Synopsis
Our protagonist? is an investigative reporter in the northern Unites States during the year 2021. She receives a tip from an anonymous source (MT) that a local media conglomerate, the Harland Broadcasting Corporation is undertaking an unspecified conspiracy. The two infiltrate the HBC HQ and discover the company is a front for terrorist organization Caecus Group. After learning of Reporter's presence, Caecus troops begin to flood the building with intent to eliminate her. After fighting through and escaping the building, Reporter finds police surrounding the building and is taken into custody.
Floors
Gameplay and story in 403 Aurelius are broken up into different floors of the building. This list includes a very brief description of the floor's signifigance to the story as well as the player's goals on each floor.
| Act I: First half of the mod, where stealth is the focus. |
| Apartment/Basement Parking Garage: Prologue. Meet MT, retrieve disguise, enter lobby. |
| Floor 1 - Lobby?: Find mail room, retrieve remaining equipment, access floor 20. |
| Floor 20 - IT Operations ?: Gameplay establisher. Install backdoor to HBC's main web server, bypass security, reach floor 19. |
| Floor 19 - Mechanical?: Reach elevator shaft. |
| Floors 25/26 - Food Court?: Backdoor floor server to unlock kitchen, use vent in kitchen to access floor 27. |
| Floor 27 - Animation & Rendering Farm?: Jif's done some shit. Backdoor floor server to unlock lead animator's office, steal keycard to floor 28. |
| Floors 28/29 - Copy Writing?: Lore-heavy. Backdoor floor server to unlock dept. manager's office, use vent in office to access next floor. |
| Floors 30/31 News Studios & Editing ?: Hope you brought nice sneakers. Steal keycard to floor 32 from sleeping dude. |
| Floor 32 - Accounting ?: Conspiracy reveal, floor seems small. Get evidence of HBC corruption. |
| Floors 33/34 - Executive Offices?: Find incriminating evidence against executives, find entrance to secret area. |
| Floor 32 - Caecus Operations?: WHAM FLOOR HOLY FUCK WHAT. Collect all of the evidence ever, find taser, gtfo |
| Act II: Second half, with lots of firefights and dead things. |
| Floors 33/34 - Executive Offices Pt. II?: Action introduction. Fight baddies, don't eat baddie bullets, reach rooftop. |
| Rooftop?: Restore power, don't eat chopper bullets. |
| SKIPPING VAGUE FLOOR PROGESSION |
| Floors 25/26 - Food Court Pt. II?: Fend off baddies, acquire explosives, boom goes the dynamite, enter secret elevator. |
| Floor 1 - Loading Dock?: Escape building, fuck the police. |
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