACTION rtsr

ResultCornered by a Lone Star cop, the teammember must ftght his way dear. If thefight Is not conduded within 5 turns,another cop loins the fray. Once clear of allopponents, roll 106. On a 1- 2 result, goto the 3-4successes result. On a3-4,goto the 5 - 6 successes below; on a 5- 6result, go to 7+ successes below.Evading the patrolling street cops, therunner Joins up with another team mem-ber. Using the first die roll for both of them,they go to0successes.The player character comes to the wall ofthe junk yard. To climb over, he makes anAthletics (5) Test. No successes Indicatesfallurel 1 success means he has climbedthe wall, but Is subject to 4M2 damagefrom the razor wire. Two or more suc-cesses allows him tosuccessfully scale thewall.The player character comes to the frontgate of the junk yard. He may attempt toclimb over. Hemakes anAthletics (4) Test.With 1or more successes, he successfullycl imbs over the gate.The runner arrives back at the entry tunneland may crawl through and escape.

Successes1 or less

n~CUTION rssrResui~A wall of cars comes cascading down asaLone Star Cltymaster pushes Into theperimeter of the clearing. High-Intensityheadlights scatter the shadows asthe reardoor drops to the ground with a thump.The turret on top of the vehicle swivels Inyour direction. You tum to see severalheavily armed street cops charging up themetal corridor in your direction. "Tum toIce, boys and girls. You're all under arrest."(Characters with 1 success or less aresurprised.)Inthe distance, you hear the throaty rumbleof a heavy vehicle. Itseems to be movingvery quickly Inyour direction. (Characterswith 3 - 2 Successeswlll not besurprised,but enter the Combat Tum through normalInitiative.)In the distance, you can hear the faint, butdistinctIve rumble of an approachingvehicle. There are other sounds, too,among the cars and in the air. Trouble Isafoot. (Characters with 4+ successes arenot surprised and may take one Actionbefore Lone Star arrives.)

1-2

3-4

5-6

7+

3-2

4+

The NPCs wil l take the fol lowing actions as they are able.Bloodwlng will jump out of the clearing, leaping Into theshadows behind him. From there, he will get his HARand snipeat Topal, believing that the Raven shaman has double-crossedhim. Once Topal goes down, Bloodwlng beats a hasty retreat.

Tundra will attempt to fry Topal with a Power Bolt. If theshaman Is sti li standing, the Elfwil l lob both grenades lnto theclearing and take off with Bloodwing.

Harper will cover the retreat of her partners, sniping withthe Enfield or else casting Chaotic World if the opportunitypresents Itself.

Topal stands confused at first, then makes a frantic attempt

(4 BOTIlED DEMON


15/62

IUNK YARD DOGS

Several things should happen during this encounter. Theteam. or most of It. should get away and Topal must dIe. It'stough, but Topel's tlme has come.

If some team members are captured. allow them a chanceto get away as the cops are marchIng them toward the patrolcars parked at the front gate. If any team member still cannotescape. arrest him. book him for trespassing. and Jockhim up.He will bedetained for 24 hours while Grlsslm Interrogates himunder the professional eye of a Lone Star mage with AnalyzeTruth. When the time Is up. Grlsslm Isconfused. but convincedthat the runner knows nothing about Bloodwlng. He will orderthe character released but placed under round-the-clock astralsurveillance.

Topal can expire Ina number of Interesting ways. The Elveswill most likely kill him. but if not. astack of cars can fall on himor he can sImply disappear Into the maze of rusted vehicles.where Bloodwlng will do him In.As a last resort. Bloodwlng canpick him off asTopal Isabout to get back into hIs car and makegood hIs escape.

Note that Inthe confusion. team members may not Initiallystart their escape together. They can. however. link up duringthe course of the escape. Team members travel ing togethermay roll only once to check their location. using the slowestReaction among them as the target number.

It Isunlikely the team members will encounter Bloodwlngor his partners. If they do. the statistics for the Elves and forGrlsslm. leader of the Lone Star forces. are In the Cast ofCharacters chapter.

Once the team successfully manages to escape. they willprobably want to hole up somewhere nearby. No matter wherethey Hnally decide to go. proceed to the next chapter. Pan-dora's Box.

DEBUGGING

~ Tunnel E.ntroUl.~B - Tunnel ExItC - Cltymoaster Intl'OlnceD - Meeting Pkl;eD~5 metersIIwreckedc;us

STRIlTCOPSThese underpaid employees of Lone Star Justwant to get

through the night alive. Ifthey are seriously wounded, they willstay down and let somebody else make the collar. They havebeen told to apprehend Bloodwlng but not to get ki lled doingIt. As a result, they will always use their stun batons Hrst.If thingsget really bad. they will pull out the heavier Hrepower. Note thatthese cops are a cut above the run-of-the-mill corp cops InSeattle. having been trained In riot duty and dose combat.Attrlbutes

Body: 4Quickness: 4Strength: 5Charisma: 2Intelligence: 3Willpower: 3Essence: 6Reaction: 3

SkIllsAnned Combat: 4Etiquette (Street): 3Fireanns: 3Unanned Combat: 4Spedcli SkInPolice Procedure: 4

Dice PoolsDefense (Anned): 4Defense (Unarmed): 4Dodge: 4

Geu

u~.:;.--~>Woonded.

