The DIMR has recently received a tip on whereabouts of the First Coin of Luck. Apparently, the last (unfortunate) person to own it tried to smuggle it out of Hong Kong in a crate of beauty products, but a computer fluke caused it to be mis-routed. The DIMR has gotten word of the location it shipped to. It was included with an order of skin care products to Juellia Telaeth, a famous Fairy Rock performer from the Tir (either Tir would be appropriate -- I'd pick whichever is the farthest from the runner's home base just to emphasis the out of the ordinary aspects of the run.)

She is currently not on tour, but staying in her "Fairy Castle" -- part private mansion, part tourist attraction, the giant structure resembles a cross between Disney's Cinderella castle and a musical version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Thrown in are numerous magical attractions, rare creatures, and a few mysterious artifacts -- as well as rumors of a ghost haunting. This also makes the "castle" a popular destination for various magical groups and magically active tourists. All in all the grounds are several hundred acres of "enchanted forest." The runners are to break in and locate the coin.

If the runners hunt around for information, they may also discover that the Triads have tracked the coin as well. Whether the runners know or not, the triads will be raiding the castle as well, and will even go so far as to take Juellia hostage in the final showdown scene. Complicating matters is that Juellia herself is a mage, and several of the castles residents are spirits and ghosts -- and none of them know whose side the runners are on (or are likely to trust them regardless.) Further complicating them is that the Triad raid has disrupted the normal security and operation of the castle, and as such security systems are going haywire, magical beasties are on the loose, and the tourists are cowering, running about, and doing all sorts of unpredictable things. Because of the isolated nature of the castle, the local law enforcement has not yet received word on what is happening -- and will only arrive in time to further complicate the runner's escape.

The run should be a wild walk through fantasy landscapes ranging from midevil forests to disturbing dungeons to abandoned high-tech security control rooms, with extremely quirky magical threats, conventional security, out-of-place seeming high-tech drones, Triad gunmen, and unpredictable mage tourists -- all set to haunting, ethereal, and downright unsettling music that is pumped through the entire grounds.

Be warned that retrieving the coin for money may count as "selling" it (or at least that may be implied to the runners if they look into it), and could unleash all the bad luck that is rumored to entail. Because of this, the DIMR almost certainly will not tell the runners what they are looking for. Since selling it or turning it in may prove dangerous, and giving it away may prove difficult (it's dangerous to just hand out a multi-million dollar cultural artifact -- especially one that draws the Triads to it), the runners may be stuck holding a giant Triad-target that they desperately need to find a home for, and contacts may want to avoid the runners to keep from arousing the Traid's suspicions that they might harbor the coin. A great segue into the next run.

Edit: Dont' forget to throw in cameo appearances of the rest of Juellia's band. Nothing helps break up the tension and drama of creepy scenery and Triad hitmen like stoned out musicians. Even funnier, one or more may ask the runners for help, not being sober enough to realize they aren't security. I picture scenes like this:

"As the runners stand over the smoking corpse of the Barghast, they hear a noise behind them. Behind a stack of pots and pans in the industrial kitchen they are standing in stumbles a rail-thin, ragged elf in torn leather. 'Hey thanks man, that dog, man, was really noisy, man.' He kicks the singed coprse, muttering 'bad dog' before turning to the runners and asking them if they have any food, or know how to cook."

Scavenger Hunt (or: Goo in Love)

This time, the Triads are the Johnson. They hire the runners to retrieve a family heirloom of the wife of a Triad boss (an ornate jar of lotion believed to date from some ancient dynasty or another -- hit wikipedia to be more specific). The triads believe that it was stolen by the DIMR, who have been hanging around constantly for the past six months trying to negotiate for the item.

The triads believe that the DIMR has taken it to a smaller facility in the barrens for some preliminary research before it is moved to the more secure facility. The Triads want the runners to return the heirloom (undamaged of course!), but they need plausible deniability to avoid starting open hostilities with the DIMR.

Assuming the runners can break in to the DIMR research office (no doubt guarded by a wide assortment of technological and magical means -- though some of those may be for keeping things in as well as out), they will find that the DIMR doesn't have the item either. Since their pay is based on returning the lotion bottle, not breaking in, hopefully they will use this opportunity to search the facility's computers for what info the DIMR does have.

What they find is what they (probably) suspect; the heirloom is some sort of magical artifact. All the DIMR knows is that the Triads have lost it, and a few scattered notes about it possibly being in the possession of one Ren Yum, an ork Triad.

