bookwyrm

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What makes Americans carry firearms is a cultural lack of the all-too-common "victims mentality" that pervades large sections of the first-world countries.

Another way of phrasing this is that we're not scared of everyone we meet.  We're not scared that we're going to be attacked all the time, if we do get attacked we treat it as an isolated (and usually random) incident - sh*t happens, go figure.

Quote (Hanns @ Nov. 14 2003,14:59)

That ain't shite compared to Happy Tree Friends. HTF Rules!

Thanks for the tip, Hanns.  I picked up the DVD a couple of days ago, this stuff's insane!  It's like an episode of My Little Pony where they all die in industrial accidents!

Beware the christmas bargains, Split.  When you just shop there you can look at them and leave; when you work there they start calling to you.

Live in America?

Quote (Bunnycakes @ Dec. 10 2003,03:53)

Ok, since everyone is posting up their desktops, I figured I may as well too.

Very nice, a wierd sort of anime art deco.

From the Stiff Little Fingers Newsletter:

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They'll be touring with the Dropkick Murphys on the east coast of the U.S. in early February. There will be additional shows on their own added to the trip, but no specific dates have been set yet. Also, gigs in Italy are likely for late February. And of course, they'll be touring the UK in March. Details on all of this will be emailed and posted on the Web site as soon as we have them.

Ivan gives the body one last squeeze and then drops him.  The veteran of numerous battles with the police, the tear gas doesn't faze him - not while there was one more person to kill.  Staggering to his feet and bracing himself against the sides of the van he starts to pound on the metal glass partition between him and the driver with his steel fist.

 

Thanks!

Notes:  Rat was originally a character in the MonsterPunk game.  He's been resurrected for Independence Punk 10 years older and (hopefully) wiser.

 

The software on his terminal link and pocket comp has been upgraded to the latest secretaryware, so he no longer has to physically type, and he can take realtime dictation.  Aside from that, the only new equipment he has is Kerensikov boosterware.  Oh, and his suits cost a lot more now.

 

 

 

Name: (The) Rat

Role: Fixer

Stats

COOL 10

INT 9

EMP 8

LUCK 6

MA 5

REF 6

BOD 5

TECH 5

ATTR 6

Humanity 80

 

Skills (*=career skill)

Cool

Street Deal* +8

Int

Awareness/Notice* +5

System Knowledge* +4

Hide/Evade* +3

Language: Italian +3

Accounting +6

Library Search +3

Expert: Memory Techniques +4

Education +1

Language: Arabic +1

Emp

Persuasion* +7

Human Perception* +6

Ref

Melee* +3

Rifle* +2

Brawling* +1

Tech

Communications Security* +6

First Aid +2

Attr

Personal Grooming +4

Wardrobe & Style +4

 

Cyberware

Nasal Filters (Save vs. breathable toxins +4) (HL:2)

Neuralware Processor (HL:2)

Terminal Link (Allows interface with a terminal, using the body for peripherals)(HL:1)

Chipware Socket (HL:3)

Chips

Japanese +3

Mandarin +3

French +3

German +3

Spanish +3

Russian +3

Arabic +3

Kerensikov Speedware +1 (HL:4)

 

Weapons

Custom lever action short double barrelled 10 gauge shotgun with both barrels linked to the same trigger, 2x5 round clips, and ShokGel recoil compensation system

WA -3; Conc. L; Dam 6D6; # shots 2x6 (5 in the clip & 1in the barrel); ROF 2x1; Rel. VR; Range 40m

Pattern

PB/Short 2m 6D6

Medium 4m 4D6

Long 6m 2D6

 

Cinquedea Punch Dagger (Blade is 15? long, 5? wide at base)

WA 0; Conc. L; Dam 2D6+2

 

Armour

Leather Trenchcoat with kevlar lining (SP 15 Arms, Legs & Torso)

 

Other Equipment

Identity - John Dooley, American National, Occupation - Salesman,

4 Smoke Grenades

Flick-knife

6-10 cheap cell phones

Nitsushira PocketComp: Book-sized Laptop in an armoured case (SP20)

It has an encrypted hard drive running a custom designed OS which only accepts command line input, with professional firewalls and defence utilities, port stealthing (invisible on the net), and connects through a randomly changing multiple proxy system.

Blue (prescription) contact lenses

3-4 High quality suits

1st aid kit

 

 

3 standard emergency kits -  All are in armoured boxes (SP20) with thumbprint locks.

