Gangs and Your Runners, Or, how DO you survive in that Squatter? Options

[BrianL03]

Emo's thread about "Why Do You Shadowrun?" got me thinking as to why I Shadowrun, and why I run the games I do.

I have always been interested in the street-level campaign that eventually turns heroic. What I mean by this is although the characters may start incredibly detatched from the everyday actions of the megas, politicos, IEs, and dragons, they will eventually rise to a point of prominence where they will be directly interacting with these entities. Still inferior, but in a position where they have the chance to make or break canon history.

I'm running a game set in pre-Bug City Chicago, and while all the money's really to be made in the Elevated/Core/Southside, several players have their main lifestyles in the less-than-glamorous Northside, and thus need to either spend a lot of time to drive out of their way to avoid, or drive right through, the Noose.

Now, I want there to be consequences to their actions of living and driving through the grittier areas of Chicago, and sometimes even horrible ones. Hence come the gangs... go-gangs, groups demanding tribute, random muggers, etc. However, I don't want this to be like D&D with a Random Urban Encounter Percentile Die™, where the runner mops the gangers up, and walks home to nurse his Light Wound for the night (exaggeration, and I'm going to play these guys dangerously and occaisonally with intelligent tactics). Yet at the same time, this game is online, and I don't want to slow the game down too much with these kinds of events.

How do you run these kinds of events? Random violence already happens to people not targeted by corps, and I want to get them to realize why living in a Low Lifestyle isn't the best of choices for a person's life span. To put it simply, I want to bring the street back to their street-level lives.

[stevebugge]

I would populate your gang ridden sections of town in the sort of places gangers tend to hang out. For fun they will be at bars and strip clubs if they have money, maybe just drinking and drugging at one of their pads or in a public park if they don't. If they deal they will have different places they sell, a few on street corners, some in parks, the ones with more juice will be in bars and clubs. There will be parts of town they "own" and can do just about whatever they want, they may have a local cop on the take who only busts them when they really make a lot of noise, and then only one or two. Gangs and basketball seem to be forever linked, chances are the gangers in Chicago in 2050 will be just as in to playing ball as they are today. BAsically any time the runners paths cross in to places where the gangers are, because they are all predatory street creatures, there is going to be some sort of contest of wills, chest puffing, trash talking, and if not carefully handled (or if enough drugs & alcohol are in play) fighting.

[hyzmarca]

Take a page from The Warriors. Gangs stake out their territory, clearly mark it with graffiti, and fight over turf. The presence of gangs in an area should be obvious by the burners painted on every free space and they would also identify which gang owns the turf. When in gang territory one runs the risk of confonting the gang that owns the turf.
Also, gang politics is every bit as complicated and intense as politics within and between nations. Each gang is a soverign military state unto itself, not unlike the militaristic city-states of ancient Greece.

Go-Gangs are different. They don't have turf. They will certainly have a overign clubhouse which seve as a base of operations but they are nomads at heart and thus they spend most of their time on the roads. They patrol major highways across the continent, raiding towns and accosting motorists. Rather than being like a Greek city-state they are like Mongol hoards and Viking raiders. A person an potentially run into a go-gang on any major road.

[Valentinew]

[FlakJacket]

[hyzmarca]

[Tiralee]

Sadly, until my most recent bash at a more street-level run, most of my players used their various Gang-related knowledge skills for chosing their routes through the barrens, I91, etc. and then I read this recently -

[ Spoiler ]

Sorry, I grabbed it from the Dumpshock, Kudos to whomever I've ripped the idea from, please speak up so I can thank you.

I can think of a valid reason for an urban courrier run.

Gang X holds an area that Corporation Y would like to take control of. Gang X dosen't cooperate with Corporation Y. Corporation Y could just send in the soldiers to Pol Pot the gangers but that would be bad PR even if it were totally amusing. Instead they decide to take a soft approach by making the gang look bad.

