Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Need twists for a detective run
Dumpshock Forums > Discussion > Shadowrun
Platinum
I am working on a detective run, where a player has to try and locate a missing Musician.
I am looking for ideas, plot twists and other elements to help make the story/mystery better.


Scenario
Krava Proge is a musician who's music creates intense emotional responses without the assistance of Sim or BTL emotive tracks. (He's just that good)
He is releasing an album under a persona (Velosa - a grey alien with a big head)
Krava went missing 2 days ago, and missed a meeting with his agent Maryna Janaesson.

Realizing that Krava is going to be a huge success, and that the majority of her money will be from booking his performances, (virtual and physical) she doesn't want to lose her ticket to success.

Krava's release is 20 days. He has a physical appearance scheduled on his release date.
Finders fee for Krava is 25K with, 10K up front

XXXXXXXXX, got wind of the Rave Riot, incited a few years ago, and are looking to use this to their cause.

Krava -
- no one knows he is the person behind the stage persona Velosa, wants to keep it that way
- Best friend - Kevin Garsal
- works for his best friend's landscaping company
- Med lifestyle in auburn
- has a girlfriend - Katy Bivona
- Lives in the same building as parents
- Search apt
- no signs of struggle
- can hack into entry system to get logs
- Data Collection
- popular in the underground music scene
- played at raves
- music incited a riot at a rave a few years ago
- could be dangerous if a company used his music to pitch their products
- Hack telecom -
- Call from Kevin at 11 pm night missing
- Call from mom each day
- Call from Maryna day after, and when missed meeting
- Call from news channel 457 with a job offer
- Call from another agent
- buried in back files - brain scan imaging. Modelling shows the shrinking of the brain
-

Kevin Garsal
- Landscaper
- Went to the black orchid with Krava 2 nights ago
- Left in a limo with business people
- hangs out at the black orchid (last seen there with Kevin)
- knows Krava's plan to try and virtualize his conciousness, has a will that leaves everything to his girlfriend.
- girlfriend left after a huge fight when she begged him not to do it

Ask parents:
- Live in the same building
- Mother just cries all the time, father is morose
- Krava was a unique and difficult child, had lots of headaches as a teen ager
- Music helped him cope, and he was able to relieve his pain and others with his music.
- filed missing person's report with LS after manager called looking for him

At black orchid:
- video footage of Krava and business people leaving the place will cost 10K or requires a hack (or can get video from stuffer across the street for 1K / easier hack)
- Krava is a regular, no one knows about his alter ego
- bartenders recognize him by face/name, didn't pay any attention to the people he was with/left with Maybe something on video.
- video from orchid has licence plate and faces
- video from stuffer has faces but no plate



Has an untreatable brain wasting disease.
Is going to have brain downloaded

Business suits are from YYYYYY corp
- They a going to download is brain into a cyberbrain. (keep a copy for themselves of course so they can capilalize on his musical talent without him knowing)
- It costs Krava the entire advance from the album company



Plot ideas I would like to maybe work in:

Part way, a hit team of two from XXXXXXXXX is out to capture the detective so that they can grab his intel. If that doesn't work, they will wait and follow the detective till Krava is found.
The hit team both have "cyberbrains" (electronic matrixes, no actual bio in cyberbrain) jacked into either biodrones, or human looking droids.

The hit team is 1 persona that has been copied into two bodies. They are independantly two people, but have all of the knowledge and instincts of each other.

Team will get to Krava, in the middle of the download.
It is irreversable as it puts such a strain on the neurons that it burns out major pathways. He has to complete or dies.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mardrax
Reads fun.
What do you want help with, specifically? What are your thoughts and feelings on what you do or do not have?
Platinum
QUOTE (Mardrax @ Jan 25 2011, 02:20 PM) *
Reads fun.
What do you want help with, specifically? What are your thoughts and feelings on what you do or do not have?


What I want help with are some unforseable plot twists, plot devices to make things a little more complicated for the player. Just hoping to add more atmosphere that generally appear in novels.

Was not sure what to do with parents/girlfriend/ manager. having them all sit on the sidelines seems like a waste of a resource to complicate or meddle.

I had someone mention to have a gang looking for the PC. Reasoning is that they were watching the manager's office, and tapped the line. Got intel that the PC is doing the hard work, and they are hoping to swoop in and profit by snatching Krava from the detective.

I was thinking of having the body of cojoined twins who were trying to be separated in a room one the way to Krava, just as something random and freaky.