At this point, the runners will need to hit up their contacts to try to find information. What they should eventually learn is that Ren Yum had the distasteful job of keeping a large clan of ghouls out of the Triad's business. Unfortunately for Ren, the ghouls have actually begun to negotiate for a cease fire, and he is in the unenviable position of negotiating with them regularly. The runners should be able to track down, either from contacts or ghoul attack reports, the rough location of the ghoul clan's home base -- an abandoned geothermal plant deep underground that connects to a number of interesting locations via some abandoned subway tunnels and the ork underground (which is how Ren has been going to see them.)

If the runners have contacts in the Ork Underground, they will get information that Ren has been acting very strange, that he somehow managed to recruit some orks from the underground to help him, and that there are reports something "major" happened between him and the ghouls last time they met. He (and his recruits) haven't been seen since.

Whether the runners get the information from the orks or not, the runners (after a few various encounters in the sewer/subway tunnels -- devil rats, sewer people, a toxic spirit, or whatever strikes your fancy) make their way to the geothermal plant's control room. There they find massive carnage -- dead orks and ghouls everywhere. Also, there are a half-dozen not-quite-dead ghouls who attack the runners.

The runners can negotiate with the ghouls -- they simply mistakenly believe they are Ren's men come to finish the job they started. Ren had attacked the ghouls under a flag of truce, and slaughtered the ones at the meeting. A few wounded ones were left behind, and a few of their clansmen had returned just as the runners did. Should the runners negotiate successfully, or subdue the ghouls without killing them and then interrogate them, they will get further information (at this point the ghouls have little to loose, so will not be difficult to interrogate)

The ghouls will inform the runners that Ren showed up carrying the heirloom that they are seeking -- and that the heirloom was indeed magical in nature. What the ghouls know that the DIMR does not is that the heirloom is a phylactery for a very ancient free spirit. The spirit's nature is a gooey substance that is concealed in the jar, resembling lotion. (An inhabitation gone bad?) The spirit has compulsion and mind control powers and spells, and the ghouls recognized its effects on Ren and the orks he had brought immediately because of their astral nature. As soon as Ren realized the secret was out, they attacked the ghouls, and the carnage the runners see ensued.

What Ren was after from the ghouls was information regarding a peculiar magical waxy substance they found in the steam tunnels. The ghouls had sold it for what they thought was a startlingly high price to one Victor Krastov. Victor is a troll violinist, and a world famous one at that. The ghouls have a few fliers for Victor's next concert (in two days) on them -- and this is all the runners will find if they kill all the ghouls. It's up to them in that case to continue the scavenger hunt with so little information.

If the runners try to find Ren and his band (which now includes both the surviving orks and a few ghouls, all under the influence of the free spirit) they can mange to track a few stragglers and new additions (mostly street bums) from various strange police and street level reports. Ren himself remains elusive however.

The concert is put on with Sara Tuy, a beautiful female elven vocalist. While Sara is quite skillful, it is Victor's performances that the critics have been raving about. What the critics, and likely the runners don't know is that Victor owes the Triads a good deal of money. The Triads have some body guards at Victor's performance (only two) because of this. The body guards know nothing about the missing heirloom or the runners, however.

During the concert, Ren's band of mind-controlled orks and ghouls (along with Ren himself, now deep under the control of the gooey free spirit) attack the concert. Some spirits summoned by one of the ghouls (a rat shaman) and some explosives that collapse the lobby seal the concert hall, trapping a room full of panicked hostages and the runners (if they attended) inside.

Ren takes an immediate interest in Victor. What he will attempt to do is grab Victor's violin (over the objections of his bodyguards), and Sara (if Sara escapes with the help of the runners, or if Victor is driven off, he'll grab anyone at random from the audience.) Ren will perform a very quick sacrifice ritual (Ren is a street sam, but is being driven by the goo spirit) -- and the result of this sacrifice is the goo spirit's goal.

Unbeknownst to the runners, Triads, Ren, or anyone but the goo spirit, Victor's violin wax -- the mysterious substance he bought from the ghouls, and incidentally the cause of his incredible abilities -- is also a free spirit that has been lying dormant in the underground tunnels of the geothermal plant. The sacrifice ritual will reawaken this second goo spirit -- who turns out to be the first spirit's lover!

