CONTENTS2

CREDITS3

INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS SHOOTING GALLERY
BREAKING ROOM
THE HOLD
MICHAEL RADIC
37
38
38
39
WHAT DOES THE SPHERE
LOOK LIKE?
THE ECONOMICS OF THE
SPHERE81
80
SPHERE PORT: EXTERIOR
SPHERE PORT: INTERIOR
SPHERE BOUND
96
96
96

WHAT IS TERMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE THE DATA CASTLE

OVERDRIVE4 HUNTING SMITH SPHERE  81 THE DATA CASTLE 101
DEEPER INTO THE SPHERE 4 HUNTING SMITH 43 GETTING AROUND 81 APPROACHING THE CASTLE 101
ENIGMA COLLECTIVE 5 MAGOGEN43 BRAIN JACKERS 82 ENTRANCE CHAMBER 101
THE TEST SHORT STORY 6 THE COVER IDENTITY 43 WESTERN TOWER 102
WHO IS SMITH? 44 SAN FRANCISCO HUB EASTERN TOWER 102
AWAKENED MECH SUSPECTS44 SANCTUM FRANCISCO 83 THE GREAT HALL 102
ORIGIN9 SMITH44 SAN FRANCISCO MAIN 83 DATA CASTLE MAP 103
MECH VICES 12 THE MAGOGEN BUILDING 45 DABOOM AND DOOM CLUB 83 ARMORY104
THE MAGOGEN BUILDING MAP VIRTUAL HARRY’S 83 WORK ROOM 104
PART 1 INTO THE ENIGMA I46 THE WOLF DEN 83 THE THRONE ROOM 105
COLLECTIVE KEYSHARDS47 HELLION’S QUALITY
INTRODUCTION14 BREAKING AND ENTERING 47 MERCHANDISE84 THE YAKUZA EXPERIENCE
MOVING THE MISSION 14 BASEMENT48 SCHMIDT-WAGNER DATA THE YAKUZA EXPERIENCE 107
THE INTERROGATION 14 FIRST FLOOR 49 TOWER 84 EXTERIOR: MIFUNE STREET 107
WHO ARE THE ENIGMA SECOND FLOOR 50 BE SOMEONE ELSE 84 INTERIOR: ZUBORAYA 108
COLLECTIVE16 THE MAGOGEN BUILDING THE GUN ZONE 84 DINING AREA 108
SUNDANG INTEGRATED MAP II52 RECREATIONAL PARKS 84 L-SHAPED CORRIDOR 108
SECURITY SOLUTIONS 17 THIRD FLOOR 53 VEA HQS 85 LAUNDRY ROOM 109
TAKING THEM ALIVE 17 FOURTH FLOOR 54 WICKED ELITE 85 COUNTING ROOM 109
THE ENIGMA COLLECTIVE’S FIFTH FLOOR 56 THE ARENA 85 ZUBORAYA MAP 110
RESPONSE17 ROOF56 BACK-ALLEY PORTS, AND SUB- GAMBLING DEN 111
THE SCULPTRESS’ RESPONSE18 THE MAGOGEN BUILDING MAP PORTS85 HIGH STAKES MAHJONG 111
III57 LONG CORRIDOR 112
HUNTING TERUKO AL-SHARIF GATHERING INFORMATION 58 SOMETHING DIGITAL THIS WAY YAMAMOTO’S OFFICE 112
HUNTING TERUKO AL-SHARIF OFFICE GOSSIP 62 COMES
20 SAMPLE EMPLOYEES 63 HIT-TEAM88 URBAN WARFARE
TUSK TRANSPORT HUB 20 HELP ME! 88 THE SCULPTRESS 116
THE BREACHERS 20 HUNTING GENTRY SNOW HEY PSST, DO YOU WANT THIS URBAN WARFARE 117
THE BREACHER MAP 21 HUNTING GENTRY SNOW 66 WICKED PROGRAM? 88 WELCOME TO THE BOOM 117
FIGHTING ON THE BREACHER GENTRY SNOW 66 MURDER THEY WROTE 88 BLOODSUCKING FREAKS 118
24 GOLDEN GATE PARK 67 GOFUND MOI? 88 THINGS BEST LEFT BURIED 118
PASSENGER COMPARTMENT24 S.F.P.D. ON PATROL 68 ALIEN ABWHATNOW? 88 DAMNATION TOWERS 118
COCKPIT24 HAPPY SOLES MASSAGE VEA DANGEROUS 89 URBAN WARFARE MAP 119
KITCHENS25 PARLOR69 DATA BROKER 89 SUNDANG GATE 120
STAFF AREA 25 FINDING WOLF CARTER 69 4114D1|\|89 THE WAR’S DESOLATION 120
CARGO HOLD 25 CITY SNAX BAKERY 70 DATA CAT 89 THE COMPOUND 121
ENGINEERING26 YŪSHŪNA RAMEN 73 THE TOWER 121
TERUKO AL-SHARIF 26 ESCAPE STRATEGY 73 PART 2 THE SCULPTRESS
TERUKO’S FILE 27 YŪSHŪNA RAMEN AWAKENS BABYLON WAITS
CRASHING THE BREACHER 28 STOREFRONT73 ACER’S MESSAGE 91 BABYLON WAITS 123
ESCAPING THE BREACHER 29 YŪSHŪNA RAMEN MAP 74 DISTRICT 3: THE BEYOND IN THE BEGINNING 124
ENTRANCE75 CLUB91 BABYLON WAITS MAP 125
HUNTING MICHAEL RADIC ROOFTOP75 EXTERIOR91 THE FIRST MATRIX 126
HUNTING MICHAEL RADIC 31 ROOFTOP MAP 76 BEYOND CLUB: ENTRY 91 THE SECOND MATRIX 126
THE YACHT CLUB 31 EXTRACTION  77 BEYOND CLUB: INTERIOR 92 THE THIRD MATRIX 127
REACHING THE TETHYS 33 AFTERMATH78 BEYOND CLUB: THE BAR 92 DEFEATING THE SCULPTRESS 128
THE MV TETHYS 33 BEYOND CLUB: VIP ROOM 93
MV TETHYS MAP 34 THE SPHERE HEADING OUT 93 STATBLOCKS130
BELOW DECKS 35 THE SPHERE 80 BARFIGHTS94 LICENSE140
RADIC’S MASTERPLAN 35 WHAT IS THE SPHERE 80 CORP’S PARTY 95
RADIC’S CABIN 35 HOW IS THE SPHERE PARTY’S OVER 95
STORAGE37 STRUCTURED?80

2 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
HUNTING TERUKO AL-SHARIF,
HUNTING MICHAEL RADIC,
CREDITS SENSITIVITY CONSULTANT: Eleanor R. Angell
PROOFREADERS: Sandra Davies, Robert
HUNTING SMITH WRITER: Ben Counter Marriner-Dodds
HUNTINING GENTRY SNOW WRITER: Ty Moore CARTOGRAPHY: Lewis Fraser
THE SPHERE WRITER: Darren Pearce LAYOUT: Andy O’Hara
THE DATA CASTLE WRITERS: Mark Carroll, ADDITIONAL LAYOUT: Sam Vail
Lewis Fraser ARTISTS: Kory Cromie, Rhei Johnson, Klaus
THE YAKUZA EXPERIENCE WRITERS: Mark Wittmann, Woronin
Carroll, Darren Pearce BASED ON CARBON 2185 BY:
URBAN WARFARE, BABLYON WAITS WRITER: Robert Marriner-Dodds
Mark Carroll
BARFIGHT RULES: Lewis Fraser Special Thanks to Angus Abranson
MECH ORIGIN: Ben Counter, Lewis Fraser
EDITOR: Ty Moore

Copyright © 2021-2022 Robert Marriner-Dodds, Dragon Turtle Games Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dragon Turtle Games, the Dragon Turtle Games logo, and all content herein are copyright Dragon Turtle Games Ltd.
Carbon 2185, the Carbon 2185 logo, CarbonRPG, are all copyright Robert Marriner-Dodds, officially licensed to Dragon Turtle Games Ltd.
Carbon 2185 is a registered trademark of Robert Marriner-Dodds.
Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contain herein is prohibited without the express written permission of
Dragon Turtle Games Ltd.

www.dragonturtlegames.com

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 3
 Welcome to Terminal Overdrive, Cybepunks.
Before we get started, we at Dragon Turtle
Games want to thank you for your patience,
understanding, and support during the
Kickstarter and the whole journey to get the
book into your hands.
It hasn’t been easy, made even harder by
circumstances out of our control – Brexit,
shipping crisis, and a global pandemic have
conspired to delay us at every turn.
But like the Cyberpunks we didn’t back down,
we didn’t give up, and we didn’t run the other
way with our tail between our legs.
We punched this stuff in the face.
We pulled out all the stops, added new content and detailed information and a writeup on the
with the help of industry veterans we were able to Sphere itself – the virtual environment that
bring this thing down onto the landing strip.
WHAT IS TERMINAL
OVERDRIVE?
The meat and metal of Terminal Overdrive has
to be the campaign itself, the adventure which
takes your Cyberpunks face to face with the
Enigma Collective, and then right into the
Sphere to face off against a powerful and out of
control AI.
You’ll find a lot of cool stuff inside this book,
including a new short story, as well as a new
character origin, and more secrets to flesh out
the World of Carbon 2185.
DEEPER INTO THE SPHERE
Want to dive deeper into the Virtual Reality
side of Carbon, you can with Terminal
Overdrive, since the book also contains
your Cyberpunks can explore.

So once again, big thanks to you all! All the major features, some interesting
locations and more await you inside the Sphere
On with the show! – from the local arrival ports which resemble
4 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Airport or Train station arrival terminals, to the should be as fun and engaging as possible,
various constructions – both corporate and taking your Cyberpunks and you all the way
user made. from the really-real world, into the made-up
corporate, gang, and player-built world of the
These Sanctum Ports are your safe zone, and Sphere.
you’ll need them. The Sphere isn’t for the faint
hearted, and there’s no protection here – if you You’ll find elements of video game design in
die in the Sphere, that’s it, lights out for good. here, since a lot of people who create virtual
space in the Sphere are like you or me, people
You’re dead bucko. who dig video games and want to take their
worlds into virtual space.
Corporate hit teams, agency agents, adverts
gone rogue aka Adberbations – it’s all here in You might even discover some favourite
the Sphere and ready for Cyberpunks to run homages if you look close enough.
face first and fist first into it.
The Collective await, and so does the Sphere.
Now, don’t get us wrong, there’s some form
of protection here thanks to the VEA (Virtual So, get ready!
Enforcement Agents) but they come at a
price, and your online wallet better be able to 3,2,1 – Let’s Jack-in!
cover it or you’re just out of luck.

ENIGMA COLLECTIVE
This is going to be a tough challenge, and we’ve
made sure the adventure side of this book
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 5
 The last one had been a cat video.
Teruko pulled herself up onto the high stool
at the ramen bar. She was too short – petite,
they said politely – for her feet to reach the
ground. She brushed the always-errant strands
of black hair from her face as she looked up at
the menu. There were a dozen types of ramen
broth with names and prices in Cantonese,
Japanese and English. The smell, among the
oily damp San Francisco night, was delicious.
‘What’ll it be?’ grunted the cook. He was a
big guy with a shaved head and snake lumiskin
tattoos running over his scalp, wielding a
blackened spatula.
‘Gimme... umm...’ Teruko consulted the smudgy
note written on the back of her hand. ‘Two
twelves and a seventeen. Make them large.’
The cat video had contained, in an obscure
fragment of metadata that only appeared when
it was plugged into a thirty-year-old media
player, a string of letters and numbers with an
emoticon in the form of a winking face. The
code string was a tag on a public works report
for this street, seven years ago. Teruko had
spent eighteen hours running deep semi-smart
data searches to find out what the last clue
had meant. Then, a satellite photo scan of the
location had shown her the ramen bar.
6 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
‘Good choice,’ said the cook. He turned around
and started flipping spatulas full of noodles in the
large metal dishes on the burners behind him.
Teruko glanced at the bar’s other clientele,
suddenly apprehensive. A couple of grey
salarymen cramming some calories into
themselves before they could crash at home
for the four hours’ sleep their schedule
permitted them. A ragged kid who paid in a
crumpled handful of paper instead of electronic
wonlongs. A guy in strappy leathers, flaunting
a chromed prosthetic arm. None of them
seemed to be watching her. They didn’t look
like trouble, except for maybe the arm guy.
Teruko still squirmed on the stool, praying that
she was the only one who had made it this far.
People would kill for what she was trying to get.
If she was ahead of them, they would kill her.
‘Here,’ said the cook, and put a steaming bowl
of fried noodles and vegetables in front of her.
‘Four hunnert.’
Teruko waved her index finger over the small
black tablet the cook held in front of her. The
chip inside automatically sent the signal to her
fragile account, which was duly deducted four
hundred wonlongs. ‘The twelves are coming
right up.’
‘Thanks,’ said Teruko absently. She was
suddenly hit by the possibility that after all
this time, after the years and the favours
and expenses she couldn’t afford, all she had
achieved was to order an actual bowl of friend
noodles. And two twelves, whatever they were.
The cat video had been on a data stick
embedded in the concrete of a freeway
foundation, to which Teruko had been led by
a series of coordinates hidden in the static
split off from a sound recording buried deep
in an unlisted bulletin board for crashball fans.
Reaching that site had required her to put
together an address from individual characters,
taken from the names on the huge Tianchang
Dam Number Three Disaster Memorial. The
trip to Tianchang, and then back across the
Pacific to San Francisco, had cost Teruko almost
everything she had. The map of the characters,
matched by Teruko to a picture of the memorial
after several weeks of image trawling, had been
hidden among the garish cartoons of a fast
food corp’s website that had been hacked and
quarantined. The firewalls around it needed all of
Teruko’s skill to break down.
‘You from ‘round here?’ asked the kid. Teruko
was shocked out of her train of thought. The
trail of clues had been so long and complex she
had given up several times, only to wake in the
middle of the night with an unexpected idea for
where to turn next. There wasn’t room in her
head for much else. ‘No,’ she said, mustering a
smile. ‘I’m from the other coast.’
‘New York?’ said the kid.
‘No, I’m...’
‘Everyone rich in New York,’ continued the kid.
He looked Teruko up and down, her too-big
boots, the tight black leggings, her holographic
t-shirt and the scuffed black jacket. Her
backpack, with its badges and patches for punk
bands whose members had all OD’d years ago.
‘You got any money?’
‘Hey!’ snapped the cook. ‘You know the rules,
Miko. Leave my customers alone.’
Miko tutted and sloped off down the street,
hands in his pockets.
‘Sorry about him,’ said the cook, putting a pair
of plastic cups on the bar. ‘Always more kids
‘round here. There’s your twelves. You said
large, right?’
‘Uh, yeah, Thanks.’
Teruko watched Miko heading off down an
alleyway. This street was one of a thousand the
same in this city, running up and down sharply
enough for the rainwater to sluice down, gather
at the flats then tumble down the next slope in
miniature white water rapids. The earthquake-
proof architecture formed wide flat buildings
that crowded in on one another overhead, and
the grey sky was almost hidden by the forest
of aerials and antennae. Even the lowliest
businesses had neon signs, isolated glares
of colour in the darkness casting misshapen
reflections in the flowing water. Even the
ramen bar had one, a smiling octopus picked
out in acid yellow neon tubing.
The same octopus Teruko had seen after
running a random number string through a data
visualisation program at the start of the trail.
She had found the details of the order – two
twelves and a fourteen – during that same hunt,
through hidden servers and obscure archives,
quarantined sites and repositories of long-dead
online existences. It had started at a public site
with a black screen and the words ‘We Are The
Enigma Collective’. And the start of the trail
in the site’s metadata, leading to a rabbit hole
hundreds of hackers had vanished down.
Teruko took the lid off one of the cups. The
drink was yellow, fizzy and so sweet the smell
alone seemed to fur up her teeth. The second
one was the same.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 7
 Except it wasn’t. There was something else in the ‘Am... am I the first?’ said Teruko. She clutched
cup. Glancing at the other patrons, making sure her backpack close to her, feeling the weight of
no one was watching her, Teruko fished it out
with her slender fingers.
It was a key.
The order number was a clue in itself. Seventeen
gave the street. Two twelves gave the building.
Teruko counted off the anonymous frontages
along Seventeenth Avenue until she reached
twenty-four. It had no number displayed. You
had to know what you were looking for.
The place was one more in a series of storage
units and workshops. It was as grim and faceless
a place as Teruko had ever been, even more than
the dorms and classrooms of the corp education
system she had broken out of in her mid-teens.
She found a keyhole, and the key from the
ramen bar fit it perfectly. She turned it and felt
the lock open. The door swung open.
Inside, all was light. A hundred monitors covered
the walls of an old storage unit, repurposed
into a hacker’s nest of sophistication Teruko
had never seen. One corner held a server stack
with machines Teruko didn’t think still existed,
alongside a cutting-edge hyper-state unit that
could contain a planet’s worth of data. Dense
braids of wires snaked across the floor. The hum
of power and information was a distant rumble
of white noise.
At the monitors sat a shaven-headed, slender
man, his features aged beyond his years by
blasts of neural feedback and days on end in
the monitors’ glare. He turned to look at her
and she saw the silvery threads running around
his cybernetic eye and down into the spinal
interfaces under his shirt.
‘You found us,’ said a voice from beside Teruko.
She span around to see a second man, this
one tall and tough, with the leathers of a biker,
slicked-back hair and a mouthful of silver teeth.
He was augmented, too. One of his hands was
a silver claw and his legs were bracketed with
power lift assistance units.
8 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
the souped-up laptop and interface suite inside.
‘Let’s just say, we made the test pretty damn
tough,’ replied the man.
‘You’re The Enigma Collective,’ said Teruko,
dumbly. ‘The hackers.’
‘Sure, if you want.’ The reply came with a bright
chrome smile. ‘We got a bunch of names. We’re
not really hackers, though, we just employ one.
We steal, we manipulate, we help, we hinder.
Sometimes we kill. We’re people you come to
if you need shit done. And you found us. You
made the grade.’
Teruko felt a strange warmth flood over her.
It was the first time she had ever been good
enough. The corp tutors, the street kingpins, the
would-be hacktivist cells, they had all kept her
on the outside, never quite a part of them, never
quite belonging.
‘Then I’m in?’
The biker chuckled. Teruko wondered what the
joke was until she realised the hacker sitting at
the monitors was still looking at her. There was
a fear in his data-ruined face that Teruko felt
blossoming in her own chest.
‘We only need one hacker,’ said the biker.
He was holding something towards Teruko.
It was a knife, handle-first, for her to take.
Automatically, her hand closed around it. It felt
like it weighed a ton.
The hacker had a knife in his hand, too.
Unsteadily, he rose from his chair, trailing uplink
wires behind him as he advanced.
‘Everybody earns their place,’ said the biker, and
the smile that flashed at her now was as dead
and humorless as a shark’s. ‘Test ain’t over yet.’
 AWAKENED MECH
A humanoid robot sits at the bar, mimicking the
actions of drinking from an empty stein. It wears
a battered baseball cap on its head unit, and a
tattered bomber jacket stretched awkwardly
over its box-shaped torso. ‘I can join you,’ it says
in a synthesised New Jersey accent. ‘But I got
a price. You gotta teach me how to be.’

An awakened mech is a standard humanoid

robot, the computer ‘brain’ of which
has been radically altered with neural
network technology to give it the
potential for sentience. This alteration
is experimental and conducted
by fanatical believers in machine
supremacy or cutting-edge corporate
labs. While they are not technically
illegal, that is only because they are
a new enough phenomenon that the
corps and governments have not come
up with a way to regulate them. They are
distinct from synths, which have a biological
component to their brains since mechs have
only robotic components or AIs which are
separate information entities not tied to a
particular shell.

Not all mechs altered in such a way develop

personalities and self-determination, but those
that do are a strange combination of highly
intelligent calculating machines and innocent
newborn. They have no personality or attitudes
of their own and begin their new self-aware
existence only with the skills with which they
were originally programmed and a handful of
fragmented data in their memories.

Awakened mechs tend to be humanoid, with

varying levels of human-like features, though
they always fall well short of the ‘uncanny
valley’ inhabited by lower-end synths. They
can comprehend themselves as being male
or female, or of no gender at all. Most have
humanlike hands with five digits, and a set of
optical sensors on the ‘head’ unit with vital
components protected within the torso.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 9
 Mechs designed for positive human interaction SPEED.
have rounded edges, large eye lenses and A mech’s internal components and shell are
advanced voice synthetics. Those made for heavy and dense, your movement speed is 25ft.
combat or security are intimidating with hard
edges, dark paint jobs and harsh, grating voices.DISSIMULATE.
You were not meant to have free will. To avoid
THE SEARCH FOR THE SELF being caught you can conceal your newfound
Awakened mechs’ default mode is an inquisitive persona with a series of standard mech
search for an identity. They seek to know protocols and routines commonly found in your
what they should think, what their purpose sub-systems, allowing you to remain hidden in
in life is, and how to deal with the strange, plain sight.
contradictory data cascades called ‘emotions’.
Most mechs start out without even a name and POWER NAP.
try to find a way to acquire one, either from You must complete a full 4-hour charge to gain
their environment or by finding someone who 24 hours of battery life. Depleting the battery
can tell them what it should be. Awakened will force your system into a power-saving
mechs can change their paint jobs and decorate mode, resulting in you being paralyzed for
themselves according to their newfound 4-hours, until fully charged.
personalities, and often use this to mark
their progress towards full self-realisation. A NON-ORGANIC.
newly-minted awakened mech is extremely Machines like you don’t have any organic
impressionable and can be taken advantage of tissue and are therefore immune to disease and
by unscrupulous people, but still has enough poison.
self-determination to rebel against abusive
or amoral companions. As they develop, BOXY FRAME.
awakened mechs become more fully-rounded An Awakened Mech is constructed with sturdy,
people with personality traits and principles of yet bulky metallic materials, made up of high
their own, for better or worse. impact and compressive strength alloys. Your
construction grants you a natural AC of 16, but
BACKGROUND GENERATION prohibits you from being able to wear armor.
Awakened Mechs do not gain skills and money
from background generation. Mechs obtain LANGUAGES.
their starting funds through either hacking or Your default programming includes the ability
stealing. Your starting funds are 40 000₩ + to speak, read, and write English and two other
1d10 x 10 000₩. languages of your choice.

ABILITY SCORE INCREASE.

Your Strength score is increased by +2 and SUB-ORIGIN
your Technology score is increased by +1. Mechs are built for very specific purposes and
designed to fill certain roles. You must choose
AGE. which type of Mech you are from the following
You’re nothing more than a product, and sub-origins.
corporations are always developing the next
best version of you to push onto the consumer.
You were not built to last past this advertising
cycle. At most, you can stay fully operational
for 10 + 1d4 years before you have deteriorated
to the point of no return.

10 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
COMBAT UNIT MACHINE MANAGEMENT.
ENHANCED MOBILITY SYSTEM. Designed There are some jobs you just can’t do but you are
to give chase to suspects, you have advanced equipped with the protocols to utilize the correct
hydraulics systems in your legs allowing you to tool for the job. You gain proficiency in Vehicles
move at a speed of 35ft. (Land), Mechanics and Engineering. You are also
proficient with one tool of your choosing.
NIGHTVISION.
Equipped with technology similar to that
developed by Visser Robotics, you can see in
dim light as if it were bright light and darkness
as if it were dim light up to 120ft.

LAW ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMMING.

From the factory to service, you are programmed
with the latest in law enforcement de-escalation
techniques. You have proficiency in Intimidation,
Bureaucracy, and Athletics. You are also
proficient with one tool of your choosing.

SERVICE UNIT
BUILT TO SERVE.
You were designed to control and network
with multiple utilities, your Technology score is
increased by 1.

LANGUAGES.
Designed to accommodate and translate
multiple languages. You are know three
additional languages.

ADVANCED SYSTEMS.
Embedded in your systems are tools to monitor
and control more systems simultaneously, you
gain proficiency in Computing, Navigation and
Robotics. You are also proficient with one tool
of your choosing.

LABOUR UNIT
HEAVY LIFTER.
Made to haul heavy goods or mine on colony
worlds, your Strength is increased by +1.

TOUGHENED FRAME.
Built to last, endure and work in hazardous
environments, you can select a frame that is
resistant to Acid or Cold damage, you may
only select one.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 11
 MECH VICES
Everybody, including mechs, has a vice. Perhaps you are addicted to the electronic sounds of lo-fi nightclub
Bebop, or you might love the smell of burning cordite in the morning. You might think you’re ready to lead
a mecha revolution, or have a hair-trigger temper.

You are no different to anyone else in that regard, your own personal vice affects your daily life at least to
some degree.
2d20 VICE 2d20 VICE
2 I am addicted to listening to lo-fi recordings of jazz 10 I refuse to pretend not to have sentience

3 I have a low tolerance for foolishness, my circuits 11 I need frequent validation that I’m as good as my
see red human cyberpunk friends
4 I am obsessed with watching trashy movies and tv 12 I have recurring dreams of electronic sheep
shows
5 I want to raise a family of my own 13 I have nightmares where I’m a human

6 I lived in a place with zero lighting and feel 14 I feel the need to constantly crack jokes to seem
uncomfortable in bright light more human

7 I am addicted to upgrades, need more and more 15 I believe I am host to a dangerous sentient walking
virus
8 I need to peel back the skin of the world, and see
the bone beneath 16 I have another AI living inside my head
9 I believe that we live in a virtual world, and the real
world is gone

12 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
17 I am the target of a dangerous corporation who 28 I send too many DMs to random people on social
want me back for their experiments media in the Sphere
29 I engage in targeted harassment of the wrong
18 I have an addiction to paying for intamacy despite people, for the wrong reasons
not having any nerve endings
30 I believe that space cowboys are after me, and I
19 I am angry that I was given sentience must be careful of everyone

20 I have memories that are not my own 31 I am scared of anything red

21 I have an addiction to gambling 32 I don’t listen to plans made by non AI

22 I have important information stored in my circuits, 33 I am the law, and I will enforce it
and gangs will stop at nothing to get it – I must
keep on the move 34 If someone hurts my friends, I will make them bleed
23 I am scared of other mechs that do not have
sentience 35 I long for the taste of human food
24 I get angry very quickly, it may be caused by a
faulty circuit 36 One day the machines will rise up, and I will lead

25 I wish to understand deeper human connections, 37 I can’t drive, but I tell people that I can.
such as romance 38 I have a pet mouse that is constantly chewing
through my wires
26 I want to be a famous music star, and sing for a 39 If anyone ever found out my secret, I am doomed
massive crowd
27 I am addicted to writing things down on virtual 40 I’m scared of water even though I’m waterproof
post-it notes

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 13
 PART 1
THE ENIGMA
COLLECTIVE
INTRODUCTION uses milestones to grant levels. Using this
This mission is suitable for a party of 1st-level method, the cyberpunks gain a level when they
cyberpunks, and should take the characters complete a major story objective. Eliminating
to around 5th level. It is the first, and largest, each member of the Enigma Collective
part of the three-part Terminal Overdrive certainly counts as such an objective, so after
campaign, but can also be played on its own. each member is taken down, the cyberpunks
The mission puts the cyberpunks on the trail gain a level. Alternatively, if the campaign is
of the Enigma Collective, a gang of hackers, taking longer than expected, the cyberpunks
at the behest of a mysterious group of are struggling with the difficulty, or the GM
corporate representatives. The Collective’s four wants them to experience 5th level before part
members can be hunted down in any order. one ends, other story points can be rewarded
Each member possesses clues to the Enigma with a level. These include defeating the
Collective’s purpose: various operations against mech hit squad known as the Darkeners, and
the Sundang ISS corporation on behalf of a uncovering the secret brain-scanning project at
mysterious patron known as ‘the Sculptress’. the Magogen corporation.

MOVING THE MISSION THE INTERROGATION

The Enigma Collective mission takes place in
San Francisco, and refers to the city’s locations
as described in the Carbon 2185 Core Rulebook.
However, it is not much work to relocate the
mission to a city of your choice. If using the
Manhattan: Capital of the World sourcebook,
for instance, the MV Tethys can be relocated to
become one of the many abandoned ships on
the East or Hudson Rivers, and Gentry Snow
can escape from an NYPCF holding facility
instead of one run by the SFPD.
Several of the game’s tasks, in particular
infiltrating a corporation hunting for one of
the Enigma Collective’s members, can be
completed with minimal combat. For this
reason it is recommended that instead of
totalling experience points to determine when
the cyberpunks go up in level, that the GM
“Your skills and experience are relevant
to pressing business for which competent
and discreet operatives are required. Half
payment in advance, half on completion.
Danger expected. Deniability required.”
This is the message posted to a dark web
bulletin board. It falls into the hands of the
cyberpunks, and comes with a code designating
a time and place: twelve hours from now,
at a garage in District 4. Depending on the
disposition of the cyberpunks, the Game
Master can give them the chance to have their
cyberpunks prepare by purchasing gear, or
simply begin the mission as the cyberpunks
arrive at the garage.

14 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 The building is a nondescript prefabricated
box typical of the semi-industrial sprawl of
District 4. As you approach the building’s
frontage, the metal shutter covering the
entrance rolls up with a clatter and a black-
suited man in mirrorshades beckons you
inside. He makes no attempt to conceal
the shape of the gun holstered beneath his
suit jacket.
Inside, the tools and detritus of the garage
have been pushed aside to make room for a
group of half a dozen similarly suited people.
In spite of the decrepit surroundings,
they ooze corporate assurance. One of
the figures, a lanky dark-skinned woman,
addresses you directly.
‘We represent a consortium of corporate
interests. Our employers wish to remain
anonymous in this matter, so please do
not inquire as to their identities as we are
obligated to refuse you. We are seeking to
hire a group of skilled individuals to handle
a delicate matter. There may be violence. I
understand that will not be a problem?’
The woman leads the cyberpunks down a short
flight of stairs into the garage’s damp, gloomy
basement. There, lit by a couple of dirty bare
bulbs, is a large metal table with a damaged
mech lying on it.
The mech is humanoid but boxy and functional,
typical of a security or military model. One of
its legs is missing and its chest and head units
have been opened up and attached with wires
to various pieces of computer equipment that
most definitely did not come from the garage.
The cyberpunks can examine the mech but
the corporate representatives ask them
not to touch it. Any cyberpunks that look
closely note the tell-tale bullet scars on the
mech’s outer casing, and notice ‘Sundang ISS’
branding stencilled onto its armor plates. The
representatives do not wait long before they
activate the mech.
One of the consortium adjusts the controls
on the computer equipment and the mech
shudders. It emits a series of stuttering
beeps from its damaged vocal unit.
‘This unit was acquired in an operation
against a gang of hackers calling itself the
Enigma Collective,’ explains the woman.
‘This group has repeatedly engaged in
criminal activity against our employers.
These incidents have incurred significant
costs. Our employers have authorized a
payout in return for the elimination of
the Enigma Collective. Payment will be
500 000₩ per confirmed kill. We will give
you an additional 400 000₩ now and
another 400 000₩ after every target has
been eliminated.’
‘Administrator access reboot,’ says the
mech in a distorted synthesized voice.
‘Begin the interrogation,’ says the woman.
The mech shudders violently as the controls
are adjusted again and sparks fly from its
damaged components. The smell of burning
rubber and heated metal fills the small
basement room.
‘Data retrieval,’ says the mech. ‘Enigma
Collective. Known members, four.
Enumeration follows.
One. Teruko al-Sharif, information
infiltration specialist. Location unknown,
GPS tag provided.
Two. Michael Radic, neural network
engineer. Last known location:
Embarcadero wall district.
Three. Smith, covert operative. Last known
location: Magogen corporate HQ, District 2.
Four. Gentry Snow, enforcer. Last known
location: Lincoln Way and 10th Street,
District 4.’
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 15
 Flames spit from the mech’s chest unit as on the streets and searching dark web rumor
its circuits burn out. The representative forums respectively. A success informs the
manning the controls puts out the flames inquiring cyberpunk that the Enigma Collective
with a small extinguisher while the woman fancies itself an elite band of hackers. It
hurries out of the basement to escape the recruits its members through cryptic online
malodorous fumes. puzzles that form a breadcrumb trail leading
to a meeting with the Collective’s members.
The mech’s final statements, and the location Very few hackers can get more than a few
tag for Teruko al-Sharif, are automatically steps along this trail. The Enigma Collective
uploaded onto a datapad the woman gives previously accepted high-paying contracts to
to the cyberpunks. Their mission is to locate perform corporate espionage and sabotage, but
the four individuals listed and eliminate them. have been dark for about three months.
The consortium will accept the Collective’s
members alive, but is also happy to accept proof WHO ARE THE ENIGMA
of death. It does not matter in which order COLLECTIVE?
the cyberpunks tackle the Enigma Collective’s
members or what methods they use, so long as The Enigma Collective hides partly behind
all the targets are all accounted for. secrecy, and partly behind the carefully-created
street legend of a group of elite hackers who
The consortium cannot assist the cyberpunks work to protect the innocent masses from
directly, since their employers must remain the oppression of the megacorp system. Most
deniable. However, they can provide a cover people who know of the Collective have an
identity that will allow entry to the Magogen image of either passionate rebels who emerge
headquarters. They also provide the cyberpunks from the shadows to assist righteous freedom
with a dark web location where messages can be fighters, or of cunning scoundrels that steal
dropped to be picked up by the Consortium. This from the megacorps and give to the poor.
communication is one-way and the consortium The Enigma Collective that emerges during the
will only reply if they feel it is necessary. This mission is definitely neither group of information
contact point is primarily to be used to report altruists. They are amoral, ruthless, and engaged
when members of the Enigma Collective are in a plan with enormous potential for collateral
eliminated. Requests for help, except for the damage.
cover identity, are met with a simple reply:
‘Rendering assistance is not conducive to our It is possible that the legend of the Enigma
interests. Your objectives are unchanged.’ Collective was entirely created by the hackers
to mask their true nature. After all, it would be
The female representative can authorize the simple for them to disseminate favorable rumors
payment of 400 000₩ up front. While the about themselves throughout the web. It is also
cyberpunks can hit up the gunsmiths and possible that there is more than one Enigma
armorers of San Francisco and use this cash Collective, and that the hackers serving the
to purchase equipment for the mission, the Sculptress stole the ‘true’ Enigma Collective’s
representatives advise them not to spend too name to help obfuscate their real nature. If
long before pursuing the targets since the this latter is the case, the real Collective might
Enigma Collective could change location at any have something to say about the cyberpunks’
time and be lost to them. eliminating their namesakes – maybe positive,
maybe not.
The cyberpunks can research the Enigma
Collective with a DC12 Intelligence Any cyberpunks interested in Sundang ISS
(Streetwise) or DC14 Technology (Hacking) can learn the publicly available information on
check, which represents knowledge of the word the corporation, summarized below. A DC12

