A first operation for 1 GM and 3-5 operators. Recommended squad: one each of Ironclad, Shadow, Physick, and either Sharpshooter or Artificer.
The Situation
Three days before the peace summit formally opens, a Terrassian diplomatic attaché named Serava Koss-Tindal reaches out through a Merchant Web intermediary. She has seen something in the Hallaset Fields -- the senior Terrassian necromancer met privately with Lord Barron Whitehallow's aide near the old cemetery gate, late, when no one was supposed to be watching. She photographed documents she wasn't supposed to see.
She wants out. She will trade what she has for safe passage to neutral ground.
The meeting is tonight, at Rozito's seasonal gala -- a Merchant Guild event, invitation only, masks required. Serava's diplomatic cover gets her in. Getting her out is the team's problem.
Complication: The Albion Crown Prince's security detail has flagged Serava as a potential intelligence asset. An Automatic Assassin has been dispatched to the gala with standing orders to neutralize her before she can speak to anyone.
The Brief
Primary Objective: Extract Serava Koss-Tindal alive.
Secondary Objective: Secure the documents she's carrying. She'll hand them over if she trusts the team -- SC check at 4+ during extraction. On a failure she keeps them; a second attempt is possible if the team demonstrates competence under pressure (GM's discretion).
Hidden Objective (bonus): The Automatic Assassin carries encrypted Albion operational orders in its chest compartment. Retrieving these requires an Override (CP 4+) or physical extraction from a deactivated unit. The orders prove the Prince's security detail is acting outside the summit's agreed terms -- valuable leverage for any faction.
Operational Liability: Pre-rolled. An Automatic Assassin is already on-station.
Mission Timer: 8 rounds from the moment the team makes contact with Serava. After 8 rounds, the consulate's response unit arrives in force -- 4 Terrassian Attaché Guards + 1 Necromancer at the service entrance. Extraction becomes much harder.
Zone Map
[Zone 5: ALLEY/EXTRACTION]
↑ service door
[Zone 4: SERVANT STAIRS]
↑ east stairs ↑ west stairs
[Zone 3: UPPER SALON] [Zone 3a: BALCONY]
↓ main stairs
[Zone 2: GALA FLOOR]
↓
[Zone 1: SERVICE ENTRANCE]Zone Descriptions
Zone 1 -- Service Entrance
Insertion. Alert Level 0.
A side alley and service door into Rozito's hall. Two kitchen staff move in and out carrying trays. One bored Red Guard is stationed here -- he's here because Rozito pays the Red Court to provide a presence, not because he expects trouble.
Contents:
- 1 Red Guard Patrol (stationary, not on alert)
- 2 civilian kitchen staff (Hostile Asset tier -- scatter on any violence)
Tactical notes: The Red Guard can be avoided, bribed (CP check 3+, cost 5 credits), or neutralized quietly. The kitchen staff will react to any visible violence by running toward Zone 2 and raising noise -- if they do, the GM secretly rolls for Alert Level +1 on d6 (1-3: they don't reach the main floor; 4-6: Alert Level rises).
Points of interest: A service manifest near the door lists all "authorized personnel" -- the team's forged credentials will hold here without a check unless the Guard is actively suspicious (Alert Level 2+).
Zone 2 -- The Gala Floor
Approach. Alert Level 0.
The ground floor of Rozito's hall. Fifty guests in formal attire and masks. Waitstaff circulate. A string quartet plays. Rozito himself moves through the crowd, greeting people with the warm precision of a man who knows exactly what everyone in the room is worth.
Two Red Guard Sergeants flank the main stairs to the upper salon. They are watching for uninvited guests.
Contents:
- 2 Red Guard Sergeants (at the stairs -- will not leave their post unless Alert Level 2+)
- ~50 civilian guests (Hostile Assets -- scatter, panic, raise Alert Level if violence erupts)
- Rozito (NPC, non-combatant, useful -- see below)
- 1 Merchant Web Informant (the team's contact, dressed as a waiter)
Tactical notes: This zone lives and dies on social cover. The Guards are looking for uninvited guests, not operatives in formal attire with valid masks. If the team has credible covers, movement through Zone 2 costs 0 actions -- just describe walking through the party. If a fight starts here, the civilian panic immediately raises Alert Level to 3 and starts the 8-round mission timer regardless of other triggers.