Ares Predator [10 (dip). 2 extra dips. 4I\....IArmor Jacket (5/3)Earplug RadioHelmet (1/1)Low-Light GogglesStun Baton (+ I Reach. 5LZ Stun + Special)

BOTILlD DEMON .5


16/62

TELL rr TO THEM S TRA IGHTYou arrive at your destination breathless, but pumped with

adrenaline. Tocalm your nerves, you focus your attention on themany problems at hanci. The former Mr. Topal ls certainly notgoing to be paying you the rest of your r e e , but he has left youwith a parting gift: the alloy case and Its unknown contents.TIme to take care ofbuslness. You should probably find out whyLone Star was there at Black's, who else was at the Junk yard,and check out the suddenly ownerless case.

BEH IND THE SCENESThe team should take this time to rest and recuperate. Give

them most of the day, until 6:00 P.M., to prepare for the remain-der of the adventure. If need be, they can go to any of the localdlnlcs. They can also check out word on the street or examinethe case. Any addit ional events can be handled as needed, butat 6:00 P.M. things start to roll.

If the player characters want to do some checking Into thewhy and who of things, go to the Lepork section.EXAMINING THE BRIUCA5l

The case Itself Is quite harmless and can be opened easily.It was designed to keep Its contents safe, but the exteriorsafeguards have all been destroyed by now, either by thejoumey to Its present site or Insome other way. Ifthe charactersare Interested, the case Isa fairly common courier design readilyavailable at most security luggage shops. Examination from theAstral Plane reveals nothing except a slight glow of power fromwithin.

Opening the case by twisting the locks and li fting the topwill reveal a large, carved wooden box Justslightly smaller thanthe Inner dimensions of the case. If a character succeeds at aMaglcalTheo'Y (6) Test, he recognizes some of the symbolsetched on the case as derivative of andent Kabballstlc symbols.Though similar, these symbols cannot be directly translated. Thebox Itself Is In good shape, showing little wear and tear.

The cover of the box Is notched to the bottom and can belifted off easi ly. Inside Is a piece of black. silk draped over thecontents of the box. Removing the slightly musty silk reveals theIdol. It was Topal who placed thIs piece of silk In the box.

As previously described, the Idol Is nestled In the centerfold of a black doth pillow, which Isembroidered with many oddsymbols and patterns that arenot related to the symbols on thebox. Examination via Astral Perception will reveal the presenceofmagic In the doth and an Impenetrable black sphere, muchlike that made by a hermetic circle, surroundIng the Idol.

Further examination reveals that the symbols on thedothare generating the sphere. If a character attempts to analyze thesymbols, he must make a Sorcery (6) Test while assenslngastrally.

In order to examine the Idol properly, the players mustremove It from the box. Doing so will produce no Immediate,overt reaction.

The Idol Is carved from deep-red stone and Is cool to thetouch. It Is vaguely demonic-looking, with glowing eyes andclutching to Its body a pinkish globe. The odd patterns andsymbols that cover It have no resemblance to those on eIther thewooden case or the pillow on whIch It rested. The Idol Is wornnearly smooth, perhaps from handl ing, perhaps from the ele-ments, leaving the patterns and symbols barely visIble.

Forfurther examination of the Idol, see the section, PlayIngWItb Darkness.

At 6:00 P.M., one of the runners receives a hurried phonecall. He recognizes the voice as one of his contacts, but thefellow has never sounded so serious.

"Hey, chummer. You've got to move, and I mean nowl Mr.Blue Isabout to pay you a special visi t. Get out, but don't comehere. You've attracted some heavy fi les and Idon't need thatkind of trouble. Got It? I'llsee you Ina couple of days, Ifyou l ivethat long."

ASTRAL PlRCEPIlONResultThe symbols and patterns on the dothapparently form the basis for a her-metic-style magical structure, but at apower level fa r exceeding what onewould expect for an area that size. Onething for certain Is that the methodbehind the construction Isvery strong.Indeed.The magical structure appears to be abarrier of some sort, but Its nature lsonly similar to that generated by a her-metic clrde.Though complex and beyond the ken ofthe viewing character to understand, itIsapparent that the magic's structure Isunraveling.Strangely, the power of the spell seemsto be turned Inward, working to keepsomething Inside, rather than protect-Ing It from external forces.

Succ:esses1-2

3-4

5-6

7+

I' BOm.f.D DEMON


17/62

PANDORA'S BOXIn the street outside, the runners see the hurried. but silent

approach of several Lone Star patrol cars. From the looks of thegearthe cops arecarrying. the kid gloves have just come off. Thegamemaster should allow the player characters to escape, butonly by a hair.

From here. the team proceeds to the next section. TurnedOut, Tuned In.

intact even if none ofthem falls under the object's lnHuence, butit will certainly be more interesting if they do. The gamemastershould make the power of the idol as tempting as possible.maybe even force the runners into a situation later where one ofthe characters is all but forced to use it to save their collectivebutt.

If the team plans to separate during the day. have themchoose a meeting place for later. If still in separate locations by6:00 P.M., they will get the word via separate channels. The teamshould real ize there Issafety In numbers. If not, try to get themtogether as soon as possible.

See the Playing With Darkness section for ideas on how tobuild tension once one of the runners has handled the Idol.

DEBUGGINGOnly a few areas bear specIal attention at this point. If the

characters choose not to handle the Idol or use it, ei ther now orlater In the adventure, that's f ine. The adventure can continue

BOTILEDDEMON .7


18/62

If the team keeps moving, they should be all right, butremaining on the street, even in a car, will eventually attractmore and more Lone Staractivity. If the team attempts to gettoanabandoned building or tosneak Intoa location where theyare not known, they will be safe. Unless they keep their headsdown and out of sight, they wlll eventually becaptured.

If the runners attempt to find out what's going on, see theLegwork section.

