Hi,
in at least two thirds of my games, the main antagonist is either a magic threat or heavily uses magic (like a corp facility that uses many spirits or elementals). But since only about 1% of the SINed population is Awakened, and even less becomes a magical threat or security mages, this seems way too much for me.
What is the situation like in your games? Any tips for avoiding using too much magic?

tbd

I think for us, the main antagonist have always been magical. But it takes us months to remove a threat. We spent over a year (playing time) trying to get an Insect Shaman and his Queen before succeeding. 3 months(playing time) on a Toxic Shaman. And as long as you're not wiping the earth of a magical threat bi-weekly, the numbers aren't all that bad. if 1% of 1% is a magical threat (and that's a high percent) that's what? 1 in 10,000? In a city of a million people, there are 100 threats to fight?

Sphynx

Most of our runs are some organization (corp, government, crime, gang) vs. some other organization. Someone just wants us to do their dirty work, or dangerous work, or deniable work. Perhaps 15% to 25% of the time the main antagonist is a magical threat. Often the opposition has magicians on staff, or on call, but we rarely go head-to-head with the magical opposition.

Our last 10 runs were:
Kidnap a computer technician in Bellevue and deliver him to Ghouls in Bug City.

Destroy a truckload of cyberware in transit between Seattle and Tir Tairngire.

Recover stolen item currently held by a shadowrun team in Redmond, led by a Rigger with drones.

Bodyguard a politician visiting Ireland.

(some magic) Track down missing person in Scotland.

(lots of magic) Rescue 3 people being held prisoner by a Spider Shaman.

Werewolves hire us to rescue shapeshifters being held captive by Ghouls in Bug City.

Transport and hold some hot items that tracking signals is allowing Lonestar to locate.

Make an example of a Yakuza-supported gang muscling in on the protection racket in a Mafia-run neighborhood.

Bodyguard Mafia captain attempting to move up to Mafia Don.

My overall plot was magic-heavy, since one of the two shamans we had actually had background conflicts and made for a good story that she included the other players in (and this is only now coming to a climax, even though I technically don't GM anymore), but I think individual runs were about 50/50. I only had one player with a strong dislike of magic (Phaeton), and he really views SR as Cyberpunk 2020 with orks.

Also remember that's 1% of the regular population -- that is every wageslave, burger-flipper, bum, etc. In the world of the shadows and corporate security, magicians are more useful and can make more money. Therefore, magic is more common in the setting of the game than in the game world as a whole. I mean if you have the Talent, would you spend your life in front of a terminal doing research for 22,000¥ a year when you could make that much in a month as a shadowrunner, security consultant, talismongerer, wagemage, etc.? And do you think a corp is going to let a valuable resource like a mage or shamen key data when they could be making wards, summoning patrol elementals, etc.? That makes magic much more common in the shadows than on the streets.

The Abstruse One

Last Ten Run Antagonists:
Shadowrunner on the run and her old gang the Night Hunters

Pack of Shedim that inhabit the dead bodies the runners are supposed to investigate.

Arms dealer setting up an international auction for a killer matrix virus.

Mercenary team that takes over the Arecibo Observatory during a national broadcast.

Gang holed up in building and the Lone Star outside trying to "negotiate".

Module Run: Double Take - Corporate hit squads.

Heavily armed patrons in a "questionable" club.

Recover a Yakuza member from the clutches of a drug ring.

Small-time corporate security and tough shadowrunners guarding a corp complex in the boonies.

Group sucked into an Astral Quest into the metaplane of Imps.


Only a couple were magic heavy in those (i.e. the second and last). That being said... looking back at our run reviews I see a string of about 7 in a row during the start of the year that were very magic heavy.

Maybe it runs in streaks and your GM will back off in a little bit.

Due to the fact my main players are either cyber (insert apropriate concept here) or physads. So i only bring in the mages and spirts if i'm wanting to punish them or scare the drek out of them.

While magic is not common among the general population, it seems to be pretty prevalent in the shadows. That said, the games I've played in/run don't tend to focus on magical opposition.

I'm thinking the shadows - and the evil overlords - would tend to concentrate what magic and magically-oriented technology is out there ... since after all it is supposed to be one of the great forces of the Sixth World. Social Darwinism, if nothing else.

Really, it'd be the other way around; magical? You've got it made in a corp. However, the fact remains that there are a lot of magical PCs, so somehow or other your assertion is likely true.

~J

And many of those corporations aren't the evil overlords?

There are corps of all levels looking to hire mages. Just 'cause the Megas happen to pay best doesn't mean a bright, enterprising young Shaman might not go work at a small, eco-friendly corp.

~J

Not to mention the magic active paranormals that don't make it into the census.
There are things that can be a magical threat that aren't metahuman.
Over all I think I stick to the 1% with a grey area for duals.

I like to have unusual things like "deprivers" pop up in my games. Deprivers come from a book I read, a collection of short stories inspired by a imaginary paranormal disease, the disease caused people who contracted it to become "deprivers". When a depriver makes contact with anyone, the victim looses a sense, the loss lasts an indefinate amount of time sometimes permenant. Some victims become deprivers themselves after being exposed to the disease

Overall you have deprivers that can take away sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, balance, depth perception, some deprivers even take away moral sense.

I would consider them almost magical, and certainly a threat, but they are not the high magic of a full magician.