Storylines[edit | edit source]
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 Story 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.
Origin Stories[edit | edit source]
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 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.
Syndicate Debts[edit | edit source]
Mercenary Storylines[edit | edit source]
Mercenary storylines connected to specific mercenaries. The storyline is intimately related to the backstory of that mercenary. If that mercenary is not on the squad, the Casting Director will not generate that story.
Brother Dearest[edit | edit source]
Minor Storylines[edit | edit source]
Most storylines only contain one or two Missions or Legwork. A few storylines are longer, with three to four linked jobs. Some storylines, such as Clinic Expansion, represent a different kind of opportunity and don't contain any Mission or Legwork all.
Boosted Scientist[edit | edit source]
A researcher wants to escape their corporation.
This storyline has one matrix hack and one mission with a very tight turn limit. The storyline starts with an announcement from Blur: "I have been approached by a very promising - if demanding - corporate connect". The contact wants to escape their corporation and destroy the corp's copy of their research data. Their servers are being moved on a truck, and they want you to deploy a virus onto the truck as it goes by an interchange. The storyline is only available after your team Power Level is 3 or more.
The first step is an optional matrix hack, "404-X Spike". This is highly recommended because it gives you a leverage for the main mission which adds one turn to the very tight turn limit. The mission "Truck Job" has some additional leverage; it is recommended to get the one turn additional delay available from your wireghost. Once the mission starts, you need to get your hacker to the terminal and perform a quick hack to enable another merc to stand on the interchange bridge and deploy the virus. Protip: a vanguard with blend is well suited to this long distance run. If you cannot make it to the first bridge soon enough, there is a second further bridge, but it is guarded by two heavily armored humanoid drones.
Currently the storyline ends here with a "pause marker" indicating that more content will be added to it later.
Carnivore[edit | edit source]
The squad needs to find a new Contact in Brave Star.
Child of the Belly[edit | edit source]
A Contact asks the squad to locate an errant child.
This story line can be generated for many contacts, and the child can be either gender. The story line has only one legwork with several possible outcomes. The story line opens with a contact asking, "I need to ask you for a very personal favor. It's about my son/daughter". The contact's adult child has vanished into a dangerous area, and they ask you to investigate. This leads to the legwork "Child of the Belly".
If you fail at the legwork, the child is found dead, but the parent still appreciates your effort and you gain +2 favors, some trust, and some influence. If you succeed, the child becomes a drug dealer contact with level 2 combat drugs and level 1 hacking drugs. You can choose whether to tell the parent about the drug dealing part, but either way the parent gives you +4 favors, trust, and influence.
Clinic Expansion[edit | edit source]
A doctor looks for investment in a new clinic.
Your initial doctor contact, Ashe, approaches you with a request. If you can pay her $500,000 she will be able to do a major upgrade to her clinic. This will provide an option for better and faster healing of injuries and wounds, and access to higher level cybernetic implants. She also offers a legwork "Dock Connections"; if you take it and you are successful, it lowers the cost of upgrading to $400,000. Both the upgrade and the legwork can be delayed if you need time for a spare merc to be available.
Some players already have access to multiple doctor contacts, for example by choosing the initial soldier Aitana, or by building the Underworld Hub building and getting access to another doctor contact there. There is still very little reason to turn down this mission; the extra healing is always helpful.
Dead Drop Hit[edit | edit source]
A gun runner needs a shipment retrieved.
This story line has only a single mission "Dead Drop Hit", and it is a pure combat mission with the team starting in an exposed position. The story line starts with an offer from a gun runner contact: "I've got a very special offer for you. I'm holding an e-rifle with your name tag on it, but you'd better move quick". It turns out that the contact is this-close to getting a shipment of advanced rifles, but they need your help to pick up the shipment during a full firefight. Leave behind your silencers and bring all your full-auto weapons.
After the mission, you have the option to buy one of the e-rifles in the market. Note, you must go to the market and find the "BurnerMouth" weapon and buy it; it is not a direct mission reward. You also have the opportunity to double cross the contact and keep the weapon; this dramatically decreases the contact's trust. This may not be worth the cost savings.