Partof the reason the team isgetting the cold shoulder hasto do with Bloodwlng, who has spread rumors that the teamkllled Topal to keep the Idol for themselves. A person can getawaywith many things while shadowrunning in 2050, but Icingan employer Isnot one of them. Such a deed places a runnersomewhere below a diseased squatter on the food chain.Unfortunately for the team, Topal's oldest friend, Caw Caw,believes the rumors and hasgathered together the Children ofSophocles to lind the runners and avenge their dead friend.

At thispoint, the players need toclear their names,but theyshould also be curious enough to find out more about thestrange object suddenly in thelr care. Ifthey take the talisman toa professional shaman. talismonger, or mage, they may beableto get some help. SeeThe Idol, In Legwork. p.41.

Dependl ngonwhat the players do or do not do here(or onwhat the gamemaster decides), the adventure can proceedeither to Old Dog, New Trtx, Lone Star Country, or evenChildren In The Streets. Even if some of the runners' contactshave fingered them several times (seeLegwork). the team onlyhas to go up against Lone Star once. Of course, they mayencounter the cops agaIn becauseof actions in other sectIons.

RL l IT TO THEM STRAIGHTYou decide to take to the streets, where smart types like

you can get lost in the crowd. You are trying to decide what todo next when something in the vid store across the streetcatches your eye. If you didn't know better. you'd swear thatwas your face on the nightly news.

You crossthe street to check out the report. As you watch,an old pIcture of you dissolves into fuzzy images of the othermembers of the team. A voice cautions the populace that youpresent a grave menace to them.

"Be advised. These individuals are armed and should beconsidered extremely dangerous. They have already clashedwith LoneStar forces, leaving several officers injured. Considerthese Individuals to be ClassA felons. If you spot any or all ofthem, do not attempt ... "

So much for hiding on the streets, chummer. The crowdsuddenly doesn't seem socozy. In fact, you're feeling mightyconspicuous. You duck into an alley to assessthe situation.Seems like you need analtemate plan.

B EH IN D TH E SCENESThe team is being pursued by a very confused Captain

Grissim, among others. Grlsslm's superiors haveordered him touse any means necessary to bring the runners in, alive. ifpossible, Grisslm insisted that the runners were small fishwhohad nothing to do with Bloodwlng. but to no avail. Despitemisgivings, he alerted the media as soon as he was able toIdentify Topal and to trace his activities of the last few days.Grisslm's bossexpects results and the Captain does not disap-point him.

From here, the team has several options. none of themappealing. If any player characters try to return to their homes,aLoneStarwelcoming commIttee wlll bewaiting togreet them.Copsat these placeswill play it safe,calling for backup first andattempting to apprehend second. Play any such encountersusing the Lone Star Country section, p. 22.

If the runners go to any of their usual spots, they willprobably be stopped at the door. Nobody wants the kind oftrouble they're bringing these days. Should the player charac-ters manage to get Inside, one and all will avoid them. If theteam continues to wander the streets. some squatter willrecognize them and use his last nuyen to snitch to Lone Star,who will respond in a matter of minutes.

18 BOTILEDDEMON

DEBUGGINGThissituation should behardon the team. Ifsomeone isnot

showing them hostility. that person is likely to turn them overto the cops.Thisshould force the runners to rely on themselves,not lead toopen confrontation. Ifthey aresmart, they will avoidthe cops and stayclear of people who don't want them around.Ifthey don't see the wisdom in that. rough them up a bit. Maketheir lives miserable. Impound their cars and bikes, seal theIrhomes, and senda few goons after them. Theywill get the hinteventually. If the team isespecially dense,you canrunLone StarCountry asmany times asneeded. The adventure should notturn into a slugfest with the cops, however.


19/62

T ELL IT T O T HEM S TR AIGHTYou gaze at the simple shop across the street. Its thread-

bare awning stretches out over the sidewalk like a shroud. Theopaque windows reveal nothing except the crude astrologicalsymbols painted on them. Could this really be the place?Ifit tum member examines the shop astraUy:

From outside, the store is Inert. Mundane.You glide across the street. through a passing bus, and

enter the store. You can see Immediately that It has beenconverted from a shop to a home. There Is a simple sitting area,Hlled with furniture, books, and dozens of small forms that youtake to bedogs. SItting near the Hreplace, awoman sits, rockingslowly In place. You think she Is knitting. A few trinkets of littlepower hang from her body.

You areabout to leave when you notice that all the dogs arestaring at you.

When the tum enters the shop:Keeping an eye open for trouble, you move across the

street to the front of the small shop. A carved wooden signannounces: "Trixy, Knower of Secrets, Teller of Fates. Fortunestold] 0:30 - 6:00. Oosed Sundays and Holidays. M Well, at leastTrixy's practical, whoever she Is.

Justthen, anancient hand reaches under the shade and Hipsthe sign In the window. Trixy's Is now open for business. OneHnal look around and you open the door Into a small, darkvestibule. As the door closes behind you, the latch fail ing Intoplace, asmall woman appears Inthe opposite doorway. You canbarely see her face In the dark, but you can tell she Isvery old.She gazes calmly at your motley crew.~Ah, early customers. Business should be brisk today. M Shesmiles up at the nearest runner, pausing slightly. "You hadbetter come In and tell me all about It, youngster. I can see Inyour eyes that you're In very deep doo-doo. MBEH IND THE SCENES

Trixy Isone of the oldest shamans In Seattle, having beena fortune teller for most of her life. She has, however, stayedaway from the more tradit ional forms of divination, relying moreon her own common sense and Interpretation of the signs ofnature around her.

