I was wondering what the prevailing opinion of what a fixer receives as compensation for setting up a crew for a run. For example, Green Nail the fixer has a line on a datasteal run for Neonet. He gets in touch with his shadowrunner contact Sendai and tells her about the job, and will send her the details for meeting the Johnson if she is interested.
Does Green Nail the fixer quote her percentage (example: 5% of the total base pay, excluding bonuses), a flat fee (example: 6,000 cred or I'll take batch of hydra skin samples you have squirreled away), or has the fee already been taken care of by the Johnson (example: You'll receive 1000 for presenting the offer, another 4000 if they accept it and complete the task).
I realize there are several possible answers but does the fixer asking for a percentage of the team's take seem like something plausible that could happen?
Full Version: Fixers and their percentage
QUOTE (Chimera @ Jun 28 2013, 01:45 PM) 
I was wondering what the prevailing opinion of what a fixer receives as compensation for setting up a crew for a run. For example, Green Nail the fixer has a line on a datasteal run for Neonet. He gets in touch with his shadowrunner contact Sendai and tells her about the job, and will send her the details for meeting the Johnson if she is interested.
Does Green Nail the fixer quote her percentage (example: 5% of the total base pay, excluding bonuses), a flat fee (example: 6,000 cred or I'll take batch of hydra skin samples you have squirreled away), or has the fee already been taken care of by the Johnson (example: You'll receive 1000 for presenting the offer, another 4000 if they accept it and complete the task).
I realize there are several possible answers but does the fixer asking for a percentage of the team's take seem like something plausible that could happen?
Does Green Nail the fixer quote her percentage (example: 5% of the total base pay, excluding bonuses), a flat fee (example: 6,000 cred or I'll take batch of hydra skin samples you have squirreled away), or has the fee already been taken care of by the Johnson (example: You'll receive 1000 for presenting the offer, another 4000 if they accept it and complete the task).
I realize there are several possible answers but does the fixer asking for a percentage of the team's take seem like something plausible that could happen?
It will vary.
If the fixer just points the runner to a possible Johnson and lets the runner negotiate their own terms, he may ask for favors or a cut.
If the fixer is acting as the middle man between Johnson and team, the team would be negotiating with the fixer. Johnson has offered X amount for the task, the fixer reduces this by his cut plus a bit more for negotiating with.
For example, Johnson wants a package delivered and after negotiating terms with the fixer they settle on 10k. Say the fixer takes 1k for his cut, leaving 9k. When he contacts the team he will first offer 5k. He now has room to barter if the team wants a bit more for the job depending on how tough it looks, any special equipment or other preperations are needed without tapping into his own cut. Plus if the team just takes the 5k, he is 4k ahead automatically. At no time will he go above 9k as he has to make his living as well.
Plus some fixers may take a bigger cut, but then also retains that extra as a backup. So let's say the job looks particularly nasty and the Johnson has agreed to a hefty 50k fee. Fixer cut is 5k and he hires the team for 15k with an upper window of 20K on the upfront, with a 15-20k bonus upon completion. Why hold back half at the start? Because if the team screws the pooch the fixer has still has to get the job done and may have to hire someone else with the remainder to complete the task.
I've always run it as an unwritten rules of the shadows that fixers get a 10% finders fee from the Johnson that's resolved out of game. Of course you could have a Fixer trying to milk the cow from both ends. Could make for a greedy twist if the players don't ask to many questions. "So, about my fee..." "Didn't Mr. Johnson pay you?" "Yeah, about that..."
Personally I prefer if the PCs aren't aware of the fixer's cut, and what they bargain out of him usually already has his own share accounted for.
You know what they say, if the fixer immediately agrees to your rates, you're probably asking too little
You know what they say, if the fixer immediately agrees to your rates, you're probably asking too little
QUOTE (DamHawke @ Jun 28 2013, 03:01 PM)
Personally I prefer if the PCs aren't aware of the fixer's cut, and what they bargain out of him usually already has his own share accounted for.
You know what they say, if the fixer immediately agrees to your rates, you're probably asking too little
You know what they say, if the fixer immediately agrees to your rates, you're probably asking too little
Aye, I should have made that clear in my earlier post that the fixer does NOT disclose amounts the Johnson paid.