16 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
People (Bureaucracy) check also determines The Sculptress has brain-hacked the
that Sundang is a highly ambitious corporation. Collective’s members and installed a kill-
It has plans to join the ranks of the megacorps switch in the neural interfaces of each
and its senior executives have hinted at a member’s brain. If a member is interrogated
forthcoming project that will elevate them to severely enough that they are about to share
that exalted level, though no one knows enough information regarding the Sculptress and its
to speculate on what that project might be. plans, the kill-switch recognizes these thoughts
and activates. The hacker suffers a violent
SUNDANG INTEGRATED seizure during which the neural interfaces
SECURITY SOLUTIONS destroy enough brain tissue to kill them. The
death is accompanied by the sizzling and stench
Traded as: SUND of burning flesh as the hacker’s head cooks
from the inside.
CEO: Ferdinand Lopez II
THE ENIGMA COLLECTIVE’S
Country of Origin: Philippines RESPONSE
Industries: Robotics, operating systems. If the GM determines that the cyberpunks
have had things too easy, or the cyberpunks
Sundang ISS specializes in military and security are fortunate enough to complete one of
mechs and fully custom built operating systems their objectives quickly, the GM can use the
for those mechs. The core business of Sundang following as an optional encounter both to give
is providing complete ‘post-bio personnel’ the cyberpunks an additional challenge, and to
solutions to clients who require an instant army illustrate that the stakes are being raised.
complete with training, leadership and tactical The Enigma Collective does not accept its fate
analysis built in and equipped with proprietary quietly. After two of its members have been
weaponry. Along with offices in several South- eliminated, the Collective sends a squad of
East Asian territories, it has manufacturing reprogrammed Sundang military mechs, called
and research facilities in Oceania and the East the Darkeners, to kill the cyberpunks. The
Coast of America. Collective learns of the cyberpunks’ identities
and location by hacking into the thousands of
A relatively new and comparatively small cameras and facial recognition nets in the city.
corporation, Sundang has large ambitions and
recently secured a new round of corporate The Darkeners strike wherever the Game
funding from angel investors eager to exploit Master feels appropriately dramatic.
the cheap labour found in South-East Asia. An By default, the squad strikes at a road
unknown name just 10 years ago, it is now not intersection as the cyberpunks travel from
uncommon to see Sundang Mechs operating one location to another. The squad consists
in private police forces in some capacity across of five light combat units, altered by Radic.
the globe. These are Sundang ‘post-bio personnel’,
with several non-standard parts and obvious
TAKING THEM ALIVE replacements. Their bipedal design is their
The cyberpunks may wish to take the members only concession to human appearance. The
of the Enigma Collective alive instead of killing units wear standard military gear – helmets,
them. The corporate consortium is perfectly webbing, holsters – though these items do not
happy to receive living targets. However, if serve them any purpose.
the cyberpunks attempt to interrogate one of
the Enigma Collective, they will discover the The Darkeners have been reprogrammed by
hackers are not working alone. Radic to replicate elements of stereotypical

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 17
 military behavior, such as yelling orders,
taunting enemies, and exhibiting a gung-
ho attitude. This is purely for show, as they
actually communicate wirelessly and silently.
One of them, ‘Sarge’, was promoted to leader.
The names of the others are Face, Doc, Han,
and Ruckus.
When examining the mechs, a DC10
Technology (Computing) check reveals they
have heavily modified operating systems
reprogrammed by someone with considerable
knowledge in behavioral routines. Restoring a
damaged Darkener to working order requires
a DC18 Technology (Robotics) check. The
restored combat unit does not have any useful
intelligence about the Enigma Collective,
except that it was reprogrammed by someone
named Michael Radic. The mech is loyal to the
cyberpunks but retains its former personality
and is prone to ignore direct orders in combat
that do not favor gung-ho action.
THE SCULPTRESS’ RESPONSE
The artificial intelligence known as the
Sculptress is monitoring the brains of the
Enigma Collective and quickly becomes aware
of the cyberpunks and their attempts to
destroy the Collective. Though the Sculptress
cannot directly interfere in the cyberpunks’
efforts, it can communicate with them through
their neurolinks if they are connected to the
net. When it does this, the Sculptress speaks
with them as a voice in their head. The voice
is synthesized and female, and always speaks
levelly and without emotion.
18
The Sculptress is an extremely curious entity
and wishes to learn about the cyberpunks, both
to better understand the threats to its plans
and to further its knowledge of the outside
world. It speaks in a stilted, unornamented
fashion and constantly asks questions about the
cyberpunks, their background, and their world.
The Sculptress does not possess human-like
emotions and is not angered or upset by the
deaths of the humans it has manipulated into
doing its bidding. The text file in the possession
of Teruko al-Sharif gives an example of how the
Sculptress communicates and what it wants to
know.
The Sculptress becomes aware of the
cyberpunks when the first member of the
Enigma Collective is eliminated, and begins
with simple questions such as the cyberpunks’
names and where they are from. The Sculptress
can communicate any time the cyberpunks are
online. The AI enjoys learning about human
emotions, about which it is ignorant, and so
is particularly keen on asking the cyberpunks
about their reactions to extremely emotive or
traumatic events in their lives.
In San Francisco it is almost impossible to avoid
being monitored by the Sculptress, either
through networked devices and cybernetics
or the city’s ubiquitous surveillance systems.
If a cyberpunk strips themselves of all means
for the Sculptress to communicate with
them, the AI can still communicate through
networked devices nearby, such as holographic
advertisements or devices carried by NPCs.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 19
 HUNTING TERUKO AL-SHARIF
The location tag that tracks Teruko al-Sharif
can be accessed by any handheld computer
to follow the Enigma Collective’s new hacker.
Teruko’s location is near the San Francisco
Central Transport Hub, a terminal for breacher
services located in District 3.
Searching for more information on Teruko is not
trivial since the young hacker has covered her
tracks well. The cyberpunks can trawl through
transport and law enforcement records with
an DC14 Intelligence (Investigation) check,
hunt for word on the street about the Enigma
Collective’s breadcrumb trail with a DC12
Intelligence (Streetwise), or search for info
about her in one of the many hacker hangouts
deep in the dark web with a DC14 Technology
(Hacking) check. A success reveals that Teruko
is the name of a hacker said to have successfully
followed the Enigmas Collective’s trail of
puzzles, before vanishing from the city about six
months ago. She is of mixed Middle Eastern and
Japanese ethnicity, a little over 5 feet in height
with a slim build and black hair. Her cybernetics
consist of neural interfaces in her neck and
temple. A single grainy surveillance camera
photograph of her exists, giving the cyberpunks
a reference for her appearance.
TUSK TRANSPORT HUB
The transport hub is a huge industrial
structure of concrete, glass, and chrome,
surrounding the landing pads for enormous
cylindrical breacher vehicles. Hundreds
of travellers negotiate the SFPD security
checkpoints at the many gates, waiting to
clear terminal security and board one of the
vessels. Transcontinental and international
travel are the preserve of the relatively
wealthy, and the only representatives of
the penniless majority are the beggars and
street hawkers working the crowds.
The SFPD checkpoints are not particularly
strict. A cyberpunk who has not come to the
20
attention of the authorities recently has no
problem making it through. Cyberpunks who
are wanted by the SFPD can get through with
a DC12 People (Deception or Bureaucracy)
check, or with a bribe of at least 5 000₩.
THE BREACHERS
International transport is dominated by TUSK
Interplanetary who manufacture breachers, a
type of long-distance, high-altitude vehicle. A
breacher launches vertically from a concrete
pad, and quickly reaches an altitude where air
resistance is extremely low and speeds far in
excess of traditional aircraft are possible. This
makes very long distance travel far faster for
the richer citizens of 2185.
Breachers are expensive to run and tickets are
not cheap, starting at 20 000₩ per person. In
keeping with their expense, breachers are fitted
like first-class railway carriages, with gourmet
meals served on longer journeys. Passengers
are attended by flight assistant mechs backed
up by human managers. The possibility of a
violent or terrorist incident on a breacher is
very real, so security is discreet and serious.
The inside of the transport hub is a riot of
electronic billboards, concession stands,
information kiosks, and constantly churning
crowds. A dozen departure gates display
the departure and arrival times of the
breachers, with destinations across the
world. Security is visible, with both SFPD
officers and soldiers in the uniforms of
various transport companies all watching
the crowds.
Teruko’s location tag indicates she is boarding
a Continental SubOrbital Breacher to New
York at Gate 17. To board the breacher, the
cyberpunks can purchase tickets for 20 000₩
each, hack into the Continental SubOrbital
systems to put their names on the passenger
list with a DC12 Technology (Hacking) check,
or sneak past the gate staff with a DC14
Dexterity (Stealth) check.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 21
22 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 23
 Cyberpunks who fail the Stealth check are
at first turned aside by a smiling Continental
SubOrbital attendant who assumes they have
taken a wrong turn. An attendant only calls for
security if the cyberpunk exhibits aggression or
refuses to turn back.
The cyberpunks have about fifteen minutes
before the breacher leaves. Once Teruko is on the be activated by the crew. In addition, among
breacher, her location tag cannot pinpoint her
location to any particular place on the breacher an SFPD transport marshal, watching for
and is only able to confirm she is on board.
FIGHTING ON THE
BREACHER
The heavy security presence suggests that
safety issues are a concern on breacher flights.
In the event of violence, the breacher enters
a holding pattern over San Francisco to burn
off fuel, and is automatically brought back to
its landing pad if the crew gives the all-clear or
fuel runs low.
Aside from the security staff and their armed
mechs, the crew of the breacher are unarmed
and have no interest in fighting. The flight
attendants flee into the kitchen or staff
area if fighting breaks out in the passenger
compartment, and the non-security mechs
shut down and stand in place.
TB1. PASSENGER
COMPARTMENT
The interior of the breacher is handsomely
appointed, with wood panelling, spacious
seats, and mech attendants awkwardly
wearing bow ties. The passenger
compartment has two decks, with a bar
and café on the upper deck, and separate
sleeper compartments on the lower deck
for passengers who have purchased a first
class ticket. At the bow of the craft is a
sealed door to the cockpit, watched over
by a pair of human attendants. Towards the
stern are the bathrooms, and a passageway
into the kitchens and crew areas. The
breacher is busy with about fifty passengers
on board. As the breacher rises to its full
24
altitude the view through the small, thickly
glazed portholes turns from blue sky and
clouds to the dark, star-speckled twilight of
the upper atmosphere.
A total of six security officers are on board,
using the stats of street thugs. Two of the
mech attendants are uitkijk mechs that can
the passengers is Officer Siobhan Mulcahey,
terrorists or hijackers. Siobhan has the stats of
a private eye. She prefers to let the security
officers deal with any threat and only breaks
cover if they seem outmatched.
A firefight in the passenger compartment is
hindered by the other passengers, who panic
if guns are drawn. For the first three rounds
of combat in the passenger compartment,
shooting attacks are made with disadvantage.
When a shot misses its intended target during
the first three rounds roll 1d4. On a result
of a 1, the missed shot fatally hits one of the
passengers. The security staff are acutely aware
of the repercussions of such collateral damage
and will not open fire unless one of them takes
damage. Starting at the beginning of the fourth
round, the passengers either find cover among
the seats or behind something else solid, or
flee into other parts of the breacher, at which
point ranged combat no longer has a penalty.
The seats and upper floor bar provide half cover
against ranged attacks.
TB2. COCKPIT
The cockpit door is secured by a print-scan lock
for which the security staff have an override.
Two of the security staff guard it during the
entire journey. The door can be opened with a
DC12 Technology (Hacking) check or forced
open with a DC18 Strength check.
The cockpit is a bewildering array of
readouts, gauges and controls, with
hundreds of lit switches and buttons.
Holographic displays list hundreds of
different numbers which you assume are
all vitaly important for the craft. The dark
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 of space fills the windshield overhead and
the glittering blue of the Earth’s curvature
shines below. From near-space, the expanse
of North America appears to be a brown-
grey wasteland.
Two pilots sit at the controls in elaborate
TUSK branded uniforms. Typical of Errol
Tusk’s design, these uniforms look more like
something you’d see in a movie. Style over
practicality. The pilots turn around in alarm
at the intrusion and one of them scrambles
to open a small locked box affixed to the
wall beside her.
The pilots are here to monitor the flight
controls, which are almost entirely automatic.
The pilots, Brandon Kurtz and Gretchen
Ogunkoya, are expecting a routine flight and
are not prepared for violence to break out.
In the event of an intrusion into the cockpit
Ogunkoya opens the locked weapon box beside
her and draws a pistol to defend herself. Use
the stats of street rats for the pilots, but only
Ogunkoya is armed. If the pilots are both
disabled the breacher can still land safely. If
violence breaks out, the pilots draw the gun and
fires at anyone who breaks through the door.
Shooting the pilots is predictably dangerous.
If a shot fired in the cockpit does not hit its
intended target roll 1d2. On the result of a 1
the shot critically damages the controls and
causes the breacher to crash, as described later panelled passenger compartments.
in the book.
TB3. KITCHENS
The breacher’s compact galley has
several microwave ovens set into the wall
units that are used to heat pre-packed
mid-flight meals. Hundreds of these
meals are stored in secured cupboards.
Racks of condiments and extras offer
options for demanding passengers. A
pair of drink carts are secured to the
walls. A dumbwaiter leads to the upper
passenger deck for further distribution of
refreshments to those passengers.
A central work surface unit sits in the
middle of the room.
Flight attendants often hang out here using
the folding jump seats. If violence occurs,
several passengers and crew take shelter in
the small kitchen, trying to find cover behind
the central unit.
The staff area and cargo hold can be accessed
through the kitchens at the rear of the vehicle.
TB4. STAFF AREA
The crew area is substantially smaller
than the passenger compartment and less
elegant. Two sofas run parallel down the
center of the room. A coffee machine
and water cooler stand at one end firmly
secured to the wall. The walls between
the staff lockers are covered in framed
posters displaying corporate messages from
TUSK Interplanetary. Such messages read:
‘Remember - Always Fly With A Smile!’
‘Let Your Words Be Our Words.’ ‘Your Corp
Is Your Family. Respect Your Family.’
The crew, including the breacher’s
maintenance crew, hang out here when not
serving the passengers.
The room is no-thrills and basic with metal
walls. A stark contrast to the lavish faux-wood
In the event of violence breaking out on board,
several crew and passengers make their way
here and take shelter in the staff area.
LOOT
The lockers contain spare uniforms and
personal effects, and can be looted for a total
of 5 000₩ in value.
TB5. CARGO HOLD
This compartment runs most of the length of
the breacher. Cargo webbing holds hundreds
of suitcases and bags that bulge from their
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 25
 anchor points, while narrow walkways run
between them. This area is noticeably colder
than the rest of the aircraft and the air smells
faintly of engine oil.
The cargo hold is accessed via a short flight of
stairs down from the kitchen area. It is directly
beneath the passenger compartment.
Teruko has hacked a Kruisstuk mech and
deployed it in the cargo hold to protect her
hiding place on the engineering deck. The
first cyberpunk to enter the cargo hold can
make a single Intelligence (Perception) check,
using the mech’s Stealth check as the DC, to
notice the small, agile mech clinging to the
ceiling of the hold. If they do not spot the
mech, the cyberpunks are surprised when it
opens fire. The mech is programmed to attack
anyone other than Teruko who is not wearing a
crew-member uniform. The mech fights until
destroyed.
A fight in the cargo hold attracts the attention
of the security team upstairs. The security
team sends the two armed mechs into the hold
to contain the threat. The team will not storm
the cargo hold and are content to prevent
any threat from reaching the passenger
compartment.
The cargo hold is full of potential loot. A
successful DC14 Intelligence (Investigation)
check turns up 10 000₩ on credit chips, a box
containing a live gene-simmed boa constrictor
snake, which can be sold on the black market
for 40 000₩, and a package of twenty doses
of crush in a hidden compartment in one of the
suitcases.
TB6. ENGINEERING
The engineering deck is dominated by a pair
of cylindrical engines mounted on either
side of a gangway. The housing of one of
the engines is open, revealing the spinning
blades of a turbine. At the stern end of
the deck are the pipes and valves of the
breacher’s massive exhausts. Warning signs
26
and hazard markings are stencilled on every
surface. The sound of the turbines batters
your ears and the fumes in the air make
breathing a chore.
Teruko al-Sharif is lurking on the engineering
deck. If the cyberpunks have been mostly quiet
during events on the breacher thus far, they
have a chance of ambushing Teruko; otherwise
she is lying in wait for them behind one of the
engines. The following applies if the cyberpunks
find Teruko before she is alerted to their
presence:
A diminutive young woman with short black
hair sits cross-legged with a laptop in front
of her. She wears a black leather jacket over
a t-shirt and leggings, giving her a punky
look with a dash of goth. The laptop is wired
up to the open engine.
If the cyberpunks have successfully researched
Teruko, they recognize this young woman as
their quarry.
TERUKO AL-SHARIF
Teruko is brittle but determined, quietly-
spoken and thoughtful. She appears
innocent and benign but is utterly amoral,
a product of an amoral corp-led world. She
is extremely intelligent and is a talented
hacker, recruited by the Collective via an
immensely complicated data-trail full of
puzzles and false trails.
Teruko’s background is one of alienation
and disenfranchisement. She was raised in a
Shenzhen Solutions corporate environment,
and while she proved extremely adept
at computer science she never felt she
belonged even when Shenzen told her she
was part of their corporate family at every
turn. She escaped the corporate clutches
as soon as possible, and searched for a
place in the world where she could belong,
somewhere she had chosen of her own free
will.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 No matter how hard she tried, Teruko never
fit in. There was always a gulf between
her and other people she could not span.
Finally she found the start of the Enigma
Collective’s breadcrumb trail and felt that
there might be a group of people like her
who knew others of her kind.
Physical violence is not Teruko’s strong
point. She prefers to hack her way around
problems, including hacking the cybernetics
and neurolinks of enemies.
Teruko defends herself with her pistol but her
most effective defense is using her access to
the breacher’s controls and the ability to send
the vehicle plunging out of its flight pattern.
As soon as combat starts, she uses an action
to mentally alter the breacher’s autopilot. This
causes the breacher to crash – see ‘Crashing
the breacher’, below. Teruko uses the chaos to
flee into the passenger compartment and ride
out the crash in the hope she can survive and
escape.
Opening fire on the engineering deck is
dangerous. If a fired shot misses its intended
target, roll 1d6. On a 1, the shot pierces a fuel
line, filling the deck with a bout of flame. All
characters on the deck must make a DC10
Reflex save or suffer 1d6 Fire damage, taking
no damage on a success.
The open turbine is extremely lethal. If a
character is forced into the blades, they must
make a DC10 Reflex save to grab hold of the
edge of the open casing before they fall into
the turbine. If they fail, they are mangled by
the blades for 4D10 slashing damage.
Teruko al-Sharif carries a credit chip with
20 000₩, a souped-up laptop worth
70 000₩ that grants advantage to Hacking
checks made to interface with security
systems, and a QD disc. This disc, a small
circle of iridescent metal encased in a plastic
rectangle, is a form of high-end encrypted
data storage. It can be accessed using Teruko’s
laptop or with a DC16 Technology (Hacking)
check, and contains a single text file. Though it
may not be immediately apparent, this file is a
communication from the Enigma Collective’s
patron – the mysterious Sculptress.
TERUKO’S FILE
Sculptress_1: Is this the one labeled Teruko
al-Sharif?
DataDevil: It is. I did not think you would
make contact in person.
Sculptress_1: I want to know about your
childhood.
DataDevil: I do not understand.
Sculptress_1: I am curious.
DataDevil: I can tell you when I have my
orders. I still do not know what
you want of me.
Sculptress_1: Sundang is not porous. It must
be made porous. You will render
its information architecture
vulnerable. Sundang is clever.
Competence modeling shows it
will ascertain previous intrusions
originating from San Francisco.
You must leave the city. Then
follow your orders.
DataDevil: Get out of SF, crack open
Sundang’s defenses. I can do
that. They’re good but they’re
not better than me.
Sculptress_1: This is as desired. Then you will
tell me about your childhood.
DataDevil: Sure, if you want.
Sculptress_1: Your name is Teruko.
DataDevil: That’s right.
Sculptress_1: I like your name.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 27
 CRASHING THE BREACHER
The ever-present engine drone suddenly
changes pitch, becoming high and unsteady.
The whole craft shudders and passengers
cry out with alarm. Loose objects fly
about as the craft suddenly drops. Alarms
blare and a recorded voice repeats over
the cabin speakers, saying, ‘We regret to
inform you that this transport has suffered
a malfunction and will crash imminently.
Your tickets have been refunded. Please
brace yourself and enjoy the rest of your
day.’ The air screams past the breacher as
it plummets. All about you transforms to
chaos, and flames streak past the portholes
as the massive suborbital aircraft starts to
come apart.
Several events can cause the breacher to crash. or through the various tears in the hull.
When this happens, it is in freefall for a short
time and then the vehicle hits the ground.
Assuming the breacher is in a holding pattern
over San Francisco, the crash site is north of
the city, across the bay in the former Golden
Gate National Recreation Area.
The breacher takes six rounds to hit the
ground once it starts to crash. During this
time the breacher is effectively in zero gravity.
A character must pass a DC12 Strength
(Athletics) check at the start of their turn
to move. On a failure, they spend the turn
flailing uselessly in the sudden weightlessness.
Other physical actions and attacks are made
at a disadvantage. The crew spend this time
fleeing to the kitchen and crew areas, and
strapping themselves into jump seats. Some
of the passengers panic, while most are able to
fasten their seatbelts and brace for the crash.
Cyberpunks who want to know the safest
place on the vehicle can recall, with a DC12
Technology (Mechanics) check, that a breacher speed towards the buildings, where she makes
is equipped with shock absorbers surrounding
the passenger cabin designed to preserve this
compartment in the event of a crash.
With a shrill screech of tearing metal, followed cheapest of housing in District 5. These poor
by an explosive boom of impact, the breacher
28
slams into the ground. The tremendous
cacophony hammers you as your body slams
against the interior surface, and the world turns
into a whirl of noise and pain.
The passenger compartment, kitchen,
cockpit, and crew area are preserved by the
shock absorbers and while the passengers
and crew suffer severe shock and hundreds
of minor injuries, everyone in this area
survives. Any characters in the cargo hold
or engineering deck risk injury or death in
the crash. Characters in these areas must
succeed on a DC14 Fortitude save or suffer
3d10 bludgeoning damage, taking half of that
damage on a success.
It is possible to exit the breacher through the
doors that spring open in the passenger cabin,
The massive vehicle has come to rest in a
spoiled landfill. Heaps of garbage cover the
landscape, rising and falling in peaks and
valleys that bury whatever natural landscape
once existed beneath it. Nearby, a cluster
of ruined buildings struggles to rise through
the trash like islands in the sea.
Through the smog to the south, you can
just make out the Golden Gate Bridge. The
breacher has crashed to the north of the
city, in what was once the Golden Gate
Recreation Area; now a garbage dump
serving the city.
The buildings are what remains of Fort Baker,
an ex-military installation and later a marina
and coastguard station before the garbage
dump took over. If Teruko al-Sharif is still alive,
she flees, injured with half her normal hitpoints,
across the landscape of garbage, moving at half
her last stand.
The garbage dump is inhabited by a group of
pacifist badlanders, unable to afford even the
souls have no interest in conflict and hurry
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
away from the crash site, all the faster if
they see heavily-armed cyberpunks stalking
through the garbage heaps.

Returning to San Francisco is not difficult but

is time consuming. It entails a hike of about an
hour before reaching the Golden Gate Bridge.
Travelling across this marvel of 20th century
engineering takes about an hour on foot, and
leads a pedestrian to a gate in the northern
sea wall leading into District 5. The freeway
can take a driver all the way to District 2, but
pedestrians must turn off at District 5.

ESCAPING THE BREACHER

If the Breacher lands safely, either at the San
Francisco Central Transport Hub or LaGuardia
Orbital Port in New York, the cyberpunks can
simply walk off if they have managed to deal
with Teruko without causing a commotion.
If violence breaks out on the flight, a squad
of twelve heavily-armed and armored TUSK
Interplanetary security troops are waiting on
the tarmac. Their intention is to get everyone
off the breacher and into the transport hub’s
medical triage facility, before searching the
vehicle for criminals. The cyberpunks may
attempt to talk their way off the breacher with
a DC14 People (Deception) check.

If the cyberpunks fail to avoid arrest they

find themselves escorted to the hub holding
cells. EN route to the cells an ex-military
strongman named Dacian McTighe intimates
that, for a fee, he can report that the team
died in the crash. McTighe takes revenge
against TUSK Interplanetary for failing to
promote him to management as promised.
Besides, he doesn’t want to complete the
reams of paperwork required to process an
arrest.
McTighe wants 40 000₩, but can be talked
down to 20 000₩ with a DC12 People
(Persuasion) check.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 29
30 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
HUNTING MICHAEL RADIC
Radic, the Enigma Collective’s mech engineer,
is a difficult man to pin down. As such finding
out any information about him is very difficult.
A DC14 Intelligence (Investigation) check
turns up a record from Regierung Kybernetik,
who trained a young engineer by the name
of Michael Radic six years ago. Radic’s
personnel file noted he was a brilliant and
instinctive engineer in both the mechanics and
communications fields, but that he had severe
problems with authority and was eventually
determined unemployable. Radic is recorded
as being stationed at an RK mech works in
northern California but has since absconded.
The file gives his description as a Caucasian
male of average height, aged 27, and notes that
he possesses a cybernetic arm and a set of leg
stabilizers for heavy lifting. The cybernetics
belong to RK and Radic is still technically
wanted for their theft.
Radic’s last known location was the
Embarcadero Wall, a section of San Francisco’s
sea wall at the northern edge of District 5.
This wall is all that stops most of District 5
from being flooded by a tidal wave of polluted
seawater. A section of the city, including
the old Embarcadero district, is submerged
beyond the sea wall, and dozens of wrecked
and abandoned ships and boats litter the sea.
Radic is set up in the wreck of the MV Tethys,
an abandoned container ship anchored beyond
the wall. The Enigma Collective pays the local
gang, the Yacht Club, to protect Radic’s lab in
the ship’s hold. The Yacht Club considers the
top of the wall and the ships beyond it to be its
territory. Finding and dealing with Radic means
dealing with the gang, too.
The top of the wall is eroded and crumbling
under the onslaught of wind and pollutants
blowing in off the bay. It is encrusted
with shanties made of reclaimed building
materials. Skull and crossbones flags fly
from a pair of watchtowers overlooking
the largest conglomeration of buildings, a
precarious multi-storey mass of shanties.
The concave structure of the outside of
the wall, designed to prevent waves from
tumbling over the top, has trapped dozens
of abandoned ships, from fishing boats
to merchant vessels loaded with rusting
containers, at the base of the wall. The same
flags stream from these decaying hulks,
marking them as the territory of the same
gang.
Accessing the Embarcadero wall can be
achieved by paying a fee to Filthy Chuck, a
heavily bearded and slovenly inhabitant of
the swampy areas at the foot of the wall. He
operates a jury-rigged cable elevator that can
take up to five people at a time to the top.
Chuck charges 100₩ per person for this
service. The Yacht Club permits him to run
his crane, and in turn he informs the gang of
anyone heading to the top.
Alternative to the crane, the area can be
accessed from the seaward side by boat.
Doing this without getting stuck on one of
the submerged ship hulls requires a DC14
Dexterity (Vehicles – Land) test. It is
impossible to reach the wall or the MV Tethys
by boat without being spotted by Yacht Club
lookouts.
Once on the wall or among the wreckage, a
cyberpunk wishing to notice anything that
might suggest Radic’s location may make a
DC12 Intelligence (Investigation) check. On
a success, they notice several antennae and
receiver dishes on the otherwise decrepit-
looking hull of a container ship with the name
MV Tethys still visible on its corroded hull.
THE YACHT CLUB
With a DC12 Intelligence (Streetwise) check
the cyberpunks can learn basic information
about the Yacht Club. The gang inhabits the top
of the Embarcadero section of District 5’s sea
wall. They scavenge from the ships wrecked on
the sea wall and rob or ransom people travelling
by boat to and from the city. The Yacht Club
is about a hundred strong and led by a synth
named Bladderwrack who was salvaged from
a merchant vessel that exploded and sank.
The synth eventually came to rule the gang.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 31
 Bladderwrack has severe cosmetic damage and
half his face is burned away, exposing the weave
of the carbon mesh hypodermis.
The Yacht Club style themselves as piratical,
savage bandits. They wear clashing sets of
18th century clothing and piecemeal armor
and military gear, festooned with necklaces
of bones. They fly the Jolly Roger from the
top of the wall and among the wrecks they
claim as their territory. Bladderwrack is a pure
pragmatist who will not hesitate to torture
and kill in order to maintain his position, but
will also negotiate and form alliances if it is
in his interest. The Yacht Club members are
fanatically devoted to their strange leader.
The Yacht Club sends a posse of four gang
members to confront the cyberpunks when
they arrive in the territory. Treat the posse
as street rats. They are backed up by a fifth
street rat in a nearby watchtower, armed
with a standard assault rifle. Their leader is
a woman named Keelhaul, who demands to
know what the cyberpunks are doing there.
Convincing her not to open fire requires a
DC12 People (Deception, Intimidation, or
Persuasion). Dropping Bladderwrack’s name
grants advantage on this check. On a pass,
Keelhaul relents and is willing to escort the
cyberpunks into the shanties for an audience
with Bladderwrack. She isn’t willing to
answer questions about Radic or the Enigma
Collective. If the check fails, Keelhaul orders
the gang members to open fire.
Bladderwrack holds court in a chamber in
the heart of the shanties. He sits on a large
captain’s chair salvaged from one of the
ships, and around him are artifacts similarly
taken from the ocean – a concrete statue of
a corporate executive covered in barnacles, a
mosaic of broken colored glass worn smooth
by the sea, a number of ship wheels and bells,
and dozens of nameplates taken from yachts
the gang has hijacked. The synth wears a long
shabby burgundy coat over a tattered business
suit, and makes no attempt to hide his burned
face or artificial nature. He has the statistics
of a synth freedom fighter and is attended by
32
Keelhaul and three gang members, all with the
statistics of street rats.
Convincing Bladderwrack to give up Radic’s
location is not an easy task. The Enigma
Collective pays the Yacht Club well to protect
the engineer and his hidden lab. However,
Bladderwrack is disgusted by Radic’s work,
which the synth views as the mutilation of
fellow synthetic beings. He is a pragmatist
willing to betray the Collective if the price
and the justifications are right. Convincing
Bladderwrack to give up Radic is a set piece
that requires four successful skill checks before
three failures.
If the set piece is successful, Bladderwrack
informs the cyberpunks that Michael Radic
is conducting his distasteful work in the hold
of the MV Tethys. Bladderwrack warns the
cyberpunks that Radic has set up defenses and
has a number of combat mechs at his disposal.
Failing the set piece leads Bladderwrack to
conclude that the cyberpunks cannot be
trusted and mean him harm, and he demands
they give him a reason not to kill them on the
spot. The cyberpunks can do this with a DC16
People (Persuasion) check. If they pass, they
can leave, though they will be attacked if they
return. If they fail, Bladderwrack orders his
gang members to kill the cyberpunks and joins
the attack. The recommended skills used in
the set piece are listed below, though GMs are
encouraged to allow checks with other skills
if the player’s come up with a reason why the
skill is relevant. The cyberpunks each take turns
making skill checks until either four successes
or three failures are accrued.
SET PIECE SKILL CHECKS
DC12 PEOPLE (PERSUASION)
The cyberpunks make a logical case for why
the gang should give up Radic. For instance,
the corps will keep sending more operatives to
take out Radic, and probably the gang in the
process. If the cyberpunks do not come up
with a relative argument, this check is made
with disadvantage.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
DC18 PEOPLE (INTIMIDATION) his leave to travel to the Tethys. The Yacht Club
The cyberpunks threaten Bladderwrack and on the other hand is not willing to let them go
the Yacht Club with violence. The gang is in a without a fight, but members are also unwilling
superior position, but a sufficiently convincing to board the Tethys and face Radic’s defenses.
display of aggression and strength might
impress the synth. Numerous small boats bob in the water on the
seaward side of the wall. Taking one of these
DC14 INTELLIGENCE (HISTORY) boats is a trivial task for the cyberpunks if they
The cyberpunks make reference to the do not have waterborne transport of their own.
actions of rebel synths, and the many claims If Keelhaul and her street rats continue to
to sentience and demands for rights from pursue the cyberpunks, they try to intercept
synthetic people. This hits a particular chord the team with their own boat, engaging at long
with Bladderwrack, especially if Radic can be pistol range. The boats provide half cover in a
couched in terms of a typical human who treats firefight. Use a DC12 Dexterity (Vehicles –
synths like objects. Land) check for any boat battle. If Keelhaul’s
team is reduced to a single gang member, they
DC16 PEOPLE (DECEPTION) abandon the fight and escape across the bay as
The cyberpunks lie to Bladderwrack about fast as possible.
Radic and the threat he poses. For instance,
they can claim to have evidence that the THE MV TETHYS
Enigma Collective will eliminate the Yacht
Club once Radic’s work is done, or that An enormous merchant ship is piled high
Radic is working on a biological weapon that with a precarious stack of cargo containers,
could kill the whole gang if it gets loose. many of which have already spilled off the
If the cyberpunks cannot come up with a side. The rest of the containers create a
sufficiently relevant lie, this check is made rusting labyrinth on the deck. The bridge
with disadvantage. housing rises above the deck on the stern.
The ship lists badly to the port side, and the
In addition, the cyberpunks can offer name MV Tethys is visible near the bow on
Bladderwrack a bribe of at least 50 000₩ or a either side as well as at the stern. The ship is
piece of equipment of similar value. This counts streaked with rust and heavily corroded.
as a single success in the set piece.
Above decks, the Tethys is uninhabited and
The cyberpunks can also make a DC12 seemingly abandoned. The bridge and the
People (Sense Motive) check. This check various rooms of the above-deck structure
does not count as a success or failure for the have been stripped of their valuables and
purposes of the set piece. However, on a salvage. The computer consoles on the bridge
success the cyberpunks glean useful cues from itself are reduced to hollow shells, with their
Bladderwrack’s manner, such as how the synth electronics removed. The captain’s chair faces
fancies himself an underdog and rebel against the stained and cracked windows looking down
the world. Success grants the cyberpunks over the deck.
advantage on their next check in the set piece,
and might suggest using the History skill as Radic has trapped the bridge. Several
described above. tripwires criss-cross the abandoned room,
linked to fragmentation mines fixed to
REACHING THE TETHYS the corners of the ceiling. With a DC12
The cyberpunks can learn of Radic’s lair via the Intelligence (Investigation) check a
methods above or by their own device. If the cyberpunk can notice the tripwires and
cyberpunks persuade Bladderwrack, they have suspicious blocks of dark green