So, Corporation Y hires a bunch of shadowrunners to make various deliveries of extremely valuable items (like medical supplies and so forth) to some of the clinics of the neighborhood. They give the neighborhood clinics money to serve the people and post uniformed guards at the clinic with Wired Reflexes III who can pwn the gangers. The shadowrunners come in making high profile delivers to flaut the gang and make their "offers" of protection seem laughably superfluous.

The Johnson also instructs the runners to blow away with extreme prejudice any gangers who might try and stop their deliveries. Indirect Pol Pot. The Johnson even says, "If you expend over 200 rounds of ammunition into gang members we'll re-supply you for FREE!", which they verify by having one of their guards look for huge piles of casings in the area.

Wounded Ronin

Wow, that would be a hysterically funny and awesome run.That'd be kinda cool. I know gangers are all jaded in SR, given the stuff they put up with day to day, but a bunch of -eager- looking SRs who step out of the van carrying assault rifles, LMGs and the troll with the assault cannon, would give them pause.

Probably get a free round on them cause they'd be all "c'mon, that's gotta be a movie, no one really comes out packing ordinance like that'.

To my shame, I threw that exact situation at some player that were hanging around. A couple of semi-out-of-the-book characters later and it was pretty exactly as Wounded Ronin said.

GM: "Ok, from your perception rolls, the decoy team is being tailed. By the Gangers mentioned earlier. Options, directions, actions?"
Decoy Passenger (Over-developed Fire-loving 2nd level initiated Mage): "Fireball 8, inside their vehicle." To the looks, "Hang on, hold my beer and watch this..."
Decoy driver (Troll thug, body 14. First vehicle) "I drive and pray"
Deliver Driver (Scary min-max mage, second vehicle, following) "I drive, prepared to take immediate evasive action if necessary, while keeping a lookout as best I can"
Delivery Muscle (Orc Merc) "I haul open the side door of this here van, sit my ass down and wedge myself as best I can, fire up the gun-cam and deliver full auto EXEX into the back of their heads...with the tricked-out MMG."
GM: (Head on table)
Delivery Muscle: "We've got cred on legs in front of us people, get with the hurty, ka-ching, ka-ching!"
GM: (To the Orc) "Awarding Karma for that one." (Sighs)

And that was the first real time anyone go to use their l33t-ass Gang ID, etc skillz.

-Tir

[Tiralee]

Regarding the previous post, Kudos to Wounded Ronin for the mission idea.

And an honourable mention to Voran, who quite accurately predicted what the reactions were...

-Tir

[ShadowDragon8685]

I dunno about anyone else...


But that sounds awesome!

[Tiralee]

Update on the Run-

Well, it pretty much turned into the monster slay-fest you'd imagined it. Much carnage from the Orc with the LMG, some horrible, HORRIBLE shots from back-up Troll-Adept-With-Bow with Troll-in-the-Jackrabbit also increasing the bodycount.

So who was the deadliest?
The Initiated mage with Control Fire 7 and will of 9.

What the hell? Who were the opposition?

[ Spoiler ]

(Gm rolls dice, looks up his table) Oh crap, you're whaling on the Halloweeners! (Revision) Or a chapter thereof.
Group: ...uh, aren't they the ones with the whole flaming Pumpkin motif? Uh...(Frantic Gang ID rolls) with the arson, and the molitovs, and the flamethrowers.....
(Group looks at the Mage)
Mage: Muh..muh...MUHUHUHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAaaa! Control fire 7, BRING IT!
(Sorcery dice, Rolled! About 2 dice were NOT sixes.)
Mage: -Laughter continues-
(Drain dice...all friggin 17, rolled. 3 Were lower than 6.)
Mage: Laughter intensifies.
Group: GoodF#$King god! That's InHUMAN!
Mage: -more with the laugh-

-After a couple of minutes-

Gm: (Looking up from the mass of rolls) Yeah, ok, this is not going to be nice.

