Shadowrun Plot line, What do we all want to see in SR4? Options

[ChicagosFinest]

I just got done reading almost all of the shadowrun books past and present because i'm gearing up to GM a new campaign in Chicago. With all the things that could happen in the Shadowrun universe what plotlines do people fforeseeor want to see happening?

What things are you doing in your campaign? What factions are you using? Who does your group work for? How do your runners or GM style affect the story world?

Finally what do you want to see happening?

Me? I gave chicago and the cz wireless access, and very minor construction projects are taking place again (if you been here there are 2 season... construction and winter). With the suburbs as their back yard my runners are going to have their hands full running the gambit aginst Megas, CZ factions and gangs, the mafia, Organ leggers, smugglers, anarchists, bugs, and arachne mysteries throughout numerous old and new chicago hoods. With Ares being the primary bad guy (and still messing with the bugs) I'm hoping I can take my players somewhere exciting and rebuild a little bit of chicago back to the glory it once was a little bit at a time. No dragon angle yet but I'm sure it can be arranged I'm not sure how to get around Fab-III yet.

Chime in and let me know I'm curious to see what people want to happen and have made happen

[fool]

I've been playing with the election in seattle. Though that's about to end soon. I'll probably have the incumbent win.

[SL James]

I'm working on the centennial edition of Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, aka Election 2072.

[ChicagosFinest]

And those are included in the contacts book huh? Looks like I really need to catch up on shadowrun and play it how its ment to be played, with a guide in the source books and adventures.

[Steak and Spirit...]

[Ophis]

Civil war in Britain, eventually resulting in some sort of high weirdness awakened nation, in the sense the land is awake...

[Steak and Spirit...]

Hrm. Awakened Nation...

...Expand epic nuclear devastation to Britain, as well.

[Grinder]

[kzt]

[Fortune]

Lofwyr and Hestaby join forces, reunite the scattered and temporarily deposed Immortal Elves, and then unleash Leonardo's secret Otak ... oops, Technomancer Army on the world.

[SL James]

[Wakshaani]

The only major move I've had was this:

The Five Minute War

Aztechnology, buffeted by the loss of one "Mister Darke", one or more powerful magical resources, the loss of popular President Juan , the Yucatan Reebls, and more, quite simply wasn't ready for a pan-national invasion of the northern border. Several units were pulled off border patrols, to be sent southwards, while others were retracted for quiet power plays as the fallout amoung the board of directors, as different players moved to gobble up Darke's resources, leaving the CAS, or more specificly the Texas Guard, a golden opportunity.

The invasion was blistering in speed and effectiveness, reflecting the codename of Texas Twister perfectly.

The first wave consisted of dummy flights from the Cal Free Zone, cruising down to teh Aztlan border, were interceptors were scrambled, only to find a wave of drones which were dealt with fairly easily. While this flight was being polished off, CAS submarine carriers had crept into the Gulf of Aztlan, surfacing within a kilometer of the shore and launching the second air wave, catching planes unprotected on the ground, inflicting heavy material damage. As the lead anti-aircraft wings turned from attacking the drone flights, elite Pueablo Corporate Council fighters launched, nipping at the Aztlan heels, taking advantage of their low fuel status to inflict significant casualties and ensuring the land invasion had significant coverage.

CAS carriers submerged, frustrating what few fighters had managed to make it into the sky, rapidly refueling and re-arming their charges as CAS strike cruisers chugged into position from 'War Games' in the Gulf. Missile strikes from these ships were largely inneffective, but kept heads down. The combined attacks of the PCC and the CAS on the ground broke the Aztlan lines relatively easy, having taken advantage of the weakened border and a wide front, then pushed further, trying to race past enemy lines to the fragile rear lines and then beyond into fully civillian areas, intending on mopping up left=behind Aztlan units later. The biggest worry was the Aztlan magical forces, which were being arrayed in the major pyramids, unleashing waves of spirits against the attackers. Normal spirits were problematic, but the blood spirits were going to be a major factor.

Enter the second wave.

As quickly as the ground assault had been blunted by the spiritual wave, the tide shifted again as a wave every bit as large crashed into Aztlanner lines, with a particular mad-on for the Blood Spirits ... Ghostwalker, it seems, was not pleased.

The final two parts were then enacted, as agents that had been previously seeded in Aztlan made their move, sabotaging Aztlan wards ... those protecting teh magicians from ritual magic were far too well guarded, of course, but those that kept up anti-missile barriers were far less so, assuming, incorrectly it turned out, that the spiritual resources at hand would easily deal with most worries. Three pyramids had their anti-missile wards defeated, which lead to the second, but far less effective, air wave from the CAS. These attacks were not able to destroy teh pyramids fully, but were able to disrupt the anti-magical wards, which brought down fresh and waiting CAS ritualists who, in essence, dropped "Magical Tactical nukes" on the areas that were viable.

Here, there is some confusion.

