Warning: very long post. I need to organize my ideas and I am using this forum. Help really wanted.
I want the next run to be memorable because the lives of some good, long-played characters are at stake. I am the GM and there are still some things I haven't decided so I surely appreciate any ideas. We play a very grim but cinematic, player-centered game.
Players: please do not read on. SPOILERS AHEAD
Situation: a group of three runners have got carcerands in their blood and 72 hours to find some prototype and associated data buried deep at Ares heart and extract it while, if possible, inserting a virus and erasing all traces of what they left there.
We are playing SR4 in 2062. The object and data in question is a data module from "Gagarin"; Yamatetsu's probe in "Wake of the Comet" and most especially, the records of its mission. The runners need to extract the data and delete copies of it. How they came to this beleaguered situation is explained better in the "revenge in the shadows" topic : here
The three runners surviving are:
- "Darko": a serbian sniper / adept with some bio and astral perception. He doubles as a light Matrix runner.
-"Uknar Gun": a Sioux orc street samurai, a "tank" full of cyber and bio. Combat, very tough and some social skills
-"Hunk": a dwarf former company man, high on perception, reflexes and some general skills. Has a pet hellhound "Heckler" which he doesn't take to runs. Used to work for Ares and hates their guts.
All are quite good at infiltration and excel at combat, they are around 130 karma. We are going to play this run in two-three sessions.
What I have decided so far:
In the first scenes of the story the runners will fake their own deaths at the hands of Yamatetsu to avoid Ares from looking for them. Immediately they will have to solve some small scenarios while they recruit a couple runners to complete the team. (this first part comes from what the players told me they want to do...)
I want to play this like those scenes on stories when they are gathering the team, picking up people at odd locations. Think: the begining of "Neuromancer", opening scenes of the "A-team" or team assembly in "Armaggedon"...
They will pick up a decker in Boston. They will have to rescue him from the Mob or something. I don't know yet, but it is a NPC they know and they sure will need a decker. (some ideas here would be nice!!!)
They will surely need a good mage also, haven't thought much about it. There are twp retired PCs I could use. One lives in trans polar Aleut with some indians and the other got crazy in a run Yucatán and was last seen in Panamá, talking with himself about an upcoming "spirit war"
Note: I would probably call in someone to roleplay one or both these characters.
The team will also include a rigger (friend of the party) and a female elf weapon specialist NPCs (one of my favourite NPCs, developed from the archetype, 70 karma )
I know the climax of the run would involve ducking it out with a couple elite Firewatch teams in power armors right after they -hopefully- got the goods (I have stats for those)
I can imagine the epilogue from what the players told me they want to do. It would involve some heavy handed deals with Yamatetsu (kind of Bourne negotiating with the CIA), maybe some revenge and the team moving to another country.
I am having problems with the core of the plot, though.
What I don't know yet:
1 -Where would this run take place? -I am considering four options, in order of preference:
a. Some "Area 51" type of corporate compound in the middle of the desert. (think of the movie Resident Evil 3 )
b. Number 1 at Ares Plaza, Detroit. (Mission Impossible 1)
c. Ares Space at Cabo Cañaveral
d. Some Ares secret orbital lab. Like the "Spindle" or something.
2-Mid-Scenes. These questions are closely tied to number 1
a: What kind of security would this location have?
b: What kind of plans of infiltration would the runners come up with considering their abilities and the time limit?
c: What kind of activities should be completed prior to the run in order to accomplish the plan you suggested for b?
3-What kind of complications could come up in the run itself that would make it more memorable?
If you can help me solve 1 and 2a I am sure I can think 2b and 2c. But If I have some ideas myself I could nudge the runners into the funnier plan, considering there will be two NPCs participating in the planning and executing of the run.
I desperately need ideas for number 3.
Cheers,
Max
Edited to add spoiler warning.