Fast and loose LA campaign, How do I start this thing? Options

[Seriously Mike]

So, I'm finally feeling like putting some introductory missions together for a LA-based campaign. I'm taking some inspirations from the sandbox video games like GTA and Saints' Row, just so the players have some choice between doing serious jobs for various Johnsons and pulling diversions for the lulz, notoriety and spare change (I'll set them up with P2.0 accounts early on, and they have already been informed about bonuses arising from that). Additionally, I changed the concept of P2.0 a bit (read about it on my blog) - in short, ordinary schmoes can watch and maybe comment, but if you want to upload and stream stuff yourself, you need that prized invitation.

Now, my plan was to drop the players off in San Fernando (pretty safe, very boring, although with some jobs to do) and give them some introductory runs there and on the islands (IMHO the islands weren't given enough attention in Corporate Enclaves, I had some thoughts about it too), then gradually move them to other parts of the city. However, I don't really know Shadowrun's power scale: what can I throw at starter characters, how much XP should they get, the enemies that require specific methods to be dispatched (like Shedim and magic) and how much force can the factions muster in case the PC get on their bad side. As in my signature: expect stupid questions. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

So the first stupid question: what kind of jobs can the starter characters get, and from whom? Corporate, criminal and others?

[ggodo]

Depends on the PCs. If one of them has mob contacts they're likely going to be doing mob jobs till they get a rep and start getting hired by other folks, if any of them have a fixer contact you can use that as an in-game reason to send them on pretty much any run you can think of. Power level in Shadowrun is tricky simply because survivability is soooooooooo low, especially for low level NPCs. Using the standard 400 point build, players who optimize well, or are just lucky, can build characters capable of some truly scary things, offensively. Defense is pretty hard in Shadowrun, generally he who shoots first walks away. You should look at your player's dice pools before deciding what you send against them, but any of the SR4A NPCS are low level threats, even the Red Samurai are pretty lame compared to what my players cook up. I've found the best way to make threats is pretend everyone's a kobold. Use terrain, traps, and positioning to put your runners at a disadvantage, because in a straight fight, my players shoot down everything. As for rewards, I still haven't found a good way to scale that, but I'd recommend looking at the pre-published adventures for ideas. Some of my players have complained that I send too much magical stuff at them, but it adds some variety, and they don't notice the cybered guys they're always fighting. It's hard to stand out when everyone uses assault rifles, but giant bugs? Everyone remembers the bugs.

[Seriously Mike]

Hmmm, I'm a big fan of terrain effects and will probably create some handy tools to keep track of cover, positioning and other things like exploding barrels, loose high-voltage wires etc. As for the jobs, I'd also ask about the scale: how much is too much to involve beginning runners without treating them as expendable.

[HunterHerne]

Hmmm, I'm a big fan of terrain effects and will probably create some handy tools to keep track of cover, positioning and other things like exploding barrels, loose high-voltage wires etc. As for the jobs, I'd also ask about the scale: how much is too much to involve beginning runners without treating them as expendable.

No matter where on the scale, the idea is: the PC's are being hired because they are expendable. Give them some diversion runs, and see how they do them. Personally, I would think researching tactics of radicals who *might* be in the area, and then following their example, would make a good tactic fr "Mirrorshades" diversions. Lots of noise, with little trace to you.

[Angelone]

For new runners they should be doing low end jobs, such as deliveries in the local area, security on goods or meets, low level enforcement, surveillance. Once they get comfortable with that they can graduate to stuff like extractions and tougher versions of what they were doing.

Edit- The sega version of the game does a good job of starting you low then working you up.

[CanRay]

There's always stealing Ford AmeriCars. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Glyph]

I would probably wait and see what kind of characters the players come up with, first (unless you have some firmer ideas about the power level of the campaign, in which case you need to clearly communicate that to the PCs). The trouble with starting characters is that they aren't really "beginning" characters, and they can range all the way up and down the power scale.

But don't worry about power disparities as much as letting everyone do their thing, being sure everyone can work together with minimal friction, and giving everyone some spotlight time. If the super-troll owns combat, the face tries to leverage his way into the simflick business, and the private eye gets the dirt on people, and the three of them all mesh together as they help each other's goals (the troll acting as muscle for the other two, the face using the blackmail material the private eye gets him, etc.) then it doesn't matter as much if the troll can soak an auto-cannon, the face can sell ice to Eskimos, and the private eye is a generalist with lots of dice pools in the 10-12 range.

If they are new players, they might need to be eased into the setting, so I would do some simpler jobs at first, as they learn all of the unwritten rules of how the setting works.