In my game, the fixer will charge Mr Johnson a fee, 500 - 1000 for getting an acceptable asset/team of assets to the table. If Mr Johnson wants to interview multiple teams, that's fine, but he's paying for each team the fixer sends his way. The players get the same deal when they need to hire some one.
If the fixer is more involved, such as actually playing the role of Mr Johnson, he usually takes a cut, 10% or more.
If the fixer is more involved, such as actually playing the role of Mr Johnson, he usually takes a cut, 10% or more.
Also a Fixer fixes things.
He provides the introduction between the runners and the Johnson.
But he will also provide any needed support like travel arrangements (bribes, fake sins, smuggling arrangements) for the run making sure the team is provide with access to needed support (guides, safe houses, and access to equipment like armor, explosives, weapons and other restricted gear that the team might not be able to bring over a national borders).
The Johnson will pay for all of this and the Fixer collects a nice profit.
The advantage to the Johnson is that there is nothing to connect any of these arrangements back to the Johnson.
Plus he will help the runners dispose of any loot and spend their pay cred on new toys.
He provides the introduction between the runners and the Johnson.
But he will also provide any needed support like travel arrangements (bribes, fake sins, smuggling arrangements) for the run making sure the team is provide with access to needed support (guides, safe houses, and access to equipment like armor, explosives, weapons and other restricted gear that the team might not be able to bring over a national borders).
The Johnson will pay for all of this and the Fixer collects a nice profit.
The advantage to the Johnson is that there is nothing to connect any of these arrangements back to the Johnson.
Plus he will help the runners dispose of any loot and spend their pay cred on new toys.
For setting up a meet, I'd normally have the fixer get a flat fee, approximately 10-20% of the value of the mission (playing SR3 here, so most missions are in the 10-50k per person range, i.e. 40-300k all told, or about 4-30k to the fixer). It's a flat fee because the Johnson doesn't want to tie the fixer to the negotiations the runners do. The fixer answers to the Johnson, and his pay is not directly connected to the runners' pay or to their success.
For buying and selling equipment the fixer normally takes 20-50%. This is because the fixer has to cover his costs, plus the costs of whatever specialist he's getting the gear from. If runners want to get weapons cheap, they go to a weapons dealer, not to a fixer. The fixer offers one-stop shopping though.
For buying and selling equipment the fixer normally takes 20-50%. This is because the fixer has to cover his costs, plus the costs of whatever specialist he's getting the gear from. If runners want to get weapons cheap, they go to a weapons dealer, not to a fixer. The fixer offers one-stop shopping though.
All very helpful. Thank you.
Used to be something somewhere about how a Johnson would pay a fixer a Finders Fee for providing talent (setting up a meet with a Shadowrunner team etc) which normally took the form of a set price (negotiated or standard) and then a fixer would also collect a fee from the Team for providing the job (10-15% iirc) as a typical setup for fixer operations. Obviously numbers are on a case by case basis.
A friend of mine let me know this concept, and I think it's a neat idea.
The fixer's cut is significantly higher than the runners. On the order of 90%.
Why?
Because they're the fixer. The runners don't have access to the Johnson, and the Johnson doesn't have access to a stable of runners. They need that middleman to protect them from exposure, and make sure they aren't murdered in a warehouse for their nice suit. The Fixer, if he's good, has leads with all sorts of corps, and knows dozens of runners. He can select precisely the team the Johnson needs to get the job done, and done well.
Basically, think Michael Gambon in "Layer Cake". Another example would be the two mooks in "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" whose job it is to steal the rifles. They have no idea their job is to steal two guns worth hundreds of thousands of pounds; their role is just to smash & grab. They are blissfully unaware of the value of their work.
Most importantly, the fixer would take this cut because he can. The runners really have no idea what value the Johnson negotiated to contact them. The fixer is taking a risk using Runners he hasn't worked with before; if they mess up it's going to hurt his rep.
An interesting idea, at least.
The fixer's cut is significantly higher than the runners. On the order of 90%.
Why?
Because they're the fixer. The runners don't have access to the Johnson, and the Johnson doesn't have access to a stable of runners. They need that middleman to protect them from exposure, and make sure they aren't murdered in a warehouse for their nice suit. The Fixer, if he's good, has leads with all sorts of corps, and knows dozens of runners. He can select precisely the team the Johnson needs to get the job done, and done well.
