I was talking with a friend about the idea of modeling characters for Shadowrun taken from other sources. Inspired by the thread discussting creating a Shadowrun version of John McClane from Diehard. He had an insight that led us down a different path completely. (Different enough I thought this post would be a little off topic for that thread)

He suggested rather than trying figure out what the 1980's style Action Hero would be in like if he lived in the 2070's, it might be fun to figure out what the guy would be like if he lived into the 2070's. That is play the actual guy who saved Nacatomi plaza still alive 90 years latter. That would make him only about 115 years old. It's not so farfetched people are living into there hundreds now in veritable droves. That's without magic,cloned organs and genetic therapy.

We quickly decided if John McClane had existed in the Shadowrun universe he absolutely would still be alive in 2070 because he could not die. (Yes the 1st movie was only called Die-Hard but the 4th should have been called Die Impossible) We however did not think such a character could be done justice as a pc.

But then we started to think about the idea of playing a Supercentarian (110 yrs or older) as a character concept all by itself. With gene therapy part of the setting they could be any physical age. Decades of retirement could explain any almost any skill set.Things you where once great at you could be rusty or forgotten completely. Or you might have picked up some very interesting hobbies with all your free time and somethings you never forget. Stats also could be just about anything with a little imagination. The real question is what's a 115 year old character doing in the shadows.

Anyway we came up with this background concept.

*************

Your Mr Willis, you where born in 1955. You had a great life. You where successful. Made a ton of money. Maybe you where a cutthroat businessman, a mob boss, or an internationally famous film superstar.

You lived through the beginning of the 21st century when a lot of people didn't. The Awakening, VITAS, the Crash, the Ghost Dance there where some near misses but thanks to money, luck, or maybe your hard head you saw it through. Even when friends and family didn't. What where you 65 85 when you actually said enough was enough. Your field isn't necessarily one with a set retirement age but after getting through all that with your health and money intact you did retire.

You where a recluse for awhile. Old age in the sixth world wasn't all that bad with a F### ton of money. Implants, magic, wonder drugs you where a healthy old man. When Genetherapy came along you didn't even have to be Old anymore. You could be young again. Even better young and with money. You stopped being a recluse and traveled, partied, and played around with some of the cool new toys out there.

You thought about coming out of retirement but the game you played and won decades ago has changed. Besides you weren't important anymore and you liked it that way. You had just enough money left that it wasn't anything you'd ever have to worry about, but not so much as anyone had to worry about you. That was all before your last genetherapy session.

You'd started to feel forty again and decided it was time so you checked into the clinic you'd used the first time. It was a hospital that looked like a spa that you fell asleep in. It was a hospital that smelled like shit you woke up in. You'd been dumped into some fly by night clinic in the sprawl. They probably hoped the "doctors" there would carve you up into spare parts before you woke up. Lucky for you those people where to lazy to be that immoral. But that's the least of your problems.

Your face is different, thats normal with the gene therapy, things spring back a little different each time but that wouldn't explain why your fingerprints are gone or why your DNA has been stripped of markers. A little research showed you'd been reported dead you'd missed the funeral by a couple months. Not that you could've gotten there. It seems not being able to prove who you are or even that you are anybody limits your travel options. Your Sinless now a criminal by definition.

You may not have your money anymore. You also apparently have some enemies. Survivals going to be an issue for awhile but you do have a few things going for you. Your back in a body young enough to be carded. You've got more then a few lifetimes worth of experience and just maybe a few expensive toy's left under your skin to cause some trouble with. Now you just gotta go out and teach these kids what tough meant before you could buy it off the rack.

So why is this dude running the shadows if he is loaded with cash to afford all those treatments?

- J.

Fun?

Besides, read the last part of his post. Maybe he run out of money?

Ok so he lived to 110, blew all his money on Leonization and what not -- but he has to keep running?

Weeeell ok... seems thin to me but hey, its his character and its just a game. Anything goes I guess!

- J.

Sometimes life´s stranger than fiction. ^^ I agree, it is thin. But if it is just to be Mr. Willis, everything goes. It is better than taking the "amnesia" quality.^^

This sort of thing reminds me of Bruce Wayne from Batman Beyond. Another possible source of ideas / motivations for playing a really old but really experienced runner.

Yeah it's buried a little bit in my flowery prose but the idea isn't that he spent all his money. The idea is he's been Hung out to Dry more or less. He goes in for some treatment and wakes up totally cut off from his old life. Someone for some unknown reason erased all identifiers. He doesn't look like himself, they erased his fingerprints and scrambled his genetic markers. Plus anything else you can think of to connect the character to his old life has been taken care of two.

Sure his cyber and bioware might still have some serial numbers on them but all that proves is that he's in illegal possession of a deadman's property.

The who and the why details are left up to the gm to decide. As a player you could also tweak the background to your tast. Say his death wasn't faked. Maybe there is someone out there saying they're him. That gives the character a more obvious target to go after for good or for ill. Not that the age is an integral part of the "I've been burned and now I need to find out why concept".

The "I spent all my money getting younger" is another way to play the old guy/gal concept. But the character would probably plan a little better. Why he would decide to take up running become Sinless. Though you could combine the two ideas. "I planned to restart my life but something went wrong." could work well.

