The MindWipe Facility

"The MindWipe Facility: An Introductory 2300 Adventure", © 1999-2005 by Steve C.

• Brief Introduction
• Genesis
  1. B&E: "Let My People Go!"
  2. A&E: Allies and Enemies
• Exodus 1: E&E
  1. The Storeroom
  2. The Elevator Shaft
  3. Strategy & Tactics
• Exodus 2: Out of the frying pan...
  1. ...and into the fire!
  2. Out of the fire...
• Exodus 3: ...and onto the stove!
  1. The Offices
  2. The Loading Dock
• Making a Campaign of it
  • Complications
  • Ariel

This handy little adventure was originally written (by me) for the cyberpunk genre _Shadowrun_ game. It was intended as a fairly simple adventure for a new GM (Gamemaster) and a group of players who knew absolutely nothing about the game, but it could easily be expanded into an entire campaign, if desired. It was designed to be run without any explanations to the players, at all. Each would be handed a blank character sheet, and the game would begin... The GM would read a short introductory paragraph to players (with the one read being based on what they could - or could not - see when they awoke). Everyone begins the game by waking up, in the dark, strapped to a table, and wondering not only "Where am I?", but also "Who am I?" All their memories are gone! Next, they must get out of their restraints, and then out of their cells.

From there, players' goals become pretty simple: Get free, figure out what happened, what's going on, and get out of the mess that they currently find themselves in! The fun is figuring out how to do all of that when they don't know the rules, their own abilities, what's what in this world, or even their own names! They are also utterly lacking in equipment, and have nothing but themselves to work with.

As the PCs (Player Characters) advance through situations, certain things may cause them to recall memories of their past lives. As they learn how to regain their memories, their players will slowly begin to fill in their character sheets, learning a few things about them. Unfortunately, neither the players nor their PCs will have much time to sit around, trying to remember. They will soon find that they are wanted (and hunted) by... someone. Resistance may be futile, but surrender is not an option!

No background is given for the PCs in this adventure (other than a name, occupation, nationality, and homeworld), not even a sex for most (pick one). No explanations of who their captors are, why they're here, or anything that went on, before. This is intentional. Before this adventure begins, the PCs have been chemically "MindWiped", and were intended to permanently forget all they ever knew... Only a lucky (?) power failure, which turned off the juice that kept the machines running, has prevented that, and they have woken up before the toxins completely wiped them clean. With nothing to aid them, the PCs must try to escape, before it is eternally too late!

If the players and referee like the way this adventure goes well enough, they might like to continue it into a campaign. If so, there is a whole section of "Complications" that can be used to give the referee ideas on what to do, and how to spice things up to suit their taste. Only the referee can tell the players where their PCs came from, and how they got into the current mess.

The PCs' players should all be given a BLANK character sheet before the game begins. As they attempt certain things throughout the game, they will have the opportunity to roll for the Memory Test given below. If they succeed, they will recall something (a stat or skill), and may fill it in on their sheet. Referees should only allow a Memory Test to be rolled for under one of two conditions: 1) The PC sees something that was familiar to them, in their former life, or 2) The PC attempts to perform a task using a skill that they know ("The hands remember what the hands have done, Weedhopper!"). Thus, a PC trying to force open a door might recall having done it in the past, and how strong (s)he is. Someone attacked in Melee combat might recall that they were always horrible (unskilled, or Skill Level 0) in a fight, etc. When they find a mirror, you can describe looks, Size, hair and eye color, mass, etc.

The following italicised narrative can be read to the players when they first awaken. Note that it is divided into two separate parts. The first part applies to the Decker, PI, and Tribesman, while the second section applies only to the Driver, Mercenary, and Street Samurai (who all have Low-light cybereyes, although they don't recall that, just yet).

"You wake up, suddenly, dizzy, your head spinning. Except for a few small lights on the... wall opposite you, you can see nothing in the darkness. No sound. Only a slight, antiseptic smell, covering your own sour scent, and an out-house style staleness. Only the feeling of whatever you're lying on, and that's somewhat numb. There's a faint taste of something... chicken soup?... lingering in your mouth. You feel odd, sick, and somehow... threatened. You can't remember where you are, but you don't remember coming here. You begin to wonder `Where am I?', then realize there's a more important question: `Who am I?'"

"Trying to get up, more horrors are revealed: That tightness in your chest is a strap, holding you down. Other straps also bind your arms and legs. A sudden dripping sound, and a pain in your arm as you struggle against confinement, lets you know that something (an IV?) is in your arm. A bitter taste in your mouth, as some of the cobwebs flee your mind, screams `I've been drugged!'. Is this a hospital, or worse yet, a body bank? An insane asylum, perhaps?"

"As feeling begins to return to your numbed body, you thrash around a bit on the bed. Agh! Not even a crummy hospital gown covers you! Nothing but the sheet on the bed, with a hole under your backside for `waste disposal'. You wonder how long you've been here, and whether anyone has missed you. Then you realize that, even though the cobwebs have fled your head, that your memories, too, seem to have vanished! Well, you may not know who you are, but one thing's for sure; whatever that thing in your arm is, it's coming out now, before it can do any more of its dirty work. After that, it's high time to get down off this table, and start finding some answers. Somebody owes you, big-time, and payment's (apparently) been long overdue!"

This is the section for the cyber-eyed:

"You wake up, suddenly, dizzy, your head spinning. The room is bathed in an eerie green light, with only a few small lights on the wall opposite you. No sound. Only a slight, antiseptic smell, covering your own sour scent, and an out-house style staleness. The only sensation is from the bed-thing that you're strapped to, and that's somewhat numb. You feel odd, sick, and threatened. You can't remember where you are, but you know you didn't come here voluntarily. You begin to wonder `Where am I?', then realize there's a more important question: `Who am I?'"

"You try to get up, but the straps hold you down. Other straps also bind your arms and legs. A sudden dripping sound, and a pain in your arm as you struggle against confinement, calls your attention to some device in your arm. A bitter taste in your mouth, as some of the cobwebs flee your mind, screams `I've been drugged!'. Is this a hospital, or worse yet, a body bank? An insane asylum, perhaps?"

"As feeling begins to return to your numbed body, you thrash around a bit on the bed. Agh! Not even a crummy hospital gown covers you! Nothing but the sheet on the bed, with a hole under your backside for `waste disposal'. You wonder how long you've been here (looking down at yourself, you realize it's been a few days, at the least), and whether anyone has missed you. Then you realize that, even though the cobwebs have fled your head, that your memories, too, seem to have vanished! Well, you may not know who you are, but one thing's for sure; whatever that thing in your arm is, it's coming out now, before it can do any more of its dirty work. After that, it's high time to get down off this table, and start finding some answers. Somebody owes you, big-time, and payment's (apparently) been long overdue!"

Once the PCs are all awake, they will probably want to get the autopump out of their arm, and get off the table. Both of these are subsumed into the following tasks. There are several ways for the PCs to gain their freedom: they can try to break the straps, or wriggle out of them (the latter being easier for those who can see in the dark). Anyone attempting either one of these tasks is allowed to roll a Memory Test for the stat used. Also, the Street Samurai can try to cut his way out, IF he notices his Slashers, and knows what to do with them.

To break free of the restraints: Difficult. (Unskilled) STR - 2. Absolute (1 action). Referee: This task may only be attempted once. If it succeeds, then the PC bursts the restraints, and is free. Otherwise, the straps are simply too strong for that character to burst, and they must find some other method of escape, or be freed by someone else. On a failure, a Superficial Mishap will cause the PC pain, as the autopump in their arm is pulled about. Minor Mishaps will cause a potential light wound with a DPV=0.1 attack on the arm to which the pump is attached. On a Major Mishap, the DPV=0.5.

To wriggle free of the unseen restraints: Difficult. (Unskilled) Athletics + DEX. Absolute (1 minute). Referee: Any (N)PC may try this task, any number of times (wasting a minute apiece, regardless of success). If the roll succeeds, the character managed to wriggle out of the straps, disconnect the automated pump filling them with chemicals, and fall off the table. Otherwise, they failed to free themselves, but may retry, if they ask to (don't suggest it to them). Any (N)PC able to see in the dark receives a +2 to this task. On a failure, a Superficial Mishap will cause the PC pain, as the autopump in their arm is pulled about. Minor Mishaps will cause a potential light wound with a DPV=0.1 attack on the arm to which the pump is attached. On a Major Mishap, the DPV=0.5.

