Do you trust your Johnson, or not:
Please posty your favorit incidents of yiur Jounndon screwing you over/saving your dass when you need iut moset
Full Version: Johnsons
Either someone is posting drunk, or on a Danish keyboard. 
Heh. I've done that once or twice -- posted while drunk and using a Danish keyboard. 
-Siege
-Siege
Well the best one I can think of was a screw over.
After completing a multi part heist of a semi in route we met the johnson at pier 49 in Seattle. The idea had been that he was going to pay us there, and take possession of the truck so he could load it onto a boat. Once were there what happens? Turns out he was a corp johnson and we were now expendable. KE SpecOps comes out of the wood works and starts fraggin us. Luckily we had a Longun on cover and the first guy to take a 16D was the johnson. Called shot to the head and 12 dice. Two of us didn't make it off that pier though. And I spent a week in a shower after swimming in the sound. But man the look on the J's assistant when that fat fraggers head exploded was priceless.
After completing a multi part heist of a semi in route we met the johnson at pier 49 in Seattle. The idea had been that he was going to pay us there, and take possession of the truck so he could load it onto a boat. Once were there what happens? Turns out he was a corp johnson and we were now expendable. KE SpecOps comes out of the wood works and starts fraggin us. Luckily we had a Longun on cover and the first guy to take a 16D was the johnson. Called shot to the head and 12 dice. Two of us didn't make it off that pier though. And I spent a week in a shower after swimming in the sound. But man the look on the J's assistant when that fat fraggers head exploded was priceless.
| QUOTE (Siege) |
| Heh. I've done that once or twice -- posted while drunk and using a Danish keyboard. -Siege |
Ever been so drunk you thought you were a Danish keyboard?
Anyway, Johnsons will always act in the best interest of themselves and their employers. Shadowrunners are most definitely expendable. They are "assets of plausible deniability". The Johnsons figure "if they survive a run and do a good job of it, maybe I'll have 'em work for me again. If they get splattered, their loss not mine. It's a dangerous biz and they entered it of their own free will. So what if I told them a few white (read: major) lies in order to get them to accept the run."
This doesn't really make them bad, but it certainly doesn't make them good. Like pretty much everybody else, they take care of number one.
I'd say it also takes some cojones on the Johnson's part to screw his/her runners. Isn't the whole image of runners that of the top of the criminal foodchain? Only a very scheming Johnson who've planned the run as a setup way ahead, would try to screw the runners. Or the incredibly stupid Johnson.
I've always imagined the Johnsons (at least the ones not dealing with this kind of situation regularly) being uneasy or even scared of the runners; Combat monsters with enough cybernetic machinery to kill anyone within milliseconds, deckers who might erase your whole life 'cause she thought you looked at her in a strange way or illegal magicians with unfathomable power and motives. Simply characters who look great on the trid but literally radiates danger when met in RL.
And they want to get paid. Generously.
I've always imagined the Johnsons (at least the ones not dealing with this kind of situation regularly) being uneasy or even scared of the runners; Combat monsters with enough cybernetic machinery to kill anyone within milliseconds, deckers who might erase your whole life 'cause she thought you looked at her in a strange way or illegal magicians with unfathomable power and motives. Simply characters who look great on the trid but literally radiates danger when met in RL.
And they want to get paid. Generously.
Some Johnson's only hire runners with the intention of killing them. It is rare, IMO, but they don't plan on leaving links or leaks.
One Ares Johnson mentions in Corporate Download that 89% of the runners he has sent to their death actually died. No matter how hard he tried or worked at it, he could never break 90%. He felt that was sad, though he did better than his predecessor (whom he killed with the first group of runner he sent to their deaths).
An implanted P'Fix chip can do wonders for the nerves.
One Ares Johnson mentions in Corporate Download that 89% of the runners he has sent to their death actually died. No matter how hard he tried or worked at it, he could never break 90%. He felt that was sad, though he did better than his predecessor (whom he killed with the first group of runner he sent to their deaths).
An implanted P'Fix chip can do wonders for the nerves.
Depends on the J. Some will be nervous, some will be calm, other will be utterly unconcerned because they know if you take the job they're never, ever going to see you again.
~J
~J
The book says that if you play straight with the Johnson, he will play straight with you nine times out of ten. The tenth time, it will be a setup, or a suicide mission, or a diversion for the "real" run, or a machiavellian triple-cross where the runners have to be killed along with anyone else who knows too much.
That doesn't mean that the other nine times, the Johnson will be Santa Claus. He is still interested in hiring deniable assets as cheaply as possible, and will be quick to wash his hands of the runners if they hose things up. He will also tend to understate the danger, and may also mislead the runners about a few other things. And if they try to mess with him, then he will be quick to bring his formidable resources to bear in teaching the runners a lesson.
Still, I think that some GMs might overuse the "betraying Johnson" angle. It depends on the group, though. A bunch of psychos will probably only get the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs, and be far more likely to get screwed over in some way or another. A group of seasoned pros who have worked for the Johnson several times before, on the other hand, might have to worry about betrayal far less than most other runners.
That doesn't mean that the other nine times, the Johnson will be Santa Claus. He is still interested in hiring deniable assets as cheaply as possible, and will be quick to wash his hands of the runners if they hose things up. He will also tend to understate the danger, and may also mislead the runners about a few other things. And if they try to mess with him, then he will be quick to bring his formidable resources to bear in teaching the runners a lesson.
Still, I think that some GMs might overuse the "betraying Johnson" angle. It depends on the group, though. A bunch of psychos will probably only get the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs, and be far more likely to get screwed over in some way or another. A group of seasoned pros who have worked for the Johnson several times before, on the other hand, might have to worry about betrayal far less than most other runners.
Valid points all around. Keep in mind also that the Johnson quite often doesn't give you all of the information that he has, sometimes to your peril. Why does the Johnson want something done? Well, normally they don't tell you... but finding out can save your sorry life.
And, of course, never underestimate the value of having a good decker and someone with an optical camera in the group. "Open if we don't return" packets can be a great deterent to the doublecross if used properly (which is to say only once you've been doublecrossed).
And, of course, never underestimate the value of having a good decker and someone with an optical camera in the group. "Open if we don't return" packets can be a great deterent to the doublecross if used properly (which is to say only once you've been doublecrossed).
| QUOTE (DV8) |
| Either someone is posting drunk, or on a Danish keyboard. |
Guilty
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