When the team enters the shop, Trixy Is not surprised.Though she did not know exactly who to expect, her dreamshave told her to prepare for the coming of the team. While therunners make themselves comfortable, Trixy retires to thekitchen, returning moments later with a tray of pastries and akettle of tea.

Refreshments served, Trixy settles Into an overstuffed chairto hearthe team's story. Shesayslit tle, preferring to listen to thefull story Hrst. When the runners are done, she asks severalquestions, then sits back to think for a moment. When she asksto see the case, any runner (or runners) affected by the Idol willbecome slightly nervous for no apparent reason. Ifhe Ishostile,Trixy will back down and attempt another approach. If the, runner does not press his hostility toward her or If he Is underbetter control, she will ask to see the Idol. Assuming someonehands It to her, she holds It for only a short time, during whichthe three dozen or so dogs become visibly restless. Without aword, she hands the Idol back to the runners.

At this point, Trixy nods several times, then asks therunners to come back a couple of hours after she has had timeto think. Ifthey wish to remain here, she will agree. Regardlessof whether they go or stay, she will put on her coat and hat andgo for a walk, accompanied by the two largest dogs.

BOTILEDDEMON 19


20/62

OLD DOG, NEW TRIX

Should the runners search Trixy's home In her absence,they wll lieam enough to guess that she Isa Dog shaman. Theywill nnd nothing else of Interest. While waiting for Trlxy' s return,they can pass a quiet few hours. Food and drinks are availableIn the kitchen and abundant reading materlal Is scatteredthroughout the house. Ifthe team decides to leave, this wouldbe a perfect time for ChUdren In The Streets or Lone starCountry. If the gamemaster prefers, he can allow them simplyto leave now and return for their meeting.

When Trixy returns, she has with her an:extra dog, whoJoins the pack In the living room as If he had always belonged.If the runners are present, she will begin. If not, she wil l awaittheir retum.

When they are all present, Trixy's face takes on a strange.somber look. She settles Inher chair. straightening her back andneck. In a deep. resonant voice, she begins to speak. "I havemeditated on your problems and see that you are right to beconcerned both for your own safety and the safety of thosearound you. The obJectyou carry Isdangerous. I am not sure ofexactly what It Is, but I see signs of malevolent Intelligence andall-consuming darkness. It Isa tool of corruption. All who comeIn contact with It are threatened.

"As far as I can tel l. there are several ways to destroy theIdol, but only one true. certain way: you must take Itto aDragon.There are others who know the ways of Itsdestruction, but they

20 BOm.ID DEMON

might be tempted by Its power, and may, In fact, already be.Only a Dragon Is wise enough and understands enough tosimply destroy It.

"You must find a Dragon and deliver the Idol to him, but becareful. This Is not a deal, but a request of a service from theDragon. Do not think you can trade the Idol, because this Isnotthe case. I am truly sony you have come to possess such aterri ble artifact. but it Isyour fate. Deliver Itto a Dragon and youmay yet come out of this whole and safe."The runners will probably feel like somebody up theredoesn't like them. which could well be the case. By now. theyshould have figured out that possessing the Idol Is a no-winsituation. The only good thing Is that now they have a deardirection In which to travel.

If someone thinks to ask, Trlxy can suggest a Dragon tocontact. His name Is Geyswaln and he runs Lachlann Invest-ments, an Investment and real estate corporation located alongthe Tacoma waterfront. Though Geyswaln Is young, he canprobably help the team out. BecauseTrlxy knows him, she canprobably get the team tn to see him later that day. She knowsof only one other Dragon In the Seattle area: Haessllch, securltychief for UnIted 011.T rlxy has heard that he Is out of town,however. It will not take much checkIng-no die rolls re-qulred-to leam that Haessllch Is,In fact. InTokyo on business.

To avoid complications, the gamemaster will nnd It best Ifno other Dragons Inthe Seattle area are available or Interested.If the team contacts Geyswaln Independently, he will agree tosee them later that same day. Though the player characters maynever know It, Trixy has already contacted Geyswaln.

Trlxy would like to help more, but her advanced age makesIt diff icult to successfully run the shadows. If the team asks, shewill decline an offer to accompany them. Nor she will agree totake the Idol under any drcurnstance short of the team' s death.

From here, If the runners have not yet run into the Childrenof Sophocles, the group is prlmed and ready for action inChildren In The Streets. If the team has already met with theChildren but have not run afoul of the law, they can proceeddirectly to Penthouse 5uIte fora meet with the Dragon Geyswaln.Ifthe cops areon their tall, go to Lone Star Country. Of course,the team can always tJy to learn more by talklng with Contacts,but that Is still a risky proposition. See Legwork.DEBUGGING

The team may fall to see that taking the Idol to a Dragon,namely Geyswaln. should be their next move. Events will notprogress very much until the team takes that step. Meanwhile.Blackwlng, Grlsslm, and a mysterious lady are all on the team'stall, each getting closer to the Anal confrontation.

About the only other thing they can mess up at this pointIsthat they might get on Trixy's bad side. It would be hard to do.as she Is a patient lady. but It Is possible. If they are headingdown the wrong road, remind them thatTrlxy Isthe only personwho can help them clear their reputations. No rep, no work. Ifthey arestili uppity, let them walk. All roads lead to this shaman.If the team attacks her for some unknown reason, they may beable to take her, but their days arenumbered. Try to head off thesituation before It comes to pass.