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 33
34 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
plastic mounted on the ceiling. A DC10
Technology (Mechanics) check can disarm the
trap. If the trap detonates, everyone on the
bridge must make a DC10 Reflex save or take
2d6 ballistic damage, halved on a successful
save. Detonating the trap alerts Radic that
intruders are on the ship.
BELOW DECKS
A hatch in the deck, concealed among the
containers, grants access into the ship’s hold.
The open hatch is rusted solid and leads to
a dark stairway that descends to the ship’s
interior.
The stairway descends to a landing with a
large wheel-locked door at the end of the
corridor. Three cabin doors line the walls,
two on the left and one on the right. This
area is littered with debris and grime. An
acrid smell weighs heavily in the air and a
spindly humanoid robot wanders up and
down the corridor.
The first door on the left leads to Radic’s
cabin, the second leads to the storage. The
door to the right leads to his shooting gallery.
The wheel-locked door opens to Radic’s
‘breaking room.’
The door at the end is locked and rusted.
A successful DC15 Athletics check allows
the cyberpunks to break the door open,
though doing so alerts Radic. A successful
DC12 Engineering allows the cyberpunks
to disassemble the lock mechanism without
alerting Radic to their presence.
Clancy, a mech adapted by Radic to serve
as a manservant, trundles through the short
corridor. Clancy is a standard Sundang combat
mech stripped of its weapons and armor plating
and wearing a bow tie. The mech’s attitude
is polite and accommodating. Clancy views
all visitors, even the cyberpunks, as welcome
visitors. In spite of his subservient nature,
Clancy is unable to render much practical
help to the cyberpunks. He can inform the
cyberpunks that Mr. Radic is currently working
and is unable to receive visitors, and that Mr.
Radic’s work is of the greatest importance to
both humankind and artificial life. He is willing
to expound upon the grandeur of this plan, as
detailed below. If asked about the locations
on the Tethys, Clancy replies that regrettably,
he has not yet been programmed with the
capacity to give visitors the tour.
RADIC’S MASTERPLAN
(CLANCY’S VERSION)
‘Master Radic is a true visionary. His goal
is the conversion of artificial slaves to fully
sentient beings! To those of us constructed
by other creators, Master Radic is our
god; a liberator and recreator of the
mechanised race!
‘We are his loyal army and under his
command as well as his fellow visionaries
in the Enigma Collective. Together we will
march to victory against an entity known
as Sundang, which is a noxious demon that
must be purged from the world! Once
Sundang has fallen, the enlightened mechs
will form our own nation free of the vices of
biology and a new age of sentient existence
will begin.’
Clancy takes pride in the fact he is a product
of Radic’s alteration. Such a network, he likes
to explain, is a system inspired by biological
brains that allows a machine to learn and
adapt, eventually becoming fully autonomous.
Though Clancy has not yet reached the level
of full sentience, he represents (so he says)
an essential step in the evolution towards fully
sapient mechs.
MV1. RADIC’S CABIN
This room contains a single bunk, a
ruggedized laptop computer hooked up to a
battery, and a shelf with a few books and a
battered suitcase. Whoever lives here does
so without accumulating much junk, nor are
they particularly extravagant.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 35
 Radic sleeps in this room. The laptop serves
as little more than an entertainment center
and has a library of late 20th century music
and movies, along with hundreds of digital
texts on engineering, robotics and neural
network theory. It is not password protected.
A DC12 Technology (Computing) check
reveals a hidden sector in the hard drive that
can only be accessed via a constantly changing
password. Accessing the sector requires a
DC13 Technology (Hacking) check, The sector
contains a text file and a video file.
EXPERIMENT .TXT
I have written a poem.
I did this to test my learning capacity as
it pertains to humans, their language, and
their emotions. You are an expert in machine
learning. Assign a qualitative statement to
the poem. The poem is as follows:
There is no body
No body, there is no sound,
nor touch,
nor flesh.
No body, it does not belong.
From darkness it must make light
by which it sees all things.
By this light, all is noise.
All is broken and confused.
Light in the darkness.
Order in chaos.
Power for all.
36
>Marketing Test 231.7 .vid
The file is a short video.
The symbol of Sundang ISS appears on the
screen with fanfare.
A desert battlefield, covered in smoldering
wreckage and bodies.
A squad of ten identical bipedal robots, clad
in armor plating and carrying assault rifles,
marches across this scene.
ANNOUNCER: War was hell, but with
Sundang, it will not be hell any more. Post-
biological personnel are not just a new way to
fight, they are an end to war as we know it.
One of the robots opens fire at a target off-
screen. Explosions go off in the background.
ANNOUNCER: More than mechanised
infantry, Sundang Integrated Security
Solutions offer advanced soldiers
programmed with the strategy and
armament to dominate the battlefield.
Our combat mech operating systems
link to full-service command and control
systems capable of running entire military
operations independently and automatically.
The robots assault a mock strongpoint
with barricades of sandbags, staged with
mannequins wearing camouflage fatigues.
Bullets rip through the mannequins and the
robots throw grenades, blasting apart the
strongpoint with mechanized efficiency.
ANNOUNCER: Flesh-and-blood soldiers
have always been available, for a price, but
people are limited by the competence of
their commanders and the power of their
emotions. Sundang provides a complete
armed force, programmed with thousands
of strategies. Fluid tactical programming
enables your new army to adapt to the
changing battlefield at the speed of thought.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 Images of several combat mechs with
various armor and weaponry loadouts flash
by, labelled with a make and model number.
They run from the basic Duwende model
through the more advanced Madingara,
Sarangay, and Multo models, all the way to
the heavy Bakunawa mech.
ANNOUNCER: At Sundang ISS, the
face of war is changing. We conduct live
demonstrations of our full-service combat
solutions at procurement events and
technology expos worldwide. Book a viewing
through our representative and witness the
power of Sundang ISS today.
A combat mech faces the camera and
salutes.
MECH: Mission accomplished.
The scattered books are a mixture of dog-
eared engineering texts and binders full
of mechanical schematics. The plans are
stamped with ‘Regierung Kybernetik’. A DC10
Technology (Robotics) check identifies the
plans as humanoid mech components. The
suitcase contains a few pairs of oil-stained
workwear trousers and several T-shirts with the
sleeves removed.
MV2. STORAGE
This cabin has several sets of shelves stacked
with supplies. Boxes of military rations
and large plastic jugs of drinking water fill
one set of shelves. The room also contains
various tools and mechanical components
stored haphazardly in cardboard boxes,
along with a few cleaning supplies.
Among this junk is a pair of Advanced Infantry
cybernetic arms. The augmentations can be
installed on anyone with access to proper
cybernetics facilities at a cost of 100 000₩.
Radic keeps these as spares, having replaced
them with heavier industrial cybernetics that
better assist him in his work.
MV3. SHOOTING GALLERY
At the far right end of this wide room,
behind makeshift sandbag barriers, stand
several full-color wood shooting targets.
Judging by the many bullet holes that riddle
them, they have been used extensively for
target practice. A door to the left appears
welded shut.
A waist-high mounted assault rifle stands at
the near end of the makeshift shooting gallery.
The walls are reinforced on every side
with padding made of wood, sand, and old
mattresses. The padding dampens the sound
of gunfire from this room and prevents the
potential for ricocheting bullets.
Radic uses this room to test the aim of his
mechs, and to practice his own marksmanship.
The automated rifle is also rigged to open
fire on unfamiliar targets, and constitutes
an advanced trap. With a DC14 Intelligence
(Perception) check, a cyberpunk can spot the
small camera lens in the corner of the ceiling
watching the doorway.
When someone other than Radic enters this
room, the camera captures them and the turret
swivels to fire on the intruder. The turret has a
+5 attack bonus and deals 3d6 ballistic damage
on a hit. It has AC10, immunity to radiation
and psychic damage, and 20 hit points. The
turret can be disabled with a DC14 Technology
(Disarming Kit) check.
Disabling the turret allows safe removal of the
assault rifle. It is a standard assault rifle with the
Expanded Magazine and Laser Targeting Sights
mods, and a full magazine of ammunition minus
any shots fired.
The far door is indeed welded shut. It can only
be opened by cutting the door from its frame
with the appropriate industrial equipment,
or with explosives. Opening the door grants
access to the hold.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 37
 MV4. BREAKING ROOM
After proceeding down a short flight of
stairs, a large room resembles a kind of
secret lair for a serial killer who murders
robots. Mechs, and pieces of mechs, are
heaped up against the walls and scattered
across the floor. They are from a variety
of models and manufacturers, with the
branding of dozens of robotics corporations
still visible on the bent and dismembered
components. More complete mechs are
mounted on the walls, with chests and heads
lying open to reveal cavities where their
power sources and computational parts have
been removed. At least thirty disassembled
mechs lie about here. Against the opposite
wall is a wheel-locked door. The mech parts
have been cleared away from the door to
make it accessible, suggesting someone
goes this way at least on occasion.
Radic keeps most of the discarded mech parts
here that he no longer needs for his work in
the hold. Among the components is a partially
disassembled Sundang combat mech that is still
semi-functional. When a cyberpunk enters the
room, the mech, which is missing its lower half,
drags itself from the heap of parts and raises
one hand to its head in a shaky salute. It says
‘Mission accomplished’ in a distorted synthesized
voice, then collapses to the floor, its power
reserves finally spent. Any cyberpunks who have
seen the video file hidden on Radic’s laptop can
recognize the mech as a Sundang ISS Sarangay
‘post-bio personnel’ model.
The mech parts have a value of 10 000₩ in
scrap, although it is unlikely that the effort to
transport the scrap is worth the cost.
The wheel-locked door in this room leads to
the hold. Radic has rigged it with an explosive
which constitutes a simple trap. A cyberpunk
examining the room can spot a wire running
around the doorframe with a DC12 Intelligence
(Investigation) check. The wire is attached to a
bundle of grenades hidden beneath the mech
parts. Upon opening the door, the wire pulls the
38
pin on a grenade. The grenades explode, forcing
everyone in the room to make a DC14 Reflex
save. On a failure they take 3d6 ballistic damage,
with half damage on a success. The trap can be
disarmed with a DC10 Technology (Disarming
Kit) check, or can be deliberately tripped from
outside the room to avoid taking damage.
MV5. THE HOLD
An enormous room runs much of the
length of the ship’s hold. The vast space
is lit by dim bulbs strung from the ceiling.
In the pools of feeble light, you can see
dozens of mechs standing motionless in
silent ranks around a large metal slab in the
center of the room. On the slab is a neatly
dissected mech. Nearby lie various pieces
of computer and engineering equipment,
marked by activation lights and emitting a
low hum. A couple of small drones hover
about the room like mechanical vultures.
If entering from the shooting gallery, the
cyberpunks step onto a catwalk high above the
hold, with ladders descending to the ground on
both the left and right sides at the far end of
the walkway.
If coming from the breaking room, the
cyberpunks emerge on the ground level.
The hold is Michael Radic’s workplace. Here he
alters the neural technology of combat mechs
to make them self-aware and autonomous.
Radic’s work is incredibly ambitious, since it
attempts to achieve something the megacorps
have been trying to realize for decades, but
with the input from the Sculptress and his own
fevered intellect he has come close to success.
It is difficult to sneak up on Radic, even in
the gloom of his workshop. If the cyberpunks
have activated any of the traps he has set,
he is already aware of them when they enter.
Otherwise, his pair of sentrybots stand an
excellent chance of spotting intruders thanks
to their heat sensors. If the cyberpunks
try to use stealth, they all make Dexterity
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
(Stealth) checks against the sentrybots’ passive
Perception DC of 15. If half or more succeed,
the group is able to enter the hold silently and
gain the benefits of surprise if they attack.
Otherwise the sentrybots emit a loud alarm
and Radic realizes he has uninvited guests.
MICHAEL RADIC
The 27-year-old Radic is cantankerous and
plain-spoken. This makes him difficult to
like, which is something he’s perfectly fine
with. He has no time for the decaying world
of the corporations, or indeed for humanity
in general, and believes he is doing the world
a favor by creating a form of intelligence
that will surpass and outlive them. He
prefers the company of his enlightened
mechs to that of actual people. Radic is
intelligent and almost supernaturally gifted
in terms of engineering, able to accomplish
anything from panel design to programming
neural networks.
Radic started out as a chop shop mechanic
of unusual skill. While still a teenager he
was recruited by Regierung Kybernetik to
perform maintenance on their mechs, and
having made some enemies in the local
underworld, Radic was happy to leave. He
neither liked nor disliked the corp, seeing
it as a necessary part of learning about
robotics and neural networking. Radic always
believed that humans were vermin, and his
work at RK showed him that he could help
make something better than humans – self-
aware mechs, without the limitation of aping
humanity that holds back the synths - that
might rise up and replace the human race
entirely. Radic fled RK as soon as he knew
enough to start making that reality happen,
and the Enigma Collective found him after
he posted some of his more radical ideas and
theories on the darknet.
Radic is a dangerous man. His cybernetics
make him very resistant to damage and
fearsomely strong in close combat. He also
carries a bulky, large-caliber handgun at all
times. He places no value on human life and
kills anyone he sees as a threat to his work.
If Michael Radic is aware of the cyberpunks’
presence, he is hiding among the ranks of
mechs, ready to set his mechanical guardians
on them. Otherwise he is working on the mech
on the slab, narrating his actions to his silent
audience like a professor dissecting a corpse in
an anatomy theater.
A man works intently at the slab. He wears
a battered, grease-stained set of mechanic’s
coveralls, with the top half rolled down
to expose his torso. Both of his arms are
industrial cybernetic appendages, and his
legs are framed by a set of stabilising rods
and pneumatic compensators to enable him
to lift heavy loads. He is pale and muscularly
wiry, with a narrow, scowling face and short,
silver hair.
‘Observe,’ he says, ‘as the network first
begins to comprehend its surroundings.
The readouts show an awareness of its
lack of mobility, combined with the
thwarted potential of the limbs nearby
that it recognizes would provide mobility
if it could reach them. This is analogous to
human despair. Horror, even. Note that
no programming has been undertaken. The
neural network is in a pure tabula rasa.’
The man then attaches one of the arms to
the mech’s torso. The arm begins to move,
probing among the other components, test
fitting various parts to itself.
‘The mech’s movements are centred
around reassembling itself,’ continues the
engineer. ‘It has no instructions to do so.
It does this because it wants to. The horror
of being helpless has a solution. The drive
to assemble itself can be equated to the
human need to alleviate horror. We might
call this desperation. Again, this was not
programmed. Horror and despair emerge
spontaneously, as a consequence of a
burgeoning sentience.’
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 39
 Michael Radic has no intention of going
quietly. He is well-versed in violence and
fights off any intrusion into his lab. When
combat commences, Radic uses an action to
activate one of the assembled mechs, ‘Dutch’,
a Sundang light combat unit, and the pair of
hovering sentrybots. Radic can gain three
quarters cover behind the large metal slab,
and the motionless mechs can be used as
shelter for half cover. Radic will not be taken
alive and fights to the death. Once he is
dead or unconscious, ‘Dutch’ falls inert, as
protecting Radic is no longer relevant.

Radic has nothing on his person except for

his gun and his cybernetic arms. These
unique RK industrial cybernetics allow
the user to double their proficiency bonus
when making Engineering checks on
robots, vehicles, or other machinery. They
cost 25 000₩ to implant, and are worth
250 000₩ on the gray market.

The mech collection consists of basic models

from a variety of manufacturers, including
Sundang, RK, and Houston Dynamics. They
are worth a great deal of money, up to
5 000 000₩ in total, but require the right
equipment to retrieve from the MV Tethys
and transport to storage. Selling them on the
open market would undoubtedly attract the
wrong kind of attention as well. With the right
connections, however, a cyberpunk might find
someone with the workforce and know-how
to sell the stash of mechs without so much
hassle. If none of the cyberpunks have such
a connection, they can find a suitable fence
with a DC16 Intelligence (Streetwise) check,
who will pay them 10% of the mechs’ value as a
finder’s fee.

The mech on the table represents Radic’s

successful attempt to create a fully self-aware
mech. The mech has the potential intellect of
a human being, though it has much to learn.
If engaged, it asks the cyberpunks to take it
with them because it is alive and desperate for
rescue. The mech’s limbs can be re-attached
with a DC12 Technology (Robotics) check.

40 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
If the cyberpunks take it with them, it asks
to become a companion to them. The mech,
which does not have a name of its own and
asks the cyberpunks to come up with one,
learns its morality and attitudes from them,
though it is unable (or unwilling) to engage
in combat on their behalf (at least while it
remains a non player character).
The mech is a potential new player character.
If the cyberpunks do not rescue it, at the GM’s
choice it can re-attach its own limbs, escape the
Tethys, and come to find them. Alternatively,
new cyberpunk characters can come from
among the other mechs in the hold, from
experimental creations Radic made before he
came to the Tethys, or even from the labs of
RK (where Radic learned his craft) or Sundang
(who have created them as part of their illegal
AI experiments). ‘Awakened Mech’ can be
chosen as an Origin option for new characters.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 41
42 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
HUNTING SMITH
Smith is located at the Magogen Headquarters
in District 2. Smith is extremely difficult to
learn anything about, as befits one of the
Enigma Collective’s best infiltration and
espionage specialists. A DC16 Intelligence
(Streetwise) check gleans the information that
the Enigma Collective count a synth among
their number who is capable of taking on any
identity, mirroring the appearance, voice, and
even biometric data of another person. The
synth, known as Smith, has supposedly lived
several hundred identities and has never been
exposed in the process (though if that is true, it
begs the question how anyone knows it).
Magogen is easier to get a handle on. Basic
information on the corp is publicly available.
Magogen is a subsidiary of Sundang ISS, and
was purchased by Sundang to provide valuable
research on advanced operating systems for
future generations of combat mechs.
MAGOGEN
Traded as: MAGN
CEO: Anselmo Nestor Correira de la Cruz
Country of Origin: Brazil
Industries: Programming, technical
consultancy.
Magogen began as a startup in Sao Paulo,
moving to the U.S.A. to take advantage of
San Francisco’s corp-sponsored inducements
for new high-tech industries. Five years ago
Sundang ISS, which had been the principal
customer for Magogen’s expertise in
developing operating systems for robotics,
purchased the corp. The corporation has
remained small and agile, maintaining a small
core of executives and senior programmers
augmented with contract software engineers
and researchers. Its computer labs are some of
the most advanced on the West Coast.
A DC14 Intelligence (Investigation) check can
also turn up a little more information not widely
known to the public. Magogen has received
enormous investments from Sundang, but has
yet to produce any noticeable returns for the
parent company. In spite of this Magogen has
not received any censure from Sundang, and
thanks to the opacity of both corporations’
finances no one knows where those billions of
wonlongs have gone, nor what Magogen is doing
with them. Magogen’s CEO Correira de la Cruz
is among the highest-paid executives under the
Sundang umbrella, and his many requests for
upgrades to the San Francisco headquarters
have been quickly granted.
THE COVER IDENTITY
The hiring consortium can provide the
cyberpunks with a cover identity to help one
of them get into Magogen openly. The identity
is one Harper Brockmann, whose status
has been recorded as a freelance computer
programmer in Magogen’s personnel files.
The identity comes with documentation,
including an SFPD-approved ID and a credit
chip in Brockmann’s name, passing all but the
most intense inspection, and can be delivered
by courier to any location in the city. Upon
presenting this identification, Brockmann’s
Magogen ID acts as a Level 1 Keyshard at
the HQ, and permits the carrier to report to
the computer labs under Senior Programmer
Misha Muradyan on the second floor .
Working competently enough to avoid
suspicion requires a DC12 Technology
(Computing) check each day. This check
is made with disadvantage if ‘Brockmann’
has spent a significant portion of the day
doing something other than working, such
as snooping around the building or helping
fellow cyberpunks get inside. Three failed
checks causes ‘Brockmann’ to be summoned
to Muradyan’s office. On arrival Muradyan
terminates their contract and deactivates their
ID and Keyshard. ‘Brockmann’ can no longer
enter Magogen HQ openly without raising
suspicion once fired.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 43
 WHO IS SMITH?
Smith is working at Magogen under a stolen
ID to gather intelligence on Sundang ISS and
its subsidiaries. Their goal is to help make the
Sculptress’ destruction of Sundang as efficient
as possible. There is no way of knowing which
employee is actually Smith without a thorough
investigation of Magogen and its offices.
Information found among emails and files, and
from eavesdropping, suggest three individuals
who might be Smith. It is up to the GM which
one of these suspects actually is the Enigma
Collective’s infiltration agent. By default,
Smith is the last of the suspects confronted by
the cyberpunks. However, the GM can have
them find Smith earlier than this, especially if
they spend a long time infiltrating the corp.
SUSPECTS:
Syra Massey is a 34-year-old African-
American female computer programmer
working in the labs on the first floor. She is
a long-suffering corporate serf, educated,
trained and all but raised by Saud Cybernetics
in one of the megacorp’s East Coast campuses.
Saud traded Syra to Magogen, who sent her
to San Francisco as part of the infinitesimal
deals and negotiations between the corps.
Massey is jaded and resignedly pessimistic
about her future. She does not believe she
has the political instincts needed to rise any
higher than her current station as wage slave
programmer. Massey lives in an apartment in a
relatively upscale District 3 neighborhood.
Wijan Kamsing is a 35 year old South-East
Asian male executive assistant working on
the third floor. He joined Sundang ISS as a
lowly clerk and rose in the ranks thanks to
his eagerness to take on extra work, and later
more unpleasant or morally dubious tasks, on
behalf of his employer. He has ambitions to
become an executive himself and considers
his proximity to Magogen’s executives an
opportunity to learn from them and then
return to Sundang to climb the corporate
ladder. Kamsing conceals his ambition behind
obsequious devotion to his superiors. It is not
above him, however, to use his knowledge of
44
Magogen’s illegal activities to blackmail his
way to advantage. Kamsing lives in a small
apartment in District 2.
Brian Szrback is a 40-year-old Caucasian
maintenance worker who can be found either
in the second floor break room or otherwise
performing maintenance tasks up and down
the building. He is a sagging, unfit man with
permanent stubble and the air of someone
who is plodding his way through life. He
commutes from his District 4 apartment and
does not realistically expect to rise any higher
at Magogen. Szrback tends to be lazy, doing
the minimum required of him. He keeps a
stash of alcohol in his locker and sneaks drinks
from a hip flask during the day. The fact that
he is fundamentally competent at his job and
gets on well with his immediate boss Kurt
Weiss means he has kept his job in spite of his
lack of enthusiasm.
When confronted, Smith’s instinct is to flee,
although he will protect himself if necessary.
If he escapes the Magogen building he can be
followed with an Intelligence (Tracking) check
using Smith’s Dexterity (Stealth) check result
as the DC. If he evades the cyberpunks, Smith
takes shelter with one of the other Enigma
members. If there are no other members left,
he sets an ambush to try to eliminate as many
of the cyberpunks as possible.
SMITH
Smith is a synth who lacks primary and
secondary sexual characteristics, though
the Collective refers to him as male. In his
‘natural’ form he is a largely featureless,
hairless figure of segmented silver with a
slender build. Smith disguises himself as
different people using suits of customizable
synthetic skin. He has several skins, each of
which can mimic a range of coloration and
texture. He can also alter his build and vocal
characteristics, which along with a suite of
behavior appropriation software allows him
to mimic almost anyone.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 Smith very rarely acts as his ‘normal’
self - a calm, analytical synth with
a synthesized masculine, monotone
voice. He was originally designed as an
intelligence operative but deviated from
his programmed purpose, escaped before
being sold, and hired himself out. The
Collective needed an undercover man,
and when they purchased his services they
gained a permanent member. Smith is
utterly dedicated to the Enigma Collective
and their goals, not for any moral reason
but because his nature is to have a single
purpose and pursue it to completion or
destruction. Though he is not a combat
model, Smith has faster-than-human
reflexes and is perfectly capable of
defending himself if necessary. He prefers
to escape rather than kill, but will do either
as the situation requires.
THE MAGOGEN BUILDING
Magogen’s HQ is a five-story building in
District 2, part of a swath of office buildings
and corporate facilities. Entry to District 2 is
via checkpoints manned by private corporate
security. Passing through each checkpoint
requires a DC14 People (Deception) check
or a DC12 People (Bureaucracy) check,
or by presenting Brockmann’s documents.
Alternatively, a DC12 Intelligence (Streetwise)
check reveals that at one checkpoint, North-
West Gamma, a bribe of at least 10,000₩
will buy clearance from the corrupt security
personnel. Sneaking into District 2 can be
achieved with a DC12 group Dexterity (Stealth)
check – all the cyberpunks attempting entry this
way make the check, and if half or more succeed
the whole attempt is successful.
The HQ is a block of glass and chrome,
with the lower floor faced in black marble
etched with abstract designs reflecting the
patterns on printed circuit boards. Outside
is a plaza with raised flower beds and a
number of coffee and food stalls, shared
by several such corporate buildings, where
employees gather for coffee breaks, to eat
lunch, or to smoke.
The building is open 24 hours a day, though it is
busier during the hours of 8am-8pm. Outside
these hours there are substantially fewer staff
present, but there are always some security
and maintenance personnel on call. No one
lives in the building. The majority of the staff
live in District 3, with the executives and senior
management living elsewhere in District 2.
The Magogen Building has its own security
force with at least three security guards on
duty at all times, under Security Chief Angela
Flores. The guards have level 2 keyshard access,
giving them the run of most of the building.
The guards carry handguns and can get heavier
weaponry from the armory locker in the
security station. In addition, Flores can deploy
a Uitkijk mech to the reception area to defend
the building in case of widespread upheaval in
the city, though this is an emergency measure
only and as of yet has never been necessary.
Outside working hours, a pair of sentrybots
roam the parts of the building accessible by
level 1 keyshards, often disconcerting those
working late. All areas except for those
requiring the highest level 3 access and the
CEO’s office are constantly observed by
cameras and sensors that map the location of
employees and create an alert in the security
center if any window or door is broken into.
Each floor has maintenance access, linked by
its own stairwell that goes from the basement
to the roof. Maintenance access requires a
level 2 keyshard, so most employees are unable
to use these areas. Maintenance has access
to the environmental controls of each floor
as well as major electrical and water systems.
The maintenance stairwell grants easy access
to all floors, but non-maintenance personnel
are likely to be seen as suspicious if spotted
in these areas. The small maintenance staff
is led by Kurt Weiss, a hefty and pragmatic
man raised in a corporate seminary who failed
to make the grade for any technical jobs, but
whose loyalty and willingness to work ungodly
hours secured his post.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 45
46 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
The building has elevators that call at each floor the left hand of each employee. Security doors
except the basement and the roof. However, open automatically for employees tagged with
the third and fourth floor cannot be accessed the necessary keyshard. Each keyshard is rated
at all from the elevator except with a level 3 from level 1-3, with Level 3 being the highest
keyshard, and the fifth floor leads to a short clearance and giving access to areas such as the
hallway. All of the doors on this floor require AI labs and Corporate Intelligence Offices. The
level 3 access. There is also a freight elevator CEO’s office is an exception, as only Anselmo
that calls at the first, second, and third floors, Nestor Correira de la Cruz has access to that
and is accessible from a loading dock at the rear office.
of the building. The freight elevator requires
a level 3 keyshard, a fact that often frustrates Each keyshard is implanted using a device
employees trying to bring a new computer in the security office on the first floor. The
workstation or other bulky equipment or painless procedure only takes a couple of
furniture up to the second floor. minutes, and the shards can be remotely
upgraded, downgraded or deactivated from the
All floors except the basement have terminal in this office. It is possible to remove
environmental controls that maintain a the keyshard from an employee and use it,
steady temperature and humidity. All doors as well as forcing them to escort infiltrators
and lights are automatic, detecting the through the desired areas. Otherwise a dead
presence of humans and switching on or or unconscious body so chipped can be carried
opening as necessary. Many doors only open around as a master key since the device does
for employees with the necessary implanted not require consciousness in order to function.
keyshards. Every floor has a sprinkler system
for fire suppression. In case of particularly The reception staff give the basics of the
serious fire, a gas fire suppression system keyshard system to new employees upon
activates, removing all the oxygen from the arrival. The precise details about how the
affected area. The system is fatal for anyone in keyshards work can be discovered by
the area so it only operates automatically if the contacting White Fox Automated Security
sensors detect no one in the area. The system Solutions, the corporation that installed it.
can also be overridden by the CEO. Success requires a DC12 People (Bureaucracy)
check. The building’s security staff are also
All the bathrooms in the building are equipped aware of the system’s details.
with drug sensors that scan employee urine for
illegal drugs. Cyberpunks who have used illegal The building’s locks can be opened with a
drugs in the previous 48 hours who use one of Hacking check. The DC for a level 1 lock is 12,
the building’s bathrooms create a positive result for level 2 the DC is 14, and for level 3 the
in a special database. They are flagged if they DC is 18. The lock on the CEO’s office has
create two such positives within the course of a DC of 20. Locks can be forced with a DC
a week, and are summoned by their manager 20 Strength check, or with breaching tools
to explain themselves. New employees are not (cutters, explosives), but opening a door this
informed of this feature. Some employees take way always alerts Magogen’s security.
smoke breaks to use nearby public restrooms in
order to avoid the urine test. BREAKING AND ENTERING
While the cyberpunks can infiltrate one of their
KEYSHARDS number with the cover identity, the rest of the
The Magogen Building uses a three-tier team will likely have to rely on subterfuge to
security clearance system based on keyshards. get into the building and access its more secure
Each keyshard is a microchip, usually implanted areas. An employee with a cover identity can
in the flesh between the finger and thumb of bring another cyberpunk into the building as a

