Life in the rusting habstacks of the slum zones is far from easy, with money increasingly hard to come by, so many do whatever it takes, just to get by. While most will gravitate towards criminal activity, many also turn to underground gambling for a chance to strike it lucky and land that big score.
Here are 10 activities for the desperate to place a wager on.
Roll a D10:
Hook: An Arasaka surveillance drone went missing around a week ago. The remote's tracer became active again today, and the corporation want you to go and retrieve it ASAP. Said drone was hacked, disabled and stripped by scavengers, the components sold to a group of teenage Drone Dash enthusiasts, looking to enter the next race. Problem is, the teens all live inside a Militech gated community, and the next competition is tonight. But where?
2. Combat Zone Run - tricked-out street cars undertake a circuitous rally through some of the most dangerous turf in the combat zone. Crews compete any way they can, running the gauntlet of the gangs, the crazies and the security drones, to try to make it to the finish line in one piece.
2. Combat Zone Run - tricked-out street cars undertake a circuitous rally through some of the most dangerous turf in the combat zone. Crews compete any way they can, running the gauntlet of the gangs, the crazies and the security drones, to try to make it to the finish line in one piece.
Hook: The PCs are contracted to crew a dubious looking hotrod in the next run, and meet up with the current warlord of the Painhaus gang, Iron Face, in a contaminated industrial ruin, where they will deliver a cargo of explosive munitions, bought by the gang from the Russian mob.
3. The Freak Fights - popular illegal combat event, where modified fighters are pitted against one another, in cages, pits, parking lots and cellars, in the decaying districts of the city. Bouts can be to first blood, to the death, or anything in between. (10 infamous Freak Fighters can be found on page 41 of the Augmented Reality city kit).
Hook: Your fixer wants you to make friends with freak fighter Ghengis Klang, and keep him alive. Seems he's the only witness to a double-homicide that the fixer is being set-up for. Corrupt FBI agents really need the fixer to go down, so will be doing all they can to take Klang out before he can testify.
4. Holo Dogfighting - ‘trode-controlled holographic aerial combats, fought out in the darkened back rooms of bars, noodle joints and pool halls. Miniature ghosts of fighter planes strafe and barrel-roll mere inches above the spectators heads.
Hook: Lorenzo Valentine, a local mafiosa, lost a ton of money on the last dogfight. He plans to bet on rank outsider, Hamed Riley (current odds of 150:1) when he goes up against the circuit champion, Tammy Reed. Valentine wants the PCs to sabotage Tammy's rig, lean on her to throw the match, or inhibit her ability to win. Whatever. He doesn't care how, she just has to lose. Turns out that Tammy Reed is 14 years old, and only able to walk with the use of a linear assist frame.
5. Augmented Animal League - illegally enhanced animals (mostly dogs, cats, large rats, and the occasional fox) are set against one another in spiked pits, for the entertainment of a baying crowd. Combatants are classed by their cybernetic implants, and the fights matched as best they can.
Hook: The AAL goes through animals at an astounding rate, so the organisers always need more. And where's the best place to find virgin animal stock? The uptown rich districts, of course. Make good money petnapping from corporate families, in secure residential areas.
6. Counting Coup - groups of juvenile gang members are sent out into rival turf, tasked with landing a blow on an enemy ganger. If any make it back in one piece, they win prestige, and may tattoo their body to mark the event. Sometimes, rather than striking a rival, they will be required to steal an item, or tag a difficult to reach location.
Hook: Word on the street is members of the Reject Parade gang are planning a coup run on the Altitude Boyz, where they plan to grab a nano-fabricator that the Boyz 'liberated' from a Microtech courier three nights ago. The company will pay top dollar to get their toy back, undamaged.
7. Parkour Marathon - a number of free runners compete to cross entire city districts, without touching ground level, in this gruelling test of stamina and endurance. Sabotaging or attacking your opponents is expected.
Hook: Spider Wozniak is the current number one free runner in the city, winning the last four parkour runs in a row. EBM have started sponsoring Holly Dhahar, an experienced runner they brought in from Detroit, and they need Wozniak out of the picture. The corporation want Spider to have an 'unfortunate accident' during the next scheduled marathon, and to never, ever run again.
8. Aero Drag - backstreet aerodyne ‘hoppers’ are paired and compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line from a set hovering point. A definite risk to legitimate air traffic.
Hook: A fixer you know needs someone skilled to pimp out a getaway aero for an upcoming job, and wants the PCs to snatch Mechanized Mikey, the best damned hopper tech in the aero drag scene. But Mikey is bankrolled by the local Mob.
9. Scrapbot Wars - teams of amateur teleoperators control their own home-made robots to fight against each other, whilst also avoiding arena hazards and more powerful ‘House Robots’, which are not bound by the same weight or weapon limits as the contestants.
Hook: Someone the PCs' are looking to liquidate will be in the crowd for the next scheduled rumble, but it needs to look like an accidental death-by-scrapbot. Fit deadly weaponry to some rigger's pride and joy, and make sure it targets your mark.
10. World of the Vale Lands Tournaments - a warehouse or other large space is rigged with big screens, packed with spectators, and the e-sports networks hacked, to broadcast teams from across the globe battling their way through their respective regions, to gain XP, gold and magic items.
Hook: The yakuza are looking to launder cash through WOV games. Sign up, roll your characters, buy as much shit and as many levels as you can with the syndicate's money, and shoot for the treasure (trade it in for real coin) and the sponsorship dollars. The Osaka boys won't take too kindly to you making a loss.
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