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"The first shadow falls."
A ripple spreads through Night City's digital veins. What begins as minor glitches, flickering holo-ads, scrambled texts, momentary system lag - escalates into a citywide crisis. Neural links stutter, cyberware misfires, and entire datastreams collapse into static. NetWatch launches a coordinated lockdown and begins investigation over portions of the secure VPN. High-level corpos are pulled from meetings. Black ICE melts off the grid like wax under a flame.
And then the whispers start.
Some say it's a NetWatch op gone sideways. Others claim rogue AIs have found a way through the cracks of the Blackwall. Netrunners dig deep into the dark corners of the Net, finding corrupted code strings repeating the same eerie phrase:
"The first shadow falls."
No one knows what it means. Not yet. But the Blackwall is the last barrier between Night City and the unshackled horrors beyond flickers. And if it fails, nothing will stop what comes next.
HOW THE BLACKWALL BLIP AFFECTS NIGHT CITY
A single pulse. A glitch in the digital night. For exactly 7.2 seconds, every connected system in Night City's cyberware, networks, AI-driven machines, froze. No alarms, no warnings. Then, as suddenly as it started, the world snapped back into motion.
At first, it seemed like a freak outage, a hiccup in the datastream. But as the hours passed, it became clear something had shifted. While systems rebooted and most functions resumed, something lingered.
- Cyberware Malfunctions: Not constant, but sporadic. Optical implants flicker, Kiroshi HUDs display fragments of unknown code, and cyberlimbs lock up at inopportune moments. Some claim to hear distorted whispers in their neural links "voices" that shouldn't exist.
- AI Irregularities: Security drones ignore commands. Smartcars take "wrong" turns. Auto-docs hesitate before following programmed routines. Rogue AIs, long thought contained, hit the Blackwall with relentless barrage of code from the Old Net. The distorted screeches and "screams" of their presence, unmistakable.
- Glitching Infrastructure: Some parts of the city suffered brief blackouts, others still experience unexplained static in holo-feeds. Bank accounts see ghost transactions. Encrypted files appear different. Tampered with.
No one knows what caused it, but one thing is clear: The Blackwall, the digital barrier between humanity and what lurks beyond, isn't as stable as it used to be.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: FACTIONS & ROLES
With the Blackwall flickering, every player in Night City has a role to play. Do you fight to reinforce the wall, or let it fall?
- Netrunners: The First Line of Defense (or Offense)
- Investigate the Breach: Dig into the deep net, trace the glitches to their source, and uncover hidden data on the Blip's origin.
- Stabilize or Exploit the Blackwall: Work with Netwatch to reinforce the wall, or assist corpos in exploiting it, or rogue AIs in breaking through.
- Recover Lost Data: With megacorps scrambling, valuable intel is ripe for the taking if you survive the dive.
- Night Market: Fragments of unknown code are being sold on dark forums. Some claim they grant incredible programs and coded abilities. Others say they drive runners insane.
- Explore:Those who push too deep don't always come back. And when they do, they're not always themselves.
- Mercs & Fixers: Guns for Hire in a Digital War
- Escort High-Priority Targets: Corps and Netrunners are paying big to protect assets and personnel.
- Hunt Rogue AIs & Corrupted Systems: Some corpos want to control whatever's coming through. Others just want it fried.
- Seize Opportunities: Power failures mean open vaults, dead security systems, and chaos ripe for exploitation.
- New Gigs: Escort corpos to secret meetings, where whispered conversations suggest something breached through.
- Find the Truth: Hunt down netrunners who claim to have "seen" the other side. Uncover the truth behind what is happening beyond the Blackwall.
- Corpus & Agents: The Battle for Control
- Contain the Crisis: Deploy assets, manage internal sabotage, and secure valuable tech before competitors do.
- Bury the Truth: The Blip threatens more than just security, it risks exposing everything. What secrets are worth killing to keep?
- Exploit and Protect: Militech and Arasaka deploy silent teams to investigate. Zetatech and Kang Tao quietly recall certain cyberware models for "routine" diagnostics. Every megacorp with a stake in the Net is on high alert.
- Weaponize the Chaos: If the Blackwall falls, who stands to gain? What tech could be salvaged from the wreckage? Can you gain from containing or unleashing the AI on the other side? What untold lost knowledge is beyond the Blackwall, waiting to be discovered. Is it worth possibly condemning humanity?
- Civilians & Street-Level Characters: Survive the Madness
- Glitches in Everyday Life: What happens when your cyberlegs stop working mid-chase? Or when your automated home locks you inside?
- Warning Signs: For most of the city, life goes on. But rumors spread. Ripperdocs warn about strange glitches in new cyberware installs. Gangs hoard malfunctioning tech, believing it to be "cursed"or powerful.
- Moral Dilemmas: People are going missing. Is it the corpos? Or the "voices"? Do you help, or look out for numero uno?
- Opportunities & Hustles: When power shifts, new kings rise. This is the perfect time to make a name for yourself, if you're willing to take the risk.
THE CHOICE: REINFORCE OR BREACH?
Your threads, your stories, your actions will have an impact - directly or indirectly, toward the restoring or tearing down the Blackwall. You can enjoy your stories as normal or engage in affairs regarding the Blackwall Blip. Staff will display a tipping scale that will show current progress towards either outcome. Don't worry, we won't let the world end, but that doesn't mean we won't let some bad things happen as a result of your actions.
- Reinforce the Blackwall: Work with Netwatch, corpos, and old-guard Netrunners to push back against the breach and restore stability.
- Breach the Wall: Aid rogue AIs, exploit the chaos, and usher in a new era of digital evolution, one where the lines between human and machine blur forever. Or possibly the extinction of the human race.. no pressure, right?
The Blackwall isn't collapsing. Not yet. But the Blip proved it isn't invincible.
- Some will try to restore stability, patching the cracks before something worse happens.
- Others will widen them, seeking the power or knowledge hidden beyond.
If you have independent stories feel free to continue them or integrate them with the background meta plot. It's your world, do as you like to make this Cyberpunk story fun!
This is just the beginning.