Basically, think Michael Gambon in "Layer Cake". Another example would be the two mooks in "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" whose job it is to steal the rifles. They have no idea their job is to steal two guns worth hundreds of thousands of pounds; their role is just to smash & grab. They are blissfully unaware of the value of their work.
Most importantly, the fixer would take this cut because he can. The runners really have no idea what value the Johnson negotiated to contact them. The fixer is taking a risk using Runners he hasn't worked with before; if they mess up it's going to hurt his rep.
An interesting idea, at least.
Zaius, I do want to agree with you. Stores normally charge a 100% mark-up for putting products on the shelves. I rather expect fixers to do the same.
The problem is, when runners are getting paid $300k a month for runs, the idea of a fixer getting paid over $3M a year, I need to figure out where the rest of that money goes!
The problem is, when runners are getting paid $300k a month for runs, the idea of a fixer getting paid over $3M a year, I need to figure out where the rest of that money goes!
I actually had this thought as well; the fixer getting a fairly high commission for being the "organizer" of the mission (a la Layer Cake). Heck even in Die Hard, Hans Gruber's crew were earning a percentage of the take (and I don't think it was even 50%). Obviously this arrangement might be different for other, less high-risk runs, hence my question on what others have arranged in their games.
While Shadowrunners (and the players who play them) are primarily interested in what they get paid for a run, another part of the GM's duty (as I see it) is to figure out how much Mr Johnson/The Consiglere/Oya-bun/Other Shady Person is willing to invest get the mission done. If they're having to pay a stack load of cred to the runners AND the fixer, it becomes less efficient and there's only so much expenditure you can keep off the books (at least at a Mega-Corp) and still look like you (the Johnson and/or his superior) know what you're doing.
While Shadowrunners (and the players who play them) are primarily interested in what they get paid for a run, another part of the GM's duty (as I see it) is to figure out how much Mr Johnson/The Consiglere/Oya-bun/Other Shady Person is willing to invest get the mission done. If they're having to pay a stack load of cred to the runners AND the fixer, it becomes less efficient and there's only so much expenditure you can keep off the books (at least at a Mega-Corp) and still look like you (the Johnson and/or his superior) know what you're doing.
QUOTE (Chimera @ Jun 29 2013, 08:47 AM)
While Shadowrunners (and the players who play them) are primarily interested in what they get paid for a run, another part of the GM's duty (as I see it) is to figure out how much Mr Johnson/The Consiglere/Oya-bun/Other Shady Person is willing to invest get the mission done. If they're having to pay a stack load of cred to the runners AND the fixer, it becomes less efficient and there's only so much expenditure you can keep off the books (at least at a Mega-Corp) and still look like you (the Johnson and/or his superior) know what you're doing.
But paying the fixer usually means a better level of performance as he is basically vetting the team for the Johnson, whereas if you are randomly hiring folk after a brief meet your results will vary.
Plus with the fixer acting as the middleman, he is also the cutout disconnecting the team from the Johnson, though most teams worth their salt try to remedy that just in case.
In that regards, a fixer is actually very cost effective.
I think it depends on the services rendered and the business model of said fixer.
There are Fixers who are tasked with a "Job" and they have to do the casting (vetting the runners), organize equippment, research intel, etc. They agree like a contractor on a salary and start to budget from there. 30% Personell Cost (to the runners), 20% in Research and Equippment, 30% in Contingencies (B-Team, etc.) and at least 20% for himself.
If the Job just requires the Fixer to connect the Runners to Mr. J. and they deal it out with themselfs he'll charge maybe arround 15% of the Contract as a comission. Commissions may vary if they are paid up front, on completion, etc.
Who pays the Commission is also something that may vary. If the Runners want to be represented for a specific type of job, say Extraction or Bodyguard Duty they would be the ones to pay the commission. If its the Johnson searching for a specific type of talent, he's the one who pays. Whoever gets the service gets the bill.
In my games, Fixers always get a cut. If he puts your char in touch with a street doc to upgrade your sams cyberware it depends upon his "Black Book". Does he have a Street Doc on retainer, who pays the fixer to represent him, the Samurai doesn't have to pay extra (he'll have a markup in the docs bill). If the Samurai on the other hand says, find me the best doc in town for a wires upgrade he''ll have to pay a "finders fee" either fixed or depending on the fee the doc charges, etc.
It also depends imo if the fixer is affiliated or independent, meaning if a fixer is well connected in mafia cycles and has a good contact range into and arround Ares the cuts he takes may differ.