It is known that a huge wave of Aztlan magicians had been called, with astral forms surging northwards to deal with the spirits and spells that were being tossed around. Several were, of course, wounded or destroyed by the massive magical 'bombs' set off, and the shockwaves that travelled along the manalines of Aztaln... CAS shamans that were watching, to spot for ritual teams, report that in the prime pyramid in Tenochitlan, something ... moved. No one could define exactly what it was, only that it was large and that this reaction sent a wave of panic through the magical lines like nothing else. All forces were recalled with great haste to the pyramid, and it's known that roughly a quarter never re-emerged.

With this, the spiritual assets of Ghostwalker stopped, then retreated. When asked of this later, the dragon stated only, "I learned what I needed to learn." That this followed the reaction of Tenochitlan is telling. The ground forces, meanwhile, were running out of steam. With a much-reduced spirit 'Umbrella', the soldiers were unwilling to press on, a fact further noted when the PCC radio'd, to let it be known that they'd reached their objectives and were stopped to hold their gains, rather than press forward. CAS high command, meanwhile, furiously called on the Texas Guard to halt advancing, for fear of nuclear retaliation after the magical assault. After much heated arguement, the CAS assault, too, was blunted, then recoiled somewhat to control the forces left behind. Negotiations between the two countries followed, with virtually all gained ground being ceeded back to Aztlan ... everything, in fact, beyond the original United States border. Texas was *furious* at this, but teh fact that the state, as a whole, had been restored was enough to molify things for now. The PCC also found a much thicker band protected its Californian gains, giving it a needed buffer zone and breathing room ... it hadn't wanted any Aztlan gains beyond this, and, again, considered the restoration of former US borders to be sufficient for its needs. Within 24 hours of teh initial attack, it was over.

Aztlan, and Aztechnology, of course, were devastated. Losses to the military and supporting structures were painful, but far from overwhelming ... most units that were cut off were given safe passage after the war's end, returned to their homeland. Damaged airstrips could be easily fixed, and, while the air force had taken a savage beating at the hands of superior PCC fighters, they had seen the capabilities of the CAS submersable carriers and had found their measure. Teh *real* damage had coem from the loss of three pyramids and massive damage to the higher level magicians who had been contained both their and at the primary facility in Tenochitlan. Aztechnology stocks also suffered a heavy hit, forcing the company to sell off several assets to regain capital footing. In truth, this was probably the most severe result of the entire war (Which was named the Five Minute War, despite having taken a full 24 hours, due to the sudeenness and swiftness of it) with the most interesting effect seeing Stuffer Shack, a major part of Aztechnology branding efforts, sold off to All-Mart.

[ChicagosFinest]

I like that Idea, Ghosty puts the spirt of denver back together and we get to find out a dragon lies in Atzlan. I would say an Uber great dragon though (dragons are trying to evolve into a higher form than great). I would say that this dragon created the dragon hunters to kill other dragons. Thus knowing this All the other greats have to work together to fight the big baddie Azzie dragon, and his few dragon minons. How cool would it bee to see the dragons struggle through some turbulance for a little bit in the story history?

I would also love to see what the Sea Serpant has in mind. Besides pushing her own agendas how can she proactively contribute to dragon kind?

I wonder how many more angles the writes can come up withthat we havent even got to address yet

[Ophis]

[SL James]

[Draconis]

Our team is going "up the gravity well" to check out space in the 2070's and do a run on Mars. First dragon on mars! Ok well maybe first in a really long time. First shadow team? Probably.

So more space stuff would be cool. I suppose we'll get to see how the lunar and mars stations are doing.

[Ben]

I'd like to see some sort of new Frankish Empire, from France, the AGS, and chunks from surrounding countries (yeah, in my book Charlemagne was a dragon!).

And oh boy how I'd like to have a 'runner team in space, explore a space station or some cool stuff like that (what the hell lurks in the bottom of those mines on Mars?)

[SL James]

You could just buy an old copy of Blood in the Boardroom and/or Wake of the Comet if you want a published game set in space.

[fool]

or wake of the comet.
I've heard about the horrors, but haven't seen anything in writing about them (and I own most of the rule books.) I wouldn't mind a new magical threat with some teeth to it.
And more dragons, I like dragons.

[Grinder]

[Ben]

[SL James]

[Draconis]

[Wakshaani]

Other plot lines that I'd like to see?

The Death of Lofwyr (GASP!) ... the level of shakeup that it'd bring would be ... huge. It has to be done well and done at teh right time, but, at some stage, it needs to be done.

Resolution fo some of the Big Questions (Where the Crash Virus nested, who is The Watcher, who recorded the Aztechnology discussion between Big D and the Immortal Elves, etc) ... not all of the questions, of course, but a few would be nice.

More threats that are neither magical nor Matrix based ... street level scum is *always* welcome. Smaller and more personal, in effect.

More info on the Double A and Single A corps. (Tho that isn't really a plot)

Lastly ... Crater Lake. Can we finish that yet?

[Garrowolf]

Are you running very high level games or are you just collecting stuff for the newspapers to comment on?