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Posted by: Deamon_Knight Jan 21 2006, 04:43 AM

I'm just starting to GM Shadowrun (SR3), and I put together a run for my entry level victims. However, I only have 3 players, and every week one of them has canceled with some problem at home. I decided with just two, they would be hard pressed to complete the mission I devised, so I suggested we postpone the game until everyone could show. My two newbies are a little aggravated by the delay, so It occurred to me I could just throw together a run for them (I'm a little slow sometimes ) They will be surprised, because they think the game has been canceled and are just showing for fun. The two attendees are the newest to the game (they have never played SR before aside from Food Fight), so I'm tying to come up with something that will showcase the SR setting and will be easy, and let them cut loose a bit. That is, before I bury them with my soul crushing Dystopia campaign.

Heres the problem, This idea just occurred to me. (I've been trying to add a little polish to the original run idea instead.) and the meeting is late tomorrow, and I'm drawing a real blank. My two players are a (non-adept) Face with some gun skill and a Streetsam Light with skillwires.

The face knows the Daughter of a Lonestar Cop (Saved damsel in distress as part of background.) I thought I have her come looking for him, sobbing, that she had gotten herself into some kind of trouble with gangers, some trite blackmail of some sort, but I'm stumped after that. I need something that I can run with little preparation too! So I thought I'd turn to the vast knowledge base that is Dumpshock for help. Help me get my players addicted to Shadowrun!

Posted by: Chance359 Jan 21 2006, 05:14 AM

The girls father could have developed a habit of staying out later than usual. Suspecting that he's having an affair she askes the runners for a favor, follow her father after work.

- Perhaps he picked up some extra overtime to put some money away for a family vacation.
- He's being blackmailed into selling lone star files to a crime syndicate.
- Maybe he's simply having an affair.
- He could have joined some kind of underground organization (Humanis).

Posted by: fistandantilus3.0 Jan 21 2006, 10:49 AM

oft times I've found that the best beginning runs are the kinds taht require legwork and some amateur detective-ing . That way they get used to the idea of gathering information rather than shooting at a problem first. It also gives them a chance to see some of the sites, and interact with the SR world.

Try something off the wall, that they won't expect. Have it so that the girl made some type of web cam strip or SIM recording of her doing something naughty with a boyfirend. Not something so bad that they'll consider her a whore, but jsut a little scandalous, so that she can't go to the daddy cop. Some ganger found out and got the tape/recording, and is black mailing her with it to get some kind of Lone Star gear, or information that he can sell to a syndicate. The problem is that he only called her with a blank screen, and only gave a street name.

That way the Face will have some shine time talking to folks on the street, while the sammie flexes his muscles, and then the sam gets to shine when they finally track the guy (and a few toughs he calls friends) down and demand the recording.

Posted by: Anythingforenoughnuyen Jan 21 2006, 01:41 PM

If you are interested in working the Lone Star deal for new players, how about something like this:

The Internal Affairs [they call that department in Lone Star something different iirc, however, you get the point] department of Lone Star has gone to Cop's Daughter and asked her to go undercover for them to help figure out if Daddy Cop is dirty. Cop's daughter does not want to do this, but the Star leans in pretty hard-if you help there is a chance that you can get us what we need to clear Daddy Cop's name, and even if he has made some "mistakes" then we will take your assistance into account when he is punished and he will receive much more easy treatment. Regardless of the outcome, you will be taken care of, as well as your mother, siblings, etc.... If you do not help, of course, there will be no chance to save Daddy Cop's career, and not only his, but Cop's Daughter as well as the rest of Daddy Cop's family's health will be in danger.

Cop's Daughter, of course, has no choice but to comply, however, she does higher the runners on the side to help her cause- to investigate the situation on the side and help her figure out what to do about everything.

When it comes to Daddy Cop, and the runners investigation, at this point, you can introduce a second game element [the first being corp. power/politics] into the game. specifically, whatever the squad that Daddy Cop works on-Vice, Organized Crimp, Gangs, Corp Crime, paranormal investigations, etc....

Have someone that Daddy Cop is investigating have some influence in Lone Star and have them had used that influence to get the investigation of Daddy Cop started to slow down his investigation.

So, the players need to:
[A] Find out who Daddy Cop is investigating that has pull in Lone Star.
[B] Who in Lone Star is working with outside forces against Daddy Cop.
[C] Help Cop's Daughter figure out how to solve the problem and then execute the plan as is necessary.