There are a lot of possibilities for how this final scene goes down, depending on the runners. They may try to intervene and drive Victor off, in which case he will try to escape "backstage" or into the catwalks or somewhere else equally likely to loose the runners for long enough to find a victim and sacrifice them (this is the goo spirit's only real objective.) He will do this while the rest of his mind controlled band hold off the runners. The goo spirit also is providing Ren with magical protection, in the form of both counterspelling and an armor spell (or possibly even some variant on possession that gives Ren the bonuses of possession, but the goo spirit's physical form remains -- though dormant.) Also, the sacrifice ritual happens pretty quickly (a few actions to draw a circle, then just a quick spur attack by Ren), so the runners may be caught by surprise. Lastly, its possible that with the information from the ghouls, the runners will confront Victor. Because he doesn't want to loose his newfound fame, let alone find himself unable to pay back the Triads, he won't be very cooperative. His bodyguards will take his side, unless the runners are very convincing about their Triad employers and the importance of their assignment. If forced by violence (or a believable threat of it that would overwhelm his bodyguards) he may turn over the wax -- but when that happens, Ren will attack the concert hall regardless. The runners may then find themselves holding the gooey body of the second spirit, as the sacrifice ritual only requires line of sight to the wax.

How things go down after the second goo spirit is awakened depend greatly on the runners and their actions so far. The spirits will try to escape, and care nothing for Ren and the others (who were just tools in their drive to be reunited.) However, if the runners were sufficiently antagonistic, or are sufficiently determined to retrieve the lotion bottle (which the spirits must take with them, as it binds up the life force of the first spirit) they will fight. The second spirit has powers very different from the first (which works mostly through manipulation), the GM should pick a theme of powers that would interest and challenge the runners.

In the end, the runners have several things they can be rewarded for or punished for:
1) If they manage to purge or bind the spirit in the lotion bottle, and return it to the Triads(their original objective)
2) They could loose points if Victor is harmed, because he would be unable to repay the Triads.
3) If the runners find a way for Victor to pay back the Triads somehow (because without the wax, he won't be able to play well enough to earn the money for a long time) the Triads will cut them in on the payback.
4) If the runners patch things up with the ghouls, who currently believe the Triads are at war with them (because Ren was their official envoy) the Triads will be greatful for their initiative. (They may also hire the runners to do this if they don't do it on their own, though the pay would be less.)
5) Anything interesting they manage to snag while in the DIMR research center (unless the DIMR catches them of course!)
6) The "eternal gratitude" of the beautiful and talented Sara, whose career doesn't depend on magic wax, should the runners save her in a particularly dramatic fashion (which is always good for publicity!)
7) There's a lot of potential for notoriety in this final scene, because there are so many potential hostages and bystanders in the theater.

The general theme of the first part of the run is a "scavenger hunt, shadowrun style" feel. The runners continually fight, sneak, and scheme their way past obstacle after obstacle, only to be lead to a totally new objective.

The last part of the run should emphasize the pandemonium of a trapped, panicked crowd, and the alien and uncaring nature of the spirits. It should also have some visual effect emphasizing the love of the spirits once they are finally reunited. This will help drive home that in the confusing and dystopian world of shadowrun, even love can bring chaos and death.

Dr. Sigmund Vorsche is a respected research fellow at the DIMR. He has made a few public appearances, so the runners may recognize him. If the runners do some digging, they may also find that he is a hermetic mage, a father of two, a suburbanite, and a bit of a workahaulic. He is also, coincidentally, the runner's Johnson.

He has hired the runners, he says, because he needs discretion. He explains in a surprisingly effiminate manner that he has been having an affair. Not just any affair, of course. He's been having an affair with the beautiful and talented Sara Ruy (I'm recycling names from my previous posts here), an elven mage-performer whose concerts have drawn top-notch billing in the magically enhanced music scene. The Triads are blackmailing him with proof of the affair in order to get access to DIMR research notes. The runners are to retrieve the proof.

He says that the affair has been going on for some time, and that he's searched his (considerable) memory for things that may have been used to record the affair -- things that were constant between several... sessions. He has narrowed it down to a painting, a lamp, and a lotion bottle, all of which were in fiber-optic display boxes and whose electronic controls could have concealed a bug (which he had, in his discretion, scanned for.) The Triads would not have copied the material, as that would violate the "blackmail agreement" -- continued access to the research in exchange for destruction of the originals. There is one tape in particular that he needs -- and the most specific he will get, even when pressed, is that the runners will know it when they see it. The subject is clearly a source of distress.

There is a catch, however -- the runners only have four hours to succeed if they want to get paid. This is a condition of the run.

If the runners astrally perceive Dr. Vorsche, they will notice some oddities about his aura. If pressed, he will only say that he is a dedicated astral researcher, and that some abnormalities in that regard should be expected.

If the runners are extremely perceptive, or extremely persuasive, or are fans of mage-music and/or Sara Ruy, they might notice something else odd about Dr. Vorsche -- things that result from his being possessed by Sara Ruy.

