Horizon and LA, thoughts on how they should be portrayed? Options

[GM Lich]

So my group has started Shadowrun in the LA area, dominated by Horizon.
Horizon is one of the more interesting Corps imo. I'm trying to think of how to actually portray them in terms of the sort of runs they would give and what sorta of shadowruns they would give to and against. I kind of am thinking Horizon is one of those corps that seem clean and good on the surface, but no so much if you peel enough layers you'll find something nasty.

[LFG]

I've been working on similar thoughts for a game I run. I'm basically trying to leave things open, but it really seems info grabs would be big. Think anything from old style steak outs to hacking guarded facilities ( have to get the hacker in to get acess).

Keep the info grabs broad until you decide what theme you want to focus on or your group gets interested in.

[Elfenlied]

Horizon is pretty much locked in a struggle with the Azzies, AFAIK. Therefore, they should be the targets of choice to go against.

[CanRay]

They're a Megacorp. Just because they use weird ways of organizing who is in charge of who doesn't change the basic business of Black Ops.

Screw the other guy in a way that prevents them from finding out it was you.

But, this being LA, you have to do it with STYLE!

[tifunkalicious]

Most corps do a good job of appearing clean on the surface, Horizon is just a different biz.

But, being a megacorp, they have their fingers in the same pies as everyone else. Things they shouldn't be doing, and ridiculously armed security to protect said doings, the need to hire shadowrunners to go into other corps houses and wreck up the place, etc.

Intercepting research data, dirt on CEOs, and any amount of other types of paydata you can think of. They really are interested in any information they can sell to someone for more than they're paying you, so you can get a little wild with it.

[CanRay]

All the while attempting to get you to look like Shadowrunners do "On the 'Trid." (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[last_of_the_grea...]

I think the thing to keep in mind with Horizon is that they are the Grand Master Emporers of P.R.! Aztechnology used to be but Horizon surpassed them. I can't emphasize that point enough. Aztechnology did not drop in their P.R. abilities. Horizon's are just better.

So, whatever nasty things they are doing (and as a AAA megacorp they no doubt are) the public never finds out. They would be masters of manipulating appearances so if you peel back the layers you only ever find more layers of non-nasty. The one time the players get lucky the corp would pull out all the stops to convince them that things are not what they appear to be. They might even go so far as to kidnap PC's (instead of just killing them) to rewrite their memories then send them out the door with misinformation and leads to other corps and Horizon enemies the PC's could profit from. Win-win. Of course they might just arrange for them to gain access to a beta or delta clinic for some work and throw in the reprogramming as a bonus. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The characters think they are getting paid via 'ware and Horizon gets to fix a problem.

[Ghremdal]

Horizon never made much sense to me, with all their positive vibe and too good to be true...

Then I read The Fountainhead, and the thought struck me that Horizon behaves in the same way as Ellsworth Toohey. A some sort of socialist, everyone is the same, individuality is bad rhetoric. That people must conform to the group. Which in turn is led by the non conformist types. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

[Tiralee]

Horizon never made much sense to me, with all their positive vibe and too good to be true...

This - but have the places seem...creepy. Empty of life and soul. Like, I dunno, like the barrens at 3am without anyone around... ("Uber background count in, where are we? Accountancy, what the frag?") and then have the perfectly-polished suecurity teams come out to pla-aaay....

This is a Mega that's out-niced the Azzies. You know, the guys who rips people's hearts out on national TV during Arbour Day? Yeah, they've surpassed those spin-doctors.

IMHO: Baby steps.

1: You'll find info, not much, but links to what seems to be an organised "blackmail datapool". It's paydata, good stuff, but imagine what the rest is like.
2: Your team gets bold, knocks off a minor VP, get some of the good stuff in his soon-to-be-useless access codes and more hints.
3: Getting cocky, go after one of the division heads, or more usefully, his second-in-command. Get some seriously good stuff/paydata/lootings (5-6 figures, each)
4: And then find out that it's a ploy within a ploy within a ploy.
5: And the Azzies are going to use your team as a distraction while you're dangling in the wind out there.