[Ascalaphus]

If you have first-time players: run a one-off adventure with pregenerated characters. This gives everyone a first taste of the system, and of the kind of power available to PCs in it. It's quite acceptable if one of the pregens dies (horribly), just to give the players some idea of how dangerous it can be, too.



Then, sit down with your players and have a good talk about the style you want to run. There's a lot of different styles you could be running, and it's good if everyone is on the same page. For example:
* Gutter scum, scraping by on lousy jobs, trying to make it to the big leagues
* People with ordinary jobs who take a Job now and then to make ends meet
* High-roller criminals with extravagant lifestyles, who Run to finance their pleasure; Work Hard Play Hard
* Stone cold pros
* Rebels against The System, taking jobs from The Man against other Evil Corporations (cuz it's never selling out if a corporation gets hurt!) to buy more guns for The Revolution
etc.

Also talk a bit about the power level for characters, and what kind of payout is normal for jobs in your campaign.

And THEN have the players talk with each other about who is going to play what. That way you get a more coherent party, with characters made to suit the setting. PCs can complement each other instead of competing to be the best in one niche - a good reason to build characters together. This also makes it easier to deal with impossible PC personality combinations before they become a problem.

[CanRay]

"I need you to go and extract one particular Goofy from DisneyLand and..."

[Magus]

But this is LA and the normal rules for Shadowrun do not apply here. Here you cant do mirrorshades as the paparazi are tailing you everywhere. My group hates LA. I sent them there once and they complained the whole trip. LOL

[Angelone]

Adapt and overcome, when in Rome, and all that jazz. If you want to become number one with the bullet you can't just stay in your comfort zone.

[CanRay]

Why is it every time I read this subject heading, I think of "The Fast and The Furious" series?

[Seriously Mike]

Why is it every time I read this subject heading, I think of "The Fast and The Furious" series?

That's a... that's a good idea, I like it. Funny thing, yesterday I had an idea of one diversion being a street race.

Also, my players already played Shadowrun, it's just me who's starting in the biz. However, I don't want to make stupid mistakes my L5R GM did: overpowered (straight up) mooks, NPCs having no other role than being a deus ex machina for getting the players' asses out of trouble and poor research of the game world's culture and major factions.

[CanRay]

It's LA. Crank up the weird and the crazy and watch the "Beverly Hills Cop" series a few times.

[Seriously Mike]

It's LA. Crank up the weird and the crazy and watch the "Beverly Hills Cop" series a few times.

Dude, it's gonna be Saints' Row 2 and GTA San Andreas in there, that crazy enough for ya? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[CanRay]

Dude, it's gonna be Saints' Row 2 and GTA San Andreas in there, that crazy enough for ya? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

No. Saints Row The Third. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[ggodo]

Isn't that SR's LA?

[Seriously Mike]

No. Saints Row The Third. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

...oh yeah, UCLA students building a Manapult that actually runs on mana. And playing beer pong in a pool with it.

Isn't that SR's LA?

It probably is.

[Seriously Mike]

Quick question: where do I look for creating AI and Free Spirit characters? Just in case, CorpEnc states that there's one famous restaurant in LA run by a Free Spirit, I just want to see what they can do.

[Angelone]

Paraphrasing "You may have escaped New York cabrone, but this is LA and this city can kill anybody! "

[CanRay]

Quick question: where do I look for creating AI and Free Spirit characters? Just in case, CorpEnc states that there's one famous restaurant in LA run by a Free Spirit, I just want to see what they can do.

Runner's Companion, Pages 68-70.

Paraphrasing "You may have escaped New York cabrone, but this is LA and this city can kill anybody! "

"SNAKE SNAKE SNAKE SNAKE!!!" "This town loves a winner."

[TheWanderingJewe...]

or for a only slightly more sane setting, Watch the film "Colors" that was hype film about the fighting between the Bloods and the Crips. For the more insane version, Transplant "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" to L.A.

[CanRay]

or for a only slightly more sane setting, Watch the film "Colors" that was hype film about the fighting between the Bloods and the Crips. For the more insane version, Transplant "Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas" to L.A.

"This is Crips Country, we can't stop here!"

[sunnyside]

Hmmm, I'm a big fan of terrain effects and will probably create some handy tools to keep track of cover, positioning and other things like exploding barrels, loose high-voltage wires etc. As for the jobs, I'd also ask about the scale: how much is too much to involve beginning runners without treating them as expendable.

Alright, here's my personal take on these things.

First of all, while it might be realistic for starting runners to have some lame Segaish "walk this package from Shiawase Atomics to Hollywood Correctional" jobs, I find they don't play so well.