Rozito: He knows something is happening tonight. He always does. If approached with an offer of information trade (the team says something worth hearing), he'll confirm that the Automatic Assassin entered through the front -- it had "full diplomatic escort credentials." He finds this darkly amusing.
The Informant gives the team one key piece of intel before contact: "Serava's in the upper salon. She has her attaché escort -- one man, armed. He doesn't know she's leaving." This is the team's only warning about the escort.
Stairs to Zone 3: The two Sergeants will challenge anyone without an upper-salon invitation (Rozito's inner circle, senior diplomats, the team's covers if sufficiently convincing -- SC check 3+). They will not let a weapon through -- any visibly armed character triggers a detailed search (SC check 5+ to conceal weapon).
Zone 3 -- The Upper Salon
Objective Zone. Alert Level rises to 1 when the team enters -- the consulate's surveillance has flagged unusual activity.
A quieter space above the main floor. Fifteen guests, mostly senior diplomats and merchants conducting the kind of conversations that don't happen downstairs. Serava is in the northeast corner with her attaché escort, Davin Tark, pretending to study a painting.
The Automatic Assassin entered twenty minutes ago. It is standing in the southwest corner, still, dressed in Albion diplomatic formal wear with its mask covering the clockwork portions of its face. It has identified Serava. It is waiting for a moment without witnesses.
Contents:
- Serava Koss-Tindal (HVT, extraction target -- cooperates once the team makes contact)
- Davin Tark (Terrassian Attaché Guard -- loyal to Terrassia, not to Serava; will fight to bring her back)
- 1 Automatic Assassin (acting on initiative round 2 unless the team intervenes)
- ~15 civilian guests (scatter at first sign of violence; Alert Level +2 if they witness combat)
Zone 3a -- The Balcony: Accessible through a side door. Empty. Excellent sniper position for the Sharpshooter covering Zone 3 or Zone 2 below. Also an alternate extraction route (grapple line to alley, 2-action drop -- skips Zone 4, reaches Zone 5 directly).
Serava: She is composed, frightened, and has already decided. When a team member makes contact (any plausible approach -- SC check 2+ to establish trust without raising Davin's suspicion), she says three things in order: "I have the documents." "There's a machine in the corner that's going to kill me." "Get me out of here and you can have everything."
Davin Tark: He does not know Serava is leaving. When he realizes she is being extracted (after she makes contact with the team or when extraction begins), he becomes hostile. He will not fight in the middle of the gala -- he will try to talk, delay, signal. On the move to Zone 4, he acts. If captured or convinced (SC check 4+ with Serava's help), he reveals he suspected something was wrong in the delegation but followed orders.
The Automatic Assassin: On Round 2 (from the start of the mission, not from when the timer starts), it moves to Serava's zone and acts on highest-threat priority. It will fire in the upper salon without hesitation. The moment it fires, Alert Level goes to 3 and every clock in the mission accelerates. The team has very little time to prevent this.
Override window: The Artificer has one round (Round 1) to attempt Override while the Assassin is stationary. CP check 4+, must be adjacent. Success neutralizes it for the mission and opens the Hidden Objective. Failure triggers its Data Link and it acts immediately.
Zone 4 -- Servant Stairs
Kill Zone. Enemies arrive here when extraction begins.
The back stairway between the upper salon and service entrance. Narrow. Two can walk abreast. If the Gala Floor is already at Alert Level 2+, 2 Red Guard Sergeants redirect here from Zone 2 on round 4.
When the team begins moving Serava toward extraction (any movement from Zone 3 toward Zone 1), the mission timer starts if it hasn't already. The consulate response -- if their 8 rounds have elapsed -- deploys here.
Kill Zone activation: On round 5 (from timer start), if Alert Level is 3+, roll d4: that many Red Guard Patrol units arrive at Zone 4 from Zone 2. They have orders to prevent anyone from reaching the service entrance.
Choke point: The stairs are a choke point (maximum 2 operators abreast). The Ironclad's Breach and Clear is extremely effective here. So is the Physick's smoke canister.
Zone 5 -- The Alley (Extraction)
Extraction. Variable difficulty.
