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Posted by: CanRay Jul 10 2010, 02:33 AM

Well, with Seattle 2072 out, I have to figure, where else has your group done work? And what are the differences between the Shadows of Seattle and there?

Personally, I'm working up an In-Character something for another place to do some work, see if I can get this done in the next few days.

Posted by: Abstruse Jul 10 2010, 03:22 AM

I tried to get a game going set in Houston...lots of Mexican/Aztlaner gangs, smuggling to/from Caribbean, Aztlan, and the Yucatan, lots of policlubs, less megacorps (fewer of them have HQs in Houston)...also had a city in decline vibe going through it since a lot of Houston's economy is based on energy production in the present day, but with the switch to nuclear/solar energy and Houston being based mostly on fossil fuel energy, those companies got gobbled up and dismantled with only a shell of themselves still around.

Posted by: sabs Jul 10 2010, 03:24 AM

I did some work on Vienna.
Actually I did some work in Europe, but mostly Vienna.

VacTube trains connecting the various Major cities:
London, Paris, Kohln Vienna, Madrid.
Vienna itself is the holy mecca of Genetherapy and Medical research.
Private clinics that cater to the ridiculously wealthy.
Shadowrunners are hired to find out whose going to what clinics, what they're having done.
Extractions of Scientists, Data, customers.
Not to mention the nefarious stuff going on.

I have a genetics lab that's secretly run by a Vampire Master.
There's a lab that's doing research on isolating the Technomancy gene to try and activate it via genetherapy.

Security is handled by the Austrian Military. But Ares has a huge presence.
I haven't quite fleshed it out yet to run a campaign out of it. But..

Posted by: Abstruse Jul 10 2010, 03:44 AM

I'd figure Vienna would be right smack dab in the middle of Lofwyr's influence and SK would dominate everything in that area...I have absolutely nothing canon to back that up at the moment though.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 10 2010, 04:45 AM

The Winnipeg Shadows, by Mr. “Money” Johnson
First, let it be said that FastJack is a manipulative, vindictive person who will never forget a favour owed, nor a slight against. He also cheats at cards. Now that I have those pearls of wisdom aside that I learned from my Grandfather (An old friend of FastJack, so he can say those things), I have to tell you that this is culled from a much larger document about all of Winnipeg in the Post-”Crash 2.0” that I had written for him during my retirement.

Unfortunately, I was almost finished it when a bomb went off in my face. Needless to say, that made me forget the whole thing until he reminded me about it recently, so I've recovered what I could for your education the part that isn't obsolete due to the speed at which things change in our day and age. Hopefully he'll consider this payment in full for “Services Rendered” after I got out of the vat.

It'll also be a nice change of pace for most Shadowrunners to get a view from a Johnson, I bet. A view from the other side of the table, so to speak. But I'm not here about that, I'm here to give you a head's up on how to get work in Winnipeg.

The Shadows of Winnipeg:
(Note: This is ripped slightly from my original introduction. It still remains true.).
When one thinks of Shadowrunning, Winnipeg does not usually come to mind. In fact, Winnipeg doesn't come to mind for much in the current age. So it surprised me when I came out here to retire, and found out that the Shadows here are as deep as any other. Being the person that I am, namely aware of how dangerous the real world is, I looked hard and deep into those Shadows so that they wouldn't bite me on the hoop when I wasn't looking.

With Ares, Aztechnology, and Saeder-Krupp having major presences in the City, and being on the border with Algonkian-Manitou Council by a highway and two rivers, as well as being close to major way stations for T-Bird runs such as Portage La Prairie, makes for some rather interesting opportunities indeed! Especially when you consider that two of the main exports of Winnipeg is munitions and explosives, things that are a 'Runner's best friends, eh?

Protocols:
Despite the stereotype that Shadowrunners are anti-social sociopaths who have no ability to relate to people aside from shoving guns in faces, there is actually a heavy culture that goes with the Shadows. It might not be acceptable to the “common man”, but it's there. In Winnipeg, it's about respect, above all else. If you don't show it, you also don't get it.