Instead I prefir creating smaller ponds in which starting runners can still feel a bit like big fish. I.e. doing private eye kind of stuff or dealing with small gangs and the like. Maybe going after a small cell of low magic eco terrorists.

As for the scale of the threats, I'm increasingly getting zen about this. This isn't D&D where they're going into a dungeon to kill the Wumpus and you've gotta balance out everything. Actually, I highly encourage you to NOT make your adventures dungeon crawls in high rises.

As a result legwork, hacking, and non-combat stuff becomes very important. And if they have to duck into some shadows and run than that doesn't hose the mission neccessarily.

They've also got "get out of jail free" edge on hand and they'll actually enjoy the occasional combat cakewalk.

So the point is, don't worry to much about threats they have to go up against.

Do worry about how much you want groups to be able to go after them. I think that greatly affects the tone of a game. Personally, I have what could be sent after them very high, but it all depends on what they do.

Actually, I highly encourage one of the early runs being one where the team has to find another group of Shadowrunners who gunned down the CEOs secretary (mistress).

Again this has the small pond effect because the opposition is just a relatively isolated team of runners. But it also serves to teach some important lessons.

-be careful who you piss off
-you're easier to find than you think (contacts can be bought, survelance cams can be hacked, cop contacts can follow up on forensics, and you almost have to stick the other team under some magic protection to keep that from being too easy).
-you are glass cannons (the other team can be made of similar 400BP characters )

All around I find it's always a fun run, relatively easy to manage, and fun to write as the GM because lets be honest, we like making characters too.

[Seriously Mike]

Alright, here's my personal take on these things.

First of all, while it might be realistic for starting runners to have some lame Segaish "walk this package from Shiawase Atomics to Hollywood Correctional" jobs, I find they don't play so well.

Instead I prefir creating smaller ponds in which starting runners can still feel a bit like big fish. I.e. doing private eye kind of stuff or dealing with small gangs and the like. Maybe going after a small cell of low magic eco terrorists.

's what I'm planning to do. At first they'll be dealing with small-time crooks in SFV, just so they don't piss any big corps too early. And the corps surely won't be giving a fuck about some two-bit goons tailing and beating people up for money.

As for the scale of the threats, I'm increasingly getting zen about this. This isn't D&D where they're going into a dungeon to kill the Wumpus and you've gotta balance out everything. Actually, I highly encourage you to NOT make your adventures dungeon crawls in high rises.

As a result legwork, hacking, and non-combat stuff becomes very important. And if they have to duck into some shadows and run than that doesn't hose the mission neccessarily.

They've also got "get out of jail free" edge on hand and they'll actually enjoy the occasional combat cakewalk.

So the point is, don't worry to much about threats they have to go up against.

We usually play World of Darkness, and our WtF GM has a "Shadow of the Colossus" approach to combat - every fight is a boss fight and if we do fight, we have to be crazy prepared. During ten game sessions (long ones), we fought TWICE.
However, my main problem is pacing - I don't have a clear view how fast should the threats escalate just so it keeps the players on edge, but doesn't outright steamroll them. It would suck if they dropped a metaphorical anvil on themselves three sessions in.

Do worry about how much you want groups to be able to go after them. I think that greatly affects the tone of a game. Personally, I have what could be sent after them very high, but it all depends on what they do.

Actually, I highly encourage one of the early runs being one where the team has to find another group of Shadowrunners who gunned down the CEOs secretary (mistress).

Again this has the small pond effect because the opposition is just a relatively isolated team of runners. But it also serves to teach some important lessons.

-be careful who you piss off
-you're easier to find than you think (contacts can be bought, survelance cams can be hacked, cop contacts can follow up on forensics, and you almost have to stick the other team under some magic protection to keep that from being too easy).
-you are glass cannons (the other team can be made of similar 400BP characters )

All around I find it's always a fun run, relatively easy to manage, and fun to write as the GM because lets be honest, we like making characters too.

Fighting another shadowteam makes a nice finale for a short story arc. I actually have idea for that - title and concept. The title is "Men Who Hate Women" (there will be a hacker called the Salamander in the campaign, just having nothing to do with this arc) and the concept is working for, and then against, a prostitution/porn film ring. Bunraku "puppets", client with odd tastes, this kind of stuff.

[sunnyside]

We usually play World of Darkness, and our WtF GM has a "Shadow of the Colossus" approach to combat - every fight is a boss fight and if we do fight, we have to be crazy prepared. During ten game sessions (long ones), we fought TWICE.