Note, of course, that you have complete freedom with how Dirty or Clean Daddy Cop is, he could be a good cop trying to do his job in difficult times, and thus just a victim. Or he could be a cop who was dirty, and who is trying to end his relationship with the corrupt partners,. Or, he could be all the way corrupt, and his problem is that he is to closely involved in whomever he is investigating and has been drawn into one of their power struggles [e.g. he is a contact/ally of the boss, and the number two man needs him out of the way so that he can take over].

Note: esp. as far as legwork goes as being a good way for new characters to get introduced with the game, as is suggested above, my experience has been that that is a really good idea, and I have tailored this idea along those lines.

Whether you use any of this or not, good luck with the run-I hope your players like it enough to become fully addicted to Shadowrun-AFE

P.S. It is getting a bit late/early here, so I will say I am sorry for any bad grammar or spelling in advance.

Posted by: Deamon_Knight Jan 21 2006, 10:37 PM

Thanks Guys, this has been huge help. I'll post a After action report later, wish me luck.

edit:s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g

Posted by: Deamon_Knight Jan 22 2006, 06:37 AM

After action report, cautiously optimistic.

The Run:
Jenny Genovese, college Freshman at Washington State U, Daughter of Lonestar Vice Squad officer, is being blackmailed. Somehow, some risque (Sex, Drugs, Rock&Roll) video she recorded of her and her boyfriend has fallen into the wrong hands. Blackmail ensues, the culprit demanding to keep quiet. Jenny complies, but when she drops the credstick at the appointed time, the blackmailer claims he now has enough info on her father (from the credstick) to ruin he fathers career (A Lie, but Jenny isn't technically inclined enough to know this), unless she hands over more

If my group is reading this, stop now, ya bastards.

Jenny is being blackmailed by a bad tempered decker wananbe who is distributing drugs on campus. She rejected his advances, and he has been tailing her in the matrix. Jenny's Boyfriend brags to his ecstasy hookup, our villain, about his "wild" girlfriend. Alex, the decker, gets the boyfriend to spill her name, and in a fit of jealously decides to hijack the vid and blackmail her. In the meantime, Alex lets slip to his drug dealers that he is messing with some vice cops kid's head. They proceed to egg him on, hoping to get some leverage on LS vice squad if they need it.

The runners end up with a "favor for a friend" that has them running all over a college campus. (read no firefights).
The hooks: Why is someone blackmailing this girl, and for so little (all things considered) money, 500 , then 1000 ? At the second payoff, Alex arranges a dead drop, but some nobody accidentally picks up the payment, sending the runners on a wild goose chase. The result is our computer skilled PC is staking out the Nobody, when alex calls Jenny to demand more money after the second demand isn't met. Our face can't unravel the traceback (no computer skill) so a key lead is missed. The team is stumpted, some 'decking' was made up to get them back on track. (my bad on that part). This Alerts alex that someone is on to him. He loves to make a scene, so he kills the lights around south campus to make his getaway. He clips a bystander on his bike, making another scene for the runners to follow.

The runners decided to investigate his dorm room first, and Alex rigs a capacitor to the doorjamb to zap anyone who forces in after he leaves. (Just to keep them jumpy) A quick search of the room reveals someone left in a hurry, and some softs with pickup times and locations. The runners gather this is Alex's supplier, and head there.

On arrival, they see a bike with a bent fender outside a light warehouse, and assume the target is here. They shoot out the lights on the approach to the warehouse (silenced, of course) This however alerts a gabriel hound that is on guard duty.

I had wanted to work on the magic end of the setting by having the dog vanish (poof!) when wounded, but those darned runners popped him in one shot. The drug runners come out, Alex behind them, and the gunfight ensues. The runners paste the gangers, and alex is trying to grab one of the gangers cars and split. Thats where we called it a night.

Alex can't take one of gangers cars because they are biometrically coded to the gangers (drug hauling vehicles and all). So i'm not sure whether to have alex surrender or get killed.

All in all pretty good, I need to work on describing the setting better. My players all seem to think they can connect their Pocket secretaries to their cell phones and search the matrix for personal info, Computer skill or not. "I can Google anyone today! Why not 70 yrs in the future?" I need to break them of this habit!

Posted by: fistandantilus3.0 Jan 22 2006, 07:02 AM

Posted by: Wounded Ronin Jan 22 2006, 09:47 PM