Behind the Crown [OoC], Out-of-Character information for Behind the Crown Options

[Koekepan]

Bradshaw on Genady Voltsev and MaChef:

"""Uuuh ... maybe? I mean, I guess? I don't have a list of his investments, but I suppose you could dig through the stock ownership? Probably has a piece of it through some fund."""

Booker on Voltsev and MaChef:

"""The fuss with MaChef started back, oh, last Summer. It escalated on a slow burn, week over week, and the explosions happened over the Winter. I don't know for a fact, but I do know that he owns at least a small stake in nearly any publically-traded entity in Seattle, so the answer is most probably yes. However, does he own enough of it to care very much if he has another reason for them to go down? Bear in mind that a stockholding can look like plausible deniability, and for a guy like him to lose twenty kiloyen as a sunk cost in a plan is nothing. But yeah, I can put you in touch. Uh, you might remember the chief investigator, inspector Hogan. I'll give you his digits."""

Melinda on Voltsev and MaChef:

"""Whoo, that's a big one. Honestly? He might be involved, but I doubt it. Ever since he left prison, as far as I know he's kept himself cleaner than polished chrome. Of course, that's just as far as I know. As far as ties to MaChef? Probably no more nor less than any other of his web of investments. Even if he does, I doubt that it means much."""

Badger on a gangster:

"""Uh, you're gonna hafta be a lot more detailed here. What and how and why? These ain't nice folks."""

Jaxx:

"""Not a chance, Karmalance. PoliDemos hates him, and people like him. I can tell you that for free without even giving them a call. To them, he's the thin end of every wedge."""

Online research leads mostly to a dead end on Voltsev's investments. Sure, she finds a few holding companies that everybody knows about, but after that the trail leads into a twisty maze of little spreadsheets, all similar.

Genady Voltsev does not have direct ownership of any MaChef stock that Karmakaze can identify.

Genady Voltsev has no visible links with PoliDemos that Karmakaze can identify.

Voltsev's records are basic, standard public records with nothing fancy or exciting to them. Drug possession with intent to distribute, welcome to the Greybar Hotel. Clang.

Genady Voltsev is a known past associate of the Vory. After his release from prison, they definitely paid him a wad of thank-you cash for keeping his mouth shut, taking the fall, and shielding his superiors. For most, that's just a ticket to a fast life and a messy death - or a fast slide back into Vory footsoldier status. For him, it was seed money for investment.

But there's no hint of him having anything whatsoever to do with PoliDemos.

[Bastard]

Continuing legwork:

Bradshaw (Level 2) - The Vory - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2 ]
Booker - The Vory - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1 ]
Badger - The Vory - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ]
Jaxx - The Vory - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1 ]


Online search: The Vory ( Intel 5 ) - Roll: 5d6 = [ 4, 3, 2, 2, 1 ]
Online search: PoliDemos + MaChef's ( Intel 5 ) - Roll: 5d6 = [ 4, 4, 2, 2, 1 ]

[Koekepan]

Bradshaw on the Vory:

"""Well, the Vory are the russian answer to the mafia. Dunno how much history you want, or care about, but their background basically goes to the bad old days of the USSR, and various people stuck in Siberia. 'swhy their homeland is Vladivostok, the capital, pretty much of Russia's eastern seaboard. Of course from there it's a hop, skip and jump to the Aleutians, and so they had plenty of play in the old USA, and later they kept those links through to the formation of the UCAS. They run their show with typical russian charm. A warm smile below cold fish eyes, the smell of cheap cologne and expensive vodka, powered by the kind of thugs who would discuss fetching a meter to figure out just how loud you screamed before they started shoving your foot into a blender. Nice folks. If you really, really wanna meet them, well, I can name a couple. But you didn't hear it from me, got it?"""

Booker on the Vory:

"""The iron fist wearing through the velvet glove. The velvet is fake plush from a cheap old TriD set, and the iron is rusty soviet leftovers. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that they don't have a very effective code of silence - getting convictions on them is hell, because they would rather get a bullet from me than the kind of slow death that they'd get from their bosses. Subtle, they're not."""

