Runner having a dayjob with DocWagon, When players are overly creative... Options

[MrSandman666]

Ok, a player of mine has been bugging me about this for some time now.
I'm about to form a new group with me as the GM and he's got the following idea for his character:
The original idea was that he was being a face/doctor mixture. He wanted to have some sort of mini-ER (biotech facility?) and the skills to be a decent doctor. I said: fine, I'll think about it. Now he had the idea of also having a dayjob with Doc Wagon, working as a HTR paramedic (they have to have full-fledged doctors aboard as well) for maybe 10 or 20 hours a week. This is to justify the bit of combat training that he has. I don't require this (anybody can go to a range and learn to shoot halfway decent if they put enough effort into it) but he still wants it. He even went so far as to propose a mechanic to see how his dayjob affected him: every day on the job I would roll a couple of dice and on a total botch he would be injured. In case he would be injured he wanted to have some extra money that DocWagon would likely pay his personel for compensation.

I'm seeking advice. What's your opinion on all this? Should I allow that? Is it okay for him to basicaly be the teams private street-doc? Can he even have this dayjob whilst maintaining his own street clinic? (actually, looking at it now I would say no)
What consequences would this have, that I just don't see right now?
How would the dayjob need to be handled? What would a street clinic cost to build up and to maintain? (I'd say build costs are the same as cyberware facility)

Any input is more than welcome.

[Siege]

Having a character function as the team's doc isn't a bad thing -- you will see team members working as the specialist in a given section for the rest of the crew.

I.E. The weapon spec will advise or tweak weapons for party members, the decker can tweak, repair or outright build custom electronics and so on.

"Man and Machine" includes costs for outfitting and running a street clinic -- it's not a cheap endeavor.

As for the "Doc Wagon" dayjob, I'd kinda have to say..."oh frag no." The amount of security and background checks an employee, never mind a doctor would have to go through to get hired, never mind the security and PR risks if he gets caught or geeked in mid-criminal endeavor are hideous to contemplate.

The "couple of dice and a total botch" doesn't really reflect the complications of the day job and starting a SR with a wound could seriously complicate the day for the rest of the crew.

Now, he might have previously worked for DocWagon, which explains his assortment of skills and his day job could be maintaining a client base for his street clinic -- although as others have pointed out, you'd have to work out some kind of mechanics for penalties if he doesn't devote enough time and energy to maintaining and running the place.

-Siege

[Tom Collins]

This sounds like the type of thing my group would do to our GM, but I'm going to have to agree with siege on this one. Doc Wagon's very unlikely (read, never gonna happen) to hire someone who works the shadows. Of course, with a REALLY good decker, you may be able to create a viable ID that would stand the battery of tests, but that would be something the character should be working for. If they ever do get a Doc Wagon job while shadowrunning, I can see it leading to some interesting situations. What if he hits a compound as a runner one week, then is required to go there the next week as a member of the Doc Wagon team and is recognized? How about if his group is hired to do a hit on someone but before they can pull it off, he has to save them because Doc Wagons been called in when he is injured in some way?

I wouldn't let the character do this easily, and definately without some very good reasons, but neither would I dismis this out of hand. There are too many good scenarios here to say emphatically no (although you better like puling a balancing act as a GM).

[MrSandman666]

Actually, I think his concept was that he turned to the Shadows after he got the job with DocWagon. So, unless they keep contanstantly checking him (which they very well might), they wouldn't find anything at all. It's more like he's running the Shadows on the side.

However, I see more of a conflict in working for DocWagon and maintainting a street clinic at the same time...

[Jpwoo]

I would say Yes to either the clinic, or yes to the docwagon job, but he would have to pick between the two. The main drawbacks of having the doc wagon job would be that he would have to have a SIN and all that goes along with that.

As to the background checks being too tough to get through for a his character to get a job on HTRT for docwagon I don't agree with that. The job of Doctor in a Docwagon has to be the bottom rung job occupation for a Doc. They work in terrible conditions, there is a high risk of being injured, it is a high stress enviroment. Why would a doctor choose to work in these situations when he could work in a real hospital or clinic? Docwagon would have to pretty well take whoever they could, including people of iffy backgrounds to fill these jobs. In my world the response docs are ex-merc surgeons, or shell shocked ER docs, with the occational perky do gooder working his way up the medical food chain. Things get better for the Clients when they get to a Docwagon hospital or clinic though. They have real doctors there thank goodness.

