Help me decide my players fates Options Track this topic Email this topic Print this topic Download this topic Subscribe to this forum Display Modes Switch to: Outline Standard Switch to: Linear+

[Backgammon]

Ok, so after a particularly large fnck-up after a run, my players were left each in their own predicament, and I'm not certain where to take it from there.

Player A is an adept, who managed (long story short) to great leap into a low flying police helicopter. knock the on-board sniper out and cap the on-boad mage and co-pilot. He is seriously wounded, but he has a gun on the pilot's head, and the pilot will cooperate. So... what the frag are the cops gonna do about this situation? Obviously they want to make sure the pilot stays safe, and they probably want to make sure that expensive helicopter also stays in one piece. So I figure they're gonna send drones after it and wait till he lands somewhere, then take him out. Sounds reasonnable?

Player B hid in the sewers, where I decided Something hit him with a confusion power, so for now he is wandering aimlessly. So I'll take any suggestions about what could happen to him. Go nuts, critters, spirits, weird underground people, whatever.

Player C got away, but he was picked up by a car-full of triad men of the fixer who hired the runners. Does the fixer kill the player, or can you think of a way for me too avoid having to do that, but allowing the fixer to maintain his street rep?

[Wonazer]

A - Wait for the player to make the pilot attack the drones. Then decide whether the drones are worth the helo and pilots life. Barring that, have the drones follow him where ever they go with a patrol or two following on the ground (from a respectable distance) waiting for them to land...

B - Sewers? Eeew... Let the spell fade and get him out and back to the group.

C - The plot should center around the captured character, in my opinion. Honestly, if the fixer that much of a hardass or is he simply a merchant trading in people, equipment and services? Now, his Triad buddies on the other hand...

[Abstruse]

A) A watcher spirit or something similar would probably track the character on the down-low. Plus, I'm sure all Lone Star vehicals would have some sort of hardware on board to track them in case something like this happens. Or in case a pilot decides he wants to retire on the couple million nuyen pricetag. Let the adept find a way out of it somehow though.

B) Let him wander around in confusion for a while, then just as he comes out of it -- Devil Rats. Not too hard, but definately a danger.

C) Again, the plot should definately focus on the captured character. I saw let the other two off the hook after giving them something challenging, but take the player of the captured character off to the side or before the others arrive for the game and discuss what he does so the others don't know. They screwed up, and he's going to pay for it one way or another. The fixer could be bribed, but it'd have to be a lot due to not only the losses he has on whatever he paid them plus whatever he's not going to get from whoever he contracted the run from, plus the damage to his rep in that he hired a bunch of people who bungled the job. It'd have to be worth that much.

Also, if it wasn't the captured player's fault that the run got hosed, but one or both of the other characters' faults, the fixer could offer him a deal. "I know it wasn't you who did this. It was those other two. Do you really want those other two to cost you your life? No, of course you don't. So I'll give you an offer. You hand over the other two, and I'll let you off. But if you don't, my friend his can do amazingly painful things with a car battery and a pair of jumper cables..."

The Abstruse One

[D00m]

A) Even though it sounds straight outta the back of SR3, it takes some guts to put your character through this sort of thing. Definitely give this character a way out, but don't make it easy. Go with the drones, but have one jump the gun and empty a couple rounds into the chopper as a warning, then (depending on the setting) remind him that "that rather large grove/park in the distance would make for a splendid getaway, and provide LOS cover from the drones."

B) Sewers are great because they provide for such interesting encounters, both hostile and otherwise. Devil rats would be interesting, or the spirit what used confusion on him in the first place (force rating relative to the char's means to give it a fair fight, that is.)

C) Sometimes a PC death is inevitable, and this sounds like one of those instances. Definitely take the player aside and explain the circumstances surrounding his situation. If he's going to die, make it dramatic, and make sure that the other players find out exactly how it went down, as this could make for an interesting "we're here for payback" situation. Alternately, have the character kept hostage, to be made an example of at X-location at Y-time, providing the others a chance to rescue their chum.

[Kagetenshi]

A) Remind him that he just won major cool points. Then remind him that if he wants to get out of this, it's time to get on the horn and start negotiating. Large, easily noticeable vehicle, closely followed, no chance of escape without using that hostage. Either that or he could fly by another office building and do a great leap in the other direction, but that's for the player to decide.

B) If the game is set during/after YotC, Shamblers. Great fun.

C) Since the character isn't already dead, that means someone wants him alive or someone objects to killing him. Now, the person who objects to killing him could just be the GM, but I'd advise you work it into the game; if a character really should get killed, let them.
As for why fixerboy wouldn't kill character: maybe he's going to make an example of him later, or maybe he's going to make the character (and the team) his own personal bitch until they've paid for their mistakes.
Alternately, maybe he wants them alive because the person who hired him to hire the characters wants to kill the characters personally.

~J

[Siege]

I'll weigh in with my two bits:

A) Since they don't have supporting choppers in the air, the adept's best bet would be to have the pilot land somewhere either in the Barrens or in the woods near Seattle. Either would have substantial potential for the character to bolt and lay low. Disappearing into the Barrens gives the character more resources to live on unless he's a woodsy sort.