That's probably a bit extreme for typical shadowrun. That said my teams try and push off combat (especially against corps) for as long as possible using stealth and hacking or social skills and whatnot. This in part is due to reiforcements (i.e. the corp they're hitting calls in some hackers, spirits, drones, etc.) Though every adventure shouldn't be a "bust into that building" job.

However, my main problem is pacing - I don't have a clear view how fast should the threats escalate just so it keeps the players on edge, but doesn't outright steamroll them. It would suck if they dropped a metaphorical anvil on themselves three sessions in.

Threats are different in Shadowrun. For one thing because of the glass cannon effect.

OH! If they're new to Shadowrun, there is a think I've decided to always do after trying it out. So you have their hacker or an NPC hacker or whatever with a "rough" feeling of their abilities slap on some trode rigs and load up a "game" for them to play. (The avatars just happen to be them in Shadowrun turns.) Anyway you just give them a couple tries at shooting each other up, maybe have them try and do something else, and, yes, eventually let the hacker do something riidiculous. It's fun, but it teaches them that they can generally bring down the other guys in a single action or be brought down if they're using their good hardware at an exposed target(epecially if they don't know you're there).

4E isn't quite as glass cannony as some of the other editions, but still a lot that way.

Anyway the point is threats are all about how they get to go about attacking you. They'll whup that helicopter full of red samurai, but get plinked off by a mook they didn't see.

Also it's OK to throw a threat at them that's way high, especially if they'd have a reasonable chance to run.

Fighting another shadowteam makes a nice finale for a short story arc. I actually have idea for that - title and concept. The title is "Men Who Hate Women" (there will be a hacker called the Salamander in the campaign, just having nothing to do with this arc) and the concept is working for, and then against, a prostitution/porn film ring. Bunraku "puppets", client with odd tastes, this kind of stuff.

Coll cool. Though remember if they're going up against another shadowrunning team, and they get the drop on the other teams, the big showdown could easily be over by the time you've gone around the table once.

[Seriously Mike]

That's probably a bit extreme for typical shadowrun. That said my teams try and push off combat (especially against corps) for as long as possible using stealth and hacking or social skills and whatnot. This in part is due to reiforcements (i.e. the corp they're hitting calls in some hackers, spirits, drones, etc.) Though every adventure shouldn't be a "bust into that building" job.

Hey, half of a good shadowrun is the planning! I watched Ocean's Eleven, you know! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Threats are different in Shadowrun. For one thing because of the glass cannon effect.

4E isn't quite as glass cannony as some of the other editions, but still a lot that way.

Well, anything that doesn't have clear-cut power levels is glass cannony. I play L5R and WOD, one of my players (Artoo) is something of a powergamer, but even he couldn't create a build that was indestructible from the get-go. Tough, yes, but still having enough vulnerabilities to get whacked quite easily.

Anyway the point is threats are all about how they get to go about attacking you. They'll whup that helicopter full of red samurai, but get plinked off by a mook they didn't see.

Also it's OK to throw a threat at them that's way high, especially if they'd have a reasonable chance to run.

's what I said: terrain effects - they'll be able to get creative with killing mooks and escaping if overwhelmed. Also, enemy morale - I will roll Willpower+something openly after the players do something impressive (one-shotting a guy, using terrain effects for multi-kill) to check if the mooks don't drop everything and panic. Smarter (read: higher level) mooks will also use terrain effects to their advantage (expect corp security to throw grenades to flush the players out).

Where do I find information about tacnets? I think it may come in handy.

[sunnyside]

Well, anything that doesn't have clear-cut power levels is glass cannony.

Well, no. For example take Rifts. I suppose Rifts had levels, but that wasn't such a good measure of "power level." However the point is that character can usually take a few hits (actually quite a few hits) from equivalent characters before they started suffering for it or risked getting shut down.

Therefore the importance of shooting first, or getting a clean opening shot, wasn't such a big deal compared to other factors.

In Shadowrun, even this edition, one attack against an unwary opponent by a player class character can frequently end someone with a PC type defense right then.

As a result who their opposition is will be frequently a secondary concern compared to the manner in which combat is initiated.

Terrain effects are...odd in this edition. High dice pools almost ignore terrain. But having some cover can shut down low dice pool attacks from mooks. This works out...Okish, because players still think of terms of terrain to protect against mookish attacks, and as the GM the mooks can still get some cover for fluff reasons if not tactical ones.

Personally I use a lot of drones

- I will roll Willpower+something openly after the players do something impressive (one-shotting a guy, using terrain effects for multi-kill) to check if the mooks don't drop everything and panic. Smarter (read: higher level) mooks will also use terrain effects to their advantage (expect corp security to throw grenades to flush the players out).

