Shadow of the Waxwing Slain, Ch. 5
Broken
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CW: Brief eye-gouging, general physical violence
Chapter 5: Broken
Shift 6: Morning
Location: Sector 1 - Entertainment District → Slums
In the interest of adding some tension, I’m starting a Clock. I first learned about Clocks in ttrpgs when playing the Blades in the Dark system/setting, but they are basically a tool to use as a countdown. You determine how big the clock is, (4-step, 6-step, etc.) and tick a section of clock, either by rolling (Does the Countdown Clock tick? Yes/No.) or you can use Character’s failures to tick, or just tick it after a certain amount of time. Since it’s been over 24 hours after the initial bombing, I’m starting a 4-step clock to another incident. We’ve gotten enough evidence that another incident is likely going to take place, so it makes sense to me.
Countdown Clock = [ ][ ][ ][ ]
I’m going to roll to see if we add a tick.
1d6 = 5 → “Yes”
Countdown Clock = [X][ ][ ][ ]
Time is running out.
“Enough,” Dee said, pushing Fletcher aside, getting ready to kick the door down. “Eve Ricci! We have a warrant for your arrest!”
Force = d12 + d10 = 6,8 → Critical Success
I choose to Act Quickly as a bonus effect.
Dee kicked her foot right next to the doorknob, making a loud crunch, and sending the door swinging into the room. She saw the woman Gabor had described, Eve, climbing out the window onto the rickety fire escape. “She’s going down the fire escape!” Dee yelled, running after her.
“Shit,” Fletcher said, taking off down the hallway and heading down the stairs. “I’ll go around!” He called out.
Dee followed Eve out onto the fire escape and down, running as fast as she could.
Eve hit the last platform, and jumped, flinging herself over the bars, and landing in a crouch. She pulled a handgun and started running down the alley.
Dee dropped after her, as Fletcher came around the corner.
“She’s got a gun,” Dee said.
They both took off after her.
Chase time! First, I determine the zones of the characters. I’ll say Dee and Fletcher are at “Medium: Up to 25 meters away and in a different zone”.
Now, each participant selects a maneuver. I’ll either choose the one that makes the most sense for Eve, or if there’s a couple that make sense, I’ll roll. To start, I’m just going to go with Pursue/Flee for all three. They’re all just flat-out running at this point. Now, I’ll roll for an obstacle and we’ll see what happens.
1d12 = 2
Eve ran through the alley, coming out into the street, just as a green light turned to red, letting traffic through. She charged through, getting honked at as cars slammed on their brakes. She slipped through, Fletcher and Dee following, but not gaining any ground.
The cold fog had dissipated, and a light drizzle was coming down.
The obstacle gave a disadvantage to Pursue/Flee actions and everyone failed their roll, so no change in range.
Dash will continue to Pursue. Fletcher is going to try to Cut her Off.
Options: Flee, Hide, Block, Stand and Shoot. I’m going to roll a 1d4.
1d4 = 1 → Flee
Obstacle = 3 → Storefront window. Prey must make a Force roll or cancel their maneuver.
Force = 1d8 = 7 → Success!
So now Eve makes a mobility roll to try to extend her range.
Mobility = 1d10 = 8 → Success! She moves from Medium to Long.
Dee chases. Mobility = d12 + d8 = 1,3. Push → 1d8 = 7 → Success
Dee gets back to Medium range and takes a Stress from the 1.
Fletcher is attempting to use the action Cut Off and makes a mobility check vs Eve but is at a disadvantage because she is now in the Long range from him.
Fletcher: 1d10 = 2 → Failure
I don’t even need to roll for Eve because a tie counts as a failure, which puts her at Extreme range from him.
Across the street, Dee pursued Eve, while Fletcher took a turn, trying to find an alleyway to cut through.
Eve noticed and changed her direction, coming to a storefront. She jumped, arms crossed in front of her, crashing through the glass and into the store.