Going the other way: What does a fixer need?
I'd say a fixer worth his mettle has at the very least to maintain a medium lifestyle for himself. He has to maintain an organization of fixed and freelance personel in relation to the scope of his business.
At the very least he needs to have a good grasp of what is going on in his field, needing to bribe or exchange favors for information (I'd asume 3 to 5 different contacts exclusively for Info gathering/ Backgrund checking on a regular basis.).
He needs to maintain a good relationship with his contacts, which takes time he may not be able to charge, etc. (I'd say at least in addition to the Info gatherers arround 3 to 12 Contacts depending on the Scope of his Operation)
Adding a Stable of Freelance Runners to that from individual talent to Teams of different experience levels (6 to 12 and up).
If I now assume that to maintain his network he has a cost of about 200 Nuyen per Point of Contact (adding Contact and Loyalty Rating) and arround halve of his contacts are freelance runners and I assume (a lot!) arround 1/6 th rounded down as "extra cost of doing business" I'd conclude the following:
Small Tier Fixer (District to Sprawl-wide/ w 12 Contacts or 60 Contact Points total+, averaging contact arround 5 Points worth) half of which are freelance runners. Cost of Operation (including his medium lifestyle) 17000,- Nuyen per Month plus arround 3000,- Nuyen for extras sums up to 20000,- Nuyen on average. Now we give him one day per week and the occasional holiday off and he has to make at least 800,- Nuyen Revenueat the end of a working day.
If he'd had to make that off of a 15% Comission his "Moved Cheese" must be arround 130000,- Nuyen a month, going as low as 10% it climbs up to 200000,- Nuyen per Month.
Medium Tier Fixer (Sprawl Wide/ w 20 Contacts or 100 Contact Points+) half of which are freelance runners. Cost of Operation (including a high lifestyle, there shoud be some perks, neh?) 30000,- plus 5000,- for extras, so 35000,- Nuyen a month just to stay in business. He needs arround 1400 Nuyen in Revenue per day. With the Commission beeing 15% he needs to move 233000,- Nuyen per month or at 10 % 350000,- Nuyen.
High Tier Fixer (Sprawl to Nation Wide, with some International Reach/ w 30 Contacts or 150 Contact Points+). Cost of Operation (including a tripple high lifestyle) 60000,- plus 10000,- for extras makes 70000,- Nuyen, to stay in business. She would have to make 2800,- (Surprise, doubled the figures from before!) in Revenue per day.
With the Commission beeing 15% he needs to move 466000,- Nuyen per month or at 10 % 700000,- Nuyen.
There is obviously room left upwards (International Tier Fixers), where the line between Fixers and Johnsons beginns to blur. The Position is so exposed you need to have a grasp at politics or an affiliation to maintain that level of operations. IIRC Fianchetto or Kay St. Regular would be operating on that level.
=> Considering the time and effort imo the High Tier Fixer would have to change his mode of operation from "just" pimping Runners to Johnsons to offering "go between" and other services to take a much bigger cut from any one operation he has to fence/ manage while the Small to Medium Tier Fixer might meet his marks by arranging arround 10 smaller heists/runs per mont.
I'd expect higher paying runs to have a much lager preperation time, and the Fixer carrying part of the risk of the Johnson pulling out due to budgeting issues, other sixth world events, etc.
Summary:
I think most of the Fixers "out there" operate on the 15% commission model, changing their mode of operation only if they hit the High Tier, maybe "franching" or "outsourcing" part of their day to day business to retiring talent from their stable, slowly mutating into their own syndicate along the way.
having fun with thougths and numbarz again,
Sunshine
There are Fixers who are tasked with a "Job" and they have to do the casting (vetting the runners), organize equippment, research intel, etc. They agree like a contractor on a salary and start to budget from there. 30% Personell Cost (to the runners), 20% in Research and Equippment, 30% in Contingencies (B-Team, etc.) and at least 20% for himself.
If the Job just requires the Fixer to connect the Runners to Mr. J. and they deal it out with themselfs he'll charge maybe arround 15% of the Contract as a comission. Commissions may vary if they are paid up front, on completion, etc.
Who pays the Commission is also something that may vary. If the Runners want to be represented for a specific type of job, say Extraction or Bodyguard Duty they would be the ones to pay the commission. If its the Johnson searching for a specific type of talent, he's the one who pays. Whoever gets the service gets the bill.