To cut himself free of the restraints: Routine. (Restricted). Melee - 1. Absolute (1 action). Referee: Only the Street Samurai may attempt this, as only he has Slashers. Before this task may be attempted, he must first be aware of both his razors, and the skill to use them (see below). If the cutting attempt succeeds, the Street Samurai cuts through the restraints, and is free. Otherwise, his arms are too restricted, and he must find some other method of escape, or be freed by someone else. This task may only be attempted once.

To notice his Slashers: Difficult. (Restricted & Unknown) INT - 1. Instant. Referee: Only the Street Samurai may attempt this, and only one roll for this should be allowed. Once noticed, realizing what they are, and recalling the skill to use them (Melee), are both standard Memory Tests.

To recall a relevant fact when confronted with an item, or when attempting an action, related to the (N)PC's past: Difficult. (Unskilled) INT. Instant. Referee: If a PC tries to wriggle free of restraints, they may conduct this "Memory Test" to recall their DEX. If trying to break the straps or muscle open a door, they may try to recall their Strength. If attacked while unarmed (or armed with a melee weapon), they may attempt to recall any Melee Skill Level, and any appropriate skill with an item they find, etc. Any item(s) formerly owned by the (N)PC will also allow one Memory Test, each.

Once unstrapped and disconnected from the autopump, PCs may attempt to examine it by feel (and by sight, for those with cybereyes). It is an "arm" device which forms the left side of the table, pumping liquids into the PCs' bodies through an IV needle in their left arm. It is an integral part of the metal table, and can't be removed, or broken off, regardless of strength. PCs with Medical skill might be able to figure out what the autopump is, although they'll be hindered by the total darkness (unless they have cybersight):

To identify the autopump, in the dark: Formidable. (Unknown) Medicine + INT. 6 seconds. Referee: Success tells the PC that this "thing" rising from the side of the bed/table is an automated drug pump, which has been feeding them unknown chemicals, and that it is currently unpowered. It will also allow them to roll for a Memory Test to see if they recall their Medical skill. Failure has no further results, other than leaving them in ignorance. Any character able to see in the dark will find this task one level easier (Difficult), but will not get to add INT to the task. Characters without Medical skill will find the task two levels tougher, as usual.

The IV tube and needle can be pulled out of the PC's arm easily enough, and/or ripped out of the autopump. In either case, it will begin leaking a liquid from the needle (or pump, where the tube was detached). Characters with any Medical skill might even be able to identify one of its components:

To identify the liquid by smell: Difficult. (Unknown) Medicine. Instant. Referee: Success will reveal to the PC that the liquid is Soporizine, a soporific anesthetic (which keeps the victim in a drugged, unfeeling sleep), and also allow them to roll for a Memory Test to see if they recall their Medical skill.

Once free, most PCs will want to either explore the room, searching for a weapon, or find a way out. Naturally, cybered-eyed PCs will have an easier time of either. Other folks will be stumbling and bumbling in the dark. If a normal PC wants to find a light switch (or the door), you can let them roll for a task, but actually they'll find either one within two minutes. The lights, of course, are out (since the power's off), and the door is locked from the outside (it is a cell, after all). Searching the room will take 1D10 minutes, but will turn up absolutely nothing useful (unless they want the sheet off the bed, which can be torn, or the IV tube and needle). If they investigate the little lights on the wall they were facing when they woke up, allow them to roll for the following task:

To distinguish what the lights indicate: Difficult. (Unskilled) Eyesight modifier. Absolute (30 seconds). Referee: Only allow one attempt per PC; if it fails, it is just too dark for them to read the indicators (obviously, anyone with cybereyes needn't roll for this). If they do succeed, tell them that the lights indicate a power failure, and that the emergency generator has failed to kick in, leaving the facility only running on battery power. "Eyesight modifiers" are +2 for Exceptional, +1 for Excellent, +0 for Average, and -1 for Poor.

Cybereyed PCs should simply have the room described to them: A 3 X 3 X 4 meter room, with one wall taken up by some sort of monitor panel (with the "power failure" lights). Light panels overhead, and the table/bed in the middle, with the toilet and machine-thingy that was sticking in their arm built-in. The light swith doesn't work, and the door's locked from outside. They can take the bed sheets to wrap themselves in, if they like, and/or the needle and tube from the autopump, but that's it. Thereafter, the PCs should be ready for the next section...

PCs (especially those who can see in the dark) can climb up on the table and search the ceiling if they wish, but the only way out is through the locked door. Anyone who wishes to may try to force the door open, but it is not an easy task:

To force open the locked door: Difficult. (Unskilled) STR - 2. Absolute (1 action). Referee: Only one attempt per PC per door (they're going to need more brains than brawn to get out of here, so they'd better start thinking early).

For PCs who can see in the dark, they will be able to tell that the door has an electrolock holding it shut. If a PC with a datajack had some wires, (s)he might be able to cause the lock to open by shorting the battery and using the datajack to command it to open, during that brief instant of power. While a couple of adequate wires can be ripped from the lights or indicator panel, this isn't an easy task, either:

To think of datajacking the unpowered electrolock: Difficult. (Unknown & Unskilled) (Electronics OR Computer) + INT. Instant. Referee: If anyone inspects the lock, roll this task. It is repeatable, if they continue fiddling with it. Once it succeeds, they may attempt the next task.

To open the electrolock, using two wires and a datajack: Routine. Computer OR Electronics. Absolute (30 seconds). Referee: Multiple attempts are allowed, each requiring half a minute. Once it succeeds, there will be a soft clicking noise, and the door will open inwards.

Once any PC is free, they will be in a dark hallway, with only dim, red, emergency lighting. The good news is that, once any PC is free, the doors are no problem to open, from the outside. One free PC can release all the others. Also, anyone (cybereyed or not) will be able to see, out here.

There are ten doorways in the section of hall that the PCs are on. Once a door is opened, roll 1D10; on a roll of 1 the door leads to the Decker's room, 2 = Driver, 3 = Mercenary, 4 = PI, 5 = Street Samurai, 6 = Tribesman, 7 = Ariel, 8 = NPC (who is either totally mindwiped and dead to the world, or will tag along, but be pretty useless), 9 = Empty room (clean, with a sheet on the bed/table), 10 = Empty room (recently used; no sheet, and not yet cleaned). In no case will a PC ever open the door to their own room, or to one that's already been opened (use the next roll on the chart, in such cases). NPCs will be Green, with 10s in every stat. They are not heroic, and will only want to escape. They'll generally do what they're told, unless it will obviously risk getting them killed. Unless the party is weak, there should be no more than one of these (the rest are too mindless to walk, let alone help).

When the adventure begins, Ariel will have freed herself from the table, searched the room, and tried the door, but still be trapped inside her room. When the PCs open her door, she will be hiding behind it, and it will seem like an empty one (result #10). If they enter to explore it, she will be waiting behind the door with the bed sheet, knotted for use as a garotte. Once she sees them (she can see in the dark), she'll recognize that they aren't the enemy, and join in the escape attempt, helping the PCs (until and unless they prove themselves totally inept). She will generally prefer to take a backseat role, but can help save the PCs, as needed. See below, for more on her.

Thirty minutes after the adventure begins, two of the guards from The Elevator Shaft will begin checking the doors on all the hallways, to make sure that they are still locked. Unless the PCs specifically said that they were shutting and locking all the doors as they left, the guards will sooner or later find an unlocked door, and become wary. Until then, they will be grumbling about the power failure and poor emergency lighting, possibly giving the PCs warning, if they are being stealthy in their movements. On the other hand, if the PCs are yelling, breaking down doors, etc., the guards may show up sooner!

Since the power is out, these four "Sub-Basement" guards are the only ones on this level, and cannot communicate with any others. Each is uniformed, but unarmored. Each of these two has a Stun Baton which strikes as a club, but does DPV=3 Stun damage, in addition to the normal DPV=0.4 Blunt Trauma that a club usually does (Melee modifier = -1, Bulk=2). Each is also equipped with a small, almost silent, dart pistol, which makes a sound about as loud as a cough, when fired. These do no damage, but can penetrate anything except rigid armor (including Inertial), and are coated with a drug that will do DPV=3 Stun, also (Bulk=0, ROF=2, Range = 15m, clip of 5 rounds). One of them also has a similar form of shotgun, which fires darts in a 10m area (Bulk=3, ROF=2, Range = 25m, Area Fire Burst = 5 rounds, Area Fire Value = 0.5, clip of 10 rounds). Unless wary, guard one will be holding only his flashlight, with his other hand free to open the doors. Guard two will have his flashlight in one hand, and the shotgun in the other (not ready to fire). It will take them one round to prepare for combat, once they see the PCs. If the guards are alerted to trouble (noise/doors), number one will have his pistol and flashlight, while number two will have the shotgun ready for area fire, and they can initiate combat as soon as they meet the PCs. In this case, guard number two will immediately use all 10 rounds from the shotgun in an area fire attack. He will then either melee with it, using it like a club (if the PCs are too close) while he draws his pistol, or draw his pistol and use that, if they're farther off. Remember that, other than corners, there is no cover in the hallways, and the doors to all rooms open inwards. Also note that, since the corridor are only about 30m long, PCs will almost always be at Effective range or less, being hit by area fire on a roll of 1. At 12.5m or less, PCs will be hit by 1D10 darts on a roll of 2 or less, on 1D10.