I like that idea. Older editions of Shadowrun (where having six boxes of damage actually severely affected your ability to fight) characters in adventures would usually have something in their descriptions that would indicate that if they took a certain amount of damage the'd make a break for it if they thought they could. In this edition you do already have the rules for getting up after taking a wound.

Where do I find information about tacnets? I think it may come in handy.

I think they were in Unwired, which I actually avoided buying after some bad reviews.

[Seriously Mike]

I think they were in Unwired, which I actually avoided buying after some bad reviews.

OK, checked that one out. That "six sensor inputs required" thing made me think it's not as cool as it would first seem.

Also, in the Deus Ex: Human Revolution thread, we got to a conclusion that Horizon isn't as nice and happy company as they'd like us to think. Where do I look for info about Horizon, apart from CorpEnc?

[Nath]

Where do I look for info about Horizon, apart from CorpEnc?

Corporate Enclaves and Corporate Guide covered Horizon so far. The coming Horizon adventure may contain some info.

[Seriously Mike]

CorpGuide. Jesus Christ, the info from CorpGuide. I have no idea if Kanpur was an isolated case or SOP for Horizon, but either way, there's stuff in Horizon that seriously reeks - although it's held tightly under wraps.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

CorpGuide. Jesus Christ, the info from CorpGuide. I have no idea if Kanpur was an isolated case or SOP for Horizon, but either way, there's stuff in Horizon that seriously reeks - although it's held tightly under wraps.

I am pretty sure that goes for every Megacorp, from A-AAA Status.

[Seriously Mike]

I am pretty sure that goes for every Megacorp, from A-AAA Status.

Sure, but Aztech or S-K don't have this kind of reputation. Horizon is considered "the good megacorp", so people don't expect this kind of stuff from them.

[CanRay]

I am pretty sure that goes for every Megacorp, from A-AAA Status.

Some A-Levels might still be decent. All that means is that they're Multinational, IIRC.

So "Bob's Shipping and Freight" which has offices in Seattle and Portland would count. Sure, they're probably mobbed up, but what business that isn't extraterritorial doesn't at least pay "Protection"?

[Seriously Mike]

Going through CorpEnc again. I stumbled upon the info that the Koshari are slinging Tempo (I figured out it's Tempo after cross-referencing hyphz's campaign reports from Ghost Cartels) - where can I find some more information about the drug?

[Seriously Mike]

And of course, what would LA be without Hollywood? I want to write a blog post about the sim and trid stars, of course with a lot of references to today's stars (like Steve "WINNER!" Cord, son of famous actor Charles Cord (real name Carlos Cortez), or Swiss bodybuilder turned actor Rainer "Wolfcastle" Wolfschloss). Mind dropping some ideas? No guarantee I'm gonna use it, but in case of dry spell you can count on it. Of course the post will have two language versions, so I can brag about it here and at SR's Facebook page as well.

[Seriously Mike]

All right, two brand new questions:
1. Is it possible to fit a "cyborg body" drone (Akiyama, Otomo, Tomino) with standard drone control interface, ie. CPU able to use Pilot program and remote control rig?
2. How hard is it to rebuild a drone into something similar, but bigger? For example, taking a control unit from a Bust-A-Move and fitting it into a five-foot-tall light frame with more powerful servos and battery packs?

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

1. Yes. It is a drone, after all. All it would need is a Pilot Rating. Which you can purchase.
2. GM Discretion.

[Seriously Mike]

Ha. So looking at the feedback in the other thread, a crazy rigger with two to four custom anthroform drones isn't too extravagant as a rival. However, familiar men in black suits and shades are not (I mean, an Otomo is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 150k after all, those guys aren't really disposable).

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Ha. So looking at the feedback in the other thread, a crazy rigger with two to four custom anthroform drones isn't too extravagant as a rival. However, familiar men in black suits and shades are not (I mean, an Otomo is (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nuyen.gif) 150k after all, those guys aren't really disposable).

Well, if you can afford 4 Men in Black (Otomo's) then anything else is just cake. But no, 4 custom drones, as long as they are not better than what you can currently purchase, is not too extravagant. I have found that a Single Otomo can be, and often is, a Killer. 4 is just awesome. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seriously Mike]

I gotta look at drones again and stat those puppets. But I'll look at Otomos again and if my players fuck up really bad, they'll be facing Agent Smith. Or worse.

