It seems like everytime a corp shows up as either the target, bad guy, or motivator in one of our games they seem a little too stereotyped. Our group uses a rotating GM system so it isn't always this way but lately on any given run the image you would take away was that:
All Corps spend about 50% of their operating budget on security.
All Corps have only Security, HR, Accounting, Research, and Shipping departments and a huge number of executives.
All corps are involved in either the Security, Computer, Weapons, or Biotech industry.
So as a result our runs get a little repetitive and the corps seem a little one dimensional (fortunately it's getting close to my shot at GM'ing again).
Does anyone elses group have these sorts of problems?
Full Version: Corps
| QUOTE (stevebugge @ Jan 6 2006, 07:00 PM) |
| All corps are involved in either the Security, Computer, Weapons, or Biotech industry. |
Just to counter this complaint, what percentage of runs involve breaking into a textiles factory that isn't also an insect hive or just a cover for something else entirely?
Not really a problem, just when i'm running for or against, i just take much more care because in the long run if you screw up, it really bites you in the Shadowrunning ass.
| QUOTE (Herald of Verjigorm) | ||
Just to counter this complaint, what percentage of runs involve breaking into a textiles factory that isn't also an insect hive or just a cover for something else entirely? |
That was actually exactly my point. We never ever break in to things like Textile factories, but when you think about it why wouldn't two rival fashion companies try to run on each others factories to ruin this falls line of fashion slacks? (Headline: Spinrad Industries force to recall slacks after initial shipment discovered to have defective stitching). It would really seem like the places where runs would be going on would be over competitive large markets like Food & Stuffers, Clothes, Hygine products, etc.
Also you would think that Marketing Departments would be just as big, or even bigger target than R&D. Being ready to counter your competition's new ad campaign before they launch it is a huge advantage.
Heck that could be a funny run, have the runners break in to a paper mill to dump 100 kilos of sand in one of the pulp vats only to find out later that they sabotaged a new line of softer TP.
| QUOTE (stevebugge) |
| Heck that could be a funny run, have the runners break in to a paper mill to dump 100 kilos of sand in one of the pulp vats only to find out later that they sabotaged a new line of softer TP. |
I will be sure to use this idea sometime.
There are several reasons:
1) It is rarely lucrative enough to hire Shadowrunners who are beyond street-level
1A) Shadowrunners who are street-level cannot be counted on to keep quiet, that's part of what "street-level" means
2) The security is generally not of the grade that would make an interesting game for the players of Shadowrunners who are beyond street level.
~J
1) It is rarely lucrative enough to hire Shadowrunners who are beyond street-level
1A) Shadowrunners who are street-level cannot be counted on to keep quiet, that's part of what "street-level" means
2) The security is generally not of the grade that would make an interesting game for the players of Shadowrunners who are beyond street level.
~J
Corp Shadowfiles actually stated the industries that employ runners are pretty limited. Aerospace, weapons, biotech... I mean, it's really somehting big to hire runners to go into a rival corp. They don't do it just to steal some random file. They steal only bleeding edge SOTA tech.
However, according to the Genesis Shadowrun game, you can get as much as 4,000 
off of discarded simsense tracks or obsolete customer information at a local fence.
off of discarded simsense tracks or obsolete customer information at a local fence.
couple differnet style runs that I've written and ran for my group:
- break into a manufacturing plant and set charges. The building was one of MCT's new, fully automated drone plants. Place had just started up a couple of months ago. They blew it sky high
- destroy a building. THis particular run was a lot of fun. It was one of those stereotypical runs on the research facility in Cal Free. The data in cold storage was only a bonus though. The real target was to destroy the building entirely. Not to damage the research corp, but to ost Wuxing, which was insuring the corps facilty, a ton of cash.
- the most complicated one involved the team breaking in to the MCT sky towers in Seattle (read:zero-zone) to hack into an execs computer, because an Ares exec knew that he was going to try to take over one of their subsidiaries, but didn't know which one. So they had to go and find out which subsidiary he was going for.
Then they had to break in the next night, because the buy order was going through automatically (through a series of algorithms and buyers 'on the floor'). Their job was to steal the drone prototype that the exec wanted the subsidiary for , and trash the offices as much as possible. In the mean time, the MCT exec found out about them, and hired another shadow team to take them down. So the runers found where the other team was based after a nasty run in, and took the fight to them. So they effectively did three runs in three nights. It was great!
In the end, the MCT exec ended up buying the corp, just like he wanted, but the news hadn't gotten out yet, so Ares got a ton of cash from the buyout, and the MCT suit got a burned out building and a lot of medical bills for injured and dead guards.
- break into a manufacturing plant and set charges. The building was one of MCT's new, fully automated drone plants. Place had just started up a couple of months ago. They blew it sky high
- destroy a building. THis particular run was a lot of fun. It was one of those stereotypical runs on the research facility in Cal Free. The data in cold storage was only a bonus though. The real target was to destroy the building entirely. Not to damage the research corp, but to ost Wuxing, which was insuring the corps facilty, a ton of cash.
- the most complicated one involved the team breaking in to the MCT sky towers in Seattle (read:zero-zone) to hack into an execs computer, because an Ares exec knew that he was going to try to take over one of their subsidiaries, but didn't know which one. So they had to go and find out which subsidiary he was going for.
Then they had to break in the next night, because the buy order was going through automatically (through a series of algorithms and buyers 'on the floor'). Their job was to steal the drone prototype that the exec wanted the subsidiary for , and trash the offices as much as possible. In the mean time, the MCT exec found out about them, and hired another shadow team to take them down. So the runers found where the other team was based after a nasty run in, and took the fight to them. So they effectively did three runs in three nights. It was great!
In the end, the MCT exec ended up buying the corp, just like he wanted, but the news hadn't gotten out yet, so Ares got a ton of cash from the buyout, and the MCT suit got a burned out building and a lot of medical bills for injured and dead guards.
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