The Hellflesh Heist (Fiction Preview)
Upcoming Collaborative TPRG In-Game Scene
Honored samurai, ruthless ronin, wayward vagabonds, shadowy ninja and helpless villagers... welcome.
Opening Volley
It’s story time, grittikiddies.
Today I have just a little something to share. A single scene (tof three total) of fiction from the collaborative PocketQuest TRPG my teammates and I just finished. BIOHEIST: THE HELLFLESH HEIST is an original biopunk TRPG with Rodney Sloan of Rising Phoenix Games and Gareth H. Graham of Frenzy Kitty Games set in a far future Japan where biotech has gotten out of hand in the megastructure castle-arcologies. Launching on April 1, the game has a complete ruleset, maps, a game scenario (tied to the progressive fiction scenes included), baddies, augmentations, “corruptions” and much more. It’s adaptable, emphasizes fun over rules, is minimalist, and falls under an ORC license.
This newsletter includes the fiction in PNG image and text formats. The image includes a URL to the launch page of the game itself which is going to be priced at under $5 USD. Approximately 35 PDF pages total (with a paper version to follow).
Main Event
The Hellflesh Heist (part one of three within the rule book) by Made in DNA
It was a gutter bar in the deepest levels of the Neo Heian-Kyo under-arcology, where the runoff from the flesh labs slicked down the walls and the patrons were shadowed whispers.
Bones exploded through the tips of the thug's finger, splintering into shards to take Orie's eyes. Like most gritbois from the dank depths of the 3,500-meter megastructure, he was made of neon and tenacity. But he was overcooked–too many mods on his starving bod to run efficiently. Or sanely. "Gimme the key," he hissed.
"This?" She held it up, admiring it. Digitus medius. Fine. Cultured. Nailwork to die for. Literally. "Can't. I've grown attached to it."
Orie no more wanted to pop his bio-cherry than she wanted to pop his zits, but this kid was in her face and desperate. Triggering the flesh uni-tool in her right palm, she wrapped the fleshy, dexterous rope around the boy's neck until he passed out.
Tossing her tab to the bartender and a kiss to the kid, she started for the door. Word was out that she had the princess' first key. It was time to leave. She thought she'd have more time.
Patrons several tables over disintegrated into fine silhouettes of blood and gore. Then, too, those at the next table.
The ninja scissored to the ceiling, the spider hairs on her fingertips holding her flat as the rounds graffitied the establishment.
A dog-sized crab tank clomped into the light from the dark passage of the door. Used for crowd control by the Polikou badges, they usually hunted in packs of threes. Alongside the minigun growth, this one sported several dubious devices epoxied to its shell, including a pair of goggles. Unsteady on the stairs, it stumbled down, bouncing along like a cartoon character. The room froze to watch, holding its collective breath.
Bad idea. Shaking itself off, it spun in a circle with a spit of sparks and began zipping targets indiscriminately with its minigun. Brrp. A runner. Brrp. The bartender with her ancient slugthrower. Brrtp. The counter. Brrpt.
It spotted Orie on the ceiling and stopped firing. Silence and smoke wafted serenely. Its goggles zoomed and spun, collecting data on her.
"The key," a wet metallic voice reverberated through the crab's chitterbox grill.
She made to fling herself through the door over its head when the minigun chewed the ceiling.
It jerked, a pop, and the smell of cooked meat. "A proposal."
Orie dropped to the floor. Interesting development...
Gear your team and jack your augs, the heist that could set you up for life (or send you to the blackflesh market as spare parts) is going to a nightmare! BIOHEIST, an original TRPG, has hit the mean streets of Neo Heian-Kyo!
Info/purchase link:
https://risingphoenixgames.com/bioheist/
We never meet without parting
Next issue... Shogun ep 5.
Until then!
Made in DNA
One thing I forgot to mention, as we are only allotted 25 pages total, everything has to be scaled back. This meant I was given just 450 words per "scene" to deliver atmosphere, characterization and worldbuilding elements. I hope you enjoyed.