-Tir

[Magus]

Well according to all that is Canon, Ie the new Corp Guide and the Bit on the LA sprawl in Corp Enclaves. Horizon IS that nice. Everyone likes to play together they are a PEOPLE corp who takes care of their own and the common man. This is written in Corp Enclaves. From what I have read from posters on the Corp Guide thread they were expecting Horizon to be something wicked and it did not happen. The writers made them completely squeaky clean.

[CanRay]

Yeah... And so was the Universal Brotherhood as far as John Q. Wageslave was concerned. Look at what happened to that.

It's just a matter of digging deep enough.

[Magus]

Well in the GM section of the UB sourcebook it did say who they were in bed with. In the Corp Guide which is mainly rules crunch they are as innocent as lambs. As far as any of the freelancers here they have hinted more or less that Horizon is a "good" corp. There are no nasty skeletons in the closet. Which kinda upset a lot of posters. We like or corps to be tinged with grey or up to something. And Horizon did not fit the bill.

[CanRay]

Give it time, it's a new Corp and doesn't know how to do Evil properly yet.

Or, perhaps, it's part of the Resonance and is fighting the Dissonance. Which would explain the "Goody-Goody" system it has...

[sabs]

I always Treat Horizon as a Corporation Run for AI's by AI's.

This is why they're backing the AI rights legislation attempts.
This is why they spend alot of PR talking about how cool AI's are.

This means: They want Technomancers.. and BAD. They want to find them, to dissect them, and to potentially neutralize them. or Better yet.. find a way to actually hack that Bio-node and come settle in.

They are primarily an entertainment company.
BTL, Simsense recordings, simsense hardware.
VR/Matrix games
Urban Brawl, Combat Cycle.
Survivor™
Reality TV Shows, and better yet, Reality TV-Sims.
Legalized Arena fights.
Ultimate Fighter! Magic Vs Chrome!

The kind of runs they have:
Go 'liberate' an AI from Renkaru.
Please extradite this simsense star
This Simsense star is making Neo-net too much money, eating into our profits. Eliminate her, or perhaps just install this chip into her sim-rig.
There's this really famous driver. We want him in DeathMatch.. frame him for murder.
Plenty of interesting opportunities.

[Doc Chase]

Well in the GM section of the UB sourcebook it did say who they were in bed with. In the Corp Guide which is mainly rules crunch they are as innocent as lambs. As far as any of the freelancers here they have hinted more or less that Horizon is a "good" corp. There are no nasty skeletons in the closet. Which kinda upset a lot of posters. We like or corps to be tinged with grey or up to something. And Horizon did not fit the bill.

The prevailing rumor is their 'stroke of good fortune' by having their systems down for 'scheduled upgrades' on the day of the world's biggest IPO and subsequent overtaking by Deus wasn't a happy coincidence.

Scheduled upgrades or no, a high-traffic day like that is not a good time to shut your systems down.

There's also the question of Kline, the CEO - people are starting to wonder if he and the movies he was in even existed prior to his acquisition of the seat.

[Warlordtheft]

So my group has started Shadowrun in the LA area, dominated by Horizon.
Horizon is one of the more interesting Corps imo. I'm trying to think of how to actually portray them in terms of the sort of runs they would give and what sorta of shadowruns they would give to and against. I kind of am thinking Horizon is one of those corps that seem clean and good on the surface, but no so much if you peel enough layers you'll find something nasty.

Ditto hear. Though I'm running an alternative campaign revolving around one of the communities in the sunken part of LA. My thought was similar-but more along the lines of as long as you follow the party line, you're golden, if you don't your no one. Also Aztechnology is operating in LA too. Though as a subversive. You also have the PCC to toss in the mix as well.

[Catadmin]

Just remember, people are people, no matter what corp they work for.

Taking a page from the New York Missions (I think it was the first one.. It's officially released, right?), just because the Corp is nice doesn't mean the people low on the totem pole are. You get one Sim Star bucking for that Emmy and wanting to take out the competition, maybe she doesn't ask her agent's permission to do it. Or maybe one of the news program's researchers really wants to be an anchor and takes out a contract on his "rival".

People are people. Many of them don't think about the consequences of their actions when they act. Especially if they have a need that they can't get fulfilled any other way. So don't worry about the Corp so much. Concentrate on the greedy fools who make the mistake of thinking they are working for "just another mega" and proceed to act that way in everything they do.