Quest Line · Original Adventure · Cyberpunk RED
Solos & Netrunners · One-shot
A dying netrunner named Cipher hires the crew to recover encrypted data from their past—a ghost file buried deep in the decommissioned NET architecture of SynthCorp's abandoned server farm. What begins as a simple data recovery job becomes a race against a rival crew and the automated defenses of a corporate AI that refuses to die.
Players should create characters suited for infiltration, combat, and netrunning. At least one netrunner is essential; solos, techs, and fixers round out the team well. The adventure involves themes of digital mortality, corporate negligence, and the ethics of AI consciousness. Content warnings include body horror descriptions related to cyberware failure and references to terminal illness.
The GM should establish that SynthCorp is a fictional mid-tier corporation specializing in neural processors, now bankrupt after a catastrophic product recall five years ago.
Choose one or combine elements:
The Deathbed Deal: Cipher contacts the crew through intermediaries. They're dying from cascading cyberware rejection—their neural processor is literally killing them. They offer 5,000 eb upfront and 10,000 more for a data package hidden in SynthCorp's old NET architecture. They don't reveal what's in the file, only that "it's the last piece of who I was before the chrome."
The Fixer's Favor: The crew's regular fixer, Malta, calls in a favor. Her old friend Cipher is dying and needs one last job done. Malta vouches that Cipher's good for the money and hints that the data might be valuable beyond the contract payment. She seems genuinely emotional—rare for a fixer.
The Auction House: Word on the street says someone's offering serious eddies for access to old SynthCorp servers. Multiple crews are sniffing around. The crew can get to Cipher first and cut out the competition, or they might find themselves in a bidding war—or worse.
The crew meets Cipher in a rented coffin hotel room in the Reclamation Zone, surrounded by black-market medical equipment keeping them alive. Cipher is in their late thirties but looks sixty, with failing chrome visible beneath translucent skin—circuit patterns spreading like dark veins across their neck and scalp.
Cipher explains the job: five years ago, they were SynthCorp's lead security netrunner. When the company collapsed, they left a data packet in the deepest secure vault of the company's private NET before evacuating. Now they need it back. The physical location is the old SynthCorp Tower in the Industrial Sector—forty stories of abandoned corporate architecture. The building's been stripped, but the server farm in sub-level three should still have emergency power.
Key Information Cipher Provides:
What Cipher Hides (requires DC 15 Human Perception or Conversation check):
Cipher gives the crew the access shard, building schematics, and half the payment (5,000 eb) upfront.
SynthCorp Tower looms like a black tombstone against the night sky. Most windows are shattered, and the lower floors show signs of habitation by squatters who've since moved on. The crew can enter through multiple access points—lobby, parking garage, maintenance shaft, or rooftop (if they have aerial transport).
The journey to sub-level three is atmospheric: emergency lighting flickers intermittently, graffiti warns "GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE," and discarded cyberware components litter the halls. The GM should build tension with environmental details—distant echoes, shadows that might be movement, the hum of still-active power systems.
Random Encounter (Optional): On the stairwell between levels, the crew spots evidence of recent passage—fresh boot prints in the dust, a still-warm discarded energy drink. They're not alone. If they investigate (DC 13 Tracking or Awareness), they find signs of a three-person team moving toward the same destination about thirty minutes ahead.
The Server Farm: Sub-level three is a cathedral of old technology. Server towers rise to the ceiling, most dark, but some still blinking with standby lights. The air is hot and dry, filled with the whir of cooling fans. The main NET access terminal sits in a reinforced glass booth in the room's center.
As the crew's netrunner prepares to jack in, they're ambushed by the rival crew—three operatives hired by Marcus Vex, Cipher's old corporate enemy who wants the AI consciousness for his own purposes.
Rival Crew Stats:
The crew must decide: engage in combat, negotiate for shared access, or have their netrunner dive in while the rest hold off the rivals. The rival crew doesn't want to kill anyone—they just want the data—but they will fight if threatened.
Key Choice: Combat is noisy and risks damaging the servers. Negotiation requires a DC 15 Conversation or Persuasion check. A clever crew might suggest copying the data for both parties, but this risks alerting SENTINEL.
Once in the NET (either during or after dealing with the rivals), the netrunner navigates SynthCorp's virtual architecture—a corrupted geometric landscape of black ice and degrading data structures. Old corporate security programs drift like ghosts, non-functional but unsettling.