Depending on what the PCs decide to do (and how long it takes), these two guards can be met anywhere within the Sub-basement level of the complex. They will originally be at the Elevator Shaft Guard Station (with the other two), but after half an hour, will begin their security sweep, checking doors. They will begin with the hallway closest to the Elevator (farthest from the PCs), and end up at the Storeroom. They will check every door in each hall, in succession, always staying close to each other, and never separating. They will, however, stop checking doors and move to investigate, when they hear a noise.

Obviously, then, if the PCs move immediately towards the guardpost, all four guards will be there. If they head the opposite direction, towards the storeroom, they won't encounter the guards for a longer time. If things work out just right, they might even get out with all their gear, and never even see two of the guards! In any case, the Referee needs to keep careful track of time, and the amount of noise that the PCs are making, as both can be important during this part of the adventure.

To sneak past the unaware guards: Routine. (Unskilled & Hazardous) (Reconnaissance OR Stealth) + DEX. Absolute (1 action). Referee: If ANY character fails, the guards will know someone is loose, and begin a more careful search (right now they're bored, and just checking to see that all the cell doors are still locked). Once the guards are alerted, sneaking past them rises to Difficult. PCs receive a +1 for the dim emergency lighting, and an additional +1 if they can see in the dark. Unfortunately, they also receive a -3 (because of a lack of cover), unless they are around a corner from the guards! On a failed attempt, a Superficial Mishap simply results in having to check determination before trying again. Minor Mishaps mean that one (or both) of the guards hear/notice something, and and become suspicious (and that sneaking past them becomes Difficult). Major Mishaps result in the failing PC being seen, and ordered to halt. Total Mishaps result in being seen, and fired upon (and since guard number two will use area fire from the drugged shotgun, that means that everyone in the same hallway will also be attacked).

If the PCs are adapting well (or dilly-dallying), use this to move them along, and get some equipment. Some (less stealthy) PCs may want to just duck into an empty room and try to hide...

To hide from unaware guards: Routine. (Reconnaissance OR Stealth). Absolute (1 action). Referee: This is a bit easier, but only works until the guards discover the first unlocked cell door. After that, hiding becomes Difficult. PCs still get the +1 modifier for dim light, but the ability to see in the dark doesn't help, here. Likewise, cover is only available in the rooms. Trying to hide in the empty, lighted hallways suffers a -3 penalty!

To move secretly during a combat round in which the enemy is aware of your location: Difficult. (Reconnaissance OR Stealth) + DEX. Absolute (one action). Referee: PCs still get the +1 for dim light, and -3 for no cover. Elsewhere in the facility, these modifier may not apply.

To attack an enemy being in melee combat without being detected: Difficult. (Reconnaissance OR Stealth) + DEX. Instant. Referee: Roll only once/attack for this. The attacker must be undetected by everyone except the victim, in order to attempt this task. If successful, the PC may attack at the same action, and remain undetected by everyone (except the victim). Only if this task fails, or the enemies specifically state that they are attempting detection, are the victim (and any associates) allowed to try to spot their opponent before the attack. On a failure, a Superficial Mishap results in the victim seeing the attack in progress and having time to attempt to parry or avoid. Minor/Major Mishaps result in more opponents spotting the character.

To attack an opponent with a silent missile weapon and remain undetected: Routine. (Reconnaissance OR Stealth) + DEX. Instant. Referee: See above, but note that even the victim is not automatically aware of their attacker's location. (The guards may use their dart pistols on the PCs in this manner, if they hear them before the PCs see the guards!)

+--------+-----------+---------+
| Men's  |  Elevator | Women's |               Symbols Key:
+---*--------+----+--------*---+         -------------------------------
|M        MMM|-**-|MMM  o o   M|         Wall sections  - |
|  Guard-  +--------+  o O o   |         Wall junctures +
|   post-> |  o  o  |   o o    |         Doors          *
| H        +--------+          |         Elevator Doors **
|  +-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+  |         Snack machines M
|  |----|----|----|----|----|  |         Table          O
|  +--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+  |         Chair          o
|                              |         Dim lightbulb  .
|  +-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+  |         Cart           H
|  |----|----|----|----|----|  |
|  +--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+  |            Walls are all steel-reinforced 
|                              |         concrete, and too tough to be 
|  +-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+  |         battered down by the PCs.  Floors 
|  |----|----|----|----|----|  |         and ceilings are likewise.  The 
|  +--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+  |         elevator shaft is the only way out 
|                              |         of this Sub-basement level.  The 
|  +-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+  |         hallways are lighted by flourescent 
|  |----|----|----|----|----|  |         rods encased behind plastic panels, 
|  +--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+  |         although only the red emergency 
|    The PCs begin here...     |         lighting is working, throughout this 
|  +-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+  |         adventure.
|  |----|----|----|----|----|  |
|  +--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+--*-+  |            Note that this ASCII Map is not 
|              .               |         exactly to scale.  Rooms are 3 X 4m, 
|----*--+-*--+-*--+-*--+-*-----|         and hallways are 2.5m wide.  Ceiling 
|         Storeroom            |         height is 3m.
+------------------------------+

By now, the PCs should be ready to get out of here! Of the ten rooms on their hall, seven or eight will hold (N)PCs, and two or three will be empty. The next hall down (to the South) will be much the same (in appearance), except that the center door along the outside wall has a lightbulb over it (dim, but lit). The rooms along the inside wall are all cells like the PCs', and are all full of mindwiped NPCs, or empty (results 8 - 10, above). The doors along the outside wall, however, all lead into the massive Storeroom, described below.

The other four hallways all contain 10 rooms, five to a side, just like the PCs' hallway. The northernmost end of the facility is taken up by a wider, open area, where a security guardpost bars the hallways from the Elevator up to the next level. This is where the guards usually sit, manning computer consoles, drinking coffee, eating donuts, and shooting the breeze. More on these special areas, and what can be found/done there, is detailed in the following sections.

At this point, tell the PCs that, except for the wall behind the hallway to the south, everything else looks pretty much the same, and ask them which way they want to head. If they peek around the corners to the north and south, tell them that both corridors look exactly like the one that they were in, except that the central door on the south side of the southern hallway has a dimly lit light bulb over it. From that point, let them pick a course of action, and go from there. If they open doors on any hallway, the rooms will all be the same as the ones they woke up in. If they find a mindwiped NPC and try to awaken or diagnose them, they will have no luck. If they waste time searching those rooms, just keep track, and in half an hour from the beginning of the game, the guards will come around and start shooting at them. If they move towards the Elevator or Storeroom, see the descriptions of those areas.

The "rooms" along the south wall of the facility are actually all one large room, running the length of the building. Strangely, the lights are on, here, so everyone will be able to see. The Storeroom contains boxes, stacked floor to ceiling along all four walls. Each contains all the worldly goods of some poor (deceased?) soul... Most are worthless, but among the many are the PCs' gear... but first finding, then recognizing their own is a task! <Grin>

To find their own box of gear: Routine. (Unskilled) DET. Absolute (10 minutes). Referee: Once the appropriate box is found, a standard Memory Test is required to recognize it as theirs.

Once they do, they get to make one roll/item (including clothes) to remember more... Also, while going through other boxes, the PCs standds a chance of finding something else that is either useful, or at least interesting, such as a tool, lighter, cash, wallet, ID, consumer electronics, etc. First, determine which range of boxes the PC is searching, then roll 1D10 to determine how many boxes they have gone through in that 10 minute period. Once the number of boxes searched is known, roll iD100 on the following table for each box, and 1d100 on the Finds Table for each box indicated. For all clothing and jewelry (such as rings or watches), roll the standard 4D6-4 for Size, if a character wants to wear them.

There are currently 391 boxes in the storeroom, and assuming that each of seven characters searches five boxes per ten minute search period, that's an average of 35 boxes each ten minutes. Thus, searching all the boxes should take about two hours. If they don't meet them before going into the Storeroom, the Guards will find the characters here. Again, keep careful track of time, and noise, as it will make a difference.