In my games, Fixers always get a cut. If he puts your char in touch with a street doc to upgrade your sams cyberware it depends upon his "Black Book". Does he have a Street Doc on retainer, who pays the fixer to represent him, the Samurai doesn't have to pay extra (he'll have a markup in the docs bill). If the Samurai on the other hand says, find me the best doc in town for a wires upgrade he''ll have to pay a "finders fee" either fixed or depending on the fee the doc charges, etc.
It also depends imo if the fixer is affiliated or independent, meaning if a fixer is well connected in mafia cycles and has a good contact range into and arround Ares the cuts he takes may differ.
Going the other way: What does a fixer need?
I'd say a fixer worth his mettle has at the very least to maintain a medium lifestyle for himself. He has to maintain an organization of fixed and freelance personel in relation to the scope of his business.
At the very least he needs to have a good grasp of what is going on in his field, needing to bribe or exchange favors for information (I'd asume 3 to 5 different contacts exclusively for Info gathering/ Backgrund checking on a regular basis.).
He needs to maintain a good relationship with his contacts, which takes time he may not be able to charge, etc. (I'd say at least in addition to the Info gatherers arround 3 to 12 Contacts depending on the Scope of his Operation)
Adding a Stable of Freelance Runners to that from individual talent to Teams of different experience levels (6 to 12 and up).
If I now assume that to maintain his network he has a cost of about 200 Nuyen per Point of Contact (adding Contact and Loyalty Rating) and arround halve of his contacts are freelance runners and I assume (a lot!) arround 1/6 th rounded down as "extra cost of doing business" I'd conclude the following:
Small Tier Fixer (District to Sprawl-wide/ w 12 Contacts or 60 Contact Points total+, averaging contact arround 5 Points worth) half of which are freelance runners. Cost of Operation (including his medium lifestyle) 17000,- Nuyen per Month plus arround 3000,- Nuyen for extras sums up to 20000,- Nuyen on average. Now we give him one day per week and the occasional holiday off and he has to make at least 800,- Nuyen Revenueat the end of a working day.
If he'd had to make that off of a 15% Comission his "Moved Cheese" must be arround 130000,- Nuyen a month, going as low as 10% it climbs up to 200000,- Nuyen per Month.
Medium Tier Fixer (Sprawl Wide/ w 20 Contacts or 100 Contact Points+) half of which are freelance runners. Cost of Operation (including a high lifestyle, there shoud be some perks, neh?) 30000,- plus 5000,- for extras, so 35000,- Nuyen a month just to stay in business. He needs arround 1400 Nuyen in Revenue per day. With the Commission beeing 15% he needs to move 233000,- Nuyen per month or at 10 % 350000,- Nuyen.
High Tier Fixer (Sprawl to Nation Wide, with some International Reach/ w 30 Contacts or 150 Contact Points+). Cost of Operation (including a tripple high lifestyle) 60000,- plus 10000,- for extras makes 70000,- Nuyen, to stay in business. She would have to make 2800,- (Surprise, doubled the figures from before!) in Revenue per day.
With the Commission beeing 15% he needs to move 466000,- Nuyen per month or at 10 % 700000,- Nuyen.
There is obviously room left upwards (International Tier Fixers), where the line between Fixers and Johnsons beginns to blur. The Position is so exposed you need to have a grasp at politics or an affiliation to maintain that level of operations. IIRC Fianchetto or Kay St. Regular would be operating on that level.
=> Considering the time and effort imo the High Tier Fixer would have to change his mode of operation from "just" pimping Runners to Johnsons to offering "go between" and other services to take a much bigger cut from any one operation he has to fence/ manage while the Small to Medium Tier Fixer might meet his marks by arranging arround 10 smaller heists/runs per mont.
I'd expect higher paying runs to have a much lager preperation time, and the Fixer carrying part of the risk of the Johnson pulling out due to budgeting issues, other sixth world events, etc.
Summary:
I think most of the Fixers "out there" operate on the 15% commission model, changing their mode of operation only if they hit the High Tier, maybe "franching" or "outsourcing" part of their day to day business to retiring talent from their stable, slowly mutating into their own syndicate along the way.
having fun with thougths and numbarz again,
Sunshine
QUOTE (Sunshine @ Jun 29 2013, 09:35 AM)
Going the other way: What does a fixer need?