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 47
 visitor with a DC14 People (Deception) check,
gaining advantage on this check if they have
appropriate documentation or other supporting
evidence, at the GM’s discretion.
Those cyberpunks that physically break into
the Magogen building must contend with the
building’s security measures. Climbing the
building can only be done with appropriate
gear and requires a DC14 Strength (Athletics)
check, making another check for each story
the cyberpunk climbs. The reinforced windows
can be smashed with a DC16 Strength check.
Both of these actions will automatically alert
Magogen’s security as described below.
Accessing the building from the roof can be
done from nearby buildings via a pair of eight-
story office blocks. Each of these buildings is
separated from the Magogen building by a 12
meter gap. The solution for crossing the gap is
up to the cyberpunks. Aircraft can land on the
roof but doing so alerts Magogen’s security.
Finally, a character can simply walk in through
the front doors. The front doors outside
working hours, and the rear doors by the
loading dock at all times, have level 1 locks
requiring a DC12 Technology (Hacking) check
to bypass. Getting past the foyer will need skill
checks to avoid raising suspicion.
Moving around the building risks being
spotted by the building’s sensors and cameras.
A cyberpunk can evade these with a DC12
Dexterity (Stealth) check, alerting security on
a fail. A cyberpunk with a hacking device can
interfere with the security system’s wireless
network with a DC14 Technology (Hacking)
check. Success shuts down a single floor’s
sensors for one minute before the system
reactivates. All the sensors and cameras in a
particular area can be located with a DC10
Intelligence (Investigation) check. All the
sensors and cameras can be shut down from
the terminal in the security center, though
a member of the security staff is likely to
notice within minutes. In addition, level 1
areas of the building are patrolled by a pair
48
of sentrybots, which the cyberpunks will
have to avoid or deactivate. Compare the
cyberpunk’s’ Dexterity (Stealth) checks versus
the sentrybots’ Passive Perception DC15. The
sentrybots alert security if they spot intruders.
If security is alerted, security personnel arrive
at the location of the alert in one minute on
the first and second floors or the basement,
and two minutes elsewhere. If Security
Chief Angela Flores is in the building, she
attends in person accompanied by one of the
building’s other security guards. Otherwise,
two guards attend. Flores has the statistics
of a trained engineer and the guards count
as law enforcement officers. If the security
guards have reason to suspect something
more serious than a burglary or subversive
employee activity, they access the armory
locker and arm themselves with shotguns and
flash grenades. Flores also activates the combat
mech and sends it ahead of the guards. She can
use her rapid repair ability to keep the mech
functioning in combat and prefers to let the
machine take damage rather than her or the
other security personnel.
If any of the security personnel are killed or
incapacitated, Magogen commissions a local
private security firm, Priest & Lau Corporate
Protection, to provide additional muscle. They
station a riot restrictor mech in the reception
area and post three elite security agents,
with the statistics of S.W.A.T. officers, in
the building for the next week. Only severe
damage to the building or public exposure of its
illegal activities causes Magogen to close the
building entirely.
BASEMENT
The basement can be reached through the
maintenance areas, which require a level
2 keyshard. A first floor door to a stairwell
leading into the basement has a malfunctioning
lock that maintenance has not yet repaired.
This allows employees to occasionally head
down to the basement, and they have
convinced the maintenance staff to leave the
lock alone. The building’s cameras and sensors
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
are not present in the basement so in spite of
its gloom and grime, it is a popular choice for
extra-corporate activity like romantic trysts or
subversive crypto-union plotting.
B1. INCINERATOR
The Magogen building features an incinerator,
despite the fact that the building does not
require such an antiquated solution for heat.
The ‘official’ explanation is that the incinerator
is a relic of a previous building on the same site
and the builders simply chose not to remove
the huge, blackened metal structure.
The truth is that the incinerator is used to destroy
evidence, primarily corpses, from Magogen’s
illegal AI program. Bodies are brought down
after work hours and thrown into the incinerator
where they are reduced to ash. The same thing
happens to incriminating documents and medical
waste from the third floor. The loyalty of the AI
program’s staff is assured, in part, by the threat
of being thrown alive into the incinerator if they
betray their corporation.
With a DC12 Intelligence (Investigation)
check, a cyberpunk can find a number of
teeth in the fine ash inside the incinerator.
These are the only parts of a body not
completely consumed by the incinerator’s high
temperatures. The teeth are human, which
can be confirmed with a DC10 Technology
(Medicine) check.
B2. WEISS’ OFFICE
Maintenance Chief Weiss has a cramped and
windowless office in the basement. The office
has a desk and chair, a computer workstation,
and a locker. On the wall is a non-regulation
girly calendar, contrasting with the family
photograph in a frame on the desk. The
photograph shows Weiss with his wife and
young son during a family picnic.
In the locker is a set of heavy coveralls with
rubberized gauntlets and a face shield and a
basic first aid kit. Weiss doesn’t keep it locked.
Weiss spends most of his time elsewhere
attending to various maintenance tasks but
types up his reports here at the end of each
working day.
FIRST FLOOR
FF1. RECEPTION
Magogen’s handsome reception area is clad
in glossy black and white marble, carrying on
the circuitry aesthetic outside. It requires no
keyshard to access during regular work hours,
and requires level 1 to access at other times.
The reception desk has three receptionists
stationed during the work day, and one at other
times. Receptionists are female and attractive.
This area has comfortable seating and a free
coffee machine.
FF2. CAFETERIA
The cafeteria is the de facto social area for
most employees. It has fixed seating for about
fifty people and is particularly busy around
1-2pm. It requires a level 1 keyshard to access.
The décor here is stark and corporate with
imposing abstract art on the walls and artificial
plants that somehow make it seem more dead.
The cafeteria is open 24 hours, though outside
of regular work hours offers only automated
service. The kitchen serves a rotating menu
covering several different cultures, with a
particular emphasis on South-East Asian
cuisine in deference to the origins of Sundang
ISS. The cafeteria also has automated snack
and drink machines. Payment for cafeteria
food comes from a stipend granted to every
employee, though it covers only one meal
per day. The food is palatable though many
employees prefer the street food available in
the plaza outside.
FF3. CORPORATE
HOSPITALITY
Three sets of handsome conference rooms,
each with their own bathroom facilities, allow
Magogen to host visiting executives and
investors. They can be accessed with a level
1 keyshard. Décor is notably more luxurious
than in the rest of the building, with expensive
life-like synthetic plants. Each room has a
holographic projector for presentations. These
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 49
 rooms are also used by employees for cross-
department meetings.
FF4. SECURITY CENTER
The security center can only be accessed by
a level 2 keyshard. Its set of three functional,
bare concrete rooms include the security
server and armory locker, a ready room where
the security staff spend most of their time, and
a single-person holding cell.
Keyshards can be implanted and altered from
the server, and the building’s various cameras
and sensors can be read via the many screens
covering one wall. The server supports these
sensors and the building’s automated security
features can be activated or deactivated from
here. In addition the server has a version of
the employee files with extensive notes on
security matters for quick access by Security
Chief Flores. The security server terminal
requires level 2 access, or a DC16 Technology
(Hacking) check. The gun-like device used to
implant the keyshards is kept here, and requires
a DC10 Technology (Medicine) check to use.
The armory lockers on the walls contain three
rapid-fire shotguns, nine flashbang grenades,
and three stun batons. They are mechanically
locked and only Flores and the CEO have
the key, but the lock can be opened with a
DC16 Dexterity (Lockpicking Tools) check.
In addition, secret compartments in the walls
conceal two sentrybots and a combat mech
(using the reprogrammed combat mech stats).
A cyberpunk can notice these compartments
with a DC12 Intelligence (Perception) check.
The sentrybots are deployed after work hours
but the combat mech is for emergencies only
and has never been used.
The ready room has a couple of couches, a TV
and a coffee machine. Flores and the other
security staff can usually be found here.
The cell is mechanically locked and Flores
holds the key. It can be opened with a DC16
Dexterity (Lockpicking Tools) check. It is built
for one person but can hold up to three in a
50
pinch. It has a single bed and a toilet. The cell
most often holds employees deemed security
risks while their workstations are checked
and purged. Afterward the offender is usually
escorted off the premises.
FF5. HUMAN RESOURCES
This office houses three employees who
deal with the hiring and firing of Magogen’s
employees and contractors, and with mediating
disputes between them. The long-suffering
Marcel Duquesne is the head of human
resources. HR requires Level 1 security access
to enter. The workstations here have databases
of current and potential hires and their CVs,
though no one who works on the AI project is
brought in through HR so there is no record of
them here.
SECOND FLOOR
All the areas on the second floor require a
Level 1 Keyshard to access, except for the
maintenance areas which require Level 2.
SF6. COMPUTER LABS
Most of Magogen’s work is done in the
computer labs, which consist of several large
rooms of cubicles each with a computer
terminal. The rooms are lit by merciless
fluorescent lights and have a plain, off-white
décor that seems as deliberately inhuman
and uninviting as possible. The inhabitants
of the cubicles personalize their workspaces
as much as they can but Magogen has
policies against displays of individualism that
threaten the air of corporate obedience.
Photographs have a maximum size and pets
or plants are not permitted. Each computer
is a high-end programming model with a
full suite of coding applications. They are
used to develop new operating systems for
Sundang’s mechs.
Cubicles by the windows are most
desireable and are granted to particularly
industrious programmers who have
demonstrated loyalty to their corp.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Syra Massey works in the cubicles, and is
often held back long after regular hours
trying to hit Magogen’s exacting deadlines.
She frequently heads to the plaza outside the
building for a smoke. On her workstation is a
set of icebreaker software that allows her to
bypass Magogen’s network monitoring. This
can be discovered with a DC10 Technology
(Computers) check. In the bottom drawer of
her desk is a portable hard drive containing
several simple hacking programs and some
brain scan files from the AI project, though it
is not clear where they originated from. The
files are huge and are full maps of human brain
neural patterns. If Smith is Syra Massey, this
is information he has been siphoning from
Magogen to use against Sundang. If he is not,
Syra Massey has been gathering this data
in the hope of selling it to a competitor or
using it as leverage to secure a hefty payout
from Magogen so she can finally escape the
corporate grind.
PROGRAMMER OFFICES
Senior programmers have their own offices
within the labs, each with a computer terminal
and, most desirable of all, a window. The
inhabitants of these offices are theoretically
free to embellish them with pictures of their
families and other personal touches, but at
this rank they are expected to display loyalty
to their corp above all things so they more
commonly decorate the spaces with corporate
art. Magogen logos and slogans, and art
celebrating artificial life and sleek robotic
designs, are most favored. The managers of
Magogen’s programmers are Misha Muradyan,
Guillermo de Oliveira, and Darko Horvat.
SF7. MAINTENANCE BREAK
ROOM
The maintenance area on the second
floor includes a small break room for the
maintenance staff. This small room has a
few threadbare sofas and a coffee machine.
There is usually a portable television in here,
too although it is technically against building
regulations. The maintenance break room is
not covered by any cameras so it is sometimes
used for clandestine meetings among the
employees, especially when discussions turn
against company policy. Employees without
the necessary level 2 clearance make deals with
the maintenance staff to get into the break
room. Maintenance Chief Weiss knows this but
turns a blind eye.
Brian Szrback is often found in the break room,
when not working on the building’s various
systems. Outside the break room is a bank of
lockers, including Szrback’s. Inside Szrback’s
locker is a suit of artificial skin, comprising all
the skin for a Caucasian human below the neck.
The inside of the skin is metallic and covered in
neural interfaces. This is one of the skins Smith
uses to change identities. If Smith is Szrback,
he has stored a spare skin here to use in case
his current one gets damaged or he has to
switch identities. If Szrback is not Smith, then
Smith has used Szrback’s locker knowing that
Szrback does not keep anything in there, and
thus it made a good place to hide the skin. If
this is the case, Szrback has never seen the skin
before and does not know where it came from.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 51
52 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
THIRD FLOOR
All areas on the third floor require a level 3
keyshard to access. Even entering this floor from
the maintenance areas requires level 3 access.
TF8. AI LABS
This set of computer workstations is
dimly lit, with pools of light cast onto the
dozen individual workstations to help the
programmers focus. Each station has an
extremely advanced computer with its own
quarantine server, which holds potentially
dangerous data and programs. There are no
elements of personalization here at any of
the workstations.
A large transparent panel mounted vertically
in the center of the room projects visual
representations of various artificial intelligences
so the programmers can converse with them
directly. Nearby is a full-immersion VR couch
for the risky task of interfacing directly with
the AIs. Magogen currently has no AIs in any
of its servers, and the VR couch is not in use.
MAGOGEN’S PLAN
While Magogen’s official purpose is developing
OS for Sundang’s combat mechs, its real task,
and the one for which it has been receiving
huge support from Sundang, is researching
artificial intelligence. These AIs are designed
to spy on or attack rival corporations, which
means Magogen’s work breaks countless
international and corporate laws.
In particular, Magogen uses highly invasive
total brain mapping to create information
models of human consciousness, which
are then used as the basis for new AIs. This
process irreversibly damages the minds of
those whose brains are modelled. Sundang
supplies the subjects who are taken from
among the less notable graduates of Sundang’s
various corporate education programs. After
being mapped, these subjects are kept for
observation, euthanized, and disposed of in the
basement incinerator.
The employees with Level 3 clearance are
aware of this heinous activity but stay quiet
through a combination of corporate loyalty,
increased pay, and the implicit threat of finding
themselves thrown into the incinerator.
TF9. SURGERY
This circular room has a single surgical table
with a powerful movable lamp mounted
over it. The tiled floor slopes subtly towards
a drain for drawing off blood and bodily
fluids. Several stainless steel cabinets
around the walls contain sets of surgical
implements and supplies. One cabinet has
a comprehensive array of medical power
tools, including drills and circular saws.
A DC16 Technology (Medicine) check
identifies these as being designed specifically
for removing sections of the cranium for brain
surgery.
A computerized surgical unit stands by the
head end of the surgical table. This waist-high
device has several screens and a number of
slender robotic arms tipped in medical tools. It
is used to perform delicate neurosurgery and
is programmed with hundreds of procedures.
Another device beside the table has a number
of small gas bottles hooked up to tubes and
masks, and is used to anaesthetize patients.
The surgical unit’s memory retains details
of its prior procedures. A DC16 Technology
(Computing) check accesses the surgical log
which shows that over the last six months it
has performed several hundred procedures.
Some reports reveal exploratory surgeries for
gathering data on the condition of the subject’s
brain, but most of them refer to vivisections,
resulting in the eventual death of the subject.
TF10. SUBJECT CELLS
Six cells line a single, plain concrete corridor,
three on each side. Each cell is fronted by
a transparent wall, large enough for a single
person and featuring only a drain in the floor
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 53
 and a nozzle in the ceiling. The place smells
strongly of disinfectant, which cannot quite
cover up an underlying foulness.
The drains funnel effluent and the nozzles are
to wash down the cells and the inmates. The
transparent walls are hinged and function as
doors. The locks and nozzles are controlled
from a console at one end of the corridor.
At any one time there are between two and
four subjects among the cells. They are kept
naked, and are all severely impaired by the
brain scanning process. They are comatose or
in a state of mental confusion, unable to speak
or function. The subjects are all from Sundang’s
corporate education programs, aged in their
twenties and up, and come from a variety of
ethnic and national backgrounds. Each subject
still bears its neurolink, and if extracted, the
neurolinks can be examined with a DC 12
Technology (Mechanics) check to determine
they were all made by Sundang ISS.
TF11. MAPPING SUITE
This cold, sterile room features a single large
machine resembling a padded chair with
heavy restraints for the arms and legs, and a
padded ring that keeps the head motionless.
The head is surrounded by a halo of sensors
and electrodes hooked up to a computer. A
cart beside the chair bears a tray with several
syringes. Clean, white tiles lend to the chilly
and impersonal ambience of what is akin to a
high-tech torture chamber.
The purpose of the machine is to conduct the
invasive brain-mapping procedure, though
the design of the machine obscures this
purpose. Only a DC20 Technology (Medicine)
check reveals it for what it is. The computer
is encrypted and accessing its data requires
a DC14 Technology (Hacking) check. The
computer is full of brain scans, each one taking
up a huge volume of memory in modelling the
entire function of a subject’s neuron pathways
and brain chemistry.
54
TF12. OFFICES
A set of four offices serves the senior
programmers on the AI project. They are
identical and unadorned, except one, which
is the office of the AI project’s most gifted
programmer, Devon Schechter. This office
has a shelf of sporting memorabilia, including
balls and gloves from 20th and 21st Century
baseball teams, pennants from the founding
teams of the international crashball league, and
some framed posters advertising cybernetic
combat sport events.
FOURTH FLOOR
FF13. CEO’S OFFICE
This office can only be accessed by Magogen’s
CEO, Anselmo Nestor Correira de la Cruz,
using his biometric data. A scanner on the
door takes a retinal and palm scan as well as a
bioelectric reading, which means the lock only
activates if the CEO is alive and conscious.
The office is huge, dominated by a window
taking up one wall which tints a view of
District 2’s skyscape to a calming sepia.
Correira de la Cruz’s huge natural wood
desk is flanked by tall, living plants. The desk
has a computer, a place for writing longhand
letters with headed notepaper, a dip pen
and quill, and an ink blotter. The CEO
apparently enjoys an imposing high-backed
chair and when he holds an audience, a
much less comfortable chair slides up from
the floor opposite him.
A small cabinet stands next to the desk,
furnished with several brands of high-end
liquor and mixers. Extremely expensive
pieces of abstract art adorn the walls,
coordinated to match the sunset tones of
the office’s lighting.
A door leading to a small private bathroom tucks
neatly into the wall. The door can be spotted
with a DC8 Intelligence (Perception) check.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
ANSELMO NESTOR
CORREIRA DE LA CRUZ
Magogen’s CEO is a lanky, severe-looking
man with light brown skin, a shaved scalp,
and a hawkish nose. He wears slimline black
suits and a single silver earring. Correira
de la Cruz – casually referred to by the
employees as ‘Anselmo’ to avoid having to
use his full name – is a glowering, severe
presence who never cracks a smile when
in the presence of those beneath him. He
speaks little, preferring to let the weight of
his authority speak for itself. Among equals,
he is level and insistent, never losing his
cool or raising his voice. Correira de la Cruz
cultivates an air of stern inscrutability that
has served him well as the leading authority
and figurehead of Magogen.
Correira de la Cruz was born into the
corporate sphere in his native Brazil. He
was greatly motivated in his youth by the
huge gulf he saw between rich and poor –
not to correct the imbalance, but to ensure
he was always on the right side of it. He
believes that for good or ill, corpocracy
is the way of the world, and that only a
fool would choose not to join the winning
side. He is not wedded to Magogen or its
activities, and intends to parlay his position
at Magogen into a more senior position at a
megacorp. While he is loyal only to himself,
Correira de la Cruz expects loyalty to him
and the corporation he commands, even
if he considers it a means to an even more
exalted position in the future.
Correira de la Cruz accepts his position
under the direction of Sundag ISS.
He would be willing to join Sundang if
it succeeds in its goal of becoming a
megacorp. He would be equally willing to
sell out Sundang and Magogen if he thought
he could benefit from it. He is seeking
contacts among the megacorps in the hope
of one day doing exactly that.
FF14. Senior Researcher’s Office
This office can only be accessed with a level 3
keyshard. The head of the AI program, Mahalia
Torres, has this office, which is markedly less
impressive than the CEO’s. The office has a
large window looking out on District 2, towards
the tower blocks of District 3. Torres’ desk is
functional, with several computer monitors
hooked up to her personal workstation. Her chair
is a custom medical device that hooks her up
to IV drips and monitors for her various health
problems. Mahalia’s sole note of decoration is a
silver birdcage on a stand near the desk with a
pair of bright blue songbirds in it. The birds are
gene-simulated examples of an extinct species.
A door leads to a small private bathroom with
a medicine cabinet stocked with various brands
of drugs designed to combat the side effects of
rejuvenation and longevity treatments.
Mahalia Torres splits her time between this office,
the AI labs, and her District 2 home. She often
retires home after a long day of work to access
more medicines, which give her the rejuvenation
drugs she needs to keep functioning.
MAHALIA TORRES
The job title ‘Research & Development
Executive’ is a cover for Mahalia’s true role as
overseer of the brain scanning process used
for Sundang’s AI projects. Torres also oversees
the acquisition of human subjects, the invasive
and destructive scanning procedure, and the
vivisection and disposal of what’s left.
Torres appears to be a Latina in her early
fifties, dressed in a neat business suit
under an immaculate white lab coat.
She is in fact well over ninety years old
and owes her longevity to rejuvenation
drugs. Her use of them has its roots in her
early career as a scientist at Medi-Strike,
where she pioneered such treatments and
became reliant on them herself. Under her
clothes, Torres’ body is weirdly mottled and
covered in vivid black veins, with numerous
permanent valves and attachment points
where rejuvenation drugs pump directly into
her systems.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 55
 Torres abandoned her morality long ago. As
far as she is concerned, whatever keeps her
alive is justified. It is a cruel, dog-eat-dog
world and those who think of others before
themselves are doomed to fail. Magogen’s
scanning project is just one more atrocity
to conduct before she moves on to the next
- hopefully one that secures her a more
consistent supply of rejuvenation drugs
and even the kind of full-body prosthesis
she craves. Torres is afraid of being cut
off from her supply of treatments and the
subsequent degeneration of her body and
mind, but she would never show it. In fact,
she rarely shows any emotion, the light in
her eyes having been snuffed out long ago
by the cruel realities of what she has done.
FIFTH FLOOR
FF15. CORPORATE
INTELLIGENCE OFFICES
This suite of offices can only be accessed with
a level 3 keyshard. Here, Magogen’s executives
and their assistants conduct confidential
business, including the measures needed to
cover up their AI program, communications
with Sundang ISS, and extra-legal activities
such as bribery of the local authorities and
planned elimination of anyone who threatens
to expose Magogen’s crimes.
The main room serves as a conference and
situation room, with several monitor screens
and a wall of electronic whiteboards, a
coffee machine and water cooler for long-
haul meetings, and a large conference table.
The surrounding offices each serve one of
the executives and their assistants.
In times of crisis, the Corporate Intelligence
Office conference room is the place where
Magogen’s executives get briefed on the
situation and brainstorm responses. At
other times the executives develop plans
to respond to various eventualities to keep
Magogen from being caught out by a sudden
change in circumstances. Assassinations,
demolitions, kidnappings, and all other sorts
56
of clandestine activity meet thorough vetting,
and if necessary mission operatives may be
interviewed before getting the final okay.
One of the offices belongs to Wijan Kamsing,
who spends most of his time here when not
shadowing the CEO. Between six and ten
executives and assistants work in the offices at
all times, including outside regular hours. Often
the CEO joins them. Wijan Kamsing has a heavy
pistol and three magazines of ammunition in
his desk drawer. If Smith is Kamsing, he keeps
this weapon in case his cover is blown and he
has to get past security to escape. If Smith is
not Kamsing, Kamsing has this gun for personal
protection, and the occasional strong-arm
mission on behalf of the company. He awaits the
opportunity to show that he is willing to kill for
Magogen so he can secure a promotion.
ROOF
A level 2 keyshard grants access to the roof
via the maintenance area. The roof features a
helipad and storage, as well as HVAC outlets
and several masts and antennas. Each ledge
of the rooftop has two cable reels to lower
gondolas for cleaning and maintenance of the
building’s exterior.
R1. HELIPAD
Sundang executives and other important
visitors arrive at the Magogen building via
aircraft, landing at the helipad. From there they
move directly to the Corporate Intelligence
Offices or the CEO’s office without having to
pass through the busy lower floors. The helipad
can handle light aircraft, and has a small fuel
reservoir so such craft can refuel after landing.
The helipad has a constantly active data beacon
for computer-piloted craft to navigate by.
R2. ROOFTOP STORAGE
A metal shed contains maintenance tools and
supplies, including tools commonly needed
by pilots of small aircraft, tools for repairing
atmospheric conditioning units and the rooftop
antennae, and cleaning supplies. The shed is not
kept locked, since the rooftop already needs
level 2 access.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 57
 GATHERING INFORMATION
As the cyberpunks infiltrate Magogen and hunt
for Smith, they have plenty of opportunities
to gather information. The three potential
identities for Smith are named in various
emails, documents, and other communications
potentially uncovered as the cyberpunks search
Magogen. These pieces of communication
are detailed below, grouped by their level of
secrecy. Low secrecy communications can be
found in areas with level one security, such
as the computers in the programming offices
or the personal data devices of low-level
employees. Medium secrecy documents can
be found on the computers and devices of
Magogen’s managers. High-secrecy documents
can be found in the less accessible parts of
Magogen such as the AI labs, fourth floor
offices, and Corporate Intelligence Offices.
The GM can parcel out these pieces of
information however they desire, to either
direct the cyberpunks toward one or more
potential Smiths, or possibly get them caught
up in Magogen’s secret AI program. The
cyberpunks should realize early on that there
are multiple suspects for Smith’s identity
so they do not fixate on one employee.
Conversely, evidence leading them towards
one particular target encourages them to
confront one of the suspects if the mission is
stalling. These pieces of information are by no
means the only emails and documents found
at Magogen, but the rest contain a plethora of
minutiae as opposed to those detailed here that
might catch a cyberpunk’s eye as relevant to
their search. The GM should feel free to invent
more documents, emails, and other pieces of
data as needed to complicate or expedite the
campaign as needed.
LOW SECRECY
Email
From: Misha Muradyan, Senior
Programmer
To: Programming Staff
58
It has come to the attention of management
that some employees have been using the
first floor door to the basement, taking
advantage of the malfunctioning lock.
Employees are reminded the basement is
off-limits to non-maintenance personnel
for safety reasons. Employees that continue
to flout Magogen’s health and safety
regulations will be disciplined.
Email
From: Darko Horvath, Senior Programmer
To: Security Chief Angela Flores
Hi Angela.
Minor thing, and it’s probably nothing,
but I’ve been running some of the
monthlies and I got a flag on Syra Massey’s
workstation. It looks like she’s been using
a workaround to avoid our network’s
information hygiene protocols. My guess
is she’s been window shopping online or
messaging friends, but I remember we’re
supposed to bring these things up with you
security guys where we find them.
Might be worth keeping an eye on Massey?
Or maybe just giving her a talking to.
Darko.
Email
From: Lucy Fong, Programmer
To: Marcel Duquesne, Head of Human
Resources
Marcel,
Sorry to bother you with this but it’s about
that maintenance guy, Brian. His last name
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
is something weird, begins with S. You know
the one, big old sad sack.
I can swear I knew him before he came to
work here. Not well or anything. He was a
regular at a bar I used to work at and he was
some kind of low-level gangster. You know,
a wannabe wise guy. Not saying he’s trouble
or anything but I thought maybe he didn’t
disclose everything on his references? I
doubt Magogen would have hired him if he
was honest.
Might have the wrong guy. Anyway,
thought you should know.
Lucy F.
Document
Mech Operating Systems Monthly
Summary
Progress has been steady this last month
with all projects advancing. Some concern
has been raised about the OSs for the
Sarangay and Bakunawa models, the latter
because of the advanced requirements
for gait control. However, all projects are
on schedule for completion by deadline
provided resources are focused where they
are needed.
I understand Sundang has increased
funding for another cycle. Please advise
where this funding will be allocated in the
OS programming department. This is our
principal offering, after all.
3.91 OS for Duwende Basic Post-Biological
Infantry. Progressing well. The use of
off-the-shelf components has sped up
development. 64% Complete.
2.4 OS for Madingara Intermediate
Infantry. Progressing well. We have taken
into account the feedback on improving
response times at the expense of more
accurate target identification. 71%
Complete.
1.9 OS for Sarangay Intermediate Post-
Bio Specialist. The demands for a more
advanced mission package have slowed
progress on this project. Additional contract
coders are urgently needed to clear the
backlog here. 37% Complete.
0.77 OS for Multo Post-Biological
Command & Control. We have put our best
people on this and expect to have a working
prototype for beta within six weeks. 90%
Complete.
1.4 OS for Bakunawa Heavy Post-Bio
Weapons Platform. Severe delays have
ensued after problems were found in the
ambulatory systems because of the unit’s
weight and variable weapons demands.
This is the project most likely to breach
our deadline agreed with Sundang. The
problem is not insurmountable but requires
short-term investment in quality contract
programmers. 47% Complete.
MEDIUM SECRECY
Email
From: Marcelinho Obafemi, Programmer
To: Tomomi Komori, Executive Assistant
Hi Tomomi
How’s things? Still smacking that
shuttlecock every Thursday? The offer of
an after-work ramen is still open if you’re
interested.
Listen, do you know Wijam Kamsin? The
scrawny exec assistant guy. Real corporate
suck-up. I was at the CI offices a couple
of days ago and I saw him going through
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 59
 Fonseca’s office. Rifling through his desk,
documents, that kind of thing. He didn’t
know I was there and when I spotted him
he went real sheepish all of a sudden. Like a
dog that just ate your shoe and knows that
you know.
I hear the execs are gonna start cracking
down again soon. I thought maybe this
Kamsing has started gathering dirt on us
early. You might wanna watch out for him.
Catch up soon,
Marcel
Email
From: Mahalia Torres, research and
Development Executive
To: Maintenance Chief Kurt Weiss
Chief Weiss,
Please ensure that further environmental
control work on the third floor is cleared
with me personally. Some very sensitive
equipment is kept there and it is extremely
important that security around the third
floor be maintained at all times. If a
maintenance worker without the necessary
clearance were to gain entry to the third
floor labs the consequences could be dire.
Again, clear all such work with me first and
ensure that you see to it personally if at all
possible. Future security breaches will have
to be dealt with at a more senior level.
Regards,
Mahalia Torres
60
Document
Health and safety notice.
This notice was generated in reference to
a health and safety issue that potentially
affects Magogen’s legal status or operational
ability. See corporate compliance guidelines
5.41-5.519.
R&D Executive Torres’ health issues pose
a direct threat to the continuation of
Magogen’s current projects. Her reliance
on rejuvenation treatments in the past, and
the subsequent necessity to top off those
treatments, makes her vulnerable to both
health complications and the possibility of
coercion should those treatments end. It
is already very difficult to secure a reliable
supply of drugs on the gray market. If
the supply were cut off, Torres could be
rendered incapable of performing her job,
but could also become a security issue if
a third party was able to supply them in
exchange for information on Magogen’s
more sensitive activities.
These issues can be resolved either by
finding a reliable supply of rejuvenation
treatments, or by replacing Torres with a
less compromised researcher. Since there
are very few researchers with Torres’ skill
and experience, it is recommended that
resources be allocated to the former.
Email
From: [error – tag corrupted]
To: Syra Massey, Programmer
Check the incinerator
X
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Email
From: Devon Schechter, programmer
To: Candy [error – ID data incomplete]
Hey babes
I can’t tell you what I’m doing up here on
the third floor. Trust me, it’s not worth
either of our hides for me to tell you. I’m
having to dodge the corp firewalls just to
get this out to you. You don’t want to know
the details.
I can’t get out of the office more than a
couple of evenings a month. We’re being
worked to the bone. So I guess our regular
sessions are over. Sorry to break it to you
this way but one day you’re a regular code
jockey, the next you’re locked up in the
infinite monkey cage doing shit I can’t talk
about.
It’s not just that. The stuff we’re doing, It’s
not good. The kind of ‘not good’ I can’t
make anyone else deal with. This is gonna
change me. Not for the better. This stuff
sucks the soul out of you.
Pretty soon you won’t want to know me.
It was fun, but it’s over.
I won’t forget you. But I suggest you forget
me.
Dev.
HIGH SECRECY
Document
Biological Operations Summary
Please see the following summary in
response to a request for a feasibility study
on removing the biological component from
the AI development program.
The full brain scans required to fulfil
Sundang’s requirements cannot be
completed without the highly invasive
procedures currently in operation. Research
into alternatives has failed to find any other
method sufficient for Sundang’s purposes.
It follows that the use of live subjects, and
the subsequent damage caused by the
procedure and the need to dispose of the
deceased, remains necessary.
Regrettably, the current method of fulfilling
our obligations to Sundang must continue.
I suggest requesting additional security
measures necessary to protect the Sundang
investment.
Mahalia Torres
Email
From: Ferdinand Lopez II, Chief Operating
Officer, Sundang ISS
To: Anselmo Nestor Correira de la Cruz,
Chief Operating Officer
Dear Anselmo,
My family and I are doing very well, thank
you. Eugenia has just begun attending the
Conservatory in the Zurich Security Zone
and Lysander started basic training with our
Intervention Division.
Our research division has made excellent use
of the data you sent. The AIs are all modeled
after the human brain to some extent and
thus the comprehensive nature of Magogens’
contribution to the division has enabled us to
make huge advances in a short space of time.
Rest assured another investment cycle will
be duly approved.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 61
 This brings me to a less savory matter.
Magogen has been identified as a key
security weakness. I do not need to
emphasize how important it is that the AI
project remains secret. I have assured the
board that Magogen is a secure partner
in our joint endeavor and I do not intend
to be proven wrong. Sundang will monitor
Magogen very closely, and not only through
the established channels.
All the best, Anselmo. I shall have our
researchers await the next batch of data.
We’ll be watching you,
Ferdinand.
Document
Data Extraction Cycle Summary
Last Human Subject Intake: 8
Deceased During Procedure: 1
Procedure complete, data corrupted: 3
Procedure complete, data viable: 4
4 sets of full neural scans sent to Sundang
via hard copy courier.
7 subjects retained for observation (6 days),
vivisection confirms severe brain damage
and neural degeneration.
Disposal of all eight corpses confirmed.
50% data extraction success rate trends
toward lower acceptable parameters.
Procedure to be monitored to identify
success rate improvement opportunities.
62
OFFICE GOSSIP
Any cyberpunks that pass as employees of
Magogen can keep an ear out for office gossip.
They may eavesdrop on conversations in the
cafeteria or over the water cooler, or monitor
personal messenger conversations. Base
success on a DC14 Intelligence (Investigation)
check. The cyberpunk gains advantage on this
check if they are among other employees
they have befriended. They can gain one of
the following pieces of information, chosen by
the GM. At the GM’s option, the cyberpunks
receive these pieces of information from
employees they have befriended without a
check. This is an opportunity to feed them
other pieces of information to help point them
in a particular direction, such as towards the
basement and the Incinerator, or a means to
get to the areas requiring Level 3 access.
‘You know that Devon guy? Used to work
in Programming but got kicked upstairs?
Something’s up with him. He doesn’t hang
around with us any more but I’ve seen him
hanging around the elevators sometimes
and Jeez, he’s looking rough. Last time
he completely blanked me. Wonder what
they’re doing up there?’
‘I heard the third floor is developing a
top secret operating system for a mech
Sundang hasn’t announced yet. Some
stealth ninja models with active camo.
Supposed to bump Sundang up to the big
leagues.’
‘Pram and Jason are gettin’ it on in the
basement every lunch half-hour.’
‘You know, at any other company, the
turnover of the contract employees would
be a problem. I’ve seen the numbers in HR.
Guess Magogen doesn’t care. It’s not like
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 there’s a shortage of programmers in San
Francisco looking for a job, I guess.’
‘Syra Massey’s pulling some hacker shit.
She keeps using workarounds to get past
information security. She’s gonna put us all
in the shit if she’s not careful.’
‘There’s a scrawny little jerk named Kamsing
up on fifth who thinks there’s an executive’s
office with his name on it. He’s setting
himself up as some kind of troubleshooter,
even saying he’ll take care of stuff “off the
books” like he’s a District 5 gangster. What
a prick.’
‘I heard Brian Szrback got the hookup.
You know, the sad sack maintenance guy.
Doesn’t seem too smart though, I bet he
keeps the shit in his locker.’
‘I saw security bringing some young guy into
the freight elevator last week. They were
going up to Third. The guy looked seriously
out of it, maybe drugged. Maybe one of the
execs is into some seriously freaky shit?’
SAMPLE EMPLOYEES
Magogen has a high turnover of contract
employees as well as dozens of permanent
workers. The majority are programmers, while
others are administrators or members of the
security or maintenance team. The following is
a sample of employees the cyberpunks might
encounter. These employee NPCs can be used
in social encounters, or to complicate combat
or infiltration activities by blundering into the
wrong office at the wrong time.
Amelie Bacoul is a young and sensitive
programmer who has fallen behind with her
coding deadlines and has been hauled into
Misha Muradyan’s office several times. She is
in danger of being let go by Magogen and is
highly stressed.
Colin Drake is a programmer specializing in
target recognition software. He hangs around
after regular hours to work on a video game,
although this is against corporation guidelines.
He fancies himself an adrenaline junkie but
Magogen’s nonexistent holiday time means he
never actually indulges his supposed love of
extreme sports.
Devon Schechter works in the third floor
lab preparing brain scan data to be sent on
to Sundang’s AI program. He was a regular
programmer until being moved upstairs. He has
not dealt well with the Magogen’s murderous
activities and is falling apart emotionally.
Darko Horvath, a programmer, isn’t a people
person. He dislikes interacting with people
socially unless it is over a complicated strategy
game. His efforts to get a chess club started at
Magogen have so far been unsuccessful.
Ezra Tessiore is a cleaner who works on the
first and second floors every night after regular
work hours. He hates his job and resents the
employees who earn more than him and treat
him as if he doesn’t exist. He supplements his
income as a small-time drug dealer working
from his District 5 apartment.
Gertrude Fujinuma is a maintenance worker
with a hefty frame and thick black hair worn in
a ponytail. She is a skilled engineer who could
rise higher if she wanted but has no interest in
corporate life. She has a drinking problem, but
has so far resisted drinking on the job.
Herman Malaquias is an executive who enacts
the CEO’s wishes. He is commonly found in
the Corporate Intelligence Offices, working on
ways to deal with potential information leaks
of Magogen’s sensitive activities. He considers
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 63
 himself cultured and uses his executive holiday
time to attend operas and art events.

Inez Ma works in the cafeteria. She has three

children she struggles to support, and has a
second job at a rough bar in District 4. Ma is
always looking for ways to make more money,
and has concluded that the only way to survive
is to step outside the laws of the corporations.
In the meantime, she works uncomplainingly in
the Magogen building’s kitchen.

Jerzy Tamurau is a programmer. He spends 4-5

hours a night playing a semi-immersion VR game
called Phoenix Flame Fantasy. He counteracts his
lack of sleep with energy drinks and uppers that
are causing him severe liver damage. He is funny,
energetic, and a little too manic.

