Doc Wagon, We need a MEDIC here! Options

[LamplightSlasher]

I am getting ready to run a 4th edition campaign years since I first played 1st edition. Although I see the Doc Wagon listed in a couple of character templates, I can't find it listed anywhere else in the Core. Are they gone? Is there somewhere I can find a list of applicable 4th ed rules related to them?

[ICPiK]

They are in the sr4 bbb in the gear section or near the lifestyles i believe sorry no book handy to give a page number.

[Matsci]

They are in the sr4 bbb in the gear section or near the lifestyles i believe sorry no book handy to give a page number.

Doc Wagon Contracts are under Biotech.

[kzt]

Your players are CRAZY if their shadowrunner characters take a docwagon contract. They are carrying around a hardened extremely powerful homing beacon black box. They don't know exactly what it does; other then it does communicate to docwagon when it sees fit, and they can't mess with it.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Your players are CRAZY if their shadowrunner characters take a docwagon contract. They are carrying around a hardened extremely powerful homing beacon black box. They don't know exactly what it does; other then it does communicate to docwagon when it sees fit, and they can't mess with it.

Sometimes, you just need that medical attention, regardless of the cost... Besides, that homing beacon is dormant until triggerred...

[LamplightSlasher]

I'm not trying to find them for the players per se. The PCs are all former cops and detectives, organizing a dick for hire agency. Tracking the Doc Wagon cards that legitimate citizens would carry will be essential to their investigative techniques.

[kzt]

Sometimes, you just need that medical attention, regardless of the cost... Besides, that homing beacon is dormant until triggerred...

You believe in the tooth fairy too?

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

You believe in the tooth fairy too?

Every Morning when I wake up with a Quarter under my Pillow... how about you?
Pessimism is a poor trait to live your life by...

Thanks for asking though...

[BlueMax]

Sometimes, things are just a game effect. Doc Wagon can be over analyzed or it can be considered a "Get out of Morgue Free" card.


But people are free to be as hard on themselves as they want.

[Tymeaus Jalynsfe...]

Sometimes, things are just a game effect. Doc Wagon can be over analyzed or it can be considered a "Get out of Morgue Free" card.


But people are free to be as hard on themselves as they want.

This is SO TRUE...........

[The Mack]

I'm not trying to find them for the players per se. The PCs are all former cops and detectives, organizing a dick for hire agency. Tracking the Doc Wagon cards that legitimate citizens would carry will be essential to their investigative techniques.

I don't think I would allow that (although you're welcome to) as it would be insanely powerful.

For one thing, it would be bad for business for Doc Wagon if anyone could track their RFID chips.

Even cracking them should be extremely difficult, as Doc Wagon's entire business is based on these chips. I imagine the chips used by Doc Wagon are something akin to Stealth Tags in that they only respond to certain frequencies that carry a passcode. And I think Doc Wagon's chips would have a device rating of 4~6.


That being said, I think essential investigative techniques would be a combination of the following:

• Using RFID stealth chips of their own to track people.
• Using micro drones, spy toys, cameras and sensors.
• Using magic & summoned watchers.
• Using the vast wealth of info on the matrix to hunt people down (people leave massive datatrails they are generally unaware of).
• Using Social Skills to get information and having a wide variety of contacts.

I Hope that helps. And I think doing those things would be a lot more fun in-game as opposed to just letting them find anyone who has a doc wagon chip anytime they want.

[LamplightSlasher]

^^ Although I hadn't intended for the chips to be simple to crack or DocWagon willing to simply surrender any information the PCs want, you do make good points. I do enjoy to gm my campaign worlds as a non-static place that the characters can change or affect in varying ways. Perhaps if the players are able to succeed in ripping off the DocWagon databases, public loss of faith in the brand will force competitors to step in and offer similar services for variable prices (and no doubt varying success).
But you are right, things like PC-NPC interaction will be important. I've already started building a folder of quick change NPCs and Contacts.
I plan to throw dark violent cases their way, so forensic evidence gathering (magical, matrix and otherwise) are going to be important too.

[The Mack]

^^ Although I hadn't intended for the chips to be simple to crack or DocWagon willing to simply surrender any information the PCs want, you do make good points. I do enjoy to gm my campaign worlds as a non-static place that the characters can change or affect in varying ways. Perhaps if the players are able to succeed in ripping off the DocWagon databases, public loss of faith in the brand will force competitors to step in and offer similar services for variable prices (and no doubt varying success).

That's definitely an interesting scenario.

But you are right, things like PC-NPC interaction will be important. I've already started building a folder of quick change NPCs and Contacts.
I plan to throw dark violent cases their way, so forensic evidence gathering (magical, matrix and otherwise) are going to be important too.

Sounds like a fun game, an (paranormal?) investigative team who can cover a wide range of clients. It would give archtypes like bounty hunters, former cops, faces, occult investigators, etc. a really good chance to shine - while also leaving room for Mages, Riggers, Hackers, etc. to also fit in.

You could even consider giving or forcing all of them to take the SINner quality. Then, they will really have to think twice about engaging in shady activities and being careful when they do.

It'll pose an interesting issue as their quarry will be able to use tactics that they can't, whereas they have authority or legality (or quasi-legality) on their side.

[LamplightSlasher]

Sounds like a fun game, an (paranormal?) investigative team who can cover a wide range of clients. It would give archtypes like bounty hunters, former cops, faces, occult investigators, etc. a really good chance to shine - while also leaving room for Mages, Riggers, Hackers, etc. to also fit in.

You could even consider giving or forcing all of them to take the SINner quality. Then, they will really have to think twice about engaging in shady activities and being careful when they do.