The BurnerMouth is a nice weapon, but not game-changing; it has short range and limited recharges. Some players give it to their hacker as a secondary weapon, figuring that they will only need it if a mission has already turned loud.
Eleventh Hour[edit | edit source]
A Contact wants their adult child rescued.
The story line starts when Blur brings in a new client, a Warner Braun slicer. (Often, but not always, the slicer is named Troy Zang.) His adult son has an experimental chem-hive implant but he has disappeared after committing a murder. The first step is a legwork "Bioweapon Traces" to locate the son. After the legwork completes, you can either lie to the father and say the son has left town, or take a mission "Eleventh Hour" to rescue him.
The son's name is randomly generated but appears as a scourge recruit in your barracks as soon as you accept the mission.
The "eleventh hour" mission features a foot race against a strong VIP who is moving to the cell where the son is held, in order to kill him. Try to avoid getting tied up in firefights; use movement talents to get to the cell as fast as possible. Once you reach the cell, the scourge joins your team for the mission. After the mission, you have the opportunity to recruit the scourge.
If you decline the mission, after some time, the slicer will be killed.
Fixture in the VIP Booth[edit | edit source]
A night club owner wants prestige by showing connection to a Cyber Knight.
The story line starts with a timeline entry from Blur's contact Owyn: "I might be on the edge of forging the German Connection in this town". She invites the team to a party at her club where the leadership of the new mega-corporation Warner-Braun will be. You can commit Blur, and up to two additional mercs to the legwork.
(todo: what difference does it make to add more mercs?)
When Blur's legwork finishes, Owyn introduces a new contact. The class of the contact is random; Corporate VP and Dockmaster are both possible. Blur also gains two new traits, one of which can lead to a Power Play.
Forward Op[edit | edit source]
The squad needs some ready cash, time to do a Raid.
There is not much to say about this mission; it is a standard raid.
Heartbreak Rush[edit | edit source]
A contact wants to plant evidence to break up an unfortunate romance.
This story line has one hack-only mission, one legwork, and several follow-up timeline events. You will be able to recruit a new hacker.
The story line starts with a comment from Blur, "A Warner-Braun corporate VP needs our unique brand of services". The job is to frame a UNA hacker who is causing problems on a research project. This requires a hack-only mission "Heartbreak Rush" to create some fake data, and then a legwork mission "Heartbreak Fake" to plant it. The legwork auto-repeats with a 5 day period until success, so the assigned merc could be unavailable for up to 15 days. A few days after it finishes, you get a dialog which results in a substantial trust and influence bonus for the contact.
A few weeks after it finishes, there is a subsequent dialog from Blur, "Do you remember that UNA researcher we got canned?" It turns out she is down on her luck. For a payment of $20,000, you can pay off her debt and then she is available as a recruit.
New in Town[edit | edit source]
The squad needs a connection to the new Megacorp coming to town.
This story line introduces the first era, Treaty '31, and a new megacorp, Warner-Braun. There is only one legwork mission; if you send Blur and she succeeds, you will gain a new contact: a Warner-Braun Corporate VP.
Ride Along[edit | edit source]
A gun runner needs some protection on one of their routes.
Origami Joe asks for help protecting his smuggling route. This is a single legwork "Runner Shakedown". If you take it, and succeed, you will earn a favor with him. If you don't, or if you fail, he will cut off access to his market for a while. There is little reason to turn down the legwork; but the risk is also low since there is another gun runner Diego with similar markets.
Runner Shakedown[edit | edit source]
A gun runner wants help arranging a source for foreign weaponry.
This storyline has one legwork and one pure combat mission, although with a particular team setup the combat can be avoided. The reward is a huge increase in available weaponry, especially if it appears in the early or mid game.
The story line starts with Origami Joe asking "I need your backing on a risky business move". This leads to a legwork to bodyguard his gun runners, "Runner Shakedown". The mysterious "Herr Schweinchen" is introduced as a contact. Normally after this legwork there is a long pause in the timeline while Origami Joe considers his next move. Then he offers a combat mission "Slagga Smash". For some players, this may be the first pure combat mission. Pure combat missions require a different frame of mind; stealth doesn't matter, only long range firepower.
