Typical Run Payment Options

[Double Down]

Forgive me if there's info about this somewhere already, I've searched for a while now with no success.

In Mr. Johnson's Little Black Book (or possibly Shadowrun Companion, I don't remember for sure) there was a table describing the typical amounts of nuyen a Johnson pays for various types of shadowruns. However, things have changed a bit between then and 4th edition, and I didn't see anything addressing this in the 4th edition book (aside from a couple brief and specific mentions in the example stories).

So basically, I'm wondering what most of you go for as far as payment for various jobs. Obviously I don't want to be making my runners instand millionaires, but I also don't want them to be disappointed at a complete lack of progress nuyen-wise (as the rates in MJLBB would seem to do), nor do I want to force them to be grabbing every single piece of cyberware and equipment off of every corpse they make. Basically, what do you pay your runners for various types of runs? And also, how heavily do you tend to adjust the rewards based on the number of runners (or do you simply have a Johnson pay each runner straight-up individually)?

[stevebugge]

This really is a game specific question. The flavor of your campaign is going to answer most of this, at a minimum they need to cover their monthly lifestyle payment and expendable gear expenses (ammo etc) unless as a GM you have a reason for not wanting them to. I have had games where if the initial offer wasn't six figures the team walked and I've had other games where 2000 a head was normal. This is going to be best solved by talking to your players and seeing what their expectations are and balancing it against how fast or slow you want them to progress.

[Guest_MK Ultra_*]

The list is in the Companion and it states the minimal usual payment for the job. As this, its quiet ok, I think (though some of my players think otherwise, induced through years of 6-digit payment because I used to use Silverangel as a reference). Especiali in SR4 there will be less demand to save money for Decks and implants, since they are much cheaper now.

[Moon-Hawk]

It also depends on how often they run.
In my campaigns, their fixer usually only calls them once a month or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. So each run has to cover their monthly expenses, plus give them some profit or else why keep doing it?
If, OTOH, your team runs twice a week, you can give them less without starving them.
It sort of depends on how you view the role of Shadowrunners in your world. If there are five good teams and a few dozen amateur teams in a city, or if there are dozens and dozens of pros and hundreds of wannabes, that's going to change things. Also, if the corps use shadowrunners for everything, and private individuals hire them like PIs, then there's going to be more work than if the corps only use them for extreme missions that require the utmost deniability.
This is a conversation you need to have with your players.

[ogbendog]

I kind of think 2 things, one is that some (1/2?) of the adventures shouldn't be runs. The chars are mugged, or a contact needs a favor, or etc.

and running for $$ sould come in waves. A corp war starts over a new develepment or a hostile take over or whatever, so there are lots of jobs, lots of money being thrown out. Heck, the PCs might not even have the time to heal up or replenish ammo and supplies before the next job. Then, after a while, it does down, the corps have spent the budgets, the issue has been resolved, and now there are few runs that pay well. Plus, during the war, more shadowrunners entered the biz; gangers, mercs, etc used the opportunity to start in the business, now they are out there compting for what few jobs their are.

[PlatonicPimp]

The tables in MRLBB are MORE accurate now, In SR4. They adjusted a lot of the prices downward so that you could give your characters enough money to advance without giving them enough to retire.

[hunter5150]

I use the "loot the dead" guage. If my players start pulling the gold teeth out of street urchins I up the job pay. If they turn their nose up at the prototype high tech widget the corp VP was carrying, I will dial it down a notch.

[ThatSzechuan]

To paraphrase what I've heard from many other players: "If the team makes less on their runs than they could by jacking a car off the street each week, why would they bother risking running at all?"

[Guest_MK Ultra_*]

Cuz caryaking is so dangerous these dayes! Not only will the car object to being yaked, it´s allso the biz of the Yaks, your cutting in, and they will come cutting back ... at your body. 8)

[ogbendog]

we noticed the same thing. Our technomancer could dominate any stock car's matrix defenses.

[PlatonicPimp]

OUr technomancer routinely hijacks taxies because no one bought a car.

[Double Down]

Thanks for all the help. To be totally honest, I overlooked the fact that those values in the Companion were the low-end prices. With that in mind, they don't look so frightening... I had these nightmare visions of my runners living in cardboard boxes out front of Mr. Johnson's house, selling encyclopedias and whatnot. :)

[emo samurai]

The hacker could just go into mainframes with low security and still get a decent amount of paydata. Then again, I'm probably thinking of SR3; SR4 has radio blockage.

[hyzmarca]

[Oracle]

In my opinion the values given in the SR Companion are way too low. I do not understand at all, how a group of runners should pay lifestyle cost, SOTA for cyber, vehicles and matrix-stuff, ammunition, replacements for lost / destroyed equipment, hospital bills and new toys with that. They would need about 10 runs a month for that.... o_O

[Guest_MK Ultra_*]

Well, as was alredy sayed, these are the low end prises. They are intended for lowend runners (not much SOTA and Low or Squatter Lifestyle) and for lowend runs (not much of Ammo, Medic and additional costs). Allso, bigger teams can generaly expect more!

[Moon-Hawk]

Right. On that list, when they say "extraction", they don't mean "Extract head scientist from ultra-secure research facility at the bottom of the ocean" they mean "Hey, go pick up my perfectly normal 8-year old son from soccer practice this afternoon." :D
Then again, if my GM ever gave me that run I'd sh** my pants, 'cause I'd know it was going to turn horrible somehow.

[Azralon]

To answer the original question:

My payouts vary widely based on the job (which is likewise guided by Street Cred and Notoriety), but typically I try to offer about 2k per runner for the low-end stuff.

It's a pittance, I know, but it generally covers the expenses involved in the run with a little left over. If a run has no additional expenses and the team gets only one job per month, it's enough to keep them scraping along at a Low lifestyle.

However, PCs -- at least the ones I've hung out with -- tend to treat jobs as an excuse to go looting. They're basically given some free intel on a potential source of swag and enough cash to get the ball rolling.

The serious "upgrade money" (used to buy more gear, implants, foci, and so forth) tends to come from selling off key loot. Obviously, and fortunately, there are no Bags of Holding in Shadowrun, so the PCs have to be more choosy than greedy.

So far no one has stolen a GMC Banshee yet, but the current team did manage to reprogram the autopilots of about 50 ganger bikes to quietly drive themselves to a secluded location for pickup. It kinda reminded me of cattle rustling.

[emo samurai]

I've heard of spells that can conjure things to the physical plane from another metaplane. Couldn't you do that in reverse with objects you pick up?

[Guest_MK Ultra_*]

The only incidence where this was done, to my knowledge, was in the Novel Beyond the Pale, where a Cybermancy and a powerfull Focus were transportet to the metaplanes. This involved a complicated ritual, supervised by the most powerful metahuman magician on the world.

So it is possble, but not with a simpel spell by an ordinary mage.