Jokerz Leader: "Who do you think you're talking to, old man? We're the Jokerz!"
Bruce Wayne: [smirk] "Sure you are." [Commence Cane-Fu]

Have you tried reading the character bio? Dead men don't have bank accounts, and with wiped biometrics it's somewhat hard to prove one's identity...


My solution for bringing a senior into the shadows was a bit different: An elven spike baby, born sometime around 1990.

Shoot for 1985 (Halley's last pass)

Yeah spike babies are cool but you figure if he went to a big highschool, there are probably plenty of humans who'd still make it to his class reunions. With Leonization it wouldn't be implausible that some of the woman show up wearing their prom dresses ready to dance. 85 is the new twenty if you have enough money.

I've never really figured out a nuyen to real world money conversion. But if you go 1 for 1, $250K-400K is what many upper middle class retires pay for vacation homes in this day and age. Look and/or feel like a kid again or buy a beach house.

Then there is the possibility of health insurance kicking in or not. "If we cover half the cost of this procedure now how much should that save us over the next 20 years"

Or having it as a part of a benefits package. If we can push our employeesretirment back two decades and boast there productivity a bit will we save money in the long run over hiring and training new talent. Probably not something you offer your janitors but your VPs, researchers, and other producers. I mean how much do these companies pay to hire shadowrunners to steal people like that from other companies.

It would be very dystopian for leonization treatments that only the rich can afford to increase the retirement age for people who can't.

I read an article in a magazine once about how your big time executive don't really get the concept of retirement.

In the real world most top level executives don't really retire. These people usually work till their doctor tells them they can't anymore or are forced out of the company. If all they we're interested in was retiring to a life of lesuire they'd pass the torch on after making 10 or 20 million.

So the big guns making the decision would be the first ones to use the process. They'd be using it for exactly the same reason they'd push it on their employees. "Come on working here is the greatest thing ever! Why quite at sixty-five your just getting good at your job?"

I can't fault that logic...

- J.

I vaguely recall someone making Bruce Wayne/Batman as a 'runner years ago....

- J.

My group had to rescue a P2.0 Shadowrunner from LA who dressed up as Batman to protect his identity from San Diego. It's ComiCon all year 'round over there.

My group was less than pleased. Not the least of which was being in Aztlan.

I made an Iron Man NPC, just to see if I could; milspec armor, wrapped around a mage specialized for Levitate and various Bolt-type spells. It was... interesting. I've been giving serious debate as to using him.

So its Lazarus Long in Shadowrun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_Long

You'd be pretty squeezed on BP/karma:

1) He's been a super-successful businessman => High Negotiation, Leadership or Influence Group
2) Lived a long time => Amassed a lot of skills (definitely more business related than combat)
3) Maxed out resources on the genetech / biotech side of things

Would be interested to see any builds you care to post, but for that mega-rich businessman background you want 80's action hero he ain't, more Mr Buffet than Mr Willis I would guess ...

Shadowrun works better with Frank Castle having undergone Leonization.

- J.

He's scary enough without it! The MAX series even mentions his age and how he's done it "Gracefully" despite the abuse his body has taken.

Frank Castle teaming up with Rick Castle? Winning!

Well the Devil did promise him a war which would last forever (see Punisher Born)...

Punisher with HMHVV? >:-)

- J.

Interesting idea, hadn't though of that...

It did finally end. Nukes. Really good story.

Got to love Lazarus Long.

Gota love someone who will wear a kilt for the purpose of hiding a pistol in a place most men won't search, yet still have quick access.

Very True... He is one of my favorite characters from Heinlein.

Hell, my current Missions character draws inspiration from Old Bruce.

See my avatar pic. I use that cos it explains the personality of the character instantly.




-k

The background is more or less interchangeable for a businessman, crime lord, or celebrity. Any career path that leads to a sufficiently high bank account would be suitable.

Skills don't have to be to high when he enters the game. The game system doesn't deal with skill atrophy, but it's realistic that someone who hasn't used a skill in several decades is pretty rusty. I graduated high-school (less then several decades ago) able to read Latin pretty fluently. Now I can barely muster a "semper ubi sub ubi"

It's might be more important to think about what the guy has been doing in the 15-20 years since his first leonization treatment. What do the idle rich do for fun in the sixth world.

As far as builds go, I was defiantly thinking of focusing on Born Rich with a lot of genetech/biotech. For skills stats and the like Either a Face type or a High Edge Tough Guy type. The face concept is a little limited by not having any starting contacts though. The tough guy would be stat focused (Edge, Body, Will?) with lower skills. Once you start thinking in terms of skill atrophy this concept could even fit in a lower point "street level" game.

Yeah, I guess skill atrophy makes some sense, more so for physical skills than mental ones. Brings to mind the scene in Unforgiven where Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman work on their rusty gun skills ...

I like the face concept, a guy with no contacts but huge charisma and a skill based worldly air. Not so sure I could see how the tough guy ended up a millionaire though, you would have to give him some skill or smarts that made him his fortune.

Good luck, and like I say, please show and tell any char sheet you mock up!

I'd be keen to see the sheet & bio, if you have it. I loved Old Bruce in Batman Beyond.

Suprised nobody made a comment on Frank Castle with HMHVV. I suppose that is just too terrifying for words.


- J.