I am, but don't worry about rushing things - take the time you need. Also, I'll start posting for the Dustmarket section in the alt RP thread, so the others will be able to continue in the main one.

Not clear in my head, with talk of Alleys and Plazas and such: does Upper Conroy consist of free-standing buildings built in some kind of huge underground enclosure/cavern, or is it more like a huge shopping mall kind of thing (i.e. a series of connected but enclosed corridors, ramps and rooms)

Each layer of Port Conroy (with the exception of the Surface) is a city contained in an underground cavern, with a variety of access routes between each, whether that be elevators, air vents, passageways, or some other connection. There are free-standing buildings, streets, and the like, but everything is contained within the cavern.

Ah, OK. Clearer now...

To complete the picture, is it all one span, or are there huge structural columns all over the place? One giant central one maybe?

Is it all bright-lit from lamps fixed on the ceiling above (or was at some point anyway), or more of an underlit vibe with lights at building level but nothing but opaque, night-dark 'sky' above, with just the occassional shadow of ceiling rocks? Something else?

I think by necessity there would need to be some kind of support structure, possibly disguised as skyscrapers in Lower, more obvious in Upper. It's definitely more of an underlit vibe. Lights are at street level, the roof of the cavern is dark, and there's an almost oppressive atmosphere of disrepair. Think an old and broken down Night City with a sepia filter and a constant layer of dust and grime, and you wouldn't be too far off.

For reference, here's the example art for the Dustmarket from the module.

Oh nice!

Thanks for that. That helps a lot

Ack, my brain isn't doing so hot this week and we lost power for a while the other day, once my course is over for the day I'll get a post in.

I'm not sure when/if I should roll any skill triggers as part of this scene.  If it's called for I'm leaning towards Get a Hold of Something, but depending on how things go it might become Investigate.

No skill checks needed yet. Some may be needed a bit later depending on how you handle things in this scene, but I'll call them out for the group when/if they come up.

In reply to Gertrude Grace (msg # 735):

Yeah, those kind of days happen to me sometimes as well :)

Hang in there and get back to us when you can <thumbs up>

Small question while we have the time:


I'm guessing the spire is some sort of mixed control tower/spaceport terminal? And/or the base of a space elevator connecting to those ring factories maybe?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:41, Mon 08 Apr.

It is the control center for the spaceport and the headquarters of the PCPA.

Nothing like losing power for most of the weekend to help drag down a mood -.-  We've got a generator, but it does limit what I can do since it's only a relatively small portion of the house that has access to power then.

Anyway, I'm just going to gather my thoughts, do my best to catch up, and hope this is the end of the procession of nonsense that's trying to stop me from getting a good rhythm going here.

No worries, Life^TM happens. Post when you can.

Updated the first part of Alt RP thread #37 so it feels a little more complete :

Are there any visible security measures at the printshop?  Automated defenses or obvious armaments?  I'm sure the Port Conroy officials would have to ensure that their only local printshop wasn't something a band of desperadoes might take control of and start printing war machines in the middle of the city.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:19, Tue 09 Apr.

There isn't anything obvious, but it would be safe to assume that some kind of security system would be present, even if it is something basic.

What exactly is known about homonculi?  Are they similar to an NHP?  Or a robot programmed with the personality traits of a person?  Can they learn and adapt?  Transfer their consciousness/program between robot bodies?  Can they be hacked and reprogrammed or forced to perform certain actions?

Think of homonculi as kinda like a more sophisticated AI chatbot. It can talk with you and provide answers and information based on what its persona "knows," but at the end of the day it's a lot like a Comp-Con with the "skin" of a specific individual.

From the core book:



In Creighton's case, this homunculus is a recreation of the original Horton Creighton. It's more advanced than your average comp/con, and it is an adequate facsimile of the original, but it still has blind spots and areas it can't really cover in its programming. They can't really learn like a NHP could, nor could it adapt to entirely new settings. It could transfer its system to a different body, and it could absolutely be hacked or otherwise interfered with.

In Creighton's case, while he knows a lot about printing, business, and selling IPS-N products, you couldn't drop him into a science team and expect him to learn how to do neuroscience.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:54, Wed 10 Apr.

I don't think the Creighton Homonculus is in on the kidnapping, but it seems very likely he wouldn't know his machines were hacked.  Or even realize he was manipulated himself.

Does it look like we might be able to give Sunder and Gertrude a chance to poke around with their own hacking skills on the sly (don't know what skill triggers Gertrude has) while I keep him occupied?   To try and find a hacker's footprint or calling card in the shop's system.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:40, Wed 10 Apr.

Yes, you are able to try to hack into the shop's systems (or even into Creighton himself) in order to try to figure out what is going on. Doing so will require a Skill Check. Sunder and Gertrude's Hack and Fix Triggers would be applicable if they choose to make it.

I was wondering, GM:

RT and myself have still got a market to canvas, unlike the others who were sent to a single business, so I was wondering if we could maybe take some kind of skill check to save time on looking for any other info or trying to find other sources that back up what Mort's given us?

Seems like we're probably headed towards reuniting with the rest of the party (?), but I don't think we'd just take the word of the first person we spoke to as gospel when dealing with a place like the Dustmarket.

I was thinking the same: a quick summary of what more they found, if anything, going around the other shops after we finish the current talks?

Other possible subjects in addition to those we broached with Mort:

• History of the MS? (how they came to power, where they got their mechs, what's their main income sources?)
• History of Magenta Red? (What is SHE like, what drives her, what are her hobbies/passions/obsessions?)
• Do they have rivals/competitor gangs in the underworld business right now? If so who?
• Any other figure of note in the Port Conroy underworld we might be well served to know about?

This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Tue 16 Apr.

I'm also curious whether you could find out what kind of relationship this crime syndicate has with IPS-N; since the corporation is supposed to run the show around here.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:35, Tue 16 Apr.