Telling Laès
General Summary
The Sons of Sauron stole a truck full of laès from Magwyn and she wants it back. The runners met with the cell leader, Gorbag and negotiated an alliance between the Sons and the Laèsa.
Highlights
The troll Gorbag is one of the Chief Commanders of the Seattle Sons of Sauron. His cell was set up in the basement of The Filthy Dragon bar in Auburn .. Lindsay Maibee was outside the Filthy Dragon trying to register locals to vote. Haxton told her to get lost. Haxton and Vola talked their way through the front (using the password "shadow and flame" in or'zet) while Squid, Mina and Bass flanked them through the back entrance in .The Ork Underground Chucky is a ghoul street doc that operates out of the basement of the Filthy Dragon and is a staunch supporter of the Sons. He was found operating on an unconscious stormtrooper in full garb. Gorbag introduced the patient as "Dr. Dudley."Humanis Team B quietly neutralized their rigger, Shagrat and began stealing the laès back. Haxton worked out a deal for Gorbag to return the laès in exchange for meeting with Magwyn to come to a mutual arrangement. Back at the The Daisy Chain, Magwyn Lhenesael met with Gorbag and agreed to work together with the Sons of Sauron and let them keep half of the laès for their plan. As Gorbag detailed his plan to Magwyn, the runners were horrified to learn what they'd just become a party to.Unearthed Secrets
- The Sons had stolen the laès to wipe the mind of the Humanis-loyal Dr Dudley and then use a persona chip to program him to poison his patients. This would harm Humanis' reputation among racists in Seattle.
- Dr. Dudley was previously responsible for the deaths of many goblinoids by faking a VITAS outbreak in Redmond and then poisoning those looking for a vaccine. (previously mentioned in when the runners uncovered this info on Humanis data servers).Soul Steelers
- The SOS vengeance plot is also politically motivated. They hoped that a Humanis serial killer would not only kill likely Brackhaven voters and Humanis supporters, but shake their faith in their chosen candidate.
- The leader of the Seattle SOS chapter is a secretive figure named . Balrog has kept the Sons' operations secretive but devastating using the strategy of "Shadow and Flame."Balrog
Rewards Granted
3 Karma
4,000¥
4,000¥
Character(s) interacted with
- Magwyn Lhenesael (Fixer)
- Gorbag
- Chucky
- Lindsay Maibee
- Rook & Bishop
Notes
Working out an alliance with between two of the most cruel criminal organizations in Seattle might be considered a "bad ending." On the plus side, having friends among the villains can be very useful when you may need to call in a favor later, or ask them not to do something villainous. Here's a few tips to avoid this happening in future games.
As the GM, I will not just spoon feed you solutions or secrets that you haven't learned. Try as I might, I wasn't able to point the players at the deeper plot. If the GM asks you (repeatedly) if you want to buy an Insight, it probably means that you missed something crucial or I realize that you may be lost. I recommend you take it. Technically, I'm supposed to charge you 2 karma for a missed Insight, but I try not to be that harsh.
Insight is good if you are stumped or think you might need a nudge, but knowledge rolls are also very useful. Don't neglect them.
If something seems out of place or irrelevant to the plot, it's probably a clue to deeper layer of the plot. If something is just background flavor, I try to keep it quick and I will tell you that's what it is if asked.
Lindsay was present to provide valuable context of the larger political landscapeand to provide a clue that the Sons of Sauron's plans may be politically motivated. She would have elaborated further had Haxton not chosen to ignore her. As a side note, had combat broken out, she and the patrons of the Filthy Dragon would have been put in danger.
The Humanis stormtrooper was a clue that the Sons were not merely drug dealing. Asking Gorbag about him or examining his body more closely would have provided more information.
The computer that Team B gained access to had a number of documents that were tracking election polls, particularly in the Snohomish district.
Had the PCs discovered the political angle, the GM would have reminded Mina that she had stolen files that detailed chats between Humanis sympathizers way back in game 1. This could have been a useful bargaining chip.
While a moral debate with Gorbag was likely doomed to fail, it was possible to convince him that his plan was rubbish. It was full of holes that could cause it to fail or, worse, have the opposite outcome he had hoped for. The PCs could have dissuaded him from this action entirely, thereby making the stolen laès useless to him (he didn't much care for being a drug dealer and wouldn't see the lost income as a bad thing). Or they could have told him how to refine his plan to minimize the body count, or only go after specific targets.
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