[Siege]

All it takes is one oops for life to get _really_ complicated.

It's like playing a Rebel Infiltrator in a party of Imperial soldiers -- potentially a lot of fun, but runs the risk of some serious complications if the Rebel makes any kind of mistake.

-Siege

Edit: Actually, it depends on the Doc, but the hazard pay alone would make it worthwhile for a lot of people.

[Tom Collins]

Forgot about the street clinic. Yeah, no way a runner could do both. It would take up too much time. It'll be hard enough to juggle one of those jobs with shadowrunning, much less two!

[k1tsune]

You probably know this, but SR Companion has ideas for playing a DocWagon team.

I like the idea, though. But when's the man gonna sleep?

[BitBasher]

The Canon Companion idea is they they are NOT shadowrunners, but instead work legitimately and directly for the corp. They sleep duting their off hours and weekends. They are on a schedule after all :D

[Shadow]

As the current idea is spelled out I would say NO. The street clinic would be his 'day-job'. I don't think he is going to have time for 2 full time jobs and shadowrunning.

I would rework the idea and let him do it though, no street clinic, limit him to a paramedic only, and in no way would he get any kind of extra pay. He also would not get access to anything free, 'i.e. drugs, or chemicals'. And if he got caught running the shadows he would be fired.

On another note can I play in your game PLEASE! :grinbig:

[k1tsune]

[Siege]

The time consumption would be massive and it would be a matter of when, not if, the two lives collided.

Chalk me up for "it's a bad idea".

If you still want to run with it, be prepared for the DocWagon response and the change of flaws when the drek hits the turbine.

-Siege

[MrSandman666]

I'm not sure about this and I have to check with my player on this but it just occured to me that he might only want to have the clinic (i.e. the equipment) but not actually run it. It wouldn't be a public clinic then, just some equipment for him to use when he needs it. Of course it would be a Shadow clinic, without personel, without licences and so on...

Yeah, things would get very nasty for him (and fun for me :vegm: ) if he stumbles into a DocWagon team while on a Run.

[toturi]

I think it is ok. Consider the alternative. He treats both jobs a Day Jobs each in its own right. At max he works at Doc wagon for 20hours a week and the other 20hours at his clinic.

[Siege]

[MrSandman666]

Oh yea, he was planning to get a sleep regulator :D

[simonw2000]

And a Jolt-Alert...

[Dash Panther]

Check out an SR2 adventure called Missions. It has a scenario, "Malpractice," in which the runners are hired by DocWagon to find a mole in the organization. The runners get in through the Temporary Reponse Personnel program. A TRP (pronounced "terp") is basically a freelance guard, paramedic and/or pilot supplementing a High Threat Response (HTR) team. TRPs go through three weeks of training and become part of an expert team. TRPs are needed to supplement the shortage of manpower after DocWagon's business boomed.

The scenario goes into detail about the background of DocWagon, typical shifts, etc.

[Siege]

[moosegod]

Well, I had the whole team start as taiwanese DocWagon workers. Even though most were from the UCAS.

I have never seen anyone turn a flaw into an edge. They all got permits. Reasoning? "We need it for our jobs" And much more.

AUGH!

[Dash Panther]

Another thing: The runners who pose as terps get airtight cover ID's, training, DocWagon equipment, meals while on duty, regular pay and a free two-year DocWagon Platinum contract.

[MrSandman666]

As far as I know Missions isn't in stores here in Germany yet but I'll keep an eye open. I've heard good things about it.
Thanks for the suggestions so far.

BTW: I'm not gonna let him get away with turning the flaw into an edge. He's got set work hours. If he doesn't come to work two times, he's out. He will only get permits for his work gear (which is mostly leagal anyways) and you are all right: he's either getting the HTR job or the clinic but not both.

[Deep Blue]

The rigger in my group is ex-DocWagon, specifically, ex-HTR pilot. It explains where he got his vehicle. It's was also fun when DocWagon hired a spec-opps team to retrieve said vehicle. :)

[crazyivans]

I have a Troll Sam. who runs interference for Doc-Wagon in Redmond. It is a Lvl 2 Flaw, not because he has a specific amount of time he works, but because he is on call. He basically is an outrider on his Harley, and accompanies the Medics into the zone, provides protection, and then escorts them out again. He isn't an employee, but he Subs out his work...

[MrSandman666]

Now how does that work out if his beeper starts buzzing and beebing in the middle of a run? :D