If the runners use any of their small time allotment to search for information on Sara Ruy, they will discover that she is missing, and that police are still searching for her. In fact, Sara Ruy is "dead" -- though before she died she astrally projected and used her metamagical talent to possess Dr. Vorsche, her lover -- and her killer. She is hoping that the Triads taped her killing in addition to taping the affair.

The run is a standard snatch-and-grab against a Triad warehouse (or other suitable location), with only the short time limit to set it apart from a normal run. They will find -- hidden in the modest memory of a few normal room accessories -- rather explicit tapes of the affair. The one that the runners "know when they see" is one from earlier in that day -- when instead of the usual sexual interlude, Dr. Vorsche strangled Sara to death.

The payout meeting is where things are likely to get complicated. With her time in this world quickly running out, and the powerful Dr. Vorsche possibly regaining control at any time, the meet with "Sigmund" is very strained. The runners will notice Dr. Vorsche sweating, voice cracking, and maybe some shaking. The possessing Sara will pay the runners with information that will allow them access to one of her hidden accounts, rather than directly (which might anger the runners.) She will also insist that the runners transfer the tape to Lone Star both digitally and the physical recording devices (which the runners might also be hesitant to do, especially if they don't know that Dr. Vorsche is possessed.) At the end of the meet, Sara either runs out of time, or looses control of Dr. Vorsche. How he responds to the runners depends greatly on the runners themselves.

If the runners appear wounded from their fight with the Triad, he will attack and try to take or destroy the tape (the only solid evidence of both his affair and his murder.) If the runners don't know he is possessed, he may simply walk out without giving it away, to plan his attack of the runners for a time when he is more prepared -- especially if he can somehow get ritual links to the team at the meet without their noticing. Should this happen, he will return with spirits, preemptive ritual spells, and possibly some close companions from the DIMR that he has misled about the nature of their attack on the runners.

Sigmund Vorsche is cold, calm, and calculating, and is completely aware of everything that has transpired while he was possessed. He is also an initiate, and a magician of considerable skill. He will do everything he can to make sure the physical copies of the evidence never make it to Lone Star (he's hoping he can deny digital evidence sent by an anonymous source, as the runners certainly won't come forward to testify against him!)

The players are contacted through one of their regular Fixers who is willing to pay 500Â¥ if they will meet with an unknown Johnson who is new to the town.

If the players spend some tie researching this new Johnson they learn very little other then the fact that some of his references come from Triad sources from the city of (some where close).

If the players do not meet with this Johnson then they had better not have taken their Johnson’s money for meeting the new Johnson.

If the players decided to meet with this new Johnson they learn that they are to meet in a high class bluegrass bar that is currently featuring a relatively new Elven band called.

When talking with the Johnson in a back room (well a side room accessible only with the bartenders help) the players are told that their mission will involve the substitution of one generic good for another in a mildly secure location. Of course the Johnson does not and will not go into details until the mission is agreed upon.

The Johnson is willing to pay (appropriate) ¥ with the offer of 20% now and 80% when completed.

If the face completes an opposed negotiation test the Johnson is willing to move the pay to a 50/50 split however he is not willing to increase the amount offered.

The Mission: The Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research is holding a concert featuring a number of awakened musical performances in (I recommend 3) days. The performers include and Orchestra with an awakened conductor who infuses his performances with vivid illusions, a goblin punk rock band , a Troll band called Smash and a solo performance by a self proclaimed elven princess, named Star, who plays the harp. (Parents are no less creative in the 2050s then they were in the 1980s)

The Johnson wants the players to replace the designer hand lotion that the Elven “princess� uses with something that is a bit less gentle on her skin. The substitute is an off the shelf product that the elf has a minor allergy too.

However the only problem is that to be effective the hand lotion needs to be applied shortly before her performance otherwise she will be able to receive treatment and still perform at the concert.

There are a number of ways that they players can go about completing this mission.

• They can infiltrate the concert hall (stadium) and plant the hand lotion in her dressing room.

• They can try and bribe (threaten, blackmail or etc) her personal stylist to ensure that the hand lotions are swapped.

• Or they can try and hack into the concert database and switch out her makeup supply request to replace her hand lotion with the other product.

The stadium’s security is being provided by (Knight Errant, Lone Star or whomever) however players who manage to obtain proper security clearance should have access to the site.

Any solution that they players manage to think of will work if their efforts go undetected. However if they are detected there is a minor side effect that the Elven Performer is so shaken up that she can’t perform. Meaning that the Johnson lets them keep whatever their advance pay was.

If they successfully complete the mission the players have managed to gain a bit of credibility with the Triads from (near buy) city and they now have a new Johnson who knows the quality of their work. Also the Elven performer who was “mildly� allergic to the lotion was in reality severely, toxically allergic to the hand lotion. Her on stage death was dramatic and shocking and it led to a great loss of face for the Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research.

