Must have been a hell of a bender for you to wake up in this nice of a casino. Although where is everybody anyway? And why can’t you get any reception on your phone?
In this session, the cybermercs (the players) awaken trapped in the Diamond Lodge casino, where they must piece together where they are, and then scramble to race others to the last shuttle off and escape this place.
Tags: Cyberpunk Red, Science Fiction, Inspired By, Location
Setting:
This narrative takes place in the Diamond Lodge casino, a state of the art experimental casino station sitting in orbit around the Earth. This one though is not open to the public and serves as a testing ground for human behaviour. The Casino Auto-Retention and Lending Operation System (C.A.R.L.O.S.)1 regularly “recruits” participants from the Earth below and brings them aboard so they they can provide an adequate control group compared to some of the longer term residents of the station.
Wake Up and Smell the Money:
Each cybermerc wakes alone, hungry, and in an unfamiliar room. Looking around, there is the bed, a desk with a small stool, a bathroom, no windows, and a door that locks from the inside preventing anyone from disturbing the cybermerc while they sleep. A gentle voice over an unseen intercom announces:
“Good morning. Please make your way to the main hall. Breakfast will be served shortly.
Stepping out onto a neat, but worn carpet, the cybermercs see their peers stepping out from identical rooms.
If the player characters don’t already know each other then a suggested hook is each person winning a “holiday raffle” they don’t remember entering. The holiday raffle is then a ruse by C.A.R.L.O.S. to ensnare new subjects.
Peering down and up the hallway, no one else is in sight and in typical casino fashion there are no windows indicating what time of day it is in the outside world. The furniture (Benches, side tables, and the like) is relatively modern, although on examination each appears to have been broken and repaired several times prior. Wandering the halls, the cybermercs pass by several empty rooms filled with working slot machines, roulette tables, and empty bars.
In one, a large cleaning drone is bumping against a wall and on seeing the cybermercs attempts to push them out the room. If the cybermercs let it jostle them, then it will push them toward the main hall C.A.R.L.O.S. is directing them to. If the cybermercs navigate around it, then they find a small makeshift camp hidden behind some machines with a bed, basic supplies, and a journal detailing with observations on previous residents who’ve woken up in the rooms.
C.A.R.L.O.S. helpfully provides directions toward the main hall when asked, where the cybermercs find a grand buffet laid out just for them.
Note: The food is not poisoned or interfered with in any way.
Tucking into their meal they’re joined by a sharply dressed gentleman who introduces themself as Phoenix Leone, who kindly requests to join them at their meal.
Phoenix Leone is associated with a gang known as the High Rollers. They see themselves as the guardians of the Diamond Lodge and seek to maintain the status quo.
The House Always Wins:
Phoenix will take a seat at the table irrespective of how the cybermercs answer, asserting their request was out of politeness than necessity. He takes the opportunity to explain that given their current predicament, resources like food are rare in the Diamond Lodge. Before the party can enquire further though, he’s interrupted by a cabaret performer entering from the opposite side of the room that he recognises as Chloe Hart, a member of the Mary Sues, and someone he claims is only out to steal the food off their plates.
The Mary Sues are one of the rival gangs to the High Rollers. They’re not concerned with maintaining the status quo, but instead are looking for a way to disable C.A.R.L.O.S. so he can no longer run any of his “tests”.
Soon, more members of each gang are entering the scene, hurling insults at each other while eyeing off the food. If either side do try to take food, then their rivals will throw whatever is closest at hand to drive them off. There’s a conspicuous lack of firearms present2, so most are armed with makeshift weapons or brandishing their bare fists.
The cybermercs at this point can decide to help either the High Rollers, the Mary Sues, or alternatively fight everyone off and keep all the food to themselves.
Partway through this conflict, C.A.R.L.O.S. makes an announcement over the loud speakers that the complimentary casino shuttle will be departing from the main foyer in 15 minutes. The announcement sends the Mary Sues into a frenzy as they dash from the hall. The High Rollers though depart in a leisurely stroll, informing the cybermercs the shuttle is the one way off the station for those that are interested.
Fortune Favours the Bold:
Dashing through the hallways following the direction signs on the ceiling the cybermercs can see several other gangs metaphorically emerging from the woodwork. Some pause to spare a glance at the newcomers who aren’t clearly associated with any one gang, although most ignore them in their endeavour to be one of the lucky few on board that shuttle.
Approaching the main foyer, the deep crack of low velocity gunshots can be heard echoing through the halls. As they get closer, the corridors become more and more visibly battle weary, with stainless steel infrastructure becoming visible underneath. Standing outside the entrance to the foyer, the cybermercs witness several gangs huddled behind makeshift barricades to protect themselves from whatever’s inside.
Peering in through the closest entrance, the cybermercs are on the lower floor of a two story room. Before them is an ornate grand staircase with a mounted machine gun manned by High Rollers that releases a volley anytime someone from a rival gang peeks through the door.
On the lower floor to the left 2 basic High Rollers stand by ready to loot anyone foolish enough to walk into the room. To the right of the staircase, another High Roller is attempting to seal a doorway which leads to a secondary staircase up.
The grand staircase to the upper floor is littered with the bodies of several people who attempted to climb the stairs before the mounted machine gun came online. The gun itself takes a few seconds to spin up before it can fire, hence why they could get so far.
Behind the mounted machine gun on the upper floor is the entrance to the complimentary shuttle (currently sealed, and requiring 2 turns to open). 3 High Rollers sit here to prevent anyone else getting to the shuttle. The upper floor is open, and a balcony walkway rings the area. Above the entrance on the upper floor are 2 High Rollers, ready to throw detritus at the cybermercs as they enter the room from below to catch them off guard while the gun spools up.
The ceiling is an open skylight into space, currently illuminated by the sun and presenting a dazzling view of the stars. The sunlight reflects through the room, and casts the shadow of the 2 High Rollers above the entrance onto the floor below, cluing the cybermercs into their presence if they’re observant.
Surviving the makeshift barricade and making it onto the shuttle, the cybermercs are treated to a raw view of the Earth, and a glass of real Champagne compliments of C.A.R.L.O.S. Satisfied with the results of his test, the shuttle departs with no issues. As it disembarks for its descent back down C.A.R.L.O.S. extends a return invitation to the cybermercs. His experiment has grown stale, and could benefit from the introduction of new predators into the environment.
What did you think? Any ideas, feedback, want anything expanded on, or do you intend to use this in a session? Let me know!
This session was originally written with Cyberpunk Red in mind, with the prompt “What if Bioshock was set in space?”3.
Cowritten/Edited with the assistance of Alsanna.
HowTTaS is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games (Creators of Cyberpunk Red) and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.”
Yes it’s a Portal reference
C.A.R.L.O.S. doesn’t allow most high powered firearms since they might tear through the hull. If you wish though, the players might be the first group who’s allowed them as a test.
I later realised/remembered Bioshock was the spiritual successor to the videogame System Shock, which indeed was set in space with an omniscient AI.