Se7en Sagas

Introduction

In the rain-slick streets of Neo-Kowloon, where neon signs flicker in the shadows and ancient spirits whisper in alleyways, a new kind of rebellion brews. This is the magic-punk future, a gritty, spellbound tribute to the groundbreaking world of cyberpunk that William Gibson unveiled 40 years ago with Neuromancer. Here, technology takes a backseat to arcane power, but the soul of the city—its grime, its allure, its danger—remains unmistakably cyberpunk.

The World of Neo-Kowloon

Neo-Kowloon is a city where tradition collides with the modern, where skyscrapers enchanted with levitation spells loom over crumbling pagodas. It’s a place where the air hums with mystical energies, and the boundaries between the physical and the spiritual are perpetually blurred. In this city, the corporations still rule, their dominion enforced not by AI, but by sorcerers and runesmiths who guard their secrets fiercely.

Flying rickshaws, propelled by levitation charms, zip through the smog-filled skies. The Spiritweb, a vast network of arcane energy, replaces the digital matrix, allowing for instantaneous communication and spellcasting. The corporations—Bao Corporation, Leidian Industries, and Yingzi Tech—monopolize magical resources, leaving the common folk to scrape by on the fringes, where ancient traditions and dark alley deals offer the only hope of survival.

Characters and Mechanics

In this world, characters are defined by their Skills, Passions, Perks, and Mystic Scars.

Skills are a blend of the physical and the mystical, from Arcane Manipulation to Survival.

Skills are a combination of traditional abilities and magical talents. Characters use points from their Effort Pool to perform tasks, up to their Skill rank. Here’s a list of potential skills for this magic-punk setting:

1. Athletics: Physical prowess for climbing, running, and jumping.
2. Arcane Manipulation: Controlling and manipulating magical energies for various effects.
3. Crafting: Creating enchanted items, potions, and magical artifacts.
4. Driving: Operating magically propelled vehicles, like enchanted carriages or flying broomsticks.
5. Firearms: Proficiency with magically enhanced projectile weapons.
6. First Aid: Basic medical care, including using magical herbs and minor healing spells.
7. Leadership: Influencing and leading others, with a focus on rallying through magical charisma.
8. Medicine: Advanced healing techniques and spells.
9. Melee: Combat skills with melee weapons, including enchanted swords and staves.
10. Navigation: Finding one’s way through both physical and magical landscapes.
11. Negotiation: Reaching agreements and persuading others, often through magical influence.
12. Perception: Heightened awareness of the environment, including magical auras.
13. Scavenging: Finding useful magical components and items in urban and wild areas.
14. Stealth: Moving unseen, including using invisibility spells.
15. Survival: Thriving in harsh environments using both mundane and magical means.
16. Tactics: Planning and executing strategies, incorporating magical elements.
17. Tracking: Following trails and finding individuals using both physical signs and magical traces.

Passions drive the characters forward—Goals like seeking lost relics, Motivations rooted in pragmatism or idealism, Relationships that provide strength, and Flaws that add depth and vulnerability.

Passions provide mechanical benefits when characters act in alignment with their goals, motivations, relationships, and flaws.

1. Goal: A character’s overarching objective related to magic.
   • Example: Relic Seeker: Gain an advantage when searching for lost magical relics or enchanted artifacts.
2. Motivation: What drives the character to act.
   • Example: Protector of the Arcane: Gain an advantage when defending magical traditions or entities.
3. Relationship: Significant connections that provide mechanical benefits.
   • Example: Mystic Bond: Gain an advantage when working with a specific magical ally or familiar.
4. Flaw: A character’s weakness or vulnerability that can affect their actions.
   • Example: Haunted by the Past: Gain an advantage when dealing with situations related to your troubled history, but suffer a penalty when trying to move past it.

Perks are unique abilities or advantages that give characters an edge in this mystical urban landscape. Characters might be a Magical Adept, skilled in a specific type of magic; an Artifact Master, proficient in creating or using enchanted items; an Arcane Scholar, knowledgeable about ancient magical lore; a Spellblade, combining melee combat with magical attacks; or an Illusionist, expert in creating and seeing through illusions.