The drones will try to follow him, but with all the wreckage of the buildings and whatnot, the adept should be able to disappear.

B) Sewers? Ick. Random encounter table and give him a chance to shake off the Confusion and make his way to an exit. The nastier the section of town, the greater the likelihood of something equally icky.

C) I think C is the easiest to keep alive. The character's street rep takes a hit, but an enterprising fixer could find a use for a runner on a leash. Since C didn't actively screw the fixer except for failing the mission, the Triads may be amendable to well...making amends. But the runner is going to be paying through the nose for a long, long time. Or it'll be one hell of a job to get out of the Fixer's Triad pocket.

-Siege

[last_of_the_grea...]

If character A has any extra-territorial corp contacts (like the "friends in high places" edge) or ever did a run for one, he should bloody well get on the phone and cash in a favour (a favour costs 1 karma point). This can be done through a fixer or Mr. Johnson contact, too. Have him land the chopper in corp territory and the corp not extradite him. They can say the pilot aggressively landed in their airspace, deny anyone else was on board and keep the copter as a bonus as well as getting all the info in the pilot's head. That oughta be enough to buy his way out of being a corp hostage. I suggest Wuxing for it's triad connections!

Player C could then be reasonably brought in with player A on Wuxing property. Player C owes a favour for being removed from a deadly situation. The rest of the group will probably aid him in repaying it.

When player B gets out of the sewers a single phone call re-unites the group. Voila! Next shadowrun with no pay to burn up PC resources but get them more karma. :)

[BitBasher]

This scenario the way it works in my game, but remember, I'm a bastard....

A) Player one is SCREWED, arrested... The Lone Star pilot REALLY has a very good postition... ALL Lone Star peronnel have an implanted headware radio, it's standard eqipment. He is in permananent communication with HW. All he has to do is get the chopper within LOS of a Lone Star mage with a pair of binoculars who is sucking enough bonus dice off of elementals to cast a stunbolt at D with enough sucesses to knock out a juggernaut on Long Haul. The Gun to the pilot's head isn't all that much of a bargaining chip because with my plan the pilot stands a better chance of survival than by my plan then if he acts like a helpless hostage becayse THERE IS NO REASON for the player to let the cop go, he's already at murder one for 2 cops, the third is just gona be gravy. The cop knows this. Get this player good and arrested. If the player shoots the LS pilot, the player dies, and the cop knows this. It's a chinese stand off, that should end bad for the player... that being said give him 2 bonus karma on his way to prison ;) Also give the team the chance to bust him out. Make it psychotically hard. Make it nearly impossible.

B) This guy gets off easy having to bribe his way past orc patrols while confused to get to the surface, he gets off easy. No reason to torture him for no reason, he'll get it enough later, which brings me to....

C) The contact feels he is owed a favor. free of charge, for having to deal with the mess. This character agrees to the favor or he, and everyone else dies.

...D?) Players B and C are now looking at one HELL of an extraction (or permanent retirement) that has to happen before homeboy A gets a mind probe and B and C are SCREWED. have a contact hear from a friend in Lone Star that that's the plan. An internal Lone Star initiative against Cop Killers and their assocuates. No time to plan, nothing fancy to do, just the bad option or the worse option. Force them to do it the messy and bloody way. Those are the consequences. make them all good and screwed or dead depending on how they perform. Longterm consequences via the Lone Star manhunt that will benefit and maje the GM's life easier in the long run. ;) all wrapped in a nice neat package that gives a campaign some (more?) direction and possibly a rep boost on the street, possibly for all the wrong reasons. :D

[last_of_the_grea...]

BitBasher, ya seem to be a tad arbitrary. I think you'd kill off all my charecters in your game! ;)

[SCLariat]

Player A. A cop killer is the lowest form of life on a cop's scum-meter. Either a sniper rifle or mage should do the trick.....a mage would certainly be cleaner & less risky. A trial and prison are expenses that LS wouldn't want to foot. Bullets and spell are a lot cheaper. Check the stats on cop killers would are "shot while trying to escape" or "shot while resisting arrest" and you'll understand what I'm saying

Player B: There's always my personal fav for dealing with sewer diving players: Devil Rats! And lots of 'em. Oh...and regular rats, too. Scar him up for his stupidity, but let him live.

Player C: The triads are not notorious for whacking people for failure. They could rough 'em, take his stuff, and let him go.

This post has been edited by SCLariat: Oct 13 2003, 02:22 AM

[John Campbell]

In any game I've run, A would be a walking dead man. If he can figure out a way to get out of the chopper and go to ground, skip town to a city where security isn't handled by Lone Star (or whoever the police agency in question here is) - preferably on a different continent - and get a new face and name, he might live, but he'd still be pretty much out of the game (unless he was the only survivor, in which case forming a new group around him in his new location might be reasonable... but don't forget that he'd still be wanted as a cop-killer). Killing cops is the one thing you Do Not Do. It's the absolute best way to make sure they do everything in their power (and that's a considerable amount, when they bring it to bear) to hunt you down and make sure you end up dead (by preference) or at least behind bars for the rest of your life.