Dee jumped after her but slipped and nearly stumbled inside. Catching her feet, she ran faster, pushing herself to the limit to keep Eve in sight, following the N-8 through the store, dodging through aisles, around people, shouting at them to get out of the way.
Eve went out through the back, emerging into a back alley, following it to the road, and still running, Dee a few seconds behind.
Fletcher saw them from down the road, realizing his short cut had put him far behind. He followed as best he could.
Dee is at still at Medium range from Eve. She is going to Pursue. Fletcher is too far to do much, so he is also going to Pursue.
1d4 for Eve’s action: 3 → Block
Obstacle→
Eve darted through a crowd carrying neon umbrellas to block the drizzle of rain. She grabbed a nearby trashcan, trying to dump it behind her in the way of the detectives.
First, Eve’s attempt to block
Force: 1d8 = 1 → Failure: Her maneuver is cancelled and she does not increase her range.
Now, Dee and Fletcher have to roll Observation or their maneuver is also cancelled.
(Dee) Observation: d10 + d6 = 1,2 → Failure
(Fletcher) Observation: d10 + d10 = 5,7 → Success: Fletcher improves to Long range from Eve
Eve stumbled, trying to turn the trashcan over, forced to catch her breath.
Dee hesitated, looking at the mass of neon umbrellas, unable to catch sight of Eve.
Fletcher spotted Eve in the crowd and kept running, catching up.
Eve gave up on the trash can and started running again as the umbrellas turned a different direction.
Dee saw her and gave chase.
“Dee, this isn’t working, you need to try something else,” Rem said in her head.
Dee agreed, looking for a way to cut ahead of Eve.
Maneuvers→
Dee: Cut Off
Fletcher: Pursue
Eve: 1d4 =
3, 2: Hide
I got a 3 again, which is another Block, but considering Eve’s Strength is not her strong suit, I don’t think it would make sense for her to try that again, so I rerolled.
Obstacle→
Eve turned down an alley, only to come to a dead end. Nowhere to run or hide.
Eve’s maneuver automatically fails! Let’s see if Dee and Fletcher catch up.
Dee: Mobility vs Mobility
(Dee)d12 + d8 = 12, 1 → Two Successes
(Eve)d10 = 5 → No Successes
Fletcher: Mobility
d10 + d6 = 2,6 → One Success
Dee immediately catches up, while Fletcher will move up to Medium Range. He will arrive in a few moments.
Eve turned in a circle, trying to find a way out, spotting a door in the wall next to her.
Before she could move, the door burst open, Dee coming out of it and slamming into Eve.
Dee has closed the distance to Engaged and can make a Hand to Hand combat attack, unopposed. Before I roll, I’m going to choose to attempt to Grapple instead of doing damage. This will essentially allow Dee to tackle Eve to the ground, forcing Eve to drop her gun.
HtH: d12 + d10 = 5,3 → No Successes
Push: Reroll d12 + d10 = 7,7 → Critical Success
Dee wrapped her arms around Eve and pulled her into a tight hug before lifting and taking her to the ground.
The gun dropped from her hand and skittered away.
Now, I’m going to draw initiative. I say draw, because in Blade Runner, you draw cards to see who goes when. I’ll draw cards for the three combatants.
Dee: 2
Fletcher: 3
Eve: 1
Eve struggles to get out of the grapple
Eve Hth: d8 = 5 → Failure
Dee performs a grapple attack, which is a straight skill roll with advantage.
Dee Hth: d12 + 2d10 = 5,2,10 → Critical Success
This means Dee does an extra damage for a total of 2, taking Eve down to 4 health. She also inflicts a Critical Injury, meaning I roll on the Crit table using her Strength die (d12).
Critical Injury: 4
As Eve struggled, Dee took reached for the face, grabbing whatever she could and slamming Eve’s head against the ground. Eve screamed in pain.
Dee realized her thumb was in Eve’s left eye and blood was coming out but did not let up. “Give up! It’s over!” She said.
Does Eve give up?
1d6 = 2 → No
Eve growled. “I’m already dead, you N-9 bitch!” She continued to struggle, pushing against Dee as hard as she could.
