Finished GM'ing a (3rd ed.) session today.

The story so far:
The runners uncovered (by accident) a Yakuza operation site, blew up the warehouse + items inside and stole a briefcase from some underboss. Remaining Yaks fled to report and regroup (they have some surveilance info on the runners now). Runners fled through the seattle-Sewers. followed by Lonestar which was alerted due to other reasons as well. The run happened in the Seattle Sprawl in Tacoma around 2054.

The questions:
- Now I still have not planned what cool item could be in that briefcase. I thought that it could be something that creates some "heat" on the Runners, and make people wanting to catch the team.
- I also would like to make the visit to the seattle Sewers a frightning one. Do you have any ideas for a really scary event ? (thought of some hostile feral ghouls living underground?)

The team consists only of street sams and one KI adept - no mages.

EDIT: Damn, I don't see how I can fix the topic name "SR3 Ideas for encounter and possible plot item"

Depends on how evil you want to be.
There are big magical sewer squids.
Carnivorous of course.

You can have them encounter a small ghoul community. and watch how they react. If they react with hostility then it's combat but the community is actually trying to leave peacefully. When they take the time to realize this then they have the chance to gain contacts. But when all is going good the yaks or lone star shows up and they don't see the peaceful nature of ghouls and the runners can help defend them.

As for the briefcase it has plans for a new shipment of drug and there it has the only samples and formula currently in existence and is needed to make more. They are planning on using the samples to move into territory of a rival shadow organization. Then it could be more interesting is this new drug can also be a cure for some other disease (really interesting would be a single form of HMHVV) at higher doses but will more likely kill the recipient (they have to have some other skills or know someone who can look at it to find out). Though the briefcase looks normal it's not. Make it armored, trapped, with several layers of locks making extremely difficult to open.

There's a few ideas for you.

Then there's the shambler. A kind of giant awakened crab that carries around the bodies of its prey on its shell. Also carnivorous of coure.

I thought they giant magical sewer octopuses.
You could through the giant awakened rats at them.
Or you could use giant awakened, shape shifting dogs.
OK. Maybe we should help a GM out with some actual names too. Incubus, Devil and/or Demon rats and Gabriel Hounds. Used right, all or any of these can pose a threat to a group of runners, especially ones trying to evade capture or detection.
EDIT Can't remember if Demon rats are in 3rd ed or not but if not, just give a Devil rat a higher body, a slightly higher magic and then let them regenerate and spit acid. Oh yeah, and they can control other rats as well. Swarms. What fun.

@Mantis
Octopus. Squid. All icky yucky with too many arms <.<

And now let us get really mean about this:
How close to the actual sickness/infection/poison rules are you going to be playing?
Remember, one in 12 devil Rats has VITAS in it as per RAW.

Taste good though.


Ah yeah, VITAS. The gift that keeps on giving. At least until your stats hit 0. They can carry things other than VITAS too, so you just never know what a creative GM can toss out there.

A genetically engineered fungus which spreads by inhalation and produces mycotoxins causing extreme aggression, bloodlust as well as insensitivity to pain. Do not approach these individuals, terminate them with extreme prejudice from a distance.

At least that is the story the Yakuza are spreading, actually it's just a simsense recording from a bunraku parlor.

Mutant crocodiles!

With mutated rats and now crocodiles already in the mix... Mutated turtles are must. *scnr*

Thanks for all the ideas so far.
I try to play by the book.

So far I like the Ghoul Community idea + the LS fight

It's the sewers, so lots of critters could be encountered. Spiders, snakes, rats, bats, cats... Mutated, awakened, rabid, poisonous...

There is an ork underground, so they could wander into it.

Always a chance of running into other runners using the sewers in like wise fashion.

Vampires, ghouls, toxic spirits, anything avoiding the light or detested by humanity.

The 1st edition adventure DNA/DOA has a sewer crawl. Listed encounters include large rabid cat, large rabid dog, bats, ghouls, street gang, squatters, orks, dwarfs, ghosts, rats, vampire. Among the street gang there is a possibility of one being a street sam and/or mage, among the squatters is a chance of one being an archetype or street doc.

I think I'd have to throw in something I do not think I've seen. Seattle...temperate rain forest...lots of rain...surrounded by mountains... I would ask if they were in actual sewers with the associated smell of human excrement, or are they simply in drainage system for water runoff? Sewage would likely be sealed a bit more than runoff, so runoff is easier access. Make the runoff tunnels sound like a much better option. Then have basically a flash flood from rainfall.

If they choose the sewer option, consider them running into any critter that may have been a pet and got flushed to get rid of it. Alligators, pythons, piranha... Of course they may be mutated after generations in the sewers or awakened...