SINless travel in 2070, How runners do it and don't. Options

[FriendoftheDork]

Sure, while it's fun to do missions in your team's home city be it Seattle, Denver or Hong Kong, sometime in their career they will get a job in a different city or nation, and will have to travel there by means other than their own.

While monorail and bus travel may accept rating 1 and 2 SINs and have no weapons/'ware control, I expect that air travel will be more secure. Terrorism is not a thing of the past, and the existence of Shadowrunners and crazy mages will probably make air security (or space security) tighter than Euphoria's ass.

I remember in a SR3 module I played, the team had to basically leave behind all the weapons and illegal stuff, and deactivate illegal cyber or buy fake licenses at premium costs. It was a cool scenario, but would it be necessary?

So what do you think is required for foreign travel? Rating 6 SINs? Licenses for all wepons? Good lucking trying to get forbidden (F) gear through - unless they are inconspicous or you bribe the airport cargo security heavily.

Any betterwiesser comments, thoughtful perspectives or constructive discussion is appricated :)

[HappyDaze]

It all depends on how heavily you enforce the Big Brother aspect of the game vs. degeneration and dystopia. I favor the latter far more heavily after seeing how tedious a 'perfect system' can be for GM and players.

Remember that the Movement power of Spirits can make travel really fast. Add in Concealment and you can accomplish a great deal. Lastly, fake some ID signals of various sorts via hacking/technomancy and you canhand waive it if you wish.

Most travel is typically still the Indiana Jones style 'red line on a map' since it's pretty dull most of the time. I try to make every played-out scene have a dramatic purpose, and for most professional shadowrunners, travelling to the missiuon site is typically not dramatically signifcant.

[Fortune]

And there's always smugglers and the like that you can use.

[Big D]

It depends on what your cover is.

If you're going to be in places where your identity will be checked or otherwise raise suspicion, you're going to have to have a solid cover (same thing as having good fake SINs if you want to buy a car from a legit dealer, etc.). That means mostly or completely "legal" entry, sleazing your way through the system to prevent any flags from being raised. The catch is that you may have a hard time with chrome, will have to leave a lot of gear behind, and if your cover gets blown, you could be seriously hosed.

OTOH, if you're jetting over to Oz to perform some very messy, violent wetwork, and want no traces that could ever possibly lead back to you, then you want smugglers, spirits, or something else that completely bypasses "normal" travel. You may be able to keep your gear, and you bypass the normal security checks. But if you get caught at the border, or if somebody asks for your papers... you're hosed and have no alibi to hide behind.

[FriendoftheDork]

Nice idea about Movement power. Concealment will probably not be enough (although every bit helps), and I'm not sure if those works against sensors.

IMO the BB aspect of the game IS the major contributor to dystopia. And airlines should be at least as secure as they are today to make it believable.

Smuggling is an option though, and one Shadowrunners would often take to get the good stuff (or their Sammie) through customs. The downside is that it's expensive and only viable on the really high-paying missions. Smuggling a team of runners could well cost... what 50k? 100k? That's not much compared to the gear you'd need to get past the borders undetected.

Of course sometimes the Johnson pays for all the travel, and may even arange to get them all overlooked in customs, especially if the Johson has connections inside the airline company (may even be part of his employer).

Still, being SINless and a walking combat machine SHOULD have some drawbacks IMHO, and hassle through customs should be one of them. Most customers will not have illegal ware, so It makes sense to airline companies to check passangers with cyberware scanners, and if detecting unlicenced or forbidden cyber they will be taken aside, getting a more thorough SIN check, and possibly held for local authorities/extradited.

Of course, supersoldiers and big execs with this kind of ware will have aranged for their travels beforehand, and can take pretty much anything with them short of a nuclear device.

Yeah, sometimes travel can be Indy style, but they should at leasy go though hassle ONCE unless they take precautions. Once they have a plan, they just scratch the nuyen needed and they're there.