Fixers
A fixer is essential to getting Shadowwork in Winnipeg, from both the point of view of the Shadowrunner and the Mr. Johnson. Unlike many places, however, both sides pay the Fixer, with the amount you pay as much a consideration as skill sets and reputation. A Shadowrunner that drops a lot of nuyen on his Fixer can get better jobs that a drek-hot 'Runner might not because he skimped on that part of the expenses. On the flip side, a Mr. Johnson who doesn't pay a Fixer well will not get a team that is as qualified as he might need. It's a delicate balancing act. As both sides are paying, however, this usually means less expense for the Johnson, and a better negotiating point for the Shadowrunners.

While almost every Fixer in Winnipeg can set up a meeting like this, a speciality type of Fixer called a “Shadow Man” focuses just on matching up Shadowrunners and Johnsons. These are the people that can get you the higher risk, and higher paying, jobs.

An important thing is that you're paying for the job, not the meet. If you walk away from the meet for whatever reason, the Fixer is obligated to find you a different job. Just be prepared to explain why you did. Good reasons are: “Did not have the skills/numbers/time needed”, “Not enough money offered”, and “The meet felt bad.”. Don't do it too often, however, or else word will get around that you're just a waste of time.

Meeting Mr. Johnson
The Fixer will introduce the two parties at a neutral location of his/her choice (Never the Johnson's or Shadowrunner's choice), and then leave before any further discussion happens. No Fixer, no Biz, on both sides. It's the Fixer's responsibility to ensure the safety of both parties against external events (Police, gangs, drug addicts, and so on), but does not ensure the safety of the group against each other. His reputation is on the line about this, so problems arising from these issues are rare to say the least. On the off chance that the meet is at a bar or restaurant (Which is very cliche, and usually used as a back-handed way of saying that someone is being “Unprofessional”. Make sure it's not you!), the bill is usually split evenly between the 'Runners and the Johnson, with the Johnson expected to leave the tip.

Just like everywhere else, however, Johnsons hire 'Runners for whatever reason pops into their head, and they have the cash for. As always, gauge your negotiation on your instincts on how the meeting “Feels”, and be prepared to walk away if things seem wrong. Better to miss a job than end up dead.

Reputation
Remember when I said that “it's about respect”, well, this is either the pay off, or the beat down. Your reputation will make you or break you. Winnipeg's Shadows are small compared to places like Seattle or Denver, so what you do and how you do it will spread around the rumour mill all that much faster. I had written a whole chapter about how this works in Winnipeg, but then someone went and just distilled it to me: “Never give an insult, and never, ever let one pass.”.

Connections
It's as I've said throughout my career as a Johnson, “You are your Contacts.”. If you can't do something personally, you might know someone who can. Or they might know someone that does, and so on. The Shadows of Winnipeg are pretty small, with most people knowing each other, and creating a diverse, and complicated, web of contacts. Which can make it difficult for a new person to break into the place blind. Luckily, there's a lot of transient folks (Smugglers and T-Bird Pilots mostly) which can vouchsafe for you.

The Shadow Jobs:
Smuggling and extractions are the major, and most consistent, jobs for professional 'Runners. However, there is also the typical group of B&E, Datatheft, Sabotage, Wetwork, and Hooding that can be done. Hooding as a first job is highly suggested if you're a newcomer, as it will increase your respect quite quickly, and that will go a long way when dealing with the underworld that permeates the city and surrounding area. There are a lot of small communities that have smaller, but connected, Shadows that 'Runners can easily hide in when the heat is on in the city. It might not be glorious lugging around parts for a T-Bird while you're on the lam, but it'll keep you fed, and out of prison.

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 11:19 AM

Köln [Koeln], I assume (which is part of Rhine-Ruhr-megaplex in SR).


Well. That's more switzerland. Vienna is the dirty, bad-mouthed street child of Switzerland, both IRL and in SR. Vienna has it'S share of medical stuff in canon, but it''s mainly surviving on (sex) tourism and gray o black market trade.


