NPC threats, Begging for help Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Outline Switch to: Standard Switch to: Linear+

[IceKatze]

hi hi

I have something of a dilemma and I was wondering if perhaps I could get some advice. I'm a veteran GM with other systems and I've played Shadowrun enough to know the basics. Recently an important player left a different campaign I was running and people didn't want to continue without him and several of the remaining players requested Shadowrun for the new campaign.

This normally wouldn't be a problem except that some of them have been playing Shadowrun since 2nd edition while I barely caught the tail end of 3rd, and needless to say, when the players have a vastly larger pool of knowledge about a setting then the GM... well, it can pose particular challenges.

The campaign has a relatively large scope in the form an ever more challenging series of seemingly unconnected runs set to the backdrop of a new VITAS-3 outbreak that has Seattle quarantined from the rest of the world and brutally escalating geopolitical tensions. However, to pull this off, I need to invent a seriously thorough range NPC actors, from nuyenless street thugs to a defcon 3 UCAS military alert. I'm cruising along with the unorthodox elements ((though I must lament the 4th ed vehicle building/customization rules in spite of vehicle combats new ease of use)) however, there are certain archetypal threats that I know my players will be expecting and I have no idea what they're typically supposed to be. I don't need stats or anything, just some thematic guidance.

For instance, does anyone know what a "Fast Response Team" is supposed to be? I've seen lots of references to them and I'm told that Lone Star employs them, but I don't know anything about what their purpose, methods or drawbacks might be. Is it a couple of hard core combat monsters that fly in on jetpacks, or is it a team of 20 commando style grunts that rappel out of a chopper? I'm told they are different then SWAT but I don't even know what SWAT in the future entails.

What sort of trouble warrants a visit by the "oh buckets, we're up drek creek now" T-Bird response? They have the fastest speed out of pretty much any of the law enforcement vehicles, so there has to be some reason why they're not always right on top of the runners before anyone else (except maybe the beat cop who was just around the corner) Furthermore, how high can the so called "Low Altitude" vehicles really go? Hovercraft, how high can they hover?

Do gangs have any other tricks besides overwhelming numbers? I know firearms greatly favor the attacker so its a rather surefire strategy, but it would be nice to not need to rely on it.

How commonplace are random magical critters? There doesn't seem to be much information about them. There's certainly no information or rules about having pets (nor skills associated with it). I mean, I can throw in a def corp boss with a barghest on a leash, but I am wondering if there are any critters that are commonly used by security forces.

How do security forces even hope to defend against magical attacks when supposedly only 1% of metahumans are magically active? If only 1 out of 100 security personnel can use magic and I cant throw much more then 10 goons at the players without combat devolving into a dice rolling, slow-paced nightmare, it becomes somewhat difficult to counter a magic heavy group of runners.

P.S.
Any tips on how to sustain a chase, what with all the crash inducing tricks out there such as stop sticks and barrier spells? (shape earth, I'm looking at you...)

I made this avatar but didn't realize I couldn't use it, oh well, I'll share anyway.