Storylines

Storylines, or Stories, are the various plots and subplots that take place during the game. Storylines advance through Dialog, Legwork, and Missions. Storylines can be big or small, affecting individual characters or changing the environment of the entire New Boston Zone. Storyline Missions are different from Proc-Gen Missions in that Storyline Missions are hand-crafted. They may use unique map levels and may offer unique rewards. Storylines and Storyline Missions have tags which the Casting Director can use, selecting whether a Storyline can proceed. Some Storylines allow the Casting Director to select an appropriate character to link to the story.

Some Storylines are brief, encompassing Dialog and a single Legwork. Others can take years and define the career of the Cyber Knight and their team. Players can usually choose to ignore Storylines, but there may be consequences. Large Storylines can be quite complex. The stories can branch, dead-end, remerge, and spin off independent stories. Decisions made during Dialog and Missions will lead the player through these branches. A player cannot experience all of the branches in a single playthrough. This is an important feature allowing each game playthrough to be different.

Storyline Missions

Storyline Missions are hand-crafted by the game's developers and cover interesting plot points. A Storyline Mission is part of a Storyline, a series or web of Missions and/or Legwork driven by character backstories, schemes by Contacts, and the changing environment of the New Boston Zone in the form of Eras. Many Storylines have only Dialog and a single Mission or Legwork. Other Storylines may have alternate branches depending on the player's choices.

Story Missions will sometimes have multiple stages. Some stages may be optional or only available under certain circumstances. Each stage is a map that you must traverse to achieve some Objectives. An example is sneaking through the sewers to avoid detection and then using a service elevator to show up in the second map where the heist is to be performed. Another example is a side-area with extra loot which was unlocked by pre-mission Legwork.

Storyline Missions will have some procedurally generated elements. The contact offering a Mission or the target Faction may be determined randomly from eligible choices. The contents of Lockboxes, Matrix IC, and Matrix storage Nodes are determined when the Mission is generated and placed in the Timeline. If a specific loot item or target enemy is part of the Mission Objectives, the location of the item or enemy may be randomized. The locations of guards may be randomized. This helps each playthrough feel different.

Eras

Story Eras are major events that have lasting effect on the New Boston Zone. Things are changing in the world of 2231 - big things - and they majorly impact the world, New Boston, the Megacorps and the underworld. As these events unfold, the merc team often has an opportunity to be involved in how they unfold or how they navigate the aftermath or exploit the opportunities. Such events always create situations in which Cyber Knights and their covert op teams are needed.

An Era is caused by a major event with New Boston and will affect the player's network of underworld contacts, jobs offered, and markets, and will open up new stories and opportunities. Eras usually last a while, at least a few months. Eras do not always occur in the same sequence, and Eras can overlap in time.

Eras have considerable influence over Missions and Legwork offered. Certain Storylines only occur during specific Eras. The types of Proc-Gen Missions, Legwork, target Factions, and offering Factions may change in a new Era.

Types of Storylines

Origin

Origin Stories center around the circumstances which gave the Cyber Knight their Quantum Rider implant. The rarity of the implant means that obtaining one always involves high-stakes negotiations, politics, and gambles. A new Cyber Knight attracts the attention of powerful forces looking to use, destroy, or ally with the team. Where did the implant come from? How did you pay for it? Who installed it? Who do you owe? The Origin Story explores these questions and the consequences.

When starting a new game, the player selects their Origin Story. Origin Stories are among the most complex Storylines in the game. The player may have the opportunity to take a shortcut to close the Storyline before it develops very far, but following the branches of the Origin Story will give the player allies and enemies, opportunities, and a deeper interaction with the New Boston Zone.

Mercenary

Mercenary Storylines connected to specific mercenaries. The storyline is intimately related to the backstory of that mercenary. If no qualifying mercenary is on the squad, the Casting Director will not generate that story. Some Mercenary Storylines are repeatable, for every qualifying merc.

Side Job

Side jobs are simple jobs that run on the side. Side Jobs do not involve a Mission but may include one or more Legwork. Other jobs and events can occur while the Side Job runs.

Obligation Call

Obligation missions are initiated when a Contact calls in an Obligation that the squad owes to the Contact. If the squad owes an Obligation to a Contact, the Contact may require the squad to pay off the Obligation by executing a dangerous mission, for no pay and a short timeframe.

Power Play

When a Contact experiences an Influence Limit Break, one of the possible results is a Power Play. This adds a Power Play tag to the Contact. A future Influence Limit Break may then lead to a Power Play Storyline. The Contact asks the squad to help them improve their station. If the squad is successful, the Contact gains a new power--a new unique Trait or a new unique Service. The option to get a Power Play tag will not appear in Influence Limit Breaks until the squad is Power Level 3, but some Contacts can get a special Power Play tag earlier than that through Storylines.

