The PCs are in Dublin, investigating the death of a scholar known by one of the PCs. The PC in question is a teacher at a university, and had been sent a package containing a Kingmaker Ritual wanted by the Black Lodge. They've come to Dublin to find out who killed the colleague and to prevent the ritual from falling into the wrong hands. Over the course of about six or seven sessions, they've learned about the Black Lodge, and are trying to take things slow so as not to attract too much attention to themselves.
Last session, they were hired by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to collect a series of magical inks, used with a metamagic ritual to tattoo a spirit into a human host. It acts similar to possession, but the host maintains full control of his body, and gains access to the spirit's powers. The PCs had the inks planted on them prior, but handed them off to a yakuza knee-breaker in exchange for information on local assassins they can get in contact with. Now, they had to recover the inks and bring them back to the Hermetics. The process had them encounter one of the elite assassins in Dublin, a member of the Path of the Wheel, who acts as a personal 'cleaner' for the nobility there. He was after the inks as well - not for the inks, but for the ritual to use them which was concealed with the inks. Since the scholar (PC) was able to help him recover them, he handed the PCs the inks (for half their take from the Hermetic Order), kept the ritual for himself, and gave the PCs a copy of the ritual for safe keeping. (This session involved an NPC who's gunning for the PCs completely trashing the yakuza hangout, while the PCs dove for cover and kept out of the way)
This session, the PCs go to the Hermetic Order and drop off the inks. This is also the scholar's first payday, ever, and he feels flushed with cash so the PCs decide to go out into the higher class section of the archology to get real food. (Side note: Scholar Character is a new character, while the other two players are playing their veterans -- over 600 karma in the veterans, while the new character's working up to 100 karma. Because of various factors, all the characters have reasonably legitimate SINS and can actually move around - that was the intent of the game, to allow them to deal with all walks of life).
On the way to the resturaunt, the PCs run into an honest-to-god faerie. She's encountered the veteran PCs before (and goes by the name Rumour Mills). The faerie has had her eye on the PCs for quite some time, and has dropped hints here and there to give them a hand, or to simply confuse them. This time, she offers them a package -- pulled from the trunk of an unsuspecting elf's car. (Elf: Hey, what are you doing opening my trunk? Hey, stop fishing in there! Hey... where the hell did THAT come from?!) The package is fairly large and bulky, and after some niceties, she departs, leaving the PCs (rightfully) suspecting that this is THE harp of Ireland (the very harp used for the Irish flag). The scholar checks the matrix - and finds out that the harp has *just* vanished from the University of Dublin it was kept at. (As an aside, the Black Lodge is trying to collect various symbolic items which represent the nation they're trying to take over with the Kingmaker ritual - and the harp was one of them. One they DID steal was the oldest gaslamp in the city of Dublin).
The PCs decide to bring the harp back to their hotel. Or, to be more specific, they handed it to the NPC bodyguard to bring there, while they go eat. Dinner goes very well, and the PCs head to the hotel to find the NPC bodyguard covered in blood, busily dissolving the bodies of three assassins in the bathtub. After much discussion, discovery of RFID 'dust' in the bed sheets, and bugs scattered through the rooms, the PC technomancer 'scrubs' the hotel rooms, while the NPC fishes out the cyberware from the bathtub. Some checking on the local shadownet gets the PCs in contact with a local orc to dump off the cyberware, and the PCs head out - leaving the bodyguard behind with the harp.
The PCs hook up with the orc, and give him the cyberware. Finding out the scholar was able to face down the elite assassin of the noble court, he considers the group 'alright', and invites them to a Celtic Trog Rock concert. The PCs come along, and get to throw down - while the media-runner PC discovers an NPC rock star that they have to kidnap is hanging out incognito. (She works for Aztechnology, and combines 'recording' everything she encounters with 'programming' people with her music. Both of these things are done without her knowledge, and the PCs have been hired by another party to kidnap her at some point and get her away from Aztechnology. She's effectively a sleeper agent.) The scholar meets up with a dwarf named The Watchmaker, who programs drones to 'learn' while on missions for him. He winds them up and lets them go with minimum interference from him. Finding him interesting, the scholar introduces him to the technomancer, and they hit it off well. The technomancer loves the local Trog Rock music so much, she buys their albums, and sends one copy to the ghoul warren she knows back home (run by The Reverand, an Ozzie Osbourne shaman). He gets a kick out of the music, so sends back some music by "The Unquiet Graves", a ghoul metal band. (I described the music as 'pipe organ, wailing violins, screeching vocals, and death metal guitar). The PCs decided to share this music with the local band, and everyone was happy.
Everyone had a blast - the violence was done behind the scenes, as 'something you'll probably need to face later', while the PCs were busy making contacts in the city and sending out feelers for the investigation. They've done some side-missions (getting the inks, for example), and now have one of the McGuffins for later in the campaign, but the whole point of the session was for the PCs to meet new people, and get a feel for the city. I think it worked out well, and I'm not even sure the PCs will see actual 'action' next session either. Strangely enough, this is how the group likes to play.
Anyway, thought I'd share some of the plot elements I've been using, the NPCs, and the setting I've added. Hope you like it, and if you want to yoink anything, feel free.