If the PCs want to search ALL the boxes, tell them it'll take hours, but let them. Save yourself a year's worth of dice rolling, and handle it like this: 97 contain nothing of interest. 195 contain average quality clothes and 2 items each (in the range from 01-100). 78 contain Tres Chic clothing and 3 or 4 items from the 01-100 range which are of superior quality and worth. 3 contain average or nicer stuff and 3 or 4 items from the 101-120 range. 3 contain raggedy clothes and an empty booze bottle. 3 more contain leather, studs, chains, gang colors, and two knives, a combination lock, and 1 or 2 tools of the Referee's selection. Yet another 3 contain high quality clothes, and a single item from the 121-150 range. One box contains poor Jonathan Smythe's security gear, and 7 or 8 more contain the PCs' and Ariel's gear (and possibly one other NPCs' - if the extra NPC isn't needed, add another box of rags and bottles, for a total of four). Instead of rolling for items, Referees should feel free to select them, instead, making sure to have 10% of the 01-100 items being ladies' purses, and giving at least one of each of the rest of the items in that range (total of 19 puses, and 176 other things). 27 more fancy purses and 246 more items (of superior quality and worth, for a total of 46 purses and 422 other items) will be found among the Tres Chic clothing. 14 items from the 101-121 range will be found, and 3 to 6 more tools/weapons. There will be a mere three from the 121-150 range. For the 01-100 range items, the Referee should just list four or five or everything. for the 101-120 and 121-150 items, (s)he can either roll or select, as they choose.

Examples: Ariel is helping the PCs search (looking for her stuff). She rolls an 8 easily enough, to search 1D10 boxes and find her own, even without adding in her +4 for DET. During that time, she searches (roll 1D10) 5 boxes. Rolling 1D100 five times yields: 05, 68, 35, 24 (and the last result isn't rolled, because she finds her own box among them, having succeeded at the task - rolling 1D6, her things will be in the fourth box she opens). Looking at the first table, 05 = Ordinary clothes and worthless personal effects (4D6-4 yields Size 14, too small for her), 68 = Ordinary clothes (4D6-4 = Size 15; still too small), plus 1D4 Finds. 1D4 yields 1, and 1D100 yields 95; 1D10 doses of Herc (1D10 gives 1 dose). The next box (35) is more ordinary clothes (4D6-4 = Size 7) plus 1D3 finds, giving 2. Rolls of 30 and 38 on the Finds Table give costume jewelry worth Lv 1D10 (8), and a sportswatch. The next box contains her gear. The final one (24) has still more ordinary clothes, and useless personal items.

Since Ariel is immune to the toxins (see her description, below), she doesn't have to roll to identify her gear, but any PC (or other NPC) would. Assuming someone else did, they'd roll 1D10 + INT, trying to achieve a 10 or better. Allow them to roll once/item (counting all clothes and footwear as one item). Once they have found an item, they get to roll a Memory Test for any skill it involves, as well (Melee for a knife (perhaps Throwing, too, if it's a throwing knife), Sidearms for a pistol, etc.)

"Okay, your PC recognizes this box as his, Jeff. He sees a `pocket secretary' on top... Make a Memory Test." (Player rolls, and suceeds) "Your PC remembers that he is Harry Morganstein, a relatively-famous PI. This secretary-thingy is a combination cell phone/answering machine and computer where you store contact information. You can look and see if there are any names or numbers in it, but the phone doesn't seem to be working, here. Looking at the rest of his gear as he puts it on, he finds a Hancock 923 Enforcer pistol that feels right at home in his hand..." (Player rolls again, when feeling "his" gun, succeeds) "He knows how to use this, very well. Record a Sidearms skill level of 6."

Check the bottoms of each of the PC's Character Sheets (above) to see what equipment they will have in their boxes. Cybergear, of course, will be in them, and not the boxes!

Also notice that even items which do not belong to the PCs might allow them to remember something... Items related to survival might allow a Memory Test against the Survival skill, a gun or bullets Sidearms/Combat Rifleman, running shoes/hiking boots Athletics, Drugs Medicine, Portacomps Computer, toolkits Electronics/Mechanics, etc. Other items (Visas, passports, IDs, credit cards, papers, etc.) could prove very useful in a campaign, as they will help convince the police that something is going on, and the PCs aren't just drugged-up crazies; after all, 90% of these people will show up (during any police database search) as "Missing Persons" in the last six months. Other items are worth quite a bit, and could be fenced by the (hunted?) PCs for some quick getaway cash. The Referee will have to determine prices and weights for most items. If the PCs encumber themselves, be sure to apply the appropriate penalties.

Please note here (but don't tell the players) that any sort of device which transmits or receives radio frequency energy (radios, cell phones, the Street Samurai's Wrist Videophone, the GPS receiver, etc.) will not function within the confines of the MindWipe Facility! Only when the PCs reach the ground floor will these devices function, again.

Once the PCs have their gear (and maybe part of someone else's), they should be ready to leave the Storeroom, and explore the rest of this level. Whether they encountered the two door-checking guards before they found the Storeroom, or were disturbed by them while searching it, they will probably have taken some stun damage, and perhaps be lugging around some unconscious allies. The Tribesman has three antidotes that will help here, and the Snakebite Kit (#128) will help with any new damage, if the players think to use it in time.

Once they begin exploring the Sub-Basement, the PCs will sooner or later encounter the Guardpost (below). Hopefully, they will be ready for it!

The area could be tough or easy for the PCs, depending on how things go, and when they find it. There are two more guards here, each with helmets and dart guns, although they are bored, grumbling about the power, and not expecting trouble. Even if the PCs come here first, before visiting the Storeroom (above), they could take a look and fall back, if they are being quiet and stealthy. If they go making noise, the Guards will put their helmets on, draw their guns, and be hiding behind the consoles, out of sight, when the PCs come around the corner. In either case, they will have partial cover.

This area is only lit by the dim, red emergency lighting. The hallways on the east and west sides of the building lead to an open space, where a large 8 X 3 meter U-shaped "desk" dominates the area right in front of the elevator shaft (the only way off this level). There are four chairs here, for the four guards. Only the two of them on the side facing the characters will be occupied, if more than half an hour has passed since the game began, because Guards one and two will be out in the hallways, checking the doors. If the PCs have already met the other two guards, then they've probably been dealt with. If they somehow missed each other, they may return, and shoot the PCs in the rear!

Beyond the (dead) computer consoles is the elevator shaft, which is also dead, due to the power outage. On each side of the shaft are some food and drink machines, which hungry/thirsty guards will occasionally visit. To the left is a door marked "Men", and to the right "Women". At the juncture of the western hallway is a rubber-tired electric cart (used to haul unconscious "patients" about) that needs a key (on Guard #3) to start. It could be used to conceal (or provide cover for) one or two PCs. Off to the right (east) of the desk is a table and chairs, with some empty donut boxes, and a coffee machine, cups, stir-sticks, sweetener and creamer, trash, crumbs, etc. Other than that, there's really very little here.

The Guards are all Experienced, Physically-oriented NPCs, with the same gear as the other two (Stun Batons, Dart Guns, Uniforms, but no Dart Shotgun). All have Coolness Under Fire of 6, and can withstand 2 Light Wounds before being incapacitated. They have bonuses of +3 for all their Physical Stats, and +2 for all Mental ones. They have Skill Level (SL) 1 in Sidearms, Melee, Stealth, and all General Skills, and SL 0 in Interviewing and Psychology.

The guards have no lethal weapons, anyway, and their job is to capture the PCs, and return them to their rooms, not kill them. Still, if the PCs have been to the Storeroom, and open up on them with firearms, the guards are going to be more interested in saving their lives than their jobs!

The PCs could wander into the Guardpost just after escaping their rooms, and still be naked (or wrapped in bed sheets), and unarmed... Bad news! If they are being quiet and at least trying to sneak, they can probably overhear the guards grumbling about the lights going off, and the emergency generator not coming on. At that point, if they wander out and do something stupid, let the guards shoot them, and put them back in their cells. When they wake up the next time, they can be wearing handcuffs, too.

If the PCs see/hear the guards and pull back, let them quietly whisper and form a plan. They could separate, sending two sneaky characters to the west hallway (behind the cart), and have the rest go east and create a distraction. They probably won't do too well trying to Melee against guns, though.

If they haven't already encountered the other two guards (and assuming its been more than half an hour, so that they're not all here), then they might show up, as soon as there's noise, too. If they've already been defeated, then the PCs may have a few rounds of ammunition left. Note that there's no way to tell how many rounds a dart pistol has left (although the shotgun shells can be ejected and counted, if there are any left). If the PCs have been to the storeroom and gotten their gear, then two guards won't be much trouble at all.