[Seriously Mike]

OK, things are slowly moving forward. I will most probably make this campaign PBP on a friend's forum, as he already offered help. I also have the first string of missions roughly planned out, involving pompous elves, the Triads, kiddy porn and sleazy independent producers. Oh, also my idea from the "idol singer" thread is so totally in.
Now, I divided the Triads into three distinct branches: 14K deal in drugs, Wo Shing Wo in black-market telesma and other magical stuff and the fictional Hong Shi smuggle people, forge documents and sling BTLs. Any recommendations on where to look for more inspiration regarding organized crime in SR? Because the players will either go to Triads in search of work or piss them off with fireworks organized at their expense.

[PresentPresence]

Vice or maybe 10 Gangs. You could also look at Seattle 2072 and maybe the Sixth World Almanac, but I haven't read that so I can't be sure.

[Seriously Mike]

Yep, Vice looks pretty good. I also made a list of the factions that can offer the players some work (more or less story-related, but I'm not sure what the story will be, as of now):

(V) Valiant Video Entertainment
(F) 14K Triad
(W) Wo Shing Wo Triad
(H) Hong Shi Triad
(G) G-Kingz
(B) Blood Roses
® Russian Bratva
(K) The Koshari
(A) The Ancients
(L) Burning Angels
(M) Milano Family
© Scaletti Family
(P) Pueblo Corporate Council
(Z) Aztechnology
(O) Horizon

The letters in parentheses are an internal reference to my planning (for example, mission lists, NPC alignments etc.).

[CanRay]

Great, chat room gang signs. *Headdesk*

[Seriously Mike]

No, I'm using Google Docs to write everything out, so for example the letters are used to mark the missions (V1 - Casting Call, the first mission for Valiant Video Entertainment, V5 - The Final Cut, last mission for VVE) and during which mission the characters should meet important NPCs (Jimmy Yau, the Triad smuggler, is met during mission V1).

[Seriously Mike]

And we're finally off. The cast:
My ex as Sunshine, the snarky dwarf streetdoc.
The admin as Eric, wheelman slash bum.
The admin's wife as Zara, elven eco-shaman wacko.
Havoc as Jack, Humanis hacker and jerkass of unbelievable proportions. I tasked him with assembling the team, to mirror the concept of my story (the other crew will appear in background).

Now here's a catch: the team from my story also started with the hacker finding the rest and convincing them to work together. But, my hacker is a liberal ork who speaks at least a bit of Russian and the first person he decided to go to was a former Russian paratrooper (and I like Fatum's idea of Russian paras being mostly orks and trolls - sure, this one's human, but she doesn't mind orks at all), so it pretty much worked from the get-go.

[Warlordtheft]

I've been running an LA campaign for almost a year now. I call it my LA Lagoon series. The thing about LA is that you have the Corp Zone (on one side) and the Mad-Max/Waterworld/Escape fron NY side with a horde of Sinless that have been discarded by the rest of LA (or don't want to be part of the crazy LA scene). Read the Cal Free source book (2nd ed), or Neo A's guide to North America (1st Ed) regarding the El Inferno ghetto for some back ground, as well as the corp guide in reference to Horizon.

It is wild and crazy in either side of town. One cause it is great "reality" vid. The other cause well, it is pretty much lawless and the locals like it that way. BTW-black trench coat types are still viable campaigns in LA, it just isn't SOP. Why extract a sim starlet queitly, when you can extract her as part of a new show for the same price?

[Seriously Mike]

So I'm basically trolling the hacker into stealing some material from Persona 2.0. While he has an appointed meeting in a couple of hours. This means a) getting steamrolled by whatever security I can throw at him (fifteen-dice stealth, scan, track, attack and blackout? It took out Slamm-0! in a turn or two, any schmuck off the street is toast compared to that!), b) missing a meeting with a Johnson, c) the Johnson ruining the life of our hacker AND his contact, who happens to be a police precinct captain in Fun City.

Plus, he apparently didn't catch the hint that an ork kept busy as a laborer for ridiculously low pay is a better thing for a racist dick our hacker is than an ork mugging people in the street due to having no job.

[Seriously Mike]

Decided to do some number-crunching for fun. I took combat stats for the whole players' team and my NPC crew. Here's a chart. Pools don't include gear bonuses (with the exception of weapon focus), damage values are default DV for each weapon.