These levels of fixer "tiers" are quite interesting. I may adapt something simular for my game.
QUOTE (Chimera @ Jun 29 2013, 06:17 PM)
These levels of fixer "tiers" are quite interesting. I may adapt something simular for my game.
Thank You, I really enjoy it when my rumblings seem to be of some use. I have to admit though it was inspired to some extend by this thread .
Hmmmmm i dislike the flat percentage model for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost unless the fixer is negotiating on behalf of the Johnson (essentially becoming the Johnson as far as the runners are concerned) they don't know the dollar values involved in the job, nor should they, that makes it harder to collect on a fee. Secondly while fixers have an important bit of power it's power contingent on their relationships. A fixer whose teams are getting rooked won't work for that runner. A Johnson who doesn't like the fee will just find another fixer.
I would imagine it's on his actual gear/services that the fixer makes most of his money, there's where he can charge his markups without anyone getting offended (after all a 50-100% retail markup is practicall standard practice since forever.
Basically "introductions" biz drives the "sales" biz.
First and foremost unless the fixer is negotiating on behalf of the Johnson (essentially becoming the Johnson as far as the runners are concerned) they don't know the dollar values involved in the job, nor should they, that makes it harder to collect on a fee. Secondly while fixers have an important bit of power it's power contingent on their relationships. A fixer whose teams are getting rooked won't work for that runner. A Johnson who doesn't like the fee will just find another fixer.
I would imagine it's on his actual gear/services that the fixer makes most of his money, there's where he can charge his markups without anyone getting offended (after all a 50-100% retail markup is practicall standard practice since forever.
Basically "introductions" biz drives the "sales" biz.
QUOTE
Basically "introductions" biz drives the "sales" biz.
I'd argue that it also can lead to cutting out the middleman. Something I would want to avoid as a fixer, or at least alleviate by charging either a cut or a fee.
I think that you are right in a sense that the flat percentage model may be shortsighted. It just gives me a "starting point" for the fixer contact in question.
Here two examples from my ongoing campaigns:
One of my NPC-Fixers is a rather greedy Dwarf (Stereotype, yay!) going by the Handle "Pawn". He runs a Pawnshop as a legitimate front in redmond touristville and employs two troll enforcers (Archetype from SR4A) as protection/ collectors for his business and does some loan sharking on the side. He always charges way to much and offers a little financing deal on the side if the markup is to steep for the pcs and they need some gear right now. He does have to pay a little "fee" to the local gang and the mob for "extra protection" but that goes as a markup into all of his business deals. His "Price List" goes as follows (starting from the Small Tier Fixer, including the Pawn Shop and the cost of two well trained enforcers).
Introduction: 500 Nuxen or 15% of the Service Value (appraised as of the situation in question) whichever is higher (or what he thinks he can get away with).
Gear Prices Sells: +100% from what he paid for legal, +150% for restricted, +300% for forbidden gear, Licencing goes extra (or what he thinks he can get away with).
Gerra Price Buys: at 30% Listed Price (or what he thinks he can get away with).
Loans: +50% on the total value of the loan plus 10% weekly interest.
Shadowbanking: 10% on any initial deposit, 4% per month management fee, 1% plus Credstick Cost x2 on withdrawal.
"Pawn" makes most of his money of the SIN-less and those who need him for "legitimacy". He is softer on Johnsons or other Fixers, for their return business.
He rarley acts as a go between and does not take risks, which is the reason why he will never rise above where he is right now.
Andrea Stahl runs a totally different Fixer Business. After retiring from a career as a media producer with a network of contacts in various entertainment/ media venues from AAA to B and a "Black Book" of shadow contacts she met as Mrs. Johnson and maintained frendly relations with. Her business model is based on favors, markers and nuyen alike. Having favors to call in makes her interested in the well beeing of her contacts in the long term, which she never forgets to point out. She goes out of her way to get to know the people she considers working with, be it runners or johnsons alike. She often employs runners for little test jobs that might give some of her contacts a boost and when getting a feeling for how they work tries to find good jobs for them, fitting their style. She often acts as a go between Johnson and runners to grant a relative amount of "anonymity" to all parties invovled. She never deals in Wetwork and dismisses runners from her stable that do so or aquire a reputation for "messy" operations. Most of her Clients be it Johnsons or Runner Teams work exclusively with her. She is well organized and consults/ intervenes on Equipment procurement or other services needed. She is very transparent about the sums involved
Her Price List goes as follows (Starting from the Medium Tier Fixer):
Introduction: She only does that if all parties have a good standing track record with her and she thinks they'll go along well. She demands a hefty fee of 5000,- Nuyen and a favor from all parties involved and a cut of 5% of all deal values for the next two years on top of that.