There is an alternative to the combat mission, if one of your mercs has a Free Streets Compact background. They will appear in a dialog to offer a meeting with the FSC leader instead. This requires a legwork "Southie Slagga", which can only be executed by a merc who can operate in FSC territory, or has the Raised On The Streets background. With the current initial merc team, only Liat has FSC background, but he is prohibited from FSC operations. He can offer the legwork but can't execute it. Dade has the right background, if he is available.
If you succeed at the legwork, then a mission "Southie Strut" is offered instead of "Slagga Smash". This is a tactical mission, but the main goal is to reach a dialog interaction with the FSC leader. This mission doesn't require any combat. You will gain a new contact in FSC. You can choose between offering two obligations to the contact, or one obligation and a $50k payment.
(todo: there is also an option to start combat during the negotiation. I haven't tried that.)
After either Slagga Smash or Southie Strut, Origami Joe sets up a gun running pipeline with Herr Schweinchen and gets two new traits, "imported weaponry level 3" and "imported weapon mods level 3". This unlocks some weapons which are very powerful compared to the initial level 1-2 weapons available in the market. In particular, the Kaza Raildart is a high power pistol which can replace the starting Defensor.
Sibling Breakout[edit | edit source]
A member of the squad asks for help breaking their sibling out of prison.
This mission can be generated for any merc on your team who does not already have a sibling, and the sibling to be rescued can be either gender. The story line starts with one merc announcing "I need to talk to you, I have a family problem". After some dialog, this leads to a prison break mission "Sibling Breakout". When you accept the mission, the sibling will appear in the barracks as a recruit so you can see their stats. They are a pretty good hacker.
The mission has two stages, and the first stage has two options. The normal approach to the first stage requires a hacker to unlock a door. If you do not have a hacker, or your hacker is injured, there is usually a leverage option to take an alternate path. This is usually longer, so the normal approach is preferred. The second stage is a prison, with the sibling in one cell. You need to hack another terminal to unlock the cell. Then the sibling joins your team for the mission. After the mission you can recruit the sibling to your team.
If you decline the mission, there are consequences, which can be random. After a few days, the merc may leave your team, taking some gear. A few days after that, the merc and the sibling may both re-appear; the merc carried out the mission on their own. The merc may return injured; the sibling may die. Once they return, you can choose to dismiss either of them.
Snitch Out Snuff[edit | edit source]
A Contact calls in an Obligation asking for an assassination.
It is possible this mission may have multiple triggers and contacts, but so far only one contact and one trigger is known. As part of the Syndicate Debts origin story, you can choose to owe an Obligation to Octane. She will call it in and require you to go on this mission. This is a challenging assassination mission which has a short expiration. If you do not, or cannot take it, your trust rating with Octane will decline considerably.
Power Play Storylines[edit | edit source]
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.
Ricksham Drip[edit | edit source]
A contact finds a way to bring a powerful line of new drugs into the city.
This story line requires a drug dealer or club owner contact to have a power play. The storyline has three stages: a bodyguard mission, a bodyguard legwork, and then another bodyguard mission.
After the initial dialog, the contact offers "Coyote Hot Drop", which is a variation on a bodyguard mission. The VIP enters on turn two at the other side of the map, and by turn four, there is another unpleasant surprise! A number of Brave Star operatives appear and an active firefight breaks out between the Fenians and the Brave Stars. Bring lots of overwatch breakers and run for the door!
Now that the VIP has made it to town, the second step is a bodyguard legwork. Only certain mercs with a military background may be assigned, and the duration is 15 days with 50% base success rate. The Underworld Hub with tokens to raise success and shorten duration will be helpful.
The deal is done, and the third and final step is to escort the VIP back out of the city. The mission is "Retrograde Reset". This mission also has a complication: head hunters show up who will home in on the VIP.
When the third stage is done, your contact will have a new trait "business partner" and you will have a new contact within Ricksham. The "business partner" trait adds one powerful level 5 hacking drug to the market: midnight glimmer, which offers 5% connection repair, two tokens to avoid traps, and adds matrix armor and damage.
