I'm running a Shadowrun 3rd Edition game and only one of the two players knows a lot about the Shadowrun world and even then, his knowledge is rusty or lacking in some areas. I've set the game in early 2055 with the intention of getting the players in Chicago by August 22, 2055 (yeah, that). The plan is to run a mini-campaign that involves them trying to get out of Chicago and back to Seattle.

In order to set this up, I want to introduce the insect spirits to the game, but I'm not sure the best way to go about it. The player familiar with Shadowrun knows about the Universal Brotherhood-Insect Spirit link, but the new player doesn't. I can't make up my mind, so I'm going to throw this to the hivemind (no pun intended) of Dumpshock to help me mull it over.

Missing Blood - Pros: Interesting story. Very Lovecraftian. There's an insect spirit baby, which is just creepily awesome. Cons: One player already knows UB = Bugs and that spoils the mystery.

Queen Euphoria - Pros: Bugs will be a surprise to both players. They just finished Dreamchipper so they'll think I'm running a media-based campaign considering (I also have Mercurial, Total Eclipse, and One Stage Before books I can leave laying around for misdirection). Cons: This adventure has always felt "weak" to me. Doesn't set up the big plot very much other than introducing the bugs.

Double Exposure - Pros: I really, really like this adventure and have the perfect blackmail ready for the players. The UB connection is buried and I've got misdirection all ready for the knowledgeable player if necessary ("But the Universal Brotherhood doesn't have extraterritoriality and the Project Hope camps do."), so long as I don't get too heavy-handed with it. Cons: This is more of the big final set piece before the finale rather than the starting point.

I could also try to write something myself, but something tells me that I'm not quite going to match Findley in terms of plotting and pacing.

So who's run any of these? Any opinions?

I used DNA/DOA. The tunnels that they used to sneak in were also being used by a near-by Ant hive. They got jumped by over protective soldier ants on their way out. I was going for an Aliens thing. THey were expecting trouble, but not THAT.

Wow...just a minute
<sound of several drawers opening next to PC>

Sorry, the nostalgia got me for a while
Played through Queen Euphoria and Missing Blood. Own Double Exposure but don't recall playing or running it
Gotta express a bias. That year of QE and MB was my favorite RPG playing year ever

Ask yourself how much you trust the experienced player not to blow the UB conspiracy for the noob. Consider letting him know OOC slips will be frowned upon

For the best compromise consider Euphoria, into Double exposure then drop Missing Blood events as background news while progressing toward events in Chicago

Oh, it's going to be a fun campaign if you're into the nostalgia thing. After the bugs, I'm doing a bit of filler involving both mob wars (both the characters have organized crime ties and I'm going to use this mini-arc to help them resolve those ties before moving into the Big Leagues) and the Harlequin adventures mixed in (Laughing Man noticed the players after fighting against the Invae), then very possibly Harlequin's Back. After that, I'm going through the adventures in chronological order. Shadows of the Underworld, Super Tuesday, Blood in the Boardroom...with a few original adventures thrown in here and there that help with the plot.

Running QE now, its simple for the players ( all of them new ) and exposes them to a variety of threats, high security areas and insect spirits. When I put them into Chicago for a run during bug city mess, they should at least be a bit more prepared.

I'd still go with Missing Blood, just figure out a way to keep the title from popping up or put a strict gag order on that player so as not to ruin things for the others

It's less "Missing Blood" giving it away and more the second I mention the Universal Brotherhood, the experienced player shouting "RUN!"

Or possibly "CHARGE!" knowing him...either way, the twist is blown.

i accidentally my GM's campaign by refusing to go near chicago . .

You say that like they're going to have a choice in the matter. Laes is an awesome GM tool. All aboard the plot train (or in this case, suborbital)!

I don't think I ever played through Double Exposure, but I played MB and QE when I first started playing SR. In fact, MB was the module for the first SR game I ever played, so it holds a special place in my heart. QE was okay. I have a lot of problems with that module that apply to a lot of the early SR modules.

If you think MB is the better module, change the name of MB to anything else to throw your player off the scent. Then, late in the game when it turns out that The Sunshine House (or whatever) is a wholly owned and operated subsidiary of the UB, it'll be a nice little reveal.

Or just change the organisation from UB to something completely different.

That said, I think QE would work well - especially if you already have a media-theme going. If you feel yyou want to set things up more, it should be possible to introduce elements from MB in the investigation to find Euphoria: For instance, combine the 'Magic Shop' chapter from QE with 'Family Feud' (Madame Ulisha's) from MB.