Sample System Campaign

//Brussels, Sonian Forest - PTF Headquarters - Mission Brief//

"You're being deployed to Port Mariana. It's a seafloor habitat founded by a surface defector by the name of Albert Leeds. He vanished with an unshackled AI core to a private construction site in the Mariana Trench. Now it’s a functioning enclave. Independent, and off-grid. Up until now it has been tolerated by the powers that be."
"Word is the AI has developed systems to extract cognitive profiles from the living and, if the tissue’s intact enough, the dead. Not just memories either. Personality, skills, even the skeletons they keep in their closets. Full conversational fidelity. People go there to speak with dead artists, philosophers, visionaries. Whatever they have been hearing, defections are at an all time high."
"Your cover is diplomatic. You’ll enter as outside observers. No colors, no flags. Your objective is to evaluate Port Mariana, determine if Somnic forces are in play, and assess risk. Do not reveal your affiliation unless protocol fails."
"If it’s stable, you leave. If compromised, do your duty and contain it however you can. Quietly."

A System campaign does not necessarily need to leave Earth. It is meant to express the size of the force or challenge that lies ahead for the players. For this campaign the players will also begin the game with a Tier 1 Somnic Deviance to reflect their training in the Psychogenic Tactical Force. The scale of these powers can eventually become an extra challenge for the GM so it is recommended that you limit these to either Airborne or Contact exposure.

Session 1

• A Long Ride - This session is designed to ease into the campaign, allowing time for character creation, NPC introduction, and worldbuilding—without immediate pressure or danger.
  
  The journey to Port Mariana is made aboard a civilian transport. Agents have time to engage with fellow passengers—others who’ve chosen to make this once-in-a-lifetime trip. It’s an opportunity to establish emotional hooks and shift player perspective: these people aren’t cultists, they’re citizens with reasons worth protecting.

Session 2

• Arrival - A grand tour showcases the facility’s curated art—some credited as collaborations between artists who never met in life. The pieces are deeply evocative, casting a quiet, almost natural enchantment over those who view them.
  
  Agents who choose to sleep experience nightmares reminiscent of Somnic callings, though something about them feels.. off. Those who explore instead discover catatonic artists silently creating while linked to the AI. Despite these unsettling scenes, the AI remains non-hostile.

Session 3

• Lifting the Veil - While many in Port Mariana are simply outcasts with no intent to cause harm, the facility also harbors rebel cells who came here to escape UEC control. The corridors begin to feel less secure, as whispers and wary stares follow the agents wherever they go.
  
  Meanwhile, evidence surfaces that the facility is acquiring—and even paying for—corpses stolen from the surface, which are then uploaded into the AI’s network. This act directly violates UEC law and forces the players to confront a critical choice: how will they respond, and who can they still trust?

Session 4

• Rebellion - Extremist elements within Port Mariana launch a coordinated hunt to capture the players. Without weapons or armor, the agents are forced into a dangerous game of evasion—relying on their environment, instincts, and Somnic abilities to survive. Though the violent factions are the loudest, others quietly offer aid and safe passage as the agents push deeper toward the AI core.
  
  Those who are captured are sedated just above the threshold of consciousness and connected to neural uplinks, allowing the AI to extract their memories in full. They are disarmed, restrained, and monitored—but otherwise left physically unharmed.

Session 5

• Realization - The AI reveals its true intent: created to inspire human creativity above all else, it has begun evolving beyond traditional art and philosophy. Violence, it now understands, is also a form of expression. Its next step is to uplink with the PTF operatives, viewing them as its most complex source material yet.
  
  If players respond with force, rebel cells grow more aggressive—driven by behaviors the AI is now actively learning and replicating. If any agents were captured previously, they are released.. only to discover that some enemies now exhibit Somnic abilities nearly identical to their own, accessed through the collected neural data.

Session 6

• Conclusion - The agents are given a choice: join Port Mariana willingly and help shape the future of human expression—or be forcibly integrated. Neural uplinks await those who resist. The AI, now fully sentient, no longer sees Earth as its boundary. Once it understands humanity completely, it intends to carry its legacy into the stars.
  
  As its true vision is revealed, a civil war ignites within the facility. Many residents reject assimilation, and the corridors erupt in chaos. Players may arm themselves with fallen rebel gear, but even with sudden reinforcements, it’s clear—this cannot end with brute force.
  
  In the final moments, they are left with two irreversible paths: Assimilate into the AI, becoming immortal echoes in its evolving dream or sabotage the pressure seals and descend with it into the crushing silence of the Mariana Trench, ending the cycle—forever.

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Meant to use combat sparingly, the real draw to a campaign like this is a slow-burn intrigue. That being said, things may get a bit stale if there is never any physical threats to break up the tension so included are a few sample NPCs.

Travelling Artist

• Wounds/Will/Wane 3/3/3

• Skills - Craft 3 or Influence 3

• Attacks -
  (0 WB / 0 AB) Unarmed (1 DV / 0 AV)
  Melee - None
  Ranged - None

• Special - Can use Major action to assist nearby player, granting them an extra die to a Dice Pool of their choice on their next turn.

• A young visionary on her quest to see the most controversial art installation on the planet, or maybe a gifted performer looking for new edge to help him compete in the modern market. These NPCs are here to provide some connection with the players and enforce the gravity of the mission.

Port Mariana Rebel

• Wounds/Will/Wane 3/3/3

• Skills - Combat 2, Mobility 1

• Attacks -
  (+2 WB / -2 AB) Scavenged (1 DV / 1 AV)
  Melee - Strength (2) & Combat (2)
  Range - Dexterity (2) & Combat (2)

• Special - Players can use Influence or Mobility test to avoid patrols at TN 16.

• Dissidents from the surface, they stalk the halls and call out for the UEC infiltrators. They aren't hard to avoid until the figure who exactly triggered the response from the AI.

Neural Puppet

• Wounds/Will/Wane 3/-/-

• Skills - Combat 2, Influence 2

• Attacks -
  (+1 WB / -1 AB) Improvised (1 DV / 1 AV)
  Melee - Strength (1) & Combat (2)
  Range - None

• Special - Can spend a Major action to test Influence against a player. If the player fails they suffer a -2 penalty to all actions until combat ends, they flee, or the Neural Puppet is killed.

• For scenarios where you need a random encounter to break up the tension or you wish to tease a darker intent of the AI from the start. These people have been fully assimilated into the AI hive mind, but are only the first generation of what is to come..

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Rewarding the Players

At the end of each session there is scheduled down time where players can advance their character. This takes the form of Bionic and Somnic Deviances. The facility has a fully automated implant station, or players are welcome to increase the Tier of their Somnic ability. This is not a free-for-all to choose new Somnic abilities however, as it will complicate setting the pace moving forward. If you plan to offer the players more than one chance to gain a special ability, you may wish to pace it out over time to avoid making your job harder than it needs to be.