So let's take a high end runner team, we're talking 300 Karma, enough nuyen to fund a small army to retake the Papal states...you get the idea.

Now let's build their permanent residence where they hang out and try to live the life that they have earned for themselves. What do they do, where do they go?

My initial thought was a permanent high or luxury lifestyle on an orbital platform--great for the non-awakened members of the team and it cuts down on the possible ways for enemies to seek their revenge.

What are the benefits and hindrances to this lifestyle? Does anyone have a suggestion for a better place to hole up and retire, weighing both quality of life and security of life since these runners are bound to have tweaked several noses and their friends may not always be able to openly or even covertly protect them.

At least in my opinion, 300 karma is maybe halfway to the kind of class that would get you an orbital hangout.

Benefit: security.

Hinderance: if you can get something there, it really doesn't take all that much to kill everyone on board. No real chance of rescue or escape, either. Also, no real chance to ever socialize in person with anyone outside of your habitat.

~J

The exact details of the team are sketchy...the conversation just came up on the road to GenCon SoCal and I thought I would poll the crowd to get their opinions...set Karma and Cash to appropriate values for your personal take on the game.

Unless you build the habitat yourself from scratch there will be far too many security holes to make it worthy of a retird runner. The fact that one can so easily be destroyed means that you much have several foolproof escape deivces. Military grade armor and navel weapons wouldn't hurt either.

The best hideout for the retired runner would be an abandoned missile silo. They're very cheap for the square footage, are fairly secure, and are very hardened. So long as you use the proper cleanup procedures before moving in the chances of your magician going toxic are minimal.

An orbital hideout? Who are you, Dr Evil?

High end runners might own really nice and really secure homes under different names or they might still live in various safe shitholes around town. Nice houses in non extraditory countries are for retirees.

Someone, I want to say Spy magazine, did a quick thing on a company that turned abandoned missile silos into homes. As I recall, the going rate was 2.2 million. If I remembered (or cared) more, I'd look for the layouts.

http://www.missilebases.com/new/

Editted.

The silos themselves were actually going pretty cheap (500,000 each, or thereabouts, some even less). A great deal, really, when you think about it. Still, aside from fun musing, that kind of house is useless if you have real enemies. If you can live without making enemies that want to find you, you've won. As that's unlikely, live so enemies can't find you. If they've found you, get rid of them or go somewhere else. A missile silo is inviting an Alamo.

With enough credits (somewhere is the gazi-quadrillions, maybe less), you can buy yourself a place on the Zurich Orbital Habitat.

1) Go live in Bumfuck, Where-ever. So that your enemies can't find you.

2) Make it such that even if they knew where you live, but still can't touch you. Or touching you is going to bring the full weight of the all AAAs on their asses.

2 words. Corperate Enclave. One that 'you' probebely wouldent wanna break into.

My players refurnished an old firehouse. Actually, our in-joke is that it's the Ghostbuster's ex abandoned firehouse, because the basement is sealed off due to magical anonamalies around the massive generator. But it's a nice hideout, looks like a regular multi-hundred year old abandoned building from the outside, but the whole inside is new, with blast-protective walls, hidden sniper turrets, and self-managed magical defences (that the players don't know about yet, nobody's bothered to attack their lair.).
The group isn't a high level team yet, but as they get more powerful, my favorite tech-broker will continue to supply them with low-cost defences/offenses, as long as they do him occasional favors.

Downtoan seatlle, after you get gene therapy to alter your DNA signature and fingerprints, leonization to change your age then reconstructive surgery to ange you're appearance. Then you kill everyone that was connected to the surgery and fake your own death in some impressive fashion.

Downtown Seattle? If I was going to retire I'd pick somewhere different, both just for enjoyment/the weather and to get away from people or places you might know or know you.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to change my DNA and get a different face. I like mine.

Good for you- but when you've got people after you that will threaten, murder and torture then sometimes you just have to make sacrifices.

Unless you're in the secret Ares compound on Mars…

~J

I think we can file that under "extenuating circumstances".

Your options are thus:

1.) Disappear into space/the arctic/the deep sea/desert/your own bum.

Pros:
It's hard to find you.
If they do find you, it's hard to get to you.

Cons:
Terrible surroundings and living conditions.
Most likely, terrible view.
Hard to get supplies.
Not much civilized company.
If they do find you and do get to you, it's hard to get away.




2.) Live la buona vita, without caring who you've slotted off.

Pros:
Healthy, non-paranoid mental state.
All the fun your hard-earned nuyen can buy.
Friends, family, end of the rainbow.

Cons:
It is impossible to be a shadowrunner and not have slotted off somebody who wants your hoop. If they find you and have the means, you are one dead fragger.




3.) Wall up in some fortress, corporate enclave or other similar housing.

Pros:
You are, most likely, safe.

Cons:
Siege mentality.
Constant paranoia.
The more defenses you pile on, the more people will think you have something to hide other than your precious, precious life.
Can't go out and meet new and interesting people.
Somebody might get you anyways. Now you look paranoid and dumb.





4.) Put everything in a trust to an alternate identity, fake your death and show up somewhere in Paris with a mustache.

Pros:
You are alive and will most likely stay that way.
You have started an exciting new life away from it all.

Cons:
Leaving your chummers.
Leaving your family.
Leaving your digs.
Somebody might still find you.
You're in Paris.

Buying a boat or ship might be an option. It allows you to stay mobile and if you set up a few dummy entries in different country's ship registries, change the name on the back and the flag and you can stay fairly hidden. Downside though is that if they do find you then they can literally came at you form all around you, three hundred and sixty degrees from both above and below.

Providing you have money, I'd put ending up in Paris as a pro. Ending up in New Jersey, now…

~J

Yeah but not even the rest of France like the Parisians.

Then maybe I just have the proper arrogance to fit in?

I don't know, in the two or so months (aggregate) I've spent there I haven't had a problem with the people. They've been quite pleasant for the most part.

~J

A runner of mine, along with some teammates with SSC family ties, ended up setting up a nice villa on Council Island. My runner is still 'active' while the other 2 are siblings and for the most part retired into non-player status. Nice little place to sortie into Seattle from, well (decently at least) protected, nice ways for the team to 'smuggle' themselves to and from the island as necessary. In exchange for some on and off services to the SSC, its a nice little safe house.

Having made friends with one of the island's free spirts that's claimed domain of the island as their own, helps too. Though it tends to prevent my character from stepping onto the island without being known, as the spirit seems to automatically know whenever he arrives. Fun little spirit too, female, whose 'age' varies by seasons, repeats the cycle with each new year.