Regardless, Ariel will urge the PCs to be quiet and stealthy, rightly pointing out that they don't know how many other guards gunfire may attract. If everyone has their gear, then the Tribesman will have his bow, and the Street Samurai his Stun Baton and Slashers. Everyone except the Decker can Melee. Two more PCs may have Stun Batons garnered from Guards #1&2, while two more may have their dart guns (which are nearly silent). Several more weapons can be gleaned from the boxes in the Storeroom; everything from a pickaxe or shovel to the blowguns and darts (the Tribesman has some DPV=3 Stun poison that will coat 10 of these, and knows the basics of how to use a blowgun). Distractions should be quite useful, here. The Decker (who has neither Melee nor Stealth skill) will be a bit of a liability, in this part of the adventure, so it might be a good idea to let him be it.

One thing the PCs might want to do is to split the guards up, and get them out from behind the Guardpost. Having the Decker walk around the east corner, then dodge back (while everyone else hides around the west corner, ready to attack) won't work, because the guards will wait for their two comrades to return, before going after the PCs. They will stay together, and under cover. All the PCs will have succeeded in doing is giving away the advantage of surprise. Silent attacks from both ends might work better (almost any weapon except the Pepper Spray will be at Effective or Close Range)! The PCs could also wait 2D10 minutes until one of the guards gets up to get food, drink, or visit the restroom.

If the PCs decide not to separate, then a distraction that gets the guards up and moving away from them is the best. Let the PCs plan their own course of action, but if they have no weapons, Ariel will volunteer to distract at least one of the guards, while the PCs will have to get the other... She'll go around to the opposite hallway, telling the PCs to be ready to run in when they see her fall down. She'll then stumble out, holding her head and shaking it, as though disoriented. With a mumbled "Oooohh, my head!", she'll head straight for the desk, bounce off the wall on her way past, and approach the guard closest to her with a plea of "Help me!". Both guards will draw their pistols and get up, strapping on their helmets, but since she won't make any threatening gestures, Guard #4 will move to help this gorgeous "damsel in distress", and she'll expertly collapse on top of him, taking them both to the floor. If the PCs make a stealthy rush on the other guard then, they can probably get him before he's aware, and Ariel can clobber the one she's hanging onto.

These guards, by the way, know that MindWiping is going on down here (as do those on the level above), but not how or why... Questioning them aint worth the time (even if they're still alive and in shape to answeer)!

Once the PCs have the run of the place, they can search the place. The computer consoles aren't working, but anyone who tries them can make a Memory Test to recall their computer skill (if any). There is also a (broken) Netgun here, under the counter. They may search the guard's pockets for Lv 9 in change, and then raid the snack machines (or just smash the glass and pry their way in), get some pops, and visit the bathrooms for water, towels, a wash, and/or a look in the mirror. Sooner or later, though, they are going to want to enter that non-functional elevator!

The problem here is, since the power's out, neither the button, car, nor doors are working. The PCs will have to pry the doors open, manually, and this requires something to pry with! Knives, etc., won't work; they need a prybar, hammer, handaxe, or pickaxe to stick in the crack, in order to get the doors open enough for their fingers to get into this heavy-duty door (all these items are available in the storeroom). Once the door has been pried open a crack, it takes a couple of people working together to open the doors:

To work together to open the elevator doors: Formidable. (Unskilled & Teamwork). STR + (number of PCs involved). Absolute (1 action). Referee: Requires at least two PCs, and no more than 6 may participate. Each PC uses their own STR bonus, adds the number of PCs helping them, and makes their own roll. Only one character needs to roll a success.

Once the doors are open, the PCs may enter the shaft (a one meter drop), and see that the car's bottom is suspended about three meters above them. There is no easy way out. The PCs have no rope, nor grapnel, and there is none in the Storeroom (there is a Spinner with 10 meters of line, but that's no help, here).

The elevator shaft is the only way out of this Sub-Basement level, and with the power out (emergency lighting, in the hallways), the PCs must climb the shaft, which is a tough Athletics task... Of the PCs, only the AmerIndian Tribesman has the skill to be likely to pull it off (Athletics Skill Level 6), and since there is no rope...

To climb up the elevator shaft by pressing back and arms against one side of a corner, and legs against the other: Formidable. (Hazardous) Athletics + (STR + DEX + END)/3. 20 seconds. Referee: Superficial Mishaps mean that sweaty hands slip on the construction composites, but catch before the PC falls. Minor Mishaps result in sliding down 1D3 meters. Major Mishaps result in the character losing their grip, and having to jump down (roll an attack of DPV=(0.1 X 1D3) against both legs), and Total Mishaps result in an uncontrolled fall, and a DPV=(0.1 X 1D6) attack against one random hit location.

It'll be tough going, and even once he gets up to the car safely, the other characters will have no way up, without a rope. The PCs will have to work out a way around this. This requires smarts, and also allows you to make sure everyone has their INT score recorded, and knows how the (INT-based) Memory Test works. If the PCs can't think of a way out for themselves, Ariel will suggest tying bedsheets together to make a rope.

To tie bed sheets together, to make a climbable rope: Easy. (Unskilled) No assets. 10 - (number of PCs involved) minutes. Referee: It will take less time, if everyone helps, but no need to tell lazy players that! Bedsheets must be rolled together, then knotted, and tied. that takes a bit of time. If sheets are not rolled together, first, they will not be strong enough to hold the weight, and will rip, the first time anyone attempts to use it.

Once partway up, the Tribesman will find the elevator car blocking the shaft, have to climb past it, and open the emergency door on top of the car. This is already taken into account in the task's difficulty. He will notice that the shaft goes no further up. Next, he can drop down inside, and force open the door. Since this will be a nearly-impossible Strength test (just like on the door, below), he will probably want to lower the rope (or otherwise get the other PCs up there to help him), so that they can combine their strengths. Use the task above, again requiring the prying tool to get started ("What? No one brought it? You idiots! Climb back down and get it!")

The shaft, itself, is unlit (except for light streaming in from the Guardpost, below), but the elevator has emergency lighting. Unknown to the PCs, though, this Basement level has power! As soon as they begin getting the doors open, they will see the light. Everyone except Ariel and the Driver (with flash defense) will be blinded for a round, as their eyes adjust. There is a 1 in 6 chance that someone will be in the hallway next to the elevator shaft when they open the doors, and see them. If there has been firearms usage down below, this chance will be 5 in 6, and it will be two guards, in Full-body Inertial Armor and Helmets, with Stun Batons and Dart Guns, and one will have a prybar, and the other a DunArmCo Close Assault Gun. Neither will be ready for a fight, and will use their first action to prepare their weapons. The blinded PCs should do the same.

If there were no firearms used below (only Dart Guns, Melee, the Tribesman's bow, or other relatively quiet weapons), then the guards won't be here, trying to get in (although if the Merc used his machinegun, the chances are 6 in 6)! If a 1 on 1D6 is rolled, roll again to see who is encountered when the doors are opened: 1 = White-coated MedTech, 2 = Chemist, 3 = Disinterested Maintenance Worker, 4 = Lone guard (unarmored, with Baton and Dart Gun, but has his hands full with a box of donuts), 5 = Two MedTechs, 6 = Two unarmord Guards (equipped as above, sans the donuts). Guards are Physically Oriented, everyone else is Mentally. All are Experienced in their fields except the Chemist, who is Elite (although everyone except the Guards fight as if Green, and are unarmed).

Reactions depend upon who is encountered, and how the PCs are dressed: If guards are encountered, they will always investigate, and be suspicious unless the PCs "in charge" are dressed in guard uniforms (stolen off their comrades, below)! MedTechs and Chemists will be curious, but not overly so. The disinterested maintenance worker has more important things to worry about. The two MedTechs (finding courage in numbers) will ask what's going on here. A good, plausible story will send them off.

If the characters are dressed in their own gear, the guards will go for their weapons, first, and Interrogate at gunpoint. Everyone else (except the disinterested maintenance worker) will stop to stare, and ask what's up. No story will be good enough to get them to leave and not tell anyone else.

Of course, if the PCs come out of the elevator naked, or wrapped in bed sheets, their status as "escaped patients" will be obvious at a glance, and even the most disinterested will bother to report them to the next Guardpost. The Guards, of course, will use a Dart Shotgun to return the "patients" to where they came from, with all due haste!

