Urban Scavenger hunt? - Dumpshock Forums

Urban Scavenger hunt?, any ideas?

JonathanC View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:11 PM Post #1
Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,241 Joined: 10-August 02 Member No.: 3,083	So, I'm running an SR4 game, and I had a great idea for a Shadowrun: it starts out with the old "find the lost rich kid" premise...the kid likes to go slumming, but seems to have disappeared. After a search, the team finds him, and discovers he's involved with one of those urban scavenger hunts, updated for the 2070's. He offers the runners additional money to help him complete the hunt, on top of the money they'll get from his parents for retrieving him. I'm looking for something halfway between a scavenger hunt and a flash mob type thing...basically, the kid gets points for bringing back proof of doing a variety of crazy things, or retrieving certain objects. What I'm hoping to get are some ideas for strange/dangerous tasks. So far, I was thinking... - Scales from a Troll. This doesn't have to involve killing anyone, since I figure Trolls lose skin like the rest of us over time, so they must leave behind parts of that bony casing they have on their skin. The problem is finding them, or convincing a troll to give you some. - Owlbear pellets. I'm not sure if there are Owlbears in SR, as I can't find stats for them in the main book. But again, I'm presuming that they might cough up pellets of fur, feathers, and bones just like an owl would. - Drink coaster from an really rough, exclusively ork/troll bar. Prove that you got in there and had a drink. - Hubcaps from a LoneStar patrol car

Moon-Hawk View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:18 PM Post #2
Genuine Artificial Intelligence Group: Members Posts: 4,019 Joined: 12-June 03 Member No.: 4,715	I don't actually have any ideas to contribute at the moment, but I just want to say that I love this idea. It sounds like the makings of a tremendously fun run.

James McMurray View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:20 PM Post #3
Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 5,430 Joined: 10-January 05 From: Fort Worth, Texas Member No.: 6,957	A pair of used Depends. You either bullied an old lady out of her diaper or found some other way to get it, perhaps via the Lex Luthor method? :eek: 3 gang jackets from rival gangs.

Shrike30 View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:31 PM Post #4
Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,556 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Seattle Member No.: 98	Dude, you can make your own pair of used Depends pretty easily :P ----------------- The main capacitor out of a '53 Americar. A neon/AR sign off the third story of a building. A (live) devil rat. A GridGuide camera. A spent Panther casing. A picture of yourself on the top of one of Seattle's drawbridges... while it's raised. A Lone Star badge or shoulder patch. A kidney. 50 gallons of used motor oil. A traffic cone (the GridGuide ones are all RFID eqiupped and Traffic Control-compatible, anyway) A broken DocWagon card. Hellhound drool (preferably still burning).

JonathanC View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:38 PM Post #5
Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,241 Joined: 10-August 02 Member No.: 3,083	These are some awesome ideas. Keep 'em coming. 8) I'll let everyone know how the game turns out. I'm curious though, how hard would it be to get one of those traffic cones? Can they be traced? Would anyone bother to come after you for it?

Shrike30 View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:46 PM Post #6
Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,556 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Seattle Member No.: 98	Sure they can be traced. Think of it as being like stealing any other piece of equipment with an RFID tag in it. They've got a low-signal device built into them to broadcast constantly, so that cars are aware of the cone and avoid it. Silencing the traffic cone would be an essential part of the steal. I'm imagining an entire roll of tin foil... The fun thing with scavenger hunts is this: if you aren't too worried about the participants (IE, you don't like them or they can take care of themselves), then half the point of picking an item is to make it hard to find... the other half is to make it a pain in the ass to get or carry around. That's why you make them large, or illegal, or dangerous, or alive, or radioactive... good times all 'round. "Hey, you remember that hunt back in '68? Where they had us go after those reactor controller parts?" "Yeah, that shit rocked, dude... your car glowed for weeks after that!"

Adam Selene

Jul 28 2006, 08:47 PM

Post #7

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QUOTE (JonathanC)

- Hubcaps from a LoneStar patrol car

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

(over the sound of gunfire)
"You look like you just got caught stealing Lonestar's hubcaps!"
"You know it's the funniest thing: I did!"

ronin3338 View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 08:59 PM Post #8
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 314 Joined: 25-February 06 Member No.: 8,307	Bartender has to sign off that you drank a whole "Troll's Blood" by yourself RFID Tag a patrol car/water tower/old lady Spend 50¥ in tips at the local troll/orc stripper bar Buy "Mimi", the inflatable dwarf love doll... and use it. Be Creative. Buy "Sarge", the inflatable troll love doll. See above. Go hot sim to a hacker hangout, and record experiences from 3 different patrons. Pinch a dragon on the butt. Go to the Big Rhino and order the special. Eat it all.

