GM: Michael R. Underwood
Players: Sophie Lagacé, Tom Lommel, Cris Viana, Sean Nittner
System: Let’s Go Steal an Ending: The Genrenauts RPG
Let’s Go Steal an Ending is a TTRPG Michael is designing based on their fiction series Genrenauts. You play as genre wardens that prevent genres for collapsing, colliding, or combusting, while also trying to move them to states of greater inclusion and empathy.
We decided to visit of world of Vigilante Crime and build characters for that purpose.
Pillars
Each genre world has pillars (positive and negative) that define the world (mechanically) and give the Genrenauts something to strive for (replacing negative pillars with positive ones). We started the game with two negative pillars:
- Stacked Deck – Law enforcement will never act against villains in this region. The team must overcome an additional 8-clock (reduced to 4-clock for a one-shot) “Immunity to Legal Consequences” before the villain can be vulnerable to civil or criminal prosecution.
- Panopticon – All gather information rolls suffer worse position (controlled becomes risky, risky becomes desperate). Resistance rolls related to discovery or exposure suffer -1d.
And one positive pillar:
- I Love it When A Plan Comes Together – The leader of a group action may push themselves to allow each character to roll an action of their choice. You may count 6s from different characters as a crit during a group action.
Our Genrenauts
- Vitória “Red” Oliveira, the Hitter. A Brazilian UFC fighter and self defense instructor. Played by Cris.
- Torvald Buechner, the Shadow. Junior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Chemistry. Played by Tom.
- Charanya “Cha Cha” Chamroon, the Dramaturge. Barista, bookstore clerk, street artist, and “gang” leader/mentor for the local underage troublemakers. Played by Sophie.
- Terri, the Fixer. Stage tech at the Orpheum Theater in SF, who is always late. Played by Sean.
Final Training Exam
We opened the game introducing our characters taking their final exam. This was inside training facilities so rather than plant explosives we had text alerts that something blew up, but the tensions were still high.
Our challenge was talking a vigilante down from going over the edge, when they were ready to go too far. The Justicar, played by by Sherin Terani, our training officer.
We started off with Red asking Terri. Is it time to take them out yet? No, we have to make them have a change of mind. Crawling through a vent on their way to the rooftop where the vigilante has the deadman switch. Red kicks open the room and we see the Justicar holding the switch. In an artificially low voice she says “I’ve heard every argument before. The only way you’re going to stop me is like this” and she makes a fist inviting Red to fight.
Meanwhile, Cut to Cha-Cha and Torvald are going protect the hostages. Cha-Cha sends Terri an image of the hostages looking sympathetic to use as emotional leverage. Torvald flashes back to compromising the bomb with sleeping gas that will take out the guards, while cha cha sneaks in to “choke out the guards” but before then everyone (including Cha-Chat) gets a text “You’ve bee knocked out”. Ah, Torvald you scamp.
Terri leads a group action to inspire the vigilante, and we soften her resolve, but the instructor tells us more aggressive action would be needed. One of you would have to sacrifice yourself to defeat the Justicar. Red says “This is not happening! Of course I will be the sacrifice!”
We all pass the test, but receive instructions on how we could have handled the situation better (e.g. fighting the vigilante while also making arguments why she should stop, etc). After that we’d normally form our group, but we skipped that part to fit the game in a single session.
Our Mission Beings
The real mission begins, the sirens go off (a bat signal).
Operator is Preeti. We got a breach alarm in Vigilante Crime. This is weird though. I got a message asking for help from Donnie (Silver Fox, grifter and con artist) asking for Terri (who made a good impression on him in a training session).
Location: Misty Shores in northern Chicago. Very big box stores, not a lot of local culture. A lot of people are commuters and take local role in.
We did some digging and got answers to these questions:
How has the breach manifested so far? – Donnie and Lex were just helping some organizers who were striking against the tech company they work for LSI. Owner is Lucius Thorn (bad reputation for mistreating workers). The picket line has been compromised and people are back at work. Something went wrong with negotiations. Cast:
- Union Organizer – Huey Dale (Late 20s white guy). Picture of him with Lucius Thorn handing over a USB key.
What member of the supporting cast is already involved?
- Donnie Kim tells us that they were tryin to slip a worm into his system to reveal that TSI had been hiring cops to rough up protesters. The USB key was supposed to have a new sales analytic tool that would show how to market to those demographics AND the worm, but it didn’t.
- Lex Zedan is a vigilante that works with Lex. Hacker criminal. Her mom worked with Donnie before she retired.
Arrival
We loaded up, entered the dimensional rocket, and arrived in a warehouse with a safehouse inside and two 4-door cars. Computers and gear abound!
Cha Cha and Terri go to talk to Donnie. Donnie invites us to their office, the public front for interfacing with clients and tells us that Thorn hasn’t budged and he’s been sending in off duty cops to break the picket line. This was a final attempt to get leverage on him.
If we can get anyone inside to retrieve the USB key. Or put a new one in the system (Lex gives Terri a copy of the worm on a new USB drive), we might still have a chance. They also told us about Anna Contrarus – Lead organizer on the picket line, who used to be Huey’s partner.
Cha Cha makes a crime board and connects all the information we have so far. We get video (and then sync it up with audio from anther feed) of Huey giving Thorn the USB key, Thorn promised that with the algorithm they would take over Amazons web-hosting market, and made an oblique threat to Huey and his sister and in the last minute Huey faltered and gave him a different drive…one without the worm!
On the picket line
Red and Torvald arrived to find tots of strikers with locally screened union shirts, signs, and a small tent with water and organizers. A group of off duty cops are looking menacing and trying to push the protesters out of the way so a car can come through.
Torvald asks for Anna and she comes off the line to talk to him. “Are you folks Donnie’s friends. Are you here to thrown hands with cops?”
