Uh... Origami unicorn?

whoops, double post. But I'll use it to illustrate with this:


Sure, the Unicorn dream may not be enough to cement it, but it's a very obvious suggestion, compiled with many other clues that I don't care to mention, but, like I said about, the Origami unicorn in the hallway at the end is the nail in the coffin. Even without the tacky voice-over repetition of "it's a shame she won't live! But then again, who does?" and then the long pause for those of you who clearly catch all the references to plots in movies, and then finally Harrison Ford's big nod.

I don't know, I'd be okay with it if it were done right. I've played characters whose lifespan was on a timer and it can be kind of liberating...

-paws

I do not think SR and this group in particular would appreciate that kind of art with their beloved 170+ karma characters. Not after doing so much to survive all this time no.

Of course, sometimes it can be liberating, just I do not think this is the case, nor the approriate people. And I still haven't got a final decision where I will go with this. -I still have a run in the wings before this one, so it just does not matter, at least for a while-

Cheers!

Max

Ps: I remember a post a page ago about the movie not being very good, and the book being better. I disagree, I think the movie is way better than the book. (which I have in my bookcase and re-read a coupe weeks ago) Book could be shorter and better, plus the movie is far more colourful than the book's descriptions.

It can be very interesting if done right.

First you have to build it up, so that they start to wonder if they are replicants or not. Throw some NPCs who'll try to mess up with their heads by asking them if they're sure they're human. Maybe even showing PCs forged proof that they aren't. Then have some other NPC explain that it's what the first NPCs want them to believe, and prove that they're human. Then have the PC discover that the official proof of humanity (the VK-test or whatever it is you're using) can be easily fooled. Then have them discover that the proofs the first NPC gave them was forged. Then have them discover that some elements in the proofs are actually true (à la We can Remember It for You Wholesale)...
K.W. Jeter's Blade Runner books aren't really good (especially the second one), but they handle this quite right (especially the first one).

If you've done it right, the players should be totally lost and unsure of anyone's humanity. They should also start to question what's exactly the difference between a Rep and a human and what makes us human... And you can shift to a metaphysical/psychological game.

Either that or you have them discover they are Replicants, and then give them a n month interval to save their lives one way or another, which could also be fun.

It would have to be a pre-agreed upon theme and I'd have to sit down with my players and say "Look, I'm going all out here, I can do anything to you and you'll just have to adapt. Does that sound like fun?" I wouldn't just plop that into the middle of an adventure for shits and giggles.

This is certainly not something you drop on the group out of the blue.

You tell them up front that you have an oddball story arc you'd like to run and that it might have some major ramifications for their characters, depending on how it plays out. You don't want to give them any details about it because it'd be too easy to spoil it.


After they agree, you can pace it however you want, a couple adventures, a story arc, whatever. At some point you start dropping hints that somethings not quite kosher...


Contacts the PCs haven't called in a while make off-hand comments like...
"Back so soon?"
"Been hittin' the bottle kinda heavy lately, ain't ya?"
"You want another one? I had a hard enough time getting the last one. You need to treat your gear better, man."
"Why were you in such a shitty mood the other day?"

A security video places them somewhere they never visited.

Something the character never bought shows up on their bank account.


What's going on?! Obviously someone is impersonating them. But why? How? What do they have to gain?

Secretly, either the impostors or the PCs are clones. It doesn't really matter because up until the start of the arc, both the clones and the originals are exactly same people (complete with memories and everything). Its only at the start of the arc that things start diverging, because that was when the clones were activated.

Why on Earth would someone clone a bunch of runners? An experiment. Using some pirated cybermantic techniques, a no-name corp (really, its completely off the books) has managed to create a system to retrieve memories, effectively creating whole personas. Why aren't the clones brain dead? Who says brain death always happens? Who's to say it ever does? Or maybe its part of the new cloning process being used in the memory recall process?

The doubles have been running into the same issues as the originals and for the past few (weeks, days) have been just missing the other group. The PCs need to eventually meet their doubles. Which group is the real deal though? That's for the players to work out.

As to whether or not there's a timer on the clone's lives... I suggest that the real PCs be the ones to come up out top, if anyone does.

And once the adventure is all said and done, its time to figure out who decided to run this little experiment and give them a talking to.


-paws
written stream-of-thought

I've heard that argument but don't agree
that sequence could be taken different ways

I enjoyed Blade Runner, but I agree it may not be to everyone's taste. Still, I have to say my favorite Ridley Scott film is Black Rain. I've used as a referance for shadowrun as well. The tokyo sprawl, and how the yakuza are percieved by the general public and police can be interesting story elements.