stevebugge View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 09:11 PM Post #9
Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996	I actually had runners steal the "A" off the pyramid one night, that was pretty wacky.

deek View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 09:28 PM Post #10
Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,706 Joined: 30-June 06 From: Fort Wayne, IN Member No.: 8,814	Don't forget that you can also have the items to be "scavenged" to be video feeds, audio clips or pictures of the participant doing things... Examples: -Video feed of participant being cuffed and escorted into a Citymaster -Picture of participant dangling (by rope) at least 30 stories above ground -Video feed of drinking a whole "Troll's Blood" by yourself -Get the actual video footage of participant stealing at a Stuffer Shack So, you can add more actions in there and just use video/audio as proof of the runners doing the stuff...

stevebugge View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 09:30 PM Post #11
Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,026 Joined: 23-November 05 From: Seattle (Really!) Member No.: 7,996	You could use AR tags as proof you'd been somewhere too.

Lagomorph View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 09:39 PM Post #12
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 834 Joined: 30-June 03 Member No.: 4,832	Steal as many foriegn GridGuide transponder ID's from cars as possible

JonathanC View Member Profile	Jul 28 2006, 10:04 PM Post #13
Running Target Group: Members Posts: 1,241 Joined: 10-August 02 Member No.: 3,083	I like the idea of having them do something, then having to steal the footage of it...great idea. I have to admit that I'm not sure what AR tags are, exactly. I can definitely imagine having them turn in a simsense recording of something they'd done though ("visit the local ork/troll cathouse, and bring back the simsense recording to prove you had a good time")

underaneonhalo

Jul 28 2006, 10:24 PM

Post #14

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QUOTE (JonathanC)

I can definitely imagine having them turn in a simsense recording of something they'd done though ("visit the local ork/troll cathouse, and bring back the simsense recording to prove you had a good time")

Video of some rich little smoothie crying as he tries to work his way from beneath the girth of a very frisky troll joygirl... I'd buy that for a nuyen!

I don't think that I'd like to relive the kids experience through simsense though, it takes real hez to handle a troll ;)

ShadowDragon8685 View Member Profile	Jul 29 2006, 12:07 AM Post #15
Horror Group: Members Posts: 5,322 Joined: 15-June 05 From: BumFuck, New Jersey Member No.: 7,445	Something from the Renraku Arc. It dosen't matter where in, but the higher up it came from, the more points it's worth. Items that occupied multiple stories in the ARC get you cumulative points for each story (IE: You steal a tall pillar with a statue on top that's on a massive 2-floor lobby, assuming the lobbies were on floors 7 and 8, and you come away with 15 points). 2x multiplier for objects that came from the outside. Simsense or video recording of you and an actual live Spirit having sex. (To be verified as an actual spirit by in-house mage.) 2x multiplier for a Free spirit. A tribal shaman's medicine stick. Points awarded as followed: Cheap copy: 1 Real medicine man's stick: 5 Magically-active medicine stick: 20 Any real image or recording of you in the presence of a VIP. (For these purposes, "In the prescence of" will be defined as "Interacting with", so that time you leaned ovr the barrier, groped Nadja Daviar, and got beaten viciously by the guards would count, but holding up a huge sign saying "Hi sexy" behind her would not.

fool View Member Profile	Jul 29 2006, 09:49 PM Post #16
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 588 Joined: 27-February 06 Member No.: 8,316	I was thinking of taking a mage's focus. Higher the rating the more points you got. Of course, why the hell would a runner give up that fopcus when he could sell it instead. The cross from a street preachers neck. Lone Star's footage of you drag racing along I-5 How about race specific ones. An elf getting Lord Trogo's autograph. A human getting the G from Gunthers front sign. An Orc getting footage of himself at a humanis rally (and not getting into a fight) etc.

Slump

Jul 30 2006, 05:42 AM

Post #17

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QUOTE (deek)

-Get the actual video footage of participant stealing at a Stuffer Shack

I read this one wrong. At first glance, I thought it said "actual video footage of participant stealing a Stuffer Shack," which would presumably involve a Semi, or maybe a really big helecopter.

Other things to get...

The front door of a LoneStar police station.

FloodSpectre

Jul 30 2006, 05:54 AM

Post #18

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QUOTE (ShadowDragon8685)

Simsense or video recording of you and an actual live Spirit having sex. (To be verified as an actual spirit by in-house mage.) 2x multiplier for a Free spirit.

Unfortunately I don't think video can capture a spirit, but I could be wrong. Simsense, sure. Sounds pretty fun..