The players if they weren’t careful to avoid leaving evidence may have some angry Draco Foundation agents meeting them in their sleep to ask question.

The life of a popular musician can be full of ups and downs, just ask Eddie FeBurn, the lead singer of Crimson Oaks. Ten years ago Eddie topped the charts, but a BTL scandal and a dead hooker ruined his musical career. He spent a year in the slammer and his bank accounts were drained dry by high priced lawyers. Now Eddie is staging a comeback.

His music has a harder edge, his image is darker, and he's got the backing of Emily Chang, the daughter of a Triad boss. Emily grew up listening to Eddie's pop records, hanging on every synth-fueled note. When she heard he was trying to make a comeback, she was more than happy to help make that happen. Eddie's glad for her support too, especially the slush fund she's giving him for his "touring expenses," which he's making creative use of... He's been very careful with his money, skimming enough nuyen to be able to afford the services of a small team of runners for a little revenge work.

See, Eddie never felt that his lawyer, one Samuel Dashal, was going a very good job, but didn't have any proof of it. Until his time in jail, that is. There he met an inmate who'd been represented by the same guy. They compared notes, called in a couple of favors from folks on the outsude, and discovered a long list of inmates who'd been strung along and their bank accounts drained dry by Dashal. All of them ended up in jail, too. Some on death row, even.

Eddie wants to cause Dashal pain. Simple wetwork won't do. Eddie wants the runners to kidnap Dashal, get him thoroughly hooked on BTLs, and have him do something truely awful while under the influence. By the end of it, Dashal should be alive and headed for prison, where he'll be welcomed with open arms by several of his former clients.

Unfortunately, in the five years since Eddie was last in contact with Dashal, he's retired from practicing criminal law and has taken a rather slick job on DMRI's legal council. Unlike his previous clients, DMRI isn't likely to run out of money any time soon, so Dashal figures he's more or less set up for life.

Its not hard for the runners to track Dashal down - he's left a very visible data trail. Everything, absolutely everything, on his public record is above board. Even his receipts, if the runners dig that hard, are free of anything even remotely questionable. In fact, the only abnormal thing is the absurd amount of hand lotion this guy buys; almost a bottle a day. And his brand of choice, an import from Tir Taingire, is not cheap. If the runners are unable to acquire this information themselves, they may also manage to come by it by tailing Dashal for a few days.

The hand lotion is not just a hand lotion; its a powerful topical stimulant and euphoric, designed to be used in very, very small amounts to help treat anxiety and depression. Dashal uses the stuff like its going out of style, though. Excessive use can be very addictive - it borders on being a controlled substance in UCAS territories.

Armed with this information, the runners can trace back to around the Crash 2.0 and discover that Dashal has been using this product (or similar concotions) for at least that long, maybe longer.

Grabbing Dashal will be something of a challenge. He rarely leaves the cozy micro-community where he lives, except to go into to the DMRI office twice a week to keep up appearances. His preferred method of travel is Skyrider, a small air taxi service that features lightly armed VTOLs (LMGs or assault rifles, loaded with gel rounds) as well as conventional passenger aircraft. Not surprisingly, Dashal usually coughs up the extra nuyen for the armed service.

Once the runners nab Dashal, all they really need to do is keep him somewhere safe and feed him BTLs for a week or so. Without his lotion, his addictive personality will quickly adopt the BTLs as his new fix. After that, its just a matter of arranging for him to commit some very visible crime while chipping. The law will take over from there. Dashal has few friends in the legal system and a couple that will actively pursue the case. Within the month he'll be on this way to the slammer where withdraw and the othe rinmates will make his life a living hell.

Meanwile... All of this shady business is going on right under the nose of Ms Chang. She'll be murderously angry if she finds out she's being used by Eddie. Which, of course, she will. Eddie, having suceeded in his mission, is happy to fade back into obscurity, abandoning music, probably forever. Ms Chang will object, of course, both because she likes Eddie and she's sunk a bunch of nuyen into his comeback. Eddie, being an arrogant idiot, will no doubt mouth off to her. In the process he'll reveal the whole plot, how her used her for her money, and so on. For his trouble, Eddie will be found dead in the river the next day.

If any of the runners have the Bad Luck or Uncouth negative qualities or treated Eddie poorly (dissing his music, teasing him about being a prison bitch, etc.), Eddie will drop their names while telling off Ms Chang. Assuming she got the runner's names... a few days later, a Triad member will be in touch to inform the runners that they owe a debt to a Triad boss over this incident and that they'll be in touch at a later date.