These  contain

5x1000eb token credchip

10000eb cash

Sawn off (to conserve space) single barrelled shotgun & 10 shells

Flickknife

1st aid kit

Pocket computer (same as the laptop but slower & with less space on them)

Cell phone

Change of clothes (no armour)

 

1 Armageddon emergency kit kept in a bank safe deposit box

This contains

Full length shotgun w/50 shells

Flickknife

1st aid kit

Small bottle of bleach

Pocket computer

3 cell phones (1 to find out how badly I've been fucked, 1 to make arrangements to get out of dodge, and 1 for emergencies)

Armourjack (SP18)

2 changes of clothes (1 casual, 1 smart - different styles to my usual one)

New identity (Frederico Novello, Italian National, Occupation - Security Consultant)

Cred chip for sleeper account

50000eb cash

20x2000eb token credchip

 

 

 

 

 

Background

 

Rat was born some time after the turn of the century, probably in 2001.  He doesn't really remember having any parents, and his earliest memories are of fighting the sewer rats for food.  He quickly learned the lessons of the street, becoming adept at spotting trouble, and avoiding it with his smooth words.  However, his upbringing has also left him with an extremely vicious streak that can surprise and frighten those who don't know him well one example of this is his trademark execution style - break their arms and legs, cut their belly open and then stake them out for the sewer rats.  The screams can usually be heard over a mile away.  (This is also where the tag 'Rat' comes from.)

 

His glibness hasn?t always saved him, though.  In 2011 a booster called Franco, who had a habit of bullying me, cornered me one night whacked out of his head on something.  Unable to run or reason with him I ended up smashing a bottle across his face, scarring him badly and giving me a chance to escape.  I managed to avoid him for several weeks, and by the time I saw him again he had made up a big story to cover the fact that he got glassed by a scrawny kid.  One glance and we had an unspoken agreement not to talk about that night.

As I became more powerful in the area Franco and his gang moved out.  He's still around but we usually manage to avoid each other.

 

Not long after this I made friends with a homeless guy I knew called Coffee (because he is always asking for change for a coffee, this is the same guy who 6 years later introduced Shrap to me).  We had looked out for each other in the past and he eventually got to talking about how he ended up on the streets.  It turned out he had been in the military, something to do with supplies, and he told me about all the scams he used to pull.  A bad deal, a dishonourable discharge and a large debt he ran from left him hiding on the streets.  He ended taking me under his wing and taught me how to turn my natural talents into hard cash, and how not to make the same mistakes he did, as well as encouraging me to educate myself.  I still see him regularly and he feeds me information from the streets, and I still occasionally ask for his advice on deals.

 

I took to being a fixer like a duck to water, quickly making a rep for myself (despite my age).  In the spring of 2012 the daughter (Tracy Langan) of the Mayor's secretary (Harriet Langan) was kidnapped and held for ransom.  The cops started tearing up the combat zone looking for her, but unfortunately this threatened to sour a big deal that I was putting together.  Instead of abandoning the deal I put together a small team and extracted the girl and returned her to her mother.  In addition to the reward money, I managed to keep my deal together, impressing the fixer (Melody) I was working with (she and I became good friends and we occasionally send work each others way).  I also got the eternal gratitude of Harriet Langan, who's a powerful figure in city hall bureaucracy.

 

In 2013, I started expanding my area of influence, stepping on the toes of a fixer called Nocturne.  Her story is that I started dealing on what she considered her territory.  Only problem is that she didn't find out about it for a couple of months, so as far as I could see (and most people agree with me), if it was her territory she should have known from the start.  Mainly she's just pissed because a 12-year-old took her!  She is pretty much isolated on this, and her plan for revenge has been to badmouth me all the time in the hopes of giving me a bad rep.  That she has done this for the last 10 years without success shows how many people listen to her.

 

By 2016 I hadn't had many dealings with the Mob, but I was getting large enough to have to start worrying about stepping on toes.  I realised this when they came and had a little talk with me.  As long as I respected them, they would allow me to work, and as a gesture of good faith they would do me a favour.  The year before a bim I had got heavily involved with OD'ed on some bad #### she injected.  The Mob knew who had sold my bim the bad drugs and they had arranged for him to sample his own stock (they showed me a vid of it, it took him 10 minutes to claw his eyes out and another 30 to die).  One favour deserves another, but so far they haven't collected...yet.