WhiskeyMac View Member Profile	Jul 30 2006, 06:22 AM Post #19
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 433 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Somewhere in Iraq Member No.: 1,789	A human getting an entrance token for the Ork Underground Getting into the Eye of the Needle with just your charm wearing a wifebeater and a pair of smiley face boxers Video of you pranking the Halloweeners

JonathanC

Jul 30 2006, 08:05 AM

Post #20

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Well, I said I'd keep everyone posted of how the game went. Here we go:

CODE

First, the cast:

Bali, a waifish elven Adept, specializing in social brokering and drone rigging.

Remy, a waifish elven Bear Shaman, trained as a sniper. Both elves are exceedingly frail.

T-Fang, a muscular human Adept with a frightening affiniy for firearms. He is also the only person with a car.

Jack, a large, muscular human Street Samurai, in the truest sense of the word. He brandishes his Katana proudly, and has enough hardware to turn Seattle's barrens into a warzone. Of course, there are a few thousand gangers who beat him to the punch on that one.

Paper Tiger, an unassuming, somewhat mysterious Hacker with his fair share of combat skill. Does not like to use Matrix programs, hacking solely with the power of his mind and his Commlink.

Awake at the crack of noon, our heroes awoke in their shared abode. Tired of living in ratholes, our five protagonists pooled their cash to pay rent on a nice duplex on the edge of Bellvue, a neighborhood with actual LoneStar response time, working utilities, and nearby amenities. They've just paid rent, but everyone is looking a bit short on cash, so finding work is a priority...well, for the people who think about such things.

Remy decided to go trolling for elf posers to feed his ego, and went out bar hopping alone. On the bright side, it was an elven-themed bar, in a nice neighborhood, but on the downside...Remy is poorly equipped to hold liquor, or even spicy food. His roommates soon notice his absence, and the fact that he can't hold liquor, and Bali gives him ring to get a lock on his position, sending a done and Jack to go retrieve him. Jack rides in, finding himself inundated with obnoxious advertising and personal solicitations, and is nearly distracted by a sudden craving for stimulants when he notices some of the bar's patrons enjoying a bit of Novacoke. Nonetheless, he stays on task, and finds a very, very drunk Remy at the bar. Remy piggybacks (literally) to Jack's motorcycle, and the two ride back home.

Meanwhile, Paper Tiger and Bali look for work. Paper Tiger datasearches for general work, and comes up with few promising leads. Bali has a nice chat with a Trendspotting friend of his and discovers that latex is "in" this week, and that there is a growing phenomena called "Urban Hunt", a kind of mass scavenger hunt. What started as a fairly simple game has progressed to dangerous, often illegal stunts in an effort to top what came before. Several people have been injured after pulling dwarven beards, and a 15 year old was shot to death after attempting to steal the "A" from the Aztechnology pyramid. Bali says goodbye to his friend, in search of more work, but she calls him back a few minutes later, saying that a friend of a friend of her's is in need of "special help", and she'd like to call in a favor for him to take the person's job. The group rallies together for a meet at a "Neo Thai" restaurant called, rather confusingly, "Adolf's Curry 'n Pho Hut".

The group makes elaborate arrangements for the meet, with Remy (after a detox spell) taking up position as a sniper and Astral overwatch, Paper Tiger in a nearby cafe keeping an eye on the Matrix along with T-Fang and Jack ready to bring the back-up, though they were turned away at the door due to their refusal to check their weapons. Bali's fly drone was also on hand, feeding video to Paper Tiger so that the group would know if anything went south. They were met by a young grad student, basically an assistant to their employer, who is a fashion designer, according to the group's background check. The assistant produced a small flexible screen on the table, providing a remote meeting. Remy attempted to find the actual location of the employer, but his Spirit of Man was only able to search the surrounding 4km, and did not find her. Frustrated, they waited while the job was outlined: the woman's son recently disappeared from his boarding school. There were no recordings on campus of the boy leaving or being kidnapped. She had gone to Lonestar, but felt that they were not progressing fast enough. Paper Tiger began following the datatrail even as Bali haggled over price with the client (they settled on 25k nuyen for the guaranteed safety of the boy, with a 5k tip if they actually delivered him personally). What he found was that the head of a statue on campus had disappeared the same day that the boy did...putting the clues together, the group began to suspect that Urban Hunt might be involved. Infiltrating the Urban Hunt community, Paper Tiger discovered that the statue head theft had been claimed by someone calling themselves "Big D". Attempts to contact the boy via his commlink resulted in nothing (it would appear the commlink was deactivated), but Paper Tiger was able to locate and hack into Big D's commlink, tracing his location to the heart of the Redmond Barrens.