Badger on the Vory:

"""Y'know, I'd rather run a snatch-and-grab on the Vory than on the Yaks. Not because the Vory are easy, but because they are more inclined to view their men as disposable. One got taken? Nul persp. He won't say drek. They'll just wait until he turns up dead, or turns up in prison, or gets turned out. They don't really hold it against me - much. The usual disclaimers apply, of course."""

Jaxx on the Vory:

"""Y're starting to scare me here, Karmakraze. You don't see me asking where I can cuddle half-a-dozen black mambas, do you? I don't want to. See, I have a strict no-black-mambas policy in my bed. In fact, they can stay where they come from. Africa, right? Africa's lovely this time of year for the black mambas. I love that for them. They can be happy there, living laughing and loving. Assuming that laughter and loving are in their way of life, which I honestly don't know. I do know that I've never seen a Vory man laugh except one time, and that was a bad time for someone else."""

The Matrix is happy to show Karmakaze scores of TriDs about the Vory, each one competing to be trashier than the last.

PoliDemos and MaChef:

It's not clear what's going on here, but apparently PoliDemos regards MaChef as a model corporate citizen. Maybe they know someone, or someone has embarrassing evidence on someone, or they actually just love each other, but PoliDemos has a scoresheet for businesses that they recommend and MaChef is right in there. For whatever that's worth.

[pbangarth]

Yeah, the reclusive magician/philosopher will not be able to add much to all that Karmakaze has learned. (Etiquette 3!)

So, good work Bastard!

One thing that jumps out at me is that MacChef is allegedly a darling of PoliDemos. Hmm. Who has it out for The Karens, other than we two, enough so to actually want to do damage, if only indirectly?

[Bastard]

Sorry for taking up so much time and space. Just every questions begets two questions!


Bradshaw (Level 2) - PoliDemos & MaChef's - Roll: 6d6 = [ 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2 ]
Booker - PoliDemos & MaChef's - Roll: 6d6 = [ 5, 4, 4, 2, 2, 1 ]
Badger - PoliDemos & MaChef's - Roll: 6d6 = [ 5, 4, 4, 4, 2, 1 ]
Jaxx - PoliDemos & MaChef's - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3 ]
Melinda - PoliDemos & MaChef's (relation and ownerships) - Roll: 6d6 = [ 6, 5, 5, 4, 2, 1 ]

Online search: PoliDemos leadership (Intel 5) - Roll: 5d6 = [ 6, 5, 3, 1, 2 ]
Online search: MaChef's ownership (Intel 5) - Roll: 5d6 = [ 6, 5, 5, 4, 3 ]

[pbangarth]

Hell, no. Keep it going. This is a good read.

[Koekepan]

Bradshaw on PoliDemos and MaChef:

"""Huh, no drek? Whaddyaknow."""

Booker on PoliDemos and MaChef:

"""Oh yeah. That figures. Could be a tie, but I think that it's all a lot simpler: MaChef plays by the rules and provides a quality product. In other words, good citizens that play by the rules. PoliDemos loves that."""

Badger on PoliDemos and MaChef:

"""Beats me. Maybe one of the PoliDemos high honchos gets her plumbing regularly cleaned by one of the MaChef maintainers."""

Jaxx on PoliDemos and MaChef:

"""PoliDemos doesn't like Voltsev because he's the wrong kind of people for them. They'll never like the gangster stank - at least from anybody but themselves. MaChef don't have that problem. They pay their dues. In fact, I don't know this but if you wanna Karmawriggle your way into their accounts maybe you'll find MaChef is paying dues to PoliDemos to keep 'em sweet."""

Melinda on PoliDemos and MaChef:

"""I doubt it. PoliDemos are sort of homegrown in the Green Lake, Shoreline areas. MaChef came from out of town, so their origins are different. Doesn't mean that they don't find common ground, but I don't think that there's an original link there."""

PoliDemos's leadership: There's a lovely TriD page showcasing beautiful people who look like solid sararimen and glamorous homemakers working for a better, more democratic future.