 

However, this warning did lead to me making friends with a local mobster called Danny 'Kneecap' Vito.  He likes the fact that I treat the mob with respect (unlike some young punks) and he usually looks out for me like a big brother (also possibly in case I turn out to be a major player).  He's involved mostly in the protection rackets and loan sharking, so I occasionally get hired by the flopsies to renegotiate their contracts with him, although we don't let it interfere with our friendship.

 

In 2017 Danny and I felt it was about time to start going legitimate, so he introduced me to a 'shoemaker'.  I sank a large amount of capital into buying an identity and spent some time getting to grips with bank accounts etc. and this was where I started looking into computer security (which later widened into general communication security).  This was also when I got (legally) chipped and ripped.  The next year I sank even more capital into buying a custom shotgun (it's good for my image).  The extra respect it gets me was worth the price, though.

 

I spent the next year partying hard and enjoying my success.  By the end of it I had hooked up with a crusty old nomad called Bloodbath who became my driver/bodyguard.

 

I also got to know the Heavy Mob, when I expanded from just booking bands into clubs to providing tech support and drug testing in the clubs.  As they got to know me, I started to do little favours and jobs for them.  From there it was a small step to mentioning that a club might be looking for some extra door staff, or settling disputes between bouncers and management.  By this time I was known well enough that there were no objections when I started to supply some club security myself.  After successfully mediating several turf disputes it was clear that, although not an actual member of the Heavy Mob, I had their respect and could call upon them for the occasional favour.  (I figure this is probably also good for getting me into clubs for free!)

 

The Heavy Mob

This is the name given to a loose organisation of bouncers and doormen who operate about two thirds of the club security in the city.  Different areas are controlled by different groups, but they will readily work together to deal with threats to their business (such as new groups trying to muscle in, or a particular gang causing trouble) and can quickly assemble over 200 bouncers, although this is rare.  Disputes between groups are usually quickly settled, but rarely lethal.  Individuals typically have high melee and H2H combat skills and average firearms skills.  Cyberware tends to be obvious, and muscle augments and cyberlimbs are common.

 

In 2020 I was able to pick up an alternate identity (Frederico Novello) which I am using as a sleeper ID, just in case anything should ever go wrong.

 

Age 20

In 2021 I started hearing rumours that some dumb ####### was setting up a kidnapping on my turf.  I tracked down who and where he was and hired some muscle (Bloodbath, Shrap) to help me reason with the guy.  It turned out that the guy was called Daniel Ashe, who had been dumped by his girlfriend (Juliet Krantz) shortly before she left college to take up her current position as head of PR for her father's company, Krantz Technologies.  Dumb Danny had lured her to this warehouse on the pretext that he had some info from his dad (who's something big in Merill, Asukaga and Finch) that was vital to her company.

 

When we entered we found Daniel and four of his frat buddies in the process of torturing Juliet.  Since he hadn't asked my permission to do this, we set about showing him the error of his ways.  During the firefight I took a full auto SMG burst to the chest and head, and promptly went to the happy land of unconsiousness.  

 

When I woke up four months later, I was in hospital with a reconstructed jaw, a freshly grown lung and a re-attached spine, all courtesy of Juliet, who still thinks I was there to save her (it's not nice to argue with someone who is paying your medical bills).  As an epilogue, the frat boys that survived the fight were staked out for the rats.  You don't piss on my turf!

 

The time I spent recuperating allowed my interest in communications security time to pay off.  Someone I knew on the net called SnakeBurn invited me onto some of the hidden security sites.  I don't know anything about SnakeBurn outside of its interest in Comm. Security, although I assume SnakeBurn knows a bit more about me.  SnakeBurn knows more than I do, but I've passed on some tips about secure banking it wasn't aware of.

(I refer to SnakeBurn as it because I don't know if it's male or female)

 

Last year I was fixing to sell a large quantity of combat drugs to a combat gang. I had Shrap and Bloodbath acting as 'obvious' muscle, and Temper acting as a sniper, because I was worried about trouble. The deal ended up going down as planned, except someone ratted us out to the cops who busted the joint. We escaped the back way (i.e. through the sewers) with the money but not the drugs, whilst the snipers picked off the gang leaders (no surviving witnesses to tie the deal to me). I later learnt that the mob didn't want the deal to go ahead, which explains a lot.

 

Since then I've been keeping a low profile, building up my capital in order to try to 'move up a division'.  Now I have the money, a team of trusted ?runners, and all I'm waiting for is the right job to come along.