Havoc - Team Players' hacker. Primary melee: shock hand. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: light pistol.
Marx - Team Players' B&E. Primary melee: knife. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: pistols (none equipped).
Katel - Team Players' shaman and face. Primary melee: knife. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: F10 direct spell. Secondary ranged: F5 direct spell.
Judgment - Team Rocket's weapons specialist. Primary melee: spurs. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: SMG. Secondary ranged: light pistol.
Rage - Team Rocket's paranormalist, adept. Primary melee: weapon focus (sword). Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: heavy pistol. Secondary ranged: holdout pistol.
Insight - Team Rocket's B&E and face (build borrowed from Dumpshock). Primary melee: monowhip. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: heavy pistol. Secondary ranged: holdout pistol.
Harbinger - Team Rocket's hacker. Primary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: heavy pistol.
Death - Team Rocket's wheelman. Primary melee: wrench. Secondary melee: unarmed. Primary ranged: heavy pistol.

If they ever go against each other, Team Players gets CREAMED.

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

o.O Team player would have a hard time against a group (5) of my NPC gangers (on their home turf).

[Seriously Mike]

o.O Team player would have a hard time against a group (5) of my NPC gangers (on their home turf).

...how is THAT one possible? What sort of skills are we talking about?

Also, I had to redo the terribly fucked up B&E guy. Basically, I threw away everything aside from his B&E skills. After reassigning a load of points, I ended up with some insane ninja pistolero. With a stunstick.

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

Well, because the pools of my gangers (for shooting) are about their level - also, the player team consists of only 3 players.

Here are the Stats for my Gangers (the variable items and attributes are determined at random with a die roll). Also, the Stats are for Humans, Ork or Troll ganger would be tougher to shoot.

Gang Member
Attributes:
BOD 3-5, AGI 3, STR 3-5, REA 3 (5), INT 3, CHA 2, LOG 2-3, WIL 2-3, IP 1(2)
Skills:
Close combat (Group) 2, Firearms (Group) 2, Dodge 2, Stealth (Group) 1, Athletics (Group) 1, Intimidation 3 (Physical +2), Etiquette 1 (Street +2), Perception 2 (Visual +2)
Gear:
MP-5 TX + Underbarrel Weight (used, Gremlins 1) OR Remigton 990 w/ reduced Barrel (used, Gremlins 1)
Colt Manhunter OR Colt L36 OR Yamaha Pulsar
Knife
Baseball Bat OR Expendable Baton OR Rifle Butt OR Hardliner Gloves
Armor Vest OR Armor Jacket
Concealable Holster
1 spare Clip/spare Ammo (primary Weapon)
Commlink (DR2)
2 doses Cram, 2 doses NoPaint, 2 doses Snuff
Qualities:
Home Ground, Addiction (mild, random Drug)

So, when the gangers load for bear (= take their combat drugs and use the primary weapons) and win initiative (REA 3-5 + INT 3+ Home Ground 2), your players would have a hard time.
Shooting: AGI 3 + Firearms 2 + Home Ground 2 (+ Laser Sight 1) = 7-8
Close combat: AGI 3 + Close combat 2 + Home Ground 2 = 7

Edit: Okay, yesterday there was only one in team player with 2 IPs, also i overlooked that the stats are without equipment bonuses like smartlink or tacnet. The gang leader would have some cyber augmentation (used muscle rplacement or so) and slightly higher stats and skills (but mostly mental stats and social skills)

[Seriously Mike]

The B&E guy ended up with 6 Reaction and 7 Agility. I strongly suspect he'd be able to cartwheel into the gang, avoiding their fire, and then stunstick them into oblivion.

[CanRay]

The B&E guy ended up with 6 Reaction and 7 Agility. I strongly suspect he'd be able to cartwheel into the gang, avoiding their fire, and then stunstick them into oblivion.

"Hey, why am I always the one that has to charge the LMG Nests?" "You're the only one they can't hit." "Oh, right..."

[NiL_FisK_Urd]

The B&E guy ended up with 6 Reaction and 7 Agility. I strongly suspect he'd be able to cartwheel into the gang, avoiding their fire, and then stunstick them into oblivion.

Well, i usually fire wide bursts, so that defense pool is completely gone when the third guy shoots at him. One thing i noticed is that "home ground" is very good way to make realistically skilled/equipped opposition with a challenging dice pool. All my gangers and corp guards are statted with this quality - that also means that if the gang is following the players around and out of their territory, their dp is considerably lower.

[Seriously Mike]

Now I got an idea to respec him into a sniper. He's got a lot of expensive Narcoject capsule ammo (a full 30-round clip), so after ditching it, it should be enough to pimp out a Ruger 100 with a bipod and smartgun system (both the gun mod and the smartlink in the scope).

[Seriously Mike]

So, the jerkass hacker got paid in advance, now he has to recruit three people and, if he wants to use the "Burn Notice"-esque loft, he has to fix the shitter.
I also decided to publish the Milestone list.