Fletcher came around the corner, pushing past people that were starting to stop and stare. He turned to the gathering crowd and showed his badge. “Nothing to see here!” He shouted. “Keep it moving!”
Eve struggles to get free.
Hth: d8 = 1
Dee performs another grapple attack
Hth: d12 + 2d10 = 12, 1, 10 → 4 Successes
Critical success means I do another 2 damage, leaving Eve at 2 Health. I also get to roll for another Critical Injury.
The bonus 2 successes allow me to roll 3 Crit Die and choose the result I’d prefer. This is a good thing because it means it’s less likely that Dee will accidentally kill Eve!
Crit. Roll: 3d12 = 9,11,12
Oh man, what a roll! I choose the least lethal option-Internal Bleeding
Dee got her legs under her and physically lifted Eve off the ground, before slamming her back down onto the pavement. There was a loud crunch.
As people moved on from the scene, Fletcher turned and hurried over, flipping his phone out as he saw what was happening. “Dispatch! We need an emergency transport to RDU medical ASAP!”
“Stop fighting,” Dee said, breathlessly, looking into Eve’s remaining left eye. “Please,” Dee whispered.
Does she stop?
1d6: 1 → No, and
Eve spat blood into Dee’s face. “Never, fuck you.”
Eve struggles to get free.
Hth: d8 = 2
Dee performs another grapple attack
Hth: d12 + 2d10 = 6,4,7 → Two Successes
Another 2 damage, dropping Eve to 0 Health, so she immediately becomes Broken. This is basically the Blade Runner version of Incapacitated. Unfortunately, it is another critical success so there is another critical injury.
Crit. Roll: 1d12 = 2
Dee got one hand free and slugged Eve across the face, breaking her nose.
The fight went out of Eve and she stopped struggling, going limp.
Dee let go and stood up. Her hands were shaking. She stood, looking down at Eve and didn’t move.
This is definitely a stressful situation for Dee! I think this is “Learning something that fundamentally changes who you are or how you view the world.” I’m not sure exactly how, but this is an incredibly fucked up situation that is going to have a definite effect. I rule that this counts as 3 Stress but she rolls Insight, and successes eliminate points of stress.
Insight: d8 + d6 = 5,1 → No Successes
Dee takes 3 stress, putting her at 5, making her Broken. First, we must see if she suffers a permanent loss of resolve. She rolls Empathy and as long as it’s not a 1, she’s fine.
Empathy: d8 = 2
Phew, also, she immediately rolls a die equal to her empathy rating, taking a Critical Stress Effect.
Empathy: d8 = 1: “LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY MOTHER”
Fletcher went to crouch down by Eve when Dee reached out and grabbed him. “Hey, what-"”
Dee made a fist with her other hand and pulled it back.
Dee is attacking Fletcher. Close combat, Hth vs Hth
Dee Hth: d12 + d10 = 3,1 → No Successes
Fletcher Hth: 2d6 = 4,6 → One Success
Dee takes 1 damage and drops to 5 health.
Fletcher knocked her hand off him and fended off another blow, before landing one of his own, into her gut, knocking her back.
“Dee, goddamnit, it’s me!” He said, looking into her eyes. “It’s Fletcher, your goddamn partner!”
Manipulation to talk her out of it
2d10 = 9,7 → Two Successes
Snaps her out of it and gives her back 2 Resolve (losing 2 of the accumulated stress).
Dee stopped, eyes widening. She stepped back, hands up. “I-I’m sorry, Fletch-, I-I don’t know what happened.”
Fletcher shook his head. “I gotta check on her,” he muttered, crouching down by Eve and checking her vitals.
Is the emergency transport going to get there in time?
1d6 = 4: Yes, but…
“Tell us where Rhodes is,” Fletcher said, cradling Eve’s head. “Tell us about the Iron Court.”
Eve coughed up blood and smiled. “You won’t find him. And the next act is coming…soon. You can’t stop it.”