What do you think? And BTW what level fake SIN do you think would be required to get through (seattle) customs or even on the plane?

[Big D]

The level of SIN is as much a function of where you're going as anything else.

I believe there's shadowtalk in multiple books stressing that commercial or national areas in an airport are extraterritorial. Do NOT enter the Tir checkin counter with heavy chrome unless you have a rating 6 SIN and full licenses for everything, or you might as well have been caught running the border. Just entering the airport, however, might require just a rating 2 plus a low-rating license for your chrome so that it doesn't label you as a potential terrorist.

All that said, given the dystopian nature of the world, almost everybody can be bribed; but, that doesn't mean it'll be cheap, or that they won't doublecross you.

[TheMadDutchman]

Typically in the games I've been in if the Johnson wants out of town shooters he's willing to pay a lot to get them. This means that if the team has the capability to travel built in than they're going to make a lot of :nuyen: otherwise they'll probably make a little more than their standard rates and Mr. J'll have to get them to the run.

In most cases the Johnson usually arranges a local fixer to help get any gear the team might need once they arrive.

[DTFarstar]

Huh, I haven't paid too much attention to biodrones as a whole, or really cloning tech either, but it would be interesting to clone yourself, get him a legal SIN and all the tech you have, magic license if you are a mage, all kinds of stuff. Set him up with a medium lifestyle for free and tell him all he has to do is go on trips for you. When you need to be someplace, send him on vacation, get him a job interview, etc. and then if you are caught you have a copy of all his papers and such and you are just life "I'm not from around here, I got lost" etc. etc.

Would that work at all? Like I said I haven't paid too much attention to cloning or biodrones and one of my players has my copy of Aug. right now so I can't check.

Chris

[Riley37]

People who have modded their body into a killing machine should have difficulty dealing with polite society in general. Getting a ticket on a major carrier could require a cover identity as a sanctioned corporate or military security professional. But if you're at that budget level, how about chartering your own airplane?

If your gear isn't implanted, how about shipping it to the site? The controls on shipping crates are rarely as severe as the controls on what people carry on their person as they cross the border. You'd need a carrier you can trust, and presumably one that charges extra for "hazardous contents" without asking exactly what those contents are. Picking up the gear might be a scene worth playing out, just to make the players sweat a little while they're unarmed (or less-that-usually armed).

My sammie PC is augmented, but nothing visible without a scan and nothing that's unambiguously a weapon, just stuff that makes him more dangerous when he happens to have a weapon.

[Big D]

[DTFarstar]

Ah, I assumed they would come out like babies or severe coma patients and what not and just kind of be a blank slate. Know how to breathe and that's about it, but you could teach them walking, talking, eating, sleeping etc. and just because your hacker contact/party member sets up a job interview doesn't mean they have to even come close to getting the job.[rant]There are ALOT of people today who are completely unqualified but have a high opinion of themselves and waste my damned time. [/rant].

But, I guess not, alas it was an interesting idea. Would make Fake SINs work out alot better as you could link them to his purchasing schedule and so they would stay active.

"I swear, I wasn't at your corp today! Someone planted that DNA! Go get the Java Hut video feed, check their financial records! I was drinking coffee with a nice young lady earlier at 12:46PM! Go check! Please! I don't know why I'm here!"

Chris

[Kyoto Kid]

...in one campaign I was in, even the air taxi from SeaTac to downtown required going through a scanner "arch". The character I was running had a lot of questionable though not F ware (well...except for her Sim Mod). She ended up having to hack a Johnny Cab® to get back into town because the Star was on to her.

In another campaign (3rd Ed) we made the mistake of using the commercial tickets we were given by the Johnson to return to Seattle (after ditching all our weapons and gear) when the mission was completed. We were also too broke to "charter" a smuggler flight. Whoo boy what a clusterf**k that was.