Drat that blasted Merc, anyway! Despite Ariel's pointing out that loud gunfire, when we didn't know what we were getting into, was dangerous, Merc just hadda open up with that big, noisy machinegun! Only way folks like that know how to fight, I guess - not quick and quiet, like me... Once we finished searching around, we got some food and drink, then went back to the storeroom to find that prybar we remembered seeing in a box, somewhere. Took me a while to locate it, but then we all got the doors open (even I couldn't do it, by myself).

Next problem was figuring out what to do with the shaft... The car was stuck up above us, and no rope or ladder. We pondered that for a while. Finally, Ariel pointed out that, if one of us could somehow climb up past the car, we could tie together some bedsheets and knot them for climbing, they could take it up with'em, and lower it down from the top of the car for the rest of us to climb.

"Good girl, Ariel!" said the PI (who was no slouch in combat, either). "Once we get up there, there should be an emergency door in the roof of the elevator car. We can haul up our gear, the prybar, and the guards' flashlights, and pry the door of the car open. Hopefully, we'll find a way out on the next level! So... can anybody climb?"

Well now, that was another stumper... With our Swiss-cheese memories, we didn't know. It took us a few tries, but pretty quick we all figured out that we weren't no world-class athletes. Oh, I was passable, and that dumb Merc was better, but only the Tribesman had the knack. Blood-of-Roses tried a few moves, then suddenly remembered that this'd been done, before, went over to a corner, retied them kneemocs, then put back and palms against one corner, and feet aggainst the other, pushing off one, then the other. "Climbing the chimney!" said the Merc, and I remembered seeing it done in a narrow tube... but against a corner?

I honestly didn't think he could do it, but he walked up that smooth wall like a bug, never slipping once! He had a bit of a time squeezing past the car in the shaft, but after that, he had it to press against, and it weren't long before we saw the sheet-rope come danglin' down. The PI grabbed the "rope" and the crowbar. "Ladies first!" he says, and Ariel shimmied right on up. I helped the Driver, then that puny Decker get up, then me and "Magnum PI" came up last. After all the trouble we'd had, I pulled up the rest of our gear on the end of the rope, then made everyone wait while I untied it and coiled it around me. I didn't wanna hafta stop to make another one, if we needed it!

Well, Harry grinned as he pulled out the prybar and handed it to me. We'd tried this before, and knew I was the strongest of the lot. The dumb Merc and Blood-of-Roses were tied for second place, and the Driver was third. I pried on the door, and we all stuck our fingers in. I heaved... and that's the name o'dat tune! The doors split open, and all of us except the Driver winced! After bein' in that dim, red emergency lighting for so long, we were blinded!

"Hey, you guys having trouble down there, or what?" I heard somebody, outside, a little too high, and way too close, say. "We been tryin' to get this door open for the last five or ten minutes! We thought we heard a whole bunch of gunfire, down there!"

Realizing that the guards' uniforms the Merc and I'd thrown on over our grungies were confusing them, I threw my hands up in front of my watering eyes and responded "Yah, loco here" (I hooked at thumb at the crazy Merc) "got anxious when the natives started wakin' up, and wanderin' around. We had to evacuate the level, until the power's back on. We need to get Doc, here, to someplace safer."

"Oohhh, my head!" Smart girl, that Ariel. She went into the same routine, again, almost getting a grin outta me. "Help me!" she pleaded, looking up at the uniform I could barely see, reaching out her right hand, while holding her left to her temple. I dunno what it is about that girl, whether it's just because she's a gorgeous babe and guys wanna get close to her, or what, but this guard, like the one in sleepy-land down below, reached out for her. Then it all happened at once.

As he leaned forward to take her hand and pull her up, the second guard saw Blood-of-Roses standing on my right, being as inconspicuous as possible (pressed up against the elevator wall). Now Loco-Merco and I might pass for Guards, and Ariel for a Doc, but a Tribesman in leather, with a bow and arrows? Nothing you could mistake that for! As my vision began to clear, I saw the first guard's eyes drinking in Ariel, and the second's going wide, raking across the other occupants in the rear of the car, and stopping on the Driver. None of'em were wearing uniforms, and everyone had weapons.

"Look out, Harry!" he yelled, hurling his crowbar at my noggin, as he reached for his gun with the other hand. Fumbling in his haste, he threw too hard, too high, and it sailed clean over all our heads. Our friendly neighborhood PI was bringin' his gun up, trying to get a clear shot, but I was in the way. The Driver was aiming, and Blood-of-Roses was nockin' an arrow, but it'd be too late. I mentally prepared to see my armored hide take a few rounds protecting the more thin-skinned folks in the back of the car, but before I could, Ariel surprised me... She pulled on the first guard's outstretched hand (which she'd already taken), yankin' him into the elevator, and lashed out with the left hand that'd been by her temple, catching him on the chin as he toppled in on top of her! She musta caught him just right, 'cause he fell like a sack of turnips thrown off the truck, and she grabbed him, throwing herself back, outta the way. With the Driver to the left of the doors, the Tribesman to the right, and Ariel outta my way, I hurled myself through it, at the remaining guard's feet.

Since the car wasn't quite where it should have been, there was almost a meter's worth of wall in front of me, but I managed to snag his ankles, anyway. He'd decided to forget the gun, and just try to dodge, but I nailed him, all the same. As I heaved against the floor that I was suddenly layin' on, I heard the soft, coughing noise that I'd learned to associate with those nasty little sleeper-dart guns. The guard collapsed over my back, as I reared up, looking for another foe. His head thunked loudly on the car's floor, almost a meter down. I turned to see Harry, the PI, grinning at me and the sleeping guard.

"Yeah, like the man said, `Look out Harry!'", I groused good-naturedly, as Harry chuckled. Loco-Merco was already helping the lovely Miss Ariel up. Blood-of-Roses leaped past me, up the meter and out the door in one swift bound, finally gettin' that arrow ready to fly. I saw'em scan the hall, then turn back to us.

"More company's comin'", Blood said. Sure enough; it never rains but it pours. The arrow flew at the same moment the two armored security types fired their little dart guns at the Indian...

The elevator the PCs just exited only goes from the Sub-Basement to the Basement level. They emerge into a small waiting room, with a low coffee table littered with magazines, and a few couches. This level has more rooms where MindWiped PCs are stored, and (whatever the Referee determines is being done with them) is taking place. The guards here know that MindWiping is taking place, but not how, or why. The MedTechs are equally informed. Shanghaiing a passing Chemist might get you the "how", but not the why. Even (s)he won't know whether or not it's reversible.

This level is "patient rooms", and labs. For each round the PCs stay here, roll 1D6, with any result of 1 indicating another encounter roll, as above. Of course, any loud noises will cause one of the two guards from the next checkpoint, 20 meters north of the elevator, to peek out, spot the PCs, and call for backup. The best thing to do here is charge forward, and keep moving. The PCs will be able to spot the next elevator from where they enter the Basement level, if they stop to look. Looking at the one they just exited will show that it has a down-arrow button, only.

Arriving at the next guardpost, the PCs will encounter two more Experienced, Physically-oriented guards, both wearing Full-body Inertial Armor and Helmets, and armed with Dart Guns and Stun Batons. One has the elevator key, and will have locked it, if they had advanced notice of trouble. Otherwise, they can be surprised by Stealth or Reconnaissance, as in the Stealth Tasks, above. Once they are rendered hors de combat, the PCs need only press the sole button (an Up-arrow, this time), to rise to the next level, since this level has power, and the elevator works! If they wish to stop and explore, or use an actually-working computer, however, let them; just roll 1D6/round, and an encounter for every 1 rolled. Sooner or later, the survivors will be ready to leave!

Obviously, this level is all about combat. Be sure to roll 4D6-4 for the Size of each guard, and let any PC who asks to pick up a Guard Uniform and/or Inertial Armor and Helmet (if they can find one that fits)! Also, Referees who want to turn this into a campaign can figure out what the (whoever is running the show) is doing with all the memoryless characters they're creating on the level down below. If you don't have a clue, see Complications, below. Also, if you plan to make this a campaign, have the Decker roll for a Memory Test, and if (s)he succeeds, tell them about the wonderful world of decking! Once they recall that this is what they're born to do, it will be a simple task for them (and only them!) to hack through the system's security, and get copies of all the files of PCs whose names they know!

To hack through system security, locate all files containing a PC's name, copy, and then overwrite the original: Easy. Computer + INT. Absolute (1 action). Referee: This task is only possible using a cyberdeck through a Neural Jack. Also, recall that there are 10 cyberspace actions per one realworld action. Each "action" in cyberspace is therefore three seconds in real time!

