I was curious about the status of Bounty Hunting.

1: Is it necessary? Theres a lot of crime out there, but would Lone Star even feel they need help controlling it?

2: Is it legal? Is it a lot more difficult to do, with new regulations? I'm assuming illegal equipment would almost entirely be out of the question, considering the job requires you to report in with law-enforcement.

3: Do you think it would make a good game? Obviously I've been watching too much Cowboy Bebop, but I feel it'd be good for a few games. I'm afraid of the theme of criminal-hunting get old.

Are you thinking in terms of the game or real life?

Bounty-hunting is legal in SR, although the details tend to be a tad fuzzy.

-Siege

Well, there are already listed bounties on a few things. Anything with HMHVV is one I can think of off the top of my head, thought I can't remember the price.

You could create a bounty hunters network where stuff gets posted for your players to pick from.

This is true - bounty hunting typically applies to (meta)humans, but there are hunters who collect bounties on dangerous animal types in SR.

-Siege

Well you've got the two types. The ones that are basically big game hunters that go after dangerous paracritters and certain other specifies animals, Quebec springs to mind, and bail enforcement agents that go after people that have skipped out on bail. On the whole would they still be around, I'd have to say yes. The paracritter kind since government are still posting bounties, and Lonestar doesn't set legislation, just enforces it. Of course they can make life difficult for you but it's probably not worth the the hassle unless you start making trouble. Gets criminals off the street and back into the court system for no cost or effort for them.

The whole bounty hunter thing basically rests on the 1872 Supreme Court decision, Taylor vs. Taintor. This grants them a whole host of nifty powers to use. They're allowed to cross state lines and transport defendants across them, break into the defendants home to capture them, break into third party's properties if they know the defendant is in there, use reasonable force subduing them. And they' re not limited by the Constitution like the cops are- so no 4th Amendment and needing warrants for entering premises or seizing people, likewise that whole knock and announce thing is out the window so you can just barge right in, and the 5th Amendment dealing with improper interrogations is gone as well. And that includes the Constitution's Interstate Extradition Clause with the whole crossing state lines and hauling people back across them without you having to tell the authorities.

Since it used to be that it was completely unlicensed anyone could do it. This led to some very rare but glaring fuck ups that were splashed across the media. So states starting to talk about introducing legislation to have bounty hunters be licensed. Washington state's had a bill introduced that'd do this- House Bill 2313 which seems to have passed and can find out about here. Figure this is the most relevant for a Seattle based game. Of course, since our universe and the Shadowrun one parted company back in the eighties you could just ignore it if you wanted it to be still unregulated.

On the illegal equipment front, it's only illegal if you get caught. Seriously though, use whatever means you want to find the person and then either grab them and take them to a police station or call the cops to come get them. That's about the only time you see the cops AFAIK.

Edit: All of this is up to date as of when I last looked the subject up but that was a while back so if anything's changed or I mussunderstood something please step in and correct me.

Actually, in perusing the Sprawl Survival Guide, mention was made of bounty hunting (the track down a bail-jumper type). I think the going rate is 10% of the bail posted. However, I imagine most bail-bondsmen would have thier own guy doing most of that sort of thing.

I could see a bounty job as being a decent challenge, as you're not going to make a penny bringing them back dead, they're on the run, and certainly not a willing target.

As for the big game hunting, I don't remember which dangerous paracritters have bounties on them, but I do recall that the Draco Foundation offers up a pretty nice chunk of change for blood mages if you're feeling adventurous...

Yeah. A million nuyen for each Blood Mage, but you have to prove that they are Blood Mages on top of getting them.

Does anyone know any sorces for the ammount of bounty of paracritters? Maybe its in the Critters book.... <goes to check>

I don't think it's Critters... SoNA, maybe?

Its not in Critters or PAoE...

I believe Sasquatches are recently off the list as well.

My current character was a Bounty Hunter from the Cas. He specialised in what you would imagen someone who tracks across the american mid west would, assault rifles, shotguns, unarmed combat, tracking, criminal law. I know in south africa if they want to find people they tend to use helecopters across the open ground (get a track and fly in that direction in big hops). So he had some copter skills. Its a long story how he got envolved in running, but its worked.

Currently there are licensed bounty hunters in america. Not to sure how they work though.

My guys do some bounty hunting on the side (the bail enforcement kind), are licensed and it gives a whole new dimension to the game world when your having to worry about taking guys down without killing them, innocent bystanders getting in the way, and dealing with the law on a different basis than most SR's.

The introductory chapter detailing the history of corpsec....

I just have one thing to say about bounty hunting...something from a gentleman known as MC Chris: "My backpack's got jets..."

Paranormal animals of NA and Europe have some more bounties listed. There's a huge bounty on Juggernaughts. I don't remember if it listed an amount, but I was in a campaign once where we had to capture a breeding pair alive and bring them from florida to some place in UCAS, don't remember where. The bounty was something like 2mil, but there was a 1mil export terriff getting them out of the CAS.

Who'd dare to breed those things?

A zoo. I keep thinking it was DC, but that doesn't sound right.

/laughs hysterically

Man, that would be a Hell of a sight watching the scene as a bunch of zookeepers and runners are trying to transport creatures which each look to be about as big as a C-17 down Connecticut Ave. to the National Zoo.

Most real bounty hunters are bail bondsmen employed by licensed companies. There's actually a TV show about a bondsman in Hawaii (his website is here, complete with bad music).

I'd imagine Shadowrun has a similar system, though corp-licensed bondsmen would only report to their corporations, 'extraditing' criminals to the corp territory. Runners would be used for folks that the corps can't legally touch, for one reason or another.

And, as mentioned, there's probably lots of actual hunters bringing in pelts and bodies of paracritters for bounties. I can't picture runners getting hired for this work too often, unless there's some specific grudge or illegal reason for hunting the critter. (Sasquatches come to mind...)

You mean Renegade wasn't real? Damn...

My work here is done.

I liked Renegade.

Lorenzo Lamas has got to be the silliest excuse for an action star since Pee Wee Herman.

-Siege

No, Chirstopher Lambert is. God, how I hated Highlander 1-3... But I loved Highlander: the series.

I second toturi's comments...the series was much better, and Christopher Lambert sucks big time

Oh, come on. Highlander 1 was a good movie. It was even considering making #'2 and 3 that were ridiculous.

Highlander 1 was mediocre at best. The idea was good, but the acting was really bad and it just didn't seem to 'work' very well. Thats just me though...