Retirement Storylines[edit | edit source]
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.
Daedalus Bloc[edit | edit source]
List of Storyline Missions[edit | edit source]
| MISSION | STORYLINE | DESCRIPTION | POTENTIAL REWARDS | PREREQUISITES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan B | Syndicate Debts | Escape the Aug-Clinic after the Cyber Knight's surgery | ||
| Clinic Snitch | Syndicate Debts | LEGWORK: track the origin of the UltraTek hit squad at the Aug-Clinic | Plan B | |
| Thumb on Snitch | Syndicate Debts | LEGWORK: put the Biotech Researcher snitch under our thumb | Biotech Researcher Contact | Clinic Snitch |
| Haven Smokeout | Syndicate Debts | recover Q-Endpoint; optionally kill the Wireghost | cash fee; Trust; +2 Favor | Plan B |
| Competition Matrix | Syndicate Debts | LEGWORK: investigate Octane's precarious position within D-Cartel | new story branch | accept Haven Smokeout |
| Zombie Origins | Syndicate Debts | LEGWORK: seek the Quantum Rider's origins | new story branch | accept Haven Smokeout |
| High Street | Syndicate Debts | Talk with someone who worked with previous Cyber Knight | Sniper recruit | Zombie Origins |
| Loophole Heist | Syndicate Debts | install Q-Endpoint in target system | repay $2000K debt to Octane | Haven Smokeout |
| Endpoint Cutthroat | Syndicate Debts | install Q-Endpoint in target system | take an "alternative approach" to repaying Octane | Competition Matrix |
| Hoverdrop Wipe | Syndicate Debts | perform an assassination | finish the "alternative approach" to repaying Octane | Endpoint Cutthroat |
| Smokescreen | Syndicate Debts | LEGWORK: run interferrence to throw the Head Hunters off-track | reduce Head Hunters by 1 | Loophole Heist |
| Forward Op | Forward Op | steal as much as you can | loot only | Plan B |
| Cube Run | Brother Dearest | steal as much as you can; collect research secrets | loot only | merc with Ex-Matsumoto background; Power Level 3 |
| Carnivore Search | Carnivore | LEGWORK: hunt for a corrupt cop to get on the payroll | Brave Star Contact | Power Level 3 |
| Carnivore | Carnivore | hack the heavily guarded containment core to steal the Sigma 6 trainer | 1 Favor; Wireghost Contact | Carnivore Search |
| Chem-Fac Depths | Carnivore | LEGWORK: sneak through the waste tunnels under the old chemical-factory | alternative entrance to Carnivore mission | accept Carnivore |
| Sigma Sploits | Carnivore | LEGWORK: create sploitkits from Sigma 6 trainer | Sigma 6 sploiitkits | Carnivore |
| Backtrace Bounty | Carnivore | LEGWORK: trace a bounty to learn about Brave Star tracking technology | Identify a Matrix source | Carnivore |
| Bounty Counter-Hack | Carnivore | Hack a Matrix Host for more Brave Star information | Secret ledger file | Backtrace Bounty |
| Sibling Breakout | Sibling Breakout | break a teammate's sibling out of jail | Hacker recruit | Power Level 1 |
| Dead Drop Hit | Dead Drop Hit | pick up a package, defend against waves of gangers | E-rifle | Power Level 3+; Gun Runner Contact with a registered Faction enemy |
| Biochip Fry | Dead Drop Hit | LEGWORK: unlock e-rifle | E-rifle | Dead Drop Hit; refuse to turn over e-rifle |
| Ride Along | Ride Along | LEGWORK: spelunk with and protect weapon smugglerrs | 1 Favor | |
| Clinic Expansion | Clinic Expansion | NO MISSION; invest in a dedicated clinic | access to a dedicated clinic | Treaty of '31 Era |
| Dock Connections | Clinic Expansion | LEGWORK: work the docks to find some cheap Warner-Braun biomedical imports | 20% off price of Clinic Expansion | Clinic Expansion offered |