…this brings me to one of those Golden Rules of Running: Never, Ever fly commercial on a job no matter how good you think or are told your cover ID is.

[Narse]

Now you've peaked my interest. What happened??

[Kyoto Kid]

...well we all got hauled into the Star & had to be bailed out by our backup characters...

...who in turn got burned by Ares who's space station the first group messed with (Wake of the Comet). My character on the raid ended up with a mystery piece of Cyber and a cortex bomb courtesy of your friendly well known AAA arms company. I basically killed the campaign when the GM expected us to break into a heavily secured Ares Compound by having my character convince the others it was a one way mission to hell. Yeah this was the same character with the Kink bomb & mystery ware who Ares no doubt had a full dossier on and was just waiting to see show up.

This GM had a penchant for putting you into Kobyashi Maru scenarios. We ended up refusing the job and went off clubbing in Seattle.

[FriendoftheDork]

Never fly commercial? Ahhh, that takes the fun out of it. I mean haven't you seen all those old flicks when the hitman, looking like an ordinary guy with a fake passport travels by plane (unarmed), has a nice chat with an old lady on board, arrives, finds the already planted stash and proceeds to assassinate some guy?

Well, I can't see why noncybered (or w/licensed cyber) runners use rating 6 SINs to travel where they want, leaving behind all unlicenced guns. Well, unless someone is specifically looking for those SINs or expecting their route. Once they arrive, get their weapons they should swap SINs though, and discard that one after the job.

[kigmatzomat]

The best SIN is a real SIN. Doesn't mean it's really yours. I figure a hack job good enough to create a SIN can probably hijack one just as easily. The tricky part is finding a match for those restricted cyber implants. Riggers and hackers have it pretty easy on the whole. Not as bad for magic types; there are plenty of legit, registered casters across the planet. Unless the supplements indicate that tech scanners can ID a technomancer, they are probably the easiest able to get a SIN.

[MaxHunter]

Some of the players that go about in my games have cared to make characters who could pass through a cyberware scan without major problems.
Others are so filled up in illegal chrome that even crossing the street without a fake SIN could turn into a problem:

Examples: serbian merc/hitman/adept: cybereyes, bioware reflexes and bone density aug (bio not listed in the SIN), masking, license for a pistol. -"and your smartlink?" -"military service."; covers and Fake SINs as a "security consultant", "construction worker" and "language teacher" (!); can speak the part too.

Ork Sammy: cyberspurs! dermal plating! currently doing time in an Ares correctional facility.

And the rest of the characters fall into either one of these two "ways": for the first type a commercial flight would be cool, for the second type it's smuggling all the way. One of my runner groups have a modified Ares Dragon they sometimes use for transport. However, it's operative range is somewhat limited. Last time it was Seattle-Salish Sidhe-Seattle-Tir border.

Cheers,

Max

[Kyoto Kid]

...well Had a physad who easily could fly commercial (yeah, y'all know she is). No problemo getting through the scanners at the terminal and gate. Actually even assisted in thwarting a hijacking.

Now my matrix specialist on the other hand, she'd light up that scanner arch like a 4th of July grand finale.

"OK, wired reflexes (permit) check, commlink implant (permit) check, cybereyes (permit) check Hot Sim Module" AAAAAAAAA! "...ahh Miss, would you come with me..."

[stevebugge]

If the travel part is not key to the actual run I have planned, I typically have the Johnson arrange travel, usually via chartered private plane. Of course this takes a bite out of the paycheck. Smugglers are a great option for moving clandestinely. Of course you can also make getting there a run in itself if you have players who want to try their hand at smuggling themselves.

[Simon May]

There are always new and exciting ways of getting from point a to point b:

1) Take the slow boat to China: As often as travel is difficult, spending some time on a tanker doing long haul security is a cheap and easy way to transport what you want to where you want. Whether it's a smuggling boat or on the up and up, the cargo ship provides you ample space, and perhaps a few nuyen for traveling with them and protecting their haul. If you can afford it, you could even pick up a yacht or moderate sized sailboat for the journey. The only downside is time. You're at least a few days to a week from another continent. Well, time and pirates...