This will allow the poor Decker (who no Stealth or Melee skill) to help. If (s)he thinks of it in time, allow them an Impossible task to really muck things up in the system (automated file overwriter/deleter, shutting off the power to the whole complex - minus the elevator, of course - summoning the police, firetrucks, ambulances, etc.).

To hack through system security, and really louse up the SysAdmin's day, like, TOTALLY!: Impossible. Computer + INT. Absolute (1 action). Referee: This task is only possible using a cyberdeck through a Neural Jack. Also, recall that there are 10 cyberspace actions per one realworld action. Each "action" is cyberspace is therefore three seconds in real time!

Once it's done, time to run!

If the two guards managed to get a warning off before being taken out, then as the elevator heads up into the unknown, both the Merc and the Driver will begin hearing a voice that seems to be right next to them, but that no one else hears! Both of them hear the same things being said; that resistance is futile, that no harm will come to them if they surrender, and that, if they don't, "You and your friends will be terminated with extreme prejudice!". No matter what these two PCs "say" to the voice, it will not answer them, only drone on.

The Driver and Merc should be allowed to roll 1D10 for an Unknown task, which is really just a standard Memory Test. If they succeed, tell them that they suddenly recall that they have a built-in radio receiver in their head, from their military days, and that someone has apparently found the frequency. If they roll a 1 and Fumble, tell them that they remember hearing voices in their head before, and taking orders from it, but can't remember how, when, where, or why!

The Ground Floor where the elevator comes out is the back of the Corporate Office level. NPC file clerks, wage-slaves, etc., who have no idea what's going on in the Sub-Basement, and whose only function is to run, scream, and throw papers in the air as armed PCs storm through their areas... ("NO! PLEASE don't kill me!") Getting through here to the loading docks should be a breeze (and perhaps time for a little humor, to relieve some tension). Everyone here is a Green NPC, and there are no guards. An unlocked glass door to the north lets in real, bonefide sunlight! This is obviously a warehouse or shipping department, as there are great rolls of material (for making sheets?), barrels of lime (for the potty-holes in the table/beds?), and other less-than-interesting things lying about. The PCs should be slowed down by this only long enough to notice the activity outside, at the loading dock.

Finally, the PCs should make it to the loading docks... Here, they find 20 armed and armored security guards protecting the area from Break-INs. Also unaware of the Corp's secret MindWipe Facilities down below, they are totally unready for a break-OUT. A vehicle stands ready and waiting, as lethally-armed and rigidly-armored guards unload crates of electronic parts. If the PCs are stupid, they can get into a gun battle against overwhelming odds, and die, here. If they take the stealthy or "wait and see" route, they can watch as the guards finish unloading, and carry the stuff off, leaving only a few of their number to guard the gate and walls. The PCs can then sneak into the vehicle and crash the gate before the Gate-guards know what's up. (Using the Stealth Tasks given above, the Characters might be able to sneak past the guards, to hide and wait for them to pass, and to get into the vehicle, unseen. From there, hopefully the Rigger can do the rest).

Upon seeing the armed and armored vehicle sitting there, the Driver should be allowed to roll a Memory Test, as should other PCs with Ground Vehicles skill. Anyone succeeding will recognize it as a tough security vehicle, used by innumerable Corporate Security types. It has an armored ramming prow for bursting through gates, high ground-clearance, good armor, and full off-road capability. If the Driver remembers that, they'll also remember their Ground Vehicles skill. Once they get aboard (sneaking past the guards at the tops of the 10 meter compound walls, which is one level easier, because they're all facing outward), the PCs can look different places for the keys (they're above the sun-visor), or someone might suggest hot-wiring (and someone will have to remember their electronics skill).

To hotwire a vehicle without tools: Difficult. Electronics + INT. 1 minute. Referee: If a Basic Toolkit or Electronic Repair Tools are present, then the difficulty drops to Routine, and the Base Time is 6 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Mercenary (and other PCs) can close up the back of the unloaded vehicle, and look around. Upon inspection, the Merc can roll to see if (s)he recalls the Heavy Weapons skill (if not already filled in on their character sheet), and if they succeed, will recognize the controls of a Water-Cannon, which will be capable of striking the armored guards with a harmless stun attack powerful enough to knock them off their feet. There is also a (currently unloaded) light machinegun, in the same turret.

Once the engine starts, the guards on the wall will turn to look, but even when they see the PCs, there's nothing they can do... Their weapons can't penetrate the vehicle's armor, and the gates won't stop the ramming prow. The only thing that can stop the escaping characters, now, is their own incompetence, or doing something really dumb!

To safely "crash the gate doin' 98": Difficult. Ground Vehicles. Absolute (1 action). Referee: On a Fumble, the Driver gets the vehicle stuck on the gate! Mishaps result in damage to the vehicle (with a Major Mishap wrecking it, and leaving it non-functional, but with the gate broken - the PCs will have to hoof it, chased by guards). On a success, the Driver rams the gate, breaks through, and rolls right over any debris, as slick and clean as you've never seen!

From that point, an entire campaign can be made out of finding out who the PCs are (or were), what the Corp is doing with those mindwiped people, etc. Was the power failure REALLY an accident? Was it a Decker hacking the Utility Company to save his/her friend(s)? Do the PCs have allies? Enemies? Will they run into cops on the way home in their stolen vehicle (assuming they remember where they live)? Why was the Decker along? Does the Driver have a vehicle parked nearby? Why in the world is a Tribesman part of this group, and what was the PI investigating? Did these people even know each other before their abduction? Tune in next week, for another exciting episode in the continuing saga of... (oh, rats, I can't remember the name)!

The first thing a Referee needs to do, in order to make a Campaign of this adventure, is to chose a world for it to occur on. Chengdu might be nice (lots of Bioengineering firms, there, and it has the added benefit that one of the PCs is from there). Pretty much any Colony world will do, so long as it has normal gravity.

Next, we need the bad guys... Some evil Corporation, more interested in profit than people? Provolution, working on another insane scheme? Old enemies that the PCs no longer remember that they have? Maybe something completely new and outre'? A _Call of Cthuhlu_ crossover? Maybe it's really an experimental prison, where the criminals are MindWiped, then taught new personas and skills (and what did the PCs do to earn a berth, there)?

Finally, we need to know what was being done with the MindWiped people after they were wiped... Are the prison MedTechs rehabilitating them, then shipping them elsewhere for retraining? Is the evil Corp running an illegal body bank, and harvesting organs? Is an evil cult using wiped brains to make a massive neural net to summon some strange entity (or just crazed enough to believe that they are)?

You'll also need to design a town for the PCs to escape to, or some other place where they can lay low, and get supplies. Now is when that data that they may have collected in the Storeroom, or that the Decker might have gotten from the database (or is on Harry Morganstein's micro-recorder) could come in handy! Other important things to figure out include: Are the police in on it, or can the PCs go to them (bad news, if you're using the Prison Scenario). Who do the PCs know, and who knows them? Is MindWiping reversible, or permanent? After you've answered those questions, you can throw in any of the complications, below, that fit your ideas.