21/62

OLD DOG, NEW TRIXTRIXY

Trixy, which 15the only name she goes by, grew up Inwhat15now the Redmond Barrens of Seattle. She has l ived In thesame building for 60 years. becoming almost a neighborhoodRxture. Trixy 15an ex-fortune teller. She stili maintains a smallshop Inthe front of her apartment. but more out of habit than theprospect of a client. Trixy 15 a well-loved. well-respectedmember of her community, though few suspect the power shewields. She would never complain about the hard li fe she hasled, but It has reduced her Essence and Magic Attributes to 4.Atatbutes

Body: 2Quickness: tStrength: tCharisma: 5Intelllgence: 6Wil lpower: 5Essence: 4MagIc: 4Reaction: 3

SkUIs

c Unconsdous.Further d a m a . s . - ecause s ' W O U n d s

5criouoly >'NaYnded. Ser10usly

fatigued.

Armed Combat: 3Biotech: 2Conjuring: 7Etiquette (Street): 6MagIcal Theory, 6Psychology: 2Sorcery: 6

DlcePoolsAstral : 16Defense (Armed): 3Defense (Unarmed): 1Dodge: 1Magic: 6

Gear

Modcraidy >-Wounded.

I I y >Woonded.

Dodge ScootLIned Coat (4/2)Medidne lodge Materials (8)Ordinary ClothingOrlchalcum Knlre (3)Reusable Fetishes for all SpellsRitual Sorcery Materials: Detection (6)Ritual Sorcery Materials: Health (6)Trauma Patches (2)

TotemDog

SpellsCombat:

Mana Ball: 6Power Dart: 5Sleep: 8

DetectIonAnalyze Truth: 6Clairvoyance: 8Detect Enemies: 6Mind Probe: 8

HealthAntidote Severe Toxin: 4Heal Moderate Wounds: 5Heal Severe Wounds: 4

ManJpulattonHibernate: 5levi tate Person: 5

BOTTllD DEMON 21


22/62

T EL L IT TO T HEM STR AIG HTYou are walking down the street, head low, eyes on your

shoes. You don't want any more trouble than you've alreadygot. Squatters and wage slaves dodge aside asyou clear a pathamong the rabble of society.

Suddenly you hear the screeching of nres and the slam-ming of heavy car doors. You know what that means beforeeven bothering to tum around. lone Star has caught up withyou. Turning swiftly, you see several armed street cops In al ltheir glory. A single leader, probably an off lcer, hangs slightlyback, shouting and pointing at you. The cops draw their clubsand begin to advance. Squatters clear a circle around you. Itlooks asthough you have Justbecome the evening's entertain-ment.B EH IN D THE S CE NE S

This chapter ts for all the tlmes the runners meet the longarm of the law. That could occur at any point during theadventure when the gamemaster decides the player charactershave not kept out of sight enough or have been dumb enoughto commit some other blunder that would attract the attentionof lone Star.

The actual encounter will occur wherever appropriate,whether as a result of a player-character error or throughrandom chance. In cases where lone Star arrived because of atip, or In circumstances where they have ample tlme to call Inreinforcements, the troopers show up In either multiple patrolcarsor a single Cltymaster. There are two street cops per runnerpresent, and a single Lieutenant for every four or so troopers.

The cops always advance cautIously In the beginnIng,attempting to Judge the runners' Intent. I f present, the Lieuten-ant will do all the talking. If the team puts up a fight, the copsrespond with equal force. If the runners pull guns, the cops firstdive for cover and then pull their own weapons. The runnersshould realize that lone Star has enough assets to field what Iseffectively a small mil itary unit, should they perceive the threatto be significant enough. If the runners keep the combat simple,the cops will use only their clubs.

I f, however, any Lone Star trooper was seriously Injured orkil led Inthe Black'sJunkYard fight, Lone Starwil l take off the kidgloves and assume that the runners are always armed, danger-ous, and homicidal.

If the team tries to run, one cop drIver per car and theLieutenant wi ll retum to the vehicles and give chase. Theremainder of the cops will chase on foot. The team can surrenderto lone Star If they want. If they do, the squatters observing thefray wilt ridicule them, and the word will soon get around thatthe big, tough runners folded when push came to shove.

Z2 BOmlD DEMON

If the team lsever captured, they will be locked up and sentdowntown. The pollee wil l confiscate all their armor, weapons,gadgets, the Idol, and so on, leavIng them to cool their Jets Inthe lock -up. What happens next Is up to the gamemaster. If theteam has been doing well, glve them a break. Otherwlse, thegamemaster can squash them like bugs. A heavy fine and theloss of some, or all , of their gear should be pretty standard. Ofcourse, If the player characters killed somebody, that Is aanother story.

Grlsslm wants to Jearnthe truth about their connections toBloodwlng and so wil l Interrogate the runners, as Indicated InJunk Yard Dop, p.13. If convinced of their relative Innocence,the Captain might be willing to cut a deal with them to getBloodwlng. Of course, there ls stili the problem of the Idol. ..DEBUGGING

Though this Isa combat encounter, do not Jet the team getout of hand. Fly[ng bullets and grenades will quickly take outmore bystanders than officers, bringing down more heat thanthe team can hope to fend off. Make sure the players know theyare trying to get away. Ifqulck enough, they may be able to givethe cops the slip.

Lone Star Country should only be used to keep the heat onthe runners. Make them sweat, make them worry, but don'tmake them dead.


23/62

LONE STAR COUNTRYLONE STAR LlEUTE.NANT

The Lieutenant Is a veteran of the streets. He is usuallycal led In when the action gets a little rougher. He provides thebackup and braIns to assist in the collar of dangerous felons.