Gear Prices buy or sell: 5% to 20% (depending solely on the effort to procure/ sell the Gear) on top plus a little favor from the side who benefited from the deal most.
Shadow Services: 5% to 20% as above, sometimes just as a favor, sometimes not, depending on the extent of services rendered.
Go-Between: Now, that is her core business. She charges 200,- Nuyen per Hour on the particular Job (which she clocks precisely, rounded to the Minute) on top of that she charges a Management Fee of 20% from the Johnson on completion of the run (full budget deposited in an escrow account) and a favor.
Klick on the links for inspiration how to depict them in your game if you like to use em.
love,
Sunshine
Y'know, after skimming through this thread, fixers kind of strike me as a shadowrunner's temp agency. (Apologies if this point's already been brought up, I haven't read all the posts in great detail.) The idea of "Johnson hires fixer to find team, fixer draws from pool of runners, fixer introduces runners to Johnson for a specific contract" is pretty similar to what a temp agency does for short-term assignments, except that the budget for paying the temps comes out of the temp agency rather than from the employer directly. (Sometimes temp agencies will also be asked to do the hiring and HR process for smaller companies that don't have a dedicated HR department.)
In that vein, you might be able to make something interesting out of a group of fixers acting as a semi-legitimate temp agency for runners. You could even have runs built on that backdrop - the agency wants to hire a certain "temp" on behalf of a client that asked for that person by name, but the runner being hired isn't interested and the agency is running out of time before they lose the hiring contract...
Another thought I had is that it might vary by region/work/Johnson. I remember a note in Corporate Enclaves that mentioned runners in Neo-Tokyo working "for the fixer" rather than "for the Johnson" in more of a subcontractor style. I would think that could also happen in certain corporate/high society/syndicate environments, where even if you're hired "by" a VIP, the runners don't get to meet them in person. (On the other hand, that might also be done by the Johnson being a step removed, instead of the fixer.)
In that vein, you might be able to make something interesting out of a group of fixers acting as a semi-legitimate temp agency for runners. You could even have runs built on that backdrop - the agency wants to hire a certain "temp" on behalf of a client that asked for that person by name, but the runner being hired isn't interested and the agency is running out of time before they lose the hiring contract...
Another thought I had is that it might vary by region/work/Johnson. I remember a note in Corporate Enclaves that mentioned runners in Neo-Tokyo working "for the fixer" rather than "for the Johnson" in more of a subcontractor style. I would think that could also happen in certain corporate/high society/syndicate environments, where even if you're hired "by" a VIP, the runners don't get to meet them in person. (On the other hand, that might also be done by the Johnson being a step removed, instead of the fixer.)
Most Corps maintain a Expendable Assets office which is a fancy way of saying Professional Johnson who's job it is to interview and employ Shadowrunners on behalf of Corp Execs and Personnel. Just for when you don't want, need, or know how to do it yourself.
QUOTE (Moirdryd @ Jun 29 2013, 06:26 PM)
Most Corps maintain a Expendable Assets office which is a fancy way of saying Professional Johnson who's job it is to interview and employ Shadowrunners on behalf of Corp Execs and Personnel. Just for when you don't want, need, or know how to do it yourself.
Yeah, but being able to outsource it to a fixer's "temp agency" helps them maintain deniability when Lone Star comes knocking. "Oh, we just contracted them for our staffing requirements for this project, we didn't expect them to be hiring criminals..." But yeah, I agree that someone at the corp would have final say over whether someone a fixer recruited was accepted for a job.
Plus you also have to consider Expendable Assets are used BY the company FOR the company.
Back when Fuchi was still around and owned by different parties each jockeying for power, you can bet there were ops that were off even EA's books being ran between different departments.
In these sort of cases you would definitely outsource some of this to the fixers and independents as you didn't want company assets being directly used.
Back when Fuchi was still around and owned by different parties each jockeying for power, you can bet there were ops that were off even EA's books being ran between different departments.
In these sort of cases you would definitely outsource some of this to the fixers and independents as you didn't want company assets being directly used.