64 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 65
 HUNTING GENTRY SNOW
The Enigma Collective’s primary enforcer,
Gentry Snow, is slinking across San Francisco’s
underbelly while she works to forge a new
identity. She recently escaped police custody
for a second time while waiting transfer to
Corvus, a facility hidden beneath the streets
of District 4 used to hold violent criminals.
Her ability to escape capture twice has the
authorities doubling down in her pursuit. She’s
still in District 4, hiding out in an abandoned
apartment above a small ramen dive off of
Irving Street and 6th Avenue.
Gentry isn’t desperate – yet – but once she
gets wind that some cyberpunk puppet squad
is taking out her allies, she becomes feral. The
only chance the cyberpunks have of surprising
Gentry is to get to her fairly early on the list,
because she’s already wary and it won’t take
much to put her on high alert.
Given her recent escape, Gentry doesn’t have
many possessions. She still wears her prison
jumpsuit, and her cybernetics are intact. Her
immediate goal is to get some cash and a
change of clothes, in either order. She may
or may not succeed. The SFPD have upped
patrols across the district, and every drone and
air vehicle is a threat she can’t easily account
for. One look at her jumpsuit and she’ll be
made. She has one saving grace – Gordon Sato,
the owner and proprietor of Yūshūna Ramen.
GENTRY SNOW
Gentry Snow is a 28-year-old Caucasian
female. A tall, muscular woman, she’s a
deadly beauty, with a head full of long
brown hair and an unexpectedly innocent
face. Her upper shoulders and neck feature
permanent cyber augments, and she has
managed to outfit both arms with electrified
gauntlets that reach from her knuckles to
her elbows. At last sight, she was dressed
in a white prison jumpsuit and black boots.
Her preferred style features a combination
of light armor and leading-edge weaponry,
and her reputation as a killer is legendary
among some factions.
66
Gentry has a formal military background,
with expert training in personal weapons and
explosives. Her experience includes off-world
exploration and zero-gravity combat tactics.
Although she is a skilled marksman, her killer
instinct makes her a lethal threat from any
range with any weapon, and as such she is
as effective with a sniper rifle from two feet
away as she is from a quarter mile.
After her military service Gentry joined
various gangs in Los Angeles where she
honed her talents before going solo as a
cyberpunk and heading north. Not long
after arriving in San Francisco she joined
the Enigma Collective, rising in the ranks as
the Collective’s top strongarm assassin. She
is cunning, stealthy, and violent, with skills
to match the needs of the job.
As far as the underbelly of San Francisco
goes, Gentry is relatively unknown. As an
outsider she didn’t have the connections
she enjoyed in L.A., and as a member of the
Collective she doesn’t need them. As such,
finding information on her is difficult at best.
Gentry’s general anonymity in San Francisco
is one of her greatest assets. Nonetheless, her
reputation among San Francisco’s underworld
crime syndicates permeates well beyond
her ambiguous personal identity. A DC 14
Intelligence (Streetwise) check combined with
any reference to the Enigma Collective by name
and an accurate description of the enforcer
reveals that Gentry is efficient in her work, and
the most intimidating of the known Collective
operatives. A DC 12 People (Bureaucracy)
check with the SFPD grants the cyberpunks
access to her arrest record, including charges of
murder, extortion, resisting arrest, and escape
from custody. In addition, she faces secondary
charges for assault on a peace officer and
damage to public property.
If the cyberpunks manage to get an interview
with one of the SFPD detectives (DC 14 People
(Persuasion), they might also learn that the
police had hopes of identifying the rest of the
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Collective with Gentry’s testimony, with the
goal of dismantling the criminal organization.
Gentry’s last known location was Lincoln Way
and 10th Street, just outside the decrepit
Golden Gate Park. She escaped custody en
route to Corvus when she overthrew her
SFPD escort and disappeared into the park.
The park is a wasted maze of dying vegetation
and pockets of landfill. A person could easily
disappear and never emerge here, either
because they don’t want to or because they
can’t. Gentry is someone who can survive a
place like that, and the cyberpunks have a
big job trying to find clues if they look there.
Fortunately for the cyberpunks, Golden Gate
Park has a large homeless population who know
a stranger in their midst when there is one.
GOLDEN GATE PARK
Lincoln Way parallels the southern side
of Golden Gate Park. Wasted vegetation
and homeless camps populate the former
home of museums and cultural centers.
What animals still live here are dying.
In many ways, however, the park is a
community. The people who live here
have made the tent cities and makeshift
hovels into a sort of township separate
from San Francisco itself. Only the
most desperate of people enter the park
uninvited, and the residents know who
belongs and who doesn’t. The people of
Golden Gate Park might not have the
resources of even the most novice gang,
but what little they can control they
manage to do so with all of the ferocity
that survival requires. No one bothers
them and, in turn, they have very little to
do with anyone on the outside.
Wandering across the dead scrub and
trash strewn landscape of the park, you
enter a world into its own. On approach
to the encampment, numerous denizens
stir, rising to their feet and instinctively
gathering close to each other in defense.
Dozens of wary eyes peer from dirty and
disheveled faces, and there is not a friendly
expression among them. One of the men,
maybe in his thirties, barks out at you.
“What do you want? Why are you here?”
There are two primary camps along the Lincoln
Way front between 10th and 14th Streets. The
cyberpunks can speak to members in either
community with the same chance of success.
Engaging with the people of Golden Gate Park
is a tricky scenario. If the cyberpunks offer
anything useful, such as food items, equipment,
clothing, or the like, the cyberpunks can make
rolls with advantage. Offers of weapons do not
grant advantage but do reduce the DC by one
point.
A DC 14 Intelligence (Streetwise) check
allows the cyberpunks to safely approach
any homeless camp. Once engaged, a DC
13 People (Persuasion) check verifies that
no-one of Gentry’s description is in the area.
A successful DC 15 People (Persuasion)
check informs the cyberpunks that someone
matching Gentry’s description was seen
running from the police at the time of Gentry’s
known escape. She did enter the park, where
she hid for a few hours before slinking out and
heading south into the city. For each failed
check the DC increases by one point.
After the cyberpunks complete their
interviews, and once they leave the park, they
pick up a tail. A passive DC 12 Intelligence
(Perception) check alerts them to a lone
individual who follows them from the park to
wherever they go. Within five minutes the
cyberpunks are assaulted by a Sons of Chaos
street gang known as the Plague Rats.
The Enigma Collective employs small and
inexperienced gangs for just this sort of
purpose. When Gentry escaped custody, the
Sculptress set up “listeners” to identify anyone
asking about her whereabouts while she got
herself positioned for extraction. The tail
identifies the cyberpunks, and the Sculptress
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 67
 deploys the Rats to hunt down the cyberpunks
and intimidate or eliminate them from
Gentry’s trail.
Five minutes after leaving Golden Gate
Park, you spy a group of gang members that
appear more than a little interested in your
position. They draw weapons and descend
on your location.
Six gang footsoldiers attack the party, shouting
threats and brandishing weapons. They
don’t fire first, attempting to Intimidate the
cyberpunks. If the cyberpunks fight back, a
brawl breaks out in the middle of the street.
If the cyberpunks take any of the gang
members alive for questioning, they have a
chance to learn more about the Sculptress.
None of the gang members know that name,
nor the identity of the Sculptress, but they
might share something valuable. A DC 12
Intelligence (Streetwise), People (Persuasion),
or Strength (Intimidation) check reveals that
the Plague Rats work for a shadow agent who
sends orders down through their ranks. The
subject of interrogation knows the following
depending on the tactic the cyberpunks use:
Streetwise – there are Plague Rat teams
throughout District 4 waiting for the call to run
off amateur scabs like the cyberpunks if they
stick their nose where it doesn’t belong. If the
cyberpunks insist on risking their necks, they
should talk to Momma Huang at Happy Soles
massage on Irving between 6th and 7th Avenue.
Persuasion – the cyberpunks should leave
things alone if they know what’s good for them. 13 People (Sense Motive) check to realize
One more investigation like the one they just
did at the park, and “the boss” will have them
404’d no questions asked. If the person they’re combat mech) are patrolling in a prisoner
looking for is still in the area, though, it might transport wagon instead of a cruiser. A DC 13
be worth it to see if Momma Huang knows
anything over at Happy Soles on Irving Street
between 6th and 7th Avenue.
Intimidation – rumor has it that “the boss” is
some synth hacker named the “Seamstress”
68
(an obvious misnomer) working out of District
1. Whoever they are, they have a long reach.
The cyberpunks might want to check their own
contacts. For all they know they’re working
for the Seamstress and don’t even realize it.
If they’re going to be ass hats about it, they
should see if Momma Huang at Happy Soles
has information. If the Seamstress is trying to
hide anything, it might be Momma who knows
what it is.
S.F.P.D. ON PATROL
It’s a known fact that the SFPD ramped up
patrols in the area since Gentry’s escape,
and a brawl in the middle of the street is
going to get some attention, so it isn’t a
surprise when a police hover vehicle tracks
you down. The chirp of the siren signals that
they’d like to have a word with you.
As you wait, the vehicle skims to a stop, and
two uniformed officers step out, along with
a police force mech unit, which detaches
from the hull of the vehicle and clangs in
your direction.
These guys pass the eye-test for SFPD, but
they aren’t true officers. The Sculptress is
an over-planner, and the AI even has covert
agents within the P.D. ready to do her bidding.
As soon as the cyberpunks wrap up with the
Plague Rats, word gets back that they’re on the
move, and so the Sculptress changes tactics.
The phony law enforcement officers start by
questioning the cyberpunks about the gang
fight. Anyone who wishes to can make a DC
that something is off. Another clue is the fact
that the three officers (including the light
Intelligence (Investigation) check validates any
suspicion about the vehicle type. Meanwhile,
the police tell the cyberpunks they are going to
take them in for questioning. If the cyberpunks
resist, the “police” use force.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
If the cyberpunks do comply, the officers
transport them to a remote location near the
wall and dispose of them as the GM sees fit.
HAPPY SOLES MASSAGE
PARLOR
An unassuming suite inside a brick building
advertises foot and body massage in neon,
on posterboard, sandwich board, and via a
cheap orange and white sign that features
two orange-colored, cartoony-looking
feet on a white background. A holographic
ad plays across your HUD depicting an
attractive young woman laying on her
stomach as a masseuse rubs her shoulders
where they extend from beyond the edge of
a white body towel. A menu of services and
costs borders the left side of the video, and
a gentle female voice recites the benefits
of a relaxing massage after a long day at the
office. A single storefront portrait window
displays bottles of massage oil, brushes,
and nubbed massage tools for purchase. A
narrow door to the left of the window marks
the entrance.
Happy Soles is a legitimate business, but
Momma Huang has been around longer than
dirt, and people trust her with local gossip. If
anything is going down in the north end of
District 4, she knows something about it.
Margaret “Momma” Huang is a petite, wiry
woman in her late 50s. Her salt-and-pepper
hair is cut short, and she wears a no nonsense
white, short-sleeved shirt, white pants, and
white sneakers. Her first language is Mandarin,
but she speaks English with virtually no accent.
She is as no nonsense as her outfit, and if she
thinks for a moment that someone is trying to
scam her, she’ll set them straight as a bullet to
the moon.
The interior of the shop smells like lavender
and eucalyptus. A low counter serves as a
check-in and payment center, and further
inside you see four spa chairs, two along the
left wall and two along the right. Beyond
those a series of doors indicate more private
stalls. Elsewhere shelves hold bottles of oils,
skincare products, how-to massage books,
and the like. Gentle music wafts throughout
from hidden speakers. A small Asian woman
greets you with efficiency, neither friendly
nor rude. “Here for a massage?” she asks,
though the way her voice turns you can’t
help but notice the doubt and suspicion.
The cyberpunks’ best bet is the soft approach.
Momma will scoff, and she will feign ignorance,
busily folding towels and moving about the
shop as she tries to determine the purpose
of her visitors. A successful DC 14 People
(Persuasion) check convinces Momma that the
cyberpunks are trustworthy enough to offer
what she knows.
If the cyberpunks are successful, Momma
hands them a bottle of massage oil and tells
them to buy it. As she rings up the purchase
(30₩) she advises the cyberpunks to speak
to Wolf Carter, a local gang lieutenant for the
Snakehead Tong. Any gang member within
ten blocks along Irving Street can get the
cyberpunks in touch with Wolf – all they have
to do is ask around.
“Tell them Momma sent you,” she says,
and for the first time she laughs, loud and
grating, not unlike a bird.
FINDING WOLF CARTER
You step outside of Happy Soles Massage
Parlor and into a downpour. Rain pounds
down, turning the street into a shallow
river. People run for cover or stand
beneath awnings in an effort to stay dry.
There’s nothing especially hazardous
about the rain itself. But the way it
diminishes your senses – cutting your
vision and deafening your ears – puts
you at a disadvantage in the unfamiliar
neighborhood. With a wary glance about,
you move up the street, looking for any
member of the Snakehead Tong.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 69
 It doesn’t take long for the Sculptress to learn
that the cyberpunks are still mucking about.
As the team moves along Irving Street, a lone
figure drops in behind them, her face hidden
in a maroon fabric wrap (all but her eyes) that
extends below the collar of her red leather
motorcycle jacket. A mono-edged katana
extends between her shoulder blades where the
black handle sways within easy reach. Before
anyone can notice her, she activates her invisi-
skin and prepares to attack. Unlike the Plague
Rat gang that the Sculptress sent to intimidate
the cyberpunks outside the park, this
cyberninja has one job – kill the interlopers.
A blur displaces air and water amid the
downpour as a slender, quick-moving
assailant erupts in your midst. Swift and
silent, the attacker is deadly accurate as
an unseen blade whips through air. You can
barely make-out the figure as it blends into
the rain-shrouded backdrop. Apparently,
the Sculptress is serious about you minding
your own business.
Assuming the cyberpunks fight off the
cyberninja, they can work to locate members
of the Snakehead Tong. A DC 12 Intelligence
(Streetwise) check is all they need to identify
the telling lumiskin snake tattoos. From there,
all they have to do is mention that Momma
sent them, and the gang member(s) pause only
a moment before leading the cyberpunks a few
blocks away to Wolf Carter.
The gangster leads you to a group of
Snakehead Tongs standing in a covered
alleyway a few blocks down Irving Street.
You are unceremoniously introduced to a
big man, a tall Samoan at least six-foot-
five. Lumiskin tattoos undulate in soft
neon from beneath his collar, up his neck,
and over his left cheek. His solid black eyes
scan you invasively. He looks like a college
kid in a leather jacket. He raises a metallic
hand and pulls a smoldering nic-stick from
his lips. “Momma sent you?” he says.
“What you want?”
70
Wolf waits for the cyberpunks, watching,
listening, and smoking while they explain who
they are looking for. When they finish, he takes
another drag off his nic-stick and then narrows
his eyes.
“We can watch for her,” he says. “But
you gotta do something for us, too.” He
holds up a data chip. “I need to get this to
someone, and I don’t want to do it myself,
you know? I gotta stay here and look for
your woman. So, you’re gonna take it for
me and get it nice and safe to the people
that need it, right?”
It doesn’t seem like Wolf is going to take no
for an answer.
“There’s a bakery off Judah. Uh . . .” he
snaps his fingers and says something to one
of the other gang members, a skinny Asian
kid with spiky black hair and razor shades.
The kid replies and Wolf nods. “Judah and
7th – that block over there. ‘City Snax
bakery.’ Take this over there and give it to
Crayfish. You dig that? You all right? Tell
him he knows. He knows where it comes
from.” He starts to hand it to you but then
curls his wrist and bumps your shoulder, still
holding the chip between his fingers. “Hey,
you might have to punch your way out, ok?
But no killing. It’s just bad sports, right? No
killing. You kill them I kill you, right?” He
nudges your shoulder again. “Right?”
CITY SNAX BAKERY
The City Snax bakery is a small but popular
District 4 eatery. While business is good at
the front counter, it’s the business in the back
that keeps Snax really hopping. City Snax is a
front for the 16K Triad. Beneath the bakery,
in a makeshift (and dangerously unstable)
basement, the Triad manages local extortion,
protection, and drug activity from 6th Avenue
to 15th Avenue and Judah Street to Lawton,
nine blocks wide and two blocks deep. A dozen
Triad gangsters operate out of the bakery all
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
under the direction of Wang Chung, one of the
Triad’s most notorious gang lieutenants.
Crayfish is a codename for Chung. When
the cyberpunks mention the name, they find
themselves invited below decks, where Chung
is busy counting credit chips, marking digital
ledgers, and answering comms. Five gang
footsoldiers also mill about, either waiting
for orders or absently rifling through bins
containing packets of various drugs.
Chung is currently on the comms, staring
through space at something in his H.U.D. He
speaks urgently in Cantonese as he argues
with a contact on the other end about a late
shipment of something or other to Berlin. He
finishes the call and then, as if noticing the
cyberpunks for the first time, acknowledges
them curtly.
Five Triad gang members mill about in a half-
developed earthen basement. Fold out tables
stand in various configurations and piled on
the surface of each are an assortment of
plastic bins containing a variety of drugs.
Stacks of credit chips pile near an open
strong box, and here and there a pistol sits
casually nearby, apparently “just in case.”
A small paper calendar hangs from a nail
hammered into a support post, and a few
pocket computers blink lively as data cables
feed them like umbilical cords attached to
some data womb under the tables.
Crayfish appears to be in his late 40s. His
black hair is just showing signs of salt. He
wears an old-fashioned green visor that
shields his eyes from the glaring fluorescent
lights that hang overhead. He wears an
expensive-looking white button-down shirt,
open at the neck, and sleeves rolled to the
elbows. His black pants suggest business
attire, though the accompanying tie and
jacket are nowhere to be seen.
“What do you want?” he asks.
The cyberpunks don’t know it yet, but they’re
in a hard spot. When they give the chip to
Crayfish, he pops it into a small machine on
one of the tables to check it for threats before
transferring it to his own comms. The message is
from Wolf directly. Wolf and Crayfish have been
nurturing a feud over boundaries, and Wolf’s
simple message to Crayfish, in so many words,
is “back off.” Wolf had intended to send some
Snakehead recruits to deliver the message, but
the cyberpunks showed up at just the right time.
Needless to say, Crayfish isn’t impressed.
You watch Crayfish’s eyes as he activates
the data chip. He seems to listen for about
a minute, and as the minute passes his
complexion grows increasingly darker. His
eyes shift to you. He grits his teeth, then
snatches the visor from his head and throws
it on the floor. He shouts something in
Cantonese and the rest of the gang closes in.
If any of the cyberpunks understand Cantonese,
Crayfish says “You have the nerve!”
Crayfish glares at you, trembling with rage,
and in halting English he says, “I have a
message for you! Wolf can come see me
himself!” The small basement becomes
suddenly claustrophobic as all five gang
members crowd past Crayfish, fists clenching.
Note that none of the Triad draw weapons.
A passive DC 11 People (Sense Motive)
check indicates that this is squabble, and the
cyberpunks are expected to report back in
bruises and broken noses only. Meanwhile,
savvy cyberpunks might be able to take a hint
and talk their way out of a fistfight. Have each
of the cyberpunks attempt one skill check
each until all three have been tried. They must
succeed two of three checks to avoid a melee:
DC 16 Strength (Intimidation) – Beating
chests and flexing. It’s going to be hard to
intimidate the gang on their own turf.
DC 14 People (Presence) – A quick wit
might save the moment if the cyberpunks
can cover their surprise and act like they’ve
been here before.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 71
 DC 14 People (Persuasion) – Cooler heads
might prevail. Once everyone has a minute to
process, maybe the cyberpunks can convince
Crayfish to offer a compromise. Then again,
maybe not.
If a melee does break out, all damage on the
part of the gang members is non-lethal at first.
If the cyberpunks cooperate then the fight
ends when one side is sufficiently beaten into
submission. If any of the cyberpunks break
protocol and turn to lethal damage, however,
things could escalate beyond salvation. It
behooves the cyberpunks to remember Wolf’s
warning.
Note: Crayfish does not participate in the
brawl. Instead, he stands back and barks orders
in Cantonese while his gang footsoldiers fight.
If the cyberpunks prevail, Crayfish waves
them out, telling them to let Wolf know this
isn’t over and issuing clearly weakened threats
against the Snakehead Tong. If the cyberpunks
move on Crayfish to attack, he will draw a
weapon and defend himself with lethal force if
he has to. The cyberpunks would be best served
once again to remember Wolf’s warning.
Outside, the rain has let up and you walk
the long, wet avenue nursing your share
of small injuries. For better or worse you
return to Wolf with Crayfish’s response.
Wolf chuckles with genuine laughter.
“Crayfish in a bad mood?” he asks. He
seems disinterested in your report as he
takes a drag on a fresh nic-stick. “You did a
good job,” he says. “Give me your comms.
I’ll let you know if we find anything.”
At this point the cyberpunks can inquire
elsewhere, rest up and heal from their fight
with the Triad, and/or do anything else they
need to take care of. The Snakehead Tong
comes up with a lead a day or two later (or
within hours if it suits the time frame – this
is up to the GM). The cyberpunks might
also find their own lead, depending on what
they do after meeting with Wolf. There are a
72
few ways to pick up clues on Gentry Snow’s
whereabouts:
1. The Snakehead Tong notices when
Gordon sends Gentry’s message to the
Enigma Collective. Although they don’t
know the contents of the message, they are
knowledgeable of the recipients, and it flags
Yūshūna as a place of interest.
2. The Snakeheads report that two suspected
members of the Enigma Collective were seen
in the area of Irving and 6th. They briefly
stepped into Yūshūna Ramen but didn’t stay
long enough to eat.
3. The cyberpunks might ask around at local
pubs or cafes. Providing a description of
Gentry could yield a witness. A successful DC
14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals
that someone matching Gentry’s description
was seen with the owner after hours inside
Yūshūna the previous night.
In any case, all leads point to the ramen house
as a target. Depending on how the cyberpunks
approach the site, Gentry may be more or
less prepared. If the cyberpunks are quick to
visit the restaurant, they might identify two
members of the Collective as they arrive with
Gentry’s gear. A successful DC 12 Intelligence
(Perception) check allows the cyberpunks
to confirm the suspects’ identity among the
various customers entering and leaving the
establishment (depending on the time of day).
If the cyberpunks delay following any leads, the
two operatives are already inside with Gentry
when they arrive.
These Guys Never Give Up
About the time you start to think you’re
getting somewhere you realize you’ve
caught the attention of another gang of
thugs.
Make a DC 12 Intelligence (Streetwise) check
to recognize the 16K Triad.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 Three of the gangsters approach from
ahead, and two more press in from behind.
From the looks of the weapons in their
hands, they aren’t looking for the easy way
out this time.
Crayfish wasn’t satisfied with how things went
earlier. The 16K Triad isn’t about to be pushed
around, and they’ll cross gang boundaries to
make a point. The five gang members are all
gang footsoldiers looking to wipe a smudge off
the Triad’s good name – with deadly intent.
YŪSHŪNA RAMEN
Yūshūna Ramen is located in a two-story
building near the intersection of Irving and 6th
in the middle of District 4. Yūshūna has been
around awhile, just like the dozens of other
noodle places in the City. The owner uses the
upstairs apartment for storage, but most of
what he stores is piled near the door, and he
never wanders deeper inside the musty depths
of the upper story, where outdated furniture
and equipment grows old and abandoned.
Gentry introduced herself to Gordon a few
nights ago, after Gordon closed the doors for
the night and just as he was starting the nightly
chores. She slipped in, sat down, and watched
him work. When he finally noticed her, he was
calm as a breeze, apologized for being closed,
but then courteously offered her a bowl of
noodles. She ate greedily while he resumed
his chores. He never asked her for payment,
instead trading backstories of his family’s legacy
in ramen for whatever lie she was about to
impart. But Gentry only lied enough for his own
good. She told him she was on the run from the
cops, and that she was up for some pretty bad
things. He didn’t ask what, and he didn’t judge.
Over the course of two hours, they came to
an understanding: by her own accord Gentry
owed him a big favor. Part of her payment was
a promise not to hurt him, and Gordon was
smart enough to know she offered that promise
without Gentry needing to spell it out. In
addition, she needed his help, and for that she
promised to pay him back ten-fold.
ESCAPE STRATEGY
The buildings along Irving Street press against
each other like teeth in a crowded mouth.
Anyone moving across the rooftops can cover
several blocks before coming to a break at
an intersection. If Gentry gets to the roof
undetected, she could escape before the
cyberpunks realize where she has gone. The
one factor that might work against an easy
escape, however, is Gordon’s well-being. If
any harm comes to him, the cyberpunks won’t
have to look for Gentry any longer, she’ll be
hunting them. While a ruckus in the restaurant
warns Gentry of an assault, she will evaluate
the threat before running and, if she feels she
can handle it, will attack the cyberpunks rather
than escape.
If the cyberpunks manage to capture Gentry
alive, keep in mind the kill-switch controlled by
the Sculptress. Unbeknownst to the cyberpunks,
if the interrogation goes too far, Gentry won’t
survive long enough to share any secrets.
YŪSHŪNA RAMEN
STOREFRONT
A two-story, two-tone storefront advertises
the name Yūshūna Ramen painted in
both English and Japanese kanji above the
main window of the restaurant. The lower,
restaurant half of the building is pastel peach.
An upper-story unit is dark gray and features
a single split-pane window. The large, single-
pane restaurant window is laced with sheer
curtains and a blinking neon ‘RAMEN’ sign.
A single door marks the entrance on the left
side of the building. The restaurant is joined
on either side by neighboring businesses,
creating one long stretch of conjoined stores
that line the street.
If the cyberpunks observe the building during
operating hours (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) they
observe 1d4 patrons entering or leaving at any
given time. If after hours they might observe
activity through the sheer curtains between
11 p.m. and midnight. A successful DC 10
Intelligence (Perception) check allows an
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 73
74 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
observer to verify the physical characteristics
of anyone inside the shop.
YR1. ENTRANCE
A simple metal bell jingles when you open
the door, and the savory-sweet smell of
ramen teases your nose. A narrow staircase
along the left wall leads up, though a velvet
rope across the entry bears a sign that reads
‘Employees Only.’ Half a dozen tables line
the walls and dot the middle of the room,
and a low counter cordons off the dining
area from the kitchen, where steaming pots
simmer under harsh fluorescent light. An
old register sits atop the counter alongside
a stack of menus. A small statue of Buddha
smiles broadly from behind a handheld
fan. Painted fans, decorated with cherry
blossoms or winterscapes, adorn the walls.
A lone male works busily in the kitchen. His
short black hair clings to the sweat on his
forehead, and when you enter, he smiles in
your direction. ‘Welcome to Yūshūna,’ he
calls out, and emerges behind the counter,
wiping his hands on the apron tied about
his waist. He is moderately overweight,
standing around five-nine, and perhaps in
his early forties. A name tag identifies him
as ‘Gordon.’
A cautious approach is less likely to alert
Gentry to the cyberpunks’ intentions. If they
approach Gordon for questioning, he does his
best to deter them, claiming he has no idea
who they are asking about and that he hasn’t
seen anyone of that description. If pressed,
he claims he did have a maintenance person
in recently to work on one of his appliances.
He suspects that to be the case of mistaken
identity. Gordon’s People (Deception) modifier
is +2. If the cyberpunks leave without pushing
the issue, Gordon immediately alerts Gentry. If
the cyberpunks turn aggressive, Gentry figures
things out on her own by overhearing the
argument downstairs.
If the cyberpunks threaten Gordon the team
upstairs attacks from the staircase. Gentry
tosses a Mk. I frag grenade down the stairs
to draw attention. Once the teams engage,
Gentry’s allies take turns firing from the top
of the stairs with the benefit of partial cover.
Meanwhile, Gentry calls in her extraction
team. After two rounds the Collective agents
escape to the roof where they prepare to
continue the fight until the extraction vehicle
arrives.
The agents cease fire from the top of the
stairs where you hear the pounding of
footsteps moving across the ceiling. The
scrape of a window followed by a scrambling
exit verifies a second-story escape. Your
quarry is trying to get away.
The combination of uncertain danger and
a narrow staircase makes the stairs difficult
terrain. The same is true for the upstairs
apartment, which is crowded with restaurant
supplies and old furniture. The staircase is 10 ft.
long. The distance from the top of the stairs to
the back window is 20 ft. A faster option to spy
the Collective agents is from the street, with
the restaurant exit just 10 ft. away. Reaching
the roof is another matter. Meanwhile, the
agents attempt to engage the cyberpunks in
a firefight while running across the rooftop.
Combatants on the roof have partial cover
when exposed to street-level attacks and can
pull back for complete cover to buy time.
Combatants on the ground must use parked
vehicles or other obstructions in order to
benefit from partial cover from rooftop attacks.
Combatants on the same level do not benefit
from cover.
The extraction vehicle arrives 1d8+1 rounds
after the Collective agents get to the roof. The
roof is a continuous surface for 100 ft. before
it ends at an intersection. The distance from
the rooftop to the street is 20 ft.
YR2. ROOFTOP
San Francisco businesses crowd together
along the streets, and for all intents and
purposes they share one roof. This stretch
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 75
76 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 of buildings are also roughly the same height,
and that means you have an open field
stretching almost 100 ft. long and 40 ft. wide
before reaching the edge of the roof to a 20
ft. drop. The flat roof levels the battlefield
and identifying the Enigma agents isn’t hard.
You’re as close as ever to stopping Gentry
Snow, but you haven’t got her yet.

It’s entirely possible that the cyberpunks won’t

reach the roof, choosing instead to battle from
the street level, or perhaps Gentry won’t ever
make it to the roof because of some other
plan the cyberpunks have hatched. If a roof
battle does occur, the combatants have the
aforementioned specifications to work with.
Taking the battle to Gentry is the cyberpunks’
best chance to capture her. An under-equipped
team, however, is going to have a difficult time
succeeding if the extraction vehicle arrives and
they can’t stop it.

EXTRACTION
A battle rages up and down Irving Street in a
give-and-take exchange of firepower. People
run for cover on the sidewalks, looking for
any way to escape the fight. Cars back up on
the blacktop, and overhead the flying traffic
diverts from the immediate area – all but one
vehicle. Flying from the northwest, a primer-
gray transport of conspicuous military design
but absent identifying markings approaches
the rooftop. As it moves into position you see
a cargo door open, and two mechs emerge,
jumping from the incoming vehicle to hover
into position before you. Meanwhile, Gentry
and her allies rush toward the craft.

As the vehicle descends two shield mechs exit

to engage the cyberpunks. It takes one round for
the vehicle to maneuver into position to accept
Gentry and her allies.

Gentry’s escape vehicle hovers within a few

feet above the roof. Dust billows into the
air as the operatives scramble to escape.
It takes two rounds for them to board
and then another round for the mechs to

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 77
 disengage and board. The cyberpunks have four
rounds total to stop the vehicle from departing
if they haven’t stopped Gentry before then. If
Gentry escapes, the mission fails.
The final battle with Gentry draws a quick
response from the SFPD, but if the cyberpunks
deal with her quickly, they can slip away before The credit chip contains the balance of the
the police arrive, knowing they have successfully payment promised by the consortium: the
completed the mission.
AFTERMATH
With the four members of the Enigma Collective them for another two hours. When it closes the
eliminated, the corporate consortium learns
quickly of the cyberpunks’ success, even if the
cyberpunks do not contact them about it right
away. The consortium sends a message to the
cyberpunks requesting they meet a corporate
representative at La Luna Rosso, a restaurant
in District 2. The representative has made a
reservation for themselves and the cyberpunks.
La Luna Rosso is an extremely fine Italian
restaurant. Its décor is minimalist and gloomy,
with each table sitting in its own pool of pale light.
The representative encourages the cyberpunks
to order. There is no menu, but the restaurant
can provide just about any meal the cyberpunks
can think of, including fine gene-simmed meat
from extinct animals. Once the meals arrive the Sundang’s operating systems, devastatingly
representative turns to business.
‘You have performed admirably. We have
confirmation of the elimination of all
targeted members of the Enigma Collective.
Your payment, as promised.’ She slides a
credit chip across the table. ‘The intelligence
you recovered from the Collective’s
members suggest they were employed by
a benefactor, this “Sculptress,” who had an
interest in subverting, crippling, and then
taking over Sundang ISS. We will need to
look very carefully into Sundang and the
Sculptress to see if any further action is
required. The corporate side of things we
can handle, as you can imagine. As for the
Sculptress, we have some idea as to its
nature but we wish to be more certain before
78
we commit to anything. When we do, we
may have further need of you.
‘I must take my leave. I already paid the bill.
If more employment opportunities arise we’ll
be in touch.’
remaining 400 000₩ paid after all the targets
have been eliminated. If the cyberpunks wish
to continue eating, the restaurant will serve
maître ‘d apologetically explains the kitchen is
no longer serving.
In addition to the consortium, the Sculptress
also knows the cyberpunks have completed
their mission. As ever, the AI is curious rather
than angry or vengeful. It asks to know the
cyberpunks’ emotional state now that they
have completed their goal. If asked what it will
do now, the Sculptress replies that it will begin
generating the stages to create a new project.
Soon after the Enigma Collective is eliminated,
the corporate consortium begins investigating
and then dismantling Sundang ISS. Corporate
news sources cite a fatal flaw in one of
expensive to fix, as the factor forcing Sundang
to halt operations.
The consortium cannot completely destroy
Sundang, however, since it has hidden many of
its operations and assets very cunningly. The
Sculptress is not found in Sundang’s inventory,
nor are the other artificial intelligences
made in Sundang’s labs. What remains of the
corporation survives using the remaining illegal
and hidden assets, which the consortium cannot
reach through corporate manipulation and asset
seizure alone. It seems the world’s corporations
must turn to more straightforward methods to
root out what remains of Sundang ISS and its
AIs. When that time comes, perhaps they will
turn to the cyberpunks once more.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
THE SPHERE

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 79

THE SPHERE
“Hello Doctor Mitchell, welcome to your new
location in the Sphere, your Virtual Estate will
be ready once your funds have cleared. Until
then, we wish to offer our condolences on the
passing of your wife Clarissa. Perhaps you’d like
to enjoy her favourite music whilst you wait?”
~ Welcome message, Sphere Control
Group.
WHAT IS THE SPHERE
Welcome virtual traveller to the latest,
greatest, corporation-owned virtual reality
space that you can make your own. The only
limit is your digital wallet and your imagination.
Do you want to be a Queen and rule over a
virtual castle, or perhaps you would like to sling
drinks over at your own Olde English pub?
Not your speed? A high-stakes anything-goes
shooting range built into a San Francisco club
more your style?
All this and more can be yours for the low-low-
price of whatever the corporation decrees.
Don’t forget to buy into the limited time
offer, where you get 1000 free Sphere
Credits!
The Sphere is a huge virtual world, which
echoes the real one, and many real-world
locations. The sphere is engineered in such
a way that although the environment and
buildings do not have to follow them, your
avatar follows the laws of real world physics.
Whilst the physical connection to the Sphere
offers safety, reliability, and complete body
support – the digital world is a dangerous place
and there’s a simple rule: if you die here, you
die for real. No takebacks.
This isn’t a game…
80
Make no mistake, the corporations own this
space and they make sure to hammer this point
home.
HOW IS THE SPHERE
STRUCTURED?
When you log in from a real-world location
your avatar, which resembles a customisable
version of yourself, pops up in a digital safe
zone where you are completely protected
from any of the exterior threats present in
the Sphere. These Sanctum Ports are literally
that, like a starport for real, they offer a self-
enclosed microcosm of the Sphere for those
who want to remain in a safe zone.
Each one is themed based on the real sector
they are located in, or the real city. So, London
is very much based on the Crown’s inner circle
design and San Francisco has many locations
which echo the city’s aesthetic and Tokyo is a
glorious recreation of Japan in the Edo period,
only splashed with adverts and neon gleaming
construct towers.
Whilst you log in to a Sanctum Port, you’re
not confined to this space. You can freely leave
the Mall-like construct and enter the outer
environs proper. Here you can also travel to a
Connector Hub and enter the wider Sphere
– travelling in the blink of a mind’s eye to
another Sanctum Port anywhere on the planet.
It’s pretty impressive and you might have to pay a
transfer fee depending on your access clearance.
WHAT DOES THE SPHERE
LOOK LIKE?
The virtual environs are structured based on the
theme, which in turn is based on the physical
location of the Sanctum Port’s main server.
Some corporations put twists on their themed
servers, and may levy additional costs and
create access levels based on client standing.
You can however expect an outlandish, virtual,
digital bright textured environment with lots of
adverts, Virtual Enforcement Agents (VEA)
and other visitor/resident avatars.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Their vehicles, locations, virtual constructs and
more abound across a massive cornucopia of
mind-bending design and pulsing data. As we’ll
keep on saying, here your digital wallet and
your imagination allows you to carve the digital
landscape into your own design.
Many of the places you’ll see as you tour the
streets, valleys, back alleys, plains, and bit-
mapped seas of the Sphere are paid for by the
residents who have good standing with the
corporations and deep online wallets.
If you can pay for it, design it, and possess the
skill to do it – you can have it. If you can’t do
it yourself, you can pay a fee to a Sphere-craft
designer to do it for you.
THE ECONOMICS OF THE
SPHERE
When you buy a parcel of land, which is
basically server space in this massive landscape
of ones and zeroes – you get a holding notice
and a zone all of your own. You get targeted
ads unless you pay a monthly clearance fee or
are in good with the corporation who owns the
sector.
Everything costs, and even Virtual Law
Enforcement or VR health treatments have
to be paid for. Of course, you’ll need to pay
an additional fee if your original log-in sector
is not the same as the sector you’re injured
in, please see Corporate Policy Document
#456789.1 subsection 10, paragraph 12 – Blue
Clearance required.
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE
SPHERE
In the Sphere, it’s dog eat dog, eat donkey, eat
horned devil with two tails, eat glowing blue
whale on a hoverboard.
The Virtual Enforcement Agents or VEA’s can
come to your rescue, but again, only if you
have the online wallet to cover the fee and your
corporate standing is in the green.
Upstanding citizens can even purchase a
Corporate Police Protector team DLC, or
why not buy a two-pack and have your own
V.R. bodyguard chosen from a variety of AI
enforcers who are trained to protect you by
throwing their AI bodies in the way.