Secretly? Canonically (!!!) the right-wing party is run by a cabal of Wendigos. Okay, this is not really well known, but it isn't that much of a secret either. Also, Politics dominate Vienna. There are no gangs that are neither party-affiliated or run by the Unions, which also control the shadows. Austria is a weird country.


Oh this is grand. Poor city. I pity your Vienna. Do they at least have ancient Eurofighters by 2070? They're still using Starfighters there, and some Gripen that Sweden gave to them out of pity. The Austrian military is a joke (IRL and canonically).

Canonically, Vienna is run by a city corporation, and Security by rent-acops (Petrovsky or S-K, IIRC).

Some stuff made it into the SoE section on Austria, but ... well, most stuff on Vienna is German-only. I'd recommend to read up SoE a bit, unless you want your own setting far away from canon (couldn't really blame you, it's insane and more of a parody than a setting).

Personally, I'm considering setting up a campaign in Saxony and Poland, and have aready used Hong Kong, London, Tir na nOg, and Boston. I'd really like to see more cities in the UCAS covered, though. That's one of the scating blank spots in SR.

Posted by: Doc Byte Jul 10 2010, 12:00 PM

The SK HQ's in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Vienna's about 1.000km away from that. That's about two times the distance to Paris. (Maybe I'm going to take my bicycle down to Essen later on. Nice ~80km trip. If it weren't this hot. )



I remember the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars when Austria was sending tanks to the border. There was this defecting MIG pilot. Until the Austrian jets where up in the air he was already circling over Vienna.

---

But anyhow a http://home.wtal.de/GandalfsTales/images/wien_01.jpg. Love it much more than Berlin.

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 12:08 PM

Didn't they also send their army to the Slovenian border with one magazine each and no flak vests or something?


Sure, I don't disagree there (not only on the horrific Berlin setting). Pays that Vienna wasn't paved over twice, bombed to oblivion, and then half of it was replaced by horrible communist cubes.


To be fair, Americans just have a different relation to distance than Europeans. Fact. Might seem much to us, might be the daily commuting distance to them. Well, not quite, but the US is a place of vast distances Europeans can have a hard time to get used to.

Posted by: Rand Jul 10 2010, 06:03 PM

My first campaign for SR4, way back in 2005, was set in Vietnam. Currently I am basing my campaign out of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Posted by: streetangelj Jul 10 2010, 06:19 PM

Personally, I think Miami (Carib League, Land of Mice and Tourist Murderers...), Atlanta (Capital of the C.A.S. and massive international airport hub - can we say southern pride shadow biz?), and Detroit (Motown, Motor City, and Proud Home of Ares Macrotech [last I checked - wouldn't that include Weapon's World as well?] - the Robocop references alone could provide endless amusement...) would make excellent places to develop... (Hint, Hint -I'm down for working on this type of project.)

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 06:32 PM

Target: smuggler havens, Cyberpirates


Neo-Anarchist's guide to North America


Target: UCAS

All these settings could, of course, use some updating and new development. Maybe write up a proposal for an all-amrican runners' guide type book? I'm totaly going to buy that.

Posted by: Kyoto Kid Jul 10 2010, 08:50 PM

...London (well back in the early 60s) makes for a challenging place to run. Britain is still for the most part a disarmed populace save maybe for a few of the nobility who can skirt the regs ("it's for the hunts you know, right"), and of course the "criminal" (shadowrunner) element.

Law Enforcement? Well, The National Police ("Nats" or "NP" for short) are an arm of the military under the command of the Lord Protector (Oliver Cromwell anyone?). Those quaint London Bobbies? Well, they're still only around but for the tourists' sake. The real copper is over there next to the Tactica-G APC in sec armour with the Fabrique Nationale Assault rifle slung over his/her shoulder. Next there is the Triple-O. You don't want to meet these folks even for tea because if you do, you usually disappear. Yes Britain is in effect, a police state of sorts.