1. Certain PCs are listed as having vehicles, somewhere. If they were all part of a team, then they're probably nearby, and all together. Can they find them? Will the guards get there first?
2. Remember that there's a photo in the Storeroom that shows all of them entering the MindWipe Facility together, at night, equipped with their gear. Why? What did they hope to gain? Did someone hire them? That was three days ago; is anyone trying to contact them? Harry has his Portable Secretary, the Street Samurai has his Wrist Videophone, and both the Driver and Merc have cyberradios. None of them worked in the Facility, but now? Is anyone (besides the guards) still trying? Who took the picture, and what happened to them?
3. Funny how the lights were out in the Sub-Basement everywhere except the Storeroom, isn't it? Was that help from a Decker, or did the PCs think far enough ahead to sabotage the back-up generators and plant a timed charge in the power grid? If there's a hacker-friend, can (s)he find them?
4. Who is this Jonathan Smythe guy, anyway, and what does he have to do with all this?
5. What was in that fancy locked briefcase, anyway? Whose was it, what happened to them, and is it important, useful, or dangerous?
6. Who were all those Mind-Wiped people? Has there been a rash of missing persons cases, lately? I bet the Decker could hack the Police Files and find out...
7. What did the PCs actually manage to learn about "Ariel"? Since she's immune to the MindWipe toxins, she knows how she was brought to the Facility! Snatch and grab? Kidnapping? Something else? Does she know when, how, or why the PCs were brought in? Will she divulge anything, if she does? Did any of the males treat her badly enough that she might return later, and use them for a "snack", when her Determination drops low?
8. We know that the guards are looking for the PCs, are the police? (They did steal a vehicle, y'know!) Did the Corp. report it, or are they free to keep it? Is it paid off, or will the bank hire a repossessor to come after it? Will the PCs shoot him (her?) in the head before they know what (s)he's after? "Drug you? Try to kill you? No way, man! I just came to repossess the lousy LandMaster, dude! Honest! PLEASE don't shoot me! I got a wife and kids to support!"
9. Each PC has several contacts, friends, etc., in the nearby area. These include: A Techno and a "PowerBroker" (Fixer) for the Decker; Bounty Hunter, City Official, Military Officer, Chief of Police, Street Cop, and Fixer for the PI; Military Officer and another Mercenary for the Merc; Military Officer and a Merc for the Driver; Street Doctor and another Street Samurai for the Street Samurai; and the Tribal Chief, a Street Doctor, and an entire tribe of Indians for the Tribesman (although only 2D6 will show up at any one time). If the PCs escape into the city (with the guards in pursuit), will they encounter them, the guards, the police, or...?
10. What were all those boxes of electronic parts for? Did it have anything to do with MindWiping, or the fact that several PCs have (or are eligible to receive) Cortescan Operation skill? (Do the PCs even know that they have that?)
11. Maybe the military, or the police, hired the PCs to infiltrate the MindWipe Facility, but they got caught. Worse yet, maybe one of the PCs was a double agent who got wiped, by mistake!
12. There have been at least 384 other victims of the evil mindwipers! Do the PCs have any of their gear? Might someone recognize it (either at the police station, fence's, or on the PCs)?
13. That Ariel is one dangerous person to hang around with, even if the chic likes you! Might someone else recognize her? One of her former "snacks", perhaps? Will he warn the PCs, or just "shoot first and ask no questions"? Maybe he's an addict who just wants another visit? Boy, talk about a lousy time for the guards to show up!
14. Maybe (if the Referee is willing, and Ariel has been treated well by the PCs) she will stick with them for a while. If the Referee is playing her as a psionic, she could test the PCs to see if they're eligible to learn any of the skills that she knows. Maybe she knows where a Psionic Institute, or just a few other Psionics are... They probably have other skills! This could be a good way to begin a campaign, and introduce psionics into it at the same time.
15. What if the Facility is located in some really inhospitable location, like the hot\cold pole of Nibelungen? Once the PCs escape, then what?
16. What if MindWiping is the latest form of criminal punishment for the incorrigible? What did the PCs do to earn a slot in the Facility? What if they're on a prison asteroid?
17. What if MindWiping isn't reversible?

Also, just for my own fun (as well as for keeping male players in line, in case there were any female players), I invented a Shadowrun version of the "Succubus" to hassle players who were oggling the females in the first stage of the adventure. While she has the power to seduce and drain characters, she is far more interested in escape, and goes along with the PCs in order to gain it (as long as they're not totally inept). She can also be used to offer helpful advice or assistance, on occasion. PCs who keep bothering her (especially about that three-letter "s" word) may get their wish in a later adventure... and live to regret it! She can PERMANENTLY drain their Consciousness/Life Level and Determination, and Influence/Compell males.

Since Shadowrun allowed magic (and 2300 doesn't), "Ariel" doesn't translate into 2300 terms as well as the other characters do. Originally, she would claim to be a Hermetic Mage, and act accordingly. Since 2300 doesn't have a Mage category, "Ariel" will try to explain her abilities in some other way, and not use ones that she can't. Her "paranormal abilities" can be explained as her simply being skilled in Psychology and Interviewing, and knowing how to present things to men in such a way as to get them to do what she wants. Or, maybe magic/psionics work, in your (non-canon) Campaign... The best thing to do is to just keep her "lying low", and don't display any "powers" that have to be explained. Remember: she just wants to get out of here, not be revealed!

If she must, she will use her Melee 6 and Stealth 6, and explain this by saying that she is a Martial Artist. If her ability to absorb more damage than a combat walker is commented upon, she will claim that it is the ancient "Steel Skin" ability, learned from long years of training. (This allows a character trained in it to tighten up their muscles in a manner which acts much like armor). Note that "Ariel" doesn't have any sort of firearms skill, and so will let the PCs have the weapons, and do the fighting. She will accept a melee weapon, if there are more than enough for the PCs, but generally try to stay out of the fighting, using her lack of weapons skill as an excuse. If the players are having a hard time, though, she will wade in with Thrown Weapons or Melee and Athletics, and help keep them free and awake.

In Shadowrun, despite being immune to the MindWipe toxins, she will use the name "Ariel", and generally act the non-combative-but-intelligent damsel-in-distress. If necessary, she will pretend to be a Hermetic Mage with only a few spells, and then use her innate paranormal powers to simulate that role (claiming to have spells to protect herself, only, as well as control one guard at a time, as well as the few spell-like powers she actually has). Her real paranormal abilities are: Flying ability (at 1.5 X ground movement speed, but she won't use this in front of anyone, even to get up the elevator shaft), Essense Drain, Immunity to Normal Weapons (she'll pretend this is a "Personal Armor" spell), "Shadow" spell (6), "Mind Probe" spell (6), "Clairaudience" spell (6), Compulsion, Influence, Enhanced Senses (vision), Immunity to Age, Pathogens, and Toxins, Mild Allergy to Holy Items, Severe Allergy to Iron, Essense Loss (1/month).

In 2300, "Ariel" is (of course) not her real name. She just uses it because it's as good as anything else. Her immunity to Age, Pathogens (Disease), and Toxins she will keep a secret (if at all possible), or explain as Anagathic Regimen, Herbal diet and high Endurance, and acquired immunity to poisons through previous exposures. She won't use Flying or Essence Drain during this adventure at all (no way to explain that). Immunity to Normal Weapons will be explained as Steel Skin (see above). Her ability to cause darkness will allow her to throw darkness over a certain area, which will affect even the Cyber-eyed. That could be explained as a failure of the emergency lighting (after all, the facility's suffered one power outage, already). She would only do that if everyone was about to get killed, or she was fleeing from the pursuing PCs, for some reason. Compulsion she won't use (unless she decides to visit some obnoxious male later, for a "snack"), as it can only be used to compel males to do one thing... desire her. Influence she will use whenever she gives a guard a command, or asks for something (such as the two "Help me!" examples in the italicized narrative, above). That can be simply explained as human nature; a guy wanting to help a pretty girl. Her Enhanced Vision gives her Thermographic and Light-Intensification abilities, as well as tele-microscopic vision, and flash defense. If that subject comes up, she'll explain it as the Martial Arts "Blindfighting" ability, and good eyesight.

Her allergies shouldn't come up, but if she runs into any holy items, she will show no aversion to (or interest in) them. Items can only irritate her if someone believes in them. She will pretend to dislike them for other reasons, and can even handle them, if necessary. "You want me to wear a cross? That's a symbol of Death! Would you wear an electric chair on a chain around your neck?" Iron (not steel) weapons, though, ignore her Immunity to Normal Weapons, and will cause her damage at their normal DPV, +0.2. Naturally, she won't touch it at all, if possible.

"Ariel" is only motivated to get away, in this adventure; she is not looking for prey. Her gear in the storeroom will be ordinary items (loose, trendy Tres Chic clothing and jewelry and some manual weapons), and back up her claim to be a Martial Artist. Her three spell-like powers may be used at will, within the constraints listed above. Once through this adventure, Ariel will most likely depart for wherever Succubi roam, never to be seen again. If any PC has been a particular pain to her, she may visit him, again, in a few months, when her Essence is low. If the PCs have treated her particularly well, she could even be a dangerous ally... or, she could be the "critter" they try to track down on a later adventure!

Ariel is a tall, gorgeous, dark-haired woman with very pale skin, and the kind of build that men dream about. She is intelligent, quick, tough, willful, and not really interested in anything except escape. She is meant to be used to keep the characters moving, and possibly to bail them out of trouble, but not to lead the party, or fight the bad guys for them. She will generally be quiet, going along with whatever plans the PCs come up with, unless they are really stupid, or will probably get everyone killed. If the PCs turn out to be real idiots, she will be more likely to wander off "looking for the restroom", and just disappear, than to try to argue with them (although she will object to a bad plan, if they're listening, and perhaps offer an alternative suggestion).

Ariel is almost older than the Highlander, and would probably know him, if he were for real. She has total Immunity to Age, Pathogens (Disease), Poisons, and a host of other special abilities. She also has a few special vulnerabilies, as well. For more on these, and rules for handling them, see Ariel's Character Sheet.