[CanRay]

So, the jerkass hacker got paid in advance, now he has to recruit three people and, if he wants to use the "Burn Notice"-esque loft, he has to fix the shitter.

And fill up the fridge with yogurt!

I also decided to publish the Milestone list.

Poker Card Achievements? Tell me more!

[Seriously Mike]

Well, the first time my players get around to doing some things, they get extra karma (token amounts, more for story-related achievements).
"Prop Drop" is obvious - look around, spot useful terrain features, use them to hurt enemies.
"Vulgar Display Of Power" is a little less obvious - sometimes (one-shotting an opponent, using suppressive fire, breaking out heavy firepower) the opponents roll Int+Wil to avoid panicking. The goal is to make them panic - either they'll be shaken, getting dice penalties, or straight up drop their shit and leg it.
"David and Goliath" - even the biggest, toughest mofo has a Stun damage track and it's shorter than his Physical damage track. So it's possible, especially with large pools and lots of luck.
"Metal Thrashin' Mad" - obvious. In LA, finding all three will be easy.
"Truckstop" - Truck is one of Seymore the Invincible's creations. There'll be a lot of implants and even more Kamikaze involved.
"Making Friends 102" - a reference to their first assignment, "Making Friends 101". Doing favors for contacts improves their standing with them.
"Home Sweet Home" - so their new safehouse has no crapper. And, sadly, nobody has the Industrial Mechanics skill necessary to install it. Once the dwarf mechanic joins, I guess they'll be able to do it.
"Electric Eye" - they have no drones... but they have a hacker. So there's someone to use a drone when they get one. The name is a reference to Judas Priest song.
"Architect of the Monolith" - reference to Vampire the Requiem's bloodline of the same name. The Architects' Discipline allow them to control the city itself, for example clearing traffic or causing jams.
"I'm A Shadowrunner, Get Me Outta Here!" - reference to the reality show "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!". It's pretty much the same, but the other way round.

As for the secret achievements, I don't want to spoil what's coming.

[Seriously Mike]

I texted the Dwarf techie player today:
"Does your character have Mechanics group or Industrial Mechanics skill?"
She replied "Yes, she's the tinkerer after all."
"Great! She fixes the shitter!"
Can't wait to see her sheet, she's the only one who didn't send one yet, and the game is pretty much on.

[Seriously Mike]

So:
I managed to freak the players out, first with each other (the shaman's Beast Spirit headbutted a gate open as an introduction), then with a pack of Ancients going to beat up some corp goons that dared to show up in South Central packing big guns (I hinted to the shaman that she's indirectly responsible for it). All because the hacker showed up in South Central, and even found the right camera (or what was left of it) after Johnson gave him a commlink with dossiers on other PCs (B&E guy happened to be recorded by the camera a week earlier). So they get scared, and like in that joke, they walk into a bar. They pass three members of Team Rocket on the way and hacker finds out that the B&E guy just happened to drop by for a concert (the band was leaving when the hacker and the shaman came in, just a background event) and a beer.
And then, Assensing started. Hacker happens to be based on a build from these forums, so he has a laundry list of implants inside him and shaman just had to roll six hits, finding out how much artificial crap can you shove into a guy and keep him walking. B&E guy's Muscle Replacement and Team Rocket's Wired Reflexes didn't faze her. As for the most heavily augmented member of Team Rocket present, the shaman rolled ONE HIT. Nice.

Annnnd nothing like a nice little distraction to keep the players on their toes. The shaman damn near raised a shot-up Ancient from the dead - first cast Stabilize with no Drain, then followed with a Heal (that I tweaked a bit to make it more useful under fire and Background Count - each point of Force is an automatic hit if there are hits rolled) with 4 hits (at Force 5, no hits used to quicken the spell, so it was 2 overflow damage + 7 normal damage healed). Sure, the shaman screwed the Drain roll and almost folded, but that got her some respect among the Ancients.

[Seriously Mike]

So, the team just arrived, at 11 PM, at the dwarven rigger's place (dwarven rigger is the last player's character), ordered two pizzas and started snooping around. I'm amazed that the hacker forgot such an useful program as Decrypt - so he's left with eight hidden, encrypted Matrix nodes he can't hack to check what they are (in order: streetlight control, the warehouse's smart meter, rigger's commlink, her truck and four drones). Apart from the players, there's one of the Shaman's contacts - a TerraFirst guy - but seeing what they're doing, he's planning to bail out as fast as possible.

And another Achievement added to the list: after listening to Qyeendom's "Troubled Times" I got an idea for a young female ork rapper from Hahn Free Market and the career she can start if pointed in the right direction.