Compromised

Rescue missions are initiated when a Contact has been compromised by one Exposure Break, and at a second exposure break they are taken prisoner. If you do not take immediate action, the contact will be killed. This obviously removes any services they may have provided.

Other types of Compromised Storylines will be added in the future.

Retirement

Retirement Storylines are pinnacle opportunities in your Cyber Knight's career, accessible only when you've built a rep as the Knight that gets things done. Multiple offers will give you the opportunity to get started on a chain of escalating missions leading to one last big heist that could get you out of the game for good.

Come out on top, and you'll have a window of time to decide (and complete any lingering unfinished business with your mercs or other contacts) if you want to take the retirement opportunity, or continue running the streets.

Some Knights can't give up the thrill of the heist, and will continue to play hard and fast until they go out in a blaze of glory. Others are convinced better opportunities will come, for either a better life offworld or with more room in the opportunity to set up the squad members they've become closest to with a better life as well.

List of Storylines

Storyline	Type	Era	Repeatable
Boosted Scientist				A researcher wants to escape their corporation.
Brother Dearest	Mercenary			Emille approaches you with a mission she has found to loot a corporate storage area.
Carnivore				The squad needs to find a new Contact in Brave Star.
Cascade Precision Arms	Power Play			A contact offers the opportunity to get a smuggling connection delivering precision small arms.
Child of the Belly	Side Job			A Contact asks the squad to locate an errant child.
Clinic Expansion	Side Job			A doctor looks for investment in a new clinic.
Compromised Prisoner	Compromised		Repeatable	A Contact notifies you that they have been imprisoned and are facing immediate execution.
Daedalus Bloc	Retirement			A contact asks for your help in maneuvering corporate politics within Jupiter.
Dead Drop Hit				A gun runner needs a shipment retrieved.
Deltaware Activation	Mercenary		Repeatable	A mercenary has found a way to reactivate their delta implant.
Eleventh Hour		Treaty of '31		A Contact wants their adult child rescued.
Fadelight Blades	Power Play			A contact offers the opportunity to get powerful blades forged in orbit.
FSC-Fabbed Armor	Power Play			A contact offers the opportunity to get access to an entirely new armor service from the Free Streets Compact.
German Connection	Side Job	Treaty of '31		A night club owner wants prestige and new connections to German contacts by demonstrating association with a Cyber Knight.
Heartbreak Rush		Treaty of '31		A contact wants to plant evidence to break up an unfortunate romance.
Jupiter Decks	Power Play			A contact plans to help a corrupt security engineer get promoted in return for access to powerful new cyberdeck models.
K-177 Implants	Power Play			A contact tries to steal biodata for advanced cyber implants.
New in Town	Side Job	Treaty of '31		The squad needs a connection to the new Megacorp coming to town.
Null Deal	Origin			The story line starts with the first mission Black Site Splicing and continues through multiple missions with several important plot branches. It deals with the consequences of the deal you made, and then forgot, in exchange for getting your quantum rider implant.
Project 'Battletank' Implants	Power Play			A posthumous request from a brilliant doctor puts your Contact on the case to recover the Battletank implant architecture bioprint.
Ricksham Drip	Power Play			A contact finds a way to bring a powerful line of new drugs into the city.
Ride Along	Side Job			A gun runner needs some protection on one of their routes.
Rook Prototype Weapons	Power Play			A contact plans to steal powerful prototype weapons from Rook Technologies.
Rootmaker Programs	Power Play			A contact offers the opportunity to work with a famous hacker and get access to powerful new cyberdeck programs.
Runner Shakedown		Treaty of '31		A gun runner wants help arranging a source for foreign weaponry.
Shadow Site Raid	Mercenary		Repeatable	A merc comes forward to tell you they've uncovered or previously knew about a Shadow Site.
Sibling Breakout	Mercenary			A member of the squad asks for help breaking their sibling out of prison.
Snitch Snuff Out	Obligation Call			A Contact calls in an Obligation asking for an assassination.
Specter from the Past	Mercenary		Repeatable	Your Face suggests you need to talk privately about a name from our past.
Syndicate Debts	Origin			The story line starts with the first mission Plan B and continues through multiple missions with several important plot branches. It deals with the debt you incurred in exchange for getting your quantum rider implant.
Ward War	Era	Ward War		The story line tracks a war between Los Zagales and Brave Star. A conflict score is set for each side; based mostly on your actions, the score rises until one side reaches 100% and declares victory.