Indeed. I just mentioned because of the layers of separation thing and recalled a nice little segment from Mr Johnson's Little Black Book (iirc) with the Exendal Assets internal memo to the new executives.
QUOTE
Y'know, after skimming through this thread, fixers kind of strike me as a shadowrunner's temp agency.
In that vein, you might be able to make something interesting out of a group of fixers acting as a semi-legitimate temp agency for runners.
In that vein, you might be able to make something interesting out of a group of fixers acting as a semi-legitimate temp agency for runners.
Yes and like Authors or Artists are represented by Agencies, separating the Publisher, Production Company or Buyer from the contractor. As most of the tasks arround the outputs of freelancers are project based, it often does not pay to set up an adminstrative body to cut checks, cast personell, rent spaces, etc. especially when that administrative organization would not outlive said project.
Double that when you talking grey area operations.
love,
Sunshine
That depends on the model used.
In the Seattle shadow culture, typically the Fixer just introduces the runners to the Johnson and is not at the meet. That implies that normally he does not know the specifics of the job, he was only told enough to direct Johnson to an acceptable team. After all, if the Fixer was told all the specifics, than why not simply have him conduct the meet with the runners while the employers stays entirely in the shadows. This in fact seems to be the model used in some other places, such as Neo Tokyo or Hong Kong.
In the first model, the fixer would be paid a flat finders fee.
In the second, the fixer and the employer negotiate a total budget. For example, the employer wants a datasteal, the fixer negotiate a price tag of 200K and he then he turns around and hire runners out of that budget, trying to pay them (a lot) less than 200K and pocketing the difference.
The advantage of the first model to the Johnson are lower costs; after all, the fixer works less and has access to less information than in the second. It's hard to imagine that this finders fee is much more than a few thousands nuyen. On top of that, if the Johnson finds the runner team he met to be skilled and professionnal, he can develop a direct relation with them, cutting out the fixer altogether and also lowering the time it takes to get the run Under way. Disadvantage is one less layer of deniability. For the runners, the advantage is higher pay but at a higher likelyhood of getting betrayed.
In the second model, the fixer can probably take a huge cut of the price tag. The more captive the runners, the worse it gets. Imagine a disgraced SWAT officer recruited by a Neo-Tokyo Fixer; he gets all his gears and jobs directly from the fixer to whom he owes his livelyhood. Can you imagine the cut the fixer takes? He could easily keep half of the money paid y the client. It's a pimp and his ho's model. On the plus side, if you are your fixers best team, you are almost immune to betrayal. You are too important to your fixers cashflow. If you are unruly or less than competant, you won't last long, though.
In the Seattle shadow culture, typically the Fixer just introduces the runners to the Johnson and is not at the meet. That implies that normally he does not know the specifics of the job, he was only told enough to direct Johnson to an acceptable team. After all, if the Fixer was told all the specifics, than why not simply have him conduct the meet with the runners while the employers stays entirely in the shadows. This in fact seems to be the model used in some other places, such as Neo Tokyo or Hong Kong.
In the first model, the fixer would be paid a flat finders fee.
In the second, the fixer and the employer negotiate a total budget. For example, the employer wants a datasteal, the fixer negotiate a price tag of 200K and he then he turns around and hire runners out of that budget, trying to pay them (a lot) less than 200K and pocketing the difference.
The advantage of the first model to the Johnson are lower costs; after all, the fixer works less and has access to less information than in the second. It's hard to imagine that this finders fee is much more than a few thousands nuyen. On top of that, if the Johnson finds the runner team he met to be skilled and professionnal, he can develop a direct relation with them, cutting out the fixer altogether and also lowering the time it takes to get the run Under way. Disadvantage is one less layer of deniability. For the runners, the advantage is higher pay but at a higher likelyhood of getting betrayed.
In the second model, the fixer can probably take a huge cut of the price tag. The more captive the runners, the worse it gets. Imagine a disgraced SWAT officer recruited by a Neo-Tokyo Fixer; he gets all his gears and jobs directly from the fixer to whom he owes his livelyhood. Can you imagine the cut the fixer takes? He could easily keep half of the money paid y the client. It's a pimp and his ho's model. On the plus side, if you are your fixers best team, you are almost immune to betrayal. You are too important to your fixers cashflow. If you are unruly or less than competant, you won't last long, though.
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