The Lieutenant wants to keep the innocents safe and to putthe baddies behind bars. He Isfirm and decisive and will alwaystake that kind of action as the situation develops. [fhe errs, It Ison the side of caution or safety.Attributes SkIlls

Body: 5 Anned Combat: 5Quickness: 5 Car: 4Strength: 4 Etiquette (Street): 4Charlsma: 4 Fireanns: 5Intelligence: 5 Negotiation: 3Willpower: 4 Unanned Combat: 4Essence:4.95 Spe~ SkillReaction: 5 Police Procedure: 5Dice PoolsDefense (Armed). 5Defense (Unarmed): 4Dodge: 5

CyberwareCybereyes with low-Light and CameraRadioGear)Ares Predator [10 (dip), 2 extra clips, laser Sight, 4M2]Armor Vest with Plating (4/3)MedkitMicro-recorderPlastic RestraintsStun Baton (+ 1 Reach,512 Stun + Special)Trauma Patch (4)

LONE STAR STREET COPSFor a more complete description of the Lone Star Street

Cop. see Junk Yard Dogs. page 15.I QS C I WEMRAnnor4 4 5 2 3 3 6 3 6/4

Dice Pools: Defense (Armed) 4. Defense (Unarmed) 3. Dodge4SkIlls: Armed Combat 4, EtIquette (Street) 3. Firearms 3,Unarmed Combat 3

Spedal Skill: Police Procedure 4Gear: Ares Predator I0 (dip), 2 extra clips, 4M2], Armor Jacket(5/3), Earplug Radio Helmet (1/1), Low-Light Goggles, StunBaton (+ t Reach, 5L2 Stun +Speclal),

- - " 1 1 ' - - - ~ I " I ' - " - ~ I " " " " " ' I ' - -...._._== ~- = : : . . . . ~ - ~ . . . . . . . . . ' : : : ' ! : : : : . .=.,' .= ~.. ~ ~ ..= ~ .


24/62

TELL IT TO TH EM STR AIGH TThe nIght aIr Is chill. but no colder than the stares your so-

called frlends have been giving you. Fortunately, you seem tohave given the cops the shake for the time being. The sidewalkIs nearly empty. so It's easy to get by with little hassle. It's alsoeasy for you to spot someone out of place.B EH IN D TH E SC EN ES

Have each runner make an Unopposed Etiquette (Street)(4) Testto notice the Chlldren of Sophocles making theIr move.

C HIL DR EN O J S OP HO CL ESSuccesseso ResultYou notice a man walking toward you.

He seems to be observIng your group,but will not look anyone in the eye. Youcan see his left hand. but his right Isconcealed beneath his poncho. As youget closer, heslows hIs pace. (Thechar-acter Is surprised.)You hear the clatter of running feet frombehind you. Turning to look. you see awoman step behind a parked jackrab-bit. partial ly disappearing from sight.(The character Is surprised.)A man in front of you stops short, aboutfive meters away. He stands stili. onehand hidden under his poncho, asthough waiting for something to hap-pen. (Thecharacter is not surprlsed.)Across the street, you see a man whohas been leanIng casually against a walluntlJ now. He looks around. then beginsmoving his hands in preparation forcasting what you assume to be a spell.(Thecharacter is not surprised and maybehave normally.)

The Children's pian Is simple. They will trap the teamagainst the row of buildings on the far sIde of the street andlaunch spells at the pinned runners. To keep the team fromescaping. two of the Children will cover the left and right endsof the sidewalk, respectively. The remaining two will attack withtheir most powerful weapons or spells.

As they attack. Caw Caw and the Children curse the runnersloudly for the deaths ofTopal and Templeman. This should cluethe runners to the fact that the Children are not really theIrenemies. but are simply misinformed. In fact, if the runners canforestall combat, they may learn valuable information andperhaps even obtain future aid from the Children of Sophocles.

Unfortunately for the Children, they are not really fighters.Though filled with righteous anger over the death of theIrfriends. they do not have the combat skills to back up theirattack. If the team puts up any resIstance, the Children will haveto back down. Ifone Children of Sophocles member is kil led ortwo mem bersare incapacitated, the fight isover. The others willsurrender, throwing their weapons to the ground.

1-2

3-4

5+

The team has dIscovered the Children of Sophocles, orrather. the Children have dIscovered the team. FrlendsofTopal.these armchair mages and shaman are out to take revenge onthe runners for the murder of their leader and possibly for thedeath of Simon Templeman, Under the leadership of Caw Caw.a Raven shaman, thIs group has been collecting information onthe team. BelievIng the rumors spread by Bloodwing, theChildren have finally tracked down the team.

24 BOTILEDDEMON


25/62

CHILDREN IN THE STREETSAssuming the runners win the Hght, they can talk to the

Children members to their heart's content. These pseudo-scholars are truly out of touch with the realworld. Depending onhow things go, this could be an opportunity to connect therunners with Trixy (seeOld Dog, New Trix. p. 19).The Childrenknow nothing of the Idol becauseTopaI,ln his lust for power, didnot tell his friends of his wondrous discovery. All TopaJ toldthem was that Simon Templeman was dead. And nowTopaJ Is,too. Knowing nothing of the Idol, they wil l be as Intrigued by Itas were Topal and Templeman.