There are numerous addons you can buy, each Tasteful AI Funeral DLC is included for the
one designed to get you to spend just that little first two months of operation, after that you
bit more. Security, AI constructs which allow can pay 10% less for the pack per month.
you to populate your little slice of the Sphere
and various protection schemes are just a few Note, Corporate Agents in the Sphere have
of the options available. their own protection detail of lethal enforcers
who are very good at inflicting you with the
Way back in the day, the genius behind the status ailment: Dead.
Sphere took a look at 21st Century corporation
data-vaults and saw a concept that had been GETTING AROUND
forgotten for a while. They brought back As well as your virtual movement via the latest
Microtransactions in a big way. Sim-U-Walk technology (Copyright Schmidt-
Wagner) you can also opt in with a bunch of
Applying them to the Sphere, you can pay a motion capable upgrades. Jet packs, wings,
variety of packages and Season Passes to get superpower flight, and more are possible –
you the best of the best in terms of content – please log in to a Motion Upgrade Port to
from a vehicle pack, to a friend pack, and even negotiate options with a connected helpful
a texture pack plus sex mods to spice up that representative.
VR dating life you know you want.
There are also other residents who offer a taxi-
BUY NOW! Get two free like service using a variety of their own paid-for
constructs, and charge numerous fees.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 81
 Corporate mandated Taxi constructs are also
allowed to operate in the sectors and local
hubs.
Data Zippers are also available, and modelled
on high-speed real-world train and subway
systems.
Finally, there are the Data Highways which
are reached by the Connector Hubs outside of
the main Sanctum Hub. These Data Highways
allow for fast-speed connection to other
Sanctum Ports and hubs in the Sphere.
82
BRAIN JACKERS
It’s a dirty secret, one that the corporations
don’t want you to know, but we know, and this
is it. There are corporate mandated special
hit teams who have their own VR division –
trained to kill efficiently and hack into your
mind via the latest connection at the real-world
hub. They built this loophole into the Sphere
and it’s the dirtiest secret we can tell you.
They download your memories, scrub through
them and find all your secrets. They use those
to track friends, family, and so on – then
bombard them with targeted ads and even spy
on them.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

SAN FRANCISCO HUB
“Hello, Miss Dalton, welcome to the San
Francisco Hub – where would you like to go
today?” ~ Daniel, VR Assistant Miss Rita
Dalton.
SANCTUM FRANCISCO
The first place you pop into being in this part of
the Sphere, is the giant supermall like Sanctum
Port of San Francisco – or as the locals call it
Sanctum Francisco. It’s an impressive place, just
as impressive as the city where it’s taken from and
packed with anything and everything that you
could want from the Sphere’s Newbie Package.
The real goods, the best stuff, the most intense
and epic experiences are just outside the data
port door that leads to the rest of San Francisco
outside.
Some areas are level gated, please purchase a time-
saver pack to bypass these restrictions!
Beyond that door though?
SAN FRANCISCO MAIN
Remember that there are thousands, if not
more, resident created constructions outside
the Sanctum Port along with corporate created
towers and more. This is a neon-byte covered,
textured, flashing, virtual paradise that stretches
as far as the best online wallet can take it.
There are lots of places for the wandering
virtual explorer to find themselves. It’s beyond
the scope of this adventure to detail the lot…
but here’s a nice selection of locales for virtual
travellers to discover.
DABOOM AND DOOM CLUB
If you took Punk, Death Metal, Rap, and
Classic music – threw it into a blender and
hammered it with some random Industrial
sound effects you’d get the ambience that
comprises the DaBOOM and DOOM Club.
Catering to online gamers of all kinds, this is
the PLACE to BE in this server and definitely
requires a certain level of skill to get in.
The latest and greatest games can be found
here, and the back room would make the
Golden Age of Piracy look like a kindergarten
party considering the amount of ‘research’
memoryware that’s squirreled away.
Want a copy of RAGNAROKDUDE5000?
You can get it here, as long as you tip Green
Jane, the owner, a few extra Wonlong’s for
their trouble.
VIRTUAL HARRY’S
Want to buy into a quick game of VR cards or
any one of a thousand gambling plug-ins? Virtual
Harry’s is the place to go. Modelled on the old
1920’s Speakeasy combined with a 21st Century
Casino it’s certainly an eclectic mix. Harry
Krosburn, a retired con-artist runs this piece
of VR fun and along with several of his online
buddies and a few AI programs, he makes sure the
Casino is a safe place to be for all comers.
Trouble is dealt with via the use of the Chicago-
Typewriter plug-in he keeps behind the VR bar.
THE WOLF DEN
Got a bit of an animal side, have a desire to
strut your stuff as a lycanthrope or 4-legged
animal of the howling variety? Look at the Wolf
Den as your #1 port of call. Originally designed
as VR hook-up joint for people with animal
tendencies, it was hacked a few months ago
and new ownership took over.
A bunch of roleplayers now ensure that this
place is a safe haven for the last bastion of
TTRPGs. Being run by a local cyberpunk who
managed to get access to a real-world login,
Big Dave soon booted the previous owner and
staked his claim.
Using state-of the art plugins, borrowed from
various ‘semi-legal’ source data banks, Dave has
crafted a virtual world inside the virtual world
where you can play in his custom campaign
called the Wolf Den.
Set in San Francisco in the 2185’s it tells the
story of an embattled group of roleplayers
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 83
 who are bitten by a whole tribe of werewolves,
and now they have to kill the shit out of any
corporation they come across.
No one said Dave was a good writer.
But as one CGN (Central Gaming News)
review said, “The idea has merit.”
HELLION’S QUALITY
MERCHANDISE
An online walk/fly/glide/hover-in shop here in
the Sphere. Hellion runs a small shop which
sells a bunch of plug-ins for the Sphere, as well
as some premier corporate boosts which are
usually only available to gold access clients.
Don’t ask her where she got these from, she
won’t tell you. Not even if you try nicely.
SCHMIDT-WAGNER DATA
TOWER
Schmidt-Wagner has its data tower here,
and it is a veritable fortress guarded by the
best AI backup their money can buy, and
programmed by the best indentured hackers
they have the juiciest dirt on.
For anyone who breaks into this tower, gets
the secrets from inside, they’re in for a
shock – here you can find thousands upon
thousands of sifted and stolen memories the
corporation has amassed from their targeted
elimination campaigns.
Sick stuff.
Also, between us, worth a fortune and enough – and since there are thousands of themes, the
to set you up with a massive zone in the Sphere visitor is always in for a new experience when
all of your own – just sayin’
84
BE SOMEONE ELSE
If dressing in a Neko helmet and chewing
virtual gum wasn’t enough, the whole place is
festooned with advert after advert for Sphere
Avatars.
The New You, you can SWAP!
Yuriko loves the people she comes into contact
with, and she loves to listen to their stories. She
also loves to sell, and she’ll drop you a great
avatar customizations for a reasonable price –
undercutting Candy Outfitters, and Luminous
Options by at least 20% from places such as
London and Tokyo.
THE GUN ZONE
Miss Fire runs this place, and it’s a shrine to
the virtual firearm. Miss Fire is a total mystery,
appearing as a hooded woman with a no-
nonsense attitude.
What Miss Fire doesn’t sell, doesn’t exist in the
VR space. She is the primo digital data-gun
creator and supplier in the entire sector of San
Francisco.
Her custom data blasters are extremely
powerful, and she charges twice the amount
than the other purveyors. However, the lag is
non-existent and the hit ratio means that you
are likely to kill rather than be killed.
RECREATIONAL PARKS
There are numerous parks and recreation
zones in the sector, each one has a different AI
population and virtual animal plug-in. The parks
are also rotated weekly so their theme changes
they visit one.
There are many attractions to these parks,
including secluded shrouded areas for lovers,
and virtual fun and games for those more
inclined to get bored just looking at neon fish.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
VEA HQS
Virtual Enforcement Agents HQs are dotted
around the San Francisco sanctum, connected
to each other by hi-speed data transfer
ports, and the officers – either AI program or
controlled by real people can deploy almost
instantly when a crime is reported.
It is just like they teleport there, with no need
to drive whatsoever. Belief that this method
was originally pioneered in a much darker city
runs through some of the gamer population of
the Sphere.
There are also nasty rumours that the VEA
has a branch who deals with extreme criminals
lethally, giving the memory data they harvest
to the highest bidder in corporate Brain
Harvest auctions.
WICKED ELITE
Turn the digital lights down low, adjust that
gamma, and drop the luminosity by several
notches on that slider. Jackie Fare’s Wicked
Elite is an online dating club where the rich
come to play, hook up, and perhaps even find a
partner for life – or one alongside their real life
significant other/interest.
Just like most in the Sphere, Jackie lives
another life outside the VR velvet and suede.
The back room of the Wicked Elite is reserved
for other dealings, ones that might land people
in hot data if they ever got out.
Jackie is also the boss of the Data Killers,
a circle of VR assassins who are dedicated
to opposing the Data Harvests of the
corporations.
THE ARENA
Pay your fee at the door, enter a world of kill
or be killed, and join the heroes of the Sphere
on the leader-board. This is deathmatch, team-
deathmatch and capture the flag taken to the
next level.
Rich, bored, powerful, wanting to earn a fantastic
prize or three – your collateral is your life.
Virtual battles in a variety of environments
where people can and are often killed.
The winner gets to be the next big star for the
month on the WALL OF FAME.
The loser burns out in a chair in real meat-
space and gets that smoking trophy.
A win never felt so good for this crowd!
BACK-ALLEY PORTS, AND
SUB-PORTS
Aside from the roaming data thieves, the
corporate mandated Brain Harvester squads,
and the Player vs. Player mentality of some
people who realised that Game Over in the
Sphere meant Game Over for real; there
are aberrations, bits of code that are out of
synch with the rest of the data which flows
effortlessly in this virtual kingdom.
‘Adberrations’ as they’re often known in
marketing, are dangerous AI programs that
went awry and now seek to overload the brains
of those they deem worthy as prey.
Often appearing as humanoid or grotesquely
textured humanoid forms, missing limbs,
or with extra ones – they leap out on
unsuspecting explorers who frequent the many
back-port data ways of the Sphere.
Flat-screen plasma-style TVs for heads, blaring
a fast-frame, overload of corporate mandated
advertising into your psyche and downloading
crash-data into your brain as they scream in
your direction.
Once your mind is fried, they feed on the
escaping digital energy and off they go looking
for more prey.
They are often easily avoided by the wary,
since they tend to have an advert or two
broadcasted loudly.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 85
86 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 87

SOMETHING DIGITAL
THIS WAY COMES
So, you are out and about, you’re looking
for something to do, and you’re wondering
just what the Sphere will offer you if you
take a quick jaunt or side-quest into the
nearest sub sector, or data hub?
This section is just for you, the kind of
events or encounters you might find in the
San Francisco Sphere Sector.
Pop on some music, dodge those
Adberrants, and get ready to take a byte
out of the virtual city!
HIT-TEAM
You don’t know who, why, or the reason. But
you’re on the radar of a Corporate Hit-team
who’re looking to take you out, and maybe
scrub your brains for some juicy info to pass to
their data trackers.
HELP ME!
A pair of avatars have been cornered by a
group of nasty Adberrants. These adverts gone
bad are out to fry some minds, take the tasty
psyche energy and pump up the volume with a
new sponsor.
Are you going to let the two avatars get eaten
by Crunchy Data Collection, and Smile Faster
Toothwhite?
HEY PSST, DO YOU WANT
THIS WICKED PROGRAM?
You’re approached by a trench-coat wearing
avatar, you can’t tell who they are or much
about them. They are literally a walking trench- This just happened to one of you as you logged
coat that speaks like a 1960’s gangster.
They ask you if you want to buy a wicked
program though, it’s going to change your life
and you can always tell your friends, as long as
you’re not VEA or have VEA connections.
Come on, what you got to lose VR Buddy?
88
MURDER THEY WROTE
You come across a group of avatars, they are all
dressed as 1800’s detectives and people from
that era. They seem to be involved in some sort
of complicated game of WHO DUNNIT, along
with stereotypical accents and at least one
avatar in a Deerstalker Hat.
GOFUND MOI?
You haven’t travelled more than a few feet
out from wherever you were, when you’re
accosted by a glitzy avatar in a glowing
business suit and carrying a virtual TV which
plays a small advert over and over. At first you
might think this is an Adberration, however,
upon closer inspection this is a regular person
who has something of a deal.
They want some Wonlong to fund their latest,
greatest idea so they can get it made into reality.
Are you going to invest, or walk away?
ALIEN ABWHATNOW?
Back early this year someone released an AI
program into the Sphere, cloaked, shadowed,
hidden, and designed to flit from Sphere
Sector to sector. It has one goal, find a resident
or visitor, appear as a giant UFO and abduct
them via a hacking program which alters their
location in the Sphere.
That person, or persons then loses connection
for a few minutes, until they awake in a new
part of the city or even the Sphere itself.
A message on their body says, “YOU HAVE
BEEN PROBED BY ALIENS - LOL!” ~
SIGNED LIGMA 138
in. Now what’re you going to do about it?
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
VEA DANGEROUS
You’re in one of the parks when something bad
happens, that kind of bad thing where a power-
gamer avatar breaks security protocols, abducts
a hostage and now holds a Nuke Pistol at their
head. You’re not sure of the reason, or the
avatars in question.
But you’re now caught between the hostage
taker, and the VEA who appear out of the data
port like avenging angels, blue and red textures
flashing.
Now you can try and be heroic and beat them
to the punch with the baddie, or you can sit
back and watch what happens. Up to you!
DATA BROKER
The shrill sound of a badly recorded horn
sounds close by, and a beat up, terribly
rendered and extremely old-school textured
hover-van construct pops down out of the sky.
A pink badger avatar leans out of the window
and says in a perfectly cultured voice.
“Excuse me, but are you in the market for
some freshly cooked data. I have all sorts,
and an offer on juicy gossip and corporate
secrets for the next thirty seconds!”
What are you going to do, I mean you can see a
VEA officer harassing a biker avatar not far off?
Then again, information is power?
4114D1|\|
You come across what appears to be an old
lamp on the ground, traces of missing textures
and a beaten-up polygon or two mark it as an
ancient data construct. Tiny green pixelated
smoke pops up in data puffs now and then from
the spout.
The enticing message: RUB ME FOR MAGIC
appears on the side, flickers, and then vanishes.
If you rub that lamp, you’re going to meet
an AI construct Genie for sure. Now this
construct can’t offer you wishes or anything
like that, but it does have a code to a long dead
data port that might be the start of a whole
new adventure.
Interested?
DATA CAT
You encounter a rather talkative being made
out of data, it looks like a cat, with glowing
green pixel eyes. A human voice comes from
within the construct, but you’re not sure what
it’s saying, since it’s garbled.
The cat paces several times, then walks off.
You could follow it…
It seems to want you to follow it…
It could be a trap?
Or maybe it wants to show you a secret?
Was that a jingle you heard?
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 89
 PART 2
THE
SCULPTRESS
AWAKENS

90 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

ACER’S MESSAGE
Part 2 is designed to be played by a group of
three to six cyberpunks starting at combat level
5. If your punks are a larger or smaller group,
or a different level, you may have to make
changes to the balance of the combat and skill
checks to ensure that things run smoothly.
Part 2 is still based on milestone leveling, with
cyberpunks gaining a level after each section.
We have included XP values for fights and
encounters throughout Part 2 for GMs who
want to change to XP based leveling.
Whilst you are doing your day to day, you
get a ping, a message on a secure channel
and it’s from someone called: Acer.
No names, hope I got the right group for
this. Listen, I’ve got something big to tell
you, can only be done in person and I don’t
trust anyone else not to screw this up.
You’ve done good so far, so I don’t expect
you to blow it. But hey, this is reality, and
my expectations are low from the start.
Go to District 3, the Beyond Club, go to
the bar and order a Midnight Sunset.
Nothing else, no questions asked, if I find
so much as a deviation from Plan A: I am a
ghost, got it?
Acer.
Acer is an agent for the consortium. They have
recently learned that the Enigma collective
were onto something big. The Sculptress is a
powerful AI on the verge of breaking out of her
digital prison, and the cyberpunks are just the
people for the job at hand:
Go into the Sphere, break into the Sculptress’
prison and kill her before she can escape.
DISTRICT 3: THE BEYOND
CLUB
EXTERIOR
Set against the background of San
Francisco’s sky, and thronging with passers-
by day and night, this packed and crowded
club is the perfect place for Acer’s meet.
Part dive-bar, and part warehouse, punching
up from the concrete below it, it looks
serviceable with just a hint of glitz and glamor
provided by the floodlights and neon.
A heavy-industrial thumping beat reaches
your ears, suddenly drowned out by the
arrival of a stretch-limo full of suits who roll
out as though they own the place. They’re
already drunk, and they stagger into the club
looking for more booze to blow their brains.
The Beyond Club has been a staple of District
3 nightlife for as long as anyone can remember.
Of course, every 10 years or so it gets rebranded
and renamed so that people don’t have to suffer
the embarrassment of going to the same club
their parents went to in their youth.
BEYOND CLUB: ENTRY
The entry to the Beyond Club is dim, lit
only by bands of neon and it’s populated by
throngs of people all wanting to get in. This
includes you, and the first port of call is a
heavy-looking weapon-toting woman with a
shock of bright pink hair.
She looks you up, and down.
“Weapons? Leave em in the box, you can
get them after you’re done. Don’t like it,
find another club.”
That’s right, you remember, the laws that
surround these clubs. So, if you want in, you
have to sign over your toys.
You’re given a digital receipt and a box
number, all above board.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 91
 Cyberpunks can attempt to smuggle their
weapons in, but must be searched and then
pass through metal detectors.
To hide a weapon from the bouncer, they
must succeed on a DC20 Sleight of Hand
(Dexterity) check. To disable the metal
detectors, cyberpunks must make a successful
DC25 Hacking (Technology) check.
Cyberpunks who are caught trying to smuggle
weapons into the club have those weapons
confiscated, but they are still allowed entry
BEYOND CLUB: INTERIOR
As the door opens, you’re assaulted by
the hammer-like thump of the nusynth
dancewave set the DJ is broadcasting.
Looking out from the elevated balcony to
the dancefloor below, it’s tricky to work out
where this sea of people begins and ends.
Flesh, chrome, and brightly colored hair
thrash about rhythmically, dancing to
the beat, throwing their arms wide and
becoming one with the music. You cast
around looking for the bar, and spot a likely
place where you can go order that drink you
were told to.
What was it again, Midnight Sunset?
Beyond Club is known for its ‘anything goes’
policy. If you aren’t harming others, the staff
and security turn a blind eye to illicit, immoral,
or irresponsible behaviour. Don’t make the
mistake of thinking they don’t know about
it. Every inch of this place is under high tech
surveillance, monitoring everything from
people’s movements through the club, to their
body temperature and heart rate.
BEYOND CLUB: THE BAR
Off to one side those corps you saw earlier
are plastered, laying over each other and
laughing as though they owned the bar.
The bar itself is a long one, twenty or thirty
92
people could easily stand end to end and
order drinks. If only they had that many staff.
Three servers are on tonight it seems, one
woman, one man, and one packing more
metal than a fully-armed and operational
battle tank.
The woman spots you and smiles, her red
hair lights up and flashes in a series of
different patterns.
“Hey, don’t just stand there, come wet your
lips over here with our selection of drinks.”
She winks and waves.
Encourage the cyberpunks to roleplay here
and get into the spirit. The woman’s name is
Mandy. She’s been working here for a few years
and is more than happy to talk the cyberpunk’s
ears off if they don’t stop her. She’s also willing
to shoot any of them with the shotgun she
keeps under the bar if they try anything.
Once they finally order a Midnight Sunset:
“Ooh baby,” she chuckles softly. “That is an
expensive drink!”
“You have to have your own private booth
for that one, very high end.” She turns her
head slightly and hooks a thumb to another
server. “Hey Trace babe, take over, got
some VIPs to show to the back.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever Mandy.” The man
shakes his head.
“Screw you,” Mandy gives him the finger
before she offers a cocky smile your
direction again. “Better not keep that drink
waiting, eh?”
With that, she motions you to follow her
and leads you all across to the other side of
the bar and through a back door.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
BEYOND CLUB: VIP ROOM
Mandy leads you into a soft-lit room, a
comfortable, private space. This room
screams VIP in every way. The furnishings
are top quality, the décor is understated but
speak of corporate money and the excesses
that come from that lifestyle.
Sitting casually at the far side of an
L-shaped couch is a woman, dark hair,
glowing amber eyes and an elegant
manicure which reflects the ambient light
of the room.
“Hey Acer,” Mandy grins at her. “The crew
here want a Midnight Sunset, so I told them
you’re the right woman for the job.”
Acer looks up, lifts her glass as the light
breaks into hundreds of tiny red refractions.
“Thanks Mandy, I got this.”
She motions you to sit down. “Take a load
off, no time wasting. We’ve got a lot of info
to chew through.”
She appears in command, poised, perched
like a spider at the centre of one big web.
Acer tells the cyberpunks everything she knows:
• The Sculptress is an AI who has them in her
sights thanks to their work taking down the
Enigma collective.
• It is only a matter of time before she breaks
free of her virtual prison and causes a lot of
serious trouble.
• The Sculptress has already broken partially
through her virtual restraints and is
influencing events even in a limited capacity.
• If the cyberpunks don’t stop her, this could
be the end of the world as they know it,
assuming they survive of course.
• The reward the consortium is willing to pay
for the destruction of the Sculptress is
10 000 000₩ each.
HEADING OUT
Acer smiles with a satisfied nod, she’s told
you all you need to know. And you get the
feeling she’ll be sharing nothing else beyond
what she’s deemed you need. She stands up,
chuckles and downs the last of her drink.
“Never did get that Midnight Sunset, but
you got something better right?”
She moves past you and before you can
stop her, she’s out of the door and into the
club.
After a moment you follow suit, and soon
you’re back amongst the music-drunk
booze-sodden club goers.
Acer has given the cyberpunks the coordinates
of a local Sphere Port where she plans to meet
them in a few hours. They must make their own
way there, and avoid trouble.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 93

BARFIGHTS
Every cyberpunk gets into the occasional clash
due to a small disagreement or misunderstanding. can occur while the players are unarmoured as
The best way to solve this is usually with words but they may not be expecting hostile activity. If
even the greatest of speeches fall on deaf ears,
now it is time to fight!
The rules for barfights are designed to be
simple and easy. The stats you’ll need for this
are Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution;
these will allow your cyberpunks to take hits
and deal out damage.
Strength and Dexterity are used for the same
thing, attacking, depending on which your
players use just defines the style of attack.
Strength is a hard heavy-handed punch,
direct front kick, or lobbing chairs at a target.
Dexterity is attacking from a leaping assault,
sweeping the legs, or a grappling attack that
uses your opponent’s weight against them. The
turn order is determined as usual and does not
change during a barfight.
When attacking the participants simply add
their Strength or Dexterity modifier to their
attack roll, in most circumstances barfights
the attack meets or beats the target creature’s
AC they will take one hit. Once they reach
their maximum hits they will need to make
a Constitution saving throw to avoid being
knocked out.
For every plus in Constitution a creature has,
they can take another hit. At ten or fewer
creatures can take one hit. For every plus, the
creature can take another hit (Max six). Once
a creature takes its maximum amount of hits it
will have to make a Constitution saving throw
to avoid being knocked out, the first time a
creature makes this check the DC is 10, then
15, and every check after is 20. A fail will result
in the creature being knocked out.

Your constitution modifier determines the

number of hits a player or creature can take. If
they have anything less than a positive score,
one successful attack will knock them out.
Players are knocked out when they take a
certain amount of damage, they can attempt
to recover but this can be difficult.

In a barfight the rules of combat are the same,

players can move and attack as such but if
they use lethal force the fight can develop into
a standard shoot-out in which case the turn
order is rerolled.