Magic is also tightly restricted (and of course policed). All practising mages are required to be registered with the LPO and spells greater than force 3 are generally prohibited. Yes, you can be nicked for healing someone if you are unregistered or using a Treat6 and the LPO (Lord Protector's Office) maintains a nice cozy prison just with spellcasters in mind.

Barrens? Well that would be the Lambeth Containment Zone better known locally as "The Squeeze" (the south bank of the Thames). Not a place you would go strolling about pushing a pram mind you, but more of a true slum than a total urban wasteland as in Redmond. Unlike Seattle and other major North American cities don't think of running there to get away from the coppers after shooting it up at Paddington Station. The Nats are Government/Military, not some flunkie corpo rent-a copper who'd rather have his bum (hoop) warm the bench at the local soydounut shop than face a gang of orcs and trolls with sawed off shotguns on their turf. If they really want you, they have the means to come after you.

So is it possible to run in London and the UK and survive? Yes if you keep your wits about you, keep things on the sly and don't make a big show of it like those Yanks do. I had a team of three, one Mage Detective, one Mystic Adept, and one Rigger The spellcasters never used more than a force 3 spell and always cleaned up their sigs before leaving the scene of an action. The Rigger had several identities including one as a "licensed" for hire chauffeur service. The Detective was also licensed (the Nats don't tend to waste their time on mundane issues unless it involves actual breaking of a law - and after all, the tabloids still need their sources). The Mystic adept was an eccentric noble (and we know about those don't we, right) who had a bone to pick with the Lord Protector. What made them successful was being careful to cover their tracks, maintain alternate IDs, maintain contacts, and keep their actions very very quiet.

...oh, and a bit of good old fashioned blackmail as well. After all, it is one of the top rated entertainment programmes over on BBC2.

----

Vienna, well a nice place to take in a concert, provided the star performer isn't snatched.

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 08:55 PM

Or to exchange surplus spies.

Posted by: Kyoto Kid Jul 10 2010, 09:21 PM

..even in RL

Posted by: Red_Cap Jul 10 2010, 09:57 PM

What's the conversation from Ronin?

Russian guy: "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
Jean Reno: ". . . Vienna."
Russian guy: "Of course."

My first run was actually set in Boston -- not a shock, since we all lived about an hour from there -- and as soon as I'm done updating my Kirkuk (Iraq) setting, I figured Boston was the next logical step since its one of the few places I know better than Iraq. (Oh yeah. Never join the Army. They send you places no right-thinking American wants to go)

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 10:02 PM

I'd be very interested in your writeup of Iraq. Do you want to, plan to, or are willing to post it somewhere?

Posted by: CanRay Jul 10 2010, 10:13 PM

(Or Canadian, for that matter.)

Speaking of, another Border Town is Sudbury, Ontario, which appears to be close to the borders of Quebec and the Algonquin-Manitou Council. It's also home to the largest Francophone population in Canada (Possibly North America) outside of Quebec, which would make a good place for 'Runs against the UCAS/Quebec/AMC. Or for those countries. Or corporations that have interest in those countries.

Other than that, it's great for Blueberries and Heavy Metals. Just be careful of the Muskeg (It's kind of like thick swamp.).

Posted by: Red_Cap Jul 10 2010, 10:33 PM

I was, yeah. Megu hit me up about it after I mentioned it in another thread last week because he wanted to compile an alternate-running-havens-type file. I figured I'd post it up here, let everyone leave shadowtalk conversations about it to put in their own two cents, re-format it to include the shadowtalk, then post it up again somewhere else for all to see and use freely.

And it's not for all of Iraq, just the city of Kirkuk and its environs.

Posted by: hermit Jul 10 2010, 10:35 PM

Still quite interesting. I am working up a major expansion of Venice (Italy), myself.

Posted by: Red_Cap Jul 10 2010, 10:45 PM

Sadly, I need a copy of Dragons of the Sixth World and Shadows of Asia to get it done so that is meshes perfectly with established canon, but all of my books (including those two) are in Kansas while I'm stuck out here in the middle of the nowhere. I've tried torrenting them, but the base ISP does some funky stuff and I can't get those to download.