This may be the first time the runners hear of SimonTempleman. The Children can tell them that Templeman was afellow scholar, a researcher recently retumed from a prolongedarchaeological/anthropological expedition through the SouthPacific. They did not know he was back, however, until TopalInformed them that their friend Simon was dead. They believehis death was due to natural causes, though It Is perplexing

The outcome of this encounter Is solely In the runners'hands. If they're running so paranoid that they cannot stop toanaJyze why and wherefore events are transpiring this way, thenso be I t. Odds arethe runners will be able to handle the ChildrenofSophocles team with l ittle or no dlfflculty, but that Is not thepoint. If they are paying attention, they should not have to dealwith them In any other manner beyond conversation.

because he had been In perfect health before his South PadRetrip.

To connect the runners to Trixy, have one of the oi lldrensay that he knows Trixy and that she has recently been askingaround about a small obJectcarved from red stone. That Isall theChildren member knows, but hecan direct the runners to Trixy'sIf they ask.DEBUGGING

TYPICAL AMBUSH SITEPlrl(C ChrlrrlUcr'i A'i Needed.. t meter

BOITLED DEMON 25


26/62

CHILDREN IN THE STREETSCHILDREN Of SOPHOCLESCAW CAW

Caw Caw Iscadaverously thin. All bones and skin, he leadsthe other members of the Chlldren of Sophocles with eloquent,Impassioned speeches. Hewas closest to Tapal, and so Itwill bethe hardest to persuade him of the team's Innocence. Arrogantbut not stupid, he believes that attacking the runners was theright thing to do.

Like all other Raven shaman, Caw Caw eats constantly, butfood prepared only by the flnest chefs In the city. His speakingvoice Isremarkable. Every word Isuttered for maximum effect.He ca n easi ly sway crowds with his commanding voice.Attrtbutes

B o d y : 3Quickness: 3Strength: 2 CONDlllON MONJrORCharisma: 2Intelligence: 4Willpower: 2Essence:6Magic: 6ReactIon: 3SkIllsConjuring: 4Etiquette (Street): 3Firearms: 2leadership: 2Magical Theory. 6Negotiation: 3SorceI)': 3

Dice PoolsAstral : 13Del'ense (Armed): 1Defense (Unarmed): 1Dodge: 3Magic: 3

Gear

M o d e l . . . . , . ,Woo ...... < _ . . . . , .' o t I J I " " '

Armor Vest (2/1)Browning Max-Power [8 (clip), 1 spare dip, 4M2]Chl)'Sler-Nissan JackrabbitReusable Detection FetishReusable Illusion FetishTres Chic OothingTotemRaven

SpeDsCombat:

Powerball: 5DetectIon:Analyze Device: 4Illusion:

Chaotic World: 4Entertainment: 3ManIpulation:Control Emotion: 3

26 BOnLID DIMON


27/62

CHILDREN IN THE STREETSGUNDE RS ON G RE Y KNIF E

Half Amerindian, Grey Knife Is a hermetic mage who IsInterested In cause and effect, Analytical almost toa fault, he hasan extreme disl ike for coincidence. He diligently searches forthe causes behind magic.AUrilJutes

8ody:3QUickness: 4Strength: 3CharIsma: 2Intelligence: 4Willpower: 4Essence: 6MagIc: 6Reaction: 4

SkDI5Armed Combat: 4ConJuring: 4Etiquette (Street): 4fireanns: 3Maglcal Theory: 6Sorcery: 7

DkePooisAstral: 17Defense (Armed): 4~nse(Unarmed): 1Dodge: 4Maglc:6

GearArmor Poncho (as Lined Coat, 4/2)EnHeld AS7 Shotgun [10 (dip), 4M3]Expendable Combat Fetishes (2)Knife (Ill)

5pe.Combat:Mana Bolt: 4Manipulation:

Armor: 6Magic fingers: 4

CONDmON MONITORMINTAL PHYSICAL

Unconscious.> < Unconscious.PossIbly dead Further damagecauses wounds.

Seriously> < ModeratelyWounded. fatigued.

BOTILED DEMON 27


28/62

CHILDREN IN THE STREETSOR ION YO S SA R IA N

When lt comes to street fighting, Yossarlan Is probably themost experIenced of the Children, havIng done a stInt as amagIcal bodyguard for an underworld crIme figure some yearsago. He ls stili not [n a class anywhere near that of the runners,however.AttrIbtfts

Body: 3Quickness: 3Strength: 3Charisma: 4Intelligence: 5Wil lpower: 4Essence: 6MagiC: 6Reaction: 4

SIdUsCar: 4Conjuring: 6Etiquette (Street): 4Fireanns: 4Magical Theory: 4Sorcery: 6

Dice PoolsAstral: 17Defense (Armed). 1Defense (Unanned): IDodge: 3Magic: 6

GearAres Siivergun [30 (dip). Laser Sight. 2M3]Annor Jacket (5{3)Power Focus (3)

SpellsCom~

Power Bolt: 4Detedion:Detect Enemies: 4Wuslon:Mask: 3

~lpulatlon:Hibernate: 3Levitate Item: 4

CONDmON MONITORM ENTAL PH YSICAL

Unconscious.> < Unconsdous.Possibly dead Further damagecauses wounds.

Seriously> < SeriouslyWounded. Fatigued.

Moderately> < ModeratelyWounded. Fatigued.

Lightly > < LightlyWounded. Fatigued.

18 BOTIUD DEMON


29/62

CHILDREN IN THE STREETSAIWYNCALEH

A female Elf, Caleh was known as Adrtan until puberty,when she changed her name "to better reHect her Elvenherttage. ~She has l ived al l her li fe In Seattle.