2) Experiment with experimental technology: Sure, there's no long range teleportation spell in the SR world, but that doesn't mean some megacorp isn't trying to create a teleporter. Of course, what are the risks of this new technology? Is it only from one unit to another? What will they charge for the return trip now that you've successfully n(or so you think) proven it works for them? That's all up to the GM, but just because something doesn't exist commercially or on the black market doesn't mean it doesn't exist at all.

3) Utilize the Astral: "What?" you ask. "I thought the Astral realm was only for astrally projected beings, meaning we'd have to leave our bodies behind." Wrong. Well, in theory at least. The discovery of shallows (as mentioned in Runner Havens) means that it might be possible to actually pass into them and travel there. Is it safe? Who knows. I've never seen a physical being move entirely into the astral. Perhaps cyberware will be an issue. Maybe spirits won't like the transgressions. There are plenty of reasons not to try it, but if the job is important, it may be your only hope. Of course, finding a persistent shallow and then finding your way to another may be a run unto itself.

4) Charter a flight: There are times when you just don't have the money to charter a private plane/jet/helicopter, etc. Still, if you can, this is probably your best bet. There are thousands of private corporate jets flying in and out of every major city and port each day. Most of the time, they use private airstrips or small airports with more lax security. They may be cramped, but you do what you have to do.

5) Ride the Dragon: I know most people don't have Dragon friends. Of course, those that down have access to jets to loan you might be convinced to actually fly you themselves, for a price. And we're not talking nuyen here. Maybe your escape will indebt you to this Dragon in more ways than you expect... It could be the start of a strange, dangerous and lucrative partnership. Or it could be your end just for asking.

6) Ship yourself: If the price of travel is simply too high, there's always the option of packing yourself in a cargo container and hoping the shipping company you chose is seedy enough to circumvent security measures. Of course, a few days in a container that may get flipped on its head could be painful, so pack accordingly. And then, there's always the risk that you'll be misdelivered or stolen. You never know...

[FrankTrollman]

I don't even understand why normal air travel would be hard to get onto. In 2071, if you want to bring down a plane you cast Wreck on it - and you do that from 10km away on the ground. Terrorists have no need to get onto planes in order to bring down aircraft and the airlines respond only to the bottom line.

I would pay more money for a ticket if I didn't have to take my fucking shoes off to do it. The extra time I saved could be spent more profitably and with less humiliation by working a McJob. With no powerful central government making weird pointless security mandates on airlines in order to scare people, major corporations are just going to not do them. These procedures cost the airlines money. They cost the passengers time, which is the same thing.

And logically speaking, there's no reason for them. When Lufthansa makes the news they are just going to play up the fact that flying is still safer per kilometer than driving, tell the people that everything is fine now, and eliminate all that pointless security on passengers.

Sure, sneaking up to an aircraft in hangar is still going to be moderately difficult, but you can bet your sweet ass that passengers don't have to get rid of any fluids over 150 mL. The very idea is retarded. Heck, the Shoe Bomber is now the most successful terrorist in human history because he spent less than a thousand quid on his plan, didn't die, and cost every air passenger in the US and UK some 1/2 hour of their productive life. The total economic consequences are staggering.

And there is no way in hell that Wuxing is going to look at that bottom line and continue these senseless restrictions. If you can pay Wuxing money, they will allow you to fly an airplane, no questions asked. National governments may get their panties in a knott over actually allwing specific people in through customs, but since the transportation itself is handled by profit making corporations who write their own damn rules, you can bet that they won't turn anyone away for anything except inability to pay.