| New in Town | New in Town | LEGWORK: make a contact in Warner-Braun Global | Warner-Braun Contact | Treaty of '31 Era |
| Runner Shakedown | Runner Shakedown | LEGWORK: bodyguard a gun runner during a stressful organization shakedown | Treaty of '31 Era; Power Level 2+ | |
| Slagga Smash | Runner Shakedown | Take and hold a gang headquarters on behalf of a gun runner | cash fee; level 3 weapons and mods | Runner Shakedown |
| Southie Slagga | Runner Shakedown | LEGWORK: connect with the Free Streets Compact to arrange a meet | alternative solution to Runner Shakedown | accept Slagga Smash; Free Streets Compact background to open dialog; FSC background or Raised on the streets to do Legwork |
| Southie Strut | Runner Shakedown | Live-Wire Negotiation with Free Street Compact | cash fee; level 3 weapons and mods | Southie Slagga; avoids Slagga Smash |
| Truck Job | Boosted Scientist | Load a virus payload to a server aboard a truck | cash fee | Power Level 3+ |
| 404-X Spike | Boosted Scientist | CPU Spike job | unlock Leverage for Truck Job | accept Truck Job |
| Snitch Snuff Out | Snitch Snuff Out | Obligation Call, assassinate target | resolve 1 Obligation | Power Level 2+; owe Obligation to a Contact |
| Child of the Belly | Child of the Belly | LEGWORK: Locate someone in the Belly | Favors, drug dealer Contact | |
| Fixture in the VIP Booth | Fixture in the VIP Booth | LEGWORK: Send the Face to impress visitors at a night club | Trust with Club owner and a new Contact | Treaty of '31 Era |
| Long Night Out | Fixture in the VIP Booth | LEGWORK: 1 or 2 mercs join the Face at a local night club | New Traits | Fixture in the VIP Booth (simultaneous) |
| Bioweapon Traces | Eleventh Hour | LEGWORK: Locate a young person carrying secret tech for his father | Locate the target | Treaty of '31 Era |
| Eleventh Hour | Eleventh Hour | Break someone out of a dark site interrogation unit | Scourge recruit | Bioweapon Traces |
| Heartbreak Rush | Heartbreak Rush | Plant fake evidence on a Matrix host | New In Town | |
| Heartbreak Fake | Heartbreak Rush | LEGWORK: fabricate a luxurious lifestyle for a target | begin Heartbreak Rush | |
| Coyote Hot Drop | Ricksham Drip | Escort a VIP to start negotiations | Drug/club contact with power play | |
| Negotiations | Ricksham Drip | LEGWORK: bodyguard a VIP during negotiations | Completed Coyote Hot Drop | |
| Retrograde Reset | Ricksham Drip | Escort a VIP after negotiations | Level 5 hacking drug | Completed Negotiations |
| <random name A> | Daedalus Bloc | Loot 4 T-ledgers from matrix hosts | random blueprint | Power level 6+ |
| <random name B> | Daedalus Bloc | Solo hack, spike CPU to get security coordinates | Power level 6+ | |
| Parasite Fee | Daedalus Bloc | Raid to loot 3 bio-verify files | random blueprint | Power level 6+ |
| A Front and a Quant | Daedalus Bloc | LEGWORK: find a contact through a V-Chip | Parasite Fee | |
| <random name C> | Daedalus Bloc | Siege, defend a VIP | A Front and a Quant | |
| Pandora's Suitcase | Daedalus Bloc | Solo hack, spike a CPU | <random name C> | |
| Opening Bid | Daedalus Bloc | Two stage bodyguard mission | Pandora's Suitcase | |
| Governance Dust-up | Daedalus Bloc | Two stage bodyguard mission | Opening Bid | |
| Cluster Drop | Daedalus Bloc | Solo hack, spike a CPU | Governance Dust-up | |
| Doubleback Strike | Daedalus Bloc | LEGWORK: find clues to a kidnapping | Cluster Drop | |
| Clockwork Rescue | Daedalus Bloc | Hold a platform 4 turns | Doubleback Strike |