Having Joined the Children only recently, she has lessof anemotional connection with Templeman and Topal, and so maybe more willing to l isten to the runners' story.AtCrtbutes

Body: 3Quickness: 5Strength: 2Charisma: 6Intelligence: 6WIllpower: 4Essence: 6Mag!c:6Reaction: 5

SkUlsConjuring: 5Etlquette (Street): 4Firearms: 3Magical Theory: 3Sorcery: 6Unanned Combat: 5

Dice PoolsAstral : 18Defense (Anned): 1Defense (Unanned): 4Dodge: 5Magic: 6

Gearlined Coat (4/2)Reusable Detection FetishReusable Healing FetlshRuger Super Warhawk [6 (cyl), Laser Sights. 4M2]Smoke GrenadeThennographic Goggles

peDsDetedIon:

Analyze Truth: 4Detect life: 4

Health:Heal Moderate Wounds: 4Heal Severe Wounds: .5

M.ullpuWlon:Poltergeist: 4

CONDmON MONrrORM ENTAL PHYS ICAL

Unconscious.>PossIbly dead Unconscious.Fu~rdamagecauses wounds.

Sertously >Wounded. < SeriouslyFatigued.

. Moderately >Wounded. Wounded. < LightlyFatigued.

BOTILEDDEMON 29


30/62

TELL IT TO TH EM STR AIG HTThe contrast of going from the Redmond Barrens to this part

ofTacomalsasabruptasnlghtsuddenlytumlnglntoday. Withinmere kilometers, excessive poverty gives way to materialexcess. Here, just north of the docks on the shore of LakeWashington, sits the gleaming black and sliver metal of theLachlann Center.

Approaching the building, you see no sign of guards.Nothing prevents you from entering the posh lobby of theLachlann Center. It has been decorated to the hilt. Glass,marble,and real plants abound. A waterfall cascades from the third-flooratrium Into a small pool to your left. Around you, wage slavesand corporate types stare at your rather unusual clothes. It'sobvious they don't get many like you through the front door.

Across the lobby Is a small reception desk. A sign on thefront says "Information." You cross the room and greet thedutifully cheerful woman behind the plexlglass screen. She Isall

o .1S-.s lOCHlANN ROOF30 8OTTI.m DEMON

smiles, but nearly passes out when you as k to see Geyswaln.Ashen-faced, she calls upstairs. Vou cannot hear the conversa-tion, but the result Isplain enough. The woman gestures you toan elevator that Is almost hidden by the extensive foliage nearthe back wall. A single securi ty man guards It.

As you amble over, the guard presses his hand to his earand mumbles Into his collar. By the time you reach him, theelevator door Isopen. The car's Interior Ispaneled Inteak wood,anexpense that would be criminal were Itnot sobeautiful. Onceyou are Inside, the guard reaches In to press an unmarkedbutton, then steps back quickly asthe elevator door doses. Youfeel a rising sensation as the car speeds to the upper reaches ofthe building. The trip Is brief, with no Indication of how manylevels you've ascended, but a good guess Is that this Is the topfloor.Ha teMI IIIeIIlber scouts astrAlly;

You're expecting resistance, some line of defense, but youfind nothing. The building and the grounds around It are Inert.DartIng through the lower floors, you see plenty of late-nightwage slaves, even a few security guards, but no sign of magtc.You travel upward.

More building. More offices. Nothing. Finally, the topfloors.

It's l ike entering another world. The upper three floors ofthe Lachlann Center have apparently been converted Into asingle open area, landscaped to resemble what you figure mustbe desert. You gaze around, absorbing the scene, when youheara small cough from behind you. Turning slowly, you see theDragon.

"Well, don't Just hover there!" he says. "Go back to yourbody and then bring the rest of your friends up. I haven't gotforever, you knowl"Entering Geysw .... s lair:

When the door opens, the stinging smell of camphorassaults your senses. Your first breath Isalso a surprise asyousuck Inhot, dry air, Stepping out of the elevator. you see thatthlsIsan eco-center, an area designed to mimic a natural environ-ment. Geyswaln seems to like his lair hot and dry. Vou begin toperspire as the hot air wicks the moisture from your body,

The room Itself Is cavernous. Easily encompassing 2,000square meters, It Is as though you'd stepped Into the MojaveDesert, Sandstone boulders are scattered about and full-sizedflowering cactus provide color, If there are any windows, therock outcropplngs lining the walls hide them from view. Youcontinue further Into the room, feeling the hard-packed sandcrunch beneath your feet, The elevator door doses behind you."Good aftemoon, Humans. I am Geyswaln. - From behinda rock outcropping steps your host, a creature easily 20 meters


31/62

PENTHOUSE SUIT[long from snout to hind legs and with a tall of equal length.Spines ring his head and line the ridge of his back. His brown andred-scaled skin Is covered with dark red plates. Approachingyour group, he steps over several cacti, placing every foot withasmuch care as speed. As the Dragon walks, his tongue dartsback and forth and hIs head weaves from side to side. Withinseconds, he has crossed the room and Is standing before you,his head a full two meters above yours. "Now. Humans. what IsIt you want to discuss?"B EH IN D T HE SC EN ES

Before they can ascend to the Penthouse, the runners mustleave their heavier weapons at the front desk. They can keepheavy pistols and anything lighter.

Upstairs, Geyswaln listens carefully asthe team makes theirpitch. He has never seen. nor sensed, anything like the idol , butis familiar with occurrences of such phenomena. For him toexamine It properly, It must be removed from the caseand the

I.ntranuTo Roof

maglcal barrier within. The Dragon will not handle the Idoldirectly, but uses levitate Item to bring It up to his eye level. Hestares at Itfor a few moments, eyes slowly dosing to slits. Whendone. he returns the object to

bottled demon

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