-Frank

[Simon May]

They'll still likely restrict weaponry to being checked since the cost of losing a plane far outweighs the profit of letting passenger on scot free. I also wouldn't be surprised if they hired mage air marshalls in case of magical attack. Of course, they also wouldn't fuck with anyone unless fucked with, but still, planes are no less expensive in the 2060s and 70s than they are now. It's just bad business to allow hijackings with no deterrence. Sure, they may not check IDs 40 times or have people take off their shoes, but they aren't going to roll over and let people take their million nuyen birds.

[noonesshowmonkey]

While Nuyen is the great leveler in the 6th world, Frank, I am relatively sure that business in the 2070s will still be a series of agreements between corps / governments. There is bound to be a large, nasty, sticky network of corporate contracts and standards about who can get on flights to ensure that the aircraft can fly over various tracts of airspace. Systems that involve many independent parts naturally fall more towards a middle ground than complete autocracy or totally liberality. If the UCAS does not want Luftansa or Wuxing to be allowing lax security on their aircraft they can put the squeeze on the corps by heavy taxation or simply revoking airspace privileges.

I am not saying that such measures would be commonplace... But just saying that corps can do whatever they want is a little short sighted. They do whatever they want to make sure that profits are up up up and that often means they must "play the game" as it were by making concessions to other governing bodies (corp or otherwise).

I agree, though, future security would be far more streamlined than it is now. Past general gate guards (mind you, these muthas may have security armor and FN-HARs or actioneer armor and HK227s in their coats) and scanners / background checking mechanisms that hammer on SINs like a cheap copper bowl, there is not much use in anything else.

Even with a more streamlined system getting onto and off of aircraft, the process will still be secured. Integration of technology will assist enormously with streamlining. Also, technology is a one time investment with support costs instead of recurring charges of "salary" or "wage". The future loves to cut the human element out and replace it with machines (see: cyberware).

I dunno.

General travel should be a serious problem for finely tuned killing machines, sociopaths with a history of multiple homicides and a list of felonies a mile long. Also, I value the sense of claustrophobia of a dystopian future. Close walls of steel and glass and a thin layer of something between the real world and you - be it your cybereyes making your reality a trid show or a sincere feeling of disconnect when your nervous system speaks to you in 1s and 0s.

- der menkey

"Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter."
~ Ernest Hemingway

[Adarael]

Also, I understand your point, Frank, but saying "They can cast a wreck spell on a plane from 10 km away" is kind of like saying "They can fire a missile at it from 10 km away." Sure they can. But if you want to bring a plane down, it's probably easier, cheaper, and faster to get a guy with a deathwish and some explosives onto that plane than to find a mage who is willing to cast a Wreck spell with sufficient dice and force to overcome the distance modifiers, object resistance, and body of the aircraft. Even if the plane doesn't get to roll body to resist, it's gonna have quite a few health levels.

And it still dodges the real problem: getting ON the airplane isn't the part runners have problems with, in my experience. It's getting past customs, because customs in 2070 has this tendancy to be run by xenophobic freaks with short tempers.

[FrankTrollman]

LOS spells don't have distance modifiers, you just have to have an unobstructed view of the target. And no, planes don't get to roll to resist. They just have an OR of 3 or 4. There are over 60 million magicians, and they look just like everyone else. If they want to commit terrorism against planes, they just do that. Planes stay up in the air because the power of flight is no longer vovelty in the late 21st century and terrorist groups no longer get all wet in the pants over bringing down aircraft over any other target. Trains, office buildings, buses, corporate retreats, and discotechs are all as high a priority or more than airplanes because the man on the street in 2071 is simply completely jaded about the fact that we have machines that can fucking fly even in the Arabian Caliphate.

It's a raw numbers game, and the 500 people you can take out by hitting an airplane just right is simply not that impressive compared to what you can do by other means. A good chemical spill on a busy street will rack up a bigger body count and that's what the terrorist of the 21st century is looking for. Airplane hijacking is simply old hat and noone cares any more.

-Frank