B should have a fun time wandering around lost in the sewers for a bit, but I wouldn't throw any major threats at him. Devil rats or the like are always good, or passive challenges. Just finding his way out could be a significant challenge, given that he went in Confused.

I would just have the Triad guys express their fixer's extreme displeasure with the team to C - possibly physically, maybe just with intimidation, but make it clear in no uncertain terms that they screwed up and are not to do so again. Then I'd have them dump him somewhere without his pay.

[BitBasher]

[Kagetenshi]

Problem with L-S mage is that most security vehicles have tinted windows to prevent just that. Lots of civilian vehicles, too.
Also, remember: Lone Star, however much they want people to think they are, are not the police. They are corporate security officers.
One of my characters took pains to remind them of that before he killed them.
Another of my characters would have killed the first character I mentioned because you don't fuck with the people who keep you safe. Runners have weird attitudes towards L-S. Go figure.
Or maybe I'm just strange :)

~J

[Siege]

Actually, LS are the de-facto police.

It's like taking your local police department and having a private company manage the entire process. They have all the law enforcement powers of government-managed cops and in the imagination of the civilians, there is no difference.

And I'd imagine that LS would take extreme offense at the termination of its officers -- if only because of the damage to its public relations. Especially something as graphic and expensive as the scenario painted in the original post.

Even if the formal administration of the 'Star didn't take a hard line for these sorts of killers, the rank-and-file officers will have twitchy trigger fingers.

-Siege

[TinkerGnome]

It's amazing how many flights of stairs there are to fall down in a one story jailhouse. Particularly when it comes to cop killers.

As for the devil rats... If you're post YotC, go with a couple of Demon rats or that thing that makes a shell out of dead critters. That'd be fun :) But I wouldn't kill him (scare the hell out of him, though).

I'd probably put player C on the spot for finishing the run if it wasn't blown to the point that the Johnson decided to cancel the run. If the run gets cancelled, the fixer might demand his (vanished) cut of the pay and then never work with the PCs again.

[Backgammon]

Here's what I have decided to do:

I'll follow Player A's actions. It's possible he can get out of immediate danger if he's quick about it. IF he also manages to make it back to the city (he's about an hour away by car travel now), he can maybe hook up with a powerful contact he's building up, and this contact can ship him outside he country, should the player want. Basically, I'm just gonna react to what he tries to do. And yes, *mage* cop killer don't live very long.

Player B (sewer man) is gonna wake up 2 days later in the middle of an alley with no memories. Will certainly freak the shit out of him, while leaving me room to add interesting things later on.

Player C is gonna get a stern talking to, and he'll be forced to take a very dangerous run (to be determined) to make up for the loss.

So maybe all the players are gonna meet up and decide to change country, or maybe some will leave. I know Player A started making a new character once the implications of what he'd done started to sink in :spin:

[Hot Wheels]

A) Good call, but add to that they may send in a mage in astral. to see if he can pick off the runner without risking the pilot-if they geek the pilot, they lose the copter and get bad PR as the copter falls on someone.

B) Devil rats, ghouls, incubus. nasty, potentially fatal. potential for infection but he should escape once the spell wears off.

C) Good chance for plot running. They won't kill him, but in return you'll have to...

[Siege]

Side note: How many runners ever think to stop by their local street doc for massive injections of broad-spectrum antibiotics after a sewer crawl?

-Siege

[BitBasher]

three

[Kagetenshi]

I would remember, if it weren't for the fact that I make it a point never to sewercrawl.
That didn't work out once, but we died in that sewer, so it didn't matter much.

~J

[Siege]

On the bright side, player A has a chance to put his hands on a Ruger Thunderbolt if he wants one...

-Siege

[last_of_the_grea...]

Oooh. I just thought of something...if it's not reported that only the pilot's alive, there are Lone Start uniforms there for him to use! He could make the pilot land, knock him out (or kill him) and leave as the "only survivor." It might buy him a few minutes if the Star ain't right at ground zero when they land. He can use the codes in the helicopter's comm system to listen in on Star Frequencies to avoid them...

Heh...well, I know I'm not being so helpful to you, Backgammon, but I love thinking of ways out.

Basically, if Character A escapes, he'll need a new face and enough cash to pay for a decker to bust Lone Star's system and have his data removed...maybe a program that attacks any data on him put in in the future...hope he's got a million Nuyen!

[Siege]

On that note: how many GMs have put biomonitors on key sec guards?

-Siege

[BitBasher]

Sec guards? not a whole lot, only companies with organized competent security... Lone Star? All of em.

[TinkerGnome]

I'd say most AA or better companies would go for biomonitors on their security guards. Compare the difference in reduced life insurance payouts vs. biomonitor costs and the biomonitor solution should come out quite a bit ahead. That, and you would quickly know when one of your guards was sleeping on the job or hanging out in the break room instead of being on patrol from his vitals.