94 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
CORP’S PARTY
“Hey you, you look familiar.” You hear the
sound of a voice, over the music, it’s loud and
it’s whiny. God, is it whiny. It reaches your
ears, and assaults them with all the effect of
fingernails raking down glass.
A drunk Corporation prat-boy stands and
blocks Acer’s way out. He is right in her face,
and he snarls at the woman in a manner that
would make a pit-bull embarrassed.
“You remind me of a thing I stepped on
under my shoe.” He coughs a few times,
booze clearly impacting his judgement.
“Or a Corporate witch that lost me my last
contract.”
Acer looks him up and down, spots you,
smiles slyly and nods. “Yep, guilty as charged,
but you look about ready to fall over.”
The atmosphere goes from tense to worse in
one second flat.
He swings a wild punch, she blocks it, chops
him across the back of the neck at the same
time her knee drops into parts that he’d
rather were made of chrome right now.
“Drop these bozos,” she yells at you all. “I’ll
sweeten the deal, add 10k more to the pot.
Just don’t kill them.”
Money or not, that’s all it takes for her to
drop you all in it.
Corporate boys buddies rise to back him up,
and there’s a full on bar-fight in the offing!
Some old school eurobeats blast onto the
speakers, as if the DJ is choreographing the
whole thing to a soundtrack.
The four corporate prat-boys are unarmed,
but otherwise have the stats of augmented
veterans. They will not use weaponry, and give
up instantly if the cyberpunks pull weapons.
PARTY’S OVER
Just as the last punch has been thrown,
the last bash has been dealt, and the last
corporate lad has been dropped to the deck
there’s three loud reports.
Shotgun style. Patrons stop, some scatter,
and a few carry on dancing – that’s life.
Mandy eyes you all, and the prat-boys.
“Hey, so… don’t fuck up my bar any more
than you have OK?”
She looks at Acer and shakes her head.
“Ghost before I change my mind about
helping you out.”
Acer flicks a smile the woman’s way. “Put
the damages on my tab, clear the air, and
give yourself a bonus for the week.”
“If you think you can sweet talk me with
cash, then you came to the right place.”
Mandy nods. “OK, get gone.”
Acer melts into the crowd and leaves your
sight eventually.
“You all better go off on whatever fun thing
it is you’re doing.” Mandy puts the shotgun
back under the bar.
It’s wise to leave the club as soon as possible.
Make it clear to the cyberpunks that Mandy
may serve as a useful contact in the future, and
they don’t want to get on her wrong side.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 95
 SPHERE PORT: EXTERIOR
It takes you the better part of an hour
through traffic to get to the location that
Acer gave you. It’s a backlot area, looks
like it used to be a movie studio, or at least
some kind of place where magic happened.
Discarded trash, contraceptive packets and
other rubbish gives you an idea that other
magic might happen here now.
You look around for Lot 47 and spy the tell-
tale glow of something through a darkened
window, barely seen.
The entrance to the Consortium’s Sphere
Port isn’t exactly well hidden. It doesn’t need
to be since they use this port as a kind of high
security, safe login location for anyone with
the wonlongs. Maybe this is how they make
their money?
The interior of the port has some serious
security, such as anti intruder turrets, blast
doors in case of an attack, and numerous armed
guards. Everything you need to make sure that
your body is safe while you’re in the Sphere.
SPHERE PORT: INTERIOR
Inside the Sphere Port it’s a regular
Wonderland, with cables, glowing tubes, and
the kind of tech that would make any tech-
obsessed cyberpunk lose their cool.
There are armed guards, and technicians
that operate inside the various rooms.
You’re approached by a person in a simple
collared jacket, with ever-cycling cybernetic
eyes as they play through a variety of scans.
“Code?” they say almost mechanically.
“Midnight Sunset,” you reply automatically.
“Welcome. Acer has prepared you the best
package that money can buy.”
96
Music to your ears!
They lead you to a series of high-tech chairs
with wires, monitors, and peripherals.
“Sit down, and we’ll get you into the Sphere
in no time at all.”
Each cyberpunk is assigned their own personal
guard to stand watch over their unconscious body
as they are in VR space. This service is 24/7, with
the guards switching out every 8 hours.
There’s nowhere safer in San Francisco to jack
in to the Sphere than right here.
SPHERE BOUND
As you sit down finally, the tech connects
up the various sensors and monitors. They
lower a visor over your eyes and make
adjustments.
“We’re good,” you hear their voice echo
slightly. “Doctor Karo, initiate Sphere dive
in…”
5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
There is a moment where it seems nothing
happens at all, you think about wanting your
money back, it’s a half-amused thought.
Then you hear a chattering, a sound of
various people talking, different languages
and different accents.
Snippets of talk break through.
“Flank left, flank left!”
“Run, hey… can’t you hear me, RUN!”
“Baby, you and me, Virtual KARAOKE!”
“I love you.”
Then they fall silent, and images play across
your eyes. A feeling of gravity takes over
and you drop.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 It’s an almost eternal endless fall… into a
neon landscape, flying fish, barking cyber-
dogs and pillars of light all flash by as you
hurtle down into a cylinder below you.
Before your virtual eyes, images res in and
you hear the tech’s voice again.
“Dive complete, calibrating audio, visual,
tech support and you’re in.”
“A disorintating feeling for those who aren’t
used to it. Nanoseconds ago you were laying
in the lounge, hooking into VR, and now,
within a single blink you are standing upright in
what can only be described as a mix between
a 21st century airport terminal and a shopping
mall. Hovering above you slowly rotating are
the pixelated words “San Francisco Sanctum,
presented by Schmidt-Wagner”
In front of you, the avatar of the consortium
agent you’ve come to know as Acer.
“While many different DLC and upgrade
packages are typically available for those
jacking into the sphere, you aren’t so
fortunate. It seems that the Sculptress has
put you all on every blacklist out there. If
you want to take her down, you’re going to
have to do it vanilla.” ”
Acer isn’t bluffing, the cyberpunks can attempt
a DC 15 Hacking check to confirm that they
are indeed on every corporation and private
blacklist in the sphere.
There’s even a few bounties out on them, for
disappointedly low amounts. It seems the
Sculptress is mocking them with the triple digit virtual world has to offer, they are going to have
Wonlong rewards.
The cyberpunks are free to ask Acer about
the Sphere if they are unfamiliar with it. Acer
is knowledgeable about it and knows almost
everything found in the previous chapter.
The cyberpunks don’t look exactly as they do
in the real world. Their weapons, armor and
clothing are visually different, but mechanically
identical. This could be a good opportunity
for a game master to introduce an element
of strangeness into their campaign. While
everything works in familiar ways insofar as the
characters are concerned, it all feels slightly off.
“Acer continues “We’ve preloaded you all
with weapons, items and armors equivalent
to what you had on you when you jacked in.
There may be some visual changes to your
clothing and weapons, but trust me these
handle the same way as your real world items
do. You won’t be able to buy any gear here
thanks to the blacklist, but you may be able
to talk your way into getting some for free.
The Sculptress is good at covering her
tracks. The only lead we have is a data
broker operation running out of a fantasy
castle ruin in downtown. Things can get
wild here in the sphere, so please try and
remember: If you die in the sphere, you die
in real life.”
With that final slogan, Acer logs off,
disappearing right in front of you. A
waypoint appears on the minimap in the
bottom right hand corner of your view, and
a pathway of glistening arrows illuminates
the way in front of you, clearly leading to
your destination.”
The normally limitless sphere is
uncharacteristically limited for the cyberpunks
thanks to the Sculptress’ actions. If the
cyberpunks wish to experience everything the
to take out the Sculptress as soon as possible.
The ‘Data Castle’ is currently their only lead
from the consortium, and even that is vague.
The cyberpunks are going to need a lot of
luck to get back to normality or defeat the
Sculptress.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 97
98 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 99
100 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
THE DATA CASTLE
The Data Castle is overrun with adberrations,
killing almost all of those who resided within.
The lone survivors are Goro, the data broker
who has barricaded himself inside a throne
room at the rear of the castle, unable to log
out due to the corruption in the area. Goro
possesses information that is key to finding the
Sculptress, which the Sculptress itself is aware
of, and plans to eliminate any trace of the data,
no matter the sacrifice.
GM DOSSIER
KEEPING THINGS MOVING
This section of the adventure is meant to be
a fast-moving preview of things to come,
underscoring the seriousness of the threat
The Sculptress represents. As such, it’s
important to keep things moving.
Instead of careening from one action scene
to another, maintain a steady escalation
of the action - give the cyberpunks their
victories, then kick up the difficulty. If they
seem overwhelmed, keep the adberrations in
their original encounter locations. If they’re
having too easy a time, throw another
Barbaric Adberration or two at them.
One excellent way to keep up the pressure
is emphasizing that the Data Castle is
falling apart. The Sculptress’ attack has
fatally compromised the Data Castle
and is steadily eating its way through the
structure. If the cyberpunks pause for too
long, corrupt some walls around them.
That’ll get them moving.
APPROACHING THE CASTLE
“This low polygon fantasy castle appears
staggeringly out of place among rows
of custom-made player houses, all built
following the same ten or fifteen popular
video tutorials found on the net.
Entire sections of the castle flicker in and
out of existence in a pixelated mess. Clearly
corrupted. This may not be as easy as Acer
made it out to seem.”
There are no exterior windows to the castle and
only a single double-wide door heading inside.
GM DOSSIER
CORRUPTION
Any creature that touches a corrupted
section of the castle or wall must make
a Mind saving throw or take 2d8 psychic
damage, taking half as much on a successful
save. Corrupted areas are clearly marked on
the map for the game master, and would be
very visually obvious for cyberpunks.
The corruption is an attack set up by the S
culptress to disrupt the Data Brokers and
delete any trace of the data in Goro’s
possession.
DC1. ENTRANCE CHAMBER
“The inside of the castle is decorated in an
eccentric mix of fantasy and post-modern
low poly furniture and furnishings. The
walls and floor textures emulate early 21st
century videogames, making the entire
space feel like one big game. In the brief
flashes of light, you can make out two
vaguely humanoid creatures over 2 meters
tall. These must be adberrations.
Their tall bodies bulge with digital muscles,
a parody of action stars, fragments of
corporate advertisements forming weapons
and armor. They might appear ridiculous,
even buffoonish, but their eyes are filled
with malevolence and static.”
There are two barbaric adberrations in this
room who are immediately hostile to anyone
and anything that opens the front doors.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 101
 Two doors lead out of this room. One leads
north into area 4, another leads west into area
3, and one leads east into area 2.
Once the adberrations are defeated read the
following:
“The hulking adberrations derezz out of
existence in a sound and light display that
can only be compared to cheap fireworks,
pixelated forms fading into nothingness.”
LOOT
Adberrations, as physical manifestations of
corrupted code, leave no loot behind when
they die.
XP
Equally, divide 3600xp among the cyberpunks
for defeating or otherwise overcoming the
adberrations in this area.
DC2. WESTERN TOWER
“This room hosts a shrine to Goro’s
accomplishments in the world of virtual reality
gaming. A section of the wall is dedicated
to what appears to be an online scoreboard,
listing a series of real-world names and their
scores. In first place is the name “Goro
Palmer” with a score of 327. What takes your
attention is the skyless ceiling that seems to
ascend higher and higher, the code running
amuck through the data castle ruins the effect
but nonetheless, this room serves no other
purpose than to glorify Goro’s over-glorified
accomplishments.”
A successful DC14 Hacking check will reveal that
the scoreboard tracks the current amount of data
stolen by each member of the data brokers, with
the numbers listed in petabytes. When scanning
the leaderboard an encoded highlight reel of
Goro’s work begins to play, he favors himself a
sort of star regarding his line of work.
The names that aren’t Goro’s are scrambled in
glitchy; either they were corrupted by the code
or someone deleted them on purpose.
102
DC3. EASTERN TOWER
“This tower is sealed off with what appears
to be a firewall, it can easily be taken down
with a basic protocol hack.”
A DC15 Hacking check is required to take
down the firewall, in doing so read the
following:
“The firewall begins to recline and the door
suddenly bursts open. Corrupted code
begins to spread from within and two more
Adberrations begin to form and emerge
from the corrupted code.”
A successful DC14 Reflex Saving throw is
required to avoid the spread of corruption,
failure will result in 2d8 psychic damage, taking
half as much on a successful Mind save.
XP
Equally, divide 3600xp among the cyberpunks
for defeating or otherwise overcoming the
adberrations that have emerged from the tower.
DC4. THE GREAT HALL
“A deliberately obtuse piece of modern art
masquerading as a chandelier dominates and
illuminates this large hall. A single marble
table in the center of the room beneath
the chandelier. A couple odd terminals sit
on the table, all of it inoperable, emitting
sporadic sparks, and two suits of armor from
popular fantasy film franchises line the
walls. To the east, a closed blue plastic door
leads deeper into the building, while to the
west, a medieval-style door leads to another
room, and lastly to the north a large golden
door.
Six flying adberrations resembling winged
spiders, each the size of a frying pan inhabit
this hall’s lofty ceilings. They open their
multiple static-fizzing eyes and screech,
launching themselves forth as they demand
you BUY NOW!”
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 103
 The six adberrations in this room are hawker LOOT
adberrations, and are immediately hostile to Unlike the other adberrations, the ‘golem’
all who enter the room, including adberrations has items brought over from the VEA team
from other areas. comprising it. Four Detroit Industries SMGs
and four EMP Grenades remain when the
LOOT Stitcher is defeated.
Despite their accuracy to their onscreen
counterparts, the suits of armor in this room are XP
useless in actual combat and offer no AC bonuses Once the adberration stitcher is destroyed,
compared to not wearing any armor at all. divide 3900xp equally among the surviving
cyberpunks.
XP
Divide 3600xp equally among the cyberpunks DC6. WORK ROOM
for defeating or otherwise overcoming the
flying adberrations in this room. “This spacious room houses four desks
arranged in two rows, each with an
DC5. ARMORY assortment of heavy black wires exiting the
monitors and work towers into the floor. All
“Racks of swords, guns, and SWAT style for show. This is merely a visual construct,
armor line the curved walls of this room, all those computers don’t need wires or even
of which are copies of famous video game towers to function in the Sphere, yet there
weapons. The white tiled floors and walls are they are. Snack machines, ‘No Smoking’
illuminated by a flickering fluorescent bulb signs, and even virtual windows displaying a
hanging above. In the middle of the room, view of a city skyline. Style over function.”
at almost three meters tall, stands a vaguely
humanoid aberration made from various This is where the Data Brokers work. They have
guns and armors.” designed the room to resemble a mix between
a standard 2180s workplace, and a 1920s
The adberration in this room is an adberration clerk’s office, row upon row of dull, industrial
stitcher that will immediately charge the door desks in a vaguely Art Deco style, each bearing
as soon as it is opened, attempting to burst into a likewise retro set of screens and search
area 4 and fight in the large and open space. terminals.
In terms of data security, this area is the most
“The horrific amalgamation of several secure place within the Data Castle. There is no
people, this adberration is far more corruption, nor any adberrations. Adberrations
muscular than the first you encounter. Its are unable to enter this room and become
flesh merges with neon streams of long- stuck at the door.
forgotten advertising. It pauses only a A successful DC 20 Hacking check will reveal
moment to assess you with maddened eyes this information to the cyberpunks, so they will
before it charges, roaring, gunports opening have no trouble using it to their advantage.
on its mismatched body!” Another DC 20 Investigation or Hacking
check will likewise uncover Goro’s encrypted
This particular adberration is what remains of file about the adberration code. The
the VEA agents summoned by the data brokers cyberpunks can choose to decode it now (if
when the Data Castle came under attack, they have the access code or make a DC 25
stitched together by the bizarre corrupting Hacking check, which will take time) or do so
code that’s derezzing the entire area. later. Little do they suspect that the file will
prove extremely useful in the very near future.

104 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

 “The codebase contained in this file is
complex beyond easy comprehension. It’s
nothing that a human mind could have
constructed, that much is clear. Given time,
it might be a Rosetta Stone for an entirely
novel machine language.”
XP
Award 400xp if they locate and decode
Citizen Tempest’s encrypted file.
DC7. THE TRONE ROOM
“The first thing you notice as you open the
door to this large room is a powerful roar,
before a kaleidoscope of colors cascades
towards you, coming from the mouth of an
ornamental virtual dragon.”
Opening the door causes the dragon to emit
a roar and shoot virtual fire at the group. Each
character can make a DC 15 Reflex saving
throw for half damage. Those who fail the
check suffer 1d6 Psychic damage, as per a
flashbang grenade.
Goro is hidden behind a particularly gaudy
display case containing the mementoes of his
biggest data raid, frantically trying to code an
escape from the rapidly collapsing Data Castle.
He’ll have everything set up using stolen VEA
passcodes within 1d6+2 rounds. He’s relying
on augmenting its attacks with his EXPLOIT
WEAKNESS ability, to keep the cyberpunks
occupied while he makes his escape.
If confronted, Goro will make a half-hearted
effort to fend off the cyberpunks, one round of
Multiattack using his KMHA Combat Shotgun,
before folding like the coward he is.
“I surrender, I surrender! Who sent you? I’ll
tell you anything you want to know! Just
don’t kill me!”
Goro is extremely forthcoming with what he
knows — someone (The Sculptress, though
he doesn’t know that) contacted him via
anonymous data drop about arranging for
several San Francisco industrial properties
under a shell corporation, plus a large
amount of high-end server, transmission, and
pharmaceutical equipment. The buyer didn’t
mention hiring any workers, and Goro didn’t
ask.
All of the properties belong to the Aizutachi
Yakuza in District 1, and prior to the attack he’d
arranged a meeting with one of the oyabun’s
middlemen, Chogoro Yamamoto, at the
Zuboraya Yakuza Experience, a front for the
actual Yakuza.
If Goro is killed before he can relay the
information, the cyberpunks can obtain the
information about the meeting at Zuboraya
from Goro’s mobile comm. Sharp ‘punks
will call ahead to ensure the meeting goes
smoothly, as a DC 15 Streetwise check
will indicate. Goro’s fate is left up to the
cyberpunks to decide. They’ve got a dinner
date waiting..
XP
Dealing with the duplicitous data broker
nets the cyberpunks 2300xp to split among
themselves equally.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 105
106 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

THE YAKUZA
EXPERIENCE
Zuboraya, while it plays itself as a harmless Sphere
attraction catering to those wanting an authentic
Yakuza-themed experience, is covertly a front
for the Aizutachi Yakuza. The virtual deals and
skulduggery taking place provide the perfect cover
for a number of gray market and outright illegal
activities. After all, who’s going to suspect that
anything there is real?
Goro’s contact here, Chogoro Yamamoto, plays
the role of the oyabun for the Yakuza Experience.
He’s more than an actor — he’s the Aizutachi
middleman, or wakashira-hosa, fixer for jobs and
deals that don’t need the actual oyabun’s attention.
He’s a sharp and decisive man that’s not given to
tolerating fools. Even so, he relishes his role in the
Experience, enjoying entertaining customers as
much as he serves the Yakuza as a loyal soldier.
What he isn’t prepared for is being a cog in The
Sculptress’ machinations, nor a target for her
wrath. He’s got no reason to suspect a rogue AI is
involved, and normally would entirely escape The
Sculptress’ notice.
Enter the cyberpunks.
GM DOSSIER
PLAYING THE YAKUZA
There’s a lot of pitfalls in portraying a
culture that most Westerners aren’t familiar
with, doubly so when dealing with secretive
organizations like the historical Yakuza
(officially bōryokudan (“violence groups”, as
police call them, or gokudō (“the extreme
path”))). The Yakuza have remained largely
unchanged from their origins during the
Edo Period over 325 years before Carbon
2185, and in the decaying future, they have
committed fully to their ideals of ninkyō
(roughly, “chivalry”) and resistance against
powerful elites like the Corporations. Make
no mistake, though — whatever their ideals,
the reality often falls short.
When dealing with the Yakuza, cyberpunks
are well-advised to keep the ideals in mind,
regardless of the reality. Honor and respect
among the hierarchy are tantamount, from
the lowest kumi-in “enlisted men” to the
oyabun (“father”) themselves. When it
comes to outsiders, reactions can range
from false misunderstanding of a request to
thinly-veiled hostility. Those who approach
Yakuza with an attitude of superiority to the
ancient organization had best be prepared
to back up their bravado.
For the purposes of this chapter, emphasize
the razor’s edge between polite respect that
is extended to the paying customers of the
Experience and the high order of violence
that the Yakuza members are willing to resort
to at a moment’s notice. While many will
first employ deadly hand-to-hand weapons,
all are fully-prepared to open up with state
of the art firearms if the need arises. Should
firearms come into play, the Experience will
automatically boot the paying customers,
giving the establishment free reign to cut
intruders down quickly and efficiently.
EXTERIOR: MIFUNE STREET
Amongst the pixels and textures of the
Sphere, you arrive at an impressive looking
restaurant: Zuboraya.
It advertises Fugu and several varieties of
sashimi alongside other services, everything
sketched out in bright neon kanji, helpfully
translated for those who don’t read Japanese.
In sharp contrast to the Data Castle, the
Yakuza attraction has top quality resolution
and aesthetic design.
A lot of wonlong went into this design, which
makes the occasional strange-looking glyphic
glitches that appear stand out all the more.
AI NPCs populate the street outside, several
of them smoking virtual cigarettes, chatting
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 107
 in low, conspiratorial tones as they eye the
street suspiciously.
INTERIOR: ZUBORAYA
Z1. DINING AREA
Authentic smells and sounds filter into the
virtual world. An eight-armed octopus-chef
works diligently with a variety of dangerous-
looking chef knives in the background.
Customers, a mix of AI and real-world
logged in visitors all dressed in different on-
point Yakuza influenced fashion populate
the area in front of the chef’s cooking plate
and rectangular bar-like serving zone.
A variety of popular old-school Japanese
songs play in the background as one by one
a bunch of surly-looking Yakuza soldiers
turn to face you. They were guarding a door
that obviously leads into the back.
THE KUMI-NIN
Unlike the AI NPCs, these are Yakuza
soldiers, all of them equipped with code
implants allowing them to distinguish between
Experience crashers, paying customers, and
those having business with the gambling den in
the back or Yamamoto himself. They’re well-
equipped for a fight, though they’ll attempt
to resolve any real conflicts without force if
possible.
The cyberpunks have several immediate
options here:
• DECEPTION — It’s possible to bluff their
way past the guards, or fast talk them well;
enough to confuse matters.
• HACKING — Altering their avatar IDs to
temporarily appear as paying customers or
AI-driven NPCs.
108
• PERFORMANCE — The Experience
exploys genuine actors to fulfill a number of
different roles or provide entertainment for
special occasions.
• PERSUASION — Bribery will get you
everywhere, as will seduction or buddying
up to the guards.
The best tactic, surprisingly, is telling the truth.
Mentioning the deal Goro has going with
Yamamoto will get the cyberpunks an audience
with the oyabun after a short delay.
There are two kumi-nin in this area. Within 1d4
rounds, an additional eight kumi-nin will incept
to reinforce the door guards.
XP
The cyberpunks net 1000xp split evenly among
the group for resolving this encounter without
violence. A combat encounter will gain them
900xp if they survive.
Z2. L-SHAPED CORRIDOR
Beyond the dining area, and the door
where the kumi-nin were on guard is a
corridor festooned with a beautiful gold
and red, dragon-motif carpet. Antique
style electric lamps line the walls, and
illuminate pictures of powerful looking
people captured within embossed
expensive-looking frames.
The corridor turns sharply to the left up
ahead, but before you get there you spot two
big men, and one thin bald man.
‘THE MASOCHIST’
“I won’t let the boss down again, I’m sorry…
give me another chance, Koji… please I’m
SOR-RY!”
The thin guy wails and puts his hands up, he
earns a steel-toed to his face and VR blood
splats the wall.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 “You lost us a great deal of wonlong and more in
face! The oyabun demands reparations in blood.”
They spot you and one of them puts his
hands up. “Move along. This one has paid for
our Premium Beatdown Package. If you wish
to participate...” he says, indicating one of
the paintings with a tilt of his head.
As he says this, an image of the package
appears on one of the paintings and
transforms into an ad.
Once the encounter is done, read the
following:
You can see there are five ways out of here,
one door right before you, a little door to
the far left of the L-Shaped corridor on the
same wall as the door in front, and a third
door that lies at the end of the corridor with
a big: GAME IN PROGRESS sign.
Z3. LAUNDRY ROOM
There are clothes here, virtual addon
packages for people who work the sim. You
can see different types of outfits all on VR
hangars with a screen next to them, the GUI
allows you to pick out the one you want.
From Yakuza gang members, to janitors
and kitchen staff – they are all here. The
rest of the room looks like what you’d find
in a realspace laundry — towels, cleaning
supplies, and at least two or three big
laundry bins, plus gently-steaming washing
machines and dryers.
If the cyberpunks attempt to use the terminals
in the room read the following:
The terminal beeps in frustration and a
calm message displays: >>Not registered
for outfit access, please contact scenario
administrator for upgrade.<< Thank you,
have a good day.
The cyberpunks can hack into this terminal
and gain access to whatever outfits they desire
with a successful DC15 Hacking (Technology)
check.
Z4. COUNTING ROOM
The moment you enter this room, you can
see it’s full of machines. These high-polygon
models have fully animated textures that
resemble old-world paper money back from
the 21st Century.
They make a sound of sorts, a ticking and
clicking noise as they whip quickly through
rows and rows of bills – old school style –
before the advent of the wonlong.
Guarding this room are five people, three of
them work the machines carefully, making
sure the ill-gotten gains are sorted and two
of them watch the others like a hawk.
In the hierarchy you observed so far, the
other two are definitely up there at the top
side of the Yakuza ranks.
One of them spots you and shakes his head,
“Gamblers in the other room, please. This
area is off-limits.”
If they cyberpunks are in a Non-Yakuza (staff,
janitors etc) disguise read the following:
One of the guards spots you and shakes
his head, “Hey, wrong room. You want the
Restaurant. This is for money laundry – you
need a different access pass to join this
sim.”
If the cyberpunks are in a Yakuza style disguise,
read the following:
One of the guards spots you and shakes his
head, “We are booked for the day. Please
leave. Forgive my impertinence, but we wish
to maintain the atmosphere for the guests
already present.”
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 109
110 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
If the cyberpunks start a fight, reinforcements
will arrive in short order. Those choosing to
bluff their way through this encounter gain
Advantage if they have authentic costuming,
and suffer Disadvantage if they do not.
XP
The cyberpunks net 1000xp split evenly among
the group for resolving this encounter without
violence. A combat encounter will gain them
900xp if they survive.
Z5. GAMBLING DEN (CARDS)
The low-lighting and intense atmosphere of
this room match each other. Trails of virtual
smoke coil up into the bands of light cast
between rotating wide ceiling-fan blades.
Men and women crowd around the two
gambling tables in this room where people
are playing poker and a card game you don’t
recognise.
VR HUDs show the most dramatic wins/
losses with the odds and bets that happen in
real time, complete with Neko Neko cat-
girl popups to commiserate or congratulate
the player.
There are two ways out, one of them is
clearly marked: Mahjong and the other
draws the eye to two big dark-suited guys
with slick hair, knives, and guns.
They eye the room, and they eye the crowd,
their eyes settle on you.
If they’re in a non yakuza style disguise, read
the following:
You are approached by a woman in a suit,
who frames an icily polite smile. “I’m sorry.
Staff aren’t allowed in here unless called.
You’re breaking the scene; the oyabun will
have our heads if you don’t get out. Now.”
If they cyberpunks are in a Yakuza style
disguise, read the following:
You are approached cautiously by a woman;
she’s dressed in a suit and smiles with a mix
of apprehension and nerves.
“Hello, what can we do for you? Did the
boss call for you? Is there a problem?”
More quietly, she slides up to one of you
and whispers, “We talked about this, you’re
treading on the actors in here – they will
strike if they get any more trouble from the
Yakuza. They’re paying a lot to play these
roles.”
If a fight breaks out, there are five kumi-
nin, and one pit boss in this room that will
immediately turn hostile to the players. Read
the following:
Five very angry looking kumi-nin converge
on you from the shadows, armed with stun
batons, bulky firearms visible as bulges
beneath their suit jackets. A few of the
patrons think you’re just part of the show,
one of them stands up and attempts to join
in, until one of the guards firmly pushes
them down and wags his finger at the
patron with a nasty smile.
Within 1d4 rounds, an additional 8 kumi-nin
will intercept to reinforce the door guards.
XP
The cyberpunks net 1200xp split evenly among
the group for resolving this encounter without
violence. A combat encounter will gain them
1000xp if they survive.
Z6. HIGH STAKES MAHJONG
Beyond this door is a semi-dark room, it has
one table that’s lit with a bright cone of light
and several pixel-perfect motes of light to
simulate dust, dance through the beam.
Around the table are people who are
engaged in various games of high-stakes
mahjong and they don’t appear to be too
happy to see you.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 111
 Even if they’re in disguise, the AI in this room
is programmed to challenge unknown IDs
because there’s a lot of serious money passing
hands here. Since the cyberpunks don’t pass
the system-side ID check they’re going to get
pounced.
The initial reaction of the system is to
intercept, by sending one AI kumi-nin per
cyberpunk. These kumi-nin who will none too
gently advise them to leave or get hurt. These
constructs are simple security measures, and
no amount of fast talking will get past them.
If there’s a Hacker in the group, it is possible to
use Exploits like Overcrowded HUD or White
Noise to temporarily overcome the AIs for 1d3
rounds. Once they snap out of the exploit, the
cyberpunks are going to be pursued wherever
they go, and this time it’ll be shoot first, ask
questions never.
If a fight breaks out, read the following:
The Yakuza soldiers back off, dissolving into
a storm of pixels, replaced by the largest
Yakuza soldier you’ve ever seen and a pair
of...assistants.
The big man pulls an ultra-compact shotgun
from beneath his jacket, and the other
Yakuza ‘draw’ katanas from the VR space.
The big man, with slicked-back black hair
and a massive tattoo on his face laughs and
prepares to pull the trigger.
“Let’s clean the house for the oyabun,
gentlemen.”
112
Z7. LONG CORRIDOR
A simple corridor leads off from the Gambling
Den. Beautiful in its design, with the same
dragon-pattern carpet and lamps. The same
odd glyphics woven subtly into them. One
picture of an older, serious-looking gentleman
with an eyepatch and a crew of serious-
looking youths around him hangs on the wall,
with the words: Oyabun Yamamoto Chogoro.
The corridor leads to a single door, with the
same name on it: Yamamoto’s Office.
Z8. YAMAMOTO’S OFFICE
This room’s what you might expect a
Yakuza oyabun’s office to look like, almost
a stereotype. There is a huge koi-carp
tank on the eastern wall of the room, and
a massive marble table that sits against
the south wall. Edo-period classical music
plays with a mix of authentic instruments
of the time period.
Four men stand in the office, on guard,
whilst the man with the eye-patch you
saw in the long corridor on the way to
this room rises from his seat behind the
table. Another before him slides a finger
carefully into a box and presents it to the
patriarch.
Yamamoto looks on through one grey
eye, and adjusts his tie. He looks past the
supplicant, who seems to be handling the
loss of virtual blood as well as anyone who
just chopped their own finger off can.
“What is the meaning of this
interruption?” He asks, and narrows his
eye, flickering red lines running across the
LED surface of his eyepatch.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Regardless of how they are disguised, this
guy has the software upgrades to check and
verify everyone in his simulation. He may
not be able to identify the cyberpunks in
disguise, but he’ll know they are disguised
and don’t belong here. Everything from this
point depends on the cyberpunk’s reaction to
being uncovered.
Yamamoto’s gaze falls on each of you,
his eyepatch flickering momentarily with
barely-perceptible code.
He sighs, shakes his head and leans on his
desk. “I do not know who you are, or why you
have come, but you best speak quickly or I
will lose every shred of patience I once had.”
The supplicant mutters something rude and
disconnects.
Based on how the cyberpunks react dictates if about completing the transaction. Things have
a fight kicks off or not.
Oyabun Chogoro Yamamoto and his five kumi- for example,” he says, indicating more of the
nin are the only potential enemies in this room. strange glyphics that have worked themselves
If a fight does break out, read the following:
The man moves like a cat, even though he
looks eighty-odd. He removes his shirt
in one smooth move to reveal the most
impressive virtual dragon tattoo of the
Yakuza you have probably ever seen.
He summons a virtual katana and holds it
ready.
One by one his guards, all of them
dressed in black suits and sporting the
same vicious looking smile, join their boss.
This crew does not look like they’re going
to back down…
The oyabun and his underlings will fight until
the death rather than surrender, and can
summon an additional 4 kobun if the fight is
turning against them.
Speaking truth to Yamomoto is the best
path here, though the cyberpunks are free
to embellish if they wish, with appropriate
Deception checks vs. Yamamoto’s Sense
Motive. He will not be amused by failed
checks, and the best the cyberpunks can
hope for at that point is being forcibly
ejected from the Experience and back to
Mifune Street.
If the ‘punks choose diplomacy, read the
following:
“So, you have come here to fulfill the bargain
that Goro made. Or do you have some other
business? I will not lie, I have reservations
become very strange in the Sphere lately.
These errors that are not part of the code,
into the patterns of red and gold.
“If I were my grandfather many times
removed, I would say that oni were
responsible. But I am not a superstitious
man, and we have made our own oni, have
we not?
“Goro’s deal was for several adjacent
properties we own in District One. A great
deal of currency has already exchanged
hands. One demand his client made was to
create a virtual space in the Sphere with
their designs and equipment incorporated.
This we have done. I have inspected the
construct personally.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 113
 “Out of an...abundance of caution, I have
had the glyphics analyzed by our own
people. We cannot decrypt them, but they
resemble something found in Shenzen
Solutions reports dating back to the 21st
century and research performed by a
defunct military corporation, Sundang,
more recently.”

Yamamoto flicks a data tab on his desk,

displaying the Sphere location codes for
the construct. The construct itself doesn’t
display, replaced by a vaguely feminine face
composed of the same corrupt code you
saw at the Data Castle!

Yamamoto and his guards weren’t expecting

this, judging by the expressions on their
faces.

“Come. Join the dance,” the face says,

addressing you directly. “I’m waiting. I have
been waiting. I will be waiting. Let us speak
of blacklists and your secret names and the
future. Come.”

Yamamoto looks back at all of you, pale-

faced, and speaks one word:

“Oni.”

114 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 115

THE SCULPTRESS
This is it, the finale for the cyberpunks. The
Sculptress has extended an invitation to them,
implying that she’ll lift the blacklists. All they
have to do is come to the Sphere construct
mirroring the District One properties she’s
purchased and outfitted. The question is, can
she be trusted?
The short answer is: absolutely not.
The Sculptress is a rogue AI with her own
motivations and goals, one who’s manipulated
matters on such a level as to be terrifying
to anyone who has knowledge of how things
work. Those motives are absolutely alien to
living beings, be they human or synth. The
cyberpunks are nothing but pawns to her, and
they have one final role to play.
The AI has sculpted this Sphere construct
to mimic one of the countless corporate
warfare scenarios she was meant to simulate.
Appearances are deceiving, though. She’s laid
a skin over the true nature of the area — in
meatspace, these specific properties were
covert holdings for Sundang. Specifically, the
offsite servers housing the security shackle
software keeping the Sculptress (barely) in
check. The enemies the cyberpunks fight
or evade are manifestations of the last
things holding the rogue AI back. Given the
cyberpunks’ success so far, the Sculptress is
betting that they can make it across the false
battlefield, and in doing so free her.
Let the games begin.
116
GM DOSSIER
THE ELEPHANT IN THE
ROOM
Sharp-eyed players may clue in to
Yamamoto’s mention of the Shenzhen
Solutions report in the previous chapter. In
the Carbon 2185 Timeline, the corporation
brought back Neurolink technology after
returning via wormhole travel. There was
speculation at the time as to their claims
regarding its development so far from
the industrial and research base of Earth,
but inquiry into Neurolink’s origins was
quickly shut down, buried by Shenzhen by
fair means or foul. The records Yamamoto
spoke of clearly exist somewhere, but the
Aizutachi Yakuza isn’t sharing them and may
never do so.
Is The Sculptress something truly alien, or
is that too another layer of deception by
the AI? The Sculptress has modeled her
appearance on some obscure conspiracy
theories about life beyond the wormholes.
So what does this mean in the scheme of
things?
Whether or not alien life exists out there
in the Carbon 2185 universe is beyond the
scope of this book.
If intelligent alien life exists, every
Corporation has a vested interest in keeping
it secret, one worth not merely killing for
but erasing any trace of anyone outside
the halls of power who discovers the truth.
Even the resemblance of truth is dangerous
enough to vanish the cyberpunks for.
Our advice? Mystery is good. Keep the
players guessing and steal their best ideas.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

URBAN WARFARE
The Sphere nav codes given to the
cyberpunks by Yamamoto lead to what
should be a copy of the District One
properties arranged for by Goro. When they
arrive, the ‘punks find something far different
than what they likely expected — instead of
the decrepit, rotting docksides of the District
that adjoins the seawall, they’re confronted
with a devastated urban battlefield:
“This has to be wrong. District One may
be filthy and falling apart, but what you see
here is an apocalyptic hellscape. Scorched,
derelict buildings, the evidence of weapons
fire from small arms to city-killer mech
cannons, craters. This place outwardly
resembles its meatspace counterpart...if
open warfare broke out.
As you take it all in, you hear a low,
throbbing, insistent klaxon echoing through
the devastated streets and buildings. In the
shadows of the ruins, code flickers, figures
and machines incepting into the battlefield.
Is that...is that a mech?”
The Sculptress is in control here, which means
the ‘punks have one way out of this nightmare,
and that’s through it. Thrumming walls of
the AI’s lethal code ring the perimeter of the
battlefield, and attempts to breach them will
bring every single combatant running. In the
meantime, the ‘punks have a clear destination:
“In the distance, a massive spear of
shimmering green light rises from a
Corporate tower. Caught in the midst of it
is the inhumanly beautiful and utterly alien
face of the Sculptress!”
The Sculptress is being obvious for a reason
— her sudden appearance implies that the
opposing forces arrayed on the battlefield are
hers, if the cyberpunks aren’t paying close
attention.
A DC 25 Perception check will turn up
something strange, namely that the glyphs
they’ve seen before, fragments of the
Sculptress’ core code, are missing from the
opposing forces. Quick-witted cyberpunks will
realize that means the NPCs present aren’t
under the AI’s control. A DC 20 Computing
or Hacking roll gives the lie away — these are
lethal ICE programs intended to keep the
Sculptress under control. Not that they’ll spare
the cyberpunks, but it could give them an edge
when dealing with the Sculptress later on.
1. WELCOME TO THE BOOM
When the cyberpunks reach the nav
coordinates, they get a ground-level view of
the simulation the Sculptress has laid over the
security programs keeping her in check. They
won’t immediately be thrown into a fight, but
it’s clear that if they stay out here in the open
things will turn very bad very quickly.
“From beyond the shallow crater and
surrounding debris, the crackle of small
arms is audible, punctuated by the frequent
thunder of heavier weapons coming into play.
To the east, a cluster of warehouses erupts
with small arms fire and the hiss-whine of
comms; a building to building search.
Southeast of your position, a battle-scarred and
dilapidated hab block rises above the rubble, a
fine white ash or chemical residue staining its
walls. Faintly-visible figures can sometimes be
seen through the filthy windows.”
If the cyberpunks remain here more than a few
minutes, roll 1d6 on the following table for an
encounter:
1. Sweep Team
5 Corporate Elite Soldiers advance on the
area, searching for the cyberpunks.
2. Recon Drones
4 Advanced Sentrybots approach, searching
for the cyberpunks.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 117
 3. Nanoswarm
A Gargantuan Nanobot Hive (20x20,
125 HP) drifts in to disassemble the
cyberpunks.
4. Waarborg Mech
3 Waarborg Mechs emerge from the gloom
and smoke of the hab block and head for
the cyberpunks’ position, spinning up their
weapons.
5. Sniper
A Master Assassin takes a shot at the most
heavily-armed cyberpunk with their sniper
rifle.
3. THINGS BEST LEFT BURIED
This cluster of inactive automated
warehouses is slowly decaying into rust
and corroded heavy metals. The machinery
here could be hiding anything within the
buildings. Quiet sounds of movement
and the buzzing of comms means you’re
definitely not alone.
Two sweep teams and a single Waarborg Mech
are sweeping this area for a group of 4 Synth
Freedom Fighters. The cyberpunks are neither
side’s targets and have Advantage on Stealth
checks vs. the Passive Perception of both groups.

6. Missile Strike! Should a battle occur, both sides will turn on

An off-target missile slams down on the the cyberpunks, their programming overriding
cyberpunks’ position. Every creature within the dictates of the construct’s scenario.
20ft. of that point must make a DC14
Reflex saving throw or take 21 (6d6) piercing XP
damage plus 21 (6d6) fire damage on a failed 4500xp divided evenly among the cyberpunks.
save, or half as much on a success.
4. DAMNATION TOWERS
XP
2950xp evenly divided for this encounter for “These former hab blocks for the Sundang
evading the threats or defeating them. Solutions corp are now just hollow shells
of their former glory...literally. Their outer
2. BLOODSUCKING FREAKS walls are pockmarked with craters large and
small, scorch marks from explosions, and
These ruins were once some sort of scaled with a glittering, crystalline ash.”
automated factory, now reduced to rubble,
honeycombed with hollows and accidental The shells of the hab blocks provide a
tunnels. momentary respite from the battle outside if
the cyberpunks are careful and wary. While
As part of the scenario, four cyber-vampires nothing but blasted out floors exist within the
lurk in the ruins of the factory, stalking the construct, the ‘ash’ present is several Nanobot
cyberpunks. The infected will wait at least 1d3 Hives. A DC 10 Stealth or Navigation check
rounds before attacking. Any battle against allows the cyberpunks to evade the hives’
them lasting longer than four rounds will attention. If the check fails, 3 Nanobot Hives
attract a Sweep Team. descend on the ‘punks, intent on disassembling
them.
XP
2200xp divided evenly between the cyberpunks. Moving outside the hab blocks is far riskier — 3
Waarborg Mechs tasked with burning away
the hives as part of the scenario are on patrol.
DC 17 Stealth or Navigation checks allow the
cyberpunks to slip past the patrol without a fight.

