Train Job Options

[Ghantu]

I'm getting my SR4(A) game started up again and planning some jobs for my runners, but I've been feeling a little repetitive in the challenges I come up with. I thought maybe I could get some brainstorming help from Dumpshock.

The run I'm working on is intended to be against a corporate exec that is some kind of railroad aficionado, and so he takes the (underground, according to Seattle 2072...) maglev train from Seattle to San Francisco. Obviously that's the perfect time to make a run on him, because... reasons. So I'm looking for some cool challenges to get between the runners and the target. I'm imagining he owns his own car furnished at the height of luxury and imagines himself just as secure sealed inside it as he is in his ivory tower.

The wrinkle is I only have two players. Both characters are pretty flexible, but both are non-magical. But stealth, Matrix, and combat are on the table. Any ideas?

[Fastball]

On DATE, the train company is unveiling a new prototype maglev that is faster, more luxurious, and more secure than any train before it. Based on a childhood affinity for trains, the normally reclusive target has purchased a ticket for the event.

Challenge #1) Getting on the train - it's an invite-only event catering to the social elite. The runners will need to either steal a ticket, sneak on board, or get a job as the waitstaff or security.

Challenge #2) Identifying the target. Remember the reclusive part? Well, the target also wears disguises in public and/or is an addict of plastic surgery, and hasn't made a public appearance in years. That means the runners won't know what he/she looks like. They have a general description, knowledge of the target's train tattoo in a location not normally visible, and some information about the target and other guests, but they'll need to observe all the passengers without raising suspicion to confirm the target's identity.

Challenge #3) Security on the train. The good news is guests were limited to 2 security personnel per passenger, and no mages. The bad news is each guest will bring their own security, and will react with hostility if they think the runners are a threat to their employer. Oh, there's also the security provided by the corporation hosting the event - and they weren't prohibited from using mages.

Challenge #4) Getting off the train. The arrival platform in Seattle/S.F. will be brimming with security personnel waiting to safely escort the passengers home. If the runners can't get the target off the train before it arrives at their destination, they might not ever get off the train themselves.

(Optional Bonus Challenge) What do you get when you put a bunch of high-profile social elite in a confined space with limited opportunity to escape? A highly desirable target for anti-corporate Free State radicals, Tir Taingire terrorists that object to the train passing through their territory, or some entrepreneurial Highway Robbers looking for a lucrative score. But maybe that's a good thing. If the runners can keep the target (and themselves) from being blown up, maybe it will thin out the security. Or if Highway Robbers stop the train, it might provide a perfect opportunity for escape - into the hostile Tir Taingire wilderness, miles from the scheduled pick-up point, with an uncooperative hostage.

[Ixal]

And as a railroad aficionado the exec is of course not in the wagon you just painstakingly broke into, but running around all over the train checking out the machines.