After the meet, the group had a lengthy argument about how to proceed with the job; some wanted to visit the boarding school, where the client had offered to arrange a brief "lapse" in security to allow them to investigate her son's room, while others wanted to track down Big D, believing that he either was the boy, or knew where he was. Remy in particular seemed interested in pursuing the Urban Hunt, finding the listed tasks intriguing and fun, while others beleived them to be too dangerous, and wanted to focus on the job at hand. Transportation was also an issue, as most of the group were stuck walking. Luckily, T-Fang owns a re-painted patrol car, and most of the group piled into it after re-arming themselves in preparation for a trip into the Barrens. Jack opted to ride his motorcycle.

On the way to the Barrens, the group was attacked by what appeared to be fledgeling go-gangers on motorcycles...elves, from the looks of things. The gang was easily dispatched by the firepower of Paper Tiger, Bali, Jack, and Remy. T-Fang was unable to showcase his gun skills, as he was driving the car. As they exited the freeway, they realized that the gangers were members of the Ancients, and that one of the items on the Hunt list was a jacket from the Ancients...again, there was a discussion among the group about the benefits of turning back to get the jacket, as the wearer in question had been shot in the face, so the jacket might be in good condition. Still, that would mean re-entering the gang's territory, though many members, most vocally Remy, felt that their firepower was sufficient to deal with any further incursions by the Ancients. T-Fang was driving, however, and felt that the paying gig was more important, and drove on...right into the midst of an Urban Brawl game, and coming a bit too close for comfort to a rolling grenade as he drove through the warzone. And so the game came to a close for this week...

Edward View Member Profile	Jul 30 2006, 11:15 AM Post #21
Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,073 Joined: 23-August 04 Member No.: 6,587	The traffic cone would be low points value. It can be traced but they likely wouldn’t bother. An unspent panther round. 20 A spent panther round 10 Sex doll 5 points Image of you in public with sex dole in inappropriate behavior (10-50points) Vehicle transponder for emergency vehicle 30 points Assail down side of and 50 story building (30-50) Be escorted from arcology mall buy security repetadly (1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36….) Not variable value awards are judges discursion. Appeals cost 10 points and will not result in increased award Also such a competition at runner level would have a cash prize but reputation would be the big win. With this in mind spending money would be cheating. Caching somebody buying or bribing for an item would get you the points they tyed to buy.

Ravor View Member Profile	Aug 1 2006, 01:31 AM Post #22
Cybernetic Blood Mage Group: Members Posts: 3,472 Joined: 11-March 06 From: Northeastern Wyoming Member No.: 8,361	A 'room' from a Coffin Hotel, Triple Points if someone not involved with the hunt is still in it... Proof of having your Essence drained by a Vampire, ect... A living, breathing Ghoul...

AngelWuff View Member Profile	Aug 1 2006, 06:04 AM Post #23
Target Group: Members Posts: 15 Joined: 20-July 06 Member No.: 8,926	lesse, I got a similar sort of run, but going to be a series of painful things they have to do to find a decker. only got a few ideas, first is to get into a troll and ork club, probably involving the sammy punching the bouncer to see if she's tough enough (she will be, rather powerful in melee). um, not sure on the second, thinking paranoid cultists are in order, then maybe some hacking to figure out where the decker is hiding. then finding his trailer, him dead, and a horned bear or piasma waddling up to eat all the food in the trailer.... probably toss a few more annoying things they have to get through too as for ghouls, eh, see a fair amount of them as being sentient, so that could be easy =D essence drained would be amusing though [nono! not the sammy, the decker, the decker!]. stealing various RFID tags could be fun... paranormal animals are always fun. paydata on one of the people in charge could be fun.

Demon_Bob View Member Profile	Aug 2 2006, 02:07 PM Post #24
Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 511 Joined: 24-March 05 From: On a ledge between Heaven and Hell Member No.: 7,226	A shirt with the logo on it from a popular bar. 5 pts +5 pts if it belonged to a bouncer. +10 pts if it belonged to a hot bartender. Something from the local museum. extra if it is valuable. extra if it is old Hey. :) So who set up the scavenger hunt in the first place? What if it was a: Corp; Mage Guild; Secret Society; Dragon looking to get a bunch of people to aquire some things to improve their recreational area without payment. That might put an interesting lean to the items on the list.

Ravor View Member Profile	Mar 13 2007, 04:01 AM Post #25
Cybernetic Blood Mage Group: Members Posts: 3,472 Joined: 11-March 06 From: Northeastern Wyoming Member No.: 8,361	-A murder weapon. -An entire case of Street Drugs. -Recording of a high-class party after you 'spiked' the punch with above drugs. -A human head in cryo-freeze from the late 20th century. -A violent felon broken out of Lone Star lockdown. -Recording of yourself mooning an anti-meta/pro-meta (Depending on your race.) rally and getting stomped. -A new film recorded on a Beta-max tape. -A new song recorded on a 8-Track.

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