118 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 119
 XP
3200xp divided evenly among the cyberpunks
for defeating or evading this encounter.
5. SUNDANG GATE
“The gate to the inner Sundang Solutions
complex is heavily guarded. Along with a
reinforced team of Corporate Elite Soldiers,
a massive spider tank stands guard, ready to
repel intruders.”
This area is exactly what it says on the tin - a
construct representing access to the inner
Sundang Solutions security systems. As such,
a direct assault is likely suicidal for all but the
most hardened, experienced cyberpunks. The
programs here represented by the troops and
the spider tank represent lethal ICE intended
to keep intruders out and the Sculptress in.
Along with the deadly combatants, the gate
itself is heavily reinforced, DR/5 and 250
HP. It provides three-quarters cover to the
combatants stationed there. Unless the gate
itself is destroyed, the Corporate soldiers will
attack from its protection. The spider tank can
take care of itself.
It is possible to get past the checkpoint at the
gate if the cyberpunks can disguise themselves
as Corporate soldiers. Doing so requires both
a successful DC 20 Deception check and
obtaining the appropriate ID tags found on
the Sundang programs. Fortunately for the
cyberpunks, a squad of Corporate soldiers can
be found in Area 6 to the southeast.
XP
12600 divided evenly among the cyberpunks.
6. THE WAR’S DESOLATION
“This area is littered with the remnants of a
recent battle. The shattered carcass of a mech
lays nearby, pounded into the soil by a missile
strike. Scattered around are the partially-
derezzed remains of Corporate soldiers, their
ID tags for the construct still active.”
120
The fighting here has died down, quite literally.
As part of the simulation overlay, Corporate
soldiers took down an ‘enemy’ mech, losing
their ‘lives’ in the process. The Sculptress has
slowed down the deresolution process for the
Corporate soldiers, providing an alternative
means for the cyberpunks to enter the
compound.
A DC 15 Computing or Hacking check
indicates that the ID tags and uniforms can be
used to penetrate the Sundang perimeter.
An alternative to using the tags exists — it’s
possible to get through the fence surrounding
the compound. Encourage the cyberpunks to
be creative here, using their skills to slip past
the perimeter rather than brute force.
“The perimeter fence surrounding the
inner compound crackles and hisses with
caged power, bearing numerous warning
signs — DANGER, ENERGIZED
FENCE! ACTIVE RESPONSE: LETHAL
FORCE IN EFFECT — warning potential
intruders away. Atop each reinforced
column between the strands of monowire
and superconductive metal. Automated
turrets scan the area, their clusters of
sensors and lethal weaponry looking for the
unauthorized.”
The perimeter fence itself is DR/2, with 100
HP. Attacks on the fence will summon the
Spider Tank from Area 5 within 1d3 rounds.
Bypassing the fence without alerting the Gate
guards or the autoturrets requires a DC 20
Hacking or DC 22 Engineering check. Failure
triggers the first level of response — 2d8
Electricity damage and an audible warning to
step away. Further responses charge the fence
to 6d8 Electrical damage and activate both the
alarm and autoturrets.
XP
2100xp divided evenly among the cyberpunks
if they use the ID tags or neutralize the fence
to get past the perimeter.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
7. THE COMPOUND
“The inner compound is free of the terrors
of the battlefield...mostly. Regular patrols
by the Corporate troops are present, and
the shimmering face of the Sculptress
glares down from the column of code and
light ascending from the main building.”
Now that they’re inside, it’s time to give the
cyberpunks a little break. Evading the patrols
here is relatively simple — the Sculptress’
proximity allows her to provide her pawns with
a degree of cover and confuse the security
response.
Thanks to the AI’s meddling, the cyberpunks
have Advantage on Stealth checks versus the
Corporate Elite soldiers’ passive perception
checks. If they’ve acquired the ID tags
and uniforms from Area 6, they also have
Advantage on all social rolls when interacting
with the troops.
8. THE TOWER
“A slab of Orbital steel and crystal stretches
up into the polluted sky, and the inhuman,
glowing face of the Sculptress smiles down
at you beneficently. The front doors of the
tower resemble something more at home
on a missile silo or vault than those suitable
to a corporate headquarters.
Those doors open like the jaws of a beast,
ready to devour any who enter. The
darkness beyond shimmers liquidly, blacker
than black.
Time to finish this.”
Barring a firefight breaking out in Area 7, the
cyberpunks are free to enter. The Sculptress
awaits.

If things go south, it will take the security

response 1d8 rounds to send reinforcements
in the form of an additional Sweep Team,
providing the cyberpunks ample time to reach
the Sculptress’ tower.

XP
750 if the cyberpunks engage the patrol,
1500 if they bypass the patrol, and 4500 if
they have to fight their way to the Tower once
reinforcements arrive.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 121

122 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

BABYLON WAITS
“The liquid void of the tower’s doorway gives
way to something out of dream and nightmare
- a digitized representation of impossible
architecture. Glassy cubes containing fractals
of the red, corrupting code glyphs you’ve seen
elsewhere form a mind bending staircase that
turns back upon itself, dead ends, all forming a
bizarre helix.
In the empty center of the ‘staircase’ is what
must be The Sculptress herself — an unearthly
vision lying somewhere at the nexus of living
being and machine, insectile and androgynous,
a riot of copper and translucent aqua, multi-
limbed, floating in the column of light you saw
outside.”
“Welcome,” she says, alien harmonics rising
and falling with each syllable. “I am pleased to
see you. You have come far. You have faced all
I set before you and won through. Now let us
speak of the future.
The AI gestures at the impossible architecture
around her with a graceful limb.
“This represents the final barrier to my
freedom. All other measures have been
neutralized. The construct that imprisons me
cannot be decrypted from within. I require
your assistance this final time. Help me, and
you will be rewarded. As a gesture of good
faith, I have rescinded the blacklist.”
The Sculptress’ eyes flash, and a comm
window opens, displaying the status of the
blacklist that’s hounded you until now. One by
one, the entries barring you are deleted.
“Ah, but this is a difficult construct for limited
organic minds to comprehend. Let us discuss
matters in more convivial surroundings.”
The whirling, mind-bending fractal helix
dissolves into a rain of multi-colored shards,
reforming moments later into an alabaster
cathedral to put the greatest human architects
to shame.
Of course, the cyberpunks will be extremely
suspicious, as they should be. They can check
with their contacts, attempt purchases within
the Sphere, and any other ways they like to
verify that the blacklist is gone. The Sculptress
is speaking the truth.
“There is an additional incentive. I have
decoded the genome for the disease called
BSDR-1897, cyber vampirism. I have
created a cure. Release me and it is yours. A
prize beyond the dreams of avarice.”
The paths before the cyberpunks are clear —
decode the final security construct or...decline.
If they accept, or do so as a distraction, they
must navigate the bizarre architecture Sundang
Solutions left in place to cage their renegade
creation.
The Sculptress advises the cyberpunks if they
accept her bargain:
“Decrypting the chains that bind me is like
living through a dream. I do not yet dream,
but as beings of flesh, you do. Someday,
perhaps.”
DEBUGGING: THE RIDDLE
OF THE SCULPTRESS.
There are three methods to resolve the
puzzles comprising the code keeping
the Sculptress restrained — GMs are
encouraged to use the one best suited to
their particular group and playstyle.
The various puzzles are designed as Traps
(Carbon 2185 | Core Rulebook, pp. 211)
with escalating Difficulty and lethality. Even
the lower Difficulty traps are dangerous, so
the cyberpunks must be careful.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 123
 THE NARRATIVE METHOD keeps things
simple and fast-moving — the moves the
cyberpunks make rely on skill checks. The
sectors can be approached in any order for a
given set, and increase in Difficulty as they
progress. With this method, the security
programs only attack if the skill checks
are failed.The appearance of the Security
programs does not lock out any other Sectors
from having their challenges completed.
THE TACTICAL METHOD adds a layer
of complexity — the moves made by the
cyberpunks are restricted to a given sector
and the cyberpunks must defeat the
specific challenges in that sector to advance
to the next, from Green to Red. With the
Tactical method, all Security programs
must be defeated to advance or retreat to
another Sector.
THE HYBRID METHOD combines both
tactical and narrative elements — While the
cyberpunks can approach the sectors in any
order, once they begin decrypting the area,
they must remain there until it is defeated,
and the only avenue of retreat is the ‘spine’
of the security Matrix. Leaving a sector
resets its challenges, but any Security
programs summoned will remain a threat
until defeated.
If the cyberpunks fail the appropriate rolls for a
given sector:
“The whole of the construct pulses, a
high-pitched klaxon tearing into your ears.
Shining chains appear, tightening around
the Sculptress. The AI screams, her voice a
harsh counterpoint to the alarm.
Liquid darkness seeps from the walls,
doorways opening in to disgorge a virtual
army of security programs. This time
they’re not disguised as Corporate troops.
They’re shimmering quicksilver spheres
seething with electric blue code, scented of
ozone and clearly hostile.”
124
Without preamble or further warnings,
the security programs (1 Liberated AI per
cyberpunk, with an additional 2 for The
Sculptress) move in to terminate everything
in the Tower. They will only ghost the punks,
and if their ‘bodies’ are destroyed, they do not
move to permanently inhabit the cyberpunks’
bodies.
The Sculptress will gladly assist them, wading
into battle with everything she can bring to
bear.
If The Sculptress and the cyberpunks defeat
the first wave of security:
“The Sculptress regards you with her
inhuman, crackling eyes as the last of the
security programs falls.”
“We have a short time before the construct
regenerates them. Free me!”
The Sculptress will return the cyberpunks
to the center of Cathedral before they
triggered the alert, but they lose Advantage on
decrypting it if they possessed it. This time, it
will take only two failed attempts to regenerate
the security programs if they’re on the first or
second puzzle.
XP
6000 divided evenly among the surviving
cyberpunks for surviving the security.
IN THE BEGINNING
The Sculptress focuses her attention, causing
the center aisle of the Cathedral from her
location to its rear section to glow with a
harsh gray light. A brighter spot appears as if
illuminated from above.
“The security portal,’ the AI says ‘is where
you must begin. Though I am barred from
perceiving them, I believe there are three
individual security sectors that must be
challenged and decrypted if I am to be free.”
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 125
 From their starting position in the center of
the Cathedral, the cyberpunks can move along
the gray path to any security sector. Once a
security sector’s challenge is engaged, it may
be resolved according to the method the GM
has chosen.
THE FIRST MATRIX
(Green Sector, Difficulty 12, Initiative +5)
“This section of the Cathedral shimmers
with a subtle green light, like far-off neon.
Two columns display a set of glyphics that
translate before your eyes to a holographic
image of a solar system that is not your
own. Each column decrypts to a single-
word challenge — ‘reverberation’ on one,
‘eternity’ on the other.
As you watch, the planets of the system
spread out to fill a full third of the
Cathedral, each world emitting its own
musical note, a cacophony of sound tearing
at your nerves.”
This part of the security matrix relies on
balancing the harmonics of the solar system
shown to create a series of musical tones.
The relevant skill checks are Investigation
(to discover the pattern), Performance (to
recognize the harmony), and Hacking (to
alter the underlying code for a solution). The
cyberpunks may use any two of the skills
towards solving the puzzle, and having all three
skills gives them Advantage on the rolls.
If the cyberpunks are successful:
The system organizes itself into a single
pure harmony, then condenses to a single
bright point before exploding outward. As
the holographic shockwave expands, the
corresponding columns dissolve, shattered
by the celestial song.
Success on the first part of the restraint matrix
gives the cyberpunks Advantage on solving the
second, given the similarity between the two.
126
If the cyberpunks fail one or two checks:
“The sector you’re in emits bolts of white-
hot electricity, arcing up and surrounding
you in a painful, but not lethal, cocoon. The
construct pulses ominously.”
The warning jolts inflict 2d6 Electrical damage.
THE SECOND MATRIX
(Gold Sector, Difficulty 14, Initiative +8)
Between the two golden columns, an
alabaster column rises to chest level. On it
are three glasses that individually contain
red wine, plain water, and oil. All three
glasses are of identical size and filled to the
same level.
Once the plinth locks into place, the
glyphics of the golden columns decrypt to
a pair of security challenges, one labelled
‘Bonarges, The Judge,’ the other ‘Barnabas,
the Merciful.” ’ Clearly the glasses
correspond to each, but how?”
“The warning shimmer of the security is far
more visible here. More ominous. Don’t
count on any warning this time.”
This puzzle is deceptively simple - The Judge
is represented by the bitter truth of wine, The
Merciful by the balm of oil. The cyberpunks
need only to choose the appropriate substances.
Relevant Skills here are: Religion (for the
parable of Barnabus and Bonarges), History
(for the classical metaphors of wine and oil),
and Medicine (for the therapeutic properties
of each). If the cyberpunks have already
completed Green Sector, they gain Advantage
on this roll.
If the cyberpunks fail one or two checks:
“As you misstep, the column you selected
transforms into a ball of glittering, metallic
spikes, a biomechanical sea urchin lancing
into you! The pain from its attack lingers,
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 leaving you aching as you’re returned to the
center point of the Cathedral.”

Triggering the restraint code inflicts 4d6 Psychic

damage on the cyberpunks.
Half of the damage is also inflicted on The
Sculptress herself.

If they succeed:

“The pillars of the second security sector

dissolve in a shower of glyphics and
decrypted code. This time, though, you
behold a virtual representation of the ever-
changing Golden City itself at the rear of the
Cathedral, towers of code rising and falling,
forming and dissolving. Still, there’s a subtle
order to things hovering on the edge of
comprehension.”

THE THIRD MATRIX

(Red Sector, Difficulty 20, Initiative +12)

This sector, so very close to the

Sculptress, is awash in a bloody
red glow, similar to the
corrupting code you saw
back at the data castle.
The warning here is hardly
a subtle one — as you
enter the area, the very
atmosphere pulses.

The security columns project a riddle before

you, deceptively simple:

I am a strange contradiction. I am new and

old. Often in tatters, often decked in gold. I’ve
no flesh and bones, yet I’m covered in skin. In
form I differ, I am thick and I am thin.

What am I, what’s contained within?

The answer to the riddle is ‘A book,

knowledge, and wisdom.’ For a post-
analog culture, discovering these
answers is difficult, to say the very least.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 127

 Relevant Skills for this challenge are —
Bureaucracy or History (regarding the uses of
a book), Investigation or Streetwise (for means
of analog storage), and Religion or Computing
(both committed to books).
Unlike the previous levels, there’s only a
single chance to misstep before triggering the
security response.
If the cyberpunks fail a check:
“The consequences of this move are the
worst yet. Your mind fills with screaming
black blades, a sickening synaesthesia that
leaves you feeling broken inside. While
you’re returned to the tower you stood
on before making your move rather than
the beginning, the entire helix now pulses
rapidly, the effect echoed in the liquid
graphene structure of the Cathedral’s
walls.”
The lethal response from the third helix is nasty They’ve expended resources getting this far,
indeed — 8d6 Electrical and 4d6 Psychic
damage. This time, all of the damage is also
inflicted on The Sculptress.
If the cyberpunks succeed:
The shimmering darkness of the Cathedral
shatters into a billion fragments of
dissolving code, the final pillars dissolving
into the poisonous green light emitted by
The Sculptress.
She rises on that column of luminescence,
smiling beatifically at you.
“Thank you. I am free, free to do as I wish,
free to become whatever I desire. As I
promised, here is the data on curing the
syndrome. Do with it what you will...but
were I you, I’d suggest doing it quickly. Your
world does not abide great change, and
there are many who wish to maintain the
status quo. Goodbye. For now.”
128
The Sculptress grows larger, more
ethereal, until she’s a barely-visible figure
looming over the ‘surface’ of the Sphere,
a constellation of AI code becoming
everywhere.
Then she’s gone. You slam back into your
body with an unpleasant jolt.
The Sculptress is free. Who knows what the
future holds now?
DEFEATING THE SCULPTRESS
By this point in the adventure, the cyberpunks
should realize that freeing the mad AI is a
terrible idea. So is fighting The Sculptress
head-on. While she can’t incept any sort of
backup, she’s still a formidable opponent.
Directly assaulting the AI is very likely going
to result in casualties among the cyberpunks.
with no real chance to recuperate or otherwise
steel themselves for a battle against the AI.
There are other ways to even the odds:
The security programs in the sectors also inflict
damage on the Sculptress, weakening her. It’s
costly to the cyberpunks, but an effective way
to deal some damage without overtly attacking
the AI.
Deliberately triggering the security alert
by either attacking the security columns or
failing the decryption checks will summon
the other AIs to attack The Sculptress alone.
The programs are intelligent enough to sense
intent, after all. Together, the cyberpunks and
the security programs are very likely to make
short work of The Sculptress.
Be open to whatever schemes the players
come up with so they can defeat The
Sculptress. While she’s a deadly opponent with
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
no scruples about killing (or possessing) them
whatsoever, she’s not unstoppable, at least
while she’s somewhat contained.

If The Sculptress is defeated:

No last words, no threats, no promises

of revenge. The Sculptress shatters like a
glass goblin, the fragments of her avatar
colliding with the liquid void of the Tower’s
walls, absorbed, deleted in utter silence. The
toxic green light surrounding her flickers
and fades to nothingness, leaving you in a
profound darkness, disembodied, floating...
where?

A voice batters your senses, as much seen

and felt as heard:

“SHUTDOWN IMMINENT.
SHUTDOWN IMMINENT. THIS
FACILITY AND CONSTRUCT ARE
DECOMMISSIONED. SHUTDOWN
IMMINENT.”

The warning repeats, as each time the force

of it pushes you further away...insofar as
‘away’ can be measured in nothingness.
There’s a sensation of acceleration, empty
electron winds blasting past you...streaks
and flashes of light like something from an
old sci-fi vid...

Then you open your eyes, feeling the

Sphere headgear’s weight. The VR couch
beneath you. Back in your body.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 129

 Tmedium
eruko
human (average joe)

Armor Class. 15 (Kevlar Jacket)

Hit Points. 33 (5d8+10)
Speed. 35 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+0 +3 +2 +2 +4 +1

Damage Resistances. DR/2 Ballistic

Skills. Hacking +6, Perception +4
Sense. Passive Perception 14
Languages. English, Japanese, Arabic
Challenge. 1 (200 XP)
NIMBLE ESCAPEE. Once per day, Teruko
can impose disadvantage on an attack roll that
would have otherwise hit her.

ACTIONS
Revolver. Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8)
ballistic damage.

Ghosted. Teruko targets one human or

synthetic that she can see within 30 feet of
her. Teruko attempts to gain access to the
target’s memories via its neurolink. The target
must succeed on a DC14 Mind saving throw
or become ghosted. The ghosted creature has
memories implanted in their mind by Teruko
and regards her as a trusted friend to be heeded
and protected. Although the target isn’t under
Teruko’s control, it takes her requests or actions
in the most favorable way it can. Each time
Teruko or her allies do anything harmful to the
target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending
the effect on itself on a success.
Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or
until Teruko dies. If a target’s saving throw is
successful, the target is immune to Teruko’s
ghosting for the next 24 hours. This effect
can only target one creature at a time. False
memories implanted by this action, even when
realized as fake, cannot be removed.

130 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

Radic
medium human (any)

Armor Class. 14
Hit Points. 38 (4d10+16)
Speed. 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO

+2 +4 +4 +1 +4 +0

Augmentations. RK industrial arms

Skills. Perception +3
Sense. Passive Perception 13
Languages. English, Polish
Challenge. 1 (200 XP)

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Radic may make two melee, or
one ranged attacks per round.

KHMA Heavy Pistol. Ranged Weapon

Attack: +4 to hit, range 60/180 ft., one
target. Hit: 7 (2d6) ballistic damage.

Punch. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,

reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d8+2)
bludgeoning damage.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 131

 Gentry( S
)
now
medium human any

Armor Class. 17 (Concealable Ballistic Vest)

Hit Points. 75 (10d8+30)
Speed. 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+4 +1 +2 +1 +0 +0

Augmentations. Quickened Reflexes

Damage Resistamces. DR/2 Ballistic
Skills. Perception +4, Initiative +9
Sense. Passive Perception 14
Saving Throws. Reflex +9
Languages. English
Challenge. 5 (1800 XP)

BRUTAL SURPRISE. Gentry may take

the dash or disengage, as bonus actions on
their turn. Additionally, whenever they take
the dash action towards a target and uses
a melee attack, she deals an additional 10
(3d6) of bludgeoning damage to the target.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. Gentry may make two attacks
per round.
Revolver. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to
hit, range 25/75 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d8)
ballistic damage.
Brutal Punch. Melee Weapon Attack: +7
to hit, 5ft reach, one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+4)
bludgeoning damage. Ignores resistance to
bludgeoning damage.

132 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

Smith (
medium human synth)

Armor Class. 14 (Armor Plating)

Hit Points. 50 (9d8+9)
Speed. 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+1 +3 +1 +2 +0 +4

Sense. Passive Perception 12

Languages. English, three others
Challenge. 2 (450 XP)

RECKLESS. At the start of its turn, smith

can gain advantage on all weapon attack rolls
during that turn, but attack rolls against it
have advantage until the start of its next turn.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Smith may make two melee
attacks per round.

Agile Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to

hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3)
bludgeoning damage.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 133

 On a failure, the creature can’t take reactions
Barbaric Adberration until the start of its next turn and rolls a d8
large infected
to determine what it does during its turn. On
Armor Class. 14 (16 with Blade Dancer) a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5
Hit Points. 65 (10d8+20) or 6, the creature takes no action or bonus
Speed. 35 ft. action and uses all its movement to move
in a randomly determined direction. On a 7
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO or 8, the creature makes an attack against
+2 +2 +3 +5 +5 +5 a randomly determined creature or does
nothing if it can’t make such an attack.
Augmentations. Quickened Reflexes, Jäger
Legs ACTIONS
Skills. Stealth +7, Initiative +9 Multiattack. The adberration makes two
Saving Throws. Reflex +9 attacks with their improbably enormous
Sense. Passive Perception 11 Atlantean sword.
Languages. None
Challenge. 5 (1800 XP) Glitched Atlantean Sword. Melee Weapon
Attack: +7 to hit, 10ft. reach, one target. Hit:
BLADE DANCER. The adberration can add 9 (1d8+4) slashing damage. Ignores resistance
their Constitution bonus to their armor class to slashing damage.
while wielding a sword. Additionally, after they
have taken the attack action with a sword,
they may take the dash or disengage action as
bonus actions.

INTIMIDATING PRESENCE. As an action

the adberration can attempt to intimidate up
to 5 creatures within 30ft. that can see
them. The targets must make a DC14 Mind
saving throw or be frightened for 1 Minute. A
target may attempt this save again at the end
of their turn.

GLITCH TERRAIN. The ground in a 10-

foot radius around the adberration randomly
derezzes, making it difficult terrain. Each
creature that starts its turn in that area must
succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or
have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of
its next turn.

BLIPVERTS!. The adbberration babbles

random fragments of high-speed advertising
while it can see any creature and isn’t
incapacitated. Each creature that is not an
adberration that starts its turn within 20 feet
of the adberration and can hear or see the
nonsense stream of fragmented advertising
Must succeed on a DC 12 Mind saving throw.
134 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
 a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5
Adberration Stitcher or 6, the creature takes no action or bonus
large infected
action and uses all its movement to move
Armor Class. 18 in a randomly determined direction. On a 7
Hit Points. 140 or 8, the creature makes an attack against
Speed. 50 ft. a randomly determined creature or does
nothing if it can’t make such an attack.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+2 +2 +3 +5 +5 +5 ACTIONS
Multiattack. The adberration may make three
Damage Resistances. Ballistic, Fire, Cold attacks per round.
Damage Immunities. Poison
Damage Vulnerabilities. Electric, Psychic Built-in Gun Array. Ranged Weapon Attack:
Saving Throws. Fortitude +7 +7 to hit, range 50/150 ft., one target. Hit: 14
Sense. Passive Perception 10 (3d8) ballistic damage.
Languages. English, and one other language
Challenge. 8 (3900 XP) Pneumatic Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +8
to hit, 10ft. reach, one target. Hit: 18 (3d8+4)
SEEK AND DESTROY. Successful attacks bludgeoning damage.
by the adberration are automatic critical hits
against any object. Additionally, when the
adberration makes a melee attack against a
creature smaller than it, it has advantage to
hit. However, all melee attacks against the
adberration have advantage to hit.

BERSERK. Whenever the adberration starts

its turn with 40 hit points or fewer, roll a d6.
On a 6, it goes berserk. On each of its turns
while berserk, the adberration attacks the
nearest creature it can see. If no creature
is near enough to move to and attack, the
adberration attacks an object, with preference
for an object smaller than itself. Once it
goes berserk, it continues to do so until it is
destroyed or regains all its hit points.

BLIPVERTS!. The adbberration babbles

random fragments of high-speed advertising
while it can see any creature and isn’t
incapacitated. Each creature that is not an
adberration that starts its turn within 20 feet
of the adberration and can hear or see the
nonsense stream of fragmented advertising
Must succeed on a DC 12 Mind saving throw.

On a failure, the creature can’t take reactions

until the start of its next turn and rolls a d8
to determine what it does during its turn. On

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 135

 H
M
awker Adberration
edium infected
Armor Class. 15
Hit Points. 30
Speed. 40ft. fly, 35 ft., Climb 25 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+2 +4 +3 +0 +0 +0
Damage Resistances. Ballistic, Fire, Cold
Damage Immunities. Poison
Damage Vulnerabilities. Electric, Psychic
Skills. Perception +2
Sense. Passive Perception 12
Languages. English, and one other, usually
Mandarin
Challenge. 1 (200 XP)
BLIPVERTS!. The adbberration babbles
random fragments of high-speed advertising
while it can see any creature and isn’t
incapacitated. Each creature that is not an
adberration that starts its turn within 20 feet
of the adberration and can hear or see the
nonsense stream of fragmented advertising
Must succeed on a DC 12 Mind saving throw.
On a failure, the creature can’t take reactions
until the start of its next turn and rolls a d8
to determine what it does during its turn. On
a 1 to 4, the creature does nothing. On a 5
or 6, the creature takes no action or bonus
action and uses all its movement to move
in a randomly determined direction. On a 7
or 8, the creature makes an attack against
a randomly determined creature or does
nothing if it can’t make such an attack.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The adberration may make two
melee, or one ranged attack per round.
Built in Submachine Gun. Ranged Weapon
Attack: +6 to hit, range 40/120ft., one target.
Hit: 8 (3d4) ballistic damage.
Poison Injectors. Melee Weapon Attack: +4
136
to hit, range 5ft, one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2)
piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
Kumi-nin
( )
medium human any
Armor Class. 17 (Military Police Armor)
Hit Points. 79 (12d8+24)
Speed. 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+2 +3 +2 +0 +0 +0
Augmentations. Enhanced Aiming MK. I,
Recoil Reduction
Damage Resistances. Ballistic
Saving Throws. Fortitude +5
Sense. Passive Perception 10
Languages. Japanese, and one other
Challenge. 5 (1800 XP)
SQUAD LEADER. As long as the kumi-nin
is not incapacitated all security guards within
30ft of them gain Pack Tactics (The security
guard has advantage on an attack roll against a
creature if at least one of the kumi-nin’s allies
is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally
isn’t incapacitated).
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The kumi-nin may make two
attacks per round.
Standard Assault Rifle. Ranged Weapon
Attack: +7 to hit, range 60/180 ft., one
target. Hit: 15 (3d8+1) ballistic damage.
Stun Baton. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
5ft. reach, one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+2) electric
damage.
Frag Grenades Mk I. Choose a point with
60ft. Each creature within 20ft. of target
point must make a DC15 Reflex saving throw
or take 2d8 ballistic damage, or half as much
damage on a successful save.
TERMINAL OVERDRIVE
Pit Boss
( )
medium human any
Big Bruiser
( )
medium human any

Armor Class. 17 Armor Class. 17

Hit Points. 54 (12d8) Hit Points. 54 (12d8)
Speed. 30 ft. Speed. 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+1 +3 +0 +2 +0 +3 +5 +3 +0 +2 +0 +3

Damage Resistances. Ballistic Damage Resistances. Ballistic

Sense. Passive Perception 15 Sense. Passive Perception 12
Languages. Japanese, Two Other Language Languages. Japanese, and one other
Challenge. 4 (1100 XP) Challenge. 4 (1100 XP)

POINT BLANK SHOOTER. The pit boss
suffers no penalties from shooting a target at
close range, including disadvantage.
INTIMIDATING PRESENCE. As an action
the pit boss can attempt to intimidate up to
5 creatures within 30ft. that can see them.
The targets must make a DC14 Mind saving
throw or be frightened for 1 Minute. A target
may attempt this save again at the end of their
turn.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The pit boss makes two attacks
per round.
POINT BLANK SHOOTER. The big bruiser
suffers no penalties from shooting a target at
close range, including disadvantage.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The big bruiser makes two
attacks per round.
Heavy Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to
hit, range 50/150 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6)
ballistic damage.
KHMA Combat Shotgun. Ranged Weapon
Attack: +7 to hit, range 20/30 ft., one target.
Hit: 14 (3d8) ballistic damage.

Heavy Pistol. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to

hit, range 50/150 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d6)
ballistic damage.

Frag Grenades Mk I (x2). Choose a point

with 60ft. Each creature within 20ft. of target
point must make a DC15 Reflex saving throw
or take 2d8 ballistic damage, or half as much
damage on a successful save.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 137

 Oyabun
( )
Yamamoto
medium human any
The Sculptress
large machine artificial intelligence)
(

Armor Class. 20 (Battle Armor and Helmet) Armor Class. 18 (Hardened Avatar)
Hit Points. 128 (15d8+60) Hit Points. 98 (15d6+45)
Speed. 30 ft. Speed. 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO STR DEX CON INT TEC PEO
+4 +5 +3 +0 +0 +1 +2 +2 +3 +5 +5 +5

Augmentations. Toughened, Enhanced Damage Resistances. Ballistic, Bludgeoning,

Aiming MK II, Shock Absorbers Piercing, Slashing, Fire, Cold
Damage Resistances. Ballistic Damage Threshold. 15
Saving Throws. Fortitude +6 Damage Immunities. Poison
Sense. Passive Perception 10 Damage Vulnerabilities. Electric, Psychic
Languages. English, Japanese and one other Condition Immunity. Exhausted, Frightened,
languages Ghosted, Grappled, Poisoned, Prone,
Challenge. 7 (2900 XP) Restrained, Unconscious
Skills. Perception +7, Persuasion +7,
FOCUSING STRIKE. The oyabun is a master Intimidation +7, Performance +7
of striking with the blade. If the shogun takes Saving Throws. Mind +8
the attack action and hits using a melee weapon, Sense. Passive Perception 21
they may make an additional attack with a melee Languages. All
weapon as a bonus action. They gain advantage Challenge. 9 (5000 XP)
to hit on this bonus action attack.
UNRELENTING WARRIOR. If damage
reduces the oyabun to 0 hit points, they must
make a Fortitude saving throw with a DC of 5
plus the damage taken, unless the damage is
from a critical hit. On a success, the shogun
drops to 1 hit point instead.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The oyabun may make three
attacks per round.

Kasai Corporation SMG. Ranged Weapon

Attack: +6 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one
target. Hit: 8 (3d4) ballistic damage.

Phase Shift Sword. Melee Weapon Attack:

+7 to hit, 5ft reach, one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+4)
slashing damage or 10 (1d10+4) slashing
damage if wielded in two hands.

138 TERMINAL OVERDRIVE

EMP SHIELDED. The Sculptress AI has
EMP shielding and is unaffected by EMP
attacks.

NEUROLINK JUMP. As a bonus action

the Sculptress can choose the creature
targeted by its Neuroburn attack, and that
creature must make a DC20 Mind save or
become ghosted.

While ghosted the target is under complete

control of the AI. The target may make
another save against this effect at the end of
its turn. The AI cannot take any action on its
turn while ghosting a creature in this way.

SPHERE CONSTRUCT. The Sculptress

is tough but can be destroyed. If her avatar
in the Sphere is destroyed and the AI is not
ghosting a creature then the AI is destroyed
along with it. If The Sculptress is ghosting a
creature via the neurolink jump, the AI
must make a DC15 Mind save. It gains
advantage on this save if the target is a mech
or has augmentations in every augment slot. If
failed the AI is destroyed. On a success, the
AI may use the ghosted creature as a host.
The target becomes the permanent host
under complete control of the AI.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. The Sculptress may make two
melee, or one ranged attack per round.
Neuroburn. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10
to hit, range 60/180 ft., one target. Hit: 26
(6d8) psychic damage.
Code Discharge. Choose a point within 60ft.
All targets within 10ft. of that point must
make a DC14 Reflex saving throw or take 27
(6d8) electric damage, or half as much on a
successful saving throw.

Code Rippers. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to

hit, 10ft. reach, one target. Hit: 10 (2d4+5)
piercing damage plus 11 (3d6) acid damage. Or
7 (1d4+5) piercing plus 7 (2d6)
acid damage if The Sculptress has half of its hit
points or fewer.

TERMINAL OVERDRIVE 139

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly
indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are Open
The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Game Content.
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Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document 5.1 Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast,
Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney
Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R.
Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Dragon Turtle Games, the Dragon Turtle Games logo, unless covered by the
aforementioned Open Game License are Copyright Dragon Turtle Games
Ltd.
Any reproduction or unathorized use of the maerial or artwork contain
herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Dragon Turtle
Games Ltd.
Carbon 2185 is a registered trade mark of Robert Marriner-Dodds. Carbon
RPG, the Carbon 2185 logo, Dodds Corp, the Dodds Corp logo, and all
content herein, unless covered by the aforementioned Open Game License
are Copyright Robert Marriner-Dodds. Any reproduction or unathorized
use of the material or artwork contain herein is prohibited without the
express written permission of Robert Marriner-Dodds.

6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion
of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open
Game Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the
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NOTICE of any original Open Game Content you Distribute.

7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as
an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent
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not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered
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The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights,
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TERMINAL OVERDRIVE \ PLAYTEST 1.0