The alley behind Rozito's hall. The team's exit. One pre-planned route: a carriage at the north end, waiting, driven by a Merchant Web contact.
Extraction complication (Operational Liability -- Automatic Assassin on station): The carriage driver spotted the Assassin's entry and has moved 2 blocks north -- he doesn't want to be near it. If the Assassin is deactivated, the driver returns immediately. If not, operators must reach the carriage on foot (2 additional move actions, through a public street -- STRIDE check or civilian witnesses).
If Alert Level is 4: A Red Guard patrol of 2 has sealed the alley's south end. The north end (toward the carriage) is still open. The team has one round before the patrol closes the distance.
Serava's status on extraction: If she reaches Zone 5 alive with the team, she provides the full Hallaset Fields intelligence -- advance one step toward reducing the Lich Cult's Pressure Track. If wounded but alive, she provides a partial account (GM's discretion on what she knows). If the documents were also secured (secondary objective), the team gains Leverage that can reduce one faction's Pressure Track.
Opposition by Alert Level
| Alert Level | Change |
|---|---|
| 0 | Standard gala. Red Guards at posts. Assassin waiting. |
| 1 | Team enters upper salon. Consulate surveillance flags activity. Davin Tark becomes watchful. |
| 2 | Loud weapon fired OR Assassin acts in main areas OR Davin Tark signals. Red Guard Sergeants leave stairs and move toward disturbance. 8-round timer begins if not already running. |
| 3 | Assassin fires in upper salon, OR civilian witnesses violence, OR an alarm is physically triggered. Civilian panic. Full Red Court response. Consulate response unit en route. |
| 4+ | Red Court has sealed the building. No exits without force. Consulate response is in Zone 4. |
Key NPCs
Serava Koss-Tindal -- Terrassian diplomatic attaché, late 30s, composed under pressure. She speaks four languages and has been lying to her own delegation for six weeks. She is not a combatant. She will do what she's told if she trusts the team, and she is smart enough to assess trustworthiness quickly. Motivation: Survival and conscience in roughly equal measure.
Davin Tark -- Serava's assigned attaché escort, 40s, professional soldier in diplomatic clothes. He follows orders. He suspects something is wrong in the delegation but hasn't acted on it. If captured: Motivation roll (4+: Conflicted -- he'll cooperate for protection). If not captured: he reports to the consulate.
Rozito -- Present throughout the gala. Neutral. Finds the whole situation commercially interesting. Will not intervene in violence, will not call for help, will present a very large invoice to whichever faction broke his gala.
After the Mission
If Serava is extracted alive: Lich Cult Pressure Track –1 (the intelligence disrupts one ritual preparation). Team gains her as a Contact (Reliability d8, starting at 5 -- she is forthcoming with what she knows).
If the documents are secured: Team gains Leverage (roll on Intel & Leverage table -- two-column result).
If the Assassin's orders are retrieved: Albion Delegation Pressure Track –1. The Crown Prince's staff has been embarrassed; they reduce their aggressive posture temporarily.
If Serava is killed: Lich Cult Pressure Track +1 (Whitehallow's agents arranged this; her death means one less person who can expose him). The team may still have the documents -- but has no context for them.
If the gala went loud (Alert Level 4+): Red Court Pressure Track +1. Queen Kiraline is displeased. The Bastion Inn may have a Red Guard watching it when the team returns.
GM Notes
Pacing: The first three rounds should feel like a social mission -- movement, cover, assessment. The Automatic Assassin's countdown is the pressure. Round 2 is when things get real if the team didn't neutralize it in Round 1. After that it's a sprint.
The Assassin as a tool: Let the Assassin be a problem the team can solve in multiple ways. The Artificer's Override is clean and quiet. Disabling it by force is loud and messy but possible. Staying between it and Serava and getting everyone out before it acts is a third option -- high difficulty, but satisfying if it works.
Davin Tark: Don't play him as a villain. He's a professional doing his job who is about to find out his job was wrong. If players try to convince him, let the dice and roleplay work. A converted Davin is a useful future contact; a dead Davin is just a dead man who was doing his best.
Serava's information: She knows about a meeting between a Terrassian necromancer and a Cult aide. She doesn't know who the aide was reporting to. She photographed ritual components being moved through the Fields. This is enough to start connecting the dots -- not enough to prove anything yet.