Paranoia for new runners Options

[TheHawkMan]

I'm gonna start a campaign for a team of players, this will still be one of my first games GM'ed, and we're playign online usign irc. My players are also very green to Shadowrun, we've played a few small mission before.

Anyway I've asked them to make a character each (they're only 3 as that's all we can get to play regularely on our group, it suits this campaign fine though).
Anyway I told them that they'd be part of a "military" special ops unit, they needed at leats one sniper, one spotter/thief/infiltrator(low on cyber), and one assault guy to do shooting and well.. assaulting :)
I gave them free apartments with the job (Doesn't matter much as you'll see later :)), and they got a free aptitude edge for their "special" skill. for the spotter/infiltrator/electronic guy this was abit more free, while the sniper and assault guy, well I guess you can figure out what skills they had to choose :)

At first I thought I'd act out the first chapter, but then I figured I wanted more control of that part, and Ididn't want a team full of dead runners before we even started.

so the intro goes somethign like, the team are as they aware one of the most secret level of Ares Black ops teams, a Beta team, Alpha teams get the lighter jobs, while beta teams get the shit that needs to be totally black.

A week or so ago they where asked to do a liquidiationof a high ranking executive, an Ares executive who had sold some secrets and gone bad in fact. now this didn't seem unusual at the time.
As they went on the mission eveyrthign seemed smooth untill their forth teamleader, and leader, went into the building and discovered she was surrounded by sentry guns. She was cut down before she managed to mention anythign to the other team member on the radio.
The sniper did however discover the enormous heat developement in the room using his infra scope. later he also saw that the heat signature disippated into a multitude of gun barrels.... bla bla bla... the team somehow discovers that the whole thing is a death trap with the only purpose to kill them. and manage to escape.
They Manage topick up one of the 1 mill of unctraceable nuyen escape packets that Ares has hidden aroudn for teams who need to go under quick.
and well that's where they are now.
LEft with nothign but 1mill nuyen, they can't go to their apartments to pick up any more of theior gear, and they're hunted by their employeer. (Simply because they had started tobecome veterans, and new of too many skeletons inthe closets).

Now being rather new to the game, and me being quite nice to them before. they're nto quite as paranoide about the world as they should be :)

So how do I make them aware that this is a dangrous world, they SHOULD be paranoid, and not trust anything they're odl employeer has touched, including their own bodies.

I'mplannign for the first run to just let themdo what they want, and eventually let them meet a johnson. And hopefully they'll tell them they used to be a black ops unit for Ares,wich will of course terrify him, and he'll tell them tostay the hell away form him.
Now somehow I gotta make them paranoide enough that they go see some kind of street doc who check them out and find they have cortex bombs installed (cliche yeah I know..)
I figure they'll need money to get rid of these, since they'll need a rather high end cyberdoctor, preferably an ares facility.
I haven't tought much about that yet, and I figure I'll see where they'll be headign for the first run before I set anythgin in stone about that, leave it a bit liquid.

but the big question is, how do I make them totally paranoid :)
I want them not trusting anythign or anyone, not even their own shadows. I want them to know they're hunted, probably even by a Delta team, but I should probably not introduce them right away, maybe a few runner teams first to soften them up. then I send a delta team at them, wich they dont' even know exist (hey, they where the Elite.. or so they thought)..

[lodestar]

Whew! Here I thought someone was really going to use Paranoia rules for a SR campaign. ;)

If you want them really paranoid, have them do a few one on one sessoins with you, not revealing to the others what happens in each one.

[GunnerJ]

Questions:

1) If they were being set up by Ares, how did they get access to Ares' assets for teams that need emergency funds? (Or maybe you could clarify what you mean by that?)

2) If they have cortex bombs in them, why bother trying to kill them with sentry guns? Why not just detonate the bombs?

Just a friendly consistancy check.

[Kanada Ten]

Put bugs in items they almost always have with them.

Have people call them and ask why they are hiding <where they are hiding>.

Have an old hag read their fortunes and doom them, or riddle them ("The leashed wolves are hunted by the Roman dogs, crushed beneath chariot wheels, placed upon a spit. Where's my five bucks?).

[grendel]

You could have them participate in an elimination of a rogue team before they, themselves, go rogue. Just to illustrate the massive amount of resources the corporation has at its disposal. Or, you could constantly mention the presence of Ares products, stores, personnel, vehicles, advertising all over the place. Everywhere the team goes they'll see something that reminds them that the corporation they're on the run from reaches down into every facet of public life.

[MrSandman666]

Really, with this kinda setup you have one major problem, which has already been stated: If Ares really wanted to kill them, they would already be dead.
However, this can add another nice aspect. The runners are likely to find out that Ares has the finger on the trigger but obviously is letting them live. Why?

[Shadow]

Shouldn't this thread be on the Shadowrun forum?

[The Jopp]

[Hot Wheels]

No because it's about gaming ideas. Make the players paranoid, simple, have them get odd ball responses from a superior. Like getting back from a run and he doesn't really care. "Yes, got it? Oh good, I'll reasd that later?" or "did you kill him? No, don't worry about it." "Oh there were 60 fully armed guards on the soft site? I forgot to mention those, don't worry."

Let them wonder why win or lose doesn't matter to the boss. That alone should make them wonder what he's up to . or he walks by with his superior and says "Yes these are the men I mentioned in that report." but not tell them if it's good or bad. Let their minds do all the work as to what's going on. It will be far better to let them grow the seeds instead of you doing the pruning.

[TinkerGnome]

[lodestar]

[Kurb]

I have an idea of how to make them paranoid. I used this once when my RL runners weren't scared. One, start letting them know Ares is tracking them hardcore, everywhere they go, anytime they try to get work, anytime they even show their face out of the shadows an Ares hit squad is waiting. Second, start causing them severe headaches, migranes, blurry vision...force them to a street doc, then reveal the cortex bombs. Third, have Lone Star hassle them on orders from Ares...no runners like Lone Star all over them..or have them questioning them about a murder or something they are being framed for. I dunno these ideas are only as good as your campaign, runners, and you yourself as a GM. If your runners aren't scared, you've been to easy on them. I know this sounds mean, but I try to kill at least one character every run. That's right I said it. Hey Shadowrun is a dangerous world, and I don't ever want them thinking they are better then anyone else. Now if they don't get killed (which happens to them, i'm not totally cold-hearted), they breathe a sigh of relief knowing they survived, and then I apply pressure on them from the megacorp they just hit. So its up to you, you've already lost your edge. Get it back!