Sighs.

You know, this whole idea was to be a 4-hour diversion.
I now have these jokers on guncam wasting an entire chapter of cutthroat gangers with a couple of light wounds to show for it.

I think it's time to introduce the concept of vendetta.

-Tir.

[Willowhugger]

Well I always ran with the Big Trouble in Little China feel for it. I.e. that gang bangers tended to come in two varieties.

The "normal" gangs were the home team variety that were used to establish some sense of power and community in the area. They may be violent and scum potentially but they have some connection to the local area.

The "corp gangs" are like Lo Pans group in that they're essentially the hired muscle of the corporation or some subsidiary in the area, The really LOW end of the totem poll for enforcement but the average feel is that the corps get their cut plus also use them for testing weapons development.

[Calvin Hobbes]

Assault on Precinct 13. The runners go to a restaurant, hell, just about anywhere, and they're surrounded and attacked there. Preferrably during a meet with a Johnson/Fixer.

[Omer Joel]

Always remember that gangers usually prey on anything weaker than them, and challenge everything equal to them in the area; they will, however, usually steer clear of a group of runners looking obviously like pros and sporting obvious big firepower and serious 'ware (unless the gangers set up an ambush in order to steal the runners' gear). The fact that they're street-scum and thugs doesn't mean that they are stupid.

Otherwise, they're usually more of an harrasment and less of a threat (to runners, that is; they ARE a big threat to most locals who cross them) unless the gang is well-established and well-connected. They are usually good businessman too, and would be very happy to strike a deal with runners (nuyen is nuyen after all) as long as the runners don't challange their turf. IIRC part of the Squatter lifestyle cost is bribes to the local gang to leave the character alone. They could also be very good information sources if the runners maintain the right kind of relations with them.

In other words, they are people too, very violent people that is, and not D&D goblin hordes.

[The ubbergeek]

[FanGirl]

But they are different from DnD goblin hordes. Gang members are known within their communities not merely as hoodlums, but also as sons, brothers, boyfriends, neighbors, schoolmates, lovers, and fathers. On the other side of things, the gang members swear allegiance to their gang, but they also have bonds of loyalty to their non-affiliated friends and family members. I'm not saying that street gangs are "okay" because of this, but it's important to understand that the relationship between the street gang and the larger community is more complex than one of simple hostility.

[The ubbergeek]

You know, D&d and fantasy can be like this, too. ;) The humanoids and otehrs don't live in a vacuum.

But back on the topic.

There is always an element of force rapports. Who can intimidate who. The runners eitheir negotiate, or show off their muscles.

[Calvin Hobbes]

That's why they ambush runners in the bathroom. I mean, seriously, how many runners say to themselves "Hey, he's having a titanically colon-rending crunch in there, it's been twenty minutes, I'd better go check on him and make sure he's okay." Dude could sit alone in a stall for hours, pantws down and garotte around his neck.

[emo samurai]

How would gangs deal with puppies?

[Squinky]

What do you mean? Are puppies a big deal in your campaign?

[Butterblume]

[Calvin Hobbes]

That's stupid.

Where are they getting CLAY in the Sprawl? It's probably really just near-clay, produced by Aztechnology.

[Butterblume]

Depends on the sprawl. In Seattle it is probably enough to dig in the cellar.

[FanGirl]

I think that the most plausible thing that a street ganger would do with a puppy would be to raise it as a either guard dog or a fighting dog, especially if it is of one of the breeds that are seen as vicious or intimidating. Otherwise, I would imagine that he would leave it alone.

[Butterblume]

We are playing in a dark future. A nice Puppy probably tastes better than rats. I think at least in Chinatown there aren't any puppies running around.

Even where the puppies are not eaten, they probably serve as moving targets for those crazed gangers.

I like puppies, btw. Those evil kittens, on the other hand ...

[emo samurai]

Do NOT break the puppy-kitten shared-cuteness truce!