MaChef's ownership is a classic franchise system. There's the original ownership structure which designs, updates and maintains the automated cooking and vending systems, and then there are franchise owners, who get one or more systems from the parent company, and then run, maintain, stock and place the cookers. Sometimes it's one slot running one machine - not a bad living if he finds good locations - and sometimes it's one guy with a dozen, and four maintainers working for him. In the big picture, MaChef has a strong reputation maintenance code, so that any franchise holder determined to be detrimental to the brand has a forced buy-back and loses his franchise. This is a consequence of some earlier scandals decades ago where franchise holders were found dealing drugs or BTLs or illegal gambling or otherwise being stupid. They play it clean. At least as far as lifestyle is concerned.

[Bastard]

Set up meet with Detective Hogan - Roll: 6d6 = [ 5, 5, 5, 4, 1, 1 ]

Down to one etiquette roll.

[Bastard]

NOTE TO SELF: Legwork to do.

[ Spoiler ]

VGI portfolio

Follow up with Melinda: Why did she bring up the name Voltsev when I asked about Virtual Garage Investech and MaChefs, but I am not clear on the connection.

Follow up on connection of VGI and MaChefs.
Follow up on VGIs recent stock moves.

[pbangarth]

Koekepan, Blue is the first PC I've played in a long time who can summon spirits. So, I'm getting around to asking about something a player did years and years ago in the old Virtual Seattle RPGA games with his mage.

It has to do with watcher spirits. He would summon a bunch and do a "face mob" in combat situations. Watchers can't materialize, but they can manifest, and he would have them all in the face of an opponent, obscuring vision and making all kinds of noise, with the intent of causing negative modifiers to the opponents combat rolls. I don't know whether this would be akin to "friends in melee", but surely it would be distracting.

I don't recall what GMs at the time adjudicated, and wonder whether this tactic would work in this campaign. I envision a bunch of little owlets all flapping their wings and screeching at the NPC. Would this have any effect, like vision modifiers and such?

[Koekepan]

Yes, but you'd have to dedicate time to summoning watchers. They don't last, they're ineffectual except for searches and distractions and other low-level stuff, and they won't affect things like targeting software or AR interfaces.

[pbangarth]

Oh, yeah, I know. But at one Combat Round per summoning, Blue could get 8 of the little buggers in less than half a minute. It would require time in advance, but with that proviso it could be fun.

Always looking for fun!

[pbangarth]

Bringing this thread back to life.

[pbangarth]

From 3 July to 9 July I will be on an island in Georgian Bay (in the Great Lakes). Allegedly there is WIFI there. We'll see.

[Koekepan]

The Matrix will reach you everywhere.

[Bastard]

Sorry for delays. I am kind of stuck of where to go and may need some gm guidance. I feel like every avenue has been a dead end, so I probably missed a big clue.

These last four weeks at work have been non-stop, but I get a good three week break for vacation. I got a bunch of mini-trips planned for the family, but I should be able to post up every 2-3 days through the rest of July.


August is going to be a shit show. I will be working every day for 12-14 hours, so I probably will be afk that whole time.

[Koekepan]

It would be a good start to think about why the client wants that information. What are they trying to prove? Whom are they chasing? What links do these prove that they don't otherwise have?

Another way to look at it: is this really about the individual people so much as the forces that they represent? What do local politicians want, and how does it contrast with what businesspeople want - and how do the on-the-ground traders contrast with financiers and string-pullers?

This should, in principle, be a fairly easy job. Look at the original criteria and review the mission.

[pbangarth]

I'm back home now, and in between training and competition I will try to get an idea of where we are. Bastard, together if we reread stuff we might figure out what to do.

[pbangarth]

We're back up! Yay! Still have to do homework, but now at least I can read the older posts.

[Koekepan]

Yup, back on the 'trix. Boy, the past few days have been bouncy.

[pbangarth]

Homeworking ... herding sheep ... herding sheep ... homeworking ... herding sheep ...

[pbangarth]

Off to train with sheep till Sunday. Will try to keep in touch in the evenings. Honest, August will slow down on the farm.

[Bastard]

I am back from my travels. I went back through the current run before I left, but still am missing the clue.

[pbangarth]

OK, I'm giving it a shot now.

[pbangarth]

Here's something the books probably don't answer, thus requiring a GM's ruling.

A street vendor's cart is a structure, and it has cooking facility built in. Is that enough for there to be a Hearth Spirit associated with it?