So, uh, if anyone reading this has pdfs of DotSW and SoA, I'm humbly asking for the sections on Aden, Iraq, and the KAZ.

Posted by: Doc Byte Jul 10 2010, 11:53 PM

Plus the RL airport security's much, much more pleasant than the one at Düsseldorf.

Posted by: Abstruse Jul 11 2010, 01:16 AM

Fair warning...a lot of the most regular posters on here are freelancers for CGL and many people who worked on those two books post all over the place on here.

However, if you want to pick up older books cheap, I'd suggest hitting up eBay and Amazon Marketplace. Especially toward August/September when mommy and daddy sell off all of juniors books when he goes off to college.

Posted by: Red_Cap Jul 11 2010, 10:10 AM

Ok, let me rephrase, Abstruse. I already own hard-copies of those books. I bought them legally through eBay and Amazon and will continue to avoid piracy in all its myriad forms because I am a firm believer in capitalism. The rub is that I am in Iraq, and my books are safely locked away in a storage lot in Manhattan, Kansas. Aaaaaand I'm not going back State-side until March of next year. February, if I'm lucky. So I've already spent the cash to pay the writers to buy the book because its worth the money, but now the situation has conspired against me. Desperate times, desperate measures -- unless of course you're suggesting that I should buckle down and buy second copies of all those books which, while certainly plausible, strikes me as. . . . well, not to put too fine a point on it. . . a waste of money.

Posted by: Megu Jul 12 2010, 01:30 AM

:O

I'm doing Minneapolis-St. Paul right now and I've been itching to run a Saigon game. Funny how that works.

CanRay: My game's had some mention of Winnipeg too, although I clearly haven't gone into nearly as much detail; it just came up in a Boeing extraction. I just kind of figured that, as the city with the most First Nations these days, it was a little odd for it to end up in the UCAS. So I extrapolated that it was probably the Hue of the Ghost Dance War; the Anglos had to destroy the city in order to save it. The Natives all left after that battle, and thus it's part of the UCAS now. I may integrate some of what you've done here.

Everyone in this thread, note we've got a thread here for people to dump local writeups in. http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=31225&hl=local+writeup

Oh wait. I see Redcap posting about it already, so this is probably redundant. I've only got SoA, and in book form, but if you've got like, specific questions I can look them up for you. I'm pretty sure Running Wild has something on Aden in it, so I'll check that too. TL:DR version, it looks like most of the stuff on Iraq is all the Ibn Eisa drama, which is dated now. It lists Iraq as having an S-K aligned technocratic dictatorship, but it's unstable so you can probably change that if you want, and the new map from the Almanac would put Kirkuk on the Iraqi side of the border. The KAZ has a bunch of Yezidis worshiping Aden and paranoia about that. RW doesn't say much about Aden other than that s/he may be female and doesn't like Islamic unification efforts. It looks like a pretty blank slate for you though, so I'd just go ahead and write whatever. The canon's so screwy so much of the time anyways, I'd rather hear a fresh take from somebody who knows the place.

And on that note, take care of yourself out there, man; come back safe.

Posted by: Mäx Jul 12 2010, 09:46 AM

I sent you PM containing the text on Iraq and KAZ from SOA.
DotSW sadly isn't out on a pdf.
So that Aden section is gonna be a little harder to provide.

Posted by: Red_Cap Jul 12 2010, 09:50 AM

Sweet. Thanks Max! That helps.

Posted by: EuroShadow Jul 12 2010, 12:28 PM

Stockholm:

Well, it's been quite a good ride. I've adapted many of Missions and some other stuff for it. The policers - G4S company, the local European AA corp managing europe's security

The general difference is a bit less general crime, and policers are not automatically assuiming that everyobdy is criminal and the general environment is not that harsh. So my player's have it a bit easy sometimes... just as long as they carry enough fake SINs.