Countdown Clock = [X][X][ ][ ]
Shift 7: Afternoon
Location: LAPD-RDU
Fletcher sat in Holden’s office, looking at his hands. “Why the hell am I here? We’re running out of time. And where’s Dee?”
Holden scowled. “You’re here to tell me what the hell happened out there. Dee has her own shit to deal with, alright?”
“We had an arrest warrant for a suspected N-8 involved with the The Iron Court, which, from what we’ve gathered, is some kind of extremist terrorist replicant group involved in the bombing and we have reason to believe, planning another incident as we speak, which is why we can’t waste time with this bullshit. So tell me where my partner is, and we can get on with this fucking case!” Fletcher slammed his hands on the desk.
Holden took a deep, slow breath, before speaking. “What happened to Dee out there? Tell me, no bullshit. She may be your partner but she’s not human, you’d best remember that.”
Fletcher sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Dee ran that suspect down, hard. The suspect wouldn’t give up, so Dee was forced to keep hitting her. It fucked her up a bit, but she’s a rookie, what do you expect? She’s fine now. We wouldn’t have that suspect if not for her.”
Holden frowned, looking down at some papers on his desk.“She’s taking a baseline test.” He raised his hands to stop Fletcher from arguing. “It’s policy. Need to make sure she’s still…functioning as expected. Should be done soon. It’s outta my hands.”
Dee sat in the all-white room, facing the camera on the wall. She sat completely still.
‘Pull your shit together, Dee’ Rem said, in her mind. ‘You nearly lost it back there.’
‘Shut the fuck up, Rem’ she said back, silently and he went quiet.
“State your baseline” the disembodied voice came over the speaker.
Dee began to speak, trying to keep her voice controlled. “Mountains toppling evermore, into seas without a shore…”
Chapter log
This was a doozy. I knew I wanted to get into some Chase and Combat scenes, but it did not go how I expected it to go. As a solo gamer, you can choose to set up situations you want to play in. Want to give your character some combat to test out some new moves? Have some thugs arrive to beat him up! While the case did lead me to this character, I’m the one who decided they would make a run for it. Yes, it did make sense, but I also just wanted to try out the Chase rules, and that’s a perfectly acceptable answer to make something happen in your game. You don’t have to wait for randomness to make the thing you want to happen, happen.
Overall, the Chase rules are pretty cool and engaging, as well as being easy to Solo, either by choosing the option an NPC would most likely perform, or by rolling a die to randomly determine it. The Obstacles present interesting difficulties that affect you depending on what maneuver you chose. I just wish there were more than 12. That doesn’t seem like enough. After a couple chases, you’re going to be repeating obstacles quite regularly. I get that feeling throughout the rulebook, it’s got some great rules and setting-specific details, but I just wish there was more of everything. More locations, more random tables, more random entries in those tables, etc. They only have three options for an archetype’s look, name and housing! Three!
This is often the wish of a solo-gamer though, more random tables, more random generators, etc. The best solution is, if you need more random tables/generators, to make them yourself! Which I’m working on…sort of.
Speaking of, in terms of tools, I didn’t use much of anything outside the core rules. Look forward to next week, though, when you see Dee’s baseline test which I created using PartyDeMarty’s analysis of Bladerunner:2049’s baseline test and rules for making your own. I found this on the wonderful Bladerunner: RPG discord. You can find it and tons of other helpful resources there under the Resource Denabase.
You may at times see oracle rolls crossed out, and then another result shown. This is because I will, at times, disagree with the oracle. I probably wouldn’t do this for a yes/no roll, but more for rolls on tables when getting a result that doesn’t make sense for the situation. This is something you can always do as a solo gamer, whenever you want. It’s your story, you decide what fits and what makes sense. Now, I’m not going to change Skill rolls, or death saves, or anything like that, but as an example in this chapter, I figured it would be boring for Eve to try to block again and it didn’t really make sense because she’s not that strong. So I rerolled.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading.
Those mechanics are so cool! What a great scene.