Anna says they haven’t been able to get any media to cover this and she thinks Thorn is paying them off or intimidating them. “Our programmers aren’t really up for scuffling with cops, so if you can help that would be great. Also, if you see Huey Dale, I’d like to have words with him.”
Torvald told Anna we think Huey folded under pressure. It still felt like a huge betrayal to her because Huey and Anna started this organizing effort. “I had been trying to connect with him but I think that for Huey “us” is still just him and his sister.” She told Torvald Huey has been getting escorted into the building in one of these SUVs with some of his friends.
Torval asked for an ID card that to copy to get access inside the building. Dangerous but possible. Anna got them union t-shirts and caps to camouflage them in and Torvald made a copy… with even more access that the original key, but in that time the scuffle with the cops breaks out into a fight!
Red mades sure that someone is filming and she picks up a long folding table and uses it to push back the cops. [Desperate/Great effect…CRIT!] The scene gets very dramatic, this video is going to get viral, and others are going to come to help. Cops are knocked down. The rest of the crew are inspired and push back as well!
Engagement Roll
We’re going to sneak in using the cloned card.
Does this plan play into genre expectations? Yes. +1D
Does this plan undermine core assumptions of genre? No
Expose a weakness? Yes (key card) +1D
Are the strong against this? Normally yes, but earlier analyze averted this.
Are we bringing in one of the cast members to help? Lex is coming with us +1D
A notable point about that last question, the more “main character” energy we have in the mission, the more ripple we create, which eventually can turn positive pillars into negative ones. It’s important to keep the cast involved.
Engagement results: Controlled situation.
Meta level: We decide what a good ending would look like. Anna and Huey started with a disadvantage (Thorn controlled cops, media, and cut their hours) so we’d like to leave them in a stronger position and also maybe help them learn from Donnie and Lex to be a bit of vigilantes their own.
We enter through a worker’s entrance and look like LSI workers. Terri poses as a scab who is hired by LogiTemp to cover for the programmers. A janitor gives them direction to where Huey is working…but they don’t like us.
Lex only wants to yell at Huey, but Terri and Cha-Cha tell them to understand the pressures Huey was on. Lex says it’s hard to trust people when they have betrayed us. Terri say that if a community doesn’t take care of people when they fuck up, it’s not a community at all.
We entered the cubicles and overheard “Do you think we can get this done by Friday?”
“Better for all of us if we get this done soon and stay in Thorn’s good graces.” – Huey was respected by the other programmers, but when he saw us enter, particularly saw Lex enter, he turned even paler than normal and then said “you must be the temps” and leads us all to another area. Lex chastised him for failing them. Huey admits “I fucked up. I don’t have what it takes to be a hero.”
Cha Cha asked what he has over him and his sister Heather. Huey said Thorn controls everything. It was clear to us that Huey is really good at psyching myself out about how bad things can be. Cha-Cha challenged that his catastrophizing and that it might not be real. Terri helps by pointing out the opportunity to sneak in the worm to get into the production with the new deployment.
Cut away to Thorn on the phone with one of the guys organizing the off duty cops. Sgt O’Neil. “Someone cleaned the clocks of your guys, what are you doing?” “We didn’t see them coming, but my people don’t let these things go. We’re following up with your staff members emergency contacts.”
Cut back. Huey says “Let’s just do it now before I chicken out again.” He logs into with a guest account and uploads the worm. [2/4 ticks on the breaking Thorn’s hold]
Red and Cha-Cha went to HR dressed as maintenance crew with a cart and steal a computer (hidden in the cart) to access later and swap it with another PC. (Mixed result on Controlled/Standard)
Terri and Torvald head up to the second floor with no idea what to say if they get caught. The lighting is even more oppressive on the 2nd floor. Thorn has an executive assistant and his office is locked. Terri poses as a LogiTemp recruiter concerned that is concerned that the temps are complaining of a hostile workforce. She lures Jennifer away from her desk (and her keycard) but Terri is flustered (Level 1 Harm) as Jennifer (the executive assistant) vents about how terrible a job it is.
Torvald calls Jennifer’s phone to lure out Thorn. After the 8th ring he comes out, see’s Jennifer is not there and starts yelling for her. Terri tries to convince her to quit, but out of fear she slinks away [Failed Risky/Great Inspire roll. Plot twist to also cause Ripple].
Torvald sneaks into Thorns office while he yells. It has the “I’ve appropriated every culture” vibes (Katana, surf board, golf clubs). The chairs in front of his desk are lower quality and lower period than his chair. Torvald plants a bug and then sneaks out (with Terri’s help distracting Thorn). Thorn is busy checking his stocks while Torvald slips by.
Time Passes
With the keylogger and information from HR, Lex is able to get enough information to protect the families of workers and to prevent Thorn from using the cops to bully the strikers.
Terri tricks Huey into talking to Anna, let down some of his defenses (don’t just close off because you screwed up) and trusts Anna. She’s hurt but also wants to believe in him. They are left rebuilding he bridge of trusts.
Next day the picket line restored. Cops held at bay. Media shows up and scabs won’t cross the picket line.
Epilogue
- Cha-Cha. A subversive mural painted over the LSI logo.
- Red gives Torvald self defense lessons. Whether he wants them or not.
- Torvald says “I don’t need this” and lets off a smoke bomb.
- Terri connects with Jennifer, a beleaguered assistant (creates a new contact)
Fallout, Payoff, and Entanglement
Ripple, how much did we draw attention during the mission.
- Smooth and Quiet (2 Ripple )+ 2 for the plot twist: 4
- Mission Rep: 4 (Minor breach, addressed quickly)
- Entanglement: Stable Crossover. Next mission we’d go to a genre that we’re not familiar with.
