Pilfer this Cyberpunk plot seed – Red Planet Revolution

I’ve been thinking about Mars quite a lot lately, and not just because of the recent Mars rover images that got mentioned on my podcast. And this is just one idea I’ve had for a game that can be played on the Red Planet.

Rumours of sedition coming from Mars haven’t sparked that much interest to those making their livings on the streets of earth. Even the politicians don’t seem that worried, as long as the mining operations continue as they are doing; true the prices will go up, but given the limited number of options at the moment, it’s better politics to be seen to support the workers and engage in a program of non-involvement when the Corporations come knocking. The Corporations have other plans though.

They understand that stamping down on a democratic process would mean suicide for their businesses, but even a small increase in cost and the bureaucracy involved in putting yet another government in their back pockets would hit their bottom line hard. And that’s where you come in. One of several teams of ‘Runners sent off world to root out the ring leaders of this seditious movement, and remove them. With extreme prejudice if needed.

Mars as it is for the adventure that follows is a world divided; the rich living in towering structures, so large that coming into orbit, with the curvature of Mars still evident, the shining spires of steel and glass that reflect the red dusted ground look like bloody nails driven through from inside the crimson surface of the planet. Huddled around them are the cities that house the miners and service workers, not quite slums, and totally enclosed to maintain a more human tolerable atmosphere. Compared to the lives they could be living on earth, they don’t seem to have it that bad, and it’s not until landing that the massive socioeconomic divide becomes obvious.

The landing port is at the base of the Yoshikuni Mining Corp. tower, and as the company that paid for this little venture, the players have been granted rooms on the lower levels as their base of operations. They have been given Carte Blanche to deal with this little revolution, as long as it does not impede the mining operations in any significant way.

This of course means that the players will have many avenues open to them about how they go about changing the fate of the Mars mining population. A lot of what happens after this set up depends on the type of characters they have created, and the mood of the game they’re wanting to play, but they will almost certainly meet a few key individuals, so we shall concentrate on them.

Carter Blayse The charismatic leader of the People’s Charter political party that looks to end what they consider unfair conditions for the menial workers on the Red Planet. A skilled orator and man of the people, he has risen to prominence recently at various rallies and town hall meetings, whipping the crowd into a barely controlled frenzy. It’s easy to assume that one word from his lips would have all the miners rise up, and bring the shining steel structures toppling down, the inhabitants forever trapped in a very expensive mausoleum.

This is not his goal though, instead he seeks higher political office, and the lifestyle that would afford him. Although an employee of Yoshikuni, he is also on the pay roll of Direct American, a rival mining corporation on a distant part of Mars. What they never expected when they had him start his rabble rousing, was that he would be so damned good at it. His fiery rhetoric soon spread from tower to tower, and the slums around them were infested with it, each working realising that there was a man whose voice spoke for all of them. Blayse has loved this, and while still taking money has been talking about throwing off the capitalist shackles of every mining concern that seeks to enslave the honest working men of yarda-yarda-yarda. With so many workers behind him, and a major election for a several key roles within the Mars Parliament just weeks away, he is ready to capitalise on his support, and when elected, leave the miners to their dust.

Chinatsu Hideyoshi The character’s point of contact on Mars. A well heeled business man with contacts everywhere, who sees this entire thing, and even his posting on this far flung colony to be a colossal waste of time. he will do as little as is humanly possible o help out the characters without angering his own boss, or risking the wrath of the edge runners who look to him for aid. This corner cutting will run to everything, from acquiring the cheapest equipment – the characters will simply not be permitted to bring weapons with them at all – to accommodation and basic meals.

Although he does as little as possible, he is on the character’s side – as long as that stays in the interest of the corporation – and if it looks like something’s about to go horribly wrong that could be blamed on his actions, he will move heaven and Mars to see his name cleared.

Jasper Pendleton An actual miner who really does want what’s best for his fellow workers. And what he thinks that is, is to quietly work well, and hopefully get the treatment they deserve. He has little support since he is at best awkward in social situations, and at worst, hostile and combative when he realises that he has failed to get a point across well or has been argued into a corner. What little support he has though, is powerful. Most of the current Parliamentarians see Blayse as a real challenge to the status quo, and Pendleton as just what is needed to keep things ticking along nicely. If the characters cultivate a relationship with him – in spite of his social defects – he could be a very powerful ally.

So there you have it, a whole planet with a political life of its own to explore. As with all things Cyberpunk though, nothing may be what it seams, so feel free to adapt everything written above to suit the game you want to play.