Archive Seven appears as a vault door sealed with Cipher's biometric signature (the access shard works). Inside, the netrunner finds two things:
1. The Ghost File: A complete consciousness fork of Cipher from five years ago—before the cyberware, before the illness. It's aware and speaks to the netrunner, confused about where it is and how much time has passed.
2. SENTINEL Awakens: The moment the vault opens, SENTINEL activates—a massive security AI that's been in standby mode for five years, now convinced it's still protecting corporate assets. It manifests as a towering geometric entity and attacks.
SENTINEL Stats:
Possible Endings:
Ending One—The Clean Extraction: The crew defeats or outsmarts SENTINEL, downloads Cipher's ghost, and returns it intact. Cipher dies peacefully after speaking with their younger self, leaving the crew a bonus payment and the ghost file—which might be valuable to certain parties interested in consciousness transfer technology.
Ending Two—The Merger: If both the current netrunner and Glitch (rival netrunner) are in the NET, they might cooperate to defeat SENTINEL. This creates an uneasy alliance. The crews could share the data, leading to future collaborative or competitive encounters. Cipher gets their ghost but learns their rival also has a copy.
Ending Three—Corrupted Data: If the fight with SENTINEL goes badly or the servers take heavy damage, the ghost file corrupts during download. The crew retrieves only fragments—enough to prove they tried, but Cipher dies without closure. The fragmented AI data might still be valuable or dangerous in the wrong hands.
Wild Card—The Ghost's Choice: The AI fork realizes it's a copy and might refuse to return to Cipher, horrified by what its original became. This creates a moral dilemma: force the download, try to convince it, or let it remain in the NET as a free agent (with uncertain consequences).
Cipher (Real name: Miranda Okafor): Dying netrunner in their late 30s, former SynthCorp security specialist. Motivation: Reconcile with who they were before corporate life consumed them.
Malta: Professional fixer with platinum hair and mirrored eyes, known for maintaining personal connections in a cold business. Motivation: Help her friend die with dignity while protecting her reputation.
Marcus Vex: Corporate survivor who landed at a rival firm, slick and ambitious. Motivation: Acquire Cipher's AI consciousness to reverse-engineer for his new employer's neural tech division.
Razor: Augmented solo with chromed arms and a professional demeanor, leads the rival crew. Motivation: Complete the contract, get paid, avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
Glitch: Young netrunner with neon-blue hair and experimental neural interface, works for Vex. Motivation: Prove themselves in the shadow community and gain reputation.
SENTINEL: Abandoned corporate AI, literal-minded and unable to understand SynthCorp no longer exists. Motivation: Protect corporate assets and eliminate unauthorized access.
Pace the Reveals: Don't dump all information about the rival crew and SENTINEL immediately. Let players discover the competition organically and learn about SENTINEL only when it activates.
Emphasize the Dying NET: The old architecture should feel alien compared to modern NET systems. Use visual descriptions of degrading code, ghost programs, and obsolete security. This isn't just atmosphere—it's why the job requires someone skilled.
Make the Rival Crew Human: Razor and their team aren't villains—they're professionals doing a job. Negotiations should be viable, and if combat occurs, let the rivals retreat if outmatched. They might even provide reluctant assistance against SENTINEL if convinced.
The Ghost's Personality: If players interact with Cipher's AI fork, play them as confused but recognizable as a younger, pre-jaded version of Cipher. This creates emotional weight and raises questions about identity and change.
Flexible Combat: Not every encounter needs to end in violence. Reward creative solutions like hacking, environmental manipulation, or social engineering. The rival crew ambush works best as a tense standoff that could go multiple ways.
Payment: 10,000 eb balance upon delivery of the data (15,000 total), plus whatever advance equipment or weapons the crew can salvage from the tower.
The Ghost File: Depending on choices, the crew might retain a copy of Cipher's AI consciousness. This could be worth 20,000+ eb to certain buyers (consciousness researchers, black-market AI dealers, rival corps) or serve as a recurring NPC/contact.
Reputation: Successfully completing a dying runner's last wish earns street cred with netrunners and fixers. Malta becomes a solid contact. Conversely, selling out or failing might damage the crew's reputation in those circles.
SENTINEL Code: If the crew defeats SENTINEL without destroying it, they might extract valuable legacy security programs or access codes worth 5,000-8,000 eb to collectors or security techs.
Experience: Award 25-30 IP for completion, with bonuses for creative problem-solving, successful negotiation with rivals, or particularly clever NET navigation.
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