It'll pose an interesting issue as their quarry will be able to use tactics that they can't, whereas they have authority or legality (or quasi-legality) on their side.

That's the next step I have to tackle in campaign prep. I wanted the PCs (hit the nail on the head about which character types I'm trying to highlight) to have an aspect of corruption to them. As such I am planning the opening of the campaign on the day they are all released from a maximum security pen. This will have forced them to bond prior to gameplay, and make the players (notorious goody-goodies) embrace their villainous ways. I don't wnat to handcuff them too much, so the SINner quality may take some consideration. Any thoughts?

[overcannon]

If that is the case, they should all have criminal SINs.

[The Mack]

That's the next step I have to tackle in campaign prep. I wanted the PCs (hit the nail on the head about which character types I'm trying to highlight) to have an aspect of corruption to them. As such I am planning the opening of the campaign on the day they are all released from a maximum security pen. This will have forced them to bond prior to gameplay, and make the players (notorious goody-goodies) embrace their villainous ways. I don't wnat to handcuff them too much, so the SINner quality may take some consideration. Any thoughts?

Well, getting out of a Maximum Security pen has some significant drawbacks.

For one thing, I'm not even sure what maximum security in the 6th world entails. I imagine it might be the most confined of all lock downs and inmates probably would not have much contact with each other to bond.

Hell, they could be forced to spend most of their time in pre-fab VR with their bodies hooked up to life support systems, with only monthly exercise sessions.



Also, just getting out of prison means (as overcannon mentioned), they all have criminal SINs.

Here's an excerpt from pg. 259 of the core rulebook.

...a “criminal SIN�— which they are then stuck with for the rest of their lives. That SIN is now archived in multiple law-enforcement databases and indexed with their photograph, biometric prints, DNA records, and tissue sample.


For example, you need a SIN to get a legal job, open a bank account, own property, go to school, rent an apartment, establish utility services, and so forth. Most importantly, a SIN is now required for any form of legal travel—including just buying a bus ticket. Even those with criminal SINs will find it difficult to perform many of these activities without red tape and hassle.

Starting the characters with criminal SINs means they could have a hard time even buying bus tickets, or open a bank account.

Their DNA is in storage in multiple law-enforcement databases.


That's truly brutal, the characters would have very little freedom even though they were out of prison.


What I might do differently is to connect the characters backgrounds as good guys who lost their way. They live in a shady gray area of life, even though they are legal citizens (remember, having a SIN is a drawback for a shadowrunner, a criminal SIN is much worse).

Concoct some story, about how they either each individually fell from grace or how they fell together as a group.

Maybe they had gambling debts, bills to pay, a wife who cheated and a crime of passion. Maybe they each of them through one sin or another were brought together by a powerful blackmailing figure who might still be dangling that info in front of their noses and uses it to get them to perform even more heinous deeds.

Maybe they killed someone on accident, and unlike Shadowrunners who do that thing all the time, had to cover it up and try to pretend it never happened as they went back to their normal lives. Maybe the person they killed was a powerful Mafia/Yakuza bosses child/sibling/friend, etc.


The characters are bound through this dark act in their past which has brought them together. They've decided to work together (or were forced to), or maybe to keep an eye on each other or for mutual protection. Regardless, they are all in this together trying to scrape by in a soulless life without morals or honor.


You could even think of maybe 3 or 4 possible dark secrets and let them choose as a group the one they like they most, giving them some creative freedom for their backstory (or maybe they could even concoct it themselves).

This would lead to the next process of detailing what happened, how, and who did what. What happened afterwards, and how has it affected their characters.

[LamplightSlasher]

I agree that the PCs should have a criminal SIN, I'm just concerned it may make their lives too difficult. Anyone out there with experience running a team with criminal SINs? What kind of problems can this create for game enjoyment?

[The Mack]

I agree that the PCs should have a criminal SIN, I'm just concerned it may make their lives too difficult. Anyone out there with experience running a team with criminal SINs? What kind of problems can this create for game enjoyment?

Yeah that's what I was trying to get at in the last post, I think a criminal SIN would make their lives extremely difficult and that finding another way to bind them might be better.

[ICPiK]

I just wanted to say thank you all for the paranoid Doc Wagon talks. Gives me some really cool ideas to look into with our resident hacker.

[DWC]

I just wanted to say thank you all for the paranoid Doc Wagon talks. Gives me some really cool ideas to look into with our resident hacker.

Don't forget the best part about DocWagon. If corporate security sees them pick you up, the corporation can and will file an extradition order forcing DocWagon to turn you over to them once you've been treated.

[ICPiK]

Yeah I know unfortunately been there and done that. LOL

[LamplightSlasher]

What about false SINs? How reliable could they be? I really want the released from prison idea to work as none of the players have experienced Shadowrun and having them in prison while the wireless matrix springs up gives a perfect oppurtunity to describe the vast new world to new players.

[CanRay]

DocWagon is a good save when you're in neutral territory with some somewhat believeable wounds.

Like our Elven Wannabe Bio-Ninja, who jumped off his bike from a higher elevated highway to a lower one to chop a drone in half.

He was doing great until the landing. He missed the bike.

And landed flat footed. Can you say broken ankles, knees, leg bones, cracked pelvis...

[ICPiK]

Well an opposed test takes place a scanning device rating against the lvl of fake sin rating. It's up to the GM to decide what rating is scanning for the particular situation and hopefully will remember not every beat cop is gonna have a rating 6 scanner.

[LamplightSlasher]

^^ belly laughs

My very first character was immedietly jumped by Halloweeners upon game start. They stabbed out one of my eyes and sliced off a hand with a monofilament whip. The Doc Wagon attendants who saved me from bleeding out in the street became that characters most helpful contacts throughout the campaign.