I miss the grit of sr2. I have the rocker element in there for retro sake, am hoping to get more feel in there too.
Udoshi
QUOTE (Platinum @ Jan 26 2011, 01:45 PM) *
What I want help with are some unforseable plot twists, plot devices to make things a little more complicated for the player. Just hoping to add more atmosphere that generally appear in novels.

Was not sure what to do with parents/girlfriend/ manager. having them all sit on the sidelines seems like a waste of a resource to complicate or meddle.

I had someone mention to have a gang looking for the PC. Reasoning is that they were watching the manager's office, and tapped the line. Got intel that the PC is doing the hard work, and they are hoping to swoop in and profit by snatching Krava from the detective.

I was thinking of having the body of cojoined twins who were trying to be separated in a room one the way to Krava, just as something random and freaky.

I miss the grit of sr2. I have the rocker element in there for retro sake, am hoping to get more feel in there too.


Lesee. I just skimmed that. Some things to work in....

1)Good Intentions: The girlfriend doesn't trust the manager, and hires her OWN runner team to find her boyfriend. There are now two teams, working at cross-angles on the same objective. Will they co-operate, or try to get paid twice?
2)Cheater! The girlfriend's having an affair, and the boyfriend is a jealous, powerful type(Criminal, drug dealer, perhaps vory?) who is not above making Krava dissappear. Alternatively: He's thinking about it, but is surprised someone else beat him to it.(He knows krava dissappeared, but not details)
3) Fukken spirits/didn't see this onecoming! Krava met a Muse, a free shadow spirit who gives artists inspiration, and leeches karma from their willing victims(or customers, perhaps? Maybe krava sought out this spirit to make deal). Krava's been enticed into a secret rock-off/practice studio, and/or has been practicing his ass off with a spirit teacher in preperation for his big debut - he just lost track of time in a big way.(Part of the spirit thing is not caring/understanding for metahuman physical needs so much)

A good plot may actually mix elements up - perhaps #3 happened/is happening, then a day into the run or so, there's a Krava Spotting - he goes to the stuffer shack to get food, or something, and gets flagged by the system - like his instant messenger program going online when he pays. Que a bunch of people going 'hey! he's alive! GO FIND HIM NOW NOW GO'. Who gets there first? What happens? Is it really one of the brain-doubles?

Some more thoughs:
4) Perhaps a 3th corp (ZZZZZZZZ) has had thoughts similiar to XXXXXX - they want to poach Krava's talent, but in a more old-fashhioned way than a copied brainscan: Kidnap him, force him to work for them, use the manager/girlfriend as emotional collateral.(welcome to renraku! Don't try to leave!). They might even be working with the jerk from #2: He gets the rival out of the picture, they get a catchy music artist to use with their propoganda.


I think it might be interesting for the team to encounter other parties with an active interest in finding Krava as well. Finding out what THEY know(using other people's information to fill in your blanks) can be a good way of showing what's happening, too.

Dunno how much of this fits with what you have in mind for your plot, but if you flesh out the motivations of your NPCs, and think a little bit ahead about what they are GOING to do - then you can weave it together into a more whole-feeling plot.
Tiralee
Hmm, Magic's likely to shortcut a few of your steps if someone has enough of a connection to complete a ritual tracking spell.
1: And access to the target's residence, GF and best friend should yield enough material for even the most slipshod mage.
1a: Or the Psychometry initiation skill, if such a thing exists in 4th edition.

2: How vunerable would this metal 'sassin team be to TM/Deckers?
2a: Or god, a suitably juicy Rigger? "Hey guys, guesss who's got a new pair of anthro-drones? Dance, monkeys, dance!"
2b: I suppose the sight of 2 x semi-cyberzombied heavy-hitters coming at a team would make them scream like little pixies until someone assensed them.

3: How much of the company's bottom-line is riding on having a rocker-inna-box?
3a: Is it some suit's fast move to the top?
3b: Or a company initiative?
That could be very juicy, you know, "Ah, good sir, I have uncontestable evidence that your senior VP squandered a whole quarter's earnings on a mad scheme doomed to failure...shall we talk in your office?"

4: Also the GF - does she want to have kids to him? I mean, it's not like she's going to show little Susan or Johhny a toaster and say, "This is Daddy" (You could REALLY make the whole emotional stuff messy this way. Great RP opportunities)

-Tir

Platinum
Killer feedback Udoshi and Tir. I like the ideas. I am going to snag pieces and weave them into the story. Thank you so much.

I am going to have the girlfriend pregnant. he thought that she was cheating, (but she went to the Dr's office)

I love the muse idea. After he downloads his music just isn't as inspired.

Such must great material to work with.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Dumpshock Forums © 2001-2012