Mechanical Perks

1. Enhanced Reflexes (Low):
   • Effect: Gain a +1 bonus to Athletics or Melee tasks.
   • Description: Your reflexes have been magically enhanced, allowing you to react faster in physical confrontations.
2. Spell Precision (high):
   • Effect: Gain a +2 bonus to Arcane Manipulation tasks.
   • Description: You have honed your spellcasting abilities, allowing you to cast spells with greater accuracy and control.

Narrative Perks

1. Local Informant (Low):
   • Effect: You have a minor NPC contact who provides you with valuable information about the city.
   • Description: A street vendor or low-level employee in a magical corporation owes you a favor and can provide useful tips and information.
2. Owed a Favor by a Powerful Mage (Major):
   • Effect: A high-ranking mage from one of the major corporations owes you a significant favor.
   • Description: This mage can provide critical assistance in a time of need, such as offering protection, information, or magical resources.

The Mystic Scars are not just tattoos but deep, painful markings, enchanted by back-alley sorcerers. These scars bind spells or spirits to the flesh, granting abilities at a steep price. They are the magic-punk equivalent of cyberware, a fusion of beauty and brutality.

• Mystic Eye: A scar over the eye that allows the detection of magical auras and invisible entities.
• Runic Skin: Enchanted scars that provide physical protection and can store minor spells for quick casting.
• Witch’s Hand: A scar on the hand that channels and amplifies spells, providing a bonus to Arcane Manipulation.
• Sorcerer’s Reflexes: Scars along the arms and legs that enhance reflexes through enchantments, giving an edge in combat and reaction times.
• Spirit Familiar: A scar that binds a spirit to the character, allowing the spirit to assist in various tasks, such as reconnaissance or delivering messages.

A Sample Character

Meet Kenny Lin. Kenny’s jagged scars tell the story of his journey through Neo-Kowloon’s underbelly. His Mystic Eye allows him to see magical auras and invisible entities, a gift from a ritual that bound a spirit of perception into his flesh. His Runic Skin, etched with protective runes, offers both physical protection and the ability to store minor spells for quick casting.

Kenny’s Passions drive his every move.

• Goal: Relic Seeker: Gain an advantage when searching for lost magical relics or enchanted artifacts.
• Motivation: Pragmatic Mage: Gain an advantage when making decisions based on practical survival instincts, especially using magic.
• Relationship: Mystic Bond: Gain an advantage when collaborating with Mei “Tracker” Chen on exploration and magical discovery endeavors.
• Flaw: Haunted by the Past: Gain an advantage when dealing with situations related to your troubled history, but suffer a penalty when trying to move past it.

Perks enhance Kenny’s abilities:

• Mechanical Perk: Enhanced Reflexes (Low): Gain a +1 bonus to Athletics or Melee tasks.
• Narrative Perk: Owed a Favor by a Powerful Mage (Major): A high-ranking mage from one of the major corporations owes you a significant favor.

Neo-Kowloon: A Tribute to Neuromancer

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Neuromancer, it’s impossible not to see its shadow over Neo-Kowloon. Gibson’s vision of a world where technology defines human existence laid the groundwork for this reimagined future, where magic, not tech, rules the streets. Yet, the themes of control, resistance, and the fight for identity remain just as poignant.

In Neo-Kowloon, the neon glow and rain-soaked streets echo Gibson’s Sprawl. The Spiritweb pulses with the same dangerous allure as the matrix, and the corporate towers loom with familiar menace. But here, amidst the spells and spirits, a new kind of punk rises—a testament to the timelessness of rebellion and the ever-evolving fight against the machine, whether silicon or sorcery.