 

-----------------------------

 

 

It?s been 10 years since the Monsterpunk job was settled (I'm assuming satisfactorily).  In that time Rat has not only been able to remain an independent operator but has expanded his operation all over the west coast of California by setting up a network of small time operators (streetdeal 1-2) and teaching them how to run 'business'.  The 'business' is still largely the same sort of nickel and dime stuff that he's always done, but on this scale it brings in considerably more money, and with all the favours he's owed (even though they're mostly small favours) he's rapidly becoming a player of some note.

 

Aside from the 'business', the biggest problem he's faced has been personal - his growing dependency on drugs.  He was already starting to use too much at the time of Monsterpunk, although it would be several years before he realised it was spiralling out of control.  Giving up was out of the question, his profession regularly required 20 hour days to stay ahead.  His solution was to have Kerensikov boosterware installed - now he's permanently speeding with no dangerous chemical dependencies.

 

Although he usually stays away from the traditional fixer staples of guns, drugs and cyber (generally finding them to be more trouble than they're worth), he has been known to dabble for the occasional quick profit.  In fact, it's this weakness for a quick profit that has him in his current troubles.  A misunderstanding over a consignment of surface to air missiles has left the government urgently wanting to 'talk' to him.  He's currently laying low, but is looking to leave the country until he can cool the heat off a bit.

It should have been +1 init on first round when fastdrawing, but it got lost in the various revisions (I've corrected it now).  The bonus is due to the way that the asp telescopes out as you strike.

I can't remember what I voted for now, but the type of weapon I choose epends more on the type of character I'm playing, because that tends to dictate the range at which I'll engage people.  Some, like Billy (RoadPunk) will keep their distance and snipe with a rifle, others like Crazy Ivan (Return to Night city) consider guns a mere fashion accessoryand would prefer to rip you apart with his bare hands.

Slightly late, but happy 22nd Rocky!  (How much is that in dog years?)

Unions and scabs can be a pretty touchy subject in England.  I still remember the visciousness and violence from both sides that characterised the miners strike in the '80's.  The problem is that both business and the unions have abused their power, usually at the expense of the workers.  If you want an insight into British labour relations watch the Peter Sellers film I'm All Right Jack.  The sad thing is that in an age of increasingly business-freindly governments, strong unions are more important than ever.

Way to go Bullet! There's hope for us all!

 

Well, probably not, but you know what I mean.

Letting go of the corpse-to-be he drops to the floor of the van and blindly gathers the struggling mook into his arms.  Panting to feed extra oxygen to his muscles he squeezes the unfortunate soul in a lethal bear hug.

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I want plenty of spunky gadgets

That has a completely different meaning over here.

Quote (psychophipps @ Dec. 05 2003,11:38)

Now we go to the IRA/PIRA.  Where did a lot of them get their training?  Wow!  Mid-eastern terrorist camps!  Weapons and kit contacts?  Bingo!  Mid-eastern terrorist camps!

Financing?  Good old US of A.  Thanks guys, knew we could depend on you.

Quote (Karsten @ Dec. 05 2003,17:27)

Why Saddam?

Because Saddam didn't have nukes.  Kinda obvious when you look at it.

Personally, I've never had any computer that I've built (although we're only talking about 10 or so) be so fussy.  Maybe it's because I generally build them on the floor in amongst all the dirt and cat hairs?

My EMP fluctuates between 7-8 and 2-3 depending on moods and medication.

 

But Dog Soldier's got me thinking about another point - cyberware addiction.  So you've got a C-Psycho on the rampage, you take him (and it is usually a him) down, strip his 'ware out, give him some councilling and send him back into the world.  Is he really going to want to remain a 'lesser person'?  Or is he going to be bolting on household appliances as soon as he's on his own?  I suppose it brings a whole new meaning to the term junk-ie.

When in doubt, blame Windows!

The pain flaring in his face only serves to spur Ivan on to greater savagery.  Wrapping his great big arms around the poor guy to prevent him from struggling, he pulls the head back and starts tearing at the exposed throat like a rabid dog.

I think it's down to the fact that we'll listen to any argument put forward, but if they can't back it up (with facts no less!) the we just laugh and point out what an ass-backward idea it is.

The other possible reason could be if you're running Windows 98.  It doesn't like having more than 256MB of RAM and can become unstable if you install more than that.

Not bad considering we've 'discussed' gun control, creationism vs evolution, religion, politics, economics, etc.  In fact, I think the closest we've got to flames was everybody criticising Monoxide666 for posting in caps with no punctuation.