The Jade Dragon Heist: A Neo-Kowloon Tale

Act 1: The Job Offer

The Meeting

In the heart of the Maze district, where neon signs flicker and shadows move with a life of their own, the players find themselves in a hidden teahouse. The air is thick with the scent of exotic herbs, and the low hum of conversation is punctuated by the clinking of porcelain. A cloaked figure, known only as “The Oracle,” approaches. Their face obscured by shadows, they offer a proposition: retrieve the Jade Dragon from the fortified vaults of Bao Corporation. The reward is substantial, but the risks are greater. The Oracle’s voice is a whisper in the dark, revealing that the Jade Dragon is no mere artifact—it holds the power to control ley lines, the lifeblood of Neo-Kowloon’s magical infrastructure. The players are handed a magical key, a device that can temporarily disable the wards surrounding the artifact. With the blueprints of the citadel laid out before them, the path is clear, yet fraught with peril.

Act 2: The Infiltration

Reconnaissance

Outside Bao Corporation’s Citadel, the players blend into the urban sprawl. The citadel stands as a monolith of corporate power, its walls imbued with defensive enchantments. The players observe the rhythm of patrols, the subtle flicker of protective wards. Using their skills, they identify entry points and vulnerabilities. Stealth and perception are their allies as they map out their approach, timing their movements to avoid detection by the ever-watchful corporate enforcers.

The Break-In

As night falls, the players make their move. The magical key hums with latent energy as they approach a service entrance, bypassing the initial wards. Inside, the citadel is a labyrinth of corridors and chambers, each one a potential trap. Magical sensors and runic alarms pose constant threats. The players must navigate these dangers with precision, using their arcane knowledge to disable traps and unlock the path forward. Every step is a calculated risk, every shadow a potential enemy.

Act 3: The Vault

The Inner Sanctum

Deep within the citadel, the players reach the inner sanctum. The air is thick with arcane energy, and the walls pulse with protective spells. Here, the blueprints from the Oracle prove invaluable, guiding them through the maze of defenses. Elite enforcers and magical constructs patrol the area, each one a testament to Bao Corporation’s might. The players must use all their cunning and skill to avoid or overcome these guardians, inching ever closer to their goal.

The Vault

The vault is a masterpiece of magical engineering, a chamber filled with layers of protective wards and enchanted guardians. The players must use Arcane Manipulation to deactivate these defenses, their every move scrutinized by the ever-watchful eyes of the guardian golem. This final guardian, a construct of elemental magic, stands between them and the Jade Dragon. Defeating or bypassing it requires a blend of brute force and subtle magic, a dance of power and precision.

Act 4: The Escape

The Alarm

With the Jade Dragon in hand, the citadel erupts into chaos. Alarms blare, and the corridors that were once silent are now filled with the clamor of pursuing enforcers. The players must navigate back through the citadel, their path now fraught with heightened danger. Speed and stealth are paramount as they evade capture, their every action a race against time.

The Getaway

Emerging onto the rain-soaked streets of Neo-Kowloon, the players are pursued through the labyrinthine Maze district. The city is a blur of neon lights and dark alleyways, each turn offering potential salvation or doom. They must use their skills to lose their pursuers, navigating the complex urban landscape with desperate agility. The goal is the Oracle’s safehouse, a haven in the midst of chaos.

Act 5: The Twist

The Revelation

In the dim light of the safehouse, the Oracle awaits. The players deliver the Jade Dragon, only to discover that their benefactor has their own agenda. The Oracle reveals that the Jade Dragon is a key to a larger plan, one that could disrupt the ley lines and shift the balance of power in Neo-Kowloon. The players are faced with a choice: join the Oracle’s cause and become part of a revolution against the corporate giants, or take their reward and walk away, leaving the fate of the city in the hands of others.

In the shadows of Neo-Kowloon, where the air is thick with mystery and the streets pulse with arcane energy, the Jade Dragon Heist unfolds. It is a tale of intrigue and danger, where every decision echoes in the city’s magical tapestry. As the players navigate this gritty, neon-lit world, they pay homage to the spirit of Neuromancer, embracing the timeless allure of rebellion against the powers that be. Here, in the heart of the magic-punk future, the adventure awaits, where every scar tells a story and every spell could be their last.